Suddenly, Yang Kai saw Lian Guang send his puppets to intercept one of the Eighth-Order Cloud Beasts Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters let past them. Completely made of clouds, this Cloud beast was incredibly unpredictable and after rushing in, it quickly entangled several of Lian Guang’s puppets.
Yang Kai did not hesitate either, leaping forward to block another one of the Eighth-Order Cloud Beasts.
Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters had let these two Eighth-Order Cloud Beasts through deliberately. Firstly, there were too many of these Cloud Beasts to deal with, so the ones they were holding off were their limit as it was. Secondly, they wanted to know what kind of combat effectiveness Yang Kai and Lian Guang possessed so they could judge whether they would be an asset or a burden going forward.
The Eighth-Order Monster Beast stopped by Yang Kai had the appearance of a giant tiger with a majestic aura about it. Its long tail looked like it was made of cold steel that flashed dangerously and its body overall was more than ten metres high; however, this tiger was completely green in colour, making it appear quite strange.
As it moved, a foul scent wafted from its body, making anyone who smelled it feel like vomiting. Yang Kai immediately understood that this Cloud Beast had been fused with a highly toxic substance.
Yang Kai did not wait for it to act, taking the initiative to send out a Golden Thread from his finger and slice apart the tiger’s body. Angry roars continued to ring out as the giant tiger was chopped to pieces, easily falling apart in the next instant.
However, this scene did not cause Yang Kai any joy as the aura of this tiger had not decreased in the slightest, even after it was cut to pieces. Instead, its momentum became even more violent.
After Yang Kai took back his Golden Thread, the cut up pieces of the giant tiger burst into puffs of green clouds then quickly fused together. Within a couple of breaths, the giant tiger reappeared without a scratch on it, apparently not even slightly weakened.
These Cloud Beasts were incredibly difficult to kill. If this tiger had been an ordinary Eighth-Order Monster Beast, after experiencing Yang Kai’s attack it would definitely have died, but this Cloud Beast didn’t have a traditional physical form so even if it was cut apart, it could quickly fuse back together. It seemed that what Du Si Si said earlier was not an exaggeration.
After understanding this, Yang Kai put away his Golden Thread and with a flash of his Divine Sense, a crisp bird cry rang out. In the next moment, the crimson Firebird Artifact Spirit appeared, spreading its wings wide as it grew to several tens of metres in length before diving towards the giant tiger under Yang Kai’s orders.
The tiger’s eyes flashed a trace of fear as it instinctively felt that the Artifact Spirit was not an existence it could face, the arrogance and disdain it had on its face when hunting Yang Kai disappearing completely. Inhaling deeply, it spat out a green poisonous mist that rapidly engulfed and concealed its body.
The Artifact Spirit flashed a disdainful look before letting out a crisp cry and charging into the poisonous fog without a moment’s hesitation.
For a time, the green and crimson lights became entangled as tiger roars and bird cries sounded one after another, all while Yang Kai stood back with his arms folded, observing fixedly.
Wisps of green fog were rapidly being evaporated by the extremely high-temperature flames and soon, the poisonous mist which had been concealing the giant tiger grew thin, revealing its figure once more.
Very quickly, the Artifact Spirit got the upper hand completely in this battle and the hot flames it sprayed from its beak continued to burn down the giant tiger’s poisonous mist, suppressing it to the point where it couldn’t even fight back. Every time it was burned by these flames, the giant tiger would show a terrified expression.
The Firebird seemed unsatisfied with the progress it was making though and increased the heat and intensity of its flames, clearly intent on ruthlessly eliminating the giant tiger.
This scene made the cultivator surnamed Wen, who was protecting Cai He and Du Si Si nearby, stare at the Firebird with deep envy.
Word of Yang Kai causing trouble in Heavenly Fate City and even executing an Origin Returning Realm master of the Xie Family had quickly spread and many people now knew he had an amazingly powerful fire attribute Artifact Spirit.
This was also the reason why the old man named Ning Xiang Chen and the other three Origin Realm masters kept showing goodwill to Yang Kai.
Almost every Origin Returning Realm would possess at least one Origin Grade artifact, but over many years of use, these artifacts would become damaged and lose spirituality in battle. If one wanted to repair such an artifact, an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner would be necessary.
However, on Shadowed Star, how scarce were Origin Grade Artifact Refiners? In Shadow Moon Hall, a great sect, only Grandmaster Ge Lin was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, but after he passed away six months ago, all of these Origin Realm masters who wanted to repair their artifacts now had nowhere left to turn.
When these masters learned that Yang Kai possessed a Firebird Artifact Spirit, they immediately took an interest.
If Yang Kai allowed them to borrow this Firebird Artifact Spirit for a period of time, with their own strength, it may not be impossible for them to repair some of the damage to their artifacts. Even if they could not restore them to their peak state, it would certainly be of great benefit.
If not for this, how could three Origin Returning Realm masters have lowered themselves to fawning over Yang Kai so obviously? It could not be more apparent they had a reason for acting so.
Now that the cultivator surnamed Wen saw the power of this Firebird Artifact Spirit with his own eyes, he was even more overjoyed. When Yang Kai was running amok in Heavenly Fate City, he had summoned a furnace-like artifact.
If things were as he expected, this Firebird should be the Artifact Spirit of that furnace. The Artifact Refining Furnace such an Artifact Spirit was born from was not low in grade.
With an Artifact Refining Furnace that had an Artifact Spirit, even if one wasn’t proficient in Artifact Refining it would still be possible to make decent repairs to their artifact; however, wanting to borrow this kind of treasure would certainly not be easy. To convince someone to loan you such a precious treasure, a life-long, life and death friendship would be required.
While the cultivator surnamed Wen was looking after Cai He and Du Si Si, he was actually looking for an opportunity to assist Yang Kai, wanting to sell him a favour, but how could he have known that Yang Kai wouldn’t need any help fighting these Cloud Beasts? Seeing that there was no need for him to intervene made him pleasantly surprised at the power of this Artifact Spirit while at the same time caused him some slight regret.
While he was mulling over these complicated thoughts, the body of the giant tiger had shrunk by a third. After suffering the pursuit of the Artifact Spirit, half of the cloud that formed its body had been evaporated.
Being the fusion of a cloud and the Soul of a Monster Beast, after noticing its precarious condition, the giant tiger roared loudly and its huge body suddenly swelled up, emitting a dangerous aura.
Yang Kai’s expression sank, and the Artifact Spirit’s eyes flashed intelligently, immediately flying up high to avoid the giant tiger.
In the next moment, the giant tiger suddenly burst into pieces, sending out scattered green mist and light. This mist and light however quickly transformed into many miniature green tigers that fled in all directions.
The Artifact Spirit was startled for a moment before flying into a rage. It had thought this giant tiger wanted to detonate its own Soul and had withdrawn to a safe distance to avoid taking damage, but it turned out the other party actually was just putting on a show in order to escape.
With its wings spread wide, the Firebird sent out a barrage of scorching fireballs towards these miniature tigers, rapidly burning them down.
However, after the giant tiger’s body exploded, it released far too many of these miniature green tigers and the Artifact Spirit could not take all of them out, allowing a few of them to avoid this barrage of fireballs and survive.
Yang Kai saw this and grinned wryly, waving his hands to send out a large net formed from Demonic Flame to surround the escaping tigers.
In an instant, all the miniature green tigers that had escaped the Firebird’s attack were wrapped up in this giant net.
Capturing Heaven Net was one of Yang Kai’s Nine Heavens Divine Skills and just so happened to be suitable for this occasion.
Although the Nine Heavens Divine Skills were a set of Martial Skills from Tong Xuan Realm, with the improvement of Yang Kai’s strength, the power they could display had also grown rapidly, not to mention this net was formed from his Demonic Flames.
A sizzling sound rang out and no matter how these miniature green tires struggled, they were unable to break free of the Capturing Heaven Net, instead quickly burning down under the scorching hot Demonic Flames.
A moment later, the giant tiger Cloud Beast disappeared without a trace.
Yang Kai let out a light sigh as he realized that, without the Firebird Artifact Spirit’s power, if he wanted to kill this Cloud Beast, it would have been too difficult. Although his Demonic Flames could also restrain its poisonous mist, Yang Kai wasn’t impervious to this poison like the Artifact Spirit. If he were to have fought it alone, he would have had to act more cautiously, lest he have an accident.
Calling back the Artifact Spirit, Yang Kai turned to see what was happening on Lian Guang’s side, catching him looking over towards him as well. Apparently, he had also concluded his battle with the Cloud Beast, his puppets having thoroughly destroyed it.
Looking at each other, both showed looks of surprise, Yang Kai not knowing what method Lian Guang had used to kill the Cloud Beast in such a short time while the other party was thinking the same about Yang Kai.
However, after seeing the Firebird Artifact Spirit perching on Yang Kai’s shoulder, preening its feathers, a look of understanding appeared on Lian Guang’s face and a trace of disdain flashed across his eyes. Obviously, he thought that the elimination of the Cloud Beasts was all thanks to the Artifact Spirit.
Immediately after, the two young men looked up to see how the battle the Origin Realm masters was going.
Straightaway, both of their expressions became gloomy.
Because when the two of them had killed their respective Cloud Beasts, one of the wandering clouds began transforming into a Cloud Beast and was exuding the aura of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast.
After noticing this, not only did Yang Kai and Lian Guang’s expression become ugly, even Fei Zhi Tu and the others felt headaches.
Teaming up with the old lady and old man, the three of them were finally able to hold back the remaining Cloud Beasts, but if another Ninth-Order Monster Beast were to join the fray, how were they supposed to resist?
The cultivator surnamed Wen saw this too, but his job was to protect Cai He and Du Si Si, so even though he wanted to help, he did not dare leave these two easily. If these two were to have an accident, there would be no one left to break this Spirit Array.
And seeing that there are still so many clouds around, even if he were to go all out and quickly kill this newly emerging Cloud Beast, another would certainly take its place.
This Spirit Array was clearly designed to ruthlessly consume its victim’s strength before killing them.
Everyone understood the sinister intentions of the master who arranged this array, allowing them to see a trace of hope only to crush it brutally. It was truly malicious.
As the cultivator surnamed Wen was wavering, Yang Kai simply pointed his finger and ordered the Artifact Spirit to meet this Cloud Beast head-on, turning his head to Lian Guang with a laugh and saying, “Brother Lian, how about we hold it down together? Looking at the situation, there’s no need to keep killing, stalling for time will work just as well.”
“You don’t need to tell me of this kind of thing!” Lian Guang snarled coldly before sending out his puppets to join the Artifact Spirit.
Although a Ninth-Order Cloud Beast possessed extraordinary might, neither Yang Kai nor Lian Guang were ordinary Third-Order Saint Kings. Yang Kai could defeat opponents above his own realm while the several puppets operated by Lian Guang were also not to be underestimated, so together with the Firebird Artifact Spirit, holding down a single Ninth-Order Cloud Beast was not a problem.
If not for them having scruples about what changes the Spectral Cloud Array would undergo, the two Saint Kings would have been able to destroy this Ninth-Order Cloud Beast in short order.
Seeing that the two Saint King Juniors could easily handle the situation, Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters were overjoyed and quickly regained their composure. After seeing what happened after they destroyed some of the first Cloud Beasts to appear, they also understood that, in this Spirit Array, stalling for time was the best solution and immediately changed their tactics from killing them to suppressing them.
As a result, the pressure on the group was greatly reduced and they were able to cope with the current situation more easily.
During this period, Cai He and Du Si Si continually poured their Saint Qi into their array tools to spy on the mysteries of this Spectral Cloud Array, trying to find where its Array Core and Array Nodes were located. However, this Spirit Array was quite ancient and exotic, so even though the two of them had good attainments in Spirit Arrays, for a short time, they were rendered helpless as cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.
Despite Yang Kai, Lian Guang, and the three Origin Returning Realm masters led by Fei Zhi Tu seemingly having an easy time dealing with the current situation, once it dragged on, all of them would definitely begin to tire and lose ground. Not to mention, Heaven knows how many more Cloud Beasts were sealed inside this Spirit Array.
Therefore, Du Si Si and Cai He both had to hurry, taking everything they had learned in their lifetime to continuously unravel the structure of this Spirit Array.
An incense stick of time passed…
Half an hour passed …
An hour passed…
The cultivator surnamed Wen’s complexion gradually grew dignified while Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters also began showing signs of unease. On the other hand, Yang Kai and Lian Guang both seemed quite refreshed as they freely and liberally fought.
For Yang Kai, his main contribution to this battle was the Firebird Artifact Spirit while he personally displayed his Nine Heavens Divine Skills only occasionally to contain the Ninth-Order Cloud Beast. In terms of Saint Qi consumption, Yang Kai was using the least. On the other hand, Lian Guang was primarily using his puppets to meet the enemy, so although his Divine Sense consumption was quite high, after taking some pills to supplement his Spiritual Energy, he remained calm and steady.
However, after being entangled in this fight for so long, Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters were getting slightly overwhelmed since their Saint Qi consumption was truly enormous. If they continued on in this way, the situation would soon become worrying. Fei Zhi Tu couldn’t help feeling anxious as he kept glancing over at Cai He and Du Si Si, hoping to see how they were progressing.
Seeing this, the cultivator surnamed Wen also opened his mouth to urge Cai He and Du Si Si. Fortunately, the two of them lived up the group’s expectations and, only an hour into their analysis, they finally found a flaw to exploit.
A strong light suddenly burst from Du Si Si’s and Cai He’s array tools and, after circling them for a moment, it shot off into the distance.
In the blink of an eye, the flash of light hit a particular fiery-red cloud. After being struck by this light, the fiery red cloud that was originally gently drifting suddenly froze in place.
Du Si Si’s pretty face beamed with delight as she quickly shouted, “The Array Core is there, if it’s broken, the Spectral Cloud Array will also collapse!”
Hearing this shout, everyone showed a happy expression. All of them had already speculated the Array Core was hidden amongst the countless clouds in their surroundings, but none of them had dared to touch these clouds as there was no guarantee something terrible wouldn’t happen. Now that they had identified exactly where the Array Core was though, this concern naturally disappeared.
“Brother Wen!” Fei Zhi Tu shouted.
“Leave it to me!” The cultivator surnamed Wen’s face showed a severe look as he glared towards the cloud which was struck by the flash of light. Lifting his hand, he summoned a half metre long golden needle between his fingers and poured his Saint Qi in, causing it to release a radiant, golden light before shouting out, “Go!”
As soon as his voice fell, his hand shook and the golden needle shot forward. Mid-air, the golden needle seemed to transform into a glowing golden snake that bared its fangs fiercely as it struck out.
Just as the golden needle was about to hit the red cloud though, a surprising scene took place.
This cloud unexpectedly changed into a fiery red beast that looked like a squirrel, its tiny eyes narrowing slightly as it revealed a disdainful look before its figure flickered and it completely disappeared.
The golden snake’s fangs hit only thin air.
The cultivator surnamed Wen’s expression turned ugly as he saw this. Although he knew that the cloud would certainly undergo some kind of change when it was attacked, he had never expected that the Cloud Beast would suddenly just disappear. Worse yet, releasing his Divine Sense, the man surnamed Wen was unable to find any trace of this red squirrel’s aura.
Just as he was feeling annoyed though, he saw Yang Kai’s figure shoot out, arriving directly at the place where the small Cloud Beast vanished, stretch out his hand coldly, and grab something.
*Puchi…*
Yang Kai’s huge hand seemed to have caught something, but no matter how the cultivator surnamed Wen looked, he was unable to see anything. Instead, only a kind of squeaking noise rang out.
Immediately after, a flash of light erupted and the little Cloud Beast which had disappeared a moment ago unexpectedly reappeared in the grip of Yang Kai’s hand.
It hadn’t gone anywhere; it had instead concealed its figure using some kind of extremely profound method that was capable of even deceiving the Divine Sense of the man surnamed Wen!
But how did this boy find it then? The cultivator surnamed Wen looked at Yang Kai in amazement, wondering if it was just a case of a blind cat hitting a dead mouse or if Yang Kai had actually been targeting it from the beginning.
Just as this thought crossed his mind though, black Demonic Flames covered Yang Kai’s hand and burned down the little beast mercilessly.
Regardless of how the little beast struggled to resist, it was unable to free itself from Yang Kai’s clutches. It seemed this Cloud Beast which served as the Array Core had no fighting power at all and was only capable of concealing itself. Perhaps it did have some other profound abilities, but it simply didn’t have any time to display them.
In the blink of an eye, the little beast was incinerated by the Demonic Flames and transformed into a wooden token-like object that floated strangely in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai showed a look of surprise as he grabbed the Wooden Token.
At the same time the little beast was destroyed, all the Cloud Beasts that had been entangled with Fei Zhi Tu and the others, the one which was being tied down by the Firebird and Lian Guang, and even the countless clouds floating in the group’s surroundings, all transformed into streaks of light that poured into the Wooden Token.
It was as if there was an amazing suction force coming from this Wooden Token that pulled in all the surrounding clouds.
After just three breaths, the crisis was lifted, and the originally cloud-filled world suddenly shattered. After everyone recovered their wits, they actually found themselves standing once again beside the flower bed where the purple Sword Soul Grass still stood straight like a sword.
The Spectral Cloud Array was completely broken!
However, no one called out for joy at the moment as they were all standing there staring blankly at the Wooden Token in Yang Kai’s hand, revealing envious expressions; even Fei Zhi Tu was no exception.
The look on Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s faces could even be described as fanatical.
At this moment, this Wooden Token-like thing was releasing a powerful white light which made it impossible for others to look at it directly. At the same time, it was releasing a powerful energy fluctuation clearly identifying it as a great treasure.
“Array Plate! This is actually a legendary Array Plate!?” Du Si Si screamed out, drawing everyone’s attention.
“It really is an Array Plate!” Fei Zhi Tu’s voice rose in pitch greatly as his expression became a bit complicated. Although he had guessed this just now, he wasn’t certain, but after hearing Du Si Si shout, he immediately knew his hypothesis was correct.
It turned out to be an extremely rare and precious Array Plate!
Everyone present had obviously heard about the rarity and preciousness of an Array Plate, and when the cultivator surnamed Wen remembered that this kind of exotic treasure had actually slipped through his fingers and landed in Yang Kai’s hand, he couldn’t help feeling bitter.
Just now, if he had taken action directly to catch that little squirrel, this Array Plate might be his own. Such an Array Plate was undoubtedly more precious than an ordinary Origin Grade artifact.
“Brother Yang…” Cai He began to call out, but the moment he began speaking, he saw Yang Kai calmly and relaxedly put the Array Plate into his Space Ring, causing him to stand there and stare blankly.
*Ahem…* Fei Zhi Tu lightly coughed, “Since Yang Boy obtained it, that is his opportunity. It’s his now.”
Listening to this, Ning Xiang Chen pondered for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh and saying, “Congratulations for obtaining this rare treasure, little friend. It seems your strength has greatly increased.”
The old lady and the cultivator surnamed Wen thought about it and also offered their congratulations, obviously agreeing with Fei Zhi Tu’s decision and not showing any intention to snatch this Array Plate from Yang Kai.
After all, the main purpose of their journey this time was to rescue Qian Tong, so it would obviously be unwise to fall out over this Array Plate right now.
What’s more, these three Origin Returning Realm masters all wanted to forge a friendship with Yang Kai in order to borrow his Firebird Artifact Spirit.
With the opinions of the Origin Returning Realm masters having been unified, the remaining three Saint Kings didn’t dare voice any objections.
Nevertheless, Du Si Si pouted openly as she glared towards Yang Kai. In her opinion, this guy did not understand anything about Spirit Arrays, let alone how truly precious an Array Plate was, yet he was the one who actually managed to obtain it. It was completely unreasonable.
If she could acquire this Array Plate and bring it back with her, perhaps her Du Family’s attainments in Spirit Arrays would advance a level and allow them to completely suppress the Cai Family.
Cai He mulled over the issue for a moment before also offering his congratulations to Yang Kai; however, the smile on his face was clearly quite bitter. If it was some other kind of treasure, he wouldn’t have cared, but this Array Plate’s significance to him and his family were just too great.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai just frowned slightly. Although he had never heard of an Array Plate before, from the reactions of the people around him, he was at least certain he had obtained something amazing.
However, he had no intention to ask these people about it and was simply planning on waiting until he returned to Dragon Cave Mountain to ask Yang Yan what this Array Plate was.
After this incident with the Sword Soul Grass, everyone deeply understood that this Ancient Ruin was not as peaceful or safe as it appeared on the surface, and was instead filled with crisis. One small slip up had actually trapped them in a deadly Spirit Array.
Everyone naturally raised their vigilance.
“Let’s first restore ourselves. If we encounter anything on the road from now on, don’t act hastily,” Fei Zhi Tu said a moment later before sitting down to meditate.
Everyone nodded their heads before taking out some Saint Crystals and pills to restore themselves.
Although Yang Kai had no need to restore himself, in order to avoid being too conspicuous, he found a quiet spot nearby and sat down to meditate.
The World Energy here was much richer than outside, so meditating here produced twice the result with half the effort; as such, after a short while, the Saint Kings had completely restored themselves.
Sensing approaching footsteps, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and saw Cai He and Du Si Si walking over towards him. Du Si Si wore the same gloomy look on her face while Cai He was smiling lightly.
“Is there something you two wish to discuss with me?” Yang Kai asked when they approached, pretending to be confused. Although he wasn’t certain why they had come over to speak with him, Yang Kai was fairly positive it had something to do with the Array Plate.
Sure enough, Cai He cupped his fists and said, “Please don’t blame us, Brother Yang. We’re all comrades here so naturally this Cai doesn’t wish to impose on you. I simply came here to ask Brother Yang how he plans to deal with the Array Plate he just acquired. Do you perhaps have any intention to sell it?”
When he asked this question, Du Si Si also stared at Yang Kai, seemingly quite eager to cut in, as if she couldn’t wait to make an offer the moment Yang Kai said he planned to sell it.
Unfortunately for them, Yang Kai simply smiled and shook his head, “Sorry, I’m not currently lacking money so I don’t have any plans to sell this thing right now!”
A trace of pity flashed across Cai He’s face. Despite having some faint speculation, when he heard Yang Kai’s answer in person, he inevitably felt disappointed.
On the other hand, Du Si Si coldly snorted, “Just by looking at you it’s obvious you know nothing about Spirit Arrays. Do you even know what that Array Plate is or what it’s used for?”
Yang Kai glanced over at her lightly, “Is that any concern of yours? This thing is in my hands, so naturally I have the freedom to do with it what I please.”
“You…” Du Si Si’s chest heaved up and down as she shouted, “But your being able to obtain that Array Plate is thanks to everyone’s concerted efforts! On top of that, your being able to find that Array Core is all thanks to me and Cai He! Even if that Array Plate is now in your hands, it still partially belongs to me!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai stroked his chin as he looked at her with a smile, “Listening to you, it seems you want to snatch this Array Plate from me, yes?”
“I said no such thing, don’t make false accusations!” Du Si Si’s complexion paled slightly as she unconsciously glanced over at Fei Zhi Tu. After all, Fei Zhi Tu had just said that since the Array Plate had been taken by Yang Kai, it belonged to him. If she really tried to snatch it from Yang Kai now, she would have no way to explain herself to Fei Zhi Tu.
“Then what do you want?” Yang Kai’s expression became cold. He didn’t have a favourable impression of this arrogant young woman. If others didn’t provoke him, he could ignore them, but once they did provoke him, he would certainly not give them any face.
“I… I just want to buy your Array Plate on behalf of the Du Family!” Du Si Si grit her teeth and declared.
“I’ve already said that this Array Plate is not for sale,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly. Right now, he still didn’t know the value of this Array Plate, so forget about a trivial Du Family, even if Shadow Moon Hall wanted to buy it from him, he wouldn’t agree. How could he so easily give up this Array Plate before understanding its role and value?
Du Si Si raising the Du Family’s name was clearly an attempt to pressure Yang Kai, something he felt even more disgusted by.
Hearing Yang Kai’s refusal, Du Si Si sneered before saying, “Don’t be in a rush to refuse, it won’t be too late to reject my offer after you hear it. My Du Family will pay you thirty million Saint Crystals for that Array Plate!”
“Thirty million… that’s certainly a lot of Saint Crystals,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
This little girl clearly had no clue about Dragon Cave Mountain’s reputation if she thought a trivial thirty million Saint Crystals would be enough to move Yang Kai. On the contrary, Cai He seemed to have heard some rumours about Dragon Cave Mountain and smiled wryly.
“You’re not satisfied with such a price?” Du Si Si was obviously taken aback. After all, she heard that Yang Kai was nothing more than a wanderer who had occupied a single mountain and was followed by a band of misfit cultivators. Such a cultivator should never have seen such a number of Saint Crystals before. Even for her Du Family, taking out so many Saint Crystals at once was not a simple matter and Du Si Si certainly had no right to make such a decision on its behalf, but for a matter as important as this Array Plate, even if she returned home and informed her family of this negotiation, they would definitely not object.
Even if they needed to smash their pots to sell the scrap iron, they would find a way to put together this amount.
Du Si Si’s brow furrowed. She thought Yang Kai was simply trying to raise the price by acting aloof and silently cursed him for being so despicable. Narrowing her eyes, she continued, “If you can sell this Array Plate to me, my Du Family will not only pay you thirty million Saint Crystals, but our Array Masters will also help you arrange several sets of powerful Spirit Arrays for free. Is that not enough?”
“It’s not for sale!” Yang Kai still shook his head.
Du Si Si stared at Yang Kai as if he was a fool. In all honesty, the price she offered was not low, but she never expected that it wouldn’t be able to move Yang Kai at all. After hearing what he said, she ground her teeth audibly and began to hesitate, seemingly debating whether to raise her offer again.
Yang Kai interrupted her with a wave of his hand though and declared, “Miss Du, please withdraw. No matter what kind of offer your Du Family makes I will not sell this Array Plate!”
“You’ll regret this!” Du Si Si shouted angrily before stomping her foot, turning around, and walking away, no longer interested in talking nonsense to Yang Kai.
Cai He opened his mouth and seemed to want to comfort her, but eventually held his tongue.
After Du Si Si left, he smiled bitterly and apologized, “Brother Yang, don’t blame her. Si Si was raised a bit spoiled and so her temperament is a bit difficult. If Brother Yang feels offended, this Cai will respectfully withdraw as well.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and shook his head, “It’s fine, I won’t lower myself to her level.”
“Many thanks, Brother Yang,” Cai He breathed a sigh of relief before continuing, “It seems Brother Yang really doesn’t understand the value of this Array Plate, correct?”
Yang Kai brow rose slightly as he said, “Please enlighten me!”
Cai He chuckled as he sat down cross-legged opposite Yang Kai and began chatting with him.
After listening to Cai He’s explanation, Yang Kai realized just how rare and precious this Array Plate was and why Du Si Si was so adamant about obtaining it.
The Dao of Spirit Arrays was broad and profound, and even if a cultivator spent their entire life studying them, they may not be able to truly understand all the various aspects and components of Spirit Arrays.
Meanwhile, Array Plates were another field unto their own.
Shadowed Star’s current Array Masters were no longer capable of producing Array Plates, not only because the method of refining Array Plates had been lost to history but because even those qualified to refine Array Plates no longer existed.
It was rumored that a long time ago, there was a special division of Array Masters known as Artifact Array Masters!
From this title alone, it could be easily inferred that Artifact Array Masters weren’t only proficient in Spirit Arrays, but also in Artifact Refining. Only by reaching a certain level of competency in both fields could one become an Artifact Array Master, and only Artifact Array Masters could refine Array Plates.
In general, Array Masters would have some knowledge of Artifact Refining; after all, arranging Spirit Arrays required a number of auxiliary tools similar to artifacts.
In the same way, Artifact Refiners also understood methods of arranging Spirit Arrays. The Spirit Arrays used in Artifact Refining were still Spirit Arrays. This was also the case with Alchemists.
However, under normal circumstances, one would not have deep knowledge of two such fields.
The Dao of Spirit Arrays was extensive and profound, so how could an Array Master have enough time and energy to also study Artifact Refining? Over time, the special existences called Artifact Array Masters disappeared.
An Array Plate refined by an Artifact Array Master, in a strict sense, was a self-contained Spirit Array.
It didn’t require setting up a complicated set of equipment, but could still perfectly play the role of a Spirit Array. In other words, as long as Yang Kai refined the Array Plate in his hand, he could arrange and activate that Spectral Cloud Array whenever or wherever he wanted.
Hearing Cai He explain this point, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
He had experienced the power of the Spectral Cloud Array in person. The strength of the Cloud Beasts inside wasn’t low, to the point where he had no confidence in beating them. Even Origin Returning Realm masters like Fei Zhi Tu and Ning Xiang Chen were completely trapped by it. With this Spirit Array at his disposal, Yang Kai’s strength would rise sharply and he would have another powerful method of combating his enemies.
Moreover, when their group had been trapped by the Spectral Cloud Array just now, it hadn’t actually displayed its full might; after all, no one was operating it so it was simply responding automatically.
If Yang Kai were to personally deploy it and drive the power of this Spirit Array, even a master like Fei Zhi Tu would have died inside.
This lost Array Plate was of great significance to Array Masters. If they could obtain and study it, they may be able to deduce the refinement method for Array Plates. This would obviously be far superior to having to arrange Spirit Arrays with cumbersome tools and equipment. And an Array Plate was akin to a type of artifact which, after being refined, could be received inside one’s body and taken out at will, meaning it would be impossible for others to steal.
There were so many advantages!
While Cai He was explaining these things to Yang Kai, his face was filled with complicated emotions and envy, so how could Yang Kai not know what he was thinking?
Although he didn’t openly bid for it like Du Si Si, Cai He obviously had the same intentions as her. It was only out of consideration for Yang Kai’s face that he didn’t directly raise the topic.
“Does Brother Yang understand the rarity and value of this Array Plate now?” Cai He asked with a face full of envy.
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand. Many thanks for dispelling my doubts, Brother Cai. If this Yang ever finds himself in desperate need and has to sell this Array Plate, he will definitely give priority to your Cai Family!”
Hearing this, Cai He was overjoyed and quickly cupped his fists, “Many thanks for Brother Yang’s good intentions. Although this Cai also hopes to obtain this Array Plate, I sincerely hope such a day does not come.”
Yang Kai chuckled, knowing that Cai He was being honest when he said he hoped the day didn’t come when Yang Kai went down in the world and became desperate for money. Yang Kai’s impression of this young man improved once more as he felt he was an upright character.
What transpired between these three Saint Kings was naturally not missed by Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Returning Realm masters; however, none of them minded, nor did they have any intention to interfere. After Cai He got up and left though, a thoughtful frown appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
[Artifact Array Masters… There are actually such special people in this world.]
Although such masters couldn’t be found elsewhere, there was definitely one on Dragon Cave Mountain!
Yang Yan was not only proficient in Artifact Refining, but also in arranging Spirit Arrays, so she was clearly an Artifact Array Master. Didn’t that mean Array Plates could also be refined by her?
Moreover, when Yang Kai obtained this Array Plate, he felt a faintly familiar aura lingering about it but was unable to identify where he had felt it before. Yet now, he couldn’t help feeling a bit suspicious.
Putting the Array Plate aside for the moment, Yang Kai secretly decided that after going back he would ask Yang Yan about it. If she was really capable of refining Array Plates, he would definitely ask her to refine a few of them so he could set up large Spirit Arrays anytime, anywhere in the future.
A moment later, Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters finished restoring themselves and the group continued forward after a brief discussion.
As they travelled, they would see some exotic flowers and plants randomly sitting in nearby flower beds, from time to time, each of them worth as much as a city, some of them even thought to be extinct and all of them seemingly genuine.
However, after their first experience with the Spectral Cloud Array, Fei Zhi Tu and the others no longer dared to arbitrarily touch these rare spirit flowers and herbs lest they accidentally trigger another Spirit Array.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, had an extraordinarily strong interest in these spirit flowers and herbs because, with his knowledge and judgment, he found that these things were all the real deal.
In other words, those things were not set up as traps but were instead real herbs that were just waiting to be picked. However, because he could not be one hundred percent certain there were no traps here and the priority of this trip was to rescue Qian Tong, he suppressed his desires and followed behind Fei Zhi Tu and the others.
Still, Yang Kai silently memorized the route they took in preparation for after they saved Qian Tong. At that time, he planned to come back here and carefully determine whether these things were real or just traps.
Even acting with an abundance of caution, the journey forward was not free of trouble. The Spirit Arrays inside this Ancient Ruin were all extremely well hidden, to the point where even Fei Zhi Tu, a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, was unable to always spot them despite constantly using his Divine Sense to sweep their surroundings.
Fortunately, the two young Array Masters, Cai He and Du Si Si were accompanying them. Whenever the group found themselves trapped inside a Spirit Array, the two of them would work together to crack it while the others defended against the Spirit Array’s attacks.
This pattern continued for some time and, although everyone was somewhat dishevelled, there were no casualties. Only the old lady was slightly injured while Yang Kai and Lian Guang, the two Saint King Juniors, never encountered any real danger.
Unfortunately, after these Spirit Arrays were cracked, none of them left behind an Array Plate, greatly disappointing Cai He and Du Si Si.
After three days, the group of eight stood in front of a spacious passageway. This passageway was white and flawless, seemingly paved from the purest of white jade. However, a deep chill lingered in the air while wisps of frigid energy visible to the naked eye floated about. On either side of this passage were numerous ice cones that glistened with cold light, giving off an imposing and dangerous aura.
Even if they were just standing in front of this passage and had not actually entered, everyone was still being affected by the chill, and frost was even forming at the tips of their hair.
“This should be the ice road!” Fei Zhi Tu’s expression grew solemn as he spoke, half to himself, half to everyone else.
“So cold, how did Elder Qian pass through this place?” Ning Xiang Chen’s old face turned slightly pale. He estimated that if he were to enter this passage on his own, forget about reaching its end, he would quickly be transformed into an ice sculpture.
Although Qian Tong was a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, without some kind of powerful treasure or artifact to restrain the cold here, it would have been impossible for him to take a mere Saint King Grade Artifact Refiner with him to cross this ice road.
“I heard that Elder Qian obtained a Blazing Flame Bead several dozen years ago, he probably crossed this ice road with the help of that,” The old lady said thoughtfully to the side.
Fei Zhi Tu lightly nodded, “En, Old Qian indeed has a Blazing Flame Bead, otherwise, he would definitely have had to retreat here,” Saying so, he turned to Yang Kai and asked, “How about it?”
Yang Kai stared at the passage but did not answer the question directly, “City Lord Fei, do you know how long this passage is?”
Fei Zhi Tu shook his head slowly, “The message from Old Qian didn’t mention how long this passage was. However, since Old Qian was able to lead another person through it with just his Blazing Flame Bead, it shouldn’t be too long.”
“As long as it’s not too long it should be fine then,” Yang Kai said somewhat hesitantly.
Fei Zhi Tu’s reason for bringing Yang Kai on this trip was to borrow the power of the Firebird Artifact Spirit to cross this ice road, so now it was naturally time for Yang Kai to fulfil that role.
“Relax, this City Lord also prepared something for this moment, we’re not counting on your Artifact Spirit alone.” Fei Zhi Tu reassured as he waved his hand and summoned a bronze bell-like artifact into his palm. This bronze bell was crimson in colour and radiated a pure, hot aura.
“The Grand Fire Ward!” Ning Xiang Chen’s eyes lit up as he smiled, “I didn’t expect Brother Fei to even borrow the Grand Fire Ward. It seems that passing this ice road shouldn’t be a difficult matter.”
Fei Zhi Tu smiled, “Although this Grand Fire Ward is the Sect Master’s treasure, he rarely summons it even if he is in a fight. However, since this trip is to rescue that old ghost Qian, the Sect Master naturally won’t act stingy.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai and the other juniors understood that this Grand Fire Ward artifact belonged to Shadow Moon Hall’s Sect Master and had only been borrowed by Fei Zhi Tu for this mission.
Although a borrowed artifact could not display its full power, providing some assistance wouldn’t be an issue.
Seeing this, Yang Kai nodded his head and calmed himself. With a command of his Divine Sense, the Artifact Spirit rushed out of Yang Kai’s body and quickly transformed into a light curtain that surrounded the group of eight.
The Firebird did not have a true physical form so although it usually appeared in the shape of a bird, it could transform into essentially any shape.
At the same time, Fei Zhi Tu poured his Saint Qi into the Grand Fire Ward and in the next moment, it expanded in size until it too covered everyone.
Under these two layers of protection, everyone felt more secure.
“Hey, don’t push me!” Du Si Si murmured from behind, causing Yang Kai to glance back in time to see Cai He smiling awkwardly.
It was not his fault though, there were simply too many people here. To maximize the protective power of the Firebird Artifact Spirit and the Grand Fire Ward, Yang Kai and Fei Zhi Tu both made sure to expand them to only the minimum radius required to cover everyone.
As a result, the group of eight had to stand quite close together. Cai He clearly had intentions towards her, so he stood next to Du Si Si to play the part of a gentleman and shield her from the others, but not only did she not appreciate his gesture, she even began complaining.
Cai He had a temperate personality, so he didn’t get angry and patiently explained himself to Du Si Si.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai took the lead together with Fei Zhi Tu and began advancing.
As soon as they stepped onto the ice road, everyone shuddered involuntarily. The cold here was so profound it was like an invisible blade that pierced through the double-layered protection and directly entered everyone’s body, causing their skin to tighten.
Even with two powerful Fire Attribute shields, the cold was still potent, so without any protection, it was obvious that stepping onto this ice road would be deadly.
Realizing this, everyone paled slightly. Du Si Si no longer had any complaints about Cai He and instead moved closer to him, seemingly looking for some sense of security. Seeing this, Cai He was overjoyed and suddenly began wishing this ice road would never end.
Yang Kai’s expression became dignified as he was communicating with the Artifact Spirit with his Divine Sense. As such, he could perceive the coldness of this ice road far clearer than anyone else. For every moment they stayed here, the Artifact Spirit would consume a great deal of energy, and although it wasn’t impossible to supplement this consumption, the Firebird was one of Yang Kai’s greatest boons for this Ancient Ruin exploration, so he didn’t want to needlessly drain its strength.
Immediately, the group’s pace increased.
When they were standing in front of it, none of them could clearly see what was happening on this ice road, but now that they had set foot onto it, glancing around, everyone could not help trembling slightly. The Ice Attribute energy that was lingering in their surroundings was so dense it had transformed into a kind of thick fog.
Although everyone knew that some incredible treasures would definitely have been formed due to such extreme densities of Ice Attribute Energy and so many years of accumulation, no one had any interest in searching for them and only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
After a half cup of tea’s time, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he found that he had underestimated the length of this ice road. Looking forward at this moment, he was still unable to see the end of this ice road. At the same time, he could not clearly see his surroundings. It was as if the entire world had fallen silent, with only the occasional heartbeat and breath filling disrupting the eerie stillness.
Sometime later, Du Si Si suddenly called out, “Look over there!”
Everyone was startled and turned to look in the direction she was pointing, only to pale upon seeing what she had seen.
In front of everyone’s eyes, about three hundred metres away, were several human-shaped ice sculptures, each one of them exceptionally lifelike.
These ice sculptures had male, female, old, and young forms. All of them wore different robes and had different expressions on their face. Some of them showed looks of pleasant surprise, others wore looks of terror, while others showed completely indifferent looks, as if they did not realize what was happening right up until the moment they died.
These ice sculptures were all frozen people!
“It seems like it wasn’t just Old Qian who found this Ancient Ruin,” Fei Zhi Tu sighed softly.
These ice sculptures were clearly cultivators who had come here to explore before, but for some unknown reason, they had all become frozen here, with no trace of scars on their bodies from a battle at that.
“This is…” Ning Xiang Chen’s old eyes flashed a terrified light as he stared at a certain ice sculpture, unable to speak for quite a while.
“Brother Ning, do you recognise him?” The old lady glanced over at him and asked.
“Since you were able to recognize him as well, I shouldn’t be mistaken. Unexpectedly, it is really him. When I was young, I was fortunate enough to meet him once, but I never dreamed he would actually fall here,” Ning Xiang Chen smiled bitterly.
“Is there someone here whom two Seniors know?” Cai He asked in surprise.
“Yes, two hundred years ago, there was an extremely famous master on Shadowed Star who, although not from Star Emperor Mountain, was rumoured to be the most likely to break through Shadowed Star’s World Principles and reach the Origin King Realm. Unfortunately, he suddenly disappeared a hundred years ago and was never heard from again,” Ning Xiang Chen explained lightly.
“Such a master also fell here…” Cai He showed a trace of sympathy.
“Take a closer look at the robes these people are wearing!” Fei Zhi Tu seemed to have discovered something and called out.
After a few careful examinations by the Saint King Realm Juniors, all of them showing amazed looks because the robes on these ice sculptures were clearly similar to the Sect uniforms of Shadowed Star’s current great Sects.
For example, there was one person with a small thunder pattern embroidered on their chest, which was the emblem of the Thunder Typhoon Sect.
Another person had the character for ‘War’ emblazoned on his sleeve cuff, identifying him as a disciple of Heaven Battling Union.
There were others who wore uniforms from Coloured Glass Sect, Grand Fire Temple, Myriad Beast Mountain, etc as well. Fei Zhi Tu even found a Senior who once belonged to Shadow Moon Hall.
The cultivators frozen here were all great masters, and since they were able to reach this place, their luck was also quite good. Each of them had profound strength and means, but they all still fell here.
“Is this the time to be casually observing these people?” Yang Kai frowned, seeing Fei Zhi Tu and the others all glancing towards the Space Ring worn by these dead Seniors, urging them lightly, “Perhaps these people being frozen here means there is some great danger here, shouldn’t we hurry and leave?”
When Yang Kai said this, the looks on Fei Zhi Tu and the others sank.
When they discovered these ice sculptures just now, everyone naturally was attracted to their Space Ring. Since these people were all famous masters during their lifetimes, there were definitely many good things in their Space Rings.
Everyone had some degree of greed in them but while they were distracted by thoughts of these Space Rings, all of them had failed to wonder why these people would all be frozen in this place until Yang Kai spoke out.
Fei Zhi Tu instantly felt some cold sweat drip down his back and nodded quickly, “Exactly! Let’s hurry!”
Ning Xiang Chen and the others also withdrew their unwilling gazes and immediately fell in behind Fei Zhi Tu and Yang Kai.
But after walking just a thousand metres, Yang Kai suddenly snorted, “Who!”
At the same time, a Golden Thread shot out from his hand and pierced towards the air. There was a flash of white light and a faint flicker of a shadow before whatever it was disappeared from everyone’s sight without a trace. However, at that moment, a burst of frigid Ice Attribute Energy descended, crashing towards the group and colliding with the protective curtain formed by the Artifact Spirit, causing it to creak audibly.
In the blink of an eye, the Firebird’s layer of protection was punctured and a terrifying wave of Ice Attribute Energy rushed in through the hole that had been opened. Fortunately, the Grand Fire Ward played its role and blocked this rush of cold energy.
Even so, Fei Zhi Tu’s complexion paled because the residual Ice Attribute Energy which penetrated the Firebird’s defensive cover still nearly caused the Grand Fire Ward to collapse.
“What was that?” Ning Xiang Chen’s face changed greatly as his eyes began darting around.
Everyone else was equally frightened. Without even mentioning how strong the protective heat curtain formed by the Artifact Spirit was, the Grand Fire Ward was originally a special artifact owned by Shadow Moon Hall’s Sect Master that specialized in restraining cold energy, but simply being touched by whatever it was that attacked them had nearly caused it to break. It could be imagined just how powerful this blast of Ice Attribute energy was.
If not for these two layers of protection, whatever happened a moment ago might have caused everyone here to join their nearby frozen Seniors.
There really was great danger in this place!
Yang Kai’s face was particularly ugly, because in that brief exchange a moment ago, he discovered that his Firebird Artifact Spirit was not this attacker’s opponent, a fact which greatly shocked him.
The Artifact Spirit had been formed under tens of thousands of years of accumulated Fire Attribute Energy from the Earth Lung Fire Pond, yet it still couldn’t compete with this creature. What exactly was it they were facing then?
Fortunately, the flashing white light did not attempt to hide itself for long. After failing in its initial attack, it re-appeared in its original form a short distance away.
Glancing over at this creature, everyone could not help feeling stunned.
Because their attacker turned out to be a white rabbit, but this white rabbit was quite large, at least three times the size of a normal rabbit. It was covered in snow white hair without the slightest blemish, like it was a sculpture carved from the finest white jade. Only its pair of eyes was different, crimson red in colour and exuding a violent and cruel light.
“World Energy Manifestation!”
“World Spirit!”
Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Returning Realm masters exclaimed.
With their knowledge and vision, they were naturally able to see that this white rabbit didn’t possess a true physical form but was instead an existence similar to the Firebird Artifact Spirit which was completely composed of World Energy and possessed its own sentience.
This kind of existence was known as a World Spirit!
Artifact Spirits could barely be classified as World Spirits; they differed greatly from the genuine article because they were born from Artifacts. For instance, Yang Kai’s Firebird was his Artifact Refining Furnace’s Artifact Spirit and the Artifact Refining Furnace was the foundation of its existence. Once the Artifact Refining Furnace was damaged, the Artifact Spirit would possibly be destroyed.
But this white rabbit with red eyes in front of them was a true World Spirit. It did not have a container from which it was born, instead it was purely a manifestation of the intense Ice Attribute Energy in this place that had gained self-awareness and sapience over many millennia.
World Spirits were extremely scarce, and their value was immeasurable.
Once a cultivator with the same attribute obtained a World Spirit, if they could refine or even absorb it, their strength would increase dramatically without any negative side-effects, saving them many years of cultivation.
However, World Spirits were also incredibly powerful, so even if someone managed to find one they were compatible with, they may have the tables turned on them and be killed by it before they could capture it.
Although everyone had long speculated that some good things would be born in this ice road under such severe conditions and after years of accumulation, no one had expected that a World Spirit would appear.
For a moment, everyone’s expression was filled with a strange mix of emotions including, fear, excitement, panic, and so on.
Why all these Seniors had been frozen into ice sculptures was apparent now, it was clearly the handiwork of this World Spirit. It had hidden itself among the flows of Ice Attribute Energy and suddenly launched a sneak attack, catching even Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters by surprise. With its strength and means, once a cultivator was hit, they would not have a good end.
If Yang Kai had not received a warning from his Artifact Spirit just now, he definitely would not have noticed this World Spirit’s approach. It was also only because the Firebird and this white rabbit World Spirit’s attributes were polar opposites that the former realized an incoming attack a moment ago.
It was no wonder Yang Kai felt his Artifact Spirit was not this thing’s opponent, it turned out to be a genuine World Spirit!
At this moment, the World Spirit in the form of a white rabbit was staring at Yang Kai’s group with clear, malicious intent, making none of them dare act rashly.
Fei Zhi Tu’s face twitched as he asked, “This is quite a problem. Does anyone have a way to scare it off?”
He did not expect anyone here to be able to defeat this World Spirit or even capture it. Driving it off so that they could cross this ice road was the best he could hope for. In front of such a powerful World Spirit, in this environment, even if the eight of them joined hands they might not necessarily be its opponent. The reason why the other party had not attacked again was only that the layers of protection formed by the Firebird and the Grand Fire Ward restrained it.
But this place was flooded with Ice Attribute Energy, so as long as it could stall for time, the power of the Artifact Spirit and Grand Fire Ward would be exhausted at some point and this white rabbit wouldn’t even need to act as none of Yang Kai’s group would be able to survive.
Hearing Fei Zhi Tu’s question, everyone wore an ugly expression and shook their heads.
Ning Xiang Chen’s complexion paled as he whispered, “I’ve heard that World Spirits like to devour the vitality of living creatures to strengthen themselves. It seems the reason all our Seniors here were killed was because of this reason.”
“Swallow vitality?” The several Saint King Realm Juniors paled, apparently hearing this secret for the first time.
Yang Kai, however, revealed a weird look, secretly thinking that if this white rabbit really wanted to devour their vitality, he may have a way to lead it away.
After all, the amount of vitality in his Golden Blood was astonishing, so as long as he put out a drop, it should be enough to lead this white rabbit away. However, this white rabbit was far too fast, and there was no way to tell how long this ice road was, so if it managed to swallow the drop of Golden Blood Yang Kai put out before their group left this place, it would definitely return to pursue them. At that point, Yang Kai would be forced to put out a second or third drop, possibly even more.
It was not cost-effective! Yang Kai shook his head secretly, deciding to use this method as a last resort. Only if there was no other feasible way for them to escape would he use his Golden Blood to attract its attention.
“If we can’t lead it away, we can only try to break through!” Fei Zhi Tu smiled bitterly, “Continuing to delay will only make the situation worse. Everyone, stay alert. Let’s go.”
“Yes!” Everyone nodded their heads before summoning their defensive artifacts to protect themselves.
Lian Guang said nothing before suddenly throwing out a python puppet. After pouring his Saint Qi into the puppet, it transformed from a tiny figure into one that was over ten metres in length. With its thick scales and imposing aura, it was clearly not weaker than a Third-Order Saint King cultivator.
“Go!” Lian Guang snorted, sending his python puppet out to clear the way ahead. Apparently, he intended to use this puppet to attract the attention of the white rabbit.
Generally speaking, rabbits had an instinctual fear of snakes, so although no one knew if this would be the case with this World Spirit, Lian Guang felt it was worth a try.
Seeing this, a trace of satisfaction flashed across Fei Zhi Tu’s face as he led everyone to closely follow behind the giant python.
The group’s actions weren’t too hurried, and their pace wasn’t very fast as they didn’t want to stimulate the white rabbit unnecessarily.
The giant python puppet, on the other hand, lifted its head high and displayed a mighty stance, surprising Yang Kai greatly.
The Lian Family’s techniques for refining and controlling puppets were impressive. This python would be indistinguishable from a real one if not for the fact that it did not radiate any vitality.
Nearby, the white rabbit’s crimson eyes flashed a strange light. Obviously, its sentience wasn’t low and, after staring at the giant python for a moment, its body began to distort and it soon transformed into a giant eagle.
A loud eagle cry rang out and in the next moment, the transformed World Spirit swooped down at the python’s head while spewing a white mist from its beak.
Seeing this, everyone paled as none of them had thought this World Spirit would actually know how to freely manipulate its form.
Lian Guang was even more surprised and quickly formed a seal with his hand, causing the python puppet to stand upright, open its mouth, and spew out an imposing red beam of light.
However, when this red beam of light touched the white mist, it was instantly overwhelmed and frozen. Not only that, but when the white mist reached the python itself, its body began to freeze over at a speed visible to the naked eye, making an eerie crackling sound as it happened.
Even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master wasn’t an opponent of this World Spirit, so how could a trivial python puppet equivalent to a Third-Order Saint King defeat it? After being shrouded in the white mist, the python puppet immediately began to freeze. Lian Guang’s complexion paled and he tried to take it back, but he was still a step late.
In the blink of an eye, the giant python was frozen into an ice sculpture and even the connection between it and Lian Guang was forcefully severed!
Immediately, the giant eagle’s claws grabbed the giant python, flew up into the air with it, and then dropped it to the ground.
With a loud bang, the python puppet shattered into pieces!
Under normal circumstances, such a puppet falling from such a height would suffer no damage. This python puppet had strength comparable to a Third-Order Saint King and was extremely durable, otherwise Lian Guang wouldn’t have used it to fight with his enemies; however, the white mist the giant eagle spat out had easily embrittled the puppet’s body so falling from any height naturally let to its destruction.
Lian Guang’s expression was as cold and gloomy as the ice road itself! He was a Third-Order Saint King, so it had taken him a great deal of energy and effort to refine this puppet that possessed strength equal to his own, but now, without being able to play any role at all, it had suddenly been destroyed.
It was easy to imagine the pain and grief in Lian Guang’s heart.
However, facing this World Spirit, he was helpless and could only stand there with a sullen face. No matter how many puppets he had, he was unwilling to simply discard them, but against such a World Spirit, all of his prided puppets were little more than scrap.
After the giant eagle crushed the giant python, its red eyes flashed a trace of smug disdain and soon began flapping its wing towards the crowd.
Fei Zhi Tu saw this and roared, “Block it!”
As soon as his words fell, Fei Zhi Tu summoned his Blue Jade Bowl while Ning Xiang Chen and the others all activated their defensive artifacts. In an instant, colourful light filled the air as various secret techniques and artifacts intertwined to form a defensive shield.
An eagle cry resonated through the air and another blast of white mist descended upon Yang Kai’s group. No matter what kind of attack or artifact it was, all of them were overwhelmed by the white mist and quickly froze. Even the blue light shield emitted by Fei Zhi Tu’s Blue Jade Bowl showed signs of freezing.
The giant eagle was unrelenting and immediately swooped down towards its prey, extending its talons like sharp blades to directly pierce the protective shield formed by the Firebird Artifact Spirit.
With a crack, the protective shield formed from the Artifact Spirit actually began to break in several places as a dense spider-web cracks rapidly spread out. Yang Kai’s face changed when he saw this and sent the Artifact Spirit a command via his Divine Sense before immediately releasing scorching hot black flames from his body to condense another dome-like shield to protect everyone.
At the same time, a sharp tweet rang out and the Artifact Spirit restored its usual Firebird shape. Spreading its fiery red wings several dozen metres wide, the Artifact Spirit charged at the giant eagle.
The Artifact Spirit seemed to be enraged; after all, although it wasn’t an orthodox World Spirit, it was still an existence extremely close to one. Just now, in order to protect Yang Kai and the others, it was impossible for it to show its true body and had to passively suffer repeated attacks from the giant eagle World Spirit. Naturally, it had become annoyed.
Now that it received Yang Kai’s permission, it immediately began fighting back.
Yang Kai was forced into this action. It was obviously not a wise decision to continue simply using the Firebird Artifact Spirit as a shield. The power of his Artifact Spirit was slightly inferior to this World Spirit so if he allowed the situation where it was continuously beaten to continue, sooner or later the Artifact Spirit would run out of strength.
That being the case, the better option was to let the Artifact Spirit fight directly with the giant eagle while everyone else used this opportunity to quickly escape the ice road.
Fortunately, the Grand Fire Ward was still active and, supplemented by Yang Kai’s hot Demonic Flames, there was temporarily no need to worry about freezing to death.
In the sky, the battle between the giant eagle and Artifact Spirit quickly became intense as the World Energy aura in the ice road distorted amidst the constant eagle and bird cries.
Seeing this, Fei Zhi Tu was overjoyed and hurriedly waved, “Go!”
As he spoke, he quickly used his movement skill to lead the way. Everyone else also hurriedly activated their defensive artifacts and vigorously pushed their Saint Qi to resist the chill which leaked through Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame and the Grand Fire Ward as they followed Fei Zhi Tu.
Unlike the anxious looks on everyone else’s face though, Yang Kai wore a puzzled expression on his.
Because the moment a whiff of the Ice Attribute Energy seeped into his body, he felt something stir within him and actually begin to absorb this cold energy in his surroundings.
Even with the profound chill invading his body, Yang Kai didn’t feel much discomfort. Instead, whatever it was that was absorbing this cold energy seemed to have received a great supplement and was becoming excited.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed and while running forward he began probing himself.
A moment later, his expression became even weirder.
“So, that’s what it is!”
Yang Kai hadn’t imagined the Ice Phoenix Tattoo on his back would suddenly show a reaction at this time!
Strictly speaking, this was the Phoenix Empress’ Inheritance. He and Su Yan cultivated the Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art and obtained two profound inheritances, both of which originated from Dragon Phoenix Palace in Tong Xuan Realm. Among them, the Dragon Emperor Inheritance was obtained by Yang Kai personally and had long ago been integrated into his body. The Phoenix Empress Inheritance on the other hand had previously been sealed in the Phoenix Nest, but before leaving Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had visited it and managed to take it away with him.
Since then, Yang Kai had two tattoos on his body, one was of a Golden Dragon and the other was of an Ice Phoenix.
Yang Kai’s plan was to take the Phoenix Empress Inheritance with him so that when he found Su Yan, he could give it to her directly; but so far he hadn’t been able to accomplish this wish. Before meeting Qian Yue again, he hadn’t even heard the slightest news about Su Yan.
Yang Kai had received this Ice Phoenix Tattoo into his body more than ten years ago, but after accepting it, it had shown no movement at all. Thankfully, after arriving at this ice road and especially when the cold energy of this place had invaded his body, the Ice Phoenix Tattoo began reacting. After swallowing this wisp of Ice Attribute Energy, the Ice Phoenix Tattoo became more and more rowdy and was even showing signs of wanting to leap out from Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai’s mood suddenly became subdued as he couldn’t figure out whether the situation was good or bad.
The reason the Ice Attribute Energy here could stimulate the dormant tattoo was obvious; after all, the Phoenix Empress’ Inheritance itself was related to the Ice Attribute. However, Yang Kai had no control over it at all so he couldn’t tell what would happen if he were to release it now.
If it didn’t come back, Su Yan’s Phoenix Empress inheritance would be gone.
As Yang Kai was worrying about such a possibility though, his complexion changed.
Within moments of its first stirring, the Ice Phoenix Tattoo movements grew to the point where Yang Kai could no longer suppress it and in the next instant, he felt something suddenly rush out of his body. With a loud phoenix cry, a crystal white Ice Phoenix phantom more than thirty metres in length suddenly appeared on top of everyone’s head.
In that instant, an awe-inspiring pressure suddenly descended from above.
Fei Zhi Tu and the other’s complexions changed dramatically as they all came to a halt and turned to stare at the manifestation which had appeared above Yang Kai’s head.
After just a glance, Fei Zhi Tu was unable to stop himself from calling out in alarm, “Ancient Divine Spirit!”
The shock he felt in his heart could no longer be described in words. Originally, he felt that although there would be some danger in diving into this Ancient Ruin to rescue Qian Tong, with his plans and means, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
But contrary to his expectations, after stepping onto this ice road, he had first seen a true World Spirit, and then all of a sudden an Ancient Divine Spirit appeared out of thin air! Neither of these things were creatures ordinary people would be able to see in several lifetimes as they belonged to the category of legendary existences, but today they seemed to be appearing one after another.
Even with Fei Zhi Tu’s incredible self discipline and composure, at this moment, he couldn’t help his body from trembling and his heart from clenching.
The others present weren’t fairing much better; all of them had their mouths agape as they stared at the majestic Ice Phoenix before them, as if all of them had suddenly fallen into a daze, unable to speak and even forgetting to continue escaping.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he stared at the Ice Phoenix with a worried look. The Ice Phoenix itself was in an illusionary state and although the pressure coming from it was grand and imposing, the actual energy fluctuations it was giving off weren’t very strong.
“No, it’s just a Remnant Soul!” Fei Zhi Tu also soon noticed this, allowing his expression to relax somewhat. If a true Ancient Divine Spirit had appeared here, it would be impossible for it to be giving off such a weak aura, the only explanation was that this was just a Remnant Soul.
However, even if this was just a weak Remnant Soul of an Ancient Divine Spirit, if it was given enough time, it may be able to restore itself, and even if it only managed to recover ten percent of its peak strength, it would still be an existence rivaling an Origin King!
The moment the Ice Phoenix appeared, its pair of beautiful eyes fixed on the giant eagle that was fighting with the Artifact Spirit, a look of pleasant surprise flashing across its eyes as it let out a joyful cry.
The giant eagle reacted as if its natural predator had suddenly appeared and its behaviour became chaotic, allowing the Artifact Spirit, which was originally being completely suppressed, to burn its face. Immediately, the World Spirit ignored the attack of the Artifact Spirit and fled.
The Ice Phoenix spread its wings and transformed into a streak of white light to pursue the fleeing World Spirit.
In the blink of an eye, the Ice Phoenix and the giant eagle had disappeared.
After losing its opponent, the Firebird Artifact Spirit immediately flew back and once again transformed into a protective cover, shielding Yang Kai’s group from the cold.
The chill which had been seeping past the Grand Fire Ward and Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame barrier was immediately blocked.
The entire ice road suddenly became silent as everyone stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai. Yang Kai himself wore a somber expression as he stared in the direction the Ice Phoenix had departed, no one able to tell what he was thinking.
Only after quite some time had passed did Fei Zhi Tu cough and asked hesitantly, “Yang Kai, was that Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul yours?”
Although he had seen a flash of light come from Yang Kai’s body before the Ice Phoenix appeared, until now he still couldn’t believe that this young man actually possessed a Remnant Soul of an Ancient Divine Spirit.
This little brat had a shocking Artifact Spirit as well as an Ancient Divine Spirit’s Remnant Soul…
Just how Heaven-defying must his luck be to have obtained these two things?
“Yes!” Yang Kai glanced over at him, and although he felt that it was impossible for the people here to try to fight for the Ice Phoenix with him, he still had some vigilance in his heart as he asked lightly, “City Lord Fei, do you know why my Ice Phoenix chased after that World Spirit?”
He had yet to figure out why the Ice Phoenix had suddenly reacted this time. There was no way it was simply because it had been stimulated by the Ice Attribute Energy in this place as Yang Kai had traveled to many frigid places before and had never seen such a reaction. His Profound Yin Sunflower Water also had an extreme amount of cold energy stored within it and the same was true for the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal, but the Ice Phoenix had never appeared like that before Yang Kai came to this ice road.
Fei Zhi Tu chuckled, his attitude softening significantly as he explained, “You not understanding is reasonable. Ancient Divine Spirits like to devour World Spirits of the same attributes because it is extremely beneficial to them. It looks like your Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul is quite weak, so it should urgently want to swallow that World Spirit to restore its strength. Ancient Divine Spirits are natural predators to World Spirits! However, you can rest assured, since that Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul belongs to you, after swallowing that World Spirit, it will naturally return.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded with a composed look while still feeling anxious inside.
Others did not know the situation, but he was perfectly clear that the Phoenix Empress Inheritance was only using his body as a vessel to reside in for a time and didn’t actually belong to him. If not for him possessing the Dragon Emperor Inheritance, the Phoenix Empress Inheritance would not have come with him and would still be sealed in the Phoenix Nest back on Tong Xuan Realm.
Naturally, Yang Kai wasn’t going to disclose this kind of information and could only swallow down his worries. If the people here learned that the Ice Phoenix did not actually belong to him, it might cause some unnecessary trouble.
However, after this incident, Yang Kai understood that Dragon Phoenix Palace’s Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress Inheritances were actually Ancient Divine Spirit Remnant Souls. Knowing this, it was easy to understand why they had such power and why the two tattoos on his back seemed so lifelike, often swimming across the surface of his skin.
The World Spirit of this ice road wanted to devour the vitality of Yang Kai’s group, but now it had met its natural enemy and been forced to flee. As a result, the big stone that was pressing on everyone’s hearts lifted along with the life or death crisis. With the Artifact Spirit and Grand Fire Ward’s two layers of protection, the group didn’t need to worry about being affected by the ambient cold but they still accelerated their pace to rush towards the end of the ice road.
A short time later, Yang Kai realized that the coldness of this place was converging towards a certain place and the dreadful chill in the air was significantly easing.
After a while, this abnormal movement stopped and at a certain point in the distance, a bright glow appeared. A gorgeous and noble figure soon came into view as it rushed over towards Yang Kai’s group.
Yang Kai wore a look of joy as the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul returned.
Although he had been somewhat worried, he was still certain the other party wouldn’t just leave so easily; after all, the Phoenix Empress Inheritance and his Dragon Emperor Inheritance shared a strong bond that attracted one another.
For these years, the Ice Phoenix had taken his body as its vessel and been in a state of deep sleep, so it suddenly leaving without reason was an unlikely scenario.
With a great flash of light, the huge figure of the Ice Phoenix floated above everyone’s head, its cold and noble eyes staring down at all of them, causing everyone to unconsciously hold their breath.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a strange light and quietly whispered, “City Lord Fei, could I trouble you to open a gap in the Grand Fire Ward?”
“En,” Fei Zhi Tu nodded quickly and with a quick thought opened a small hole in the Grand Fire Ward’s protection. At the same time, the Firebird Artifact Spirit also opened a passage through its barrier.
The Ice Phoenix’s figure transformed into a beam of white light that dove into Yang Kai’s body and disappeared.
Although everyone was curious whether the Ice Phoenix had successfully swallowed the World Spirit, no one asked at this time as what was most important right now was to leave this ice road.
Fortunately, it seemed that they were not far from the ice road’s end and after only a few dozen breaths the group stepped off it and into a stone hall. At the same time, the chill which had filled the air finally disappeared.
Fei Zhi Tu turned his head and looked at Yang Kai, but upon seeing him frown as he seemingly investigated himself, he didn’t bother him and just said, “All of you take a rest here for now, I’ll search for the markings left by Old Qian.”
Saying so, he walked off to search the area.
When everyone heard Fei Zhi Tu’s proposal, none of them objected, all of them finding a spot to sit down cross-legged and control their breathing. Although they had not expended much strength when crossing this ice road, the mental strain they experienced was great. If not for the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul appearing at the last moment, the consequences would have been unimaginable. To resist the ambient cold and the World Spirit’s attack, everyone had consumed some power, so now was a good chance to restore themselves.
Yang Kai sat silently as he continued to inspect the situation in his body.
Although the Phoenix Empress Inheritance did not belong to him, since it was living in his body, he was able to sense some things about it. To his surprise, the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul did not seem to have obtained much nourishment after it left him, and although it indeed felt stronger than before, it was obviously not because it had swallowed that World Spirit.
[It failed to devour the World Spirit!] Yang Kai immediately made this conclusion. However, after absorbing some of the Ice Attribute Energy from the ice road, it had managed to strengthen itself a bit.
This result did not surprise Yang Kai. For one, the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul did not have much strength right now. It was just an ancient inheritance and could not play any kind of big role in his hands. Only when he transferred it to Su Yan and the two fused would it be able to display its full might.
Secondly, since the Ice Attribute World Spirit was born on this ice road, it must be extremely familiar with the environment so avoiding the Ice Phoenix should not have been a problem.
[What a pity!] Yang Kai sighed. If the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul could have swallowed the World Spirit, maybe some unexpected changes would have occurred. If he could give it to Su Yan after that, the benefits she would obtain would be even greater.
Yang Kai was not ready to go back to find trouble with the World Spirit right now though. Although the Ice Phoenix was its natural enemy, Yang Kai could not control the Ice Phoenix at all and even a cornered rabbit would bite back, let alone a powerful World Spirit. From what Yang Kai observed, if that World Spirit was really driven into a dead end, who would die and who would live between it and the Ice Phoenix was uncertain.
While everyone was meditating and resting, they would also shoot glances towards Yang Kai from time to time. Everyone hid deep envy in the depths of their eyes, and even the always indifferent Lian Guang was no exception.
In response, Yang Kai pretended not to notice and simply continued his meditation. What they thought to themselves was not any of his concern, as long as they didn’t try to find trouble with him.
“Good, I found the marks left behind by that old ghost Qian. Follow me!” Fei Zhi Tu’s voice suddenly called out. When everyone heard this, they stood up and walked over towards the source of the sound.
This hall’s area was not very large and, after leaving it, the group soon arrived at the entrance to a labyrinth. There were many passages that split and criss-crossed, leading to who knows where. Just looking at it made everyone feel a headache coming on.
Standing at the entrance of the labyrinth, everyone looked around at one another, unsure of how to proceed.
Fei Zhi Tu stepped forward at that moment, causing everyone to fall in behind him.
As he walked, Fei Zhi Tu explained, “Although some of the things in Old Qian’s message were not clear, he did mention this labyrinth. There are no Spirit Arrays in this maze but there are some other traps!”
“Traps?” Ning Xiang Chen looked surprised.
“Yeah, traps!” Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, “Don’t underestimate these traps, if you accidentally touch one of them, we may not be able to escape from here with our lives!”
Ning Xiang Chen and the others all paled slightly upon hearing this.
While talking, a fork in the road suddenly appeared in front of the group. Fei Zhi Tu stood at the fork and looked back at Lian Guang, “Lian Boy, you’re up.”
Without a word, Lian Guang waved his hand and suddenly a few puppets resembling mice appeared on the ground. Under Lian Guang’s command, these mice dove into the various forks and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he finally understood why Fei Zhi Tu had brought the Saint King Realm Lian Guang along: it was to use his puppet to explore the way here.
This was indeed an excellent method. In places where it was too dangerous for a cultivator to explore, Lian Guang’s puppets could be used instead. Even if some of these puppets were lost, it wouldn’t result in much harm.
After the few mice-like puppets disappeared, Lian Guang closed his eyes as if he was sensing something. After a while, a squeaking noise came from the left channel and Lian Guang’s face cringed in pain for a moment.
Judging from this, the passage on the left was probably quite dangerous and the puppet which was scouting it had been destroyed.
After a while, another squeak sounded from the front passage and Lian Guang opened his eyes and said, “Right!”
Fei Zhi Tu nodded lightly and headed into the right passage.
With Lian Guang’s pathfinder puppets, it was much more convenient to explore this labyrinth. These mouse puppets did not seem to have any combat power but were instead extremely well suited for scouting. After sacrificing about thirty of these puppets, the group exited the labyrinth without a single scratch.
But Lian Guang’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot and it was obvious that he was feeling quite distressed.
Although it was not too difficult to refine these mice puppets, each of them had consumed a lot of materials. Thirty mouse puppets were equivalent to a few years of Lian Guang’s savings.
It would be strange if his mood was good.
“Rest assured, after we return, you will receive enough benefits to compensate for your loss,” Fei Zhi Tu comforted.
With this promise, Lian Guang’s complexion became much better.
“Brother Fei, you didn’t mention anything about this before. What should we do now?” Ning Xiang Chen frowned as he stared forward.
Hearing this question, Fei Zhi Tu turned his head and looked towards the front, a dumbfounded expression soon covering his face.
Because after passing through the labyrinth, two arched doors appeared in front of the group, one black and one white. These doors were quite strange, the white one seemingly made of warm white jade while the black one gave off a cold and menacing aura. The contrast was quite stark.
Beyond the two arched doors there was only a void. Any Divine Sense that penetrated this void was unable to perceive anything. It was like staring into a bottomless lake.
“A Space Array Gate?” Fei Zhi Tu exclaimed in surprise.
“What, did Elder Qian not tell you which one of these we’re supposed to enter?” Ning Xiang Chen asked in amazement. If there was something in the message sent by Qian Tong, Fei Zhi Tu would not be showing a surprised look right now, so the only explanation was that even Fei Zhi Tu didn’t know about this thing.
“He didn’t mention this gate!” Fei Zhi Tu slowly shook his head.
“How could Elder Qian have neglected to mention something so important?” Ning Xiang Chen called out in alarm.
“That old ghost Qian’s message was clearly sent in a rush, so him not being able to mention some things isn’t unexpected,” Fei Zhi Tu frowned. Saying so, he turned his head to look at Cai He and Du Si Si and asked, “Can you two analyse this gate?”
Two completely different circular doors, one black, one white; a difficult choice had appeared in front of everyone. In general, most people would tend to choose the white door because black always represented evil and death, but one could not make such an arbitrary judgement as none of them knew where these two Space Array Gates led.
Perhaps one represented life and one death, or perhaps it did not matter either way…
Fei Zhi Tu could only pin his hopes on Cai He and Du Si Si.
Hearing this question, the two Array Masters exchanged an awkward look with Cai He eventually replying, “Although we’ve both studied Spirit Arrays all our lives, we know nothing about the Dao of Space or Space Force, nor have we ever come into contact with something like a Space Array Gate. However, Spirit Arrays are still Spirit Arrays, if Senior Fei is willing to allow us, Si Si and I can study this Space Array Gate to see if we can determine which path is the suitable one.”
Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, “Good, don’t worry, the two of you just study it carefully. If you discover anything, be sure to inform me right away.”
Cai He and Du Si Si nodded and stepped forward, spreading out their tools to begin their examination of the two Space Array Gates.
Everyone else present could not provide any assistance to these two so they had no choice but to sit or stand on the sides and observe. Even Yang Kai, who cultivated the Dao of Space, could not help. The situation right now was quite simple. Both Space Array Gates could be used, but where they lead, no one knew, so everyone could only pin their hopes on Cai He and Du Si Si.
It was a pity that although these two had been trained by their families since they were young and had decent attainments in Spirit Arrays, this situation was essentially completely foreign to them. In the beginning, everything proceeded smoothly, but soon the two young Array Masters began arguing. It seemed one of them favoured entering the white Space Array Gate while the other was convinced the black Space Array Gate was the correct choice. Neither could persuade the other as their decisions were based on their own intuition rather than substantive facts.
Although Cai He was interested in Du Si Si, this was a matter of great importance, so he refused to compromise on his opinion.
Seeing this, Yang Kai sighed slightly.
These two certainly had exceptionally good attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, but compared with Yang Yan, the difference was still immense. When they fell into Spirit Arrays along the way, Yang Kai was able to estimate that, if Yang Yan were here, it would not take her longer than a quarter of an hour to find their cores and crack them. On the other hand, these two working together would often take many times longer than that.
If Yang Yan were here, which gate would she choose?
Yang Kai squinted at the two Space Array Gates for a moment before smiling wryly, secretly thinking that if Yang Yan encountered this situation, she would choose the black one.
The reason was simple, that girl was always wearing a black robe, even going so far as to wrap it around her head and face, so obviously she had a liking for the colour black.
Just as he was thinking this, an intense suction force suddenly erupted from the black and white Space Array Gates, their surfaces changing in appearance from the surfaces of calm lakes to massive vortices in the shape of funnels, drawing in everything around them.
It seemed that after being probed by the Array Tools arranged by Cai He and Du Si Si, the two Space Array Gates had been inadvertently activated and were now running out of control.
The power of this suction force caused everyone to pale because when it appeared they all felt themselves being pulled towards the black and white Space Array Gates uncontrollably.
Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters furiously pushed their Saint Qi but were still unable to resist this suction. Seeing himself being dragged towards the Space Array Gates, Fei Zhi Tu hurriedly shouted, “Cai Boy, Du Girl, which choice is the right one?”
Cai He and Du Si Si, who were arguing a moment ago, were currently panicking, so there was no way they would be able to reach a consensus within a short time, each of them shouting out their own choice.
Hearing this, Fei Zhi Tu immediately understood he couldn’t count on them for an answer but he didn’t blame them, no one had expected such a strange incident to suddenly occur.
“I can’t hold on!” Ning Xiang Chen shouted and consciously stopped resisting, turning his head back to shout, “Brother Fei, this old master will be going on ahead.”
As soon as his words fell, he rushed towards the white gate and his figure disappeared through it in a blink of an eye.
At the same time, the old woman was being drawn into the black gate. Seeing Ning Xiang Chen rush to the other gate, she struggled violently but to her dismay, she was unable to escape the black gate’s pull and was sucked into it with a pitiful cry.
In a flash, two Origin Returning Realm masters were pulled into two different Space Array Gates, causing everyone to no longer know which choice they should make.
Moreover, at this moment, even if they wanted to make a choice, they were unable to. The cultivator surnamed Wen and Fei Zhi Tu were also pulled towards the white gate and seeing that their resistance was pointless, Fei Zhi Tu grit his teeth and shouted, “Go in!”
As he said so, he and the man surnamed Wen disappeared into the white gate.
Before the two of them entered, Lian Guang had also disappeared. Everyone had been busy trying to save themselves, so no one had noticed when he had been sucked into the gate or even which gate he had entered. On the other hand, Yang Kai was still quite far away and struggling to resist. Cai He and Du Si Si were also putting up a last-ditch struggle with the help of the Array Tools they had previously deployed.
Seeing that most of the masters had rushed into the white gate, Du Si Si grit her teeth and shifted her figure, hoping to follow after them, but at that last moment she was actually pulled back by Cai He who hurriedly shouted, “We need to go this way!”
Du Si Si did not even have time to get angry before she and Cai He were sucked into the black gate.
Yang Kai was the last one remaining of the group and as he was being pulled towards the gates, he smiled wryly and muttered aloud, “Yang Yan, Yang Yan, don’t let me down!”
Saying so, he leapt into the black gate.
In the next instant, his body was swallowed by the black gate and, after a brief bout of dizziness, Yang Kai found himself in a completely different place. After looking around carefully, he spotted Du Si Si harshly scolding Cai He while the latter was frantically apologizing.
Fortunately, all of them had been transported to the same place and there did not seem to be any danger in their immediate surroundings. Realizing this, Yang Kai calmed down and immediately released his Divine Sense to scan the local region.
This place seemed to be another grand hall, one that was surrounded by open fields, a fact that relieved Yang Kai greatly.
The reason why he chose the black Space Array Gate was not entirely because of Yang Yan’s preference for black, Yang Kai also had his own thoughts about the issue. Although acting with most masters would probably increase his security, no one could say for certain what lay beyond the two gates, so the choice he made didn’t really matter.
On the other hand, the two Array Masters Cai He and Du Si Si would be able to play a huge role in exploring this Ancient Ruin and since they had entered the black gate, Yang Kai was naturally willing to follow.
This would allow him to avoid getting stuck inside some Spirit Array.
“Don’t quarrel!” The old woman who had come here a step faster suddenly shouted, interrupting Du Si Si’s tirade against Cai He. After glaring at the two young Array Masters for a moment, she turned to Yang Kai and asked, “What about the others?”
“All the others entered the other gate, I was the last one to come through,” Yang Kai glanced around but didn’t see any trace of Lian Guang’s figure, concluding he must have entered the other side.
“What…” The old woman’s complexion changed slightly as she did not seem to expect she would be completely separated from the other masters. When she looked at the three Juniors in front of her, she could not help feeling a bit frustrated and helpless. At this time, given her strength and status, if their group encountered danger, it would probably fall on her to deal with it, so the pressure she felt was quite unpleasant.
However, when she thought about the power of Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit, the old woman relaxed slightly. While the two Array Masters probably would not be much use in a fight, Yang Kai was a different story.
After pondering for a while, the old woman said, “Regardless of the situation on their side, Du Girl, this old woman feels that our choice should be correct.”
Although Du Si Si’s anger was suppressed by the old woman’s words and she did not try to chastise Cai He for bringing her here against her will, she still asked in an unconvinced tone, “Why is that?”
“At the very least, it’s safe here. City Lord Fei’s side may not be as peaceful as this place. Don’t blame Cai Boy anymore, he had good intentions.”
“En,” Du Si Si nodded reluctantly. She still felt it would have been better to follow the other group which had more masters.
The old woman sank into thought for a while before turning to Yang Kai and asking, “Little Friend Yang, what do you think we should do now?”
She took the initiative to ask Yang Kai’s opinion.
Yang Kai chuckled and cupped his fists, “Senior is too polite. Junior is young and inexperienced, so he will defer to Senior’s knowledge. Senior need only lead, Junior will follow!”
Hearing this made the old woman’s wrinkled brow loosen slightly and a smile form on her lips, “Alright, let’s first leave here then.”
Cai He and Du Si Si naturally did not have any objections, so the three Saint King Realm juniors quietly followed the old woman out of the hall.
The outside of the hall appeared almost identical to the scene everyone had seen when they first entered these Ancient Ruins. There were flower beds all around with rare and exotic plants growing here and there, but in addition to these, there were several decorative rockeries.
Sniffing the air, Yang Kai suddenly showed a look of surprise.
At the same time, the old woman and the two young Array Masters also noticed something and could not help exchanging an excited glance.
Because there was an incredibly refreshing fragrance floating through the air. This fragrance was not fake or some kind of illusion, which could only mean that there was something good at the location it was originating from!
Considering all this, everyone’s pulse sped up.
“Obviously, you’ve also noticed!” The old woman smiled slightly, “Accompany this old woman to see what good thing it is, but be careful not to fall into another Spirit Array trap.”
The several Juniors nodded before quickly following behind the old woman to search for the source of the fragrance.
Surprisingly, while everyone acted very careful along the way, they didn’t encounter any kind of danger, and after spending about half an hour, they arrived at the source of the fragrance.
Unexpectedly, what lay in front of their group was a large rockery, one that was over ten metres high and several tens of metres wide. No one knew what material this rockery was built from, only that it seemed to be quite uniformly constructed.
Yang Kai squinted at this rockery with interest. He noticed that whatever this rockery was constructed from was a rare Artifact Refining material. If he was able to bring it out from this place, it could definitely be refined into several powerful artifacts! Unfortunately, this rockery was far too large. Even if a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master came here, they wouldn’t be able to take it away, causing Yang Kai to sigh helplessly.
Inside the rockery was a small pool only about a metre in diameter. This pool seemed to be only a finger deep, but the liquid inside it was a milky white, making it impossible to see the bottom.
The fragrance everyone smelled was coming from this pool.
Just above the pool, there were trances of flowing liquid, so it seemed that the water here was collecting from some unknown place. However, after not being maintained for countless years, there still only being the accumulated liquid in this pool clearly indicated how slowly this accumulation process was.
“This is…” The old woman stared at the finger deep pool as her expression changed from serious to excited, and from joy to hesitation.
“Is this Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk?” Cai He exclaimed.
“It really is Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk?” Du Si Si was also excited. Although they had never seen Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk before, both of them had heard its name before. Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk was extremely rare but had some incredible uses.
It was said that when used in Alchemy, it could produce a wondrous healing remedy that could bring a cultivator back from the brink of death. It was a rare treasure for any cultivator.
Yang Kai initially thought this was Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk as well; after all, the appearance of the liquid in this pool was very similar to the records he had read, practically identical in fact. However, upon closer inspection, he felt this was wrong, because Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk was rumored to be milky white with a touch of light gold, but this pool of liquid was only milky white.
If it wasn’t Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk though, what was it? Although Yang Kai was an Alchemist, and had read many ancient books about herbs and pill recipes, it didn’t mean he recognized all the medicines in the world.
He couldn’t help turning his eyes to the old woman, hoping she would recognize what this was.
The expression of the old woman had been changing constantly, but after much pondering, she gently exhaled and said, “Whether it is Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk or not, we’ll know after giving it a try!”
Saying so, she dipped her finger into the pool of liquid, extracted a drop, then placed it into her mouth.
In the next moment, the old woman’s eyes bulged as an incredible vital energy suddenly burst out from her aging body, causing her old face to flush bright red.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, the wrinkles on her face began to diminish and her rickety back slowly straightened up.
After a dozen breaths, the old woman’s expression returned to normal, but her appearance had undergone a dramatic change. She seemed to be a lot younger, and although she would still be classified as an old woman, it was far better than before.
The three Saint Kings were stunned.
The old woman also couldn’t believe the change she just experienced. Quickly taking out a mirror from her Space Ring, she held it in front of her face as she stroked her cheek with her free hand. After seeing her new appearance, a few tears leaked from her old eyes and her body trembled visibly.
Yang Kai and the others didn’t disturb her, standing to the side and waiting for her to calm down, hoping she could give them an explanation.
It took a while before the old woman let out a burst of laughter and began nodding repeatedly, “So that’s how it is!”
“Senior, what kind of elixir is this to have such magical effects?” Cai He asked anxiously.
“What kind of elixir is this…” The old woman glanced over at him, “This isn’t a mere elixir, it is a long-lost supreme treasure that no amount of money can purchase!”
When she said this, Yang Kai frowned slightly and secretly began circulating his Saint Qi preparing to take action at a moment’s notice. Men die for wealth just as birds die for food, so although this old woman had been showing him much goodwill during this expedition, if this treasure truly was as precious as she described it, there was no guarantee that this old woman wouldn’t try to kill all of them in order to keep it for herself.
There were only four of them in this place with her strength being the greatest and, judging from her reaction just now, this pool of liquid was apparently worth her taking some risks.
Yang Kai even noticed a light flash across this old woman’s eyes. Obviously the other party was weighing such thoughts, but for some unspoken reason, she ultimately decided not to act on his impulse and instead slowly answered Cai He’s repeated questions with a question of her own, “Have you ever heard of the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters?”
“Three Great Divine Waters?” Cai He and Du Si Si both wore confused looks.
Yang Kai on the other hand raised his brow.
“It seems Little Friend Yang has heard of them,” The old woman saw Yang Kai’s reaction and smiled.
“I have heard the term, but as for what these Three Great Divine Waters are, I don’t really know,” Yang Kai answered honestly.
He really had heard of the Three Great Divine Waters; after all, the pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field was one of them! Soul Cleansing Divine Water could remove the impurities in a cultivator’s Soul and greatly increase their Soul cultivation.
However, the conditions for the creation of Soul Cleansing Divine Water were extremely demanding. First, an Origin King Realm master needed to die inside a Spirit Spring or Spirit Well, then the Spiritual Energy of that dead Origin King needed to blend together with that Spirit Spring; finally, after thousands of years, there was a chance a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water would form.
At that time, back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Yang Kai had obtained many benefits from the pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water which eventually led to the Soul Warming Lotus evolving to its Seven Coloured form. Yang Kai also comprehended his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique from that opportunity.
At that time, Yang Kai had heard people talk about the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters and had made a note to ask Yang Yan about them when he returned, but after many twists and turns he had forgotten to do so.
Now hearing the old woman mention the Three Great Divine Waters, Yang Kai naturally paid attention.
“Is this one of the Three Great Divine Waters?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Yes, if this old woman isn’t wrong, this is Life Revitalizing Jade Cream!” The old woman declared.
“Life Revitalizing Jade Cream!” The three Saint Kings all called out in shock. Although they weren’t clear just how precious this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was, since it could be classified as one of the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters, and after witnessing the changes the old woman just underwent, they could at least tell it was indeed a priceless treasure.
“Heh heh,” The old woman chuckled, “Our luck is really quite good, actually finding Life Revitalizing Jade Cream here. This is a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-year opportunity!”
“Senior, what exactly is this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream used for?” Cai He asked excitedly.
“The number of wondrous uses for it is countless, but the primary one is to enhance the vitality of a cultivator. It can even extend the life of the cultivator. This old woman only swallowed a drop of it yet I already feel decades younger! It is no different from restoring one’s youth! Compared to Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk, this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream’s value is many times higher,” The old woman explained excitedly.
Because her aptitude had been insufficient, she had remained stuck at the First-Order Origin Returning Realm for many years, and with her remaining lifespan growing shorter, she felt it was impossible for her cultivation to rise any further.
But all of a sudden, this Heaven defying Life Revitalizing Jade Cream had appeared in front of her.
With this treasure, not only could she restore her youthful appearance, she could greatly extend her lifespan. With these additional years, she would have ample opportunity to break through her own bottlenecks and reach the peak of Shadowed Star’s Martial Dao in time.
Listening to her explanation, how could Yang Kai and the others not understand how valuable this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream?
On Shadowed Star, the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm was the highest cultivation one could reach and their lifespan was also limited to the peak of this realm. Many shocking talents were crushed by this immutable reality that forever shackled them, but if they could obtain some Life Revitalizing Jade Cream and increase their lifespan, they would also be increasing their chances of breaking through those very limits.
Once word of such a treasure’s existence leaked out, it wouldn’t be long before all of the masters on Shadowed Star came to try to snatch it.
Thinking of this, everyone fell silent.
The old woman glanced around at the three juniors and said solemnly, “I hope all of you can keep silent regarding this treasure. Even when you return to your families, it would be best to not let irrelevant people hear of this.”
“Junior understands!” Cai He and Du Si Si echoed in unison.
Yang Kai also nodded his head. He knew the significance of this matter and naturally wouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble for himself.
“Senior, if I may ask, you just referred to this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream as one of the Three Great Divine Waters, so what are the other two?” Cai He asked curiously. Naturally he was unwilling to let an opportunity to gain some important insight slip by. Although the Three Great Divine Waters were no doubt extremely difficult to obtain, since they were able to discover one of them, there was no reason to believe they wouldn’t have an opportunity to obtain the other two in the future.
Hearing this, the old woman nodded and explained, “The other two are equally valuable once-in-a-hundred-thousand-year existences. One of them is Soul Cleansing Divine Water, and I heard that this treasure actually appeared a few years ago.”
“It did?” Cai He and Du Si Si exclaimed.
“Yes, it appeared in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. If neither of you went in, it’s reasonable you didn’t know about it. Unfortunately, no Origin Realm cultivator can set foot into the Flowing Flame Sand Field, otherwise this old woman might have had a chance to obtain some of it.”
“What about the last one?” Du Si Si asked.
“That last one, heh, the last one is the Immortal Source Liquid!” The old woman’s face revealed a fascinated look as she slowly said, “Soul Cleansing Divine Water can help a cultivator wash and purify their Soul while improving their Soul cultivation. Life Revitalizing Jade Cream can increase one’s vitality and lifespan. Finally, Immortal Source Liquid can help a cultivator strengthen their physique and is the ultimate Body Tempering treasure. If one has truly Heaven defying luck, they may even be able to refine the Immortal Divine Tree and gain an immortal and indestructible body!”
“Immortal Divine Tree?” Yang Kai’s expression changed and he unavoidably became very excited when he heard the old woman say that Immortal Source Liquid was the ultimate Body Tempering treasure. Although he had the Five Element Indestructible Sword Tempering Art, a high-grade Body Tempering Secret Art that, when cultivated to its highest level, could produce an immortal and indestructible physique, in the end, he had yet to cultivate it, so there was no way of knowing what its true efficacy was. On top of that, he was still lacking two of five elemental treasures and was not anticipating obtaining them any time soon. Now hearing that this Immortal Divine Tree actually had such a wondrous effect, of course he would take an interest.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of relationship there was between the Immortal Divine Tree and the Immortal Source Liquid, but since the old woman had mentioned it, there must be a reason.
Cai He and Du Si Si were also listening and with rapt attention.
The old woman paused for a moment before explaining, “The Immortal Divine Tree is said to have been created at the beginning of the universe and is, itself, an immortal and indestructible existence. Immortal Source Liquid is rumoured to be the dew secreted from the Immortal Divine Tree. According to ancient records, some people with Heaven defying luck have managed to acquire some Immortal Source Liquid, but no records of anyone ever seeing the Immortal Divine Tree itself exist. Whether it is even real or not, this old woman doesn’t know.”
“So it’s like that!” Yang Kai thought about it while stroking his chin. If this was the case, it would clearly be more reliable for him to cultivate the Five Element Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. Even if the effects of the Five Element Indestructible Sword Tempering Art were somewhat exaggerated, all in all, it was still a high-quality Body Tempering Secret Art. After cultivating it, it would definitely increase his strength whereas this Immortal Source Liquid and Immortal Divine Tree were only illusory existences that may or may not exist.
“Good, let’s end the talk about the Three Great Divine Waters here. Right now, we should decide how to divide this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream,” The old woman waved her hand and wore a solemn look as she stared at the three Saint Kings in front of her and said, “This old woman won’t use her age to take advantage of you Juniors. How about we simply split this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream equally?”
Cai He and Du Si Si glanced at each other briefly before nodding happily.
Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t raise any objections.
Seeing this, the old woman immediately took out a few jade bottles and used some mysterious method to extract the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream from the pool. The whole process was carried out in front of the three Saint King Realm youths’ eyes so they could tell she didn’t play any tricks. This old woman really divided up the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream into four equal parts, one for each of them.
“Take good care of this and after you return home, make sure you discuss its existence with no one!” The old woman again exclaimed solemnly.
“Yes!” Cai He and Du Si Si tightly clenched the bottle of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream in their hands before carefully storing it away into their respective Space Rings.
Having obtained such a precious treasure, both of them felt that this entire trip had been worthwhile and Du Si Si no longer felt like blaming Cai He for dragging her through the black Space Array Gate. Deep down, she was now actually feeling grateful towards him.
If not for Cai He’s actions back then, she would have missed this opportunity to obtain this priceless treasure.
“Let’s go, we still need to find a way out of this place,” The old woman seemed to be in a good mood and led the three Saint King youths away after saying so.
Yang Kai remained silent the whole time, but before he left, he couldn’t help glancing back at the rockery, a strange light flashing across his eyes.
Since Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was known as one of the Three Great Divine Waters, according to reason, its effects couldn’t possibly have been so weak. The old woman had taken a drop of it but it had only made her appearance a few years younger, which was not something too remarkable.
Moreover, the old woman had freely divided the pool of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream into four parts, something which puzzled Yang Kai greatly. Just taking her strength and age into consideration, even if she requested to take half of the pool for herself, Yang Kai believed Cai He and Du Si Si wouldn’t refuse, nor would he, but the old woman only took a quarter, which was oddly generous.
Thinking about the traces of liquid flowing into the rockery, Yang Kai silently guessed that this pool of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was not actually composed of pure Life Revitalizing Jade Cream.
Perhaps… it was just a diluted byproduct which had flowed here from somewhere else!
If he could follow the flow of this liquid back to its source, he may be able to find a purer Life Revitalizing Jade Cream!
If this was the case, the old woman’s actions could also be explained. She may have been aware of this, so she was willing to divide up the pool of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream equally, satisfying the others first while intending to come back here another time to further explore this region.
This wasn’t impossible! Considering all this, Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a grin. If others had such ideas, there was no way he didn’t have them too. After all, obtaining good things for oneself would not only bring a greater sense of accomplishment, but also a greater sense of satisfaction.
Of course, all of this was just his own guess and it would be necessary to verify whether this was really the case in the future.
After dispersing for a time, the group of four gathered together at an agreed upon spot and began going over their findings in turn.
After half a day of exploration, everyone found that there was really no danger here, but even after deciding to split up and search for a way out, it had taken half a day to fully search this space.
Once they regrouped and spoke of their individual discoveries, Yang Kai immediately understood that this location was an isolated space that occupied a large area, but apart from the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream they had previously discovered, there was nothing else worthy of note. There was also no obvious exit.
The only possible way out was discovered by Cai He.
After he mentioned this possible exit, the old woman quickly postulated, “So we can only leave through that exit? Cai Boy, did you see anything about that exit we need to pay attention to?”
“There was nothing there worth noting besides a several-dozen-metre-tall humanoid statue that was standing above the exit. That statue looked fierce and imposing and the exit is actually between its legs.”
“A humanoid statue?” The old woman frowned.
“En, other than that, there was nothing suspicious.”
The old woman nodded lightly, “Since that’s the case, let’s go take a look.”
After a brief discussion, the group of four moved to the location Cai He had found. Half an hour later, everyone arrived at their destination and Cai He pointed to the front and said, “Senior, that’s the exit I found.”
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and couldn’t help staring for a moment because there was indeed a round gateway there, one that was pitch black and seemed bottomless. Sending their Divine Senses into this black abyss felt like tossing a rock into the ocean, making it impossible to determine what lay beyond.
In front of this gateway was a several-dozen-metre-tall statue, its legs spread ever so slightly as they stood on either side of the gateway. This scene made everyone smile somewhat bitterly.
Although it was just a statue, it was quite an uncomfortable feeling to have to pass under a humanoid figure’s crotch.
Moreover, whether this statue held any secrets or dangers was undetermined. The old woman said nothing and released her Divine Sense to probe the statue carefully. Yang Kai did the same.
After a while, the old woman took back her Divine Sense and whispered, “There doesn’t seem to be anything amiss with this statue, nor do there seem to be any traces of barriers or Spirit Arrays, but everyone should remain alert. Since this statue was placed here specifically, it must have some purpose, so don’t act carelessly.”
The Saint King juniors naturally nodded and consciously raised their vigilance.
The Spirit Array traps in this Ancient Ruin were all extremely well hidden, to the point that even Fei Zhi Tu was sometimes unable to notice them until it was too late. If that wasn’t the case, after entering this Ancient Ruin their group wouldn’t have gotten trapped in one Spirit Array after another.
There was no guarantee that this statue wasn’t part of some kind of barrier, Spirit Array, or trap mechanism.
A dignified look flashed across the old woman’s eyes as she opened her mouth and spat out a brown beam of light. This brown light was clearly some kind of artifact and quickly transformed into a halo which surrounded her body.
With this extra layer of protection, the old woman’s expression calmed slightly as she called out, “This old woman will lead the way, all of you follow close.”
Yang Kai and the others also summed their own defensive artifacts and then immediately followed after the old woman.
A moment later, the old woman walked to within a hundred or so metres of the gateway while constantly monitoring her surroundings to guard against any accidents. Of course, most of her attention was focused on the statue.
However, until now, nothing had happened, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. After all, even after approaching so close, there had been no signs of danger, causing her to think that this place was probably really safe.
But instead of relaxing her guard, she became even more alert.
Walking a dozen more steps forward yet still not suffering any accidents, the old woman let out a wry laugh and was about to say something when a subtle noise suddenly rang out from the humanoid statue standing in front of her.
Hearing this, everyone’s face changed dramatically.
The old woman’s reaction was also extremely quick, her figure leaping backwards, leaving behind an afterimage in her place as she hurriedly escaped.
But what happened next terrified the old woman. When she looked up, her view was covered with a giant palm that was reaching towards her with unstoppable momentum. This palm moved so fast it gave the old woman no opportunity to dodge and in the blink of an eye had captured her.
“Senior!” Cai He called out in alarm as his eyes bulged with fear.
Yang Kai was also shocked as he hoarsely called out, “A puppet?”
At this moment, the humanoid statue, which hadn’t shown any reaction until now, actually began moving, its eyes gleaming with terrifying, dark-red light. Its giant body seemed clumsy at first glance, but its actual speed was nothing short of astonishing.
Yang Kai was right behind the old woman so he had clearly seen what happened just now. The moment the humanoid statue made a noise, its big hand swept over, and although the old woman’s reaction was quick, she was still caught by the other party.
All this happened in the blink of an eye and by the time Yang Kai had instinctually leapt away, the old woman had been captured.
Fortunately, this old woman was a First-Order Origin Returning Realm master who had been immersed in this realm for many years, so her strength was deep. Condensing her Saint Qi, she formed a massive blade that she ruthlessly chopped down onto the puppet’s hand that was holding her body.
A crisp metallic sound rang out at the moment of impact and a large amount of sparks flew out, but to the old woman’s shock, her full powered attack was unable to even scratch the puppet’s giant hand.
Seemingly angered because it had been attacked, the giant puppet’s red eyes flashed dangerously and it tightly clenched the hand it was using to hold the old woman.
The old woman’s complexion became ashen as a force not inferior to a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master burst from her body as she struggled violently.
Unfortunately, all of this was to no avail as the giant hand was like an iron vice, tightly binding her body and rendering all of her struggles futile.
*Kacha…*
A loud noise rang out as the brown light halo the old woman was using to protect her body filled with cracks under the immense force of the puppet’s giant hand, and in the next moment it completely shattered. At the same time, a bead-shaped artifact fell to the ground and crumbled to dust.
This high-grade defensive artifact had actually been completely destroyed!