The blood drained from the faces of the cultivators who attacked Yang Kai. All of them were not weak; otherwise, they would never be able to go this deep into the Dragon Bone Wilderness, but they were one-sidedly defeated even after they attacked first.
[Where did this Master come from?!]
All of them stared at the wooden boat with wide eyes and horror.
“You are… Yang Kai!?”
After having a good look, it was a short and chubby man who recognized Yang Kai and immediately yelled in surprise.
As if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight, the others stared at Yang Kai in astonishment.
“Hm?” Yang Kai was stunned. Retracting his gaze from the anomaly in that strange space, he glanced down frowning, “Do I know you?”
The cultivators below look extremely unfamiliar to him. He was sure that he had never met them, so how did they know him? Although he was now an Emperor Realm Master, he was not so arrogant as to think his name and face had spread all throughout the Eastern Territory.
The pudgy cultivator knew that he had made a mistake and hurriedly shut his mouth, refusing to say another word, but when he met Yang Kai’s eyes, it was burning with hatred and anger, as if he had a great grudge against him.
“Senior Brother Yang, these people are the Legacy Disciples of Ju Tian Qing from Brahma Holy Land!” Lu Wen suddenly whispered behind Yang Kai.
Her main purpose in the Eastern Territory was to gather all kinds of information, so she was familiar with the origins of these people, and was quickly able to identify them with just a glance.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, and nodded, “Ju Tian Qing’s Legacy Disciples, good, very good!”
If his Legacy Disciples were here, it meant that Ju Tian Qing should also be nearby. According to the information disclosed by Jia Si, Ju Tian Qing was very likely to be with Zu Hong.
Excitement rose in Yang Kai’s heart as he would probably be able to find Gao Xue Ting after finding those two people.
A sudden realization struck him in the next moment, causing Yang Kai to grin and ask, “Did Yin Le Sheng tell you about me?”
Although Yin Le Sheng suffered a huge loss in the Shattered Star Sea at Yang Kai’s hands, he did not die. He made a deal and signed the Soul Contract with Yang Kai at the cost of revealing information about Xiao Xiao in exchange for Yang Kai bringing him out of the Void Crack.
With the Soul Contract, Yang Kai could not kill Yin Le Sheng even if he had the intention to, and could only watch him leave.
Yang Kai had only met a few Eastern Territory Masters in the Shattered Star Sea.
Yao Si, Chi Gui, and the others were not bored enough to spread his identity around, so only Yin Le Sheng would do such a thing.
He probably guessed that Yang Kai would come to Eastern Territory to look for Xiao Xiao, and informed the people of Brahma Holy Land in advance, which explained why he was recognized by these cultivators.
[That bastard is truly despicable, trying to murder me with a borrowed knife!]
Yin Le Sheng would have no idea that Yang Kai had already broken through to the Emperor Realm.
The pudgy cultivator did not deny Yang Kai’s statement, simply gritting his teeth and snorting, “Good, it was Senior Brother Yin from Netherworld Sect who told me about you.”
“What else did he say?” Yang Kai asked with a snicker.
The pudgy cultivator bellowed in a low voice, “He said that Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian, the two Holy Sons, died tragically at your hand!”
Yang Kai nodded, “En, it seems that you people from Brahma Holy Land have been searching for my whereabouts.”
The pudgy cultivator snorted, “The two Holy Sons were my Brahma Holy Land’s hope for the future, and they were killed by you! Do you think the Holy Land would let this slide? If you are smart, follow us back to the Holy Land to meet with our Elders and Holy Master, and maybe your punishment will be lighter, refuse, and Brahma Holy Land will chase you to the ends of the world, no matter where you hide, you will not be able to escape death.”
Yang Kai was indifferent, “You don’t have the skills to talk about my death, but it is up to this Master if you are going to die here.”
The faces of the pudgy cultivator and his companions changed drastically, immediately staring at Yang Kai vigilantly.
Yang Kai’s gaze swept across them before turning back to a certain point in the sky behind them and asking bluntly, “Is Ju Tian Qing in there?”
The pudgy cultivator was shocked and stuttered, “What are you talking about…”
There was a look of panic on his face, obviously trying hard to hide something.
With a cold snort, Yang Kai took a step forward and reappeared directly above their heads, both of his hands rapidly forming a set of hand seals while he manipulated the Space Principles around him.
The pudgy cultivator and the others turned pale all of a sudden, as if a mountain was pressing on top of their heads, each of them finding themselves out of breath and their blood flowing backwards, completely unable to resist Yang Kai.
“Emperor Realm!”
Only now did these people realize Yang Kai was already an Emperor Realm Master. The pudgy cultivator shuddered when he thought about how he had shamelessly boasted in front of an Emperor, and a chill spread from his head to his toes.
[No wonder this Yang Kai could so easily resolve our joint attack just now. It turns out that this bastard has already broken through to the Emperor Realm! The gap in strength is huge, we’re not his opponent!]
[But why… Why is a newly promoted Emperor Realm Master this powerful?] The pudgy cultivator did not even feel such a powerful aura from his Honoured Master, Ju Tian Qing.
Was this boy stronger than his Honoured Master? But how was that possible? His Honoured Master had been an Emperor Realm Master for centuries and had a completely consolidated foundation! How could a cultivator who just broke through be comparable to him?
Just what was happening?
Just as the pudgy cultivator was lost in confusion, a wave of ripples suddenly appeared somewhere in the sky, caused by Yang Kai’s manipulation of the local Space Principles.
As the ripples spread, a dark corridor suddenly appeared. The pitch-black corridor was seemingly endless, and in front of the entrance of the corridor was a very primitive animal skin, exuding a peculiar power. It seemed that the existence of this animal skin was the key to opening this Void Corridor.
“That’s…” Lu Wen’s beautiful eyes lit up as she pointed at the animal skin, “That’s the animal skin I found!”
Yang Kai raised his brow as he confirmed that he was at the right place.
It was just that he did not expect a Small Sealed World to be hidden here, and the way to open it was with this animal skin.
“No, this animal skin is bigger than the one I found, about twice the size…” Lu Wen suddenly frowned.
Yang Kai replied lightly, “Because the one you found was only one half, and the other half is here. It’s now obvious why Elder Gao needed someone to solve this problem, because she realized that the animal skin was incomplete. She probably wanted to find the owner of the other half.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as he turned to stare at the pudgy cultivator below, “Answer me, did the other half of this animal skin belong to your Master?”
It was a simple question, but it was laced with Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy.
Yang Kai had benefited a lot from the Soul battle between the two Great Emperors in his Knowledge Sea, and was now far more proficient in the usage of his Soul. Supplemented with his already powerful Spiritual Energy, forcing information out from a Dao Source Realm cultivator was as simple as breathing.
Sure enough, even though a hint of resistance flitted across his face, the pudgy cultivator was unable to resist the coercion from Yang Kai’s Soul and soon replied mechanically, “Yes.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Was there a woman who came to your Master for help more than a month ago?”
“Yes!”
“What is your Master planning?”
“Honoured Master went to Earth City’s City Lord, Zu Hong, whom he had a good relationship with, to join forces and defeat that woman to take all the secrets stored in here.”
Yang Kai was furious upon hearing this and a murderous aura so cold that it seemed a winter blizzard had descended surged out of him. Snorting heavily, he shouted, “What is the difference between working with that woman and working with Zu Hong? Why not just split the secrets of this place equally? Why did Ju Tian Qing need to make such a fuss, at the cost of offending another Master of the same level?”
The pudgy cultivator answered honestly, “Honoured Master said… that woman still retained her Primordial Yin, and she was very strong, so if he could capture her and refine her Primordial Yin, he could break through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm. It is not easy to find a woman with a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, especially one with her Primordial Yin intact. Compared with the secrets here, Honoured Master was more interested in her.”
“How dare he!” Yang Kai roared loudly, his face looking extremely terrifying.
The pudgy cultivator spewed out a mouthful of blood when he was released from the Soul pressure and fell into a state of total shock upon realizing that he seemed to have revealed some incredible information.
The other cultivators looked aggrieved as well, but due to their inferior strength, they did not even dare to say a word.
“Sir, it should not be too late, you should go in now,” Zhang Ruo Xi urged worriedly. Malevolent aura churned inside her as she glared at Ju Tian Qing’s disciples with her beautiful eyes, and her tone became cold as she assured him, “Leave them to me.”
Yang Kai nodded and seethed, “Kill them all.”
Zhang Ruo Xi shouted in a low voice, “Yes!”
Including the pudgy cultivator, there were five cultivators here, but only two of them were Third-Order Dao Source Realms. The pudgy cultivator, whose Soul had been heavily injured by Yang Kai just now, was one of those two and, as a result, he would probably not be able to use even half of his strength. Among the other three, two of them were Second-Order Dao Source Realms while the last was just First-Order.
Based on Zhang Ruo Xi’s previous performance in Purple Mountain City’s arena, it would take some effort for her to defeat them, but it should not be a problem.
What’s more, Zhang Ruo Xi was wearing a defensive Emperor Artifact, the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe, so Yang Kai had no worries about her safety.
This little girl still had a lot of potential for growth, and a life and death battle was the best whetstone for the current her.
Therefore, there was no need for Yang Kai to bother with others weaker than him as he could leave them to Zhang Ruo Xi to deal with, saving him time and allowing her to grow.
After giving orders, Yang Kai stepped out and came directly to the front of the surging Void Corridor. He stretched out his hand to press the animal skin lightly, and with the surge of Space Principles, his hand vanished, followed by the rest of his body into the darkness.
This Void Corridor was currently concealed and sealed, so others may not have been able to enter it, but thanks to Yang Kai’s proficiency in the Dao of Space, entering was as simple as pushing a door for him.
The misty Small World was filled with a rich and dense World Energy that seemed to be milky in colour. At a glance, the whole space seemed to be filled with fluffy cotton.
The entire Small World was only about a dozen kilometres wide and seemed more man-made than natural.
It was most likely crafted by an ancient and powerful Master.
Various rich medicinal fragrances permeated the air.
The ground with a radius of more than a dozen kilometres was split into dozens of square plots of land. Most of these plots were empty, but had fertile soil. It seemed that someone had just recently collected all the herbs here as there were still traces of it being dug up.
This was an unbelievable discovery. Never would anyone have guessed that there would be an ancient medicine garden in this Small Sealed World!
Yang Kai could only imagine the numerous exotic plants planted on these fertile plots, and how many miraculous and precious spirit medicines were accumulated over the years.
Only two squares of the medicine garden were still well preserved, covering an area of two to three square kilometres. In these two squares, there were many kinds of exotic plants well over the age of ten thousand years, growing vigorously. The rich medicine fragrances that filled the air actually came from these two plots.
These two plots were covered with a faint golden light curtain, acting as a kind of protective barrier.
At this moment, Gao Xue Ting was sitting cross-legged at a certain spot in the medicine garden, recovering from her wounds with her eyes closed. Her aura was weak, her face as pale as snow, and her hairpins were dislodged in multiple places, causing her hair to be dishevelled. The Emperor Artifact Radiant Sun Mirror was hovering above her, shrouding her with a soft, gentle light.
There were blood patches on her white snowy dress, a particularly large one still oozing out from a wound on her abdomen.
She seemed to have undergone a huge fight as her Emperor Qi was almost exhausted and her tender body could not help shivering even while she was healing herself.
Although there were countless precious spirit grasses and elixirs here, they could not restore her combat strength in a short time.
Outside the golden light curtain, a man was repeatedly striking the barrier with his glowing blade, the Burning Ocean of Stars Blade. Every blow resulted in an Earth-shaking explosion, causing the light curtain to vibrate unstably, as if it could be broken at any time.
Yang Kai did not know who had created this light curtain that, while seemingly fragile and weak, was in fact exceptionally strong. It still remained intact after being attacked for such a long time by the man with the glowing blade.
The man was shouting like a madman, furious at the light barrier that separated him from Gao Xue Ting.
Suddenly, Gao Xue Ting opened her eyes and she glared coldly at the man who was attacking the barrier, remarking lightly, “Ju Tian Qing, this Queen has known you for hundreds of years, but I didn’t know your true colours until now. You really surprised me.”
Ju Tian Qi fumed, “Slut! This King is going to make plenty of love to you after breaking this barrier!”
Disgust and anger flashed across Gao Xue Ting’s eyes as she bellowed, “Give it up! This Queen will never let you touch a strand of her hair even if she needs to self-destruct.”
Ju Tian Qing snorted coldly, “That will depend on whether you have the opportunity. You are seriously injured now, and it’s dreadfully difficult for you to even move a muscle. Once this barrier is broken, the rest is not up to you to decide.”
Gao Xue Ting retorted, “This Queen is an Azure Sun Temple Elder. If I die here today, you will be chased to death by Azure Sun Temple in the future!”
Ju Tian Qing growled as he sneered, “Azure Sun Temple is truly strong, and this King has great respect for the strength of your Temple Master Wen Zi Shan, but so what? Your Azure Sun Temple can act domineering in the Southern Territory, but this is the Eastern Territory! Even if Temple Master Wen is strong, he can’t make a scene in the Eastern Territory. Haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘even the mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent’? Since this King has plotted this out, he is naturally not afraid of retaliation from your Temple!”
After hearing this, Gao Xue Ting could not help revealing a look of despair. Fortunately, she managed to activate the barrier left behind in the medicine garden by some Ancient Master. Given her current dire condition, she could only hide in the medicine garden; however, she had no idea how long this barrier could last. Once Ju Tian Qing succeeded in breaking through, she would not be able to fight back.
Her plan was that once the barrier was destroyed, she would immediately self-destruct and end her life without letting this vile man contaminate her purity.
A man who had a playful smile on his face and a lazy tone of voice, whose attitude always seemed to anger others, unrestrainedly surfaced in of her beautiful eyes and the fierce gaze of Gao Xue Ting was slowly replaced by a sense of gentleness.
[What does it matter that I was raised by you? I’m not a child! I’ve not been one since I turned eighteen years old!]
[It upsets me that even after I reached the Emperor Realm, I’m still a little girl in your eyes. You have never treated me as a woman.]
[If there is an afterlife, I don’t want to be raised by you again! I want to grow up healthy and stand in front of you again as a woman!]
“Brother Zu, are you done resting? If you are, how about you give me a hand?” Ju Tian Qing was a little anxious seeing that his attacks were in vain after such a long time, so he turned around and stared at another man who was sitting cross-legged not far away, adjusting his breathing, recovering from his injuries.
This man was the City Lord of Earth City, Zu Hong.
The cultivations of these three people were the same, First-Order Emperor Realm. If they really wanted to fight, their strengths would be on par with each other.
The reason Gao Xue Ting suffered such a serious injury was not that she was inferior to Ju Tian Qing, but because she was outnumbered.
Battles between cultivators in the same Realm were always extremely dangerous, yet Gao Xue Ting displayed her great strength by still being able to seriously wound one of them in a one-against-two situation.
Zu Hong’s face was pale, and his aura was fluctuating unstably. An enormous seal stamp engraved with countless beasts was placed beside him. As he breathed, the flesh on his body squirmed, and his wounds were gradually recovering. It seemed he cultivated a very mysterious healing art.
Hearing Ju Tian Qing’s calling, Zu Hong opened his eyes with a frown, “Brother Ju, you didn’t tell me that I would have to deal with an Azure Sun Temple Elder before coming here.”
Ju Tian Qing smiled, “What’s wrong? Are you scared, Brother Zu? It’s true that Azure Sun Temple does have some fame, comparable to my Brahma Holy Land, but… since it is a Sect of the Southern Territory, what is Brother Zu afraid of?”
Zu Hong replied, “Of course Brother Ju is not afraid. Brahma Holy Land has a great number of powerful Masters, but Azure Sun Temple is strong as well. After this, Brother Ju just needs to hide in Brahma Holy Land and Azure Sun Temple can do nothing about you even if they learn of your involvement; however, this Zu is unlike you. I’m just a mere City Lord. If Temple Master Wen Zi Shan really comes to the Eastern Territory, how is this Zu supposed to fight against him? I would just be slaughtered.”
The corner of Ju Tian Qing’s mouth twitched, “Brother Zu, don’t be bothered by unnecessary worries. No one will know about what we did here today. Even if Azure Sun Temple received some news about this, they don’t have enough evidence to prove us guilty. Brother Zu, there is nothing to be afraid of.”
Zu Hong shook his head, “It’s always good to be careful. Brother Ju has a huge backing, allowing you to enjoy a cool shade under a big tree. You don’t understand the difficulties of us Sectless people.”
Ju Tian Qing sneered, “We have already come this far, don’t tell me Brother Zu wants to back out now?”
After a pause, Zu Hong responded, “Of course not; after all, I have already joined hands with you to hurt Elder Gao. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get out of this deal even if I wish to quit.”
“Since you already understand, what are you still hesitating for?” Ju Tian Qing pressed on.
Zu Hong replied, “Previously, Brother Ju told me there were huge opportunities here, and offered to split those benefits evenly with me. This Zu accepted without any hesitations, but right now, it doesn’t seem that you are really going to split the benefits evenly with me!”
Ju Tian Qing was stunned and asked, “Why do you think so? This place is an ancient medicine garden full of countless rare and exotic spirit medicines. After we settle matters with her, we will evenly split these spirit medicines. Don’t you trust the credibility of this Ju?”
Zu Hong answered as he grinned, “Spirit medicines can be split evenly, but how about her Primordial Yin? Brother Ju, how are you going to share it with me?”
After hearing this, Ju Tian Qing could not help putting on a puzzled look, questioning, “How can it possibly be shared?”
Primordial Yin was not an object and definitely could not be shared.
Zu Hong suddenly revealed, “Brother Ju has been stuck at the peak of the First-Order Emperor Realm for many years, and this Zu heard that you have cultivated a Dual Cultivation Technique in recent years. In order to promote your cultivation, you have collected Primordial Yin from many women and even two of your Legacy Disciples. If you really manage to capture Elder Gao today, isn’t Brother Ju going to break through his shackles, and break through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm?”
Ju Tian Qing was somewhat embarrassed after being exposed by Zu Hong, especially when Zu Hong mentioned the things that he had done to his two Legacy Disciples…
This matter should have been a well-guarded secret, so he had no idea how Zu Hong knew about it.
“I think I understand what Brother Zu means,” Ju Tian Qin nodded his head in acknowledgement, snorting lightly with some displeasure. “Brother Zu, just state your terms. We have been friends for a long time, you don’t have to beat around the bush.”
Zu Hong raised his eyebrows and grinned, “Calm down, Brother Ju. This Zu is just speaking the truth. This Zu would do his best to help Brother Ju break through his shackles. It is extremely hard to break through when in the Emperor Realm, and if Brother Ju gets an opportunity to reach the Second-Order Emperor Realm, it would really be a blessing from the Heavens, incomparable to the benefits that these herbs can bring.”
“Get to the point!” Ju Tian Qing was starting to be impatient.
Zu Hong continued with an embarrassed look, “About the spirit medicines here, this Zu wants to split the share in thirty-seventy; you take thirty percent, and I get seventy percent!”
Ju Tian Qing’s face darkened, “Brother Zu, aren’t you being too greedy? Every spirit medicine here has an age of over ten thousand years and many of them are Emperor Grade! I don’t know which Ancient Master owned this place, but there are many spirit medicines here that have long gone extinct. They are unobtainable treasures in the outside world, yet now you are telling me to give a seventy-percent share of them to you? How about you take the thirty-percent including this Elder Gao, while I get seventy-percent?”
Zu Hong smiled, “Why would I want Elder Gao? Although it’s good to have a beautiful lady, she has thorns all over her body; this Zu can’t afford to enjoy her. Besides, everyone wants to gain the most in every deal. Am I not trying to negotiate with Brother Ju now?”
“Forty-sixty, no more than that.” Ju Tian Qing offered with a cold face, “Although this Ju can most likely break through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm after this, there are so many spirit grasses and elixirs here and it’s just a matter of time before Brother Zu breaks through too. You’ll not lose out in this arrangement!”
After pondering for a while, Zu Hong nodded as a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, “Good, we will do as Brother Ju proposed.”
Zu Hong knew that Ju Tian Qing definitely had the advantage in the forty-sixty terms, but Ju Tian Qing was an Elder of Brahma Holy Land after all. Once Ju Tian Qing had broken through, he would grow a lot more powerful. Doing him a favour now meant Zu Hong would be on better terms with him in the future.
Gao Xue Ting could not help trembling in anger as she heard these two bargaining over her like some marketplace commodity; however, she could do nothing even if she was enraged as she did not even have the power to protect herself.
“Forty-sixty? I’m afraid that’s not acceptable.”
A sudden voice interrupted both Zu Hong and Ju Tian Qing, causing them to jump as they turned to look at the source of the sound in horror. Zu Hong, who was in the process of recovering, stood up abruptly and the radiance of the Emperor Artifact Ten Thousand Beast Seal shone lightly beside him, releasing a vicious aura.
This was a Small Sealed World hidden in The Void. If the restriction was not opened by the two halves of the animal skin, no one could enter. They could come in only because the two pieces of animal skin had opened a Void Corridor for them to pass through.
Nevertheless, another visitor had suddenly appeared.
Even Zu Hong and Ju Tian Qing, who were Emperor Realm Masters, could not help feeling a chill running down their spines.
[Is it a ghost?] The two of them murmured in their hearts.
After hearing this voice though, Gao Xue Ting, who had been in despair, shook as her dull eyes beamed with hope again, focusing in the direction of the voice.
A young man appeared about a few dozen meters away from the trio, smiling lightly. No one realized his presence before he spoke, as if he really was a ghost.
“Who are you!?” Zu Hong shouted.
Ju Tian Qing furrowed his brow as he released his Divine Sense to scan Yang Kai, soon figuring out that he was just a First-Order Emperor Realm Master like them, allowing him to slightly relax.
No matter how this person came in, or what his purpose was, as long as his cultivation was the same or below him, Ju Tian Qing was not afraid.
“City Lord Zu, Elder Ju,” Yang Kai cupped his fist and smiled at them, like he knew them for a long time, “Long time no see.”
Zu Hong was flabbergasted, examining Yang Kai seriously once again to confirm he did not know him, soon asking again, “Who are you?”
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “My trivial name is not worth mentioning.”
Zu Hong was steaming in rage, but he knew that there was no use asking again since this person did not want to reveal his name. Calming down, his expression turned serious as he asked, “How did you get in?”
Previously, when Ju Tian Qing and Gao Xue Ting worked together to enter, Ju Tian Qing had quietly left a secret way in for Zu Hong, and that was the reason why he could enter this place; however, he did not understand how Yang Kai could get in here.
[Did he use the secret entrance too?]
[It can’t be. Only Ju Tian Qing and I know how to enter using that method. Others can’t know of it. There are supposed to be a few Legacy Disciples of Ju Tian Qing guarding outside.]
[If this guy can appear here in silence, perhaps the people outside are already dead.]
Considering all this, Zu Hong panicked and he secretly glanced at Ju Tian Qing, only to find that his expression was indifferent, as if he did not care about the safety of his disciples at all.
“Looks like this friend has outstanding ability to be able to find us here. This King is impressed!” Ju Tian Qing stared at Yang Kai coldly. Even though his words said so, his face did not show the slightest bit of admiration. “Friend remarked that there is something wrong with the forty-sixty arrangement, may I know if you have any other brilliant ideas?” He came straight to the point.
Yang Kai replied lazily, “I wouldn’t call it a brilliant idea, it’s just a small proposal from me.”
“I would like to hear about it,” Ju Tian Qing’s face darkened.
“I’ll take everything here, and you two scram back to wherever you come from. What do you think?” Yang Kai beamed at them.
“Impudence!” Zu Hong was maddened. He initially thought that this young man probably just wanted a share of the harvest. If it was just that, Zu Hong would grant his wish for now as it was always not too late to get revenge later. However, he did not expect that this young man would be so greedy, intending to take everything for himself.
Then what was the purpose of him following Ju Tian Qing all the way here, and even offending an Azure Sun Temple Elder? He could never accept this proposal. Everyone was a First-Order Emperor, so he was not afraid of fighting against Yang Kai. Moreover, he had Ju Tian Qing with him, while Yang Kai was alone.
Ju Tian Qing was infuriated too and snorted coldly, “Friend, you sure have a big appetite. You should mind your table manners.”
Yang Kai’s face darkened and a cold brilliance shone in his eyes as he spoke, “Old dog, mind your words. If you offend this Young Master, don’t blame me for disrespecting you elders.”
“Very good!” Ju Tian Qing laughed in anger, “This King really wants to see how capable you are for having the guts to boast so shamelessly.”
“Stop putting up a front,” Yang Kai burst into laughter, and looked at him contemptuously, “Elder Ju, don’t tell me you don’t know this Young Master. Even your disciples were able to recognize this Young Master at a glance, while you, as an Elder of Brahma Holy Land, are still trying to pretend this is the first time you’ve seen my face? Tsk tsk, what are you plotting?”
“Huh? Brother Ju, do you know this little brat?” Zu Hong looked at Ju Tian Qing in surprise.
Ju Tian Qing’s face turned ugly after being exposed by Yang Kai, and he replied in a deep voice, “I do. This little brat is named Yang Kai, and he is the murderer of Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian in the Shattered Star Sea. He is an enemy of my Brahma Holy Land. It is impossible for us to coexist beneath the same sky!”
“What? Both Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian Holy Sons died at his hand?” Zu Hong was appalled.
Besides the news about the closing of the Shattered Star Sea for no reason, Zu Hong was also informed that Brahma Holy Land had suffered a huge loss this time. The death of two Holy Sons alone was enough to damage the foundation of Brahma Holy Land as they were both talented rising stars who could only be found once in a hundred years. Both of these Holy Songs were highly valued by the Elders of Brahman Holy Land and were considered its future pillars.
No one could have guessed their trip to the Shattered Star Sea would be their last.
Only at this moment did Zhu Hong learn that the two Holy Sons died at Yang Kai’s hands.
But soon, realization dawned on Zu Hong, and he questioned with a puzzled look, “Since this little brat just came out of the Shattered Star Sea, doesn’t that mean that he has just broken through to the Emperor Realm?”
“Yes, that should be the case,” Ju Tian Qing nodded lightly.
Zu Hong snorted as he turned a disdainful look towards Yang Kai, “Little brat, your courage is admirable. How dare you bark in front of this City Lord and Elder Ju when you only just reached the Emperor Realm? I pity… your limited intelligence.”
One should be focused on consolidating their foundation after breaking through to a new Great Realm, as, if it was unstable, there was a risk of one’s cultivation regressing. Zu Hong wondered why Yang Kai was still running around at this time instead of solidifying his new Emperor Realm cultivation in retreat and questioned how his Sect Elders had been teaching him.
In an instant, Yang Kai turned into an arrogant and ignorant kid in Zu Hong’s eyes, and he replaced his bewildered face with one of contempt.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to his words and looked at Elder Ju as he continued, “Elder Ju, I want to clarify something with you.”
“What?” Ju Tian Qing’s face was cold.
Yang Kai continued with a smile, “I don’t mind if you say that Zhang Hao died in my hands, because I really killed him, but Zhang Xian’s death is none of my business. Besides… before Zhang Xian died, he was the one who begged me to kill Zhang Hao to avenge him. Ahhh seriously, I don’t know what kind of conflict there was between your Sect’s two Holy Sons that they would wish earnestly for each other’s deaths even as they died. You know, I’m a soft-hearted person, so I felt obliged to fulfil the last wishes of those whom I meet, so I killed Zhang Hao for Zhang Xian in order to allow him to die in peace.”
“Utter nonsense!” Ju Tian Qing was furious, “Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian were very close to each other. Although they are not direct brothers, their bonds were even stronger than that. Zhang Xian would never let you kill Zhang Hao!”
Yang Kai snorted coldly, “It’s up to you to believe it or not.”
Ju Tian Qing took a deep breath to calm down his anger before pressing on in a cold voice, “Since you have entered here, this King’s useless disciples outside…”
“I don’t know. Probably dead.” Yang Kai grinned.
He was confident in Zhang Ruo Xi’s strength. Even if she could not win against them, she would still not be hurt with the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe that she possessed, and if the terrifying power hidden in her bloodline was forced out, the few disciples of Ju Tian Qing would be in trouble.
In short, the disciples of Ju Tian Qing were heading for a disaster.
“Good! The two Holy Sons died at your hands, and this King’s disciples died at your hands too. Now that you have brought yourself here, then don’t you think about leaving alive!”
Ju Tian Qing was infuriated and his whole body exuded a rich murderous intent. As soon as he pushed his Emperor Qi, a dense Emperor Intent burst out like an explosion, causing the World Principles in this Small Sealed World to shake. He slightly shook the blade in his hand and slashed towards Yang Kai.
Witnessing such a hot exchange of words between Yang Kai and Ju Tian Qing, Zu Hong knew that it was inevitable to have a battle, but with both him and Ju Tian Qing cooperating, he did not put Yang Kai in his eyes at all.
Furthermore, why should he be afraid of a young man who has just broken through to the Emperor Realm?
During this recent period, many rising stars had gained opportunities in the Shattered Star Sea and broken through their shackles to become Emperor Realm Masters.
But how could these newly promoted Emperors compare with veteran Masters like him? Maybe they would stand a chance if they cultivated for another thirty to fifty years.
Pushing his Emperor Qi madly, roars came out of Zu Hong’s Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, causing the Small Sealed World to shake. Then, the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal released several beams of light, which turned into different Monster Beasts in mid-air.
All those Monster Beasts had a dense aura, and they were at least in the early stage of the Eleventh-Order.
With Zu Hong’s overflowing Emperor Qi, these Monster Beasts charged out endlessly from the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and stampeded towards Yang Kai.
The Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was a special artifact that could seal the Souls of fallen Monster Beasts and release them to fight against the enemy. The sealed Monster Beast Souls retained most of their abilities from their past lives, and the more Souls sealed into the Ten Thousand Beast Seal, the more powerful it became.
Ever since Zu Hong broke through to the Emperor Realm, he had been hunting Monster Beasts all over the Eastern Territory. There were eight hundred to a thousand Monster Beast Souls sealed inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal now, most of which were Eleventh-Order, while some were even Twelfth-Order.
But even this was far from the limits of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal as, like its name implied, it could seal ten thousand Monster Beast Souls.
If he really put forth all his might, ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Masters were no match for him.
And it was exactly with the help of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal that Zu Hong could control Earth City and become its City Lord.
However, he was currently injured, and although he had been recuperating and recovering for some time now, he had not been restored to his peak, so he could not unleash the full power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and was only able to summon some Eleventh-Order Monster Beast Souls.
But this was enough. As long as Yang Kai’s actions could be restrained for a moment, that would be enough to create an opportunity for Ju Tian Qing to show him the consequences of offending the veteran Masters.
Previously he also used the same tactic when he joined hands with Ju Tian Qing to deal with Gao Xue Ting, so doing the same thing again would be a breeze.
*Hong hong hong…*
The endless army of Monster Beasts bared their fangs and roared at Yang Kai. There were all kinds of Monster Beasts; some were flying in the sky, while some were running on the ground, and all of them were gathered into a formidable army.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit seeing how remarkable an artifact the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was.
Although this Monster Beast army was fierce, Yang Kai did not feel the slightest bit of fear, and with a wave of his hand, the Myriads Sword appeared. Swinging the sword, a beam of light slashed towards the army of Monster Beasts.
“Those are the Souls of Monster Beasts, normal attacks are ineffective as they don’t have physical bodies… Watch out for an ambush!” Gao Xue Ting’s voice reached Yang Kai’s ears.
Even though it was inconvenient for her to move as she was hiding behind the barrier to heal, it did not prevent her from watching from the perspective of a spectator.
She was surprised yet anxious when Yang Kai appeared.
She was surprised because she did not expect to meet Yang Kai here, but on the other hand, she was anxious for Yang Kai’s safety in this damned place.
No matter how gifted he was, he was still young after all. He couldn’t win against Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong. Even she had suffered a great loss at their hands so she naturally knew how powerful they were. If she was no match to them, how could the newly promoted Yang Kai be?
Perhaps, Yang Kai’s achievements would surpass them in the future, but definitely not now.
Her first thought was to ask Yang Kai to run.
She knew that Yang Kai probably came here for her. She had no idea how he located her, but this was the only logical explanation as there was no such convenient coincidence in this world.
However, since he was already here, he could not leave even if he wanted to.
Gao Xue Ting was extremely shocked when she realized that Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master.
She still remembered her first encounter with Yang Kai. He was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, accompanying Qin Zhao Yang to Azure Sun Temple to request for a quota to enter the Four Seasons Realm with the Bustling World Token. But in just a few years, he had already reached the Emperor Realm, his cultivation comparable to her own.
This kind of cultivation speed was unprecedented.
Her aptitude was considered phenomenal too, otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to spy on the mysteries of the Emperor Realm. But how long did it take for her cultivation to reach the Emperor Realm from the First-Order Dao Source Realm back then? Fifty years? A hundred years?
She did not remember anymore.
Even their Temple Master, Wen Zi Shan, could not be compared to Yang Kai in terms of cultivation speed. As for those geniuses in the Sect, comparing them to him was like comparing a firefly with the bright moon.
What opportunities did he get in Shattered Star Sea that made him grow up to such an extent!?
While Gao Xue Ting was shouting, Ju Tian Qing had taken advantage of Yang Kai’s attention being attracted to the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal. He flew over Yang Kai and slashed down with his blade. The power of his Burning Ocean of Stars Blade spread out in all directions, creating an image of stars all over the sky crashing downwards, in an instant enveloping Yang Kai.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai seemed to be trapped in an illusion, being placed in the vast Star Sea, greatly aware of how small and insignificant he was.
Yang Kai’s actions were slightly delayed at this moment, and when he finally regained his senses, the ferocious blade of light was already about to reach his chest.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of panic and horror flashing across his bright eyes as he was hit directly by the sword wave.
Next, the Monster Beast army rushed forward and stampeded over the place where Yang Kai was located. It could be seen that Yang Kai was torn to pieces by the raging momentum.
“No!” Gao Xue Ting exclaimed, her pretty face draining of all colour.
Although she knew that Yang Kai couldn’t be victorious against Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong with his current strength, she did not expect that he would just die like this. Her tender body trembled, unable to accept this cruel reality. A strong sense of guilt and anger built up in her heart, and her enchanting eyes turned scarlet red instantly.
The purpose of Yang Kai coming here was absolutely for her, so how could Gao Xue Ting not feel guilty after watching him die here?
Judging from Yang Kai’s previous cultivation speed and Heaven-defying aptitude, if he was given more time, he would become the brightest star of the Star Boundary eventually. He would be able to rise and shine brightly, making his name echo throughout every corner of the world.
However, that bright future had just been destroyed.
A young man with an endless future had his journey ended before he even had the chance to truly feel the power of the Emperor Realm.
“Hmph, overconfident brat!” Ju Tian Qing sneered and sheathed his blade while standing in the void.
“Hmm? That little brat actually had more bark than bite. This City Lord was wondering how strong he could be, but it turned out that he was just an embroidered pillow.” Zu Hong cackled mockingly. If he had known that Yang Kai was this weak, he would not have bothered helping Ju Tian Qing as the latter could have easily won on his own. He now felt like he had wasted the strength that he had barely restored.
“Young people nowadays really do not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. They’re easily blinded by arrogance after having just some small achievements and most forget that there is always someone better. There is always a higher Heaven and a deeper Earth.”
“You’re right, Brother Ju, such an arrogant Junior needed to be taught a harsh lesson.” Zu Hong nodded in agreement.
“Both of you are indeed right! How about the two of you tell this Young Master exactly how high are the Heavens and how deep is the Earth then?” Yang Kai’s voice emerged once again, and this time, it came from behind Zu Hong.
“Brother Zu, watch out!” Ju Tian Qing hurriedly exclaimed, his eyes bulging so large that they almost popped out of their sockets.
There was Yang Kai, who was supposed to have been torn to pieces by their attacks, standing behind Zu Hong unscathed with a broadsword in his hand that was radiating waves of Emperor Intent, and releasing a dreadfully vicious aura. He was going to stab Zu Hong from behind, who was completely caught off guard.
Zu Hong jumped out of his skin. Despite his powerful Emperor Realm cultivation, he had not even noticed how Yang Kai appeared behind him. As if he could not believe this was happening, he turned to look at the place where Yang Kai formerly stood. There, he saw the ‘corpse’ of Yang Kai fading away, nothing but an afterimage.
[Damn it!] Zu Hong’s heart sank as he did not have the time to escape or turn around. Pushing his Emperor Qi madly, he roared as a bright layer of light filled his surroundings.
The light was particularly blinding, especially at his back, and it could be seen that he had pushed his protective Emperor Qi to his limit.
A violent impact hammered him in the next moment, and Zu Hong only felt that his internal organs were shaken hard, making him extremely uncomfortable. An unstoppable aura sliced through his protective Emperor Qi and struck directly at the back of his body.
With a cry, Zu Hong spat a mouthful of blood. Using the force of the impact, he immediately rushed forward and distanced himself away from Yang Kai.
“An Artifact Armour?” Yang Kai raised his brow and stared intently at the spot where he landed the blow on Zu Hong’s back, seeing a light cyan scale armour underneath his damaged robes.
It was a high-grade Artifact Armour, and with Zu Hong’s mighty cultivation, Yang Kai’s ambush failed to achieve its desired effect.
“How dare you backstab this City Lord!” Zu Hong turned around and bellowed at Yang Kai with an angry glare, his face pale.
If he was not wearing his Artifact Armour, he would have been seriously injured even if he did not die.
[What the hell is this brat!?] Fear grew in his heart after the incident as he did not understand how Yang Kai could have such strength when he had just recently broken through to the Emperor Realm. The Secret Technique Yang Kai had used to escape had caught both Ju Tian Qing and him off guard.
“Brother Zu, fall back. This King will teach this boy a lesson,” seeing that Zu Hong was injured again and his aura was unsteady, Ju Tian Qing advised him to stand aside instead of joining the fight with him. After a shout, his sword once again produced multiple blades of light that splashed towards Yang Kai like sea waves.
Zu Hong nodded heavily, but the anger in his heart was still erupting like a volcano, so while withdrawing he quietly surged the power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and controlled the Monster Beast Souls to charge towards Yang Kai again.
It was shameful for him to be ambushed by a newly promoted Emperor, and if he did not get revenge now, he would not have the face to call himself a man.
The combined force of the two Emperor Realm Masters was monstrous and powerful, as if they had maddened deities.
Gao Xue Ting, who just had a moment of relief, grew worried again.
Previously, Yang Kai’s reversal surprised her and she realized that she had underestimated Yang Kai just like Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong did, but still, now he was going to face two enemies in the same Realm alone; how could he possibly fight against them?
Gao Xue Ting gritted her teeth, flipped her hand, and took out a jade bottle. She uncapped the bottle and poured out a scarlet Spirit Pill filled with a bloody aura.
She hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand in an attempt to put the Spirit Pill into her mouth.
“Elder Gao, stop!”
Yang Kai hurriedly shouted to stop Gao Xue Ting.
Gao Xue Ting was stunned and she lifted her head and looked at Yang Kai in confusion.
“You’re already heavily injured. If you take that Mad Blood Pill now and forcefully stimulate your potential, I’m afraid it will damage your foundation beyond repair. Please don’t take it. What’s more, the quality of this Mad Blood Pill is extremely poor and there will definitely be harsh side-effects from taking it. I don’t know which Alchemist refined this for you but he is one hell of an irresponsible bastard.”
As she looked around, Gao Xue Ting saw Yang Kai flickering about as he engaged in a melee against the combined force of two Emperor Realm Masters, but even so, he still had enough leeway to pay attention to Gao Xue Ting and advise her in clear terms. Gao Xue Ting was utterly shocked by his capability when seeing this.
It was not difficult to refine a Mad Blood Pill as it was just a Dao Source Grade High-Rank Spirit Pill, but the ingredients for it were quite rare.
All the materials needed to refine this Spirit Pill were priceless Emperor Grade spirit medicines. Gao Xue Ting just happened to be very fortunate to have collected the appropriate materials, and then hired someone to refine one for safekeeping.
Once this Spirit Pill had been consumed, her innate potential would be fully stimulated and she would be able to exert the power of a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master even with just the cultivation of the First-Order Emperor Realm.
This was her trump card.
Even when she was cornered by Zu Hong and Ju Tian Qing, she resisted taking this pill, but now, she could not sit back and watch Yang Kai in danger.
She did not expect Yang Kai to stop her when she took out the Spirit Pill.
She smiled wryly. She knew that taking this Mad Blood Pill would cause great damage to herself that may lead to instability in her foundation, and even the decline of her current realm or the destruction of her meridians. There was even a possibility it would rupture her dantian, crippling her cultivation permanently.
But in this situation, she had no other hope except for the Mad Blood Pill.
“A brat like you should take care of yourself before taking time to take care of others’ affairs!” Ju Tian Qing growled, the Burning Ocean of Stars Blade in his hand yearning to cleave a sea of stars into Yang Kai, who was dodging and evading every attack without fighting back.
Although he was holding the advantage, for some reason, Ju Tian Qing had a very strange feeling that sent chills down his spine, as if something bad was about to happen.
“Elder Gao, this disciple is fine. You must not take that Mad Blood Pill!” Yang Kai’s erratic voice echoed in all directions.
Gao Xue Ting’s eyes brightened at Yang Kai’s confident words. She nodded lightly, “Good, I won’t take it, just be careful. Don’t overexert yourself and retreat to me immediately if all else fails.”
Yang Kai snorted loudly, “This disciple is not what he used to be. Two trivial First-Order Emperors are nothing to me.”
“Junior is simply too rampant with his words! This King will teach you how to show proper respect today!” Ju Tian Qing was furious, and his power rose to another level.
Zu Hong’s face was also green from rage, and without saying a word, he worked harder to activate the power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal. The Souls of Monster Beasts continuously shot out of the large seal, turned into phantom forms, and rushed towards Yang Kai.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s figure froze at a certain place and he stared towards Ju Tian Qing with a pair of icy eyes.
Ju Tian Qing could not help but shudder at his stare as for some reason, the thought of escaping growing in his heart. He forced himself to resist the increasing fear and spurred a frenzy of sword waves towards Yang Kai. Suddenly, thousands of light explosions occurred, filling the sky above them.
Yang Kai commented coldly, “This Young Master is afraid that you don’t have the qualification to teach him how to show proper respect.”
He flicked his fingers as soon as he finished speaking, long and narrow Moon Blades emerged leisurely. There were as many as several dozen of these Moon Blades, crisscrossing in mid-air, forming a net large enough to envelope the entire land as they shrank towards a certain point.
Li Wu Yi gave him a stone in which his understanding of the Dao of Space was ingrained. In that one month, Yang Kai absorbed all the mysteries of the Dao of Space contained inside that stone like a leech. Now, his attainment in the Dao of Space had improved by leaps and bounds.
*Chi chi chi…*
The dark Moon Blades charged forward, like a dark web that devoured everything in its path, annihilating the thousands of sword lights and even the Monster Beast Souls Zu Hong summoned were cut to pieces, reducing several dozen of them to points of light in an instant.
“What kind of ability is this!?” Ju Tian Qing was shocked, retreating continuously as he bellowed. He could clearly feel the deadly threat of the Moon Blade net, and knew that he would be severely injured if not dead if he was hit by them head-on. Instead of meeting the attack directly, he would rather run as far as he could.
In a rush, he raised his blade again to resist the attack.
But he was horrified to realize that no matter how many blades he produced, the black net could not be cut apart.
In the blink of an eye, the big black net was right in front of him.
Ju Tian Qing’s face turned pale, and the urge to panic and escape swelled up inside him.
At this moment, the space around him suddenly seemed to freeze, locking him firmly in place.
“Space Principles!” Ju Tian Qing exclaimed, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
He recalled some information disclosed by Yin Le Sheng from the Netherworld Sect only now. Yin Le Sheng had said that this little brat named Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space.
It was just that Ju Tian Qing did not take this warning seriously; after all, the Dao of Space was one of the most difficult Daos to cultivate. How could someone he had never heard of before be proficient in it? Countless people in the Star Boundary dreamt of cultivating the Dao of Space, but how many actually succeeded?
There was only one; Li Wu Yi from Spirit Beast Island.
As a trivial Junior, even if Yang Kai grasped the basics of the Dao of Space, it should not have been enough to be used against enemies in battle.
But at this moment, Ju Tian Qing realized that Yang Kai’s accomplishments in the Dao of Space were beyond his imagination. Even if it was not on par with Li Wu Yi, it was not far off.
[There’s no point in fighting!]
Everyone knew that cultivators who were proficient in the Dao of Space were the hardest to kill, because even if they were placed in a life-threatening situation, they could easily escape.
[No wonder he was able to enter this Small Sealed World. As an Emperor Realm Master who is proficient in the Dao of Space, entering a Small Sealed World like this that had just been opened would be as simple as breathing!]
As those distracting thoughts flashed across Ju Tian Qing’s mind, blood seemed to stop circulating around his body and his hands and feet grew as cold as ice. In this critical moment, he bit his tongue and spouted a mouthful of Blood Essence, causing his aura to surge.
At the crucial moment of life and death, he activated an extremely powerful Secret Technique.
This finally allowed him to move his body.
*Chi chi chi…*
A strange noise was heard, and together with Ju Tian Qing’s screams, blood suddenly shot out like a fountain.
Zu Hong looked around frantically and was stunned.
He saw that one of Ju Tian Qing’s arms was cut off right above his shoulder. The cut was neat and clean; and from the cross-section of the wound, Ju Tian Qing’s violently beating heart could be seen.
*Si…*
Zu Hong gasped, unable to believe his eyes.
What was going on? He clearly saw Yang Kai being forced into a corner by Ju Tian Qing, so how did Ju Tian Qing suddenly receive such damage?
He could not help feeling a little dizzy, which also caused the Monster Beast Souls that flew out of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal to fall into disarray, scurrying about like headless flies in agitation.
“Yang Kai, we will meet again and this King will remember you! One day, this King will rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces in vengeance for this lost arm!” Ju Tian Qing bellowed with a ferocious face and immediately turned around to fly towards the entrance.
He wanted to escape.
It was undeniably the wisest choice.
With one of his arms cut off, he suffered heavy losses from Yang Kai. It would be detrimental to him if he continued to fight with his strength reduced.
What’s more, Yang Kai was a cultivator who was proficient in the Dao of Space, so there was no way to kill him in the first place. It was only natural for Ju Tian Qing to escape first.
He would go back to the Holy Land and gather reinforcements first. As long as Yang Kai was still in the Eastern Territory, they would find him even if they had to turn the entire territory upside down, trap him, then shred his corpse!
Ju Tian Qing was cursing both out loud and in his heart and his whole body was burning in rage like an erupting volcano.
Yang Kai did not even chase after Ju Tian Qing, however, instead choosing to stand aside and watch him escape with a strange mocking grin on his face.
Zu Hong was frozen for a moment, but seeing that the situation was deteriorating, he quickly put away the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and followed Ju Tian Qing.
He was already badly injured, and now that Ju Tian Qing had run off, he would just be courting death if he remained.
Cursing endlessly in his heart, he resented his hundreds of years of friendship with Ju Tian Qing. It was too unkind of him to have escaped without any concern for Zu Hong. During such times, the only person he could trust would be himself.
The two left hastily, one after the other, and arrived at the entrance of this Small Sealed World in the blink of an eye.
With one arm chopped off, Ju Tian Qing could only endure the pain in his heart and perform the necessary hand seals with one hand to open the entrance.
He had created a secret entrance before he came in, which could only be revealed with a secret method, for Zu Hong to follow after him. So, it was also convenient for him to leave this small world.
However, even after sending out the seals, the entrance did not open.
Ju Tian Qing’s face changed and the colour suddenly drained from his face as he gulped, as if he realized a terrifying truth.
Zu Hong, who still had not realised the situation, urged vigorously, “Brother Ju, quickly open the entrance, what are you doing?”
Ju Tian Qing answered darkly, “It can’t be opened.”
“Why not?” Zu Hong was shocked, fighting the strong urge to slap Ju Tian Qing to death. It was impossible to tolerate a screw up at this crucial moment.
“Hahaha,” Yang Kai appeared abruptly behind the two of them, looking at them with a smile on his face, “After this Young Master came in, he sealed up the entrance. Without this Young Master’s approval, no one else can access this place again.”
“What?” Zu Hong was horror-struck, “How, how can you have such ability?”
Ordinary people couldn’t seal off the entrance to a Small Sealed World as they wished.
Ju Tian Qing looked devastated as his heart dropped into the depths of the abyss and continued to sink. He only spoke in a bitter voice a moment later, “Brother Zu, this little brat is proficient in the Dao of Space…”
As if struck by lightning, Zu Hong was dumbfounded and froze in place.
Yang Kai snorted coldly, “We will meet again? Elder Ju, this Young Master doesn’t like to procrastinate. Didn’t you want to teach me how to show proper respect? Come here, hurry up and teach me a lesson. This Young Master is waiting.”
Ju Tian Qing’s spirits fell to the bottom of the valley and his mouth tasted bitter after being mocked so ruthlessly by Yang Kai; unfortunately, he could not refute a word.
The light in his eyes was dim as he slumped, “Little brother, what happened today is our fault, but no permanent damage has been done. How about we just let this matter go?”
Yang Kai’s face hardened, “This Young Master is not very good at showing proper respect, are you going to teach him a lesson or not?”
Ju Tian Qing grew agitated, “Why insist on being so overbearing?”
“If you’re not teaching, I will!”
“Don’t go too far and burn your bridges!” Ju Tian Qing’s teeth chattered violently while glaring at Yang Kai ferociously.
Seeing this, Zu Hong barked too, “That’s right. Even if you are proficient in the Dao of Space, you are still on your own, while Brother Ju and I can fight together. Even if we can’t beat you… do you think we can’t self-destruct?”
Yang Kai curled his lips disdainfully, “Like you have the chance to self-destruct.”
Saying so, he turned solemn and swiftly performed a set of hand seals. A mysterious and profound aura began to radiate from Yang Kai’s form.
“W-what are you doing!?” Ju Tian Qing roared in alarm. He instinctively felt that danger was coming.
Yang Kai replied in a deep voice, “What am I doing? I’m of course going to release my ultimate skill and kill the both of you. Let me tell you a simple truth, the two of you can do nothing against this Young Master’s ultimate skill. You are all doomed to be slaughtered by me, so if you really want to self-destruct, quickly do it now before it’s too late!”
“Ahh…” Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong gasped and staggered back.
They were dreadfully afraid of Yang Kai after he made such a declaration with such seriousness, where his face was filled with murderous intent. No one would want to self-destruct unless it was a last resort. Most of the time, those who said they would were just bluffing.
They did not expect him to be totally unaffected by their threat, and was ready to release his ultimate skill…
The hand seals that he was performing were so mysterious and unique that Zu Hong and Ju Tian Qing could not see through their purpose at all, but one thing was for certain, the skill he was preparing was incredibly powerful.
“Brother Zu, we need to go all out!” Ju Tian Qing gritted his teeth with a decisive face.
“Good!” Zu Hong also knew that there was no way out at this moment. Given Yang Kai’s aggression and determination to kill, Ju Tian Qing and he would not be his opponents if they continued to have reservations in fear. They could only give it their all in a last-ditch effort to survive.
Having steeled themselves, the two pushed their Emperor Qi fiercely and roared.
Blood gushed from the wound on Ju Tian Qing’s shoulder from the pressure of his surging power. It was uncertain how many litres of blood he lost, but his face was as pale as paper.
In an instant, their auras reached their peak.
Countless beast roars emerged from the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal while the Burning Ocean of Stars Blade vibrated fiercely and numerous Sword Waves shot out from it.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s hands stopped. He slowly pushed his palms forward with a solemn face, whispering, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
*Honglonglong…*
The Time Flies Seal appeared in a brilliant flash, completely enveloping Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong. Both of them widened their eyes as they felt like their lives rapidly passed before their very eyes. In just a blink, it seemed like dozens of years had suddenly gone by.
As time continued racing by, the pair’s momentum, which had been at its peak, rapidly deflated. At the same time, their figures rapidly aged, and their vitalities waned; even their hair began turning grey.
Within a breath, the two Masters, who had at most looked middle-aged, turned into decrepit old men who already had one foot into the grave.
The Flowing Time Great Emperor’s Divine Ability, which involved Time Principles, was not something that Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong could resist, on top of their severe wounds. When Yang Kai was just a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, he had used this skill to defeat a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master’s Soul, though it was just a wisp that manifested through a Soul Descent. Now, Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master, and his strength was vastly superior to that time.
Suffering from this ability, the two old men had totally lost their combat strength.
“Get in here!” Yang Kai snorted coldly and his eyes shone in a strange brilliance. With a push of his Spiritual Energy, he threw the pair which had lost the ability to resist into the Sealed World Bead.
The Embodiment had long waited for this moment in the Small Sealed World. Once Yang Kai threw them in, the Embodiment immediately surged his power and covered them with one hand, yelling viciously, “Heaven Devouring Battle Law!”
The fate of Zu Hong and Ju Tian Qing was nothing more than to be devoured.
The stationary time began to flow again, and the Small Sealed World was restored to peace.
Inside the barrier of the medicine garden, Gao Xue Ting was flabbergasted, and could not regain her senses for a long time.
The Time Flies Seal had also affected her to a certain extent, causing a temporary confusion in her mind, and by the time she recovered from the chaotic state, Zu Hong and Ju Tian Qing had vanished.
She only saw Yang Kai turning around and flying towards her.
Gao Xue Ting gaped at him with her jaw dropped, subconsciously opening the medicine garden barrier for him.
It was easy to operate the barrier, otherwise, she would not be able to hide inside here in the first place.
“Elder Gao, how are your injuries?” Yang Kai hurriedly asked as he reached her side.
Gao Xue Ting looked up at him with a slightly complicated expression on her pretty face. Her eyes examined him up and down, as if she wanted to know if this was really the young man she knew.
Just a few years ago, there was a huge gap in strength between him and her, but now, it seemed that she now needed to look up to him…
“Elder Gao…” Seeing that Gao Xue Ting did not say a word, Yang Kai could not help shouting again.
Only then did Gao Xue Ting’s lost eyes focus and after a soft cough, she answered, “They’re not light, but neither are they fatal. I’ll be fine after some rest. What about the two of them? Did you chop them up into tiny pieces?”
But even if they were chopped into pieces, there should be some traces left.
However, it was like they simply vanished from sight for no reason.
“Of course they are dead,” Yang Kai grinned, “Elder Gao, you don’t need to be bothered about them. The death of those two scum is not worth pitying.”
Gao Xue Ting nodded in relief and sighed, “You’ve grown a lot, much more than any of us had expected.”
Yang Kai scratched his head, “This little brat could only achieve success today thanks to the support and care of all my Seniors.”
Gao Xue Ting replied lightly, “It doesn’t have much to do with others, you worked hard yourself to achieve this strength.”
After saying so, she coughed again.
“Elder Gao, what’s important now is for you to heal yourself. I will stand guard for you here,” Yang Kai said with concern.
“Good,” Gao Xue Ting did not say anything more and simply closed her eyes, focusing on adjusting her breathing.
During the battle between Yang Kai and the other two, she would not have sat back and watched if she had any strength left to use. It could be seen that her injuries were quite serious.
Now that the disaster had been eliminated, she naturally could not afford to delay any longer.
Gao Xue Ting’s breathing soon calmed down.
Only then did Yang Kai have the time to look around.
This Small Sealed World had been completely closed by him, so no one could enter without his permission and there was no need to worry about Gao Xue Ting.
He gained tremendous interest in this strange plot of land, which composed a giant ancient medicine garden.
Looking around the medicine gardens, there were two square plots with at least three hundred spirit medicines planted in each. Every herb here was Emperor Grade and had a medicinal age above ten thousand years. Yang Kai was exhilarated by the scene that was captured in his eyes, unable to restrain his uplifted emotion.
“A Seven Coloured Ginseng! It’s even produced multiple rings of colour! It must be at least fifty thousand years old!”
“Profound Heavenly Thunder Flower! Siii… its stamen is golden, this, th-this…”
“Swaying Light Enlightenment Fruit. How can it be as big as my fist? How did it grow like this?”
“Extreme Essence Dragon Saliva Grass, isn’t this already extinct…”
“Nine Petal Blue Jade Flower…”
Those spirit medicines were like naked beauties in Yang Kai eyes, swaying and displaying the best view of their bodies, arousing him so much that his eyes were glowing.
As an Alchemist, nothing could make him happier than this scene. Plots of mature spirit medicine were laid out in front of him, and he could just collect them for free. Only an Alchemist could understand this kind of feeling.
He continuously teleported here and there in the medicine garden, dancing excitedly. If he were not afraid of disturbing Gao Xue Ting’s rest, he would have laughed out loud like a madman.
And these Emperor Grade herbs were just from these two square plots. There were actually more than ten square plots here, but the other spirit medicines must have been collected by Gao Xue Ting and the others.
In other words, most spirit medicines were in the Space Rings of Gao Xue Ting, Ju Tian Qing, and Zu Hong.
What Yang Kai was seeing here was just a small part.
Many of the spirit medicines he saw were legendary herbs that were thought to already be extinct, but they were actually blooming healthily here.
“Hm?” Yang Kai’s face changed suddenly as he stared intently at a certain fruit tree that was about half a person’s height. The fruit tree was filled with radiance, as if it was carved from the most exquisite jade, shimmering magnificently.
On top of the fruit tree, there was a white fist-sized fruit.
The shape of this fruit was extremely odd, almost like a tiny shrunken person, with complete limbs, body and head. Not only that, there were even clear facial features.
Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly filled with enthusiasm as he exclaimed in pure shock, “Flesh Incarnation Fruit!”
There was a Flesh Incarnation Fruit here!
Yang Kai furiously rubbed his eyes to make sure he did not see wrongly, but even upon re-examination, there was no doubt a Flesh Incarnation Fruit was presented in front of him, exactly the same as the information recorded in the jade slip left by Gong Sun Mu, the Third-Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.
The Flesh Incarnation Fruit was the primary material for refining the Flesh Incarnation Pill.
Flesh Incarnation Pill was a Heaven-defying Spirit Pill that could reshape one’s physical body.
If a cultivator was killed, but his or her Soul had not been extinguished, that cultivator could rebuild his or her body by using a Flesh Incarnation Pill, essentially granting them a new life.
Not even the Immortal Tree possessed such a miraculous effect. Although the Immortal Tree could bring someone back from the brink of death, and even allow one to obtain an immortal and indestructible form, it could not reshape one’s physique from only a Soul.
This was the Heaven-defying effect of the Flesh Incarnation Fruit.
Like the Soul Warming Lotus and Immortal Tree, this fruit only existed in ancient records, with no one in the current era having seen it before.
Yang Kai did not expect that he would be lucky enough to encounter a Flesh Incarnation Fruit in this ancient medicine garden.
With this Flesh Incarnation Fruit, it meant that he could refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill, and with Flesh Incarnation Pill, it meant that he could fulfill the promise that he made to Tian Yan.
Senior Tian Yan was the Great Emperor of the Divine Ascension Mirror who had been a Soul Avatar since birth and never possessed his own physique. When Yang Kai was training in the Divine Ascension Mirror, he told Tian Yan that, he would refine a Flesh Incarnation Pill from a Flesh Incarnation Fruit for him one day, so that he could experience the feeling of having a physical body, release himself from the shackles of Divine Ascension Mirror, and see the outside world.
Tian Yan seemed to be immensely excited about this matter too, but how could it be so easy to find a Flesh Incarnation Fruit?
However, there was now one right in front of Yang Kai!
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn, and condensing his Emperor Qi into both hands, he cautiously grasped at the Flesh Incarnation Fruit.
He plucked the fruit lightly, and the Flesh Incarnation Fruit plopped into his palm immediately. Yang Kai quickly placed it into the jade box he had prepared beforehand, and after placing several barriers around it, he put it into his Space Ring.
“Phew…” Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief. With this Flesh Incarnation Fruit, he would have a good chance to refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill, but he would need to improve his Alchemy skills first.
Although he was now an Emperor Grade Alchemist, he did not have much experience in refining Emperor Grade spirit medicines, so if he hastily tried to refine the Flesh Incarnation Fruit, his chances of success would be quite low. This might be the one and only Flesh Incarnation Fruit left in the world, so if the refinement failed and the raw materials were destroyed, Yang Kai’s would definitely develop a kind of heart demon, and it may even affect his Alchemy abilities in the future.
Fortunately, there were bounteous Emperor Grade herbs here, so he could use some of the relatively low-value spirit medicines for practice to improve his Alchemy skills before confidently refining the Flesh Incarnation Pill.
After a moment of inspection though, Yang Kai found that all the spirit medicines in this medicine garden were invaluable. Nevertheless, the Flesh Incarnation Fruit still stood out from the rest in terms of rarity and value.
He immediately started collecting the rest.
There were only two medicine gardens with a few hundred herbs planted in them, but it still took Yang Kai more than two hours to collect them all.
There were still about twenty trees left in place, including the Flesh Incarnation Fruit Tree.
There were numerous buds and flowers remaining on these fruit trees, so it was not impossible for them to bear new fruits after a few hundred, or thousand years, so Yang Kai did not dare to touch any of these trees.
After doing this, Yang Kai took a look at Gao Xue Ting and found that she was still focused on healing her injuries, and it seemed that she would take a long time to wake up.
Yang Kai was not in a hurry, so he simply sent his Divine Sense into the Sealed World Bead and retrieved Zu Hong’s and Ju Tian Qing’s Space Rings.
As expected, there was a large number of Emperor Grade spirit medicines inside their Space Rings, most likely collected from this ancient medicine garden.
In addition, there were many valuable treasures in these rings, enough for Yang Kai to make a fortune.
The Emperor Artifacts, the Burning Ocean of Stars Blade and the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, that belonged to the two also fell into Yang Kai’s hands.
The Burning Ocean of Stars Blade did not interest Yang Kai much as, although it appeared to be very powerful, he did not primarily use such weapons and had no plans to refine it. Besides, refining an Emperor Artifact would not greatly improve his strength.
Likewise, the Burning Ocean of Stars Blade could not be considered a broadsword, so it was unsuitable for Zhang Ruo Xi.
On the contrary, Yang Kai was more interested in the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal. This Artifact was not an ordinary Emperor Artifact. It seemed to be able to seal the Souls of fallen Monster Beasts and then could release them during a battle to fight one’s enemies without great consumption of the owner’s strength.
This could be given to Zhang Ruo Xi.
Although Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to prefer swords, the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was powerful, and it was definitely a good treasure for her. As long as Zhang Ruo Xi could refine it, her strength would definitely increase by leaps and bounds.
Considering all this, Yang Kai pushed his Spiritual Energy to erase Zu Hong’s Soul Imprint from the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal.
After a while, there was a flash of light, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal became grey and dull. Yang Kai then tossed it into his Space Ring, reminding himself to give it to Zhang Ruo Xi when he left the place.
After waiting for a while, Gao Xue Ting still showed no signs of waking up, so Yang Kai took out his Alchemy Furnace and some Emperor Grade herbs, and began refining on the spot.
A day later, Yang Kai, who was concentrating on Alchemy, suddenly noticed that someone was watching him. His expression became alert and glanced to his side without stopping his hands, only to meet with Gao Xue Ting’s elegant and delicate eyes.
Feeling guilty that she had interrupted Yang Kai’s Alchemy, Gao Xue Ting did not speak and simply motioned him to continue.
The worst thing that one could do to an Alchemist during Alchemy was to disturb them. Gao Xue Ting had known Yang Kai was an Alchemist for a long time, otherwise, it would be impossible for him to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill when he was in the Four Seasons Realm.
She felt a little uneasy knowing that her gaze interfered with Yang Kai’s focus when he stole a glance at her.
On the contrary, Yang Kai did not seem to be affected and just smiled broadly at her, “Elder Gao, wait a moment, this disciple will finish the Pill Condensing step soon and will be able to speak to you freely as soon as the pill is done.”
Having said so, Yang Kai immediately turned solemn and immersed his focus into Alchemy again. Gao Xue Ting continued watching in amazement.
A mysterious Pill Condensing Technique was performed by Yang Kai, one that had extremely perplexing hand seals and seemed to harmonize extremely well with the Heavenly Way.
Gao Xue Ting was astonished as her beautiful eyes suddenly glowed with a strange light, observing Yang Kai’s movements firmly, unwilling to let slip a single motion.
She discovered that Yang Kai’s Alchemy’s technique could actually stimulate deep thoughts on her Martial Dao and show her an unseen side of the Heavenly Way. It was as though all her understanding of Martial Dao was being consolidated as she watched, an unbelievable experience.
As one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, Azure Sun Temple naturally had its own Emperor Grade Alchemist. Although there was only one, he was nonetheless still at Emperor Grade Alchemist.
Gao Xue Ting once had the honour of observing this Emperor Grade Alchemist perform Alchemy from a distance, but compared to Yang Kai’s Alchemy technique, the Temple’s Alchemist seemed rather unsightly and incomparably clumsy.
That Alchemist could be described as a child flailing a hoe wildly in the field, while Yang Kai’s Alchemy could be described as a warrior wielding a sword, dancing in the moonlight.
The two were not comparable at all.
[Who did he learn Alchemy from? How can he be this accomplished at such a young age? Not only that, but he has also entered the Emperor Realm.]
Gao Xue Ting was shaken as she suddenly realised that all those so-called genius disciples were completely eclipsed by Yang Kai’s current achievements. Even the children of the Great Emperors could not compare with him.
Time seemed to pass by quickly, but it also seemed to have slowed down. Just when Gao Xue Ting was immersed in a peculiar sentiment, her resonance with the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao suddenly disappeared.
She was slightly startled, and when she fixed her eyes on Yang Kai, he was already performing another technique, bellowing, “Condense!”
*Dinglingling… *
Suddenly, a clear and sweet sound emerged from within the dainty Alchemy Furnace. Yang Kai turned his head to listen to it and his brow furrowed slightly, as if he was a little dissatisfied with the results of his Alchemy.
Gao Xue Ting couldn’t hide her surprise seeing this.
Although she was not an Alchemist, she knew that this Spirit Pill should have been successfully refined. From the scent wafting out of the furnace, it was easy to infer that this Spirit Pill was Emperor Grade, and the quality should not be low.
[Is he still not satisfied? What extent does he need to reach to be satisfied?]
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and patted the Alchemy Furnace, causing the lid to fly off and three round and fragrant Spirit Pills to zoom out, where Yang Kai promptly caught them and sealed them into a jade bottle.
After taking a look, Yang Kai curled his lips and threw the bottle into the Space Ring. Turning his head, he looked at Gao Xue Ting with a smile and said, “Sorry for making Elder Gao wait for so long, how are you feeling?”
“I’ve almost completely recovered.” Gao Xue Ting replied, “It was not a fatal injury anyway.”
After a pause, she wondered, “How did you know that I was here? And you even came here directly.”
Yang Kai answered, “Junior Sister Lu Wen sent me a message…”
He briefly explained the entire journey from how he was passing by Earth City to receiving Lu Wen’s request for help.
After listening, Gao Xue Ting smiled, “It seems that I wasn’t meant to die here today. Who would have known that you would pass by Earth City at just the right time.”
Her smile seemed to cause thousands of flowers to suddenly bloom, and the whole world became a shade dimmer. She was a cold woman, and she rarely smiled, so this was Yang Kai’s first time seeing her smile since he had known her.
Yang Kai could not help but stare blankly.
Gao Xue Ting quickly retrieved her smile at his abnormal expression, looking a little uncomfortable.
Yang Kai urged her, “Elder Gao, you should smile more, it’s beautiful.”
“Have some respect, stop your flattery!” Gao Xue Ting snorted coldly.
Yang Kai grinned, “I can guarantee that if you smiled at Temple Master Wen that way, he would definitely be mesmerized by your beauty!”
Gao Xue Ting snorted, “Mesmerized? More like he would immediately ask me if I had fallen into cultivation dissonance and then force a purifying spirit pill into my mouth; then I would spit that Spirit Pill right back at his face!”
Yang Kai’s jaw dropped, “How could Temple Master Wen be so unchivalrous?”
He imagined the scene she just described and was speechless for a while; but from the tone of Gao Xue Ting’s words, it seemed that this had happened before.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and he wisely changed the subject, “By the way, Elder Gao, this disciple has prepared something for you.”
“Something for me?” Gao Xue Ting was surprised, and asked suspiciously, “What is it?”
Yang Kai took out a jade bottle and handed it over, “Here.”
Gao Xue Ting took it and opened the cap to look inside. It was a round and red Spirit Pill, exuding a rich blood aura.
“Mad Blood Pill!” Gao Xue Ting’s beautiful eyes lit up.
She already possessed a Mad Blood Pill and had wanted to take it to stimulate her potential to help Yang Kai who was under siege yesterday, but Yang Kai stopped her in time.
So, she recognized it at a glance.
“This is a High-Grade Mad Blood Pill. Its effects will be better than your original one by thirty percent, and after taking it, as long as you only exert your strength within a stick of incense, the backlash will not be too harsh. You would be able to fully restore after a long rest, and it will not damage your foundation. Disciple can only refine this level of Mad Blood Pill at the moment, so keep this one for now and only use it if absolutely necessary. I will refine a better one in the future to replace this one.”
“A better one…” Gao Xue Ting was speechless. This was already a High-Rank Mad Blood Pill, so what could be better? This was already the highest quality for normal Mad Blood Pills, any higher meant that it would either have to have formed Pill Veins or Pill Clouds, but that was not a feat one could easily achieve.
Yang Kai had mentioned that her Mad Blood Pill was of low quality, and made by a lousy Alchemist. He was obviously worried that Gao Xue Ting’s foundation might be damaged from taking that Mad Blood Pill, so he made another one for her.
Considering all these, a warm feeling filled her heart.
The Mad Blood Pill was not difficult to refine, but finding the materials was difficult because they were all Emperor Grade Spirit Medicines, many of them rare and extremely hard to source.
Back then, Gao Xue Ting was lucky to gather all the materials for the Mad Blood Pill and requested the Emperor Grade Alchemist in the Temple to refine a furnace of it. Unfortunately, only one Mad Blood Pill was successfully produced from the furnace, and it was a Low-Grade one.
But now, Yang Kai actually made a High-Grade Mad Blood Pill; its value was far greater than the previous one.
Looking at the dregs on the ground, Gao Xue Ting immediately realized that Yang Kai had refined many furnaces, and picked the best product for her.
“Elder Gao, just throw away your old Mad Blood Pill, that thing should never be taken,” Yang Kai advised solemnly.
Gao Xue Ting nodded in agreement and took out the jade bottle that contained the Mad Blood Pill from her Space Ring. She put the Spirit Pill on her palm, and crushed it into dust. Then, she placed the new one made by Yang Kai into her jade bottle.
“Are you relieved now?” Gao Xue Ting looked at him.
Yang Kai grinned, “If Elder Gao wants any Emperor Grade Spirit Pill in the future, just look for me. Disciple is skilful and outstanding in Alchemy, and can give a twenty percent discount to Elder Gao.”
Gao Xue Ting chuckled, “You’re already an Emperor Realm Master, don’t be shameless and make a fool of yourself like the one surnamed Wen.”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “So, Elder Gao has always regarded Temple Master Wen as a fool…”
Gao Xue Ting snorted lightly, turned and looked around, “I see that there are still some spirit medicines left in the medicine garden. Why didn’t you collect them? What’s the purpose of leaving them there?” She changed the subject.
After asking, she seemed to recall something and continued with a realization, “I see, Alchemists usually avoid cutting roots when collecting spirit medicines and deliberately leave stems behind to promote future growth?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s true that this is the standard practice, but that only applies to some immature herbs. This medicine garden has existed for a long time, and all the spirit medicines are already mature, so we can pluck all of them.”
“Then why did you still leave some of them here?” Gao Xue Ting was puzzled.
Yang Kai smiled wryly, “These spirit medicines cannot be touched. In this world, once some spirit medicines are harvested, no matter how well preserved they are, they will lose their efficacies and wither in a very short time. So, most of the time, you can only collect these spirit medicines when you are prepared to use them. Elder Gao, some of the herbs that you collected before are actually like this.”
Gao Xue Ting was shocked at the information and she hurriedly checked her Space Ring, only to discover that two herbs had seriously deteriorated already.
“Ah… I see.” She sighed with regret.
It was just more than one day ago that she collected these two spirit medicines, but they already lost so much of their medicinal efficacies. If they were given another two to three days, perhaps they would just turn into dead dregs.
“Isn’t it a waste for these spirit medicines then?” Gao Xue Ting looked at the twenty or more exceptionally rare spirit medicines in the medicine garden.
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai smiled faintly, but he was not sincere with his words.
It was fine for him to leave other spirit medicines here. At most, he could just come back to collect them if he needed them in the future.
However, it was dreadfully hard for him to let go of the Flesh Incarnation Fruit Tree.
There were already three flowers blooming on this particular tree, and although it was unknown how many years it would take to produce a new fruit, the thought of giving up on such a rare extinct prize pained Yang Kai’s heart.
Fortunately, he had the Sealed World Bead, and if he handled things properly, he still had a great chance to move the entire medicine garden into it. However, Gao Xue Ting was still here; he had to first send her out of this place if he wanted to collect this place.
“If Elder Gao feels well enough, let’s set out. Junior Sister Lu Wen is still waiting outside.” Yang Kai suggested.
“Good.”
When they got to the entrance, Yang Kai waved, sending out several threads of Emperor Qi to remove the restriction he placed before opening the Void Corridor and leaving the small world with Gao Xue Ting.
A pungent smell of blood irritated their noses as they arrived outside, and looking around, several corpses were lyingfulfil in the wilderness, their body parts scattered about. All of these people had apparently died horrifyingly.
Gao Xue Ting was startled as she thought there was an ambush outside.
However, she soon saw only two young women standing there quietly. One of them looked unfamiliar to her. She was young, about twenty years old, but she had a powerful Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. Meanwhile, the other woman was the Temple disciple Lu Wen, but she seemed to be a little frightened as her face was slightly pale.
Seeing Gao Xue Ting and Yang Kai appear, the two women’s eyes lit up and came up to greet them.
“Elder Gao!” Joy overflowed from Lu Wen’s eyes, her face flushed red, as if she saw a long-lost family member.
Zhang Ruo Xi beamed, “Elder Sister Lu can now be relieved. No one can beat Sir.”
Lu Wen smiled in embarrassment, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Yang for your help.”
Yang Kai responded, “You’re welcome, Junior Sister Lu. I’m also a Temple disciple. I’m duty-bound if an Elder is in trouble.”
Gao Xue Ting remarked, “Anyway, I really owe it to you this time, otherwise I would have been…”
She could not help shivering as recalling the crisis before still left her a bit unnerved.
Shaking her head, she pressed on with a soft voice, “Since everything is over, I’m planning to return back to the Temple. Lu Wen, follow me.”
“Understood!” Lu Wen was delighted.
Although she was ordered by the Temple to collect all kinds of information in the Eastern Territory, she had been wandering alone for a while and often missed her Brothers and Sisters back in the Sect, as well as the scenery of her hometown.
Now that Gao Xue Ting wanted to take her back to the Temple, it was natural that she was overjoyed.
“How about you, Yang Kai?” Gao Xue Ting turned to him and asked.
Since Yang Kai appeared in the Eastern Territory, he must have something to deal with. Therefore, she did not rashly ask him if he wanted to return to the Southern Territory with her.
As she had guessed, Yang Kai shook his head, “I have a place to go, to find a friend.”
Gao Xue Ting nodded, “Then you should be careful. Even though you are an Emperor Realm Master now and your strength is not weak, there are many talented and powerful people in this world. A lot of them are not as simple as they seem.”
“Disciple knows,” Yang Kai replied respectfully.
“If you have time… Come back to the Temple and have a look. You are still an in-name disciple in the Temple after all.”
“I will.”
He definitely would want to return to Azure Sun Temple one day, because he still had to go to the Divine Ascension Mirror to fulfill his promise with Tian Yan.
Then, Gao Xue Ting and Lu Wen departed.
About a hundred kilometres away, Lu Wen asked Gao Xue Ting quizzically, “Elder, that Senior Brother Yang is so strong, but why is he just an in-name disciple in the temple?”
With Yang Kai’s strength, he was more than qualified to be a Sect Elder. At first, she thought that Yang Kai was one of the top disciples like Xia Sheng and Xiao Bai Yi, but it turned out that he was just an in-name disciple.
After pondering for a moment, Gao Xue Ting replied, “Because he didn’t join the Temple of his own free will. Even the Azure Sun Golden Token was given to him forcefully by this Queen.”
“Ah…” Lu Wen immediately lost her ability to think.
…..
On the wasteland, in front of the entrance of the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai watched Gao Xue Ting and Lu Wen leave. Only when they were out of sight did he take out the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and toss it to Zhang Ruo Xi, “Refine this and use it for now.”
Zhang Ruo Xi caught it and took a close look at it before immediately squealing in joy, “Many thanks, Sir, for this great treasure!”
Yang Kai had never given her any treasures before, but Liu Yan, Hua Qing Si and the Embodiment each had their own Emperor Artifact, all of which were given to them by Yang Kai. Although Zhang Ruo Xi kept quiet about it, she was looking forward to such a gift finding its way to her eventually.
She knew that Yang Kai did not have a habit of favouring one over another; it was just that he had not found anything suitable for her yet.
Nevertheless, she did not expect Yang Kai to give her one so soon.
As long as it was given by Yang Kai, it was a treasure to her even if it was a lump of iron, let alone a strange Emperor Artifact stamp seal.
Zhang Ruo Xi flipped the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal in her hands over and over with a bright smile. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it.
Yang Kai glanced at her and commented, “You seem to display a lot of bloodthirst when you battle. The next time you fight with others, you should try to control it a little.”
After hearing this, Zhang Ruo Xi stuck out her tongue, “I also don’t know what happened. As soon as I start fighting with someone, I feel like I turn into a different person, and I seem to have scared Sister Lu Wen…”
Previously, Lu Wen’s face was bloodless because she could not stand the bloody fight that had just taken place. She had fought and killed before too, so this kind of scene naturally should not be frightening to her. Therefore, her fear must have mainly stemmed from Zhang Ruo Xi herself.
Yang Kai had no idea why Zhang Ruo Xi would act so violently at such a small age. It would not be strange if this kind of aura appeared on a bloodthirsty murderer, but it concerned Yang Kai that Zhang Ruo Xi possessed such cruelty within her.
The only explanation he could think of was Zhang Ruo Xi’s bloodline.
If he ever had another chance to see Duan Hong Chen, he must ask about it. Otherwise, the cruelty of Zhang Ruo Xi may affect her character in the future, which would be a disaster if she turned into an emotionless murderer.
“Sir, where are we going now?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked.
“We’re not going anywhere until I’m done here.”
Saying so, Yang Kai opened the entrance of the Small Sealed World again, stretched out his hand, and grabbed Zhang Ruo Xi to enter with him.
Apart from the twenty remaining trees and the few spirit medicines that could not be harvested, there was nothing more left in the ancient medicine garden except exceedingly rich World Energy.
Yang Kai asked Zhang Ruo Xi to find herself a place to rest, then he went straight to the two medicine gardens.
After observing for a while, Yang Kai made a decision.
Pushing his Emperor Qi, Yang Kai formed a seal with his hands and began releasing streams of his power into the ground.
Although Yang Kai’s actions were swift, he was extremely careful to avoid damaging anything.
Even if Yang Kai was already an Emperor Realm Master, he still sweated profusely after working for an hour non-stop. He seemed to have exhausted a tremendous amount of energy.
However, Yang Kai had managed the preliminary step properly, so the rest would be much easier.
After a moment of meditation while sitting cross-legged, he regained some of his strength and got up again.
He madly surged his Divine Sense next, and like a tide, it enveloped the two medicine gardens in front of him at once. Then, Yang Kai stomped his foot fiercely and bellowed, “Rise!”
The entire Small Sealed World shook and rumbled as the two squares of the medicine garden rose up slowly under the support of a tremendous force.
Since it was impossible to harvest the remaining trees and spirit medicines without damaging them, Yang Kai figured he could just collect the entire medicine gardens instead!
Such an insane plan could only be accomplished by Yang Kai, since he possessed the Sealed World Bead that could easily accommodate the two gardens.
Anyone else would have no choice but to sigh and lament their loss.
*Hong long long…*
Yang Kai enveloped the medicine gardens with his Divine Sense and lifted them into the sky. They resembled two miniature floating islands as he sent them into the Sealed World Bead and placed them right beside his own medicine garden.
Afterwards, he used his Divine Sense to carefully scan the herbs for signs of damage or wilting before nodding in satisfaction.
However, he didn’t intend to stop here. Completely ignoring his own excessive consumption, he proceeded to spend a great deal of time moving the rest of the ten medicine gardens into the Sealed World Bead.
Seeing that the ancient medical garden was able to cultivate so many ten-thousand-year-old spirit medicines, there must be something miraculous hidden within the soil. If nothing else, there was no doubt they had extremely fertile soil.
By taking these gardens into the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai could not only expand his own garden, but could also increase the survival rate of the plants he would grow in the future by transplanting them into the enhanced soil.
When he was finally done, he checked the place one last time before leaving with Zhang Ruo Xi.
Half a month later.
Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi shot through the sky on his wooden boat. The lands below them were desolate, with no one in sight as far as the eye could see.
During this period of time, the further they travelled, the fewer people they saw. At first, there may be a city here and there, but eventually, it became difficult to spot even a single person.
Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t know where Yang Kai was taking them, and she didn’t ask. She silently followed him and refined the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal whenever she was free. Like this, time passed quickly.
One day, a dilapidated city suddenly appeared below them. It looked like it had been haphazardly put together with no regard for aesthetics whatsoever, as the buildings were all in complete disarray.
However, despite its appearance, the city was very lively, with countless tough-looking cultivators running amok.
Yang Kai observed it for a few moments before landing the boat.
Soon, he and Zhang Ruo Xi entered the city.
The city didn’t seem to have a name, but there was no shortage of people coming and going, all of them seemingly in a hurry.
The narrow alleyways were crowded on both sides with stalls and their respective vendors shouted loudly to attract the attention of customers. Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi were bombarded by their voices as soon as they stepped inside.
“This is an Emperor Grade Purple Lunar Jade, which is the best material for nourishing Emperor Artifacts! Don’t miss it, come take a look!”
“High-Rank Emperor Grade spirit medicine, Profound Soul Solidifying Grass! Even direct consumption will bring you endless benefits! Trade only, not selling!”
“This is the Secret Art of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, Sect Leader Duan San Tai of Mountain Sect, which existed over a thousand years ago! If you successfully cultivate it, you will obtain an indestructible metal body! I’m selling this cheap for ten thousand Mid-Rank Source Crystals. I risked my life to bring it back from the Ancient Lands! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
“What? Who said that it’s fake? Come here and say it louder, I promise I won’t beat you!”
“Selling the location of a Twelfth-Order Six-Tailed Spirit Fox cub! It’s a rare beast that has the bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox! Those who want to tame it can come speak to me personally, and I will provide paid guidance service.”
“……”
Zhang Ruo Xi stared wide-eyed at her surroundings, her head whipping from side to side as she tried to take in everything around her. It was all so novel to her.
After a while, she pulled on Yang Kai’s clothes and asked in a low whisper, “Sir, what is this place? Why are there so many Emperor Grade materials, ancient Secret Arts, and even the locations of Monster Beast pups being sold? And what are these Ancient Lands they speak of?”
She could understand if it were just Emperor Grade materials, but it was truly strange for Secret Arts and locations of Monster Beast cubs to also be sold.
However, after listening for a while, she was able to gather that all of the items being sold here were brought from a place called the Ancient Lands, and the locations of the Monster Beast cubs were also in that place.
The city was chaotic but undeniably lively. Moreover, she realized that almost all of the cultivators here were Dao Source Realms or above. There were even quite a few passing Masters who exuded Emperor Aura!
How was a place like this able to attract so many Masters? Why was it so attractive to them?
Yang Kai responded with a smile, “This place sits at the border of the Ancient Wild Lands. The Ancient Lands they speak of are precisely the Ancient Wild Lands.”
“Ancient Wild Lands?” She repeated in astonishment, evidently never having heard of such a place.
“I know little about the Ancient Wild Lands. It is a place that is extremely dangerous to explore as it is home to countless Monster Beasts and even Divine Spirits, as well as many other lethal threats. Even an Emperor would not be able to guarantee his safety inside.”
“Yet despite the dangers, so many people are venturing inside… That must mean it is a place filled with treasures!” Zhang Ruo Xi realized immediately.
“This world is driven by people, while people are driven by profits. That is the sole reason for which these Masters have gathered here. Although perilous, the Ancient Wild Lands brim with treasures, and most of the items sold by people here contain a sliver of the Ancient Wild Lands’ aura, which means they were all brought out from there. Even the Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s Mountains and Rivers Bell originated from the Ancient Wild Lands.”
“The Mountains and Rivers Bell!” Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes lit up with excitement. She had also undergone training in the Shattered Star Sea and naturally knew of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, but she wasn’t aware that it was now in Yang Kai’s possession.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Sir, are you here to enter the Ancient Lands?”
He nodded, “En, I came for the Ancient Wild Lands.”
According to the information provided by Yin Le Sheng, Xiao Xiao was indeed teleported to the Eastern Territory with him back then. However, Yin Le Sheng was injured at the time and was unable to capture Xiao Xiao, so he simply chose to fall back and lie in wait for an opportunity to subdue the strange creature.
He never thought Xiao Xiao would enter the Ancient Wild Lands to escape his pursuit, however. At the time, although he didn’t know what the Ancient Wild Lands were, Yin Le Sheng had instinctively sensed the danger from this place and was forced to give up his pursuit.
After that, he never saw Xiao Xiao again.
If the information was correct, then Xiao Xiao should still be inside the Ancient Wild Lands.
Under the constraints of the Soul Contract, and unless he knew a Secret Technique that could counter the backlash, it was unlikely for Yin Le Sheng’s words to be false.
In any case, Yang Kai had to enter the Ancient Wild Lands regardless.
He didn’t know much about this place though, and if he hadn’t come to the Eastern Territory, it was likely that Yang Kai would not have even heard this place’s name. Thus, he needed someone to provide him with information about the Ancient Wild Lands.
Originally, he had a suitable candidate: Qi Hai from Qi Family Fort!
Back when they were in the Shattered Star Sea, this person had urged Yang Kai to visit his Qi Family Fort as a guest which was situated close to the Ancient Wild Lands. Since Qi Hai was a member of the Qi Family, Yang Kai was certain that he knew many top secrets about the Ancient Wild Lands.
With his help, Yang Kai reckoned that his chance of survival in the Ancient Wild Lands would increase significantly.
Alas… the main reason Qi Hai wanted him to visit was for the Phoenix True Fire.
When she was exploring the Ancient Wild Lands, Qi Hai’s wife was inflicted with one of the Ten Extreme Poisons, the Heavenly Frost Earth Rain, instantly sealing her fate. The only possible cure was to undergo nirvana with the help of the Phoenix True Flame.
It was for this reason that Qi Hai entered the Shattered Star Sea, to find the Phoenix True Flame, conquer it, and then use it to save his wife.
However, he didn’t have such good fortune, and now the Phoenix True Flame was being refined by Liu Yan. Liu Yan had been taken to Spirit Beast Island by Jiu Feng, so naturally it would be too shameless for Yang Kai to go to Qi Hai and ask for help now.
Qi Hai had been naive to think that he could save his wife as long as he obtained the Phoenix True Flame, not knowing that refining it was dangerous and time-consuming.
As Yang Kai was speaking with Zhang Ruo Xi, a man with the head of a buck and the glinting eyes of a rat suddenly approached them and whispered furtively, “Friend, I have an Emperor Grade spirit fruit here, the Nine Heavens Vibrant Cloud Fruit, that I can sell to you at a cheap price. What do you think?”
While speaking, he flipped over his palm, revealing a glowing red fruit that exuded rich Qi. It was only for a second, but the strong Spirit Qi fluctuations caused the surrounding cultivators to simultaneously look over in surprise. Contrary, the handful of stall owners who turned their heads away, all revealing strange expressions.
“Nine Heavens Vibrant Cloud Fruit?” The corners of Yang Kai’s lips arched, revealing a meaningful smile.
Zhang Ruo Xi frowned and took a step back. This man was not only dressed sloppily but also smelled horrible, as though he hadn’t washed his body in several days. Moreover, as he spoke, she could see a mouthful of rotten, yellow teeth.
“Do you want it?” The man lowered his voice, as if he was afraid of being heard, “I risked my life to bring this back from the Ancient Lands. There was even a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast guarding it!”
“A Twelfth-Order Monster Beast guarding it…” Yang Kai looked speechless.
As an Emperor Grade Alchemist, he could tell with a single glance that this Nine Heavens Vibrant Cloud Fruit was fake. The real Nine Heavens Vibrant Cloud Fruit was indeed an Emperor Grade spirit medicine, and it was extremely rare; however, its aura was always restrained and would never exude such strong energy fluctuations.
The Nine Heavens Vibrant Cloud Fruit would only be guarded by one Monster Beast, and that was the Nine Heavens Thunder Python. It was indeed a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, but this man’s cultivation was only First-Order Dao Source Realm. If he were to actually encounter the Nine Heavens Thunder Python, there was absolutely no possibility of him returning alive, for he would be swallowed whole in a matter of seconds.
In this nameless city, snakes and vipers crept around among dragons. Yang Kai was unfamiliar with this place, but he was familiar with that principle, so he didn’t pay it much heed.
It was most likely that this person chose to target Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi because they looked young and new to the city, easy to swindle and make a fortune off of.
Yang Kai didn’t want to pay attention to this kind of person, but a similar figure suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Thinking back when he first encountered the Bustling World Great Emperor in Maplewood City, he had also looked this sloppy…
When he thought about Duan Hong Chen, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel a little worried and wondered how he was doing after his Soul fused with Wu Kuang’s.
“Can you give me an answer, friend? If you don’t want it, I’ll go find someone else!” The man couldn’t help but urge when he saw Yang Kai become absentminded.
Yang Kai glanced at him and then released his Emperor Pressure for a fleeting moment.
The man’s face immediately paled. He stumbled back and then said with a look of amazement, “So it turns out that Sir is a mighty Emperor Realm Master!”
As a cultivator in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, this man wasn’t exactly a weakling, but compared to an Emperor, he was like an ant. Yang Kai’s act of releasing his Emperor Pressure made him realize that this unremarkable-looking youth was not to be provoked.
Amidst his horror, he gave an ugly smile and said, “Since you don’t need it, Sir, this lowly one will take his leave.”
Who was he kidding? He only dared to swindle cultivators in the Dao Source Realm and was in no way courageous enough to provoke an Emperor Realm Master. If he didn’t leave now, the young man might make him suffer the consequences of disturbing him!
“Wait!” Yang Kai suddenly called out.
The man’s forehead was dripping with cold sweat.
“Y-Y-Yes, Sir?” he answered, trembling.
“It appears that you have been here for a long time?”
“Yes, Sir. This lowly one has resided in this city for over thirty years now.”
“Thirty years!” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow, “In other words, you must be quite familiar with the Ancient Wild Lands?”
His amiable attitude seemed to be infectious, for the sloppy man gradually calmed down and hurriedly responded, “Naturally.”
“I have some questions for you then,” Yang Kai said lightly.
“About the Ancient Land?” The man was quick-witted, immediately grasping the implications behind Yang Kai’s words.
Yang Kai nodded, “Is there a place here that we can talk?”
“If you don’t mind, Sir, this lowly one can guide you to a place. However, it is a little… expensive.”
“Very well. Lead the way!” Yang Kai waved his hand.
The man was overjoyed and quickly led the way.
Before long, the three of them entered a building that resembled a restaurant. Just like the rest of the city, the outside of the restaurant was haphazardly put together; however, the inside was quite a contrast.
Its interior was luxuriously decorated with thick, unknown animal fur on the ground and softly glowing light stones of all sizes on the walls. Even the air was filled with a faint but refreshing fragrance.
A single glance at this restaurant was enough to tell Yang Kai that its owner was a capable individual, as it would be impossible to furnish the restaurant so luxuriously otherwise.
As soon as the three walked in, a man dressed as a shop-hand came out to greet them, but when he saw the filthy swindler, he waved his hand rudely, “Shoo, shoo, shoo. Is this a place you can enter, Pi San? Hurry up and get out before you dirty our floor.”
Despite only being responsible for greeting customers, the shop-hand was actually a Third-Order Saint King, and he also looked to be quite young.
This caused Yang Kai’s eyes to flash subtly. It seemed that there were some hidden dragons and crouching tigers in this restaurant. Although a Third-Order Saint King was nothing in his eyes, the shop-hand was clearly overqualified for his job.
The swindler, Pi San, was enraged by the shop-hand’s words though and blue veins bulged on his forehead as he shouted, “Don’t you look down on us! I am here today with this Sir to eat. Hurry up and serve us whatever delicious foods and drinks you have, we do not lack Source Crystals!”
Watching him bluff and flaunt with Yang Kai’s prestige and power was quite hilarious.
“Sir?” The shop hand glanced at Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi, his brow slightly furrowed.
Zhang Ruo Xi looked to be around twenty years of age, so even if her aptitude was good, it should be impossible for her to be an Emperor Realm Master. Yang Kai, on the other hand, appeared somewhat reserved and mysterious, and didn’t seem to be weak.
This shop-hand worked all year round and had developed a very keen eye, so with just a glance, he was able to determine that Yang Kai was most likely the strongest of this group, as well as its leader. If that wasn’t the case, Pi San wouldn’t go as far as to call him ‘Sir’.
Since they were here to eat, the shop hand naturally had no reason to block them. He bowed and said respectfully, “Please come in, honoured guests.”
Likewise, Pi San fawningly bowed and stepped forward to lead the way, saying, “Come with me, Sir, I’ll guide you to a private room.”
Yang Kai nodded and followed him inside.
When they passed by the shop-hand, the shop-hand suddenly said, “Sir, Pi San is a well-known swindler in these parts, especially towards those who are new to the city. Many people have been deceived by him. Be sure to keep your eyes open, don’t let yourself fall for his tricks.”
Yang Kai glanced at him and responded with a slight smile, “Many thanks for the warning, Little Brother, but don’t worry. If he dares to swindle me, I will ensure that he won’t be able to see tomorrow’s dawn.”
The shop hand smiled, “You are wise, Sir!”
When Pi San heard this, he immediately blanched and said hurriedly, “Rest assured, Sir! I, Pi San, am not a blind swindler. Sir, you are clearly so wise and powerful, how could I dare to play tricks in front of you? Wouldn’t I be courting my own death?”
However, Yang Kai’s face simply remained unchanged, the faint smile causing Pi San to feel more and more nervous.
Soon, with Pi San guiding them, the three entered a private room.
He seemed to be aware of his own unpleasant odour, so after Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi took their seats, he deliberately took a seat far away from them.
“Sir, since this is your first time here, you must try the restaurant’s Wild Wine!” He said with great enthusiasm.
Yang Kai snorted lightly, “You may order whatever you wish. Consider it a reward for answering my questions.”
Pi San was overjoyed and hurriedly said, “Many thanks, Sir!”
He was almost drooling as he spoke and immediately slapped the table to call for a waitress in an imposing manner, then he proceeded to rattle off more than a dozen dishes with ease and familiarity.
Yang Kai was slightly surprised by the names he heard as he could tell that these dishes were all made using Monster Beast parts and spirit herbs. Not only that, but they were Eleventh-Order Monster Beasts and Dao Source Grade spirit herbs!
Dishes such as these, even if they tasted horrible, were greatly beneficial for any cultivator, and with long-term consumption, they would definitely experience an increase in strength.
The waitress was quite young, and after Pi San finished ordering, she turned toward Yang Kai and said awkwardly, “Honoured guest, your order comes to a total of 530,000 Low-Rank Source Crystals. Please pardon this humble one for asking you to settle the account first.”
She seemed to know that Yang Kai was the one with the Source Crystals, not Pi San.
Upon hearing this, Pi San angrily slammed the table, “What!? Are you afraid we’ll run after eating? Both you and that shop-hand outside, so young yet already so disrespectful! Is this how you were taught to treat customers?”
The waitress’s beautiful face turned pale with fright and quickly waved her hands while denying, “No, no…”
Just as Pi San opened his mouth again to teach her a lesson, Yang Kai gave a sudden cold snort, which immediately made him shrink back and shut up.
Yang Kai took out a cloth bag from his Space Ring and handed it to the waitress, “Here.”
The waitress took it and confirmed the amount inside with her Divine Sense before smiling and nodding, “Please give us a few moments, Honoured Guests. Your food and drinks will arrive shortly.”
Saying so, she turned around and left.
This restaurant proved to be quite efficient because, before long, their order was ready. The table was filled to the brim with delicious food and wine that saturated the air with their mouth-watering aromas.
There was no lack of variety, and each and every dish looked absolutely delectable.
Pi San picked up the wine jar, respectfully walked to Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi’s side, and graciously filled their cups while introducing, “The Wild Wine here is a treasure that must be tasted, Sir.”
However, Zhang Ruo Xi frowned as she snapped, “Hurry up and finish eating, so you can answer Sir’s questions!”
She treated him with undisguised displeasure.
“Young Lady, please do not regard this with offence, but it is best to drink this wine if you plan to enter the Ancient Land.”
“Why?” She looked at him suspiciously.
He responded with a slight smile, “Because every ingredient used to make this wine is from the Ancient Land, which imbues it with the aura of the Ancient Land itself. Drinking this wine will allow you to adapt slightly to the Wild Force, which will help you greatly in your venture.”
“Wild Force?” Zhang Ruo Xi still didn’t quite understand.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai revealed a thoughtful look and nodded, “Ruo Xi, drink some and feel the mysteries of the Wild Force.”
Since Yang Kai had spoken, she naturally didn’t continue to refuse, “Yes!”
She took a slight sip and savoured it, then her brow furrowed in surprise. Quickly, as though resisting something, she began to circulate her Source Qi.
Pi San watched on with a knowing look, “The energy contained within the Wild Wine is strong and vigorous. Even an Emperor Realm Master will struggle with drinking more than one jar. Please drink slowly and carefully, Young Lady.”
While he was speaking, Yang Kai also took a sip. Indeed, there was a strange power hidden in the wine that after entering his abdomen, melted into his physique, meridians, and dantian, affecting the circulation of his Emperor Qi.
However, this power was not unfamiliar to Yang Kai. He raised an eyebrow at this realization and thought to himself, [Isn’t this so-called Wild Force the same as the aura released by my Mountains and Rivers Bell?]