Yang Kai’s expression eased significantly after hearing this.
Xiao Yu Yang added with a serious expression, “Just so you know, this King did not wait here just to try to steal your Spirit Pills! It’s just… an ordinary man is innocent, but treasures make one guilty, you should understand my meaning. With your cultivation level, if you secretly retained any Extraordinary Treasure Pills, you’d only be attracting endless trouble to yourself.”
Yang Kai nodded and answered, “Junior understands. Many thanks for considering my situation, Senior Xiao.”
He knew that even though Xiao Yu Yang was offering up a pleasant-sounding excuse, his true objective was still to steal his Extraordinary Treasure Pills. Well, perhaps ‘steal’ wasn’t the best word to use, as Xiao Yu Yang would definitely compensate him.
But even so… Xiao Yu Yang was correct. Since if Yang Kai really did have extra Extraordinary Treasure Pills in his possession, his future days would be extremely dark and dangerous. He didn’t need to fear Dao Source Realm cultivators, but what about Emperors?
Although it was true that Emperor Realm Masters couldn’t use these Extraordinary Treasure Pills personally, which Emperor didn’t have disciples or relatives? An Extraordinary Treasure Pill would still be extremely attractive to them.
At that time, countless Emperor Realm Masters would definitely hear the news and swarm him to try to rob him…
But now, it was proven that all of Yang Kai’s Extraordinary Treasure Pills had been used up, and Xiao Yu Yang and five other Emperor Realm Masters were present to serve as witnesses to this.
It was likely that nobody would try to make trouble for Yang Kai in order to rob Extraordinary Treasure Pills from him in the future.
In a sense, Yang Kai should actually be thanking Xiao Yu Yang for this.
At this moment, Yang Kai’s Space Ring had reached Gao Xue Ting’s hands while the other five had finished their own inspection, not finding much of use. As such, Gao Xue Ting didn’t even bother searching his Space Ring and simply tossed it back to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai put on his ring again before looking at Xiao Yu Yang and saying, “If Senior Xiao has nothing else to say… then this Junior will take his leave first.”
“Good!” Xiao Yu Yang gently nodded, but in the next moment his expression changed as he commented, “This King has some advice for you, if you’re willing to hear it?”
“It would be Junior’s honour to receive advice from Senior Xiao!” Yang Kai hurriedly adopted a serious expression.
Xiao Yu Yang’s expression became much warmer when he saw how accepting Yang Kai was as he quickly said, “You won’t be able to swallow everything if you try to eat too much!”
Yang Kai arched his brow as a contemplative expression appeared on his face before he cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks, Senior Xiao, for the reminder, this Junior will take this lesson to heart.”
“That would be best. Good, you may leave,” Xiao Yu Yang waved his hand.
Only then did Yang Kai head towards where the Azure Sun Temple’s disciples were gathered as he found a place to sit down.
Currently, many cultivators were gathered together in groups, mainly with their respective Sects and families, as they rested in the nameless mountain valley.
But when counting the people here, they had decreased in number by more than a third compared to thirty-three days ago. The cultivators who weren’t here now had obviously met some bad end in the Four Seasons Realm.
In this land, every Sealed World and every trial ground would have risks along with opportunities, and every cultivator’s path of growth would wander between life and death…
This was a fate that every cultivator had to face, one that was absolutely inescapable!
Cultivation was about survival of the fittest, and only the strongest would remain after the filtering out by an unforgiving world.
As Yang Kai rested, Bian Yu Qing and Kou Wu came to say their goodbyes to him.
They were the only two from Blue Feather Sect who came to the Four Seasons Realm this time and could be considered lucky as despite not obtaining many opportunities or reaping too big a harvest, they had at least both managed to return safely.
Since the Four Seasons Realm was about to close, the two of them would naturally return to Blue Feather Sect.
Yang Kai chatted with them for a while and then watched them leave.
He didn’t waste his energy on telling Bian Yu Qing to not tell Wu Meng Shan about him, because he knew that Bian Yu Qing would definitely go back and tell everything about her experience to Wu Meng Shan, meaning that Wu Meng Shan would learn about his information.
Yang Kai was still rather wary of Wu Meng Shan.
But for now, he could only resolve to absolutely not meet that old bat until he became strong enough, otherwise, he might fall prey to Wu Meng Shan’s tricks.
About one hour later, the Heavens and Earth shook as the nameless mountain valley’s light door suddenly vanished. The Four Seasons Realm had completely closed itself off now, and only the Heavens knew when it would open again.
The Four Seasons Realm experience was completely over now and many cultivators from various Sects and families began to leave. Gao Xue Ting talked to Xiao Yu Yang for a while longer before she summoned her ship that took the Azure Sun Temple’s disciples back.
The Azure Sun Temple didn’t suffer many losses. Apart from the outsider Yang Kai, nineteen disciples had come this time, and only four were missing now.
This amount of loss was far less than the average, so it was acceptable to Gao Xue Ting.
Regardless, some of them had still died, so the disciples were in low spirits on the way back. Most simply sat in silence as they took inventory of their harvest from the Four Seasons Realm.
Suddenly, Yang Kai heard Gao Xue Ting calling out to him. Hurriedly opening his eyes, he saw that Elder Gao of the Azure Sun Temple had her back to him as she stood at the bow of the ship. Elder Gao’s long hair and sleeves fluttered in the wind as she seemed to be gazing at the distant scenery, her elegant posture adding a hint of noble beauty to this place.
Yang Kai didn’t dare to be rude as he hurriedly walked towards her.
He stood not far behind her, cupped his fists, and asked, “Elder Gao, do you have some instruction for me?”
Gao Xue Ting stayed silent for a time before suddenly saying, “Do you understand the meaning of Senior Xiao’s last words to you?”
Yang Kai fell silent for a moment before replying, “What Senior Xiao meant was that I should choose one between the Martial Dao and Alchemic Dao to focus on.”
“Indeed!” Gao Xue Ting nodded lightly before she turned her beautiful face towards him, her eyes flashing as she stared at Yang Kai before she opened her red lips slightly to say, “You have extraordinary aptitude for both the Martial Dao and Alchemic Dao, and in time you will definitely become tremendously successful in one of these two domains. Perhaps you’ll even reach a height that I am unable to, but… one’s time and strength are always limited. If you choose to pursue the peak of the Martial Dao, you will have to abandon the Alchemic Dao, and vice versa, it is impossible for you to concentrate on both of these domains. Senior Xiao spoke, thinking for your sake.”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai nodded with a serious expression.
“It’s good that you understand… There’s nothing else I need to say.”
“Then Junior shall take his leave,” Yang Kai bowed slightly.
He was rather surprised that Gao Xue Ting had called for him just for this.
However, he was rather touched, as Gao Xue Ting showed care for him despite him not being a disciple of Azure Sun Temple. It would have been impossible for her to tell him all this if she didn’t care.
Yang Kai had just turned around when he suddenly heard her speaking from behind, “Those Extraordinary Treasure Pills… are there really none left?”
Yang Kai hurriedly turned around again, but saw that Gao Xue Ting had her back to him and wasn’t moving at all, as if she wasn’t the one who said those words.
Yang Kai stood where he was and furrowed his brow as he thought. Not daring to say another word, he could only return to his spot and sit down cross-legged again.
[Has this woman realized something? A woman’s intuition is truly frightening…]
Several days slowly passed by…
On this day, a beautiful ship arrived at the Azure Sun Mountain Range, and all the Dao Source Realm cultivators standing onboard had recovered from the gloom of losing their companions by now. Everyone stood up as they stared out at the familiar scenery below them.
“Wahahaha… I, Xia Sheng, have returned!” Xia Sheng had his hands on his hips as he laughed loudly, as if wanting to make sure everyone knew he had returned, his voice echoing above the mountains as the ship proceeded forward.
His voice was so loud that the Azure Sun Temple disciples moving around below all immediately raised their heads.
“Can you not act more mature?” Xiao Bai Yi coldly glared at him with an expression of disdain.
“Xiao Bai, you should be happy to return home, so here, come shout together with your Senior Brother…” Xia Sheng walked over to Xiao Bai Yi’s side and grasped the latter’s shoulder as he spoke.
“Who would want to shout with you…?” A vein started bulging on Xiao Bai Yi’s forehead.
“So embarrassing!” Murong Xiao Xiao’s face reddened.
“Hmph!” Xiao Bai Yi coldly snorted as he gave Xia Sheng a sidelong glance while saying, “Look at other Sects’ Eldest Senior Brothers like Wu Chang and Luo Yuan! All of them are cold and calm, giving their Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters a sense of reliability, but what about you? You act like a clown every day! How did someone like you actually become the Eldest Senior Brother?”
“So you wanted a cold and cool Senior Brother?” Xia Sheng suddenly adopted a serious expression as a chill emanated from his eyes, his smiling expression instantly being replaced with a domineering glare that seemed to say that none below Heaven were his equal.
At this moment, Xia Sheng’s aura changed tremendously.
“Other Senior Brothers can do it, so this Senior Brother… can naturally do it as well!” He quickly said while acting all serious.
Murong Xiao Xiao was stunned at the sight. Her small mouth formed a circle as she covered her mouth with her small hand as her beautiful eyes trembled.
“Do you feel like I’m reliable now…” Xia Sheng looked directly at her while asking in a deep and masculine voice, “Do you want to abandon everything without care and jump into this Senior Brother’s wide chest and solid arms?”
Murong Xiao Xiao pursed her red lips and cautiously answered, “Senior Brother, your killing intent… is leaking…”
“Stop messing around!” Gao Xue Ting gave Xia Sheng a sidelong glance while lightly stating, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Stop learning from our Temple Master, otherwise, you won’t be able to find a woman in the future.”
“Really?” Xia Sheng seemed as if he had suddenly been struck by lightning, taking major damage and breaking out into a cold sweat as he muttered, “En… other Sect Masters all have wives and countless concubines, but our Temple Master is still old and single…”
His face paled as if he had seen something incredibly frightening before raising his head to Gao Xue Ting and saying, “Elder Gao, Temple Master is so pitiful, so have you ever considered… ahh, again!?”
Before he could finish, Gao Xue Ting suddenly swung her sleeve and immediately tossed him off the ship. As the ship flew off, Xia Sheng’s pitiful wails could be heard from the distance.
“Don’t do, won’t die!” Xiao Bai Yi didn’t sympathize with him one bit, even coldly snorting at the sight.
Murong Xiao Xiao was actually worried and turned around while intending to beg for mercy for Xia Sheng, but when she saw Gao Xue Ting’s terrifying expression, she instantly swallowed her words back down.
The ship descended to Azure Sun Temple’s Main Peak, Myriad Saints Peak, causing a tremendous gust as it approached.
Below were Temple Master Wen Zi Shan, Vice Temple Master Qiu Ran, Elder Chen Qian, and the other senior leaders who were waiting with serious expressions.
Before the ship landed, several Emperor Realm Divine Senses scanned the ship, and the Masters present instantly gained a precise understanding of how many disciples had been lost on this trip.
Although a few elite disciples had been lost, luckily, the ones they placed the greatest expectations upon had all safely returned, so everyone couldn’t help heaving sighs of relief as their serious expressions became slightly less tense.
The ship landed moments later.
All the disciples leapt down while Gao Xue Ting waved her hand and stowed away the ship.
“Hahaha, Little Xue Ting, I really missed you after not seeing you for so many days! Here, give Uncle a hug!” Wen Zi Shan laughed loudly while opening up his arms as he took large steps towards Gao Xue Ting.
*Shing…*
Sword Qi flashed as killing intent erupted.
Wen Zi Shan broke out into a cold sweat as he stopped a meter in front of Gao Xue Ting, a cherry blossom longsword pressed against his neck while Gao Xue Ting wore an icy expression. Gripping her sword tightly, she coldly snapped, “I’ll kill you if you dare to take one more step forward!”
Wen Zi Shan didn’t dare to move…
“Sigh.” Qiu Ran held his forehead and sighed with a helpless expression. “Temple Master, please behave with some dignity!”
“It was just a joke…” Wen Zi Shan chuckled before jumping back and landing at his original position. The next moment, his expression turned serious as he stated, “In any case… this Temple Master congratulates everyone for returning safely, all of you are future pillars of our noble temple. All of you have worked hard to pass this trial.”
The disciples didn’t say anything as they simply watched him in silence. Gao Xue Ting also slowly put away her sword.
“This Temple Master shall remember all of your accomplishments and your fellow Brothers and Sisters deaths shall also not be in vain. Now… those among you who received extra Star Seals, come with this Temple Master. The others are dismissed.”
“Yes!” At his command, everyone responded in a loud voice.
There were almost twenty disciples gathered, but most dispersed at this point, leaving only four behind.
Yang Kai turned around and saw that apart from himself, only Xiao Bai Yi, Murong Xiao Xiao, and another Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator youth, whose name he didn’t know, remained.
Although this cultivator was also a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and had entered the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai had barely interacted with this youth, so he knew nothing about him.
Still, when judging the youth’s aura and disposition, he didn’t seem like someone that was difficult to get along with.
“Where’s that little brat Xia Sheng?” Moments later, Wen Zi Shan turned to Gao Xue Ting and asked curiously as he was surprised to not see Xia Sheng here. With a slightly dark expression, Wen Zi Shan began to worry if something had happened to Xia Sheng in the Four Seasons Realm.
Even Qiu Ran thought the same thing and his face couldn’t help going white as he exclaimed, “Elder Gao, could it be that Xia Sheng…”
Gao Xue Ting replied calmly, “No, he’ll be here soon!”
As she spoke, a figure flew over from the horizon, shouting all the way, “Wait for me!”
Moments later, Xia Sheng landed in front of everyone as he looked towards Gao Xue Ting with a face full of complaints, shouting out pitifully, “Elder Gao, next time you should notify this disciple before you make a move… this disciple wasn’t mentally prepared!”
“Little brat, just what did you do!?” Wen Zi Shan reached out and knocked Xia Sheng’s head, causing Xia Sheng’s neck to shrink.
“Temple Master, what are you doing!?” Xia Sheng felt really aggrieved as he held his head.
Wen Zi Shan coldly snorted, “It’s obvious to see that you made Elder Gao angry, is this Temple Master not allowed to teach you a lesson?”
Xia Sheng blinked as his expression became speechless…
“Alright, since you’re here, then all of you should follow this Temple Master.” Wen Zi Shan also glanced at Yang Kai as he spoke. “You come as well!”
A short time later, all the higher-ups of Azure Sun Temple arrived at the large main hall on Myriad Saints Peak, with the disciples and Yang Kai standing in the centre of the floor.
Wen Zi Shan sat on his seat above and glanced down as he spoke, “Elder Gao, you were the leader of the team that went to the Four Seasons Realm this time, so you should understand the situation in detail. Please tell us how many Star Seals each of these people obtained.”
Upon hearing this, Gao Xue Ting answered calmly, “Although I didn’t compare with the other Sects, judging from the number of Star Seals that these disciples obtained, their harvest should have been pretty good.”
After saying this, she turned her pretty face and added, “Xia Sheng obtained four Star Seals, Xiao Bai Yi obtained two, Murong Xiao Xiao two, and Chen Mu Ji got two…”
After hearing this, Yang Kai finally learned that the Second-Order Dao Source Realm youth’s name was Chen Mu Ji.
Gao Xue Ting paused for a moment here before continuing, “There were three other disciples who obtained one each, but they are not here right now.”
Wen Zi Shan nodded lightly in understanding.
Before heading out on this journey, Azure Sun Temple had announced that any disciple who obtained a Star Seal in the Four Seasons Realm would obtain the right to enter the Shattered Star Sea. Thus, the three disciples who obtained one Star Seal apiece had all kept their Star Seals without needing to hand them over.
Those who had come here were the ones who had obtained extra Star Seals.
“What about this little brat?” Wen Zi Shan glanced at Yang Kai.
“He…” Gao Xue Ting’s expression became slightly complex, remaining silent for a time before she finally muttered, “He obtained seven!”
“What?”
“Did I hear incorrectly?”
“That many?”
The higher-ups were all Emperor Realm Masters with extraordinary mental discipline; however, they still couldn’t hide their astonishment when they heard that Yang Kai actually obtained seven Star Seals all by himself. They all glanced at him inquisitively with looks of astonishment, as if they were reassessing him.
The temple’s top disciple, Xia Sheng, had only obtained four, even with his powerful Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. On the other hand, Yang Kai only had First-Order cultivation, so how had he obtained seven?
[Isn’t this brat’s luck a little too outrageous?] Everyone was thinking this as they secretly felt that Yang Kai must possess Heaven defying luck. If that wasn’t the case, how else could he have obtained so many Star Seals?
Yang Kai remained calm in front of everyone’s eyes.
Seven was indeed the total number of Star Seals that he obtained in the Four Seasons Realm.
The first one was the diamond-shaped Star Seal that he obtained in the Two Seasons Mountain Range. At the time, Wu Chang and the others had been chasing a Monster Beast which had unfortunately run into Yang Kai as it was fleeing and wound up dying at the latter’s hands.
Yang Kai didn’t get any opportunities to receive a Star Seal after that.
Only when he was guarding the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus and killed two cultivators had he obtained two more.
In the end, he made a trade with Wu Chang and obtained four more.
Although luck certainly played a part in being able to obtain so many, strength was also a necessary requirement.
Star Seals weren’t actually that easy to obtain, because there weren’t very many of them, and if it wasn’t for Yang Kai killing two cultivators and making a trade with Wu Chang, perhaps when the Four Seasons Realm closed, he would have only obtained the first one he got by luck.
“There were some reasons involved that I will explain to you afterwards; however, he indeed obtained seven Star Seals by himself!” Gao Xue Ting spoke up. The reason she spoke of was naturally about the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
Wen Zi Shan nodded lightly and made a sound of affirmation before a smile covered his face as he stated, “Very good, in that case, nineteen people from the temple can enter the Shattered Star Sea when it opens. That’s wonderful news.”
If the trial in the Four Seasons Realm was considered a small event at the level of simple life experience, then the Shattered Star Sea was a place where one could seek enlightenment of their own Martial Dao. Such a place wasn’t one where anyone could just enter.
First, a Star Seal was required as an entry ticket. Second, one would have to possess the strength necessary to pass through the entrance of the Shattered Star Sea. Both were necessary in order to go through.
In other words, even if someone possessed a Star Seal, they would still be unable to enter the Shattered Star Sea unless they were strong enough.
Azure Sun Temple had nineteen quotas for entering, but it was unknown how many could actually enter in the end.
Still, this amount was much larger than that of most other Sects and great forces.
Wen Zi Shan was naturally overjoyed.
“This is a sign of great fortune for our temple!” Qiu Ran uttered happily, stroking his snow-white beard in happiness and satisfaction.
“Let’s not waste time. Little Qian, gather their extra Star Seals.” Wen Zi Shan gestured with his eyes towards Chen Qian.
Chen Qian nodded and got up. With a wave of her hand, an artifact that resembled an incense burner appeared in her grip. It was unknown what this artifact was ordinarily used for, but it seemed to be of decent grade. Various runes appeared on the incense burner artifact’s surface, making it seem rather mysterious.
Slowly, she walked over to the waiting disciples, then starting with Chen Mu Ji, she said in a gentle tone, “Just relax!”
“Yes!” Chen Mu Ji answered and took a deep breath, causing his expression to immediately become calm.
Seeing that he was prepared, Chen Qian held the incense burner with one hand and made a seal with her other hand before poking several points on Chen Mu Ji’s arm.
Chen Mu Ji suddenly retreated a few steps with a muffled cough, his expression turning a little pale, as if his foundation had suffered some damage.
At the same time, a beam of light suddenly shot out from his body.
Chen Qian was quite swift and accurate in her movements as she waved towards the beam of light. An invisible force immediately bound the beam of light and dragged it into the incense burner.
Yang Kai was quite astonished as he watched.
Back in the Four Seasons Realm, when he was trading with Wu Chang, the latter had used a Secret Technique to force out the extra Star Seals from himself so that Yang Kai could obtain them. But now, it seemed that apart from that method, it was also possible to retrieve Star Seals from another as well.
After realizing this, Yang Kai felt that he needed to be more careful when travelling the Star Boundary in the future; otherwise, someone with ulterior motives might target his Star Seals and bring more trouble upon him.
After that, Chen Qian did the same to extract the extra star seals from Xia Sheng, Murong Xiao Xiao, and Xiao Bai Yi.
Yang Kai witnessed quite clearly that no matter the cultivation or strength of the person, they all seemed to take some damage after having the Star Seal stripped from their body. Even Xia Sheng couldn’t help shaking a bit as his face went slightly pale.
It seemed that this forceful extraction method had its disadvantages.
It didn’t take long for Chen Qian to move in front of Yang Kai.
This Elder Chen was rather petite, and when she stood in front of Yang Kai, she was actually shorter than him by a head.
She raised her head to glance at Yang Kai as she said in a light tone, “If you’re prepared, I’ll begin.”
“Wait a moment!” Yang Kai suddenly spoke up.
“What’s wrong?” Upon hearing this, Chen Qian furrowed her delicate brow and tilted her head at Yang Kai, not knowing what he wanted to do.
Everyone else also glanced in his direction.
Yang Kai had a calm expression as he glanced towards Wen Zi Shan, cupped his fists, and said, “Junior is willing to turn over all his extra Star Seals, since this was what was agreed upon beforehand and all I need is one for myself; however, before that, Junior would like to ask Temple Master Wen a question.”
“Oh?” Wen Zi Shan smiled upon hearing this and nodded as he answered, “Say it, what do you need from this Temple Master?”
Yang Kai replied, “As Elder Gao previously mentioned, all extra Star Seals must be turned over to the temple, and this Junior was only able to enter the Four Seasons Realm thanks to the quota provided by Azure Sun Temple, so naturally I have no objections in giving my six star seals to the temple,” he paused for a moment before saying, “Elder Gao also mentioned before that after turning over the additional Star Seals, the temple would give an appropriate reward…”
“So, it’s about this matter!” Wen Zi Shan chuckled. “You can rest assured about this matter. Although you’re not a disciple of my divine temple, we won’t bully you, and we’ll give you the appropriate reward that you deserve…”
“May I make a request then?” Yang Kai inquired.
“What’s your request? Let’s hear it.” Wen Zi Shan looked at him with some interest.
“Temple Master Wen should still remember this Junior’s original goal in entering the Four Seasons Realm, yes?” Yang Kai replied with a question instead of answering.
Wen Zi Shan thought for a moment before nodding, “For the Tribulation Fruit? Right, I still haven’t asked you yet, did you manage to obtain it during this trip?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “No, but I did discover a Tribulation Fruit Tree in the Realm of Winter; unfortunately, it seems someone got there first and picked the fruit…”
“That’s truly unfortunate,” Wen Zi Shan also had an expression of pity.
“Junior would like to request the temple’s assistance in finding that spirit fruit! If Temple Master Wen can agree, I’ll gladly hand over all six of my Star Seals!” Yang Kai quickly said.
After Yang Kai said this, the Emperor Realm Masters in the temple couldn’t help furrowing their brows.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai was asking for too much with his request, but rather… This was truly difficult to do.
Countless Sects and families from almost the entire Southern Territory had entered the Four Seasons Realm, and nobody had seen who obtained the Tribulation Fruit from the Realm of Winter. If Azure Sun Temple tried to search for that person, they would have to invest a tremendous amount of manpower and effort.
What’s more, even if they found who obtained the fruit, it still might not be possible to obtain it. The other party would definitely ask for something in exchange. In other words, Azure Sun Temple would have to pay a certain amount before being able to obtain the Tribulation Fruit.
It would be fine if some small Sect or a disciple from some small family had obtained the Tribulation Fruit, as Azure Sun Temple would simply need to apply some pressure for the other party to submit.
However, it would be worrisome if a disciple from Orthodoxy Temple, Heavenly Martial Holy Land, or even Star Soul Palace had obtained the fruit. At that time, it would no longer be just about a single spirit fruit, but rather an issue between two top-level Sects. If it wasn’t dealt with properly, then a tremendous favour might be owed in the end.
Yang Kai might not know all the complex relationships between the top Sects of the Southern Territory, but the Azure Sun Temple’s leaders did.
That was why everyone fell silent after Yang Kai made this request.
Upon seeing them like this, Yang Kai simply remained quiet and waited instead of urging them to answer.
Wen Zi Shan finally spoke up after a long time, “If I recall correctly, that Tribulation Fruit wasn’t something you needed for yourself, but was for someone else, correct?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Since you weren’t able to obtain it in the Four Seasons Realm, you’ve already put forward your best effort, so why continue pursuing the issue? You could instead ask for something beneficial to yourself, for instance…” At this point, Wen Zi Shan suddenly took on a dangerous aura as his words became filled with extremely strong temptation, his voice turned low as he continued, “This Temple Master could help stimulate your potential and greatly increase your cultivation.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow as he answered, “I made a promise, and promises should be kept. Temple Master, why test me like this?”
“Haha…” Wen Zi Shan didn’t feel awkward at all about being seen through, instead smiling as he heartily declared, “Good, this Temple Master will agree to your request. The temple shall help you to search for the Tribulation Fruit.”
“It must be found within three months!” Yang Kai quickly said. “If it takes any longer than that, I’m afraid… the one who needs it won’t be able to endure any longer.”
“Three months is more than enough!” Wen Zi Shan smiled slightly as he turned to look at Qiu Ran, “Vice Temple Master, you shall be in charge of this matter. You must deliver the Tribulation Fruit to this little brat surnamed Yang within three months.”
Qiu Ran stood up, cupped his fists, and answered, “Subordinate understands. I will absolutely live up to the Temple Master’s expectations!”
After saying this, he actually immediately left the hall, seemingly preparing to deploy some people to search for the Tribulation Fruit right away.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief seeing this.
With a powerful Sect like Azure Sun Temple helping to search for the spirit fruit, it would definitely greatly increase the chance of success. If even Azure Sun Temple was unable to find it now, then Yang Kai really wouldn’t be able to do anything and would have to return to Maplewood City and inform Qin Zhao Yang of what happened.
“Will this suffice?” Wen Zi Shan smiled and looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai gently nodded, turned to look at Chen Qian, and continued “Please go ahead, Elder Chen!”
Chen Qian didn’t say a word as she scanned Yang Kai with her Divine Sense. She then used one hand to hold the incense burner while her other hand made a seal before she poked Yang Kai several times.
The next instant, Yang Kai felt a warm energy reverberate inside his body and a flow of heat appeared on his arm. It felt as if something had shot forth, and at the same time, an indescribable feeling of discomfort arose in his heart.
He couldn’t help groaning slightly when this happened.
“Eh…?” Wen Zi Shan had a look of astonishment in his eyes when he witnessed this.
That was because everyone before Yang Kai had differing degrees of discomfort when their extra Star Seals were stripped from their bodies. Murong Xiao Xiao, Xiao Bai Yi, and Chen Mu Ji had taken several steps backward, and although Xia Sheng hadn’t retreated, his face had still paled.
Although Yang Kai’s reaction was similar to Xia Sheng’s, Yang Kai had six Star Seals stripped from him! Yet, he still stood right where he was despite only having a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation.
This was really shocking.
The others noticed this as well and couldn’t help showing interest in him.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
Six beams of light flew into the air, but Chen Qian immediately bound and dragged them into the incense burner.
After Chen Qian finished, she finally spoke to Yang Kai in a gentle tone, “I left a five-pointed Star Seal for you, use it well if you really enter the Shattered Star Sea.”
“Many thanks, Elder Chen!” Yang Kai took a deep breath in order to calm the roiling vitality in his chest.
Of the seven Star Seals that he obtained, the highest-level one was a five-pointed Star Seal, which he obtained from trading with Wu Chang. As for the six-pointed, seven-pointed, or eight-pointed Star Seals that Lan Xun had previously mentioned, Yang Kai had not seen any such thing, so he was clueless about whether they truly existed in this world or not.
Overall, Yang Kai was quite satisfied with the final result. Chen Qian had also been considerate of him and left him the highest-level Star Seal rather than leaving him a random one.
Yang Kai still didn’t know what difference there was between the Star Seals’ different levels, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Regardless, he was going to stay in Azure Sun Temple for some time, so he intended to find someone to ask later when he had the chance.
“All of you have worked hard, you may go and rest now.” Wen Zi Shan waved his hand at the Dao Source Realm disciples before adding, “As for the temple’s reward for you… we’ll discuss it and inform you later.”
“Yes!” Xia Sheng and the others responded before bowing and exiting the hall.
After they left, Elder Di Rong finally muttered, “Such a good seedling!”
Although he didn’t refer to anyone with his words, everyone present knew who he was talking about. Naturally, it was Yang Kai.
“It seems you all have noticed as well,” Wen Zi Shan smiled slightly, “This little brat surnamed Yang… he’s a bit different from others. I think that Elder Gao and Elder Chen should understand better than anyone else, since the two of them watched the entire fight between Yang Kai and Xue Yi back on Soaring Swallow Peak.”
Chen Qian nodded and confirmed, “That’s right, Xue Yi wasn’t even a match for him!”
“He’s not just a ‘bit different’ from others, he’s a one in a billion genius!” Gao Xue Ting quickly said.
“Oh? Elder Gao has such a high assessment of him? Isn’t that a bit much…?” Di Rong turned to look at Gao Xue Ting and exclaimed in disbelief.
“You wouldn’t think that if you knew what he did in the Four Seasons Realm,” Gao Xue Ting replied in a light tone.
Wen Zi Shan smiled as he asked, “Since you say that, did he do something incredible in the Four Seasons Realm?”
“Does successfully refining a batch of Extraordinary Treasure Pills count as something amazing?” Gao Xue Ting turned to look at him.
Everyone’s expressions changed dramatically after hearing this.
“Extraordinary Treasure Pills!?” Di Rong shouted, “The legendary pill that can permanently increase a person’s chance of breaking through to the Emperor Realm after taking it?”
“I don’t know if the legends are true or not, but he indeed refined Extraordinary Treasure Pills!”
“In that case, an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus appeared in the Four Seasons Realm this time?” Wen Zi Shan arched his eyebrows.
“Indeed,” Gao Xue Ting nodded as she explained everything that she knew. She also explained just why Yang Kai came to possess so many Star Seals.
After hearing this, the Emperors present all fell silent.
“Although this boy is just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, not only does he possess astonishing strength, he’s actually a Dao Source Grade Alchemist as well?” Di Rong’s expression was quite animated as he muttered this.
“He’s also no ordinary Dao Source Grade Alchemist!” Chen Qian answered in a low voice, “He successfully refined four pills in a single batch of that grade. He has to be at least a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank or even High-Rank Alchemist in order to accomplish this. No newly promoted Dao Source Grade Alchemist could possibly do such a thing!”
“When Elder Gao said that he was one in a billion… it seems she was not exaggerating,” Wen Zi Shan quickly said. “Out of all the rising stars in Dao Source Realm, you probably can’t find anyone in the entire Star Field that could accomplish what he did apart from a disciple of a Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, right?”
“Perhaps there are those with more aptitude than him in the Martial Dao, and perhaps there are also those with more talent than him in the Alchemic Dao, but there’s probably none who are as skilled as him in both simultaneously!”
“Temple Master, have you considered recruiting such an excellent seedling into our Sect? This boy doesn’t seem to belong to any other force, right?” Di Rong had an eager expression as he made this recommendation.
Wen Zi Shan smiled upon hearing this and remarked, “Of course it would be great if such a good seedling joined the temple. Still, it depends on his own opinion, but… we could certainly try.”
After saying that, he then turned to look at Gao Xue Ting, “Elder Gao, among all of us, you know him the best, so you should take charge of this matter.”
“I don’t understand him that well,” Gao Xue Ting replied with a calm expression. “But since Temple Master has given the command, subordinate shall try.”
Wen Zi Shan nodded lightly and then changed the topic, “In that case, let us discuss what reward shall be appropriate for those disciples…”
…
Yang Kai returned to the Azure Sun Temple’s Soaring Swallow Peak.
The palace that had been wrecked last time during his fight with Xue Yi had already been repaired, and after Yang Kai entered, he opened the various barriers and rested for half a day before he began taking inventory of his harvest from the Four Seasons Realm.
Although he didn’t get the Tribulation Fruit he was searching for on this trip to the Four Seasons Realm, he still gained quite a significant harvest.
Without mentioning the Monster Beast Cores of various grades and amounts, just the spirit herbs, most of which were of the Ice Attribute, that he transplanted into the Small Sealed World’s medicine garden was already a great harvest.
Yang Kai had stayed in the Realm of Winter the longest, and with the little snowflake to lead the way for him, it could be said that at least ten percent of all the treasures in the Realm of Winter had landed in his possession.
Yang Kai had harvested the spirit herbs and immediately transplanted them into his medicine garden at the time. The Sealed World Bead’s medicine garden had a special environment that was highly suitable for growing herbs, and with the Immortal Tree providing a shocking amount of vitality, there was no need to worry that these herbs would wither. In fact, these herbs would instead have their growth greatly accelerated.
All these herbs’ medicinal ages would increase a hundred times faster than in the outside world.
Apart from these, there was also a Flowing Time Fruit that Yang Kai had obtained from the Flowing Time Temple. Although this item wasn’t very useful for Martial Dao cultivation, it had a certain special effect if you managed to refine it into a Flowing Time Pill. This effect was something that countless cultivators would definitely desire.
Taking one pill would cause a person’s body’s condition to return back to how it was several dozen, hundreds, or even thousands of years ago. This was something that would tremendously attract a cultivator whose lifespan was almost up.
This was even more so for women of all ages; after all, which woman wouldn’t want to become younger?
Although the Flowing Time Pill’s effect wasn’t as strong as the legendary Everlasting Face Pill which could make one appear young forever, the two pills had different effects, so it was quite difficult to compare which was actually superior.
If an old woman with a face covered in wrinkles had to choose, she would definitely choose the Flowing Time Pill instead of the Everlasting Face Pill because the Everlasting Face Pill would no longer have any effect on her face, while the Flowing Time Pill would allow her to rejuvenate herself.
But if a young and beautiful woman had to choose, the Everlasting Face Pill would definitely be more attractive.
Yang Kai secretly planned to find a chance to gather some herbs after he left Azure Sun Temple to refine the Flowing Time Pill. Perhaps the pill would have a miraculous effect at some critical moment.
Apart from these, there was also a random assortment of items.
These items included the treasures Yang Kai obtained from killing others, as well as the Spirit Energy Hearts he obtained in the Flowing Time Temple from destroying the guardian puppets. These were basically useless to Yang Kai though, so he planned to exchange them for Source Crystals.
A jade bottle appeared in Yang Kai’s hand a moment later, and after opening it, he immediately saw a Spirit Pill-like object.
Emperor Authority Bead!
It was the Emperor Authority Bead that he had obtained from Wu Chang.
An Emperor Authority Bead had an Emperor Realm Master’s full force attack sealed within. It would be difficult to imagine how powerful it was, and it was also similarly difficult to create. This was a consumable item that only a Second-Order or stronger Emperor Realm Master was capable of refining and was usually given to one’s descendants for the sake of protecting their lives.
Whenever an Emperor Realm Master created an Emperor Authority Bead, they would be weakened for quite a long period of time, which meant that Emperor Realm Masters weren’t willing to craft these unless it was absolutely necessary. Even if they crafted one, it would only be on a rare occasion, and they wouldn’t craft many.
Thus, Emperor Authority Beads were considered a rare treasure even throughout the entire Star Boundary.
This Emperor Authority Bead had come from the Flowing Time Temple and was something left behind by the Flowing Time Great Emperor. Although Yang Kai didn’t know when Flowing Time Great Emperor had refined this bead, its value and level already far surpassed that of an ordinary Emperor Authority Bead.
Perhaps it had a Great Emperor level attack sealed inside, or maybe a Third-Order Emperor Realm level attack.
At any rate, this was a life-saving item that Yang Kai could use at a critical moment. Even if he was surrounded by thousands of troops or masters, he could still overturn the dangerous situation with this.
Yang Kai put the bead away with extreme caution in a location where he could easily retrieve it from his Space Ring before finally focusing on the other three beads in front of him.
These three beads were identical in shape and size. The only thing different about them was their colour.
One was fiery red. Yang Kai obtained it in the Flowing Time Temple.
The temple had contained many treasures back then, and Lan Xun had basically identified them all. The only unidentifiable item was this red bead, and in fact, Lan Xun didn’t even know what this bead’s purpose was.
Yang Kai remembered the words that Qiong Qi had told him through Zhang Ruo Xi, ‘If he could enter the deepest part of the temple, then he must take the item that appeared to be the most useless’.
At the time, this red bead seemed to be the most useless one among all the treasures. No matter if it was the Pseudo Emperor Artifact, Supreme Divine Water, Emperor Aura, or Emperor Authority Bead, they were all rare treasures that were hardly ever seen in the outside world.
That was why Yang Kai had directly targeted this bead…
Nobody else had tried to fight with him for this bead, so he had gotten it quite easily.
The second bead was green. Yang Kai had obtained it in the Realm of Winter’s lake.
The third bead was the one he had obtained from trading with the round-faced woman from Eight Paths Sect.
Yang Kai never would have traded away an Extraordinary Treasure Pill with this round-faced woman if it weren’t for this bead! This third bead was faint yellow, like a withered leaf, making one think of how flowers and leaves would start to die in autumn.
These three beads of three different colours all had no reaction whatsoever when Yang Kai tried to inject his Source Qi or Divine Sense into them.
Aside from being different colours, they were impossible to tell apart.
Thinking that these beads came from the Four Seasons Realm though, it was quite easy to associate them with spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
The green bead obviously represented spring, which was filled with vitality, the red summer, and the bleak yellow, autumn!
There was one missing season. Only the Bead of Winter’s whereabouts were unknown.
Yang Kai secretly felt that he might be able to figure out the secret hidden inside these four beads if he could find the final Bead of Winter; however, the Four Seasons Realm had already closed, so it was impossible to look for it even if he had wanted to.
Yang Kai looked at the beads for a while and then sighed. He then put away the ‘Four Seasons Beads’ as he decided to name them.
If fate permitted, perhaps he would be able to find the final bead, but if it was not meant to be, perhaps he would never see the final bead in his lifetime. The Star Boundary was immensely vast, so it would be incredibly difficult to find a single Bead of Winter.
Overall though, Yang Kai’s harvest this time was not small.
There was also no need to mention the benefits he gained from the Flowing Time Force through the Flowing Time Steps, or the Emperor Artifact Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe that Zhang Ruo Xi obtained.
Yang Kai organized his spoils and tossed all the random items that he couldn’t use at all into the Small Sealed World, giving them to his Embodiment.
These items included the Spirit Pills found in others’ Space Rings, various ores, and even some artifacts.
Regardless, the Embodiment was cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and had the Stone Puppet Clan’s innate Divine Ability, so it could devour anything in the world that possessed Qi…
Yang Kai calculated that the current Embodiment was even capable of devouring an Emperor Artifact and absorbing it as a foundation to become even stronger.
Moments later, Yang Kai made a seal with his hands as his body flashed straight into the Small Sealed World.
He used his Divine Sense to scan and imprint every single blade of grass in the Small Sealed World into his mind.
The Embodiment was cultivating right now. Stone Puppets did not know fatigue, so Yang Kai’s Embodiment was capable of cultivating without rest.
Meanwhile, the two living people in the Small Sealed World, Zhang Ruo Xi and Hua Qing Si, were both sitting cross-legged in their own buildings.
Perhaps because the Sealed World Bead had devoured a large amount of Spirit Qi from the Spirit Qi Sea, Yang Kai felt that this place’s cultivation environment was obviously better than before.
Judging from this, it seemed he should have the Sealed World Bead absorb some more World Energy from the outside world if he had a chance, at least when he encountered another area with extremely dense World Energy like last time.
Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to gather the World Energy in the Small Sealed World towards the houses so Zhang Ruo Xi and Hua Qing Si would be able to cultivate more efficiently.
Zhang Ruo Si had previously risen to the First-Order Origin Returning Realm in the Four Seasons Realm Spirit Qi Sea, and then again to the Second-Order on the Flowing Time Steps, so right now she was busy consolidating her cultivation.
However… Yang Kai did not dare to underestimate her because of her weak cultivation.
Yang Kai had witnessed many inconceivable things when he brought Zhang Ruo Xi into the Four Seasons Realm this time.
He clearly remembered that when Zhang Ruo Xi was breaking through to the next Great Realm, the Origin Returning Realm, a gigantic female phantom had suddenly appeared behind her. This woman was like a giant version of a more mature Zhang Ruo Xi, and when this phantom opened her mouth, she sucked in the entire World Energy Baptism meant for Zhang Ruo Xi, allowing the latter to break through in an instant without any difficulties.
Afterwards, inside the Flowing Time Temple, right when Zhang Ruo Xi was no longer able to bear the rising Flowing Time Force from the Flowing Time Steps, the Divine Spirit Qiong Qi had acted to save her life, and even gifted her the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe…
Yang Kai refused to believe that Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t have some sort of secret.
Qiong Qi was a vicious beast that was a famous existence even in ancient times. Any cultivator that met him would barely have a chance of remaining alive, yet such a Divine Spirit willingly saved a young girl like Zhang Ruo Xi.
Qiong Qi had seen something in Zhang Ruo Xi that Yang Kai didn’t know about…
There was also the Space Spirit Jade. Why had it only reacted to Zhang Ruo Xi? And what was the scene that had flashed before his eyes back when the jade activated?
Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t know about her situation either, so Yang Kai couldn’t find out by asking her.
How could he possibly underestimate someone filled with such profound secrets that even Qiong Qi was willing to save and protect her?
Yang Kai could only hope that Zhang Ruo Xi’s strength would quickly rise. Perhaps she would figure her secrets out on her own once she became strong enough.
Since Zhang Ruo Xi was cultivating, Yang Kai didn’t disturb her. Instead, he flashed straight over to Hua Qing Si’s building.
He didn’t make a sound when he appeared, but it seemed like Hua Qing Si sensed something and slightly furrowed her dainty brow. Opening her beautiful eyes, she couldn’t help glaring at Yang Kai slightly while saying, “You should say something when you arrive. You almost scared me to death.”
“I didn’t know that you were such a scaredy-cat,” Yang Kai smiled widely.
“The Four Seasons Realm… has it closed?” Hua Qing Si asked contemplatively.
“En.” Yang Kai nodded.
“How was your harvest?”
“Okay.”
Hua Qing Si couldn’t help but spit disdainfully as she spoke, “It’s obvious that you’re not telling the truth. Did you get something good?”
Yang Kai smiled, “En, something.”
As he spoke, he took out a round, white, and flawless Spirit Pill and held it between two fingers.
“That’s…” Hua Qing Si focused with her pretty eyes upon the Spirit Pill with a blank look of confusion.
Although she didn’t recognize the Spirit Pill or what it was used for, she instinctively felt that something was amazing about it and that it was highly likely to be an incredibly rare item.
“Do you want it?” Yang Kai’s mouth arched upwards in a subtle grin as he spoke.
“With our current relationship, and the condition where you can kill me at any time, plus with this Spirit Pill’s colour and scent, I don’t think that it’s poison or that it’s anything bad for me because there’s no need for you to do such a thing. In that case, this Spirit Pill must really be useful for me, right?” Hua Qing Si began to carefully analyze the situation instead of immediately answering Yang Kai’s question, “I’m already a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, which is only a step away from the Emperor Realm. There are very few Spirit Pills in the world that will be highly useful to me, and… I’ve never seen or even heard of this type of Spirit Pill in your hand right now…”
Hua Qing Si’s beautiful eyes gradually lit up as she spoke, “The only explanation then is that this Spirit Pill is the type that only exists in legend…” She couldn’t help but begin to breathe rapidly, “I want it! I want it, hurry and give it to me!”
However, Yang Kai didn’t immediately give it to her, instead just looking over her with a teasing expression before muttering aloud, “Is it really good for a woman to say such words?”
“Go to hell!” Hua Qing Si’s face became red from the teasing as she glared at Yang Kai while gritting her teeth, “Are you giving it to me or not?”
Yang Kai smiled slightly and refrained from teasing her further before tossing the Spirit Pill over.
Hua Qing Si happily caught the pill. She first put it right in front of her eyes to carefully observe it, but she still couldn’t tell anything about it, so then she went up to sniff it and even used her pink tongue to gently lick it…
“Is there a need for this…?” Yang Kai had dark lines appearing on his forehead as he watched, “Can’t you just directly eat it?”
“Just what kind of Spirit Pill is this?” Hua Qing Si raised her head and asked.
“Extraordinary Treasure Pill!”
Hua Qing Si immediately froze upon hearing this as her beautiful eyes began to violently tremble while she stared at Yang Kai in disbelief.
“You know what it is?” Yang Kai was rather surprised as he looked at her.
Back in the Four Seasons Realm, many cultivators hadn’t known about the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus and Extraordinary Treasure Pill. It was only thanks to Lan Xun’s explanation that everyone realized how precious they were.
However, it was obvious from Hua Qing Si’s reaction that she knew what it was.
“Of course I know about it…” Hua Qing Si answered as if it was natural while her voice trembled slightly, “This is the extremely famous… Extraordinary Treasure Pill, which might not appear even once in ten thousand years!”
She wasn’t exaggerating about this.
Although the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus might appear every once in a while, it was extremely difficult to get an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, because the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus’s medicinal effects would disappear unless it was eaten or made into a pill within three hours.
Two conditions must be met in order for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill to be created.
The appearance of an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus!
At the same time, a highly skilled Alchemist must also be nearby!
It was highly difficult for both conditions to be met simultaneously, to the extent where it wouldn’t happen even once in ten thousand years. Even if it happened, the Alchemist present still needed to have the necessary adjuvants on hand and not fail in the refinement.
Such mishaps had indeed happened in history before. An Alchemist had been under too much pressure when creating the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, which then led to a failure in refinement.
It could thus be seen that Extraordinary Treasure Pills were both precious and difficult to obtain.
“You really are quite knowledgeable,” Yang Kai smiled widely.
“Where did you obtain this? The Flowing Time Temple actually had something like this?” Hua Qing Si was still truly shocked and was unable to restore her emotions to normal for quite some time.
“I refined it myself,” Yang Kai replied casually.
“You’re also an alchemist?” Hua Qing Si’s expression instantly became rather strange.
“What? I can’t be?” Yang Kai answered with some displeasure before urging her, “Why are you still holding it? Hurry up and eat it. You’re currently at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, so perhaps you can break through to the Emperor Realm soon after swallowing it.”
“You’re really giving this to me?” Although Hua Qing Si was asking this, her hand clenched really tightly to the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
“Why would I take this out if I wasn’t giving it to you?” Yang Kai laughed at her silly question before thinking about it a bit and deciding to explain, “Let me put it this way, you gave me your Soul Brand and now I don’t need to fear you betraying me or exposing my secrets. That means the stronger you are, the more useful you are to me, so I also want you to reach the Emperor Realm as quickly as possible so that later, when I travel around the world, if someone I don’t like appears, I can let you out to bite them.”
“Am I a dog…?” At first, Hua Qing Si’s pretty face showed her gratitude, but the more she listened, the colder her expression became, almost to the point that it frosted over.
“Stop wasting time and just eat it already!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
“I finally understand what kind of person you are!” Hua Qing Si gave him a sidelong glance as she chuckled meaningfully, “You have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. You want to apologize for all the terrible things you’ve done to me, but you’re afraid your image will break down and you’ll lose your dominant status if you just come out and say so, so you spout vicious lines to disguise your intent instead.”
“Keep talking and I’ll strip you naked and toss you outside!” Yang Kai snapped at her threateningly, as he became angry out of embarrassment.
“Go ahead!” A faint red blush appeared on Hua Qing Si’s face, but she refused to act weak and even stuck out her chest and talked back to Yang Kai, “If you dare to do that, then I’ll announce to the whole world that I’m your woman, and watch just how much of a cuckold you become!”
“So vicious?” Yang Kai went pale with astonishment.
“Hehehe!” Hua Qing Si laughed happily, “If you’re afraid, then obediently call me Elder Sister, and I might magnanimously show mercy and spare you!”
“Fine, you win!” Yang Kai retorted angrily before clenching his teeth and exiting the Sealed World Bead.
He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to take it anymore if he had to keep dealing with this crazy woman.
“Don’t go, I’m not done talking yet!” Hua Qing Si hurriedly called out to him, but there was no reaction.
Quite a while later, she finally licked her red lips and glanced at the Extraordinary Treasure Pill in her hand as she mumbled to herself, “Now that I look back, if it wasn’t for me witnessing a few of his secrets back then, I wouldn’t have fallen to this current situation… but, it was also because of falling here that I managed to get this Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Fortune and misfortune really do go hand in hand. Forget it, for this one Spirit Pill alone, what does it matter if he imprisons me here for a hundred years?”
She suddenly smiled slightly as she said this.
Although she was now a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, she had no confidence she would be able to break through to the Emperor Realm any time soon. Cultivation completely relied on solid accumulation over time that came from gradual improvement.
But, until now, she had never managed to grasp the method to break through her bottleneck and touch the Emperor Realm’s secrets. Back at Star Soul Palace, she had also taken the chance to ask some of the Masters in the palace, but none of them were able to give her a satisfactory answer or guide her down a well-lit path.
She secretly felt that if she didn’t receive any special opportunity in this lifetime, it would be impossible for her to reach the Emperor Realm.
But now, this incredibly rare chance had suddenly dropped onto her lap.
It was natural for Hua Qing Si to feel excited inside.
She knew of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill precisely because she felt there was no hope for her to reach the Emperor Realm on her own, leading her to study many ancient books in Star Soul Palace while hoping to find some method to help herself.
All of the ancient books she studied, however, had mentioned the ‘Extraordinary Treasure Pill‘!
According to those ancient books, this was a Spirit Pill that could all but guarantee one broke through to the Emperor Realm as long their aptitude and effort weren’t too lacking.
What cultivator would possibly lack aptitude after cultivating to Third-Order Dao Source Realm though, so saying it was a certainty wasn’t an exaggeration.
For instance, someone like Xia Sheng or Wu Chang might rise to Emperor Realm within five, or even two to three years after eating this pill. Someone with slightly worse aptitude might take ten or twenty years… but what did it matter even if it took a hundred years?
It was worth waiting any amount of time as long as one could reach the Emperor Realm.
This was a tremendous gift.
Hua Qing Si thought she would be a lowly servant to Yang Kai for life after being forced to surrender her Soul Brand, never having expected that he would give her such a precious Spirit Pill like this.
His generosity and openness were beyond her expectations.
After some thought, Hua Qing Si no longer hesitated as immediately stuffed the Extraordinary Treasure Pill into her mouth.
Since she already knew about the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, she naturally knew that the sooner one ate it, the better.
After she ate the Spirit Pill, she immediately sat down cross-legged and silently began to cultivate to refine the medicinal efficacies.
At the same time, Yang Kai appeared with a wretched look on his face in the palace on Soaring Swallow Peak, grumbling and cursing under his breath in frustration.
Back when he refined that furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills, unlike what he told the crowd, he hadn’t refined just four pills, but five!
Back during the Pill Tribulation, Liu Yan had taken all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills and hid them inside the Sealed World Bead. After the Pill Tribulation was dispersed, and before everyone regained their senses, Yang Kai had secretly put four pills back without anyone noticing.
With Yang Kai’s current cultivation and Alchemy skills, it was largely thanks to luck that he had refined five Extraordinary Pills in one furnace.
He originally thought he would only be able to create three pills, so the results had given him a pleasant surprise.
The only part that Yang Kai felt was a pity was that not a single pill with Pill Veins had appeared amongst the five Spirit Pills. This was understandable though as Extraordinary Treasure Pills were difficult to refine in the first place, and it would truly be too heaven-defying if Pill Veins had also been formed.
Over the next few days, Yang Kai remained on Soaring Swallow Peak and calmly focused on cultivation while patiently waiting for news from the Azure Sun Temple.
Searching for the Tribulation Fruit wasn’t something that could be done in one or two days. Yang Kai had given the three-month time limit entirely out of consideration for Qin Yu, as any longer and she would not be able to survive.
Azure Sun Temple was her and Yang Kai’s only hope.
Soaring Swallow Peak was in a remote location in Azure Sun Mountain Range, so it was quite quiet and nobody came to bother Yang Kai.
However, Yang Kai didn’t expect that a surprising guest would come to visit him a few days later.
The visitor was actually Gao Xue Ting.
He was surprised, but he did not neglect courtesy and performed the duties of a host by inviting Gao Xue Ting in and attending to her politely.
He originally thought that Gao Xue Ting had some business with him, but it didn’t happen the way that he expected. This icy Emperor Realm Master spent more than half a day with Yang Kai, but she simply acted like a Senior inquiring about her Junior’s cultivation while also asking Yang Kai some questions about his own Martial Dao.
Yang Kai carefully thought things over as he answered each question, having no idea from Gao Xue Ting’s unchanging expression if she was satisfied with the answers or not.
It was rare to have a chance to be so close to an Emperor, so Yang Kai also took the opportunity to ask some things that he didn’t understand. Gao Xue Ting didn’t hold back any knowledge she had and did her best to explain everything in an easily understandable manner.
Yang Kai learned a lot.
Before she left, Gao Xue Ting mentioned that she wanted to test how strong Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was.
Although Yang Kai didn’t understand why, he didn’t refuse, gathering his Divine Sense before sending it out towards Gao Xue Ting.
She naturally received it without any difficulty; however, she did send a meaningful glance towards him, as if she could tell that he hadn’t used his full strength.
In the end, Gao Xue Ting gave Yang Kai a gift before she left.
After Yang Kai saw off Gao Xue Ting, he still felt confused about why she had come to visit him. Judging from his interaction with her back at the Four Seasons Realm, Gao Xue Ting wasn’t the type who actively tried to get along with others.
It wasn’t that she had a violent temper or a bad personality, rather it was just her innate icy nature and the cold look she kept on her face that seemed to tell strangers that they should remain a thousand kilometres away from her.
Yang Kai could actually sense that Gao Xue Ting wasn’t a bad person.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly as he glanced at the item in his hand while muttering to himself, “This doesn’t make sense at all. What was she doing?”
He was holding the gift that Gao Xue Ting gave him before she left, a small shield the size of a palm. Light swirled around this shield, giving it a mystical appearance, and the aura fluctuations it gave off were definitely not weak. Gao Xue Ting had called this artifact the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield!
This was actually a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank artifact!
Not only that, it was a Soul-type artifact, something quite out of the ordinary!
Soul-type artifacts were typically created from rather special materials, and they could only be driven by a cultivator’s Divine Sense. Source Qi was completely useless on these artifacts.
They were also several times rarer and more expensive than ordinary artifacts.
So, even though this shield was only Dao Source Grade Low-Rank, its true value wasn’t any less than a Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact, and in fact, it might even be more valuable than the latter.
This small shield was obviously a defensive artifact, and if one could refine it in their body, they would be able to use it to protect their Knowledge Sea and Soul from foreign threats.
Yang Kai actually didn’t have any Soul-type artifacts. Back when he was still quite weak, he did have an offensive Soul-type short sword artifact, but he had long since stopped using it as his strength improved.
He had also learned the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique, and its offensive prowess far exceeded that of the majority of Soul-type artifacts, which was why he had never considered finding such an artifact before.
Gao Xue Ting’s gift indeed compensated for one of his shortcomings…
With this artifact protecting his Knowledge Sea, and with Yang Kai’s already strong Soul, it would be quite difficult for someone to injure him with a Divine Sense attack.
There was a saying that one shouldn’t refuse gifts from an Elder, so although Yang Kai wasn’t a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, Gao Xue Ting was still an Emperor Realm Master and technically his Elder. That was why Yang Kai had simply thanked her and accepted the gift without even thinking about it when she gave him this artifact.
After looking it over, he figured it wouldn’t take too long to refine.
Since he had nothing to do apart from waiting for news on the Tribulation Fruit, Yang Kai decided to start refining it right away.
Yang Kai no longer hesitated, sat down cross-legged, and sent his Spiritual Energy towards the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield.
More than ten days passed by slowly.
Over these ten-plus days, Yang Kai remained sitting in his room without moving, working diligently to refine the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield.
Thanks to his persistence during this time, he had completed about a third of the refinement process and was now barely able to activate some of this artifact’s power.
However, completely refining it would require more accumulation over time.
As expected of a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank Soul-type artifact, this Purple Sun Profound Light Shield seemed to possess impressively strong abilities. Even in its current state of refinement, it was able to form a purple light barrier that covered the outside of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, adding a powerful layer of protection.
Anyone who wanted to harm Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea would first have to break through this purple shield.
Since Yang Kai hadn’t finished refining it yet, he didn’t know if it had other abilities. Still, just this alone was more than enough for him to look forward to.
On this day, Yang Kai suddenly sensed something, so he hurriedly opened his eyes and looked outside. Right when he opened his eyes, someone spoke up in a loud voice, “Brother Yang, I’m here to see you.”
Upon hearing this voice, Yang Kai knew that the one who came to see him was Xia Sheng.
Right when Xia Sheng spoke, he immediately pushed the door open and entered.
Someone else spoke up right after, “Senior Brother, he hasn’t invited you in yet, what if you disturbed his cultivation by doing this?”
This person was Xiao Bai Yi.
“En en, perhaps Junior Brother Yang was studying some Secret Technique. Senior Brother, don’t be so reckless!” Murong Xiao Xiao’s voice also chimed in, conveying some worry with it.
“Ah…” Upon hearing this, Xia Sheng couldn’t help showing an embarrassed look, like he was caught between a rock and a hard place, muttering in a low voice, “What should I do then? I already shouted…”
“It’s alright, please enter!” Yang Kai responded.
Xia Sheng’s expression immediately eased up as he laughed loudly while entering.
“Pardon the intrusion!” Xiao Bai Yi muttered as he walked in as well.
Soon, several people appeared in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was surprised that, in addition to Xia Sheng, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao, Chen Mu Ji was actually present as well.
Chen Mu Ji and Yang Kai didn’t know each other and had basically only greeted each other a few times, never sharing a real conversation.
Xia Sheng warmly introduced the two of them to each other.
The guest room here was rather simple, so Yang Kai simply invited them in and asked them to make themselves comfortable. Next, turning to Xia Sheng, he asked, “Do you have something to tell me since you all came here together?”
Xia Sheng nodded lightly and smiled mysteriously as he said, “The Temple Master is summoning us!”
“Me as well?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
The ones present were all elites of Azure Sun Temple, so it was only normal that they would be summoned; however, Xia Sheng seemed to mean that Yang Kai had been summoned as well, confusing him greatly.
“Of course!” Xia Sheng nodded with a serious expression as he explained, “Temple Master especially had us come here to bring Brother Yang to see him.”
“Do you know what this is about?” Yang Kai inquired.
“Something good!” Xia Sheng smiled and chuckled.
Xiao Bai Yi added from the side, “Last time we left, didn’t the Temple Master mention an additional reward? I believe it’s about that.”
“A reward…” Yang Kai’s expression seemed incredibly strange, “But, I already made a request of Temple Master Wen, what else would he reward me with?”
Xia Sheng smiled and continued, “How could that small request possibly make up for your contribution of six extra Star Seals? Temple Master has always been the type to give fair rewards and punishments. Brother Yang, since you’ve made such a major contribution to the temple this time, it won’t be balanced out by a small request.”
“Indeed!” Xiao Bai also nodded, “You’ve noticed already that Temple Master only summoned us this time, yes? We were the only ones who obtained extra Star Seals. I, Xiao Xiao, and Junior Brother Chen were all able to get rewards just by giving a single extra Star Seal, not to mention you who brought back six all at once.”
“Let’s stop chatting and leave already, I’m really eager to know just what the Temple Master will reward me with,” Xia Sheng said with an impatient expression.
“In that case… I’ll be troubling you all to lead the way,” Yang Kai said politely.
The five of them then each used their own Movement Skills to fly towards Azure Sun Temple’s Main Peak.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at Myriad Saints Peak where they landed and walked into the main temple.
However, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed just before he crossed the threshold. At that moment, he sensed a mystical power engulf him and before he could react, he felt a weightless sensation overcome him.
When the others passed the temple’s threshold, they noticed that Yang Kai had suddenly vanished.
“Where’s Brother Yang?” Xia Sheng’s expression changed greatly as he exclaimed in astonishment.
Xiao Bai Yi, Murong Xiao Xiao, and Chen Mu Ji also wore serious and shocked expressions.
“Don’t worry, the Temple Master called him for a private discussion,” Someone suddenly spoke from in front of the group. Turning around, they discovered it was Gao Xue Ting who spoke. At this moment, Elder Gao seemed like a silently standing, blooming white lotus flower that was clear yet distant.
The group of Juniors all exchanged a glance, not knowing why Wen Zi Shan had taken Yang Kai away by himself, but they also didn’t worry about it further and instead spoke in unison, “Greetings, Elder Gao!”
At the same time, Yang Kai mysteriously appeared in a secluded room on Myriad Saints Peak.
Yang Kai regained control over his own body and immediately took a defensive posture as he looked around him.
However, he quickly saw Wen Zi Shan sitting lazily nearby, smiling while looking at him.
“Ah… Greetings, Temple Master Wen!” Yang Kai wore a serious expression and cupped his fists.
Wen Zi Shan nodded and replied, “No need for pleasantries.”
He then stood up and slowly walked over to the table, picked up a wine bottle, then poured himself a glass.
The room instantly filled with a fragrant aroma.
He took a small sip and made an expression as if he really enjoyed it.
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly when he saw Wen Zi Shan acting like this, but he simply remained silent and waited instead of interrupting.
After a long while, it seemed as if Wen Zi Shan finally regained his senses from that pleasant sensation of his drink as he spoke up with an expression of satisfaction, “You should know why I called you here, yes?”
Yang Kai remained silent for a moment before he nodded, “I heard some guesses from Brother Xia.”
“Haha,” Wen Zi Shan chuckled, “You’re such a cautious little brat! En… indeed, I called you over to give you a reward. Although you made a request of this King some days ago, that request isn’t enough to balance the contribution you made to the temple. However, you’re also not a disciple of my temple, making you technically an outsider, so what reward to offer you took this King quite some time to think of …”
“Junior doesn’t want much,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
Wen Zi Shan replied, “Then what reward would you like? I might as well ask you. If it is possible, this King will satisfy your request!”
He handed the right to choose over to Yang Kai.
This sounded really generous, but Yang Kai knew quite well what was actually happening.
It was because he was merely a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, while Wen Zi Shan was Third-Order Emperor Realm as well as a Sect Master!
Thus, anything that seemed precious and rare to Yang Kai would likely be quite ordinary in Wen Zi Shan’s eyes. It was highly likely that Wen Zi Shan would be able to easily give Yang Kai anything that he would dare to request.
Yang Kai would never make the foolish mistake of letting this rare opportunity pass him by.
He simply stated, “What reward can Temple Master Wen give this Junior?”
Hearing this, Wen Zi Shan wore an expression of praise as the two of them exchanged glances, understanding each other’s motives.
After a moment of silence, Wen Zi Shan spoke up, “When considering the number of Star Seals that you gave, this King can take responsibility and open the temple’s Treasury and allow you to choose any three items from within to keep!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up instantly.
Wen Zi Shan was talking about Azure Sun Temple’s Treasury, rather than his personal one. Azure Sun Temple was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, so its Treasury would be filled with countless rare items. If Yang Kai really was allowed to enter and take any three items he pleased, it was likely that his power level would improve by leaps and bounds.
But just as he was feeling moved, Wen Zi Shan added more as if trying to incite him, “There are countless artifacts within the vault, and there are even two Emperor Artifacts, but as for what the Emperor Artifacts are, and where they’re located, you must find them for yourself, I won’t be telling you. Apart from those, there are also rare elixirs that are impossible to find in the outside world, Secret Arts and Secret Books that are never shown to outsiders, and so on. With your current cultivation, obtaining any one of these treasures will be a great opportunity for you. Additionally, there are also records left behind by many Emperors of their cultivation experiences you could learn from…”
Yang Kai’s breathing gradually became faster as he never expected that Wen Zi Shan would be so generous to him.
No matter what, Yang Kai was still an outsider, yet Wen Zi Shan was actually willing to open up the Sect’s Treasury to him. Just this alone was more than enough to make Yang Kai incredibly grateful.
However… Although the items Wen Zi Shan mentioned were indeed precious and hard to obtain, Yang Kai was still unable to immediately make up his mind. He didn’t care about Emperor Artifacts, and he was capable of refining his own Spirit Pills, so he didn’t need those. As for Secret Arts and Secret Books, he could also ignore those since even if he took them, he wouldn’t have that much time to cultivate them. Yang Kai was instead slightly tempted by the Emperor Realm Masters’ written cultivation experiences.
Those books might help him save a lot of time by avoiding wrong paths in his cultivation.
Wen Zi Shan was rather surprised to see the changes in Yang Kai’s expression as he asked, “What’s wrong? Are none of these of interest to you?”
Yang Kai took a deep breath and replied, “Please forgive me, Temple Master Wen, I just… don’t know how to decide.”
Wen Zi Shan smiled and said, “This King understands. En, if you don’t like any of these things, how about this King personally teaches you a Secret Technique?”
Yang Kai raised his head and glanced at him while quickly saying, “Temple Master Wen, can I ask what reward Brother Xia and the others obtained this time? Are they also able to enter your noble temple’s Treasury and choose three items as they like?”
At this moment, Wen Zi Shan’s smile seemed to become more meaningful as he pointed at Yang Kai and exclaimed, “Kid, you really understand well.”
“It seems that… Brother Xia and the others were able to receive a reward that was different from mine.” Yang Kai understood.
“En, their reward is indeed different, since they are Disciples of the temple while you aren’t,” Wen Zi Shan directly admitted. He wasn’t worried that Yang Kai would be displeased since it was an obvious fact that people would always favour their own more.
“However…” Wen Zi Shan changed the topic and said, “You also have a chance to obtain the same reward as them, although it will depend on if you’re willing or not.”
“I’m willing to hear the details!” Yang Kai adopted a serious expression.
Although he didn’t know what reward Xia Sheng and the others were able to receive, since Wen Zi Shan openly admitted that the reward was different, this meant that Xia Sheng and the others were receiving a better reward.
Since there was an opportunity, Yang Kai would naturally want to try for himself.
Still, he was quite curious just what reward was actually better than choosing any three items from the Sect’s vault.
This time, Wen Zi Shan didn’t answer him immediately and instead asked, “Do you know why this King created Azure Sun Temple here?”
Yang Kai thought to himself that the temple’s founding was several hundred or even several thousand years ago, so how was he supposed to know? Although he thought this in his mind, he acted as if he really wanted to learn as he answered, “I do not know.”
“Of course it is because there’s something special here!” Wen Zi Shan replied, a trace of nostalgia flashing across his eyes as he spoke, “Eight hundred years ago, this King happened to pass by Azure Sun Mountain Range and discovered an item with miraculous uses and mysterious abilities. At that time, this King was already a Third-Order Emperor Realm and wanted to obtain that item, but unfortunately, he didn’t succeed. This King could only temporarily put down roots here, and as time passed, this place gradually started resembling a Sect, so this King decided he might as well found Azure Sun Temple.”
“Azure Sun Temple has a shorter inheritance compared to the other top-level Sects in the Southern Territory, yet why do we have the ability to compete with them on even ground?”
Yang Kai’s brow rose as he guessed. “Could it be due to that item?”
Wen Zi Shan immediately wore an appreciative expression as he nodded to Yang Kai, “That’s right. Although this King is a Third-Order Emperor Realm, and my power isn’t any weaker than other Sect Masters or Temple Masters, a Sect’s strength or weakness isn’t about just one person. A Sect requires many reliable pillars to hold its form, and it was thanks to that item that Azure Sun Temple was able to develop to today’s extent.”
“May I ask… just what that item is?” Yang Kai also became quite curious as he listened, really wondering just what kind of item would be able to make a Sect flourish to such a degree.
Wen Zi Shan glanced at Yang Kai with a serious expression as he explained, “The Divine Ascension Mirror! It is a mystical object that has existed since the birth of the Heavens and Earth. Inside of it is a self-contained world, but one that is very different from the one we live in. As for how it is different, this King won’t explain to you, since you’ll naturally learn for yourself if you have the opportunity to enter it. Any cultivator who enters it to train will be able to greatly increase their strength though. Back in the day, this King explored the inside of this mirror but was still unable to figure out all its mysteries. For the past several hundred years, most of the elite disciples of the temple have entered this mirror, and all who managed to leave it alive became much stronger.”
“Star Soul Palace has the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Orthodoxy Temple has the Outer Astral Wind, and Heavenly Martial Holy Land has its Martial Intent Temple. These are the foundations of their respective Sects, and the reason why these Sects have stood the test of time,” Wen Zi Shan had a proud expression as he added, “Meanwhile, my Azure Sun Temple has the Divine Ascension Mirror! As long as the Divine Ascension Mirror isn’t broken, my temple can continue passing on its inheritance and remain standing!”
“Can Junior enter as well?” Yang Kai asked with fervour.
Wen Zi Shan smiled, “Originally, this King would have found it impossible to allow an outsider like you to enter it; after all, the Divine Ascension Mirror is a secret of my temple that only those who have entered know about. Ordinary disciples have never even heard of it, so of course, the other Sects naturally know nothing about it. However… this time, you contributed a great deal to the temple, so it would be wrong for this King to refuse you entry. But even so, allowing you to enter would be breaking the Sect rules…”
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai suddenly spoke up, “Temple Master Wen, do you recall that you said if I won the fight against Xue Yi, you would agree to one of my requests as long as it wasn’t excessive?”
Wen Zi Shan paused momentarily in surprise as he looked at Yang Kai and asked, “Why? Do you want to use that request here?”
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded, “Plus, since I’ve contributed six Star Seals to the temple as a major achievement, there should be no problem now?”
“Aye, there are no problems…” Wen Zi Shan thought for a moment, “You’re already saying so much, but are you certain that you want to do this? You don’t even know what the Divine Ascension Mirror can do for you…”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Since Brother Xia and the others obtained this reward, that means it is the best reward possible, and since it’s the best reward, why should I hesitate?”
“Good!” Wen Zi Shan declared in a serious voice, “Since that’s the case, then this King shall permit you to enter. However, you must swear an oath that you will never expose the secret of the Divine Ascension Mirror to anyone else, otherwise…”
“Junior understands!” Yang Kai nodded and immediately swore a solemn oath in front of Wen Zi Shan.
Those that understand can already make an educated guess of what the mirror improves upon.
Half a day later, Yang Kai left Wen Zi Shan’s side and returned to Soaring Swallow Peak.
For this half a day, Wen Zi Shan explained in detail to Yang Kai about the secrets of the Divine Ascension Mirror. The more that Yang Kai learned about the Divine Ascension Mirror, the more astonished he became that such a miraculous treasure had been born in this world, and how such a mysterious world could exist.
Wen Zi Shan was correct. Anyone who was able to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror and come out alive would see a great increase in their strength. This improvement was more than just an increase in raw power though and was rather an improvement to a person’s foundation, a genuine boon to any cultivator.
Now, Yang Kai finally understood why Gao Xue Ting had suddenly visited him a few days ago and given him the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield before she left. She must have already known about this beforehand, or she must have planned ahead, which was why she specifically gave him a Soul-type defensive artifact, all so Yang Kai could have some extra layer of safety after entering the Divine Ascension Mirror.
After realizing this, Yang Kai froze for a moment as he realized something and smiled wryly, muttering in a low voice, “Aged ginger really is spicier than young ginger!”
He said this because he had realized that Wen Zi Shan and the others had probably already discussed and agreed upon him entering the Divine Ascension Mirror more than ten days ago.
However, Temple Master Wen had intentionally made things difficult for him today and kept hinting many times that Xia Sheng and the others had received a different reward from Yang Kai, all in order to lure Yang Kai into using up the promise he had previously given him.
In other words, even if Yang Kai didn’t use up Wen Zi Shan’s promise, that he could make a request that wasn’t excessive, he likely would have been able to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror.
However, there was no use in crying over spilt milk. Yang Kai felt that he should actually thank Wen Zi Shan instead. Temple Master Wen had been willing to reveal such a major secret of Azure Sun Temple to an outsider like Yang Kai and even allowed him to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror, so what did it matter if he used up that promise in the process?
Yang Kai was going to enter that Divine Ascension Mirror tomorrow, so he no longer rushed to refine the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield when he returned to Soaring Swallow Peak. Half a day’s refinement wouldn’t amount to anything, no matter how hard he tried, so Yang Kai didn’t make a futile effort.
Instead, he simply sat cross-legged in silence and adjusted his condition to its best.
The next day in the morning, Yang Kai opened his eyes with a flash. It was evident that he had rested well.
He then immediately headed for a certain place deep in the Azure Sun Mountain Range.
Yang Kai landed at the foot of a tall peak approximately one hour later.
Four figures were already standing there on the empty ground. Yang Kai looked around and saw that these four were Xia Sheng, Xiao Bai Yi, Murong Xiao Xiao, and Chen Mu Ji.
“Ha. I knew that Brother Yang would definitely come as well,” Xia Sheng smiled widely and glanced over at Yang Kai when he saw him.
Xiao Bai Yi instead had an expression of astonishment. He had thought that the Divine Ascension Mirror was a top-secret for the Sect and it should have been impossible for an outsider like Yang Kai to enter no matter how great his contributions were. He hadn’t thought that Temple Master Wen would be so generous.
“Junior Brother Yang!” Murong Xiao Xiao flashed a smile at Yang Kai and nodded in greeting.
“Brother Yang!” Chen Mu Ji also cupped his fists. Although he still didn’t know Yang Kai very well, they had at least spoken a few words to each other by now and all of them were going to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror together and would be relying on each other’s help, so there was no harm in trying to have a better relationship with each other.
Yang Kai also cupped his fists in response and greeted everyone while chatting a little. Only after time did he change the topic and ask, “Is it only us entering this time? Is there no Elder leading us?”
Xia Sheng smiled and answered, “Of course there is an Elder. The Divine Ascension Mirror’s interior is said to be quite dangerous, so the temple naturally wouldn’t feel confident about just letting us Dao Source Realm Juniors enter by ourselves. They should be sending an Emperor Realm Elder to assist us.”
“We just don’t know who it will be,” Chen Mu Ji said with a smile.
Xia Sheng’s face immediately darkened as he muttered, “It absolutely must not be Elder Gao…”
Last time, when travelling to the Four Seasons Realm, Gao Xue Ting had tossed him off the ship both on the way there and on the way back, so he was rather afraid of Gao Xue Ting.
After Xia Sheng said this, he then turned around with suspicion while looking at Murong Xiao Xiao as he asked in confusion, “Xiao Xiao, did you not rest well last night? Why are your eyes constantly twitching?”
“No…” Murong Xiao Xiao answered in a tiny voice with an anxious expression.
“Hmph!” Xiao Bai Yi coldly snorted and looked elsewhere. Meanwhile, Chen Mu Ji and Yang Kai were respectively gazing at the sky and looking down at the ground…
Xia Sheng suddenly seemed to realize something as he shivered involuntarily.
He felt a chill from his back, as if the reaper of death was standing behind him.
“Haha…” He suddenly chuckled dryly, “What did I say just now…”
Before he finished speaking, he felt tremendous pain on his head as someone viciously hit him. He then completely collapsed on the ground, all splayed out, unmoving …
“All of you, follow this Queen!” Gao Xue Ting said in a light tone as she turned and flew upwards.
“Yes!” Everyone responded in agreement as they followed closely after Gao Xue Ting.
As Murong Xiao Xiao left, she glanced towards Xia Sheng with an expression filled with sympathy; however, she didn’t have the courage to pull him up, so she could only offer silent prayers for her Senior Brother in her heart.
Along the way, Gao Xue Ting didn’t say a single word, which gave the disciples an immense amount of pressure. For some unknown reason, when they were with Gao Xue Ting, the disciples all couldn’t help but become silent and stop smiling, as if they were all awed by her icy aura.
It didn’t take long for the group to reach the peak.
On this peak was a cliff that faced an abyss. The cliff was completely flat and smooth.
Gao Xue Ting stopped in midair in front of the cliff.
Yang Kai and the others all stood about ten metres away from Gao Xue Ting as they glanced at this place with curiosity.
It was normal that Yang Kai would be curious since he wasn’t a disciple of Azure Sun Temple; he was unfamiliar with everything here. However, it was different for Xiao Bai Yi and the others. They had lived in Azure Sun Temple for many years while studying under the Masters and learning here. They had also passed by this location many times, but none of them had ever paid any attention to this place, all of them thinking it was just an ordinary mountain. None of them had suspected that such a big secret was concealed here.
“After we enter, don’t look at what you shouldn’t, and don’t say anything you shouldn’t…” Gao Xue Ting warned before turning to a certain someone and saying pointedly, “Especially you!”
As she said this final sentence, her strict gaze focused right on Xia Sheng, who was attempting to hide behind Murong Xiao Xiao.
It was unknown when he had caught up…
“This disciple will become mute right now!” When Xia Sheng heard this, he immediately drew a line across his mouth, as if he was sewing his mouth shut with an invisible thread.
Only then did Gao Xue Ting turn around and face the flat cliff as she called out, “Grandma You, are you present? Xue Ting is here at the command of the Sect Master to bring several disciples into the Divine Ascension Mirror. Grandma You, please open the barrier!”
Her tone was incredibly polite. She wasn’t ever this polite when facing Wen Zi Shan and Qiu Ran.
It was fine with Wen Zi Shan, as it seemed that Wen Zi Shan had personally raised Gao Xue Ting, so the two of them had a really close relationship. Wen Zi Shan also often did things that made Gao Xue Ting angry, so of course, Gao Xue Ting wouldn’t respect him; however, Qiu Ran was the Vice Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, and also a Second-Order Emperor, yet he had never received such polite treatment from Gao Xue Ting before.
Not only that… Yang Kai faintly sensed that apart from politeness, Gao Xue Ting’s attitude also portrayed some nervousness and tension.
On top of that, the way she referred to herself made her sound like a Junior, so Yang Kai immediately extrapolated that this Grandma You who guarded this Restricted Area must be someone on the level of a Supreme Elder, and one that had an extremely bad temper!
Yang Kai was slightly surprised by his own inference, because he hadn’t expected that there would be someone like this within Azure Sun Temple.
Gao Xue Ting kept waiting after she had called out.
At least half an hour passed before a flash of light suddenly appeared on the cliff in front. Right after that, a cave suddenly appeared on the cliff which had been completely smooth before.
Upon seeing this, Gao Xue Ting called to everyone in a low voice, “Follow me!”
Only then did she fly towards the cave with everyone else following close behind.
After they entered the cave, everyone felt a cold aura envelop them. Even though everyone present was at the Dao Source Realm at the minimum, they still couldn’t help shivering slightly.
The cave was quiet and had weak lighting. Gao Xue Ting led in the front while everyone followed closely while watching their footing.
Nobody spoke. In fact, they all suppressed their breathing as much as they possibly could. The only sound came from slight heartbeats that added to the eerie atmosphere.
The cave path continued to twist and wind in confusing ways as Gao Xue Ting led everyone deeper into the mountain.
They walked for quite a long time before a bright light suddenly appeared in front of them.
Moments later, they arrived in a large and spacious stone cavern.
When looking around, this stone cavern’s inside was clean and simple, with nothing at all in terms of decoration. In the centre of the cavern was something that resembled a mirror, which kept flashing with light and seemed to be the size of a table.
Everyone’s expression flickered involuntarily as they immediately understood that this was the legendary Divine Ascension Mirror, all of them looking over, seemingly wanting to get a better view.
However, when they focused on the mirror, they found that the Divine Ascension Mirror was so mystical that the originally flat surface suddenly transformed into a huge whirlpool that emitted an unimaginable suction force. Right after that, everyone’s Knowledge Sea began to roil as their Souls became unsettled, as if they were about to be sucked away.
Everyone panicked and hurriedly averted their gazes, none of them daring to stare at this abnormal treasure again as they all broke out into cold sweats.
“Youngsters always need to suffer some before learning just how insignificant they are, hmph!”
A grating and ear-piercing voice suddenly spoke up and echoed in the spacious stone cavern. This voice felt as if a hundred claws were scratching at the heart and made one feel incredibly uncomfortable.
If one really had to describe it, the voice resembled the sound of two pieces of metal scraping together with great force… Yang Kai and the others all felt like their heads were going numb when they heard it.
As the voice spoke, a figure suddenly mysteriously appeared in front of everyone.
Nobody noticed just when she had appeared and even Gao Xue Ting’s reflexively reacted, but in the next moment, she managed to compose herself again.
“Greetings, Grandma You!” Gao Xue Ting wore a serious expression as she cupped her fists towards the newly appeared figure.
Yang Kai and the others also hurriedly turned towards this newcomer and quickly discovered that Grandma You was surprisingly short, only reaching about the height of Yang Kai’s chest, and had a crooked back while she supported herself with a staff. She appeared to be really weak and doddering.
Meanwhile, the word ugly wouldn’t do Grandma You’s face any justice. Her entire face was filled with pits and blemishes. The invasion of time had left countless wrinkles upon her face, and there were even many age spots on her face, making it seem like she didn’t have long left to live.
Only her green eyes shone with energy. Everyone felt like their hair stood on end when they met her eyes.
The first word that everyone thought of was the word ‘vicious’ to describe such eyes and appearance…
Murong Xiao Xiao’s pretty face was already paling slightly as she didn’t have as much courage as the others, but even the men present wore expressions of discomfort.
However, none of them dared be impolite since Grandma You was right in front of them, all of them cupping their fists, “Greetings, Senior.”
Grandma You nodded lightly without indicating much else, simply glancing around while using an almost suffocating Divine Sense to scan their bodies.
Yang Kai was truly shocked as he stared at this old lady in front of him.
This was because he discovered that her Divine Sense was actually inconceivably strong. Even Aunt Feng, whom he met before, couldn’t compare to Grandma You.
Aunt Feng was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, someone on par with Wen Zi Shan.
However, this Grandma You’s aura was nowhere near the Third-Order Emperor Realm. According to Yang Kai’s experience, he estimated that she was just a First-Order Emperor!
In other words, even though this old lady was only at the First-Order Emperor Realm, her Divine Sense was as powerful as a Third-Order Emperor. It was unknown whether this was due to her own natural talent, or if it was related to how she constantly guarded the Divine Ascension Mirror.
Yang Kai secretly felt that the latter possibility was more likely, since according to Wen Zi Shan, the greatest use of the Divine Ascension Mirror was to strengthen a cultivator’s Soul.
Since Grandma You always stayed here in order to guard the Divine Ascension Mirror, she must have obtained tremendous benefits from this miraculous treasure as well.
“Oh,” Grandma You actually focused her gaze on Yang Kai after scanning everyone, as if she had noticed something, cackling strangely as she exclaimed, “An interesting little guy appeared…”
Gao Xue Ting glanced at Yang Kai and furrowed her brow slightly, but didn’t say anything in the end.
As for Grandma You, she didn’t say anything else about Yang Kai and instead just stated in her piercing voice, “The others are just passable!”
Gao Xue Ting cupped her fists and said, “I’ll be troubling Grandma to take them into the Divine Ascension Mirror.”
“Hmph, that little bastard Wen Zi Shan, he only knows how to order this old lady around!” Grandma You suddenly shouted angrily after hearing this.
Yang Kai and the others were truly stunned as they stared in disbelief at the old lady in front of them.
No matter what, Wen Zi Shan was still the Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple. Since this Grandma You had taken the job of guarding this Restricted Area, then she was obviously someone from the temple as well. A cultivator from the temple actually dared to be so rude and call the Temple Master a ‘little bastard’ right in front of so many people…
This seemed off no matter how everyone thought about it.
However, after Grandma You finished cursing Wen Zi Shan, she turned her head and used her sharp gaze to stare at everyone as she viciously exclaimed, “What’s wrong? That bastard trapped me here yet I’m not even allowed to curse at him? Do you have any objections?
Everyone hurriedly shook their heads in unison, feeling that this sentence contained a lot of information…
Meanwhile, Gao Xue Ting arched her brow and mentioned, “Grandma, you’re here simply because of a bet between you and the Temple Master, so why…”
“What do you know!?” Grandma You’s temper was as bad as Yang Kai had expected. After she finished cursing Wen Zi Shan, she got angry at Gao Xue Ting as her expression became warped, “Back then, you were nothing more than a little brat, so what would you know? That bastard Wen Zi Shan, if it wasn’t for me not being able to beat him, I long would have ripped his corpse into ten thousand pieces already…”
She seemed to recall a really unpleasant memory, causing her to constantly curse as she kept banging her staff on the ground, causing the entire stone cavern to echo loudly.
Yang Kai and the others stood where they were as their hearts trembled in fear, worried this old lady would go crazy and attack them.
With her powerful Divine Sense that was on par if not stronger than a Third-Order Emperor’s, if she did attack without warning, Gao Xue Ting might not be able to protect them.
Luckily, even though Grandma You was incredibly furious, she hadn’t reached the point of losing logic and reason, so she suddenly stopped speaking after she cursed for a while, stood in place, and panted loudly, as if she had become tired.
Gao Xue Ting also wore a difficult expression as she forced herself to be patient, not daring to interrupt Grandma You’s ranting. Only once the latter seemed to finish cursing did Gao Xue Ting speak again, “Grandma, we should first send them in.”
“I know!” Grandma You responded impatiently as she turned to look at Gao Xue Ting, “Are you also entering this time?”
Gao Xue Ting answered, “I am.”
“En, then each of you go find a stone room!” Grandma You then suddenly pointed to the front with her staff.
Yang Kai and the others looked where she was pointing and only then noticed that all around the mystical Divine Ascension Mirror were man-made stone rooms, each one with a door and a token hanging upon it.
At a rough count, there were approximately ten or so stone rooms that enveloped the Divine Ascension Mirror in a semicircular formation.
Gao Xue Ting spoke up to explain, “I think that you should all know how to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror already. It’s a place where only one’s Soul Avatar can enter, so our physical bodies will be unable to move later. Temple Master personally created these stone rooms, so while your Soul Avatars are exploring the Divine Ascension Mirror, your safety will be ensured as long as the barriers on these stone rooms are activated. Without the barrier token, or the Temple Master personally acting, no one can destroy those stone rooms or damage your physical bodies.”
Everyone nodded in understanding after hearing this.
“All this to guard against me!” Grandma You coldly snorted in dissatisfaction and chuckled wickedly, “Since he can’t relax with me here, why didn’t he just kill me back then? Why did he instead force me to guard this Restricted Area…”
She kept talking to herself, but everyone ignored her.
However, Yang Kai and the others knew that she was telling the truth.
Wen Zi Shan had specially created these stone rooms in order to protect the disciples whose Soul Avatars had entered the Divine Ascension Mirror against Grandma You.
Grandma You was someone who seemed very dangerous; after all, no one could tell just what she might do. What if she damaged their physical bodies while everyone was in the Divine Ascension Mirror? It was likely that everyone would then be stuck in the Divine Ascension Mirror for all eternity.
As Grandma You spoke, everyone found a stone room for themselves, took the token hanging on the door, and entered.
Gao Xue Ting didn’t rush to find a room for herself, however, and instead just stood where she was and explained to everyone about how to use the token.
Everyone soon learned the method to use their token and entered their own stone room, closing the door behind them and opening all the appropriate barriers.
After everyone finished, Gao Xue Ting finally chose an empty stone room and entered. Before she closed the door, she added, “We’ll be troubling you, Grandma!”
“No need for you to waste your breath!” was Grandma You’s response.
Gao Xue Ting didn’t say anything else as she also activated the barrier around her room and waited quietly.
A moment later, Grandma You supported herself on her staff as she went over to the Divine Ascension Mirror. Suddenly, she tossed her staff aside and opened up her arms. At the same time, a torrential amount of Spiritual Energy poured out of her forehead and was injected into the Divine Ascension Mirror.
She kept muttering something that sounded like an incantation, but upon listening more carefully, it didn’t sound like anything sensible at all.
As she made her movements, the Divine Ascension Mirror’s original faint flashes suddenly exploded with brilliant divine light.
Simultaneously, Yang Kai and the others who were sitting cross-legged in the stone rooms all became covered in the brilliant light. All of them felt something really discomforting in the light, as if their Souls were about to be sucked out of their bodies by it, a somewhat panic-inducing sensation.
However, none of them tried to resist, because this was an expected phenomenon. Every cultivator who entered the Divine Ascension Mirror would experience the same thing.
*Weng…..*
The Divine Ascension Mirror suddenly began flashing rapidly as a vortex appeared from it, covering everything in the surrounding cave. Sand and stones were kicked up and smashed into the stone rooms and cavern walls, causing many loud bangs.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Six beams of light flew forth from six different stone rooms in the next instant and entered the Divine Ascension Mirror before vanishing.
At the same time, Yang Kai and the others’ figures flashed like lightning past the surface of the Divine Ascension Mirror.
“En?” Grandma You’s eyes suddenly lit up as she was channelling her Spiritual Energy. It seemed like she noticed something as she stared at the Divine Ascension Mirror and soon exclaimed, “Impossible! That’s impossible! One of those brats actually possesses such a precious treasure? Did I see incorrectly?”
She then clasped her hands and viciously slapped out.
The flashing Divine Ascension Mirror immediately stabilized itself and resumed its original appearance.
However, Grandma You’s face was quite pale and her forehead was dripping with sweat. Her originally short body seemed even shorter now, as if this activation had used up a tremendous amount of her energy.
“Damn it, damn it all! Wen Zi Shan, you left me alive only because activating the Divine Ascension Mirror requires the Divine Sense of a Third-Order Emperor! Don’t think that I don’t know about your evil intentions! This old lady will make you pay the price sooner or later!”
After saying this, she hurriedly sat down cross-legged and shakily took out some Spirit Pills from her Space Ring and popped them into her mouth as if they were candy.
“No matter if I saw wrongly or not, I must go in and check for myself! If that really is the item I saw, Wen Zi Shan, this is your end! Haha… hahahaha…” She began to laugh out loud in a crazed manner after speaking like a madman to herself.
At the same moment, Wen Zi Shan was looking into the distance from Myriad Saints Peak.
Chen Qian was by his side.
Once the Third-Order Emperor Realm Spiritual Energy fluctuations died down, Chen Qian muttered, “It seems that Sister Gao and the others have entered now.”
“En,” Wen Zi Shan nodded, “Everything was successful.”
“Temple Master!” Chen Qian suddenly turned to look at Wen Zi Shan, “This subordinate doesn’t understand something.”
“Oh? There’s even something that Little Qian doesn’t know? I thought that you were so crafty despite your size, and that you knew everything,” Wen Zi Shan commented with a wide smile.
Chen Qian just glared at him, “Temple Master, you personally raised Sister Gao, so it’s fine for you to talk to her with such a tone, but I’m different… if you keep acting so flippantly and dim, I’m worried that you really will be single for the rest of your life!”
Wen Zi Shan immediately broke out into a cold sweat with an awkward expression, “Ahem, let’s set this aside. What did you want to ask just now?”
“Back then… why didn’t you… kill Grandma You?” Chen Qian quickly said with a serious expression.
Wen Zi Shan’s expression also became serious as he fell into silence for a moment before answering, “It’s not that I didn’t want to, but rather that I couldn’t kill her!”
Chen Qian replied with confusion, “This subordinate does not understand.”
Wen Zi Shan answered, “Back when I first came to Azure Sun Mountain Range, I decided to stay here precisely because I discovered the Divine Ascension Mirror. At that time, that old thing was already guarding the Divine Ascension Mirror, and it seemed as if she had been doing so for more than two thousand years. Of course, my desire was stimulated upon seeing that treasure for the first time and I was quite eager to study it, but you already know about that old thing’s temper. She wouldn’t agree no matter what, so in the end, this King was forced into a fight with her…”
“The end result was that you won and Grandma You lost?”
“En,” Wen Zi Shan nodded, “Although our Divine Senses were at about the same level, she only had First-Order Emperor, so this King was stronger overall. At that time, I discovered that old thing wasn’t anything good, with a violent temperament and a cruel heart. I never would have shown her mercy if I didn’t have to; however, since she had been together with the Divine Ascension Mirror for so long, it seemed as if she gained some understanding of its mysteries, and although she was unable to use it against her enemies, she could still use special methods to seal and ruin it! If she was really forced to the brink, she could simply destroy that treasure and then no one would ever be able to use it!”
Chen Qian understood much more after she heard this, “So, Temple Master had such worries…”
“Indeed!” Wen Zi Shan replied, “Thus, I made an agreement with her that this King wouldn’t kill her, nor would I take the Divine Ascension Mirror away from her; however, she would need to cooperate whenever I needed to use the Divine Ascension Mirror.”
Chen Qian now had an expression of understanding, “No wonder… back when I went to train in the Divine Ascension Mirror, Grandma You’s expression was filled with unwillingness, yet she still activated the mirror for me. So there was such a reason.”
“Not only you…” Wen Zi Shan chuckled, “That old thing always behaves like this every time that she has to activate the Divine Ascension Mirror. She’s always treated the Divine Ascension Mirror as her personal belonging, so she can’t stand others touching it!”
Wen Zi Shan then coldly snorted, “After all these years, although she has cooperated on the surface, she’s probably secretly used so many schemes to kill countless elites of my temple!”
Chen Qian’s pretty face changed upon hearing this as she stared at Wen Zi Shan in astonishment, “Temple Master, you mean…”
Wen Zi Shan kept chuckling coldly, “She thinks that she did it without anyone knowing, but this King actually knew all along. However… she didn’t go too overboard, so this King can’t be bothered to expose her.”
“But the dead disciples…” Chen Qian had a pained expression.
Wen Zi Shan sighed deeply, “This also counts as a type of trial. If one passes, they will naturally become stronger, and if they fail, they die. Everyone’s fate is different, that’s all!”
Chen Qian was now afraid after the fact as she patted her chest, “Luckily, I managed to pass back them,” she paused for a moment and then asked, “Temple Master, why were you willing to let an outsider into the Divine Ascension Mirror? That is the temple’s greatest secret; even most disciples of the temple don’t know about it.”
“There’s no particular reason, I just wanted to test his mettle!” Wen Zi Shan smiled slightly.
Chen Qian responded, “Is it because of Bustling World Great Emperor? That boy brought the Bustling World Great Emperor’s token with him, and I heard that the Bustling World Great Emperor raised you, Temple Master…”
“Nothing could be further from the truth!” Wen Zi Shan suddenly glared at Chen Qian and acted panicky, “This King grew up as an ordinary person, and has not the slightest connection to that old Bustling World fellow…”
“Oh? You trying to hide it makes it more obvious…” Chen Qian covered her mouth and smiled.
“Lies and slander!”
“The more you deny it, the more certain it sounds…”
“Little Qian Qian…” Wen Zi Shan suddenly took a soft tone and called her name in a deeply romantic manner.
Chen Qian’s pretty face suddenly changed as she hurriedly said, “Temple Master, this subordinate just remembered that I have something else to do, I’ll be leaving now!”
She instantly flashed away, as if she was trying to escape from Wen Zi Shan’s sight.
Her past experiences told her that whenever Wen Zi Shan changed the topic and used such a tone with her, it would be best for her to escape immediately. Otherwise… she would definitely be tortured until she wanted to die!
“Hmph, she’s too naïve, daring to challenge this old master? Nothing but overconfidence, wahahaha!” Wen Zi Shan proudly revealed an attitude of an undefeatable champion, laughed loudly in an aloof manner.
…
Six vague figures appeared one after another in a strange space.
Gradually, these figures congealed, the entire process quite wondrous. As the six figures solidified, they all groaned in pain, as if they were all experiencing great discomfort.
However, everyone soon recovered.
They looked all around and at each other.
“This is the world of the Divine Ascension Mirror?” Xia Sheng exclaimed with astonishment.
“My body feels somewhat different!” Murong Xiao Xiao furrowed her brow slightly.
“This should be because we are in the form of our Soul Avatars,” Xiao Bai Yi added.
“This is so hard to get used to!” Chen Mu Ji also commented.
Yang Kai didn’t say anything and just gently clenched his fist, experiencing for himself how different his body was from usual.
If it was only physical appearance, everyone still appeared the same as before, right down to their clothes; however, if one looked closer, they would discover that everyone here had no physical body. In other words, everyone here consisted of pure Spiritual Energy. Although their forms appeared to be corporeal, they were actually not!
“It’s just as I told you before,” Gao Xue Ting got accustomed quite quickly, most likely because she had come here before, or perhaps because her realm was that much higher. “Only our Soul Avatars have entered the Divine Ascension Mirror, while our physical bodies are still in the stone rooms back in the stone cave. Everything in the Divine Ascension Mirror’s world is made of Spiritual Energy, which is why this place is highly effective at increasing the strength of our Souls. If a cultivator has a powerful Soul, their ability to comprehend Secret Arts and cultivate Secret Techniques will greatly increase as well. There are also countless other benefits. The Soul is the most important foundation for a cultivator, apart from their physical body, that is why this is a rare opportunity for all of you. If you can strengthen your Souls to a certain level here, it will also become easier for you all to rise to the Emperor Realm in the future.”
“Disciple understands,” Xiao Bai Yi and the others cupped their fists as they responded.
“The Spiritual Energy in the Divine Ascension Mirror World is different from the World Energy outside. When we cultivate outside, the World Energy we absorb is transformed into Qi to increase our cultivation; however, if you cultivate here, the Spiritual Energy you absorb will instead strengthen your Soul. I think that you all should have noticed this already,” Gao Xue Ting explained.
Everyone nodded slightly.
Yang Kai had indeed sensed that the energy in this strange world was quite different from energy in the outside world.
He was absorbing the energy all around him, which strengthened his Soul Avatar and made his Soul more durable and powerful.
“If you want to strengthen your Soul here, apart from cultivating normally, you can also strengthen yourself by slaying the living beings here!”
“There are other living beings here?” Xiao Bai Yi’s expression changed slightly.
Gao Xue Ting glanced at him, “This is a complete world, why wouldn’t there be other living beings here?”
Xiao Bai Yi was instantly rendered speechless.
Gao Xue Ting continued, “According to the Temple Master, the Divine Ascension Mirror is a mystical treasure that was born alongside the Heavens and Earth. The mirror’s interior is its own independent world that, while even smaller than the Southern Territory, has given birth to its own unique lifeforms. There are people and Monster Beasts here… so this world has everything that the Star Boundary does! However, every living creature here is condensed from pure Spiritual Energy. Of course, none of these creatures realize this and believe that this is how the world should be. They have never experienced having physical bodies before. Also, I must remind you to avoid having any contact with the natives here. There are many powerful existences in the Divine Ascension Mirror you can’t afford to antagonize.”
“However, if you’re capable of killing living beings that have evil intentions towards you, you’ll be able to absorb their energy. The energy here is extremely pure, and most of it can be absorbed by our Soul Avatars to strengthen our Souls directly!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.
“You might not understand too well just from my explanation. In that case, we can try it out right now so that you can understand.” Gao Xue Ting closed her beautiful eyes as she spoke before releasing her powerful First-Order Emperor Realm Divine Sense.
A moment later, she opened her eyes and declared, “Everyone, come with me.”
As she spoke, she began moving at a speed that everyone could follow after.
This was a plain with long grass and many birds flying overhead, a scenery as beautiful and refreshing as a spring day. Even though there was no sun in the sky, the light in this world was quite plentiful, it was just unknown how this light was generated.
Everyone followed Gao Xue Ting for more than a dozen kilometres before something resembling a Monster Beast suddenly appeared before them.
Everyone looked over to see that the Monster Beast was a type that they had never seen before. It seemed like an ordinary wild animal, but its body was as gigantic as a building and its two curved tusks gave it a vicious appearance.
The Dao Source Realm cultivators present instantly sent out their Divine Senses to scan this beast and soon discovered that it was at the peak of the Tenth-Order. In other words, it was a Monster Beast which was equivalent to a peak Origin King.
None of them would have any trouble dealing with such a Monster Beast, so it was perfect for experimenting on to clarify Gao Xue Ting’s earlier explanation.
It seemed that Gao Xue Ting had chosen this beast intentionally.