The Ten Thousand Beasts Seal obviously had a powerful restraint on the Beast Souls. Those flying Beast Souls, no matter how strong or weak they were, were all suppressed by the Ten Thousand Beasts Soul and were unable to break free. One after another, they were taken into the large seal and disappeared thereafter.
Yang Kai clearly saw many Beast Souls comparable to Twelfth-Order Monster Beast dragged into the big seal.
Ruo Xi was making a killing. After this trip was over, the might of the Ten Thousand Beast Seals would be unfathomable.
As this thought crossed his mind, Yang Kai’s countenance sank again. He was inside the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb and had no idea how to get out of here. He didn’t even know whether tearing space would work here.
*Hualala…*
As the countless wandering Beast Souls collided with each other, the bone mountain shattered and the white bones turned into dust.
Suddenly, a vague yellow glow caught Yang Kai’s eyes. Curious, Yang Kai reached out, grabbing that glow in his hand. It was warm and round. Also, he immediately felt decent energy fluctuations from it.
“A Monster Core!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as a look of surprise filled his face.
Much to his surprise, it was a Monster Beast Core. Furthermore, judging by the energy fluctuations, it appeared to be the Monster Core of a Tenth-Order Monster Beast.
Yang Kai stood there in a daze for a while; who knows what was going on in his mind, but he seemed extremely excited. Suddenly, he flicked his sleeve, giving rise to a gust of wind.
*Huhuhu…*
The bone mountain collapsed into ashes that flew in every direction as if a white storm was blowing, and at the centre of the storm, an open area of tens of metres in radius remained, where several dozen Monster Cores of different colours lay strewn about.
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he stared at the several dozen Monster Cores, excitement filling his face.
Although Zhang Ruo Xi was preoccupied with sealing the Beast Souls, Yang Kai movements hadn’t gone unnoticed by her. At this moment, she asked in a sweet voice, “Sir, could it be that the Monster Cores remained here after the death of these Monster Beasts?”
“It must be so. Ruo Xi, we’re going to be rich!” Yang Kai happily replied before he began collecting the several dozen Monster Cores.
These were several dozen Monster Cores of different grades, but the lowest was still of Ninth-Order, while the highest was of Twelfth-Order.
Countless Monster Beasts had died in the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, and after their deaths, their Souls transformed into Beast Souls, guarding this place while their flesh and skin disappeared into glowing specks, leaving behind their Monster Core.
It was impossible to calculate how many Beast Souls there were, and similarly, the number of Monster Cores lying here could not be calculated either!
Monster Beast Cores had many uses, but they were mostly used in Alchemy. Many Spirit Pills required Monster Beast Cores to refine, and while Yang Kai had collected many spirit grasses and herbs over the years, he was always short on Monster Cores, but after today, he would have many choices in this regard when refining pills.
Previously, he felt that Zhang Ruo Xi got an opportunity by coming here, but he hadn’t expected an opportunity to fall into his lap in the very next moment.
[If I could clean out the Monster Cores in this tomb, I would be making a killing! Even the Ten Great Emperors might be jealous!]
After collecting the several dozen Monster Cores, Yang Kai waved his hand again, sweeping away the nearby skeletons. Immediately, several dozen more Monster Cores of different grades appeared on the ground.
Zhang Ruo Xi was doing her best to seal the Beast Souls, while Yang Kai was doing everything to collect the Monster Cores. The two were performing their duties without interfering with each other, cooperating seamlessly.
In the beginning, Yang Kai would sweep away the bones to expose the cores, but he soon found that tiresome, so he began to simply spread his Divine Sense to search for every Monster Core he could find then use his Golden Blood Threads to pull them out, saving himself from dealing with the bone dust.
This way, his efficiency had improved a lot too.
In a short time, all the nearby Beast Souls had been collected by Zhang Ruo Xi, while all the Monster Cores within a dozen kilometres had been cleaned up by Yang Kai. Although he didn’t count, he was certain he collected over ten thousand Monster Cores.
Even if only one percent of the ten thousand or so Monster Cores were Twelfth-Order, there would be over a hundred Twelfth-Order Monster Cores! Each of which was extremely valuable.
“Let’s change places!”
Having cleaned the nearby region, Yang Kai immediately dragged Zhang Ruo Xi to a new spot. As for how to get out of here… It wouldn’t be too late to worry about that after getting enough benefits.
Soon they came to another bone mountain, where Zhang Ruo Xi summoned the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, while Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense to search for the buried Monster Cores.
After a little less than the time it takes to boil a cup of tea, they had cleaned out this mountain as well. Needless to say, Yang Kai wrapped Zhang Ruo Xi with his Emperor Qi and changed positions again.
They kept clearing everything wherever they went. All the Beast Souls were sealed by Zhang Ruo Xi, whereas the Monster Cores were cleaned out by Yang Kai. This was the first time in the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb’s history it had suffered like this.
This was nothing short of wanton plundering!
If the four Divine Venerables of the Ancient Wild Lands came to know about this, who knows how they would feel.
There were no Sun, Moon, or Stars here; no night or day either, but according to Yang Kai’s calculations, he and Zhang Ruo Xi had been here for about three days and had scoured almost the entire tomb.
This should be a Small Sealed World that spanned a small area. The two had spent three days only sealing Beast Souls and collecting Monster Cores, but if they had focused on just exploring, they could have searched this entire place in under an hour.
Their harvest was unimaginable though.
The Yin Qi around the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was getting darker and darker. Even if Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t activate it, one could feel its tyrannical might. According to Zhang Ruo Xi, the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was almost saturated, there were at least a few hundred thousand Beast Souls sealed inside, and this didn’t include the Beast Souls devoured by the Soul Devouring Insects.
The Soul Devouring Insects had eaten quite a lot these days in fact. Only half of the Beast Souls were sealed by Zhang Ruo Xi while the remaining half were devoured clean by the insects. Now, the Soul Devouring Insects were transmitting a sense of sleepiness to Yang Kai, showing signs of wanting to enter hibernation.
Yang Kai knew that this was a sign that they were on the verge of an evolutionary leap, which made him very happy.
As for the Monster Cores Yang Kai had obtained, there were more than a million. The Monster Cores had almost formed a hill in the Sealed World Bead, ranging from Ninth-Order to Twelfth-Order.
Not a single great force could have such a large amount of Monster Cores alone. Even the Sects founded by Great Emperors didn’t have such financial resources.
After travelling around the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb once again, confirming that no fish had slipped through their net, Yang Kai finally stopped and looked in a certain direction.
“Sir, are you going there?” Zhang Ruo Xi, putting away the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, gracefully stood by his side.
The two of them had been running around the entire tomb over these few days, but they hadn’t found any exit, nor did they find any traces of Bing Yun’s Third Disciple. If there were any exits, it would only be possible in that direction as there were no beast skeletons over there, so the two hadn’t gone to search there yet.
That should be the centre of the entire Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb. All the Monster Beasts that had come here to die had surrounded the central region in a circular ring, leaving a large empty space.
Yang Kai had been busy collecting Monster Cores and hadn’t paid much attention to this before.
[I need to check it out. If the Third Disciple is here, she must be at the centre. I wonder if she is dead or alive.]
Nodding, Yang Kai kicked the ground, running in that direction. Zhang Ruo Xi hurriedly followed after him.
Passing through the bone mountains, the two quickly arrived at the open area, and after looking around, Yang Kai noticed a dark grey glow in the distance. Yang Kai squinted his eyes to have a clear look.
After a moment, he happily smiled.
Because the dark grey glow was actually in the shape of the tomb entrance that he had seen before.
Maybe there really was an exit. If he could get out through there, it would save him the trouble of tearing the space to form an exit. Yang Kai wasn’t even sure he could tear a hole in the barrier around this Small World.
Yang Kai immediately increased his speed, but along the way, he suddenly froze and lowered his head to inspect something.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s pretty eyes also widened as she stared at this unexpected sight.
Because down below, there was an extremely fierce aura, the source of which was a thin and skinny body.
The figure’s hair was dishevelled and it cut a sorry figure, but obviously, it was still alive. The thin figure was surrounded by strands of black Qi and glowing specks were escaping from it, bit by bit.
“Monster Race!” Zhang Ruo Xi cried out in a low voice. At a glance, she could tell that the figure belonged to a member of the Monster Race, and a very powerful one at that.
“It’s a Monster King!” Yang Kai added; extremely shocked.
He had no idea how a Monster King appeared here because this area didn’t look like a palace where a member of the Monster Race could step into. Otherwise, this place would not be clean; it would be piled up with bones and skeletons.
Furthermore, the Monster King was still very much alive and kicking. He was trying very hard to resist the passing of his vitality, but by the looks of it, he wouldn’t last for too long.
No wonder Yang You Wei said that even the strongest Monster King would find themselves on a road to their doom after entering the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb; the Monster King before them was the best proof. A Monster Race member had to be as strong as a peak Third-Order Emperor Realm Master to become the Monster King, yet even a Master this strong couldn’t get out after entering this place.
After hesitating for a while, Yang Kai flickered and flew over to the Monster King.
Obviously, the Monster King was taken aback, his skinny figure shuddering as he looked up at Yang Kai.
His gaze was as deep as an abyss and a little dull as well. He had indeed reached his rope’s end.
“How did a Human…” The Monster King’s lips moved as his lifeless eyes revealed a surprised look.
Yang Kai raised his brow. Hearing his surprised voice, he asked with a frown, “Have you seen anyone pass through here before?”
The Monster King had one foot in the grave yet he was still extremely arrogant and unyielding, pursing his lips after hearing this and somehow trying to show a cold smile, but only managing a grin that looked uglier than if he had been crying, “Why would this King tell you?”
A bright flash passed through Yang Kai’s eyes as he pointed at the door of light and suggested, “I’ll be leaving through that. If you want, I can bring you along!”
The arrogant Monster King was immediately moved, his lifeless eyes suddenly regaining their lustre as his expression changed; however, his excitement soon disappeared as he asked with a snort, “Why would you be so kind?”
Yang Kai indifferently replied, “We both need something from the other. As long as you can tell me what I want to know, it won’t be a big deal to save you.”
“What good would it do me lying to you? You are about to die soon anyway,” Yang Kai indifferently stated.
The Monster King replied, “The words of you Humans… heh heh…” He implied that the Humans were too deceitful and untrustworthy.
Yang Kai turned around and left without another word, “Since that’s what you want then forget it.”
“Hold on…”
Unsurprisingly, Yang Kai only walked a few steps before the Monster King called out to him.
After all, his life was at stake, and before him was a glimmer of hope and a chance to struggle.
Yang Kai glanced back and looked at him with squinted eyes.
The Monster King murmured a sentence, who knows whether he was cursing or not, but after a moment he finally spoke, “Take this King out first, then this King will tell you whatever you want to know.”
“You dream!” Yang Kai coldly snorted, not bothering to pay attention to him anymore.
Seeing that Yang Kai was really planning to leave, the Monster King immediately became anxious. He didn’t have the time to negotiate with Yang Kai either, so he replied in a hoarse voice, “Yes, someone did pass through here!”
Yang Kai halted his footsteps once more, turned around and added, indifferently looking at him, “Don’t play games with me, or I will immediately leave.”
The Monster King’s face turned ugly, but he didn’t dare to say anything.
Yang Kai stated, “What did the person who passed here look like?”
The Monster King angrily replied, “It was a woman. Her hair was a mess and she was clearly crazy. She even smashed a Monster Core on this King’s forehead. If this King hadn’t fallen in this predicament, how would this King be bullied by her?”
Yang Kai found it very funny; however, the Third Disciple might really do something like this, so he continued asking in a calm voice, “Did she leave in that direction?”
“Indeed!”
Hearing this news, Yang Kai couldn’t help but be relieved. Having failed to find the Third Disciple before, he was really afraid that something might have happened to her; after all, this place was extremely dangerous. It wasn’t good to provoke the countless Beast Souls here. Yang Kai, touching his chin, asked, “If she can leave, why are you trapped here?”
Monster King replied with indignation, “If you can leave, why is this King trapped here? The Ancient Lands’ residents are greatly suppressed inside the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb. This King ventured into this place by mistake, and now this King can do nothing to leave!”
“It doesn’t look like your lifespan has come to an end. How did you come here anyway?” Yang Kai curiously looked at him.
Speaking of this, the Monster King looked like he would shed tears of blood. He heaved a sigh before replying, “Everyone has their shares of misfortune and blessings. This King came into this palace when this King was treading the sky.”
Like the Monster King here, who knows how many there were in the Ancient Lands that accidentally entered this place before their predestined time of death. However, after entering the tomb, they would really die, reaching the end of their life…
It was also thanks to this Monster King’s strength that he could reach this close to the exit, escaping from the pursuing Beast Souls. Otherwise, he would have already been dead and not even a pound of his flesh would remain.
After having replied to Yang Kai’s questions, the Monster King urged, “If you have something else to ask, ask quickly. This King can’t hold on for much longer.”
“I have no further questions,” Yang Kai shook his head before focusing his gaze on him.
Sensing the malicious intentions in his gaze, the Monster King’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that Yang Kai was going to burn the bridge after crossing the river. What Yang Kai had said earlier was complete nonsense. In a flash, the Monster King became extremely sad and angry. He had known that Humans never keep their word, but he still had a bit of hope in his heart. In the end, he was still pushed to his death though, so the Monster King felt extremely tired and weary…
He thought that Yang Kai would kill him immediately, but Yang Kai pondered for a moment instead before stating, “Hand over your Soul Brand, and you will live!”
And having tasted the sweetness once, Yang Kai was craving for more; he had controlled Yang You Wei to be at his beck and call, and had found the Third Disciple’s trail as soon as she appeared as a result. And Yang You Wei was just a Monster General, with a limited number of subordinates. If Yang Kai could subdue a Monster King, not to mention finding the Third Disciple, even his search for Xiao Xiao would be many times easier.
Furthermore, with this Monster King’s shelter, it would be much more convenient to walk around and do things in the Ancient Lands.
When the Monster King heard this, he immediately acted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and snarled, “In your dreams!”
He was one of the thirty-two honourable Monster Kings, with a distinguished status and tyrannical strength, how could he be willing to be controlled by a Human? And he could easily tell that this Human was weaker than him, someone he could easily slap in half if he was at his peak. It would be nothing more than a joke to hand his Soul Brand to him.
Yang Kai didn’t pressure the Monster King though and just stated in a calm and relaxed manner, “Once someone dies, he can no longer do anything. Only by staying alive can you have hope.”
Monster King sneered, “It’s better than being enslaved and constantly being on the brink of death.”
Yang Kai glanced at him before indifferently speaking, “Monster King, don’t you have sons or daughters? If you die here, what will happen to your children? All the Monster Race members, who were once oppressed by you will certainly not be polite to your family. By the way, Monster King, you should have wives and concubines too, right? As a Monster King, your wives and concubines should be all beautiful and charming. After you die, I’m afraid those wives and concubines will quickly belong to others. They will be ravaged and savoured, again and again. They will never get to have the pleasure of being with you again. What a pity, your widows and children will have a hard time in the future!”
Hearing this, the Monster King’s dim face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He felt that Yang Kai’s every sentence was touching his sore spot, inevitably making him think of the misery his wives and children would have to face after his death.
Especially those wives and concubines, they would really be wantonly ravaged by others.
The Monster King couldn’t continue thinking about it anymore and his eyes turned red as he fumed through his nose.
Zhang Ruo Xi too was feeling extremely uncomfortable hearing this, her face flushing as she reflected, [How could Sir speak of something like this? It’s too shameful!]
The Monster King’s face changed as the speed with which the glowing specks escaping from his body suddenly increased. Apparently, he couldn’t suppress the passing of his vitality as his mood fluctuated.
Contrary to Yang Kai’s expectations though, the Monster King turned his head after a moment and said in a heavy voice, “This King would rather die than surrender!”
[He’s not bluffing!] Yang Kai was slightly stunned and began to admire him a little. When an ordinary person was about to die, he would agree to anything as long as he could be saved, just like Yang You Wei, who handed his Soul Brand over immediately. However, this Monster King seemed to have an iron will, which was really impressive.
With this line of attack having failed, Yang Kai could only choose even more extreme methods of persuasion. Yang Kai was still hoping for this Monster King to work for him, so he couldn’t kill him outright, instead turning to Zhang Ruo Xi and giving her a wink before saying, “Give him a taste.”
Zhang Ruo Xi was confused at first, but she was quite clever and soon understood what Yang Kai meant. She stretched her hand out and immediately summoned the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal.
The Monster King kept sneering, “If you want to kill me, you can stop wasting time and get on with it.” He looked as if he would calmly accept his death; it was quite a sight.
Yang Kai didn’t speak a word. Zhang Ruo Xi, on the other hand, constantly formed seals with her hands and then patted the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, releasing a seemingly never-ending tide of Beast Souls of various shapes and sizes from it.
Each Beast Soul retained the appearance it had before its host’s death, and all of them were extraordinary and majestic. Judging by the aura, many of them weren’t any weaker than the Monster King, with some possibly even stronger.
The Monster King’s eyes widened as he blankly gawked at this sight.
Zhang Ruo Xi remarked, “This is the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal. It has strong suppression ability against the Souls of Monster Beasts. Are you going to surrender to my Sir, or should I use the Ten Thousand Beasts Soul to collect your Soul, stopping you from reincarnating ever again? Your choice!”
The Monster King’s sickly body immediately trembled, raising his finger and pointing at Yang Kai as he grudgingly scolded, “You… You’re going too far!”
He would rather die than surrender, and refused to hand over his Soul Brand just to save his skin, but now? With the appearance of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal, he would not even be at peace after his death. His Soul would be received inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal.
By then, his life would be no worse than death. A slave either way.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, signalling Zhang Ruo Xi to put away the Ten Thousand Beasts Sea before he patted the Monster King’s shoulder and explained, “Don’t make it sound so ugly. Monster King, you would rather die than live on in dishonour; your heroic spirit is really admirable, but we belong to two different races. In the end, it’s not possible for me to simply save you out of good faith.”
“You just promised me,” Monster King glared at Yang Kai, but he could do nothing to him.
Yang Kai stroked his chin and stated, “Times have changed. As the saying goes, a wise man will submit to circumstances! Monster King, I will not make things difficult for you. If you surrender to me, I just want you to do some little things for me. When I’m done with them, I will leave the Ancient Lands. At that time, I will definitely return your freedom!”
“Do you think I will still believe you?” Monster King contemptuously looked at him.
Yang Kai stated with a snort, “Do you have any other choice?”
[This guy’s face flips faster than the page of a book.] The Monster King stared at him in a daze.
“I don’t have the time to waste on you. Either hand over your Soul Brand or I’ll immediately kill you and collect your Soul into the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal; your choice!” Yang Kai waved his hand; his tone was beyond question.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ruo Xi controlled the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal to fly over the Monster King’s head, giving the impression that if he didn’t agree, she would immediately do it.
The Monster King was unwilling, but he had no other choice. He could only grit his teeth and agree, “Take it!”
His voice was filled with grief, indignation, and unwillingness. This time, he was like a tiger that had gone down to the plains, leaving himself to be humiliated by the dogs, like a Phoenix in the cage mocked by the small birds.
Yang Kai immediately put on a smiling face, stretching his hand toward him.
The Monster King used a Secret Technique next, and soon, a wisp of golden light floated from his forehead. Yang Kai promptly grabbed it and took it inside his Knowledge Sea.
[I might have lost Yang You Wei in this tomb, but I have gained a Monster King instead. It’s not a loss.]
As for the Monster King, who had used the Secret Technique to surrender his Soul Brand, he had become incomparably weak and the glow around him collapsed, giving him the appearance of a man near death.
Yang Kai grabbed him, turned around, and sprinted straight towards the dark-grey door, asking, “It’s alright to get out from here, right?”
The Monster King slightly nodded, a complicated look in his eyes. He might have escaped alive, but he had lost his freedom. He was a slave now; it wasn’t something he wanted. Therefore, he didn’t appear to be happy being able to escape from the gates of death. Rather he was very depressed.
Not long after, Yang Kai had arrived before the door of light with the Monster King. He pushed his Emperor Qi, enveloping the Monster King and Zhang Ruo Xi before rushing straight into the door.
Everything before their eyes changed as the two Humans and one Monster Race member left the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb and reappeared in a lush and vibrant world.
They were surrounded by ancient trees that reached straight to the clouds, and Wild Force filled the air once more. Clearly they had appeared somewhere inside the Ancient Wild Lands.
[It was so easy to leave!] Yang Kai couldn’t help but be a little surprised.
Apparently, the Ten Thousand Spirits Toms was really only for the Ancient Wild Lands’ residents and didn’t restrict outsiders from entering or exiting it. Of course, one had to escape the pursuit of countless Beast Souls after entering, otherwise, they would find themselves on a road to Hell.
[This doesn’t look like the mountain valley where we entered the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb from. Where are we?]
Their appearance seemed to have made some noise as a Monster Race member came rushing over from not too far away to check things out. But before he could approach closer, the Monster King let out a low roar before rushing like a bolt of lightning, pouncing straight at the Monster Race member.
A miserable cry immediately resounded as the Monster Race member was knocked to the ground without even seeing who had sneak attacked him. The Monster King opened his mouth and bit his victim’s neck, swallowing his blood in large gulps. For a moment, the Monster Race member thrown on the ground miserably howled and wailed as he continued to struggle, but he wasn’t able to get free and gradually his struggle and wails died down.
After a while, the Monster King got up and turned around, wiping the blood off the corners of his mouth.
The Monster Race member’s blood seemed to have provided him a lot of energy, and his skinny and ragged figure had improved a lot; at least, his skin had regained a bit of luster, and his figure had become a little bulkier. Even his dwindling vitality had improved a little.
He glanced at Yang Kai with a complicated look in his eyes, but finally, he lowered his head and heavily sighed.
“What should I call you, Monster King?” Yang Kai asked.
“Xie Wu Wei!” The Monster King snappily replied; however, seeing that Yang Kai had no intention of disregarding him just because he was a Soul Slave now, he felt relieved. He was afraid that Yang Kai would throw insults and abuse him after bringing him out. If that were the case, he would definitely not be able to bear it with his explosive temper.
“Fearless and dauntless! A good name, Monster King!” Yang Kai smiled.
Xie Wu Wei responded, waving off, “It’s nothing like that!” After being silent for a while, he asked, “What should this King call you?”
Yang Kai replied, “You can call me Young Master Yang.”
Xie Wu Wei lightly nodded before speaking, “Young Master Yang, earlier you said that this King would need to do something for you, I wonder what exactly that is?”
He couldn’t wait to finish Yang Kai’s task and then try to get rid of his control, and he made no attempt to hide his intentions.
“There’s no rush,” Yang Kai chided, “First take me back to your base, then we will talk about what I want you to do. It needs many people.”
[Back to my base!?] Xie Wu Wei looked annoyed. As one of the thirty-two Monster Kings, he had a distinguished status, and it wouldn’t look good if someone saw him with a Human. Worse, if he were to be seen taking orders from a Human, how would he show his old face in the future?
Yang Kai could tell what was going on in his mind and added, “Monster King, rest assured, I won’t make things difficult for you. If your subordinates ask, you can tell them that this Young Master is your friend from outside. It’s okay for Ancient Lands’ Monster Race members to make one or two Human friends, right?”
Xie Wu Wei’s brow twitched as he reluctantly agreed, “Fine.”
With his Soul Brand being controlled by Yang Kai, how could he disobey? He was under the eaves now and had no choice but to bow his head.
Afterwards, the three figures used their respective Movement Skills, making a beeline towards the depths of the Ancient Lands.
Xie Wu Wei was quite familiar with the Ancient Wild Lands and led Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi forward without trying to hide his tracks.
A few ignorant Monster Race members came to investigate, but they all became Xie Wu Wei’s supplements.
Half a day later, a towering mountain appeared before the trio. There were some buildings hidden on this mountain, and after taking a closer look, Yang Kai discovered that those buildings were made of large and small stones. They didn’t have any beauty at all, looking rough and wild, just like the Monster Race’s temperament.
On the mountainside, there were countless caves, with many Monster Race members living in them.
Yang Kai and the others flew over, obviously alarming the Monster Race members living on the mountain. They immediately walked out of the cave to investigate, but before they could clearly see who had come, the trio had already rushed into the main hall.
In the hall, the few beautiful maids present fearfully looked at Xie Wu Wei before bowing and greeting, “Sir!”
Xie Wu Wei was in a bad mood, so he didn’t bother to care about these maids. He didn’t even cast them a sidelong glance and rushed straight in. But Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi, following Xie Wu Wei, had immediately provoked the maids.
After all, the two of them had no Monster Qi around them and were clearly Humans. They couldn’t fathom why Xie Wu Wei would bring back two Humans from his trip, and judging by the Humans’ appearances, they didn’t seem to be prisoners.
In the main hall, there was a throne made of white bones from who knows what Monster Beast. Xie Wu Wei walked straight ahead, turned around, flicked his robes, and sat down on the throne, looking around with his tiger-like fierce eyes, his actions giving him a sense of majesty.
But soon, Xie Wu Wei looked a little embarrassed.
After having returned to his home, his heart was finally at peace, making him forget his own predicament, but when he saw Yang Kai gazing at him with a smile, Xie Wu Wei quickly stood back up.
“Monster King, just sit down. We are just your friends from the outside,” Yang Kai sent him a voice transmission. He could tell that this Monster King had an unyielding temperament; therefore, he didn’t want to make things too difficult for him. After all, Yang Kai needed him to do something and didn’t care about such superficial things.
Xie Wu Wei felt grateful, thinking that this Human was at least reasonable, allowing his repulsion from before to lessen. So, he sat back down and said, stretching his hand, “Young Master Yang, please take a seat!”
Yang Kai slightly smiled and walked to the side and found a seat to sit. As he looked around, he found that this place was far more sophisticated than Yang You Wei’s place; the two couldn’t compare whether it was in terms of style nor in layout. A Monster King was a Monster King in the end, a trivial Monster General like Yang You Wei simply couldn’t be put on par with him. Just as he arrived, Yang Kai felt the auras of many Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, which were equal to Emperor Realm Human Masters.
[Just a single Monster King has so many Emperor Realm Masters among his subordinates, so how many do the thirty-two Monster Kings have in total? Not to mention, there are four Divine Spirits in the Ancient Wild Lands.]
[If so many Monster Beasts and Monster Race members went out, unless the Ten Great Emperors joined forces, I’m afraid they could sweep through the entire Star Boundary.]
[The Ancient Wild Lands can’t be underestimated!]
Zhang Ruo Xi, who was obediently standing behind Yang Kai, was also curiously looking around with her pretty eyes.
“Come in!” Xie Wu Wei yelled in a deep voice.
Six Monster Race members with imposing auras promptly entered the hall, all of them seemingly having been waiting for a long time. Each and every one of them exuded a powerful pressure. Yang Kai’s pupils immediately shrank at the sight of them as all of them were Mid-Level Twelfth-Order, equal to Second-Order Emperor Realm.
The six Monster Race Masters entered the main hall and respectfully greeted, cupping their fists, “Greetings, Sir!”
Xie Wu Wei gestured to them to dispense with the ceremony before speaking, “Nothing happened while this King was away, right?”
He also didn’t tell his subordinates that he had accidentally fallen into the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb; otherwise, he would be unable to explain how he got out.
A thin Monster Race member on the left immediately stepped forward and spoke, cupping his fists, “Reporting to Sir, there is something your subordinate wishes to report.”
“What is it?” Xie Wu Wei indifferently asked, without so much as raising his eyes, simply sipping the tea from the cup handed to him by the maid at his side. Who knows what was used to brew the tea, but it was red and thick like blood and exuded a strange aroma.
When the thin Monster Race member heard this, he hesitatingly glanced at Yang Kai, who was sitting on the side, and stopped talking.
Clearly, he didn’t want to make a report in front of a Human to prevent leaking of secrets.
Xie Wu Wei, taking another sip and putting down the cup, raised his eyes and stated, “You may speak freely, Young Master Yang is this King’s life and death friend. There is nothing to hide.”
He was also helpless in this situation as now his Soul Brand was in Yang Kai’s hands; his life and death were just a matter of Yang Kai’s whims. Even if he wanted to make Yang Kai leave, he couldn’t do so; he was completely powerless and secretly regretting it. If he had known how awkward this would be earlier, he would not have summoned his subordinates in. Now that things had come to this though, he could only choke down his grievances and let his subordinates report on whatever matters.
The Monster Race members were also taken aback when they heard this. When they saw a Human sitting in the hall earlier, they were filled with suspicion. They had no idea about his origins, or why Sir Monster King was treating a mere Human like this, but when they heard Xie Wu Wei mention that he was a ‘life and death friend’, they were even more shocked.
[When did Sir Monster King have such a good friendship with a Human?]
But then they recalled that Sir Monster King had once left the Ancient Lands several dozen years ago. Apparently, he had gone to the Human world to explore and rumour had it that it was an extremely dangerous trip and Sir Monster King almost lost his life. Later, they heard that the Monster King was rescued by a certain Human, which finally allowed him to return to the Ancient Lands safe and sound.
Unknowingly, the Monster Race members connected Yang Kai to Xie Wu Wei’s benefactor, who had saved Xie Wu Wei’s life. Suddenly, the arrogance and disdain in their eyes had lessened a lot.
The thin Monster Race member reported in a heavy voice, “Sir, the Blood Gate showed some changes!”
“Blood Gate!” Xie Wu Wei momentarily paused before looking up at his subordinate in shock. The latter slightly nodded in confirmation. Immediately, Xie Wu Wei’s breathing became rapid as he quickly asked, “Is this news correct?”
The Monster Race member replied, “It’s certainly true. It was first discovered by Monster King Xi Lei’s subordinate, but many saw the event and confirmed it happened. Now, the change in the Blood Gate has already alarmed even the four Divine Venerables and they have deployed people to investigate.”
Xie Wu Wei suddenly lost his calm, standing up and hurriedly ordering, “Tell me the details.”
“Yes!” The Monster Race member replied, arranging his thoughts before continuing, “It happened over a month ago, when the Blood Gate suddenly emitted a blood red beam straight up into the sky, but that only lasted a moment. However, during this past month, the Blood Gate has obviously become a little different from before, seemingly radiating a kind of intense energy fluctuation. Many people couldn’t help but want to rush in when they got close, but all who tried lost their lives.”
“Bloodline attraction!?” A crazed look immediately appeared in Xie Wu Wei’s eyes.
The Monster Race member agreed with a nod, “We hypothesised as much as well. Your subordinate risked his life to explore and found that the Blood Gate could indeed tempt your subordinate, making him have an impulse to rush in. If it weren’t for Shu Yu and the others quickly awakening and dragging him back, your subordinate might have already lost his life! All signs indicate that the Blood Gate is about to open and that the ancient rumours were true.”
Xie Wu Wei looked excited after hearing this, beginning to pace back and forth on the podium, folding his hands behind his back. After a while, he finally stopped and asked in a serious voice, “What are the Divine Venerables’s intentions?”
The Monster Race member replied, “The Divine Venerables have issued a joint command, asking us to not believe false rumours and lose our lives meaninglessly. Now, the eight Great Kings have been dispatched near the Blood Gate and are blockading the area near the it, preventing anyone from approaching.”
“False rumours!?” Xie Wu Wei sneered, “Bloodline attraction can only be caused by instinct. Do the Divine Venerables think that everything will be fine if they seal everyone’s mouth? I’m afraid that they are just worried about the emergence of one or two new Divine Venerables, which would affect their status.”
Xie Wu Wei’s defiant look immediately terrified his subordinates like frightened rats. They secretly thought, [Sir sure is hot-headed. Fortunately, there are no outsiders here, otherwise, if this reached the Divine Venerables’ ears, Sir might have to pay for it.]
“Blood Gate, what’s that?” Yang Kai, after listening for a while, finally couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.
He had also heard Yang You Wei mention the Blood Gate before and knew that it was one of two Restricted Areas of the Ancient Wild Lands, just like Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb; however, he didn’t get into details that time. But now, seeing Xie Wu Wei’s expression and listening to his words, it was apparent that this Blood Gate was of great importance, so much so that even the four Divine Spirits of the Ancient Lands were interfering in matters related to it.
This was no small matter.
Yang Kai was now looking for Xiao Xiao in the Ancient Wild Lands, as well as the Third Disciple, so it wasn’t a bad idea to learn more about the situation here. As the saying goes, if you know your enemy and yourself, you can win a hundred battles.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Xie Wu Wei gawked, suddenly remembering that there were two outsiders present here. The corners of his lips momentarily twitched as he had been so excited that he had forgotten about this.
“If it’s inconvenient to speak about it, then forget it!” Yang Kai smiled lightly before picking up the dark red tea served by the maid beside him. But after smelling the scent, he didn’t dare to drink it, for the fear that it was really brewed from blood.
He might have casually spoken, but Xie Wu Wei didn’t dare to take it lightly; after all, Yang Kai was already interested and who knows what was going on in his mind. So, all Xie Wu Wei could do was go along with the flow and satiate Yang Kai’s curiosity, “Not at all. The Blood Gate is useless to Humans anyway. It’s one of the Restricted Areas in our Ancient Lands!”
Yang Kai asked, “I heard someone mention that the Blood Gate and the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb are designated as the two Restricted Areas of the Ancient Lands. I wonder if that’s true or false?”
Xie Wu Wei agreed with a nod, “That’s right. The Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb is the place where we, who were born in the Ancient Lands, go when we reach our predestined time of death, while the Blood Gate is the place where one can go to obtain a whole new life. One for life and one for death, they are the two sides of the same coin.”
“Where you can get a whole new life?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Xie Wu Wei quickly added, “According to ancient rumours, if one can pass through the Blood Gate, he or she would basically be reborn, regain their ancestral bloodline, and transform into a Divine Spirit.”
“Transform into a Divine Spirit!?” Yang Kai was shocked, “Does that mean that if you can enter the Blood Gate, you can become a Divine Spirit?”
Xie Wu Wei replied with a nod, “That is the literal meaning, but no one knows whether it is true or not. Since the Ancient Lands came into existence, the Blood Gate Restricted Area has also existed; however, no one we know of has ever been able to approach it, much less enter it. There are still ancient rumours passed down from generation to generation about it though. In the Ancient Lands, even the weakest Monster Race member who has just gained sentience will know about these rumours. It’s no secret that the residents of the Ancient Lands all have some bloodline connection to ancient Divine Spirits, some having a stronger inheritance while others were weaker, but in the end, quality is the key. One’s strength is related greatly to his or her aptitude as well as the purity of their bloodline. If one can fully awaken their bloodline, and reproduce the glory of their ancestors, then naturally they will have strength comparable to a Divine Spirit.”
Yang Kai was shocked, “There is such a place in this world? Does the Blood Gate really have such a miraculous effect?”
Xie Wu Wei replied, “Whether it has such a miraculous effect or not remains uncertain, but rumours have it that all Divine Spirits originated from the Blood Gate. Unfortunately, those rumours are all from aeons ago so there is no way to verify them. Regardless, the Blood Gate is a great fortune to the residents of the Ancient Lands. Just like the rumours of a fish transforming into a dragon after leaping over the dragon gate, the Blood Gate is tantamount to the dragon gate. Who wouldn’t want to give it a try?”
“Monster King, do you also want to go in?” A strange look appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes.
Xie Wu Wei stated with a sneer, “That would depend on if the Sirs would give us a chance. They have now sent their Great Kings to block the vicinity of the Blood Gate, so who can get close to it? But by doing so, they have just given themselves away. If one asks who knows the most about the secrets of the Blood Gate best, the answer would undoubtedly be the four Divine Venerables.”
Yang Kai nodded in agreement. Listening to Xie Wu Wei, he immediately understood the significance of the Blood Gate. If it could really simulate the Ancestral Bloodline of the residents of the Ancient Lands, it would surely increase their strength. The Blood Gate was undoubtedly a place of rebirth; it was the complete opposite of the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, where the creatures at the end of their lifespan go to die.
[Nothing is too strange in this world…] Yang Kai sighed in his heart. If he had not entered the Ancient Wild Lands to search for Xiao Xiao this time, he wouldn’t have been able to imagine that there was such a mystical place in this world.
“The Divine Venerables have been consolidating their power for a long time, and since the eight Great Kings have been dispatched, no one would dare to do anything strange for the time being; however, no one can suppress the temptation of their ancestral bloodline. I’m afraid this move will only be counterproductive. “Pass my order to closely monitor the situation of the Blood Gate, and if there are any changes, immediately report to me. I don’t believe those thirty or so old fogies will obediently remain still,” said Xie Wu Wei, waving his hand.
“Yes Sir!” The thin Monster Race member immediately retreated after having received the order.
Xie Wu Wei, standing on the platform, pondered with an uncertain look on his face for a while before he finally raised his head and asked, looking at Yang Kai, “Young Master Yang, you said that you want this King’s help for something, what is it?”
“To find someone,” Yang Kai slightly smiled.
“Find someone?” Xie Wu Wei asked in astonishment.
“It’s the crazy woman you saw before,” While speaking, Yang Kai stretched his hand a bit as ripples appeared, displaying the Third Disciple’s appearance, causing Xie Wu Wei to gawk and his face to turn black.
He could still vividly remember the scene when he was hit by the Third Disciple with a Monster Core in the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb.
“I have some connection with this woman. She has lost her sanity and it’s dangerous for her to remain in the Ancient Lands. Therefore, I need to find her and take her away.”
[This isn’t that difficult!] Xie Wu Wei finally put his heart at ease. He was worried that Yang Kai would ask him to do something difficult after taking his Soul Brand, but now, it seemed that he was just looking for someone, which was a trivial matter.
He cast his gaze on a man with a deer head and rat eyes, and said, “Shu Yu, let the men pay more attention to this woman’s tracks. Immediately report to me if you find something. Also, don’t let anyone hurt her.”
The Monster Race member with the deer head known as Shu Yu immediately obeyed, cupping his fists, “Yes, Sir.”
He then turned around and left the hall.
Xue Wu Wei then turned his head and stated, looking at Yang Kai, “If this woman is still in the Ancient Lands, as long as she shows up, she will definitely be spotted by this King’s subordinates. Young Master Yang, you just have to calmly wait for the news.”
Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, “Sorry to trouble you, Monster King.”
Xie Wu Wei’s brow twitched before he spoke words contrary to his convictions, “Young Master Yang’s business is this King’s business, you need not be so polite. Come, lead Young Master Yang and arrange a place for him to take a rest.”
He couldn’t wait to send Yang Kai away; after all, he was still feeling uncomfortable with him around and was afraid that his men would find some clues from his words and expressions.
“That can wait,” Yang Kai raised his hand and interrupted him, “I still want to ask Monster King to inquire about another matter.”
Xie Wu Wei slightly furrowed his brow, looking at Yang Ka unhappily. Yang Kai ignored him and lifted his hand, about to show him Xiao Xiao’s image before a deafening clap from below interrupted them. Immediately after, the mountain and the ground started quaking, causing the entire palace to shake left and right. The maids immediately screamed in panic and even the faces of the four Monster Race Masters in the hall changed.
“Hou…” A muffled roar suddenly came from deep underground, as if there was a beast trapped for a thousand years down there. The roar was extremely stifled, but everyone could clearly feel the anger of the voice’s owner.
Yang Kai couldn’t remain indifferent and curiously looked at Xie Wu Wei. He had no idea what was going on here, or what kind of monster was suppressed under the mountain.
Xie Wu Wei’s face immediately turned ugly as he looked down at the Monster Race Masters standing before him and shouted, “Has that big guy still not surrendered?”
One of the Monster Race members replied with an ugly look, “That thing is a bit stubborn. We used all kinds of methods but we can’t make it submit.”
“A group of wastes!” Xie Wu Wei coldly snorted, causing the Monster Race Masters to all lower their heads.
“This King will go and see in person.” Who knows why Xie Wu Wei suppressed a monster under the mountain, but with a flick of his sleeve, he did just as he said and went to check the situation personally. However, after just a few steps, he turned around and stated, “Sorry about that, Young Master Yang, something has come up, so this King needs to personally deal with it. This King’s maid will take you to rest. This King will later come to apologize to you for this.”
“There is no harm. I’ll also join in the fun.” Yang Kai slightly smiled.
Xie Wu Wei rolled his eyes, but he knew it would be pointless to try to stop Yang Kai, so all he could do was quietly walk forward.
The remaining four Monster Race Masters hurriedly followed after him, grumbling in their hearts. They felt that Sir Monster King was way too polite to this Human, even allowing him to participate in such a confidential matter.
After leaving the main hall, the group came to a cave where they walked in, one after another, in a file.
The cave seemed to be the only entrance and had stairs leading downwards; who knows where it led to. There were luminous stones on the cave walls on either side, providing illumination so the cave wasn’t that dim.
Xie Wu Wei and the others descended the stairs in large strides.
After a few thousand meters descent, the cave suddenly widened up as a spacious underground cavern appeared below.
There were a lot of Monster Race members gathered in this underground palace, but at this moment, these Monster Race members were acting as if they were facing a powerful enemy. Many Monster Race members were even in their true forms, looking in a certain direction warily.
Seeing Xie Wu Wei and his men arrive, these Monster Race members retreated to either side, one after another, looking at him and his men with respect and fear.
Xie Wu Wei scanned them before he called a Monster Race member and shouted, “What’s going on?”
The Monster Race member immediately turned around and stammeringly replied, “We don’t know, it suddenly woke up and flew into a rage. We couldn’t suppress it with our low strength and a few of our Brothers and Sisters have already died. If Sir hadn’t personally locked him with that chain, I’m afraid it would have already broken free.”
“Scram, you lot are useless to this King!” Xie Wu Wei flicked his sleeve with a displeased look on his face, throwing the Monster Race member to one side then walking straight to the depths of the underground palace.
*Hou…*
Another roar came, giving rise to a powerful gust of wind that swept across the underground palace. Everyone’s clothes and hair flapped along with this gust.
A look of surprise appeared on Yang Kai’s face though as he had no idea who or what powerful being was suppressed in this underground palace.
Curious, he focused his gaze, looking inside.
But what entered his vision next left Yang Kai dumbfounded. He stood rooted on the spot as if he was struck by lightning, mumbling in a trembling voice, “Xiao Xiao…”
About several dozen metres away, a huge, fifteen-meter-tall Humanoid creature was shackled by heavy black chains. This enormous figure’s entire body was sharp and angular, and at a glance, it looked to be carved from stone. It had an ore-like lustre, but it also had distinct facial features and four robust limbs. It was giving off a sense of immense power.
The big guy before him clearly looked like what Xiao Xiao would look like after he assumed his stone giant form.
When the Monsters heard this, they all had strange expressions as they glanced at Yang Kai, thinking to themselves, [Small? What the heck? This guy is clearly huge! Is this Human blind?] There was also the Divine Binding Chain’s suppression involved. If it wasn’t for the Divine Binding Chain, this guy could become even larger and would likely wreck the palace.
Before the Monsters could finish thinking about this topic, they saw that Yang Kai had actually stepped forward and was striding with large steps, his eyes filled with a complex expression. It seemed as if his entire world only contained the big guy over there.
Xie Wu Wei was shocked as he shouted, “Be careful, Young Master Yang! This guy has a violent temperament and has incredible strength. Please stand back for the time being and allow this King to deal with him!”
He didn’t know what Yang Kai was trying to do, but he had personally experienced before just how difficult this big guy could be to deal with. Back when he was trying to make him submit, many of his subordinates had died, and even he had taken a blow that caused him to spit out lung-full of blood, nearly dying right there and then.
If it wasn’t for seeing that this big guy was incredibly strong and wanting to make it submit to him, Xie Wu Wei would have killed it long ago rather than trapping it here.
As a mere First-Order Emperor Realm Master, Yang Kai would likely suffer from approaching this big guy so recklessly, even if he was bound by the Divine Binding Chain.
Yang Kai ignored Xie Wu Wei of course and continued walking forward.
Xie Wu Wei furrowed his brow and was about to step forward to stop him, but Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly flickered forward and blocked his way while reaching out with one hand to stop him.
“Girl, what do you mean by this!?” Xie Wu Wei had a dark expression as he looked at Zhang Ruo Xi. A trivial Third-Order Dao Source Realm dared to act like this to him? If it wasn’t for his Soul Brand being under Yang Kai’s control, he would have slapped her already.
Ruo Xi had no fear though as she calmly stated, “Since Sir is doing this, he must have a plan in mind. Monster King, you simply need to silently watch what happens.”
She also didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing or why he would suddenly step forward, but she trusted him blindly and would not allow anyone to disturb him.
Xie Wu Wei was furious. If only he wasn’t a Soul Slave now! His life and death were connected to Yang Kai’s life, why else would he possibly care if this Human brat lived or died?
Xie Wu Wei had an ugly expression as he stood where he was, secretly circulating his Monster Qi as he prepared to jump over to save Yang Kai at any moment. He also gestured to his subordinates so that they would immediately save him if they noticed anything going wrong.
The Monsters all felt rather nervous as they watched Yang Kai go up to the big guy.
[It’s not Xiao Xiao…]
The excitement in Yang Kai’s heart gradually faded as he looked at the fifteen-metre-tall stone giant before him, gradually realizing that this stone giant wasn’t Xiao Xiao, because he shared a Soul connection with Xiao Xiao. If this stone giant before him was Xiao Xiao, it would have been impossible for him to not sense that link.
More importantly, even though Yang Kai was quite close now, the stone giant was still roaring in fury, acting like it wanted to kill him. It was struggling madly, but it was bound in place by the Divine Binding Chain.
“Hou!” The stone giant roared as a fierce gust of wind blew to the extent Yang Kai’s face became distorted. Flying sand and rock shards flew everywhere in the palace, and the walls themselves rumbled, as if they would collapse at any moment.
Yang Kai sent out his Divine Sense and tried to communicate with the stone giant, but found that it was in such a state of fury that it completely ignored him.
Yang Kai was helpless to do anything else other than ask out loud, “Are you Xiao Xiao’s clansman?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t a coincidence that he met a stone giant who was identical to Xiao Xiao after transforming. Perhaps there were more than just two Stone Puppets in this world apart from Xiao Xiao and his Embodiment. Perhaps there was a mysterious race of Stone Puppets in this world. Perhaps Xiao Xiao had sensed his own clan was here, which was why he had entered the Ancient Wild Lands!
Or, perhaps this Monster even knew who Xiao Xiao was.
“Hou…”
However, only an angry roar greeted him. The Monsters watching in the distance all felt really afraid as they thought, [This Human is quite bold! He’s so relaxed even when facing a stone giant that even Sir Monster King wasn’t an opponent for single combat.]
Without mentioning anything else, just Yang Kai’s courage alone was enough for the Monsters to respect him.
But, he still seemed to be rather idiotic, and the Monsters around wondered if Yang Kai would soon be flattened into a pancake.
“In that case, have you seen him before?” Yang Kai reached out and tapped the air to create Xiao Xiao’s image before him.
The image displayed quite clearly what Xiao Xiao had appeared like back when he separated from Yang Kai. Xiao Xiao had a foolish and honest appearance with spirited eyes. He was only half of an average Human’s height and there was obvious sharpness to his stone skin. It was as if he was wearing a layer of stone armour that appeared quite sturdy.
On top of that, Xiao Xiao was carrying a pitch-black stick on his shoulder. Xiao Xiao had one hand on the stick, and his other hand was on his forehead as he gazed off into the distance.
The roaring stone giant suddenly quieted down, the fury in its eyes receding as he stared blankly at the image in front of him before he glanced at Yang Kai again. Soon, a confused look appeared on his face.
Xiao Xiao was simply too attention-grabbing with his Heaven Shaking Pillar.
“You’ve seen him before, haven’t you?” Yang Kai was delighted when he observed the stone giant’s expression.
The stone giant remained silent for a while before it slowly nodded.
[As I thought!]
Yang Kai was overjoyed as he hurriedly asked, “Where is Xiao Xiao now? Is he alright?”
Yang Kai was really eager to find out how Xiao Xiao had been recently as he blamed himself deeply for separating from him back in the Starlight Corridor. While he found Liu Yan rather quickly, and even found Chi Yue and the others, who were now safely cultivating in the Thousand Leaves Sect, Yang Kai had still been unable to locate Xiao Xiao after all this time.
The Star Boundary was a dangerous place, and Yang Kai didn’t know how Xiao Xiao was currently doing. In fact, Yang Kai felt incredibly worried after hearing from Yin Le Sheng that Xiao Xiao had entered the Ancient Wild Lands.
How could Yang Kai not be overjoyed now that he suddenly had a clue to Xiao Xiao’s whereabouts?
Yang Kai only wished that he could enter this stone giant’s mind to directly find out about how Xiao Xiao had been doing recently.
The stone giant opened its mouth and said in a coarse and low voice, “Who are you to the little one?”
The stone giant didn’t pronounce its words very clearly, making it evident that it rarely spoke. Additionally, its voice was like thunder that caused the entire palace to rumble.
All the Monsters were stunned as they looked with stupefaction at the scene in front of them. All of them were howling in their hearts, [this big guy actually opened its mouth and spoke!?] They had all been thinking for all this time that this big guy didn’t have any sentience and was unable to communicate with intelligent living beings. Only now did they understand that rather than not having any sentience and being unable to communicate, it simply didn’t bother to talk to them.
Xie Wu Wei also had a strange expression as he was secretly astonished.
He could now tell that Yang Kai seemed to have a connection of some sort with this stone giant. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy for him to calm down the stone giant’s rage and make it speak. Xie Wu Wei had spent such an effort leading his subordinates in trying to capture the stone giant, so was Yang Kai going to be angry at him…?
Xie Wu Wei felt really distasteful inside. If Yang Kai really got angry at him in front of so many of his subordinates, what was he going to do about his loss of face?
Xie Wu Wei even secretly wondered if he should have his subordinates leave right now so that he wouldn’t feel as awkward.
“Little one…” Yang Kai smiled because he realized that the stone giant was referring to Xiao Xiao, “The little one hatched with my Blood Essence. I also personally raised him.”
There wasn’t any need to explain anything else, as these two sentences were plenty.
The stone giant nodded in response as it spoke in its rumbling voice, “So, the Venerated One that Elder spoke of was you!”
“Elder…” Yang Kai arched his brow, not knowing who this Elder that had suddenly come up was. Still, he wasn’t in the mood to ask as he simply inquired, “Is Xiao Xiao doing well now? He hasn’t met with any danger over these years, has he?”
The stone giant answered, “Since you’re the Venerated One to the little one, you are a guest of my clan; I have no need to hide anything from you. The little one found our clan many years ago, and the clan also accepted him. He’s safe now.”
“You guys have your own clan?” Yang Kai was slightly surprised. Although he had already guessed at it previously, he still couldn’t help but be surprised now that it was confirmed. The Stone Puppet Clan was naturally impervious to weapons and possessed immense physical strength. Even one would be difficult to deal with if it was allowed to reach the peak, but if there was a big group of them…
It was likely that even a Divine Spirit would have to retreat before them.
The stone giant stated proudly, “Although we of the Stone Spirit Clan are low in number, we have not gone extent just yet. Honoured guest, why are you so surprised?”
[Stone Spirit Clan…]
Yang Kai was rendered somewhat speechless. It seemed that he had been incorrect to call them the Stone Puppet Clan before as they addressed themselves as the Stone Spirit Clan, but this was simply a matter of a name, which wouldn’t be any trouble for him to change to.
“Can you take me to see Xiao Xiao?” Yang Kai spoke up again with another question.
The stone giant fell silent for a moment after hearing this, and it was quite some time before it spoke, “You want to take the little one away? The little one is now a member of the clan, so it’s impossible for him to leave with you again. Our Stone Spirit Clan won’t be restricted by anyone. Anyone who has designs on our Stone Spirit Clan is an enemy.”
Yang Kai smiled, “I just want to go see him, not take him away.”
The stone giant swept its eyes over him for several glances before he nodded, “It seems you’re not lying…”
Yang Kai was astonished as he thought, [You can even tell if I’m lying or not?] Still, he didn’t have a good understanding of the Stone Spirit Clan, so he didn’t know if they had any special talents or Divine Abilities apart from refining ore.
“I can satisfy the honoured guest’s request, but currently…” The stone giant tugged on the chains binding its limbs as it spoke, which caused the chains to rattle. It was indicating to Yang Kai that it wasn’t even able to defend itself right now, so it was likely strong in will but weak in strength.
“That’s simple,” Yang Kai turned his head as he replied, “Monster King, please come over for a bit.”
Xie Wu Wei’s mouth twitched as he walked over somewhat unwillingly.
He had heard Yang Kai’s conversation with the stone giant quite clearly, so he knew what Yang Kai wanted him to do; however, he had finally managed to find an opportunity to capture this stone giant when it was alone to imprison it here. Xie Wu Wei had originally intended on making the stone giant submit and work for him, but never expected that Yang Kai would suddenly appear.
“Young Master Yang, what command do you have for me?” Xie Wu Wei walked over and spoke in a low voice, pretending not to know what Yang Kai wanted.
Yang Kai tilted his head, “Release him!”
“This…” Xie Wu Wei had a hesitant expression.
The stone giant was glaring angrily at him as if he had killed his father and stolen his wife. The stone giant seemed to be absolutely irreconcilable with him.
Xie Wu Wei had a bitter expression, “Young Master Yang, it’s not that this King is unwilling, but look at how he’s acting. If this King releases him, he is likely to immediately stir up trouble and ruin this land. If he starts causing a ruckus, my entire mountain will likely be flattened.”
Xie Wu Wei wasn’t just saying this, as the Stone Spirit Clan was born innately understanding how to control Earth Principles. It was quite normal that they would be able to instantly move or level a mountain.
Yang Kai turned to look at the stone giant, “If he releases you, let bygones be bygones, how about it?”
The stone giant coldly snorted, “Anyone who dares to have designs on our Stone Spirit Clan is an enemy!” Yang Kai was rendered somewhat speechless at how unwilling to compromise the stone giant was.
“Young Master Yang, just look!” Xie Wu Wei pointed at the stone giant, meaning that it wasn’t him who was unwilling to let the stone giant go, but rather, that he couldn’t do anything because the stone giant wasn’t willing to compromise.
Yang Kai rubbed his head and looked at the stone giant rather helplessly as he said, “The Monster King is quite strong, so if you two really start fighting here, both sides will end up losing in the end. As the saying goes, grievances should be resolved rather than settled. Could you simply let this incident go? It’s not like you’ve lost anything. When it is possible to forgive others, one should be forgiving, you know?”
The stone giant snorted, seemingly quite unwilling to reconcile.
Xie Wu Wei also swung his sleeve in evident displeasure.
Yang Kai glanced at the stone giant and sincerely implored, “Didn’t you say that I’m your clan’s honoured guest? Would you please give me some face?”
The stone giant snorted for a bit before saying with an unhappy expression, “Forget it, let’s just leave things at this.”
This meant it was willing to make big things small and make small things nothing.
Yang Kai immediately gestured at Xie Wu Wei, “Okay then, release him!”
Although Xie Wu Wei was still rather unwilling, he couldn’t go against Yang Kai’s orders so he could only circulate his Monster Qi. The Monster Qi instantly filled the air and rumbled as it poured towards the pitch-black chain binding the stone giant, causing it to suddenly fall to the ground with a clatter.
Upon seeing the stone giant be freed from its restraints, Xie Wu Wei instantly flashed behind Yang Kai with a vigilant expression.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of the stone giant, but rather that it really was quite difficult to deal with. Even he was made to cough up blood when he took a blow from it, so Xie Wu Wei really didn’t want to have to fight against it unless he had to.
The stone giant simply gave Xie Wu Wei a sidelong glance with a vicious look in its eyes, but he did keep his word and didn’t do anything right after he was freed.
Yang Kai asked from the side, “Can you take me to see Xiao Xiao now?”
The stone giant nodded gently, making loud popping noises as it instantly shrunk from its fifteen-metre height to a size comparable to a Human’s, making it suddenly look rather flexible. The stone giant waved at Yang Kai and started walking outside with large steps, completely ignoring Xie Wu Wei, as if the latter didn’t even exist.
Yang Kai hurriedly followed after the stone giant.
Xie Wu Wei had a displeased expression, hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed after them as well. The Monsters all came over with confused expressions, as they didn’t understand why their great Monster King was listening to a Human’s commands to release the stone giant that they had all worked so hard on capturing.
Of course, Xie Wu Wei couldn’t be bothered to explain anything to them, so he simply followed Yang Kai and the stone giant with a dark expression.
A stick of incense’s worth of time later, everyone had left the palace and returned to the surface.
The stone giant turned his head and looked around to determine his location before silently stomping the ground and leaping several thousand metres away, rushing into the dense primordial forest in the blink of an eye.
When Yang Kai saw this, he could only hurriedly say to Xie Wu Wei, “Monster King, please pay extra attention to the matter I previously requested of you. After you find that woman, it would be best if you could capture her safely, but if you can’t, have someone monitor her from afar instead until I return. You absolutely cannot harm her.”
Xie Wu Wei had a bitter expression, but he could only cup his fists and answer, “Young Master Yang, rest assured, this King shall definitely live up to your expectations; however, you must be careful on your trip.”
Although he really wanted Yang Kai to never return, if anything happened to Yang Kai right now, it would be difficult for him as well since he was Yang Kai’s Soul Slave, so he naturally didn’t want Yang Kai to meet with any danger.
Yang Kai didn’t have the time to say anything else to Xie Wu Wei, simply nodding and wrapping Zhang Ruo Xi in his Emperor Qi before moving the local Space Principles. Immediately after, the pair vanished from where they stood and chased after the stone giant.
The Monsters only walked over in unison after they watched Yang Kai leave, staring at Xie Wu Wei with confusion as they didn’t know what their great Monster King was doing.
Xie Wu Wei had a grim expression as he announced, “What happened today must not be exposed; otherwise, you will all be executed without mercy!”
The Monsters all felt afraid as they cupped their fists and answered that they understood.
It seemed that the stone giant was incapable of flight; however, its jumping ability was beyond imagination since every one of its jumps would cover several thousand metres, making it not slow at all.
The stone giant waited ahead for Yang Kai for a little while, and when he saw that Yang Kai was following quickly, he continued jumping forward without even looking back.
It was obvious that the stone giant was incredibly familiar with the Ancient Wild Lands as it kept making many turns that avoided the territories of powerful existences, so as not to cause trouble along the way.
However, it seemed that the stone giant was rather displeased with how Yang Kai had previously told it to not make any trouble for Xie Wu Wei, so the stone giant didn’t even try to talk with Yang Kai during the whole trip. This meant that Yang Kai didn’t even have a chance to ask about the Stone Spirit Clan or Xiao Xiao, only able to follow along in silence.
Ruo Xi could tell that Yang Kai had a lot on his mind, so she too remained silent and didn’t dare to disturb him.
This made the trip seem rather grim and silent.
The stone giant kept jumping through the Ancient Lands for an entire day and night before it suddenly stopped and its Human-sized stone body stepped on the top of a gigantic tree as it gazed into the distance and greeted the dawn.
*Shua…*
Yang Kai landed by the stone giant’s side and followed its gaze. He saw that deep within the forest was a dense patch of primaeval land where ancient trees reached up to the sky with many layers that were covered in mist. It all seemed like something out of an ancient story.
The stone giant made a fist and slammed it upon its own chest with a loud series of thumps. Zhang Ruo Xi felt afraid as she watched, fearing it would use too much strength and smash itself to death.
“Hou!” The stone giant roared to the sky, its voice containing a great deal of emotion that only rose in intensity with time. It seemed the stone giant was using a mysterious technique to send a message.
*Hualala…*
All the birds in the area were frightened and scattered.
Right after, another rhythmic roar sounded deep within the forest in response to the stone giant’s call.
Yang Kai felt his emotions rising because he suddenly sensed a mysterious Soul connection somewhere within the forest when he arrived here, one that was established via bloodlines. Even if tens of thousands of years passed, it would be impossible to eradicate this connection.
[Xiao Xiao!]
Yang Kai had used his own Blood Essence as a catalyst for Xiao Xiao’s birth. In other words, Xiao Xiao’s body contained Yang Kai’s blood. This was a connection that reached all the way down to the bones, and not a single person would possibly be able to break this connection.
“Elder has agreed to allow you entry into the clan’s territory. Come with me,” The nearby stone giant suddenly turned to speak before he jumped off the tree and sped through the forest with the agility of a monkey.
Yang Kai suppressed the excitement in his heart as he followed after the stone giant.
A grey figure half the height of a Human flew through the forest and rapidly approached Yang Kai.
The distance between the grey figure and Yang Kai shortened rapidly. Even though tens of thousands of trees were between them, both were able to clearly sense each other’s existence.
*Xiu…*
Yang Kai paused in his movements as he instantly stopped where he was.
Right after that, a grey bolt of light came pouncing with the speed of lightning towards him from the front. Ruo Xi was astonished as she thought Yang Kai had met with an ambush, so she instantly summoned the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal; however, she soon found out that she had misunderstood.
That was because Yang Kai was actually smiling while reaching out towards the grey light with his hands.
The beam of light didn’t decrease in speed at all as it crashed right onto Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai’s eyes bulged as he was hit by an enormous force that caused him to uncontrollably fly backwards. Many trees in his way were crushed like dry weeds and rotten wood before he finally came to a halt.
“Cough cough…” Yang Kai almost received internal injuries as he couldn’t catch his breath.
Xiao Xiao’s tackle embrace had been rather violent.
Yang Kai reached out with his hand as he leaned his back against a tree that had been half knocked over, patting Xiao Xiao who was on top of his body while constantly rubbing his head against Yang Kai.
“Wuwu…” Xiao Xiao made some mysterious cries, and although Yang Kai couldn’t understand literally, he could still clearly sense the latter’s happiness and excitement.
Xiao Xiao couldn’t control himself because of the excitement from their reunion after such a long parting. That was why Xiao Xiao had charged so wildly at Yang Kai right when he sensed him.
Xiao Xiao soon seemed to realize that he had done something wrong as he hurriedly got up and half kneeled in front of Yang Kai, his eyes sweeping up and down as he nervously looked Yang Kai over, fearing that Yang Kai had been hurt, he even reached out to pat away the dust on Yang Kai’s clothes.
However, Xiao Xiao’s strength was still rather strong.
“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Yang Kai was all smiles as he patted Xiao Xiao’s head and seriously looked him over. It didn’t seem like Xiao Xiao had changed very much after parting for many years, but Yang Kai could clearly sense his aura had become much stronger.
Meanwhile, the stone giant who led Yang Kai here was rather stunned at the sight. Xiao Xiao’s tackle from earlier was just a light hug to the Stone Spirit Clan, but such a hug wasn’t something that most Humans, who naturally had much weaker and smaller bodies, could handle.
Yet, this Human was completely unharmed and was even smiling happily. This Human’s body… was rather sturdy…
“Wuwu…” Xiao Xiao kept whimpering. If the Stone Spirit was capable of crying, its face would likely be covered in tears already. Xiao Xiao was unable to vent all the excitement in his chest, so he could only jump up and down and scratch at his head, as if he was a comical and naughty monkey.
Suddenly, Xiao Xiao darted to the side, opened his arms, and hugged a large tree. That tree had been alive for an unknown number of years, but it would require at least three people to encircle it. The tree’s crown reached high up into the clouds, so Xiao Xiao, who was only half a Human’s height, seemed to be as insignificant as an ant in comparison to it.
Yet, Xiao Xiao’s embrace caused the entire tree to suddenly begin shaking violently.
“Hou!” Xiao Xiao roared furiously, causing the land to vibrate as spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the ground as the tree roots became exposed.
*Hong hong hong…*
Xiao Xiao kept raising and lowering his arms, and every time that he moved, the tree kept shaking, after a few times actually being uprooted, causing dust and dirt to fly everywhere.
Ruo Xi was stunned at the sight.
She now finally witnessed what it truly meant to have unlimited strength.
Xiao Xiao pulled up the large tree by the roots. The tree seemed like it was as light as air as he tossed it into the sky. The tree instantly became a small black dot in the distance and it was unknown where it eventually landed.
“Hou…” Xiao Xiao kept roaring endlessly at the sky while pounding his chest with his fists, making a sound like a war drum.
“Silly child, hurry and pull our honoured guest up. Just what is all this?”
An elderly voice suddenly spoke up from the front. Although the voice was deep, it also seemed gentle and friendly, so that one couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity and comfort.
Xiao Xiao suddenly shook. It seemed like he was really respectful of the owner of this voice. He hopped up and skipped back over to Yang Kai’s side, pulled the latter up, and looked at him with a silly expression.
Xiao Xiao had calmed down now that he had vented.
Yang Kai looked forward and paused in surprise at what he saw.
Numerous Stone Spirits as tall as humans walked out of the forest. At a rough count, there were eight of them. It was evident that they had gathered here after noticing the commotion since their round eyes were all looking at him with curiosity.
One of the Stone Spirits was particularly attention-grabbing. It wasn’t because he was very stronger or taller than the rest; in fact, he was even shorter in comparison to the other Stone Spirits. He wasn’t short due to his height, but rather because his back was somewhat hunched.
This Stone Spirit would give others the first impression of being ancient.
His bent back was supported by a stone staff, and the stone skin on his body was also cracked. These were all natural traces of the weathering of time upon his body. His pointy chin actually had some small pointy stone pillars that seemed like a beard; however, his eyes were particularly bright as they shone with the light of wisdom.
Those of the Stone Spirit Clan were naturally born lacking intelligence, but for some unknown reason, Yang Kai could see the image of a wise Elder when he met this elderly Stone Spirit’s eyes.
Yang Kai instantly assumed a respectful demeanour as he knew that this old Stone Spirit had likely lived for many tens of thousands of years already. He also realized who this elderly Stone Spirit was, so he cupped his fists, bowed, and greeted, “Junior Yang Kai greets Elder. Please don’t mind how I came over to bother you without asking first.”
Zhang Ruo Xi heard this and realized that this Sir was someone of exceptionally noble status, so she hurriedly bowed and greeted the Elder as well.
The Elder chuckled with a hearty sound, “It’s no bother at all. We of the Stone Spirit Clan have been waiting for you for a long time, and today, you have finally come.”
“Waiting for me?” Yang Kai was surprised, but he soon thought of something as he turned to glance at Xiao Xiao who was standing next to him. Yang Kai smiled slightly and patted Xiao Xiao on the shoulder.
Yang Kai thought that it was because of Xiao Xiao that this Stone Spirit Elder had said he had been waiting for Yang Kai.
“Honoured guest, you have come from afar, and it must have been a tiring journey. Please come with this old one to rest. Our Stone Spirit Clan hasn’t had a guest for countless years now.” After the Elder said this, he turned to walk deeper into the forest without waiting for Yang Kai to agree.
Although he appeared rather elderly and used a staff, he still seemed quite agile, not being one bit slower than the other Stone Spirits.
After he left, the other Stone Spirits followed closely after him, although they all glanced at Yang Kai with curious expressions before they left.
Xiao Xiao pulled on Yang Kai’s hand and whined as he dragged Yang Kai away.
Yang Kai could only helplessly call Zhang Ruo Xi to follow him.
Not long after they started walking, everyone arrived at a place encircled by ancient trees. Each of these ancient trees was so wide that it would take ten people to hug them, and among the tree roots, there were numerous tree caves that had become natural homes with clear traces of someone inhabiting them.
Yang Kai felt that this was a fresh experience. He also realized that these tree homes were likely where the Stone Spirit Clan lived.
This seemed to be only natural since they were capable of transforming into several tens of metres tall, so no ordinary house would be able to handle them. These natural tree homes would actually be the best place for them to rest.
The Stone Spirit Clan had been here for an unknown number of years already, so all of the tree caves had traces of experiencing numerous tens of thousands of years of time.
After arriving, the Stone Spirit Elder went directly into a tree cave and disappeared.
Another Stone Spirit walked over and greeted Yang Kai with one hand across its chest, “Elder says that the honoured guest should go rest first, and come talk to him when it’s nighttime.”
Yang Kai glanced at the Stone Spirit, but he couldn’t tell if this Stone Spirit was the one that Xie Wu Wei had previously captured, since they all looked the same. No ordinary person would be able to differentiate them unless that person lived for a long time together with the Stone Spirits.
Yang Kai copied the Stone Spirit’s behaviour and placed one hand on his chest as he politely responded, “Many thanks.”
Although he didn’t know why he was supposed to wait until nighttime to talk, he had come here to find Xiao Xiao, and his wish had been achieved, so Yang Kai didn’t mind anything else. In fact, Yang Kai didn’t even need to consider if Xiao Xiao was going to leave with him or not.
Naturally, Yang Kai would be happy if Xiao Xiao was willing to leave with him, but if Xiao Xiao was unable to abandon his own kind and chose to stay behind, Yang Kai wouldn’t force Xiao Xiao to leave.
Every living being had their own clan, and Yang Kai was truly happy for Xiao Xiao since the latter was able to find his kind and was no longer alone.
“Treat the guest well,” the Stone Spirit told Xiao Xiao, who scratched his head before nodding.
The Stone Spirit glanced at Xiao Xiao and slightly sighed before he left. It seemed to feel rather helpless about Xiao Xiao, who was still just a child. Still, Xiao Xiao was the only one in the entire Stone Spirit Clan who was still just a mere child, so it couldn’t be helped if he was somewhat naughty and willful.
After the Stone Spirit left, Xiao Xiao dragged Yang Kai beneath a huge tree.
This tree also had a tree cave underneath and evidently, it was where Xiao Xiao lived.
Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi followed him in, but Xiao Xiao suddenly looked all around and then darted outside. It was unknown what he had gone to do.
A moment later, an angry roar could be heard from within a nearby tree cave, “Little One, you’re being naughty again! Do you think I’ll not report this to Elder so that he will punish you!?”
*Honglonglong…*
After the earth shook for some time, Xiao Xiao returned a moment later with two stone chairs on his shoulder. He tossed the stone chairs on the ground and kept shouting something as he looked at Yang Kai.
Ruo Xi couldn’t help but cover her mouth and smile, since she understood that Xiao Xiao had likely run out to steal these two stone chairs from another Stone Spirit.
Even Yang Kai couldn’t keep a straight expression as he exchanged glances with Ruo Xi, flicking his sleeves and sitting down with a smile.
He glanced around and found that this tree cave was completely empty inside. While it wasn’t small at all, and was in fact even larger than an ordinary home, it didn’t have any decorations inside. There weren’t even any tables or chairs.
However, a few stone sculptures did attract Yang Kai’s attention.
These stone sculptures seemed rather rough, and it was evident that the sculptor wasn’t skilled; however, it was still possible to vaguely tell that these sculptures were all of a single man.
From left to right, the sculptures became better and better in quality. The last sculpture even had clear facial features.
Ruo Xi looked at them for a while until she had a sudden realization as she exclaimed, “Sir, these are sculptures of you!”
Although even the last sculpture didn’t resemble Yang Kai in the slightest, Zhang Ruo Xi still acutely sensed that this sculpture was based on him.
Xiao Xiao kept jumping up and down as he ran over to the best-looking sculpture and picked it up. He then ran over and placed it in front of Yang Kai, as if he was offering a treasure. Xiao Xiao pointed at himself and then pointed at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s heart was rather moved as he looked at the sculpture with a stunned face. He didn’t hold back on the praise as he exclaimed, “What a wonderful sculpture, it really looks like me!”
Xiao Xiao instantly jumped a metre high and backflipped in midair when he received praise. He ran over to the other stone sculptures and viciously smashed them to pieces in a rampage for seemingly no reason. It seemed as if he was fine with only having the sculpture that Yang Kai praised, with the other sculptures not mattering at all.
Xiao Xiao made some ‘wu wu!’ sounds as he kept waving his arms and gestured frantically.
Yang Kai arched his eyebrows, “You learned all this by yourself?”
Xiao Xiao nodded vigorously again and continued to gesture.
Zhang Ruo Xi quietly watched from the side with a faint smile on her face. She suddenly discovered that this was quite a warm scene. She couldn’t understand what Xiao Xiao was gesturing or saying, but Yang Kai was clearly able to understand Xiao Xiao without any mistakes.
The Human and Stone Spirit kept communicating with each other in the cave with their special means. Although they were simply chatting about trivial matters, they seemed to have a lot of fun.
The battles of the outside world seemed to be matters of the distant past here in this primaeval forest far away from all hustle and bustle. It was as if nothing from outside could possibly invade this place.
Ruo Xi could tell that Yang Kai had an excellent relationship with the Stone Spirit in front of him, named Xiao Xiao. Ruo Xi had never seen him being so patient before, as he was treating Xiao Xiao like his own child while being filled with generosity and magnanimity.
It would be quite nice if things could always remain like this. If Sir was willing to stay here, she would happily stay here as well, even if she had to live secluded from the rest of the world.
The sound of laughter kept coming from the tree cave as time swiftly passed.
Soon, it became nighttime as the sky gradually darkened.
A Stone Spirit walked in from outside as it placed its hand on its chest, “Honoured guest, Elder is inviting you to a banquet.”
[A banquet?]
Yang Kai paused in surprise. Although Elder had told him during the day to come at nighttime to talk, Yang Kai hadn’t expected that they would actually prepare a celebration to welcome him.
He felt like he was being somewhat spoiled as he hurriedly got up and said, “Elder is truly thoughtful. I shall come immediately.”
The Stone Spirit nodded and turned to leave.
Xiao Xiao no longer gestured at Yang Kai and instead pulled on his hand to drag him outside.
“Xiao Xiao, do you guys have any rules here I should be aware of?” Yang Kai asked as he walked.
The Stone Spirit Clan counted as an ancient species that had always been living in the deepest portion of the Ancient Wild Lands. This was Yang Kai’s first time here, so he was afraid that he would accidentally break some taboo and make them angry, so he naturally wanted to ask so that he could be aware of and follow the customs here.
However, Xiao Xiao only shook his head without saying anything else, as if he was trying to be mysterious. Yang Kai felt rather helpless about this.
They exited the tree cave’s entrance then and Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi raised their heads to see a sight that caused a light to flash across their eyes.
“How beautiful!” Ruo Xi couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment. The night sky at this Ancient Wild Lands was so beautiful that one could get addicted, and the ancient trees in the area had fireflies flying between them, spreading a colourful glow everywhere they went. It seemed as if mystic beams of light were flying around and illuminating this place like the so-called ‘fairy realm’.
Ruo Xi’s eyes were shooting stars as she now really wanted to just live here and never leave again.
Little girls typically had very little resistance against such beauty.
Yang Kai had also stayed many nights in the Ancient Wild Lands already, but no place had been as wondrously beautiful as this place where the Stone Spirits lived. He couldn’t help but exclaim over the miracles that nature could create.
Yang Kai followed Xiao Xiao towards the front and soon arrived at an empty area.
Eight Stone Spirits were already gathered here, all standing behind a table with stone plates on them that seemed to have been locally crafted.
Behind the stone tables were some stone chairs.
The ancient Stone Spirit Elder was already sitting at the head of the stone table, smiling widely as he looked in Yang Kai’s direction.
When Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi followed Xiao Xiao here, the Stone Spirits standing at both sides all paid their respects to them, which made Yang Kai feel really awkward. He and Zhang Ruo Xi could only constantly pay their respects in return. All of these Stone Spirits had been alive for countless years already, so it could be said that they were older than almost everyone in the Star Boundary, and Yang Kai couldn’t be rude in front of them.
Two empty stone seats were next to Elder, obviously prepared for Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi.
When they got closer, Elder raised his hand and announced, “Our two Honoured Guests, please have a seat!”
Yang Kai excused himself as he walked over to the stone table next to Elder and sat down. Ruo Xi saw this and could only sit down quietly on the other side.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao ran to the back and sat at the other end of the table together with the other Stone Spirits. He kept acting naughty, which caused the Stone Spirit next to him to knock him with its hand and make a clamorous sound. This instantly made Xiao Xiao start behaving.
“It is our Stone Spirit Clan’s honour to receive guests from afar and dedicate this banquet to them. Please don’t mind that our fare isn’t very fancy,” Elder laughed with an uproarious voice that was as loud as thunder which rattled the eardrums.
Yang Kai got up and replied, “Elder, you’re being too kind. It is my honour to receive such treatment from your clan. I wouldn’t dare to mind anything.”
Elder smiled and nodded, indicating for Yang Kai to sit before he continued, “My Stone Spirit Clan has few clansmen. Those you see here are all that remains of my clansmen. Everyone, introduce yourselves to our honoured guest so that he can tell you apart.”
“Yes!” The Stone Spirits all responded and got up in unison as they greeted Yang Kai. The first one introduced himself by saying, “Shi Yi!”
“Shi Er!”
“Shi San!”
…
“Shi Ba!”
Yang Kai was so stunned that his face couldn’t stop twitching.
These Stone Spirits had really simple names, as all of them were named with numbers. When counting Elder and Xiao Xiao, there were still only ten Stone Spirit clansmen in total. They really were ridiculously few in number.
More importantly, the Stone Spirits’ self-introductions weren’t very useful. Yang Kai kept glancing between them and felt like they all looked identical. He couldn’t tell who was who at all.
Although he couldn’t differentiate between them, he still had to be polite, so Yang Kai greeted them all and acted as if he remembered them, but to be honest, he couldn’t identify a single one.
After the eight Stone Spirits finished introducing themselves, Elder chuckled and said, “My Stone Spirit Clan has never had more than ten members before. One will definitely die if we exceed ten. That is the Will of the Heavens.”
Yang Kai exclaimed in astonishment, “Your clan has never had more than ten clansmen before?”
Elder nodded, “Indeed!”
Yang Kai had a sudden realization, [No wonder why only Xiao Xiao had hatched successfully back when I obtained two Stone Spirit Embryos. I was forced to refine the other one with my Soul Clone in order to help it survive.]
At the time, he thought that he had been unlucky, but now it seemed that it was actually related to Heavens Will, rather than any problem with how he raised them.
He wondered how the Stone Spirits would react if he let Embodiment come out right now.
Elder then continued, “Even though we have few clansmen, we have no conflict with the world, which is how we survived until now. It must seem silly to our honoured guest.”
Yang Kai hurriedly waved his hand.
“Haha, I think that is enough idle chat. Let’s begin the evening party,” Elder chuckled and continued in a hearty voice, “This place is simple and has nothing to treat you with apart from some spirit fruits and spirit wine. I hope you will not mind it, Honoured Guest.”
“I wouldn’t dare disapprove!” Yang Kai had a confused look as he replied.
Elder was talking about giving him some spirit fruits and spirit wine, but Yang Kai didn’t see anything on the table at all. Besides, all ten clansmen of the Stone Spirit Clan were here, so who would bring the plates of food and wine? Yang Kai glanced around but saw that the other nine Stone Spirits, Xiao Xiao included, were just sitting there without moving. In fact, all their eyes were filled with expectation as they looked at the deep part of the forest.
[What is going on?] Yang Kai’s mind was filled with doubts, but he could only quietly watch to see what would happen.
*Pa pa!* Elder suddenly clapped twice, as if he was summoning something.
The trees in the area suddenly glowed with many different brilliant colours, as if ribbons of light had come alive between the tree crowns and the forest.
It seemed as if numerous dainty figures started flying in the hazy light, all of them moving along the coloured ribbons like they were descending from the Heavens above, a scene of indescribable beauty.
Yang Kai instantly widened his eyes when he saw the numerous tiny people about the size of his palm mysteriously appear. These small people didn’t seem to have physical bodies as they glowed brilliantly and had dainty and exquisite figures, like they were carved from the purest jade.
The forest instantly became lively as several hundred of these tiny people poured out from all directions. There were both males and females, with the men having clean faces and handsome appearances, and the women having beautiful features. The women also wore tiny dresses that exposed their exquisite arms and legs to show their snow-white skin.
These tiny beings were all carrying various things as they flew to the stone table and placed their objects down.
Soon, the stone table was covered in stone cups, wine barrels, and baskets of fragrant spirit fruits. These baskets had likely been woven from vines, as they seemed quite exquisitely crafted, with each small basket being filled with various different spirit fruits that had already been cleaned and were ready to eat.
Yang Kai and Ruo Xi had never seen such beings before, so neither of them even blinked in their astonishment.
A small female fairy flew over to Yang Kai and put down the basket that was in her arms, raising her head to see that Yang Kai was staring right at her with eyes wide open, so her cheeks immediately became bright red as she covered her face and retreated. It seemed like she was incredibly embarrassed, which made Yang Kai feel rather apologetic since he felt like he had scared her.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ruo Xi reached out with a finger and poked a small female on the face, but the latter unexpectedly slapped away her finger, pursed her lips, and angrily left.
Ruo Xi couldn’t help but stick out her tongue. Still, her beautiful eyes kept staring unceasingly at these tiny people.
These beautiful small beings naturally attracted a great deal of her interest and she secretly felt like it would be nice if she could take a few back with her to raise.
“Elder, they are…” Yang Kai finally managed to regain his senses as he turned to look at the Stone Spirit Elder.
Elder chuckled, “They are the Wood Spirit Clan, who coexist symbiotically with our Stone Spirit Clan. They are our Stone Spirit Clan’s most reliable ally!” He paused for a moment before adding, “Our Stone Spirit Clan needs their assistance for many things, while the Wood Spirit Clan isn’t skilled at fighting, so it is difficult for them to survive in the Ancient Lands. They need our clan’s protection, so we mutually assist each other.”
Yang Kai understood as he nodded, “So, that’s how it is.”
These small people definitely didn’t seem like they were skilled at combat, and it was likely that any random Monster Beast would be able to kill a large number of them. The Ancient Lands were a dangerous place, so if this clan wanted to survive, they would have to rely on someone strong.
Obviously, they had chosen to rely on the Stone Spirit Clan.
Yang Kai had truly learned much on his trip to the Ancient Lands. Not only did he meet all of Xiao Xiao’s clansmen, he even met this wondrous Wood Spirit Clan. Any ordinary person likely wouldn’t even know of the existence of these two races.
As they were talking, a small Wood Spirit who seemed different from the others somehow flew over. She was wearing clearly more extravagant clothing than the others, and her aura was nobler and purer as well. Her exquisite face actually possessed a pearly white glow that made her seem divine and untouchable. She also had a strange crown on her head.
Elder introduced her, “This is the Wood Spirit Clan’s Clan Head, Mu Na.”
Yang Kai hurriedly got up, “Yang Kai greets Senior Mu!”
Although this Wood Spirit Clan Head was only as large as his palm, which made her seem rather cute and unimposing, since she was the Clan Head of her entire clan, she was obviously someone who had been alive for an unknown number of years already. It was only natural to address her as Senior.
Mu Na smiled gently and raised her hand, “Since you are the Stone Spirit Clan’s guest, you are my Wood Spirit Clan’s guest as well. Now that you’re here, treat this as your own home; there’s no need to be reserved.”
Elder smiled, “Normally, it’s quite difficult to be able to eat the Wood Spirit Clan’s spirit fruit and spirit wine. It’s thanks to our Honoured Guest today that we get to fill our stomachs.”
Mu Na covered her mouth and smiled, “Elder, you shouldn’t blatantly say such a ridiculous thing. Our Wood Spirit Clan has never been stingy with our spirit fruits and spirit wine to you.”
When the Stone Spirits heard this, they all chuckled, making it obvious that they often obtained food and drink from the Wood Spirit Clan.
Yang Kai could tell that these two species didn’t have a simple relationship of protection and reliance. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Elder and the Wood Spirit Clan Head to have such a casual conversation.
Elder raised his hand, “Since our Honoured Guest has come all the way here, during such a fortuitous time, we shall drink until we are drunk!”
The other Stone Spirits all instantly began to cry and howl as they made loud banging noises on the stone table. It was as if they were about to head out for war and slaughter, which made Yang Kai’s heart tremble. He couldn’t figure out how such a violent species like the Stone Spirit Clan could coexist peacefully with the Wood Spirit Clan.
Even Xiao Xiao was going crazy with excitement.
More than ten female Wood Spirits instantly flew out from the side and went up to each guest as they struggled with the wine barrels and prepared to fill everyone’s stone cups.
The female Wood Spirit who came over to serve Yang Kai seemed to be the same one who flew away in embarrassment because he had been staring at her earlier. Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel sorry for her when he saw how difficult it was for her to pick up the wine barrel, so he hurriedly said, “I can do it by myself. There’s no need to trouble yourself.”
After he said that, the female Wood Spirit couldn’t help but look at him as her eyes instantly reddened with tears flowing in her eyes. She really seemed quite pitiful.
Yang Kai broke out into a cold sweat as he didn’t know what he had said wrong and hurriedly pleaded for help with his expression as he looked at Elder.
Elder chuckled, “Although the Wood Spirit Clan generally dislikes strangers, anyone who can become their guest will see their determination to be gracious hosts. Their most basic etiquette is about serving wine to their guests, so if a guest refuses, that means they haven’t done well enough, and the server will end up being excluded by all their clansmen.”
Poor little spirit girl…
“Ah!” Yang Kai was really shocked when he heard this, as this was a rather severe consequence. He originally only wanted to spare the small Wood Spirit from overexerting herself, so he never expected that this would cause her to be excluded by all her clansmen. He hurriedly took back his offered hand rather awkwardly and smiled apologetically at the small Wood Spirit, “Then I shall be troubling you!”
Only then did the small Wood Spirit continue to pick up the wine barrel and fill the stone cup in front of him before she quietly flew to the side.
Elder raised his stone cup and heartily announced, “The bright moon is in the sky and the Honoured Guests are like jade. This Elder represents the Stone Spirit and Wood Spirit Clans in toasting our guests! Honoured Guests, please drink to your fill!”
The Stone Spirits all raised their stone cups up high and gestured at Yang Kai as they followed Elder’s actions.
Yang Kai hurriedly rose up and toasted everyone around him. He then poured the delicious wine down his throat in one gulp. Only then did he turn over the stone cup to indicate that he no longer had any wine.
The Stone Spirits all drank the wine in their cups and shook their heads with expressions of delight. It seemed that this wine was incredibly delicious to them.
“Honoured Guest, please sit down!” Elder made a gesture, indicating Yang Kai to sit after he drank his wine. Only then did Yang Kai sit down again.
The wine in his stomach really did taste exceptional. Its flavour kept swirling around endlessly in his mouth as he enjoyed the memory of drinking it. Even someone like Yang Kai, who wasn’t that fond of alcohol, was feeling refreshed all over after drinking this wine. He wondered just what type of winemaking techniques the Wood Spirit Clan possessed.
After enjoying the wine, Clan Head Mu Na, who had been standing by Elder’s side all this time, suddenly clapped her hands lightly.
Twenty or so Wood Spirits instantly flew to the centre of the clearing. Half of the Wood Spirits were holding small and exquisite musical instruments. Nobody was conducting for them, but the sound of flutes and violin filled the air alongside the percussion of a strange wooden drum. It was as if the mountains and rivers themselves were playing music, and it was extremely pleasant to the ear. The Wood Spirits kept playing their instruments as the wonderful music echoed in the beautiful forest.
The other half of the Wood Spirits began to flit about and dance lightly with the musical melody. It was truly a sight that was completely foreign to Yang Kai; a completely different kind of culture.
What Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi saw and heard seemed to contain a mystical effect that could cleanse the heart and soul, so the two guests instantly calmed down as they kept watching everything.
This was especially so for Ruo Xi. Her eyes seemed to glimmer as the more she watched the Wood Spirits, the more she liked them.
The Stone Spirit Elder was also smiling as he watched them. He would caress his stone beard and gently nod whenever he saw something good.
The small Wood Spirit refilled Yang Kai’s wine once again, but he didn’t even notice. He only felt as if his entire body and Soul had been sucked towards the music and dance, giving him a calm experience like never before. All idle thoughts in his heart had vanished completely.
Yang Kai didn’t return to his senses for a long while even after the dance ended.
However, a nearby commotion shocked him out of his reverie, and when he turned to look at what it was, his face instantly twitched.
The nine other Stone Spirits, Xiao Xiao included, were actually all eating ravenously as if they had been starving since they were born. All of them were gulping wine voraciously from their wine barrels. The delicious wine that ordinary people would never be able to see in their lifetime was spilling down from their mouths onto their chests, wasting countless litres. The Stone Spirits were drinking the delicious wine while grabbing the spirit fruits in the wooden baskets in front of them, stuffing the fruits into their mouths, and chewing wildly…
The nine Wood Spirits nearby serving them wine all had looks of awkwardness as they watched the Stone Spirits.
These two species put together seemed like a team of graceful beauties and utter barbarians. It was quite a powerful visual contrast.
Elder and Clan Head Mu Na seemed to be accustomed to all this as they both watched everything with slight smiles without saying a word.
Yang Kai decided to also quietly taste the spirit fruits.
The spirit fruits raised by the Wood Spirit Clan and the spirit wine they made were not only delicious, but they also seemed to have the miraculous effect of cleansing the mind and Soul. Yang Kai was really astonished by this as he secretly felt that if a person with dissonance in their cultivation could obtain such a thing, perhaps the dissonance could be significantly eased.
After several rounds of food and drink, the atmosphere became much livelier.
Two Stone Spirits that had become shaky from drinking suddenly stood up from their seats and walked to the central area with large steps. Yang Kai didn’t know which ‘Shi numbers’ they were, since they looked pretty much identical.
The instrument-playing and dancing Wood Spirits seemed to know what was about to happen, so they all hurriedly avoided the two Stone Spirits and flew out of the central area as they smiled and watched the show.
Yang Kai and Ruo Xi didn’t know what the two Stone Spirits wanted to do, so they watched with great interest.
The two Stone Spirits in the central area exchanged glances for a while before they suddenly roared angrily in unison and charged at each other. There was a huge boom as the two Stone Spirits crashed into one another like two mountains smashing together. One Stone Spirit grabbed the other’s neck with both hands, while the other had both hands grabbing onto his opponent’s waist. Both of them stood right where they were with legs wide open as their legs kept kicking at each other. It seemed as if they had absolutely irreconcilable enmity with the other, and truly wanted to kill each other.
Yang Kai was truly shocked and afraid that these two behemoths would forget themselves in the battle and accidentally injure the nearby tiny Wood Spirits; however, the small Wood Spirits actually seemed to really enjoy the battle as they even shouted loudly to cheer on the two Stone Spirits.
After quite a while, Yang Kai finally understood that the two Stone Spirits were apparently play wrestling with each other.
However, the Stone Spirit Clan possessed incredible physical strength, so there were no other species that would be able to play such barbaric wrestling. Every clash made his eyes widen, yet the two species’ clansmen felt that this was completely normal.
After quite a while passed, one Stone Spirit found an opportunity to trip the other’s foot as he exerted force with both hands and knocked his opponent onto the ground, which caused dust to fly everywhere.
“Hou!” The victorious Stone Spirit roared at the sky and energetically slammed his fists on his chest in an incredibly arrogant manner.
Another nearby Stone Spirit wasn’t able to take this as he immediately jumped to the central area and began to fight with the winning Stone Spirit…
Stone Spirits were constantly eliminated in battle, and as more and more were eliminated, the atmosphere kept getting more heated to the point where even the Wood Spirits seemed to forget themselves as they flew to the central area and kept shouting as they circled the two fighting Stone Spirits.
Yang Kai also enjoyed himself as he watched the commotion. His emotions were stoked as well as he also shouted to support the Stone Spirits.
However, trouble came for him as he watched.
Eight adult Stone Spirits had been eliminated by now, and when the final victorious Stone Spirit saw that he had no opponents left, he actually turned to Yang Kai and made a hand gesture for him to come up and fight him.
“Me?” Yang Kai pointed at his own nose and hurriedly waved his hand, “No, no, I’m fine with just watching.”
[Me wrestle them? What a joke! It would take a masochist to want to wrestle against a Stone Spirit!] Yang Kai had already tested Xiao Xiao’s immense strength long ago, and he could say for certain that in a pure contest of physical power, even ten of him wouldn’t be an opponent for a single Stone Spirit.
However, the Stone Spirit didn’t give him any face at all and insisted on waving at him to come and compete. When he saw that Yang Kai didn’t want to come forward, he actually waved his large stone hand widely.
A dozen or so small Wood Spirits immediately flew over and surrounded Yang Kai. Without giving him a chance to say anything, they directly lifted him up and brought him to the central area.
“You …” Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For the first time, he felt that these small Wood Spirits weren’t actually cute at all.
After setting Yang Kai down in the central area, the small Wood Spirits all scattered outside with expectant expressions.
Yang Kai turned to look at Elder and the Wood Spirit Clan Head with a pleading expression.
Elder just laughed heartily though, obviously having no intent of helping Yang Kai. However, Mu Na said in a gentle tone, “Honoured Guest, you may use all of your might without any worries.”
Yang Kai felt rather helpless since even she was saying things to such an extent.
He estimated that if he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, perhaps he would be able to compete with the Stone Spirit…
Before he even finished planning though, the Stone Spirit actually roared angrily while pouncing at him as he grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and tripped his foot.
Yang Kai was stunned as he felt the world around him spinning as he heavily crashed into the ground.
After the Stone Spirit succeeded in throwing Yang Kai, he raised his arms up high while crying and howling, acting like he was undefeatable and that nobody would dare to challenge him.
Yang Kai crawled up from the ground, covered his face, and backed away as he slunk back to his seat.
This was so embarrassing. He wasn’t an opponent at all! When competing only in strength, it seemed unlikely that anyone would possibly be stronger than a Stone Spirit.
The little Wood Spirit, who was serving Yang Kai wine, glanced at him sympathetically and poured him another cup in silence.
Seeing that Yang Kai suffered a loss, Xiao Xiao, who had not taken to the field yet, was furious. He suddenly rushed to the centre of the field and rolled up his imaginary sleeves, as if he wanted to avenge Yang Kai, but he was the youngest and smallest Stone Spirit, so when facing the adult Stone Spirit, he could only insist on three breaths of time before being thrown out, hitting the outside with a bang.
The banquet was lively, with the two races getting along joyously and enjoying each other’s company.
After the first round of play wrestling, the Stone Spirits began another round, using all their might.
After eating such a loss, Yang Kai reaffirmed that he would not try to compete against any of the Stone Spirits anymore, and just sat aside and watched quietly.
During the second half of the night, the Stone Spirits were still making noise. It seemed that they hadn’t celebrated like this in a long time, and looking at how they were acting, it was likely that this was going to continue until dawn. Meanwhile, most of the Wood Spirits were already exhausted, their heads bobbing up and down, almost dozing off.
The small Wood Spirit, who had been standing next to Yang Kai, suddenly flew to his side and leaned on his ear and said something softly.
Yang Kai looked ahead and saw that Stone Spirit Elder and Wood Spirit Clan Head over there had gotten up and walked towards a large tree cave not far away. While they moved, Mu Na gave him a meaningful glance.
Yang Kai understood and hurriedly stood up, quietly sending a message to Zhang Ruo Xi, telling her to stay put for now.
When he stood at the entrance of the tree cave, Elder had already gone in, leaving just Mu Na waiting outside. When she saw Yang Kai, she extended her hand and gestured, “Please enter!”
Yang Kai didn’t know what these two clan heads wanted from him, but he did not ask any questions and followed along, entering the tree cave.
This tree cave seemed to be bigger and older than the others.
Yang Kai looked around before asking, “What can I do for you, Elder?”
Elder turned back and gestured with his hand for Yang Kai to sit down so they could talk.
After Yang Kai took his seat, Elder asked, “Are you here to take Shi Jiu away?”
Shi Jiu was Xiao Xiao’s given name in the Stone Spirit Clan, since he was the youngest.
[So, it was about this…] Yang Kai understood and smiled, “If he is willing to leave with me, and if Elder is willing to allow him to leave, I will surely take him away. I will not lie to you, Elder, I came to the Ancient Wild Lands this time specifically to look for him, and to check up on his well being.”
Elder gave a gentle nod, indicating that he understood Yang Kai’s intentions.
Yang Kai continued, “However, if he wishes to remain here with you, I will not force him to leave with me. It has always been a wish of mine to have him meet with his own kind, so now that he has found his clansmen, and they are willing to accept him, I see no reason to take him away. I would actually like for him to stay here.”
“Honoured Guest, you are truly kind. Forgive this Elder for being overly suspicious and pessimistic,” Elder smiled lightly, stroking his beard.
Yang Kai added, “Actually, I hoped that Xiao Xiao could stay and live with you from the start. I am already satisfied by the fact that I found him.”
Exactly as he said, since Xiao Xiao had found his clan, it was far better for him to live with his clansmen than to remain alone with Yang Kai. All the living beings in the world, no matter what kind, were social creatures. If they remained alone, they would lose their minds sooner or later.
Elder and Mu Na glanced at each other before lightly nodding, seemingly agreeing with Yang Kai.
Mu Na then asked with a smile, “Honoured Guest, I wonder if you have heard of the Blood Gate?”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, having no idea why they suddenly switched the topic to this, but he still replied with a nod, “I knew nothing about it before coming to the Ancient Lands, but I happened to have heard of the legends regarding the Blood Gate a few days ago.”
Mu Na’s beautiful eyes lit up as she continued, “Honoured Guest, since you know about it, then this saves this Queen the trouble of explaining it to you.”
Yang Kai asked in amazement, “What does the Blood Gate have to do with you?”
Mu Na didn’t speak this time, but turned to look at the Stone Spirit Elder, who replied in a grim voice, “The Blood Gate is connected to every creature of the Ancient Lands. In the Ancient Lands, there is a saying: If one can enter the Blood Gate, he or she can be reborn, stimulating his or her ancestral bloodline and transforming into a Divine Spirit!”
Xie Wu Wei had said the same thing a few days ago too, so Yang Kai still remembered it.
Elder continued, “Although most have heard of this rumour, they have no way to verify it. Only a few people know that it is indeed true.”
Yang Kai’s expression slightly changed as he asked, “Can one’s ancestral bloodline really be stimulated and he or she truly become a Divine Spirit after entering the Blood Gate?”
Elder chuckled before replying, “Not necessarily. It’s just a chance, that’s all.”
Yang Kai’s interest was piqued and he immediately asked, “I would like to hear the details.”
Elder pondered for a moment as he was sorting out his words before finally speaking, “Most of the Ancient Lands’ creatures are descended from Ancient Divine Spirits, thus inheriting some proportion of their ancient bloodline, and only those who fulfil this condition may become a Divine Spirit after entering the Blood Gate! Furthermore, the process is extremely dangerous. It could be said that nine out ten would certainly die.”
Mu Na added, “Guest, since you dare to enter the Ancient Wild Lands, your cultivation cannot be weak, so I assume you have already come into contact with Source Strength, yes?”
Yang Kai nodded in confirmation. Cultivators would have already come into contact with the Source Strength in the Dao Source Realm, and he was already an Emperor Realm Master, so how could he be unfamiliar with it?
Mu Na continued, “If one wants to become a Divine Spirit and regain the glory of their ancestors, entering the Blood Gate is just the first step, nothing more. After entering the Blood Gate, that’s when the real test begins. Most of the Ancient Lands’ creatures think that entering the Blood Gate is enough to become a Divine Spirit. Although this isn’t technically wrong, it is a somewhat naïve interpretation of the truth. They just know the possible end result, but do not know anything about the process involved.”
“What kind of test is it then?” Yang Kai tightly frowned, grasping some idea of the matter quickly.
Elder replied in a heavy voice, “Every Divine Spirit has its own Divine Spirit Source. Bloodline atavism is one aspect of regaining the status of a Divine Spirit, but the more important factor is obtaining the recognition of the Divine Spirit Source. Only after obtaining the acknowledgement and acceptance of a Divine Spirit Source can one have the opportunity to become the true Divine Spirit.”
Even though this was a somewhat convoluted explanation, Yang Kai understood it at once.
A Divine Spirit Source was a very peculiar existence. For instance, the Phoenix True Fire was a Fire Phoenix Source. If someone could get the Phoenix True Fire, he or she might have a great chance to become a Fire Phoenix, like in Liu Yan’s case, but whether she could succeed or not depended on her luck. If she couldn’t get the Phoenix True Fire’s recognition, it would be disastrous for Liu Yan. This was a kind of test for her.
In other words, if one wanted to become a Divine Spirit, Bloodline Power and the Divine Spirit Source were indispensable.
Yang Kai was stunned and hesitatingly asked, “Do you mean that there are Divine Spirit Sources inside the Blood Gate?”
Elder and Mu Na glanced at each other, feeling a little surprised. They felt that Yang Kai was too sharp, as he had arrived at this conclusion with only these few clues.
Elder agreed with a nod, “That’s right. There are Divine Spirit Sources inside the Blood Gate. If someone has the opportunity to enter it, he or she could attempt to merge with one, and if he or she succeeds, they can then really become a Divine Spirit. But if he or she can’t, then they would meet their end.”
“How can there be Divine Spirit Sources inside the Blood Gate?” Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
Elder replied with a bitter smile, “Because the Blood Gate is just an entrance. There is a Divine Spirit Palace inside the Blood Gate, where many Divine Spirit Sources are stored. It could be said that almost all Sources from the Divine Spirits in ancient times are kept there.”
Yang Kai was greatly shocked again, “How is that possible?”
He suddenly made an educated guess and asked, shocked, “Could it be that it’s something like the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb, where those Divine Spirits would enter on their own when their predestined time of death arrives, leaving their Source Strength after their deaths?”
If not, how could there be countless Divine Spirit Sources inside this so-called Divine Spirit Palace.
“That’s not the case,” Mu Nu said, shaking her head, “The Heavens are impartial in all things. Divine Spirits are too strong, and in ancient times, Humans could not resist them. There were far too many Divine Spirits in the early eras of the universe, and each of them was incredibly powerful. Such immense strength led to many of the Ancient Divine Spirits becoming extremely cruel and violent. They would fight at every turn, disturbing the world around them and all other creatures in existence. However, all things in the universe have their nemesis, just like Yin and Yang counter and balance one another. One day, a peerless Master was born among the Humans, one who possessed a natural ability to restrain Divine Spirits. It could be said that the individual was the natural enemy of all Divine Spirits. That Master spent countless years executing rampant Divine Spirits and taking away their Sources to seal in the Divine Spirit Palace. Then, that peerless Master sealed the Divine Spirit Palace and hid it inside the Blood Gate, cutting off the inheritance of those Divine Spirits, preventing them from continuing to spread their destruction.”
“The Divine Spirit’s natural enemy!” Yang Kai gasped in shock. He had never expected that such a person could have existed in this world. How strong would someone like that have to be?
Nu Ma solemnly added, “Although that Master was strong according to the legends, that Master’s strength didn’t exceed that of the Masters of that generation by much. Rather, it was due to that Master’s innate ability to suppress Divine Spirits that they were able to achieve what they had. No Divine Spirit could pose any resistance when facing that Master, and their lives were all up to that Master to preside over! Therefore, there are lots of Divine Spirit Sources inside the Divine Spirit Palace. That person was called Heaven’s Order, enforcing justice on behalf of the Heavens. Heaven’s Order wielded the Heaven’s Order Sword, and wherever that Master went, Divine Spirits retreated. Everyone trembled at the mere mention of ‘Heaven’s Order.’”
[Heaven’s Order!]
Yang Kai memorized it and lightly nodded, but soon, he suspiciously asked again, “How do you know about such ancient matters?”
Mu Na glanced at Elder, who chuckled and explained, “If you want to talk about lifespan, I’m afraid there is no race in this world that can live longer than my Stone Spirit Clan. These things have been passed down word for word from one generation to another in my Stone Spirit Clan, which is just a matter of the last two generations, that’s all.”
[Last two generations!?] the corners of Yang Kai’s lips twitched when he realized that this Stone Spirit Elder was an even older monster than he originally thought, probably hundreds of thousands of years old already. It was no wonder he looked so aged!
Yang Kai took a deep breath, calming his throbbing heart, before curiously asking, “Elder and Matriarch, for what reason did you call me here and specifically tell me about this?”
Elder suddenly looked at him with a serious expression on his face before speaking in an earnest voice, “This Elder would like to request Honorable Guest’s help to retrieve a certain Divine Spirit Source left by my Stone Spirit Clan’s ancestor.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “Elder, your Stone Spirit Clan’s ancestor was a Divine Spirit!?”
Elder nodded, “Yes. The Stone Spirit Clan’s ancestor was known as Tai Yue. In the past, because he offended Heaven’s Order, he was killed. Heaven’s Order then collected his Source Strength and sealed it in the Divine Spirit Palace.”
Yang Kai’s facial features twitched, “But why do you think that I can help you? I don’t understand this point at all. Furthermore, something unusual is happening at the Blood Gate now and the Monster Race’s Four Great Venerables are keeping a close eye on it. It won’t be easy to enter the Blood Gate under these circumstances.”
Mu Na agreed, “We naturally know this. The change of the Blood Gate is a sign from the Heavens. If it weren’t for this, we too wouldn’t have come up with this plan.”
Elder added with a sigh, “Although the Stone Spirit Clan is strong, it has not been easy for us to continue surviving. Because of the extraordinary strength and abilities we wield, the Ancient Land’s Four Great Divine Venerables have always wanted to subdue us for their own use. Some time ago, the Four Great Divine Venerables gave us an ultimatum, that if our clans did not surrender to them, we would be completely destroyed. If our clans want to resist, we can only do so if we have power equal to theirs, and the Blood Gate is our last chance.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He knew that the Stone Spirit Clan had no other option, so they considered the Blood Gate, wanting to regain Tai Yue’s Source to fight against the Four Great Divine Venerables.
Xiao Xiao was now a member of the Stone Spirit Clan, so the Stone Spirit Clan’s survival was in line with his interests. Yang Kai couldn’t ignore their predicament.
After thinking for a while, Yang Kai suggested, “If Elder wants to, I can take you out of the Ancient Wild Lands. Although the Four Divine Venerables are powerful, as long as you leave this place, I’m afraid you will be beyond their reach.”
Elder gave a wry smile before stating, “We can’t leave our homeland, please forgive me.”
He was rejected.
Mu Na stated, “Elder wants Shi Jiu to inherit the power of Tai Yue. If he succeeds, then Shi Jiu will be the new Tai Yue. By then, he will have the strength to protect the Stone Spirit and Wood Spirit Clans. Shi Jiu was raised by you, so you must also want what’s best for him, am I right?”
[Why does it feel that I’m being led into a trap?] Yang Kai couldn’t help but grumble in his heart; however, hearing that Elder wanted Xiao Xiao to inherit Tai Yue’s power, Yang Kai was inevitably a little tempted.
If Xiao Xiao could really inherit Tai Yue’s power, he would be a new Divine Spirit.
Although moved, Yang Kai still solemnly asked, “Why are you letting Xiao Xiao inherit Tai Yue’s power? Are there no other candidates?”
Elder replied with a smile, “Shi Jiu is still young and malleable. If he inherits it, the chances of success will be higher.”
“In other words, there is still a possibility of failure?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
Elder and Mu Na sunk into silence. This question was obviously difficult to answer.
Yang Kai asked, maintaining a stoic look, “Does Xiao Xiao know about this?”
Elder confirmed with a nod, “I have already consulted Shi Jiu about this, and he too has agreed.”
Yang Kai unhappily stated, “So to say, even if I don’t help you, you will still rush into the Blood Gate!?”
“That’s right!” Elder affirmatively replied.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately turned gloomy. Since they had already decided, then why the hell were they only telling him about this now? Although he had quite a good impression of the Stone Spirit and Wood Spirit Clans, Yang Kai didn’t have any deep friendship with them. If they wanted to court death, Yang Kai could care less about it, but the point was that Xiao Xiao was involved.
Yang Kai secretly thought. [How about I find a chance to take Xiao Xiao and run away, saving myself from the trouble of getting mixed up in this muddy water…]