“Why should I tell you about my relationship with him? Elder Cui, aren’t you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?” Luo Lan looked at the other party with disgust.
The man surnamed Cui snickered lowly, “If you don’t want to say, don’t. Why get so upset?”
After saying so, he turned to Yang Kai and said in a pointed tone, “Boy, the Severed World is very dangerous. Be careful not to die inside.”
Yang Kai squinted at him, his expression cold, not intending to make a response.
This attitude made the man surnamed Cui quite annoyed. Luo Lan slapping his face in public was one thing; after all, Luo Lan and he were both Sword Union Elders and their strength was even, but Yang Kai was just a trivial Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, yet he dared act so arrogantly. This man surnamed Cui wanted to find an excuse to attack.
However, before he could even say anything to Yang Kai, a cold snort rang out from nearby, “What a farce, if your Sword Union has internal disputes, just solve them quickly by yourselves. Why put them on display here? Or do you want this old master to referee a fight between you two? The winner stays and the loser can scram!”
The man who spoke wore deep-purple robes and had a sturdy face, his expression calm and composed as an oppressive aura lingered about his body.
The man surnamed Cui and Luo Lan heard this voice and both their faces changed slightly.
Luo Lan let out a peal of light laughter as she said, “We’ve shown Senior Ni something embarrassing. This Mistress did not have such intentions.”
The man surnamed Cui also smiled politely and said, “Senior Ni need not pay it any mind, I was simply making a joke with Elder Luo.”
“Hmph!” Senior Ni coldly snorted, not putting Luo Lan or the man surnamed Cui in his eyes at all as he snapped, “Since that’s the case, then be quiet and don’t disturb this old master!”
Luo Lan and man surnamed Cui both looked embarrassed but didn’t say anything more, the man surnamed Cui simply shooting Yang Kai a cold glare, as if wanting to remember his appearance.
Just after arriving here, he had already become the target of an Origin King Realm for no apparent reason, a fact that caused Yang Kai’s mood to sink.
“That guy’s name is Cui Hong, an Elder of my Sword Union and a life and death friend of Li Ming Hai. Both are members of the Vice Union Master’s faction. When you enter the Severed World, you must be careful not to leave my side. He wouldn’t dare attack me head-on, but he’ll have no qualms about attacking you,” Luo Lan’s voice quietly reached Yang Kai’s ears and explained to him.
Yang Kai nodded imperceptibly before asking quietly, “Who is that Senior Ni? Both of you seemed quite wary of him.”
“His name is Ni Guang and he belongs to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce,” Luo Lan replied, “He’s a Second-Order Origin King, so why wouldn’t Cui Hong and I fear him?”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai understood and glanced over towards Ni Guang.
When Yang Kai did so though, his eyes happened to meet with those of another person standing next to Ni Guang.
Yang Kai was instantly startled.
The owner of this other pair of eyes was smiling towards him meaningfully, staring at Yang Kai quite enthusiastically.
Yang Kai’s expression filled with bitterness and he almost couldn’t stop himself from cursing, quickly turning his eyes away, lowering his head, half covering his face with his hands while silently chanting to himself, ‘you can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me…’
This was obviously a pitiful attempt at self-deception…
After he and Luo Lan arrived here, Yang Kai hadn’t paid too much attention to the cultivators who had arrived earlier, and only now did he realize that an old acquaintance of his was next to Ni Guang.
With a face like jade and an all but perfect body, white skin that would make any woman jealous and an enchanting smile that could make any female, and even many males, entranced with just a single glance.
Hold a folding fan in a suave manner, no matter what kind of young talent they were, they would definitely feel inferior in front of him, as if he was born to stand above them all!
Simply synonymous with perfection!
This ‘young man’… if it wasn’t Third Young Master Xue Yue, who would it be?
The last time Yang Kai met Xue Yue was in the Emperor Garden, where they had ended up fighting. Fortunately, with the closure of the Emperor Garden, Yang Kai managed to escape from her entanglement, but he never expected to meet her again outside this Severed World.
However, it actually wasn’t too surprising once Yang Kai thought about it. The Severed World was filled with both opportunity and risk, and although its existence was only known to a few masters, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was one of the major forces in the Star Field, so they were obviously aware of it.
This time, a master like Ni Guang had been dispatched, so it was understandable that Xue Yue had also come for life experience.
Instantaneously, all kinds of thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, allowing him to understand the current situation.
Soon, he let out a sigh, raised his head, and stared directly into Xue Yue’s eyes, grinning at her widely, exhibiting a pose of a dead pig not fearing boiling water.
Xue Yue was stunned, as if never expecting Yang Kai would act so boldly. Even with Ni Guang by her side, this bastard still dared to stare back at her, causing her to be a little annoyed and send Yang Kai a vicious look, showing a variety of enchanting styles.
Showing such a posture when she had the outward appearance of a handsome man, however, seemed a bit improper, and those who didn’t know the truth and saw this would definitely think that there was something ‘special’ about Xue Yue’s preferences. But Yang Kai knew her details quite intimately, so seeing her make such a defeated expression only caused him to smile even more happily.
Yang Kai’s relationship with Xue Yue was complicated, to say the least.
While they could be loosely classified as enemies, it hadn’t reached the point where they wanted each other dead. Rather, it was Yang Kai who had learned Xue Yue’s greatest secret and Xue Yue who wanted to eliminate him to remove that threat.
However, Xue Yue never truly tried to silence the witness to the crime, and even if she dispatched some people to chase Yang Kai on Rainfall Star, she hadn’t acted ruthlessly, only sending two cultivators she knew Yang Kai would be able to kill.
In another sense, they could be considered friends, but there was a barrier between their hearts that made it all but impossible for them to truly weather wind and rain together.
Xue Yue essentially felt that Yang Kai had taken advantage of her many times and was so angry she wanted to teach him a harsh lesson so he would be obedient to her, but Yang Kai had also risked his life to save hers, earning her gratitude. The two opposing feelings in her heart left Xue Yue in quite an awkward and frustrating dilemma.
Yang Kai was equally confused about how to deal with his relationship with Xue Yue.
If she was just an ordinary woman, that would be one thing, but she was actually the successor that Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s President Ai Ou had set his hopes on. Perhaps Xue Yue would become President of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce in the future, but if her identity as a woman was exposed, that would make it almost impossible for her to assume that position!
This was a secret she had to hide at all costs!
This obvious eye contact was naturally not missed by the Origin Kings nearby, with Luo Lan turning an amazed look to Yang Kai and asking quietly, “Do you know that young man? Do you know who he is?”
“I know, of course I know,” Yang Kai nodded.
Luo Lan said in astonishment, “You actually have such a wide range of contacts?”
Luo Lan had also only heard of the famous Third Young Master Xue Yue, but never seen him. Being able to recognize Xue Yue at a glance was entirely because of Ni Guang’s seemingly humble attitude towards Xue Yue.
In Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Ni Guang was a Senior who had almost unlimited authority, so what other Third-Order Origin Returning Realm besides Xue Yue could he possibly act respectfully towards?
Ordinary Origin Returning Realm masters didn’t even have the qualifications to meet Ni Guang in person, much less stand beside him as an equal.
Moreover, Xue Yue’s appearance was exactly as the rumours had stated, stunning enough to fascinate any sentient being, man, woman, old, or young! Even a master like Luo Lan couldn’t help stealing a few more glances at ‘him’ after seeing Xue Yue.
“Are you friends?” Luo Lan asked again.
“Ahaha…” Yang Kai didn’t know how to answer this question, so he hesitated for a moment before saying. “I have some entanglements with him.”
“Entanglements…” Luo Lan’s heart sank, subconsciously thinking that there might be some hatred between Yang Kai and Xue Yue. If that was the case, his situation was certainly not good.
While the two were whispering here, Ni Guang and Xue Yue seemed to be talking about something as well, and after communicating for a moment, Ni Guang turned an interested look towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had a bitter taste in his mouth, not knowing what Xue Yue had said to Ni Guang. If she had spoken some malicious remarks about him behind his back, there was a chance Ni Guang might act against him.
Thinking so, Yang Kai secretly told Luo Lan to immediately flee as soon as she saw something was wrong and give up on the Severed World.
How could Luo Lan dare disagree? At this moment she deeply regretted dragging Yang Kai here. If she had come alone, although the risk she faced later would definitely have greatly increased, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about just entering. She didn’t fear Cui Hong, but Ni Guang was different, as his Second-Order Origin King cultivation was enough for Luo Lan to withdraw voluntarily.
The conversation between Ni Guang and Xue Yue also seemed to come to an end, and the Second-Order Origin King Realm master was now staring at Yang Kai with piercing eyes, as if he wanted to see through him and into his thoughts.
Yang Kai felt immense pressure but continued to stare at Xue Yue without speaking.
Xue Yue just smiled innocently, opened her folding fan and waved it gently, completely acting the part of an elegant Young Lord.
During her many confrontations with Yang Kai, it was rare that she was able to see his defeated expression, so, even if she was borrowing Ni Guang’s might in order to suppress him, Xue Yue couldn’t help feeling happy!
“Young man, do you want to travel together with this old master?” Ni Guang suddenly asked.
As soon as this statement came out, the scattered Origin Kings nearby all wore startled looks and stared towards Yang Kai with strange and scrutinizing expressions.
None of them knew why Ni Guang would suddenly invite a mere Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator to join him, and one that had come here with Luo Lan from Sword Union at that.
This blatant act of poaching caused everyone to feel some confusion.
If Yang Kai was comparable to Ni Guang in strength, it would be understandable for him to want to form an alliance to explore the Severed World together.
But Yang Kai was nothing more than a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm boy, so what could Ni Guang possibly see in him that is worthy of his attention?
Yang Kai didn’t expect things to develop like this, thinking that the most likely scenario was Xue Yue bad-mouthing him to Ni Guang so that the latter would teach him a lesson. When Ni Guang sent out this invitation though, Yang Kai was not just taken aback, he was also quite suspicious, glancing over at Xue Yue and wondering what she was up to.
Xue Yue smiled triumphantly, still waving her fan as if she was simply enjoying the scenery, the expression on her face completely unreadable.
[Hateful woman!] Yang Kai cursed secretly in his heart.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai turned to Ni Guang, cupped his fists, and said, “Junior is moved by Senior’s kindness, but Junior’s strength is low, so he is afraid if he were to travel together with Senior, he would only become a burden.”
“Haha,” Ni Guang smiled lightly. “Seems you have some self-awareness, but… Since this old master has invited you, naturally he has the confidence to protect you, or are you questioning this old master’s strength and methods?”
Yang Kai frowned while Luo Lan’s face also changed slightly, silently urging Yang Kai to pay more attention to his words.
Yang Kai smiled hesitantly and continued to argue, “Senior has great strength and superb cultivation, Junior doesn’t dare doubt that, but… Junior came here today with Senior Luo, so…”
“A true man should act decisively and not quibble about such minor issues!” Ni Guang snorted coldly, seemingly dissatisfied with Yang Kai continuing to make excuses, taking a deep look at him, and declaring, “In that case, you and Elder Luo can join hands with this old master, what do you think?”
Instead of Yang Kai, Ni Guang’s last words were directed at Luo Lan.
Luo Lan was startled as hesitation and struggle flashed across her face, but she quickly composed herself, smiled, and replied, “Since Senior Ni has offered so kindly, it would be impolite for this Mistress to refuse.”
Saying so, she cast a meaningful glance towards Yang Kai before flying over towards Ni Guang first.
With Luo Lan agreeing already, Yang Kai was out of reasons to object so he could only sigh and chase after her.
Soon after, the pair arrived in front of Ni Guang and Xue Yue, forming a small group.
Among everyone present, originally, only Ni Guang had brought an Origin Returning Realm Junior, while the other Origin Kings came alone. Now that Luo Lan and Yang Kai had joined them, there were now four people in Ni Guang’s group.
If one only counted numbers, this group overwhelmed all others present, but… whether the two Origin Realm Juniors would be more help or hindrance was unclear.
After inviting Luo Lan and Yang Kai, Ni Guang seemed to lose interest in speaking and simply stood in the void, closing his eyes and resting.
After Luo Lan came over, she could not help acting somewhat cautious; after all, her cultivation was lower than Ni Guang’s and she belonged to a different great force, so she was somewhat uncomfortable.
Yang Kai was even less pleased and simply remained sullenly silent.
Xue Yue closed her folding fan and flashed a smile, “Brother Yang, who would have expected that we would meet once more, I didn’t expect to see you here, it must be fate.”
“What do you want?” Yang Kai glared at her and spat with no trace of politeness, “Let me say this first, I have no interest in crossing dragons and swords with other men, so don’t get close to me!”
Luo Lan’s head whipped back and her beautiful eyes flashed a strange light as she glanced back and forth between Yang Kai and Xue Yue, unable to hide her shock.
Even Ni Guang, who had just closed his eyes and calmed his mind, opened them wide once again, his expression turning into an extremely strange one.
“You…” Xue Yue didn’t think that Yang Kai would speak such shameless words as soon as he came over, causing her face to go completely red as she trembled in anger, “What… what nonsense crossing dragons and swords!?”
“Hmph!” Yang Kai snorted through his nostrils, putting on a haughty appearance, “What it means, you know in your heart.”
The ambiguity of his words made Xue Yue even more helpless. Coupled with Luo Lan and Ni Guang’s awkward gazes, Xue Yue could not control her emotions for a moment and blushed all the way to her neck.
“Ha… haha…” Luo Lan did not know what to say so she just let out some forced laughter, as if wanting to ease the embarrassment but only succeeding in making things more embarrassing for Xue Yue.
“You… if you dare to speak impertinently again, I’ll kill you!” Xue Yue ground her teeth and put on a look of absolute anger towards Yang Kai, as if trying to clarify her stance.
“Are you willing?” Yang Kai sneered, looking directly into Xue Yue’s eyes.
Xue Yue was speechless, her teeth grinding even harder as her Saint Qi began showing signs of welling up.
Ni Guang’s eyes narrowed and he let out a slight snicker, “Young man, your courage isn’t small, actually daring to speak such nonsense in front of this old master. No wonder Third Young Master has an interest in you, but… the nonsense stops here, no more trying to stir up trouble just to prove a point.”
Yang Kai grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
Since Ni Guang had given him such a warning, he could only comply. In fact, Yang Kai was only angry that Xue Yue had made things difficult for him and was trying to get some revenge.
After speaking, Ni Guang closed his eyes again, as if nothing happened just now.
On the contrary, uncertainty flashed across Luo Lan’s eyes as she stared at Yang Kai and Xue Yue for a while, as if trying to figure out if there really was some unspeakable secret between them.
Did the famous Xue Yue Third Young Master really like men and not women? Why else would he have looked so guilty just now? What exactly had transpired between these two shocking talents?
Just thinking about it for a moment caused Luo Lan’s face to blush…
“Come here!” Xue Yue suddenly spat out a breath, the blush on her face receding like a tide before she coldly called Yang Kai out and flew away.
She obviously wanted to find a more private location to talk with Yang Kai, lest he say something even more embarrassing.
Yang Kai frowned and wanted to ignore Xue Yue, but thinking about what kind of reaction Ni Guang might have, he sighed and followed after her.
“Young people are always ignorant and arrogant, Elder Luo doesn’t need to pay them any mind,” After the two left, Ni Guang suddenly muttered.
“Haha, it is as Senior Ni says,” Luo Lan gave a light laugh.
Thirty kilometres or so away from the entrance, Xue Yue stopped and turned to look back, her beautiful eyes flashing a complicated light. After Yang Kai came over, she immediately shouted, “Why are you acting like this!”
“Why are you doing this?” Yang Kai asked back.
“What’s wrong with me doing this?” Xue Yue grit her teeth.
“You could have just pretended to not see me and then nothing would have happened. Why drag me over to follow you?” Yang Kai spat; his stomach full of grievances.
“Don’t you know how dangerous the Severed World is? Even Origin Kings cannot guarantee their safety there. I asked Uncle Ni to let you join us to protect your safety! You really don’t know how to appreciate other people’s kindness!” Xue Yue snapped angrily, almost spitting in Yang Kai’s face.
Hearing this though, Yang Kai just smiled slyly as he stared at Xue Yue’s face.
“What?” Xue Yue began feeling somewhat anxious being stared at so aggressively and could not help taking two steps back.
“Didn’t you want to kill me? Since when do you care so much about my safety?” Yang Kai smiled and said, “I know your secret, so wouldn’t it be perfect for you if I died? That way, your secret will never be exposed. You are paying so much attention to me now though, it’s almost as if you’ve fallen for me. Is that what this is all about, Beautiful?”
Xue Yue heard this, curled her lips into a grin, and snickered, “Stop projecting your delusions onto me, just who do you think you are? Why would I, Xue Yue, ever be interested in a shameless guy like you?”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow hearing this and began stroking his chin, as if he was lost in thought. Seeing this caused Xue Yue’s heart to clench because she thought she had wounded his self-esteem, instantly becoming a bit regretful.
However, in the next instant, Yang Kai suddenly said earnestly, “Aren’t women supposed to have special feelings for their first man? Am I wrong?”
“Who is whose first man!?” Xue Yue ground her teeth hard as she spat angrily.
“Although there hasn’t been much progress between you and me, at the very least, we’ve been intimate, with no barriers between…” Before Yang Kai could finish his thought though, his expression changed, and he reached out to grasp towards the void in front of him.
Suddenly, a burst of Saint Qi erupted as Xue Yue’s hand was caught by Yang Kai’s in a tight grip.
With a loud bang, Yang Kai’s body shook slightly, but he did not retreat, instead taking the opportunity to clasp Xue Yue’s little hand and twist her around before using his free arm to lock her neck, holding her firmly in place.
Xue Yue still wanted to struggle, but Yang Kai had moved too fast for her to react.
In an instant, Xue Yue was subdued!
Her face changed slightly as she whispered, “When did you become so strong?”
“Don’t look down on others too much, Beautiful,” Yang Kai said while whispering into her ear, “Moreover, isn’t wanting to fight the moment we meet growing tiresome for you too?”
“Let go!” Xue Yue bit her thin lip lightly.
The hot breath on her ear made it feel like lightning was coursing through her veins, and the intense heat pressing against her back involuntarily made Xue Yue recall all the ‘intimacy’ she had shared with Yang Kai on that Dead Star so many years ago.
Naturally, whenever she thought about that time, full of unbridled contact…
“Let me go!” Xue Yue struggled, but found that she could not escape from Yang Kai’s grip at all, her voice couldn’t help lowering to a whisper, “If someone sees this, how do you plan to explain?”
Yang Kai stared at her red earlobes and laughed frivolously, “Your mouth says no, but your body is still quite honest!”
These ambiguous words only made Xue Yue feel even more embarrassed. Taking a deep breath and trying to sound as calm as possible, she said, “Don’t make trouble. Can you let go now? I promise I won’t act against you again.”
Yang Kai thought for a moment before nodding, “Good.”
Xue Yue’s attack just now did not carry any murderous intent. Obviously, she did not want his life, only to shut him up, so Yang Kai didn’t take it to heart.
Having reached an agreement, Yang Kai released Xue Yue’s hands.
The moment she regained her freedom, Xue Yue instantly opened a dozen metre distance between her and Yang Kai before turning around and glowering at him, wishing she could eat his flesh and drink his blood.
After a while though, she adjusted her somewhat messy clothes and calmed her mood.
“Tell me, what is your real goal here?” Yang Kai’s expression turned extremely serious, completely different from the lawless and obscene one he was just wearing.
Seeing this, Xue Yue had some trouble adapting…
“You didn’t ask that Ni Guang to invite me along for no reason, what do you want?”
“I said it was for your own good, don’t you believe me?” Xue Yue raised her brow.
“So you really do like me…” Yang Kai said deeply.
“Shameless!”
Yang Kai laughed loudly, “Just kidding, don’t be so serious.”
Xue Yue had to take a few deep breaths this time to regain her calm, “In the Emperor Garden, we never got to finish our transaction, or have you forgotten?”
“Deal?” Yang Kai frowned, “What deal?”
“You really forgot?” Xue Yue looked at him and sneered dismissively, “So that’s how it is, it looks like you were too busy flirting with that enchantress from Monster Emperor Star and completely forgot about what I said.”
Yang Kai grinned as he said, “Is that jealousy I hear…”
“Don’t flatter yourself!” Xue Yue yelled angrily.
“However, how did you know that she came from Monster Emperor Star? Did you investigate her later?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at her.
“Did I even need to?” Xue Yue raised her chin slightly and coldly snorted, “Where else but Monster Emperor Star could you find that kind of shameless enchantress?”
“Seems you did inquire about her…” Yang Kai muttered to himself. “Forget it, enough about that. I remember the deal you mentioned.”
“Took you long enough, where is it now then?”
“You mean the Stone Tablet which came out of the Stone Monument?”
“Yes!”
Yang Kai frowned slightly. Naturally, he remembered the scene from that time and about the transaction between himself and Xue Yue. Xue Yue had said at the time that as long as he handed over the stone tablet, the grievances between her and Yang Kai would be wiped clean and she would never trouble him again.
At that time, Yang Kai had also agreed, but before he could hand the stone tablet over to Xue Yue, the Emperor Garden closed without warning, resulting in them being unable to complete the exchange.
Later, Yang Kai learned that what was hidden in the stone tablet was the shocking Star Refining Art Secret Technique!
This was a supreme Secret Technique which allowed one to refine a Star Source, thus becoming a Star Master. Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang had been able to refine Tong Xuan Realm’s Star Source at the Saint King Realm for two reasons, one was because Tong Xuan Realm had grown incredibly weak and second because of the Star Refining Art.
If either of these two factors had been missing, with Xia Ning Chang’s cultivation at the time, she would not have been able to successfully refine Tong Xuan Realm’s Star Source and become its Star Master.
This was undoubtedly a Secret Technique that could shake the very foundation of the Star Field and set off a massive, bloody war. Its value was simply immeasurable.
Knowing nothing about the Star Refining Art, Yang Kai had not had any qualms about exchanging it for his peace of mind, but now that he did, it was, of course, impossible for him to hand it over easily, even if the other party was Xue Yue.
The relationship between the two of them was still somewhat unclear, so how could Yang Kai just give her such an incredible Secret Technique casually?
“Do you know what is recorded on that stone tablet?” Yang Kai asked seriously.
“I don’t know!” Xue Yue shook her head.
“You don’t know but you still want it?”
“Although I do not know what is recorded on it, I know it is the key to allowing my father to break through to the Third-Order Origin King! So, I have to obtain it!”
“President Ai Ou?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Xue Yue’s father was naturally President Ai Ou of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. Yang Kai had heard about this famous character before but had never met him. Currently, what Yang Kai knew was that Ai Ou was a Second-Order Origin King that had been unable to break through to the Third-Order for many years. Even so, with the backing of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Ai Ou was not an existence that could be underestimated.
“Yes, so I hope you can give me that stone tablet so I can give it to my father!” Xue Yue looked at Yang Kai sincerely.
“How can you be so certain of what is recorded on it? Why are you confident that your father can break through to the Third-Order after obtaining it? You don’t even know what it is.”
Xue Yue smiled and said, “My Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce has a glorious inheritance stretching back over ten thousand years, so we possess some information that is not known to the public. This is something you should understand.”
Yang Kai nodded as he pondered to himself.
In a sense, Xue Yue was right. The Star Refining Art may really be the key to Ai Ou’s breakthrough to the Third Order; after all, with the identity and heritage of Ai Ou, a veteran Origin King, and the Star Refining Art, it would not be impossible for him to refine a Star Source, and once he succeeded, he would surely be able to successfully break through after receiving the blessings from that Star Source.
Of course, there would be some unavoidable risks involved in this process, risks that could result in his very Soul being extinguished.
After understanding this though, Yang Kai was also secretly surprised by the information held by Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. The Star Refining Art was sealed in a Stone Monument deep inside the Emperor Garden, and before the Stone Monument was smashed, Yang Kai had not noticed anything out of the ordinary about it, but it seemed Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce knew about it in advance.
“I hope you can give me that thing!” Xue Yue looked at Yang Kai sincerely, “Even if it’s just a copy, it doesn’t matter. That stone tablet recorded some kind of Secret Technique or Secret Art, right? If that is the case, I don’t need the original stone tablet ontology, a copy will be enough.”
“I need to think about this,” Yang Kai thought for a while before saying.
“No problem,” Xue Yue readily agreed. “But before you make a decision, you’ll have to act together with me.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “With Ni Guang watching, I think it’s impossible for me to get away from you.”
“Who knows, your strongest talent is definitely escaping from trouble, so if I’m not careful, you’ll certainly try to flee,” Xue Yue snorted softly, “That’s why I let Uncle Ni invite you.”
This was Xue Yue’s main purpose in having Ni Guang invite Yang Kai to travel with them! When she saw Yang Kai arrive, Xue Yue knew that it was the perfect opportunity for her to finish the business between them.
“Since we have reached an agreement, let’s go back. The entrance to that place will open soon. Once we enter, do not run around aimlessly,” Yue Xue warned sternly.
“Understood.”
Soon after, the pair returned to the vicinity of the entrance again. Ni Guang still had his eyes closed while Luo Lan also stood aside and waited quietly. Seeing the two reappear, Luo Lan just gently nodded and did not ask anything.
“Xue Yue,” Yang Kai suddenly approached Xue Yue and called out softly.
“What do you want?” Xue Yue asked slightly nervously, frowning as she asked, “Can you not get so close?”
Yang Kai glanced at her strangely before asking, “Who are the people here. Do you know?”
Xue Yue said, “Some I know, some I don’t.”
“Then that person… do you know who he is?” Yang Kai said while glancing towards a certain direction.
Xue Yue quietly glanced over in the direction Yang Kai had looked and found an Origin King Realm master covered in thick black Qi with his face completely concealed. The black Qi around this man was like a living creature, twisting and churning in indistinct patterns, giving off an uncomfortable aura that made those nearby shudder.
“I’ve never seen or heard of him,” Xue Yue shivered involuntarily, and whispered back, “Why? Is there something wrong with him?”
“I don’t know if I’m thinking too much, but I’ve felt like he was paying attention to me for a while now,” Yang Kai frowned.
Xue Yue was stunned. Naturally, she didn’t think Yang Kai was imagining things. Yang Kai’s strength was not weak, and if someone was spying on him, he would definitely sense something, so since he had said so, it was very likely the master wrapped in black Qi was paying attention to him.
As if to confirm Yang Kai’s statement, when Xue Yue secretly stole a glance towards the other party, from the thick black Qi a strange, grating cackle rang out.
Xue Yue’s face turned pale.
“This person… is very dangerous. Don’t provoke him,” Ni Guang suddenly opened his eyes and whispered in a serious tone.
“Uncle Ni, what is his background?” Xue Yue asked.
“I don’t know,” Ni Guang shook his head, “Of all the Origin Kings I know and know of, none of them are similar to this person, but… this old master can tell he is very strong, possibly not weaker than me.”
“So, he’s also a Second-Order Origin King?”
“I can’t say for certain if he is a Second-Order, only if I fought with him would I be able to confirm it,” Ni Guang said slowly, “Regardless, don’t provoke him. This person’s aura is filled with cold, evil energy, so he must have cultivated some kind of demonic Secret Art.”
“I understand,” Xue Yue nodded obediently.
Next, in order to prevent Yang Kai from provoking someone who he shouldn’t, Xue Yue carefully introduced him to the origins and identities of the Origin Kings present. There were more than ten people present and Xue Yue knew eight of them. The rest she was not certain about but was able to make some guesses.
Yang Kai made sure to remember the appearances and identities of these masters in mind, in case of emergencies.
Outside the entrance, everyone continued to wait quietly.
From time to time, a new Origin King would rush over, find an open spot, and close their eyes to rest.
About three days later, a bright stream of purple light, which was particularly eye-catching, suddenly appeared from the distant Starry Sky.
When this purple light appeared, Ni Guang suddenly opened his eyes and stared deeply towards it, a slight frown appearing on his face as he coldly muttered, “That old dog also came…”
He seemed to know the identity of this person at a glance.
“Oh well, since he’s come, we can get started,” Ni Guang muttered again.
The aura which radiated from this purple stream of light was extremely powerful, not at all under Ni Guang’s, so it was apparent that whoever had arrived was a master at the Second-Order Origin King Realm. Aware of this, the faces of the First-Order Origin Kings who had already arrived changed slightly. Only the figure wrapped in black Qi let out a strange laugh, not caring at all about this new arrival.
Soon, the purple light arrived nearby and came to a stop before rapidly dissipating, revealing two figures.
Both of these two had a similar body shape, strong and burly, as if they had been carved from the same mould. On top of that, they both shared the same long purple hair which draped down over their shoulders, giving them a free and unrestrained appearance.
The two looked like brothers.
However, if one looked closely, they would realize this was not the case, because the cultivation gap between the two was quite large. One of them was a Second-Order Origin King while the other was just a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator, the same as Xue Yue and Yang Kai.
After these two appeared, their eyes swept around the crowd and soon fixed on the pair from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
Ni Guang and the Second-Order Origin King master exchanged looks…
Xue Yue’s gaze collided with the Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator…
Neither side showed weakness, not even flinching, their expressions remaining calm.
“Hahaha!” A loud burst of laughter sounded soon after as the purple-haired Second-Order Origin King boldly called out, “It seems this old master has come a little late and made everyone wait.”
“No one was waiting for you, Zi Long. Stop flattering yourself!” Ni Guang sneered.
“Oh, I thought Brother Ni would have wished I had come here sooner,” Zi Long grinned meaningfully.
“Even without you, this entrance can be opened, it would only take a few more people,” Ni Guang said lightly, “But since you are here, there’s no point in waiting any longer.”
“En. In that case, let’s proceed,” Zi Long smiled.
Hearing the conversation between the two, Yang Kai immediately realized who this man was.
The purple-haired Second-Order Origin King was none other than the Sect Master of Purple Star, Zi Long!
Realizing this, Yang Kai also understood that the Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator beside him was Purple Star’s Young Master, Zi Dong.
Yang Kai was not surprised that Zi Dong was here, because Gu Jian Xin had mentioned that Zi Dong and Xue Yue could be placed on equal footing with him, which meant Gu Jian Xin had acknowledged Zi Dong’s strength.
These three young ‘men’ were the most famous talents in the entire Star Field! Because the three of them represented the three different super forces and were considered future successors to them.
Under these three, there were also many other famous rising stars.
Such as the disciple of Senior Wu Dao, Xu Bin Bai, Shan Qing Luo of Monster Emperor Star and the heirs to the several Monster Race Tribal Lords; however, none had reputations as loud as these three.
It was undeniable that the future of the Star Field would be dominated by these people.
Yang Kai didn’t know if there was some kind of grievances between Zi Dong and Xue Yue, or if it was just the competitive spirit of the younger generation, but as soon as these two met, both of them seemed eager to fight one another, creating some tension in the air.
But now was not a good time for such things.
The arrival of Zi Long allowed the entrance to be opened, so with Ni Guang and Zi Long taking charge, all of the gathered Origin Kings began preparing.
After a brief discussion, the Origin Kings on the scene scattered around, each assuming a position near the entrance, waiting intently.
“Then… shall we begin?” Zi Long cast his gaze over to Ni Guang and asked inquisitively.
Ni Guang nodded lightly, and in the next moment, a majestic Saint Qi burst out of his body as he formed a complex series of signs with his hands before pushing his hands forward.
A beam of energy visible to the naked eye shot out from his palms and poured into the white circular entrance.
Zi Long let out a hearty laugh and also began pouring his Saint Qi into the entrance.
The other Origin Kings present followed suit one after another, even the man wrapped in black Qi who had yet to reveal his face, and appeared incredibly suspicious, did not slack off and cooperated with everyone else in this act.
Soon, a humming sound rang out from the white entrance and the Void Cracks which had originally been freely flowing about seemed to be restrained by an invisible power, freezing in place.
As for the entrance itself, it seemed to have become a bottomless pit, devouring all the Saint Qi poured into it by the many Origin Kings present without showing any signs of stopping.
Among all the people present, only Yang Kai, Xue Yue, and Zi Dong, who were Origin Realm cultivators, did not participate and simply watched from the sidelines.
This was not a surprise though, as they were still incomparable to true Origin Kings no matter how good their aptitude was, or how profound their heritage was. What they could contribute to this kind of forceful opening of the entrance to the Severed World was like a drop of water in the ocean, so instead of wasting their energy, it was better for them to retain their strength to deal with any possible dangers they faced after entering the Severed World.
Time passed slowly.
The expressions of each Origin King became difficult as they continued to pour their Saint Qi into the entrance, causing them a great deal of consumption.
Fortunately, they had prepared a lot of pills to restore their Saint Qi in advance and were taking them regularly to supplement their losses.
The difference in cultivation also became apparent.
For First-Order Origin Kings such as Luo Lan and Cui Hong, their faces now had fine beads of sweat dripping down them and their bodies were trembling slightly. Only the Second-Order masters such as Ni Guang and Zi Long were able to retain a calm image.
More and more Void Cracks became fixed at the entrance, and with the infusion of Saint Qi, the unstable fluctuations of these Void Crack gradually dissipated, leaving behind only stable Void Cracks.
Seeing this, Yang Kai realized how everyone would enter the Severed World.
Soon after, Yang Kai’s conjectures were proven correct. When the number of stable Void Cracks reached a certain number around the primary white entrance, Ni Guang suddenly shouted, “Good!”
As soon as these words fell, all the Origin Kings stopped pouring in their Saint Qi into the void, picked one of the stable Void Cracks, and dashed inside.
After someone passed through one of the stabilized Void Cracks, the Void Crack started to destabilize and begin flitting about again.
Ni Guang and Luo Lan stood side by side, beckoned to Yang Kai and Xue Yue, and after converging together, released their Saint Qi and rushed towards the biggest Void Crack.
From a short distance away, a purple streak of light flew past and Zi Long’s laughter rang out, “Brother Ni, this old master will be going on ahead. Make sure you don’t die inside!”
As soon as these words came out, Zi Long took Zi Dong and disappeared into one of the entrances.
Ni Guang coldly snorted and rushed into the largest Void Crack.
Suddenly, the surrounding space became silent and empty.
After everyone disappeared, the entrances began to warp and distort, with more and more Void Cracks constantly emerging, turning the temporarily stable region into one filled with even more danger than before. It was conceivable that even if just as many Origin Kings gathered here, they would be unable to open the entrance again.
If one wanted to enter this place, they could only wait for the next opportunity, and when that would be was completely unknown.
After Yang Kai followed Luo Lan into the Void Crack, he felt a sense of weightlessness, as if he was falling towards an endless abyss and his Soul felt a great deal of pressure. These were all telltale signs of a substantial spatial transmission.
Yang Kai could perceive that Luo Lan was working hard to resist the pressure coming at her from all directions, but such a transmission was really nothing to him; after all, he was proficient in Space Force. So he had long adapted to this kind of Space Force pressure.
The entire transmission process was extremely fast, almost feeling like a single flash before Yang Kai’s eyes were greeted by a completely different world’s scenery.
The sky was dim, and chaotic energy fluctuations abounded. There was no sun, nor moon, nor stars. The land was dry and desolate, without a single blade of grass and only dried up, cracked ravines.
The place where everyone appeared was in midair, so as soon as they entered, they immediately descended to the ground.
Yang Kai turned his head around and found that Ni Guang, Xue Yue, and Luo Lan were all there.
However, no one else seemed to be around.
This was also easy to understand; after all, each group entered this place through different Void Cracks, and for each Void Crack, there would naturally be a different teleportation location.
Circulating their Saint Qi, the four descended lightly, with Ni Guang and Luo Lan both showing relieved expressions.
“Fortunately, we didn’t appear somewhere dangerous,” Luo Lan said softly while Ni Guang nodded in agreement, feeling their luck was already quite good.
It was not always a smooth process for Origin Kings to enter the Severed World. Without even mentioning the many crises that could not be resolved by Origin Kings in this place, it was even said that there were dangers one could encounter upon entering this place that would pose a threat to ordinary Origin Kings.
Other than encountering an extremely powerful Monster Beast, it was entirely possible to fall as soon as one entered this place.
There were many Ninth-Order Monster Beasts here, with a few Tenth-Order Monster Beasts as well. There were even rumours about legendary Eleventh-Order and Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts existing here…
But luck seemed to be on their side for now.
After landing, Yang Kai noticed that this place was quite different from the Star Field.
The World Principles here seemed to be extremely powerful, and while his Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy did not seem to be affected… his Shi was quite heavily suppressed.
Trying to release his Shi, Yang Kai found that it was less than half as powerful as normal.
Perceiving his movements, Xue Yue said to the side, “Don’t bother, everyone is like this. Not only our Shi, but even Uncle Ni’s Domain is suppressed here. The World Principles here are powerful and profound, having a strong impact on both Shi and Domain.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly; his expression slightly relaxed.
Ni Guang looked around and released his Divine Sense. Only after confirming that there was nothing that could threaten him nearby, he turned his head to Luo Lan and said, “Elder Luo, what are you planning to do next?”
Luo Lan was startled and asked suspiciously, “Senior Ni means…”
Ni Guang pondered for a while before saying, “Let me be blunt, the reason this old master invited you was because Third Young Master wanted the young man accompanying us. As for Elder Luo, you were not part of this consideration. Before we entered this place, this old master did not have anything to say, but now that we are inside, this old master would like to clarify if you intend to act together with us or alone? Let me say this first though, this young man must accompany this old master.”
Although he did not know why Xue Yue insisted on having Yang Kai come with them, he knew that Xue Yue never did anything without a purpose.
Since Xue Yue wanted to keep Yang Kai close, she must have a good reason.
Seeing Luo Lan sink in contemplation, Ni Guang said, “If you come with this old master, it will be much safer for you, but this old master won’t guarantee you will gain any benefits. If you separate from this old master, although the risks will be higher, if you can obtain some rare opportunity here, it will be worthwhile.”
What Ni Guang meant was that even if they found something good here, he would not give anything to Luo Lan unless she contributed enough strength to help obtain it.
“I understand,” Luo Lan nodded, “But… I still want to travel with you; after all, Yang Kai was brought here by me, so this Mistress cannot just abandon him here.”
She did not dare act alone without Yang Kai.
Before learning that Yang Kai was proficient in Space Force, Luo Lan had not even planned on coming to the Severed World. She had received word of this place’s opening some time ago, but since she could not guarantee her own safety, she had not thought about entering.
Her coming here was a decision she made almost entirely based on knowing Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space.
As such, she did not want to be separated from Yang Kai.
Seeing her make this choice, Ni Guang didn’t show any change in expression, “If that is the case, we’ll go together. Just curious, Elder Luo: What is the main goal of your trip?”
Luo Lan glanced over at Yang Kai, pursed her lips, and smiled, “I have no special goal in mind, I simply planned to explore at will.”
She did not dare to say she was after a Shocking Void Beast, otherwise, with Ni Guang’s shrewdness, he would definitely be able to infer something.
The group of four people decided to find a nearby place to adjust their breathing after some discussions; after all, the process of opening the entrance to the Severed World had caused both Ni Guang and Luo Lan to consume a great deal of their Saint Qi just now. In a place like this, which was filled with crisis, they needed to maintain their peak condition in order to cope with whatever they may encounter next.
Fortunately, there was not any obvious danger nearby, so Ni Guang simply led the group to the bottom of a ravine to conceal themselves.
The ravines here were quite deep and narrow, spreading out in all directions like a series of long canyons. After flying down and looking up, only a faint light could be seen, indicating they were at least a couple thousand metres below the surface.
At the bottom of the ravine, a chilly wind gusted continuously.
Yang Kai and Xue Yue were still at full strength, and although they were not Origin Kings, their strength wasn’t weak, so they were responsible for standing guard.
Ni Guang and Luo Lan each chose a location not far apart, took some pills, and sat down cross-legged to meditate.
Yang Kai guarded Luo Lan while Xue Yue guarded Ni Guang, each side performing their own duties.
The world seemed silent, with only the noise of the blustering wind echoing through the gully adding to the eerie stillness.
Xue Yue glanced around from time to time, seeming a little nervous.
Regardless of how high her cultivation was or how strong she was, she was still a woman. So, in such a gloomy environment, she instinctually became more vigilant.
Yang Kai wore an indifferent look as he simply closed his eyes and released his Divine Sense to monitor the surroundings to avoid any accidents.
Time passed slowly, and after an unknown period, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes…
He found himself lying on a bed, one that was wooden and quite uncomfortable. Looking up, he saw a simple roof which had holes in it and was leaking air everywhere. Turning around, the furnishings in this house were extremely sparse, with only a simple table and a chair, nothing else.
The scene felt quite familiar. Yang Kai could not help showing some doubt on his face as his mind felt hazy, making it impossible for him to think straight.
He instinctively felt that something was wrong, as if he had forgotten something important, and tried hard to remember, but this only caused a sharp pain in his head.
He could not even remember what he was doing before.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai got up from the simple wooden bed before opening the door and walking out. Standing in front of the small house, he took a look around…
Memories suddenly flooded back to him like a tide, and Yang Kai immediately recalled that he was currently a Trial Disciple of High Heaven Pavilion, but because he had been here for almost three years yet failed to meet the requirements of the Sect to become a formal disciple, he could only do odd jobs to earn a living while doing his best to cultivate at the same time.
There was a broom outside the house, and at this moment, the sky was not yet bright. It seemed to be the darkest hour before dawn.
Yang Kai could not help chuckling before stepping forward, picking up the broom, and beginning his day’s work.
The Sect had various roads which lead from the Contribution Hall, to the Training Hall, the Martial Skills Hall, and so on. All of which had the shadow of Yang Kai’s busy figure. All the roads were cleaned by him as he was the lowest-level disciple of High Heaven Pavilion, little more than a labourer.
As the sun rose and the day became light, many of Yang Kai’s fellow brothers gathered around, ready to challenge him.
In the end, a Junior Brother who only had a Fourth Stage Tempered Body cultivation won the right to challenge him, proceeded to trounce Yang Kai, then left.
Lying on the ground, breathing heavily, feeling his weakness and physical pain, Yang Kai slowly clenched his fists.
Subconsciously, his gaze shifted towards a big tree not far away.
Atop the big tree, there was a figure standing quietly, her face difficult to see because it was covered by a thin veil. Her figure was slim and there was a small sapphire which adorned her brow, giving her a pure and flawless appearance.
Yang Kai looked at her quietly, inexplicably feeling that this woman was incredibly important to him, but unable to understand why he felt this way.
Their eyes only met for a moment before the veiled woman’s body flickered and disappeared.
The disappearance of this woman caused Yang Kai to feel a little pain in his heart, as if it was being gripped by a strong hand, making it difficult for him to breath. Yang Kai shook his head and picked himself up off the ground with difficulty, collected his broom off the ground, then step by step returned to his little cabin.
In the end, he failed to meet the Sect’s requirements before the time limit and ultimately failed to become a true disciple of High Heaven Pavilion…
Having been expelled from High Heaven Pavilion, Yang Kai quietly packed up his things into a small sack then descended the mountain road he had walked countless times before.
Standing in front of the mountain gate, Yang Kai looked back at the plaque engraved with the three words ‘High Heaven Pavilion’ and paused, as his thoughts fluttered.
He was only fifteen years old now, but his future had already been lost.
At the base of the mountain, a group of Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters were walking over, headed by a certain person holding a sword in her hand, her temperament as cold and clear as ice jade. She was like an ice fairy, exquisite and unblemished. She wore a pure white dress which was unstained by even the slightest bit of dust and was like the bright moon around which the stars gathered. Standing in the middle of her group, which was laughing and chatting, she soon arrived near Yang Kai.
Perceiving his abnormal state, the lead woman stopped, turned to Yang Kai, and lightly opened her lips, “Junior Brother, are you descending the mountain?”
Yang Kai turned his head and looked towards the source of the voice, but after seeing the other person’s face, he could not help feeling startled and blurting out, “Su Yan…”
As soon as he spoke this name though, Yang Kai became startled. Although he had been in High Heaven Pavilion for three years now and was familiar with this Eldest Senior Sister, even witnessing her heroic posture many times, the two of them had never exchanged a single word.
After all, the Eldest Senior Sister of High Heaven Pavilion was a lofty, aloof existence while Yang Kai was just a Trial Disciple, there was too much of a difference in strength and identity between them to simply casually chat.
He did not know why he would suddenly call out the other party’s name, and with such familiarity, as if he had called it countless times. It was as if he had done so in a state of dream-like reverie.
Su Yan’s brow furrowed, but her expression did not change much; however, the few Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who were accompanying her, who were all not weak, immediately cast contemptuous eyes towards Yang Kai.
One of the more hot-tempered Senior Brothers even coldly snorted and without the slightest trace of politeness snapped, “Eldest Senior Sister’s name is not one you are qualified to call out!”
As soon as these words fell, a palm slapped towards Yang Kai.
A residual palm wind blew past him as Yang Kai was lifted up and thrown through the air, tumbling a few times before hitting the ground, blood overflowing from his mouth, his clothes covered in dust, making him look quite dishevelled.
Yang Kai was indifferent to the physical pain though and continued to frown as he fell to the ground, as if he had fallen into deep thought.
He did not understand why things were like this, all so familiar yet at the same time completely unfamiliar to him…
A fragrant wind brushed past Yang Kai’s nose in the next second as he saw a pair of jade feet land not far away. Looking up, he could see the beautiful and awe-inspiring image of Su Yan standing before him, like an immortal fairy.
“Eldest Senior Sister, don’t bother with him!” The Senior Brother who hit Yang Kai before coldly snorted with an unhappy look on his face.
Su Yan did not respond to him though and instead stretched out her hand to Yang Kai, as if she wanted to help him up.
Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before reaching out, taking Su Yan’s palm gently, and picking himself up.
The Senior Brother who already had a low opinion of Yang Kai now wore a twisted face as he glared at him with clear rage and hatred. Never had he expected that he had allowed Yang Kai to touch Eldest Senior Sister’s hand because of a simple beating.
Yang Kai stood dumbly on the spot while Su Yan stretched out her hand and patted the dust off his body, the seemingly eternal coldness on her face giving way to a slight warmth.
This gentle appearance stunned Yang Kai into a kind of trance.
“The outside world is extremely dangerous. After Junior Brother descends the mountain, he should set off as early as possible and be careful on the road. The sooner you depart, the earlier you will return,” Su Yan exhorted lightly before taking a deep look at Yang Kai then turning around and continuing on towards High Heaven Pavilion.
Yang Kai just stood in place and watched her leave, his heart feeling inexplicably empty as her figure slowly faded.
From the distance, the ridicule of the Senior Brother who had hit Yang Kai drifted over vaguely, “Eldest Senior Sister, that guy is just a Trial Disciple who was expelled from Sect and will never return, there’s no need to worry about him…”
“Is that so…” Su Yan’s voice sounded lightly. “He should be back.”
The beautiful woman’s figure continued into the distance until it finally disappeared.
Yang Kai’s gaze turned towards a different spot next, and in a remote corner, he saw another familiar Senior Sister wearing a green dress and a white veil covering her face standing there quietly.
A sudden gust of wind blew past at that moment, moving her veil and allowing Yang Kai to see her red lips moving slightly, as if she was saying something to him.
However, they were too far apart and Yang Kai was unable to hear what she said clearly. Before he could ask though, this Senior Sister disappeared.
In the end… all he ever learned about this Senior Sister was her name.
Xia Ning Chang!
For some reason, this was a name he felt he would remember for the rest of his life.
Yang Kai picked up his bag which had fallen to the ground, turned around, and strode away.
Yang Kai did not take part in the Yang Family Inheritance War in the Central Capital because he wasn’t strong enough and was unable to win over any support. Even participating would have been pointless.
His Eldest Brother Yang Wei successfully became the next candidate for Yang Family Patriarch with his own extraordinary strength and prestige, earning him the hopes of the family and their vigorous training.
Time flew by and soon, Yang Kai turned eighteen.
His father, Yang Ying Feng, and his mother, Dong Su Zhu, arranged a marriage for him. The other party was a woman from his mother’s family, and they were considered a good match.
Yang Kai did not have much choice in the matter of course. His persistent pursuit of the Martial Dao had yielded almost no gains, and as a member of the Yang Family, he had to at least contribute something to the Yang Family by leaving behind descendants.
He married the woman smoothly and fathered a few children.
During the day, he would work hard in one of the Yang Family’s businesses and at night he would return to his home and spend a pleasant time with his family. His wife and children were always obedient and respectful to him.
He lived a very happy family life.
But… somewhere in Yang Kai’s heart, he could not help feeling something was wrong.
He felt that his life shouldn’t be like this, that he should have had some kind of Heaven defying opportunity which set him on a completely different path.
He tried to dispel such absurd thoughts but found that, like wine, the longer they fermented, the stronger they became, not dispersing but instead threatening to burst out at any moment.
In addition, Yang Kai would occasionally see faces of people he was certain he never met before. There were men, women, old, and young among these people, all of whom he felt remarkably familiar with and could even call out their names.
Old Demon, Ling Tai Xu, Chu Ling Xiao, Fei Yu, Li Wan, Fei Jian, Cang Yan, Li Rong, Han Fei, Xue Yue, Wu Yi, Ye Xi Yun, Dai Yuan, Qian Tong…
These people were entrenched in Yang Kai’s subconscious mind, each of them seemingly calling out to him, constantly trying to tell him something, but Yang Kai was never able to hear what it was they were saying.
The days passed without surprise or danger, and Yang Kai soon entered the twilight years of his life…
At the age of seventy, with a house full of children and grandchildren, his parents having passed away long ago, everything around Yang Kai seemed to have changed. The only thing that remained constant was the strange faces which kept appearing in his dreams.
These faces were getting clearer and clearer, and their faint voices were now almost audible.
Soon, a serious illness overcame Yang Kai and severely damaged his vitality.
Lying on his bed, Yang Kai could hear loud cries coming from outside the room from his children and grandchildren, making him realize he had little time left.
The wife who had accompanied him all his life had also lost her beautiful face by now and was just an ordinary old woman, but in these last moments, she still remained by his side, taking care of him diligently.
[This life… was pretty good, right?] Yang Kai thought feebly, looking at his wife beside his bed with muddy eyes, the long years having turned her hair grey.
Yang Kai managed to squeeze out a smile at her after seeing this.
But to Yang Kai’s surprise, his wife who had always been deferential to him in the past, at this moment, only wore a cold expression on her face as she glared at him.
“You…” Yang Kai opened his mouth as he tried to speak.
The other party cut in though with a crisp and sweet voice, which should not belong to that of an old woman but rather a young one, “Finally, I’ll be free! I have been dragged down by you for an entire lifetime, but at long last, I can be liberated!”
“You… why would you say that?” Yang Kai looked at her sadly, his eyes full of pain and disappointment.
“Then what should I say?” The other party sneered, “Do you think I should be thankful to you? If it were not for your Yang Family’s overbearing strength, how could I have been forced to marry you all those years ago? You are just an ordinary, mediocre man, Yang Kai. If you were not born into the Yang Family, you wouldn’t even be as good as an ordinary mortal! Even so, you not only wasted your life but mine as well!”
“Is this what you truly feel in your heart?”
“Yes! Disappointed?” The other party sneered, her smile cruel like she wanted to pierce a sharp knife into Yang Kai’s heart.
Yang Kai, however, just chuckled and closed his eyes.
The old woman sitting by the bed smiled even colder.
At that moment though, Yang Kai suddenly muttered, “I am not delusional. To be honest, you did well these past few decades, but… I know, this is all just an illusion.”
“What?” The old woman’s face changed drastically as she stood up and stared at Yang Kai incredulously, “Do you know what you are saying?”
“At this time, you want to tear face with me and deliver a devastating blow to my mind at the moment I am most satisfied in order to plunge me into despair, right?” Yang Kai opened his eyes again, the murkiness in them having disappeared and been replaced with a sharp light. Sneering, he retorted, “Even those who are crying outside must be planning to rush in here soon and laugh at me as they watch me die, yes?”
“How could you…” The old woman’s complexion went blue.
“Why wouldn’t I have figured it out? I became aware of the truth more than thirty years ago, remembering everything that I should remember!”
“Since you knew, why did you still cooperate?” The old woman’s face turned grim.
“Haha…” Yang Kai smiled, sat up straight from the bed, and said, “Because I have never experienced this kind of life, and since you gave me an opportunity, I wanted to take advantage of it. This was a perfect way to hone my state of mind, after all.”
The familiar yet unfamiliar faces which kept flashing across Yang Kai’s mind, and the words they kept trying to convey to him, had finally made him remember everything all those years ago and allowed him to realize he had been caught in an elaborate illusion.
Yang Kai was shocked at that time!
He did not know when he had been ambushed, as he hadn’t noticed the presence of any enemies. He remembered that he was standing guard over Luo Lan and Ni Guang with Xue Yue, but there were no threats around them at that time.
The entire situation was too strange.
This only proved that this mysterious enemy had such powerful Spiritual Energy that it was able to invade his Knowledge Sea without his knowing and tamper with his memories, affecting his very thoughts and making him forget what he should remember. Everything about his life had been twisted and changed, almost beyond recognition.
When he realized this, Yang Kai did not rush to act.
For one thing, he did not know who the enemy was and taking action rashly might have unintended consequences. Secondly, as he said, this kind of life was something he had never experienced before, and it was indeed quite a wonderful experience. Of course… if his ‘wife’ who had accompanied him throughout his life had continued to play her part and had sent him off peacefully, that would have been for the best.
But at the last moment, she wanted to destroy Yang Kai’s rare and precious experience in order to plunge him into desperation.
In the end, a person will always have only one life.
Living a second, alternative life was nothing but an extravagant dream. As for the matter of reincarnation, that was an elusive and ethereal concept. Even if reincarnation was real, who could reincarnate with the memories of their previous life, or even guarantee they would be human again in their next?
Yang Kai, however, was able to experience something almost equivalent to that, although it was only for a short seventy years…
When his voice fell, the crying children and grandchildren outside also stopped their meaningless play and instead began letting out eerie howls which could terrify any who heard them.
The old woman sneered, “You think you can just sit back and relax after having seen through the illusion? You think too highly of yourself. If you had revealed it earlier, you might have been able to escape from this place, but after so much time has passed, it is now impossible for you to free yourself! Your Soul will forever be trapped here!”
“Really?” Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged for a moment before he smirked, “It looks like you can’t attack me directly and have to rely on manipulating my memories to influence me, right?”
With her abilities and their limitations so easily exposed, the old woman’s expression darkened noticeably.
After all, if she could directly attack, judging from the current situation, the old woman would not just stand by. In fact, it was her putting on a strong act and screaming that betrayed her lack of confidence.
“We should put an end to this now, but… I still must thank you. The experiences this life has given me have tempered my mind greatly, and I am much more confident about breaking through to the Origin King Realm now,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Yang Kai’s problem was that his strength had improved too quickly. Since he began cultivating until now, it had taken him less than forty years to reach the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm. But Great strength had to be matched with a strong mind and experience, otherwise, there was a great chance one would experience a dissonance in their cultivation.
This was Yang Kai’s greatest shortcoming.
But this time’s experience had made up for this deficiency, and no matter how much time or how little time had passed outside, in his mind, seventy years had passed, giving him the necessary psychological accumulation he needed to break through to the next realm.
He really wanted to thank this unknown party for giving him such an opportunity.
This alone was enough to make this trip to the Severed World worthwhile. Even if he obtained no gains during the following period here, it did not matter.
Yang Kai now intended to find a place to break through to the Origin King Realm after leaving the Severed World and already had one destination in mind.
He had great confidence in his ability to break through to the Origin King Realm, and with this experience, it was now almost a matter of course.
As soon as Yang Kai spoke these words of thanks, the anxious-looking old woman suddenly distorted greatly, changing into an ominous black entity that screamed and howled as it lunged at Yang Kai.
At the same time, a massive amount of black Qi flowed in from outside the room and rushed towards Yang Kai like a tide.
Yang Kai just snorted coldly, closed his eyes, then opened them again as he activated his Demon Eye of Annihilation.
The Demon Eye of Annihilation had the profound ability to see through all illusions.
As soon as the demon eye appeared, everything around Yang Kai began to collapse like a shattered mirror, beginning with the room, then the Yang Family Mansion, then the entire world.
The black shadows that rushed towards Yang Kai did not harm him at all. As he had suspected, these black shadows had no direct means of attack and could only target the negative emotions in one’s heart, causing them to fall into illusions.
The black shadows passed through Yang Kai’s body and disappeared.
In the next moment, the illusion was broken.
Yang Kai returned to the real world.
Before he could react though, a gust of cold wind hit him from behind so he hurriedly rolled forward to avoid the attack. Jumping to his feet and fixing his stance, Yang Kai turned back to confront his attacker.
What he saw was a kind of black shadow similar to the one in the illusion, but this mass of black shadows had the outline of a human, only lacking facial features but possessing arms and legs.
It seemed that the previous illusions were all caused by this black shadow.
And at this moment, it seemed this black shadow had suffered great damage. After all, it had used some kind of strange Secret Technique to drag Yang Kai into that illusion, so once the illusion broke it was inevitable it suffered a backlash.
Releasing a terrifying roar, the shadow pounced towards Yang Kai again.
Yang Kai waved his hand and sent out a Golden Blood Thread, cutting towards his opponent. But unexpectedly, the Golden Blood Thread did not affect the shadow, passing through it directly without causing any effective damage.
Yang Kai frowned, pushed his Saint Qi, and sent out a Heaven Covering Hand.
The huge palm covered the black shadow’s body but also failed to affect it in any way.
After only a brief delay, the shadow rushed forward again.
“The Golden Blood Thread is useless, as is Saint Qi Secret Techniques, it seems… only Spiritual Energy attacks are useful against you,” Yang Kai sneered as he stood in place without moving and a lotus bud appeared in his left eye.
Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique! Yang Kai’s most powerful Soul attack method.
In the face of such a weird shadow, he did not dare experiment anymore and immediately used his trump card.
The lotus pattern was fleeting, and in the next moment, it appeared around the black shadow’s body. The lotus bud began to bloom slowly, using the black shadows’ own power as a source of energy!
The black shadow suddenly stopped in place less than a meter from Yang Kai and collapsed to the ground, howling constantly.
By the time the lotus flower fully bloomed, the black shadow had already disappeared, leaving behind only a black lotus in its place which immediately collapsed and scattered to the wind.
Only now did Yang Kai have the time to investigate the situation of the others in his group.
Luo Lan was the closest to him, and when Yang Kai turned his head and looked towards her, he saw another human-shaped black shadow standing behind this First-Order Origin King. This black shadow was the same as the one he had eliminated just now and also strangely had no face.
At this moment, the black shadow was standing right behind Luo Lan and from its head, a tendril was protruding and had attached itself to the back of Luo Lan’s head.
A malevolent aura radiated from the black shadow’s body which was clearly affecting Luo Lan’s mind and pulling her Soul into an illusion.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of illusion Luo Lan was seeing, but her tender body was constantly trembling, and her complexion was fluctuating rapidly. Beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead and her breathing had become somewhat erratic.
“There’s more than one of these things?!” Yang Kai was startled.
He thought that the enemy that attacked him and Luo Lan was the same entity, but now that he had a chance to observe the situation, he realized there were more than one of these strange creatures.
Glancing over towards Xue Yue and Ni Guang in the distance, Yang Kai discovered that their situation was the same as Luo Lan’s, black, faceless, human-like shadows lurking behind them, manipulating them through some kind of illusion.
Clearly, no one had noticed when these shadows attacked, because even Ni Guang had been affected.
Looking at them like this, Yang Kai was certain they were in similar situations to the one he was in earlier.
The whipping winds at the bottom of the ravine suddenly carried over several howling voices at that moment.
Yang Kai felt a chill hearing these voices and upon turning his head around, his complexion could not help paling.
Stunned, Yang Kai discovered that, in all directions, countless humanoid shadows were appearing from the cracks in the earth. As soon as these shadows manifested, they turned their faceless faces towards Yang Kai, and even though they lacked eyes, he could not help feeling as he was being stared at menacingly.
“There are so many of them!” Yang Kai’s expression truly changed now.
Without hesitating, he rushed towards Luo Lan, gathered his Spiritual Energy into a spike, and struck the black shadow behind her back.
Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was incredibly powerful, not inferior to that of a master like Ni Guang’s, so just this attack was enough to damage the black shadow which was attacking Luo Lan. Shaking violently, the shadow dimmed greatly, as if it had suffered a serious injury.
With one more strike from his Divine Sense, Yang Kai was able to completely dislodge the black shadow which let out a miserable cry before dissipating.
Yang Kai calmed down after seeing this, realizing that these black shadows were not powerful and could easily be destroyed.
The problem, however, was there were too many of them.
Once the black shadow was extinguished, Luo Lan let out a cough as she finally broke free of the illusion, opened her eyes, and saw Yang Kai close at hand. Her eyes still showed some confusion though, indicating she was still suffering some aftereffects of the illusion.
Yang Kai quickly shouted at her, “Senior Luo, wake up quickly if you don’t want to die. Use your Spiritual Energy to deal with them.”
“Them?” Luo Lan frowned slightly, “Who?”
There was no need for Yang Kai to answer as, at that moment, many howling shadows rushed towards Luo Lan and Yang Kai.
Luo Lan let out a strange cry seeing this and finally reacted, stretching out her hand and summoning a hiltless dagger which released a radiating light from its blade. Under her control, the dagger flickered back and forth, cutting down any black shadow it impacted and scattering it to the wind.
When all was said and done, she was still an Origin King and this dazzling dagger was obviously a powerful Soul type artifact. Driven by her Spiritual Energy, it was the nemesis of these dark shadows.
Upon seeing this, Yang Kai composed himself and shouted, “Hold them back while I wake up Senior Ni and Xue Yue!”
“Hurry!” Cold sweat dripped from Luo Lan’s forehead as she urged. Even though she had only fought against these dark shadows for a short while, she already sensed how difficult it would be to withstand an attack from such a dense horde of them!
Luo Lan fought as she retreated towards the location where Ni Guang and Xue Yue were together with Yang Kai. As for the black shadows blocking the way, they were all defeated by Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy.
Although he didn’t have a Soul type artifact like Luo Lan, his Soul cultivation was extremely strong, so he didn’t have trouble clearing out a few of the black shadows.
Soon, Yang Kai arrived by Ni Guang’s side and sent a spike of his Spiritual Energy into the black humanoid figure attacking the latter.
After two strikes, Ni Guang was freed!
The moment the black shadow was defeated, Ni Guang opened his eyes suddenly and a terrible pressure burst from his body.
Standing up sharply, he shouted, “Evil creature, you dare try to disturb this old master’s mind? Damn, it almost succeeded too!”
Looking at his momentum, Yang Kai realized he was in much better condition than Luo Lan. At the very least, even if Ni Guang had been caught off guard, he realized the true nature of his situation. The reason he had not been able to wake himself up must have been because he didn’t have a way to break the illusion he was trapped inside of.
After receiving Yang Kai’s help, he immediately regained control of himself.
With a flick of his sleeve, Ni Guang sent out a powerful shockwave in all directions.
“Senior Ni, these things aren’t affected by Saint Qi or artifacts, they can only be damaged by Spiritual Energy attacks!” Yang Kai quickly informed him.
“So that’s how it is!” Ni Guang quickly understood and immediately opened his mouth to spit out a small round bead. As soon as this bead appeared, it released a burst of light that, while bright, was also extremely gentle, bathing the surrounding area in a warm glow like sunlight.
With the round bead as the centre, a ten-meter radius became a pure region.
All the black shadows that rushed into the light barrier distorted and while screaming, quickly faded into nothingness.
It was like watching snowflakes falling into a hot fire, evaporating without a trace in the blink of an eye!
Seeing this, Yang Kai felt relieved and hurried over to Xue Yue’s side and repeated the same process as before, killing the black shadow attacking her.
Xue Yue’s situation was undoubtedly the worst of the four. Although she was the Young Master of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce and possessed Heaven defying aptitude, reaching the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm at a very young age, her foundation and life experiences were incomparable to the other three present.
When Luo Lan was rescued by Yang Kai, although she was somewhat confused for a moment, she quickly composed herself and realized what her situation was.
On the contrary, Xue Yue remained in an unconscious state after being rescued by Yang Kai.
However, the expression on her face was extremely strange. There was a smile at the corner of her lips, and her whole body seemed to be extremely relaxed, as if she was experiencing something incredibly pleasant in whatever fantasy world she was trapped.
“Xue Yue!” Yang Kai put his hands on her shoulders and shook her while shouting.
After calling her name two or three times, Xue Yue frowned and opened her eyes, showing a somewhat displeased expression, but the moment she saw Yang Kai standing in front of her, she suddenly smiled and lifted her hand to brush her hair back behind her ear. This was a common gesture for a woman but performing the act when she had the outward appearance of a man was really a bit disturbing. Fortunately, only Yang Kai saw this as Ni Guang and Luo Lan were both busy dealing with the black shadows.
Xue Yue suddenly asked softly, “Did you wake?”
“Huh, why would I be the one waking up?” Yang Kai was confused but quickly shouted sharply, “You’re the one who should wake up quickly!”
“Me?” Xue Yue looked at Yang Kai blankly, her beautiful eyes filled with happiness and sweetness gradually becoming sober. After taking a moment to recover her wits, she began to look around.
At a glance, Xue Yue understood everything, and an obvious look of disappointment filled her face, as if she wished she had not woken up from the illusion just now.
“There are too many of these things. We can’t kill them all, so it’s best if we escape!” When Ni Guang saw Yang Kai successfully awaken Xue Yue, he hurriedly yelled and while speaking, he threw the round bead that was emitting soft light into the sky while chasing after it and shouting, “Follow me!”
“You go first, this Mistress will bring up the rear!” Luo Lan declared valiantly as she took the initiative to defend their retreat.
Yang Kai nodded, stretched out his hand to grab Xue Yue’s arm, and flew upwards together with her as Luo Lan followed behind.
The group of four people flew at an extremely fast speed trying to escape from this strange place.
But, the black shadows below chased after them, and from the many ravines nearby, more and more of them constantly poured out, each of them howling madly as they sent out a disturbing energy fluctuation similar to a Spiritual Energy attack. These attacks were invisible and intangible, and although one or two of them were not very powerful, with so many black shadows gathered together, the Soul Fluctuations they gave off shook the Knowledge Seas of the escaping four, threatening to drag them down in the bottomless abyss again.
However, under the power of Ni Guang and Luo Lan’s artifacts, the black shadows were unable to approach too close and were killed one after another.
Suddenly, Luo Lan, who was responsible for bringing up the rear, called out in alarm, “What is…”
In the next moment, she screamed out loudly, “Run!”
There was clear panic in her voice, as if she had just witnessed something terrifying.
Yang Kai stole a quick glance back across his shoulder and was shocked by what he saw.
The countless black shadows below had begun to fuse together while pursuing them. Like black raindrops all falling towards a single spot, in the blink of an eye, they merged together to form a single massive black shadow that continued to grow at a rapid pace as more and more of the smaller black shadows melted with it.
It was as if a pitch-black night sky had formed below them, giving off an incredibly strong sense of oppression.
After only three breaths, an enormous black shadow had taken shape.
As soon as the huge black shadow took shape, it extended two long arms from below like massive whips that flew fiercely through the air like bolts of black lightning.
Feeling the terrifying power contained in these two attacks, Luo Lan’s beautiful face paled, and without hesitation, she bit the tip of her tongue and spat out a mouthful of her Blood Essence towards her dagger before throwing it out in a powerful strike.
A silent collision occurred as the two black arms were temporarily stopped while Luo Lan’s dagger was sent flying.
The attacks that the black shadow could send out after its fusion were countless times stronger than those of its smaller, individual forms!
Soul type artifacts were driven by a cultivator’s Divine Sense, and although their power was immense, if they took damage, it would also damage the user’s Soul. Therefore, when her dagger was knocked through the air, Luo Lan’s pretty face went white and she could not help coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Even with her strong First-Order Origin King cultivation, it only took a single exchange for her to be injured.
At this moment, everyone clearly realized the power of these strange shadows.
Fortunately, the group of four had already managed to rush to the top of the ravine and flew high up into the sky. Not daring to remain, they continued to escape higher.
From the depths of the ravine, a terrifying roar sounded at that moment and two massive pitch black arms shot out and transformed into giant claws that grabbed towards the fleeing four.
However, it seemed that their reach wasn’t long enough, and the two giant claws only managed to catch the air a couple of dozen metres below Luo Lan, who was the closest to the ground.
The next moment, the two giant palms slowly retracted and the howling which had filled everyone’s ears until now gradually subsided, the entire world becoming peaceful again.
Ni Guang, who was leading the way, slowed down and finally came to a halt while staring down thoughtfully.
“These things… don’t seem to be capable of chasing after us,” Yang Kai also noticed the situation.
“It would seem so,” Ni Guang nodded, agreeing with Yang Kai’s assessment, “But it’s better not to make assumptions, we’d best leave here first.”
The other three nodded quickly and followed after Ni Guang.
A quarter of an hour later, the group of four settled down in a safe place again, and although their surroundings were still a deserted plain, at least there were no crisscrossing ravines. After confirming that there was no danger around them, the four stopped to rest and recover.
The crisis seemed to be resolved, but even now, everyone felt some lingering fear.
The attack they encountered this time was simply too unpredictable. Before entering the underground ravine, everyone had surveyed the surrounding area and even with two Origin Kings present they still had not been able to avoid being attacked, a truly shocking reality.
“Elder Luo, how are your injuries?” Ni Guang looked at the pale Luo Lan and asked.
“It’s fine, it only slightly damaged my Soul,” Luo Lan frowned and replied.
“That’s good,” Ni Guang felt relieved. He thought that with his cultivation at the Second-Order Origin King Realm, even if it would not be smooth sailing in this Severed World, it was impossible he would face a fatal threat, but after this experience, he didn’t dare think so anymore.
If it were not Yang Kai helping him break free, he didn’t know how long he would have been trapped in that illusion. Perhaps he wouldn’t have ever awoken, and his body would slowly have rotted away, leading to his death.
“Uncle Ni, what were those things?” Xue Yue asked with some lingering fear. The various things she experienced in the illusion before had felt completely real, and even after being awakened by Yang Kai, she still failed to adapt to the real world for some time.
“I don’t know, I’ve never heard of anything like them existing in the Severed World. Does Elder Luo know anything?” Ni Guang shook his head and turned to Luo Lan to ask.
“This Mistress doesn’t know much about the Severed World, but she is certain she has never heard of such strange creatures.”
“It seems that everyone who encountered these things died, so no information about them ever became known,” Ni Guang pondered thoughtfully, “But that’s not a surprise. Judging from the previous situation, those things are extremely proficient at concealing themselves; even this old master was unable to detect their existence. Fortunately, it seems they can only survive in that dark underground environment. As long as we don’t go underground, we should not encounter them again, and… we don’t seem to have been delayed by much. Inside that illusion, this old master felt like he lived many years, but judging from the condition of our bodies, I’d say only an hour or two has passed. The method those creatures possess is truly terrifying!”
Hearing what he said, the other three nodded slightly.
“Elder Luo, you should heal your injuries first, once you’ve recovered, we’ll set out again,” Ni Guang turned and said to Luo Lan.
“Then I shall be troubling you. This Mistress will try to be as fast as possible,” Luo Lan said gratefully.
She did not have any kind of friendship with Ni Guang, so, Ni Guang expressing his willingness to wait for her to recover at this time made her feel grateful. This also verified Ni Guang’s character and confirmed he was a good candidate to cooperate with.
Ni Guang was stronger than her, so cooperating with him was naturally in Luo Lan’s interest.
However, this may also have been related to her being willing to cover their retreat just now. Ni Guang’s attitude towards her had obviously become more amicable than it had been when they first set out.
Luo Lan’s luck was quite good. She had brought Yang Kai here to the Severed World because she wanted to rely on his achievements in the Dao of Space to make exploring this place safer, but as a result, she was also able to obtain cooperation from Ni Guang. If not for Yang Kai, Ni Guang wouldn’t have ever invited her to act together.
Taking out some healing pills, Luo Lan sat down and began to tend to the wound on her Soul.
As for Yang Kai, he was currently gazing towards a spot not far away.
He felt that somewhere in the sky over there, was a faint Space Force fluctuation. He could even infer from these energy fluctuations that there was a hidden Void Crack at that location!
It seemed that Luo Lan was right, this Severed World was filled with hidden danger with many Void Cracks floating about that were invisible to the naked eye.
If someone were to rush through rashly, there was a good chance they would be split in half by these The Void Cracks.
“What are you looking at?” Xue Yue suddenly leaned over and asked softly.
He did not know if he was imagining things, but Yang Kai felt that Xue Yue’s attitude towards him had changed slightly since earlier. Before, Xue Yue had only paid attention to him because of their strange entanglement, causing her attitude to be somewhat bitter and sweet at the same time.
But now, her gaze contained a gentleness that had not been there before. Even when they were escaping just now, Xue Yue held onto Yang Kai’s arm tightly and looked completely at ease.
“Nothing,” Yang Kai shook his head, “What happened to you? What did you experience in that illusion just now? With your mental fortitude, it should not have affected you so deeply, right?”
Yang Kai had only asked casually, but to his surprise, Xue Yue turned bright red, as if she was remembering something embarrassing, and snorted loudly, “None of your business!”
Yang Kai nearly choked seeing this and could not help sneering, “Forget it, just pretend I never asked. It definitely must have been nothing good.”
Xue Yue grit her teeth and glared at him, causing Yang Kai to immediately become uncomfortable and quickly look around for something to divert his attention.
It was then that he noticed that Ni Guang had taken out an animal skin map and was frowning as he stared at it. As if looking for something, he would release his Divine Sense from time to time while comparing his observations of the surrounding terrain with the map.
There did not seem to be any clear markings on the map, mostly just a series of intersecting lines as well as some specific locations marked with different symbols.
“Your chamber of commerce possesses a map of this place?” Yang Kai looked surprised.
Xue Yue grinned and said, “What’s so strange about that? It is not the first time that people from our chamber of commerce have come to this place, so having a map or two is nothing to fuss about. However, the Severed World is too big and it’s impossible to grasp its complete layout. Uncle Ni only has a map detailing a small portion of this place.”
“So that’s how it is,” Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, do you have a clear destination for this trip?”
“En, we planned to go to a medicine valley where there are spirit medicines and herbs that aren’t present in the Star Field. Legend has it that there are even herbs which are beyond the Origin King Grade and can bring back the dead, rejuvenate and prolong a person’s life, and some that can even increase the strength of a person directly…”
Listening to her talk, Yang Kai could not help staring at Xue Yue strangely.
“What?” Xue Yue asked suspiciously.
“You really don’t have any guard up against me at all. It’s not like you,” Yang Kai smiled. Although they were in a cooperative relationship right now, what Xue Yue revealed was undoubtedly extremely important information that should be kept confidential.
She was not the type of woman with a big chest but no brains, otherwise, she would never have been able to become the Young Master of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
Her revealing so much to him for no apparent reason really surprised Yang Kai.
Hearing what he said, Xue Yue gawked for a moment before seeming to realize something and immediately turning her gaze aside and sneering, “What’s wrong with telling you? With Uncle Ni here, can you even snatch anything from us?”
The tone of her voice clearly indicated she wanted to move past this, so Yang Kai did not ask anymore.
However, upon thinking about it, Yang Kai realized that Luo Lan’s actions this time were a bit too rash. Ni Guang dared to enter this place because he had confidence in his tyrannical strength and because he had prepared thoroughly while Luo Lan, on the other hand, seemed to have simply come on a whim together with Yang Kai and didn’t understand much about the Severed World.
…..
In the underground ravine where Yang Kai and the others had just been, an hour after they left, a figure fell from the sky and landed nearby.
His whole body was wrapped in a black Qi, exuding an evil and violent aura. It was none other than the Origin King who had been paying attention to Yang Kai outside before.
After this person landed, he glanced around and, after taking a deep breath, began to cackle wickedly, “Very good, he had been here recently. Yang Boy, this is truly unexpected. Who could have imagined you’d grow to this level after not seeing you for only a few dozen years.”
If Yang Kai heard this, he would definitely be shocked since this unknown Origin King actually seemed to know him, and know him quite well at that.
“Oh…” The strange Origin King stopped suddenly, as if he had just discovered something, and turned towards the underground ravine, using his Divine Sense to survey it. After a while, he let out a burst of wicked laughter and muttered to himself, “There’s actually such a thing here. Although I do not know what you are, you’re useful to this old master.”
Saying so, he jumped directly into the ravine.
As soon as he landed, countless small black shadows sprang out from the crevices lining the ground in all directions and leapt towards him like starving beasts.
This man wasn’t afraid though and instead excitedly shouted, “Haha, good, good. Come!”
Saying so, he summoned a large black flag that immediately released a series of wailing howls. These howls drowned out the scattered cries of the dark shadows and from the flag, numerous twisted, phantom-like human faces appeared.
Forming a series of seals with his hands, the strange master poured his Saint Qi into the black flag and shouted, “Go!”
In the next moment, the black flag turned into a giant black curtain that shrouded the surrounding region and, as if they had encountered their nemesis, the small black shadows were easily suppressed and swallowed up.
As the black flag swallowed up these black shadows, the aura it emitted became stronger and stronger while the darkness became deeper and deeper.
It seemed capable of swallowing everything in existence, even light.
The horrible suction force of the black flag obviously made the black shadows panic and soon they began to merge together, just like when Yang Kai and the others fled, in an attempt to fight off the black flag’s influence.
Seeing this scene, the Origin King wrapped in black Qi wasn’t afraid and instead became exhilarated, calling out, “You even have such a skill, good, good, good. This King’s Ten Thousand Soul Banner is going to have a feast today, kahahaha!”
As he laughed, he stretched out his hand and the black curtain twisted and condensed into a massive, terrifying human-shaped face. This face, however, had countless eyes and radiated an ominous and powerful light.
In addition, blood seemed to be overflowing from this face as he released violent and feral roars.
As the strange mouth opened, it continued to grow until it spread across and the entire face’s surface while at the same time, a vague human-shaped phantom appeared behind it.
The massive black shadow formed by the fusion of countless small shadows naturally didn’t sit there waiting to die and quickly lashed out with its two black whip-like hands in an attempt to block the advance of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
A huge cloud of dust and debris was kicked up from the intense shockwaves of the exchange, shaking the ravine and the surrounding earth.
However, it was all in vain.
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner did not fear the huge black shadow’s attacks at all and simply charged forward and bit down on it before raising its head up like a bird which had caught its prey and attempted to swallow it whole.
Vaguely, a scream came out from inside the face.
The terrifying face of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner flashed a look of satisfaction at that moment and its countless eyes shined with excitement.
*Ge…*
It even vividly belched.
The moment the huge black shadow was swallowed, the remaining fish that slipped through the net fled into the surrounding crevices, not daring to appear again. They seemed to have noticed that this Ten Thousand Soul Banner was their natural enemy, and they were unable to resist it!
Upon seeing this, the Origin King, who was still wrapped in black Qi, stretched out his hand somewhat unconsciously and summoned the Ten Thousand Soul Banner back to him.
On the surface, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had not changed much compared to before, but the potency of the wicked aura it exuded was obviously greater.
“Heh heh heh…” The Origin King cackled lightly as he examined his artifact, nodding repeatedly, “Not bad, not bad. I just came in and already had such a harvest, worthy of the famed Severed World. This King is very much looking forward to what comes next!”
Clearly a bit disturbed in the mind, after talking to himself for some time, the Origin King put away his Ten Thousand Soul Banner and with a loud laugh wrapped his black Qi around himself tightly and rushed out of the ravine, chasing in the direction Yang Kai and his group had left.
Elsewhere in the Severed World, Sword Union’s Elder Cui Hong was desperately urging his artifact to fight off a Monster Beast that was nearly a hundred metres in length and resembled a winged snake.
His luck had been quite poor. Just after entering the Severed World, he had accidentally entered the territory of this Monster Beast, and when he was discovered, a fight broke out.
The greatest danger in the Severed World was the invisible Void Cracks scattered about irregularly and undetectable to both sight and Divine Sense. Even an Origin King Realm who touched such a Void Crack would not escape unharmed.
The second most dangerous thing, however, was the Monster Beasts that lived here.
The Monster Beasts here had almost all inherited the bloodlines of ancient variant species, and affected by the strong World Principles, they had all grown incredibly powerful. Even if similar Monster Beasts existed in the Star Field, the ones in the Severed World would generally be at least thirty percent stronger.
The one Cui Hong encountered was a genuine Tenth-Order Monster Beast, and from the looks of it, it had obviously inherited the bloodline of the Flying Feathered Python, but as time had passed and the World Principles had changed, this Monster Beast’s bloodline had diluted, and it was no longer able to display the full might of its glorious ancestors. If it had, Cui Hong would have died upon meeting it.
However, it was none-the-less a Tenth-Order Monster Beast, meaning it was equivalent to an Origin King in strength. A rare existence.
Fortunately, this Monster Beast did not seem to have broken through to its current level long ago, and as a Sword Union Elder, Cui Hong’s Artifact Armour and artifacts were all extremely high grade, so, he did not suffer much damage over the course of his battle and instead gained the upper hand by relying on various Secret Techniques.
This winged python was over a hundred metres in length, bat-like wings on its back and a long, sharp tongue in its mouth. It flew about in an extremely flexible manner, dodging around Cui Hong while ejecting its tongue like a steel whip from time to time, bombarding Cui Hong and causing him significant difficulties each time it landed a hit.
After a full three hours of fierce fighting, in exchange for taking a rather serious injury, Cui Hong managed to behead the winged python.
Standing in place, breathing heavily, his whole body stained red with blood, Cui Hong cursed angrily. After a short rest, he used what little strength he had left to collect the winged snake’s body into his Space Ring.
At this moment, he did not have the time to properly process the corpse and could only wait until after leaving the Severed World to deal with it slowly. The value of the corpse of a Tenth-Order Monster Beast was almost unimaginable, especially its Monster Core which had a huge attraction to Origin Kings.
When a cultivator reached the Origin King Realm, it became extremely difficult to break through because of the limitations placed on them by the Star Field’s Principles. If a cultivator wished to stride upwards, besides tortuous cultivation for an extended time while comprehending the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, only rare treasures and powerful pills could enhance their strength.
An Origin King being unable to break through a single Minor Realm for centuries or even millennia was a very common occurrence.
Because of this, throughout the entire Star Field, Third-Order Origin Kings were extremely rare and almost all of them were old monsters who had long secluded themselves from the world…
After resting on the spot for a while, Cui Hong immediately left, afraid the smell of blood would attract other Monster Beasts. In his current state, he couldn’t fight another intense battle like just now.
In another place, Zi Long, the Sect Master of Purple Star, was bringing Zi Dong through the Severed World. He seemed to have a very clear goal and did not stop at any point along the way.
Their luck was also good, and they had not encountered any real danger since entering this place, so they proceeded with peace of mind.
“Father, does this Severed World really host an Immortal Tree?” Zi Dong, who was following Zi Long, suddenly asked.
Hearing the words ‘Immortal Tree’, Zi Long’s calm eyes suddenly burst with dazzling light and his long purple hair blew up even in the absence of wind. Nodding slightly, he replied, “Although your father cannot say for certain, the probability is at least eighty percent. After all, word of the Immoral Tree’s existence was sent back by your Grand Uncle. Two thousand years ago, your Grand Uncle once caught a glimpse of something very similar to the legendary Immoral Tree but when he attempted to obtain it, he was seriously injured by the Monster Beast that was guarding it and was forced to flee, ultimately dying from his wounds.”
Zi Dong’s face changed slightly as he whispered, “If I recall correctly, Grand Uncle was supposed to be a Second-Order Origin King, but he was still seriously injured by the guardian Monster Beast? What kind of Monster Beast was it?”
“A Divine Bird… an Ancient Peacock!” Zi Long took a deep breath.
“A Divine Bird!” Zi Dong couldn’t help paling slightly.
As long as a Monster Beast was classified as a Divine species, it was clear it was not to be provoked lightly. Every Divine beast had Heaven destroying and Earth-shattering means, as well as a vicious personality. If such a Monster Beast broke into the Star Field, it would likely destroy countless Cultivation Stars and become a disaster for the entire Star Field.
Zi Long then quickly followed up, “In the Star Field, the name ‘Three Great Divine Waters’ is widely known; one is Life Revitalizing Jade Cream, one is the Soul Cleansing Divine Water, and one is Immortal Source Liquid! Among these three, the Soul Cleansing Divine Water does occasionally appear, but not often, only once every few hundred or thousand years. As for the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream and Immortal Source Liquid, both are things of legend, lost to history, or at least your father here has never met anyone who succeeded in obtaining either of them. Each of the Three Great Divine Waters has its own unique effects which make them precious treasures that cultivators dream of. The Soul Cleansing Divine Water can wash the Soul, purifying and condensing one’s Spiritual Energy, the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream can enhance a cultivator’s physique and vitality, a single drop allowing a person to be reborn. However, neither of these two compare to the Immortal Source Liquid.”
“Father, does the Immortal Source Liquid have some kind of relation with the Immortal Tree?” Zi Dong asked curiously.
“Haha, naturally they are related,” Zi Long, as the master of one of the Star Field’s biggest forces, was normally a dignified man, but he became quite amiable when facing his son; after all, Zi Dong had never failed to live up to his expectations and was the successor he put his hopes on.
“Please enlighten me, Father!” Zi Dong put on a respectful look and showed an appearance of humility.
Zi Long pondered for a while before he continued, “En, the Immortal Source Liquid is the dew formed by the accumulation of essence over countless years on the leaves of the Immortal Tree. For the Immortal Source Liquid, regrowing lost limbs is simply a waste, it is a natural miracle elixir that can even bring people back to life!”
“Resurrecting the dead!?” Zi Dong looked shocked, “If just the trivial dew can have such a miraculous effect, then the Immortal Tree itself…”
“Hmph, if one can obtain the Immortal Tree and refine it, they can obtain an immortal and indestructible body, with longevity equal to the Heavens!”
“What?” Zi Dong was truly shocked when he heard this. Even as Purple Star’s Young Master, he could not help feeling astonished and would have dismissed it as nonsense if it weren’t his father who said it.
“If I can have an endless lifespan, your father will be able to achieve something no one has before. When that time comes, I will surpass the Origin King Realm and get a glimpse of the mysteries of the Great Emperor’s realm!” When Zi Long said this, his entire figure seemed to radiate excitement and fanaticism.
Zi Dong stared at his father in a daze, not having seen such an expression on his face for many, many years. One could only imagine how powerful the Immortal Tree’s temptation was to his father.
“Father, does only our Purple Star know about this?” Zi Dong asked again.
“No!” Zi Long shook his head, a look of frustration appearing on his face, “I’m not certain about others, but Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce must know about the existence of the Immortal Tree, because two thousand years ago, you Grand Uncle came here with the previous President of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. That’s why that old fart Ni Guang came this time. He must be aiming for the Immortal Tree as well.”
Zi Dong frowned and asked suspiciously, “If that’s the case, why didn’t father bring more masters along?”
Zi Long smiled lightly, “This kind of information can’t be known by too many people; after all, there is only one Immortal Tree. Even if gathering more people leads to successfully obtaining it, who will claim ownership in the end? In front of such a supreme treasure, one can only believe in themselves, all others…. are enemies.”
Zi Dong pondered thoughtfully before nodding, “This child understands.”
“En, you are still young and the road ahead of you is still long. Father’s purpose in bringing you here this time was to hone your will and expose you to some true dangers, which will be of great benefit to your future growth. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”
“This child will do his best!” Zi Dong quickly declared.
As the Sect Master of Purple Star, Zi Long had countless children, but Zi Dong was the one he liked the most. Among his countless children, only Zi Dong stood out and was thus the only one who received his nurturing.
Zi Dong also understood this well, so he had not dared to slack on his cultivation all these years.
Entering the Severed World this time was truly dangerous, but it was also a good test. As long as he passed this test, his position in Purple Star would become unshakable.
Zi Dong came to clench his fist secretly as he swore to perform well this time.
…..
At the same time, somewhere far away, Yang Kai and a group of four headed by Ni Guang were advancing through the Severed World.
They did not encounter much danger on their journey, but also did not gain many benefits, making the Severed World seem to not live up its reputation.
However, Ni Guang had taken out something that caught Yang Kai’s eye.
It was an artifact that resembled a communication artifact but was somewhat different because it had a pointer on it. Ni Guang had taken it out two hours ago and had yet to put it away, moving it from side to side as they travelled.
As he moved it around, the pointer would occasionally undergo some subtle changes, and each time it did, Ni Guang would slightly change direction.
Luo Lan was confused and wondered what kind of magical effect this artifact had, secretly guessing that Ni Guang was somehow using it to avoid dangers, but since this was related to another’s methods, she knew better than to ask and had to keep her curiosity to herself.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was surprised because he noticed that this artifact was able to detect the location of some hidden Void Cracks.
Whenever the pointer on the artifact pointed towards a certain spot, Yang Kai would be able to sense some obscure Space Force fluctuations from that direction and Ni Guang would always avoid it in advance.
This was obviously a special artifact that was refined to cope with the Severed World’s environment, and whoever refined it had most likely also cultivated the Dao of Space!
Yang Kai was certain of his guess; after all, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was a massive super force so the number of talented people it possessed was immense. It was only natural to assume that some of these talents had cultivated Space Force.
However, Yang Kai also inferred from the sensitivity of this artifact that the person who refined it was far less accomplished in the Dao of Space than he was.
Because this artifact was not able to detect all the hidden Void Cracks in their surrounding!
There were some Void Cracks that the group passed within a few dozen metres, which Yang Kai was able to perceive clearly. Obviously, the artifact had given no response to these Void Cracks. When such occurrences happened, Yang Kai was put on the edge, for fear that Ni Guang would inadvertently run into one.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened along the way so there was no need for Yang Kai to reveal his secrets to warn Ni Guang to change their route.
Sometimes, there would be traces of tears in the air that were clearly Void Cracks which were visible to the naked eye.
These tears were like rips in the sky, permanent features, adding to the dangerous atmosphere of the Severed World.
And as the group forward, whether it was the visible Void Cracks or the ones that were hidden, their number was clearly increasing.
Yang Kai and the others even saw a few massive, sky crossing cracks that gave off terrifying fluctuations, making it impossible to determine what lay beyond it.
When he saw such Void Cracks, Yang Kai became quite eager to explore.
He clearly felt that this huge Void Crack very possibly had what he needed: Space Spirit Crystals bred from The Void itself. It also seemed to contain the insights he longed for regarding the Dao of Space. Either way, Yang Kai felt strongly that if he were to rush into it, he would definitely gain greatly.
Unfortunately, he was currently acting together with Ni Guang and the others, so he did not dare leave the team rashly. He could only pass by this Void Crack for now. In any case, in the Severed World, there were many opportunities like this, so he was not in a hurry.
“Hm…” Ni Guang, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped, turned his head to look in a certain direction, and called out in surprise.
Following his line of sight, the other three in the group soon saw a person lying on the ground about a thousand metres away.
“That’s…” Luo Lan whispered, “His clothes seem familiar, was it someone who came in with us before?”
“It seems so,” Ni Guang said solemnly, scanning the figure with his Divine Sense carefully before his face slightly changed. “But it seems he’s already dead.”
Luo Lan’s pretty face went pale hearing this. Among the cultivators who entered the Severed World before, besides Yang Kai, Xue Yue, and Zi Dong, the rest were all Origin Kings, none of them weaker than herself.
However, after just a few hours, they came across a dead body here.
It was hard to imagine what kind of attack this man suffered. With his powerful Origin King cultivation, he died here, and there were also no signs of struggle in the surroundings, as if there hadn’t been a fight at all. In order words, this man had been attacked by something so powerful that he had died without being able to resist.
If it had been her instead, Luo Lan imagined that her fate might not have been any better.
She began to rejoice that her luck had been so good.
“Should we investigate?” Xue Yue pondered for a moment before pointing in the direction of the corpse, “There seems to be something next to his body.”
Even without her reminder, everyone had noticed that there was indeed something besides the body of this fallen Origin King. It was a small cockscomb-like flower that was growing straight up from the ground, and even from a thousand metres away, everyone could smell its fragrant scent.
This aura was calming and refreshing, causing everyone’s tight nerves to relax slightly.
“What kind of spirit herb is that? Do any of you know?” Ni Guang turned his head and asked.
Luo Lan shook her head wryly while Xue Yue also indicated she did not know. In fact, even Yang Kai, who was an Origin King Grade Alchemist, was ignorant.
He had never seen this kind of spirit flower before. He had obtained the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture from the Emperor Garden, which not only recorded countless lost pill recipes, but also details about innumerable exotic flowers and plants. It was almost a comprehensive record of all herbs in existence, so in terms of pure knowledge, Yang Kai was confident no one in the Star Field was better than him.
However, Yang Kai had not seen anything like this flower in the many records of the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture.
Ni Guang frowned and after hesitating for a moment said, “I’ll go take a look, all of you stand here and don’t move.”
Confident in his great strength, he did not want to give up the opportunity in front of him, and regardless of what spirit flower this was, just the corpse of the Origin King next to it was a treasure trove. If he could obtain the other party’s Space Ring, it would be a good harvest.
“Do you want this Mistress to accompany you?” Luo Lan asked.
Ni Guang glanced at her and nodded, “Then, you should be careful.”
“This Mistress certainly will be,” Luo Lan responded with a smile before slowly approaching the spirit flower together with Ni Guang.
Yang Kai and Xue Yue stood back, paying attention to the movement ahead.
The two crossed the thousand-metre distance quickly, but to everyone’s surprise, even after Ni Guang and Luo Lan arrived next to the corpse, there were no signs of danger.
Ni Guang looked puzzled and scanned the corpse below him, soon whispering solemnly, “This person was attacked from behind by something and killed instantly. There are two bite marks on the back of his neck, similar to those of some snake-type Monster Beast, a venomous one at that!”
Luo Lan nodded as she also noticed this, because this corpse was lying face down and the back of his neck was clearly exposed.
It was conceivable that this person had been bitten in the back of the neck by something unsuspectingly, then fell to the ground, dying immediately, resulting in this kind of defenceless posture.
Obviously, the venom which entered him from his neck was something even an Origin King couldn’t resist.
“Elder Luo, please take this corpse with you, I’ll pick the spirit flower,” Ni Guang ordered.
“Understood,” Luo Lan nodded before proceeding with caution. Instead of touching the corpse with her hands directly, she used her Saint Qi to wrap it up before quickly retreating backwards.