Yang Kai didn’t show any fear though and instead just grinned and said, “If you kill me, you may not be able to withstand the consequences!”
“A trivial prisoner dares try to bargain with Father? No one will care if trash like you dies!”
“Really?” Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood, “Senior Brother Kou said he is going to ask Protector Bian for instructions about how to deal with us. You tell me: What will your fate be if Protector Bian learns that you killed me without her permission?”
Hearing the name ‘Protector Bian’, Yan Xiu Ran’s eyes flashed with a strong sense of fear and like a basin of cold water was splashed onto him, his anger instantly cooled.
[Seems like I am right!]
Seeing his expression, Yang Kai completely calmed down.
Judging from these Blue Feather Sect disciples’ behaviour, this Sect did not seem to be anything good. Likewise, these cultivators were not good people. Most likely, the only reason this Sect continued to exist was that rules were strictly enforced and breaking them led to severe punishment!
This was why Yang Kai used Protector Bian’s name as a deterrent despite never having met her before.
Yan Xiu Ran really did begin to hesitate.
Just as Yang Kai said, if Yan Xiu Ran really killed him before Protector Bian gave the order, it would be a disaster for him. Even if Protector Bian didn’t kill him, he would still lose a layer of skin.
As such, he didn’t dare think about killing anymore.
However, his Treasure Seizing Snake was killed by Yang Kai, so it was impossible for him to simply drop this matter. After hesitating for a while, Yan Xiu Ran walked towards Yang Kai and savagely spat, “Brat, know this! Once Protector Bian orders your death, Father here will personally send you down.”
Yang Kai curled his lips sharply when he heard these words.
“But now… while you can escape capital punishment, some suffering is due. Your physique seems a bit unusual, so Father here hopes you do not give in too quickly!”
Saying so, Yan Xiu Ran rushed in front of Yang Kai and pushed his Source Qi violently onto his fist and punched Yang Kai’s abdomen fiercely.
*Hong…*
Yang Kai felt as if he had been struck by lightning and his whole body bent into a shrimp shape as he convulsed in pain. Unable to hold back, Yang Kai coughed up a big mouthful of blood onto Yan Xiu Ran.
The latter was caught off guard again, and before he knew it, his face was covered in blood.
Being provoked again and again, Yan Xiu Ran’s patience was at its limits and he could not stop himself from lifting his leg and sweeping it towards Yang Kai’s neck.
The next moment, Yang Kai flew out and fell to the ground, motionless.
From the looks of it, he had passed out.
“Consider yourself lucky!” Yan Xiu Ran snorted coldly before turning around and shouting at Liu Xian Yun viciously, “Drag him with you and follow me!”
Now that his Treasure Seizing Snake had died, it would be impossible to snatch Liu Xian Yun’s artifacts even if Yan Xiu Ran wanted to. He could only imprison the two of them in the Bone Prison first before finding other ways to torture them.
Liu Xian Yun heard this and hurriedly ran over to Yang Kai’s side before stretching out her finger to check his pulse. After confirming that he was still alive, she could not help breathing a sigh of relief.
After calming down, Liu Xian Yun stretched out her hand and lifted Yang Kai up before carrying him on her back.
Following Yan Xiu Ran, she walked into the cave in the mountainside and immediately felt a kind of pressure that forced her neck to shrink slightly.
From the belly of the mountain, pained shouts faintly echoed, adding a gloomy and menacing air to the already gloomy cave.
As Yan Xiu Ran led the way, he sneered and commented, “After entering the Bone Prison, there are not many people who come out alive. If you do not want to suffer any inhuman treatment, you’d best hand over your artifacts to me as soon as possible and I can make life a bit more comfortable for you, otherwise… you’ll learn what living a life worse than death really means!”
Liu Xian Yun’s pretty face paled slightly as her tender body trembled, but she still bit her thin lip and held her tongue.
The deeper they went, the darker and damper the environment became, and it wasn’t long before an unpleasant smell also began to fill the air, causing Liu Xian Yun to frown.
After descending what seemed to be about a thousand metres, they arrived at a dungeon.
The cells here were separated by some kind of fencing refined from Monster Beast bones that seemed extremely strong.
From the dim cells, many scarlet eyes, like those of wild beasts, stared towards Yan Xiu Ran and the others, causing Liu Xian Yun’s hair to stand on end slightly.
“Kill me, kill me, please kill me!” A horrible howl came from somewhere as someone begged for death. Liu Xian Yun could not imagine what kind of torture this man was enduring that actually made him prefer death to life.
But here, death obviously became a kind of extravagant hope as the pleading voice quickly turned into a series of extremely miserable howls.
Liu Xian Yun’s cheeks were already pale and bloodless as she felt that this might be her future destiny, causing her great sorrow and pain.
“Get in!” Yan Xiu Ran suddenly stopped in front of a cell, opened the door, and motioned to Liu Xian Yun.
Liu Xian Yun did not dare to defy him, so she could only walk into the cell with Yang Kai still on her back.
Yan Xiu Ran closed the cell tightly as soon as Liu Xian Yun entered before directing a sneer at her and rapping his fingers on the bone fence, “These two are new, make sure you entertain them well.”
Having said what he wanted to say, he turned around and left.
At the same time, a few scarlet eyes suddenly lit up inside the cell that was originally dark and silent.
Liu Xian Yun was taken aback as it was not until this time that she realized that there were already four people inside this cell.
“Huh? A woman?” Suddenly, a shout of pleasant surprise rang out as a cultivator who had been imprisoned here began taking deep sniffs of the air with his nose, apparently indulging in Liu Xian Yun’s faint body scent, his whole person became extremely excited.
“A woman came here? Hahahaha! The Heavens have blessed us brothers!” Someone immediately laughed.
When this word spread, there was a commotion in the nearby cells as numerous prisoners crowded beside the fence to stare at Liu Xian Yun with interest. Bursts of lewd laughter rang out as everyone was clearly expecting a good show to start soon.
Liu Xian Yun’s complexion sank as she hurriedly backed away to the innermost position and leaned herself against a wall while staring forward vigilantly.
Inside the cell, a burly man stood up slowly. This man was at least two metres tall and his huge size alone gave him an imposing presence. Although his strength was also clearly sealed, his whole figure exuded a fierce aura like that of a great beast.
“This woman is mine!” The burly man said faintly but in a tone that would allow no objections.
The other three men heard this and cringed for a moment before one of them said flatly, “Since Boss Zong has spoken, we brothers will naturally have to give some face, but after Boss Zong has finished enjoying her, can we… heh heh heh?”
“Do as you please!” Zong Qi said coldly.
“Many thanks Boss Zong!” The three people hurriedly thanked him before taking a step back while obscene smiles filled their faces as they prepared to watch.
The burly man named Zong Qi stared at Liu Xian Yun closely. Using the dim light to see Liu Xian Yun’s appearance clearly, he couldn’t help but nod his head in approval, “En, the highest quality goods! Those Blue Feather Sect bastards finally did something good for Grandfather here.”
“What do you want to do?” Liu Xian Yun asked with a calm face, her phoenix eyes filled with sharp light as she stared at Zong Qi.
She did not panic because she knew in such a place, trying to reason with others was useless, only strength mattered here.
Now that everyone’s Qi had been sealed, and one could only use their physical strength though, Liu Xian Yun felt great pressure just looking at the giant iron body before her.
“You still don’t know what I want to do?” Zong Qi coldly snorted, then without putting the petite Liu Xian Yun in his eyes at all, he commanded, “If you don’t want to suffer, do you best to enjoy it!”
“Hahahaha, Boss Zong’s words couldn’t be more correct. En, I advise you not to provoke Boss Zong, little girl. He’s quite skilled in Body Tempering, so with your tiny frame, you can’t resist. Just lay back and enjoy yourself, or are you afraid Boss Zong can’t satisfy you?”
“Shameless bastards!” Liu Xian Yun ground her teeth and cursed.
“Haa, if you scold him like this, you’ll only stimulate his animal desires! It’s better to just keep quiet,” Suddenly, Yang Kai’s voice came from behind.
Liu Xian Yun was startled at first before she became overjoyed and asked softly, “You woke up?”
“I never passed out!” Yang Kai leapt off Liu Xian Yun’s back as he spoke and began to rub his neck and abdomen, grimacing in pain for a moment as he muttered, “That bastard really used a heavy hand, he nearly crippled me. Damn it, I’ll make him pay for this one day.”
Liu Xian Yun looked at Yang Kai dumbly, completely shocked he had actually not passed out being hit like that.
[This man… what kind of freak is he!] Yan Xiu Ran’s attack just now was not even enough to rob his consciousness. Just how strong was his endurance?
Absent-minded, she even forgot about the dangerous situation she was currently in.
“Oh? You have a lover already?” Zong Qi stood ten metres away from Yang Kai as he looked down at him with eyes filled with disdain and mockery.
“Haha, this friend must be joking, she and I… are just friends,” Yang Kai explained.
Zong Qi coldly snorted, “Whether you are her friend or lover, I warn you, scram if you don’t want to die!”
“You’re quite the arrogant one aren’t you!” Yang Kai raised his head to look up at the burly man in front of him with half-squinted eyes, “In that case, I should also warn you… scram if you don’t want to die!”
Using the same words, Yang Kai returned the exact same intent.
The cell suddenly went quiet.
The other three men hiding in the dark had their jaws drop as they stared at Yang Kai as if he was a dead man. Suddenly, one of them reacted and called out, “Not good, run! Boss Zong is definitely going to explode.”
The other two were also quite agitated as a look of horror filled their eyes, seemingly recalling some kind of hellish memories as they hurriedly moved to the outer edge of the cell.
A moment later, Zong Qi sneered and said, “You’re quite funny, but… angering Grandpa here will do you no good. I’ll give you one chance to survive: Kneel down and lick my shoes, otherwise, this time next year will be the anniversary of your death!”
“Shit!” Yang Kai couldn’t help cursing as his bad mood only got worse.
Since he entered the Starlight Corridor, he seemed to only run into one disaster after another.
First, he had met Yin Le Sheng who had attacked and tried to rob him, then he met Senior Brother Kou who had captured him and brought him back to Blue Feather Sect for no reason. After that, he met Yan Xiu Ran who wanted to steal his artifacts in front of the Bone Prison, and finally, he met this tall, brawny man…
Yang Kai suddenly discovered that, up until now, the Star Boundary was only filled with unpleasant memories.
Were all people from the Star Boundary so cruel and aggressive? Or did he just have terrible luck?
Regardless of the reason, Yang Kai’s patience had run out.
After all these repeated misfortunes, the anger in his heart had become like a raging torrent, just waiting to erupt.
This Zong Qi’s shameless provocation was like a fuse that set off all the rage Yang Kai had been building up.
So after hearing Zong Qi’s threats, Yang Kai not only wasn’t afraid, he instead grinned with interest, “If I understand what you mean, it doesn’t seem to matter if people die here, right?”
Zong Qi sneered, “This is Blue Feather Sect’s Bone Prison. What does it matter how many people die in here?”
“Understood,” Yang Kai gently nodded before suddenly raising his head and grinning fiercely, “Then it seems you’re quite unlucky!”
As soon as his voice fell, he rushed in front of Zong Qi in a single bound and threw out a punch.
This punch seemed to contain all the anger and dissatisfaction Yang Kai had pent up until this point, his rage soaring to the Heavens as his fist flew as fast as lightning.
Zong Qi was extremely proud of his burly stature and his great attainments in Body Tempering, so he did not put Yang Kai’s attacks in his eyes at all, simply sneering as he mocked, “Interesting, someone dares to provoke this Zong. I’ll crush every bone in your body as punishment!”
Saying so, he too threw out a punch to meet Yang Kai’s head-on.
When the two fists collided, the cold look on Yang Kai’s face turned into a sneer while the disdain on Zong Qi’s face rapidly changed to astonishment, then panic…
With a pitiful scream, Zong Qi’s towering figure was actually sent flying through the air as the crisp sound of the bones in his arm breaking rang out.
*Peng…*
Zong Qi hit the bone bars of the Bone Prison before falling to the ground heavily.
Before he could get up though, Yang Kai had already rushed out like a fierce tiger and mounted him before unleashing a storm of fists.
*Peng peng peng…*
Inside the Bone Prison, shockwaves from the continuous bombardment propagated, creating a war-drum-like rhythm that seemed to pound directly on people’s hearts.
Inside the Bone Prison cell, the three men who were expecting to see a good show had long gone dumbfounded, their eyes bulging as they stared at the sight in front of them in amazement.
Liu Xian Yun was also standing frozen on the spot, her heart filling with both shock as well as excitement.
This could not be helped though. In this kind of place, the stronger Yang Kai’s performance was, the safer she would be. Regardless of anything else, she was currently Yang Kai’s ally!
In the other cells, calls and shouts echoed about. The cultivators detained here were tortured year-round, which had either completely eroded their wills or stimulated their inner ferocity. Many enjoyed watching this kind of bloody fight as it gave them some entertainment in this gloomy, depressing hole.
*Peng peng peng…*
The muffled impacts continued to be heard as red blood splashed out, sometimes mixed with bits of broken bone and organs.
The commotion in the cell aroused the guards’ attention, and two Blue Feather Sect’s disciples soon came over to investigate. After they discovered that Yang Kai, the guy who had just been imprisoned, was making a display of his strength, these guards just stood by and watched with cold grins, not showing any intention to interfere. After entertaining themselves for a moment, the guards turned around and left.
Zong Qi was right about one thing: In this Blue Feather Sect Bone Prison, what did it matter if some people died? The Blue Feather Sect guards had no interest in stopping this.
As time passed, Zong Qi’s pitiful roars and howls began to fade, his curses and bravado giving way to pleas for mercy.
However, Yang Kai seemed to have devolved into a wild beast and ignored all of these cries.
Soon, Zong Qi’s groans were silenced altogether.
When Yang Kai stopped and stood up, what was left of Zong Qi lay in a puddle of bloody mud, most of his bones shattered beyond recognition, dead beyond any doubt.
Yang Kai shook off the blood staining his hands before letting out a long breath. He immediately felt refreshed as the depression in his heart was greatly lifted.
Yang Kai turned to the other three inside the cell next, causing all of them to scurry to the corner of the cell and stare back at him with clear terror filling their eyes, panicking as they worried Yang Kai would butcher them next.
They were well aware of Zong Qi’s abilities. Under the premise that everyone’s Qi was sealed inside this Bone Prison, whoever had the strongest physical body occupied the absolute advantage in a fight. All three of them had been subdued by Zong Qi previously, and even all together, they knew they were not his match.
However, this newcomer was actually able to overwhelm Zong Qi to the point where the latter couldn’t even fight back. It was easy to imagine just how powerful this boy’s body was!
There was good reason for them to be afraid.
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not seem interested in fighting anymore and simply walked to a corner of the cell and sat down cross-legged. This made the three breathe a sigh of relief, as if they had just escaped from the jaws of death.
Liu Xian Yun did not disturb Yang Kai either, realizing that his mood was still a bit unstable at the moment. Finding a place nearby, she also sat down cross-legged and began to recover her strength.
After some unknown length of time, the door of the cell was suddenly opened.
The two Blue Feather Sect guards who had shown up earlier entered the cell and with cold faces called out to Yang Kai, “Boy, get up!”
Yang Kai raised his eyes to look at them before slowly standing up.
Liu Xian Yun pulled on his clothes from behind, a worried look on her face.
Yang Kai just smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a while. They won’t dare to kill me.”
As long as that Protector Bian whom he had never met didn’t pass judgement on him, no one in Blue Feather Sect would dare to take extreme measures. Regarding this, Yang Kai felt he should thank Protector Bian.
After comforting Liu Xian Yun, Yang Kai turned his head to the three cowering men in the cell and grinned, “If you do not want to die, don’t make a fuss. If I come back and find that you hurt a single hair on my companion’s head, you know what the consequences will be.”
The three men had been deterred by Yang Kai’s ferocity long ago, not even daring to move Zong Qi’s mashed up corpse, which was lying nearby, so how could they dare have any improper thoughts now? All three of them kept nodding their heads like chicken pecking rice.
“Still dawdling? Do you want to die? Hurry up and get out here!” The guards at the door urged impatiently.
Yang Kai spat disdainfully before he walked out of the cell.
Once outside, the two guards swept their eyes over Yang Kai for a moment before one of them sneered and said, “I heard that you made Senior Brother Yan suffer a big loss?”
“Boy, you’re quite capable, killing Zong Qi the first day you arrived. He was a nasty one. For this alone, we brothers admire you a bit.”
“But, Senior Brother Yan said that we need to ‘take care’ of you well, so don’t blame us for what comes next. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for having eyes but failing to see, provoking those who shouldn’t be provoked.”
From the way these two spoke, Yang Kai quickly understood the whole story.
As such, he did not bother responding and simply motioned for these two to lead the way.
The two guards glanced at each other and could not help but give Yang Kai a big thumbs up as they laughed deeply, “You’ve got guts!”
Soon, Yang Kai was taken to a dim cell, chained up, and tortured in various ways by the two Blue Feather Sect disciples.
It was not until half a day later that a half-dead Yang Kai was thrown back into his cell.
After seeing Yang Kai’s miserable appearance, Liu Xian Yun was deeply frightened, thinking that he would soon be dead. If Yang Kai died, she would become isolated and alone. In this kind of place, in that kind of condition, she didn’t even want to imagine what her fate would be.
However, contrary to her expectations, Yang Kai, who seemed to be on the verge of death, actually got into a cross-legged sitting position after an hour and entered a state of meditation.
By the next day, Yang Kai was once again as mighty as a dragon and fierce as a tiger. Although he looked quite dishevelled, his injuries seemed to be mostly healed, and even the scars on his body had mostly disappeared. Even the dried up blood had fallen off, revealing new, healthy-looking skin.
Liu Xian Yun found it even more difficult to see through Yang Kai as time passed and instinctively realized that he was absolutely hiding some unimaginable secrets…
This routine repeated itself for the next few days.
Yang Kai would endure the torture of the two Blue Feather Sect guards every day, then be thrown back into his cell half-dead, meditate, then restore himself.
What’s more, as time passed, Liu Xian Yun was shocked to discover that Yang Kai’s condition seemed to be changing little by little, his body actually becoming stronger and stronger. There seemed to be an unimaginable surging power coming from his frame, one that was being suppressed by some incredible force that was slowly being lifted.
In fact, this was not far from the truth!
The torture the two Blue Feather Sect guards administered to Yang Kai had actually caused the starlight he had absorbed in the Starlight Corridor to quickly merge into his physique, prompting the transformation of his Saint Qi into Source Qi.
He had absorbed an unimaginable amount of starlight in the Starlight Corridor, part of which was fused into his body, becoming a catalyst to transform his strength, but most of it had been stored away in his Knowledge Sea.
This was why, even as a Star Master, he did not give off any starlight glow.
Under normal circumstances, Yang Kai would need to slowly guide the starlight in his Knowledge Sea to integrate it into his body and promote the transformation of his Saint Qi.
But right now, his cultivation was sealed, so he was unable to complete this process on his own.
When the two Blue Feather Sect guards tortured him the first day though, Yang Kai quickly realized something.
When his physical body was damaged and then forced to repair itself, the stored starlight would actively rush out of his Knowledge Sea and pour into his physique, forcefully transforming his Saint Qi into Source Qi!
After discovering this, Yang Kai could not help feeling overjoyed.
As such, facing the repeated torture of the two guards, instead of feeling it unbearable, he was actually willing to do so, wishing they would torture him as mercilessly as possible to help speed up this process.
Time marched on and soon, ten days had passed. Yang Kai woke up from his meditation and silently sensed his physical condition before shaking his head, somewhat dissatisfied.
The slow rate at which his Saint Qi was being transformed was somewhat frustrating to him.
For an Origin King like him, the higher the proportion of Source Qi there was in his body, the higher the strength he could exert.
At this moment, only about a fifth of Yang Kai’s Saint Qi had been transformed into Source Qi, and at this rate, it would take at least another year or two to finish the conversion process.
Seeing him open his eyes, the three male prisoners in the cell all put on their best flattering smiles, but none of them dared to speak.
The brutal and overwhelming image of Yang Kai had penetrated deep into their bones and they knew that it would be simple for him to take their lives in this place. With him controlling whether they lived or died, how could they not go all out to flatter Yang Kai?
Even Liu Xian Yun was repeatedly praised and flattered by these three men over the past few days.
Although Yang Kai very much looked down on these three who bullied the weak and feared the strong, he kept them around because they were useful sources of information.
These three were able to inform him about various things regarding Blue Feather Sect and the Star Boundary as a whole.
As Yang Kai expected, Blue Feather Sect was really not a righteous Sect, but it also couldn’t be said to be an evil one. Simply put, the disciples of this Sect were unscrupulous and unruly. There was also Daybreak Pavilion nearby, which had many grievances and grudges with Blue Feather Sect, leading to constant small-scale conflicts between the two forces as they competed for resources and prestige.
Beyond Blue Feather Sect, the Star Boundary seemed to be divided into four primary territories split between south, west, north, and east. Each of these territories was unimaginably vast, to the point where even a Dao Source master could spend their entire life travelling and still not see everything in a single territory.
Within each territory, there were countless smaller provinces. Blue Feather Sect was situated in the Star Boundary’s Southern Territory, Qi Province.
Qi Province was roughly 80 million kilometres from end to end and was considered average in the Southern Territory, whether it was in terms of the number of masters or overall strength and size.
In Qi Province, forces like Blue Feather Sect were countless in number.
This information allowed Yang Kai to vividly feel the magnificence of the Star Boundary as he realized just how much wider a world it was than the Star Field. Just the words of these three had painted an epic picture before Yang Kai, causing him to yearn for that broader sky.
However, it was questionable how accurate this information was, as these three were just First-Order Origin Kings who had never even left the Qi Province before.
Still, this information was enough for Yang Kai to digest for a long time.
Right now though, Yang Kai had his brow furrowed slightly as he continued to inspect the changes inside his body.
Suddenly, Yang Kai raised his head and frowned deeply.
“Heh heh heh… kid, you’re indeed a bit unusual, even able to detect the Divine Sense of this old master!” A voice suddenly sounded in Yang Kai’s ear, one that was ethereal and untraceable.
Yang Kai remained silent as he swept his eyes around, but no matter how he looked, he was unable to notice anything from the surrounding prisoners.
“Don’t bother, this old master is locked up in the innermost depths. You can’t see me from where you’re sitting,” The voice sounded again.
After being imprisoned here for more than ten days, Yang Kai also knew that the more powerful a prisoner’s cultivation was, the deeper inside they would be imprisoned. This mysterious master said he was imprisoned in the innermost depths, so his strength obviously was not low, at least reaching the Dao Source Realm. If this weren’t the case, it would have been impossible for this master to conceal himself while still using his Divine Sense to talk to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before asking, “Who is Senior? Is there something Senior needs to discuss with me?”
“Naturally, there is something, and it’s a good deed at that,” The voice cackled. “Since you entered this place and killed Zong Qi, this old master has been paying special attention to you. If this old master is not mistaken, you have cultivated any extremely advanced Body Tempering Secret Art, yes?”
“And so?” Yang Kai frowned, not denying it. Since the other party had been paying attention to him for some time now, there was no way Yang Kai could conceal the strength of his physique.
“If so, this old master wants you to do him a favour.”
“Senior, please speak plainly.”
“This old master wants you to free him!” the voice’s master said.
Yang Kai could not help but sneer, “Senior must be joking. Junior is a prisoner himself, how is he supposed to free you?”
“Since this old master has made this request, he has a plan,” The person coldly snorted. “I can pass you the method to unlock the seals on your body and restore your strength. With your ability, as long as you can recover the use of your cultivation, no one in this Bone Prison will be able to stop you and you can easily free this old master.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes could not help but brighten up.
The mysterious person quickly spoke again, “You do not want your destiny to be controlled by others, do you? This old master’s Secret Technique can definitely allow you to free yourself!”
The words were spoken in a steady tone, but they contained an almost irresistible charm. Yang Kai almost instinctually agreed, but he was shaken awake in the next moment as he realized something was wrong. This unknown figure was definitely using some kind of mental manipulation technique to influence his thinking. Snorting coldly, Yang Kai snapped, “Senior using such tricks to tempt me, don’t you feel any shame?”
The voice laughed loudly hearing this, “Boy, you’re better than I thought! En, it was this old master’s mistake, this old master will apologize to you.”
Seeing him apologize and admit his mistake so frankly left Yang Kai speechless for a while.
After a short, dumbfounded silence, Yang Kai said, “Since you have a Secret Technique to restore your strength, why not use it yourself instead of asking for Junior’s help?”
The voice snarled, “If I could use it myself, why would I be asking you for help? This old master not only has his strength sealed, he has also been shackled with chains made from Spirit Suppressing Gold by those bastards and cannot use any Secret Techniques at all. Even if this old master were to unseal his cultivation, with these Spirit Suppressing Gold chains, he wouldn’t be able to circulate any strength!”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded faintly.
Although he had never heard of Spirit Suppressing Gold, from the information revealed by this unseen master, Yang Kai could tell that it was definitely some kind of metal used to impede the flow of Source Qi, otherwise, it would have been impossible to imprison a Dao Source Realm master.
“One more question: There are so many cultivators in this Bone Prison, so why did Senior choose me? With your eyesight, it should not be difficult to see that I’m not that strong, right?” Yang Kai asked cautiously.
“This old master naturally knows what kind of cultivation you possess, and there are indeed many others in this Bone Prison who are stronger, but… Spirit Suppressing Gold is impenetrable by Source Qi, only brute force can destroy it, so this old master thinks you’re the most appropriate one to ask.”
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai understood why this man had asked him whether he cultivated some kind of extremely profound Body Tempering Secret Art, it was all because of the existence of the Spirit Suppressing Gold.
Many thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind.
Although he did not know who this person was, or what kind of strength he possessed, Yang Kai himself was currently imprisoned here and didn’t even know what kind of fate he would have tomorrow. If Protector Bian sent an order to execute him, Yang Kai was certain Yan Xiu Ran would happily carry out the sentence.
If he could really obtain the method to lift the seal on his body, he would at least be able to put up a fight and not simply be a fish on the chopping board.
As for whether or not to rescue the mysterious man, that would depend on how he felt at the time.
Seeing Yang Kai thinking through his offer over, the unknown man quickly struck while the iron was hot and said, “This old man will speak frankly with you. This old master is a Third-Order Dao Source cultivator, only one step away from the Emperor Realm. If you can save this old master, this old master will certainly compensate you handsomely!”
[A Third-Order Dao Source Realm master!] Yang Kai was shocked!
Senior Brother Kou who he had met before was nothing more than First-Order Dao Source Realm, but that was enough to totally suppress Yang Kai. If it were a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, Yang Kai imagined he could be killed on a whim.
Before knowing this person’s temperament, Yang Kai did not dare to rashly agree, he didn’t want to try to steal a chicken but end up losing the rice in the process.
“I know what you are worrying about, but you may rest assured, this old master is not deceiving you in any way. If you cannot believe this old master, he can swear an oath on his Soul!”
Yang Kai frowned, pondered for a moment, then said, “Junior can feel Senior’s sincerity, but this matter… let me think about it before giving an answer!”
“No rush, there is no rush, you can just ponder over it carefully!” The man cackled gratingly, not trying to urge him any further.
“By the way, dare I ask Senior’s name?”
“Wu Meng Chuan!”
Yang Kai silently memorised this man’s name as he began to consider the pros and cons between agreeing or not.
In fact, Yang Kai felt that agreeing right away in order to obtain that Secret Technique to lift the seal on his strength wasn’t a bad idea.
But with his current strength, even if he was restored to his peak, he wouldn’t be able to leave Blue Feather Sect. At that time, he would still need to rescue Wu Meng Chuan to make use of his Third-Order Dao Source strength.
However, there was no way to tell what Wu Meng Chuan would do to him once he was free.
As such, Yang Kai hesitated to give an answer.
Just as he was feeling indecisive, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the cell.
Yang Kai raised his head in amazement and frowned slightly.
Every day, at exactly the same time, he would be taken out by the two guards and tortured, but the hour had yet to arrive for today’s ‘session’.
Yang Kai did not know what the guards wanted with him to come early today.
A moment later, the two guards who had been responsible for torturing Yang Kai appeared at the door to the cell with a strange expression on their faces. After opening the cell, they motioned to Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun, “You two, come out!”
Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun exchanged a glance but did not try to resist and simply stood up obediently.
Liu Xian Yun’s tender body trembled slightly as she subconsciously thought that she would be subjected to the same torture as Yang Kai.
On the other hand, Yang Kai asked thoughtfully, “Do two friends have instructions for us?”
One of the two guards swept his eyes over Yang Kai and grinned, “It seems your luck is changing. Protector Bian wants to see you.”
“Protector Bian!” Yang Kai frowned.
Being locked here for more than ten days without any word from Protector Bian, Yang Kai thought that the other party was disinclined to even bother with him and Liu Xian Yun, but now it seems he was mistaken.
Regardless of why the other party wanted to see them, Yang Kai knew that an opportunity was about to present itself before him.
Turning to Liu Xian Yun, Yan Kai found the other party’s beautiful eyes had also lit up slightly, obviously also aware of what this change meant.
Since Protector Bian wanted to see Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun, the two Bone Prison guards did not dare disobey. Quickly entering the Bone Prison, they brought the pair out.
“Kid, the deal this old master offered will remain valid. If you have nowhere else to turn to, you can come and find this old master.”
Just when Yang Kai was about to leave the Bone Prison, Wu Meng Chuan’s voice rang in his ears again.
Yang Kai continued walking as if he hadn’t heard anything and soon departed, leaving only the envy-filled gazes of the other imprisoned cultivators in the Bone Prison behind.
Once outside, Yang Kai immediately felt a hate-filled glare being directed at him. Turning towards the source, he saw a gloomy-looking Yan Xiu Ran.
He was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Bone Prison, so of course he was here.
Yang Kai had killed and eaten his Treasure Seizing Snake, causing Yan Xiu Ran to harbour deep hatred towards Yang Kai. The torture that Yang Kai had suffered these days was all due to his instigation.
“Brat, you should thank your good luck that Protector Bian found time to see you, but don’t get too comfortable. One day, you will fall into my hands again, and then Father here will show you what a life worse than death really means!” Yan Xiu Ran Yin sneered wickedly.
Yang Kai gave him a faint, indifferent look, while he was cursing his eighteen generations of ancestors on the inside. He hated his lack of strength. If he was strong enough, he would simply kill all these Blue Feather Sect disciples on the spot.
However, he knew he did not have the strength to fight back, and it would only end miserably for him if he tried to resist, so for now, all he could do was grit his teeth and endure, turning a deaf ear to Yan Xiu Ran’s provocation.
“Good, good. Senior Brother Yan, don’t be angry. Protector Bian wants to see these two people right away, so we can’t delay,” the Bone Prison guards smiled slightly as he faintly spoke to Yan Xiu Ran before waving his hand and summoning something.
It was a flight-type artifact, but completely different from the ship that Senior Brother Kou had used. This flight-type artifact looked more like a chariot and was noticeably smaller than Senior Brother Kou’s. However, it was still big enough to easily hold five people, and gave off a threatening aura.
The owner of the chariot jumped up before immediately waving his hand and dragging Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun up as well. Soon, the chariot turned into a streamer and shot towards the centre of Blue Feather Mountain.
The journey went by silently.
Eventually, the chariot came to a certain mountain peak, at the top of which was a massive palace.
After Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun got out of the chariot, the Bone Prison guard took back his flight-type artifact before moving forward and speaking to the guards outside the palace.
“Go in, Protector Bian is waiting inside,” The palace guard did not make things difficult and simply allowed them to pass.
“Good luck to the two of you!” The Bone Prison guards did not follow, simply smiling meaningfully towards Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun before summoning the chariot again and returning the way they came.
Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun looked at each other, not knowing whether this was a blessing or a curse that could not be avoided. So, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and secretly prayed that Protector Bian was not a person who was hard to talk to.
At this moment, the two of them still had their cultivations sealed and were incapable of raising a fuss in front of the Blue Feather Sect masters.
Ignoring the curious looks of the guards, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun walked into the palace step by step.
Inside the palace, at the head of a spacious hall, two people were waiting for them.
As soon as Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun appeared, the eyes of these two focused on them.
In an instant, Yang Kai tensed up as he felt like he was being thoroughly examined, an extremely uncomfortable sensation.
Looking towards the sources of these piercing gazes, Yang Kai could not help raising his brow.
He found that one of the two in the hall was the Senior Brother Kou who had captured him. He was standing next to a beautiful woman with a graceful figure and a charming visage.
This woman wore a light blue palace dress and was lazily lying on a long chair. Her hair was done up in a bun, exposing her jade white neck, and she was currently fiddling with something in her hand, a faint smile on her face as she looked at Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun with great interest.
This woman was extremely charming, a true Heavenly beauty, but Yang Kai felt a pressure from her that made him not dare look at her directly!
[Is this woman Protector Bian?] Yang Kai was shocked.
“Are these the two you caught a few days ago?” When Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun approached, the beautiful woman asked lightly.
Her voice was sweet and sensuous, to the point where it felt like it was gently caressing one’s heart, drawing out the inner desires one kept hidden within themselves.
As for who she was speaking to, it was obviously Senior Brother Kou.
Senior Brother Kou hurriedly bowed his head and lowered his eyes, as if afraid to look at this beautiful woman as he replied respectfully, “Reporting to Lady Protector, these are indeed the two who were recently captured!”
The beautiful woman nodded lightly as her elegant eyes flashed a sharp light, her red lips curving upwards slightly as she said, “Release their seals.”
Senior Brother Kou immediately formed a seal with his hand before pushing his palm towards Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun.
Two streaks of light shot out and pierced into their bodies.
In the next moment, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun both let out a slight groan as they felt their strength begin to circulate again.
“Hehe…” The beautiful woman suddenly laughed and slowly raised her jade hand under the dumbfounded gazes of Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun.
As she raised her hand though, whether it was Yang Kai or Liu Xian Yun, they both felt that something had suddenly changed in the atmosphere around them, turning it thick and tense and causing the pair’s complexions to become solemn.
Senior Brother Kou seemed to have expected this from the start and was not surprised at all, instead just observing the reactions of Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun indifferently.
The beautiful woman gently pressed her jade palm forward next, causing the surrounding World Energy to condense into a terrifying attack that covered Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun.
“What are you doing!?” Liu Xian Yun exclaimed as such hurriedly bit the top of her tongue and spat out a mouthful of her Blood Essence onto a mirror-like artifact she summoned into her hands.
As soon as the artifact appeared, it split into two, then into four, then into eight… In an instant, countless small mirrors were surrounding Liu Xian Yun, each one reflecting a brilliant blue light like the deepest ocean, releasing a powerful and imposing aura.
She knew that her opponent this time was a Dao Source Realm master, and likely a peak-level one at that, so she did not hesitate to use her strongest artifact to defend herself.
She did not even think about contending with the beautiful woman and focused solely on enduring the incoming attack.
Yang Kai also let out a roar as he pushed his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi while simultaneously flicking his ten fingers and releasing all of his Golden Blood Threads towards the sky to intercept the terrifying palm.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
With a wind-cutting sound, the Golden Blood Threads launched a barrage of attacks under Yang Kai’s control, but just like snow in the early spring encountering the scorching sun, they were all melted and blown away.
Liu Xian Yun also let out a roar of defiance as the mirrors gathered atop her and Yang Kai’s heads.
*Huala…*
The next moment, the mirrors all shattered, and Liu Xian Yun’s face turned white as she coughed up a mouthful of blood. The mirror-like artifact reverted to its original form as well, and was now only releasing a dim light.
Taking this opportunity, Yang Kai soared into the sky as he gathered all of his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi onto his hand and sliced apart what was left of the falling palm, finally dispersing its might.
Twisting mid-air, he next plunged towards the beautiful woman who was still laying down lazily on her chair.
The beautiful woman did not move at all as she just smiled lightly as Yang Kai approached.
Senior Brother Kou, who was standing behind her, made a move at that moment as he pushed his palm towards Yang Kai.
This palm seemed quite simple, but there was a violent power swirling about it and as soon as Yang Kai came into contact with it, he felt his defences being smashed through like they were made of rotten wood, unable to block any of the impact at all.
With a stuffy grunt, he was forced backwards.
Liu Xian Yun looked flustered as she felt that they were really doomed to die this time. Recognizing this reality, she grit her teeth and pushed all the strength she had as she charged towards the beautiful woman and Senior Brother Kou.
If she had to die, she would do so fighting!
“Xian Yun, stand down!” Yang Kai was still mid-air as he shouted loudly, crashing to the ground a moment later in an embarrassing state.
Hearing Yang Kai’s call, Liu Xian Yun stopped her advance, but she continued to stare warily towards the front as she maintained a battle stance.
The beautiful woman laughed happily as her beautiful eyes began scrutinizing Yang Kai again before she nodded lightly, “Kou Wu, what did I say? They really were able to block my blow, yes?”
Kou Wu heard this and bowed his head, “Milady’s vision is indeed sharp, this Kou Wu has nothing but praise!”
The beautiful woman giggled as her proud peaks trembled lightly. Pursing her lips, she waved her hand lightly and said, “Dispense with the flattery. Although this Queen only used a bit of her strength just now, the two of them being able to resist is still quite impressive.”
“It is as Milady says,” Kou Wu nodded again.
The conversation between the two was done out loud without any attempt at concealment, so Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun naturally heard it clearly. Yang Kai did not show any surprise, while Liu Xian Yun frowned slightly in dissatisfaction at being toyed with.
“You seem to have noticed, yes?” The beautiful woman turned to look at Yang Kai and asked unhurriedly.
Yang Kai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned, “If Senior really wanted to kill us, why bother bringing us here? The previous attack was obviously a test.”
The beautiful woman heard this and smiled, “You’re an interesting one little boy. Then, do you know why this Queen wanted to see you in the first place?”
Yang Kai frowned hearing this and quickly said, “Please enlighten us, Senior!”
The beautiful woman nodded, stretched out her hand, picked up two Space Rings from the table next to her, and tossed them casually towards Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun.
The two caught the Space Rings and swept them with their Divine Senses, quickly showing strange expressions on their faces.
Because they discovered that these were actually their own Space Rings, which Kou Wu had taken away earlier. What’s more, nothing at all was missing from them.
“What is Senior’s meaning?” Yang Kai frowned.
“If this Queen isn’t mistaken, you two are from one of the lower Star Fields, right?” The beautiful woman asked the two with a smile.
Liu Xian Yun wore a look of surprise as she subconsciously glanced towards Yang Kai. Thinking that his status as a Star Master had been exposed, she could not help feeling a little worried.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, but after a little thought, he understood and asked, “Senior came to this conclusion based on the things in our Space Rings?”
“Indeed!” the beautiful woman nodded lightly, “Only a cultivator from the lower Star Fields would have so much junk in their Space Ring!”
Having all her most precious treasures be evaluated as junk made Liu Xian Yun feel quite uncomfortable, but when she thought about her opponent’s strength, status, and methods, she could not say anything. Perhaps her possessions really were trash to this woman.
On the other hand, Yang Kai did not care at all because his Space Ring was originally designed as a type of camouflage to deceive others and really didn’t have anything precious inside it. Compared to the items stored away in his Sealed World Bead, it was not an exaggeration to say the things in his ring were trash. Smiling indifferently, he continued to ask, “In that case, are the suspicions against us cleared?”
The suspicions he mentioned were naturally related to them possibly being Daybreak Pavilion spies.
The beautiful woman smiled lightly, “En, but this Queen is curious, which Star Field are you from?”
“Grand Desolation Star Field!” Yang Kai replied without hesitation.
Liu Xian Yun felt some surprise but showed nothing on her face.
“Oh…” The beautiful woman raised her brow thoughtfully, “I have heard of that Star Field. It seems there is a Sect here in the Star Boundary that is related to them.”
“Is Senior referring to the Netherworld Sect? We are not from the Netherworld Sect,” Yang Kai didn’t know whether the other party was testing her or simply curious, so he simply responded accordingly before smiling coldly, “On the contrary, we have some grudges with the people from the Netherworld Sect.”
“Is that so?” The beautiful woman looked at Yang Kai with a faint smile, her pair of beautiful eyes exuding a strange light, as if trying to pierce into Yang Kai’s heart to see if he was being honest or not.
“En, in the Starlight Corridor, we were ambushed by people from the Netherworld Sect,” Yang Kai snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with undisguised hatred, as if the Netherworld Sect was his irreconcilable enemy.
The beautiful woman nodded and said nothing.
Pondering for a moment, she eventually said, “Since you are not spies from Daybreak Pavilion, and you are from the lower Star Fields, this Queen will give you two choices.”
“Please elaborate!”
“One, leave my Blue Feather Sect now, the further the better!” The beautiful woman put up a single jade white finger and smiled softly.
Hearing her say this, Liu Xian Yun expression could not help changing as she almost instinctually agreed, but before she spoke, she glanced over at Yang Kai subconsciously and found that his expression was actually still indifferent, so she quickly swallowed down her words.
“And the second choice?” Yang Kai asked.
“Second, join my Blue Feather Sect and become my Blue Feather Sect’s disciples. Although my Blue Feather Sect is not the biggest in the Southern Territory, it still has a stable foundation. By joining, you can gain a foothold in this land and also have a place of refuge. If you encounter any problems in your cultivation, this Queen can also answer one or two questions for you.”
“Is such a good deed really an option?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up when he heard this and seemed to be extremely excited.
The beautiful woman smiled without speaking, seemingly quite satisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude.
Yang Kai thought for a while before knitting his brow and asking, “I have another question.”
“Speak!” The beautiful woman raised her chin slightly, her expression aloof and arrogant.
“Our strength is not worth mentioning, so why does Senior want to recruit us into her Sect?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.
The beautiful woman covered her mouth lightly and smiled, “Because you are from the lower Star Fields. Cultivators like you are all worth training; it is just a pity neither of you is a Star Master. If you were Star Masters, this Queen would give you even more care.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
This was something Liu Xian Yun had mentioned to him before, that cultivators from the lower Star Fields all required genius-level aptitude in order to simply reach the Star Boundary. Once they arrived, they would become popular recruitment targets by big Sects, even if they weren’t Star Masters.
This beautiful woman’s explanation was reasonable.
“So, what will you choose?” The beautiful woman looked at Yang Kai and asked.
“What other choice is there? Naturally, we want to join the Blue Feather Sect!” Yang Kai did not even think about it before agreeing, immediately turning his head and asking, “Xian Yun, what do you think?”
Liu Xian Yun looked dazed, never having expected that Yang Kai would decide this matter so hastily, leaving her somewhat at a loss about how to respond.
However, after meeting eyes with Yang Kai’s briefly, Liu Xian Yun nodded, “If that is Brother Yang’s intention, I will join too!”
The beautiful woman heard this and smiled brightly before standing up from her chair and saying, “Good. From now on you will be disciples of my Blue Feather Sect, temporarily under the jurisdiction of this Queen. Kou Wu, take them down and arrange a place for them to stay. Make sure they cultivate diligently so as not to disappoint this Queen’s expectations.”
After saying what she wanted to, the beautiful woman turned around and left.
Kou Wu respectfully bowed.
After the beautiful woman left, Kou Wu looked at Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun with a smile and said, “So from now on, everyone will be fellow brothers and sisters. Senior Brother hasn’t asked you your names yet?”
“Yang Kai greets Senior Brother Kou,” Yang Kai cupped his fists with a grin, appearing quite open and friendly.
Although Liu Xian Yun felt a bit awkward, she too quickly reported her name.
After learning the names of the two, Kou Wu said, “So it is Junior Brother Yang and Junior Sister Liu. Senior Brother has offended you two a few days ago, but please don’t take it to heart. Senior Brother was simply performing his duties.”
“Senior Brother Kou is too polite. The previous incident was our fault for being careless, Senior Brother need not blame himself.”
Kou Wu nodded before beckoning to them, “Follow me, I’ll take you to your accommodations so you can get settled in and familiarize yourselves with the environment. While our Blue Feather Sect is not a peak-level existence, it’s also not bad.”
A short time later, after reaching the bottom of the mountain, Kou Wu pointed to the two adjacent wooden houses and said, “These will be your residences for the time being. Each house has a barrier protecting it and requires an Identity Token to enter and exit. As for those tokens, someone will bring them to you in two days. It would be best if you stay here until you obtain your Identity Tokens, otherwise, you might encounter some difficulties if you go out without them.”
“Understood,” Yang Kai nodded and said, “Then what should we do from now on, Senior Brother Kou?”
Kou Wu smiled upon hearing these words and said, “There’s no need to do anything specific for the time being, just cultivate well. If a mission comes up that you need to participate in, I will inform you. In addition, we are under the jurisdiction of Protector Bian, so we need not pay any attention to anyone else, just following Milady’s orders will suffice. Good, that is all for today.”
Having said so, Kou Wu turned to leave.
Yang Kai suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out, “Senior Brother Kou!”
“What else do you want to ask?” Kou Wu frowned, seemingly growing impatient.
Yang Kai leaned closer and asked in a low voice, “Senior Brother Kou, Senior Protector’s cultivation…”
Kou Wu smiled meaningfully, “Third-Order Dao Source Realm, but you need not concern yourself with that for now. Just cultivate diligently.”
“What Senior Brother says is correct!” Yang Kai nodded appreciatively.
After Kou Wu left and only Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun remained, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly turned cold as he signalled to Liu Xian Yun and walked towards one of the wooden houses.
Liu Xian Yun followed closely behind.
The layout of the house was quite simple: One bed, one table, and one chair. Although it seemed to have been vacant for a long time, it was spotless, so the barrier around it appeared to be working properly.
After Yang Kai took a seat, he released his Divine Sense and checked around to confirm no one was eavesdropping before saying, “You want to ask me why I agreed to join Blue Feather Sect, right?”
Liu Xian Yun thought for a moment before saying, “I did wonder why at first, but after some thought, I understood that this was probably the only chance we have to survive!”
“En, even though that Protector Bian gave us two choices, who knows what the consequences of choosing the first option would have been? You also saw what kind of behaviour these Blue Feather Sect people have. They’re certainly not kind people,” Yang Kai sighed.
Liu Xian Yun also smiled bitterly, “I didn’t expect it would be like this when I entered the Star Boundary. If I had only known…”
“It’s useless to regret now, we just need to take one step at a time. As long as we become strong enough, why would we need to fear anyone here?” Yang Kai sneered.
“I suppose so…” Liu Xian Yun smiled bitterly. “Since that’s the case, I’ll go take a rest first.”
“En.”
Over the next few days, everything was peaceful.
Because he had not received his Identity Token yet, Yang Kai didn’t dare to walk around at will and just remained inside his house to cultivate.
Without the seal on his cultivation, the speed at which his Saint Qi transformed into Source Qi increased greatly.
Yang Kai already vaguely felt that he was about to touch the threshold of the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
Before entering the Star Field, he had spent several years cultivating in the Dead Zone outside Shadowed Star, using the omnipresent Emperor Pressure to increase his comprehension of the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way, which benefited him greatly. Later, he had accumulated much in the Starlight Corridor, so he was now fully confident he could break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
But he was not in a hurry.
After all, as newcomers that joined Blue Feather Sect, if his performance was too eye-catching, it would likely attract unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, Yang Kai chose to focus on allowing his body to absorb the starlight he had collected and transforming his Saint Qi into Source Qi instead, before striving for a breakthrough.
A few days later, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun’s Identity Tokens were brought over by Kou Wu. With these Identity Tokens, the two of them had truly become disciples of the Blue Feather Sect, and besides a few restricted areas, they were free to walk around.
Yang Kai took this opportunity to tour around and get acquainted with a number of Blue Feather Sect’s disciples. Regardless of their temperaments, what Yang Kai was able to tell was that among the Origin Kings here, all of them were natives of the Star Boundary.
After some inquiries, Yang Kai learned some good information.
There was no Emperor Realm master in Blue Feather Sect!
There were only five Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, of which, Bian Yu Qing was one.
This was similar to his original estimates. After learning that Bian Yu Qing was at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, Yang Kai had figured that even if there was an Emperor here in Blue Feather Sect, there would be only one or two, and their cultivations wouldn’t be high!
Because a Protector of a Sect would normally represent the highest strength and combat power of that force.
In addition to Bian Yu Qing, there were four other Third-Order Dao Source Realm masters, one of whom was the Sect Master while the others were also Protectors. The four protectors each occupied one of the four main peaks in the Sect and generally did not interfere with one another’s affairs.
Time flew by and soon it had been more than a month since Yang Kai had arrived in Blue Feather Sect.
Over the past month, he had basically learned the general situation inside the Sect, and during this time, besides cultivating, his life with Liu Xian Yun was calm and steady. No one came looking for trouble with them and the Sect did not issue them any tasks.
Based on this situation, choosing to join Blue Feather Sect was actually a good choice. At least they had a place to stay.
But Yang Kai knew that this was only temporary.
Anyone who joined a Sect would eventually have to contribute to that Sect. The reason why he and Liu Xian Yun could spend their time leisurely now was that the Blue Feather Sect was facing no great difficulties. Once the Blue Feather Sect encountered foreign enemies or some other crisis, Yang Kai knew that lower disciples like himself would be forced to participate in the battle.
He had no sense of belonging to the Blue Feather Sect, so he was unwilling to risk his life for such a Sect.
What’s more, Yang Kai always felt that he and Liu Xian Yun were secretly being observed, but this was obvious since they had only just joined the Sect and were still being evaluated.
Yang Kai did not care too much about this, and he and Liu Xian Yun didn’t show anything too out of the ordinary during this period. Both of them were always well-behaved, so even if they were being monitored, they didn’t reveal any of their secrets.
In Blue Feather Sect, there was a lively shopping district where Blue Feather Sect disciples exchanged materials or purchased things. In this shopping district, some places occupied large areas of land and had easy access to the main roads, but these places were all occupied by the most powerful and influential factions. As for the common disciples, they had to settle for using the more remote areas.
Early in the morning, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun would come to the shopping district and walk to a relatively remote spot, where a humble-looking shop stood.
Outside the shop, there were already more than thirty cultivators lined up, and seeing Yang Kai arrive, they all cupped their fists and greeted him, “Good morning, Junior Brother Yang.”
“Junior Brother Yang, please hurry and open the shop! We have been waiting for you for a long time already.”
“Junior Brother Yang, I was here first today, help me first!”
All of these cultivators were basically Origin Kings, with a few Origin Returning Realm cultivators mixed in, but all of them wore the same friendly smile on their faces as they took the initiative to greet Yang Kai.
Yang Kai wore a business-like smile on his face and cupped his fists to the line, “Many thanks, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, for waiting for so long. Junior Brother will begin right away.”
Saying so, he walked straight towards the shop.
At that moment, a beautiful and enchanting young woman walked up in a sultry manner and without any scruples about the eyes staring at her, directly took Yang Kai’s arm and pressed it between her luscious peaks before exhaling a light orchid scent into his ear and whispering, “Junior Brother, forget about them and help Senior Sister here refine a furnace of Nine Revolutions Origin Spirit Pills, Senior Sister wants to hurry back and cultivate.”
“Uh… this Senior Sister, the shop has rules, and it is important to maintain a first-come-first-served policy,” Yang Kai frowned as he freed his arm from this enchantress’ grip.
The young woman did not give up though and continued to press Yang Kai, “Don’t worry about that, Senior Sister will go and talk to them, I’d like to see if they dare disagree. If Junior Brother can help Senior Sister first, Senior Sister can…”
Leaning in closer, she whispered a few words into Yang Kai’s ear as her eyes flashed a shy yet seductive look that was obvious to all.
“Really?” Yang Kai’s eyes burst out with green light as an excited expression appeared on his face.
“Hmph!” To the side, Liu Xian Yun’s pretty face went cold as she glared at Yang Kai contemptuously, a meaningful snort escaping her lips.
Yang Kai gave a dry laugh before stretching out his hand and gently caressing the young woman’s assets before he said with a look of regret, “Senior Sister, Junior Brother can’t break the rules, but… if Senior Sister wants to, perhaps she could come visit Junior Brother’s humble home so we can have a good chat.”
Seeing that her attempts were all meaningless, the young woman immediately spat disdainfully and snorted, “You won’t even do this small favour? Meany!”
Saying so, she flung Yang Kai’s arm away before shooting Liu Xian Yun a vicious look, as if to blame her for ruining her own good deed.
Liu Xian Yun’s expression remained indifferent as she pulled out a signboard from her Space Ring and set it down forcefully before declaring coldly, “Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, please line up for your Alchemy requests in order. The fee for service is as written here. Please have the required ingredients for the Spirit Pill you require refined prepared in advance. If the refining fails, there will be no refunds!”
Everything she said was already written on the signboard, so there was no need for her to deliberately repeat it, but she still took the time to do so.
While she was speaking, Yang Kai had already entered the shop and took out his Purple Origin Furnace, closed his eyes, and prepared to start the day’s work.
After more than a month of getting along, his relationship with Liu Xian Yun had become quite harmonious. In this unfamiliar Star Boundary, although the two were not from the same Star Field and didn’t know much about one another, having similar situations allowed them to bond.
Just a few days after arriving in Blue Feather Sect, the two discovered a problem: They could not obtain any cultivation resources!
Although they were already disciples of the Blue Feather Sect, the Sect would not distribute cultivation resources to the disciples for no reason. If you wanted to obtain resources, you had to pay the Sect for them or find a way to get some yourself.
For Origin Kings, Saint Crystals were essentially useless. The energy stored in Saint Crystals could not meet the needs of an Origin King.
In the Star Boundary, there was a special resource called Source Crystals that replaced Saint Crystals.
The energy stored in Source Crystals was countless times richer than Saint Crystals, so even Origin Kings or Dao Source Realm cultivators could use them to cultivate.
Like Saint Crystals, Source Crystals were divided into high, mid, and low grade. The exchange ratio between each grade was one to ten, and they were used as hard currency between cultivators!
In other words, if Yang Kai wanted to speed up his cultivation, he needed to find a way to earn Source Crystals to buy resources.
However, he was unfamiliar with this place and did not know what to do in order to earn resources.
After discovering the existence of this shopping district though, Yang Kai came up with the idea of performing Alchemy in order to earn some Source Crystals.
He was an Origin King Grade Alchemist that had inspired the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, so although his technique and talent were inferior to a genius like Xia Ning Chang, they were by no means weak.
Origin King Grade Alchemists in his native Star Field were extremely extraordinary existences.
But in the Star Boundary, they were quite common.
As such, Yang Kai did not need to worry about drawing attention to himself as long as he didn’t show too much of his real skill. What’s more, the identity of Alchemist would increase his worth and, in a disguised way, improve his and Liu Xian Yun’s safety somewhat.
After considering the gains and losses, Yang Kai did not hesitate anymore and set up a shop in the shopping district after discussing with Liu Xian Yun.
The first few days were extremely difficult.
No one dared hand over their precious herbs to him.
After all, the cultivation materials acquired by these Blue Feather Sect disciples were done so by risking their lives; who would dare hand over their hard-earned gains to an unknown and unproven Junior Brother? What’s more, there was already more than one Alchemist offering Alchemy services in this shopping district, so there was no need to risk losing everything by trusting Yang Kai.
After three days, Yang Kai did not even have a single customer, causing him and Liu Xian Yun to become somewhat desperate.
On the fourth day, Yang Kai grit his teeth and wrote on his signboard that he would be performing Alchemy for free and would offer full compensation if the refining failed.
Once this advertisement went up, someone was finally willing to give him a chance.
In any case, even if the refinement failed, they would be compensated in full, so it did not matter if they gave him a try.
While Yang Kai was refining the first Spirit Pill, Liu Xian Yun felt as anxious as an ant on a hot wok.
After all, she and Yang Kai do not even have a single piece of Source Crystal now, which meant that they wouldn’t be able to compensate their customer at all if the refining failed.
Waiting for an hour felt like an entire year.
In the end, though, Yang Kai succeeded!
Moreover, the refined Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was of extremely high quality, causing the client to be very satisfied! When the pill was successfully refined, a rich pill fragrance spread out across half the nearby street.
The man who received his pill praised Yang Kai’s ability liberally and promised that if he ever wanted Alchemy services again in the future, he would definitely come to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai generously accepted his praise before requesting that this young man spread the word about his Alchemy services.
The Blue Feather Sect disciple who had just picked up a bargain naturally agreed.
That day, Yang Kai refined three furnaces of pills, all of which were successful and of high quality.
The next day, Yang Kai refined eight furnaces…
On the third day, the cultivators who came to look for Alchemy from Yang Kai had formed a long line before he even arrived.
Yang Kai immediately asked Liu Xian Yun to replace the free Alchemy signboard with clearly marked prices about how many Source Crystals would be charged per pill!
One month of hard work allowed Yang Kai to accumulate a lot of Source Crystals, and more importantly, his name began to spread throughout the shopping district. Almost all the Blue Feather Sect disciples who came to the shopping district for Alchemy now knew there was a humble shop in this remote corner where a Junior Brother with exceptional skill had appeared. Not only was the probability of failure extremely low, but the quality of the refined pills was always top-notch.
Those who wanted to ask for Alchemy naturally began to flock here, causing this small out-of-the-way shop to become quite lively.
Yang Kai also exercised proper restraint, never refining Spirit Pills that formed Pill Veins and deliberately failing in the refinements from time to time.
This way, he could hide his true accomplishments in the Alchemic Dao.
A few years ago, when he had caused the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone to sound on Water Moon Star, Yang Kai’s comprehension and ability in the Alchemic Dao had been greatly enhanced. Now, his handling of Alchemy was far more dexterous than before, and the various herbs seemed to dance in his hands.
His Alchemy methods now coincided with the Alchemic Dao itself, reaching a realm that few humans could ever hope to attain.
As for Liu Xian Yun, she was responsible for receiving cultivators who came to ask for pills outside, delivering the herbs into the shop, and taking out the refined Spirit Pills to the waiting customers.
The two performed their own duties with flawless cooperation.
After returning from work every night, Yang Kai would give Liu Xian Yun thirty percent of the earnings from the day.
In fact, according to Liu Xian Yun’s original idea, she was not even qualified to take ten percent; after all, Yang Kai was the one performing Alchemy while she was only responsible for receiving customers.
But Yang Kai insisted on giving her thirty percent of the profits, making her extremely grateful for his generosity.
Before he started performing Alchemy, Yang Kai made sure to inquire a little bit about the Star Boundary’s Alchemy standards in the shopping district from the Blue Feather Sect disciples he had met.
He found that the Star Boundary’s Alchemic Dao was extremely advanced, on a different level entirely to the Star Field.
Among other things, Pill Condensing was common in the Star Boundary, with an average Alchemist able to condense at least two or three pills from a single set of ingredients, unlike in the Star Field where one was the standard.
The reason for this was that Pill Condensing Arts and Techniques were widely publicised in the Star Boundary and any qualified Alchemist was qualified to study them.
However, there was an upper limit to the number of pills which could ultimately be condensed from a single furnace of materials.
The furnace of Origin Grade Mid-Rank Vibrant Monarch Spirit Pills Yang Kai was currently refining was not difficult for him to successfully complete, and if he went all out, there was even a good chance to produce a few pills that formed Pill Veins.
This Spirit Pill consumed seventeen different raw materials and was not too difficult to refine, but even the greatest of Alchemist would only be able to produce nine pills during the final Pill Condensing.
Nine was the limit for this furnace of Vibrant Monarch Spirit Pills. This would be true even if it was an Emperor Grade Alchemist taking action.
Different Spirit Pills with different pill recipes had different upper limits to the number of pills which could be condensed.
If one wants to condense the maximum number of Origin King Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Pills from a single furnace, they would need to at least be a Dao Source Grade Alchemist.
As for Yang Kai, his current limit was six!
While performing Alchemy this past month, Yang Kai had also constantly been familiarizing himself with the Pill Condensing Technique he had obtained from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, causing his skills to improve noticeably.
In less than an hour, the Vibrant Monarch Spirit Pills, which were able to quickly restore the Source Qi of an Origin King, were completed with a total of six pills being condensed!
Yang Kai stuffed three of them into his Space Ring before tossing the remaining three into a jade bottle he had prepared.
The Spirit Pills in the jade bottle were for the client, as three were enough to meet that person’s needs. As for the extra Spirit Pills, Yang Kai pocketed them.
This way, over the past month, Yang Kai had not only gained many Source Crystals, but also a variety of Spirit Pills for various purposes. If he were to sell out all his stock, it would definitely earn him a small fortune.
Unfortunately, he could only refine Origin King Grade Spirit Pills at the moment, as no one would provide him with Dao Source Grade materials to practice with. Otherwise, Yang Kai would have liked to try his hand to see if he had reached that level.
Sealing the jade bottle, Yang Kai casually played with it for a moment as he felt it really was easy for Alchemists to earn resources.
Just when he was about to go out and meet with Liu Xian Yun outside to complete the transaction though, Liu Xian Yun’s soft shout rang in his ears, followed by a loud clattering sound.
Yang Kai’s face sank as he quickly got up and rushed out of the shop.
When he arrived outside, Yang Kai scanned his eyes around only to see Liu Xian Yun standing nearby with an ugly expression on her face. The signboard, which had originally been placed in front of her, had been thrown to the ground and stomped on by a cultivator wearing a Blue Feather Sect uniform, turning it into bits and pieces of broken wood.
Outside the shop, all the cultivators who had been waiting in line for Alchemy frowned one by one and spread out to observe from a distance.
Seeing Yang Kai appear, Liu Xian Yun seemed to have found a backer and ran towards him quickly.
“What happened?” Yang Kai frowned and asked.
He had been occupying this spot with Liu Xian Yun for almost a month now and had not provoked anyone as far as he could remember, so he couldn’t figure out why someone had come today and smashed his signboard.
“They said there was a problem with the pill you refined,” Liu Xian Yun came up to Yang Kai and said in a low voice.
“What kind of problem?” Yang Kai raised his brow and scanned the opposite side.
“They didn’t make it clear and just began smashing things when they arrived,” Liu Xian Yun grit her teeth as a trace of confusion flashed across her face while she stared aggrievedly at the signboard which was being stepped on by the cultivator in front of her.
Because Yang Kai was generously giving her thirty percent of the profits from their cooperation, even though she could not help him in Alchemy, Liu Xian Yun had been doing her best to fulfil her own role, especially when it came to taking care of this signboard.
From the design of the signboard to each and every character which was written on it, she had meticulously created every detail. Every night, after she took down the signboard, she would wipe it down carefully to ensure it was not the least bit dirty before carefully storing it in her Space Ring.
She felt this was the least she could do to help Yang Kai.
But now, the signboard filled with her painstaking effort and care had been smashed, causing Liu Xian Yun to feel extremely dissatisfied.
“They didn’t say what was wrong and just began smashing things?” Yang Kai raised his brows while coldly snorting to himself, realizing that even though he had done his best not to stand out this past month, he had obviously caught someone’s eye or perhaps cut into someone else’s profits. Otherwise, how could such a scene have happened?
“Are you the Alchemist here?” On the opposite side, the cultivator who was stepping on the signboard looked at Yang Kai arrogantly, with a cold smile on his face as he asked in a pointed manner.
“Indeed. Dare I ask how this Senior Brother is called?” Yang Kai looked at the other party indifferently.
“Chu Fei, a disciple under Protector Zhu!”
Yang Kai brow rose, knowing that the Protector Zhu that was mentioned was Zhu Jun Shan, one of the Protectors of Blue Feather Sect. This man had the same cultivation as Bian Yu Qing, Third-Order Dao Source Realm, and was not someone Yang Kai could currently challenge.
The four Protectors did not have a harmonious relationship with one another, and if it weren’t for the Sect Master suppressing the conflicts, it was likely that the Blue Feather Sect would have already fallen into chaos. However, it was also precisely because of this that the lower disciples did not have peaceful relationships.
In this Sect, there were many private and public disputes between the lower disciple factions, with fights often causing injuries or even disabilities.
When Yang Kai heard that the other party was a disciple under Protector Zhu, he knew that this person was here to make trouble.
“So it is Senior Brother Chu, dare I ask why Senior Brother has broken Junior Brother’s signboard?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.
“Don’t play dumb in front of this Chu. Are you seriously trying to say you don’t know what you did wrong?” Chu Fei coldly snorted as he said in a stern tone.
Yang Kai, however, just shook his head and said, “Junior Brother only entered the Sect a month ago and does not recall offending Senior Brother Chu in any way, so I hope Senior Brother can clarify his actions today!”
Chu Fei chuckled, nodded, and said, “Of course, since you’ve said as much, then Senior Brother will make you understand!”
Saying so, he waved his hand and shouted, “Bring him!”
Immediately, a couple of cultivators came out from behind Chu Fei carrying a stretcher. On the stretcher was a man who looked extremely miserable. His aura was fluctuating chaotically while his eyes were bulged and bloodshot. He was also spouting some cruel and miserable cries randomly from his mouth.
Even as he lay on the stretcher, this man was clearly struggling, but his body was bound by the barrier so that he was unable to move.
“Cultivation Dissonance! He’s experienced Cultivation Dissonance!” The onlookers exclaimed.
The situation of this cultivator lying on a stretcher was obviously the result of dissonance in his cultivation, most likely caused by something going wrong in his secluded cultivation and sending his strength running wild. If his condition was not treated promptly, he would likely degenerate into a cripple.
However, Cultivation Dissonance was extremely difficult to resolve; only if a master with far greater strength and ability took action could this situation be remedied.
This was a situation all cultivators feared encountering as once they did, it could very well lead to their destruction.
“Junior Brother, do you recognize this person?” Chu Fei asked Yang Kai coldly as he pointed to the man lying on the stretcher.
Yang Kai cast him a glance before nodding slightly, “I have an impression of him. If I recall correctly, he came to ask for Alchemy five days ago.”
As soon as this remark came out, Liu Xian Yun’s pretty face turned pale.
She was no fool and vaguely guessed what was about to happen, so she couldn’t help looking at Yang Kai worriedly.
“So Junior Brother admits it,” Chu Fei sneered. “Junior Brother Jiang here is a talented man and reached the Second-Order Origin King at a young age. His future was simply boundless and was praised by Protector Zhu over and over again as one of the rising stars of our Blue Feather Sect.”
“And?” Yang Kai looked at Chu Fei indifferently.
Chu Fei’s face became cold as he said grimly, “But he was ruined by your hands! Junior Brother, what do you have to say?”
“Senior Brother surely jests,” Yang Kai chuckled and said. “This Senior Brother Jiang is clearly experiencing Cultivation Dissonance, how is that my fault?”
“You still refuse to admit fault? How could a dissonance in his cultivation have occurred if he had not taken that Spirit Pill you refined? You just said yourself that he obtained a pill from your hands five days ago!” Chu Fei shouted sharply.
Hearing what Chu Fei said, the faces of the onlookers suddenly changed; after all, they were all waiting here for Alchemy services from Yang Kai. If the Spirit Pills refined by Yang Kai really had problems, how could they dare seek him out?
Instantly, they began to feel a little grateful. Fortunately, Chu Fei had come at this time, otherwise, they might have ended up like Junior Brother Jiang.
“While it’s true he came to ask for pills from me five days ago, that doesn’t mean his Cultivation Dissonance has anything to do with me. Perhaps his own foundation was unstable, or he recklessly tried to achieve something beyond his means. Cultivation Dissonance can be caused by many things. Isn’t Senior Brother slandering me without any evidence unjustified?” Yang Kai looked at Chu Fei coldly.
The other party was just a Third-Order Origin King, so Yang Kai had no reason to fear him at all. The only thing that worried Yang Kai was whether someone was pulling the strings behind this Chu Fei.
It was impossible for Chu Fei to come and seek trouble with him for no reason. Regarding Spirit Pills, several other Alchemists and shops provided Alchemy services in this shopping district, but each of these establishments was managed by Blue Feather Sect directly and had no relationship with the several Protectors.
“Senior Brother isn’t slandering you. Junior Brother Jiang came to ask for pills five days ago, then after returning entered retreat right away to cultivate. As a result, he suddenly experienced dissonance in his cultivation a few days later. Now, he has become like this. Do not say that this is just a coincidence. Protector Zhu said that Junior Brother Jiang’s talent was first class, so how could his foundation possibly be unstable? Apart from a problem with your Spirit Pills, there is no other explanation!”
“That’s right! Senior Brother Jiang looked so happy after he received those pills that day, even bragging he had picked up a great bargain. I tried to persuade him to find someone to verify the quality of those pills first but he was too anxious to enter retreat. As it turns out, they really were cheap quality goods! I never could have imagined Senior Brother Jiang would encounter such a serious problem only a few days into his retreat!” A Blue Feather Sect disciple who had been with Chu Fei chimed in suddenly.
The shopping district was extremely lively, with people coming and going constantly, so although the store rented by Yang Kai was located in a remote corner, the incident here naturally attracted countless onlookers.
The ones who arrived later did not know the whole story and only saw the miserable appearance of the cultivator surnamed Jiang. After realizing how dark his future would be, they all felt sorrowful and glared at Yang Kai as if he really was a fraud. Many even swore that they would warn their friends not to trust this sham Alchemist when they left.
Of course, some people realized that the situation was not as simple as it first appeared, but in Blue Feather Sect, most disciples were indifferent to others, and since none had any friendship with Yang Kai, they didn’t take the initiative to stand up and draw fire towards themselves.
Yang Kai saw how the situation was developing and knew that if this matter wasn’t resolved properly today, he would never be able to earn Source Crystals from Alchemy here again. That in and of itself was not a great misdemeanour, but what the other party was planning as a follow-up to this conspiracy was not something Yang Kai could simply ignore.
“You… do you have any evidence to prove that this Senior Brother Jiang’s Cultivation Dissonance was caused by the Spirit Pill refined by Brother Yang?” Liu Xian Yun asked through gritted teeth, but even her attempts here seemed quite feeble and desperate.
Chu Fei sneered, “With Junior Brother Jiang in this condition, what more evidence is needed?”
Liu Xian Yun was speechless for a moment as she turned anxiously to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before saying, “Five days ago, this Senior Brother Jiang came to me to refine an Emperor Blood Yang Pill. This kind of Spirit Pill is used to supplement one’s vitality, perhaps it is related to some Secret Technique Senior Brother Jiang is cultivating. I gave him four Spirit Pills at that time. Might I ask if there are any of those pills remaining? If there are, we can simply ask another of the Sect’s Alchemy Grandmasters to confirm whether my Spirit Pill has any problems.”
Liu Xian Yun’s beautiful eyes lit up and quickly nodded, “That’s right, if there are any remaining Spirit Pills, we can verify their efficacy.”
Chu Fei snorted, “All the Spirit Pills were taken by Junior Brother Jiang, how do you want to handle things now?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “Since Senior Brother Chu cannot produce any evidence to back up his claims, then it is pure slander. As such, forgive Junior Brother for not being able to do anything. Senior Brothers, please take your leave now, it won’t be too late to discuss this again when you have some kind of proof.”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned around to enter the shop.
The other party was clearly trying to make trouble for him, so Yang Kai did not want to bother dealing with them again.
“You want to just walk away?” When Chu Fei saw the attitude of Yang Kai, he was furious and shouted, “Murder must be paid for with one’s life, and all debts require their due, you think you can harm Junior Brother Jiang like this and just leave? How can something so outrageous act possibly be allowed?”
Yang Kai turned his head, looked at Chu Fei with a smile, and said coldly, “What does Senior Brother Chu think we should do then?”
“Follow me back to Protector Zhu to accept your punishment!” Chu Fei shouted.
“Nonsense, I am one of Protector Bian’s disciples! Even if punishment is due, it would be up to Protector Bian to mete it out, what business is it of Protector Zhu?”
“Bold! How dare you speak so disrespectfully of Sir Protector! If such arrogance is tolerated just after you joined the Sect, how wild will you be later? This Senior Brother will teach you a good lesson about how to behave like a proper Junior Brother!”
Chu Fei had come here in order to make trouble, and now he had finally found a reason to act, so how could he hold himself back? After shouting righteously, he charged at Yang Kai, reaching out to seize him.
A powerful Origin King Domain burst out and completely enveloped Yang Kai, trying to suppress him in place and causing the surrounding space to become extremely viscous.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he also pushed his Domain to resist his opponent’s while at the same time a golden light flickered from his hand as dozens of Golden Blood Threads shot out and condensed into a whip that slashed through the air towards Chu Fei.
Space seemed to be split in half as the shocking vitality contained in the gleaming Golden Blood Whip shot out like a viper, causing all who witnessed it to shiver unconsciously.
Chu Fei was also taken aback.
He thought that the other party was just a Second-Order Origin King Junior Brother who had only entered the Sect recently and could be easily dealt with by a Third-Order Origin King like himself. However, the instant Yang Kai fought back, Chu Fei realized something was wrong.
Not only was his opponent’s Domain not weaker than his own, it actually seemed stronger, able to completely nullify the suppression of his own Domain.
What’s more, the surging aura which came from this seemingly casual counterattack showed that this Junior Brother had transformed a significant amount of his Saint Qi into Source Qi, otherwise, it would have been impossible for Chu Fei to feel such pressure against a cultivator who was a Minor Realm lower in cultivation.
The Golden Blood Thread whip that was rapidly approaching him caused a chill to shoot up Chu Fei’s spine and without even hesitating he opened his palm in front of him and summoned out a mirror-like artifact. A profound light shone from this mirror and formed a light shield between Chu Fei and the Golden Blood Thread whip.
*Pa…*
With a snap, the Golden Blood Thread whip impacted the light shield and was deflected, failing to injure Chu Fei at all.
[This mirror can actually divert my attack?]
[But if that’s all…]
A smirk appeared at the corner of Yang Kai’s lips.
The deflected Golden Blood Thread whip suddenly twisted and transformed into a golden python with glowing red eyes and fangs. Hissing furiously, this golden python shot towards and rapidly wrapped around Chu Fei, capturing him in an instant before it bit into his neck.
Chu Fei cried out in pain, and before he could compose himself, Yang Kai had already arrived right in front of him. Covered in five-coloured light, Yang Kai brought down his fist onto Chu Fei’s face like a great hammer.
Chu Fei instinctively tried to resist but was shocked to discover he was powerless to do so. His opponent’s strange golden python Secret Technique and extremely overbearing Domain had fully suppressed him, making it difficult for him to even circulate his strength.
*Hong…*
With a muffled bang, Chu Fei was sent flying, tumbling several times through the air before smashing into the ground.
The audience immediately went into an uproar! Everyone’s heart shook wildly as they stared dumbfounded at this battle.
The fight between Yang Kai and Chu Fei started and ended so fast that they might have missed it if they blinked. Even Liu Xian Yun, who was standing right beside Yang Kai, was unable to help because Chu Fei had already been knocked out by the time she assumed an attacking stance.
There was simply no room for her to intervene!
Her heart filled with shock as her beautiful eyes stared at Yang Kai tremblingly. She was stunned to discover that, Yang Kai was much more powerful compared to when she saw him in the Starlight Corridor!
She never doubted that Yang Kai could defeat Chu Fei; after all, he had caused Yin Le Sheng to suffer a huge loss back in the Starlight Corridor.
Although Chu Fei was also a Third-Order Origin King, the Saint Qi in his body had certainly not been fully transformed into Source Qi, so he was definitely weaker than Yin Le Sheng.
Yang Kai was able to cause serious trouble to Yin Le Sheng, so he would certainly be able to beat Chu Fei.
But she did not expect Yang Kai’s victory to come so easily.
Was his opponent really a Third-Order Origin King? If people didn’t know any better, they would likely assume he was only a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator.
Did this man really come from a low-level Star Field? If it were not for her encounter in the Starlight Corridor, Liu Xian Yun wouldn’t be able to believe it.
While Liu Xian Yun was immersed in her shock, the surrounding Blue Feather Sect disciples were also stunned to the point where their jaws were hanging loose.
This was especially true of the cultivators who knew that Yang Kai was also a skilled Alchemist; they were simply unable to believe their eyes!
One had to know that although Alchemists also cultivated, their cultivation was generally lower than their Alchemy Grade because they spent most of their time on Alchemy, and even their strength would generally be lower than average for their realm.
Yang Kai was able to refine the Origin King Grade Spirit Pills and was himself an Origin King Realm cultivator, which was unbelievable enough, but now he was able to use his Second-Order Origin King to easily crush a Third-Order Origin King Senior Brother!
The scene in front of them could not even be called a fight, it was more appropriate to call it a thrashing.
Yang Kai’s bizarre performance was beyond their ability to comprehend!
A disciple with such extraordinary combat power, capable of overwhelming opponents a Minor Realm higher than himself, and who was also proficient in Alchemy… it was difficult to even imagine. The spectating Blue Feather Sect disciples now looked at Yang Kai like a monster who would foreseeably receive great attention from the Sect and be cultivated vigorously. As for the injuries to Senior Brother Chu… why would Blue Feather Sect care about him?
Several people were already making plans in their hearts about how to build a good relationship with Yang Kai so that once he rose to prominence one day, they would be able to drink some of the leftover soup.
The other two Origin Kings who had come together with Chu Fei turned pale at this moment.
When the battle between Chu Fei and Yang Kai began, they had wanted to go up and help just like Liu Xian Yun, but in the blink of an eye, Chu Fei had been laid out on the ground with his face punched in, a scenario completely beyond their expectations.
They had thought it would be Yang Kai who was severely beaten by Chu Fei and forced to beg for mercy, allowing them to do what they pleased with him…
But reality was cruel to them, to the point where it robbed them of the ability to think.
Yang Kai’s sharp eyes drifted towards these two next, causing them to involuntarily take a step back.
One of them was a First-Order Origin King while the other was a Second-Order. The two of them together would not have been Chu Fei’s opponents, so how could they dare challenge Yang Kai?
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not seem interested in dealing with them and instead just walked towards Chu Fei step by step, narrowing his eyes slightly as he smiled warmly, “Senior Brother Chu, we have never met before today, nor do we know anything about one another. Why don’t we have a seat and talk about this Senior Brother Jiang’s Cultivation Dissonance like good brothers?”
When Chu Fei heard this, he did not dare continue to lie on the ground and pretend to be dead. Leaping to his feet, he tried to put up a strong front as he shouted, “What do you want to do?”
“Senior Brother is too serious, Junior Brother only joined the Sect recently, how could he have any malicious thoughts towards you? En, Junior Brother simply wants to have a nice chat,” Yang Kai smiled very amiably, but in Chu Fei’s eyes, he only saw the wicked grin of the grim reaper.
As he spoke, Yang Kai cracked his fists lightly.
Chu Fei’s face went pale as his eyes stared out from the swollen and bruised face, angrily shouting, “This time, I acknowledge the punishment is deserved, but don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch!”
“Don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch?” Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly became cold, “Senior Brother maliciously smeared my good name as an Alchemist today. If this matter is not resolved properly, how will I be able to offer Alchemy services here ever again?”
“What do you want?” Chu Fei grit his teeth and asked.
After recognizing the gap between himself and Yang Kai, Chu Fei lost his previous arrogance, but here in front of everyone’s eyes, he was unwilling to lose any more face. Otherwise, how would he be able to show himself in Blue Feather Sect in the future?
So even if he was frightened in his heart, he could only put up a front and growl back at Yang Kai.
“It’s quite simple actually,” Yang Kai looked at Chu Fei with a smile and raised a finger. “After Senior Brother caused such a scene, Junior Brother is afraid he won’t be able to continue performing Alchemy here in the future, so shouldn’t Senior Brother compensate for my loss?”
“Compensate for your loss?” Chu Fei’s eyes bulged as he never expected Yang Kai to be so shameless.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Junior Brother doesn’t need too much, just a few hundred thousand Source Crystals.”
“A few hundred thousand… in your dreams!” Chu Fei snapped as his face distorted and shouted, “You dare ask for such an absurd amount!”
A few hundred thousand Source Crystals was a number that Chu Fei could not even dream about. From when he first began cultivating until now, even counting the ones he had used up, the total number of Source Crystals he had possessed did not exceed two hundred thousand, yet Yang Kai was asking him for several hundred thousand all at once? What difference was that from asking for his life?
Yang Kai’s face suddenly became cold as he said grimly, “It seems Senior Brother has no sincerity at all. Apparently, negotiations have broken down, and in that case…”
Before Yang Kai could finish what he was saying though, he suddenly turned his head slightly, as if listening to something that just reached his ear.
Seeing this scene, Chu Fei smiled happily and laughed, “Junior Brother, let us end matters here today. Senior Brother will remember you; perhaps we shall meet on some mountain or river in the future.”
Looking at Yang Kai’s expression, how could Chu Fei not understand that a master was sending a message to him? Now that Sect’s leaders were involved, he was safe.
Having said what he wanted to, Chu Fei waved his hand and shouted to his companions, “Let’s go!”
The other two did not dare to delay and quickly lifted up their Junior Brother Jiang, who was still struggling, and tried to quickly flee.
“You want to leave after soiling my reputation so? How could that be allowed?” Yang Kai’s coldly snorted, shocking Chu Fei. Turning around, Chu Fei saw Yang Kai charge towards him and swing a fist covered in five-coloured light.
A thick Domain pressed down on Chu Fei at that moment, completely suppressing his movements, and before he could even let out a scream, he was knocked to the ground again by Yang Kai.
As a Third-Order Origin King, Chu Fei was not weak, and even if he hadn’t completely transformed his Saint Qi into Source Qi, he should have still been able to put up a fight.
However, Chu Fei had deeply realized in the previous confrontation with Yang Kai that he was not this Junior Brother’s opponent at all, so he was unable to muster up the will to resist and instead just frantically pushed his strength to protect his vitals as Yang Kai’s fists fell on him like rain.
The onlookers watched this scene in utter shock.
Amid the muffled bangs, Chu Fei’s wails and moans rang out.
When Yang Kai got up, Chu Fei was already covered with blood and lay on the ground twitching, obviously having suffered serious injuries.
Yang Kai turned his head, glanced in a certain direction, then cursed under his breath before calling out to Liu Xian Yun, “Close up the shop!”
Liu Xian Yun was taken aback for a moment before quickly recovering and following Yang Kai back to their residence.
Wherever the two went, the other Blue Feather Sect disciples took the initiative to give way, all of them staring towards Yang Kai fearfully.
…..
Liu Xian Yun followed after Yang Kai, staring blankly at his wide back, her thoughts still somewhat confused.
She had not expected that Yang Kai, who usually looked like a peaceful person, would actually act so cruel and merciless so suddenly. Back in the shopping district, if it were not for them being from the same Sect, Chu Fei would certainly have been butchered by Yang Kai.
However, after this incident, it was likely they would no longer be able to sell Alchemy services in the shopping district again, causing Liu Xian Yun to feel a little regretful; after all, the two of them had earned a lot of Source Crystals this past month.
Suddenly, as they were walking, Yang Kai came to a halt, causing Liu Xian Yun who was still in a daze to almost bump into him. After steadying herself, she quickly asked, “Brother Yang what happened?”
“You go back first, I’ve been summoned,” Yang Kai turned back.
“Summoned?” Liu Xian Yun frowned but quickly understood, “Does Protector Bian want to see you? The message you received just now…”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded. “It’s just a small matter, don’t worry about it.”
“Should I go with you?” Liu Xian Yun asked.
“Protector Bian didn’t summon you, so I’m afraid you will be sent back even if you came. Just return home for now,” Yang Kai finished speaking before flying off towards a nearby mountain peak.
Liu Xian Yun shouted from behind, “Be careful.”
Yang Kai simply waved his hand in reply.
Halfway up the mountain, a figure flashed in front of Yang Kai and stared at him with some dissatisfaction on his face.
“Senior Brother Kou!” Yang Kai greeted him indifferently as he cupped his fists.
The one who stopped him was none other than Kou Wu. It was also Kou Wu who had just sent his voice to Yang Kai to stop and to come to the mountain to see Protector Bian.
“Your courage isn’t small! Daring to disobey my order, didn’t I tell you to let Chu Fei go? Why did you still beat him after that?” Kou Wu snorted coldly.
Yang Kai sneered, “Someone spat on my face and I have to just choke down the insult? Protector Bian’s faction is not so weak, right? If that is really the case, Senior Brother Kou disappoints me greatly.”
“How long has it been since you joined the Sect? What do you know? Do you think what happened today was just Chu Fei coming to stir up trouble?” Kou Wu questioned coldly.
“Of course I know he was instigated,” Yang Kai sneered. “I was just trying to make some Source Crystals by performing Alchemy but it seems I’ve cut into someone’s interest, yes? Let me guess, Protector Zhu? And Protector Bian doesn’t want to have any conflict with Protector Zhu right now? Is that why you wanted me to compromise?”
Kou Wu looked at Yang Kai in surprise but soon nodded, “Seems you’re not stupid! Yes, although Chu Fei’s actions today were not directed by Protector Zhu personally, they can still be regarded as involving the interests of Protector Zhu. If you want to make money through Alchemy, why not enter the Treasure Yuan Hall? You should know that Treasure Yuan Hall has a Pill Hall inside the shopping district and will protect its Alchemists if something happens.”
Yang Kai spread his hands and shrugged, “I’m poor. If I entered the Treasure Yuan Hall, I’d have to turn over sixty percent of my income to them. Senior Brother knows I just came to the Star Boundary and don’t have a single Source Crystal.”
“Fair enough,” Kou Wu knew that Yang Kai was telling the truth, so he didn’t press this topic much, instead shifting to the next issue. “But you beating Chu Fei today has only given Protector Zhu an excuse to find fault. Do you want to be punished by the Sect’s laws? Regardless of anything else, Chu Fei is your Senior Brother, what you did was akin to defying orders from your Senior!”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Isn’t that why Protector Bian has summoned me? I believe an old master like her will solve this appropriately.”
Kou Wu’s face turned dark as he quickly muttered, “Don’t mention the words ‘old master’ in front of Lady Protector, or you’ll lose your dog life!”
“I understand, Lady then!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Forget it, come with me, I hope Lady Protector is in a good mood today, otherwise… well, best of luck,” Kou Wu shook his head and did not continue to scold him, instead just leading Yang Kai towards the top of the mountain.
Kou Wu led Yang Kai into the same palace he had visited once before and escorted him to a certain room.
Inside this room, there were luxurious and elegant furnishings everywhere that obviously belonged to a woman’s boudoir.
Bian Yu Qing lay languidly on a sofa, her exquisite curves on full display as she rested her cheek on one hand, her eyes closed lightly, her posture suggestive and enchanting.
The sofa itself was covered in the pelt of some powerful Monster Beast and beside her, there were a few young women in thin robes. These maids were either fanning Bian Yu Qing lightly or peeling grape-like spirit fruits and feeding them to her lips. Still others were gently kneading Bian Yu Qing’s beautiful legs…
When Yang Kai entered this room, the first thought that popped into his mind was ‘extravagance’…
As always, Kou Wu lowered his head and stared straight at his toes while cupping his fists and saying, “Protector Bian, I’ve brought the little brat you requested.”
“Greetings, Lady Protector!” Yang Kai, unlike Kou Wu, stared straight ahead, his eyes clear and limpid, without the slightest trace of obscenity or desire.
Because he knew that a woman like Bian Yu Qing was definitely not someone he could socialize with right now, he made sure to eliminate any trace of distraction in his heart, lest she ruthlessly punish him for his impropriety.
Hearing Yang Kai’s voice, Bian Yu Qing, who had been closing her eyes and resting, lightly opened them. From her majestic phoenix eyes, a sharp light flashed, causing Yang Kai to feel quite uncomfortable, as if he had been cut by a sharp knife.
The moment Yang Kai’s eyes met hers, he felt as if he was staring into a bottomless vortex that was trying to pull out his Soul and consume it.
Yang Kai was shocked and hurriedly bit his tongue to restore his consciousness.
When he looked again, Bian Yu Qing’s eyes had been restored to their original state.
“Boy, your courage isn’t small. Just a few days after entering the Sect, you actually dared cause trouble for this Queen!” Bian Yu Qing’s voice was sweet and pleasant to the ear, but her tone was quite cold and sharp.
“Lady Protector, please understand,” Yang Kai resisted the uncomfortable coercion and quickly said. “It’s not that this disciple was causing trouble, he was simply struggling to resist after being bullied.”
“Struggling to resist? Haha, I heard that you beat your Senior Brother into a pulp and that it will take at least three months for him to recover. Is that your definition of ‘resistance’?” Bian Yu Qing looked at Yang Kai lightly.
“This disciple may have been a bit heavy-handed, but he only acted so to ensure that others don’t dare underestimate Lady Protector’s faction. If this disciple had silently born such disgrace, others would begin to think our faction was weak and easy to bully!”
“Oh?” Bian Yu Qing raised her brow slightly and said with a smile, “Then, according to what you said, should this Queen gather all the disciples and praise you in public, using you as an example?”
“This disciple only did what was necessary, Lady Protector need not pay it any mind!”
“Impudence!” Bian Yu Qing snapped and with a wave of her hand released a burst of force that sent Yang Kai flying into the rear wall.
“Milady, please calm yourself!” Kou Wu quickly soothed.
But a moment later, Bian Yu Qing actually giggled happily, making it impossible for Kou Wu to understand exactly what she was thinking.
Yang Kai hadn’t had any contact with Bian Yu Qing aside from the one meeting together with Liu Xian Yun last time.
When he saw Bian Yu Qing for the first time, Yang Kai only felt that this woman was very powerful; after all, she had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, but Yang Kai couldn’t figure out what her temperament was.
However, in this second meeting, Yang Kai realized that she was a woman who was subject to shifting moods!
Not someone to be trifled with!
Her casual blow had not used much force, but it was still not something Yang Kai could contend with. After smashing into the wall, he felt his vitality roll and his bones creak.
When he stood up, he only heard Bian Yu Qing’s sweet laughter.
Yang Kai grabbed his chest to try to settle his roiling blood before turning to look at Bian Yu Qing intently.
The latter also stared back at Yang Kai with her pair of beautiful eyes, a hint of approval flashing across them as she nodded lightly, “This Queen likes men with some spine. Good, you’ve performed well, In any case, you haven’t lost face for this Queen!”
Yang Kai frowned but did not answer.
“However…” Bian Yu Qing continued. “Today’s matter can be big or small, and this Queen doesn’t want to give Zhu Jun Shan an excuse to cause trouble; after all, you only entered the Sect a month ago yet dared to commit such an act. This could also be construed as this Queen being inadequate in her supervision, so as punishment you are to be imprisoned in the Ice Cliff for three months. That’s all.”
While she had spoken very casually, Yang Kai could not help feeling a bad premonition and asked solemnly, “Dare I ask, Lady Protector, what is this Ice Cliff…?”
He had only been in Blue Feather Sect for a month and had yet to hear of the existence of this Ice Cliff.
“The Ice Cliff is…” Bian Yu Qing smiled slightly, “En, it’s a place where disciples who committed mistakes are confined, and the environment there… hehe, you’ll know when you get there.”
Yang Kai’s expression could not help but sink.
Kou Wu also turned his head and glanced at him, his eyes full of sympathy, as if this ‘Ice Cliff’ was truly a bad place.
“Take him away!” Bian Yu Qing waved her hand carelessly before closing her beautiful eyes again.
“This disciple will obey!” Kou Wu respectfully stepped back before pulling Yang Kai along with him and leaving.
Yang Kai naturally had more questions, but seeing Bian Yu Qing’s attitude, he knew it was impossible to ask her anything more so he could only turn to Kou Wu.
Once outside the palace, Kou Wu let out a sigh of relief. Every time he met with Bian Yu Qing, he felt tremendous pressure.
“Senior Brother Kou…” Yang Kai turned to look at Kou Wu.
“Ha… Junior Brother Yang!” Kou Wu sighed and patted Yang Kai on the shoulder as he spoke earnestly, “Don’t ask. You’ll know when you get there. Senior Brother can only say… Lady Protector has shown great kindness this time; after all, three months is not a long time… Just enter closed retreat and your sentence will be over in a flash. When the time comes, Senior Brother will come pick you up in person.”
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai felt even worse and became certain that Ice Cliff was a horrendous place.
However, unless he was able to cut a bloody path out of the Blue Feather Sect now, he had no choice but to follow Kou Wu.
Silently evaluating his own strength, Yang Kai could only press down his depression and obey.
Kou Wu once again summoned his flight type artifact, and after the two boarded, the ship flew off in a certain direction at a rapid speed.
From above, the buildings of Blue Feather Sect flew by in the blink of an eye.
As they travelled, Yang Kai began to perceive a bitter chill in the air.
After some time, Kou Wu suddenly pointed to the front and said, “Junior Brother Yang, that is the Ice Cliff. Anyone from the Sect who commits a mistake will be confined here. En, don’t even think about trying to run away; although this place isn’t close to the headquarters, being over ten thousand kilometres away, and is uninhabited, if you leave Ice Cliff without authorization, Lady Protector will know, and when the time comes…”
Kou Wu did not finish his words, but how could Yang Kai not understand his meaning? Powerless to resist, he simply nodded and stared forward.
Somewhere up ahead, hidden in a veil of white clouds, Yang Kai could make out a majestic mountain that had seemingly been split in half. The cut to this mountain was smooth and clean, like a valley in the middle of the sky, a daunting scene to behold.
As the ship approached, the severe cold in the air became more obvious, and Yang Kai could feel a stinging sensation on his skin even through the protective barrier.
What’s more, this icy cold seemed to be mixed with another kind of aura, one that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Yang Kai.
Frowning for a moment, Yang Kai soon understood and muttered aloud, “Emperor Pressure?”
Kou Wu turned to Yang Kai in surprise and asked in amazement, “Junior Brother Yang can detect the Emperor Pressure here? Have you met an Emperor before?”
If one had not met an Emperor Realm master, it would be impossible to know what Emperor Pressure felt like. When Kou Wu first came to this place, he had only felt the cold here was extremely uncomfortable, as if it had a suppressive effect on his cultivation, but he didn’t understand why this was and it wasn’t until he asked Bian Yu Qing some time later that he was enlightened.
Yang Kai was a mere Second-Order Origin King from a lower Star Field, but he had quickly noticed the Emperor Pressure which permeated the cold in this place, which was not something just sharp eyes could detect. The only possibility was that Yang Kai had experienced Emperor Pressure before and was hence able to recognize it.
“En, there is a Restricted Area in the Grand Desolation Star Field where a faint Emperor Pressure still remains, that is where I felt it before!” Yang Kai replied casually.
“So that’s how it is!” Kou Wu did not doubt him, instead just nodding and saying, “Each Star Field supposedly has a Guardian that is a high-level Emperor, perhaps your Grand Desolation Star Field’s Guardian left traces of their power in that Restricted Area.”
“But how can there be Emperor Pressure here?” Yang Kai questioned.
Kou Wu smiled lightly, “This is related to the origin of Ice Cliff. It is rumoured that Ice Cliff was created by an Emperor who controlled Ice Principles. With a single swing of their sword, that Emperor cleaved apart Ice Cliff, causing their Emperor Pressure to remain behind. That was thousands of years ago, yet the Emperor Pressure has not dissipated. Why else would this place be used as a place of confinement for our Blue Feather Sect disciples?”
“So this place was created by an Emperor’s sword strike?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he listened.
“That’s what everyone in the Sect says, but whether or not this story is true is uncertain,” Kou Wu chuckled, “Junior Brother, when we arrive, just stay at the top of the valley and as far away as possible. Whatever you do, do not descend into the valley. The further one goes down, the stronger the ambient Emperor Pressure becomes. Even the Sect Master and the four Protectors cannot reach the bottom of the valley, so with just your strength, you will surely be crushed by the Emperor Pressure if you act recklessly here.”
“I see. Many thanks for the reminder, Senior Brother Kou!” Yang Kai nodded.
“In addition, Lady Protector confining you here is not just to punish you. Although the environment in Ice Cliff is terrible and one cannot remain here for long, if they are able to perceive anything from this place, they will benefit infinitely! Don’t disappoint Lady Protector’s good intentions,” Kou Wu spoke solemnly.
“Is that so?” Yang Kai grinned, “If that’s the case, why doesn’t Senior Brother come down with me and we can spy on the depths of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao together?”
“No thanks!” Kou Wu trembled as a light of fear flashed across his eyes, “I’ve been stuck in this damned place once before, and after just one month I nearly couldn’t return.”
“What was Senior Brother’s cultivation at that time?”
“Third-Order Origin King!” Kou Wu replied.
Yang Kai curled his lips hearing this, “It seems Lady Protector thinks quite highly of me.”
“This shows that Lady Protector believes your potential is greater than mine!” Kou Wu chuckled before he tapped his foot and stopped the ship. Turning to Yang Kai, he said, “Senior Brother will drop you off here, go the rest of the way by yourself. I will return in three months to bring you back!”
Yang Kai nodded before turning around, jumping off the boat, and rushing towards the top of the Ice Cliff.
After Yang Kai left, Kou Wu immediately turned his ship around and flew off at high speed, as if trying to flee from this accursed place.
…..
The biting cold seemed to be able to penetrate all the way to one’s soul and not only hindered the circulation of one’s strength but even slowed down their thinking, giving people the illusion that their thoughts themselves were being frozen.
Breathing out, Yang Kai saw his breath turn to mist as he landed at the top of the Ice Cliff and involuntarily circulated his Qi to ward off the ubiquitous cold.
The expanse above the Ice Cliff was spacious, like flat ground, and in the nearby rock walls were some big and small caves.
Obviously, these were crude cave mansions that had been excavated by the Blue Feather Sect disciples who had been confined here over the years.
Yang Kai stood there and looked around.
He found that there was not a single blade of grass growing here, causing it to appear extremely desolate. Even the rocks seemed to be frozen into ice blocks.
Although there was indeed a faint Emperor Pressure in the air here, one that contained very profound Ice Principles, it was not overbearing at all and was relatively easy for Yang Kai to resist with his current strength.
“If Su Yan were here…” Su Yan’s beautiful image suddenly appeared in Yang Kai’s mind.
If she were here, then this Ice Cliff would not be an unbearable Restricted Area, but instead a cultivation paradise. This place contained an Emperor’s comprehension of Ice Principles, which would allow Su Yan to cultivate at a remarkable speed. As long as she could comprehend something from the ambient aura here, it would greatly assist her growth.
Unfortunately, Su Yan was still back on Shadowed Star.
As for Yang Kai himself, he did not comprehend anything related to Ice Principles, so he could only sigh.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai dispelled these distracting thoughts before taking some time to get acquainted with the desolate environment. The first thing Yang Kai did was go to the rock walls and inspect the cave mansions.
Since he would be staying here for three months, naturally, he first needed to determine if there was anyone else living here. If there were others in this place, before entering seclusion, Yang Kai felt it best to at least offer some greetings.
After some investigation though, Yang Kai determined that there was no one living here except for himself!
There were, however, a dozen or so frozen corpses.
These people had all died inside different cave mansions in a cross-legged meditative posture, their expressions all incredibly peaceful, as if they experienced no pain or suffering when they passed away, simply losing all their vitality as they gently slept.