Right now, even with Liu Yan’s help, whether this furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills could be refined successfully was debatable.
However, succeeding now would undoubtedly greatly improve Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Alchemic Dao.
After working frantically for some time, Yang Kai let out a long breath.
By now, all the herbs had been added to the pill furnace, and what remained was for him to control the heat by applying the appropriate Spirit Arrays, then complete the Pill Condensing.
Only now did Yang Kai take a moment to quickly shout, “I advise you not to have any ideas about that stem!”
Although he had been concentrating on Alchemy just now, Yang Kai had not stopped monitoring his surroundings.
He clearly saw that many people were interested in this stem, but they didn’t know if he needed it for some purpose so no one dared rush in to take it.
“Oh, why not?” Zhuang Bu Fan asked doubtfully upon hearing this.
Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn, “This stem is the source of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, if it is left, perhaps within a hundred years another Extraordinary Treasure Lotus will be born in the Star Boundary, but if it is picked… Within ten thousand years, there will be no such spirit flower in this world. There’s no telling when it will be born again.”
“Is that true?” Lan Xun’s eyes flashed as she had never heard such information before.
“Believe what you will!” Yang Kai quickly said.
“That has nothing to do with me!” Wu Chang suddenly shouted, “What problems occur ten thousand years from now can be solved by the people of that time. Since you don’t need this stem, then I’m claiming it for myself!”
“You dare!” Yang Kai turned his head and glared at Wu Chang while simultaneously palming the top of the Black Jade Furnace.
This move caused the complexions of all cultivators present to change drastically, turning nervous as they worried about what Yang Kai was trying to do.
“If you dare to touch it, I’ll ruin this furnace of Spirit Pills!” Yang Kai shouted in a deep voice, his expression calm and determined.
“Hey…” Xia Sheng’s mouth twitched as he stared at Yang Kai in surprise, quickly coaxing, “Brother Yang, why act this way… it’s just a stem. If Brother Wu Chang wants it, just let him have it, it’s not necessary to threaten the Extraordinary Treasure Pills just to stop him.”
He didn’t know what kind of madness had possessed Yang Kai to go so far as to threaten Wu Chang with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.
One had to know that this move was not just a blatant threat to Wu Chang, but to every cultivator present.
One wrong move and Yang Kai would become everyone’s enemy.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to him though. “If anyone dares to approach within ten meters, I will immediately destroy this medicinal liquid. Do not test me!”
When these words came out, Wu Chang really didn’t dare to move anymore.
Although the stem looked quite extraordinary, it was definitely not as valuable as the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. Offending Yang Kai over this was obviously not worth it.
“Wu Chang, don’t act hastily!” Xiao Chen was also taken aback and hurriedly called out to Wu Chang.
Wu Chang paused on the spot as he stared at Yang Kai with gloomy eyes and said coldly, “You dare to threaten me!”
“I’m not threatening you…” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a strong light as he said calmly, “I simply wish to preserve hope for future generations.”
Lan Xun smiled hearing this and commented, “I’ve heard that when Alchemists collect rare spirit herbs, they will do their best to preserve the vitality of the original spirit’s medicine. On top of that, they will never collect spirit medicines that are not yet mature… I was a little sceptical about this at first, but now it seems such rumours are true.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Our predecessors planted trees, which allowed us, their descendants, to enjoy cool shade. Who can say for certain that encountering this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus today was not because a senior expert left behind a similar stem a hundred years ago? Others left hope for us, so we should not act to cut off hope for the future, otherwise, it will damage the cycle of the Heavenly Way.”
As soon as he said this, Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up as she revealed a thoughtful look.
“Furthermore…” Yang Kai continued, “This stem does not have any of the magical effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus. At most, it can help slightly temper one’s Source Qi and Spiritual Energy. All the essence of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is already inside the furnace. Brother Wu Chang, are you sure you want this root instead of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills?”
Wu Chang’s face turned ugly. In fact, when Yang Kai said that the stem was not very useful, he had already lost interest in it, but in front of everyone’s eyes, he had no way to back down without losing face, so he could only stand there gloomily and glare ruthlessly.
However, a moment later, the stem suddenly shook before bursting into a million specks of colourful light and disappearing from sight, as if it had never even existed.
“This…” Xiao Chen was dumbfounded.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Good, now the root has left and no one will be able to find it again.” After a pause, he added, “By the way, if the spirit flower was picked before reaching maturity, the entire Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would have ended up this way.”
Hearing this, many people suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, secretly rejoicing that someone with the appropriate knowledge and foresight was here, otherwise, someone would have definitely picked this spirit flower before it matured and everyone would have lost.
Turning his head, Yang Kai continued to focus on controlling the heat and portraying appropriate Spirit Arrays.
Wu Chang stood awkwardly on the spot for a moment before letting out a cold snort and with a stern expression sat back down.
*Gululu…*
The Black Jade Furnace continued to percolate.
With time, more and more people grew anxious as their eyes darted about, the entire mountaintop gradually filling with a tense atmosphere.
It seemed that everyone was waiting for the moment when the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were completed, and once that happened, chaos would break loose.
Yang Kai knew this as well, but he maintained a state of absolute calm, focusing all his effort into his Alchemy.
At a certain moment, he wore a serious expression and began pouring his Source Qi into the Black Jade Furnace. At the same time, he stood up directly and began forming a complex series of hand seals, injecting a profound and mysterious flower of energy into the Alchemy Furnace.
“Pill Condensing!” It wasn’t clear who shouted these words, but once they did, everyone’s breathing became somewhat rapid as excitement and expectation filled the crowd’s faces.
This was the last step in Alchemy, and if it was executed well, it would lead to a successful refinement, but if it was not, all previous efforts would be in vain.
Yang Kai’s hands danced in a marvellous display, with a solemn expression on his face as big drops of sweat soaked his robes, his whole figure looking like he had been dunked in water as his face turned pale, seemingly exhausting an incredible amount of energy.
But even so, his movements were methodical and calm.
“Can a Pill Condensing method… be so amazing?” Lan Xun’s eyes showed a faint radiance as she stared at Yang Kai’s movements.
Although she was seeing the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method for the first time, that did not prevent her from discovering how profound this Pill Condensing method was. This Pill Condensing method seemed to harmonize perfectly with the Heavenly Way, a dazzling and awe-inspiring sight to behold.
As if inspired by Yang Kai’s movements, a faint resonance of the Heavenly Way began to spread out and fill the air.
It was not surprising for Lan Xun to be entranced though as the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method was a method granted to Yang Kai by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. It was an innate product of Heaven and Earth, and even contained elements of the world’s fundamental truths.
Lan Xun was able to realize the mysteries of this method with her First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, so the Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators present could as well.
None of them understood why, but as they observed Yang Kai execute his Pill Condensing method, many cultivators were involuntarily drawn into a kind of enlightened state, their tension and anticipation fading away as they unknowingly immersed in a state of comprehension.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly roared, “Solidify!”
Seemingly having exhausted all his strength, Yang Kai patted the furnace with both his palms as his body shook slightly.
Along with his movements, a ding-dong sound suddenly sounded from the Alchemy Furnace.
At the same time, rays of multi-coloured light burst from the Black Jade Furnace.
Success!
At that moment, everyone understood that the refinement of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… had succeeded!
Everyone began pushing their Source Qi, wanting to rush towards the place where Yang Kai stood and snatch this peerless pill that could clear their path to the Emperor Realm.
It was then, though, that the world trembled and a muffled sound echoed in everyone’s head.
An astonishing pressure descended from above, causing everyone to go stiff as some even felt their breath catch in their chest.
Everyone turned their eyes up towards the sky where dark clouds had at some unknown point appeared. Lightning and thunder shuttled across these black clouds as a kind of vast aura filled the air and made all present feel a deep sense of insignificance.
“Pill Tribulation!” Lan Xun exclaimed as a look of panic appeared in her beautiful eyes for the first time.
“So, you’ve come!” Yang Kai mumbled lowly.
Even before he began refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, Yang Kai had faintly guessed that this refining might lead to a Pill Tribulation.
The effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill were too Heaven defying, to the point that its mere existence was intolerable to the Heavens. Once it successfully came into being, the omnipresent World Principles would naturally try to destroy it!
Looking at the ferocity of this Pill Tribulation, it would likely be even more ferocious than if a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator was trying to break through to the Emperor Realm. How could a trivial Spirit Pill withstand such destructive impetus? Likely a single blow would be all that is necessary to disintegrate these pills. Even if Yang Kai was at full strength right now and used everything he had to guard them, whether these newly refined Extraordinary Treasure Pills could survive this Pill Tribulation was doubtful.
Once that happened, all his efforts and everyone’s expectations would burst into nothingness.
At the critical moment, Yang Kai patted his Alchemy Furnace and at the same time moved his Divine Sense.
In the next moment, Liu Yan turned into a ray of flames, shot out from the Black Jade Furnace, and was directly collected by Yang Kai into the Small Sealed World.
Without anyone noticing, Liu Yan had swept away some of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills from the furnace.
At this moment, everyone’s attention had been drawn to the Pill Tribulation, so who would notice Liu Yan’s actions? Even if someone did see Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit return, they would likely not have imagined that she had swept away some of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills as well.
Soon, something that surprised everyone happened.
High up in the sky, the Pill Tribulation which had just condensed began to dissipate, its frightening thunder and lightning fading away and disappearing.
After only ten breaths, calm had been restored, leaving only some lingering fear in everyone’s heart as they glanced around in confusion.
“Huh?” Wu Chang frowned as he stared up blankly.
He couldn’t understand why this Pill Tribulation had been like a storm with loud thunder, but no rain. A moment ago, it was raging and the pressure was almost unbearable, but in the next instant the clouds parted and everything was calm.
No one was able to understand.
“Scram!”
At the moment when everyone had been lost in confusion, Yang Kai’s shout rang out and an astonishing surge of Source Qi flared up.
*Peng peng peng peng…*
It seemed he was fighting someone!
Hearing this movement, everyone’s expressions changed as they quickly turned their attention back to where Yang Kai was standing.
There, Yang Kai stood in place, one hand still on his Alchemy Furnace, the other palming in all directions, creating a flurry of afterimages.
Around him, a figure moved at high speed, trying to approach closer to where Yang Kai stood. It seemed this person wanted to break through Yang Kai’s blockage and snatch the Spirit Pills which had just been refined!
However, no matter how hard this person tried, he was unable to get within three metres of Yang Kai without being forced back.
“Luo Yuan!” Lan Xun’s brow furrowed as she whispered under her breath.
Naturally, she recognized the man who was fighting with Yang Kai was Luo Yuan of Eight Paths Sect!
She didn’t know where he had been hiding before, but clearly, when everyone’s attention had been attracted by the Pill Tribulation, he had stealthily dove in and tried to snatch all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. Unfortunately, Yang Kai blocked him at the last moment, causing his plan to fall short.
It seemed he had underestimated Yang Kai’s strength, thinking that a mere First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator who had just finished a difficult refinement process wouldn’t be his opponent.
Luo Yuan quickly realized he was wrong after he acted though.
Standing in place, Yang Kai seemed to be stuck in an extremely passive situation, but upon closer inspection, it was clear he still had a lot of leeway to act. What’s more, his Source Qi was extremely dense and pure, making it impossible for Luo Yuan to break through his defence in short order.
[I miscalculated!]
Luo Yuan cursed to himself, knowing he had missed this opportunity.
He originally intended to grab the Extraordinary Treasure Pills and flee, but now he had been blocked by Yang Kai. Everyone else had recovered now, and if he did not retreat, Luo Yuan knew he would face everyone else’s besiegement.
Understanding this, Luo Yuan made a feint before lightly withdrawing a hundred metres, glaring at Yang Kai with a gloomy look, as if blaming him for ruining his good deed.
Although Yang Kai’s face was slightly pale, he still grinned and teased, “Brother Luo Yuan’s plans are quite deep. How long have you been waiting to make your move?”
“Hmph!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly and did not answer Yang Kai’s question directly, instead just saying, “You’re not ordinary yourself…”
What he meant was probably that Yang Kai’s true strength was completely inconsistent with his cultivation.
Yang Kai just smiled lightly as he swept his gaze around the crowd. Seeing everyone staring at his Black Jade Furnace fiercely, looking like they were about to attack, he even shouted loudly, “Everyone, wait a moment!”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone actually stood still and didn’t move. Even Wu Chang didn’t rush to take Yang Kai at this moment.
Previously, when Yang Kai and Luo Yuan fought against each other, although it was just a brief exchange, anyone with a bit of vision could see that Yang Kai was not someone easy to deal with. No one present was confident they could defeat him instantly.
Once they were unable to completely and immediately subdue him, others would pounce and the situation would quickly devolve into a chaotic melee.
Such a result was not one anyone wanted to see.
“As you can see, this Yang has not disappointed everyone’s trust, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… have been refined successfully!” As Yang Kai spoke, he even took out a Spirit Pill from his Space Ring and stuffed it into his mouth.
Everyone could clearly see that this Spirit Pill restored Source Qi.
“Now that you’ve finished it, your role here is over. Hand over the Spirit Pills!” Wu Chang said in a commanding tone.
“Heh… this Yang has thought about this matter quite a bit,” Yang Kai smiled, paused for a few breaths, then declared, “These Spirit Pills have indeed been refined, but… I won’t be handing any of them over!”
“What did you say?” Wu Chang’s face suddenly turned cold.
“Boy, you court death!”
“You want sole possession of such Heaven defying Spirit Pills Such arrogance!”
“Brat, I advise you to hand over those Spirit Pills obediently, otherwise we’ll all rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces. You’re all alone, there’s no way to resist the attack of so many people!”
As soon as Yang Kai spoke out, the crowd exploded into a flurry of curses, threats, and even enticements.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to all of this as his expression became cold. Glancing around, he snapped, “What kind of nonsense are you all spouting? This Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was first discovered by this Yang, and the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were also refined by this Yang alone! Even the vast majority of the adjuvant herbs for this Spirit Pill were provided by this Yang. All of you just stood there and watched the show, and now you want to obtain these Extraordinary Treasure Pills for nothing? All of you should stop dreaming and wake up!”
“Don’t get cocky, boy!”
“Heh heh, kid, it seems this kid is sleep-talking, daring to boast so shamelessly! I bet he won’t survive past today.”
“Why waste any time with him, let’s just kill him and snatch those Spirit Pills!”
Although Yang Kai had proved his strength just now, making many realize he was not an easy opponent to deal with, with so many of them against him alone, naturally they didn’t put Yang Kai in their eyes.
To everyone, Yang Kai’s current approach was nothing less than courting death! During the clamour, everyone’s eyes were still filled with greed and murderous intent as they stared at Yang Kai.
“It seems like… This was what you planned to do since the beginning, right?” Wu Chang looked at Yang Kai coldly and asked mockingly.
“Of course!” Yang Kai turned to look at him, “I didn’t plan to give these Extraordinary Treasure Pills to you people from the very beginning. Honestly… when I discovered the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, I could have just swallowed it… Even if that would be a waste of the Heavens’ precious gifts, it would still have some effect and it would be better than handing the benefits over to all of you.”
“Bold!” Wu Chang roared furiously, a grin appearing on his face as his momentum suddenly rose and he stepped towards Yang Kai. Every time he took a step, his imposing manner would increase in intensity, like an ancient beast that caused all around him to shudder. “Although your plan wasn’t bad, you need the corresponding strength to implement it. Do you think… you have such ability?”
“If I didn’t…” Yang Kai grinned at him and said, “I wouldn’t have tried!”
If he didn’t have enough confidence, how could he have acted this way? Not only had he exposed himself as a Dao Source Grade Alchemist in front of everyone’s eyes, he even put in the work to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.
Of course, Yang Kai wouldn’t have done all this while only thinking he would lose the benefits to everyone else.
Everything he had done to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, Yang Kai had done for this moment.
As he spoke, he lifted his hand and shouted, “Break!”
Accompanied by this loud shout, a cracking sound suddenly rang out.
At the same time, with Yang Kai as the centre, the space within a radius of three hundred metres shattered like a mirror, with numerous black cracks appearing and swirling about, each one giving off a fatal aura.
A strange power that seemed to communicate with the Heavens and Earth filled the air!
Wu Chang stopped abruptly as he stared at the space in front of him, his expression fluctuating as he examined this new phenomenon.
“Void Cracks!”
“Space Principles!”
Cries rang out one after another as the faces of everyone present filled with shock and amazement!
Space Principles…
The strange scene before them was definitely the result of someone manipulating Space Principles, there was no other explanation for affecting space so dramatically.
Anyone who wanted to enter this three hundred metre radius region of shattered space, would have to be prepared to risk being sliced apart by these Void Cracks.
“You actually… comprehended this esoteric Dao?” Wu Chang ground his teeth and roared, his expression full of unwillingness and anger, as if Yang Kai had just brutally insulted him.
The Dao of Space was one of the rarest and most difficult Daos to comprehend. Yang Kai being proficient in this esoteric Dao naturally made Wu Chang feel unwilling to accept.
“In this world, there is actually someone who can manipulate Space Principles to such an extent with such a low cultivation?” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes were filled with shock and admiration as he gazed towards Yang Kai’s direction.
Because of the fluctuating Space Principles, it was hard for her to even pinpoint Yang Kai’s position, as he seemed both near and far at the same time.
Under the interference of this kind of field, it would be impossible for others to attack him.
“Maybe he’s just using some kind of artifact!” Xiao Chen said with dissatisfaction, “Didn’t he have an Emperor Artifact? It seems this kid has an unusual background. He must be using some kind of Space-type artifact!”
Lan Xun frowned and didn’t bother paying any attention to him.
Although it was indeed possible to achieve this kind of effect with a powerful artifact, there were no signs Yang Kai had used anything of the sort just now. Lan Xun had clearly seen him raise his hand and release his aura before the surrounding Space Principles distorted.
This was definitely his own strength.
“This kid…” On the other side, Xia Sheng, who has been on the edge the entire time, wryly smiled.
After Yang Kai refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, Xia Sheng had begun sending him covert messages, asking him to cooperate with them.
However, Yang Kai had ignored him completely and instead pulled off this stunt…
“It seems like he doesn’t need any help!” Xiao Bai Yi said thoughtfully.
“En,” Xia Sheng narrowed his gaze. “If he’s proficient in the Dao of Space, he can definitely do ‘that’… If he has such skill, he really doesn’t need to fear anyone here, but…”
“But what?” Xiao Bai Yi looked at Xia Sheng curiously.
“Why doesn’t he then?” Xia Sheng looked at Yang Kai in confusion, “Wouldn’t it be best for him to just run away with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills? Him staying here and taunting everyone doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
Hearing what he said, Xiao Bai Yi was also at a loss, completely unable to figure out Yang Kai’s intentions.
On the other side, Wu Chang’s face went from black to blue as he stared at Yang Kai silently for a moment before muttering, “Do you think you’re safe hiding behind that screen?”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Does Brother Wu Chang want to try?”
“I was just about to!” Wu Chang exclaimed.
As Wu Chang’s anger boiled over, a figure suddenly shot out.
It was not Wu Chang that moved first, but Luo Yuan.
Using some kind of extremely profound Movement Skill, Luo Yuan approached the region affected by Space Principles and stood mid-air, looking down coldly as he lifted his hands up high, clenched them into a double hammer-fist, and smashed down.
Violent energy surged.
Behind Luo Yuan, a phantom image several dozen meters high suddenly appeared. This figure was humanoid in shape, but indistinct in features. Raising its two great hands, it mirrored Luo Yuan’s actions perfectly.
*Hong…*
After a breath, there was a loud noise as the huge phantom fists slammed into the shattered space.
Yang Kai’s face darkened.
The swirling Void Cracks around him were collapsing rapidly as the region of shattered space he had created was broken open at that moment.
Before he could react, Wu Chang leapt out from a blind spot in Yang Kai’s field of vision behind Luo Yuan. In Wu Chang’s hands were two swords, one flawlessly white, one fiery red.
The swords crossed and created a brilliant radiance.
Just as Wu Chang crossed his sword, a surge of Sword Qi burst forth and he shouted, “Sword Prison, Sealing Four Poles!”
*Chi chi chi chi…*
A sword wave visible to the naked eye flooded out, forming an invisible field that sealed off the surrounding space.
Everyone was shocked and awed.
Wu Chang and Luo Yuan were two of the Southern Territory’s top elites and the little interaction they had before had only resulted in friction between them, but at this moment, they were working together flawlessly. As the first to move, Luo Yuan had broken through Yang Kai’s Space Principles, after which Wu Chang followed up by sealing Yang Kai’s actions.
In this way, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he would be reduced to a turtle hiding in its shell.
The two had executed their techniques with near-perfect timing. Even blood brothers who had lived their entire lives together may not have been able to achieve such a level of coordination.
But these two cultivators from different backgrounds did just that with only their innate judgments and fighting instincts.
“This is bad!” Xia Sheng’s expression changed as he shouted.
On the other side, Wu Chang sneered, “Now you die!”
As he spoke, the swords in his hands trembled as a storm of red and white sword light shot towards Yang Kai.
He didn’t show any mercy, obviously planning to kill Yang Kai in one strike.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the storm swallowed Yang Kai directly and shattered his body. Even the Black Jade Furnace beside him was shattered…
“What!?” Just as everyone was lost in amazement, they saw this terrible scene and couldn’t help letting out pained cries.
Although Yang Kai’s death had nothing to do with them and they didn’t care one bit about it, if the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were destroyed in the process, it was a result no one could accept. Now, Wu Chang would become the greatest sinner rather than Yang Kai!
As for Wu Chang though, he didn’t show the slightest joy after his strike went well and instead just stood there frowning.
Luo Yuan was the same as he raised his eyes and looked around as if he was searching for something. The phantom giant behind him also gradually faded away.
“My patience is limited…” a voice suddenly came from the side.
After hearing this voice, everyone turned to see Yang Kai standing mid-air a short distance away, completely unharmed, holding the Alchemy Furnace in his hands. Sweeping a gloomy glare around, Yang Kai shouted loudly, “Just now, I’ll consider your actions a test of whether I am qualified to discuss terms with all of you. Now that the results are clear though, if someone still doesn’t know their limitations and dares to attack me… I’ll eat all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills in this furnace!”
“Madman, madman!”
“This guy is insane!”
“Brother Yang, aren’t you afraid eating so many pills will be bad for you? Why not give one to me so I can share your burden?”
Wu Chang frowned as he muttered in a low voice, “Like I thought, he can teleport!”
He had already guessed earlier that since Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he could leap across space and teleport, which was why he tried to seal the region around him in order to catch him.
He had coordinated with Luo Yuan flawlessly to achieve this, but they still weren’t able to trap Yang Kai.
In fact, Wu Chang didn’t even notice when Yang Kai had teleported away.
From this point alone, he knew that no one here could capture Yang Kai.
It seemed the rumours about cultivators who were proficient in the Dao of Space being unrivalled when it came to escaping and tracking were true!
If someone wanted to kill or capture Yang Kai, only three methods were valid. Either invite a cultivator with a huge enough advantage in strength over Yang Kai that they could crush him in one blow instantly to act, so there was no chance the latter could use teleport away, lure Yang Kai into an independent space that he could not escape from, or set up a barrier to seal space to trap him inside.
In the Four Seasons Realm, no one could do this.
In here, Yang Kai could come and go as he pleased!
“So Brother Yang’s intentions are… to negotiate with us?” Lan Xun raised her brow as she read between the lines of Yang Kai’s words just now.
“Princess is correct!” Yang Kai grinned, “Or at least, half-correct.”
“Please elaborate!” Lan Xun smiled.
“The ones I need to negotiate with are them, not with you, Princess.” As Yang Kai spoke, he reached into his Alchemy Furnace and took out a round, longan sized, pure white Spirit Pill.
A refreshing aroma immediately diffused.
“An Extraordinary Treasure Pill!” A cry of excitement came from the crowd as everyone stared at this Spirit Pill fiercely, all of them identifying it as the legendary pill which could help them reach the Emperor Realm!
“One of the key herbs used to refine these Extraordinary Treasure Pills was provided by Her Highness, so this Yang will deliver one to her in accordance with our previous agreement. Please accept it!” Yang Kai held the Spirit Pill out towards Lan Xun.
“Oh? Brother Yang is willing to fulfil that agreement?” Lan Xun looked at him with some surprise. She thought Yang Kai would renege on this promise, but now it appeared things were a little different from her expectations.
Yang Kai said in a serious tone, “This is only natural. These Extraordinary Treasure Pills could only be successfully refined thanks to the Jade Blood Mushroom provided by Princess. Without that Jade Blood Mushroom, there would be no Extraordinary Treasure Pills at this moment, so naturally giving one to Princess is appropriate… As for the others, without contributing anything or putting in any effort, they want to swallow these pills?” Snorting disdainfully, “They must be dreaming.”
“Brother Yang’s reasoning is fair,” Lan Xun nodded lightly before saying seriously. “If that is the case, then Little Sister will accept.”
Saying so, she lightly stepped towards Yang Kai.
Not long after, she arrived in front of Yang Kai, took the Spirit Pill in hand, and quietly whispered, “Many thanks!”
“Princess is too polite,” Yang Kai responded with a smile. “It would be best if Princess can take this Spirit Pill immediately. The Extraordinary Treasure Pill is different from ordinary Spirit Pills in that its effects are permanent and cumulative. The sooner one takes it, the better its efficacy will be. When Princess attempts to break through to the Emperor Realm, the Extraordinary Treasure Pill will still provide the maximum benefits!”
“Then… I’ll eat it now!” Lan Xun said and popped the Extraordinary Treasure Pill into her delicate mouth before swallowing it down.
*Gudong…*
The gulping sound did not come from Lan Xun, but from the onlookers below. Everyone watched Lan Xun take this Spirit Pill and unconsciously swallowed their saliva.
“Princess is extremely talented, so with the help of this Spirit Pill, reaching the Emperor Realm is surely just around the corner. This Yang wishes Princess prosperity and a swift ascension to the peak of the Martial Dao!”
“I’ll accept your kind words,” Lan Xun smiled lightly.
“Are you finished with your flattery?” Wu Chang suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two with an unhappy expression, glaring at Yang Kai coldly as he said, “I understand what you’re doing now.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow and looked at Wu Chang, “Let’s hear what Brother Wu Chang’s guess is then.”
“Hmph!” Wu Chang coldly snorted, “The Extraordinary Treasure Pills have been refined, and you are proficient in the Dao of Space, so you could leave here at any time, but you didn’t. Instead, you stayed here and chattered on endlessly; you even deliberately took out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill to seduce everyone. Obviously, you want to exchange these Extraordinary Treasure Pills for something from the people here…”
After a short pause, he continued, “You’re quite shrewd too. You know that even if you leave the Four Seasons Realm with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, you may not be able to protect yourself. As long as the cultivators here bring this news back to their forces, the Emperor Realm Masters outside won’t let you leave easily. They may not go so far as to use their strength and status to snatch things from you, but they will surely make you hand over the Extraordinary Treasure Pills while giving you some meagre compensation…”
“However, instead of passively accepting whatever compensation they offer, it would be better to take the initiative and seize as many benefits as you can here!” He finally concluded.
“Am I right?”
Yang Kai looked at Wu Chang in amazement, seemingly dumbfounded.
After a while, he applauded loudly and nodded, “I really didn’t think Brother Wu Chang was such a sharp-minded person.”
His remarks undoubtedly acknowledged what Wu Chang said.
In fact, this was precisely Yang Kai’s plan.
The Extraordinary Treasure Pills were extremely precious, and if it were possible, Yang Kai would have preferred keeping them all for himself. In the future, he might be able to use them to exchange for some precious items he needed. Yang Kai was certain that once they heard the three words ‘Extraordinary Treasure Pill’, no individual or Sect would refuse to trade with him, not even Star Soul Palace.
However… Just as Wu Chang said, even if he brought the Extraordinary Treasure Pills out from the Four Seasons Realm, it would be absolutely impossible to bring them away with him. The Emperor Realm Masters waiting outside the exit, would certainly not let him just leave.
The best-case scenario would be the Emperors dividing up his Extraordinary Treasure Pills and then paying him a few Source Crystals or treasures as compensation.
This was not what Yang Kai wanted to see.
He would settle things on his own terms. Even if it meant suffering a slight loss, he wouldn’t let others interfere.
“So he was planning this all along!” Xia Sheng showed a sudden look of realization.
Before now, he had been puzzled by Yang Kai’s seemingly trouble-seeking actions, but now it turned out everything was intentional. The reason he had wanted to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, and then try to swallow up everything on his own, was simply to create this situation where he could bargain with everyone for benefits.
This must have been his intent from the start.
The conditions to successfully implement this plan were quite harsh…
First, Yang Kai needed strong confidence in his own Alchemy skills to simply refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. If he had failed at this step, everything else would have fallen apart.
Second, he needed absolute confidence in his own strength, not only so he could fend off anyone who tried to attack him, but also so he could successfully escape.
But now, it seemed that Yang Kai had met both of these conditions, and the end result was him being able to pull off this daring plot perfectly!
He had the ability to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, and he had the ability to come and go as he pleased right in front of all these Masters’ eyes…
The initiative had always laid with Yang Kai, and everyone else who had been dreaming about the Extraordinary Treasure Pills had been played by him.
When everyone had been watching Yang Kai perform Alchemy, there must have been no one who thought things would turn out to be like this, right? If they knew what they knew now, likely, no one would have waited for Yang Kai to try refining the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into pills and instead would have just tried to snatch it from him.
This fellow… had a real talent for exceeding expectations and annoying others!
However, that did not diminish people’s admiration for his guts and courage.
This kind of action was equivalent to making enemies of everyone present, and the slightest mistake would have resulted in death. Without extreme boldness and courage, who could accomplish such a feat?
Considering all this. Xia Sheng’s expression changed again as he secretly re-evaluated Yang Kai as a cunning bastard.
After he succeeded in refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, Yang Kai had given the first one to Lan Xun. The supposed reason for this was because Lan Xun had provided the necessary Jade Blood Mushroom, which followed the agreement made before, but in fact… Yang Kai probably didn’t want to become enemies with Lan Xun.
After all, Lan Xun’s identity was unique. No one wanted to find themselves at odds with her.
Even if it weren’t for her providing the Jade Blood Mushroom at that time, Yang Kai would likely have found some other way to make Lan Xun accept this Spirit Pill. For instance, he could ask her to testify to the efficacy of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. After Lan Xun accepted such a proposal, it would be impossible for her to embarrass him. On the contrary, after exiting the Four Seasons Realm, she would likely put in a good word for him!
This was tantamount to securing himself a safety net.
For a time, words like ‘crafty’, ‘sly’, ‘cunning’, etc. flashed across Xia Sheng’s mind…
“Enough idle talk!” Wu Chang snapped, “What do you want in exchange?”
“What do I want in exchange for these, heh heh heh…” Yang Kai smiled without saying a word, his aloof expression causing many to feel an impulse to rush up and beat him up.
“I have a matter I am curious about…” Zhuang Bu Fan seemed to have recovered from his Source Qi’s competition with Yang Kai already and stood up with a ruddy face. Looking at Yang Kai, he asked, “Brother Yang, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… how many are there?”
When this statement came out, Xiao Chen couldn’t help shouting, “Yes, this Xiao was also wondering just how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills there are.”
A single furnace of Spirit Pills could only produce a limited number of pills. Even if the greatest Emperor Grade Alchemist used the Star Boundary’s most profound Alchemy techniques, the maximum number of pills they could refine from a single set of ingredients was nine!
In other words, this furnace could at most contain nine Extraordinary Treasure Pills.
In reality, depending on the level of Alchemist, their condition during the refinement, the profundity of their Pill Condensing Technique, and the quality of the herbs they used, the number of Spirit Pills they refined would vary.
No matter how good an Alchemist was, or how ideal the circumstances were, refining a full nine pills was a rare occurrence.
The grade of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was not low, and Yang Kai’s achievements as an Alchemist weren’t too high, so it was impossible for there to be nine Extraordinary Treasure Pills. The most likely scenario was three or four. Even two was a possibility…
Before exchanging with Yang Kai, at the very least, people wanted to inquire about how many chances there were. This was a basic principle of bargaining.
However, to everyone’s surprise, when Yang Kai heard this, he simply smiled again and said, “There’s a few of them… heh heh heh…”
Zhuang Bu Fan’s brow furrowed as he called out, “Brother Yang, please stop making trouble… We’re trying to discuss business with you.”
Yang Kai glanced at him before casually saying, “Then I’ll count.”
“Please do, Brother Yang!” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai really opened the Alchemy Furnace and looked inside.
The moment he opened the lid, countless Divine Senses shrouded Yang Kai from all directions, wanting to get a glimpse!
But before these people could see clearly what the situation was, Yang Kai covered the Alchemy Furnace, glanced around with a displeased expression, and coldly snorted, “Originally, I was going to tell you how many Spirit Pills there were; after all, it’s not a big deal either way… but this Yang is getting tired of everyone using such rude and voyeuristic methods, so this Yang has decided…”
He paused, whipping up everyone’s appetites.
“To not tell you!” Yang Kai said loudly.
“Bastard!”
“Boy, are you messing with us?”
“I didn’t try to peep just now! Brother Yang, quietly tell me please!”
Yang Kai scanned the surroundings with cold eyes, pointed in several directions, and said, “The people who just cursed at me can scram. No matter what kind of price you offer, I won’t give you an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.”
As soon as he said this, a number of cultivators wore ugly expressions as they hurriedly begged for forgiveness.
Yang Kai snorted loudly and then, under everyone’s shocked gaze, did something astonishing.
Reaching his hand into the Alchemy Furnace, Yang Kai snatched and brought out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill identical to the one he had given Lan Xun just now.
Then… he opened his mouth and threw this Extraordinary Treasure Pill directly into his mouth.
*Gabeng gabeng…*
With a loud crunching sound, Yang Kai chomped on the Extraordinary Treasure Pill like it was a piece of candy as he put an expression of supreme bliss onto his face, turning his eyes up towards the Heavens as if he was immersed in a joyful sensation he simply could not describe in words.
Everyone was shocked, everyone was stunned.
*Gudong…*
After a moment, along with the sound of swallowing, Yang Kai belched and patted his belly with a satisfied expression, “Tasty!”
Only then did he turn his attention back to the crowd and grin subtly, “No matter how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills there were before, now there is one less. There aren’t many left! If any of these friends wants an Extraordinary Treasure Pills, they’d best act quickly. Come forward and offer up a price to this Yang, first come, first served, if you don’t hurry there’ll be none left…”
His demeanour and tone completely changed to that of a market hawker, spouting wondrous and colourful descriptions of his wares.
As he spoke, Yang Kai added, “As for what I will exchange them for… En, just show me whatever you obtained in the Four Seasons Realm. If this Yang takes a liking to it, he’ll trade for it, if not, I won’t. Good. All sales are voluntary, please step right up!”
Saying so, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and patted his Alchemy Furnace before slowing landing and once again agitating the surrounding Space Principles to create another shattered space around himself like before.
Void Cracks swam back and forth, forming a deadly cage that moved and behaved erratically.
Any cultivator that attempted to break into this shattered space would be cut down by the wandering Space Principles!
Of course, this technique could also be forcibly broken like how Luo Yuan did before, but doing so would definitely result in Yang Kai escaping.
Having learned their lesson already, no one was interested in challenging Yang Kai anymore.
“I’ll come, I’ll come!”
“Damn, let me come first, whoever dares to cut in front of me, I’ll kill their whole family!”
“Who touched this Mistress’ butt just now!? Stand up, name yourself, and admit your crimes and this Mistress swears she won’t harm you… much.”
In that instant, a chaotic scene erupted as everyone swarmed up, pushing and shoving one another in a lively fashion.
As for the Masters who had some fame to their names, out of self-respect they stood quietly in place and did not join in the excitement. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to exchange for the Extraordinary Treasure Pills with Yang Kai, but if they were to act so uncouthly at this moment, it would be too big a loss of face…
However, just by looking at their expressions, it was clear they were anxious as well.
After all, no one knew how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills Yang Kai had, and they also didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to exchange them for, so if they were too late, they’d end up with nothing.
“Enough! Enter one by one, anyone who dares try to break in, don’t blame this Yang for being ruthless,” Yang Kai sat down in the middle of his shattered space and snorted coldly.
After these words fell, the wandering Void Cracks seemed to recede along a certain path just big enough for a single person to pass through.
Seeing this, a cultivator standing nearby swiftly charged inside.
After he entered, the opening was immediately closed again, blocking others out.
The noise suddenly died down as everyone looked at the first cultivator who entered with scorching eyes and anxiety on their brows.
After this person entered the shattered space, he couldn’t help pausing to observe the erratic Void Cracks, wondering if they would soon descend on him and slice him apart, but seeing that he was still safe, he quickly brushed off his clothes and strode towards Yang Kai.
As he approached, he squeezed out a smile on his face, cupped his fists, and said, “This one is Chang…”
“I’m not interested in where you’re from or what your name is,” Yang Kai interrupted him with no trace of politeness and said flatly, “Take out your harvest from the Four Seasons Realm and let me see if there is anything that catches my eye!”
“Yes, yes!” The man surnamed Chang nodded repeatedly, not paying any mind to Yang Kai’s rudeness. Swiftly, he took out a few things from his Space Ring and presented them in front of Yang Kai before falling silent and waiting nervously.
Yang Kai took a look, then looked up at this man and asked, “Is this everything you gained inside?”
A man surnamed Chang nodded, “Yes, this is everything!”
“Okay, then you can pack your things and get out!” Yang Kai waved at him.
“Ah…” The man surnamed Chang’s face changed as he cried out, “Brother Yang, please take another…”
“Out, out!” Yang Kai waved his hand again, stirring the Space Principles to directly teleport this person outside before he shouted, “Next!”
After the man came back to his senses, he found that he was already standing far away from Yang Kai and couldn’t help feeling annoyed. Stomping his foot, he cursed himself for failing to grasp this great opportunity, and also Yang Kai for being so ruthless…
On the contrary, the others around him were clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune…
However, Wu Chang, Xiao Chen, and the other Masters wore solemn expressions at this moment.
Because they saw what Yang Kai had just done and could tell that his proficiency in the Dao of Space was at an astonishing level!
Not only could he teleport himself, but he could even teleport others away!
Of course, the premise was surely that the other person was inside the special shattered space Yang Kai had created, but even so, it was still a shocking display of skill.
How could a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator possibly comprehend the esoteric Dao of Space to such an extent?
With such ability, who in the Dao Source Realm could kill him?
Just as everyone’s expressions fluctuated, another person passed through the gap and walked up to Yang Kai.
It was a woman this time and she wore no markings to identify which force she belonged to, but that did nothing to hide her enchanting looks and glamorous dress. A deep cut on her robes exposed a large amount of snow-white skin and each step she took caused her great peaks to ripple intoxicatingly, dizzying and dazzling those who saw…
She walked up to Yang Kai and smiled charmingly, not hurrying to bring out her treasures to exchange with Yang Kai and instead softly whispering, “Little Brother, Big Sister didn’t have many gains in this place, what should she do to move you?”
Yang Kai looked up at her, his eyes fixing on her chest as he grinned meaningfully, “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know, so I asked you…” She whispered in response, slowly squatting down while ‘accidentally’ exposing more of her spring scenery.
“Girl, are you trying to seduce me…” Yang Kai took a deep breath and reached out to hold the woman’s delicate, silky hand.
“Nonsense!” The woman glared at Yang Kai angrily, but she didn’t rush to take her hand back. Instead, she showed a shy expression that could tickle the hearts of any man.
At the same time, a faint scent wafted from this woman’s tender body, one that was quite weak but seemed to have some kind of magical effect, causing the blood of men around her to boil and their minds to numb.
“Shameless!” Lan Xun spurned from a long distance away.
“Utterly shameless!” Murong Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement.
“How improper!” Xia Sheng gritted his teeth, his eyes glowing with red light as he stared at Yang Kai and spat indignantly, “It’s… too enviable!”
“Little Brother…” The woman seemed to want to use her unique charms to gain some advantage, but as soon as these words were spoken, her face changed drastically and she jumped back from Yang Kai, a vigilant and angry look on her face.
Yang Kai on the other hand was now holding a Space Ring in his hand, releasing his Divine Sense to check its content.
As soon as the woman lowered her head, her pretty face became even uglier as she found that the Space Ring she had been wearing had disappeared at some point. Obviously, she hadn’t even noticed when Yang Kai had snatched it from her.
“As I thought, there’s nothing good!” After Yang Kai muttered, he threw the Space Ring back to the woman.
The woman caught it as her chest heaved up and down, gritting her teeth as she snapped, “You…”
“Hmm, you have quite some unique undergarments inside though. They’re quite fascinating all on their own, but… perhaps we should find some time to sit down together and study them…” Yang Kai looked at the woman and said with a smile.
“Who would want to study anything with you, you bastard! Bastard, bastard, bastard!” The woman blushed, stomped her foot, turned around, and rushed out. Feeling the ridiculing eyes of everyone fixed on her, she didn’t want to remain even a moment longer and hurriedly flew towards the exit.
Yang Kai scratched his nose and muttered lightly, “It’s fine if you don’t want to discuss things, but there’s no need to curse me like that.”
He had an innocent expression on his face, but soon he cracked his neck and shouted, “Next!”
Immediately another person rushed in.
Time flew by, and half an hour soon passed…
The number of people who had already tried to exchange with Yang Kai for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill had surpassed thirty, but even until this moment, no one had succeeded.
At first, everyone was worried about being too late to obtain any benefits, but now it seemed those worries were superfluous because whatever Yang Kai wanted was surely extremely rare. Otherwise, there would have been at least someone by now who had won him over.
After realizing this, the rest of the cultivators weren’t so hurried.
Everyone was now just secretly calculating what they should take out to satisfy Yang Kai’s appetite in exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
Although Yang Kai had said before that he wanted something they had harvested from the Four Seasons Realm, everyone present was a Dao Source Realm Master, so how could their Space Rings be lacking good things? Yang Kai shouldn’t be able to tell where those things came from.
As such, the later cultivators not only took out all their gains from the Four Seasons Realm but also selectively took out precious items from their Space Rings, hoping to catch Yang Kai’s eye.
The value of these items was not low, and some of them even made Yang Kai’s eyes shine, but he still resisted the urge to trade for them.
Because the number of Extraordinary Treasure Pills he possessed was truly small, and he needed them to exchange for what he needed most!
The Tribulation Fruit!
Since deciding to keep all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills for himself, Yang Kai was prepared to exchange them first and foremost for the Tribulation Fruit, otherwise, he would not have made such a strange request to have everyone bring out their harvests from the Four Seasons Realm!
Earlier, although he found the Tribulation Fruit’s tree in the Realm of Winter, the spirit fruit itself had already been picked.
The cultivators that had entered the Four Seasons Realm were all basically gathered here now, so if nothing unexpected happened, the Tribulation Fruit would be in the hands of someone here!
In order to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill from Yang Kai, no one would conceal the treasures they had acquired…
In other words, the Tribulation Fruit would appear in front of Yang Kai sooner or later, he just needed to wait patiently!
“Brother Yang, please look at these things and see if there is anything you want.”
While Yang Kai was lost in thought, a woman walked up to him and brought out a number of items from her Space Ring for him to see.
Yang Kai collected himself and scanned the items.
He had done this many times, and always ended up disappointed, but this time…
“Hm?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he stared straight at a certain item.
It was not the Tribulation Fruit, but rather something else he was quite concerned about.
After seeing this thing, one of his previous guesses had partially been confirmed.
Yang Kai was deeply surprised inside, but he maintained an indifferent expression on his face and quickly turned his gaze away to examine the other objects the woman had taken out.
There were a dozen spirit medicines that although rare, weren’t too precious. There were also eight Monster Beast Cores of good quality, but their grade wasn’t very high. Lastly, there was a bright red stone with strange patterns on its surface that if one used their Divine Sense to investigate, they would feel a strong heat hidden inside of.
Yang Kai immediately had an idea and as he looked at the red stone, exclaimed, “A Fire Spirit Stone!”
The woman was taken aback as she involuntarily stepped back several steps before stabilizing her figure and looking at Yang Kai with joy, “Do you need this?”
She didn’t have much hope when she came here to trade with Yang Kai; after all, before her, more than thirty people had come and gone without succeeding.
Without knowing what Yang Kai was looking for, the initiative for this kind of transaction lay completely in his hands. Whether other people could exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, they could only count on their luck.
But what she didn’t expect was that Yang Kai showed great interest in the strange stone she had picked up by chance, giving her a glimmering of hope!
If things went well, she would have a chance to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill!
Outside, the onlookers couldn’t help looking shocked.
This wasn’t a surprise though as this was the first time Yang Kai had shown any interest. The people who had gone in to exchange with him before only evoked looks of disappointment and impatience.
For a moment, everyone was curious and wanted to see what the woman had taken out which could arouse Yang Kai’s interest.
But no one was able to see anything…
Under the influence of the swirling Space Principles, the region around Yang Kai was filled with innumerable Void Cracks, making it impossible for anyone to send their Divine Sense in to probe what was happening…
Yang Kai looked up at the woman and found that she was quite sweet and lovely, with a round flushed face and a petite, exquisite figure. Her cultivation wasn’t too high, only Second-Order Dao Source Realm, and it was unclear which Sect she belonged to.
Perhaps because of Yang Kai’s shameless interaction with the other woman before, this round-faced woman couldn’t help feeling a little nervous and wary when she saw him staring at her.
She hurriedly explained, “This is something I found accidentally in the Realm of Summer…”
“This is a good thing!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “I do have some interest.”
“Really?” The round-faced woman showed a look of pleasant surprise, “Then can we…”
“No!” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Ah…” The round-faced woman immediately showed a disappointed expression.
“Yang Kai, know your limits!” For some reason, Luo Yuan suddenly shouted from outside, seemingly very dissatisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude.
“Shut up!” Yang Kai gave him a blank look, “don’t call out for no reason, just mind your own damn business!”
After snapping at Luo Yuan, Yang Kai turned back to the round-faced woman and asked seriously, “You know what the effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill are, right?”
The woman nodded, “I know.”
“Then how precious it is, you must also understand.”
The woman nodded again.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Then do you think this trivial Fire Spirit Stone can be exchanged for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill?”
A trace of embarrassment appeared on the woman’s face as she pursed her red lips and replied quietly and honestly, “No…”
“That’s right. The value of these two treasures is nowhere near equivalent. Although I am interested in your Fire Spirit Stone, trading for it would obviously be a big loss for me…” Yang Kai chattered on before finally saying, “Only a fool would accept such a deal, right?”
“Then do you want something else? I can give you anything I have,” the round-faced woman said anxiously. She was no fool and could naturally understand what Yang Kai was implying. Yang Kai just said that this exchange would be a loss for him, not that he wouldn’t trade with her. Hearing this, she immediately knew that Yang Kai wanted something more from her, so she gritted her teeth and said, “I can give you all of these items!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brows, revealing a pensive expression, as if debating whether to accept.
In all fairness, the value of these things taken out by this round-faced woman wasn’t low, but it was still a bit lacking to exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, but… if the thing that Yang Kai was eying now really had the effect he thought it did, that alone would be enough to exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
“Is this still not enough?” The woman seemed very eager to obtain this Extraordinary Treasure Pill, so seeing Yang Kai’s hesitant expression, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
“If you can come up with some Source Crystals as well, then this deal can…”
Before Yang Kai finished speaking, the round-faced woman stretched out her hand and touched her Space Ring. The next moment, a large pile of Source Crystals appeared in front of Yang Kai. A rough count put the number at a hundred thousand.
“This is every last Source Crystal I have,” the woman said.
“Alright then!” Seeing this, Yang Kai smiled immediately and said, “Since Sister is so sincere, I will trade you an Extraordinary Treasure Pill for all of these!”
“Really?” The woman’s voice trembled as she almost cried out with joy, staring at Yang Kai with gratitude and pleasant surprise, as if she couldn’t believe she had actually succeeded.
After all, there were so many people who failed before her. She had not been expecting to successfully conclude a deal here and had previously come with a mentality of trying her luck. But now, it appeared she had stumbled upon great fortune so she was naturally quite joyful. Unable to control her emotions, she covered her mouth with her delicate hands as her eyes became somewhat wet.
Yang Kai reached into his Alchemy Furnace, took out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, and handed it to the woman as he said, “Since I said I would exchange with you, I will certainly keep my word!”
The woman then stretched out a pair of small hands and tremblingly took the pure white Spirit Pill, holding it extremely delicately as if she was afraid it would break, carefully examining it with her eyes.
Yang Kai started to pack the various treasures and Source Crystals the young woman had taken out into his Space Ring, but when he picked up a certain unremarkable yellow bead, he quietly poured his Source Qi and Divine Sense into it and found it gave no response at all…
At that moment, Yang Kai felt ecstatic and hurriedly put the bead away.
At the same time, the cultivators outside were in an uproar.
Almost everyone’s eyes were now glaring hotly at the back of the round-faced woman.
Although they didn’t see exactly what the woman took out and reached a deal with Yang Kai, at this moment, they knew the woman had an Extraordinary Treasure Pill in her hands.
Extraordinary Treasure Pills in Yang Kai’s hands, they didn’t dare have any ideas about, but this young woman was nothing more than a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so she became the target of ulterior motives.
Soon, Yang Kai finished packing up.
He glanced at the cultivators outside before turning to the round-faced woman and sighing lightly, “Sister!”
“En, what else does this Elder Brother wish to discuss?” The round-faced woman seemed to have recovered from her initial joy and asked politely.
“I only want to tell you a simple truth!” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“What?”
“An ordinary man is innocent, but treasures make one guilty!” Yang Kai said sternly.
The woman was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly understood and nodded gratefully towards Yang Kai, “Many thanks for reminding me.”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Since you understand, I advise you to take this Extraordinary Treasure Pill now. As I said earlier, this Extraordinary Treasure Pill does not need to be taken at the moment of breakthrough, but rather the sooner one takes it, the better its effects will be when the time comes. Right now, you are still just a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator so it is the perfect time to take this. If Sister is comfortable, this Yang can stand guard for you for a moment while you take it. In any case, it won’t cause much of a delay.”
“No no no!” The round-faced woman waved her hands quickly and whispered, “I have… another use for this Extraordinary Treasure Pill!”
A light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes before he nodded lightly, “Then Sister should do as she pleases!”
“Many thanks for exchanging for this Spirit Pill with me. En, you’re a good person!” The round-faced woman smiled sweetly at Yang Kai before turning around and directly walking out.
Looking at her back, Yang Kai sighed helplessly.
He had said what should be said, but the other party refused to accept his advice and insisted on taking the Extraordinary Treasure Pill away. Obviously, this would cause some trouble. In fact… the best way to handle the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was to take it directly which would result in others losing interest in snatching it.
The only other viable option was to have strength on par with Wu Chang or Xiao Chen’s, enough to deter others from having unnecessary ideas.
Yang Kai could easily predict the trouble this round-faced woman would soon encounter…
Sure enough, things turned out just as he expected. Even before this young woman walked out of the shattered space, a number of people flew at her from all directions with unkind intentions.
Although in front of everyone’s eyes, acting so disgracefully was truly disgusting, since it was related to an Extraordinary Treasure Pill which represented the hope of reaching the Emperor Realm, these favoured Sons and Daughters of Heaven, from major Sects and families set aside their face in order to rob this round-faced woman.
The round-faced woman seemed to have also realized the predicament she was in and, smelling the scent of death approaching, she flicked her hand and summoned a ribbon-like artifact. Walking forward, she called out softly, “Fellow Brothers and Sister, Junior Sister does not wish to become enemies with any of you. If you can find it in your hearts, please do not create difficulties for me!”
She spoke sincerely and with great dignity.
There were indeed a few people who were affected by her speech and showed looks of reluctance, but most simply stared indifferently at her.
Within the few breaths, it took her to say these words, the young woman had already walked out of the area enveloped by Yang Kai’s Space Principles.
Suddenly, a burst of shouts rang out one after another.
“Hand over the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.”
“Hand over the Spirit Pill and we’ll spare your life!”
“Girl, cooperate with me obediently and you won’t have to suffer! Refuse and you cannot blame us for not showing mercy!”
With the sound of these voices, at least a dozen cultivators rushed towards her. The moment these people acted, they summoned their artifacts and used Secret Techniques in all different directions, intending to block their competitors while also closing in on the round-faced woman at an extremely fast speed.
A hint of panic flashed on the pretty face of this young woman, but at the critical moment, she managed to push her Source Qi violently and the ribbon in her hand flashed, creating a five-coloured barrier around her body after which she shot up into the sky and rushed outwards.
She obviously didn’t plan to fight with these people and just wanted to leave here as quickly as possible.
This was undoubtedly the correct approach.
But she was obviously too naïve. How could she alone resist the assault of so many people?
*Hong Hong Hong…*
After a muffled explosion, the figure of the round-faced woman was directly revealed and her petite body was sent falling to the ground like a meteorite.
Immediately afterwards, a dozen figures flew down after her, greed and excitement covering their faces.
The round-faced woman suddenly showed a look of despair.
Soon, she hit the ground, and although she was not severely injured, she was obviously not alright either. After struggling a few times, she finally managed to stand up, but it was too late…
Several of her faster pursuers had already approached her, the fastest of which held a sharp sword that he slashed fiercely at her right hand!
This man was ruthless and showed no pity, seemingly only wanting to quickly cut off the hand of the round-faced woman that was holding the Spirit Pill…
With no way out, the woman screamed, her face pale and bloodless.
With her Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, she couldn’t avoid this strike and it was inevitable she would lose her arm.
As for the man, he wore a victorious smirk on his face, as if the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was already in his hands!
As long as he could obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, he would eat it immediately, eliminating the hope others had of snatching it.
Yang Kai’s complexion became gloomy as he secretly began pushing his Space Force, preparing to save the woman at the last moment!
But before Yang Kai could act, a figure mysteriously appeared in front of the round-faced woman. This figure was broad and heroic, like a tall mountain that could resist violent storms and rain, making the round-faced woman hiding behind it feel a sense of peace and comfort she had never felt before…
“Hm?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he observed this figure, a look of surprise filling his face.
He didn’t expect that at this critical moment, this person would actually make a move! [Could it be… he is also trying to snatch the Extraordinary Treasure Pill?]
Just as this thought flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, this newcomer suddenly pushed his hand out…
His movements weren’t fast, but they gave off a profound feeling, causing the sword-wielding man’s expression to change drastically, as if he was being enveloped by the grasp of death…
He wanted to avoid this palm, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape.
From an outside perspective, it was as if this man had slammed himself into his opponent’s attack.
After a short while, the big hand directly pinched the neck of the sword-holding cultivator. Under the horrified gaze of this man, the owner of the hand holding his throat smiled grimly as he began condensing his Source Qi fiercely.
*Kacha…*
With a crisp sound, the neck of the sword-wielding cultivator was directly crushed and his head drooped softly.
*Si…*
Gasps sounded as all the cultivators rushing towards the round-faced woman stopped in amazement, staring at the Master of the big hand in horror, with shock on their faces.
They were all Dao Source Realm cultivators, but the owner of this large hand had just casually reached out and killed one of them. This brutal and violent way of killing, crushing another with overwhelming strength, was naturally shocking.
“Luo Yuan!” Someone shouted loudly.
It was none other than Luo Yuan of Eight Paths Sect, a previously unknown figure before the opening of the Four Seasons Realm. Over just a few dozen days though, this young man’s prestige and fame had risen enough for him to be ranked amongst the top rising stars of the Southern Territory.
And he had the strength and capital to warrant such a reputation!
To a certain extent, Luo Yuan and Wu Chang were similar, both of them ferocious and brutal, people no one wanted to provoke.
At this moment though, Luo Yuan was actually standing in front of the round-faced woman and had even killed a man. How could the remaining cultivators dare to move? The Extraordinary Treasure Pill was indeed precious, but one needed their life first to enjoy it.
“Luo Yuan, do you want to snatch this Extraordinary Treasure Pill too?”
This was the question on everyone’s mind. If it was true, Luo Yuan would become the greatest enemy of everyone here for if he was not dealt with, no one would be able to obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
This was also quite possible as a treasure as precious as the Extraordinary Treasure Pill would be coveted by anyone, so Luo Yuan coming to snatch it was understandable.
Xiao Chen, Wu Chang, Xia Sheng, and the other peak-level characters did not take action so far. On the one hand, they were concerned about their Sect’s and their own face, while on the other hand, they probably disdained to act this way, but Luo Yuan was different. His Eight Paths Sect was only a medium-sized Sect, so he had no such scruples. He was not well-known before now and could act however he pleased without worrying about his reputation.
For a time, everyone’s expressions turned gloomy as they secretly grumbled to themselves.
However…
What happened next surprised everyone.
“Luo… Senior Brother Luo…” A weak voice called out from behind Luo Yuan. Naturally, it was the round-faced woman.
“Senior Brother?”
“Could it be that…”
“No way!”
At that moment, all the cultivators who had previously attacked the round-faced woman began sweating and turning pale. A few of the more timid ones even began to shiver.
Judging by the way the round-faced woman addressed Luo Yuan, everyone vaguely realized that these two belonged to the same Sect. That is to say… This round-faced woman was also a disciple of Eight Paths Sect!
Bullying Luo Yuan’s Junior Sister right in front of his face… how could he just let such an offence go?
However, this way, everyone also understood why Luo Yuan had taken action just now, not only that, but why he had been ruthless enough to kill someone directly…
For a time, the dozen or so cultivators wore anxious looks as they glanced around at each other worriedly.
“Brother Luo, this one was unaware that this Sister was from your noble Sect and has accidentally offended her, please forgive me!” One person stepped forward with a forced smile on his face, cupped his fists, and spoke to Luo Yuan.
“Brother Luo. This is all just a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding…”
“Yes yes, if I had known that this Sister was related to Brother Luo, I would not have dared to act so aggressively.”
The group of people all began apologizing profusely, lest Luo Yuan decide to settle accounts with them here and now.
Luo Yuan swept his eyes across the crowd coldly before he shouted, “A group of trash! Scram!”
Although these words weren’t pleasing to hear, everyone scurried away as if they had just been granted amnesty.
“Senior Brother Luo…” On the contrary, it was the round-faced woman who did not feel any joy after being rescued, instead just staring towards Luo Yuan’s back with anxiety as she called out softly.
“What did I tell you?” Luo Yuan turned around and glared at her coldly, “After entering the Four Seasons Realm, I am me, you are you, don’t make trouble for me. Have you forgotten?”
“No… no!” The round-faced woman waved her hands quickly, as if she wanted to explain something, but when she met Luo Yuan’s frigid eyes, she couldn’t help lowering her head and biting her lip, “I’m sorry!”
“Next time, you’re on your own!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly.
“I understand,” the round-faced woman kept her head down as she gripped her clothes tightly, like a child who had done something wrong.
“Hmph, put your best into it!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly and turned to leave.
“Wait!” The round-faced woman quickly reached out and grabbed Luo Yuan’s sleeve.
“What?” Luo Yuan frowned as he snapped impatiently.
“This… is for you!” The round-faced woman raised her head, squeezed out a smile, and held the Extraordinary Treasure Pill she had just obtained from Yang Kai out to Luo Yuan.
Luo Yuan’s expression turned to one of shock as he stared at the round-faced woman in a daze.
A breeze blew past as the crowd atop the mountain fell completely silent.
“So, she planned to gift it…” Yang Kai looked at this scene and muttered to himself, “And to Luo Yuan at that…”
When the woman exchanged for the Extraordinary Treasure Pill with him earlier, she said that she had another use for this Spirit Pill. Yang Kai didn’t know what she was planning at the time, but now everything was clear.
She hadn’t tried to obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pill for herself, but for Luo Yuan.
And from beginning to the end, she had not revealed her intentions, even when she was being besieged by many people, she did not ask Luo Yuan for help. Only after she was safe did she willingly try to offer up this Spirit Pill, which all Dao Source Realm cultivators coveted, to Luo Yuan.
Everyone could see that this young woman was looking at Luo Yuan with soft eyes filled with clear love and worship. Her expression and demeanour told everyone that she was willing to offer her everything for Luo Yuan, so what did a mere Extraordinary Treasure Pill count for?
At this moment, the round-faced woman seemed to shine dazzlingly, and Luo Yuan, who was pierced by this light, couldn’t help having his face twitch as he had difficulty looking straight ahead.
“Ah… Another woman who lost herself in love. No one can save her now…” Xia Sheng said with emotion.
Murong Xiao Xiao, who was standing next to him, was already greatly moved, tears crystallizing at the corners of her beautiful eyes, no one able to tell what she was thinking.
“Haa… what a terrible farce, and everyone else making so much fuss over it!” Xiao Bai Yi said coldly.
“Senior Brother!” Murong Xiao Xiao glared at him.
“Hehe…” On the other side, Lan Xun also seemed to have some feelings about this as she pursed her lips and smiled, “I really didn’t expect… someone would adore Luo Yuan like this.”
“Some cheap, disgraceful tricks!” Xiao Chen said sourly from the side, looking at the round-faced woman with a tinge of pity, “Unfortunately, she fell in love with someone like Luo Yuan, this woman must be blind.”
“What’s wrong?” Lan Xun turned his head and glanced at him, “You believe this kind of display is somehow disgraceful?”
“I didn’t mean that, please don’t misunderstand, Princess,” Xiao Chen quickly adjusted his expression, turning a tender look to Lan Xun as he declared solemnly, “If I had obtained an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, I would definitely…”
“I’ve already taken one,” Lan Xun interrupted him impatiently before he could finish his cheap words.
Xiao Chen murmured, “I just wanted to express that…”
“You… what are your intentions here?” In front of everyone’s eyes though, Luo Yuan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly shouted.
“I… I don’t have any other meaning,” the round-faced woman didn’t know why Luo Yuan looked angry and she couldn’t help but panic as she tried to explain, “I just wanted to give Senior Brother this Extraordinary Treasure Pill…”
“To give it to me?” Luo Yuan sneered.
The round-faced woman nodded heavily.
“Nonsense!” Luo Yuan didn’t show the slightest appreciation and instead laughed, “What? You thought you could make me feel indebted to you by giving me this Extraordinary Treasure Pill?” At this point, his face turned harsh as he shouted, “Listen well! This Luo Yuan will not be bound by anything or anyone! Not by you, not by Eight Paths Sect, not by Heaven itself! I, Luo Yuan, will eventually stand at the pinnacle of this world, rule supreme, and look down upon all the world’s heroes!”
“I… I didn’t…” the round-faced woman turned anxious as tears began forming in her eyes. Anxiously, she tried to call out, “I just…”
“Save your breath! I have no interest in this Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Even without this Spirit Pill, I will still break through to the Emperor Realm!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly, “You’d best discard any wicked ideas you might have or don’t blame me for disregarding our status as fellow disciples!”
Hearing this, the round-faced woman finally burst into tears. Falling silent, two lines of tears fell down her cheeks, like broken pearls, her beautiful eyes filled with innocence and heartache.
“That bastard!” Xia Sheng looked at this scene and couldn’t help cursing.
The sacrifice this round-faced woman was making was simply amazing; after all, as a Dao Source Realm cultivator, the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was extremely useful to her and if she were to take it now, her hopes of breaking through to the Emperor Realm would definitely increase dramatically. This was a major event that was related to her very future.
But she disregarded all of that without hesitation and only thought about gifting this Extraordinary Treasure Pill to Luo Yuan!
Even just now, in order to not cause trouble for Luo Yuan, even though she was facing grave danger, she didn’t cry out for help…
Putting herself in such a position simply for the sake of another, this woman’s love for Luo Yuan could not be any more obvious.
Any normal man would have been greatly moved by this kind of devotion… even the most stoic and ignorant of men would have shown some tenderness.
However, Luo Yuan only reacted with fierce hostility, which naturally caused Xia Sheng to be extremely dissatisfied.
Even if Luo Yuan didn’t want to accept this Extraordinary Treasure Pill, he didn’t need to act so cruelly.
“Waste!” Murong Xiao Xiao cast a contemptuous look towards Luo Yuan without the slightest hesitation.
“A terrible farce indeed…” Xiao Chen smiled lightly, his true thoughts difficult to read.
Luo Yuan did not stop, however, and shouted once more, “Let’s end this nonsense now. This Spirit Pill… you eat it!”
As he spoke, his figure flickered and he moved right in front of the round-faced woman, stretched out his hand to pinch her cheeks, then snatched the Extraordinary Treasure Pill with his free hand and threw it into her mouth.
“Cough cough cough…”
The round-faced woman felt the Spirit Pill enter her belly and couldn’t help but back up a few steps. She coughed and beat her chest constantly, as if she wanted to vomit up the Spirit Pill.
But that was futile. After the Spirit Pill entered her stomach, it directly melted and began flowing into her abdomen.
She tried hard to stop all this for a while, but ultimately failed and raised her head in despair.
However, when she lifted her eyes, Luo Yuan was gone.
“He left,” Lan Xun looked at the round-faced woman and sighed slightly, “He is headed towards the exit.”
The round-faced woman heard this, turned her head, and saw a stream of light flying off towards the exit.
Luo Yuan actually didn’t even bother trying to trade with Yang Kai. It seemed that in order to prove his words about his aptitude, and that he could break through to the Emperor Realm on his own, he intended to give up this opportunity to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill!
“Senior Brother Luo!” The round-faced woman called out, grit her teeth, stomped her foot, and chased after Luo Yuan.
Watching this, no one tried to embarrass her further. Firstly, she was a disciple of the Eight Paths Sect, and she had a Senior Brother Junior Sister relationship with Luo Yuan, who had already killed one man who had acted against her. Secondly… the Extraordinary Treasure Pill had already been taken by her, so what point was there to embarrass this woman? Would it be possible to force her to spit up that Spirit Pill?
And so, this brief episode came to an end.
“It’s like he said, not wanting to be bound by a favour from others… or snatching an opportunity that belongs to others…” Yang Kai sat in place, stroking his chin thoughtfully…
With so many people present, perhaps everyone only saw Luo Yuan’s ruthlessness and ferocity, but Yang Kai saw something else.
When he was dealing with the round-faced woman earlier, before the trade was even concluded, Luo Yuan had actually yelled at him from a distance, telling him to not go too far!
Yang Kai didn’t understand why Luo Yuan did that at the time, but now it was obvious he had been trying to help that round-faced woman.
If Luo Yuan really had no interest in her, then there would have been no need for him to say those words. While she was trying to strike a deal with Yang Kai, Luo Yuan only needed to sit on the sidelines…
What’s more, how could someone as proud and arrogant as Luo Yuan accept gifts from others? Especially when the gift was from his Junior Sister, one that clearly loves and admires him…
Yang Kai felt that if he was in Luo Yuan’s position, it would be impossible to accept that Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
A true man should hold such convictions.
Although he disapproved of Luo Yuan’s rotten method of handling his Junior Sister, Yang Kai actually appreciated his decisive approach.
After thinking for a while, Yang Kai shook his head as a frown came to his brow and he secretly thought, [Why am I allowing someone else’s affairs to trouble me?]
Thinking so, he shouted, “Next!”
Maybe because the round-faced woman’s success made the remaining cultivators see hope, as soon as Yang Kai called out, cultivators swarmed towards him.
But under the influence of the twisted Space Principles, only one person was allowed to enter at a time.
Unfortunately for this man, the result was disappointing as Yang Kai swiftly checked what he took out before shooing him away.
The next dozen people had similar experiences!
When Yang Kai took a leisurely look around, he found that there were not many people left.
This secretly made him anxious, because the Tribulation Fruit he wanted hadn’t appeared so far. It wasn’t clear whether someone hadn’t taken it out to trade, or if the one who had the Tribulation Fruit hadn’t come to begin with.
If Yang Kai failed to obtain the Tribulation Fruit on this excursion to the Four Seasons Realm, he really didn’t know how he could explain it to Qin Zhao Yang. Qin Yu’s life depended on him acquiring the Tribulation Fruit, without it, that little girl would only have a few months left to live.
[Should I just directly request to exchange the Tribulation Fruit for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill?]
Yang Kai hesitated. If he really made such a request, and if the person who had the Tribulation Fruit was present, that person would definitely not refuse, but if that person wasn’t here and news spread out, it would definitely cause many troubles from him.
After thinking about it carefully, Yang Kai suppressed this idea and continued to trade with other people calmly.
After an hour, Yang Kai’s face became gloomy.
Because almost every cultivator present had come to trade with him, but he had yet to see a trace of the Tribulation Fruit…
His ill premonition had come true!
The only people that were left were the ones from Azure Sun Temple and the few famous Masters who had been waiting and watching up until now.
Having reached this point, Yang Kai didn’t want to delay any more and shouted, “Who will come first? I won’t conceal it from you, the total number of Extraordinary Treasure Pills that were refined was four. In other words… this Yang only has one left.”
One of them was taken by him, one was given to Lan Xun, and one was given to the round-faced woman, so with only four being refined, only one remained.
As he made this announcement, Yang Kai picked up his Black Jade Furnace and shook it slightly.
From the Black Jade Furnace, a rolling, clinking sound rang out.
Inferring from the sound, there was indeed only one pill inside!
After the refinement succeeded, all of Yang Kai’s actions had been witnessed by everyone’s eyes, so he had no opportunity or time to hide any of the Spirit Pills, leading everyone to trust this statement.
“Since there is only one pill left, then this Xiao will come,” Xiao Chen, who had held back for a long time, at this moment finally took his turn. Leaping out swiftly, he strode towards Yang Kai with a confident smile, seemingly confident he would obtain this last Spirit Pill.
Not long after, he arrived in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and said, “Brother Xiao, please!”
Xiao Chen sneered and while taking out something from his Space Ring, he whispered in a low voice, “Little Brat, I advise you to accept this immediately and then hand over that Extraordinary Treasure Pill to this Xiao, that way everyone can remain friendly.”
Yang Kai heard this and looked up at him.
Xiao Chen continued with a smile on his face, “The things that this Xiao took out are not items just anyone can see, there should be something that satisfies you.”
Despite the insufferable arrogance with which he spoke, Xiao Chen had the capital to say such words things; after all, he not only came from the Southern Territory’s overlord, Star Soul Palace, he was an elite disciple of that Sect and also the son of Silver Star Envoy, Xiao Yu Yang.
The things he took out were indeed rare treasures! Whether they were artifacts or herbs, treasures, or even Secret Arts…
It was a dazzling and varied array.
Yang Kai, however, didn’t even glance at those things and simply asked, “Brother Xiao, did you enter the Realm of Winter during this opening of the Four Seasons Realm?”
Xiao Chen heard this and furrowed his brow, not knowing why Yang Kai had asked such a question. Replying impatiently, he spat, “No, this Xiao has always been accompanying her Highness. Princess said that the environment in the Realm of Winter was too barren…”
“If so, you can pack up your things and go!” Yang Kai waved his hand as he cut off Xiao Chen.
“What did you just say?” Xiao Chen’s face suddenly became gloomy as he glared at Yang Kai fiercely, the threatening tone in his voice more than evident.
“Did you not hear me clearly?” Yang Kai grinned, cracking his neck before leaning towards Xiao Chen and shouting, “Brother Xiao can go!”
After this shout, he leaned back and smiled slightly, “If you still couldn’t hear me, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Xiao Chen’s expression turned ugly as it went from red to white before he shouted in a low tone, “Boy, have you considered the consequences of your actions clearly?”
In front of everyone’s eyes, he was humiliated by Yang Kai like this. What was worse though was that everyone now knew he didn’t have what Yang Kai wanted, so continuing to entangle himself would only lead everyone to believe he was trying to bully Yang Kai…
However, Yang Kai wasn’t going to give him any face.
“Scram!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, without a trace of politeness, and pushed the surrounding Space Principles towards Xiao Chen, wanting to throw him out of this shattered space forcefully.
Although Yang Kai had used this trick to directly send out a Dao Source Realm cultivator before, when it came to Xiao Chen, things did not go so smoothly. There was an inexplicable Principle Strength that lingered around Xiao Chen, clashing with the surrounding Space Principles, causing his figure to flicker slightly while remaining in place.
This situation lasted for ten breaths before Xiao Chen took the initiative to withdraw.
If he continued to linger, he would be forced to fight with Yang Kai, and in that strange shattered space, Xiao Chen also felt the threat of death, so he did not dare to remain.
After escaping three hundred meters, Xiao Chen glared at Yang Kai with a gloomy face, gnashing his teeth for a while.
“Haa…” Seeing this scene, Lan Xun only felt a headache coming on, and after sighing, she turned around and flew off towards the exit.
When Xiao Chen saw this, his face twitched before he turned and shouted at Yang Kai, “Boy, I’ll remember you. You’d best pray you don’t fall into my hands one day.”
Leaving this threat, he chased after Lan Xun.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to these words and turned to Xia Sheng and the others with a smile, “Brother Xia, there’s really just one Spirit Pill left, don’t you want to come and see it?”
If possible, he would like to trade with Xia Sheng for this Spirit Pill.
Yang Kai knew he couldn’t bring this Spirit Pill out of the Four Seasons Realm as the only result would be the Emperors outside snatching it from him while giving him some paltry compensation.
As for giving it away…
Yang Kai had never considered it. For one thing, he and Xia Sheng weren’t actually that close, and there was no friendship between them. What’s more, with the Extraordinary Treasure Pill being so precious, even if Yang Kai offered it to Xia Sheng for free, the latter would not be willing to accept it.
If Xia Sheng took this Extraordinary Treasure Pill without offering proper compensation, it would mean owing Yang Kai a huge favour.
Hearing this call, Xia Sheng smiled and said, “We… don’t need it.”
Yang Kai was shocked and asked curiously, “What do you mean?”
Xia Sheng said, “Brother Yang, you want to trade for that spirit fruit, right?”
What he was referring to was, naturally, the Tribulation Fruit. Yang Kai had entered the Four Seasons Realm to find the Tribulation Fruit was no secret in Azure Sun Temple, because before leaving, Gao Xue Ting had told everyone that if any of them found the Tribulation Fruit, they should collect it to exchange with Yang Kai.
With Gao Xue Ting’s reminder, plus Yang Kai’s emphasis on letting everyone take out their harvest from the Four Seasons Realm before the transaction, Xia Sheng naturally knew what he was looking for.
Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, Yang Kai had not managed to achieve his goal.
“Yeah!” Yang Kai did not deny and nodded lightly.
“None of us have it, so we won’t join in the fun,” Xia Sheng smiled, “Besides, if we really offered to exchange it with you, it would likely be impossible for you to refuse no matter what else we offered, which would leave a bad taste… It’s fine, Brother Yang, you should ask Wu Chang if he has it.”
Apart from Xia Sheng and the others from Azure Sun Temple, only Wu Chang remained here.
Hearing this, Wu Chang also took the initiative to stand up and ask Yang Kai, “What spirit fruit do you want?”
Yang Kai groaned slightly but decided to tell the truth, “The Tribulation Fruit!”
Wu Chang frowned and said, “Never seen it.”
“Even you don’t have it…” Yang Kai couldn’t help showing a disappointed look. He didn’t know when the Tribulation Fruit from the Realm of Winter was picked, who had it, or where it was, so it looked like his primary objective for coming to the Four Seasons Realm could no longer be achieved.
Yang Kai suddenly had a deep feeling of regret.
“Although I don’t have what you want, I still want to make a deal with you!” Wu Chang quickly said, “You can’t take that Extraordinary Treasure Pill out, can you?”
“Naturally not!” Yang Kai composed himself and said, “Brother Wu Chang wanting to make a trade is fine, but… I wonder what you’re willing to take out?”
“This!” Wu Chang took out a jade bottle and threw it towards Yang Kai.
He didn’t seem worried at all that Yang Kai would try to steal this treasure and run away, trusting him to the point where he directly handed over what he wanted to trade.
Yang Kai was startled when he saw this and quickly dispersed the Space Principles which had been lingering about him. Catching the jade bottle in his hand, Yang Kai glanced suspiciously at Wu Chang.
“If you open it and take a look, you’ll know what it is!” Wu Chang said lightly.
Yang Kai opened the bottle and peered inside, his face changing slightly in the next instant as he commented, “Brother Wu Chang is quite bold!”
Wu Chang sneered, “I will break through to the Emperor Realm soon, so this thing is not necessary to me, but you… you’re only a First-Order Dao Source Realm now and won’t reach the Emperor Realm any time soon. This thing will be of great use to you, possibly even saving your life at a critical moment.”
“It is as Brother Wu Chang says,” Yang Kai had already capped the jade bottle as he spoke.
Xia Sheng and the others looked confused, wondering what Wu Chang had handed over to Yang Kai to move him so greatly.
Murong Xiao Xiao, however, suddenly seemed to be thinking of something and muttered, “Could it be that…”
“What?” Xia Sheng, who was always curious, asked Murong Xiao Xiao in a low voice.
Xiao Bai Yi also showed a look of interest as he perked up his ears.
Murong Xiao Xiao whispered, “An Emperor Authority Bead!”
*Si…*
Xia Sheng drew a sharp breath, “That bastard Wu Chang had such a thing?” As he spoke, a look of fear flashed across his face as cold sweat dripped down on his forehead, “If that guy had summoned his Emperor Authority Bead at that time, wouldn’t I be dead…”
A Third-Order Emperor’s full-powered strike was sealed in an Emperor Authority Bead, so although Xia Sheng was a genius in his own right, he had no confidence he could survive such a blow. Death or serious injury were the only possible outcomes, with the former being much more likely.
After thinking about this though, Xia Sheng’s brow furrowed as he said with a puzzled look, “Wait, Xiao Xiao, how do you know that Wu Chang had an Emperor Authority Bead in his hands?”
Before Murong Xiao Xiao spoke, Xiao Bai Yi inferred, “Because when Wu Chang obtained that Emperor Authority Bead, Xiao Xiao was there!”
Xia Sheng heard this and his face slightly changed, calling out in a low voice, “Could it be that… this Emperor Authority Bead was obtained by Wu Chang in the Four Seasons Realm?”
“Yeah,” Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, “He got it from a trade with Luo Yuan. Didn’t I tell you before that I entered the Flowing Time Temple with Senior Brother Xiao? It was there, in the final room. That’s where Luo Yuan obtained the Emperor Authority Bead…”
“Were there any other treasures there?” Xia Sheng asked with interest, “What did you obtain?”
“I got a drop of Supreme Divine Water…” Murong Xiao Xiao smiled, “Even that was thanks to Junior Brother Yang, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to obtain anything. As for the others… Princess Lan Xun took one away, a Pseudo Emperor Artifact, while Gong Wen Shan obtained an Emperor Aura!”
“The Heavens must be jealous!” Xia Sheng looked up to the sky in grief and indignation, “Why didn’t I meet such an opportunity!”
Xiao Bai Yi squinted at him and said, “Hmph, you were the one who insisted on exploring the Realm of Spring saying it was sunny and beautiful there!”
“Seems like I made a mistake,” Xia Sheng bowed his head, looking downcast, but immediately he recovered and asked, “Wait, you said Yang Kai helped you obtain that drop of Supreme Divine Water, then what about him… did he also get something?”
“Junior Brother Yang, he… he obtained some kind of red bead.” Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “But I don’t know what the bead is for, even Princess Lan Xun couldn’t tell what it was.”
“A red bead!” Xia Sheng frowned after hearing this.
As the few of them were talking, Wu Chang was impatiently urging, “Are you satisfied with this thing?”
Yang Kai held the jade bottle containing the Emperor Authority Bead and grinned, “Admittedly, this thing is truly precious, a life-saving treasure. It is quite tempting!”
This was an Emperor Authority Bead. Although Yang Kai’s strength was decent, and he was proficient in the Dao of Space, his cultivation was still low. In the Star Boundary, where Masters floated about like clouds and danger lay around every corner, there would likely be many situations where his ability was lacking. At such times, an Emperor Authority Bead would offer a layer of safety, so how could Yang Kai not be interested?
This thing was probably one of the most valuable items in the entire Four Seasons Realm. Even the Emperor Aura that Gong Wen Shan obtained was not comparable. An Emperor Aura could be used to refine an Emperor Artifact, but Yang Kai already had several Emperor Artifacts in his hand, so an Emperor Aura had almost no attraction to him.
“You want something more?” Wu Chang frowned as he read the meaning behind Yang Kai’s words, “Let’s hear it, if it’s not too much, I can accept it.”
“Brother Wu Chang, it is refreshing to speak with you!” Yang Kai laughed out loud. People like Wu Chang and Luo Yuan, regardless of their hot tempers, were actually the easiest to cooperate with, because they did not try to hide their intentions or motivations at all. If they thought something, they would speak it boldly rather than trying to deceive you.
Yang Kai followed up, “This thing is indeed precious, but Brother Wu Chang should also know that it is a consumable item, once it is used, it is gone forever…”
“Enough, I know its advantages and disadvantages, just tell me what you want!” Wu Chang interrupted Yang Kai before he finished speaking, directly telling him to name a price.
Yang Kai hesitantly touched his nose…
“Brother Yang, if you don’t mind, this Xia has a suggestion!” Xia Sheng suddenly interjected.
“What do you want?” Wu Chang looked at him irritably.
Xia Sheng said innocently, “I just want to make a suggestion to Brother Yang. It’s up to him if he wants to listen or not, what’s wrong with that?”
Yang Kai smiled lightly and said, “If Brother Xia has a suggestion, please feel free to speak it.”
“En,” Xia Sheng nodded before he turned to Wu Chang and said meaningfully, “Brother Wu Chang seems to have obtained a lot of Star Seals in the Four Seasons Realm this time, so perhaps Brother Yang can…”
Hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow, immediately understanding what Xia Sheng wanted to say.
Wu Chang frowned.
Xia Sheng continued, “Before coming here, Elder Gao once said that all the disciples who obtained extra Star Seals could receive rewards from the Sect after turning them over, and the more one turns over, the greater the reward! Brother Yang is not a disciple of my temple, but this deal also applies to you. If you can obtain more Star Seals, you can make a bigger request from the temple, like for instance, asking the Sect Master and Elders to help you find that Tribulation Fruit!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he felt this was a good idea!
He had been unable to complete the task he came to the Four Seasons Realm to achieve, which made him quite embarrassed about returning to Maplewood City to deal with Qin Zhao Yang. If he could ask the leaders of Azure Sun Temple to help him though, obtaining the Tribulation Fruit may still be possible.
In short, Yang Kai was quite interested in this proposal.
“Hmph!” Wu Chang snorted coldly, “What is this? You want to use this method to reduce the quotas my Orthodoxy Temple has to enter the Shattered Star Sea? Does Brother Xia have so little confidence in his own Sect?”
“Not at all!” Xia Sheng smiled and said, “I’m just thinking about what’s best for Brother Yang, nothing like what you said!”
“I don’t care either way! Whether others from Orthodoxy Temple can enter the Shattered Star Sea or not is none of my concern, as long as I can enter myself!”
“Oh?” Xia Sheng raised his brows and said, “Brother Wu Chang means that as long as you have a single Star Seal, you can discard the rest?”
“That depends on his intentions!” Wu Chang turned his gaze to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied, “Let me ask first, Brother Wu Chang, how many Star Seals do you have?”
“Five!”
“Quite a lot!” Yang Kai exclaimed before nodding, “Good, since Brother Wu Chang is so sincere, then this Yang is willing to make this deal with you, but I still have one question.”
“Ask!” Wu Chang said concisely.
“How are you going to give me those Star Seals?”
“I can transfer them to you with a certain Secret Technique!” Wu Chang answered naturally.
Yang Kai’s face went black when he heard this and asked, “Then when I saw you outside the Flowing Time Temple earlier, why did you insist on cutting off my arm?”
“Do you know the necessary Secret Technique?” Wu Chang asked disdainfully.
“I don’t,” Yang Kai answered honestly.
“Then cutting off your arm is the only way!” Wu Chang coldly snorted.
“Makes sense!” Yang Kai said lightly.
“Enough nonsense, let’s complete the transaction first!”
Saying so, Wu Chang’s figure flickered and he rushed over to Yang Kai directly, his hands forming a set of seals as he pushed his Source Qi.
The scene in the nameless mountain valley remained desolate as the oval light door hung midair. Cultivators continued exiting from the light door, some with big smiles, making it obvious that they had gained a great harvest in the Four Seasons Realm, while others had their heads lowered in depression, seeming like they weren’t very satisfied with their gains.
No matter what their expressions were previously like, their expressions all instantly changed when they exited the door of light as chills shot up their spines and they broke out into a cold sweat.
This couldn’t be helped, because at this moment, six Emperor Realm Masters were standing together in a line, watching the exit with fierce gazes. Whenever someone walked out of the door, six Emperor Realm Divine Senses would simultaneously cover that person.
Who would be able to withstand such pressure?
Luckily, the six Emperors had no malicious intent and were simply probing, so the pressure would disappear as fast as it came.
Most didn’t know what these six Masters were trying to do here, so they would hurriedly flee after leaving the exit, but some intelligent people had already guessed why these Emperors were guarding the exit in such a manner.
Just like this, the six Emperor Realm Masters kept a vigilant watch over the exit for half a day.
Suddenly, a certain figure appeared from the door of light that had remained silent for quite a while.
The six Emperors immediately focused their attention on this figure.
The figure didn’t expect this, but his reaction was incredibly quick, immediately circulating his Source Qi and Spiritual Energy to resist the tremendous pressure he faced. However, he then started furrowing his brow in confusion because he discovered that the pressure coming from his front actually came from the various major Sects’ Elders…
“Good, good, good!” Chen Wen Hao kept muttering the word ‘good’ with a smile as he watched Wu Chang emerge from the Four Seasons Realm before stating, “Wu Chang, you can go over to the side.”
Wu Chang had a contemplative expression flash through his eyes when he heard this before he obediently walked over to the side and stood there.
Three figures immediately followed after Wu Chang. They were Xia Sheng’s group of three from Azure Sun Temple.
Xia Sheng immediately started sweating when he appeared, “Seniors… what’s going on? Could it be… you’re here to welcome me? How could this Junior possibly deserve such…”
“This King will toss you back in if you keep blabbering!” Xiao Yu Yang coldly snorted.
Xia Sheng shrank his neck and didn’t dare to make a sound, hurriedly taking Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao over to the side.
After these three came out, Yang Kai finally appeared from the exit.
Gao Xue Ting couldn’t help but lightly sigh as she muttered in a low voice, “He finally came out.”
“This little brat is the one?” Xiao Yu Yang turned to ask Gao Xue Ting.
Gao Xue Ting gently nodded.
“Very good!” Xiao Yu Yang laughed loudly, “Making this King wait for so long, I really want to see if this boy has three heads and six arms!”
As he spoke, he opened his hand and immediately opened his palm towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai hadn’t even gotten his bearings after exiting the portal before he felt a tremendous pressure descending from above. The force was so powerful that it was impossible for him to even think of resisting and right after, he was actually pulled over in front of Xiao Yu Yang.
“What’s going on?” Yang Kai exclaimed loudly with an expression of astonishment.
His first thought was that someone had ambushed him!
But when he looked around, he saw the six Emperor Realm Masters all staring at him with heated expressions, almost like six perverts feasting their eyes on a naked beauty.
Even Gao Xue Ting had the same expression.
Yang Kai surprisingly recognized all six. Naturally, there was no need to mention Gao Xue Ting and Xiao Yu Yang, but even the other four were familiar to him as he had seen them in Maplewood City before.
After some slight contemplation, Yang Kai basically understood what was currently going on.
Although he had mentally prepared himself before, he still felt rather helpless now that it actually happened …
“What’s the meaning of this! What are you doing!?” Yang Kai began to shout and struggle.
“Don’t be afraid. We won’t hurt you.” Gao Xue Ting tried to console him.
“Let’s talk things out if you have something to say! Gentlemen should use words, not fists, it’s always better to make friends than enemies! Who knows who will rise up to become strong in the future? You shouldn’t bully someone while they’re young and weak!” Yang Kai kept chattering endlessly!
“Little brat, you talk too much!” Xiao Yu Yang coldly snorted as he grabbed Yang Kai.
Yang Kai wasn’t even able to react as Xiao Yu Yang snatched the Space Ring from his hand.
“You’re robbing me?” Yang Kai was astonished as he glared at Xiao Yu Yang and exclaimed, “Bullying the weak when you’re strong, bullying a Junior as a Senior, is this the law of this land?”
“Hm?” Xiao Yu Yang’s Divine Sense was currently sweeping Yang Kai’s Space Ring, but that didn’t interfere with his ability to think, so hearing this, he snorted condescendingly and coldly chuckled, “The law of this land? This King is the law here! Do you have any objections?”
“If that is what Senior thinks…” Yang Kai shrugged helplessly and said, “Then I can’t do anything.”
“As long as you understand!” Xiao Yu Yang then ignored Yang Kai and instead focused on investigating the ring.
Moments later, he furrowed his brow and tossed the ring over to Chen Wen Hao who was next to him.
Chen Wen Hao took the ring and also started investigating it …
At this moment, Xiao Yu Yang focused on Yang Kai again with an inscrutable gaze that seemed as deep as an abyss. This was a gaze that made chills run down the spine and would cause one to lack the courage to face him. It seemed as if he wanted to see deep inside Yang Kai’s heart and unearth the secrets hidden within.
Yang Kai felt uncomfortable all over from Xiao Yu Yang’s stare, as if millions of ants had entered his body and were nipping at his flesh…
Still, Yang Kai had been lucky enough to have previously experienced the aura of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and had even fought against three First-Order Emperor Realm Masters before, so Xiao Yu Yang was actually a bit overconfident to think that he could suppress Yang Kai’s will with just a sharp gaze.
Of course, this wasn’t Xiao Yu Yang’s fault, as no ordinary First-Order Dao Source Realm Junior would possibly be able to think about anything when being stared at by him. Such an individual’s consciousness would be thrown into chaos already and they would answer anything that they were asked; however, it just so happened that Yang Kai had been through even greater storms before.
“Little brat, this King can see that you’re a smart person, so you should already know why we are waiting here?” Xiao Yu Yang took the direct approach with his words.
“I can guess…” Yang Kai couldn’t act like a fool in this situation, so he could only say this, turning a frightened look towards Xiao Yu Yang as he asked, “Is it for the Extraordinary Treasure Pills?”
“It’s good that you already know!” Xiao Yu Yang spoke solemnly.
Naturally, the Masters were waiting here because of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.
The cultivators who first emerged from the Four Seasons Realm had spread the news of how an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus appeared in the Four Seasons Realm, along with how Yang Kai had successfully refined it into pills.
Xiao Yu Yang and the others were naturally incredibly astonished to learn of this news.
The Extraordinary Treasure Pill was a Heaven defying spirit pill that if used well, could create a new Emperor Realm Master.
The Emperors present would of course pay close attention to this with how important it was. If it wasn’t for being afraid that they would cause the entrance to collapse, they would have long ago rushed into the Four Seasons Realm instead of giving Yang Kai time to trade away such precious pills.
They had waited here all this time just to meet Yang Kai in person, so of course, they were going to demand a detailed explanation.
“Where are the extra Extraordinary Treasure Pills? Hand them over!” Xiao Yu Yang immediately reached his hand out towards Yang Kai.
“What extras? They’re all gone.” Yang Kai shouted with an innocent expression on his face.
“Hm?” Xiao Yu Yang once again adopted an authoritative posture as he spoke in a cold tone, “You should know that with your strength, this King can easily discern if you’re lying or not, yes?”
“I’m telling the truth, if you don’t believe me, you can ask Brother Wu Chang and Brother Xia!” Yang Kai pointed in their direction.
Wu Chang and Xia Sheng’s faces couldn’t help but twitch slightly.
Although they were rising stars in the Dao Source Realm, and they were both confident they would become Emperors in the future, there was still a huge gap between them and a veteran Emperor Realm Master like Xiao Yu Yang. It was obvious that the two of them would feel severely pressured by Yang Kai drawing troublesome attention to them.
“Good,” Xiao Yu Yang quickly said. “This King will ask you once more, and you will answer honestly. If you dare try to deceive this King, he will send you back into the Four Seasons Realm and make you stay there for all eternity!”
As he spoke, he pointed at the light door which had yet to close.
After that, he changed his tone and showed a pleasant and friendly expression as he smiled, “Of course, if you’re honest and cooperative, you’ll receive a rich reward…”
Yang Kai wiped away some cold sweat on his forehead and commented, “Is this a carrot and stick? … haha, please ask anything that you like, Senior Xiao. This Junior will tell you everything he knows.”
“En.” Xiao Yu Yang had a satisfied expression as he asked, “In that case, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… you really managed to refine them?”
“How could I possibly fake something that everyone witnessed?” Yang Kai stated proudly, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Princess Lan Xun and she can testify on my behalf.”
“I already asked her, but this King still doesn’t dare to believe that you’re actually a Dao Source Grade Alchemist…” Xiao Yu Yang stated with some disbelief as he paused for a moment before saying, “Forget it, I won’t think about this matter for the time being. How many Extraordinary Treasure Pills were you able to refine?”
“Four!”
“Where have they gone?”
“Princess Lan Xun ate one, a female disciple from the Eight Paths Sect ate one, I ate one… and I gave the final pill to Wu Chang.”
“Oh?” Chen Wen Hao arched his eyebrow with an expression of surprise and turned to look at Wu Chang when he heard this.
Wu Chang nodded lightly towards him.
Chen Wen Hao immediately smiled so much that it was difficult to make out his eyes or nose. He chucked and exclaimed, “Senior Xiao, it was Wu Chang’s opportunity to receive an Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Senior Xiao, please spare him, heh heh heh…”
Xiao Yu Yang glanced over at Chen Wen Hao before ignoring him and asking Yang Kai, “According to what you say, there’s not a single Extraordinary Treasure Pill left?”
Yang Kai sweated as he answered, “Senior Xiao, it was incredibly difficult for me to craft that one furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills and I almost failed in the process. It was already Heaven’s blessings that I was able to refine four in the end, what more do you want?” He fell silent for a moment before continuing, “After I refined them, the Spirit Pills remained in my Alchemy Furnace and all of them were traded away in front of everyone’s eyes. All of the Spirit Pills were definitely used up. Senior Xiao has also inspected my Space Ring, and you obviously didn’t find anything, right?”
Xiao Yu Yang gently nodded, “Indeed, it is an impressive feat to refine four pills at your current level. When it comes to Extraordinary Treasure Pills, even an Emperor Grade Alchemist would not guarantee how many they could refine. Since the Spirit Pills’ whereabouts are already accounted for, then… this matter will end here.”