The Innate Divine Ability, Black Eye Purgatory, was forcefully dispelled by Mo Duo, causing Yang Kai to suffer from a severe backlash. With his vitality roiling and his head feeling like it had been split in two, Yang Kai could only scream miserably.
Taking this opportunity, Mo Duo finally got rid of Yang Kai’s disturbance and flew upwards. In just a few breaths of time, he was already ten thousand metres above the ground and was just about to reach the crown of the tree.
But at this time, Yang Kai suddenly flickered strangely in front of him, holding the Demonic War Hammer and smashed at him furiously, Demon Qi erupting from all over his body.
Mo Duo hurriedly leapt to the trunk nearby to evade Yang Kai’s blow.
The two looked at each other across the short distance between them. Mo Duo was boiling in anger, while Yang Kai’s expression could not be seen due to the wrapping of Demon Qi, but his eyes were more energetic and clearer than before. Resting the Demonic War Hammer on his shoulder he seemed to grin menacingly and remarked coldly, “Thanks for shaking my consciousness awake, otherwise, I’m afraid I really wouldn’t have been able to escape from that chaotic state.”
Mo Duo’s face changed slightly and replied in a cold voice, “How do you plan to stop me now without the power of the Black Eye?”
He noticed that Yang Kai’s aura had greatly reduced after the Innate Divine Ability of the Black Eye was dispelled, so although he recovered his rational mind, he was now no longer a match for him.
Yang Kai smiled lightly, and pointed his finger to the sky, “I can’t stop you, but… I just need to delay you for a moment.”
Hearing this, Mo Duo’s face darkened as Yang Kai was speaking the truth. Even if he was no longer Mo Duo’s opponent, that didn’t mean he couldn’t give him some trouble and delay his pace. As long as Yang Kai could buy just a bit more time, the Evergreen Divine Tree would have the opportunity to seal the Two Worlds Passage.
The tree crown had now reached right below the top of the passage, almost completely covering it with its broad trunk and canopy. As long as it continued growing, it would soon accomplish its mission.
“You can try!” Mo Duo roared as he kicked off the branch he was standing on and shot upwards like a cannon, sending out a punch as he soared into the sky.
Strangely, Yang Kai appeared in front of this fist, as if he had thrown himself at it.
Yang Kai was shocked as he had not anticipated this move. The punch sent him flying, but nevertheless, his reaction was incredibly fast. Immediately, he teleported the moment he was about to be hit and his figure reappeared in a blink above Mo Duo.
He swung the Demon Qi empowered Demonic War Hammer at Mo Duo’s head with Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power.
“Damn you!” Mo Duo bellowed as he raised his hand to block the blow.
With a loud bang, Mo Duo’s gigantic body fell back several tens of metres, but he quickly stabilized himself again. He was so infuriated that his two house-sized eyes almost ignited in rage.
After the Black Eye Purgatory was dispelled, Yang Kai’s strength had dropped significantly, which was obvious from the power of his hammering. Before, when Yang Kai struck with his hammer, it would be enough to send Mo Duo tumbling, but now, such a blow could only force him back a couple dozen metres.
Even so, Yang Kai was still the biggest obstacle in front of him. If Mo Duo did not destroy this obstruction, he wouldn’t be able to move on, but how could he have time to fight with this foreigner now?
He had underestimated Yang Kai. In fact, all the Demon Saints underestimated Yang Kai. If they had known that this foreigner wielded such strange power, they would have sent two Demon Saints to deal with him.
Mo Duo blew a long whistle to ask for helpers.
But he received no response.
The other four Demon Saints were fighting with the four Shaman Saints of the Barbarian Race at the moment. Both sides had an even number, so no one could get away easily. Mo Duo was on his own.
*Kacha…*
A strange noise suddenly sounded, causing Mo Duo’s eyelids to jump and his head to quickly turn up. At that moment, he saw the giant crown of the strange tree fill the last crack of the Two Worlds Passage, and though it seemed to twist and deform under the pressure, it still managed to complete the seal.
It was too late. It was all too late. Mo Duo was devastated.
Yang Kai burst into laughter despite his ravaged and dishevelled state. Listening to this mocking laughter, Mo Duo felt extremely offended and embarrassed, and the suppressed anger in his chest erupted completely like a volcano.
Yang Kai’s laughter abruptly stopped, as if someone had grabbed his throat all of a sudden.
Mo Duo also turned solemn as he obviously felt something as well.
Both of them looked up at the same time, their gazes penetrating through space as they stared straight into the depths of the Two Worlds Passage.
From the depths of the corridor, a black cloud suddenly appeared strangely above the tree crown. The black cloud pressed down slowly, and even though it did not move with great speed, it possessed a powerful oppressive force, as if nothing in the world could stop its advance. In the process of falling, the black cloud gradually twisted and transformed into a huge hand that seemed to cover the sky.
“Sir Demon God!” Mo Duo exclaimed.
“Great Demon God!” Yang Kai bellowed hoarsely.
In the Demon Realm, the strongest Master was Great Demon God, who was an existence more powerful than even Demon Saints. It was he who tore open the World Barrier of the two Great Worlds, opened the passage between the Demon Realm and this one, and brought destruction and disaster to it.
Given that the Demon Saints were already so strong, just how powerful could the Great Demon God who was superior to them be? Yang Kai thought about this question before, but he could not find an answer, just like when he was still an Origin Returning Realm cultivator and could not imagine the terror of a Dao Source Realm Master. Before one reached a certain Realm, they would still be lacking comprehension no matter how rich their imagination was.
The Great Demon God stood at a height too high for Yang Kai to even speculate about.
But at this moment, he could easily feel the terror of the Great Demon God. A simple palm transformed from the black cloud already seemed to be able to destroy a world. It was the power that even the Demon Saints would fear.
As the huge hand pressed down, cracking sounds came up from the crown of the Evergreen Divine Tree. The giant tree could not continue to grow, and instead was being pressed down.
Mo Duo did not look at this scene with joy in his eyes though; instead, he was full of fear. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as his nearly three-hundred-metre-tall body shivered.
As a Demon Saint who was sent to this world by Great Demon God, he had failed his mission to stop the foreign race’s plan of sealing the Two Worlds Passage, forcing the Great Demon God to step in personally. Even if the Demon Race achieved a great victory after this battle, he and the other four Demon Saints would definitely not be able to avoid punishment.
The punishment of Great Demon God was not something that anyone could bear, even if one was a Demon Saint.
*Xiu…*
A strange noise sounded, and Mo Duo turned to look, his face changing drastically as he roared, “How dare you!?”
When he was truly shocked and incensed as Shaman Niu actually flew up with a solemn face and charged towards the Two Worlds Passage. Looking at his movements, it seemed that he wanted to use his own strength to block whatever method Great Demon God was using to interfere.
This frightened Mo Duo.
He was not afraid that Shaman Niu had the ability to do so. Since the Great Demon God had made his move, no matter how powerful Shaman Niu was, it would amount to nothing before the Great Demon God. However, he could not allow Shaman Niu to disturb the Great Demon God, not in the slightest.
Mo Duo chased after him and wanted to stop him in advance. Nevertheless, his body was too massive and his movements were not as flexible as Shaman Niu’s, so he could only watch as Shaman Niu rushed into the Two Worlds Passage and disappeared.
Mo Duo grew increasingly anxious as he flew up, his Demon Qi surging madly as he quickly reached the tree crown that was previously unreachable to him in less than ten breaths time.
Without any intention of remaining though, Mo Duo also rushed directly into the Two Worlds Passage to kill Yang Kai.
The inside of the Two Worlds Passage was nothing but emptiness and chaos. There were no identifying markers one could use to gain a sense of direction, and even a Demon Saint would shiver with unease in this endless void. No matter how powerful a Master was, he may be trapped forever if he lost his way here.
Feeling unimaginable pressure pressing down from above his head, Mo Duo looked up and saw Great Demon God’s giant palm pressing towards him, but Shaman Niu was nowhere to be seen.
This palm was Great Demon God’s sudden cross-world attack, yet it still felt unmatchable.
Mo Duo did not dare to release his Divine Sense to search for Yang Kai, because the surrounding Void Turbulence would devour it before it provided any useful information.
As he was looking for Yang Kai though, Yang Kai appeared strangely beside him and charged at him like a meteor. Facing the unexpected attack, Mo Duo could not stand firm and was directly pushed back.
Yang Kai struck Mo Duo’s chest head-on while pushing his Space Principles wildly, using the very Void Turbulence to drive himself and Mo Duo towards the giant palm.
Mo Duo’s face went completely pale as he struggled hard, but in this place where Space Principle dominated all others, he soon found that he could not free himself from Yang Kai’s control and was getting closer and closer to the palm print of Great Demon God.
“What are you doing!?” Mo Duo was equal parts enraged and terrified as a frightening thought surfaced in his mind.
“I need your help!” Yang Kai grinned madly at him, but Mo Duo obviously did not see this expression.
His words turned Mo Duo’s face green as his gigantic body started to tremble. He fought even more vigorously and nearly broke away from Yang Kai’s grasp several times, but all to no avail.
Yang Kai hurriedly waved his hands and drew rivers of Void Turbulence over to bind Mo Duo.
Having been caught, Mo Duo ceased his futile efforts.
“Do you know what you’re doing!?” Mo Duo knew he could not break free by force, so he could only try to persuade Yang Kai to change his mind, “You’ll die too!”
Without saying a word, Yang Kai pushed Mo Duo with all his strength to meet the giant palm.
“Madman, you are a madman!” Mo Duo yelled, “I won’t be used by you! It is my honour to die at the hands of the Great Demon God, there’s no meaning in what you’re trying to accomplish!”
“You have Ancient Demon Qi flowing through you and the Ancient Demon’s Solitary Black Eye. Although you were born a Barbarian, you are also Half-Demon. Furthermore, you have proven your strength! Give up now and Great Demon God will forgive you! Anything you want from the Demon Race will be yours.”
“Why are you still not stopping? It will be too late if you don’t stop now!”
Mo Duo kept screaming, his face becoming more and more panicked, but Yang Kai flat out ignored every word he said.
Finally, the two of them reached right in front of Great Demon God’s giant palm and Mo Duo shut his mouth because he knew it was too late to say anything now. Even if Yang Kai released him, he would still not be able to escape from the Great Demon God’s attack.
The huge palm pressed down from above his head, together with a destructive aura, causing Mo Duo to let out a sigh, close his eyes, and bare his neck for execution.
At that moment, Yang Kai’s roar exploded in his ears, “You’re not making a move? Do you really want to die?”
This roar was like the Devil’s whisper, causing Mo Duo’s eyes to shoot open, and driven by primal instincts to survive, he pushed his Demon Saint strength wildly and swung his fists upward.
He suddenly found that the strength that had been restraining him had disappeared, and the Void Turbulence that had been binding him had also vanished, allowing him to use his full strength.
But Mo Duo regretted it the moment he threw his attack.
He asked himself, [What am I doing? As a Demon Saint, why am I resisting Sir Great Demon God?]
All his actions were made instinctually, done without any thought, driven by a simple desire to live. At the verge of death, one could not afford to think too much.
In any case, this was the full powered blow of a Demon Saint.
At the same time, Yang Kai, who was not far away, turned solemn and raised the Demonic War Hammer in his hand, pouring his own Demon Qi into it before swinging it heavily at the giant palm.
Space Principles engulfed the Demonic War Hammer, causing the Void to crack and distort wherever it passed. Not only that, Yang Kai also pushed his Time Principles into this attack. At this critical juncture of life or death, Yang Kai delivered a violent blow that surpassed his own limit.
This blow was the strongest he had ever unleashed, one that even he found difficult to comprehend.
Of these two great attacks, one was intentional while the other was unintentional. Yang Kai and Mo Duo’s coordination was perfect and delivered an amazing counterattack.
The giant palm halted slightly before a huge hole was pierced through it, causing a seemingly endless Demonic Qi to erupt out in all directions.
However, in the next instant, the giant palm recovered from their interference and slammed down towards where Yang Kai and Mo Duo were, destroying the two insignificant ants before continuing to press downwards.
Mo Duo’s muffled grunt disappeared instantly, and the three-hundred-metre-tall body fell apart, turning into pieces of shredded meat, scattered in the endless Void. Yang Kai too felt as though he was torn apart, his body dissipating completely, and only his Soul falling into an endless abyss.
[Am I dead?] Yang Kai did not know what death was like, but if Demon Saint Mo Duo could not survive this, it was naturally impossible for him to be alive.
[I think I’m really dead.]
In a daze, he suddenly felt as if he had forgotten many important things, only to suddenly remember something vaguely.
All the while he was self-reflecting, he continued to fall. His entire body was somehow loosened and relaxed as he plummeted endlessly. There was nothing that required his attention, nothing that could worry him. Maybe it was not such a bad thing to keep falling like this.
Then, there was a change, and the feeling of falling suddenly disappeared, followed by a change in his vision. When Yang Kai recovered his senses, he was already standing in a Void blanketed with twinkling stars. He turned his head to observe his surroundings; nothing but deathly silence remained. Even Yang Kai found he was without a physical presence or form.
Suddenly, the clamour of war and wild fluctuations of energy reached him from below.
He looked down, and his eyes widened.
He saw a huge, unmatched tree that connected Heaven and Earth standing tall in the middle of a battlefield full of blood and corpses. The magnificent tree crown had penetrated into the crack in the sky and was still growing continuously.
He saw some strong Humans evading the attacks of Demons under the big tree.
He also saw millions of Humans and Demons risking their lives in the vast surrounding wilderness.
In the sky on the other side, eight exceptionally powerful Masters were fighting. The Saints of the two races seemed to be competing on equal footing.
Yang Kai had the chills as he remembered something he had forgotten just now, and then remembered something even more distant from him.
[I am Shaman Niu, and I am the Shaman King of the South Barbarian Clan. I commanded a strong army called the Shaman Niu Clan.]
[I’m also Yang Kai, the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory of the Star Boundary.]
He did not know when he had completely forgotten all of this, especially his latter identity.
When he first came to this world, he would still remember it from time to time, remember that he was but a visitor in this world and had entered this Sealed World as a simple training experience. However, along with the outbreak of the war between the two Races, his identity became increasingly vague and had gradually adapted to the identity of Shaman Niu, ultimately completely forgetting his real name, Yang Kai.
He dragged a Demon Saint and launched a suicidal attack against Great Demon God. Was he trying to emulate the sacrifice of the Evergreen Divine Tree?
If he had remembered that he was Yang Kai, he would never have been so reckless and impulsive; after all, this was just a Sealed World, with everything he experienced possibly being one giant illusion.
But if he was looking at the situation as Ancient Barbarian Shaman Niu, doing such a thing would seem normal.
Shaman Niu would definitely make such a choice. Any Ancient Barbarian would make such a choice without hesitation. Even if he died, as long as there was even the slightest chance of success, his death would have value.
There was only one thing he could not understand, what the Hell was this place? Was everything just an illusion, or was he really dead?
“Isn’t it bizarre?” A voice suddenly came from behind.
Yang Kai jumped, not having expected anyone else to be here at all, but he did not turn around immediately, because he knew who the voice belonged to.
Standing in the void, he pointed down and asked, “Is all this real or just illusionary?”
“It’s real, and it’s also illusionary!” A petite figure walked over to him slowly and stopped next to him, her beautiful eyes looking down, watching the scene with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai turned to look at her in curiosity, “Please explain!”
“There is falseness in the truth, and there is truth in the false.” The woman winked at him a little playfully. This was an expression she had never shown before, and Yang Kai was taken aback.
Yang Kai continued to look at her without saying a word.
The woman continued, “This war is real. There really was such a battle between the two races in the Ancient Times. It’s not much different from what you are seeing before your eyes, only on a larger scale.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Then what about Shaman Niu?”
“It’s exactly because there were countless Shaman Nius in that war that this land could be preserved and the Demons were forced to retreat!”
Yang Kai exclaimed, “So what I saw and experienced as Shaman Niu is just a kind of summary?”
“Exactly!”
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand. Everything I experienced was just an illusion, but this illusion is not an empty fantasy, but instead based on the reality of the ancient past.”
This illusion had lasted quite a while, a full two years in fact.
But Yang Kai believed that it was impossible for such a war to have ended in just two years. It could have been twenty years, or maybe even two hundred years, but all of that had been condensed into a ‘short’ two year summary for him.
“Yes, and congratulations on your contributions in this war.” The woman pursed her lips and smiled.
Yang Kai sneered, “I died, there is nothing to congratulate me on.”
“Only in this world. You are still alive.” The woman chuckled slightly.
Yang Kai shook his head and continued, “I want to see the final result of this war.”
The woman nodded gently, stretching out her hand to touch the void. In the next moment, Yang Kai seemed to have turned into a Deity and everything below simply played out before him as he wished.
First, it was the Two Worlds Passage that connected the two Great Worlds. After Great Demon God destroyed Demon Saint Mo Duo and Shaman Niu, his palm continued to press downward.
However, the sacrifice of Mo Duo and Shaman Niu was not without effect. A hole was punctured into the huge palm, and a large amount of Demon Qi gushed out and was absorbed by the surrounding Void, greatly reducing the power of the huge palm. And as the giant palm continued pressing down, its power became weaker and weaker.
In the end, when the giant palm collided with the tree crown, it still shook the world.
The huge tree crown cracked, and countless broken branches and fallen leaves scattered in the wind as its mighty trunk splintered and split, as if it might collapse at any time.
But the Evergreen Divine Tree only swayed for a moment before it stabilized again. Emerald green light bloomed from every leaf and branch of the Evergreen Divine Tree, releasing an amazing aura of vitality.
The crown of the tree that had already touched the top of the Two Worlds Passage soared as if it was going through a growth spurt and immediately blocked all cracks in the sky.
Immediately afterwards, countless emerald green lights flew towards the sky like fireflies, rushing into the sealed boundary and disappearing.
The Two Worlds Passage was soon flooded with the same emerald green light.
The life essence that the Evergreen Divine Tree had accumulated for tens of thousands of years shrunk rapidly, its life aura all being transformed into emerald green light, which was used to seal the Two Worlds Passage.
When the Two Worlds Passage was completely flooded by countless emerald green lights, the tall sacred tree suddenly shook and its branches fell off, leaving only a bare trunk.
The Two Worlds Passage gradually shrank under the influence of the inexplicable force, and finally closed and disappeared.
The entire process took quite a long time, but after the green light faded, the Evergreen Divine Tree seemed to have lost all its vitality. The trunk of the tree that connected Heaven and Earth had turned into dust and scattered into the wind.
The Evergreen Divine Tree, Senior Qing, had sacrificed his life for the World, sealing the Two Worlds Passage.
All the Barbarians cheered in ecstatic surprise at this scene, while the Demons, who were still fighting, looked grief-stricken as if their parents had just died.
Losing the connection to the Demon Realm was a huge blow to the strength and morale of all the Demons, whether it was the miscellaneous warriors or the Demon Kings. It seemed that they could no longer perform at their best.
The Barbarians fought back and killed countless enemies.
And the stalemate of the battle of the Saints was finally broken.
The four Demon Saints gradually lost their footing and fled in embarrassment as the Shaman Saints chased after them. Half a day later, two Demon Saints were beheaded and killed on the spot. The other two Demon Saints knew that the situation was beyond salvation and split up to escape.
The Shaman Saints chased each of them separately.
The Demon Saints either fled or died while the Demons under their command were even more helpless. The war was over, and all that was left was to clean up the battlefield.
Yang Kai retracted his gaze and let out a soft breath.
He had seen the result of this Two Races Great War, and as expected, the Ancient Barbarian Race won after paying a huge price, and the invaders were exterminated. As for the two escaped Demon Saints, even if they were exceptionally powerful, there was no place for them to hide in this world.
Taken as a whole, this training experience was very successful. Yang Kai had gained a lot, especially his understanding of Shamanic Spells from Ancient Times, which was incomparable to anything recorded in the ancient books.
The only flaw was that Shaman Niu died, but in that situation, Yang Kai, as Shaman Niu, could not think of a better way to resolve the Great Demon God’s last attack.
Now, there was only one last question left…
Yang Kai turned to the petite woman beside him and asked seriously, “Who are you? What should I call you, or should I just call you like before… Tiea!”
Tiea smiled, as if she was aware of the dissatisfaction in Yang Kai’s heart, and responded gently, “I am a witness and recorder of history. What you have experienced is only a drop of water in the ocean that I have recorded.”
“Did you create this dreamworld?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
Tiea shook her head, “I’m only responsible for witnessing and recording. What kind of dreamworld one encounters here entirely depends on his own choice.”
Yang Kai frowned, “I don’t remember choosing anything.”
After he entered here, he woke up as Ah Niu in Blue South Village. Since when did he ever have a choice?
Tiea smiled lightly, “Something in you made the best choice for you.”
Yang Kai thought for a while, before positing, “The Ancient Demon Qi?”
Only the Ancient Demon Qi had something to do with the dream world of the Two Races Great War.
As soon as he spoke, he was suddenly shocked as he recalled breaking the gold and silver seal in his Dantian. He had used his Demon Transformation, but now did not feel much discomfort. He wanted to check his state, but he did not even have a body now, only a form similar to a Soul Avatar that allowed him to communicate with Tiea, so he could not check his situation at all.
Tiea seemed to be aware of his thoughts and reassured him, “Don’t worry. What you’re experiencing now is just a moment in time. You can deal with your difficulties after you go out.”
Yang Kai nodded and pondered for a moment before he continued, “You said that you are a witness and recorder of history. I assume that you are the dreamworld itself?”
Tiea’s eyes flashed as she looked at him appreciatively, “You’re quite sharp. Yes, I am the manifestation of the dream world itself.”
Yang Kai pressed on, “Everyone who comes here will experience a different dream world, right? What I have experienced is the invasion of the Demon Race, the Two Races Great War. If other people come, they may experience something else, yes.”
“Correct,” Tiea smiled gently, thinking it was easy to talk with smart people. “This time you experienced the Two Races Great War. Perhaps the next time you enter, you will experience something completely different. Everything has a cause and effect.”
“Does this Sealed World have a name?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Thousand Illusion Dreamworld!” Tiea answered, her petite body suddenly transforming into a flash of light.
Yang Kai was slightly shocked but soon calmed down as he saw a massive butterfly gently floating in front of him.
The place where Tiea originally stood was now occupied by a colourful butterfly as big as a house. The bright patterns on Tiea’s butterfly body exuded a sense of extreme beauty as she gently flapped her wings, creating a fluttering of fluorescence, looking exceptionally mesmerizing.
Tiea’s voice echoed from the butterfly, “I am the Thousand Illusions Butterfly, the ruler of this Sealed World!”
“So you are the key to open this Sealed World!” A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai.
Princess Lan Xun told Yang Kai once before that many of the Sealed Worlds in the fifty layers of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda could only be opened with a specific key. For example, the Grand Illusion Realm she once mentioned could only be unlocked with the Golden Armour Heavenly Book. Since Star Soul Palace’s Tan Jun Hao was killed by Yang Kai in Flowing Shadow City and the Golden Armour Heavenly Book fell into the latter’s hands, a number of disciples of Star Soul Palace who were training in the Grand Illusion Realm had become trapped and were unable to leave.
In order to reclaim the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, Star Soul Palace had to agree to Yang Kai’s request to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda for a one-month training.
The key to the Grand Illusion Realm was the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, and the key to the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld that Yang Kai experienced was Tiea, which was also the Thousand Illusions Butterfly that she had transformed into!
Tiea giggled, “Key? I’m not just the key. As I told you just now, I’m the dream world itself.”
Yang Kai did not know the difference, but instinctively felt that the so-called Thousand Illusion Butterfly seemed to be higher grade than the Grand Illusion Realm mentioned by Lan Xun and nodded, “I’ve roughly understood, but since you are in control of this Sealed World, why did you appear next to me as Tiea? Were you watching me?”
Tiea replied, “I can easily know everything in the Sealed World without actively monitoring anything. As for why… You can think of it as a whim. I’ve been sleeping for a very long time and only awoke after you arrived.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow and continued excitedly, “So what’s special about me to you? Can I take you away with me?” After a pause, he rephrased, “Would you like to come with me?”
If he could take Tiea with him, he could control this Sealed World. Moreover, it was a Sealed World that was changeable and suitable for all Realms of cultivators to enter and train. As Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai had to consider many things for the future.
Every great Sect had its own heritage and foundation, such as the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda of Star Soul Palace, the Divine Ascension Mirror of Azure Sun Temple, the Outer Astral Wind of Orthodoxy Temple, and the Martial Intent Temple of Heavenly Martial Holy Land. Each of these played its own irreplaceable role and contributed unimaginable benefits to the development of its respective Sect.
The strength of a Sect was not just based on the few Masters who oversaw it, but also the future development and the growth of its disciples.
High Heaven Palace was not short of Masters now, with several Monster Kings as High-Rank Guest Elders under Yang Kai’s command, an Emperor Array Master, an Emperor Alchemist, an Emperor Artifact Refiner. There were also the Cross-Territory Space Arrays that connected the North and South Territories, so cultivation resources would not be a problem in the near future. Yang Kai was also still thinking about Tian Yan. If he could help Tian Yan obtain a physical body, allowing him to leave the Divine Ascension Mirror, there would be a Master as strong as a Great Emperor protecting High Heaven Palace. Even if it was not a real Great Emperor Sect, by that point it would not be much worse than one.
What High Heaven Palace lacked now was assets that could assist the growth of the disciples of future generations.
The Thousand Illusions Dreamworld was undoubtedly an excellent choice in this regard.
Therefore, Yang Kai wanted to take it away. The Thousand Illusions Dreamworld was one of the many Sealed Worlds on the fifty layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, while Tiea was the Sealed World itself and the key too. As long as he could take Tiea away with him, High Heaven Palace would have its own Sealed World in the future.
As for whether he would be found out or stopped by Star Soul Palace, Yang Kai did not think that he had to be worried about it.
There were so many Sealed Worlds in the fifty layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, some of which could not even be opened or found by the people of Star Soul Palace. Therefore, Star Soul Palace definitely would not notice even if he had ‘borrowed’ one from it.
In any case, would it matter if they really noticed? This was something Yang Kai gained from his experience here, so Star Soul Palace could not bully and force him to leave it here. That would soil the reputation of Star Soul Palace.
With this in mind, Yang Kai asked this question while at the same time he started thinking of ways he could persuade Tiea if she refused him, though he was not sure what he was supposed to offer to entice her.
“Sure!” Tiea answered softly.
“Wha… What?” Yang Kai was flabbergasted. He did not expect Tiea would agree so easily. The words of persuasion that he prepared in his mind immediately rotted in his stomach.
“I said sure,” Tiea repeated.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, because he could not react to Tiea’s sudden agreement.
On the contrary, Tiea noticed his concerns and continued with a smile, “I sense that history will be transformed around you, so I need to record that. Therefore, it’s inconvenient for me to stay in this place.”
Yang Kai grinned, “I don’t know what the future looks like, but I think my future should be very interesting. You may be able to record a lot of things.”
“I hope so.”
Yang Kai reached out his hand to Tiea, who gently flapped her colourful wings as her beautiful body suddenly turned into a stream of light and landed on his palm.
Yang Kai held her gently and as he looked down, saw a small and dainty butterfly hairpin in his hand, one that looked exactly like the Thousand Illusions Butterfly that Tiea transformed into, only many times smaller.
Tiea disappeared, turning into a key in the shape of a butterfly in Yang Kai’s hand.
Everything around him suddenly distorted and became blindingly bright. Then, Yang Kai felt an irresistible force pulling him in an unknown direction, as if trying to draw him out.
He could not resist this force, so he could only be vigilant about it.
With a rumbling sound, Yang Kai felt that his Soul seemed to be travelling across an endless space-time tunnel and suddenly came to a familiar residence.
He opened his eyes, and the first thing he did was to check if his Soul had returned to his flesh.
But his physical condition was truly looking quite bad.
He was currently wrapped in a rich Demon Qi that gave off an extremely malevolent aura. This wicked aura impacted his Soul and psyche and threatened to demonize him at any moment.
Although he used his Demon Transformation in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, his body in real life responded in the same way too. In other words, although the training in that Thousand Illusions Dreamworld was only an elaborate illusion of sorts, there was still an inextricable link between what happened there and his real body. For example, in this situation, Yang Kai’s actual physique had used his Demon Transformation when he did so in the dream world.
There was no time to worry about the details though as Yang Kai hurriedly pushed the power of the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea to shield his Soul and consciousness before he immersed himself in the Small Sealed World, drawing out the sealing power of the Firmament Tree in the medicine garden and pouring it into his body.
The two gold and silver lights rapidly gushed out and flowed through the meridians of his whole body.
Under the miraculous gold and silver sealing power, the Demon Qi surging in every part of his body seemed to have encountered its nemesis and rushed back into his Dantian, as if it were a panicked rabbit avoiding the pursuit of a falcon.
After spending a little time, Yang Kai finally managed to seal the Demon Qi again and restore his normal condition.
This action used up all the sealing power that the Firmament Tree had accumulated with difficulty. The gold and silver colours could no longer be seen on the Firmament Tree, which was planted in the medicine garden of the Sealed World Bead; instead, it looked a little wilted and Yang Kai figured he must have drawn too much power from it.
With a small sigh, Yang Kai stretched his hand and took out a jade bottle in which there was a drop of viscous liquid.
It was the Supreme Divine Water! Yang Kai had managed to trade with an Emperor Realm Master who went to the Azure Sun Temple to participate in his Grand Canonization Ceremony not too long ago for this treasure, but he did not expect it to come in handy so soon.
The Supreme Divine Water could promote the growth of Spirit Herbs, greatly shortening their maturation period; however, such a treasure was rare and valuable, and only a few people could get their hands on it by luck. The sealing power of the Firmament Tree was exhausted, and Yang Kai had to plan early and use the Supreme Divine Water to replenish its reserves.
Otherwise, if he was forced to use his Demon Transformation again, he would not have any sealing power to relieve himself from the crisis.
After using his Demon Transformations several times, Yang Kai found that the more he unsealed the Ancient Demon Qi, the more sealing power was needed to re-seal it.
According to his estimation, he would only be able to transform another two or three times at most before he would no longer be able to seal the Ancient Demon Qi. After that, he would be reduced to a mindless Demon forever if he were to use his Demon Transformation.
Perhaps… The Dragon Transformation Secret Technique could be used as a way to counter this issue. When he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique during his Demon Transformation his mind was much clearer than the previous two transformations. It was apparent that the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique had some ability to restrain the side-effects of his Demon Transformation. At the very least, he was able to maintain his consciousness without losing himself.
Should he finally agree to Zhu Qing’s request and visit Dragon Island with her? There were a large number of Dragon Blood Flowers on Dragon Island that could be harvested and refined into Dragon Blood Pills, which could help him perfect his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.
However, Zhu Qing went to the Frozen Earth in the far north, and there had been no news from her so far, so Yang Kai didn’t even know if she was dead or alive.
He shook off these thoughts and checked his condition again.
There were no big issues with his physical body, it was only slightly weakened after the Demon Qi crisis. He only needed a few days of cultivation to recuperate.
On the contrary, Yang Kai was rather shocked at the trauma on his Soul.
Although everything he experienced was just an illusion, his Soul had taken part in everything in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld; and in that lifelike environment, Yang Kai had completely forgotten his original identity and came to think of himself as Shaman Niu.
All of the damage suffered by Shaman Niu had directly and intuitively affected his Soul.
The terrifying battle with Mo Duo had caused him serious injuries, but the horrifying attack by Great Demon God from across Worlds at the last moment was even more unimaginable. Yang Kai highly doubted that he would have survived if his Soul was not being protected by the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus.
This Supreme Treasure was the one that kept his Soul intact and allowed him to return to reality. If anyone else encountered something like that, they would definitely not be able to return alive.
All illusions could confuse truth with falsehood, not to mention a top-grade Sealed World like the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld.
Yang Kai felt an instinctual sense of fear, and at the same time, unspeakable exhaustion swept over him, making him want to pass out and fall asleep immediately.
However, he still remembered that he was in the territory of another, and he had entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda more than two years ago, completely breaking the agreement he had with Star Soul Palace, so he did not know what kind of inquiries he would be facing after going out.
He opened his hand and found that the butterfly-shaped key was still resting on it, its cold touch assuring Yang Kai that everything he had experienced before was not just a dream, but was something that really happened.
Tiea had transformed into a butterfly, which then transformed into a key before him.
He called out softly, but there was no response.
The once vivid butterfly was now like a cold dead object, without even the slightest spirituality. Yang Kai could not even detect the slightest trace of anything out of the ordinary from it. The butterfly key at this moment looked like something that could be seen at a roadside stall. Except for its novelty in design, there was nothing unusual about it.
However, this was actually an entire Sealed World! With it, the future development of High Heaven Palace would be even better.
Yang Kai closed his hand around it before carefully placing it into the Sealed World Bead.
Slowly, Yang Kai got up and looked around, soon realizing that he was in a hall that looked somewhat familiar. There was nothing but a glimmering door not far away. Even after pondering carefully, Yang Kai just could not remember when the last time he had been to this place was or even where this was.
However, the radiating door should be the exit.
He took a deep breath, then took a step forward.
His vision blurred as he passed through the door, and arrived at another place.
The extremely fierce power fluctuations surrounding Yang Kai startled him, and he instinctually thought someone was attacking him, but in the next moment, a familiar voice sounded in his ears, “Senior Brother Yang, you came out?”
Yang Kai squinted slightly, his eyes following the voice and soon landing on a beautiful, elegant, and somewhat pale face.
He could not help being in a daze, as if he was still trapped in the identity of Shaman Niu. Two years was neither long nor short, but in that ancient world, Yang Kai experienced an entire cycle of growth from weak to strong, life and death. It was a splendid life, and it diluted his memory of other things. At this moment, he still could not completely distinguish the boundary between reality and fantasy.
“Princess… Lan Xun?” Yang Kai finally saw the person’s face clearly and blurted the name as soon as it popped into his mind. This name gradually overlapped with the figure in front of him, finally allowing him to confirm the identity of the person.
The smile on Lan Xun’s face slowly receded, obviously sensing Yang Kai’s abnormality and asked worriedly, “Senior Brother Yang, are you injured?”
At the same time, Lan Xun noticed Yang Kai’s estrangement. This estrangement was not intentional, but was revealed unintentionally. It was as though she and Yang Kai were meeting for the first time, like they were strangers unfamiliar with one another.
Lan Xun felt this was incredibly odd as, although she and Yang Kai had not been particularly close to each other, they had at least met several times. She was even the one who came to deal with the issue regarding the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, so logically speaking, Yang Kai’s attitude towards her should not be like this.
A majestic gaze surrounded Yang Kai, examining him, but they did not find anything special, except that he seemed quite frail, like he was severely injured and exhausted.
This was inevitable though, as the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was part of the foundation of Star Soul Palace. Although disciples could gain many benefits from exploring it, doing so came with a certain degree of danger. Each time it was opened, several disciples would fall inside.
Yang Kai’s injuries and frailty could not be more normal.
“It’s just a small injury, nothing to worry about,” Yang Kai mustered a laugh as his memories were slowly recovering, gradually removing the influence of Shaman Niu’s existence on him. He then addressed Lan Xun, “Was Junior Sister Lan waiting for me here all this time?”
Smiling at him calling her Junior Sister again, Lan Xun replied, “I only just came out. I didn’t mean to wait for you.”
Yang Kai was startled, “Junior Sister Lan has only just come out?”
He could not help feeling a little lost. What happened to Lan Xun while he was held in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld for more than two years? What happened to Lan Xun that she had only just come out? Suddenly, Yang Kai seemed to have realized something and swept his surroundings before asking, “Where are Brother Lei and Brother Xiao?”
He recalled that many entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda for training, and originally it was not the opening date of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda yet, but the schedule was moved up because of the agreement with Yang Kai. This also benefited many Star Soul Palace disciples, allowing them to enter ahead of time to gain experience.
At this moment, many of them had come out and were gathered in small groups to share their experiences. The joyful expressions on the faces of some were an obvious sign that they had gained much, while the dejected expressions on others probably meant that they were less than pleased with their outcome. They had gone through so much for nothing and had wasted an opportunity. Seeing Yang Kai chatting with Lan Xun though, many Star Soul Palace disciples glared at him, seemingly resisting the urge to run up and beat him up.
Yang Kai, however, did not see Lei Ting and Xiao Chen.
Lan Xun answered, “They are still inside. They should be coming out soon. The pagoda is about to close, so they won’t have a choice either way.”
Slightly startled, Yang Kai asked curiously, “How long has it been since we entered the pagoda?”
Lan Xun looked at him with puzzlement, not knowing why he asked such a question, but still replied, “Including today, exactly one month.”
One month…
Yang Kai could not believe his ears.
He obviously spent more than two years in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, but it was actually only five days… in reality.
He remembered when he entered the Sealed World on the fifth layer of the pagoda, there were only five days left before the closing date of the pagoda, whereas a month referred to the time from the opening to the closing of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
He subconsciously squeezed his hand, but there was already nothing there.
It seemed the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld had the magical effect of distorting time. A whole two years of experience had been compressed into just five days. This was incredible, not something achievable by ordinary means even in an illusion.
Yang Kai already had a high evaluation of the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, but now it seemed that he was still underestimating this Sealed World. The Time Principles involved with it alone had given invaluable worth to the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld.
Yang Kai’s silence worried Lan Xun and she couldn’t help asking, “Senior Brother Yang, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, just a little tired,” Yang Kai forced a slight smile, but his words were a great oversimplification. He was thoroughly exhausted, and the trauma on his Soul and the exhaustion on his body could not be restored in short order.
He suspected that this exhaustion was caused by living two years worth of experiences in just five days.
To prevent Lan Xun from suspecting anything though, Yang Kai quickly changed the subject, “What are Elder Xiao and the others doing?”
As soon as he walked out of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Yang Kai discovered that several Third-Order Emperor Realm Elders of Star Soul Palace had all joined forces to channel some kind of Secret Technique, the target of which was the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. Based on the expressions of Xiao Yu Yang and the others, it seemed like they had been maintaining this state for quite some time, and despite their great strength, they seemed to be barely hanging on at this moment.
Lan Xun answered, “There seems to be something wrong with the fourth layer of the pagoda. Many Small Worlds were shattered, which caused some impact on the structure of the pagoda itself. Uncle Xiao and the others have been doing everything they can to stabilize the pagoda until everyone exits. Otherwise, once the space collapses, the people inside will be trapped.”
A drop of cold sweat silently trickled down Yang Kai’s back as he asked in as calm a voice as possible, “How could a treasure like the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda have such a problem?”
Lan Xun looked in the direction of the pagoda, and shook her head, “I don’t know either. I’ve never encountered such a thing before.”
Yang Kai laughed awkwardly, “Then I must have bad luck to encounter such a problem my first time coming here.”
He dared not say too much. Fortunately, his current state was quite weak, so even if his expression was a bit difficult, he would not attract too much attention.
Given that the problem of the fourth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was due to the shattering of Small Worlds, Yang Kai knew that it must have something to do with him. He had collected a tremendous amount of World Principles into his Sealed World Beads on the fourth layer, destroying those shattered worlds, an outcome that he had never expected.
Fortunately, the consequences did not seem to be irreparable or too serious.
As they were talking, two figures flashed in front of the pagoda’s entrance. It was Xiao Chen and Lei Ting, who came out together. They also entered the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, but they had their own opportunities. By the look of their faces, one could guess who had gained and who had suffered a loss.
Xiao Chen looked gleeful and was full of self-confidence, obviously having benefited greatly from the fifth layer.
Lei Ting’s face on the other hand was gloomy and his aura was weak. His injuries looked more serious than Yang Kai’s, so perhaps he had suffered some setbacks.
Nevertheless, both setbacks and benefits were parts of the growth that cultivators must experience. With perseverance, one could turn setbacks into valuable experience, as well as a driving force to progress further on the path of cultivation.
Xiao Chen and Lei Ting were the last to come out, so after the two appeared, Xiao Yu Yang bellowed, “Everyone, leave here now.”
The Star Soul Palace disciples received the order, saluted the four Elders, and dispersed.
Yang Kai and Lan Xun also left together.
Not far away, Yang Kai suddenly felt an extremely strong power fluctuation coming out of the Void. When he turned around, he saw a moonlight-like radiance coming out from somewhere in Star Soul Palace, striking right at the middle of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
This radiance was not an attack, but rather some kind of miraculous technique. After the light arrived, Xiao Yu Yang and the others turned solemn, quickly weaving all kinds of hand seals while stabilizing the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn. He knew that the moonlight-like radiance was the Great Emperor taking action.
In the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, he also faced and fought with someone who was on par with a Great Emperor, so he was naturally familiar with this level of strength.
Demon Saint Mo Duo was comparable to the existence of a Great Emperor, and Yang Kai had a life or death battle against him. Back then, during the fight between Heaven Devouring Great Emperor and Bustling World Great Emperor in the Shattered Star Sea, Yang Kai was lucky enough to encounter it and play some small role at its conclusion, but saying he actually fought would be an exaggeration. Furthermore, the two Great Emperors could not unleash their full strength at that time.
But the experience in the dreamworld was different. Even if it was all an illusion, it had a basis in reality. In other words, the power released by Mo Duo was the true strength of a Great Emperor.
Yang Kai had used all his means without any reservation, yet he was still no match for him. If Mo Duo had not underestimated Yang Kai so greatly in the early stages of the fight, and allowed him to perform so many Secret Techniques, and if his focus had not been on stopping the Evergreen Divine Tree in the later stage, Yang Kai’s odds of surviving would have absolutely been less than thirty percent, while winning was simply impossible.
Even so, Yang Kai could not hold him back, and in the end, he had to rely on some deception and tricks to drag him into resisting Great Demon God’s cross-world attack.
This was an extremely valuable memory and experience. As long as Yang Kai could absorb the experience of that battle, he believed his strength would improve notably.
At this moment, the Great Emperor’s technique was so mysterious that Yang Kai could not even compare it with Mo Duo’s, because he could feel that the Bright Moon Great Emperor was definitely stronger than Mo Duo.
Lan Xun also stopped her feet and turned around to look at the moonlight-like radiance, pursing her lips with bitterness because she had not seen her father in a long time.
“Junior Sister Lan.” Yang Kai suddenly called out, “It’s time for me to leave.”
He destroyed many small worlds on the fourth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and Xiao Yu Yang and the other Elders surely suspected him. When Yang Kai came out just now, the few Third-Order Emperor Realm Elders had all been observing him; however, as long as Yang Kai did not admit to anything, they could not blame him, so they could only let him leave.
Nevertheless, the butterfly hairpin in his possession was the key to the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, a Sealed World that technically belonged to Star Soul Palace. To put it nicely, it was Yang Kai’s opportunity, but to put it bluntly, he was stealing.
Yang Kai naturally did not want to stay longer and draw unwanted attention from Star Soul Palace after stealing from them, not to mention that he still had something else to do.
Lan Xun looked at Yang Kai in surprise and asked, “Is Senior Brother Yang leaving now?”
“En, I have a prior appointment to keep.”
“But Senior Brother Yang, you seem to be hurt. Are you sure you don’t want to rest here for a day or two before you leave?” Lan Xun asked with concern.
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “No, I’m fine. My injuries only need some time to heal.”
There was no trauma in his body, and the injury to his Soul could not be recovered with rest alone. Fortunately, he had the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, so all he needed was time.
“I see…” Lan Xun did not try to convince him further as she saw that he had made up his mind to leave, so she just smiled happily and said, “In that case, Junior Sister won’t keep Senior Brother Yang any further. Senior Brother Yang, be safe.”
Yang Kai replied, “About the Elders…”
Lan Xun smiled, “I will inform them when they are finished.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai cupped his fist, then turned around and flew out of Star Soul Palace.
Lan Xun stood in place, only leaving after watching his back disappear out of her vision. Not far away, Xiao Chen, who had been secretly observing them, was slightly relieved.
After leaving Star Soul Palace, Yang Kai checked his directions before flying straight towards the location of Thousand Leaves Sect.
His Soul was still injured, so he did not fly quickly. On his way, he recalled all the scenes of his battle with Mo Duo and studied them intently, trying to think of what different approaches he could have taken. He gained a lot through this trip into the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, with the fight against Mo Duo being just one of his gains. He had actually gained so much he hadn’t had time to digest everything yet; as such, he needed to spend some time sorting out the memories in his mind.
Suddenly, Yang Kai noticed something and stopped in his tracks to stare ahead.
A man stood mid-air before him, a young and handsome man who seemed no older than twenty. He carried one hand behind his back and put the other hand naturally on his abdomen, behaviour more appropriate for an old man that did not match his appearance at all.
Yang Kai put on a serious expression, because he found that this ‘young man’s’ aura was unreadable. He could not sense anything about this person and even his eyes felt like they couldn’t clearly see his real appearance. Even though his Soul was injured now, any ordinary Emperor Realm Masters would not be able to conceal themselves before him like this since his Soul was far more powerful than his Realm would suggest.
However, just now, Yang Kai had not noticed anything at all. It was as if this man had suddenly appeared in front of him without any prior signs.
There were only two possibilities, either the other party’s cultivation was much higher than his own, or he was using some kind of special artifact.
Yang Kai looked at the other party, who was also looking at him, with an unfathomable smile on his face.
Yang Kai did not feel good about this smile and frowned and asked, “What’s the matter, Friend?”
The man simply opened his mouth and spat out a word that frightened Yang Kai to the core, “Bind!”
Ten thousand Principles seemed to obey this one word.
Yang Kai’s body suddenly stiffened as he inexplicably felt that the surrounding space solidified around him like a thick rope, tying him up tightly. At this moment, he was petrified to a point that even making a small movement with his finger had become extremely difficult for him.
Yang Kai was aghast as he had not felt any trace of his opponent using a Secret Technique or Divine Ability. All of this seemed to simply be a manifestation of his will through his words.
This was unachievable by any Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. In fact, there was only one kind of Master in this world who could do this.
Given that this place was near Star Soul Palace, the identity of this ‘young man’ became obvious.
“You…” Yang Kai was shocked and angry at the same time. He did not expect that such a supreme Master would stop and attack him here. What did this mean? If he wanted to make a move, he had a lot of opportunities when Yang Kai was still in the Star Soul Palace earlier, so why intercept him outside?
Furthermore, as someone with such status, what could he gain from acting stealthily? Yang Kai did not understand, and he did not have time to think about it.
As soon as he spoke, with a flash before his eyes, the ‘young man’ who was a thousand metres away a moment ago appeared right in front of him like a ghost, scaring the wits out of Yang Kai.
He finally experienced the feeling of those enemies who were caught off guard by him using his Space Techniques.
The two were now face to face, but the ‘young man’ did not do anything, simply continuing to quietly observe Yang Kai with a calm and relaxed smile.
Looking into the man’s eyes, Yang Kai felt like he could see two full moons blooming with astonishing light. Under the shadow of this light, everything about Yang Kai seemed to be revealed, all his secrets open and exposed without any way to hide from this man’s eyes.
Yang Kai was infuriated. Although he knew who the opponent was, he still did not allow anyone to pry on his secrets. He was immobilized, and could not think as quickly as he normally would, but Yang Kai still managed to mount a forceful resistance.
He madly surged his Spiritual Energy, and the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea suddenly started to rotate wildly, like a spinning top, rotating faster and faster.
A seven coloured glow exploded and filled his entire Knowledge Sea.
A shower of moonlight descended upon Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea from above, and initially, everything that was shone upon by the moonlight was revealed, but at this moment, the seven coloured glow actually swept out and dispersed that moonlight.
The ‘young man’ let out a light sound of surprise as he obviously did not expect Yang Kai to still have the power to fight back against his investigation.
Yang Kai grunted as blood leaked from his seven orifices. His already pale complexion suddenly became even paler, and he shuddered unsteadily as if he might fall down at any time.
The young man was taken aback and quickly retrieved his Divine Sense.
He had no malice towards Yang Kai, but he had to clarify something, and it was inconvenient for him to investigate due to his identity, so he could only intercept him here.
He just wanted to use some small means to investigate Yang Kai but did not expect the latter to fight back so desperately, and to even somewhat succeed in resisting.
This was quite awkward.
After his first move failed, the young man would not be able to make another one, so he flickered and appeared a thousand metres away as if he had never moved.
Standing where he had from the start, Yang Kai glared at this newcomer in anger, pushing the power of the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus to its limit to protect his Soul and Knowledge Sea. He would not let slip any secrets unless the other party was willing to knock him down.
The opponent was definitely capable of this, but Yang Kai would not give in easily.
This scene resembled the scene of a rabbit facing its predator, a falcon that was about to swoop down at it from the sky. No matter how much he bared his teeth, it would not do much, and the falcon would still grab the rabbit with its talons, fly up high, and drop it to its death on the ground.
The young man watched Yang Kai for a short time before suddenly letting out a sigh and, turning his gaze to the sky, muttered as if he was talking to the air, “The weather is nice today.”
After saying so, he stepped forward and suddenly disappeared from Yang Kai’s field of vision without a trace.
Yang Kai maintained his vigilance, sweeping his Divine Sense to cover the surrounding several kilometres for quite some time before he was convinced that the young man was really gone. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief and relax his guard.
An unimaginable feeling of exhaustion swept over Yang Kai like a tide in the next moment, causing him to stagger in the air involuntarily and almost fall on his head.
With difficulty, he steadied himself before reaching up to wipe the blood from his face before frowning.
That person suddenly intercepted him and even used a Divine Ability to probe into his Knowledge Sea, but in the end, it had only been some loud thunder and no rain, which puzzled and surprised Yang Kai.
Did he come here deliberately just to say ‘the weather is nice today?
That was obviously impossible.
After thinking for a while though, the frown on Yang Kai’s face gradually dissipated and was slowly replaced by a laugh. The more he laughed, the more cheerful he became, and in the end, every bit of worry and burden in his heart were completely relieved.
Yang Kai now somewhat understood the matter regarding that person.
He had taken away the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld from the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and as the true master of Star Soul Palace and the owner of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, the Great Emperor must have noticed something, but he could not fully understand it. That was why he needed to investigate.
However, Yang Kai was not a Star Soul Palace disciple, and he was only allowed to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda because of the previous agreement, so neither the Great Emperor nor the Elders could request Yang Kai to proactively explain his experiences inside.
If Yang Kai was just an ordinary Emperor Realm Master, there may be many Secret Techniques that could be used by Star Soul Palace that would make him unknowingly reveal the existence of the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, but as of now, Yang Kai was also an Azure Sun Temple Elder. As the overlord and guardian of the Southern Territory, Star Soul Palace could not throw its weight around haphazardly in this situation.
Therefore, the Great Emperor took action personally, and the location he picked was not inside Star Soul Palace’s borders, but just outside, a way to silently indicate that, officially, this had nothing to do with Star Soul Palace.
He did not report his origins due to the same consideration, and even though Yang Kai clearly identified him, he did not expose him, the two of them maintaining a kind of mutual understanding to reduce the issues here to a minimum.
The matter was now settled. The Great Emperor himself failed to obtain any useful information, or it could be said that the Great Emperor did not force Yang Kai to reveal what he did and knew. After this incident, Star Soul Palace would no longer pursue Yang Kai regarding his experience and gains in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
In other words, Star Soul Palace and Bright Moon Great Emperor would close one eye about anything Yang Kai took away from the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
It was precisely because Yang Kai realized this that his mood was suddenly lifted.
He was somewhat worried before because he took something of theirs without permission. As such, in the future, he could only use the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld in secret when he took it back to High Heaven Palace, and its existence could not be exposed openly. But with what happened just now, the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld could now be used openly, and even if Star Soul Palace found out later, they would not be able to say anything.
After thinking about it carefully, Yang Kai felt that he should actually be grateful to the Great Emperor for all his consideration. With the Great Emperor’s strength and abilities, it would not be impossible for him to forcefully break through the defences of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, but he stopped after just touching upon it, fully displaying the demeanour of a Senior Master.
Yang Kai thus had a good impression of him.
The phrase ‘the weather is nice today’ was probably also the Great Emperor’s acknowledgement of his helplessness and awkwardness.
Yang Kai kept laughing, but he suddenly could not laugh anymore. He touched under his nose and felt warm blood trickling down incessantly. The consumption of his Spiritual Energy during this period was too great, especially with his Soul already in an injured and exhausted state. If he was not protected by the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, he would already have degenerated into an idiot.
…..
For a journey that would usually only take a few days, Yang Kai took more than ten, staggering and stumbling all the way.
The former site of Thousand Leaves Sect was still just a blasted ruin. Yang Kai arrived at the familiar mountain valley, surged his Space Principles, and entered Emperor Heaven Valley.
Emperor Heaven Valley was an independent Small World. Currently, apart from Yang Kai, no one else in this world could freely enter and exit this place.
But at this moment, there was a figure near the entrance of the Emperor Heaven Valley.
The man had Emperor Realm cultivation, and he was drawing something on the ground of an open space, frowning sometimes, widening his eyes sometimes, then smiling sometimes. The expressions on his face were ever changing.
He seemed to be immersed in his own world, unable to extricate himself. He did not even notice when Yang Kai approached.
It was not until Yang Kai cleared his throat lightly that this man woke up from his dazed focus. At first, he frowned, as anger appeared on his face, he was obviously mad for being interrupted, but after seeing Yang Kai, all the displeasure disappeared immediately and he greeted him with a smile, “Palace Master!”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, glancing casually at the things he drew on the ground, and found that the drawings had something to do with the Cross-Territory Space Array. There was only one person in all of High Heaven Palace who would be able to immerse himself in the world of Spirit Arrays to the point of not being able to extricate themselves: Chief Array Master Nanmen Da Jun.
When Yang Kai sent Bian Yu Qing back to the Northern Territory to join High Heaven Palace, he asked her to relay a message to Nanmen Da Jun to come here. It seemed that the Emperor Array Master had been here for a while, and decided to do some studying on his own while waiting for Yang Kai.
“Did you bring it?” Yang Kai asked.
Nanmen Da Jun froze for a moment but recovered quickly. Taking out a jade slip, he handed it to Yang Kai and explained, “Palace Master, I engraved all the information about the Spirit Array inside. You can read it slowly during your journey, but Palace Master, I have to remind you that this Spirit Array is quite wicked. Whoever arranged this Spirit Array must not be a good person. It would be best to be on guard.”
“Noted.” Yang Kai nodded.
Nanmen Da Jun took out something else next. Resting on the palm of his hand was an extraordinary-looking, smooth, shimmering spindle-shaped object, one he handed to Yang Kai.
“What’s this?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Nanmen Da Jun chuckled, “Didn’t Palace Master ask Hou Yu to refine a flight type artifact? This is it.”
“So fast?” Yang Kai took the flight type artifact in surprise and examined it a bit before revealing a shocked expression, “Is this an Emperor Grade Artifact?”
It had not been long since he brought Hou Yu back to High Heaven Palace, and although he assigned her the task of refining a flight type artifact for him, Yang Kai thought it would take a few years to refine a decent ship. But how long had it been? It hadn’t even been half a year since he made the request, probably three or four months at most.
Nanmen Da Jun smiled, “Even though Xiao Hou doesn’t have the best character, she’s definitely a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner, and we have no shortage of materials in High Heaven Palace now. After giving her so much to work with, how could she not refine something good? Xiao Hou also said that there’s still room for improvement for this artifact, so when Palace Master has the time, you should let her upgrade it for you.”
“She’s not still thinking about escaping, right?” Yang Kai smiled slightly, slowly sinking his mind into the flight type artifact in his hand, revealing a look of satisfaction.
Nanmen Da Jun snickered, clearly taking pleasure in another’s misfortune as he explained, “The three Monster Kings are taking turns guarding her. If she dared to escape, they would have broken her legs. The Monster Kings are not to be trifled with.”
The Monster Kings’ respect was only for Yang Kai, and also Heaven’s Order and the Divine Spirit Sources she could grant them access to, but they had no reservations towards any other; even Emperor Array Masters, Emperor Alchemists, and Emperor Artifact Refiners were nothing in the eyes of the Monster Kings. There were no such titles among the Monster Race. To them, only the strongest deserved respect.
With the three Monster Kings taking turns to guard Hou Yu, she probably could only dream of escaping from High Heaven Palace for the rest of her life.
Yang Kai could not help laughing when he imagined Hou Yu’s aggrieved expression in his mind. However, Hou Yu was worthy of the title of Grandmaster. Yang Kai could already tell that this artifact was extremely good even before having the chance to refine it. Once he did refine it, it would certainly serve him well.
However, for Yang Kai the other functions of this artifact did not matter. What mattered most was its ability to carry him from one point to another at speed. As long as it was fast enough, the other functions weren’t important.
“Did Hou Yu christen it?” Yang Kai asked.
Nanmen Da Jun thought for a while before replying, “Flower Clouds Shuttle. En, she said that if Palace Master doesn’t like the name you can change it. It’s just a name after all.”
“Let’s just call it the Flower Clouds Shuttle.” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
While talking, Yang Kai suddenly reached out and summoned something before handing it to Nanmen Da Jun, “Take this back.”
“What is this?” Nanmen Da Jun took it curiously and found that the thing Yang Kai handed over was a small box, but it was not an ordinary one by any means because it clearly exuded a type of ancient aura. It was evidently something that had been passed down from a long time ago, and should be a good artifact.
“Heavenly Music Treasure Box,” Yang Kai reached out and tapped on the box. Immediately, the Heavenly Music Treasure Box released a tinkling sound, like a mountain spring or an empty spirit valley, and listening to the tune was enough to make one feel refreshed.
The gentle tone continued to play, and the box rose up step by step, gradually turning into the shape of a pagoda. There were nine layers in total, and each layer rotated either to the left or to the right at a differing speed, transmitting different sounds that came together in beautiful harmony.
Not only that, but a light blue mist started being released from the Heavenly Music Treasure Box as its floors spun, spreading out in all directions and filling a large space. The pale blue mist was like a starry sky, free of all impurities. The appearance of the stars made one feel as if they were truly standing in the midst of the starry sky, a beautiful scene to behold.
“A good treasure!” Nanmen Da Jun’s eyes lit up at the sight. Even though he did not think this Heavenly Music Treasure Box was too useful for him, its mysterious melody would surely be of great help to any cultivator below the Emperor Realm during cultivation as it would make it easier for them to clear their mind and enter a meditative state. Surely, cultivating in such a state would allow one to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
“You should be able to understand its use and maximize its potential application,” Yang Kai smiled at him.
Nanmen Da Jun’s eyes glowed brightly as his mind was already thinking of using this Heavenly Music Treasure Box as the core of a Spirit Array. With the supplementation of several other artifacts, he could set up a Heavenly Tone Treasure Palace.
This was not a difficult thing for him to do, and once his arrangements were successful, the entire Heavenly Tone Treasure Palace would be filled with the sound of the Heavenly Music Treasure Box, which would be of great benefit to the disciples who entered retreat inside to cultivate.
Yang Kai was right. Only in the hands of an Emperor Array Master like Nanmen Da Jun would this Heavenly Music Treasure Box be able to display all its effects. With the augmentation of a Spirit Array, the Heavenly Music Treasure Box would definitely become another foundation for High Heaven Palace, and a great boon for the disciples below the Emperor Realm.
“Leave it to me.” Nanmen Da Jun put away the Heavenly Music Treasure Box with care before turning to Yang Kai and asking with some concern, “Are you alright, Palace Master?”
He noticed just now that Yang Kai wasn’t in good shape with his face unnaturally pale.
He knew deeply how strong Yang Kai was. He was strong enough that even the Sect Masters of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, Sect Masters Mi Qi and Li Jiao, were unable to even lift their heads in front of him. Even the three great Monster Kings were loyal to his every word. For a Master like Yang Kai to be pale-faced, the only explanation must be that he had sustained a very serious injury.
Nanmen Da Jun could not think of anyone in this world who would be able to cause such injuries to Yang Kai, and it was naturally impossible that he would imagine Yang Kai’s experiences in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld.
Yang Kai simply shook his head.
Nanmen Da Jun asked, “Do you need me to come along? Though I know not what Palace Master is going to do, it is obviously related to that Spirit Array. If I go with you, I may be of some help in deciphering it.”
“No need,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I’m fine. What’s more, it’s not convenient for me to bring you along.”
He had accepted Xia Sheng’s request to explore an Ancient Cave Mansion as Hua Yu Lu’s assistant, and Hua Yu Lu also said that she could only bring one helper, so bringing along someone else may cause some conflict.
Since Yang Kai refused, Nanmen Da Jun didn’t insist on following either. He just reported to Yang Kai about the development of High Heaven Palace during this period of time before returning to the Northern Territory through the Cross-Territory Space Array.
Yang Kai did not hurry to leave, however, and instead sat down cross-legged and took out some Spirit Pills to first patch up his Soul. Only then did he begin refining the Flower Clouds Shuttle.
He realized that he had underestimated the impact his Soul received during his experience in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. He thought that with the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, his Soul should be able to restore itself in half a month no matter how severely damaged it was.
But facts showed that after more than ten days his Soul still showed hardly any signs of improvement.
Yang Kai guessed that this was due to a large overconsumption of his Spiritual Energy rather than just injuries he sustained inside the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. There was also the time distortion. Living two years in just five days undoubtedly put an immense load on his Soul. It was equivalent to Yang Kai consuming two years worth of his Spiritual Energy in just five days, so it would take more than just half a month to be replenished again.
Emperor Grade artifacts were not easy to refine, especially now since Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was lacking.
But he still spent a few days making a simple mark on the Flower Clouds Shuttle, which would be enough for him to get the Flower Clouds Shuttle to fly, but not enough for him to release its full power.
This was already enough as Yang Kai’s greatest use for the Flower Clouds Shuttle was transportation.
He set off once more, and only remembered the location of his destination after some careful thought. After what he encountered in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, his memories of the past often became fuzzy.
The Southern Swamp was a dangerous place in the Southern Territory, and even though it was not as deadly as the Northern Territory’s Frozen Earth, many Masters still lost their lives there each year. What attracted cultivators to enter the swamp was the abundance of precious treasures and the various hidden cave mansions in its unexplored corners.
Rumour had it that long ago, the Southern Swamp was a place where cultivation flourished in the Southern Territory. Countless Sects and great forces established themselves there and developed into regional overlords. But a cataclysm turned this prosperous region into a swamp, and the Southern Territory’s cultivators eventually gave up on this treasure land.
During the disaster, countless Sects were destroyed, and many cave mansions became buried. Cultivators often risked their lives to come here in hopes of discovering ruins of ancient Sects and the inheritances of old Masters, thus allowing them to soar to great heights.
The Southern Swamp also produced many special spirit flowers and exotic herbs which could not be found anywhere else in the entire Star Boundary, any one of them worth an enormous price on the market.
In the face of such benefits, even the dangers could not stop cultivators from exploring the Southern Swamp. A few thousand years ago, the swamp used to be a lively place, but as more and more of its treasures were discovered, it had become far quieter. Still, there were always some cultivators who did not fear death who would come every now and again to explore.
Yang Kai had heard of the Southern Swamp in the past, but this was his first time entering it. He was now a Master who did not need to fear anything though, so even though his Soul was not yet fully recovered, he still wasn’t a soft persimmon that just anyone could easily pinch.
It was half a month later when Yang Kai arrived at the Southern Swamp.
Just as the rumours said, he discovered that there were indeed marshes and muddy rivers everywhere, as well as extremely dangerous auras that occasionally lurked beneath them, like predators waiting for their prey to throw themselves into their nets, ready to pounce out at any moment to land the fatal blow. The Southern Swamp was filled with poisonous obstructions, and when viewed from high up in the sky, these obstructions would reflect the sunlight and form a colourful spectacle. But hidden beneath that bright appearance was murderous intent at every step.
The existence of these poisonous obstructions alone had stopped the advance of cultivators below the Dao Source Realm. Only Dao Source Realm and Emperor Realm cultivators could resist the poison and explore the Southern Swamp safely.
Of course, the strength of the poison differed depending on one’s location, and some pockets were powerful enough that even Emperor Realm Masters could not resist it easily. Once these toxins infiltrated the body, even an Emperor Realm Master may lose their life.
Yang Kai took out a communication artifact and sent a message to Hua Yu Lu.
A while later, he received a response.
After focusing his mind and searching his surroundings, Yang Kai turned and flew off.
Four hours later, Yang Kai distantly sensed the presence of several auras, one of which belonged to Hua Yu Lu, so he quickly sped up.
The people on that side had clearly also sensed Yang Kai’s approach and released their Divine Senses to investigate. In the next moment, they all revealed looks of surprise.
The reason was that they sensed the presence of the Flower Clouds Shuttle.
The Flower Clouds Shuttle was a Flight Type Emperor Artifact, and its value was immeasurable. Such an Emperor Artifact was rare to find even among Emperors. If Yang Kai didn’t have Hou Yu refine it for him, then he would not have been able to own such an artifact.
A short while later, the Flower Clouds Shuttle arrived before the crowd, and after a flash of light, Yang Kai’s figure was revealed.
Hua Yu Lu looked over at him with a look of joy, but then became stunned.
The reason for that was because she was greeted by an extremely unfamiliar face that did not belong to Yang Kai at all.
But very soon, she realized that Yang Kai was wearing some sort of disguising artifact to change his appearance.
This Camouflage Artifact was something that Yang Kai obtained back in the Solitary Void Sealed World. It wasn’t very useful as it was basically impossible to hide the signs of camouflage in front of an Emperor, so any Master could tell that he was wearing a Camouflage Artifact, but it was at least able to hide his weakened appearance.
Without this artifact, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to hide his pale demeanour.
Hua Yu Lu did not dwell on why Yang Kai would do this, but since he wanted to hide his identity, she went along with it as a matter of course.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Hua Yu Lu greeted him.
“Palace Master Hua!” Yang Kai gave her a gentle nod, “I apologize for being late.”
Besides Hua Yu Lu, there were four others gathered here. It was quite apparent that everyone had already arrived. Hua Yu Lu said that she discovered the Ancient Cave Mansion with two others, and even though they managed to break through some of the barriers inside, and each of them already had some gains, they were obstructed by the final barrier and unable to advance.
As such, the three of them agreed to seek out one helper each at or below the Second-Order Emperor Realm and, six months later, reunite here to explore the cave mansion again.
The person that Hua Yu Lu found was Xia Sheng, but unfortunately, Xia Sheng had to remain at Spirit Lake Palace and was unable to leave, so he could only ask for Yang Kai’s help. Since Xia Sheng asked for his help, Yang Kai couldn’t refuse him either. What’s more, he was also quite interested in this Ancient Cave Mansion.
That was because Hua Yu Lu got her hands on the Little Flower Drum. Like the Mountains and Rivers Bell, this drum was also an Ancient Exotic Artifact, though it wasn’t as powerful.
According to Hua Yu Lu, one of the other two experienced a great rise in their cultivation. Originally, that person was the weakest among them, but when they left, he had the strongest aura. Meanwhile, the other person was able to learn a Secret Technique, though Hua Yu Lu had no idea how powerful it was.
Cultivation was not just done behind closed doors, all kinds of experiences and opportunities were necessary parts of growth. Often, these experiences and opportunities would make it easier for one to increase in strength compared to meditative cultivation.
Only, the timing of this trip to explore the Ancient Cave Mansion was a little unfortunate. Yang Kai had just gone through an intense experience in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld and was in need of rest, but since he had already made an agreement with someone else, he could only grit his teeth and trudge on.
Yang Kai made up his mind that he would focus on safety this time. As long as he could bring Hua Yu Lu back in one piece, then he would not have failed Xia Sheng’s trust.
In the wilderness, four gazes focused on Yang Kai after he made his greeting, all with looks of scrutiny.
Three of the four others gathered here were men, with only one being a woman. Two of them were in the First-Order Emperor Realm while the other two were Second-Order, each of them standing in pairs. Clearly, only Hua Yu Lu was alone before Yang Kai arrived.
Even though the Camouflage Artifact could hide the paleness of Yang Kai’s face, his weak aura could not be concealed in any way. Not to mention the fact that everyone here was an Emperor, so just a quick check would reveal the depth of his cultivation.
[First-Order Emperor Realm!] This allowed the other four to breathe a sigh of relief somehow.
One of the men with a short and stumpy body coldly snorted with a look of displeasure, “Palace Master Hua, is this your friend? He’s a haughty one, isn’t he, making us wait like this?”
He didn’t hide his true thoughts in the slightest. He was obviously annoyed by having to wait here for so long and straightforwardly criticized Yang Kai. It was also true that Yang Kai did not arrive in time as he had been delayed for a few days during his trip, so there wasn’t much he could say. If Yang Kai had been a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, then this stocky fellow might not have had the guts to criticize him, but a First-Order Emperor was nothing to be feared.
Faced with the man’s criticism, Hua Yu Lu smiled apologetically, “Brother Wu, please calm your anger. Senior Brother Yang was met with some problems some days ago that delayed his trip. This Mistress will apologize in his stead.”
Even though she had no idea what held Yang Kai back a few days, causing him to miss their appointed time, she was certain he wasn’t the type to just break appointments on purpose. Otherwise, Xia Sheng wouldn’t have asked him to help. As the inviter, Hua Yu Lu naturally had to speak for Yang Kai.
The man coldly snorted, “Your Hundred Flowers Palace is filled with women, where does this Senior Brother Yang come from? I’ve never heard of men entering Hundred Flowers Palace before. What’s more, this Brother Yang is hiding his head while only showing his tail. Does he not even have the guts to show his true appearance? Or does Brother Yang have something else he’s hiding?”
He seemed to dislike Yang Kai and immediately confronted him about using the Camouflage Artifact.
It was reasonable to call this an impromptu treasure hunting team, so there was no need for them to look deeply into each other’s backgrounds and origins. They each had their own ulterior motives to begin with. When they could work together, they would work together, but if not, they would just separate. If they happen to chance upon some treasure, they may even get into a fight for it. Everyone knew this, so Hua Yu Lu did not ask who the helpers of the other two were or where they were from, as if it was a tacit agreement.
Therefore, the stubby man clearly had ill intentions to target Yang Kai, and there were even suspicions of him trying to sow discord with his last sentence.
The Star Boundary was so huge that the number of people living in it reached the trillions. Each one of them had a different nature and temperament, so walking around with a Camouflage Artifact wasn’t a strange thing; however, when it came to this man surnamed Wu, it seemed he intended to blow up matters here, intent on getting Yang Kai to take off his artifact and reveal his true appearance without taking no for an answer.
Hua Yu Lu frowned and was clearly displeased with this situation. She was the Palace Master of Hundred Flowers Palace, so the fact that she could put down her status and apologize already showed her sincerity. Still, the incessant pestering of this man naturally annoyed her. However, it was not a favourable situation for them as both she and Yang Kai were First-Order Emperor Realms, while the other two were in pairs of one First-Order and one Second-Order Emperor. Things may become messy if a fight were really to break out here.
She was fortunate enough to have seen Yang Kai’s skills before when he sparred with a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master at Azure Sun Temple’s Grand Canonization Ceremony. Being able to block a Third-Order Emperor Realm’s surprise attack, then land one of his own, proved Yang Kai’s strength could not be judged with common sense. However, Hua Yu Lu was able to sense that Yang Kai’s aura was quite weak at the moment, and she guessed that he must have endured some sort of injury, leading him to hide his appearance.
She did not want to get into a conflict with the others right now.
Just as she was about to say something, Yang Kai spoke, “May I know what to call this friend?”
The man surnamed Wu grunted, “Wu Kuang Yi!”
“So it is Brother Wu!” Yang Kai nodded lightly and smiled, “There is no deeper meaning for my disguise. Only… My appearance is a little odd so if I appear before others with my true appearance, I’m worried I would scare… this lady!”
While speaking, Yang Kai raised his head and looked at the other woman on the scene other than Hua Yu Lu.
The woman was not with Wu Kuang Yi and was instead standing next to the other elderly man. She had a Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation and was clearly the helper hired by him. The woman’s appearance could not be described as extremely beautiful, but her temperament was very refined, and she had a graceful figure. Her goose yellow dress outlined her delicate figure wonderfully.
Since Yang Kai appeared, this woman and the others have been silently observing him, so now that the topic had turned to her, she was slightly taken aback before she smiled and commented, “My courage isn’t that small.”
There was a strange charm to her smile, and it seemed to be able to drive the emotions of others, but there was no sign of her using any kind of Charm Technique. It was quite apparently an innate talent she possessed, which made it so Yang Kai could not help but take closer notice of her. At the same time, he also raised his wariness slightly.
“And what should I call Little Brother?” The woman asked.
“Yang Jiu!” Yang Kai answered promptly.
He was the ninth oldest son in his Yang Family, so there was a basis for his name. It wasn’t just made up.
Wu Kuang Yi’s frown was knitted even tighter when he saw the woman actually chatting with Yang Kai casually, but just as he was about to say something, the elderly man who was standing with the woman stepped forward and smiled, “It’s fine, it was only a few days. For those at our level of cultivation, a few days is but a blink of an eye. Brother Wu does not need to mind it too much. Just think of it as resting time for cultivation.”
His smile was very warm, just like an amiable neighbourhood grandpa, causing people to have a good impression of him.
When the elderly man spoke, it became difficult for Wu Kuang Yi to push the matter. Moreover, it wasn’t a big deal, so if he continued to dwell on it, it would only make him look small-minded and damage his image. What’s more, Hua Yu Lu had already apologized, so he took this opportunity to step back. Still, he kept a sullen look on his face, as if he were informing others that he was very unhappy with the state of affairs.
After a while, Wu Kuang Yi said, “Since we’re all here, let’s set off. We’ll discuss the details of our cooperation along the way.”
Hua Yu Lu and Yang Kai naturally had no objections to this and both nodded in agreement. To be honest, it was only now that Hua Yu Lu could breathe a sigh of relief. She was not close with Yang Kai, and when he didn’t show up on time, she had of course worried that he intended to break their appointment. So, when she finally saw him, she naturally put down the worries in her heart.
“Please wait a little longer!” The amiable old man raised his voice and said.
Everyone turned their eyes to him at once, none of them understanding his intentions.
The elderly man explained, “One more person is coming!”
“Another person?” Wu Kuang Yi’s face darkened and the anger that was originally suppressed rose up again as he quickly shouted, “What do you mean, Yang Tai? We agreed half a year ago that we could only find one helper each, and they had to be at the Second-Order Emperor Realm or below. You’ve already brought one, so you can’t be telling me that there’s another, right?”
Now, even Hua Yu Lu’s face went dark.
Compared to Yang Kai who was late for a few days, if this elderly man, Yang Tai, really did what Wu Kuang Yi accused him of, then that would truly be an intolerable betrayal of everyone’s trust.
Yang Kai glanced at the woman standing beside Yang Tai and found that she was still smiling as before, clearly aware of this news beforehand and not surprised by it.
Yang Tai quickly said, “Please calm yourself, Brother Wu. This Old Master did not break our agreement. I really have asked only Lady Chen to assist me. The one who is on his way is not my helper.”
He had a helpless expression on his face as if Wu Kuang Yi had wronged him.
Wu Kuang Yi was furious, “Then I must ask Brother Yang to explain this situation. If you can’t give us a satisfying explanation… Even if I accepted it, Palace Master Hua and this Brother Yang Jiu may not necessarily be able to.”
The Ancient Cave Mansion was discovered by him, Yang Tai, and Hua Yu Lu, so it was considered a shared belonging of the three of them. Both Wu Kuang Yi and Hua Yu Lu kept their promises and brought only a single helper, yet Yang Tai actually asked them to wait for another person, which caused Wu Kuang Yi to lose his temper.
Yang Tai smiled bitterly, “Once that man arrives, Brother Wu will understand. When the time comes, Brother Wu and Palace Master Hua can decide whether you will allow him to accompany us or not. If you refuse, this Old Master will not have any objections.”
Wu Kuang Yi sneered, “It sounds like Brother Yang is quite insistent on having this man come with us. Or perhaps I should ask, what sort of great use is he to us? I would like to know what sort of man he is exactly.”
But Yang Tai did not say anything more. He just smiled and kept silent with a profound look on his face.
Since things had come to this, Wu Kuang Yi could not clash with Yang Tai even though he was annoyed, so he could only hold his temper and wait.
For Yang Tai to sound so confident, he was frankly quite curious about what sort of person they were waiting for as well.
Yang Kai and Hua Yu Lu exchanged glances, both of them feeling that this treasure hunt was going to be more complicated than they anticipated. They had just met up and all sorts of conflicts had already broken out. They were six people split into three small groups, so they couldn’t cooperate sincerely with each other. When the time came, it would be considered good if no fights were to break out.
But this was the norm, and Yang Kai was already prepared for this. However, Hua Yu Lu had a worried look on her face.
While they were waiting, Yang Kai took the opportunity to secretly communicate with Hua Yu Lu and asked the names of the others.
He knew about Wu Kuang Yi and Yang Tai already as both of them were First-Order Emperors and had explored the Ancient Cave Mansion together with Hua Yu Lu half a year ago. Of them, Wu Kuang Yi’s cultivation seemed to have risen greatly in the Ancient Cave Mansion. Even though he was still in the First-Order like the rest of them, Wu Kuang Yi used to have the weakest aura out of the trio, but now it seemed his aura could vaguely compare to that of a Second-Order Emperor. It was clear he had already reached the peak of the First-Order and was the strongest of the three.
The helper that Wu Kuang Yi brought with him was a silent man. Since Yang Kai arrived, he had not heard this person speak once. He seemed to have been born with a cold face and looked uninterested in everything, as if he couldn’t want for anything more than to obtain eternal peace immediately. From Wu Kuang Yi’s introduction earlier, he knew that this man was called Fang Zhuo.
The woman standing next to Yang Tai was called Chen Bing Ru. Hua Yu Lu knew nothing about Fang Zhuo and Chen Bing Ru’s origins, and could only make a few guesses based on her experience. However, Hua Yu Lu knew the details of Wu Kuang Yi and Yang Tai very well.
During their secret communication, Hua Yu Lu passed on all of this information to Yang Kai.
In just a short wait that lasted about an hour, the six people present suddenly detected a strong, but unfamiliar aura flying towards them. Wu Kuang Yi and Hua Yu Lu were secretly frowning, but Yang Tai was looking over with joy on his face.
A few moments later, an elderly man with white hair arrived before them, standing in the air and nodding gently to the group.
“Brother Gong!” Yang Tai cupped his fists immediately and greeted him with enthusiasm.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Brother Yang,” the elderly man surnamed Gong responded with a smile on his face. He was clearly quite close with Yang Tai.
“It’s no matter at all. We just gathered not long ago.” Yang Tai chuckled, but what he said was true. They had been waiting for Yang Kai here for a few days, and only with his arrival were they considered a full party.
Turning to Wu Kuang Yi and the others, Yang Tai said, “This is the man that this Yang was waiting for. Brother Wu, are you familiar with him?”
Wu Kuang Yi was frowning hard as he thought back to what Yang Tai said previously and had a vague guess, “Since Your Excellency’s surname is Gong, could you possibly be related to the Heaven River Valley’s Gong Family in any way?”
When she heard this, Hua Yu Lu’s eyes lit up as well, and she began studying this elderly man surnamed Gong with interest.
If this old man really came from the Gong Family, then he would really be a great help to them.
Yang Tai smiled, “Brother Wu is truly knowledgeable. Indeed, Brother Gong comes from the Heaven River Valley’s Gong Family.”
Wu Kuang Yi answered coldly, “The Heaven River Valley’s Gong Family is well known, and while this Wu may be ignorant and uninformed, he has still heard of them.” He was still a little annoyed with Yang Tai’s previous actions and felt that the latter had broken their agreement, so he couldn’t help looking somewhat sharply at this old man and asking, “How should we address Your Excellency?”
The old man surnamed Gong smiled, “Gong Yue!”
“Gong Yue…” Wu Kuang Yi pondered for a moment before suddenly a look of shock appeared on his face and he cupped his fists politely, “So it is the Gong Family’s former Patriarch. Please excuse this Wu’s rudeness!”
He had obviously heard of Gong Yue’s name and knew of his status. At once, he no longer dared to be arrogant and gave the other party their due respect.
Gong Yue smiled and waved his hand, “I’m just an old man wandering around with nothing better to do now. No need to be so formal.”
Yang Tai said, “A few days ago, I visited the Gong Family in Heavenly River Valley in order to ask about the sealing Spirit Array, which happened to coincide with Brother Gong exiting secluded retreat. After seeing the Spirit Array, Brother Gong showed much interest in it and wanted to come along to have a first-hand look. This old man really couldn’t refuse Brother Gong’s request, that’s why this old man will apologize to you all for this matter today. Please do not be angry, Brother Wu.”
Wu Kuang Yi responded with a cold face, “Not at all. Brother Yang is overthinking things.”
Gong Yue chimed in here, “It was this Gong who came uninvited, so you can all blame me if you want as Brother Yang was helpless to refuse. Of course, this Gong is only interested in the ancient sealing Spirit Array. I would like to take a look at it up close, and it can’t be any better if this Gong may participate in cracking it. If anyone finds fault with this idea, then this Gong can just return home.”
Even though the Heavenly River Valley’s Gong Family wasn’t considered a peak level force, they were still very impressive. Their fame was related to the Dao of Spirit Arrays, and it was their family’s speciality. There were many Array Masters in the family, and they were hired to assist in arranging arrays for many Sects in the Southern Territory.
Hua Yu Lu also wanted to visit the Gong Family in order to ask about the Ancient Cave Mansion’s sealing Spirit Array, but it was just an idea. She did not actually go.
But now, it seemed Yang Tai had the same idea as her. What’s more, this Yang Tai seemed to be rather close with this Gong Yue, to the point where they could speak informally to one another.
The Gong Family was naturally obsessed with Spirit Arrays, especially when it came to strange and ancient lost arrays. To suddenly learn of such a sealing Spirit Array, it was understandable how Gong Yue was interested to the point of coming without an invitation.
After working out the matter, everyone present immediately knew why Yang Tai said those words before. If it were Gong Yue, then he would really be a great help to them during this treasure hunting trip; after all, this man was the former Patriarch of the Gong Family. His attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays were so great that few could ever hope to match him. With his help, cracking that ancient Spirit Array wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Wu Kuang Yi pondered for a long time and glanced at Hua Yu Lu from the corner of his eye, transmitting a message to her.
He did not hide his actions as everyone could see clearly what he was doing, and could also guess what he was saying to her.
A few moments later, Wu Kuang Yi opened his mouth to ask, “May I ask Old Patriarch Gong if you came only for the ancient Spirit Array? I’m sure you understand what we are here to do. If we were to find anything in the Ancient Cave Mansion…”
Gong Yue answered immediately, “This Old Master pursues the Dao of Spirit Arrays, it is my one and only pursuit and shall be so for as long as I live!”
That answer alone was enough. There were countless Daos in this world, and as Gong Yue chased after the Dao of Spirit Arrays, no matter how valuable other things may be, it would still pale in comparison to the chance to study the ancient array.
Yang Tai laughed, “Brother Gong only wishes to take a look at the Spirit Array and participate in cracking it; he has no other requests. Of course, if everyone is not comfortable with it, then Brother Gong has said it himself earlier. He won’t trouble everyone and will just return home. The key point is that one of us must be able to crack the Spirit Array in his stead, otherwise, we are sure to return empty-handed.”
He, Wu Kuang Yi, and Hua Yu Lu, had already been preparing for half a year, not only to find a reliable helper, but also to crack the Spirit Array which blocked their path.
Hua Yu Lu had thought of visiting the Heavenly River Valley to ask the Gong Family for advice, but she gave up on the idea when Yang Kai took it upon himself to handle this matter several months ago.
On Wu Kuang Yi’s side, the cold-faced man he invited was clearly also someone who was versed in Spirit Arrays, the reason for it being the fact that Wu Kuang Yi was currently looking at him and seemed to be seeking his opinion.
That man named Fang Zhuo was silent for a long time before gently nodding.
Wu Kuang Yi understood, “Since nobody has any objections, then let us invite Old Patriarch Gong to come with us. We will be counting on Old Patriarch Gong during this trip.”
“Much obliged. This Old Master will surely do his best.” Gong Yue stroked his beard with a smile.
Yang Kai took a step forward at that moment and asked, “Is Your Excellency truly the former Patriarch of the Gong Family? Can you prove your identity?”
At those words, the faces of the crowd stiffened slightly. Wu Kuang Yi seemed to be shaken awake as well in that instant.
The reason why he trusted the man’s claim of being Gong Yue was that he had heard of Gong Yue before, and knew that he was the former Patriarch of the Gong Family. Secondly, it was because Yang Tai’s words from before had planted a preconceived idea into his mind which convinced him that it must be true.
Only when Yang Kai mentioned this did he suddenly come to his senses and raise his guard.
He had never met Gong Yue before, and naturally had no idea what Gong Yue looked like. This man before him may really be Gong Yue, but he also… may not be. If this man truly was the Gong Family’s former patriarch, then they could put their trust in him, but if he was an impostor, then they had to be careful.
Considering all this, Wu Kuang Yi suddenly shot a glance at Yang Tai.
Yang Tai still had a cheerful expression on his face as he turned to Yang Kai, “This Little Brother Yang Jiu surely jests. Could someone possibly impersonate Brother Gong? That’s not a very proper question, is it?”
“If there’s anything I’m unsure about, then I should inquire about it. Am I wrong?” Yang Kai also turned to look at him, lips curving into a smile.
Yang Tai frowned, “This Yang swears on his name that Brother Gong is truly Brother Gong, the former Patriarch of Heavenly River Valley’s Gong Family.”
Yang Kai smiled without responding and Yang Tai also seemed to understand that his own guarantee held no weight at all. He’d never even met Yang Kai before this, so how could he guarantee anything? Moreover, Wu Kuang Yi seemed to be a little suspicious as well, so his face instantly turned bitter, “What should we do now, then? Should we head over to Heavenly River Valley first to ask for proof?”
This was obviously impossible as Heavenly River Valley was very far away from here and would take at least two months to make a round trip. Who had the time to delay things constantly? So he may as well not have proposed it.
But the more Yang Tai insisted, the more Wu Kuang Yi felt something was suspicious. His eyes were constantly shifting between Yang Tai and Gong Yue, seemingly trying to catch some sort of clue, but to his disappointment, he didn’t find anything suspicious about Yang Tai’s behaviour at all, and even though Gong Yue’s legitimacy was questioned, he remained calm and composed.
This made him wonder whether Yang Jiu was just being too suspicious.
Gong Yue spoke at that moment, “Though I have the Gong Family’s token on me, I don’t think it will be of much use even if I take it out. Since this little brother is suspicious of me and asking this Gong to prove himself, may I ask how I should do so? Does little brother have any suitable method?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Since this concerns Spirit Arrays, then let us prove it using a Spirit Array. May I ask if anyone here is learned in the Dao of Spirit Arrays?”
When he said that, everyone vaguely understood the meaning behind his words.
Wu Kuang Yi immediately turned to Fang Zhuo.
Even though Fang Zhuo had been silent the whole time, that didn’t mean his mind wasn’t nimble and he instantly caught onto Yang Kai’s thoughts. Stepping forward, he took out several array flags without saying a word and formed seals with his hands. One by one, the array flags were tossed out and disappeared.
His movements flowed as swiftly and freely as water, making it obvious he was quite proficient in this craft, even having extraordinary attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays.
Gong Yue remained smiling, seemingly having understood Fang Zhuo’s plan, so he simply let him continue as he pleased.
And, following Fang Zhuo’s actions, a large area of space suddenly became distorted. Once the last array flag landed into its corresponding position, the area around Gong Yue transformed, and he disappeared without a trace.
Everyone released their Divine Sense to probe, but they were blocked by a strong barrier while not a single thing could be discerned using the naked eye.
“Oh? So Brother Fang Zhuo is also proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays?” Yang Tai looked surprised.
Fang Zhuo cherished his words like gold and simply replied, “A little.”
Then, standing with his hands behind his back, he narrowed his eyes and observed the area where he arranged his Spirit Array.
This was clearly a Trapping Array, and even though it had no killing ability, it was still able to confine someone in one position and keep them from moving.
If the Gong Yue that was trapped inside the Spirit Array was truly the former Patriarch of the Gong Family, then it shouldn’t be too hard for him to crack this array and escape, but if he were an impostor, he may not necessarily have the appropriate level of skill to deal with it.
This was a straightforward test, and even though they may not be able to completely ascertain Gong Yue’s identity this way, it would at least be able to dispel most of the doubts they had about him.
For a while, everyone was holding their breaths and focusing on the Spirit Array, eager to know the final result.
The result astonished everyone. Fang Zhuo’s face, which had been indifferent the whole time, suddenly changed dramatically.
That was because, less than ten breaths of time after he finished arranging the array, the space became distorted again before returning to its original appearance. Gong Yue’s figure was revealed from within, and he was holding onto some array banners, clearly the ones Fang Zhuo had just tossed into the void.
It only took him ten breaths of time to break Fang Zhuo’s Spirit Array, so his profound attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays was clear to see.
The way Gong Yue stood there with a cheerful look on his face gave the others a sense of profoundness as he said, “Small World Inversion Array. This friend’s array technique has no major flaws, but the refining of these array banners is slightly rough. They’re unable to exert their full power. If you can refine them some more, their power can still increase by a fair amount.”
As he said that, he threw the array banners back to Fang Zhuo.
Fang Zhuo grabbed them and lowered his head in thought for a moment before cupping his fists to thank Gong Yue for his advice.
Yang Tai guffawed, “Brother Gong’s attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays is truly remarkable and eye-opening! We are lucky to have Brother Gong’s help on this trip.” Then, he turned to Yang Kai, “Little Brother Yang Jiu. Do you have any more questions? Please ask away.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “No, I don’t.”
Yang Tai said, “In that case, everyone should have no problem with Brother Gong coming with us, right?”
After what happened just now, nobody had any further comments. Everyone was happy to have the help of someone like Gong Yue. It was only because they couldn’t help but be wary about the question that Yang Kai raised that they wanted to verify Gong Yue’s identity, but now that Gong Yue had proven his ability, and with the golden signboard of the Heavenly River Valley’s Gong Family that he was holding up, it made everyone feel at ease. Nobody had any more suspicions about him.
Wu Kuang Yi even gave Yang Kai a stern glare, probably thinking that he was making a big mess out of nothing, luring him into making a bad judgement as well.
Yang Kai’s tardiness already left a bad impression on him, and now that impression had grown even worse. If it weren’t because of the agreement they had, then he would have driven Yang Kai away from here.
Since nobody had any objections, the matter was naturally settled, and as the one who invited the powerful helper, Gong Yue, Yang Tai seemed to have jumped up to become the leader of their group, enthusiastically leading everyone on their way.
The Southern Swamp was vast, and their agreed gathering point was far away from the Ancient Cave Mansion, so it would take about three or four days for them to reach it.
The seven Emperor Realm Masters sped away towards the Ancient Cave Mansion with each other’s company and actively released their auras so that no ferocious creature would dare rear its head. Gong Yue and Yang Tai were at the forefront of the group, talking with great passion, seeming to share a great friendship and letting out a hearty laugh on occasion.
The woman named Chen Bing Ru flew between Wu Kuang Yi and Fang Zhuo, while Yang Kai and Hua Yu Lu were in the back, excluded by them whether intentionally or unintentionally. A worrying prospect for Hua Yu Lu.
In their group, other than Yang Tai and Gong Yue in the lead who were chatting up a storm, the others were all silent.
Yang Kai was occupied by other thoughts, however, and while following the group, he was digesting his experiences from the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. The information he gained in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld was an invaluable cornerstone for his growth, especially Senior Qing’s inheritance and the things he read in the Shaman Divine Temple.
There were several times when Hua Yu Lu tried talking to Yang Kai, but faced with his aloof demeanour, she didn’t feel right about disturbing him too much; after all, they had only met him a few times in the past and never gotten to know each other that well.
Among the seven people present, she was the only one who was feeling extremely apprehensive about this treasure hunting trip. The others were in pairs, while Yang Kai was acting indifferent towards her. If any conflict were to arise when they found some treasure, she had no idea to what extent Yang Kai would go to in order to help her.
She even vaguely regretted coming here again. If she had known this would happen, she would rather have given up on this opportunity than take such risks.
Time flew by as she became more and more uncertain.
Travelling through the poison mist of the Southern Swamp, the seven Emperor Realm Masters travelled for four days before Yang Tai, who was at the forefront, stopped. Wu Kuang Yi’s expression also lifted with anticipation.
“Are we there?” Gong Yue asked curiously, but when he looked around, he didn’t see anything of note.
Yang Kai also withdrew his thoughts and looked around. Just like Gong Yue, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary; however, the large cloud of poison mist in front of them caught his attention.
There was poison mist everywhere in the Southern Swamp, and the seven of them have been constantly travelling through clouds of it these past few days, but they all had decent cultivation and strong resistance against such poison mist, so it was not a problem for them.
But the poison mist in front of them was clearly different to the ones before. Yang Kai even felt a trace of danger from it, as if his life would really be at risk if he were to rush in.
But just as he was about to release his Divine Sense to check, Hua Yu Lu quickly came over to his side and whispered, “Be careful, that poison mist is extremely toxic.”
Yang Kai suddenly caught a whiff of a different fragrant scent that tickled the tip of his nose. He responded with a gentle nod, and Hua Yu Lu suddenly realized their position, retreating two steps backwards with a blush on her face.
Yang Tai announced, “We’ve arrived. The Ancient Cave Mansion is hidden within this poison mist, but this poison mist is very strong. Even as Emperor Realm Masters, we will not be able to resist it, so we must not be reckless here.”
In order to prove that his words were true, he suddenly raised his hand and sent out a bolt of Emperor Qi towards the toxic barrier.
After the beam of light passed through, an empty space was split open in the poison mist almost three hundred metres deep, and at the end of the newly formed corridor, a blackened skeleton could be seen lying on the grass of the swamp. From its appearance, the person seemed to have been dead for a long time.
“Speaking of which, we were four people when we found that cave mansion. There was another Second-Order Emperor Realm Brother with us, but as you can see, he is lying there now.” Yang Tai pointed to the skeleton and said with a smile.
When Chen Bing Ru heard this, her pretty face paled while the face of Fang Zhuo who had been silent this whole time twitched a little as well.
Just from the appearance of the skeleton alone, they all thought that this man must have died a long time ago; however, only from hearing Yang Tai’s words did they understand that this man had just fallen half a year ago. Due to the immense corrosiveness of the poison mist, it caused some unexpected changes in the skeleton.
As for the reason for his death, everyone could guess without the need for Yang Tai to explain further.
Even a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master could not resist the toxicity of the poison mist, so the danger could be imagined. The world was so large that nothing should be surprising, and in the face of nature’s power, no matter how strong one’s individual prowess may be, it still seemed small and insignificant.
After Yang Tai finished speaking, the opening in the poison mist restored itself at a visible rate, as if there was some mysterious force keeping the poison mist there, blocking the path of any explorers.
Gong Yue frowned and exclaimed, “What strong toxicity! With this poison mist blocking the way, how were you and your group able to enter the cave mansion last time, Brother Yang?”
Yang Tai smiled, “It was all a coincidence. Even though this poison mist was strong, something seemed to be restraining it here, just like how detoxifying herbs could be found where venomous snakes lay. You will all understand when you see it for yourselves later.”
He gave them a clue but did not explain too much, so Gong Yue just smiled and did not pursue an answer.
“We are just in time actually. We should be able to enter tonight, so let us take this opportunity to rest. We do not know what dangers lurk within that Ancient Cave Mansion that we have to deal with, so we should restore ourselves to our peak condition.”
Naturally, no one had any objections to his words, so they each found a place to sit down and meditate.
Hua Yu Lu naturally stuck close to Yang Kai, taking out two Spirit Pills and swallowing them. Even though she was a First-Order Emperor, and travelling at full speed for a few days wouldn’t cause her any real problems, a large amount of Emperor Qi was still consumed in this poison mist-filled environment, so it was naturally necessary to take this opportunity to replenish herself.
The others did the same.
Yang Kai suddenly looked up and spoke at that moment, “Old Patriarch Gong, since you are knowledgeable and experienced, this Junior has a question to ask.”
Gong Yue was looking at something when Yang Kai suddenly called out to him, so he turned to him and smiled, “I dare not call myself knowledgeable, only that I’ve been alive for a long time. What does little brother want to know? If this Gong knows the answer, this Gong will surely answer.”
Yang Kai asked, “It’s like this, a friend of mine once obtained a Flowing Time Fruit. May I ask what is the best way to consume it in order to achieve the greatest medicinal efficacies?”
“Flowing Time Fruit?” Yang Tai’s eyes lit up at his words as he stared at Yang Kai with a burning gaze, “You mean the Flowing Time Fruit that can prolong one’s life?”
“Exactly so!” Yang Kai nodded.
Yang Tai’s eyes glowed even brighter hearing this. He was a First-Order Emperor Realm Master and had a long lifespan, but he still could not resist the erosion of time. In other words, he was getting old, but he clearly hadn’t lived enough yet. In the recent millennium, he no longer immersed himself in cultivating but instead set his mind to searching for ways to prolong his own life. His efforts in the past thousand years had indeed brought results that allowed him to increase his lifespan considerably, but he had already tried all the general methods and elixirs, so they no longer worked for him.
The reason why he took the risk to come into the Southern Swamp was so that he could find some precious treasure that could prolong his life. That was how he, Hua Yu Lu, and the others were able to chance upon this Ancient Cave Mansion.
When he heard Yang Kai mention the Flowing Time Fruit, he was naturally very excited.
He had heard of the Flowing Time Fruit before and it was of great use to him. It was inevitable that his attention would be piqued.
“The Flowing Time Fruit is a good thing!” Gong Yue smiled, “But little brother, I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person. This Gong specializes in Spirit Arrays and is not very proficient when it comes to herbs and elixirs. So, for this Flowing Time Fruit, this Gong has no better advice than for your friend to find an Alchemy Grandmaster to help refine it into pills.”
Yang Kai thought deeply, “So that’s the only way, it seems, but in order to refine the Flowing Time Fruit into pills, an Emperor Alchemist is needed for the job. However, to seek an Emperor Alchemist’s help is…”
Everyone knew how difficult it was to request for an Emperor Alchemist’s help with Alchemy. Even if one had prepared the necessary materials and an appropriate reward, it was normal to have to wait for years and years for an opportunity without suitable connections.
Gong Yue smiled, “Hopefully your friend is in no urgent need.”
“He’s still young, so it’s not urgent,” Yang Kai smiled back.
“That’s good,” Gong Yue said nothing more and turned around and continued to observe the poison mist at the front, seemingly not taking this random question to heart.