Among the dozen or so people, the one leading them was red-faced, crooked nosed, cross-eyes, and had messy hair, giving him quite a funny appearance, but the powerful aura that radiated from his body made it impossible to take him lightly.
A peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master!
“It’s Heaven Battling Union’s Second Elder Lu Feng!”
“Even he has been alerted. The people around him are all elites of Heaven Battling Union as well, so it seems there’s going to be a good show.”
“Who the hell is High Heaven Sect? Their courage is so big.”
“Whatever their origins, that short-tempered Lu Feng will definitely make them regret appearing here. Heh heh, just watch.”
The city instantly became abuzz with discussion as everyone looked up into the sky, waiting for the good show to start.
In Heaven Battling Union, there was an enormous number of masters, with no less than ten people having reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm alone. Among these people, the Second Elder, Lu Feng, was quite famous.
Yang Kai had already met Great Elder Mo Xiao Sheng and Third Elder Liang Yong, so he understood their great strength quite well, but compared to Lu Feng, they actually lacked in terms of ruthlessness. As such, Lu Feng held the position of Head of the Law Enforcement Hall! This hall’s purpose was to maintain order and punish disciples who committed mistakes in the Union.
Anyone seized by him ended up crippled as best.
In Heaven Battling Union, the most feared Elder was definitely Lu Feng.
Just now, Lu Feng had been leading his people out to deal with some trivial matters in the Outer City, but suddenly this scene had occurred, so he rushed over immediately.
Glancing around, it was obvious their opponent had used a Crystal Cannon to clear a swath several thousand metres long in Heaven Battling City. Inside the swath, nothing remained, while to its sides hundreds of structures had collapsed into piles of rubble, the mere sight of which infuriated Lu Feng.
Heaven Battling Union had enjoyed the highest level of prestige for so many years and had never encountered such an embarrassment before.
Staring coldly at the hundred-metre long black Starship, Lu Feng roared, “Lowly scum, you dare come to Heaven Battling City and run rampant? Quickly come out and face death!”
This roar was deafening and echoed throughout all of Heaven Battling City, allowing all to feel just how enraged Lu Feng was at this moment.
There was no sound from the Starship, however, no answer, no rebuttal, not the slightest movement at all; it simply hovered mid-air silently, as if there were no living people inside.
However, the inexplicable pressure it radiated still felt like a ten thousand ton boulder weighing down on all who saw it.
“Good, good, good. You dare not place this old master in your eyes? Do you think this old master can’t touch you as long as you hide inside that shell of yours? Watch how this old master smashes your trivial Starship!”
Saying so, Lu Feng’s Saint Qi surged madly and with a flick of his wrist, a giant axe appeared in his hand. This giant axe was nearly two metres tall and had a snow-white blade that radiated an incredibly sharp aura.
As Saint Qi poured into it, the giant axe artifact suddenly burst with dazzling light and Lu Feng lifted it high, swiftly condensing a massive phantom axe composed of pure energy above him.
This phantom axe was several hundred metres long, as if the giant axe Lu Feng had summoned had been enlarged hundreds of times over, and a shocking energy fluctuation pulsed from it.
All onlookers paled at the mere sight.
Lu Feng’s shocking reputation was not undeserved. As Heaven Battling Union’s Second Elder, he was no ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
As soon as the Second Elder took action, the others following behind also began to act, summoning their respective artifacts and preparing their own Secret Techniques one after another, filling the sky with a dazzling array of light.
Under Lu Feng’s control, the huge phantom axe fell like a guillotine, slashing towards the Starship fiercely.
The other attacks followed suit.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A series of violent noises spread out, and fearful energy fluctuations erupted in the spot where the Starship hovered.
However, the Starship didn’t budge, only condensing a thin, delicate-looking light curtain around itself.
All the attacks were blocked by this shield, causing no damage at all.
The eyes of everyone on the scene bulged, and even Lu Feng, who had always been arrogant and domineering couldn’t help gawking, almost thinking he was seeing an illusion as he cried out, “Impossible!”
He was the clearest about how much power had been behind his attack just now. Although it seemed like his strike had been hastily and casually executed, he had actually poured his full strength into it. But even this blow was unable to shake the enemy Starship in the slightest.
Even if it really was an Origin King Grade Starship, it shouldn’t be this powerful!
Did that seemingly fragile light curtain protecting its hull actually have such astonishing defensive strength?
As everyone was staring dumbfounded, a slight humming noise sounded from the Starship, and soon, profound and complicated patterns began appearing around its hull. These patterns visible to the naked eye soon gathered together in the sky above it.
In the blink of an eye, these patterns condensed into a massive Spirit Array.
World Energy poured madly into this Spirit Array.
At the centre of this Spirit Array, something slowly emerged, as if it was being summoned by the Spirit Array from the endless void.
Soon, this object manifested clearly before everyone’s eyes.
It was a spear composed purely of energy, one only as thick as a child’s arm and two metres in length, releasing an extraordinary pressure.
The spear trembled slightly before piercing forward, seemingly ignoring space itself as it blasted towards Lu Feng and the dozen Heaven Battling Union masters.
“Not good!” Lu Feng’s expression changed dramatically as he cried out.
From the time he took action until the Starship counterattacked, only a breath had passed. He hadn’t expected the other party to be so decisive, not even bothering to exchange any words before resorting to such powerful methods. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late for him to try to evade.
As a last resort, he could only summon his defensive artifact, throw it forward, and transform it into a sea blue light curtain to try to protect himself.
The blue light curtain had barely taken shape though before it was shattered.
A ray of light passed through the location where Lu Feng and more than a dozen people were located before continuing forward towards the Inner City of Heaven Battling City. A full breath later, a violent explosion sounded from a remote part of the Inner City.
When everyone looked back into the sky, the place where Lu Feng and the other masters had been standing was now empty, only a faint blood mist falling from the air remained.
The spectating cultivators were dumbfounded as they stared at this scene in disbelief, as if they had just seen something impossible.
The blow just now did not appear as domineering as the previous Crystal Cannon volley, but it was far more terrifying.
Everyone felt a chill shoot up their spines as their hearts were gripped with fear and the looks they directed towards the Starship changed dramatically. No one could ignore the lethality of the Starship’s attack just now.
The same tender voice which had spoken earlier came from the Starship once more, “There is not much time left. If you wish to leave Heaven Battling City, please depart immediately. When the time comes, my High Heaven Sect will immediately attack this place and any who remain will bear the consequences.”
Heaven Battling City fell silent for a short moment before erupting into chaos once more as countless cultivators rushed out of the city, none daring to remain or hold a wait-and-see mentality.
They originally thought that this Starship was nothing to fear and that, it would not take long for Heaven Battling Union to destroy it with their countless masters.
But the tragic death of Lu Feng changed their minds.
Even a master like Lu Feng was unable to shake this Starship, nor survive a single blow from it. Today, it seemed Heaven Battling Union was in great danger.
At this moment, everyone regarded this Starship as a real threat to Heaven Battling Union.
No one wanted to sacrifice their life here meaninglessly, so naturally, they ran as far as possible.
Inside the Starship, aware of the departure of these cultivators, Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction.
According to his previously inquired intelligence, there were tens of millions of cultivators living in Heaven Battling City, but less than one percent of them truly belonged to Heaven Battling Union. Yang Kai was unwilling to kill so many innocents or become the target of public anger.
After all, the Starship couldn’t stop the attacks of tens of millions of people. Any defence had its limits.
As such, the scene in front of him made him happy.
Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu, who had come along to help out, were also stunned, unable to return to their senses for a long time.
Although the two of them came to contribute their strength to this action, they were truly frightened by the power of the Starship.
They had never seen how terrifying an Origin King Grade Starship was, but judging from their experiences, High Heaven Sect’s was clearly of the highest grade even amongst Origin King Grade Starships.
“Sect Master, the Heaven Punishing Divine Lance array is quite powerful,” Ye Xi Yun reported softly, “Even if this Queen was struck by it, it would likely cause severe wounds at least.”
“Naturally, anything Yang Yan refines is always of the highest quality,” Yang Kai grinned.
After the Battle of Dragon Cave Mountain, the world only knew that High Heaven Sect possessed an Origin King Grade Starship and that its Crystal Cannons were extremely powerful, but they had no idea just how many other terrifying devices had been installed into it by Yang Yan.
The previous Heaven Punishing Divine Lance and the protective shield were just the tips of the iceberg.
With this Starship alone, Yang Kai was confident Heaven Battling City could be razed to the ground, otherwise, he would not have taken such an aggressive stance and openly attacked Heaven Battling Union.
“However, the consumption of Saint Crystal Sources is a bit big, more than five times that of a Crystal Cannon shot!” Ye Xi Yun frowned.
“It’s fine, we don’t lack Saint Crystal Sources now,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
The Starship being able to output so much power was directly related to the existence of Saint Crystal Sources. If Saint Crystals had been used as an energy source instead to activate the defensive shield and the Heaven Punishing Divine Lance, the power would have been reduced by about half.
Saint Crystal Sources were different though, they contained a massive amount of pure energy incomparable to Saint Crystals of equal volume.
This treasure could only be produced by the Stone Puppet. After swallowing three or four pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystals, the Stone Puppet could refine a single Saint Crystal Source, so it was easy to imagine how precious they were.
There had only been one Stone Puppet before, but now Yang Kai owned two Stone Puppets, so the speed of manufacturing Saint Crystal Sources had naturally doubled. As long as the supply of Saint Crystals could keep up, producing Saint Crystal Sources was no longer a problem.
“Yang Kai, those Saint Crystal Sources…” Qian Tong coughed dryly to the side, seemingly hesitant to speak up.
“If Elder Qian wants some, please just wait until this matter is settled and I will deliver some to you and City Lord Fei. These things are far better than Saint Crystals for cultivation,” Yang Kai naturally knew what he wanted and openly agreed.
“Great, it would be impolite for this old master to refuse such generosity,” Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu looked at each other and saw the joy in the opposite’s eyes.
Since entering the Starship, what they have seen and heard caused them to call out in alarm over and over again. The space inside the Starship was much larger than it looked from the outside, which was naturally quite astonishing and clearly a result of an application of Space Force. However, everything else inside the Starship also caused them to feel a deep sense of yearning, especially those Saint Crystal Sources which were powering it.
Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu had never seen such a thing before.
After the Starship displayed overwhelming power, cultivators in Heaven Battling City rushed to flee.
Such a huge matter was naturally not missed by Heaven Battling Union.
At this moment, inside the main palace in the Inner City, after Qu Zheng heard the report from a subordinate, he slammed the table with his fist and shouted, “They’re going too far! With just that Starship, that brat actually dares to not put my Heaven Battling Union in his eyes. I must see how that brat plans to raze my Heaven Battling City to the ground!”
Saying so, he hurriedly walked out, as if planning to meet the enemy head-on.
Qu Chang Feng had died tragically at Yang Kai’s hands, angering Qu Zheng so much he was unable to sleep at night. Now that he learned his hated enemy was knocking at his front door, Qu Zheng was, of course, anxious to avenge his son.
Mo Xiao Sheng, on the other hand, frowned but ultimately did not try to stop Qu Zheng. After all, Heaven Battling Union had just been humiliated and if they did not respond to this attack, it would only lead to the world looking down on Heaven Battling Union even more.
But before Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng could leave the palace, another disciple ran up to them in a panic, kneeling hurriedly when he saw them and shouting, “Union Master, Great Elder, it’s terrible!”
“What’s all the fuss about, has High Heaven Sect done something again?” Qu Zheng shouted angrily.
“Union Master is wise, Second Elder has fallen!”
“What?” Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng were both taken aback. From the time news reached them about High Heaven Sect flying their Starship over to attack the city until now, only ten breaths had passed, yet Second Elder Lu Feng had fallen in that short span of time?
This was simply too fast.
Lu Feng being able to become the Second Elder of Heaven Battling Union was proof enough of his great strength. In fact, if not for Mo Xiao Sheng having cultivated the Dao of Space, he would not be Lu Feng’s opponent.
What kind of scheme had the other party used to kill Lu Feng in such a short time?
“How did the Second Elder fall? Give us a detailed report!” Mo Xiao Sheng did not dare to neglect this issue and quickly asked.
The disciple naturally did not dare to conceal anything and relayed everything he knew in a rapid but thorough fashion.
After listening to this report, Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng both exchanged a glance and saw the panic in each other’s eyes.
A single blow from that Starship had vaporized Lu Feng and a dozen Heaven Battling Union elites. Just how terrifying must that attack have been? Was that Origin King Grade Starship really so powerful?
This news completely subverted Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng’s cognition and understanding of Starships.
They had always felt that Starships were too big, sluggish, and fragile to be used in combat. Besides being used to transport supplies and visit nearby Asteroid Seas to mine ore, they had no other use.
Not only that, but the cost to build and operate them was extremely high. Worse, if one wasn’t careful, their Starship would be easily destroyed.
Therefore, even if Heaven Battling Union was one of the two giants of Shadowed Star, it only had a total of five Starships. Over the years, these five Starships had only travelled to nearby Asteroid Seas and Dead Stars to mine ore, never once being used in combat.
But today, High Heaven Sect’s Starship had arrived outside Heaven Battling City and displayed remarkable might.
Was the gap between Origin Grade Low-Rank Starships and Origin King Grade Starships really so vast?
If even Lu Feng could not withstand a single blow from that Starship, neither of them would be able to either.
“Union Master, if what this disciple said is true, we might not be able to go out to meet the enemy, we can only resist them here in the Inner City!” Mo Xiao Sheng frowned deeply.
“I understand what Great Elder is saying, but if we don’t meet the enemy head-on now, Heaven Battling Union will become a joke to everyone on Shadowed Star. They will think we are all cowards and incompetent!” Qu Zheng declared with a stern countenance.
“Union Master must not act rashly, let outsiders say whatever they will. High Heaven Sect daring to openly attack Heaven Battling City is all because they are relying on that Starship. Once that Starship is destroyed, they will be tigers without teeth, unworthy of fearing. However, if we want to destroy that Starship, I’m afraid that it will be impossible relying solely on manpower, we can only take advantage of our Grand Spirit Array!”
“Great Elder means…” Qu Zheng stared at him.
“Exactly that,” Mo Xiao Sheng grinned, “Our Heaven Battling Union has stood tall in this city for thousands of years and never once suffered such humiliation. Since High Heaven Sect intends to attack us though, we can just sit here and wait for them to come to us. Since ancient times, the winner was king while the loser is the villain, so long as we emerge victoriously, what worry would we have about restoring our prestige?”
Qu Zheng took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart, after a long time calming down and nodding, “What Great Elder said is right. Since that’s the case, order for the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array to be opened at full strength. This old master must see whether that little brat’s Starship or my Heaven Battling Union’s Grand Array is stronger!”
….
Inside the Starship, Yang Kai and the others waited for the stated quarter of an hour.
A quarter of an hour later, the entire Outer City of Heaven Battling City was empty with tens of millions of cultivators all having evacuated. The once-bustling streets and shops at this moment were all silent and the dazzling array of goods which had been on sale were all taken away.
It was not an exaggeration to say the current Outer City had been abandoned.
These cultivators, however, did not go too far. Although the Starship had killed Lu Feng with a single blow, and everyone felt that High Heaven Sect could pose a threat to Heaven Battling Union, no one was certain what the outcome of the following battle would be.
If High Heaven Sect won this battle, with the way they had conducted themselves so far, it was unlikely they would then implicate the innocent.
If Heaven Battling Union won, all of them could simply return to continue with their business.
As such, no matter what, nothing would happen to them.
What’s more, this kind of battle was sure to be extremely exciting. No one disliked watching such a good show, so they were determined to remain here and observe.
Suddenly, a massive crowd of cultivators formed ten kilometres outside Heaven Battling City, all of them staring at the Starship and the Inner City.
Many thought that after suffering such a great insult, Heaven Battling Union wouldn’t be able to restrain themselves and would come out to face the enemy head-on, but to their disappointment, even after the Starship slowly began making its way towards the Inner City, there was no movement from Heaven Battling Union.
All of a sudden, boos rang out!
Heaven Battling Union had thrown its strength around for many years now, constantly acting arrogant while exploiting the cultivators operating shops in this city, so not many had a good impression of Heaven Battling Union. At this moment, seeing Heaven Battling Union act so timid, these people couldn’t help ridiculing them.
The cultivators with close ties to Heaven Battling Union immediately retorted, and the two sides quickly began to quarrel, ultimately resulting in a big fight breaking out.
At first, the battle was just a small scuffle, but as time passed, more and more cultivators were drawn in as everyone began venting their grievances and indignations.
The battle between High Heaven Sect and Heaven Battling Union had yet to even begin but the cultivators who had fled from the Outer City in advance had already come to blows, blood flowing and screams resounding with increasing frequency.
At least millions of cultivators got wrapped up in this dispute and the number of casualties was countless.
By this time, the Starship had already set sail for the Inner City.
Although they didn’t meet any kind of obstruction along the way, Yang Kai didn’t attack the Outer City of Heaven Battling City; after all, there was no point in venting anger at empty buildings.
“Sect Master, they seem to have opened their Sect Defending Array!” Ye Xi Yun swept their destination with her Divine Sense and reported.
“I noticed,” Yang Kai grinned. “I’ve heard about the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array which covers the Inner City of Heaven Battling City. Its might is supposed to be praiseworthy.”
“What are your orders then, Sect Master?”
“Simple, we rush in!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
The Starship only paused for a moment before charging straight into the Inner City.
The Inner City was currently covered in a dense layer of what appeared to be mist and fog, but if one looked closely, they would notice that this fog was composed of extremely cold air.
The Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array was arranged using the Frozen Jade Ice Spring inside the Inner City as its Array Core; however, there were three Frozen Jade Ice Springs in total. These three springs had accumulated an enormous amount of Ice Attribute Energy over thousands of years and pulsed with a chill that could instantly freeze any Origin Returning Realm master into an ice sculpture that fell into it.
At this moment, the frigid aura from the three springs was being poured out to cover the entire Inner City in a thick mist, which was both real and illusionary. As soon as the Starship entered deep into it, it disappeared.
“Impressive, the thick cold energy in the air can actually freeze Divine Sense, the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array is worthy of its reputation!” Qian Tong frowned. He had just tried to scan their surroundings, but the instant he released his Divine Sense he was forced to withdraw it otherwise it would have been frozen solid.
Inside the Starship, without being able to use their Divine Senses, everyone was as good as blind.
Of course, there was no way the Starship refined by Yang Yan could not make up for this deficiency.
At this moment, inside the ship’s control centre, a surveillance array was operating and disciples from High Heaven Sect were using them to regularly monitor the Starship’s surroundings.
Soon, there was a reaction from the surveillance array.
“Sect Master, there’s a team of twenty plus people approaching from the left, ten kilometres out.”
“After ten breaths, fire three of our Crystal Cannons in that direction!” Yang Kai grinned.
Qian Tong and the others inside scratched their cheeks and paid silent tribute to the group who were attempting to launch a sneak attack.
After ten breaths, three pure white beams of light silently shot out, wiping out the enemies which were discovered by the surveillance array.
“Overconfident fools,” Ye Xi Yun slowly shook her head. The cultivators on Shadowed Star all severely underestimated the terrifying power of this Origin King Grade Starship, but this couldn’t be helped as even she would likely have disdained it had she not seen the mysteries inside for herself.
After all, no one on Shadowed Star had ever used a Starship in combat.
“Sect Master, another group is approaching,” Another disciple reported.
“En, process them in the same manner,” Yang Kai said lightly.
He had never fought such an easy battle before; by relying on the power of the Starship, he could instantly and silently kill his enemies without even having to lift a finger.
This feeling of being in absolute control was quite enjoyable.
Heaven Battling Union sent three waves of people in total, but none of these groups managed to approach to within a kilometre of the Starship before they were killed.
Three waves of people, a total of sixty to seventy people with no lack of Origin Returning Realm masters, had died so worthlessly. After Qu Zheng learned of this, he almost coughed up blood.
After realizing that it was impossible to launch sneak attacks, Heaven Battling Union was unwilling to sacrifice any more in vain and ceased their attempts.
“Sect Master, they seem to have stopped their attacks,” Ye Xi Yun frowned.
“If they refuse to act, then we will begin levelling the Inner City, we’ll eventually destroy the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array’s Cores as long as we keep firing,” Yang Kai sneered.
As long as the Array Cores were broken, Heaven Battling Union would become a fish on the chopping block.
A moment later, the hull of the Starship hummed lightly and one pillar of white lighter after another blasted out in all directions, each one carrying with it Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power.
The rumbling sounds never ceased from the places which could neither be seen by one’s eyes nor observed by one’s Divine Sense. The entire Inner City of Heaven Battling City was instantly thrown into chaos. Wherever the white beams of light from the Starship’s Crystal Cannons passed, everything was turned into nothingness.
Over twenty percent of Heaven Battling Union’s several-thousand-year foundation was wiped clean in just half a stick of incense’s time.
Everyone was capable of perceiving just how great the loss Heaven Battling Union was suffering due to this scattered bombardment because not only were buildings collapsing everywhere, but the screams of many cultivators also rang out before they died.
It was the terrifying screams that caused the survivors to panic.
Even so, no one from Heaven Battling Union dared to come out and fight.
Yang Kai’s brows gradually furrowed as he realized he had underestimated the patience of Qu Zheng and the other leaders of Heaven Battling Union.
The power of the Starship’s Crystal Cannons was indeed not small, and they did not lack Saint Crystal Sources to power them; however, continuously using them in this fashion would definitely put a huge strain on the Crystal Cannons, and once their limits were reached, they would no longer be able to fire for quite some time.
Even if these things were refined by Yang Yan herself, this was a limitation that could not be overcome.
Heaven Battling Union was determined to outlast them and would only move once the Starship’s attack softened.
Realizing this, Yang Kai simply sneered and began releasing his powerful Divine Sense all around.
The frigid energy in the air could freeze ordinary Divine Sense, but Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was actually able to shuttle about unimpeded.
All thanks to his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
Yang Kai’s Mutated Knowledge Sea was filled with extremely hot Spiritual Energy and could restrain the impact of the fierce cold energy. Although he couldn’t say he was unaffected, the hindrance was almost negligible.
Time seemed to pass by extremely slowly as Yang Kai carefully searched through the ice mist.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and a ferocious grin crept onto his face as he ordered, “Fire a Crystal Cannon shot thirty degrees to the left, fifteen kilometres out!”
The disciple responsible for controlling the left forward quarter Crystal Cannons didn’t understand why Yang Kai issued such an order, but he did not hesitate to immediately adjust one of the Crystal Cannons and fired.
Yang Kai continued to scan the area and soon nodded lightly, “Adjust two degrees left and decrease range by half a kilometre!”
“Yes!”
At the same time, in the direction the Crystal Cannon was firing, somewhere more than a dozen kilometres away, there was a seemingly large ice spring covered by many exquisite Spirit Arrays. These Spirit Arrays not only concealed this spring but also served as a strong defensive shield for it.
From the mouth of this spring, a rich stream of Ice Attribute energy gushed forth, fueling the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array.
A Frozen Jade Ice Spring!
This spring was one of the Array Cores of the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array.
There were currently three Origin Returning Realm masters guarding this place, all of whom were sitting cross-legged beside it, their brows furrowed with anxiety as they glanced around the fog-filled Inner City.
With High Heaven Sect’s Origin King Grade Starship charging into the Inner city, all of Heaven Battling Union’s cultivators were now trembling in fear. Even a powerful master like Lu Feng had been killed in a single blow, so no one dared confront this Starship head-on.
They could only rely on the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array and hope it was powerful enough to stop the enemy Starship.
A white beam of light suddenly shot above their heads, causing the three masters’ eyes to bulge as they nervously began to condense their Saint Qi.
This beam of light was one of the enemy’s Crystal Cannons. Although the three of them knew there were many concealment and defensive Spirit Arrays arranged at their location, none of them were confident these Spirit Arrays could withstand the bombardment of those Crystal Cannons.
If they were unable to resist, the three of them may follow in Elder Lu Feng’s footsteps.
Fortunately, their worries seemed unnecessary. Although the white beam of light was indeed terrifying, it flew past them some distance away, not causing any harm to the three of them or the Array Core.
The three Origin Returning Realm masters were unable to help wiping the sweat from their foreheads and exhaling heavily.
“It’s fine, it was just a coincidence. With the Grand Array covering the entire Inner City, those clumsy fools should not be able to find the location of the Array Core. Union Master said that as soon as their energy supplies are exhausted, we will be able to launch a counterattack,” Among the three masters, a big bearded man spoke up, seemingly comforting his companions and himself.
“But from how aggressive the other party has acted so far, they must have come prepared for this. What if the Grand Array can’t stall them for long enough?” A woman in fancy robes asked with a worried look.
“Hmph, what’s there to fear? A Starship’s Crystal Cannons may be powerful, but their consumption is also massive, it shouldn’t be long before they run out of energy. Moreover, Crystal Cannons all have a limit on the number of times they can fire, making it impossible to use them too many times in short order. We just have to wait. Those fools from High Heaven Sect are now just headless flies. If this battle goes well, our Union will not only be able to kill those bastards but also capture that Origin King Grade Starship. Just think what kind of advantage that will bring us,” The last old man said quickly, his character seemingly steadier than the other two.
Hearing what he said, the other two’s eyes lit up and they couldn’t help imagining that terrifying Starship being owned by Heaven Battling Union, settling their nerves for a time.
At that moment though, another beam of white light shot past them nearby.
“This…” The bearded man saw this and couldn’t help leaking cold sweat once more.
The Crystal Cannon shot this time seemed to land much closer to them than the previous time.
Before they could even recover though, a third pillar of white light surged straight towards them.
“Not good!” The old man exclaimed, standing up and sternly shouting, “Activate the arrays!”
As soon as the old man shouted, the three of them urged their Saint Qi with all their strength and poured it into the nearby Spirit Array. The next moment, a thick light curtain appeared, covering the trio as well as the Frozen Jade Ice Spring.
*Hong…*
The thick light curtain could not withstand the power of a single Crystal Cannon volley and was broken after resisting for less than three breaths.
The trio’s complexion changed drastically seeing this.
Fortunately, all of them were experienced veterans and summoned their personal defensive artifacts one after another in order to resist the remaining power of the shot.
The Crystal Cannon’s power continued to rain down on them.
Loud grating sounds rang out, but the white beam of light gradually dimmed as well, finally disappearing a few breaths later.
The three protectors staggered unstably, each of their complexions extremely pale. The woman in elegant robes even felt something hot and sweet fill her throat, causing her to cough up blood. All of the trio’s protective artifacts shattered soon after.
“Another volley is coming, three this time!” The bearded man yelled in horror.
The woman and the old man’s faces went ashen as they turned and stared blankly at the three rapidly approaching white beams of light, unable to believe their eyes.
The enemy had actually found the location of the Array Core! But how was that possible? How did they do it?
Resisting a single shot just now had left all three of them severely injured, so there was absolutely no way they could block a triple volley!
The spot where the Frozen Jade Ice Spring sat shook violently and the three Origin Returning Realm masters silently disappeared. All that was left behind when the dust cleared was a massive crater several dozen metres in diameter.
Inside the Starship, Yang Kai snickered before ordering the disciples to redirect their fire.
At the same time, in an extremely fortified palace in the Inner City, Mo Xiao Sheng’s complexion changed dramatically as he turned to Qu Zheng who was sitting at the head of the hall and quickly reported, “Union Master, one of the Array Cores, has been destroyed!”
“What?” Qu Zheng stood up from his chair and stared at Mo Xiao Sheng incredulously, “How could it have been destroyed? Did one of the enemy attacks hit it by chance?”
Mo Xiao Sheng slowly shook his head, “This old man doesn’t know, but the three guards assigned to that spring were killed and the surrounding area was destroyed. Whether it was deliberately done by the enemy or not though, we can’t just sit here waiting for death.”
“What does Great Elder propose?”
“Maximize the Grand Array’s output and freeze the enemy Starship to death!” Mo Xiao Sheng declared.
Qu Zheng heard this and couldn’t help frowning slightly, a look of hesitation appearing on his face, as if he was worried about something.
“Union Master, High Heaven Sect arriving here in their Starship has created a situation where either they die or we die, if we hesitate any longer, we won’t be able to fight back when the two other Array Cores are destroyed. Although activating the Grand Array’s full power will cost an enormous price, it’s better than the alternative.”
“Great Elder is right,” Qu Zheng took a deep breath and his gaze became firm. “Fine, order for the Grand Array’s output to be increased to the maximum. Even if this old master must use up our entire foundation, he will not allow High Heaven Sect to obtain victory!”
“Yes!” Mo Xiao Sheng nodded before quickly pouring his Divine Sense into the communication artifact in his hand to disseminate the appropriate orders.
The next moment, the entire Inner City stirred. The air was already filled with Ice Attribute Energy, but in an instant, the chill in the air became even more terrifying. Even the Starship’s hull became covered with the thick layer of ice.
The freezing of the hull hindered the Starship’s operations, and even those who were inside it began to feel a bone-chilling cold, like their very souls were being frozen.
“What happened? Why did it suddenly become so cold?” Qian Tong asked with an ugly expression.
“The other side must have noticed our movements and taken countermeasures,” Yang Kai frowned. Under his Divine Sense probing, he could see two springs gushing out cold energy even more fiercely than before, like a terrifying volcanic eruption. Even the guards which were standing by next to these Array Cores had hastily evacuated, not daring to remain nearby for long.
*Kacha…*
A crisp creaking sound resounded from outside the Starship, indicating that the hull was beginning to warp.
Not only that, but the rich Ice Attribute Energy outside unexpectedly began condensing into various strange beasts. Each of these beasts was crystal clear, like ice sculptures, and exuded potent energy fluctuations.
It wasn’t long before the Starship was completely surrounded by countless ice beasts.
Seeing this, everyone in Starship furrowed their brows.
Many of them had long heard of the power of Heaven Battling Union’s Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array, and they found that it was deserving of its reputation after seeing it with their own eyes. With such methods at its disposal, Heaven Battling Union could ensure the safety and stability of Heaven Battling City’s Inner City.
As soon as the ice beasts took shape, they charged towards the Starship fiercely, instantly drowning it in a horde of claws and fangs.
Everyone couldn’t help becoming somewhat anxious, fearing the Starship would be destroyed if this continued.
Yang Kai’s face also became extremely gloomy. Standing up, he shouted, “Activate the protective barrier again, ignore the ice beasts, destroy the last two Array Cores at all cost!”
A moment later, the thin film enveloped the Starship. Although this shield looked fragile, no matter how the ice beasts attacked, they were unable to breach it; however, with the clawing and biting of so many ice beasts, the glow of this film was fading at an extremely fast rate.
Even a large number of ants could kill an elephant. Although the Starship was of the highest grade, it could not withstand the onslaught of so many ice beasts and would be destroyed sooner or later.
At that time, more than ten pure white light beams suddenly shot out from the Starship’s hull and struck towards a certain position.
Concerned about the survival of the Starship, Yang Kai did not dare delay and constantly issued targeting corrections to the disciples controlling the Crystal Cannons.
The dozen or so light beams flew out together in a spectacular display of might.
Just ten breaths later, the second Array Core was destroyed.
Then soon after, the third Array Core was broken!
The Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array, which had been shrouding the entire Inner City, instantly stopped working and the ice beasts which had been condensed from the pure, rich Ice Attribute Energy quickly disintegrated into glowing light particles before disappearing altogether.
The crisis had been easily resolved!
However, everyone in the Starship was still sweating heavily.
A strong wind blew through and the lingering ice fog was swiftly dispersed. Without the constant supply of Ice Attribute Energy from the three Array Cores, the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array was useless, and the entire Inner City of Heaven Battling Union’s Heaven Battling City gradually appeared before High Heaven Sect’s eyes.
“Hahaha, that old fart Qu Zheng is probably so mad he’s coughing up blood,” Fei Zhi Tu let out a hearty laugh. On Fallen Emperor Mountain, he had thought he was a dead man, and although Yang Kai had managed to save his life, his cultivation had dropped a Minor Realm so he hated Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect bitterly.
Now seeing that even the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array had no way to fight High Heaven Sect’s Starship, Fei Zhi Tu’s mood was quite good.
Qu Zheng truly did fly into a rage.
He never dreamed that the Grand Array Heaven Battling Union was so proud of would be destroyed so quickly and easily, unable to play any role at all.
Up to now, the enemy had yet to even show their faces, only hiding inside their Starship and using their Crystal Cannons to pound them into submission.
Qu Zheng had never felt so powerless.
“We are going to face the enemy! Even if we have to drown them in our own blood, we must destroy that Starship!” Qu Zheng shouted furiously, his voice spreading out to the Heavens.
Now that their Grand Array had been destroyed, Heaven Battling Union’s only option was to launch a frontal assault and rely on human wave tactics to triumph.
As long as High Heaven Sect lost their Starship, Heaven Battling Union could still turn this defeat into victory!
As soon as this order was given, countless cultivators rushed out of their hiding places and charged towards the Starship menacingly.
Unexpectedly, even when this force rushed to within a thousand metres of the pitch-black Starship, it still showed no signs of movement, simply allowing the Heaven Battling Union cultivators to surround it.
There were at least thousands of cultivators in this encirclement, all of them having at least reached the Saint Realm.
This force represented eighty percent of Heaven Battling Union’s total strength, with the remaining cultivators having a strength that was too low to play any role in this kind of battle.
Surrounded by these thousands of people, the Starship was like a tiny boat adrift in the vast ocean, unable to tell which way was which.
Heaven Battling Union’s cultivators all exuded a fierce murderous intent as they prepared to attack.
But in the next moment, multi-coloured rays of light suddenly blossomed from the ship’s hull, causing the originally black exterior to instantly emit a dazzling radiance.
These multi-coloured rays of light immediately enveloped the surrounding several-thousand-metre radius and flooded the minds of all the cultivators present with a numbing sensation.
In an instant, many of the cultivators with lower strength went stiff, their Saint Qi no longer circulating properly. Screams rang out as these cultivators fell from the sky, as if their strength was being suppressed by some strange force.
Even the cultivators with slightly higher strength could not completely resist the effects of this suppression and felt a sense of terror deep in their Souls.
“Coloured Glass Divine Light! Impossible! This is Coloured Glass Divine Light!” Some slightly knowledgeable cultivators yelled out in shock.
As cultivators of Shadowed Star, they had heard of Coloured Glass Divine Light.
However, Coloured Glass Divine Light was something exclusive to Coloured Glass Sect’s cultivators, and even then, only one or two cultivators per generation could produce it.
And yet, Coloured Glass Divine Light was currently being emitted by High Heaven Sect’s Starship. Looking carefully, it seemed that the entire hull of this Starship was made from Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, which was the source of this overwhelming Coloured Glass Divine Light!
Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu were also stunned, neither able to figure out what was going on.
“Yang Kai, is this really Coloured Glass Divine Light?” Qian Tong asked with a strange expression.
It was not surprising he couldn’t believe his eyes as Coloured Glass Sect protected Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain so tightly that outsiders were never even allowed to approach it. In fact, most cultivators from Coloured Glass Sect were not even allowed to approach Coloured Glass Mountain.
So where did Yang Kai get this Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass?
And how did he acquire so much that he could cover his entire Starship with it? Just how much Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass would be needed to achieve such a feat?
“En, it’s Coloured Glass Divine Light,” Yang Kai nodded lightly before grinning grinned, “Coloured Glass Sect is not the only one with access to Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass.”
“En…” Qian Tong nodded suspiciously. Although he wanted to believe Yang Kai’s words, as far as he knew, the only source of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass on Shadowed Star was owned by Coloured Glass Sect.
[Who would believe such silver-tongued rhetoric? This boy really knows how to spill nonsense. But when did he manage to obtain so much Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass?]
Qian Tong then remembered hearing about Yang Kai visiting Coloured Glass Sect a few years ago as a guest, could it have been at that time?
Qian Tong did not dare think about it anymore. If this kind of news were learned by Coloured Glass Sect, they would never let him off.
As the two talked, panic-stricken screams continued to ring outside. Falling from the height of a few thousand metres was dangerous, even for cultivators with decent cultivation. Saint Kings basically did not need to worry about their lives as their physical bodies would already be strong enough to resist such a fall. Other than ending up a little embarrassed, they would not suffer any negative consequences.
However, the Saints were not so lucky.
One after another, these unfortunate Saint Realm cultivators cried out in pain as their limbs broke. Some with poor physiques even ended up bloodied and crippled.
The number of cultivators gathered around the Starship dropped by seventy percent in an instant.
But this wasn’t over yet. Moments after the Coloured Glass Divine Light shrouded these cultivators, causing their Souls to fill with unease, a fist-sized crystal suddenly appeared above the Starship. Around this crystal, a profound and complex Spirit Array instantly appeared.
Ripples of light began propagating from the crystal in the next moment and were amplified many times over by the surrounding Spirit Array, sending them pulsing out in all directions.
When these ripples swept over them, the eyes of all the Heaven Battling Union cultivators glossed over and their faces filled with confusion.
They suddenly found that all kinds of hallucinations had inexplicably appeared around them, as if they had fallen into a terrifying illusion.
Suddenly, the cultivators of Heaven Battling Union fell into chaos, crying out madly one after another.
Yang Yan had poured all of her skill and effort into refining this Origin King Grade Starship and consumed countless rare materials in the process.
Eighty percent of the wealth and materials Yang Kai had obtained over the years had been invested in this Starship, hence its power had reached such a frightening level.
Needless to say, the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass was from Yang Kai’s trip to Coloured Glass Sect with Dai Yuan. He had Xiao Xiao steal it directly from Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain at that time.
Coloured Glass Sect truly guarded Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain heavily, making it impossible for ordinary people to even get close enough to try mining any Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass.
However, Xiao Xiao was different.
Devouring ore was its innate talent, a Divine Ability no ordinary person could replicate. Even Origin King Realm masters would have a headache trying to break off a piece of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass from Coloured Glass Mountain, yet to Xiao Xiao it was no different from delicious food.
During his visit to Coloured Glass Sect, Xiao Xiao had performed a great merit.
As for the fist-sized crystal which now floated above the Starship, it was naturally the Illusion Stone brought back by Yang Kai from the sixth layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Field!
This Illusion Stone was an extremely rare treasure that could innately induce hallucinations. By using it as the core of a profound Illusion Array arranged by Yang Yan, the power it could display was simply unimaginable.
Even Origin Returning Realm masters could not resist the effects of the Illusion Stone, so everyone surrounding the Starship was instantly caught in an inescapable illusion.
“We can begin now.” Inside the Starship, Yang Kai grinned and said with a cold expression.
Hearing this, everyone’s look became inspired.
“Open the hatch!” Yang Kai commanded.
With a slight rumbling, the Starship’s main hatch opened and with Yang Kai in the lead, Ye Xi Yun, Qian Tong, Fei Zhi Tu, Chang Qi, and all the other Origin Realm Elders from High Heaven Sect set out.
As they flew out of the Starship, the sight in front of everyone left them profoundly shocked.
All the Heaven Battling Union cultivators, regardless of their cultivation or strength, now had glossed eyes and their expressions were constantly changing as they had fallen into illusions they were unable to extricate themselves from, many of them seemingly trying to defend themselves from invisible enemies.
Others still calmly in place, as if concentrating on something profound and mysterious they could not understand.
However, no matter who it was, it was obvious they were completely oblivious to the terrible fate which was approaching them.
“Kill!” Yang Kai raised his hand and accompanied by a piercing cry, his Firebird Artifact Spirit flew out and transformed itself into a giant ball of flame that rushed towards the nearest group of enemies, instantly burning them to death.
Ye Xi Yun and the others immediately dispersed, summoned their artifacts, and released their Secret Techniques to slaughter their enemies with little to no resistance.
Yang Kai wandered about the sky as he manipulated dozens of Golden Blood Threads, slicing through the dazed enemies.
Additionally, wherever Yang Kai went, all cultivators at or below the Saint King Realm clutched their heads and screamed, as if they were suffering from unimaginable torture, their Souls being extinguished a moment later.
Tiny insects invisible to the naked eye and even difficult to detect using Divine Sense were viciously rushing towards these Saints and Saint Kings, causing them to inexplicably die.
Soul Devouring Insects!
Now that Yang Kai’s strength had reached such a height, and the enemies he was encountering were growing stronger and stronger, the Soul Devouring Insects he had been nurturing in his Knowledge Sea all these years were no longer able to play a big role in battle, but for massacring weaker enemies at times like this, they were actually an ideal weapon.
Soul Devouring Insects specialized in devouring Spiritual Energy. Once they invaded a cultivator’s Knowledge Sea and drained it dry, that cultivator would inevitably fall.
Yang Kai was like a god of death as he swept over the battlefield, leaving only corpses in his wake.
Heaven Battling Union’s many cultivators had become living targets, unable to put up any kind of resistance at all, allowing even Chang Qi and the other weaker Elders to kill with impunity.
Inside the main palace, Qu Zheng and the other leaders of Heaven Battling Union wore ashen faces as their bodies trembled violently.
None of them had ever imagined High Heaven Sect’s Starship possessed such terrifying means and was equipped with so many unimaginable methods. In the face of these means, their Sect’s prided elites were as vulnerable as three-year-old children.
Qu Zheng’s heart felt like it had been run through with a sword! Heaven Battling Union’s inheritance, built through thousands of years, was going to be destroyed under his watch.
At this moment, he somewhat regretted provoking Yang Kai; even if he had violated Star Emperor Mountain’s instructions, perhaps the result wouldn’t have been this bad.
Defeat was now inevitable!
Qu Zheng knew better than anyone that the moment the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array was destroyed, the battle was already over.
The Grand Array that he was most proud of and relied upon was destroyed by the enemy in no time at all.
Even if he somehow managed to kill Yang Kai now, the losses Heaven Battling Union suffered could simply not be made up.
On top of that, was Yang Kai someone easy to kill? Qu Zheng wasn’t confident he could kill a cultivator proficient in the Dao of Space, who could even tear space and flee!
“Union Master…” Mo Xiao Sheng called out gloomily from the side, his already old face seeming even more withered than before and his expression extremely grave, “We need to go.”
“Go?” Qu Zheng turned his head to look at him and shook his head slowly, “This Qu is Heaven Battling Union’s Union Master, I have pledged to live and die together with the Union. This Qu will not go!”
“Union Master, in the green hills, one need not worry about having firewood. We underestimated the strength of High Heaven Sect and our losses are incalculable, but there is a chance we can avenge our dead companions as long as Union Master survives. If you die here, there will be no one left to seek vengeance!” Mo Xiao Sheng tried his best to persuade him.
Qu Zheng glanced over at him and said sternly, “Even if that is so, in this world, where can we go? This Qu can still fight, and even if this old master dies here, he will drag that little bastard down with him.”
“Union Master, have you forgotten who caused this incident in the first place? We can go there, presumably, they won’t just sit back and watch,” Mo Xiao Sheng quickly said.
Qu Zheng frowned and began pondering carefully.
Liang Yong, who had been standing to the side, hurriedly added, “Yes, Union Master, momentum is on High Heaven Sect’s side now, so we really must consider withdrawing for the time being. We don’t have a way to deal with that Starship, but Star Emperor Mountain may.”
In the hall, seeing the Great Elder and Third Elder trying their best to persuade Qu Zheng, others quickly followed suit.
After all, if there was a way to live, who would choose to die? The other party’s Starship was simply too terrifying, not an existence ordinary cultivators could compete with.
Everyone was afraid that Qu Zheng would order them to go out and meet the enemy, so they wanted to hurry and leave this place.
For a time, everyone talked over each other, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Qu Zheng seemed to recover his composure after hearing all these voices and swept his gaze across the hall before gently nodding and saying, “Fine, then we will temporarily withdraw to Star Emperor Mountain!”
“Union Master is wise!” The hearts of everyone present immediately relaxed as many breathed sighs of relief.
…..
In the Inner City, the screams had not stopped since they began. One after another, the cultivators who were affected by the Coloured Glass Divine Light then dragged into an illusion by the Illusion Stone died at the hands of High Heaven Sect’s forces.
Out of the thousands of cultivators, ninety percent had already fallen.
As time passed, the influence of the Illusion Stone gradually weakened.
After the hallucinations in front of them disappeared and they saw that the battle was lost, the Heaven Battling Union cultivators still alive were all horrified and did not dare to remain and fight. Using their movement skills and summoning their defensive artifacts, these survivors all fled.
It was an overwhelming defeat!
The entire Inner City seemed to be stained red with blood and the ground was now littered with broken limbs and pieces of meat. A rich bloody atmosphere permeated the huge city, making any who smelt it feel nauseous.
Golden light filled the sky as dozens of Golden Blood Threads cut through any enemies in Yang Kai’s path as his expression remained as tranquil as an ancient well.
Although he had run rampant among the enemy cultivators and beheaded so many of them, his clothes were still clean, not stained by a single drop of blood.
Suddenly, Yang Kai raised his head and looked in a certain direction, frowning slightly.
A familiar power fluctuation came from the direction he was looking, Space Force!
In an instant, he understood what this fluctuation meant and a cold smile appeared on his lips. Reaching out, Yang Kai swiped his hand through the air.
A pitch-black Void Crack appeared strangely and Yang Kai plunged inside, his body disappearing in the next instant.
In the Inner City of Heaven Battling Union, in a chamber deep underground, more than a dozen Elders of Heaven Battling Union and Protectors had assembled.
At this moment, each of these Elders and Protectors was staring at a massive Space Array in front of them with both hope and anxiety.
Heaven Battling Union was one of the two giants of Shadowed Star and had prospered for thousands of years, so it had arranged several emergency escape routes for itself. This large underground Space Array was one such route.
This Space Array had never been used in the several-thousand-year history of Heaven Battling Union because none could force them to use it.
But today, this dust-laden Restricted Area had finally been opened.
Qu Zheng planned to use this Space Array to escape a million kilometres away from Heaven Battling City.
Although it had never been used, this Space Array was still intact, so it only needed to be re-activated and charged with enough Saint Crystals before it could be used.
“This King and Great Elder will go on ahead, Third Elder, you stay behind to bring up the rear,” Qu Zheng casually ordered before stepping onto the Space Array with Mo Xiao Sheng.
Liang Yong opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly choked these words back down before cupping his fists and nodding, “Yes!”
He was truly afraid of Yang Kai. Last time, in Fallen Emperor Mountain, he had barely managed to escape from Yang Kai’s grasp. Although Yang Kai had kept his word and not killed him, Yang Kai had simply become a nightmare to him.
Naturally, he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
However, since the Union Master had given orders, Liang Yong had no choice but to obey.
This Space Array could only teleport five people at once, so this withdrawal had to be done in batches.
After Qu Zheng and another four people stood atop it, a burst of light burst out from the Space Array and soon enveloped them.
The figures of these five began to fade, and they were about to leave, but at the last moment, a sudden mutation occurred.
A short distance away from the array, a strange energy fluctuation appeared and space began to warp. A moment later, a long pitch-black tear unexpectedly emerged.
“This is…” Everyone was dazed, some not even understanding what this anomaly was.
“Void Crack!” Qu Zheng shouted. In Fallen Emperor Mountain on that day, he had seen a similar scene, so now that he was seeing it again he was naturally able to identify it.
As soon as his voice fell, a figure shot out from the Void Crack and without pausing for an instance reached out its hand and grasped towards the already activated Space Array.
An obscure and secretive force swept out.
The Space Array, which had originally been shining brightly, suddenly flickered and the dazzling light coming from it dimmed at an extremely fast speed.
“Not good!” Mo Xiao Sheng shouted before grabbing Qu Zheng’s arm instinctually and leaping out like a frightened rabbit.
In a flicker, the two figures disappeared and then reappeared several dozen metres away.
“Yang Kai!” Standing firm, Qu Zheng glared fiercely at the figure that emerged from the Void Crack, a vicious expression filling his face, as if he couldn’t wait to drink this boy’s blood
“Union Master Qu, where do you think you’re going?” Yang Kai gave him a sneer.
Before Qu Zheng could answer this question though, he suddenly heard someone next to him call out in alarm, “Elder Zhou, Protector Qi…”
This voice was filled with panic and seemed to be greatly frightened.
Qu Zheng frowned and glanced over with a sullen expression, but what he saw caused him to shiver from head to toe.
Atop the Space Array, three incomplete corpses were left behind!
Judging from the remnant clothes on these three corpses, it was clear they belonged to Qu Zheng’s subordinates who had been standing beside him just a moment ago, preparing to teleport away. Now, however, their upper bodies had strangely disappeared, leaving behind just their smoothly severed lower halves.
“Great Elder!” The person who spoke just now screamed again as he turned his attention to Mo Xiao Sheng, his eyes trembling violently.
A dripping sound filled the hall.
Qu Zheng turned his head as well and couldn’t help his eyes from shrinking.
Great Elder Mo Xiao Shen, who had helped him escape the Space Array just now, was missing an arm. The wound he suffered was extremely smooth, just like the others.
“You can even interrupt the Space Array’s transmission!” Mo Xiao Sheng’s face went pale, as if he was holding back severe pain. Staring at Yang Kai in disbelief, he grits his teeth and shouted, “You actually managed to comprehend the Dao of Space to such an extent?”
“A minor matter!” Yang Kai looked at him indifferently, not denying the charge.
Qu Zheng’s expression fluctuated. With his experience and eyesight, he could tell how his three subordinates died and how his Great Elder had lost an arm.
It was because the transmission was interrupted!
The Dao of Space was mysterious and difficult to understand, but its power was extremely terrifying. How could one’s end be good if their teleportation was disturbed mid-transmission?
No wonder Great Elder had so hastily taken him out of the Space Array, it turns out he had noticed something wrong ahead of time.
If Mo Xiao Sheng had not acted as swiftly as he did, it was likely Qu Zheng would only have half his body remaining atop the Space Array.
Understanding this, Qu Zheng couldn’t help leaking cold sweat.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, felt a little annoyed. He had noticed the energy fluctuations of the Space Array before, so he had hurriedly rushed to this place. His timing was spot on, but unfortunately, Qu Zheng still managed to escape.
[Dang… this Mo Xiao Sheng has some commendable attainments. If he had not noticed the disturbance, Qu Zheng would definitely have died!]
But it didn’t matter in the end. Since Yang Kai had already arrived here, no one could escape.
Beating the snake to death to avoid future calamity was a truth Yang Kai knew better than anyone!
Yang Kai was alone, but he was not afraid as he swept his eyes over the room.
With a wave of his hand, Xiao Xiao suddenly appeared in front of him, the huge Heaven Shaking Pillar resisting on his shoulders, his eyes glancing around with clear ill intent.
The huge Heaven Shaking Pillar, when contrasted with his small body, looked quite funny.
But no one dared to underestimate Xiao Xiao. Even Qu Zheng frowned as he felt an unimaginable pressure from Xiao Xiao, even greater than the one he felt when facing Yang Kai.
[A strong enemy!] Qu Zheng secretly thought. He had heard about this strange creature and how even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master could not take a head-on attack from it, but he didn’t know whether this was true or not though.
Before he could finish his thoughts, Yang Kai raised his hand again and the Verdant Dragon Bone Sword appeared. Pouring Saint Qi into the bone sword, a giant dark-green dragon quickly manifested and floated beside Yang Kai, it’s two giant eyes staring down imposingly at the crowd below.
The Dragon Pressure that instantly covered the hall caused everyone to tremble.
Golden Blood Threads appeared next, releasing a dazzling golden radiance.
A loud bird cry rang out as the Firebird Artifact Spirit flew out and spread its wings, raising the temperature in the hall significantly.
Yang Kai was going all out!
Although the people in front of him had already lost their will to fight, Yang Kai didn’t dare to underestimate them. In a one-against-many scenario, Yang Kai could not afford to let his guard down, especially since Qu Zheng was still unharmed.
Yang Kai had never fought Qu Zheng personally, but he had witnessed the latter’s power in Fallen Emperor Mountain.
That Great Sun Radiant Seal had particularly impressed him.
As such, once he decided to take action, Yang Kai had brought out eighty percent of his methods.
“Union Master Qu, when you plotted against this Junior, did you ever think the situation would wind up like this?” Yang Kai looked down at Qu Zheng coldly, “You and I had no meaningful grudge between us, but Union Master Qu insisted on embarrassing me, so he should be prepared to face my revenge. En, I’ll quickly send you to meet with Qu Chang Feng. Fathers and sons should be together, after all, and I think Qu Chang Feng should be quite lonely right now!”
“Arrogant little brat!” Qu Zheng’s expression suddenly became ferocious, like a mad beast.
The death of Qu Chang Feng was the greatest pain his heart had ever had to bear! Naturally, he knew his child best, and although Qu Chang Feng was a little domineering and flippant, his aptitude was first-class and he would surely have become a true hegemon if given time.
Yet before such a bright future could come to pass, Qu Chang Feng had been brutally killed by Yang Kai in Fallen Emperor Mountain.
At this moment, with the murderer casually standing before him, even a stoic man wouldn’t have been able to control their rage, let alone Qu Zheng who had a naturally fiery temperament.
“Good, good, good, you go too far, little brat! If this old master doesn’t kill you today, he would no longer be a man!” Qu Zheng yelled.
Mo Xiao Sheng felt the situation deteriorating. A battle between masters was always extremely dangerous, but now, Union Master Qu had been completely provoked and thrown into a rage with just a few words; how was he going to exert his full strength in such a state? But as things were, the only thing Mo Xiao Sheng could do was endure the severe pain from his wound and shout, “Yang Kai, you look down on my Heaven Battling Union too much! Since you dared to break into this place alone, it shall be your burial place. Everyone, with me! Today, either he dies, or we perish!”
With these words, the rest of the people summoned their artifacts one after another, filling the room with a dazzling glow as the ambient energy began to churn.
Liang Yong’s movements were the fastest, summoning a long, sword-like artifact into his hands and madly pouring his Saint Qi into it. Staring at Yang Kai fiercely, he roared, “Boy, suffer death!”
As he shouted, the long sword in Lian Yong’s hands glowed a cyan light and shot a wave out towards Yang Kai.
At the same time, the others also displayed the power of their artifacts one after another, firing them towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai remained indifferent though, not even attempting to dodge, simply observing coldly as if he didn’t feel any threat at all.
*Peng peng peng…*
Xiao Xiao struck his chest repeatedly, causing a dull sound to ring out as he opened his mouth and growled like a mad gorilla. As he struck his chest, Xiao Xiao’s small figure suddenly grew larger, and a several-dozen-metre tall giant stood before Yang Kai in an instant.
In the next instant, the various artifact attacks landed on Xiao Xiao’s body and burst into dazzling explosions of light, the clanging and clattering sounds constantly echoing, but not only did Xiao Xiao not show any intention to retreat, he even remained essentially uninjured. All that happened under this bombardment was Xiao Xiao being forced to take a single step backwards.
Stone Puppets’ innate Divine Ability was to swallow ore, which they could then smelt and refine into their purest form. However, they could also absorb these essences and use them to strengthen themselves.
Over the years, Xiao Xiao had swallowed countless ores, most of which were extremely rare and high-quality. Not only had he provided great assistance to Yang Yan with her Artifact Refining, but he had also obtained great nourishment and growth.
Although these attacks were terrifying, using them against Xiao Xiao was completely ineffective.
The hardness of Xiao Xiao’s body was as tough as an Origin King Grade defensive artifact.
Suddenly, among the clattering explosions, Qu Zheng’s muffled cough and enraged roar rang out.
Everyone frowned, wondering what happened to Qu Zheng.
Even Yang Kai was at a loss.
As the glow from the explosions dissipated, Yang Kai gazed past Xiao Xiao’s giant body and looked towards Qu Zheng, his expression turning somewhat strange in the next instant.
He found that Qu Zheng’s chest had half a sword sticking out from it, obviously having been run through from behind. Covered in blood, Qu Zheng couldn’t help staggering forward, his face extremely pale.
The sword which pierced him was clearly of extraordinary quality, definitely an artifact at or above Origin Grade Mid-Rank. The blade of the sword was covered in a brilliant cyan light that continuously burst with terrifying power as it destroyed the inside of Qu Zheng’s body, rapidly worsening his condition.
Now far from Qu Zheng, Liang Yong wore a complicated look on his face, as if feeling a little guilty.
“Liang Yong, you dare betray us?” Mo Xiao Sheng turned and stared at Liang Yong in disbelief, shouting out mournfully as he did.
Qu Zheng also turned a sullen look to Liang Yong and coughed as he grit his teeth and asked, “When did he buy you over? Was it back on Fallen Emperor Mountain?”
Liang Yong’s face twitched as he glanced over at Yang Kai for an instant before saying in a bitter voice, “Sect Master Yang never bought This Liang, but… A wise man knows when to submit to the circumstances. Union Master and Great Elder insisting on fighting against the tide has brought disaster to the Union. This Liang, as Third Elder, cannot sit by and watch everything our ancestors worked so hard for be destroyed at your hands!”
“Self-righteous nonsense. Seeking personal gain so shamelessly, this King never knew you were such a person, Liang Yong,” Qu Zheng sneered.
Qu Zheng never imagined that he would actually be stabbed in the back by his own Third Elder at this critical moment. If Liang Yong’s signature long sword artifact had not still been sticking out of his body, Qu Zheng might still not believe this was really happening.
“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t know this before, Union Master should be able to understand it today,” Liang Yong’s face was red with embarrassment, but if he wanted to survive, this was his only option.
The others here might not know how terrifying Yang Kai’s strength was, but he did.
Regardless of how many people were on their side, if they really fought here, it would not be an easy battle, and even if they could defeat Yang Kai, they couldn’t kill him.
The means Yang Kai already showed were appalling enough, so just how much was he still holding back? The last time he experienced Yang Kai’s methods, Liang Yong was lucky enough to survive, but he didn’t want to try his luck again.
“Promising!” Yang Kai grinned suddenly. He hadn’t expected the situation to develop this way either, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t to his liking. Although he was confident he could kill all the people here, it would definitely be difficult and require him to use most of his means and methods. Now that his enemies were actually fighting amongst themselves, the problem became much easier to solve.
“Sect Master Yang is too kind,” Liang Yong cupped his fists with and said with a flattering look covering his face. Immediately after, Liang Yong looked around at the others present and shouted, “Smart birds choose the best trees to roost on, I believe this Liang does not need to teach you all this. As for what you should do now, you should also understand!”
The remaining Heaven Battling Union cultivators wore ugly expressions as they glanced around at each other, temporarily falling into a dilemma.
However, no one treated their life as expendable, so all of them turned their gazes towards Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng in the end while silently condensing their Saint Qi.
“Excellent!” Qu Zheng laughed, “I didn’t expect that my Heaven Battling Union had raised a pack of white wolves. This Qu was blind to have never seen your true colours.”
“Why must Union Master put it like that?” Liang Yong slowly shook his head, “The winner is the king while the loser is the villain. What do you want to do, Great Elder? This Liang has always admired Great Elder’s wisdom and fortitude, if Great Elder is willing to…”
“Do you think this old master is as shameless as you? All of you should not shame this old master,” Mo Xiao Sheng sneered, interrupting Liang Yong before he could even finish speaking.
“In that case, I must ask Great Elder and Union Master to depart together!” Liang Yong’s eyes became sharp as he waved his hand and in the next moment, all the attacks which had originally been targeting Yang Kai were now directed towards Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng.
Without any suspense, after a half cup of tea’s time, the battle was decided.
Mo Xiao Sheng had lost an arm, and although such an injury was not life-threatening, it still had a significant impact on the strength he could display. As for Qu Zheng, he had suffered a sneak attack from Liang Yong, a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, and had only survived this long thanks to his great strength.
Both of them were wounded, so how could they withstand the attacks of Liang Yong and the others?
Yang Kai didn’t even need to take action as Heaven Battling Union’s Union Master and Great Elder were killed before him.
Naturally, Yang Kai didn’t relax his vigilance, keeping the giant dark-green dragon floating beside him with the Firebird Artifact Spirit circling above while the Stone Puppet protected his front.
As soon as the battle was over, Liang Yong sent a signal with his eyes to a certain cultivator who immediately understood and pounced towards another of their companions, a Second-Order Origin Realm Protector, and swiftly killed him.
Yang Kai simply observed with a smile, not showing any intention to intervene.
“Reporting to Sect Master Yang, Protector Liu was a close friend of the Union Master, so although he had outwardly surrendered, he must have been holding a grudge in his heart. No one knows whether he would simply wait for an opportunity to avenge Union Master in the future, so we’ve taken the liberty to deal with him now,” Liang Yong took the initiative to explain.
“Cruel and merciless!” Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “It seems I looked down on you, Elder Liang.”
“Sect Master Yang is too polite,” Liang Yong let out a hollow laugh.
“What about these remaining people?”
“These people should be fine.”
“En,” Yang Kai stared at him deeply, an ambiguous smile creeping onto his lips as he said, “Did Elder Liang not consider that this Sect Master would simply take advantage of this opportunity to rid himself of all of you now that you no longer have any value?”
Liang Yong’s face changed slightly, and even the remaining survivors wore wary expressions.
Squeezing out a smile, Liang Yong said, “Sect Master Yang must be joking. We have already demonstrated our intentions clearly. We simply ask Sect Master Yang to not punish us too severely and spare our lives!”
“Why should I let you keep your lives? You even betrayed and killed Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng. If I let you survive, how can I guarantee that one day you won’t treat me the same way?” Yang Kai looked at him coldly, his tone of voice cold and sharp. Meanwhile, as if affected by his mood, the giant dark-green dragon behind Yang Kai also assumed a threatening posture.
The Dragon Pressure also became heavier!
“We would not dare!” Liang Yong was thoroughly frightened and hurriedly bowed his head, “We can swear an oath to the Heavens that in the future, we will only follow Sect Master Yang’s lead, go through fire or water, never refusing under any circumstances.”
“If such oaths were useful, Union Master Qu and Great Elder Mo wouldn’t have died here. On the day you joined Heaven Battling Union, didn’t you make similar oaths?” Yang Kai spat disdainfully.
Liang Yong’s expression became awkward and he grew noticeably more anxious. Now, he didn’t know how to gain Yang Kai’s trust and let him show mercy.
If Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng were still alive now, the Heaven Battling Union group might still be able to put up a fight, but now they were no different from fish on a chopping block, waiting for Yang Kai’s judgement. Liang Yong and the others didn’t have any ability to resist now.
“I’ll give you a chance to persuade me. If you can convince me of your usefulness, I may be willing to spare you, but if you can’t, don’t blame this Sect Master for not showing mercy. Elder Liang is also a cruel and ruthless person so I’m sure you understand,” Yang Kai’s impatient voice sounded and his eyes gradually became cold.
Liang Yong was startled and couldn’t help shivering as he knew Yang Kai that was not one to make idle threats, so he hurriedly tried to come up with a logical reason they should be spared.
Everyone else also stared towards Liang Yong eagerly, their hearts clenched up tightly.
Yang Kai didn’t urge them any further and simply stood there and waited.
After a while, Liang Yong’s nervous expression calmed down and he seemed to become confident, clearing his throat and cupping his fists before saying, “Let me first say that we neither had nor have any intentions of becoming enemies with Sect Master Yang. We participated in the incident that occurred in Fallen Emperor Mountain last time simply because we were ordered to do so. Now, Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng are dead and the Union’s forces have suffered massive losses. On top of that, the Myriad Ice Spirit Sealing Grand Array has been destroyed, crippling the Union’s core foundation! When we joined Heaven Battling Union, we took oaths simply to express our loyalty, but now we must take them in order to survive; after all, even if Sect Master Yang shows mercy and allows us to live, what awaits us is nothing but hardship. Without an established headquarters, we will all certainly become targets for our enemies. Hitting others when they are down is a truth we cannot avoid.”
“That’s none of my concern,” Yang Kai looked at him with a sneer.
“What this Liang wants to express by saying all this is that if we wish to survive, we must find someone or something which can support us! And Sect Master Yang is the best choice!” Liang Yong looked at Yang Kai solemnly.
Yang Kai gently nodded, grinning as he said, “En, keep talking.”
Hearing this, Liang Yong’s expression became spirited, knowing the other party had taken some interest in his words. “If Sect Master Yang wishes to kill us, it will not take him much effort, but Sect Master Yang doesn’t stand to gain anything from our deaths. However, if Sect Master Yang is willing to spare us, this Liang and his companions will definitely be able to bring many benefits to Sect Master Yang.”
“For example?” Yang Kai squinted at him.
“Haha, now that Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng are dead, and Second Elder Lu Feng has also fallen, this Liang should be the highest-ranking member of the Union. This Liang has no special talents, but he is willing to manage Heaven Battling City for Sect Master Yang, every year turning over all its profits in the form of tribute! As far as this Liang knows, Sect Master Yang’s High Heaven Sect is located inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field, so while there is no fear of it being attacked, it also likely lacks all kinds of cultivation resources, as it is extremely inconvenient to trade with the outside world. With Heaven Battling City under Sect Master Yang’s control though, the disciples of High Heaven Sect will not have to worry about supplies in the future. Heaven Battling City has been a centre of commerce for thousands of years with tens of millions of cultivators living and passing through here with great frequency. I believe that with Sect Master Yang’s intelligence, he can imagine just how great the profits Heaven Battling City earns a year are.”
After speaking till here, Liang Yong stopped and waited for Yang Kai’s reply.
He was completely confident this argument would convince Yang Kai.
Sure enough, after a moment, Yang Kai nodded, “Elder Liang’s eloquence is exceptional, this Sect Master has indeed been moved by you.”
When these words fell, the Firebird flew back into Yang Kai’s body and the giant dark-green dragon transformed back into the Dragon Bone Sword again. Even the Stone Puppet, which was several dozen metres tall, shrank back down to its original size.
The heavy atmosphere suddenly disappeared.
Liang Yong was overjoyed and quickly bowed, “Many thanks for showing mercy, Sect Master Yang!”
The other survivors quickly followed suit, hoping to show their loyalty lest Yang Kai find them unpleasant to the eye and decide to kill them.
“From now on, there is no more Heaven Battling Union!” Yang Kai declared indifferently, “Heaven Battling City is now the exclusive property of High Heaven Sect. If anyone tries to invade, they will be enemies of High Heaven Sect! Liang Yong, your strength is good, so you will take up the post of City Lord and manage this city for this Sect Master!”
“Yes! Subordinate will definitely live up to Sect Master Yang’s trust!” Liang Yong replied solemnly.
“Alright! I hope you won’t disappoint me. Relay my orders: Tell your people to stand down, if they don’t, they will likely all die,” Yang Kai chuckled, his face filled with amicability, as if all the unpleasantness from a moment ago had never happened. Finishing issuing instructions, Yang Kai took out a communication artifact and poured his Divine Sense into it so he could tell Ye Xi Yun and the others to stop their assault.
After a quarter of an hour, the Inner City of Heaven Battling City became calm, but the dead bodies and blood all over the ground remained as evidence of the fierce battle which had taken place here.
From the underground hall, everyone else departed to calm the remaining Heaven Battling Union disciples and convey Yang Kai’s order, leaving only Liang Yong and Yang Kai.
“Where’s Heaven Battling Union’s storehouse? Take me to have a look,” Yang Kai ordered Liang Yong.
“Yes, please come with me, Sect Master,” Liang Yong did not dare to refuse and quickly led the way.
As a Sect that stood at the peak of Shadowed Star for thousands of years, the accumulated wealth of Heaven Battling Union was naturally unimaginable.
This was especially the case since it controlled Heaven Battling City! The wealth gained from Heaven Battling City every year was nothing short of extraordinary.
But now, all of these resources had become Yang Kai’s property.
It took a full two days for Yang Kai to organize the things in Heaven Battling Union’s storehouse and store them into Space Rings.
In two days, Liang Yong and the other surviving Elders unleashed a startling purge, eliminating all those who dared to oppose them as well as anyone who once strongly supported Qu Zheng and Mo Xiao Sheng, bringing what remained of Heaven Battling Union’s forces under their complete control.
News of the great battle had already spread. The tens of millions of cultivators who had withdrawn from Heaven Battling City had now returned, and although one of Shadowed Star’s great behemoths had fallen, these individuals’ lives didn’t change much.
High Heaven Sect’s Starship did not damage the outer city, so these people only needed to return to their original stores with their goods and they could reopen for business. The only real change was that their taxes would now be turned over to High Heaven Sect rather than Heaven Battling Union.
Not many people had thought that this was how things would end.
Heaven Battling Union had disappeared, and High Heaven Sect only relied on a single Starship to destroy this behemoth.
The tyrannical power of this Origin King Grade Starship was deeply rooted in everyone’s mind now.
Five days later, the pitch-black Starship flew out from Heaven Battling City and shot towards the horizon. In the main square of the Inner City, Liang Yong and the other high-level officials who once belonged to the Heaven Battling Union respectfully sent them off before letting out sighs of relief.
Although they had already surrendered and Yang Kai showed no signs of purging them, each day was one that they could not feel at ease. All of them were worried Yang Kai would go back on his word and kill them, and it wasn’t until this moment that they could finally put down this worry.
Yang Kai had left Ge Qi behind in Heaven Battling City to serve as Vice City Lord!
In name, Ge Qi was there to assist Liang Yong, but everyone knew that his real purpose was to monitor the latter.
Liang Yong had betrayed and stabbed Qu Zheng in the back to save his own life. Yang Kai would not leave such a snake without proper supervision, otherwise, it would be impossible to guarantee that he wouldn’t stir up trouble.
If it was anyone else remaining here, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to rest easy, but Ge Qi was different.
Although Ge Qi only had a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, he was raised by and grew up under Ye Xi Yun’s tutelage.
As long as Ye Xi Yun still lived, Liang Yong wouldn’t dare attack Ge Qi. Leaving Ge Qi behind to remind Liang Yong of his position from time to time should be enough to deter the latter from having crooked thoughts and ensure that the required tribute would be handed over to High Heaven Sect in full each year.
When the Starship left, not only did Liang Yong and his group see them off, the entire Outer City’s population gave them a resounding cheer as they waved towards the Starship with happy expressions.
The destruction of the Heaven Battling Union had made these cultivators, who were usually exploited and humiliated, cry out in happiness. On top of that, Liang Yong had ordered all taxes in the city to be lowered, so the general populace was happy.
From just this action, it was clear Liang Yong had some talent as a leader. Knowing that Heaven Battling City had changed ownership, it was precisely the time to buy people’s favour, therefore he took such action on behalf of Yang Kai to raise both of their images.
Inside the Starship, the Origin Returning Realm masters from High Heaven Sect were immersed in a joyful mood themselves as they counted their own gains, laughing and smiling the whole time.
Everything in Heaven Battling Union storehouse was packed into Yang Kai’s Space Rings, just waiting to be taken back to fill up High Heaven Sect’s reserves.
But the spoils Chang Qi and the others obtained from killing enemy cultivators were left to themselves.
Each of these people had killed countless enemies, so how could their harvest be anything but rich?
Even Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu both sat cross-legged on the ground, constantly pouring things from one Space Ring after another, taking whatever materials they needed while discarding the rest.
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter when he saw this and even Ye Xi Yun couldn’t help smiling to the side.
“Sect Master, since we were delayed for five days in Heaven Battling City, Thunder Typhoon Sect should have already received words of what transpired here. I’m afraid their defences will be far more difficult for us to breach.”
Suddenly, Ye Xi Yun reminded him.
“En.” Yang Kai is gently nodded. In fact, he also knew that speed was of critical importance in war, but he had no choice but to remain in Heaven Battling City for some time; after all, Yang Kai didn’t want to simply abandon such a massive industry. Today’s High Heaven Sect disciples were quite scarce and didn’t require so many materials, but what about in the future?
Yang Kai had to plan for the long-term.
“It’s fine, since Heaven Battling Union couldn’t stop us, Thunder Typhoon Sect shouldn’t be able to either. No matter how tough their defences are, they’ll still be useless as long as they can’t break the defences of our Starship.”
“Nevertheless, Sect Master should act carefully!” Ye Xi Yun cautioned. Although she was much older than Yang Kai and had far greater experience, Yang Kai was still High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master, so the final decisions for important matters would always rest with him. All she could do was advise him.
“En, have the disciples increase our speed a bit, Thunder Typhoon Canyon is a considerable distance away after all!” Yang Kai ordered.
A moment later, the Starship, which was already flying as swiftly as the wind, increased its speed further.
Thunder Typhoon Canyon was situated amongst a lofty mountain valley with an extremely wide area and rich World Energy aura.
It was the headquarters of Thunder Typhoon Sect. Unlike Heaven Battling Union, which made its headquarters inside a city, the headquarters of Thunder Typhoon Sect was situated far away from the crowded hustle and bustle. The World Energy aura here was wonderful and the nearby mountains provided excellent grounds for their disciples to go out for experience. It wasn’t an exaggeration to describe it as a cultivation paradise.
Since the founding of Thunder Typhoon Sect, Thunder Typhoon Canyon has always been its territory.
When Thunder Typhoon Sect was not well-known, many Sects had taken a fancy to this treasured land and tried to capture it, but all of them had failed and instead become stepping stones to Thunder Typhoon Sect’s rise.
As such situations repeated themselves, Thunder Typhoon Sect grew rapidly and eventually became one of the two giants of Shadowed Star.
The perimeter of Thunder Typhoon Canyon was surrounded by a poisonous miasma and was difficult to approach for outsiders. This provided a layer of natural defence for Thunder Typhoon Sect. To cross it, disciples needed to take a special detoxification pill in advance or use the Space Array directly.
Otherwise, even Saint Kings would not be able to withstand the miasma’s corrosion. In the case of light poisoning, one’s limbs would go numb and their Saint Qi would not circulate well, but in severe cases, people were known to fall to the ground and die instantly.
This was the largest reason why Thunder Typhoon Sect was able to maintain control of this land.
In addition to this natural barrier, it was rumoured that there were countless Spirit Arrays arranged inside Thunder Typhoon Canyon that would send any who dare intrude to their death.
Although Yang Kai had his Starship to rely on, he did not take these defences lightly. Thunder Typhoon Canyon was different from Heaven Battling City; after rushing in, it might be difficult to get out.
So after the Starship passed through the poisonous miasma, Yang Kai ordered the ship to slow down significantly while constantly scanning their surroundings and proceeding cautiously.
However, to his surprise, the road they passed through was extremely smooth. Let alone triggering any of the Spirit Arrays, the Starship did not even encounter a single living person.
Under the investigation of his powerful Divine Sense, Yang Kai was able to determine the situation within a radius of a hundred kilometres!
The massive Thunder Typhoon Sect headquarters was empty, seemingly having been evacuated early.
Yang Kai frowned.
Ye Xi Yun was also shocked. Although they had rushed into Heaven Battling City and destroyed Heaven Battling Union with unstoppable force, demonstrating the brilliance of High Heaven Sect, Thunder Typhoon Sect was also a well-known great Sect so there was no reason for them to simply retreat without a fight.
How much courage would it take to give up one’s Ancestral Foundation which they had occupied for almost ten thousand years? What kind of prestige would a leader need to have their entire Sect’s population obey such an order?
Yang Kai could not help feeling that Fang Peng was a more difficult opponent than Qu Zheng.
“Yang Kai, Thunder Typhoon Sect actually withdrew ahead of time, what should we do?” Qian Tong asked, somewhat dumbfounded. He had thought there would be a repeat of previous events, where they fought a difficult battle, but reality had turned out very differently.
“Interesting!” Yang Kai sneered.
The foundation of a Sect lies in its cultivators, not its territory, if the people survived, there would always be a chance to make a comeback; Fang Peng clearly understood this truth.
High Heaven Sect’s punch landing on soft cotton caused everyone inside the Starship to feel somewhat vexed.
“Since we’ve come already, there’s no reason to simply leave empty-handed. Level Thunder Typhoon Canyon,” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Since Fang Peng doesn’t want this ten thousand year legacy, we don’t need to leave it for him.”
“Ruthless!” Qian Tong’s mouth twitched.
After the order was issued, Crystal Cannons began firing, razing everything in the Starship’s path.
The violent rumbling sounds never ceased as the many structures which composed Thunder Typhoon Sect’s headquarters were turned to dust under the Crystal Cannon fire.
As he was observing leisurely though, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed, and a look of surprise came to his face as he sent out his Divine Sense towards a certain direction.
He sensed a not weak energy fluctuation from that direction, not like an artifact, but rather like a large number of Saint Crystals piled up together.
Had Thunder Typhoon Sect evacuated in a hurry and failed to collect this wealth, or was it some kind of trap?
Regardless of which it was, no one disliked having more Saint Crystals, and from the strength of the energy fluctuations he sensed, Yang Kai estimated that there were at least a few hundred million of them at that location. Such a number was a massive amount of wealth even for Thunder Typhoon Sect.
“There’s something interesting over on that side, I’ll go check it out,” Yang Kai stood up and said.
“Sect Master, it may be a plot,” Ye Xi Yun frowned.
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai grinned, “While it’s obviously some kind of trap, I still want to know what tricks Fang Peng is up to. You all remain in the Starship; I’ll be right back.”
Saying so, Yang Kai has rushed out of the Starship before soaring off towards the source of the energy fluctuations.
A short time later, Yang Kai arrived in front of a grand palace and released his Divine Sense to inspect it, not encountering any obstruction to his investigation.
The palace was empty save for some tables and chairs, but there was a secret room which was piled high with a countless number of High-Rank Saint Crystals below it.
There were indeed hundreds of millions.
Yang Kai didn’t want to let go of such a huge amount of wealth, and emboldened by confidence in his strength, he proceeded straight into the palace, fumbled around for a moment to find a secret door, then went straight down to the secret room.
After a while, Yang Kai came to the secret room and when he looked inside, his eyes could not help lighting up. After making sure that there was nothing suspicious around him, he waved his hands and began sweeping the piles of Saint Crystals into his Space Rings.
At the same time, in a different secret room far below Thunder Typhoon Sect headquarters.
At this moment, five elderly cultivators were sitting in the middle of this secret room. Each of these five people had snow-white hair and appeared extremely old, as if they had experienced endless years of wind and rain and no longer had much vitality left in their bodies.
However, each of these five was a master at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm!
The five elders each sat at the corner of an elaborate Spirit Array which had clearly been arranged far in advance. This Spirit Array was incredibly profound and radiated a dangerous aura.
Silent, with no Saint Qi fluctuations to speak of, these five more closely resembled corpses than people.
But when Yang Kai walked into the secret room above, the five elders seemed to sense his presence and opened their eyes.
“He’s come!” A yellow-faced old man muttered.
“Indeed, a bold young lad,” Another old woman nodded lightly.
“Since he’s come, let us begin!” A third person said lightly, “Heaven Battling Union was unable to resist that Origin King Grade Starship, so my Thunder Typhoon Sect should also be unable to resist, but if that boy wants to seize our ten-thousand-year foundation, he will have to pay for it with his life.”
“Haha, even if he loses his life to this Profound Yin Ten Sides Array, he can still be proud.”
“Enough idle chatter, Junior Brothers, Junior Sisters, it has been this old master’s honour to know you these past few hundred years, but our time of separation has now come. I wish all of you good fortune on the journey ahead!” The first yellow-faced old man spoke again.
It seemed that his prestige among this group was remarkably high, so after he spoke, the others also wore solemn looks.
The old woman to his side glanced over and smiled lightly, “Senior Brother too.”
A trace of remembrance flashed across the yellow-faced old man’s eyes, but soon his expression became resolute and he uttered a soft voice, “Begin!”
As soon as his voice fell, he began to madly pour his Saint Qi into the node of the Spirit Array before him.
The other four followed suit.
The five-cornered array suddenly released a dazzling light and as the intensity of the glow increased, the Spirit Array seemed to come alive and began rotating, turning faster and faster at a rapid pace.
As this Spirit Array activated, the complexions of the five elders turned pale and the last remnants of their vitality faded rapidly.
This Spirit Array not only seemed to absorb their Saint Qi, but also their vitality.
Letting out muffled shouts, the five elders continued exerting their full effort.
Slowly, this Spirit Array began to tremble and as it rapidly rotated and began to rise upwards, soon shooting towards the ceiling of the secret room and then disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this scene, all five of these elders smiled before collapsing limply on the ground, each of them now so emaciated and weak that it became clear they would soon die.
At the same time, in the secret room filled with Saint Crystals, Yang Kai’s movements paused and he frowned deeply.
A sudden sense of unease had swept over him at that moment.
Before he could identify the source of his unease though, a powerful energy fluctuation suddenly appeared beneath his feet and a massive Spirit Array flew out from below, directly enveloping the entire secret room. The Spirit Array’s patterns seemed to be formed from the strongest of metals, instantly transforming the secret room into a solid cage.
Violent energy fluctuations spread from all around and dazzling rays of light blasted out from below the countless Saint Crystals as a fearful aura began to rise.
Yang Kai swiftly realized what was happening and with a sudden wave of his hand, swept away a massive pile of Saint Crystals to reveal a melon-sized crimson-red crystal which had been buried below. At this moment, the red crystal was emitting a dazzling light and an astonishing and unstable energy fluctuation was pulsing from within it.
“A Profound Explosion Crystal!” Yang Kai’s eyes bulged as he cried out, “So that’s what this is all about!”
Thunder Typhoon Sect had used hundreds of millions of Saint Crystals to set up this secret room knowing that even if people understood it was a trap, they would still jump into it.
After all, greed was a universal trait!
However, once anyone entered this secret room, Thunder Typhoon Sect would spring this deadly trap.
The Spirit Array which had just appeared did not have any kind of lethality and was instead just a restraint to imprison people inside this room. The real danger came from the Profound Explosion Crystals hidden below the piles of Saint Crystals!
Profound Explosive Crystals were rare treasures that had extremely unstable energy stored within them and would explode if exposed to some kind of shock. Under normal circumstances, they were not very useful, and because they were rare and expensive, cultivators barely ever used them.
Thunder Typhoon Sect had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to find such a large piece of Profound Explosive Crystal, and more than one at that. Below the piles of Saint Crystals, Yang Kai spotted at least five places which were glowing bright red.
In the face of such a massive explosion, even an Origin King Realm master would not necessarily be able to survive, let alone Yang Kai.
Thunder Typhoon Sect genuinely thought highly of him!
As such thoughts flashed across his mind, the red light became more and more violent, and in the next instant, a thunderous boom rang out, vaporizing the entire palace in an instant.
A red beam of light that pierced the sky shot out from the ground and Thunder Typhoon Sect’s headquarters was completely levelled in the enormous subsequent explosion.
The wave of energy which was released swept out like a great tide, bursting through everything in its path, causing the light from the sun itself to appear dull.
A dozen kilometres away, inside the Starship, everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at this scene in shock.
Even Ye Xi Yun’s beautiful face paled slightly, but fortunately her will was strong, so when she saw the terrifying aftermath approaching, she quickly yelled, “Activate the shield!”
Soon, a thin membrane-like shell appeared around the Starship.
The violent winds and waves of energy hit the Starship in the next instant and sent it hurtling into the canyon side.
Inside the Starship, everyone was thrown off their feet. With faces filled with horror, they all instinctually urged their Saint Qi to protect their bodies while summoning their defensive artifacts.
Inside a deep underground secret room, a Void Crack suddenly appeared, and Yang Kai’s figure fell out, his face still covered in some lingering fear.
It was not that Fang Peng did not know he could tear space, but he had still set up such a destructive trap. Likely, Fang Peng understood that he would not be able to preserve Thunder Typhoon Sect’s headquarters, so instead of allowing Yang Kai to pick through it with impunity, he had decided to take the initiative to destroy it. Additionally, perhaps Fang Peng was hoping that, by some stroke of luck, Yang Kai would not notice the Profound Explosion Crystals until it was too late.
Even if it was uncertain, it was worth a shot!
In any case, Fang Peng’s plan had failed. Now, before the Profound Explosion Crystals burst, Yang Kai had escaped, and following the direction the strange Spirit Array had appeared from, travelled deep underground.
Inside the underground secret room, which was only dimly lit, five people lay on the ground, their breathing clearly somewhat shallow.
Yang Kai could see immediately that these people would die soon so he could not help frowning.
It seemed that the five of them were the ones who had acted just now; after all, in such a big Sect that boasted ten thousand years of history, there would always be some people who were willing to stay and die with the Sect at the most dangerous moment, giving their lives for it.
“You really didn’t die; Fang Peng wasn’t mistaken!” A weak voice came from the side, and when Yang Kai looked over, he saw a skinny yellow-faced old man lying there staring back at him with a look of disbelief and some slight unwillingness, “Space Force truly deserves its reputation!”
“Senior’s praise is unwarranted!” Yang Kai snorted before walking over and stopping about five steps in front of this yellow-faced old man, “Even knowing that this kind of petty plot couldn’t kill me, Fang Peng still made the five of you stay behind just to die? He truly is ruthless!”
The yellow-faced old man simply chuckled in between gasps, “He did not ask us to stay, we asked him to let us stay. Boy, you are going to try to sow discord even in this situation?”
A slightly awkward light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes before he chose to remain silent.
The yellow-faced old man let out a slight cough before continuing, “The five of us didn’t have long to live, so if we could bury you along with us, it would naturally be a huge gain. This was the last act we could do for our Sect before dying, so even knowing the chances were slim, we had to try.”
“The dying need not speak so much nonsense,” Yang Kai spat disinterestedly, “Tell me where Fang Peng is and I’ll leave your corpse whole!”
“Haha, seems you’re one for straight talk, Little Boy. En, if I had met you a few hundred years earlier, perhaps this old master would have wanted to become friends! Fang Peng said… he said…”
“What did he say?”
“He said you can go to Star Emperor Mountain… to find him!” The yellow-faced old man seemed to have exhausted the last of his strength squeezing out these few words, his vitality completely disappearing once he was done.
The other four in the room had already departed for the next world while Yang Kai and the yellow-faced old man were talking.
Frowning as he glanced around at these five, Yang Kai slowly shook his head. Not having any interest in moving them, he stretched out his hand and swiped the air in front of him, opening up a Void Crack into which he disappeared.
…..
Above Thunder Typhoon Canyon, High Heaven Sect’s Starship hovered mid-air and opened its main hatch wide, allowing Ye Xi Yun and the others to rush outside and scan the area anxiously.
The explosion had subsided, but when they looked around, the originally magnificent Thunder Typhoon Sect headquarters had been reduced to rubble and a giant crater over a thousand kilometres in diameter had appeared.
Yang Kai, however, was nowhere to be seen!
Everyone felt as if their hearts were caught in their throats.
If it were not for the Starship’s protective barrier, the intense explosions just now would likely have killed all of them, let alone Yang Kai who was likely at the centre of the blast.
Everyone was worried about him, worried he had fallen here.
“Are you looking for me?” A voice suddenly came from behind, shocking everyone and causing them all to turn their heads around to discover Yang Kai standing not far away, completely unscathed.
Everyone’s expressions became extremely weird as they did not even notice when Yang Kai appeared, as if he had suddenly materialized out of thin air.
“Yang Kai, are you okay?” Qian Tong asked hurriedly.
“I’m fine, let’s go inside first,” Yang Kai stepped into the Starship, turning around once to beckon the others to follow.
A short time later, the Starship turned around and flew out of Thunder Typhoon Canyon.
Inside the Starship, Yang Kai briefly recounted the results of this trip, drawing a sigh from everyone’s lips.
“Those five should be the Grand Elders of Thunder Typhoon Sect, each of them at least one or two generations older than Old Fei and myself!” Qian Tong whispered, “Actually, all great forces have such characters, there are even a few in Shadow Moon Hall, but they normally don’t involve themselves in worldly affairs and are in seclusion all year round. Unless some major event occurs, like a threat to the Sect’s existence, they will not appear, choosing to die from old age instead!”
“En, although those five were enemies, their actions are still worthy of admiration,” Fei Zhi Tu nodded lightly to the side.
“Regardless of whether they are respectable or not, Fang Peng has now escaped to Star Emperor Mountain, which saves me from wasting time to find him,” Yang Kai snorted softly. If Fang Peng had gone into hiding, it would truly be troublesome to look for him as he could be anywhere on Shadowed Star, but since he had chosen to retreat to Star Emperor Mountain, it made life much easier for Yang Kai.
The Starship’s next destination was Star Emperor Mountain, after all!
Fang Peng had likely guessed this too, so he had chosen to go there to wait.
“Great Elder,” Yang Kai raised his head to look at Ye Xi Yun, “Now that we’ve reached this point, I believe you should have nothing left to hide. I haven’t asked you anything about Star Emperor Mountain before, but now, I have no choice. Please explain its situation to us, the more detailed the better.”
“This Queen never intended to conceal anything, it’s just that Sect Master never asked about it before,” Ye Xi Yun brushed her hair back behind her ear, “Since Sect Master wants to know, this Queen will naturally explain everything she knows.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
“Uh… Yang Kai, should Old Fei and I leave?” Qian Tong hesitated. Understanding that Yang Kai and Ye Xi Yun’s discussion would be about the secrets of Star Emperor Mountain, he felt awkward remaining.
“No need, there are no outsiders here,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
“Then… alright,” Qian Tong no longer insisted, sitting back down as he looked towards Ye Xi Yun and Yang Kai, listening intently. He was also quite curious about Star Emperor Mountain; after all, this great force had always been extremely mysterious, but it was still the undisputed strongest force on Shadowed Star.
“Where should I start?” Ye Xi Yun wrinkled her brow slightly, as if trying to find the appropriate words. After a while, she continued, “The outside rumours that say Star Emperor Mountain is related to the Great Emperor are not groundless; in fact, they’re essentially true! Star Emperor Mountain is best described as a branch of the Supreme Profound Sect!”
“A branch of the Supreme Profound Sect?” Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
“Yes!”
“Supreme Profound Sect?” Qian Tong frowned, “What Sect is this? Why haven’t I ever heard of it before?”
Fei Zhi Tu also shook his head slowly, indicating he too had no idea about this force.
Yang Kai grinned and explained, “The site occupied by my High Heaven Sect was the former headquarters of Supreme Profound Sect. It was an ancient Sect which dissolved over ten thousand years ago. You two never having heard of it is understandable.”
“So that’s it!” Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu nodded in understanding.
“Please continue, Great Elder,” Yang Kai motioned.
“Supreme Profound Sect was the place where the Great Emperor resided on Shadowed Star, and it was also the force which was nourished by the Great Emperor. But because a terrible enemy on par with the Great Emperor appeared one day, a catastrophic battle broke out. Although the Great Emperor emerged victoriously, she then fell into a deep sleep after that great battle to heal and the region around Supreme Profound Sect became the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Sect Master should know all these things.”
“En, I’ve heard these details before,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
Yang Kai wore a casual expression as he truly had learned about this history some time ago, allowing him to remain calm. On the other hand, Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes were bulging at this moment and their breathing had become quick as astonished expressions filled their faces.
Although Ye Xi Yun had only said a few words, it was enough for them to glean some incredible information.
The rumoured Starry Sky Great Emperor, who could cover the Heavens with one hand, actually had an enemy who could rival her! And during some kind of fierce battle, even though she managed to kill that enemy, the Great Emperor seemed to have been seriously injured.
Did that enemy have the same cultivation as the Great Emperor? This was a frightening thought.
After the two of them fought, the Flowing Flame Sand Field appeared on Shadowed Star…
Moreover, listening to the meaning of Ye Xi Yun’s words, the Great Emperor seemed to still be alive and was only asleep right now!
As a legendary figure, the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s prestige was rooted deeply in the hearts of all cultivators, and her strength was undisputed. According to legend, she could pluck the moon from the sky, destroy whole Cultivation Stars in a single attack, and traverse the entire Star Field in a single day.
There were simply too many legends about the Great Emperor, most of them fantastical and near unbelievable. Although Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu had profound respect for the Great Emperor, they had never thought such a powerful existence was still alive.
At this moment, when they heard such secrets for the first time, the shock in their hearts was beyond describable, and both of them lost their composure and ability to even think for quite some time.
This was also because Ye Xi Yun was the one saying these things, allowing them to somewhat believe them. If someone else had been telling this story, the two of them would likely just sneer.
“Regardless of the outcome of that great battle, Supreme Profound Sect was deeply affected, suffering heavy losses with very few survivors. Those who did survive that calamity could only move elsewhere. They were the founders of Star Emperor Mountain!” Ye Xi Yun began speaking again, pulling Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu attention back to reality.
“On Star Emperor Mountain, there is a portrait of the Great Emperor, so this Queen on that day…” Ye Xi Yun hesitated here, not sure if she should finish her words.
Yang Kai, however, knew what she wanted to say.
The reason she showed such reverence and respect towards Yang Yan when she saw her was because Ye Xi Yun recognized that Yang Yan was the Great Emperor as her image perfectly matched with the portrait which had been passed down in Star Emperor Mountain since ancient times.
Ye Xi Yun had studied the Great Emperor’s portrait countless times over the past few hundred years.
“The ancient founders of Star Emperor Mountain decreed that Star Emperor Mountain only existed to serve the Great Emperor, and that the Great Emperor would awaken again one day. At that time, Star Emperor Mountain was to become the Great Emperor’s right arm! For over ten thousand years, every generation Sect Master of Star Emperor Mountain has abided by these ancient teachings, never involving themselves in the matters of the outside world, nor interfering in external grudges or grievances; only calmly waiting for the day when the Great Emperor would awaken. During the hundreds of years this Queen led Star Emperor Mountain, she too upheld this philosophy and mindset.”
“However, too many years have passed, and the legacy of the Great Emperor has become more the stuff of myth and legend than fact. Not only do outsiders doubt how authentic the existence of the Great Emperor is, but even those from Star Emperor Mountain have begun to believe such ramblings. Those who do not wish to follow our traditions and seek to deny the legacy of the Great Emperor sought to dominate Shadowed Star! A hundred years ago, this Queen was plotted against and ultimately forced out of Star Emperor Mountain and into seclusion.”
“The one who forced you out was unwilling to remain unknown and wanted to reign as a true ruler, right?” Yang Kai sneered. Although Ye Xi Yun had not spoken too clearly, Yang Kai wasn’t a fool and soon understood the twists and turns of the story.
“En, and judging from the reactions of Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect, that usurper had been planning this move for some time. He actually subdued Qu Zheng and Fang Peng secretly and made them serve him using some unknown promise of benefits!” Ye Xi Yun nodded lightly.
“Such things are inevitable.” Yang Kai frowned.
In truth, when Yang Kai first heard rumours about the Starry Sky Great Emperor, he hadn’t taken them too seriously; after all, there were always legends of ancient times and great cultivators, but most of them were simply made up by people who are idle and bored with no link to reality.
He used to think that the Great Emperor’s existence was one such made-up rumour.
However, as Yang Kai came into contact with more and more things in the Star Field and understood more and more about its history, he began to believe that the Great Emperor had indeed existed and was not just a fabricated legend, all the way up until Yang Yan began recovering her memories.
It wasn’t only Yang Kai who thought this way, countless people in the Star Field thought so as well.
Although Star Emperor Mountain was a branch of Supreme Profound Sect, the reason for its founding had lost most of its weight after ten thousand years of waiting.
Having the necessary strength to dominate Shadowed Star, but instead being forced to cultivate in seclusion, dying of old age with no one ever even knowing of one’s existence; such a fate may not have bothered Ye Xi Yun, but it surely tormented those with ambitions.
Nevertheless, Star Emperor Mountain had strict rules, and anyone who violated their ancestral precepts would be killed without pardon.
If one wanted to break these precepts, they first had to gain absolute control.
As a result, Ye Xi Yun was driven away, one day.
“I remember that you were poisoned a few years ago when Ge Qi brought that Star Emperor Token to Heavenly Fate City to trade for a detoxification pill…” Yang Kai looked at Ye Xi Yun thoughtfully.
“En, it was that person’s doing,” Ye Xi Yun nodded, “After all, his position was not earned righteously, so each day this Queen lived on, he would live in fear. It took him a hundred years to find the place where I had secluded myself after he secretly poisoned me. Fortunately, Sect Master possessed the perfect pill for my condition, otherwise, even if this Queen did not die, my cultivation definitely would have dropped. This time, this Queen should settle accounts with that man.”
“Every grudge has its revenge, just as it should be,” Yang Kai grinned.
Ye Xi Yun brushed her hair back and said leisurely, “Actually, it doesn’t matter to this Queen whether she holds the position of Sect Master or not, but that man abandoned the ancestral traditions of Star Emperor Mountain, which is akin to betraying the Great Emperor: An intolerable offence. This Queen must clean up the Sect on behalf of the fallen ancestors.”
When she declared so, Ye Xi Yun’s beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent.
Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu nearby couldn’t help shivering when they felt this aura.
“How many masters does Star Emperor Mountain have?” Yang Kai asked.
Ye Xi Yun laughed, “Actually, Star Emperor Mountain has always had very few members. Although it occupies the best cultivation land on Shadowed Star, the number of people in each generation never exceeds three hundred. When this Queen was in charge of Star Emperor Mountain, there were actually even fewer than that, only a trivial two hundred. The numbers there should be similar now.”
“Two hundred!?” Yang Kai, Qian Tong, and the others present were dumbfounded. Such a small number was unexpected. Everyone knew that there were not many members of Star Emperor Mountain, but no one thought there would be this few.
Could such a force really stand at the top of Shadowed Star’s power pyramid?
“Sect Master must not underestimate these two hundred people. Of these two hundred, at least eighty percent are Origin Returning Realm masters, with around forty or fifty having reached the Third-Order. Moreover, Star Emperor Mountain also has several Origin King Grade artifacts and even some Emperor Artifacts! This level of combat power cannot be belittled,” Ye Xi Yun urged in a deep voice.
“Emperor Artifacts…” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Like that Annihilation Thunder Bead?”
“En, the Annihilation Thunder Bead is one of them, but while the Annihilation Thunder Bead is powerful, Sect Master has already managed to survive a strike from it, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you to face it again. If one can avoid this first strike, that Emperor Artifact is useless.”
“Alright, since the person using it isn’t strong enough, that Emperor Artifact really can’t play much of a role,” Yang Kai nodded.
He had suffered a great loss because he did not know anything about the Annihilation Thunder Bead last time, but if Yang Kai were to face it again now, he should be able to deal with it calmly.
Although he did not have to worry about himself, whether the Starship could block the Annihilation Thunder Bead’s blow was something Yang Kai was uncertain about.
“In addition to the Annihilation Thunder Bead, there are two other Origin King Grade artifacts that we need to be wary of. Star Emperor Mountain originally had three Origin King Grade artifacts, but the Bone Incinerating Flame Lamp was brought out by this Queen. As for the remaining two…”
A single great force controlling three Origin King Grade artifacts was astonishing on Shadowed Star. For example, Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union both possessed one Origin King Grade artifact and treated their respective artifact as their Sect’s highest treasure, never daring to use it lightly.
But now, Heaven Battling Union’s Origin King Grade artifact had become one of Yang Kai’s trophies.
Next, Ye Xi Yun described the power and appearance of the two Origin King Grade artifacts that remained on Star Emperor Mountain in detail and about the various aspects Yang Kai needed to be careful of.
Yang Kai listened very seriously.
Frankly speaking, Star Emperor Mountain’s strength was far greater than Heaven Battling Union or Thunder Typhoon Sect. Although the total number of cultivators that belonged to Star Emperor Mountain was small, the proportion of high-level cultivators was completely unbalanced. With fifty Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters alone, it would not be a problem for Star Emperor Mountain to dominate Shadowed Star and sweep away any Sect that opposed them.
Seeing his brow furrow, Ye Xi Yun smiled and said, “Sect Master does not need to worry too much. Although that usurper has been in charge of Star Emperor Mountain for a hundred years, his behaviour and beliefs are incompatible with the philosophy of Star Emperor Mountain, not to mention that he seized his position unjustly, so he likely hasn’t been able to subdue the other masters who reside there. Even if he has won some people over during these years, this Queen also has her own supporters!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he looked at her brightly.
“In the past, many received kindness from this Queen on Star Emperor Mountain, so they likely will not act against me. Moreover, for the past hundred years, they thought that this Queen was dead, which made it easier for them to accept that man’s rule, but now… In all honesty, Sect Master, since the day this Queen reappeared a few years ago, some people have secretly contacted this Queen and asked her to return to Star Emperor Mountain, but this Queen always refused.”
“Such a thing happened?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“At this point, this Queen has no reason to hide anything,” Ye Xi Yun smiled lightly. “Ever since she was a child, this Queen’s Honoured Master instilled the idea into her that the Great Emperor was supreme. Now that this Queen can directly serve the Great Emperor, returning to Star Emperor Mountain just to seize back an empty title is pointless. However, since Sect Master now intends to attack Star Emperor Mountain, this Queen should naturally put in her best effort.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai was extremely pleased.
He had still been debating whether to use the Starship’s great power to conquer Star Emperor Mountain just as he had Heaven Battling Union, but without full assurance of success, he had been hesitating. Now that he heard what Ye Xi Yun said, he could not help but feel overjoyed.
“To that end, this Queen would like to request Sect Master give her a few days so I can visit Star Emperor Mountain in advance. Not everyone there is an enemy of Sect Master.”
“You can act as you see fit, I’ll just wait for good news,” Yang Kai agreed.
“Good, then this Queen will take one step ahead, I hope Sect Master can catch up slowly!” Ye Xi Yun was a decisive woman, so after she finished their discussions, she immediately prepared to depart for Emperor Mountain.
A short time later, a brilliant beam of light shot out from the Starship and flew straight towards the direction of Star Emperor Mountain.
After Ye Xi Yun left, the Starship slowed its pace considerably.
Since he had to wait for Ye Xi Yun to process things ahead of their arrival, Yang Kai did not plan to rush forward and instead decided to enter secluded cultivation.
Yang Kai had many things to attend to; he had yet to even digest all the benefits he obtained from the Emperor Garden last time. Whether it was studying the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture or perfecting his Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique, both required enormous time and effort.
Moreover, Yang Kai needed to spend some time refining the Revitalizing Jade Cream to purify all the blood in his body into pure Golden Blood.
The Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art also needed to be cultivated.
With so many things to do, Yang Kai always found himself lacking time, so now that some had suddenly been freed up, he was not willing to waste it.
On Fallen Emperor Mountain, because Yang Kai had absorbed such a large quantity of Pure Spirit Qi, his cultivation had reached the peak of the First-Order Origin Returning Realm and it was now possible for him to break through any time he wished.
Yang Kai didn’t dare to break through too quickly though, as that would cause his foundation to become unstable, so he kept suppressing this impulse and did not actively try to increase his Saint Qi capacity, instead choosing to focus on cultivating his various Secret Techniques and absorbing Alchemy knowledge.
This way, even without raising his realm, he could still enhance his strength.
Inside a cultivation room aboard the Starship, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, took out the Sun’s True Essence and the other five elements supreme treasures, laid out a simple Spirit Array, then began absorbing the pure elemental energy within these treasures to temper his body following the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. At the same time, he used his Soul Avatar inside his Knowledge Sea to comprehend the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture.
Even focusing on two different tasks at once, Yang Kai did not feel troubled and greatly increased his efficiency instead.
Time passed slowly, and ten or so days passed by in what seemed like just a moment.
While Yang Kai was immersed in cultivating the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art and studying the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture, he suddenly realized that someone was calling out to him with their Divine Sense.
His brow twitching slightly, Yang Kai returned his consciousness to his body and put away the five supreme treasures before exiting the cultivation room.
In a certain hall of the Starship, a group of powerhouses had gathered.
Ye Xi Yun had also returned, but the atmosphere inside the hall still felt a bit tense as not only was Qian Tong and the others present, but there were also some unfamiliar faces mixed in.
These strangers consisted of a solemn-looking middle-aged man, a dignified looking beauty, and a skinny old man whose eyes appeared particularly energetic.
All three of these new faces were peak level Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, and from the Saint Qi fluctuations emanating from them, it was clear they were a fair bit stronger than ordinary Origin Realm masters.
Even Qian Tong could not help showing some trepidation when facing these three.