Despite the middle-aged man’s strenuous effort, he couldn’t convince those standing guard at the gate to allow him to pass.
He was left without a better choice and could only offer them a bribe. This barren land had no valuable treasures, and he couldn’t offer them anything other than the Monster Cores of Monster Beasts slain by him.
Monster Cores were a pretty hard currency in the Ancient Wild Lands, as anyone could use them to raise their strength. Thus, upon receiving these gifts, the two beamed in delight, and after they discussed it for a moment, one of them turned around and went inside. He had obviously gone to make a report!
The dark python who had taken a humanoid shape had finally experienced and understood the meaning of the saying, ‘Meeting the king of Hell wasn’t difficult, but dealing with his lackeys was’.
The man started exchanging pleasantries with the others at the gate to pass time, while he vowed inwardly, [Once I get rewarded for this great contribution, I’ll surely teach you all a memorable lesson and make you regret putting on such a haughty front. I’ll make you spit out everything you took from me!]
After a short while, the one who had gone to make a report came back and cupped his fist at the middle-aged man, saying, “Today, Sir is in a pretty good mood and doesn’t mind meeting you. Go inside!”
The middle-aged man expressed his thanks to them then started climbing up the mountain, leaving the two guards playing with the few Monster Cores in their hands in delight.
There wasn’t anyone to guide the middle-aged man, but he could still make his way through with ease, as this wasn’t his first visit. He quickly crossed several checkpoints and reached the peak of the mountain where a large palace was built with a rough design completely different from the ones commonly seen in the Star Boundary. It was just a large mass of boulders piled up together without an ounce of beauty.
Moreover, there was a large sculpture of a mighty-looking galloping rhinoceros outside the palace.
This was the true body of Monster King Xi Lei. He had just been an ordinary rhinoceros who managed to cultivate to the peak of the Twelfth-Order. Who knew what kind of fortuitous encounter had helped him accomplish this great feat, but nonetheless, he had now become the ruler of a large expanse of the Ancient Wild Lands with over a hundred thousand Monster Race subordinates under him.
There were only thirty-two beings in the same realm as Xi Lei in all the Ancient Wild Lands. They all had their own territories and wouldn’t invade nor assault each other, and they were all under the jurisdiction of the Four Great Divine Spirits.
Every Divine Spirit had eight Monster Kings at the peak of the Twelfth-Order under them, while Monster Kings had Monster Commanders and Monster Generals, as well as an innumerable number of Monster Beasts below the Twelfth-Order. One could well imagine how dangerous the Ancient Wild Lands were.
However, the Humans outside were obviously oblivious to this and they only knew that the Ancient Wild Lands was a chaotic land fraught with dangers. They were unaware that deep within the Ancient Wild Lands, it had already developed its own social order.
After the middle-aged man reached the palace, the Monsters guarding the gate just checked his identity then allowed him in.
It couldn’t be said that they were careless, as it was pretty much impossible for the middle-aged man to wreak havoc in the face of the Xi Lei with his low cultivation. The Monster Race had always been pretty casual about customs and they didn’t attach great importance to them.
If this was a Sect of the Human Race, then it wouldn’t have been so easy for a Dao Source Realm cultivator to meet a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.
After the middle-aged man entered the palace, soft music, light singing, as well as decadent noises reached his ears, taking him aback and almost making him assume he walked into the wrong place.
But, when he raised his eyes to take a look, he sighted a muscular man sitting cross-legged at the end of the hall with a table decorated with the corpse of a Monster Beast in front of him, a bloody corpse that died not long ago. The muscular man was holding the corpse of the Monster Beast and gorging himself with blood dripping off the corners of his mouth. It was a pretty ghastly sight, yet the man was eating with gusto with his eyes shining with a scarlet gleam.
The legs of the middle-aged man went soft and he had almost escaped on the spot.
He had heard that Monster Kings were fond of devouring their subordinates’ flesh, but he didn’t take it for more than a mere rumour. This was a sight he had never expected to see.
The muscular man was obviously none other than Monster King Xi Lei. The middle-aged man had once seen him from afar and he could recognize him with a glance.
Xi Lei took a few more bites of the meat then laughed heartily out of delight.
Two women clad in revealing clothes with pretty much all their skin exposed were next to the muscular man, serving him and fawning over him. They were both endowed with pretty good figures hidden behind light gauze, making for a breathtaking sight!
Once Xi Lei let out a peal of laughter, one of the women took advantage of this chance to stuff one of the peeled grape-like spirit fruits on the table into his mouth.
Xi Lei was pleased by this and he embraced the woman and started having his way with her.
After a short moment, the woman was also left with a bloody mouth, but she wasn’t displeased by this, rather, she licked off the blood with her little scarlet tongue in delight.
The middle-aged man observed this in trepidation and longing, wondering when he would obtain a cultivation equal to Xi Lei. At that time, beauties would throw themselves at him and he would also get to enjoy such a delightful experience.
In the hall below the table, there were a few women with slim waists and plump bottoms clad in revealing clothes singing and dancing.
The middle-aged man observed them in a daze with his eyes rolling around ceaselessly. He couldn’t make up his mind about which beauty he should observe.
The beauty embraced by Xi Lei a while ago had also taken notice of the middle-aged man and she curled up the corners of her mouth into a smile and threw a flirtatious glance at him, which almost stole his Soul.
The woman leaned closer to Xi Lei’s ears and started whispering to him.
At this moment, Xi Lei finally raised his eyes to look at the middle-aged man and he waved his hands, sending the women around him away.
The middle-aged man didn’t dare to slight this Master and hurriedly walked forward with a solemn look, then knelt and spoke, “Greetings, Sir. My name is Wu Zhui.”
Xi Lei asked in a deep voice, “Is it you who has claimed that you have something to report?”
“Indeed!”
“Speak. What is so important about it that you had to see me personally? If it’s just a trivial matter, then you may not keep your head.”
Wu Zhui’s expression darkened and didn’t dare to delay, quickly explaining, “Sir, it’s related to the Blood Gate.”
“The Blood Gate?” Monster King Xi Lei stood up and the few female Monsters in the hall covered their mouths and stared at Wu Zhui with their pretty eyes.
The Blood Gate was a pretty pivotal place for all beings of the Ancient Lands. It was rumoured that the Blood Gate contained a great secret, which could awaken their bloodline power and allow them to evolve into Divine Spirits.
Even though Xi Lei was an apex Twelfth-Order Monster Race, he still couldn’t repress his desire to enter the Blood Gate. If he could become a Divine Spirit, then he would get to change the current hierarchy of the Ancient Lands, which had remained unchanged for innumerable years. The Four Great Divine Venerables would become the Five Great Divine Venerables.
“All of you, leave!” Xi Lei waved his hand and shouted, realizing that this news was crucial and making him lose his calm.
“Sir…” One of the two females who served him a while ago leaned against him, putting on a pitiful look. She obviously wanted to stay here to listen to them.
Xi Lei simply turned his head around and glared at her with his blood-red eyes.
The body of the female stiffened and she didn’t dare to make any more presumptuous actions. She quickly retreated, followed closely by the others.
“Speak. What happened to the Blood Gate?” Once the crowd had left, Xi Lei questioned in a deep voice.
Wu Zhui quickly replied, “An unusual incident has occurred at the Blood Gate.”
“What kind of unusual incident?” Xi Lei asked in surprise.
Wu Zhui quickly told him everything he knew, and upon hearing him out, Xi Lei furrowed his brows with a bewildered look on his face.
This unusual incident was pretty eye-catching, and his subordinate had no reason to falsify it. He surely wasn’t the only one who had seen it as well, so verifying the claim would be as simple as questioning other Monsters Race members who were in the vicinity of the Blood Gate. But, what did this unusual incident mean?
A long time had passed since the Blood Gate appeared and it didn’t go through any changes since then. It had always been quietly sitting atop the peak of the mountain, yet on this day, it emitted radiant scarlet light that soared into the Heavens!
No matter what, this was a vital piece of news for any inhabitant of the Ancient Lands.
Xi Lei paced back and forth in the hall for a while with an indecisive look on his face, only stopping after a long while, “You should go with me to see the Divine Venerable and tell him everything you have seen.”
“The D-D-Divine V-V-Venerable…” Wu Zhui had almost bitten his tongue.
The Ancient Lands had four Divine Venerables, and Xi Lei served one of them. The Four Great Divine Venerable were rarely seen, and ordinary members of the Monster Race wouldn’t ever lay eyes upon them in their lifetime. Even the thirty-two Monster Kings couldn’t get to see them whenever they wanted.
Wu Zhui had never imagined that he would one day get to meet a Divine Venerable.
But he quickly got over his shock and became overwhelmed with excitement. Since he could see the Divine Venerable, then the news brought by him was surely anything but insignificant. He would get to lay down a great merit and make his rise from this day.
He didn’t hope to get a lot. After all, he was pretty weak, and he could only hope to get some rewards that could propel him to the rank of a Monster General. At that time, he could also get some subordinates and rule over a whole mountain, which would be a lot better than living on the move, scraping out a living each day.
After Wu Zhui composed himself, he cupped his fists and spoke, “I’ll heed Sir’s commands.”
“Let’s go!” Xi Lei was also pretty impatient. He had already decided to see the Divine Venerable, so there was no need to hesitate now. He summoned a wind that engulfed Wu Zhui and rushed out of the gate.
“Other than you… Who else knows of this?” Xi Lei suddenly asked.
Wu Zhui said, “I’m surely not the only person who has seen this unusual incident related to the Blood Gate, but I rushed over quickly to report it to Your Excellency, so I don’t know who else might know of it.”
Xi Lei nodded lightly, knowing well that Wu Zhui wasn’t mistaken. That unusual sight was pretty eye-catching and he surely wasn’t the only one who had taken notice of it. The other Monster Kings were probably also aware of this by now, and they would surely be rushing to their respective Divine Venerables to take credit for this.
Wu Zhui’s eyes flickered, mulling over something for a moment, before letting out a sigh, “Unfortunately, I have an insignificant and lowly status, so I was obstructed for a long time by the two guards at the mountain gate when I asked for an audience with Sir. Those two didn’t allow me to go in and I had to part with all of my wealth just to get them to agree to report my presence,” saying so, he looked nervously at Xi Lei and said. “Did I do something wrong?”
Xi Lei’s face darkened as he snorted, “They’re getting more outrageous with each passing day!”
Saying so, he suddenly thrust his fist down.
*Kacha*
Along with a thunderous crack so loud that it would leave one’s eardrums ringing in pain, a thick lightning bolt fell from the sky, rushing towards the ground.
After a short moment, a loud rumble echoed, accompanied by two sudden miserable shrieks.
Wu Zhui lowered his head to take a look, only to discover that the mountain gate was a total mess with a large hole left there. As for the two Monsters guarding the gate? They had already disappeared.
One day later, Yang Kai walked out of the cave with the wound on his chest fully healed. He had also changed into a new set of clothes, as the scent of blood might attract some unnecessary trouble for him.
Upon hearing some noise, Zhang Ruo Xi, who had been keeping watch at the entrance of the cave, quickly stood up and was relieved to see that Yang Kai’s complexion had already regained its vigour.
She was well aware that Yang Kai’s injuries were anything but serious, but she still couldn’t help but worry over him.
Upon exchanging a glance, Yang Kai nodded at her, while Zhang Ruo Xi said, “Sir, I noticed something peculiar.”
“What?” Yang Kai asked in bewilderment.
Zhang Ruo Xi quickly recounted to him what she experienced during her cultivation, then looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to dispel her doubts.
Yang Kai had no clue about this though, but he found it embarrassing to admit his ignorance to Zhang Ruo Xi, so he put on a pensive look and mulled over it for a moment, then spoke, “Better safe than sorry, you should stop cultivating in the Ancient Lands, and if you need to recover your strength, you can just use Source Crystals or Spirit Pills. If worse comes to worst, then you can just enter the Small Sealed World.”
Zhang Ruo Xi heeded his instructions without the least bit of hesitation, but shortly after, she questioned him, “Sir, what about you?”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “It’s fine, the Wild Force can’t harm me.”
Zhang Ruo Xi was pretty surprised and she looked in veneration at Yang Kai with stars almost sparkling in her eyes. She couldn’t help but inwardly praise, [Sir is really amazing. I have heard that even a Great Emperor will be affected by this land’s Wild Force, yet Sir hasn’t suffered any harm.]
Yang Kai coughed and said, “Let’s leave…”
Saying so, his expression suddenly changed and he turned his head towards a certain region and shouted, “Who dares hide there!”
Zhang Ruo Xi was startled by this as she had been keeping guard here all along and didn’t notice anyone approaching them. Yet, Yang Kai had shouted at someone shortly after coming out. Yang Kai wouldn’t raise a fuss over nothing, so there must surely be someone here.
She turned her head around to have a look and followed Yang Kai’s gaze to a large tree, one that looked peaceful and serene without any peculiarities. Even when she swept it with her Divine Sense, she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.
Yang Kai snorted coldly and spoke, “Still trying to die? Do I have to pull you out myself?”
After he said so, a rustling noise echoed out from the tree, shortly followed by a head poking out of the dense leaves of the canopy. Said head swayed around, its bright eyes then casting a glance at Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi, giving them a silly smile.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s expression darkened, having been caught off guard by this; after all, someone she had failed to notice approaching her was now smiling dumbly at her in this damned place.
“Hmm?” Yang Kai exclaimed in surprise as he observed this human-looking face carefully. It could be seen that it had quite dishevelled hair, as if this individual hadn’t washed it for many years, leaving a nought but a tangled mass.
This person’s face was dark with indistinct features, but it had a pair of bright eyes and pearly white teeth.
It was definitely a woman!
Even though Yang Kai couldn’t get a clear look at her face, he still recognized with a glance that it belonged to a woman.
All women cared a lot about their appearance, yet this one was a total mess, even more so than the Bustling World Great Emperor in Maplewood City. Who knew what this woman had suffered and gone through in the Ancient Wild Lands?
It wasn’t limited to appearance though, as Yang Kai could clearly tell that this woman hanging upside down from the tree was mentally impaired. Her gaze was pretty bright, but it still looked chaotic and erratic.
However, what Yang Kai cared most about was this woman’s concealment technique.
If she didn’t suddenly let out some noise from the tree earlier, then even Yang Kai wouldn’t have noticed that she was hiding there.
Just who was she?
Upon sweeping her with his Divine Sense and detecting the faint energy fluctuations emanating from her body, Yang Kai discovered in surprise that she was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master!
While doubts were still flooding Yang Kai’s mind, the woman suddenly giggled and spoke, “Come and catch me!”
Having said this, she jumped off the tree, but she turned around in mid-air and rushed into the forest, quickly disappearing, leaving only a peal of laughter behind her, “Come catch me, catch me!”
[Who the hell wants to catch you!?] The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched. He was now certain that the woman had a mental impairment.
If that wasn’t the case, why would a solemn Second-Order Emperor Realm Master do such a ridiculous thing? She wasn’t just in a dishevelled state, her speech and words were also a mess. Yang Kai was dumbfounded. He had just come into the Ancient Wild Lands and ended up running into a crazy woman. He obviously wasn’t in the mood to play hide and seek with her.
“Sir, her attire…” It looked like Zhang Ruo Xi had noticed something, and she covered her rosy lips with her hand, looking in shock at the region where the crazy woman had disappeared.
“What about her attire?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows.
“Sir, didn’t you find what she was wearing familiar?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked back.
When the crazy woman had jumped off the tree, Yang Kai swept her with his gaze. Her clothes were also worn out and in a mess like her, revealing her skin with every little movement. He didn’t know what her real skin tone was, but it was currently completely grey, as if she hadn’t taken a bath for many years.
Yang Kai was surprised and bewildered by Zhang Ruo Xi’s words.
“Those were the robes of Ice Heart Valley!” Zhang Ruo Xi said anxiously.
“Are you certain?” Yang Kai widened his eyes.
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded, “I have seen many disciples of Ice Heart Valley the last time we were in the Northern Territory’s Ice Moon City. They were all clad the same way as her. Her clothes were torn and worn out, but they still had an ice crystal symbol over her chest.”
“Why would a disciple of Ice Heart Valley come here?” Yang Kai was pretty stunned.
Ice Heart Valley was located in the Northern Territory, while they were now in the Eastern Territory. There was a large distance between the territories and ordinary people wouldn’t ever travel so far, much less come to a place like this. But, upon giving it more thought, he recalled that all Masters of the Star Boundary eyed this treasure land.
He could also be counted as a disciple of the Southern Territory, yet, he had come here, so it wouldn’t be strange for the inhabitants of the Northern Territory to come here; after all, all Masters of the Four Territories converged here.
But, he was still bewildered by something. From the moment Ice Heart Valley was founded by its Martial Ancestor Bing Yun until this day, they didn’t have a lot of Emperor Realm Masters. So, how did a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master end up here? Worse, in a chaotic mental state.
Upon mulling this over, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly lit up and he recalled something.
In the past, when Bing Yun returned from the Solitary Void Sealed World to Ice Heart Valley, its current Valley Master, her First Disciple, An Ruo Yun, made mention of a certain event.
When Bing Yun had gone missing, her Third Disciple went out to look for her, yet she didn’t find her trail and had also gone missing in the end. Three thousand years had already passed since then, and it was pretty much unknown whether that disciple was still alive or not.
When An Ruo Yun had reported this to Bing Yun. Yang Kai had been there to hear this and he had also sighed over it as he thought that this Third Disciple had most likely died in some unknown region; after all, the Star Boundary was fraught with dangers, and if she was still alive, then she would have at least contacted them over the past three thousand years.
However, those were private matters, so Yang Kai didn’t really care about them.
But upon getting Zhang Ruo Xi’s reminder, Yang Kai suddenly realized that this woman was most likely Bing Yun’s Third Disciple. A Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation also fit the criteria, as the First Disciple An Ruo Yun and the Second Disciple Sun Yun Xiu were also in the same realm, so the Third Disciple would likely not be any worse than them.
Upon thinking of this possibility, Yang Kai looked at where the crazy woman had disappeared to, but he couldn’t catch even her shadow. She had already escaped from him.
Yang Kai could guess why this Third Disciple was here. In the past, she had left Ice Heart Valley to look for Bing Yun and she surely wouldn’t miss the famous Ancient Wild Lands. She must have come here to seek Bing Yun.
As for why the woman was now in a state of mental chaos? Yang Kai had no ideas about this, but he could still imagine that she must have suffered a lot here, else, why would a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master end up so demented with no regard to her own image?
However, all of this was obviously just Yang Kai’s guess, and he still did not have confirmation that the crazy woman was Bing Yun’s Third Disciple. She could have just killed that Third Disciple and stolen her clothes.
If Yang Kai didn’t get to see this, then he wouldn’t have bothered with it, but since he had already become involved, he couldn’t just ignore this matter; after all, it was related to Bing Yun and Ice Heart Valley.
“Sir, Old Ban once said that an Emperor Realm Master had gone missing in the Ancient Lands Passageway more than ten years ago… And it was a woman… Could it be her?” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly asked.
This possibility didn’t cross Yang Kai’s mind, but upon giving it more thought, he realized that it was pretty likely the case. She must have gone crazy because she got lost in the Ancient Lands Passageway for more than ten years.
Old Ban had said that the woman was a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but Old Ban was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm, so he surely couldn’t distinguish between the First and Second-Order Emperor Realm and must have just made an assumption.
“Let’s go after her and investigate,” Yang Kai waved his hand, enveloping Zhang Ruo Xi with his Emperor Qi, then rushing in the direction where the crazy woman had disappeared.
Along the way, he couldn’t find any trace of her, and even though he completely released his Divine Sense, he couldn’t detect even a wisp of her aura. He did, however, notice a lot of Monster Beasts.
It was as if that crazy woman had vanished into thin air, the same way she suddenly appeared.
“Where did she go?” Yang Kai was pretty vexed. If he had known earlier that the crazy woman was linked to Ice Heart Valley’s Third Elder, then he would have made a move to intercept her and not allowed her to run away. Now, it was extremely difficult for him to find her.
After Yang Kai spent most of the day searching for her in vain, he found himself forced to give up and stop. Running around the Ancient Wild Lands aimlessly was nothing short of insanity; after all, he might end up catching the attention of a powerful Monster Race.
If he couldn’t find her, then so be it, he would just give up for now, then, take a trip to the Northern Territory after dealing with his affairs here and pass the crazy woman’s news to Bing Yun, leaving her to deal with this herself.
Yang Kai took out a jade slip and checked it, only to discover that he had already ventured a lot deeper into the Ancient Lands in his half-day-long pursuit. If he continued further, then he would end up in a gathering spot for Monster Beasts, which had a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast presiding over them.
Yang Kai didn’t want to attract trouble for no reason as he had come here just to seek Xiao Xiao, so he would surely try to avoid danger as much as possible.
When Yang Kai had just put away the jade slip after deciding to make a detour around this region, a peal of laughter reverberated in a large tree near him, shortly followed by a dark face poking out of the tree’s leaves. She grinned at him, revealing her pearly white teeth, and she beckoned to Yang Kai, “Come catch me, hurry up and catch me!”
[This crazy woman!] Yang Kai was almost driven crazy with rage at this moment when he realized that all this time he was unable to find her, she had actually been hiding nearby to mess with him.
Yang Kai really didn’t know what to do with this kind of person. If she was sane and could think properly, he would have sat down and talked with her; asked her about her origins and background, but she was completely insane. The only way he could talk to her was if she allowed it…
Yang Kai ground his teeth in anger, but he didn’t dare to beat the bush and scare the snake away.
[This woman comes and goes without a trace. Her camouflaging technique is really profound too. If I scare her away, it won’t be easy to find her…]
Having set his mind, Yang Kai squeezed a smile and tried his best to put on a harmless face before beckoning to her, “Come here!”
The crazy woman wasn’t swayed at all. She just cheekily smiled at him and stated, “Come and catch me!”
She repeated the same thing as if she only knew one sentence and never got tired of it.
Yang Kai tried to call her a few times, but it didn’t work, leaving him feeling utterly helpless.
“Sir, why don’t you tempt her with something and see whether she will come over?” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly proposed.
Yang Kai felt that it was a good idea and rummaged through his Space Ring to quickly find a red fruit. He had a lot of Alchemy ingredients on him, most of which were obtained from killing others, and the rest were found in the ancient medicine garden last time.
This Blue Crab Apple was an Emperor Grade Alchemy ingredient. It looked extraordinary and was completely ripe, and the moment Yang Kai took it out, a tangy fragrance wafted in the air.
Yang Kai flipped his hand and spread his palm, revealing the Blue Crab Apple as he called out, “Come and take it, there’s no need to be afraid.”
He looked like a perverted old man trying to lure in and kidnap a little girl. He was extremely embarrassed inside, but he still had to pretend that it was alright.
The crazy woman was hanging upside down from a tree and was clearly interested in the fruit, her bright and wide eyes totally fixating on it. She also made no effort to disguise the desire in her eyes and began smacking her lips a few times while salivating.
Who knows whether it was because of her situation though, but she was still very vigilant. Despite the hungry look on her face, she didn’t rush over as Yang Kai had hoped.
*Chi chi chi…*
The leaves rustled for a while before the crazy woman suddenly disappeared.
Yang Kai was struck dumb and quickly spread his Divine Sense to lock onto her position. If he lost her this time, considering how vast the Ancient Lands was, trying to find her would make looking for a needle in a haystack feel trivial by comparison. He would really have no idea where to search for her.
*Chi chi chi…*
Another rustling noise came from nearby. Yang Kai turned his head to look and suddenly found that the crazy woman had reappeared on the branch of another tree, holding the trunk with one hand, quietly standing there.
[Fast! So fast!]
Yang Kai’s pupils shrunk when he saw how swiftly she had moved. Before he could grasp her position, she had reappeared like a ghost.
However, she was a lot closer than before.
Yang Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the fruit in his hand had finally aroused her interest.
Yang Kai smiled and pushed the fruit forward before speaking in a soft voice, “Do you want it or not? If you don’t want it, I will eat it.”
While speaking, he pulled back the fruit and slowly brought it towards his mouth.
The crazy woman immediately became anxious at this sight and took a bent stance, as if she could not wait to pounce and grab the apple. But she appeared to have some scruples still and swayed back and forth on the tree, refusing to come down.
Yang Kai ground his teeth in anger, steeled himself, and bit into the Blue Crab Apple.
In just one bite, Yang Kai’s mouth was filled with rich fruit juice. It was an Emperor Grade spirit fruit after all, and the essence within it was quite amazing. On top of that, it tasted quite good and the attractive fruity fragrance only grew stronger once the flesh was exposed.
*Baji baji…*
Yang Kai ate it with relish, making some exaggerated noises, clearly causing the crazy woman’s heart to ache.
She looked at the Blue Crab Apple again before a firm look flashed in her eyes. She seemed to have made up her mind and with a flicker she shot out towards Yang Kai, leaving a streak of white light in her wake like a bolt of lightning.
Yang Kai was waiting for this very moment, so how could he let it pass? He threw the spirit fruit in his hand straight at her while, at the same time, stretching his hand out, grabbing towards a certain place in the air like a dragon.
The crazy woman suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai with a flash. Her bright and shiny eyes were focused on the Blue Crab Apple that had been thrown by Yang Kai, as if nothing in this world could distract her from her prize.
If the spirit fruit continued to fly like this and there was no accident, it would definitely hit her right in the forehead.
Although Yang Kai didn’t mean to kill her with this attack, it was by no means a casual throw either. Rather, he had poured some of his Emperor Qi into it as he wanted to distract the crazy woman so that he could proceed with his next move.
But much to his surprise, the crazy woman leaned back at the critical moment, evading the spirit fruit by a hair’s breadth. Immediately after, she opened her mouth wide and directly took a bite at the spirit fruit. In a flash, her eyebrows rose in pleasure and an overjoyed look filled her face.
In the twinkling of an eye though, Yang Kai had flashed to her side and grabbed her arm.
The crazy woman was greatly shocked and quickly looked at Yang Kai as an inexplicable coldness flashed through her smiling eyes.
She twisted her body at an impossible angle and changed her posture like there were no bones in her body, standing face to face with Yang Kai.
Next, she raised her hand, while palming hard at Yang Kai. Before her attack even reached him, an extremely icy cold pressure that seemed capable of freezing the entire world spread out.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and couldn’t help but shiver as he shouted in a grim voice, “Ice Principles!”
If it was just speculation before that this crazy woman was somehow related to the Third Elder of Ice Heart Valley, who had gone missing many years ago, now it was all but certain she was that very person.
After all, every Ice Heart Valley disciple cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art.
Yang Kai’s face turned serious as he didn’t dare to be negligent. He also sent out a palm that radiated Space Principles.
*Hong…*
A deafening clap immediately followed as both of their bodies fiercely shook like two small boats caught in a violent storm. The two different Principle Strengths clashed with each other, but they were evenly matched.
This wasn’t a surprise though, as the crazy woman’s cultivation was a little higher than Yang Kai’s, and she had attacked in anger, whereas Yang Kai could only hastily respond. Forcing a draw here was already Yang Kai’s limit, and had it been any other First-Order Emperor, he or she might have suffered serious injuries.
Before the two clashing Principle Strengths could dissipate, the crazy woman suddenly twisted her arm held by Yang Kai, which had turned soft and boneless like a snake, and in the next moment, she slipped out of his grasp.
Yang Kai was greatly shocked by this, but it was already too late to grab her again. After being frightened by Yang Kai once, the crazy woman had quickly retreated, opening a huge gap with him.
*Hu chi chi…*
Only now did the two clashing Principle Strengths finally die down. Yang Kai stood with a wry smile hanging on his lips as he didn’t dare to make a rash move for the fear of scaring off the other party. Over twenty metres away, the crazy woman stood in place, her eyes filled with resentment. It appeared as if Yang Kai had abused her and then abandoned her, making Yang Kai feel apologetic.
It was really not a glorious thing to lie to a person whose brain was not currently working right, and to a woman no less.
She reached out to take the spirit fruit bitten by Yang Kai before taking a bite; she bit it without a moment of hesitation even though it had been eaten by Yang Kai. She was eating it with great relish, and there was a big smile on her face, but her nose and eyes were telling another story; she looked completely furious.
Yang Kai slightly sighed at the situation. This was Bing Yun’s Third Disciple, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, but now just a simple spirit fruit was enough to give her incomparable joy. If the others of Ice Heart Valley saw this, their hearts would surely ache with incomparable pain.
Yang Kai secretly winked at Zhang Ruo Xi. Seeing this, Zhang Ruo Xi knew what to do. She quickly took out a fruit from her Space Ring and spoke in a soft voice, “Want more? I have one here too. If you want it, I will give it to you.”
The crazy woman raised her brow and looked at her, but the next moment, her face paled as she repeatedly waved her head in refusal.
Having been tricked by Yang Kai, she was acting like she was bitten by a snake, shying away from ropes for ten years.
Not only that, she turned around and ran off in panic.
Yang Kai immediately became anxious and began regretting being too hasty just now.
In fact, he was confident before he made his move; after all, with his current strength, he believed that taking down an unstable Second-Order Emperor Realm Master would be as easy as flipping his hand. But this Third Disciple’s reflexes and judgement turned out far sharper than what he had estimated.
But after carefully thinking about it, this wasn’t that strange. For her to wander outside for so long, and even survive in the Ancient Wild Lands for this long, if she didn’t have such ability, she would have been reduced to a pile of bones already.
Clearly, she was even stronger than her Eldest Senior Sister and Second Senior Sister now. Although An Ruo Yun and Sun Yun Xiu were also Second-Order Emperors, would they be able to survive in this environment like this with their current strength?
Hardship and danger will always be a stepping stone for a person’s growth.
Seeing the crazy woman turn around and escape, Yang Kai didn’t dare to hesitate anymore and immediately shouted, “Third Disciple, Senior Bing Yun is waiting for you to return, where are you trying to run to!?”
He didn’t know what Bing Yun called her as he hadn’t inquired about it before, so he could only bring up Bing Yun’s name, hoping it might affect her.
If this crazy woman was really Bing Yun’s Third Disciple, she would definitely not remain indifferent to this call even if she had lost her mind.
What pleasantly surprised Yang Kai was that after listening to his shout, the crazy woman suddenly stopped in her place, her tender body slightly trembling as she slowly turned around. She had even forgotten about the spirit fruit in her mouth.
When their gazes met, Yang Kai discovered that her eyes were filled with confusion. Obviously, Bing Yun’s name had triggered some of her memories, but she still couldn’t clearly remember and organize her thoughts because of her current chaotic state. Due to her muddled thoughts, a struggling and painful look appeared on her face.
[She is definitely the Third Disciple!] Yang Kai was sure in his heart now and followed up in a soft voice, “Third Disciple, Senior Bing Yun has already returned. Your Eldest Senior Sister, Second Senior Sister, and several Junior Sisters are waiting for you. Don’t run around, I will lead you back!”
While speaking, he stretched his hand toward her.
The struggling look on the Third Disciple’s face became even more severe and her beautiful pair of eyes trembled violently as two lines of tears slid down her cheeks while she muttered, “Honoured Master, Honoured Master…”
Yang Kai was overjoyed when he heard this. Obviously, some of this Third Disciple’s memories had returned.
Just as Yang Kai was preparing to strike while the iron was hot, the Third Disciple suddenly started scratching through her hair, crying her heart out, “Honoured Master, where are you, your disciple can’t find you…”
She fell on the ground, grabbing and pulling her messy hair that was all tangled together.
The bleak, sorrowful, and self-blaming tone was truly hard to listen to and brought tears to one’s eyes.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes had turned red as she glanced at Yang Kai, thinking that if Sir suddenly disappeared one day, she would definitely go looking for him. Even if it was three thousand years, or thirty thousand years, she would never stop just because of the passage of time.
“Honoured Master!” The Third Disciple suddenly tenderly cried before her body rose into the air like a cannonball, shooting towards the depth of the Ancient Lands.
“We need to go after her!” Yang Kai was angry but helpless. What he was angry about was that he had told the Third Disciple the truth but she had completely ignored him, instead triggering this chaotic episode. As for helplessness, it was about the current situation of the Third Disciple that he couldn’t reason with.
For now, he could only chase after her and look for an opportunity to knock her out, even if it would hurt her.
While chasing after her, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate to use his Space Principles, teleporting a few times yet still losing track of her after the time it took for an incense to burn.
It was just like before. Had the Third Disciple not shown up again, he would have never been able to find her.
But the Third Disciple was having a nervous break, so it was impossible for her to show up again on her own. Yang Kai kept running around looking for her, annoyed and frustrated.
He had experienced the Third Disciple’s abilities first hand. She could freely come and go in this damned place, which he couldn’t help but admire.
*Hong long long…*
A series of approaching footsteps and rustles sounded from the distance suddenly. Apparently, many people were approaching. Obviously, the commotion made by Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi while pursuing the Third Disciple had attracted some attention.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and looked in the direction of the source of the sounds, wondering how so many had suddenly appeared in the Ancient Lands all at once.
He promptly spread his Divine Sense and discovered the aura of an Emperor Realm Master. Furthermore, the aura didn’t seem to belong to a Human.
[Monster Race?] Yang Kai immediately made an educated guess.
After a short while, a group of figures rushed out of one side of the jungle. Each of these figures looked exceptionally fierce, vicious, and ugly. In addition, Monster Qi was emanating from them. With so many gathered in one place, the Monster Qi soared into the sky in an unstoppable manner.
[As I thought, it’s the Monster Race!]
The fellow leading the group of Monster Race Masters was a burly man. He was holding a bone spear, which looked extremely scary. Who knows which Monster Beast’s bones were used to craft it. It was more than five meters long and as thick as a Human leg, but this burly man was holding it with ease. He was wearing a simple animal hide, revealing his strong and robust muscles. Every part of his body was a picture of strength. He was sitting on a steel-back maned boar with two-metre-long tusks pointed upward. Every time this boar breathed it sprayed hot air from his nostrils, and its four hooves kept restlessly digging the ground, its scarlet eyes flickering with a scary gleam.
The pair of Monster Race and Monster Beast looked extremely imposing, like war gods descended to the mortal realm.
He was obviously a Monster General!
Also, there were about thirty to forty members of Monster Race with different levels of strength on either side of this Monster General, standing in a disorderly manner.
In a flash, several dozen gazes locked onto Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi, sizing them up, with Zhang Ruo Xi being more of a focus than Yang Kai; after all, Zhang Ruo Xi looked beautiful and delicious. Her slim and slender figure always attracted the attention of males, no matter whether the opposite party was from the Human or Monster Race.
The female members of the Monster race, who were wearing revealing clothes, immediately became unhappy and glared at Zhang Ruo Xi with hostility, grinding their teeth and cursing. One or two whispers could be heard, calling her ‘slut’ and the like.
Zhang Ruo Xi, on the other hand, was looking at these Monster Race members who had suddenly rushed out of the jungle with curiosity. She had never seen members of the Monster Race before. She had seen many Monster Beasts, but how could it be that easy to see them take on Human form?
Seeing that they were no different from ordinary people, she couldn’t help but look at them a few more times.
She was showing no fear at all; after all, Yang Kai was by her side. She had complete confidence in her Sir.
“Human, I admire your courage, actually daring to trespass in this King’s territory!” The robust Monster General sitting on the steel-back maned boar pointed the spear in his hand with a majestic sweep.
Yang Kai’s brow momentarily twitched as he had no idea how to respond.
He knew that many Monster Races were living in the Ancient Wild Lands. Monster Beasts were different from members of the Monster Race as most Monster Beasts weren’t sentient, only surviving on wild instincts and absorbing World Energy to cultivate naturally. Although their lifespan was generally quite long, it was difficult for them to improve their strength quickly, much less assume Human form.
Those classified as members of the Monster Race were different. Although they stemmed from Monster Beasts, they were sentient and knew how to cultivate more effectively. Some even knew how to cultivate Secret Arts.
In the entire Ancient Wild Lands, the Monster Race was the strongest force. In addition to the Monster Race, there were many Primordial Species. These Primordial Species included countless near-extinct races that while small in number, were all extremely powerful because of their ancient bloodlines. All Primordial Species could unleash some unimaginable abilities.
Yang Kai wasn’t clear about the distribution of forces in the Ancient Lands as the only information he had was the things recorded in the jade slip given to him by Pi San. Naturally, this jade slip didn’t have comprehensive information and just gave a brief rundown about the outer areas of the Ancient Lands.
Seeing this team of Monster Race cultivators appear, Yang Kai immediately knew that while pursuing Ice Heart Valley’s Third Elder, he had inadvertently rushed into the territory of this Monster General.
“Kill, kill, kill!” The crowd of Monster Race suddenly started chanting. If someone ignorant of the situation saw this, he might think that this group of Monster Race was a group of bandits who were blocking the road to rob and pillage. It was a funny sight.
“This King has a question for you!” The Monster General reined in his Monster Beast mount while keeping his bone spear pointed at Yang Kai as he asked with no trace of politeness, “Have you seen a crazy woman?”
[Is he talking about Bing Yun’s Third Disciple?]
Yang Kai didn’t want to get involved with the Monster Race, but by the looks of it, they had obviously seen the Third Disciple, so Yang Kai immediately shouted, “Have you seen her?”
The Monster General blew his top seeing this and pushed his Monster Qi madly, rebuking with a cold snort, “It’s this King who will ask the questions here! If you don’t want to suffer, obediently answer this King! Otherwise, I will let you know how fearsome this King is.”
Determining that civil discourse was impossible with this fellow, Yang Kai decided to start talking with his fists instead, grinning as he taunted, “I’d like to see you try.”
The Monster General sneered, “Since you’re courting death, then don’t blame this King for showing no mercy!” While remaining seated on his mount, he waved his hand as he ordered aloud, “Kill the man, capture the woman!”
Just as he shouted the order, the thirty or forty members of Monster Race howled and acted as swiftly as the wind. In a flash, waves of Monster Qi spread into the surrounding area, lifting up the leaves into a flurry which they charged through to attack Yang Kai with reckless abandon.
[What the…] Yang Kai was stunned. He had known that the Monster Race was simple-minded, but he hadn’t expected them to be so dull. Before they even assessed the strength of their opponent, they all swarmed forward, as if they feared being late to the fight.
[It must have been really hard for the Monster Race to survive in the Ancient Lands for this long.]
However, Yang Kai’s vision was now higher, owing to his higher strength.
In any case, this group of Monster Race was led by a Monster General, and there were many of them. More importantly, the Human cultivators were usually suppressed by the Wild Force present here, so even if they ran into a Second-Order Emperor Realm Human, they could attack like this without any fear.
After so many years, many Emperors had lost their lives to the Monster Race like this. Furthermore, if a cultivator was not strong, how could they survive in the Ancient Lands for so long? They would have long died in a place like this where there was no peace.
The Monster Race group rushed in, unleashing all kinds of techniques. Many of them revealed their true bodies halfway through. In a flash, various strange Monster Beasts were seen galloping everywhere, showcasing all kinds of Monster Race Secret Techniques. The world instantly lost colour in the chaotic storm.
The Monster General, on the other hand, remained seated in the rear, coldly observing everything.
A giant python spewed a breath of poisonous mist, covering Yang Kai and the space around him, blinding him to his surroundings.
Inside the poisonous mist, a figure suddenly appeared and leapt at Yang Kai, its fangs shining with a cold gleam. It was a wolf-type Monster Beast that had launched a sneak attack under the cover of the poisonous mist.
*Zheng…*
A soft metallic cry rang out as a cold gleam flashed. Yang Kai remained standing in place, as if he hadn’t moved at all, but the Myriads Sword had at some point appeared in his hand.
The giant wolf flew past him, its scarlet eyes crazily flickering as if it had seen something terrifying.
After crashing to the ground, it uncontrollably slid forward before a squishing sound rang out and blood gushed from its neck like a fountain. Its head separated from his body as its body constantly twitched.
It was only an Eleventh-Order Monster Beast, so even if it had launched a sneak attack under the cover of the poisonous fog, it wasn’t Yang Kai’s opponent and was killed in a single blow.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Seven or eight members of the Monster Race showed their true bodies and rushed into the mist together, biting from all directions.
Yang Kai stood stalwart, releasing flashes of light one after another.
Splattering sounds echoed to no end as all the Monster Race attacking him flew past him, splitting into two in the air, their blood and internal organs dying the ground red as miserable wails rose and fell everywhere.
The remaining Monster Race members instantly quieted down and halted their charge right then and there. All of them were staring with widened eyes as a look of shock covered their faces. They hadn’t expected Yang Kai to be so powerful.
*Dida dida…*
Only the sound of blood dripping down the Myriads Sword could be heard, but to the members of the Monster Race, this light dripping was like a death knell deafening their ears, making them tremble in fright.
At this point, they finally noticed that Yang Kai was a little different from the Humans they had encountered before. He didn’t seem easy to mess with.
“Boy, how dare you! To have killed so many of my men. This King will send you to Hell!” The Monster General, who was originally sitting in the rear, continuously leering at Zhang Ruo Xi, blew his top when he noticed that over ten of his men had died in just the blink of an eye. He spurred his mount as he charged at Yang Kai with his spear.
Who knows what kind of exotic beast the steel-back maned boar was, but its speed was so fast that its limbs instantly blurred. The enormous trees in its path, which could only be hugged by several people working together, all broke under its charge, proof of how powerful it was.
As soon as the Monster General made his move, his subordinates naturally avoided and went to trouble Zhang Ruo Xi.
Yang Kai coldly snorted as he slid his finger across the Myriads Sword, a serious look appearing on his face as he mumbled, “Myriads Sword Arts, Radiant Moon Swallows the Wolf!”
*Chi Chi Chi…*
The sword danced around as thousands of Sword Qi blades shot towards the surroundings like a shower.
The Monster Race members were thrown off their feet, miserably wailing as they were helplessly struck by the thousands of Sword Qi blades before they could even approach Yang Kai. Blood gushed out from their bodies as if they had been riddled with holes like a sieve.
After this one move, Yang Kai suddenly disappeared from his position.
*Shua…*
His figure flickered as he flew to the front of the charging Monster General, swinging his sword down.
The Monster General had never seen such a scary Human before. After having seen his subordinates cut down like straws, he realized that things weren’t looking good for him. This Human seemed to be different from the ones he had encountered before. He was too scary!
Having been suddenly attacked, the Monster General was naturally shocked and angry.
However, his reaction was swift as well. The bone spear in his hand left afterimages, forming a screen of thrusts directed straight at Yang Kai. Monster Qi burst forth as the sound of the spear cutting through the air filled the surroundings.
Yang Kai similarly swung his sword again and again, and coupled with his Emperor Qi, the Myriads Sword became incomparably sharp; so sharp that the white bone spear was chipped off bit by bit and in the blink of an eye, only half of the long spear in the Monster General was left.
“Ah!?” The Monster General turned pale in horror. In this short time, who knows how many times he had visited the gates of Hell.
He had encountered a lot of Human cultivators before, but he had never seen one who could kill him without him being able to fight back. Even if the Human’s cultivation was higher than his, they were fighting him in the Ancient Wild Lands, where most of their strength was suppressed. And coupled with his several dozen subordinates, he had never been defeated. He had killed and robbed a lot of Human cultivators, making a big profit in the process.
This time though, it seemed he had kicked an iron plate. Not only did his feet hurt, but he might even lose his life if he didn’t handle things well.
Seeing Yang Kai swing his sword again, the Monster General screamed in horror and raised his arms up, lifting the remaining bone spear and pouring his Monster Qi into it to defend himself.
*Hong…*
A terrifying force struck him from above before the bone spear that had been with him for who knows how many years was cut into two. Sharp Sword Qi almost chopped off his face as it cut through his chest and abdomen.
The steel-back maned boar under him directly buckled to the ground, kneeling down. It was quite apparent how heavy this blow was.
In pain, the steel back maned boar’s eyes suddenly turned red and its steel-like hairs stood on end before they shot outwards.
Yang Kai raised his brow, surprised by this mount’s unexpected blow. It seemed this boar wasn’t just a status symbol but also a combat asset.
Yang Kai didn’t take this attack head-on, instead choosing to fly back as he swept his sword forward, deflecting the oncoming steel needles flying at him.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the steel-back maned boar pig suddenly jumped, leading the Monster General away from Yang Kai.
Having hardly recovered from the shock, the Monster General patted himself all over for a while before laughing, “I’m not dead! Hahaha, I’m not dead!”
At that moment, he thought he would die for sure, but to his surprise, he was still alive, making him feel lucky to have survived.
However, how could he dare to fight with Yang Kai again after this short confrontation? He knew that he wasn’t Yang Kai’s opponent, so he spurred his mount with his legs, turning tail and fleeing. Right now, his little life was the most important. He didn’t dare to pester Yang Kai and couldn’t even care about his subordinates’ lives.
But just as he had taken a few steps, a figure flickered and appeared in front of him, blocking his path. It was Yang Kai.
With his black hair dancing in the wind and a cold look in his eyes, Yang Kai stated stoically, “You didn’t die because you are of use to me. Why else do you think you survived?”
Having said this, he swung his sword down again.
The charging steel-back maned boar was too late to dodge this time and was hit straight on by the Sword Qi. It immediately let out a miserable squeal before its enormous body was split in two, blood and organs splashing out on the ground as its two halves kept rushing forward due to the inertia.
The Monster General sitting on its back was also sent flying, knocking over a dozen or so towering trees one after another before finally sliding across the ground and coming to a stop at the base of a particularly large tree. He was heaving hard and couldn’t get up for a long time.
*Zheng…*
A cold gleam flashed before the Monster General’s eyes as he found a sword resting on his forehead. He immediately panicked, staring at the sword. When looked ahead, cross-eyed, he slowly noticed Yang Kai standing in front of him, condescendingly gazing down at him.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead as the Monster General knew that Yang Kai had spoken the truth. He wasn’t dead, not because of his own strength, but because Yang Kai had spared his life. If Yang Kai had wanted to kill him just now, it would only have taken a flick of his wrist.
*Gudong…*
The fierce face of the Monster General turned pale as the sound of him gulping sounded. He forced a smile and started begging for mercy, discarding the integrity of the Monster Race, “Spare me, Sir! Spare me!”
It wasn’t the first time Yang Kai had dealt with the Monster Race. In Tong Xuan Realm’s Nine Heavens Holy Land, he had many encounters with the Monster Race, so he knew that these guys were no different from Humans in a certain sense; many of them clung to life instead of choosing death.
Although the fellow before him was a Twelfth-Order Monster Race, he was no doubt a timid fellow.
“Do you want to live or die?” Yang Kai asked in a cold voice, pushing the Myriads Sword a bit, cutting the Monster General’s skin lightly and drawing out a trickle of blood that ran down his face. Of course, the Monster General shouted, “Live! I want to live!”
“If you want to live, answer my questions. If you dare to lie even one word, I will immediately take your dog life!”
“Sir, just ask away!” The Monster General didn’t dare to move, otherwise, his head would have been repeatedly nodding like a chicken pecking rice.
Yang Kai asked, maintaining a cold face, “You asked about a crazy woman just now, have you seen her?”
The Monster General immediately understood that the cause of this disaster was its stupid mouth. This Human Master must have some connection with that crazy woman! He nervously gulped and gingerly asked, “May I ask Sir a question, is that woman your…”
“Hmm?” Yang Kai immediately glared as he coldly snorted through his nose before rebuking, “I am the one asking the questions, you only need to honestly answer them!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The Monster General’s body went stiff as he hurriedly replied, “I’ve seen her. Not only have I seen her, but I have also fought with her more than once!”
“What happened? Tell me everything in detail!”
Suddenly, an agonized look appeared on the Monster General’s face as he sorrowfully explained, “Sir, please understand, that crazy woman… Cough cough…” Knowing nothing about the relationship between Yang Kai and the crazy woman, the Monster General didn’t want to annoy Yang Kai and have his head cut off. He had been paying close attention to Yang Kai’s language and countenance, so he could tell that Yang Kai shouldn’t be annoyed yet, but was clearly not happy, so he immediately corrected himself and continued, “That woman has caused us a lot of harm. She has been stealing the Heaven Star Nurturing Spirit Fruits that this lowly one has been raising on the mountain. She would steal once every month. I had a total of five fruits and she stole them all in less than half a year. Even the tree was uprooted by her! This lowly one had been keeping those spirit fruits to use for his breakthrough and had spent a thousand years raising them. Just when it was about time to reap the harvest, I didn’t even get to taste one! She has also dug up a dozen or so Turtle Snake Grass that Old Niu, next door, had been raising…”
“Who is Old Niu?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
The Monster General hurriedly replied, “Niu Quan is a Monster General under Monster King Ying Fei, just like this lowly one. He lives next door to me.”
“Continue!” Yang Kai poked him with the sword, causing the Monster General to retreat as he could feel the sharp pain grow stronger, not daring to make a rash move so that he could keep his life.
“Hei Ya’s Ten Directional Fruit, Tu Rui’s Golden Rainbow Fountain Flower, Zhui Feng’s Royal Limes… All have suffered at her hands. This lowly one knows more than a dozen others who were robbed by her. I too have no idea exactly how many victims there are. She has been running around the surrounding region, and almost all of my fellow Brothers’ treasures had been taken away by her. Monster King Ying Fei was furious when he learned of this, cursing us as incompetent for being unable to catch one crazy woman. He ordered us to capture her within half a year, lest he loses face in front of the other Monster Kings.”
Yang Kai looked stunned.
Who were these Hei Ya, Tu Rui, Zhui Feng, and the like? Yang Kai had no idea, but he reckoned all of them must be Monster Generals like the one in front of him. He was quite familiar with the Ten Directional Fruit, Royal Lime and the like as well, as all of them were top-grade spirit medicines.
Judging by what this Monster General had said, it seemed like the Third Disciple had robbed these Monster Generals of a lot of the precious treasures they had been guarding.
But this wasn’t strange. She was still a Second-Order Emperor, even if her sanity had been lost. The Ancient Lands might be fraught with dangers, but it was also filled with opportunities, so her cultivation was bound to improve after robbing so many treasures.
After hearing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help but find it infuriating as well as funny.
Why did it feel like that the Ancient Lands had turned into the Third Disciple’s backyard, where she could come and go as she wished, take whatever she wanted, and enrage any Monster General she came across?
“When did this all happen?” Yang Kai asked again.
“It has been like this for fifty years…” The Monster General replied with an ashamed look on his face. A crazy woman had been roaming around in the Ancient Lands for fifty-some years, yet the Monster Race members here were unable to do anything to her. It was really embarrassing to speak of it out loud.
The corner of Yang Kai’s brow twitched before he continued asking, “You brought these subordinates to find that crazy woman?”
The Monster General replied, “Yes, yes. This lowly one heard my subordinate say that they found traces of her in this area, so this lowly one rushed straight here, but… we then ran into Sir,” the Monster General forced a smile as he gingerly asked, “Sir, how is that woman related to you?”
“None of your damn business!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
The Monster General shrank his neck; however, he could tell that Yang Kai had something to do with the crazy woman, and they were obviously not enemies, otherwise, why would he look worried?
The Monster General rolled his eyes before speaking, “That woman is quite strange. Although we have been looking for her for so long, no one ever succeeded and every time we do spot her, she escapes before we even notice… Uh, Sir, what are you doing?”
While he was talking, he suddenly noticed Yang Kai’s eyes turn colder. Yang Kai appeared to be about to thrust the sharp sword in his hand into his body, frightening the Monster General greatly. Knowing that his life was hanging by a thread, he quickly pleaded, “Sir, please spare me! This lowly one can be of use to you! This lowly one will work very hard to repay this kindness, Sir!”
“What’s the point in keeping a bunch of vile members of the Monster Race alive?” Yang Kai coldly snorted, continuing to push his sword forward. He just wanted to inquire about the Third Disciple for a bit, so now that he had learned everything he needed, there was no reason for him to keep this Monster General alive.
Sensing his murderous intent, large beads of sweat rolled down the Monster General’s forehead. He racked his brain hard before an idea suddenly came to him and he hurriedly stated, “This lowly one can help Sir find traces of that woman! This lowly one has been tracking her for fifty years now and has some understanding of her habits. Sir, please give me a chance!”
The Monster General was utterly helpless. He had no idea whether his assistance would be useful or not; however, he was grasping at straws from the beginning.
To his surprise, Yang Kai really stopped.
The Monster General felt like he had just survived the storm and knew he had bet right, immediately adding, “Sir, rest assured. As long as Sir lets me live, this lowly one will definitely not disappoint Sir. Besides, this lowly one also has some men under him. If you make them search, they will surely be helpful one way or another.”
[That makes sense!]
Yang Kai had never ever thought that he would run into Ice Heart Valley’s Third Elder in the Ancient Wild Lands, but now that he had run into her, he couldn’t simply let her roam free like this. However, the Third Elder’s movement skill was extremely strange and her camouflaging techniques were fearsome. If just he and Zhang Ruo Xi tried looking for her, they might not be able to do anything no matter how hard they tried.
If they could get the help of this Monster General, it would save them some time; after all, the Monster General had many subordinates at his disposal.
In order to put Yang Kai at ease, and safeguard his own life, the Monster General gritted his teeth and proposed on his own, “If Sir wants, this lowly one is willing to hand over his Soul Brand. This lowly one will be at Sir’s beck and call and work myself to the bone.”
Handing over one’s Soul Brand was tantamount to be becoming a Soul Slave. His life and death would be up to Yang Kai to decide. In order to control Hua Qing Si, Yang Kai had done the very same thing.
However, Hua Qing Si was forced to do it and was powerless about it, but the Monster General was actively proposing it.
However, the Monster General wasn’t doing this for no reason; he could care less about anything else to save his own skin, but who knows whether he would regret it in the future or not.
“Hand it over!” Yang Kai stretched his hand towards him.
“Yeah…” The corner of Monster General’s mouth started twitching, noticing Yang Kai’s cold gaze pointed at him. He didn’t dare to resist anymore and obediently closed his eyes and used a certain Secret Technique. In a few moments, a glowing golden wisp flew out of his forehead before being caught by Yang Kai.
The Monster General let out a stifled groan; his face going slightly pale.
After Yang Kai had stored the Monster General’s Soul Brand in his Knowledge Sea using some means, he finally put away the Myriads Sword and indifferently ordered, “Get up!”
Although the Monster General was agonizing in his heart, he knew that his life was saved somehow. He quickly got up, patted the dust off his body, then faintly sighed as he glanced over at his mount that had been cut in half.
“Sir, can you ask that Young Lady… To stop? This lowly one is afraid that she might accidentally get hurt!” The Monster General pointed at Zhang Ruo Xi’, who was still fighting with the other Monster Race members.
Yang Kai nodded and transmitted his voice into Zhang Ruo Xi’s ears.
The Monster General also shouted at the same time, “Everyone, stop!”
By the looks of it, he had very high prestige among the Monster Race members here as all of them retreated with just his one command, distancing themselves from Zhang Ruo Xi while leaving two fresh corpses on the ground.
Although they were locked in a heated battle, few had actually died, mainly because Zhang Ruo Xi’s hands and feet were tied while fighting so many enemies at once. After all, she was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
However, the fact that she had killed two members of the Monster Race and remained unscathed after just a short battle had terrified all her opponents.
Fortunately, the Monster General had ordered them to stop, otherwise, they had no idea if they would still have the courage to fight after a few more deaths.
The Monster Race members and their mounts both looked towards Yang Kai and the Monster General. Seeing them standing side by side in peace had made them curious.
The Monster General lightly coughed and explained, “Everything was a misunderstanding. This Sir is on our side, we don’t need to fight anymore.”
He was too ashamed to tell his subordinates the truth that he had already become Yang Kai’s slave; after all, he still wanted to save face. When he spoke, he surreptitiously looked at the change in Yang Kai’s expression, but after finding that Yang Kai didn’t mind, he finally put his heart at ease.
The Monster Race group on the other hand looked at each other blankly, confused about what their leader was doing. This man and woman were clearly humans, so how could they be on their side?
But after having experienced Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi’s ferocity first hand, they didn’t dare to raise any questions, lest they draw trouble to themselves.
“In the future, seeing this Sir will be as if you are seeing me. Do you understand?” The Monster General shouted again, pointing at Yang Kai.
Although the Monster Race members were totally confused, they still nodded in agreement; mainly because they were scared and they had no desire to risk themselves to avenge their fallen comrades.
The Monster General turned and spoke with a flattering smile next, “Sir, you must be tired from the journey, how about you take a rest at this lowly one’s mountain?”
“Rest?” Yang didn’t give him face and ordered, waving his hand, “Hurry up and ask them to find her. If they can’t find her, death will be the punishment.”
The Monster General immediately looked bitter as he replied, “Sir, I believe you don’t know about this yet, but when that woman is frightened, she won’t show up for some time. It’s useless to look for her during that period.”
Yang Kai calmly asked, “What do you mean?”
The Monster General continued to explain, cupping his fist, “She is very timid, and every time she is frightened, she will hide for a month or two. During this time, no one has ever been able to find her. So, if Sir wants to look for her, the best method is to wait and lie low. After a time, she will naturally show up again.” Seeing Yang Kai looking at him suspiciously, the Monster General began sweating profusely, “Sir, this lowly one is speaking the truth, Sir can ask them.”
Yang Kai had experienced Bing Yun’s Third Disciple’s timidity first hand. It should be because of her problem with her sanity, so he felt that the Monster General wasn’t lying to him. Not to mention, his life was in Yang Kai’s hands, so this Monster General wouldn’t have the courage to lie to him in the first place.
“Even if you can’t find her, you still have to keep looking. Let me know if there is any news,” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
Although he knew that the Monster General was not lying, Yang Kai was still hoping for a chance that she would be found.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Since he couldn’t dissuade Yang Kai, all he could do was ask his subordinates to look around and immediately report back if there were any news.
After having received the order, the twenty or thirty Monster Race members of varying cultivation dispersed in all directions, leaving only five Monster Race members to escort the Monster General and Yang Kai.
“Where are we going to rest?” Yang Kai glanced at the Monster General with a straight face. Now that someone was helping him look for the traces of the Third Disciple, he didn’t need to work so hard. This Monster General also said that the Third Disciple won’t show up for a month or two, so Yang Kai had no intention to look for her immediately and decided to wait.
The Monster General immediately made an inviting gesture after hearing this, nodding and bowing his waist, “This way, Sir, it’s not too far. It will only take half a day.”
Yang Kai nodded before flying towards the indicated direction.
Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing, but she didn’t ask any questions either, just flying into the air along with Yang Kai, shooting a contemptuously look at the Monster General as she passed him.
No matter what, he was a Monster General, a Twelfth-Order Monster Race equal to an Emperor Realm Master of the Human Race, so how could he be so spineless? He was no better than cowardly Humans. Zhang Ruo Xi had heard that the Monster Race of the Ancient Lands were brave and did not fear death, so how could she suddenly accept this great disparity in reality?
Having been looked at by Zhang Ruo Xi like this, the Monster General embarrassingly touched his nose before he followed them.
And following his lead, a file of people flew towards the Monster General’s abode.
“What’s your name?” Yang Kai suddenly asked in the middle of the journey.
The Monster General cupped his fists and introduced himself, “This lowly one is Yang You Wei!”
“I heard you mention a Monster King Ying Fei, who is he?” Yang Kai curiously looked at him.
Yang You Wei immediately turned serious as he replied, “Sir Ying Fei is one of the eight Monster Kings under the Divine Venerable. His strength is unfathomable and has already reached the peak of the Twelfth-Order, which is comparable to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Human Master!”
“Eight Monster Kings!” Yang Kai furrowed his brow, “So to say, there are seven other Monster Kings?”
Yang You Wei chuckled before proudly stating, “Not just seven, there are thirty-two Monster Kings in the Ancient Lands!”
Yang Kai was shocked, “So many? Are all of them at the peak Third-Order Emperor Realm!?”
Yang You Wei responded with a nod, “But of course! How can they secure the position of Monster King without such a level of strength? In fact, there are more than thirty-two with this level of strength, but there are only thirty-two Monster Kings, that’s all. Those who couldn’t seize the position of Monster King are all powerful Masters who serve the Divine Venerables directly. There are more than a dozen of them and they aren’t any worse than any Monster King. Some of them may even be stronger.”
Yang Kai gasped a cold breath of air.
Before coming here, he had never known that there were so many fearsome Monster Race Masters in the Ancient Wild Lands. Hearing information about this, Yang Kai finally realized that he had been greatly underestimating the Ancient Lands.
In the entire Star Boundary, no Sect had so many Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters! Even those sects led by Great Emperors did not have such formidable strength! At most, a single Sect would have seven or eight such Masters.
In other words, the force of the Ancient Lands was comparable to four or five Star Soul Palaces combined.
No wonder everyone called the Ancient Lands a dangerous domain. It was far more than dangerous, it was simply a gateway to Hell. One might not even know how they died in this place!
Yang Kai felt slightly lucky now that he didn’t kill Yang You Wei right away, otherwise, he might not have been able to get hold of this important information. This made him a little worried about the task that lay ahead of him.
“Then who or what… Is this Divine Venerable you speak of?” Suddenly, a fearsome notion flashed in Yang Kai’s mind as he hesitatingly asked.
“A Divine Venerable is a Divine Venerable!” Yang You Wei meaningfully grinned, “They rule over the entire Ancient Wild Lands. Oh yes, according to humans, a Divine Venerable is also referred to as a Divine Spirit!”
[As I expected…]
Yang Kai was shocked. Although there were rumours that Divine Spirits existed in the Ancient Lands, the general population didn’t know if this was true or not. After hearing what Yang You Wei had said, it seemed that the Monster Race living here was well aware of their existence.
There were really Divine Spirits in the Ancient Lands!
Zhang Ruo Xi looked at Yang You Wei in shock, unable to digest this shocking news, her mouth slightly agape as she gasped lightly.
Yang You Wei wasn’t finished yet though and immediately threw out another startling piece of information, “There are four Divine Venerables in the Ancient Lands, each of them having eight subordinate Monster Kings as well as two Great Kings under them. Heh heh, our Ancient Lands’ strength is extraordinary!”
[Four Divine Venerables… Doesn’t that mean that there are four Divine Spirits here?] Yang Kai turned pale.
Although his current cultivation was decent, he was still no match for a Divine Spirit.
Yang You Wei was paying close attention to Yang Kai’s expression, so when he noticed that there was some shock and awe in it, he secretly felt elated. He didn’t give him any face, but it looked like he was scared now!
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai turned to him and stated, coldly looking at him, “No matter how strong the Divine Venerables and Monster Kings are, your life or death is now mine to control.”
This time it was Yang You Wei’s turn to turn pale as he stated in an aggrieved voice, “Sir, this lowly one is loyal to you. Sir, I always keep my word, the Sun and Moon can testify to it. Sir, please understand!”
[Loyalty? What nonsense! How long have we known each other? To think you are actually talking about loyalty. You are lying right through your teeth!]
“Rest assured, I will give you back your freedom once I find that woman!” Yang Kai stated with a snort, giving him the carrot after hitting him with the stick.
Yang You Wei beamed with joy in his heart but said otherwise, “The lowly one will do anything for Sir, loyally and faithfully.”
Who knows where this guy learned to be this good with words, sucking up and flattering Yang Kai at every turn with complete seriousness, drawing even more contempt from Zhang Ruo Xi towards him.
After half a day, the group landed on a certain mountain. The entire Ancient Wild Lands was filled with who knows how many rolling and zig-zag mountains, making such places the best for Monster Race to establish themselves upon.
This was where Yang You Wei’s cave mansion was located.
According to him, with this mountain as the centre, the surrounding ten nearby mountains were his territory.
Yang Kai took out the jade slip handed to him by Pi San and compared it, soon finding that where he now stood already exceeded the range recorded by the detailed map. The only thing that was noted about this place was that it was a dark shade of red, meaning it was extremely dangerous.
Apparently, the information in the jade slip wasn’t useless. If an ordinary cultivator saw this indication in jade slip, he would definitely not dare to arbitrarily come here.
There was a cave halfway up the mountain, one leading to the belly of the mountain. Inside, there was a special Cave Haven, with many grottos and the like having been dug out. There was little aesthetic sense to it as the Monster Race probably never cared about decorations and cared only about practicality.
Yang You Wei led Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi into a certain grotto for Yang Kai and the one adjacent for Zhang Rui Xi before he left with much nodding and bowing.
It was a good idea to be respectful to the one who had one’s life in his hands.
Inside the grotto, Yang Kai looked around and found that although the place was small, there were five rooms in it. It should be the place where Yang You Wei lived. There were stone beds in it with exquisite beddings that Yang You Wei obtained from who knows where.
There was also a natural bath in the grotto that used water seemingly gathered from a mountain spring. The water was crystal clear, and Yang Kai tried it out and found that the temperature was actually quite pleasant.
“These guys sure know how to enjoy life,” Yang Kai smiled slightly as he walked to a nearby stone bench and sat down.
“Sir, what should we do now?” Zhang Ruo Xi, who was next to him, asked.
“We’ll figure that out when we need to,” Yang Kai heaved a slight sigh. He didn’t expect the trip to the Ancient Lands to be this eventful; however, he couldn’t ignore the Third Disciple even if his primary concern was finding Xiao Xiao.
There was a spiritual connection between him and Xiao Xiao, similar to the one he once shared with Liu Yan, allowing him to sense Xiao Xiao’s existence as long as they weren’t too far apart.
Naturally, Zhang Ruo Xi would only follow his orders and raised no objections.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The two looked at each other before Yang Kai signalled Zhang Ruo Xi with his eyes. The latter moved lithely and went to the door.
Outside the door, Yang You Wei was anxiously fidgeting. There were two beautiful maids carrying something on either side behind him. One was holding a pot of spirit wine and the other was holding a plate of spirit fruits. They had beautiful eyes and slim and slender figures while their voluptuous figures were only covered by a thin and translucent muslin, tantalizing one’s imagination, especially their bare snow-white slender thighs that instantly drew the attention of men.
Obviously, these two beautiful maids were not Human as they were exuding an obvious Monster Qi, their true forms unknown; however, since they could assume Human form, they had undoubtedly gained sentience and knew how to cultivate.
The two women were also very curious. They had always exclusively served Yang You Wei, but this time, Yang You Wei had asked them to serve an honoured guest. Yang You Wei clearly stated that no matter what the honoured guest wanted, they had to obey, and they had to do it with smiles and flattery, not showing any resistance.
It wasn’t like the two were totally oblivious to what Yang You Wei meant; though, they didn’t mind it either. Accompanying Yang You Wei was ‘accompanying’, and accompanying the honoured guest was also ‘accompanying’. They were just guessing which powerful Monster General or Monster King had come here. If that wasn’t the case, how could Yang You Wei be willing to ask the two of them to please someone else?
As the door opened, Yang You Wei looked up, but before he could address his new ‘Sir’, he swallowed his words back and asked in amazement, looking at Zhang Ruo Xi, “Young Lady, what are you doing here? Where is Sir?”
Zhang Ruo Xi vigilantly glanced at him before turning her focus on the two alluring women who were acting coquettishly and were indecently dressed. Her pretty face immediately turned colder, especially after seeing the two women peeking through the crack in the door. She could see what was going to happen, and this made her uncomfortable.
She looked back and found that Yang Kai happened to be curiously looking at this side, his eyes constantly scanning the two ‘offerings’ over and over again.
She immediately stepped forward and slammed the door shut behind her, cutting off the presumptuous gazes of the two women, making the two look at her with resentment.
“Sir is tired and resting. What’s the matter?” Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t give Yang You Wei any face.
Yang You Wei chuckled before replying with a bow, “It’s like this. Sir came here for the first time, but there is nothing for entertainment in this barren mountain, so this lowly one came to offer a pot of spirit wine and a plate of spirit fruits. This lowly one hopes that Sir will not refuse this lowly one’s hospitality!”
Zhang Ruo Xi finally shifted her gaze to the spirit wine and spirit fruits before lightly snorting through her nose.
Yang You Wei didn’t know what she was planning to do, so he remained standing there to make her give way, but he discovered that Zhang Ruo Xi had blocked the door like a guard, and she wasn’t showing any intention of giving way at all. In desperation, he turned to the two women and gestured to them, signalling the two to give the things in their hands to Zhang Ruo Xi.
“Anything else?” Zhang Ruo Xi took the items and impatiently asked when she saw that they hadn’t left yet.
Yang You Wei flatteringly smiled and said, “Sir is tired from the long journey, so this lowly one had also prepared these two maids to wait upon Sir, to help him take bath and rest… I wonder if you can…”
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Zhang Ruo Xi stretch her hand out, pointing towards the way out.
Yang You Wei turned his head but found nothing, making him doubtfully scratch his head.
“Sir has me to serve him, he doesn’t need you. You can go back where you came from. Apart from the news about the crazy woman, if you dare to disturb Sir again, I will take all of your dog lives!” Zhang Ruo Xi’s pupils turned colder as a murderous look appeared on her face.
Yang You Wei was taken aback. He had no idea what mistake he made to offend this Young Lady, but he didn’t dare to be presumptuous before her; after all, Zhang Ruo Xi was brought here by Yang Kai, so offending her would not bode well for him.
He repeatedly bowed and scraped before he took the two women and walked away in frustration. The two women had come here in excitement but were forced to return in disappointment, not to mention a lot of resentment.
“Shameless vixens!” Zhang Ruo Xi, holding the wine pot with one hand and the fruit plate with the other, ground her teeth and cursed.
[Two impure vixens actually dare to aim for Sir, how dare they!? How annoying!? What’s more annoying is that Sir’s eyes actually lit up when he looked at their bodies. That look was very different from…]
Turning around, Zhang Ruo Xi was just about to open the door and step in, fuming in anger, but suddenly, her raised foot froze in the mid-air.
Suddenly, she remembered that she had never seen Sir having close contact with any woman during all the years she had been accompanying him. She was no longer a child and was not ignorant of the relations between men and women. She used to live with Sister Hua in the Small Sealed World, who would often tease her about these matters, making her blush.
She knew very well that with Yang Kai’s cultivation, if he wanted a woman, thousands of beauties would line up to let him choose between them, but he seemed to have never had such ideas. He had been smashing his way through all kinds of difficulties and had been tirelessly cultivating; having almost no time to relax at all.
[How can a man possibly dislike women? Why is Sir so self-disciplined?]
Suddenly, she started blaming herself, feeling like she shouldn’t have blocked the two women; after all, judging by her Sir’s gaze, he seemed quite interested in those two vixens. But she had now presumptuously sent them away…
She anxiously pushed open the door and walked in, placing the spirit wine and fruits on the table before explaining what just transpired, carefully observing Yang Kai’s expression.
Yang Kai just nodded and didn’t do anything else.
[Sir isn’t angry because I ruined his good deed! Otherwise, why would his reaction be so dull, right?] Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly became a little concerned about the pros and cons. She couldn’t help but speculate something, and now, her imagination was running wild…
After a long silence, Zhang Ruo Xi bit her red lips and asked, “Sir, you must be tired from the long journey, do you want me to call back the two women and ask them… To serve you?”
After saying this, Zhang Ruo Xi’s cheek turned slightly red. She was a little embarrassed, and a little afraid that Yang Kai would agree.
Yang Kai took a sniff of the spirit wine and said without raising his head, “No need.”
He was just checking them out, curious about what their true Monster Beast form was. They were indeed charming and sexy, so if they were in the outside world, they would definitely bring a disaster to the nation, but there was no other meaning behind his gaze, so he replied calmly while pouring himself a glass of spirit wine to taste.
“Then… do you want Ruo Xi to personally serve you?”
*Pu…*
Yang Kai spurted the sip of spirit wine and hurriedly wiped it, flabbergasted.
Zhang Ruo Xi couldn’t help giggling at this comical sight, approaching Yang Kai and using her sleeve to wipe his wet clothes with gentle movements.
A sweet fragrance immediately tickled his nose, causing Yang Kai to stare at the flower-like tender and sweet face and say with a smile, “Ruo Xi has grown up.”
He still remembered when he brought Zhang Ruo Xi out from the Zhang Family; she was a little girl back then who had yet to mature, but after following him for so long, she had become a great beauty herself. Perhaps, it was because it was always darker under the lamp that Yang Kai hadn’t noticed it until now.
Zhang Ruo Xi blushed and her movements momentarily paused after hearing this.
Yang Kai patted her shoulder and motioned her to get up, then he got up and dispersed the wine from his robes before speaking, “If you find a man to your liking in the future, tell me. I’ll have him marry the beautiful you.”
Zhang Ruo Xi bit her lip a bit harder than before and held her tongue, a slightly bitter look flashing across her eyes.
“Okay, things should be fine now. You should focus on your cultivation. If there is any news, I will call for you,” Yang Kai waved her away.
Zhang Ruo Xi opened her mouth, but couldn’t come up with anything to say, so she eventually gave a meek ‘yes.’
After she went out and closed the door, Zhang Ruo Xi covered her cheeks with her hands and dashed into the grotto next door, blushing furiously as her heart pounded like a drum.
She couldn’t understand what was wrong with her today. She was hit with a sudden thought and said something she wouldn’t dare to say normally. Looking back now, she really didn’t know where she got the courage to make such a proposal.
These feelings had always been bottled up in a corner of her heart, and if she hadn’t spoken them today, she might not have even noticed them.
[Have I reached the stage mentioned by Sister Hua, the so-called ‘girl in spring’?]
Time passed on just like that while Yang Kai cultivated inside the mountain.
Yang You Wei was very astute, so after he was sent away by Zhang Ruo Xi that day, he did not appear again. But Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of him playing any tricks. Currently, Yang You Wei’s Soul Brand was in his hands, so Yang You Wei couldn’t get out of his control. If the latter dared to have any crooked thoughts, he would be seeking his own death.
Zhang Ruo Xi hadn’t come again either as she was completely focused on her cultivation. She was now a Third-Order Dao Source Realm and had gained a lot of benefits in Shattered Star Sea. She had even obtained an intact Star Source and after refining it, she had begun comprehending Emperor Intent. She was just looking for an opportunity now to break through to the Emperor Realm.
After one month, the door was knocked on again.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and opened the door with the wave of his hand.
Yang You Wei respectfully came in and reported, cupping his fists, “Sir, I have some news.”
Yang Kai didn’t want to delay the matter of Bing Yun’s Third Disciple any longer as once he was done with it, he could finally search for Xiao Xiao in peace. Therefore, as soon as he was done listening to Yang You Wei, he set off without wasting a single moment.
Just as he walked out of the door, Zhang Ruo Xi, who had received Yang Kai’s Divine Sense Message, also hurriedly walked out. After exchanging a glance, Yang Kai slightly nodded to her, after which Zhang Ruo Xi followed him without a word.
A streak of light soared into the sky, leaving the top of the mountain before turning in the air and shooting towards a certain direction.
On the way, Yang You Wei carefully reported his findings.
His twenty-some Monster Race subordinates who had survived the last incident had been searching for the Third Disciple’s tracks over the past month, and just half a day ago, one subordinate had suddenly discovered something and quickly reported it to Yang You Wei. The Third Disciple was too vigilant though, so that subordinate had kept a good distance after finding traces of her. They had found the Third Disciple many times over these few decades, but they were unable to capture her, so they had developed a habit of secretly tracking her from afar.
But then again, Yang You Wei’s subordinates weren’t the Third Disciple’s opponent even if they attacked her head-on.
Yang Kai knew that Yang You Wei wasn’t even aware that the Third Disciple was already a Second-Order Emperor, otherwise, how would he dare to attack her so valiantly and spiritedly?
According to the subordinate’s report, the Third Disciple seemed to have been hiding under a local river. They had been able to find her all because of some chances and coincidences. Perhaps it was because the Third Disciple was hiding for too long and wanted to take a breath, she had come out and exposed herself.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. As expected, it was easier to do things with more people.
It was a wise decision to not kill Yang You Wei and instead subdue him at the time, allowing him to search for the Third Disciple. If not, who knows how long it would have taken Yang Kai to find a trace of her.
The journey wasn’t long, but before Yang Kai’s group could even reach their destination, a Monster Race member came flying from the front.
Yang You Wei focused his gaze before hurriedly informing, “It’s my subordinate.”
He took the lead and greeted the Monster Race member, and as soon as the two met, they whispered a few sentences with each other. Immediately after, Yang You Wei’s expression drastically changed and he promptly turned and looked at Yang Kai with anxiety.
Seeing the drastic change in expression on his face, Yang Kai’s heart tightened and he quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yang You Wei bitterly replied, “We were discovered.”
“She ran away again?” Yang Kai asked with a cold look on his face. Last time, the Third Disciple had been hiding for a month after running away. This time, she might hide for more than a month. How could he waste so much time here?
“It can be said that she ran, and it can also be said that she didn’t!” Yang You Wei looked embarrassed, as if he didn’t know how to explain this to Yang Kai.
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai coldly looked at him.
Yang You Wei opened his mouth and sighed before replying, “That woman entered the tomb!”
“What tomb?” Yang Kai frowned.
“The Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb!” Yang You Wei had an agonized expression as his face turned pale and he shuddered as he spoke this name, as if he dreaded it deeply.
Yang Kai coldly laughed and ordered, “I don’t give a damn. I order you to continue tracking her, otherwise, I will take really good care of you!”
Yang You Wei cried in surprise, “Sir! I think you are hearing about the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb for the first time and do not know its circumstances. After you come to know about it, you will understand that this lowly one wants to follow your orders but is unable to do so.”
Yang Kai coldly glared at him, realizing Yang You Wei wasn’t just trying to alarm him and asked, “Fine. Let’s hear what tricks you are up to?”
Yang You Wei bitterly stated, “This lowly one wouldn’t dare. Sir, let me tell you, the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb is an invisible place. It’s also the tomb of all the beings of the Ancient Lands.”
“How can it be invisible?”
Yang You Wei bitterly replied, “No one knows where it is, and it’s also impossible to find.”
Yang Kai angrily rebuked, “You just said that the Third Disciple has entered the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, now you are saying that no one can find where it is? Do you think this Young Master is a three-year-old who you can fool anytime?”
Zhang Ruo Xi also glared at him with a cold and unkind look on her face. The main reason was that what Yang You Wei had said was too contradictory, making it hard not to be suspicious of him.
Yang You Wei was terrified as he felt pressure on his Soul, knowing that if he didn’t explain it clearly, he would have to part with his life today. Anxiously, he stated, “Sir, please calm yourself, what this lowly one said is indeed true. The entire Ancient Lands knows about the existence of the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb. You can find out about it by just asking anyone. How could I dare lie to you?”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, feeling like Yang You Wei would not be joking with this, waving his hand and snapping, “Go on!”
Yang You Wei let out a breath of relief, knowing he had managed to keep his life for now. Organizing his thoughts for a moment, he then continued, “The Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb is ethereal and impossible to trace. It can appear anywhere or anytime in the Ancient Lands with no set pattern. It might remain for one or two days, or even several months, but only one entrance will appear each time. If you want to enter, you can only enter through that entrance, but after so many years, no one who has entered has ever come out ever again. And… Once the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb appears, the nearby Monster Beasts and the Ancient Lands residents who are about to die of old age would take the initiative to enter it and wait for their death. This is why it is called the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb. Along with the Blood Gate, they are the two Restricted Areas of the Ancient Lands.”
[What in the world is this Blood Gate?] Yang Kai didn’t know what the Blood Gate was, but since it was designated as a Restricted Area, it must be an incomparably dangerous place.
Yang Kai didn’t even bother to ask about the Blood Gate as he was only interested in confirming the current situation, “So, according to you, this Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb is the place where the residents of Ancient Lands go at their predestined time of death, right?”
“Sir understands correctly!” Yang You Wei said, bowing.
“So, why did the Third Disciple go in?” Yang Kai asked, furrowing his brow.
Yang You Wei thought to himself, [You are asking me, but who am I going to ask?] But he didn’t dare to complain and could only bitterly reply, “This lowly one also has no idea, but since she has gone in… I’m afraid things aren’t looking good for her because even when the strongest Monster Kings enter, they can only remain inside and wait for death.”
When he mentioned this, he hoped that this Sir would not do anything rash.
But Yang Kai only pondered for a moment before he ordered, waving his hand, “Lead the way, let’s go and see this Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb.”
Yang You Wei felt that he had wasted his breath and wailed in his heart. He wanted to dissuade him but when he met Yang Kai’s threatening gaze, he honestly led the way ahead.
After a short while, a small group landed near the entrance of a mountain valley. Immediately after, several Monster Race members came from the jungle. Yang Kai found them familiar as he had seen them last time. They were all Yang You Wei’s subordinates.
“Sir!” The few Monster Race members stepped forward and saluted.
Yang You Wei waved his hand and asked to stand aside, warily staring at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai also looked at the mountain valley, trying to find the Ten Thousand Spirits Tombs, but he found nothing, frowning as he asked, “Where is the tomb?”
Yang You Wei looked at a subordinate and that Monster Race member immediately replied, pointing ahead, “It’s just ahead.”
“Quit playing with me!” Yang Kai’s face turned gloomier and colder.
Yang You Wei was shocked as he hurriedly stated, “This lowly one doesn’t dare to. It’s just that the entrance to the tomb is invisible, one cannot see it unless they have reached the end of his or her lifespan, only then will they be able to find some clues.”
“Really?” Yang Kai suspiciously looked at Yang You Wei. He didn’t find anything with his powerful Divine Sense, but Yang You Wei seemed to be speaking with absolute certainty, which made it harder for him to not doubt it.
“Sir, can’t you see it?” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly intervened.
“See what?” Yang Kai looked at her in amazement.
“There is a door of light over there, a dark grey door of light!” Zhang Ruo Xi replied, pointing in a certain direction.
The eyes of the few Monster Race members present here widened in shock as they stared at Zhang Ruo Xi in disbelief.
Yang Kai was still looking around and thoroughly swept the area with his Divine Sense, but still came up with nothing, stating in frustration, “There’s nothing there.”
“How is that possible? It’s obviously there…” A doubtful look appeared on Zhang Ruo Xi’s face.
Yang You Wei timidly looked at Zhang Ruo Xi and tentatively asked, “Young Lady… Can you see… The entrance of the tomb?”
“That’s right!” Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t know what was so strange about it.
Yang You Wei’s countenance immediately became unnatural as he looked around and found that the other members of the Monster Race had strange looks on their faces too.
Yang Kai coldly looked over at them and asked with a snort, “Didn’t you say that only someone at the end of their lifespan can see the entrance? How do you explain this? Is Ruo Xi about to die of old age too?”
Zhang Ruo Xi was taken aback, furrowing her delicate brow as she angrily glared at Yang You Wei.
It was like Yang You Wei was actually cursing her to die! Just as she had first suspected, he was a bad man!
Yang You Wei stated with a crying look on his face, “This saying has been there since ancient times and remains true till today. Therefore, when this lowly one said that the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb is invisible he was simply stating the truth. I also don’t know what’s going on!” He turned to one of his subordinates and grabbed him by his collar, angrily asking, “Are you sure that the entrance to the tomb is right there?”
The Monster Race member hurriedly nodded, “Yes, yes! That woman disappeared when she went in. When she entered, the entrance to the tomb flashed. Everyone saw it!”
The two Monster Race members on the side also repeatedly nodded in agreement.
Yang You Wei finally let him go and anxiously looked at Yang Kai.
*Dong dong dong…*
Right then, several loud thuds sounded, as if something huge was approaching, and from the direction of the sound, trees could be heard snapping and crashing to the ground.
Yang Kai and the others turned their heads when they heard this clatter and quickly caught sight of a rising cloud of dust. A huge figure was coming from the jungle, step by step, shaking the ground and mountains.
Also, many Monster Race members happened to be flying in the sky above the huge figure, constantly shouting, all looking extremely anxious.
“Sir, it’s Sir Niu’s men!” A Monster Race member suddenly approached Yang You Wei and shouted.
Yang You Wei’s countenance changed after hearing this and quickly rose into the air to get a better look. After seeing the appearance of a behemoth figure approaching, he couldn’t help but shout, “Niu Quan!”
He had mentioned Niu Quan before, and although Yang Kai didn’t get into the details, he knew that Niu Quan was a Monster General, someone on the same level of strength and status as Yang You Wei, but he didn’t expect to meet him here today.
Yang Kai was considering whether he should ask Yang You Wei to cooperate with him to silence the witness, so as to prevent other irrelevant Monster Race members from knowing about Yang You Wei cooperating with him, which might lead to some accident. But he hadn’t expected Yang You Wei to actually fly straight ahead and shout loudly, hovering in the air, “Old Niu, what are you doing?”
He didn’t get any response.
Yang You Wei’s face changed again as he anxiously asked, “Old Niu, it’s Old Yang, wake up and look at me!”
The Monster Race members who were flying along with Niu Quan recognized Yang You Wei. Some of the Monster Race members broke down in tears as they requested, “Sir Yang, please do something and save our Sir. We don’t know what happened with Sir today, he suddenly revealed his true form and started running straight in this direction. We couldn’t stop him. He is also not responding to our shouts!”
Hearing this, Yang You Wei’s conjecture was immediately confirmed. He glanced at the place where the invisible tomb entrance was as a trace of sadness appeared on his face. He heaved a heavy sigh before waving his hand and flying back to Yang Kai’s side.
*Hong long long…*
The towering trees snapped as the behemoth figure finally rushed out of the woods. Yang Kai focused his gaze and found an enormous ox-shaped Monster Beast suddenly entering his vision. Its entire body was glowing green and its skin was filled with deep cracks. The criss-cross patterns were obviously the marks left by the passage of time. Each of its hooves were the size of a house and every time they fell, the ground and mountains quaked.
There were two sickle-like curved horns on either side of the Monster Beast’s head, but one of them was cut off; who knows by what or whom, but the broken horn did not make this ox look weaker, instead just giving him a ferocious air.
[This should be the Monster General named Niu Quan!] Yang Kai made an educated guess in his heart, but he couldn’t come up with the reason why this Monster General would show his real body here. Although the strength of a Monster Race member would increase after they took on their real form, that form wasn’t ever as agile or flexible as a human form, so most Monster Race Masters would not reveal their original forms unless it was a last resort.
“What happened?” Yang Kai looked at Yang You Wei.
“His pre-destined time has come. He is about to enter the tomb.” Yang You Wei suddenly heaved a sigh, his tone carrying a bit of sadness. He had known that Niu Quan would not live for much longer, but he hadn’t expected this day to come so suddenly.
Yang Kai looked at Niu Quan and then he looked in the supposed direction of the tomb entrance that the Monster Race members had pointed out before. Then he suddenly came to realize, “Can he feel the call of the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb?”
Yang You Wei agreed with a nod, “All inhabitants of the Ancient Lands can feel the location of the Ten Thousand Spirits Tombs when their time of death arrives and will involuntarily try to enter it. Old Niu… Haaa…” He heaved a heavy sigh and was unable to speak any further.
“I see…” Yang Kai raised his brow.
He didn’t have any friendship with Niu Quan and he wasn’t sure about whether the Ten Thousand Spirits Tombs was real or not, but now, there was actually a way to verify everything, so Yang Kai didn’t hold any sadness. On the contrary, he was watching the situation with interest, thinking these next few moments would broaden his horizons.
Niu Quan’s subordinates were still calling out to him; however, after assuming his real form, it seemed that he couldn’t hear anything anymore and only knew how to charge towards the location of the tomb entrance, step by step.
After a while, all the Monster Race members following Niu Quan came to know about the truth of the matter from Yang You Wei’s subordinates. After they came to know that their Sir was about to enter the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, they were extremely saddened and started weeping loudly.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Niu Quan walked into the mountain valley and suddenly stopped. He raised his head and mooed loudly before plunging forward.
Yang Kai’s eyes widened in an instant.
Because a dark grey gate of light suddenly appeared out of thin air. This gate of light was tens of meters tall and had been invisible before now. Had Niu Quan’s entrance not caused a ripple, others might not have been able to see it.
As Yang You Wei had said before, only the residents of the Ancient Lands, who were close to their pre-destined time of death, could see the tomb entrance.
Niu Quan passed through the entrance, creating ripples as he did so, and his enormous body quickly disappeared. At the same time, the tomb entrance concealed itself again.
The Monster Race members, who had followed Niu Quan here, cried and wailed.
Yang You Wei also sighed as an unpleasant look appeared on his face.
“There really is a tomb entrance!” After witnessing it with his own eyes, Yang Kai knew that Yang You Wei and the others weren’t trying to deceive him. It also confirmed that the Third Disciple had really entered the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb.
[What should I do now?] Yang Kai was having a terrible headache. He didn’t know what dangers were inside this strange tomb, or if he could leave if he entered it. If the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb was really a place where one could only go in, but could never come out, wouldn’t it mean that he would be seeking his own death if he charged in recklessly? Although he was proficient in the Dao of Space, he dared not act rashly.
But Ruo Xi could actually see the tomb entrance, which made things all the stranger here.
Considering all this, Yang Kai turned his head and looked at Zhang Ruo Xi, receiving a great shock as he did because Zhang Ruo Xi had arrived at the front of the tomb entrance at some point. She had her hand stretched out, reaching it towards the invisible entrance, her pair of pretty eyes flickering with a strange glow as she stared blankly forward.
“Ruo Xi, what are you doing!?” Yang Kai shouted aloud.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s tender body trembled and she suddenly regained her senses. When she realized that she had unknowingly come to the tomb entrance, her beautiful face turned pale and she immediately tried to withdraw.
But right then, the hidden tomb entrance manifested again and this time, it revealed itself in its entirety.
In the vast mountain valley, an enormous dark-grey door of light flashed a gloomy light that bathed the surrounding space in dark light.
All the Monster Race members illuminated by this light were horrified as they found themselves suddenly unable to move. A terrified look appeared on everyone’s face as they shouted and clamoured madly.
Yang Kai’s eyes also bulged to the point that they were almost ready to pop out. Illuminated by that dark-grey light, he couldn’t take even a step at all, and no matter how much he prompted the Space Principles, he was unable to teleport away.
All the surviving humans and Monster Race in the mountain valley seemed to have a petrification technique cast upon them.
“Sir, I…” Zhang Ruo Xi was on the verge of crying. She too had no idea what she was doing, and when she took a sidelong glance at Yang Kai, she found that even Yang Kai was struggling to save himself and couldn’t protect her. Her heart immediately sank.
This happened so quickly that no one could react.
Yang Kai struggled for a while, but upon determining he couldn’t free himself at all, he grit his teeth and tried to summon the Mountains and Rivers Bell, but right then, the tomb entrance flashed once more and hid itself again.
And along with its disappearance, all the living creatures inside the mountain valley had disappeared as well.
In an ashen-grey world with no Sun, Moon, or Stars, no flowers or trees, there was only deathly silence, just like a cemetery…
Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi appeared together with Monster Race members and the mysterious power binding them suddenly disappeared.
Yang Kai teleported to Zhang Ruo Xi’s side the next instant, pushing his Emperor Qi to envelop her while vigilantly looking around.
But what he saw next put him in a daze.
Everyone seemed to be standing on a bone mountain. There were only white bones as far as they could see; skeletons of all shapes and sizes were scattered on the ground. The small ones were almost of negligible size, but the big ones were utterly enormous. The true body of Niu Quan was simply not worth mentioning next to some of these giants.
These white bones were left by the Monster Beasts that had died here over the many years.
“Moo…”
A beast’s roar resounded from nearby, and as Yang Kai turned to look, his pupils immediately shrank and he shouted, “Niu Quan!”
Niu Quan, whom he had seen in the mountain valley before, was also here, but at this moment, thick Death Qi lingered around him. He was lying quietly on a part of bone mountain, motionless. He had reached the end of his lifespan and appeared to be waiting for his death.
Glowing specks of light were flying out from his body, like dancing sprites, adding a touch of life to this dark-grey monotonous world. The specks of light seemed to be drawn by something as they flew towards the depths of this place.
And with the disappearance of the specks of light, Niu Quan’s vitality was also declining.
“So, this is the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb!” Yang Kai’s face turned darker.
If he had made some guesses before, then after seeing Niu Quan, he already had a clear idea what kind of place it was.
Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb!
It was the tomb for the entire Ancient Lands, a place where one could only go in but could never come out. Even the strongest Monster King could forget about leaving after entering this place.
[How did I enter this damned place?] Before, Yang Kai was still hesitating whether to come in and explore to find traces of the Third Disciple, but now, since he had come in, albeit not by his own choice, he basically didn’t have the chance to hesitate anymore.
“I’m sorry, Sir. I also don’t know what happened to me just now!” Zhang Ruo Xi was about to cry. She also knew that she had made a big mistake, but it was indeed involuntary; her body simply wasn’t under her control at that moment.
After entering the Ancient Wild Lands, she found that there was something wrong with her, but she had never expected to charge into a disaster like this.
Yang Kai glanced at her and patted her head, not saying anything.
It was too late to say anything anyway, and now that they were forced in, what would be the point of scolding Zhang Ruo Xi? It didn’t go unnoticed by Yang Kai that Zhang Ruo Xi’s actions were unintentional. The most important thing now was to leave this damned place.
He turned his head to look for Yang You Wei.
After all, Yang You Wei was a member of Monster Race, born and bred in this land, so his understanding of the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb should naturally be better than Yang Kai’s. If there was a way out, he must know about it.
But after a glance, Yang Kai’s face started twitching because he realized that Yang You Wei would not be able to help him at all because, at this moment, Yang You Wei and the crowd of Monster Race were also stupidly standing on their spots, shrouded by a dark-grey aura while specks of light were escaping out of their bodies bit by bit.
Just like Niu Quan, the same thing was happening to Yang You Wei and the other Monster Race present. The specks of light flying out from their bodies were obviously related to their vitality, and the more time passed, the dimmer their vitality became. If this went on, they would undoubtedly die.
Niu Quan could be considered to have come here on his own initiative to die as his end was approaching, but Yang You Wei and the other Monster Race members were all dragged in here involuntarily.
“Sir… Please… Save me…” Yang You Wei, noticing Yang Kai’s gaze, shouted in a trembling voice, Death Qi lingering on his face.
An awkward look appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he clenched his fist and forced a cough before speaking, “I can’t do anything about this. You are on your own on this one.”
He had no clear understanding of the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, or how to save Yang You Wei and the others. Perhaps he could send them into the Sealed World Bead to escape this disaster, but the Sealed World Bead was Yang Kai’s closely guarded secret. Except for those he trusted implicitly, he would not expose it to others. Exposing the existence of the Sealed World Bead to save these Monsters wasn’t cost-effective at all.
Yang You Wei immediately despaired after hearing this, but he soon looked at Yang Kai in amazement and stated, “Sir, why are you…safe and sound?”
Yang Kai also discovered this as out of everyone who was sucked into this tomb, only he and Zhang Ruo Xi were safe. The other Monster Race members were quickly losing their vitality. If it weren’t for this, Yang Kai wouldn’t have calmed down this quickly.
“I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because we aren’t residents of the Ancient Lands. Didn’t you say that this is the tomb of all inhabitants of the Ancient Lands?” Yang Kai casually explained. Apart from this reason, he didn’t have any other explanation either.
“Is such an amazing thing possible…” Yang You Wei’s face twitched as a look of hatred filled his eyes.
[If you hadn’t asked me to search for the whereabouts of that crazy woman, we would never have been dragged by into this Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb and wound up here. That’s all fine and well, I can blame that on my bad luck, but you still acting carefree even after seeing that we can’t survive is intolerable! You basically don’t need to worry about dying here and yet you are not doing anything to help us!]
Yang You Wei’s heart was burning with indignation and he couldn’t wait to tear Yang Kai apart to vent his hatred.
“Sir, you can’t just ignore our plight!” Yang You Wei grit his teeth and shouted aloud.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow in impatience as he stated, “I said I can’t do anything. Only the damned ghosts know what happens in this tomb!” While speaking, he suddenly looked at Yang You Wei, squinting his eyes as he asked with a cold smile on his lips, “Why? Are you angry?”
[What nonsense! Who won’t feel angry about this situation?] In any case, he was about to die, so Yang You Wei suddenly got bolder, his eyes turning cold and sinister as he stated, “Sir, if you don’t do something, I can’t say that I’ll not drag you down with me.”
Yang Kai immediately smirked and taunted, “Drag me down with you? Did you forget that your life and death are just a matter of this Young Master’s thought? Do you think you can take me down with you?”
“…” Yang You Wei’s face immediately froze. In his moment of anger, he had forgotten this point, but now that he returned to his senses, he realized that he didn’t have any qualifications to threaten Yang Kai as his Soul Brand was in his grasp.
He was overcome with a feeling of sorrow and slumped down on the ground before he began crying out loud, “How tragic!? This Old Yang has been bitterly cultivating till now, but who would have thought that I would die without being able to enjoy my life. The Heavens really have no eyes! Damn you, Heavens! This Old Yang cannot coexist together with you!”
His cry was heart-wrenching and his voice was filled with sadness. Other Monster Race members also felt grief after hearing this.
After having fallen into the tomb, they could also foresee their own fate, but they weren’t reacting in such an exaggerated manner. Nevertheless, they too must be feeling extremely sad in their heart.
Yang Kai snorted, “Don’t cry in such an ugly manner. If you die, everyone will die together with you. Everyone will accompany you on the road to the Yellow Springs. You won’t be lonely!”
Yang You Wei wiped his tears and angrily stated, “If you were standing in my shoes, you wouldn’t say that. This is the tomb of all the Ancient Lands creatures. It has nothing to do with you!”
Yang Kai spat disdainfully and stopped talking. In fact, he also found it very strange why this place had no effect on him or Zhang Ruo Xi. Instead, the vitality of other Monster Race members was passing away with every breath, turning into specks of light and floating off.
[Is it really because of what I just said?]
At this moment, mournful wails rang out as glowing black wisps suddenly flew out from under the white bones. As soon as those pitch-black lights wisps appeared, they transformed into Monster Beasts of all kinds of shapes and sizes that swiftly pinned the surviving Monster Race members to the ground.
Every time the phantom of a Monster Beast crashed into them, it would dim the vitality of the surviving Monster Race, and the speed at which the glowing specks left their body would increase noticeably.
“A Beast Soul!” Yang You Wei turned pale and cried in shock.
Yang Kai’s countenance also changed, because in this short while, thousands of shadows flew out from below the bone mountains. These shadows were similar to Yin Souls and were emanating strong Yin Qi. Obviously, all of them were the residual Beast Souls of the Monster Beasts who had fallen here.
The Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb had existed for who knows how many eons, and countless Monster Beasts must have died here over all those years. After these Monster Beasts had died, at least some of their Beast Souls remained. By now, their number was surely uncountable.
In the blink of an eye, innumerable Beast Souls were stalking around the bone mountain, each of them a different shape and size, retaining the form they had before their deaths. They all had a strong air about them, giving the impression that a black aura had covered the entire tomb. It looked like a swarm of locusts was passing through.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s pretty face turned pale as she stuck closer to Yang Kai; she didn’t dare to make any rash moves.
Having prior experience with Yin Souls, Yang Kai directly summoned the Insect Enslavement Bracelet without a moment of thought, releasing all the Soul Devouring Insects and surrounding themselves with their swarm. He first ensured his own safety before allowing the rest of the Soul Devouring Insects to swarm the Beast Souls.
Once the Soul Devouring Sects appeared, the countless Beast Souls acted as if they had encountered their nemesis and fled away from Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi’s location, not daring to approach them.
Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised. The success of Soul Devouring Insects in this place was too surprising and they were definitely the best way to deal with things like Yin Souls. He secretly decided to focus on training them in the future. When the Soul Devouring Insects fully matured, maybe he would be able to fight off Serene Soul Great Emperor if he ever ran into him again.
[That old fogie relied on his higher cultivation to cover up his daughter’s misconduct, but I couldn’t do anything!] This really made Yang Kai grind his teeth in anger.
The miserable shouts of Yang You Wei and other Monster Race members being annihilated rang out one after another, and within just a few breaths, silence had returned to the tomb. Obviously, all of them were dead. Yang Kai felt the Soul Brand belonging to Yang You Wei under his control shatter, making him sigh with some emotion.
Although he hadn’t planned to pay attention to Yang You Wei’s life and death before, and was controlling him to find the whereabouts of Bing Yun’s Third Disciple, the fact that he died like this was a little out of his expectations.
“Sir, please open a gap!” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly requested.
Yang Kai didn’t know what she wanted to do now. He was really frightened by Zhang Ruo Xi’s previous actions, and someone bitten by a snake once would be afraid of a rope for ten years; however, once he saw Zhang Ruo Xi take out a huge wooden seal, his eyes immediately lit up and he promptly controlled the Soul Devouring Insects to open a gap.
Zhang Ruo Xi patted the seal with her hand, directly sending it flying through the gap.
Immediately afterwards, she continuously made hand seals, controlling the huge seal’s ability.
After the huge seal flew out, it suddenly grew bigger, turning into the size of a house and making it give off a pitch-black light.
*Hualala…*
The sound of chains clanking rang out as Zhang Ruo Xi’s hand seals changed. Suddenly, countless black chains shot out from the enormous seal, shooting in all directions.
The Beast Souls flying around were completely helpless against these chains and were bound by them, one after another.
The chains tightened as the tied up Beast Souls were pulled towards the huge seals under Zhang Ruo Xi’s control. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of menacing Beast Souls were pulled into the huge seal, disappearing in a flash, and no matter how the Beast Souls struggled, they couldn’t get free.
“You have already refined the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal completely?” Yang Kai asked, looking surprised.
“I finished refining it a few days ago,” Zhang Ruo Xi stated with joy without stopping her hands, “But who would have thought that such a good thing would happen.”
The huge seal was Earth City’s City Lord, Zu Hong’s Ten Thousand Beasts Seal. After Zu Hong was killed by Yang Kai in the ancient medicine garden, the latter had given the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal to Zhang Ruo Xi to defend herself. In any case, it was an Emperor Artifact that could display extraordinary might depending on the number and strength of Beast Souls sealed in it.
The more Beast Souls that were sealed inside, and the stronger their strength, the mightier the Ten Thousand Beasts Seals would be.
After Zu Hong got the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, he had worked hard but was only able to kill less than a thousand Monster Beasts and seal their Souls inside this Seal using his Secret Technique. Furthermore, most of those Beast Souls were Tenth or Eleventh-Order. The number of Twelfth-Order Beast Souls he possessed could be countered on one hand, so he simply couldn’t unleash the true might of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal.
But inside the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Souls were everywhere. If all of them were sealed inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal by Zhang Ruo Xi, the might of this Emperor Artifact would be unimaginable.
Beast Souls were hard to find; after all, one could only get a Beast Soul by killing a Monster Beast and then refining it with a special Secret Technique. If one’s luck was poor, during this refinement they would damage the Beast Seal and drastically reduce its strength.
But this place was a natural gathering place for Beast Souls, simply tailored for supplementing the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal.
Before, Zhang Ruo Xi was still thinking about where she should go to kill Monster Beasts and increase the might of Ten Thousand Beasts Seal; however, she hadn’t expected for everything to be delivered to her doorstep. One could imagine how many tyrannical Beast Souls were gathered here.
If she could really seal all the Beast Souls present here into the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, when she went to use it against an enemy, the entire Star Boundary would certainly tremble under its might.
*Hua la la…*
The sounds of chains clanking rang out to no end, and every time Zhang Ruo Xi made a move, hundreds of Beast Souls were dragged into the Ten Thousand Beasts Soul. She repeated it again and again, working without stop.
Seeing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit envious.