Source Qi rapidly drained from Yang Kai at a speed faster than he had imagined. In the blink of an eye, he had already felt as though he had been completely drained.
[I knew it would be like this!] Yang Kai’s face turned into one of bitterness.
Every time he had used the Annihilation Thunder Bead, it would always end up with him becoming completely exhausted. This was the biggest reason why he chose not to use it at any given moment. Using it was a double-edged sword, as it would be his demise were it to fail. Therefore, it had become the last trump card in his arsenal.
Perhaps, if his cultivation became stronger, he might be able to unleash the might of the Annihilation Thunder Bead as he wished without suffering its adverse effects.
However, he was still unable to do so at this moment.
After draining all of Yang Kai’s strength, the lightning arcs dancing on the surface of the Thunder Bead grew increasingly active. It was as if they possessed their own spirituality, creating an exceedingly mysterious sight to behold. Furthermore, a might that caused people’s hair to stand started to radiate from within those thin lightning arcs.
“Let’s see if you’ll die from this!” Yang Kai growled between his clenched teeth. Sending his Divine Sense out, he unleashed the Annihilation Thunder Bead.
*Chi…*
A soft crackle rang out, before the thin-looking lightning arc jumped and struck the Corpse Puppet.
*Kacha…*
Incredibly loud booms began to ring out incessantly as the Corpse Puppet was struck by the lightning, until its body started to twitch violently. Lightning arcs covered the surface of its body, sparkling with radiance. A lightning field formed around it in the blink of an eye as countless lightning arcs travelled around its body, leaving destruction wherever they went.
An exceedingly awful and gag-inducing smell began to appear in the surroundings.
In a few short breaths, the lightning arcs dissipated away, before the Corpse Puppet collapsed face down onto the ground, smoke wafting from its entire body.
Seeing this, Yang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief, his body turning wobbly as he staggered about. A soft body supported him from behind at that moment; it was Liu Yan.
“I’m alright, just a little drained, so I need to recover for a while.” Not waiting for Liu Yan to speak, Yang Kai spoke before swaying slightly as he sat down, his entire body limp and devoid of strength.
If anyone tried to ambush him right now, forget about a Dao Source Realm cultivator, he might even be helpless against an Origin Returning Realm cultivator.
“I’ll stand guard for Master!” Liu Yan replied before her body suddenly turned stiff.
“What’s wrong?” Sensing that something wasn’t right, Yang Kai hastily asked.
However, before Liu Yan could reply, his eyes had already snapped wide open as a look of terror filled them.
That was because he saw that the Corpse Puppet, which had collapsed onto the ground earlier, had started to stand back up. With a roar, an increasingly powerful and violent aura erupted from it.
“It’s not dead yet?” Yang Kai’s face changed drastically as he was utterly incapable of believing his eyes.
The Annihilation Thunder Bead was currently the most potent weapon in his arsenal. However, even that was incapable of taking down the Corpse Puppet. One could see how resilient it was.
Despite the other trump cards Yang Kai had up his sleeves, how would he be able to unleash them with the current level of exhaustion he was facing right now?
Across from him, the Corpse Puppet’s body was in an utter mess, and its withered body had become charred. The various array diagrams present on its body had turned dim, while the weak spot that Yang Kai had uncovered earlier had already been completely destroyed.
[That should be the core of all of the Spirit Arrays supporting the Corpse Puppet’s body! It’s been destroyed! The Corpse Puppet should no longer be functioning! Why is it still able to stand up?]
As he was wallowing in terror, Yang Kai noticed something strange in the chest area of the Corpse Puppet. Looking over, his eyes immediately shook as he let out a bitter laugh. That was because he had actually spotted another array core radiating with brilliance there!
It was precisely due to this still-functioning array core that allowed the Corpse Puppet to continue displaying its combat might.
“Master!” Liu Yan was scared out of her life. Without the aid of Yang Kai and the Embodiment, she couldn’t resist against an enemy of such might; however, she quickly calmed herself down and a resolute look appeared on her face, “Master, please leave first. I’ll hold him back for a while.”
She felt that as long as she was able to buy Yang Kai a little bit of time, he should be able to repair the array base platform enough to allow him to leave this Sealed World.
After saying that, she stepped in front of Yang Kai while making a stance of wanting to protect him even at the risk of her life.
Yang Kai extended his hand to stop her, but before he could, turning around, Liu Yan gave him a sad smile, “It has been an amazing journey for this servant. My life has been blessed to be able to enjoy Master’s sincere care for these years. Please take care of yourself in the future.”
“Don’t say such sad words,” Yang Kai felt something sour in his mouth, though he continued to maintain a faint smile, “It’s still uncertain who will live and who will die here today.”
Liu Yan’s eyes lit up as she asked, “Does Master still have another trump card?”
Yang Kai did not give a reply in words. Instead, flipping his wrist, he summoned a Spirit Pill like item into his grasp. Pressing this thing into Liu Yan’s hand, he said, “Unleash its strength. If even that fails, we’ll just hide in the Sealed World Bead to rest and wait.”
“This is…” Liu Yan’s eyes lit up after seeing the pill-like object in her hand, before crying out softly, “An Emperor Authority Bead?”
This Emperor Authority Bead was obtained by Yang Kai through an exchange with the Extraordinary Treasure Pill while in the Four Seasons Realm. Sealed within it was a full-power strike from the Flowing Time Great Emperor, though Yang Kai was not clear exactly how powerful this strike would be.
Unlike an Emperor Artifact like the Annihilation Thunder Bead, this Emperor Authority Bead was a single-use item.
Yang Kai had kept it for all this time, not willing to use it; however, it was hard for him not to use it in this current situation.
With the Emperor Authority Bead in her hand, Liu Yan’s chaotic emotions turned calm. Exhaling softly, she clenched the Emperor Authority Bead tightly and channelled her strength into it.
On the other side, the Corpse Puppet appeared somewhat stiff after standing up, with its movements no longer as smooth as before. It was obvious that the strike from the Annihilation Thunder Bead had affected it quite a bit.
Appearing to have discovered something, the Corpse Puppet gave a low roar before shooting over towards Liu Yan like an arrow. As it travelled along, that dense putrid smell had already wafted over as it aimed its seemingly visible cold, murderous intent towards Liu Yan.
Liu Yan’s petite body shook slightly as a result, though she still continued to remain stationary as the power within her body gushed without restraint into the Emperor Authority Bead.
As the distance between the two shrank, beads of cold sweat formed on Yang Kai’s forehead. He clenched the Sealed World Bead in his hands, preparing to bring himself and Liu Yan away from the impending danger.
Right as the Corpse Puppet was about to reach Liu Yan, she finally started to move. With a flick of her wrist, the Emperor Authority Bead shot out like a beam of light towards the Corpse Puppet.
The Corpse Puppet sent a punch out with enough destructive force present to shatter the Emperor Authority Bead into pieces.
However…
A mysterious Principle Strength rumbled as it expanded out in all directions.
Within the mountain valley, all of the withered and dead vegetation as a result of the Corpse Poison seemed to have their life force replenished as they came back to life in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the entire mountain valley turned back into a full stretch of verdant green.
Not only that, the mysterious strength continued to propagate even further, causing all of the vegetation that came into contact with it to sway gently in vibrancy and sending out notes of joy.
Yang Kai and Liu Yan were enveloped by this power.
This power flowed through their limbs and fused with their bodies, making the weak and exhausted Yang Kai feel as though he had been gorged with life force. In the next instant, his entire spirit started to tremble fervently, while the injuries he had sustained in his earlier exchange with the Corpse Puppet proceeded to heal in an exceedingly short amount of time
“This is…” Liu Yan’s beautiful eyes turned round with shock as she cried out.
“The Principle of Spring!” Yang Kai was utterly gobsmacked with shock, his eyes gleaming as he clearly understood the source of the phenomena happening to and around him.
Not daring to waste any time, Yang Kai hastily expanded his senses to start comprehending what he was feeling right now.
This was the Principle Strength that the Flowing Time Great Emperor had comprehended, which was exceedingly deep and profound. Unleashing the Emperor Authority Bead was the equivalent of the Flowing Time Great Emperor unleashing an all-out strike. If he was able to utilise this chance to comprehend it, it would definitely be a benefit for him.
At this instant, Yang Kai had completely tossed the battle against the Corpse Puppet out of his mind and focused entirely on experiencing the mysterious Principle Strength that surrounded him.
The Principle of Spring surged out without restraint, returning the mountain valley to its luscious and vibrant state. However, in the blink of an eye, an unbearable scorching aura descended, making it feel as though one had entered the hottest period of the year, with the faint sounds of cicadas chirping ringing about, the feeling of dryness and heat being unbearable under the scorching sun.
The Principle of Summer!
As he continued to comprehend, Yang Kai increasingly felt that this was an opportunity that he should not let go of.
All of a sudden, a chilly breeze started whipping within the mountain valley, as the leaves on the surrounding trees turned yellow or red and dropped to the ground. Fruits and melons turned ripe, while a delightful aura of a bumper harvest came rushing out.
The Principle of Autumn!
A frigid wind began to howl about next, turning the surroundings abruptly into a bone-chilling cold. White snow blanketed everything within their field of view, just like being wrapped in a silvery blanket. Within the nail-biting cold, even the most resistant of ferocious beasts would retreat back to their caves, not daring to step out recklessly.
The Principle of Winter!
The four seasons followed each other in turn, fusing tightly together, throughout the times, continuing on and on, forming an exceedingly special energy that circulated within the mountain valley. This caused people to lose track of time, as though everything had happened in an instant, yet also appearing as though tens of thousands of years have passed…
Yang Kai’s entire being had sunk into this mire so deep that he would be unable to extricate himself.
Under the influence of the Principles of the four seasons, he continued to view the passing and intermingling of spring, summer, autumn and winter. This made him forget where he was, what he was doing, with the only thing he knew being that it would absolutely be his loss if he were to miss out on this.
A cracking sound rang out after an unknown amount of time had elapsed. Yang Kai’s body suddenly shuddered, as the meridians and dantian in his body expanded substantially. Source Qi flowed torrentially like a gushing river, rapidly filling up his meridians.
An exceedingly powerful aura started to radiate out from him!
A breakthrough!
He had actually broken through to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm!
The commotion of his promotion caused Yang Kai to regain his senses. He immediately spotted the Corpse Puppet, which was in a seated position, causing him to recall everything he was doing right before this.
His expression changed drastically as he leapt up, all while keeping a vigilant gaze at the stationary Corpse Puppet.
“Master!” Liu Yan hastily shouted out upon seeing the worrying look on his face.
“How long has it been?” Yang Kai frowned as he asked in a doubtful tone.
“What do you mean how long?” A blank look appeared on Liu Yan’s face.
“Since you used the Emperor Authority Bead, how long has it been?”
Liu Yan replied in a confused tone, “That just happened. After I used the Emperor Authority Bead, you proceeded to sit down, and… suddenly broke through.”
“Just happened?” Yang Kai’s jaw dropped wide open. He clearly felt that he had spent a long, long time comprehending those Principle Strengths! However, from what Liu Yan was saying, it had all happened in an instant?
He gasped in shock and immediately realized that this misconception was born due to the influence of the Principle of the four seasons.
The Four Seasons Principles was a type of Principle Strength that the Flowing Time Great Emperor comprehended and mastered. When using this ability, the four seasons would keep changing and fluctuating. This was a Time Principle that was completely different from the Space Principles that Yang Kai studied.
However, the Time Principles and Space Principles were similar in that they were both extremely esoteric powers that were extraordinarily difficult to comprehend. Any cultivator who managed to gain insight into such powers would become a famous powerhouse.
Yang Kai originally thought that Flowing Time Great Emperor had simply created a Divine Ability that was related to the four seasons, but it now seemed that he had been wrong. Flowing Time Great Emperor had understood the essence of Time Principles, a concept that had vastly surpassed Four Seasons Principles.
The Emperor Authority Bead must have been a treasure that the Flowing Time Great Emperor created while he was in the Third-Order Emperor realm. The Emperor Authority Bead’s attack was the equivalent of an attack from the Flowing Time Great Emperor back when he was in that Realm. It would be impossible to survive such a hit.
Time Principles could make a person instantly feel as if an incredibly long period of time had passed. If the attack hit a living person, wouldn’t the Flowing Time Force instantly cause that person to rapidly age?
For instance, in just that one instant, Yang Kai felt as if he had just cultivated for several years. He instantly broke through from Second-Order Dao Source Realm to Third-Order, and not through sudden insight but rather through a kind of solid accumulation gained over time. Although it was only the blink of an eye in real life, several years had already passed in Yang Kai’s consciousness.
Yang Kai couldn’t even begin to imagine just how powerful Flowing Time Great Emperor must have been at his peak.
Yang Kai suddenly became excited as he thought about this.
He had obtained three beads back in the Four Seasons Realm, the Beads of Spring, Summer, and Autumn. His inference back then was that there should also be a Bead of Winter; however, his time in the Four Seasons Realm had ended too fast, and he had no idea where the Bead of Winter was or how to find it.
Now that he looked at them, the three beads all contained some aura of Flowing Time Force. If he could gather all of the Four Seasons Beads, perhaps the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s Divine Ability would appear again and he could obtain the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s inheritance!
The Flowing Time Great Emperor’s inheritance would be different from Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s inheritance. Yang Kai didn’t even dare to cultivate the latter’s Heaven Devouring Battle Law, so he left it to his Embodiment. It was proven later on that he had made the correct decision. According to the Embodiment, although the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was incomparably powerful, there were also significant drawbacks to cultivating it. If it wasn’t for the Embodiment having a unique body that was capable of refining all sorts of impurities and cleansing negative effects, it likely would have long since been taken over by the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
However, Yang Kai would benefit significantly if he could obtain the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s inheritance. If he comprehended Time Principles and controlled the Power of Four Seasons, then Yang Kai could use a shorter amount of time to reach a higher realm since, with Time Principles, his cultivating for one year would likely be equivalent to others cultivating for ten or even a hundred years!
Yang Kai felt a fire igniting in his heart.
However, when he thought about how the Bead of Winter’s whereabouts were unknown, it was as if a bucket of cold water had suddenly been poured on him, making Yang Kai feel like ice had flooded in his heart.
It was unknown when the Four Seasons Realm would open up again. Even if it opened up again, Yang Kai definitely would have exceeded the Dao Source Realm by then, so it would be impossible for him to enter.
In other words, it was likely that he would never be able to find the Bead of Winter in his life and gather all four seasons’ powers in order to reconstruct the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s Divine Ability.
“Master, that guy still isn’t dead yet!” Liu Yan’s astonished shout suddenly rang in Yang Kai’s ears.
“Impossible!” Yang Kai was instantly brought back to his senses.
He had used the Annihilation Thunder Bead and Emperor Authority Bead in this battle, two of his biggest trump cards. The Embodiment had also used the Demonic Armament. Even if there really had been a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master here, he wouldn’t even have a corpse remaining. No matter how powerful a Corpse Puppet was, it was impossible for it to still be alive after such an onslaught.
That was why he didn’t believe Liu Yan’s words at all.
However, Yang Kai was instantly stunned when he glanced over.
Not far away, the Corpse Puppet had sat down cross-legged with a wretched appearance at an unknown time. Perhaps due to the influence of the Flowing Time Force, the Corpse Puppet’s originally dry and withered body had now become pale white like flour. When Yang Kai looked over, the Corpse Puppet’s body was constantly losing pieces of flesh that would disintegrate before they hit the ground. In just a few short moments, the Corpse Puppet appeared like half a skeleton that had its white bones exposed.
The Flowing Time Force was truly powerful. Previously, Yang Kai had tried everything that he could, but only the attack from the Annihilation Thunder Bead had managed to damage the Corpse Puppet at all. However, when Yang Kai used the Emperor Authority Bead, it actually destroyed the Corpse Puppet’s body to such an extent. This definitely wasn’t because of its pure power, but rather the influence of Time Principles. Flowing Time Force had quietly flooded the Corpse Puppet’s body, making it experience tens of thousands of years in an instant. Even the strongest physical body would be destroyed without obtaining any nourishment for so long.
Yang Kai could clearly discern that the Spirit Arrays in the Corpse Puppet were all dimming and beginning to shut down.
Still, Liu Yan was correct. The Corpse Puppet had yet to die, since its green ghost-fire-like eyes kept flickering. It seemed as if it was struggling as it constantly growled in a low voice.
Yang Kai instantly felt his hairs standing on end as he remained vigilant out of fear that the Corpse Puppet would try something else right before it died.
Yang Kai could tell that even if the Corpse Puppet wasn’t dead yet, it was like an arrow at the end of its flight. As long as Yang Kai stalled for a bit, the Corpse Puppet would definitely die soon.
That was why Yang Kai didn’t try to leave in a hurry. He had suddenly improved to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm and had his Source Qi restored as well as recovered from his injuries. Even if the Corpse Puppet did launch one last attack, he was confident that he could dodge it.
Yang Kai didn’t move, so Liu Yan stood by his side and remained on guard without a word as a vigilant look flashed through her pretty eyes.
Suddenly, the Corpse Puppet’s eyes violently shook as a frantic roar came from its throat, as if it was struggling against something. Soon, its green eyes calmed down as the Corpse Puppet’s vicious and frightening expression also gradually receded.
Its ghost-fire-like eyes were now actually shining with the light of spirituality as it looked around in confusion. When he saw Yang Kai, he focused his attention on him.
“Master!” Liu Yan adopted a posture ready for combat at any time.
Yang Kai on the other hand furrowed his brow as he suddenly met the Corpse Puppet’s eyes. He swiftly realized something, as unimaginable as it seemed, and politely cupped his fists and called out, “Junior Yang Kai greets Senior!”
“Master, you’re…” Liu Yan looked at Yang Kai with confusion, not knowing what he wanted to do. It was obvious to see that the Corpse Puppet was the type with no sentience, knowing only to viciously fight under the urging of the Spirit Arrays in its body. The Corpse Puppet wouldn’t have any self-consciousness at all, so what meaning was there to Yang Kai’s actions?
However, what Liu Yan never expected was that after Yang Kai spoke, the Corpse Puppet sitting cross-legged on the ground actually opened its mouth and uttered some sounds with great difficulty that were hard to understand.
The Corpse Puppet’s body was severely withered and damaged, which was why Liu Yan couldn’t understand his words.
Despite this, Liu Yan was thoroughly astonished.
The Corpse Puppet had actually responded to Yang Kai. Didn’t this mean that the Corpse Puppet had its own sentience? If that was the case, then why hadn’t the Corpse Puppet shown any sentience earlier?
Meanwhile, the Corpse Puppet was still attempting to speak. It tried hard for quite a while before it somewhat managed to succeed, although its voice was raspy and sounded like metallic banging that was incredibly discomforting to hear.
“Are you a Thousand Leaves Sect disciple?”
It was a simple sentence, but it seemed as if the Corpse Puppet used all his strength to speak it. After he asked the question, he actually began to pant heavily, although it was unknown if breathing would be of any use in his current condition.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he felt his earlier guess had definitely been correct, “This Junior is not a Thousand Leaves Sect disciple!”
The Corpse Puppet asked, “If you’re not a Thousand Leaves Sect disciple, why are you here?”
Maybe due to succeeding at speaking earlier, the Corpse Puppet’s words became clearer and clearer.
Yang Kai answered honestly, “This Junior was requested by the current Thousand Leaves Sect Master to fix the Space Array located here.”
When the Corpse Puppet heard this, he tried hard to recall distant memories before finally replying, “Yes, this King destroyed the platform back then…” He paused for a moment before asking incredulously, “If you’re able to fix it, does that mean you’re well versed in the Dao of Space?”
“Junior knows a little something,” Yang Kai answered humbly.
However, the Corpse Puppet knew that he was being humble. Nobody who knew only a little something could possibly enter this Sealed World when the array had already been destroyed. It was quite clear that this boy’s achievements in the Dao of Space were incredible.
Still, the Corpse Puppet had no intentions of prying.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he asked, “Senior, could you be the past Thousand Leaves Sect Master who entered this place?”
Yang Kai had already guessed it when he discovered that there was some spirituality in the Corpse Puppet’s eyes. When Yang Kai heard the Corpse admitting that he had destroyed the platform himself, Yang Kai instantly became certain.
This Corpse Puppet was definitely the Thousand Leaves Sect Master from that generation.
The Corpse Puppet gently nodded, causing creaking sounds from the white bones on his neck. Yang Kai felt really scared as he watched, worried that the Corpse Puppet’s head would suddenly fall off.
The Corpse Puppet declared, “This King is Ye Chong!”
“Senior has yet to die?” Yang Kai was still incredibly surprised even though he had already guessed it. Ye Chong was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master who was the last Thousand Leaves Sect Master to enter the Sealed World.
Ye Chong quickly denied, however, “I am just a Remnant Soul. This King used his own body to create this puppet and died while trying to reach the peak of the Dao of Puppetry. Only a sliver of a Remnant Soul remained in this body awaiting a Thousand Leaves Sect descendant’s arrival.”
Yang Kai nodded and was about to ask something when Ye Chong continued, “I don’t have much time left. I was able to wake up thanks to you destroying this body. Although I’m not quite clear on how you managed to do so with your current cultivation, I don’t have the time to ask, as this King wants to ask for your help.”
“Senior, please ask!”
“Since the Ye Family’s current descendant has asked you to come here to fix the Space Array, you must be a trustworthy person. I want to ask you to give this Space Ring to the current generation’s Thousand Leaves Sect Master!” As Ye Chong said this, he shakily removed a ring from his hand and gently flicked it towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grabbed the ring and instantly felt an ancient aura emanating from his hand.
This was a Space Ring from ten thousand years ago. Yang Kai could also guess at what good things were inside. Ye Hen and his daughter had both mentioned the Thousand Leaves Sect’s various Secret Arts and Secret Techniques, which were definitely inside this ring.
Ye Chong followed up, “This ring has a Soul Brand that this King etched into it. Only someone from my Ye Family’s bloodline can open it safely. Any other forceful method used to open this ring will result in the ring’s destruction.”
Yang Kai could immediately tell that Ye Chong didn’t trust him completely and was afraid that he would covet the treasures in the ring for himself, which was why Ye Chong had put a bloodline seal on the ring.
Of course, Ye Chong wasn’t specifically targeting him, as it was obvious that this seal had been placed ten thousand years ago.
Even though Yang Kai understood this, he still felt displeased inside.
Ye Chong was clearly the one asking for help handing over an item, yet he was acting like Yang Kai was a thief. Who would feel good about that?
However, Yang Kai didn’t show this on his face. He simply took the ring and said, “Rest assured, Senior, I’ll definitely hand this to Sect Master Ye.”
“Very good, very good!” Ye Chong gently sighed, as if a great weight had been removed from his heart, “Of course, this King won’t ask for your help for free.”
Yang Kai’s eyes couldn’t help but light up when he heard this. He knew that Ye Chong was going to give him something good, so he immediately looked forward to what it was.
However, Ye Chong didn’t immediately say what he was going to give Yang Kai and instead directed a contemplatively look towards Liu Yan as a highly complex light flashed in his green eyes.
Although Liu Yan was only an Artifact Spirit, she still felt like her hair was standing on end being stared at like this. She couldn’t help but hide behind Yang Kai’s body. Ye Chong was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, after all. Even if he was an arrow at the end of its flight, who knew what else he might be capable of?
After a long while, it seemed as if Ye Chong made up his mind as he said, “You should enter the cave that this King previously stayed in. Perhaps you can find an opportunity there.”
Yang Kai hurriedly asked, “Senior, please explain.”
Ye Chong told him, “You’ll naturally know when the opportunity comes. If the opportunity doesn’t arrive, then asking is useless!”
Yang Kai’s face went black. Ye Chong’s words were the same as saying nothing at all. Ye Chong was giving him something good, but not explaining anything at all and instead hiding information, which seemed too stingy.
Still, Ye Chong was an Old Master from ten thousand years ago, so Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, nor did Yang Kai want to thank him. To Yang Kai, he only came here to help Thousand Leaves Sect repair their World-Crossing Space Array. It was only a coincidence that he had been able to talk to Ye Chong.
Yang Kai hadn’t intended on keeping Ye Chong’s ring for himself to begin with. Of course… if it wasn’t for Ye Chong placing a bloodline seal on the ring, Yang Kai would first ‘borrow’ what was in the ring to ‘study’ before giving it to Ye Hen.
Yang Kai was quite interested in Dao of Puppetry as well.
But since there was the bloodline restriction, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t investigate what good things were inside the ring. If he actually tried to do so, it was likely that he would receive some type of backlash. Ye Chong was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Who knew what dangerous trap he might have left behind on that bloodline seal?
Just as Yang Kai was secretly thinking such things to himself, Ye Chong suddenly asked, “How much time has passed?”
Yang Kai furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t know the specific number of years, but it’s been at least ten thousand years.”
“Ten thousand years…” Ye Chong was astonished before he began to chuckle bitterly, “How is Thousand Leaves Sect’s current situation, then? Are there many experts in the Sect?”
Yang Kai replied honestly, “If Senior is asking about Dao Source Realm experts, there are quite a few, but as for Emperors, there’s not a single one.”
Ye Chong sighed, “This King has wronged the Sect!”
His tone contained strong self-blame and regret. If it wasn’t for his stubbornness back then in taking all the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques into the Sealed World despite others’ objections, because he had wanted to attempt to refine his own body into that of a puppet and reach the peak of his Dao of Puppetry, Thousand Leaves Sect wouldn’t have become like how it was today.
And in the end, Ye Chong had failed.
Right when he failed, he realized that he had been wrong. He had underestimated the Heavenly Way when he felt that he would definitely succeed. Ye Chong then predicted the decline of Thousand Leaves Sect, which was why he did everything he could to leave a sliver of Remnant Soul in the Corpse Puppet. Ten thousand years later, his efforts allowed him to meet Yang Kai.
Yang Kai couldn’t really say anything about Ye Chong’s current condition.
After Ye Chong sighed, his head suddenly fell down listlessly on his chest as the green light in his eyes gradually dimmed and then vanished. A black aura then flew out from the Corpse Puppet’s head and transformed into nothingness.
Yang Kai knew that this former Thousand Leaves Sect Master from ten thousand years ago had now completely died, with not even a single sliver of Remnant Soul remaining.
After the Corpse Puppet lost its last bit of Remnant Soul, it suddenly clattered all over as it collapsed into a pile of white ash.
Yang Kai could only stare silently.
Even the strongest cultivator would eventually die. Ye Chong had wanted to use his body to defy the Heavenly Way and obtain an immortal body. Unfortunately, even though he was a Heaven defying genius, he was still unable to break free from the restrictions of reality.
It was like this even for a Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, so just how difficult would it be to truly achieve eternal indestructibility? It was unknown if even the Ten Great Emperors were capable of achieving this.
Yang Kai then slowly shook his head when he thought of this. The Ten Great Emperors definitely couldn’t achieve such a feat either. If they had been capable of doing so, then Heaven Devouring Great Emperor and Flowing Time Great Emperor wouldn’t have died.
Yang Kai actually had some hope of achieving immortality, although the prerequisite was for him to refine the Immortal Tree. According to legends, a person could become immortal and indestructible after refining the Immortal Tree, although it was unknown if there was any basis for the rumours.
After pondering for quite a while, Yang Kai brought Liu Yan with him to bury Ye Chong’s bones.
Yang Kai didn’t spend too much effort on the burial, since Ye Hen would definitely come here after the Space Array was fixed. As Ye Chong was Ye Hen’s ancestor, Yang Kai could just leave the formal burial to him. It was likely that Ye Hen would hold a grander burial ceremony.
After he finished burying Ye Chong’s bones, Yang Kai took Liu Yan with him to the cave where he previously met Ye Chong.
Yang Kai was rather doubtful about the opportunity that Ye Chong mentioned inside the cave. Although Yang Kai hadn’t carefully investigated the cave when he entered last time, he also hadn’t found anything special about the cave.
Liu Yan also really wondered as she followed Yang Kai. “Master, why was that Senior Ye staring at me when he said that there was an opportunity?”
“Because you’re pretty,” Yang Kai answered flippantly.
“Be more serious!” Liu Yan glared at Yang Kai. Although Liu Yan felt that her illusionary human form wasn’t ugly, why would Ye Chong stare at her just because of that? He was a Sect Leader for one of the top Sects back in his day, so of course, he would have seen all sorts of beautiful women before.
Yang Kai chuckled, “He must have seen what your true form was, which was why he was focused on you. There’s nothing strange about it.”
“I think that’s probably the reason as well,” Liu Yan nodded in agreement.
They soon reached the cave again as they chatted. Since Ye Chong said that there was an opportunity here, Yang Kai came in this time with Divine Sense fully released, searching around carefully.
But, even as he reached the end of the cave, he still hadn’t found anything suspicious at all.
“Could he have been lying to me?” Yang Kai felt rather frustrated. It was fine if Ye Chong was on guard as if he was a thief by placing a bloodline seal on the ring, since that wasn’t really targeting him specifically, but if Ye Chong had lied about an opportunity here, then that was really just too much.
Yang Kai hadn’t been counting on getting anything from Ye Chong to begin with; however, if Ye Chong had voluntarily mentioned giving him an opportunity but also lied to him, then that would be a simple issue of morality.
Yang Kai refused to believe this or give up though, and searched the deepest depths of the cave several more times. He even sent his Divine Sense through the stone walls to search deeper into the mountain, but still discovered nothing.
Meanwhile, Liu Yan suddenly stopped and kept staring at an oval-shaped rock.
“Did you find something?” Yang Kai inquired.
Liu Yan told him, “Master, it seems like this rock is no ordinary rock.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai arched his brow and immediately sent his Divine Sense to scan the oval rock. He had already checked this rock earlier but hadn’t paid it much attention, since this rock didn’t even have any discernible energy or aura, so it obviously wasn’t any precious treasure.
Yet, Yang Kai noticed something unusual when he checked it again.
This rock was actually absorbing his Divine Sense as he scanned it, causing a slight stinging in his Knowledge Sea.
“Em…?” Yang Kai was astonished, “Is the opportunity that Ye Chong mentioned actually this rock?”
There was nothing else suspicious in the entire cave. The oval-shaped rock was the only strange thing here. If there really was an opportunity here, then this rock had to be the opportunity.
But, what could a rock even do? Could it be a High-Grade Artifact Refining material? Yang Kai had a confused look. He didn’t need Artifact Refining resources and he already possessed several Emperor Artifacts, so he had no need to create any more artifacts.
Liu Yan also had a confused expression as she reached with her hand towards the rock. She wanted to see just what strange attributes this rock had.
“Wait!” Yang Kai hurriedly tried to stop her. Although he didn’t know what strange attributes this rock had, it obviously wouldn’t be good to touch it until its true nature was identified. Besides, this was a strange rock that could even devour his Divine Sense.
However, he shouted just a little too late.
Liu Yan had already touched the strange rock. When she heard Yang Kai’s shout, she instinctively tried to retract her hand, but at this time, a powerful suction force suddenly came from the strange rock. The suction force was so strong that Liu Yan couldn’t resist at all. She only had the time to shout out in surprise before she was absorbed into the rock and instantly disappeared.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately changed. Although Liu Yan was capable of assuming a human form that made others see her as a living beauty, she didn’t actually have a physical body and didn’t even count as living. Her body was made from pure energy, although the energy was dense enough that she seemed corporeal.
[Just what the hell is this strange rock? How did it absorb Liu Yan!?] Yang Kai couldn’t possibly stand back and do nothing.
Yang Kai didn’t hesitate at all as he pushed his Source Qi and hit the strange rock.
With a loud boom from Yang Kai’s attack, a clear handprint was left on the strange rock; however, the abnormal part was that the rock didn’t actually shatter. Instead, it actually began repairing itself after Yang Kai’s attack.
In less than ten breaths, the strange rock restored itself to its original form. It was impossible to tell that Yang Kai had just attacked it.
“Free-Flowing Memory Metal?” Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly, but he soon realized that he was wrong.
Although Free-Flowing Memory Metal was one of the best Artifact Refining materials, and any artifact with just a little bit of Free-Flowing Memory Metal would gain miraculous restorative abilities, even rendering the most severe damage easily fixable, the Free-Flowing Memory Metal that Yang Kai knew about definitely wasn’t like this strange rock.
Yang Kai had originally wanted to destroy the strange rock and save Liu Yan, but he instantly realized that wouldn’t work after his attack. This strange rock wasn’t hard, but it was incredibly durable and impossible to shatter.
Not only that, Yang Kai sensed that his mysterious connection to Liu Yan, which had remained since they met, had suddenly been cut off after Liu Yan was absorbed into this strange rock.
Liu Yan was an Artifact Spirit. Back when Yang Kai first refined her Natal Body Artifact Refining Furnace, the two of them had forged an invisible connection that hadn’t broken for so many years now, yet the connection had suddenly just vanished.
Yang Kai’s face paled as he thought that Liu Yan had just died.
That was the only explanation for why the connection between the two of them had suddenly been severed.
Yang Kai instantly felt as if his heart had been stabbed through and his mood became incredibly gloomy.
Liu Yan had been with him for many years. The two of them had always protected and helped each other for all this time. Yang Kai really wouldn’t be able to accept it if she died just like that because of this strange rock.
If that really happened, then he would definitely unearth Ye Chong’s corpse and destroy it in order to vent his anger.
But upon careful consideration, he felt that this wasn’t very likely. Ye Chong wanted Yang Kai’s help, so there was no reason for him to direct Yang Kai to the strange rock here just to harm him.
[Yet… why was he constantly staring at Liu Yan when he mentioned the opportunity in this cave earlier?]
Yang Kai’s heart was in utter chaos. At this moment, he suddenly detected a sliver of familiar aura from that strange rock.
Yang Kai’s spirits instantly perked up when he detected this aura, “Liu Yan!”
This was definitely Liu Yan’s aura, although it was really weak. Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to notice it if it wasn’t for Liu Yan accompanying him for so long that he became really familiar with her aura.
Her aura still being around meant that Liu Yan hadn’t died yet. She had simply been sealed in the strange rock. After he realized this, Yang Kai didn’t dare to randomly attack the strange rock anymore out of fear that he would harm Liu Yan.
However, Liu Yan wouldn’t respond at all when he tried to call her. Not only that, Yang Kai sensed from that trace amount of aura that Liu Yan was okay. Although the fluctuations were incredibly weak, there was no sign of her being injured.
It seemed as if she had gone into hibernation.
[What just happened?] Yang Kai couldn’t figure it out at all.
He carefully released his Divine Sense to investigate again, but just like last time, his Divine Sense seemed to get bitten off by a large and invisible mouth right when it entered the strange rock. Not only was his investigation fruitless, his Knowledge Sea even felt some slight pain.
It was unknown just what the strange rock was. Since it could even devour Divine Sense, it must have been extraordinary.
A tiny sliver of almost imperceptible red was spreading out from inside the strange rock and reaching its surface. Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, as he was incomparably familiar with this red aura. This was obviously the incredibly complex power of fire that Liu Yan possessed, which contained various exotic flames that were perfectly combined together. Liu Yan was the only one in the world with such an ability, with no other ability out there like it.
[Could Liu Yan be attacking the seal from inside the rock?]
Considering all this, Yang Kai’s nervousness was lessened significantly as he forced himself to calm down and carefully observe to try and think of some way to help Liu Yan.
When the red colour spread out, the strange rock suddenly vibrated as it then sent out a powerful suction force that madly absorbed all the World Energy in the surrounding area.
At this moment, a wild wind suddenly whipped up inside the cave and made a wailing sound. The incredibly dense World Energy in this Sealed World all entered the strange rock and seemed to completely disappear.
As the World Energy disappeared, the red colour on the surface of the strange rock became brighter and brighter. Liu Yan’s aura also became clearer and clearer.
Did the strange rock need World Energy? Yang Kai’s brow twitched. He didn’t hesitate at all as he waved his hand and scattered millions of Source Crystals all around the strange rock. There were so many that they almost completely filled the cave. These Source Crystals were all Mid-Rank or High-Rank, with no Low-Rank Source Crystals at all. Yang Kai had obtained all of them from that Source Crystals Lode.
Yang Kai punched again and shattered the Source Crystals into dust which enveloped the strange stone in a sea of World Energy.
It could be seen with the naked eye that the strange rock was constantly absorbing the energy around it, as if it would never stop.
…
At the same time that Liu Yan met with danger, the winds whistled outside the Thousand Leaves Sect as the grass was covered with enemies.
Thousands of cultivators arrived in front of the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Defending Array and stared with hostility at the Thousand Leaves Sect.
These thousands of cultivators belonged to different great forces, but they seemed to all be led by a middle-aged blue-haired man. This middle-aged man had cultivated an unknown Secret Art that caused his water-blue long hair to cascade freely down his shoulder as he struck a brave and heroic figure with an authoritative expression.
He was sitting on a topless large rickshaw which was being carried by sixteen people. The rickshaw was quite wide and even gave off a strong aura, so it was evident that it was a High-Grade Artifact. At this moment, the blue-haired man was calmly sipping on some tea, as if he was simply here on a carefree vacation.
Many Masters had gathered around his side.
Sky Crane City Lord Luo Jin, whom Yang Kai had taught a vicious lesson to before, was included among them. Only a short period of time had passed, but Luo Jin had taken some unknown elixirs which actually managed to heal all his injuries. It couldn’t be seen at all that Yang Kai had previously injured him, as he had an energetic expression and healthy appearance.
The two Elders who had previously been in charge of protecting Sky Illumination Palace Young Palace Master Qiu Yu were also by the blue-haired man’s side with their heads bowed. They seemed to be really deferential to the blue-haired man.
There was also an eye-catching man whose cultivation was no worse than anyone else’s. He had a back like a tiger’s and a waist like a bear’s. He had a wild appearance along with an aura all over his body that seemed highly violent. He seemed to be about forty to fifty years old.
This man stood to the side and kept glancing at the blue-haired middle-aged man while chuckling coldly. It seemed as if he really couldn’t stand the blue-haired man’s way of doing things.
These people were all Sect Masters from nearby Sects. They had similar power levels and status, but this blue-haired middle-aged man acted really high and mighty, like a crane amongst chickens, which would naturally make the others displeased.
If someone who didn’t know what was going on saw this scene, they would likely think that all the cultivators here were being led by that blue-haired middle-aged man.
The thousands of cultivators belonged to five or six great forces. After gathering here, they didn’t say a single word, as if they were silently waiting for something.
Luo Jin’s face was filled with hatred as he kept staring in front of him with both fists tightly clenched.
A few days ago, he had been holding a concubine welcoming ceremony at his City Lord’s Mansion, but someone ruined the ceremony in the middle of it. Not only was his concubine stolen away in front of everyone’s eyes, but he was also seriously injured. He likely would have died already if it wasn’t for his luck.
Although only a few days had passed, everyone in the nearby area had already heard about this incident. All the cultivators in Sky Crane City also learned about this incident.
His reputation in Sky Crane City had fallen to rock bottom. Everywhere that he went, he could sense people pointing at him behind his back. Not only that, there were now even voices of dissatisfaction inside the city who were clamouring for his removal.
Luo Jin would never be able to tolerate such a matter. He had worked hard at running Sky Crane City for so many years, and it seemed that he would soon be viewed as an equal to the Sect Leaders of the nearby Sects, so of course, he wouldn’t stand for losing everything at the final moment.
The culprit behind all of this was that little brat named Yang Kai! As long as he could kill Yang Kai and wash away his previous humiliation, Luo Jin believed that he could stabilize Sky Crane City again, and nobody would dare to say no to him again!
Luo Jin loathed Yang Kai, so he didn’t have any good feelings towards the Thousand Leaves Sect that was protecting Yang Kai. Luo Jin secretly swore that it would be fine if Ye Hen knew what was good for him, but if Ye Hen didn’t, then he would teach Ye Hen the consequences.
*Hu hu hu…*
At this moment, a beam of light shot forth from the front. The beam then descended to reveal the Thousand Leaves Sect’s higher-ups, with Ye Hen leading them. The Vice Sect Master, Elders, and so on were all behind him.
Although Ye Hen and the others had already learned of this beforehand, their expressions still changed significantly when they saw so many Masters gathered in front of their Sect Defending Array.
This was the strength of five or six great forces gathered here. There were already more than two hundred Dao Source Realm Masters present, and more than ten Third-Order Dao Source Realm individuals. The current Thousand Leaves Sect wouldn’t possibly be able to stop such a force.
Ye Hen calmed himself down, cupped his fists, and asked, “Friends, it is our Sect’s honour to have so many of you visit us. May I ask why all of you have come here without informing us first?”
He also knew that the cultivators had come with hostile intentions, and that it was likely things wouldn’t be resolved in a friendly manner; however, he wasn’t afraid because of the Sect Defending Array. A normal Sect Defending Array would never be able to stop so many Masters’ attacks.
However, Thousand Leaves Sect’s Defending Array was from when they were still a top Sect, and was of an extremely high grade. No ordinary Sect Defending Array could compare. If it wasn’t for the current Thousand Leaves Sect being weak, then the Sect Defending Array’s defensive prowess could have been raised by several more levels. Not even a dozen Emperor Realms Masters combined would be able to break through its defence once the Sect Defending Array reached that level.
Even so, the current Sect Defending Array was likely more than enough to defend against the people before them. This was why even though Thousand Leaves Sect had declined greatly, they had continued to exist without being defeated.
Without being able to break through the Sect Defending Array, nobody would dare to truly confront Thousand Leaves Sect.
Right after Ye Hen finished speaking, Luo Jin was the first to jump out as he shouted, “Sect Master Ye, stop playing dumb. You really don’t know why we’re here? If you know what’s good for you, then obediently give us the little brat named Yang Kai and his friends. Otherwise, don’t blame us for not being polite.”
When Ye Hen heard this, he furrowed his eyebrows and answered, “City Lord Luo, what grudge do you have against Young Master Yang to make you so furious?”
Luo Jin felt as if he would explode in anger since Ye Hen was intentionally asking something he already knew. Luo Jin’s face was steely as he replied, “Ye Hen, are you trying to insult this Luo? You really don’t know what happened a few days ago at my City Lord’s Mansion? Or, are you trying to humiliate me on purpose!?”
Ye Hen calmly responded, “I know a little bit, but not the details!”
Luo Jin replied furiously, “That little brat caused a huge ruckus at my City Lord’s Mansion, stole my concubine, and injured my guests. This King could never possibly let him go!”
Ye Hen answered, “Why is it somewhat different from what this Ye heard? This Ye heard that City Lord Luo was taking advantage of your strength to bully the weak, oppressing men and seizing women, imprisoning Young Master Yang’s friends, and forcing Young Master Yang’s mother-in-law to get married to you. That was why Young Master Yang was forced to have a major battle against City Lord Luo. Although Young Master Yang won in the end, he still magnanimously spared your life… Forget about not being thankful to him, City Lord Luo, how come you’re now repaying kindness with enmity after just a few days?”
Luo Jin’s face kept changing colours with anger as he roared, “You’re spouting nonsense!”
Ye Hen replied coldly, “Countless guests were present that day, and everyone witnessed what happened. Is this Ye spouting nonsense, or is City Lord Luo the one who’s repaying kindness with enmity? I believe that everyone here should know for themselves.”
Luo Jin felt hot blood boiling in his heart which he almost spat out of his mouth. This was the greatest humiliation of his life, so he was furious that Ye Hen was mentioning it in front of everyone. If it wasn’t for the Sect Defending Array blocking his way, he would have charged forward to try and kill Ye Hen already.
Ye Hen cupped his fists and glanced all around him, “Friends, you should know about this matter as well. You should have a talk with City Lord Luo in order to prevent him from misunderstanding anything and doing something that both the people and Heaven would look down upon.”
The cultivators who came here seemed like none of them wanted to speak when they heard this. They hadn’t come here in order to win a debate against Ye Hen. So what if Ye Hen was speaking the truth? Yang Kai had killed the elites and Elders of their Sects. Since they knew that Yang Kai was at Thousand Leaves Sect, they naturally couldn’t leave this matter alone.
Seeing that nobody was answering, Ye Hen calmly stated, “Luo Jin’s behaviour is shameless. Friends, are you really going to stand together with such a person?”
Due to his anger, he no longer acted polite with Luo Jin and directly called out his name.
The man with a back like a tiger’s and a waist like a bear’s coldly snorted when he heard this, “Forget about City Lord Luo’s matter. This King wants to ask that little brat surnamed Yang just what grudge my Sky Peak Temple’s Vice Temple Master Ke Tian has with him for him to kill Ke Tian at the City Lord’s Mansion!”
With his tone, it was obvious that he was Ruan Hong Bo, the Temple Master of Sky Peak Temple.
Ruan Hong Bo was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, just like Ye Hen. It was impossible for him to do nothing since his Vice Temple Master had been killed by Yang Kai. That was why he still came along to take revenge even though he didn’t like Luo Jin’s character.
When Ruan Hong Bo finished speaking, someone else immediately added, “That’s right, that villain even killed my son Mu Zheng. I, Mu Guan, am absolutely irreconcilable with him!”
Ye Hen turned to see that the speaker was Mu Guan, the Tower Master of White Clouds Tower.
Ye Hen had questioned Ye Jing Han in detail before about what happened that day at the City Lord’s Mansion. He knew that Yang Kai had indeed killed Mu Zheng and even used his physique to write a large ‘death’ character on the wall to scare all the guests.
However, this matter was Mu Zheng courting death himself. He insisted on taking action despite not having any abilities. Who else’s fault was it that Yang Kai killed him to strike fear into the others? Still, it was obvious that the White Clouds Tower wouldn’t just let this go.
“That little brat injured my Heart Seeking Pavilion’s disciple. This Pavilion Master came here to ask him for a reasonable explanation,” The Heart Seeking Pavilion’s Pavilion Master also came out.
“Sect Master Ye, just give Yang Kai to us. That will give face to all of us.”
As various Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters levelled their accusations, the higher-ups of Thousand Leaves Sect all gradually changed expressions. However, Ye Hen still maintained a calm expression. He turned to look at the blue-haired man who was sitting on the rickshaw, “Palace Lord Qiu, is this also your intention?”
Ye Hen wasn’t afraid of everyone else here, but the one he couldn’t ignore was this blue-haired man. He was Palace Master Qiu Ze of the Sky Illumination Palace, and was a peak Dao Source Realm Master. It was said that he had been in retreat to try and peer into the secrets of the Emperor Realm over the past ten years in hopes of a breakthrough.
No news had been heard over the past ten plus years of him going outside, so it was unexpected that he would actually come to the Thousand Leaves Sect today.
Ye Hen didn’t dare to relax his guard against this person, since it was highly likely that he would reach the Emperor Realm. Once he was an Emperor, not a single person within a radius of a hundred thousand kilometres would be capable of challenging him.
Qiu Ze smiled slightly, “My son Qiu Yu is unskilled and suffered against that little brat surnamed Yang. This King came here to invite him to be a guest at my Sky Illumination Palace for a few days to teach Qiu Yu how to cultivate. They’re both youngsters, so they should be able to find some common topics to talk about. Please don’t refuse, Sect Master Ye.”
His words sounded polite, but everyone knew that this was only an excuse.
Yang Kai had indeed seriously injured Qiu Yu at the City Lord’s Mansion on that day. However, Qiu Ze wouldn’t personally act just for that alone. Sky Illumination Palace and Thousand Leaves Sect had a longstanding grudge with each other. Sky Illumination Palace was a new Sect that had hope of becoming the leader of this region, while the Thousand Leaves Sect was an old great force that was currently declining. If the prior wanted to gain authority, it would obviously benefit them to attack the latter.
As long as Qiu Ze could eliminate the Thousand Leaves Sect, Sky Illumination Palace’s authority would be untouchable and he would become the ruler of this entire area.
“Give him up!”
“Sect Master Ye, we have no grudge with your Thousand Leaves Sect and don’t want to make things difficult for you; however, that bastard surnamed Yang can’t be forgiven that easily. Sect Master Ye, don’t shelter him!”
The major Sect Masters all began to speak up and pressure Thousand Leaves Sect.
Ye Hen furrowed his brow. The higher-ups of the Thousand Leaves Sect who came with him all felt panic in their hearts as their expressions changed.
Although the Sect Defending Array was protecting them, and the people here probably couldn’t do anything to them, Thousand Leaves Sect’s disciples would need to go out eventually. It was impossible to hide behind their Array forever. If they antagonized so many great forces, Thousand Leaves Sect would never know peace afterwards.
The Thousand Leaves Sect’s higher-ups all glanced at Ye Hen as they thought of this.
They didn’t know just what kind of relationship Yang Kai and Ye Hen had, or why Yang Kai came to hide at Thousand Leaves Sect after causing so much trouble, which brought trouble to the Sect. Also, why did Ye Hen still accept Yang Kai despite clearly knowing about all of this!
This obviously didn’t seem like a wise decision.
“Sect Master…” A Second-Order Dao Source Realm Elder gently called out to Ye Hen. Although he didn’t say anything, his meaning was quite obvious.
Yang Kai wasn’t related at all to Thousand Leaves Sect, so the Elder felt that they should cooperate here and give Yang Kai to the others in exchange for safety, which was better than having so many hostile people blocking their doorstep.
Ye Hen glanced at the Elder and calmly declared, “I know what I’m doing.”
When the Elder heard this, he could only heavily sigh without saying anything more. He was from an older generation of Thousand Leaves Sect and had watched Ye Hen grow up. He understood Ye Hen’s temperament and knew that the latter wouldn’t do anything ridiculous. Thus, he chose to believe that Ye Hen wouldn’t harm the Sect, even though he was still really worried.
“Sect Master!” Thousand Leaves Sect Vice Sect Master Shi Cang Ying suddenly came over and cupped his fists as he quickly said, “This Shi feels that our foreign friends’ words are reasonable. That little brat surnamed Yang doesn’t know any respect and dared to act as he pleased in the City Lord’s Mansion, which is too ridiculous. He even killed someone as venerated as Sir Ke Tian, so he’s clearly a bloodthirsty person who relishes in murder. No matter what his goals are, he definitely doesn’t have good intentions in coming to our Thousand Leaves Sect. This Shi asks the Sect Master to give that boy over to our friends here to deal with so that others don’t speak bad about us by making claims such as our Thousand Leaves Sect being in collusion with him, which will ruin our reputation.”
Qiu Ze smiled, “Vice Sect Master Shi understands well. Very good, very good!”
Shi Cang Ying smiled, “Heaven is watching us. This Shi is simply acting according to the will of Heaven. Palace Lord Qiu is too polite.”
Ye Hen spoke coldly, “Brother Shi, this Ye previously declared that Young Master Yang is an honoured guest of our Thousand Leaves Sect, and that no one is allowed to do anything to him. If you still view me as the Sect Master, then don’t speak of this again.”
Shi Cang Ying’s expression changed slightly, “Sect Master, are you going to ignore the ten thousand years of foundation that our Ancestors left to us?”
Ye Hen replied, “It is precisely because I care about that foundation that I can’t give Young Master Yang to anyone.”
Only Ye Hen and Ye Jing Han knew that Yang Kai had gone to repair the Sealed World’s entrance. Ye Hen hadn’t mentioned this matter to anyone else, so even Shi Cang Ying didn’t know why Ye Hen insisted so much on protecting Yang Kai.
Shi Cang Ying’s heart jumped when he saw Ye Hen’s adamant expression and demeanour that seemed like Ye Hen would fight him if he said anything more about this topic. In Shi Cang Ying’s mind, Ye Hen wasn’t such a forceful person, as Ye Hen was already old and his cultivation wasn’t making any more progress. Ye Hen had always been polite to him over the years, so logically speaking, Ye Hen should have carefully considered anything that he said. Even if he objected, Ye Hen shouldn’t have used such a harsh tone to refuse. So, it made him wonder as to the reasons Ye Hen was so adamant on the topic related to that brat surnamed Yang?
Shi Cang Ying instinctively felt that there was more to this matter, but he didn’t have the time to carefully think it over. His expression darkened as he warned, “Sect Master, you insist on doing this despite everyone’s objections. Must you endanger the Sect like this? Have you thought about our three thousand disciples’ feelings and their future? One mistaken decision from you could ruin our entire Sect! This Shi is Thousand Leaves Sect Vice Sect Master, so I have the duty and responsibility to think about the future of our Sect and our disciples.”
Ye Hen answered coldly, “Are you thinking for your own sake, or for the Sect’s sake?”
Before Shi Cang Ying could reply, Ye Hen shouted in a harsh tone, “I’ve made my decision. Stand back!”
Shi Cang Ying was so surprised to hear this that his body trembled reflexively. It was as if he had just remembered that Ye Hen was the Thousand Leaves Sect Master, while he was only a Vice Sect Master.
Outside the Sect Defending Array, all the Masters watched the show while chuckling coldly in their hearts. It was rumoured that Thousand Leaves Sect was unstable internally and that Ye Hen and Shi Cang Ying didn’t get along well. It now seemed like those rumours were true after all. These two people were the pillars of Thousand Leaves Sect, yet they were actually arguing at such a time, so it was apparent just how much Thousand Leaves Sect had rotted away internally.
Such a Sect wasn’t likely to survive for much longer.
Everyone kept chuckling mentally as they thought about this. They felt as if they could envision the moment of the Thousand Leaves Sect’s destruction.
Shi Cang Ying naturally felt like he lost face since Ye Hen had reprimanded him like this in front of everyone’s eyes. He became angry out of shame as he declared, “Fine, since Sect Master won’t listen to advice and insists on doing things his way without care for the Sect’s safety, then don’t blame this Shi for no longer viewing you as the Sect Master.”
Ye Hen was somewhat astonished as he coldly shouted, “What are you planning to do?”
Shi Cang Ying smiled, “The little brat surnamed Yang antagonized so many Sects, yet he is hiding in our Thousand Leaves Sect and bringing trouble to our doorstep. This Shi is naturally going to hand him over for the Sect’s disciples’ sake. Sect Master, rest assured, this matter has nothing to do with you. Even if anyone wants to assign blame in the future, this Shi will take all responsibility, which won’t soil your reputation!”
He acted all justified, as if he was heroically willing to take a tainted reputation for the Sect’s sake. This instantly gained him the favour of several Thousand Leaves Sect’s higher-ups, who all felt that Ye Hen was indeed insisting on having his way despite everyone’s objections.
Ye Hen seemed to suddenly realize something as he exclaimed, “You dare to send people to capture them?”
Only now did Ye Hen realize that three Elders loyal to Shi Cang Ying had disappeared. Those three Elders were all Second-Order Dao Source Realm Masters, so Yang Kai’s friends wouldn’t be able to stop them at all.
Yang Kai’s friends were only First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, and although their rooms had barriers set up, the Elders were highly knowledgeable about the barriers and could easily remove them.
After Ye Hen considered all this, his expression greatly changed as he really wanted to kill Shi Cang Ying with a single blow right here.
Ye Hen’s daughter had worked so hard on inviting Yang Kai to Thousand Leaves Sect to fix the Sealed World’s entrance, yet his own Vice Sect Master was going to attack Yang Kai’s friends now. How was he supposed to explain this to Yang Kai if the latter learned about this?
Ye Hen had already made his calculations that even if he antagonized all these Sects this time, as long as Yang Kai could repair the Sealed World’s entrance and help the Thousand Leaves Sect recover their Secret Arts and Secret Techniques, it would all be worth it.
At most, the Thousand Leaves Sect would remain on their mountain for several years and have their Sect’s cultivators learn those Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. As long as they could control the thirty or so Dao Source Grade puppets in the plaza, Thousand Leaves Sect wouldn’t need to be afraid of any nearby Sect and they would also gain breathing room. And as time passed, wouldn’t they also be able to control the Heaven Grade puppets as well?
Once the Thousand Leaves Sect could control the Heaven Grade Puppets, they would instantly become a First-Class Sect. They would have nothing to fear then from a trifling Sky Illumination Palace. Every Sect within a radius of a hundred thousand kilometres would have to look up to and respect Thousand Leaves Sect or perish.
However, Ye Hen never expected that Shi Cang Ying would be so underhanded and wicked as to send his subordinates to capture Yang Kai’s friends. Once Yang Kai’s friends were captured, of course Yang Kai would never let it be. The Thousand Leaves Sect also wouldn’t be able to ever get its lost Secret Arts and Secret Techniques then, which would truly be the end of the Thousand Leaves Sect.
Ye Hen felt both panic and anger as he considered all this, “Shi Cang Ying, if you’re really thinking about the Sect’s future, then immediately call those people back.”
Shi Cang Ying coldly snorted, “It’s already too late!”
Shi Cang Ying could already guess why all the Masters outside had come here when he heard about the news, so he secretly told his loyal followers to wait in hiding for his command. When he saw that Ye Hen was unwilling to give Yang Kai up, he had secretly given the command to capture Yang Kai’s friends, so it was too late to mention it now.
“You…” Ye Hen felt some hot blood rushing up to his throat. He almost spat it out in his anger as he pointed at Shi Cang Ying and ground his teeth, “Do you know what a huge mistake you’re making!? If anything at all happens to Yang Kai’s friends, this Sect Master will make you take full responsibility!”
Shi Cang Ying’s expression darkened as he said, “This Shi’s intentions are solely for the sake of the Sect, which Heaven can bear witness to. Even if our Ancestors were standing here, now, they would also feel that this Shi is making the right decision!”
Ye Hen finally spat out some blood when he saw that Shi Cang Ying was so unwilling to back down.
Shi Cang Yang glanced at him coldly and calmly declared, “Sect Master, you’re getting old and you’re no longer suited to lead Thousand Leaves Sect. Your stubborn and antiquated way of thinking will only cause Thousand Leaves Sect to stop making any progress.”
Everyone’s expressions really changed when they heard this. They realized that Shi Cang Ying wanted to take this opportunity to seize power for himself. The Elders all had panicked expressions and didn’t know what to do.
Du Xian angrily shouted, “Old Dog Shi, how dare you do something so treacherous? Today, I shall clean up the Sect on my Master’s behalf!”
He was standing behind Ye Hen as he witnessed everything clearly. Although he also didn’t know why Ye Hen valued Yang Kai so much, Ye Hen was still his Master. Of course, Du Xian felt his heart ache when his Master had been angered so much by Shi Cang Ying to the point where he even coughed up blood.
As he spoke, a longsword with a chilling light suddenly appeared in his hand. The sword flashed as he directly stabbed the sword towards Shi Cang Ying.
Shi Cang Ying stood where he was with a condescending expression. He reached out with his hand and viciously slapped, “As a Sect disciple, you dare to attack a Senior and make a move against this King? Ye Hen really has raised such a fine disciple!”
As he spoke, the Source Qi from his hand crashed against the sword.
There was a boom as the sword shattered and a palm print struck Du Xian’s body, causing him to spit out blood and fly backwards.
This all happened in just the blink of an eye. Although there was a Sect Defending Array between them, Qiu Ze and the others could see everything quite clearly. They all began to smile sarcastically. They had banded together to make things difficult for Thousand Leaves Sect today while expecting a hard battle, but they hadn’t expected that Thousand Leaves Sect would start to fall apart from the inside before they even did anything. The Sect Master and Vice Sect Master kept arguing, while a disciple attacked first without respect for a Senior and was injured.
At this rate, it seemed that they could conquer Thousand Leaves Sect without even needing to do anything apart from stand here and watch the good show.
When everyone thought about this, they all had expressions as if things were already over.
“Sect Master Shi is courageous and just. This Qiu is impressed!” Qiu Ze smiled towards Shi Cang Ying and cupped his fists from afar. Qiu Ze was already calling Shi Cang Ying ‘Sect Master’, making it obvious that he felt Ye Hen had no power to overturn the situation.
When Shi Cang Ying heard this, he also cupped his fists in return, “Palace Lord Qiu is exaggerating. This Shi is simply thinking for the sake of his Sect, unlike a certain person whose eyes are clouded as he dares to go against Heaven and bring trouble to his own Sect.”
Qiu Ze said, “This King feels that Thousand Leaves Sect will definitely have a bright future under Sect Master Shi’s leadership.”
Shi Cang Ying smiled lightly and took a humble tone, “I’ll have to ask Palace Lord Qiu to take care of my Sect often in the future.”
His words made it evident that he would often be interacting with Sky Illumination Palace and subordinating himself to them in the future. Ye Hen spat out some more blood when he heard this as he angrily roared, “Shi Cang Ying, you will regret this. The ten thousand year foundation that our Ancestors left us will all be ruined in your hands. What face will you have to see our Ancestors on the day that you die?”
Shi Cang Yang laughed coldly, “I wonder who it will be that doesn’t have face to see our Ancestors? This Shi has nothing to feel guilty about. Even if my soul goes to hell, our Ancestors won’t blame me for anything!”
Ye Hen’s face was pale white and his aura seemed quite withered. However, he gritted his teeth and didn’t say a word as he glared at Shi Cang Ying with such hatred that it seemed he wanted to devour the latter.
Meanwhile, Qiu Ze nodded in satisfaction, “Sect Master Shi should first give us that boy Yang Kai. We’ve waited here for quite some time already.”
“But of course.” Shi Cang Ying smiled slightly, “Calculating the time, they should be here soon.”
He then glanced towards a certain direction and smiled, “See, they’re here as expected.”
When everyone heard him say this, they all glanced in that direction. Ye Hen felt even more panicked as he secretly circulated his Source Qi to prepare for any moment that Shi Cang Ying was distracted to attack. No matter what, Ye Hen wouldn’t allow Yang Kai’s friends to be given over.
However, Ye Hen’s expression flickered and he furrowed his brow when he peered into the distance.
Shi Cang Ying had a strange expression as well as it seemed he too noticed that something was off.
A beam of light crookedly flew over from the direction everyone was staring and a moment later, the beam of light landed in front of everyone to reveal a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. This man seemed to be around fifty years old, and was one of the loyal followers of Shi Cang Ying, as well as an elite of Thousand Leaves Sect’s progressive faction.
But at this moment, this Elder was actually covered in blood with a wretched appearance. Not only that, but his aura was also fluctuating unstably, so it was obvious to all that he was seriously injured.
Ye Hen couldn’t help but stare in confusion when he saw this Elder. Shi Cang Ying’s expression greatly changed as well as he hurried over and supported his follower and asked, “What happened? Who injured you? Didn’t you go to capture those five? Where are the others?”
When the Elder heard this, he exclaimed with fear, “There was a Master at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. We couldn’t defeat that person. Seventh Elder and Ninth Elder were captured…”
“What?” Shi Cang Ying’s expression greatly changed, “They were captured?”
He barely dared to believe what his ears just heard. His expression was one of ‘are you kidding me?’ as he looked at the injured Elder.
Shi Cang Ying obviously knew the cultivation level of Yang Kai’s friends. They were all at the First-Order Dao Source Realm, with one person being in the Origin King Realm. How could such weaklings possibly be any opponent for his three subordinates? However, the current situation was that two had been captured, while the third escaped here while being seriously injured.
If it wasn’t for the fact that this Elder had always been really loyal to him, Shi Cang Ying almost would have suspected that he was lying to try and rattle him.
“Who captured them?” Shi Cang Ying asked with astonishment.
“A woman!”
“Woman?” Shi Cang Ying had a thoroughly surprised expression as he seemed to think of something that caused him to grit his teeth, “They were just pretending to be weak?”
He was under the impression that Chi Yue had concealed her true cultivation level, which was why his three loyal Elders had been unable to win and were captured.
However, the Elder shook his head, “No, I’ve never seen that woman before. I don’t even know when she arrived in the Sect.”
“Never seen her before?” Shi Cang Ying was even more confused. He then immediately became angry, “Even if she is a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, the three of you shouldn’t have been defeated in such a pathetic manner, right?”
Shi Cang Ying seemed to be so angry that he was almost on the verge of cursing at the Elder for being a useless piece of trash.
The Elder answered pitifully, “That woman is definitely at the peak of the Dao Source Realm. There was also… also some slight Emperor Intent contained in her attacks. If it wasn’t for that, even if we couldn’t win, we obviously wouldn’t have been defeated by her in a single moment.”
“Emperor Intent?” Shi Cang Ying was really astonished now.
Having Emperor Intent in her attacks meant that she already understood some secrets of the Emperor Realm. In other words, as long as that woman had enough time, she would definitely break through to the Emperor Realm!
Thousand Leaves Sect could not afford to antagonize a future Emperor Realm Master.
Shi Cang Ying instantly felt like his heart was in chaos as he contemplatively looked at Ye Hen. He felt that Ye Hen must have arranged for that woman to protect Yang Kai’s friends, but then he immediately knew his thoughts were mistaken when he looked over, because Ye Hen also had a look of confusion on his face. It was obvious that he didn’t know when this mysterious peak Dao Source Realm woman had appeared.
The Sect Master and Vice Sect Master had no idea that such a Master had arrived in their Thousand Leaves Sect. It was likely that nobody would believe them if they swore to it.
Qiu Ze suddenly chuckled coldly, “Sect Master Shi, your subordinates seem to be a bit unreliable. They can’t even capture some trivial ants.”
Shi Cang Ying was feeling frustrated to begin with, so he instantly became angry upon hearing the sarcasm, “Palace Lord Qiu simply needs to watch our Sect’s matters without speaking too much about them.”
Qiu Ze snorted and slowly stood up from the rickshaw. He then walked over towards the Sect Defending Array while saying, “Originally, this Qiu didn’t want to get involved in your noble Sect’s affairs; however, this matter is related to the great forces in this area, so this King as a leader of the forces within a hundred thousand kilometres cannot ignore it, can he?”
Right after he spoke, an unimaginable aura suddenly shot out explosively from his body. At that instant, it seemed as if all the space around him froze over as the World Principles began to shake.
Everyone enveloped by this power felt as if a large mountain was pressing down on them, making it difficult to breathe or use the power in their bodies.
Visible ripples even appeared on the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Defending Array because of this power.
At this instant, Qiu Ze seemed to become the ruler of this land who could decide everyone’s life or death at his whim, with no one able to resist him.
“E… Emperor… Realm!” White Clouds Tower’s Mu Guan’s legs started to tremble. He almost kneeled as his eyes shook violently as he stared in disbelief at Qiu Ze.
The others also had shocked and pale expressions.
This was even more so for Ruan Hong Bo of Sky Peak Temple. Blood seemed to instantly drain out of his face. Before, he hadn’t cared much about Qiu Ze, since they were both Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators. Although rumours said that Qiu Ze had been in retreat for the past ten years to study the secrets of the Emperor Realm, Qiu Ze hadn’t shown any signs of success, so as long as he didn’t succeed, everyone would still be equals.
Earlier, Ruan Hong Bo had been quite displeased to see Qiu Ze acting all high and mighty, feeling the latter was far too arrogant. If Qiu Ze was already behaving like this before reaching the Emperor Realm, just how much worse would his behaviour become after he became an Emperor?
However, he now knew why Qiu Ze hadn’t even glanced at him from the start. It turned out that Qiu Ze had already made a breakthrough to the Emperor Realm at some unknown time.
Considering all this, large beads of sweat the size of beans began dripping down Ruan Hong Bo’s forehead. He knew that life in Sky Peak Temple would be difficult for him in the future. Originally, Sky Peak Temple and Sky Illumination Palace were similar in strength, but an Emperor had appeared in the latter. If Sky Peak Temple wanted to survive now, they would have to show their sincerity.
Qiu Ze had become a veritable overlord! No wonder he came over so rampantly and smugly.
Inside the Sect Defending Array, Ye Hen and the others had all paled in despair. The Sect was already in turmoil and split into two because of that opportunist Shi Cang Ying, and now, Qiu Ze had actually reached the Emperor Realm and was standing right outside their Sect Defending Array. How could they withstand all of this?
Shi Cang Ying was also horrified. He no longer dared to be reckless with Qiu Ze and congratulated fearfully, “So, Palace Lord Qiu has already advanced to the Emperor Realm. This Shi congratulates Palace Lord Qiu!”
Ruan Hong Bo and Mu Zheng also said in unison, “Congratulations to Palace Lord Qiu for ascending to the Emperor Realm!”
Qiu Ze laughed loudly, the sound of his laughter deafening, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
…..
Inside the mountain cave, Yang Kai was staring at the strange oval stone, not daring to miss even the slightest of changes.
After smashing tens of millions of Mid-Rank and High-Rank Source Crystals and turning them into a mist of World Energy, an even more powerful devouring power emerged from within the strange stone, constantly swallowing up this energy. And, as time went by, the crimson light on the surface of the stone became even more exuberant while Liu Yan’s aura also became clearer and clearer.
A few days passed and Yang Kai gradually realized that things were different from what he expected.
Liu Yan was not in danger. Even though she had been swallowed up by the strange stone, Yang Kai could sense that Liu Yan was sleeping within it. She was in an extremely peaceful state, and traces of cheerfulness were even mixed into her unconsciously releasing aura.
It seemed like this encounter was not a bad thing for her, but rather, a good thing.
[Could it be that Ye Chong’s words were true? That there really is an opportunity here, but that this opportunity is for Liu Yan?]
Remembering that Ye Chong had been staring at Liu Yan when he mentioned the opportunity, Yang Kai believed it might really be the case.
Though, whatever the opportunity was, was still a mystery to Yang Kai. So, all he could do now was to watch over Liu Yan and see what happened.
A day later, the sea of World Energy in the cave had become extremely thin. Even though the World Energy in this Sealed World was also very dense, the strange stone didn’t seem full yet.
Yang Kai crushed another million Source Crystals and allowed the strange stone to swallow it up with the same method.
At this moment, the entire stone had already become crimson red, as if it had just been fished out of a pool of lava. The cave had also become extremely hot, so much so that even the surrounding walls were melting.
Meanwhile, Liu Yan’s aura was becoming clearer, but what surprised Yang Kai was the fact that Liu Yan’s aura seemed to be much stronger than before, and there was also another type of feeling to it… an indescribable feeling.
Looking at it, a thought suddenly came to Yang Kai’s mind and he exclaimed, “Isn’t this an egg!?”
He was preoccupied before and didn’t care much, but now that he looked at it carefully, he discovered that the oval shape of the strange stone was just like that of an egg.
Considering all of this, Yang Kai then remembered that Xiao Xiao and his own Embodiment had emerged from a black stone previously. It was the special way Stone Puppets were naturally born. Could it be that Liu Yan would also emerge from this strange stone?
This strange stone was different from the two he got back then, so this was not produced by the Stone Puppet race. Yang Kai also couldn’t say what sort of thing this stone was, but after this guess came to mind, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel excited.
If his guess was correct, then Liu Yan would eventually emerge from the shell, and who knows what would become of her when that time came.
This really was a priceless opportunity for Liu Yan.
Another two days went by.
The speed at which the strange stone absorbed World Energy had clearly decreased and was growing slower as time went on. Yang Kai knew that the stone must have become saturated. What had happened to Liu Yan would be revealed at any moment, so he just stared at the stone without moving a muscle, heart pounding heavily.
Half a day later, just as Yang Kai was growing apprehensive, a crisp sound suddenly came from the strange stone.
Yang Kai was startled and quickly looked towards the stone. There, he found that a small crack had actually formed on the surface.
*Kacha…*
When the crack appeared, it seemed to have caused a chain reaction. More cracking noises rang out as a dense spider web of cracks appeared on the egg’s surface.
Yang Kai’s expression focused. He watched the stone even more closely, ready to lend Liu Yan a helping hand at any time.
*Huala…*
After that noise, the strange stone suddenly split into several pieces, then into countless tiny pieces, and fell to the ground.
Yang Kai was shocked. He thought that something had happened to Liu Yan, but only when he saw the crimson glow in place where the strange stone was, did his heart finally relax.
That light was clearly transmitting Liu Yan’s aura, indicating that she was fine.
The light was strong and drenched the entire cave in red. Squinting his eyes to observe it, Yang Kai couldn’t find any clues. Probing with his Divine Sense also came up as a blur. It was as if the light had inherited the strange stone’s ability to swallow up Divine Sense so that he could not investigate clearly.
It was only after an incense stick of time that the red glow waned and the cave returned to darkness.
Only then did Yang Kai get a clear view of the scene before him.
In the next moment, his eyes suddenly turned round and his jaw went slack. He looked as shocked as if he had just seen a ghost in daylight.
Because the figure of a girl appeared where that strange stone once sat!
This little girl looked about seven or eight and was lying on her side, her small body curled up with her two hands pillowing her head, sleeping peacefully.
Yang Kai could clearly hear her breathing.
That in itself was surprising enough, but what was even more unbelievable to Yang Kai was the fact that he could actually feel Liu Yan’s aura coming from the little girl’s body.
[Is this Liu Yan?]
Yang Kai’s eyes almost popped out.
Ever since Liu Yan was able to assume human form, she had always appeared before Yang Kai as a beautiful woman with revealing clothes, a pair of plump peaks and a well-defined bottom that could stimulate one’s imaginations. But after this sudden change, she ended up like this.
Yang Kai simply could not accept this.
But it wouldn’t make sense if this was not Liu Yan either, because Liu Yan’s aura was in fact radiating from the little girl. Not only that, but she also perfectly inherited Liu Yan’s fiery red hair. The smooth red hair was draped over her body, covering up the small figure conservatively.
Only then did Yang Kai notice that there were no clothes on the little girl’s body. The red hair had been covering her up, so he obviously didn’t notice it before.
While Yang Kai was bewildered, the long lashes of the girl in front of him quivered a little, then she slowly opened her eyes. She still seemed a little confused at the situation at hand. Glancing around, she soon found a dumbfounded face in front of her, and only then did she sit up.
Once she sat up, her long hair slipped down, revealing her fair white body; however, she was clearly still quite confused and her face looked dazed.
Yang Kai quickly turned away and rummaged around his Space Ring, taking out a piece of clothing before tossing it directly to her.
In a flash, the wide fabric covered her up.
“Master, what are you doing?” The little girl mumbled in dissatisfaction as she reached up to pull the clothes off her head.
But as soon as the words came out, she froze.
Her beautiful eyes trembled fiercely for a while, then she brought her two hands in front of her and stared at them in a daze…
A few moments later, a tragic scream rang out from inside the cave.
…..
An hour later, Yang Kai and the little girl gradually calmed themselves down. The two sat face to face, one with a strange expression, and the other teary-eyed, mouth pursed into a line.
The little girl was indeed Liu Yan, but she had no idea why she had turned into this form.
Liu Yan had already put on the clothes Yang Kai’s gave her, but they were far too big for her current size. The loose clothes matched with that pitiful expression on her face was enough to melt anyone’s heart, making one want to gently comfort and coax her not to cry.
Appearance-wise, she did have some trace of Liu Yan in her, but it was the child version of Liu Yan. She had a pink and delicate face like jade, just like an exquisite porcelain doll. She had fair and rosy skin still with some baby fat on her cheeks, making it hard to resist reaching out to give them a pinch to test the texture.
“Seen enough yet?” Liu Yan glared at Yang Kai with an unhappy expression.
Yang Kai shrugged and spoke calmly, “You do know you’re completely not intimidating in your current appearance, right?”
Liu Yan gnashed her teeth.
After turning out like this, even her voice had become child-like. It was crisp and pleasant, no longer the cold but sultry voice she had before.
“Alright, alright,” Yang Kai consoled her, saying solemnly. “Let me ask you, do you feel anything wrong after transforming?”
“Not really. It’s just a little hard to get used to,” Liu Yan responded softly.
“Can’t you transform back to how you were before?” Yang Kai asked.
Liu Yan responded, “Perhaps you haven’t noticed yet Master, but I… have my own body now.”
“What?” Yang Kai was shocked at those words and immediately probed with his Divine Sense. However, his Divine Sense was swallowed up as soon as it reached Liu Yan’s body. He couldn’t investigate the situation at all. It was the same as before, that was why Yang Kai couldn’t figure out much about Liu Yan’s current situation.
Now that he heard her say so did Yang Kai remember to take a closer look, but since his Divine Sense didn’t work, he could only use his hands.
Considering this, Yang Kai immediately reached out to pinch Liu Yan’s little cheek.
Once he made contact, he knew what Liu Yan said was true.
She did in fact have her own body now, because the sensation on his fingers was not just pure energy, it was real and solid! Not only that, but Liu Yan’s face was just like a human’s, very elastic and was soft to the touch. Yang Kai believed few people in this world could compare to her.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but squeeze it even more.
Liu Yan slapped his hand away in disgust, “That hurts!” She rubbed her cheek while pouting.
“How can this be?” Yang Kai frowned. Liu Yan was an Artifact Spirit that assumed human form. She was supposed to be a being of pure energy, so she couldn’t have her own physical body. As far as he knew, there existed a Spirit Pill called the Flesh Incarnation Pill that could help a cultivator who has lost their physical body regain one, but the refinement of that pill required the Flesh Incarnation Fruit, a spirit fruit that had already gone extinct.
Liu Yan was swallowed up by that strange stone, but after breaking out of the shell, she now had her own body.
No matter how Yang Kai thought about it, it was unbelievable.
Does that mean that the stone had a similar effect to the Flesh Incarnation Fruit? What sort of Heaven-defying thing was this?
Liu Yan frowned, “I think I understand a little bit about the situation now… I can’t tell why, but I get the feeling this body feels a bit like a puppet.”
“A puppet?” Yang Kai raised his brows.
Liu Yan gently nodded, “En. There are many array diagrams and subtle refinement traces inside my body, but the traces seem completely natural and very old. It should have been refined by a Grandmaster many years ago.”
Yang Kai was piqued. Seemingly having remembered something, he exclaimed, “Spirit-Grade Puppet?”
He previously heard from Hua Qing Si that the puppets of the Thousand Leaves Sect were divided into several grades. Other than the Earth Grade and Heaven Grade puppets he had seen before, there was an even higher grade of puppet called Spirit Grade, and it was rumoured that these Spirit-Grade Puppets had their own sentience. Not only could they think for themselves, but they could also become even stronger by cultivating. However, even at their peak, the Thousand Leaves Sect did not have many Spirit-Grade Puppets. After their decline, who knows where these Spirit-Grade puppets had gone.
Yang Kai did not believe it before, but Liu Yan’s current situation can only be explained by the existence of Spirit-Grade puppets.
The strange stone wasn’t something that came from nature, it was something refined by one generation of the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Grandmasters and was likely a prototype for Spirit-Grade Puppets. After Liu Yan’s Soul entered and broke out of it, this was the final state she transformed into.
In that case, it seems these Spirit-Grade Puppets were not born sentient, but rather by a fusion similar to a living being’s Soul and a puppet’s body.
Considering all this, Yang Kai understood. Now, he felt even more certain that his guesses were correct.
It was no wonder Ye Chong kept staring at Liu Yan when he talked about the opportunity.
With his senses, he could naturally see at a glance that Liu Yan was not a physical entity, but rather an Artifact Spirit that assumed human form. And, the prototype of the Spirit-Grade Puppet inside the cave was undoubtedly the best choice to become Liu Yan’s body.
In that case, if he hadn’t seen Liu Yan back then, this opportunity may not have been mentioned. It was precisely because he saw Liu Yan that he pointed it out.
But he didn’t mention it too clearly. It was likely there was still some reluctance in his heart. That strange stone was likely the last Spirit-Grade Puppet prototype. Perhaps no one would be able to refine such a thing again in the future, so he naturally would want to leave such a thing to the descendants of Thousand Leaves Sect.
[That guy is a bit sentimental, but it’s just useless baggage if no one can really use it…] Yang Kai secretly criticized him.
But very soon, he put his thoughts aside. No matter what, it was a fact that Liu Yan possessed her own body now. Even though her body was a little odd, compared to her previous human form, it was undoubtedly much better.
Having a physical body and not having one are two completely different things.
Liu Yan also seemed to finally be rejoicing. She tossed aside the inconvenience that this little body would bring to her in the future and brought her two hands before her eyes, turning them over and examining them, smiles covering her face.
“How is the integration of your Soul to this body? Any signs of incompatibility?” Yang Kai asked in concern.
This Spirit-Grade Puppet was not Liu Yan’s natural body after all, so if the fusion of body and Soul was not perfect, it was likely to come with serious consequences in the future. Just like possession, the reason why that was difficult and the success rate low was because of a compatibility problem between the Soul and the possessed body.
If a powerful Soul wishes to possess a cultivator, it must find a body that is highly compatible with them. Even so, it was not always possible to succeed, and a slight mistake could ruin everything.
Hearing this, Liu Yan shook her head, “There aren’t any problems. It feels… like I was just born, like this body was made just for me.”
[Is that so?] Yang Kai had watched with his own eyes as she broke out of the shell and gained new life. But hearing Liu Yan say this did reassure him a lot.
He was afraid that the body wouldn’t integrate well with Liu Yan’s Soul, but now it seemed Thousand Leaves Sect must have considered these problems perfectly when their Grandmaster refined the strange stone and managed to solve the issue through some special means.
Otherwise, how could they refine a human-shaped puppet and force a living Soul into it?
It was precisely because of this shell-breaking experience that Liu Yan’s Soul was able to merge perfectly with her present body.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel impressed inside.
“Hehe, now I will be able to have a childhood.” Liu Yan smiled as prettily as a flower.
“Be careful, you might not be able to grow at all and look like this for the rest of your life.” Yang Kai poured cold water on her.
Liu Yan’s face went dark instantly. After pausing for a while though, she easily nodded, “Then I’ll just accept it for what it is.”
…
After a day of experimentation, Yang Kai finally learned of the might of a Spirit-Grade Puppet. The current Liu Yan could actually cultivate to enhance her own strength. If it were before, this would have been impossible.
Before this, Liu Yan could only assume human form and devour Fire Attribute precious treasures to enhance her strength. She had been using the Sun’s True Essence that Yang Kai obtained long ago, and now the energy inside of it had already been depleted by half.
But now, Liu Yan could absorb World Energy and refine it for herself.
Not only that, but Liu Yan even had a strong cultivation at the level of Third-Order Dao Source Realm! That meant that as long as she was given a suitable Secret Art, then she would be able to cultivate and become stronger like a normal person. One day, she may even be able to advance to the Emperor Realm!
She was currently a completely separate entity. The moment she was swallowed up by the strange stone, her connection with Yang Kai had been cut off.
Liu Yan had truly been reborn!
Yang Kai was happy for her from the bottom of his heart. He had originally planned to build a body for Liu Yan in the future when he was strong enough to go and find a Flesh Incarnation Fruit and refine a Flesh Incarnation Pill for her, but he didn’t expect such a joyful event to come so quickly. This Spirit-Grade Puppet body had perfectly solved this problem.
Yang Kai gave Liu Yan a Space Ring containing many Source Crystals, various healing pills, cultivation pills, as well as several artifacts he couldn’t use but were of good quality. There was even the Emperor Artifact, Annihilation Thunder Bead, that he passed to her for her use. That was because the Annihilation Thunder Bead did not need much refining and only needed to be filled with power to use, which was perfect for Liu Yan.
It was the first time Liu Yan got to have her own Space Ring and even so many things that belonged to her, so she was overjoyed. She was playing non-stop with the Space Ring, enjoying herself massively.
A day later, the two of them returned to the base platform of the Space Array.
Yang Kai did not intend to continue exploring this Sealed World as he had already gotten a lot out of this trip, so he took it for what it was worth. There were no grudges between him and Thousand Leaves Sect and this Sealed World belonged to them after all. Yang Kai couldn’t just take away all the good things from here, that would be far too rude of him.
It wasn’t too much trouble for Yang Kai to repair the base platform of the array. In just four hours, the marks were completely gone from the base platform, and the entire thing looked just like new. Yang Kai took out a few Source Crystals and placed them in the grooves of the platform and began circulating his Source Qi.
After a flash of light, the platform was empty.
Thousand Leaves Sect, in a nameless mountain valley.
The beauty that was refreshing like a spring day from before had all disappeared. The entire place was a wreck and traces of battle could be seen all over. Many cultivator corpses could be seen strewn across the mountain valley and the ground was dyed red with blood. The stench of blood in the air alone was enough to make a person gag.
There, at the base platform, Ye Jing Han’s face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and her tender body was covered in blood. A bone-deep wound spread from her shoulder blade down to her arm, a shocking sight to behold.
Beside her, Hua Qing Si, Chi Yue, Gui Ze, Ai Ou, and Gu Cang Yun all looked exhausted. They more or less had traces of injuries on their bodies, and among them, Hua Qing Si seemed to be the most heavily injured. She seemed to have suffered internal injuries and her face was drained of blood.
At this moment, Thousand Leaves Sect had encountered their greatest crisis ever, Vice Sect Master Shi Cang Ying had betrayed them and colluded with Palace Master Qiu Ze from Sky Illumination Palace. Together, they broke through the Sect Defending Array of Thousand Leaves Sect and slaughtered more than a thousand of their disciples.
Ye Hen led several Elders to meet the enemy, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. Many died and many more who were injured. The Sect disciples who were able to run had also fled. If they couldn’t, they were either killed or captured. It took only half a day to turn a Sect into a ghost town. Battle scars could be seen all throughout the entire Thousand Leaves Mountain Range with countless lives claimed.
Hua Qing Si and the others were also embroiled in the mess. Even though Hua Qing Si had already touched upon Emperor Intent, the disparity between her and Qiu Ze was still great. After a great battle, Hua Qing Si was lucky to come out of it with her life. Under Ye Jing Han’s aid, they brought Chi Yue and the others with them and fled to this nameless mountain valley.
This place has now become the last refuge of Thousand Leaves Sect.
The Masters of various foreign Sects gathered together with Qiu Ze in the lead outside the mountain valley, staring intently into it.
“This is the Restricted Area of your noble Sect?” Qiu Ze stood outside the mountain valley with his hands behind his back, looking on coldly before him while he asked the men at his side.
His face was not as rosy as before. Even though he had an absolute advantage in the battle with Hua Qing Si, he never would have thought a fight with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator would nearly injure him.
[That woman is no ordinary cultivator! She likely comes from one of the top Sects. Otherwise, she would not have such power.]
If there was someone Qiu Ze was most afraid of right now, then it was undoubtedly Hua Qing Si.
He was afraid of provoking someone he should not provoke, but in this situation, he had no choice but to cut the weeds and pull out the roots. Otherwise, once the news spreads to the Sect behind this woman, then there was no way Sky Illumination Palace could withstand the consequences. So, he led his men all the way here in pursuit of her, but they were blocked by the many mysterious Spirit Arrays protecting this place. After many attempts to attack it, he was shocked to find that the Spirit Arrays within this valley were not something he could break.
So, he could only ask the man beside him.
Upon hearing this, Shi Cang Ying had a flattering smile on his face and bowed, “Reporting to Palace Lord Qiu, this is indeed the Sect’s Restricted Area. For generations, no one except the Sect Master could step foot inside.”
“Not even you?” Qiu Ze glanced lightly at Shi Cang Ying.
Shi Cang Ying said with some embarrassment, “Not even I have been inside before.”
“From now on, you will be able to come and go here as you please,” Qiu Ze declared.
Shi Cang Ying was overjoyed at his words. He knew that Qiu Ze was now finally treating him as Thousand Leaves Sect’s Sect Master, under the premise that he bowed down to him. If he dared to have any ideas, however, Shi Cang Ying would definitely die a miserable death.
Qiu Ze’s advancement to the Emperor Realm was not good news for any nearby Sect, but for Shi Cang Ying, the most important thing was to ensure his life first.
The Sect Master of Sky Peak Temple and the others standing behind Qiu Ze had hearts filled with fear. This was the authority an Emperor Realm Master possessed. Just by standing there, his pressure was great enough that the others didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.
The Sect Masters all felt angry inside. Why was it not them who advanced to the Emperor Realm? It just had to be that old dog Qiu Ze.
At this moment, an old man suddenly rushed over, stopping behind Qiu Ze and cupping his fists, “Palace Master, Ye Hen is unwilling to reveal the way into the mountain valley.”
Before Qiu Ze had even spoken, Ruan Hong Bo from Sky Peak Temple began cursing, “Ye Hen, that old bastard really doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness. Palace Lord Qiu was kind enough not to ask for his life, but he’s still being so stubborn.”
Mu Guan of White Clouds Tower also chimed in, “Indeed. Since Ye Hen refuses the toast, then he must drink the loss. Palace Lord Qiu needn’t be polite with him anymore. If we all act together, I don’t believe we won’t be able to break the Spirit Array of this mountain valley!”
As he spoke, he put on an eager pose to begin.
Qiu Ze blunt rebuked, “Do you know how long Thousand Leaves Sect has inherited these lands? Even some of the top Sects in the Southern Territory have not been around as long as Thousand Leaves Sect. The Spirit Array in this mountain valley was personally set up by Grandmasters over ten thousand years ago. Even this King does not have confidence he can break it, yet the few of you believe you have such capability?”
He had a derisive look on his face, but Mu Guan and the others did not dare retort and could only laugh in embarrassment.
“What do you think, Sect Master Shi?” Qiu Ze turned to Shi Cang Ying and asked.
Shi Cang Ying pondered for a moment before he quickly said, “Ye Hen is a hard-headed man. This Shi has worked with him for many years so this Shi can say that he understands his temperament and character well. Not to mention torturing him, even if you really killed him, he would never reveal the way to break this array!”
“Oh? Sect Master Shi’s opinion of Ye Hen is so high?” Qiu Ze looked a little surprised at Shi Cang Ying.
Shi Cang Ying replied seriously, “He is nothing more than a stubborn old goat. If not for that, my Thousand Leaves Sect would not have been in a constant decline…”
“Enough, this King is not interested in the affairs of your Thousand Leaves Sect, you just need to tell me how to destroy the array,” Qiu Ze interrupted him impatiently.
Shi Cang Ying responded, “Since there is nothing we can do directly with Ye Hen, then we may as well try to find a breakthrough point from the people at his side…” When he spoke up to this point, he put on a sly smile and continued, “Ye Hen has only had his daughter for many years, and their relationship is much better than your average father and daughter.”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Ze turned to look at him, a profound glow in his eyes.
Shi Cang Ying’s heart jumped. He thought he had said something wrong and was covered in cold sweat from the look he was given. Just as he was starting to get uneasy, Qiu Ze suddenly laughed, “Sect Master Shi. I believe you watched Ye Jing Han grow up as well, didn’t you? Do you feel no pity for her at all?”
Shi Cang Ying’s expression turned solemn, “That little girl does not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. If she dares stand in the way of Palace Lord Qiu’s great unification efforts, she must naturally pay the price. It is precisely because this Shi is her Elder that he wishes for her to mature early. This can also be considered a test of her inner temperament.”
“So to say, you are doing this for her sake?” Qiu Ze’s lips curved up into a derisive smile.
Shi Cang Ying responded resolutely, “This Shi hopes she can understand this Shi’s efforts.”
Ruan Hong Bo and the others standing to the side were all covered in cold sweat as they listened to their conversation, all throwing frequent glances at Shi Cang Ying. It seemed as if they did not realize Shi Cang Ying’s true nature until this moment, and at the same time, felt pity for Ye Hen to have raised such a monster by his side. But on second thought, they and Thousand Leaves Sect were now foes rather than friends. They were simply in no position to sympathize with them, nor did they see a need to.
“Good, this King will leave this matter in your hands. I trust Sect Master Shi won’t disappoint this King!”
“This Shi will give his utmost in this matter!” Shi Cang Ying cupped his fists and answered quickly before turning back and beckoning, “Bring them over!”
In the blink of an eye, Ye Hen and several high-level Sect members who followed him were brought to the entrance to the mountain valley. Naturally, they began hurling insults at Shi Cang Ying as soon as they got here, their eyes bloodshot and wanting nothing more than to bite Shi Cang Ying to death. But Shi Cang Ying was completely unfazed. He stood there calmly as if he didn’t hear anything they said and yelled into the mountain valley, “Martial Niece Ye, open your eyes and take a good look at who I have beside me!”
His voice spread loud and clear in all directions, and apparently reached deep into the mountain valley.
Soon after his words came out, the scenery in the mountain valley suddenly changed. In a blink of an eye, the Illusion Array which had been maintained for ten thousand years was lifted, and the true scenery of the mountain valley was revealed to the crowd.
Looking over, the figures of Ye Jing Han, Chi Yue, and the others could clearly be seen. They stood only several thousand metres away from Shi Cang Ying and them. Then right behind them was an array base platform.
“Hm?” Qiu Ze’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the array base platform for a moment before he exclaimed, “A Space Array?”
Naturally, with his eyesight, he was able to see that the array base platform was that of a Space Array, and a very old one at that. However, what he couldn’t understand was why such a thing would appear in this mountain valley.
[Where does this Space Array connect to?]
Qiu Ze could not help but look towards Shi Cang Ying with suspicion.
Shi Cang Ying also stared in confusion. Even though he knew that the mountain valley was a Restricted Area of Thousand Leaves Sect, one only the Sect Masters were able to step foot inside, he had no idea what was hidden here.
He always thought that this Restricted Area was where the Sect Masters of Thousand Leaves Sect were buried, and that was why no one was allowed to enter, but now it seemed his guesses were wrong.
This Restricted Area seemed to be connected with some other place.
Noticing Qiu Ze’s gaze, Shi Cang Ying laughed embarrassedly, “This Shi is also seeing this for the first time. This Shi had no idea what mysteries were hidden inside.”
Qiu Ze coldly snorted, clearly very displeased with this answer, but he still said without much concern, “That Space Array is likely damaged, otherwise they would have long escaped from here.”
Shi Cang Ying hurriedly said, “Palace Lord Qiu’s vision is truly sharp to have already thought of this!”
While the two were talking, Ye Jing Han had already seen the sight outside of the mountain valley, and Ye Hen who was forced to kneel on the ground. Ye Hen’s body was covered in blood at this moment and his aura had waned to a miserable degree. His cultivation also seemed to be sealed off so he had no power to resist at all.
Ye Hen was old to begin with, so being tortured now just made things worse. The way he was coughing up blood incessantly was unbearable to watch.
“Father!” Ye Jing Han cried out in a trembling voice as tears flowed down her cheeks. Her heart was aching so much she could hardly breathe.
When Hua Qing Si and the others saw this scene, their faces had all become very ugly to look at and they felt a deep sense of pity for this young girl.
After Ye Jing Han shouted, she glared at Shi Cang Ying, “Let my father go!”
Shi Cang Ying smirked, “Martial Niece, you are a big girl now so Martial Uncle will not waste any words with you. I can let your father go, but you should know what you have to do for that to happen.”
Then, speaking up to this point, his face turned grim as he shouted, “Disable the Spirit Array around this mountain valley and Martial Uncle will spare their lives!”
Before Ye Jing Yan could say anything, Ye Hen shouted, “Jing Han, don’t! Never dispel the Spirit Array no matter what…”
Shi Cang Ying’s face sank and he raised his hand and struck Ye Hen’s body with his palm, restricting him completely so that he could not even speak anymore.
When she saw this, Ye Jing Han immediately exclaimed, “Do not hurt my father… Martial Uncle Shi, you are also from Thousand Leaves Sect, you are our Sect’s Vice Sect Master, why must you do such a thing? Has Father ever mistreated you? Let him go, please! I beg of you!”
She begged him with all her heart and soul. It was a completely tragic sight.
But Shi Cang Ying was still unmoved. He just shook his head regretfully, “Martial Uncle hopes he can spare your father’s life too, but my hands are tied. I hope you can understand!”
As he spoke, he slowly walked behind a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Elder. Putting one hand on top of the Elder’s head, he looked at Ye Jing Han and said without hurry, “Watch properly, Martial Niece. For every ten breaths you do not open the Spirit Array… Martial Uncle will kill one person!”
After he said that, he pushed the Source Qi in his palm and the head of the bound Thousand Leaves Sect Elder burst open without even so much as a sound from him, his body falling stiffly to the ground.
Not only did the sudden kill cause Ye Jing Han’s face to pale and her eyes to grow desperate, even Ruan Hong Bo and the others were shocked. After all, the person he killed was an Elder of Thousand Leaves Sect, a fellow disciple he had known for many years whom he had worked with for centuries. But now, his face didn’t even change when he killed him, showing how ruthless and cruel Shi Cang Ying was.
Only Qiu Ze’s face was filled with a satisfied smile.
“Martial Uncle does not have much time, so think carefully,” after killing one person, Shi Cang Ying came behind another Elder and also put his hand similarly on the Elder’s head. Then, without saying a word, he looked quietly up at Ye Jing Han.
Ye Jing Han was biting her red lips so hard that they bled. She looked at Ye Hen, only to see the man constantly shaking his head at her. She knew that her father did not approve of her disabling the Spirit Array.
Ye Jing Han felt tormented. Even though she knew things would never end well if the Spirit Array was dispelled, nor improve her father’s current situation, she could not help feeling guilty when she thought of the Elder who had just been killed.
She couldn’t help but feel that she was the one who caused that Elder’s death.
That Elder was someone who watched her grow up and showed her so much love. He would often bring her out to play while she was little and taught her to cultivate when she was older, but now, he had died right before her eyes.
Yet she could only watch from afar, powerless to help.
Time gradually went by and Shi Cang Ying was about to kill another man. Ye Jing Han instantly became distraught, having no idea what to do.
Right at that moment, a sly smile suddenly rose up Shi Cang Ying’s lips. He moved his hand away from the second Elder and put it on the head of the man next to him instead.
Ye Jing Han’s face paled instantly and her tender body began trembling fiercely.
Shi Cang Ying’s bloodstained hand was now placed over Du Xian’s head.
Ye Jing Han and Du Xian grew up as childhood sweethearts, cultivating together and growing up with strong affection for each other. They had long ago taken the other as their other half, but they had yet to reach the peak of their Martial Dao, so they had decided it was not yet time for them to marry.
The two had secretly agreed that when the both of them reached the Emperor Realm, Du Xian would ask for her hand in marriage from Ye Hen.
They believed that Ye Hen definitely wouldn’t refuse when the time came.
Never would Ye Jing Han have expected that day would never come as right now, before her eyes, her lover was going to be killed.
“No, Martial Uncle Shi! Please don’t!” Ye Jing Han’s body went limp and she toppled directly onto the floor, pleading.
But Shi Cang Ying’s face was cold and unmoved, “We can settle things simply if you just deactivate the Array.”
Ye Jing Han instantly fell out of sorts. Deactivating the Array would expose Thousand Leaves Sect’s greatest secret to their enemies and leave it open for them to probe into, but if she refused, from Shi Cang Ying’s ruthless display earlier, Du Xian would certainly die.
She simply did not know what to choose.
“Just ignore him, Ye’er. This old dog has lost his mind!” Du Xian suddenly shouted, “They will not let us go even if you remove the Array. Senior Brother will depart first but you have to stay well. I will not let you down in the next life!”
As he finished speaking, the Source Qi in his body surged up violently and reached a level that even he could not control in just a moment.
“Hmph!” Shi Cang Ying coldly snorted and reached out to slap Du Xian heavily on the shoulder. The raging Source Qi was instantly doused down and went back to normal.
Du Xian was dumbfounded. Seeing that he couldn’t even self-destruct in this situation, he had completely become a fish on someone else’s chopping block.
Ye Jing Han was also taken aback. She couldn’t be any clearer about what Du Xian was trying to do earlier, but when she saw Shi Cang Ying seal Du Xian’s cultivation, she actually felt a little thankful to this traitor. If he had not done so in time, Du Xian would definitely have exploded before her eyes, and Ye Jing Han would not be able to bear such a result.
This change of events had completely shattered Ye Jing Han’s psyche. Even though she knew that things would not end well if she were to dispel the Array, she still held a glimmer of hope in her heart. Looking teary-eyed towards Shi Cang Ying, she pleaded, “Martial Uncle, I can remove the Array; however… you have to let them go. They are not part of our Thousand Leaves Sect. This matter has nothing to do with them!”
The people she was referring to were Chi Yue and the others.
When he heard her say that, Ye Hen slowly shut his eyes. He knew that there was truly no going back now. Ye Jing Han may still be able to retain one thread of hope of surviving if she defended the mountain valley, but if the Array was lowered, then the consequences would definitely be dire.
Unfortunately, he was unable to move or even speak now. There was nothing he could do to stop her.
Du Xian was also desperately shaking his head at Ye Jing Han, but to no avail.
Shi Cang Ying’s cold voice sounded, “Martial Uncle is unable to make a decision on this matter.”
But as soon as he was done speaking, Qiu Ze said generously, “Fine. This King will agree to your request as long as you undo the Spirit Array obediently.”
“As if anyone would believe you!” Hua Qing Si muttered under her breath. How could she not know that Qiu Ze was merely wagging his tongue? He had no intention of letting them go at all.
In the mountain valley, Ye Jing Han wiped her tears and looked at Chi Yue and the others, “It was our Thousand Leaves Sect that dragged you into this. I will dispel the Spirit Array. When that time comes, run away at once! I will try to cover you as much as I can.”
Hua Qing Si frowned, “Sister Ye, you should come with us as well.”
She too knew that Ye Jing Han was at the end of her rope here. The lives of her own father and her lover were in the hands of someone else, so she naturally could not just stand by and watch. That was why Hua Qing Si did not blame Ye Jing Han for her decision.
It was just that… Qiu Ze was still here. Hua Qing Si did not have the slightest confidence that she could escape here with Chi Yue and the others. If it were just herself, then she had eighty percent confidence she could flee. She may not be able to defeat Qiu Ze, but there was still a chance for her to escape.
But Chi Yue and the others were only First-Order Dao Source Realm, and Chai Hu was only a Third-Order Origin King. Dreaming of escaping in front of so many experts was no doubt a fool’s errand.
Hua Qing Si decided in her heart that she would keep Chi Yue and the others safe no matter what. The rest would be up to Yang Kai once he appeared.
Faced with Hua Qing Si’s situation, Ye Jing Han only shot her a bitter smile and shook her head.
Hua Qing Si knew that she had made up her mind and could only sigh, no longer persuading her.
“What are you waiting for?” Shi Cang Ying began urging her impatiently. The Source Qi on the palm placed on top of Du Xian’s head was fluctuating as if it could take Du Xian’s life at any moment.
Ye Jing Han’s tender body trembled. She no longer dared to delay matters and quickly formed seals with both hands.
As the seals were formed rapidly, layer after layer of Sealing Arrays, Illusion Arrays, and Killing Arrays were dispelled.
Qiu Ze spread out his Divine Sense and paid close attention to the situation. Once he sensed that all the Spirit Arrays in the mountain valley had been undone, he couldn’t help but chuckle, “Martial Niece Ye has made a wise choice. You are much smarter than your father.”
After Ye Jing Han dispelled the Arrays, her entire body felt weak as if she had completely lost her strength. She could only let out a low shout, “Go!”
As soon as her words came out, Hua Qing Si and the others exchanged glances and immediately tried to flee the area.
But before they could make any moves, the array base platform buzzed and a clear fluctuation of Space Principles spread out at once. Following that, a dazzling light was emitted from the platform.
“What?” Shi Cang Ying, who was already rushing towards Ye Jing Han and the others stopped in place and stared at the platform in a daze, seemingly not expecting the platform to operate at such a moment. What’s more, it seemed like someone had teleported over.
A glint also flashed in Qiu Ze’s eyes and as he stared fixedly at it.
When he saw the array base platform earlier, he thought that it was broken. If not, why did Ye Jing Han and the others not escape? Instead, they holed themselves up in the mountain valley, but now, it seemed things were not as he imagined.
Someone had teleported over from somewhere. Didn’t that mean that the platform was fine? Who was the person who arrived? And where did the platform connect to?
Unlike the bewilderment of Shi Cang Ying and Qiu Ze, the ashen-faced Ye Hen’s eyes went wide and his body began to tremble uncontrollably when he saw the light.
The entrance to the Sealed World… was repaired!
The entrance to the Sealed World which had been closed off for ten thousand years had finally been repaired!
The generations of Thousand Leaves Sect’s Sect Masters had taken it as their mission to restore the entrance, but none of them had ever succeeded in doing so. But now he was able to witness the moment the Sealed World’s entrance was reopened with his own eyes.
In an instant, Ye Hen could not help but feel that he would not have regrets even in his death, and he could not help but laugh like a fool.
As long as the entrance to the Sealed World was repaired, the inheritance of the Thousand Leaves Sect would not be cut off. Then, there would be a chance for the Sect to shine again.
But when he remembered the situation he and the Thousand Leaves Sect were currently in, Ye Hen’s heart sank to the bottom again.
Naturally, he knew who it was that repaired the entrance; after all, Yang Kai was the only person who had gone in in the past few days. Who else could it be but him? While he couldn’t help but sigh in admiration at his daughter’s judgment, he also lamented that the Heavens did not allow Thousand Leaves Sect more opportunity to rise again.
If he had just a few more days, Ye Hen was sure he would be able to obtain the lost Secret Arts and Secret Techniques in the Sealed World, then he would be able to activate the Earth Grade puppets in the main peak’s square again.
With the help of those Earth Grade puppets, Thousand Leaves Sect would not have fallen into this situation. Even if they were not the opponents of Qiu Ze and the others, they would still be able to fight them to the death.
But the entrance just had to be repaired at this time.
Now not only was Thousand Leaves Sect done for, their inheritance which had been lost for ten thousand years would also fall into the hands of their enemies.
With just Yang Kai, Ye Hen did not believe he would be able to stop Qiu Ze.
Just as these thoughts were running through his mind, two figures gradually appeared at the platform. One of them was Yang Kai, but the other was a seven or eight-year-old girl that looked like a jade doll. This little girl had long fiery red hair that almost ran down to her ankles like a soft waterfall. She was wearing the clothes of a man which looked loose and out of place on her. It could be seen at a glance that the clothes belonged to Yang Kai, but such attire did not take away from her beauty in the slightest. Instead, it added a playful touch of cuteness to her, so that anyone who saw her would not be able to look away. Especially her little pink cheeks of hers that tempted one to pinch them.
When the two of them appeared, they clearly did not understand the situation unfolding before them. It wasn’t until he could smell the faint scent of blood that Yang Kai’s face sank and he released his Divine Sense.
In an instant, his face turned ugly.
He could see that Chi Yue and the others were all wounded, hiding behind the array base platform as they watched Ye Hen and Du Xian that were being kept in place by the others, their auras weak and unstable. He could see a nervous look on Shi Cang Ying’s face, as well as Luo Jin who was glaring at him with flames of hatred flickering in his eyes.
“Young Master Yang!” As soon as Hua Qing Si saw Yang Kai, she knew their saviour had come. She could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief and smiled bitterly, “If you showed up any later, we would’ve been done for!”
“I’m sorry, Young Master Yang…” Ye Jing Han looked at Yang Kai nervously, “It was our Thousand Leaves Sect that got you all involved in this.”
After a pause, she hurriedly said, “You should take them and run away from here quickly!”
Even though she had seen Yang Kai’s abilities and knew that he was strong, there was an Emperor Realm Master here. She did not think Yang Kai’s strength could compare to a Master at that level.
Only after hearing her words did Yang Kai look away from Qiu Ze, smiling, “En, this is a tricky situation.”
Even though he still didn’t quite understand how all this came about, he could clearly tell friend from foe in this situation.
“Was that guy the one who hurt you?” Yang Kai glanced at Qiu Ze as he asked.
Hua Qing Si was already at the peak of the Dao Source Realm, so there was really no other person here who could hurt her except for him.
“Yes!” Hua Qing Si gently nodded, “He seems to be the Palace Master of Sky Illumination Palace and has just ascended to the Emperor Realm not too long ago. His cultivation is not stable yet. If that wasn’t the case, you would not be able to see your Sister Hua anymore.”
“Good. Anyone who dares touch any of my people must die,” Yang Kai sneered.
As soon as these words came out, all of the outsiders stared at him as if he was a fool.