Above the sea, Yang Kai listened to Pang Zhen’s story about what had happened after they entered Shadowed Soul Island.
On that day, roughly two hundred people from Sea Temple and Sea God Palace were unfortunate enough to be stranded in this place, and aside from a few who were killed by the lanky man as examples, everyone else was captured and brought back to the city.
The total population of Shadowed Soul Island had always been small, so with such a large number of people suddenly arriving, the rulers of Shadowed Soul Island wanted to force Pang Zhen and the others to submit.
People under the eaves must bow their heads, so even if it was insincere, Pang Zhen and Qian Mo could only compromise.
However, Shang Ao and the other Sea God Palace General had always been belligerent, so coupled with his honoured status and the respect it normally gave him, how could he willingly submit to others? His rebelliousness seemed to annoy the rulers of Shadowed Soul Island, so he was taken away alone and was probably being tortured even now.
In recent days, neither Qian Mo nor Pang Zhen had seen Shang Ao, and no one knew if he was still alive.
Besides Shang Ao, everyone else was divided into more than a dozen teams, led by different Shadowed Soul Island cultivators, and then taken out to perform various tasks.
Qian Mo, Pang Zhen, and the others here were tasked with searching for Shadowed Heaven Lotus out at sea. Some teams had been sent to mine ores while others performed chores on Shadowed Soul Island.
The Origin Returning Realm masters who had found themselves trapped here on Shadowed Soul Island had lived quite miserable lives since the day they arrived. Many people had died due to various accidents, especially amongst those who went out to search for Shadowed Heaven Lotus as this was a particularly dangerous task. Whenever these search teams encountered a sea beast that they could not fight, the final result was often complete annihilation.
No one cared about such losses though, as any cultivator who was new to Shadowed Soul Island had to experience fear of leaving the eaves, so they thoroughly recognized Ming Yue’s dominance over Shadowed Soul Island in their hearts. Only those who truly accepted this reality could officially join Shadowed Soul Island become qualified to obtain Shadowed Heaven Pills to enhance their strength.
Ming Yue being able to dominate Shadowed Soul Island was not only because of his great personal strength but primarily because he controlled the supply of Shadowed Heaven Pills!
“Sect Master Yang, every person in this damned place has incredible physical strength. It seems that all of them have taken these so-called Shadowed Heaven Pills to temper their bodies!” Pang Zhen saw Yang Kai’s leisurely expression and could not help reminding him about this as he glanced over towards the ship warily.
However, when Pang Zhen turned his head, the scene he saw shocked him.
He suddenly discovered that the old man who had just been casually strolling across the sea had at some point, boarded the boat and was now standing at its bow silently.
More importantly though, the domineering buck-toothed man and all his subordinates, who seemed invincible earlier, were all staring at this old man with pale faces and undisguised horror. Not only did they not drive the old man off the boat, but they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly in his presence.
What were the origins of this old man? Was there such a person in Sea Temple or Sea God Palace? Was he a friend Yang Kai met recently on Shadowed Soul Island? Pang Zhen was thoroughly puzzled.
“Old Sha, my friends here seemed to have been bullied by them just now,” Yang Kai called out to Sha Hu.
In truth, Yang Kai did not have any friendship with Pang Zhen, and he had only just now spoken to Qian Mo, regardless, since they were all cultivators from Shadowed Star, separate from the cultivators from Shadowed Soul Island, they were technically people under his care.
What’s more, Yang Kai still had plans for Sea Temple and Sea God Palace, so he couldn’t just let these people die here.
Sha Hu heard this and grinned, “They were being bullied? An easy matter to fix!”
As soon as he spoke these words, Sha Hu turned his head and threw a punch towards the spot where the buck-toothed man and his subordinates had huddled together.
This fist was sent from more than a dozen metres away from the buck-toothed man, but the pressure wave which came from it still instantly impacted them.
*Peng peng peng…*
With a series of muffled booms, the buck-toothed man and his subordinates exploded into clouds of blood, their hashed meat spilling out into the sea, none of them even having a chance to utter a word before they died miserably.
Pang Zhen, Qian Mo, and all the others were stunned.
The Shadowed Soul Island cultivators that they were unable to resist were all wiped out by this old man with a single punch. Just how strong was this old man? None of them could even fathom it.
Since becoming trapped on Shadowed Soul Island, Pang Zhen and Qian Mo’s perception of strength had completely changed. Here, there was a different standard compared to the rest of the Star Field, one that prioritized the power of one’s physique above all else.
The scene before them could only have a single explanation, this old man’s physical strength had reached an astonishing level.
“Sect Master Yang… this Senior… what is his background?” Pang Zhen asked weakly while Qian Mo also cast a concerned look towards him.
“Old Sha’s full name is Sha Hu, does that sound familiar to you?” Yang Kai looked at Pang Zhen with a smile.
“Sha Hu?” Pang Zhen frowned, a thoughtful look appearing on his face, as if trying to dredge up a long-forgotten memory, his eyes turning in the direction of Sha Hu and staring for quite some time before they lit up and he cried out, “My Sea Temple’s previous Second Temple Master?”
“Are you from Sea Temple?” Sha Hu looked at Pang Zhen.
Pang Zhen put everything else out of his mind and quickly rushed over, leapt out of the sea, and fell to his knees on the boat as he spoke haltingly, “Sunrise Island’s Island Master Pang Zhen, greets Martial Uncle Sha!”
“So you’re Sunrise Island’s Island Master!” Sha Hu had heard Yang Kai mention Pang Zhen before, but he did not know who he was until Pang Zhen announced his name now. Smiling lightly, Sha Hu motioned, “Get up, there’s no need for excessive courtesy here!”
“Many thanks, Martial Uncle!” Pang Zhen was so excited his face flushed. Rubbing his hand together, he continued, “Disciple has long admired Martial Uncle Sha’s resounding reputation but has not had a chance to greet him formally. It was said that Martial Uncle disappeared for no reason three hundred years ago, a truly tragic event, but seeing Martial Uncle here on this Shadowed Soul Island now is this disciple’s great fortune!”
Sha Hu laughed loudly and said bluntly, “Your flattery skills are quite good!”
Pang Zhen’s face blushed, but he did not seem too embarrassed, simply grinning happily as he pointed towards some of the remaining cultivators and said, “Martial Uncle, these are my Sea Temple’s disciples!”
Sha Hu glanced over the cultivators one by one and nodded lightly, “Good, good! After three hundred years, this old master has finally seen his Sect family again. You may all rest assured, as long as this old master is here, no one will hurt a single hair on any of your heads!”
The several Sea Temple disciples all wore excited looks as they had just found a powerful backer.
A moment ago, they were all worried about whether they would be able to survive and their futures were all bleak, but suddenly, their former Second Temple Master, who had been missing for three hundred years, appeared in front of them and killed the Shadowed Soul Island cultivators with a single powerful punch, saving them from their tragic fate and offering them shelter. How could they not be happy?
On the other hand, Qian Mo and Sea Clan wore complicated expressions, disappointed.
Fortunately, Pang Zhen did not forget about them. During this time, the Sea Temple and Sea God Palace members had formed a coalition, supporting one another, so now that Sea Temple had such a strong backer and did not need to worry about being bullied again, Pang Zhen naturally wanted to offer some aid to Qian Mo as well.
Quickly pointing to Qian Mo, Pang Zhen said, “Martial Uncle Sha, this is General Qian Mo of Sea God Palace. She and her clansmen arrived on Shadowed Soul Island together with Martial Nephew and we have received much care from them these past few days.”
Pang Zhen’s words of praise for Qian Mo and the other Sea Clan were not exaggerations by any stretch. The Sea Clan was born with stronger bodies than humans, which was why initially Shang Ao was able to beat several Shadowed Soul Island cultivators without losing. From this alone, it was obvious that the Sea Clan were better in terms of Body Tempering than humans.
“En,” Sha Hu nodded flatly. He was willing to shelter Pang Zhen and the others because they were from the same Sect, but he did not have a good impression of the Sea Clan. When Sha Hu was the Second Temple Master of Sea Temple back then, he had often had dealings with this arrogant race and his hands were stained with much of their blood.
He didn’t intend to care about the life or death of these Sea Clan, but after glancing towards the little dolphin swimming about below Yang Kai, he suddenly smiled and said, “Since that’s the case, we’ll all travel together. The grudges between the Sea Temple and Sea God Palace will be put down temporarily. If there is a chance to leave Shadowed Soul Island in the future, we can discuss things then.”
“Many thanks, Martial Uncle Sha!” Pang Zhen could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Sha Hu would expel Qian Mo and the others, or worse. If that really happened, Pang Zhen would not be able to escape the charge of treachery, which would likely become a heart demon for him. Fortunately, Sha Hu was reasonable, so this concern became unnecessary.
Qian Mo’s expression became even more complicated, but she still quickly offered her thanks.
The Sea Clan and human cultivators all got onto the boat one after another, and under Qian Mo’s pointed glares, Yang Kai also followed suit, allowing the little dolphin to swim alone while following the boat.
Yang Kai suspected that if he continued to sit on the Sea Clan’s princess, Qian Mo would definitely attack him.
It was still a bit unbelievable to him that this little dolphin that only seemed to want to frolic, play, and eat Shadowed Heaven Lotuses was actually a princess of the Sea Clan. The contrast was simply too dramatic.
As if seeing his doubts, Qian Mo took the initiative to explain, “Princess is only five years old. According to your human standards, her mental development is similar to that of a five-year-old child. She cannot even assume human form yet and only thinks about playing all day long. She recently snuck out of Sea God Palace, but I never expected her to be drawn into Shadowed Soul Island.”
Yang Kai nodded.
“Regardless of anything else, this General offers her sincere thanks for bringing Princess back to my Sea Clan,” Qian Mo said suddenly.
Yang Kai gave her a surprised look.
Qian Mo, however, quickly followed up in a cold tone, “As for you insulting the princess’ dignity, this General will certainly not forget and will one day make you pay the price.”
“Do as you like!” Yang Kai was noncommittal.
On the other side, Pang Zhen was also asking about Sha Hu’s plans. Now that they had freed themselves from Shadowed Soul Island’s control, naturally, they didn’t want to return there only to face enslavement again.
But when he learned from Sha Hu that their destination was actually Shadowed Soul Island, Pang Zhen was at a loss for words.
“Scared?” Sha Hu turned to look at Pang Zhen and chuckled lightly.
Pang Zhen shook his head solemnly, “Disciple is not afraid, but with disciple’s current strength, he cannot provide much assistance to Martial Uncle either. However, since Martial Uncle has made such a decision, then disciple will put in his best effort. Even if disciple dies, he will still gnaw off a piece of those Shadowed Soul Island bastards before he falls!”
Sha Hu laughed and waved his hand, “There’s no need for you all to act. None of you have Shadowed Heaven Pills to temper your bodies so you trying to help will only be courting death. This time, just Yang Kai and I will go. The rest of you… you can just hide and watch the show from a distance.”
“Sect Master Yang?” Pang Zhen raised his brow in suspicion and asked quietly, “Sect Master Yang is indeed a dragon among men. Disciple has exchanged blows with him once and was truly not his opponent, but… he also just arrived on Shadowed Soul Island, so how will he be able to help Martial Uncle?”
Pang Zhen was well aware of Yang Kai’s strength, but this was Shadowed Soul Island, not the Limitless Ocean. From his and Qian Mo’s experiences, it was obvious that even if a cultivator was powerful in the outside world, they may not be strong here.
As long as they were faced with a cultivator who had lived for some years on Shadowed Soul Island, anyone from the outside would easily be suppressed.
So, when Sha Hu said that he would only take Yang Kai with him, Pang Zhen was a little worried.
Sha Hu only flashed a wry smile and said, “What do you know? Even this old master is not his opponent here, so how could he not be of help?”
“Huh?” Pang Zhen’s jaw dropped, and his face filled with shock, almost suspecting that he had heard wrong.
Glancing back at Yang Kai, who was standing at the stern of the boat, Pang Zhen found the former just smiling harmlessly back at him, completely relaxed and carefree.
“There’s no need to doubt, that boy is indeed stronger than this old master. I exchanged blows with him one month ago and was repelled by a single palm, now…” Sha Hu did not continue, but Pang Zhen understood his meaning.
Since Sha Hu had been beaten back by Yang Kai a month ago with a single palm, it was obvious that the gap between them was even wider now.
Pang Zhen only became more shocked.
All of them had been sucked into Shadowed Soul Island together, but after two or three months, Pang Zhen and the others with him had not seen any noticeable increase in their strength, instead, they were pushed around like menial workers by the cultivators of Shadowed Soul Island. On the other hand, Yang Kai could defeat Pang Zhen’s Martial Uncle Sha who had lived here for three hundred years.
[Was this boy a monster?]
The boat was not big, but it sailed quite smoothly across the sea. The little dolphin also swam up to and around it a few times, not moving any slower at all.
Five days later, Shadowed Soul Island came into view in the distance.
“All of you wait here. When this old master is finished with his business, he will come pick you up,” Sha Hu gave Pang Zhen’s orders before tossing him a bottle of Shadowed Heaven Pills and saying, “One pill per person, refine them carefully.”
Pang Zhen accepted gleefully.
Since coming to Shadowed Soul Island, he had been coveting these Shadowed Heaven Pills. He knew that the cultivators here had more intrepid physiques because of these pills, but unfortunately, he had no way to acquire any.
They had to first officially join Shadowed Soul Island before they were eligible to receive some Shadowed Heaven Pills from the Island Master after performing certain tasks. This entire process was quite long and dangerous, with perhaps up to eighty percent of people dying for some reason along the way. Even if they did receive some pills, the quantity would be small and the quality would be very low.
But now, Sha Hu had tossed him a bottle filled with such pills.
Pang Zhen thanked him respectfully and without delay opened the cap and distributed the pills to the disciples of Sea Temple.
Qian Mo’s eyes flashed when she saw this scene as a complicated mix of jealousy and helplessness filled her. Suddenly though, out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed something flying towards her, stretched out her hand, and caught it.
Looking over, she saw Yang Kai smile at her and say, “There’s one inside for each of you as well.”
Qian Mo blinked once before snorting coldly, “This General will repay this favour in the future.”
“We can talk about it later,” Yang Kai grinned before following Sha Hu towards Shadowed Soul Island.
The little dolphin let out a long cry from the rear, seemingly telling Yang Kai to be careful.
Giving Qian Mo a bottle of Shadowed Heaven Pills was not just a whim for Yang Kai, but rather because he knew he would have to regardless. The little dolphin would obviously ask him for such a favour considering how close her relationship with Qian Mo was.
On top of that, the Shadowed Heaven Lotus in Yang Kai’s possession were almost all found thanks to the little dolphin’s help, so it was not an exaggeration to say that at least half of the Shadowed Heaven Lotus and in turn, half of the Shadowed Heaven Pills belonged to her. A bottle of Shadowed Heaven Pills for Yang Kai was nothing.
Sha Hu had slowed his pace, obviously waiting for Yang Kai to catch up.
After Yang Kai arrived at his side, Sha Hu’s face became solemn as he said, “Yang Kai, the purpose of this old master’s trip today is only to kill that bastard Ming Yue. On Shadowed Soul Island, Ming Yue is the strongest, but there are a few others who are not weak as well. When the time comes, I hope you can deal with them so they don’t interfere in this old master’s battle.”
“No problem,” Yang Kai readily agreed before asking. “How certain is Old Sha that he can defeat that Ming Yue?”
Sha Hu’s expression turned serious and he thought about it for a while before declaring, “At least sixty percent! Although this old master has not seen Ming Yue for a hundred years, his strength has certainly increased, but with those inferior Shadowed Heaven Pills, no matter how much his strength has grown, it can’t have been by much. This old master is confident he can emerge victorious in the end.”
“Then I wish Old Sha a swift and decisive victory,” Yang Kai smiled.
Sha Hu was in high spirits. Since taking the Shadowed Heaven Pills refined by Yang Kai, his strength that had stagnated for nearly a hundred years had been steadily increasing, and although not as exaggerated as Yang Kai’s, this rate of growth was already extremely tyrannical compared to others.
Compared with the Shadowed Heaven Pills refined by Yang Kai, Sha Hu completely felt the Shadowed Heaven Pills he used before were simply garbage! Not only was their quality extremely low, making them difficult to refine, the benefits to one’s physique were meagre. What’s more, taking those inferior pills came with many hidden dangers, and while these could be ignored in the short term, after taking such Shadowed Heaven Pills for an extended time, it would definitely cause problems for one’s body.
Since Ming Yue no longer had an advantage when it came to Shadowed Heaven Pills, Sha Hu no longer put him in his eyes.
The speed of the pair was extremely fast, and it was not long before they landed on Shadowed Soul Island. Looking up at the city in the centre of the island, Sha Hu sneered and accelerated, leaving behind only an afterimage where he once stood.
Yang Kai followed unhurriedly, not falling behind Sha Hu by far.
Specter City was the only city on Shadowed Soul Island. There were about ten thousand cultivators in the city. It was not known when this city had been founded, but its walls were covered with ancient carvings, showing the weathering of time. Almost every cultivator who had the misfortune of coming to Shadowed Soul Island would eventually live in this city.
In Specter City, the one with the highest status was undoubtedly Shadowed Soul Island’s Island Master Ming Yue, followed by his henchmen, who oversaw Shadowed Soul Island’s day to day operations as well as the flow of Shadowed Heaven Pill.
The cultivators who lived on Shadowed Soul Island had to submit to Ming Yue’s rule if they wanted to obtain Shadowed Heaven Pills.
At the gate of the city, five cultivators wearing armour were monitoring the people who were entering and leaving. Any cultivator returning from the sea would have to hand over half of their spoils before they were allowed to pass.
As for the most precious Shadowed Heaven Lotus, all of them had to be handed over. Any cultivator who dared try to keep Shadowed Heaven Lotus for themselves would receive extremely harsh punishment.
A line of exhausted cultivators who had just returned from the ocean lined up outside the gates, preparing to enter Specter City.
Many of these cultivators had injuries, and some were even lacking arms or legs, looking quite dishevelled. Obviously, these people were attacked by sea beasts when they went out and had suffered no small losses.
Just as the armoured cultivators were checking the harvest of these cultivators waiting to enter the city, they suddenly heard a loud ruckus coming from the crowd. The lead guard frowned and was about to scold the people, but seemingly sensing something as well, he turned his head to look into the distance.
From afar, two human figures were approaching Specter City as fast as lightning. Both figures left behind a long trail of afterimages and only after moving a thousand meters did these afterimages gradually disappear.
The lead guard was shocked and quickly signalled to the rest of his companions to prepare themselves. Taking out their artifacts one after another, these guards quickly blocked the entrance to the city gate.
When the two figures were only a few hundred meters away, the lead guard shouted, “Who goes there? Stop at once!”
“Scram!” An angry shout came in response as the two figures rushed through the city gate and into Specter City.
The cultivators who were waiting in line to enter the city instantly went into an uproar, all showing looks of surprise.
Order was strictly enforced on Shadowed Soul Island and there had not been a forced entry like this in many years, but today, they had witnessed such a scene with their own eyes. Many people could not help but pay silent tribute to the two who had forcibly entered the city.
Everyone felt that these two were as good as dead, and since they had provoked Ming Yue’s authority in Specter City, their deaths would surely be miserable.
However, before they finished their thoughts, the crowd heard a thunderous explosion and quickly turned their heads just in time to witness the lead guard explode into a cloud of blood mist, what remained of his armour and flesh scattering over a wide area.
The onlookers felt a chill from head to toe and all fell silent. None of them even noticed when the lead guard had been attacked.
At the same time, a roar that seemed to reach the Heavens suddenly echoed from the city, “Ming Yue, get out here and face this old master!”
This roar was earth-shattering and deafening, and many people could not help turning pale when they heard it.
However, there were also many whose only fear was that the world was not chaotic enough, and after a moment, their expressions became excited as they moved closer to the source of the sound. These people wanted to find out just who this reckless fellow was that dared to call Ming Yue directly by his name in Specter City.
The whole of Specter City boiled up as many cultivators rushed towards Sha Hu’s location, attracted by his booming challenge.
Quickly, more than two thousand people had gathered around, and the number was still increasing.
Sha Hu stood quietly on the main street of Specter City, his hands folded behind his back, his expression indifferent.
Yang Kai stood one step behind him, wearing an aloof expression as he scanned the surrounding environment.
Specter City looked fairly tidy, and although it was a little shabby, it was still a great achievement to be able to build a stronghold in this forsaken place.
There were even some shops lining the street buying and selling daily necessities.
However, at this moment, the people in the nearby shops had long ago closed up and left as none of them dared to remain nearby after Sha Hu let out his astonishing roar.
There were many whispering voices among the crowd as they pointed towards Yang Kai and Sha Hu, some taking pleasure in their misfortune, some looking forward to the show, others glaring coldly while still others looked on indifferently, a myriad of emotions entangling in this small square.
“Old fool, you dare offend the majesty of Sir Island Master? Surrender your life!” From a distance, an angry shout rang out and a figure radiating a threatening aura rushed out from the end of the street, obviously looking to take credit for dealing with this matter.
The management of Shadowed Soul Island was extremely strict, and there was seldom any kind of trouble, so the cultivators who followed Ming Yue rarely had an opportunity to express their loyalty. Today was undoubtedly a good opportunity for these people to earn some favour by putting Sha Hu down.
If they could please Ming Yue, a bottle of good Shadowed Heaven Pills was not impossible to obtain.
So, after hearing Sha Hu’s roar, this man rushed over immediately.
As this man raced up the street, a large sabre artifact appeared in his hand and accompanied by his fierce aura and burly body, he gave off the appearance of a man who would kill without mercy.
Sha Hu simply stood quietly on the spot, looking towards the tallest building in the centre of the island.
There seemed to be a shadowy gaze coming from that direction, paying attention from a distance, meeting Sha Hu’s glare head-on, causing invisible sparks to fly and making the nearby crowd shiver slightly, as if the temperature on Shadowed Soul Island had suddenly dropped.
The burly man with his sabre did not seem to realize the change in atmosphere though and rushed over to a spot just ten metres from Sha Hu before jumping high and slashing out with his artifact, a sneer forming on his lips as he shouted, “Old Dog, I’ll be accepting your head!”
Sha Hu turned his head slowly as he finally glanced at the man who was approaching.
Facing this gaze, the brawny man could not help sucking in a cold breath as a look of incomparable horror appeared on his face. His fierce aura melted away like snowflakes under the scorching sun and the words he was about to shout caught in his throat.
Freezing in place, the brawny man forced himself back down to the ground as he stared at Sha Hu with a pair of disbelieving eyes, his voice trembling as he hesitantly asked, “Sha… Island Master Sha?”
This brawny man obviously recognized Sha Hu.
Sha Hu sneered coldly, “Zhou An! I’ve not seen you in a hundred years, but it seems you haven’t made much progress.”
The brawny man named Zhou An glared at Sha Hu and immediately retorted, “Whether this Zhou has made progress or not is none of your business. How come you are still alive, former Island Master Sha?”
“Did Ming Yue tell you I died?” Sha Hu sneered slightly as he stared at Zhou An as if he were an idiot, “You believed that nonsense? Not only is this old master not dead, but he’s also been living quite well. Today I’ve come to take Ming Yue’s head to relieve the hatred in my heart!”
Zhou An’s expression fluctuated, and although he was clearly frightened, he still stood his ground, “Sha Hu, you’d best stop dreaming. Island Master Ming Yue’s strength has grown greatly over the past hundred years. You were not his opponent back then, so you certainly aren’t his opponent today! Obediently surrender without a fight and follow this Zhou to see the Island Master and perhaps you can survive a catastrophe, otherwise…”
“Otherwise?”
“Since Island Master could defeat you a hundred years ago, he can do so again today!” Zhou An declared loudly.
Sha Hu burst into laughter, “Idiot. Didn’t Ming Yue tell you that the reason he was able to defeat this old master back then was because he used poison? Since this old master has returned today, that traitor will definitely not have another chance to pull such a wicked stunt.”
Sha Hu no longer paid any attention to Zhou An and instead turned his eyes back to the tall central building and shouted, “Ming Yue, if you don’t have the guts to come down and fight this old master, then this old master will come to you!”
Saying so, Sha Hu bent his knees and then launched himself several hundred metres up into the air, soaring towards the centre of the island like a great Peng spreading its wings.
“Wishful thinking!” Loud shouts rang out from all around as at least a dozen cultivators releasing blood-red auras sprang from the crowd to intercept Sha Hu.
The bright red light pulsing from their bodies were signs of their astonishing vitality. The stronger the light, the stronger their bodies.
The Shadowed Soul Island cultivators that Yang Kai had encountered before were too weak to release such light so he had never seen such a display before; however, after learning the true identity of Sha Hu, a dozen or so Shadowed Soul Island masters could no longer hide and shot out with their full strength.
Sha Hu, however, ignored these approaching cultivators and continued to stare coldly towards the front, without sorrow or joy, without fear or panic, simply releasing a thick, undisguised killing intent.
The dozen or so people looked overjoyed as all of them desperately pushed the power in their bodies to use their best moves to attack.
But before any of them could execute their strikes, a young man appeared strangely behind Sha Hu, floating quietly in the air as if he was flying.
Facing the fierce attack of a dozen people, the young man still smiled calmly and relaxedly, only casually sending out his fists the instant before the incoming attacks reached him.
Fist shadows poured out like raindrops in a great storm, blasting out in all directions.
All of the figures suddenly had the red light pulsing from their bodies explode and were sent flying as they cried out in pain. Several of them even exploded mid-air into clouds of blood fog.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The survivors all smashed into the nearby buildings, leaving giant impact craters that their blood flooded out into. Their bodies mangled, each of these attacks now had faint auras which seemed to teeter on the brink of being extinguished.
The thousands of onlookers all went into an uproar as they stared at the young man who was still suspended in mid-air in horror, their eyes flashing with shock and terror.
The dozen or so people who attacked Sha Hu just now were all masters with famous names on Shadowed Soul Island. No one knew how strong these people were in the outside world, but on Shadowed Soul Island, every one of them would rank amongst the top one hundred masters!
These people were all loyal subordinates of Ming Yue!
However, after just one round of attacks by this young man, these dozen or so people were either dead or disabled, none of them able to get up. It was nothing less than an utter route!
Who was this young man? Why had they never seen or heard of him before?
Compared with this young man, Sha Hu’s name was already known to many people. On Shadowed Soul Island, it was not just Zhou An who recognized Sha Hu. Among the onlookers, many recalled Island Master Sha from a hundred years ago.
One told ten, ten told a hundred, and soon, every cultivator on Shadowed Soul Island knew what this situation was all about. It turned out that the former Island Master had come to seek revenge against the current Island Master! This was a once-in-a-lifetime drama that no one wanted to miss.
However, after the young man in front of them displayed his overwhelming might, none dared to chase after Sha Hu to spectate the excitement. Those cultivators who took orders from Ming Yue did not dare to move in the slightest. Still hearing the miserable cries from their comrades, as long as these people didn’t have a death wish, they knew better than to annoy Yang Kai.
Yang Kai glanced around and said with a smile, “Old Sha is going to challenge Ming Yue now. You may all spectate from a distance, but if anyone dares try to interfere, don’t blame this Yang for being merciless.”
In normal times, an unknown young man speaking such words would be ignored by all, but after seeing him repel the combined force of a dozen masters so easily, Yang Kai’s words held absolute authority.
No one dared to challenge him, and all the cultivators who had come to watch the show contented themselves to watching from afar, all of them wondering who was stronger, the former Island Master or the current Island Master.
At the centre of the island, a great battle had clearly erupted, and Sha Hu’s ferocity was clearly being transmitted to everyone present. Even a dozen kilometres apart, the force behind each collision could be felt as thunderous booms echoed across the sky, thrilling, and terrifying the crowd.
Yang Kai stood in place for a moment, then suddenly drew a line in the dirt, clearly marking the point which no one was to pass, then turned around and walked towards the battlefield without looking back.
Even after he left no one dared to cross this mark and could only spectate this earth-shattering battle from a distance. Although all of them were feeling quite anxious, they could only endure patiently.
Yang Kai crossed a dozen kilometres in just a few breaths to arrive at the battlefield.
At the base of the tallest building in the centre of the island, a few bloody corpses were strewn about, apparently killed by Sha Hu.
Some cultivators stood not far away, glancing back and forth between the battlefield and Yang Kai.
None of them dared to intervene at will. When Sha Hu first arrived here, he instantly killed a few people to set up his prestige. After witnessing such a display, these people did not dare challenge Sha Hu.
Today, only Ming Yue could fight Sha Hu.
Yang Kai did not pay attention to the masters who were spectating the battle and instead cast his eyes towards Ming Yue.
What Yang Kai saw was a neatly dressed middle-aged man with a scholarly aura, similar to Great Elder Mo Yu of Clear Sky Sect.
However, his physical strength was countless times stronger than Mo Yu.
The red light pulsing from Ming Yue’s body was extremely thick, showing how tyrannical his body was. Every time he threw a punch or sent out a kick, the wind would roar as if the world was being split apart.
Sha Hu’s strength was not inferior though, and by the time Yang Kai arrived, the two men had already exchanged hundreds of blows, leaving behind huge pits in the ground and smashing many of the surrounding buildings. Even the majestic central tower had a wall missing and was currently leaning unstably.
Yang Kai observed for a moment and could not help raising his brow.
Sha Hu regarded Ming Yue as his greatest enemy, and every time he mentioned Ming Yue in the past, his hatred and rage were clear, which was not unreasonable.
Yang Kai was also certain that three months ago, Sha Hu was definitely not Ming Yue’s opponent. Judging from the strength Sha Hu displayed when he first met him at the time, he could not have lasted more than a hundred breaths against the current Ming Yue.
However, Sha Hu had taken a lot of the Shadowed Heaven Pills that Yang Kai had refined over the past three months and achieved great progress in his physical strength, allowing him to now compete with Ming Yue on even terms.
The fight between these two was savage, almost to the point of trading wounds with each other.
This style of fighting was most suitable for cultivators with strong physiques, because with their rich vitality, injuries suffered in this kind of battle would be easy to restore.
Yang Kai had used this style of combat to kill powerful enemies more than once.
However, when the physical strength of two enemies was equal, this brutal style of fighting instead became a contest of endurance.
Only the one who could last longer and inflict greater damage would win out in the end!
At this point, Sha Hu seemed to occupy the advantage.
“Ming Yue, you didn’t expect that this day would come, did you? The enmity of these past hundred years, this old master has never forgotten, but that all ends today! Today, this will be your burial place!” Sha Hu shouted vigorously as he fought with Ming Yue, his fists leaving behind shadows as they wound past Ming Yue’s defences from impossible angles, striking his chest hard.
The red light which pulsed from Ming Yue’s body abruptly shook from this impact, but it soon stabilized and recovered.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ming Yue slashed a knife down fiercely. This knife hand was akin to a peerless blade, slashing onto Sha Hu’s shoulder, causing the latter to grimace in pain for a moment.
“To be honest, you being able to live up until this day is a true surprise to this Island Master,” Ming Yue spoke in a casual tone, a stark contrast to Sha Hu’s violent anger. “But what surprises this Island Master even more is that your strength has actually grown to this level. It seems that you’ve had many opportunities in the past hundred years.”
Sha Hu laughed loudly, “I haven’t had any opportunities at all, I only had the good fortune to meet an honoured friend!”
Ming Yue frowned slightly hearing this, and even while heavily engaged, he glanced over towards Yang Kai.
He was able to judge from Sha Hu’s words almost instantly that Yang Kai, a stranger he had never seen before, was this so-called ‘honoured friend’.
“Ming Yue, you are no longer this old master’s opponent! This old master will surely rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces!” Sha Hu continued to roar as his emotions ran wild with excitement. However, while outwardly he shouted with absolute confidence, Sha Hu knew better than anyone else that acting on impulse and instinct would not be enough to defeat Ming Yue. The vicious words he spoke were all an attempt to disturb Ming Yue’s focus.
“This Island Master will wait and see then!” Ming Yue’s tone was still indifferent, as if he did not put Sha Hu in his eyes at all.
The battle raged on, with fists meeting flesh and blood constantly splashing out. Even the sound of bones breaking could be heard from time to time.
This was a simple, brutal, fierce, and thrilling battle which made all the onlookers’ hearts clench. Even Ming Yue’s subordinates who were watching from nearby had never seen him use his full strength, so, at this moment, they were all shown that Ming Yue being able to become the Island Master was not some fluke, his true combat effectiveness was far greater than any of theirs.
Even Yang Kai watched with great interest.
Although he was confident his physical strength was higher than Ming Yue’s and Sha Hu’s, this was a good opportunity to sharpen his own combat instincts. Both Ming Yue and Sha Hu were powerful cultivators who had great achievements in body tempering.
There weren’t many opportunities for cultivators to observe and emulate such a battle up close.
Yang Kai studied the battle while inserting himself into it in his mind, allowing him to reap some gains.
The battle between Sha Hu and Ming Yue continued with staggering intensity and speed, seemingly still evenly divided with no one person achieving a decisive edge.
During the battle, the two combatants would occasionally stuff some Shadowed Heaven Pills into their mouths to make up for their expended vitality and physical strength, maintaining the red surge outside their bodies at its peak.
Ming Yue’s group of subordinates were secretly nervous, not knowing what would happen to them if Ming Yue was defeated. They wanted to help but did not have the guts, so their only option was to deal with Yang Kai instead.
However, Yang Kai instantly crushed two of their companions, wiping away all thoughts of attacking him from the other’s minds.
Between members of their own group, their strength was basically equal, so even if some were stronger than others, the difference was not that big.
After Yang Kai crushed two of their allies like ants, they would have to be blind to not be able to realize the gap between them.
The battle between Yang Kai and Ming Yue’s subordinates ended as quickly as it began, not having any effect on the battle between Ming Yue and Sha Hu, but after sensing the strength of Yang Kai, Ming Yue had to pay more attention to him.
Sha Hu seized this opportunity to launch a fierce assault, bombarding Ming Yue with his fists indiscriminately.
The situation that had been locked in a stalemate began to slowly lean towards Sha Hu’s side.
Sha Hu’s momentum increased further, having taken the advantage, and the red light radiating from his figure became even stronger, allowing him to slowly suppress Ming Yue.
Ming Yue’s situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.
The faces of the cultivators who have been standing nearby watching the battle also turned pale, as even they could see that things were looking unfavourable for Ming Yue. Although this change was subtle at first, if this trend continued, Ming Yue’s disadvantage would only become worse until ultimately, he lost.
Was Sha Hu really that powerful? They could hardly believe their eyes.
Yang Kai also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, the strength of Ming Yue and Sha Hu was equal, and at the beginning of the battle, even he could not judge who would emerge victoriously, but now, because of a small accident, Sha Hu’s victory was almost assured with Ming Yue’s chances becoming increasingly slim.
The situation played out exactly as Yang Kai expected, and as time passed, Ming Yue’s position became worse and worse, with Sha Hu becoming more dominant. In ten exchanges, eight of them were Sha Hu’s attacks while only two were retaliations from Ming Yue. Being on the defensive constantly, it was only a matter of time until Ming Yue’s strength was consumed and he was defeated.
Finally, after one of Ming Yue’s attacks failed to connect, revealing an opening, Sha Hu took the opportunity to close in and let out a loud roar, “Ming Yue!”
This shout seemed to contain all the anger he had pent up over the last hundred years. Sha Hu’s momentum surged madly as he dodged Ming Yue’s blow and thrust his fist towards his opponent’s heart.
Victory was within his grasp!
A grim smile appeared on Sha Hu’s face.
Ming Yue, whose life was hanging by a thread, was still not panicked, however, and as he glanced at Sha Hu indifferently from up close, a sardonic smile flashed across his face and he uttered coldly, “Sha Hu, it seems you still don’t understand how powerful this Island Master is!”
Sha Hu heart clenched as his instincts began screaming. Just as he was about to withdraw his fist, a burst of Saint Qi emerged from Ming Yue’s body, causing his already tyrannical momentum to soar. In the next instant, a Saint Qi barrier blocked Sha Hu’s blow, rendering it harmless.
Shi burst out as a follow-up.
Sha Hu’s movements instantly became sluggish as Ming Yue’s Shi enveloped and suppressed him.
Ming Yue’s palm shot out and struck the centre of Sha Hu’s chest.
*Wa…*
Sha Hu flew back through the air as he coughed up blood.
After staggering to his feet, the red light outside his body became extremely dim and his complexion was extremely pale.
Staring at Ming Yue who was simply standing in place aloofly, Sha Hu’s eyes shook as he called out hoarsely, “How can you…”
“Use Saint Qi?” Ming Yue smiled faintly, “Shadowed Soul Island has its own World Principles, and any cultivator that enters here is suppressed by those World Principles, making it impossible to use Saint Qi, but… This Island Master has overcome the World Principles here, which is why I am the Island Master, and you are not!”
“Impossible!” Sha Hu roared; his face filled with unwillingness.
“Nothing is impossible for this Island Master,” Ming Yue sneered towards Sha Hu, who was covered in blood, and as if to prove his words, he continued recklessly releasing power from his body.
Naturally, this power was in the form of Saint Qi!
The Saint Qi fluctuation of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master filled the air.
Sha Hu was dumbfounded and stood stunned on the spot.
In terms of raw physical strength, he was comparable to Ming Yue. He was almost able to kill Ming Yue just now thanks to his hundred years of tolerance and perseverance, but if Ming Yue could use Saint Qi, then it was basically impossible for Sha Hu to be Ming Yue’s opponent.
Sha Hu opened his mouth but realized there was nothing he could say.
The continuous high-intensity battle had almost turned him into a dried-up oil lamp, and after sensing Ming Yue’s intense aura fluctuations, the momentum Sha Hu had built up collapsed and a feeling of exhaustion overwhelmed him.
At that moment, a palm was placed lightly on his shoulder. When Sha Hu turned his head dully, he found Yang Kai had at some point arrived by his side.
“Yang Kai…” Sha Hu’s voice was dry, “Sorry, this old master has brought trouble to you.”
He misjudged the situation badly. He had come here for revenge, but now not only would he die, he would likely also drag Yang Kai along to the grave with him.
Being able to use Saint Qi on Shadowed Soul Island meant Ming Yue was essentially invincible here; no one could resist him.
“Old Sha is too serious, just take a break and let me finish things up here,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, without any of the panic Sha Hu imagined he would have.
Sha Hu raised his brow suspiciously, not knowing what Yang Kai had to rely on in this situation or how he planned to face an opponent who could use Saint Qi and Shi in this place, but seeing him so calm and relaxed, Sha Hu’s spirits lifted somewhat. Nodding, Sha Hu took the initiative to withdraw a few steps.
Ming Yue didn’t try to stop him and instead focused his attention on Yang Kai with great interest. Seeing this young man stare back at him without any fear, Ming Yue smiled slightly, “Why not submit to me? I can let you be the Vice Island Master of Shadowed Soul Island, under one, above ten thousand.”
Several of Ming Yue’s subordinates immediately looked at Yang Kai with clear envy and even some eagerness, as if they were only waiting for Yang Kai to agree before leaping forward to flatter him.
Vice Island Master was an honoured position. On Shadowed Soul Island, although Ming Yue had been the Island Master for a hundred years, no one had ever been able to become the Vice Island Master. Ming Yue did not seem to have any intention of promoting one of his subordinates to such a position, with many of them even subtly probing about whether such a position would even become available, but never receiving a positive response.
These subordinates did not dare raise a fuss though, so after a few attempts, they let the matter drop.
But today, Ming Yue took the initiative to offer this position to Yang Kai, so how could they not feel envious?
“Not interested!”
To their surprise, however, Yang Kai did not even think about it before shaking his head and refusing.
How could Yang Kai put the trivial position of Vice Island Master of Shadowed Soul Island into his eyes? He was the Star Master of Shadowed Star! If Shadowed Soul Island weren’t an isolated space with its own World Principles, it would definitely be a part of Shadowed Star and be under Yang Kai’s complete dominion. Under these circumstances, was not becoming Vice Island Master of Shadowed Soul Island too much of a drop in status?
Ming Yue raised his brow and said lightly, “That is a little disappointing to this Island Master.”
Yang Kai laughed and snickered, “You’re about to be even more disappointed.”
“Are you going to oppose this Island Master?” Ming Yue looked at Yang Kai with clear ill intent.
“There’s nothing to discuss, we simply walk different paths.”
Ming Yue frowned and sighed, “In this case, this Island Master will grant you death!”
Yang Kai burst into laughter hearing this and sneered, “You don’t have the skill! Old Sha was right about one thing.”
“What?” Ming Yue and Sha Hu asked at the same time.
“It’s absolutely impossible that someone like you overcame the World Principles here,” Yang Kai sneered.
World Principles were extremely profound, and even as the Star Master of Shadowed Star, Yang Kai, was unable to break the barrier its World Principles had created, so how could a mere Ming Yue accomplish such a feat?
Therefore, Yang Kai concluded that Ming Yue was definitely using some special methods to access his Saint Qi.
Yang Kai was quite curious about this method.
Ming Yue’s face twitched slightly, but he did not panic and soon frowned, “You are not the Island Master here, so how are you so certain this Island Master cannot overcome the World Principles here?”
“I just know,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, a look of complete confidence filling his face.
Ming Yue’s expression became gloomy after knowing of Yang Kai’s attitude. No longer taking an easy-going manner, Ming Yue coldly snorted and declared, “Whether this Island Master can overcome this place’s World Principles or not, this Island Master being able to use Saint Qi is a fact. Boy, today you die!”
“Only those without skill boast of their abilities,” Yang Kai snickered before shouting, “Come out!”
As soon as these words fell, a clear, crisp bird cry resounded across the sky and a massive bird composed entirely of beautiful red flames shot out from Yang Kai’s body.
As soon as this firebird spread its wings, it seemed like half of the sky was covered and an intense heat filled the atmosphere.
Everyone stared up at the huge Firebird in shock as they felt the rich burning aura coming from it. Ming Yue’s complexion instantly turned pale as his expression became dignified; he was shocked to discover that this firebird had no form and was instead composed of pure Fire Attribute energy mixed with a violent Thunder Attribute power.
Across its fiery red body, there were dazzling purple streaks of lightning that danced back and forth like snakes.
[Both thunder and flame comprising a living entity?] Ming Yue considered himself experienced and knowledgeable, but even he could not identify the origins of this firebird.
Things hadn’t ended yet though. After Liu Yan appeared, Yang Kai also summoned a small, simple-looking stone man in front of him. This stone man had a naïve look on its face and carried a long pitch-black stick on its shoulder.
This overly long stick appeared in stark contrast with the stone man’s small body, making it appear rather funny.
However, the moment after this small stone man appeared, it let out a low roar and its figure began to rapidly enlarge, going from less than a metre in height to several dozen metres tall in the blink, becoming a true stone giant!
Even the pitch-black stick that rested on its shoulder became thicker and longer proportionally.
Everyone looked up at this newly appeared pair with fear as they felt an indescribable sense of oppression coming from them, making it hard to even breath.
Ming Yue’s face filled with horror as he stared towards Yang Kai in shock.
“Kill him!” Yang Kai gave a light command.
Another piercing cry sounded across all of Shadowed Soul Island as Liu Yan flapped her wings and swooped down towards Ming Yue’s head, opening her mouth and spitting out a fireball covered in purple lightning.
Ming Yue cried out in shock and didn’t dare take this thunder fire meteor head-on, immediately using his Movement Skill to dodge.
With a bang, dust was thrown up into the air as a giant crater appeared where Ming Yue was originally standing.
Before Ming Yue could compose himself though, a rush of heavy footsteps approached.
*Dong dong dong…*
Xiao Xiao strode forward, his two big feet sounding like heavy war-drums, violently pounding the ground. Still twenty metres away from Ming Yue, Xiao Xiao swung the Heaven Shaking Pillar forward violently.
The incredibly heavy Heaven Shaking Pillar was like a toy in Xiao Xiao’s hands, but the violent wind which rolled off of it nearly lifted up and swept Ming Yue away.
Ming Yue’s face turned pale as he hurriedly stretched out his hand and in a brilliant flash summoned a black hexagonal shield in front of him. This hexagonal shield spun rapidly and exuded an Origin Grade Mid-Rank aura. At a glance it was obvious it was a powerful defensive artifact that an ordinary Origin Realm master would have trouble breaking through.
However, Ming Yue did not relax at all and his expression only grew more solemn, kicking off the ground with both feet to retreat backwards.
*Hong…*
The Heaven Shaking Pillar smashed onto the hexagonal shield, which failed to block its momentum in the slightest and directly exploded into countless fragments before the Heaven Shaking Pillar continued to smash towards Ming Yue with irresistible power.
Fortunately for Ming Yue, he had anticipated this outcome somewhat and was able to avoid a direct hit. However, merely being brushed with the shockwave from the Heaven Shaking Pillar was enough to leave Ming Yue in an extremely embarrassing state, his clothes ripped apart as the strong winds cut open his flesh, drawing blood from all over his body.
A terrible cry rang out above Ming Yue’s head at that moment, causing all his blood to run cold!
Swivelling his head up, he found Liu Yan floating above his head once again, sending down a rain of fire and lightning that covered a hundred-metre-wide radius with him at its centre.
There was no way to avoid this blow!
Lightning flashed and flames blazed, instantly transforming the region around Ming Yue into a burning purgatory and shaking all of Shadowed Soul Island with its might.
All of Ming Yue’s subordinates had long ago lost their ability to think as they watched Ming Yue’s figure being swallowed by the intense fire and lightning, all of them shivering as if they had been thrown into the middle of an icy blizzard.
Even Sha Hu, who prided himself on his physical strength, couldn’t help trembling in shock.
He didn’t realize that Yang Kai had not exerted his full strength when they fought back then. If at that time, Yang Kai had summoned this strange firebird and stone giant, how could he still have his life?
Whether it was the stone giant or the firebird, either was enough to absolutely crush him. The powerful physique he had cultivated over several hundred years wasn’t worth a fart in front of these two strange creatures.
Fortunately, the relationship between them was not horrendous to the degree they were irreconcilable, allowing them to go from enemies to friends.
When thinking back on those initial days, Sha Hu could not help feeling some fear as well as gratitude that he had made such a wise decision.
However… what exactly were Yang Kai’s origins? With such strength, couldn’t he dominate over all of Shadowed Star? It seemed that Sha Hu would have to ask Pang Zhen about Yang Kai’s background after this incident was over.
Sha Hu secretly made up his mind before focusing his attention back on the battlefield.
With just a glance though, he couldn’t help feeling stunned.
He found that Ming Yue, who was at the centre of the hellish flames, had actually not been killed immediately, instead, his vitality was simply severely weakened. Sha Hu didn’t know how Ming Yue managed to pull this off; after all, if they traded places, that single blow would have been enough to kill him ten times over.
Yang Kai obviously discovered this too, but instead of being surprised, he instead wore a look of interest.
A moment later, the raging flames and thunder dissipated and the sea of destruction ebbed. At the centre of the scorched earth stood Ming Yue, panting heavily and looking very embarrassed.
There were no longer any signs of his previously elegant demeanour, with his clothes completely ruined, his hair in a mess, and his skin filled with burns as his vitality fluctuated weakly.
If it weren’t for his intrepid physique, he would likely have already been killed.
Ming Yue being able to stand was thanks in large part to all the Shadowed Heaven Pills he had taken to temper his body over the years, highly enriching his vitality.
But standing was all Ming Yue could do at this point, he looked at Yang Kai blankly, his face filled with unwillingness as he clenched something in his hand.
Yang Kai’s gaze shifted and quickly discerned what Ming Yue was grasping.
It was actually a token, and one that Yang Kai was quite familiar with. From this token, there was a faint, but obviously Emperor Pressure.
[A Star Emperor Token!] Yang Kai frowned.
He had never expected that Ming Yue would possess a Star Emperor Token!
From what Yang Kai could sense, it was this Star Emperor Token that allowed Ming Yue to communicate with the World Principles of Shadowed Soul Island and allowed him to use his Saint Qi and Shi. It was also thanks to this that he was able to survive Liu Yan’s fierce attack just now.
[Could this damned place actually be related to Yang Yan?] This idea flashed through Yang Kai’s mind quickly.
Not delaying any longer, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and he arrived in front of Ming Yue, sending out a palm strike towards his chest.
Ming Yue was already an arrow at the end of its flight and couldn’t resist at all. This palm was the last straw, and even though Ming Yue saw it coming, he had no strength to resist.
With a muffled thud, Ming Yue fell onto his back while Yang Kai quickly snatched the Star Emperor Token and Space Ring from his hand.
With his back to Sha Hu and the others, Yang Kai carefully handled the token and quickly confirmed it to be a genuine Star Emperor Token because it was identical to the ones he already possessed!
Sending his Divine Sense into the Star Emperor Token, Yang Kai noticed that it seemed to have a subtle connection to a certain location on Shadowed Soul Island.
Yang Kai raised his head and looked in that direction.
“Old Sha, I’ll let you handle things from here, I’m going to investigate something,” Yang Kai said before immediately disappearing.
Sha Hu was taken aback, but didn’t pay the matter too much mind, instead turning towards Ming Yue’s subordinates and flashing a ferocious grin.
Those people only came back to their senses at this moment and began calling out in panic, “Island Master Sha, mercy! What happened a hundred years ago was all because Ming Yue forced me to act, not because I was willing!”
“Heh heh, whether it was voluntary or involuntary doesn’t matter to this old master. Misdeeds have costs. A hundred years ago, all of you joined forces with Ming Yue in his plot against this old master, and if it weren’t for this old master’s good fortune, he would never have been able to have his revenge today. Talk is useless, surrender your lives!”
Sha Hu released a brilliant red light from his body and rushed towards the shaking cultivators like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. After ten breaths, all of Ming Yue’s subordinates had been killed.
Having obtained his revenge, Sha Hu stood on the spot, looked up at the sky, and released a thunderous roar.
The thousands of cultivators on Shadowed Soul Island all looked towards the source of this howl with a myriad of different expressions.
They knew that a great change had come to Shadowed Soul Island.
In the meantime, Yang Kai arrived at the central point of Shadowed Soul Island.
After arriving here, the Star Emperor Token that belonged to Ming Yue in his hand began to vibrate, as if it was trying to escape Yang Kai’s grasp.
This place was quite picturesque, with several small huts being built here that seemed to have been abandoned long ago.
Yang Kai swept his eyes around with a suspicious expression on his face.
Although he felt that this place was somewhat strange, he was unable to determine what made it so through observation alone.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai let go of the Star Emperor Token.
The Star Emperor Token flew out immediately, drawing a beautiful arc in the air, before quickly arriving at a certain spot and hovering there, a series of black spots appearing around it in the next moment.
A chaotic nothingness pulsed from these holes, along with a powerful Space Force fluctuation.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn.
These black holes were quite similar to Void Cracks and seemed to have always existed here, but had gone completely unnoticed. Only when a Star Emperor Token was brought close would they reveal themselves.
The shape of these holes was also the same as a Star Emperor Token.
Hovering mid-air, there were a total of nine holes, each of which seemed to be subtly connected with the others. These nine token-shaped holes seemed to be connected, forming an array pattern that was beyond Yang Kai’s comprehension!
Nine was a significant number, as Yang Yan had once told Yang Kai that she had produced a total of nine Star Emperor Tokens.
Yang Yan had refused to elaborate on what kind of mystery there was behind this number.
However, it obviously had something to do with this scene!
Yang Kai’s expression became thoughtful as he gradually connected everything he had seen and heard in the past regarding this matter and began formulating a guess as to what Yang Yan had meant.
Shadowed Soul Island was definitely related to Yang Yan, this truth was beyond a shadow of a doubt, otherwise, there wouldn’t be nine tiny Void Cracks here in the shape of Star Emperor Tokens.
Just as Yang Kai was lost in thought, the Star Emperor Token that he had recently acquired flew into a specific hole and covered it tightly, not leaving the slightest gap, as if the Void Crack had been filled or sealed by it.
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Kai flipped his wrist and summoned four more Star Emperor Tokens into his palm.
These four Star Emperor Tokens were obtained by Yang Kai through various chances over the past several dozen years since he entered the Star Field.
One of them was a parting gift from Gui Zu and had originally still contained one of the Great Emperor’s Divine Abilities. However, during the battle with Luo Hai on Scarlet Wave Star, Yang Kai had unsealed this Divine Ability and used it to kill his opponent.
Although the power within it had been used up, the Star Emperor Token remained, and Yang Kai had not discarded it.
The second token was obtained by Yang Kai during his first foray into the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
The third originally belonged to Ye Xi Yun, but was later transferred to Yang Kai.
The fourth had been preserved in the main hall of Star Emperor Mountain.
Counting the Star Emperor Token he obtained today, Yang Kai already had five in his possession.
Of the remaining four pieces, Yang Kai only knew that one belonged to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce while the whereabouts of the other three were a mystery.
After the four Star Emperor Tokens were taken out, they began vibrating, trying to escape from Yang Kai’s control. Remaining calm, Yang Kai allowed them to leave his hand.
Unsurprisingly, these four Star Emperor Tokens were also drawn towards the Void Cracks up in the sky and quickly filled in four of the nine slots.
In the next moment, the five Star Emperor Tokens released a burst of light and a mysterious force began spreading out from them, swiftly covering Yang Kai.
The Saint Qi which had been stagnant in his meridians seemed to receive a strong impetus and began rapidly circulating through Yang Kai’s body.
Feeling this nostalgic sensation, Yang Kai could not help taking a deep breath, feeling refreshed.
At this moment, Yang Kai also confirmed how the Star Emperor Token Ming Yue had in his possession allowed him to use Saint Qi, allowing him to catch Sha Hu off guard.
He must have undergone a similar process here.
What Yang Kai could not determine was whether Ming Yue originally possessed a Star Emperor Token, or if he had accidentally discovered it here.
Ming Yue was dead now though, so there was no way to know.
Yang Kai stood straight like a spear on the spot, staring towards the floating formation fixedly.
Sending his senses towards this formation, Yang Kai sensed his consciousness being drawn far away.
He faintly noticed that a wider world was behind this thin veil! The vitality and excitement of this world far surpassed that of the Star Field where he now stood, and there were no doubt far more powerful cultivators and more terrifying heights there as well.
Yang Kai’s thoughts were immersed in this sensation, and it was some time before he was able to collect himself again.
He wanted to see what that world was like, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to get a clear picture and could only probe it with his Divine Sense. It was as if his Soul had entered a long channel, one that continued to advance forward without end.
Outside the central region, Sha Hu stood with crossed arms as he quietly gazed inwards.
He did not know why Yang Kai entered this place, but an entire month had passed since he had. Shadowed Soul Island was now under his complete control and all the cultivators who had betrayed him in the past had been swept away. Those that remained had all pledged loyalty to him.
Sha Hu became the Island Master of Shadowed Soul Island again!
On this day, Pang Zhen, Qian Mo, and Shang Ao came together to see Sha Hu.
Shang Ao had not died but was instead imprisoned by Ming Yue and had suffered torture. Even without taking Shadowed Heaven Pills, Shang Ao was able to display excellent combat strength, so one could only imagine how great his strength would grow after taking Shadowed Heaven Pills.
With such a powerful potential subordinate, Ming Yue was naturally reluctant to kill ruthlessly. The original plan was to imprison Shang Ao for some time to dampen his resistance and then find a way to force him to submit, but these plans were obviously all for nought.
After Ming Yue died, Shang Ao was rescued by Qian Mo.
The moment the three of them approached, at the perimeter of the central region, Xiao Xiao, who was still shouldering the Heaven Shaking Pillar, and the Artifact Spirit Liu Yan, who had assumed her enchanting human form, stared towards them vigilantly.
Being locked onto by Xiao Xiao’s and Liu Yan’s Divine Senses, the trio instantly went stiff and did not dare to move.
“They have no malicious intent, there’s no need to be wary of them,” Sha Hu’s mouth twitched as he quickly cupped his fists.
Xiao Xiao’s eyes rolled slightly but remained in place, still assuming a ready stance, prepared to launch an attack at any time. As for Liu Yan, whose sentience was slightly higher, she simply shot Sha Hu a cold glance before retracting her hostility.
Sha Hu could not help feeling somewhat ashamed.
He was also one of the greatest masters on the Limitless Ocean, and after three hundred years of struggle on Shadow Soul Island, despite being unable to use Saint Qi, having consumed so many Shadowed Heaven Pills, Sha Hu firmly believed he was now even stronger than before he came here. However, despite all that, he couldn’t even compare to these two subordinates of Yang Kai.
Needless to say, the stone giant clearly had astonishing power. Without his Saint Qi, Sha Hu knew that even if there were ten of him, he wouldn’t be able to defeat it.
The gorgeous woman’s strength was even more exaggerated. The violent Fire and Thunder Attribute energy which flowed through her body gave Sha Hu even more pressure than the stone giant.
Facing this woman, Sha Hu felt as if he was facing an Origin King, though he did not really know how strong an Origin King was.
After comforting Xiao Xiao and Liu Yan, Sha Hu turned his head to look at Pang Zhen and the others and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Shang Ao and General Qian Mo wanted to express their gratitude to Sect Master Yang,” Pang Zhen replied respectfully.
“I understand,” Sha Hu nodded before turning to Qian Mo and Shang Ao and flashing a bitter smile, “But I’m afraid you’ll have to wait. As you can see, no one can enter this place now, you’ll have to wait for Yang Kai to come out on his own.”
“Then, we’ll wait,” Shang Ao coldly snorted.
After learning that he was able to regain his freedom this time thanks in large part to Yang Kai, Shang Ao wanted to thank him in person. As for Sha Hu, Shang Ao did not take him seriously.
There were deep-rooted grudges between Sea Temple and Sea God Palace and they would not be easily resolved overnight.
Sha Hu obviously understood this and didn’t care about Shang Ao’s indifference, instead asking with interest, “By the way, this old master has been busy cleaning up Shadowed Soul Island these days and has not had time to ask carefully. Pang Zhen, who exactly is Yang Kai, what are his origins?”
Hearing this question, Shang Ao and Qian Mo also could not help showing some interest.
Respect for the strong was universal amongst masters. Qian Mo and Shang Ao were both Generals of Sea God Palace and had both strength and status, but when compared to Yang Kai, they both found themselves lacking.
Living most of their lives in the deep sea, they knew very little about inland matters, even less than Pang Zhen, so they too were curious about Yang Kai’s background.
“Sect Master Yang… is the Sect Master of High Heaven Sect!” Pang Zhen thought for a while and replied solemnly.
“High Heaven Sect?” Sha Hu frowned slightly, “Why hasn’t this old master heard of such a Sect?”
Pang Zhen smiled bitterly, “Martial Uncle disappeared three hundred years ago, so naturally he has not heard of High Heaven Sect as it was only established about fifteen years ago.”
“Fifteen years… en, its heritage must not be deep then,” Sha Hu chuckled softly, “But with a Sect Master like Yang Kai, as long as it is given enough time, it will definitely rise to the level of Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect.”
“Martial Uncle…” Pang Zhen looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union have already faded into history.”
“They have been destroyed?” Sha Hu’s expression filled with shock as he called out in alarm.
“En, they were both destroyed by Sect Master Yang’s High Heaven Sect!”
Sha Hu gasped and both Qian Mo and Shang Ao exchanged a shocked glance.
Although Qian Mo and Shang Ao did not know much about the current inland situation, they had at least heard of Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union as these were behemoths that dominated Shadowed Star’s inland for thousands of years!
“Star Emperor Mountain was also destroyed by him!” Pang Zhen quickly threw out another shocking piece of information.
“What?” Sha Hu was completely astonished now, “Even Star Emperor Mountain was destroyed by him?”
“Yes and no, most of the masters from Star Emperor Mountain joined High Heaven Sect, so the current High Heaven Sect is considered the strongest Sect on Shadowed Star!”
“How does my Sea Temple compare?” Sha Hu asked urgently.
“Inferior in every way,” Pang Zhen spoke the truth, “But because we and High Heaven Sect are from the Limitless Ocean and inland respectively, there isn’t much intersection between us. Moreover, the headquarters of High Heaven Sect is located inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field, making it absolutely impregnable to outside attack.”
Sha Hu’s jaw dropped as his thoughts ground to a halt!
He naturally knew about the Flowing Flame Sand Field; after all, it was one of Shadowed Star’s Three Great Forbidden Zones. Normally, no one was able to enter it, yet now he heard High Heaven Sect had actually set up its headquarters inside of it. How was that possible?
Not only Sha Hu was dumbfounded, Qian Mo and Shang Ao were also in a state of stunned disbelief.
Pang Zhen paused here as he too could understand the shock in the hearts of Sha Hu and the two Sea Clan Generals.
Which master on Shadowed Star would not be shocked when they first learned such news? When this information reached the Limitless Ocean, Sea Temple’s leadership were also completely shocked, and the Temple Masters all had trouble sleeping and eating for quite some time, lest Yang Kai’s ambitions stretch out towards the Limitless Ocean.
However, time showed that Yang Kai had no such plans, and after several years of peace and quiet, the Temple Masters of Sea Temple gradually relaxed.
A few days ago, Yang Kai proposed setting up trade with Sea Temple on Sunrise Island, but the Temple Masters had not made any response yet, probably because they were uncertain about Yang Kai’s intentions.
After a long silence, Sha Hu seemed to gradually digest the information, then asked about Yang Kai’s background more carefully.
Pang Zhen reported everything he knew.
Sha Hu’s expression became more and more solemn as time passed, while Qian Mo and Shang Ao’s expressions also changed constantly, their eyes meeting frequently, as if secretly communicating with one another.
Suddenly, a change happened in the central region of the island and a figure strolled out.
Naturally, it was Yang Kai!
Shang Ao, Qian Mo, and Pang Zhen were all stunned for a moment but quickly cupped their fists with Sha Hu smiling slightly and asking, “Did you have any gains?”
Yang Kai greeted everyone before recalling Xiao Xiao and Liu Yan then nodding, “En, a few.”
“So you can also use your Saint Qi now?” Sha Hu asked in surprise.
In the battle against Ming Yue that day, his opponent had suddenly used both his Saint Qi and Shi, which truly frightened Sha Hu. After thinking hard about it though, Sha Hu could only attribute the cause of this to some secret hidden in the central region.
The depths of the central region’s mountains was the spot he had described to Yang Kai before, where he had sensed something unusual but was unable to discern what it was.
There was clearly some kind of secret hidden there and perhaps it was related to the reason why Ming Yue was able to use his Saint Qi, but Sha Hu was unable to figure it out. Now seeing Yang Kai like this though, and hearing he had some gains, Sha Hu was immediately able to make an educated guess.
“Using Saint Qi isn’t an issue,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, not as happy as Sha Hu imagined he would have been, but quickly adding, “I also found a way to leave this place.”
“What!?” Sha Hu exclaimed.
Nearby, Pang Zhen and the others also were shocked for a moment before they all wore overjoyed expressions and urgently asked, “Is that true?”
“Naturally,” Yang Kai nodded, “I came out to tell you this news actually. If any of you want to go out with me, you should begin preparing now, as I will be leaving in a few days.”
“Sect Master Yang…” Pang Zhen looked at Yang Kai eagerly, “Dare I ask Sect Master Yang, how many people can you take out?”
To the side, Shang Ao heard Pang Zhen’s question and immediately realized the importance of this issue.
“Taking everyone out won’t be an issue,” Yang Kai replied, “But…”
“But what?” Pang Zhen immediately became nervous.
“I can take the people from Sea Temple and Sea God Palace out free of charge, but as for the others… en, please spread the word that if anyone wants to leave this place, they need to help me harvest some Shadowed Heaven Lotus.”
Pang Zhen was taken aback for a moment but quickly understood and said with a wry smile, “Sect Master Yang’s plans are quite deep!”
He could imagine that once this news was spread, the cultivators who had been trapped on Shadowed Soul Island would flood into the sea to look for Shadowed Heaven Lotus, all of which would wind up in Yang Kai’s pockets.
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “I’m just charging a small fee.”
“When do you plan on leaving this place then, Yang Kai?” Sha Hu asked from the side.
“One month from now.”
“Alright!” Sha Hu nodded, “This old master will help you spread the word. As for my Sea Temple’s disciples, I will not let you work in vain. After we leave here, Sea Temple will offer you an appropriate thanks.”
“If Old Sha insists, then it would be impolite to refuse,” Yang Kai laughed.
“My Sea God Palace will also compensate Sect Master Yang fairly,” Shang Ao hurriedly expressed his opinion as well.
Yang Kai glanced at him and nodded lightly, not raising any objections.
The news that there was a way to leave Shadowed Soul Island spread like the wind, and soon it swept across the entire island.
After hearing this news, nine out of ten cultivators dismissed it as nonsense, thinking that it was just someone spreading a bad joke; after all, if there was a way to Shadowed Soul Island, none of them would have been trapped here for so many years. Countless cultivators had been trapped on Shadowed Soul Island over the years, many of them with astonishing skills and methods, so there should have been someone over the millennia who had found an exit.
But time had proven that Shadowed Soul Island was an inescapable cage, and anyone caught here would die here!
Such news suddenly popping up now was incredibly difficult to believe.
It was not until Sha Hu came forward to guarantee this information that the Shadowed Soul Island cultivators began to believe in it.
It was not long before almost every cultivator on Shadowed Soul Island set out in droves to search the nearby waters for Shadowed Heaven Lotus, hoping to earn their passage out of this forsaken place.
Shadowed Soul Island became a truly empty island.
In the waters tens of thousands of kilometres away from Shadowed Soul Island, Yang Kai rode atop the little dolphin’s back as she swam forward.
While the Shadowed Soul Island cultivators were scattered about looking for Shadowed Heaven Lotus, Yang Kai did not remain idle. Shadowed Heaven Lotus were such treasures that naturally the more he had the better. As such, the same day Sha Hu began spreading the news that a way out had been found, Yang Kai found the little dolphin and left Shadowed Soul Island to search the distant waters, relying on her instincts to find precious Shadowed Heaven Lotus.
Yang Kai’s gains were significant.
The far waters had always been difficult for Shadowed Soul Island cultivators to reach, so there were more Shadowed Heaven Lotus out there.
After swallowing hundreds of Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills, Yang Kai’s physique had grown several times stronger than when he first entered Shadowed Soul Island, so the sea beasts that had previously given him some trouble were now powerless before him.
Yang Kai and the little dolphin went further and further out, their harvest becoming more and more abundant as time passed.
As the deadline he had set approached, Yang Kai had the little dolphin turn back and return to the island.
When Yang Kai returned to Shadowed Soul Island again, thousands of cultivators were already waiting for him.
Unfortunately, one month was not enough time for all the cultivators to harvest enough Shadowed Heaven Lotus to buy their way out. Some people were unlucky and never found any Shadowed Heaven Lotus, so they wore uneasy looks on their faces while they stood waiting, worried Yang Kai would not bring them out with him.
After meeting with Sha Hu and the others and understanding the situation, Yang Kai asked the cultivators of Sea Temple and Sea God Palace to help him collect the Shadowed Heaven Lotus.
The cultivators with Shadowed Heaven Lotus in their hands happily turned them over before walking towards the admitted side with peace of mind, eager to depart.
It only took a day to process this matter.
The residents of the island were now divided into two parts, one that had turned over Shadowed Heaven Lotus and another that had not.
The number of cultivators who failed to harvest any Shadowed Heaven Lotus was not large, only seven or eight hundred.
Yang Kai stood in front of these leftover cultivators and saw the anxiety and embarrassment on their faces. Smiling though, he called out loudly, “Don’t fear, this Yang will give you a chance. Since you do not have any Shadowed Heaven Lotus, you can redeem your freedom in other methods.”
“Little brother, dare I ask what methods are you proposing?” A cultivator who looked quite elderly asked.
Everyone also watched Yang Kai hesitantly, worried he would impose some kind of harsh demands on them.
“Some of you probably come from strong backgrounds or have good status back on Shadowed Star, as such, after leaving here, you can simply have your families or Sects pay some compensation for your freedom. If even this is not an option for you, you can serve this Yang as a labourer for ten years to earn your freedom.”
As soon as these words were said, the audience went into an uproar. Some cultivators were worried, but most looked quite happy.
Yang Kai was correct: Most of these leftover cultivators had powerful families or belonged to strong Sects on Shadowed Star, so as long as they were able to leave here, raising some funds would not be a problem.
A few materials in exchange for their freedom was a bargain.
If they could not raise enough funds though, serving as a labourer also didn’t seem to be a big problem. Yang Kai did not seem to be a wicked person, otherwise, he wouldn’t have even offered such an option. All he had to do was abandon them here on Shadowed Soul Island and be done with them.
Ten years of work and they could regain their freedom.
“If you are willing, please go to Island Master Sha and leave your Soul Brand. After you fulfil your end of this agreement, this Yang will return your Soul Brand to you!” Yang Kai shouted again.
The next moment, more than half of the eight hundred or so people remaining rushed towards Sha Hu’s direction while the rest hesitated for a moment before accepting their fate and following their companions.
To the side, Sha Hu, who had been informed by Yang Kai in advance, had already ordered the Sea Temple disciples to prepare. After these cultivators flooded up, the Sea Temple disciples began taking out pieces of white spirit jade and having the cultivators engrave their Soul Brands inside.
With these Soul Brands, anyone could easily control the life or death of these cultivators, so none of them would dare try to ignore today’s agreement.
Sha Hu squeezed out of the crowd and came to Yang Kai’s side before glancing back over it and saying with a wry smile, “Is Sect Master Yang’s High Heaven Sect lacking materials?”
Yang Kai simply chuckled, “Mosquito meat is also meat.”
Sha Hu glanced at him thoughtfully, before grinning knowingly and nodding.
He saw through Yang Kai’s intentions!
Yang Kai clearly wanted to bring all the cultivators of Shadowed Soul Island out of this place, otherwise, he would not have made such accommodations.
Yang Kai did this for two purposes. On the one hand, he was using these cultivators to help him search for Shadowed Heaven Lotus, and on the other hand, he wanted to deal with things in a way that avoided future criticism!
The only explanation for this was that he had a way to return to Shadowed Soul Island again after leaving and already considered this place his private property, thus wanting to clear out everyone else from it!
Considering all this, Sha Hu’s breathing quickened.
Without even mentioning the large amount of Shadowed Heaven Lotus that Yang Kai had harvested on Shadowed Soul Island these days, in the future, as long as he wanted to, he would be able to come back here and collect as many as he wanted.
It was conceivable that, in time, High Heaven Sect would become a terrifying behemoth!
Sha Hu thoughts were unreadable to Yang Kai, but he believed that Sha Hu could vaguely guess his intentions.
Of course, Yang Kai did not bother confirming anything as he had the right to dictate terms since he was the only one with the ability to come and go from this place.
Yang Kai only cared about securing this place as his own private Restricted Area!
After settling the last remaining eight hundred or so people, all Shadowed Soul Island’s cultivators were prepared to leave.
Everyone’s eyes now turned to Yang Kai, wondering what method he would use to take them out from this place, a mix of expectation and anxiety appearing on all their faces.
Even Sha Hu was no exception.
Although Yang Kai had spoken with complete confidence, and they did not doubt him, nobody could help becoming a bit nervous in the final moment.
As everyone looked on, Yang Kai remained motionless, simply standing in place silently with his eyes closed.
However, a pure and rich Spiritual Energy overflowed from his body.
The strength of this Spiritual Energy caused everyone present to pale in shock.
Potent streams of Spiritual Energy penetrated The Void and seemed to extend outwards towards some unknown location.
Yang Kai had cultivated the Dao of Space for many years, and tearing space was always the best method to escape from a trapped space, but this method had not been suitable to use to leave Shadowed Soul Island, as this was an independent isolated world with its own World Principle barrier. Unable to locate Shadowed Star, even if Yang Kai could tear space, he could only move about inside Shadowed Soul Island, not leave it.
However, now that he had touched upon Shadowed Soul Island’s World Principles and could use his Saint Qi, along with his connection to Shadowed Star as its Star Master, it was not too difficult for Yang Kai to determine the location of Shadowed Star.
Sending his Divine Sense across The Void, it did not take long for Yang Kai to find the barrier which separated Shadowed Soul Island and Shadowed Star.
Suddenly opening his eyes, Yang Kai’s Space Force poured out madly as he stretched out his hands as grasped the space in front of him.
Like dragons going out to sea, Yang Kai’s hands sank directly into The Void under everyone’s rapt attention.
Exclamations resounded as thousands of cultivators widened their eyes and stared at this incredible scene. Seeing Yang Kai’s two arms suddenly disappear was a phenomenon beyond their level of understanding.
The next moment, Yang Kai suddenly let out a deep shout.
Spreading his arms apart rapidly, the space in front of him was ripped open like a piece of cloth, revealing a pitch-black crack.
This crack grew bigger and bigger, and from it, came a terrifying, chaotic aura, like the maw of an ancient beast that was trying to swallow this world whole!
Yang Kai took a deep breath and released his grip after the crack expanded to about thirty metres in length.
However, rich Space Force was still pouring out of Yang Kai’s body like a sharp spear, thrusting into the Void Crack and slowly forming a stable Void Corridor connecting Shadowed Soul Island and Shadowed Star.
Sha Hu was dumbfounded.
A month ago, Yang Kai said that he had found a way to leave this place, and although Sha Hu did not doubt him, he was still unclear how Yang Kai was planning to achieve this.
Only now did he understand what Yang Kai was relying on.
He had actually cultivated the extremely rare and esoteric Dao of Space, and was so proficient in it that not only could he tear space with his own strength, he could even construct a safe Void Corridor!
Even considering the entire Star Field, there was likely no one else who was capable of this. Sha Hu believed that even those legendary Origin King Realm masters could not do what Yang Kai had just done.
“How long are you planning on staying here? Weren’t you all eager to leave?”
Just as Sha Hu was lost in a daze, Yang Kai’s voice suddenly entered his ears, and after regaining his composure, he swiftly waved his hand and shouted, “Follow this old master!”
Saying so, he dove into the Void Corridor constructed by Yang Kai and was swallowed by darkness.
The disciples of Sea Temple followed closely behind, disappearing one by one.
Everyone from the Sea Clan hurriedly followed, with Qian Mo nodding slightly to Yang Kai as she passed by. The little dolphin flipped her tail and made a series of cries as she went through, seemingly telling him to quickly follow.
After the cultivators of Sea Temple and Sea God Palace disappeared, the other cultivators rushed forward.
The Void Crack torn by Yang Kai was thirty metres long, wide enough to accommodate many people walking side by side, so even if there were thousands of cultivators waiting, the exodus proceeded extremely quickly. In less than half a cup of tea’s time, Yang Kai was the only one left on Shadowed Soul Island.
Turning his head and looking around, after confirming that there were no more people living here, Yang Kai entered the Void Corridor.
This Void Corridor was constructed by him, so Yang Kai knew how to traverse it better than anyone, allowing him to swim through The Void in but a moment before a flash of light appeared before his eyes and he appeared somewhere above the sea.
As the unique smell of sea breeze blew across Yang Kai’s face, he heard countless cultivators crying out and shouting, all of them clearly excited to have finally left Shadowed Soul Island.
From the moment they fell onto Shadowed Soul Island, they thought they would never be able to come out and would be forced to spend their whole life under the grip of Ming Yue, but now, they had actually returned home to Shadowed Star.
So, after Yang Kai emerged, many cultivators turned looks of gratitude towards him.
Regardless of whether Yang Kai charged them a certain amount of compensation, it was a fact that they had escaped from Shadowed Soul Island. Everyone was thrilled for having been delivered from imprisonment.
“Yang Kai!” Sha Hu quickly flew over and was relieved to see that Yang Kai was safe.
Yang Kai nodded lightly before he turned his head and stretched out his hand towards the Void Crack behind him, causing it to close and soon disappear.
Without this Void Crack, no one but Yang Kai would be able to return to Shadowed Soul Island.
“Where is this place? Are we somewhere on the Limitless Ocean?” Yang Kai asked.
“Pang Zhen and the Sea Clan’s people have already gone to investigate, they should be back soon,” Sha Hu replied.
Yang Kai nodded and waited quietly.
After about an hour, Pang Zhen and Qian Mo returned with joyful looks upon their faces.
“Martial Uncle, this is indeed the Limitless Ocean! We’re ten thousand kilometres east of my Sea Temple’s headquarters, Black Reef Island!” Pang Zhen reported excitedly.
“That’s good news!” Sha Hu also showed a smile on his face, “It’s been three hundred years since this old master last saw home. Yang Kai, this old master offers his sincerest thanks.”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Old Sha is too polite. If you really want to thank me, you might as well promise me one thing.”
“Name it! As long as it doesn’t violate the principles of this old master’s ancestors, this old master can promise you anything,” Sha Hu declared boldly.
Yang Kai nodded slightly and said, “It’s nothing so serious, I just want to establish an exchange of materials between my High Heaven Sect and your Sea Temple; after all, the products produced inland and out at sea are vastly different. Last time I spoke to Island Master Pang about this, Sea Temple didn’t seem to be keen on my proposal and failed to respond to me.”
Pang Zhen’s expression became a little embarrassed.
“Then there’s nothing to think about, this old master can agree to this matter immediately; after all, an exchange of goods will benefit both of us. My Sea Temple will not refuse! When this old master returns to the headquarters, he will see to it!”
“Many thanks, Old Sha.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Sha Hu was the former Second Temple Master of Sea Temple, and although he had disappeared for nearly three hundred years, his status and seniority remained unchanged. Since he had agreed, there would obviously be no problems with this matter.
“Sect Master Yang, I wonder if my Sea God Palace can participate in this matter as well?” Qian Mo suddenly asked with a smile from the side.
“Do you want to participate too?” Yang Kai looked at Qian Mo in amazement.
“Naturally. My Sea God Palace’s ability to collect deep-sea materials is even better than Sea Temple’s. Since Sect Master Yang is willing to form a trade relationship with Sea Temple, surely there is no reason for him to reject me Sea God Palace, right?”
“Of course I won’t refuse, my High Heaven Sect will gladly do business with General Qian Mo’s Sea God Palace,” Yang Kai laughed.
“Then it’s settled, it’s just that the inland and the Limitless Ocean are quite far apart, so the transportation of large quantities of materials may be troublesome…”
Sha Hu also nodded lightly, agreeing with Qian Mo’s statement. The reason why the deep sea and inland materials could not be exchanged on a large scale was primarily because of the distance between the two regions, a problem no cultivator on Shadowed Star had been able to solve up until now.
“There’s no need to worry about that, I will arrange a Space Array to connect High Heaven Sect with your two forces, then the distance between us won’t be a problem,” Yang Kai explained the solution he had come up with long ago.
Both Qian Mo and Sha Hu were stunned for a moment, but when they recalled the scene just now of Yang Kai tearing space, they believed he was capable of such a feat.
“In that case, this General will eagerly await Sect Master Yang’s arrival!” Qian Mo smiled.
“This old master will also be waiting to hear the good news!” Sha Hu added.
As they talked, many cultivators had already left this place. The people of Sea Temple and Sea God Palace had a brief discussion as well before bidding their farewells to Yang Kai and returning to their respective headquarters.
The little dolphin was reluctant to leave Yang Kai, however, and was unwilling to leave.
In the end, Yang Kai had to gift her a few bottles of Shadowed Heaven Pills to placate her.
After an hour, only the eight hundred or so cultivators who had yet to offer compensation to Yang Kai remained, all of them looking towards him, waiting for his orders.
“You can all travel to High Heaven Sect by yourselves. After you arrive there, someone will welcome and assign you some work. Those who need to contact your relatives or Sects can do so at will. As long as you deliver enough materials, this Sect Master will return your Soul Brands,” Yang Kai said.
“Many thanks, Sect Master Yang!” The hundreds of people cupped their fists one after another.
Yang Kai nodded but did not say anything more, his figure simply flickering as he disappeared.
Upon returning to Shadowed Star, he could once again mobilize the forces of the star as its Star Master. Every time he moved, Yang Kai could cross several tens of thousands of kilometres or even hundreds of thousands.
In less than half an hour, Yang Kai had already arrived outside the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
Looking at the familiar scene, Yang Kai smiled slightly. No matter how wondrous the outside world was, when the body and mind were exhausted, it was always best to return home!
Disappearing once more, Yang Kai re-appeared inside High Heaven Sect.
Without disturbing too many people, Yang Kai first visited his parents before he met with the Elders of High Heaven Sect to ask about the situation on Shadowed Star these past few months he had been missing.
Corpse Spirit Religion had basically been completely uprooted while all the surviving great forces of Shadowed Star’s inland were in a perpetual state of business. High Heaven Sect had become a true leader of Shadowed Star after this battle and was undoubtedly one of the most powerful Sects in existence, holding supreme prestige.
In fact, if Qian Tong of Shadow Moon Hall had not become an Origin King Realm master, this ‘one of’ could be removed.
Shadow Moon Hall, where an Origin King Realm assumed command, was indeed worthy of being on par with High Heaven Sect.
In addition, there were already many great forces and families on Shadowed Star who intended to ally with High Heaven Sect in hopes of following its lead. Ye Xi Yun had taken the liberty to agree to these requests entirely.
It could be said that the current High Heaven Sect had already surpassed the original Star Emperor Mountain, both in terms of strength and prestige.
Ye Xi Yun presided over High Heaven Sect’s general affairs, so there was no need for Yang Kai to put much effort into it. Even if Yang Kai was not there, everything would be handled properly.
After finishing his discussion with the Elders, Yang Kai went to see his Little Senior Sister again.
This trip to Shadowed Soul Island, Yang Kai’s biggest gain was naturally the ten thousand or so Shadowed Heaven Lotus of different colours. With so many Shadowed Heaven Lotuses, even if Yang Kai personally took action to refine them, it would take a lot of time and effort.
But for Xia Ning Chang, this was not an issue.
To her, Alchemy was cultivating.
Shadowed Heaven Lotus and Shadowed Heaven Pills could not be found in the outside world, so, Xia Ning Chang was very interested in them. After obtaining all the herbs and the pill recipe, she immediately entered retreat to focus on Alchemy.
Yang Kai was certain that High Heaven Sect would have a large number of Shadowed Heaven Pills in the near future, and with these special Body Tempering pills, the overall strength of High Heaven Sect would undoubtedly rise to a new level.
Yang Kai also had his own arrangements for these Shadowed Heaven Pills that would soon be released. Although ten thousand Shadowed Heaven Lotuses seemed like a huge number, if they were all refined into pills, they would produce only about seventy or eighty thousand pills at most.
Currently, there were over ten thousand High Heaven Sect disciples, so these seventy thousand pills could naturally not be freely distributed to everyone.
Besides the Origin Returning Realm masters who would be eligible to receive a certain amount of Shadowed Heaven Pills for body tempering, Yang Kai intended to have Shadowed Heaven Pills be distributed as rewards to the common disciples that made contributions to High Heaven Sect.
Of course, this was just some initials plans Yang Kai had thought up. If he wanted to implement them, he would need to first wait some time to see how the situation developed. Also, he didn’t plan to handle this matter personally and was intending to simply hand it over to Ye Xi Yun to manage.
After leaving Pill King Peak where Xia Ning Chang was, Yang Kai went straight to the sixth layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Field where Yang Yan was sleeping.
Upon arriving on the second level of the simple loft, Yang Yan noticed him and immediately pulled his Soul Avatar into her Knowledge Sea.
Just like the situation when they met last time, the pair’s Soul Avatars sat cross-legged opposite one another while a sea of extremely hot flames burned down below.
“I heard Ye Xi Yun say you went out to hunt down the Insect Emperor. How did it go?” Yang Yan asked.
“Now that I am the Star Master of Shadowed Star, how do think it ended?” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
“En, seems like he’s dead,” Yang Yan gently nodded, letting out a slight sigh in the next moment, “The Insect Emperor was a high-level master as well, but now, he fell in your hands. If his enemies were to learn about this, they likely wouldn’t be able to believe it.”
Yang Kai thought otherwise. Even if the Insect Emperor was an extremely powerful cultivator at one point, that was over ten thousand years ago. After his cultivation fell sharply, not even reaching the Origin King Realm, fighting the current Yang Kai on Shadowed Star was nothing short of suicide.
Of course, the biggest reason Yang Kai was able to kill the Insect Emperor was that Yang Yan had given him Shadowed Star’s Source. If not for this, with Yang Kai’s current ability, there was no way he could have killed the Insect Emperor.
His escape ability was simply too profound, to the point where even an ordinary Origin King would be helpless to hunt him down.
“Your harvest wasn’t small either, was it?” Yang Yan grinned lightly, “There must have been many good things on the Insect Emperor.”
“I didn’t actually find many good things, only the Soul Splitting Saber as well as a bracelet-like artifact.”
The Soul Splitting Saber and the bracelet-like artifact were both undoubtedly Emperor Artifacts, similar to the Annihilation Thunder Bead, Sealed World Bead, and Three Blazing Flame Rings. As for the role of the Soul Splitting Saber, Yang Kai knew that it was a powerful Soul-type artifact. Unfortunately, since it was an Emperor Artifact, it was currently too difficult for Yang Kai to effectively use. So, he could only slowly refine it and look forward to the day when he could wield it.
However, Yang Kai was completely confused about the bracelet artifact, not even knowing what its purpose held.
“The Insect Enslavement Bracelet?” Yang Yan raised her brow as she recalled the artifact’s name.
“It’s called the Insect Enslavement Bracelet?” Yang Kai parroted back.
“En, the artifacts the Insect Emperor used were all famous, and needless to say the Soul Splitting Saber and Insect Enslavement Bracelet were the most famous among them!”
“Oh? What use does this thing have then?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested.
“The Insect Enslavement Bracelet has many uses,” Yang Yan lightly smiled, “Not only is this artifact inherently capable of restraining all types of Exotic Insects, even having some suppressive effects on smaller Monster Beasts, but if the insects are raised inside of it, they will all become terrifying. If those insects were to be released, they would have no problem destroying the entire Star Field.”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he asked in amazement, “There are Exotic Insects inside this Insect Enslavement Bracelet?”
Yang Yan giggled, “Where do you think the Insect Emperor kept those little things? Do you think he kept them all inside his body or something? The Insect Enslavement Bracelet is where he keeps all his Exotic Insects. He has several dozen, if not a hundred or so different species of Exotic Ancient Insects, many of which were thought to be extinct. Each of them is ruthless and serve a different purpose. In the past, I suffered greatly thanks to that Insect Enslavement Bracelet.”
The more Yang Kai listened, the brighter his eyes became, as if he had discovered a Heaven defying secret.
“Interested?” Yang Yan teased.
“To be honest, a little,” Yang Kai gradually calmed himself, “But I still think that cultivation should focus on one’s self first. This kind of control and enslavement method can only serve as an auxiliary. If one really spends all their effort on this kind of thing, I’m afraid they’re only sacrificing substance for style.”
Yang Yan shook her head slowly, “The Dao is split into three thousand paths, and insect enslavement one of them. If it were not a legitimate path to tread, the Insect Emperor would never have reached such heights in his day. It can only be said that your way and the Insect Emperor’s are different.”
“Our ways are different…” Yang Kai thoughtfully.
Yang Yan chuckled, “It’s still too early for you to think about such things, you should first break through to the Origin King Realm. After reaching the Origin King Realm, you’ll be able to see more and farther.”
“Above the Origin King Realm, is there an even higher realm?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
“Naturally there is.”
“What about you?” Yang Kai looked at Yang Yan with scorching eyes.
“I exist above that realm!” Yang Yan replied lightly.
Yang Kai fell silent. From the information revealed by Yang Yan just now, it was not difficult for him to infer that there was indeed a higher realm above the Origin King Realm, and another above that as well; Yang Yan apparently belonged to that higher realm.
Before learning this, Yang Kai had not felt anything in particular, but after knowing about it, he felt that he was standing at the bottom of a mountain, looking up at its majestic heights, its peak still shrouded in clouds and mist, making him unable to see the complete scenery in front of him.
The road ahead was endless, the Martial Dao had no peak.
Yang Yan did not speak any more, choosing instead to observe Yang Kai’s reaction. She noticed that he had not become daunted or discouraged, but instead, after a short silence, his expression became relaxed while a burning flame lit in his eyes, showing a deep desire that filled his heart.
Yang Yan pursed her lips and smiled while applauding, “Your mentality is praiseworthy.”
Yang Kai replied bluntly, “I’ve cultivated for several dozen years now, crossing each boundary one step at a time, but even now I have only achieved some small successes. Even if the road ahead is thorny and difficult, I can only use all my might to traverse it so that sooner or later, I can stand at that same height as you and see the world as you see it!”
Yang Yan covered her red lips with her delicate small hand and smiled, “Should I call you a promising young man?”
“It’s up to you!” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and teased, “As long as you aren’t afraid of calling yourself old.”
Yang Yan immediately glared at him.
“By the way, can I use this Insect Enslavement Bracelet now?” Yang Kai asked.
“You better not,” Yang Yan’s expression became solemn, “The Exotic Insects inside the Insect Enslavement Bracelet are extremely fierce. With your current cultivation, even if you released them, you would not be able to command or control them, only resulting in severe backlash. Did you even see the Insect Emperor use that Insect Enslavement Bracelet against you?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “He only used the Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect from beginning to end to control his subordinates or to perform Soul seizing.”
“That’s right, even the Insect Emperor didn’t dare to use it, let alone you. Wait until you reach the Origin King Realm first.”
“I understand!” Yang Kai nodded lightly. In any case, he now had so many methods at his disposal that he did not have much use for the Insect Enslavement Bracelet.
Next, Yang Kai told Yang Yan about Shadowed Soul Island and his speculations about it. Regarding this matter, Yang Yan did not deny anything and told him it was indeed sealed off by her.
However, Yang Yan did not explain why she sealed it or what was hidden inside.
“I can only tell you that inside Shadowed Soul Island is a door! If you really want to open it, you must first gather all the Star Emperor Tokens. Once you do, you’ll naturally understand.”
After leaving Yang Yan’s place, Yang Kai went to Snow and Ice Peak again.
Snow and Ice Peak was one of the eighty-one peaks of High Heaven Sect; one of the seventy-two auxiliary peaks with rich World Energy and beautiful scenery.
What was different though was that below it, was an Ice Attribute Earth Vein, so within a few dozen kilometres of Snow and Ice Peak, the climate was extremely cold regardless of what time of year it was. The temperature here was extremely low and occasionally there was heavy snow falling, blanketing the peak in a silvery-white colour.
This situation became even more obvious after Su Yan moved to Snow and Ice Peak.
Since Su Yan became the owner of Snow and Ice Peak, the cold aura here almost became so strong that it could not be melted. A cultivator with a slightly lower strength could not even get close to Snow and Ice Peak while the stronger ones would need to circulate their Saint Qi to resist the ambient cold.
However, this kind of environment was extremely comfortable for Su Yan.
Few others lived on Snow and Ice Peak, only the original Elders of Ice Sect: Qing Ya, Qian Yue, and Qian Hao.
Yang Kai went straight to the southwest corner of Snow and Ice Peak.
On the ground, there was a thick layer of ice that reflected the shining sun.
In the southwest corner, under a giant tree covered in silvery-white snow, Su Yan sat cross-legged beside the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal with a pair of white Saint Qi wings spread out from her pack, a dignified and sacred look covering her beautiful face. At this moment, Su Yan was forming a series of strange seals with her hands while a metre in front of her, Profound Frost, the sword she obtained from Ice Heart Valley, was suspended mid-air. As Su Yan gently breathed, the Ice Attribute Energy in the atmosphere flowed towards her and poured into her body, causing her white wings to lightly flap.
With Su Yan as the centre, within a thousand-metre radius, there was a peculiar aura permeating the air which seemed able to freeze everything in existence.
It was her Shi. It was close to the grand accomplishment stage!
Just as Yang Kai merged his Space Force with his Shi, Su Yan was merging her comprehension of the Ice Attribute into her Shi. Obviously, she had grasped the initial concept and was integrating her understanding into her Shi.
Waiting quietly for a while, Yang Kai found that Su Yan did not show any intention to end her cultivation.
Yang Kai did not interfere with her, instead just sitting down cross-legged while stretching out his hand and drawing some lines in the air.
These lines were drawn using Yang Kai’s Saint Qi and were arranged into a certain formation that gradually formed a profound and mysterious circular pattern.
After working for a while, Yang Kai frowned slightly, stretched out his hand, brushed away the drawing, and began again from scratch.
The array was something he had learned from Yang Yan just now, and it was the basis for constructing a Space Array. This Spirit Array, coupled with some special materials, a Space Array could be constructed.
However, Yang Kai had never even dabbled in Spirit Arrays before.
Thankfully, he possessed an advantage no one else did, he was proficient in the Dao of Space, so now, his biggest problem was becoming proficient in depicting the Space Array itself. Fortunately, he had received careful guidance from Yang Yan, a Grandmaster in this particular field.
Time passed slowly, and Yang Kai completely forgot everything else around him, his expression becoming more and more focused.
Yang Kai lost track of how many arrays he portrayed, but eventually, he created one that he was satisfied with and began pouring his Space Force into it with a thought.
With a light hum, the circular array released a brilliant light and began to slowly revolve.
An obvious trace of Space Force fluctuations began the pulse from the array as well!
Yang Kai grinned happily seeing this.
Sure enough, after mastering the Dao of Space, studying this kind of Spirit Array yielded twice the results with half the effort. If it had been some other kind of Spirit Array, even if Yang Kai studied diligently, he may not have been able to properly portray it in such a short time.
After mastering this foundation, what was left was to use the appropriate materials to build a physical platform into which he would engrave this Spirit Array in two separate locations, and he would have successfully created two Space Arrays that were connected to each other.
Yang Kai exhaled lightly in satisfaction.
“Is this a Space Array?” Su Yan’s voice suddenly came from the side.
Yang Kai looked up and found that she had at some point finished her cultivation and was now standing quietly beside him, staring at the shining, rotating circle in front of them as she asked softly.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, stretched out his hand to pull Su Yan into his arms, and asked softly, “How is your cultivation?”
“Fortunately, I was able to cultivate my Shi to the grand accomplishment stage,” Su Yan leaned on Yang Kai with a satisfied look on her face, breathing lightly as she spoke, “It was all thanks to the Domain Stones Junior Brother gave me. Without them, it would have been impossible for me to make such rapid progress.”
“I have lots of Domain Stones left, so you don’t need to conserve them when you use them,” Yang Kai smiled softly, feeling relaxed both physically and mentally.
“En, coming to visit me so suddenly, is there something wrong?”
“No, it’s just been a long time since we’ve been together, so I came to see you,” Yang Kai smiled happily.
Su Yan nodded slightly before turning her gaze towards the clouds in the sky, her eyes narrowing slightly as she adjusted her soft body in Yang Kai’s arms to assume a more comfortable posture.
Yang Kai embraced her and did not speak again, simply staring up towards the Heavens together with her.
Under the giant silver tree, the snow gently fell as everything went quiet, the scene appearing quite poetic and picturesque.
In the distance, Qing Ya seemed to come to see Su Yan, but before she got close, she noticed the warm scene up ahead, smiled lightly, quietly turned around, and left.
…..
Half a month later, the Limitless Ocean, Sea Temple’s headquarters, Black Reef Island.
Black Reef Island was one of the three largest islands on the Limitless Ocean, and it possessed a rich World Energy aura, which was why Sea Temple had chosen to establish its headquarters here.
As the headquarters of a powerful Sect, it was naturally heavily guarded. Around the island, patrols of cultivators flew about while at its edges there were Sea Temple disciples constantly keeping watching.
Yang Kai flew over leisurely and landed on the outskirts of Black Reef Island.
Immediately, a group of Sea Temple disciples surrounded him, with their leader staring at him with an unkind look as he shouted, “Who goes there!? Report your name!”
Having just arrived here as a prospective guest, Yang Kai didn’t want to cause trouble, so he cupped his fists and said, “High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master Yang Kai. I’ve come to see Senior Sha about an agreement we previously made. Please inform Senior Sha of my arrival.”
“High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master?”
“Come to see Martial Ancestor Sha?”
The cultivators of this team immediately began whispering amongst themselves, with their leader giving Yang Kai a careful once over, as if trying to see if he was lying, even releasing his Divine Sense to try to probe him.
However, no matter how he tried, he was unable to grasp Yang Kai’s depths, this man was unable to detect anything and immediately understood that Yang Kai was a master far beyond him. Involuntarily putting on a serious look, after a moment of pondering, he replied, “Since you know that Martial Uncle Sha is here, it seems you are indeed familiar with him, but it has not been long since Martial Uncle Sha has returned to Sea Temple and he is quite busy, so whether you can see him or not will be up to him to decide.”
“That’s fine, I’ll wait here,” Yang Kai replied lightly.
The lead cultivator nodded before instructing the other cultivators on his patrol team to entertain Yang Kai while he took out a communication artifact and poured his Divine Sense into it.
A moment later, the communication artifact in the leader’s hand pulsed and after quickly checking it, the lead cultivator turned a strange expression to Yang Kai and said, “Please wait here for a moment, someone will come to see you.”
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly but still calmly nodded, “Good!”
He subconsciously felt that this trip might not go smoothly, and that the one coming to see him might not be Sha Hu!
After all, based on his friendship with Sha Hu, if the latter knew he had come, how could he make him wait here? Sha Hu would certainly have already ordered these people to welcome him warmly.
Inside Sea Temple, there seemed to be some turbulent undercurrents! Yang Kai thought to himself, but this had nothing to do with him. He was only here to complete the agreement he made with Sha Hu so he could begin trading inland materials for ocean materials. This was all for the future development of High Heaven Sect and was of great importance.
Things really proceeded as Yang Kai expected, and after waiting for less than a quarter of an hour, he noticed that a group of Origin Returning Realm masters flying over, but none of them was Sha Hu.
Soon, this group of people appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes.
The leader of this newly arrived group was a powerful cultivator at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm. It was an old man with a dark tanned complexion. After lightly landing a dozen or so metres in front of Yang Kai, this old man swept his eyes over Yang Kai a few times before casually cupping his fists and saying, “Dare I ask, is Your Excellency really High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master?”
“Yes, I am. You are…” Yang Kai cupped his fists in return.
“This old master is Sea Temple’s Third Temple Master, Qi Yun Hai!” The old man said lightly.
“So it is Temple Master Qi!” Yang Kai raised his brows. Although he did not have many dealings with Sea Temple, he still knew that it had three Temple Masters. This Qi Yun Hai was obviously one of them.
“I heard that Sect Master Yang is here to see my Sea Temple’s Martial Uncle Sha?”
“Exactly, this Yang made an agreement with Senior Sha, is Senior Sha…”
“Martial Uncle has been missing for more than three hundred years and has only just returned to Sea Temple, so he is exhausted both physically and mentally and is currently recuperating. I am afraid he cannot see Sect Master Yang at this time,” Qi Yun Hai cut in and stated calmly. “Sect Master Yang is a guest from afar, so if you don’t mind, why not stay here and rest for a while? Although this old master lives here on the Limitless Ocean, he has still heard Sect Master Yang’s and High Heaven Sect’s resounding names but has unfortunately never had the chance to meet him. I hope Sect Master Yang can spare some time here at my Sea Temple.”
Although he spoke with enthusiasm, Qi Yun Hai’s tone was neither warm nor cold, so obviously he was just being perfunctory and not really inviting Yang Kai in to sit down.
Yang Kai looked back at Qi Yun Hai and said with a smile that was not quite a smile, “This is strange, when I separated from Old Sha half a month ago, he was hale and hearty, but now, he is suddenly exhausted both physically and mentally? I also had an agreement with him to meet at this time, so this Sect Master came to fulfil the said agreement. Dare I ask Temple Master Qi, is Old Sha not being able to meet with me his own intention?”
Qi Yun Hai’s cloudy eyes flashed and did not answer directly, instead asking in a threatening tone, “What is Sect Master Yang trying to imply?”
“Nothing,” Yang Kai snickered. “The agreement between me and Old Sha is not only of great benefit to my High Heaven Sect, but also of great benefit to your Sea Temple, but it seems that even with such benefits in front of you, your Sect wants to refuse. Since that is the case, this Sect Master has no need to accompany you any longer. On the Limitless Ocean, you are not the only great force!”
“You dare to collude with the Sea Clan?” Qi Yun Hai thought for a moment before his face changed drastically.
“Collude?” Yang Kai sneered, “Don’t try to tarnish this Sect Master’s reputation with your baseless rhetoric. Farewell!”
Yang Kai had a stomach full of grievances. Last time, on Sunrise Island, Pang Zhen had sent a message back to Sea Temple’s headquarters quickly, but Yang Kai had been forced to wait for many days without any kind of response. That was one thing, but now that he had come personally, Sea Temple still chose to shut him out, even sending the Third Temple Master forward to show Sea Temple’s intentions.
Since Sea Temple was unwilling to do business with High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai did not plan to beg them.
“You dare collude with the Sea Clan and still want to leave? Boy, if you don’t explain yourself clearly, don’t even dream of leaving Black Reef Island today!” A forceful voice boomed from nearby and a middle-aged man with an imposing appearance flew over and landed next to Qi Yun Ha while glaring at Yang Kai coldly.
Before Yang Kai could even say anything though, another voice boomed from inside Black Reef Island, “Bold! Yang Kai is this old master’s guest, who dares treat him impolitely?”
Hearing this voice, Yang Kai grinned and the unhappiness in his heart dissipated greatly; after all, he had not misread Sha Hu who had immediately come forward to defend him after noticing his arrival.
However, the situation right now was a bit more complicated than Yang Kai had anticipated.
Yang Kai had no intention to insert himself into other people’s affairs and simply stood waiting quietly, wanting to hear what Sha Hu had to say.
Soon, Sha Hu arrived and landed next to Yang Kai, a clear look of anger filling his face as he glared viciously at Qi Yun Hai and a middle-aged man.
Qi Yun Hai seemed to not dare meet eyes with Sha Hu and looked away, but the sturdy middle-aged man showed no fear and glared back at Sha Hu without flinching.