After informing Qian Tong of his plan, Qian Tong immediately agreed.
Qian Tong also understood the principle of defeating one general to warn a thousand soldiers. Corpse Spirit Religion had been growing like a plague these past two years, expanding with ever-increasing speed. The number of masters transformed into Corpse Spirit Race clansmen and Human Race cultivators who had chosen to submit was simply countless. It was too difficult to kill all these people outright, so the better option was to decapitate Corpse Spirit Religion’s leadership by killing the mysterious Religion Master.
After Qian Tong assumed command of Shadow Moon Hall again, he had also been making investigations into Corpse Spirit Religion, and all the signs pointed to Grand Burial Valley being the root of everything; there was no doubt it was the place where Corpse Spirit Religion rose from!
Originally, he was still considering whether he should go to Grand Burial Valley to investigate the situation, but now that he received confirmation from Yang Kai, he had no reason to hesitate. Immediately, he and Yang Kai set off from High Heaven Sect and rushed to Grand Burial Valley.
This time, Yang Kai did not bring anyone else, only travelling together with Qian Tong. He even had Su Yan remain behind in High Heaven Sect.
Qian Tong was already an Origin King Realm master, so his speed was naturally incredibly fast, but although Yang Kai’s cultivation was not as high, his speed was actually noticeably faster because of his Dao of Space.
Less than ten days later, the pair arrived outside Grand Burial Valley.
When Yang Kai and Yang Yan came here last time, the Yin Qi which pervaded Grand Burial Valley was quite thick and could make any cultivator who entered feel uncomfortable, but it was still tolerable.
Now, when Yang Kai and Qian Tong arrived here and looked down from the sky, they could not help frowning.
Below, a thick haze enveloped all Grand Burial Valley, cloaking it in a veil so thick it was impossible to see through. This thick mist was clearly comprised of rich, frigid Yin Qi and poisonous Corpse Qi.
If a living person entered this place without sufficient strength, it would not be long before the omnipresent Corpse Qi invaded their body and transformed them into a member of the Corpse Spirit Race.
Under the perception of their Divine Senses, Yang Kai and Qian Tong noticed many dense Corpse Qi auras moving about.
Obviously, these were Corpse Spirit Race clansmen!
Just scanning the periphery revealed at least a thousand Corpse Spirits, so it wasn’t hard to imagine just how many of them were hidden deeper inside Grand Burial Valley.
“Let’s split up. Yang Kai, if you meet that Corpse Spirit Religion master, remember to send word to this old master immediately. This old master will go in first and thin these foul creatures out a bit,” Qian Tong exhorted before immediately turning into a stream of light and smashing down into Grand Burial Valley, kicking up a terrifying storm of wind and thunder wherever he went. Even the rich Corpse Qi which covered Grand Burial Valley was being dispersed by Qian Tong.
Qian Tong released his Domain and controlled all the wind within a ten-kilometre range around himself, pulling in the Corpse Spirits nearby and shredding them to pieces.
He did not intend to hide his whereabouts, simply charging about openly!
Yang Kai smiled slightly but didn’t care too much.
With Qian Tong’s current strength, no one on Shadowed Star was his opponent, so he was more than qualified to act this boldly.
And by doing so, Qian Tong was able to draw all the attention of Corpse Spirit Religion, creating an opportunity for Yang Kai to infiltrate and search this place more easily.
This was the plan they had agreed upon on the way here.
After only a brief moment, the thousand or so Corpse Spirits Yang Kai and Qian Tong had initially sensed were wiped out. An Origin King’s methods could not be underestimated! Qian Tong was not content to just stop here though, and immediately flew deeper into the valley, drawing in more Corpse Spirits and slaughtering them before they even knew what was happening.
Just as Qian Tong aggressively attacked and drew Corpse Spirit Religion’s attention, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and disappeared.
Following his memories from the last time he was here, Yang Kai swiftly proceeded towards the deepest depths of Grand Burial Valley.
The origin of Corpse Spirit Religion was no doubt the Underworld Well Spring in the lowest depths of the Corpse Cave. This was the foundation upon which Corpse Spirit Religion was built, so Yang Kai made it his first destination. If he could destroy this Underworld Well Spring, Corpse Spirit Religion would become a rootless tree, a river without a source. When that happened, it would be a simple matter to eradicate it. Otherwise, if the Underworld Well Spring was allowed to remain, no matter how many Corpse Spirits were killed, they could always create more.
Rumblings sounded in the distance as unfamiliar voices constantly cried out. Naturally, these were the voices of the Corpse Spirit Religion masters Qian Tong was fighting. Although he wasn’t able to observe this scene, Yang Kai knew that Qian Tong’s was engaging in a one-sided slaughter, forcing the Corpse Spirit Race to retreat in defeat again and again.
Only half a day later, Yang Kai reached the entrance of the Corpse Cave.
Along the way, Yang Kai ran into some Corpse Spirits, but these were all weaklings who could not impede him in any way. Yang Kai was able to kill all of them without even slowing his pace.
The entrance to the Corpse Cave had not changed and was not even hidden. Originally, it was hidden behind a powerful Spirit Array, but after Yang Yan cracked it last time, it no longer played any role.
From the mouth of the Corpse Cave, a thick Corpse Qi continued billowing out. The concentration and danger of the Corpse Qi in this location was far greater than anywhere else in Grand Burial Valley. Standing firm, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to probe the situation slightly before diving in.
The Corpse Cave was as dark and damp as Yang Kai remembered, and a brief investigation revealed that many stone chambers now had traces of Corpse Spirit activities.
However, the chaos Qian Tong was stirring up outside was too great, so most of the Corpse Spirits inside were either rushing out or had already left to provide support to their besieged allies.
After Yang Kai entered, he immediately hid inside a nearby stone chamber to avoid a wave of Corpse Spirit Race reinforcements.
His task right now was to find the whereabouts of the mysterious Religion Master, so he did not want to expose his presence prematurely.
The Corpse Spirit Race clansmen passed by without noticing anything. After they left, Yang Kai walked out and scanned his surroundings.
This stone chamber was pitch black, with no source of light, but that did not hinder Yang Kai’s observation.
With just a glance, Yang Kai’s expression became gloomy.
He discovered that there were many complete corpses stored in this chamber, and each of them was being wrapped in a rich Corpse Qi, like a chrysalis. With the constant injection of Corpse Qi, these corpses were slowly undergoing some subtle changes, obviously transforming into members of the Corpse Spirit Race.
There were some corpses here that had already become more of a Corpse Spirit Race than a human! As long as they could completely absorb the chrysalis-like Corpse Qi outside their bodies, they would definitely become a part of the Corpse Spirit Race!
[So, this is how they transform!] Yang Kai nodded lightly.
He had speculated that this was the method Corpse Spirit Race members were created since Corpse Spirits couldn’t emerge from thin air. First, a suitable body was required, and the source of these bodies was the cultivators from great forces Corpse Spirit Religion had conquered.
These corpses were brought back to the Corpse Cave, where the rich Corpse Qi was used to transform them into members of the Corpse Spirit Race.
However, it appeared that this process was not perfect. Yang Kai found some semi-finished products without the slightest aura in this stone room as well, undoubtedly the results of previous failures.
The strength of a successfully transformed Corpse Spirit also seemed to be correlated to their cultivation before they died. The higher the cultivation a master possessed in life, the higher their initial strength would be after the transformation. This was no doubt why the Corpse Spirit Race clansmen named Fang Feng Qi wanted Fei Zhi Tu’s body in Heavenly Fate City.
After all, Fei Zhi Tu was one of Shadowed Star’s strongest masters.
The corpses stored in this stone chamber did not possess high cultivation, all of them below the Saint King Realm with most being Saints. There were also some Transcendent and Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators mixed in.
These Corpse Spirits were undoubtedly meant to be used as pawns in Corpse Spirit Religion’s army, their only true advantage being superior numbers.
However, in this Corpse Cave, there were countless similar stone chambers, and if Yang Kai’s guess wasn’t wrong, the further down he went, the stronger the corpses would become.
Remaining silent, Yang Kai continued diving deeper.
Soon, he found that his guess was correct. The further down he went, the higher the cultivation of those corpses during their lifetime became, gradually changing from mostly Saints and Saint Kings to Origin Realm masters.
Of course, the total number of such corpses also grew smaller.
Yang Kai even saw a completely transformed Corpse Spirit Race man clawing his way out of his chrysalis. It seemed he had just been reborn. This Corpse Spirit Race man turned to the sky and roared, a putrid aura pulsing wildly from his body as two fangs extended out of the corners of his mouth and white needle-like hairs jetting out from his skin.
Having just finished his transformation, he obviously did not know how to control his power.
Yang Kai continued deeper without alerting any of the Corpse Spirits here, gradually reaching the position where he obtained the Sun’s True Essence that day.
This was originally the treasury of the Ancient Yang Sect and had a total of three rooms. The innermost room was where the Sun’s True Essence and Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal had been placed.
Standing outside the treasury, Yang Kai frowned suddenly as he turned his gaze towards the inner depths for a moment before grinning lightly and striding inside.
The first and second rooms had Corpse Spirits lined up on either side, each of them possessing Origin Realm cultivation. But when Yang Kai walked in, none of them attacked immediately, instead just glaring at him fiercely. Watching Yang Kai, these Corpse Spirit masters hissing threateningly as he walked inside, only moving to block the entrance after he had passed through.
Yang Kai went straight to the third room of the treasury.
The third room had changed quite a lot. This place was now decorated magnificently and luxuriously, with many fist-sized light stones inlaid on the surrounding walls, exuding a soft light, making it seem like a magnificent palace.
At the very centre of this palace, there was a pool about three metres in radius inside of which a kind of yellow water was constantly tumbling and bubbling.
Yang Kai’s eyes fixed on this pool for a moment before he concluded that this was the legendary Underworld Well Spring! The yellow water in this pool was naturally not water but the embodiment of pure nether energy.
This kind of energy had no positive effect on living creatures, it was extremely harmful in fact, but it was of great use to the Corpse Spirit Race!
Yang Kai even felt some slight Space Force fluctuations coming from this Underworld Well Spring.
He had some speculations about what this meant, but he could not be too sure.
Shaking his head slightly, Yang Kai looked up towards a figure sitting on a throne up ahead.
The figure sitting on the chair was wearing ordinary clothes, but his entire image was being distorted by a strange energy barrier. Even when Yang Kai used his Divine Sense, he was unable to see this individual’s true face.
However, Yang Kai felt that the other party was somehow familiar, as if he had met him somewhere before.
This discovery made Yang Kai frown.
If his guess was right, this person should be the mysterious Religion Master of Corpse Spirit Religion.
But Yang Kai was unable to feel the slightest bit of Corpse Qi from him! In other words, he was not a member of the Corpse Spirit Race at all.
It might indeed be as Yang Yan had told him; this guy was the one she had fought against all those millennia ago and was skilled in the methods of creating Corpse Spirits as well as controlling them, allowing him to occupy such a position of power.
While Yang Kai was pondering these issues, the seated man suddenly laughed and spoke in an approving tone, “To think you really found this place, your courage isn’t small!”
Hearing the voice of this person, Yang Kai furrowed his brow as he stared straight at the blurred figure, as if trying to see through this haze and to his true face.
The other party did not even try to remain hidden though, slowly retracting the field around him and revealing a handsome face.
“Lu Ye?” Yang Kai called out in surprise.
It turned out to be Flowing Cloud Valley’s Young Master Lu Ye, the one who had tried to kill him multiple times before!
The first time Yang Kai confronted him was during the opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field. When Yang Kai tried to obtain the Red Candle Stalk, Lu Ye had suddenly appeared and attempted to kill him. Yang Kai fought back and even managed to cut off one of his arms, but Lu Ye had still managed to escape.
Later, Lu Ye had used the Xie Family to attack him once more during the battle of Dragon Cave Mountain, instigating and controlling Xie Li and others to attack Dragon Cave Mountain.
Yang Kai didn’t even know why Lu Ye had such strong animosity towards him.
In the past, Yang Kai had thought Lu Ye merely held some kind of unreasonable grudge against him, but now… many thoughts connected suddenly, and Yang Kai arrived at a bold conjecture.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t call you Lu Ye, after all, you only seized that body for yourself!” Yang Kai’s lips curled upwards into a confident grin.
Lu Ye was stunned for a moment, apparently not expecting his secret to be revealed here. Staring at Yang Kai with some surprise, he nodded, “You are correct, this King has apparently looked down on you!”
“Is figuring that out really that difficult?” Yang Kai chuckled lightly, “The first time I met you was inside that pool of Soul Cleaning Divine Water in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. I obtained an Origin Essence Crystal from that pond if I recall, and after that, you never stopped targeting me. I assume that Origin Essence Crystal was yours, yes?”
Lu Ye’s originally handsome and serene expression suddenly twisted into a hideous one, with blue veins popping up all over his forehead as he shouted, “That’s right, that Origin Essence Crystal was this King’s! Where did you put it! Why can’t this King sense its aura?”
That incident was a nightmare that continued to haunt Lu Ye. If it weren’t for Yang Kai taking away his Origin Essence Crystal, he would only have needed to integrate his own Origin Essence Crystal after he seized this body and at least half of his original strength would have instantly been restored. Even if he was still suppressed by Shadowed Star’s World Principles and unable to break through to the Origin King Realm on the spot, becoming the strongest Origin Realm master on Shadowed Star would have been a given.
After that, he would only need to find a place to retreat for a few dozen years and restoring his original cultivation would not have been a dream. By then, the entire Star Field would bend to his will.
But everything had been ruined by Yang Kai!
He could not sense the existence of his own Origin Essence Crystal, let alone retrieve it, the crystallization and essence of his previous cultivation. Without that, wanting to restore his previous strength with the innate aptitude of Lu Ye’s body was more difficult than trying to ascend to the Heavens.
After so many years, he had only barely been able to reach the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, an unbearable reality for him!
“Sorry, I already absorbed that thing!” Yang Kai smiled and pointed his finger at his head.
“Impossible!” Lu Ye denied vehemently, looking at Yang Kai as contemptuously as if he were an ant and sneering, “With your strength, there is no way you could have refined this King’s Origin Essence Crystal!”
The Soul which had seized Lu Ye’s body was on the same level as the Starry Sky Great Emperor before his death, so the Origin Essence Crystal he left behind was naturally of extremely high grade. Even if an Origin King masters absorbed it, the slightest rashness would have led to their Soul being extinguished.
Yang Kai only had a Saint King cultivation at that time, so how could he have possibly absorbed it?
Lu Ye obviously would not believe such nonsense. He only thought that Yang Kai was lying and had hidden his Origin Essence Crystal by some special means, making it impossible for him to sense it.
“Believe what you want!” Yang Kai shrugged nonchalantly, certainly not willing to give a full explanation to Lu Ye. In the end, it was the Soul Warming Lotus which had refined the Origin Essence Crystal, having next to nothing to do with Yang Kai. In fact, it was not until recently that Yang Kai even realized that crystal back then was an Origin Essence Crystal.
“Enough nonsense, you’ve barged into my home uninvited today, so don’t think you can just walk away. As long as this King seizes you, he will naturally be able to retrieve his Origin Essence Crystal!” Lu Ye coldly snorted as the aura around his body filled with malevolence.
Yang Kai just laughed loudly, “You are at death’s door, yet you’re still shamelessly boasting!”
Hearing this, and seeing Yang Kai’s expression, Lu Ye could not help frowning slightly.
The next moment, the entire Corpse Cave suddenly shook violently, and an extremely powerful aura descended through it. This aura immediately surrounded Lu Ye, immobilizing him with an ugly expression on his face.
*Hong long long…*
The ground split apart suddenly and a hole opened up in the palace above where Yang Kai and Lu Ye were located, a figure leaping down and sending a palm towards Lu Ye in the next instant.
Lu Ye’s complexion changed drastically as he madly pushed his Shi to try to free himself.
But in front of this palm, everything he tried was futile.
His Shi easily shattered by this palm, Lu Ye only had enough time to let out one last roar before his body was ground into a pool of blood and flesh.
Qian Tong landed in the next instant, a slightly suspicious look on his face as he glanced over at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai also wore a stunned expression.
The two of them obviously hadn’t expected that Lu Ye would be patted to death like this!
“That was Corpse Spirit Religion’s Religion Master?” Qian Tong asked in astonishment.
Yang Kai nodded, “En, it was him!”
“This old master overestimated him,” Qian Tong snorted coldly. Although he hadn’t put this Religion Master in his eyes from the beginning, he also hadn’t thought the other party would be killed so easily, making Qian Tong feel like he had just punched cotton when he was expecting steel.
Yang Kai did not make a sound, however, as he still felt something was off. He felt that Lu Ye couldn’t die so easily; after all, this was a master that had even escaped from Yang Yan without her knowledge.
Even if Qian Tong was now an Origin King, how could he compare to Lu Ye in terms of methods and cunning?
Thinking so, Yang Kai quickly released his Divine Sense and began scanning the surrounding area.
Under his Divine Sense perception, the situation of the entire Grand Burial Valley could be understood in an instant.
Suddenly, he noticed that a vague aura fleeing outwards at an incredible speed. This aura was extremely well concealed, and if he had not been suspicious and deliberately searching for something similar, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to find it.
What’s more, this escaping aura had traces of Space Force fluctuations emanating from it.
“Elder Qian!” Yang Kai shouted before suddenly waving his hand through the air and tearing open a Void Crack.
Qian Tong frowned slightly, but although he did not understand why Yang Kai had done this, he chose to believe in him and without even asking anything follow Yang Kai into the Void Crack.
Outside Grand Burial Valley, a Corpse General wearing black robes sat in a meditative position, adjusting his breathing. He seemed to have been sitting here for a long time without moving.
Suddenly, the black-robed Corpse General trembled and his aura rapidly rose to the peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, not much worse than Ye Xi Yun.
Slowly opening his eyes, a look of shock and hatred flashed across his pupils as he gritted his teeth and cursed, “An Origin King?! how could there be an Origin King here? Old dog, this King will remember you! This King will make you pay ten times over for this!”
“You won’t have that chance!” A familiar voice suddenly called out from behind.
The Black-Robed Corpse General was shocked and hurriedly turned around just in time to see a Void Crack open and Yang Kai and Qian Tong step out.
The Corpse General was shocked but roared and tried to escape without even pausing to think.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Qian Tong shouted angrily, expanding his Domain rapidly to engulf the black-robed Corpse General.
Yang Kai did not act, instead choosing to carefully observe the Corpse General while pushing his Divine Sense to its limit.
The Black-Robed Corpse General was a familiar figure to Yang Kai, one he had seen before together with the White-Robed Corpse General Kang Fei Rao, most likely his fellow Sect brother. However, at this moment, he had clearly been possessed by Lu Ye’s Soul, becoming a completely different person.
Although this Corpse General had a peak Origin Returning Realm cultivation, he was still nothing in front of Qian Tong.
The moment the Black-Robed Corpse General’s body was ground to dust and his Soul extinguished, Yang Kai noticed a hidden aura leap across space and travel several hundred kilometres away!
This was obviously the aura of Corpse Spirit Religion’s Religion Master. If it were not for Yang Kai being proficient in the Dao of Space, it would have been impossible for him to notice this flickering aura.
After Qian Tong killed the Black-Robed Corpse General, he turned his head and looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not say a word and simply tore space again, the next moment the pair appeared a few hundred kilometres away.
Just after emerging from the Void Crack, Yang Kai and Qian Tong saw a Corpse General wearing azure robes fleeing with all haste.
Without waiting for Qian Tong to do anything, Yang Kai summoned more than a dozen Golden Blood Threads, condensed them to form a golden arrow, and shot it out at astonishing speed, penetrating a hole in the belly of this Corpse General and shattering his Corpse Core.
The Golden Blood Threads turned around and flew back in the next instant, but Yang Kai didn’t show the slightest trace of joy on his face after killing this powerful foe. Instead, a gloomy frown filled his brow as he tore space for a third time.
Five days later, Yang Kai and Qian Tong stood above a fresh corpse in front of them with truly ugly expressions.
This corpse did not belong to the Corpse Spirit Race, but instead was a Human cultivator. This person’s cultivation was not that high either, only First-Order Origin Returning Realm.
But this was the twenty-seventh body the mysterious Religion Master had seized!
It seemed that he did not suffer any damage to his Soul when he seized another host and could continue this process infinitely.
This was completely contrary to the understanding that Yang Kai had. When the physical body of a powerful master was destroyed, if that master’s Soul survived somehow, it could attempt to find a suitable body and seize it, but Soul Seizing was a very dangerous process. It was highly likely that in the process the foreign Soul would be defeated and swallowed up by the person they target. As a result, even if a Soul Seizing was successful, it would consume a massive amount of Spiritual Energy.
It was essentially impossible for someone to attempt to seize a second host in short order!
However, the mysterious Religion Master had completely broken this rule. In just five days, he had seized twenty-seven different hosts, and although Yang Kai was able to follow his trail and catch up to him each time he did, even if he and Qian Tong killed this new host, the Religion Master would simply move on to a new body!
After five days of pursuit, having still failed to kill the Religion Master, Yang Kai and Qian Tong both realized how difficult an opponent they were facing.
However, their efforts were not completely in vain.
Over time, they discovered that the Religion Master could not simply seize anyone’s body, only those he had implanted with a Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect.
Yang Kai had contacted these Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects before. The Xie Family’s Xie Li was controlled by a Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect when he attacked Dragon Cave Mountain, ultimately leading to him self-destructing in an attempt to kill Yang Kai.
This strange insect was a unique Secret Technique of the Religion Master. Once a Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect was implanted into someone, that individual would have no choice but to obey the Religion Master’s orders.
Clearly, he relied on this method to enslave unwilling subordinates, and now it seemed like they could also be used to perform Soul Seizing in an emergency!
As long as there was a Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect host within a certain distance, his Soul could instantly reach its location, regardless of the limitations of space, and seize it for himself.
In addition to this knowledge, Yang Kai and Qian Tong also noticed that the Religion Master was choosing weaker and weaker hosts to seize as time went by.
In the beginning, the body’s he possessed were all Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters or peak-level Corpse Generals, but after two days, he was forced to choose Second-Order Origin Realm cultivations, and now, he could only seize First-Orders!
Apparently, his Soul Seizing technique was not without flaws, possibly even dealing some damage to his Soul the more he used it. Even the Religion Master could not avoid such backlash entirely.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai and Qian Tong were exhausted from being run around in circles.
“Next! We cannot possibly do this forever! This old master does not believe he will be able to escape!” Qian Tong had a stomach full of grievances. He was now an Origin King, the undisputed strongest on Shadowed Star, but just as he had reached the proudest moment in his life, he was unable to slaughter this Religion Master, making him very angry.
Of course, Qian Tong was unaware that the Religion Master was a master who had reached far beyond the Origin King Realm.
“Have you found him yet?” Qian Tong turned his head and looked at Yang Kai.
After a few days of pursuit, Qian Tong also understood the strangeness of the Religion Master’s methods. In fact, if not for Yang Kai being here to track him, Qian Tong knew that he would not be able to kill this enemy to the last.
He was simply unable to trace the Religion Master’s Soul when it escaped.
Yang Kai closed his eyes to scan their surroundings. A moment later, his eyes shot open and he slashed his hand through the air to open a Void Crack.
In a dense jungle, a handsome but evil-looking young man fled hastily. This man seemed to only be around thirty years old and his body radiated the aura of a First-Order Origin Realm master; however, his expression was quite dishevelled and his eyes flashed with a bloodshot light.
As he fled, he did his best to conceal his aura while sweeping his surroundings with his Divine Sense.
There did not seem to be any signs of movement within thirty kilometres.
But this young man did not relax his vigilance because of this. On the contrary, he continued to flee as if something terrifying was chasing him.
His face was filled with cruel, unforgettable hatred and rage.
He was a famous character even in that place, with few daring to provoke him, but since arriving in this tiny Star Field and falling onto this Cultivation Star, his fortunes had only grown worse and worse for ten thousand years. First, his body was vaporized by Yang Yan, then he had to spend ten thousand years just to recover.
But now, just as he awoke once more, he found himself being hunted down by a mere Third-Order Origin Returning Realm trash.
In his heyday, he could rip such an opponent into ten thousand pieces with a simple glance, but now he had no choice but to flee.
The young man felt grief and anger, like a tiger being taunted by a dog after it left the mountain, or a dragon being toyed with by a shrimp in a shallow pond, making his blood boil and his breathing difficult.
His Soul escaping technique was unparalleled, and even an Origin King would not be able to discover any trace of it, but that damned brat named Yang Kai just so happened to cultivate the Dao of Space! If not for this, how could he have possibly been forced into such a desperate situation?
The Dao of Space was an esoteric field even in that place, with very few able to cultivate it. Even smashing his head on a rock couldn’t help him understand how there was someone in such a backwards place who had reached such a high level of comprehension in the Dao of Space that they could tear it and instantly cross thousands of kilometres.
Just as he was grumbling to himself, gnashing his teeth, a strange energy fluctuation suddenly appeared in front of him.
The young man’s face immediately turned grim and pale.
This situation had occurred several dozen times now, so he was no stranger to it, and he knew what was about to happen.
“Boy, you’ve forced my hand!” The young man’s eyes filled with sullenness, as if he had just made some kind of important decision, stopping in place, and waiting quietly.
The strange fluctuations became more and more obvious and soon, a pitch-black crack suddenly appeared, one filled with a swirling, chaotic nothingness.
Two figures immediately emerged from this tear in space, with Qian Tong at the lead and Yang Kai following close behind.
As soon as Qian Tong appeared, a powerful Divine Sense immediately locked onto the position of the handsome young man. Without even speaking any words, Qian Tong expanded his Domain and engulfed the young man, wrapping him in a field of wind blades that crashed towards him.
The cultivation of this young man was not high, only First-Order Origin Returning Realm, so Qian Tong didn’t even need to make a conscious attack as his Domain was enough to strangle him to death.
The young man, however, let out a fierce laugh as he shouted, “Humble ants, bear the supreme anger of this King!”
As these words fell, he opened his mouth and spat out a verdant coloured aura. This dark green aura twisted before condensing into a long sword emblazoned with complicated runes that made one dizzy just by staring at them.
This green long sword immediately and silently slashed through the air.
A shocking scene then appeared as Qian Tong’s Domain was directly smashed by this sword, shattering to pieces instantly.
At the same time, both Qian Tong and Yang Kai’s complexions changed dramatically. In their vision, the verdant long sword mysteriously vanished and broke through their Soul defences before directly entering their Knowledge Seas. Transforming back into the appearance of a sword, it slashed down like a bolt of lightning.
In an instant, both Yang Kai and Qian Tong felt their Knowledge Seas cut in half by this attack, raising a great storm in their minds.
The strength of their Spiritual Energy was instantly ground down.
Yang Kai and Qian Tong felt they had instantly lost more than a third of their Spiritual Energy.
Both of them cried out as their heads felt like they were being split in half, their vision blurring and almost passing out.
Both their complexions went pale as they had not expected their opponent to still have such a powerful card to play, hurriedly pushing their Saint Qi to defend themselves in anticipation of a follow-up attack.
After the young man released this attack, however, his face also turned white and his entire body trembled uncontrollably. He was about to take advantage of this opening to cut down Yang Kai and Qian Tong, but in the end, he was strong in will but weak in strength.
Fiercely cursing, the young man’s body suddenly exploded into dust and disappeared.
However, as it did, a Soul rushed out and wrapped around the green long sword before cutting open a Void Crack and fleeing into it.
Yang Kai stared in the direction this Soul fled, doing his best to try to track it, but a strange field had somehow blocked off the surrounding region, making it impossible for him to follow it.
Feeling the fierce, piercing pain in his head again, Yang Kai could not help crying out and quickly took out a jade bottle. Pouring out several pills, he gave half to Qian Tong before stuffing the remainder into his mouth, sitting down cross-legged, and meditating.
Upon seeing this, Qian Tong quickly stuffed these pills into his mouth and also closed his eyes to adjust his breathing.
After a full day, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes, a trace of fear still lingering in the depths of his eyes.
He had the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, so even though his Soul was damaged, it did not matter much as given enough time it would be restored.
On the contrary, Qian Tong seemed to have suffered significant damage. Even though he was an Origin King, having suffered a blow like this, he would need at least half a year to heal himself.
As if sensing Yang Kai’s gaze, Qian Tong also opened his eyes, his face slightly pale, and paused for a moment before asking, “Did he get away?”
Yang Kai nodded silently.
Qian Tong sighed heavily, “A terrible opponent indeed. This old master thought he was already invincible on Shadowed Star after breaking through to the Origin King Realm but now I have suffered such a big loss at his hands. En, there are so many astonishing talents out there still. What kind of artifact was that? Why was it so powerful?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “It was probably an Emperor Artifact.”
“Emperor Artifact?” Qian Tong frowned before checking their surroundings thoughtfully and nodding, “That makes sense, there is indeed a faint Emperor Pressure lingering here, but why does it feel like this Emperor Pressure is different from the one emitted by the Emperor Garden?”
Yang Kai glanced at him as he mused to himself that there was more than one Great Emperor-level existence in this world, but he held his tongue.
It was this faint Emperor Pressure which had blocked Yang Kai’s tracing, allowing the Religion Master to escape.
After losing track of the Religion Master and considering the methods he used, finding him now would be quite difficult.
This time’s action could not be considered a success, but within a short time, the Religion Master should not be able to show himself; after all, he had also suffered heavy losses. The last attack he launched with that Emperor Artifact no doubt caused significant backlash for him. Otherwise, he would not have waited so long to use it.
Qian Tong obviously knew this, so he did not bother asking Yang Kai to continue this pursuit. After thinking about it for a moment, he proposed, “Although we let him escape, Corpse Spirit Religion still needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. We should first return to Grand Burial Valley and destroy that Corpse Cave. When this old master passed through it, he felt many Corpse Spirits sleeping inside.”
“En, I was thinking the same,” Yang Kai agreed with him.
After a brief discussion, the pair set off immediately in the direction of Grand Burial Valley.
Three days later, the two returned to Grand Burial Valley. The Corpse Spirits inside the valley had suffered serious losses thanks to Qian Tong’s earlier rampage, but they had not been completely wiped out. However, the remaining Corpse Spirits had seemingly escaped, leaving behind only the ones who had yet to fully transform inside the Corpse Cave.
Before Qian Tong destroyed the Corpse Cave, Yang Kai once again returned to the Underworld Well Spring to see if there was any way he could destroy it. This was the true source of the Corpse Spirit Race, so as long as it could be destroyed, the Corpse Spirit Race would no longer be able to increase their numbers, leaving only the remnants outside to clean up before Shadowed Star would once again have its peace restored.
However, to his disappointment, Yang Kai found it was impossible to destroy the Underworld Well Spring. It seemed this spring was connected to another world out of which Yin, Death, and Corpse Qi flowed continuously.
Rumour had it that the Underworld Well Spring connected to the netherworld!
The only way to destroy the bridge would be to enter it and sever the connection from the inside.
Yang Kai didn’t dare take such a risk though and could only take a step back, joining forces with Qian Tong to temporarily seal the Underworld Well Spring before collapsing the Corpse Cave, killing the incomplete Corpse Spirits inside in the process.
Ten days later, Yang Kai and Qian Tong returned to High Heaven Sect.
After briefly informing Ye Xi Yun and the other leaders about what had transpired, even Great Elder Ye was shocked, not having imagined there was such a strong method that allowed one continuously use Soul Seizing in this world.
The rest of the Elders also sighed.
“Sect Master, does that mean this Religion Master is immortal?” Ye Xi Yun frowned.
“That’s not the case. Although his seizing technique is profound and hard to be traced, it does some damage to him. This is obvious considering the targets he chose to possess. However, finding him again after he escaped this time will be exceedingly difficult,” Yang Kai sighed.
Ye Xi Yun nodded lightly, “Although the Religion Master was not beheaded this time, it is enough that the Underworld Well Spring has been sealed. Presumably, the Corpse Spirit Race will not be able to increase their numbers again, so it is time for us to begin our counterattack.”
Yang Kai glanced at her and smiled slightly, “What does Great Elder propose?”
“Take advantage of the victory!” Ye Xi Yun quickly said, “Shadowed Star’s situation has been deteriorating over the past two years was because the Corpse Spirit Race were a completely unfamiliar foe and they had the means to transform our own fallen into their comrades. Another reason is that the great forces of Shadowed Star all fought separately, allowing them to be defeated one by one. Now, however, things are different. With Sect Master’s return, along with our Origin King Grade Starship and Elder Qian’s breakthrough to the Origin King Realm, as long as you two stand up to take the lead, with the reputations and status of High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall, it should not be hard to unify Shadowed Star against the Corpse Spirit Races.”
“This old master has no objections. Shadowed Star is this old master’s homeland, so he is duty-bound to protect it,” Qian Tong said immediately.
Ye Xi Yun turned her sights to Yang Kai next.
“I’m also fine with it,” Yang Kai chuckled, “Great Elder and Elder Qian can take charge. The Sect’s resources and manpower are yours to deploy. I’ll contribute whatever I can.”
“Since Sect Master wants to loaf around, so be it. We’ll proceed as proposed,” Ye Xi Yun was a decisive woman and immediately made her decision.
Next came discussions about how exactly to go about uniting the remaining masters on Shadowed Star, how to establish a command structure which would be respected, and how to eliminate Corpse Spirit Religion…
In fact, things were quite simple. The prestige of High Heaven Sect was not low, and coupled with Qian Tong’s current identity as an Origin King, all that needed to be done was for the latter to raise his voice and others would surely rally.
With these two forces taking the lead, coupled with the Origin King Grade Starship, it would not be a difficult matter to gather up and rescue the masters and Sects who were besieged by Corpse Spirit Religion. As time passed, like a rolling snowball, they would be able to sweep across all of Shadowed Star and wipe out Corpse Spirit Religion!
Ye Xi Yun also prepared people to spread the word to all of Shadowed Star that the mysterious Religion Master of Corpse Spirit Religion had been killed by Yang Kai and Qian Tong!
Although this news was false, no one would doubt it, and right now, the Religion Master only wanted to conceal his whereabouts, so there was no chance of him showing himself to discredit them.
This news would greatly impact the morale of the Corpse Spirit Race and the Human cultivators who had submitted to Corpse Spirit Religion, making eliminating them all the easier.
Yang Kai did not participate in these discussions and instead went to visit Yang Yan again.
“It seems he really was the Insect Emperor!” Inside Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai sat face to face with her and wore a thoughtful look on his face, “The Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect is one of the Ancient Insects he cultivated using a profound Secret Technique, and that Soul Splitting Saber is his artifact. Unexpectedly, he actually survived that battle; it seems I was negligent.”
“So his original title was Insect Emperor!” Yang Kai nodded.
“En, because the focus of his cultivation was on controlling different Ancient Exotic Insects. He is able to attach threads of his Soul to any insect he cultivates, allowing him to jump and take possession through them multiple times. The Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect is just one kind of Exotic Insect in his possession and is not actually that big of a deal. It can only be used to control others. He has other more powerful methods in his hands. With those methods, he could raise a reign of terror throughout the Star Field, leaving countless corpses in his wake!”
Yang Kai could not help trembling slightly as he realized Yang Yan was not talking about a single Cultivation Star, but rather the entire Star Field.
Yang Yan smiled lightly, however, “You don’t need to be so nervous. In order to control certain powerful Exotic Insects, he needs a correspondingly powerful cultivation. Right now, he is only a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, so how could he possibly control so many Exotic Insects? Even using the Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect in such a reckless manner must have caused quite a backlash for him, so believe me when I say he won’t show himself again for a few years at least.”
“As long as he’s alive, he’s still a disaster waiting to happen!” Yang Kai frowned.
Yang Kai was very wary of the Insect Emperor as he was a character on the same level as Yang Yan, so who knows what he was capable of?
Yang Yan narrowed her eyes slightly as she spoke, “I have a way to help you kill him!”
“Oh? What way?” Yang Kai looked up at her.
Yang Yan did not speak and instead reached out to grab towards the void.
Inside Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea, a beautiful ball of multi-coloured light manifested atop her palm, after which she immediately pressed her hand against Yang Kai’s forehead.
She did not move quickly or slowly, seemingly just carelessly waving her hand, but Yang Kai was unable to react until the ball of light in Yang Yan’s hand had already entered his Soul Avatar and disappeared, shocking him as he asked, “What was that?”
Yang Yan smiled lightly and simply said, “You’ll know after refining it.”
The moment after Yang Yan spoke, Yang Kai felt a wild aura suddenly explode inside his Soul Avatar. This was a kind of strength he was unable to resist, and it forced his Soul Avatar to collapse directly and return to his main body.
The next moment, when he opened his eyes, what Yang Kai saw was not the inside of the small loft, but an empty and chaotic space, with absolutely nothing, not even light around him. He could not even sense his own existence.
Yang Kai was startled, not knowing where he was, but he was not someone unfamiliar with great storms, so he did not panic and instead began calmly examining his surroundings.
It was not long before traces of substance appeared inside the vast nothingness, and as this substance gathered together, it gradually grew larger and larger.
After some unmeasurable amount of time passed, a massive star appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision. This star had no vitality, not even simple plants, a barren Dead Star by all accounts.
Staring at this massive star, however, Yang Kai felt it was a little familiar.
“Shadowed Star!” An epiphany struck Yang Kai as he observed Shadowed Star from the Starry Sky. It had the size and appearance of the current Shadowed Star, but none of the vitality.
“I understand now,” Yang Kai had not comprehended what Yang Yan had done to him until this moment, and feeling grateful in his heart, he quickly focused his attention to fully grasp this extremely rare and precious opportunity.
In his disembodied state, Yang Kai was unable to perceive the passage of time at all. It seemed that only a moment had gone by, while at the same time hundreds of millions of years had passed. Finally, traces of life began to appear on the dead Shadowed Star, the sea ebbed and flowed while plants and greenery began filling the land. Soon, flesh and blood creatures were also born.
One by one, different races rose, carving their mark into the long river of history before disappearing once more.
Many different civilizations rose and fell as Yang Kai looked on.
He felt auras from ancient and primordial times, and as he observed these epochs change, part of them seemed to integrate into his being, as if he had passed through all the aeons together with this star.
He witnessed its birth, development, peaks and troughs with his own eyes…
Gradually, Yang Kai began to have a peculiar feeling that he was this star, and the star was him!
A Star Master!
Only a Star Master would experience such a sensation.
When Xia Ning Chang refined the Star Source of Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had accompanied and assisted her, granting him the opportunity to observe the evolution and development of Tong Xuan Realm, so now seeing such a similar scene again, how could he not understand?
This was clearly the process one needed to undertake when refining a Star Source and become a Star Master!
Yang Kai opened his eyes and a strange feeling filled his heart.
It was as if all of Shadowed Star had become a part of his body. He could feel any piece of land on Shadowed Star he wanted to, perceive the fertility or barrenness of any location on this Cultivation Star and discover any creature living upon it!
If he wanted to, he could easily reach any place on Shadowed Star without any restrictions, and if he so desired, he could cause the sky to fall, the earth to crack, or tsunamis to rise with but a single thought…
Clenching his fist lightly, Yang Kai felt the entire world’s aura shake slightly as a bell-like sound echoed across the sky.
At that moment, the trillions of lives on Shadowed Star shook as they looked up towards the Heavens, wondering what had just happened.
Shadowed Star underwent a very subtle change when Yang Kai became its Star Master. This change was indistinct and only a few masters were even aware of it, everyone else remaining completely ignorant.
From now on, Shadowed Star’s prosperity would be tied closely to Yang Kai’s, and with the improvement of his cultivation, the vitality of all of Shadowed Star would also burgeon more and more radiantly.
Yang Kai examined himself and found that inside his dantian there was now a tiny sphere which resembled Shadowed Star, only shrunk down hundreds of millions of times. It sat in place there, spinning at a subtle speed.
[Star Source Strength!]
If one wanted to become the Star Master of a Cultivation Star, they would first need to refine that Cultivation Star’s Star Source, and what Yang Yan had implanted into his body before was undoubtedly the Star Source of Shadowed Star.
From the miniature Shadowed Star, Yang Kai felt a subtle power nourish his body with every rotation it made, while at the same time drawing on his power to strengthen itself.
This was a mutually beneficial, symbiotic process.
While Yang Kai was extremely excited and happy, he also had many doubts.
Had he really just become the Star Master of Shadowed Star? The lord and ruler of this vast Cultivation Star?
He simply could not adapt to this new reality so quickly. Little Senior Sister becoming the Star Master of Tong Xuan Realm had much to do with luck. Tong Xuan Realm’s aura was barren, just like a dying old man struggling to live on, which was why Tong Xuan Realm’s Star Source had sought out Xia Ning Chang on its own and allowed her to refine it.
But Shadowed Star was different. Even if the World Principles here had a suppressive effect that made it impossible for cultivators to comprehend the mysteries of the Origin King Realm, it was still a vibrant Cultivation Star. If Tong Xuan Realm was akin to a dying old man, then Shadowed Star was a youth filled with vigour and vitality.
In order to refine the Star Source of such a Cultivation Star, one would usually need to be a Third-Order Origin King, otherwise, it would simply be impossible!
Luo Hai being able to become a Star Master while still just a Second-Order Origin King was a unique achievement across the entire Star Field.
As if understanding Yang Kai’s suspicions, Yang Yan’s voice suddenly echoed in his Knowledge Sea, “The Star Source of Shadowed Star was detained by me for over ten thousand years, but now I allowed it to be free of my control. Why wouldn’t it cooperate with you?”
Yang Kai was stunned.
Yang Yan giggled, “Rest assured, its temper was smoothed out many years ago. It wasn’t so docile back then, therefore, I imprisoned it to teach it a lesson.”
Yang Kai smiled bitterly as he now understood the reason behind his easy success. Anyone who had been imprisoned for ten thousand years would have become obedient. Although the Star Source was not intelligent, it understood instinctually that it was unable to resist Yang Yan’s means and could only compromise.
Obtaining the position of Star Master so easily and simply still baffled Yang Kai greatly.
Furrowing his brow, Yang Kai expanded his Divine Sense. A tidal wave of Divine Sense spread out from his position and within moments covered most of the Shadowed Star.
Yang Kai noticed many ongoing battles in various locations as if he was seeing them with his own eyes.
However, the Spiritual Energy in his Knowledge Sea was also being drained at an alarming rate.
After Yang Kai took back his Divine Sense, he was shocked to find that his Knowledge Sea had been drained by a third after just five breaths.
This meant he could only monitor Shadowed Star for fifteen breaths before his Knowledge Sea dried up completely, and that was not even a comprehensive monitoring! After realizing this, Yang Kai could not help feeling stunned. Although he only had a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, his Soul’s strength was comparable to an ordinary Origin King’s. He also possessed a supreme treasure like the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, so generally speaking, it was impossible for his Knowledge Sea to be completely drained.
Apparently, even if he had become a Star Master, he still could not act as he pleased without the corresponding strength.
For now, though, it was enough.
“I need to go deal with some minor troubles. I’ll come see you later,” Yang Kai said, and before Yang Yan could reply, his figure flickered and disappeared.
Somewhere a hundred thousand kilometres away from High Heaven Sect, a group of Corpse Spirit Religion disciples were attacking a group of Human cultivators who were struggling to resist.
Ever since High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall jointly issued a call to arms, all of Shadowed Star had risen in revolt against Corpse Spirit Religion.
Under the leadership of Ye Xi Yun and Qian Tong, Corpse Spirit Religion’s armies were steadily forced back, and the Corpse Spirit Race suffered numerous casualties. The cultivators who had lost their homes and foundations spontaneously gathered and launched assaults on Corpse Spirit Religion’s strongholds and slowly re-took their homelands.
Without the Corpse Cave to transform new clansmen, every Corpse Spirit that was killed meant there would forever be one less of them. Additionally, rumours that the mysterious Religion Master was dead and all the senior leadership of the religion being slaughtered spread like wildfire, causing Corpse Spirit Religion’s will to resist to break.
The Human Race forces swept forth with unstoppable momentum, smashing Corpse Spirit Religion’s army wherever they went.
Over eighty percent of the Sects which had lost their headquarters had already retaken them! Everything was proceeding steadily. Leaving behind just enough manpower to protect their headquarters from any counterattack Corpse Spirit Religion launched, all other masters were deployed to the front lines.
Everyone took Corpse Spirit Religion extremely seriously, knowing that it would surely resurface in the future if they failed to eradicate it this time.
Most forces on Shadowed Star contributed to the fight to destroy Corpse Spirit Religion!
Now, a common sight on Shadowed Star was the remaining Corpse Spirit Race forces being exposed from their hiding places, causing thousands of Human Race cultivators to converge and besiege them.
Although the Corpse Spirit Race at this particular place numbered less than a thousand, like cornered beasts, they fought back fiercely, making the situation quite dangerous. What’s more, every member of the Corpse Spirit Race was originally transformed from a dead cultivator, so they did not fear pain and their physical bodies were incredibly strong, making them difficult to kill unless their Corpse Core was destroyed. In general, a human cultivator in the same realm as a Corpse Spirit was completely outmatched in combat.
Thousands of people had surrounded this group of Corpse Spirits in a small mountain valley, but did not dare to launch a comprehensive attack, instead choosing to maintain some distance and slowly whittle away at the enemy forces.
The Corpse Spirit Race clansmen clearly understood their enemy’s intentions, so how could they just sit still and accept their fate? Organizing themselves into multiple waves, they continuously tried to break out of the encirclement. Although they suffered many casualties, they also took a large number of lives in the process.
The two sides had been locked in a virtual stalemate for some time now, with the Corpse Spirit Race group knowing the end was near, causing them to become even fiercer than normal, while the Human Race cultivators became increasingly hesitant and scrupulous about their approach.
Just when the masters from the human side were feeling at a loss about how to proceed, a young man suddenly appeared strangely in the sky above the mountain valley.
His arrival was so sudden and without any prior signs that he was already standing mid-air by the time anyone discovered his existence.
The young man glanced down at the mountain valley below, raised his hand, and gently palmed forward.
This action seemed light and casual, as if he was swatting away a fly.
However, as he palmed, the World Energy in the surrounding region madly gathered towards him and condensed into a massive attack that covered the entire mountain valley.
This palm soon covered the entire sky and slammed down like a great thunderclap.
*Honglong…*
The ground shook violently, and the thousands of Human Race cultivators could barely stay on their feet.
At that next moment, everyone paled in shock.
They clearly witnessed that the nearly thousand Corpse Spirit Race clansmen whom they had been helpless to eliminate were almost all flattened into pools of hashed meat and bone under this giant palm.
Ninety-nine percent of the enemy died in an instant, with only a few who managed to survive by luck; however, even these survivors were heavily wounded and could barely stand on the spot, trembling as they stared up into the sky in horror.
The young man who stood there now looked like an ancient god who could control the world itself!
After delivering that palm, the young man’s figure flickered and disappeared, as if he had never been there at all.
However, the giant palm print which spanned the mountain valley down below, and the dead Corpse Spirit Race clansmen before them proved to all the Human Race cultivators that what they just witnessed wasn’t some kind of illusion.
“Who was that? How did he do that?”
“With the power of that palm, it must have been Hall Master Qian of Shadow Moon Hall, right? I heard that Hall Master Qian is already an Origin King. Or does Shadowed Star have a second Origin King now?”
“No, five months ago, this old master was fortunate enough to witness the terrifying methods of Hall Master Qian, but that palm just now was definitely stronger!”
“How could that be? Are you trying to say that there’s someone on Shadowed Star stronger than Hall Master Qian? I don’t believe it.”
“Haha, I know who that person is, he’s High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master Yang Kai! I met him once before, back when he still lived on Dragon Cave Mountain.”
“He’s High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master?”
Everyone suddenly understood and could not help feeling that the rumours they had heard were true. High Heaven Sect rising to become one of the most powerful Sects on Shadowed Star was not without reason. With such a powerful Sect Master, what worry was there the Sect would not rise?
“Enough idle chatter, there are still a few fish who slipped through the net. Sect Master Yang already solved our biggest problem for us, so we need to clean up the rest, or do you want to bother him to come back and deliver another palm for us?”
The group of masters who had assembled nodded in agreement before stepping towards the few surviving Corpse Spirit Race clansmen, clear malicious intent pulsing from their bodies!
As for the Corpse Spirit Race survivors, they all silently complained that they should have just been patted to death earlier and been done with it!
Looking around at all the enemies gathering towards them, the remaining Corpse Spirit Race clansmen felt despair…
Having experienced all the conveniences of being a Star Master, Yang Kai could not help feeling a little excited.
No wonder those Third-Order Origin King masters aimed to refine a Star Source and become a Star Master. Once one became a Star Master of a Cultivation Star, they could arrive anywhere on that star with a simple thought. This was much faster and more convenient than using a Space Array.
Moreover, after becoming a Star Master, there were many other benefits. Yang Kai had not had time to carefully explore all these though, so he wasn’t entirely clear on their full extent for the time being.
However, this alone was enough. Wherever he went, the Corpse Spirit Race had nowhere to escape. A casual palm was always sufficient to sweep away any group of Corpse Spirits.
Now that he was the master of Shadowed Star, who on the planet could resist him? Not even Qian Tong was qualified.
In just half a day, Yang Kai had crisscrossed half of Shadowed Star, killing all the Corpse Spirit Race’s forces he could find.
Many times, Yang Kai had already moved on before the nearby human cultivators had even figured out what was happening, leaving behind confused but jubilant people everywhere.
Beside the Limitless Ocean, a group of Human Race cultivators, who seemed to have been separated from the main army, were fleeing the pursuit of a dozen Corpse Spirits.
The Corpse Spirit Race had suffered greatly this past year. The powerful Corpse Generals were cut down by Qian Tong and the Elders of High Heaven Sect one by one. Rumours of the Religion Master’s demise also filled the air. Suppressed by the united Human Race front, the remaining Corpse Spirits were forced to retreat all the way to the Limitless Ocean, where they were now trying to escape into the vast sea and seek out a final chance to survive.
However, things did not go as they wanted. Qian Tong and Ye Xi Yun had been pursuing Corpse Spirit Religion doggedly this past year and had now surrounded them, cutting off their last avenue of retreat, making it impossible for them to enter the Limitless Ocean.
The current Corpse Spirit Religion was on its last leg, a mere shadow of its former glory.
The remaining Corpse Spirits could only look for those cultivators who were alone or in small groups to vent their anger on.
This group of eight Human Race cultivators was rather unlucky. After having just separated from the main army, they ran into this group of Corpse Spirits that both outnumbered them and exceeded them in strength. While suffering a few casualties, this group of Human Race cultivators had no choice but to flee towards the safety of the human army. At the head of this group was a charming and enchanting woman with a seductive figure that swayed greatly as she ran. Under the pursuit of these Corpse Spirits, her beautiful face had long ago gone pale though. While running away, she constantly poured her Divine Sense into a communication artifact in her hand, hoping to reach her Elders who could then come to their aid.
Another scream rang out from behind, causing the woman to look back and tremble at the scene she saw.
One of her companions had been overtaken by several Corpse Spirits and knocked to the ground. These cruel and vicious monsters did not kill this fallen man directly, swarming him and ripping apart his body with their sharp teeth instead.
The terrified cries for help this man let loose nearly caused the lead woman’s knees to buckle as she shivered violently.
Soon, this voice grew weak, and after the few Corpse Spirits finished their meal, they resumed their pursuit with even more fervour than before, pulling closer and closer with each passing moment.
Thinking how her tender flesh would soon enter the belly of one of these hideous Corpse Spirits just like her companion’s, leaving her as nothing but a pile of dry bones, the woman’s beautiful eyes filled with terror and helplessness.
This feeling of despair made her feet feel as heavy as lead and her Saint Qi unable to circulate smoothly, slowing her pace greatly.
As the Corpse Spirits got closer, she could even smell a strong scent of fresh blood.
The woman could not help calling out in alarm.
At that moment, a flash suddenly appeared in front of her and a hand stretched out towards her. Only feeling a light breeze brush past her cheek, the young woman was stunned as a young man before her and snapped his fingers, causing the dozen or so Corpse Spirits who had been pursuing her to explode into puffs of smoke.
The catastrophe which had best her was resolved in an instant.
The woman stared at the figure in front of her blankly as a feeling of disbelief after surviving certain death filled her heart.
“Yang Kai?”
Her voice was still trembling, and her face was still pale, obviously not having regained her composure yet.
Hearing this woman call this name, the other Human Race cultivators together with her were taken aback for a moment before they immediately directed excited looks towards Yang Kai.
They had naturally heard Yang Kai’s name before, but none of them had actually seen him up close before. Now, High Heaven Sect’s famous Sect Master had come to rescue them personally, so they felt immensely grateful.
“Yin Su Die?” Yang Kai returned the woman’s stare and frowned as he asked, “Why are you here? Where’s your Master?”
This young woman was none other than Yin Su Die of Coloured Glass Sect.
In Coloured Glass Sect, she had been considered the leader of the younger generation and few were able to resist the Beguiling Techniques she cultivated; however, facing the Corpse Spirit Race, her Beguiling Techniques played no role whatsoever, so even though she had a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, the strength she was able to display in combat against this strange race was limited.
If this was not the case, she wouldn’t have been in such a dire situation.
Yin Su Die smiled reluctantly and replied obediently, “Master is in Cape Town!”
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and soon found a large number of cultivators gathered in a city a few tens of thousands of kilometres away. This should be the Cape Town Yin Su Die mentioned, a city close to the edge of the Limitless Ocean.
“Why aren’t you accompanying your Master? What did you run out here to do?” Yang Kai asked, somewhat displeased.
Although the Human Race occupied the winning side and the Corpse Spirit Race was completely suppressed on all sides, it was still perilous to act alone, especially at the boundary of the Limitless Ocean.
Yang Kai did not like Yin Su Die very much, but she was still considered a disciple of High Heaven Sect now, so it was his duty to reprimand her as the Sect Master.
Yin Su Die was suddenly struck speechless.
When Yang Kai was still an unknown character, she had taken some malicious actions against him, but now things were different. Yin Su Die knew better than anyone of the gap between Yang Kai and herself. If Yang Kai now stood atop the clouds, she was still stuck on the ground, only able to look up to him.
She deeply envied that ugly Senior Sister Dai Yuan of hers and often wondered just what kind of means she had used to win Yang Kai’s care.
It was also precisely because of Yang Kai’s attitude that Yin Su Die’s Honoured Master Gong Ao Fu now favoured her Senior Sister Dai Yuan more and more, and had gradually pushed her away over the past year.
“Forget it,” Yang Kai waved his hand, not interested in delving into this situation any further. Sweeping his eyes over the other cultivators present, Yang Kai found that they were all young men.
This group had obviously been enchanted by Yin Su Die’s beauty and willingly followed behind her.
Yang Kai was clear of Yin Su Die’s methods and even noticed some of these young men staring warily towards him.
“I’ll send you back to where Elder Gong is,” Yang Kai said as he waved his hand to wrap his Saint Qi around Yin Su Die.
What Yang Kai didn’t expect was that Yin Su Die would use this chance to leap into his chest and wrap her hands around his waist, like an innocent young girl, embracing him tightly without the slightest shame, her soft peaks pressing up against him, showcasing their amazing elasticity.
Yang Kai shook his head wryly but did not push her away immediately, simply wrapping the rest of the cultivators nearby in his Saint Qi before directly teleporting to Cape Town.
Upon arriving, Yang Kai gently tapped Yin Su Die on the shoulder and said, “We’re here.”
After saying so, not waiting for her to respond, Yang Kai simply vanished again.
Yin Su Die yelped slightly, but upon looking around, she discovered she really had returned to the familiar Cape Town.
Her hands now embracing nothing but air, Yin Su Die could not help feeling a little lost.
Cape Town was fairly large, but it was fully occupied at the moment. Yang Kai found Ye Xi Yun and Qian Tong in the city shortly after arriving and only after talking to them did he learn of the current situation.
Yang Kai had not felt time pass while refining the Star Source, but apparently, more than a year had gone by since he began.
Over the course of this year, High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall had united most of Shadowed Star and basically uprooted the Corpse Spirit Religion. The remaining Corpse Spirits wanted to escape into the Limitless Ocean, but were blocked on all sides, forcing them to retreat to a certain mountain range about thirty thousand kilometres away from Cape Town.
Qian Tong had ventured into that mountain range several times and killed many, but some Corpse Spirits had concealed themselves too deeply, so even he was unable to route them out to the last, causing him quite a headache.
Shadowed Star’s peace had basically been restored, with roughly eighty percent of the remaining Corpse Spirit Race forces hiding in this one mountain range. As long as these Corpse Spirits here were eliminated, the scattered remnants outside wouldn’t be worthy of fear. At that time, there would be no need for High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall to come forward, these scattered Corpse Spirits would be hunted down by the respective strength of the other Sects eventually.
“In that case…” Yang Kai grinned after understanding the situation. “I’ll go.”
“Do you have a way?” Qian Tong looked at him in surprise. When they met this time, Qian Tong instinctually felt something about Yang Kai had changed, but he could not say what that change was exactly. As far as he could tell, Yang Kai was still a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, but he now gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.
Qian Tong felt that if he were to fight Yang Kai now, the one who would die would certainly be him.
Feeling so caused Qian Tong to become curious, as he was unable to figure out why.
“When the time comes, you’ll know,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, keeping Qian Tong in suspense.
“I’ll go with you,” Qian Tong quickly said.
Yang Kai nodded, stood up, and suddenly said to Ye Xi Yun, “Let the people gathered in Cape Town disperse. After these few years of turmoil, all of them will need time to rest and recuperate. There’s no need to waste any more time here.”
Ye Xi Yun was slightly taken aback, but quickly nodded in compliance.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed Qian Tong’s arm next before the two disappeared so rapidly from Ye Xi Yun’s sight that even she was unable to detect any trace of how they moved.
Ye Xi Yun’s expression fluctuated a few times before she suddenly chuckled lightly and muttered, “So that’s how it is!”
Obviously, she realized something at that moment.
After composing herself, she took out her communication artifact, poured her Divine Sense into it, and issued the appropriate orders.
Shortly after, the human cultivators gathered in Cape Town received word from High Heaven Sect saying the remaining Corpse Spirits had been wiped out and they were free to return to their respective Sects to recover!
The cultivators of the various Sects who received this news began running around, trying to confirm whether it was true or not, and it was not long before the Elders of Shadow Moon Hall and High Heaven Sect came forward to authenticate the information.
Although no one was clear how the remaining Corpse Spirits had suddenly been wiped out, the Human Race cultivators still celebrated the fact that Shadowed Star’s crisis had been resolved. Choosing to trust High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall, these cultivators began dispersing and preparing for the difficult task of rebuilding their respective Sects.
Rebuilding a Sect was no easy task and may take several dozen or even hundreds of years of hard work. However, the top priority of all Sects and small family forces in the near future was to forge good relationships with High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall. In the future, these two forces would undoubtedly be the leaders of Shadowed Star.
During this catastrophe, High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall had quickly accumulated fame far surpassing that of Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and even Star Emperor Mountain. The two great forces were now the most powerful and most prestigious on Shadowed Star.
It could be said that the Corpse Spirit Religion crisis was the catalyst for High Heaven Sect and Shadow Moon Hall’s rapid rise!
A light flashed in front of the Cape Mountain Range and Qian Tong and Yang Kai appeared side by side.
Qian Tong gawked at Yang Kai, almost speechless in shock.
He was now an Origin King, a realm higher than Yang Kai, but he still could not figure out how Yang Kai brought them here.
This definitely was not a pure Space Force Secret Technique!
After pondering for a moment, Qian Tong suddenly came up with a shocking speculation and asked, “Did you refine Shadowed Star’s Source and became its Star Master?”
Only by becoming a Star Master could Yang Kai have brought them from Cape Town in an instant without Qian Tong recognizing how. Coupled with the subtle changes Shadowed Star underwent only a day ago, Qian Tong was almost certain his guess was correct.
“Haha, Elder Qian is quite sharp. I have indeed refined Shadowed Star’s Source,” Yang Kai did not deny it. In any case, this kind of thing could not be concealed, and Qian Tong was not an outsider.
Qian Tong’s jaw dropped but soon he let out a sigh as a complicated expression filled his face, “Unexpectedly, you actually walked a step further than this old master already. One must truly respect the young!”
He was happy for Yang Kai, but also quite shocked.
“It was just luck,” Yang Kai did not reveal the slightest arrogance. Being able to refine the Star Source was entirely because of Yang Yan. Otherwise, Yang Kai would have had to reach at least the Third-Order Origin King Realm before attempting this feat. Shadowed Star’s Source had been imprisoned in Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea for over ten thousand years, so when it was given a chance to leave by fusing with Yang Kai, it complied with great enthusiasm.
This was indeed a matter of luck.
“In that case, this old master will just sit back and watch,” Qian Tong chuckled, quickly composing himself and not even showing any jealousy or envy as he took a step back and relaxed.
Yang Kai didn’t bother with any nonsense either, expanding his Divine Sense rapidly to cover every part of the Cape Mountain Range in front of him and locating every Corpse Spirit Race clansman inside. After confirming the position of his targets, Yang Kai raised his hands slowly towards the sky.
As his hands rose, the entire Cape Mountain Range trembled, and a violent sound rang out from inside. It was like the beating of a thousand war drums that spread to every corner of the Cape Mountain Range.
Visible to the naked eye, the entire mountain range which stretched over a hundred thousand kilometres slowly began to rise.
Qian Tong sucked in a cool breath as he felt a deep sense of yearning in his heart.
This was the power of a Star Master. With a single thought, one could transform the world itself, moving mountains and seas…
Moreover, Yang Kai’s actions didn’t destroy this mountain range, otherwise, he could have just completely flattened it.
Even if Qian Tong exerted all of his strength, he could not recreate this scene.
The sudden change in Cape Mountain Rang clearly alarmed the Corpse Spirit Race clansmen hiding inside, and all of them rapidly tried to fly up to investigate the situation, but soon, they were shocked to discover that the entire mountain range was covered in a strange, invisible force that prevented them from flying or even escaping from their underground hiding places.
This place, which had been their last refuge, was now an inescapable cage.
The various Corpse Spirits cried out in panic, none of them understanding what was going on.
A few breaths later, once Cape Mountain Range had risen about ten metres, Yang Kai exhaled softly and pushed his palm down rapidly.
*Honglong…*
In that instant, the hundred-thousand-kilometre long mountain crashed to the ground.
The earth shook violently as a deafening impact sounded from the mountain range, alongside a myriad of explosions. At this moment, all the surrounding World Energy seemed to be turned into a giant hammer that pounded down on the Corpse Spirits trapped here.
*Peng peng peng peng…*
All of the Corpse Spirit Race clansmen exploded into dust and disappeared.
After the noise subsided, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense again and confirmed that there was no trace of the Corpse Spirit Race left in Cape Mountain Range. The thousands of Corpse Spirits who had fled here were all eliminated without exception.
Qian Tong stared in shock for a long while before finally letting out a long breath, “It seems this catastrophe has ended.”
“Only after killing Corpse Spirit Religion’s Religion Master can you feel completely relieved,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“I’ll let you handle that, as for this old master… En, after you kill him, this old master will tell you about it, there is no need to pay it any mind at this point.”
Qian Tong obviously wanted to say something, but since he did not want to bring it up now, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t force him to.
The two separated right after, with Qian Tong heading back to Shadow Moon Hall to take charge of the reconstruction while Yang Kai flew out into the Limitless Ocean. He intended to track down the Insect Emperor and erase him completely from this world.
While he was dealing with the remnants of the Corpse Spirit Race, Yang Kai had constantly been searching for the aura of the Insect Emperor, but to his disappointment, he never found it.
As such, Yang Kai focused his attention on the Limitless Ocean, believing that his judgment was not wrong.
Shadowed Star was huge, and since the great forces stationed on land and the great forces established on the sea had little in common with one another, they seldom interacted. It was for this reason that, although Corpse Spirit Religion had raised a reign of terror on the inland Sects of Shadowed Star, causing massive amounts of destruction and death, the deep-sea Sects had basically remained unaffected.
This was also why the Corpse Spirit Race had wanted to flee into the Limitless Ocean to avoid the hunt of the inland Sects.
Yang Kai had been to the Limitless Ocean before. When he left the Emperor Garden, he had accidentally been dropped here, but he was eager to return to the Sect at that time and had left right away.
This trip was different. Yang Kai was here searching for the whereabouts of the Insect Emperor, so, as he sped along, he had an opportunity to experience the local customs, which differed greatly from those of the inland Sects.
The great forces of the Limitless Ocean were not to be underestimated. Many island Sects had powerful Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters presiding over them.
However, now that Yang Kai had become Shadowed Star’s Star Master, whether it was on land or sea, it made no difference to him, he could easily control everything around him.
Sunrise Island belonged to the most powerful Limitless Ocean Sect, Sea Temple.
Sea Temple was a famous existence here. While the residents of the Limitless Ocean may not know about High Heaven Sect or Star Emperor Mountain, they had all heard of Sea Temple.
Sea Temple’s history was no shorter than Heaven Battling Union or Thunder Typhoon Sect’s, and after the accumulation of countless years and thanks to the abundance of marine resources, Sea Temple had become a behemoth which occupied almost half of the Limitless Ocean’s domain.
On the Limitless Ocean, Sea Temple was the lord.
If it were not for the fact that most of their Secret Arts were based around Water or Ice Attributes, and their strength decreased noticeably once they fought on land, Shadowed Star may not have even had a Heaven Battling Union or Thunder Typhoon Sect. Sea Temple alone would have been able to unify all of Shadowed Star.
However, due to various constraints, Sea Temple was only able to exert its will in the Limitless Ocean and could not extend its reach inland.
On this day, Yang Kai arrived at Sunrise Island, which stretched nearly a thousand kilometres from one shore to the other.
Even considering the entire Limitless Ocean, this was not a small island, and among the islands under the direct control of Sea Temple, it could rank among the top ten. The waters around Sunrise Island were rich in ocean resources, and it would contribute massively to Sea Temple’s coffers every year. For obvious reasons, Sunrise Island was considered a vital strategic location by Sea Temple.
Yang Kai did not attempt to hide his approach, so when he landed on this island, he was immediately noticed by the Sea Temple disciples.
There were some obvious differences between the inland cultivators and those who lived on the sea, especially in terms of skin tone and attire, so when Yang Kai landed, he was immediately met by a patrol team of Sea Temple disciples that was responsible for dealing with security.
Sunrise Island was not a place that could be freely entered and exited by the public. Anyone who wanted to come here had to enter from a specific location, identify themselves, and pay a certain amount of Saint Crystals.
It was undoubtedly a direct provocation towards Sea Temple that Yang Kai simply flew in and landed here.
As such, all of the Sea Temple disciples wore gloomy looks on their faces, and although they sensed that Yang Kai was strong, they did not show any much fear.
Yang Kai had no intention to deal with these guards so he simply took a step forward and vanished from their sight.
“Where did that boy go?” The leader of the patrol team, who also had the highest cultivation, exclaimed as he swept his eyes around and was unable to find any trace of Yang Kai.
The others also scanned their surroundings hurriedly, feeling somewhat anxious.
Since their opponent had disappeared bizarrely without them even being able to detect how he moved, it proved they would be helpless if he had wanted their lives.
Realizing this, the team of Sea Temple disciples became somewhat frightened.
“Split up and look for him. I’ll report this to the Island Master!” The lead cultivator’s expression fluctuated a few times before quickly making a decision.
A powerful master suddenly appearing on Sunrise Island had to be reported to the Island Master regardless of what this newcomer’s intentions were.
The group of disciples nodded and immediately dispersed.
In front of a remote sea-facing wooden house on the island, Yang Kai casually appeared, looked out, and smiled lightly.
The scenery here was quite pretty, with the sea in front and the rest of Sunrise Island behind. At this time when the sun was setting, a rich red glow dyed Sunrise Island in a peaceful warmth. It was indeed a good place for recuperation.
Several lower strength cultivators were on guard outside the wooden house, but when they saw Yang Kai appearing so mysteriously, they were all stunned for a moment. In the next instant, however, they all seemed to receive some kind of instructions, pushed their Saint Qi madly, summoned their artifacts, and charged towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai frowned as he noticed that their actions were not taken willingly so instead of killing them ruthlessly, he simply stretched out his hand and grasped towards the void.
The surrounding World Energy condensed into firm ropes and immediately bound these weaker cultivators, immobilizing them.
The faces of these few cultivators turned ashen as they stared towards Yang Kai in horror.
“Since I’ve come, it’s meaningless for you to try to hide anymore. Show yourself!” Yang Kai yelled in the direction of the wooden house, standing on the spot with his hands crossed behind his back, waiting patiently.
After a brief silence, the sound of footsteps sounded from the wooden house. A moment later, a young man with delicate features walked out. This young man seemed to be only twenty years old and his cultivation was only Third-Order Saint King Realm. He stared at Yang Kai with hatred and dread, as well as incredulity, not understanding how he had been found so easily.
Looking at each other, Yang Kai wore a faint grin on his lips while the young man glared at him as if he was a dangerous predator.
“How did you find this King here?” The young man finally could not stand the silence and spoke. The current Yang Kai put a great deal of pressure on him, so he could no longer remain as calm as before, “This King is certain he left no clues that would give his presence away!”
“It really wasn’t easy to find you,” Yang Kai continued to smile lightly, “If it weren’t for your Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects, I’m afraid I would never have found you.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai pointed his finger at the cultivators who had been imprisoned by him.
The young man’s expression turned gloomy as he glanced over at the subordinates he had implanted with Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects to control, a look of annoyance flashing across his eyes.
He never anticipated that subduing a few temporary subordinates would actually lead to his demise.
He had already been extremely cautious this time, fleeing all the way to Sunrise Island to nurse his injuries. The strengths of the few people he subdued weren’t very high either, which should have made it impossible for anyone to notice or care about them, but Yang Kai had somehow managed to catch wind of him through them.
“Even so, if you want to kill this King, it will not be easy. You should understand that having already tried once. Why don’t we discuss terms?” The young man raised his chin slightly and proposed proudly.
“Not interested!” Yang Kai shook his head immediately.
The young man gawked as he asked, “If you don’t even listen to my proposal, how can you say you’re not interested? Aren’t you afraid you’ll regret it?”
“There is nothing to regret. Today, you must die!” Yang Kai sneered.
The young man snorted and laughed as he stared at Yang Kai sarcastically, “Little brat, you’d best not boast so shamelessly. Last time, this King was able to escape from you, and he can do it again today! However, if you swear to no longer interfere with this King’s business, this King can give you enough benefits to use for the rest of your life!”
“What can you, who only knows how to control Exotic Insects, give me?” Yang Kai snickered.
The young man’s face showed some surprise this time as his brow furrowed and he tentatively asked, “You know about this King’s background?”
“Whether I know or not doesn’t matter. Today, if I say you die, you must die!” Yang Kai snorted coldly and no longer bothered with any nonsense, reaching out his hand towards the young man.
“Bold!” The young man shouted as he did not even try to evade, instead choosing to rush straight at Yang Kai, pushing his Saint Qi wildly, seemingly intending to blow himself up.
He knew that he was not Yang Kai’s opponent at all with his current strength, so he never even considered keeping this body. Instead, he planned to self-destruct and disturb Yang Kai’s vision in hopes of finding an opportunity to escape.
Yang Kai just looked at him sarcastically. Without making any big movements, he just clenched his fist slowly.
World Energy quickly gathered around and imprisoned the young man. Suspended mid-air, unable to move, the young man found his Saint Qi had actually been suppressed and was unable to detonate.
The young man finally showed a look of fear in his eyes as he called out in horror, “What did you do?”
Just as he spat these words though, he seemed to think of something and his eyes bulged, screaming out at Yang Kai in the next instant, “You can manipulate the power of this star! Did you refine its Star Source?”
“Your Insect Emperor title is not undeserved; your vision is indeed sharp!” Yang Kai sneered as he clenched his fist tighter and tighter.
Accompanied by a dull explosion, the young man’s body burst into a cloud of blood fog, leaving behind only a distressed Soul which immediately tried to flee.
The last time Yang Kai and Qian Tong joined forces, they were unable to eliminate the Insect Emperor, but Yang Kai had since become the Star Master of Shadowed Star and prepared ahead of time, so how could the Insect Emperor escape death again?
With a single thought, Yang Kai sealed the surrounding hundred-metre space. No matter how the powerful Soul rushed about, it was unable to escape from the invisible barrier around him.
After a few failed attempts, the Insect Emperor realized his efforts were futile and so he stopped expending pointless effort. The Spiritual Energy condensed together and the Soul transformed from a glowing ball into a vague figure which floated in the air.
This figure glared at Yang Kai gloomily as his avatar fluctuated slightly, like a flickering flame, and quickly shouted, “This King admits his punishment is deserved, now tell me, what benefits do you want in order to set this King free!”
Yang Kai curled his lips and reached out to seize this Soul Avatar.
The Insect Emperor couldn’t avoid it at all, and his Soul was directly caught in the palm of Yang Kai’s hand.
Even struggling fiercely, he was unable to free himself from Yang Kai’s control, only able to curse loudly and yell hysterically.
Yang Kai clenched his hand tightly and with one last piercing scream, the Soul of the Insect Emperor exploded into nothingness and disappeared completely.
A verdant coloured sabre, which had been shrunk down countless times, and a small exquisite bracelet materialized then and fell into Yang Kai’s palm.
Both of these items exuded a malevolent Emperor Pressure. The bracelet at least appeared normal, but the tiny sabre artifact exuded a strange force that cut apart Yang Kai Divine Sense when he tried to probe it.
Emperor Artifacts!
Yang Kai raised his brow as he revealed a look of pleasant surprise.
He currently had no shortage of artifacts, even possessing two Emperor Artifacts: The offensive Annihilation Thunder Bead and the Sealed World Bead.
These two Emperor Artifacts were part of the core inheritance of Star Emperor Mountain.
Now, suddenly obtaining two more, Yang Kai was overjoyed.
No one disliked having more treasures, especially when those treasures were Emperor Artifacts!
This tiny deep green sabre that could cut through Spiritual Energy was naturally familiar to Yang Kai, as the Insect Emperor had used it last time to escape. Yang Yan had called it the Soul Splitting Saber, a fitting name.
As for the small bracelet, Yang Kai did not know what it was or what purpose it served.
Trying to examine it with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found there was an invisible barrier around it, one that completely prevented his probing!
Realizing this, Yang Kai could only give up for now. However, he was not discouraged, after all, this bracelet was an artifact the Insect Emperor used, so the barrier protecting it would not be easily broken.
Although Yang Kai could not understand the function of this bracelet, he felt a fierce power pulsing from it, one that frightened him somewhat.
After fiddling with it for a while, Yang Kai put the Soul Splitting Saber and the strange bracelet away as he did not have time to refine these two things right now.
Just after finishing this, Yang Kai noticed a powerful aura rapidly approaching him from the centre of the island.
Obviously, the leaders in charge of Sunrise Island had noticed his aura fluctuations just now and were coming to investigate.
Yang Kai didn’t try to leave immediately, instead choosing to stand still and wait.
A short time later, a burly man fell from the sky. He was quite tall and had a wild-looking face that gave him a naturally imposing appearance. People would likely feel intimidated just by standing in front of him.
There was a long scar on the man’s face extending from his brow to his chin, adding to the ferocity of his looks.
After the man arrived and saw the blood on the ground, he could not help furiously shouting, “Bastard, how dare you act so impudently on my Sunrise Island!”
Saying so, he sent a palm towards Yang Kai.
This man was a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm comparable in strength to the old Qian Tong or Fei Zhi Tu. With his bulging muscles, the moment he sent out this palm, the space around his hand seemed to cave in and crack.
Even a cultivator in the same realm that was hit by the palm would have at least a dozen broken bones.
Yang Kai frowned seeing this, and although he was a little displeased with the other party not even trying to clarify the situation before attacking, he quickly recalled that he was an uninvited guest here, so he didn’t pay it too much mind. With a casual wave of his hand, Yang Kai neutralized the burly man’s palm and sent him flying backwards.
Experiencing this, the burly man gawked towards Yang Kai right up until the moment he hit the ground with a loud thud, no longer daring to act too arbitrarily.
He realized that Yang Kai had no intention to hurt him, otherwise, he would not have escaped unscathed just now. With the means Yang Kai just showed him, this man was confident this young man could kill him in the blink of an eye if he wanted to.
As this terrifying thought surged deep in his heart, the burly man took a deep breath and pressed down the dread he was feeling before calling out, “May I ask Your Excellency’s name!”
Yang Kai grinned, cupped his fists, and said, “High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai!”
“High Heaven Sect…” The man thought for a while before his body shook violently and he called out in alarm, “Are you High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master Yang Kai?”
Although he lived on the Limitless Ocean, this man had obviously heard the names High Heaven Sect and Yang Kai before.
However, he never expected that the strength of this High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master to be this outrageous.
“And you are…?” Yang Kai asked, looking at him.
The man frowned but still answered promptly, “Sunrise Island’s Island Master, Pang Zhen!”
“So it is Island Master Pang, a pleasure to meet you!” Yang Kai cupped his fists in greeting.
Pang Zhen’s expression calmed down as he recovered from his initial shock. Although he was not Yang Kai’s opponent, he could not lose face for Sea Temple so he quickly said, “Sect Master Yang may be the respect Lord of High Heaven Sect, but my Sea Temple has neither grievance nor grudge with High Heaven Sect, so this Pang must ask why Sect Master Yang has come here and killed my Sea Temple’s disciples!”
As an Island Master, it was natural for Pang Zhen to maintain the safety of the cultivators on the island, so now that someone had died on his watch, he could not just ignore the situation, or his reputation and authority would be greatly damaged.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “Island Master Pang, forgive me, this Yang has not come here to kill indiscriminately. However, this man had to die. In truth, this Yang came here specifically to hunt him down!”
“Can Sect Master Yang explain more thoroughly?” Pang Zhen couldn’t help relaxing somewhat when he saw Yang Kai respond so politely.
“Naturally!” Yang Kai smiled slightly and began informing Pang Zhen about the situation.
Pang Zhen was shocked when he heard this explanation and somewhat could not believe what Yang Kai was saying, instinctually thinking that Yang Kai was just making up an excuse.
Knowing that he had doubts though, Yang Kai simply smiled and said, “Island Master Pang will understand after looking at these things.”
Saying so, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and pulled one of the cultivators he had previously imprisoned over to him.
These few cultivators were being controlled by the Insect Emperor via his Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects. After Yang Kai arrived, he didn’t intend to kill these people since they were just victims, so he instead captured and suppressed them.
As Yang Kai waved his hand, all these captured cultivators trembled and their faces twisted, as if suffering immense pain. A moment later, all of them foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground; fortunately, they were still breathing, so their lives were not in immediate danger.
Pang Zhen stood to the side and observed closely, not daring to act recklessly like before.
Soon, accompanied by a few piercing squeaks, a stream of light shot out from the heads of all the collapsed cultivators.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, grabbed these lights, and then motioned to Pang Zhen to observe.
In Yang Kai’s palm, there were a few oddly shaped, fingernail-sized black and red worms that were constantly struggling and resisting but seemed incapable of breaking free.
Pang Zhen stared for a long time in silence before gulping and asking, “These are the Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects you mentioned?”
He had never seen an insect like this before, but he could still feel a trace of wild and ominous aura from them, as if they were extremely old. His instincts were also warning him these things were dangerous.
“En, if you are implanted with one of these Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects, you will fall under the control of its master,” Yang Kai smiled lightly and confirmed.
“Can I have a closer look?” Pang Zhen felt curious and was somewhat interested in studying these Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects. Although this thing was dangerous, if he could research it thoroughly and discover the method to control them, it would add a powerful Secret Technique to his arsenal.
Yang Kai looked at him with a faint smile and said, “If Island Master Pang is not afraid of them burrowing into his Knowledge Sea, I can give them to you.”
Pang Zhen paled, hesitated for a long time, then eventually shook his head, “Forget it. This Pang does not have the confidence to suppress them. I will have to trouble Sect Master Yang to dispose of these things.”
Yang Kai smiled lightly, flicked his wrist, and the several struggling Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insects were vaporized.
Understanding that the previous incident was indeed a misunderstanding, and Yang Kai was not here to kill innocent inhabitants of Sunrise Island, instead actually solving a huge future problem for him, Pang Zhen’s attitude towards Yang Kai became much friendlier.
Though, what he was more concerned about was Yang Kai’s strength.
No one in the entire Limitless Ocean could resist him.
Pang Zhen then strongly invited Yang Kai to his residence.
Yang Kai also intended to have some further discussions with him, so he did not decline.
Pang Zhen was the Island Master of Sunrise Island, so he lived in a palatial mansion built upon the best piece of land.
After entering the mansion, Pang Zhen immediately ordered a banquet prepared while having a dozen beautiful young women provide entertainment in the form of singing and dancing.
A group of Origin Returning Realm masters from the island also accompanied them.
The atmosphere was quite lively.
The chaos which had plagued the inland Sects was well known to Sea Temple’s leadership, but because it had never spread to the Limitless Ocean, Sea Temple was not completely clear about all the details.
The reason why Pang Zhen warmly invited Yang Kai was twofold. On the one hand, he was impressed with Yang Kai’s strength and wanted to make friends, while on the other, he wanted to use this opportunity to gain some information about the inland situation.
Yang Kai did not try to conceal anything.
When they learned that the Corpse Spirit Religion had been uprooted, everyone in Sea Temple exclaimed, and when they learned that Qian Tong had indeed broken through to the Origin King Realm, the faces of Pang Zhen and the others filled with worry.
An Origin King had not been born on Shadowed Star for more than ten thousand years and was more of a legend passed down from generation to generation than something real and tangible. This was an unattainable aspiration for all of Shadowed Star’s masters, so Pang Zhen and the others didn’t know how powerful an Origin King really was, but that did little to assuage their fears.
They were concerned Qian Tong would become ambitious and extend his clans towards the Limitless Ocean.
Although Sea Temple was a behemoth in the Limitless Ocean with massive influence, deep heritage, and numerous masters at its disposal, they were not confident they could withstand an Origin King.
Yang Kai naturally saw the anxiety in their faces and knew what they were worried about, but only felt it was something funny and did not offer them any kind of reassurance either way.
Forget about whether Qian Tong had such intentions, even if he did, he would not have the ability to subdue the Limitless Ocean. Shadow Moon Hall simply did not have such strength.
Pang Zhen and the other’s worries were superfluous.
“Island Master Pang, this Yang has a request to make, and I was hoping Island Master Pang could arrange it,” After drinking three rounds, Yang Kai suddenly said.
“Sect Master Yang, please,” Pang Zhen quickly raised his head and looked over.
“I want to meet with your Sea Temple’s Temple Masters,” Yang Kai smiled lightly as he took a sip of wine.
Pang Zhen was stunned and asked, “What does Sect Master Yang wish to discuss with the Temple Masters?”
Although Yang Kai naturally had the qualifications to meet the Temple Masters of Sea Temple, Pang Zhen still had to ask about his purpose.
The others also looked at Yang Kai curiously.
“It’s for a good cause.” Yang Kai smiled deeply, “This Sect Master wants to open up an exchange of materials between your Limitless Ocean Sect and those inland. Island Master Pang must know that many unique resources are produced both inland and here on the ocean due to their different environments. Cultivation materials that can be easily found here may be extremely precious inland, and vice-versa. If we can open a trade route to exchange the commodities we respectively need, it will bring great benefits to our respective forces!”
This was the primary reason Yang Kai had chosen to remain here, otherwise, he simply would have left after killing the Insect Emperor.
High Heaven Sect was not the same as before, with only a few hundred members. Originally, providing for these few disciples and Elders was a simple matter, but now, Yang Kai had brought over ten thousand of his friends and family from Tong Xuan Realm. An unimaginable amount of resources was being consumed every month, and even though he had accumulated much over the years, High Heaven Sect’s reserves would only last a few years if they weren’t constantly replenished.
However, during the war with Corpse Spirit Religion, all the inland Sects suffered heavy losses and were currently lacking all kinds of resources.
Yang Kai took a fancy to the difference between ocean and inland resources after spending some time on the Limitless Ocean, and if he could successfully establish a trade route between them, not only would it relieve his immediate worries, but he would also no longer need to worry about purchasing cultivation materials in the future, as wealth would simply pour in as time passed.
Although he was now the Star Master of Shadowed Star and could travel anywhere he wanted to at will, even force Sea Temple to submit to him by force, Yang Kai had no intention to do this.
Instead of waging war, he would rather allow the inland and ocean Sects to form a mutually beneficial relationship.
Now standing atop Shadowed Star as its Lord, he needed to consider the good of the entire Cultivation Star.
Hearing his proposal, Pang Zhen’s eyes lit up, but his enthusiasm soon dampened, “Sect Master Yang is not the first person to make such a proposal. Even some from my Sea Temple have mentioned this before, but because many resources require special preservation and transportation methods, and communication between the inland and ocean Sects is difficult, it has been logistically impossible to set up any significant trade between us except for in a few seaside cities.”
Seeing his demeanour, Yang Kai knew that the people of Sea Temple were interested in the inland materials as well, but establishing trade routes had proven too troublesome. If this weren’t the case, Yang Kai would not have been able to meddle in this matter, as it would have already been established long ago.
Another difficulty was finding an appropriate trading partner. With the size and scope of Sea Temple, there were very few inland Sects qualified to stand on equal footing, most great forces could only look up to them. As for the great forces capable of establishing trade, they held competitive relationships with Sea Temple, making them incompatible as business partners.
Yang Kai, however, just smiled and said, “And if I could solve those troubles?”
Pang Zhen’s expression shook, “Does Sect Master Yang really have a way?”
Yang Kai nodded sincerely; his expression completely serious.
Pang Zhen burst into hearty laughter and said, “If Sect Master Yang can do this, then this matter can be discussed! However, I cannot take responsibility for such a big endeavour and can only refer the matter to the Temple Masters for them to handle.”
“This Yang has long heard of Sea Temple’s reputation and knows that its Temple Masters are wise, so there should be no reason for them to refuse such a good thing,” Yang Kai laughed.
Pang Zhen was instantly put into a great mood and raised his glass again, “Then, a toast to the successful conclusion of this matter. When the time comes, this Pang will also have to ask Sect Master Yang to take care of me.”
If this matter could be negotiated successfully, then Pang Zhen would undoubtedly gain many benefits. If all went well, he might even be able to raise his position and status in Sea Temple, so he did not hesitate to become even friendlier with Yang Kai, treating him as the most honoured of guests.
In the middle of the night, after the banquet finally wound down, Pang Zhen arranged a luxurious courtyard for Yang Kai and ensured that a few beautiful young maidens were waiting for him when he got there.
Yang Kai immediately asked these young women to leave, of course, feeling quite awkward and embarrassed as they pouted resentfully while leaving.
Yang Kai thought that because the matter he proposed would be of great benefit to Sea Temple, they would be very enthusiastic to cooperate, but to his surprise, even after three days waiting on Sunrise Island, not even one of Sea Temple’s Temple Masters came to see him.
This reaction was quite confusing to Yang Kai.
It stood to reason that although Sea Temple’s territory was extremely vast, it should have Space Arrays on each of its main islands, so if one of Sea Temple’s Temple Masters wanted to, it should not have taken them more than half a day to arrive on Sunrise Island.
A delay of three days could only indicate that the other party did not believe what he said or was not interested in this matter in the first place.
But Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry. Now that the hidden dangers of Corpse Spirit Religion had been thoroughly eliminated, High Heaven Sect did not need him around urgently to make decisions. With Ye Xi Yun overseeing things, it did not make much difference how long he was gone for.
As such, Yang Kai took this opportunity to savour the changes he had undergone after becoming a Star Master.
As the Lord of Shadowed Star, he could now travel anywhere on it in an instant. As long as he had enough Spiritual Energy and Saint Qi, he could cross hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilometres in an instant. However, the further and more frequently he travelled, the larger the burden he would experience, limiting him somewhat.
Nonetheless, crossing a few tens of thousands of kilometres in an instant was a simple matter.
This was just one of the small conveniences Yang Kai received after becoming a Star Master.
The biggest benefit Yang Kai found was his ability to cultivate more rapidly on Shadowed Star. World Energy here now flowed into his body freely, allowing his cultivation speed to soar to almost a hundred times what it had been before, something impossible for anyone else to achieve.
In battle, he could also mobilize Shadowed Star’s World Energy to effortlessly kill his enemies, a skill he had already tested and verified.
However, there was one thing that concerned Yang Kai quite a bit, and that was a vague, invisible power which seemed to engulf Shadowed Star. This power had the characteristics of a giant seal, like a series of shackles preventing Shadowed Star’s cultivators from comprehending the mysteries of higher realms
It was precisely because of the existence of this barrier that no Origin King had been born on Shadowed Star for over ten thousand years!
These invisible shackles were the World Principles of Shadowed Star, an ethereal and unpredictable force that even an Origin King could not grasp or comprehend fully. Although Yang Kai had now become a Star Master, he still had no way to affect these World Principles.
Yang Kai attempted to break these shackles or disperse them, but ultimately failed.
With a long sigh, Yang Kai took back his Divine Sense, no longer wasting his time. Although this barrier prevented anyone from reaching the Origin King Realm, it was not actually harmful, so he did not need to pay too much attention to it.
Another day passed yet there was still no news from Sea Temple!
Yang Kai finally began to feel a little impatient, but just as he was considering whether he should go to the Sea Temple’s headquarters himself, his brow suddenly furrowed, and he expanded his Divine Sense.
A few thousand kilometres away from Sunrise Island, there was a huge wave almost a thousand metres high, which was quickly closing in. This wave gave off a terrible roar and was being ridden by a large number of figures, at least a hundred in total.
Among these hundred or so people, there were both males and females. The men were quite burly and had clearly non-human features. Each one was several metres tall and had terrifying forms that could cause anyone who saw them to shudder. On the other hand, the women were all great beauties with flawless skin and features. Some appeared pure, others charming, still other seductive, arousing endless reverie.
What concerned Yang Kai though was that this group of individuals were all Origin Realm masters!
Yang Kai initially thought these people were masters from Sea Temple, but after taking a closer look, he found that this was not the case.
These people were not human!
Thinking carefully, Yang Kai suddenly recalled some information.
In the Limitless Ocean of Shadowed Star, not only did the Human Race thrive, but there was also a race called the Sea Clan!
‘Sea Clan’ was a general term that encompassed many different oceanic races. They were born with great affinity to Water Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skill and lived below the seas, many of them not even having human-like forms.
However, the Sea Clan seldomly interacted with the Human Race, so cultivators from the inland of Shadowed Star would not necessarily see someone from the Sea Clan even once throughout their lifetime. Even human cultivators living on the Limitless Ocean would rarely interact with these people.
Yang Kai observed for a while and found that this Sea Clan group was comprised of about four or five different races. Some were covered with scales while others had long barb-like tails behind them. Still others had pincer-like hands and crab-like legs, making them appear quite strange.
This was also Yang Kai’s first time seeing members of the Sea Clan, so he couldn’t help feeling somewhat interested. He also did not know why they were so aggressively rushing towards Sunrise Island. After observing them for so long though, a burly Sea Clan male who was riding the very front of the giant wave noticed something and turned his eyes towards the sky, sweeping his gaze around as if trying to find whoever was hiding nearby spying on them.
Yang Kai smiled slightly when he saw this and withdrew his gaze.
For him, no one on Shadowed Star was worthy of his concern. These hundred Sea Clan Origin Returning Realm masters may be an extremely powerful combat force for Sea Temple, but they were nothing to the current Yang Kai.
Above the huge wave, the burly Sea Clan leader frowned as he continued to scan the skies with suspicion on his face.
“Shang Ao, did you discover something?” A woman with an astounding figure and very revealing clothes also glanced upwards and frowned.
Shang Ao shook his head slowly, “It felt like someone was watching us, but I can’t sense any nearby presences. Maybe it was just my imagination.”
The woman was stunned. She understood how strong Shang Ao was. As one of the leaders of the Sea Clan’s Sea God Palace, Shang Ao was one of the strongest masters on all of Shadowed Star, so it was quite odd for his senses to be wrong.
However, since Shang Ao had said so himself, the woman did not bother digging into it, simply frowning slightly as she quietly spoke, “This matter will likely be quite difficult to handle. The princess disappeared near Sunrise Island, and although it is highly likely that she was abducted by those humans. If they refuse to admit to it, what are we to do?”
Shang Ao coldly snorted, “If they dare not admit it, this General will raze Sunshine Island to the ground! Those damn humans should have been chased out of the Limitless Ocean long ago. This is my Sea Clan’s territory!”
“Ha…” The woman sighed deeply, her face full of worries as she stared in the direction of Sunrise Island, secretly praying that her princess had really been abducted by these humans. If she wasn’t, they wouldn’t even have any clues as to where to look next. This time, they had brought a great army to Sunrise Island with the mentality that giving a dead horse medicine can’t harm it, but this was really nothing but a desperation move. If the humans hadn’t, with the great power Sea Temple commanded, Sea God Palace would not dare to start the war lightly with them.
Nevertheless, Shang Ao seemed to have already determined that the princess was taken away by these humans, so it was likely going to be difficult for her to settle this situation peacefully. If the princess could be found, everything would be fine, but if she could not be found, the two titans of the Limitless Ocean may really be set on the path to war.
That massive wave travelled extremely quickly.
When the wave approached to within a thousand kilometres of Sunrise Island, Pang Zhen and the other Elders noticed an abnormality in the surrounding World Energy and quickly rushed out of their respective residences to look into the distance.
A moment later, Pang Zhen’s face changed drastically, “These arrogant Sea Clan bastards dare to attack my Sunrise Island? Quickly activate all the defensive Spirit Arrays!”
As soon as the order was given, a ringing sound spread across Sunrise Island and soon, the entire island was enveloped in a transparent energy barrier. All of the cultivators on the island also deployed around Pang Zhen, each of them wearing solemn expressions as they waited for the Sea Clan’s arrival.
Yang Kai did not know what was happening, so being curious, he also came over to Pang Zhen.
“Sect Master Yang, the Sea Clan seems to have come to stir up trouble. I hope Sect Master Yang can stand back,” Pang Zhen gently persuaded. Yang Kai’s previous proposal was of great interest to him and depending on whether he could push it forward or not, his position in Sea Temple might very well change. However, the key to this proposal was Yang Kai himself, so it was only natural for Pang Zhen to worry about his safety.
“Don’t worry, Island Master Pang can just handle things as he sees fit. I’m only here to observe,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Seeing him like this, Pang Zhen thought for a moment but did not try to persuade him further. After all, Yang Kai had already proved his great strength before.
“Why is the Sea Clan so angry? Did Sunrise Island or Sea Temple provoke them in some way?” Yang Kai asked casually.
Pang Zhen shook his head, “I don’t know, but there has never been a harmonious relationship between Sea Temple and the Sea Clan; after all, we are two different races who both inhabit the Limitless Ocean, so friction is inevitable. However, today’s situation is one this Pang has never seen before. My Sea Temple and the Sea Clan’s Sea God Palace even have some agreements between us, so neither side ever sends out so many masters to deal with the other party.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flickered a few times before he seemingly casually remarked, “The Sea Clan’s Sea God Palace should also be able to collect a lot of ocean cultivation resources.”
Pang Zhen’s focus was on why the Sea Clan had dispatched so many masters to Sunrise Island, so he did not think too much about Yang Kai’s comment and nodded, “They have an innate advantage in this regard actually and are able to collect resources from the deepest parts of the sea with ease, something our Sea Temple is incapable of.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Pang Zhen came to his senses and quickly glanced over at Yang Kai only to find him smiling happily. Realizing his gaff, Pang Zhen quickly said, “Sect Master Yang, they are of a different race. Also, the Sea Clan is not easy to deal with. If you want to trade cultivation resources with them, I am afraid it will be quite difficult. The Sea Clan always have eyes atop their heads and look down greatly on our Human Race. You have lived your life inland so you perhaps don’t understand just how far apart our two races are.”
“Many thanks for your reminder, Island Master Pang,” Yang Kai responded thoughtlessly.
Pang Zhen naturally understood what Yang Kai was thinking and why he thought so.
Yang Kai had been waiting here for several days already, yet no one from Sea Temple’s headquarters had come to discuss the exchange of resources he had proposed. Anyone who was ignored like this would feel displeased. Sea Temple was the undisputed leader of the Human forces on the Limitless Ocean though, so regardless of how they acted, Yang Kai had no other option but to deal with them, but with masters from Sea God Palace suddenly appearing, Pang Zhen knew that Yang Kai was now having ideas about trying to forge a cooperative relationship with them instead.
If he could negotiate a deal with Sea God Palace, Yang Kai would not need to bother with Sea Temple anymore.
Without this kind of merit to his name, Pang Zhen would likely never be promoted again and could only remain as the Island Master of Sunrise Island for the rest of his life. Although this was not an unpleasant position, it was still a fair distance from Sea Temple’s truly powerful centre.
Seeing Yang Kai not take his words to heart, Pang Zhen also became a bit angered. He was not angry with Yang Kai, of course, but rather with his own Sea Temple’s leadership.
But right now, he did not have time to deal with this matter, as the huge wave had already arrived just a few kilometres outside Sunrise Island in the short time he had been talking with Yang Kai, and it showed no signs of slowing down.
*Hong long long…*
The Island Defending Array around Sunrise Island shook as it was impacted by the wave but it remained unbroken.
It took quite some time for the massive wave to dissipate as it spread out around Sunrise Island and disappeared.
Pang Zhen looked up into the sky with an ugly expression and shouted, “Shang Ao, what is the meaning of this? Could it be that Sea God Palace wants to make war with my Sea Temple?”
“Pang Zhen, hand over my clansman you abducted. Otherwise, I will raze your Sunrise Island today and kill off every last chicken and dog on it!” Shang Ao roared, his voice booming like thunder, causing many people’s ears to ring.
Pang Zhen was stunned and immediately asked, “Hand over who?”
He did not know what Shang Ao was talking about and couldn’t help feeling a bit confused.
“Don’t play dumb with me! This General will give you a cup of tea’s time. If you can’t bring out the one this General wants to see by then, you can suffer death instead!” Although Shang Ao was strong, he was obviously bullheaded and did not even try to negotiate or explain, instead opting for directly issuing ultimatums.
He was certain that the one he was looking for was here on Sunrise Island.
Seeing Shang Ao act so arrogant and unreasonable, Pang Zhen became angered and smiled coldly, “This Island Master doesn’t know who you are talking about, but even if he did, this Island Master would not give whoever it is you want to you.”
Pang Zhen was a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master and the Island Master of Sunrise Island, so with Shang Ao coming here to cause trouble for no apparent reason, even daring to threaten him, he naturally could not show any weakness.
“Fine, since you admit your crimes, don’t blame this General for being ruthless,” Shang Ao’s face became stern and was just about to order his forces to attack when the woman next to him suddenly grabbed him and shouted. “Wait!”
Although Shang Ao looked very unhappy, he did not refuse, simply crossing his arms and standing tall while sweeping his gaze across the humans down below with clear contempt in his eyes.
He seemed to be looking down on everyone, not even putting Pang Zhen in his eyes, but when his gaze landed on Yang Kai, his eyes shrank slightly as a trace of doubt flashed across his face.
With a big smile on his face, Yang Kai looked harmless to humans and animals alike, but he still gave off an incredibly dangerous aura.
This made Shang Ao involuntarily focus on Yang Kai.