Bonfires danced merrily as the smell of barbeque filled the entire canyon. The villagers of the Flame Sickle Village and the villagers of the Blue South Village were chatting and laughing harmoniously. The two Shamans, who acted as their leaders, had set aside their differences and made peace with each other; thus, the villagers under them had put aside their vigilance and grudges to coexist peacefully.
The villagers of the Flame Sickle Village contributed the fruit wine they brought with them, allowing the villagers from both villages to eat and drink heartily. They were getting along so well that they were like one large family. Many men had even begun gathering around the beautiful women from the other village and were in the midst of courting them in hopes of leaving a beautiful memory behind in this valley.
On the other hand, Ah Hu and another villager from the Flame Sickle Village were competing in an impromptu arena.
There were few forms of entertainment in the daily lives of the Ancient Barbarian Race, with the most common form of entertainment being hand-to-hand combat. Besides, friendships among the Ancient Barbarian Race were formed from exchanging blows with each other. The villager from the Flame Sickle Village wrestling with Ah Hu was stronger, but Ah Hu was younger and had greater stamina. For a while, the fight between them was extremely close, and they could not distinguish who was better among them. It made the other clansmen that were watching nearby applaud and cheer.
Yang Kai cast his gaze at the battlefield and saw Ah Hu taking the opponent’s punch and bending over like a shrimp. However, Ah Hu took advantage of the moment the opponent carelessly rushed forward to end the battle to counterattack. He kicked the opponent’s knees, and in response, the Flame Sickle Village villager was caught off guard and knelt to the ground.
Then, Yang Kai turned back and asked, “Shaman Ya, is this the Shamanic Spell Shield you mentioned before?”
While speaking, he stretched his hand forward slightly and his Emperor Qi spread out. The air before him rippled slightly and turned into a transparent shield blocking in front of him.
Ya was so shocked that his jaw fell open. Only a long while later did he finally nod, “En. That’s it!”
“So, that’s how you do it!” Yang Kai nodded and continued, “But, this Shamanic Spell Shield can only defend against a Shamanic Spell one realm lower than your own cultivation. If a Shaman in the same realm casts a Shamanic Spell at you, this Shamanic Spell Shield won’t be able to withstand the attack.”
Ya replied, “At the very least, it will give me some time to dodge to the side. During critical moments, this spell can save one’s life!”
Yang Kai said, “That makes sense. However, don’t you think it’s better if we cast the Shamanic Spell Shield in this manner instead?”
As he spoke, he demonstrated what he meant…
Meanwhile, Ya felt like he was going to go crazy! After talking to Ah Niu, he found that the other party’s understanding of Shaman Spells and Shaman Strength was extremely shallow. Moreover, Yang Kai could not cast many of the commonly used Shamanic Spells. It was as if he had only become a Shaman recently and was still ignorant of his own abilities. However, this boy’s comprehension and creativity were beyond shocking.
Ya had explained and demonstrated several commonly used Shamanic Spells for him, and in turn, the other party absorbed the knowledge instantly and duplicated the Shamanic Spells all but perfectly on the first try. If not for Yang Kai’s sincere expression and lack of malicious intent, Ya might have suspected that Yang Kai was just pretending to be dumb.
Furthermore, not only was Yang Kai capable of quickly learning and improving these kinds of commonly used Shamanic Spells, his casting speed and the power of the spells he modified elevated them to a whole new level! How was he just a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice? Only Shaman Grandmasters could achieve such feats, right?
As a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior, Ya had only been able to imitate what he learned and follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. He had no ability to improve the Shamanic Spells he learned. Even so, he witnessed various miracles, one after another, coming from this Shaman known as ‘Shaman Niu’.
Throughout the night, the two Shamans sat together and exchanged knowledge continuously with both sides gaining much. Yang Kai learned several simple and practical Shamanic Spells, while on the other hand, Ya gained a deeper understanding of those Shamanic Spells through Yang Kai’s inspiration and demonstration. Although his realm had not advanced, Ya’s strength had risen sharply. As long as he was given some time to absorb what he learned today, Ya would be able to fight back slightly even if he encountered a High-Rank Shaman Warrior in the future.
At dawn, the people from both villages prepared to set out, parting ways at the entrance of the canyon.
Ya looked at Yang Kai with some reluctance to part and said, “Shaman Niu, please be sure to visit the Flame Sickle Village one day. We will definitely entertain you and your clansmen with the best food we have!”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Sure. You should also visit the Blue South Village, Shaman Ya.”
Ya’s eyes lit up at those words, “Good! I’ll definitely visit you when the snow melts and spring comes!”
“Until we meet again!” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
Ya looked startled. Although he didn’t know what etiquette this was, he clumsily imitated the gesture.
After that, Yang Kai turned around, grabbed the hind legs of two wild beasts, and dragged them along the snow-covered ground, leading a hundred villagers behind him and gradually disappearing into the distance.
Ya watched Yang Kai’s departure and murmured, “I seem to be witnessing the birth of a new star!”
“What?” A clansman next to him asked.
“It’s nothing! Let’s go home!” Ya waved his hand. Following that, the villagers of the Flame Sickle Village each dragged a beast and returned home with a good haul.
…..
It was not easy for a person to drag two beasts behind them while running in the snow. Therefore, the group from Blue South Village only managed to return from the canyon to the village two days later. The hundred villagers were warmly welcomed back as heroes before everyone began processing the beasts for storage.
During that time, the Village Chief walked over on shaky legs and asked if anything happened during this trip, to which Ah Hu told the Village Chief about their encounter with the people from Flame Sickle Village.
When the Village Chief heard the whole story, he nodded at Yang Kai and said, “You did a good job, Ah Niu. Although we come from different clans, we are all from the same race. We shouldn’t be stingy when others are in need and we are able to help.”
“I think so too,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Good. You must be tired. Why don’t you go back and take a rest? I will speak with you again tomorrow.”
The next day, Yang Kai went to meet the Village Chief early in the morning.
“Ah Niu, I want you to be the Village Chief of Blue South Village. What do you think?” The Village Chief cut to the chase as soon as they met.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, but quickly refused the suggestion, “That won’t work…”
“Don’t be in such a hurry to reject!” The Village Chief smiled slightly as if he had expected this reaction, sighing as he said, “Let me finish first.”
Yang Kai nodded.
Only then did the Village Chief continue, “I am old and won’t live for much longer, so you can formally take over as the Village Chief after I die. Originally, I was worried that this village would have to be taken in by other villages since it lacked a Shaman’s protection. You know as well as I do what kind of life awaits a village that is taken in by others. Fortunately, you were blessed by the Barbarian Gods and unlocked your Shaman Strength. Moreover, you are now a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice, which is one minor realm higher than me. You are fully capable of taking over as the Village Chief. I admit that you are still young and I was initially worried about leaving the position of Village Chief to you, but after seeing how you dealt with the Flame Sickle Village, I know that you will not disappoint me or the villagers in the future. You are kind, honest, and intelligent. I’m sorry I never noticed that before. That’s why I believe you will be a better Village Chief than I ever was. More importantly, the villagers already trust you and will follow you.”
After experiencing the invasion of the Beast Tide and the confrontation with Shaman Ya, the clansmen in the village had grown to respect Yang Kai greatly. Therefore, no one would say anything if he took over as the Village Chief.
Yang Kai shook his head in response, “Village Chief, I can’t agree to this matter.”
“Why?” The Village Chief showed a disappointed expression, not having expected Yang Kai to refuse after everything he said.
Yang Kai sighed. [I can’t just say I came to this Sealed World to cultivate… I don’t even know whether the Village Chief or these villagers are real or just elaborate illusions… In any case, I will have to leave this place one day.]
“I want to go out and see the world while I am still young. I probably won’t stay in the village for much longer.” Yang Kai quickly came up with a plausible excuse.
“You… Want to leave the village?” The Village Chief looked at Yang Kai in surprise; however, he quickly seemed to understand, “That’s true. Your aptitude is extraordinary, so being stuck in this village won’t benefit you much. You should go out and see the world, that would be what is best for your growth.”
“I’m sorry, Village Chief.”
The Village Chief smiled lightly, “Don’t be sorry. Your home will always be a part of Blue South Village, no matter where you go. Good, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s study.”
After that, the Village Chief taught Yang Kai to recognize those strange-looking ancient characters as always, as if nothing had happened just now.
Snow started falling two days after Yang Kai led the villagers back to the village from the canyon, and the whole world turned into a frozen land. Under such circumstances, even the beasts were reluctant to leave their caves without good reason, let alone people. All the villagers holed up inside their houses and rarely came out.
During this time, Yang Kai’s daily life went by with a fixed routine. He learned the ancient characters from the Village Chief for an hour in the morning, then he returned to his log house to cultivate his body. Later, he would accumulate his Shaman Strength.
Ten days later, he felt himself breaking through a barrier in his body. Power surged through his meridians, and his strength seemed to soar. He had just become a Shaman Warrior!
When he awoke his Shaman Strength, it only took Yang Kai one night to become a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice; however, he now took half a month to go from a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice to Low-Rank Shaman Warrior.
Over the past ten days, Yang Kai had been waiting for this Sealed World to kick him out, but for some reason, it had yet to do so. It had reached a point where he was beginning to doubt if he had really fallen into the Sealed World or was unable to break out of this Sealed World. Regardless of what it was, he had to make plans for the long term.
[This world is very strange and is suppressing my Emperor Qi. I can’t even release my Divine Sense or access my Space Ring either.]
According to the Village Chief, he would only gain something like a Divine Sense when he raised his power to the realm of a Shaman Master. Therefore, Yang Kai’s current goal was to quickly cultivate until he became a Shaman Master. Then, he could access his Space Ring and retrieve the millions of Monster Cores stored inside it. As long as he had those Monster Cores, he would be able to exponentially increase his cultivation speed. At that time, becoming a Shaman King or even a Shaman Saint would be a simple matter. Perhaps, he might even find a way to escape this world once his Shaman Strength reached a certain level.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai would need to rise an entire Great Realm to reach the Shaman Master realm. At his current cultivation speed, he estimated that it would take him another year to do so, and he simply couldn’t afford to wait that long!
Stuck inside this inexplicable Sealed World, Yang Kai felt strongly that his own strength was the foundation of his survival. Thus, he couldn’t wait to become stronger.
The best way to improve his strength would be to find Monster Beasts, obtain their flesh and blood, and retrieve their Monster Cores. The Monster Core was the most important part. Yang Kai could now consume them directly to increase his strength quickly, so as long as he had enough Monster Cores, breaking through to become a Shaman Master would be as easy as snapping his fingers.
“No! That won’t work! That absolutely won’t work!” Inside the log house, the Village Chief seemed to be stimulated by something. He shook his head vigorously and looked at Yang Kai with a devastated look, “Ah Niu, do you know what you are talking about?”
Yang Kai sighed, “I just want to go out and train for a bit. I’ll be back by spring.”
The Village Chief said, “Winter is at its worst and the snow has buried the mountain roads. Even if you are a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice… Huh? W-W-W-When did you become a Shaman Warrior?!”
When Yang Kai first came over, the Village Chief had not observed Yang Kai carefully; thus, he was shocked by what he saw at this moment. [Ah Nui has already become a Shaman Warrior!]
The Village Chief was not entirely capable of recognizing a Shaman Warrior when he saw one, but he took notice of the aura around Yang Kai as being something a Shaman Apprentice could not have. [How is that possible?! Ah Niu only received the favour of the Barbarian Gods and awoke his Shaman Strength half a month ago! It was shocking enough that he broke through to become a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice overnight! I can’t believe he has already become a Shaman Warrior! That’s the realm I had hoped to reach for my entire life but failed to!]
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Village Chief, don’t you think that I, as a Shaman Warrior, have the power to protect myself outside?”
The Village Chief said, “Even if you are already a Shaman Warrior, how many Shamanic Spells do you know? I taught you all the Shamanic Spells that you know…”
Before he could finish speaking, his mouth fell open in shock as he stared blankly at the Shamanic Spell Shield that emerged in front of Yang Kai and the Fireball Spell in Yang Kai’s palm. He parted his lips to speak only to realize that he could not find a reason to stop Ah Niu from going adventuring.
Yang Kai said, “Village Chief, I only came here to let you know about my plans. Even if you disagree, I will still find a chance to slip away.”
The Village Chief sighed heavily. After a long while, he finally spoke again, “Three days. Give me three days. I will teach you a few things you’ll need to know.”
“Good!”
For the next three days, Yang Kai stayed in the Village Chief’s house and lived there with him.
During those three days, the Village Chief did not teach Yang Kai any particularly powerful Shamanic Spell nor did he teach Yang Kai anything about cultivation. There was nothing else he could help Yang Kai with regards to this; however, he was aware that Ah Niu used to isolate himself and rarely interacted with the other villagers in the village, let alone having an understanding of the world outside.
Just strength wasn’t enough for Ah Niu to protect himself on this trip; therefore, what the Village Chief taught Yang Kai was the knowledge of the world, various local customs and practices, as well as ways to respond when encountering dangers. After all, he had also wandered the world when he was younger…
Three days later, the Village Chief had nothing left to teach Yang Kai and had even finished teaching Yang Kai how to read the ancient characters.
“I will tell the villagers that you are cultivating in retreat and ask them not to disturb you. You should secretly leave tomorrow before dawn arrives. Don’t forget to come home soon!” Like a parent instructing a child who was about to travel abroad, the Village Chief looked extremely worried and anxious.
“I know.”
“Go and rest. From tomorrow onward, you will be facing a new journey!”
…..
Before the sun came out the next day, Yang Kai set off on his journey. Most of the villagers were still asleep at this time; however, a sudden feeling made him look back when he left the gates. He saw Ah Hua standing on the wall quietly. She was in charge of the night watch and their gazes met, so they nodded at each other lightly. Everything that needed to be said was conveyed with that simple gesture so Yang Kai strode forward and soon vanished from her line of sight.
Five days later, Yang Kai stood at the foot of a mountain that was thousands of kilometres away from the Blue South Village and took out a yellowed animal skin. Checking his position against the map, Yang Kai looked at the mountains in front of him and said, “This should be the place.”
White Net Mountain! This was Yang Kai’s goal for this trip.
The Village Chief had not gone too far during his travels outside the village, but White Net Mountain had been one of the spots he visited during his journey. The yellowed map in Yang Kai’s hands was also something the Village Chief had given to him before he left.
According to the Village Chief, there were many Barbarian Beasts in White Net Mountain, some powerful enough to rival Shaman Grandmasters in strength. The Village Chief had repeatedly warned Yang Kai to only do what he could, but Yang Kai ignored those warnings. The main purpose of his trip was to look for these Barbarian Beasts after all.
A short while later, Yang Kai stepped into White Net Mountain. Another half-day later, he stood inside a cave and sighed. Stepping over the corpse of a Monster Beast under his feet, he murmured in dissatisfaction, “How weak.”
In his opinion, this Monster Beast was roughly equivalent to a Third-Order or Fourth-Order Monster Beast. At his current level, he could kill it with his physical strength alone without even using his Shaman Strength. Still, gains were gains.
Retrieving the Monster Core, Yang Kai cleaned it slightly before popping it into his mouth and swallowing it. Then, he sat down cross-legged and circulated his Secret Art to refine the Monster Core.
A strange yet thunderous gurgling sound came from his abdomen. The entire process took him less than a quarter of an hour to finish. Yang Kai then silently checked out his progress and frowned at the results.
[The results are very unsatisfactory. Even though I refined a Monster Beast Core, the increase in my power is not very obvious.] This Monster Beast seemed to be weaker than the one he killed in the canyon previously; therefore, it was only natural that the energy stored in its Monster Core was not that great.
[At this speed, I might not become a Shaman Master even if I refine a thousand Monster Cores!] Yang Kai’s goal was not that ambitious, he simply wanted to become a Shaman Master so he could finally use his Divine Sense. It was a pity but he had no better options at the moment even though he was dissatisfied with his progress. Hence, he could only persevere in his efforts and steadily accumulate his strength through numbers while searching for powerful Monster Beasts.
In the following days, Yang Kai wandered around White Net Mountain, going deeper and deeper inside to look for Monster Beasts to kill.
Time flew by, and a month passed just like that. During that period, Yang Kai killed many Monster Beasts and obtained many Monster Beast Cores. Unfortunately, his cultivation only increased slightly, without any further breakthroughs despite consuming so many Monster Beast Cores. In other words, he was still a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior.
[Weak. Too weak! The Monster Beasts in White Net Mountain are too weak to satisfy my needs!] He had planned to advance to become a Shaman Master within a month and subsequently access his Space Ring. Then, he wanted to focus on cultivating in retreat for two months before finally returning to the village as a Shaman King or even a Shaman Saint. From the looks of things though, he had been too optimistic about his goals. Even so, he could only go deeper and deeper into the mountain while trying to temper his expectations with reality.
One day, while Yang Kai was refining a Monster Core that he had just obtained, his ears twitched. Frowning slightly, Yang Kai listened carefully and picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the cave he was hiding in. Moreover, the footsteps sounded like they belonged to more than one person.
[Why are there people in this damned place? It’s the middle of winter right now, so who else would be willing to wander around outside, aside from me? Aren’t they worried about freezing to death or starving to death?] While Yang Kai was musing over his questions, those people reached the cave and one of them immediately called out, “Careful! I smell blood!”
The footsteps quietened down and they silenced even their breathing. Still, Yang Kai could sense that they were slowly but surely approaching him and sure enough, a member of the Ancient Barbarian Race appeared approximately fifteen meters away from Yang Kai a few moments later. When that man noticed Yang Kai, he was visibly surprised; shock covering his face. He obviously did not expect to encounter another member of their race here.
Several others appeared closely behind that man, one after another. All of them were badly beaten up, looking as if they had experienced a huge battle recently. The worst one among them had lost an arm and blood was still flowing freely from his wound. The injured person was pale-faced with pain and Yang Kai could tell at a glance that his arm had been bitten off by a beast. The Ancient Barbarian Race was truly amazing when it came down to it. Despite suffering such a grievous wound, this man didn’t make a single sound in complaint and even held a cracked stone spear in the other hand.
“Who are you?” The leader of those people took one look at Yang Kai and asked loudly while thinking, [This boy looks small and weak. He doesn’t look like one of us. Just where did he pop out from?]
Yang Kai shifted his eyes and glanced at that man, but seemed intent on ignoring them.
That rash and arrogant attitude instantly annoyed the other party, but just as he was about to explode in anger, a tall woman appeared from behind him without warning. She had a cold expression on her face as she said, “Don’t disturb him! He is in the middle of cultivating!”
The woman seemed to hold a rather high status in this group so after she spoke up, the man, who had spoken before, did not say anything else even though his anger was still simmering inside. Instead, he studied Yang Kai suspiciously with a frown and whispered, “Cultivating? Could he be a Shaman?”
The woman was also looking at Yang Kai in astonishment and nodded, “Yes, he is indeed a Shaman. Moreover, he is a Shaman Warrior!”
“A Shaman Warrior?!” The rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors jumped in shock. They could barely believe their ears; however, those words came out of their Shaman’s mouth, so they had no choice but to believe her. But could someone who looked so weak really be a Shaman?
Stepping forward, the woman looked at Yang Kai and said, “My companion was injured in the battle just now. We need a place for him to recuperate quietly and there are no other suitable locations nearby, so we could only choose to come here. Please, don’t worry; we will not disturb you.”
Yang Kai nodded gently and secretly found it rather funny. [They probably think that I am at a critical point in my cultivation and cannot afford to distract myself by talking to them. What they don’t know is that I am just too lazy to bother with them. I simply want to quickly refine the Monster Core I just ate.]
“Many thanks!” The woman thanked him then led the rest of her party a distance away, arranged for the injured clansman to sit down, and began to treat his wounds.
A distinct power fluctuation washed over him soon after, and although Yang Kai did not know what that woman was capable of, he had sensed that she was a Shaman Warrior too. Moreover, she was most likely a High-Rank Shaman Warrior! In other words, her cultivation was higher than his.
Still, she seemed to be a good person. She had not been hostile towards him. After all, as far as she knew, he was currently in a state of cultivation that could not be interrupted. If she were really malicious, this would have been a great opportunity to attack him.
A few members of the Ancient Barbarian Race had gathered near the outer half of the cave and watched as their Shaman treated the injuries of their companion. The Shamanic Spell that woman was using produced an extreme cold, seemingly having a special characteristic of freezing everything. She quickly froze the wound and then took out some herbs from an animal skin bag she carried on her for the injured person to eat.
Soon, that injured person looked much better. He was probably in less pain than before and in response, the woman breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out from behind them, “He is poisoned. He won’t live for long if you don’t help detoxify the poison.”
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, several Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors immediately turned around with their stone spears and stone axes at the ready, watching him warily as a chill ran down their spines.
Although they had been concerned about the safety of their companion just now, they had remained alert of their surroundings. Even so, none of them had noticed anybody approaching them from behind. This was simply inconceivable. If this young man had malicious intentions, they would have all died by now; after all, this person was a Shaman Warrior!
The woman who seemed to be a Shaman shuddered slightly, but her reaction was not as intense as the rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors. She turned around and gestured with her hands to signal her companions not to be so nervous. Following that, she said, “I know he is poisoned. I’ve also been using the Detoxification Spell.”
“It’s not working,” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at her. Pondering for a moment before asking, “Do you want me to help?”
“You?” She frowned with a look of distrust in her eyes. The Shaman Warrior in front of her was a stranger after all, who knows whether he was a good person or not? It was normal for disputes to occur between Shamans of different clans; even different villages. Besides, this boy seemed to only be a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior, so if even she, a High-Rank Shaman Warrior, was helpless, what abilities could he have to solve this issue?
Yang Kai simply shrugged and said, “I was just asking.”
“Which clan are you from?” The woman asked.
To which Yang Kai replied, “The South Barbarian Clan!” Pausing for a moment, he added, “You are from the Frost and Snow Clan, right?”
It was all thanks to the Village Chief cramming knowledge into his head before he left that Yang Kai could recognize the origins of these people. In this ancient world, some of the Ancient Barbarian Clans had distinct characteristics to tell them apart. For example, the people of the Raging Flame Clan had a tattoo of a burning flower drawn across their faces. That was the Green Lotus Sacred Flame, the emblem of the Raging Flame Clan.
Although the Frost and Snow Clan did not have any tattoos on their faces, the attribute shown when the woman cast her Shamanic Spell just now gave Yang Kai a clue. Not every Ancient Barbarian Clan had such distinct characteristics. For example, the South Barbarian Clan to which the Blue South Village belonged to, did not have such characteristics. That was why the woman failed to recognize his origins.
Having no intention of concealing her origins now that Yang Kai had seen through her, she nodded, “That’s right. We are from the Frost and Snow Clan. Can you detoxify him?”
“I can try.”
She furrowed her eyebrows in response. Although she did not believe this boy had the ability to do so, it couldn’t hurt to try everything at their disposal. She had used her Shamanic Spell to suppress her poisoned clansman’s wounds and cast a Detoxification Spell to remove the poison in his body; unfortunately, she could not remove the poison completely. The Bone Melting Poison of the Bone Melting Wolf was so strong that any remnant of the poison was enough to turn the strongest Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior into a puddle in time. If it was left alone, her clansman would die within three days, at the most! However, three days was not enough time for them to return to their clan.
“Please try!” She stepped aside.
Yang Kai stepped forward, only to be stopped by a warrior from the Frost and Snow Clan, “Madame…”
The woman raised her hand and stopped that man from continuing his sentence. Even so, the looks in the eyes of those Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors as they stared at Yang Kai were filled with obvious distrust.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was not bothered by their stares and walked straight to the injured Frost and Snow Clan clansman and crouched down. Studying the wounds carefully, he was secretly impressed. The injured man was only able to remain alert and silent despite losing an arm and being affected by a strong poison by virtue of his strong body and robust vitality. Otherwise, his wounds would have killed him ten times over by now. At the moment, his face was pale and slightly distorted because of the pain.
Yang Kai examined the injured man for a while, then he suddenly raised his hand and abruptly hit the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior’s body several times. The strength of his hits was neither heavy nor light as his Qi surged into the warrior’s body. After several strikes, the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior’s pale complexion flushed all of a sudden and he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Yang Kai had been prepared, so he shifted out of the way. After that, he broke the ice that was sealing the wounds on that man’s broken arm without hesitation. Using both hands to grab that man by the shoulders, he pushed his Qi into the man’s body.
Under the watchful gazes of the Frost and Snow Clan clansmen, the body of that injured man suddenly shuddered violently. Following that, a roar rang out, one that sounded like the roar of an injured beast, guttural and terrifying. In the next moment, a large amount of blood spurted out of the broken arm. When the blood hit the ground, it melted several holes into the rock with hissing noises, illustrating just how powerful the poison was.
Blood spurted out without stopping for approximately three breaths. During this process, the rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior from the Frost and Snow Clan would have rushed forward to stop Yang Kai if not for the female Shaman Warrior holding them back.
Three breaths later, Yang Kai stopped, turned to the woman, and said, “Seal his wounds.”
When the woman heard those words, she raised her hand and a rush of icy air flowed towards the arm’s stump, freezing the wound in the blink of an eye.
The injured Ancient Barbarian Warrior was as pale as a sheet due to extensive blood loss, and the aura coming from his body was so weak that it could barely be detected; almost as if he was dead.
Once this was finished, Yang Kai stood up and took several steps back. The other Frost and Snow Warriors immediately rushed forward to check on the condition of their injured clansman. A moment later, one of the clansmen lifted his head and said, “He seems to be much better. It’s just that he lost too much blood.” Glancing at Yang Kai, his gaze became a little conflicted.
Only then did the female Shaman Warrior nod and turn to Yang Kai, “My name is Yu. What is your name?”
“Ah Niu!” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
“So, you are called Shaman Niu. I thank the Barbarian Gods for letting us meet here!” Yu, who had been cold all this while, finally revealed a smile.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and said, “The poison has been removed from your companion, but it will still be bad if you just leave him alone. It’s best if you bring him back to your settlement for further treatment.”
“I understand. Please wait for a moment, Shaman Niu,” While Yu was speaking, she walked over to the other Warriors and issued some instructions to them in a low voice. After that, one of them picked up their injured companion and carried him out of the cave. From the looks of it, they seem to be bringing him back to their village for treatment.
Turning around again, Yu asked another one of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors to bring out some dried meat and water. Then, she personally handed them to Yang Kai, “This is as thanks for saving my clansman.”
“The Ancient Barbarian Race is all one family. You don’t need to be so polite, Shaman Yu,” Yang Kai grinned. Even so, he did not refuse her offer, accepting the dried meat and water from her before he began to eat heartily without any hesitation.
His bold and unrestrained attitude gave Yu a favourable impression of him and the initial repulsion and disdain she had from seeing his scrawny frame completely disappeared.
[The Ancient Barbarian Race is all one family! That’s an interesting statement!]
“I also used a Detoxification Spell, but why were the effects so much worse than yours?” Yu humbly asked. Before coming to this cave, she had given emergency treatment to her clansman, but that had not been enough to remove the poison in his body. Hence, she could only freeze the wound and ask him to eat some herbs in hopes that the medicinal efficacies could help detoxify the poison in him. Even so, she had been aware that there was little hope of success.
“Do you mean to ask why the effect of your Detoxification Spell is not as good as mine even though your realm is higher than mine?” Yang Kai naturally knew what she meant. Thus, he smilingly replied, “Sometimes, control is more important than power.”
Yu fell into deep thought for a long time upon hearing those words before she finally nodded, “Many thanks!”
Yang Kai finished eating the dried meat in his hands and drank some water before asking, “What are you doing outside in this freezing weather?”
Although the people of the Frost and Snow Clan were generally not afraid of the severe cold, they still did not go out without reason under normal circumstances. This was especially true during winter where wild beasts and Barbarian Beasts were unusually active because they were searching for food. The risk of venturing outside was far greater than normal during this season.
“What about you, Shaman Niu?” Yu did not answer his question and instead countered with her own.
“I came out to train!” He smiled widely.
Yu seemed taken aback by his words for a moment before a look of admiration appeared on her face and she explained, “We are here to collect herbs to use in the Sacrificial Offering held in the spring.
“Sacrificial Offering…” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows at those words. The Blue South Village was such a small community that he didn’t even know if they held any Sacrificial Offerings. However, Yang Kai was aware that Sacrificial Offerings were commonplace in ancient times. Even the great Shamans who were successful in their cultivation would often offer up Sacrificial Offerings. The objects of their Sacrificial Offerings were usually to the Heavens or to Totems of their clans, but it was mostly the latter.
Smiling slightly, Yang Kai commented, “From the looks of it, your progress has not been going smoothly.”
Yu nodded sadly, “The herbs we need are being guarded by several Bone Melting Wolves. We were ambushed by them.”
“Several?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, showing great interest in this topic, “How many were there?”
“Six. If it wasn’t for their numbers, with my strength, I would not have allowed them to hurt my clansmen.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed suddenly and after a moment, he sat down in a formal position and asked in a low voice, “Shaman Yu, would you like a powerful helper when you go and collect those herbs again?”
Gazing at him in astonishment, Yu’s eyes soon brightened in response. She had been thinking about asking if he would lend them a hand. Unfortunately, they were neither familiar with each other nor clansmen of the same clan. Moreover, there were no benefits she could offer him. Thus, it had been difficult for her to bring it up, much less expect him to offer to help on his own.
Although the words of this self-proclaimed ‘powerful helper’ left her feeling slightly speechless, she couldn’t care less about such trivial details as the presence of two Shamans was enough to ensure the safety of her clansmen.
“Shaman Niu, what are your conditions?” As delighted by his offer as Yu was, she did not lose her reasoning. A Shaman Warrior of the South Barbarian Clan that they had met by chance was offering his aid, so he definitely had something he wanted from them.
“Give me those Barbarian Beasts,” he smilingly replied.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for her to agree to this condition. Those herbs might be precious, but the Barbarian Beasts were of great value too. Moreover, they had several people with them, as well as a High-Rank Shaman Warrior while he was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior in comparison. Sharing two of the Barbarian Beasts with him would be a reasonable condition; however, he had rescued one of their clansmen just now, so she simply groaned and readily agreed, “Good. The Barbarian Beasts are yours, but the herbs belong to us!”
Since she had made her decision, the rest of the clansmen had no objections.
Standing up, Yang Kai said, “Since it’s an urgent matter, we should set off now.”
Yu frowned in response, “My clansmen have just gone through a battle today and need to rest for a day…”
An Ancient Barbarian’s body might be extremely strong, but she had blessed them with the Bloodlust Spell during their previous battle. Even if it had only lasted for a very short period, the Blood Essence they lost would still make them weaker. They were no longer at the peak of their abilities.
“There’s no need for that. You only need to come with me.” After saying that, Yang Kai took the lead and walked out of the cave while beckoning to Yu and the others.
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors looked at their leader hesitatingly, while Yu was also feeling very troubled and thought to herself. [Why is this Shaman Niu behaving so impulsively? How can he act so rashly on mere hearsay?]
Unfortunately, there was nothing else she could do at this point, so she could only lead her men and follow after Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, Yu, and the others quietly lay in ambush in a mountain col.
Yu pointed to the front and said, “The Snow Flower we need is just ahead, and so are those Bone Melting Wolves.”
Yang Kai glanced up and saw that there were indeed traces of fighting nearby; bloodstains on the ground and messy footprints staining the white snow.
“Shaman Niu, we will work together to bless my clansmen with Shamanic Spells. You will be in charge of the left flank, and I will be in charge of the right flank. Although there are six Bone Melting Wolves, they are not that hard to deal with. Just be careful not to get bitten. Previously, we…” Yu was staring ahead while discussing the battle plan with Yang Kai with a serious expression, but halfway through her explanation, she suddenly realized something was wrong and turned her head back. Only then did she realize that he had disappeared from her side at some point in time.
“Where did he go?!” She was shocked, directing her question to the rest of her clansmen. However, it seemed that even they had just noticed Yang Kai’s absence. As they were looking around in confusion, one of the Ancient Barbarian Warriors widened his eyes in shock and pointed to the front, “H-H-He…”
Looking in the direction that man was pointing, Yu’s expression changed drastically as she snarled, “That fool!”
[I can’t believe Shaman Niu boldly waltzed out there without any preparations! If he alerts those Bone Melting Wolves to his presence, he will be forced into a difficult situation!] She had originally intended to cooperate with Yang Kai to kill off two of those beasts in a sneak attack first before the real struggle began; however, it seemed like her plans were no longer viable.
Just as she was about to call him back, she saw him stopping in the middle of the mountain col and spreading his arms wide open as if to embrace the world. Then, he took a deep breath and enthusiastically shouted, “Friends, I’m here!”
*Here… ere… re…*
The echo of Yang Kai’s voice reverberated in the mountain col so loudly that even the snow gathered on the trees fell from the vibrations.
Several Bone Melting Wolves walked out of their hiding places with energetic and lively steps upon smelling the scent of food. Baring their fangs at Yang Kai, saliva dripped out of the corners of their mouth, their eyes gleamed with a savage light.
Yu had always been a calm and composed person; however, she couldn’t stop her face from cramping at this sight.
“Lady Yu, what do we do now?” One of the clansmen asked.
“Retreat!” She made a decisive decision on the spot.
[Shaman Niu is insane! Why didn’t I notice that before?! If I had noticed that earlier, I would not have accompanied him here no matter what. This is terrible! I can’t believe he provoked those six Bone Melting Wolves without any preparations whatsoever! Even a Shaman Warrior like him will undoubtedly end up dead!] Even though she was grateful to him for saving one of her clansmen, she, as the leader of her group, could not accompany him on his crazy whims. They had to retreat for now. As for the gratitude they owed him for saving one of them… They could only recover their strength before returning to avenge him as a means of repayment.
Yu’s group moved swiftly as soon as she gave the order to fall back, preparing themselves for battle as they began to withdraw from this place. Yu shot a glance back to look at the situation, pitying Yang Kai.
Those Bone Melting Wolves did not hesitate after coming out of their hiding spots and immediately lunged towards Yang Kai like a whirlwind. Their bloody mouths opened so wide that they could devour a lamb whole.
Then, Yu saw an extremely shocking scene. Shaman Niu, who was clearly insane, let out a peal of riotous laughter before punching left and right repeatedly… Blood splattered like blooming flowers in mid-air, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking. Immediately after, short but rapid whimpers of the Bone Melting Wolves rang out. In the blink of an eye, four Bone Melting Wolves were sent flying, their heads bursting open before their bodies even hit the ground.
Stunned, Yu stood frozen on the spot. It was as if a Binding Spell had been cast on her by an invisible Shaman King. Her small mouth was slightly agape, and her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
“Lady Yu!” The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors who had been retreating swiftly abruptly noticed that their Shaman had not kept up with them. Thus, they hurriedly turned back, but in the next moment, they were similarly frozen in place with shock. [What just happened?! Why are there four Bone Melting Wolf corpses lying on the ground? Moreover, where are their heads? Just what happened in the brief moment we turned away?!]
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the deaths of their four companions did not make the rest of the Bone Melting Wolves retreat. Instead, it aroused their ferocious nature. The remaining two rushed forward quickly, leaping high and lunging towards Yang Kai from both sides while snapping their teeth.
Yang Kai countered with a backhanded blow, cracking the skull of the Bone Melting Wolf on the left, causing its head to explode, killing it instantly. However, his right arm was bitten by the other Bone Melting Wolf.
*Kacha!*
Before Yang Kai could do anything though, something akin to an ice blade flew over swiftly and struck the last remaining Bone Melting Wolf in the eye and buried itself deep into its skull.
Yu had finally returned to her senses and supported his fight with her Ice Blade Spell from afar. It was a simple attack, but also a precise and powerful one that showed her rich combat experience as a High-Rank Shaman Warrior.
The Bone Melting Wolf whimpered and released Yang Kai’s arm, allowing him to step forward with a clenched fist and punch it twice to kill it.
Breathing lightly, Yang Kai revealed a disdainful expression on his face.
“You were bitten! Hurry up and expel the poison!” Yu rushed forward anxiously and warned him. She didn’t even think to ask him how he created such a miracle; however, she blanked out again as soon as the words left her mouth, because his right arm that had been bitten was completely unscathed!
[How is that possible?! I clearly saw him being bitten by the Bone Melting Wolf! With the Bone Melting Wolf’s horrifying strength, he can’t defend against it with just his body!]
Thinking about it carefully though, she realized that the cracking sound from before didn’t sound like bones breaking, but rather like a Shield Spell shattering from the force of the bite.
[So that’s it! He must have cast a Shield Spell at the same moment he was bitten! What incredible reaction and casting speed!]
“Don’t come over!” Yang Kai shouted suddenly, his eyes flashing with excitement as he stared into the depths of the mountain col. Licking his lips, he said, “There’s one more big guy over there.”
“What?” Yu did not understand what he was saying, but glancing in the direction of his gaze, she suddenly felt a chill running down her back as her limbs went numb with fear, “A Bone Melting Wolf King!”
In the clearing up ahead, a Bone Melting Wolf several times larger than the previous Bone Melting Wolves was approaching them. Moreover, the powerful aura it exuded pressed down on Yu so strongly that she found it hard to breathe.
[What is a Bone Melting Wolf King doing here?!] Wolves were pack animals, and regardless of whether they were wild beasts or Barbarians Beasts, their nature remained the same. However, even with six Bone Melting Wolves gathered in this place, the scale of this pack should not be enough to give rise to a Wolf King!
Yu quickly understood the situation though, because this Bone Melting Wolf King seemed to be heavily injured. His body was covered in wounds, large and small, and from the looks of it, these injuries were no more than a month old.
This Wolf King had been defeated in a battle between wolf packs and was exiled to this place as a result. A defeated Wolf King could no longer be the king of a pack and would be replaced by a younger and stronger Wolf King.
Even so, it was not an existence that a Shaman Warrior could fight against. A Bone Melting Wolf King was a powerful Barbarian Beast that could rival a Shaman Master in strength! Even if it was not fully healed from its wounds, it was still an opponent they could not face.
“Run!” Yu yelled at Yang Kai, deeply regretting not retreating immediately just now. She initially planned to flee, but after turning around and seeing such a miracle happening in front of her, she couldn’t resist coming back again. Who could have known that she would instead throw herself into such a crisis?
[This is bad. Every one of us will die here…] She couldn’t blame Yang Kai for rushing headlong into danger anymore, only herself for failing to investigate the situation clearly when they first arrived here. [I can’t believe we failed to notice the presence of a Bone Melting Wolf King hiding here!]
The Bone Melting Wolf King exuded a heavy pressure that was dense and terrifying. Yu could feel her entire body trembling under its influence. Meanwhile, Yang Kai only had an expression of scorn and contempt on his face despite facing such a terrifying existence, stretching his arms and legs, making little cracking sounds. It was a scene that left one unsure whether to laugh or cry. His carefree actions clearly enraged the Bone Melting Wolf King though and it widened its mouth as it shot out a green ball of liquid towards him like an arrow.
In response, Yang Kai raised his hand, and the temperature in the air rose abruptly as a fireball as large as a washbasin flew out.
With a loud crashing sound, the fireball and green poison ball collided mid-air. A loud explosion sounded, followed immediately by a mix of sparks and poison flying in all directions. Wherever they landed on the ground, the snow-covered ground melted away with loud hissing sounds, leaving large and small pits everywhere.
While Yu and the others were still in a daze, Yang Kai took advantage of the Wolf King’s unpreparedness to attack, leaping forward and engaging in a fierce melee with this new opponent.
On the other hand, the group from the Frost and Snow Clan were completely dumbfounded by the sight.
[Is he really a Shaman? Is this something a Shaman can do? How can he rush forward bravely and fearlessly regardless of the opponent he faces?!] That was the case when he was facing those six Bone Melting Wolves just now, and the same held true in his fight against the Bone Melting Wolf King right now!
[How is it possible for a Shaman like him to exist?!] Yu felt as if everything she knew was being turned upside down. Several dozen years of cultivation and long-held beliefs had collapsed in an instant as she had never imagined that a Shaman’s method of fighting could be so barbarous and brutal. It was even more barbarous and brutal than the fights of the strongest warriors in their clan.
It could be seen that Shaman Niu was extremely skilled and experienced in hand-to-hand combat. Not only did he possess the courage and diligence of the most powerful warriors, but he also possessed a Shaman’s ability. While engaging in close-quarter combat, he would cast various simple and practical Shamanic Spells freely. However, those Shamanic Spells played an unimaginable role at critical moments. For some time, he fought on par with the Wolf King, which could rival a Shaman Master in terms of strength, and nobody could determine who had the upper hand in this fight.
“Lady Yu… W-What should we do now?” This was not the first time the Frost and Snow Clan’s clansmen had asked Yu this question. It was just that the scene unfolding before their eyes were beyond their understanding, which caused them to lose their ability to think clearly.
Yu hesitated for only a moment before she decisively ordered, “We help him!”
As soon as those words were spoken, she began chanting in the ancient language. She cast several Shamanic Spells, including the Bloodlust Spell, the Light Body Spell, and the Bone Armor Spell on the warriors from her clan in quick succession. The auras of those warriors immediately expanded explosively and their eyes turned scarlet. A calmness hid in the depths of their madness though, and after glancing at each other, they approached the battlefield carefully.
Meanwhile, Yu took a small breath and raised her hand, condensing a huge ice blade in front of her. In this severely cold environment, the Ice Attribute Shamanic Spell she cultivated received the blessings from the surrounding World, becoming far more powerful than usual.
*Xiu…*
The huge ice blade trembled slightly before disappearing like a flash of light. By the time it reappeared again, it had already buried itself deep into the flesh of the Bone Melting Wolf King that was fighting against Yang Kai.
The Wolf King roared in pain and shook its body, shattering the ice blade into pieces.
The next moment, several Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors flanked the Wolf King from both sides, brandishing their weapons as they hacked and slashed at its exposed sides.
Half a day later, the dust finally settled.
Yu panted heavily, her face deathly pale as she stared at the corpse of Bone Melting Wolf King lying on the ground in disbelief.
There were no casualties in this battle on her side. Moreover, only a few of her clansmen had suffered light injuries! And, the biggest contributing factor to this miraculous occurrence was the weak looking, scrawny Shaman Niu!
He had kept the Bone Melting Wolf King’s attention on him the whole time, not giving it any time to bother about anything else. For that reason, the clansmen she led had been able to continuously inflict injuries on the enemy. The killing blow was landed only after a fierce battle lasting half a day. Rather than a decisive kill, it was more like they had gradually worn the Wolf King down to its death.
Looking at Shaman Niu, who was groping around inside the Wolf King’s corpse, Yu couldn’t help feeling mixed and conflicted feelings about it. Even now, she could barely believe what had just happened. The idea of victory itself was inconceivable; after all, that was a Wolf King that rivaled a Shaman Master in strength! Even if it was severely injured, it wasn’t something they could take down with such a small group of people. However, the Wolf King had been powerless against them due to Shaman Niu’s seemingly endless stream of tactics and tricks, turning what seemed like ordinary skills into something miraculous.
[How did he do it?] From the start until the end, this Shaman Niu had not cast any Shamanic Spell that was particularly powerful. All the Shamanic Spells he used were something she could use too. Even so, her Shamanic Spells would not have been anywhere near as effective in comparison.
“Yes! I found it!” Yang Kai laughed happily as he dug out a bloodied Monster Core from the Wolf King’s corpse. Then, he wiped it carefully against the snow before storing it away like a treasure. After that, he walked over to the other six dead Bone Melting Wolves without pause and took out the six Monster Cores from their corpses in the same way.
Yu composed herself somehow and shot a glance at her clansmen. One of them immediately went to pick the Snow Flowers they had originally come for while she walked over to Yang Kai and asked, “Shaman Niu, are you in need of Monster Cores?”
Yang Kai played with his bulging cloth bag and replied without looking up, “Yes!”
Yang Kai wanted to accumulate strength quickly, and in order to do so, he needed many Monster Cores.
Yu continued, “Although I don’t know why you need so many Monster Cores, there’s a place that might be of interest to you.”
“Where is that?” He looked up at her.
“Frost and Snow City!”
Yang Kai frowned at those words for a moment before asking, “The central city of the Frost and Snow Clan?”
“That’s right.”
“Will there be many Monster Cores there?”
Yu smiled in response, “Frost and Snow City is the only city belonging to the Frost and Snow Clan. More than eighty percent of the Frost and Snow Clan’s Shamans gather there. Even Shamans from other clans often frequent Frost and Snow City, especially during winter. Frost and Snow City is the only place that is not affected by the winter snows and remains open all year round. Furthermore, a large number of transactions are carried out in the city every day and Monster Cores of Barbarian Beasts are not uncommon there. You might even find Monster Cores of a higher grade than that of the Bone Melting Wolf King over there. As long as you can bring out goods of equal value, I believe other Shamans will be willing to trade with you.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, seeming to be swayed by the idea. If Frost and Snow City was as good as Yu said it was, then he should definitely go and take a look. At the very least, it would be faster obtaining Monster Cores there than simply searching for and killing Barbarian Beasts in White Net Mountain. Of course, Yang Kai had the slight problem of not having anything of value to trade with.
“What do you think? Do you want to check it out?” Yu struck while the iron was hot as she could tell at a glance that he was interested in the idea.
“It would be impolite of me to refuse your kindness, Shaman Yu,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
Yu nodded happily in response, “Then, let’s set off together later.”
At this time, the Ancient Barbarian Warrior that went to collect the Snow Flowers returned and whispered something to her. In turn, she looked up at Yang Kai and said, “Shaman Niu, about the corpses of these Barbarian Beasts…”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Thank you very much!” Yu thanked him. Subsequently, she turned around and instructed her clansmen to process the corpses of the Bone Melting Wolves.
If a Shaman consumed the flesh of Barbarian Beasts over a long period of time, it would help them improve their strength. Thus, she couldn’t bear to let so many Barbarian Beast corpses go to waste in this place even if she was a High-Rank Shaman Warrior. Especially so when it came to the corpse of Bone Melting Wolf King. That was a powerful supplement even for a Shaman Grandmaster.
In contrast, Shaman Niu only wanted the Monster Cores and not the meat. Yu did not know what he was trying to do, as even though a Monster Core was highly valued, the most common method of consuming it was to soak it in wine. Some Herbalists could also use the Monster Cores of Barbarian Beasts to make potions, but this boy didn’t look like a Herbalist.
Needless to say, it was not the first time for these Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors to deal with the corpses of Monster Beasts. On the contrary, they were extremely skilled and, in less than a quarter of an hour, they finished processing the six Bone Melting Wolf carcasses and the Wolf King carcass.
One way or another, everybody carried the seven wolf pelts, plus the most delicious and tender parts of the Barbarian Beasts. Once all the preparations were completed, they set off.
Frost and Snow City was quite far from White Net Mountain, so even if they ran at full speed throughout the entire journey, it would still take them at least three days to arrive. That was based on the premise that Shaman Yu blessed them with the Spirit Walk Spell. Without the Spirit Walk Spell, their speed would be much slower.
Halfway through the journey, Yang Kai asked Yu to teach him the Spirit Walk Spell, and unsurprisingly, he immediately grasped it, shocking her with his incredible comprehension ability.
Three days later, a large shadow loomed before their eyes. The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors and even Yu couldn’t help breaking out into a heartfelt smile at the sight.
“Shaman Niu, that’s Frost and Snow City!” Yu pointed in front.
Yang Kai could not help feeling astonished at the sight before him. It was his first time coming to an Ancient Barbarian city; however, the sight that greeted his eyes was completely different from what he had imagined.
He thought that since it was a city, it should at least look like a city. However, this place had zero resemblance to a city whatsoever. Rather, there was a single towering tree standing on the horizon. Despite the distance, Yang Kai could feel the rich and majestic aura coming from this tree that seemed to reach up to the Heavens and cover the sky in its canopy. It was hard to imagine just how tall it was as it seemed to continue up forever.
Under the sky-like canopy of the huge tree, buildings were built across the ground in a disorderly manner. It was like a cluttered chessboard that had been overturned in which Yang Kai could vaguely see many people actively living their daily lives.
“This is Frost and Snow City?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yu.
Yu smiled, “Yes, this is Frost and Snow City! It is also the root of the Frost and Snow Clan. Do you see that Evergreen Divine Tree? That is Senior Qing; he is the guardian who protects the Frost and Snow Clan.”
“Senior Qing…” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “Are you saying that… That tree is alive?” [If it is alive… Won’t that make it a Monster Tree? Still, such a large Monster Tree is a rare sight to see.]
Yu’s expression became solemn as she said earnestly, “Senior Qing has lived for thousands of years and is immortal and indestructible. Shaman Niu, remember to never desecrate Senior Qing if you ever enter Frost and Snow City!”
[Immortal and indestructible? Doesn’t that really make it a Monster Tree? But, comparing my Immortal Tree and this Evergreen Divine Tree is like comparing an old man and a baby…]
As Yu was being very serious, so Yang Kai could tell that the Evergreen Divine Tree held an extremely high status in the hearts of the Frost and Snow Clan; thus, he nodded and said, “I understand.”
Yu smiled again and continued, “You don’t have to worry so much, Shaman Niu. Senior Qing is very tolerant, so as long as you don’t deliberately desecrate him, my clansmen will not cause you any trouble.”
They gradually approached Frost and Snow City while they were speaking. Upon a closer look, the shock and awe of seeing the Evergreen Divine Tree became more and more intense. The entire Frost and Snow City was not guarded by city walls or Spirit Arrays like in the later generations, but the huge canopy created a secure enclosure surrounding several hundred kilometres. The clansmen of the Frost and Snow Clan had survived for generations under the protection of this canopy.
Even though it was in the middle of winter, there was no snow in Frost and Snow City; instead, it looked like it was the middle of spring.
An hour later, Yang Kai followed Yu across the boundary of Frost and Snow City when he abruptly felt a powerful Divine Sense sweep over him. This powerful probe instantly made all the hairs on his body stand in vigilance as he scanned his surroundings warily, only to find nothing.
Yu did not miss his change in demeanour and explained, “You don’t need to be so nervous, Shaman Niu. Anyone who enters Frost and Snow City will be inspected by Senior Qing. Only if they are hostile towards the Frost and Snow Clan will they be expelled.”
Yang Kai sighed in amazement, “Senior Qing is amazing.”
This was not flattery, but his true feelings, as that Divine Sense just now was measurably stronger than his Divine Sense at his peak. This Monster Tree was an incredible Master!
Yu smiled in agreement, “Of course! Senior Qing is the guardian of Frost and Snow Clan, who has been protecting us for thousands of years. But, it’s a pity…”
“What’s a pity?”
She said sadly, “I heard that Senior Qing fell asleep thousands of years ago; and now nobody can wake him up.”
“Then…” Yang Kai was puzzled. If Senior Qing was asleep, what was that Divine Sense just now?
Yu seemed to understand what he was thinking and smiled, “Even in his sleep, Senior Qing can still distinguish between friend and foe.”
[Isn’t that plain nonsense… If I were cultivating in retreat, I wouldn’t be able to feel anything unless it was a sense of crisis involving matters of life and death. No matter how great this Evergreen Divine Tree is, it’s still impossible to achieve such a degree of unconscious skill.] Still, Yang Kai made no objections to that statement since this seemed to be a strong belief among the Frost and Snow Clan.
While they were conversing with each other, they entered Frost and Snow City. The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors were exhausted after such a long journey so they seemed a little excited now that they finally returned safely. They even had a faintly proud expression on their faces.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai unexpectedly felt extremely nostalgic when he stood inside Frost and Snow City. The sounds of yelling and bargaining ringing in his ears gave him the illusion that he had returned to Star Boundary for a moment.
“Shaman Niu, thank you for your help in White Net Mountain. We have to part ways here as I need to meet with a Shaman Master here and hand in the Snow Flowers,” Yu said, turning to Yang Kai.
“Go ahead. You don’t need to worry about me.” He nodded.
She then stretched out her hand to one of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors standing next to her. That warrior instantly took out a water skin-like thing and handed it to her. Yu took it and handed it to Yang Kai, “Take this to water the roots of Senior Qing, then you can find a place to live.”
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly as he recognized this water skin. When they were at White Net Mountain, the Frost and Snow Warriors had processed the Monster Beast corpses and used this water skin to collect Monster Beast blood. At that time, Yang Kai had not known what Yu and the others planned to do with this blood; however, now, it seemed as though it had some kind of special use here.
Yu led the rest of the Frost and Snow Clan’s Warriors towards a tall building. Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in the middle of Frost and Snow City and pondered quietly for a while. He was in no hurry to follow Yu’s instructions to find a place to live and instead wandered around the bustling city to explore.
The reason why he agreed to come to Frost and Snow City was none other than to obtain some Monster Cores as soon as possible to continue cultivating. However, he had nothing on him aside from the seven Monster Cores of the Bone Melting Wolves and a bag of wolf blood. Unfortunately, he needed all of these items; therefore, he had to check out the market situation for now before he could figure out his next plan. Yang Kai believed that with his abilities, even if his starting point was very low, he would quickly be able to start accumulating what he needed.
Looking around as he walked, Yang Kai stood out like a sore thumb in a city filled with the Ancient Barbarian Race. It couldn’t be helped though as his figure was just too weak looking, lacking the aesthetics of the Ancient Barbarian Race. Hence, he attracted strange and contemptuous glances wherever he went. Fortunately, he had long since grown accustomed to this, as it seemed every member of the Ancient Barbarian Race that met him for the first time would eye him with such intent.
Frost and Snow City was extremely prosperous, not inferior even when compared to the large cities of the modern era. Among the chaotic mess of countless buildings, stalls, goods, and Shamans from different clans gathered in this place, a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior like Yang Kai did not stand out at all.
Using the knowledge the Village Chief had taught him before he left the village, Yang Kai identified the origins of those Shamans, one by one. People of every city and every clan were gathered here, a grand sight that was very rare indeed. It was a scene that could only be seen in Frost and Snow City during winter because, unlike Frost and Snow City, such unique conditions did not exist elsewhere. This place was protected by the Evergreen Divine Tree, so even in the middle of winter, it remained in a state of spring.
The cities of the other clans did not have such good conditions; hence, it naturally attracted many Shamans here to exchange information and goods. Once winter passed, most of these Shamans that came from afar would return to their respective clans and cities. For that reason, Frost and Snow City became the most prosperous city every winter.
Yang Kai browsed through all the stalls, inspecting their wares and bargaining with the stall owners. He thought that trading would be carried out through bartering in this ancient era, but to his surprise, he found out that he was greatly mistaken. Frost and Snow City had its own currency, something similar to green leaves, which were known as Green Coins.
Since the Village Chief had not taught him about the Green Coin, Yang Kai concluded that it was a feature unique to Frost and Snow City. Green Coins weren’t used for cultivation and were rumoured to be the fallen leaves of the Evergreen Divine Tree that never decayed. It could only be used for transaction purposes and was only limited to transactions in Frost and Snow City. Even so, that was enough as the mere existence of a standard currency would have a great impact on the circulation of materials.
Business in Frost and Snow City was carried out all day long, so Yang Kai spent three consecutive days browsing without stopping for a single moment, forming a vague plan during this time.
After three days, he slowly walked to the bottom of the Evergreen Divine Tree, took out the water skin Yu had given to him previously, and poured it onto the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree.
As the red blood landed on the ground, it was quickly absorbed and disappeared until not even a drop was left. In the next moment, a green light radiated from the canopy and shone down on Yang Kai. At the same time, an inexplicable force guided him and he slowly moved upward as if an invisible hand was lifting him up.
After soaring upward a few dozen metres, the lifting force stabilized and a clean and comfortable Tree Cave that was neither large nor small appeared before him. This would be his residence for the next thirty days.
There were two ways for outsiders to find a place to stay in Frost and Snow City. One was to live in places similar to inns, but those places required Green Coins. The other was like what Yang Kai just did. By watering the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree with Monster Beast blood, the Evergreen Divine Tree would lend a Tree Cave to the waterer.
There were numerous Tree Caves like these located all over the towering Evergreen Divine Tree, and every Tree Cave was a natural residence. Upon receiving the protection of the Evergreen Divine Tree, one would not be disturbed by others no matter what they did inside the Tree Cave.
The Tree Cave was not that large, barely able to accommodate three people inside it, but it was enough for Yang Kai. Besides, the environment inside was extremely comfortable, so he sat down cross-legged to cultivate while working out the details of his plans in his head.
The next day, Yang Kai walked out of the Tree Cave and slowly dropped to the ground under the guidance of the Evergreen Divine Tree. Then, he went straight in one direction. Soon, he arrived outside a store that specialized in the acquisition of Monster Cores. Taking out the seven Monster Cores in his possession, he sold them all. A moment later, he left the shop with a bag of Green Coins in hand, turned around, and disappeared into the crowd.
A quarter of an hour and a difficult haggling session later, Yang Kai reached an agreement with an unfamiliar stall owner. He bought all the herbs sold at the store for the price of fifty Green Coins. Hence, the stall owner couldn’t help but be overjoyed as he knew he had met a big customer and enthusiastically wrapped up the purchase for Yang Kai.
A short while later, a similar scene occurred at another stall. It didn’t take long before Yang Kai spent all the Green Coins in his possession. In exchange, he obtained a relatively large amount of common, low-value herbs. After that, he returned to the Tree Cave and took out all the herbs.
There was no need to investigate them carefully as he simply took out a few random herbs by hand. Then, a bright and warm flame bloomed in his hand. Casually tossing the herbs into the flame, Yang Kai concentrated on refining them. Just like how Alchemists were very rare and sought after in the present, the status and number of Herbalists in the ancient era were no different.
A Herbalist was a rare talent in any clan. Moreover, the Herbalists of each clan would only create potions for their own clansmen. In this era where the Martial Dao was not popular and Alchemy was even less known than that, the process a Herbalist used to create potions was simple and crude. They would simply mix in a variety of herbs and blend them all together, which of course could not bring out the full effects of those herbs.
Yang Kai was an Emperor Alchemist, so even though his cultivation was sealed and his Divine Sense could not be used, the items he could refine with his current methods would still be superior to what an ordinary Herbalist from a large clan could produce. The medicines he refined would then become his way of making money and the starting point for creating a snowball effect.
Since the eras were different, Yang Kai did not dare to create anything that was too shocking. Besides, his strength was greatly suppressed at the moment so he couldn’t be perfect in his refining process. Even so, the items he refined and arranged were the embodiment of tens of thousands of years of accumulated knowledge, fundamentally incomparable to the crude potions produced by the current Herbalists.
Half a day later, all the herbs were consumed, and Yang Kai had a pile of bottles and jars in front of him. In this era, jade bottles to store pills were practically non-existent. However, Yang Kai was not very fastidious about the containers; after all, what he refined this time was not a pill. Rather, it was a large batch of paste, so it didn’t matter even if he stored them in those stone and wood containers.
After cleaning himself up briefly, Yang Kai left his Tree Cave once again.
Arriving at the most prosperous area in Frost and Snow City, where traffic flowed continuously, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged in a corner and placed what he had refined in front of him before taking out a piece of wood and using his finger like a sword to drew a single flamboyant word on the plank. He then placed the wood plank next to him, sat in an upright position, closed his eyes, and began meditating.
The Ancient Barbarian Race stall owner next to him glanced at him and the wooden sign with the large ‘medicine’ character written on it before snorting in disdain. [That black, sticky paste that resembles rotten mud is supposed to be medicine? Does this brat really think he is a Herbalist?] Herbalists were generally very well respected, so how could one possibly fall so low as to open up a stall by the roadside? If not for the Shaman aura coming from Yang Kai’s body, this stall owner might even suspect that he wasn’t part of the Ancient Barbarian Race. [Unless a miracle occurs, he won’t ever sell anything.]
And just as he expected, Yang Kai’s stall was completely ignored for the next two days. Even though this was a busy area with people passing by non-stop, all the Ancient Barbarians passing by Yang Kai’s store took one glance at the gooey paste he was selling and walked away.
Even so, Yang Kai remained as calm as an unmoving mountain. He simply sat there cross-legged without any worries. He was so immovable that even his neighbour began to admire him for his tenacity.
Two days later, that next-door stall owner had practically sold out his goods and was about to close his shop. Perhaps it was out of sympathy, but he couldn’t help saying, “You won’t be able to sell anything like this.”
Yang Kai opened his eyes to look at the stall owner and grinned in response, “In your opinion, how should I sell my medicine?”
The stall owner replied, “You should at least call out your wares once in a while. Although these medicines don’t look like much, somebody will eventually come and take a look at them if you advertise enough.”
“Quality goods need no advertising. My medicines are excellent, so people will come to buy them even without me advertising them.”
The stall owner spat disdainfully when he heard those words, clearly disagreeing with that statement even though it sounded rather reasonable. Shaking his head, he said, “You will never sell any of your wares unless a miracle occurs.”
Yang Kai smiled, “I don’t need a miracle. I only need an opportunity… And here comes an opportunity!” While speaking, his eyes suddenly sparkled.
The neighbouring stall owner was surprised by this sudden change and glanced in the direction Yang Kai was looking in only to see several Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors from the Frost and Snow Clan supporting each other and walking in this direction. They were covered in blood and fresh wounds, as if they had just come back from a huge battle. Moreover, one of them even had a large slash in his abdomen. It was an extremely deep injury that looked absolutely terrifying.
[How is this an opportunity?] The stall owner was a little puzzled, but just as he was wondering, those Ancient Barbarian Warriors walked by the front of the stalls.
At that moment, Yang Kai, the medicine seller, smilingly spoke up, “Please wait, strong warriors! The Heavens must be smiling down on us for us to have such a fateful meeting! As a Shaman, I feel a strong connection of destiny with you, so I would like to give you a small gift. I hope you will accept it!”
Creating medicines with Alchemy was Yang Kai’s forte. For that reason, Alchemy was the best choice for him if he wanted to earn enough for his use in an unfamiliar environment with limited financial resources.
Inside Frost and Snow City, those wounded Ancient Barbarian Warriors stopped suddenly. Their leader turned his head to look around him before looking down at Yang Kai with a malevolent aura, “Were you… speaking to us?”
Yang Kai smiled warmly to indicate that he was harmless, “That’s right!”
That Ancient Barbarian Warrior frowned. Even though he barely understood what Yang Kai had said just now, he understood the last sentence easily enough. [This guy has something to give me!]
There was no reason to turn down something that was given freely. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling distrustful upon seeing this scrawny person’s attitude; thus, he shook his head and turned to leave.
Yang Kai hurriedly said, “Wait, strong warrior!”
“What do you want?” The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior was starting to get impatient.
Yang Kai continued, “Your injuries are rather severe, and it just so happens that I have some healing medicine and would like to give some to you. Please use it to treat your wounds!” While speaking, he pointed with his finger.
The Ancient Barbarian Warrior widened his eyes and glanced over at the stone pots in front of him before he scowled and asked, “You call this… Medicine?”
“Indeed!”
The Ancient Barbarian Warrior sneered with a look of disdain on his face. Meanwhile, the neighbouring stall owner couldn’t bear watching any longer. He packed up his stuff and prepared to leave this place, lest he hurt his eyes watching this farce.
“Just give it a try; you won’t lose anything from it. It’s not like you’re paying for it anyway. Won’t it be great if it works? If it doesn’t work… You can always come and destroy my stall,” Yang Kai said with a smile.
“Is this really a medicine?” The Ancient Barbarian Warrior could tell that Yang Kai was being serious and not simply talking nonsense. Thus, he couldn’t help becoming a little curious.
“It’s high-quality medicine!”
“If it doesn’t work, I will really destroy your stall!” Even though the other party appeared to be a Shaman, he did not take those words to heart. This was Frost and Snow City; moreover, they were clansmen of the Frost and Snow Clan, so if a Shaman from the outside were to break the rules and provoke them, they would not go easy on that person.
“What are you still hesitating for? Hurry up and give it a try!” Yang Kai urged energetically.
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior nodded. Crouching down in front of Yang Kai’s stall, he involuntarily frowned at the foul smell that assaulted his nose and he couldn’t help but hesitate, wondering if he should really try something so suspicious.
Yang Kai earnestly explained as if he was teaching a young student, “Good medicine tastes bad. My medicine might smell a little, but the effects are indisputable.”
“I hope it’s as you said.” The Ancient Barbarian Warrior revealed a determined expression while saying that, looking as if he had made a huge decision about something. Reaching out his hand, he scooped some of the paste out of one of the stone pots. Then, he carefully and evenly applied the paste to the wound on his abdomen under Yang Kai’s instructions.
That wound was an arm’s length long and cut very deep into the flesh. An injury like that was not considered life-threatening to an Ancient Barbarian, but it would still be bad if it were left untreated.
When that stinky paste was applied to his body, the warrior raised his brow abruptly. Simultaneously, a look of astonishment appeared on his face. Throughout it all, his companions stared at him curiously, wondering if the medicine was effective.
A cooling sensation spread out from the Ancient Barbarian Warrior’s abdomen, alleviating the pain, and in the next moment, he let out an exclamation of surprise and hurriedly lowered his head to look, as if he felt something changing. Then, his eyes widened in shock.
The flesh around the wound on his abdomen was slightly squirming. Following those wriggling movements, new flesh began to grow in his wound. That deep injury was healing at a speed visible to the naked eyes and forming a scar…
It was apparent that the rest of his companions had noticed the change going on too as they made exclamations of shock as they watched the changes happening to the wound in disbelief.
The neighbouring stall owner that had been preparing to leave was also staring stupidly with eyes as large as saucers. He looked like he wanted to dig out his eyes and stick them to the other party’s abdomen just to see the changes more closely. This strange behaviour attracted many others who were passing by, and when these people learned what was going on, they all stopped to spectate the changes in the wound out of curiosity.
An hour later, the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior that had tried the medicine touched his abdomen dumbly. The remains of the medicine and remnants of dried blood fell off cleanly, revealing a scar about an arm’s length to the crowd. Although it was not completely healed, the miraculous effect was enough to make everybody gasp in amazement; after all, the wound had been a bloody mess just an hour ago.
“It really worked!” When that Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior that had tried the medicine looked up again, he gazed at Yang Kai with blazing eyes, his expression filled with both gratitude and admiration.
Yang Kai simply smiled without saying anything. [Of course the medicine I created works.]
Unfortunately, this medicine’s effects were limited to the Ancient Barbarian Race that had robust vitality and high amounts of Blood Qi. If it were applied to cultivators in the present day, it would not have been as effective. That was because a large part of the medicine’s efficacy came from stimulating the Blood Qi around the wound and speeding up the process of self-regeneration. Therefore, only the Ancient Barbarian Race could bring about such immediate effects after applying the medicine.
“Are you a Herbalist?” That Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior asked.
“I guess so.”
When the onlookers heard those words, they suddenly put away the contemptuous expressions on their faces. No matter how weak Yang Kai might look, a Herbalist was an existence worthy of respect.
Then, Yang Kai raised his head and looked at the people crowding around them. He smiled and said, “Warriors often face fierce battles, and if you receive an injury while in the wilderness, it will surely affect your fighting abilities. However, if you carry this medicine on you, you don’t need to worry about that anymore! As long as my medicine is applied to your wounds, it can make you as fit as a tiger again in an instant. This is my first time coming to Frost and Snow City, so I’m selling it cheaply as a sign of goodwill.”
Before that Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior tried the medicine, nobody would have bothered to listen to what Yang Kai said; however, nobody doubted the effectiveness of the medicine anymore after witnessing the miraculous scene with their own eyes.
Besides, what this Herbalist said was right; it was very troubling when Warriors from the Ancient Barbarian Race were injured in battle in the wilderness. Even though everybody knew how to provide first aid to a certain extent, how could it compare to this healing medicine? If they could carry some of this paste on them, they could treat their wounds at any time. Moreover, the healing effect was shockingly fast and complete.
“How much are you selling it for?!” Someone asked immediately.
“Ten Green Coins for one pot!” Yang Kai had prepared for this a long time ago and immediately named his price.
Ten Green Coins was neither high nor low, so any adult Ancient Barbarian Warrior could afford it. This would allow Yang Kai to maximize his gains.
Sure enough, countless people immediately yelled ‘I’ll take one!’ upon hearing those words.
Looking at the people in front of him, Yang Kai grinned widely, staring out at all his new money sources!
The few pots of medicine were cleanly sold out within a quarter of an hour. Those that managed to buy some were overjoyed while those that failed to buy some were highly depressed and remorseful.
Yang Kai packed up his stuff and smilingly announced, “The medicine is sold out for today! If there are any who wish to buy some of this medicine, please come by early tomorrow!”
As he turned to leave, the neighbouring stall owner glanced at his back enviously. For some reason, his back suddenly seemed so tall and imposing…
Selling the medicine once was enough to increase Yang Kai’s assets by more than tenfold.
Yang Kai proceeded to spend all his Green Coins to buy out all the herbs at several stalls in Frost and Snow City before returning to his Tree Cave to refine medicine again.
When he came to set up his stall the next day, he saw many customers had already gathered. Some were those that failed to obtain the medicine yesterday while some came after listening to the rumours.
A strange Herbalist had appeared in Frost and Snow City. Moreover, the medicine he made could make external wounds heal quickly. Word of this had spread across the entire city overnight. Furthermore, it received the approval of many Ancient Barbarian Warriors from the Frost and Snow Clan.
The people of this era were relatively simple and hardly engaged in schemes and plots. Therefore, no one believed this news to be fake. For that reason, even though Yang Kai brought more than ten times the amount of medicine compared to yesterday, it took less than half a day for him to finish selling it all. Incidentally, his financial assets began snowballing just as he had expected.
That was the case for five consecutive days. The momentum behind that mad rush to purchase his medicine showed no signs of stopping and the situation made Yang Kai very happy.
Yang Kai silently calculated the money he had in his hands and estimated that he could stop doing this in another half a month’s time. By then, he would have enough Green Coins to buy all the Monster Cores he wanted. As long as he could raise his realm from a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior to Shaman Master, he would be set for life. His cultivation would smoothly rise with all the resources he had accumulated.
On that day, Yang Kai finished selling his medicine and prepared to wander the streets of Frost and Snow City to procure more raw materials when, all of a sudden, he frowned as he instinctively felt that something was wrong. Reaching out his hand to check his waist, his expression immediately darkened as the animal skin bag he used to hold his Green Coins was gone.
That animal skin bag contained thousands of Green Coins he gained from selling his medicine today. Fortunately, he had stored most of his wealth in his Tree Cave, so security was not an issue and he hadn’t lost everything, but this was still a frustrating event for Yang Kai.
[A thief?! There are thieves in this era?!] If not for the empty feeling in his hands telling him that it was not an illusion, Yang Kai would not have believed his own judgment. Ever since he entered this Sealed World, all the Ancient Barbarians he met, whether they were friendly or unfriendly, had been simple-minded and straightforward. Hence, he never expected to meet a thief in this place.
In a moment’s carelessness, Yang Kai had failed miserably at something he should never have failed at. [What a great disgrace! An Emperor Realm Master like me, actually allowed somebody to swipe my money from me without me noticing! This shame is so deep that I will never live it down for the rest of my life!]
His expression turned solemn, and his gaze rove across the crowd. He quickly locked on to a beefy Ancient Barbarian who was weaving between the crowds. That person was dressed in a tightly wrapped robe that covered up their features to the point where it was impossible to tell whether they were even male or female, making them incredibly conspicuous.
With a snort, Yang Kai quietly followed behind that person, having no intention of alerting the people around him. That person was rather careful, zigzagging through the crowds. Only after circling about for an hour did this individual finally slip into a remote area off the bustling streets.
That tall and beefy Ancient Barbarian hid in an inconspicuous spot and took out an animal skin bag from underneath his clothes. Opening the bag and looking inside, he suddenly chuckled. There were thousands of Green Coins inside! Enough for an entire year’s worth of living expenses!
“Not a bad harvest, right?” All of a sudden, a voice sounded from behind and he jumped in fright, hurriedly turning around to stare at the speaker vigilantly. Immediately, he felt a pang of guilt in his heart as he met eyes with this newcomer. This was only natural since he recognized the speaker as the owner of that bag.
An Ancient Barbarian as weak and slender as Yang Kai was very rare in Frost and Snow City, so rare that Yang Kai could even be considered unique in this place.
Despite recognizing Yang Kai, that beefy Ancient Barbarian refused to admit anything, instead putting on a vicious expression as he snapped, “What do you want?”
Yang Kai instantly found this scene amusing as he commented, “You stole from me yet can still pretend to be so nonchalant about it. I have to say, your existence has overturned my perception of the entire Ancient Barbarian Race.”
“What do you mean by stole?!”
“I’m talking about that bag you’re stuffing into your clothes.” Yang Kai watched the other party’s movements coldly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The beefy Ancient Barbarian casually put the skin bag away and impatiently said, “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving. Stop following me.”
Yang Kai was shocked and burst out furiously, “You shameless thief! How dare you act so arrogantly?! Will you believe me if I say I will call the Frost and Snow Clan’s guards to deal with you?!”
That beefy Ancient Barbarian Race looked at Yang Kai disdainfully and sneered, “Go ahead and do it!”
That person’s confidence left Yang Kai dumbfounded, but calling the Frost and Snow Clan’s guards was clearly impossible.
Though Yang Kai had identified the thief in this incident, he had no evidence that this person had stolen his money. Hence, bringing the guards was a waste of time. Besides, Yang Kai didn’t want to drag other people into this either. Clicking his tongue, he said, “You provoked somebody you should never have offended.”
That beefy Ancient Barbarian Race smiled coldly, “Stop talking nonsense. If you keep wasting my time, I’ll beat you up!” While speaking, he raised a large fist at Yang Kai with a threatening look.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his expression changed drastically as he saw Yang Kai rushing towards him. At the same time, a clenched fist appeared in front of his face.
“You court death!” The beefy Ancient Barbarian Race roared as he had not expected such a weak-looking man to attack. Even so, he swiftly threw out a punch of his own, despite his shock and anger.
Yang Kai let out a soft sound of surprise the moment their fists connected as contrary to his expectations, he discovered that no violent force was behind this punch. Rather, the other party’s imposing body and threatening fist seemed to be made of air.
A look of consternation and fear flashed across that beefy Ancient Barbarian Race’s face as his huge body flew backwards. All of a sudden, that large, sturdy body distorted and transformed into a petite and slender figure.
*Pa…*
A small figure crashed into the ground like a dead fish, landing with a loud thud. At the same time, a green leaf fluttered down from the sky.
Yang Kai’s eyes nearly popped out in shock as he stood blankly in place for a long time before finally recovering. This couldn’t be helped though as his punch turned the burly man into a young girl! How was that possible? It definitely wasn’t anything he did!
In the time Yang Kai was staring dumbfounded, the girl that had landed on the ground got up with some difficulty, the expression on her face as she stared at him full of fear.
Looking at the girl again, Yang Kai realized that she was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Moreover, she had a Shaman’s aura enveloping her body. As for what realm she was in, Yang Kai couldn’t tell. The time he spent in this world was very short. Furthermore, he had barely met any Shamans and did not have a clear understanding of the distinction between Shaman Strength and their realms.
After the huge change in the girl’s body, her clothes also became looser as a result. Still, that was not enough to conceal her voluptuous curves which went to show just how shapely her body was.
Meanwhile, the girl looked extremely flustered now that her real appearance had been revealed without warning. Glancing about in a panic, she hurriedly rushed forward to pick up the green leaf that had fluttered to the ground previously and pressed it to her head. Subsequently, her petite body distorted and transformed back to the burly appearance from before.
“You’re part of the Nomad Clan!” Yang Kai had a sudden realization and blurted out her origins.
“W-What nonsense are you saying?!” The beefy man, who was the disguise of that girl, retorted stubbornly and looked about shiftily.
“Is that so?” Yang Kai smilingly looked at the other party, as if he had already won, “Am I speaking nonsense?”
“What do you mean by the Nomad Clan?! I’m from the Flowing Clouds Clan.”
“Heh heh…” Yang Kai chuckled softly. All of a sudden, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Hey, everyone! There’s a thief from the Nomad Clan here! Hey…”
“Shut up!!” The girl’s expression changed drastically as she reached into her clothes, took out the skin bag, and tossed it to him, “I’ll return it to you. So, stop shouting!”
Yang Kai playfully tossed the bag in his hands and glanced at her teasingly, “Why are you so nervous if you’re not part of the Nomad Clan?”
She stubbornly insisted, “I’m not nervous.”
Among the knowledge the Village Chief had taught to Yang Kai was that basically all of the Ancient Barbarian Race clans considered a strong and robust body to be beautiful. However, one clan differed from the rest, the Nomad Clan! People of this clan drifted about with no fixed homes; moreover, there were very few in this clan. As such, it was very rare for ordinary people to meet them. Since the Nomad Clan did not focus on cultivating their bodies, their physiques were drastically different from that of the other clans. If that were all, it would be nothing worth mentioning. The key point was that the clansmen of the Noman Clan were not honest people. Every one of them seemed to be involved in nefarious trades. Hence, their reputation was very bad among the Ancient Barbarian Race.
There were two reasons why Yang Kai constantly received hateful looks wherever he went. The first reason was that his body looked too weak, meaning he wasn’t worthy of respect. The second reason was that some people mistakenly assumed that he was from the Nomad Clan. What Yang Kai experienced was the epitome of what a Nomad Clansman experienced outside their clan.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue and circled the girl several times, commenting with great interest, “I’ve heard of how special the Nomad Clan is, but this is the first time I’m meeting one. How interesting… Hey, let me see your real appearance again.”
This wanton examination of his made the girl’s skin crawl and she asked in a shaky voice, “What do you want?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I just want to have a look. I’m not going to do anything.”
“In your dreams!”
Yang Kai cupped his hands around his mouth again and just as he took a deep breath to shout, the girl snapped, “That’s enough!”
She glared at him fiercely, but he simply looked back at her with a smile. In the end, she surrendered in defeat. Reaching out her hand, she plucked the green leaf from her head. At the same time, the beefy body immediately shrank in size and returned to the appearance of a young girl.
“You will regret this!” She spat as she bit her red lips, her eyes burning with resentment and fury, like there was an irreconcilable grudge between them.
“En, this is much better. You should just act like a girl. Why bother disguising yourself as a man?” He laughed softly.
Having seen so many wild beauties among the Ancient Barbarian Race, the appearance of a more normal girl suddenly gave off such a kind and comfortable vibe.
“Have you seen your fill?!” The girl snapped impatiently, placing the green leaf back on her head and turning back into the beefy man’s appearance in an instant.
Yang Kai shook his head and sighed, feeling dissatisfied. Even so, he asked curiously, “Is that an illusion spell? Why didn’t I feel any power fluctuations when you cast your Shamanic Spells?”
That strange green leaf seemed to hold an incredible effect. The girl’s appearance changed drastically with the green leaf on her body, but her real appearance was instantly revealed once she took it off. At first, Yang Kai thought that the green leaf was some kind of medium she used to perform her illusions; however, he felt something was amiss after considering it carefully.
From the looks of it, that green leaf was similar to a Green Coin. It was clearly a leaf of the Evergreen Divine Tree; still, Yang Kai had not heard of any Shamanic Spells that required a medium like this to cast.
“Why do you care? I’ve returned your money back to you, what else do you want?” She was extremely annoyed. Letting him see her true appearance was her biggest mistake so far as it could be said that he was holding her weakness in his hands. She would be at his mercy from now on.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was not as despicable as she imagined and after pondering for a moment, he simply asked, “What is your name?”
The girl fell silent for a moment. Then, she replied, “It’s Tiea!”
“My name is Ah Niu!” Yang Kai responded with a smile.
“Shaman Niu… I’ll remember you. If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving!” Tiea said, and seeing that he had no objections, she turned and left.
Yang Kai watched as her back disappeared out of sight, laughing softly to himself before going off to purchase the herbs he needed.
The next day, Yang Kai finished refining enough healing medicine and walked out of the Tree Cave; however, he did not go down immediately. He controlled the direction and floated over to another Tree Cave not far away before reaching out and knocking on the trunk.
Soon, a head popped out from within the Tree Cave. That person stared at him in surprise and stuttered, “H-H-How did you know that I live here?!”
This neighbour of his was none other than Tiea, the girl he met yesterday.
Tiea’s eyes were full of panic upon meeting Yang Kai again, not to mention that it was at her doorstep.
“I saw you come back here by chance yesterday.”
“What do you want?!” Tiea wished she were dead. She was fearless even when she had been caught red-handed stealing his money at the time; however, the fact that he knew her identity as part of the Nomad Clan left her at a loss for what to do. It was the first time somebody had seen through her disguise after she began living here more than ten years ago.
“Don’t be so nervous.” Yang Kai smiled slightly, “I just have a favour to ask of you.”
“What is it?” She furrowed her brow.
“You should know that I’ve been selling medicine for the past few days, right? It’s because you know that you decided to rob me, right?”
She frowned in response to his words and replied to his questions with silence.
“In that case, this will be easy.” While speaking, he handed her the stone pots in his hand.
Of course, she did not take the pot and instead stared at him suspiciously before asking, “What do you want?”
“Help me sell my medicine. You should know the price. I’ll give you ten percent of the profits.”
Upon hearing those words, Tiea’s eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “Really?!”
“I’ve already handed my goods to you. What do you mean by ‘really’?”
Following that, she hurriedly took the stone pots from him, feeling over the moon. After all, the man in front of her could earn thousands of Green Coins a day just by selling this healing medicine. Ten percent of the profits would be a few hundred Green Coins a day. Although it wasn’t that much, it was still far better than stealing from others.
“Why?” Tiea couldn’t understand. Logically speaking, it was good enough if he generously did not cause trouble with her or expose her identity after she stole from him yesterday, so why was he now sharing such huge benefits with her?
“No one would refuse such a great opportunity, so why ask me?”
“Because I don’t know anybody else here,” Yang Kai shrugged nonchalantly as he continued with a smile, “Besides, I know your weakness, so I’m not worried that you will try to run off with my money.”
The corners of Tiea’s mouth twitched.
What he was saying is true. As long as he held onto her weakness, she couldn’t do anything against him… However, all that was irrelevant in the face of that ten percent!
After seeing Tiea on her way, Yang Kai immediately went to the middle of Frost and Snow City and searched for the store he had scouted out previously. Spending a large number of Green Coins, he purchased many Monster Cores.
The money he had accumulated during this period had given him enough financial resources to buy Monster Cores to supplement his cultivation. Therefore, he needed somebody else to sell his medicine on his behalf; after all, running a stall was quite time-consuming.
Upon returning to the Tree Cave, Yang Kai held a longan sized Monster Core between his fingers and took a small breath.
The early stages of the snowballing effect had been completed, so from now on, he only needed to buy some Monster Cores every day and refine them. Once winter was over, he would surely be able to break through to become a Shaman Master.
Yang Kai swallowed the Monster Core and circulated his Secret Arts. A thunderous sound soon came from his abdomen while at the same time, his aura swelled at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye.
In the afternoon, Tiea returned from selling the medicine, obediently handing over ninety percent of the profits and receiving more medicine from Yang Kai to be sold the next day. It had only been half a day since they last met, but she was shocked to discover that he had become a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior!
[He was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior when I last saw him this morning, so how did he become a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior in just half a day?!] Despite the countless questions in her heart, Tiea did not inquire into the matter. Everyone had their own secrets and it was not wise to ask too many questions, especially since her secret was still in Yang Kai’s hands.
Thus, the two worked together perfectly.
Yang Kai would take some time every day to refine the medicine before going out to purchase Monster Cores. Meanwhile, Tiea was in charge of selling the medicine and buying raw materials along the way.
Time flew by, and soon one month passed.
During that month, Yang Kai achieved another breakthrough in his cultivation. He refined approximately ten Monster Cores a day, which made his strength grow rapidly. For that reason, he was now a High-Rank Shaman Warrior! He was on the fast track to becoming a Shaman Master as long as he had a sufficient supply of Monster Cores. Then, he would regain his ability to use his Divine Sense. At that time, he could finally escape from his current predicament.
Unfortunately, good times were always followed by challenges. On that day, Tiea did not return from selling the medicines until evening, and when she entered Yang Kai’s Tree Cave, she placed a number of stone pots down in front of him.
Yang Kai was surprised and asked, “Why didn’t you finish selling them?”
In the past, the medicine he refined would sell out without any trouble each day. This was the first time there were surpluses.
Tiea weakly replied, “The ones that want to buy the medicine have probably bought enough. Didn’t you notice that I’ve been returning later and later recently?”
Yang Kai was taken aback by her words, but thinking back on it carefully, he realized that that was indeed the case. He had spent his time cultivating during this period, focusing solely on trying to raise his cultivation. Thus, he had not paid much attention to her situation. Now that she mentioned it, he realized that what she said was true. In the beginning, she only needed half a day to sell all the medicines he refined; however, as time passed, it took her longer and longer to finish selling them. And today, she did not return until late in the evening. Moreover, she did not manage to finish selling the medicine.
“So the market has saturated…” Yang Kai rubbed his chin and muttered under his breath.
Although Frost and Snow City was not small, and the number of Ancient Barbarian Warriors was quite large, more than a month of sales had caused the market to start shrinking. After all, it was not easy for Ancient Barbarian Warriors to earn Green Coins here, so while the healing medicine was priced at a relatively inexpensive ten Green Coins, they would not purchase it without reservations either.
Under normal circumstances, they would keep one portion on them to use during emergencies and only buy a new one as a replacement once they finished using that. Therefore, the more time that passed, the lower the purchasing power of Frost and Snow City.
Mulling over this, Yang Kai nodded and said, “You should take a break and continue selling the medicine tomorrow.”
Tiea naturally had no objections to his suggestion. After spending more than a month working together, she had slowly gotten closer to him and no longer held any wariness or fear for him. Thus, she just turned around and left.
Inside the Tree Cave, Yang Kai frowned. Now that the market had been saturated, it would get harder and harder to sell the healing medicine he refined. If he couldn’t sell his medicine, he wouldn’t have enough Green Coins to purchase Monster Cores and his cultivation plan would be severely delayed.
Even so, Yang Kai had no way to break the current stalemate unless he moved to a different city that was similar to Frost and Snow City to display his skills. But where was he going to find another Frost and Snow City among all the Ancient Barbarian Race clans in the middle of the winter?
The situation progressed just as Yang Kai had expected; the healing medicine became harder and harder to sell as time passed. Some days they didn’t even sell a third of the amount he refined every day despite Tiea’s best efforts.
Consequently, the number of Monster Cores Yang Kai could purchase became less and less each day. Although becoming a Shaman Master was right at his fingertips, he could only sigh in frustration without a sufficient supply of Monster Cores.
In this situation, Yang Kai could only take things one step at a time. He could only finish consuming all the Monster Cores he still had on hand, then decide what to do later.
One day, Yang Kai was in the middle of cultivating when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes watching him. This made him extremely uncomfortable, but unfortunately, his cultivation was at a critical juncture and he did not want to take his focus away from it. He initially thought that the feeling was just a figment of his imagination; however, the feeling of being watched only became more and more acute as time passed.
Opening his eyes abruptly, Yang Kai’s pupils instantly shrank as he stared at a figure standing not too far away from him. This person was an old man that did not have the burly body common among the Ancient Barbarian Race. He was so old that he looked like he could drop dead at any moment, his hair and beard were all white. This old man simply stood there quietly with a smile, watching Yang Ka with great interest.
Yang Kai might have looked calm on the surface, but great storms were raging inside his heart. [How is this possible?! I’m staying inside the Tree Cave of the Evergreen Divine Tree! Under the protection of the Evergreen Divine Tree, even a Shaman King or Shaman Saint would not be able to enter this place without my permission! So, how did this old man appear before me without a sound?! How is this possible?!]
Fortunately, the other party did not seem to hold any malicious intentions; thus, Yang Kai did not make a fuss and simply studied the old man quietly.
Their eyes met inside the Tree Cave; however, the old man was in no rush to say anything, seemingly just scrutinizing Yang Kai while nodding to himself once in a while.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was feeling extremely uncomfortable under the old man’s watch. In the end, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Old Man, why did you trespass into my private residence?”
“Trespass into your private residence?” Upon hearing those words, the old man raised his eyebrows, “That’s an interesting way of putting it. However, my presence here does not count as trespassing into a private residence!”
Yang Kai smiled coldly, “This Tree Cave is where I live, so you entered my residence without my permission. That’s trespassing into a private residence. Old Man, you seem to be getting senile. I’m afraid you’re not quite lucid. You should leave while I am still being nice. You can’t claim that I am not being respectful to the elderly if I lose my temper.”
The old man smiled, “What’s wrong? Are you going to hit me?”
Yang Kai answered matter-of-factly, “Sometimes, the use of force is necessary. It is also one way to solve problems.”
The old man fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement and commenting, “What you say makes sense. I couldn’t tell before, but despite your young age, you seem to have some worldly knowledge.”
“Stop being so long-winded,” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively. “Please don’t blame me for getting rough if you refuse to leave.”
The old man hurriedly tried to calm Yang Kai down, “Now now, don’t get so agitated, it’s just that I woke up suddenly when I felt a familiar aura, so I came to investigate. I don’t have any malicious intentions.”
Yang Kai spat out disdainfully, “Even jackals are kind to poultry.”
The old man smiled wryly and did not know how to refute those words.
At that moment, a knock came from outside the Tree Cave. Yang Kai turned to look and saw Tiea standing outside. Feeling glad, he quickly invited her inside. Although he had never really fought against her before, their time together recently had taught him that she was a powerful Shaman, at least several realms higher than him in terms of cultivation. The last time he managed to knock her down with a punch was simply because she had underestimated him. If she had cast a Shamanic Spell, he might not be her opponent even at his current realm.
[I wonder how she managed to cultivate to such a realm at such a young age.]
Regardless of the old man’s origin, he had appeared in Yang Kai’s Tree Cave for an unfathomable reason. Therefore, Yang Kai treated the old man as an enemy. He had been worried that he might not be a match for the old man alone, but with Tiea here, things would become much easier. In a two against one, they could at least put up a fight even if they were no match for the old man. At the very least, they could alert the people of the Frost and Snow Clan about their predicament.
Unfortunately, Tiea was clueless about the situation and, sticking her head into the Tree Cave, she sorrowfully said, “I didn’t manage to sell anything today…”
While speaking, she placed down the stone pots in her hand before in the next moment, she widened her eyes in shock and stared at the white-haired old man inside the Tree Cave in astonishment.
Yang Kai shot a glance at her, but contrary to his expectations, she ignored him and stared at the person in front of her blankly. Then, an expression of pleasant surprise appeared on her face as she asked happily, “Grandpa Qing, why are you here? Are you here to look for me?”
As she spoke, she ran over and affectionately hugged the old man’s arm with a sweet smile.
Yang Kai was instantly stupefied by what had just happened. Following that, he shuddered abruptly and felt goosebumps appearing on his skin…
If she had uttered those affectionate lines in her normal appearance, it would have been nothing to be surprised about. A beautiful woman acting coquettish was always a pleasant sight to see. Unfortunately, she was currently a burly and beefy man. Thus, her sudden actions nearly made Yang Kai want to poke his eyes out. He felt as if he had been hit by a traumatic blow more powerful than the full-powered attack of a Shaman Saint…
On the other hand, the old man just smiled and asked, “Why are you here? Do you know each other?”
An unnatural look surfaced on Tiea’s face, making it apparent that she was recalling her first encounter with Yang Kai, but even so, she nodded and honestly replied, “En, we know each other. We have been working together to sell medicine recently. It has earned us quite a lot of Green Coins.”
“Selling medicine?” Upon hearing those words, the old man swept his gaze over the stone pots before immediately looking interested. Stretching out his hand, one of the stone pots flew into his hands even though no energy fluctuation could be felt in particular. Then, he carefully took a closer look at the contents of the stone pot.
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn at this sight, because despite the simple move the old man made, it revealed perfect control over his power.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that by joining hands with Tiea they would at least give the old man some trouble even if they could not win against him, but now that he saw this old man’s capabilities, Yang Kai realized he had been naïve.
This old man… Was unimaginably strong.
If the old man really wanted to harm him, Yang Kai knew that he would not be able to withstand a single blow from him, even if he joined hands with Tiea.
However, the old man was obviously only interested in the medicine refined by Yang Kai. First, the old man took a sniff, but he was not satisfied with just that and proceeded to scrape some of it onto his finger and taste it. Immediately, the old man raised his brow and turned to Yang Kai, “Did you make this medicine?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Yes!”
“What an outstanding healing medicine.” The old man praised, “But it can’t be used frequently. Otherwise, it will cause some damage to one’s foundation.”
He spotted the disadvantages of the healing medicine at a glance, but that wasn’t surprising since Yang Kai’s medicine was only made from ordinary herbs. It did not theoretically have too potent of a healing effect, but it could stimulate the Blood Qi of an Ancient Barbarian, thus hastening their self-healing speed. This was similar to the Bloodlust Spell. It was fine to be used once or twice, but if it was used too frequently, it would damage one’s foundation and sap one’s vitality.
However, this wasn’t too big of a drawback as it was just an emergency medicine, not something one would use frequently.
“I can’t believe Herbalists nowadays are so powerful.” The old man was truly interested in the healing medicine, and began to identify the ingredients used in it.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yang Kai pulled Tiea aside, and whispered, “Who the hell is this old man?”
Tiea asked with a smile on her face, “Didn’t Grandpa Qing tell you?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Tiea continued, “Since Grandpa Qing didn’t explain, then I can’t say much either.”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, “Give me back all the Green Coins you earned.”
Tiea was appalled and quickly jumped back in vigilance.
“No way. They’re mine,” She stared at him as she replied.
Yang Kai grinned, “Looks like you want people to know about your little secret.”
Tiea could not help gritting her teeth at his blackmail, and eyed Yang Kai contemptuously, “Shameless! Despicable! …Shameless!”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Can’t you be more creative?”
“Young man, why do you tease little Tiea when you already have a guess in your heart?” The old man put down the stone jar at the moment, and turned to him with a smile.
Yang Kai frowned slightly before he took a deep breath, still unable to hide the shock in his eyes as he slowly replied, “Although I have a guess, I’m still not certain.”
The old man smiled, “The truth is what your heart believes it is.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, stared at the old man in awe, and questioned in a deep voice, “Are you really… The Evergreen Divine Tree?”
With the evidence that the old man could appear mysteriously in his Tree Cave and that Tiea calling him ‘Grandpa Qing’, it would be strange if Yang Kai could not think of anything given his meticulous thinking. However, it was still hard for him to believe it.
The old man waved his hand, “Divine Tree was just an exaggerated title the Frost and Snow Clan gave to me. Many years ago, I was just an ordinary Evergreen Tree.”
[This ‘many years’ probably meant tens of thousands of years ago…]
Yang Kai was relieved by his admittance, but on second thought, it was reasonable because it was rumoured that not even a Shaman King or Shaman Saint could intrude into the Tree Caves of the Evergreen Divine Tree. Now that this old man suddenly appeared in his Tree Cave, who could he be other than the Evergreen Divine Tree?
Because of this, Yang Kai had nothing to worry about. Although he did not communicate much with people despite staying in the Frost and Snow Clan for a long time, he had heard a lot of legends about the Evergreen Divine Tree. It was a guardian of peace and blessing; therefore, it would hold no malice towards him.
“Senior Qing, please forgive this Junior for speaking recklessly. If I have offended Senior Qing, please be generous and forgive me,” Yang Kai cupped his fists solemnly.
Qing laughed, “Don’t worry. You have been taking care of little Tiea, how can I blame you?”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Senior and Tiea are…”
One of them was the Evergreen Divine Tree, while the other one was an Ancient Barbarian from the Nomad Clan. The two were supposed to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, Tiea seemed to be very close with Senior Qing, and even called him Grandpa.
“Someone abandoned a baby girl at my roots sixteen years ago!” Senior Qing explained briefly as he patted Tiea on the head.
Tiea did not seem to mind and she just smiled happily, enjoying the rare doting.
A realization then dawned on Yang Kai. It seemed that Tiea was raised by Senior Qing, so it made sense that she addressed him intimately. Perhaps, the Illusion Art Tiea used was a blessing granted by Senior Qing.
Previously, Yang Kai was curious about what kind of Shamanic Spell Tiea had used to change her petite figure into a burly body; after all, she simply placed a single green leaf on her forehead to perform this transformation. Now, it seemed that it was not a Shamanic Spell cast by Tiea but something Senior Qing did.
Below the canopy of the Evergreen Divine Tree, Senior Qing was in complete control, so by giving Tie a green leaf with mysterious powers, it was easy for him to conceal her appearance.
“Grandpa Qing, didn’t you wake up just last year? Why did you wake up again so soon?” Tiea asked curiously.
Hearing this, Senior Qing darted his eyes at Yang Kai, and revealed, “I sensed a familiar aura…”
Yang Kai did not believe him when he mentioned it before, but when he emphasized it for the second time, Yang Kai naturally did not doubt it anymore.
“A familiar aura?” Tiea turned to Yang Kai curiously.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he thought to himself, [Does he mean the aura of the Immortal Tree?]
If there was an aura that could be familiar to Senior Qing, it was undoubtedly the Immortal Tree. The Immortal Tree was a Supreme Treasure that although different from the Evergreen Divine Tree, was still ultimately a tree.
But what did not make sense was that the Immortal Tree was still in Sealed World Bead, and its aura should not have been exposed.
Although there was some doubt in his heart, Yang Kai did not try to explain much, because it was better not to reveal the secret of the Immortal Tree to too many people.
Senior Qing looked at Yang Kai intently for a moment before shaking his head, “It’s strange. This aura seems to be homologous with me, but it is notably different.” While speaking, he immersed himself in deep thought, as if he was pondering about something, his expression shifting constantly.
Yang Kai and Tiea exchanged looks, but dared not to disturb the old man, just waiting for him silently.
Half a day later, Senior Qing suddenly regained his senses and laughed again, “It seems I’m getting too old and almost fell asleep again.” Although he was an ancient and powerful being, Senior Qing actually spent most of his life sleeping, and the awakening this time was just a coincidence.
Tiea peeped coquettishly, “Grandpa Qing is not old.”
Senior Qing smiled lightly and continued, “Since I’m awake, little Tiea, help grandpa to scratch his body. I don’t feel so good again.”
“Good, good,” Tiea’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if she found coins on the ground, and turned to Yang Kai. “Shaman Niu, do you want to help too?”
Yang Kai was puzzled, wondering why someone would need help in scratching their body? But seeing that Senior Qing was a great elder, he did not feel right to refuse him and decided to follow the tradition of respecting the old. Walking forward, Yang Kai stood behind Senior Qing, reached out his hand, and started scratching his back.
Tiea was stunned for a while, but soon burst into laughter.
Even Senior Qing had a hard time holding his laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Yang Kai glared at Tiea angrily. He was willing to help them without complaining, but he was being laughed at in return. Furthermore, Tiea’s mocking face was looking truly irritating to him.
Tiea doubled over laughing even harder at his comment before taking some time to explain, “This is not the way to scratch Grandpa Qing’s body. Not like this…”
“Then, teach me!” Yang Kai took a step backwards and gestured to Tiea.
Tiea stopped laughing, but the wide smile was still etched on her face. She then looked at Senior Qing and said, “Let’s begin.”
Senior Qing nodded, stretched out his hand, and pointed forward. The narrow Tree Cave suddenly split, revealing a channel that led into a seemingly bottomless darkness.
Tiea beckoned Yang Kai, “Follow me!”
While speaking, she walked into the channel and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai did not doubt her, so he simply kept up.
The moment Yang Kai entered the channel, he began slipping downwards, as if a slide was paved beneath him, leading him to some unknown depths.
A moment later, when Yang Kai landed on the ground, Tiea who arrived earlier performed an Illumination Spell to cast away the darkness of the surrounding space, then pointed around, “The reason Grandpa Qing feels itchy is because of them. Our task is to clean them up!”
When those words fell, numerous pairs of red eyes suddenly lit up in the surroundings.
Yang Kai looked up and was taken aback at the scene, “So many Monster Beasts!”
Tiea replied, “They are the parasites in Grandpa Qing’s body, and they reproduce super fast. I clean them up about once a year. Now that you are here to help, just consider it a favour from me.”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “Since you said I’m here to help, how is it a favour from you?”
Tiea pursed her lips as she smiled, “I saw you buying a lot of Barbarian Beast Cores, which seem to be used for cultivation. There are so many Barbarian Beasts here, don’t you have any thoughts?”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened at her words. Apparently, it was true that a window opens when a door closes. He was worried about how to earn more Green Coins to purchase Monster Cores as no one was buying his healing medicines anymore, but he did not expect that an opportunity would simply appear before him.
The inside of Senior Qing’s body was just like a Sealed World. Inside this world, countless parasitic Monster Insects were surviving by absorbing Senior Qing’s power, and they grew extremely fast. It could almost be said that these Monster Insects with different sizes and appearances were all Monster Cores.
While the two were still chatting, the surrounding Monster Insects could not hold themselves back anymore. They swarmed out of their hiding place one after another, buzzing with a faint noise in an attempt to surround the invaders.
For a moment, Yang Kai and Tiea seemed to fall into the world of Monster Insects, surrounded by a huge crowd of them.
“I’ll make it clear now. Whoever kills it, gets it. Don’t rob mine later!” Tiea warned Yang Kai warily. When she raised her hand, three bursts of Qi were already propelled forward.
When she made this move, Yang Kai sensed a vigorous wave of power.
[So, she is a Shaman Grandmaster!] Yang Kai raised his brow. He never thought that Tiea, who was driven by him to sell medicines without complaint, was actually a Shaman Grandmaster. Although he could not identify her specific grade, her power was definitely beyond the ability of a Shaman Master.