Though the three peak Tenth-Order Monster Beasts were extraordinary, the number of Jiang Family Origin King Realm masters was also great. Many of them were Third-Order Origin Kings, so the two sides were evenly matched.
After hearing Mo Xiao Qi’s remark, Jiang Family cultivators’ hearts skipped a beat. They couldn’t help but look at each other, and some even had their eyes tear up.
Just three Monster Beasts had tied their hands and feet. If Xiao Bai, Xiao Huang, Xiao Qing, Xiao Lu, or whatever made an appearance too, the Jiang Family would have no power to fight back.
Right then, Jiang Lin seemed to have suddenly remembered something. While dodging the Red Fire Qilin’s attack, he looked at the small cloth bags hanging by Mo Xiao Qi’s waist in amazement and cried in shock, “Spirit Beast Pouch! You are from the Spirit Beast Island!?”
Only now did he finally remember the origin of those small cloth bags.
One should not underestimate these small bags even a little. They were unique products of the Spirit Beast Island! Only the masters of the Spirit Beast Island could create this equipment that could house Monster Beasts through a secret method.
Furthermore, these Spirit Beast Pouches were never sold to outsiders, so others couldn’t get even one of them. On the other hand, Mo Xiao had a lot of them hanging on her waist. If she had nothing to do with the Spirit Beast Island, how could she have that many Spirit Beast Pouches?
And the Spirit Beast Island was famous in the entire Star Boundary. It might not be as huge as the Star Soul Palace or Serene Soul Palace, or have many disciples, but it too was one of the great forces to be reckoned with!
How could it not be? The Spirit Beast Island’s owner, Island Master to be precise, was one of the Ten Great Emperors who were hidden dragons that showed only their tails and not their face: The Martial Beast Great Emperor.
Rumour had it that there were many Monster Beasts on the Spirit Beast Island that were rarely found in the outside world. Even Ancient Divine Spirits had settled there, along with countless birds and beasts.
That meant, even though the Spirit Beast Island was just an island and the Martial Beast Great Emperor didn’t publicly recruit disciples, Spirit Beast Island’s deterrence in the Star Boundary wasn’t in any way inferior to the Star Soul Palace, which also had one of the Ten Great Emperors presiding.
However, the Spirit Beast Island was located in the boundless sea of the distant Eastern Territory. It was hundreds of millions of kilometres away from the Southern Territory, which was why Jiang Lin didn’t connect Mo Xiao Qi to Spirit Beast Island at first.
But as the Patriarch, after seeing so many mystical means shown by Mo Xiao Qi, how could he not guess correctly?
“Miss, how are you related to the Martial Beast Great Emperor?” Jiang Lin, making some breathing room while in the midst of heated combat, asked when he didn’t get a reply from Mo Xiao Qi.
After all, as far as he knew, the Spirit Beast Island didn’t take disciples. Everyone leaving on the Spirit Beast Island had some relation one way or another with the Martial Beast Great Emperor. If Mo Xiao Qi really came from the Spirit Beast Island, she must be related to Martial Beast Great Emperor or one of his few disciples.
How could the Jiang Family provoke someone like that? They could only serve her like she was their aunt.
Mo Xiao Qi, on the other hand, just stood inside the water screen of the Weak Water Bead, hugging Xiao Fu with one hand and caressing it with the other. Hearing this, she just raised her eyes, looking at the sky with indifference.
Meanwhile, the Jiang Family members turned pale after hearing this, a chill running down everyone’s spine. How could they have any thoughts of dealing with the attacks of those Monster Beasts?
The balance was immediately broken because of this.
First, one of the Jiang Family Elders was hit by the Red Fire Qilin’s fireball in his momentary loss of his senses. He let out a miserable scream before he melted into nothing the next moment. Then, a Jiang Family Deacon was flattened into nothing by a smack of Silver Maned Liger. The ground was immediately dyed red. It was too ghastly to even look at.
And the next moment, another figure flew out of the dark clouds that the Black Eyes Black Scale Flood Dragon had transformed into.
Before the figure even touched the ground, it was already devoid of any aura. And when it crashed on the ground, its head lifelessly tilted to one side as it lay there on the ground forever.
In the blink of an eye, three Jiang Family Origin Kings had lost their lives!
Seeing this, Jiang Lin’s eyes turned red. He immediately cast away all the fear and worry in his heart and angrily shouted, “Girl, no matter what your relationship with the Martial Beast Great Emperor is, since we have already fallen out, then it’s either you die or we die!”
Once he said this, the rest of the Jiang Family members were shocked.
Everyone knew that they were left with no choice but to do this out of desperation. Not to mention that a bloody feud had already been forged, a background like that of Mo Xiao Qi wasn’t something they could provoke. If they couldn’t kill Mo Xiao Qi right here, the Jiang Family could forget about making a foothold in the entire Star Boundary after today.
Mo Xiao Qi didn’t even need to personally make a move. She just had to let the word get out, and from then on, countless masters would fight to bring the Jiang Family members’ heads to her.
After all, there weren’t that many opportunities to curry favour with the Spirit Beast Island!
After stabilizing their mood, the Jiang Family members regrouped and retreated, having lost the momentum!
But at this point, the battle of the Dao Source Realm master seemed to have reached an end.
Followed by a painful scream, Jiang Tai Sheng and Yang Kai separated from each other in the air.
Yang Kai looked completely at ease, whereas Jiang Tai Sheng’s face had lost all its blood. A sliver of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth as if he had suffered a serious injury!
He was a century-old Dao Source Realm master, but after fighting Yang Kai for just the time it takes to finish half a cup of tea, he had already fallen leeward.
He stared at Yang Kai with extreme hatred and incredulity. It never occurred to him that he wouldn’t be an opponent of Yang Kai.
And when he looked back, Jiang Tai Sheng’s face immediately sank!
How could he not tell that his descendants were in trouble and he couldn’t count on them?
[I’m afraid the Jiang Family’s hundreds of years of foundation will be ruined today!]
As this thought flashed in his head, Jiang Tai Sheng’s face immediately turned ashen. He angrily glared at Yang Kai and fiercely shouted, “Junior, even if this old master dies today, I will take you down with me!”
Having said this, he immediately pushed the Source Qi in his body as his pale old face regained its complexion. At the same time, he bit the tip of his tongue and spewed a mouthful of Blood Essence!
Yang Kai’s face immediately sank. He realized that the opposite party was really planning on putting his life on the line.
Although he was confident that he could kill Jiang Tai Shen, his opponent was still a Dao Source Realm master. If he really decided to put his life on the line, he really could not be underestimated. Not to mention, his one arm was preoccupied with holding Zhang Ruo Xi. So, Yang Kai promptly took a defensive stance, lest the old guy really used to some technique that could very well kill him.
But the next moment, a blood mist enveloped Jiang Tai Sheng; not even a bit of his figure could be seen.
Immediately afterwards, the bloody mist flickered as it disappeared from its place. It transformed into a rainbow streak as it quickly fled away from Yang Kai in the opposite direction!
“What…” Yang Kai was left gawking, dumbstruck. He was even stunned for a while.
He had never thought that all of it was just Jiang Tai Sheng’s bluff and bluster. All his proclamation of dragging Yang Kai with him was just a front to cover his escape.
“That wily old fox!” Yang Kai cursed angrily. His eyes were filled with disdain. At the same time, he hurriedly prompted his Space Force, mobilizing the Space Principles, as he directed it at the distant streak of light covered blood and shouted, “Bind!”
That streaking rainbow stopped for a moment before it broke through the lock of Principles the next moment, fleeing toward the distance even faster.
After all, Jiang Tai Sheng too was a Dao Source Realm master. How could Yang Kai’s Principles trap him for long?
After getting rid of the Space Principles’ binding, he plunged straight toward the barren mountain cave and soon disappeared.
“That old thing!” Yang Kai immediately understood Jiang Tai Sheng. It was apparent to Jiang Tai Sheng that he wasn’t Yang Kai’s opponent. Besides, he had also suffered some injuries. Therefore, he didn’t plan on relying on speed to escape. If he really did so, he would not be able to escape from Yang Kai’s pursuit for sure.
Yang Kai understood the Dao of Space. He held an absolute advantage in tracking and escaping.
Therefore, Jiang Tai Sheng put his hopes on the Space Array in the cave. As long as he teleported away from here, Yang Kai would not be able to catch him no matter how great his skill was.
Jiang Tai Sheng’s plan was pretty good and he even succeeded in it. After he entered the cave, his aura had disappeared the next moment. Only faint Space Force fluctuations were left.
These fluctuations were naturally due to Jiang Tai Sheng using the Space Array.
On another note, the Jiang Family members were devastated at the sight of this.
They tried their best in this battle of life and death. Because they wanted to help their Old Ancestor, three of them had even lost their lives.
But to their dismay, their Old Ancestor had abandoned them at this critical juncture without a moment of hesitation. He ran away without giving so much as a warning.
They didn’t have much confidence in defeating Mo Xiao Qi. Not to mention, there was no one to stop Yang Kai, a Dao Source Realm master. If the Jiang Family members remained here, they would undoubtedly be seeking their own doom.
Therefore, Jiang Lin decisively shouted, “Let’s go!”
Everyone hurriedly withdrew, madly fleeing toward the cave on the barren mountain!
They had the same plan as Jiang Tai Sheng. Since they couldn’t escape from Yang Kai, they could only rely on the Space Array. As long as they could escape from this place, they could survive this calamity.
And to their surprise, Yang Kai didn’t appear to have any intention of stopping them. He hovered in the air with a calm look on his face, watching them flee.
However, there was a playful smile on his face, ringing warning bells in Jiang Lin’s mind.
However, the other Jiang Family members were overjoyed. They rushed to the small cave, pushing their way in.
A Jiang Family Elder quickly threw the Source Crystals into the grooves around the Space Array. After having arranged everything in order, he immediately mobilized his energy, trying to activate the Array.
However…
Nothing happened!
The Jiang Family members burned with anxiety as they waited. But the Space Array that should have been up and running remained still. It didn’t make so much as a hum, let alone transmit everyone.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Chu He asked, pale and terrified.
“The Array… isn’t responding!” that Elder replied as the blood drained from his face.
“How could it not respond? Let me try!” Jiang Chu He took the matter in his hand. He immediately poured his energy into the Array just like that Elder.
But the result was still the same. The Space Array seemed to have stopped working.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the entrance of the cave, weirdly laughing as it made its way in, step by step.
The Jiang Family members immediately turned pale. They turned their heads, looking at Yang Kai, who was slowly approaching like the God of Death. Goosebumps exploded all over their bodies.
Everyone suddenly realized that they had made a wrong choice, causing them to be caught in a jar like a turtle.
“Great, great, since everyone is stuck here, it saves me the trouble of chasing you.” Yang Kai stood not too far away from the Jiang Family members, looking at everyone with a shadow of a smile on his face, completely calm and composed contrary to the situation at hand. He then said, “Your Old Ancestor doesn’t seem to be very kind.”
The moment he said this, Jiang Lin felt as if he was struck by an invisible hammer right in the chest. His face flushed red as he opened his mouth and spurted an arrow of blood. He immediately looked at the sky and cried out, “I hate…”
Other Jiang Family members’ faces turned ashen as well. A complex and embarrassed look blanketed everyone’s face.
At this point, how could everyone not understand that the reason that the Space Array wasn’t working was that their Old Ancestor had destroyed the Space Array on the other side?
The Array in the cave and the mine were connected with each other. It was only when both were intact that one could be transmitted to the other side.
But as soon as Jiang Tai Sheng teleported to the other side, a problem occurred with the Array on the other side. Obviously, he had done something.
It wasn’t difficult to understand why he would do this: It was because he wanted to hinder Yang Kai from pursuing him. But by doing this, he had ruined the rest of the Jiang Family members’ escape route.
How could everyone not be devastated when their Old Ancestor fled for his life, ignoring the lives of his clansmen?
Desperate, Jiang Lin looked at Yang Kai dispiritedly and said, “Alchemist Yang, since things have already reached this point, if you want to kill us, then do so. Do as you please!”
He still could be considered to have some backbone. He didn’t seem to have the intention of begging for mercy. On the contrary, he was requesting to be killed. It might be that his heart was already broken by his Old Ancestor’s conduct. He had already given up on continuing to live.
He might have such thoughts, but not the rest of the Jiang Family members.
After hearing Jiang Ling speak, the expression of a few Jiang Family Elders couldn’t help but momentarily change. The new generation leader of the Jiang Family, Jiang Chu He looked even more terrified. He hurriedly stepped forward and anxiously pleaded, gazing at Yang Kai with a flattering look on his face, “Alchemist Yang, this Jiang had eyes but failed to see and has offended Alchemist Yang. I ask Sir Alchemist Yang to be magnanimous and not care about someone like me. This Jiang has already seen his errors and repented. From now on, this Jiang will correct his ways. I would like to follow Alchemist Yang and serve him like a dog!”
“Oh!?” Yang Kai raised his brow, appearing to be a little interested.
“You filthy swine…” Jiang Lin, who had already suffered a mental blow, became dejected and dispirited again. After having been annoyed by Jiang Chu He again, his mood had grown even worse. He almost fainted. But he forcefully roused his spirit and angrily lashed out, tremblingly pointing at Jiang Chu He’s back, “You cowardly rat, you are a disgrace to Jiang Family!”
Jiang Chu He immediately turned back and lashed back, “Old fart, shut your trap! Even though the Old Ancestor has abandoned us, I don’t want to seek my own doom! I, Jiang Chu He, am still very young and have a prospective future. I don’t want to die without rhyme or reason! If you are still sensible, quickly offer yourself to Alchemist Yang. Alchemist Yang is kind and magnamious, he might just spare your lives.”
“Well said!” Yang Kai smiled lightly and, approvingly looking at Jiang Chu He, stated, “A wise man will submit to the circumstances, not bad!”
Jiang Chu He hurriedly turned around, and putting on a flattering look on his face, slightly bowed and responded with a flattering smile, “Alchemist Yang, you flatter me!”
“However, I really hate people who cling to life and fear death!” Yang Kai’s face grew colder all of a sudden.
Jiang Chu He’s smile immediately turned stiff.
“Okay, enough with this nonsense. I hadn’t planned on killing all of you, down to the last man. I just wanted to punish the culprit. But now that a blood feud has already been forged… all of you go in peace!” While speaking, Yang Kai’s face gradually grew colder as a killing intent swept everyone. He slowly stretched his hand out, pushing it toward the Jiang Family members.
The Jiang Family Origin Kings immediately turned pale. They instinctively wanted to resist but they suddenly realized they were completely unable to move no matter how hard they tried; the space around them seemed to have been frozen at some point. And not only that, but the energy in their meridians was also moving sluggishly. They were unable to circulate it.
[Principles!]
Everyone’s face instantly turned ashen as they helplessly watched Yang Kai’s palm move ever closer to closing. An aura of death swept over everyone.
But right then, something strange happened!
The ground started violently rumbling and quaking all of a sudden. After a few moments, cracking sounds came from everywhere. They were extremely loud; it sounded as if the world was about to end.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately changed. He promptly spread his Divine Sense and when he noticed the changes around him, his figure instantly disappeared from where he stood, appearing by Mo Xiao Qi’s side the next moment. He didn’t even have the time to deal with the Jiang Family members.
Xiao Qi had already taken her Monster Beasts back in the Spirit Beast Pouches and happened to be floating in the air with a serious look on her face.
After seeing Yang Kai appear, she anxiously cried, “Big Brother Yang, it seems that…”
“I know, let’s go!” Yang Kai cut her off, pushed his Source Qi, wrapping her in and quickly fleeing into the distance.
Meanwhile, the Jiang Family members inside the cave were a little taken aback after having barely escaped with their lives.
Someone shouted something was wrong and everyone fled from the cave, one after another.
And when they arrived outside, each and everyone was dumbstruck by the sight before them.
The ground within a thousand kilometres of them was violently rising and falling like waves, as if something was erupting from underground. And along with the violent ups and downs of the ground, a series of sharp ravines suddenly appeared before everyone, spanning endlessly.
More importantly, pitch-black auras were slowly rising from these ravines.
Soon after, these further branched into black snakes-like things, wafting in every direction.
The world was quickly flooded by these.
In their momentary loss of wits, the Jiang Family members were surrounded by this pitch-black aura.
“What is this!?” a Jiang Family Elder cried in shock. He was getting a disturbing feeling from this black aura. That feeling seemed to provoke all kinds of negative emotions buried deep in his heart. In the blink of an eye, his eyes turned red as his breathing became short.
“Demon Qi!”
“Dammit!”
“Run!”
The Jiang Family members screamed. They promptly circulated their energy, trying to cast every escaping technique in their arsenal. However, it was already too late! Those black snake-like things immediately swarmed toward them, like they were alive, tightly surrounding everyone at once.
The defensive Source Qi of the Jiang Family cultivators couldn’t stop the erosion of these black auras. In just a short while, it was riddled with holes as black auras made their way in, seeping into their bodies through their mouths, noses, eyes, and ears.
In just a short while, heart-rending screams drowned every sound. The Jiang Family members seemed to be suffering unimaginable torture and pain.
But after a while, these screams abruptly stopped.
In the world shrouded in black Qi, the Jiang Family cultivators stood back up. But at this moment, their aura was completely different from before. Everyone was surrounded by black mist and had an inexplicable evil smile hanging on their faces, their eyes reddish black. It looked extremely horrifying.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
At a certain place, the ground suddenly blew up by a violent force as a huge hole appeared on the ground. The next moment, a vigorous figure jumped out of that hole.
The figure landed on the ground and exercised its hands and feet a little as crisp, popping noises rang from it. The figure cracked its neck again as it broke into a peal of evil laughter.
If Yang Kai was still here, he would have surely recognized this figure as it was none other than the Jiang Family Old Ancestor, Jiang Tai Sheng, who had just fled like a stray dog.
However, in this short period, Jiang Tai Sheng’s injuries seemed to have healed. Not only that, the aura radiating from him was stronger than before, as if he had made huge advancement.
And this wasn’t just limited to him. It was the same for all the Jiang Family members.
After everyone had been infected by the black Qi, they had changed. Their aura and strength had made tremendous progress.
Jiang Tai Sheng stood for a while before swooshing sounds suddenly came from behind him. One after another, figures jumped out of the hole and neatly stood behind him. They didn’t utter a single word. It was extremely strange and eerie.
All of these figures were Jiang Family cultivators and mine slaves who had been demonized in the mine earlier.
Jiang Tai Sheng looked around as an extremely satisfied look appeared on his face. The next moment, he looked up and howled.
His howl went straight to the sky. Meanwhile, the pitch-black Demon Qi appeared to be summoned in some way as it gathered and formed a black tornado, rising toward the sky as if it would pierce through the sky.
In the distance, Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi, who were fleeing at full speed, looked back after hearing this howl. Their expressions couldn’t help but change.
“Dammit!” Yang Kai cried in shock. “Who knows what the Jiang Family has done this time. I’m afraid Maplewood City is going to be destroyed!”
“If my guess is right, it should be the Demon Qi of an Ancient Great Demon!” Mo Xiao Qi replied.
“Ancient Great Demon!?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
“Mhmm. In Ancient Times, humans, monsters, demons, and other races were all prosperous. They all ruled the Star Boundary, but with the change of times, races were replaced, one after another. Finally, our human race became the ruler of the Star Boundary and has ruled it to this day because of our huge population and many masters, suppressing other races. However, that doesn’t mean that the other races have been destroyed. They have been living in some hidden places in the Star Boundary, thriving in their own territory, but they rarely show up. Today’s Demon Race is one of them, but they are completely different from the Ancient Great Demons. Only the pure Demon Qi of an Ancient Great Demon can demonize other living beings and transform them into members of the Demon Race!”
“There is something like this in the world!?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“An Ancient Great Demon’s Demon Qi or an Ancient Great Demon’s body was sealed in that mine… Ahh! How did the Jiang Family discover this place? And even broke the seal!?” Mo Xiao Qi’s pretty face distorted in anger.
“I guess that the Pure Heart Jade in the mine didn’t naturally come into being, but was there because of the seal!” Yang Kai was absorbed in his thoughts.
The greatest effect of the Pure Heart Jade was to purify the heart, so it was a natural bane to the evil Demon Qi. Perhaps… a long, long time ago, some ancient master might have used a huge amount of Pure Heart Jade to lay a seal underground. Unfortunately, years of mining by the people sent by the Jiang Family must have broken this seal, finally liberating the Demon Qi.
“I hope it’s the former. If it’s the latter…” Mo Xiao Qi stopped talking.
“What will happen?” asked Yang Kai.
Mo Xiao Qi looked at him with a grave look in her eyes and replied, “It would mean that the Ancient Great Demon has a good chance of resurrecting. If that’s the case, I’m afraid that the Ten Great Emperors would have to personally make a move. Only they would be able to eradicate it.”
Yang Kai’s face suddenly turned gloomy after hearing this.
“The Demon Qi has dispersed!” Mo Xiao Qi seemed to have noticed something at the moment and tenderly shouted.
Yang Kai calmly took a look back and noticed that it was indeed as Mo Xiao Qi had said. The vast Demon Qi covering thousands of kilometres of area disappeared in all directions as if it was controlled by someone. The billowing Demon Qi scattered away with unstoppable momentum, scattered about in a mess.
There was a village at the foot of the barren mountain near the mine.
But as the Demon Qi swept by it, painful screams were heard coming from the village, one after another.
And when the Demon Qi disappeared, figures wrapped in black aura stood up from every corner of the village, one after another.
Immediately after, all of them stared at the fleeing Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi before pursuing after them.
These ordinary people, who had never cultivated, sported physical strength that wasn’t in any way inferior to wild beasts. Although they might not be able to catch up with Yang Kai, they still showed no signs of letting up.
“Sir…” Right then, a weak cry came from Zhang Ruo Xi, who was in Yang Kai’s arms.
“Are you awake!?” Yang Kai looked down and saw Zhang Ruo Xi looking right at him. After her rest, her pretty face that was previously pale seemed to have regained a little of its complexion. Yang Kai hurriedly pushed his Source Qi, coursing it through her body. After confirming that she was in no serious trouble, he was finally relieved.
“Sir, please save my Zhang Family,” begged Zhang Ruo Xi. “They don’t know anything about the situation here, and if they aren’t informed…”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow after hearing this. But soon, he agreed with a nod, “Alright, I will take a trip to the Zhang Family!”
“Thank you, Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi gratefully thanked Yang Kai.
“Big Brother Zhang, I think it will be better if we move separately!” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly proposed. “You go to that Zhang Family, while I go to Maplewood City to inform Sir City Lord to take precautions. Otherwise, when the Demon Qi invades Maplewood City, it will be too late.”
“I guess you are right.” Yang Kai nodded his agreement. He was thinking the same. And now that Mo Xiao Qi herself had proposed it, it couldn’t be any better. “You better be careful. I will rush back to Maplewood City as soon as possible. Then, we will get far away from here!”
“Mhmm,” Mo Xiao Qi repeatedly nodded before she circulated her energy as she shot straight toward Maplewood City, leaving a long trail behind her.
Yang Kai immediately sped up after she left.
After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Yang Kai had arrived at the Zhang Family manor.
At this moment, the sun had just started rising. However, the orphans and widows of the Zhang Family were already up. Signs of activity could be seen in the manor.
When Yank Kai arrived, the only two men of the Zhang Family, the fat and thin cultivators, happened to be sparring in an open space. Both of them had similar cultivation, they were on par with each other. While they were locked in a heated battle, a flash of light blinded their eyes as a figure suddenly appeared.
The fat and thin cultivators were greatly taken aback. They immediately stepped back and shouted, “Who are you?”
But the next moment, a happy look appeared on the fat cultivator’s face. He looked pleasantly surprised as he stated, “Well, it’s our saviour!”
“And Ruo Xi too!” The thin cultivator seeing Zhang Ruo Xi, who was being gently put down by Yang Kai, greeted with enthusiasm.
Since Yang Kai saved the Zhang Family from extermination, the Zhang Family had been grateful to Yang Kai. And seeing him here, they were naturally filled with joy.
“Second Brother, Third Brother…” Zhang Ruo Xi’s pretty face flushed red. She seemed a little apologetic and hurriedly greeted them.
“You can chat with each other first, I will go talk to your grandmother!” After dropping this sentence, his figure flickered before he disappeared all of sudden.
“He seems to be in a hurry. What’s up?” The fat cultivator instinctively noticed something wrong. He worriedly looked at Zhang Ruo Xi and asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“It’s like this.” Zhang Ruo Xi also knew that it wasn’t time to reminisce. So, she quickly recounted the things about the mine.
The fat and thin cultivator turned pale after hearing this.
At this moment, they heard the Zhang Family’s Matriarch’s voice and their expression turned grave. After excusing themselves, they hurried toward the manor.
After the time it takes to enjoy half the cup of tea, a beautiful boat suddenly rose from the Zhang Family manor and shot toward Maplewood City.
The Zhang Family was few in number. They only had a dozen or so people, that’s all. Except for the fat and thin cultivators, everyone else was a woman. Moreover, their cultivation realms were completely different. In order to speed things up, Yang Kai could only summon the boat artifact and flew them toward Maplewood City together.
Fortunately, there weren’t that many of them. Otherwise, things would have taken longer. Furthermore, it was great that the Zhang Family’s Matriarch did not doubt Yang Kai either. After learning about the seriousness of the matter, she decisively followed Yang Kai and left Zhang Family’s centuries-old home without a moment of hesitation.
The old woman already had one foot in the grave. Naturally, she knew that as long as her family could live, they would always have the chance to make a comeback, but if no one was left alive, their family would really be over.
As long as her family was safe and sound, who cared about a centuries-old home?
The distance of three hundred kilometres was covered in a moment.
At the city gate, the expression of the cultivators guarding the gate suddenly changed when they saw a ship flying over. One of the First-Order Origin Kings took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his voice, “Who is it? Any use of flight-type artifacts in Maplewood City is banned. Please disembark as soon as possible!”
But they didn’t get any response from the ship.
Seeing the ship coming closer and closer, a serious look appeared on all the guards’ faces. Just when they were preparing to attack the ship to defend Maplewood City, an overwhelming pressure suddenly came from the ship.
“Dao Source Realm!” The First-Order Origin King was shocked and his knees almost touched the ground. As for the others, their cultivation was far worse than his, so they fared even worse.
In their momentary lapse in concentration, the ship had rushed straight into Maplewood City at an extremely fast speed.
“Who is so bold that he actually dares to use a flight-type artifact in the city so imposingly!”
“Are they tired of living?”
“Where are the people of the City Lord’s Mansion? Why don’t they teach him a lesson?”
“What a joke!? There is a Dao Source Realm master on the ship. Apart from the two Vice City Lord and Sir City Lord, who can stop him?”
For a moment, the cultivators in the city began to whisper with each other, looking at the sky.
In normal times, Yang Kai would not be so ostentatious. But now they were pressed for time. And he had the orphans and widows of the Zhang Family with him. He had no choice.
Bad news travels fast. Soon, the news about someone ignoring the rules of Maplewood City and driving a flight-type artifact straight into the city reached the ears of every major family in the city. Everyone was amazed by this.
At this moment, Yang Kai had already flown the ship to the Spirit Pill Plaza.
Naturally, he came here to inform Kang Si Ran.
In the entire Maplewood City, he was only close to Kang Si Ran and Mo Xiao Qi. Now that Maplewood City was facing a disaster, it was natural to notify the other party.
“Just stay here and don’t move. I have already turned on the ship’s defences. I will be back in a second.” After having talked with the Zhang Family, he hurriedly got out of the ship.
Meanwhile, Kang Si Ran also happened to have noticed the movements outside and walked out of the Spirit Pill Plaza.
The moment he saw Yang Kai, Kang Si Ran’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He pointed at Yang Kai and cried in surprise, “Brother… Brother Yang, you…”
He thought that he was seeing a ghost!
After all, when the Yuan Furnace Mountain collapsed, there was no sign of Yang Kai. Later, he also inquired about Yang Kai’s whereabouts. He knew that the Raging Fire Temple had searched the collapsed Yuan Furnace Mountain for two months, but they found nothing.
And he still hadn’t heard of Yang Kai even after six months.
Kang Si Ran took it as Yang Kai having died at the Yuan Furnace Mountain.
But now, Yang Kai had magically appeared in front of him. How could Kang Si Ran not be surprised!
But soon, a relieved expression appeared on Kang Si Ran’s face as if his heart was free from some burden. He walked up to Yang Kai in hurried steps, tightly grabbed his arm with one hand and ruthlessly patted Yang Kai’s shoulder with the other. Meanwhile, he sized up Yang Kai from top to bottom as he spoke, “Good! Good! Heaven is really just. It helps the good. Brother Yang, now I can finally rest easy!”
Speaking of which, Kang Si Ran was feeling quite guilty these days because he took Yang Kai to the Yuan Furnace Mountain. But after the accident at the Yuan Furnace Mountain, he returned safe and sound while Yang Kai died there.
During these six months, Kang Si Ran was riddled with guilt whenever he recalled it. He felt that he had harmed Yang Kai and often couldn’t sleep and couldn’t cultivate in peace either.
But now, the source of his nightmares and guilt that had been troubling him all day had come back unscathed. He naturally felt lighter.
Yang Kai brow twitched. He immediately understood the change in Kang Si Ran’s psyche. But he couldn’t explain much either.
“Brother Yang, you…” Kang Si Ran looked askance at the exquisite ship floating above the Spirit Pill Plaza. He had no idea why Yang Kai was causing trouble like this.
“Brother Kang, we are in big trouble,” Yang Kai stated in a low voice and with a grim look on his face.
“What’s happened?” Kang Si Ran’s face immediately changed. He had caught a clue from Yang Kai’s grim look and asked anxiously.
“It’s like this…” Yang Kai quickly explained what happened in the mine, and added, “Brother Kang, quickly pack your things and leave Maplewood City with me!”
“How is this possible? How can there be an Ancient Great Demon’s pure Demon Qi in the vicinity of Maplewood City?” Kang Si Ran lost his wits. He simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Had it not been Yang Kai, he would have taken it as nothing more than a joke and laughed it off. But this news came straight from Yang Kai. He couldn’t help but give it a thought.
“We don’t have the time to think.” Yang Kai worriedly looked back, gazing at the sky outside the city. As if he sensed it, his expression slightly changed as he hurriedly shouted, “Brother Kan, I’ll take a trip to the City Lord’s Mansion. I will be back soon, and we will leave at once!”
Immediately after, he utilized his Space Force and teleported inside the city.
As Kang Si Ran was beside himself, he didn’t think much about it. He immediately turned around and rushed straight into the Spirit Pill Plaza.
The next moment, the entire Spirit Pill Plaza broke into hysteria.
The City Lord’s Mansion was located right at the centre of Maplewood City. Yang Kai had gone in there with Kang Si Ran to participate in the auction last time, so he was familiar with the path.
He was going to the City Lord’s Mansion not to inform anyone, but to find Mo Xiao Qi.
Judging by the amount of time that passed, Mo Xiao Qi should have already explained the situation to the people of City Lord’s Mansion. But she was still nowhere to be found.
Yang Kai had no choice but to go there himself and bring Mo Xiao Qi with him.
Along the way, he took out the Sound Bead given to him by Mo Xiao Qi before, and pouring his Divine Sense into it, sent a message.
Unfortunately, Mo Xiao Qi wasn’t responding.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He put away the Sound Bead and increased his speed.
After a short while, he arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion. He unscrupulously swept the entire compound with his Divine Sense and found Mo Xiao Qi’s whereabouts at once.
Mo Xiao Qi happened to be in a side hall of the City Lord’s Mansion. There seemed to be a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator with her. However, Yang Kai was not familiar with his aura. He had no idea who it was.
The Space Force fluctuated around Yang Kai and he appeared in the side hall straight away.
Yang Kai looked around and immediately noticed an old man with grey-white skin standing before Mo Xiao Qi. She was reporting something in an agitated manner. But the old man just stood there with his hands behind his back. He appeared indifferent to it.
The old man instantly noticed Yang Kai as soon as he appeared and quickly looked at him. Two beams suddenly shot out from his dull eyes and fell on Yang Kai. The next moment, he looked surprised.
Because the old man realized that Yang Kai was actually a Dao Source Realm master completely unfamiliar to him!
This was rare in Maplewood City.
“Big Brother Yang!” Mo Xiao Qi, on the other hand, was overjoyed and immediately greeted as if she had found a saviour.
“Are you done?” Yang Kai hurriedly asked.
Mo Xiao Qi looked infuriated after hearing this. She pointed at the grey-skinned old man and stated, stamping her feet, “Vice City Lord Zhuang didn’t believe what I said at all. I’m arguing with him.”
“He doesn’t believe you!?” Yang Kai frowned.
But hearing what Mo Xiao Qi said, Yang Kai also came to know who this grey-skinned old man was.
Maplewood City Vice Lord, Zhuang Pan! He too was in the First-Order Dao Source Realm.
Maplewood City had a City Lord and two Vice City Lords. The City Lord was naturally Duan Yuan Shan, who was in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. And of the two Vice City Lords, one of them hosted the auction, the Drunkard. He was unreasonable and had a strange temper. And the other one was Zhuang Pan before him.
Even though he and Drunkard were only in the First-Order Dao Source Realm, he had been immersed in the same realm for many years. And it was very possible that he would make a breakthrough anytime.
Today, he might’ve been on duty in the City Lord’s Mansion. So, after Mo Xiao Qi came here, she didn’t have to spend much effort to meet him. Unfortunately, Zhuang Pan didn’t believe Mo Xiao Qi. No matter what Mo Xiao Qi said and how severe the situation she described it to be, he remained completely indifferent! Instead, he looked askance at Mo Xiao Qi, suspecting if she was planning something.
This was really making Mo Xiao Qi worried.
She voluntarily came to the City Lord’s Mansion to inform about the leaking Demon Qi out of kindness. She couldn’t bear to see so many cultivators in Maplewood City to be infected by the Demon Qi. She didn’t have any selfish intentions but Zhuang Pan’s attitude had made her cheek a little hot. She felt wronged.
“Friend, how should I call you? I haven’t seen you before!” Against Yang Kai, Zhuang Pan’s expression finally became more solemn. After all, Yang Kai’s cultivation wasn’t something he could ignore.
“Yang Kai, greetings Vice City Lord Zhuang!” Yang Kai cupped his fist at him. And before he could say anything, Yang Kai continued, “What my friend just said wasn’t a lie, she is speaking the truth. I have seen it with my own eyes. The City Lord’s Mansion needs to make preparations. I ask Vice City Lord Zhuang to quickly discuss it with Sir City Lord about countermeasures. If you delay, I’m afraid it will be too late. I have already said everything. Let’s go!”
Having finished his piece, Yang Kai, without giving any face to Zhuang Pan, pulled Mo Xiao Qi to leave.
Seeing this, Zhuang Pan’s face immediately fell. He looked very displeased.
And right then, a First-Order Origin King suddenly ran in. He appeared to be in panic. He immediately shouted the moment he came in, “Reporting to Sir Vice City Lord, a ship just now ignored the city’s rule of no flying and forced their way in. A Dao Source Realm master was aboard, so we were unable to stop it. I ask Sir Vice City Lord to take charge!”
“Ship!? Dao Source Realm!?” Zhuang Pan’s pupils involuntarily shrank after hearing this. He immediately turned his gaze at the departing back of Yang Kai and fiercely shouted, “Friend, wait a moment!?”
Just as he said this, he vigorously circulated his Source Qi and arrived behind Yang Kai like a ghost with a flicker. Immediately after, he reached out to smack Yang Kai’s shoulder.
Sensing the movement behind him, Yang Kai promptly pushed away Mo Xiao Qi, and turning around, stretched his hand out to receive Zhuang Pan’s oncoming palm.
*BANG…* Followed by a deafening bang, the World Energy undulated as a violent gale of wind ravaged the hall.
Yang Kai stood still as a mountain but Zhuang Pan, on the other hand, was forced to take a step back. His face looked gloomier than before.
“What do you want to do?” Yang Kai straightened his body and angrily glared at Zhuang Pan. His eyes flickered with a cold gleam.
Zhuang Pan was agitated. Nonetheless, he was a Dao Source Realm master. He took a deep breath and calmed himself before he quickly replied, “Friend, as the Vice City Lord of Maplewood City, this Zhuang has the right to govern the affairs of the city. I think you have heard what this guard just reported. This Zhuang would like to know…”
“That ship indeed belongs to me,” Yang Kai didn’t wait for him to finish and promptly replied.
“Friend, you sure have guts!” Zhuang Pan blew his top after hearing this. “No flying is allowed inside Maplewood City, or any flight-type artifact, for that matter. Nobody can break this rule. Friend, since you have ignored the City Lord’s Mansion’s directive, this Zhuang Pan has no choice but to ask you to give me an explanation.”
Before Yang Kai could respond, the nearby Mo Xiao Qi angrily stamped her foot and rebuked, “You are really interesting. The leaking Demon Qi is about to reach Maplewood City but you want to look at Big Brother Yang’s ship? Do you really not care about millions of lives in Maplewood City?”
Zhuang Pan narrowed his eyes as he coldly snorted and countered, “Whether this matter is true or false remains to be seen. How can this Zhuang believe you just because you say so? But this friend has indeed broken the rules of Maplewood City. I’m afraid he can’t leave just like this? If you want to leave, you have to get this Zhuang’s permission first.”
“Who cares about the rules in the face of impending doom?” Yang Kai angrily laughed. “Xiao Qi, you don’t need to waste your words on him. We have already given them the news. It’s their choice to believe it or not. When the residents of Maplewood City are annihilated, he would be haunted by millions of ghosts day and night. Let’s go!”
Mo Xiao Qi nodded. She glared at Zhuang Pan before chasing after Yang Kai.
“This King said, if Your Excellency wants to leave, you will have to get this King’s permission first!” Zhuang Pan angrily shouted. Suddenly, a small pagoda-like artifact appeared in his hand. He immediately poured his Source Qi into it as the pagoda slowly started rotating and flew toward Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi.
While flying, the pagoda suddenly grew bigger, reaching the height of several hundred meters all of a sudden. Its bottom, which was completely dark and surrounded by Principles, instantly pressed down on Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi.
Judging by its momentum, it seemed that they were going to be completely suppressed by this pagoda.
“Dao Source Grade artifact!” Yang Kai’s pupils, sensing the powerful energy radiating from the pagoda, involuntarily shrunk. He immediately blew his top.
He grit his teeth and took out a light blue ball before pouring his Source Qi into it.
That light blue ball wasn’t that big, just the size of a longan. But as Yang Kai poured his Source Qi into it, a flickering electric arc suddenly appeared inside the ball, causing the hairs to stand at their roots’ end.
Mo Xiao Qi suddenly started at the ball in astonishment. A soft cry of surprise even escaped from her mouth. She seemed to have been extremely surprised.
At this time, that pulsating electric arc in the ball shot outside, swimming like a fish. It shot straight toward the pressing tall pagoda, leaving crackling noises.
Zhuang Pan couldn’t help but sneer at the sight of this. His eyes were filled with disdain and contempt. He immediately formed a few hand seals as that big and tall pagoda grew bigger the next moment.
*Kacha…*
The electric arc struck the tall pagoda and disappeared into it in the next moment. The tall pagoda didn’t launch any counters!
Zhuang Pan broke into laughter and teased, “Friend, your move has really… opened my eyes!”
However, Yang Kai stood calmly in his place, responding with just a sneer.
Seeing his weird reaction, Zhuang Pan’s heart suddenly started pounding. A bad feeling rose in his heart.
Before he could grasp what just Yang Kai did, crackling noises suddenly came from inside the pressing tall pagoda. The next moment, the tall pagoda was surrounded by dancing dense and dazzling lightning arcs. Meanwhile, the glow emanating from the pagoda had dimmed.
The moment that lightning arc flashed, Zhuang Pan looked as if he was struck by lightning. He instantly turned pale as he spurted a mouthful of blood and his aura took a huge dive while he blurted out in shock, “How is this possible?”
At that moment, Zhuang Pan realized that his pagoda’s spirituality was greatly damaged!
His pagoda was a Low-Rank Dao Source Grade artifact. He had nurtured it for many years with his blood, sweat and tears, even weaving his Divine Sense to make use of his secret technique to apply to the artifact. In other words, it was closely connected to him. Although refining it with that secret method could greatly enhance the power of the pagoda, correspondingly, once the pagoda was damaged, the master would also receive different degrees of backlash!
And at this moment, he had received a huge backlash…
His Source Qi was in turmoil and out of his control. He was unable to suppress it and spurted a mouthful of blood.
*Kacha…*
The lightning was still lingering around the pagoda. And it took a long time for it to slowly dissipate.
The pagoda didn’t seem to have suffered any damage on the surface, but its spirituality had fallen greatly. Zhuang Pan could sense that the pagoda had suffered a lot of internal damage and its inside was riddled with cracks. If he wanted to repair it, he would need some special materials and a lot of time too.
Due to this, Zhuang Pan’s blood and energy was in turmoil again. Blood kept flowing out of his mouth.
“Sir Vice City Lord!” The guard, who had come in to report before, shouted in shock after seeing this.
Zhuang Pan placed his hands on his chest. His face was extremely pale. His aura was unstable. He looked at the nearby Yang Kai with an ugly look on his face, his eyes were filled with horror and disbelief.
He really couldn’t figure out what the grade of that bead-like artifact was. To his surprise, it could shoot such a powerful attack that even his Dao Source Grade artifact couldn’t take!
[If I was struck by that bolt, would I still be alive?!]
If he knew that the bead was an Emperor Artifact, he would be shocked speechless.
In any case, Zhuang Pan was a Dao Source Realm master and Yang Kai didn’t want to waste time on him. Therefore, he took the Annihilation Thunder Bead and attacked right away.
In the past, when he got the Annihilation Thunder Bead, Yang Kai was just an Origin Returning Realm master. Although he could activate the Annihilation Thunder Bead, he couldn’t bring out its full power because of his insufficient cultivation.
Since then, he had used it many times, and every time he used it the power of the Annihilation Thunder Bead he could bring out increased along with the increase in his cultivation.
Now, he was a Dao Source Realm master and was able to mobilize World Principles. Even if he couldn’t bring out the full power of the Emperor Artifact, it wasn’t something that the Dao Source Grade Artifact could contend against.
In just one clash, it was clear which was stronger and which was weaker.
“Vice City Lord Zhuang, please behave yourself! If you dare to stop me again, don’t blame this Yang for being merciless!” Yang Kai glared at Zhuang Pan and angrily shouted.
Zhuang Pan’s face turned ashen. His lips parted but he dared not even say a word.
Naturally, he could tell that Yang Kai wasn’t bluffing, but he would really act out on it. In other words, if he stopped him, he might really lose his life here.
“Hahaha, dear Friend, why are you so angry?” Suddenly, a loud laugh came from outside. Following this, a fat and thin cultivator suddenly came in.
At the same time, a strong aroma of wine permeated through the hall.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but furrow his brow. He took a side glance at the visitors.
He recognized both of them. The short and fat man was the Vice City Lord with horrendous conduct, Drunkard. As soon as he entered the hall, he took a quick look around before his pupils shrank.
But soon, he calmed down. He took the huge battle gourd from his waist and took a swig as if he was taking it to calm his nerves.
The thinner cultivator was the City Lord of Maplewood City, Duan Yuan Shan!
He was also the only Second-Order Dao Source Realm master in Maplewood City.
Yang Kai had seen Duan Yuan Shan many times. Naturally, he was no stranger to him.
At this moment, Duan Yuan Shan was intently looking at Yang Kai with interest. He broke into a laugh and asked, “When did my Maplewood City have another Dao Source Realm cultivator? What a pleasant surprise!”
He didn’t appear to be looking to pursue Yang Kai’s case of hurting Zhuang Pan at all. Rather he looked very happy.
It wasn’t difficult to understand why the two of them would suddenly appear here. After all, this was still the City Lord’s Mansion. Duan Yuan Shan and Drunkard usually lived here. The clash between Yang Kai and Zhuang Pan’s artifact generated powerful energy fluctuations. How could they not notice these fluctuations?
So, they both rushed in here.
“Greeting Sir City Lord, Sir Vice City Lord!” Yang Kai frowned and cupped his fists to the two.
Drunkard pursed his lips as he wiped the wine trickling down the corner of his mouth. He casually cupped his fist in return but didn’t say anything. Instead, he found a place next to a pillar in the hall and lazily sat down, swigging from the bottle gourd.
Duan Yuan Shan, on the other hand, chuckled. “Dear Friend, how polite of you. Hmm, I wonder how to call you my dear Friend?”
“This one’s Yang Kai!”
“So it’s Brother Yang!” Duan Yuan Shan looked askance. “From what this City Lord remembers, there isn’t any major family surname Yang in Maplewood City!”
“I’m just a loose cultivator, that’s all. I came to Maplewood City more than a year ago!”
“So that’s how it is!” Duan Yuan Shan looked a little surprised. He immediately asked, “I wonder why Brother Yang and Brother Zhuang were fighting!? Everyone is Dao Source Realm master. How about we sit down and talk it out. There is no point in being so agitated?”
“City Lord, this person is really arrogant. He ignored the city rules and flew a ship straight into the city. This Zhuang just wanted to ask but he didn’t want to cooperate. I ask the City Lord to investigate it!” Before Yang Kai could answer, Zhuang Pan stole the initiative to answer. Everything he said was in line with the truth, he didn’t slander or embellish the facts.
“Is that right!?” Duan Yuan Shan furrowed his brow before turning his gaze at Yang Kai.
“Yes, that is indeed right!” Yang Kai nodded his agreement.
Zhuang Pan immediately sneered. “Sir City Lord, Maplewood City’s rules are set by you personally. This guy has no respect for the rules and wantonly breaking them. May I ask how to deal with this!”
He had just suffered a loss in Yang Kai’s hands. Even the pagoda’s spirituality had fallen, so he naturally hated Yang Kai very much. And now, since Duan Yuan Shan and Drunkard were here, if he could really pin the crime on him, Yang Kai would truly suffer the consequence of going against him.
That was what he would like to see!
“If Sir City Lord still wants to punish this Yang after learning why, then this Yang Kai would not object!” Before Duan Yuan Shan could deliver any judgement, Yang Kai threw a sentence with a sneer.
“What happened!?” Duan Yuan Shan immediately became a little suspicious after seeing his serious expression.
“About 2 thousand kilometres from here, the seal of an Ancient Great Demon broke and pure Demon Qi has started leaking. I’m afraid it won’t be long before it reaches Maplewood City,” Yang Kai promptly replied.
“What!?” Duan Yuan Shan blurted out in surprise after hearing this. “Ancient Great Demon’s seal is broken!? The leaking of pure Demon Qi!?”
The nearby Drunkard, who had been leaning on the stone pillar, drinking, and looked completely drunk, was also stunned by this news. He immediately became sober and stared, wide-eyed at Yang Kai. Wine was spilling from the corner of his mouth but he didn’t seem to care.
“What a load of crap!” Zhuang Pan immediately shouted angrily. “Sir City Lord, don’t believe in his nonsense, he…”
Duan Yuan Shan raised his hand to stop him from speaking. He looked straight at Yang Kai and asked with a serious look on his face, “Is that really true? Where did Brother Yang get this news? And what’s the proof?”
“I saw it with my own eyes! I fled all the way back to Maplewood City,” Yang Kai glanced at Zhuang Pan and sneered. He pointed at Mo Xiao Qi and continued, “My friend was concerned about the safety of the few millions of souls residing in Maplewood City and wanted to warn the City Lord’s Mansion so that everyone can prepare, but Vice City Lord Zhuang remained unmoved. He didn’t even want to send anyone to verify it, and because of this one’s ship hurriedly flying into Maplewood City, breaking some goddamn rules, he kept arguing and even fought. Heh heh, as for proof… you can go and check it out yourself! 2,000 kilometres isn’t that far!”
“I’ll go check it out!” The nearby Drunkard didn’t dare to drag on after hearing this. He hung the bottle gourd on his waist and stood right up before flying out, leaving a long trail.
“I have said everything I have to say. Sir City Lord, this one will take his leave now.” Having finished his piece, Yang Kai signalled Mo Xiao Qi with his eyes. Mo Xiao Qi instantly understood his intention and hurriedly walked toward the exit.
“You can’t leave! We still haven’t verified…” Zhuang Pan tried to act strong and shouted aloud.
“If you dare to stop me, I will kill you!” Yang Kai immediately threw this sentence without even turning back. The next moment, he and Mo Xiao Qi disappeared from the hall.
“Sir City Lord, this person is simply too arrogant and domineering!” Zhuang Pan didn’t dare to stop Yang Kai. So, he could only pin his hopes on Duan Yuan Shan. He was expecting him to stop Yang Kai.
The latter immediately glanced at him and indifferently stated, “If what this guy said is true… Maplewood City will be in grave danger!”
Zhuang Pan was struck by a lightning bolt after hearing this. He couldn’t speak anymore.
Even though Duan Yuan Dhan didn’t say anything, he could see the dissatisfaction and blame in Sir City Lord’s eyes. He knew that he was extremely angry and anxious at this moment.
[But… how can you even think that the news about the breaking of an Ancient Great Demon seal and the leaking of pure Demon Qi to be real!?]
After a while, Duan Yuan Shan suddenly took out a communication artifact and poured his Divine Sense into it. Obviously, Drunkard had sent a message back!
Zhuang Pan’s face was filled with expectation. He was secretly praying that Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi were making things up. If that’s the case, he would have a legitimate reason to find trouble with Yang Kai.
And Duan Yuan Shan would definitely not let Yang Kai go after having been lied to like this.
However…
Under Zhuang Pan’s nervous and expectant gaze, Duan Yuan Shan’s face suddenly turned pale and slightly trembled.
“Sir City Lord…” Zhuang Pan nervously shouted.
“Relay my order, activate all the defensive Arrays at any cost. And we must increase the power of the Spirit Array to maximum!” Duan Yuan Shan suddenly shouted as his voice spread throughout the City Lord’s Mansion!
“Impossible!?” Zhuan Pan immediately turned pale and slumped down on the ground.
Duan Yuan Shan angrily glared at him. With a shake of his figure, his figure disappeared from the hall. After a while, countless instructions were orderly transmitted from his communication artifact, passing it to those under him.
After a while, a humming sound came from the walls of Maplewood City as various defensive Arrays that had not been activated for many years activated today, one after another.
Maplewood City…
Followed by a deafening sound and quaking of the ground, a colourful screen of light appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the entire city in a dome.
These defensive Arrays were painstakingly created and arranged by the past City Lords and masters of major families living in Maplewood City, to guard against the foreign enemies. However, these defensive Arrays had never been activated.
Because Maplewood City hadn’t encountered any powerful enemy invasion so far. Even the cultivators, who had been living in Maplewood City for a long time, had almost forgotten about these defensive Arrays.
But today, all the Spirit Arrays were activated, one after another.
“What is going on? Why are these Spirit Arrays activated?”
“Something big must have happened. A foreign enemy wouldn’t happen to be invading, right?”
“Could an Emperor Realm master be attacking?”
For a while, many cultivators in the city were surprised and confused. Everyone broke into lively discussions. Some even looked toward the City Lord’s Mansion, wondering what the City Lord’s Mansion had to say about it.
At this moment, an anxious shout came from outside the city, “Everyone, quickly enter the city! No delays are allowed!”
This sentence was repeated over and over again. The speaker sounded anxious. Furthermore, the speaker seemed to have imbued his energy into it. His voice was heard throughout Maplewood City.
“It’s Vice City Lord Drunkard!”
After some cultivators recognized the owner of the voice, everyone was stunned. They immediately rushed to the city wall and looked around. After a short while, the wall was jam-packed with cultivators.
The next moment, cries of surprise rang everywhere.
“Look, Sir Vice City Lord seems to be being chased by something!”
“Wa-what the hell is that? It’s all black!”
“Even Sir Vice City Lord is not its opponent!?”
While everyone was clamouring, Drunkard had already arrived before Maplewood City. Seeing him arrive, the cultivator responsible for controlling the Spirit Array barrier immediately opened a gap in front of him. Drunkard’s figure immediately flew inside.
After he entered, the gap was quickly closed again. The barrier looked as good as before.
At the same time, the billowing black Qi that was hot on Drunkard’s tails had also reached the walls. It didn’t slow down and crashed straight into the screen of light.
*Bang…*
A deafening crash instantly resounded across the city. The brightly glowing screen of light shook a little and dimmed all of a sudden, almost shattering. This couldn’t escape from the eyes of the nearby cultivators. Everyone was scared, their faces turning pale as they backed away.
The cultivators maintaining the Array hurriedly mobilized their own energy, pouring more of their energy into the array. Finally, they somehow stabilized the trembling screen of light.
*Swish swish swish…*
Streaks of light immediately shot toward this side from every nook and corner of the city. Obviously, all the cultivators in Maplewood City had noticed the commotion here.
City Lord Duan Yuan Shan was first to appear. The moment he landed on the walls, he stared ahead with a serious look on his face. The corner of his eyelids, twitching.
Several cultivators emanating the aura of Dao Source Realm appeared on either side of him, one by one. And after noticing what was happening before them, everyone’s face turned pale.
“City Lord Duan, what are these things?” One of the grey-haired old men asked.
This old man was a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. He was none other than Qin Family’s Old Ancestor, Qin Zhao Yang! He was the oldest looking cultivator among the ten Dao Source Realm cultivators present here. He looked as if he didn’t have much time left; old age spots could be seen on his face.
This was extremely rare for a Dao Source Realm cultivator. Only those cultivators, whose lifespan was about to reach the limit, would show these signs.
“Yes, City Lord Duan, since you ordered the activation of the defensive Arrays in advance, you should have gotten some news about this, right?” Du Family’s Old Ancestor, Du Li Shen also asked.
Other Dao Source Realm masters of other families also looked to Duan Yuan Shan, hoping to get an explanation from him.
“Demon Qi! Pure Demon Qi of an Ancient Great Demon!” Duan Yuan Shan replied with a serious look on his face. “From what I know, it happened to have leaked 2 thousand kilometres away!”
“Ancient Great Demon’s pure Demon Qi!?” The crowd of Dao Source Realm masters’ expression drastically changed after hearing this.
“This City Lord just got the news. Don’t ask me where this Demon Qi came from, this City Lord doesn’t have a clue. I only know that if we can’t work together, Maplewood City will be destroyed today!”
The crowd of Dao Source Realm masters looked shocked after hearing this.
Duan Yuan Shan looked around. “Everyone, you all are leaders of your respective families. Most of your clansmen are still inside the city. I think you don’t want to see them infected by the Demon Qi and lose their sanity, do you?”
“Of course not!” Qin Zhao Yang was the first to express his position, “But how will we defend against it? I ask Sir City Lord to please share!”
“Yeah! This is the first time we have encountered pure Demon Qi of an Ancient Great Demon. We don’t know what the best way is to get rid of it,” Liang Peng Le of the Liang Family stated with a grim look hanging on his face.
“Well…” Duan Yuan Shan was rendered speechless for a while. Although he was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master and his cultivation was higher than the others, he was against the pure Demon Qi of an Ancient Great Demon. Just like everyone else, he was encountering it for the first time. How would he have any idea how to get rid of it effectively?
“Brother Duan, we might as well strengthen our defences first. We can slowly research it later!” Drunkard was showing no signs of being drunk. He was wide awake now.
“Exactly!” Duan Yuan Shan’s eyes lit up. He added, “Everyone, please take care of a section of the city wall and help others defend the Spirit Array. I will go look for someone, I might get some answers from him!”
While speaking, Duan Yuan Shan gave an eye signal to Drunkard. Drunkard immediately understood and summoned everyone to come forward before they started studying.
After a while, the Dao Source Realm cultivators had settled on their section to defend before quickly dispersing.
Meanwhile, Drunkard’s expression momentarily changed as if he recalled something. He hurriedly flew toward the City Lord’s Mansion.
The shocking thing happening outside the city had already reached the ears of many cultivators. The word got spread from one to ten, then from ten to a hundred, and so on. Very soon, every cultivator in the entire Maplewood City knew about it. Some hot-blooded cultivators immediately obeyed the call and went to the city wall to assist in the defence.
In a flash, the walls of Maplewood City were jam-packed.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi were back at the Spirit Pill Plaza. Yang Kai immediately spread his Divine Sense and knew that Kang Si Ran and the members of the Spirit Pill Plaza were already ready. They had even boarded the ship.
He signalled Mo Xiao Qi before Mo Xiao Qi embarked the ship the next moment.
Just when he was about to enter the ship, he suddenly looked toward a direction, immersed in his thoughts.
In that direction, an unremarkable middle-aged man among the crowd of onlookers was calmly gazing at Yang Kai. When their gazes met, the middle-aged man smiled slightly. His smile appeared quite weird.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
The middle-aged man was a complete stranger. He was sure that he had never seen this guy. However… to his surprise, this man was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. He found this a little unbelievable.
Masters of this level rarely appeared in Maplewood City. Apart from the Luan Feng’s appearance on Clear Jade Mountain last time, which had attracted countless powerful cultivators to investigate, the entire Maplewood City might not have a single Third-Order Dao Source Realm master pass by in a year.
But today, he found one in the crowd. And he seemed to be interested in Yang Kai, which puzzled him.
However, he didn’t give it much of a thought. Instead, he quickly embarked on the ship before controlling the ship to fly off.
After the ship left, the middle-aged man coldly smiled as he muttered to himself in a voice that only he could hear, “Wow, it’s really a case of wearing the iron shoes in fruitless search only to find it by coincidence. Who would have thought that after finding no clues after half a year, I would see the Young Palace Master’s ship here! Since you obtained it, you should know something!”
Surprisingly, this middle-aged man was the master sent by the Flying Saint Palace Master six months ago to investigate who murdered Ning Yuan Cheng!
Following clues, he easily found out that the place where he was seen last time was the auction fair in Maplewood City. So naturally, he rushed all the way to Maplewood City.
However, he didn’t find any useful information even after investigating for six months.
By some lucky coincidence, he managed to see Ning Yuan Cheng’s ship artifact in the city!
He didn’t believe that Yang Kai had the ability to kill Ning Yuan Cheng. After all, Ning Yuan Chen was guarded by a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master, Liu Yi Zhi. And in his opinion, Yang Kai simply didn’t have that kind of ability. But he believed that since Yang Kai could get Ning Yuan Cheng’s ship, he definitely knew something.
Therefore, he was paying attention to Yang Kai.
There were many eyes in the city. It was inconvenient for him to make a move here. He decided to follow him first.
Yang Kai flew the ship to the city walls. But when he saw the situation outside, his heart immediately hit rock bottom!
Because at this moment, the boundless Ancient Demon Qi had already surrounded the entire Maplewood City, leaving not even the slightest bit of gap. Looking from high above, it looked as if the city walls of Maplewood City were built from pitch-black materials.
The pitch-black city wall kept squirming and moving around several dozen kilometres around Maplewood City. Anyone who rushed into it would be in grave danger.
Even though the ship artifact’s grade wasn’t low and it also had some defensive barriers, if Yang Kai hastily rushed in, everyone else besides him would definitely be infected.
“Brother Yang…” Kang Si Ran had obviously noticed the situation. He immediately turned pale. “How did this happen?”
“Ah, it’s too late!” Mo Xiao Qi nibbled her cherry red lips. She looked frustrated. At the same time, she was cursing Zhuang Pan in her heart.
Had they not wasted so much time on Zhuang Pan, maybe they still had the chance to leave here before the Demon Qi surrounded the city. But now, it was too late.
Inside the ship, everyone turned their gazes to Yang Kai.
At this point, Yang Kai’s cultivation was highest, and he had already become everyone’s pillar.
Even though there was a grim look on Yang Kai’s face, he wasn’t in a panic.
Because even if he had nowhere to go, he could send everyone into the Small Sealed World and break through the blockade of Demon Qi alone.
He was eighty percent confident that he could safely escape from it using Space Force.
But this way, he would be unable to hide his big secret, the Sealed World Bead. The members of the Zhang Family were still good. After all, they regarded Yang Kai as their saviour. If Yang Kai asked them to keep the matter about the Sealed World Bead a secret, they would definitely swear an oath and keep a tight lid on it.
As for Spirit Pill Plaza’s waiters and Alchemists, it was hard to say.
Yang Kai didn’t have much friendship with them. If the secret of Sealed World Bead was exposed by them, it would draw countless coveting masters.
The Sealed World Bead was an Emperor Artifact and was a portable Self-Contained World. In the entire Star Boundary, there were few to no other such artifacts.
There were still some Self-Contained World-type Artifacts in the Star Boundary, such as the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda that Yang Kai had gone in last time. Naturally, it was the founding artifact of Star Soul Palace.
However, the biggest difference between the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda and the Sealed World Bead was that the former could not be carried wherever the user pleased. It could only be placed inside the Star Soul Palace.
The Sealed World Bead was extremely important to Yang Kai. He didn’t dare to expose it unless absolutely necessary.
“It seems, it’s impossible to charge through!” Yang Kai muttered to himself. But suddenly his expression changed as he asked, “There should be a Space Array in Maplewood City, right?”
In his home Star Field, most of the major cities had Space Arrays. Not to mention, he was now in the vast Star Boundary. Although Maplewood City wasn’t that big, it still should have a Space Array.
“Yeah! But it’s inside the City Lord’s Mansion!” Kang Si Ran replied with a nod.
“Alright, let’s go to the City Lord’s Mansion!” Yang Kai proposed and immediately controlled the ship to fly toward the City Lord’s Mansion.
Looking down, the entire Maplewood City was in chaos. When the word about pure Demon Qi of Ancient Great Demon surrounding the city got out, many cultivators living in the city naturally panicked. They were afraid that the defensive Array of the city would break and they would end up dead.
And the first route to escape that crossed everyone’s mind was naturally to teleport through the Space Array!
So at this moment, the cultivators were rushing toward the City Lord’s Mansion. No one could tell how many of them were there.
After realizing this, Yang Kai’s face turned ashen. He pushed the ship to fly faster.
After a while, the ship arrived above the City Lord’s Mansion.
But before he could make the ship land, he suddenly sensed energy fluctuations belonging to a Dao Source Realm master from a certain palace. Immediately after, a deafening crash resounded as that palace instantly collapsed, creating a cloud of dust. All of a sudden, there was nothing left of the beautiful palace.
Many cultivators flew from inside the rubble, cursing again and again. All of them looked pretty angry.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s pupil shrank at once. He was having a bad feeling. He immediately turned to Kang Si Ran and asked, “Brother Kang, that… that wouldn’t be the place where the Transmission Array was, right?”
Kang Si Ran nodded with a frustrated look on his face.
Yang Kai’s corners of mouth started twitching as he focused his gaze at an unkempt figure floating in the air.
This figure had a short stature and was wearing ragged clothes. Its hair was a horrible mess. The figure looked no different than a beggar. But this figure exuded a powerful aura that only Dao Source Realm master could possess. And more importantly, a big green bottle gourd was hanging on his waist.
Obviously, it was none other than Drunkard himself!
At this moment, he was the only Dao Source Realm master here. Apparently, what just happened was his handiwork.
On the ground, countless cultivators were glaring at Drunkard in anger. They looked as if they couldn’t wait to wipe him off the face of this world!
“Sir Vice City Lord, why did you destroy the Transmission Array? I always used to admire you, but who would have thought that you would be so vicious at this critical point!”
“Yeah! Drunkard, why did you destroy my escape route!”
“The Space Array is destroyed. It’s over… We can’t escape anymore…”
“Drunkard, if you don’t give us an explanation, you can forget leaving this place alive!”
“Drunkard, only one of us can remain in this world!”
Angry shouts and questions flew straight toward the hovering Drunkard like the sharpest knife. Some of the agitated cultivators had already started attacking. They summoned their artifacts and cast their Martial Skills as they launched their attacks straight at Drunkard.
Meanwhile, Drunkard just stood right in his place. No matter how he was condemned by the public, he remained absolutely still. Even in the face of those oncoming attacks, he didn’t bat an eye. He just mobilized his Source Qi to defend himself. He had no intention of retaliating.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Drunkard looked around as his eyes flickered with a cold gleam. His voice was low but it was loud and clear, “This Old Man understands what’s going in everyone’s mind and knows what everyone is thinking! But today, our Maplewood City is surrounded by Demon Qi. A disaster is imminent and it might strike at any moment!”
“You freaking old fart, since you know it, why did you destroy the Space Array? You really must have some kind of sinister intent! Just how evil are you?!” A furious roar suddenly came from the crowd.
Drunkard immediately focused his gaze there as his expression turned apologetic. Then, he continued, “This old man had no choice but to do this! Our Maplewood City has a few hundred thousand cultivators. If we can work together, we might be able to survive this disaster. But if everyone left through the Space Array, the city would be destroyed. By then, everyone in the city will be eradicated. The entire city will be wailing. It would be turned into hell!”
“This Old Man has spent his entire life in Maplewood City. All this Old Man’s relatives and friends are here, and so are your friends and relatives! This Old Man doesn’t want to see them infected and lose their sanity. Would you like to see this? If you want to escape with your lives, who will guard your friends and relatives?”
As he said this, Drunkard’s eyes flickered with a majestic aura as he looked about at everyone.
The angry voices coming from the crowd slowly grew weaker and weaker. Many heads were hung in shame as they started ruminating.
“Our Maplewood City is just a drop in the ocean in the Star Boundary! It’s not even well-known in the Southern Territory! Hardly anyone knows it! But I am proud of my Maplewood City’s sons and daughters! This Old Man has lived most of his life here, witnessed the prosperity of Maplewood City for hundreds of years. This Old Man loves this city and doesn’t want to see the city destroyed!”
“Everyone, don’t worry. We have already sent some messengers to the other cities through the Transmission Array. They will pass the news to Star Soul Palace and other prominent Sects. I believe that masters will come to our rescue and save our Maplewood City soon!”
“But before that, this Old Man begs everyone to join me in protecting the city! Let’s fend off the foreign enemies together! This Old Man assures you that I will do my best to protect the city and safeguard everyone’s safety. Even if my blood is spilled, I will have no complaints!”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please help me!”
Having said this, Drunkard looked at everyone with an earnest and sincere look in his eyes.
The entire crowd was completely quiet. They were no longer clamouring like before.
“Count this City Lord in too! This City Lord swears on his heart demon: If the city exists, everyone exists, if it’s destroyed, everyone dies!” Duan Yuan Shan’s voice came from the distance. After a while, he appeared beside Drunkard in a flash.
Drunkard was startled, smiling at Duan Yuan Shan.
“Old Drunk, nicely done.” Duan Yuan Shan whispered quietly. He looked extremely thankful.
Drunkard shook his head.
At this moment, someone among the crowd suddenly shouted aloud, “Let’s follow Sir City Lord and Sir Vice City Lord, follow their orders. If the city exists, everyone exists, if it’s destroyed, everyone dies!”
“If the city exists, everyone exists, if it’s destroyed, everyone dies!”
“If the city exists, everyone exists, if it’s destroyed, everyone dies!”
More and more cultivators joined the shouting. Gradually, their shouts shook the entire city. Their voices resounded throughout the city, reaching Heaven!
Everyone’s heart was united!
Everyone’s will was united like a fortress!
Drunkard looked down at the crowd in relief and deeply bowed to everyone!
Whether everyone was supporting him sincerely or because they were forced to help, as long as they were willing to do their part in defending Maplewood City, they deserved his gratitude.
“Thank you, everyone. We have no way out. If we want to survive, we have to resist the Demon Qi. I invite everyone to go to the city wall and support the fellow cultivators in the city!” Drunkard’s voice was heard loud and clear across the city.
Just as he said this, everyone below started moving. They immediately cast various movement techniques or summoned flight-type artifacts as they dispersed in every direction.
“Old Drunk, I’ll leave the things here to you. I’ll have to meet someone,” having finished speaking, Duan Yuan Shan turned his gaze at a nearby ship. He then arrived before the ship with a flicker, cupped his fist, and asked, “Brother Yang, can we meet?”
“City Lord Yuan, please come in,” Yang Kai’s voice came from inside the ship.
Hearing this, Duan Yuan Shan smiled lightly before he stepped on the ship.
Heading inside the cabin, Duan Yuan Shan met Yang Kai who had an indifferent look on his face.
“Brother Yang!” Duan Yuan Shan cupped his fists again before a grim look took over his face as he stated the purpose of his visit, “Please forgive this Duan for coming uninvited, but this Duan wants to ask Brother Yang about the Ancient Demon Qi!”
“I know.” Yang Kai nodded. He didn’t mean to hide anything. He briefly narrated everything that happened in the mine.
Having heard everything, Duan Yuan Shan tightly furrowed his brow before he asked again, “So, according to Brother Yang, all of this is because of the Jiang Family?”
“Yeah!” Yang Kai nodded.
“No wonder I didn’t see that oldie, Jiang Tai Sheng!” Duan Yuan Shan looked furious. He immediately asked again, “Since Brother Yang has come in contact with Ancient Demon Qi, do you know how to resist it?”
Yang Kai shook his head. “I don’t have a clue. All I know is that after that Ancient Demon Qi invades someone’s body, it will cause the victim’s temperament to change. And… anyone who has recently died would come back to life after being invaded by it!”
“How is this possible?” Duan Yuan Shan’s expression changed.
“I don’t know. Perhaps there is something mystical about the Ancient Demon Qi.”
While the two were talking, Mo Xiao Qi suddenly interjected, “Actually, there is no special way to deal with the Ancient Demon Qi. It can only be dispersed with strength. If it was just an ordinary Demon Qi, there are things to restrain it, but the pure Demon Qi from an Ancient Great Demon is very hard to suppress. However…”
“However, what!?” Duan Yuan Shan immediately turned to Mo Xiao Qi. His face was filled with questions.
“In the mine, since Pure Heart Jade was used as a sealing medium, then Pure Heart Jade should be able to resist the invasion of the Demon Qi. If the cultivators of the city wore some Pure Heart Jade, it might have some restraining effect.”
“Pure Heart Jade!?” Duan Yuan Shan raised his brows. This was giving him a headache. “Pure Heart Jade is very rare. There are some in the City Lord’s Mansion’s storehouse, but there are very few of them!”
A smile immediately bloomed on Mo Xiao Qi’s face. She took out a few rings and handed them to Duan Yuan Shan. “Sir City Lord, take a look at these.”
Duan Yuan Shan took them suspiciously. But as he scanned them with his Divine Sense, he immediately cried with a pleasant surprise, “So much Pure Heart Jade!?”
The rings Mo Xiao Qi handed to Duan Yuan Shan were filled with Pure Heart Jade. They were countless!
This made Duan Yuan Shan overjoyed.
“Miss, are these all from that mine?” Duan Yuan Shan asked after a moment of thought.
Mo Xiao Qi nodded. “I defeated a few Jiang Family cultivators in the mine and snatched their Space Rings. These are all they had.”
“This Duan will humbly accept Miss’ graciousness!” While speaking, Duan Yuan Shan immediately stood up and deeply bowed to Mo Xiao Qi.
Mo Xiao Qi hurriedly waved off and apologetically said, “City Lord Duan, don’t be so serious. Actually, these are nothing.”
Duan Yuan Shan shook his head and quickly responded, “In any case, my Maplewood City has noted down Miss’ graciousness. If we survive this catastrophe, Miss will be the honoured guest of my Maplewood City!”
The Pure Heart Jade was more or less useful to every cultivator. It was quite valuable. And this much Pure Heart Jade was a huge fortune.
Had it been any other ordinary cultivator, it was quite unlikely that they would offer these many Pure Heart even if they knew that Maplewood City was in danger. However, Mo Xiao Qi took them out without so much as batting her eyes.
Duan Yuan Shan was extremely grateful for this.
“All these Pure Heart Jade can be considered to have been bought by my Maplewood City’s City Lord’s Mansion. In the future, my City Lord’s Mansion will convert them into corresponding Source Crystals and pay you, Miss,” Duan Yuan Shan added.
“It’s really alright!” Mo Xiao Qi really had no idea what to say.
Yang Kai’s expression flickered as he stated, “City Lord Duan, I also have some Pure Heart Jade here. If they are not enough, just tell me!”
Duan Yuan Shan’s eyes lit up after hearing this. He broke into laughter, “After Brother Yang and Miss’ help, my Maplewood City has nothing to worry about! Please let this Duan thank Brother Yang for your generosity in advance. If they really fall short, I will come to Brother Yang. Well, this Duan would now like to distribute these Pure Heart Jade. I wonder if Brother Yang would like to go with this Duan to the city wall… to defend against the foreign enemies?”
Yang Kai didn’t answer immediately. Rather, he glanced around at the others before answering, “I can come but let me drop them off first.”
“But of course! This Duan will go first!” Duan Yuan Shan was in glee after hearing this. He had gotten another Dao Source Realm master’s help. It would be beneficial for the entire Maplewood City. He naturally thanked Yang Kai’s cardinal principles and righteousness.
After bidding goodbye, his figure immediately went out of the ship and flew straight toward the city wall.
After Duan Yuan Shan left, Yang Kai turned his gaze at Mo Xiao Qi and stated, “Xiao Qi, my cave mansion has been taken back by the City Lord’s Mansion. Can I leave them in your cave mansion?”
“Sure,” Mo Xiao Qi readily agreed.
Yang Kai nodded, and following her guidance, piloted the ship to her secluded mansion.
After a while, a crowd arrived at Mo Xiao Qi’s cave mansion.
Under Yang Kai’s arrangement, the Zhang Family and the waiters and two Alchemists of the Spirit Pill Plaza entered the cave mansion.
“Please rest here. If something changes in Maplewood City again, I will come to you in advance and take you out of here,” after saying this, Yang Kai looked at Zhang Ruo Xi and ordered, “Ruo Xi, take care of your Zhang Family.”
“Yes! Sir, please be careful!” Zhang Ruo Xi looked at Yang Kai with a worried look.
“Xiao Qi, do you have a secret room here?” asked Yang Kai.
“Yes, come with me.” Although Mo Xiao Qi didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to do, she still promptly led the way.
“Brother Kang, you are coming with us as well!” Yang Kai shouted at Kang Si Ran.
Even though Kang Si Ran was suspicious, he followed after them without asking any questions.
The cave mansion rented by Mo Xiao Qi was the best in Maplewood City, whether it was in the density of the World Energy or the size of the cave mansion. The cave mansion Yang Kai had rented before was a far cry from this.
The cave mansion had five-six secret rooms for a retreat.
After arriving before the secret room, Yang Kai gave an eye signal to Mo Xiao Qi, who astutely withdrew.
“Brother Yang, why did you bring me here?” Kang Si Ran was at a loss. He had no idea why Yang Kai brought him to a secret room in this moment of crisis. [Shouldn’t I be coordinating with the cultivators outside to defend against the Demon Qi?]
“Brother Kang, take a look at this.” While speaking, Yang Kai threw him a jade bottle.
Kang Si Ran sceptically took it. Next, he opened its lid and flipped it upside down as a pill rolled down from the jade bottle.
The next moment, Kang Si Ran seemed to have been struck by lightning. His eyes immediately lit up as he suspiciously looked at the pill on his hand. There was a look of incredulity on his face. He studied the pill with widened eyes for a while. And when he had finally determined what it was, he couldn’t help but blurt out in shock, “A Dao Source Pill!?”
As the shopkeeper of the Spirit Pill Plaza, countless pills had been traded by his hands. So, Kang Si Ran was deeply knowledgeable about them. Although he had never seen the Dao Source Pill, how could he not tell what the Dao Source Pill looked like and how it smelled?
The pill in his hand was precisely the very Dao Source Pill from legends.
The only difference was that this Dao Source Pill had lines on it like the meridians of a human body. Delicate patterns that looked like they had been carved by Heaven and Earth itself dotted the pill.
“Dao Source Pill with Pill Veins?” Kang Si Ran’s voice became sharper and louder. His hands were trembling uncontrollably.
“I got this from the Yuan Furnace Mountain. As Brother Kang had expected, a Dao Source Pill refined by Gong Sun Mu himself was indeed left by him in his cave mansion. Unfortunately, too much time has passed. Only, this one was left. The others have been reduced to waste!” Yang Kai explained, looking regretful.
Of course, all of this was nonsense.
This Dao Source Pill with Pill Veins was refined by him personally before he broke through to the Dao Source Realm. After successfully refining it, he didn’t have the time to check his own handiwork as he was immediately absorbed in his advancement.
After having successfully advanced, he had the time to check it while he was waiting for Liu Yan near the Yuan Furnace Mountain.
At that time, he had refined six pills at once, five of which were ordinary Dao Source Pills. Only this one gave birth to Pill Veins!
Fortunately, there was this one. Otherwise, he would not be able to explain the origin of the Dao Source Pill.
After all, only a pill that had given birth to Pill Veins could withstand the erosion of time without losing its medicinal properties.
As such, he could tell Kang Si Ran that this Dao Source Pill came from the Yuan Furnace Mountain and was personally refined by Gong Sun Mu himself. It was within rhyme and reason.
“Brother Yang, this…” Although Kang Si Ran was excited and was unable to calm himself, he didn’t have the slightest bit of greed in his heart. Rather, he looked at Yang Kai and stated, gritting his teeth, “This thing is extremely expensive. This Kang can’t take it!”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Brother Kang, you are treating me like an outsider by saying this. If it weren’t for you, I would never have gone to Yuan Furnace Mountain. Not to mention, didn’t you and I discuss it before that if we find a Dao Source Pill inside, it will be yours and the rest of the things regarding Alchemy would belong to me? Let me put it this way, I didn’t just find this Dao Source Pill inside the Yuan Furnace Mountain, I got something useful as well. I even got to advance to the Dao Source Realm thanks to the opportunity inside!”
Yang Kai wasn’t lying. Had he not taken the Ten Thousand Medicinal Treasures Soup underground the Yuan Furnace Mountain, the Source Qi in his body would not have converted so quickly, and if his Source Qi had not been completely converted, he would not have been able to break through to the Dao Source Realm.
“Be that as it may, I didn’t help you at all. If this Dao Source Pill was auctioned, it would be worth tens of millions of Source Crystals, or even more. This Kang doesn’t deserve to receive such an expensive item!” Kang Si Ran kept shaking his head in refusal. He even put the Dao Source Pill back into the jade bottle with a flip of his hand and stuffed it into Yang Kai’s hands.
Even though his eyes were filled with unwillingness, his movements weren’t the least bit tardy. Even his voice was loud and clear. Obviously, he wasn’t being hypocritical but he genuinely thought so.
In the last auction fair, the Dao Source Fruit was auctioned for more than 10 million Source Crystals in the finale. Although a furnace of Dao Source Pill could be refined with a Dao Source Fruit and one could even get several pills if he or she was blessed by lady luck, it also had corresponding risks. The Alchemist might fail and all of it could be for nought.
And Yang Kai had taken out a Dao Source Pill with Pill Veins! Its effectiveness would be exceptional!
In terms of value, it was definitely several times more valuable than the Dao Source Fruit!
In other words, if a peak Third-Order Origin King took this Dao Source Pill, there was a 70% chance of him being promoted to the Dao Source Realm!
“Brother Kang, do you really not want it!?” Yang Kai looked at Kang Si Ran with a playful smile.
Kang Si Ran resolutely shook his head. But his eyes never left Yang Kai’s hand. Finally, he steeled his heart and turned his head away. If the eyes don’t see anything, the heart will not grieve.
“In that case…” Yang Kai spoke very slowly. Next, he opened the jade bottle and tossed the Dao Source Pill in his hand.
“What do you want to do?” Kang Si Ran vigilantly looked at Yang Kai.
“I want to eat it like a fried bean. This pill smells so good, it’s obviously very tasty,” while speaking, Yang Kai really tossed the pill in his hand. The Dao Source Pill immediately flew into the air. It made a parabolic arc as it flew toward his opened mouth.
“Stop it!” Kang Si Ran was struck with panic. He immediately reached out as the Dao Source Pill flew back into his hand before it could enter Yang Kai’s mouth. He lashed out, infuriated, “Damn you, damn you, Brother Yang! You are really wasting Heaven’s gift. It’s intolerable by Heaven and Earth!”
“You don’t want it anyway,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders with an indifferent look hanging on his face.
“Then, can’t you…” while speaking, Kang Si Ran sighed in resignation. “Forget it, since Brother Yang is treating me like this, if this Kang still acts all coy and shy, that would be really low. This Kang accepts this Dao Source Pill. This Kang will forever remember Brother Yang’s kindness. I will definitely repay you in the future. Brother Yang, please accept this Kang’s bow!”
Having said this, he straightened his clothes before he deeply bowed to Yang Kai with an earnest look on his face.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and nodded, accepting his bow straight-on, “That’s better.”
Suddenly, he turned serious and stated, “Brother Kang, you retreat in here and refine its medicinal efficacies. If my estimate is right, Maplewood City would not have any trouble hanging on for the next seven to eight days. These days will be enough for your advancement. I will be waiting outside for Brother Kang’s good news!”
“Either I will succeed or die trying! This Kang will live up to Brother Yang’s expectations!” Kang Si Ran quickly replied.
Kang Si Ran had remained stagnant in the Third-Order Origin King Realm for a good couple of hundred years already. If not for the aid from the Dao Source Pill, he couldn’t improve his cultivation at all. Yang Kai’s Dao Source Pill with Pill Veins could be said to be the perfect gift at a time when he needed it the most.
With Kang Si Ran’s help, Yang Kai was able to obtain great benefits at the bottom of the Yuan Furnace Mountain. Furthermore, he was also willing to lend him a few hundred thousand Source Crystals to use during the auction fair. Recalling how favourable he had been treated, Yang Kai did not hesitate one bit to give that Dao Source Pill to Kang Si Ran.
[If I am shown kindness and respect, I will return it tenfold.] Yang Kai had never been stingy in his life.
Although Mo Xiao Qi was also at a peak Third-Order Origin King, and might be able to promote her cultivation to the next stage within a short period of time through the aid of the Dao Source Pill, her situation was different from Kang Si Ran.
Mo Xiao Qi was young, yet already possessed this level of cultivation. Furthermore, she had a mysterious background, an extraordinary one in fact. Without even talking about her not needing the Dao Source Pill at all, it was exceedingly likely that she possessed the strength to obtain one if needed.
Although using the Dao Source Pill to obtain a cultivation breakthrough would not have too much of an effect on a cultivator, it might have an impact on a cultivator’s future cultivation progress.
Therefore, no cultivator would use pills to assist in their cultivation breakthroughs unless they were faced with insurmountable situations. This was the reason why Yang Kai did not consume a Dao Source Pill to break through into the Dao Source Realm.
By the time Yang Kai had left the cave mansion, not only was he accompanied by Mo Xiao Qi, he was also accompanied by the old woman and beautiful lady from the Zhang Family.
The latter two were not willing to wait for their deaths within the cave mansion, as, after all, there were other heirs of their family present here. If the city was to really be broken into, their Zhang Family would inevitably face complete destruction. Therefore, regardless of how Yang Kai tried to persuade them, the old woman and beautiful woman of the Zhang Family still decided to head out to face their enemies, contributing their strength to defend their city.
Exasperated, Yang Kai had no other choice but to take a step back.
Fortunately, although the two did not possess powerful cultivations, they were both First-Order Origin Kings, which wasn’t too shabby. Therefore, it would not be too much of a problem if they were to aid the city guards in reinforcing the Spirit Array by the city walls.
A beam of light encased the 4 of them as they flew rapidly within Maplewood City. Within a short period of time, they arrived at a section of the city walls.
As far as their eyes could see, a stretch of pitch black darkness filled everything outside of the city walls. Endless waves of Demon Qi surged about, appearing as though it was alive, sending shivers racking through anyone who saw it. Time to time, one would even be able to hear bouts of what seemed like cries and howls, sounds that seem to draw out painful memories in the depths of people’s hearts, forcing every cultivator to circulate their strength to resist them.
On the city wall, Duan Yuan Shan was in charge of distributing Pure Heart Jades. Any cultivator that had headed to the city walls to defend the city would be able to obtain a Pure Heart Jade as a contingency measure.
Upon seeing Yang Kai arriving, a delighted expression appeared on Duan Yuan Shan’s face as he promptly said his greetings: “Over here, Brother Yang!’
In a blink, Yang Kai brought Mo Xiao Qi and the two Zhang Family ladies right before Duan Yuan Shan. Looking at the scenery outside, they discovered that the Demon Qi was truly ferocious. However, from the looks of it now, Maplewood City did not seem to have much trouble, if any. There were quite a few cultivators present in every section of the city wall. Some were maintaining the defensive Spirit Array, while others were displaying their Martial Skills, unleashing ferocious attacks at the squirming Demon Qi.
“Sir City Lord, please do tell us if you need any help at all.” Yang Kai cupped his fists and said.
“Since you’ve said it, Brother Yang, I’ll be frank. Right at this moment, there aren’t many Dao Source Realm Masters present within the city. If we count in Brother Yang, we still aren’t able to hit ten. Every one of them has been allocated to a section of a city wall to take charge of defence. From the looks of it now, we still are able to hold on for a while. However, we also can’t drop our guard. Brother Yang, you don’t have any special mission. You can go about handling your matters, and while doing that, see around if there’s any place that needs assistance and provide your help. How about that?” asked Duan Yuan Shan with a solemn expression.
“Alright!” Yang Kai nodded his head.
Duan Yuan Shan quickly pulled out a communication artifact. Handling it to Yang Kai, he said: “Take this, Brother Yang. If anyone needs help, they’ll definitely use this to communicate. When that happens, I beseech for Brother Yang to respond at the first instant!”
Taking it, Yang Kai did not store it in his Space Ring, opting to keep it within his robes.
Turning his head, he looked at Mo Xiao Qi and the two Zhang Family ladies, and said: “For now, please stay here and listen to City Lord Duan’s commands. I’ll go and look around.”
As he said those words, he transformed into a streak of light, cruising about along the city walls.
Along the city walls, countless Maplewood City cultivators were rallying together and fighting bravely. The majority of them had cultivations of Origin King Realm, and they would either fight alone, or come together in groups of three to five. Upon exhausting their strength, they would retreat back up the city walls where there would naturally be others to take their place.
After doing an investigation, Yang Kai realized that the situation wasn’t too bad at all.
After experiencing the initial bout of panic and bewilderment, the cultivators present in Maplewood City had already calmed their minds down. Instead of continuing to think of how to flee and escape from the city, they had truly united their wills together to defend against the Demon Qi.
Brilliant rays of light stemming from various Martial Skills rumbled towards the Demon Qi. Although they were quickly destroyed by the latter, with his acute Divine Sense, Yang Kai could naturally sense that the Demon Qi was also being worn down in the process.
A single person might be utterly inadequate, but 100 people, 1000 people, 10000 people, 100 thousand people… if all of them did the same thing, the effect would be entirely different.
Every time, when the Demon Qi seemed to rush forwards, it would be met by powerful Secret Techniques or Martial Skills, dispelling the seemingly unstoppable Demon Qi.
With a casual test, Yang Kai discovered that indeed, this was a foolproof simple method to deal with the Demon Qi surrounding the city.
However, the Demon Qi possessed exceedingly powerful corrosive properties. Therefore, most cultivators simply did not dare to brandish their artifacts, choosing to only rely on their Secret Techniques and Martial Skills to unleash attacks.
At this moment, Maplewood City seemed to give off a well-fortified feeling. This feeling brought forth great delight in the hearts of the cultivators on the city walls, with their morale gaining an extremely large boost. At the same time, there was an inevitable surge of contempt for the Demonic Qi, as though this was the worse it could get.
Time slowly passed.
It had been a day since Maplewood City had been encircled by Demon Qi, and, in fact, there had yet to be a fatality or people injured at all.
This unusual development turned the vigilance-meter in Yang Kai’s heart into overdrive. After all, while he was in the mine, he had personally experienced the terror brought by the Ancient Demon Qi. Although he did not engage in a head-on confrontation against it, just the berserk intent radiating from the Demon Qi could not be underestimated.
Messages coming from the various Dao Source Realm Masters were transmitted through the communication artifact. Therefore, despite everyone being at different places, all of them were able to gain a clear understanding of the situations present at each other’s locations.
As dawn broke on the next day, something seemed to happen to the Demon Qi that surrounded Maplewood City, as it proceeded to gradually retreat a couple dozen metres, leaving an empty circular zone between it and the city walls.
Upon seeing this, the cultivators on the city walls instantly let off earth-shattering cheers of jubilation.
Believing that they had managed to successfully fight the Demon Qi back, they could not help to start congratulating each other and celebrating their victory.
In fact, a few of the Dao Source Realm masters had also assumed this to be true.
“Don’t let your guard down!” Duan Yuan Shan’s voice rang out from the communication artifact, his tone sounding solemn.
At a certain part of the city wall, Yang Kai stood in the air, narrowing his eyes as he looked ahead. Despite being a Dao Source Realm Master, which granted him extraordinary visual prowess, with the darkest time of the day being before daybreak, coupled with the surging Demon Qi, he was unable to see too far into the distance.
All of a sudden, minute vibrations started to shake the earth, as a series of muffled rumbling noises seemed to ring on in the far distance, travelling at an exceedingly fast speed towards the city.
In the beginning, these vibrations were very minute, to the point that they were barely noticeable. However, they grew more and more apparent as time passed.
The cheers coming from the cultivators on the city walls came to a grinding halt. After exchanging glances with each other, slivers of unease started to surface in their hearts.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Upon opening them, a golden radiance had impressively covered his left eye, with that pupil also turning into a shocking vertical shape.
Demon Eye of Annihilation, piercing through all illusions!
Within his left eye, he could see through the Demon Qi with ease, allowing him to see into its depths…
In the next instant, his expression suddenly changed as he roared towards the nearby cultivators: “Hurry up and increase the strength of the Spirit Array!”
At the same time, his Divine Sense surged, rushing into the communication artifact to transmit messages to the other Dao Source Realm masters: “There’s a large number of demonized Monster Beasts and Human cultivators in our vicinity! Everyone be careful!”
Within his field of view, he could see strong and powerful figures currently heading over to his direction from within the endless surging Demon Qi. Not only were there Monster Beasts present among those figures, but also Humans.
These Monster Beasts were all strange and grotesquely shaped. God knows where they popped out from, but their entire bodies radiated vicious and evil auras that blotted their surroundings.
As for those humans, after being corrupted by the Demon Qi, their auras had also been warped, with their vitality turning extremely vigorous.
Regardless of whether they were Monster Beasts or Humans, or their varying realms of cultivation, their numbers were incredibly terrifying. Rushing over from all directions, with seemingly endless numbers, they appeared to have already surrounded the entirety of Maplewood City.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s roar, the nearby cultivators did not hesitate one bit as they hurriedly channelled their strength into the defensive Spirit Array.
With a resounding hum, the Spirit Array’s radiance instantly grew brighter by a few degrees.
The reason why these cultivators were doing what they were told to do was completely due to Yang Kai displaying the might of a Dao Source Realm Master a day ago. To them, there wasn’t any reason to doubt the words of a Dao Source Realm Master.
In the next instant, Duan Yuan Shan’s orders came ringing out from the communication artifact.
In a split second, the defensive Spirit Array surrounding the entire Maplewood City was tuned up to its most powerful state, its sparkling radiance so bright that it seemed as though daybreak had descended upon the vicinity of the city walls.
HONG LONG LONG…
The Demon Qi, which had been forced back several dozen metres, started to surge forward once again, roaring like a tsunami as it swirled up into giant waves that blotted the skies, rumbling right towards the city walls.
Sparks started to appear in massive quantities.
The Demon Qi was being blocked by the defensive light screen, continuously corroding its power, which caused bone-jarring sounds to ring out.
God knows how many times the cultivators on the city walls experienced this situation, which naturally made them react by channelling their power without restraint into the Spirit Array.
However, just at this instant, figure after figure suddenly started to rely on the protection of the endless Demon Qi as they rushed from within.
Vicious, demonized Monster Beasts with jet black eyes and humans shrouded in swirling black fog swept out before the Maplewood City cultivators in a spectre-like fashion.
Bang Bang Bang… collision sounds continued to ring out.
After making contact, those demonized Monster Beasts unleashed their unique Divine Abilities, resulting in rainbow coloured rays of beast techniques blossoming in the air. Furthermore, these demons still possessed the abilities of their previous life, with some even able to summon their artifacts to launch ferocious attacks at the defensive light barrier.
Like a ball, sunken depressions continued to appear on the defensive barrier. Despite it being like a balloon and rebounding, the brilliant radiance of the defensive Spirit Array was rapidly turning dim.
Everyone turned pale in fright!
At the section of the city wall where Yang Kai was located, the cultivators were also stunned by what they were witnessing. Fortunately, due to Yang Kai’s earlier warning, everyone had some level of mental preparation. After the initial shock had passed, everyone immediately unleashed their Secret Techniques and Martial Skills with even greater ferocity, sending them rumbling towards the Demon Qi; but the Demon Qi consumed it all, leaving no trace behind.
Yang Kai flicked all of his fingers, shooting bolt after bolt of Gold Blood Thread. Under the perfect control of his Divine Sense, they whipped around like thrashing dragons, leaving behind stretches of golden brilliance within the Demon Qi.
Maplewood City defensive Spirit Array was unidirectional – when activated, it would block attacks from outside the city, while defensive attacks from within the city could pass through the Spirit Array freely.
The vast majority of cities had similar protective arrays, while some used a bidirectional Spirit Array. However, the bidirectional arrays would only be activated under the direst of circumstances.
Once they were activated, it meant that the city was clinging to the last line of defence. The cultivators within the cities would be unable to launch counterattacks against enemies outside of the arrays, and they would only be able to wait for their impending death.
“Chi Chi Chi Chi…” As golden rays of light sparkled about, the Monster Beasts and Demons that were lunging ferociously at the city walls were sliced apart, turning into countless pieces of meat and bloody clumps, raining down from the sky.
In an instant, an area of about a couple dozen metres before Yang Kai had become devoid of any living creature.
These Monster Beasts and humans who were corrupted by the Ancient Great Demon’s Demon Qi all possessed a high level of strength. Their fleshly bodies had been greatly enhanced, and not only were they ruthless, but they were even capable of utilizing the skills and techniques they possessed prior to their corruption. If any one of them engaged in a one-on-one duel with a cultivator at the same cultivation realm, they would win every single time.
However… Yang Kai was in the Dao Source Realm!
These demonized Monster Beasts and humans did not have powerful cultivation realms before their corruption, the highest being was at the Origin King Realm. Therefore, they were as weak as tofu before the berserk dance of the Golden Blood Threads.
Seeing this, the nearby cultivators had a massive surge in morale, and each of them proceeded to unleash their special skills, launching ferocious attacks towards the enemies. For a brief moment, the section of the city wall Yang Kai was responsible for seemed to be holding strong, providing the cultivators with a huge confidence boost.
Yet, a solemn shade blanketed Yang Kai’s face after he cast his sight into the distance. The demonized Monster Beasts and humans were simply too great in number, like endless waves stretching into the distance. Shrouded in jet-black Demon Qi, they took advantage of the surging waves of Demon Qi to unleash their attacks.
It just took a momentary lapse in concentration for the defensive Spirit Array to be weakened significantly, causing it to turn dim.
While waving his ten fingers, Yang Kai came to a sudden realization.
He suddenly understood why it was only the Demon Qi that had surrounded the city yesterday, yet in the next day, countless demons and Monster Beasts had appeared.
This was clearly the result of the Ancient Demon Qi that had propagated earlier. It had demonized the various living creatures in the surroundings of Maplewood City, hence, there was not a single trace of any Monster Beasts or demons on the first day.
From the look of it, no living creature in the vicinity of Maplewood City could have survived this, and it was not known just how far the Demon Qi had spread.
Just as he was focusing on defending against the demonized living creatures, the communication artifact in his chest pocket suddenly vibrated. Immediately, his expression changed as he hastily pulled it out to check the message he had received.
“The situation at the southwest corner has changed! Hurry and reinforce it, Brother Yang!”
City Lord Duan Yuan Shan’s command rang out from within the communication artifact!
Returning the communication artifact to his pocket, Yang Kai turned to look southwest. Unfortunately, his objective was too far away, and he was unable to make anything out. The only thing he could make out was the incomparably dense Demon Qi, as well as traces of furious roars ringing from that direction.
Just as he was surveying the situation, a figure suddenly flashed to his side. Upon appearing, the person spoke out in haste: “Go over there, Brother Yang! This old man will take charge of this section of the wall!”
The person who said those words was, impressively, the Maplewood City’s Vice Lord, Drunkard!
Having said that, Drunkard suddenly pulled out the large green gourd that had been hanging on his waist, before taking a fierce gulp of wine. While doing so, he formed seals with his hands, and his face abruptly turned red.
In the next instant, his cheeks bulged out, before he spit at the enemies fiercely.
An endless stream of intense flames spewed out from his mouth. Surging forth, the intense flames were filled with unimaginable heat. Any Demons or Monster Beasts that it came into contact with would cry out miserably as they retreated. Nevertheless, they were unable to extinguish the flames that had landed on their bodies. Despite their struggling, all of them were reduced into piles of ashes within three breaths.
The nausea-inducing smell of burnt flesh began to perfuse through the air.
Not yet done, Drunkard proceeded to wave his head about slightly, causing the flames spewing out from his mouth to follow suit. He kept it up until an intense wall of flames 300 metres wide was formed before the city walls.
A fiery glow covered the skies, casting its radiance everywhere, as though it wanted to burn the entire sky into a fiery red shade.
All of the surrounding demons retreated in succession, no longer willing to even come close at all.
Bringing his exhalation of flames to a stop, a slight shiver racked through Drunkard’s body. It seemed that this move was a taxing one that he wasn’t able to use easily.
Seeing this, Yang Kai nodded towards Drunkard and disappeared with a flicker.
The southeast corner was quite a distance away from his current location. However, for Yang Kai, who possessed a Spatial Secret Technique, it didn’t take long at all.
Yang Kai unleashed his Space Techniques without any restraint, arriving in the southeastern corner in a few flashes.
Right as he arrived, Yang Kai’s eyes immediately narrowed after taking in what was around him!
At this moment, there was a hole several dozen metres wide in the defensive Spirit Array. Just like a cat that had smelt fish, the surging Demon Qi came drilling in through the hole, and there were even quite a few demonic figures present within the incoming Demon Qi, unleashing attacks at the nearby cultivators as they breached the city walls.
There were several dozen corpses strewn across the ground, while slivers of Demon Qi were slithering into their noses and mouths!
Standing at the entrance of the hole was an old man with a head full of white, a jade sceptre in his hand. Waving it around, mysterious beams of light radiated out from the sceptre, turning the demonic beings rushing through the hole into dust.
This old man was radiating the aura of a Dao Source Realm Master! He was unleashing his Source Qi without restraint, causing his robes to flutter about in its might. On the city walls, countless cultivators stood united as they defended against the invading Demon Qi and demonic creatures. The entire situation was utterly chaotic!
Right after he arrived, Yang Kai immediately summoned his Dao Source Grade Low-Rank sword. Activating his Five Element Indestructible Sword Qi, sword flowers blossomed on his long sword as he sent a stab downwards!
Chi Chi Chi Chi…
Rainbow coloured beams of sword Qi rained down from the sky, enveloping a gigantic region.
All of the demonic creatures that were within this region were either sliced in two or suffered serious injuries, leaving them roaring furiously in anger.
Moreover, the greater portion of the Sword Qi swept towards the complete corpses present on the ground.
Pu pu pu…
As the Sword Qi scattered away, explosive sounds rang out from the corpses, before all of them exploded into dust!
The countless cultivators who had witnessed this sight were dumbfounded by what they saw. In the next instant, all of them shot furious glares at Yang Kai!
After all, among the corpses lying on the ground, there were family members, friends, and compatriots who had fought alongside them.
They had been killed by demonic creatures, and nothing could be done about it; but denying the chance to have their bodies remain in one piece after their death? Even more incorrigible was that it was one of their own that had destroyed all traces of the bodies! How could anyone ignore this?
“If you all don’t wish for more demonic creatures to be born, destroy all of the corpses! This Demon Qi not only corrupts living, but it doesn’t even let the dead in peace!” Noticing their misunderstanding, Yang Kai hastily shouted in response.
Hearing his words, some of them seemed to understand, but the majority still had doubts within their hearts.
After all, how could the dead come back to life? No matter how incomparably mysterious the Ancient Demon Qi was, how could it let the dead live again?
However, their doubts did not last long, as a corpse suddenly rose. Shrouded in Demon Qi, its eyes snapped open, no longer having any white; the colour had been fully replaced by an abstruse, scarlet-black shade.
“This Sir is indeed correct! Hurry up and destroy the remaining bodies!” Some people shouted out loudly.
Now, who would dare to hesitate? Everyone proceeded to take action, destroying all of the bodies in their vicinity.
As for those newly resurrected Demons, their heads were chopped off by Yang Kai before they could even examine the world after death, falling right back onto the ground.
Turning around, Yang Kai swept his sword out once again, radiance blossoming and Sword Qi shooting out without restraint.
Ching….
Sword Qi swept out, ripping the greater half of the demonic creatures present into ten thousand pieces!
“I’ll leave the rest to you guys!” With a shout, Yang Kai took to the air and headed towards the old man.
The source of the danger in the southeast corner was ultimately the broken defensive Spirit Array. If the hole wasn’t patched, endless amounts of Demon Qi and demonic creatures would continue to pour through.
Not far away, there were already Array Masters hard at work. However, they still required a bit more time to repair the array.
It was utterly impossible to rely solely on the old man to block up the hole. From time to time, the demonic creatures that were able to slip through his attacks would make it to the city, causing chaos to the cultivators below.
Furthermore, from his expression, it appeared as though the old man was somewhat unable to continue sustaining the constant activation of the sceptre artifact in his hand. The burden of using it was immense, causing his expression to turn slightly pale as a result.
“I’m here to help you, old sir!” With a flash, Yang Kai appeared by the side of the old man. Right as he finished saying those words, he shook the long sword in his hand. A shimmer glazed over the long sword, before countless rays of Sword Qi shot out from its tip, flying towards the gap.
In an instant, the demonic creatures and Demon Qi gathering around the hole suffered serious injuries, forcing them to pull back.
Seeing this, a look of delight appeared on the old man’s face as he hastily opened his mouth: “This Qin thanks you, little brother!”
Indeed, just like an arrow at the end of its flight, he had exhausted his strength heavily through his solitary actions of defending at this place. If Yang Kai had come any later, he might really have lost his life from over-exhaustion.
The old man took a step back and let Yang Kai take the lead.
Seeing this, Yang Kai did not back down. Noticing the Demon Qi and demonic creatures he had pushed back starting to regain ground, a cold look appeared on his face as he extended his hand out to the front.
Space Force started to surge, before a jet-black hole suddenly appeared within the hole, fitting perfectly within the empty space.
Space Secret Technique, Exile!
All of the Demon Qi and demonic creatures that intruded were devoured completely by the black hole, with not a single one of them left behind.
Although the black hole was only able to exist for 10 breaths before dissipating away, this peculiar Secret Technique caused a sliver of terror to surface within all of the demonic creatures, and for a moment, none of them dared to proceed forward.