Luo Lan acted carefully and swiftly, not daring to remain close while unaware of what dangers were lurking about.
While Luo Lan wrapped the Origin King Realm master’s body in her Saint Qi and retreated back, Ni Guang reached out to pick the cockscomb-like spirit flower.
However, the moment his hand touched the flower, a sudden change occurred.
From behind Ni Guang, the originally flat ground bulged up and a flat, triangular snake head shot out like lightning towards the back of his neck.
The entire process was dizzyingly fast and came with no prior warning signs. When the snake head drilled out from the ground and struck Ni Guang, Yue Xue’s beautiful face paled and she called out in alarm, “Uncle Ni, be careful.”
But before she could even finish her words, the snake head had bitten Ni Guang’s neck.
Xue Yue’s expression changed dramatically!
Seeing this scene, how could she not understand how the previous Origin King had died here? Obviously, like Ni Guang, the moment his attention was attracted to the cockscomb-like spirit flower, this snake-type Monster Beast had seized the opportunity to launch a fatal attack.
She was worried about if Ni Guang was safe; after all, he too had been focusing on the spirit flower at this moment.
However, Ni Guang was Ni Guang after all. Without even mentioning his powerful cultivation, just knowing that this place held hidden danger, how could he not be prepared? When he was preparing to pluck the spirit flower, he had maintained a high level of vigilance against accidents, especially paying attention to protecting the back of his neck, so this sneak attack was doomed to fail.
*Ding…*
A clinking sound rang out as a spark of light appeared on Ni Guang’s neck. Receiving this blow, Ni Guang’s whole body seemed to be hit by a strong force and he was knocked forward.
Releasing a low yell, while mid-air, Ni Guang forcibly twisted his body, waved his hand, and sent out a palm behind himself while using his other hand to grab the spirit flower.
The backhand blow of a Second-Order Origin King was not to be underestimated and a fierce strength slammed into the head of the snake that struck him in the next instant, rendering it unable to attack again.
However, when Ni Guang finally managed to grab hold of the spirit flower, his expression suddenly changed, “This is…”
He felt a different tactile sensation from this spirit flower, one that did not resemble that of a plant but rather something cold and slippery, just like a living creature.
Realizing this, he decisively let go!
At that moment, the spirit flower, which had been giving off a pleasant fragrance all along, suddenly flickered and released a green light that pierced towards Ni Guang’s palm.
Immediately, the surrounding air was filled with flying sand and rocks, while Ni Guang’s cold snorts and the hissing sounds of a snake rang out.
Soon after, Ni Guang leapt out of the engagement zone and stood mid-air, his expression extremely solemn.
When Yang Kai and the others looked over, they were all surprised.
As the dust gradually settled, they were finally able to clearly understand what this trap had been all about.
Where the cockscomb-like spirit flower had previously stood, there was now a ten-metre long snake as thick as a baby’s arm, constantly coughing up blood.
There was no discernible aura coming from this snake’s body, and if one wasn’t looking at it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have been able to realize it existed. What’s more, there was a cockscomb-like protrusion on its tail.
The spirit flower that everyone had seen before was surprisingly the tip of this snake’s tail, the only part of itself it had revealed while its main body remained buried underground.
Anyone who attempted to pluck the ‘spirit flower’ would be attacked by it.
“Tail Crown Snake?” Ni Guang’s eyes lit up as he called out the name of this Monster Beast.
He had extensive personal knowledge and was a high-ranking member of the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. Thus, he had access to many ancient books, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to identify this supposedly long-extinct Monster Beast.
“Tail Crown Snake?” Luo Lan frowned as she somewhat admiringly looked at Ni Guang, “This Mistress has never heard of such a beast, so it seems there are many long-forgotten existences in this Severed World.”
None of them could identify what the dark shadows they encountered before in the underground ravine were and simply figured they were existences similar to Yin Souls, but this was completely different. The other three present had never even heard of the Tail Crown Snake before.
The Severed World seemed like a vast, unexplored world to them.
Ni Guang smiled, “Don’t worry, while the Tail Crown Snake is dangerous, it’s not very strong. Its greatest advantages are its concealment and sneak attack abilities. Since its sneak attack has failed, it’s nothing more than prey for this old master.”
Saying so, he rushed straight at the Tail Crown Snake.
He did not use any powerful methods and instead simply approached the Tail Crown Snake and fought it barehanded.
Yang Kai observed silently and soon concluded that this Monster Beast only had Ninth-Order strength. At such a level, it was no match for Ni Guang, even if it possessed an ancient bloodline. From the time it leapt from the ground, trying to bite Ni Guang’s neck, until it was caught by him, the Tail Crown Snake only managed to struggle for about ten breaths. Once Ni Guang caught it, he flicked it fiercely, like a long whip, while pouring his powerful Saint Qi into its body.
Cracking sounds rang out from the Tail Crown Snake as it straightened out and then slumped to the ground, dead.
Ni Guang stretched out his forefinger and condensed his Saint Qi into a blade before cutting into the belly of the snake. Plucking out a small, pearl-sized snake gall, Ni Guang unceremoniously popped it into his mouth before chewing and swallowing then letting out a cheerful laugh.
It was unclear what kind of magical effects Tail Crown Snake’s gall had, but from how happy Ni Guang looked, it was probably of great benefit to him.
After finishing all this, Ni Guang left the body of Tail Crown Snake to the side and said lightly, “This Monster Beast doesn’t have a Monster Core so its most valuable part is its gall. In ancient times, cultivators who repeatedly consumed such snake galls were supposedly able to gain protection against all kinds of poisons. Unfortunately, there is only one here, but… better than nothing.”
Saying so, he then came over to Luo Lan’s side and examined the corpse, sighing a moment later, “So it was Tong Lei!”
He was obviously referring to the dead man in front of him.
“Senior Ni knows him?” Luo Lan asked.
Ni Guang nodded lightly, “We’ve met before. In the past, the two of us made a few transactions, but that was many years ago. I did not expect that he would be killed by a mere Ninth-Order Monster Beast. In this place, it seems even the slightest negligence can be fatal.”
In the outside world, how could an Origin King die from the attack of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast? Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were only equivalent to Origin Realm cultivators, so once an Origin King released their Domain, ordinary Ninth-Order Monster Beasts would not even be able to get close to them, but in this Severed World, even Ninth-Order Monster Beast couldn’t be taken lightly.
“Xue Yue, collect his ring,” Ni Guang ordered lightly.
Xue Yue nodded, bent down, and took the Space Ring from this Tong Lei’s hand, not even checking its content before storing it away.
Neither Yang Kai nor Luo Lan said anything.
Yang Kai’s strength was low and he did not contribute anything this time, so he was not qualified to receive any of the spoils. As for Luo Lan, Ni Guang had warned her earlier that even if she followed them, he would not guarantee she received any gains, so she had no right to accuse him of being unfair here.
“Let’s go, everyone must be extra careful from now on. Don’t approach anything that seems out of place carelessly,” Ni Guang exhorted and turned around to leave.
“Please wait a moment,” Yang Kai suddenly seemed to think of something and quickly released a Golden Blood Thread from his fingertip towards the corpse of the Tail Crown Snake.
The three others stopped and watched this scene curiously, wondering what Yang Kai was going to do.
They saw the Golden Blood Thread instantly submerge into the Tail Crown Snake’s body, and then, accompanied by some faint squirming movements, the Tail Crown Snake’s corpse was rapidly sucked dry, and its physique withered, leaving behind nothing but an empty skin.
After a short while, the Golden Blood Thread, which radiated a golden and red light, returned to Yang Kai’s hand.
Ni Guang looked at the Golden Blood Thread in Yang Kai’s hand thoughtfully and asked, “Kid, is that a Secret Technique… or an artifact?”
He felt strange and conflicting fluctuations from the Golden Blood Thread, and while it gave the appearance of an artifact, it also exuded a strong vitality which made it seem like a living thing, quite a strange combination.
“It’s something between a Secret Technique and an artifact,” Yang Kai smiled slightly and explained casually.
His Golden Blood Threads were condensed from the essence of his own Golden Blood, so strictly speaking, it was a type of Secret Technique, but it also had the characteristics of an artifact that could be refined and reused repeatedly, so it was difficult to classify.
“Strange!” Ni Guang slowly shook his head. He had lived for many years but had never seen such a weird Secret Technique. However, the world was vast, so it didn’t surprise him that much. In any case, it did not seem to pose any threat to him so there was no need to worry. After thinking about it for a moment, he asked again, “This thing can swallow the physical essence of the Tail Crown Snake, right? Does it undergo some kind of change after doing so?”
“En,” Yang Kai grinned before sending a command with his Divine Sense that caused the Golden Blood Thread floating above his palm to distort and transform into a Tail Crown Snake.
The Tail Crown Snake transformed from the Golden Blood Thread was exactly the same as the one that everyone had seen before, the only difference being its colour. The true Tail Crown Snake was a light brown colour while the one in front of Yang Kai was golden red, the two colours seemingly blending with one another.
“It can assume the form of the beast it absorbed?” Ni Guang’s eyes flashed, “Could it be that your Secret Technique is now equivalent to that Tail Crown Snake?”
“Almost,” Yang Kai nodded before recalling his Golden Blood Thread.
This was one of the Golden Blood Thread’s transformation techniques, the Blood Beast!
A Golden Blood Thread could swallow the essence of a Monster Beast and then transform into its appearance before its death while retaining all its abilities. The Blood Beast was a very powerful Secret Technique.
The cultivator who created the Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique was a true genius. Unfortunately, neither that cultivator nor the cultivators of Demon Blood Temple who carried his Secret Technique forward were able to condense that much Blood Essence in their bodies. Even the beautiful female Religion Master from Demon Blood Temple was only able to condense two Demon Blood Threads after spending a lifetime gathering Yang to supplement Yin to make up for her vital essence.
For this reason, it was difficult for the original version of Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique, the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique, to exert its full power in the hands of Demon Blood Temple, especially the myriad transformations technique that required a massive amount of Blood Essence to support it. No one from Demon Blood Temple was capable of meeting this requirement.
It could be said that the cultivator who created this Secret Technique only managed to envision a grand theory but was unable to perfect its practical use.
Yang Kai was different though; this Secret Technique was practically tailor-made for him! In a sense, as long as the amount of pure Golden Blood in Yang Kai’s body was large enough, he could infinitely use the Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique, a reality probably beyond even the technique’s creator’s wildest dreams.
As for the Blood Beast Secret Technique, so far, Yang Kai had only condensed two, namely the two Thunder Flame Flying Lizards of Mi Tian on Monster Emperor Star. Thunder Flame Flying Lizards were nothing more than Ninth-Order Monster Beasts, and for the current Yang Kai, they weren’t able to play much of a role, so when he fought, he never used them.
Only when the number of Blood Beasts reached a certain number could they show any use.
One or two Ninth-Order Blood Beasts would certainly not pose a threat to an Origin King, but if there were several dozen, or even hundreds of them… Even an Origin King would have to give way.
Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were hard to find, and Yang Kai had never paid too much attention to condensing Blood Beasts; however, in this Severed World, he felt like this objective might be easily achieved. This place was a paradise for high-level Monster Beasts, each of them also containing ancient bloodlines. It was truly the best place to condense Blood Beasts.
As such, Yang Kai did not bother concealing his cards and directly used a Golden Blood Thread to condense a Blood Beast.
In any case, this was not his strongest method, so even if it was exposed, it didn’t matter.
Seeing that Yang Kai had finished his business, Ni Guang nodded again without saying much, took out his artifact for detecting Void Cracks, and set off again.
The Severed World was filled with crisis, but also with opportunities.
There were many extinct spirits flowers and grasses here, as well as countless ancient Monster Beasts that had long ago disappeared from the Star Field. All of these extinct species thrived under the special World Principles of the Severed World.
Although there were two Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators, which lowered the overall combat strength of their team, Yang Kai’s group of four was undoubtedly quite powerful.
As they travelled towards the medicine valley, the group of four would have some occasional harvests.
Just as Yang Kai expected, they encountered all kinds of high-end Monster Beasts, and although it wasn’t the extent that Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were everywhere, Yang Kai had not seen a beast below Eighth-Order since entering.
The group of four even encountered two Tenth-Order Monster Beasts, both of which exuded extremely powerful auras. One of them even made Ni Guang afraid, so they could only avoid it, not daring to provoke it. But the other one had the worst of luck and was killed by their group.
Whenever a Monster Beast was killed, its valuable parts such as its Monster Core, galls, claws, and teeth were all taken away by Ni Guang and Xue Yue. After all, the materials of a Ninth-Order or Tenth-Order Monster Beast were extremely valuable, so it would be strange if they simply let them off. Luo Lan was also allocated some Monster Beast materials as trophies.
Yang Kai asked for nothing and was instead satisfied with using his Golden Blood Threads to swallow the physical essence of these slain Monster Beasts and condense more Blood Beasts.
In just a few days, Yang Kai’s Blood Beast Army had grown to over a dozen in number, and even a Tenth-Order Steel-Flame Ghost Spider Monster Beast was among them, which the group of four had killed together!
This Monster Beast’s defences were extremely powerful, and his body was constantly surrounded by a pale white aura that burned anything it approached, even Origin Realm cultivators. If it were not for Ni Guang being with them, the other three would not have been able to kill this fearsome creature on their own.
This was undoubtedly Yang Kai’s greatest gain amongst his Blood Beasts.
In addition to the Steel-Flame Ghost Spider, Yang Kai also managed to refine Blood Beasts modelled after a Silent Vermillion Bird, Star King Turtle, Eight-Eyed Demon Toad, Purple-Thunderbolt Sky Leopard… all kinds of ancient Monster Beasts with peculiar and powerful bloodlines were now his to command.
On the surface, it looked as if Yang Kai obtained nothing, but on a fundamental level, he was the one who gained the most.
Because what he obtained was an enhancement to his own strength, while the others obtained nothing but treasures that needed to be processed before becoming useful to them.
After a few days of travelling together, both Ni Guang and Luo Lan also started to show some shock.
They quickly discovered that the Golden Blood Threads Yang Kai possessed seemed to be inexhaustible. When Yang Kai first processed the Tail Crown Snake’s corpse, Ni Guang did not care too much as one Blood Beast wasn’t worthy of his concern.
But the number of Blood Beasts Yang Kai had collected was now enough for him to take note of.
If these dozens or so Blood Beasts were all set upon him, even he would have a headache dealing with them.
And from the looks of it, this was far from Yang Kai’s limit.
It was hard for Ni Guang to imagine what it would be like when Yang Kai had collected a truly large number of these strange Blood Beasts.
He finally started to pay serious attention to Yang Kai!
Along the way, he occasionally used his Divine Sense to communicate with Xue Yue, wanting to probe Yang Kai’s details and inquire if it would be possible to recruit him into Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
Unfortunately, Xue Yue did not know much about Yang Kai personally, so she was unable to give any definite answers; however, she too had the idea of recruiting Yang Kai for quite some time.
A few days later, the number of Blood Beasts Yang Kai had under his command had reached twenty, and a real Blood Beast Army had begun to take shape. Now, whenever the group of four encountered a Monster Beast, there was not even any need for Ni Guang and the others to act. After Yang Kai’s Blood Beast Army was dispatched, any enemy was soon beaten to death, creating a kind of snowball effect.
On this day, Ni Guang, who was still leading the way, suddenly stopped, frowned, and looked around while expanding his Divine Sense.
“Uncle Ni, what happened?” Xue Yue also looked around but found no signs of danger so she could not help asking.
“Someone’s approaching.” Ni Guang’s eyes suddenly flashed as he turned his gaze towards a certain direction, quickly saying, “And they are moving fast.”
Hearing this, the others could not help wearing serious expressions as they also turned their eyes.
Soon, Yang Kai and Luo Lan also noticed signs of movement. On the distant horizon, there was indeed the aura of a living person approaching rapidly, and judging from the other’s aura fluctuations, it was obviously an Origin King. What’s more, there wasn’t just one person, but two!
Not long after, two streaks of light appeared in everyone’s eyes.
Whether it was intentional or unintentional, the direction these two people were travelling was going to take them directly towards where Yang Kai and his group had stopped.
It was not long before the distance between the two sides narrowed.
At that time, Ni Guang recognized the identities of these two and said with a cold expression, “Hmph, it’s actually those two bastards!”
“It’s actually them!” Luo Lan also could not help furrowing her brow, seemingly quite wary of those who were approaching.
Yang Kai also frowned secretly. Before entering, Xue Yue had introduced him to the Origin Kings who were present at the time, so he also recognized the origins of these two ‘guests’ at this moment.
Of these two people, one was an old man while the other was a middle-aged man, but neither of them was anything good.
The old man’s name was Kong Fa, an Elder from Galaxy Ridge.
Galaxy Ridge was considered a great force in the Star Field, but like another great force, Abandoned Lair, it had a notorious reputation! These two great forces were essentially gangs of bandits who committed all kinds of evil acts, comprised of criminal cultivators who had escaped from their original Cultivation Stars and had desperately sought refuge with them.
The favourite activity of these two forces was to wander the Star Field, and when they encountered a lone Starship, plunder it.
They were the bandits of the Star Field! Whether it was Sword Union, Purple Star, or Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, all had suffered great losses to these two evil forces over the years. Many of these forces’ Starships had disappeared mysteriously over the millennia, their crews and supplies never to be seen again.
Although there was not much evidence that these two evil forces were responsible, everyone understood that only these lawless bandits would dare take such unscrupulous actions.
The people of Galaxy Ridge and Abandoned Lair were universally hated by the rest of the Star Field.
Robbing Starships was not the worst of it though. These two evil forces even occasionally dispatched groups of people to Cultivation Stars that did not have Origin Kings protecting them to loot cultivation resources and cultivators, bringing them back to their headquarters for enslavement and wanton abuse.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Galaxy Ridge and Abandoned Lair were plagues of the Star Field!
However, because their forces were not weak, it was impossible to eradicate them.
Before entering the Severed World, Xue Yue had warned Yang Kai that this Kong Fa from Galaxy Ridge was not anything good, and if he ever encountered him alone in the future, he had to be careful.
This old man normally wore a friendly, harmless smile, but was in fact renowned for his extreme cruelty.
The middle-aged man travelling with Kong Fa was another famous criminal in the Star Field: Xu Wei from Abandoned Lair. In Abandoned Lair, he was an Elder-level figure.
Rumour had it that Xu Wei used to be a cultivator from Purple Star, but for some unknown reason, he had betrayed them and joined Abandoned Lair.
When Xu Wei rebelled, he apparently slaughtered all the people under his command, leaving no survivors.
This incident had rocked all of Purple Star, and Purple Star even dispatched its masters to hunt him down, but Xu Wei actually managed to break through their siege with his powerful cultivation and escaped to Abandoned Lair.
This incident caused Purple Star’s face to fall sharply.
Many years later, he had established himself in Abandoned Lair and been promoted to the position of Elder!
These two were similarly notorious and heinous figures, but that still did not explain why they were travelling together, let alone why they would fly towards the direction of Ni Guang.
After recognizing these two, Ni Guang not only did not panic, but instead sneered viciously, “Good, it was not appropriate for this old master to act rashly outside, but, since they’ve willingly delivered themselves to die, this old master will oblige! Elder Luo, when the time comes, hold down one of them. This old master will kill the other, then come to assist you.”
“Of course!” Luo Lan’s pretty face became ice-cold, “My Sword Union has many grudges with these two as well. Since we have met them here, there’s no reason to let them go.”
“You two should withdraw and focus only on protecting yourselves!” Ni Guang commanded Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
Yang Kai and Xue Yue nodded at the same time and prepared to evacuate.
A battle between four Origin Kings was about to break out, an earth-shattering event that Yang Kai had no interest in being drawn into.
Just when Yang Kai and Xue Yue were about to withdraw quietly though, Kong Fa, who was flying over, shouted, “Is that Senior Ni of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?”
He obviously recognized Ni Guang, but even so, he didn’t try to avoid him, instead taking the initiative to greet him. This scene was very unusual because both Kong Fa and Xu Wei’s past actions included spilling much blood from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. Under normal circumstances, encountering Ni Guang would prompt them to immediately escape, so how could they suddenly call out to him and even rush over on their own?
Ni Guang froze for a moment and frowned slightly, thinking about whether the other party was plotting something. Silently signalling Luo Lan to act cautiously, he coldly snorted and called out, “You’re right, I’m Ni Guang!”
Kong Fa suddenly became overjoyed and immediately shouted, “Wonderful! If Senior Ni can offer his assistance, this Kong will certainly offer generous compensation in the future!”
“Assistance?” Ni Guang was stunned, but suddenly realizing something, his eyes shrank, and he turned his gaze to what was behind Kong Fa and Xu Wei. The next moment, his expression paled, and he called out in alarm, “Not good!”
He finally understood what had happened to Kong Fa and Xu Wei, and why they still dared to approach despite knowing he was here.
These two were being chased by a group of ancient beasts!
It was also at this moment that Yang Kai and the others noticed what was happening.
Since the appearance of Kong Fa and Xu Wei, they had not made any particularly alarming moves, but from the looks of it, they were quite dishevelled, as if they had just gone through a tough battle. The two of them were even slightly injured.
At first, Yang Kai was quite puzzled, wondering what could cause two Origin Kings to suffer such injuries, but when Kong Fa called out for help, Yang Kai finally noticed a strange multi-coloured light flashing about three kilometres behind the pair. This light was quite dazzling, and it was impossible to discover its true form at first glance, but as it drew closer, Yang Kai realized that it turned out to be a large swarm of butterfly-like insects.
The fluttering of their multi-coloured wings made their movements quite difficult to discern, and every time they flapped their wings, it was as if they teleported a short distance, slowly but surely shortening the distance between them and Kong Fa and Xu Wei.
From Yang Kai’s group’s perspective, Kong Fa and Xu Wei were being pursued by at least a thousand or so of these butterfly-like insects.
“What are those?” Luo Lan’s pretty face paled. Although she did not know what these strange butterflies were, she could tell from how distressed Kong Fa and Xu Wei were, that these insects weren’t to be provoked easily.
“Illusionary Void Butterflies!” Ni Guang replied quickly, “They are Exotic Ancient Insects that are born proficient in Space Force, their bodies are stronger than steel and they are extremely ferocious. Once they find prey, they swarm like locusts and never…”
Before he could finish his words, a broader region behind Kong Fa and Xu Wei filled with multi-coloured light as more and more Illusionary Void Butterflies appeared.
From the looks of it, there were several thousands, possibly several tens of thousands of them…
At least tens of thousands of Illusionary Void Butterfly were swiftly flying toward this side, a terrifying scene to behold. Every time these butterflies flapped their wings, the surrounding space would ripple slightly, as if it was being disturbed.
“Run!” Ni Guang shouted before promptly wrapping his Saint Qi around Xue Yue, turning in the opposite direction, and flew off.
He was different from Luo Lan in that he had done a lot of preparation before entering the Severed World, and thus knew about the existence of the Illusionary Void Butterflies. Knowing that these ferocious and unrelenting insects were chasing after Kong Fa and Xu Wei, Ni Guang did not hesitate to run.
Seeing Ni Guang behave like this, Yang Kai and Luo Lan deeply understood how serious the matter was and immediately used their own Movement Skills to flee.
Luo Lan was an Origin King Realm so her escaping speed was naturally not slow, and although Yang Kai’s cultivation was lower, he had unique advantages when it came to speed. In terms of physical strength and Saint Qi purity, Yang Kai was far above ordinary Origin Realm cultivators, so his pace was no slower than Luo Lan’s.
“Senior Ni!” Kong Fa shouted from the rear, “I hope that Senior Ni can help this Kong and Brother Xu escape this calamity!”
Ni Guang was furious when he heard this and as he fled shouted back without even looking, “Scram! If you dare to follow this old master, I’ll kill you!”
He had a stomach full of grievances encountering this kind of disaster through no fault of his own. What’s worse, the guilty party was now shamelessly chasing after him, clamouring on and on about helping them. If it were not for Ni Guang also dreading these Illusionary Void Butterflies, he would certainly turn around and kill Kong Fa.
This was undoubtedly a good chance to kill Kong Fa.
“Does Senior Ni insist on being so unkind?” Kong Fa’s voice suddenly became cold.
“This old master does not need to show you any kindness!” Ni Guang coldly snorted.
Kong Fa grinned strangely hearing this and said, “Since Senior Ni is so unkind, don’t blame this Kong and Brother Xu for being impolite.”
Saying so, he and Xu Wei exchanged a glance before each condensing their Saint Qi and releasing an attack towards Ni Guang.
Powerful fluctuations filled the air as two bright lights flashed across the sky like meteors, bombarding the path in front of Ni Guang. Facing this situation, Ni Guang had no choice but to slow down and alter his path, turning his head at the same time and angrily cursing, “Two bastards, this old master will remember this!”
“Despicable! Shameless!” Luo Lan also cursed.
These two Origin Kings belonged to the most hated forces in the Star Field and were now determined to drag Ni Guang and Luo Lan into this muddy water because that was the only way they could reduce the pressure these tens of thousands of Illusionary Void Butterflies gave them.
The short diversion allowed Kong Fa and Xu Wei to pull much closer, along with the Illusionary Void Butterflies behind them.
While continuing to curse, Ni Guang did not dare to remain or even fight back, simply continuing to flee forward with Xue Yue.
Yang Kai’s face also became gloomy as he realized that they had run into a difficult situation this time. Judging from how things were progressing, it was almost inevitable that Ni Guang and Luo Lan would become entangled with these Illusionary Void Butterflies, and from what Yang Kai could tell about the power these ancient Monster Beasts, he and Xue Yue would definitely be thrown into danger.
What’s more, there were also two insidious and cunning foxes, Kong Fa and Xu Wei, who were eager to stir up trouble, making the situation even more dangerous.
“Senior Ni, why act like this? Wouldn’t it be better to first join hands and take care of these Monster Beasts before discussing what to do next?” Seeing that his little trick had worked, Kong Fa put on a look of desperate entreaty and once again proposed cooperating with Ni Guang.
Ni Guang did not respond, his face extremely sullen, only sparing a moment to glance over at Xue Yue with a little worry. With his powerful Second-Order Origin King cultivation, he was not actually too worried about these Illusionary Void Butterflies. Even if he were to be surrounded by them, he had about eighty percent confidence he could escape, but with Xue Yue, the situation was different.
Realizing this, he quickly sent a Divine Sense Message to Xue Yue, “If we become separated, you must protect yourself well!”
Xue Yue nodded imperceptibly.
At that moment, Kong Fa and Xu Wei used their Secret Techniques again to further delay Ni Guang and Luo Lan. In order to draw in these two Origin King Realm helpers, both Kong Fa and Xu Wei used their full strength to launch their strongest attacks.
After Ni Guang and Luo Lan fended off these attacks, Kong Fa and Xu Wei were less than three hundred metres away with the swarm of Illusionary Void Butterfly not far behind.
“This old master swears, one day, he will grind you two bastards into dust!” Ni Guang saw that he could no longer escape, waved his hand, pushed Xue Yue out, turned, and roared.
“Why are you so angry, Senior Ni? We should be discussing how to overcome this calamity before us,” Kong Fa continued to call out, only to change complexion greatly in the next moment when he saw Ni Guang actually attack him.
Kong Fa let out a panicked cry as he stretched out his hand and summoned a blood-red shield for protection.
*Hong…*
There was a great explosion as the violent attack hit the shield. The shield flashed brightly, and although Ni Guang’s actions had been hasty, the impact of his strike had sent Kong Fa flying backwards.
With a horrified look in his eyes, Kong Fa fell directly into the encirclement of the Illusionary Void Butterflies.
The multi-coloured swarm of butterflies soon engulfed the area, completely shrouding Kong Fa. Only the strange screams and violent energy fluctuations which came from the swarm served as proof Kong Fa had not died.
Soon after, a figure shot into the sky as Kong Fa managed to escape.
However, in the few breaths of time he had been trapped, Kong Fa had suffered serious injuries and was covered in blood. Half of his nose had been sheared off and there were now pits in his face, as if something had melted parts of it away, giving him a terrifying appearance and illustrating just how dangerous these Illusionary Void Butterflies were.
Countless Illusionary Void Butterflies swarmed forward, their multi-coloured halos filling the sky as they ruthlessly pursued their prey.
Kong Fa reaped what he had sown and was instantly put into a bad situation while Ni Guang and Luo Lan, who had been dragged into this mess by him, also had nervous expressions, both summoning their defensive artifacts and mobilizing their Secret Techniques one after another to fiercely bombard the surrounding Illusionary Void Butterflies.
*Ding ding dang dang…*
The Origin King Realm masters’ attacks hitting the Illusionary Void Butterflies created clinking metallic sounds, as if they had struck some kind of metal. Swaths of Illusionary Void Butterflies fell from the sky to their death, but they were soon replaced by even more of their companions, forming an air-tight encirclement around them.
Xu Wei’s situation was not any better.
The four Origin Kings could only fight independently, striving to protect themselves.
As for Xue Yue, who had been forewarned by Ni Guang, she joined up with Yang Kai at this moment. She knew that in this scenario, only by joining hands with Yang Kai would she have a chance to survive.
A bracelet shaped artifact exuding a powerful energy fluctuation appeared in Xue Yue’s hand, and once she poured her Saint Qi into it, it rapidly transformed into two bracelets, then four, then eight. Soon there were hundreds of bracelets filling the sky.
This was obviously an Origin King Grade artifact!
With Xue Yue’s status and talent, it was only natural for her to have an Origin King Grade artifact. It would be strange if she did not possess one.
Unfortunately, because her cultivation was too low, even if she had an Origin King Grade artifact, it was only an Origin King Grade Low-Rank.
Under the urging of her Saint Qi, the phantom bracelets flickered before shooting off like arrows from a bow and the Illusionary Void Butterflies that were flying towards Yang Kai and Xue Yue at that moment were knocked flying.
Xue Yue frowned after her first attack failed to have the desired effect, muttering to herself, “These things have such strong defences!”
Origin King Grade artifacts were extremely powerful, and Xue Yue was not an ordinary cultivator. Her personal strength was extraordinary, but even this attack from her was unable to kill all the Illusionary Void Butterflies, which only showed how terrifying their resilience was.
At the same time Xue Yue took action, Yang Kai did as well.
With a single thought, more than twenty Golden Blood Threads exuding a golden red light shot out and transformed into the appearance of Blood Beasts.
Thunder-Flame Flying Lizard, Tail Crown Snake, Steel-Flame Ghost Spider, Silent Vermillion Bird, Star King Turtle, Eight-Eyed Demon Toad, Purple-Thunderbolt Sky Leopard, and many more. These Blood Beasts spread out as soon as they appeared, surrounding Yang Kai and Xue Yue in a strong protective circle. Soon, under the control of Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, they used their own methods to attack to deal with the surrounding Illusionary Void Butterflies.
Blood Beasts inherited most of the abilities of these Monster Beasts they were condensed from, and although their actions were a bit dull compared to their living counterparts, they were undoubtedly an excellent boost at this time.
As soon as the twenty or so Blood Beasts of different sizes were dispatched, they immediately formed a solid defence, greatly reducing the pressure Yang Kai and Xue Yue were facing.
*Weng weng weng…*
The sound of fluttering Illusionary Void Butterfly wings was endless, and not only did they not seem to fear death, but they also seemed driven by some primal instinct to kill living creatures that weren’t part of their swarm.
The Blood Beasts, which exuded a strong Blood Qi, instantly became the most attractive targets for the Illusionary Void Butterflies.
As such, Yang Kai and Xue Yue, who were in the middle position, were temporarily safe.
Seeing this, Xue Yue could not help relaxing slightly and focused her attention on attacking, using her artifact to kill the surrounding Illusionary Void Butterflies.
Yang Kai was not idle either, using the dozens of remaining Golden Blood Threads to slash through the air, cutting one Illusionary Void Butterfly in half after another.
However, as time passed, he found that their situation was not improving. The four Origin Kings were still fighting on their own, surrounded by countless Illusionary Void Butterflies, and the corpses of Illusionary Void Butterflies had already formed a thick layer on the ground.
Yang Kai frowned deeply.
The situation around him made him realize that it was impossible to kill these Illusionary Void Butterflies completely, and if they continued to fight like this, everyone would eventually exhaust their strength and become food for these ancient insects.
On top of that, Yang Kai’s Blood Beasts had also taken damage. Although they were all transformed from his Golden Blood Threads and were not real living creatures, as the Illusionary Void Butterflies continued to attack, they wore down their energy and the vitality fluctuations emanating from the Blood Beasts were growing weaker and weaker.
“Xue Yue, we have to leave this place,” Yang Kai whispered to Xue Yue beside him.
“But Uncle Ni…” Xue Yue hesitantly looked towards Ni Guang but was unable to even see his figure as he was entirely wrapped in a multi-coloured cloud. Only the violent energy fluctuations radiating from there served as proof Ni Guang was still fighting.
“Senior Ni’s cultivation is profound, you don’t need to worry about him. As long as we can escape, he should be fine,” Yang Kai comforted.
“Then are you sure we can escape from here?” Xue Yue asked, turning her head.
Yang Kai quickly said, “Even if I’m not, we have to try. In any case, it’s better than just sitting here waiting to die.”
Hearing him say this, Xue Yue nodded, grit her teeth, and agreed, “Fine, I’ll follow you!”
She had received Ni Guang’s warning in advance and had a foreboding feeling at the time that this would happen, so she didn’t hesitate much.
“Then come with me,” Yang Kai declared solemnly, his thoughts flashing as he ordered the Blood Beasts to focus their attacks on a particular spot, instantly opening a gap in the Illusionary Void Butterflies besieging them.
“Go!” Yang Kai shouted in a low voice as his figure flickered and he pulled Xue Yue’s arm while rushing out from the gap.
In the next moment, the twenty or so Blood Beasts twisted and returned to their golden and red Golden Blood Threads before disappearing into Yang Kai’s body.
Suddenly losing their targets, the Illusionary Void Butterflies seemed to be taken aback for a moment, but soon they began flapping their wings and chasing after Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
At this time, Yang Kai did not have the liberty to conceal his strength anymore and pushed his Space Force, allowing him to race forward at an impressive speed.
Using his Space Force, his speed suddenly increased, and Xue Yue was stunned for a moment as she realized what moving as swiftly as the wind really meant.
But soon, Yang Kai frowned because he discovered that his Space Force was greatly restricted in this Severed World.
This damned place was filled with Void Cracks, causing the ambient space to be unstable. In addition, the Illusionary Void Butterflies interfered with the surrounding space when they moved, hindering his use of Space Force.
This discovery made Yang Kai’s face sink, but what made him truly angry was that after he escaped from the encirclement, someone else chased after him.
It was Elder Xu Wei from Abandoned Lair!
Xu Wei also seemed exhausted at the moment and was being chased by countless Illusionary Void Butterflies, but he didn’t pay any of this mind and instead desperately pursued Yang Kai and Xue Yue. Even if he was attacked by the butterflies, he did not try to fight back and instead focused on dodging.
“What’s he trying to do?” Xue Yue faintly realized what was wrong.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “He wants to overtake us then use us as bait while he runs away!”
There was a saying that when being chased by an invincible enemy, what matters most was not being the fastest among your companions, but instead not being the slowest!
Although Yang Kai and Xue Yue were not Xu Wei’s companions, he clearly intended to use them to his advantage. As long as he could use Yang Kai and Xue Yue to delay the Illusionary Void Butterflies chasing him, he would have a good chance to escape from these annoying ancient insects.
On the other hand, even though Ni Guang had discovered what Xu Wei was trying to do, he was unable to stop him. At this moment, Ni Guang had to focus on defending himself so he could only roar furiously towards Xu Wei’s back.
“Despicable and shameless!” After understanding Xu Wei’s intentions, Xue Yue ground her teeth and shouted, a fierce look filling her face.
Yang Kai, however, just sneered, “One’s actions will always be judged by the Heavens. If he wants to plot against us, he’ll need to have the ability first.”
Contrary to the others, Yang Kai was not concerned with Xu Wei’s actions.
In just a few breaths, Yang Kai and Xue Yue had rushed out several dozen kilometres, with Ni Guang and the others having long disappeared from their field of vision. Only a large swarm of Illusionary Void Butterflies and Xu Wei were following behind.
Xu Wei was also being pursued by more Illusionary Void Butterflies.
While fleeing, Yang Kai constantly scanned his surroundings with his Divine Sense.
Soon, he found what he was looking for and rushed towards a certain direction with Xue Yue.
In that direction, there was a Void Crack that was invisible to the naked eye and Yang Kai believed that Xu Wei would not be able to sense it even if he released his Divine Sense.
As long as he followed them closely, there was a chance Xu Wei would hit this hidden Void Crack and even if he didn’t die, he would certainly be wounded!
Yang Kai deliberately brought Xue Yue extremely close to the invisible Void Crack to interfere with Xu Wei’s judgment.
However, what Yang Kai had not anticipated was that the countless Illusionary Void Butterflies chasing them could also sense the existence of this Void Crack and flew around it.
This scene naturally was not missed by the pursuing Xu Wei.
Xu Wei was still an Origin King with extremely rich experience and a cautious personality. Although he could not detect the Void Crack himself, he could infer its existence from the behaviour of the Illusionary Void Butterflies.
As such, he followed the path the Illusionary Void Butterflies took and managed to avoid the Void Crack unscathed!
Yang Kai almost could not stop himself from cursing, never having imagined that Xu Wei would actually be saved by the Illusionary Void Butterflies in this situation.
As time passed, both the Illusionary Void Butterflies and Xu Wei behind them drew closer and closer, and the situation seemed to be verging on Yang Kai and Xue Yue being surrounded again.
By now, Xu Wei had relaxed a lot, because the Illusionary Void Butterflies, which had been chasing him and Kong Fa had now been dispersed into several smaller groups. At this moment, there were not many chasing behind him.
With his means, if he were to fight hard, he might even have a chance to kill off all the Illusionary Void Butterflies chasing him.
However, if he did that, he would consume a great deal of his strength and would likely suffer injuries. In this Severed World, he had to always maintain his peak condition to cope with possible dangers, so this was only an option of last resort.
As such, he came up with the idea of sacrificing Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
The speed of these two young men surprised him a bit, but when he recalled Xue Yue’s identity, he was not too concerned. He thought that the speed of Yang Kai and Xue Yue being so fast was all thanks to Xue Yue. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Young Master certainly had to cultivate some incredible Secret Techniques.
But… that was all it was.
Looking at the two figures that were only a few kilometres ahead of him, Xu Wei’s eyes flashed a vicious light.
Immediately, he activated a Secret Technique by forming a series of mysterious seals with his hands.
In the next moment, Xu Wei’s body suddenly released a brilliant red light and a kind of blood mist burst from his pores. The moment this light appeared, Xu Wei’s speed suddenly increased to an incredible level.
The short distance of a few kilometres was closed in an instant and Xu Wei easily overtook Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
This was not the end of his plot though as Xu Wei condensed his Saint Qi and sent a palm towards Yang Kai and Xue Yue behind him.
There was no murderous intent in this palm because he didn’t want to take the lives of these two, instead planning on wounding them so they would be caught by the Illusionary Void Butterflies and delay them for him.
“Damn!” Xue Yue shouted angrily as she threw out her artifact to meet Xu Wei’s attack.
*Hong…*
With a loud bang, and a fierce energy explosion, a shockwave struck Yang Kai and Xue Yue, forcing them to reduce their speed in order to stabilize themselves.
“Haha!” Xu Wei laughed wildly as he looked back at Yang Kai and Xue Yue jokingly, “Little brats, don’t die too easily!”
At this moment, he wore a victorious and treacherous grin on his face.
“You want to run?” Yang Kai’s expression became cold as his eyes fixed onto Xu Wei’s, his left eye suddenly becoming golden as a lotus bud appeared in its pupil!
Yang Kai held a deep animosity towards Xu Wei for trying to use him as bait to escape, so he certainly was not going to let him just go. Taking advantage of Xu Wei’s overconfidence, the moment he relaxed, Yang Kai used his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique.
This was not the end though, as Yang Kai flicked his wrist and summoned out his Verdant Dragon Bone Sword. Together with a loud dragon roar, a giant dark green dragon appeared and pounced towards Xu Wei while spitting out a stream of extremely toxic and corrosive poison.
Xu Wei’s grin instantly stiffened on his face and his eyes shrank.
He never expected Yang Kai to launch such a fierce attack towards him, a genuine Origin King.
The next instant, Xu Wei noticed a stream of pure Spiritual Energy bombard his Knowledge Sea’s defences, and despite the difference in cultivation, the barrier around Xu Wei’s Knowledge Sea was instantly cracked open, a strange rotating lotus bud appeared inside it, and immediately began to bloom.
Instantly, Xu Wei’s head felt like it was being split apart and he could not help screaming as he hurriedly tried to stabilize his Soul by focusing the power of Knowledge Sea to suppress and expel this strange lotus flower.
Fortunately for him, his cultivation was not weak, and although he was caught completely off guard by Yang Kai and suffered an initial blow, once he mobilized the power of his Knowledge Sea, the slowly blooming lotus was quickly suppressed.
However, if he wanted to destroy or expel it, Xu Wei knew he would need to expend considerable effort.
Yet Xu Wei could not focus solely on the anomaly in his Knowledge Sea because the giant dark green dragon was about to crash into him, its giant maw wide open, ready to tear him apart. In front of the giant dragon, he seemed as small as an ant.
Seeing that the dragon was about to swallow him whole, Xu Wei grit his teeth and the crimson light surrounding his body glowed even brighter, allowing his speed to jump once more so he could dodge the dragon’s dangerous blow.
When he appeared again, he was already ten kilometres away, but his face was slightly pale, and his breathing was ragged.
First, he had been forced to flee with Kong Fa for a long time, then he fought with countless Illusionary Void Butterflies. After that, he used a Secret Technique that caused great consumption twice and suffered an attack from Yang Kai’s Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique…
Even if Xu Wei was an Origin King, such intense consumption had pushed his limits.
Turning back, he glared at Yang Kai and Xue Yue, who were now engulfed by the Illusionary Void Butterflies, and roared, “Boy, you’d best pray you die here. Otherwise, this King will make you regret being born in this world!”
As an Origin King Realm, being sneak attacked by a junior at the Origin Realm was a great shame. Fortunately, no one was here to witness the scene, so he was able to preserve his face. After leaving this threat though, Xu Wei immediately escaped.
Xu Wei did not think Yang Kai and Xue Yue would be able to survive against so many Illusionary Void Butterflies!
Even if it was him, under the current circumstances, he was not sure he would be able to escape with his life; if this wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have made such an effort to entrap these two juniors.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai coldly snorted before coming to a stop and not moving.
Being delayed by Xu Wei, he and Xue Yue now had no chance of escape.
The number of Illusionary Void Butterflies surrounding them was twice as large as before; after all, once Xu Wei had disappeared, the Illusionary Void Butterflies which were attacking him had changed targets.
The twenty Blood Beasts were released by Yang Kai once again to form a shield for him and Xue Yue while also attracting the attention of the Illusionary Void Butterflies. The giant dark green dragon also joined this lineup.
On the other hand, Xue Yue, who stood beside Yang Kai, wore a solemn expression on her face as sweat dripped down her forehead. Constantly using her Origin King grade artifact consumed a great deal of her Saint Qi, but she had no intention of simply giving up, popping pills into her mouth to restore herself as she continued to kill the enemy.
Even her Xie Zhi Symbiotic Monster Spirit was summoned.
This Symbiotic Monster Spirit was extremely powerful, not inferior to Xue Yue herself. In the Emperor Garden many years ago, Xue Yue had once used this Symbiotic Monster Spirit to compete with Shan Qing Luo’s Heavenly Moon Demon Spider evenly, so its strength was unquestionable.
Even so, this was undoubtedly a losing battle. The Blood Beasts continued to grow dimmer and were seemingly at risk of collapsing at any time, forcing Yang Kai to contract the defense circles repeatedly.
“Why aren’t you worried?” Xue Yue suddenly turned her head to look at Yang Kai and asked with an anxious expression while continuing to move her hands to launch powerful Secret Techniques to kill the Illusionary Void Butterflies in order to relieve pressure on the Blood Beasts.
It was not until this point that she noticed that Yang Kai still had a calm and relaxed expression, completely unlike what one should look like when facing a dead end.
“Why should I be worried?” Yang Kai chuckled while asking rhetorically, controlling his Golden Blood Threads to harvest the lives of numerous Illusionary Void Butterflies at once.
“Aren’t you afraid of death?” Xue Yue seemed to be affected by his demeanor and also became somewhat calmer.
“Nonsense!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, “Who isn’t afraid of death? But… there’s a saying that dying on a bed of flowers is the best way to go!”
Xue Yue was taken aback for a moment before she glared at Yang Kai and spat, “Even now, you have the mood to joke?”
Yang Kai laughed dryly but did not respond.
Although their current situation appeared extremely dangerous, it was actually quite simple for him to resolve. He had at least two ways to get escape from these Illusionary Void Butterflies.
The easiest was to enter the Sealed World Bead together with Xue Yue. Once the two of them disappeared, the Illusionary Void Butterflies would simply leave.
Alternatively, he could simply tear space and escape!
Although space here was somewhat chaotic and interfered with Yang Kai’s use of Space Force, it would not be a problem to cross one or two hundred kilometres.
Both methods were highly effective, and Yang Kai had full confidence he could succeed.
However, in both cases, he would expose some of his own cards, especially the Sealed World Bead, which was a whole independent world. This kind of treasure was too incredible, and Yang Kai did not dare to expose it in front of Xue Yue.
After all, she was the Young Master of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, and their relationship was not close enough for Yang Kai to be sharing such secrets with her.
As such, he was debating how to suffer the least losses before acting.
“Yang Kai…” Xue Yue suddenly called out to him again.
“What?” Yang Kai turned his head and looked at her, feeling that the tone of her voice seemed somewhat strange at the moment.
“Have you always hated me?” Xue Yue asked, her gaze darting back and forth, seemingly afraid to meet eyes with Yang Kai.
“Why would I hate you?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“Because I sent people to chase after and kill you… Also, I said some harsh words to you and tried to suppress you!” Xue Yue said softly.
“Haha!” Yang Kai laughed loudly.
“What are you laughing at?” Xue Yue frowned and stared at Yang Kai with displeasure. She wanted to have a serious talk with Yang Kai, but the other party acted so crass, causing her to feel like she was being mocked.
Yang Kai looked at her jokingly, grinned, and said, “The Young Master of the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is so sentimental. Women will be women in the end!”
This sentence seemed to have hit a nerve as Xue Yue ground her teeth and screamed, “So what if I’m a woman? I was born a woman and never wanted to be a man! It has always been like this! After so many years, who even considers what I want or how I feel?”
As she screamed, she grabbed something on her chest and ripped it off.
In a brilliant flash of light, the Xue Yue standing in front of Yang Kai instantly changed appearance.
Now, she no longer looked like an extraordinarily brave and heroic man and had instead become a woman with world-destroying beauty. Long hair cascaded down her back and two great peaks towered beneath her robes. Her crystal-like eyes glared towards Yang Kai furiously as she ground her teeth in frustration.
Coupled with the male robes she wore, Xue Yue now gave off a completely different kind of temptation.
Yang Kai gawked for a moment before scratching his nose in amazement, “I was only making a casual remark, why did you have such an intense reaction?”
Xue Yue simply continued to glare, the light of love and hate that had become somewhat familiar to Yang Kai flashing across her eyes.
“Ha…” Yang Kai looked helpless, “Is it okay for you to be like this? If anyone saw you, it would not be good for your Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. If someone learned about your Special Constitution, they might try to abduct you.”
Xue Yue’s Special Constitution had great temptation, even to Origin Kings. The Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body was something that many could only dream of, and any man who was able to claim Xue Yue’s Primordial Yin would obtain a massive boost in strength without any hidden dangers.
Xue Yue’s Primordial Yin could be said to be the greatest cultivation treasure and had an unimaginable temptation to those Origin Kings who had been unable to increase their strength despite countless years of self-torture.
Even if she had the identity of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Young Master, there would always be some people who would be willing to take risks to obtain her.
There was never a lack of crazed people in this world.
Xue Yue sneered as she brushed her hair back behind her ear amorously, squinted at Yang Kai, and said leisurely, “Who else is here besides you and me? Besides, you already know I am a woman and you have known about my Special Constitution for a long time, yet you’ve never tried to make a move based on it! What’s wrong? Is this Young Master… Young Lady, not attractive to you at all?”
“What are you talking about?” Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became unnatural. Although he was well versed in the affairs between men and women, he still felt that certain women were impossible to understand.
In such a place and in such an environment, Xue Yue was even asking him if he thought she wasn’t attractive, a question he simply didn’t know how to answer.
“A shameless man like you actually knows how to feel shy?” Xue Yue also blushed but continued taunting Yang Kai none-the-less, “I really didn’t know that you had such thin face. When we were on that Dead Star, didn’t you simply know no shame?”
“That was an accident alright?” Yang Kai glared at her, “That happened so many years ago, why bring it up now? Didn’t we agree we should just forget about it altogether?”
“Who agreed to it? I’ll never be able to forget!” Xue Yue’s chest heaved as a wave of anger overcame her and she recklessly killed a big swath of Illusionary Void Butterflies on the spot.
“Fine, what do you want then?” Yang Kai looked down at her frustratedly, “Stop acting so confusing and just make it clear.”
“What do I want?!” Xue Yue ground her teeth and shouted, “What do you think I want!? What can I even do!?”
In a near hysteria, she screamed three times in succession, as if trying to release all the grievances in her heart at once.
Xue Yue’s unreasonable appearance angered Yang Kai.
Staring at her coldly for a moment, Yang Kai suddenly snorted and took a step towards her position with a fierce glow in his eyes, causing Xue Yue’s face to flicker with fear.
The next moment, Yang Kai stretched out his hands, seized Xue Yue’s soft, tender body, and under her stunned and terrified gaze, leaned over and forcefully kissed her luscious lips. At the same time, Yang Kai’s hands wantonly groped her body, his movements were extremely rough, without showing the slightest bit of tender affection.
“It hurts, you bastard!” Xue Yue exclaimed hurriedly as she pulled her lips away and tried to shove him off, but no matter how hard she pushed Yang Kai, she was unable to free herself, making her feel like she was trying to move a towering mountain.
But along with the pain, another strange feeling spread throughout her body…
Something between a groan and a moan leaked from her lips as Xue Yue’s struggling weakened and her body went limp.
The surrounding Illusionary Void Butterflies flapped their wings, creating a light humming sound and a glittering multi-coloured backdrop to the twos’ intimate activity.
The Blood Beasts fought and killed the enemy while the giant dark green dragon roared loudly…
Only after a long time did their lips finally separate.
Yang Kai shoved Xue Yue away, only giving her a passing glance as if she were some used pair of shoes to be abandoned.
Xue Yue’s cheeks were bright red, as was her white neck, and her body seemed to have lost all strength. After leaving Yang Kai’s arms, she staggered slightly, and her eyes darted back and forth, no longer carrying the same aggressive light from before.
“Satisfied?” Yang Kai snorted.
“You…” Xue Yue opened her mouth but did not know what to say.
“Damn it, what’s wrong with you!?” Yang Kai yelled angrily, “Pestering me endlessly with all this nonsense, just what is it you’re trying to achieve!?”
Xue Yue’s face instantly became aggrieved and her eyes became moist, as if she was about to cry, but she quickly adjusted her mood after taking a deep breath, then she grit her teeth and spat, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you!? Hmph, in any case, I got what I wanted.”
“This is what you wanted?” Yang Kai looked at her sarcastically.
“What of it?” Xue Yue bit her red lips, “In this world, aside from my father and several of the chambers of commerce’s Elders, the only one who knows I am a woman is you. I don’t want to die before experiencing what it’s like to actually be a woman!”
“So, you thought we were going to die,” Yang Kai suddenly understood why this woman was acting so madly.
“En, you said that dying on a bed of flowers was the best way to go, so what does it matter if I act like this?” Xue Yue let out a peal of sweet laughter, “At least if I die here, I’ll die a woman, fulfilling one small wish of mine.”
“Sure enough, you’ve gone completely mad,” Yang Kai shook his head slightly.
Xue Yue snorted lightly as she turned away, “Think what you want.”
After saying so, Xue Yue seemed to relax a lot and became much more energetic, even her face filled with dazzling brilliance.
“Let me say this first: Everything I’ve done today was because you forced me to, I won’t take any responsibility,” Yang Kai pointed at Xue Yue and declared shamelessly.
“Who wants you to take responsibility?” Xue Yue pouted, “I know you have women, and more than one at that, but… as the saying goes, a wife is inferior to a concubine, so a concubine might as well steal…”
“Seems you know more than you let on,” Yang Kai chuckled before sighing and staring at Xue Yue solemnly. “It has not been easy for you.”
Xue Yue pursed her lips, “As long as you know.”
Saying so, she actively leaned towards Yang Kai and stretched out her jade white hand towards him.
Yang Kai held her hand in his and said with a smile, “What’s wrong? Are you planning on travelling to the Yellow Spring together with me?”
“The situation is what it is. If you have any other methods to get us out of this, you should use them now, otherwise, your women will become widows. In any case, I do not have the strength to fight anymore,” Xue Yue said indifferently, seemingly psychologically prepared for death.
Yang Kai nodded, stretched out his free hand, and wrapped it around Xue Yue’s waist.
Seeing his confident look, Xue Yue’s eyes could not help flashing.
She was truly prepared to die here, but from the looks of it, Yang Kai still had something up his sleeve, so she was looking forward to seeing what he would do next.
Yang Kai chuckled and was about to use his Space Force to flee together with Xue Yue when he suddenly remembered something.
Pausing for a moment, he summoned out a certain item.
It was an artifact that looked like a bracelet, but it appeared quite old and plain, with many mysterious runes carved onto its surface.
Staring at this bracelet, Yang Kai swept his eyes across the Illusionary Void Butterflies surrounding them and raised his brow as he poured his Saint Qi into it.
In the next instant, the bracelet radiated a faint light, and the runes began flowing it as a mysterious force propagated outwards!
An incredible scene happened next. When the strange energy fluctuations swept out, the Illusionary Void Butterflies that had been besieging the Blood Beasts without the slightest fear of death suddenly seemed to be paralyzed with terror and fell to the ground.
Look at the situation, it was obvious that this strange bracelet had an incredible suppressive effect on these Illusionary Void Butterflies.
“What is this?” Xue Yue looked at Yang Kai’s bracelet in surprise.
Yang Kai did not reply immediately and instead continued pouring his Saint Qi into the bracelet.
Another wave of energy surged out and more Illusionary Void Butterflies fell down. In a short time, half of the Illusionary Void Butterflies which had surrounded the pair in an impenetrable swarm had lost the ability to move while the rest had fled quite a distance in terror.
“This thing can actually be used like this,” Yang Kai also wore a look of surprise.
“What is it?” Xue Yue asked again, looking at the bracelet in amazement. Even using her Divine Sense, she was unable to see what grade this artifact was.
“The Insect Enslavement Bracelet!” Yang Kai replied casually, “Someone told me that it could restrain all kinds of Exotic Insects. I only tried using it as an experiment, but I didn’t expect it to be this effective.”
The Insect Enslavement Bracelet was an Emperor Artifact, the primary one of the Insect Emperor. Numerous kinds of brutal Exotic Insects were sealed inside. After Yang Kai killed the Insect Emperor, the Insect Enslavement Bracelet had become his trophy, but because his cultivation was too low, Yang Kai didn’t dare to refine it, so it had been gathering dust inside his Space Ring until now.
Yang Yan told him that this Insect Enslavement Bracelet was a powerful treasure that the Insect Emperor had relied upon to become famous in the past. The aura it emitted had a natural suppressive effect on Exotic Insects and from the current situation, it was also effective against these Illusionary Void Butterflies.
Although Yang Kai had not yet refined the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and could only slightly inspire its effects by pouring his Saint Qi into it, the Insect Enslavement Bracelet was still able to immobilize these Illusionary Void Butterflies!
The power of an Emperor Artifact was easy to see.
However, Yang Kai could not exert all of this bracelet’s power, limiting what he could do to the Illusionary Void Butterflies. They instinctively feared the aura coming from the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and lost the ability to act or desire to attack, but none of them had truly died.
The ground was now covered in a thick layer of Illusionary Void Butterflies, many of whom were struggling, but none who were able to fly. More Illusionary Void Butterflies had fled to a safe distance, but they did not disperse, instead just creating a large encirclement.
Yang Kai laughed when he saw this, waved his hand, and took back his battle-weary Blood Beast Army and Dragon Bone Sword. Holding up the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, Yang Kai continuously poured his Saint Qi into it while walking slowly outwards together with Xue Yue.
Wherever he went, the Illusionary Void Butterflies would retreat from, always keeping a certain distance with him. Once, when the distance was shortened, the Illusionary Void Butterflies fell from the sky, unable to fly and pursue them again until he moved a certain distance away.
Xue Yue wore a look of pleasant surprise. Although she was ready to die just now, no one would just accept death when there was a chance to live, especially after she was finally able to express herself to Yang Kai, giving her hope once again for a happier future.
In this manner, the pair travelled a couple hundred kilometres without encountering any difficulties; however, the swarm of Illusionary Void Butterflies never dissipated and continued to surround Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
“These annoying bugs,” Yang Kai frowned, realizing how difficult it was to deal with Ancient Exotic Insects.
“Why don’t we just kill them all?” Xue Yue suggested, in any case, with the Insect Enslavement Bracelet’s suppression, these Illusionary Void Butterflies now posed no threat to her and Yang Kai so it would only take them some time to slowly eliminate them all.
“Too troublesome,” Yang Kai shook his head and looked around before fixing his eyes on a certain spot and pointing, “Let’s head there!”
Saying so, he brought Xue Yue over towards a certain spot.
“Hey… what are you trying to do?” Xue Yue was shocked because up ahead of them was a giant Void Crack. This Void Crack was visible to the naked eye and more than a thousand metres long, exuding a terrifying aura.
And the direction Yang Kai was heading was straight towards this Void Crack, as if he had no intention of avoiding it.
“What’s wrong? Just now, with teary eyes, you wanted to go to the Yellow Spring together with me. Are you afraid now?” Yang Kai looked at her with a grin, “If you’re scared, you still have time to leave.”
Xue Yue bit her red lips and snapped, “Who’s afraid? Don’t try to test my intentions!”
Saying so, she pushed her Saint Qi and dragged Yang Kai over to the Void Crack.
Yang Kai remained unmoved, letting her do what she wanted.
The pair approached the crack at an amazingly fast speed, but as soon as they got close, Yang Kai could clearly feel Xue Yue’s tension rising; after all, there was a massive Void Crack in front of her and no one knew what would happen if they broke into it or even if they could find their way back once inside.
Just as they were about to enter the Void Crack, Xue Yue turned her head and glanced at Yang Kai, as if wanting to make a final inquiry.
Failing to read anything from Yang Kai’s face, however, she grit her teeth and dragged him into the crack.
A light flashed and the pair disappeared.
The Illusionary Void Butterflies trailing behind began circling the area, and after confirming that there was no more prey for them here, they slowly flew off.
All around, there was nothing but chaos and emptiness, as if she had fallen into an endless abyss. Xue Yue was unable to help but squeeze Yang Kai’s hand tightly, her whole body clinging tightly to him, seeking a sense of security.
She had never had such a bizarre experience. Void Cracks were regarded by Origin Kings as terrifying existences, but this time, she had taken the initiative to rush into one.
She did not know what Yang Kai had to rely on, but under the circumstances, she could only take a leap of faith that this rude bastard who had assaulted her insensitively, would not put her in danger.
Yang Kai really did not let her down. Drifting through the endless darkness, Yang Kai showed no fear and instead just patted her hand.
Aware of Yang Kai’s comfort, Xue Yue’s mood immediately relaxed.
“What should we do now?” Xue Yue asked.
Turning around, she wanted to look for the entrance they had just stepped through, but she quickly discovered it was nowhere to be seen. Void Cracks were unpredictable, and the space here was not necessarily connected to the entrance they just went through. The entrance they just stepped through might be a few tens of thousands of kilometres away already, possibly even further, so naturally, it was impossible for them to simply go back the way they came.
“Don’t worry,” Yang Kai’s tone carried with it a rare gentleness as he spoke and laughed, “Just leave everything here to me.”
Xue Yue gently nodded. Yang Kai’s words seemed to be a reassuring magic, allowing her to relax in both body and mind.
“Such rich Space Force fluctuations… En… there should be something extraordinary here. It seems I should have entered a long time ago,” Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and checked his surroundings, seeming a little annoyed.
With a serious expression, he spread out his Space Force and felt the unique fluctuations in The Void around him, thoroughly enjoying the sensation.
This experience was of great benefit to his cultivation of the Dao of Space, and he certainly did not want to miss it.
After a while, he turned his gaze towards a certain spot and said, “Follow me.”
Saying so, he pulled Xue Yue along as he flew towards that direction.
Inside the Void, there was nothing but chaos, almost as if the world itself didn’t exist. There was not anything living here, nor any aura, nothing, a complete emptiness that far exceeded that of even a Dead Star.
Xue Yue could not feel anything at all except for the touch and temperature coming from Yang Kai’s hand, which she held onto tightly, afraid she would become separated from him.
In this damned place, even the passage of time seemed to have become extremely slow, but once Xue Yue stabilized her mind, she began to enjoy it.
Holding a man’s hand while crossing through a perilous journey. That man keeping away all dangers in front of her, allowing her to follow behind him with peace of mind, was a luxurious experience she had never had before.
As Third Young Master Xue Yue, the future successor of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, she would be the one to charge ahead and bear all obstacles under normal circumstances! She needed to establish prestige in front of her subordinates to firmly establish her position in Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce while hiding her gender, her voice, and even her mannerisms; an extremely exhausting way to live.
But here, she could put all of that aside and simply enjoy the feeling of being taken care of.
Yang Kai had said that it had not been easy for her, and perhaps he had simply said it casually, without thinking deeply, but these few words touched the softest part of Xue Yue’s heart, almost causing her to shed tears.
At this moment, her heart was warm, and she only hoped that this time would continue forever.
By now, if she still could not see that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, she wouldn’t have been worthy of her status as the Young Master of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
However, she did not comment on it. A smart woman knew when to speak and when to remain silent.
She did not know how long it was, but while Xue Yue was still immersed in the atmosphere that warmed her heart, a few faint points of light suddenly appeared up ahead. These lights were quite dim, like distant stars.
“Haha!” Yang Kai laughed, feeling extremely happy, “As I thought, there are Space Spirit Crystals here! Luo Lan didn’t lie to me!”
Xue Yue was stunned for a moment before asking, “Those are Space Spirit Crystals? You entered this place because you wanted to find Space Spirit Crystals?”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded, speeding up.
The stars seemed to be quite dim and far away, but it only took Yang Kai half a stick of incense to reach them.
The light might have been faint, but in The Void, where there was nothing but emptiness, it was the only source of illumination.
Looking closer, each of these Space Spirit Crystals was about the size of a fist and had a hexagonal shape. They were crystal clear but seemed to have numerous streaks inside of them out of which obvious Space Force fluctuations flowed.
“They’re quite different from the ones I’ve seen before,” Yang Kai was quite surprised and did not rush to collect these few Space Spirit Crystals, but instead observed them with interest. These few Space Spirit Crystals in front of him were indeed vastly different from the ones he had seen before whether it was their form, or the energy fluctuations coming from inside them. The fine streaks, which almost looked like cracks, were of particular note as Yang Kai had never seen such a feature in other Space Spirit Crystals.
“Of course they’re different,” Xue Yue glanced at him as if she knew something.
“Why do you say so?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“These are true Space Spirit Crystals which have formed by pure Space Force, while the Space Spirit Crystals in the outside world are always found as auxiliary materials in different mineral lodes. Space Spirit Crystals mined in the outside world contain many impurities, and although they are still Space Spirit Crystals, they are incomparable to these in terms of quality and grade,” Xue Yue reached out and grabbed a piece of Space Spirit Crystal. The whole process was extremely easy, as if these Space Spirit Crystal were simply discarded here at will by someone. There was no difficulty in obtaining them. Pointing at the faint streaks inside the crystal, Xue Yue continued, “Look at this, the power contained inside of it is strong enough to affect its internal space. If one refines these using a special Secret Technique, once this Space Spirit Crystal is detonated, it would be powerful enough to cause space to collapse across a wide area. At that time, no matter who’s involved, I’m afraid they would suffer greatly.”
“Space Spirit Crystals can even be used like that?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested as he turned to look at Xue Yue thoughtfully, “Does your chamber of commerce have such a Secret Technique?”
“It should,” Xue Yue nodded, “I have heard of it before, but I have never actually seen such a Secret Technique.”
While she was talking, she handed the Space Spirit Crystal to Yang Kai and said, “Moreover, a Space Ring refined from this kind of Space Spirit Crystal will have a massive internal space, far superior to an ordinary Space Ring, but… I suspect no Artifact Refiner would dare refine such a Space Ring. No one would treat their life so lightly.”
While they spoke, the four Space Spirit Crystals in this place were collected by Yang Kai.
Probing one of them slightly, Yang Kai found that the Space Force contained in these Space Spirit Crystals was far beyond what he imagined. If he could collect just twenty of these crystals, it would be enough for him to arrange a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array, and the distance that array could cover would definitely be farther than those he arranged before.
“This kind of Space Spirit Crystal can’t be stored inside a Space Ring, so how are you planning on storing them?” Xue Yue asked while looking at Yang Kai.
There was no need for her to remind him as Yang Kai had also discovered this problem.
He had just tried to put the Space Spirit Crystal into his Space Ring but found that it was impossible. The power contained in this Space Spirit Crystal seemed to interfere with his Space Ring.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai tried the Sealed World Bead.
The next moment, the Space Spirit Crystals were thrown into the Sealed World Bead!
Yang Kai could not help breathing a sigh of relief. The Sealed World Bead was an extremely high tier existence; after all, it was an Emperor Artifact and sealed an entire world with its own World Principles, so it had no difficulty accepting these Space Spirit Crystals.
Xue Yue was surprised for a moment before she laughed lightly, “It looks like you still have a lot of secrets on you.”
“Are you more interested in me now?” Yang Kai asked.
“Don’t flatter yourself!” Xue Yue snorted at him.
“I have many secrets, en… I’ll tell you what I can, when I can,” Yang Kai’s expression became serious and he said quickly.
Xue Yue slowly shook her head, “I don’t need to know this, I just want to have someone who can treat me as a real woman, that’s enough.”
Hearing her say this with complete sincerity, Yang Kai looked at her for a while before smiling slightly, taking her hand again, and flying forward.
After an hour, in The Void, a few more stars appeared up ahead…
Repeating this process, a few days later, the number of Space Spirit Crystals that had entered Yang Kai’s pocket had reached almost a hundred. This Void Crack seemed to be a breeding ground for Space Spirit Crystals with its extremely rich Space Force.
Xue Yue had been silently following Yang Kai, helping him to collect Space Spirit Crystals without any complaints.
The dangers of the outside Severed World seemed to have become extremely remote to the two of them, as if they had entered their own world that was separate from all others.
On this day, Yang Kai was leading Xue Yue to continue searching for Space Spirit Crystal when Xue Yue suddenly called out, “Yang Kai, look over there!”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai stopped and turned his head in the direction Xue Yue indicated, but with just a single glance, his eyes bulged, and he called out in shock, “So many?”
In that direction, like there was a bright moon on a starless night, a dense collection of shimmering lights filled The Void, guiding them towards it.
After staying here for several days, Yang Kai naturally knew that each of these lights represented a Space Spirit Crystal bred from this place.
He had harvested about a hundred pieces up until now and was quite satisfied with that, but now, he realized that he had been far too conservative with his expectations.
This dense collection of lights numbered far more than a hundred.
A quick glance was enough to tell that there were hundreds, if not thousands!
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai could not help laughing as he dragged Xue Yue into his arms, hugged her, and planted a kiss on her face.
Being treated so roughly stunned Xue Yue for a moment before she bit her red lips and wiped her cheeks, angrily declaring, “You vulgar man!”
Yang Kai did not respond and simply dragged her over towards the cluster of lights as quick as lightning.
In the boundless void, a collection of Space Spirit Crystals had come together to form a spiral shape at the centre of which had a terrifying Space Force fluctuation.
Yang Kai and Xue Yue stood next to the massive Spatial Helix made up of countless Space Spirit Crystals, their expressions extremely solemn.
They had discovered that many Space Spirit Crystals here before, and the two of them had rushed over enthusiastically, but Yang Kai realized that something was off after they arrived.
There was nothing odd about the Space Spirit Crystals themselves, but he could not tell what force had drawn them together like this and caused them to assume this strange spiral formation!
Even Xue Yue, who was not proficient in Space Force, could feel the dangerous aura emanating from the centre of this spiral, as if it was a bottomless abyss that could swallow everything in existence.
They currently stood inside The Void, but the very centre of this spiral was a unique existence which could even swallow that.
“Yang Kai…” Xue Yue whispered in Yang Kai’s ear. “I’m worried.”
“Naturally, I am too,” Yang Kai comforted her. This was a kind of instinctive fear, no one could underestimate the power emanating from this helix, “But… this thing seems to be of great use to me. “
“What do you plan to do?” Xue Yue looked at him in amazement.
Yang Kai frowned and thought for a while before he patted Xue Yue’s hand and said, “Help me collect these Space Spirit Crystals first.”
Xue Yue took a deep look at him, her beautiful eyes flashing brilliantly, as if she could look directly into Yang Kai’s heart and understand his thoughts, a moment later nodding lightly, “En.”
As she spoke, she flew out and began collecting the scattered Space Spirit Crystals that did not belong to the helix.
Yang Kai stood in place, staring at the centre of the spiral, his expression extremely solemn.
After some time, he released his Divine Sense and probed towards the centre of the helix.
He wanted to probe what kind of mysteries were hidden in this helix, but when his Divine Sense contacted it, Yang Kai was shocked to discover that there was an astonishing and terrifying attractive force emanating from it.
This attraction was stronger than anything Yang Kai had ever experienced before, and his Divine Sense was instantly captured and drawn in by it.
Not only that, but his body which was standing far away also seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand that directly pulled him in. By the time Yang Kai reappeared, he was already in the centre of the helix.
“Yang Kai!” Xue Yue was shocked and hurriedly called out.
However, she did not get any response from Yang Kai.
From where she stood, she could see Yang Kai standing at the centre of the helix motionless, as if he had lost all awareness of the outside world and had no way to respond.
Xue Yue called out several times, but Yang Kai never responded.
She immediately knew Yang Kai must have encountered some kind of incident and did not dare to do anything rash. She could only stand on the spot, anxiously watching while secretly praying he was safe.
…..
Revolving, endless revolving, Yang Kai felt that his body and Soul were being torn apart, a kind of unbearable pain that made him want to open his mouth and shout, but try as he might, he was unable to move, much less make a sound.
As he was being pulled in by the helix, all Yang Kai could feel was the violent rotation. This feeling was like being caught in a violent vortex that he could only passively endure, unable to put up any form of resistance.
His Knowledge Sea tumbling, Yang Kai felt extremely dizzy, as if his Soul were being drawn out of his body by this rotating power.
Since he began cultivating, Yang Kai had rarely encountered situations that put him completely at a loss. Facing any crisis, he had always been able to quickly formulate reasonable countermeasures to resolve the dangers he encountered.
But this time, he found that he was powerless.
As he was drawn in by the helix, his mind was also thrown into chaos and he quickly discovered that his Knowledge Sea was rapidly drying up. Scanning the inside of his body, Yang Kai saw that even his intrepid physique was slowly beginning to be torn apart.
He desperately pushed his Saint Qi and his Spiritual Energy to try to resist the strange power of the helix.
Nothing worked! Despite his best efforts, Yang Kai still felt like he was falling into a quagmire, and the more he struggled, the deeper he sank.
In less than a dozen breaths of time, his Knowledge Sea had dried up!
With his Soul taking damage, Yang Kai felt a splitting headache.
Inside his Knowledge Sea, the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus played a vital role at this moment. When Yang Kai Knowledge Sea was exhausted, it immediately began to nourish his Soul and repair the damaged places.
The feedback and nourishment from the Soul Warming Lotus allowed Yang Kai’s head to clear for a moment.
It was at that moment that he suddenly noticed that there was another force inside the helix which was destroying his physical body and Soul.
Space Force!
This gave him a sudden epiphany into the mysteries of the Dao of Space.
Yang Kai was overjoyed and quickly endured the unbearable pain to immerse himself in this enlightenment.
He immediately gained some traces of understanding!
Feeling these gains, Yang Kai resolutely gave up his resistance and simply allowed the helix to throw his Soul and body into its spiralling torrent!
Suddenly, a different vision appeared before his eyes!
At this moment, it was as if his Soul had been drawn out of his body and spread out across a vast region, invisible but omnipresent.
He could clearly see his body still standing quietly in the centre of the helix, the countless Space Spirit Crystals emitting a faint light around him, and Xue Yue standing nearby, constantly calling out to him.
Her beautiful face, which could charm all living beings in existence, was now filled with anxiety, her beautiful eyes filled with panic as her face turned pale.
Yang Kai tried to send his Divine Sense to her, but Xue Yue did not notice at all and just continued to call out.
Yang Kai suddenly stopped because he knew that his Soul hadn’t truly left his body and it was only because of some strange resonance he had with the Space Force here that he was seeing from this perspective. Fundamentally, it was impossible in his state to communicate with Xue Yue.
With no other choice, Yang Kai returned his attention to the helix.
From this perspective, he was able to see more and comprehend more.
After a short while, he began condensing his Space Force and releasing it along the lines of the helix’s spiralling force.
Instantly, the pressure was greatly reduced! Whether it was his Soul or body, Yang Kai suddenly felt his situation was much more endurable.
He suddenly understood.
This spiralling force was a profound Space Force, countless times more complex than what he had currently comprehended, and because of this massive gap in quality, any resistance he put up was futile and would only increase the pain he felt.
Only by following the helix’s trajectory and comprehending its mysteries could Yang Kai enhance his understanding. This was like trying to drink an ocean in order to escape from it, a seemingly impossible task, but although he had only just begun, Yang Kai could feel some results, so if he were to persevere, he would eventually be able to reach enlightenment and escape.
After understanding this, Yang Kai did not hesitate anymore and began to push his Space Force wildly, trying to match the movements of the helix’s rotation.
This was an extremely difficult process, as well as one that was extremely time-consuming.
Numerous cracks began to appear in Yang Kai’s flesh, and his golden blood overflowed from his wounds, but it did not fly off. Instead, it squirmed like a living thing, repairing his wounds.
Yang Kai’s extremely tough physical body played a vital role at this time, allowing him to persist for much longer than an average cultivator would have been able to.
As time passed little by little, Yang Kai became completely immersed in this wonderful perception, completely forgetting everything around him.
The Space Force emanating from his body did not weaken over time and instead became stronger and more refined as it resonated with the helix’s movements more and more perfectly.
Yang Kai did not feel much pressure anymore.
His Space Force and the helix’s force began to overlap, and that rotation now had minimal impact on him.
Finally, the two forces overlapped perfectly!
The moment this happened, the entire Void seemed to resonate for a moment.
Yang Kai suddenly felt an extremely strange sensation, as if he had become a part of the massive helix, the two merging into one.
The surrounding lights blossomed in a dazzling display, and all the surrounding Space Spirit Crystals suddenly burst apart under the strange confluence of Yang Kai and the helix’s Space Force occurred.
The bursting Space Spirit Crystals did not collapse The Void but instead transformed into a pure type of energy that rushed towards the helix’s centre.
This energy condensed into countless dense, pitch-black lines.
And at the centre of the spiral was precisely where Yang Kai’s body was.
These black streaks of energy formed from the energy of the exploded Space Spirit Crystals all rushed into Yang Kai’s body and then disappeared.
The dazzling light gradually dissipated and the entire void returned to darkness, with no light to be seen and even the helix’s spiral force vanishing.
Only now did Yang Kai, who had been frozen in place for so long, have an opportunity to carefully examine his body.
After probing himself with his Divine Sense, he could not help frowning.
He found that his physical state was somewhat strange now, with black lines flitting across his figure. When these black lines appeared, they made it seem as if part of his body was missing, but after they moved on, the parts of his body that seemed to have disappeared would appear again, unharmed.
One’s physique naturally did not disappear for no reason, so this phenomenon was obviously the result of a visual disturbance caused by the extremely powerful Space Force flowing through Yang Kai’s body, causing his vision and Divine Sense to be unable to sense it.
Even Yang Kai himself could not stop this strange interference. Perhaps he would have to fully familiarize himself with this new power before he could stabilize his condition.
However, despite the strangeness of his state, Yang Kai was feeling better than ever. This time, through a series of accidents, he had managed to absorb almost all the spatial helix’s power and several thousand true Space Spirit Crystals worth of Space Force, causing his comprehension of the Dao of Space to soar to an incredible height.
Yang Kai joyously immersed himself in the changes he had just undergone.
The more he comprehended, the more he realized how superficial his previous understanding of the Dao of Space was, and the more he discovered just how terrifying the methods he could display would be if he continued to enhance his comprehension of the Dao of Space.
He was thoroughly shocked.
Unfortunately, now was not the best time for this. At this moment, Yang Kai felt as if he had the keys to a rich treasure trove, and that treasure trove was actually his body.
But he did not have time to check and handle his treasures!
Focusing himself, Yang Kai swept his surroundings looking for Xue Yue.
He had not forgotten that there was another person who was worried about him in this place, constantly calling his name and relying on him.
However, when he looked around, Yang Kai could not help frowning because there were no signs of Xue Yue anywhere.
Even spreading out his Divine Sense, Yang Kai was unable to locate Xue Yue.
[Where did she go?] Yang Kai frowned. He did not think Xue Yue had abandoned him when he fell into danger. Although he had not had much contact with Xue Yue, and didn’t know much about her, from the brief period he had spent with her, he could tell she wasn’t such a person.
On top of that, she would be like a headless fly in this Void Crack without any understanding of Space Force. Even if she spent thousands of years wandering about, there was no guarantee she would be able to escape.
Therefore, it was impossible that she had simply left on her own.
[Did she encounter some kind of danger?] Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he thought up a possibility; but in this Void Crack, what dangers could there be? Although this was a literal chaotic emptiness outside the Severed World, the two of them had not encountered any dangers during their entire time here.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai began taking action. No matter what, finding Xue Yue was the priority.
Taking a single step forward, Yang Kai travelled a hundred kilometres, his expression calm and composed, each step he took resonating with the surrounding space.
Previously, Yang Kai would need to tear space to travel a hundred kilometres in an instant, and although he recently learned to cross short distances in the blink of any eye with the increase in his comprehension of the Dao of Space, he could only leap across ten kilometres or so at a time, a truly insignificant distance.
Yet now, he was easily able to flicker across a hundred kilometres in one step, and this was far from his current limit.
While he was moving, Yang Kai began digesting the power and understanding he had obtained after swallowing the power of the helix, dramatically improving his comprehension and application of his Space Force.
If he was right, even if Xue Yue had left, she couldn’t have run far; after all, even if she wanted to run away, she wouldn’t be able to in this damned place.
Therefore, Yang Kai focused on searching the surrounding region.
Sure enough, half a stick of incense worth of time later, Yang Kai found Xue Yue’s figure!
However, at this moment, she was in quite a distressed state as she ran through the empty void, her long hair dishevelled and blood leaking from the corners of her mouth.
Behind her was a thirty-metre-long Monster Beast that somewhat resembled a seal. This Monster Beast’s body was fat and swollen, with a wide tail it flapped lightly as it followed after Xue Yue in an unhurried manner, letting out loud, piercing cries from time to time.
When he saw this Monster Beast, Yang Kai’s eyes shrank, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
Because he clearly felt Space Force fluctuations coming from it!
Every movement this Monster Beast made resonated with the surrounding space, as if the space around it was what was moving it forward. Despite it seeming to flounder about awkwardly, it was easily able to follow Xue Yue, who was fleeing desperately.
In other words, it did not want to kill Xue Yue immediately, but was instead teasing her like a cat would a mouse, taking pleasure in chasing her.
Just as Yang Kai saw Xue Yue, this Monster Beast opened its stubby mouth and spurt out a burst of energy that was visible to the naked eye.
This mass of energy rapidly condensed into a sharp blade that easily cut across space and directly struck towards Xue Yue.
Perceiving the terrifying danger approaching from behind her, Xue Yue’s beautiful face changed colour and she quickly bit her tongue and spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence to forcefully summon her Xie Zhi Symbiotic Monster Spirit above her head. The Xie Zhi’s illusionary body was covered in dense black fur and a single long horn jutted out from its forehead, giving it an imposing image. As soon as it appeared, it roared and rushed towards the rear.
Her Xie Zhi Symbiotic Monster Spirit was comparable to Xue Yue in terms of combat power, so an average Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator would certainly not be its opponent.
But this phantom Xie Zhi was easily bisected by the Space Force blade.
With a miserable howl, the illusionary Xie Zhi vanished.
As for its host, Xue Yue was also severely injured. Opening her mouth, she coughed up another mouthful of blood as her tender body faltered and her escaping speed slowed dramatically.
Xue Yue did not dare to look back as her beautiful eyes grew dim.
At that moment, a figure fell from the sky and took her into his arms.
Struggling, Xue Yue managed to lift her head and immediately saw Yang Kai’s face before her. Even in the darkness, she felt that this face exuded endless light, as if it was a bright star guiding her on the dim road ahead.
“You finally came!” Xue Yue squeezed out a smile as she breathlessly said.
“En, it was an accident of sorts,” Yang Kai nodded and while talking used his Saint Qi to scan Xue Yue’s body, frowning slightly at what he found. Xue Yue’s situation was quite dire. Yang Kai could not tell how long she had been entangled with this Monster Beast, but her Saint Qi was essentially depleted and there was damage to both her body and meridians. If he had arrived an hour later, Xue Yue might have died from exhaustion, even if the Monster Beast did not kill her.
“How did you provoke it?” Yang Kai asked while glancing back at the Monster Beast suspended in the void.
“It appeared on its own,” Xue Yue leaned into Yang Kai’s arms and replied softly. “After waiting for you for a few days, without any response, this Monster Beast suddenly appeared. Perhaps it was nearby and sensed your presence. As soon as it appeared, it rushed towards you. I was afraid that you would be disturbed, so I…”
“So, you lead it away?” Yang Kai looked down at her.
Xue Yue hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Yang Kai sighed softly as his heart warmed.
“Your body… what happened?” Xue Yue suddenly cried out again as she finally noticed Yang Kai’s unusual state. The black lines which seemed to erase his physique as they flowed across his figure caused Xue Yue to think that something terrible had happened to Yang Kai, immediately putting her on edge.
“It’s just some of my powers running out of control, it’s not a big problem. As long as I completely refine and absorb it, the effects should pass.” Yang Kai explained, patting Xue Yue’s back as he said, “Don’t worry about it, what needs to be dealt with right now is this fellow.”
Saying so, he turned his attention to the strange Monster Beast in front of him with a solemn expression.
Xue Yue’s face changed slightly as she whispered, “Be careful, it’s very powerful, definitely not inferior to an Origin King. What’s more, it’s proficient in Space Force. If I am not mistaken, it should be…”
“A Shocking Void Beast!” Yang Kai grinned, “I know.”
Him following Luo Lan into the Severed World this time was primarily to hunt a Shocking Void Beast.
But Yang Kai had never expected to encounter such a Shocking Void Beast in this situation.
Able to wander The Void freely, proficient in the Dao of Space, what else could it be other than a Shocking Void Beast? So even if Yang Kai had never encountered this kind of Monster Beast before, he was instantly able to identify it.
“As long as you know,” Xue Yue put her heart at ease, adjusted herself into a comfortable position in Yang Kai’s arms, then whispered softly. “I’ll leave the rest up to you, my life is in your hands.”
Saying so, she activated some kind of Secret Technique without hesitation and fell unconscious.
She was already a dry oil lamp, so she needed to heal her injuries immediately; the Secret Technique she used allowed her to enter a state of deep sleep where all her energy could be devoted to healing.
“You trust me that much?” Yang Kai smiled slightly, feeling a heavy sense of responsibility and muttering to himself, “Then, I certainly can’t let you down.”
Saying so, he flipped Xue Yue onto his back and then condensed his Saint Qi to secure her to him, allowing him to freely move his hands and feet. After making sure Xue Yue wouldn’t be thrown off no matter how he moved, Yang Kai turned his attention to the Shocking Void Beast in a leisurely manner.
Since Yang Kai appeared, the Shocking Void Beast has fallen silent.
On its fat head, its two small eyes stared fixedly at Yang Kai, as if he was a delicious meal stimulating its appetite.
The Shocking Void Beast was innately proficient in the Dao of Space, and Yang Kai has just absorbed the entire spatial helix, greatly increasing his understanding of the Dao of Space. Moreover, the raw Space Force Yang Kai had just absorbed was leaking out from his body uncontrollably, drawing the Shocking Void Beast’s full attention.
Staring at each other, Yang Kai’s eyes filled with the same aggression as the Shocking Void Beast’s, neither of them flinching.
In this boundless void crack, one person and one beast felt their opponent’s fighting intent.
“Come!” After a long time, Yang Kai beckoned to the Shocking Void Beast, “I want your Monster Core, you want my body. Let’s see who obtains what they want and who becomes the other’s meal!”
Whether the Shocking Void Beast understood Yang Kai’s words or not was debatable, but it certainly realized it was being provoked, so it released a loud roar in the next moment and shot a barrage of pitch-black energy balls at Yang Kai.
The speed of these dark spheres was incredible; after all, they had been released by the Shocking Void Beast using its comprehension of the Dao of Space. The attacks instantly crossed the distance between them and bombarded Yang Kai.
The power of these attacks was enough to threaten an Origin King!
Yang Kai eyes flashed. Instead of retreating in the face of such an attack, his fighting spirit intent only soared higher as he swung his arms out freely.
Secret Technique, Space Blade!
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A series of crescent-shaped Space Blades shot out, precisely and perfectly meeting the Shocking Void Beast’s attacks.
Space Blade was the Space Force offensive Secret Technique that Yang Kai possessed and had always been one of his trump cards.
However, after swallowing and fusing with the spatial helix, the power of this Secret Technique had increased several times!
Although the size of the Space Blades Yang Kai released had not changed, his control over them, and the stability of their form had dramatically improved, together with their lethality.
Space Blades collided with the Shocking Void Beast’s void shots.
A faint rumbling rang out as violent Space Force fluctuations filled The Void. The space just ten metres in front of Yang Kai collapsed at that moment, shattering like a mirror as chaotic fluctuations burst forth.
From the collapsed space, the Shocking Void Beast’s huge body leapt out strangely and its opened mouth bit towards Yang Kai.
When Yang Kai’s attention had been diverted, it had managed to cross space and approach him.
Fortunately, Yang Kai seemed to have anticipated this a long time ago, so he didn’t appear flustered, instead just shifting his feet slightly while enveloping his body in Space Force, swiftly turning into a phantom.
The Shocking Void Beast bit down!
The next moment, Yang Kai appeared above the Shocking Void Beast’s body like a ghost and released a punch powered by his full strength towards its head.
*Hong…*
The fist shadow impacted the Shocking Void Beast and exploded it to pieces.
But Yang Kai did not show the slightest satisfaction after his attack landed, instead just frowning as he hurriedly withdrew from where he was standing. The moment he moved, the Shocking Void Beast that had supposedly shattered appeared behind him, its mouth still wide open.
The Shocking Void Beast that was shattered by Yang Kai was nothing more than an after-image!
One person and one beast had reached an astonishing level of speed, their respective use of Space Force disturbing each other’s vision and senses.
In a flash, Yang Kai appeared a thousand metres away while the Shocking Void Beast also came to halt, floating in the void, accurately finding Yang Kai’s location in the next instant and staring at him.
After this brief confrontation, both parties realized that the other was not some soft persimmon they could pinch at will.
“In that case…” Yang Kai murmured as he flashed a fierce grin, “Don’t blame me for being unkind!”
Saying so, he waved his hand.
In the next moment, Stone Puppet Xiao Xiao and Artifact Spirit Liu Yan appeared beside him!
Xiao Xiao carried the Heaven Shaking Pillar on his small shoulder, his eyes darting about, seemingly wondering where he was. Liu Yan on the other hand simply turned to Yang Kai and asked, “What are Master’s orders?”
“Kill it!” Yang Kai pointed his finger at the Shocking Void Beast a thousand metres away.
Liu Yan’s beautiful eyes turned towards the Shocking Void Beast and her expression became solemn as she quietly said, “It’s very strong.”
Yang Kai laughed, “If it wasn’t, I could have handled it alone. Why would I bother calling you two out? En, it’s proficient in using Space Force, which is why I need both of you to cooperate with me.”
“If that’s what Master commands!” Liu Yan nodded, a ball of red-purple flame filled with streaks of lightning and a violent, destructive force, appearing above her jade white palm.
“En,” Yang Kai grinned, his figure flickering as he rushed towards the Shocking Void Beast once again. There was no need for words between him and his two most trusted helpers, because whether it was Xiao Xiao or Liu Yan, both shared a Soul connection with Yang Kai, allowing them to share their thoughts perfectly and instantaneously, making their cooperation seamless.
As soon as Yang Kai moved, Liu Yan transformed into a giant ball of flame and rushed out right behind him.
Xiao Xiao transformed into his stone giant form and he stepped across The Void while dragging the thirty-metre-long Heaven Shaking Pillar, appearing slow and unhurried.
The Shocking Void Beast undoubtedly had high intelligence, so when it saw Yang Kai suddenly had two more helpers, its two small eyes could not help flashing an almost human look of suspicion.
Seeing Yang Kai and Liu Yan rushing up together, it leapt up before diving down, the space below it acting almost like the surface of a lake, swallowing its form as it dove into it.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as he felt the changes in the surrounding space before swiftly instructing Xiao Xiao who was behind him on what to do.
Xiao Xiao did not even hesitate, letting out a thunderous roar as he swung the Heaven Shaking Pillar towards his left side.
The several-million-kilogram Heaven Shaking Pillar swung by Xiao Xiao’s earth-destroying strength was even able to shatter space, and the moment the Stone Puppet’s attack swept out, the Shocking Void Beast’s head appeared in its path.
It almost looked like the Shocking Void Beast had taken the initiative to get attacked by Xiao Xiao.
The Shocking Void Beast had obviously planned to attack Xiao Xiao first, but it had not expected its little scheme to be seen through so easily by Yang Kai and get used against it.
At such close range, the Shocking Void Beast was unable to dodge such a swift attack, even if it was proficient in using Space Force.
If this blow landed squarely, the Shocking Void Beast would definitely suffer a grievous wound despite its strength that was comparable to an Origin King’s. Xiao Xiao’s full-powered attack was no joke.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he secretly looked forward to a scene of splattered flesh and blood.
But what stunned him was that the Shocking Void Beast managed to twist its body forcibly at the last moment while at the same time unleashing a powerful Space Force fluctuation from its body, forming a kind of vortex that blocked Xiao Xiao’s attack.
The Heaven Shaking Pillar quickly smashed this vortex and smashed onto the Shocking Void Beast, drawing a huge splash of blood, and hurling it far, far away!
At the spot where the Shocking Void Beast’s head and neck were connected, there was now a deep red wound in which even bone was vaguely visible.
But in the end, it had survived, and the injuries it suffered were not too serious!
“I knew it wouldn’t be so easy!” Yang Kai grit his teeth and shouted, waving his hand to wrap Liu Yan in his Saint Qi before shuttling across space and instantly arriving in front of the injured Shocking Void Beast.
Immediately, the master-servant pair madly attacked the wounded beast.
Hundreds of Golden Blood Threads infused with Space Force were released by Yang Kai to form an inescapable net that completely sealed a massive region of space, cutting off any escape route the Shocking Void Beast had. At the same time, Yang Kai madly sent out his Space Blades to deal damage.
Liu Yan’s attack was far simpler, simply releasing a storm of red, petal-like flames wrapped in purple lightning towards the Shocking Void Beast. Each falling petal contained an extraordinary amount of double attribute power, and whenever any of them landed on the Shocking Void Beast, it would burn and scar its flesh while also delivering a potent shock that affected the smoothness of its movements.
For a moment, the Shocking Void Beast was only able to endure this beating, without any power to fight back, roaring constantly in pain and frustration.
*Deng deng deng deng…*
Xiao Xiao raced over, a cold aura wrapping his giant frame, and taking advantage of Yang Kai and Liu Yan restraining the Shocking Void Beast, he smashed his Heaven Shaking Pillar down again.
As soon as it saw this stick approach, the Shocking Void Beast’s eyes flashed with fright.
It did not dread the methods used by Yang Kai and Liu Yan, but this simple, brute-force attack from Xiao Xiao was something it feared. This was a perfect example of overwhelming force destroying all defences. Even its space transfer and solidification techniques could not fully stop the blow.
The Shocking Void Beast roared and struggled as it continuously spat out a dense bombardment of Space Force blasts towards Yang Kai and Liu Yan. At the same time, it projected a Space Force barrier around its body to resist Xiao Xiao’s attack.
In the next instant, the sound of broken bones rang out and the aura of the Shocking Void Beast diminished greatly.
It had taken too many attacks in too short a time, becoming severely wounded. Facing Yang Kai, Xiao Xiao, and Liu Yan all at once, it could felt helpless and realized that if it didn’t escape, it would soon die.
As such, it began desperately pushing its Space Force to disturb the surrounding space.
Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Thread net was affected by this disturbance and was unable to maintain its stability, flaws soon beginning to open in it.
Liu Yan also cried out in alarm as she pushed her flames and lightning to protect herself from the Shocking Void Beast’s counterattack.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Shocking Void Beast leapt out of its encirclement.
“Want to run?” Yang Kai snorted coldly, but just as he was about to give chase, he saw the Shocking Void Beast use its old trick once again and plunge into the void, disappearing in the next instant.
Yang Kai frowned and scanned the area around himself, pushing his Space Force to its limit, but was unable to detect any trace of the Shocking Void Beast’s aura nearby, muttering to himself, “It escaped!”
The Shocking Void Beast had obviously escaped from The Void, which was why Yang Kai was unable to perceive it anymore.
Not hesitating, Yang Kai immediately summoned Xiao Xiao and Liu Yan back before flying over to where the Shocking Void Beast disappeared and plunging his hands in The Void and ripping open a tear.
A Void Crack instantly appeared!
Yang Kai dove straight in.
In the next moment, he returned to the Severed World.
Yang Kai immediately began searching for the Shocking Void Beast. He would lose this strange Monster beast forever if he didn’t find it soon.
The roar of the Shocking Void Beast suddenly resounded, and a clear tone of panic could be heard in its voice, as if it had encountered something terrifying.
Yang Kai frowned, looked over in the direction the voice was coming from and saw a scene which caused his eyes to bulge.
Not far away, a giant black curtain covered a portion of the sky, and countless human faces were struggling and floating about inside this curtain, twisting and changing constantly. These human faces were like Yin Souls that had been gathered together on this black curtain, exuding cold and wicked aura.
Through this black curtain, Yang Kai could vaguely make out the huge figure of the Shocking Void Beast, but at this moment, it had been completely surrounded by countless Yin Soul like things that were biting into its physique.
The Shocking Void Beast’s body began to visibly shrink, as if its vitality was being sucked dry by these Yin Souls. No matter how hard the Shocking Void Beast struggled, it was unable to escape from this binding.
It was clearly at a dead end!
“Heh heh heh…” Strange laughter suddenly came from nearby.
Yang Kai’s complexion could not help but sink as he secretly began circulating his Saint Qi and turned to look at the place where the sound had come from.
Over there, a figure shrouded in darkness was standing quietly, and from the darkness, there seemed to be a pair of chilling eyes staring at Yang Kai.
“It’s you!” Yang Kai gasped as his expression became solemn.