Chen Shi Tao was already worried that her Space Ring might not be big enough and was wondering whether she should contact the others from her Sect to come here and help them mine this lode. This was an incredible opportunity. Forget about collecting spirit grasses and spirit medicines outside, as long as they had enough Saint Crystals, what fear was there they couldn’t just buy what they wanted?
Considering this, Chen Shi Tao suddenly looked at Yang Kai with a scorching gaze, as if she wanted to see just how much good fortune was hidden in his body. Just by following him, they were able to obtain such immense benefits.
Just in case, everyone went to explore a few other passages to see if there were more Saint Crystal deposits down them, and unsurprisingly, down each tunnel, they found massive chunks of High-Rank Saint Crystal just lying out in plain sight.
“We’ve got plenty of time, everyone can split up and mine on their own. Before the Flowing Flame Sand Field closes, we’ll mine as much as we can, and if we can’t mind this place clean….” After a moment of hesitation and a glance over towards Yang Kai, who didn’t say anything, Chen Shi Tao said, “Then we’ll bring news of this place back to the Sect and wait until next time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens to let others mine it!”
Her original idea was naturally to contact others from her Sect; after all, the more people that came, the more they could mine, and the more benefits they would obtain. However, besides the Chen Shi Tao’s group of five from Clear Sky Sect, there were also two outsiders, Yang Kai and Chang Qi, so it would not be a good idea for her to call in others lest she creates dissatisfaction between the two groups.
If it was Chang Qi it wouldn’t have mattered, but this young man named Yang Kai was a man of great destiny and Chen Shi Tao wanted to remain on good terms with him so in the future she might possibly gain more benefits from him.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was very satisfied with her decision and immediately nodded in agreement.
The seven people dispersed immediately, each picking a mine shaft to enter then using their own methods to collect Saint Crystals.
Yang Kai naturally chose the tunnel he had been eyeing from the start, walking only a hundred meters in before arriving at a massive block of Saint Crystal. Yang Kai condensed a dagger of Demonic Flame in his hand and using this incredibly sharp tool began cutting parts of this giant Saint Crystal into washbasin size chunks before tossing them into his Space Ring.
Although Yang Kai wasn’t as excited as the others to mine the Saint Crystals here, having more of them was never a bad thing.
Yang Kai worked hard at mining these Saint Crystals while keeping a lookout for the snake-shaped World Spirit Treasure. While he was certain it had entered this passage, and there was no other way out, Yang Kai wasn’t able to locate it immediately, confusing him greatly.
After that World Spirit Treasure entered this place, it had seemingly disappeared!
Aside from it drilling into these Saint Crystals, Yang Kai wasn’t able to find another reasonable answer, but could that World Spirit Treasure really drill into solid Saint Crystal? He didn’t know of any World Spirit Treasure which had such ability.
On top of that, this entire place was somewhat strange. It stands to reason that which such a massive Saint Crystal lode underground, the plain up above should be filled with spirit grasses and spirit medicines, but there was actually nothing on the surface but ordinary weeds.
Unable to think up any explanations for these mysteries, Yang Kai focused on digging and exploring this lode’s depths, tossing one large chunk of Saint Crystal into his Space Ring after another. The Saint Crystals in Yang Kai tunnel were decreasing at a rapid rate.
The dagger condensed of Demonic Flame was extremely sharp, able to easily slice through the raw Saint Crystal, but the Demonic Flame had the inherent property of burning everything it touched, so whenever Yang Kai made a cut, he would also burn away a significant amount of Saint Crystal.
One or two such losses were irrelevant, but as they compounded over time, this loss would be difficult to estimate.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai summoned a drop of Golden Blood from his veins and transformed it into a short sword.
Even a casual swing of this Golden Blood short sword was able to cut through the raw Saint Crystal here like tofu, making mining not only incredibly easy but also far more efficient than before with the added bonus of not suffering any losses. Yang Kai was very satisfied.
A day later, Yang Kai had harvested a large amount of Saint Crystal but was still unable to locate the little snake World Spirit Treasure even though he had dug another ten meters into the channel.
While Yang Kai was mining Saint Crystals, he suddenly heard some light footsteps at the entrance to his tunnel and soon saw Chang Qi’s figure emerge.
Foreign Elder Chang was wearing an excited look while constraining his aura and footsteps. Seeing Yang Kai’s sceptical look, Chang Qi only beckoned to him mysteriously.
As soon as he saw Chang Qi’s expression, Yang Kai knew the former must have found something good and couldn’t help also becoming excited, following after him quietly in the next moment.
As he followed Chang Qi, Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to ask, “Did you find a trace of that World Spirit Treasure?”
“It’s hiding here?” Chang Qi frowned, a bewildered expression filling his face.
“It’s hiding here, I sensed its aura in the tunnel yesterday, but I haven’t found it yet.”
Chang Qi shook his head and replied, “I didn’t come to you because of it, but because I found something incredible. This old man’s vision is too poor though so I don’t recognize what it is, nor do I dare to move it, but you come from the outside world and are well-informed, so perhaps you will know something about it.”
After listening to Chang Qi’s comment, Yang Kai was a little disappointed, but he was still looked forward to whatever it was the former had found, immediately falling silent as he followed Chang Qi to another passage.
The raw Saint Crystal in this channel had been mined by Chang Qi, but not as much had been collected as Yang Kai had. Although Chang Qi had only collected about half of what Yang Kai had thought, it was still an enormous amount of wealth.
“Take a look, do you recognize this?” Chang Qi pointed forward.
Yang Kai looked in the direction he was guiding and his eyes narrowed.
Amongst the raw Saint Crystal in front of him was a small tree-like object inlaid in the wall. It was roughly a meter tall and had nine branches leading out from its trunk as well as a number of leaves. It seemed to be formed from the purest of crystal and was beautiful.
It seemed like it had grown out from the surrounding Saint Crystal but also like a frozen fossil, almost lifelike in nature.
There was no vitality coming from it, but it seemed to exude a wondrous aura from its leaves and branches. Whether it was Chang Qi or Yang Kai, when they were exposed to this aura, they couldn’t help feeling a sense of enlightenment.
Chang Qi had even noticed the bottleneck which had prevented him from break through for many years showing some signs of loosening.
This situation startled him and he quickly suppressed his surging Saint Qi, not daring to have any distracting thoughts.
This was the Flowing Flame Sand Field, and inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field, any Origin Returning Realm master would definitely die. Chang Qi was currently at the peak of the Third Order Saint King Realm, and once he broke through, he would reach the Origin Returning Realm. If that were to happen here, he would immediately be killed by the strange World Principles in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
It was after Chang Qi experienced this strange sensation that he hurriedly found Yang Kai.
Firstly, Chang Qi didn’t recognize what this thing was and didn’t know how to deal with it; secondly, he didn’t dare approach it at will, much less touch it. If this thing were to force him to break through, it would be a disaster.
Yang Kai, however, recklessly immersed himself in this wonderful aura, his face revealing a soothed expression.
Soon though, he regained his calm look and stared towards this small tree embedded in Saint Crystal seriously. After a long time, he exhaled softly and said, “This should be a Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree.”
“Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree?” Chang Qi apparently was hearing this name for the first time and couldn’t help but ask, “What is that?”
“A type of unparalleled treasure!” Yang Kai said in a low voice. “It is a higher grade existence than even World Spirit Treasures. I have seen records about it in an ancient book before. It has a slim chance of being formed in extremely rich High-Rank Saint Crystal lodes. After concentrating the essence of all the surrounding Saint Crystal, a tiny seedling can be produced. This Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree has already grown to a meter in height, so it is at least 20,000 to 30,000 years old, possibly even older.”
Chang Qi couldn’t help feeling astonished.
No matter what it was, anything that could reach 20,000 to 30,000 years of age was an extraordinary existence. Even a weed may obtain sentience and evolve into a World Spirit Treasure over such a long period of time.
This Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree was born from the essence of this Saint Crystal lode and was then nourished by the aura of the all the surrounding High-Rank Saint Crystal. Its starting point was already extremely high, so after so long it could be imagined how extraordinary it was.
Yang Kai knowing about this treasure was naturally thanks to Zong Ao. The ancient books stored in Zong Ao’s palace back on Rainfall Star had no discernible filing system, but thanks to browsing them, Yang Kai was able to learn about a great many wondrous things. Those ancient books not only had records about the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, but it also had information about the Soul Warming Lotus and various other treasures.
It could be said that the value of the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree was on par with the Soul Warming Lotus; incomparable to ordinary treasures.
Most cultivators throughout the Star Field had never even heard of the Soul Warming Lotus or the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, much less seen them. Only in records from the distant past was there any information about them, almost as if such things had all disappeared without a trace.
“What wondrous uses does it have? Can it be used in Alchemy?” Chang Qi saw Yang Kai knew something about it and immediately asked.
“Alchemy?” Yang Kai chuckled, “Naturally it can be used for Alchemy, but if you were to do so, it would be the epitome of wasting Heaven’s precious gifts. If any master who knew about the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree were to hear someone used it for Alchemy, they would immediately chop them to pieces then burn their body to ash.”
“Ahem…” Chang Qi face went bright red, knowing he was a bit ignorant here and probably asked a ridiculous question.
“You should have realized its greatest usefulness already. If one cultivates near it, it can help cultivators break through their bottlenecks. That’s why it is a priceless treasure.” Yang Kai said with satisfaction.
Most things that could help a cultivator overcome a bottleneck were special pills, but if one took such a pill and still failed to break through, taking a second pill would have no effect; however, the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree was different. It could help a cultivator to slowly increase their own comprehension of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dow, allowing them to overcome their bottleneck completely naturally.
Taking a pill was considered using external forces to help one break through, but the magical aura of the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree fundamentally improved a cultivator’s own comprehension, the effects of the two weren’t even on the same level.
Sure enough, when Chang Qi heard this, his eyes brightened and his body trembled with excitement.
The reason Chang Qi and Hao An were both unable to break through to the Origin Returning Realm was that they couldn’t overcome the bottlenecks they had, and the Hai Ke Family didn’t have the ability to purchase Origin Condensing Pills for them. As such, if they didn’t obtain some kind of special opportunity, they would remain Third Order Saint Kings for the rest of their life, unable to ever grasp the mysteries of the Origin Returning Realm.
The two of them had entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field for two reasons, one was to complete the agreement they had with Yi En, the other was to seek a breakthrough opportunity.
But now, this little tree in front of him could easily help them break through their bottlenecks, so how could Chang Qi not be excited?
Just thinking about being able to take that one last step which had eluded him and Old Hao for so long, Chang Qi couldn’t help shedding some tears.
Yang Kai didn’t tell Chang Qi that the profound aura of the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree wasn’t just useful for cultivators trying to break through their cultivation bottlenecks but also bottlenecks in comprehending Martial Skills, Soul Skills, and so on and so forth. Essentially, as long as a cultivator was having trouble comprehending anything related to their cultivation, the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree could help them, and the higher one’s strength became, the greater the benefits they could obtain.
The higher a cultivator climbed, the harder it became to advance as it not only required the accumulation of strength over time, but also increased comprehension of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao. Breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm was already incredibly difficult, so one could only imagine how challenging breaking through to the Origin King Realm was.
However, the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree could help cultivators overcome this problem on a fundamental level.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was an unparalleled treasure. Depending on how it was used, it could be considered even more valuable than the Soul Warming Lotus. A Soul Warming Lotus could only be used by one person, but the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree could be used by countless people.
“It finally makes sense why the plains up above only have weeds growing on them with no trace of spirit grasses or spirit medicines,” Yang Kai smiled.
Chang Qi asked reflexively, “Why?”
“Because it is impossible for spirit grasses or spirit medicines to grow in a place where this thing exists, it has exhausted all of the Heavenly Dao within a few hundred kilometers…” Yang Kai suddenly frowned.
Chang Qi obviously remembered something as well quickly asked, “But didn’t that World Spirit Treasure come from this place?”
Yang Kai glanced over at him and conjectured, “That might not have been a World Spirit Treasure.”
In any case, with a Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree appearing here, Yang Kai and Chang Qi had completely disregarded the issue of the World Spirit Treasure for now. Chang Qi was afraid to even move this peerless treasure, fearing he might damage it, but Yang Kai didn’t hesitate to use his golden sword to excavate the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree from the surrounding Saint Crystal and toss it into his Black Book space.
Yang Kai only kept some unimportant things inside his Space Ring while all of his real treasures were stored inside the Black Book space.
“Foreign Elder Chang, I’ll hold onto this thing for now. After we return, I’ll return it to you. It will definitely help you to break through to the Origin Returning Realm.” After all, Chang Qi was the one who found it, so although Yang Kai was a bit envious, he didn’t plan on taking it for himself.
Chang Qi however quickly waved his hands and with a very satisfied expression on his face declared, “You saying so is treating this old man as too much of an outsider. This old man isn’t ignorant of this thing’s true value, it’s just… this old man is well aware that he doesn’t have the qualifications to hold onto such a treasure. If I were to try to keep it to myself, it would only be a curse rather than a blessing. This old man has already lived so many years and his only remaining wish now is to break through to the Origin Returning Realm, but even that seemed all but impossible. It was when this old man and Old Hao were at their lowest and most helpless point that you appeared to help us. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have even had a chance to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, and this old man would never have been able to arrive here. This Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree is yours now, allowing this old man and Old Hao to cultivate beside it for a while is plenty.”
Hearing him say so, Yang Kai no longer acted polite and immediately said, “Thank you. In the future, when you and Foreign Elder Hao come to live on Dragon Cave Mountain, you will definitely obtain far more benefits than you could in the Hai Ke Family. Breaking through to the Origin King Realm won’t be impossible.”
Chang Qi laughed, “That will be a goal for the future.”
Obviously he didn’t have much hope for such a future. He had yet to break through to the Origin Returning Realm so how could he dream of reaching the Origin King Realm? What’s more, an Origin King Realm master hadn’t appeared on Shadowed Star for countless years, Chang Qi didn’t believe he would be the one to break this pattern.
Yang Kai didn’t say anymore, his target had already been set on the Origin King Realm, so if it was impossible on Shadowed Star, he would simply have to go to a different Cultivation Star. After all, he would not be trapped here for his entire lifetime! At that time, taking others along would be a simple matter.
After collecting the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, Yang Kai returned to his own tunnel and immersed himself in mining again.
The entire underground cave was quite quiet, with only the faint sounds of mining coming from the various passages. Whether it was the five disciples from Clear Sky Sect, Yang Kai, or Chang Qi, all achieved great results.
Time marched on and soon four days had passed.
Yang Kai had dug more than thirty meters into his own passage and he had already obtained the equivalent of three million Saint Crystals; however, there was still no trace of the World Spirit Treasure that looked like a little snake.
A Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree had appeared here, so Yang Kai was even more curious about that little snake-like World Spirit Treasure because he wanted to know if it had grown and evolved here, or it had simply unintentionally hidden here after being chased down.
And so, Yang Kai kept digging deeper.
Two days later, Yang Kai frowned, secretly wondering if he should give up.
His biggest objective in entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field was finding a place to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water. The first layer Flame Area failed to meet his requirements, so he hadn’t stopped there and was instead intending to take his chances on the next Flame Area beyond the Treasure Area. Considering this, it wasn’t worth it for him to continue wasting time here.
Saint Crystals were good, but Yang Kai felt that if he wanted to obtain Saint Crystals it wasn’t difficult, so there was no need for him to keep mining them here.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai decided to spend two more days digging here. After two days, no matter what the result was, he had to leave this place.
Yang Kai didn’t know if it was his determination paying off or just good luck, but half a day later, after digging out a large piece of Saint Crystal, he suddenly felt a distinctive aura overflowing from the Saint Crystal in front of him.
This aura was very strange. Although it seemed quite thin and weak, it was also incredibly noble and majestic!
Under this aura, Yang Kai even felt a bit fearful and apprehensive, as if a great pair of eyes were staring at him, the owner of which could immediately kill him if it wished.
This sensation startled Yang Kai and he quickly focused himself to resist it.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt light again, and after carefully inspecting his surroundings again, his expression became weird.
This majestic aura was somewhat familiar to him. It wasn’t the same majesty of the Demon Eye of Annihilation, but instead felt similar to the one the Golden Dragon Tattoo produced when it materialized. Although there were some slight differences, the general feeling was the same.
Sensing the peculiarity of this matter, Yang Kai immediately became excited and accelerated his movements, chucking raw pieces of Saint Crystal into his Space Ring faster and faster.
As he went deeper, the majestic aura became thicker and more and more obvious.
Yang Kai even felt his body grow somewhat hot and the Golden Dragon Tattoo on his back began moving about all on its own, as if it had come alive, even letting out a faint dragon roar once in a while.
Not only that, but the Ice Phoenix Tattoo which had never responded to any kind of stimulus before suddenly grew restless and began letting out piercing phoenix cries.
Whatever it was deeper inside, it had caused a reaction from the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress’ Inheritance.
After proceeding another ten meters or so, after Yang Kai cut apart a big piece of Saint Crystal, a burst of azure light suddenly appeared in front of him before a dark green glow filled the passageway.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and swiftly pushed his Saint Qi to resist the fierce pressure coming from the front. For a moment, breathing became somewhat difficult and it seemed as if he had been caught in a mire, unable to move forward.
Yang Kai’s face changed greatly, but in the next moment, this feeling disappeared without a trace, as if everything was just an illusion. Only the azure ball of light remained, the glow coming from it now even more dazzling than before.
Looking forward curiously, Yang Kai was surprised by what he saw.
In the passage he had excavated, there was an open space. This space wasn’t large, only about three meters in diameter. At this moment, a round bead the size of a pigeon egg was lying quietly on the ground. This bead was colourless, but inside it, there seemed to be a tiny green snake swimming about. This snake seemed to possess its own intelligence, and seeing Yang Kai looking at it, it actually became livelier and swam about faster.
Yang Kai felt the aura of a Soul from this little snake!
It must have been the little snake that Chang Qi had chased before and had mistakenly thought was a World Spirit Treasure; but now, Yang Kai discovered it was actually a soul!
Now it made sense why Chang Qi had found it resting atop a Soul Nourishing Flower. Disembodied souls like this couldn’t exist for a long period of time, so every once in a while, it probably had to visit that Soul Nourishing Flower to absorb some of its medicinal effects in order to maintain its own stability.
Unfortunately for it, it had been accidentally discovered by Chang Qi and then forced to escape, apparently leading its pursuers to its home.
The azure light was being emitted from this little snake, but at this moment it was obviously very weak, so weak that after releasing that burst of majestic aura, it had become dispirited.
This soul was obviously just a remnant and had definitely received grievous wounds, probably damaging its sentience and consciousness greatly. Yang Kai was curious as to what kind of soul it was.
Next to the round bead the little snake inhabited, there was a section of bone a bit more than a meter in length and about as thick as a baby’s arm, resembling a jade crystal pillar. Although it had clearly been here for innumerable years, it actually showed no signs of damage and instead seemed to contain an overwhelming power. It was almost as if it was a great ancient beast that could wake at any moment. Feeling this wild and fierce aura, Yang Kai was quite startled.
This bone did not belong to a human skeleton but instead came from some type of Monster Beast.
[It couldn’t be dragon bone, could it?] Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
Judging from the commotion the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress Inheritances were raising, Yang Kai could only draw such an incredible conclusion.
It was the only way to explain why the Golden Dragon Tattoo and Ice Phoenix Tattoo had become so excited. On top of that, the little snake inside the round bead didn’t appear simple. It had two horns stop its head as well as a set of sharp claws. There was also a beard beneath its chin. It was clearly an extremely tiny version of a legendary ancient dragon.
Yang Kai’s heart pounded with excitement.
Even when he obtained the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree a few days ago, he had not been so thrilled.
Because Yang Kai didn’t experience any bottlenecks while cultivating, the existence of the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree was just an extra flower in a bouquet to him, unnecessary for the most part. The biggest role the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree could provide was to help his friends and relatives in their own breakthroughs.
Although the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree was exceptionally precious, priceless even, it didn’t have much use to Yang Kai personally, so when he discovered it, he had only been slightly excited and soon regained his calm.
However, the thought of the long bone in front of him possibly being a dragon bone belonging to a legendary ancient dragon made it impossible for Yang Kai to suppress the excitement he felt deep inside.
Dragons and phoenixes were two of the strongest beings in existence, born alongside the universe, the natural rulers of the Monster Race; however, whether it was in Tong Xuan Realm or the Star Field, they only existed in legend.
No one had met or even seen a living dragon or phoenix; however, there were many bloodline descendants of these two supreme creatures in this world that proved they once existed.
For example, in the Tong Xuan Realm, the Monster Race’s Thunder Dragon Great Senior had a trace of ancient dragon blood flowing through his veins, and the Tenth-Order Thunder Luan Monster Beast whose corpse, Monster Core, and Spiritual Essence had produced the Thunder Attribute Bird Wood Yang Kai had found in that strange isolated world was a descendant of an ancient phoenix.
The Thunder Attribute Bird Wood was still lying in Yang Kai’s Black Book Space. It had not been used by him yet because it was very precious. Yang Kai wasn’t willing to give it to Yang Yan for Artifact Refining just yet.
The Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress Inheritance obtained by Yang Kai and Su Yan were also related to these two ancient beasts, which was why Thunder Dragon Great Senior had previously said that Yang Kai gave off traces of a Monster Emperor’s aura.
These two supreme existences were immortal and indestructible!
However, the long bone in front of Yang Kai was very similar to the dragon bones of legend, making Yang Kai quite confused, not knowing if his conjecture was correct. Since True Dragons and Phoenixes were immortal, where had this dragon bone come from?
If he was correct, was this pigeon egg-sized crystal a Dragon Bead? And was the little snake which was swimming in this Dragon Bead a remnant of a dragon’s soul?
Whatever the case, collecting them came first; there would be plenty of time for him to study them after he went back. Making up his mind, Yang Kai took a deep breath and reached out to pick up the round bead in front of him.
But before he could grasp the bead, the little snake inside it actually opened its mouth and sent out a blue mist, one that directly penetrated the bead and covered Yang Kai’s hand.
Yang Kai didn’t feel any kind of pain, but his face still changed dramatically.
Because after the blue mist enveloped his hand, Yang Kai found that he had lost all sensation in it and a somewhat grainy texture appeared on his skin, as if his hand was being transformed into a piece of wood.
This phenomenon continued to spread along his hand, seemingly wanting to turn his entire body into a wooden statue.
Yang Kai was shocked and quickly retracted his hand as he pushed his Demonic Flame.
Yang Kai wanted to dispel this weird energy using his Demonic Flame, but what made him panic even more, was that even with the strange and terrifying power of his black flames, he was unable to scatter the blue mist and was only able to stop it from spreading.
The loss of sensation in his hand became even more pronounced, causing Yang Kai’s expression to grow dim. Now, even his Saint Qi was being blocked.
Fortunately, the Demonic Flame was also an unusual existence, incomparable to ordinary cultivator’s Saint Qi. For a time, the black Demonic Flame and the cyan mist fought one another at Yang Kai’s wrist. The cyan mist couldn’t advance but the Demonic Flame was unable to dispel it, leading to a kind of stalemate.
After observing for a while, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief. As long as his Demonic Flame could block this blue mist he could find a solution.
However, after this incident, not only was he not angry or frightened but instead became even more certain his guess was correct.
This little snake’s soul was broken and incomparably weak, otherwise it wouldn’t have been trapped here. The previous chase had also turned it into an arrow at the end of its flight, yet it was still able to wield such great power. If it was in its heyday, Yang Kai estimated it would only need a single breath to reduce him to ash.
This was definitely a remnant soul of an ancient dragon, otherwise, it could not possibly possess such immense power.
After spurting that spray of blue mist, the already weak little snake became even more dispirited, its head drooping as its body became translucent, as if it might dissipate at any time.
Yang Kai saw this and no longer hesitated, quickly picking up the round bead and that bone next to it and threw them into his Black Book Space.
Yang Kai lost all remaining interest he had in mining Saint Crystals. This underground adventure had not only yielded an unparalleled treasure like the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, but also what he suspected were a True Dragon’s Dragon Bead and bone. The harvest of this trip was unimaginable.
Sitting down cross-legged, Yang Kai began to deal with the cyan energy that had invaded his body in earnest.
Pushing his Saint Qi, Yang Kai condensed even more Demonic Flame onto his hand, the raging black fire immediately becoming more intense, burning fiercely enough to warp the surrounding space.
The cyan mist had formerly been able to resist the Demonic Flame but now it was clearly losing ground. Although progress was still slow, there was no doubt it was being forced out of Yang Kai’s body.
Drop after drop of cyan liquid dripped from Yang Kai’s fingertips onto the ground below, creating a slight plopping sound each time.
Two days later, Yang Kai stood up, waved his hand, and found that there were no problems, gently nodding in relief.
Turning his head to look at the Saint Crystal lode that he had been mining, Yang Kai began excavating the ten meters in front of him to avoid leaving any traces of what had transpired here.
After digging up these ten meters worth of raw Saint Crystal, Yang Kai turned around and left decisively.
When he came to another channel, Chang Qi was still earnestly mining. Seemingly feeling that a breakthrough was now no longer impossible, and with such massive wealth in front of him, Chang Qi’s face was practically glowing with glee.
Seeing Yang Kai come in, Chang Qi couldn’t help asking, “Why aren’t you mining Saint Crystals?”
“I’m not interested in mining anymore. Foreign Elder Chang, do you want to stay here?” Yang Kai asked.
“Of course I want to remain here!” Chang Qi nodded without hesitation. “There are so many Saint Crystals here, I’m afraid they can’t all be mined before the Flowing Flame Sand Field closes. Yang Kai, are you leaving?”
“Yeah, I still have some things I need to do so I can’t stay any longer,” Yang Kai replied, but did not try to persuade Chang Qi to lease as well; after all, these Saint Crystals were indeed a huge wealth to him. Yang Kai had only been mining for a few days but had already collected the equivalent of about four million Saint Crystals. Even if Chang Qi was working much slower than him, he should have been able to collect at least half that amount.
Such an amount of wealth was something Chang Qi never even imagined he would one day posses.
After he broke through to the Origin Returning Realm, Chang Qi would need to purchase more powerful artefacts for himself, so naturally, he wanted to store up some capital while he had the opportunity.
Although the Treasure Area was no doubt filled with other opportunities, there was an equal amount of danger present. Not only was there a threat of Monster Beasts, but there was also the threat of other cultivators. If someone was unlucky and encountered people like Qu Chang Feng or Meng Hong Liang, being killed and robbed was possible. By comparison, staying here while slowly collecting wealth was both easier and safer.
Both Chang Qi and Yang Kai knew this so neither of them spoke to persuade the other.
After thinking about it, Yang Kai said, “Take this sword. Using it to collect these Saint Crystals will be much faster.”
Saying so, Yang Kai handed over the short sword formed from his drop of Golden Blood. This extremely sharp weapon was the main reason why Yang Kai was able to mine ore here so much faster than others.
Chang Qi accepted the golden sword and gently wiped its blade with a thoughtful expression on his face, chuckling a moment later, “Last time, in the Starry Sky, when our Starship was surrounded by Black Rock Beasts, it was you who broke their siege, right?”
The first time Yang Kai came over a few days ago, Chang Qi had taken note of the golden sword in his hand because it was exuding an incredibly strong vitality. It looked like a sword, but also resembled a living creature; however, at the time, with his focus on the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, Chang Qi didn’t ask much.
Now that Yang Kai handed him this golden sword and he was able to examine its aura more closely, Chang Qi naturally was able to make some connections.
Chang Qi had felt this strange aura back in the Starry Sky. He still remembered vividly when the Hai Ke Family Starship was in danger of being destroyed, a great golden spear had suddenly appeared and swept away the entire Black Rock Beast pack, saving dozens of cultivators from a brutal death.
The aura emitted by that golden spear was exactly the same as the one given off by this golden sword.
At that time, he and Wu Yi had thought it was some powerful master who happened to be passing by that had helped them, but now Chang Qi understood that there was no such master and it had all been Yang Kai’s doing.
At that time, he was only a Third-Order Saint… Chang Qi thought of this point and couldn’t help feeling shocked, even more feeling that Yang Kai wasn’t ordinary.
After hearing this question, Yang Kai just smiled, silently acknowledging the truth before changing the subject, “Although this golden sword will lose energy every time it’s used, it shouldn’t have any trouble lasting three or four months. With its help, you should be able to collect far more of these Saint Crystals. As for that Chen Shi Tao and the others here… you don’t have to worry about her, she’s not a bad person and shouldn’t have any malicious ideas about you. Even if you decide to leave ahead of time, she won’t try to do anything to you unless she’s willing to face my revenge.”
“I know, you can feel relieved and leave. After the Flowing Flame Sand Field closes, I’ll go to Dragon Cave Mountain with Old Hao to find you,” Chang Qi nodded.
“Good.”
After saying goodbye to Chang Qi, Yang Kai returned to the exit tunnel.
Although the passage was as smooth as jade, it wasn’t a problem for Yang Kai to climb and with a little effort, he was soon back on the surface.
Standing on the weed-filled plain, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and confirmed that there was no one nearby before concealing the entrance to the underground tunnel so that no one would find it again.
He then took out his Yuan Magnetic Compass, confirmed the direction of the third layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, then began walking.
This plain was very large, and it took Yang Kai two whole days before he was able to leave.
Along the way, he didn’t meet anyone, nor did he find a single spirit grass or spirit medicine to collect.
Yang Kai’s had put all his hopes on the third-layer Flame Area, so his pace was quick.
Wei Gu Chang had said before that nobody could enter the third layer Flame Area and that everyone who had tried since ancient times had died, causing Qian Tong to warn them sternly to not even try to enter it before they entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of danger there was, but in order to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, he needed an extremely hot environment. The first layer could not meet his requirements, so he could only go to the third layer to try his luck.
If the third layer was really too dangerous, Yang Kai could only try to find another solution.
The journey forward was calm and uneventful. After exiting the plain, Yang Kai walked for more than ten days, but strangely he did not meet anyone along the way.
This situation was quite abnormal and aroused his curiosity.
Whether it was in the Flame Area or the Treasure Area, although he had not encountered many people, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t met anyone. It was as if the cultivators looking for spirit grasses and spirit medicines in the Treasure Area had all disappeared, making Yang Kai feel a sense of alarm in his heart, wondering whether something terrible had occurred here.
He wondered what exactly could have transpired while he had been underground mining Saint Crystals that led to everyone simply vanishing.
Continue to go forward for a few days, Yang Kai could now see the third-layer Flame Area but had still not seen any signs of other people.
Half a day later, Yang Kai reached the edge of the third-layer Flame Area, and staring at the fiery world in front of him, his expression became dignified.
The third-layer Flame Area and the outermost Flame Area looked no different, but Yang Kai could tell that it was far more dangerous. At a minimum, the heat and fire poison here was incomparable to the outermost layer.
However… it also didn’t seem as inaccessible as Qian Tong had said. Yang Kai examined this region for a while and probed its aura carefully, but forget about him, Yang Kai even estimated that some of the other elites from the various great forces should be able to enter this layer as long as they were well prepared.
Was the danger here greater than what he could see on the surface?
While Yang Kai was mulling over this, two figures suddenly appeared a thousand meters away. These two people were wearing the same uniform and should be from the same Sect, both of them Third-Order Saint Kings.
Yang Kai also noticed that the Saint Qi aura they gave off was far richer and purer than ordinary Third Order Saint Kings, so obviously they were elites from their Sect.
The two of them ran forward swiftly, not even sparing Yang Kai a single glance.
When they arrived at the edge of the third-layer Flame Area, they whispered a few words between themselves before a light blue halo rose from one of them, covering him in a cold aura. Obviously this was created by some kind of Ice Attribute artefact. As soon as this blue halo enveloped him, he plunged into the third-layer Flame Area.
Yang Kai was stunned!
Wasn’t it said that no one could enter the third-layer? Was this guy that reckless or simply insane? Why did he just rush in?
Wei Gu Chang wouldn’t have deceived him; Yang Kai was certain of that. At that time, he had warned Yang Kai seriously, but the scene in front of him now was very different from what Wei Gu Chang had told him.
Seeing a cold aura appearing on the second person, just before he could enter the Flame Area, Yang Kai quickly shouted, “This friend, please wait!”
Hearing this shout, the man frowned and looked towards Yang Kai unhappily.
When he arrived here with his fellow Sect Brother, they had noticed Yang Kai’s existence, but seeing how he was just a First Order Saint King, neither of them had considered Yang Kai worthy of any attention.
But now, this First Order Saint King had actually called out to him, so he responded in a cold tone, “What?”
Yang Kai cupped his fists, and knowing the other party was in a bad mood, smiled politely and asked, “Please do not be angry, I was simply curious. Wasn’t the third-layer Flame Area said to be extremely dangerous, a place no one who entered could return from? How come Your Excellency and your fellow disciples are able to enter it?”
“No one who enters can return from?” The man sneered as he squinted towards Yang Kai, “That may have been true for previous openings of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, but this time it seems things are a little different. I don’t know why, but now the third-layer Flame Area can be entered. Of course, someone with your weak cultivation would only be courting death by trying to enter!”
Saying so, he then rushed into the Flame Area impatiently, not bothering to speak any more nonsense with Yang Kai.
After he left, Yang Kai stood in place with a frown.
Was the third-layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Field really accessible now? Listening to that person, he didn’t seem to know the reason behind it, but that didn’t change the fact that he had really gone in.
No wonder the Treasure Area seemed devoid of people, most of them must have gone into the third layer.
How exactly this news came out and how it was confirmed, Yang Kai didn’t know, but two or three thousand cultivators had entered the second layer, all of them elites from their respective Sects, so someone noticing something wasn’t that surprising.
Since the Flowing Flame Sand Field first appeared, the third-layer had never been visited; no one could even enter it, so it was hard to imagine how many benefits were waiting inside to be harvested.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field was at least tens of thousands of years old. In a place where no one had set foot for tens of thousands of years, how could there not be treasures?
No wonder everyone seemed desperate to enter. Even if they had to face great risks, as long as they could obtain enough benefits, what did it matter?
Benefits always coexisted with risks. Cultivators had never been afraid of taking risks. The more dangerous the place, the more it would stimulate their desire to explore.
Now that everyone else has gone in, Yang Kai no longer delayed, immediately pushing his Saint Qi to protect himself and diving into the third-layer Flame Area.
The omnipresent heat instantly wrapped Yang Kai from all directions, causing a tingling pain on his skin as if it were being roasted. The fire poison in the air was also far more potent than the outermost layer.
In this kind of environment, besides those well-prepared and powerful Third Order Saint King cultivators, no one else should be able to enter.
Even if there were Second-Order Saint Kings that could enter this place, they wouldn’t be able to remain for more than a few days at a time before exiting. In this damned place, the consumption was just too large to sustain. Without being able to circulate their Secret Arts to supplement their Saint Qi, it would be impossible to maintain their reserves just using Saint Crystals.
There were two or three thousand people who entered the second layer Treasure Area, but Yang Kai estimated that the number of people who could enter the third-layer should be less than five hundred, and as time passed, that number would only continue to decrease. Some of these people would die inside, some would be forced to leave, and eventually only the most elite would remain.
The ambient heat here made Yang Kai very excited. Although such heat still couldn’t meet his requirements for refining the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, as long as he went deeper, he could naturally find a suitable place.
The situation in the third-layer Flame Area was indeed much more dangerous than that in the first layer. The Fire Spirit Beasts that leapt from the cracks in the ground to launch sneak attacks were no longer Fifth or Sixth-Order but instead were all Seventh or Eighth-Order. On top of that, these Fire Spirit Beasts now appeared in groups rather than individually.
If one wasn’t careful, they would find themselves besieged by a large number of Fire Spirit Beasts.
Less than a day after Yang Kai entered the third layer, he had already encountered three attacks from Fire Spirit Beast groups. He had killed off the first two groups and harvested a lot of Fire Crystal Stones, but the third group had proven too much for him to handle and he could only escape.
Back in first layer Flame Area’s strange mountain valley, Yang Kai had been able to engage in a mass slaughter of Fire Spirit Beast only because they were mostly Fifth or Sixth-Order and easy to kill in large groups.
But it was different in the third layer. Confronting these Fire Spirit Beasts would only force him to consume energy in vain, so Yang Kai made the decision to withdraw.
At one point, Yang Kai stopped somewhere in the third-layer and stared forward.
Not far away, there were two incomplete corpses lying on the ground. These corpses were completely scorched and a faint rotten aura was being emitted from them.
It was a man and a woman, and judging from their clothing, they should be elite disciples from Shadow Moon Hall. Those who could reach this place must have been together with Wei Gu Chang, so Yang Kai figured he had at least met this two before somewhere.
While waiting for the Flowing Flame Sand Field to open, there were several people who had been together with Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, these two were probably among them.
Now they were dead here, and from the looks of things, Wei Gu Chang didn’t even have the spare capacity to gather their corpses. The situation here must have been very dangerous.
[He and Dong Xuan’er should be fine though, right?] Yang Kai frowned, taking out the communication artefact Wei Gu Chang had given him from his Space Ring and pouring his Divine Sense into it, hoping to get in touch with either Wei Gu Chang or Dong Xuan’er.
Unfortunately, after pouring his Divine Sense into the communication artefact, quite some time passed but Yang Kai still didn’t receive any reply. Yang Kai couldn’t tell if they were simply too far away from him, or they didn’t have time to check their communication artefacts. It was even possible that their communication artefacts were inside their Space Rings.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai sent out two balls of Demonic Flames and burned the bodies of the two Shadow Moon Hall disciples before continuing deeper into the third-layer.
He and these two Shadow Moon Hall disciples hadn’t even exchanged greetings but out of consideration for Qian Tong and Wei Gu Chang’s face, Yang Kai didn’t let their dead bodies simply rot out in the open. He didn’t think it necessary to go so far as collecting them and finding a place to bury them.
The third-layer was filled with crisis, but there were also numerous treasures.
Yang Kai quickly harvested more than a dozen rare and precious Fire Attribute spirit grasses and spirit medicines, each one reaching a high medicinal age incomparable to the ones he had collected in the second layer.
Judging from the potency of their medicinal efficacies, the youngest of these herbs was still three thousand years old, with the oldest ones being so ancient Yang Kai wasn’t even able to estimate their age.
The grades of these herbs were also not low, all of them at least Origin Grade High-Rank with two of them even reaching Origin King Grade.
A ten-thousand-year-old Origin Grade herb was actually no less valuable than an Origin King Grade herb. These herbs had great use to Yang Kai. They were good things that couldn’t be bought in the outside world and if they could be used in Alchemy, they would only produce the best quality of pills and even possibly improve the grade of the pill.
[How many layers does the Flowing Flame Sand Field have?] Yang Kai didn’t know, since the farthest anyone has gotten to was three.
The deeper one went, the smaller the area and the more likely cultivators would run into each other. Yang Kai was a worldly individual and understood that a First Order Saint King like him being able to enter the second layer was astonishing enough, but him being able to move about freely in the third-layer would truly shock others.
So after entering the third-layer, he had been trying to avoid other people. Once he noticed another life aura with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai would immediately make a detour.
Behaving as such, he was able to coexist with others in peace.
Killing Fire Spirit Beast, collecting herbs, looking for a place to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
In short, Yang Kai was having a good time in this treasure hunt.
One day, Yang Kai came to a canyon and stopped, stared at the scene in front of him, and frowned.
This canyon was only about eight or nine metres across but both of its sides were as high as mountains. It was as if someone had used an incredible Divine Ability to split a mountain in half.
Yang Kai hesitated for a long time while standing in place before deciding to make his way through this canyon.
Although the canyon felt a bit ominous, if he wanted to make a detour, Yang Kai would have to waste at least a few days of time. Since he didn’t want to spend the time to go around it, he could only proceed through it. Of course, he was confident in his ability to deal with any dangers that appeared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have entered such a place to begin with.
In the Flowing Flame Sand Field, where flying was impossible, this kind of terrain was ideal for setting up an ambush. As long as one could block one of the two entrances to the canyon, even if the other party had great skill, they would still find themselves at a huge disadvantage.
However, the cultivators who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field had all come here to seek out benefits, so although murder and plunder happened often, who would do something as passive as set up a trap in such a location?
Yang Kai estimated that no one other than himself had come this way, so he boldly entered the valley.
This canyon was very long. Looking towards the opposite side, Yang Kai could tell it was at least a dozen kilometres in length. It was truly a strange landscape in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
For the first few kilometres, nothing seemed amiss, but after walking for a while, a number of bright flares flew out from an underground crack. These flares gave off astonishing energy fluctuations and all leapt towards Yang Kai the moment they appeared, transforming into Fire Spirit Beasts of various shapes as they bared their vicious fangs.
Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as he condensed a Demonic Flame sword in his hand. His purple shield also gave off a purple halo of light and floated behind his back, blocking the Fire Spirit Beasts who were leaping at him from that direction. Not paying any attention to his rear, Yang Kai confidently rushed towards the Fire Spirit Beasts in front of him and chopped down with his sword.
Yang Kai had anticipated this situation, which was why he had been hesitating about whether to enter this canyon before.
He did not expect anyone to be lying in ambush here, but the existence of Fire Spirit Beasts was basically guaranteed. Yang Kai couldn’t get out of this canyon without killing all of these Fire Spirit Beasts.
Numerous thuds and clangs echoed from the purple shield behind Yang Kai as it blocked the movement and attacks of the Fire Shield Beasts. At the same time, the Demonic Flame sword in Yang Kai’s hand pierced through the eye of a lion-like Fire Spirit Beast. Erupting violently, Demonic Flame poured into this Fire Spirit Beast’s body, immediately dying its red hue pitch black. This black colour rapidly spread throughout the entire beast’s body, seemingly consuming the red colour, a strange sight to behold.
Yang Kai could instantly kill a Seventh-Order Fire Spirit Beast with a single all-out attack, but seeing how there were many Fire Spirit Beasts here, he didn’t want to go all out with every strike. Instead, he used the properties of his Demonic Flame to burn these phantom creatures little by little.
Yang Kai drew his Demonic Flame sword from the lion’s head and then completely disregarded whether it lived or died, chopping towards another Fire Spirit Beast nearby without so much as a pause.
The Demonic Flame immediately contaminated this new Fire Spirit Beast, spreading out not only to the rest of its body, but to other nearby Fire Spirit Beasts as well.
The terrain here limited which abilities Yang Kai could use, but it also was not advantageous for the Fire Spirit Beasts. Because it was only eight or nine metres across, this canyon limited the number of Fire Spirit Beast which could attack Yang Kai at once to at most five or six while all the others were blocked by their own companions.
The strange strength which was simultaneously hot and cold was not something that these Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order Fire Spirit Beasts could resist. Fire Spirit Beasts that were blocking Yang Kai’s path forward vanished while wailing mournfully, leaving behind Fire Crystal Stones of various sizes.
While Yang Kai killed these Fire Spirit Beasts, he still had the spare capacity to retrieve these valuable Fire Crystal Stones, making a lot of profit in one fell swoop.
There were many Fire Spirit Beasts in this canyon, hundreds at least, but that did not prevent them from falling one by one.
These Fire Spirit Beasts were also not like the ones back in the strange mountain valley. Each one of them had a Fire Crystal Stone in its body, so the effort Yang Kai invested wasn’t without returns.
As time passed, the Fire Spirit Beasts, which were so numerous they could not be seen through, gradually decreased, allowing Yang Kai to push forward almost an entire kilometre.
Another Fire Spirit Beast fell under his sword, and Yang Kai took another step forward, waving his arm to block the attack of another Fire Spirit Beast while reaching out to pick up the freshly produced Fire Crystal Stone.
Yang Kai had repeated this action countless times and was naturally quite familiar with it by now.
But how could he have expected that the instant he stepped forward, he actually encountered something astonishing? An inexplicable pressure suddenly struck him from all directions, causing Yang Kai to feel like the space around his body had solidified.
This caused the hand he was reaching towards the Fire Crystal Stone to become stuck mid-air, unable to advance another millimetre more. Even the Demonic Flame sword that he had swung became frozen in space.
Yang Kai paled and as he stared in shock, the Fire Spirit Beast that was approaching bit towards his neck. A great bestial roar rang out as a flaming aura and thick fire poison burst from its mouth.
Pain radiated from Yang Kai’s neck as fangs sank into his flesh and the fire poison penetrated into his body caused him to feel as if his neck was on fire, blurring his consciousness in an instant.
Just as he was struggling to compose himself, another Fire Spirit Beast in front of him attacked, opening its mouth wide and shooting out a fireball-like energy attack that smashed towards Yang Kai at great speed.
Yang Kai’s face went pale. Although he didn’t know what it was he had encountered, it was too late to retreat at this time, so he hurriedly pushed his Saint Qi to force his body out of this solidified space, causing Demonic Flame to erupt from his body, turning him into a flame man.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A series of rumblings rang and after a burst of black flame, the Fire Spirit Beasts who were close to Yang Kai’s body let out pitiful howls and were blown away, burning to ashes as they flew out.
After the flames disappeared, Yang Kai’s incomparably distressed figure appeared. At this moment, his face was extremely ugly, his clothes were torn and ragged, his neck, face, arms, and torso were covered in scars and bite marks made by Fire Spirit Beasts. Among those scars, little wisps of black flame remained along with drops of fire poison.
Having been forced out by Yang Kai Saint Qi, all of this fire poison was quickly ejected from his injuries and the powerful restorative power of his Golden Blood soon began closing his wounds.
Yang Kai stared into the space in front of his eyes, his expression becoming more and more solemn by the moment.
Just taking a step into this space had nearly cost him his life. If he hadn’t broken free so quickly, Yang Kai estimated that he would definitely have been seriously injured at least.
However, after retreating one step, everything was restored to normal.
He didn’t have time to think about why the space in front of him was so strange though as he had to focus on coping with the Fire Spirit Beasts that were still surrounding and attacking him.
With this matter now occupying his mind, Yang Kai’s offensive became far more ruthless. A day later, the Fire Spirit Beasts which had once filled the canyon had been swept away cleanly by him, allowing Yang Kai to harvest four or five hundred Fire Crystal Stones in total.
Such a number was astonishing and was likely a greater number than the vast majority of major forces who had stayed in the first layer to hunt Fire Spirit Beasts had collected.
After all, there weren’t that many Fire Spirit Beasts in the first layer Flame Area, and they weren’t very high order to begin with, so the value of their Fire Crystal Stones was not great.
Standing in place to rest for a while, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to examine his surroundings, and after confirming there were no potential dangers, he took a step forward again.
The same experience as the previous day appeared again. After taking this step forward, Yang Kai couldn’t help snorting as his posture sank. It was as if a great mountain was pressing down on him, one which he was unable to shoulder.
Not only that though, the space around him was incredibly viscous, to the point where it was essentially solid, completely different to the space he was just standing in. Yang Kai cultivated the Dao of Space, but while he was confronting the Fire Spirit Beast swarm, he hadn’t had time to investigate this phenomenon carefully, but now that he did, he immediately understood that there was something odd about space itself here.
Yang Kai didn’t know what had happened here but he could now tell that in this canyon, the space in front of him, for several dozen metres, had undergone some kind of strange transformation.
Before this point, it was as if he had been swimming through water, but after entering this strange region, it was like Yang Kai was now trying to swim through ice.
The space here was solidified to the point where it could fetter anyone in place, making them unable to move. If Yang Kai had not been proficient in the Dao of Space, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to figure this out.
This was not some kind of barrier or Spirit Array, but rather a direct manifestation of Space Force.
Yang Kai found it difficult to even breathe here as the air itself had been solidified. It took a lot of effort just to draw air into his lungs.
However, why had the Fire Spirit Beasts not been suppressed by this strange solidified space and instead could move about it freely?
Yang Kai didn’t understand.
The crushing pressure was extremely hard to withstand and Yang Kai’s forehead was already dripping with sweat, his strong physique actually convulsing under the strain. Even though Yang Kai was using all of his strength, he was still unable to take another step forward.
The sweat that left Yang Kai’s forehead didn’t drop to the ground but instead was crushed into oblivion by this strange solidified space.
Yang Kai pushed his Saint Qi harder and harder but was shocked to discover that no matter how he tried, the Demonic Flames which should have erupted from his body was completely suppressed in his meridians, unable to leave his skin in the slightest.
Just relying on his Saint Qi, it would be impossible to walk here.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed suddenly and withdrew his Saint Qi, replacing it with his Space Force.
The huge pressure squeezing his body instantly lightened, and although Yang Kai wasn’t able to restore his complete mobility, slowly moving his body wasn’t a problem now.
Sure enough, specific problems needed specific solutions. Since this phenomenon was related to Space Force, only Space Force could deal with it.
Moreover, after pushing his Space Force, Yang Kai suddenly discovered that this strange space produced a kind of profound resonance with him. A marvellous feeling of enlightenment flooded him, causing Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Space to rapidly advance.
This made him overjoyed.
As the saying went, opportunity and danger coexisted with one another, and Yang Kai was deeply aware of this truth at this moment.
He hadn’t expected that in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, there would be such a strange spatial phenomenon that would allow him to comprehend the mysteries of the Dao of Space.
Having discovered this place now, Yang Kai didn’t plan on leaving immediately and instead stood still while continually pushing his Space force to resonate with his surroundings, allowing his understanding of it to thoroughly care itself into his soul.
The Dao of Space was extremely difficult to cultivate and because few people ever did, there was no clearly defined method to cultivate it and no one to pass on their attainments in it.
When Yang Kai first started cultivating Space Force, he had relied on tearing space to enter The Void in order to immerse himself in the turbulent space and deepen his comprehension of the Dao of Space, but cultivating like that had only been useful in the beginning. With Yang Kai’s current understanding of the Dao of Space, he could walk freely through The Void as if he were treading on solid ground, so naturally, he couldn’t comprehend anything more by doing so.
Afterwards, he had learned he could absorb Space Force from Space Spirit Crystals to enhance his comprehension, and Yang Kai had actually engaged in such family ruining practice before.
Fortunately, the Space Spirit Crystal lode discovered by the Stone Puppet was incredibly rich and had produced enough Space Spirit Crystals for Yang Kai to consume for a long time, but once those Space Spirit Crystals ran out, finding another source would be all but impossible.
Those who didn’t plan for the future would soon come to suffer. Space Spirit Crystals were a scarce resource anywhere. Because, they were used to create Space Rings, a necessary storage artefact for every cultivator.
Now that he had discovered a place very suitable to comprehend the Dao of Space, Yang Kai naturally wanted to take advantage of it.
On top of that, cultivating here seemed to be more efficient and rewarding than simply absorbing Space Force from Space Spirit Crystals!
After realizing this, Yang Kai immediately made up his mind to remain here for a while. The Flowing Flame Sand Field wouldn’t close for about four months. Such a long time was enough for him to find a suitable place to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water so there was no need to worry about it immediately.
It took a long time for Yang Kai to slowly sit down in this strange space. Even though Yang Kai was well versed in the Dao of Space, he still moved as slow as a turtle here. If someone were to see this scene, they would certainly feel it was very odd, wondering what kind of game Yang Kai was playing. Additionally, because of the strange warping of space here, it was undetectable to Divine Sense, only after one entered this solidified space would they be able to notice anything unusual.
After sitting down, Yang Kai calmed the beating of his heart and as a light flashed across his eyes, he extended his hand forward and waved it gently.
This simple motion consumed a tremendous amount of Yang Kai’s strength as well as a lot of time, but by waving his hand, a dark, hair-like crack suddenly appeared for an instant before disappearing without a trace.
Seeing this, Yang Kai wasn’t surprised and instead grinned with happiness.
Since he decided to use this rare environment to cultivate the Dao of Space, he naturally planed on practising his Space Blade.
Inside his stone room in Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai had developed this Space Force method of attack, Space Blade, but no matter how he cultivated at that time, the power of his Space Blade wasn’t able to reach the point where it could be used to really confront an enemy. Yang Kai did need to use Space Force against weak enemies, but using it against powerful foes also wasn’t practical.
As such, he wanted to create his own Divine Ability, a technique which only belonged to him, but he was suffering from the lack of suitable conditions and environments.
This place, however, was the best place to cultivate such an ability. Yang Kai could foresee that once he was able to completely condense his Space Blade in this kind of place, after leaving, his Space Blade’s might would increase manifold.
After the attempt just now, Yang Kai quickly confirmed his hypothesis. This solidified space was extremely difficult to tear, so by cultivating his Space Blade here, not only could he strengthen his understanding of the Dao of Space and his mastery over Space Force, but he could also rapidly perfect this new attack method.
Dispelling any anxiety or impatience, Yang Kai began tearing space over and over again, displaying his Space Blade repeatedly.
Every time, a void crack as thin as a hair appeared at the tip of Yang Kai’s hand before disappearing without a trace under the huge pressure here.
Yang Kai worked hard for an entire day, consuming a massive amount of his Spiritual Energy, but made almost no progress.
However, he didn’t panic at all, because he could feel that his use of Space Force was becoming smoother and more fluid than before, even the act of tearing space itself had become more natural. Yang Kai believed that as long as he continued to cultivate here, he would definitely make a breakthrough.
With his Spiritual Energy exhausted though, Yang Kai could no longer continue to practice, so he quickly took some pills to supplement his losses and began to meditate to restore himself.
Although Soul Warming Lotus was still in the process of evolving, its restorative and nourishing abilities had not been weakened at all; in fact, they were even stronger than before.
It only took Yang Kai two hours to restore his dried up Knowledge Sea to its peak state again.
After slowly opening his eyes, Yang Kai was about to slash his Space Blade again when suddenly a brilliant red stream of light flew towards him from the horizon. This red stream of light followed the narrow canyon and was approaching Yang Kai like a bolt of lightning.
“Flowing Flame Flying Fire!” Yang Kai exclaimed.
He had previously seen a Flowing Flame Flying Fire in the first layer Flame Area and now he had encountered one again, so naturally, he was able to recognize it at a glance. Last time, when Yang Kai saw the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, it had quickly left the range of his Divine Sense and even after chasing after it at full speed, he was unable to catch up to it.
This Flowing Flame Flying Fire looked seemed to look exactly the same as the last one he saw, and its speed was also just as ridiculous. Faster than he was able to spread his Divine Sense. Immediately after Yang Kai discovered this Flowing Flame Flying Fire, it had crossed the length of the canyon and appeared right in front of him.
Yang Kai instinctively wanted to avoid it as he had no hope of harvesting this Flowing Flame Flying Fire because he simply couldn’t catch up to it with his speed.
However, when he tried to dodge, Yang Kai suddenly remembered he was submerged in the strange solidified space right now and was unable to move about freely.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he focused all of his attention on the Flowing Flame Flying Fire which was rapidly approaching while secretly anticipating.
*Chi…*
With a scraping sound, the red stream of light entered the several dozen metres long solidified space, and as Yang Kai expected, its speed suddenly became countless times slower!
Yang Kai was overjoyed. Just now he had been guessing whether this region of solidified space would be capable of blocking the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, and now, he was able to verify its effect with his own eyes and confirm his previous conjecture correct. Although this solidified space was unable to stop Fire Spirit Beasts from moving about, it was actually able to impede the Flowing Flame Flying Fire’s ridiculous speed.
At the very least, Yang Kai was now able to clearly see what this Flowing Flame Flying Fire looked like.
It had the appearance of a tiny pure red burning charcoal, one that gave of an astonishing red glow, and despite being very small, it clearly contained an amazing amount of energy inside its body.
After plunging into this strange space, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire had not come to halt but was now slowly proceeding forward at a pace equal to that of a normal human’s walking speed.
Yang Kai made a quick estimate and soon determined that if he remained where he was, he would definitely miss this rare opportunity to seize a Flowing Flame Flying Fire because, from what he could infer from its flight trajectory, Yang Kai was certain it would pass by half a metre outside his reach.
How could Yang Kai tolerate this? Hurriedly pushing his Space Force, Yang Kai slowly and arduously began moving towards the path the Flowing Flame Flying Fire would fly through.
Creeping forward, Yang Kai felt like he was moving like an old dying man. Every centimetre he moved consumed a massive amount of Yang Kai’s physical strength and Spiritual Energy and his body was trembling violently from painfully overexerting himself.
On the other hand, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire continued forward at an unhurried pace.
Soon after, it flew past Yang Kai’s side.
Yang Kai let out a shout and stretched his hand tremblingly towards the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, hoping to grab it, but in the end, his fingertips were still a few centimetres away as the red stream flew by.
Yang Kai’s snorted angrily.
He felt that if this Flowing Flame Flying Fire had a consciousness, it must have been mocking his overconfidence just now.
Turning his head arduously, Yang Kai watched as this rare treasure passed him by, filling his face with annoyance.
He had still failed! Now that it had flown past, Yang Kai knew it would be impossible for him to grab it, and sure enough, a moment later, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire broke past the strange space and resumed its previous absurd speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Just a bit more and Yang Kai would have been able to obtain this strange treasure capable of producing a Mutated Knowledge Sea!
It would be a lie to say he didn’t regret it, but Yang Kai quickly adjusted his mentality and stopped thinking about the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, instead focusing on practicing his Space Blade.
Even if he wasn’t able to catch this Flowing Flame Flying Fire, the most important thing right now for Yang Kai was to comprehend the Dao of Space.
Sending out Space Blades again, Yang Kai was surprised to find that its power had seemingly increased. Although the crack he formed was still as thin as a hair and although it disappeared almost immediately after it was formed, it still lasted significantly longer than yesterday.
Yang Kai was so excited that he quickly forgot about the Flowing Flame Flying Fire and began immersing himself in the mysteries of the Dao of Space.
Three days later, Yang Kai watched as a thumbnail width Space Blade flew out half a metre before disappearing, filling his face with excitement and satisfaction.
This strange space was indeed the best environment to comprehend the Dao of Space. After only three days of cultivating here, Yang Kai felt that his understanding of the Dao of Space had sublimated significantly, and as a result, the Space Blade he created had power far great than the one he could produce three days ago.
Whether it was the size of his current Space Blade, the time it could exist inside this solidified space, or the distance it could travel, everything had been greatly improved.
If he could continued advancing at this pace, as long as he had another month, Yang Kai was confident he could use his Space Blade in actual combat, and even if he was facing the Shi of an Origin Returning Realm master, he wouldn’t be helpless anymore.
Although Shi was a power unique to Origin Returning Realm masters, Yang Kai’s Space Blade was virtually impossible to defend against, a killing blow that no one else could use besides him.
The reason why Yang Kai was willing to delay himself here was because the environment was incredibly rare and he didn’t want to miss this opportunity, but also because he was feeling a sense of crisis deep in his heart.
With his current strength, it was no problem to deal with Saint Kings, but it was not the same when he went against an Origin Returning Realm master. Yang Kai wasn’t even certain he could defeat the stern-faced young man he encountered back in the stalactite cave.
On Shadowed Star, in the Star Field, Yang Kai was all alone, with no one to depend on but himself.
Qian Tong treated him well, but that was only because he wanted to forge a connection with the imagined Artefact Refining Grandmaster behind Yang Kai. It was for this reason that Qian Tong was so accommodating towards him. If Qian Tong knew that this so-called master didn’t exist, Yang Kai couldn’t say for sure Qian Tong’s attitude towards him wouldn’t immediately and dramatically change.
Therefore, Yang Kai had to make himself as strong as possible as quickly as possible, so that when dealing with others, he wouldn’t constantly be forced into a passive position.
Even if he was alone in this world, he still had many concerns.
On this day, at the end of the canyon, a red light flashed, and Yang Kai, who was tempering his Space Blade, instantly felt something, looked up, and was stunned by what he saw.
It was another Flowing Flame Flying Fire!
Just like the one he saw three days ago, this Flowing Flame Flying Fire was soaring over from the entrance to the canyon, and by the time Yang Kai spotted it, it had fallen into the strange space.
The speed of this red flash dramatically slowed, and the Flowing Flame Flying Fire slowly began advancing through the several dozen metre long solidified space.
Learning from his experience a few days ago, Yang Kai immediately acted, judging the position where the Flowing Flame Flying Fire would pass through while moving his body with all his might.
This time though, his luck wasn’t very good. The Flowing Flame Flying Fire that appeared just now was on course to fly more than three metres away from him, and Yang Kai would have to rush to that position before it if he were to have any hope of catching the flame.
Although Yang Kai was already familiar with viscous solidification of this weird space, and he had become far more proficient in his application of Space Force, it was still extremely difficult for him to act swiftly here.
By the time he managed to get close to that position, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire had flown past him again.
Yang Kai frowned as he stared thoughtfully towards the direction the treasure he had missed for the third time had flown.
According to Wei Gu Chang, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire was incredibly precious, but also an extremely rare existence in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Many people who entered wouldn’t even encounter one.
And in fact, this appeared to be true. When Yang Kai was walking through the first layer Flame Area, he had only chanced upon a Flowing Flame Flying Fire once, and if it weren’t for his Divine Sense being abnormally strong, he might have missed it altogether as it passed by him.
However, it seemed Wei Gu Chang’s words only applied to the first layer!
Where Yang Kai was today, was the third layer Flame Area. Were there simply more Flowing Flame Flying Fires here, or were the two Flowing Flame Flying Fires he saw actually the same and were just flying a fixed path?
If it was the same one, its flight path was likely to be fixed. How else would Yang Kai be able to see it again after a mere three days if that weren’t the case?
If it wasn’t the same one though, then was there something about this canyon that was able to attract Flowing Flame Flying Fires to pass through it?
All kinds of questions flooded Yang Kai’s mind, and his expression was constantly changing, distracting him from comprehending the Dao of Space.
Soon though, Yang Kai shook his head. Regardless of whether the two Flowing Flame Flying Fires he saw were the same or there was something in this canyon that drew in Flowing Flame Flying Fires, if he waited a few more days, he would be able to see for himself.
Yang Kai began cultivating his Space Force again, but this time he also paid attention to the movement at the end of the canyon, wondering which of his various guesses was correct.
Time passed by, and three days later, because he was anticipating the appearance of a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, Yang Kai focused his eyes on the end of the canyon ahead of time while still condensing his Space Blade.
But to his surprise, after watching for half a day, nothing appeared at the end of the canyon, much less a Flowing Flame Flying Fire.
This made him quite disappointed.
However, since this was the case, Yang Kai was now certain the two Flowing Flame Flying Fires he saw pass through this place weren’t the same. If they were the same, there wouldn’t have been such an irregularity to its appearances.
Since it appeared randomly, it shouldn’t be the same.
On the fourth day, Yang Kai suddenly felt something and immediately looked towards the end of the canyon, a sight which lifted his spirits appearing before his eyes.
Yang Kai was thrilled that one of his conjectures was correct, that is, this canyon indeed had something which drew in Flowing Flame Flying Fires, because a red flash of light had appeared at the end of the canyon at this moment.
Amazingly, it wasn’t just one red light this time, but two, one right after the other, both of which arrived at that strange space almost at the same time, their speeds dropping sharply, and then beginning to advance towards the other side.
Yang Kai acted immediately, and with his two previous failures giving him some much-needed experience, he was certain he wouldn’t miss this opportunity this time.
However, what made him frown slightly was that the two Flowing Flame Flying Fires that appeared this time were separated by more than three metres, so it would be impossible to catch both of them at the same time.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai moved his body towards the closer Flowing Flame Flying Fire and summoned a good jade bottle into his hand.
Wei Gu Chang had told him all about the wonders and dangers of the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, but nothing about how to collect it, probably because he too didn’t know anything about that.
Yang Kai could only try using a jade bottle first, and if that didn’t work, he would think up another method.
After so many days of familiarization and tempering himself with this strange space, Yang Kai was now able to move much faster than before, and before the Flowing Flame Flying Fire arrived, Yang Kai appeared in front of it.
Staring at this Flowing Flame Flying Fire, Yang Kai condensed his Saint Qi and, just as it approached, he pushed his palm forward.
The already slowed Flowing Flame Flying Fire became even slower after taking this blow
Yang Kai was overjoyed and quickly lifted the jade bottle that he had prepared, pointing its mouth towards the approaching Flowing Flame Flying Fire.
The whole process was extremely smooth, and the Flowing Flame Flying Fire easily entered the jade bottle, but in the next instant, the bottle was burned to ash.
Yang Kai frowned but wasn’t surprised. No longer hesitating, he reached out his hand and grabbed the Flowing Flame Flying Fire. Before it could put out any of its intense heat, Yang Kai pushed his Demonic Flame to wrap this Flowing Flame Flying Fire in multiple layers of black flame.
Yang Kai could clearly felt the scorching energy of the Flowing Flame Flying Fire fighting against his Demonic Flame, both forces apparently equal in might with the Flowing Flame Flying Fire stubbornly trying to break through the barrier of Demonic Flame.
But how could Yang Kai give it such an opportunity? Seeing that this method was feasible, Yang Kai immediately pushed his Saint Qi harder and intensified his Demonic Flame, binding the Flowing Flame Flying Fire tightly within it.
After a short while, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire was successfully wrapped in Demonic Flame and settled down, no longer resisting.
Looking at the fist-sized burning ball of black flame, Yang Kai grinned happily.
After much effort, and allowing several of its companions to get away, Yang Kai had finally managed to harvest a Flowing Flame Flying Fire.
Yang Kai wasn’t upset about allowing those previous Flowing Flame Flying Fires to escape though. Since he had determined that this canyon was a location Flowing Flame Flying Fires had to pass through, all he had to do was wait here for gains without pains.
The black fireball formed by Demonic Flame couldn’t be placed in a Space Ring, so Yang Kai could only throw it into the Black Book space. After going back, he could dispel the Demonic Flame and then take advantage of the magical uses of this Flowing Flame Flying Fire.
With his first harvest safely stored away, Yang Kai’s mood was wonderful, making it easier for him to perfect his Space Blade and comprehend the Dao of Space. He also became more adept at using Space Force, decreasing the pressure this strange solidified space could exert upon him.
…..
More than a month later, Yang Kai harvested another Flowing Flame Flying Fire using the same method, but by now he showed no trace of joy.
He had cultivated here for about a month and a half, and received a total of nine Flowing Flame Flying Fires.
This was a considerable number of Flowing Flame Flying Fires, most likely more than anyone else in history, but there was still a touch of regret between Yang Kai’s brows.
Because of his progress in the use of Space Force, the usefulness of this strange space to his cultivation became smaller and smaller, and as he continued to display his Space Blade here, repeatedly tearing space, it seemed that the solidification here would also be destroyed.
Without the strong restraint of this space, after a Flowing Flame Flying Fire entered here, its speed wouldn’t drop as significantly as before. If Yang Kai hadn’t piled up a lot of experience already, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire just now would likely have flown right past him.
Yang Kai estimated that he could only cultivate here for another ten days at most before he would no longer gain any benefits from it.
With that being the case though, he planned on taking advantage of this place until the very last moment.
Making up his mind, Yang Kai no longer wasted any time, tossed the harvested Flowing Flame Flying Fire into the Black Book Space, then immersed himself in his cultivation again.
After waiting for several days, no more Flowing Flame Flying Fires appeared. It was as if Yang Kai’s unscrupulous harvesting had caused all the Flowing Flame Flying Fires that passed through here to disappear.
On this day though, Yang Kai finally sensed the aura of another Flowing Flame Flying Fire.
After rushing into the canyon, the Flowing Flame Flying Fire crashed into the solidified space and Yang Kai stretched out his palm in a practised manner, held the Flowing Flame Flying fire tightly, pushed his Saint Qi, and wrapped it up in layer upon layer of Demonic Flame.
A short moment later, a small black fireball appeared in his hand.
But before Yang Kai could throw it into his Black Book Space, he heard a number of surprised shouts coming from behind him along with the sound of clothes swishing; several cultivators were quickly approaching.
Yang Kai frowned and immediately threw the black fireball into his Black Book Space before turning around to look at these people.
After a single glance, Yang Kai’s expression flashed a look of displeasure, because this group of people were actually cultivators from the Heaven Battling Union.
The cultivators from Heaven Battling Union were very recognizable from the uniforms they wore. Each one of them had golden robes which gave them a noble and arrogant appearance.
On top of that, these cultivators gave people the feeling that their eyes were higher than the top of their heads. Aside from those from Thunder Typhoon Sect, they looked upon all other cultivators with scorn and disdain, regardless of their cultivation.
They seemed to think that Heaven Battling Union was the most extraordinary of Sects and were afraid others wouldn’t know they were its disciples. The golden character for ‘War’ emblazoned on their chests could be clearly seen from far away.
Because of Qu Chang Feng, Yang Kai had a very poor opinion of disciples from Heaven Battling Union, so when he saw that the group approaching him belonged to Heaven Battling Union, he knew that today wouldn’t be peaceful. The scene of him having just collected a Flowing Flame Flying Fire could not have been missed by these people.
He just wasn’t sure how much they had seen.
Soon, the group of four from Heaven Battling Union arrived in front of Yang Kai, all of them looking at him with surprise or joy.
Yang Kai had to admit that Heaven Battling Union possessed a strong heritage. All four of these people were Third-Order Saint Kings, and the Saint Qi each of them possessed was far purer and more vigorous than ordinary cultivators. Their bodies were all shielded by pale blue light halos that were clearly generated by high-quality Ice Attribute artefacts in order to resist the surrounding heat and fire poison.
A middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader of this group swept Yang Kai with his Divine Sense, but after realizing what his cultivation was, he couldn’t help raising a brow and staring in astonishment.
He didn’t understand how Yang Kai, a First-Order Saint King, could survive here in such a harsh environment, and from the look of it, he didn’t even seem to be using a protective artefact, a fact which greatly surprised him. Looking towards Yang Kai, his expression became slightly dignified.
Anyone who didn’t need an artefact here and was only relying on their Saint Qi to resist the heat and fire poison couldn’t simply be written off.
“Was it him who just collect that Flowing Flame Flying Fire?” Another thin man next to this middle-aged man stared at Yang Kai in surprise and asked.
It seemed that they were too far apart just now so they hadn’t seen what happened clearly and were currently just sceptical, so they immediately rushed over to confirm it.
“It can’t be, can a Flowing Flame Flying Fire be caught so casually? Although the third layer seems to have many Flowing Flame Flying Fires, even Fang Tian Zhong failed to catch one, so how could he have accomplished it?” A third cultivator with a monkey-like face slowly shook his head in disbelief.
“Won’t we know if we ask?” The thin man grinned meaningfully, turning to Yang Kai and saying casually, “Little brat, what was it you put away just now, take it out and show me.”
“What does it have to do with you?” Yang Kai looked at the four of them lightly, without any sense of panic or intent to flee.
“Haha…” The thin man laughed and nodding, “En, it really doesn’t have anything to do with us, but little brat, do you know who we are? You must know yet you still dare speak to us like that, interesting.”
Saying so, his expression became cold as he declared, “Little brat, if you want to live, hand over whatever it was you just collected. If you can make this Sir happy, I may spare your life, but if you can’t… heh heh…”
The meaning of threat behind his words was blatantly obvious.
The middle-aged man who had been sizing up Yang Kai all this time frowned even deeper but soon his brow relaxed. Although he saw that Yang Kai was a bit unusual, and far too calm given his situation, in the end, he was still just one person. The middle-aged man didn’t believe that with the strength of his group of four they couldn’t handle this one boy.
There were always some cultivators who were extremely conceited in this world, they possessed a little ability and thought of themselves as great cultivators. This middle-aged man had met many such people because he too was one of them, but after being thoroughly humiliated by Qu Chang Feng many times, he had learned the fact that there were always mountains higher than others.
He subconsciously surmised that Yang Kai was one such person.
Such people were destined to suffer a great deal.
He was lucky because he was from the same Sect as Qu Chang Feng, so he had not lost his life to the latter, but after realizing the reality of this world, this middle-aged man had begun acting much lower-key than before.
“Whatever you want you expect me to give? What do you count for?” Yang Kai stared back at the thin man with equally cold eyes, his expression still indifferent.
“Little brat, since you refuse a toast, you must suffer a loss!” The thin man didn’t expect Yang Kai to be so defiant and immediately lost patience.
He had used these lines to intimidate many others, but when had any cultivator dared to disobey? Even when he set his eyes on another cultivator’s women, the other side would obediently hand her over with a smile. Even knowing he would simply play around with those women for a few days before tossing them away, no one dare refuse his demands.
All because he was born into Heaven Battling Union!
Also, this was the Flowing Flame Sand Field, a deserted and remote place that was excellent for burying dead bodies! At this point, a cold light flickered across the eyes of this cultivator and a thick murderous intent pulsed from his body.
“Wait!” Before the thin man could act though, the middle-aged man who was standing behind him suddenly called out.
The other two men also turned to look at this middle-aged man as he took a few steps forward. Staring at Yang Kai, this middle-aged said in a slightly calmer tone, “Friend, this one’s Junior Brother is a bit irritable, please don’t take offence.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed but his expression remained indifferent.
“Senior Brother…” When the thin man saw his Senior Brother apologize to Yang Kai, he was shocked and exclaimed, “Aren’t you being too cautious? Why bother speaking any nonsense with him?”
The middle-aged man smiled lightly and replied, “There is no such thing as acting too cautiously, didn’t Master teach us that only by acting prudently can you endure the test of time? This friend is no ordinary person. Although Senior Brother can’t see his origin or identity, since he can stand here safe and sound, he must have some skill. On top of that, it’s naturally better if we can resolve this matter peacefully.”
The implied meaning here was that it wouldn’t be too late to solve things by force if a peaceful solution could not be reached.
Hearing this, the thin man thought about it for a moment with a gloomy look upon his face before unexpectedly no longer making a fuss.
The middle-aged man turned back to Yang Kai with a smile and continued, “Friend, we don’t want to stir up trouble; after all, this is the third layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, everyone here has to act with caution. That being the case, can friend give this one some face and allow my Junior Brother to check your Space Ring?”
The smile on his face was perfectly natural and carefree, as if he hadn’t just asked to inspect Yang Kai’s Space Ring but instead asked an old friend to borrow something insignificant.
“You want to see my Space Ring?” Yang Kai grinned suddenly.
“En!” The middle-aged man gently nodded, his smile as refreshing as a spring breeze. “This one’s fellow brothers don’t have any malicious intent; we just want to confirm what it was friend just collected. If it wasn’t a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, we won’t covet friend’s belongings and will definitely return your Space Ring, what does friend say?”
“Good!” To his surprise, Yang Kai instantly agreed, causing the middle-aged man’s brow to furrow slightly. He was secretly wondering if he really was being overly careful and the other party really didn’t have any noteworthy ability. If that wasn’t the case, how could he have complied so easily?
While he was in doubt, he saw Yang Kai slip off his Space Ring from his finger and tossed it up and down gently, drawing four pairs of eyes towards it.
“Toss it over!” Seeing Yang Kai act so submissively, the thin man immediately shouted aloud, seemingly eager to check this Space Ring.
“There’s really nothing good in my Space Ring,” Yang Kai smiled at him, his tone a bit sour and distressed, “Only this piece of Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence…”
Suddenly, a melon-sized piece of blood-red stone appeared in Yang Kai’s hand. This stone radiated an incredibly pure and powerful flame aura that pulsed as if it was alive.
“Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence?” The four exclaimed in unison, and even the middle-aged man who had been smiling lightly finally showed a change of expression, his eyes filling with greed.
Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence was an Origin King Grade material, and although the piece in Yang Kai’s hand was only Origin King Grade Low-Rank, it was still an incredibly valuable treasure. This melon-sized piece of Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence was something these four had never even heard of existing before.
If such a piece of material was taken outside, it would fetch an incredible price, at least twenty to thirty million Saint Crystals.
These four had heard that at the most recent Treasure Trove Pavilion auction in Heavenly Fate City, there were a few treasures that sold for tens of millions, even up to a hundred million Saint Crystals. Unfortunately, they weren’t eligible to participate at that time and were unable to witness such a shocking scene in person. They had all been regretting missing the opportunity to attend, but now, a top-level Artefact Refining material had appeared in front of their eyes.
On top of that, it was owned by a mere First-Order Saint King!
If the four of them could snatch this treasure, even if everyone split the profits equally, each of them would obtain millions of Saint Crystals. They wouldn’t need to worry about cultivation resources for the rest of their lives!
The four of them began breathing heavily as their eyes lit up. It seemed that they would leap forward to rob Yang Kai at any time. As for the middle-aged man who said that he would not covet Yang Kai’s belongings, he had already tossed that idea away.
But before the four of them could take action, Yang Kai actually put the melon-sized piece of Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence back into his Space Ring, drawing out angry and desolate glares from the Heaven Battling Union group.
“En, this Fire Crystal Stone is also nothing good,” Yang Kai sighed faintly, as if he didn’t know what it meant to conceal one’s valuables from covetous eyes and took out a plate-sized dark red crystal.
Although this crystal gave off a blazing hot aura like the Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence just now, the two were obviously not the same material.
The former was a type of ore, but the latter emitted an energy fluctuation far more similar to the one given off by the Fire Crystal Stones this group of four had obtained before.
“Impossible!” The thin man shouted as he pointed at the huge piece of Fire Crystal Stone held by Yang Kai, shaking his head rapidly, “It’s not possible for such a big piece of Fire Crystal Stone to exist! No Fire Spirit Beast can produce this kind of thing!”
No one blamed him for being unable to judge what his eyes were seeing because the four members of his group had killed many Fire Spirit Beasts along the way here but the largest piece of Fire Crystal Stone they obtained was only the size of a pigeon egg. Compared to the Fire Crystal Stone in Yang Kai’s hands, it was as different as a towering tree and a small sapling.
Besides, if this was really a Fire Crystal Stone, what Order was the Fire Spirit Beast that condensed it? Also, how massive must it have been?
The thin man didn’t think Yang Kai could kill such Fire Spirit Beast and instead thought Yang Kai was trying to deceive them!
After the group of four from Heaven Battling Union watched Yang Kai successively take out the melon-sized pieces of Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence, then the plate-sized Fire Crystal Stone, they were unable to maintain their calm. Regardless of whether this giant piece of Fire Crystal Stone was real or fake, that piece of Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence was undoubtedly the genuine article. Immediately, greed swelled up in these four and they all regarded Yang Kai as a dead man in their hearts.
This boy had randomly taken out two incredibly valuable treasures, who knew what other good things were in his Space Ring?
Perhaps there really was a Flowing Flame Flying Fire!
Kill him. They had to kill him then snatch his ring and check it carefully. As long as they could grab this kid’s Space ring, they would be able to live the rest of their lives with ease.
“What else do you have?” The middle-aged man’s face twitched slightly as he asked. Although he also desperately wanted to seize Yang Kai’s possessions, he was still able to maintain a trace of rationality, unlike his three Sect Brothers, though his trembling voice betrayed his obvious excitement.
“Oh, just a dozen stalks of Emerald Silk Grass, a piece of ancient black iron, three Scarlet Blood Fruits…” Yang Kai took precious treasures out of his Space Ring one after another, and each time he did, the eyes of the four Heaven Battling Union disciples grew hotter.
Although these spirit grasses and spirit medicines weren’t as precious as the two previous items Yang Kai took out, they were also very valuable, especially the dozen stalks of Emerald Silk Grass, those were spirit medicines that every Sect badly desired, and Heaven Battling Union was no exception. If they could bring back a dozen Emerald Silk Grasses, it would count as an enormous contribution, enough to make several requests to their Sect Elders.
“En, right, there are also nine Flowing Flame Flying Fires, but it’s not convenient for me to take them all out, so I can’t show them to you right now,” Yang Kai chuckled as he fully exposed all his gains after entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
He didn’t hide anything except the colourless crystal cube which had been absorbed by the Soul Warming Lotus.
“You really managed to catch that Flowing Flame Flying Fire?” The monkey-faced man called out in surprise.
“Em, why would I lie to you? Didn’t you see it just now?” Yang Kai grinned.
The expressions of the four people gradually became strange.
All of their faces showed an embarrassed look because the four of them, acting together, had spent three months in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, searching for treasures everywhere and originally thought they had reaped a good harvest, making them quite happy, but compared to the treasures Yang Kai showed them today, the gap was like Heaven and Earth. They hadn’t obtained even one percent of this kid’s harvest.
This obviously made them feel like they had lost face and the eyes they directed at Yang Kai only became hotter.
“You liar!” The thin man’s eyes flashed as he shouted coldly, “Little brat, your courage isn’t small, daring to deceive me and my fellow brothers! Obediently hand over your ring for me to check or we won’t let you leave!”
Saying so, he glanced at the monkey-faced cultivator, the two of them understanding each other’s silent signal and rushing out towards Yang Kai.
In the face of so many good things, he didn’t intend on speaking any nonsense with Yang Kai and simply spurted an excuse before leaping out to rob him. But although these two were arrogant and enjoyed bullying others, they were still elite cultivators from Heaven Battling Union, so despite Yang Kai being a First Order Saint King, they didn’t show any carelessness.
Their group of four had done a lot of killing and robbing in the Flowing Flame Sand Field these past three months, so naturally they were clear that some people’s depths couldn’t be seen from their outward appearance. A lion would kill a rabbit with all its strength, and what’s more, Yang Kai was obviously a bit abnormal seeing how he could maintain a look of indifference from beginning to end.
They vaguely felt that Yang Kai had something to rely on; therefore, the instant they began their attack, the two of them pushed their Saint Qi to guard themselves while also holding back their true trump cards, maintaining a high degree of vigilance so as to prevent Yang Kai from causing them any harm in a desperate final struggle.
The middle-aged man and another obese cultivator stood back without moving. Although they too felt the situation was a little weird, and that Yang Kai seemed to be intentionally baiting them, with so many priceless treasures in front of them, they didn’t try to stop their companions despite the doubts in their hearts.
Anyone who saw so many good things would be willing to take a few risks to obtain them, because these treasures were worth risking their lives.
Besides, no matter how skilled a First-Order Saint King was, could he be stronger than Qu Chang Feng?
Even if Qu Chang Feng was here, it would impossible to deal with all of them by himself, so while they paid attention to Yang Kai’s movements, they prepared themselves to support their comrades who had rushed forward in case Yang Kai had some kind of earth-shaking hidden means.
The thin cultivator and the monkey-faced cultivator were both extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, they had approached to within ten meters of Yang Kai. Yang Kai, on the other hand, put on an expression of shock, as if he had only just noticed them rushing over, quickly packing all the treasures he had taken out back into his Space Ring, putting on a show of panic and confusion that further dispersed his two attacker’s wariness and caused them to raise their speed to the limit.
But just as they closed in, the two cultivators saw Yang Kai reveal a thin smile.
The moment they saw this smile, the two realized that there was something wrong, because the smile Yang Kai was wearing was one filled with mockery, as if he had set up some kind of trap here and was just waiting for them to throw themselves into it.
With their supposed prey’s eyes filled with disdain and ridicule, how could the two cultivators not see that everything up until now had been a ploy?
The next moment, the two rushing towards Yang Kai felt as if they had run into an invisible wall, both of them coming to a halt as they let out grunts at the same time. The two Third Order Saint Kings instantly felt as if they were being pressed down upon by a mountain, their breathing becoming difficult as their bodies struggled to resist, and cracking sounds echoed from their bones.
This strange space had been incredibly difficult for Yang Kai to break free from when he first entered it, and his physique was far stronger than an ordinary cultivator’s. If even Yang Kai was wary of this place, how could these two easily escape?
Although Yang Kai had cultivated his Space Blade here for more than a month, and almost completely destroyed the solidification effect, it was still strong enough to interfere with these two cultivators, and with that momentary opening, Yang Kai could easily kill them.
Therefore, the instant these two entered the strange space, their fates had been sealed.
The two went pale and their eyes were immediately filled with terror, both of them pushing their Saint Qi as hard as they could, finally alleviating the intense pressure weighing them down, but just as they were about to retreat from this strange space, a cry of alarm rang out from the middle-aged man standing behind them.
The two lifted their heads with difficulty just in time to see two palms ruthlessly descending upon them.
This solidified space could hinder the movements of these two, but Yang Kai was like a fish in water here, not affected in the slightest. He had fully adapted to the pressure of this place.
Yang Kai wasn’t afraid to fight any of these four Third-Order Saint Kings one on one. Even one on two, Yang Kai was confident he could emerge victoriously, but facing four at once was different. If he was unable to wipe them all out, and even one escape, it would create endless troubles for him.
That was why he had constantly exposed his gains. He wanted to use the valuable treasures he had on him to goad these four into attacking him.
His plan went smoothly. As the saying goes, men die for wealth just like birds die for food; it was a perfect explanation for the performance of these four.
There wasn’t anyone who wouldn’t be tempted after seeing so many good things.
*Peng Peng…*
Two bursting sounds came out, and the skinny man and the monkey-faced man from Heaven Battling Union who had gotten stuck in the strange solidified space had their heads exploded by Yang Kai’s palm, leaving not even bones behind.
These two Third Order Saint King died filled with unwillingness. They had been killed by Yang Kai without even a chance to fight back. Standing amidst the blood mist, Yang Kai glared coldly at the remaining two, his murderous intent soaring to the Heavens.
It was as if Yang Kai had only now revealed his fangs and was staring towards the remaining two Heaven Battling Union cultivators with clear malicious intentions.
The fat man had approached closer a moment ago, but after seeing his two companions drop dead, he immediately came to a halt and stared at Yang Kai in shock, his face revealing a look of incomprehension and disbelief.
The moment Yang Kai attacked just now, the surge of Saint Qi from his body clearly belonged to a First-Order Saint King, and although it was indeed incredibly potent compared to normal, it wasn’t something Heaven defying. The two palms he had sent out also weren’t very fast, as if he only attacked casually, and it was because of this that the fat man couldn’t understand why his two companions were killed without the slightest resistance.
This obviously didn’t make any sense.
“There’s something strange about the space around him, possibly some kind of barrier or trap!” The middle-aged man’s complexion was gloomy. It had always been them who had been slaughtering others like chickens, but now one such chick had pecked back and actually killed two of his comrades. He was so upset he nearly coughed up blood.
“Who else wants to check my Space Ring?” Yang Kai raised his lips and looked at the two indifferently, asking as he walked straight towards them.
The fat man stepped back instinctually; his expression filled with panic.
The middle-aged man also frowned deeply. He had just determined that Yang Kai was surrounded by some kind of barrier which was why he could so easily kill those two, but now this boy was actually taking the initiative to attack them. What did this mean?
Was he that confident?
The middle-aged man was a cautious person, and after realizing that this situation had gone beyond his ability to understand or control, he didn’t hesitate to immediately retreat, shouting to the fat man hastily, “Run!”
The middle-aged man made a dash for the canyon’s exit without looking back.
Without being able to understand what his enemy was relying on or even his true strength, the middle-aged man was unwilling to stay here and take risks. He just wanted to escape here and pass on the word about this kid’s stash of treasures to his other allies so they could gather and take revenge.
This middle-aged man’s approach couldn’t have been more correct, and his approach was foolproof.
But the fat man wasn’t so savvy. Although the middle-aged man had shouted to him before fleeing, the fat man was very confident in his own strength and was also bewitched by the treasures in Yang Kai’s Space Ring, so when he saw Yang Kai walk towards him, instead of feeling fear, he felt happy. Green light burst from the fat man’s body and surrounding him tightly. Immediately, this man’s obese body deflated like a balloon, drying up at a visible rate, turning him thin in an instant.
Along with the huge change in body shape, the aura of this previously fat man had increased exponentially, and the surging Saint Qi has almost condensed into a physical substance. With a wave of his hands, the green light surrounding him flew out and transformed into a series of vine-like objects that pierced through the air towards Yang Kai. These vines were filled with sharp barbs and once someone was caught by them, these barbs would sink into their body and rapidly absorb their vitality and Saint Qi. Even cultivators in the same realm would have difficulty breaking free and at that time, they would be easily slaughtered.
This fat man couldn’t recall how many enemies he had killed with his unique Saint Qi and unique killing blow. In Heaven Battling Union, although he wasn’t as famous as Qu Chang Feng and the middle-aged men, he was still a prominent figure.
In addition, the vines, which had a Wood Attribute to them, moved extremely fast. As long as he was given three breaths of time, he could turn this entire canyon into a prison cage. At that time, this place would become his world, and no matter what kind of shocking methods this First-Order Saint King possessed, he wouldn’t even be able to dream of escaping.
The fat man’s eyes were filled with confidence.
But in the next instant, a jet black flame that appeared almost like a fire dragon poured cold water on his head.
“A Fire Attribute cultivator?” The fat man looked startled.
He cultivated Wood Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills, but those were most restrained by Fire Attribute cultivators, so when he saw Yang Kai’s black flames, his heart naturally sank, and his expression became dignified.
However, an arrow released from its bow could not turn back, and his opponent being a mere First-Order Saint King wasn’t enough to cause him to retreat, so he instead increased the output of his Saint Qi further, causing the green vines to grow even more madly as they tried to fill up the entire canyon.
*Hu…*
The intensity of the black flames increased to match his vines and a scene which truly startled the fat man happened next. On contact, the black flames were burning his green vines into ash, and no matter how hard he pushed his Saint Qi, he wasn’t able to keep up with the rate of loss. In the blink of an eye, the black flames had shattered his attack and were now closing in on him.
“Impossible!” The fat man screamed. Although his Martial Skills were indeed restrained by Fire Attribute attacks, no flame could possibly have such a burning ability strong enough to completely suppress his vine’s growth.
All the green vines were instantly suppressed by the black flames, and the inside of the canyon began taking on an alternating hot and cold atmosphere, causing the fat man to suffer greatly.
Yang Kai then rushed over like a burst of raging flames, throwing a black Heaven Punishing Spear out towards the Heaven Battling Union cultivator, immediately following up with a Heaven Covering Hand.
Yang Kai had to finish this battle quickly because the middle-aged man from the group of four was far more cautious than he had anticipated. After Yang Kai had killed two of this middle-aged man’s companions, his first reaction was not to get angry or seek revenge, but to swiftly withdraw. It was unbelievably decisive.
This middle-aged man was able to suppress his greed towards the treasures in Yang Kai’s Space Ring and instead choose the safest approach.
By now, this man had run out over a hundred meters, and if Yang Kai were to become entangled with this fat cultivator, and the middle-aged man escaped from the canyon, it would become far more difficult to catch up to him.
As such, Yang Kai also acted decisively, using nearly one hundred percent of his power.
The fat cultivator’s reactions weren’t slow, however, and seeing the black Heaven Punishing Spear approaching, he immediately summoned a small round shield. This round shield began rotating slowly and was full of mysterious runes and energy lines with a strange turtle-shaped pattern also appearing, swimming nibbling around the shield. With this small round shield protecting his body, the fat man’s figure flickered as he tried to swiftly retreat.
However, the giant hand above him, which seemed to block out the sky, continued closing in, making the fat man feel as if there was no hope to avoid it.
*Hong…*
With a loud bang, the Heaven Punishing Spear stuck the small round shield, causing a massive burst of energy. The small round shield cracked but surprisingly was not completely crushed. Although it had been contaminated with bits of Demonic Flame, the swimming turtle pattern on the shield quickly opened its mouth and sprayed out a cloud of white energy, extinguishing the Demonic Flame.
After doing this, the turtle pattern returned to the small round shield, but it no longer moved, seemingly greatly weakened.
This artefact had obviously lost its spirituality and could no longer be used unless an excellent Artefact Refiner were to fix it.
The small round shield had blocked Yang Kai’s killing blow and protected the fat cultivator’s life, but the Heaven Covering Hand overtook him at that moment.
The fat cultivator roared and quickly weaved a complicated set of hand signs before pushing both his palms towards the sky.
A green light curtain rose around him like a protective cover, covering him completely.
There was another loud noise, and the earth trembled. The Heaven Covering Hand impacted the green light curtain, shattering it in an instant and disappearing without a trace. Although the fat cultivator was hit by this attack, he didn’t receive much damage, but it was obviously his face had gone pale.
In a short time, he recognized the gap between himself and Yang Kai.
How was this the strength of a First-Order Saint King? It was clear that not even a Third-Order Saint King could be so fierce. If it weren’t for the Saint Qi fluctuations coming from Yang Kai, the fat man would be wondering if he was fighting an Origin Returning Realm master.
No wonder the other party had the confidence to take the initiative to attack. With such a combat power, he had enough capital to compete with Qu Chang Feng, so coping with the fat cultivator was not a problem.
The fat man had already used his best artefacts, but his opponent hadn’t, seemingly still holding back. From beginning to end, he had only used Martial Skills to fight him.
The fat man didn’t know that Yang Kai only had two artefacts on him, one was the purple shield and the other was the Hundred Mountains Picture.
The purple shield was for defence only, and although the power of the Hundred Mountains Picture wasn’t small, the terrain in the canyon was narrow so it wasn’t suitable to use it here. If this weren’t the case, Yang Kai would have already summoned it to kill this fat cultivator.
The fat cultivator didn’t know any of this, so his heart was only more chaotic. After blocking the Heaven Covering Hand, he once again summoned a flying sword-shaped artefact, poured his Saint Qi into it, and hurled it at Yang Kai.
The flying sword transformed into a streak of white light that pierced towards Yang Kai and gave off a thick malevolent aura. At the same time, the fat cultivator turned around and ran out of the canyon without hesitation.
He thought that his flying sword artefact could buy him some time, and as long as he had a little time, perhaps he could escape this calamity, but how could he have known that the moment he turned his back to Yang Kai, the aura of death would descend upon him.
Glancing back in horror, the fat cultivator saw Yang Kai smoothly avoided the attack of the flying sword, and chop towards him with a black sword of his own, one that seemed to fill the canyon with a black light.
The fat cultivator’s heart clenched, but before he could even compose himself, he was struck by over a dozen sword waves at once. Screaming, the fat cultivator fell to the ground, the Demonic Flame burning his body, and no matter how he pushed his Saint Qi, he couldn’t resist. It wasn’t long before he was burnt to a charred corpse.
The canyon itself was only ten meters wide, which made it extremely difficult for the fact cultivator to dodge. If not for this, he could have resisted for a bit longer and wouldn’t have died so quickly.
Even as he died though, this fat man couldn’t understand how a trivial First-Order Saint King could be so terrifying!
After killing this fat cultivator, Yang Kai immediately looked up towards the entrance to the canyon.
The last middle-aged man had managed to escape fast, and in this short time had already managed to escape two thousand meters away.
He seemed to have heard the scream of the fat cultivator, shivered slightly, and increased his speed even more.
At this moment, he understood that his previous caution and concern were not unfounded. The scream of the fat cultivator he heard clearly announced his companion’s death. No matter what kind of method or means this young man had used, or whether there were tricks or plots involved, just the fact that Yang Kai had killed the fat cultivator in just five short breaths told the middle-aged man he was not an opponent he could face.
So, he didn’t dare look back and simply focused on escaping from the canyon as soon as possible. At the same time, his trembling hand reached for his Space Ring and took out his communication artefact. He wanted to inform his other companions about what had happened here, especially Qu Chang Feng.
In his eyes, only someone like Qu Chang Feng could compete with that young man.
Just as he took out his communication artefact though, the middle-aged man suddenly heard thunder and lightning come from behind him and a terrifying Divine Sense lock onto him. The strength of this Divine Sense was no worse than an Origin Returning Realm Master’s.
He didn’t dare hesitate and immediately poured his own Divine Sense into the communication artefact, but before he could send any kind of message, he felt a faint ache on his arm.
This ache only felt like he had been bitten by an ant.
However, when he looked down to investigate, he was horrified to discover that his arm had silently been chopped off, and not far in front of him was a dark crack that seemed capable of devouring everything it touched.
“A Void Crack?” The middle-aged man was also quite knowledgeable and couldn’t help muttering to himself when he saw this, but in his moment of absent-mindedness, the possible Void Crack vanished.
A sharp pain suddenly radiated from the place his arm had been cut off from, causing sweat to ooze from his forehead and soak his clothes.
*Chi…*
A slight, almost imperceptible sound entered his ear in an instant, his intact arm began aching as well.
Thinking of what had happened just now, this middle-aged cultivator’s face went ashen as he glanced down and found that his second arm was also gone, the cut so clean and neat it was as if it had been sliced off by some incredibly sharp weapon.
A figure quickly passed by like a bolt of lightning and blocked his path forward.
The middle-aged man stopped in place and stared at Yang Kai with a look of despair.
He couldn’t spare any attention to the pain coming from his missing arms or prevent his blood from spewing out, all he could do is stare at Yang Kai and the wings seemingly composed of wind and thunder behind him, in a flash understanding why even at his top speed, he was easily overtaken by his opponent.
His opponent actually had such a strange artefact, no wonder his speed was so fast. The middle-aged man just didn’t know what kind of attack Yang Kai had used to cut off his arms. He hadn’t felt any Saint Qi fluctuations just now but his arms had still inexplicably been severed.