Mad Crocodile Monster King had never regarded Xue Lian’s body as important.
He had pretended to launch a desperation attack on Yang Kai in order to get close enough to break into the latter’s Knowledge Sea with his Soul Avatar the moment Yang Kai relaxed his guard. From there, Mad Crocodile’s plan was to seize Yang Kai’s body.
His plan had succeeded so far!
His Soul Avatar had crashed into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea as he had planned, and now, all he needed to do to occupy Yang Kai’s body and enjoy the many treasures it held was to swallow Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar.
Mad Crocodile was confident he could accomplish this last part. Although his Spiritual Energy had continued to weaken for the past ten thousand years, almost to the point where his Soul was about to dissipate, a thin camel was still bigger than a horse, and his Spiritual Energy was not something an ordinary Origin Returning Realm boy could contend with.
If this wasn’t the case, he would not have been able to possess Xue Lian’s body in such a short time.
After all, Xue Lian was also an elite among Origin Realm cultivators.
However, when he broke into this scorching hot Knowledge Sea, Mad Crocodile immediately had a bad premonition.
“You actually have a Mutated Knowledge Sea!” Mad Crocodile exclaimed.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai looked at him lightly, not rushing to take action, his hands folded and his tone indifferent, as if he was just chatting with a friend.
Mad Crocodile frowned as he looked around, but soon his eyes were attracted to a certain seven coloured island at the centre of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. In an instant, his eyes bulged as disbelief filled his face. Pointing his trembling finger, Mad Crocodile hesitantly asked, “Is this the legendary Soul Warming Lotus?”
“Senior knows about the Soul Warming Lotus?” Yang Kai was surprised.
Mad Crocodile’s face sank, “This King has drunk more water than you have crossed over. How could this King not know about a Supreme Treasure like the Soul Warming Lotus?”
This boy actually possessed a Soul Warming Lotus! What’s more it was a fully evolved Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus.
With this kind of Supreme Treasure nurturing it, it wasn’t surprising that this boy’s Soul was unusually strong and that his Spiritual Energy was so rich. It was said that this Supreme Treasure would constantly nourish and strengthen its owner’s Soul. In a short time, it may not yield much effect, but as time passed, its effect would be astonishing.
It could save a cultivator countless years of hard work!
Ten thousand years ago, when Mad Crocodile was still alive, he had naturally heard about the Soul Warming Lotus, but unfortunately he had never seen one. Now, unexpectedly, he was able to witness this treasure with his own eyes after trying to seize Yang Kai’s body.
The only question was whether this boy managed to obtain this Soul Warming Lotus in its seven coloured form, or if he had managed to grow it to this point on his own.
The former possibility seemed more likely though! Evolving a Soul Warming Lotus was said to be extremely difficult, so how could it be possible for such a young boy to cultivate one to its final seven coloured form?
[This boy’s luck is too Heaven-defying!] Mad Crocodile thought to himself.
Mad Crocodile was a Monster King, so his aptitude and bloodline were naturally extraordinary. On top of that, he had many fortuitous encounters across his life and managed to achieve his peak strength after many years of hard work, but when he compared himself to Yang Kai, his own opportunities seemed like complete trash.
After staring at the seven coloured island greedily, he took a deep breath, as if to calm his excitement, turned his head, stared at Yang Kai solemnly, and shouted loudly, “Boy, this King truly looked down upon you. It seems what will follow will be a bitter struggle, all that is uncertain now is in the end, whether you die or I perish!”
The power of this boy’s Soul wasn’t below his own, and with the support of the Soul Warming Lotus, Mad Crocodile Monster King didn’t have complete confidence he could consume Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar.
He now regarded this boy as an equal opponent he needed to confront head-on.
“I think the latter possibility is much higher actually,” hearing this declaration, Yang Kai could only chuckle, his expression calm and relaxed, displaying complete confidence, as if he didn’t even put Mad Crocodile Monster King in his eyes.
“Don’t get too cocky, boy! It’s time you learned a painful lesson, lest you continue to underestimate this world’s heroes.”
“You don’t believe me?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at Mad Crocodile with a sneer, “Forget it, I have no time for nonsense with you. The sooner you die, the sooner this will be over.”
Saying so, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky.
Mad Crocodile didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing and looked up suspiciously.
A strange oval-shaped object with a long slit running horizontally across its centre appeared up above, looking like a closed eye, radiating a profound and mystical aura.
But with a snap of Yang Kai’s finger, this slit slowly began to open.
Soon, a brilliant golden light flashed.
This golden light became more and more intense until finally it formed a beam of light which shot out and covered Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul Avatar.
Contained within the golden light there was also a multi-coloured radiance!
As soon as this beam of light enveloped Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul Avatar, he was instantly frozen in place, unable to move, as if he was completely restrained.
“What is this?” Mad Crocodile exclaimed in horror.
As soon as he was struck by this golden light, he realized that something was terribly wrong. Instantly, he felt as if his consciousness was melting away, like snowflakes exposed to the scorching sun. This discovery shocked Mad Crocodile, and he fought desperately to resist.
The golden and multi-coloured light began to disperse, seemingly not capable of completely restraining Mad Crocodile Monster King.
Yang Kai raised his brow and revealed a slightly surprised look.
The Demon Eye of Annihilation was one of Great Demon God’s Divine Abilities and was capable of producing a golden ray of light that could completely extinguish an enemy’s Soul. This powerful technique had been used by Yang Kai countless times and never had any difficulty in the past.
Although Great Demon God only reached the Saint King Realm before he died, he was an extraordinary genius and this Divine Ability he created only grew in power as Yang Kai’s cultivation increased.
What’s more, the current Soul destroying golden light had been merged together with the Coloured Glass Divine Light’s power.
Coloured Glass Divine Light was able to suppress an opponent’s Soul, so when combined with the extinguishing power of the golden light, both dramatically increased one another’s power.
Even so, Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul apparently couldn’t be wiped out in one fell swoop, showing just how pure and powerful his Spiritual Essence was.
But this was also understandable; after all, Mad Crocodile was a Monster King level master, if he could be so easily killed, that would truly be strange.
Yang Kai grinned wickedly as his thoughts flashed and the tumbling, roaring flames down below swelled up and from all directions and transformed into a massive wave that crashed towards Mad Crocodile’s Soul Avatar .
In an instant, the place where Mad Crocodile was located was enveloped by burning hot Spiritual Energy.
“No!” Mad Crocodile roared as he struggled to resist the sea of flames, releasing one powerful Soul Skill after another.
“Mad Crocodile, I am the master here! You daring to come here was nothing short of digging your own grave!” Yang Kai shouted as he pushed his Spiritual Energy even more ferociously.
The combined assault of Yang Kai’s Golden Light, Coloured Glass Divine Light, and Conflagrated Spiritual Energy caused his Knowledge Sea to tumble violently.
Mad Crocodile’s roars continued to echo, but no matter how hard he struggled to resist, he still couldn’t escape the golden light. Under the golden light, his Soul was being scattered at an extremely terrifying speed and his aura rapidly grew weak.
Soon, Mad Crocodile’s cries weakened and his resistance grew less intense.
Not long after, everything fell silent, and after Yang Kai waved his hand to calm the tumbling Spiritual Energy and take back the power of his Demon Eye of Annihilation, what was left, floating high up in the sky above his Knowledge Sea, was a mass of pure Spiritual Energy where Mad Crocodile’s Soul was completely extinguished!
Looking at the mass of energy, Yang Kai’s eyes burned.
This was what was left after Mad Crocodile’s Soul had been purified, and it contained his understanding of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao as well as his insight into Domain!
This was a Third-Order Origin King master’s lifetime worth of cultivation experience!
Its value was immeasurable.
If he could cleanly absorb this mass Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai knew he would experience tremendous growth and very possibly save himself many years of hard work.
Thinking so, Yang Kai sent his consciousness back to his body and began sweeping his eyes around. Walking over to the dead Xue Lian and the other dead Monster Race rising stars, Yang Kai collected their Monster Cores and Space Rings, used his Demonic Flames to burn their bodies to ashes, then turned around and flew back into the dark cave.
Xue Lian, Mi Tian, and Lie Feng were all extremely famous and powerful Origin Returning Realm masters on Monster Emperor Star, representing what was essentially the highest combat strength in the Origin Realm.
Their Monster Cores were naturally extremely valuable.
Yang Kai didn’t use their corpses to condense Blood Beasts as, with his current methods, he had no need for such means to confront his enemies.
Three Monster Cores equivalent to those of peak Ninth-Order Monster Beasts, if used well as Pill Spirits, could definitely allow Yang Kai to refine three Origin King Grade Spirit Pills!
He decided to use these three Monster Cores to refine particularly precious pills as Monster Cores of this grade were quite rare.
Inside the cave, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged then began savouring the taste of the mass of Spiritual Energy he had obtained, his expression changing between exhilaration joy, shock, and wonder.
A hundred kilometres outside the Blood Prison, inside a stone pavilion.
Luo Hai sat motionlessly with closed eyes.
Meanwhile, he was focusing his Divine Sense to cover the entire Blood Prison.
Although he couldn’t perceive anything inside too clearly, he could still get a general idea of what was happening.
Right now though, all of his focus was on Monster Mountain.
It seemed he had discovered something amazing and, since half an hour ago, his body had been trembling slightly and a great storm had been surging in the depths of his heart.
Because of the request of the old woman surnamed Lei and the others, he had been paying more attention to Yang Kai’s movements.
When Yang Kai entered Monster Mountain, Luo Hai had naturally noticed it, as well as the changes that followed.
In particular, the disappearance of the aura of the Origin Essence Crystal which was hidden on Monster Mountain caught his attention.
That Origin Essence Crystal had sat there for over ten thousand years, undisturbed, but not long after Yang Kai entered Monster Mountain, its aura had vanished. What this meant, Luo Hai naturally understood immediately.
The Origin Essence Crystal had been taken away by Yang Kai!
That was a treasure that even Luo Hai greatly coveted. He concealed the deep excitement in his heart, without showing the slightest hint of disturbance on his face so as not to alert the others around him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t constantly thinking about this treasure now.
A Monster King master had left that Origin Essence Crystal there after his death, and Luo Hai was not about to let it slip through his fingers as it was the key to him breaking through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
It was not just that Monster King that had dropped Origin Essence Crystals. Two other fallen Third-Order Origin King masters produced Origin Essence Crystals upon their deaths in that great war all those years ago. However, those two Origin Essence Crystals had already been taken, leaving only the Origin Essence Crystal of that Monster King, which was difficult to retrieve.
The rich Monster Qi enveloping Monster Mountain made no Human Race Origin Returning Realm cultivator dare to break in easily.
This time, however, someone had finally succeeded, so how could Luo Hai let him off?
Luo Hai already regarded the Origin Essence Crystal as something in his pocket!
However, he had the capital to back up such self-confidence as he was the Star Master of Green Mountains Star. As long as Yang Kai was still on Green Mountains Star, he could never escape his control.
When the time came, all he had to do was find this boy and ask him to hand over the Origin Essence Crystal; afterwards, he would give him some benefits and everyone would be satisfied.
If this boy wanted, Luo Hai was even prepared to accept him as a disciple!
This was the greatest honour and opportunity that one asked for.
Luo Hai had not been so excited in many years and was almost unable to keep up appearances! If not for him worrying about the other Origin Kings inside the stone pavilion seeing some kind of flaw, he would have already burst into laughter.
“Sir Luo Hai, the Blood Prison will close in ten days, right?” The old woman surnamed Lei suddenly asked.
“En,” Luo Hai nodded, “There is only ten days left, after which, the Domain inside the Blood Prison will erupt and force those little fellows out.”
“Haha, I wonder what kind of gains they’ll have this time. By the way, is that little Second-Order Origin Realm boy safe and sound?”
When Yang Kai was asked about, everyone opened their eyes and looked at Luo Hai, apparently quite concerned with the former’s condition.
“There’s no problem, this King can sense he’s still alive. You don’t have to worry about his safety.”
“Great, as long as he can walk out alive, this old lady will invite him to join Sword Union immediately!” The old woman was overjoyed.
“This boy has a boundless future. Although there are always some Second-Order Origin Returning Realm Juniors who don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth and enter the Blood Prison, none ever survive while most fall within a few days. If he can emerge safely, his future will certainly be bright!”
“This old master can’t wait to see this little boy and find out what kind of background he has.”
“En, looking at his performance, the Star Field must have a place for him in the future.”
Everyone was speaking extremely highly of Yang Kai while Luo Hai simply smiled without interrupting. Only he understood how much more extraordinary Yang Kai was than everyone had thought.
…..
Inside the cave on Monster Mountain, Yang Kai had completely immersed himself in his comprehension and had lost track of the passage of time.
At a certain point, however, he frowned slightly and opened his eyes.
He noticed a faint change in the atmosphere of the Blood Prison as well as a trace of Domain suddenly appearing where he was on Monster Mountain.
Before coming here, Chi Yue had said that once the aura inside the Blood Prison changes, he must leave immediately, otherwise he would die without burial.
When this kind of change occurred, within five days, the entire Blood Prison would become a Restricted Area that no one could set foot into, filled with chaotic Domains that would not subside again until a thousand years later.
[It is time to leave!]
Slowly getting up and inspecting his gains, Yang Kai grinned widely.
He felt that his understanding of Shi had become much deeper and he was only one step away from the grand accomplishment stage. This step seemed very close but also far away, as if there was some kind of shackle holding him back from reaching it.
However, this wasn’t a big deal. After absorbing the remnant Spiritual Energy of Mad Crocodile Monster King, as long as he thoroughly digested the insights it contained, it wouldn’t be difficult for Yang Kai to reach the grand accomplishment stage in Shi.
Also, as soon as he broke through to the Origin King Realm, forming his own Domain would undoubtedly be easier.
This kind of benefit was something beyond Yang Kai’s reach until now and could only be realized once he reached the Origin King Realm.
Walking out of the cave, Yang Kai took a moment to orient himself before he shot off in a flash of light.
Two days later, in a small valley, Yang Kai appeared leisurely.
“Boy, you’re here!” A figure suddenly flashed from the side and landed in front of Yang Kai, looking at him with a smile.
“Senior Ba He!” Yang Kai turned and nodded to him.
“Brat, I thought you’d died after we didn’t hear from you for so long!” Yu Xiong appeared suddenly and greeted Yang Kai grimly, looking him up and down to see if he was missing any arms or legs.
“Yang Kai!” Shan Qing Luo smiled winningly and landed directly beside him, taking his arm.
Xue Sun appeared immediately after Shan Qing Luo, but only nodded faintly to Yang Kai without much expression.
“Seems like you’re all here,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Did you accomplish that task Adoptive Mother gave you?” Yu Xiong walked over to Yang Kai and asked curiously.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and wiped his Space Ring, taking out a round crystal-like object and tossed it to Yu Xiong.
Yu Xiong caught it nervously and carefully observed it.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes were drawn to this pure crystal, their eyes growing extremely hot.
“This is… an Origin Essence Crystal?” Ba He gulped hard as he stared at the Origin Essence Crystal without blinking. Even the most indifferent Xue Sun had her breathing turn rapid.
“It’s not fake, right?” Yu Xiong looked up at Yang Kai.
“What do you think?” Yang Kai snickered.
“Doesn’t look like it!” Yu Xiong shook his head then hurriedly took out a jade box from his Space Ring before carefully storing the Origin Essence Crystal into it and putting it away. He then turned to look at Yang Kai with a somewhat complex expression and said, “Little brat, you’re certainly decisive enough. En, this is the second half of the Monster Transformation Secret Art that Adoptive Mother gave me to hold onto.”
Saying so, he tossed something that looked like an ancient book towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught it then began flipping through it quickly. After confirming that there were no problems with it, he nodded and said, “I’ve completed the task assigned to me by Senior Chi Yue, now that I’ve handed that thing over to you, it has nothing to do with me anymore.”
“Don’t worry,” Yu Xiong grinned, “With so many of us, we aren’t afraid we will lose it.”
Yang Kai didn’t say anymore on this subject and instead turned to look at Shan Qing Luo and whispered, “Come with me, I have something to say to you.”
“Okay,” Shan Qing Luo nodded and walked off a short distance with Yang Kai.
As if realizing what was about to happen, Shan Qing Luo’s mood suddenly became a little depressed.
Everything around her suddenly lost colour and became bleak.
Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo stared at each other as a reluctant atmosphere filled the space between them.
After a long silence, Yang Kai sighed and asked, “I met some guys before that seemed to have fought with you. One of them even said he hurt you, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, my Saint Qi was only disturbed a bit by his attack, he didn’t even cause a minor wound,” Shan Qing Luo slowly shook her head. “Are they dead?”
After having met Yang Kai, it would be strange if that group was still alive.
“En.”
“You’re much stronger than me now. When we were back in the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land before, I was the one protecting you,” Shan Qing Luo laughed lightly.
It had only been a few dozen years, yet the fledgling boy she met that day had already walked ahead of her, and that was even after she obtained the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s Source.
“Back then… things were quite good,” Yang Kai’s eyes showed a look of remembrance and his smile became ambiguous.
Shan Qing Luo clearly understood what he was referring to and gave him an amorous look.
“Are you going back to Monster Emperor Star?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
“Adoptive Mother has been very good to me, I can’t just leave her like this,” Shan Qing Luo’s expression instantly saddened, “Moreover, I don’t want to burden you in the future. I am now a Half-Monster Race, and Monster Emperor Star is the most suitable place for me to cultivate. If I leave with you, I will only become a burden to you later, I don’t want that!”
Yang Kai made her feel a great sense of pressure, and if she wanted to walk beside him from now on, she could not settle for temporary satisfaction. Shan Qing Luo knew this better than anyone else.
Yang Kai nodded slightly to express his understanding.
He had considered all of this long ago, so when Shan Qing Luo said it out loud, he wasn’t surprised at all.
“What about you? Are you leaving?”
“En,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “I picked up the people from the Central Capital and Tong Xuan Realm and will be taking them to a Cultivation Star called Shadowed Star, which is very remote. If there is a chance, I will come to Monster Emperor Star again to see you.”
Shan Qing Luo bit her red lips and clenched her fist tightly, a layer of mist forming across her eyes as she said faintly, “When we last separated, we didn’t even get to say goodbye and it took thirty years for us to reunite. I don’t even know how long we will be apart this time.”
Yang Kai reached out, took her delicate hand, and placed it over his heart as he brought her into his embrace.
Shan Qing Luo looked up and her beautiful eyes blossomed with an amazing brilliance.
Blushing, she held Yang Kai’s hand and also placed it over her heart.
‘You are in my heart, and I am in yours’, such words were left unspoken because there was no need to say them out loud…
Standing up on her tiptoes, Shan Qing Luo closed her eyes tightly as her long eyelashes quivered and she pressed her red lips towards Yang Kai.
“Ah youth…” Not far away, Ba He waxed nostalgically as he crossed his arms and turned his eyes towards the sky.
“Seems my future brother-in-law has been decided,” Yu Xiong grinned as he winked towards Xue Sun.
Xue Sun’s face and neck blushed red as she quickly lowered her gaze and stared at the ground as if trying to find an ant.
Yang Kai’s blood began to boil and his breathing became rapid as he tasted the sweetness and beauty of Shan Qing Luo. Although the Beguiling Demon Queen had charms which could enchant any living creature, this was actually her first time engaging in such an act. So, naturally, she was not Yang Kai’s opponent.
Soon, Shan Qing Luo felt embarrassed with her defeat. Her whole being felt like she was floating on the clouds while her body seemed to no longer belong to herself.
Suddenly, Yang Kai let out a yelp and pulled his mouth back.
Shan Qing Luo took this opportunity to escape from his wicked clutches and withdrew a few steps back, a half-full expression remaining on her face as she clenched her teeth and stared towards Yang Kai.
“Why did you bite me?” Yang Kai asked, aggrieved.
“To commemorate the occasion, and to make sure you don’t forget about me even when we’re apart!” Shan Qing Luo giggled and smiled as tears fell from her eyes and she whispered, “Go now, if you don’t… I’m afraid I won’t be able to let you leave.”
She seemed to have made an extremely difficult decision, and her tender body was trembling slightly.
Yang Kai licked his lips and nodded, “Take care of yourself!”
Saying so, he took out a Space Ring and handed it to Shan Qing Luo, “Take this as well, but don’t show its content to anyone.”
“What’s inside?” Shan Qing Luo looked at him suspiciously.
“You’ll understand soon enough,” Yang Kai grinned, not making things clear before turning towards where Ba He and the others were waiting and shouting, “You should all depart now, there’s no need to wait for Xue Lian and the rest of them.”
As soon as he left these words, Space Force wrapped Yang Kai and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.
Shan Qing Luo opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything in the end.
Ba He and the others stood in place and looked at each other.
Shan Qing Luo seemed to be in a daze as she held the Space Ring in her small hands, feeling Yang Kai’s lingering warmth on it.
Sinking her Divine Sense into it, and after seeing what was in the Space Ring, Shan Qing Luo immediately flashed a shocked expression.
Inside this Space Ring were at least two hundred Domain Stones!
She almost thought that she was seeing things, but after carefully examining these things, Shan Qing Luo confirmed they were really Domain Stones, each one emitting a gentle Domain aura.
[So many!] Shan Qing Luo was astonished, and her tender body couldn’t help shivering slightly.
One had to know that, over the entire time she spent in the Blood Prison, she had only managed to acquire three Domain Stones. She obtained these three after much painstaking effort and thought she had reaped a great harvest.
Yu Xiong only got a single piece while Ba He managed to acquire two.
But Yang Kai had unexpectedly given her two hundred pieces all at once! This number was enough to drive anyone crazy.
But where had he obtained so many Domain Stones?
After recovering from her initial shock, Shan Qing Luo laughed sweetly as she gripped the Space Ring a little tighter.
With so many Domain Stones, she was confident that she could reach the Origin King Realm in a very short time, and that she would not become a burden to Yang Kai in the future.
“Don’t wait for Xue Lian and the others? What does that mean?” Yu Xiong looked confused.
Ba He’s face dimmed as his eyes flashed, clearly understanding what Yang Kai’s last words implied, and simply waved, “Let’s go, there’s no need to wait.”
Xue Sun also flew over and landed beside the still smiling Shan Qing Luo and pulled her towards a well-concealed Void Corridor nearby.
This Void Corridor had existed in this valley since ancient times and led to a place a million kilometres outside Green Mountains Star. The Monster Race cultivator from Monster Emperor Star always left through this Void Corridor after the Blood Prison closed.
With Ba He, Yu Xiong, and the other’s cultivations, after leaving the Void Corridor, they would need to fly through the Starry Sky for three or four months before returning to Monster Emperor Star.
Fortunately, there wasn’t much danger along this road, so they didn’t have anything to worry about on the way.
Two days later, Yang Kai left the Blood Prison and arrived at a vast wilderness.
Sporadic cultivators appeared one after another from inside the Blood Prison, either alone or in groups, but without exception looking both excited and sad.
Excited because they survived the Blood Prison Trial, an achievement that proved they had the qualifications to condense their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage and possibly break through to the Origin King Realm.
Even if they could not break through in the end, they could still become top-level Origin Realm masters after this experience.
They were also sad because many of their companions had died!
Some great forces even had all the cultivators they sent to participate in the Blood Prison Trial annihilated inside, such as Scarlet Wave Star’s Brilliant Flame Sect.
Above the wilderness, countless cultivators were waiting for their fellow Sect companions to emerge, and once they found them, they would smile and greet them enthusiastically with a look of expectation and hope in their eyes.
Naturally, no one came to welcome Yang Kai.
Shan Qing Luo and the others who came with him from Monster Emperor Star had headed back there.
Yang Kai did not care about these people’s excitement and instead released his Divine Sense to start looking for Qian Tong and the others.
He came out late so Qian Tong and the others should have come out long ago!
Soon, he noticed a familiar aura and turned to fly off in a certain direction.
Not far from there, a group of people who seemed to have a strong background were surrounding a beautiful young woman, trying their best to win her over. All of their expressions were extremely sincere, and they were constantly sending out attractive offers.
“Madam, if you don’t have a particular destination in mind, why not come to my Blue Radish Sect? With your cultivation and strength, as long as you join, you can immediately become an Outer Sect Elder, have your own Spirit Peak, and be provided with a generous amount of Saint Crystals and pills every month. My Blue Radish Sect has seventy-two main peaks, one of which is empty as we have not found a suitable owner until today.”
“What does the Blue Radish Sect count for? Madam, come to our Heavenly Dream Palace, we have an Origin King Realm Master who commands Heavenly Dream Palace so you will have an opportunity to receive guidance in the mysteries of Domain every three years if you join us. Madam cannot miss this opportunity.”
“If Madam is willing to join my Imperial Spirit Pavilion, this old master can guarantee that you will become an Inner Sect Elder right away. My Imperial Spirit Pavilion will also do its best to help you cultivate so you can make a breakthrough to the Origin King Realm as soon as possible!”
The beautiful young woman turned a deaf ear to the noise around her and simply stood in place with a frown on her brow, seemingly waiting for someone as she would look around from time to time.
After becoming somewhat annoyed with all the noise around her though, she finally shook her head and said, “I apologize to everyone here, but this Mistress already has a Sect and does not plan to leave it, so please don’t waste your time with me.”
“It doesn’t matter if you already have a Sect,” The old man from Imperial Spirit Pavilion who had previously invited her to join laughed, “This old master won’t insist you leave your current Sect. Madam can simply join my Imperial Spirit Pavilion as you are now without any trouble.”
In order to win over this beautiful young woman, he didn’t mind offering extremely generous conditions, not even minding her already having a Sect she belonged to.
“I’m sorry, but I have no such intentions,” The young woman still shook her head.
“Elder Lin,” Yang Kai walked over suddenly and called out.
Hearing this call, Lin Yu Rao’s beautiful eyes lit up and she quickly turned her gaze towards him and called out cheerfully, “Sect Master, you finally came out.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and looked around, “Why are you alone, where are Qian Tong and the others?”
Lin Yu Rao’s expression turned complicated as she whispered, “It’s not convenient to talk here, let’s talk while walking.”
Seeing this kind of look on her face, Yang Kai did not ask any questions and simply nodded, “Alright.”
“Friend, please wait!” Seeing that Yang Kai was about to take Lin Yu Rao away, the people who had been surrounding her suddenly became anxious and hurriedly stood in front of Yang Kai.
“Do you have something you need to say?” Yang Kai frowned.
The old man who had been speaking happily just now cupped his fists and asked politely, “Friend, are you the Sect Master of this lady here?”
“Yes, what of it?”
“Nothing much, this old master is Imperial Spirit Pavilion’s Great Elder, and would like to invite this lady on behalf of my Sect to join our pavilion as an Inner Sect Elder!” The old man saw that Yang Kai was just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and could not help feeling somewhat contemptuous, otherwise, how could he continue trying to poach Lin Yu Rao right before Yang Kai’s eyes?
After all, this kind of thing was a bit improper…
“Do all of you have such intentions?” Yang Kai looked around at the rest of the crowd.
“Indeed,” Those people nodded, their expressions calm.
“And your opinion?” Yang Kai turned to look at Lin Yu Rao.
“Why would Sect Master ask such a question? This Mistress won’t leave High Heaven Sect,” Lin Yu Rao brushed her hair behind her ear and responded lightly.
Yang Kai nodded, “All of you heard her, yes? Since that is settled, let’s leave.”
Saying so, Yang Kai tried to lead Lin Yu Rao off.
“Madam, are you certain you don’t want to think about this matter more carefully? If you feel that this old master’s offer is not sincere enough, we can still discuss it, everything is open to negotiation,” The old man still chattered and followed Lin Yu Rao.
“Scram!” Yang Kai shouted coldly as he glared at the old man.
These people had greeted him with smiles, so Yang Kai did not want to embarrass them directly and instead asked Lin Yu Rao for her opinion. But after the other party got Lin Yu Rao’s answer, he was still reluctant to give up, which was nothing less than a slap in the face.
Facing such naked contempt, Yang Kai was not about to just sit back in silence.
The old man was stunned for a moment before his face immediately turned gloomy and he snickered, “Brat, this is none of your concern, you’d better close your mouth obediently otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Yang Kai looked back at him coldly.
“Otherwise, you’ll regret it. Do not think that because you are a so-called ‘Sect Master’ you can act rampantly. What thing are you? As a Sect Master, how can you have a cultivation level inferior to one of your Elders? What kind of Sect Master are you? In my opinion, this madam serving you is a waste of her talents, talents that would be better put to use in my Imperial Spirit Pavilion where she will certainly have a brighter future.”
As the old man spoke, the other cultivators who wanted to invite Lin Yu Rao began calling out as well, belittling Yang Kai’s cultivation and trying to force him to back down and not ruin Lin Yu Rao’s future.
“What are you quarrelling about?” Yang Kai was annoyed and said coldly, “Elder Lin has already rejected you, yet you are still trying to bother her, are you not putting me in your eyes at all?”
“Does this old master need to put you in his eyes? Nonsense!” The old man said coldly snorted.
Everyone else looked at Yang Kai disdainfully, obviously not paying attention to him.
The conflict here had attracted a lot of attention, but seeing how Yang Kai was just a trivial Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and that he had provoked so many enemies all at once, many began wearing sympathetic looks, feeling that Yang Kai had eyes but failed to see and would certainly suffer a big loss.
“Old man, if you don’t want to die, I would stop provoking him. Don’t just look at his cultivation, he’s not someone you can handle,” An abrupt voice interrupted, causing the old man and the others around him to frown. Turning around, they saw that the source of this sound was an ordinary-looking young man standing nearby with his arms folded across his chest and a mocking grin on his face.
Being so disdained, the old man was naturally angry and his face sank, but just as he was about to retort, he caught sight of a three-petal flower pattern embroidered on the chest of the young man’s clothes. As if thinking of something, his expression changed slightly and he cupped his fists politely and asked, “May I ask this friend, who is Senior Wu Dao to you?”
The young man said lightly, “My Master!”
Gasps resounded all around as everyone present stared at this young man in shock, disbelief, and deep envy.
“Heavens, this person is actually a disciple of Senior Wu Dao.”
“It was rumoured that Senior Wu Dao accepted a disciple fifty years ago but unfortunately no one knows who it was. It turns out to be him.”
“He actually came to participate in the Blood Prison Trial.”
“What did he mean just now then? Does that Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy have some kind of incredible background like him?”
After learning that this young man turned out to be Senior Wu Dao’s disciple, everyone looked at him with awe and envy.
The old man of the Imperial Spirit Pavilion did not dare ignore this young man’s warning just now anymore, frowned, and asked, “This friend, a moment ago, what did you…”
The young man still maintained a relaxed look and just shook his head faintly, “You all heard what I said just now, what more do you want to ask? If you want to die, keep trying to provoke him.”
The old man’s face turned pale as he shot a fear-filled glance towards Yang Kai. Now, it was as if he could see some kind of massive shadow behind Yang Kai, one he didn’t dare act presumptuously before anymore.
Yang Kai was also confused at the moment as he observed this young man curiously.
From the reactions of everyone around, Yang Kai had already figured out that this young man’s background was not trivial. This so-called Senior Wu Dao was obviously an Origin King Realm master.
If this wasn’t the case, the crowd would not have had such an exaggerated reaction.
However, why was this person trying to help him? Moreover, Yang Kai somehow felt that this young man was a bit familiar, as if he had met him somewhere before.
“Friend, I’ve paid back the favour I owe you from the Blood Prison. From now on, we don’t have any debts between us,” The youth grinned at Yang Kai.
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai suddenly remembered!
He really had met this young man before, he was one of the thirty or so people who had retreated from Domain Stone Mountain at that time! Before leaving, he had faintly nodded to express his gratitude to Yang Kai.
There were too many people at that time who had made such a gesture though, so Yang Kai had not paid it much mind.
It seemed the so called favour was referring to this. Yang Kai finally understood.
The other party was obviously thanking him for his warning at that time, which had turned out to be life saving advice.
[This person is rather interesting.] Yang Kai smiled and politely cupped his fists as he reported his name, “Yang Kai!”
“Xu Bin Bai!” The young man replied.
Yang Kai gently nodded while faintly sensing that this young man wasn’t simple. This had nothing to do with him having an Origin King Realm master behind him, more like he himself was special.
This was purely intuition without any basis at all.
But Yang Kai trusted his instincts!
Nevertheless, the two didn’t have any kind of deep friendship or grudge, so Yang Kai didn’t pay him too much mind. Just as he was about to leave with Lin Yu Rao, however, the surrounding World Energy suddenly trembled, as if it was pounded by a giant hammer, sending powerful vibrations out across a vast area and causing everyone’s expressions to change dramatically.
Soon, a mysterious energy emerged from a distant place and pierced everyone’s hearts like a sharp sword.
Yang Kai frowned as he turned to look in the direction this force came from.
Xu Bin Bai also showed a look of surprise, but quickly thinking of something, his expression changed sharply.
“Someone is going to try to break through to the Origin King Realm!” Someone suddenly sounded.
These words immediately broke the surrounding silence.
Everyone turned to look at the speaker in unison with amazement.
“Is that true?”
“En, this is definitely a precursor to someone breaking through to the Origin King Realm. This old master had the honour to witness such a breakthrough before, and although that was many years ago, that memory is still fresh in this old master’s mind. This feeling is exactly the same as the one from that year. There is definitely someone who wants to break through to the Origin King Realm!” The person who spoke explained eloquently.
“It must be some master who emerged from the Blood Prison just now. It seems this person had significant gains in the Blood Prison and decided to make a breakthrough as soon as he came out.”
“The Blood Prison is really a good place and this person’s luck is also quite good.”
“Why are we all just standing around here? We need to hurry up and watch the excitement. The breakthrough of an Origin King isn’t something that can be seen casually. I really want to know who it is that had such good luck.”
The breakthrough of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master was generally carefully prepared for. The Sect they belonged to would support this breakthrough with everything it had, opening its Sect Defending Array while also deploying all its disciples to stand guard and ensure that the one breaking through was not disturbed.
Those who didn’t have a Sect would invite trusted relatives and friends to protect them while they broke through in a hidden or safe location.
Few people failed to make perfect preparations.
Therefore, the breakthrough of an Origin King was extremely difficult to witness.
But right now, there was a master in the middle of nowhere who was about to try to make a breakthrough.
This person had obviously not made full preparations and acted hastily.
This kind of good show was something one could rarely see even once in thousands of years.
How could the countless cultivators outside the Blood Prison miss such a good opportunity? By observing and emulating the breakthrough of an Origin King Realm master, they could gain a great deal of experience as well as perhaps learning something about Domain, benefits that would last them a lifetime.
As such, after understanding the truth of this matter, the cultivators gathered outside the Blood Prison summoned their Star Shuttles one after another and flew off to seek this unknown master.
“Sect Master!” Lin Yu Rao’s pretty face turned pale as her tender body trembled slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai frowned when he realized that she was not looking right.
“If I’m not mistaken, the one trying to break through… should be Qian Tong!” Lin Yu Rao quickly said.
“What?” Yang Kai was shocked, his expression suddenly turning solemn, “Are you certain it’s really Elder Qian?”
“At least eighty percent!” Lin Yu Rao bit her red lip, “The reason Elder Qian didn’t wait for you here was that he felt his Qi swelling up and showing signs of a breakthrough, so he quickly left hoping to find a secluded place to break through, but now… it seems he was too late.”
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. If the person who was breaking through was indeed Qian Tong, then the current situation was far from ideal.
Outside the Blood Prison, there were at least a thousand cultivators with about seventy or eighty percent of them being Origin Realm masters. At this moment, all of these outside cultivators were rushing towards the place where Qian Tong was trying to break through, and if they were to disturb him in some way, it might cause his breakthrough to fail. At best, Qian Tong would suffer serious wounds while at worst, he would die on the spot.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of scene would appear during a breakthrough to the Origin King Realm, but inferring from his breakthrough to the Origin Returning Realm, it would definitely not be simple. The World Energy baptism that was surely to come would be a huge test for Qian Tong, one that others could absolutely not be permitted to interfere with.
Unexpectedly, it was Qian Tong who crossed this threshold first! Yang Kai felt somewhat surprised.
After all, when he separated from them at Domain Stone Mountain, Qian Tong showed no signs of breaking through. It seemed like Qian Tong had another significant opportunity over the past few days.
Yang Kai’s speed was incredible even without using a Star Shuttle. A pair of almost transparent wings appeared behind him and the sound of roaring wind and thunder resounded as he shot forward, overtaking cultivator after cultivator.
Suddenly, Yang Kai sensed something and turned his head to the side.
Not far away, a figure was moving at a pace on par with his own, and noticing Yang Kai’s gaze, this person turned his head and smiled at him.
Xu Bin Bai! This guy really wasn’t simple, not only able to keep up with his speed but doing so in an obviously relaxed manner.
“Brother Yang, your wings are quite impressive,” Xu Bin Bai glanced at the Wind and Thunder Wings behind Yang Kai and a hint of appreciation flashed across his eyes.
Every time these wings flapped, Yang Kai’s body would make a great leap forward, one Xu Bin Bai had to use significant effort to keep up with.
“You as well!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“To each their own,” Xu Bin Bai smiled slightly and asked thoughtfully. “Brother Yang, is the reason you’re acting so anxious because the person trying to break through is related to you?”
“En, that person is indeed related to me!” Yang Kai was in no mood to chat so he simply answered directly.
“Oh? Then this Xu will offer his congratulations to Brother Yang. The addition of an Origin King to a Sect is a very big event. If you have use of this Xu in the coming moments, Brother Yang just needs to ask.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up hearing this and quickly cupped his fists, “Then I shall thank Brother Xu in advance.”
The other party being willing to help was naturally a great boon. Even though Yang Kai did not know how strong an Origin King Wu Dao was, it could be seen from everyone’s attitude towards Xu Bin Bai before that even amongst Origin Kings, his Master Wu Dao was extremely powerful.
Taking advantage of such a fierce tiger’s name would make things far more convenient.
By the time their chat ended, they had already arrived at their destination and Yang Kai fell to the ground with a loud crash like a meteor next to a few people.
The next moment, Xu Bin Bai landed lightly nearby.
“Sect Master, you’re here!” Yang Xiu Zhu and Chu Han Yi saw Yang Kai arrive and their expressions brightened as they quickly saluted.
Mo Yu also nodded lightly while Zhao Tian Ze stepped forward to greet Yang Kai.
Looking around and seeing that everyone he knew was safe, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief before asking in a deep voice, “Is it Elder Qian?”
“En!” Chu Han Yi frowned, “It happened so suddenly that all of us were caught off guard!”
They obviously also understood the seriousness of the problem. Breaking through here was not a good thing and had turned what should be a happy event into a troublesome one.
Zhao Tian Ze smiled bitterly, “Originally, this old master was going to take Elder Qian to a place five hundred thousand kilometres away. There’s an isolated region there that few travel through and the World Energy is also rich enough, but…”
“It’s not your fault,” Yang Kai frowned, “By the way, City Lord Zhao, what did Elder Qian encounter that allowed him to suddenly achieve a breakthrough?”
“We didn’t encounter anything in particular, it’s just that after separating from you, Elder Qian broke into a few Domain Vortices and seemed to gain a great deal from them,” Zhao Tian Ze replied respectfully.
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded gently.
Everyone who had come with Yang Kai to Green Mountains Star had been stuck at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm for many years and all had the qualifications to attempt to reach the Origin King Realm. All they were lacking was a greater comprehension of Shi and the appropriate opportunity.
As long as they could condense their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage, they could attempt a breakthrough.
Qian Tong clearly met this requirement.
This was his opportunity and fate!
As Yang Kai’s group was talking, more and more cultivators rushed to this place while around Qian Tong, the World Energy became more and more violent. There was also a mysterious power which was permeating throughout the surroundings. At first this power spread out slowly, but in the blink of an eye it had suddenly expanded greatly.
Qian Tong’s Shi!
Within a range of several thousand metres, winds roared and small tornadoes formed one after another, sealing off the region entirely while creating a violent and shocking display.
Qian Tong’s Shi had indeed reached the grand accomplishment stage and he had successfully integrated his own unique power into it.
“Sure enough, there is someone trying to break through to the Origin King Realm!” A cultivator who arrived here shouted as many stared wide-eyes towards this scene, all of them hoping to get closer and see it more clearly.
Some people actually passed by the location where Yang Kai and his group were standing and approached very closely to try to comprehend the many mysteries which were swirling about.
These were Qian Tong’s insights into the mysteries of the Origin King Realm. When he was breaking through, these insights would diffuse outwards without reservation and were extremely attractive to any Origin Returning Realm master.
Yang Kai’s face sank and he quickly flew up into the air, cupped his fists to those below, and shouted loudly, “Everyone, please don’t get too close so as not to disturb the concentration of this Yang’s Senior!”
The cultivators who had approached closely, however, just snorted disdainfully towards Yang Kai, not caring about him at all.
Being able to observe the breakthrough of an Origin King was a one in ten thousand year event, something rarer than the Blood Prison Trial opening, so how could these people give up this opportunity just because of Yang Kai’s request?
All of them couldn’t wait to get even closer!
“If everyone could give this Yang a little face, this Yang would be extremely grateful!” Yang Kai was extremely annoyed and wanted to use force to deter these people, but out of concern for Qian Tong’s breakthrough, he had to suppress his anger and act politely.
“What the hell do you count for? Us standing here is not interfering with anything, much less making trouble. This isn’t your house, so you have no right to tell us what we can do,” Someone yelled in dissatisfaction.
“That is right, a trivial Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy dares try to tell us what to do? You’d best hope this old master doesn’t come over there and waste you!”
“Young man, you should watch your tongue, this isn’t a place you can speak freely.”
Many people mocked him while the rest simply didn’t take him seriously.
Yang Kai’s face went ashen!
“Everyone, while another is trying to break through, isn’t it inappropriate for you to run over and disturb them? One day, when you are all trying to break through, how would you like it if this Xu ran over to bother you?” Xu Bin Bai grinned meaningfully, his voice not loud but still clearly reaching everyone’s ear.
“Little brat, who do you think you are?”
“Young people nowadays really don’t know how to respect their elders, mouthing off so unscrupulously will only cause you to suffer a big loss sooner or later!”
“You’re courting death, that guy is Senior Wu Dao’s disciple! Do you dare speak to him like that?”
Not everyone knew about Xu Bin Bai’s origins, but someone who had overheard the conversation between Xu Bin Bai and the Imperial Spirit Pavilion Elder outside the Blood Prison earlier and knew his identity quickly warned his companion in a low voice.
“What? Senior Wu Dao’s disciple? Are you sure?”
“It can’t be, it’s said that Senior Wu Dao hasn’t shown up for hundreds of years, when did he take a disciple?”
“Believe what you want, just don’t blame me for not warning you when you suffer the consequences later.”
“Ah… it’s true, look at that pattern on his chest. That’s clearly Senior Wu Dao’s three-petal emblem! Only those closest to Senior Wu Dao are eligible to wear it.”
“Heavens, Senior Wu Dao’s disciple! This young man’s achievements in the future will certainly be limitless.”
“Could it be fake?”
“Who would dare fake such an emblem? Wouldn’t that be asking for death?”
“So he really is Senior Wu Dao’s disciple…”
After learning the identity of Xu Bin Bai, the cultivators who had been acting so arrogantly before and weren’t taking Yang Kai seriously became gloomy, regretting that they had been rude just now and spoken up before confirming their opponent’s background first.
Xu Bin Bai just chuckled lightly, “What’s more, this friend will soon break through to the Origin King Realm. If you dare act presumptuously here, aren’t you worried he will try to find trouble with you after he succeeds?”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone paled greatly!
While Xu Bin Bai’s identity made these people cautious, this sentence truly frightened them.
They just wanted to watch the excitement out of curiosity and to reap some benefits, but they had failed to consider the ramifications until after Xu Bin Bai reminded them.
Someone here would soon break through to the Origin King Realm. If their breakthrough failed, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about as this would likely result in this person’s soul being extinguished under the violent World Energy baptism, but if this person succeeded and became a true Origin King, would he let them off after they caused trouble for him during such a critical moment?
Continuing to remain here to observe and emulate would lead them to a dead end in that case!
At this point, all the cultivators who were cursing Yang Kai earlier turned to Xu Bin Bai and cupped their fists, “Many thanks for this friend’s reminder!”
Saying so, they began to withdraw quickly while wearing awkward smiles and nodding to Yang Kai, “This little brother, this one was simply hot-blooded a moment ago and meant no offence, please don’t mind!”
Others also laughed and apologized.
Yang Kai’s complexion cleared up and he nodded gently, “Everyone is too polite. This Yang was also a bit presumptuous a moment ago. As long as everyone stands a little further away and does not affect the breakthrough of this Yang’s Senior, this Yang will naturally not interfere.”
“Good, good, good, many thanks, Little Brother.”
The tense scene relaxed invisibly as all the cultivators who were standing close backed off on their own initiative.
Yang Xiu Zhu, Chu Han Yi, and the others secretly wiped cold sweat from their brows.
Yang Kai landed and nodded lightly to Xu Bin Bai while saying gratefully, “Many thanks Brother Xu for your assistance, this Yang will not forget this favour.”
“It was nothing, Brother Yang doesn’t need to worry,” Xu Bin Bai smiled freely.
At this moment, an uproar suddenly occurred.
“Heavens, Sir Luo Hai has come.”
“The movement here naturally alerted Sir Luo Hai; after all, he is the Star Master of Green Mountains Star.”
“Many other Origin Kings have come as well! Isn’t that Senior Lei from Sword Union?”
“Look, that’s Senior Li Wan Ning from Purple Star.”
“That’s Old Jiu of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce…”
Eight Origin Kings suddenly appeared and were instantly recognized by the crowd; after all, these characters weren’t like Wu Dao who never showed his face. Although these masters were also rarely seen, they still showed up occasionally throughout the Star Field and each had resounding reputations.
These Origin Kings appeared on the distant horizon, but they soon arrived above the crowd under Luo Hai’s lead.
An invisible force surrounded these figures and all those who were close to them involuntarily withdrew a large distance, automatically forming a three hundred metre space around them.
“Ho, an Origin King is about to be born right after the Blood Prison. From the looks of it, this person has obviously touched the threshold of Domain. If he’s lucky enough, he will break through soon!” Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Old Jiu commented as his sharp eyes gazed towards the swirling mass of World Energy around Qian Tong’s location. Frowning slightly, he continued, “This old master hasn’t seen this person before. I wonder what great force he comes from.”
The beautiful woman named Li Wan Ning from Purple Star laughed, “Old Jiu, do you want to win him over as well? If that’s your plan, why not just speak frankly instead of trying to cover your intentions so thinly?”
“How is this old master hiding things? Don’t all of you have the same idea?” Old Jiu snorted lightly.
The others just laughed and said nothing, obviously indicating that Old Jiu was right.
“This person must certainly be won over, but this old lady is more interested in that mysterious little boy. Sir Luo Hai, where is that boy now? Is he around here?” The old woman of Sword Union asked as she clutched her cane and looked around, her eyes stopping for a moment on each Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator she found.
Luo Hai’s expression flickered, but he didn’t try to hide anything, simply nodding and saying, “He’s here, as for who he is, exactly, I think that’s not difficult to tell with your Divine Senses, right?”
“Since Sir Luo Hai has said so, then this old man will not hold back!” A burly looking man grinned meaningfully while releasing his powerful Divine Sense.
The same was true for all the others.
In an instant, seven or eight Divine Senses that belonged to Origin King Realm masters scanned all the surrounding cultivators one after another, shocking everyone and causing them to wonder what these powerful masters wanted.
“It’s him!” Old Jiu suddenly let out a low voice as his eyes fixed on Yang Kai.
Immediately after him, everyone noticed the existence of Yang Kai.
Although there were more than a thousand people present, there weren’t that many Second-Order Origin Realm cultivators, and among these Second-Order Origin Realm cultivators, Yang Kai’s Saint Qi and vitality were by far the strongest.
“This boy is truly exceptional. His Saint Qi is almost twice as dense as an average Third-Order Origin Realm! No wonder he was able to traverse the Blood Prison freely,” Old Jiu smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
“This old lady is also curious what kind of Body Tempering Secret Art he cultivates, his vitality is far stronger than normal,” A curious glint flashed across the old woman surnamed Lei’s eyes.
“This boy is simply incredible.”
“Why waste time standing here evaluating him? It’s best if we just talk to him in person, or are you worried he’ll try to bite?” The beautiful woman named Li Wan Ning smiled before swiftly landing and gracefully stepping towards Yang Kai, her enchanting eyes fixing on his face.
Yang Kai frowned suddenly.
These Origin King Realm masters arriving here suddenly had stunned Yang Kai, but he quickly reasoned that they had detected Qian Tong’s breakthrough and had come to observe. Still, this left him nervous about their intentions.
Origin Kings were peak level masters, so let alone eight of them, even one arriving here would be enough to make people anxious.
Yang Kai immediately became vigilant, but seeing this beautiful woman suddenly focus on him and even walk over towards him, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling confused.
Immediately after this beautiful woman approached, the other Origin Kings also started walking over towards him…
What did they want with him?
Yang Kai instinctually began circulating his Saint Qi, his expression becoming alert.
With his current strength, beneath the Origin King Realm Yang Kai was invincible, but in the face of a genuine Origin King, he would have no choice but to flee, and if he were to make a single mistake, he would certainly die.
The gap between the Origin King Realm and the Origin Returning Realm was simply too big, otherwise throughout the entire Star Field there wouldn’t have been so many cultivators trapped at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm and there would be far more Origin Kings.
“Brother Yang, don’t be nervous,” Xu Bin Bai’s voice suddenly called out, seemingly aware of Yang Kai’s vigilance. “They shouldn’t have any malicious intent.”
“Why would you say that?” Yang Kai asked in a low voice.
“En, after every Blood Prison Trial, the Origin Kings from various great forces will try to win over some outstanding cultivators. This time is naturally no exception. I think they are all very interested in you, so they are coming over to try to recruit you.”
“Recruit me?” Yang Kai frowned, “I wasn’t the only one who came out of the Blood Prison, so why did they all settle on me?”
Xu Bin Bai smiled brilliantly, “This is naturally due to Brother Yang’s incredible performance in the Blood Prison. To be honest, even I feel great pressure when facing you!”
“My performance… how do they know about my performance in the Blood Prison?” Yang Kai’s face sank.
“They probably don’t know anything in detail, but Senior Luo Hai of Green Mountains Star can sense some things as he is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master,” Xu Bin Bai explained.
Yang Kai’s complexion changed hearing this as he suddenly realized that his situation wasn’t good.
As a Star Master, it was only natural to be able to sense what happens on the Cultivation Star of which one refined the Star Source.
However, this would also consume a great deal of power, and no Star Master was idle enough to simply be spying on others at will. If there was enough time for that, they might as well just cultivate instead.
Yang Kai naturally understood this as Xia Ning Chang was also a Star Master, although her situation was a bit special. With her ability, she was still able to perceive the situation everywhere in Tong Xuan Realm.
As a Second-Order Origin King, Luo Hai was several times stronger than Xia Ning Chang and probably had no difficulties perceiving the situation inside the Blood Prison.
Seeing the dark look on Yang Kai’s face, Xu Bin Bai immediately understood what he was worried about and chuckled, “Brother Yang doesn’t need to be too nervous. The chaotic power of Domain which floods the Blood Prison is so powerful that even Senior Luo Hai shouldn’t be able to perceive what happens inside too clearly.”
“Not too clearly?” Yang Ka’s brow rose.
“Yes, it is said that there is a barrier which was erected by the previous Star Master of Green Mountains Star using the power of its Star Source around the Blood Prison. The previous generation Star Master had a Third-Order Origin King cultivation, which is higher than the current Senior Luo Hai, so until Senior Luo Hai reaches a similar height, it should be difficult for him to overcome this barrier entirely,” Xu Bin Bai explained.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, his nervous expression relaxing somewhat.
However, even if what Xu Bin Bai said was true, Yang Kai remained a little uneasy.
The movement at Domain Stone Mountain wasn’t of concern as it was the Stone Puppet who was secretly acting at the time. As such, Yang Kai was confident that even if Luo Hai was paying attention, he would never have noticed what really happened.
However, the events on Monster Mountain were a different story.
Chi Yue and the other Tribal Lords knew about the existence of the Origin Essence Crystal there, so how could Luo Hai, as Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, not know?
Yang Kai had fought a great battle with Mad Crocodile Monster King on Monster Mountain after which he had taken the Origin Essence Crystal away with him…
[Does Luo Hai know about this?] Yang Kai didn’t dare to make arbitrary judgments, but the Origin Essence Crystal was a treasure that Chi Yue coveted greatly.
Chi Yue had the same cultivation as Luo Hai, so what she wanted, he must want as well!
Many thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind before he took a deep breath and restored his calm while shooting a glance towards the golden-crown-wearing Luo Hai.
The other party was also paying attention to him, and when their four eyes suddenly met, Yang Kai clearly saw Luo Hai’s eyes flash.
Yang Kai’s heart sank!
“Oh… Young Man, what’s the relationship between you and Senior Wu Dao?” The beautiful woman who had walked over to Yang Kai first and was about to ask him about himself suddenly noticed Xu Bin Bai standing beside Yang Kai as well as the three-petal flower pattern on his chest and asked in surprise.
“He is my Master!” Xu Bin Bai replied, neither humbly nor arrogantly.
“Senior Wu Dao is your master?” Li Wan Ning couldn’t help covering her mouth as a look of shock filled her face.
“What, this little guy is Senior Wu Dao’s disciple?” The other Origin Kings who were following behind also exclaimed, as if they had found something extraordinary, all of them turning to look at Xu Bin Bai with interest.
Even Luo Hai, who was the strongest amongst this group and who also possessed the highest status, showed a trace of shock. Obviously, he had not expected that someone with such immense background would participate in this Blood Prison Trial.
“Xu Bin Bai greets several Seniors!” Although Xu Bin Bai was a disciple of Wu Dao, he was still a Junior, so he didn’t dare act aloof when facing so many Origin Kings and politely offered his greetings.
“En, Little Brother need not act so polite.”
“That’s right, there are no outsiders here so there’s no need for such formality. This Zhou was fortunate enough to meet Senior Wu Dao five hundred years ago and suddenly became enlightened thanks to Senior’s advice. Only then was I able to break through to the Origin King Realm. Strictly speaking, Senior Wu Dao is this Zhou’s half-master, so you and I are fellow apprentice brothers.” The burly looking man wore a kind smile as he spoke to Xu Bin Bai. Even as an Origin King, he obviously didn’t care about his identity at all and highly praised Wu Dao.
“Senior Zhou must be joking; this Junior does not have the skill or ability to dare call Senior Zhou a brother!” Xu Bin Bai smiled lightly and said humbly.
“Hahaha. Senior Wu Dao seems to have found a promising successor. Little Boy, work hard so as not to lose face for Senior Wu Dao.”
“Junior will take Senior’s teachings to heart!” Xu Bin Bai replied.
“En, when you see Senior Wu Dao again, please extend him this Luo’s greetings,” Luo Hai exhorted him kindly.
“Junior will certainly deliver Senior Luo’s sentiments!” Xu Bin Bai nodded, “Master once said that if nothing unexpected happens, the next master to break through to the Third-Order Origin King will be Senior Luo Hai.”
When the various Origin Kings heard this, all of them turned a look of admiration towards Luo Hai, obviously treating such an evaluation from Wu Dao as extremely high praise.
“Really?” Luo Hai raised his brows, a look of pride appearing on his face as he laughed loudly. “Then this Luo will certainly do his best to live up to Senior Wu Dao’s high expectations!”
“Junior hopes that Senior achieves this accomplishment soon.”
“En, enough gossip though. All of you should do what you came here to do,” Luo Hai smiled and looked at Yang Kai with interest.
“How should we address this little brother?” Li Wan Ning was the first to ask, smiling at Yang Kai as a light floral fragrance wafted from her figure.
The others also stared at him with inquisitive eyes.
“Yang Kai!”
“Yang Kai?” Everyone heard this name and frowned, looking around at each other as they shook their heads slowly, indicating they had never heard this name before.
Generally, the rising stars in the Origin Returning Realm would have some fame associated with their names, but this was the first time they had heard of Yang Kai.
“Why does this old master feel like he’s heard someone mention your name before?” Only Old Jiu showed a thoughtful expression.
“Senior is…”
“This is Old Jiu of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!” The beautiful woman took the initiative to introduce Yang Kai.
“Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched, “Senior may have heard my name from Xue Yue.”
Old Jiu’s eyes lit up and he nodded and said, “That’s right, I heard about you from the Third Young Master. This old master remembers the last Third Young Master came back from the Emperor Garden he mentioned you several times. Is Little Brother familiar with Third Young Master?”
“En,” Yang Kai braced himself and nodded.
Rather than familiar, that woman Xue Yue couldn’t wait to cut him up into tiny little pieces…
“This is really fate!” Old Jiu was overjoyed, “It is no small matter for the Third Young Master to never forget a person. Little Brother, if you are willing to join my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, you can definitely become one of my Chamber of Commerce’s future high-level figures with your aptitude. You should understand just how influential my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is in the Star Field, right?”
“Hey Old Jiu, this Mistress came here first, didn’t she? Isn’t it a bit unfair for you to suddenly cut in line?” Li Wan Ning saw Old Jiu speaking so straightly that she suddenly felt a little unhappy.
“How can this kind of thing be decided by a first-come-first-served attitude? Clearly, the one who strikes first has the advantage!” Old Jiu laughed loudly while he continued trying to win over Yang Kai, “Little Brother, Xue Yue Third Young Master rarely cares about any young talents, and this old master also knows a little bit about your strength and aptitude, so if you join my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, this old master can take responsibility to offer you this…”
Old Jiu began listing a set of attractive conditions that caused all the nearby cultivators who were listening to gasp and stare at Yang Kai with envy and jealousy, wishing they could rush up and recommend themselves while begging Old Jiu to let them join Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
“Don’t listen to him, what’s so good about Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?” Li Wan Ning sneered and immediately set her beautiful eyes upon Yang Kai while elegantly saying, “Little brother, as long as you promise to join my Purple Star, I can offer you the same conditions as Old Jiu as well as find you an Origin King Realm master to personally guide your cultivation. Of course, if you would like, this Queen can also personally guide you. What do you say?”
“Don’t go making exaggerated claims without having anything to back your words up with, you two,” The old woman surnamed Lei couldn’t help butting in, tapping her cane on the ground as she turned to Yang Kai and said. “Little brother, you should join my Sword Union instead. En, our Sword Union always welcomes young fresh blood. As long as you agree to join now, this token is yours!”
Saying so, the old woman surnamed Lei suddenly summoned a black token into her hand.
The token was made from neither metal nor jade and had a sword-shaped emblem on it while pulsing with a faint but sharp aura.
“A Sword Union Elder Token!” A rather knowledgeable person called out as he gazed at this token blazingly.
“Impossible, how could it be a Sword Union Elder Token? Can a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivator even become a Sword Union Elder?”
“Senior Lei is truly bold. There should only be ten Great Elders in the entire Sword Union, each one a top-rank character.”
“Tsk tsk, with this Elder Token, one can mobilize a large part of the human and financial resources of Sword Union. With it, there would be no need to worry about one’s cultivation in the future.”
“What is so special about this little brat? Why are so many masters trying to win him over?”
Amongst the onlookers, various reactions like admiration, jealousy, and confusion abounded.
No one understood why these Origin Kings were ignoring all the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators around them and doing their best to invite a mere Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy to join their forces instead.
All of them weren’t any worse than him, right? Many felt indignant and began having competitive thoughts.
With the Star Field’s three super forces all having set out their offers, the other Origin Kings were unwilling to fall behind and instantly began trying to woo Yang Kai one by one, each of them expressing an extremely sincere attitude.
There was only one lone Origin King Realm old man who remained indifferent, as his intentions here were simply to purchase Domain Stones.
“Several Seniors’ intentions, Junior understands well,” Yang Kai waited for them to finish before nodding sincerely.
He never expected that he would receive so much attention just after stepping out of the Blood Prison. These Origin King Realm masters were all trying to win him over with unusual zeal!
Each of them had a friendly attitude and a very sincere look on their face.
However, the more enthusiastic they acted, the more disturbed Yang Kai’s heart became!
These masters inviting him so vigorously must be because they knew about his performance inside the Blood Prison, otherwise, how could they act like this?
And the reason why they could understand this was all because of Luo Hai!
[This place is not suitable to stay for long!] Yang Kai secretly made up his mind to immediately leave Green Mountains Star after Qian Tong finished his breakthrough successfully.
“Since you understand, what is your decision?” Li Wan Ning asked nervously.
From Luo Hai, they deeply understood how excellent Yang Kai was. Throughout the ages, many Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators had entered the Blood Prison, but the number who had come out unscathed was one, Yang Kai being the very first.
This alone was enough for them to want to win the other over, not to mention that they were able to tell that Yang Kai had some incredible ability, with their vision.
He was definitely a genius among geniuses, and no one wanted to miss out on a chance to recruit him.
Above the wilderness, eight Origin Kings looked towards Yang Kai, waiting for his reply.
Over a thousand other cultivators had their eyes focused on Yang Kai as well, and for a moment, Qian Tong’s breakthrough to the Origin King Realm faded into the background.
Xu Bin Bai stood to the side and smiled, seemingly not surprised at all. To him, it was only natural that Yang Kai had attracted the attention of so many people.
“Several Seniors’ intentions, Junior understands very well,” Yang Kai nodded faintly, “But please forgive this Junior for speaking presumptuously. This Junior is flattered and thankful, but I am afraid this Junior is not fated to receive several Seniors’ blessings.”
“Uh…” Old Jiu was stunned, obviously not having anticipated Yang Kai would refuse so many sincere invitations from all of the Origin Kings who were trying to win him over.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take some more to consider this matter?” Li Wan Ning was also quite surprised. All of these Origin Kings had been certain that Yang Kai would not refuse such an invitation and would accept at least one of them.
However, he actually rejected all of them, a truly surprising turn of events.
The cultivators who were watching also flew into an uproar!
“Is this boy an idiot? So many great opportunities were laid out in front of his eyes, yet he plans to actually refuse all of them?”
“There’s definitely something wrong with this brat’s head. Why are all of us even here? Isn’t it to seek opportunities and resources? Now that all these benefits were offered to him, doesn’t he want any of them? Why didn’t I receive this kind of Heaven sent opportunity? The injustice of it all!”
“Senior Jiu, I am willing to join the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, please take me with you.”
“Senior Lei, I have long admired Sword Union, please be sure to accept me.”
“Senior Li…”
The scene descended into chaos as the invitations of all eight Origin King Realm masters were rejected by Yang Kai. The Origin Kings also felt slightly uncomfortable having been rejected like this, and when they saw others yelling towards them suddenly, their expressions sank, and they released some of their strength.
No one present could withstand the anger of an Origin King and realizing that these masters weren’t in a good mood, the clatter abruptly stopped, with no one daring to act presumptuous again.
“Little brother, are you certain?” Li Wan Ning looked at Yang Kai in disbelief. She really did not understand why Yang Kai was so indifferent. The conditions she offered weren’t bad and could even be said to be extremely generous. Moreover, she had even offered to personally guide him in his cultivation.
The personal guidance of an Origin King Realm master was something that all Origin Returning Realm cultivators dreamed of.
Was he not tempted at all?
“That’s right, please think twice about this,” Old Jiu looked at Yang Kai unwillingly.
Yang Kai, however, just slowly shook his head, smiled, and said, “Junior really must decline several Seniors good intentions. Junior simply has no plans to join any great force currently.”
Hearing him say this, everyone showed a look of regret; after all, they had just missed out on such a good seedling and only the Heavens knew when they would run into another in the future.
“Alright, Alright. Since this little brother doesn’t want to join any of you, there’s no need to force the issue. Besides, aren’t there still many good candidates here?” Luo Hai smiled gently.
“En, a forcefully picked melon is not sweet, this old master won’t insist any further. However, little brother, if you ever feel like joining my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce someday, just go to Water Moon Star to find this old master. The doors of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce will always be open to you and the conditions this old master offered will remain unchanged,” Old Jiu nodded lightly to Yang Kai.
“The same goes for my Sword Union,” The old woman surnamed Lei immediately said.
The other Origin Kings expressed similar opinions, saying that if Yang Kai wanted to join them in the future, he could come look for them directly whenever he wanted.
…..
The Origin Kings gathered around Yang Kai then scattered and began to look for other outstanding candidates to recruit.
They had come to Green Mountains Star this time first to lead some of their own great force’s disciples to participate in the Blood Prison Trial, and second to recruit new talents after the trial ended.
Yang Kai’s performance had simply been too blinding, so he had become their first goal. Now that Yang Kai had refused their offers though, they naturally set their sights on other candidates.
In an instant, many people gathered around the Origin King Realm masters, all of them volunteering to join their forces.
Luo Hai didn’t move though.
Yang Kai turned to him, thought about it for a moment, then cupped his fists politely, “Many thanks Senior for your assistance, this Junior will keep this favour in mind.”
Luo Hai glanced at him and smiled lightly, “You’re welcome, this King is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, so this is only what this King should do. En, looking at your face, it seems you have some concerns bothering you right now. Could the one breaking through to the Origin King right now be your friend?”
Yang Kai did not try to deny this, as in front of such a master denial served no purpose, simply nodding and saying, “Yes, he is one of my elders.”
“No wonder you aren’t interested in the offers of others, it turns out one of your Elders is going to break through to the Origin King Realm!” Luo Hai seemed to understand something and chuckled, “This King is also a little curious, where are you from? How come each of you seems to be so outstanding?”
While speaking, he glanced around at Yang Xiu Zhu, Chu Han Yi and Lin Yu Rao who had all been standing beside Yang Kai. With Luo Hai’s eyesight, he was naturally able to see that each of these three had cultivated to the very peak of the Origin Returning Realm, which meant they only needed to achieve a slightly deeper comprehension of Shi in order to break through to the Origin King Realm.
In other words, these three were pinnacle masters in the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
Yang Kai knit his brow, and although feeling somewhat reluctant in his heart, he still replied, “We are from Shadowed Star.”
“Shadowed Star…” Luo Hai frowned, because despite being quite knowledgeable, he had never heard of Shadowed Star before. Glancing over at Yang Kai for a moment, however, he wore a meaningful smile and said, “It must be a good place!”
He clearly thought Yang Kai had casually fabricated the name of a Cultivation Star to fool him.
Luo Hai did not have any intention to pursue this issue though, as he fell silent and turned to stare outwards indifferently, as if he had sunk into contemplation.
Yang Kai also raised his eyes and focused his attention on Qian Tong’s location.
Over there, Qian Tong’s Shi had now spread out to a radius of a few thousand metres, and the swirling winds inside this range were becoming more and more violent. Small vortices combined to form bigger ones, while bigger ones split apart into several smaller ones in a constant dynamic situation.
The earth within this radius now appeared like it had been haphazardly plowed by an iron hoe, with criss-crossing ravines and ditches dug out in random directions.
What’s more, an astonishing and terrifying amount of World Energy had gathered high up into the sky, gradually forming a thick black cloud that blotted out the sun.
Yang Kai was both shocked and moved.
He noticed just how immense the World Energy hidden inside these dark clouds were and it was enough to frighten even him.
This was also not the end as the surrounding World Energy was still continuing to gather together.
As time passed by, the noisy scene gradually calmed, and the Origin Kings who had been recruiting talents gradually returned. Each of them had apparently gained a lot, but those they had gathered were offered vastly different treatment than what was offered to Yang Kai previously.
Not only did these newly recruited talents have to accept some difficult tests, even if they were to pass these tests and became eligible to join the great forces these Origin Kings represented, they could not enjoy the rich treatment Yang Kai would have.
No one dared to complain though.
Bargaining with an Origin King Realm master was no different than courting death!
All eyes were now staring towards Qian Tong’s location while the several Origin Kings who had once again gathered began whispering amongst themselves.
Soon, these Origin Kings seemed to obtain some information from Luo Hai and all of them turned to look at Yang Kai in astonishment and asked, “Little brother, is the person who is breaking through your Elder?”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded.
“Is his temperament the same as yours?” Old Jiu quipped.
They felt somewhat regretful being unable to win over Yang Kai, but there was another person more worthy of them trying to win over here, Qian Tong!
In the end, Yang Kai was just a good seedling with excellent aptitude, but his future was still uncertain.
The Star Field was vast and had so many geniuses living in it, but most of these geniuses would fall before they truly reached the peak of the Martial Dao. On the other hand, there were some who plodded along slowly but who would eventually have the last laugh as they simply managed to survive to reach a height where others had no choice but to look up to them.
Among the many Origin Kings present, not all of them had started out as top-level geniuses, but they were all now amongst the most powerful cultivators in the Star Field.
In short, Qian Tong and Yang Kai’s worth was vastly different at this moment; after all, once Qian Tong broke through successfully, he would be a genuine Origin King Realm!
There were not many Origin Kings in each great force, so even adding one more would greatly increase their overall strength.
It was obvious these Origin Kings would put in their best effort to win over Qian Tong!
Of course, this was all based on the premise that Qian Tong was able to break through successfully.
“Do several Seniors want to try winning him over?” Yang Kai quickly understood.
“Of course,” Old Jiu nodded.
“If that is the case, several Seniors might as well speak with him when the time comes, if he wishes to join any of you then this Junior will naturally not have any opinion.”
“Why you…” Old Jiu smiled helplessly.
With this matter temporarily settled, everyone fell silent and focused all their attention on Qian Tong’s approaching breakthrough.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai frowned suddenly and turned his eyes towards the thick black clouds high up in the sky, faintly feeling something was wrong.
He didn’t know why, but though this dark cloud had been growing continuously, and had drawn in all the World Energy within a ten thousand kilometre radius, it still hadn’t initiated Qian Tong’s baptism.
Breaking through to a new Great Realm would inevitably be accompanied by a World Energy baptism, after which a cultivator’s cultivation would truly rise.
However, the baptism still refused to begin, leaving only an extremely tense atmosphere.
“Brother Yang, the concentration of World Energy here is insufficient!” Xu Bin Bai suddenly moved to Yang Kai’s side and whispered.
“Is that a problem?” Yang Kai showed a look of surprise.
“En. Because I am at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, I can break through to the Origin King Realm at any time, but before attempting to do so, my Master had warned me that the most important thing to prepare is a place with sufficient World Energy!” Xu Bin Bai explained.
Yang Kai frowned.
Although the World Energy of Green Mountains Star was indeed quite good, there were naturally some places which were superior to others. The World Energy density in this vast wilderness was not very high and was obviously insufficient to meet the requirements of Qian Tong’s breakthrough.
“Is there a solution?” Yang Kai asked hurriedly.
“Of course, there is,” Before Xu Bin Bai could answer, Old Jiu suddenly laughed and interjected, “If there is not enough World Energy, one simply needs to supplement it. Saint Crystals are the best choice in this kind of situation. Little brother, if you wish to borrow some Saint Crystals from this old master, this old master will naturally oblige. Although this old master does not have much on him, he certainly has enough Saint Crystals to solve this little issue.”
Old Jiu was obviously trying to show good will, taking the initiative to offer to loan Yang Kai some Saint Crystals. If Yang Kai accepted his favour, he would have a significant bargaining chip in hand; after all, eating from another man’s table and not reciprocating was simply bad manners.
“This Queen also has many Saint Crystals here,” Li Wan Ning pursed her lips and smiled.
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he directly ignored them. Naturally, he understood what these people were up to.
At this time, if he really borrowed Saint Crystals from them, the favour would be quite heavy as this was related to Qian Tong successfully breaking through to the Origin King Realm.
“How many Saint Crystals do you have?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yang Xiu Zhu and the others.
Yang Xiu Zhu and the others exchanged a quick glance before taking out all their Saint Crystals and giving them to Yang Kai.
“That’s all?” Yang Kai did a rough count with his Divine Sense and frowned.
The number of Saint Crystals they had collectively was only about five million.
Such few Saint Crystals weren’t small, more than enough to satisfy each of their individual cultivation needs. Moreover, when they left Shadowed Star, Yang Kai had basically been responsible for bringing along Saint Crystals.
However, those Saint Crystals were already used up on Tong Xuan Realm when Little Senior Sister was refining the Star Source.
As such, Yang Kai did not have many Saint Crystals on hand!
He could not help feeling a little troubled and quickly began rummaging through his Space Ring.
From the Space Rings of Mi Tian, Xue Lian, Lie Feng and a few others, Yang Kai was able to gather a few more Saint Crystals, but only about five million more!
All of these cultivators had come here to participate in the Blood Prison Trial, so how could they have brought a large number of Saint Crystals with them?
“If you don’t have enough, I can lend you some,” Seeing Yang Kai’s expression, Xu Bin Bai took the initiative to speak.
“How could I ask that of you?” Yang Kai sighed, never having anticipated that one day he would be worried about having enough Saint Crystals. In the past, he had always spent Saint Crystals freely without any cares.
“Why not? It’s just Saint Crystals,” Xu Bin Bai grinned, “But I don’t have much, only about twenty million.”
“That should be enough,” Yang Kai nodded. “Many thanks, Brother Xu.”
“You’re welcome. Maybe this Xu will also have a request for Brother Yang one day. When that time comes, please do not refuse,” Xu Bin Bai smiled and handed a Space Ring to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took it and nodded to him, “This Yang will forever remember Brother Xu’s kindness. If there is ever a day you need this Yang’s assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I hope you and I will meet again then,” Xu Bin Bai smiled lightly.
Thirty million was not a huge number of Saint Crystals, but it also wasn’t small.
However, it should be enough for Qian Tong’s breakthrough. The World Energy in this wilderness was only a little thin, not barren.
Seeing Yang Kai prefer to ask Xu Bin Bai to borrow Saint Crystals than them, the many Origin Kings present exchanged a helpless glance.
Yang Kai knew what they were thinking, so they understood his thought process as well.
Not making a big deal of the situation, Old Jiu just kindly reminded, “Boy, if you want to deliver Saint Crystals to your Elder, you should do so quickly. The dangers of breaking through to the Origin King Realm are beyond your imagination, if you remain too long inside, you will likely get caught up in those dangers.”
“Many thanks for Senior’s reminder!” Yang Kai gently nodded, took a deep breath, then flew upwards.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s figure transformed into a streak of light that rushed straight into the chaotic storm.
Everyone was paying attention to his movements with single-minded focus.
Countless big and small tornadoes swept back and forth, but Yang Kai’s figure was able to flicker between them and approach the centre of the disturbance at extremely fast speed.
The Shi permeating from Qian Tong’s body was actually his biggest obstacle.
Shi which was condensed to the grand accomplishment stage was almost on par with Domain, but fortunately, Yang Kai now had plenty of experience breaking into Domain Vortices inside the Blood Prison. This obstacle could not bar his path, and after integrating his own Shi into the surroundings, Yang Kai didn’t encounter much resistance as he moved forward.
This also allowed Yang Kai to not interfere with Qian Tong’s breakthrough.
“This boy has some impressive skill!” Old Jiu’s eyes flashed.
“He managed to integrate his own Shi into another’s so smoothly. It seems his understanding of Shi has far surpassed that of an ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator!”
“If given enough time, he will definitely break through to the Origin King Realm!”
After less than ten breaths, Yang Kai arrived nearby Qian Tong.
Qian Tong was sitting cross-legged at this moment, but Yang Kai’s arrival had naturally disturbed him, so he opened his eyes. After seeing that it was Yang Kai, however, Qian Tong closed his eyelids again and remained as motionless as a rock.
Yang Kai did not dare to delay. Using his Divine Sense, Yang Kai took out all the Saint Crystals he had gathered from his Space Ring and piled them up around Qian Tong.
“Elder Qian, take this, it may be of help to you at the critical moment,” Yang Kai suddenly threw a jade bottle over to Qian Tong.
After finishing all this, Yang Kai rushed back out.
A short time later, Yang Kai returned to his original spot.
As soon as he stood firm, a shocking energy fluctuation suddenly emerged.
A white beam of light shot up into the sky, and along with this beam, the thirty million Saint Crystals Yang Kai had just scattered about and burst into dazzling light. It seemed that the energy inside these Saint Crystals had been drawn out and sucked up into the dark clouds up above.
The dark clouds immediately became thicker and more solid.
A shocking clap of thunder suddenly resounded.
*Kacha…*
With a deafening sound, the power of Heaven and Earth fell from above like a great flood dragon and bombarded Qian Tong without warning, pouring into his body in a relentless torrent.
“It has begun!” Luo Hai muttered in a low voice and stared fixedly.
Qian Tong’s breakthrough had finally begun!
A kind of magical aura spread out as soon as the breakthrough began, causing all the cultivators present to involuntarily show a thoughtful expression. Everyone was trying their best to comprehend this mysterious air to benefit from it.
This was the Domain of an Origin King that was breaking through, something that was of great value to the growth of all the Origin Realm cultivators present.
The first wave of World Energy in the baptism caused the entire region to tremble violently, with tremors reaching as far as ten thousand kilometres away. It was a terrifying experience that left all in awe of the power of the world.
Such a display of power left many Origin Realm masters pale.
These masters were imagining themselves in Qian Tong’s place and realizing that for most of them, at their current strength, it would be impossible for them to resist. In all likelihood, a single confrontation would result in them dying!
Was breaking through to the Origin King Realm really this frightening?
Some people felt their confidence suffer a blow while others instead felt inspired as a strong sense of desire filled their eyes.
The Origin Kings present were paying close attention to Qian Tong but were also keeping an eye on the reactions of the surrounding cultivators, identifying which of them were talents that could be cultivated.
The second wave of the baptism pounded down soon after, followed by a third, then a fourth…
Soon, it was as if a torrential downpour was taking place, with not a single break in-between.
Qian Tong’s beast-like roars rang out and it was not difficult for anyone to imagine just how much pressure he was currently facing.
His own Shi was fluctuating wildly as the numerous whirlwinds whipped around him, gradually sublimating, and transforming his Shi in the process.
As time passed slowly, Yang Kai and the others looked on nervously.
From Qian Tong’s roars, Yang Kai could infer some information. The pressure Qian Tong was experiencing seemed to be growing greater and greater, and his aura was simultaneously growing weaker and weaker, his vitality now seeming quite weak.
It was as if he was afloat on a small boat in the middle of a storm, in danger of being swallowed up at any moment.
“The situation isn’t good!” Old Jiu looked worried.
“En, the World Energy baptism that he is bearing seems to be much stronger than the one I experienced,” Li Wan Ning also frowned.
“The stronger the baptism you endure, the higher your achievements will be in the future. Each Origin King experiences a different intensity of baptism when they attempt to break through. If one survives, their horizons expand greatly, but if they fail, even their soul will be extinguished,” Luo Hai sighed softly, “From ancient times to present, how many geniuses have fallen on this threshold? Breakthroughs for the Martial Dao’s first few Great Realms aren’t too troublesome, but after the Saint King Realm, no Great Realm can be crossed casually, each one is a struggle against death!”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Each person present was a seasoned expert, so how could they not understand such simple truths?
Luo Hai was right. When a Saint King broke through to the Origin Returning Realm, they would have to face a life or death challenge, and failure would have only one result, death!
There was no other possibility!
Once the power of Heaven and Earth gathered, either one was reborn under its baptism, or they died trying.
Old Jiu glanced over at Yang Kai, pondered for a moment, then spoke, “Boy, you’d best be mentally prepared, the current situation is not optimistic.”
Yang Kai simply turned his head and glanced at him before chuckling, “Elder Qian will succeed.”
Old Jiu simply shook his head, “Sometimes will is not enough to overcome reality. This old master also hopes that this person can succeed, but…”
He did not continue, apparently feeling Qian Tong’s prospects weren’t optimistic.
Yang Xiu Zhu and the others also became nervous.
Five of them had followed Yang Kai to leave Shadowed Star and come to Green Mountains Star. It was mere coincidence that their arrival here coincided with the once-in-a-thousand-year opening of the Blood Prison Trial and Qian Tong’s opportunities had clearly been the best, bringing him to the point where he was finally qualified to touch the threshold of the Origin King Realm. None of them wanted to see him fail at this last moment.
If he succeeded, Qian Tong would become the first Origin King born on Shadowed Star in over ten thousand years.
Although he would be breaking through on a different Cultivation Star, it would be enough to allow Yang Xiu Zhu and the others to see hope for the future.
The power of heaven and earth continued to fall, bombarding Qian Tong constantly while his roars grew increasingly weaker. Soon, Qian Tong’s vitality was akin to candlelight caught in a storm, teetering on the brink of being snuffed out…
“Ha, it looks like he will fall short,” The old woman surnamed Lei shook her head suddenly, a trace of regret appearing on her face.
“En, it’s a pity after reaching such a point,” Old Jiu nodded in agreement.
Under their perception, Qian Tong’s vitality had already dimmed to the point where there was no hope of him surviving.
If nothing changed, this person would undoubtedly die!
A breakthrough to the Origin King Realm was not only dependent on strength, sometimes luck was the deciding factor.
Qian Tong’s luck obviously was not good.
Although his strength surpassed the average for Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators by a large margin, and he had significant gains inside the Blood Prison, the World Energy baptism he encountered while breaking through was incredibly powerful.
He had been able to endure it so far, which already proved his great strength.
However, it seemed that persisting until the last moment would be impossible. The dark clouds up above had only diminished to half their original size, which meant that the World Energy baptism was only halfway through.
No one was optimistic about him! Even Luo Hai looked regretful and stopped paying attention.
Although Yang Kai had spoken confidently just now, he too was secretly worried for Elder Qian.
He had never encountered this kind of scene before, so he was somewhat uncertain.
However, he had faith in Qian Tong as well as the treasure he had given to him at the last moment!
Ordinary people couldn’t appreciate Shadowed Star’s cultivators’ desire to reach the Origin King Realm. Under the suppression and restriction of Shadowed Star’s World Principles, no one had been able to break through to the Origin King Realm for over ten thousand years. So more than any, Shadowed Star’s cultivators yearned for this unreachable peak.
Just in terms of strength of conviction, Qian Tong would not lose to anyone.
*Kacha…*
Another terrifying wave of power washed down and poured into Qian Tong’s body, shredding it from the inside while also cleansing it in a brutal and uncaring manner.
Inside this swirling chaotic energy, Qian Tong’s weak vitality was clearly in danger of being annihilated!
Lin Yu Rao screamed and her beautiful face paled. Unable to help herself, she covered her mouth with her hands.
Yang Xiu Zhu and Chu Han Yi Mo Yu also wore extremely dark faces!
“It’s no good, it’s no good! It seems he really will fall short,” Old Jiu shook his head regretfully. “This person’s luck was simply too poor, otherwise he would have very likely broken through to the Origin King Realm, what a pity… Hm? Wait, what happened?”
Suddenly Old Jiu’s eyes widened as he stared straight ahead, as if he discovered something extraordinary.
The other Origin Kings also showed looks of surprise on their faces and began calling out.
“What? How come this person’s vitality is suddenly rising sharply?”
“Did he take some kind of Heaven-defying Spirit Pill? But what Spirit Pill can achieve such a miraculous effect?”
“Nonsense, how could there be any Spirit Pill that could bring a dead man’s vitality back to its peak in an instant? Not even an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill can accomplish this!”
“Strange, what was it he consumed then?”
The many Origin Kings were all at a loss, none of them understanding how Qian Tong’s vitality, which was about to disappear, suddenly blossomed back to full strength in an instant.
Even through the violent, chaotic energies swirling around, the potent vital aura of the man at its centre could be felt clearly.
Suddenly, from afar, Qian Tong’s loud laughter rang out and his figure could be seen standing straight as a sword, staring arrogantly up at the sky as he shouted, “This old master hasn’t lived enough yet, how could he die in some foreign land? Heavens! If you have anything left you’d best use it now!”
Old Jiu and the others twitched as shock filled their eyes.
This person dared to challenge the power of Heaven and Earth when he was breaking through. Throughout the ages, there had never been such a crazy person.
Didn’t he know that the World Energy Baptism caused by his breakthrough had a level of consciousness?
Making such a provocation was akin to digging one’s own grave!
Sure enough, as soon as Qian Tong’s voice fell, the huge black clouds up in the sky began swirling fast and the booming thunder turned absolutely deafening.
In the blink of an eye, a huge vortex appeared above Qian Tong’s head.
Immediately after, a thick beam of energy shot out from the vortex and directly impacted Qian Tong!
Qian Tong’s miserable howls sounded again and his surging vitality was consumed at a rapid pace.
“This old ghost!” Old Jiu spat, not knowing what to say.
Luo Hai’s eyes also filled with light as he stared forward deeply, his expression somewhat moved.
The World Energy baptism seemed to be pouring down all at once in this giant beam of light and the dark clouds up in the sky were rapidly becoming smaller as a result.
Less than ten breaths of time later, the sky suddenly cleared up and the terrifying pressure and intense World Energy aura disappeared without a trace.
In the distance, only Qian Tong’s figure stood straight, motionless!
From just looking, it was impossible to know whether he was alive or dead.
However, a potent Shi rapidly spread out from Qian Tong in the next instant, covering a radius of several hundred kilometres in the blink of an eye.
Immediately afterwards, this Shi contracted rapidly towards Qian Tong’s body.
As it shrank, it also seemed to undergo a kind of miraculous transformation…
Many Origin Returning Realm masters wrinkled their brows as they couldn’t see through the mysteries involved in this process, but the Origin Kings present all raised their brows and showed looks of surprise.
“Compressing his Shi into Domain, this person… unexpectedly succeeded!” The old woman surnamed Lei whispered.
Yang Kai, who had been paying attention to the movement of these Origin Kings, heard this and couldn’t help letting out a laugh.
He couldn’t infer anything from just the scene of Qian Tong’s breakthrough so he could only take clues from the Origin Kings present. Now hearing the words of the old woman surnamed Lei, he was immediately relieved.
Qian Tong was now a genuine Origin King Realm master!
Of course, compared with Luo Hai and the other established Origin Kings present, Qian Tong was still just a fledgeling; after all, perfecting his Domain would take more than a day or two to achieve.
Amongst the Origin Kings present, the one who had broken through most recently had done so over five hundred years ago. In other words, he had five hundred more years of experience than Qian Tong in tempering his own Domain.
Facing any of these masters, Qian Tong may not be able to last three breaths of time!
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai flew high up into the sky, cupped his fists, and said loudly, “Everyone, although Elder Qian has just broken through to the Origin King Realm, it will take him some time to consolidate his cultivation. This Junior hopes that everyone will disperse now so as not to disturb Elder Qian’s mood. Although this is somewhat presumptuous, this Juniors asks for your understanding!”
Many cultivators glanced around at each blankly, knowing that Yang Kai was trying to drive them away.
However, without any of their previous disdain or disregard, the Origin Returning Realm masters present all turned around and left sensibly, a few of them even pausing to cup their fists to Yang Kai while offering some polite words of congratulations.
Before, they were able to ignore Yang Kai because they had a vast numerical advantage and superior strength, but now that this Qian Tong had become a genuine Origin King, if they were to act provocatively, wouldn’t that just be courting death?
No one dared to do this.
“Several Seniors, this…” Yang Kai next turned to the Origin Kings and asked questioningly.
“It’s fine, you don’t need to shoo us all away, this old master will take his leave here!” Old Jiu snorted, “But when your friend over there wakes up, please bring him to meet with this old master and his companions in the nearby city. He has just broken through and will surely have many questions he wants to ask, if he wishes, he may consult with us freely. We won’t be stingy with our experiences.”
“Yes, if we can be of assistance to him, we will offer it freely,” The old woman surnamed Lei also nodded in agreement.
“Junior will replace Elder Qian in offering his thanks to several Seniors then,” Yang Kai respectfully nodded.
The Origin Kings glanced at each other before their figures flickered and disappeared.
Yang Kai clearly saw Luo Hai glance at him before leaving, however.
This place was really not suitable to remain at for long!
“Brother Yang, I’ll also take my leave here, I hope that one day you and I will have the chance to meet again,” Xu Bin Bai cupped his fists to Yang Kai.
“Take care, Brother Xu!” Yang Kai nodded. Although he felt Xu Bin Bai was a good person and someone worthy of making friends with, now was not the time to be thinking about such things so he did not try to delay him.
Soon, only Yang Kai and his party were left above the once noisy wilderness.
Zhao Tian Ze didn’t leave either. At this moment, he was looking towards Qian Tong in the distance with envy, secretly worrying about whether he would ever reach such a height. He and Qian Tong had entered the Blood Prison together and experienced it together, but Qian Tong had managed to break through while he only felt that he had made some improvements in his Shi and a turning point to reach the Origin King Realm was still far away.
“City Lord Zhao,” Yang Kai walked over to Zhao Tian Ze and spoke.
“Does Sect Master Yang have some kind of instruction?” Zhao Tian Ze asked.
“I wouldn’t dare issue instructions, but… I’m afraid we will have to leave soon.”
“Leave?” Zhao Tian Ze was stunned, “Where will you go?”
“Back to Shadowed Star!” Yang Kai said in a low voice.
“Why are you leaving so hurriedly?” Zhao Tian Ze looked puzzled. Even Yang Xiu Zhu and the others turned curious looks towards Yang Kai, “Didn’t those Seniors just invite Elder Qian to go visit them, why…”
As he spoke, Zhao Tian Ze frowned, seemingly realizing something.
Yang Kai couldn’t easily explain the truth of the situation, so he simply said, “Elder Qian will definitely not join them. If he won’t join, why bother going to see them? Moreover, just now, I also refused their offers, so although they didn’t say anything, they will no doubt have some discomfort in their hearts. If Elder Qian now refuses them again, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not become angered.”
“They wouldn’t….” Zhao Tian Ze broke out into cold sweat.
Although he didn’t believe that those Origin Kings would be so petty, Yang Kai’s words also had some truth to them.
“It is better to act cautiously in these circumstances. As such, after Elder Qian awakens, we will leave Green Mountains Star immediately!”
Zhao Tian Ze nodded lightly and sighed, “That’s a pity, this Zhao also wished to invite Sect Master Yang to visit my Green Water City to rest for a few days.”
“There will be a chance in the future,” Yang Kai chuckled, “For now though, this Junior will have to trouble City Lord Zhao with something.”
“Please name it, Sect Master Yang, this Zhao will definitely live up to your expectations,” Zhao Tian Ze quickly said. In the Blood Prison, Yang Kai had not paid any mind to his previous suspicions and even allowed him to return to study the mysteries of Domain Stone Mountain. After that, he had saved Zhao Tian Ze’s life, so Zhao Tian Ze was eager to repay these favours.
“Can I ask City Lord Zhao to go back to Green Water City and bring Qian Yue to me?”
“Little Qian Yue?”
Zhao Tian Ze was no stranger to Qian Yue. When Yang Kai left Green Mountains Star, Qian Tong and the other Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators had stayed behind, but Qian Yue had also remained, hoping to inquire about news of Su Yan, Qing Ya, and her other companions from Ice Sect.
Now that Yang Kai was going to leave, he couldn’t just leave her behind.
“Not a problem, this Zhao will set off immediately. Within seven days, this Zhao will definitely bring little Qian Yue here!” Zhao Tian Ze promised, and after saying some goodbyes to Yang Xiu Zhu and the others he flew off.
“Sect Master, why are you so anxious?” Yang Xiu Zhu looked at Yang Kai somewhat puzzled. He could feel that Yang Kai was on edge but did not know why.
“If it was just about rejecting those people’s offers, Sect Master wouldn’t be so anxious. This is a matter of personal choice, so even if they felt uncomfortable, they wouldn’t sully their own reputations by acting wickedly.”
“It’s not just about this,” Yang Kai shook his head, “The matter of them trying to win us over isn’t of concern, what I’m worried about is something else.”
“What?” Lin Yu Rao asked.
“I’m afraid someone has set their eyes on us,” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.
There were various signs that Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, Luo Hai had some understanding of what transpired inside the Blood Prison. This was related to an Origin Essence Crystal, so Yang Kai didn’t dare act carelessly.
If the Origin Essence Crystal was still in his hands, everything would be fine. At worst, he could simply hand it over to Luo Hai to keep everyone safe, but now the Origin Essence Crystal was no longer in his possession, as he had already given it to Yu Xiong.
Having lost this bargaining chip, how could Yang Kai dare to remain here any longer?
If not for Qian Tong still needing some time to emerge from his current state, Yang Kai would have left immediately.
Yang Kai didn’t explain in detail, but from his tone and demeanour, Yang Xiu Zhu and the others could infer that the matter was serious, so they didn’t ask anymore and simply decided to follow Yang Kai.
Qian Tong was still standing in the distance, motionless, most likely immersed in some kind of comprehension.
With nothing else to do for now, Yang Xiu Zhu and the others sat down cross-legged to meditate and digest their harvests from the Blood Prison trip.
Although they did not obtain a chance to break through to the Origin King Realm like Qian Tong, it didn’t mean they gained nothing. On the contrary, everyone had obtained significant benefits, and as long as there were enough opportunities in the future, they still had a chance to be able to reach the Origin King Realm.
Yang Kai’s expression changed constantly as various thoughts flashed across his mind. He kept imagining different situations which might happen in the coming days and was planning out how to cope with them.
Time passed slowly, and three days later, Zhao Tian Ze returned with Qian Yue.
After seeing Yang Kai, Qian Yue was naturally extremely happy, but when she remembered that she had been searching for clues on Green Mountains Star for several years but found nothing related to Su Yan and the other’s whereabouts, Qian Yue couldn’t help feeling depressed.
Zhao Tian Ze did not stay long; after delivering Qian Yue here, he hurried back to Green Water City.
When the Blood Prison opened this time, he had entered together with the Vice City Lord of Green Water City. Unfortunately, the Vice City Lord, who was also a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, fell inside the Blood Prison.
This was a serious matter.
Zhao Tian Ze needed to return to Green Water City promptly to choose a new Vice City Lord.
Time flowed on, and another five days later, Qian Tong’s laughter rang out, prompting all the waiting people to look over in his direction.
In a flicker, Qian Tong appeared in front of everyone with a smile on his face.
“Congratulations Elder Qian,” Yang Xiu Zhu cupped his fists and congratulated.
“Elder Qian has successfully broken through to the Origin King Realm. This is a grand event my Shadowed Star has not witnessed in over ten thousand years! Shadow Moon Hall will definitely rejoice, as will all cultivators on Shadowed Star,” Mo Yu chuckled.
“All of you are too serious,” Qian Tong shook his head. “This time this Qian barely managed to escape death. If not for Yang Kai, I would have fallen long ago rather than broken through.”
Saying so, he turned to look straight at Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, this old master owes you another favour!”
At that time, if it wasn’t for the item inside the jade bottle Yang Kai gave him, which allowed him to rapidly strengthen his vitality and heal his wounds, how could Qian Tong have persisted until the end?
Qian Tong knew that what Yang Kai gave him was Life Revitalizing Jade Cream! He and Fei Zhi Tu had seen it once before after all.
Together with Soul Cleansing Divine Water and Immortal Source Liquid, these treasures were known as the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters, and every drop was incredibly precious.
The bottle Yang Kai gave him, however, had at least twenty drops inside of it.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his breakthrough being successful was due in large part to Yang Kai’s assistance.
“Elder Qian is too polite,” Yang Kai chuckled, “Good, this isn’t a place to stay and talk, it’s important we leave quickly.”
“Leave now?” Qian Tong frowned.
“Now!”
“Okay!” Qian Tong didn’t raise any objections and simply followed Yang Kai’s lead.
“There are too many of us to move quickly, come in first!” Yang Kai said, summoning the Sealed World Bead.
Everyone knew what Yang Kai meant and they naturally cooperated, relaxing their guards and not resisting.
Yang Kai opened the Sealed World Bead and in a flash of light, almost everyone was pulled into it.
“You don’t need to bring this old master in,” Qian Tong smiled lightly, “I just made a breakthrough, so this old master would like to feel the surrounding World Principles for a while longer.”
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai didn’t want to force him, simply nodding and reminding, “Sure… But if there is any danger…”
“This old master is now an Origin King, what possible danger could there be?” Qian Tong laughed, not paying it much mind.
A trace of anxiety appeared between Yang Kai’s brow, but he didn’t try to explain, instead just signalling to Qian Tong, summoning his Star Shuttle, and setting out towards the Starry Sky.
While they were still on Green Mountains Star, Yang Kai didn’t dare to summon the Starship casually. Once an Origin King Grade Starship appeared, Luo Hai would immediately be alarmed.
The speed of the two was extremely fast, and while Yang Kai was filled with worries, Qian Tong was feeling quite spirited, feeling everything around him and even showing a thoughtful expression now and then.
The moment they set out, in a city thousands of kilometres away, inside the City Lord’s Mansion, Old Jiu and the other Origin Kings were chatting amongst themselves, exchanging their cultivation experiences while passing the time.
They had all remained here because they wanted to meet with Qian Tong!
Qian Tong was a newly promoted Origin King, and they all thought that the other party would come to find them; after all, each Origin King would have many things they did not understand after they broke through, and if someone was willing to answer their questions, they would naturally not want to miss the opportunity.
None of them had expected Yang Kai to act so decisively and immediately leave Green Mountains Star.
Luo Hai was sitting at the head of the room, occasionally speaking a few words which would garner him the admiration of Old Jiu and the others present.
Suddenly, Luo Hai frowned and revealed a look of surprise.
“Sir Luo Hai, what happened?” The old woman surnamed Lei looked at him and asked curiously.
“This King has something he must deal with, excuse me!” Luo Hai said before his figure flickered and disappeared without a trace.
“What matter would require Brother Luo Hai to suddenly just disappear?” Old Jiu and the others looked at each other at a loss.
“From the look on his face, it seems something major has happened. Could some kind of accident have occurred here?”
“It couldn’t be. Brother Luo Hai is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, so who would dare act presumptuously here, on his home turf!?”
“That’s right, haha, it seems I am overthinking things. On the other hand, why hasn’t that newly promoted Origin King arrived yet? “We’ve been waiting here for several days now, he couldn’t have run away, right?”
“Why would he try to run? We have no malicious intent towards him and can even teach him some of our experiences for free. As long as he is not a fool, he would not reject such a good offer.”
“Then let’s continue waiting.”
…..
Above Green Mountains Star, Yang Kai and Qian Tong flew out as swift as the wind, trying to escape from the star’s radius.
Suddenly, however, Qian Tong frowned and shouted, “Yang Kai!”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
“I feel as if I‘m being watched!” Qian Tong frowned, expanding his Divine Sense like a tide but failing to notice anything, making him even more puzzled.
He had just made a breakthrough and was feeling quite proud of himself, so suddenly feeling like this was quite uncomfortable.
“Pretend like you haven’t noticed anything!” Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to silently tell him.
“Yang Kai, do you know something?” Qian Tong also replied with his Divine Sense.
“I have a fair idea!” Yang Kai’s face turned ugly, “If I’m not mistaken, it is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master Luo Hai who is staring at us!”
“Him!?” Qian Tong’s face changed drastically, “Why would he be looking for us?”
“Not us, me!” Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “He thinks I have something he needs.”
“What should we do then?” Qian Tong asked in surprise.
Being stared at by such a master caused even Qian Tong to start panicking. While he was now an Origin King, he had only broken through a few days ago. As for Luo Hai though, he was a master at the Second-Order Origin King Realm as well as the Star Master of Green Mountains Star.
Qian Tong had no doubt that on Green Mountains Star, if this opponent wanted to take his life, he could do so with a wave of his hand.
“We need to quickly leave this damned place. As long as we escape from the constraints of Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, Luo Hai will be nothing but an ordinary Second-Order Origin King! Only then will we have a chance to survive,” Yang Kai declared clearly.
Qian Tong heard this and nodded lightly.
As long as they were beyond the reach of Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, Luo Hai would not be so terrifying and they may be able to escape from him.
Thinking so, the pair increased their speed greatly.
“You want to leave Green Mountains Star?” In the distance, Luo Hai seemed to be aware of their intentions and grinned faintly, “A good idea, but you are far too naive.”
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and gently grabbed forward, causing a strange change in the atmosphere as he did.
Yang Kai and Qian Tong, who were tens of thousands of kilometres away, suddenly had their faces go pale and their bodies come to a halt, like they had been struck by lightning.
Looking out towards the endless Starry Sky, Yang Kai grit his teeth secretly and desperately pushed his Saint Qi and Shi, trying to get rid of the invisible shackles binding him, but to his shock, he was still completely incapable of moving.
It was as if the surrounding space had been frozen solid.
This was the power of a Star Master!
[Just a bit further!]
Yang Kai could feel that he and Qian Tong only needed to travel a bit further to escape Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, but at this last moment, they were actually blocked.
Qian Tong seemed to be in a better condition than Yang Kai, at least he could still circulate his Saint Qi properly and glance around while shouting, “Who’s there!”
A figure appeared silently not far in front of Yang Kai and Qian Tong, with a golden crown on his head and a golden robe covering his body. Naturally, it was Luo Hai.
Shooting a glance towards Qian Tong indifferently, a hint of approval flashed across his eyes.
As a freshly broken through Origin King, even though Qian Tong’s realm was not yet stabilized, being able to remain even somewhat mobile was quite a feat. If given enough time, Qian Tong would surely reach the Second-Order Origin King Realm.
However, he didn’t pay too much attention to Qian Tong and quickly turned his gaze back towards Yang Kai.
His main purpose for coming here was Yang Kai!
Above that patch of wilderness, there were too many people around and it would not have been appropriate for him to act against Yang Kai, but now that these two had left Green Mountains Star and come to the edge of the Starry Sky, Luo Hai could act without restraint.