Yang Kai’s heart instantly felt icy when he heard this.
“Then Senior, your subordinates…” Yang Kai inquired again.
“They’ll be here soon!” Ban Qing frowned impatiently, “This King prefers to act alone…” He then looked Yang Kai over with suspicion, “Why are you asking these things?”
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai took a deep breath and slowly stated, “Junior only wishes… for your understanding!”
As he spoke, he transformed into a beam of light that charged directly at Ban Qing.
Yang Kai had thought things through quite well. Since the Heavenly Monster Mountains were already sealed, and there were three other Emperor Realm Masters apart from Ban Qing searching elsewhere, and Ban Qing’s subordinates had yet to arrive, now was the best opportunity to fight.
Running wasn’t realistic. Ban Qing was skilled at concealment and assassination to begin with, so it was likely that he had exquisite Movement Skills which would prevent Yang Kai from escaping. Even if Yang Kai managed to escape, where would he run to in these gigantic Heavenly Monster Mountains that he wasn’t familiar with? He might be unlucky enough to run into someone else, and there would be no hope at all anymore if he was caught in a pincer attack.
As such, Yang Kai figured it would be best to fight it out with Ban Qing while the latter was still alone. He could still try to run if he couldn’t win, and if he could win… then there would be no need to escape.
“Hmm?” Ban Qing arched his eyebrows, not having expected that Yang Kai would be so daring. But, it also didn’t seem to be pure recklessness as this boy even had the power to move freely under Ban Qing’s pressure.
Previously, Ban Qing hadn’t thought anything of Yang Kai because there was a natural gap in their strength. Under the suppression of an Emperor, no Dao Source Realm cultivator should be able to move.
The middle-aged man collapsed on the ground right now was the best evidence of that.
In Ban Qing’s eyes, Yang Kai’s cultivation level was similar to the middle-aged man, Third-Order Dao Source Realm, although Yang Kai’s Soul was slightly stronger and bordered on the Emperor Realm.
However, this still didn’t have too much meaning, since as long as Yang Kai didn’t cross the threshold of Emperor Realm, there would still forever be a difference like Heaven and Earth.
Ban Qing thought that Yang Kai couldn’t move a finger under his pressure.
However, when Yang Kai actually moved, he was as fast as the wind, as if he was completely unaffected by Ban Qing’s aura.
Ban Qing was surprised by this discovery, and then he became somewhat angry out of shame.
Coldly snorting, he stood where he was without moving. Rather than move, he released his pressure at full force so that it enveloped Yang Kai.
“Agh…” Yang Kai moaned while he was midair and his body suddenly froze for an instant, as if the air around him had become solid and his movements were greatly restrained!
“You’re quite brave, but… utterly foolish!” Ban Qing coldly glanced at Yang Kai with eyes filled with disdain.
“Senior… aren’t you looking down on others too much?” Yang Kai roared as his Spiritual Energy exploded and engulfed his figure in flames.
The powerful flames burned and jumped, making Yang Kai appear like he was on fire, and the temperature in the area also seemed to increase significantly as green trees instantly withered and the ground baked.
“Conflagrated Aura!” Ban Qing’s eyes dilated as he exclaimed in astonishment.
Mutated Knowledge Seas were incredibly rare, but couldn’t be denied that they had great power, especially a Fire Attribute Knowledge Sea which was renowned for being domineering and having great destructive force.
*Kacha…*
Dense crackling sounds began to sound in midair. Of course, this was the sound of Ban Qing’s Emperor Realm pressure being shattered.
When Yang Kai used his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, this greatly decreased the pressure on him as he transformed into a flame that leapt in front of Ban Qing. Clenching his fist, Yang Kai sent a vicious flame-covered punch out.
“No wonder you were so arrogant, it seems you do have some skill.” Ban Qing didn’t panic at all when faced with this terrifying attack and instead calmly assessed Yang Kai before tapping his foot and leaping backwards.
As he withdrew, he seemed to cross over space and when he appeared again, he was already a hundred metres away from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s vicious punch hit nothing but air.
“If it is someone in the same realm, it’s likely that there are extremely few in the world who can defeat you, but…” Ban Qing chuckled coldly, “This King is an Emperor, you know? Have you not woken up yet? Hmm?”
He roared the final word, causing the originally heavy pressure to become even heavier.
The flames on Yang Kai’s body kept flickering unsteadily and he seemed like he was being crushed under a large mountain as his body sank.
Yang Kai roared against the tremendous pressure causing great pain all over his body. Stamping his feet hard, Yang Kai once again charged in front of Ban Qing despite the restraining pressure.
“Little brat, do you have a death wish?” Ban Qing appeared serious for the first time as he spoke in a low voice.
This was because Yang Kai was forcing himself to break through Ban Qing’s pressure without any regard for his body. This would actually be highly damaging to one’s own body, and it was even possible to destroy one’s Soul by doing this.
However, it seemed as if Yang Kai didn’t even care or worry about such a consequence. He acted like he wanted to trade his life for Ban Qing’s life!
Ban Qing had never met such a person before. The most suitable word to describe such a person was ‘madman’!
“Since you can’t see reality for yourself, then this King will help you!” Ban Qing became angry as he pushed out his hand. A powerful force erupted from his palm and whipped up an energy wave that enveloped Yang Kai.
*Deng deng deng…*
Yang Kai explosively flew backwards as he kept coughed out in pain, the fires surrounding his figure dimming significantly.
Yang Kai had obviously been injured by this blow!
Even a casual blow from an Emperor Realm Master was not to be underestimated.
However, Yang Kai didn’t worry too much because of his Soul Warming Lotus’ protection. Anyone else who suffered such an injury likely would have started wanting to retreat already and focus on healing themselves.
Yet, Yang Kai didn’t need to, because as long as his Soul wasn’t shattered or destroyed, the Soul Warming Lotus would fix everything like it was new if given enough time.
Yang Kai had the ability to act like a madman.
Yang Kai stumbled and his expression went dark. Ban Qing then suddenly disappeared from where he stood before Yang Kai recovered his balance.
Right after that, he spoke from beside Yang Kai in a calm yet distant tone, “Now… I think you should understand?”
It had to be said that Ban Qing was indeed highly skilled at concealment and assassination. His actions weren’t hinted at whatsoever, making them difficult to defend against. There was also no time lag at all between when he disappeared and reappeared to attack.
His hand still held onto the Spiritual Energy dagger from before, and his attack aimed directly for the centre of Yang Kai’s heart.
He used the exact same technique as he had against the middle-aged man.
But at this moment, Yang Kai’s mouth arched upwards in a slightly strange and subtle angle.
The next instant, a purple light flashed as a layer of light mysteriously appeared on Yang Kai’s body and formed a barrier around him.
*Ding…*
A crisp sound echoed.
Ban Qing’s attack hit the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield. The defensive Soul-type artifact of Dao Source Grade Low-Rank was actually unable to block this terrifying attack with its light barrier, so it shattered in the next instant.
Ban Qing’s one casual attack managed to break the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield’s defence!
The Soul-type artifact also suffered heavy damage to its spirituality, so Yang Kai would need a lot of time and Spiritual Energy to continuously nourish it in order to use it again.
But, this was already sufficient…
“What the hell was that?” Ban Qing had a look of astonishment.
Although he was one of the four Vice Generals of the Divine Ascension Country, he had never seen a Soul-type artifact in his life before. That was why his first reaction was that something was off when he destroyed Yang Kai’s Purple Profound Light Shield.
Before he could figure out what had happened, a buzzing sound suddenly filled his ears.
Ban Qing mysteriously felt like his Soul was trembling as the buzzing became louder, and an instinctive chill filled his body, as if he was facing incredible danger.
Ban Qing couldn’t help but widen his eyes as he looked towards Yang Kai’s hand.
He discovered that a sword had actually appeared at some unknown time.
This sword appeared quite ordinary and didn’t have any flashy or exaggerated features. It seemed like a common sword that could be found anywhere; however, Ban Qing felt an instinctual fear towards it. The sword made a buzzing sound that seemed to draw in his Soul and make Ban Qing feel extreme fear after hearing it. The light swirling on the weapon also seemed capable of devouring his soul and making him fall into the abyss forever.
Ban Qing instantly felt that things were bad as he hurriedly tried to retreat.
However, he was already too late.
The space around him suddenly solidified.
It was the power of Space Principles!
Yang Kai was only here with his Soul Avatar, not his physical body, so he was unable to use normal artifacts and Secret Techniques. However, he could still use his understanding and control over Principles.
Unfortunately, he would be unable to use Secret Techniques like Moon Blade and Exile because using these Secret Techniques required the support of both Source Qi and Spiritual Energy. Lacking one would render the technique unable to be used.
Yang Kai had already experimented with this when he was previously fighting against Monster Beasts.
His Secret Techniques needed his physical body as the foundation and source of strength in addition to his ability to manipulate Principles.
Even an Emperor Realm master like Ban Qing could be temporarily frozen through the use of Space Principles though.
At this instant, Yang Kai was already smiling viciously as he chopped down with his sword.
“I wonder if you’ve noticed, Senior. You have a habit of attacking from your opponent’s right side and targeting their heart… is this a habit, or does Senior like to show off just how strong you are?”
Yang Kai’s words were filled with a teasing tone as they echoed in Ban Qing’s ears.
Of course, Ban Qing was in no mood to care about that right now. When the sword sliced down on him, he actually felt like death itself was approaching.
“Profound Dragon Seal!” Ban Qing shouted loudly as the Spiritual Energy in his body suddenly activated. The next instant, a thick light barrier appeared before him.
This was quite a powerful Soul Secret Technique.
Since Divine Ascension Mirror World cultivators didn’t have artifacts or physical bodies, they could only strengthen their own Souls and cultivate Soul Secret Techniques in order to raise their strength.
It was also because of this that the cultivators of this world were outstanding in their understanding of Soul Secret Techniques. Cultivators from the Star Boundary couldn’t even compare.
Profound Dragon Seal was a defensive Secret Technique that was the crystallization of Ban Qing’s cultivation, a self-devised skill he had perfected over many long years.
He had only ever used this Secret Technique three times since he reached the Emperor Realm, and every time that he used it, his opponent had also been an Emperor Realm Master.
However, he was forced to use this Secret Technique in front of a Dao Source Realm cultivator like Yang Kai.
He could sense that he would certainly die unless he used this Secret Technique!
He had no basis for his feelings, but he deeply trusted his senses.
A dragon shadow appeared and twirled itself around his body, and in just the blink of an eye, a light barrier that resembled a shield appeared. On the shield were some faint Dragon drawings that seemed like they were alive.
After Ban Qing used this technique, he felt slightly reassured as the panic in his heart receded quite a bit.
However…
The sword sliced past with a simple movement that carried no extravagance. The Profound Dragon Seal, which was capable of defending against an Emperor Realm master’s full force attack, seemed as soft as tofu in front of Yang Kai. Without a sound, the solid defence was sliced in half as the sword continued towards Ban Qing’s chest without being slowed one bit.
If it landed a solid hit, with how abnormal this sword appeared to be, it was likely that even someone as strong as Ban Qing would be sliced in half.
Ban Qing’s expression suddenly changed as he no longer dared to hesitate. Pushing his Spiritual Energy madly, he used the explosive force to retreat with all his strength.
*Chi…*
There was a soft sound as Ban Qing forcibly broke free from the restraint of the Space Principles and barely managed to dodge a deadly blow from the blade strike.
However, a wound that spanned the entire length of his chest, from his shoulder to his stomach, appeared, nearly taking off one of his arms in the process.
There was no blood coming out of the injury, nor was there any sign of his physique being damaged. In fact, there wasn’t even any sign of bones. Yet, pure Spiritual Energy was pouring out of the injury as it continuously vanished into thin air.
“Such a pity!” Yang Kai couldn’t help but exclaim as he looked at Ban Qing. Previously, Yang Kai had rashly charged in front of Ban Qing twice in order to lure Ban Qing into letting down his guard so that he could find a chance to deliver a fatal blow.
Still, Yang Kai’s plan had somewhat succeeded. His two rash actions earlier had obviously caused Ban Qing to underestimate him, resulting in the latter directly closing in to strike Yang Kai. This gave Yang Kai the chance to use a Heaven-destroying counterattack; however, an Emperor was still an Emperor. When Ban Qing’s life was in danger, his reaction speed was incredibly quick and he actually managed to dodge such a sudden attack from such a close distance.
Not far away, Ban Qing had been seriously injured as his eyes shook violently and his expression changed several times. He stared at the sword in Yang Kai’s hands while roaring, “What the hell is that!?”
“The Soul Splitting Sabre!” Yang Kai had a wicked smile as he waved the sword in his hands and used it to point at Ban Qing in the distance, “It doesn’t hurt flesh, it only cuts Souls!”
When entering the Divine Ascension Mirror World, Yang Kai had only brought three things with him along with his Soul Avatar.
The first was the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield that Gao Xue Ting had given him, the second was the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea, and the third was this Soul Splitting Sabre.
The sabre was an item he obtained from the Insect Emperor.
Back on Shadowed Star, the Insect Emperor had caused great trouble everywhere, but when Yang Kai slew him, he had obtained the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and Soul Splitting Sabre, two Emperor Artifacts.
That Insect Enslavement Bracelet had the special effect of suppressing various types of insects. Yang Kai had escaped death several times thanks to the Insect Enslavement Bracelet. As for the Soul Splitting Sabre, he had hardly ever used it before and had not yet fully refined it.
That was why Yang Kai had been really astonished when he first entered this world and discovered the Soul Splitting Sabre was available to him.
Even though he had never refined this Emperor Artifact before, it was undeniable that it possessed strong attack power against Souls. With this sabre in hand, Yang Kai had managed to seriously injure a master like Ban Qing in just one hit. If he had slightly refined the sabre, then it definitely would have been quite easy for him to kill Ban Qing in a special world like this Divine Ascension Mirror World.
Yang Kai had learned his lesson. He secretly resolved that when he returned to his world, he would definitely find a chance to properly refine the Emperor Artifacts in his possession.
Before, he hadn’t refined them because he wasn’t powerful enough, but now, he was already a Dao Source Realm cultivator, and his Soul was comparable to that of a peak Dao Source Master, so refining these Emperor Artifacts shouldn’t be a problem anymore.
No matter if it was the Soul Splitting Sabre or the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, they would be really useful in certain special circumstances.
“Damn it!” Ban Qing gritted his teeth and shouted in a low voice. Although he didn’t understand what Yang Kai meant by ‘doesn’t hurt flesh’, he clearly recognized that this sabre was a serious threat to him on a fatal level due to the previous attack.
He was now seriously injured, yet Yang Kai was completely uninjured. Additionally, it seemed like Yang Kai knew some rather strange abilities, so Ban Qing was already thinking of retreating.
Although it would be truly embarrassing if word spread that an Emperor Realm cultivator like him ran away from a Dao Source Realm Junior, Ban Qing no longer cared at this time. His life was the most important thing, while face and everything else was only secondary!
Not only that, Ban Qing’s cultivated Secret Techniques were all the type to assist in covert assassination. Normally speaking, someone who cultivated these types of Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities could be called cautious if one wanted to be nice, cowardly if they were to be blunt. Such people would always instantly run for a thousand kilometres if they failed on the first attack. They would never stay for long battles with the enemy, as their fighting abilities would be seriously diminished in a direct confrontation.
If a master like Lian Yan had been before Yang Kai right now, he would never have immediately retreated even if he was caught off guard and injured by Yang Kai.
An injury would never possibly make up for an absolute gap in strength between different realms.
Regardless, after Ban Qing said that, his figure flashed as he wanted to retreat first and formulate a plan.
But at that moment, he suddenly lost track of Yang Kai from his vision. Just one moment ago, the Dao Source Realm brat had been standing not far in front of him, yet now he had actually vanished in the blink of an eye.
“What?” Ban Qing was astonished. He was already a master who was highly skilled at concealment, yet he discovered that there were always people out there who were more skilled than him.
Yang Kai’s sudden disappearance was obviously a far better technique than his own, and Yang Kai could clearly use Space Principles, which allowed him to truly ignore the limitations of space.
Ban Qing hurriedly released his Divine Sense to try and determine Yang Kai’s position; however, he immediately sensed a chilly wind coming from behind his head. This chill seemed as if it blew from the depths of hell and could freeze a person’s Soul.
Ban Qing widened his eyes as he had already sensed his enemy’s position. He didn’t dare to react slowly as he hurriedly turned around while simultaneously sending out a blast of pure Spiritual Energy visible to the naked eye.
*Hong…*
Violent energy clashed and sent Yang Kai flying backwards from the impact. Light flashed furiously and unsteadily on his body in midair, while Ban Qing didn’t even budge.
There was still an absolute difference between their realms, so even though Yang Kai had teleported to launch an ambush, it still didn’t achieve the desired effect.
It now seemed that if it wasn’t for Ban Qing being overconfident and not understanding the existence of Soul-type artifacts, he wouldn’t have been injured by Yang Kai’s sabre. As long as he had a slight understanding of the Soul Splitting Sabre’s threat and was slightly on guard, Yang Kai never would have succeeded in wounding him.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai landed and made a muffled sound of pain as his expression flickered slightly. This clashing between Souls wasn’t something that humans could usually bear. This pain was far more difficult to withstand than any type of physical pain.
He felt as if his Soul was being torn apart, and there was no way to suppress this pain at all. Apart from bearing with it, there was no second option.
However, Yang Kai was still smiling faintly…
Because his trick had succeeded yet again.
*Weng weng…*
A strange buzzing sound could be heard as Ban Qing paused in surprise. However, he soon realized just where this sound was coming from.
He hurriedly lowered his head and saw that the injury on his body was actually covered with a dense layer of small pitch-black dots. Upon closer inspection, Ban Qing immediately felt his head go numb.
That was because those pitch-black dots were actually tiny insects, numerous enough that they were all but uncountable.
Anyone would likely find it difficult to withstand their body being covered in insects, but what truly terrified Ban Qing was that these tiny insects actually pierced into his wound, and nearly half of them had entered his body in just the blink of an eye.
Ban Qing’s face became incredibly pale.
With his Emperor Realm cultivation, he could naturally sense that these insects were actually beginning to take ravenous bites off him as they fed on his essence.
Ban Qing was constantly losing strength!
“What are these!?” Ban Qing couldn’t help but stagger back several steps as he lowered his head and looked at his own body, shouting loudly in fear, “Just what is this!?”
He had asked this question several times already, ever since he met Yang Kai.
For a cultivator like Ban Qing, who had been born and raised in the Divine Ascension Mirror World, many of the techniques and items that Yang Kai showed to him today were beyond his understanding.
Most critically of all, even if Ban Qing didn’t recognize the Soul Devouring Demon Insects, he felt an instinctive fear when he saw them. This type of fear came from the depths of his soul and was completely innate, like when a frog met a snake, or if a rabbit met an eagle…
As Ban Qing angrily roared, he also shook his body and formed an invisible aura that wrapped around himself.
The Soul Devouring Demon Insects which hadn’t managed to enter his body were all sent flying outside by the impact.
However, pure Spiritual Energy was still pouring out from Ban Qing’s injury. Such Spiritual Energy was the most delicious food of all for the Soul Devouring Demon Insects, so they would never let this go.
The insects didn’t even wait for Yang Kai’s command as they gathered together again into a cloud and enveloped Ban Qing.
Ban Qing witnessed a despairing scene.
His Emperor Realm defensive aura actually didn’t even obstruct these insects as they could literally chew through it. In just a short while, they gnawed open a hole through his defences and once again pounced onto his body to invade him through his injury.
“Demon Insects!” Ban Qing seemed to suddenly realize something as his expression greatly changed while he roared in panic, “These are Demon Insects!”
His eyes contained a rather pitiful expression as he shouted.
He hadn’t been so helpless even when he faced the Soul Splitting Sabre, yet this Emperor Realm master was showing despair when he faced the Soul Devouring Demon Insects.
There exists an ancient legend in this world about a type of special insects, insects that are the nemesis of all things living. No matter how strong or how high one’s cultivation is, they would be no match for these insects. Moreover, these insects could not be killed in any way and would continue devouring the bodies of the living to grow and multiply.
These insects were known as the Demon Insects by the inhabitants of this world!
Demon Insects initially appeared without warning, so no one really knew where they came from, nor did anyone pay attention to them at first because they were still small and weak back then.
But as time passed, and they continued to devour and grow, the horror of these Demon Insects gradually became known.
Wherever they went, all life disappeared; where they nested, no one dared come within a hundred thousand kilometres.
In ancient times, where the legends about these insects originated, the number of masters in this world far exceeded today. There were even many Third-Order Emperors!
When the Demon Insects grew to become a calamity, the masters of the world could no longer sit idly by, and thus they joined forces and prepared to do their utmost to destroy the Demon Insects that plagued this world.
Nobody knows what happened in that battle.
But after that, all the masters of the world disappeared, and so did the Demon Insects that were so feared and talked about.
Some speculated that the Masters died alongside the Demon Insects, otherwise, how could the final result be explained? There were also speculations that the Masters had secluded themselves from the world after defeating the Demon Insects, living apart from the trappings of society. Some even speculated that the Demon Insects devoured the masters and were now slumbering in some unknown place, evolving into a more terrifying form and would one day return to end the world!
But these were only rumours. No one ever believed them and no person had ever seen what these so-called Demon Insects, let alone knew what they actually looked like.
Barely anyone believed that these Demon Insects really existed.
But right now, right here, Ban Qing understood that the rumours were not fabricated. There really did exist bone-chilling Demon Insects in this world, and these tiny insects were just as the rumours said, feeding on the energy of living beings, unable to be killed or destroyed. One could only sit back and watch them grow, and then lay waste to the entire world.
When he thought about these ancient rumours, Ban Qing completely lost all will to fight Yang Kai.
He could not understand how Yang Kai could spur a group of Demon Insects to fight for him as a mere Dao-Source Realm cultivator. Did he not worry that these Demon Insects would devour him too?
Howls of misery emerged as Ban Qing writhed in pain, seemingly falling into an abyss of destruction. It was an unbearable torture as Ban Qing experienced the fear and despair of his Soul being devoured slowly by the rampaging Soul Devouring Insects.
He was like a madman, throwing out his energy desperately. All sorts of wonderful and amazing Soul Secret Techniques that Yang Kai had never seen before were released from Ban Qing’s hands as he continued to struggle.
The space around them became unstable under this thrashing.
Yang Kai hurriedly moved away and observed Ban Qing from afar.
Even he did not expect that this Emperor Realm Master would become so crazy after shouting out that short name.
[Demon Insects…Why would he call them that? Are the Soul Devouring Insects related to this world in some way?] Yang Kai pondered with a frown. He couldn’t figure it out, but it was without a doubt that the scene before him was exactly what he wanted to see.
First, he launched a sneak attack with the Soul Splitting Saber, then he used Ban Qing’s blind spot to infest him with Soul Devouring Insects to finish the job. Even though both his moves were successful, Yang Kai really had no way to stop him if this Emperor Realm Master was determined to escape.
His ability to manipulate Space Principles was not strong enough to really bind an Emperor Realm cultivator.
If Ban Qing escaped and revealed his information to his comrades, Yang Kai would lose his advantage.
Ban Qing seemed to be in a state of madness though, losing himself in despair, and from the looks of it, he might even be reaching the end of his life, which was a welcome sight for Yang Kai.
In the end, Ban Qing was still an Emperor Realm Master, so despite going mad and acting in an uncontrolled manner, the Soul Devouring Insects weren’t able to completely devour him in short order.
Yang Kai did not try to prod him either, choosing to watch from afar instead, waiting for an opportunity to act…
And, as time passed, the aura coming from Ban Qing’s body became weaker and weaker. From the Emperor Realm, he regressed to the Dao Source Realm, then the Origin King Realm, then the Origin Returning Realm…
After an hour had passed, Ban Qing’s body suddenly froze, and he stood in place, unmoving.
Immediately afterwards, Ban Qing’s body burst open with a *bang*, transforming into a million points of light before they too dissipated into the world.
At the location where he disappeared, a cloud of insects was squirming and tossing about.
After devouring the energy of an Emperor Realm Master, the Soul Devouring Insects seemed to have gained considerable growth, and Yang Kai could see that their aura had gotten significantly stronger.
Yang Kai was also troubled at this moment though.
Even though the Soul Devouring Insects had not been of the greatest use to him these recent years, they would undoubtedly grow much stronger after this visit to the Divine Ascension Mirror World and become a killer weapon for him, but if he lost control of the Soul Devouring Insects at this time, he could lose a means to use against his enemies in the future.
Moreover, if he were to allow the Soul Devouring Insects to act without restraint in this World, Yang Kai dared not even imagine what heights they would grow to.
There may be other ways to deal with Soul Devouring Insects in the outside world, but here, all living beings were made of Spiritual Energy, so they were little more than food for the Soul Devouring Insects.
These insects would constantly grow stronger and stronger until they devoured this entire world.
So, no matter what, Yang Kai did not dare to leave the Soul Devouring Insects here.
He had already noticed that these Soul Devouring Insects were showing signs of resistance towards his orders, and this was becoming more and more obvious as they grew. Now, they were straight out ignoring him!
Naturally, Yang Kai was flustered.
He kept actively sending orders with his Divine Sense to the Soul Devouring Insects, but it was to no avail.
In the end, Yang Kai had no choice but to stimulate the Soul Warming Lotus in his body. All of a sudden, a seven-coloured glow burst out, radiating in all directions.
Perhaps because the Soul Devouring Insects felt the Soul Warming Lotus was their home after living there for such a long time, when they sensed the seven-coloured glow, they swiftly returned to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, and with a wave of his sleeve, he put them inside.
Standing in place, Yang Kai’s brows furrowed as he silently sensed the movements of the Soul Devouring Insects.
Strangely enough, the Soul Devouring Insects turned docile as soon as he took them back, not displaying the unruly behaviour from just now anymore.
But this caused Yang Kai to realize a problem — he had to refine the Insect Enslavement Bracelet as soon as possible, otherwise, he would lose the means to enslave the Soul Devouring Insects if they grew more powerful.
The Insect Enslavement Bracelet was an artifact of the Insect Emperor, who used it to subdue all sorts of Exotic Insects, so it was the best tool to control the Soul Devouring Insects.
Though the fight just now was dangerous, it did not actually affect Yang Kai’s growth that much due to how easily he won in the end. This was all thanks to his Emperor Artifact and the Soul Devouring Insects. Yang Kai himself did not actually exert much effort.
However, Ban Qing could be considered the first Emperor Realm Master Yang Kai had killed. Even if it was an Emperor Realm master without a physical body, only a Soul, he was still not easily killed.
In the outside world, Yang Kai would never have been able to accomplish this.
Thinking back, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel giddy. If Ban Qing had used his most proficient assassination Divine Ability from the very start, then he would not even have had the chance to resist. Fortunately, Ban Qing had received orders to capture him alive, which gave Yang Kai such an opportunity.
He sighed and frowned for a moment, wondering where he should go now…
According to what Ban Qing had said, Heavenly Monster Mountain had been sealed off, and many cultivators under Zhou Dian’s leadership were searching for the so-called ‘Star of Calamity’, so it was definitely impossible for Yang Kai to leave the Heavenly Monster Mountain now. Staying here was not an option either, so it seemed he could only continue going deeper inside and hope to be able to evade disaster.
Considering all this, Yang Kai made up his mind.
Looking around him, Yang Kai eyed the middle-aged man who had fainted on the ground. Who knows what Ban Qing did to knock this guy out, but he showed no signs of waking up even now.
That man had nothing to do with Yang Kai, so the latter could not even bother to deal with him, choosing to leave him there to fend for himself.
Yang Kai continued scanning his surroundings and soon his eyes settled in a certain direction. Grinning, he waved towards that spot.
Behind a tree was the Purple Squirrel, looking curiously around, its eyes filled with vigour. After making sure it was safe, it crept out and, slowly, came in front of Yang Kai, staring up at him with concern, as if asking if he was hurt.
Yang Kai smiled, leaned over, and reached out, picking up the little squirrel and placing it on his shoulder. After adjusting his bearings, Yang Kai then headed deeper into the Heavenly Monster Mountain.
…..
Some tens of thousands of kilometres away from the Heavenly Monster Mountain, there was a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides.
This mountain valley was filled with fog, and the people living nearby all referred to it as Misty Valley.
The fog permeated the valley and did not dissipate throughout the year. It was so dense that one could hardly see one step in front of themselves and. This place was extremely odd, and even though this fog was harmless to living beings, one would always lose their sense of direction once they entered it.
From time to time, daring inhabitants of the nearby regions would come to try to explore the Misty Valley and figure out what secrets were hidden within, but regardless of their cultivation, they would lose their sense of direction and get lost inside soon after entering.
Nobody ever found out what was hidden inside.
However, nobody had ever been completely trapped inside the fog either.
That was because, when these people were trapped to the point of despair, an invisible force would inevitably appear to send them outside.
No one knew what the nature of that force was, simply that when it arrived, the people trapped inside Misty Valley would find themselves outside of it.
Some speculated that a hidden expert was secluded inside Misty Valley, and that the dense fog over the mountain valley was this senior expert’s creation so as to not be disturbed by other people.
And, even though the cultivation level of this senior expert was beyond compare, he was a kind person and would help those who were trapped in Misty Valley instead of killing them.
Of course, this is only the speculation of those living nearby. As to what truly existed inside Misty Valley, no one could say.
There was a piece of land covering around one square kilometre at the centre of Misty Valley that was not covered by fog, however, and it was the only place inside Misty Valley like it.
Within this one square kilometre of land, there were twenty or so big and small burial mounds.
These mounds seemed to be scattered all around the land, each with a wooden marker erected at its head, engraved with a different name.
Judging from the technique and writing, it was clear that these ‘headstones’ stemmed from the same person.
Within this world, any living being would transform into pure Spiritual Energy after their death and dissipate into the air, so no bodies could be left behind. Naturally, these graves were empty. Still, a memorial was erected here, so obviously it was to pay tribute and remembrance to the fallen.
If one looked closely at the names on these headstones though, they would find that each of them was a well-known, legendary Master.
Of course, these names all belonged to the distant past.
Currently, these experts had long disappeared without a trace, and nobody knew whether they were alive or dead, but never would anyone have thought that they were all long gone from this world.
If the general populace were to learn that these experts were all gathered here, the news would surely shake the world.
It was quiet within Misty Valley, as if there was nothing else here other than the graves of the dead.
A simple wooden house was the only structure in this place, built about a hundred metres away from these graves. Inside this house, a man with a snow-white beard sat cross-legged on the floor. He looked quite old, but his complexion was bright, giving him an immortal temperament with extraordinary bearing.
On the surface, this old man didn’t seem to have a trace of cultivation, nor any energy fluctuations coming from his body. He was just like an ordinary old man. However, every time he breathed, it was as if the surrounding world breathed with him.
This person’s cultivation had obviously reached an extraordinary peak, allowing him to achieve a kind of unity with the world itself.
Suddenly, the old man opened his eyes which overflowed with divine light. Traces of the sun, moon, and stars could be seen within them, and the spirits of ten thousand beasts flitted past in a flash.
His body did not seem to move, but with a flash, he suddenly disappeared.
By the time he reappeared, the old man had already arrived at a certain spot in Misty Valley. He waved his sleeve and a gale blew up all of a sudden, blowing away the dense fog in front of him.
A bizarre and inexplicably formed black altar suddenly appeared before the old man.
Staring at the altar with an imposing look, the old man listened intently.
*Weng weng…*
A small, almost imperceptible sound suddenly emerged from inside the altar.
The old man’s face suddenly changed as a look of disbelief filled his expression. Quickly, he verified that what he heard was not his imagination, but to his dismay, the result was the same.
His face suddenly turned ugly, as a hint of sadness was concealed within it.
“It has been so many years… Have you awakened once more?” He suddenly murmured as he watched the altar, as if speaking to a familiar old friend.
“What power wakes you?” As the old man spoke, he turned his head to a certain direction, and after gazing there for a moment, his body flickered and disappeared.
A short while later, a stream of light broke through the sky out of Misty Valley, and headed towards the direction of Heavenly Monster Mountain.
…..
Deep inside Heavenly Monster Mountain, Yang Kai stood firmly in place, eyes glancing coldly from side to side.
He left the place where he fought Ban Qing and travelled deeper into the Heavenly Monster Mountains, hoping to find a safe place to hide.
Yet, he did not get what he wanted. It did not take long for someone to find him. These men may not be as strong as Ban Qing, and they posed no threat to Yang Kai who could clean them all up with his Soul Devouring Insects and Soul Splitting Saber, but this annoying situation still put him on full alert.
He thought he was being cautious enough, yet his tracks were still exposed, as if these people knew exactly where he was.
This made him wonder whether something on his body had been tampered with, and that was why they kept coming after him.
But when he checked, he found nothing.
What’s more, other than Ban Qing whom he had met first among these people who had this ability, the others couldn’t do this. If it really was Ban Qing’s doing, then when did he do it?
Thinking back, Yang Kai could only assume that Ban Qing had done something to him while they were fighting him.
And, whatever mark he left was somehow attracting these people.
With this in mind, Yang Kai no longer cared about the danger and went deeper into the Heavenly Monster Mountains.
Unexpectedly, half a day later, he was stopped by two Monster Beasts.
These two Monster Beasts were not ordinary, and upon releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai could tell that they were both Twelfth-Order. In other words, these two Monster Beasts had power equivalent to Emperor Realm cultivators!
One Ban Qing was enough to give him a lot of trouble, but now there were two Monster Beasts with power similar to him. Yang Kai could not help but groan.
Gao Xue Ting said that there were many existences in the Heavenly Monster Mountains that even she did not dare to provoke, and that statement was clearly no exaggeration. It was true that there really were many high-level existences in the Heavenly Monster Mountain, it was just that Yang Kai had not encountered them since he had been moving about near the outer periphery.
The two Monster Beasts were extraordinary in their own right. The one on the left was shaped like an ape with wide shoulders like an iron wall, extraordinarily long arms, and thick hair over its body like steel needles. Its glaring eyes were even larger than a man’s fist and as it stared at Yang Kai, it flared its nostrils and huffed out hot air, appearing quite hostile.
The one on the right had a flawless white body. A sacred deer that looked as if it was carved right out of white jade. Not a single trace of any other colour covered its body, it was an amazing sight. There was even a faint halo enveloping the surface of its body which gave its viewers a bedazzling feeling and two short antlers on its forehead, adding a beautiful finishing touch like dotting eyes on a dragon painting.
These two Monster Beasts were clearly of different species, yet they stood together peacefully. At once, they leapt in front of Yang Kai, blocking his way, as well as locking his retreat on the left and right. It was astonishing, yet similarly stressful for Yang Kai.
Being Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, there was a high chance that these beasts had gained sentience. In other words, Monster Beasts who could arrive at this level could already control their primal instincts and were able to think and act just as humans do.
Of course, there also existed special Monster Beasts that were strong yet still maintain their beast-like instincts instead of gaining sentience.
Yang Kai had no idea whether these two were sentient, but he hoped they were, otherwise he could only look for an opportunity to escape.
When these two Monster Beasts appeared, the Purple Squirrel was terrified and scurried to hide behind Yang Kai’s back.
It was only a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, so when faced with strong existences like these Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, it would naturally feel oppressed.
When confronted, the ape-like Monster Beast suddenly snorted from its nostrils, accompanied by a gust of hot air visible to the naked eye. In a short amount of time, within a radius of several dozen kilometres, the temperature rose sharply. Yang Kai’s heart dropped and he began circulating his strength on instinct.
“Had enough fun yet?” The ape suddenly spoke human words.
Yang Kai’s face changed slightly, immediately understanding that the Monster Beast in front of him had already gained sentience. Moreover… it was exceedingly intelligent.
With this, it meant he had the opportunity to try and negotiate with the other side.
Considering all this, he quickly cupped his fists and spoke, “This… Senior…”
The other party was a Monster Beast, so it seemed a little inappropriate to call it Senior; however, Yang Kai could not think of anything else to call it so he had to settle for that.
But before he could finish his sentence, the ape glared coldly at him and Emperor Realm level pressure pressed down on him as it snapped sharply, “Silence!”
“Ugh…” Yang Kai had no idea what to say, nor did he understand what it meant. What’s more, the question it had asked just now was also quite strange.
At this moment, the Sacred Deer on the right suddenly made a move.
A different, soft power emanated from the Sacred Deer, dispersing the pressure that the ape had put on Yang Kai.
At the same time, the body of the sacred Deer suddenly burst into a bright glow. After a brief moment, this mass of light transformed into a tall and beautiful woman with snow-white skin in a long white dress.
The woman the Sacred Deer transformed into looked to be in her early twenties, and her beauty was not enchanting, charming, nor decorous, but holy, as if she did not belong to the mortal world.
Free of earthly contaminations, not disrupted by the mundane, she was like an immortal fairy who descended from the sky.
“Be careful, Yuan Fei, what if you hurt the Young Master?” After transforming into her human form, the Sacred Deer glared at the ape and rebuked it.
“Hmph! If he gets hurt, he deserves it!” The Monster Beast ape called Yuan Fei grunted as he responded, his thick hair standing on end defensively.
A moment later, in another burst of light, the giant ape transformed into a middle-aged man that looked about forty, his face covered with a malevolent aura and his body covered in crude clothes.
Compared to the Sacred Deer, the human form he took lacked the slightest beauty, but there was no denying it was rugged and boasted great power, making it both a simple and practical form.
Yang Kai wasn’t too shocked when the two Monster Beasts assume human forms, rather, he could only glance at them suspiciously and ask, “Young Master?”
In the next instant though, he seemed to understand something.
The woman transformed from the Sacred Deer looked at Yang Kai and said with slightly parted lips, “Young Master, it’s time to return home.”
Yang Kai did not move nor did he reply, understanding that the other party was not speaking to him.
The fidgeting Purple Squirrel on his back peeked out its small head and looked at the woman as it hung off Yang Kai’s shoulder.
The woman smiled and said, “Please don’t be afraid. Sir may be very angry this time, but he says that as long as Young Master returns with us obediently, then he will let you go without punishment.”
The Purple Squirrel opened its mouth and squeaked a few times, the meaning unclear so Yang Kai did not understand.
“You dare try to bargain with us?” Upon hearing what it said though, Yuan Fei glared and rolled up his sleeves as if he was ready to attack, shouting loudly, “Don’t you stop me this time, Bai Lu! I have to teach him a good lesson!”
As he said that, he really did seem like he was going to rush over and beat down the Purple Squirrel.
The Purple Squirrel was so scared that it quickly shrunk its head back, latching onto Yang Kai’s back with its two paws, trembling.
Now, Yang Kai understood completely what was going on.
The Purple Squirrel that he encountered by chance was clearly a big figure since there were actually two Emperor Realm Monster Race dispatched to look for it. And, from how they were addressing the Purple Squirrel, it seemed to be the son of some Master of this Heavenly Monster Mountain.
And this Master… was most likely the Ruler of Heavenly Monster Mountain!
Yang Kai’s heart was completely shaken.
On the other hand, Bai Lu and Yuan Fei were very well matched in their roles, one coaxing, one threatening. It was clearly not the first time these two were doing this as they had already completely cornered the Purple Squirrel.
Seeing that Yuan Fei really was about to rush over, Bai Lu quickly said, “Come to me quickly, Young Master! Elder Sister will protect you!”
As soon as those words left her mouth, Yang Kai felt the weight on his back disappear.
The Purple Squirrel shot out like a purple light and rushed into Bai Lu’s embrace, shrinking into her arms and only daring to peek his head out to eye Yuan Fei warily.
“He actually fell for that…?” Yang Kai was speechless.
Yuan Fei also stopped and glared at the Purple Squirrel and snorted, “Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll peel your skin off!”
As soon as those words came out, the Purple Squirrel didn’t dare to leave Bai Lu’s arms anymore and its body tensed up even further; despite that though, it still stuck out its tongue mischievously at Yuan Fei.
“This is the eleventh time!” Bai Lu looked at the Purple Squirrel with a helpless face and said, “Young Master, please don’t do this again; after all, it’s very dangerous outside…”
After she said that, she eyed Yang Kai, whether intentionally or otherwise, and went on, “Sir has also said that he will allow you to go out when you grow a little more, so just wait a bit longer.”
Naturally, the Purple Squirrel nodded its head like a little chick pecking at the warm embrace and words of the beauty, looking meek and obedient.
“You should apologize to Sir when we return, otherwise, no one can save you!” Bai Lu added.
Naturally, the Purple Squirrel listened.
The two Twelfth-Order Monster Race Masters looked at each other, silently communicating with their eyes.
“All right, we’ve settled Young Master’s matters, so…” Yuan Fei glanced coldly at Yang Kai as he spoke, bellowing, “Little brat, who gave you the guts to come into the depths of Heavenly Monster Mountain!”
Yang Kai’s face paled and he quickly cupped his fists, “Reporting to Senior, Junior is currently being pursued and had no other recourse but to travel deeper into your territory. If I have offended Senior, then I hope that…”
“Enough!” Yuan Fei did not want to listen to Yang Kai’s explanation at all, waving his arms as he shouted angrily, “It seems you humans have already forgotten the Heavenly Monster Accord from all those years ago!”
“Heavenly Monster Accord?” Yang Kai frowned.
He was merely a cultivator born and raised in the outside world who had come to this mirror world for life experience, so how would Yang Kai have known about this Heavenly Monster Accord? He had never even heard of it before now.
“You really forgot!” When he saw this, Yuan Fei’s face turned cold and he became extremely angry, “As I thought, humans cannot be trusted! Since that’s the case, I will send you off personally!”
With these words, he pushed out the power in his body, causing a rich pressure to spread out in an instant.
The pressure Yuan Fei released was very different from Ban Qing’s. The latter’s pressure was cold and piercing, while the former was fierce and domineering, giving Yang Kai a feeling that it was unavoidable and unstoppable, as if he would be ground to dust by it.
*Zhi zhi…*
Right at that moment, the Purple Squirrel hiding in Bai Lu’s arms suddenly shouted anxiously, gesturing at Yuan Fei with its two little paws and looking nervous.
“Huh?” Upon hearing this, Yuan Fei could not help but pause his actions. A moment later, much of his anger dissipated and he looked Yang Kai up and down, asking suspiciously, “You saved our Young Master?”
Yang Kai understood in an instant that the Purple Squirrel probably told him what had happened earlier and without hesitation, he nodded, “It was a coincidence of sorts.”
Yuan Fei couldn’t help but frown, showing a troubled expression.
To him, if a human wandered into the depths of Heavenly Monster Mountain, that human had to die. If two humans came, two humans had to die. It was completely reasonable to him because humans were the ones who broke the Heavenly Monster Accord in the first place.
But this human had apparently saved the life of his Young Master, making things difficult.
It would be against his will not to kill him, but killing him would put the Young Master in an awkward situation, and if the Lord were to hear of this later, Yuan Fei would definitely be scolded.
Immediately, he scratched his head and turned his eyes to Bai Lu to ask for help.
Bai Lu was also frowning slightly. After mulling over it for a moment, she said, “You have done us a great service for saving our Young Master; however… young man, I see many traces of Monster Beast Sources on your body. You must have killed many Monster Beasts on your journey, yes?”
Yang Kai was flustered, having no idea how she could tell; but obviously lying now was not a good idea, so he could only nod and say, “Yes!”
“The Monster Beasts that you killed are the children of our Heavenly Monster Mountain, so slaughtering them is a great insult to us, and you should be held accountable for this!”
“Then I will kill him!” Yuan Fei’s murderous intent rose up instantly.
Bai Lu raised her hand, stopping him, “He has merits and demerits. As for how he will be dealt with… we will let the Lord decide!”
“Good!” Yuan Fei nodded at her words.
While speaking, he reached a hand out towards Yang Kai without delay and drew him over.
Yang Kai immediately felt a strong force wrap around him, but he did not try to resist and simply surrendered obediently without a fight, allowing Yuan Fei to grab him.
If he raised a fuss in front of these two Twelfth-Order Masters in this situation, it would definitely do more harm than good. Not mentioning whether Yang Kai could even escape under the noses of these two, even if he did, where would he go?
And from the behaviour of that woman called Bai Lu, she did not seem unreasonable. With the good he did saving the Purple Squirrel’s life, he believed there should not be any danger to his life.
At most, he may be held in Heavenly Monster Mountain and would only have to wait sometime before he was released back to the world outside.
When he was captured, Yang Kai did not forget to say, “Junior has something to inform two Seniors about!”
“Spit it out then!” Yuan Fei shouted coldly.
“As far as Junior knows, there is someone named Zhou Dian in Heavenly Monster Mountain who brought many Masters with him to search for…”
“Zhou Dian?” Yuan Fei and Bai Lu’s faces instantly changed as they gasped in shock, as if this person’s name was an extremely scary existence to them.
Yuan Fei even pulled Yang Kai before himself and glared at him, asking, “Are you sure that Zhou Dian is here?”
“I haven’t seen him before, but… I bumped into someone called Ban Qing. I heard about Zhou Dian from him.”
“You met that bastard Ban Qing?” Yuan Fei’s eyes widened.
Bai Lu quickly said, “If Ban Qing is already here, then Zhou Dian must be here as well. I’m afraid the other three have definitely come as well… What are they looking for?”
The last question was directed at Yang Kai.
“They seemed to be looking for something called the ‘Star of Calamity’, as for what that is, Junior is also at a loss,” Yang Kai told them truthfully.
“Star of Calamity?” Bai Lu’s eyebrows furrowed.
Yuan Fei, however, looked at Yang Kai in astonishment and said, “If you met Ban Qing, how are you still alive?”
“This little brat is… good at escaping!” Yang Kai smiled awkwardly.
Yuan Fei swept his eyes over him, not knowing whether he should believe him or not. On the other hand, the eyes of the Purple Squirrel in Bai Lu’s arms were flitting around, looking at Yang Kai with a knowing light, but clearly not trying to expose him.
“Regardless of whether what you say is true or not, we must report this matter to our lord. Yuan Fei, bring him with us and let us return!” Bai Lu called out and immediately turned around, speeding off towards a certain direction.
Carrying Yang Kai, Yuan Fei followed closely behind.
“Senior… Junior can walk by himself,” Yang Kai felt uncomfortable being carried by Yuan Fei this way, so he hastily suggested this.
Yuan Fei looked at him and did not say much, but he did release him.
Yang Kai had no intention of running away either. Instead, he pushed his strength to keep up with the two Monster Race Masters.
The two masters seem to be trying to test if Yang Kai really was good at ‘escaping’, so they gradually increased their speed, making no attempts to accommodate him at all.
Yang Kai also tried his best to follow them and actually did not lag behind too much, surprising the two.
…..
Somewhere in Heavenly Monster Mountain, Zhou Dian was still riding majestically on his Nine Horned Dragon Beast, his profound gaze staring towards a certain place in Heavenly Monster Mountain. A thick fighting intent was flowing out from his body, almost dense enough to materialize.
There were five other Masters scattered in the vicinity around him.
These Masters gathered in a round open space, and there were many people with troubled looks on their faces sitting on the ground within that circle.
Even though these people sitting on the ground did not have their movements restricted, the energy fluctuations coming from their bodies were incredibly weak and there were seal marks on each of their bodies, clearly suppressing their strength.
All of them were cultivators captured by Zhou Dian’s subordinates while from the Heavenly Monster Mountain.
Xiao Bai Yi, Murong Xiao Xiao, and Chen Mu Ji were among them.
The three of them did not dare to say anything to each other either, but their eyes would drift from time to time, passing on some unknown messages.
They felt very wronged as they had come to this Divine Ascension Mirror World to train, yet now they were inexplicably captured. Since going their separate ways, the three of them have been hunting Monster Beasts in Heavenly Monster Mountain, absorbing their Soul Sources to strengthen their own Souls.
But all of a sudden, several Emperor Realm Masters suddenly appeared and attacked them without a word, eventually capturing them, sealing their strength, and dragging them to this place.
This unexpected disaster made Xiao Bai Yi and the three feel both helpless and worried at the same time.
They had no idea how Yang Kai and Xia Sheng were, or whether they ended up in any fatal danger.
While the three of them were communicating silently, a stalwart figure suddenly appeared a short distance away. It was a majestic figure sporting flaming red hair, carrying a cultivator in his arms as he walked.
Xiao Bai Yi and the other two fixed their eyes in that direction and their faces could not help but change.
And that was because they realized that the person being carried was Xia Sheng, and the guy who caught him was probably the Lian Yan that they heard of before.
Facing an Emperor Realm Master, despite Xia Sheng’s strength being extraordinary for his realm, he was obviously unable to escape and had wound up caught.
From his appearance and current state, he had undoubtedly resisted a lot earlier and he seemed to have suffered a lot of injuries.
There, Lian Yan carried Xia Sheng over, tossed him directly into the crowd, and told his subordinate to keep an eye on them before walking straight towards Zhou Dian, standing behind him and waiting silently.
Murong Xiao Xiao and the others wanted to ask Xia Sheng about his condition, but when they saw Xia Sheng slowly shaking his head at them, they quickly stopped.
It would be better for them not to reveal that they knew each other at this moment. If they concealed this, then they may be able to take advantage of that when the enemy was unprepared to do something…
The fresh breeze was pleasant, but Lian Yan, who was standing behind Zhou Dian, was filled with tension and worry.
And the reason for that was because he could feel the nearly tangible fighting intent flowing out from Zhou Dian’s body. Naturally, this was a Master’s instinctive thirst for battle.
Lian Yan knew what Zhou Dian was thirsting for…
Since the creation of this Divine Country, the entire world had been unified and wars had ended. As a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, Zhou Dian had very few opponents.
And among those few, there was at least one here in Heavenly Monster Mountain.
Zhou Dian, whose desire for slaughter had been silent for two thousand years, had awakened again.
Lian Yan knew how terrifying Zhou Dian was at this moment, so as his subordinate, he did not dare to disturb him in the slightest, or the consequences would be unthinkable.
With time, his fighting intent also continued to rise.
Until a certain moment, that dense murderous intent suddenly retracted, no longer appearing in the slightest.
Lian Yan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief as he felt like he was about to fall over.
“How is the situation?” Zhou Dian asked without turning back.
“Reporting to Sir, everything is mostly good,” Lian Yan bowed and responded.
“Mostly?” Zhou Dian turned his body and glanced over at Lian Yan from the corner of his eye.
This look and this tone of voice caused Lian Yan’s complexion to change in an instant, and he quickly cupped his fists, saying, “It is Ban Qing… We lost contact with him.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Dian raised a brow and asked, “How did this happen?”
“Subordinate does not know,” Lian Yan showed a bewildered look. “Ban Qing had still been sending messages from time to time prior to this, but after a certain point, he suddenly disappeared. Perhaps he is currently pursuing someone powerful.”
Zhou Dian nodded and said, “Hm, Ban Qing’s concealment ability is unparalleled, so anyone who can make him so cautious is most likely an extraordinary character. Very well, this King has been resting for a long time, and since I was ordered by the Lord King himself, I may have to take a trip there myself!”
As he spoke, he urged the Nine Horned Dragon Beast beneath him and they marched towards the depths of Heavenly Monster Mountain.
“Sir!” Upon seeing this, Lian Yan shouted.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Dian looked back at him with impatience.
Lian Yan said, “Further ahead will be reaching into the range of the Heavenly Monster Accord… If we invade that region, the Monster Race…”
“Why would this King fear the Monster Race?” Zhou Dian scoffed and mocked Lian Yan. “Lian Yan, you’ve lost your guts.”
Lian Yan’s face changed several times before he gritted his teeth and said, “Allow this subordinate to accompany Sir.”
Zhou Dian watched him deeply and nodded with satisfaction, “Good, keep up!”
After saying so, he continued moving forward. The Nine Horned Dragon Beast’s movements may seem very slow, but its speed was getting faster and faster and soon after, it had already turned into a stream of light, dashing ahead towards the horizon.
…..
Deep in the depths of Heavenly Monster Mountain, in Heavenly Monster Valley.
This was the core of Heavenly Monster Mountain, as well as the residence of Heavenly Monster Mountain’s Lord.
The architecture of this place adhered to the Monster Race’s rough and wild nature. All the buildings were big and showy, very different from how the houses in the human world were structured.
Outside the valley, a group of Blood Wolves at peak Eleventh-Order were on guard to prevent anyone from entering the valley.
Yuan Fei and Bai Lu were unhindered as they brought Yang Kai all the way here. After all, these two were well-known existences in Heavenly Monster Mountain, and as the subordinates of the Monster King, who would be blind enough to dare stop them?
On the other hand, many of the Masters of the Monster Race showed looks of curiosity and disgust towards Yang Kai whom they brought with them. They had come a long way, but each member of the Monster Race they encountered was glaring at Yang Kai, baring their fangs at him. If he did not follow the two Twelfth-Order Masters here, then he would likely have been torn to pieces.
Not long after, the group arrived at the centre of Heavenly Monster Valley.
A gigantic tree that grew up into the sky could be seen here. The roots of the gigantic tree were so wide that they could fill up several halls. Yang Kai looked up, but he couldn’t see the top of the tree at all as its canopy seemed to stretch dozens of kilometres in diameter.
Yang Kai could not help but feel surprised at this magnificent sight.
After arriving here, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the World Energy in the vicinity had grown much denser, sending a pleasing sensation through his Soul Avatar.
He understood immediately that this humongous tree was some kind of divine object.
And, a door could be seen somewhere on the roots of this giant tree. The wooden door was currently closed shut, and when they arrived here, Yuan Fei turned his head and said fiercely to Yang Kai, “Boy, wait here and don’t move unless you’re told, otherwise, don’t blame me if you lose your life!”
Yang Kai nodded his head quietly and calmly.
*Zhi zhi zhi…*
The Purple Squirrel called out to Yang Kai, probably trying to tell him something.
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “Don’t worry about me, just take care of yourself.”
“Let’s go!” Bai Lu said as she reached out to open the door, walking into the tree cave.
In a few moments, Yang Kai was the only one left in place.
He looked up at the giant tree, eyes filled with wonder. The Monster Race around him gradually gathered as well, each with a fierce glint in their eyes, not bearing kind intentions.
In only ten breaths of time, Yang Kai was surrounded by three layers of Monster Race Masters and even on the tree branches overhead were occupied with those observing him.
Some of these Monster Race Masters had assumed human form, maintaining the appearance of a person, but some maintained their beast forms and pulsed ferocious intent from their bodies.
But no matter who it was, they only stared at Yang Kai and would only show obvious malice, none really tried to do anything to him.
No matter what, Yang Kai had been brought here by Yuan Fei and Bai Lu, so before these two Masters said so, the other monsters present wouldn’t dare move without permission.
The division of hierarchy was more obvious in the Monster Race than the Human Race, and the strong had absolute dominance over the weak, with only rare exceptions like the Purple Squirrel, who had an extremely powerful background.
The scene before him brought back some memories for Yang Kai.
He found that no matter where he went, there seemed to be an irreconcilable conflict between the Human Race and the Monster Race. Different races had different customs, and the fact that you were seen as an outsider if you were of a different race was commonplace everywhere.
Even though he was surrounded by countless Monster Race Masters though, Yang Kai still did not show the slightest sign of fear; however, the Soul Devouring Insects inside of his sleeve were clearly growing restless for some reason. They may be excited at how so many Masters with powerful Souls were nearby, so they were beginning to show signs of escaping Yang Kai’s control.
Noticing this, Yang Kai’s face paled as he hurriedly activated his Spiritual Energy to suppress them.
As soon as the Soul Devouring Insects began to riot, all the surrounding Monster Race Masters couldn’t help feeling a chill all over their bodies, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. This feeling had come so inexplicably and yet so clearly that the Monster Race Masters were certain it was no illusion. The presence of something that posed a threat to their lives was truly present.
This discovery caused the faces of many Monster Race Masters to darken as they eyed Yang Kai vigilantly and suspiciously, as if trying to reassess him.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was trying his hardest to suppress the Soul Devouring Insects. He could not use the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus with so many eyes on him, so he couldn’t help but feel the need to groan.
It was at that moment that a surging pressure like a great ocean wave suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping Yang Kai.
This pressure came so abruptly that Yang Kai was suppressed on the spot before he could even react.
But soon, he found that this pressure did not hurt him while instead the Soul Devouring Insects were calmed.
The owner of that pressure seemed to have helped him intentionally.
[Peak Twelfth-Order!] Yang Kai was astonished.
Even though he had already guessed that the power of the Heavenly Monster Mountain’s Lord was not low, he was still shocked to learn the true level of this Master.
This Divine Ascension Mirror World was a bizarre realm where living beings had no physical bodies, only Souls; however, even without a physical body, a master of this level had appeared.
Yang Kai could not help but feel a little lost in thought, wondering if perhaps a Great Emperor level character had ever been born here?
If one had, then how much would they know about his situation?
And, just as these thoughts flashed through his mind, a silhouette appeared in front of him. It was Bai Lu.
Bai Lu’s beautiful eyes swept around the place before she said to Yang Kai, “Follow me. The Lord wants to see you.”
Bai Lu said nothing more and turned to lead the way.
Following behind her, Yang Kai entered the tree cave.
Only then did he realize that the interior of this tree cave was actually a completely furnished cave mansion.
The lowest floor seemed to be something akin to a large hall, but it was empty without a single Soul at this moment. And, in the corner of the hall, there was a spiral staircase that led up. Yang Kai had no idea how far up this staircase went, but at least from where he stood, he could not see its top.
Yang Kai followed Bai Lu up the flight of winding stairs.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, they finally reached the end of the stairs where a large hall was presented in front of them. The side door of the hall opened along the trunk of the tree with light shining in from the outside.
Yang Kai took a glance at the outside and found that this place was already a few thousand metres from the ground. Everything at the bottom was hazy and hard to get a clear view of.
And, after walking to this place, he felt an almost palpable gaze locked onto his body.
Yang Kai instantly became alert and turned his head over just to see a middle-aged man dressed in simple clothes. This man had a plain appearance with black hair and was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at him, smiling.
Yuan Fei who arrived before them was standing by his side respectfully with a restrained expression.
[The Lord of Heavenly Monster Mountain!] This thought popped into Yang Kai’s mind inexplicably. Though he could not see anything from this middle-aged man that catched his eyes, Yang Kai was sure despite this man looking just like any ordinary man from a crowd that he was a peak Twelfth-Order Monster Race, equivalent to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, the very one who made a move earlier to assist him! This man was the Lord of Heavenly Monster Mountain, and similarly, the father of the Purple Squirrel!
Composing himself, Yang Kai bowed and cupped his fists, saying, “Junior Yang Kai greets Senior!”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded lightly, but did not speak, instead just slowly raising his hand and pointing it towards Yang Kai from a distance.
Before Yang Kai could understand what he meant, his face suddenly changed and he hurried to circulate his Spiritual Energy, creating an invisible barrier in front of himself.
There was a soft thud as a strong force impacted him, easily breaking Yang Kai’s defences.
Yang Kai was taken by surprise and staggered backwards.
But very soon, he was able to steady himself. That was because the move he received was not anything substantial and only broke his defence. In other words, it posed no threat to him at all, almost as if it was just to probe him…
“Senior, what do you mean by this?” Yang Kai asked with a frown. His opponent was a peak Twelfth-Order Master, so what was the point in testing him? This man could obviously tell Yang Kai’s strength at a glance.
“Hm?” The middle-aged man raised a brow and looked a little suspiciously at Yang Kai as he asked, “Why didn’t you use your Soul-type Artifact?”
Yang Kai responded, “I met with a strong enemy prior to this, so that artifact was destroyed and is no longer…”
Before he finished his sentence, Yang Kai suddenly widened his eyes and stared at the middle-aged man in astonishment. “Senior, you…”
At this moment, he suddenly came back to his senses. [He actually mentioned Soul-type artifact!]
This was not a word that cultivators of this Divine Ascension Mirror World should know. Soul-type artifacts were only used by cultivators from the outside world. Due to the lack of materials to refine such artifacts, it was impossible for such things to exist here, let alone for knowledge of them to spread.
But this middle-aged man actually spoke about an existence he should not have known about.
How could Yang Kai not be shocked at this?
“What’s wrong?” The middle-aged man smiled, “Do you think that this King knows nothing?”
Though he spoke vaguely, Yang Kai understood exactly what he meant and was instantly shocked in place, not even knowing how he should respond.
“It seems…” The middle-aged man nodded lightly, “You really aren’t a person of this world.”
Yang Kai drew a sharp breath and cupped his fists, “Senior has good eyes. Only… How did Senior…”
The middle-aged man smiled and, as he raised his hand, a longsword suddenly appeared in it. Light flowed from this longsword and its energy fluctuations appeared truly extraordinary.
This longsword was not a coalescence of his Spiritual Energy, in other words, it was a physical object…
“A Soul-type Artifact?” Yang Kai’s eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
To think a cultivator could bring out a Soul-type artifact in this world, and a very high-grade one at that. From the energy flowing out from the longsword, this sword had already reached the level of an Emperor Artifact as Emperor Pressure and Emperor Intent which complimented well with the middle-aged man’s own aura were present.
To the side, Yuan Fei and Bai Lu were also staring, dazed at the longsword.
As the subordinates of Heavenly Monster Mountain’s Lord, they naturally knew that their Lord had such a valuable treasure; however, even with their qualifications, it was still rare for them to see it.
In the past few hundred years, they had only seen it twice, so counting today it would be three times.
Yuan Fei and Bai Lu had no idea what this treasure was and where it came from, but they knew that it was incomparably sharp and powerful, much stronger than the weapons formed out of their Spiritual Energy.
They could not understand why their Lord had shown this treasure to a mere human like Yang Kai, whom they met today for the first time.
Moreover, what did their Lord mean when he said he wasn’t ‘a person of this world’?
They exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in each other’s eyes.
“Correct, this is a Soul-type artifact,” the middle-aged man nodded at his words. Then, he gently rubbed his finger on the blade. Under the resonance of energy, the blade of the sword trembled incessantly as if it had its own spirit.
“Eight hundred years ago, I won this from a guy called Wen Zi Shan,” The middle-aged man smiled and watched Yang Kai’s demeanour closely as he spoke to explain, “I wonder if you know him as well.”
“So, it was Temple Master Wen…” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, suddenly understanding everything.
According to Wen Zi Shan, it was he who came to the Azure Sun Mountain Range eight hundred years ago and discovered the Divine Ascension Mirror, deciding to stay then and found Azure Sun Temple.
During that time, Wen Zi Shan likely entered the Divine Ascension Mirror as well and travelled here, bumping into this middle-aged man. As for how this artifact ended up in the hands of this man, Yang Kai did not know.
“He was an interesting guy…” The middle-aged man spoke with a hint of nostalgia on his face, “It felt like we were old friends the moment we met. We got along very well, and this King won this longsword from him through a bet. However, according to how you would describe it, this artifact was only Dao Source Grade High-Rank back then. It took several hundred years of refinement and nurturing for it to be promoted to an Emperor Artifact.”
Yang Kai said, thoughtfully, “It seems like Senior knows a lot about the outside world.”
The middle-aged man laughed happily, “This King casually poured a few jars of Monkey God Wine for that Wen Zi Shan and he spat out everything, almost revealing the colour of his underwear! How much do you think this King would know?”
At that comment, Yang Kai’s face twitched, but it also allowed him to ease his tension and no longer worry about his own safety. This man did not seem to hold any malice towards him and also knew Temple Master Wen and the world outside. This alone made it impossible for him to do anything to him.
“May Junior ask how to address Senior?” Yang Kai cupped his fists together and asked with a serious face.
“This King is called Yi Quan!” When the middle-aged man responded, he had already put away the artifact. He went on, “I heard from Yuan Fei that you saved my son’s life outside?”
“It was merely a coincidence,” Yang Kai said truthfully.
“Still, you saved his life.” As he said this, Yi Quan reached behind his back and urged a small figure over.
Yang Kai looked over and found it to be a young child about two years old, wearing short sleeves and short shorts. This child had a pink and chubby face as well as small and short exposed hands and legs with fair and tender white skin.
This was a little boy with his hair tied up in a sky-shooting braid. He looked extremely cute.
“Little Purple Squirrel?” Yang Kai looked at the boy and raised his brows.
The little guy seemed a little shy, and after glancing at Yang Kai, he quickly hid behind Yi Quan, grabbing at the corner of his father’s clothes with his little hands, looking around curiously.
As soon as he saw this, Yang Kai was sure he was the Purple Squirrel.
However, he seemed too nervous to be as close with Yang Kai as before.
“What did father tell you?” When Yi Quan saw this, he gave little Purple Squirrel a tap on the back of his head, causing him to stumble out from behind.
When Bai Lu saw this, she immediately had a hurt look on her face.
The little guy was pouting, seeming as if he was about to cry.
“Hm?” Yi Quan gave a soft hum.
This scared Purple Squirrel so much that he quickly stopped his tears and sniffled. Looking at Yang Kai, he tried to stutter a few words.
“No need to thank me, you helped me a lot too, so really I should be the one thanking you,” said Yang Kai gently as he looked at the little guy.
“A life-saving grace will be remembered for the rest of our lives!” Yi Quan said while stroking the little guy’s head, saying in a serious voice, “Remember that!”
Purple Squirrel quickly nodded.
“Bai Lu,” Yi Quan called out again.
“Subordinate is here,” Bai Lu quickly stepped forward.
“Bring the Young Master out to play. Watch over him carefully, don’t let him run off again. I have… some things to talk about with this young man,” Yi Quan said.
“Yes!” Bai Lu answered before waving at the little one.
This time, he was very well-behaved and trotted obediently in front of Bai Lu, reaching out his hand so she could hold it. Before leaving, he turned back to take another look at Yang Kai as Yuan Fei followed them out.
After leaving the hall, Yuan Fei asked Bai Lu in a whisper, “Did you understand what Sir said?”
Bai Lu shook her head and looked at him, asking, “Did you?”
Dark lines appeared on Yuan Fei’s face as he muttered, “If you didn’t, how do you think I would? However… I vaguely remember eight hundred years ago that a human came here. He had a long talk with Sir for three days and three nights before leaving.”
“Yes, I remember that as well. That man was very strong, no worse than Sir at all,” Bai Lu also nodded lightly.
“Strange, what is a Soul-type artifact? Why does Sir seem to be implying that that human brat has one too? But why don’t Masters like us understand it?”
“What are you worried about? If it is something we should know, then Sir would have told us,” Bai Lu glared at him.
“That’s true.” Yuan Fei nodded.
*Yayaya*… The little guy who was being pulled along by Bai Lu suddenly interjected at this time.
Hearing this, Bai Lu said, surprised, “Young Master, you mean to say that this Yang Kai boy used a Soul-type artifact previously in a battle?”
*Yayaya!* The little guy nodded his head vigorously.
“What does it look like? Tell us!” Yuan Fei instantly felt excited and asked a bunch of questions.
But who knew that the little one would only look at him and coldly snort. He turned his head to the side, looking like he didn’t want to talk to him at all.
At the hall in the centre of the tree cave, Yi Quan invited Yang Kai to take a seat.
Yi Quan was very enthusiastic and Yang Kai did not stand on ceremony either. Even though there was such a large gap between their cultivations, Yi Quan had never been the type to care about petty things, so he did not mind.
Then, he pulled out a jar of wine like it was a magic trick as well as two cups, pouring one for Yang Kai and himself.
“Is this the Monkey God Wine that Senior mentioned before?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, taking a deep breath to feel the wonderful aroma washing over him. The fragrance of wine that permeated through the air also seemed to have a great effect on his Soul. It actually made him feel incredibly good when the aroma blended into his body.
“It is indeed!” Yi Quan smiled and picked up the cup in front of him, taking a sip before saying proudly, “The things we produce here are very different from those on your side, but they have their own special characteristics. The Spirit Monkeys in my Heavenly Monster Mountain spent a great deal of time and effort to brew this Monkey God Wine, it is very beneficial to one’s Soul.”
“The glass is not full, Senior…” Yang Kai looked at Yi Quan a little apologetically as he motioned to the cup in front of him.
That is because Yi Quan only gave him half a cup when he poured the wine.
“Haha!” Yi Quan laughed as he looked at Yang Kai. He said, “Speak after you drink this half-cup. If you can drink more, then this King will not be stingy.”
When he heard this, Yang Kai understood immediately that this Monkey God Wine was probably going to be strong, not something an ordinary cultivator could withstand. In Yi Quan’s opinion, as a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, Yang Kai should only be able to handle half a cup.
When he thought of this, Yang Kai did not say anything more. Picking up the cup in front of him, he began to drink slowly.
The Spirit Wine was sweet as dew, yet it rushed to his head like ice when he swallowed it down. A cold feeling gushed up from his throat to the top of his head, and Yang Kai could not help but shake spiritedly. Yet, when the wine entered his belly, it brought about a burning force that travelled through his limbs and bones.
Even after it circulated through his body a few more times, the wine continued going strong.
Yang Kai muffled a soft grunt and felt the changes inside himself carefully.
He discovered that his Soul Avatar, which had sustained some damage from his earlier fight with Ban Qing, was restoring itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This discovery lifted Yang Kai’s spirits, and he drank the rest in a large gulp without hesitation.
“Slow down!” Seeing this, Yi Quen quickly shouted lest Yang Kai drink too fast out of greed and cause some harm to himself.
But before he finished speaking, Yang Kai had already put his cup down and did not say anything, just sitting in place, his eyes closed as a look of reminiscence appeared on his face.
“Ai…” Yi Quan sighed and said to himself, “I still wanted to talk to you more about the outside world, but it looks like I’ll have to wait a few days.”
He figured that with Yang Kai’s meagre cultivation, downing half a cup of Monkey God Wine would knock him out for at least a couple of days before he sobered up, which made him laugh bitterly. He had taken out the Monkey God Wine with good intentions because he could see that Yang Kai had been in a big fight and his Soul Avatar had some slight damage to it, but he didn’t want to miss this opportunity to talk either.
“What does Senior wish to talk about?” Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and the light in them was perfectly clear, without the slightest hint of looking drunk.
“Huh?” Yi Quan was stunned, looking strangely at Yang Kai as he asked suspiciously, “You’re fine?”
“Do I not look fine, Senior?” Yang Kai smiled. While speaking, he had already reached out without any trace of politeness and grabbed the jar of Monkey God Wine in front of Yi Quan, poured himself a full cup, and drained it down while praising, “Good wine!”
With one and a half cups in his belly, his Soul Avatar had already recovered completely. Not only that, but his Soul had also been tempered thoroughly. As for the excess energy contained in the Monkey God Wine, it all poured into the Seven-Coloured Soul Warming Lotus.
Just as it absorbed the precious Soul Jade, the Soul Warming Lotus absorbed the energy contained in the Monkey God Wine and fed it back to Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar in a temperate manner so that he could continue to benefit from it.
“This…” Yi Quan was completely dumbfounded and was staring at him slack-jawed.
At his level of power, few things could surprise him, but Yang Kai’s actions still left him puzzled. He could not understand how Yang Kai did not get drunk.
After all, even Wen Zi Shan who came here for the first time did not dare to drink the fine wine of the Heavenly Monster Mountain in this way. No one could withstand such wanton consumption, but Yang Kai had done so and appeared as if nothing had happened.
“It seems like… you really are different from the rest!” Yi Quan quickly understood and smiled, “I don’t think all the people from the outside are like you, right?”
“Naturally not,” Yang Kai laughed, “Junior is…” He hesitated for a moment, not knowing how he should explain it, only able to say after a while, “I have my own tricks to digest it.”
Yi Quan nodded and did not continue questioning him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, he saw Yang Kai grabbing the jar with both hands, “Junior gives his thanks to Senior for this gift!”
As soon as he said that, he had already begun drinking from the bottle in large gulps.
Watching him chug down the wine, Yi Quan could not help his mouth from twitching.
In a dozen breaths, Yang Kai had already finished the bottle of Monkey God Wine without leaving a single drop behind. Wiping his mouth impatiently and looking eagerly at Yi Quan, he then asked, “This wine… Is there any more of it?”
“You still want more?” Yi Quan glared at him and said, “You little brat, what do you take this for? Each bottle of Monkey God Wine takes the entire Spirit Monkey clan a hundred years of work to brew! What you’ve drunk already cost them a hundred years of effort!”
Even the good-tempered Yi Quan was angered by Yang Kai’s shameless demands.
If he had known this was the case, then why would he have brought out such a treasure to entertain Yang Kai? He was simply turning blue with regret in his guts.
“Ahem…” Yang Kai lightly coughed. With a bit of alcohol still in his system, he said, “Senior is such a great man, there’s no need to be so stingy…”
He only dared to speak such words since he saw that Yi Quan did not hold any malice towards himself. Otherwise, speaking to any other peak Twelfth-Order Master would have gotten him into deep trouble.
“Stingy…” Yi Quan’s eyes almost popped out as he fell speechless. After pondering for a moment though, he grinned and said, “Good, if you can tell me more about the outside world, then this King will reward you with another bottle. How about it?”
“Truly? You mean what you say, Senior?” Yang Kai was instantly energized and asked, “May I ask what Senior would like to hear about?”
“Anything!” Yi Quan was not too demanding, “The last time Wen Zi Shan was here, he told this King a bit about the outside world, but unfortunately that guy had gotten drunk and yammered on like a madman. It was unbearable!”
“Then let’s start with Temple Master Wen…” Yang Kai smiled and lightly coughed, assuming the manner of a storyteller as he began to regale Yi Quan with stories.
The Star Boundary was vast, and it had not been long since Yang Kai arrived there as well, so he didn’t know too much, not even knowing the names of all Ten Great Emperors yet, but even so, the information he had was still beyond Yi Quan’s reach.
And, as Yi Quan was keen to know this information from the outside world, he naturally listened in with great interest.
Azure Sun Temple, Heavenly Martial Holy land, Orthodoxy Temple, Star Soul Palace, and even the entire Southern Territory, Yang Kai told him all he knew.
The people, the places, all sorts of strange stories, the Sealed Worlds used for tempering oneself, both big and small, as well as the ancient legends passed down through word of mouth. There was no order to what he spoke of as Yang Kai basically just rambled on about whatever came to mind.
Yi Quan just listened quietly, only interrupting him at special times to ask a few questions before gesturing for him to go on.
Everything about the outside world seemed to make the Lord of Heavenly Monster Mountain curious and eager.
The wonders of a body of flesh, the mysteries of all sorts of Secret Techniques and Artifacts, these were all new and fresh to beings of this world who had no idea what such sensations would be like.
Like that, their conversation lasted a whole day and night.
Yang Kai’s mouth was dry from all the talking, so he naturally sought an opportunity to ask for another bottle of Monkey God Wine from Yi Quan to moisten his throat.
Yi Quan was also listening with great attention and all the information that he had never been exposed to before fascinated him.
The Divine Ascension Mirror World was too small, so the world outside was undoubtedly more exciting.
Moreover, Yi Qian was already a master at the peak of the Twelfth-Order. Beyond that was the realm of Great Emperors.
Such a height could not be reached through hard work alone, it also required incredible opportunities.
When trying to reach such a height, anything new you could see and experience may become a critical breakthrough point.
The opportunities that Yi Quan needed were not available in this world, but they might be present in the outside world, so he was incredibly interested in travelling there. Perhaps, in a world that he had never seen before, he may be able to find his path towards becoming a Great Emperor!
Unfortunately, he was only a Soul without a physical body, so there was no way he could survive for long in the outside world. Once he left this place, he would be rejected by the outside World Principles and quickly die.
“When Wen Zi Shan came here, he told this King that if he could create a body that could integrate perfectly with this King’s Soul, then this King may have a chance to escape from this prison. This King wonders how much you know about this?” At a certain moment, Yi Quan suddenly interrupted Yang Kai and asked.
“The Flesh Incarnation Pill?” Yang Kai raised his brows and casually answered.
“What is this ‘Flesh Incarnation Pill’?” Yi Quan’s eyes suddenly lit up and he hurried to ask.
“Uh…” Yang Kai thought for a moment and continued, “It is a type of Spirit Pill. Due to the special situation here, Spirit Pills do not seem to exist.”
“And what are Spirit Pills exactly?” Yi Quan was completely baffled.
“Let’s put it this way. There is a special group of people called Alchemists in the outside world who use special tools and techniques to fuse certain types of herbs, removing their impurities, and enhancing their essences before condensing the latter into pills. These pills are called Spirit Pills and they generally have far stronger effects than their raw materials.”
“Then is the Flesh Incarnation Pill a type of Spirit Pill?” Yi Quan asked with glowing eyes.
“That’s right. Supposedly, if a being like Senior were to ingest it, then Senior could grow a body for yourself.”
“Supposedly?” Yi Quan raised a brow.
Yang Kai laughed. “Because this Spirit Pill is only rumoured to exist. No one has ever made it.”
“Why!?” Yi Quan was suddenly furious, “Those Alchemists can’t all be useless, can they?”
Yang Kai said helplessly, “As they say, even the cleverest woman cannot cook a meal without rice… The primary ingredient, Flesh Incarnation Fruit, for the Flesh Incarnation Pill has already gone extinct, so how could Alchemists refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill?”
“How could that be?” Yi Quan found it hard to accept Yang Kai’s explanation, “Isn’t the outside world vast and rich?!”
Yang Kai laughed, “That is what they say, but some things are left to fate.”
Yi Quan looked disappointed and was out of it for a while, but soon, as if he thought of something, he looked spiritedly at Yang Kai and said, “Since you know so much about the Flesh Incarnation Pill, you wouldn’t happen to be one of those Alchemists, would you?”
“Well… Sort of,” Yang Kai nodded and also understood what Yi Quan was trying to hint at, so he continued without needing him to say anything, “But Senior should know that Alchemists are divided into different levels as well, just like cultivators. Different grades of Alchemists can refine different grades of pills, and the Flesh Incarnation Pill is an Emperor Grade Pill, so it will require an Emperor Grade Alchemist to refine. Right now, Junior is… just a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!”
“So?” Yi Quan raised his voice, “This King can see that your cultivation is already extraordinary at such a young age. With time, it’s not impossible for you to reach the Emperor Realm. Hm… Why don’t you refine a Flesh Incarnation Pill for this King when that time comes?”
Yang Kai laughed bitterly and said, “I would still need the materials!”
“Then go find them!” Yi Quan said matter-of-factly, “This King is not afraid to wait, and I can afford to do so! You can refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill whenever you find the Flesh Incarnation Fruit. This King only needs you to agree to do this for now.”
Seeing him like this, Yang Kai’s face could not help but turn serious. After a moment of silence, he said, “Since Senior has said so, then Junior will do his best, but Senior may have to wait for a long time, and it may turn out impossible in the end.”
“No problem!” Yi Quan waved his hand and said, “It’s fine as long as you have the intention.”
As he spoke, he seemed to already be able to see a glimmer of hope and called out, “Good! I’ll gift you another bottle of wine!”
With those words, he placed another jar of Monkey God Wine in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned and did not hesitate to down it.
Three bottles of Monkey God Wine went into his belly in just a short amount of time, so even though Yang Kai had the Seven-Coloured Soul Warming Lotus to pad his stomach, he still could not avoid feeling a little drunk.
Yi Quan looked at him with a gaze that had become more cordial and he was just about to wave his hand to call someone over to bring Yang Kai down to rest when suddenly his expression turned cold and he gazed towards a certain direction.
Yang Kai noticed the change in Yi Quan’s expression and could not help but look at him in confusion.
Yi Quan did not move and only watched quietly for a while before he shouted in a cold voice, “How dare he!”
“Senior, what happened?” Yang Kai asked.
But before Yi Quan answered, he saw a Monster Race Master suddenly fly in from outside, cupping his fists and quickly reporting, “Sir, a human Master has invaded! The Blood Wolf Guard are currently obstructing him, but the invader is strong. He seems to be…”
“This King knows,” Yi Quan nodded coldly and ordered. “Tell the Blood Wolves to withdraw, they… won’t be able to stop him. Let him in.”
The Monster Race Master did not hesitate to accept his order and immediately retreated.
Yang Kai also came back to his senses at this moment and said with an ugly expression, “Could it be… Zhou Dian came here personally?”
Yi Quan’s cultivation was amazing, so a human Master who could warrant his attention couldn’t be anyone but Zhou Dian.
And his guess was correct. Yi Quan nodded at his words, “That’s right, it’s him. I can’t believe he insists on breaking into my Heavenly Monster Valley even if it means going against the Heavenly Monster Accord… Could it be that he’s coming for you?”
“Me?” Yang Kai pointed at his own nose. Having mostly sobered up, he laughed nervously, “I don’t think that’s likely… Junior only arrived here ten days ago and I didn’t even know Zhou Dian existed before that. Why would he come for me?”
“This King does not know either, but…” While speaking, Yi Quan’s figure suddenly shook and he appeared before Yang Kai, patting him on the shoulder.
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback but he knew that Yi Quan would not do anything to harm himself, so he did not show any intention to resist.
A gentle force came in through his shoulder and travelled through his limbs.
A short while later, Yi Quan said with an ugly look on his face, “As expected, you were marked. It was this King’s negligence.”
At that moment, Yi Quan’s hand suddenly shook.
At the same time, Yang Kai grunted; however, he could clearly hear a strange noise coming from inside of him. Following that, his whole body inexplicably relaxed as if breaking free from some shackle.
“My son told me that you had an encounter with Ban Qing but managed to kill him somehow. Ban Qing is not only proficient in concealment and assassination but also tracking. During your encounter, he seems to have left a mark on you, and Zhou Dian has been following that mark…”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s face sank.
He had suspected that Ban Qing had done something to him, but he was unable to find out what he did with his ability. But now it seemed that it was no fluke that those cultivators were able to track him.
Only… From what Yi Quan said just now, he seems to have found out about the secret in his body a long time ago but never pointed it out.
“I’m sorry for the trouble I caused you, Senior,” Yang Kai said somewhat apologetically.
Yi Quan waved his hand and said, “No need to be. You are my son’s benefactor so this King will treat you well. As for Zhou Dian… hmph! He’s an arrogant man who cares nothing for rules in the first place!”
After saying that, he went on, “As for how you killed Ban Qing… this King can only say those insects you possess must never be left here no matter what. If you happen to enter this place again, then do not bring them here unless you can fully control them. This place was once nearly destroyed because of those insects…”
Yang Kai was shocked. “Soul Devouring Insects existed here?”
“You call them Soul Devouring Insects?” Yi Quan wore an apprehensive look, “No matter what they’re called, they are a scourge to this world. The insects you have right now are not that strong, so this King can help you suppress them a little, but that is as much as I can do. If they really grow to their full potential, then even this King will become nothing but food to them!”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai nodded seriously.
“You’d best remember well!” Yi Quan warned.
“Yi Quan!”
At that moment, an earth-shaking voice suddenly came from outside. The voice was not very loud, but it contained a deafening pressure like muffled thunder. The sound set off a storm that swept through the surroundings and reached the ears of every Monster Race in Heavenly Monster Valley, even causing the ears of some weaker Monster Race to bleed.
“Hmph!” Yi Quan turned his head angrily towards the source of the noise. Sharpening his Spiritual Energy, he transformed it into a piercing strike as he shouted, “Zhou Dian! Who gave you the guts to raise your voice in my Heavenly Monster Valley?”
“Hahahaha, hahahaha!” The sound of Zhou Dian’s laughter flowed over. Initially, it was calm, but as Zhou Dian’s emotions fluctuated, it turned into maniacal laughter filled with madness.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A loud blast came from outside, shaking the entire world.
Yang Kai stood in place with an ugly look on his face. His Soul Avatar felt extremely unstable and the light at the surface of his body was flickering, worrying him so much that he quickly moved his strength to protect himself.
Only then did he feel a little better.
When he came back to his senses, Yi Quan was no longer there.
Quickly rushing out of the hall, Yang Kai floated mid-air and scanned his surroundings.
Very quickly, he spotted Yi Quan and Zhou Dian.
At about fifty kilometres from where he was, Yi Quan, the supreme leader of the Monster Race stood there quietly, motionless, his aura restrained, making him seem as deep as the abyss.
Not far in front of Yi Quan was a stalwart figure riding an extremely powerful Monster Beast, looking down at Yi Quan from above.
[Zhou Dian!]
Even though Yang Kai had never met this person, he knew exactly who he was.
Moreover, Zhou Dian was the only person who would garner such caution from Yi Quan.
Behind Zhou Dian, an equally tall red-haired Emperor Realm Master stood behind him. His fiery red hair was so distinctive that Yang Kai understood immediately that he must be Lian Yan.
The two human masters were surrounded by countless Monster Race Masters, each of which was looking at the two men with fierce, unconcealed hostility.
But none of the Monster Race dared to make a move.
Zhou Dian was calm as can be and even Lian Yan did not appear the least bit nervous, just smiling disdainfully as he looked around, occasionally meeting the eyes of the Monster Race Masters and shooting provocations at them.
“Very good! Yi Quan, you’re still looking healthy after all these years. This General is very pleased!” Zhou Dian was the first to speak, smiling as if the one standing before him was not his life nemesis, but rather a friend whom he had not seen for a long time.
Yi Quan sneered, “This King has been quite well since the last time we met, but I wonder, Zhou Dian… has your injury healed?”
As soon as he said that, the smile on Zhou Dian’s face suddenly disappeared and a piercing icy coldness descended from the sky as if it wanted to freeze everything in this world.
He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes, and when opened them again, Zhou Dian had restored his calm.
Seeing this, Yi Quan could not help but raise a brow.
“Yi Quan, if it were possible, this General would not have come to your Heavenly Monster Mountain, but this time it was the Lord King’s order, so I had no choice but to come!” Zhou Dian said.
“The order of your Master is none of this King’s concern. The Heavenly Monster Accord states that no Human may enter more than thirty thousand kilometres into Heavenly Monster Mountain. This is what was agreed upon between our races, but today, you have personally broken that agreement. Is the word of you humans really worth nothing?” Yi Quan bellowed furiously.
Zhou Dian grinned and replied, “This General has only come for one person today. Hand him over and this General will leave immediately. This General will not make things hard for your Heavenly Monster Valley. You should have seen it as well. This General did not kill a single member of your Heavenly Monster Valley. This should be enough to show the sincerity of this General.”
“Is the Heavenly Monster Valley a place for you to come and go as you please?” Yi Quan raised a brow, “This King knows who you are really here for. However… he is an esteemed guest of this King. Want to take him away? First, ask this King if he agrees!”
“Honoured guest?” Zhou Dian raised his brow at those words and looked derisively at Yi Quan, saying, “Are you joking?”
He thought that Yi Quan was just spouting nonsense; after all, he could clearly see Yang Kai from fifty kilometres away and measure his cultivation. How could a human brat like him be worthy of becoming Yi Quan’s honoured guest?
“This King is in no mood to joke with you,” Yi Quan coldly snorted, “Hurry and get out of my Heavenly Monster Valley, or don’t blame this King for not being polite with you.”
“It seems like… you won’t be handing him over!” Zhou Dian’s eyes deepened slightly and he stared at Yi Quan coldly.
Yi Quan scoffed and did not say anything more. Spiritual Energy was slowly releasing from his body.
At this point, both Masters knew that it was useless to rely on words. The only way they could settle this was with their strength.
Everything in the world seemed to freeze in that instant as Third-Order Emperor Realm pressure and peak Twelfth-Order pressure clashed, invisible sparks flashing across both Masters’ eyes.
Many Monster Race Masters could see that things were turning for the worst and used their Movement Skills to scatter in different directions without even looking back.
Lian Yan did the same as well. His entire body turned into a red flash that retreated several dozen kilometres away.
Endless fighting intent and incredible pressure filled the air, causing space to tremble and the earth to crack…
Even from fifty kilometres away, Yang Kai could still feel chills all over his body. If not for the fact that he did not have a physical body right now, it might have been hard for him to even breathe.
Two figures flashed over. Yuan Fei and Bai Lu, the two Monster Race Masters, appearing on his right side and nodding lightly.
The two were not as hostile or disdainful to him as before. Their only purpose here was to protect Yang Kai.
“What about Purple Squirrel?” Yang Kai asked.
“Young Master has already been taken to somewhere safe,” Bai Lu answered in a gentle voice. “Please do not worry, Young Master Yang.”
She even changed the way she addressed Yang Kai, quite clearly due to how Yi Quan had called him his honoured guest earlier.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and turned to look towards the distance.
This was a battle between Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, so just observing it would be of great benefit to him. That is why he did not want to miss the slightest thing.
And, at that moment, Zhou Dian moved.
Leaping up from his mount, he rushed high into the air before releasing a burst of light from his body. When this light dissipated, a double-crescent halberd appeared in his hands. The halberd was more than ten metres long and was as thick as a man’s arm, extremely powerful and heavy while the aura it released was enough to shake the world around it.
Once the halberd came out, the aura around Zhou Dian’s body increased dramatically. The energy surrounding his body rippled incessantly like boiling water.
This was not a Soul-type artifact, but a weapon coalesced from Zhou Dian’s own Spiritual Energy. This halberd had followed Zhou Dian for many years, during which he had nourished it with his own essence, as well as that of others. Even though it was not a Soul-type artifact, it had many wonderful uses and was in no way inferior to an ordinary Soul-type Artifact.
Holding the halberd in his hand, Zhou Dian laughed maniacally as his entire body turned into a stream of light and he swooped down towards Yi Quan, the sound of wind roaring as he descended.
“Yi Quan, let this General see whether you’ve improved over the years!”
This attack was like a meteor, causing every cultivator who witnessed it to feel a stabbing pain in their eyes, regardless of their cultivation, as if its radiance would blind them if they continued to stare. At the same time, coldness spread through their whole bodies.
Yang Kai was astonished.
Even though he had seen a few Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters during his time, he had never witnessed a full-blown fight between such Masters. At this moment, he finally understood how powerful Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivators truly were.
Naturally, they were almost invincible existences in this world.
And, in the face of this amazing attack, Yi Quan stood his ground, not moving at all. Gazing forward, his eyes filled with contempt, as if Zhou Dian wasn’t even worth his care.
*Chi chi…*
A thick column of energy visible to the naked eye gushed out from the point of the double-crescent halberd, transforming into the shape of a dragon and letting out a dragon roar, brandishing its teeth and claws towards Yi Quan.
“Seems like…” Yi Quan said indifferently, “You’ve forgotten the pain of your wounds after the scars have healed… Have you forgotten that battle from two thousand years ago?”
As he said this, Yi Quan flicked his wrist.
A simple strike was Yi Quan’s response to the approaching dragon.
The difference between the two attacks was obvious, giving one the impression of an ant trying to shake a tree.
However…
When the simple slash greeted the dragon, it exploded into a dazzling light that covered everything in the world, swallowing up the latter.
The dragon howled and hissed while Zhou Dian’s face took a sudden turn.
Yi Quan’s body flashed and disappeared.
*Ding…*
A light noise rang out, and when the crowd regained their vision, they were shocked to find that Yi Quan was already in front of Zhou Dian, a longsword in his hands stabbed through the pole of Zhou Dian’s double-crescent halberd, creating a spark.
Zhou Dian looked confused at the sight of the longsword.
Two thousand years ago, he fought with Yi Quan, but at that time his opponent did not use such a weapon. What’s more, this longsword did not look like it was made of condensed Spiritual Energy at all. Zhou Dian was at a loss about what sort of treasure this was supposed to be.
But his bewilderment lasted only an instant. Any hint of hesitation in a battle between Masters of this level could cost one their life, so Zhou Dian quickly composed himself and flicked his halberd to open some distance from Yi Quan.
At the same time, a blast of pure Spiritual Energy shot towards Yi Quan, clearly some kind of Soul Secret Technique.
Yi Quan’s face turned serious as he pushed the Spiritual Energy inside his own body to condense his own Soul Secret Technique.
Both were Third-Order Emperor level Masters, and even though there was a slight difference in their strengths, it wasn’t big, so everyone watching couldn’t tell who had the upper hand right now, only that these two were risking their lives facing one another.
An unfinished rivalry spanning two thousand years finally erupted in the clash today, leading to this dazzling sight.
When their Souls clashed, the halo around the bodies of the two people flickered, but their hands never idled. When the longsword and halberd clashed, loud metallic bangs rang out.
Thrusting, slashing, chopping, and parrying met with sweeping, cleaving, and hacking. The long sword and halberd of the two Masters clashed with such ferocity it seemed the entire world was shaking from the blows.
In a flash, they clashed hundreds of times.
Figures flickered back and forth as metal meeting metal produced a series of incessant rings.
The sword was quick and flexible, like a shooting star that could appear from all directions, overwhelming a person.
The halberd was fierce and domineering, releasing great waves that threatened to drown its opponent.
The two figures met in battle and intertwined to create a dazzling and brilliant scene.
All the cultivators watching this battle were mesmerized.
Outside the battlefield, everything fell silent. Sometimes, the clash seemed slow and methodical, at others it was as quick as lightning. The visual contrast seemed to have an invisible impact that shook the heart and soul of each viewer.
“Wu…”
Eventually, some Monster Race Masters couldn’t stand watching anymore, turning their faces away as they staggered backwards, holding their chests as if they had suffered some kind of injury before slowly closing their eyes, not daring to observe any longer.
And, as time passed, more and more people entered such a state.
At first, it was only the early Eleventh-Order Masters, then it was the mid-level, finally the high level…
After a stick worth of incense, even Twelfth-Order Masters like Yuan Fei and Bai Lu had to push their internal strength to ease the discomfort they were feeling so that they could continue spectating this match.
They would naturally not miss this amazing battle for anything.
Suddenly, Yuan Fei seemed to catch something from the corner of his eye and hurriedly turned to look at Yang Kai.
The next moment, Yuan Fei’s jaw suddenly dropped.
Because he realized that Yang Kai had his eyes wide open and was still watching the scene without so much as a blink, his clear eyes reflecting the battling figures of the two Masters several dozen kilometres away as if he was completely unaffected by everything.
Not only that, there were times when Yang Kai would reveal a thoughtful expression on his face.
This stunned Yuan Fei and he could not help but give Bai Lu a quiet jab.
“What?” Bai Lu was paying close attention to the battle when Yuan Fei interrupted her, so she shot him a look of displeasure.
Yuan Fei nudged his head to the side.
Bai Lu looked over and also revealed a look of astonishment.
“This little brat… he’s a bit strange,” Yuan Fei whispered to Bai Lu.
Even at their level, they more or less felt some discomfort watching such a battle for longer than a few moments, so how could someone like Yang Kai, who was weaker than them, watch in such a relaxed fashion?
“As expected of someone Sir had his eyes on. He really is something special!” Bai Lu gently nodded.
As the two of them talked, a pure Spiritual Energy diffused from Yang Kai’s body, enveloping him completely. From that Spiritual Energy, an indescribable flavour gradually came out of it.
Mysterious changes seemed to be happening quietly inside of Yang Kai’s body.
“Emperor Intent!” Yuan Fei exclaimed, “He can actually use Emperor Intent?”
In that instant, Yuan Fei seemed to have discovered something shocking and shouted in surprise.
Bai Lu’s beautiful eyes also lit up as she stared at Yang Kai and nodded after a good while. “Indeed! Even though it is still very shallow, it is without a doubt Emperor Intent. He isn’t going to advance to the Emperor Realm here, is he?”
The sudden thought gave Bai Lu a shock.
Breaking through in this Divine Ascension Mirror World was not easy, and each time one did, they had to cross a life-threatening ordeal. One mistake could lead to one’s soul being extinguished. Since the beings here did not have physical bodies and could not rely on a powerful flesh body to resist the World Energy Baptism, they had to depend entirely on the strength of their own Soul, a far more dangerous prospect than those from the outside
Yi Quan was still fighting at this moment, but if something happened to Yang Kai during his breakthrough, the two of them wouldn’t be able to explain themselves.
For a moment, Bai Lu couldn’t help but feel on edge.
She was obviously overthinking things, however.
Yang Kai was not a native of this world, so even though he entered this place using his Soul Avatar, he still had his own physical body. Even if he was influenced by the Emperor Intent from the battle of the two Masters, even if he could allow his Soul to forcefully break through to an existence comparable to Emperor Realm, it was impossible for him to actually reach that level before his physical strength had improved to a certain extent.