Yang Kai knew that he had not spoken in vain and that Zong Ao had now fallen into a trance, the expression on his face constantly changing, his eyes were blank while sometimes full of light.
He was clearly experiencing an epiphany.
Yang Kai shook his head and did not bother him, focusing instead of restoring himself.
Ten Burning Flame Pills per day, three hundred pills per month, and a twenty to thirty percent chance these pills would form Pill Veins. Such achievements were enough to show disdain for the entirety of the Star Field’s Alchemists.
But Yang Kai felt no joy.
Because even if he could refine more pills with Pill Veins, he could not solve Xue Yue and his own crisis. What he needed was a single Burning Flame Pill which formed Pill Clouds.
With every attempt, Yang Kai went all out, not daring to slack, giving one hundred percent of his effort and focus to this Alchemy.
The chance of generating Pill Veins greatly increased over time, and as he further mastered the refinement of Burning Flame Pills, it reached as high as forty percent.
This meant that nearly half the Burning Flame Pills refined by Yang Kai formed Pill Veins, an incredible feat!
If these things were given to a cultivator who cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, they would be able to rapidly improve their strength, but now they were all simply tossed aside by Yang Kai.
Every day, after he finished performing Alchemy, Yang Kai felt exhausted.
Refining a trivial ten Burning Flame Pills couldn’t cause him such fatigue, rather it was the huge psychological pressure weighing down on him which was responsible. And as time passed, that pressure only grew heavier.
Yang Kai, now deeply realized how difficult it was to refine Pill Clouds and even understood why those Alchemists who occasionally succeeded in this feat would shed tears of joy and offer thanks to the Heavens.
He could also wait for the Heavens to bestow him such good fortune, solving his current crisis.
Unlike Yang Kai, who was constantly frowning and in an irritable mood, Zong Ao’s face beamed radiantly these days and was filled with energy.
After Yang Kai’s words made him fall into an epiphany, he discovered that his own Alchemy technique had been unknowingly improved.
Every time he used to refine several dozen pills at once, he would need to maintain absolute focus in order to avoid mistakes, but now he could actually accomplish this task with ease, as if he was cooking a light meal.
And, by applying Yang Kai’s method, he had also successfully artificially refined Pill Veins!
Although his success rate wasn’t as frightening as Yang Kai’s, it still reached as high as ten percent.
One-tenth, that meant that for every ten pills he refined, one would form Pill Veins. This was something Zong Ao had never even dreamed of before. Zong Ao had his own pride and insistences, but regarding this matter, he was truly grateful to Yang Kai.
If Yang Kai hadn’t helped him overcome his mental block, Zong Ao imagined he would have blindly continued down his current Alchemy path and eventually gone astray.
By now, Zong Ao felt Yang Kai was incredibly pleasing to the eye, he no longer cared about him robbing half his pill furnaces. He didn’t bother Yang Kai at all, spending all day long familiarizing himself with the new Alchemy method Yang Kai had taught him while studying all kinds of Spirit Arrays, choosing the ones most suited to form Pill Veins.
He had reaped a huge harvest, and even his short temper had softened greatly, spending much of the day in a festive and laughing mood.
When the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce cultivator responsible for the regular delivery of herbs and collection of pills came, he could hardly believe his eyes.
He would be incredibly frightened and apprehensive every time he came to this place, as if he was walking on thin ice, only wanting to quickly hand over the herbs to Zong Ao and take the refined pills before fleeing the mountain valley out of fear that Zong Ao would find trouble with him.
During these exchanges, Zong Ao would perpetually wear a sour expression, as if he owed him millions of Saint Crystals.
But this most recent time, Zong Ao actually welcomed him with a smile, said a few words of thanks and praise while patting his shoulders, saying he had worked hard in these recent years, finally even inviting him inside to have a cup of tea.
The cultivator was so scared he didn’t even dare utter a word before departing in a fear-induced panic.
When this man reported what had happened with Zong Ao to Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng and the other executives, all of them were just as dumbfounded, wondering what Zong Ao had experienced to undergo such a drastic change, only able to guess it had something to do with Yang Kai.
These executives were very concerned about the progress of this matter, because if Lady Xue’er was unable to awaken again, they would all be punished, very likely implicating the entire branch.
After incurring Third Young Master’s anger, it wasn’t impossible for all of them to be sent as slave miners to an Ore Star.
However, none of them had the courage to ask Zong Ao anything, each day that passed now feeling like an entire year, all of them only able to wait for Yang Kai to pass along the news to them.
On a certain day, Yang Kai finished his Alchemy, the expression on his face unsettled, a dark cloud hanging over him as he sat cross-legged there without moving.
Zong Ao came over and glanced towards the piled up Burning Flame Pills nearby, asking lightly, “How many batches of materials have been consumed?”
“It’s been six months, so more than eighteen hundred!” Yang Kai replied casually.
“More than one thousand and eight hundred batches…” Zong Ao took a soft breath, “There are seven or eight hundred Burning Flame Pills here that have formed Pill Veins. Being able to achieve such a result is something you can take great pride in, so why do you look so dissatisfied, kid?”
“I only want one pill with Pill Clouds,” Yang Kai glanced up at him, “Even if all these pills formed Pill Veins, they’d be worthless to me.”
“Is this little girl really so important to you?”
“My life is literally connected to hers, how important do you think she is to me?” Yang Kai smiled bitterly.
“Your lives are linked?” Zong Ao frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before calling out in shock, “Soul Chains?”
“You know about them, Old Zong?”
“Of course this old master knows about them, only Soul Chains can connect the lives of two people. It’s an artifact which carries the Soul Skill of one of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Honoured Guest Elders! No wonder when I checked for her last time I felt there was an invisible connection between you. Who is this little girl to Ai Ou? How did you two end up like this?”
Zong Ao was an experienced master and from all the clues he had he was able to infer that Xue Yue had a close relationship to Ai Ou, otherwise it was impossible for her to possess Soul Chains.
Yang Kai just shook his head, not wanting to explain, just saying wryly, “Old Zong, I now understand the meaning of that phrase you always speak.”
Zong Ao chuckled, “Pills are difficult to refine, en, when others hear it, they only assume this old master is showing off his Alchemy skills, but there are a rare few who can understand the bitterness which lies behind them. Kid, it seems you now count among those few.”
He was finally not alone, Yang Kai had become a fellow comrade.
Seeing Yang Kai remain silent, Zong Ao paused for a moment before saying, “You only have less than two hundred batches of Burning Flame Pill herbs left that you will consume in less than a month. That little girl also only has about half a year left to live. What do you plan to do now? En, there’s still time to let Ha Li Ka gather up more herbs, but even if you collect more materials, you won’t have many opportunities left.”
Yang Kai sat in place and thought for a long time before declaring, “I’m going out for a walk!”
Saying so, he stood up and walked out.
Zong Ao stared at his back and nodded lightly.
Sometimes, when a person worked for a long time at something but was still unable to accomplish it, it was best to set it aside, clear their head, and refresh their mood. Although by continuing to attack the problem forcefully, there was always a chance of success, doing so would also often cause people to develop mental blocks that would hamper their progress rather than help it.
Zong Ao’s own experience was the best example of this, he had worked in isolation on his Alchemy method for a hundred years but only after Yang Kai’s sentence had he managed to see the light.
However, no one could wake up Yang Kai now, he really needed to go out and walk around, perhaps in his travels, he would find some inspiration that could lead him to the right path.
Inside Xue Yue’s room, Yang Kai stayed for a while to examine her condition.
Yang Kai hadn’t come to see her since he began refining Burning Flame Pills, and after half a year, Xue Yue’s condition had finally started to show some signs of deterioration. Her vitality, which Zong Ao had managed to stabilize, was being continuously consumed, and her white skin had become paler, with traces of frost appearing on it now.
Yang Kai knew that the Profound Yin Sunflower Water which had been temporarily suppressed was once again showing its effects.
Xue Yue would die if he failed to refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds.
It was also impossible for Ha Li Ka to collect more herbs, there was no supply anywhere close enough to be found, but even if he could, it was pointless.
Without saying a word, Yang Kai left Zong Ao’s palace, and not caring about a destination, he simply summoned out his Star Shuttle and flew off.
Yang Kai crossed famous mountains and rivers, jungle and swamps, taking on the role of an outsider, an observer watching the day to day lives of the people on Rainfall Star as well as its various natural sights and scenes. The endless stream of emerging cultivators and the prosperity and suffering of ordinary mortals were all taken in by Yang Kai with great interest.
Gradually, his anxiety settled, and the stone which had been weighing down his heart this past year slowly lifted, allowing him to relax and even forget about Xue Yue and his own crisis.
Stopping over in each and every small town, Yang Kai left his footprints all over Rainfall Star.
Spectating bloody, corpse-filled conflicts between big and small families because of various interests.
Seeing Sects receive disciples of all sorts of cultivations, the successful rejoicing while the unsuccessful wept.
Watching a group of people fight over an artifact, their past bonds of brotherhood tossed to the wind.
Observing those of great ability scatter the clouds and rain, obtaining the praise and admiration of others.
Finding a young beauty bathing in the mountains and stopping a while to peak, after which he was hunted down by several dozen big and little girls from a nearby Sect.
Fleeing in panic like a stray dog…
Drinking heartily until he half-drowned in alcohol!
Yang Kai had never experienced such an unrestrained carefree time in his life. He no longer thought about his search for Su Yan, or about what would happen if Xue Yue were to die, he didn’t even think about his friends and family back on Tong Xuan Realm.
Only obeying the whims of the moment, Yang Kai experienced an indescribable freedom and joy, going where he pleased, doing what he wanted without any regard for consequences.
He suddenly felt as if there was nothing he couldn’t do.
Inside a remote mountain forest, a Saint Realm cultivator was fighting a Blue Eyed Fire Dragon Eighth-Order Monster Beast in order to seize the Origin Grade Blue Blood Flower spirit herb it was guarding.
Just after this battle began, Yang Kai happened to pass by.
He didn’t interfere though, instead choosing to stand back and watch from a distance.
Saints couldn’t be regarded as powerful cultivators on the vibrant Rainfall Star, you could find crowds of them anywhere.
Yang Kai stood on a high slope, holding a wine sack in his hand, watching while he drank.
He had no plan to lend this cultivator a hand and was only intending to watch the show.
The cultivator was obviously not worthy to be the Blue-Eyed Fire Dragon’s opponent and it wasn’t long before he became battered and bloodstained, nearly dying a few times, his defensive artifact smashed and his abdomen pierced by a sharp horn on the forehead of the dragon.
Yang Kai was certain this cultivator was destined to die, but just as he was preparing to depart, the fight suddenly took an unexpected turn.
The Eighth-Order Monster Beast, who had held the absolute upper hand from start to finish, began retreating as it howled in anger.
After the cultivator’s defensive artifact was completely destroyed, all of a sudden he managed to summon forth unimaginable strength, abandoned any kind of defences, and attacked the fire dragon with a stern and fearless attitude.
Half an hour later, the blood and guts of the Blue-Eyed Fire Dragon spilled across the ground and it fell to the ground, dead.
The Saint Realm cultivator also collapsed, stuffing a handful of pills into his mouth but failing to stop the last remnants of his vitality from slipping away.
The gap in strength was too great, and although this cultivator had somehow managed to kill the Blue-Eyed Fire Dragon, taking its life while losing his own was the limit of his ability.
Yang Kai held his wine sack and walked over to this cultivator, standing in front of and overlooking him.
The cultivator’s dim and fearful eyes seemed to flash a profound light as he arduously stretched out his hand toward Yang Kai, as if grasping for his own vitality, yet all he was able to catch was air.
His expression was filled with the desire to live.
Yang Kai drank a mouthful of wine before squatting down and without a word forced a drop of golden blood from his fingertip into the open mouth of the cultivator.
Yang Kai’s Demon God Golden Blood had an extremely powerful restore ability, one he had relied upon several times to survive.
However, he always felt that his Demon God Golden Blood was somehow not on the same level as Great Demon God’s!
A single drop of Golden Blood from Great Demon God contained infinite power as well as all kinds of profound mysteries. Yang Kai was able to obtain and cultivate one of Great Demon God’s Divine Ability by refining a drop of his blood. Demon General Xue Li had also hunted him across all of Tong Xuan Realm just for a chance to seize this blood.
Although the quality was vastly inferior, it still had some restorative properties.
Suddenly, the bloody cultivator was shrouded in the faint golden halo, and a look of shock and disbelief appeared on his face. He felt as if his condition had dramatically improved and the approaching aura of death was gradually dissipating, giving him some hope he could yet survive.
He looked at Yang Kai in confusion, wondering why this stranger who had just passed by would save his life.
He opened his mouth to speak but failed to form any words.
Yang Kai simply grinned towards him, “Don’t thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you, en, I’ve only given you a chance, whether you live or die now depends on your own fortune.”
After saying so, Yang Kai tossed his half-filled wine sack onto the ground and strode away while letting out a loud, carefree laugh.
Sometime later, the cultivator managed to sit upright and stare off in the direction Yang Kai left with a puzzled look on his face. He didn’t know why Yang Kai had thanked him, and eventually figured that this young man simply had some kind of problem with his head!
However, the other party did save his life, which was an indisputable truth. Grabbing Yang Kai’s wine sack he drank a mouthful in order to celebrate his victory and survival, but when the wine hit his stomach, the cultivator couldn’t help grimacing in pain, sweat once again covering his whole body. Not daring to act rashly, the man immediately focused on refining the potent medicinal efficacies of this drink.
Inside the mountain valley, Zong Ao was working hard to refine pills. Now he no longer used his original mass Alchemy method, but instead, like Yang Kai, chose his best pill furnace to refine one pill at a time.
Every time he extracted a pill formed with Pill Veins from this furnace, Zong Ao’s old face would smiled broadly, the wrinkles and folds of his skin squishing together to form a terrifying visage.
In any case, no one ever came to this place, Yang Kai had left, and the only outsider around was in a coma, no one could see his horrible grin so Zong Ao didn’t need to worry about embarrassing himself.
Suddenly, at a critical moment in his refinement, Zong Ao’s expression changed as he called out in surprise, “He came back?”
Zong Ao felt a life aura rapidly and unscrupulously approaching.
On Rainfall Star, no one except Yang Kai would act like this. Even Lin Mu Feng and Ha Li Ka wouldn’t dare.
Zong Ao swiftly ended what he was doing, not even caring about if he successfully refined the pill he was working on.
A moment later, Yang Kai walked in.
Narrowing his eyes, Zong Ao couldn’t help feeling startled, swallowing back down the words he was about to say.
He had originally wanted to comfort Yang Kai, making him not shrink back in the face of death, but from what he could see, this boy was actually smiling right now and his aura was filled with a certain feeling.
Zong Ao had to stare at Yang Kai for a while before he was able to determine that this feeling was confidence!
Gently shaking his head, Zong Ao wore a smile and asked, “Did you find a solution?”
“No!” Yang Kai answered happily.
“If you haven’t found a solution, why are you so happy?” Zong Ao was even more confused.
“Can’t I be happy without finding it?” Yang Kai asked back, “Although I didn’t find a solution, I think I should be able to succeed.”
“And why is that?” Zong Ao was completely confused by Yang Kai’s seemingly contradictory words, since he hadn’t found a feasible method, how could he succeed? Grabbing Yang Kai’s arm, Zong Ao shouted, “Speak clearly.”
“Saying it won’t make it clear, just watch and see if I can refine Pill Clouds this time!” Yang Kai broke free from his iron grip and straightened his shirt.
Zong Ao didn’t say anything more, converging his aura and standing back to observe Yang Kai’s movement.
Actually, what Zong Ao most wanted to know was why, if Yang Kai and that little girl’s lives were linked together by the Soul Chains, he didn’t just go to and ask Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Honoured Guest Elder to unlock them? That way, even if the little girl died, he wouldn’t have to.
Even if he left now, there was still plenty of time to do this.
However, he thought that since Yang Kai hadn’t done so, there must be some reason it was inconvenient for him to travel to Water Moon Star. Zong Ao wasn’t interested in probing into this matter too much.
While Zong Ao was pondering these issues, Yang Kai had sat down cross-legged sitting in front of his commonly used pill furnace.
Next Zong Ao saw Yang Kai take out a pile of herbs from his Space Ring, and upon closer inspection, Zong Ao found that these herbs were the ones sent by Ha Li Ka to refine the Burning Flame Pill.
The remaining nearly two hundred batches of herbs were all piled up into a great mountain.
After all the herbs were taken out, he saw Yang Kai pick out a single set of materials from the pile.
In the next instant, a ball of Demonic Flame shot out from Yang Kai’s hand, engulfing the mountain of herbs, reducing all these Saint King Grade materials to ash.
Zong Ao’s eyes widened instantly and a shocked expression appeared on his face!
He never expected that Yang Kai would make such an insane move.
[Burning one’s boat?]
This kid had burnt down the remaining two hundred sets of materials, leaving only one, which meant he now had only once chance to succeed, how could this be anything but burning one’s boat?
Did he want to use this great pressure to squeeze out his maximum potential?
Zong Ao shook his head slowly, a look of disappointment appearing on his face. For cultivators, whether it was in cultivation or in battle, using this kind of method could indeed inspire one to break through their limits and achieve success in something they would normally find impossible.
However, it was a fatal mistake to apply this method to Alchemy.
By burning one’s boat, the pressure one would give themselves would be a thousand times than usual, but what Alchemy required most was a stable state of mind, it simply wasn’t suitable to use this kind of desperation tactic.
If Yang Kai really was attempting to burn his boat, then Zong Ao could conclude that he may not even be able to refine a pill which formed Pill Veins.
In his disappointment though, Zong Ao looked towards Yang Kai’s face and was stunned to see that the latter didn’t show any signs of pressure.
Yang Kai simply sat there with a relaxed expression and not a trace of worry, his self-confidence not disappearing because of the destruction of the last two hundred sets of herbs, but instead growing more intense.
Zong Ao saw where this confidence came from; in this moment, Yang Kai simply believed there was no way he could fail.
Zong Ao was slightly lost.
Was this boy really so confident he could achieve his goal with this last set of materials? Where did this sudden unwavering faith come from?
Zong Ao sat quietly, paying close attention to this scene.
Like with the previous Burning Flame Pills, Yang Kai proceeded meticulously and with great precision.
Portraying the Spirit Arrays, condensing the medicinal liquids, grasping the timing to add different herbs, changing Spirit Arrays…
Yang Kai seemed to be just repeating what he had done these past six months, but faintly, Zong Ao felt that this time’s Alchemy was very different. The same process and movements were somehow giving him a new and refreshing feeling.
Seemingly infected by Yang Kai’s skilful display and confident aura, Zong Ao couldn’t help but also believed that Yang Kai could accomplish this incredible feat.
Zong Ao’s eyes widened even more as he waited for the moment when this Pill Clouds pill was finally formed.
Time passed slowly, and Zong Ao’s mood grew tenser and tenser, his fists clenching unconsciously. Despite his great strength, Zong Ao currently felt as if he was suffering endless years of torment, wishing he could leap into the future to see the end result.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had always maintained a kind of indifferent attitude, besides the swimming medicinal liquids inside the pill furnace, there seemed to be nothing else in his entire world.
That Saint Realm cultivator who fought fiercely with Blue Eyed Flame Dragon was able to emerge victorious not because of his strength, but because of his momentum.
He was sure he could win because he knew that if he didn’t win, he would die!
So he won, although in the end he had almost perished together with the Blue-Eyed Flame Dragon.
From that battle, Yang Kai was inspired, so he had saved the young man’s life.
During these past six months, the numerous Alchemy failures had done nothing but increase the pressure Yang Kai felt, making him worry about what would happen if he failed to refine a pill that formed Pill Clouds. With all these distracting thoughts, being able to refine a pill with Pill Clouds was a dream.
But now, Yang Kai had no such thoughts.
He had burned the nearly two hundred remaining batches of herbs not to push himself into an all or nothing situation, but instead to strengthen his convictions and faith.
He did not waver before this challenge, only becoming more and more confident.
Inside the Pill Room, the only sound that could be heard was the subtle tumbling of the medicinal liquids.
Zong Ao hid himself completely to avoid disturbing Yang Kai, even suppressing his breathing and heartbeat, as if he was a dead man.
All of Zong Ao’s attention was focused on the pill furnace and the young figure sitting in front of it.
When the refinement reached the halfway mark, the various medicinal liquids began blending with one another under the influence of Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and the numerous Spirit Arrays, undergoing fundamentals and wondrous changes.
Zong Ao had a premonition.
This time, Yang Kai would at least be able to produce Pill Veins.
This kind of strange intuition had never appeared before. Zong Ao had been observing and emulating Yang Kai’s Alchemy process for half a year now, and although the probability of him refining pills that formed Pill Veins was quite high, there was a higher chance Yang Kai would fail and only be able to obtain an ordinary Burning Flame Pill.
Yet all this time, there had never been an occasion where Zong Ao was certain Yang Kai would be able to produce Pill Veins!
How could this be though? Zong Ao was thoroughly shocked and began observing Yang Kai’s movements even more cautiously, not willing to miss a single detail.
However, as far as he could tell, Yang Kai’s actions were the same as before, without a single change. Even the Spirit Arrays that he portrayed over a thousand times until now were the same. Zong Ao could close his eyes and still know exactly what step Yang Kai would take next and what Spirit Array he would portray.
The only difference Zong Ao could find this time was Yang Kai’s aura which was filled with confidence.
It was this unparalleled momentum that affected Zong Ao’s judgment, making him certain that the pill currently being refined would be able to form Pill Veins.
Could Pill Clouds be created though? There was only one chance for success now, so Zong Ao couldn’t wait to know the final answer.
Zong Ao couldn’t help admiring Yang Kai, because if he were in his place, he would definitely be feeling stressed and anxious, and once that happened, he wouldn’t be able to wholeheartedly concentre on Alchemy, inevitably leading to failure.
Yet Yang Kai didn’t show any such signs, remaining completely indifferent, as if he was refining an ordinary, insignificant pill, his movements calm and meticulous, utilizing his skills to their utmost limit.
As time passed, Zong Ao grew more and more anxious.
A faint pill scent gradually began floating about the Pill Room, which was a sign that the pill would soon be formed.
Yang Kai’s expression seemed to have become more solemn. Every time a pill was about to be formed, he would become extraordinarily cautious.
The Spiritual Energy flowing from his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea would be strong at times, then weak at others, exquisitely portraying the different Spirit Arrays inside the pill furnace.
Yang Kai’s mind and heart were perfectly clear, without the slightest hint of distraction, even forgetting about the pill furnace in front of him and the pill that would soon be formed.
He suddenly thought back to the pill he found which had formed Pill Clouds!
That pill was the one he had found together with the Holy Land Saintess An Ling’er in the underwater Ancient Ruins. Although Yang Kai had eventually swallowed that pill, its huge medicinal efficacy allowing the Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus to transform into its Six Coloured variant. Before then, he had spent a fair amount of time studying it, trying to gain some inspiration from the Pill Clouds.
At this moment, all kinds of memories flashed across Yang Kai’s mind and he vaguely managed to grasp the key point.
The clouds which obscured his view suddenly parted and his eyes widened, a brilliantly light flashing across them.
When the final composite Spirit Array was portrayed and sent into the pill furnace, Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea’s full strength burst out, engraving this set of Spirit Arrays into the pill which had yet to fully form.
Suddenly, as if the floodgates in his body had opened wide, Yang Kai’s Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy all flowed out at once, his meridians and dantian emptying out repeatedly as his Knowledge Sea dried out in an instant.
Yang Kai’s vision dimmed and he felt like he was on the verge of passing out.
At that instant, Yang Kai felt as if his life force was being drawn out and that he would die in the next moment.
A thick pill fragrance burst from the pill furnace, one that dwarfed any which was released from the eighteen hundred Burning Flame Pills Yang Kai had previously refined.
A crisp, delightful sound came out from the pill furnace.
Yang Kai smiled widely as he stiffly sat in place.
Zong Ao’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest. How could he not see the extraordinariness of the pill which would momentarily take shape inside Yang Kai’s pill furnace?
He thought Yang Kai had succeeded.
Waiting for a while though, Yang Kai didn’t move.
Zong Ao whispered a few words but received no response. After a few attempts to raise his attention, Zong Ao stepped forward cautiously and quietly released his Divine Sense, a startled expression soon filling his face.
Yang Kai’s face had lost all colour, as if he had just fought against a powerful enemy. His aura was erratic, and his vitality was weak to the extreme…
He had closed his eyes and passed out, but at the very least, he was not dead. As long as Yang Kai had a few days of rest, he could recover.
Ignoring Yang Kai, Zong Ao’s trembling hand patted the pill furnace in front of him, causing a pill to fly out and land in a prepared jade bottle.
Taking a deep breath, Zong Ao peered into the jade bottle.
But after a glance, Zong Ao couldn’t help showing a look of disappointment.
The surface of the Burning Flame Pill in the jade bottle was clear and smooth. Forget about Pill Clouds, there wasn’t even any Pill Veins.
[He failed?] Zong Ao’s expression was complicated. The momentum Yang Kai displayed just now while he was performing Alchemy made Zong Ao certain this boy would succeed, never had he expected the actual final result would be so bleak.
When Yang Kai woke up and found that the last Burning Flame Pill he refined with such painstaking effort was just an ordinary pill, he would likely faint again.
Zong Ao sighed with pain.
He had lived for many years and knew that sometimes there was a huge gap between expectations and results, he too had felt the ruthlessness of having his dreams torn asunder by the thorns of reality.
Yang Kai was still just a young man, so it wasn’t surprising for him to have to face such experiences again and again, but after failing to refine Pill Clouds, and refusing to travel to Water Moon Star for help, it seemed his death would soon be upon him.
Zong Ao can’t help but feeling somewhat depressed. During this past year, Zong Ao had clearly realized Yang Kai’s talent in the field of Alchemy and truly did not wish for him to die so young. Zong Ao even began to think of ways to comfort and advise Yang Kai after he woke up.
At such a time, what this young boy would need most was comfort and encouragement.
While thinking about this though, Zong Ao’s expression suddenly changed again.
He noticed that the flow of the surrounding World Energy had become somewhat strange.
Releasing his Divine Sense, Zong Ao soon let out a panic-stricken shout.
Zong Ao didn’t know how or why, but a massive amount of World Energy was currently gathering towards this place. This movement was even more extreme than when Yang Kai had been crazily cultivating before, almost as if a great dragon was forming in the skies above his head.
A huge attraction suddenly came out of the jade bottle in Zong Ao’s hand, and the Burning Flame Pill which had just come out from the furnace seemed to come alive, thrashing against the sides of the jade bottle as if trying to escape.
The World Energy dragon soaring through the sky dived down and smashed into the palace where Zong Ao had lived for the past hundred years.
A loud bang rang out and half the palace instantly collapsed, with several dozen of its rooms exploding outwards. Various bits of debris smashed into and bounced off of Zong Ao’s Saint Qi guard.
The waterfall of World Energy, which was visible to the naked eye, all poured into the jade bottle, causing it burst into dust.
Zong Ao’s eyes widened as he clearly saw the small Burning Flame Pill suck in and devour this torrent of World Energy like a bottomless abyss, causing its energy aura to rapidly inflate.
The howling winds and storm of dust obscured Zong Ao’s hearing and vision. Through the occasional gaps in this storm, Zong Ao was able to see his thousands of acres of Medicine Gardens and many rare herbs ripped to shreds and scattered about.
His face twitched and his heart bled.
These herbs were cultivated by him personally, and each strain was infused with his own sweat and blood, yet now, as this World Energy storm swept over his precious Medicine Gardens, many herbs were directly uprooted while the rest were severely damaged.
“Fuck!” Zong Ao’s old face distorted with rage and he couldn’t stop himself from howling, hurriedly waving his hands at the whipping winds but finding himself incapable of stopping this disaster.
After half an hour, calm returned.
Among the broken walls, Yang Kai was still sitting cross-legged, the dozens of pill furnaces in front of him also intact, even remaining in their original positions, but Zong Ao’s palace had now completely collapsed and the comatose Xue Yue had been buried in the rubble.
Zong Ao didn’t give a thought to the little sleeping girl as he tightly gripped a new jade bottle in his hand and stared out across his vast Medicine Gardens in despair, his face twitching uncontrollably.
The thousands of acres of Medicine Gardens had all suffered catastrophic damage, with next to nothing remaining intact.
Ninety percent of the once-thriving herbs had been destroyed, while the remaining ten percent had been severely damaged, their vitality flickering like candles in the wind.
The leaves of his dozens of Heavenly Yang Fruit Trees had been stripped clear, leaving only bare branches. These Heavenly Yang Fruit Trees wouldn’t recover for at least ten years.
His half-acre of Sparrow Lotus Flowers had disappeared without a trance, and the heavenly power storm had even dug into the land, scraping off nearly a meter worth of precious soil.
[Where are this old master’s Thousand Petal Flowers go?] Zong Ao turned his eyes about weakly, but when he looked towards where the Thousand Petal Flowers, which he regarded to be as precious as his own life, were supposed to be, he only saw some half shredded root hairs.
Zong Ao’s eyes rolled back and he nearly fainted.
Without even mentioning the loss of his Medicine Garden’s precious herbs, Zong Ao was shocked to discover that the massive Spirit Array he had spent countless years perfecting inside this mountain valley had also been destroyed and can no longer play any role.
Within a thousand kilometre radius, the World Energy aura had been completely hollowed out!
The sound of clothes swishing came from afar as Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the middle-aged woman led various the masters from the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch over.
When the shocking Heavenly Force had appeared here, they were naturally startled, and not knowing what happened, they quickly came to investigate.
After they got a look at the now unrecognizable scene, all of them were stunned, unable to believe their eyes for quite a while.
They didn’t know what kind of disaster had struck this mountain valley, but what was certain was Zong Ao’s palace had been destroyed and his thousands of acres of Medicine Gardens and profound Spirit Array no longer existed.
Zong Ao himself seemed like his soul had been pulled out as he sat helplessly on the ground, dust covering his robs as flames seemed to rage within his eyes.
Nearby, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in front of several dozen pill furnaces amidst a mess of broken walls, remaining motionless even now.
“What happened?” Ha Li Ka and the others were dumbfounded.
This was the highest level Restricted Area on Rainfall Star, no one dared to even approach it without authorization, so none of these new arrivals could understand how it had suddenly been destroyed.
Exchanging a few confused glances, the Heng Luo Chamber Of Commerce masters summoned their courage and flew down to where Zong Ao was sitting, with Ha Li Ka calling out hesitantly, “Grandmaster Zong, what happened here?”
Lin Mu Feng even shouted indignantly, “Did some bold bastard dare to intrude and cause trouble? Grandmaster Zong need only say the word and we will definitely exact revenge for you!”
The middle-aged woman also nodded firmly, her eyes flashing a thick murderous intent.
Zong Ao raised his head creakily, staring at them blankly for a moment before suddenly jumping up and pointing towards Yang Kai’s direction while fiercely screaming, “It was this little bastard that ruined my Medicine Gardens and exploded my palace! The precious herbs this old master spent a hundred years cultivating have all been ruined, and now I don’t even have a home! If you really want to exact revenge for this old master, then kill him for me!”
Spittle sprayed out and rained down on the three executives’ faces, yet none of them dared to move, their expressions contorting as they stood there.
After a long time, Ha Li Ka wore an ugly smile and appeased, “Grandmaster Zong, please calm yourself. What really happened? Weren’t you refining a pill to treat Lady Xue’er’s condition? When I last came here, everything seemed fine, how did all of this happen after only a few months?”
He could also see that despite the thunderous voice Zong Ao was shouting in, he was only venting his anger and not actually serious in killing Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was sitting in meditation at the moment, his aura and appearing extremely weak. If Zong Ao really wanted his life, why would he need to borrow their hands? Even if Yang Kai was at his peak, it would be impossible for him to fight Zong Ao, let alone now.
“Who told you that this old master was refining such a pill?” Zong Ao gave them a sideways glance.
“Could it be that Grandmaster wasn’t the one refining it but rather Little Brother Yang?” Lin Mu Feng laughed dryly.
Zong Ao rolled his eyes and didn’t explain.
He knew that even if he were to tell them to the truth, they wouldn’t believe him! In fact, if he hadn’t seen this ridiculous scene with his own eyes but instead heard about it from someone else, Zong Ao would have dismissed such a tale as nonsense.
However, the pill inside the jade bottle he was gripping was evidence that all this was real! This little boy whose true cultivation only reached the Third Order Saint Realm had really done all this.
“Go away, scram!” Zong Ao waved impatiently, “This old master spent one hundred calm and stable years in this place, yet it only took one little brat a few months to blast everything apart. If anyone of you dares to approach within a hundred kilometres of this place in the future, this old master will twist your heads!”
The three Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t help shrinking their necks while hurriedly withdrawing, none of them daring to remain.
However, before they could go too far, Zong Ao’s voice rang out again, “Wait!”
Ha Li Ka turned around, smiling helplessly, “Does Grandmaster Zong still have something he wishes to say?”
Zong Ao pointed to the dilapidated palace and snorted, “Find some people to build this old master a place to stay! A bunch of blind fools, do you want this old master to sleep outdoors tonight?”
Ha Li Ka nodded quickly and assigned a dozen of the cultivators who had come with the three executives to build a temporary house for Zong Ao before taking his leave.
A dozen cultivators swiftly flew off, seemingly going to search for materials to build a small palace.
Zong Ao glanced over at Yang Kai who was still in a coma, then turned to look at the jade bottle which held the Burning Flame Pill, a faint look of dejection filling his face.
After three full days, Yang Kai finally woke up.
A strong sense of weakness spread from all parts of his body, causing Yang Kai to freeze up for a moment, but soon he remembered everything from before he slipped into a coma.
His Knowledge Sea was still a bit dry, the magnificent ocean which once covered it not reduced to a thin layer of water. The Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was sparing no effort to make up for this loss, but it would take at least another ten days for Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea to fill up again.
Every muscle in his body was sore and the amount of Saint Qi he had consumed was not small.
Yang Kai had never experienced this kind of feeling before. He had suffered great injuries before, but this time he was completely unfounded. His current state could only be described as one of extreme weakness, as if his vitality had been sucked dry, making Yang Kai feel as if he had aged.
Standing up with great difficulty, Yang Kai looked around and quickly saw Zong Ao standing nearby, glaring angrily towards him, his old face filled with gloom and a raging fire burning in his eyes.
Yang Kai drew in a cold breath, wondering why Zong Ao was wearing such a horrible look.
However, after taking a look around, he immediately understood.
Without broaching the subject, Yang Kai sifted through the ruins for a while, pulled Xue Yue out from under a few planks, then found a comfortable place a few kilometres away to lay her down.
Before he could catch his breath though, Zong Ao silently appeared beside him.
Yang Kai looked at him, but didn’t say a word, instead just panting for breath.
“You’re not going to ask if you succeeded or not?” Zong Ao waited for a while before he couldn’t help himself from asking.
“I put forth the greatest effort I could, that’s enough.”
Zong Ao stared deeply at him for a moment before nodding lightly, “Good, this old master won’t hold you accountable for the loss this time.”
In any case, he could just go ask Ha Li Ka and his bunch to compensate him for this loss; they wouldn’t dare say no.
Saying so, he threw a jade bottle he had been holding this entire time over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught it and glanced at it without much surprise or excitement, everything seemingly within his expectations.
Inside the jade bottle, there was a single pill which was covered in a fine layer of misty clouds, and even though the jade bottle was partially blocking them, the energy fluctuations coming from this pill were incredibly strong.
It was pulsing regularly, seemingly having a life of its own.
Pill Clouds, it was a Burning Flame Pill which had formed Pill Clouds!
Although it was technically just a Saint King Grade Low-Rank pill that did not diminish its value or significance, if any outstanding Alchemists were to hear about it, they would likely go all out to acquire it.
They could obtain a great deal of insight and information from these Pill Clouds, possibly allowing them to further their Alchemy skills.
As Yang Kai observed this pill, Zong Ao briefly explained what happened after he fell unconscious before casually saying, “The Pill Clouds surrounding this pill are different from the ones this old master managed to refine.”
“Different how?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Zong Ao tossed four other jade bottles over to Yang Kai, each one containing a single pill.
These four pills had been refined by Zong Ao over the past hundred years, each one the result of incredibly good luck.
After comparing them to the Burning Flame Pill he just refined though, Yang Kai was immediately able to discover the biggest difference.
The Pill Clouds of the pills Zong Ao refined were very sparse, not even completely enshrouding the pill’s surface. There was even one that only had half its surface covered.
In addition, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the medicinal efficacy and energy contained within his Burning Flame Pill was more than twice as strong as those of Zong Ao’s.
Zong Ao suddenly took out a piece of Saint Crystal and placed it in Yang Kai’s hand.
Immediately, the energy inside this piece of Saint Crystal was slowly drawn out and absorbed by the Pill Clouds, further enhancing its efficacy.
“Pills that form Pill Veins have their medicinal efficacies doubled and can be stored indefinitely without their potency falling, different from ordinary pills which will slowly lose their efficacy over time. After three or four hundred years, most pills will become completely useless. Once Pill Clouds appear on a pill though, not only can they be preserved for an unlimited amount of time, along with the passing years, the Pill Clouds will also actively absorb the surrounding World Energy to nourish the pill, allowing its medicinal efficacies to become richer and richer. As such, for a pill that forms Pill Clouds, the longer it is stored, the stronger its effects will be!” Zong Ao said, seemingly talking to himself.
Yang Kai nodded, understanding all this well.
When he swallowed that ancient pill which had formed Pill Clouds, he had nearly exploded as it had been accumulating energy for thousands of years.
“This old master inadvertently refined this pill ninety years ago,” Zong Ao said while picking up one of the jade bottles he had tossed to Yang Kai. Inside this bottle was a brown pill. “After ninety years of nourishment, the efficacy has more than doubled, and its grade was also Saint King Grade Mid-Rank, but compared to the Burning Flame Pill you refined a few days ago, it still falls far short.”
“It’s probably because of the difference in density of the Pill Clouds!” Yang Kai said thoughtfully.
“This old master came to the same conclusion,” Zong Ao gently nodded, “This old master used to think that Pill Clouds were all like this, but after seeing your Burning Flame Pill, this old master now knows that Pill Clouds can be more complete, covering the entire pill. On top of that, your pill absorbs energy at a far faster rate than this old master’s, if it were to be placed in storage for a few hundred years, it would likely become as valuable as an entire star!”
“That’s not possible, is it?” Yang Kai was startled, thinking Zong Ao was exaggerating a bit too much.
“How could it not be possible?” Zong Ao sneered, “Do you know how many Origin Returning Realm spend their entire lives struggling yet failing to break through to the Origin King Realm? Do you know how many Origin King Realm masters spend their entire lives failing to break through to the next Minor Realm? If this Burning Flame Pill was set aside for a few hundreds of years, it may be possible for an Origin King Realm master who cultivates a Fire Attribute Secret Art to break through to the next Minor Realm. Do you think they’d not be willing to trade an entire star for it?”
After hearing what he said, Yang Kai really thought it was possible, although he still felt it was a bit overblown.
“Are you really willing to feed this treasure to this little girl?” Zong Ao glanced back and forth between Yang Kai and Xue Yue solemnly.
“My life is about to expire, why wouldn’t I feed it to her?” Yang Kai laughed. After investing so much time and effort to refine this Burning Flame Pill, how could he not feed it to Xue Yue?
Zong Ao’s face twitched slightly, seemingly wanting to say something, but eventually, he managed to choke his words back down and wave his hand, “Forget it, you were the one who refined this pill, so what you do with it is your decision; however, you have to tell this old master, how were you able to produce these Pill Clouds?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Zong Ao almost spat blood.
Anways, 10 Chapters this week 😀
Yang Kai really didn’t know how he managed to produce Pill Clouds.
When he was refining this last Burning Flame Pill, he had no distracting thoughts, nor did he feel any kind of pressure, he simply believed he would be successful.
When he finished the refinement though, Yang Kai clearly felt that a great deal of his vitality had been stripped away, leading to his current state of weakness.
In fact, had it not been for Yang Kai’s Demon God Golden Blood, making his vitality incredibly rich, this massive drainage would have killed him on the spot.
This Burning Flame Pill wasn’t anything like a pill at all, it was closer to a living creature!
That was also why it was so full of life and energy, startling Zong Ao greatly.
Although he had managed to succeed once, if Yang Kai was do another refinement now, he wouldn’t be able to succeed, because he had lost that indescribable sense of confidence and momentum.
After explaining his thoughts to Zong Ao in order to alleviate his emotional damage, the old man comforted himself by thinking all of this was due to Yang Kai entering some kind of ethereal state of enlightenment, allowing him to produce Pill Clouds.
Hundreds of years pursuing the Alchemic Way, yet finding himself inferior to a less than thirty years old Junior made Zong Ao feel like he had simply lived in vain, sending him in a spiral of shame and resentment.
Fortunately, though, his will was tough and he had many more years to live, there was plenty of time for Zong Ao to continue studying Alchemy.
Inside a palace at Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s branch, Yang Kai set Xue Yue down and fed her the Burning Flame Pill. After making sure her vitality had stabilized, Yang Kai left her room.
After turning a few corners, Yang Kai saw Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and a number of others crowding around Zong Ao, praising and flattering him without end, extolling Zong Ao’s extraordinary skills and methods which had even allowed him to refine the legendary Pill Clouds, sincerely admiring him.
Some even going so far as to say the top-ranked Origin King Grade Alchemists in the Star Field couldn’t accomplish such a feat, saying that all of them were just a crowd of fame-seeking imposters who couldn’t compare to Zong Ao.
Zong Ao’s old face blushed bright redness as he withstood this barrage of flattery, wishing he could kick all these people out but lacking the energy to do so, only able to silently endure it.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the others in this group of blind idiots only felt Zong Ao wasn’t happy with their insufficient praise and began flattering him even more, causing the old man’s complexion to grow even worse.
Only after Yang Kai walked out did this group cease their unending stream of praise and shoot him a strange look. Ha Li Ka even quietly gave him a big thumbs up with a look of admiration before patting Lin Mu Feng’s shoulder heartily and quickly departing.
The backs of these two straightening up much, as if a great weight had just been lifted from their shoulders.
Yang Kai walked over to Zong Ao with a confused look, wondering what they all meant when they shot him those looks.
“Boy, are you really willing to hand such huge benefits over to this old master? You successfully refined a pill which formed Pill Clouds and are able to consistently produce Pill Veins at a rate of thirty to forty percent. With such skill, you can become one of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s most honoured guests, and no one would dare to provoke you. You would be able to own your own territory, with as many servants and beauties as you want. You’d be able to enjoy the highest standards of treatment with things others would need to spend their entire lives fighting for at your fingertips. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce would also go all out to cultivate you, allowing you to reach the highest heights in the shortest amount of time. This old master can’t figure out why you didn’t tell them that Burning Flame Pill was refined by you and instead handed this undeserved credit over to this old master!” Zong Ao said slowly, picking up his cup of tea and taking a small sip.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and everyone else all thought that the Burning Flame Pill which had formed Pill Clouds was refined by Zong Ao, because Yang Kai had told them that was the case from the beginning, and even now Zong Ao had not corrected the record, causing all of them to be even more convinced this was the truth.
That was why they were all showering Zong Ao in compliments.
Yang Kai sat next to him, picked up the pot of tea and poured himself a cup, taking a sip before letting out a chuckle, “Old Zong, don’t feign ignorance. The tall tree is the first to be knocked over by the wind, this Junior understands this concept very well. This Junior is less than thirty years old today, and although I have some small methods, my cultivation is still too low. Such great benefits are not something I can withstand, only an established and respected Grandmaster like Old Zong can enjoy such a reputation. Do you believe that if both you and I were to take a Burning Flame Pill which formed Pill Clouds to President Ai Ou, our treatment will be completely different? You will receive even greater respect and President Ai Ou will only become more courteous to you, perhaps even granting you dominion over an entire Medicine Star, but I would immediately be put under strict supervision, with numerous masters constantly watching me, never allowing me to take a single step out of my room while forcing me to refine pills every day. Perhaps even when they send some beautiful women for me to play with, those masters will continue peeping on me…”
“Hahahaha!” Zong Ao heard Yang Kai’s words and couldn’t help laughing, imagining such a funny scene with a big smile as he nodded, “Kid, your thoughts are quite sharp, such merits are really not easy to handle! I really wonder how many great storms you’ve had to pass through in order to develop such keen insight at your age.”
“Without such insights, this Junior would have died already!” Yang Kai shrugged.
“En, you’re right, the tallest tree is the first to be destroyed by the strong winds! Good, this old master will shoulder these benefits and reputation for you. In any case, this old master’s Alchemy skills have indeed risen a lot, such advantages aren’t completely undeserved!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he quickly got to his feet and cupped his fists, “Congratulations Old Zong, this Junior has been so absorbed in refining Burning Flame Pills during this time that he failed to realize Old Zong had taken a step further along the Alchemic Way!”
After offering his congratulations, Yang Kai sat down again, a touch of worry appearing in his expression as he continued, “But Old Zong, if you do this, you may not be able to resist joining Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. They used to indulge you in your pursuits, but they likely won’t now. If my guess is right, Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the others will have reported this event to Water Moon Star and it won’t be long before a real executive from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters comes to speak with you.”
“This old master naturally understands,” Zong Ao nodded, “This old master has already lived on Rainfall Star for a hundred years, so as long as they don’t interfere with my Alchemy, everything can be discussed. Whether I join them or not is just a formality. If they dare to annoy this old master, can’t this old master simply leave?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty. Zong Ao couldn’t be regarded as a virtuous person, he had a strange temperament and his own sense of arrogance. Yang Kai also knew that he had directed murderous intent towards himself at least three times before.
But regardless of all this, Zong Ao had agreed to carry this undeserved credit for him, and although it would greatly enhance the old man’s reputation, that wasn’t something Zong Ao wanted. Truly capable people don’t care about their reputation, only those who seek for power and wealth dedicate themselves to climbing the social ladder.
After this time, Zong Ao would lose a lot of his personal, but perhaps he simply considered this repayment for Yang Kai showing him the path forward in the Alchemic Way.
Both Yang Kai and Zong Ao understood these things well.
“What’s the situation with that little girl?” Zong Ao obviously didn’t want to talk about this anymore and quickly changed the subject.
“The negative effects of her exposure to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water should have been removed completely, and her vitality is stable, but she’s still in a coma. To wake her up, I need to find a way to revive her Soul Avatar,” Yang Kai said with a frown. He had just checked Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea again but even after searching around for a while, he was unable to locate her Soul Avatar; he really didn’t know where it had hidden.
Zong Ao also frowned and said, “In principle, exposure to Profound Yin Sunflower Water cannot cause this situation… Her Soul Avatar going missing must be related to something else.”
Yang Kai was shocked and quickly asked, “Please offer me your guidance, Old Zong.”
Zong Ao unfortunately just shook his head, “I don’t know anything about this little girl, so what guidance can I provide you? Since you are her guard, you should understand whether she has any kind of deep-seated regrets in her heart. Sometimes, when a person falls into an unconscious state and cannot be awoken, it is not because of physical injuries, but rather because of some kind of heart knot. As long as she can overcome this barrier, she will naturally be able to awaken.”
After hearing these words, Yang Kai wore a thoughtful look on his face, his eyes slowly growing brighter, as if he had discovered something.
Zong Ao noticed this change and nodded lightly.
This kid was a worldly person with incredible skills; Zong Ao really didn’t understand why he would choose to become another’s guard.
Sometime later, Yang Kai’s look suddenly became relaxed.
“Figured it out?” Zong Ao asked with a smile.
“I have some ideas, whether they’re right or not will have to wait until I can verify them,” Yang Kai chuckled, suddenly remembering something and asking, “By the way, when I came here, Ha Li Ka and the others all gave me a strange look, what was that all about?”
“Want to know?” Zong Ao gave him a meaningful glance.
Yang Kai nodded.
“This old master just told them that you deeply in love with that little girl and when she needed to take those pills you fed it to her mouth to mouth,” Zong Ao said lightly, as if it was just an innocent comment.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was furious, “Don’t you feel embarrassed to publicize such things? Don’t you have any kind of moral standards?”
Zong Ao snorted, “This old master has taken on such a heavy burden for you and lost so many good things to you, you think I’ll just let you off for free? Just you wait. Xue Yue Third Young Master will charge over to Rainfall Star, peel your skin, and crush your bones. Hahaha, to think a little guard actually dares to have ideas about Xue Yue’s woman. I really don’t know if you care about your life or not. If I were you, I’d leave here as quickly as possible!”
Laughing loudly, Zong Ao strode off in a good mood.
[Old fart!]
Yang Kai stared at Zong Ao with resentment, immediately realizing why Ha Li Ka and the others had shot him such a strange look. Yang Kai was annoyed to no end that he hadn’t bet even bigger with Zong Ao, asking for all of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water and pill furnaces.
There were no good people amongst these old bastards!
This was true of Gui Zu and Zong Ao!
However, no matter how Zong Ao thought about it, he wouldn’t have been able to imagine that this Lady Xue’er was actually Xue Yue himself!
[You think kissing Xue Yue’s woman is something to worry about? Father here has seen and touched everything Xue Yue’s body has to offer!]
Zong Ao was right about one thing though, Yang Kai couldn’t remain here for long, there was no way to tell how Water Moon Star would respond after learning about Xue Yue’s situation, and if some top-level executive were to come to investigate, it would be incredibly difficult for him to explain.
Xue Yue also didn’t want to expose her biggest secret.
Right now, Yang Kai had to hurry to restore her consciousness, lift the fetters of the Soul Chains, then soar off into the sky to disappear.
For the next half a month, Yang Kai received very generous treatment as he recovered his strength. Every day, inside his luxurious guest palace, the very best food and wine, as well as rare spirit fruits were provided to him allowing him to slowly restore his lost vitality and rid himself of the crippling sense of weakness.
Yang Kai secretly decided that he would never attempt to refine Pill Clouds again unless absolutely necessary.
If his luck was good, and while performing Alchemy he inadvertently refined a pill that formed Pill Clouds, then that was fine, but he never wanted to purposely generate them again. The consumption cost was simply too great.
Ha Li Ka sent a few dozen masters to build a grand palace for Zong Ao in his mountain valley, finishing the construction in short order.
However, Zong Ao didn’t go back immediately, because the World Energy in the mountain valley was still too thin and it would be some time before it recovered to even the average level of the rest of Rainfall Star.
The news that he had refined a Burning Flame Pill which formed Pill Clouds spread like wildfire and every Alchemist on the Rainfall Star made a special pilgrimage to pay him their respects. Since these people were in a sense his colleagues, Zong Ao couldn’t just send them away, so he spent many days suffering from their incessant flattery and praise, not having a moment of free time to himself for quite a while.
Whenever he saw this scene, Yang Kai secretly rejoiced about his decision.
If the merit of refining Pill Clouds were to be assigned to him, such a harmonious scene would never have appeared, instead, these old men and women would only be trying to make things difficult for him, using any method they could to verify he wasn’t cheating or lying to them.
None of them would admit to being inferior to Yang Kai, that would be too great an insult to them.
Inside a separate room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged on the bed next to the still sleeping Xue Yue.
Staring at her enchanting face, Yang Kai really didn’t want to wake her up.
The sleeping Xue Xue was the easiest to get along with, he could do whatever he liked to her and she wouldn’t put up any resistance or make any complaints, but once she woke up, it would only bring Yang Kai endless trouble and danger.
But Yang Kai had to wake her up, lifting the Soul Chains’ fetters required both of them to agree. Currently, Xue Yue’s Soul Avatar was nowhere to be seen, and without her cooperation, Yang Kai couldn’t break free of this burden.
Sending out his Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai dived silently into Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar appeared over Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea.
This was not the first time Yang Kai had entered Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea, he had visited here before to examine her condition, but at that time, he hadn’t looked around carefully.
At any time, investigating another’s Knowledge Sea was a taboo among cultivators, it was something only those who shared the most intimate of relationships would do. One’s Knowledge Sea contained all the experiences and secrets of a person’s life, searching through someone’s Knowledge Sea was worse than stripping away their clothes and groping around their body.
Last time, Yang Kai had used discretion and did not probe into Xue Yue’s secret too deeply; he didn’t want to have too much entanglement with this woman.
But this time, he no longer had a choice.
The sea breeze blew gently and the waters themselves were calm. Aside from a vast ocean, there was nothing else inside Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea, unlike the colourfulness of his own Knowledge Sea.
One’s Knowledge Sea was the greatest reflection of a person’s experiences and personality, so it was quite clear that Xue Yue led something of a desolate and dull life.
Xue Yue was a woman, but she was raised by Ai Ou as a man. She may have had the prestige and style of Xue Yue Third Young Master, but she was surely tired of that by now and simply supporting herself with willpower alone.
“It’s not that I want to spy on your secrets, but I can’t wake you up if I don’t do this, don’t hold it against me in the future,” Yang Kai murmured softly, his Soul Avatar diving into the ocean in Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea in the next moment.
The warm seawater wrapped Yang Kai’s body like the finest of silk, giving him an unimaginable excitement and comfort.
Yang Kai almost lost himself in this feeling for a moment.
The blending of Souls was a terrifying experience that allowed a man and woman to enjoy a sensation a thousand times more joyful than a mere physical union. It was like sharing the deepest part of one’s self with another, resulting in a sense of euphoria that was difficult to extricate oneself from.
Fortunately, this was not Yang Kai’s first time doing this kind of thing. When he went to Ice Sect to find Su Yan, he had blended Souls with her once, so he had some experience dealing with this kind of overwhelming sensation.
Struggling to restrain the innate desires welling up in his Soul, Yang Kai constantly called out in his head to remind himself of his original purpose; this was no time to simply seek pleasure.
Gradually, the euphoric joy faded and Yang Kai managed to regain control of his Soul Avatar, allowing him to breathe slightly easier.
He didn’t know why, but his current set of actions and situation made Yang Kai feel as if he was violating Xue Yue.
Xue Yue was unable to sense anything right now, and with her Soul Avatar missing, she also couldn’t put up any kind of resistance to Yang Kai’s Divine Sense intrusion, how was this any different from him raping her? And the most vicious type of rape at that!
A woman who had no Soul Avatar was no different from a doll, thinking so, Yang Kai’s sense of fascination instantly faded away.
This kind of one-sided action was something only those who had twisted psychology would enjoy.
Yang Kai quickly spread out his Soul Avatar’s senses through this ocean.
Inside Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea were an incredible number of bubbles that seemed to be suspended in the water, each bubble representing one of Xue Yue’s memories.
Yang Kai began to scrutinize the information hidden in these bubbles.
He saw many, many scenes and pictures …
A baby fell as her nearby mother lay weakly on the bed, her face pale and bloodless, but upon hearing the baby’s cry, the most beautiful smile in the world blossomed on her face. A burly man who had been waiting outside rushed in, his hands shaking as he picked up the baby, completely disregarding the dirt and filth staining it, a look full of affection filling his face as he gently kissed the baby’s forehead, his eyes shining with fatherly love.
The seven or eight-month-old child was being held in the arms of its mother to breastfeed, closing its eyes as it drank thirstily. The mother smiled with satisfaction as she teased her daughter from time to time, the burly father standing nearby grinning dotingly.
The baby started toddling about and even began to babble, sending out a stream of wordless noises as she walked forward cautiously, falling down once in a while, causing her mother to rush over in distress and hug her into her arms, the father smiling warmly nearby, a happy family of three.
An old man with a snow white beard came to see the baby, carefully examining her before solemnly reporting something to the burly father. The smile and joy immediately vanished from his face, a solemn light flashing across his eyes as he stared at his nearby daughter.
A three-year-old child was received into a palace, dressed in boys clothing, and raised as a man. The little girl stood ignorantly inside the grand palace, followed by servants and maids. She was forbidden from leaving the palace and no longer able to see her loving mother, only able to meet her dignified father.
She began to learn all kinds of miscellaneous things and began to cultivate, growing healthy and strong, but only able to live as a man.
Her aptitude was excellent, and only when her strength increased would she be able to see a smile from her father, at other times his face only contained sternness and scolding.
Xue Yue Third Young Master’s spread out and soon the entire Star Field knew about her.
She learned how to deal with those strangers she met by showing the perfect smile, her elegant demeanour and beauty able to mesmerize men and women alike.
But she couldn’t see her own mother, and only at night, when she was all alone, would she be able to take out a few sets of women’s clothing and lay them on her bed sadly.
These clothes were all sent by her mother secretly and seemed to retain a traced of her gentle aura.
Watching these scenes, Yang Kai felt as if he was experiencing them himself and was able to sense the pain and resentment in Xue Yue’s heart, the sadness and helplessness of this woman.
Under her immutable smile that was able to dazzle and dumbfound all sentient beings lay a bitter and fragile heart, hidden under layers of false strength.
Years of pretence not only allowed her to deceive the world but herself as well.
Until that life or death struggle atop that Dead Star. At that time, Xue Yue was enraged and her murderous intent soared to the Heavens, but it was also the first time she had ever experienced such strong emotions stemming from her female nature. She had been hugged naked and had her snow-white peaks squeezed tightly causing her pulse to race and her tender body to shiver, new and indescribable feelings surging through her body, making her feel numb and unable to breathe. Whenever she thought back to that time, she would blush bright red.
The boisterous and noisy period of time after that then became the most unforgettable days of her life, making her wish she could stop time and forever remain on that Dead Star.
Because only in front of this man could she let down her guard and be herself.
Yang Kai injected vitality into her life, making it no longer seem so dark and dreary.
When she was exploring the Ancient Ruins, she had ignored the deaths and injuries of many of her subordinates while constantly ordered for the expedition team to pick up speed just so she could leave there a bit faster and return to that small world of freedom.
But when the Space Ring she tried to collect burst, she was sent into a coma.
It took a long time for Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar to emerge from Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai now knew all of Xue Yue’s secrets. He hadn’t expected this vicious woman to have such a miserable past; and although he felt some sympathy and pity for her his heart, that did not change what he had to do.
He saw not only Xue Yue’s misery but also the darkness in her heart.
Even if this woman was worthy of pity, that didn’t mean she wasn’t extremely dangerous.
Her sentiment towards him wasn’t her pure feelings, but all because of the influence of the Soul Chains.
After watching for so long, Yang Kai also faintly knows why Xue Yue’s Soul Avatar had disappeared, as well as how he should go about treating her.
This kind of heart knot wasn’t a physical wound, so as long as Xue Yue could untie it, she would naturally wake up.
Inside Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar sent out a subtle wave.
He began to create dream-like illusions and forced them into the seawater.
From her infancy to her current age, in these illusions, Xue Yue did not have to pretend to be someone else, did not have to show that unchanging spring breeze-like smile, did not have to live as a man.
She grew up carefree, with her father, mother, brothers, and sisters all living in harmony. She could wear the most beautiful clothes and the most beautiful jewellery, no longer needing to spend torturous days and nights cultivating and training.
In these illusions, she was the world’s happiest woman, she would take a few maidservants with her to stroll around the streets every day, occasionally revealing a radiant smile that made the blood of all the men in the city boil.
In these illusions, she would return home at the end of each day and tell her parents about the various things she encountered while they listened to her quietly with happy, smiling faces.
She even met a man who moved her heart but due to her shyness, she could only watch him from a distance, paying attention to his movements, unable to take the initiative to talk to him.
To her surprise though, this heroic-looking handsome man actually took notice of her too, defeated all his competitors, and fulfilled her father’s demanding requirements to win her hand in marriage.
They then became husband and wife and had children of their own. Although they didn’t live a lavish or magnificent life, both of them helped one another during times of difficulty and shared much joy together.
Their children slowly grew up, and they gradually grew old. Eventually, they passed on, finally being buried together in graves placed right beside one another, as if even in death they would never be separated.
In these illusions, Xue Yue lived a perfect life without any regrets.
Yang Kai repeated this process over and over again, submerging these illusions he constructed with his own Spiritual Energy into Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea, disregarding his own consumption and fatigue.
Time passed by, but Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea was still as stagnant as ever.
However, suddenly, the calm seawater began to roll and the numerous bubbles under the surface all burst, returning to nothingness.
The breeze blew and a light fragrance began wafting past the tip of Yang Kai’s nose.
Yang Kai stopped what he was doing, turned around, and saw Xue Yue standing behind him with a grin of interest on her face.
Yang Kai rolled his eyes and immediately withdrew from her Knowledge Sea.
The moment Yang Kai opened his eyes, Xue Yue also woke up, reached out, grabbing him and said, “Hey, why did you run away like some frightened thief?”
“Since you woke up, what else was I supposed to do? Wait for me to be tortured by you? If I were to stay there, a little Third-Order Saint like me wouldn’t be able to put up any kind of resistance,” Yang Kai snorted.
Everyone’s Knowledge Sea was their personal domain where they had absolute control; therefore, when two cultivators were of similar strength, they would never try to invade each other’s Knowledge Sea as the one who did would always be the one to suffer. Only when there was a vast disparity in strength would one possibly invading another’s Knowledge Sea to deal serious damage.
“Me, torture you? Why do you think I would torture you? If you didn’t do anything wrong, what reason would I have to torture you?” Xue Yue pressed the issue relentlessly, her eyes narrowing as a dangerous light filled them.
“Good, I admit that I broke into your Knowledge Sea without your permission and it was wrong of me to pry into your secrets, but you refused to wake up, so I had no other choice,” Yang Kai shook his sleeve to free himself from her grip.
“After prying into my secrets, you still want to argue about?” Xue Yue grit her teeth as she glowered towards Yang Kai menacingly.
“I didn’t see much…” Yang Kai said somewhat evasively.
Xue Yue didn’t speak, simply staring back at him fixedly.
“Fine, I even know how many hairs you have on your body, so what? What are you going to do, bite me?” Yang Kai said without the slightest trace of shame.
“You bastard!” Xue Yue immediately became angry out of shame, leaping off the bed and rushing over to Yang Kai, nipping his hand with her pearl white teeth once before shouting, “You think I won’t dare?”
Yang Kai didn’t try to avoid her and instead curled his lips into a grin, “If you’re not satisfied biting my hand you can always try somewhere else, interested?”
Xue Yue’s face and neck turned bright red as she quickly released Yang Kai’s hand and spat, “In your dreams!”
In that illusion, she had gained plenty of experience with the man she married and could now easily recall all those various postures and positions with ease.
She had received a thorough and systematic education …
Naturally she understood what Yang Kai meant.
Although she also understood that it was just a fantasy created by Yang Kai for her, and none of it really happened, she still couldn’t help feeling extremely ashamed; after all, the woman in that fantasy was modelled after her, sharing her exact appearance.
It was as if she was really a harlot, constantly begging for more, completely insatiable!
“Were you always so obscene?” Xue Yue looked at Yang Kai strangely, seemingly not having through he was such a degenerate pervert, “Seems I’ve greatly misread you!”
“What’s obscene about the love between a man and a woman?” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, “When you really try it, you’ll realize the beauty of it.”
“Even so, you didn’t have to add yourself into that illusion did you?” Xue Yue smiled sweetly, as if she had suddenly discovered something interesting, “In those illusions, you were quite handsome and persistent. Are you hoping I’ll really marry you?”
“Nope, I wouldn’t be able to endure being with a woman like you,” Yang Kai quickly waved his hand.
“Get lost!” Xue Yue’s expression changed faster than one could turn the page of a book, trembling with anger as she kicking Yang Kai off the bed.
Yang Kai stood up, patted himself off indifferently and said, “Have a good rest. Once you restore yourself, I have something I need to tell you.”
The expression on Xue Yue’s face froze, apparently understanding what it was that Yang Kai wanted to talk about, closing her eyes in the next moment without saying a word.
Outside the room, Yang Kai saw Zong Ao leaning sideways, cupping his ears, listening intently. After seeing Yang Kai, Old Zong didn’t make any attempt to cover up his actions or apologize, simply asking, “Rescued?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Impressive,” Zong Ao couldn’t help but give him a big thumbs up, “But what were you two doing inside, why was it so lively? Aren’t you her guard? Kid, this old master has to say, your courage is simply extraordinary, even daring to get involved with Xue Yue Third Young Master’s woman. En, you should run as soon as possible, this old master doesn’t wish to see you die so young, once that Xue Yue’s anger explodes, the whole Heng Luo Star Field will shake.”
Zong Ao may have spent too much time in seclusion, so despite being so old, his interest in gossip was as strong as any youth. He seemed to like seeing others flirting, and when he did see such scenes, it made him feel a few dozen years younger.
[Shameless!]
Yang Kai ignored him and instead walked out to find Ha Li Ka to inform him of the situation.
After hearing Xue Yue had awoken, Ha Li Ka was overjoyed and even gave Yang Kai a great big hug while sincerely expressing his gratitude.
Since Xue Yue had woken up, their last worries had disappeared, and now that Zong Ao had taken one step further on the Alchemy Way, as long as they could appropriately process the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, everything would be wonderful.
What’s more, since there was Xue Yue to handle the matter of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, even if the Chamber of Commerce sanctioned them, they would only receive some slight punishment, nothing near as serious as what they had been worrying about before.
With all the good news flowing in, how could they not be joyful?
With the executives in a jubilant mood, the rest of the branch was also extremely happy.
One month passed by in the blink of an eye.
Xue Yue had been staying in her room ever since she woke up that day, claiming that his injuries still needed time to heal.
But the effects of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water had already been treated by the Burning Flame Pill, and there was no damage to her Soul, so what kind of healing could she still need? Although she had stayed in a coma for more than a year, with her cultivation, she only needed a day or two to restore herself.
The only reason was none other than she was avoiding Yang Kai!
Yang Kai understood this, but there was nothing he could do about it. Every time he went to find Xue Yue, he was stopped outside by several Saint King Realm cultivators serving as door guards. These people did not give Yang Kai any trouble, instead just smiling and saying that Lady Xue’er had ordered them to not allow anyone to enter her room without her permission. Their attitude was good, but their meaning of rejection was incredibly firm.
Yang Kai wished he could pound these guards flat.
Yang Kai was unhappy, and Old Zong wasn’t in much better of a mood.
Half of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water was taken away by Yang Kai, and several dozen of his large and small pill furnaces were snatched, causing Zong Ao to feel like his heart had been pierced, but he wasn’t shameless enough to go back on his word.
Zong Ao was still a trustworthy person. Since he dared to bet, he dared to lose, very much unlike Xue Yue who liked to dominate others with force.
Yang Kai also asked Zong Ao how to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Zong Ao didn’t conceal anything and taught him all he knew.
Yang Kai realized after some explanations that although the Profound Yin Sunflower Water was a rare treasure. If it wasn’t properly handled, refining it would be fatal. Aside from needing a wide variety of auxiliary materials though, refining it also required an extremely hot environment!
Only when these preparations were completed and conditions were met could one start refining this treasure.
The auxiliary materials required were actually already in Yang Kai’s possession.
Back on the floating continent, he had harvested many Origin Grade and Origin King Grade herbs, each one of incredible value.
All he needed to do was find a suitable environment. According to Old Zong, it would be best if he used the magma chamber of some ancient volcano because only such a level of heat could suppress the chill of Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
However, Zong Ao also said that Yang Kai’s current strength was still too low, he would need to at least reach the Saint King Realm before attempting to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, otherwise he would definitely lose his life.
Xue Yue’s refusal to meet him face to face continued to agitate and annoy Yang Kai.
The next day, when Yang Kai arrived outside Xue Yue’s room, the Saint King Realm guards would smile at him and say a few kind words, but still barred his path.
Seeing this familiar scene, Yang Kai’s face sank.
Just after the several guards stopped Yang Kai with smiles on their faces and were about to ask him to forgive them for carrying out their responsibilities, Xue Yue’s pleasant voice sounded off, “Let him in!”
Upon hearing this, the guards stepped aside, breathing deep sighs of relief, throwing out silent looks of encouragement as they did so.
Yang Kai was disinclined to deal with them, strode forward, pushed open the door with a cold look on his face, and walked inside.
There was no change in the room, everything was the same as it was the last time he visited. Xue Yue on the other hand somehow seemed worse for wear, her expression a mixture of sadness and gloom. She didn’t avoid Yang Kai’s angry eyes, nipping her lip lightly as she stared back at him, “Sit down, let’s talk.”
Seeing her appearance, Yang Kai had nowhere to vent his anger.
Women were truly unfair!
Obviously, her strength was far higher than his own, and if it came down to a fight he would definitely not be her opponent. She could punch him into submission at will, yet at this moment, she could rely solely on her expression to create the illusion of weakness.
Like the Heavens themselves had wronged her …
Yang Kai picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup, took a sip gently, then opened his mouth to say something, but before he could utter a word, Xue Yue’s jade finger landed on his lips.
Her fingers were icy cold, but there was still a faint fragrance on its tip.
“Don’t say anything, let me show you something first,” Xue Yue said lightly, with a softer tone than ever before.
“What?” Yang Kai immediately became vigilant, sweeping his eyes up and down Xue Yue before saying, “If it’s your body, there’s no need, every part of it has already been imprinted into my head, I can perfectly picture it even with my eyes closed.”
“A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory!” Xue Yue became ashamed and angry, “Do you think I’m the kind of woman who’d try to seduce a man with my body?”
“Then what do you want me to see?” Yang Kai ignored her question and asked.
Xue Yue glared angrily before pushing a sheet of paper over to him.
Yang Kai accepted the piece of paper, sipped his tea lightly and began browsing its content.
After a while, a strange expression appeared on his face and he grinned, “Xue Yue, these conditions are a bit too good, aren’t they? Just by becoming your guard, I’ll be paid a hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals every year and obtain a five hundred kilometre radius domain?”
“Not really, my guards all obtain certain benefits, but everyone’s treatment is different,” Xue Yue took the teacup of tea in front of her and calmly took a sip, putting on a calm appearing, but the slight trembling of her hands betrayed her inner nervousness.
If before, the warm feelings she had for Yang Kai, and even the intimacy and affection she felt for him, had only been a result of the effects of the Soul Chains. However, right now she could say for certain that even without the bindings of the Soul Chains, those feelings wouldn’t completely disappear as they had taken root in her soul.
When forced actions and feelings became natural habits, they weren’t easy to change anymore.
What’s more, he had peered into her Knowledge Sea, and all of her secrets had been exposed, making her feel shyer and more embarrassed than if she was standing in front of him naked, allowing him to examine her.
Xue Yue sincerely hoped that Yang Kai would remain with her, even though she knew he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
While pretending to drink her tea, she quietly watched Yang Kai’s reaction, wanting to see if he showed any interest at all.
However, to her disappointment, Yang Kai showed no trace of temptation and only seemed to be curiously examining the different articles and clauses in the document.
“I’ll have twenty beautiful maids to serve me?” Yang Kai glanced up at Xue Yue with a raised brow, “Aren’t I just a guard? Am I supposed to have beautiful maids?”
“What’s so strange about it? An average person’s guard is naturally just a subordinate and not entitled to have such luxurious, but could my, Xue Yue’s, guards possibly not have such qualifications?” Xue Yue smiled deviously as she saw a trace of anticipation finally appear in Yang Kai’s eyes, quickly adding some embellishments, “I can choose the best women for you. You may not know this but my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce also operates a slave business. Many big and small families that go bankrupt or fall into ruin will have their Young Ladies bought up by the chamber of commerce to later be sold. Each of these women have good education and their aptitudes and strength aren’t bad either. As far as I know, the strongest ones have reached the Saint King Realm. They’re nothing less than precious treasures!”
While she was colourfully describing these women to Yang Kai, she was silently cursing him out in her heart, she had offered him so many favorable conditions yet besides this one, he had treated them all indifferently. Xue Yue couldn’t help feeling the urge to reach out and choke him.
[Seems like he’s a man after all…]
Xue Yue sighed helplessly.
“Very good, very good!” Yang Kai nodded strongly a few times, he was truly quite interested in having some beautiful maids serving him. When he was back on Tong Xuan Realm, there were too many acquaintances around, and he didn’t dare act sloppily, but now that he had arrived in the Star Field all alone, such concerns didn’t exist anymore.
On top of that, since he took that last step with Little Senior Sister, Yang Kai had found that his mentality towards the happenings between men and women had changed greatly. At least, he no longer repelled the idea of having some fun here and there.
Back when he was staying in Shen Tu’s palace, his freewheeling activities had provided him with much food for thought.
“You think so too?” Xue Yue still maintained a smile on her face as she secretly ground her teeth before softly coaxing, “If you agree, then just leave your mark on the contract and from now on you’ll be my person and receive my shelter. From now on, if anyone dares to bar your way or offend you, you need only report my name, you’ll be able to walk sideways* in the Star Field if you so please.”
“I’m not a crab,” Yang Kai smiled and put the instrument back on the table.
Xue Yue stared straight at him, her brow furrowing slightly.
Yang Kai let out a sigh, shifting his gaze away from hers as he said, “Why do this? You know what it is I want, what do you intend to do by asking me to sell myself into servitude?”
“Who said anything about selling yourself into servitude?” Xue Yue’s beautiful eyes dimmed as she said uprightly, “Isn’t it written at the very top? This contract is only valid for five years, if you’re not satisfied after five years, it can be renegotiated, I just want you to spend some time considering it.”
“After I sign, in this lifetime, I’ll never be able to leave. Xue Yue, let’s unlock the Soul Chains and from now on you will walk along the broad road while I traverse the narrow path, well water should not mix with river water,” Yang Kai said sincerely.
When Xue Yue heard these words, the impulse to cry welled up inside her but she stubbornly refused to let her tears fall, lifting her head and tilting her head back slightly.
Amazingly, the tears disappeared, seemingly drawn back into her tear glands through sheer force of will.
She then clenched her teeth and said, “I don’t care, everything that you could touch you touched and you even dove into the depths of my Knowledge Sea, peeping on all of my secrets, you have to sign this contract with me of the loss I suffered can’t possibly be made up!”
“If it’s about your secrets, you can rest assured I will keep them safe without leaking a single word, I won’t joke around with my life, I fully realize the strength and influence you possess,” Yang Kai said solemnly.
Xue Yue became even more indignant as she muttered, “It seems you even know that secret.”
Yang Kai scratched his cheek and said innocently, “I really wish I didn’t know it. Who could have guessed that you were hiding something even more shocking than the fact that you’re actually a woman! No wonder President Ai Ou forced you to live as a man, he did it for your sake and you shouldn’t blame him!”
“For my sake?” Xue Yue’s eyes suddenly flashed with cold light as she said dreadfully, “I was separated from my own mother for several decades, and then in order to keep this secret, my father killed everyone who knew it, including her, was that also for my own good?”
Yang Kai didn’t know how to respond.
What Xue Yue mentioned he had already uncovered from his time in her Knowledge Sea. This was her family’s matters though so it wasn’t appropriate for him to comment on it. Moreover, the circumstances surrounding Xue Yue’s mother’s death remained a mystery; even Xue Yue had only heard some rumours about it.
“So what if I possess the Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body? Could it be that everyone in the world can see through my physique come to snatch me for it?” Xue Yue screamed in anger, her proud chest heaving up and down in a souls stirring rhythm.
“Lower your voice!” Yang Kai called out in fright, “Do you not want to live anymore? Why would you yell out so crazily like that?”
Seeing Yang Kai act so nervous, Xue Yue couldn’t help feeling a little smug, the anger she just felt thrown a thousand kilometres away as she directed a smile towards him, “Right, you also know about this secret, so why didn’t you make a move? You should know what kind of advantages a Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body can bring to you.”
“Of course I know,” Yang Kai shot her a faint look, “According to what those people in your memory said, any man who is able to take your Primordial Yin will gain unimaginable benefits. The moon slave business of your Chamber of Commerce was actually inspired by your special constitution, right?”
Xue Yue gently nodded, “Yes! You can say that I am the highest quality Moon Slave in the Chamber of Commerce, but no one knows about it. While I was unconscious, you obviously had many opportunities; I don’t believe you weren’t tempted! You aren’t nearly that righteous.”
Saying so, she directed a look towards him as if to say she had completely seen through him.
“You’re right, I was tempted, extremely tempted!” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “When I learned that secret, my first thoughts were to strip off your clothes and take possession of you.”
“Then why didn’t you?” Xue Yue asked curiously, “You also knew that even if you did that, I wouldn’t blame you for it. At worst I would beat you a bit.”
She said these words incredibly calmly, as if she wasn’t talking about her own innocence but that of another woman she didn’t know.
Yang Kai felt a headache and after a moment of silence declared, “I’m a man of principles!”
Xue Yue lips curled fiercely, obviously not believing a single word Yang Kai just said.
“According to the old man who first discovered your special constitution, the higher your strength, the greater the benefit the one who obtains you will gain. You are currently a Third-Order Saint King. If I really took you, I’m afraid the most I would be able to achieve would be breaking through the First Order Saint King Realm!” Yang Kai said lightly, “But so what? I don’t need the aid of your body to reach such a level. Do you believe I can’t achieve the same height in less than three years?”
Xue Yue stared at Yang Kai with a stunned look. Listening to his grand words, her beautiful eyes flashed in confusion for a moment before she nodded repeatedly then seemingly casually asked, “What if I wasn’t a Saint King, but an Origin King?”
Yang Kai swept his eyes over her once then without thinking said, “Then you’d already be my woman.”
The blur in Xue Yue’s beautiful eyes instantly disappeared and was replaced with endless contempt, cynically snapping, “So the truth is that in your mind, there just weren’t enough benefits!”
“Yes!” Yang Kai admitted frankly.
“And those high minded principles you were just spouting off about?” Xue Yue’s sneered as the contempt in her eyes grew even stronger.
“What are those worth? Can they be sold for money?” Yang Kai said in disdain.
In this verbal confrontation, neither side could convince the other.
Inside the room, Yang Kai looked helplessly at Xue Yue while Xue Yue drank tea constantly to calm her anger. Unfortunately, her teacup had long ago been emptied, leaving nothing behind but air.
The atmosphere was incredibly depressing.
“Are you really so cold and ruthless?” Xue Yue suddenly spoke, staring towards Yang Kai with a chilly gaze, this man’s persistence had wounded her somewhat.
Yang Kai just shook his head in response, “No matter what you say, I want to leave. This time I suffered a big loss and I never want to leave my life in the hands of another again, especially a woman like you who possesses so many secrets. Once you’re exposed, even Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce won’t be able to protect you, and if you were to die, I’d be hit with the same fate.”
Xue Yue’s Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body special constitution was a very unique physique; it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was the best Moon Slave in the Chamber of Commerce.
When those Moon Slaves were taken by men, they would only be able to give them some slight benefits.
But Xue Yue was different. Even at her current strength, Yang Kai was confident he could directly break through to the Saint King Realm, and as her strength improved, her special constitution would only provide greater benefits to her first man.
Moreover, this wasn’t just a pure boost in strength, but one in realm!
There were too many masters in this world who painstakingly cultivated for hundreds or even thousands of years yet were unable to break through to the next realm; to them, Xue Yue’s body was the greatest tool.
President Ai Ou was a man of profound vision so when Xue Yue was three years old, he had taken her away to be raised as a man in order to avoid her suffering such a fate and bringing disaster to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce in the process.
“How long could you restrain me?” Yang Kai stared at Xue Yue indifferently, with no intention of backing down, “Forcefully picked melon is not sweet, on top of which, both of us know that the biggest factor by far in your current behaviour is the effects of the Soul Chains. The reason you’re acting this way is because of your own desires, you’ve lived as a man for so long and during that time the only one who you’ve been able to let your guard down around is me. Rather than any other kind of feelings, the biggest reason you want to keep me around is so you can maintain that sense of freedom, right?”
Xue Yue remained silent.
Yang Kai’s words were clear and concise; she could not find anything in them she could refute.
Yang Kai’s expression gradually became solemn as his tone of voice became firm, “You see me as nothing more than a tiny Third Order Saint, someone you can order around at will, but have you ever thought about things from my perspective? I am the first one from my world to enter the Star Field, which also means that I am the strongest cultivator from that world; there, I am the master!”
Xue Yue’s absentminded look became slightly thoughtful upon hearing these words.
“You’ve captured Monster Beasts before, haven’t you? Do you remember that Monster Beast King?” Yang Kai’s solemn expression twisted into a snide one, “What was the fate of that Monster Beast King you captured? Were you able to tame it?”
Xue Yue’s mind involuntarily recalled an event in the past where she had captured the king of a pack of Monster Beasts. That king refused to obey her and would often lash out at others, offending those it shouldn’t. No matter how she tried, she was never able to tame it, and in the end, she had no other choice but to put it down.
“I…” Xue Yue opened her mouth to speak but found that she didn’t know what to say.
“Think it over carefully, I’ll wait for you for three days. Give me your reply then, I don’t want to make things too stiff,” Yang Kai glanced at her lightly before standing up and leaving.
From the look in his eyes, Xue Yue was able to see a kind of firm will, one that told her that regardless of what choice she made, three days from now, he would still choose to leave.
Without unlocking the Soul Chains, him leaving would make her situation difficult.
How much risk a Third Order Saint travelling by himself through the Star Field would be taking on was something Xue Yue knew better than anyone. How could she feel secure leaving her life in such a precarious state?
With her thoughts in a mess, Xue Yue grabbed the cup on the table and threw it hard against the ground, grinding her teeth in grief for a long time before finally muttering a few words, “Cruel and heartless!”
From when she was a child until now, she had never been at a disadvantage when confronting others. She had always held the initiative, whether that person was male or female, young or old. As long as they fell into her hands, she could bend them to her will.
The senior executives in the Chamber of Commerce all agreed that she was the best and most outstanding successor candidate for the presidency.
Xue Yue accepted such compliments as if they were only natural.
But when facing Yang Kai, she found herself constantly being restrained, even during their brief conversation now, she had been forced into a position where she couldn’t even refute his words, leaving her extremely annoyed and disgruntled.
Hiding inside the room in a distressed state of mind, she sat cross-legged on the bed, quietly circulating her Secret Art in order to stabilize her disordered mood. Gradually, her breathing calmed down and she began to think about herself and Yang Kai from a different angle, mainly the pros and cons of their relationship, what letting him leave and making him stay would mean.
Outside of Xue Yue’s room, Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
He had given Xue Yue three days, but when the time came, no matter what choice she made, he would definitely put as much distance between himself and this woman as possible, perhaps because of Soul Chains’ effects though, he was feeling a bit bitter at the moment.
Several people who were standing around nearby giving him curious glances made Yang Kai even more unhappy.
These people apparently had nothing better to do and had come to enjoy a good show, each one eager to gossip about it to anyone and everyone they could find, wanting to ask about the situation yet too embarrassed to open their mouths.
“Old Ha!” Yang Kai couldn’t stand it any longer and called out.
Ha Li Ka’s face turned slightly red as he strode over with the other executives while pretending to discuss something, wearing as serious an expression as he could as he did.
“Old Ha!” Yang Kai shouted again as they approached.
“Little brother…” Ha Li Ka said with a slightly unhappy look, “Even though these old fogies call me Old Ha, it’s not quite appropriate or polite for you to address me so. Although I don’t mind personally, if outsiders were to hear about this it wouldn’t be good.”
“Lady Xue’er asked me to get her some cultivation materials from the branch’s storeroom,” Yang Kai ignored his protest.
“Lady Xue’er made such a request?” Ha Li Ka was startled but without asking much, he turned to Yang Kai and said, “Come with me, there are many good things in the storeroom, I don’t know if they can enter Lady Xue’er’s eyes though.”
“Lady Xue’er isn’t too particular,” Yang Kai scratched his cheek.
No matter what, he would be leaving in three days. This time he had nearly lost his life in order to wake up Xue Yue, and he couldn’t remain on Rainfall Star for long, so he decided to fish for some advantages before departing.
Especially Saint Crystals, Yang Kai had exhausted his current supply.
As such, he decided to borrow Xue Yue’s name, by the time she found out about it, he would already be long gone.
In front of the storeroom, Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng each took out a key and together opened the heavy door.
Old Ha was a clear cut and decisive person, so standing at the door to the storeroom, he simply said, “Go in and see for yourself, don’t hesitate to take anything you need, we’ll wait here.”
Yang Kai nodded and casually strode into the storeroom.
A moment later, bright colourful lights flashed in front of Yang Kai, making it difficult for him to even open his eyes.
This was the treasury of Rainfall Star’s Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch, the wealth stored inside was astonishing. Rows upon rows of shelves filled with cultivation materials, artifacts, and pills along with ores of each of the five elements and even Space Spirit Crystals used to manufacture Space Rings were carefully placed inside.
As he looked at the assortment of treasures before him, Yang Kai walked straight ahead to a pile of Saint Crystals.
The Saint Crystals here were piled up into small hills of Low-Rank, Mid-Rank, and High-Rank…
Yang Kai went straight up to the pile of High-Rank Saint Crystals and collected fifty thousand of them before stopping, this would be enough for him to use for quite some time. After spending this long in the Star Field, Yang Kai had gained a rough idea about the value of Saint Crystals.
Fifty thousand pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal was enough to purchase an Origin Grade High-Rank artifact!
After storing away these Saint Crystals, Yang Kai next went to the place where herbs were placed.
Yang Kai already possessed a lot of Origin Grade and Origin King Grade herbs, but he had no way to use them yet as his Alchemy proficiency wasn’t high enough.
On the other hand, he was lacking Saint King Grade herbs which corresponded to his current level. Yang Kai could current refine Saint King Grade Mid-Rank pills fairly easily and with some effort, he could even refine some High-Rank pills.
As such, he collected as many Saint King Grade herbs as possible to help him promote his Alchemy level in the future.
Yang Kai hadn’t gone too far in his pillage, only caring about a few good things while leaving most the wealth here behind so as not to create a life or death enmity.
Yang Kai packed up enough Saint King Grade herbs to fill a single space ring before stopping.
The five-element ores were also essential as the two pitch-black round stones inside the Black Book space were like bottomless pits. The ores he had purchased back on Water Moon Star last time had already been consumed by these two stone so now was the right time to add some more.
Worthy of the treasury of a Heng Lou Chamber of Commerce branch, the grade and amount of ores stored here were quite good, allowing Yang Kai to easily fill up a ring before moving on.
When he arrived at the area where artifacts were stored, Yang Kai was filled with anticipation.
He hoped to find a couple of artifacts here, preferably for defence; as for offensive type artifacts, Yang Kai wasn’t as interested. Compared to these external boosts, he preferred to concentrate on enhancing his own strength.
However, defensive items were a different matter, the more such artifacts he could possess, the better, as in critical moments they could save his life.
After browsing around though, Yang Kai wound up disappointed.
There were indeed a lot of artifacts here, but none of them were able to catch his attention.
The best artifact stored inside the storehouse was a Saint King Grade High-Rank halberd.
Yang Kai has never been interested in such a bulky weapon. Only those men with excess muscles everywhere, including in their heads, would use such an artifact to show off their might. Taking such an artifact would be useless to Yang Kai and would also waste a lot of his time to refine.
Looking around for a while longer but turning up empty-handed, Yang Kai left the storehouse.
Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng, who had been waiting outside, saw Yang Kai walk out but didn’t ask him what had taken much less inspect his haul, instead just nodding to him before closing the treasury’s doors.
They were also counting on Lady Xue’er to put in a good word for them when the representatives from the Home Star arrived, allowing them to escape punishment. So naturally, now that Lady Xue’er wanted something from their treasury, they were more than happy to open the doors wide for her.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, couldn’t help worrying about Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce a bit, thinking that if every branch president was as irresponsible as Old Ha, wouldn’t the Chamber of Commerce soon go broke?
Inside Zong Ao’s room, Yang Kai poured a glass of wine for the old man with a respectful expression.
The old man accepted the glass without the slightest politeness or hesitation.
After lifting the glass and taking a sip, Zong Ao grinned widely and said, “If you have something to say, just say it, as long as you’re not after this old master’s treasures of course.”
Yang Kai smiled back, “I didn’t have such intentions, Old Zong is thinking too much. This Junior just came to say goodbye to Senior. En, during this time, I’ve received much care from Senior, which I am very grateful for.”
Whether Zong Ao was a good person or not, or whether he had harboured murderous intent to him or not, these days Yang Kai had really been taken care of well by Zong Ao. Without his guidance, Yang Kai wouldn’t have had any idea about how to save Xue Yue or how to awaken her Soul Avatar.
Although Zong Ao had also gained much from Yang Kai, there was nothing wrong with a Junior paying his respects to an old Senior.
“Say goodbye?” Zong Ao was stunned, “Are you leaving?”
“Good, I’ll be leaving in two days!” Yang Kai nodded.
Zong Ao wore a strange expression as he asked, “Are you afraid that Xue Yue Third Young Master will come seeking trouble with you? En, you should leave, if someone from Water Moon Star wants to seek trouble with you, you’ll definitely die.”
He still believed Yang Kai didn’t fear the Heavens and had dared to covet touch Xue Yue’s woman.
Yang Kai, of course, didn’t bother to explain, allowing the old man to think what he liked.
“Kid, have you considered following this old master?” Zong Ao suddenly proposed, “It’s just a woman, and since Xue Yue is the son of President Ai Ou, I don’t think he’ll fail to see the bigger picture. As long as you follow this old master, when the time comes, I should be able to make big things small, and small things nothing. Otherwise, how is a cultivator at the Third Order Saint Realm supposed to escape pursuit from the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce? I’m afraid the Star Field isn’t vast enough for you to hide in.”
[Why does everyone want me to follow them?] Yang Kai complained in his heart while maintaining a calm look on his face. He knew that Old Zong was making this proposal because he fancied his Alchemy aptitude, so Yang Kai simply shook his head and said, “I appreciate Old Zong’s intentions, but this Junior is still determined to leave.”
Zong Ao nodded lightly, “Since that’s the case, this old master won’t insist. Good, I’ve got some things here for you. I noticed that despite your excellent Alchemy aptitude you’ve never received any kind of systematic instruction in the field so you probably aren’t aware of the uses of various high-grade herbs and pills. These should be of use to you.”
Saying so, he took out a big stack of ancient books from his Space Ring.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and didn’t stand on ceremony, quickly sweeping all these texts into his own space ring.
Yang Kai was familiar with many of these ancient books as he had browsed through some of them in Zong Ao’s palace. Some were written by Zong Ao himself while others had apparently been collected by him over the years. These books gave descriptions of the medicinal properties, grades, and growth environments of various herbs in the Star Field.
As long as he could thoroughly digest the content inside, Yang Kai’s could smoothly adapt to the Star Field’s Alchemy standards and would no longer encounter herbs he couldn’t identify.
Not having a chance to finish browsing through these books was one of Yang Kai’s regrets about having to leave Rainfall Star in such a rush as he had no idea when such a good opportunity would appear again, but now Zong Ao had taken the initiative to deliver these books to him.
Yang Kai was naturally quite grateful.
“Kid, tell this old master, where did you learn Alchemy? The Spirit Arrays you use is a bit different from the ones that are popularized in the Star Field. Although they seem to share the same source, there are still many subtle differences,” Zong Ao asked curiously.
“Old Zong, the place where I come from is a lower world, where the strongest cultivators are only Third Order Saints, the same as my current cultivation. The best Alchemists are also only Saint Grade High-Rank standard. Spirit grasses, spirit medicines, artifacts, and even raw materials are all capped at this grade, that’s why I don’t know much about materials above Saint Grade…” Yang Kai no longer concealed anything and freely chatted with Zong Ao while sharing a drink.
Zong Ao was startled again and again as he listened to Yang Kai’s story, thinking more and more he wasn’t simple.
A Junior from a lower world actually was actually able to obtain such achievements in Alchemy and even provide the inspiration required for Zong Ao to solve the problem which had troubled him for hundreds of years, allowing him to now achieve a ten percent chance at refining pills that formed Pill Veins.
What kind of achievements would this kid have made if he had instead been born on one of the best Cultivation Stars in the Star Field? Thinking about all this, Zong Ao became even more congenial as he spoke with Yang Kai.
After three rounds of drinking, Yang Kai got up to leave and Zong Ao didn’t try to retain him, only telling him that the method of generating Pill Veins would not leak from his lips without Yang Kai’s permission.
Yang Kai waved his hand lightly and said nothing.
Whether it was Artifact Refiners or Alchemists, or even cultivators, they were a not the sharing type who would freely expose the details of their Martial Skills and skills; instead, they would treat these things as their greatest secrets and only pass them on to their own people, outsiders wanting to spy on these things was impossible and attempts to do so often led to life or death conflicts.
Zong Ao being able to learn the method of generating Pill Veins from Yang Kai had already made him very satisfied, naturally, he wouldn’t now go about publicizing it.
After two more uneventful days, Zong Ao moved back to his mountain valley saying he was going to re-cultivate his vast Medicine Gardens. In any case, his cultivation wasn’t low and he had plenty of years left to live, more than enough to grow a new batch of mature herbs.
Xue Yue and Yang Kai both also stayed in their own rooms these two days.
Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng sensed that the atmosphere wasn’t right and busied themselves with their own affairs while waiting for someone from the Home Star to arrive and deal with things here.
Two days later, Yang Kai came to Xue Yue’s room and without saying anything walked inside directly.
There seemed to be a chill lingering in the room. Xue Yue was sitting at the same table as before, looking stoic. When she saw Yang Kai come in, she only shot him a faint glance.
Yang Kai clearly understood that Xue Yue felt a deep resentment in her heart and it was obvious that her attitude was different from a few days ago, there was a cold aura now surrounding her tender body.
Yang Kai braced himself and sat down in front of her.
“Drink this first!” Xue Yue poured a glass of wine and placed it in front of Yang Kai.
“Is it poisoned?” Yang Kai shot her a look of distrust.
“What benefit would poisoning you bring me?” Xue Yue stared at him coldly.
Yang Kai looked at the clear liquor in the cup before shaking his head, “Forget it, I didn’t come here to drink wine, let’s finish our business.”
He was sure there was something wrong with this wine. Based on what he knew about Xue Yue, it was absolutely impossible she would give up so easily. Yang Kai was prepared to not leave her any face and bicker to the end.
Seeing him act with such vigilance, Xue Yue smiled sarcastically, took the wine glass and drank it before slamming it back down in front of him, seemingly wanting to demonstrate that he was thinking too much.
“Have you thought things through?”
“Have you thoughts things through?” Xue Yue returned his words.
“Don’t play games with me, doing so is meaningless, I gave you my answer three days ago.”
“Is there really no room to negotiate?” Xue Yue still didn’t give up.
“No,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly.
Xue Yue grit her teeth and said, “Yes, you’re right, forcefully picked melon is not sweet, you and I are now tied together by the Soul Chains and if I were to really force you to stay, if one day you decide to commit suicide, I’d be buried along with you, I can’t allow that to happen. Since you insist on leaving, then we’ll have to unlock the Soul Chains then neither of us will have anything to do with the other.”
“It’s good that you understand,” Yang Kai was overjoyed.
“Don’t look so happy,” Xue Yue got up, walked over stood behind Yang Kai from a moment before saying, “The reason why I’m so willing to be entangled with you is definitely related to the Soul Chains, but you’re also right that a big part of it stems from my womanly heart. From the age of three until now, the only person I’ve ever been able to truly let my defences down around is you. These days have been the happiest of my life. Old Zong also told me that in order to wake me, you nearly lost your life, and although I don’t know all the details, since Old Zong went so far, he shouldn’t be lying. I need to thank you for that because no one has ever worked so hard for me as a woman. It’s the first time anyone has shown care for me in this form.”
Yang Kai brow wrinkled, secretly raising his vigilance.
The more Xue Yue talked like this, the more he felt crisis closing in on him. For a woman like her, once she revealed what was concealed in the depths of her heart yet didn’t receive the response she wanted, the consequences would be dreadful.
“Once we untie the Soul Chains, without that layer of entanglement, I don’t know what I will do, but most likely my first instinct will be to butcher you!” Xue Yue leaned over behind Yang Kai, her hands resting on his shoulders as she sighed.
“I’m prepared for that, rest assured, I’ll definitely run far away, so far you won’t ever be able to find me,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Your strength is too low, if I really want to find you, it doesn’t matter how far you run or where you hide!” Xue Yue still breathed hot breath next to Yang Kai’s ear, her cold tone slowly showing signs of melting as she softly whispered, “Is a woman like me really not enough to keep you?”
Yang Kai didn’t say anything, but somehow a sense of sadness filled his heart.
“You’re really cruel and heartless!” Xue Yue clenched her jaw and muttered.
The next moment, Yang Kai felt a sharp pain on his neck and drops of warm liquid drip down on his skin.
He couldn’t help wanting to turn around and comfort her but he somehow resisted.
After a long time, Xue Yue released Yang Kai, her delicate mouth filled with golden blood. After swallowing this blood down she once again grit her teeth and declared, “Drinking your blood today is compensation for all the disrespectful acts you’ve done to me. If you ever let me see you again in the future, I’ll peel your skin and eat your meat, don’t doubt me, I’ll live up to my words! Go and never show yourself before me again, because if you do, I don’t know I will do.”
Saying so, turned her back to Yang Kai, her shoulders trembling, the tone of her voice rising in pitch.
Yang Kai sighed softly, stood up, opened his mouth, but still didn’t know what to say.
Listening to the footsteps of Yang Kai’s departure, Xue Yue’s beautiful eyes burst into tears that seemed to flow without end.
She knew that she would never have a chance to live like this again, and that starting today she would have to resume her role as Xue Yue Third Young Master.
A Star Shuttle shot up into the sky like a bolt of lightning, quickly dashing towards the Starry Sky.
After an hour, Yang Kai stopped and stood amidst the stars, overlooking the colourful Rainfall Star.
In the next instant, an indistinct shackle which was tying down his Soul loosened and Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling as if he had suddenly become free. At the same time, a questioning voice seemingly sounded in the ear.
Yang Kai responded affirmatively.
Then, with a loud bang, the invisible shackles on his Soul suddenly shattered and all the sorrow and anxiety he felt for leaving Xue Yue disappeared, allowing Yang Kai’s mood to completely clear up.