Sha Hu and the imposing middle-aged man’s gazes collided, and sparks seemed to fly, causing all the people from Sea Temple to not dare breath loudly, all of them standing aside in fear.
After a long time, Sha Hu sighed and the aggression in his eyes faded as he spoke to this middle-aged man despondently, “Huai An, Yang Kai is this old master’s guest, so he will entertain him himself, you and everyone else can withdraw!”
Hearing how Sha Hu addressed this middle-aged man, Yang Kai immediately understood who the latter was.
Sea Temple’s First Temple Master, Jiang Huai An!
Yang Kai had also heard Jiang Huai An’s name before. When he participated in Heavenly Fate City’s auction for the first time, this Jiang Huai An had used an incredible sum of money to buy one of the Origin Grade Low-Rank Origin Condensing Pills he had sold.
Yang Kai heard from Wei Gu Chang later that Jiang Huai An had bought this Origin Condensing Pill for his son.
However, this was Yang Kai’s first time meeting him.
Yang Kai casually examined this Sea Temple’s First Temple Master and found that Jiang Huai An had reached the peak of the Origin Returning Realm and his aura was a bit denser than Qian Tong when the latter was still at the same level. It seemed this man was qualified to be named Sea Temple’s First Temple Master.
Moreover… this man’s courage obviously was not small. Yang Kai did not know what kind of conflict there was between Jiang Huai An and Sha Hu, but it was obvious their relationship wasn’t very harmonious.
Jiang Huai An smiled and said, “Martial Uncle Sha’s words are somewhat improper. Although this Sect Master Yang may be your guest, he seems to want to collude with the Sea Clan, so Martial Uncle will have to forgive Martial Nephew for not being able to stand idly by. Martial Uncle should also understand the deep grievances between the Sea Clan and my Sea Temple. Every year, many of my Sea Temple’s disciples die tragic deaths at the hands of the Sea Clan, especially those from Sea God Palace. Saying Sea God Palace is my Sea Temple’s greatest enemy would not be an exaggeration. Martial Uncle, since you know this person, it would be best if you removed yourself from this situation and allowed Martial Nephew to process it properly. Once Martial Nephew is finished, he will give you a satisfactory explanation.”
Yang Kai raised his brow as he faintly realized that he seemed to be caught up in some kind of internal power struggle between Jiang Huai An and Sha Hu.
[It looks like every family has its own share of troubles] Yang Kai sighed secretly.
“Huai An, do you really insist on acting this way?” Sha Hu’s face became gloomy, not showing any intention of backing down.
“Martial Nephew is acting in Sea Temple’s best interest!” Jiang Huai An replied bluntly, showing neither evasiveness nor guilt, “Please forgive me, Martial Uncle!”
Sha Hu stared at Jiang Huai An unkindly, and there were even faint signs of him condensing his Saint Qi, as if preparing to attack. Perceiving this, Jiang Huai An actually showed no fear. Rather, an eager light flashed across his eyes, as if hoping Sha Hu would indeed act.
“Old Sha, what’s going on here?” Yang Kai asked in confusion.
Sha Hu turned his head and glanced at him before sighing and saying, “This old master is ashamed. Because he showed too much compassion, he has involved you in this mess.”
“Old Sha is too serious,” Yang Kai chuckled. “It’s just that all of this has left me a little baffled.”
“Just wait a moment while this old master settles this matter. I will speak to you after!” Sha Hu said.
“Sure!” Yang Kai nodded, putting on a posture of a bystander as he smiled lightly.
Sha Hu turned his gaze to Jiang Huai An and said with a heavy tone, “Huai An, many years ago, you were one of greatest geniuses of my Sea Temple, but you were too narrow-minded at the time. This old master had thought that after so many years had passed and you inherited the position of First Temple Master, standing higher and seeing further, your attitude would change, but you’ve greatly disappointed this old master. It seems that no matter how high you climb, or how deep the cultivation becomes, Jiang Huai An will always be the same Jiang Huai An from back then, nothing will change!”
After being defamed so blatantly by Sha Hu in front of so many of Sea Temple’s masters, Jiang Huai An obviously became somewhat annoyed and snapped, “Martial Uncle need not concern himself with how Martial Nephew handles his duties.”
Sha Hu slowly shook his head, “A man’s position may change, but his nature does not! This old master has been missing for three hundred years and was only able to return to Sea Temple thanks to Sect Master Yang’s assistance. After returning home, this old master brought with him an opportunity for Sea Temple to develop and grow, thinking he could contribute something to make up for all the years he failed to attend to the Sect, but now it seems that you, the first of Sea Temple’s three Temple Masters, believes this old master wants to use this as an opening to seize the position of First Temple Master. Nonsense! To be perfectly blunt, this old master could not care less about being a Temple Master of Sea Temple!”
Jiang Huai An’s brow twitched slightly as he stared at Sha Hu, as if trying to see whether he was telling the truth or lies.
Yang Kai, standing at the side, however, showed a look of understanding, finally comprehending what this situation was all about.
Obviously, Jiang Huai An was being overly suspicious and pessimistic, thinking that Sha Hu’s return was a threat to his status, so he was making things difficult here in an attempt to suppress Sha Hu.
As for colluding with the Sea Clan, it was just a convenient excuse. Even without this excuse, Sea Temple would have found some other reason to refuse Yang Kai’s proposal. It could only be said that Yang Kai had inadvertently stepped into a power struggle and was now being regarded as a type of bargaining chip.
Sha Hu obviously did not want to fight for power with Jiang Huai An. After living three hundred years on Shadowed Soul Island, Sha Hu had clearly moved beyond caring about status and fortune and was now solely focused on pursuing greater heights in the Martial Dao.
However, Jiang Huai An was now Sea Temple’s First Temple Master, so no matter how unhappy Sha Hu was with his attitude, he could not bring himself to take decisive action against him.
This was why Sha Hu had said this was all a result of too much compassion on his part.
Now that Jiang Huai An had come forward to threaten Yang Kai though, Sha Hu could no longer endure patiently and was forced to come forward.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s mind like sparks, allowing him to grasp the situation before him in short order.
“This old master will give you one last chance! Apologize to Sect Master Yang and I will act as if this never happened. From now on, you will remain the First Temple Master of Sea Temple while this old master can leave and never return!” Sha Hu looked at Jiang Huai An coldly and stated bluntly.
The latter’s brow furrowed as anger clearly flashed across his eyes.
Sha Hu relying on his age and status to talk down to him in such a commanding tone naturally made Jiang Huai An very unhappy. If he did as Sha Hu said and apologized to Yang Kai here, Jiang Huai An would lose all face as the First Temple Master; everyone would simply assume from now on that he was a puppet that Sha Hu arranged to show the public while he ruled from behind.
This was intolerable to Jiang Huai An.
“Martial Uncle, you are the most senior master in Sea Temple and Martial Nephew has always respected you, but today you have disappointed Martial Nephew greatly. As one of my Sea Temple’s Grand Elders, not only do you ignore Sea Temple’s position, you even demand this Temple Master apologize to an outsider. Martial Uncle, this Temple Master will also give you one last chance to leave and not participate in this matter. Do so, and Martial Nephew promises to continue respecting you as his Senior in the future, otherwise, don’t blame Martial Nephew for not showing due courtesy.”
“It looks like there’s nothing more to say,” Sha Hu sighed sadly.
He also did not expect that he would encounter such a farcical situation so soon after his long-awaited return to Sea Temple. If he had known this before, he would have simply chosen to remain on Shadowed Soul Island until he calmly died of old age.
“Martial Uncle, are you determined to fight against this Temple Master and against Sea Temple?” Jiang Huai An narrowed his eyes at Sha Hu while levelling some outlandish slander.
Sha Hu remained silent; his expression simply sorrowful.
“Since that’s the case, Martial Nephew won’t act polite!” Jiang Huai An suddenly yelled, “Start the array!”
As soon as these words fell, all Black Reef Island suddenly buzzed and trembled, and in the next moment, a bright light curtain shrouded the entire island and the sea within a hundred kilometres of the shore began to tumble and surge.
An incredibly rich Water Attribute aura gathered towards Black Reef Island rapidly as numerous strange beasts and weapons composed entirely of Water Attribute Energy quickly began to form densely.
A ruinous pressure erupted at the same time!
Sha Hu’s face changed drastically as he exclaimed, “The Blue Roaring Tidal Array! So, you were planning all along to embarrass this old master with this array?”
Jiang Huai An smiled and said, “Martial Uncle must be joking, this Spirit Array is not aimed at Martial Uncle; after all, you are still a member of my Sea Temple.”
Having said so, Jiang Huai An turned to look at Yang Kai.
“Rather than coping with Old Sha, you intend to use this to deal with me?” Yang Kai pointed to his own nose nonchalantly.
Jiang Huai An smiled coldly, “I’ve heard that Sect Master Yang is so powerful that even the leaders of Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and Star Emperor Mountain cannot compare, so this Temple Master naturally must take some precautions!”
“Temple Master Jiang is too polite, it’s all just a little undue praise which was spread out by others.”
“Hmph! Sect Master Yang is the Sect Master of High Heaven Sect and should have kept his nose out of my Sea Temple’s affairs, but since you dare collude with the Sea Clan, that makes you an enemy of my Sea Temple! Sect Master Yang, surrender without a fight!” Jiang Huai An looked at Yang Kai proudly, as if he was completely confident that Yang Kai could not resist in the face of this Blue Roaring Tidal Array.
“Yang Kai, leave now!” Sha Hu suddenly shouted, “The Blue Roaring Tidal Array is my Sea Temple’s Sect Defending Array and can draw power from the surrounding rich Water Attribute aura. Once activated, it’s might is infinite and none below the Origin King Realm can break it! However, with your ability, it should not be difficult for you to leave. You go first, this old master will buy you some time!”
“As expected of Martial Uncle, your understanding of my Sea Temple’s Sect Defending Array is quite profound, but should Martial Uncle really be explaining these secrets to an outsider?” Jiang Huai An sneered at Sha Hu.
“Dissolute! This old master has already said that he has no intention of competing with you, why must you act so short-sighted? If you continue acting this way, sooner or later, Sea Temple will decline in your hands. For the sake of the ancestors, this old master does not want to fight with you.”
“Old Sha, stay calm!” Yang Kai gently patted Sha Hu’s shoulder, looking completely calm and relaxed.
“You… you!” Sha Hu stomped his feet in annoyance, “Once this Spirit Array is activated, the longer you wait, the more power it accumulates and the stronger its power becomes, if you continue to hesitate, even you won’t be able to escape.”
“Why should I escape?” Yang Kai chuckled, “It’s just a mere Spirit Array.”
“A wha…?” Sha Hu’s jaw went slack hearing Yang Kai’s nonchalant evaluation of the Blue Roaring Tidal Array. However, seeing Yang Kai’s extremely indifferent expression, Sha Hu’s furrowed brow relaxed, and he thoughtfully said, “Since you have such confidence, this old master won’t waste his breath, just be careful.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded before his expression turned a little sullen, “Suddenly being treated as a bargaining chip makes this Sect Master very unhappy. Old Sha, does it matter if I kill this Jiang Huai An?”
Sha Hu heard this and sighed, “Keep him alive, this old master will deal with it himself!”
“As you wish!”
“You want to kill me? Let’s see if you have the ability!” Jiang Huai An glared angrily at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s calmness made him extremely annoyed and also gave him an unsettling feeling. He didn’t know whether Yang Kai really had something to rely on that allowed him to not fear the Blue Roaring Tidal Array; after all, there were too many rumours about Yang Kai and how he was a master that greatly surpassed the pinnacle of the Origin Returning Realm.
[However, no matter how tyrannical his personal strength is, this man could not be stronger than our grand Spirit Array, right?] Thinking so, Jiang Huai An’s anxiety calmed greatly and he stared at Yang Kai coldly, his expression filled with disdain.
As time passed, the power of the Blue Roaring Tidal Array became stronger and stronger, feeding on the abundant Water Attribute Energy in the surroundings, condensing more and more beasts and weapons within its range.
The pressure coming from this array made even Sha Hu pale slightly.
Yang Kai still did not show any intention of moving though, simply standing in place and seemingly appreciating the power of this Blue Roaring Tidal Array.
After a half cup of tea’s time, the power of the Blue Roaring Tidal Array has been raised to its peak.
The sounds of crashing waves grew ever louder, making everyone present feel somewhat uneasy as they looked up into the sky which was filled with countless beasts and weapons that seemed to be just waiting to pounce and rip Yang Kai into ten thousand pieces.
Jiang Huai An’s face now showed a completely relaxed expression as he knew that now, even if Yang Kai had astonishing ability, he couldn’t escape from the Blue Roaring Tidal Array.
This massive Sect Defending Array had been arranged and enhanced by countless masters over Sea Temple’s history and had never failed to shelter the Sect from danger in the past.
“Sect Master Yang, considering you are a guest of Martial Uncle Sha, surrender without a fight and this Temple Master can consider showing mercy, what do you say?” Jiang Huai An looked at Yang Kai lightly and snorted.
“I refuse!” Yang Kai shook his head, looking at Jiang Huai An with a smile, “I came here with sincerity, but never expected to be treated like this. Honestly, your Sea Temple annoys this Sect Master and if it were not for Old Sha here, this Sect Master would wipe away your Sea Temple from Shadowed Star, but since Sea Temple is Old Sha’s Sect, I will spare you from that fate.”
“You think you alone can remove my Sea Temple from Shadowed Star? Who gave you the gall?” Jiang Huai An roared, “You think you have such ability?”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and simply stared towards Jiang Huai An lightly before casually speaking a single word.
“Break!”
As soon as this word was spoken, the Blue Roaring Tidal Array which had already reached the apex of its strength, with countless strange beasts and floating weapons surrounding Yang Kai, suddenly released a popping noise and burst apart.
Even the bright light curtain covering Black Reef Island suddenly cracked and shattered.
The Sect Defending Array of Sea Temple was instantly broken!
It was as if Yang Kai’s words carried some supreme power that commanded even the world itself to obey him.
Sha Hu was dumbfounded, completely shocked to his core as he stared towards Yang Kai in utter disbelief, as if he did not know the man in front of him now.
Jiang Huai An also stood dumbfounded on the spot, staring at Yang Kai, then sweeping his eyes around his surroundings, unable to believe that the Blue Roaring Tidal Array had really been broken by a single word.
Third Temple Master Qi Yun Hai was even more stunned, his body trembling slightly.
The remaining Sea Temple masters also cried out in disbelief.
“What happened?” After a while, Jiang Huai An finally reacted and yelled at Qi Yun Hai, “What happened to the disciples managing the array? Why did they stop it?”
He obviously thought that the failure of the Blue Roaring Tidal Array was because the disciples had stopped operating it, not because of something Yang Kai had done.
Qi Yun Hai quickly took out a communication artifact, poured his Divine Sense into it, and contacted the disciples in charge of managing the Blue Roaring Tidal Array. A moment later, he hurriedly said, “First Temple Master, the disciples have not stopped the Spirit Array, but for some reason, it has simply ceased functioning.”
“How can this be?” Jiang Huai An’s eyes trembled as he stared at Yang Kai in horror.
Yang Kai grinned, “Don’t waste your time, the World Energy within a hundred thousand kilometres of this place is now under my control. Without my consent, your prided Spirit Array is nothing but a fancy decoration.”
“Nonsense!” Jiang Huai An screamed, “Even if you are an Origin King, it would be impossible to control the World Energy across such a wide area. Do you think this Temple Master is a fool?”
Yang Kai simply chuckled before lifting his hand up slowly.
Although his movements were not fast, quite slow in fact, as Yang Kai lifted his hand, the sea around Black Reef Island began to boil fiercely with massive bubbles continuously rising to its surface.
Massive vortices began forming around Black Reef Island one after another.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
Thick water columns then burst forth from these vortices, each one several dozen metres thick, soaring straight up into the sky, even bursting through the clouds above.
The entire world seemed to tremble, causing everyone’s footing to become unstable.
The sea level around Black Reef Island seemed to drop slightly as this happened.
The water columns which rushed up into the sky abruptly transformed into a series of azure water dragons, each one with vivid and realistic features, even their bodies forming thick blue dragon scales.
In the blink of an eye, around Black Reef Island, hundreds of water dragons formed purely from the convergence of seawater had appeared. In the next instant, all these water dragons rushed towards Black Reef Island, only pausing when they came to within a few dozen metres of its shores, their eyes all gazing down at the people before them imposingly.
Black Reef Island was instantly surrounded by hundreds of water dragons, each thousands of metres long, dozens of metres thick, and radiating an astonishing destructive pressure.
It was not difficult to imagine that Black Reef Island would quickly be destroyed if these hundreds of water dragons rushed forward.
Yang Kai, who was the culprit behind all of this, had only just lifted his arm slightly, not showing any signs of using his Saint Qi or any other kind of strength at all.
On Black Reef Island, panicked cries rang out constantly. Suddenly being surrounded by so many water dragons, the disciples of Sea Temple were naturally terrified. They did not know what was happening, but under the terrifying pressure, many fell to the ground or scrambled to escape chaotically.
Jiang Huai An could no longer restrain the panic in his heart as he trembled violently, looking at Yang Kai as if he was some kind of monster, unable to understand how he had managed to accomplish this.
No one dared doubt whether Yang Kai had the ability to remove Sea Temple from Shadowed Star anymore, as proof was now on display before them.
“Impossible! This Temple Master will never believe this, it must be some kind of illusion!” Jiang Huai An still seemed unwilling to give up and quickly came up with a rationalization for this situation, turning to Yang Kai and shouting, “It turns out that Sect Master Yang has cultivated a profound Illusion Technique, this Temple Master was almost fooled by you.”
“Stubborn fool!” Yang Kai coldly snorted before with a single thought he sent one of the water dragons towards Jiang Huai An.
Midair, the huge water dragon distorted and transformed into a water spear only ten metres long as it stabbed towards Jiang Huai An.
Jiang Huai An roared as he pushed his Saint Qi madly, stretching out his hands and executing some kind of Secret Technique that formed a kind of shield in front of him.
His efforts were in vain, however, and the water spear instantly pierced through the shield without stagnating in the slightest.
Jiang Huai An was shocked as he was forced to realize that everything in front of him was not an illusion, but real.
By the time he came to this understanding, it was too late for him to dodge.
The water arrow pierced through Jiang Huai An’s body, causing a great splash of blood as it shot out his back.
Jiang Huai An’s eyes widened as he collapsed backwards.
However, because of Sha Hu’s previous plea, Yang Kai did not kill him. Even so, this blow had taken most of Jiang Huai An’s remaining life, and if he weren’t given immediate treatment, his cultivation would definitely drop significantly.
“With a single word, the world obeys, with a single thought, mountains are flattened and seas are boiled… Yang Kai, have you refined Shadowed Star’s Source?” Sha Hu asked with a trembling voice, an amazed light flashing across his eyes.
“What?” Qi Yun Hai’s face changed drastically as he stared at Yang Kai in utter shock.
Refining the Star Source was something that only existed in legends. Once a cultivator refined a Star Source, they would become the Star Master of that Cultivation Star and become capable of controlling everything on it at will.
Qi Yun Hai was subconsciously unwilling to believe something so unthinkable was real, because it was said that if one wanted to refine a Star Source, it was necessary to be a Third-Order Origin King first!
There were, of course, rumours that Second-Order Origin Kings with great luck were able to refine Star Sources and became Star Masters.
However, even that was too distant a concept, especially for the cultivators of Shadowed Star.
Yang Kai was a trivial Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, so how could he have possibly refined the Star Source?
But if this were not the case, how else could the scene here be explained?
Even an ordinary Origin King may not be able to display such might, right? Only a Star Master who commanded the forces of nature themselves on a Cultivation Star and could dominate its World Energy as he pleased could condense the oceans themselves into water dragons!
“Old Sha’s eyes are quite sharp, I was indeed fortunate enough to have such an opportunity,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, not attempting to deny it.
Qi Yun Hai could not help groaning in his heart.
He suddenly discovered that he had done something with Jiang Huai An that he would regret for the rest of his life.
Was there anything more foolish than trying to plot against Shadowed Star’s Star Master on Shadowed Star?
“As I thought!” Old Sha sighed softly and shook his head ruefully, “Such foolishness!”
He was obviously blaming Jiang Huai An for his short-sightedness. Originally, his friendship with Yang Kai was quite good, but after this incident, Yang Kai’s impression of Sea Temple would definitely be poor, and this would have a dramatically negative influence on the future development of Sea Temple.
Somewhere on Black Reef Island.
Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed, maintaining a state of mental tranquillity.
The light sound of footsteps rang out nearby, causing Yang Kai to open his eyes and see Sea Temple’s Third Temple Master Qi Yun Hai along with a small group of others.
Facing Yang Kai’s gaze, Qi Yun Hai quickly lowered his head, putting on a respectful look.
After learning that Yang Kai was the Star Master of Shadowed Star, Qi Yun Hai had not dared act presumptuous anymore. Although his cultivation was the same as Yang Kai’s, the latter was a genuine Star Master. Even if there were a thousand Qi Yun Hai’s, they would not be Yang Kai’s opponent.
Immediately, Qi Yun Hai professed wrongs and swore he had been enlightened, apologizing profusely for his mistakes.
Jiang Huai An had been crippled by Yang Kai, and the position of First Temple Master was vacant, so although Sha Hu was dissatisfied with Qi Yun Hai coveting life while fearing death, he had to compromise for Sea Temple’s sake and did not try to embarrass him further, even going so far as to ask Yang Kai to spare Qi Yun Hai’s life.
“Sect Master Yang, I’ve brought the people and materials you requested,” Qi Yun Hai stopped five metres away from Yang Kai and stood still while reporting respectfully.
Yang Kai raised his eyes and looked at the six people behind Qi Yun Hai, nodding lightly before stretching out his hand and saying, “Give them to me.”
“Yes!” Qi Yun Hai stepped forward and handed a Space Ring to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai swept the contents of this ring with his Divine Sense and upon confirming that everything he had requested was inside, he nodded, “Good, you may leave. Tell Old Sha that the Space Array here will take about seven or eight days to complete and that he need not worry about it. He can focus on settling the internal affairs of Sea Temple first.”
With Jiang Huai An being crippled, there were inevitably some turbulences in Sea Temple, so although Sha Hu had no intention of getting involved with such mundane matters, only he could assume command at this moment and was therefore quite busy.
“Many thanks for your consideration, Sect Master Yang, I will definitely bring Martial Uncle Sha your message.”
“En.”
Qi Yun Hai quickly left, seemingly not daring to remain near Yang Kai for a long time.
After he left though, Yang Kai looked at the remaining six cultivators. Among these six, there were males and females, old and young. What was unusual was that those who were old seemed to be very old, while those who were young were very young, possibly below twenty years old. These six also weren’t strong, the fiercest among them only a First-Order Origin Realm cultivator while the weakest was only a Third-Order Saint.
While Yang Kai observed these six, these six were also observing Yang Kai, their eyes filled with curiosity.
After all, this young man in front of them rumoured to be the Star Master of Shadowed Star! In other words, he was the lord of the Cultivation Star they lived on.
Before bringing them here, Qi Yun Hai had also specifically warned them to absolutely obey Yang Kai and to follow any instructions he gave them. If they were to offend Yang Kai in any way, they would suffer severe punishment under the Sect’s Laws.
“You are the best Array Masters in Sea Temple?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Among the six, an old man stepped forward, cupped his fists, and replied, “Reporting to Sect Master Yang, we six are indeed the most talented Array Masters in Sea Temple.”
“Good,” Yang Kai gently nodded, “Before Qi Yun Hai brought you here, he should have told you the reason, yes?”
“Third Temple Master said that we would be assisting Sect Master Yang in refining a Space Array to connect my Sea Temple and High Heaven Sect in order to facilitate an exchange of cultivation materials between our two forces,” The old man replied again.
“En. Since you understand, I won’t bother with any nonsense. In terms of materials, your Sea Temple has provided everything necessary and all that’s left is to refine them into an Array Base and then engrave the appropriate Spirit Array. I believe this shouldn’t be a difficult task for you.”
The old man seemed to realize that Yang Kai was not the domineering and wicked person he had imagined, and instead actually possessed a friendly attitude, allowing him to relax significantly. Proudly nodding his head, the old man replied, “As long as we are provided with the appropriate refining method, we six will definitely not disappoint Sect Master Yang. “
“Great!” Yang Kai smiled lightly as he beckoned the six people over and began explaining to them what kind of materials should be smelted together as well as the general shape the finished products needed to be refined into.
These six people had extremely high accomplishments in arranging Spirit Arrays, far better than Yang Kai’s at least, so after only a brief explanation, they had comprehended what they needed to do.
Next, Yang Kai took out the materials prepared by Sea Temple one by one, divided them into categories, and gave them to his six assistants to begin the refinement process.
The layout of a Space Array was extremely complicated, but before coming here, Yang Kai had already arranged one outside High Heaven Sect, so he had some familiarity with the process now.
Yang Kai did most of the primary work himself and had only asked Qi Yun Hai to bring these six people over in order to save him some time on the more menial tasks.
Yang Kai was not worried about what these six learned during this period, as the most fundamental Spirit Array of this Space Array was still exclusively held onto by him. As long as this array wasn’t leaked out, even if these six tried to arrange a Space Array of their own, it wouldn’t work.
In this remote clearing on Black Reef Island, seven people worked quietly.
Five days later, a Space Array with a ten-metre radius had been fully arranged.
Just looking at it, one could tell that this Space Array was not the same as the ones which were seen in major cities. It appeared much plainer and was essentially just a large circular platform.
The biggest difference, appearance-wise, was its significantly larger size.
This Space Array was designed to span a distance of several million kilometres and could accommodate up to fifty people at once.
This was incomparable to the Space Arrays currently on Shadowed Star.
With the basic structure now set up, Yang Kai now needed to engrave the actual Spirit Array himself. The six Array Masters of Sea Temple did not leave, however, and instead stood quietly to the side, paying close attention to Yang Kai’s movements.
Unfortunately, no matter how they looked, they were unable to glean any useful information.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense shuttled back and forth inside the array base, rapidly portraying a series of mysterious and complicated patterns and runes which gradually formed the Space Array’s Spirit Array.
With his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy, it was easy for Yang Kai to leave precise markings on the already refined materials.
The entire process went incredibly smoothly, and Yang Kai was finished after only half an hour.
After checking it carefully, Yang Kai smiled upon confirming that there were no errors in the Spirit Array. Pouring his Space Force into the Space Array, Yang Kai activated it and established a connection with the Space Array he had arranged outside High Heaven Sect.
“Is it completed?” The old man asked hesitantly.
“Basically, as long as you insert enough Saint Crystals to power it, it should function properly,” Yang Kai nodded and replied.
The six people all gasped as they stared at Yang Kai in admiration.
A new Space Array! It had only taken five days to arrange such a massive Space Array! If they were to tell their peers about this matter, none would believe them.
On Shadowed Star, the method to arrange Space Arrays had long been lost while all the existing Space Arrays were relics from ancient times. The most the current cultivators could do was make some simple repairs, but they couldn’t arrange a new one.
Moreover, even in ancient times, when that layout method was still known, spending such a short time to arrange such a Space Array was certainly unheard of.
The ancient records of great Sects said that the arrangement of a Space Array was a laborious task that cost a massive amount of time and resources to complete.
It would already be a great accomplishment to complete a functional Space Array within a few years.
But now, they had arranged one in just five days!
The six Array Masters exchanged looks of disbelief amongst themselves as each of them felt a sense of excitement and glory in their hearts; after all, they had contributed to the arrangement of this Space Array.
“Sect Master Yang, is it possible for this old master to try it?” The old man rubbed his hands excitedly and asked.
Although being the first person to use this new Space Array did not have any substantial benefits to it, to him, it was a matter of honour.
“Wait a moment,” Yang Kai chuckled before taking out some strange materials from his Space Ring and quickly smelting them together.
Under his intense Saint Qi, the impurities in these materials were rapidly removed and the useful metals were gradually amalgamated and shaped.
The six people did not know what Yang Kai was doing but they all waited patiently in anticipation.
Soon, a small token appeared in Yang Kai’s hand. This token was unremarkable and dull in colour, not even giving off any energy fluctuations. The only distinctive feature was the ‘High’ character engraved on it.
This character had a certain charm to it, that evoked images of soaring dragons and phoenixes.
Yang Kai refined six such tokens in total and tossed one to each of the six waiting Array Masters.
Each of the six people caught their respective token and examined it carefully.
The old man seemed to think of something and wore a look of excitement on his face as he hastily asked, “Sect Master Yang, dare I ask, is this…”
He was misunderstanding something, however, thinking that Yang Kai had given them something precious.
“These are Transmission Tokens. Without a Transmission Token, the only result of activating this Space Array will be exile to The Void, never to return!” Yang Kai explained lightly.
The expressions of the six people changed greatly, only now understanding the purpose of these six tokens especially refined by Yang Kai.
The old man quickly composed himself as he realized the importance of these tokens and cupped his fists, “Sect Master Yang is quite meticulous, this old master is impressed. With these tokens, the risk of a large number of cultivators suddenly being able to invade either of our two forces using this Space Array can be mostly eliminated.”
When the other five people heard him say this, they finally understood the reason Yang Kai had refined these tokens.
Although Space Arrays were convenient in that they connected two distant places, if an enemy ever managed to take control of it, it would then become a risk as it would offer a means to invade directly into the heart of one’s force. However, with the Transmission Token refined by Yang Kai, this risk was mitigated.
Without a Transmission Token, it was impossible to use this Space Array.
Yang Kai just smiled and did not say anything. With a wave of his hand, he used his Saint Qi to envelope the six people and stood atop the Space Array, “Let’s test whether this array can be used then.”
Before the six Array Masters of Sea Temple had time to speak, Yang Kai had already inserted the necessary Saint Crystals to activate the array.
The Space Array immediately started up and after a burst of white light, the six Array Masters only felt a slight weightless sensation overcome them. By the time they reacted, the scenery in front of them had changed drastically.
Looking around, the earth was a charred, reddish-black colour and the surrounding air was filled with a rich Fire Attribute energy, making it a bit stifling.
This was completely different from the Limitless Ocean where Sea Temple was located.
Below their feet was a large round Space Array identical to the one they had just finished arranging. Around them, there were several cultivators busy erecting a large palace that was clearly a work in progress.
The busy cultivators nearby were all wearing uniform robes with a small ‘High’ character embroidered over their chests!
[High Heaven Sect disciples!] The six Sea Temple people immediately realized they had arrived at High Heaven Sect as the environment around them was very similar to the legendary Flowing Flame Sand Field.
The activation of the Space Array alarmed the nearby High Heaven Sect disciples, and a few quickly came to investigate, but upon discovering that the newcomer was Yang Kai, the disciples quickly cupped their fists in salute.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand, “I’m just testing whether this Space Array works properly, carry on with what you were doing.”
“Yes!” The disciples received their orders and dispersed.
This Space Array was placed outside the Flowing Flame Sand Field by Yang Kai in order to avoid the drawbacks of there being a direct entryway into High Heaven Sect’s headquarters.
This Space Array was of great significance, as it was the bridge which connected High Heaven Sect to the larger world.
Yang Kai intended to set up special Space Arrays in all major cities across Shadowed Star so that High Heaven Sect could reach anywhere at any time in an instant.
This would be of key importance to the future development of High Heaven Sect.
“Sect Master!” One High Heaven Sect disciple didn’t leave immediately but stood there respectfully cupping his fists.
“Is there something else?”
“Great Elder told me a few days ago that if Sect Master appears, I am to inform him that half a month ago, Shadow Moon Hall’s Sect Master Qian sent a request for Sect Master to visit Shadow Moon Hall to discuss a certain matter!”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
The disciple then retreated.
Yang Kai did not know what Qian Tong was looking for him for, but it should not be an urgent matter, otherwise, he would have come in person rather than simply requesting Yang Kai come see him. Additionally, the current Qian Tong was an Origin King, so few things in this world could threaten him.
Yang Kai did not consider this matter urgent and decided to prioritize finishing his current task before going to Shadow Moon Hall to meet with Qian Tong.
After experimenting with the Space Array, Yang Kai returned to Black Reef Island along with the six Sea Temple Array Masters.
The six cultivators seemed to still be a bit unsatiated.
The old man looked towards Yang Kai with extreme admiration and said, “Sect Master Yang, this old master has used many Space Arrays over his life, but every time, the farther the transmission distance, the more backlash he received; however, this Space Array causes no discomfort or dizziness at all, a truly brilliant achievement! This old master is in awe of Sect Master Yang’s great talent!”
The other five people also nodded in agreement.
Space Arrays were truly convenient tools to use, but teleporting over long distances caused great strain on a cultivator. This strain was not only related to one’s physical body, but also one’s Soul.
The further the distance one teleported, the greater the load.
Therefore, weaker cultivators did not dare use Space Arrays to teleport too far. Under the most extreme of circumstances, teleporting a greater distance than one was capable of withstanding would destroy one’s Knowledge Sea, leaving them brain dead. Even short-distance teleportations couldn’t be conducted too frequently.
Among these six Array Masters, all of them had used Space Arrays multiple times, so all of them were well aware of the drawbacks.
However, the ultra-long distance teleportation they just conducted, one on the order of several million kilometres, actually didn’t produce any kind of discomfort. Using this Space Array felt no more difficult than visiting a neighbour’s house.
In other words, the Space Array arranged by Yang Kai had far surpassed the ability of those ancient relics in terms of stability and usability.
This caused the six Array Masters to respect and admire Yang Kai even more than before.
Yang Kai just smiled lightly, “It’s nothing much. En, please transfer the Transmission Tokens in your hands to Old Sha and inform him that when everything in Sea Temple has been settled, he can send someone to High Heaven Sect to meet with Great Elder Ye to discuss the material exchange.”
“Is Sect Master Yang planning on leaving now? Do you not want to stop and rest for a few days and meet with Martial Uncle Sha?” The old man attempted to retain Yang Kai.
“No, I need to head for Sea God Palace,” Yang Kai waved his hand and his figure flickered, disappearing from where he stood.
A look of regret appeared on the faces of the six, but after a brief discussion, they hurried to the centre of Black Reef Island. The six Transmission Tokens were of great importance and they did not dare treat them carelessly.
Sea God Palace was the other great force on the Limitless Ocean together with Sea Temple and was composed of almost all the sentient ocean races.
In fact, Sea God Palace was stronger than Sea Temple both in terms of the number of masters it possessed and the strength it wielded.
Although there was some friction from time to time between these two giants though, neither side desired to go to war on a large scale, so they were able to coexist.
Sea God Palace’s headquarters was located somewhere deep underwater and composed of a sprawling number of beautiful undersea palaces protected by powerful Spirit Arrays. There was even breathable air in some places, the ocean held back by strong barriers.
To others, looking for the headquarters of Sea God Palace on the huge Limitless Ocean floor was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Even Sea Temple was unable to figure out where Sea God Palace was located.
But to Yang Kai, this was a simple matter.
After leaving Black Reef Island, it only took him a day to locate Sea God Palace and easily arrive at its entrance.
Here, he did not encounter any difficulties. Although the Sea Clan looked down on the Human Race, it also respected powerful masters.
Yang Kai undoubtedly was qualified to receive a courteous reception here.
What’s more, the little dolphin, the Sea Clan’s princess, was extremely close to Yang Kai.
Qian Mo and Shang Ao, two of the eight Generals, also owed Yang Kai a life-saving gratitude.
As such, forming a cooperative relationship with the Sea Clan was easier than forming one with Sea Temple.
Yang Kai immediately met with the Sea Clan’s king, the father of the little dolphin and patriarch of the Dolphin Flood Dragon Clan, Lie Kong. After engaging in a small exchange of pointers, Lie Kong realized how deep and unfathomable Yang Kai’s strength was and quickly agreed to his proposed trade arrangement.
Just like in Sea Temple, Yang Kai requested Sea God Palace provide him with some materials, and a third Space Array, as well as several Transmission Tokens, were produced inside Sea God Palace a few days later.
With Space Arrays in Sea Temple and Sea God Palace, High Heaven Sect was now able to obtain massive amounts of deep-sea resources anytime it wanted.
Now, whether these resources were used or sold, High Heaven Sect would never lose money. In fact, using this trade route, it would be possible for High Heaven Sect to rapidly expand its available materials, making it so that its disciples never had to worry about having enough cultivation resources to use.
This was an advantage that no other Sect on Shadowed Star possessed!
Yang Kai did not intend to stay in Sea God Palace for long, so after he finished arranging the Space Array, he bid farewell to Lie Kong and prepared to depart.
However, before leaving, something unexpected happened.
The little dolphin came swimming up to Yang Kai’s side with a bead in her mouth and handed it to him.
This bead was the size of a fist and was azure blue, just like the deep sea. Although this bead was not very large, after it was pushed into his hand, Yang Kai discovered that it was actually extremely heavy. What’s more, he could hear the sound of crashing waves coming from it and could sense an extremely rich Water Attribute energy inside of it.
After seeing this bead, Lie Kong, Qian Mo, and Shang Ao, who were all present to see Yang Kai off, wore solemn expressions.
Many others who were present also showed nervous expressions.
“This… I can’t accept it,” Yang Kai smiled slightly as he gently rubbed the little dolphin’s head.
Although he did not know what the story behind this bead was, he could tell from the looks on everyone’s faces that its value was definitely not trivial. He had just managed to establish a cooperative relationship with Sea God Palace so rashly accepting such a heavy gift would likely only make the Sea Clan unhappy.
The main reason Yang Kai refused though was because this gift was given to him by the little dolphin. The little dolphin only had the mental age of a young child and acted entirely based on its personal preferences. In short, she could not represent the wishes of the entire Sea Clan.
If this bead had been given to him by Lie Kong personally, Yang Kai would have gladly accepted it.
Seeing Yang Kai tactfully refuse, the leaders of the Sea Clan all showed relieved expressions.
The little dolphin, however, refused to give up, making a series of rapid cries as if to say it would not rest until Yang Kai accepted her gift.
Yang Kai tried hard to persuade her, but the little dolphin absolutely would not take the bead back, soon even shedding tears of unhappiness, putting Yang Kai in an incredibly awkward position, and forcing him to turn to Lie Kong for help.
Lie Kong anxiously looked at the little dolphin for a while before eventually his expression softened and he spoke, “Since Sect Master Yang has such a close relationship with my daughter, please accept her gift. It is clear that if Sect Master Yang does not accept it, she will be very sad; after all, Sect Master Yang is her lifesaver. Sect Master Yang need not refuse.”
Yang Kai frowned for a moment before asking, “May I ask what this thing is and what its function is?”
“This is one of the treasures of my Sea God Palace, the Sea God Bead, and while it may not be of much use to Sect Master Yang personally, anyone who cultivates Water Attribute Secret Arts or Secret Techniques will benefit greatly from it. This is a piece of the source of the sea, so the Water Attribute energy it contains is not only extremely pure, but also almost inexhaustible. The Sea God Bead was a birthday gift this King gave his daughter two years ago, so it is her personal property and she has every right to gift it to Sect Master Yang,” Lie Kong explained.
“The source of the sea…” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, “This thing truly is of great use to me, so this Yang will not refuse.”
Lie Kong smiled and nodded.
The other leaders of the Sea Clean, seeing how matters had already gotten this far, had no objections in the end.
“However, this Sea God Bead is still a bit too precious for this Yang Kai to simply accept, so this Yang will exchange it for five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills. What does Palace Master Lie Kong think?”
“Five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills?” Lie Kong’s eyes lit up this time.
The expressions of many of the Sea Clan leaders also suddenly became excited.
The masters of the Sea Clan had already learned from Qian Mo and Shang Ao what Shadowed Heaven Pills were. Although they understood that Shadowed Heaven Pills were Heaven-defying treasures, the primary ingredient required to refine them only existed on Shadowed Soul Island, so even if they wanted them, they could not obtain them.
The little dolphin had some, but not many, all of which were given to her by Yang Kai before and were considered her personal items.
Who would feel right taking the Sea Clan Princess’ pills? Even Lie Kong only took a Shadowed Heaven Pill from her to study for a while before giving it back to his daughter.
Yet now, Yang Kai had offered them five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills just like that. For the Sea Clan, this was a massive windfall. With these five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills, several of Sea God Palace’s peak level masters could substantially increase their physical strength.
When he heard Yang Kai was willing to give Sea God Palace five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills in exchange for this Sea God Bead, Lie Kong was momentarily unable to restrain his joy.
“Yup!” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills, although a huge fortune, was nothing to the current High Heaven Sect. The Shadowed Heaven Lotus Yang Kai brought back last time had all been given to Xia Ning Chang, and she should have refined a massive amount of pills after so many days.
Lie Kong coughed as he wet his dry lips, “How could we accept such generosity….”
“If Palace Master Lie Kong disagrees, then this Yang won’t feel comfortable accepting this Sea God Bead.”
Lie Kong paused for a moment before nodding, “Since Sect Master Yang is willing to go so far, this Lie Kong won’t be polite. This King agrees! May friendship between Sea God Palace and High Heaven Sect last forever!”
“Great, I will have someone send the five hundred Shadowed Heaven Pills to Sea God Palace within a few days,” Yang Kai cupped his fists to the Sea Clan masters, “This Yang will take his leave!”
Saying so, Yang Kai stepped directly into the Space Array and teleported to the outskirts of High Heaven Sect.
The Sea God Bead he obtained by accident this time was incredibly useful to Yang Kai. Although he did not cultivate any Water Attribute Secret Arts or Secret Techniques, the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art required supreme treasures of each of the five elements.
Among the five elements, Yang Kai did not need to worry about the Fire Attribute supreme treasure. The energy contained within the Sun’s True Essence was so immense that it had barely even diminished even after he had cultivated with it for so long.
However, the supreme treasures Yang Kai used for the other four elements had more or less been used up.
Whether it was the Thunder Wood, Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Profound Gold, or Divine Nullification Sand, none of them would last much longer.
The Sea God Bead Yang Kai obtained this time could be used to replace the Profound Yin Sunflower Water when he cultivated the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art in the future.
The Sea God Bead was formed from the source of the sea and had rich, pure Water Attribute energy. Compared with the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, the Sea God Bead was no doubt higher in both grade and quality, so there was no issue with it meeting Yang Kai’s requirements. Additionally, the energy stored within it was much greater than what was contained in the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
It seemed Yang Kai would not need to worry about finding a new Water Attribute supreme treasure for a long time.
However, as it was right now, Yang Kai really did not have any difficulties finding supreme treasures of the other three elements either. All he needed to do was issue a command and supreme treasures would be delivered to him. Whether he could find a treasure comparable to the Sea God Bead was questionable, though.
After returning to High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai went straight to Ye Xi Yun and told her about the deal between him and Sea God Palace and asked her to send someone to collect five hundred Origin Grade Shadowed Heaven Pills from Xia Ning Chang.
Ye Xi Yun naturally did not refuse.
Over the next two months, Yang Kai travelled to various famous cities and Sects on Shadowed Star, constantly arranging Space Arrays.
Two months later, the Space Array outside of High Heaven Sect had been connected to almost all corners of Shadowed Star. Now, if a disciple needed to, they could rush to any major city they wanted to in an instant.
Such a massive project was something which had never appeared on Shadowed Star before. This way, High Heaven Sect could not only grasp and manage the situation across all of Shadowed Star at all times, but it could also purchase any kind of materials or products it wanted from anywhere it wanted.
Yang Kai’s final stop was Heavenly Fate City.
He needed to meet with Qian Tong as well, so Yang Kai figured he could finish up arranging a Space Array then have enough free time to handle whatever matter Qian Tong needed to consult him about.
On this day, Yang Kai arrived above Heavenly Fate City, and looking down at the post-war scene from the sky, Yang Kai could not help feeling a little nostalgic.
When he first came to Shadowed Star, he was nothing more than a Second-Order Saint, but after all these years he had managed to cultivate to the peak of Shadowed Star’s Martial Dao. In retrospect, it was here, on Dragon Cave Mountain outside Heavenly Fate City, that he started his rise, ultimately leading to today’s High Heaven Sect.
Bit by bit, Yang Kai recalled these past events as if they had only happened yesterday.
Yang Kai smiled slightly before flying straight towards the City Lord’s Mansion.
After being looted by Corpse Spirit Religion, Heavenly Fate City suffered heavy devastation, but after such a long period of rebuilding, today’s Heavenly Fate City was booming again.
Fei Zhi Tu was still Heavenly Fate City’s City Lord!
When Yang Kai met with him today, Fei Zhi Tu had already restored his cultivation to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
It seemed that this was partly thanks to him enduring the torture of the Fang Feng Qi from Corpse Spirit Religion last time.
Yang Kai naturally felt happy for him, and Fei Zhi Tu was even more excited after seeing Yang Kai. Learning what Yang Kai came for, he immediately permitted him to do as he pleased.
Yang Kai did not stand on ceremony and immediately got to work arranging the new Space Array in Heavenly Fate City, connecting it to High Heaven Sect.
Just two days later, the Space Array had been completed.
As he arranged more and more Space Arrays, Yang Kai had become familiar with the process and was now much faster at it than when he started.
With a flash of white light, Fei Zhi Tu disappeared from atop the Space Array, and soon after, reappeared. Laughing heartily, he said, “Sure enough, I was teleported straight to High Heaven Sect. Our two Sects can now communicate at any time without delay.”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded before suddenly asking, “By the way, Senior, is Old Qian coming?”
When Yang Kai asked about Qian Tong, Fei Zhi Tu’s expression immediately became serious as he nodded, “He’s already here, but when he saw you busy setting up this Space Array, he decided not to bother you. You should go and meet him quickly; Old Ghost Qian seems to be having some kind of problem he cannot resolve.”
“A problem even Old Qian can’t resolve?” Yang Kai was stunned, not understanding what the matter was that rendered even a master like Qian Tong helpless.
While he was arranging the Space Array here, Yang Kai already had Fei Zhi Tu send a message to Shadow Moon Hall. Two days was more than enough time for Qian Tong to arrive.
Not delaying any further, Yang Kai quickly went to meet Qian Tong together with Fei Zhi Tu.
Inside a large hall in the City Lord’s Mansion, Yang Kai found three people waiting for him.
All three of these people were Yang Kai’s old acquaintances. Other than Qian Tong, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er were also present.
Seeing Yang Kai, Qian Tong’s eyes lit up and he smiled bitterly, “Little brat, seems like you haven’t forgotten about me after all.”
“Sorry Old Qian, I thought whatever it was wasn’t a big deal, so I didn’t rush over. I’ve been running around Shadowed Star for the past few months,” Yang Kai smiled awkwardly. If he knew that Qian Tong was so anxious, he would have come to Heavenly Fate City first.
Qian Tong grinned wryly, “It’s nothing so urgent, otherwise, this old master would have gone to High Heaven Sect personally to find you.”
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both got up quickly to greet Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied in kind, and after scanning them with his Divine Sense, he noticed both of Saint Qis were flowing quite vigorously while their auras pulsed slightly, an obvious sign that they were on the verge of a breakthrough.
The two were worthy of the most elite disciples of Shadow Moon Hall! Less than ten years after breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm, these two were about to make a breakthrough again. Logically speaking, even with the aptitude of Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, their cultivation should not have progressed so rapidly, but Yang Kai figured their astonishing growth had something to do with the recent Corpse Spirit Religion upheaval.
Cultivators could often force out all their potential when facing desperate situations.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had experienced numerous life or death battles during the war, which was of great benefit to their future cultivation.
When young people met, the scene inevitably became lively.
While Yang Kai talked with Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu did not interrupt, just sitting to the side and watching with smiles.
Only after a good long chat did Yang Kai turn to Qian Tong and ask, “By the way, what is this matter you wanted to consult with me about, Old Qian? I heard Senior Fei mention that even you were unable to resolve it.”
Qian Tong’s expression gradually became serious and he nodded, “Yeah, this old master really is helpless in this situation, which is why I came to you for help.”
“What’s the matter?”
“You should be able to tell if you take a closer look,” Qian Tong didn’t answer directly and instead began releasing a powerful and mysterious force from his figure.
Domain!
Domain was a power exclusive to Origin Kings and was the ultimate evolution of Shi.
Qian Tong had broken through to the Origin King Realm only a few years ago, so his Domain was not too powerful, but even so, when he released it, the entire world seemed to tremble.
Fortunately, he did not aim his Domain at anyone present, instead restraining it so that even if Wei Gu Chang and the others felt slugging and their Saint Qi circulation became slow, they did not suffer any harm.
Yang Kai paid close attention to Qian Tong as requested and soon frowned deeply, releasing his Divine Sense to probe the latter.
Seeing the look on Yang Kai’s face, Qian Tong immediately knew that he had already noticed something and continued to maintain his Domain, allowing Yang Kai to examine the situation more clearly.
After a brief silence, Yang Kai withdrew his Divine Sense, but his frown remained.
“Since you are the Lord of Shadowed Star, you should be able to tell, yes?” Qian Tong asked after withdrawing his Domain.
Fei Zhi Tu, Wei Gu Chang, and Dong Xuan’er were all confused as none of them noticed anything wrong with Qian Tong. From their perspective, Qian Tong seemed perfectly fine and his Domain, once released, was as powerful as ever.
“The World Principles here… are rejecting you?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously with a look of shock in his eyes.
“You really can tell,” Qian Tong sighed.
“What?” Fei Zhi Tu was shocked, “Old Ghost Qian is being rejected by Shadowed Star’s World Principles? How is that even possible?”
“Nothing is impossible,” Qian Tong smiled bitterly and shook his head, “If it weren’t for my being rejected by the World Principles here, do you think this old master would be struck by lightning for no apparent reason?”
“You were struck by lightning, Old Qian?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“En,” Qian Tong nodded, “Although I did not suffer much harm, the power of Heavenly Lightning is still not to be underestimated.”
Fei Zhi Tu’s jaw dropped as he called out in alarm, “I thought you were cultivating some kind of profound Secret Technique that triggered that lightning strike! So it was actually because of this?”
“What nonsense Secret Technique!?” Qian Tong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “You know all of the Secret Techniques our Shadow Moon Hall possesses. Which one can possible cause Heavenly Lightning? This old master has no time to cultivate any Secret Techniques now anyways, all my focus is on consolidating my realm.”
“What about the Earth-Fire last time?” Dong Xuan’er asked from the side.
“What Earth-Fire?” Fei Zhi Tu asked in astonishment.
Dong Xuan’er blinked her big eyes and explained, “Two months ago, a terrifying Earth-Fire suddenly appeared in Honoured Master’s retreat and burned it to the ground.”
“Such a thing happened?” Fei Zhi Tu was surprised.
“That was also a result of this old master being rejected by Shadowed Star’s World Principles!” Qian Tong grumbled in annoyance, “Since this old master returned to Shadowed Star, he has encountered this kind of thing more than once. Although they have all been resolved by this old master, never causing any real damage, I also have no way to concentrate on cultivating. Not only that, when this old master flies, powerful Astral Winds sometimes emerge from The Void and hammer my Knowledge Sea, draining my Spiritual Energy. This old master no longer dares to fly too high or for too long for fear of the consequences!”
“Heavenly Lightning, Earth-Fire, Astral Wind…” Yang Kai muttered aloud, “Old Qian, it seems that life has been hard for you!”
Hearing Yang Kai’s teasing, Qian Tong felt both aggrieved and helpless.
Living constantly on edge was extremely uncomfortable. Fortunately, Qian Tong had not entered secluded retreat these days. If he was disturbed while in deep meditation, it would very likely lead to a dissonance in his cultivation. Once that happened, it would be difficult for him to emerge unscathed despite already reaching the Origin King Realm.
“How could this be possible!” Fei Zhi Tu had an incredulous expression on his face as his eyes flashed with surprise, “This City Lord has lived for hundreds of years but this is the first time I have ever heard of anything like this.”
“It is a first for this old master as well,” Qian Tong sighed heavily before he directed an expectant look towards Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, you are now Star Master of Shadowed Star, can you figure out a way to remedy this old master’s situation?”
Qian Tong was truly quite troubled not knowing when something like Heavenly Lightning or Earth-Fire would befall him, making it impossible to enter retreat. Now all he could hope for was that Yang Kai had a solution.
But to his great disappointment, Yang Kai could only slowly shake his head, “While I can communicate with the World Principles of Shadowed Star somewhat, it is still impossible for me to alter them in any way.”
Hearing this, Qian Tong released another sigh.
The hall went silent for a while as the expressions of everyone present became heavy.
Shadow Moon Hall now possessed the only Origin King on Shadowed Star, which was no doubt a glorious achievement, but with Qian Tong now being rejected by the World Principles, it was terrible news.
After a while, Qian Tong suddenly said, “It seems that the only way now is for this old master to leave.”
“Old Ghost Qian, are you planning to leave Shadowed Star?” Fei Zhi Tu was shocked.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er also looked at Qian Tong with dismay, seemingly wanting to say something to dissuade him, but uncertain where to start from.
“If this old master doesn’t leave, he will face troubles for the rest of his life and will be unable to cultivate again,” Qian Tong smiled lightly, “This old master finally managed to reach the Origin King Realm, so he does not want to remain stuck here forever. This old master still wants to reach greater heights and see broader horizons!”
“At your age, you still haven’t outgrown such ambitions?” Fei Zhi Tu smiled wryly.
“Old Fei, are you willing to remain in the Origin Returning Realm for the rest of your life?” Qian Tong asked back.
“Impossible!” Fei Zhi Tu snorted, “If not for this City Lord’s realm falling last time, he would have left Shadowed Star together with you. Whether this City Lord can touch the mysteries of the Origin King Realm or not, he must at least try.”
“En, people seek greater heights just as water flows to lower places!”
“Since you’ve already decided, there’s nothing more to say. You need not worry about Shadow Moon Hall, I will take care of it,” Fei Zhi Tu said sternly.
“Yang Kai, if this old master wants to leave this place, he must rely on your strength!” Qian Tong looked at Yang Kai.
“Naturally, that’s not a problem,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Actually, I was just about to implement a plan that aligns quite well with Old Qian’s intentions.”
“Oh, what plan?” Qian Tong heard this and his eyes suddenly brightened.
“I am going to construct a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array!”
“You mean an Ultra-Long Distance Space Array that can connect one Cultivation Star to another?” Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu exclaimed together, looking at Yang Kai with extreme shock.
Yang Kai nodded, “Shadowed Star has been closed off from the Star Field for long enough. It’s time we were re-connected with the broader world. If this can be achieved, after a Shadowed Star cultivator reaches the peak of the Origin Realm, they can freely leave to explore the mysteries of the Origin King Realm.”
Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu remained silent for a long time, but their eyes were wide with shock.
After a long while, Qian Tong asked nervously, “Can this really be achieved?”
“We’ll have to try to find out,” Yang Kai chuckled, “At the very least, I don’t think there will be a problem arranging an appropriate Space Array.”
“What if masters from other Cultivation Stars try to invade Shadowed Star via the Space Arrays you arrange? Wouldn’t that pose a serious problem?” Qian Tong showed a trace of worry.
“Haha, you don’t have to concern yourself about that,” Fei Zhi Tu laughed, taking out a few tokens with the character “High” on them from his Space Ring and explaining. “Without one of these, it is impossible to use the Space Arrays arranged by Yang Kai.”
“What is this?” Qian Tong was puzzled.
“A Transmission Token!” Fei Zhi Tu immediately explained, and after Qian Tong understood the purpose of these Transmission Tokens, he could not help nodding thoughtfully, “Yang Kai, it seems like you’ve been planning this for some time now.”
“Of course! Arranging Space Arrays across Shadowed Star was simply a way of practising for this,” Yang Kai smiled.
His ultimate goal was to connect Shadowed Star with the Star Field! This was not just a whim, but something Yang Kai had been thinking about for some time now.
Currently, it took far too long to reach the populated regions of the Star Field from Shadowed Star, but if a Cross-Cultivation-Star Space Array were available, this problem would cease to exist.
In the current High Heaven Sect, there was more than one peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, and as Sect Master, Yang Kai had to make plans for the future. Even he himself was a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and urgently needed to leave Shadowed Star to prepare to break through to the Origin King Realm.
What’s more, arranging Space Arrays allowed Yang Kai to cultivate his Space Force.
These days, he found that his comprehension of the Dao of Space had become more profound.
Naturally, Yang Kai was not about to abandon such a beneficial project.
“Great! This old master can rest assured knowing you’ve thought this matter out so thoroughly. You becoming Star Master is a true blessing to Shadowed Star!” Qian Tong laughed.
“Then do you want to leave with me now or wait until I finish setting up the Space Array before departing?” Yang Kai asked.
Qian Tong thought about it for a while before saying, “This old master will remain on Shadowed Star for a while and leave after you’ve finished setting up the Space Array. There are still some things to deal with in Shadow Moon Hall after all.”
“En, look forward to good news soon,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Finished with his business, Yang Kai did not remain in Heavenly Fate City for a long time and instead returned directly to High Heaven Sect.
After summoning Elders of the Sect, Yang Kai informed them about his next plan, causing Ye Xi Yun, Yang Xiu Zhu, and all the others to excitedly agree.
Needless to say, Ye Xi Yun was the one who most hoped to break through to the Origin King Realm on Shadowed Star. Last time, she had chosen to remain in High Heaven Sect to take care of Yang Yan, causing her to miss such an opportunity.
If Yang Kai could really set up Space Arrays on other Cultivation Stars though, she would be able to free herself from the shackles of Shadowed Star any time she wanted.
Yang Xiu Zhu and the others also held similar mindsets. Last time, they had failed to break through after surviving the Blood Prison Trial, but that did not mean they did not still have a chance. All of them intended to strive for a breakthrough, and even if they failed, they would not regret trying.
“Since everyone agrees, this Sect Master will implement his plan,” Yang Kai grinned and looked around, “But before I begin, I need you to help me gather some supplies!”
“What supplies?” Ye Xi Yun asked.
“Space Spirit Crystals!” Yang Kai’s expression became solemn, “The most critical material for arranging Space Arrays is Space Spirit Crystal! Depending on the transmission distance between two Space Arrays, the number of Space Spirit Crystals required also varies, and for Cross-Cultivation Star Space Arrays, the more Space Spirit Crystals, the better!”
“Understood. I’ll handle it!” Ye Xi Yun nodded.
Now that High Heaven Sect influence had spread across all of Shadowed Star, it was not an issue for it to collect materials. The only question now was how many Space Spirit Crystals High Heaven Sect could purchase.
After all, Space Spirit Crystals were rare, and even if some were found occasionally, it would almost always quickly be used to refine Space Rings.
Yang Kai had a large amount of Space Spirit Crystal before which he collected from the lode under Dragon Cave Mountain, but after cultivating his Space Force with it for so long, he had used all his reserves up.
During these past few months, the Space Spirit Crystals Yang Kai had used to arrange Space Arrays on Shadowed Star had been sourced from the major Sects and cities he had visited.
“Three months, in three months I will leave Shadowed Star! I hope you can help me raise enough Space Spirit Crystal by then!”
“Yes!” The Elders nodded before quickly scattering, intending to contact the various forces on Shadowed Star to begin this mass purchase.
Yang Kai believed that after three months, a big harvest should be waiting for him.
While the Elders of High Heaven Sect bustled about, Yang Kai now found himself with some idle time. After spending a few days accompanying his parents and brothers, he then took Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang out to wander around Shadowed Star.
Yang Kai didn’t know when he would next have free time, so he naturally hoped to accompany his two Senior Sisters for the next three months and enjoy their company.
To Yang Kai, this was a simple but treasured luxury.
“Is this Grand Crystal Mountain Range where Coloured Glass Sect is located?” Su Yan asked as she looked around at the rolling hills below.
“En,” Yang Kai standing next to her nodded, releasing his Divine Sense and, with the assistance of his powers as Star Master swept the mountain range’s several tens of thousands of kilometres. Smiling, he continued, “It looks like Coloured Glass Sect’s headquarters didn’t suffer too much damage during the Corpse Spirit Religion chaos. It still looks quite similar to when I last came here.”
Xia Ning Chang looked into the distance and said softly, “The World Energy on the Shadowed Star is really not comparable to Tong Xuan Realm. Every place we’ve travelled these days, whether in terms of aura or scenery, is far better than Tong Xuan Realm.”
Saying so, she looked a little sad.
Yang Kai was Shadowed Star’s Star Master while she was the Star Master of Tong Xuan Realm. For every Star Master, the Cultivation Star that they refined the Star Source of was like the closest of partners, like their own child.
Tong Xuan Realm’s withered aura made Xia Ning Chang somewhat depressed.
“Star Master and Cultivation Star are closely related. Little Senior Sister, you only need to work hard to improve your cultivation and Tong Xuan Realm will be rejuvenated one day,” Yang Kai comforted.
“En,” Xia Ning Chang nodded.
“Let’s go. Sect Master Gong should have received word of our arrival already,” Yang Kai held the two women’s hands as he led them forward.
It had been almost three months since they started wandering Shadowed Star.
Over the past three months, Yang Kai’s trio had visited almost all the famous spots on Shadowed Star and experienced all kinds of local customs and traditions. The waves on the Limitless Ocean were magnificent while the silence of the vast desserts was breathtaking. Many famous mountains and rivers now bore the footprints of these three.
This three-month-long journey would surely become one of the most beautiful memories in the hearts of the trio.
Coloured Glass Sect was the last stop set by Yang Kai!
Yang Kai’s reason for coming here wasn’t actually to sight-see though, but rather to ask Gong Ao Fu for something.
Although Gong Ao Fu had led Coloured Glass Sect’s survivors to join High Heaven Sect during the Corpse Spirit Religion war, and she herself became one of the Elders of High Heaven Sect, after Corpse Spirit Religion was destroyed, Yang Kai had allowed Gong Ao Fu to return to Grand Crystal Mountain Range.
He knew better than anyone just how meaningful one’s ancestral heritage was to a cultivator.
Just like how he built a Sect on Shadowed Star called High Heaven Sect, even if Gong Ao Fu stayed in High Heaven Sect, where there were better conditions for her own growth, she would never be able to forget Coloured Glass Sect. Eventually, it would no doubt disturb her heart.
What’s more, when Gong Ao Fu joined High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai had promised that he would allow her to rebuild Coloured Glass Sect in the future.
Allowing her to return was simply fulfilling his original promise.
Gong Ao Fu was naturally extremely grateful, and although she led the cultivators of Coloured Glass Sect back to Grand Crystal Mountain Range, she had sworn an oath that Coloured Glass Sect would belong to High Heaven Sect as a subordinate Sect from now on!
This was the first attached force High Heaven Sect possessed! And it was a very powerful one at that.
When Yang Kai arrived here with Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, Gong Ao Fu was immediately notified.
When the trio reached the main peak of Coloured Glass Sect, a dense group of people were assembled already, headed by a beautiful woman with a rich, mature style. Naturally, it was Gong Ao Fu.
Dai Yuan still wore her pockmarked and pitted appearance, appearing extremely ugly, making Gong Ao Fu look all the more beautiful.
Behind these two were the only remaining Elders and elite disciples of Coloured Glass Sect, Yin Su Die among them.
Seeing Yang Kai land in front of them, the assembled group all solemnly saluted.
“Subordinate Gong Ao Fu greets Sect Master, greets Madame Sect Masters!” Gong Ao Fu said quickly.
“There are no outsiders here, Sect Master Gong need not be so polite!” Yang Kai waved his hand while Su Yan smiled at Gong Ao Fu, accepting the title of Madame Sect Master with confidence. Xia Ning Chang, on the other hand, even with her veil, had obviously gone bright red, her delicate earlobes looking like they were on fire.
After so many years, Little Senior Sister was still just as shy and innocent as ever.
“Sister Dai Yuan, it’s been a long time,” Yang Kai turned to Dai Yuan next and a knowing light flashed across his eyes. Others did not know what kind of face was hidden beneath her disfigured disguise, but Yang Kai did.
Dai Yuan’s figure was indeed exquisite, but her face was quite unappetizing, making it extremely difficult for people to have a good first impression of her.
Yang Kai and Dai Yuan could not have lived in more different worlds; one was a dragon that soared through the sky while the other was an ant crawling on the ground.
As such, no one knew why Yang Kai cared so much about Dai Yuan.
Facing Yang Kai’s greetings, Dai Yuan just nodded slightly, not showing any particular enthusiasm.
Gong Ao Fu smiled next to her and quickly said, “I received word from Great Elder Ye that Sect Master has been wandering Shadowed Star for the past few months. Has Sect Master had any significant gains?”
“We were simply touring the scenery, how could there be any gains?” Yang Kai chuckled and shook his head.
“Sect Master and the two madams are perfectly matched; it seems walking hand in hand together was the biggest gain of the past three months.”
Yang Kai met eyes with both Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, all three of them smiling at each other lightly.
Although they knew that Gong Ao Fu was simply offering some light flattery, none of them were turned off by such words.
“However, I wonder why Sect Master has decided to visit my Coloured Glass Sect? If it is just to sight-see, then subordinate will quickly make proper arrangements. There are many picturesque sceneries in Grand Crystal Mountain Range.”
“Unfortunately, that is not why I’ve come here today,” Yang Kai shook his head. “I came here to make a request.”
“Please name it, Sect Master!” Gong Ao Fu smiled, “If not for Sect Master’s care, my Coloured Glass Sect would have ceased to exist long ago, whatever Sect Master needs from my Coloured Glass Sect, we will be honoured to prepare, why act so politely?”
Seeing her comply so easily, Yang Kai nodded, “Then I will be succinct. I came here to obtain some Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass. Your Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain was not destroyed by Corpse Spirit Religion, right?”
“Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass?” Gong Ao Fu raised her brow, “Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain is one of Shadowed Star’s greatest treasures. The Corpse Spirit Religion was unable to destroy it, but if Sect Master wants Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, things might be a bit difficult. We have accumulated some Coloured Glass Sect over the years, but only two or three fists worth. I don’t know if this is enough for Sect Master?”
“Certainly not!” Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter.
“Then… shall I have Dai Yuan use her Secret Technique to collect some?” Gong Ao Fu asked hesitantly.
In Coloured Glass Sect, only Dai Yuan who had cultivated the special Secret Technique was able to extract and refine Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass.
So even though Coloured Glass Sect possessed a great treasure like Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, it was unable to actually use it fully, a rather depressing situation.
“Disciple cannot mine much, but I believe Yang Kai has his own methods!” Dai Yuan looked at Yang Kai elegantly.
“Impudence!” Gong Ao Fu shouted as she turned her beautiful eyes towards Dai Yuan and declared majestically, “How dare you call Sect Master by his given name!”
Although her tone was filled with the meaning of blame, Gong Ao Fu’s attention was completely focused on Yang Kai. Noticing that Yang Kai did not seem to be angry, she immediately calmed down.
“It’s fine, I’ve known Sister Dai Yuan for a long time, so it’s not a big deal for her to address me by name,” Yang Kai laughed lightly.
Dai Yuan, on the other hand, ground her teeth as she glared at Yang Kai angrily.
Before Corpse Spirit Religion ravaged Shadowed Star, she and Yang Kai had been friends on equal footing, always addressing one another informally, but now, this sly fellow had leapt to become someone who could order her Honoured Master around.
Dai Yuan naturally felt very awkward.
“Many thanks for Sect Master’s understanding. Subordinate has been neglectful in teaching Dai Yuan,” Gong Ao Fu bowed her head before quickly changing the topic, “Does Sect Master have a way to mine Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass?”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded.
“In that case, there’s nothing more that needs to be discussed. Please feel free to take as much as what Sect Master wants. Even if we mine it ourselves, we don’t actually have many uses for Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain at the moment. Sect Master, please come with me.”
Gong Ao Fu agreed immediately and led the way.
Yang Kai, Su Yan, and Xia Ning Chang quickly followed.
The cultivators of Coloured Glass Sect were also very curious about what method Yang Kai had to mine the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, so naturally, they followed along, eager to see what happened.
“You fool!” Yin Su Die watched the crowd fly away before getting close to Dai Yuan and muttering in frustration, “When Sect Master took the initiative to bring you to greet him, why did you just brush him off?”
“Then what should I have done? Gone up and pushed myself onto him?” Dai Yuan cast her a dismissive glance.
Yin Su Die choked on her words for a moment before thinking about it and suddenly giggling, “If it was me, I would do just that. He is the strongest man on Shadowed Star, so there’s no shame in actively trying to approach him.”
“It may be as you say, but do you think you can compare to the two women beside him?” Dai Yuan shot Yin Su Die a contemptuous look.
Yin Su Die gawked as she recalled the demeanour and appearance of Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, a sense of inferiority instantly welling up inside her.
Su Yan was wrapped in a cold aura that, while invisible, was extremely strong, giving her great pressure. With Su Yan standing there, Yin Su Die could not work up the courage to talk to Yang Kai.
As for the other delicate, veiled woman, she had a holy and inviolable aura that made any woman who saw her feel inferior!
“Who cares, I still have a chance as long as Sect Master is happy!” Yin Su Die coldly snorted.
“I have no time to waste with you!” Dai Yuan gave her a blank look before shaking her head and following after the crowd.
“Stupid Senior Sister! Ugly woman!” Yin Su Die cursed as she pointed at Dai Yuan indignantly.
Dai Yuan simply pretended not to hear anything.
Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain was actually a single giant Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass ore. It was extremely heavy and had a rather plain appearance, but it was a fact that this Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass was innately able to produce Coloured Glass Divine Light.
Coloured Glass Divine Light had a profound suppressive effect on all five elements, as well as the Soul.
The Coloured Glass Bead Dai Yuan gave Yang Kai many years ago was something she had formed after ingesting small bits of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass over many years. It was similar to a Monster Beast’s Monster Core. This Coloured Glass Bead had been refined by Yang Kai and integrated into his Demon Eye of Annihilation, greatly enhancing its power.
In addition, Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass had a mysterious ability to transform into a myriad of different forms.
Rumour had it that if one used Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass to refine an artifact, that artifact could change into a variety of different forms when confronting an enemy, making it extremely difficult to defend against.
The Origin King Grade Starship of High Heaven Sect was refined with a large amount of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, which not only greatly improved its defensive capabilities but also allowed it to disguise itself as a meteorite with the assistance of many profound Spirit Arrays.
Only Yang Yan could possibly refine such a masterpiece, however, as no other Artifact Refiner in the Star Field was capable of refining so much Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass into the hull of a Starship.
In front of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, with everyone watching, Yang Kai simply released Xiao Xiao and allowed him to mine at will.
The Stone Puppet had an innate Divine Ability to devour all kinds of rare ores and refine them into the purest of essences. Since the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass was technically a type of ore, naturally the Stone Puppet had no difficulty with it.
Even Domain Stone Mountain in the Blood Prison was hollowed out by Xiao Xiao, so how could a mere Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain resist his jaws!?
Under the astonished gazes of Gong Ao Fu and the others, Xiao Xiao quickly tottered up to Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, opened his mouth, and began biting into it.
*Ka Ka Ka Ka…*
Crunching sounds rang out as the Stone Puppet gnawed a hole into Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within moments, the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, which had baffled Coloured Glass Sect for thousands of years, was missing a big piece.
The cultivators of Coloured Glass Sect were dumbfounded.
Soon, Xiao Xiao’s whole body had penetrated into Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, and although no one could see how he was moving now, the continued crunching sounds clearly indicated that he was still swallowing a large amount of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass.
“Sect Master, does this living puppet really have such a magical ability?” Gong Ao Fu exclaimed.
She knew about the existence of Xiao Xiao; after all, during the Battle of Dragon Cave Mountain back then, she had witnessed him from a distance. However, at that time, the Stone Puppet was in his stone giant form and was waving around the Heaven Shaking Pillar.
Gong Ao Fu never knew that in addition to its astonishing strength, the Stone Puppet could even easily eat Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass.
“Hehe, he’s a very special existence and has helped me a lot over the years,” Yang Kai answered casually, not bothering to explain and instead turned thoughtful as he said, “I need a lot of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass…”
“Please help yourself, Sect Master, it doesn’t matter even if you dig out all of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain!” Gong Ao Fu took the initiative to express her stance before he finished speaking.
“It’s nothing so exaggerated,” Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter, “This Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain is not small, I only need about one percent of it.”
“Even so, at the current rate, that should take two or three days. If Sect Master doesn’t mind, why not spend some time on the main peak to rest first? After two days we can come back here to check on your Stone Puppet’s progress.”
“Sure,” Yang Kai nodded.
Gong Ao Fu personally led Yang Kai, Su Yan, and Xia Ning Chang to the main peak where she immediately had the best palace prepared for them.
She did not arrange a banquet for Yang Kai because she knew he did not care for such things, simply instructing a few disciples to serve his trio diligently but not disturb him unless absolutely necessary.
Three days later, everything was in order. Xiao Xiao had swallowed Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass for the past three days straight, causing his belly to swell noticeably.
Yang Kai had him spit out the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass immediately, and after storing it into a Space Ring, he bid farewell to Gong Ao Fu.
Before leaving, he left some Origin Grade artifacts for Coloured Glass Sect, as well as some Origin Grade pills used for cultivation.
This was a kind of compensation for him taking away so much Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass. Whether it was Origin Grade artifacts or Origin Grade pills, both were extremely rare and valuable on Shadowed Star, so Gong Ao Fu happily accepted them and brought all the Elders and elite disciples to see Yang Kai off.
Ten days later, inside High Heaven Sect.
In the main square outside the meeting hall, a brand new Space Array had been arranged by Yang Kai.
This Space Array was somewhat different from the ones Yang Kai had arranged on Shadowed Star previously. The main difference was that it was much smaller while also possessing a more profound aura.
This was a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array!
This was the Space Array Yang Kai would use to locate High Heaven Sect!
Just like how he had done before, with this Space Array in place, all Yang Kai needed to do now was arrange another Space Array on a nearby star and he would be able to create a two-way link between them.
With this, High Heaven Sect now had two main Space Arrays.
One was arranged outside High Heaven Sect to connect it with the rest of Shadowed Star, while the other was arranged inside the Sect in preparation to connect with the rest of the Star Field.
During the past three months, High Heaven Sect had devoted all its efforts and resources to collecting Space Spirit Crystals for Yang Kai, but had still only managed to gather two thousand pieces.
These Space Spirit Crystals represented almost all of what was currently available on Shadowed Star, and unless some new Space Spirit Crystal mineral lodes were discovered, there would likely be a shortage of them in the near future. However, according to Yang Kai’s calculations, these Space Spirit Crystals would be enough to arrange three or four Cross-Cultivation Star Space Arrays.
After taking care of some last issues and bidding farewell to his family and friends, Yang Kai once again visited the sixth layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Field and chatted with Yang Yan for a while before summoning his Star Shuttle and flying off into the Starry Sky.
In High Heaven Sect, ten thousand people looked up into the sky to watch the departing light until it disappeared from sight.
“Be safe!” Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang stood atop different peaks as they shared the same silent wish in their hearts.
…..
Millions of kilometres from Shadowed Star, an invisible Astral Wind blew about recklessly, creating numerous big and small Starry Sky Storms which crashed together, were worn down, and then gathered together over and over and over again.
A vast and chaotically drifting Asteroid Sea which could rip apart any cultivator or Starship who tried to break through it haphazardly also swirled about.
This was the great barrier which isolated Shadowed Star.
The cultivators of Shadowed Star called it the Dead Zone!
Several million kilometres wide, this Dead Zone wrapped Shadowed Star in an all but impenetrable barrier that prevented anyone from leaving or arriving on Shadowed Star.
If it was just these dangers though, it would not be enough to stop Origin King Realm masters from arriving here, and even if Shadowed Star was quite remote, there would always be an Origin King who was curious and visited over a ten thousand year period.
However, the Dead Zone was also flooded with a certain power that even Origin King Realm masters dreaded.
Emperor Pressure!
Only Emperor Pressure could deter Origin Kings from approaching.
When Yang Kai left Shadowed Star with Qian Tong and the others last time, he had relied on the powerful defences of the Origin King Grade Starship to pass this region, but this time, he had come out alone and naturally left the Origin King Grade Starship behind in case some kind of accident occurred.
As such, Yang Kai was only able to rely on himself.
He did not know how this Dead Zone was formed before, but after hearing about so many ancient secrets from Yang Yan, he clearly realized that this Dead Zone was the remains of the battlefield between Yang Yan and the Insect Emperor.
That was why this place was still filled with Emperor Pressure and why it was so extremely dangerous.
Fortunately, although the Emperor Pressure here was indeed terrifying, it was not the first time that Yang Kai had experienced it. When the Emperor Garden had truly opened, Yang Kai had even used the Emperor Pressure it released to integrate his Space Force into his Shi.
In regards to withstanding Emperor Pressure, Yang Kai was more confident than anyone.
Rushing straight into the Dead Zone, Yang Kai began dodging the flowing asteroids which came at him from all directions.
The invisible Star Field Astral Winds sliced past him like sharp blades, cutting into his flesh, causing a harsh metallic sound to ring out constantly.
Five coloured light blossomed from Yang Kai’s figure suddenly as he began using his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art to protect his body!
With the constant use of Shadowed Heaven Pills, Yang Kai’s physical strength had already grown to an unimaginable state.
The invisible Astral Winds which could even force back an Origin King now could not even harm Yang Kai, and the occasional asteroid which managed to hit him would break upon impact.
Yang Kai charged into fierce Star Field Storms without fear and was instantly swallowed up by it.
Before long, Yang Kai rushed out from the other side of the storm safe and sound.
Cutting a path through all these obstacles, Yang Kai’s momentum was unstoppable!
Yang Kai was even able to leisurely feel the mysteries of the ambient Emperor Pressure that flooded this place.
This was even more helpful to his growth than absorbing the energy inside Domain Stones.
Yang Kai’s Shi had already reached the grand accomplishment stage, and his Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy had all reached the pinnacle of what an Origin Returning Realm master could possess.
If not for him being suppressed by Shadowed Star’s World Principles, Yang Kai could have already attempted to break through to the Origin King Realm.
As time passed slowly, his gains grew bigger and bigger.
However, Yang Kai soon discovered a problem. While it was indeed a rare opportunity to experience to comprehend the Emperor Pressure inside the Dead Zone, he clearly felt that it was too profound for him to grasp, unlike the energy inside Domain Stones.
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai understood.
He was currently at the peak of the Origin Returning Realm, with the next realm being the Origin King Realm. After the Origin King Realm though, there was a higher realm, and above that was the realm where Yang Yan stood, the true owner of this Emperor Pressure.
It was indeed a bit too ambitious to try to comprehend Emperor Pressure right now.
Yang Kai was like a child who had not yet learned to crawl trying to stand up and run, he was obviously somewhat incapable.
It seemed that the best time to experience the mysteries of the Dead Zone would be after he reached the Origin King Realm!
Realizing this, Yang Kai no longer wasted his time and rushed forward as fast as he could.
With the Star Chart in his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai did not have to worry about getting lost in the vast Star Field. By using his Star Chart, Yang Kai was also able to estimate the distances between different stars and Shadowed Star, allowing him to choose ideal places to arrange Space Arrays.
Many days later, Yang Kai landed on an icy Dead Star.
There were countless Dead Stars in the Star Field, ones without World Energy or even World Principles. Perhaps after billions of years, some of the Dead Stars could evolve and give rise to life again, but such matters were too remote for mere cultivators to consider. However, most Dead Stars would remain barren and desolate from birth to destruction.
After landing, Yang Kai didn’t immediately rest but instead began surveying the surrounding three-hundred-thousand-kilometre region.
After confirming that there were no living creatures here, he found a mountain valley-like area and began preparing to arrange the first Space Array!
This Space Array would be a transfer point for Shadowed Star to contact the outside world, and was an indispensable strategic location.
Xiao Xiao was released by Yang Kai and allowed to roam around freely.
Over the past year or so, Yang Kai would occasionally land on some Dead Stars, and each time he would let Xiao Xiao out to explore and see if he could reap any gains.
Xiao Xiao did not let him down either. With his extraordinary innate talent, Xiao Xiao was often able to find some rare ores, but the number was not too great, nothing Yang Kai took to heart, so he simply allowed Xiao Xiao to refine and absorb them himself.
By absorbing the essence of these ores, Xiao Xiao was able to grow stronger.
Xiao Xiao quickly disappeared from Yang Kai’s field of vision, after which, Yang Kai took out various things from his Space Ring and began to arrange the Space Array.
The mountain valley he chose was not small, and if one looked down from high up above, it would seem more like a giant trench dug into the Dead Star.
Yang Kai found a well-concealed spot near one of the rock walls and began to melt the various ores he had brought out, moulding them into various parts of different sizes that he piled up nearby.
These parts would comprise the base of the Space Array, and as long as they were completely refined and assembled appropriately, all Yang Kai would need to do was use his Space Force to carve the Spirit Array into it and the Space Array would be complete.
This was not Yang Kai’s first time performing this work. Before leaving Shadowed Star, he had personally arranged a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array, so this wasn’t a difficult task for him.
All it took was some time.
There were no other people here to help him, so Yang Kai had to handle everything on his own, which naturally meant it took a little longer.
Fifteen days later, Yang Kai had finished arranging the Space Array. With its small size and position beneath a rocky overhead, if one did not search for it carefully, it would not be discovered.
However, if it were just this, the safety of this Space Array could not be guaranteed.
As Yang Kai poured his Saint Qi into the Space Array in front of him, it began to change colour and soon blended in with the surrounding land.
At first glance, this Space Array would only seem like another rock. One would need to closely examine it to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Before leaving Shadowed Star, Yang Kai had gone to Coloured Glass Sect and collected a large amount of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass for exactly this purpose. All along, he intended to use the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass as one of the primary materials in the Space Array’s base so he could conceal it like this.
Although this was a Dead Star, who could guarantee that no cultivator would not come here? If this large, flat circle were spotted by a passerby, it would become troublesome.
But it was a different story with the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass. Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass could assume a myriad of different forms, so by refining it into the array base and adding a concealment Spirit Array, Yang Kai was able to camouflage the Space Array almost perfectly.
Furthermore, by adding Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass into the array base, the Space Array itself became much sturdier, so even if it were struck by a meteor or hit by a storm, it would not be damaged.
After checking over his work and confirming everything was in order, Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction.
Done with the preparations, Yang Kai then began to engrave the Spirit Array into the base before finally pouring his Space Force into it.
The circular array quickly began to hum.
Yang Kai smiled, his expression was filled with joy. This slight movement meant that this Space Array had successfully connected with the one he arranged in High Heaven Sect, but whether it could teleport him there or not still needed to be tested and verified.
Naturally, he was the only one who could perform these verification tests. As Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he did not need to worry about something going wrong in the transmission process as he could simply disrupt it or tear space to escape from The Void.
Summoning Xiao Xiao back with a thought, Yang Kai stood there and waited quietly.
It took a full day for Xiao Xiao to arrive, quite a long time all things considered.
If it was not for the special Soul connection between Yang Kai and Xiao Xiao, allowing the former to know the latter was safe, Yang Kai might have thought an accident had befallen Xiao Xiao.
Yang Kai glared at Xiao Xiao and was about to reprimand him when suddenly his gaze froze on the latter’s belly.
Xiao Xiao’s belly was actually completely round, and at a glance, it was obvious this little fellow had swallowed a massive amount of ore over the past half a month. If this weren’t the case, considering Xiao Xiao’s almost bottomless stomach, this would have been impossible.
Yang Kai was naturally quite surprised.
During his one year journey, Yang Kai had landed on many Dead Stars, all of which had been extremely barren. Some of these Dead Stars did not even have a single thing of value on them.
However, Seeing Xiao Xiao gain so many ores from this Dead Star, it was obvious that despite lacking any kind of World Energy, this place was definitely rich in ore.
Additionally, the grade of the ore the current Xiao Xiao would take interest in was not low.
“Spit it out and let me see,” Yang Kai said to Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao scratched his head slightly, then opened his mouth and began spitting out a stream of ore without hesitation. These ores were different in size, shape, and colour, and continued to pile higher and higher until it gradually formed a small hill.
After spitting out its haul, Xiao Xiao patted his now flat belly with an innocent expression on his face.
“This is…” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he stared at the mountain of ore in front of him. Picking up a washbasin size piece of silver ore, Yang Kai examined it with his Divine Sense and quickly muttered, “Heaven Seeking Silver?”
Yang Kai was no longer a naïve backwater boy. After so many years of experience wandering the Star Field, his vision had become quite sharp and his knowledge was now quite deep. He did not dare claim he would recognize all the materials in the Star Field at a glance, but at the very least he could identify most of them.
This washbasin sized silver ore was obviously the Origin Grade High-Rank Heaven Seeking Silver! If a small amount of this was added to an artifact while it was being refined, it could greatly improve the elasticity of that artifact, making it much more difficult to damage during battle.
Heaven Seeking Silver was an extraordinary auxiliary material that could be added to almost any kind of artifact, a universally useful material. If a cultivator possessed an artifact which was extremely valuable to them, they would often try to find materials that could enhance their quality, often leading to fierce competitions.
Heaven Seeking Silver was such a material, and its value wasn’t low!
An egg-sized piece of Heaven Seeking Silver would sell for at least one hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals.
In other words, this washbasin sized Heaven Seeking Silver lump was worth at least several million Saint Crystals!
Yang Kai had not even recovered from his surprise when his eyes were next attracted to a big piece of ore which was emitting a golden glow.
“Profound Star Essence!”
“Five Coloured Sand!”
“Blue Phoenix Tear Iron!”
…..
“So many Saint Crystals?”
Yang Kai checked through the hill of ore and was repeatedly stunned by the great harvest Xiao Xiao had reaped this past half month.
Quickly estimating the value of this pile of ore in front of him, Yang Kai was shocked to discover that Xiao Xiao’s half-month of work was almost equivalent to the value of an entire medium-sized Sect on Shadowed Star.
The ores in front of him were all excellent materials for refining artifacts and some were even Origin King Grade. What Yang Kai was most confused by though was the massive quantity of Saint Crystals Xiao Xiao had brought back.
It was at least somewhat understandable that this Dead Star had a great deal of precious ore, but without World Energy, how could Saint Crystals possibly be produced here?
Saint Crystals were generally only formed on Cultivation Stars where there was rich World Energy and should never appear on Dead Stars.
Yang Kai’s eyes flickered as two completely different guesses came to his mind. Without hesitation, he pointed at the pile of ores in front of him and asked Xiao Xiao, “Where did you find these? Lead me there!”
Xiao Xiao immediately used his hands and feet to scamper across the ground in a certain direction.
Ten thousand kilometres away from the mountain valley where Yang Kai arranged the Space Array there was a giant pit which Xiao Xiao jumped down into.
Yang Kai followed closely.
Before setting up the Space Array, Yang Kai had surveyed the surrounding three hundred thousand kilometre region, and though he had noticed this giant pit, he hadn’t cared about it at the time.
Xiao Xiao had obviously found something good inside of it though!
This pit was very deep, and as he descended it, Yang Kai was assaulted by loud gusts of wind. Of course, this was not a problem for Yang Kai and he ignored it while releasing his Divine Sense to probe the situation down below, getting a good picture despite it being pitch black.
After descending roughly three thousand metres, Yang Kai’s landed at the bottom of the cave.
Standing firm, Yang Kai began expanding his Divine Sense outwards.
After a brief investigation, he was immediately shocked.
This underground space was not a small, empty cavern like he had expected, but actually a massive subterranean space that even his Divine Sense couldn’t completely cover!
The air here was a bit dry, but it was not difficult to breathe, and under Yang Kai’s Divine Sense investigation, he surprisingly discovered a large number of broken and collapsed buildings nearby that seemed to extend outwards for a great distance.
It turned out to be a giant ruin!
And judging from the style of these buildings, it was obvious that they were relics from a very distant era, at least several tens of thousands of years ago.
From the layout of these ruins, it was also clear that it was once the headquarters of a great Sect!
“I see…” Although Yang Kai’s expression displayed shock, his heart remained quite calm.
All of this was like what he had guessed.
After discovering that Xiao Xiao had brought back a lot of Saint Crystals, Yang Kai came up with two possible explanations.
One possibility was that this Dead Star was remarkably close to forming its own World Principles. If that was the case, then while there would be no signs on the outside of the Dead Star, Saint Crystals could still be produced below ground.
These Saint Crystals would exude aura for countless years to come, filling the Dead Star with World Energy and eventually allowing life to evolve.
This was the process by which a Dead Star evolved into a Cultivation Star. Such a Dead Star could be regarded as a newborn among the stars.
However, Yang Kai had not discovered a single induction that World Principles were forming here.
As such, this possibility was quite remote.
Yang Kai’s second guess, and the one he thought most likely, was that this Dead Star was not dead a very long time ago, but a real Cultivation Star. However, due to some kind of change, the World Principles had collapsed, and its aura had dispersed, turning it into what it was now.
Tong Xuan Realm may have gone down this path to becoming a Dead Star after several tens of thousands of years if there was no outside intervention.
All things were born, grew old, and then died; stars were no exception.
Although Yang Kai did not know what caused this star to become a Dead Star, he could tell from the materials brought back by Xiao Xiao that this place was obviously rich in resources and had a beautiful scenery long ago! The ruins in front of him were also clearly a great Sect’s headquarters.
A beckoning sound from nearby interrupted Yang Kai’s train of thought and turning to look, he saw Xiao Xiao motioning him to follow.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and with a flicker chased after him.
Along the way, Yang Kai was mindful of his surroundings, but soon discovered that his caution was unnecessary. Because there was no World Energy aura here, even if there were intact Spirit Arrays in these ruins, they could not activate.
In other words, this ruin was perfectly safe.
Soon after, Xiao Xiao brought Yang Kai to a large storehouse where a massive amount of ore was piled up along with many jade bottles and some other miscellaneous items.
The contents of the jade bottles were obviously pills.
Yang Kai picked up a few jade bottles to investigate but found that all the pills here had lost all their efficacy and crumbled into ashes, so he no longer bothered with them. There were also traces of withered herbs that had also lost their medicinal properties many years ago and become little more than garbage.
There was a large amount of Saint Crystals here as well, but these Saint Crystals had basically lost all their internal energy due to improper preservation. The Saint Crystals devoured by Xiao Xiao were probably the only useful ones left.
Inside this storehouse, the only thing of value that remained was the ore!
Ores were durable, and even if they were not preserved in a special way, their properties would not degrade.
Inside the storehouse, there was still several times more ore than had been consumed by Xiao Xiao, all of which was rare and valuable.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and collected all the ore into his Space Ring with a wave before bringing Xiao Xiao to continue exploring the area.
A day later, Yang Kai had made a sweep of the entire ruin.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai did not have any more gains, as everything of value was probably stored in that storehouse. Even Space Rings, which he found on some remains, had collapsed due to the lack of World Energy support, destroying everything inside of them.
However, Yang Kai did discover that, in this massive underground space, this ancient ruin was only the tip of the iceberg.
This underground region was like an entire expansive world, its area was extraordinarily vast!
Yang Kai decided to do some exploration.
After leaving the ruins, Yang Kai flew forward for only half a day before he came to a desolate mountain range that was pocketed with countless tunnels that appeared to be mine-shafts.
After arriving here, Xiao Xiao, who had been following Yang Kai the whole time, showed an expression of eagerness, as if he was very interested in the interior of this mountain range.
“Are there more ores in here?” Yang Kai turned his head and asked.
Stone Puppets were particularly sensitive to ore, and the more valuable the ore, the more it stimulated their appetite. Just like how wolves were sensitive to the smell of meat, Stone Puppets had a unique sense for ore!
Hearing Yang Kai questioning, Xiao Xiao nodded quickly.
“Then we should go take a look!” Yang Kai laughed before stretching out his hand, wrapping Xiao Xiao up in his Saint Qi, and rushing into the mountain range.
Soon, Yang Kai’s voice rang out from one of the mines, “An Annihilation Crystal lode!”
Sure enough, there was a mineral lode here, and of the extremely rare Annihilation Crystal!
Annihilation Crystal could not be used to refine artifacts because it naturally repelled World Energy, like fire and water. If it were used to refine artifacts, no one would be able to use them.
However, this ore was still extremely precious.
Because it naturally repelled World Energy, it could be used to arrange certain types of Spirit Arrays! A Spirit Array arranged with Annihilation Crystal could suppress a cultivator’s Saint Qi, meaning that if one were trapped inside, they could only rely on their physical strength to survive, just like on Shadowed Soul Island!
The famous Annihilation Isolation Array required Annihilation Crystal for its Array Core.
Without being able to use Saint Qi or artifact’s, could a cultivator really still be called a cultivator? The residents of Shadowed Soul Island used Shadowed Heaven Pills to temper their bodies so they could survive in that place, but not every cultivator had access to things like Shadowed Heaven Pills, and not every cultivator would focus on Body Tempering.
The Annihilation Isolation Array was a deadly trap for almost all cultivators, even Origin Kings who fell into it would find themselves in great difficulty.
Although this Spirit Array was indeed quite powerful, Annihilation Crystal was extremely rare and difficult to find!
However, there was actually an Annihilation Crystal lode here, and judging from the exposed crystals dotting the mine walls, it was a rich mineral lode!
Mineral lodes could be roughly divided into third categories, rich, ordinary, and poor! Each category had its own standard.
Generally speaking, a mineral lode that had reached the rich grade could be mined at will, making it a resource of extraordinary value as well as one that was extremely rare.
Yang Kai did not expect that he would actually find a rich Annihilation Crystal lode here.
Xiao Xiao had already rushed forward and was swallowing down pieces of ore rapidly, taking a large amount of Annihilation Crystal into his belly.
Yang Kai also did not hesitate, rushing forward and joining in the mining efforts.
Although this place was affected by the Annihilation Crystal ore, making it difficult for Yang Kai to use his Saint Qi, with his intrepid physical strength, his mining speed was only a little slower than Xiao Xiao’s.
In less than a day, Yang Kai had mined at least five hundred pieces of Annihilation Crystal. As for how much had been swallowed by Xiao Xiao, that was impossible to calculate.
Five hundred Annihilation Crystals were enough to set up a Spirit Array covering an entire small Sect. Of course, no Sect would be stupid enough to do this, because if they did, no one would be able to cultivate inside its perimeter anymore.
Without being able to sense World Energy, how was one supposed to cultivate?
Annihilation Crystal was most suited for arranging Spirit Arrays in some special locations, such as Restricted Areas or traps!
Despite Xiao Xiao and Yang Kai’s wanton mining though, this mineral lode did not seem to have decreased in supply at all. Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai could not help but sigh. Him wanting to mine this place fully by himself was simply unrealistic.
He would have to delay his efforts here for several years in order to finish such a project.
After grumbling for a moment, Yang Kai ceased his efforts and recalled Xiao Xiao before diving further into the mountain range to explore.
Another day later, under the guidance of Xiao Xiao’s sharp senses, Yang Kai came to another mountain range and after examining the situation inside of it, Yang Kai could not help calling out in surprise, “Heaven Grasping Jade!”
This place turned out to contain a Heaven Grasping Jade lode, an ore that could nourish one’s Soul!
Heaven Grasping Jade was a very special type of jade that had a deep green colour. Once stimulated with enough Saint Qi or World Energy, this jade released a soft energy that could nourish one’s Soul and strengthen their spiritual energy.
This was a natural process somewhat similar to the effects of Yang Kai’s Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, but it was far less effective.
The Soul Warming Lotus could exist inside a cultivator’s Knowledge Sea and constantly nourished their Soul. The reason Yang Kai’s Soul was so much stronger than average was because it had received the nourishment of the Soul Warming Lotus for so many years.
However, the Soul Warming Lotus was an incredibly rare supreme treasure, so how could it possibly be obtained easily? This was a treasure that even Origin Kings would covet.
Heaven Grasping Jade was different. Even though it was far less effective than the Soul Warming Lotus, that did not make it any less valuable as it was the best material for gently enhancing one’s Soul. Heaven Grasping Jade would appear on the market occasionally, but each time it did there would be a mad scramble to obtain it.
Heaven Grasping Jade was an incredibly valuable cultivation material!
But here, there was a mineral lode of Heaven Grasping Jade.
Judging from the scattered green light, this Heaven Grasping Jade lode wasn’t too rich, but it was also not barren, firmly placing it into the normal mineral lode category.
While Yang Kai was stunned, Xiao Xiao had already begun to devour the nearby Heaven Grasping Jade.
Yang Kai also quickly collected a hundred or so pieces of Heaven Grasping Jade before stopping and bringing Xiao Xiao to continue his exploration.
He faintly felt that this Dead Star he had accidentally landed on was a massive, untapped source of wealth!
Three days later, Yang Kai found a Blue Phoenix Tear Iron lode.
One month later, Yang Kai had discovered a total of eight mineral lodes, with one of them being a Saint Crystal lode!
He did not continue to explore at this point, as after a month he had vaguely understood that this Dead Star was actually once an Ore Star.
Each Cultivation Star had its own World Principles, and these World Principles were all roughly the same, but there were still some subtle differences.
These differences would lead to vastly different materials being produced on that Cultivation Star.
Some stars were better suited to growing herbs, resulting in them being classified as Medicine Stars.
On a Medicine Star, a herb which normally took a hundred years to reach maturity may only take fifty, thirty, or even just ten years to mature.
Other stars naturally formed ores at a higher frequency than average; these stars were known as Ore Stars.
On an Ore Star, there would be a dazzling variety of rare and precious ores in rich quantities.
In the Star Field, the most powerful forces all controlled a certain number of Ore Stars and Medicine Stars. For example, the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce that Xue Yue belonged to had more than one Ore Star and Medicine Star. It was precisely because of this kind of heritage that Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was able to do business throughout the entire Star Field and become so famous and powerful.
This Dead Star that Yang Kai stumbled upon was undoubtedly an Ore Star, and judging from the quantity and quality of the mineral lodes he had discovered so far, even amongst Ore Stars, this star was considered superior.
Right now, what needed to be done was to develop this place!
If High Heaven Sect could control this Ore Star, how could it not grow strong in the future?
Yang Kai’s heart pounded slightly faster as he became excited at such prospects.
Without any hesitation, Yang Kai immediately began to set up a Space Array just outside the location of the Saint Crystal lode he was at to connect with the one he had arranged in the mountain valley on the surface.
Because this was not a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array, Yang Kai only needed about a day to complete it and after standing on it, he inserted enough Saint Crystals to activate it and teleported back to the mountain valley on the surface.
Without delay, Yang Kai took out another batch of Saint Crystals and inserted them into the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array at his feet, locked onto the light in the distance of The Void that represented Shadowed Star, and activated the array.