The days aboard the Starship were quite uneventful.
Time passed by as Yang Kai quietly cultivated in seclusion.
One day though, a disciple came to knock on the door and reported, “Sect Master, we’ve arrived!”
“We’ve arrived?” Yang Kai opened his eyes, a hint of excitement flashing across them, and his figure flickered, leaving his room and entering the hall.
At this time, the Starship was quietly moored a million or so kilometres outside a Cultivation Star.
When the disciples in charge of controlling the Starship saw Yang Kai appear, they all turned to him, waiting for his orders.
Without Yang Kai’s order, they didn’t dare act rashly.
However… was this Cultivation Star really the Sect Master’s homeland? Why did it seem so… desolate?
When the disciples looked at Tong Xuan Realm, they all felt puzzled.
When Yang Kai’s eyes landed on Tong Xuan Realm, however, his expression dimmed slightly.
In the past, his vision had not been profound enough, and he had never witnessed the wonders of the Star Field, so he wasn’t able to judge Tong Xuan Realm accurately. On the contrary, he used to think Tong Xuan Realm was a rich cultivation land.
But now that he had returned from the Star Field after several dozen years of cultivation and exploration, he could see what was wrong with Tong Xuan Realm at a glance.
It was old!
An aged, desolate, and somewhat melancholic air lingered about this star, with a hint of grey in its aura, showing that it was clearly weakening.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched.
He never knew his homeland was in such a state before, or perhaps he just never realized it was a problem until now.
It seemed that on Tong Xuan Realm, the Saint Realm being the peak of the Martial Dao was not without cause.
This was different from Shadowed Star. Shadowed Star’s World Energy was abundant, but cultivators were unable to comprehend the mysteries of the Origin King Realm due to the invisible suppression of its World Principles.
Tong Xuan Realm, on the other hand, didn’t have this kind of World Principles suppression, but… the World Energy here was so thin that it simply couldn’t meet the requirements for cultivators to advance to higher realms.
The Saint Realm was its limit.
At this moment, Yang Kai gained insight into the source of Tong Xuan Realm’s deficiencies.
“Sect Master, shall we…” The disciple to his side turned to him and respectfully asked his opinion.
“Take us down,” Yang Kai waved lightly.
Receiving these orders, the disciples controlling the Starship prepared to descend to the surface.
The hundred-metre-long Starship passed through a grey layer into the atmosphere of Tong Xuan Realm, loudly arriving on this seemingly backwards Cultivation Star.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense expanded like a tide and instantly enveloped the surrounding hundred-kilometre radius to determine their current position.
The aura here was weak, but it was filled with Demonic Qi.
[The Demon Land?] Yang Kai’s brow rose.
Tong Xuan Realm was divided into three separate domains, the Human Territory, Demon Land and Monster Domain, each ruled over by one of the Three Clans. Among these three regions, the Human Territory had the largest area, occupying almost seventy percent of Tong Xuan Realm, followed by the Demon Land, and then the Monster Domain.
Unexpectedly, upon his return to Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai actually came directly to the Demon Land, a somewhat surprising result.
Leisurely, Yang Kai raised his head and looked in a certain direction.
When he sent out his Divine Sense, he had detected several life auras at the edge of his perception, one of which had a Third-Order Saint Realm cultivation and also seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t immediately remember who it was.
Few were capable of possessing a Third-Order Saint Realm cultivation in the Demon Land, the most likely candidate being one of the Demon Generals.
The Demon Race originally had four Demon Generals, all of whom were Third-Order Saints.
The other party had apparently noticed the Starship’s arrival and were hurrying over to investigate.
Thinking it would be best to simply ask this party for information, Yang Kai lightly ordered, “Wait here. I’ll go meet them.”
Saying so, his figure flickered and he arrived outside the Starship to wait for the approaching party’s arrival.
A distance of a hundred kilometres could be crossed in an instant by the current Yang Kai. After having cultivated the Dao of Space for so many years, Yang Kai could ignore space and cross The Void with ease.
However, for a Third-Order Saint Demon General who did not have a suitable flight type artifact, even if they went all out, it still took a cup of tea worth of time to cross this distance.
A short time later, a large mass of black Qi appeared in Yang Kai’s vision. This black Qi was filled with a violent and bloody aura and several figures were hidden inside of it.
The black Qi billowed and soon came to a halt about a thousand metres in front of Yang Kai.
As this black Qi dispersed, the figures inside were finally revealed; a sturdy-looking man with a stern look on his face, holding a spear-like artifact, stood at their fore.
At this moment, this man was staring forward in trepidation, his red eyes filled with shock.
He wasn’t looking at Yang Kai, but rather at the Starship behind Yang Kai. As a Demon General, he naturally knew that there was a similar existence buried deep beneath the Demon Capital.
That was a vessel that the Bone Race had used to arrive on Tong Xuan Realm many millennia ago, a special flight type artifact which seemed to be called a Starship.
Unfortunately, that Starship had been thoroughly destroyed by Great Demon God, leaving only a pile of broken metal behind. Even so, its very existence was a top secret and it had been sealed tens of thousands of metres below the Demon Capital.
Could someone from beyond Tong Xuan Realm have arrived here again? Thinking so, this Demon General was taken aback.
The last time this happened, Great Demon God had sacrificed himself to save Tong Xuan Realm, a fact that the Demon Race took immense pride in.
But now, who would be there to hold up the sky and save Tong Xuan Realm?
Perhaps that Human Race boy from back then might have this ability; after all, when the Bone Race reappeared, Tong Xuan Realm’s Three Clans had united under his leadership to defeat them.
But it was said that he had left Tong Xuan Realm more than thirty years ago, and so far there had been no news from him. Whether he was even alive or dead was unknown.
A lot of distracting thoughts flashed through this Demon General’s mind, but having faced many great storms before he quickly composed himself, displayed the warlike nature inherent to the Demon Race, and shifted his eyes solemnly towards Yang Kai.
The next moment, however, he showed a dumbfounded expression, as if he had seen a ghost, opened his mouth wide, and pointed to Yang Kai, “You…you…”
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Demon General Meng Ge, haha, it’s been many years. How is Brother Meng doing?” Yang Kai grinned at him.
“Are you Holy Master Yang?” Meng Ge’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He had never expected that the person who came here aboard this Starship would be the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
This boy was none other than the Human Race youth who had disappeared more than thirty years ago.
When the Bone Race resurfaced, the Three Clans had joined forces, and Meng Ge had fought side by side with Yang Kai, so he remembered his face, and now hearing Yang Kai’s voice, he immediately became certain of his guess.
There was no doubt this person was that boy.
This was nothing short of shocking. This boy hadn’t been heard from for several dozen years, yet now he appeared here, owning a Starship like this. Where did he go all these years? It was rumoured he left Tong Xuan Realm to enter the Star Field. Did he succeed?
Thinking so, Meng Ge could barely contain his shock as he trembled slightly and his eyes glazed over.
“Yeah, it is this Yang. Does Brother Meng not recognize me?” Yang Kai chuckled.
“How could that be?” Meng Ge shook his head, “Although I’ve not seen you for many years, this Meng will never forget Holy Master Yang’s face.”
“Good, how has Zhang Yuan been doing in recent years?” Yang Kai asked again.
“You mean Sir Demon Commander?” Meng Ge frowned, a trace of dissatisfaction appearing on his face. Zhang Yuan was the Demon Commander of the Demon Race and a top master on Tong Xuan Realm. Even though Yang Kai was strong, and the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, in the end, that would only put him on par with Sir Demon Commander in terms of status. Proper etiquette would be to refer to Zhang Yuan by his title, rather than just his name.
This boy’s tone was simply too rampant, speaking as if he was an Elder addressing a Junior, naturally causing Meng Ge some discomfort.
Replying in a flat tone, “Sect Master Yang need not worry, Sir Demon Commander has been in good health and has been in retreat in the Demon Capital in recent years.”
While speaking, he released his Divine Sense to probe Yang Kai, wanting to know how much the cultivation of this human youth had grown after several dozen years.
If he remembered correctly, this boy should have been a First-Order Saint when he left, so after several dozen years, it was likely he had reached the Third-Order Saint Realm at most.
However, after a brief sweep with his Divine Sense, Meng Ge’s expression changed drastically.
He discovered that he could not sense Yang Kai’s depths at all, and the moment his Divine Sense swept across him it was like throwing a stone into the sea, unable to create the slightest ripple.
[How is that possible?] Meng Ge’s expression immediately became dumbfounded as his eyes bulged once more.
With his Third-Order Saint Realm cultivation, even if Yang Kai had also reached this height, he wouldn’t be able to hide his cultivation from his Divine Sense exploration.
Not even a Saint King, the realm Great Demon God had reached, could achieve this.
Could it be that… this boy had reached this level, or possibly even higher?
When this thought crossed his mind, Meng Ge’s shivered from head to toe and his eyes filled with horror, hoarsely asking, “Holy Master Yang… what realm are you now?”
“What realm?” Yang Kai raised his brows. Meng Ge’s movements were not missed by him, but Yang Kai didn’t mind. The Demon Race were all like this, straightforward and rebellious by nature. Pondering for a moment, Yang Kai replied, “What realm I’ve reached would mean nothing to you right now, but you’ll find out soon enough. En, I’ll have to trouble you to go to the Demon Capital and ask Zhang Yuan to come to Nine Heavens Holy Land to see me. I just came back, so I need to hurry back to Nine Heavens Holy Land.”
Meng Ge gulped hard, the confusion and fear on his face gradually receding, like a cornered beast that was surrendering.
This time, he didn’t care about Yang Kai’s arrogance, faintly guessing that Yang Kai had reached a height beyond his imagination. This speculation made him shocked and terrified, and at the same time also some excited.
“Holy Master Yang may rest assured, I will return to the Demon Capital immediately and inform Sir Demon Command of this news,” Meng Ge quickly said.
“En. Right, one more thing,” Yang Kai scratched his cheek awkwardly, “Which direction is Nine Heavens Holy Land?”
Meng Ge was stunned for a moment before pointing a certain direction.
“Thanks,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before his figure flickered and disappeared. A moment later, the pitch-black Starship slightly trembled before shooting off and disappearing from Meng Ge’s vision.
“Sir, who was that little human brat? He was so arrogant he never even put Sir into his eyes,” A Demon Race man who followed Meng Ge called out in dissatisfaction.
Although the relationship between the Three Clans had become more harmonious after they joined forces to defeat the resurgent Bone Race, that didn’t mean there were no disputes between them, especially when it came to cultivation resources.
Now, however, there wasn’t an atmosphere of life or death enemies when different races met.
Still, no one from the Human Race would dare trespass into the Demon Land at will.
But now a human boy had appeared here, not putting Sir Meng Ge in his eyes, and even fearlessly called the Demon Commander by his name, causing this group of Demon Race members to feel quite dissatisfied.
If it weren’t for Meng Ge holding them back, these Demon Race members would likely have charged forward to teach that human boy a harsh lesson.
“Shut up!” Meng Ge shouted, “That person… is someone you cannot provoke, I cannot provoke, even… even Sir Demon Command cannot provoke him. Don’t even discuss him behind his back!”
“What? Even Sir Demon Command cannot afford to provoke him?” The several Demon Race members were shocked and their eyes bulged, “Who is he?”
“His name, you’ve all heard before,” Meng Ge frowned, “He is the Lord of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai!”
The faces of the several Demon Race members immediately became stern as they quickly held their tongues.
Today, Nine Heavens Holy Land held a dominant position on Tong Xuan Realm, standing atop all of the Three Clans with countless Saint Realm masters at their disposal. No great force could be compared with it.
However, although Nine Heavens Holy Land had reached the height of fame over these past few decades, their Holy Master had seemingly disappeared.
Unexpectedly, the young man they just met was the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“A great change is approaching,” Meng Ge murmured while looking up at the grey sky. Soon after, he turned around and hurried back to the Demon Capital.
He needed to bring news of Yang Kai’s return to Demon Commander Zhang Yuan as soon as possible.
…..
Nine Heavens Holy Land was situated on nine tall peaks that formed a powerful Spirit Array. On Tong Xuan Realm, Nine Heavens Holy Land enjoyed the highest reputation. There were innumerable masters in the Holy Land, and although it had not recruited any new disciples in recent years, its population was still quite large and had no shortage of wealth.
The reason for this was not only because of the great power Nine Heavens Holy Land possessed, or the close ties it had to great forces of the Human Race, but rather because of the famous Alchemist who resided here.
Several top Alchemists were living here all year round.
Cultivators who came here to request Alchemy basically always obtained the pill they desired. As long as one could pay enough remuneration and materials, they would leave with their requested pill after a few days.
Relying on the income from Alchemy services alone, Nine Heavens Holy Land never needed to worry about having enough cultivation resources.
Outside the Holy Land’s Nine Peaks, a line several kilometres in length, composed of at least a thousand cultivators, snaked back and forth. These cultivators were all waiting here to request Alchemy services from Nine Heavens Holy Land, and as some left satisfied, others would join the line.
Although the line was long, it was extremely orderly. Everyone kept their place, and any newcomer obediently joined the end of the line, with no one daring to try to jump the queue.
Anyone who dared to do otherwise had already been taught a harsh lesson.
Of the cultivators waiting in line, the ones who had been here the longest had been waiting for a month, but even they showed no impatience, simply standing there expectantly, waiting for the people from Nine Heavens Holy Land to greet them and accept their materials.
To pass the time, these cultivators would talk amongst themselves, whispering rumours to one another or exchanging information.
On this day, however, a young man suddenly walked towards the Nine Peaks. His figure was heroic, and his eyes shone a profound light, but him looking around constantly made him look like someone from the countryside who had never seen the world. There also seemed to be a kind of nostalgia in his expression.
After seeing the long queue, this sense of nostalgia only became more obvious.
“Looks like some things haven’t changed,” Yang Kai grinned, and while walking forward, he looked at the cultivators who came to request Alchemy with interest.
When he still lived in Nine Heavens Holy Land, such a scene outside the Holy Land was common.
Unexpectedly, nothing had changed several dozen years later other than the fact that even more people were here to request Alchemy services.
“Hey brat, what do you think you’re doing?” Suddenly an angry shout came from the crowd.
Yang Kai turned his head and found a burly man glaring at him.
“Where are you from boy? You want to jump the line?”
“Young man, if you want to survive, just go to the back and wait obediently. Don’t think you’re anything special, everyone who comes here must follow the rules.”
“Hmph, if he dares to jump in the line, I’ll twist his head!”
“Young man, go to the back and line up. If you’re found by someone from Nine Heavens Holy Land you’ll only receive a harsh lesson, but if you provoke these people, your end will be miserable.”
Before Yang Kai could even say anything, many from the crowd began calling out, one after another discouraging him from acting rashly, many of them casting him pitiful or derisive looks.
As if Yang Kai’s end would truly be ugly if he didn’t follow their advice.
“I didn’t come here to ask for Alchemy,” Yang Kai touched his nose.
“Everyone who wants to jump in the line says that. Boy, it seems that you won’t regret unless you see your coffin. Do you want Father here to teach you a lesson?” The big man who yelled at Yang Kai first coldly snorted and clenched his fists as he stared at him menacingly.
“I really didn’t come here to ask for Alchemy though,” Yang Kai said helplessly.
“Then what are you here for?” The big man asked reluctantly, his eyes filled with aggression, as if he wouldn’t let Yang Kai off without first getting an explanation.
“I’m just going home, I’m from Nine Heavens Holy Land,” Yang Kai scratched his cheek.
“You’re what?” The big man scanned Yang Kai up and down, a clear look of disbelief on his face. Suddenly, he waved to the side and shouted, “Brother, please come over here.”
The one he called out to seemed to be a cultivator on patrol, and hearing this shout, the latter rushed over, took in the scene, frowned, and asked, “What is it? Is there someone trying to break the rules again?”
“Heh heh, Fellow Brother, take a look at this guy, he said he’s from your Holy Land but I say he’s just trying to jump in the line. Brother, take a look and see if he is from your Holy Land,” The big man pointed to Yang Kai and said to the disciple of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
The disciple heard this and nodded before taking a careful look at Yang Kai, a moment later shaking his head and saying, “I’ve never seen this person before; moreover, he doesn’t have our Holy Land’s robes or symbol anywhere on him.”
Saying so, he gestured to a mark on his own robes.
“Sure enough, this little brat is spewing nonsense,” The big man looked at Yang Kai mockingly, taking pleasure in his misfortune, “Pretending to be a Holy Land disciple, you’re dead.”
“You don’t know me?” Yang Kai asked the disciple.
“Should I know you?” The other party snorted.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before nodding, “Looking at your age, you probably joined the Holy Land not long ago. It’s fine, which Elder is on duty here today?”
Hearing his question, the disciple’s expression immediately became suspicious, uncertain if Yang Kai was just talking nonsense or really had some relation to the Holy Land.
Although he had grown up in the Holy Land since he was a child, he was now just twenty-five years old. When Yang Kai was in the Holy Land, he hadn’t even been born yet, so naturally he had never seen Yang Kai’s face.
Surprised but not daring to be negligent, the disciple hesitantly said, “It is Elder Shi who is on duty today.”
“Elder Shi?” Yang Kai frowned, but soon a figure emerged from the depths of his memory and a slight smile appeared on his face, “Shi Kun?”
“En,” The disciple was shocked, really not understanding who Yang Kai thought he was, even daring to call Elder Shi directly by his name; and from listening to his tone, it seemed this stranger was quite familiar with Elder Shi.
“Take me to see him, he’ll recognize me,” Yang Kai said casually, but soon changed his mind, “Forget it, I’ll go myself.”
Saying so, his figure suddenly disappeared.
The group who were watching all had their eyes bulge as shock filled their hearts.
“What? Where did that guy go?” The burly man from just now looked around but he couldn’t see any trace of Yang Kai, a faint trace of sweat appearing on his brow.
He thought he had provoked some kind of hidden master.
Everyone else also had similar expressions on their faces and for a time they felt a chill down their backs.
Inside a pavilion not far away, at this moment, Shi Kun was sitting cross-legged in meditation, seemingly comprehending something.
Suddenly, Shi Kun opened his eyes, as if sensing something, and shouted, “Bold!”
He noticed at that moment that someone had broken into the pavilion.
As one of the Holy Land’s Elders, his job here was to maintain order, but not even the disciples on guard duty could dare to disturb him without first asking for permission, yet now some bold fool had actually rashly intruded while he was in the middle of comprehending a Secret Technique.
Shi Kun was naturally furious.
Fortunately, he had not been at a critical moment in his comprehension, otherwise it was very likely he would have experienced cultivation deviation from being disturbed.
He shouted sharply as he gazed towards the direction of the intruder.
However, the next moment, Shi Kun’s jaw dropped and he froze in place.
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and called out, “It’s been many years since we last met, but it seems Elder Shi’s temper has grown shorter!”
“Holy… Holy Master?” Shi Kun exclaimed in shock, never having expected the one who had disturbed his meditation was Holy Master Yang Kai who had been gone for several dozen years.
At first, Shi Kun could hardly believe his eyes and rubbed them vigorously, but even after doing so, the person in front of him was still the Holy Master.
Although Shi Kun hadn’t seen him in several decades, and the Holy Master was still quite young when he left, it seemed like the years had left no trace on him.
Shi Kun became so excited his body began trembling.
“Not bad, not bad at all. You’ve also reached the Second-Order Saint Realm, it seems you haven’t been idling these years,” Yang Kai gently nodded, seeing through Shi Kun’s realm at a glance.
“Subordinate Shi Kun greets Holy Master. Welcome back to the Sect, Holy Master!” Shi Kun hurriedly half-kneeled on the ground, shouting in an excited voice.
“Get up,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Shi Kun quickly got to his feet as he continued staring at Yang Kai in disbelief, as if he was having a dream, pursing his lips for a moment and hesitating before asking, “Holy Master, have you really returned?”
“En, I’m back. How is the Holy Land now?”
“Everything is in order, Holy Master need not worry,” Shi Kun quickly replied, because of the ups and downs of his mood, his blood seemed to be surging, causing his face to flush.
“Very good!”
“Holy Master, please hurry back to the Holy Land, since you left, Great Elder and the others have been worrying day and night. Once they learn you’ve returned safely, they will certainly be very happy,” Shi Kun cupped his fists.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “Come with me.”
Saying so, he stretched out your hand and wrapped Shi Kun in his Saint Qi.
The next moment, both of them disappeared from the pavilion, and when Shi Kun looked around, he suddenly found that he and Yang Kai had reached the inner sanctum of the Holy Land’s nine peaks.
“This is great, nothing has changed,” Yang Kai stood mid-air as his Divine Sense swept across the Holy Land, nodding in satisfaction.
Shi Kun was in something of a daze, not understanding how he had arrived at the inner peaks, but soon he realized that this was Yang Kai’s doing.
But what exactly had he done? It was all too bizarre. Shi Kun felt both reverence and awe.
Suddenly, he seemed to think of something, took a step forward, heaved a deep breath, and shouted out to the Nine Peaks, “Holy Master has returned to the Sect!”
This shout echoed throughout the Nine Peaks.
All movement in the Nine Peaks seemed to be overwhelmed by this shout, and a strange atmosphere suddenly filled the Holy Land, along with complete silence.
However, a moment later, the Nine Peaks seemed to burst into a frenzy, with streaks of light shooting up from each of the peaks and rushing over at full speed.
Inside the Pill Room, the Saint Grade Alchemist Du Wan was refining a Clear Snow Pill, a Saint Grade Low-Rank pill. The person who requested this pill was also waiting outside the Nine Peaks at the moment, and their status was not low, so Du Wan had taken action personally.
It had been more than a day since Du Wan began, and at this moment the Pill Room was filled with a strong fragrance and a faint chill. Carefully controlling the heat, Du Wan was staring at his pill furnace, preparing for the final moment where he would condense the pill.
To the side, Chang Bao sat with his great belly and rotund face, squinting his eyes as he observed and studied Du Wan’s refining techniques.
The expressions of the two Saint Grade Alchemists were both solemn and excited.
These two had been the managers of Alchemist Guild branches in Grand Boulder City and Lightning Flash City respectively, holding great status, but after studying Alchemy together in Nine Heavens Holy Land, they had both promoted to the level of Saint Grade Alchemist. So, they both resigned from their previous post and had joined Nine Heavens Holy Land.
In addition to the two of them, there was also Hong Fang, He Feng, and Kong Ruo Yu who were all now Saint Grade Alchemists as well.
The Alchemy level of Tong Xuan Realm had undergone explosive growth since Yang Kai had left, with all the credit being given to the Old Man of Heaven’s Keep Li Rui’s generous teachings, and the inspiration of Xia Ning Chang.
Previously, only Li Rui had been a Saint Grade High-Rank Alchemist.
The pill refining was now at a critical juncture, and Chang Bao’s small eyes narrowed tighter, filled with light as he sweat just as much as Du Wan.
Even they could not guarantee a one hundred percent success rate when refining Saint Grade pills. Du Wan’s refinement being so smooth this time was a combination of his own skill as well as luck.
At this most critical moment, there was no room for negligence or disturbance.
However, right then, a loud shout suddenly came from outside, penetrating even the barriers around the Pill Room, reaching straight to the ears of the two Saint Grade Alchemists.
Du Wan’s old hands shook, and his Saint Qi became slightly disordered.
Immediately after, a bang resounded from the pill furnace in front of him.
A burnt smell soon filled the air.
Du Wan was stunned, and his expression contorted into a truly ugly one.
Chang Bao also frowned deeply.
They had fallen short!
[That idiot Shi Kun! His life is over! Du Wan will certainly hold him responsible for this failure.]
Chang Bao immediately took pleasure in Shi Kun’s misfortune in his heart.
“Old Chang, what did that boy Shi Kun just say?” But contrary to Chang Bao’s expectation, Du Wan did not get angry right away, instead turning a strange look towards him and asking.
“I didn’t hear clearly,” Chang Bao shook his head.
Although both of them had heard Shi Kun yelling something just now, Chang Bao hadn’t cared about its content because all his focus had been on the pill refinement.
“Did I hear him say something about the Holy Master?” Du Wan frowned.
“Holy Master?” Chang Bao was stunned, but soon seemed to think of something, and like a cat that’s tail had been stepped on, his plump body showed unimaginable lightness as he leapt up from the ground and shouted, “You mean that Holy Master?”
Nine Heavens Holy Land had only one Holy Master, and that was Yang Kai.
Since Yang Kai had left, the position of Holy Master had remained vacant, but in the eyes of the cultivators of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai was and always would be their Holy Master.
“I could have sworn I heard Shi Kun saying something about the Holy Master returning to the Sect,” Du Wan knit his brow.
“Are you sure?” Chang Bao yelled.
“I’m not certain.”
The two looked at each other for a moment before both of them rushed out towards the door of the Pill Room where they were greeted by the equally flustered He Feng, Hong Fang, and Kong Ruo Yu. Dashing out of the Pill Room all together, all of them showed spiritedness not inferior to youths hundreds of years their junior.
“Old ghosts, wait for this old master!” Chang Bao struggled to move his fat body as he yelled from behind.
Of course, no one answered him, all of them only rushing out even faster.
Atop another of the Nine Peaks, inside a mountainside secret room, a rich Demonic Qi swirled.
Inside this secret room, two beautiful women with closed eyes were synchronizing their breathing, one possessed a dignified and elegant air while the other was cold and aloof, two vastly different temperaments.
The former had a peak cultivation at the Third-Order Saint Realm while the latter was a Second-Order Saint.
Both were wrapped in a thick swirling Demonic Qi, apparently cultivating some kind of Secret Technique.
When Shi Kun’s voice reached them, however, the two women opened their eyes involuntarily, with the dignified beauty turning to her companion, frowning, and asking, “Han Fei, did Shi Kun just say… the Holy Master had returned to the Sect?”
The cold beauty heard these words and her tender body trembled, carefully thinking for a moment before she gently nodded.
Four eyes suddenly met, before an amazing brilliance flashed across them. No longer giving any thought to the Secret Technique they were cultivating, two tender bodies wrapped in black Qi rushed out of the secret room and soared up into the sky.
Similar scenes were happening all over the Nine Peaks.
This was no doubt the liveliest the Nine Peaks had been in the past several decades. At this moment, the masters here who were worshipped and admired by countless cultivators across Tong Xuan Realm all suddenly seemed to lose all sense of dignity and turned into hot-blooded youths.
When Holy Land Great Elder Xu Hui ran out, he couldn’t even be bothered using the doors and smashed his way through the walls of his palace directly, nearly causing it to collapse.
Elder Yu Ying knocked over and broke a set of vases she had treasured for over a hundred years in her hurry.
Saintess An Ling’er had been bathing at the time but still leapt from her bathroom after hurriedly throwing on her clothes, not even bothering to dry herself.
…..
All of this was happening because of the words which had just echoed across the Nine Peaks.
The Holy Master had returned!
Everyone wanted to know whether this news was true or not. Everyone wanted to see the face of the young man they had not seen in over thirty years. As such, everyone rushed out of the places they were staying and soared towards the source of the voice from just now.
Streams of light swiftly came and gathered in front of Yang Kai.
After seeing Yang Kai’s face clearly, everyone showed a look of pleasant surprise; some were so joyful they were unable to stop themselves from weeping.
All the Elders of the Holy Land, Du Wan, Chang Bao and the other Alchemy Grandmasters, as well as the leaders of the Ancient Demon Clan, gathered together.
Just in terms of Saints, more than ten were present.
This was a force capable of sweeping the entire Tong Xuan Realm, an existence no one dared to underestimate. It was precisely because of these peoples’ existence that Nine Heavens Holy Land had become famous across Tong Xuan Realm.
Yang Kai’s eyes swept across these familiar faces and his heart could not help warming as a brilliant smile blossomed on his face.
After not seeing them for several dozen years, all his old friends were still well, there could be no better news.
“It’s really Holy Master!”
“Holy Master is back, he’s really back.”
Shouts of joy rang out from the crowd as everyone celebrated with excitement in their eyes.
“Subordinate Xu Hui, together with all the Holy Land’s Elders, greets Holy Master. Welcome back to the Sect, Holy Master!” Xu Hui had always been attentive to etiquette and despite his own excitement did not forget courtesy and hastily shouted.
The other Holy Land Elders also hurriedly saluted.
“There’s no need for such formalities, I’ve simply come home,” Yang Kai waved, an invisible force lifting everyone up.
“Master…” On a different side, Li Rong, the leader of the Ancient Demon Clan, called out through her tears.
Han Fei, who was standing beside her, also had red puffy eyes.
Yang Kai had inherited the mantle of Great Demon God, so for the Ancient Demon Clan who had served Great Demon God for generations, Yang Kai was their Lord and Master, a position not even the current Demon Commander Zhang Yuan could compare to.
So even if Yang Kai was not in Nine Heavens Holy Land, they had chosen to remain here to wait for him.
In fact, for the Ancient Demon Clan, the Demon Land was the ideal place for them to live, but out of respect for Yang Kai, Li Rong had eventually decided to let the Ancient Demon Clan settle in Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Looking at Yang Kai’s face, Li Rong’s heart trembled.
When Yang Kai left, she had asked to follow him, to use her own life to protect him, but Yang Kai was completely uncertain about his future at that point so he didn’t dare to bring Li Rong, making her stay behind.
Over the past several decades, Li Rong had spent countless days and nights worrying. Whenever she thought about Yang Kai being all alone in the vast outside world, she would have trouble sleeping and eating. She hated that she had not insisted on following him at that time and allowed her Master to wander alone.
She blamed herself greatly and felt truly tortured over the years.
Now seeing Yang Kai return safely, she could not help weeping with joy.
“Don’t cry, this is a happy occasion, I’ve returned, haven’t I?” Yang Kai laughed and comforted her.
“Yes!” Li Rong pursed her red lips and nodded in response.
She would meet any of Yang Kai’s requests unconditionally.
“Little brat, you came back?” At this moment, a cry of pleasant surprise suddenly came from the side.
Yang Kai turned his head and soon spotted Meng Wu Ya flying over.
Even after not seeing him for several dozen years, Meng Wu Ya was still the same, dressing in extremely plain robes with his somewhat dishevelled hair and beard. If he were to walk amongst a crowd, many would only think of him as a dirty old man, never realizing he was a peak Third-Order Saint Realm master.
“Treasurer Meng, I trust you’ve been well since we last met!” Yang Kai smiled brightly.
“Of course I have been good, seems you’ve been living well yourself, you little brat. This old master can finally feel relieved,” Meng Wu Ya nodded heavily, a pleased smile on his face.
Meng Wu Ya could be said to have watched over Yang Kai’s growth from the very start. Back then, he had been hiding his identity and staying in High Heaven Pavilion as the treasurer of the Contribution Hall. He had first met Yang Kai and became close because of his treasured apprentice Xia Ning Chang.
So, after seeing Yang Kai returning to this place several decades later, it was as if a big rock was lifted from Meng Wu Ya’s heart.
His concern for Yang Kai was not inferior to anyone else’s.
Yang Kai instantly began looking around, and noticing this, Meng Wu Ya seemed to know who he was looking for, grinned meaningfully, and took the initiative to speak, “Ning Chang is at a critical moment of her retreat, so it’s not convenient for her to see you, but I’m sure she will the moment she exits her seclusion. En, as for your Grand Master, he does not live in Nine Heavens Holy Land but instead over at War Spirit Temple’s former grounds together with your Yang Family and the others from that side.”
“En, I’ll visit them later,” Yang Kai took a deep breath, calming his mood a little.
Back then, he had brought his relatives and friends from the Great Han Dynasty to Tong Xuan Realm, but since Nine Heavens Holy Land didn’t have enough space to house them all, Yang Kai decided to have them stay in the former War Spirit Temple and Shattering Mystical Palace ruins a thousand or so kilometres away. These two great forces used to be enemies with Yang Kai but were both wiped out by him in the end. However, their Sect foundations were left behind, so it was the perfect ready-made place to settle the cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty.
After several dozen years, his friends and relatives from the Great Han Dynasty had also settled down and developed steadily. Protected by Nine Heavens Holy Land, they lived a safe and worry-free life, as if they had come to a paradise.
With so many old acquaintances meeting each other, the atmosphere was naturally quite lively.
The Holy Master returning to the Sect was a grand, joyous event for Nine Heavens Holy Land. After everyone welcomed Yang Kai back to the main peak, Great Elder Xu Hui ordered a big banquet to be arranged immediately.
Anyone with even the slightest status in the Holy Land attended.
No one asked Yang Kai where he had been and what he had done these past few decades, all of them simply happy he had returned safely and was now sitting and chatting with them just as before.
The atmosphere of the banquet was noisy, as everybody raised their glasses over and over again. Even women like Li Rong and Han Fei got drunk.
This night was doomed to be sleepless.
The banquet started at sunset and continued into the early morning.
Most of the people present had already drunk several rounds, with only Xu Hui remaining perfectly sober.
At a certain point, Yang Kai called out to him.
“Holy Master, what are your orders?” Xu Hui asked respectfully.
“How have the Hu Sisters been all these years?” Yang Kai asked casually as he watched the sunrise over Tong Xuan Realm he had not seen in so long.
“Reporting to Holy Master, the Hu Sisters have been very well these past few years. The two of them have been cultivating diligently in Twin Spirit Pavilion, and with Wu Fa and Wu Tian’s careful guidance, their growth has been quite astonishing. A few years ago, the two sisters broke through to the Saint Realm and took up the mantle of Tong Xuan Realm’s most glorious rising stars!”
“En,” Yang Kai lightly nodded.
His relatives and friends from the Great Han Dynasty had all basically been settled in the ruins of War Spirit Temple and Shattering Mystical Palace, but the Hu Sisters, who had inherited the Twin Qi Shared Spirit Divine Art, the foundational inheritance of Twin Spirit Pavilion, had chosen to live and cultivate there instead.
With the aptitude of the two sisters and the magical Secret Art they cultivated, it was only natural for them to reach the Saint Realm after several dozen years.
However, this was only the expected result on Tong Xuan Realm’s with its extremely thin World Energy. If the two sisters had instead lived on Shadowed Star, their achievements would be far greater than this.
They would definitely be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Qu Chang Feng and Fang Tian Zhong.
“Contact Hu Jiao’er and Hu Mei’er and tell them to come to Nine Heavens Holy Land,” Yang Kai ordered.
“Right away!” Xu Hui hurriedly responded, a sly expression suddenly appearing on his face. “If they hear Holy Master has returned to the Sect, they will likely hurry over on their own even without an invitation.”
Yang Kai glanced over at him sideways, to which Xu Hui just smiled dryly.
“Also, send a message to the Great Seniors of the Monster Race asking them to come to Nine Heavens Holy Land. I have something I wish to discuss with them.”
“Yes, Subordinate will see to it immediately. Does Holy Master have any other instructions?”
“No, go on.”
Xu Hui bowed and withdrew, not bothering to ask anything, simply going about the tasks he had been assigned.
Looking back at the messy palace, Yang Kai grinned before his figure flickered and he disappeared to somewhere else on the Nine Peaks.
The place he arrived at was none other than the room where Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang was currently in retreat. Standing outside this cultivation room, Yang Kai could smell Xia Ning Chang’s gentle scent and could not help feeling refreshed.
He did not know what Xia Ning Chang was in retreat to cultivate, but he didn’t intend to bother her, instead just quietly releasing his Divine Sense to check on her a bit.
With his current tyrannical cultivation, this kind of silent investigation would be impossible for Xia Ning Chang to detect.
He only wanted to see if everything was well with his Little Senior Sister, but when his Divine Sense swept over where Xia Ning Chang was, he could not help frowning as a look of shock filled his face.
Xia Ning Chang’s cultivation… had reached the Second-Order Saint King Realm!
[How is that possible?] Yang Kai almost thought something was wrong with his senses.
He quickly and carefully investigated the situation, but no matter how he saw it, his previous thoughts seemed to be correct.
Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang really was a Second-Order Saint King!
Yang Kai was thoroughly astonished.
Although he was now a Second-Order Origin Realm master, a full Great Realm higher than Little Senior Sister, that was because he had been in the Star Field for several dozen years. Only with the nourishment of abundant World Energy and many opportunities was he able to possess his current cultivation.
Even if Little Senior Sister was an astonishing talent, in Tong Xuan Realm, a place where the World Energy aura was so thin, it should have been absolutely impossible for her to reach the Second-Order Saint King Realm. The aura here simply could not meet the requirements to break through to such a realm.
It was not an exaggeration to say that with this kind of cultivation, Xia Ning Chang already stood far above the peak of all of Tong Xuan Realm. If she was willing to, she could subdue the entire star on her own.
In the past, Great Demon God was able to reach the First-Order Saint King Realm, yet Little Senior Sister had managed to go a step further than even him.
But how did she do it?
Yang Kai was startled and uncertain. Sometimes, such an accident was not a good thing.
He began to investigate Xia Ning Chang’s status more carefully.
But at that moment, the Saint Qi in Xia Ning Chang’s body seemed to become disordered and there were signs of it roiling through her meridians. Little Senior Sister unconsciously groaned as a look of pain appeared on her pretty face. Obviously, she was suffering greatly.
“Cultivation deviation!” Yang Kai’s complexion darkened, his figure flickering and arriving beside Xia Ning Chang in the next instant.
Stretching out his hand to her back, Yang Kai’s powerful Saint Qi burst forth.
Cultivation deviation was an extremely dangerous situation, and if he had been a cultivator in the same realm, there would have been nothing he could have done to help. In fact, external interference in such a situation would likely just make the situation worse.
Ordinarily, cultivation deviation could only be resolved by the party in question through great effort and perseverance.
But Yang Kai was currently an entire Great Realm higher than Xia Ning Chang in terms of cultivation, so it was not a problem for him to assist her.
Under Yang Kai’s guidance, the Saint Qi in Xia Ning Chang’s body gradually stabilized, and the pained look on her pretty face subsided.
Yang Kai finally felt relieved.
As the disordered Saint Qi in her body was smoothed, Xia Ning Chang seemed to feel that someone was helping her, her long eyelashes trembling a few times before her beautiful eyes opened.
The next moment, a mixed look of joy and loss flashed across her face.
She smiled sweetly, stretched out her delicate jade white hand, and touched Yang Kai’s cheek, whispering under her breath, “I can only see you in my dreams, so I hope… this is a long one, so I won’t have to wake up alone again.”
She obviously thought she was dreaming.
Yang Kai felt a deep pain in his heart, as if someone had grabbed hold of it and clenched tightly, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Although he opened his mouth, Yang Kai found no words.
Back then, he had hot-bloodedly left Tong Xuan Realm, and although his goal was to look for Su Yan, doing so had clearly caused Xia Ning Chang deep pain.
But at that time, she had not tried to stop him in the slightest, instead supporting Yang Kai’s decision completely.
She had shown incredible kindness when she asked Yang Kai to find Su Yan and bring her home.
After more than thirty years though, Yang Kai still had not found Su Yan but had forced Little Senior Sister to spend more than thirty years in loneliness.
He felt deeply ashamed of himself for wronging this gentle and innocent woman and blamed himself entirely.
“Rest, rest well, everything is fine now,” Yang Kai embraced Xia Ning Chang and gently poured his Saint Qi into her body, causing her to fall asleep.
Xia Ning Chang blinked as a trace of nostalgia flashed across her beautiful eyes. She seemed unwilling to just fall asleep and she wanted to keep her eyes open to continue gazing upon the man in front of her.
But in the end, she could not resist Yang Kai’s methods and her eyelids eventually grew heavy, sealing shut as she breathed smoothly.
Yang Kai stared at her with a gentleness in his eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts. Next, however, as he gently cradled her, his Divine Sense locked onto a certain position in Xia Ning Chang’s body.
His face suddenly becoming menacing, he shouted sharply, “Get out!”
As he shouted, Yang Kai pressed his hand towards Xia Ning Chang’s abdomen and sent out a majestic pulse of Saint Qi.
All at once, he grasped and pulled out a grey mass of energy from Xia Ning Chang’s body.
As soon as this grey aura left Xia Ning Chang, it began screaming and struggling, as if it possessed its own sentience and was desperately trying to escape from Yang Kai’s clutches.
Yang Kai’s face sank as he quickly increased his Saint Qi output. At the same time, several dozen Golden Blood Threads shot out and fused together in a dazzling golden light. After the radiance faded, the several dozen Golden Blood Threads had woven together to form a net around the grey aura.
Yang Kai stared at this strange object coldly as he continued using his Divine Sense to scan it, wanting to figure out what it was.
When he had sent his Saint Qi into Xia Ning Chang’s meridians just now, he accidentally discovered this grey Qi hidden in her body.
He had not taken action immediately, instead choosing to let Little Senior Sister fall asleep peacefully before dealing with it.
He did not know if Xia Ning Chang’s cultivation deviation was related to this grey aura, but he could tell it was not something she had cultivated herself and was instead some kind of foreign object. What he could not tell, however, was why it was attached to her.
It did not seem to be some type of Soul, because Xia Ning Chang showed no trace of being taken over.
[If so, what is it?] Yang Kai frowned deeply as even with his knowledge and experience; he couldn’t identify what this mass of grey Qi was.
The battering sounds continued as the grey aura flickered back and forth inside the golden net, like a beast trapped in a cage, unable to escape.
Suddenly, Yang Kai raised his brow as he showed a look of surprise.
He felt traces of Xia Ning Chang’s life and Soul Brand inside this mass of grey Qi.
Which meant Xia Ning Chang knew about its existence and had refined it.
However, Yang Kai still felt like this was not anything good as it seemed to have a kind of invisible connection with Little Senior Sister, and this connection caused Little Senior Sister’s vital aura to also turn somewhat grey!
This discovery made Yang Kai’s heart sink even further.
If his judgment was not wrong, then this mass of grey Qi and Little Senior Sister shared a symbiotic relationship. If one suffered, both suffered, if one prospered, both prospered. If he rashly destroyed it, Little Senior Sister would likely die as well.
This mass of grey Qi gave off an extremely uncomfortable feeling and gave off an aura like that of a senile, dying old man.
With Xia Ning Chang having a symbiotic relationship with it, how could it be good for her future?
Yang Kai could not help wearing a deep and profound look.
Although he wanted to immediately free Little Senior Sister from this worry, Yang Kai had no idea how to even start and did not dare do so before he fully understood the essence of this grey Qi.
Moreover, he vaguely felt a profoundness from this grey Qi that he could not completely fathom, and as he examined it, he felt like he was on the verge of comprehending something deep in his heart.
Even after further investigation though, he still could not learn anything of note.
This mass of grey Qi seemed to be able to exclude Yang Kai’s Divine Sense.
Xia Ning Chang breaking through to the Saint King Realm in a place like Tong Xuan Realm was no doubt linked in some way to this strange grey Qi.
This thing probably allowed her to comprehend a more profound level of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao and provided her with the energy she needed to break through while also tightly binding itself to her.
But Yang Kai could not tell whether this was a blessing or a curse.
Just as Yang Kai was at a loss, the grey Qi bound by the golden net suddenly began struggling much more intensely; however, this time, instead of pointlessly trying to break free, it instead directly burst into millions of tiny pieces of grey Qi and slipped through its bindings.
Yang Kai did not have any time to react, and the mass of grey Qi managed to escape.
Immediately after, it flew downwards at remarkable speed and sank into the ground, disappearing from Yang Kai’s sight.
Yang Kai swiftly sent his Divine Sense into the ground but was unable to sense its existence anymore.
It had simply vanished.
Standing in place, Yang Kai wore a solemn look with a deep frown on his face.
It seemed that he would have to wait for Little Senior Sister to wake up before he could get some answers from her.
He did have a guess in his mind, but he could not be sure.
Looking at the peacefully sleeping Xia Ning Chang, Yang Kai gently picked her up by her waist, placed her on the bed, leaned over and kissed her on her forehead, and gently brushed her hair back before leaving silently.
A few breaths later, a thousand kilometres away, above the former site of War Spirit Temple.
Yang Kai stood mid-air, looking down as he spread his Divine Sense out like a tide.
Familiar auras appeared everywhere under his investigation, appearing like bright stars in the night sky.
Grinning widely, Yang Kai felt warmth in his heart that he had missed these past several dozen years. Immediately, he used his Divine Sense to send a simple message to all his relatives and friends, ‘I’m back’!
A scene just like what happened yesterday at Nine Heavens Holy Land appeared next.
The former War Spirit Temple site immediately erupted as rays of light shot up into the air from various places of retreat and rushed towards the place where Yang Kai was.
Everyone was so excited that as they met each other halfway they could not help asking one another to confirm whether they too had heard about Yang Kai’s return.
Only after arriving high up in the sky and seeing Yang Kai standing there did everyone dare to believe the authenticity of this news.
Tu Feng, Tang Yu Xian, Qu Gao Yi, Ying Jiu… All the Blood Warriors who fought alongside Yang Kai in the Inheritance War arrived in the first batch, each of them trembling with excitement as they called out to their Young Master and bowed deeply.
The Yang Family’s First Brother Yang Wei, Second Brother Yang Zhao, Third Brother Yang Tie, Fourth Brother Yang Xin Wu… All the brothers gathered as they hugged Yang Kai for the first time in decades.
“Haha, you bastard! You’ve been away for so many years, it’s like you wouldn’t return until after I died,” The Huo Family current Patriarch, Huo Xing Chen, laughed and appeared nearby.
After several decades, the suave Central Capital Wolf had become a middle-aged man, but rather than looking old, he instead just seemed more mature and his hot temper had been smoothed by time, making him even more handsome than before.
Next to Huo Xing Chen was Qiu Yi Meng, with tears in her beautiful eyes as she bit her red lips and stared at Yang Kai in disbelief, seemingly wanting to say something but too scared to open her mouth, worried that if she were to speak she would wake from this beautiful dream.
“Brother Huo, Sister Qiu!” Yang Kai turned to the two of them and gently nodded.
Huo Xing Chen chuckled before glancing over at Qiu Yi Meng, sighed to himself silently.
He realised something from the way Yang Kai addressed Qiu Yi Meng; by only using her surname.
Dong Qing Han and Dong Qing Yan also came, calling out to their cousin, livening up the atmosphere even more.
Yang Kai’s gaze suddenly turned to a certain spot next, however, as three streaks of light hurriedly rushed over towards him.
When these lights dispersed, three figures appeared.
The first was a man with a sage-like temperament who was dressed in clean scholarly robes, followed by a man with a tall stature and a woman who seemed quite cute and petite.
Yang Kai stood before these three and bowed lightly, “Grand Master!”
Ling Tai Xu nodded repeatedly, laughing heartily, “Good, good, it’s good that you’re back.”
“Father, mother!” Yang Kai next turned to the pair standing behind Ling Tai Xu and bowed again.
The Yang Family Fourth Master was a man of iron, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t find the right words to say and could only wipe the corners of his eyes quietly and nod, “Your Mother… missed you very much.”
There was no need to say this, though, as Dong Su Zhu was already crying like a child suffering from unimaginable grievances. Hurriedly, she flew forward and hugged Yang Kai tightly, weeping uncontrollable, unable to form any words at all.
Seeing her like this, Yang Kai could only smile.
Several dozen years had passed, but his mother’s childish character had not changed in the slightest, a fact that allowed him to relax unconsciously.
“Why you, what kind of cultivation do you have now? Why can’t I sense anything from you at all?” Huo Xing Chen walked up carelessly and circled Yang Kai as he asked in surprise.
Everyone else was also taken aback and released their Divine Senses to scan Yang Kai’s body.
However, none of them achieved anything, feeling like their Divine Senses were simply sinking into the ocean, unable to create the slightest ripple.
This discovery shocked everyone and made them subconsciously feel that Yang Kai’s current cultivation had already surpassed the level of Tong Xuan Realm.
“The Origin Returning Realm,” Yang Kai let go of Dong Su Zhu and patted her on the shoulder to comfort her. He did not know how to explain to everyone what the Origin Realm was, so after a moment he simply said, “En, two Great Realms above the Saint Realm.”
Gasps resounded from all around.
The Saint Realm was the pinnacle of Tong Xuan Realm, and above it was the Saint King Realm, but throughout the ages, only the Great Demon God had reached that realm.
But now, Yang Kai had surpassed this legendary realm, taking a further step on the Martial Dao.
Qiu Yi Meng’s beautiful eyes dimmed suddenly as bitterness flooded her heart.
She suddenly felt as if there were a thousand mountains and rivers between herself and Yang Kai. He now stood high up amongst the clouds while she was still stuck on the ground looking up, unable to reach him at all.
Huo Xing Chen pursed his dry lips as he gave a wry smile while glancing over at Qiu Yi Meng, not knowing how he should comfort her.
Although the Qiu Family’s Young Matriarch had an outstanding aptitude and hadn’t needed to worry about cultivation resources after she came to Tong Xuan Realm, she was still just a Third-Order Transcendent now, not even reaching the point of True Qi Sanctification yet.
The gap was simply too big…
“The outside world is filled with so many unimaginable and exciting things, I’ll tell you all about them, but let’s go back first,” Yang Kai chuckled.
“En, en, let’s return first!” Yang Ying Feng nodded and yelled spiritedly.
This group of people then rushed back down to War Spirit Temple’s grounds.
Inside a grand hall, everyone sat together watching Yang Kai and listening to him talk about the strange and wonderful Star Field.
“Kai’er, are there really countless Cultivation Stars in the vast Star Field?” Ling Tai Xu asked in disbelief.
“En, I alone have visited around six or seven Cultivation Stars. In addition, there are Ore Stars and Medicine Stars suitable for mining ore and cultivating herbs,” Yang Kai nodded gently.
“Incredible,” Huo Xing Chen’s jaw dropped so far, he could nearly fit his fist inside.
“In the Star Field, are Saints weak?” Dong Qing Han asked timidly. After several dozen years, Fatty Dong was chubbier than ever.
“Very weak,” Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “In the Star Field, most cultivators can reach the Saint Realm, and those with good aptitude can do so by their twenties or thirties.”
Everyone looked at each other with a look of shame.
There was only one person sitting here who was a Saint, Ling Tai Xu, the Sect Master of High Heaven Pavilion. Others who had astounding aptitude, like Qiu Yi Meng, had only reached the Third-Order Transcendent Realm, while Fatty Dong and Huo Xing Chen had both just broken through to become Transcendents.
The younger generation here was nearly fifty years old and used to think highly of their own achievements, but now when Yang Kai talked about the situation in the Star Field, they couldn’t help feeling ashamed, wishing they could find holes to crawl into and hide.
“The frog at the bottom of the well is unaware of how vast the sky truly is!” Ling Tai Xu sighed deeply.
“Grand Master need not belittle himself so improperly. The cultivators in the Star Field can achieve this kind of feat because the World Energy of their Cultivation Stars is extraordinarily rich. Tong Xuan Realm, on the other hand… is not suitable for cultivators to grow on. If given the same cultivation conditions, everyone here would have no trouble breaking through to the Saint Realm,” Yang Kai said seriously.
“Even if that is so, isn’t it extremely difficult to enter the Star Field?” Ling Tai Xu slowly shook his head as he laughed at himself, “Truthfully, your Grand Master and Brother Meng joined forces to try to enter the Star Field ten years ago, but the two of us barely got a hundred thousand kilometres from Tong Xuan Realm before we were forced to retreat. There seems to be a kind of magical power flooding the Star Field that pressures one from all directions. If one’s physique is not strong enough, it seems they cannot even survive for long in that environment much less explore it.”
“The power of the Starry Sky,” Yang Kai gently nodded, but soon grinned and said, “But Grand Master need not worry about this. I’ve returned this time to take all of you to the Star Field, to a better Cultivation Star.”
Inside the hall, the expressions of everyone turned excited as they looked to Yang Kai in surprise.
“Really?”
“How are you going to do that?”
“There’s so many of us, can you really take all of us?”
Everyone asked in a rush, obviously interested, and extremely excited about what Yang Kai just told them. They could not wait to leave this backward place and travel to a star with far richer World Energy where they, just like Yang Kai, could see a wider and more wondrous world.
Although everyone was excited, they also understood that leaving Tong Xuan Realm and entering the Star Field would not be a simple matter.
Ling Tai Xu and Meng Wu Ya had been unsuccessful even after teaming up, so the difficulty could easily be imagined.
But now that Yang Kai had issued such a statement, everyone’s hopes were roused.
“Settle down, settle down!” Ling Tai Xu waved his hand and called for order, “Since Little Yang Kai has made such an announcement, he surely has a solution to this problem, yes?”
Saying so, he looked towards Yang Kai with a smile.
“Grand Master understands well, it truly won’t be a problem to bring all of you to the Star Field. En, in fact, not just everyone here, but also all your clansmen and even all of Nine Heavens Holy Land. It will just take a little time to organize everyone but we can all go at once.”
“All at once?” This time Ling Tai Xu was also shocked.
War Spirit Temple and Shattering Mystical Palace currently housed three or four thousand people from the Central Capital while Nine Heavens Holy Land had more than two thousand disciples.
Adding these two groups together yielded as many as six thousand people. How was Yang Kai going to take away such a massive group with him? The power of the Starry Sky was extremely oppressive, and even if he was an Origin Returning Realm master, Yang Kai couldn’t possibly shelter so many people.
“En, I have my methods, Grand Master need not worry,” Yang Kai grinned, “The key is whether you are willing to go.”
“Of course we’re willing!” Huo Xing Chen called out immediately and eagerly, “When will we be leaving?”
“Haha, Brother Huo doesn’t need to be in such a rush. Although you are the Patriarch of a family, this kind of important matter still needs to be discussed with your clansmen. Perhaps there will be some who don’t wish to leave here. If you are willing to come with me, you’re more than welcome, if not, I won’t force you. En, this goes for the Qiu Family, Yang Family, Dong Family, and everyone else. Sister Qiu, Big Brother, Cousin, you are now all leaders of your various families, so you should discuss this matter carefully with your respective Elders.”
“We know,” Yang Wei and Dong Qing Han nodded.
Qiu Yi Meng also nodded in agreement, her previously dim eyes showing a glowing lustre again after hearing this news.
If she was able to enter the Star Field, she would be able to reach a higher level, and although she didn’t believe she could stand shoulder to shoulder with Yang Kai, narrowing the distance between them should be possible. Perhaps one day, she would be able to touch him…
She saw a faint hope, but that was enough to restore her radiant look.
“Does that mean we won’t be separated from each for so long again?” Dong Su Zhu looked at Yang Kai excitedly.
Yang Kai was her only child, but since he turned thirteen years old, she had barely spent any time with him. It was not so bad at first as, although she couldn’t see Yang Kai, she at least knew he was in High Heaven Pavilion and living well while, during the Inheritance War, Yang Kai was only a hundred kilometres away from her.
But since Yang Kai left Tong Xuan Realm and journeyed to the Star Field, not only had she not been able to see him for thirty years, she wasn’t even able to hear a single bit of news about him.
Had it not been for Yang Ying Feng’s painstaking efforts to soothe her mood these years, Dong Su Zhu would have already collapsed.
Today, learning that she could also go to the Star Field with her son, Dong Su Zhu was incredibly elated.
Yang Kai looked at her and gently nodded.
Dong Su Zhu laughed joyfully as she smiled from the bottom of her heart.
“This matter can’t be delayed, I’m going right now to convince those old fogies.” Huo Xing Chen couldn’t sit still and quickly got up and left, a look on his face saying he wouldn’t allow anyone to dare disagree with him.
“I’ll go too,” Yang Zhao also got up and left.
Qiu Yi Meng followed close behind.
None of them were willing to waste any time.
All of them longed to see a higher level of the Martial Dao and experience the mysteries of the Star Field.
Soon, only Ling Tai Xu and Yang Kai’s parents were left in the hall.
Their family had at last reunited.
There were endless words and endless thoughts to exchange.
After learning that Yang Kai still couldn’t find Su Yan’s whereabouts, Dong Su Zhu sighed and comforted him.
She liked her daughter-in-law Su Yan very much.
“Little brat, you worrying whole-heartedly about Su Yan is fine and all, but have you ever given any thought about how to deal with the ones you’ve left behind here?” Yang Ying Feng suddenly looked at Yang Kai and asked pointedly.
“Little Senior Sister?” Yang Kai chuckled, “I’ve already gone to see her, but there seems to be a little something wrong with her so I’ll have to speak with her carefully when she wakes up.”
“Don’t play dumb!” Yang Ying Feng glared at him, “There’s more than Xia Ning Chang here, there are several others.”
“Since when were there so many?” Yang Kai asked back with a wronged look.
“Hmph, there’s one here in War Spirit Temple and two over at Twin Spirit Pavilion! You think your Father is blind?” Yang Ying Feng snickered, “You may not have said anything to your Father, but he is clearer about this than anyone.”
Yang Kai instantly blushed awkwardly.
Dong Su Zhu simply giggled to the side while quietly raising her thumb up to Yang Kai. Yang Ying Feng had been deeply in love with her his entire life and she was his only wife, a fact she was quite satisfied with; however, when it came to her son, she hoped he would be accompanied by many beauties. The best case would be for him to quickly give her one or two… no, ten grandchildren so that she and his father would not be bored in the future.
Even if Yang Kai wasn’t there to attend to them, they could busy themselves raising their grandchildren.
“Good, good, let’s not interfere in the matters of the young. Yang Kai is not an unreasonable boy anymore, he will obviously treat those little girls appropriately,” Ling Tai Xu interjected.
With his Master speaking, Yang Ying Feng immediately shrank his head before nodding.
All of War Spirit Temple and Shattering Mystical Palace were abuzz with activity as the big families who had come here with Yang Kai held high-level meetings, everyone seemingly discussing something of great importance.
Everyone soon learned that Yang Kai had returned and also that they were being given an opportunity to travel to the Star Field.
No one would be forced, though. Everything was voluntary.
Nine Heavens Holy Land also received a message from Yang Kai and reacted in a similar fashion to War Spirit Temple’s side. In addition, Yang Kai sent a message to Soaring Heaven Sect.
Two days later, Yang Kai returned to Nine Heavens Holy Land.
He went directly to the cultivation room where Xia Ning Chang was in seclusion.
Little Senior Sister was still asleep, however. It seemed like her recent cultivation deviation had exhausted her quite a bit.
Yang Kai came up to her, held her jade white hand, and poured some Saint Qi into her body gently.
After a while, Xia Ning Chang’s long eyelashes fluttered and Yang Kai sat down on the edge of her bed, facing her with a warm smile.
Soon after, Xia Ning Chang opened her beautiful eyes, and when she saw Yang Kai’s face, she instantly fixated on him.
Four eyes suddenly met, just like they had accidentally back in the Nine Yin Mountain Valley all those years ago.
There was warmth as well as a slight hint of panic.
Soon though, Xia Ning Chang pursed her lips and tittered lightly.
“Why are you laughing?” Yang Kai asked while looking at her with a smile.
“Because this dream has lasted so long!” Xia Ning Chang held Yang Kai’s big hand tightly, as if she was unwilling to let go.
Yang Kai grinned, leaning down, and kissed her jewel-like red lips affectionately.
Little Senior Sister instantly found it difficult to breathe.
As their lips overlapped and pressed against one another, her temperature rose and her beautiful eyes became blurred.
“In your dreams, do you do these kinds of things with me?” Yang Kai looked at her meaningfully.
Xia Ning Chang’s pretty face immediately blushed as she shifted her body to bury her head in Yang Kai’s clothes, seemingly afraid to meet eyes with him again.
Yang Kai got the answer he was looking for and laughed happily.
Suddenly, Xia Ning Chang’s tender body trembled and she hurriedly sat up before freezing in place. Her beautiful eyes focused on Yang Kai’s face as surprised and doubt flashed across them.
“Junior Brother, you…” Xia Ning Chang opened her mouth, her brows furrowed cutely, seemingly still somewhat confused.
“I’m back,” Yang Kai said softly.
Little Senior Sister immediately covered her delicate mouth with her hands as her limpid eyes filled with mist.
Tears began sliding down her cheek as her eyes quickly turned red.
She finally realized that everything was real, that she wasn’t dreaming.
The man who she had been thinking about every day for the past several decades was now here, sitting on her bed, looking at her affectionately. Xia Ning Chang’s heart nearly melted from the tender affection she felt at this moment.
She couldn’t believe it!
“I’m really back,” Yang Kai stretched out his hands and embraced her tightly, pressing their bodies together as if he wanted them to become one.
A light whimper came from Xia Ning Chang as she hugged Yang Kai back just as tightly, cries leaking from her lips.
These cries pierced Yang Kai’s heart.
Straightening himself up, Yang Kai forcefully blocked her cries.
Soon, clothing was scattered, and a spring-like atmosphere filled the room.
All lovesickness and longing that had been fermenting over the past few decades all burst forth at this moment, transforming into a pure happiness and passion that made Xia Ning Chang lose herself in bliss.
Love between men and women had always been this way.
After an hour, a completely energized and rejuvenated Yang Kai took big strides out from the cultivation room.
By his side, Xia Ning Chang wore a veil and followed with her head down in embarrassment.
Her exquisite earlobes and slender neck were still a light shade of pink.
Like a withered flower which had just been watered by the spring rain, Xia Ning Chang at this moment had an unimaginably sensuous aura around her which was enough to drive even the most sage-like men mad with fervour.
The pair’s hands were closely linked, just like their hearts.
From nearby, a flash of light quickly approached, seemingly looking to discuss something with Yang Kai, but after seeing this scene, this figure immediately turned around and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Master…” Xia Ning Chang whispered, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into and hide herself.
Naturally, she saw that the person who had escaped just now was Meng Wu Ya.
Yang Kai grinned and laughed foolishly, resulting in Xia Ning Chang biting her red lips and stomping her foot in annoyance.
“Forget it, it must not have been important otherwise Treasurer Meng wouldn’t have just left,” Yang Kai comforted, “Right, Little Senior Sister, I have something to ask you.”
“What’s the matter?” Xia Ning Chang looked up at him timidly, met Yang Kai’s gaze, then quickly turned aside shyly.
This shy appearance caused Yang Kai’s blood to boil and he very much wanted to turn around right then and there to return to that secluded room…
Circulating his Saint Qi to suppress these urges with great difficulty, Yang Kai wore a solemn look and asked, “When I helped you smooth the flow of your Saint Qi, I discovered a strange grey Qi in your body; what was it?”
“That thing…” Xia Ning Chang heard this and frowned slightly as she replied, “Actually, I don’t know either.”
“You don’t know?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“En, it followed me all by itself, oh, where did it go?” Xia Ning Chang suddenly found that something was wrong. The mysterious grey Qi that had always existed in her body had disappeared at this moment.
After asking Xia Ning Chang carefully about the issue, Yang Kai realized that it was a coincidence that she managed to obtain that grey Qi.
It was just after Yang Kai had left Tong Xuan Realm, and Xia Ning Chang was feeling incredibly lonely. In order to pass the time, she could only sit in Nine Heavens Holy Land and refine pills every day.
She possessed the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, so performing Alchemy was the same as cultivation to her.
While a large number of pills were refined, Xia Ning Chang’s own cultivation increased at a terrifying speed, without any kind of bottleneck at all.
After only a few years of hard work, she had become a Saint, catching up to Yang Kai’s cultivation when he had left.
Then one day, bored, she secretly ran out to travel alone and encountered this grey Qi in a hidden underground cave.
Since she collected that grey Qi, her cultivation pace became even more astonishing. Within just ten years, she broke through from the Saint Realm to the Saint King Realm, and another ten years later reached the Second-Order Saint King Realm.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
Such a terrifying cultivation speed was something that ordinary disciples of great forces on Shadowed Star may not be able to achieve it.
But in this barren Tong Xuan Realm, Little Senior Sister had accomplished such a feat.
The reason Xia Ning Chang had her current achievements was inseparable from that mass of grey Qi.
“After you obtained it, did you feel any discomfort?” Yang Kai asked seriously.
“There wasn’t any kind of discomfort per se,” Xia Ning Chang thought carefully, “It’s just that sometimes I would suddenly feel tired and become lethargic, not even wanting to think. Hehe, it was almost as if I suddenly became old.”
Yang Kai gently nodded.
“Junior Brother, is there some kind of issue with that thing?” Xia Ning Chang asked.
“I can’t say for certain whether it is a blessing or a curse,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly, a little worried.
“Then what is it?”
“I’m not certain, but I have a guess. If this guess is correct… Then, this is an astonishing opportunity for Little Senior Sister!” Yang Kai looked at Xia Ning Chang with scorching eyes and an excited expression.
This vague guess was enough to make his blood boil!
“Right, where did you obtain it, do you remember?”
“En,” Xia Ning Chang nodded.
“Take me there!” Yang Kai said, reaching out to embrace Xia Ning Chang’s slender waist, summoning his Star Shuttle, and shooting out like a bolt of lightning from Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Following the route Little Senior Sister laid out, Yang Kai flew through the air with her at great speed.
Only a day later, the pair arrived in the sky above a certain mountain range tens of thousands of kilometres long.
Xia Ning Chang’s memory was excellent, so even after more than twenty years, she still clearly remembered the exact spot she found the grey Qi that day.
Soon, the two landed in a secluded mountain valley and Yang Kai put away his Star Shuttle. Xia Ning Chang then led the way forward on foot.
Not long after, a deep and dark cave appeared before the pair, Xia Ning Chang pointed to it, and said, “Junior Brother, I was exploring this cave and found that thing at the deepest level.”
“Then let’s go in and take a look,” Yang Kai smiled. Emboldened by his strength, he took Xia Ning Chang’s hand and dove into the cave.
It was extremely dark inside, and the air was still, but not damp.
As soon as he entered the cave, Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly.
He felt the World Energy aura was incredibly rich in this cave!
Of course, it was only rich compared to other places on Tong Xuan Realm and could not be compared to other famous Cultivation Stars like Shadowed Star in the Star Field.
Nevertheless, this was still quite a rare find.
Moreover, the deeper they dove, the richer the aura became.
Yang Kai’s expression grew brighter as he became more and more certain his guess was correct. Otherwise, there would be no other explanation for the increasingly dense World Energy aura here.
This really was a Heaven-sent opportunity for Little Senior Sister! If that grey Qi was handled well enough, it would bring Xia Ning Chang unimaginable benefits, akin to allowing her to emerge from a cocoon and transform into a butterfly.
The two held hands as they descended step by step.
Suddenly, Yang Kai seemed to feel something and quickly paused.
At the same time, Little Senior Sister cheered happily, “It’s here, I can feel it!”
A mass of mysterious energy was approaching from the front at an extremely rapid speed. Yang Kai Divine Sense swept out and confirmed that the approaching energy was the same one he had extracted from Little Senior Sister a few days ago.
The grey Qi had sunk into the ground that day and returned to where it was originally located, but now that it felt Xia Ning Chang’s aura, it had come out on its own to meet her.
A moment later, the grey Qi arrived in front of them.
However, it did not dare leap out towards Xia Ning Chang directly and instead stopped about ten metres away from Yang Kai.
It felt threatened by Yang Kai!
“Junior Brother…” Xia Ning Chang looked at him and asked for his opinion.
“Let it come. I didn’t want to startle it that day, I just wanted to see what it was,” Yang Kai backed off and gave way.
Xia Ning Chang called out immediately, and as if it sensed her beckoning, the grey Qi flew past Yang Kai and sank directly into Xia Ning Chang’s chest, disappearing in the next instant.
Xia Ning Chang’s tender body shivered slightly as she let out a slight gasp.
A flash of golden light suddenly burst from Yang Kai’s left eye as a narrow and majestic golden pupil appeared, staring towards Xia Ning Chang.
Demon Eye of Annihilation!
Under his penetrating gaze, Yang Kai saw Little Senior Sister receive the mass of grey Qi into her body, after which a grey aura that was invisible to the naked eye emerged around her.
This kind of aura was generally only possessed by extremely long-lived elders, and once it appeared it would signify that its owner did not have long to live.
Little Senior Sister was still at the height of her youth, so the only reason she would possess such an aura was because of the grey Qi!
Yang Kai was not surprised by this, however, seemingly having expected it all along, so he didn’t become anxious and instead just beckoned to Little Senior Sister and said, “Come with me!”
Xia Ning Chang gently nodded and followed behind Yang Kai step by step.
The two continued deeper for quite some time and distance. Along the way, Yang Kai felt the surrounding World Energy aura grow denser and denser, but despite the aura being so rich, it didn’t give Yang Kai any sense of comfort; on the contrary, it gave him a slightly depressed feeling.
When the surrounding World Energy density reached nearly the same level as Shadowed Star’s average, Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang came to a huge underground cave.
A faint source of light seemed to be shining from the ground up ahead and seemed to be sending out some kind of inaudible message, beckoning the two of them to come forward.
Receiving this call, Xia Ning Chang’s beautiful eyes became dazed and her body began to step forward unconsciously, like a moth to the flame.
Yang Kai’s face sank, and he let out a low grunt while sending a pulse of his Divine Sense straight into Xia Ning Chang’s Knowledge Sea.
Little Senior Sister’s tender body shuddered, and her face turned pale as the blankness in her eyes disappeared. After recovering her senses, a look of fear filled her face.
“Junior Brother, I…” Xia Ning Chang was a little at a loss. She did not know what was wrong just now, but it felt as if some external force had overridden her will and was forcing her to act without her consent.
“En, look over there!” Yang Kai pointed in a certain direction.
Xia Ning Chang looked in the direction he pointed and her beautiful eyes trembled.
There was a large pile of corpses, all of them extremely dried up, some of which had changed completely into ashes, but from the traces that could be seen on some of the bleached bones, it was clear that these people had all of their strength and vitality rapidly drained away, leading to their deaths.
“Who are these people, why did they all die here?” Xia Ning Chang leaned against Yang Kai, seemingly trying to find some sense of security.
“If my guess is correct, they all had similar experiences to yours.”
“The same as me?” Xia Ning Chang frowned in confusion for a moment, but she was both beautiful and intelligent so after some quick contemplation she understood, “You mean, they all obtained that grey Qi before?”
“Probably,” Yang Kai nodded.
“But why…” Xia Ning Chang only felt cold all over as the scene from just now appeared in her mind again. If not for Yang Kai promptly waking her up, her fate would likely have been the same as these unfortunate souls.
“Because the main body of that grey Qi wanted to supplement its strength. It chose you and nurtured you to make you stronger because the stronger you became, the more benefits it could obtain.”
“Why would it want to do this?” Xia Ning Chang looked puzzled.
“Because it’s about to die!” Yang Kai replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “These are all my guesses, but we should be able to tell if they’re correct soon enough.”
Saying so, Yang Kai held Xia Ning Chang’s hand and walked forward.
As the pair stepped through the sea of bones, a horrifying crackling sound occasionally rang out, sending shivers up their spines.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he observed the faint light up ahead.
Not long after, the pair arrived at the source of this light.
A deep underground chasm appeared in front of the pair, one that was so deep that it was impossible to see the bottom, but if one looked down, they could see a faint grey light deep into the abyss, like a massive burning lamp.
This light was extremely dim, and its colour was exactly the same as the grey Qi obtained by Xia Ning Chang.
“As expected!” Yang Kai took a deep breath. After seeing the huge, gloomy lamp-like light, he immediately affirmed his previous guesses.
“Junior Brother, what is this?” Xia Ning Chang looked at the grey fire suspiciously, faintly feeling that the grey Qi in her body was closely related to it, as if the two were one existence.
“The Star Source!” Yang Kai muttered as his expression suddenly filled with excitement.
“Star Source?” Xia Ning Chang was confused.
“Any Cultivation Star will have a source of power, akin to the star’s life made manifest. This source is the key to the survival of this star, like a heart!” Yang Kai calmly explained. “Because there is a Star Source, a star will have vitality. Without it, the star will become a Dead Star. There are countless such stars in the Star Field, perhaps all of them at one point supported life, but over time, and the weakening and eventual death of their Star Sources, this vitality also ceased to exist. Humans fade out just like lamps, but so do stars. Once the Star Source in front of you disappears, Tong Xuan Realm will also die and become a Dead Star.”
Xia Ning Chang looked at Yang Kai in total surprise.
She had never thought that even stars were born, aged, weakened, then eventually died. Yang Kai’s words undoubtedly gave her a great shock.
However, since it was her Junior Brother, she naturally believed him.
Thinking of Tong Xuan Realm completely losing its vitality and collapsing into a silent wasteland, Xia Ning Chang’s tender body couldn’t help shiver. She couldn’t imagine just how many would suffer and die if Tong Xuan Realm were really to suffer such a fate.
She suddenly felt extremely forlorn.
“Junior Brother, do you have a way to reinvigorate it?” Xia Ning Chang suddenly asked.
Yang Kai turned his head to her and gently nodded.
“How? Junior Brother, please teach me!” Xia Ning Chang bit her red lips and said eagerly.
“You are the key,” Yang Kai took a deep breath, “Although a Star Source has its own life, it does not possess sentience and is instead a kind of massive gathering of profundities. It choosing you was originally to absorb you, after which Tong Xuan Realm could replenish itself somewhat and delay its approaching death, but if this is handled well, not only will we be able to fully rejuvenate Tong Xuan Realm, but Little Senior Sister will also gain enormous benefits.”
Xia Ning Chang was again shocked.
Yang Kai turned his head away from her and towards the massive grey flames down below.
A Star Source! Since he entered the Star Field, he had often heard about such things, but he had never truly witnessed one before.
Whether the mass of energy in the depths of the floating continent was its Star Source or not remained to be verified.
It could be said that the massive grey fireball in front of him was the first Star Source he had seen!
This was a Heaven-sent opportunity!
The power of a Star Source was extremely terrifying, and anyone who wanted to even approach it had to take a huge risk. It was for this reason that even Origin Kings didn’t dare get close to a Cultivation Star’s Source at will.
Star Sources were also incredibly difficult to refine, and if one was not careful in the process, they would suffer backlash from the full power of a star and instantly die.
Throughout the ages, many Origin King Realm masters had been born in the Star Field who later died while trying to refine a Star Source.
In the current Star Field, there were countless Cultivation Stars; however, there were only a handful of masters who had refined a Star Source and become a true Star Master.
There was no Origin King who treated their own life casually. Many would rather spend their lives cultivating desperately rather than rushing to refine a Star Source.
But now, such an opportunity lay in front of Xia Ning Chang.
Compared with other Cultivation Star Sources, Tong Xuan Realm’s was undoubtedly old and dying.
Because of this, when Xia Ning Chang was possessed by this Source, she would occasionally feel lethargic, lazy, and aged.
It wasn’t because she had become old, but rather that the Star Source was approaching its death!
This Star Source itself had chosen Xia Ning Chang and allowed her to partially refine it.
Although Xia Ning Chang was only a Second-Order Saint King and lacked in terms of cultivation, if she had enough perseverance and courage, she may be able to fully refine this ageing Star Source.
Even Yang Kai was a little envious of this opportunity!
Although there were no doubt some dangers, the arrow had already been shot from its bow so there was no turning back.
The Star Source was already closely connected with Xia Ning Chang, and if it were to perish, Xia Ning Chang would inevitably follow it to the grave. Only by completely refining it would both have a chance to survive.
In the future, as Xia Ning Chang grew and became stronger, this mass of grey flames would also have an opportunity to re-ignite and rejuvenate Tong Xuan Realm with vitality.
Of course, the premise was that Xia Ning Chang became strong enough!
After Yang Kai explained the truth of the matter and what was at stake, Xia Ning Chang nodded without hesitation, “I’m willing to refine it!”
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback at first, but soon smiled and nodded, “Alright, in fact, Little Senior Sister doesn’t need to worry too much. Since it has already chosen you, it must have already decided that you were compatible. Little Senior Sister only needs to work hard to let it fully accept and integrate with you. Once you succeed, you will no longer be separable, and you will become the Star Master of Tong Xuan Realm, the supreme ruler of this star, its destiny and glory will be yours to determine!”
“En,” Xia Ning Chang is nodded heavily, not overwhelmed by the glorious prospects described by Yang Kai but instead asking seriously, “But how exactly should I refine it?”
“Come here, I’ll pass you a special Secret Art for refining Star Sources,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before pulling Xia Ning Chang to sit down nearby.
After Xia Ning Chang let go of her Knowledge Sea defences, Yang Kai sent his Soul Avatar into her Knowledge Sea and began to teach her a profound and mysterious Secret Art.
Star Refining Art!
This was something Yang Kai obtained from the Emperor Garden.
Yang Kai had thought he would have to wait until he needed to refine a Star Source before using this particular Secret Art, but now it had unexpectedly benefited Xia Ning Chang.
This Secret Art had been hidden inside a Stone Monument.
That day, Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo had encountered Xue Yue in the Emperor Garden and, as a result of their battle, the Stone Monument was destroyed. A stone tablet had emerged from the debris of the Stone Monument with three ancient words inscribed on it.
Xue Yue seemed to value this stone tablet greatly and practically begged Yang Kai to give it to her.
Yang Kai had almost complied.
But in the end, Xue Yue had missed the opportunity to obtain the stone tablet because the Emperor Garden had suddenly closed.
After returning to High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai had studied this stone tablet carefully and realized that it contained a Secret Art called the Star Refining Art. The three ancient words on the stone tablet were the name of this Secret Art.
This Secret Art only had one use: to refine Star Sources. It had been passed down by the Starry Sky Great Emperor and was incredibly profound and mysterious.
Xia Ning Chang using it to refine this Star Source would absolutely yield twice the result with half the effort.
Passing this Secret Art to Xia Ning Chang was simple and only took Yang Kai about half a cup of tea’s time to complete. Not only had he given her the Secret Art itself, he had also passed her all of his own relevant experiences and enlightenments.
Withdrawing his Soul Avatar from her Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai waited quietly.
Xia Ning Chang needed time to understand this Star Refining Art.
The sun set and the moon rose as time silently passed by inside the cave.
After a full month, Xia Ning Chang suddenly opened her beautiful eyes and exhaled gently, her pretty face seeming a little tired but a glow of excitement still filling her expression.
“Junior Brother, I’m ready.”
“Let’s start then,” Yang Kai looked at her with firm eyes.
Xia Ning Chang nodded slightly, got up, and walked towards the crevice.
When she came to the edge of the abyss, she stared down at the mass of grey flames which leapt up from below and her mouth began moving slightly, seemingly communicating with the Star Source, “If by giving you my life, I could reignite you and save the star from death, I would be willing, but if not, please accept me, merge with me, and allow me to stand together with you. I will work hard to cultivate, become stronger as soon as possible, and restore your vitality!”
The huge grey flame below remained motionless, seemingly not reacting at all.
But soon, there was a loud sizzling as the grey flame flickered from side to side, as if it were a giant flower bud that was slowly blooming, allowing Xia Ning Chang inside.
A smile appeared on Xia Ning Chang’s face and she called out softly, “Thank you!”
As soon as these words fell, she jumped down.
Yang Kai’s face changed dramatically.
The situation had developed far faster than he had expected. He hadn’t realized that Little Senior Sister would act so decisively.
By the time he reacted, it was already too late to stop her.
Rushing to the edge of the abyss and looking down, Yang Kai saw that the massive grey flame had actually closed up again, sealing Little Senior Sister inside.
An indescribable force suddenly rushed up from below and threw Yang Kai out towards the distant rock face.
Even if this Star Source was waning and severely weakened, it was still not something Yang Kai could approach easily.
It obviously did not want Yang Kai to interfere with the process.
Yang Kai got up from the ground, his face gloomy, but fortunately he could still feel Little Senior Sister’s aura down below.
And so, he began an extremely nervous wait.
There was nothing he could do to interfere now; he could only wait for the results to appear.
Suddenly, a mystical aura began to defuse through the underground abyss, one that soothed Yang Kai’s irritable mood.
Frowning slightly, he immersed himself in sensing this aura.
Faintly, he seemed to be able to comprehend something.
Hastily closing his eyes, Yang Kai began to investigate carefully.
In the vast Star Field, amidst the endless darkness, there was nothing, not even light. This seemed to be an extremely ancient age, one that was impossible to trace.
Yang Kai looked around but could not see anything, not even himself.
Time passed little by little in this desolate loneliness.
He didn’t know how many hundreds of thousands of years passed, but all of a sudden, one day, amidst the dark and boundless Star Field, a little light suddenly appeared. This light was small at first, but it soon spread out like fire across a prairie.
The entire Star Field became turbulent from this massive shockwave of energy.
Millions of large or small meteorites flew about before gathering together and merging under the influence of some kind of magical force.
Many grains of sand would eventually build a tower, and gradually, a star appeared in the Star Field.
This was a newly born star, without any energy fluctuations, and still engulfed in darkness. It drifted along like a helpless child wandering the vast Star Field without any destination, even forgetting where it originally came from.
Millions of years passed, and finally, this wandering star arrived at a massive Sun Star and for the first time felt a gentle light full of warmth.
It stopped here and began to orbit around this Sun Star.
Gradually, life began to sprout on its surface as green plants and flowers pushed up from the ground.
After millions of years of evolution, finally, sentient creatures began to appear on this star. They were ancient creatures belonging to the oldest of races.
They eagerly learnt, grew, and became stronger as they lived.
They branched out and soon split into different races.
Human Race, Monster Race, Demon Race, and many other strange races.
No longer satisfied with the life they currently had, these races began to fight for various resources, discovered ways to make themselves stronger, and eventually began to cultivate.
Some races perished while others rose and became stronger.
Silavin: Hey guys, I just read a few comments and this has been coming up over and over again.
‘What happened to Yang Kai’s Demonic Transformation?’
It has merged with his Yang Qi to form the Demonic Black Flame.
To be fair, it is logical to think he is still able to use it. But, then again, he also does not use Yang Qi anymore. So, we could think of it that the two Qis within his body has fully merged, which created the Demonic Black Flame.
As time passed, and as the evolution of the various races continued, this star gradually became colourful and filled with energy. As the major races grew prosperous, the star itself also prospered.
All living beings drew energy from the star unrestrainedly, obtaining various things that were beneficial to themselves.
At some point, however, the star began to grow old.
It no longer had as much energy for the beings to cultivate with, and it no longer had excess energy to give birth to precious and rare cultivation materials.
It began to become barren. It was strong in will but weak in strength, and looking at the countless creatures living on it, it felt helpless.
The prosperity of ancient times gradually faded away and the World Energy aura became thinner and thinner. At the same time, the cultivation realms of cultivators became lower and lower.
No one could sense higher levels of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao.
It had grown old, like a kind father, a kind mother, who took pains to raise its children, raising them with unconditional love, granting them every request it could without complaint.
However, it could no longer provide any more help to its children.
It had once been youthful and full of vitality, but now, it could barely manage to maintain its feeble existence.
Its children call it Tong Xuan Realm!
…..
Yang Kai woke up from that mysterious state, and his eyes flashed with the vicissitudes of life.
He had witnessed the birth of a Cultivation Star, watched it prosper, weaken, and gradually tread upon the path to death. Like this Cultivation Star, he had seemingly experienced hundreds of millions of years, giving him an indescribable feeling.
Yang Kai’s state of mind and mood received an unprecedented consolidation. At this moment, his understanding of the world had reached an incredible height, just like a wise man who had lived countless years, his eyes flashing with wisdom.
He felt that even if he broke through to the Origin King Realm right now, his mental state would not have a single flaw!
His perception of the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way had now far surpassed his own cultivation!
The improvement of one’s mental state normally required a great accumulation of time and for one to experience the world around them, which happened to coincide with the strange experience Yang Kai just had.
The cultivation of one’s mood and state of mind was ethereal and unexplainable, but it was no doubt real, something each individual had to sense and evaluate independently. Yang Kai had not expected that Little Senior Sister refining the Star Source would let him benefit in such a way.
He wanted to immerse himself in that wonderful atmosphere again, but no matter how he tried, he could not find a way to enter that mysterious state.
This made him sigh a little.
Suddenly, Yang Kai seemed to have noticed something, and his expression sank. Quickly getting up, he rushed over to the edge of the crevice.
He could hear Little Senior Sister’s pained groans coming from down below, as if she was experiencing extreme hardship!
Reaching the edge, Yang Kai only saw the massive swaying grey flames, with Little Senior Sister nowhere to be seen. However, he could still feel that Xia Ning Chang was wrapped in the grey fire, tossing about somewhat violently.
The surrounding World Energy had gathered madly towards the underground cave from the surrounding several hundred-kilometre radii, possibly even further.
It seemed like all of Tong Xuan Realm’s World Energy had become a bit chaotic as a result.
Little Senior Sister’s cultivation realm was increasing at a terrifying speed at this moment.
Originally, she had only been a Second-Order Saint King, but at this moment, she had already reached the peak of the Second-Order Saint King Realm.
A moment later, she directly broke through to the Third-Order Saint King Realm!
This was just the beginning though and her cultivation continued to rise.
Soon it reached the peak Third-Order Saint King Realm and seemed to touch upon the threshold of the Origin Returning Realm!
Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked.
Such unrestrained breakthroughs in one’s cultivation would put a tremendous load on the body of a cultivator, but with Little Senior Sister’s aptitude, this should still be tolerable.
What worried Yang Kai was not this though, but rather it was the surrounding World Energy which… seemed to no longer be rushing towards this place.
The massive amount of World Energy which had gathered before had been consumed by Xia Ning Chang’s breakthrough to the Third-Order Saint King Realm and her attempt to reach the Origin Returning Realm.
Xia Ning Chang’s aura could also now faintly be felt from the massive grey flames, which showed that her fusion with the Star Source was proceeding very smoothly, but it was precisely because of this smoothness that Little Senior Sister was now facing difficulties.
There was no more World Energy for her to break through to the Origin Returning Realm, nor enough aura to receive her World Energy baptism once she did.
This was a breakthrough to a new Great Realm, and there was no room for any mistakes. If this breakthrough failed, with Xia Ning Chang’s current state of integration with Tong Xuan Realm’s Star Source, her fate would likely be miserable.
Yang Kai began worrying silently.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought up a solution.
If there was not enough World Energy, he could just use Saint Crystals instead! Yang Kai had not used Saint Crystals before when making breakthroughs because Shadowed Star’s World Energy aura was enough to fully meet his needs.
Now that the ambient World Energy of Tong Xuan Realm could not satisfy Little Senior Sister, however, he could simply use Saint Crystals to make up for the shortfall.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and his ring flashed, after which a massive number of white, shimmering Saint Crystals poured down like rain.
Before these Saint Crystals could reach the bottom of the abyss, they all exploded into dust and released an enormous amount of pure energy which then gathered toward the location of Xia Ning Chang and the huge grey flame.
Xia Ning Chang’s pained moans faded, and the chaotic aura down below began to calm. Even the swaying of the grey flames stabilized noticeably.
Yang Kai smiled happily and poured out more Saint Crystals.
For this long-distance voyage, he had brought a lot of Saint Crystals with him, including all that he had plundered from Thunder Typhoon Sect’s headquarters that day, as well as some of what was in High Heaven Sect’s reserves.
At this moment, these hundreds of millions of Saint Crystals were all thrown into the crevice by Yang Kai.
The World Energy gradually grew richer, and the huge grey flame became vigorous. Little Senior Sister’s aura stabilized, and everything seemed to be developing in a positive direction.
Yang Kai felt Xia Ning Chang’s aura rising rapidly and soon it broke through the shackles of the Third-Order Saint King Realm.
A stunning World Energy baptism followed!
The World Energy transformed from all the Saint Crystals Yang Kai had poured out converged into waves of fiercely surging aura that crashed towards Little Senior Sister like mighty ancient dragons.
A pair of small hands weaved back and forth inside the grey flame, forming a series of profound seals to guide the rush of World Energy from the baptism of breaking through to a new Great Realm to temper her body and spirit.
The whole process was shocking, but without much danger.
After the surging World Energy calmed down, the huge grey flame in the abyss down below suddenly disappeared.
The cave returned to a state of darkness.
However, from the tender body of Little Senior Sister, there was now a faint glow, like that of a goddess descending to the earth, solemn and inviolable.
Yang Kai stood above the abyss, looking at her quietly, dazzled by her in every way.
Little Senior Sister was now a genuine Origin Returning Realm master, and although she was just a First-Order, with Tong Xuan Realm’s Star Source and her Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, her potential was surely unlimited.
Such terrifying potential even eclipsed Yang Kai’s.
He did not feel any sense of inferiority though, he just felt that he needed to work even harder in the future.
Otherwise, it would certainly be embarrassing if one day he was overtaken by his woman.
Little Senior Sister did not move, simply standing mid-air, her eyes closed eyes tightly, a profound look upon her pretty face, seemingly silently comprehending something.
Only after a long time did Xia Ning Chang suddenly open her beautiful eyes, a look of joy at her great harvest flashing across her face as she flew upwards.
Yang Kai smiled, stretched out his hand to hold her, and brought her into his embrace.
“Junior Brother, I seem to have surpassed the Saint King Realm,” Xia Ning Chang said excitedly.
“En, you have indeed,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
“What is this realm called? It gives me a strange but marvellous feeling.”
“The Origin Returning Realm, I too am currently in this realm. When one reaches this realm, their first priority is to condense their Shi. I will explain the process to you a little later when we have more time.”
“En.”
“Let’s head back first. I don’t know how much time has passed, but I’m afraid the people in the Holy Land should be growing somewhat restless by now,” Yang Kai suggested as he tried to lead Xia Ning Chang outside.
“Allow me,” Xia Ning Chang stopped him, with an eager expression on her face.
Yang Kai glanced at her before quickly understanding and gently nodding.
Xia Ning Chang stretched out a finger and tapped the air in front of her.
This gesture was made smoothly and innocently, as if it was simply gently caressing the air.
A vortex suddenly appeared as a result, however.
As soon as this vortex formed, Xia Ning Chang pulled Yang Kai into it.
When the two reappeared, Yang Kai suddenly found that he was already standing in Nine Heavens Holy Land, in front of the cultivation room Xia Ning Chang had been using for her retreat.
In one step, the two of them had crossed nearly a million kilometres!
Even Yang Kai who cultivated the Dao of Space could not achieve something of this level.
“Junior Brother was right, with this Star Source, I feel like I have become the master of this star. With a single thought, I can go to any place and even mobilize the energy of the entire star as I see fit,” Xia Ning Chang explained softly.
“This is the power of a Star Master,” Yang Kai smiled softly, “That’s why those Origin King Realm masters always want to refine Star Sources, because they can gain unimaginable benefits and insights from it. Little Senior Sister, Tong Xuan Realm and you are now inseparable. You are also the first person in history to refine a Star Source at the Saint King Realm. The prosperity or decline of this star in the future is now closely tied to your cultivation. Whether you can rejuvenate our homeland will depend completely on your efforts.”
When Yang Kai said so, Xia Ning Chang suddenly felt a heavy pressure.
It was as if the future of hundreds of millions of creatures on this star were now placed on her delicate shoulders.
But soon, Xia Ning Chang composed herself and nodded firmly, “I will definitely work hard to not let it die.”
“En, let’s go. Many people are waiting for us,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before pulling Xia Ning Chang towards a certain palace.
Yang Kai could sense countless familiar auras from this palace who seemed to be waiting for his arrival.
Inside Nine Heavens Holy Land’s largest meeting hall, the scene was quite crowded.
Representatives from the Human, Demon, and Monster Races had all assembled.
Almost all those of great status from the star were present.
This was an extremely terrifying force.
Although the number of people was large, the scene was actually extremely quiet as many would glance towards the hall’s entrance from time to time, seemingly anticipating someone’s arrival.
There was only one person in Tong Xuan Realm who could gather the masters of the Three Clans together like this and have them wait patiently for him for so many days.
Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Master!
“Simply shameless!” Meng Wu Ya ground his teeth, feeling bitter in his heart as he pounded the arm of his chair angrily.
He thought that Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang had been spending the recent time lost in the throes of passion and completely forgotten about time.
It had been more than a month since the two of them last appeared, causing the masters from the Human, Demon, and Monster Races to wait for them idly, naturally causing Meng Wu Ya a great deal of embarrassment.
He had raised Xia Ning Chang for so many years and taught her diligently all that time. He was Xia Ning Chang’s only relative in this world.
But now, the moment Yang Kai returned, he had snatched up his treasured apprentice and taken her away from him!
Meng Wu Ya knew that this time there was no turning back. In Xia Ning Chang’s mind in the future, her master would always come second, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
The only consolation Meng Wu Ya took in all of this was that his precious disciple’s thirty years of waiting had not been in vain. That little bastard Yang Kai had finally returned.
The whole situation was really quite astonishing, and Meng Wu Ya couldn’t help shaking his head as he reflected upon it, a strange mix of emotions filling his heart.
The Great Seniors of the Monster Race and the Demon Generals of the Demon Race, on the other hand, were currently both occupied with each other. The masters from these two races were sitting opposite one another, their eyes glaring back and forth, making the atmosphere in the hall quite tense and strained.
Although the Three Clans had joined forces once thirty years ago, there had been many small scale conflicts between them over cultivation resources over the past few decades, and the friction between the Monster Race and Demon Race had been the most serious.
Fortunately, both the Monster Race Great Seniors and the Demon Generals understood how to exercise restraint and had not acted personally, otherwise, the conflict would definitely have escalated greatly.
Since it was just the younger generation and lower-level subordinates who were competing with one another, there was still some room for compromise.
The situation could remain calm when the masters from these two races were separated by millions of kilometres, but now that they were all here together in Nine Heavens Holy Land, and after spending many days in boredom, everyone was beginning to feel irritable, and Meng Wu Ya was beginning to have trouble suppressing the tensions between the two groups.
If it were not for him, Ling Tai Xu, and Chu Ling Xiao being present, three top-level Saint Realm masters from the Human Race, these two groups would likely already have begun to fight.
[Such a headache! That bastard boy has completely fallen into a land of tenderness and forgotten about the suffering of us old masters!]
At this moment, Meng Wu Ya scolded Yang Kai in his heart for his impropriety.
It was unknown which Great Senior from the Monster Race or which Demon General from the Demon Race that finally struck the other party’s nerves, but a quarrel eventually broke out. Initially, it was just two people competing with one another, but as the situation intensified, all of the Great Seniors and Demon Generals were drawn in to support their own side.
The situation soon became a bit chaotic.
Finally, Thunder Dragon Great Senior and Demon Commander Zhang Yuan also had to wade into the muddy waters.
“Thunder Dragon, this Senior has been in retreat in recent years, but has not been able to find a suitable opportunity to verify his results, why don’t the two of us take advantage of this rare meeting to compare notes?” Zhang Yuan looked at Thunder Dragon Great Senior with a smile, his eyes filled with an aggressive fighting spirit.
“Sounds good, this King also happened to have some gains over the years and happens to need an opponent to test them on. I’ve long heard that Brother Zhang Yuan’s Profound Heavenly Seal has unparalleled might. Even Brother Meng had suffered a lot as a result of it back then. This King is eager to experience it,” Thunder Dragon grinned back, unafraid.
“Don’t pull this old master into this!” Meng Wu Ya suddenly became disgruntled.
After being hit by Demon Commander Zhang Yuan’s Profound Heavenly Seal, most of Meng Wu Ya’s cultivation had been sealed, and he had to escape to the Great Han Dynasty to avoid calamity. It was the greatest shame of his life.
Although Zhang Yuan had used a powerful Spirit Array back then to help him to defeat Meng Wu Ya, this incident was still the one Meng Wu Ya disliked discussing the most.
Immediately, Thunder Dragon Great Senior and Demon Commander Zhang Yuan became locked in a confrontation. The two of them did not make any big movements, instead choosing to release their Divine Senses to silently compete with one another.
However, this kind of battle was actually far more dangerous than one where fists were being exchanged. One moment of carelessness and both of them could end up seriously wounded, their Souls possibly even being instantly extinguished.
Everyone in the hall understood this and grew solemn, the previous noise gradually subsiding as no one dared to disturb these two, all staring nervously at the master of their respective clan, fearing they might have an accident.
The powerful Divine Senses of two Third-Order Saints soon filled the entire hall, eliciting shock from the surrounding crowd with each violent exchange.
The battle quickly reached a fever pitch, with Thunder Dragon and Zhang Yuan both giving it their all but neither being able to obtain a decisive advantage.
The faces of the masters gradually turned pale as fine sweat began leaking from their foreheads, their Divine Sense conflict growing ever more dangerous.
Meng Wu Ya and the other masters present all wore solemn, ugly expressions.
None of them could intervene anymore and could only wait quietly for the outcome of the battle between Thunder Dragon and Zhang Yuan to be decided, but from the current situation, the most likely outcome would be both of them suffering a loss.
Once that happened, however, the tensions between the two races would only escalate, a result the Human masters here wanted to see the least.
“Where is Yang Kai?” Ling Tai Xu asked anxiously.
Meng Wu Ya shook his head as he truly didn’t know. He had gone to the cultivation room Xia Ning Chang was using a few days ago, but did not find any trace of Yang Kai or his Treasured Apprentice. No one knew where these two had gone now.
“The situation is deteriorating,” Soaring Heaven Sect’s Sect Master Chu Ling Xiao frowned. Things developing like this was somewhat unexpected.
At that moment though, a hearty laugh rang out from the entrance.
“It’s so lively here, when did the fighting start?”
As soon as this voice rang out, a pair of silhouettes appeared outside the door and Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang, in her customary veil, walked in together.
Everyone was attracted by this voice and when they looked over they couldn’t help feeling a bit startled.
Many here had heard of Yang Kai’s return, but they were still doubtful until they saw him at this moment.
Meng Wu Ya’s eyes were attracted to Xia Ning Chang instantly as he narrowed them somewhat suspiciously. He felt that after this past month, his Treasured Apprentice had undergone some kind of intangible change, making her seem innately loftier and extra-mundane…
“Little Martial Nephew!” A soft voice called out as a pretty shadow rushed out from the hall and landed directly in front of Yang Kai. Smiling as she looked him up and down, she began nodding in approval and said, “Good, I’ve not seen you in a few dozen years but you’ve already become much more attractive as a man. Even Martial Aunt’s heart is fluttering a bit.”
Yang Kai’s face turned pitch-black as he subconsciously glanced over at Xia Ning Chang before coughing and saying with some embarrassment, “Martial Aunt, can’t you act a bit more dignified?”
His Martial Aunt, Fei Yu, heard this and immediately did the opposite, casting him a flirtatious and amorous gaze.
She had come here together with Chu Ling Xiao after receiving the news from Nine Heavens Holy Land that Yang Kai had returned.
Now that they had just met, Fei Yu had instantly begun toying with him.
Although feeling somewhat awkward, Yang Kai more-so felt warm-hearted. When he lived with his Martial Aunt Fei Yu in Soaring Heaven Sect, she had always acted free-spiritedly, often lying on the ground with her clothing in chaos after getting dead drunk, not putting up the slightest guard against him.
After several dozen years, seeing his Martial Aunt still acting the same, Yang Kai suddenly felt like he had gone back in time.
“Your Martial Aunt is still a full flower at the height of her youth!” Fei Yu snorted before smiling brightly and saying, “Cang Yan, Li Wan and Fei Jian are all here too together with Martial Ancestor!”
Saying so, she gestured towards the hall.
Yang Kai gently nodded, stepped forward, and said a few words with Cang Yan and his other Martial Uncles before arriving in front of Chu Ling Xiao and solemnly bowing, “Disciple Yang Kai, greets Martial Ancestor. Disciple apologizes for having made Martial Ancestor wait.”
“It’s okay, no need to be so polite,” Chu Ling Xiao nodded happily, releasing his Divine Sense to sweep Yang Kai but quickly discovering that just as Ling Tai Xu and the others had said, Yang Kai’s current cultivation had become unfathomable to the point that he could not sense anything about it.
Perceiving this, Chu Ling Xiao only smiled more heartily, “Yes, very good, very good! Sure enough, you’ve broken through the limits of this world. This old master is proud of you, in the future, it seems the important task of promoting the Sect must be handed over to you!”
“Martial Ancestor is too kind, disciple still has many shortcomings and will need more guidance from Martial Ancestor and Grand Master.”
“Good boy,” Chu Ling Xiao laughed happily as he and Ling Tai Xu exchanged a glance, both of them feeling heartened.
“Martial Ancestor, please wait a moment, it seems these two friends have gotten a bit hot-tempered. Disciple will first act as a peacemaker for them,” Yang Kai grinned and turned to look at Thunder Dragon Great Senior and Demon Commander Zhang Yuan who were still competing with their Divine Senses.
“Be careful not to injure them,” Ling Tai Xu urged quickly.
“Rest assured Grand Master, no harm will come to them,” Yang Kai said confidently before releasing his own Divine Sense into the air.
The others in the hall didn’t dare interfere in the Divine Sense competition of two Third-Order Saints, but to Yang Kai, this kind of fight was no different from a pair of children playing with one another.
A slight whoosh sounded from mid-air before Thunder Dragon and Zhang Yuan’s figures both trembled. At that moment, they felt that their entangled Divine Senses had just been separated by a pair of giant invisible hands.
This kind of force made them feel extremely powerless as they were unable to put up the slightest resistance!
*Hong…*
A burst of light appeared and Thunder Dragon and Zhang Yuan were both forced back several steps before they could stabilize their posture, after which both of them turned extremely shocked looks towards Yang Kai.
He had separated them with complete ease.
“You two, while it was wrong of me to keep you waiting, en, I encountered something unexpected and it took longer to resolve than expected, but you don’t need to become so aggressive every time you meet, do you?” Yang Kai looked at the two with a smile.
Thunder Dragon took a deep breath, as if he hadn’t yet calmed his fluctuating mood, hesitated for a moment, then cupped his fists and said, “Excuse me.”
Zhang Yuan was not a hot-tempered youth, so seeing Thunder Dragon take the lead, he immediately laughed and followed up, “Many thanks, Holy Master Yang. If I have caused any offence, please forgive me.”
“En, that’s better, we all live under the same blue sky, so why always fight whenever we meet?” Yang Kai gently nodded, very satisfied with the attitude of the two. Turning around and seeing so many people standing in place, staring at him strangely, Yang Kai waved his hand and, “Please have a seat. I’ve called all of you here today because I have something I wish to discuss with you.”
“Haha, after hearing that Holy Master Yang had returned, this Senior travelled night and day to reach the Holy Land from the Demon Capital as quickly as possible, but I wonder what kind of important matter Holy Master Yang has summoned all of us here to discuss? Since the masters from all three races are here, presumably whatever Holy Master Yang wants to say is not trivial, yes?” Zhang Yuan seemed to ask casually, but there was a deep dread lingering the depths of his eyes.
Just now, when Yang Kai separated him and Thunder Dragon, although Zhang Yuan was not able to sense much, he could tell that the current Yang Kai was not someone he could compare with.