World Spirit Treasures were extremely rare and difficult to come across. Many cultivators would live their entire lives never seeing one.
Because these strange treasures already possessed a certain amount of sentience, they were closer to living creatures than mere plants or objects, which allowed them to understand how to avoid danger by running or hiding.
As he observed the crowd’s reaction, Xu Hui chuckled and said, “You can rest assured that my Holy Land will not force any of you to hand over your valuable treasures for free. The Holy Master has said that no matter what grade of World Spirit Treasure it is, as long as anyone is willing to part with it, the Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster will refine three pills for them for free. Additionally, for those who choose to sell their World Spirit Treasures, they will be allowed to skip the line and have their pills refined immediately, and the Holy Land will also guarantee a successful refinement.”
Following this announcement, the crowd fell silent for a moment before a great uproar began.
In exchange of Alchemy services, the reward demanded by the Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land, while not excessive, was also not cheap. One had to prepare enough Crystal Stones or herbs to match the value of the materials used to refine the pill they requested.
This kind of price was something that could be afforded by most people.
Although Saint Grade materials were difficult to find, most masters who need them in the first place were not lacking Crystal Stones.
However, three pills worth of reward was indeed a great sum of money and more than enough to attract the attention of the crowd.
Someone in the line soon called out, “Great Elder, are there any limits on the grades of those three free refinements?”
Xu Hui smiled and shook his head, “There are no limits, it is even possible to request for three Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills!”
“Your noble Sect’s Grandmaster is indeed bold!” The man exclaimed, everyone else around him sharing his shock.
Although until now no one had actually asked to refine a Saint Grade Mid-Rank pill, it could be inferred from how Xu Hui was speaking that the Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster had full confidence in refining this level of pill.
“So, if you possess any World Spirit Treasures, please don’t conceal them; after all, this is a rare opportunity!” Xu Hui grinned and persuaded.
He didn’t know if there was anyone among this group that had a World Spirit Treasure, or even why Yang Kai wanted with such objects, but none of that really mattered. Since it was an order from the Holy Master, all Xu Hui had to do was carry it out.
At the end of the line, among a group of newly arrived customers, after hesitating for a moment, someone finally called out, “Great Elder, is there no limit on what kind of World Spirit Treasure it is?”
“Yes,” Xu Hui nodded , turning his attention to the man who just spoke.
The man wore a half awkward half-serious look and asked, “What if I only need to refine a single pill?”
“The two remaining opportunities will be recorded by my Holy Land so that whenever you wish to use them, you only need to come here in order to redeem them.”
“In that case…” The man’s expression became slightly anxious as he carefully took out a jade box from his Universe Bag and handed it over to Xu Hui, “Will this do, Great Elder?”
As he asked, a nervous and excited look filled his face.
This man was no more than thirty years old and his strength was quite low, only reaching the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary. With such a cultivation, the pill this man came here to request was definitely Spirit Grade Top-Rank.
Such a cultivator would normally not even be able to speak with a famous figure like Xu Hui, so it was only natural he would be somewhat excited.
Xu Hui raised his brow and accepted the jade box.
The man quickly said, “Great Elder must be careful, this thing runs quite fast. If you relax your guard it will definitely try to slip away. This humble one only managed to obtain it by chance a number of years ago, and to my embarrassment, I still do not even know what it is.”
“It’s fine!” Xu Hui smiled confidently, his powerful Divine Sense wrapping up the jade box, leaving no gap for whatever was contained within to escape through.
Many people stretched their necks to see exactly what this World Spirit Treasure was.
Even Luo Sheng and Meng Tian Fei both couldn’t help leaning in slightly.
The moment the jade box was opened, a faint yet soothing glow, similar to the gentle rays of the moon, blossomed.
As if detecting that the box had been opened, whatever was inside darted out, leaving behind a streak of pale white light.
Xu Hui chuckled lightly as he saw this.
With Xu Hui’s Divine Sense surrounding it, the light was only able to flit about inside a small range, appearing as though it was quite anxious.
After a while, the gentle light gradually condensed and a three-leafed spirit grass appeared.
This spirit grass exuded a weak energy fluctuation as well as a faint vitality. Its body seemed to be comprised of a kind of white jade, giving it a delicate, almost crystal-like appearance.
The three leaves looked supple and fresh, as if they had only recently been moistened by the morning dew.
“It really is a World Spirit Treasure!” Xu Hui’s eyes lit up as he gently nodded.
Xu Hui could tell at a glance that this spirit grass was indeed a World Spirit Treasure because it already possessed a faint consciousness.
“Does anyone know what World Spirit Treasure this is?” Xu Hui asked the crowd.
Most people shook their heads but one man let out a chuckle and replied, “Great Elder, this is a stalk of Shimmering Moon Grass. By absorbing the essence of the moon over many years it managed to give birth to a consciousness. Although it is classified as a World Spirit Treasure, it is apparently not mature. With only three leaves, I’m afraid it has no practical use. If it was allowed to grow for another hundred years or so, to the point where it had five leaves, its value would increase many folds.”
“Oh? This friend appears to be quite familiar with this,” Xu Hui turned a smile towards the man who spoke.
“Not at all! This humble one was quite interested in spirit grasses and spirit medicines and thirty years ago even aimed to become an Alchemist. Unfortunately, my aptitude was lacking and I was unable to step onto that path, instead choosing to pursue the Martial Dao.”
“I see!” Xu Hui nodded. An Alchemist’s understanding of spirit grasses spirit medicines was indeed deeper than most, so although this man failed to become an Alchemist in the end, his knowledge of herbs would not be comparable to that of ordinary people.
“Then… is this acceptable?” The owner of the Shimmering Moon Grass scratched his head nervously.
With someone coming out and declaring that this Shimmering Moon Grass did not have much practical value, he couldn’t help growing more anxious.
The promised reward was actually refining three pills! Could this Shimmering Moon Grass possibly be worth that much?
“Yes!” To his surprise though, Xu Hui smiled and nodded, “This old master said that no matter what grade or value it has, as long as it is a genuine World Spirit Treasure, we will exchange for it! Good, this old master will accept this Shimmering Moon Grass. Little brother, please come with me so the Grandmaster can help fulfil your Alchemy request!”
“Yes!” The man shouted, overjoyed.
He had only arrived here today. If he was forced to wait, it would be at least six or seven days before his turn arrived and he would have to pay an amount of Crystal Stones equal to the worth of the pill he wanted to refine upon receiving it.
Yet now, for a trivial Shimmering Moon Grass that he had absolutely no use for, he not only got to skip the queue, the Grandmaster would also refine three pills of any grade for him for free!
This meant that as long as he found the appropriate materials in the future, all he had to do was come to Nine Heavens Holy Land and he would be able to instantly acquire two Saint Pills.
If his luck was particularly good, the pills he requested might even be formed with Pill Veins. Taking such pills could even have a life-altering effect on his future.
Fantasizing about such things, this young man couldn’t help feeling that glorious tomorrow had opened up before him.
“Wait!” Suddenly, someone from the lineup of customers called out.
Xu Hui frowned as he turned his eyes towards the speaker, discovering that the other party was actually a Saint Realm master and unavoidably asking, “What advice does this friend have?”
“This one wouldn’t dare!” The Saint Realm master laughed, “I’d simply like Great Elder to wait a moment while I have a word with this little brother.”
Xu Hui looked at him for a moment before nodding lightly, “Please make it quick, the Holy Master is still waiting for this old master to report.”
“Many thanks, Great Elder!” The man quickly thanked him before walking over to the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator and speaking to him.
This Saint Realm master deliberately lowered his voice, causing everyone else around him to become suspicious, wondering just what was being discussed.
The owner of the Shimmering Moon Grass was quite nervous being called out to by such a powerhouse at first, but after hearing what this Saint Realm master said, he immediately became excited and began nodding repeatedly.
Seeing this, many among the spectating crowd quickly guessed what the two men were talking about.
A moment later, the Saint Realm master and the owner of the Shimmering Moon Grass finished speaking, seemingly having reached an agreement both of them were happy with.
Before Xu Hui could even ask the young man to follow him into Nine Heavens Holy Land, several other Saints rushed out and began speaking to him.
The scene immediately became noisy.
The owner of the Shimmering Moon Grass was now facing a dilemma. None of these Saints was a character he could afford to offend so, in a bout of desperation, he simply shouted, “Several Seniors, please make a bid, the spots will go to the highest offers!”
Hearing this, the few Saints gathered around immediately began making offers, none of them willing to let the others snatch up such a good opportunity.
Xu Hui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, suddenly understanding what the owner of the Shimmering Moon Grass was doing.
The Holy Land had promised to help him refine three pills of any grade for free.
Inspired by the first Saint who spoke to him, the young man decided to simply sell all three of these opportunities.
Three opportunities meant three different rewards, far more benefits than he could acquire by simply asking for his own pill to be refined.
Slowly shaking his head, Xu Hui did not intervene. The Holy Land had given him this opportunity, so how he used it was up to him.
A moment later, the Shimmering Moon Grass’s owner ran over and said with a big smile, “I apologise for making Great Elder wait so long, let’s go in.”
Xu Hui smiled back at him, “Were the benefits they offered you to your satisfaction?”
The man nodded vigorously, “Very much so! But… is this also alright?”
“Of course there’s no problem. The Holy Land only gave you these three chances. How you choose to use them is your own business.”
“Great! I’m so glad!” So many great benefits falling from the sky into his lap had made this young man somewhat dizzy.
These Saint Realm masters were reluctant to wait in line outside with everyone else, and the benefits they offered to the young man were not worth more than the Saint Pill they wanted to refine.
This was the same as giving the owner of the Shimmering Moon Grass the reward they had prepared for the Holy Land in exchange for that low level World Spirit Treasure.
For the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, this was simply the biggest opportunity of his life.
After leading this young man to the reception room and collecting the three sets of materials he had brought with him, Xu Hui immediately flew over to the Holy Master Court.
Inside one of the palace rooms filled with a rich pill fragrance, Yang Kai was sitting in meditation in front of a small pill furnace.
Xu Hui entered and explained the story.
Yang Kai gently nodded, accepting the herbs as well as the Shimmering Moon Grass before saying, “I’ll call for you when the refining is complete.”
“Yes!”
After Xu Hui left, Yang Kai put the Shimmering Moon Grass into the Black Book space before sinking his own consciousness inside it too.
A wisp of moonlight appeared inside the Black Book space and began acting somewhat panic-stricken, trying to find a safe haven to take refuge.
The Divine Tree looked at this newcomer curiously, its Divine Sense locked onto it as it observed carefully.
The Divine Tree’s actions only agitated the Shimmering Moon Grass even more, and after a moment, it plunged into the small pond of Myriad Drug Liquid trying to hide.
However, the instant the Shimmering Moon Grass entered the pool of Myriad Drug Liquid, it relaxed greatly and began absorbing it at a rate visible to the naked eye, its three leaves releasing a brilliant glow as it did so.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s face went black and was just about to viciously pluck the Shimmering Moon Grass out of the Myriad Drug Liquid pond, but the Divine Tree somehow managed to beat him to it.
Wrapping the three-leaved grass up in an invisible Spiritual Energy, the Divine Tree hurriedly pulled it from the pond.
Immediately after, Yang Kai felt that the Divine Tree was using its divine Sense to communicating with the Shimmering Moon Grass.
Calming down, Yang Kai slowly wore a light smile.
After a short silence, the Divine Tree spoke, “I’ve already reprimanded it and will carefully watch over it to make sure it doesn’t misbehave again. However, this little fellow’s consciousness is similar to mine was before I met you and hasn’t fully formed yet, so communicating with it is somewhat difficult. Is this one of the World Spirit Treasures you told me about before?”
“En,” Yang Kai chuckled, “Take your time, as long as you persist you’ll one day be able to communicate with it smoothly. If I have an opportunity, I’ll try to find some more World Spirit Treasures for you so you can have more companions.”
“Yay!” The Divine Tree responded happily.
When Yang Kai recalled about the promise he made with the Divine Tree to look for some World Spirit Treasures to keep it company, he asked Xu Hui to make an announcement saying that anyone willing to part with such a treasure would be granted three free pill refinements, thinking he might get lucky and one day come across someone with a World Spirit Treasure.
What Yang Kai hadn’t expected was that one of the customers outside the Holy Land really had a World Spirit Treasure on him and was willing to part with it, a stroke of good luck.
After observing for a while and confirming that there were no problems, Yang Kai took back his consciousness from the Black Book space and began practising Alchemy again.
For the past month, he had been performing Alchemy, not taking even half a step outside this room.
Countless Spirit Grade Top-Rank and Saint Grade Low-Rank pills had been refined by him since then, none of which had ever failed.
The biggest reason for this phenomenal success rate was his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea which allowed him to have much greater control over the Alchemic Spirit Arrays inside his pill furnace. Using his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy also greatly accelerated the speed at which he could perform Alchemy.
With his current accomplishments in the Alchemic Way, Yang Kai was capable of refining a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill within a quarter of an hour and a Saint Grade Low-Rank pill within only half an hour.
With such speed, finishing ten pills a day was actually remarkably relaxed.
The rest of his time was spent restoring himself while meditating over the insights he obtained during the repeated Alchemy refinements.
In short, he was having fun!
There was not the slightest bit of annoyance or agitation in Yang Kai’s mood at all.
He now had an abundant supply of high-grade herbs to practice with, which allowed him to rapidly explore, test and prove his previous conjectures about the promotion of forming Pill Veins.
Yang Kai had now concluded that Pill Veins could indeed be artificially produced, but the process was by no means simple or easy. At the moment the pill was about to be successfully refined, numerous complex Spirit Arrays had to be portrayed, merged, and infused into the pill.
Once this process succeeded, Pill Veins would form and the pill would no longer lose any of its medicinal efficacies over time as long as it was stored properly.
Yang Kai could not produce Spirit Grade Top-Rank pills with Pill Veins at will, while, because the difficulty in executing this technique increased exponentially with each grade, an element of luck was still required to produce Saint Pills with Pill Veins.
In the process of Alchemy, Yang Kai was constantly using his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea but after an entire month of this, not only was he not feeling tired, Yang Kai even faintly felt that his Spiritual Energy had increased in both density and purity.
The sentiments he obtained from immersing himself in the Alchemic way also boosted his comprehension of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, allowing Yang Kai to further consolidate his foundation and improve his strength.
The Alchemic Way and Martial Dao complimented one another; making progress in either of these fields would lead to progress in the other, a truly gratifying experience.
Even without deliberately cultivating, Yang Kai felt his cultivation steadily making progress and if this kind of momentum was kept up, he felt it would not be long before he touched the threshold of the Saint Realm.
If he managed to come across some kind of opportunity, this process could be even further shortened.
The Third Order Transcendent was just a stone’s throw away from the Saint Realm.
Different from a True Element Boundary breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary or stepping from the Immortal Ascension Boundary into the Transcendent Realm, entering the Saint Realm required crossing an even greater watershed.
The Thousand-Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid could assist a Transcendent in achieving this breakthrough, and Yang Kai still had two drops of it left from when he first visited the Starry Sky.
At that time, Yang Kai had condensed a total of six drops of this precious medicinal liquid, four of which were given to Cang Yan for his Martial Seniors back in Soaring Heaven Sect. The remaining two were still inside the Black Book space.
The Thousand-Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid did not have any side effects either, so Cang Yan and Fei Yu using it to break through to the First Order Saint Realm would not cause any flaws to appear in their foundation which may affect their future cultivation.
However, Yang Kai did not intend to use any kind of outside boosts to help him as he always felt that only by using his own strength to achieve each breakthrough would he gain the maximum amount of benefits.
Alchemy was the best auxiliary cultivation method. Yang Kai had obtained many insights and unexpected gains while studying the Alchemic Way, allowing his body and soul to obtain a kind of profound sublimation.
The days passed by.
Thanks to the astonishing Alchemy results it produced, Nine Heavens Holy Land’s name now echoed loudly throughout all of Tong Xuan Realm.
Some cultivators would spend months travelling tens of thousands of kilometres just to ask the mysterious Alchemy Grandmaster of the Holy Land to refine pills for them.
Outside the nine peaks, the lineup of cultivators seeking Alchemy services now stretched for miles with no less than a hundred people arriving every single day to join the queue.
The mysterious Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Alchemy achievements were nothing short of astonishing. From the first time he took action until now, he had not once failed a single refinement and had even produced many pills that formed Pill Veins.
Gradually, some people began comparing this hidden Grandmaster to The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, wondering who would win if the two were to compete.
However, The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep was a legendary figure, one that even those of the Demon Race and Monster Race would treat with the utmost respect, a figure revered by every sentient being in Tong Xuan Realm.
With just this alone the Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land could not be compared.
As the Holy Land’s Grandmaster’s reputation spread, not just Spirit Grade Top-Rank and Saint Grade Low-Rank pills, but even Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills were confirmed to have been refined by him.
Each guest that visited Nine Heavens Holy Land to ask for Alchemy services left with a big smile of satisfaction on their face.
Every time a pill was refined successfully, the Holy Land would receive remuneration equal to that pill’s value.
These days, Xu Hui and the other Elders would always have big grins on their faces, as if all their previous worries and misfortune were nothing but a distant memory.
The Treasury of Nine Heavens Holy Land was now almost overflowing with Crystal Stones and a wide variety of cultivation materials.
This trend only accelerated after the mysterious Grandmaster changed his policy of only refining ten pills a day to refining twenty pills a day.
Many who came to ask for Alchemy services would not only provide compensation equal to the value of the pill they requested but would leave additional gifts as thanks.
Xu Hui now also began to wonder whether there was more than one Alchemy Grandmaster hidden in the Holy Land.
If that wasn’t the case, how could a single person refine twenty pills in a single day?
To accomplish such a feat, there had to be three Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Grandmasters at the very least! Xu Hui secretly speculated.
The Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan were quite clear that the current prosperity of the Holy Land was Yang Kai’s handiwork; however, without Yang Kai’s permission, they didn’t reveal such secrets to Xu Hui and the others.
Now that the Holy Land had an abundance of resources, the Ancient Demon Clan had no need to run outside the nine peaks to seek for cultivation supplies, so naturally, they did not cause any trouble with the public.
Regarding the cultivation supplies provided to the Ancient Demon Clan, Xu Hui showed no ill-treatment at all; on the contrary, what was portioned for them was extremely generous. Whatever the Ancient Demon Clan needed, he would freely provide, earning him Li Rong’s gratitude.
……
Outside the nine peaks, there is a newly built stone pavilion.
There were several exquisite stone benches and stone tables inside this new building with a fresh pot of tea steeping nearby.
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong sat inside the stone pavilion, watching the crowds lined up in the long queue, sipping tea while chatting quietly.
With so many guests coming each day to request Alchemy services, it was necessary to have at least two Saint Realm Elders posted to maintain order. Today was Elders Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong’s turn.
These two women had vastly different temperaments, but their graceful figures, full peaks, thin waists, long slender legs, and well-rounded bottoms were undeniably charming and added a splash of colour to the otherwise dull jungle scenery outside the Holy Land.
The customers who had come here and were now idly standing in line, extremely bored from all the waiting, couldn’t help directing stares towards the two beautiful female Elders in order to comfort their souls.
Noticing the strangeness of the various gazes upon them, though Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong weren’t exactly pleased, they were helpless to stop it. The most they could do was order the Holy Land disciples to circle the stone pavilion to somewhat block these prying eyes.
Although their job was supposedly to maintain order, in fact, there was rarely a need for them to do anything.
Most people who came here behaved extremely prudent and didn’t dare cut in line or stir up trouble.
Occasionally, when someone with an overinflated ego that wanted to take advantage of their own status or strength to try to act out, before the Holy Land’s disciple could even take action, the various masters who were patiently waiting in line would clean them up.
Most of the people who came to request Alchemy services here were Transcendents, but there was no shortage of Saints among them.
Provoking all of these powerhouses by trying to cut in line naturally never led to good results.
As such, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong only had to drink tea and relax in the stone pavilion while chatting, as if they were taking a leisurely break.
Near the end of the snaking line, a group consisting of two young women and a middle-aged man were.
The middle-aged man looked slightly impatient as he shot glances towards the front of the line from time to time and let out a slight sigh.
There were currently hundreds of people waiting in front of him, and the Grandmasters of the Holy Land would only refine twenty pills a day, so it would be at least a month before his turn came.
One of the two young women was also glancing towards the nine peaks, a complicated look upon her face.
After waiting in line for quite some time, the middle-aged man suddenly whispered, “Xuan’er, aren’t you acquainted with that new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land? Couldn’t you ask a favour of him so your father can have his pill refined faster? That Grandmaster belongs to Nine Heavens Holy Land so shouldn’t he obey the Holy Master’s orders?”
“I was only casually acquainted with him, there’s no deep friendship between us. How could I shamelessly ask him for a favour now? Perhaps he has even completely forgotten about me,” The young woman said with a forced, bitter smile.
Just after she spoke these words though, the other woman next to her couldn’t help snorting loudly as she muttered, “There’s not much friendship between you? Did I hear that wrong? Didn’t you and him…”
“Xin Yu!” The first young woman glared over at her companion, the latter raising her hands in surrender, “Fine fine, pretend I didn’t say anything, it’s your own destiny, you have the right to choose. Just don’t regret it in the future!”
The middle-aged man, seeing this, couldn’t help chuckling awkwardly, “Xuan’er, no matter what how brief your friendship was, there’s no harm in trying right? Regardless of anything else, that Holy Master used to be part of my Bold Independent Union, right? Surely he hasn’t completely forgotten his roots.”
“I told you before he was only visiting Bold Independent Union, why do you keep trying to say he was a Bold Independent Union disciple?” The young woman stamped her foot angrily, “It’s fine if you want to say such things in private but don’t make such claims in public or people will begin thinking we’re just shamelessly boasting.”
Listening to his daughter’s words, the middle-aged man couldn’t help smiling wryly.
Bold Independent Union was not a very strong force, with him actually being its top master, a mere Third Order Transcendent.
In Tong Xuan Realm, a force without a Saint Realm powerhouse assuming command couldn’t be taken seriously.
Therefore, this middle-aged man had struggled for years to break through into the Saint Realm; recently, he had an epiphany and at last saw hope of achieving this life-long dream, but because of a lack of aptitude, he was unable to fully grasp the mysteries of the Saint Realm. As such, he decided to find an Alchemy Grandmaster to help him refine a Heaven Spying Pill to see if that would be enough to allow him to take that final step into the Saint Realm.
After using up a great deal of money and manpower, he had finally gathered together the required materials but was unable to find a suitable Alchemist.
All of the well-known Alchemy Grandmasters were extremely difficult to contact, and each of their schedules fully booked for the next few years at most, so the middle-aged man found himself stuck in a dilemma, unable to even meet with an appropriate Grandmaster.
It was at that time that the reputation of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster reached the man’s ear and he couldn’t help feeling like it was a Heaven-sent opportunity.
He knew his daughter had some friendship with the new Holy Master and he even suspected their relationship wasn’t so simple.
Unfortunately, no matter how he proper her, his daughter would firmly deny it.
As a last resort, he could only bring her along with him to Nine Heavens Holy Land.
The long snaking lineup outside the nines peaks came as quite a shock to the man, as he had not anticipated so many others would already be waiting for Alchemy services from the Holy Land.
After failing to persuade his daughter to use her connections again, he could only resign himself to wait in line.
At worst he just needed to wait for a month.
All things considered, it wasn’t too long, so he said no more.
Just then though, two people flew over, a young woman accompanied by a Third Order Transcendent master who seemed to be her escort.
As the young woman approached, a look of shock appeared on her face as she stared in front of her, covering her mouth slightly as she muttered, “So many people, are they all here to ask for Alchemy?”
The Third Order Transcendent beside her also swept his eyes over this lineup and nodded slightly, “Young Lady, on the way over, I heard many rumours about the supreme skill of the Alchemy Grandmaster here. Supposedly, he has not failed to refine a requested pill even once, and each product he produced is of superior quality. It is only natural that many people have been attracted here.”
“Fierce, just what did that bastard do to manage to recruit such an outstanding Alchemy Grandmaster?” The young woman grinned as she glanced towards the nine peaks.
“Young Lady, should we also line up?” The escort asked softly.
“Hmph, nonsense, we go in right now and find him. I’d like to see if he dares pretend to not recognize me!” The young woman snorted, puffing out her chest arrogantly as she continued walking forward, showing absolutely no intention of obediently waiting in line.
However, after only a few steps, she suddenly wrinkled her brow and turned her eyes towards the end of the line, a look of surprise flashing across her face before she wore a happy smile and walked over, “Yun Xuan, you’re here too?”
Yun Xuan, who was lost in her own thoughts, hadn’t even noticed this newcomer until she was called out to, but hearing her name, she quickly snapped out of her daze and turned her gaze towards the young woman who was approaching her.
“Shui Ling?” Yun Xuan called out in surprise, a happy smile appearing on her pretty face in the next instant, “How come you’re here?”
“I came to see that little bastard! I heard that he is now the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. After not seeing him for only a few years, it seems that monkey has leapt from the branches and become a true dragon. Forget about informing me of something so important, he didn’t even send me a single message to tell me he’s still alive! He really knows how to make others worry about him; hmph, this time I’ll make sure he compensates me in full for all the anxiety he’s caused me!”
Hearing Shui Ling speak so freely and casually, Yun Xuan couldn’t help but grin, her mood improving noticeably.
“Are you here to request Alchemy services from the Holy Land’s mysterious Grandmaster?” Shui Ling’s thoughts turned, quickly guessing what Yun Xuan’s intentions in coming here were.
“En.”
“Since that’s the case, why are you just standing in line? Just go in,” Shui Ling said with a puzzled look on her face.
“No, but… everyone else is waiting in line, and…” Yun Xuan said, her voice growing smaller as embarrassment filled her face.
“What are you afraid of? Others might have to wait around but you… you’re not a stranger to him.”
“No, it’s alright, we’ll just wait here,” Yun Xuan hesitated.
Seeing her appearance, Shui Ling’s expression grew cold as she suddenly said, “Could it be that he just ate up and refused to pay? Even if he is the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, he couldn’t possibly be that shameless?”
“Don’t say that so loud!” Yun Xuan turned bright red and hurriedly tried to stop Shui Ling.
Several of the nearby disciples of Nine Heavens Holy Land who overheard her shot gloomy looks towards them, causing Shui Ling to spit out the tongue playfully, not daring to speak so rashly again.
In front of Yang Kai, she could indeed act unscrupulously, but demeaning the Holy Master in front of these Holy Land disciples would obviously earn her their ire.
“Xuan’er, this girl is…” The middle-aged man who stood behind Yun Xuan stepped forward and asked.
“Oh, this is the Little Princess of Water Spirit Temple, Shui Ling, I told you about her before.”
“So it is Young Lady Shui Ling!” The middle-aged man exclaimed, quickly cupping his fists politely, “This humble one is Bold Independent Union’s Union Master, Yun Cheng!”
“Nice to meet you, Uncle Yun!” Shui Ling smiled sweetly and returned the gesture.
“Water Spirit Temple’s Little Princess truly deserves her name. At such a young age you are already a First Order Transcendent, your future achievements will surely be astonishing,” Yun Cheng said after quickly sweeping his eyes over Shui Ling and noticing her true cultivation, secretly admiring Water Spirit Temple’s deep heritage.
Yun Xuan was older than Shui Ling, but her cultivation was actually lower. This was largely due to the difference in the strength of their respective forces. Without good resources, the growth rate of the younger generation would naturally be slower.
“Uncle Yun is too polite, I only just broke through and have yet to even stabilize my cultivation,” Shui Ling replied in a well-behaved manner, her long, silky, light blue hair gently blowing in the wind, attracting more than a few of the surrounding eyes.
“This is Ruan Xin Yu, my friend,” Yun Xuan introduced Shui Ling to the other young woman beside her.
Shui Ling nodded lightly, exchanging greetings with Xin Yu.
“Was I correct in hearing that Ms. Shui Ling intends to directly enter the nine peaks to find the new Holy Master?” Yun Cheng lowered his voice and asked.
“Yes, I’m an old friend of his. I haven’t seen him for several years and now he’s suddenly become the Holy Master… En, while I’m here, I intend to have him help me refine a couple of pills…. Does Uncle Yun want to join me? Yun Xuan is almost my friend.”
“Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” Yun Cheng replied somewhat hesitant.
“Nonsense, unlike everyone else in line, I’m mainly here just to see him,” Shui Ling smiled.
“Then… this Yun will not be polite. Many thanks for allowing us to share Ms. Shui Ling’s good fortune!” Yun Cheng no longer declined, smiling broadly.
“Uncle Yun is too serious.”
Saying so, Shui Ling turned and walked in the direction of the stone pavilion, Yun Cheng hurrying to keep up.
Yun Xuan was still hesitating but with Ruan Xin Yu pushing her back, she had to obediently follow along.
Among the people who were still in line, many of them shot vigilant and even unfriendly gazes towards Shui Ling’s group.
The people waiting in line were all here to ask for Alchemy services and were naturally disgruntled towards anyone trying to bend the rules; however, without knowing the intentions of Shui Ling and her group, no one wanted to be the first to stick their neck out, all of them preparing to observe first before deciding how to proceed.
Shui Ling calmly entered the stone pavilion and explained her identity and purpose to Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong, causing the two Elders to knit their brows slightly.
Since Yang Kai assumed the role of Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, no one had come looking for him, so the Elders really knew nothing about his friends.
However, since someone had appeared claiming to be an old acquaintance of Yang Kai’s, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong did not display any intolerance, simply saying, “We have to ask the Holy Master about this first, would you mind waiting here a moment?”
“That’s fine,” Shui Ling gently nodded, secretly deciding to teach Yang Kai a good lesson for actually daring to make her wait outside after she travelled ten thousand kilometres to see him.
If this wasn’t bullying a person, what was?!
As she made plans to exact her revenge, a Holy Land disciple was sent into the nine peaks to relay the message.
A short while later, before the messenger disciple had even returned, another group of people arrived outside the nine peaks, and similar to Shui Ling and her group, these people did not line up at the end of the queue and instead came over directly to the stone pavilion.
This group of people was truly eye-catching, each one of them old with white hair, but the fineness of their robes indicated that none of them was an ordinary individual.
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both glanced at each other with surprise, wondering just who these people were.
The cultivations of these people was not high, each of them only a Second or Third Order Transcendent, without even a single Saint amongst them, but from the way they carried themselves and their innate demeanor, it was clear they didn’t put any of the masters standing in line in their eyes.
Arriving in front of the stone pavilion, one of the old men walked up and smiled to Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong, calmly asking, “Two young ladies, may I ask, is this place Nine Heavens Holy Land?”
The two Elders immediately frowned.
Though they were still youthful, it still could not disguise their level of strength as Saint Realm Masters
No one whose strength was lower than their own had ever dared address them so casually, even calling them young ladies, it gave them the unfavourable impression that this old man was simply trying to take advantage of his seniority to talk down to them.
However, from the way this old man spoke and the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was speaking naturally, without the slightest intention of disrespect.
Realizing this, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong did not dare act rashly, quickly standing up and nodding, “Yes!”
“And the master of this place is called Yang Kai?”
“En!”
“Then we’ve come to the right place, hah, thank goodness. Wandering across so many mountains and rivers is not good for these old bones!” The old man let out a relieved breath before calling out to his colleagues, “We’ve arrived! Take a rest for now!”
The other four old seniors wore smiles upon hearing this and relaxed.
“May I ask for your honoured names and what relationship you have with my Holy Land’s Holy Master?” Yu Ying asked softly.
“Hoho, just inform your Holy Master that a few old friends who share his profession have come to see him,” The old man did not report his name, appearing somewhat inscrutable.
Yu Ying’s brow wrinkled slightly further but after exchanging a glance with Cheng Yue Tong decided to not ask anything more, sending another disciple to relay this message to Yang Kai.
In their hearts, they were all curious. It had already been quite some time since the Holy Master arrived in the nine peaks yet he never had any guests, yet now, old acquaintances of his seemed to be appearing one after another.
[These people best not be lying to try to obtain Alchemy services!] The two Elders both thought to themselves, secretly observing these two groups of people who were claiming to be Yang Kai’s old friends.
Inside the stone pavilion, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong observed the two groups of people who had just arrived, claiming to be friends of Yang Kai. Secretly, they felt that it was possible for the first group, which had several beautiful young women in it, to have some kind of special relationship with the Holy Master, especially one of the young women who had a mature beauty to her yet also a kind of melancholy surrounding her. From time to time, this young woman would glance towards the nine peaks with a complex look upon her face, as if she had some kind of unresolved romance with the Holy Master.
The Holy Master was a young man after all, which young man didn’t have a few romantic encounters?
Thinking so, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both couldn’t help chuckling.
As for the second group which was comprised of nothing but old folks, although their strength wasn’t high, the aloof, superior temperament they gave off was not something that could be faked.
These old people were definitely prominent characters.
A short while later, the two Holy Land disciples who had been dispatched as messengers returned, bringing with them the command of the Holy Master.
Invite them inside quickly!
“Hmph, seems he still knows his limits!” Shui Ling was quite satisfied, bowing to Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong politely before she and the trio from Bold Independent Union set forth.
The several old folks also gently nodded to the two Elders before following after Shui Ling’s group.
However, before they could go far, the cultivators who were waiting in line for Alchemy began making a fuss, one of them clearly unable to endure this and loudly calling out, “Two Elders, what are these people doing? Why is it that they can enter the nine peaks after only arriving here today? If it’s convenient, could two Elders please explain this to us?”
“That’s right!” Someone else immediately followed up, “We’ve all been patiently waiting in line here for many days, but they can actually enter the nine peaks right away. Isn’t that somewhat unfair?”
“Your Nine Heavens Holy Land’s name resounds loudly throughout the world, so bullying us Immortal Ascension Boundary and Transcendent Realm cultivators may not matter much. We clearly aren’t able to argue back, but in this lineup, there are quite a few Saint Realm Seniors. Even these Seniors are willing to abide by the rules set out by your Holy Land, yet now you intend to destroy those customs yourself? If so, even if we hold our tongues, do you think these honoured Seniors will agree?”
These words seemed to resonate with many people who were standing in line and the various Saint Realm masters in line all indeed wore displeased looks upon their faces at this moment as they stared towards Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong.
After coming here, they had all put down their own lofty statuses and obediently followed the rules set out by Nine Heavens Holy Land, waiting in line like simple guests.
Naturally, this scene of people skipping the queue made these masters feel a little uncomfortable.
This group of line skippers did not have a single Saint amongst them, yet they seemed to be receiving preferential treatment, it was nothing short of offensive.
Hearing these shouts, Shui Ling’s and the old folks’ group halted their steps and looked back.
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong also realized the seriousness of the issue and knew if they couldn’t handle it properly, it was highly likely that the prestige and goodwill the Holy Land had finally managed to build up these past few months would be ruined, causing many here to have an unnecessary misunderstanding.
Wearing a gentle smile, Yu Ying stepped forward and announced, “Friends, please allow me to explain. These people are old friends of my Holy Land’s Holy Master, this time they have come here only to visit the Holy Master, not to request Alchemy.”
“Really?”
“Do I have a reason to lie to you?” Yu Ying replied with a forced smile.
In truth, even Yu Ying suspected these two groups were here to request Alchemy services from the Holy Land’s Grandmaster, but since the Holy Master had said to let them in, it was impossible that they were just casual acquaintances. Still, it had now become a troublesome situation with the Holy Land’s reputation at stake.
“If you say those few women are friends of your Holy Master, I can understand, they are similar in age to the Holy Master after all and him having friends in the outside world is only natural! But what about those old farts? How could it be possible they are friends with your Holy Master?” Someone amongst the crowd shouted.
This group of old folks were, first off, old, and second, low in strength. Each of them looked like they were struggling to pursue the Martial Dao but were restricted by their own poor aptitude.
There were many such people in this world.
Those who were in such a situation often sought out good pills in order to help them break through their current realms and prolong their lives.
Most people waiting in line thought this was the case.
Everyone turned their attention to the group of old people, and even Yun Cheng couldn’t help wrinkling his brow ever so slightly.
“Don’t you think you all are meddling too much in other people’s business? You should just wait patiently in line. Since Yang Kai invited this group of Seniors inside, naturally he has his reasons! Or what, are you just looking to stir up trouble? If I were you I’d think twice about shouting out accusations outside the Holy Land like this, lest you anger someone you shouldn’t and lose the chance to request for Alchemy services,” Shui Ling shouted out in an unrestrained tone.
Amongst the crowd, those who had just been shouting the most fiercely all shrank back upon hearing these words, trying to hide behind others, afraid their faces might be spotted and remembered by Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong.
Calling out just now was their way of venting their frustrations and had been done without thinking too much about it.
They also thought that Nine Heavens Holy Land was being unfair and that if they didn’t raise any objections right now, in the future, anyone who claimed to be Yang Kai’s friends could skip the line which would force them to wait even longer for their turn.
They felt all of this was unfair to those who obediently followed the rules.
“You little girl, you’ve courage is not small…” Among the group of old people, the one with a great rotund belly looked towards Shui Ling with a big smile, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll try to find trouble with you later?”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Shui Ling smiled fearlessly, “Since you’re friends of Yang Kai that makes you this Young Lady’s friends too. Although you’re all much older than me, I can promise you that so long as I’m here, no one will are bully you! Otherwise, I’ll let Yang Kai clean them up.”
“Oh? You seem to have quite a good relationship with Yang Kai,” Another old man smiled meaningfully towards Shui Ling as he gently stroked his long beard.
“Well, something like that,” Shui Ling furrowed her brow, “Although that guy can be a bit of a bastard at times, the affection he has towards his friend and family is very strong, en, he’s still quite good in this Young Lady’s opinion.”
“En, you’re also quite good in this old master’s opinion!” The old man with the round belly smiled before turning to his fellow travel companions and said, “Old friends, what do you say, these people seem to think that we’ve come to Nine Heavens Holy Land to abuse some personal connections. If we don’t give them an explanation, it won’t be very good for Yang Kai’s reputation.”
“Then we’ll leave it to you,” The several old folks waved their hands casually, telling him to do as he pleases.
The fat man nodded lightly before turning to the crowd and shouting loudly, “Which one of you blind bastards dared call this old master an old fart? Show your face!”
Obviously no one came forward.
The fat old man seemed to have expected this and did not continue seeking any one person to pick a fight with, instead just pointing to himself and firmly declaring, “This old master’s surname is Chang, you’d best remember me!”
His appearance was arrogant and his tone without the slightest hint of politeness, as if he thought himself above everyone else here.
This caused many people to secretly sneer.
A mere Second-Order Transcendent cultivator facing this crowd of masters outside the nine peaks was really nothing much.
However, among those waiting in line, some of the more knowledgeable masters couldn’t help narrowing their eyes upon hearing this fat old man’s surname, the image of another rotund old man surnamed Chang appearing in their minds.
“Lightning Flash City’s Alchemist Guild branch manager, Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster Chang Bao?” Someone suddenly exclaimed.
“No wonder! No wonder he looked so familiar, it turns out he is the Alchemy Grandmaster from Lightning Flash City!”
“Why did he come here? Did he just say he knows the Holy Master here?”
“Who are those people travelling with him?”
……
The crowd which had a moment ago been silent suddenly began chattering loudly, many of those who had just been looking towards Chang Bao disdainfully hurriedly adjusting their expressions, putting on a respectful look.
No one dared despise a Saint Grade Alchemist!
Of the cultivators waiting in line, there were several who had visited Lightning Flash City before, hoping to meet Grandmaster Chang in order to ask him for Alchemy services; unfortunately, most of them had never even had the opportunity to speak with him.
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, the other old people around Chang Bao also reported their names.
“This old master’s name is Hong Fang!”
“Du Wan!”
“He Feng!”
“Kong Ruo Yu!” The only old woman gently shouted.
After all of these famous names came out, everyone present fell mute, too stunned to speak.
Shattered Star City, Three River City, Broken Moon City, Grand Boulder City. Lightning Flash City…
The managers from each of these five big cities’ Alchemist Guild branches had actually gathered together here.
Five Saint Grade Alchemists! This lineup was beyond luxurious.
No one dared let out a peep now, all of them staring dumbfounded towards these five people.
Everyone couldn’t help thinking for a moment that instead of Nine Heavens Holy Land, they were actually standing outside the Alchemist Guild’s headquarters!
After all, if that weren’t the case, how could there be five such Grandmasters all together in one place?
Du Wan smiled and stepped forward, “My fellow companions and I have come here today to visit with this place’s master, an old friend of ours. We hadn’t expected to create a misunderstanding, for that, please excuse us.”
“No no no, Old Man Du need not apologise!” Someone from the crowd immediately humbled himself and said.
The various Saint Realm masters here didn’t dare act dissolute in front of these five Grandmasters, all of them instead doing their best to show them the utmost respect.
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong’s beautiful eyes also flashed brilliantly, finally understanding why these five, despite their lower cultivation, treated them like mere Juniors.
On top of that, the two Elders were extremely shocked by the words they just heard.
These five famous figures had actually come here to visit the Holy Master! Just the words ‘come to visit’ implied a great many things.
Only those of the younger generations who were seeking to meet their seniors would speak such words, but if that were indeed the case here, then…
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both felt their hearts jump into their throats.
“Yu Ying had eyes but failed to recognize five Grandmasters! Five Grandmasters, please forgive this one’s lack of courtesy!” Yu Ying quickly bowed her head in apology.
“Think nothing of it, your honoured Sect’s Holy Master won’t mind,” Du Wan chuckled, “We are not strangers to him.”
“Then please at least allow Yu Ying to personally escort five Grandmasters to see the Holy Master.”
“Elder Yu Ying is too polite.”
“Five Grandmasters, please!”
Du Wan and the others exchanged a glance before ignoring the still stunned crowd of cultivators waiting in line and following after Yu Ying.
When they walked over past Shui Ling and her group, Chang Bao couldn’t help smiling towards her and saying, “Little Miss, what are you still staring at? If you don’t start moving, we are going to leave without you.”
“Eh? Ah… en,” Shui Ling responded awkwardly as if her mind couldn’t keep up with the current situation.
Remembering how she had just shamelessly boasted about how since they were Yang Kai’s friends, that made them her friends, Shui Ling couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into and hide.
Such disgrace!
Fortunately, the five Grandmasters were magnanimous and didn’t show any intention of teasing her; otherwise, she really wouldn’t have any face to show the world for the rest of her life.
Following behind the five Grandmasters, Shui Ling felt as if she was drifting through the clouds, her feet was somewhat unsteady as she walked. Maybe it was due to her head trying to understand just how Yang Kai had actually become friends with these famous figures.
How great an honour that was?
A short time later, the two groups of people arrived at the Holy Master Court.
Yu Ying did not take them to the reception room but instead brought them directly here.
An Ling’er and Xu Hui immediately came out to welcome them, and after exchanging a few greetings, brought them to a grand hall and had several maids serve tea. Xu Hui quickly said, “Holy Master has said he will come as soon as possible. Please wait here a moment.”
“Good, if he’s busy we’ll just relax here for now!” Chang Bao waved his hand, looking for a reliable chair to sit down on as he gasped for breath.
Chang Bao was more than a bit plump, so he usually never left the Alchemist Guild branch of Lightning Flash City. If not for him wanting to find Yang Kai this time, he would never have travelled so far to Nine Heavens Holy Land.
After escorting these honoured guests to this place, Yu Ying bowed politely and took her leave.
Five Saint Grade Alchemists arriving all at once was nothing short of sensational, so when An Ling’er and Xu Hui learned of their statuses they did not dare show any neglect, acting incredibly humble and reserved.
However, the five Grandmasters were all easygoing and did display even the slightest aloofness, soon drawing both Xu Hui and An Ling’er into casual conversation.
Of course, Shui Ling and Yun Xuan’s groups both couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.
Shui Ling hadn’t expected that the old folks she casually met outside were actually five Saint Grade Alchemy Grandmasters, but after learning their true identities, she didn’t dare speak casually to them.
Yun Xuan and her group were even more on edge.
Bold Independent Union was not a big force. Them being able to even enter Nine Heavens Holy Land like this was all thanks to Shui Ling. In front of these five Grandmasters, Bold Independent Union’s Union Master Yun Cheng felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
Tightly sealing his lips, he did he best not to interrupt.
Everyone here had a status that could be described as glorified, but what about him?
Being able to meet any one of them in person would ordinarily be a great honour, yet now there were actually so many of them gathered around him. Yun Cheng felt his stomach churn from the stress, not knowing what he should do or say.
Seemingly noticing their embarrassment, An Ling’er smiled and beckoned towards Shui Ling and Yun Xuan, bringing them to the side to ask them about their relationship with Yang Kai.
Facing this Nine Heavens Holy Land Saintess, Shui Ling and Yun Xuan both couldn’t help lowering their eyes slightly while cautiously choosing their words.
However, under the gentle guidance of An Ling’er, the atmosphere between them gradually relaxed and as they shared their stories about Yang Kai, light giggles soon came out.
After waiting half an hour or so, a heroic figure walked into the hall from outside.
Everyone immediately turned their eyes and smiled.
“Junior Yang Kai greets the several Grandmasters! Junior is greatly flattered that the several Grandmasters have come to visit!” Yang Kai quickly greeted him.
The five Grandmasters smiled and nodded, Du Wan calling out, “Don’t be so polite. In the past you called us Grandmasters, but now… times have changed!”
He didn’t say too much, but the meaning behind his words was apparent, at least between the concerned parties.
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “Old Man Du need not act so, Junior only has his current accomplishments thanks to the guidance of the several Grandmasters.”
Seeing his honest modesty, the five old Grandmasters exchanged glances amongst each other and couldn’t help smiling, feeling relieved that Yang Kai had not changed despite his great achievements.
“Hey, there are other people here as well. Aren’t you going to greet us too?” Shui Ling snorted.
As soon as Yang Kai arrived, Shui Ling relaxed because, of all the people here, she was the only one who truly knew him.
She had arrived in Tong Xuan Realm from Central Capital together with Yang Kai after having participated in the Yang Family Inheritance War and the desperate struggle against the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land.
Although Yang Kai was now the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Shui Ling still regarded him as a close friend.
Yang Kai chuckled before turning towards her, “After not seeing you for a few years, each of you has become even more beautiful.”
“Hmph, your tongue is as glib as ever!” Shui Ling snorted, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
Yun Xuan couldn’t help looking terribly embarrassed, her beautiful eyes unconsciously glancing towards and away from Yang Kai. Ruan Xin Yu by her side quietly whispered, “This is probably your last chance. If you don’t grab hold of him now, there won’t be a next time.”
Yun Xuan just continued glancing towards Yang Kai though, not saying anything, causing Ruan Xin Yu’s brow to twitch in frustration.
Silently thinking to herself that, if she was in Yun Xuan’s position, she would definitely not let go of Yang Kai. Now, he was very different from when they first met; back then, he was no different from a lost little kid from the countryside who had never seen the city, but now he was the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. Noble status, great strength… okay looks, after finding such a rich marriage partner, how could she just shrug him off?
As long as she grasped on to him tightly, she would have no worries for the rest of her life!
However, this idiot Yun Xuan had absolutely no intention of even trying, annoying Ruan Xin Yu to no end.
“Junior greets Union Master Yun!” Yang Kai cupped his fists to Yun Cheng.
Yun Cheng’s body shivered greatly as wore a flattered expression, hurriedly getting up and returning the gesture, “Holy Master Yang is too polite, this one doesn’t dare accept such courtesy.”
His face becoming awkward, he quickly followed up, “Last time, my Bold Independent Union was led astray by the lies of those nefarious thieves and behaved somewhat impudently. I hope Holy Master Yang will forgive that transgression.”
“A minor matter, don’t mention it,” Yang Kai laughed, his expression relaxed.
Hearing this, Yun Cheng felt a great weight lift from his heart. He was really afraid that Yang Kai would hold a grudge against him for the previous matter. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have any face to remain here.
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Yang Kai found a seat and sat down.
“How come all of you came together to visit my Holy Land? Do you all know each other?” Yang Kai looked suspiciously around the crowd.
“Just a coincidence!” Chang Bao laughed, “We did not travel here together, we simply met outside the nine peaks.”
“En, I saw Yun Xuan outside and called out to her,” Shui Ling nodded.
“This really is a great coincidence. No wonder I had a feeling something good would happen today, it turns out that several Grandmasters and a few old friends were coming over to visit,” Yang Kai laughed, appearing quite happy.
During the conversation, Yun Xuan kept catching herself staring towards Yang Kai, only to hurriedly turn her eyes away in the next breath, her heart now pounding very hard.
As time passed, she felt that the distance between her and Yang Kai was getting bigger and bigger. When she last saw him, although he seemed to stand amongst the clouds, she could still at least see him if she looked up.
But now, Yun Xuan found that the young man in front of her had already ascended to a place she couldn’t even hope to reach.
Realizing this, her heart grieved, for she knew that in her lifetime there was no way she could ever catch up to Yang Kai.
Such a man was not someone a woman like her was worthy of standing by…
“Several Grandmasters coming to my Holy Land, is it simply to play or is there something you’d like to request?” Yang Kai lightly coughed, quickly asking about the purpose of everyone’s visit.
The five Grandmasters glanced around at each other and soon four pairs of eyes landed on Du Wan, obviously intending to have him answer.
Four against one, Old Man Du was helpless and with a bitter smile replied, “It’s like this… En, we heard that there is a skilled Alchemy Grandmaster here, so we decided to come here to visit.”
Yang Kai let out a somewhat strained laugh, his mouth twitching slightly.
The others here didn’t know who the mysterious Alchemy Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land was, but Du Wan and the other Grandmasters were different; after all, they had seen Yang Kai refine a Saint Grade Low-Rank pill which formed Pill Veins right in front of them.
At this moment, seeing Du Wan take such a humble stance cause Yang Kai to feel quite awkward, unsure of how to handle this situation.
“Good, if it is convenient, we would like to observe this Grandmaster’s skills and, if possible, study Alchemy with him…” Hong Fang followed up.
Yang Kai’s whole face was now twitching.
“If it is inconvenient then it matters not,” Du Wan saw Yang Kai’s strange expression and thought he was reluctant to agree, waving his hand as he said, “We do not covet the secrets of others, it is just that, in terms of Alchemy technique, very few are capable of teaching us anything, but now that one such Grandmaster has appeared, we thought we might as well try our luck. Yang Kai, although we’d like you to discuss our request with that Grandmaster. There’s no great rush, we can wait for an answer.”
“En, if that Grandmaster is willing to offer us a few pointers, naturally we will be happy, but if he does not, it is also fine; after all, us old guys are truly acting a bit brazen, seemingly trying to force someone to do something against his will,” Chang Bao comforted.
All five pairs of their eyes were now staring towards Yang Kai, wondering what answer he would give.
Even Shui Ling and Yun Cheng were nervously watching, not sure why but feeling that the atmosphere in the room had suddenly become a bit tense.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and adjusted his expression, “Several Grandmasters are too serious, my Holy Land’s Alchemist happens to be in need of someone to exchange with. The arrival of you Grandmasters is nothing but a boon to him. On behalf of my Holy Land’s Alchemist, I can accept your request, I only hope that, instead of a lecture, a mutual exchange can be had that will benefit everyone!”
“Really?” Chang Bao was so excited he couldn’t help shouting somewhat.
“Is that alright?” Du Wan also stared towards Yang Kai.
“Why not? There’s no disadvantage to accepting such a request,” Yang Kai laughed.
The five Grandmasters glanced at each other excitedly before turning a grateful look towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai agreeing to their request so easily was beyond their expectations.
On the way here, the five of them had all been quite apprehensive, thinking that this request of theirs was too bold, yet unable to resist the temptation of learning new and mysterious Alchemy knowledge, so they had all been psychologically prepared to be rejected by the time they arrived at the Holy Land.
Unexpectedly though, they had easily achieved their goal.
Naturally the five Grandmasters were pleasantly surprised.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go see the Grandmaster now,” He Feng said and stood up.
“There’s no need to rush!” Yang Kai laughed dumbly despite trying not to, “Several Grandmasters, please wait a moment.”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned to Shui Ling and the others, “What about you? Did you come here just to visit me or to request Alchemy?”
“If I said I came here just to see you, would you believe it or not?” Shui Ling asked with a big smile.
Yang Kai simply curled his lips.
“Good, I came here for Alchemy, hehe,” Saying so, Shui Ling took out a Universe Bag and tossed it directly to Yang Kai, stating her request without the slightest hint of politeness, “I want to refine three Azure Sky Pills, all the materials have been prepared, you can see if your yourself.”
Yang Kai caught the Universe Bag and quickly swept its content with his Divine Senes, nodding lightly, “Azure Sky Pills… How long has it been since you broke through to the Transcendent Realm?”
“Only about four months ago! That’s why I need these pills to help stabilize my cultivation realm,” Shui Ling replied, appearing somewhat distressed.
Shui Ling had broken through to the Transcendent Realm only four months ago, so she was still needed to consolidate her cultivation.
If she didn’t want to spend a long time meditating to comprehend the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, her only option was to use pills.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, sinking into thought for a moment before saying, “If you want to solidify your cultivation, one Azure Sky Pill should suffice. As for the rest of the herbs in your Universe Bag, they can be used to refine a couple of Soul Nourishing Pills to help enhance your Spiritual Energy, the materials for the two pills are similar.”
“Have you also studied the Alchemy Way?” Shui Ling was shocked.
“A little… I’ve been spending a great deal of time around the Grandmaster, so I’ve picked up a thing or two.”
“Then I’ll leave it up to you. In any case, I know you won’t mistreat me,” Shui Ling said, waving her hand casually towards Yang Kai as if him treating her was only to be expected, causing Yang Kai to go speechless.
“Why you… ” Yang Kai slowly shook his head before turning to Yun Xuan, his tone softening noticeably as he asked, “What about you?”
Yun Xuan seemed to be lost in thought so when she was suddenly called out to her tender body couldn’t help trembling slightly, immediately focusing herself and replying, “It’s my father who wants to refine a Heaven Spying Pill!”
“Heaven Spying Pill?” Yang Kai raised his brow before glancing over at Yun Cheng, a smile soon forming on his face, “So Senior Yun is going to break through to the Saint Realm?”
Yun Cheng smiled awkwardly and said, “I’ve caught a glimpse of those mysteries but am unable to fully comprehend them, so I wanted to come here and ask for a Heaven Spying Pill to see if it could assist me with that last step.”
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Because it is related to Senior Yun’s breakthrough to the Saint Realm, I will personally ask the Grandmaster to put in his best to refine the highest quality Heaven Spying Pill!”
Hearing this, Yun Cheng’s eyes shivered as a look of joy filled his face, “Then I must thank Holy Master Yang in advance.”
Saying so, he quickly shot a meaningful glance towards Yun Xuan.
Yun Xuan obviously understood and elegantly bowed, “Many thanks, Yang… Holy Master!”
Yang Kai faintly nodded, his expression becoming a bit complicated.
The others in the hall all seemed to notice the subtle atmosphere between these two and immediately became thoughtful.
Yun Cheng gave a forced cough before quickly handing over the required herbs.
Yang Kai received them before calling out, “An Ling’er, please keep these friends of mine company for a while. I’ll deliver these materials first.”
“En,” An Ling’er nodded smartly.
“Several Grandmasters, please come with me,” Yang Kai beckoned to Du Wan and the others.
Inside a separate building, a pill furnace was placed in the centre of a large room with various herbs laid out nearby, waiting to be refined.
After coming here, Yang Kai said, “Several Grandmasters feel free to sit where you like, Junior usually only engages in Alchemy here so there is nothing I can entertain you with.”
“No problem, you focus on your Alchemy, there’s no need to mind us, we just wish to observe your process. However much we can learn will depend on our own skills, there’s no need for you to intentionally teach!” Chang Bao quickly found a good spot and plunked himself down.
“Good, we all discussed on the way here that so long as you agree to our request, we would only observe and emulate!” Du Wan nodded lightly.
“Very well,” Yang Kai nodded. Performing Alchemy required all of his attention, so he really couldn’t spare any time to explain anything to the others. On top of that, Yang Kai had no experience lecturing others and had no qualifications to teach. Each of these five people was a powerful master who had been immersed in the Alchemic Way for over a hundred years and possessed their own unique knowledge and understanding of Alchemy. Rather than clumsily trying to explain the technical aspects of his Alchemy process, Yang Kai might as well just let them observe.
“Kid, do you have a history with that girl named Yun Xuan? Why did it look like she was staring at you so awkwardly?” Chang Bao suddenly asked with a grin, his eyes narrowing into thin slits.
“What are you saying? Do you have no shame at all you old fatty?” Kong Ruo Yu immediately shot him a stern glance.
“Heh heh, I was just asking…” Chang Bao teased.
Yang Kai just wore a bitter smile and nodded, “There was a little something… No, let’s not discuss this, I’m beginning.”
Saying so, Yang Kai took out the herbs brought by Shui Ling and prepared to refine the Azure Sky Pill and Soul Nourishing Pill she needed.
These two pills weren’t high in terms of level, only Spirit Grade Top-Rank, so Yang Kai was preparing to use them as a warm-up in preparation to refine the Heaven Spying Pill.
The five Grandmasters immediately stopped chatting and wore bright expressions as they began fixedly staring at Yang Kai’s movements, afraid if they blinked they might miss something.
Time passed by slowly.
Back inside the Holy Master Court’s hall, An Ling’er continued to chat with Shui Ling and Yun Xuan, the three of them emitting a harmonious atmosphere.
Just before the sun went down, Yang Kai returned.
The nervous Yun Cheng quickly got up and turned a stepped forward, his body trembling slightly as he was unable to hide his anxiety.
When he arrived in front of Yang Kai, the latter handed him a jade bottle and said, “This is the Heaven Spying Pill that Senior Yun requested.”
Yang Kai then tossed a jade bottle over to Shui Ling, “And this is your Azure Sky Pill and Soul Nourishing Pill.”
Shui Ling caught the bottle with a smile and opened it to look inside, crying out in surprise a moment later, “There really are Pill Veins! I thought the rumors outside were just wild exaggerations but it turns out they’re actually true!”
Among the three pills inside the bottle, the Azure Sky Pill which was used to stabilize one’s cultivation foundation had formed Pill Veins, making it far more potent and valuable than an average pill.
Shui Ling’s eyes lit up, full of excitement, obviously quite happy.
“The next time you need any kind of pill just come here directly, you’re always welcome,” Yang Kai said with a smile.
“Then I won’t be polite with you,” Shui Ling grinned, carefully placing the jade bottle into her Universe Bag before turning to look at Yun Cheng and asking, “What’s wrong? Why does Senior Yun look of out of sorts?”
At that moment, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu also turned to look at Yun Cheng only to see his hands shaking as his voice seemed caught in his throat. He wasn’t speaking and his face was constantly changing colour so it was understandable for everyone to be concerned.
“Pill… Pill Veins!” After a long time, Yun Cheng finally managed to squeeze out those two words, “A Saint Pill that formed Pill Veins!”
“Seriously?” Shui Ling was also stunned and quickly rushed over to have a look, soon laying her eyes upon the Saint Grade Low-Rank pill with tiny human-like meridians running across its surface.
Shui Ling was immediately dumbstruck.
The value of a Saint Pill which had formed Pill Veins was immeasurable.
For a moment she couldn’t help directing a look of envy towards Yun Cheng, thinking to herself she should have also brought along some materials to refine a Saint Pill.
In any case, she didn’t need to pay Yang Kai anything for these refinements and her father was also in need for Saint Pills.
“Congratulations Senior Yun, it seems your wish is within reach!” Shui Ling composed herself and said.
“Congratulations Union Master, on reaching the Saint Realm,” Ruan Xin Yu also quickly added.
“That’s not a certainty yet. Although such a pill is a rare and powerful boost, breaking through to the Saint Realm will still depend on this Yun’s efforts and luck… but regardless of what the end result may be, Holy Master Yang has my sincerest thanks.”
“Senior Yun is too polite,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, his eyes glancing over to Yun Xuan unconsciously, the latter nodding to him gratefully.
In her heart she was clear that Yang Kai must have put in a personal request for the Grandmaster to go all out, otherwise, how could it be so coincidental to refine a Saint Pill with Pill Veins?
With the pill of his dreams in hand, Yun Cheng had no intention of lingering as he could not wait to return to Bold Independent City, take this pill, and spy on the mysteries of the Saint Realm, so he immediately asked to be excused.
Yang Kai did not retain him.
“Then I’ll take my leave too, looking at you bustling about, it seems you don’t have time to accompany me so there’s no point in my hanging around,” Shui Ling thought about it and also said her goodbyes.
“I’ll see you out!” Yang Kai said.
“No no, there’s no need, this Yun cannot afford such…” Yun Cheng was shocked but before he could finish what he was saying, Ruan Xin Yu pushed him along and whispered, “What happens next is none of your business, let’s go.”
Hearing this, Yun Cheng immediately woke up, gave a big farewell to Yang Kai, and flew out of the nine peaks.
Shui Ling also shot a profound look towards Yang Kai before waving her hand casually, “If you have time, come to Water Spirit Temple and see me, don’t let another few years pass by before at least sending me a message.”
“Got it,” Yang Kai smiled and said.
In an instant, there was only Yang Kai and Yun Xuan left in the hall. Even Xu Hui and An Ling’er had at some point quietly slipped away.
“Let’s go,” Yang Kai gestured.
Yun Xuan gently nodded, walking out side by side with Yang Kai.
The entire way, no words were said. Yang Kai was racking his brain trying to think of what to say; although he indeed had intimate contact with this woman at one point, it really was only an unavoidable accident.
However, after taking her purity, wiping his hands of the matter and pretending he had done nothing wrong would make him no better than an animal, so for the moment he could only remain silent.
“I heard from the Saintess of your Holy Land that you haven’t taken her yet,” Seeing Yang Kai not say anything, Yun Xuan decided to strike first.
“She told you that?” Yang Kai was gobsmacked.
“There are many things that are easier to discuss between women,” Yun Xuan smiled, “Why? You are the Holy Master and she is a Saintess, isn’t it only natural for you to be together? Could it be you can’t take a liking to her?”
“Not taking a liking…” Yang Kai shook his head, not sure how to explain himself.
“In your heart there is already another woman!” Yun Xuan stated categorically.
Yang Kai could only admire this woman’s keen insight and made no effort to deny her charge, “Indeed.”
“Is she that splendid?” Yun Xuan asked quietly.
Images of Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang flashed across Yang Kai’s thoughts at that moment as a look of recollection appeared on his face.
Seeing this appearance, Yun Xuan smiled miserably and said, “Forget it, you don’t have to say anything… I already know the answer. Good, the matters between you and I, you don’t need to concern yourself with. In that situation it truly was unavoidable. From now on, I’ll just consider it a wonderful memory that I can cherish in my heart.”
Yang Kai opened his mouth and tried to speak but couldn’t help hesitating.
“Can you not show that kind of expression?” Yun Xuan muttered, the corners of her eyes becoming slightly damp as her voice trembled, “After taking me like that, did you think you had to take full responsibility? I never cared about that… so why must you?”
“Yun Xuan…” Yang Kai’s expression dimmed greatly as he stared at her, feeling quite helpless in his heart.
Yun Xuan wiped her eyes continuously but the tears refused to stop, dripping out like a string of pearls without end. Suddenly, after seemingly coming to some kind of resolution, she turned to the side, grabbed Yang Kai’s hand and bit it.
Her white teeth sinking into his flesh immediately caused blood to flow.
Yang Kai didn’t resist and simply staring at her silently.
Removing her teeth, Yun Xuan stared back at Yang Kai with a firm look upon her face.
“You hurt me once and I’ve hurt you once, now we’re even!” Suddenly, Yun Xuan released Yang Kai’s hand, swallowed the blood she had taken into her mouth and wiped what was left from her face before turning and walking away.
Her tears were still gently falling.
Her voice gradually floated back from afar, “You are a man with a heart of stone, so it’s best if you maintain your aloof status so that you remain as someone I can only look up to. If one day you fall from the clouds, I won’t let you off easily!”
Yang Kai smiled bitterly.
“You’re really heartless…” An Ling’er had at some point appeared and said as she stared towards the direction Yun Xuan left, “With her like that, even if both of you could not accept each other, couldn’t you have at least said a few sweet words to her?”
“That would only make things worse,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“I get that… but…”
Yang Kai glanced over at her, “That’s why I don’t talk to you about love, or else you’ll just end up like this in the future!”
“I, I won’t…,” An Ling’er turned bright red before hurriedly running off.
Turning around, Yang Kai headed back to the Holy Master Court to continue his Alchemy.
The five Grandmasters were keenly aware that Yang Kai’s mood seemed to have undergone some subtle changes and he was even making more mistakes as he was practising Alchemy, nearly ruining several batches of good materials and causing cold sweat to leak from their brows.
However, his dampened mood was soon swept away and Yang Kai regained his focus, flawlessly performing Alchemy and raising each of the Grandmasters’ expectations.
The sun rose and the moon set, in a blink of an eye, a few months had passed.
Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster’s reputation had now spread throughout the entire mainland, riding a seemingly unstoppable wave of popularity and worship.
Every day outside the nine peaks was incredibly lively, with a now seemingly endless river of people waiting in line for Alchemy services.
The Holy Land had gained an unimaginable amount of wealth and rare cultivation materials, enough to make even the richest of merchants jealous.
Xu Hui and the other Elders spent all day long laughing raucously.
Yang Kai and the five Grandmasters had now been sitting inside the Holy Court’s pill room for a few months without once leaving.
Every day, Yang Kai would refine exactly twenty pills, allowing the Grandmasters to observe everything from start to finish.
Shocked by the speed at which Yang Kai performed Alchemy, the five of them soon became obsessed with his exquisite techniques.
Refining twenty pills in a single day wasn’t a feat any of the Grandmasters here could achieve.
If it was just Spirit Grade Top Rank pills, each of the Grandmasters present could perhaps refine seven or eight in a day.
But refining Saint Pills consumed far more Spiritual Energy and True Qi, as well as mental and physical stamina, so each of the Grandmasters here estimated that even if they went all out, two would be the maximum they could produce before collapsing from exhaustion!
Yang Kai, however, only needed to spend seven or eight hours each day, to refine all twenty pills, sometimes even less.
The rest of the time was used by him to digest his accumulated insights as well as restore the strength he consumed in the Alchemy process.
The Grandmasters were now acutely aware of just how astonishing a role a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea could play in Alchemy.
When Yang Kai performed Alchemy, they observed and emulated, and when he was resting, they would gather around and discuss their various harvests, often getting into heated debates about the optimal use of different techniques or Spirit Arrays, nearly coming to blows at times.
Yang Kai did not interfere with them or even express his own opinions.
The entire reason he could perform Alchemy so quickly was because of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, so many of the methods and insights he obtained and implemented were not suitable for the Grandmasters to use.
After many days of noisy discussion, each of the Grandmasters felt their understanding of the Alchemic Way and their Alchemy skills had undergone a significant improvement.
There were even times when the Grandmasters couldn’t endure just sitting idle and would ‘borrow’ materials from some of Yang Kai’s clients to practice with.
With the assistance of the five Grandmasters, Yang Kai’s job became even easier.
Now, Yang Kai basically did not ever need to personally condense medicinal liquid, as the five Grandmasters were constantly doing so in order to verify their new insights, all he had to do was combine the various purified medicinal liquids and form them into pills.
It was almost as if these Grandmasters had become Yang Kai’s assistants, but the Grandmasters themselves showed no signs of displeasure and were instead more than happy to repeat these menial tasks day after day.
Being able to have five Saint Grade Alchemists as assistants, in this world, it was likely no one had even imagined such a possibility.
As the reputation of its Alchemy Grandmaster rose, so did the reputation of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Coming here allowed any cultivator to obtain a high-quality pill at a reasonable price, creating an immense amount of gratitude towards Nine Heavens Holy Land, especially because the time one had to wait for their pill as incredibly short.
By coming to Nine Heavens Holy Land, at most one would need to wait a month or two to obtain the pill they wanted; if they went anywhere else, the wait time would be at least ten times as long.
Once the news that five Saint Grade Alchemists, such as the famous Du Wan, had come to visit the Holy Land’s Grandmaster and had yet to emerge from the nine peaks, many people mistakenly began to believe that the mysterious Grandmasters in Nine Heavens Holy Land was the legendary Old Man of Heaven’s Keep himself.
Such rumours only further fueled Nine Heavens Holy Land’s rise.
It could be said that the current Nine Heavens Holy Land, besides not having a Third Order Saint Realm master to assume command, had become the most prestigious force in the land.
The name of Yang Kai, the Holy Master of the Holy Land, had also become world renown.
The Holy Land being revitalized and rising to even greater heights filled Xu Hui and the other Elders with an indescribable sense of pride. Just a few years ago, Nine Heavens Holy Land had been on the verge of collapse. The old Holy Master had passed away while the new Holy Master had yet to be found, and at the same time, Saintess Nan was causing great trouble outside, drawing the anger of countless masters towards the nine peaks.
At that time, Xu Hui thought that the Holy Land’s foundation would be destroyed in his generation and was thus feeling incredibly depressed as well as ashamed, ashamed to have ruined the tireless efforts of his ancestors.
Yet in less than half a decade, Nine Heavens Holy Land had risen to become the centre of attention for the entire world!
The cultivators of Nine Heavens Holy Land, from the Great Elder all the way down to the most common disciple, now held their heads up with pride.
This kind of pride in turn brought about a positive feedback, causing many disciples to cultivate even more assiduously, for fear that if their cultivations appeared weak, it would damage the Holy Land’s face.
Seeing the Holy Land thriving, Xu Hui felt that even if he died right this instant, he would do so without regret.
…..
One day, as Yang Kai was immersed in Alchemy, his expression suddenly twitched, as if he had noticed something odd, hastily stopping the motion of his hands.
Du Wan did not miss this change and quickly asked, “What happened?”
Hearing this, the other four Grandmasters also hurriedly cast their attention towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “Nothing. A few months ago I refined an artifact, but it wasn’t until just now that it produced a resonance. I was just a bit anxious to explore the mysteries of that artifact a moment ago.”
“I see!” Chang Bao nodded in agreement, “Then examine it all you want, the rest of us will help you finish up the pill refining here!”
“Is that okay?” Yang Kai was stunned. He had wanted to wait until he had finished the day’s pill refining quota before carrying out a thorough investigation of the artifact, but unexpectedly Chang Bao had made such a proposal.
“Of course it is,” Chang Bao grinned meaningfully, “We’re all Saint Grade Alchemists as well, or what, do you no longer have any interest in seeing our skills, little boy?”
“Nonsense, several Grandmasters offering their assistance is something I only feel grateful for, I was never concerned about the lack of you Grandmasters’ skills,” Yang Kai smiled.
Although during this time these five Grandmasters would occasionally refine a pill or two, they had never overstepped their roles as guests and actively provided Alchemy services for Nine Heavens Holy Land. Most of the time they would simply be observing, meditating, and discussing amongst themselves while refraining from actually performing Alchemy as much as possible.
Today’s Alchemy work had just begun, and in addition to the few pills Yang Kai had already refined, there were still more than a dozen left to finish. Even splitting them evenly amongst the five of them, each of the Grandmasters would need to refine at least three pieces.
Most of which were Saint Pills.
If they were to each refine three such pills, the five Grandmasters would likely thoroughly exhaust themselves.
“Seems you still know how to speak right, kid!” Chang Bao laughed, apparently quite satisfied.
“Good, we’ve been observing and studying for many days now, it’s time we truly test out what we’ve learned, always squabbling with these old fogies about what the correct path forward isn’t going to bring us any conclusions, so we might as well just start refining pills to see who among us is right and who is wrong,” He Feng also agreed with Chang Bao’s proposal.
“And that’s how it is, Yang Kai, just leave these dozen or so pills to us. We’ll help you refine them, just take your time and carefully examine that artifact of yours,” Du Wan waved to Yang Kai lightly.
“Good, then I’ll have to trouble several Grandmasters with this!” Yang Kai no longer objected and passed the task of refining the day’s pills to the several Grandmasters. Although the possibility of failure would go up like this, with the Holy Land’s current wealth, providing compensation was a simple matter.
After cleaning up what he was currently working on, Yang Kai stood up and went to another room.
Sitting down cross-legged, with a single thought, Yang Kai summoned out the small, long, shuttle-shaped artifact he had found in the Starry Sky and sank his consciousness into it, preparing to perform a thorough investigation.
It was this long shuttle artifact that just resonated with him.
Since he finished refining and taking it into his body, an entire half a year had passed. During that long time, with his mind immersed in Alchemy, Yang Kai had no longer paid any attention to this long shuttle artifact, but that did not mean his True Qi and Spiritual Energy had ever stopped nourishing it.
Taking so long to produce a resonance with this artifact greatly surprised Yang Kai.
Yang Kai still remembered how it took him only three months to refine, nourish, and examine the various uses of the Silver Leaf artifact.
The Silver Leaf artifact was a Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact though.
From this point alone, it was obvious that this long shuttle artifact was either far more complex in structure and function than the Silver Leaf artifact, or was of an even higher grade.
If that was not the case, it would not have taken so long to finish nourishing.
Today, if it had not produced a resonance with him, Yang Kai would likely have completely forgotten about it altogether.
Probing with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai immediately became clear about the internal structure of the long shuttle artifact.
Yang Kai’s expression soon became strange.
He found that the inside of this artifact was very different from what he had imagined. The Spirit Arrays portrayed inside it were not only not complicated, but actually appeared quite simplistic, even somewhat crude.
Even with the traces of erosion caused by the long passage of time, Yang Kai could still make out these Spirit Arrays fairly clearly but was unable to recognize them or what they were for.
After all, he didn’t know much about Artifact Refining.
The Spirit Arrays used for Artifact Refining and the Spirit Arrays used for Alchemy were completely different.
Vaguely, Yang Kai could guess the use of this artifact, but he could not be certain of anything without actually using it.
Pouring his True Qi into it, the long shuttle artifact, which was currently resting on his palm, suddenly emitted a golden glow, floated up from Yang Kai’s hand, and flew to the other side of the room.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately filled with excitement.
In that instant, he had nearly lost track of the long shuttle’s position.
This artifact already had Yang Kai’s Soul mark engraved inside it and had formed a connection with him, so in theory, he should be clearly aware of any of its movements like it was a part of his body.
But just now, he still felt like it had nearly disappeared.
The only explanation was that this artifact was incredibly fast, so fast, that Yang Kai’s senses were simply unable to completely follow its movements.
Looking at the long shuttle artifact which was hovering on the other side of the room, Yang Kai wrinkled his brow and tried using his Divine Sense to command it to move.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out as the long shuttle seemed to break through the constraints of space and instantly move from one position to another.
After experimenting with it a few times, Yang Kai’s eyes gradually filled with light as he felt he had uncovered the mystery of this artifact.
Reaching out, the long shuttle returned to his hand again.
Yang Kai once again carefully examined it.
His Divine Sense wandering back and forth inside the long shuttle, Yang Kai carefully examined every minute detail of it.
The long shuttle was quite small, but when Yang Kai sent his Divine Sense into it, it felt as if he was probing a vast space with no end in sight.
As he probed around, some basic information flowed back from the long shuttle into Yang Kai’s mind.
Flying Heavens Shuttle…
This was apparently the name of this artifact. Simply inferring from its name, Yang Kai had basically confirmed that this long shuttle’s purpose was transportation.
In order words, this was a special flight type artifact.
There were many different types of artifacts which came in all kinds of varieties, but in general, artifacts could mainly be divided into three categories: Offensive, defensive, and auxiliary. Of course, there were some artifacts that fit into more than one of these categories; for example, Yang Kai’s Silver Leaf was both an offensive and defensive artifact.
Depending on what kind of energy was required to drive them, artifacts could also be divided into ordinary artifacts which consumed True Qi, or Soul type artifacts which were powered by one’s Spiritual Energy.
The latter’s value was generally much larger than the former’s and was also significantly more difficult to refine.
Amongst auxiliary type artifacts, there was a special classification which was dedicated to transportation: Flight type artifacts. In general, a flight type artifact could reach speeds much greater than an ordinary cultivator of the same grade.
Yang Kai had also encountered a lot of different flight type artifacts, some shaped like swords, some like birds, some like carriages, etc…
However, this was the first time he had encountered one shaped like a long shuttle.
At first glance, this long shuttle looked like a miniature boat.
Inside the Flying Heavens Shuttle, there was no trace of any offensive type Spirit Arrays, which meant it had no attack power, and while there was a defence type Spirit Array, its strength was difficult to determine just by observing.
Yang Kai continued to probe inside the shuttle.
After reaching a certain depth, Yang Kai discovered something unusual.
Deep inside the Flying Heavens Shuttle, there was an empty space surrounded by many twinkling points of light. When his consciousness floated at the centre of this space, Yang Kai almost felt like he had returned to the vast Starry Sky.
This empty space was like a miniaturized model of the Starry Sky that had been placed inside the Flying Heavens Shuttle.
There were also a number of small thin lines connecting various different points of light together.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, not sure what this strange space was for.
Following along one of these connecting lines, Yang Kai felt more and more that the Flying Heavens Shuttle contained a small model of the Starry Sky inside it.
However, what made him feel unsatisfied was that the line he was tracing broke at a certain point. Apparently, after drifting through the Starry Sky for so long, the lines in this model had become damaged, so Yang Kai could not figure out what the endpoint of this path was.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai continued investigating the Flying Heavens Shuttle until he determined there was nothing else to discover inside it before taking back his Divine Sense.
Although this artifact had lost a great deal of its internal information, it was still able to play its most basic role after being nourished for so long.
Driven by his curiosity, Yang Kai immediately got up and left the Holy Master Court.
Pouring his True Qi into it, the Flying Heavens Shuttle expanded rapidly, eventually becoming several meters in length and quietly floating in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded his head in satisfaction upon seeing this.
Since flight type artifacts were meant to carry people, it was impossible its true size was only as big as his palm. Yang Kai didn’t know which Artifact Refiner had created this artifact but it was clear they had included a profound Spirit Array that allowed its size to be manipulated.
However, several meters seemed to be the upper limit. Eyeballing it, Yang Kai estimated that this Flying Heavens Shuttle was capable of carrying seven or eight people max.
Sending a command with his Divine Sense, the Flying Heavens Shuttle shrank back down to about two meters in length and a transparent blue hue emerged to cover it, forming a kind of protective barrier.
Yang Kai leapt up onto the shuttle and sat down, the blue light screen expanding to just cover him, leaving no gaps, as if it was tailor-made for him.
Excitement filling his heart, Yang Kai fully pushed his True Qi.
A blue light flashed and in the next moment, Yang Kai and the Flying Heavens Shuttle disappeared.
Atop one of the nine peaks, the Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan were in meditative cultivation. Recently, Yang Kai didn’t have anything for them to do, so after obtaining a lot of cultivation resources from Xu Hui, all of the leaders spent their time tirelessly trying to improve their strength.
Suddenly, Li Rong’s brow furrowed and she awoke from her meditation, her tender body flickering and in the next instant reappeared high up in the sky, her beautiful eyes staring suspiciously towards a distant point on the horizon.
Immediately, Han Fei and Hua Mo also appeared beside her.
“Was that Master’s aura just now?” Han Fei also stared towards the horizon and muttered.
“En, it seems Master has gone out,” Li Rong nodded lightly, “But this speed… it’s too fast.”
Just as she finished speaking these words, Li Rong’s brow furrowed, “He’s already left the range of my senses.”
Li Rong was a Second-Order Saint Realm master, so the range of her Divine Sense was several hundred kilometers, but from the time she detected Yang Kai’s aura until now, only three breaths of time had elapsed, yet in that short a time, he had already left the scope of her sensation.
Such speed was simply astonishing, far beyond anything she had ever even heard of before.
“What do you think Master is going out to do this time?” Hua Mo asked in confusion.
“I don’t know.”
“Should we follow and escort him…” Hua Mo asked hesitantly.
“We don’t even know where he is anymore, how are we supposed to follow him?” Li Rong smiled wryly, “Forget it, at that speed, I’m afraid no one in this world could catch up to him anyways.”
Listening to her say this, Han Fei and Hua Mo also relaxed. If no one could catch up to Yang Kai, naturally he wouldn’t be in any danger.
Just as the three Great Commanders noticed Yang Kai’s sudden departure, outside the nine peaks, a large number of the cultivators who had come to request Alchemy services from the Holy Land also noticed something and looked towards the sky.
A moment ago, a faint pale blue streak had passed over their heads but by the time they released their Divine Senses to investigate this phenomenon, the streak of light had already disappeared.
This discovery stunned everyone.
Among the cultivators present, there were a number of very powerful masters, yet in front of this strange blue streak, all of them were rendered helpless.
Their faces paling slightly, many of them wondered just which great powerhouse had used such a profound method to fly passed them.
However, none of them could find any clues.
Midair, Yang Kai’s face was filled with joy as he could hardly believe what he was currently experiencing.
The scenery beneath him was flowing past him like a raging river, receding behind him rapidly. The speed he was currently travelling at was simply indescribable; it was exaggerated to the point where even his eyes could not keep up with the changing landscape. Every time he tried to focus on some landmark or landform, it would disappear behind him in the next instant.
The speed of the Flying Heavens Shuttle greatly exceeded his expectations.
Yang Kai’s personal speed was not slow, and if he used his Wind and Thunder Wings, even a Second Order Saint may not be able to catch up to him.
But the speed he was traveling at right now far, far exceeded that, surpassing the limits of this world, almost as if he was constantly tearing space.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai crossed hundreds of kilometres.
What was most unbelievable to Yang Kai though, was that the True Qi he consumed in order to activate and operate the Heavens Flying Shuttle was very small, and because of the protection of the blue light screen, he was essentially unaffected by the wind, allowing him to sit, lie down, or even stand up without the slightest discomfort.
Feeling a great sense of joy in his heart, Yang Kai not only didn’t stop but instead continued pushing the Flying Heavens Shuttle faster and faster.
Gradually, as he became more and more familiar with this artifact, Yang Kai was able to manoeuvre it freely even while soaring forward at lightning-fast speeds.
Yang Kai was ecstatic.
Watching the world flow backwards beneath his feet filled him with a sense of unparalleled freedom.
It was only after about half a day that this sense of excitement gradually calmed down and Yang Kai slowed his flight speed.
Scanning his surroundings, Yang Kai saw a land of ice and snow off in the distance, a scenery that felt oddly familiar to him.
Staring at this landscape for a while, his brow began to furrow slightly.
A moment later, as he continued moving forward, a huge city appeared before him.
Seeing this city, Yang Kai’s expression became even more amazed.
Arriving at the city after an incense stick worth of time, Yang Kai saw many streets and buildings he was familiar with.
Grand Boulder City!
He had actually travelled all the way to Grand Boulder City, which was a few hundred thousand kilometres away from Nine Heavens Holy Land!
Yang Kai’s expression fluctuated between disbelief and shock.
When he had last left this place in order to bring the Ancient Demon Clan to Nine Heavens Holy Land, it had taken him two whole months to complete the journey.
Of course, with the large number of Ancient Demon clansmen, it was impossible to travel too quickly, but even if Yang Kai was alone and moved at maximum speed, it would still have taken him around twenty or thirty days to reach the nine peaks from here.
But now, it had only taken him less than a day to return from there!
Strictly speaking, about ten hours had passed since Yang Kai left the Holy Land.
There was absolutely no comparison between the two.
At this moment, Yang Kai recognized just how terrifying the speed of the Flying Heavens Shuttle was and just how precious this flight type artifact really was.
With this artifact, it would be extremely convenient for him to go anywhere he wanted to.
Taking the artifact back into his body, Yang Kai landed nearby the city gates and walked to the Alchemist Guild branch.
Du Wan was obviously still back in Nine Heavens Holy Land right now, so only Ye Xiong, Mi Na, and Wu’er were left here in Grand Boulder City.
All of them were quite surprised by Yang Kai’s sudden arrival but they still happily welcomed him.
Yang Kai didn’t spend much time in the Alchemist Guild, spending only about a day lecturing Wu’er and Mi Na about Alchemy before gifting them a few basic Spirit Arrays and taking his leave.
Next, he went to Soaring Heaven Sect.
Currently, Yang Kai was the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, so he had very little time for leisure, or to travel long distances. Since he had accidentally arrived here now though, naturally he had to pay a visit to his Martial Seniors and Ancestral Founder.
When Yang Kai arrived at Serene Resplendent Peak and walked inside, he immediately came across his Martial Aunt Fei Yu, sprawled out across a stone table, her face dyed red, her clothes in disarray, exposing a great deal of her smooth jade white skin, with several empty bottles scattered about.
Fei Yu’s cultivated a Water Attribute Secret Art, so she was not just drinking alcohol for fun but was actually refining the alcohol into her body to enhance the potency of her True Qi.
Yang Kai had long ago noticed this, but he still couldn’t help feeling a sense of helplessness about her alcoholism.
Fei Yu was the same as always, showing no restraint with her words, causing Yang Kai to feel exasperated and embarrassed all at once, yet helpless to hit back while she sat back and laughed at him.
Cang Yan and the others also rushed over to meet Yang Kai when they heard he was back, eager to inquire about the group of Demons he had led away and to once again caution him not to be deceived or taken advantage of by them.
Once more feeling the care and concern his Martial Aunt and Martial Uncles had for him, Yang Kai felt his heart warm up.
From Cang Yan and the others, Yang Kai also learned that a lot of masters had come to Soaring Heaven Sect some time ago to ask Chu Ling Xiao about the Ancient Demon clan, many of them angrily clamouring for him to clean up his Sect by executing Yang Kai for colluding with the enemy.
Chu Ling Xiao didn’t even want to bother answering them and simply entered secluded retreat, refusing to meet any outsiders.
The masters who had come to Soaring Heaven Sect stayed for a while but seeing no hope of moving Chu Ling Xiao, after a while, they could only resentfully leave.
However, as Nine Heavens Holy Land’s reputation began to spread, no one came to bother Soaring Heaven Sect again, none of them daring to offend Nine Heavens Holy Land anymore, or else they might lose the chance to obtain Alchemy services from the mysterious Grandmaster.
Later, Yang Kai went to visit the Ancestral Founder, Chu Ling Xiao.
Knowing that Li Rong and her people were conducting themselves prudently, almost always remaining inside the nine peaks, Chu Ling Xiao nodded with satisfaction, but even so, he still warned Yang Kai against becoming lax with them, the same as his other Martial Seniors.
After spending three days in Soaring Heaven Sect, alleviating the fatigue he had accumulated from constantly performing Alchemy and cultivating, Yang Kai set off for the nine peaks again.
Over the past year, Yang Kai had almost always been improving his Alchemy proficiency, refining numerous pills every day without rest.
This time, after a coincidence brought him out of the nine peaks and allowed him to take a break, Yang Kai suddenly felt that his cultivation had improved and consolidated.
It was at this moment that Yang Kai realized just how important occasionally relaxing was; his accumulated sentiments and insights had only fully blossomed and allowed his strength to grow after this brief period of rest.
Less than a day later, Yang Kai returned to Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Just as he entered the nine peaks, Li Rong called out to him with her Divine Sense, “Master, that Monster Race woman wishes to see you!”
“Monster Race woman?” Yang Kai came to a halt, frowning for a moment before passing a message back, “You mean Cai Die?”
“Yes, her!”
“What is she doing here?” Yang Kai asked, confused.
“She didn’t say. If Master doesn’t want to see her, I can send her away,” Li Rong responded quickly.
“No need, I’m on my way.”
A moment later, Yang Kai appeared on the peak the Ancient Demon Clan was occupying.
Walking into the biggest palace, Yang Kai saw Cai Die, with her seven coloured wings on full display, sitting there silently like a statue, a cold and unfriendly look upon her face as if everyone here owed her a great deal of money.
Yin Ya and Xue Ji, who were also sitting in the hall, appeared somewhat awkward as they felt great pressure from her.
This ice-cold Monster Race master, although possessing an incredibly beautiful appearance perfectly highlighted by her seven coloured wings, was beyond Yin Ya and Xue Ji’s skills to conquer, and they knew it.
Simply sitting close to her sent chills up their spines…
Seeing Yang Kai enter the hall, Cai Die’s beautiful eyes finally moved, quickly settling on him.
Li Rong quickly nodded her head in greeting before whispering into Yang Kai’s ear, “She has been here for three days already yet she hasn’t moved from that spot at all. Even when we spoke or greeted her she would ignore us. She only spoke once when she arrived, saying she would wait here until you come back.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “It’s been hard on you.”
Saying so, Yang Kai stepped forward, smiled and cupped his fists, “Ms. Cai Die.”
Cai Die nodded back, returning his greeting while maintaining her cold and unfriendly expression as she continued, “I’ve been waiting for you for quite some time.”
Yang Kai laughed awkwardly, silently grumbling that he hadn’t forced her to sit here like this. Keeping such thoughts to himself, he adjusted his expression and asked, “Is there something Great Senior needs of me?”
Cai Die bluntly stated, “Yes, Great Senior requests that you come to Thunder Tree Palace.”
“Has something gone wrong with your Beast Transformation Pond?” Yang Kai frowned; this was the only reason he could think of for why Great Senior would be looking for him.
“There’s no problem with the Beast Transformation Pond… Stop asking so much. Once you arrive at Thunder Tree Palace, Great Senior will naturally explain the situation to you.”
Yang Kai was dumbstruck, unable to respond for a moment as the Ancient Demon Clan’s nearby leaders all rolled their eyes.
Rather than Cai Die coming here to invite him, it was more like she was giving him an order.
Han Fei’s expression quickly became gloomy.
Both of them were cold beauties with similar temperaments while also possessing Second-Order Saint realm cultivations, so naturally, they repelled one another somewhat. Since long ago, Han Fei had not had a good impression of Cai Die and was just waiting for an opportunity to teach this little girl a lesson so she would learn to show proper respect towards Yang Kai.
Perceiving the rising tension in the air, Yang Kai quickly said, “Since Great Senior is specifically looking for me, it must be for something important. I should at least meet with him. Alright, Ms. Cai Die, please wait here a moment, I’ve just returned from the outside so there are some things I need to arrange first before we leave.”
Cai Die nodded slightly before no longer speaking.
“Master, allow me to accompany you,” Li Rong said immediately.
Yang Kai glanced over at her and although he felt that it was impossible for Great Senior to act against him, he quickly nodded and said, “En. Prepare whatever you need.”
Leaving the mountain, Yang Kai immediately rushed to the Holy Master Court.
When he last left here, Yang Kai hadn’t expected to actually be gone for several days so he was quite anxious to see how Du Wan and the other Grandmasters were doing.
For the past few days, all the pills coming out from the Holy Land had been refined by them.
Just after entering the pill room, Yang Kai saw the five Grandmasters sitting in front of their respective pill furnaces, a set of herbs placed next to each of them.
The five Grandmasters were all staring at a freshly refined pill in their hands, a silent and dignified aura surrounding them.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling worried and quickly asked, “Several Grandmaster, what happened?”
Hearing Yang Kai’s voice, Du Wan and the other Grandmasters all seemed to wake from their meditation and turned smiling faces towards him.
Yang Kai was stunned.
“Nothing happened. Us old fogies just discovered that our Alchemy skills have improved noticeably…” Du Wan smiled and explained.
“En, a truly significant promotion,” Chang Bao echoed.
“As such, every time we finish refining a pill, we take a moment to reflect on our various gains and mistakes,” Kong Ruo Yu said with a chuckle, “It was what we were doing a moment ago.”
“So that’s it…” Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that after several days of intense Alchemy the Grandmasters had been overwhelmed.
“Little brat, you may not be the best master, but we are some of the best disciples…” Hong Fang laughed, “Before now, whenever we refined a Saint Pill, we would need to invest at least two hours of time and would use up a great deal of True Qi and Spiritual Energy; but now, we can all refine Saint Pills in half the time while consuming far less of our strength. This is all thanks to the insights we’ve obtained from observing and imitating your Alchemy process.”
The other four Grandmasters smiled and nodded in agreement.
During these past few months, although they would occasionally engage in Alchemy, they had never engaged in a continuous round of pill refining, so none of them had understood how much progress they had made, but for these past few days when Yang Kai was out, they had taken responsibility to refine all the materials which were delivered to them.
After refining a few pills, they managed to confirm many of the gains they obtained from observing and emulating Yang Kai’s methods, and everyone discovered that their skills had noticeably improved.
Whether it was in the speed of refinement or the quality of the end product, both had seen a significant promotion.
Du Wan was even confident that he could now refine a Saint Grade Mid-Rank pill!
If he really was able to achieve this, it would mean he had ascended to the rank of Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist.
Observing and emulating Yang Kai’s Alchemy process for a few months had brought them greater gains than decades of self-study, causing all five of the Grandmasters to be jubilant. These days they had spared no effort in Alchemy, maintaining a steady pace of refining twenty pills a day.
However, it took five of them working together to refine twenty pills each day whereas Yang Kai was able to refine twenty all by himself.
In regards to this point, the five Grandmasters had no choice but to admit their inferiority as well as marvel at the amazing boost an Alchemist would receive just by having a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
“Unfortunately, during these days, we have each had a few failures and wasted lot of good materials,” Du Wan commented, somewhat apologetically.
Alchemist not only took refining pills as their life’s calling but also saw medicinal herbs as true treasures that were not to be wasted if at all possible, so every failed refining was quite distressing to them.
On top of that, they had not once witnessed Yang Kai fail a refinement.
“It’s fine, the Holy Land is now so rich in materials that paying some small compensation here and there is not an issue,” Yang Kai smiled, “Several Grandmasters seem to have each harvested much.”
“Good, you’ve come back at just the right time, we were hoping to discuss something with you,” Du Wan smiled.
“If Grandmasters have anything to ask, please feel free to speak.”
“Could you increase the number of pills to be refined each day? You can still refine the original twenty pills while giving us the rest to use to refine. We’d like to continue observing your techniques here while also using some of the materials coming in to verify our findings.”
“En,” He Feng nodded repeatedly, “Such a chance is simply too rare, us old folks really would like to spend some more time here.”
“We were just worried you’d grown tired of us old fogies hanging around…” Chang Bao smiled.
“Nothing of the sort…” Yang Kai immediately shook his head and said, “It just so happens that I have something I need to attend to outside so I will be gone for a while. If it is alright with several Grandmasters, the daily twenty pills can be handed over to you to refine.”
“Oh?” Du Wan brow rose, “Going out again? Where are you headed this time?”
“The Monster Domain, the nearby Monster Race Great Senior has something he wants to speak with me about,” Yang Kai answered truthfully.
The five Grandmasters all exchanged slightly shocked looks, not quite knowing what to make of this but still quite pleased that Yang Kai had felt confident enough to tell them the truth.
“Then you should set out and come back quickly. We only came here to observe and emulate your Alchemy techniques, you can’t be thinking of just letting us work for free right?” Chang Bao joked.
“What nonsense are you spouting, after several months of observing and learning, this is a perfect opportunity to consolidate our gains,” Kong Ruo Yu smiled, “I’m quite looking forward to this actually. Boy, you don’t need to pay him any mind, just go take care of your business, it won’t be too late to return after you finish it.”
“En, but be careful, the Monster Race is still the Monster Race after all!” Du Wan warned.
“Good, then I’ll have to trouble several Grandmasters,” Yang Kai cupped his fists and bowed before quickly departing.
On his way over, Yang Kai had been wracking his brain about what to do with the Alchemy requests when he left. If he couldn’t convince the five Grandmasters to help him, he could only stop accepting Alchemy requests until he got back.
The five Grandmasters volunteering to help him was a big pleasant surprise for Yang Kai.
After finding Xu Hui and leaving a few instructions with him, Yang Kai returned to the Ancient Demon Clan’s peak and, under the leadership of Cai Die, he and Li Rong departed for Thunder Tree Palace.
Beast Sea Jungle, it was Yang Kai’s second time coming here.
Cai Die led the way without saying a word, her seven coloured wings fluttered softly yet her speed lightning quick.
However, Yang Kai was still able to easily follow her, not even seeming out of breath.
This fact surprised Cai Die. She was a Second-Order Saint so out of consideration for Yang Kai, who was still just a Transcendent Realm cultivator, she had initially flown slowly.
Seeing how he had no trouble keeping up though, Cai Die gradually increased her speed, hoping to get back to Thunder Tree Palace earlier so as not to keep Great Senior waiting.
But now, even though she was flying at nearly her top speed, Yang Kai was still able to keep up.
Cai Die was surprised, but due to her naturally cold disposition, she showed nothing on her face and simply continued flying forward.
[This little brat… he’s really quite strange!] Cai Die secretly thought to herself as she knew that no ordinary Third-Order Transcendent could possess speed nearly equal to her own.
No wonder he could become the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land and subdue so many Demon Race masters.
Originally Cai Die had thought Yang Kai had just gotten lucky, but now it seemed he possessed some real skill.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled slightly as he constantly looked around.
His movements naturally did not escape Li Rong’s notice so she quickly asked, “Master, did you discover something suspicious?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “The aura here is a bit weird!”
“If something is concerning Master, we can turn back,” Li Rong couldn’t help proposing nervously.
Yang Kai lightly chuckled and shook his head, “It’s not that the aura here feels ominous, it’s just that it is somewhat different from the last time I came to the Beast Sea Jungle, as for how it is different, I can’t say specifically…”
There was indeed something different about the ambient aura here, but even as he continued examining it, Yang Kai couldn’t determine exactly what had changed since before.
“Don’t worry too much, Great Senior is quite easy to get along with and a man of his word. The change in this place’s aura is probably related to why he suddenly wants to see me. As long as we see him, we should be able to get the answers we’re looking for.”
“En,” Li Rong didn’t say much but still urged, “If any danger appears, Master must not leave my side.”
“En en,” Yang Kai replied in a nonchalant tone.
He had many life-saving methods now: the ability to tear space, the Flying Heavens Shuttle, his Wind and Thunder Wings, his Saint Grade Top Rank artifact, even his dragon transformation and Demon God Transformation as well. If someone wanted to harm him, unless they could instantly disable him in one shot and rendering him powerless, Yang Kai was confident that no matter what level of master he was facing, he could at least escape.
Therefore he didn’t concern himself as much as Li Rong.
Flying forward all the way, after just two days, the trio arrived at the base of Thunder Tree Palace.
After arriving here, Yang Kai discovered that, as usual, countless Monster Race masters had gathered around, some of them in their beast forms, lying amongst the great tree’s roots while others in their human form were sitting atop the lower branches, closing their eyes in meditation.
“This is Thunder Tree Palace?” Li Rong raised her head towards the sky as she stared at the massive ancient tree before her, a clear look of awe apparent in her beautiful eyes.
Just like Yang Kai when he first came here, she was stunned by this ancient tree.
In order to grow to such a height, this ancient tree had to be at least ten thousand years old, in other words, it was from an era that even pre-dated the Ancient Demon Clan’s imprisonment.
This ancient tree seemed to naturally contain Lighting Qi, and from time to time a white arc of extremely pure lightning would leap from its trunk. The Monster Race masters who were meditating in the lower canopy were unaffected by this though and simply turned their eyes to Yang Kai and Li Rong.
Many of them nodded, indicating their goodwill.
When Yang Kai came here last time, he had resolved the problem with the Beast Transformation Pond, winning him their unanimous approval.
“Come with me,” Cai Die said before soaring up.
Yang Kai and Li Rong hurried to keep up.
Inside a treehouse standing atop the clouds, Yang Kai met the Great Senior again.
Great Senior grinned and welcomed Yang Kai’s arrival, motioning to him to sit down so they could talk.
At the same small table as before, Yang Kai sat opposite Great Senior while Cai Die and Li Rong both stood behind their respective leaders.
“You didn’t bring my Monster Race any practical commodities this time?” Great Senior asked with a smile.
“Do you need any? The Crystal Stone mineral lodes in the nine peaks were almost mined dry by you,” Yang Kai rolled his eyes. During the three years or so the Monster Race were occupying the Holy Land, they had unscrupulously mined the Crystal Stone lodes, all but killing the geese that laid golden eggs.
This was something Yang Kai was still quite annoyed about, like he had lifted a stone only to drop it on his foot.
“We don’t need them right now, but that doesn’t mean we won’t need them in the future. Crystal Stones are good things you can never have enough of. Also, my Monster Race’s territory doesn’t have any natural deposits, that’s why we have to obtain them from your Human Territory,” Great Senior slowly shook his head, “In any case, I heard that your Holy Land has recently acquired a massive amount of wealth, so much that you couldn’t possibly use it all up!”
“You even know about that,” Yang Kai was speechless, “That was all from refining pills… Forget it, next time I come I’ll bring some Crystal Stones and pills.”
“Good, I’m looking forward to it,” Great Senior grinned, thinking it was quite refreshing to speak with someone so straightforward like Yang Kai.
“What important matter does Great Senior have to discuss that required me to specifically come here?” Yang Kai suddenly wore a serious expression and asked.
“There really is something important I need to discuss with you,” Great Senior’s expression also became dignified. After taking a moment to arrange his thoughts, he first asked, “Kid, have you ever heard of Void Corridors?”
Yang Kai’s face went black, “Great Senior, are you messing with me?”
Great Senior’s mouth twitched slightly but still maintained his light grin, “I had to ask; then, have you encountered one before?”
Yang Kai nodded. Although he didn’t know about how it was for others, Yang Kai felt that he actually encountered Void Corridors quite frequently.
“Then this will be easier to explain,” Great Senior nodded and continued, “Recently, my Beast Sea Jungle has experienced a strange change, and that change is related to a certain Void Corridor!”
Yang Kai stared at him, not planning to interject.
“About three to five days journey from my Thunder Tree Palace, an unstable Void Corridor entrance has appeared! In fact, I have also encountered a Void Corridor before when I was young, it was connected to a Mysterious Small World that I spent some time exploring; however, the Void Corridor that appeared in my Beast Sea Jungle is very different from the one I previously saw…”
“How is it different?” Yang Kai asked.
“It’s very big, and it also gives off a strange aura,” Great Senior’s brow furrowed, “After its appearance, the aura of the entire Beast Sea Jungle changed. Did you notice it on the way here?”
“I noticed, I just didn’t know why this change occurred.”
“It’s all because of that Void Corridor!” Great Senior nodded, “Generally speaking, Void Corridors remain hidden and are difficult to find. Even if someone manages to find one and open it, it normally closes after some time. However, this particular Void Corridor’s entrance is very different. It suddenly appeared all on its own, and although it seems quite unstable, there are no signs of it closing.”
“Oh? That really is quite strange.”
“That Void Corridor is located on the border of this King and another Monster Race Great Senior, Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s, territories, so after it appeared the two of us investigated it together…”
“Earth Splitting Divine Ox?” Yang Kai called out in a slightly strange tone.
“What’s wrong, do you know him?” Great Senior asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t know him, but I once studied a Martial Skill related to him.”
Saying so, Yang Kai used the Beast Soul Skill he hadn’t displayed in quite some time.
Along with a tiger roar and ox bellow, a glowing golden tiger seal and ox seal appeared.
With these two beast phantom’s appearance, the treehouse instantly filled with sweltering heat.
The two beast phantoms were completely condensed of Yang Kai’s pure True Yang Yuan Qi but seemed incredibly lifelike, their eyes containing a light of intelligence as if they were truly alive.
Great Senior was shocked and quickly waved his hand to put up a field to isolate this hot aura lest it burn down his treehouse.
“Heaven Shaking White Tiger, Earth Splitting Divine Ox?” Cai Die exclaimed in shock as she and Great Senior stared dumbfounded towards Yang Kai.
“This is a Beast Soul Skill I cultivated a long time ago,” Yang Kai explained.
“This isn’t just a simple Martial Skill… These are really Beast Souls!” Great Senior whispered, thinking for a moment before asking, “Did you encounter the remains of these two Monster Beasts?”
“En, they seemed to have fought a great battle and in the end mutually killed one another, the only thing left behind was their Beast Cores. When I absorbed and refined the power remaining in those cores, I was shown the scene of their battle. It was from that remnant memory that I managed to comprehend this Martial Skill.”
“Is that so,” Great Senior nodded in agreement, muttering, “There are true Souls contained within your Beast Soul Skill. There are some extremely powerful Monster Beasts who, when facing their death, condense their essence, Soul, and will into their cores. It seems like the two you encountered were my Monster Race’s Seniors. It’s a pity… The Heaven Shaking White Tiger and Earth Splitting Divine Ox have extremely noble pedigree amongst my Monster Race, even more so than this King’s. The White Tiger family seems to have become extinct while Old Ox is the last of his family, similar to This King.”
After listening to Great Senior’s remarks, Yang Kai understood just how rare and unusual his Beast Soul Skill was. Because he had not used it much recently, Yang Kai hadn’t discovered that the beast phantoms summoned by his Beast Soul Skill actually possessed their own unique strength and killing intent.
“Let’s set this matter aside and get back to the main topic,” Great Senior said, putting his expression back in order, “The Void Corridor is quite strange, so Old Ox and myself went in to investigate, hoping to find some benefits, but after we entered, we realized that it was actually far more dangerous than expected and a number of our subordinates were quickly killed… In the end, Old Ox and I decided to collaborate. But even with the two of us working together, we were unable to explain the mysteries hidden inside.”
“Was it so difficult?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“More than you can imagine. We did find some ancient writings inside, but you should know that my Monster Race does not use written words.”
“Were they Human characters?”
Great Senior shook his head and said, “They were Demon characters!”
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed while Li Rong, who was standing behind him, couldn’t help revealing a look of interest.
“Neither Old Ox or I could read those characters so we didn’t dare act rashly; right now, he is guarding the entrance while I came here to find reinforcements.”
“So you came looking for me?” Yang Kai grinned, “Or rather, you were looking for Li Rong?”
“It’s good you catch on quick kid. The strange power that surrounds that place even causes Old Ox and I to feel nervous, what could you, with your strength and cultivation, add on? The lady behind you, though, may be the key to unravelling this mystery.”
Saying so, Great Senior directed his gaze towards Li Rong.