“Call your Elder Sister here,” Yang Kai looked at Zhu Lie and ordered.
Zhu Lie lightly snorted. Although he was unhappy with Yang Kai’s overbearing tone, he didn’t haggle with him much. Having heard everything so far, he prompted his Dragon Essence and formed a few hand seals as his lips moved up and down a few times.
Yang Kai turned his attention back to the Charm Demon and smilingly asked, “If I ask you which Demon King you would like to kill, who would you pick?”
The Charm Demon’s face changed after hearing this and she immediately asked, shocked, “Sir, what do you mean?”
“I’m just asking, who do you find the most disgusting?”
The Charm Demon replied with a forced smile, “Sir, please don’t joke, we all belong to the Demon Race. We stand together and help each other in times of difficulty. All in Demon Fury City are brothers and sisters, how can we find each other… disgusting?”
Other Demon Kings puffed their chests after hearing this, trying their best to assume the stance of sharing life and death together in adversity. Although no one knew why Yang Kai was asking this, everyone felt that something wasn’t right.
This Human seemed to have some ill-intentions, and it was by no means as friendly as he looked on the surface. He was a beast shrouded in the wool of a sheep, one that would attack if they accidentally touched it.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he declared, “The opportunity is in your hand, it will be gone once you let it slip away.”
The Charm Demon didn’t say a word, hesitating for a time before using her Divine Sense stealthily.
Yang Kai raised his eyes, looking toward one side, his gaze happening to land on a sinister-looking Demon King. This Demon King was surging with Blood Qi, forming a faint red halo around his body. He seemed to be a member of the Blood Demon Clan and there was an uneasy expression on his face, as if he was worried about something.
When Yang Kai’s gaze swept over him, he immediately reacted, shouting at the Charm Demon, grinding his teeth in anger, “Slut, how dare you betray me!”
The Charm Demon had her red lips pursed and her face turned a little pale, but she said nothing to the accusation of the Blood Demon.
The Blood Demon grew angrier, “Ungrateful slut! When you were under my crotch, you did everything to seduce me, but now that you’ve climbed a higher branch, you want to kill me!? I should have known never to trust a wench like you!”
The Charm Demon became angry out of shame and rebuked, gritting her teeth, “Although I am a Charm Demon, I’m not loose! If you hadn’t forced yourself on me, why would I…”
“Hahaha!” The Blood Demon broke into laughter as Blood Qi fiercely surged from him, “Enough with the sophistry. The Charm Demon Clan are all cheap sluts! If it wasn’t for this King’s help, how could you have ever reached the Demon King Realm with your aptitude!? You think that this King had no idea that you have been secretly hooking up with other people all these years? And you still have the gall to say that you aren’t loose? Now, you are just a piece of rotten meat that not even the wild dogs would bother to sniff! Even if you kneel down and beg me, this King wouldn’t touch you!”
“What nonsense!?” Charm Demon screamed before she turned and begged, looking at Yang Kai, “Sir, although this slave has no idea what you want to do, if you want to kill someone, please kill him! The slave will be at your beck and call in the future.”
“How dare you want to kill me!? I’ll kill you first!” The Blood Demon erupted and the moment he raised his hand, a beam of bloody light shot straight towards the Charm Demon. The beam then exploded, transforming into a rain of blood that poured down over a large area.
The blood rain seemed to be extremely corrosive and made sizzling noises even as it fell through the air.
The Charm Demon immediately screamed. Her cultivation was much lower than the Blood Demon’s so she couldn’t resist his attack. She promptly retreated as she chanted some verse in the Demon language, while repeatedly swinging her arms, shooting pure Demon Qi out again and again. Nevertheless, she was unable to stop the blood rain from falling on her.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
The drops of blood rain melted through the Charm Demon’s defences, corroding her clothes, laying a large part of her body bare. The exposed skin was then stained by the blood rain and quickly rotted away, turning into pus and dripping down along her body. At some places, her white bones could even be seen, making her look extremely miserable.
“Die slut!” The Blood Demon didn’t give up and charged straight at the Charm Demon. By the looks of his posture, he wanted to finish her once and for all.
The Charm Demon’s face turned pale in horror. She did her best to retaliate but was unable to stop the Blood Demon from charging. She felt death approaching and believed no matter what, she would not survive this.
But suddenly, the Blood Demon collapsed in the mid-air, blowing up as an endless wave of blood shot straight towards Yang Kai. Its momentum was quite shocking, giving the impression of a tidal wave. The tsunami of blood was extremely powerful and destructive, seemingly capable of sweeping away all things in existence, and at the forefront of the blood wave, the Blood Demon’s face slowly emerged. He seemed to be riding the waves, fiercely rushing towards Yang Kai.
Attacking the Charm Demon was just a cover, that’s all. His real target was always Yang Kai.
Although he didn’t want to have a conflict with Yang Kai, having been stirred by the Charm Demon, he had been pushed to the edge of the storm. If he wanted to survive it, he had no choice but to strike first.
The red-haired young man was too terrifying. Even the top Demon King was instantly killed, so the Blood Demon didn’t dare to have any thoughts of attacking him whatsoever.
Although Yang Kai had killed a few Demon Kings, he had done it by depending on the might of an artifact, so in the Blood Demon’s opinion, Yang Kai’s own strength might not be that great. Now was his opportunity to take Yang Kai down while he had not yet summoned his artifact.
[As long as I can capture this Human, I can have the absolute upper hand!] Thinking so, the Blood Demon immediately made his move. Furthermore, he was extremely confident that he would succeed.
At that moment, he noticed a meaningful grin on Yang Kai’s face. The smile promptly made his confidence hit rock bottom as he inexplicably felt that he was a sheep throwing himself at a wolf. He immediately felt that he had made a fatal mistake.
The hesitation in his heart caused his blood wave incarnation to freeze for a moment.
Yang Kai raised his hand and flicked his fingers.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
Crescent-shaped pitch-black slashes cut through the blood waves like hot knives through butter.
Every Moon Blade made the Blood Demon grunt in pain as his crimson halo dimmed, reducing the size of the blood wave.
After seven or eight Moon Blades, the blood wave converged to a point as the Blood Demon’s figure re-appeared and staggered not too far away from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai quickly formed hand seals as a solemn look appeared on his face while a faint Time Principle fluctuation rose from his body.
“Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
He lightly smacked his palm out, hitting the absent-minded Blood Demon in a flash, who immediately spurted a mouthful of blood before his figure flew away like a kite. Somehow, the Blood Demon regained his wits after taking this hit and his figure jolted as he transformed into rays of blood light that shot off in multiple directions.
The serious injuries he had suffered in that brief clash let the Blood Demon, who was a powerful Demon King, know that he had greatly underestimated his opponent. From the start, he wasn’t Yang Kai’s opponent.
Now, he just wanted to escape, the farther the better.
“Blood Shadow Escape Technique!” Yang Kai lightly snorted before sneering, “If it was Shadow Demon Clan’s Divine Shadow Slayer Escape Technique, then this Young Master may have taken a little more time to solve it, but you dare act so arrogant in front of this Young Master with mere Blood Shadow Escape? Watch how this Young Master instantly breaks it.” Saying so, Yang Kai’s gaze quickly swept through various streaks of blood light in succession before he focused his gaze on one in particular and pointed his finger at it.
Immediately, Space Principles surged, turning the area around that streak of blood light into an invisible cage.
The streak of blood light crashed into the cage wall and was knocked back as a pale Blood Demon appeared.
“How is this possible!?” He couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
The Blood Shadow Escape Technique was one of the Blood Demon Clan’s Innate Divine Abilities, one that boasted superior concealment and speed. If an ordinary person encountered this Divine Ability, he or she wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the real and fake bodies.
The Blood Demon never expected a mere First-Order Emperor Realm Human boy to see through it.
And the words this young man had spoken just now horrified him even more. The Blood Demon’s Blood Shadow Escape Technique and the Divine Shadow Slayer Escape Technique were both Innate Divine Abilities. Even for the Demon Race’s Demon Kings, it would be too difficult to see through these techniques, but judging by this Human’s confident tone, he was well versed and experienced with the unique skills of the Demon Race.
The Blood Demon was horrified to the extreme and his entire body had gone cold.
He tried to use his escape technique again, but a figure had appeared before him; Yang Kai was already blocking his way.
The Blood Demon immediately gasped in horror, hurriedly retreating.
“Look at me!” Yang Kai spoke in a heavy tone, his voice seemingly carrying an irresistible power. The Blood Demon instinctually looked up at him when he heard this and when their eyes met, the Blood Demon saw the opposite party’s left eye turn into a vertical golden slit. The majestic golden glow of this eye seemed to suck away his Soul, shaking his Knowledge Sea, rendering him unable to have any thought of looking away. The next moment, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged like a tide as a budding lotus flower flashed away from his left eye, shooting straight into the Blood Demon’s Knowledge Sea.
In an instant, the Blood Demon’s thoughts froze even more firmly as he stood rooted on the spot, dumbstruck.
His Knowledge Sea had collapsed. The Blood Demon was now as good as a walking corpse.
A figure rushed over from the side at that moment, its eyes filled with deep-rooted hatred, holding a white bone dagger. The bone dagger didn’t appear to belong to any kind of Ominous Beast. Rather it was more like a bone left behind by a Human or Demon Race Master, one that had been refined into a Demon Artifact using some unknown technique.
The aura of the bone dagger was pretty good, and it was ruthlessly thrust straight towards the head of the rooted Blood Demon, wanting to reap his life in a single blow.
Yang Kai promptly sent out a palm along with a cold snort, knocking the Charm Demon away, who crawled back up and doubtfully asked, wiping the blood from the corner of her lips, “Sir?”
The Charm Demon’s condition was pretty miserable at the moment. Her clothes were in tatters, and ugly pustules could be found all over her beautiful figure. Many of these pustules were bleeding, radiating an unpleasant aura.
She was far weaker than the Blood Demon, and was nearly killed by his opening attack. Coupled with the humiliation she had suffered, she naturally wanted to take revenge.
It was just that she couldn’t understand why Yang Kai would stop her; after all, it was Yang Kai who asked her who she wanted to kill in the first place.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Yang Kai coldly looked at her, the golden glow remaining in his left eye. The Charm Demon’s entire body went cold as she hurriedly explained, “Didn’t Sir want to kill him? I only wished to assist you!”
“If I want to kill someone, I can do it myself, why would I need your help?” Yang Kai lightly snorted.
The Charm Demon tremblingly admitted her mistake, “This Mistress was wrong, Sir, please don’t be angry!”
She knew that she had to be submissive if she wanted to survive, so she didn’t dare show any grievance or anger.
Yang Kai simply ignored her though and looked over at the nearby Zhu Lie.
Zhu Lie had been sitting in the same place, not moving an inch, but the Dragon Pressure radiating from him had already been pushed to the limit. The Demon Kings standing before him were sweating buckets while the ones with the lower cultivation were shivering, their faces pale. They felt as if a huge mountain had been placed on their chests and they were having a hard time breathing.
Although the battle between Yang Kai and the Blood Demon was very short, without Zhu Lie’s deterrence, other Demon Kings would not have just stood by and watched. In any case, they were all Demons, so it was impossible for them to idly sit while their clansman was being killed.
In fact, several Demon Kings wanted to make a move as soon as the Blood Demon made his, but they were suppressed by Zhu Lie before they could act.
The red-haired young man had put a lot of pressure on the Demon Kings, but the pressure the strange Human was giving wasn’t any weaker. They weren’t confident that they could survive under his attacks, so they remained obedient after being suppressed, secretly praying that they would not draw fire upon themselves.
Now that the dust had settled, it became apparent that the Blood Demon had suffered serious injuries, and while he may be alive, he was as good as a walking corpse. This chilled the other Demon Kings even further, making them all worry about what kind of fate was awaiting them.
“What are you trying to do?” Zhu Lie frowned and impatiently stared at Yang Kai.
First, he went to Demon Fury City to look for Demon Kings to inquire about some strange beast, and now, he had attacked without a word. It would have been nothing if he had killed the Blood Demon, but Yang Kai actually just put him into a half-dead state, which was rather baffling.
“You will know later,” Yang Kai indifferently replied. At this moment, he noticed Zhu Qing flying over, with Li Jiao a half step behind her. Who knows what kind of brown-nosing he was doing, but it was clear he was nodding and bowing with a big smile on his face. However, he couldn’t get any response from Zhu Qing.
After the two flew closer, Li Jiao hurriedly greeted Yang Kai.
“What happened here?” Zhu Qing curiously looked around. She was puzzled about what had happened as she noticed the traces of fighting and could tell that they were fresh.
“Nothing much,” Yang Kai gave an arbitrary reply before he looked at the black puppy in her arms and asked, “How is it doing?”
“It’s getting better, but it seems a little weak,” Zhu Qing caressed the little black puppy’s head.
Its situation had indeed improved. When Yang Kai left, the black puppy was still frozen in a block of ice, but now, although there was still frost on its body, it was obviously much better.
Right at that moment, it looked as if it had smelled something delicious and it raised its head to look at the nearby Demon Kings, drooling from the corner of its mouth.
Being stared at by this small beast, many Demon Kings felt as if they had encountered their nemesis and their hands and feet went cold as they promptly looked away.
“Want to eat?” Yang Kai smilingly asked.
“Woof!” The black puppy’s bark immediately rang in his mind as it struggled to get up from Zhu Qing’s arm.
“Don’t just indiscriminately eat things,” Zhu Qing frowned as she scolded it. She wanted to say it when she saw Ah Wang swallow the two Demon Race members before, but the situation had changed so abruptly that she wasn’t able to. Now that she saw it wanting to do the same thing, she immediately knocked its head.
The black puppy aggrievedly whimpered.
Yang Kai picked up the black puppy from Zhu Qing’s arm and said, “Qing’er, if we want to leave this place, we’ll have to let it eat more.”
“Huh?” Zhu Qing furrowed her brow, wondering what Yang Kai meant.
The next moment, she saw Yang Kai throw the black puppy straight toward the absentminded Blood Demon.
In the air, Ah Wang was in high spirits, practically glowing with vigour. His pair of black eyes burst with a fearsome glow as it suddenly opened its mouth, which grew to the size of a door as it swallowed the Blood Demon in one bite.
*Ssii…*
Immediately, gasps escaped from the Demon Kings’ mouths as they dumbfoundedly stared at the black puppy’s sudden transformation. Their eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets. The frightening things Yang Kai had been talking about earlier were gradually confirmed by what they were seeing before their eyes, bringing them all to a horrifying conclusion.
“Abyssal Returner!”
The Charm Demon’s scream reverberated throughout the sky as her face, which had just regained a bit of its complexion, turned completely pale once again. She seemed to have lost all her strength as she crumpled down to the ground.
Although the other Demon Kings fared better than her, they were greatly frightened for sure. Panic immediately spread among the Demon Kings, making all of them extremely uneasy as their emotions were thrown into chaos.
The legendary monster that they thought was long dead had suddenly appeared in front of them. They simply couldn’t believe this; after all, in the records of the Demon Race, the Abyssal Returner was described in the most terrifying of ways, portraying it as the living embodiment of catastrophe and destruction. Almost a third of the Demon Realm was destroyed by its demonic hunger, and the current harsh environment of the Demon Realm was inextricably linked to it.
They couldn’t figure out how the Abyssal Returner was still alive. Wasn’t it killed by the Great Demon God of the time? Could it be that the rumours they spoke of earlier were actually true? That the Abyssal Returner had escaped by feigning death, hoping to make a comeback, and when it was prepared, it would definitely go looking for the Great Demon God for revenge. The current shattered Demon Realm couldn’t withstand any more destruction.
With so many Demon Kings here, it was impossible to misidentify the Abyssal Returner. Although the Abyssal Returned seemed very ordinary at a glance, when it transformed, its characteristics couldn’t be any more obvious.
In other words, this seemingly docile black puppy was definitely the Abyssal Returner, the very same horrifying existence that destroyed the Demon Realm and fought a life and death battle with the Great Demon God back then.
[No wonder, no wonder this Human wanted to learn everything about the Abyssal Returner.]
It turned out that what he said about raising an Abyssal Returner was really true!
Just as this thought crossed their minds, many Demon Kings’ faces turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
They seemed to have revealed a lot of information that shouldn’t have been revealed, especially the part about the strength of the Abyssal Returner, which was simply life-threatening information.
In a flash, all the Demon Kings felt regret, especially the Demon Kings who had revealed more sensitive information, wishing to tear their mouths off for their foolishness.
While the Demon Kings had lost their wits in shock and horror, the little puppy had already swallowed the Blood Demon in one bite, and its enormous mouth had already returned to its original shape. There was a satisfied look on its face, and its belly was moving up and down. The frost covering its body surprisingly began to melt at speed visible to the naked eye. Wisps of Cold Qi slowly flowed out of its body, assimilating into the surroundings and causing the temperature to drop sharply.
Moreover, under Yang Kai’s keen perception, the moment the black puppy ingested its latest food, its aura soared, reaching to the level of Sixth-Order Monster Beast before returning to its original level after the black puppy returned to its native state.
In just a short dozen breaths, the black puppy had already returned to its original size, but it wasn’t as weak as before; its vitality was as vigorous as a dragon and it was walking in large strides. It was now eagerly looking at the Demon Kings, making them shiver in horror.
“Hmm?” Zhu Qing looked at the black puppy in astonishment, as if she hadn’t expected that swallowing a Demon King would be this helpful.
Yang Kai explained, “This little thing is a Demon Realm Exotic Beast. It also seems to be very famous over here. There is a kind of void space in its belly, which allows it to devour everything, so anything related to the Demon Race makes it stronger.”
Zhu Qing thoughtfully asked, “Speaking of which, was the Yin Wind it had swallowed before swallowed into that unknown space too?”
Yang Kai replied, “It should be so. I guess the size of that space has something to do with its strength. If it’s not strong enough and the space in its belly is too small, it can’t handle it after swallowing it to a certain extent.”
“It’s really amazing,” Zhu Qing looked surprised, sizing up the black puppy as if she wanted to re-assess it. The Yin Wind they had encountered on Yin Wind Mountain was too terrifying. The Cold Demon Qi that became heavier as they walked further was something even Yang Kai and she couldn’t resist, was swallowed by the black puppy in its strange space, carrying them more than a thousand meters up Yin Wind Mountain. This kind of ability was shocking.
“Do you want to make it stronger, strong enough to take us deeper into the Yin Wind Mountain?” Zhu Lie asked, furrowing his brow. Yang Kai’s intentions couldn’t be any more obvious now, so if he still couldn’t guess it, he would really be a fool.
“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded his agreement, “Ah Wang is our only chance now. As long as it is strong enough, and the space in its belly large enough, then it can definitely lead us outside.”
Zhu Lie thought for a moment before agreeing, “This is indeed an opportunity. However… before that, it needs a lot of food.” While speaking, he glanced at the Demon Kings.
Many Demon Kings’ faces turned bitter. They had the will to resist but were powerless to do so. They felt wronged.
The Charm Demon sat down on the ground in despair. She hadn’t expected that such a destiny awaited her. She racked her brain, trying to come up with ways to survive. If there was no Blood Demon, she could have tried to seduce Yang Kai, but the previous battle had left her in a sorry state that would take at least a month or two to recover from. How could she get so much time to recuperate now?
Yang Kai added, “Of course, this is just my guess. I don’t know if it will work. In order to confirm this, I have to go and do a little experiment.”
“How are you going to experiment?” Zhu Qing asked.
Yang Kai slightly smiled before he reached out and grabbed the black puppy. The black puppy looked confused; it had no idea how it would be treated next.
“Take good care of these guys, none of them are allowed to leave,” ordered Yang Kai before his figure disappeared from the spot.
Zhu Lie thoughtfully gazed in Yin Wind Mountain’s direction.
After a while, he retracted his gaze and firmly sat.
The Charm Demon was flabbergasted. She wanted to escape but didn’t have the guts to try it. Obviously, she could only stand up and walk toward the other Demon Kings.
She gingerly glanced at Zhu Lie and noticing that he didn’t have any intention of stopping her, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Many Demon Kings gathered around as their Divine Senses surged. Apparently, they were discussing ways to save their lives. Occasionally, a faint murderous intent would emerge, obviously wanting to give it a try.
After all, they weren’t weak. If they were really fish in the net and had no chance to live, it would have been a given that they would become food for the Abyssal Returner.
Demon Fury City had stood in the Revolving World for hundreds of thousands of years and had been constantly at war with Human Imperial City, but it had never faced this kind of crisis.
This strange Human Boy, who had appeared out of nowhere, was beyond what they could contend with.
While the Demon Kings were talking among themselves, the Zhu sister and brother duo weren’t interested in knowing their intentions. Li Jiao was huddled on one side. He completely lacked the stance of a Sect Master or powerhouse as he deliberately went to chat and flatter the two Dragon Clan members, but without the guts to go any further, a troubled look covered his face.
After an hour, Yang Kai suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Although he cut a sorry figure, obvious joy could be seen on his face.
Zhu Qing and Zhu Lie immediately knew that Yang Kai’s theory was correct at one glance. Otherwise, he would never show such a happy look. Both of them secretly cheered.
Meanwhile, the Demon Kings looked horrified and their hearts were gripped with bitterness.
This couldn’t be helped, the Abyssal Returner cub in Yang Kai’s arms was covered in frost, obviously because it had swallowed a lot of Yin Wind on Yin Wind Mountain. And from past experience, solving this problem was quite easy, but it certainly wasn’t what the Demon Kings were hoping for.
Yang Kai nodded to Zhu Qing before turning his gaze to the crowd of Demon Kings, like a butcher looking at a herd of lambs. Zhu Lie and Zhu Qing rose into the air without speaking a word, surrounding the Demon Kings in a triangle formation along with Yang Kai.
Li Jiao thought for a while before hurriedly joining them, releasing his own Emperor Pressure and assuming a ferocious look on his face, giving the impression that he could swallow them in one bite.
“Sirs and Madam, please wait a moment!” The Charm Demon hurriedly stepped up and loudly spoke, perhaps forced or perhaps of her own will, either way sweating buckets, “We have had a discussion and are willing to help you make the Abyssal Returner stronger, to help Sirs and Madam leave this place.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow and enthusiastically asked, “It’s interesting for you to cooperate of your own will, but if I don’t satisfy you, then I’ll be ill-at-ease. So, who is willing to die first?”
The Charm Demon hurriedly wiped the sweat off her forehead and corrected, forcing a smile on her face, “The Abyssal Returner consumes anything related to the Demon Race, and its strength can be increased using the Demon Qi, but it doesn’t mean that it needs to devour my clansmen, Sir.”
“I know,” Yang Kai nodded before adding, “But isn’t this the most efficient and direct method?”
The Charm Demon replied, “The most direct method, yes, but the most efficient, not necessarily.”
Yang Kai asked with a shadow of a smile lingering on his face, “How is it inefficient?”
The Charm Demon summoned up her courage and replied, “There are only so many Demon King-level Masters in Demon Fury City. May I ask, what would Sir do if the Abyssal Returner’s strength isn’t enough to leave this place after swallowing all of us?”
Yang Kai frowned before adding, “Although there are only so many Demon Kings, there are a lot of other Demons in Demon Fury City, swallowing all of them would be enough.”
The Charm Demon continued, “How can these clansmen be compared with us? Sir is also a Master himself, so Sir should know that strength doesn’t have anything to do with quantity.”
Yang Kai smiled, “What you say also makes sense. Good, I will give you a chance to convince me otherwise.”
The Charm Demon was taken aback and immediately replied, “This Mistress has heard that among humans there is a saying, ‘do not kill the goose that lays the eggs’. Sir’s current practice is exactly that. If you want eggs, you must not kill the goose that lays them.”
“Would you be willing to be the goose that lays the eggs?”
The Charm Demon replied with a wane smile, “It’s better than the alternative, death. We are willing to cooperate, and allow the Abyssal Returner to devour our Demon Qi. Although it won’t be as fast as directly swallowing us, it shouldn’t be much worse, and it has the benefit of maintaining a source of energy. As long as we are alive, we can provide the Abyssal Returner with the energy it needs to grow. Sir is wise, Sir should be able to weigh the pros and cons.”
Yang Kai lightly snorted before indifferently asking, “And if I insist on killing the goose that lays the eggs?”
The Charm Demon nibbled her lower lips before she looked at the other Demon Kings and aggrievedly replied, “If Sir insists, then we will have no choice but to fight back. We might have no hope of succeeding, and will just be speeding up our deaths, but… if we all die, the Abyssal Returner won’t get any benefits. Sir probably doesn’t know, but the Abyssal Returner doesn’t eat the dead, only the living.”
Having finished her peace, she nervously looked at Yang Kai, and with the other Demon Kings silent as well, the atmosphere was turning a little serious.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai’s face became serious. He pondered for a while before a look of realization appeared on his face, “No wonder it didn’t swallow those Demons last time, so this guy is a picky eater!”
The Charm Demon couldn’t help but be a little dumbfounded. Seeing Yang Kai thinking so seriously just now, she naturally thought that Yang Kai was considering their proposal, who knew that it was actually something so irrelevant.
Just as she was about to speak, Yang Kai continued, “I can follow your suggestion and not kill you. Massacring an entire city goes against Heaven’s Will, so if not forced, this Young Master is not willing to do so. However, whether you live or die will depend on your performance.”
Just as he said this, Yang Kai threw the black puppy over.
The Demon Kings were all struck with panic at the sight of this and instinctually dodged. Having just seen the black puppy swallow the Blood Demon in one go, they were naturally wary of it.
In the end, the Charm Demon was more reliable than the others and courageously caught the black puppy.
The black puppy opened its mouth wide and instantly, everything went dark before the Charm Demon’s eyes. The Charm Demon was so terrified that her entire body went limp, helplessly watching as the big mouth closed down on her. She couldn’t do anything to escape.
A smacking sound suddenly rang out as Yang Kai slapped the black puppy’s head, who immediately let out a whimper, but it still promptly closed its mouth, finally letting the Charm Demon escape.
“You can’t eat her!” Yang Kai looked at it with a serious look on his face, “Don’t pretend to be a fool. No means no!”
The black puppy’s ears immediately drooped.
“It’s all good now.” Yang Kai broke into laughter, looking at the Charm Demon.
The Charm Demon was frozen on the spot. After a good long while, she finally awkwardly reacted, “I’m a little limp, which one of you will come first.”
The Demon Kings hesitatingly looked at each other, but in the end, a Bone Demon came out and volunteered in a hoarse voice, “I’ll go first.”
While speaking, he strode to the black puppy and pushed all his Demon Qi. In a flash, surging Demon Qi emerged from him and fiercely flowed towards the black puppy.
The black puppy suddenly got excited and opened his mouth wide again as a strong suction came from its wide-open jaw, sucking in the Bone Demon’s Demon Qi and swallowing it into its abdomen.
A black line visible to the naked eye appeared between the black puppy and the Bone Demon. A steady stream of energy was flowing from the Bone Demon to the black puppy, owing to which the frost covering the black puppy slowly began to melt.
The Bone Demon’s cultivation was good, his aura placing him somewhere between the Second and Third-Order Emperor Realm. He was definitely ranked among the top ten Demon Kings in the city.
But such a Demon King couldn’t even last the time it took for an incense to burn before the black puppy.
No matter how much he pushed his energy, the black puppy devoured it clean. Its small stomach was like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.
After the time it takes for an incense to burn, the Bone Demon, whose Demon Qi had been devoured clean, staggered. The pulsating ghost fire in his eyes had dimmed significantly, obviously because of the excessive consumption of his strength.
Staggering, he walked to one side and sat down cross-legged to recover.
With an example having been made, the other Demon Kings walked to the black puppy one by one and followed the same pattern.
One by one, the Demon Kings walked up the black puppy and left soon after. Each and every one of them had almost been drained to death.
Even the strongest Demon King present could only persist for the time it took for two incense sticks to burn before he was exhausted.
After three hours, all the Demon Kings were left sitting on the ground in rows.
Yang Kai’s face turned a little dark. Although he knew that the black puppy had gotten stronger, it was definitely not enough to take them out of here.
The Charm Demon had been paying attention to Yang Kai’s posture and expression, so she immediately said, forcing herself to be enthusiastic, “This Mistress can summon all the Demon Great Generals in the city here. Although they are weaker, they are greater in number.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded, whereupon the Charm Demon used a technique to summon all the Demon Great Generals.
Not long after, Demon Great General-level figures flew over from every direction of the city one after another.
As the Charm Demon said, although the Demon Great Generals were weaker in cultivation, they won in numbers. In any case, they could contribute to making the black puppy stronger.
When the crowd of Demon Great Generals arrived, they were taken aback at the sight of the Demon Kings’ plight. They were uneasy, wondering what fate awaited them.
The Charm Demon summoned some of the strongest Demon Great Generals to her side and whispered to them, making them turn pale. From time to time, they glanced at the black puppy with apprehension.
Very soon, all the Demon Great Generals knew why they were called over.
With the Demon Kings taking the road before, they knew that they couldn’t resist, so they lined up before the black puppy and pushed out their Demon Qi.
The Demon Great Generals were far worse than the Demon Kings, as each of them was only comparable to a Dao Source Realm cultivator. They could only persist for a few dozen breaths, that was all. The suction from the black puppy’s mouth seemed to be able to squeeze out energy from their bodies, making them unable to hold out for long.
One after another, the Demon Great Generals became dead tired.
After a day, the Demon Great Generals round was already over. Everywhere, Demon Race members were sitting cross-legged, restoring their energy. It was an extremely spectacular sight.
But just a short span of one day wasn’t enough for the Demon Kings to completely recover.
The black puppy impatiently growled a few times. Since its birth, it had never eaten so refreshingly. Although it wasn’t as delicious as eating a Demon King directly, eating this way lasted longer, allowing it to revel in the pleasure of savouring its food.
The Bone Demon, who had gone first, had no choice but to get up and repeat what he did the day before.
Yang Kai, who was coldly watching from the side, knew that this would only be a vicious cycle. The Demon Race members wouldn’t get enough time to recover, owing to which, the energy they could provide to the black puppy would become less and less, eventually becoming almost negligible.
After weighing his options for a while, Yang Kai took out a few bottles of recovery-type pills, woke up the Charm Demon, and asked her to distribute them.
The Charm Demon appeared to be hesitating as she wished to ask what these pills were, but didn’t dare to ask.
Yang Kai let out a cold snort before taking the initiative to explain, freeing her from her worries.
The distribution of the pills was finished in no time. The Demon Kings who had taken the pills were all smiling happily. Obviously, their recovery speed had become much greater.
The Charm Demon walked back. She seemed to be able to tell what was on Yang Kai’s mind as she whispered, “Sir, please don’t worry too much. At this moment, the World Principles are biased toward your Star Boundary, but once the principles change, our recovery speed will be greater. At that time, things will go much faster.”
“I hope so.” Yang Kai remained noncommittal.
The World Principles of the Revolving World cycled back and forth between being biased towards the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm. There was no pattern to it at all and the reason was that the Revolving World sat in the Void Crack between these two Great Worlds, wandering randomly. It would constantly move between the spheres of influence of these two Great Worlds, and depending on which Great World it was overlapping with, the World Principles would be thus affected.
However, there would be some very obvious natural signs when the World Principles were about to shift. The Human Race of Human Imperial City relied on this to avoid danger.
With the pills distributed by Yang Kai, the speed of recovery of the Demon Kings was indeed a lot faster, but it still couldn’t satisfy the black puppy’s appetite.
Now, Yang Kai could only pin his hopes on the Revolving World’s shifting World Principles.
The wait lasted for half a month.
In this half month, every Demon King and Demon Great General of Demon Fury City had basically undergone ten rounds being drained by the black puppy, only to recover then push their Demon Qi again to let the black puppy feed once more.
No Master could withstand this kind of suffering, not even Yang Kai, so after half a month, all the Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals’ faces had turned grey and were filled with Death Qi, as if their end was nigh and they could die at any moment. Some of the Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals’ cultivations had even regressed and it was unknown if they could ever recover their original strength.
They simply couldn’t carry on, but if they could have escaped, they would have done so long ago. There was an Exotic Monster like the Abyssal Returner, two Dragon Clan members guarding the surroundings, and Yang Kai, who was keeping a close watch on them. How could they escape?
They too were looking forward to World Principles changing.
After half a day, the World Principles began to shift. A reverberating thunderclap-like sound rang out, making the Demon Race members, who had been suffering these days, tear up and cheer in excitement.
After a tremble, the ambient World Energy started to undergo some subtle changes.
Li Jiao came up to Yang Kai’s side and begged, wearing a sad face, “Palace Master Yang, help me.”
“What’s wrong?”
Li Jiao replied, “This Li was corroded by Demon Qi, and these days, the Demon Essence has been steadily growing. It has been very hard to hold on to my sanity. The World Principles are about to change, and if I don’t find a place to hide, I’m afraid I would really undergo demonification.”
Last time, when he wandered with Zhu Lie outside, the World Principles had shifted in favour of the Demon Realm, and without a place to take shelter, he had been invaded by Demon Qi. Li Jiao had been relying on his powerful cultivation to suppress the Demon Essence which had taken root in his body so far, but now, the World Principles were about to change again and flood the air with Demon Qi.
In his current state, it was simply impossible for him to survive. He would definitely be completely overwhelmed by the Demon Essence and become a Demon.
“Then find a place to hide, why are you asking me to save you?” Yang Kai asked with a grin.
Li Jiao replied, wearing a sad look, “But I don’t know where to go. I heard Palace Master Yang mention that there is a place called Human Imperial City. I wonder…”
“Don’t even think about going to Human Imperial City. Although it’s not far from here, you won’t get there in time.”
Li Jiao was struck with panic immediately after hearing this, “Then what do you suggest?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands as he replied, “If you want to save yourself, you have to rely on your own ability.”
Li Jiao’s face turned black and was on the verge of crying as he protested, “Palace Master Yang, you can’t just sit back and watch me die! This Li only came here because of you.”
Yang Kai simply replied, “If I could save you, I would have, but now, I too can’t do anything.”
Li Jiao’s expression involuntarily turned unsightly. Out of everyone present here, the two Dragon Clan members shouldn’t have to be worried about being invaded by the Demon Qi; after all, their Divine Spirit physique and Dragon Blood possessed strong resistance towards Demon Qi. Not to mention the change in World Principles, even if they were thrown into the Demon Realm itself, they were unlikely to be concerned.
Yang Kai couldn’t be regarded as ordinary either. Although Li Jiao had no idea why Yang Kai was confident that he would remain safe and sound, judging by his current lax attitude, Li Jiao knew that he must have a way.
Li Jiao was a little angry, thinking that Yang Kai was treasuring his own skin, but was unwilling to help him.
“Didn’t I show you the way before? What can I do when you don’t cherish it?”
Li Jiao quickly rebuffed, “Palace Master Yang, don’t be ridiculous. While getting blood from the Dragon Clan was something you suggested, if this Li brought it up, his fate would be even more miserable.”
“You’re about to be demonified, so what could be worse?”
“Palace Master Yang, are you really going to sit back and watch me die?” A malevolent aura slowly crept up on Li Jiao’s face as swirling black Qi surrounded his body; anger and wicked thoughts were growing in his heart, strengthening his Demon Essence a lot, especially at this moment when the World Energy had begun to infuse with Demon Qi, which was now even affecting his mind.
Yang Kia looked at him with a sneer, “Now you’re trying to blame me?”
“Damn you!” Li Jian couldn’t stand it and a hideous look appeared on his face as he shouted, grinding his teeth in rage, “If it weren’t for you, how would this Li be trapped here? Since you are so cold-hearted, then don’t blame this Li for not giving you face!”
Just as he said this, the black Qi around him swirled as his eyes turned red. His head moved left and right before it suddenly transformed into the enormous head of a flood dragon, fiercely biting at Yang Kai.
Having been invaded by Demon Qi, Li Jiao had been incomparably vexed these past few days, and now, after having been antagonized by Yang Kai so much, he finally couldn’t maintain a hold on his sanity. The repressed Demon Essence suddenly erupted, instantly demonising him.
“You dare to act presumptuously in front of me? Li Jiao, your courage isn’t small.”
Facing Li Jiao’s anger-filled attack, Yang Kai only chuckled and pushed his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength before raising his hand and pointing at Li Jiao’s forehead.
A wisp of golden glow emerged from his fingertip. The golden glow wasn’t that bright, but Li Jiao acted as if it was his ultimate nemesis. He screamed in horror as the enormous flood dragon head shrank back to its original size. The Emperor Qi instantly stopped circulating and he felt as if he was on the brink of suffocating.
The fingertip pointed on his forehead shocked Li Jiao as a sliver of clarity returned to his eyes.
He was horrified after regaining his senses. He had never thought he would actually attack Yang Kai and realized his actions were a result of the Demon Essence erupting, not his own intention, but who knew whether Yang Kai would spare him or not.
His cultivation was indeed two Minor Realms higher than Yang Kai’s, but under the effects of bloodline suppression, this gap provided him with no advantage at all. If Yang Kai wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as crushing an ant underfoot; Li Jiao didn’t have the slightest chance to resist.
This was the sorrow of Dragon Clan descendants. The bloodline of the Dragon Clan descendants indeed allowed him to walk farther and stand higher than almost all others, with his current Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation as the proof itself. Without his Dragon Clan bloodline, Li Jiao would never have reached such high cultivation.
But before an opponent with a purer Dragon Clan bloodline, more often than not, one’s cultivation was secondary, the power of one’s bloodline was the most important factor.
His back was immediately drenched in a cold sweat as he hurriedly begged, “Palace Master Yang, I was wrong, please show mercy!”
Yang Kai just chuckled and completely ignored him, as if he really wanted to finish him off.
Li Jiao’s face turned ashen as he secretly thought that his end had come.
[My Fire Dragon Palace, my beautiful wives and concubines, what will happen to them? Who will enjoy them when I am gone?]
All kinds of random thoughts flashed in his mind, but even after some time, he didn’t see the gates of Hell. Yang Kai’s finger was still pointed at his forehead, but it was devoid of any murderous intent; instead, a joking look filled his face.
Suddenly, Li Jiao felt the aura around Yang Kai’s body undergo a tremendous change, one that had an ancient and desolate feel to it.
A reverberating and solemn chant sounded as a brilliance bloomed from Yang Kai’s fingertip, enveloping Li Jiao.
The next moment, Li Jiao’s figure jolted as if all the joints in his body cracked. His already tall figure doubled in size as fierce and surging Blood Qi broke out from his body, attacking the Demon Qi inside and outside his form.
Li Jiao was stunned on the spot. He might not know what Yang Kai had done to him, but he could clearly tell that his strength had improved greatly. Furthermore, extremely belligerent and blood-thirsty thoughts were mysteriously rising in his heart. Although these thoughts were giving him discomfort, they were also weakening the effect of Demon Essence on him, allowing him to maintain a strange lucid state.
Li Jiao now looked like he was filled with two coloured lights, one was black Demon Qi and the other was a crimson Blood Qi. The red and black colours were tumbling against each other, giving an extremely strange appearance.
“This…” Li Jiao couldn’t help but begin to ask. At this moment, he knew that Yang Kai had no intention of killing him. The reason for doing this might be to help him, it was just that he hadn’t figured this out, but since Yang Kai could do this, why didn’t he do it earlier? Why toy with and aggravate his condition?
“Ancient Bloodlust Spell!” Yang Kai slightly smiled, “It has a strong effect on the Demon Qi that has invaded Humans. The Shamans of ancient times used this method to save their clansmen, but today’s World Principles are somewhat different from that time. It’s not difficult to get rid of Demon Qi in your body, but it’s troublesome to root out the Demon Essence completely. The best method would be to allow that Demon Essence to completely erupt, only then could it be eliminated once and for all. Otherwise, some hidden dangers might be left behind. You don’t wish to experience cultivation dissonance while in seclusion in the future, do you?”
Li Jiao looked at Yang Kai and asked with an impressed look on his face, “So that’s why Palace Master Yang has been ignoring me these days, deliberately leaving me hanging, even trying to aggravate my condition?”
If not for this, the Demon Essence in his body would not have erupted so quickly.
Yang Kai nodded, “Since we came in together, we must leave together. Not to mention, your Fire Dragon Palace still owes me a lot of Source Crystals, so I can’t have you dying here.”
“Palace Master Yang Kai, this Li has firmly engraved your grace in his heart!” Li Jiao was completely excited. Originally, he thought that he would die today, but things had suddenly turned around. Not only did he have the hope of surviving, but he wouldn’t have to worry about possible sequela.
“Don’t get too excited yet. As I said, the current World Principles are different from the ancient times, and so are the people living under those World Principles. This method was useful for the ancient Humans, but I don’t know how effective it will be for you. Be extremely careful when cultivating in the future.
“Yes, yes, yes, this Li will certainly be careful!” Li Jiao nodded without hesitation.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s expression changed as he changed the incantation before raising his hand and patting Li Jiao, “Demon Suppression!”
Under his pat, the Demon Qi surging around Li Jiao seemed to have been suppressed by something and stagnated.
Yang Kai’s incantation changed again before smacking another palm, “Demon Purification.”
The moment the light flashed, a stream of black Qi whizzed out from Li Jiao’s back and let out a wail as if a ghost possessing Li Jiao had been exorcised.
The black Qi lasted for several breaths before it was completely eliminated. When the Demon Qi was completely eliminated, a flash of joy involuntarily appeared in Li Jiao’s eyes.
He knew his own situation best. He had been plagued by the Demon Qi these days, and even if it didn’t continuously grow, he was unable to get rid of it despite his Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation.
But now, after Yang Kai had used his mysterious techniques, Li Jiao could clearly feel that the problem that had been plaguing him had been completely resolved. There was no more Demon Qi left in his body; all of it had been expelled, and with the Bloodlust Spell’s restraint, the Demon Essence would no longer affect his heart while his Knowledge Sea would remain completely clear.
“Many thanks, Palace Master Yang!” Li Jiao was extremely grateful.
Just as he finished thanking him, he saw Yang Kai grin widely at him, sending out a hard palm. This palm was definitely not something to expel Demon Qi, because it was quite powerful. The most important thing was that it carried a suppressive force of his Dragon Clan bloodline.
Pitifully Li Jiao, a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, didn’t even have the time to react before directly fainting from the blow.
Afterwards, Yang Kai stretched his hand out towards him before Li Jiao’s figure disappeared from sight.
Zhu Lie, who had been watching on with cold eyes, couldn’t help but have his pupils shrunk. He couldn’t figure out where Yang Kai had put Li Jiao.
Only Zhu Qing knew that Li Jiao should have been thrown into that strange space she had been to before. The World Principles here were about to change, and although the Demon Qi had been purged from Li Jiao’s body, if he didn’t find a place to take shelter, it was inevitable that he would be invaded by the Demon Qi again. Human Imperial City was too far away, and there was no place to hide in Demon Fury City, so that isolated space was the best option.
Thinking of what previously transpired in that space though, Zhu Qing’s cheeks involuntarily flushed.
At this moment, the transformation of the World Principles was extremely obvious. The World Energy seemed to have been infused by something which was no doubt Demon Qi.
Many Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals who had been waiting for this looked excited. This was the aura of their ancestral home. When the Revolving World Principles leaned towards the Demon Realm, their rate of cultivation and speed of recovery was enhanced.
The black puppy also became very excited. Obviously, it liked these World Principles too. It cracked its mouth wide and constantly sucked in the surrounding Demon Qi.
In a short while, the entire world had drastically changed. The surroundings were full of rich Demon Qi, and the world had gone dark. The rich Demon Qi flooded in every direction, giving everyone the impression of entering the Demon Realm.
Although Yang Kai had no idea what the Demon Realm looked like, he reckoned that it shouldn’t look much different from the current Revolving World.
The change in World Principles lasted a total of three days, and in these three days, Demon Fury City’s Masters recovered a lot, not enough to keep up with the appetite of the black puppy, but better than before.
Three days later, Yang Kai took the black puppy to Yin Wind Mountain, but when he came back, there was a frown on his face. Under the Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals’ disappointed gaze, Yang Kai threw the black puppy down, letting it continue to devour their Demon Qi.
“What’s the situation?” Zhu Lie asked, raising his head.
“I still couldn’t see the exit,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Although he climbed a little further than the last time, he still couldn’t find where the exit was. In other words, the black puppy’s current strength was still insufficient for them to leave. He had no choice but to continue making it grow stronger.
Zhu Qing stepped forward and comforted, holding Yang Kai’s hand, “Don’t worry, we will definitely get out someday, it’s just a matter of time, that’s all.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I’m not worried about anything. Only, this damned place is too depressing. The sooner we leave this place, the sooner I will be at ease.”
Zhu Qing hesitated for a moment before softly asking, “What if we really can’t leave this place?”
Yang Kai squeezed her hand and affectionately replied, “Then we will grow old together here.”
Zhu Qing lowered her head; her face was completely flushed.
“You two, do you think I’m blind?” Zhu Lie coldly snorted, his face extremely unsightly.
He had strictly warned Yang Kai before, but he hadn’t expected him to not take his words seriously.
Yang Kai raised his hand, put his arm around Zhu Qing’s shoulder, and stated provocatively, “You watch over things here, I’m going on a walk with your Elder Sister.”
After having said this, he directly grabbed Zhu Qing and left.
Li Jiao grew anxious and loudly shouted from behind, “Palace Master Yang, please return as soon as possible.”
Without Yang Kai, he would definitely not be able to stand the erosion of the Demon Qi when the World Principles changed again. Although he had no idea what Yang Kai had done to him before, he didn’t notice any signs of Demon Qi erosion when he woke up from his coma.
If he wanted to survive in this place, he could only rely on Yang Kai.
“Where are we going?” Zhu Qing still believed that Yang Kai was taking her out for something, and innocently asked.
“Anywhere as long as there is no one else there.”
His words were too straightforward, so Zhu Qing immediately understood and her heart immediately started beating wildly as her cheeks turned red and hot.
……
One after another, days went by, and in a flash, it had been three months since Yang Kai and his group had come to Demon Fury City.
During these three months, the Demon King and Demon Great Generals of Demon Fury City had been living a life worse than death. They were constantly alternating between recovering and being drained. More often than not, they were forced to line up when just twenty to thirty percent of their strength had recovered.
After three months of this, the cultivations of all the Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals had regressed by one or two Minor Realms.
It was tantamount to having their flesh cut with a blunt knife, even more painful than being killed outright. Sometimes, the Demon Kings simply wanted to fight it out with Yang Kai, whatever the cost might be, but after giving it a thought, a living dog was better than a dead lion. Their ancestors had occupied Demon Fury City for hundreds of thousands of years, they couldn’t allow its inheritance to be severed in their generation. Thinking so, they had no choice but to painstakingly bide their time, waiting to send these gods of misfortune away.
The black puppy still looked the same as ever, only exuding an aura of a Fifth or Sixth-Order Monster Beast, but through Yang Kai’s many experiments, he knew it had become a lot stronger.
The unknown space in its belly was more than a hundred times larger than it was at the beginning, and it could now take Yang Kai far higher up the mountain than before.
During these three months, Yang Kai and Zhu Qing would occasionally go out to tour the mountains and rivers, then return to Demon Fury City after spending a day or two together. Zhu Lie grumbled over this many times, even openly mocking them, but it had no effect on the couple. Zhu Qing had thin skin and would always blush with guilt whenever her little brother accused them, but Yang Kai was completely brazen. No matter what Zhu Lie said, he treated it as nothing but farts.
As for Li Jiao, he was no longer living his life according to his own wishes, because every time the World Principles leaned towards the Demon Realm, he would be knocked out by Yang Kai and only wake when the change was over.
To this day, he still had no idea how exactly Yang Kai helped him avoid the misfortune of being corroded by the Demon Qi. Nonetheless, his gratitude towards him was increasing day by day despite having no choice in the matter.
At this moment, Yang Kai was already rejoicing a little for not letting the black puppy swallow the Demon Kings, because if he had really done that, the black puppy would have never grown to this level in three months.
It was indeed better to keep the goose that lays the egg than to kill it.
The hard days of the Demon Race were finally coming to an end though, because the last time Yang Kai returned from Yin Wind Mountain with the black puppy, he informed the others that he had a vague idea of the location of the exit. As long as the black puppy became just a bit stronger, they should have a chance to leave this place.
All the Demon Race members rejoiced after hearing this piece of news. They had been toiling hard for these three months just for this day, so now that they had seen hope, they naturally tried harder to recover.
The priceless Demon Fruits that they could never bear to use, were all taken out as they spared no effort to recover their energy.
After another change of World Principles, Yang Kai threw Li Jiao out of the Small Sealed World and woke him.
In the square, all the Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals were sitting cross-legged on the ground, blankly looking at Yang Kai, looking weak and exhausted.
Yang Kai curled his lips into a smile and loudly stated, “Humans and Demons have been enemies since ancient times. There is a deep-rooted feud between the two races that can never be resolved. According to reason, I should kill you all and end all troubles.”
Just as he said this, the faces of Demon Race members changed, but they didn’t panic as they could tell that Yang Kai didn’t plan on doing that from his words.
“However, as thanks for your help over these past few months, we finally have hope of leaving this place, so I am willing to spare your lives.”
“Many thanks, Sir!” The Charm Demon shouted out loud, but there was no response from other Demon Race members.
Yang Kai smiled and added, “I hope we will never meet again.”
[Who wants to meet you again!?] Many Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals rained down curses in their hearts!
“Farewell!” Yang Kai smiled before picking up the black puppy and flying towards Yin Wind Mountain.
Zhu Qing, Zhu Lie, and Li Jiao hurriedly followed after him.
“I wish Sir good luck and safe travels!” The Charm Demon vigorously waved her hands; the corners of her eyes were a little moist.
[Finally! Finally, these living calamities are leaving!] The Demon Kings and Demon Great Generals sincerely prayed in their hearts for them to leave this world, watching Yang Kai and the others’ departing backs.
Yang Kai had been to Yin Wind Mountain more than a dozen times now, each time to perform an experiment with the black puppy, each time climbing further than he previously had.
So, he could be considered to be quite familiar with the way and method.
The Cold Demon Qi continuously blew down the mountain from some unknown place, and the higher one climbed, the more terrifying it was.
At the very beginning, everyone was at ease and could resist the Cold Demon Qi with their own strength, but after a thousand metres, it started to become a little strenuous. None would be able to go farther than a thousand metres without the help of the black puppy.
Obviously, the black puppy was familiar with this too, and after a thousand metres, it opened its mouth wide and sucked in the oncoming Cold Demon Qi into its belly.
In a flash, the four felt the pressure on them greatly reduce. Basically, ninety percent of the oncoming Cold Demon Qi was swallowed by the black puppy while the remaining ten percent was scattered about, easily dealt with by Yang Kai and the others.
As they continued to advance forward, the Cold Demon Qi grew more intense, but the black puppy was safe and sound as it devoured everything.
Only after traversing ten thousand metres did a faint frost start to appear on the black puppy’s body. Obviously, the Cold Demon Qi began to have some effect on it.
In the group of four, Yang Kai was in the lead with the black puppy in his arms, whereas the Zhu sister and brother duo were in the middle, with Li Jiao bringing up the rear, though the distance between them did not exceed more than three steps each.
The surrounding landscape was completely invisible. Even their Divine Sense couldn’t spread more than two hundred metres. Nonetheless, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about going in the wrong direction. He just needed to walk in the direction from where the Cold Demon Qi was blowing.
After a day, they finally noticed signs of an anomaly up ahead.
Powerful Space Principle fluctuations were radiating from that direction. Yang Kai was greatly excited and cried in a loud voice, “We are almost there.”
Hearing what he said, all three of them turned serious, especially Li Jiao. The Emperor Qi emanating from him was extremely fierce and a voice was ringing in his mind, [As long as I can leave this damned place, I’m going straight back to Fire Dragon Palace and not coming out!]
Thinking so, his blood was pumping as he was filled with expectation.
The air around the black puppy became colder and colder as a thick layer of frost covered its body. Its big wide open mouth also became smaller and smaller. Obviously, it was approaching its limit.
About a thousand metres ahead, there seemed to be the source of the Cold Demon Qi. The whistling Yin Winds that were found everywhere on the Yin Wind Mountain were nowhere near as terrifying as they were here.
The last stretch was always the hardest to cross. Yang Kai discovered this place the last time he came here and knew that this should be the place where the exit was. The black puppy had grown a lot stronger over the last few days, so he reckoned that he should be able to bring himself and the others to the exit.
Sink or swim, it all depended on this moment.
Yang Kai constantly whispered words of encouragement in the black puppy’s ears.
The black puppy could obviously understand everything and probably knew that everyone’s life and death were tied to its performance. Suddenly, like divine providence, a muffled roar came from its throat as its small mouth suddenly became bigger again.
All the oncoming Cold Demon Qi was swallowed by it.
Immediately, the pressure on everyone sharply dropped! Yang Kai promptly sped up his footsteps.
Seven hundred metres!
Five hundred metres!
Three hundred metres!
With just one hundred metres left, Yang Kai finally saw what the exit looked like. At first glance, it looked like a rift in space. Furthermore, pure and rich Demon Qi along with an extremely cold aura that could freeze anything and everything in the world was billowing out from that tear, converging in one place.
The rift was several dozen metres long and stretched across the top of Yin Wind Mountain, weaving up and down, continuous and ever-changing, looking extremely unstable.
Logically, such a gap could not possibly continue to exist for a long time because the World Principles would automatically repair it.
But the Revolving World was quite peculiar, located in the Void Crack between the Demon Realm and the Star Boundary. It wouldn’t be surprising if the pulling force of the two Great Worlds were what made a crack appear in the Revolving World and kept it open.
If someday, the pulling force of a certain Great World on the Revolving World suddenly grew stronger, it might tear the entire Revolving World to pieces. At that time, all the creatures living here would surely perish.
A rift like this was inappropriate for anyone to pass through as they wished, because the wild fluctuations in Space Principles could have unpredictable effects on those who tried to cross it. One might pass through without any trouble, or might be ripped apart the instant they tried, it was completely up to luck.
If one wanted to cross such a rift, one would first need to stabilize it to create a safe entrance.
As all kinds of thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, he had already anticipated this situation and had long come up with a plan. He then shouted, “I will stabilize this exit, but I won’t be able to hold it for too long, three breaths at most. You must quickly follow me so that you don’t get lost in the Void Crack!”
“En!” Zhu Qing nodded while Zhu Lie and Li Jiao also turned serious; their nerves were taut and they were ready to act at a moment’s notice.
When it came to the Void Crack and anything else related to the Dao of Space, they were completely helpless regardless of their great strength. They could only depend on Yang Kai at this moment.
Yang Kai’s face also turned serious as Space Principles flared from his figure. Although he was standing on the same spot, it gave the impression that he was sometimes far and sometimes near as space warped around him.
“Open!”
With a loud shout, the invisible Space Principles condensed, creating a wave visible to the naked eye which shot straight towards the shifting Void Crack.
In an instant, an invisible gate seemed to have been erected at a certain location on the rift, stabilizing that small piece of it.
“Qing’er, hurry!” Yang Kai shouted.
Zhu Qing, who had prepared beforehand, rushed into the invisible gate and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Zhu Lie followed right on her tail without a word.
Li Jiao was the last to make a move, and in light of his strength, he should be able to rush in if there was no accident, but the moment he left the black puppy’s protection range, he became completely stiff. He was unable to circulate his Emperor Qi, and could only watch the entrance just before him helplessly as he stood rooted on the spot.
His eyes bulged and were almost ready to pop out as his blood went cold and almost froze as panic and despair gripped his heart and soul.
He knew that he was finished this time. If he missed this opportunity, he would never be able to leave this place and would freeze to death in the end.
Panic-stricken and anxious, all he could do was cast a begging look at Yang Kai.
“Waste!” Yang Kai angrily cursed. He hadn’t expected that Li Jiao would freeze at the critical moment. He wanted to leave him behind but he still reached out and grabbed him before quickly rushing towards the crack, holding the black puppy with his other hand.
The three breaths were already over and the stabilized part of the rift had begun to collapse.
Yang Kai had no choice but to push his Space Principles once again, forming a semi-safe region in front of himself before disappearing into it.
The howls of the wind disappeared all of a sudden and their surroundings turned completely quiet and calm. There was no light, nor any World Energy here, only nothingness.
Arriving at such a mysterious and silent place from the howling environment before would make anyone a little uneasy.
In this place, only Divine Sense was of some use.
“Qing’er!” Yang Kai promptly shouted but no voice could propagate here. Fortunately, he sensed Zhu Qing’s aura and immediately threw Li Jiao down and came to Zhu Qing’s side, pulling her into his arms.
“Are you okay?” Yang Kai asked via Divine Sense.
“I’m alright!” Zhu Qing replied. She was the first to charge into the rift, so naturally, nothing would happen to her, but Yang Kai’s concern still filled her with warmth as she asked, “Is this the Void Crack?”
“That’s right, this is the Void Crack!”
It wasn’t the first time Yang Kai had been to this place. The Void Crack was everywhere, and one could enter it from anywhere. Although it was similar in all places, it was unimaginably vast and for most, no matter how strong they were, such a place was extremely dangerous. Once someone was cast into the Void Crack, he or she might become lost here and never escape for the rest of their life.
Only someone proficient in the Dao of Space was qualified to traverse this place, and they were only qualified, far from being able to leisurely stroll around.
At this time, Zhu Lie and Li Jiao also converged on him. Zhu Lie was still good and fine, but Li Jiao was trembling as he had been almost frozen just now; fear still lingering on his face.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged as he warned them, “There are many space turbulences in the Void Crack that can swallow up and sweep one away, or teleport them to some random location. If you sense something strange, don’t try to investigate out of curiosity, just move as far away from it as possible.”
“Palace Master Yang is right, I will follow your orders here,” Li Jiao nodded his agreement without a moment of hesitation.
In this situation, even if Yang Kai farted, he would breathe it in gratefully. He had no choice. After having owed him so many times, including being rescued just now, Li Jiao had no choice but to pin his hopes on Yang Kai if he wanted to make it back to the Star Boundary. If he couldn’t count on him, who could he count on?
“It’s also easy to get lost here. In this place, a momentary lapse is all that is required to lose contact even if you are just arm’s length away, so I suggest that everyone hold each other’s hands like good friends!”
“That’s a really good proposal!” Li Jiao was trying to find some sense of security, and Yang Kai’s proposal undoubtedly hit home as he hurriedly looked over at Zhu Lie.
Zhu Lie, maintaining a cold face, responded, “If you dare to lean over, you’re dead.”
“Ahem, it was Palace Master Yang’s suggestion…” Li Jiao replied, now stuck in a tight position.
Zhu Lie furrowed his brow before he took out a ribbon from his Space Ring without another word.
Although they were inside a chaotic nothingness, when the ribbon appeared, a flash of light immediately brightened the surroundings for a moment. Obviously, it was a fairly good Emperor Artifact. Moreover, it was an Emperor Artifact quite suitable for women.
“Use this,” Zhu Lie suggested. Asking him to hold hands with Li Jiao was more difficult than killing him.
“That should work too!” Yang Kai nodded.
Zhu Lie immediately flicked the ribbon straight at Yang Kai, who grabbed its end and tied it around his waist while Zhu Lie tied the other end to himself.
Li Jiao, looking with eager eyes, asked with an unashamed look, “Leave a bit, leave a bit for me too.”
Zhu Lie let out a snort. Although he was filled with dissatisfaction, he didn’t make things difficult for him and really left a section for Li Jiao, who hurriedly and happily tied it to his wrist.
This way, all three of them were connected with each other, and the quality of the ribbon was pretty good, so it wouldn’t break that easily.
As for Zhu Qing, there was no need to worry about her. Yang Kai was holding her in his arms the whole time, so it could be said that she was in the safest place. It was just that she was blushing and having a hard time adapting to being so close to Yang Kai in front of others.
“Alright, let’s find the exit now,” Yang Kai shouted.
“Do you know where the exit is?” Zhu Lie asked.
“I can sense it somewhat,” Yang Kai turned and looked towards a certain direction before walking off. Zhu Lie and Li Jiao hurriedly followed after him.
After walking for a while, Zhu Lie felt that something was wrong.
Indeed, it was a good idea to use a ribbon to remain connected to each other, avoiding the embarrassment and discomfort of holding hands, but now, it gave the impression that Yang Kai was leading two animals…
Once this thought crossed his mind, Zhu Lie’s face blackened right away.
Li Jiao was struck with panic and large beads of sweat started oozing from his forehead as, much to his surprise, he felt a murderous intent rising from Zhu Lie.
[I didn’t provoke him! So what’s going on now?] He couldn’t understand.
In the boundless Void, a group of four walked for who knows how long and avoided who knows how many Void Turbulences before they finally arrived at a strange place.
This place seemed to be divided into two levels, an upper and lower level, each connected by an enormous whirlpool. The whirlpools were completely pitch-black and seemed capable of swallowing anything and everything, giving everyone the shudders. Both whirlpools appeared to be in a mysterious static state, but anyone could feel the terrifying suction coming from them.
Yang Kai and the others were standing right in the middle of these two vortices.
After meticulously observing them for a long time, Yang Kai solemnly stated, “These two are the exits, and if I’m right, one should lead to the Star Boundary and the other to the Demon Realm.”
Li Jiao asked, “Which should we take?”
Yang Kai replied, pointing at one, “The upper one. Although both look exactly the same, Demon Qi is overflowing from the bottom one. That one definitely leads to the Demon Realm.”
“Since the location is determined, let’s go then,” Zhu Lie urged.
Yang Kai nodded before exhorting, “I will take you out of here back to the Star Boundary, but I can’t guarantee your safety during the transit; after all, there are a lot of variables here.”
“Since that’s the hand we are dealt, it’s useless to say anything anymore.”
Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile and stated, “Then let’s go, you must closely follow behind me.”
Just as he finished speaking, his figure rushed towards the upper vortex. Space Principles madly surged as an invisible blow shot straight toward the vortex, prying open a way through it, creating a safe passage between the two realms.
Immediately, some unexpected changes began to appear in that calm and quiet vortex. The rotating layers upon layers madly squeezed from all directions, as if they wanted to push everyone out.
At first glance, the entire scene gave the impression that Yang Kai was riding a giant wave, waves that separated and then merged back together, and swirled behind him.
Zhu Lie and Li Jiao could only follow closely behind Yang Kai to avoid getting swallowed up by the current.
Fortunately, everyone was a Master among Masters and were connected by the Emperor Artifact ribbon. Furthermore, no one made any mistakes at this critical point.
Yang Kai pushed forward like a hot knife cutting through butter, releasing Space Principles to the limit.
After shuttling through the vortex for who knows how long, Yang Kai suddenly felt a huge resistance coming from the front, making him feel as if he had run straight into an iron plate. His blood began to roil and he could see stars circling around him.
The World Barrier!
The reason the two Great Worlds weren’t connected to each other was because of the existence of World Barriers. This was the barrier that shielded and bordered a Great World. Generally speaking, it was extremely strong and even Great Emperors couldn’t tear it apart.
According to what Yang Kai knew, only the Great Demon God of the Demon Realm once pierced through the World Barrier, allowing the Demon Realm’s Masters to descend to the ancient Star Boundary.
If the World Barrier was in a normal state, Yang Kai would never be able to pierce through it even if he was proficient in the Dao of Space; after all, his cultivation was too low. Compared to those ancient Masters, he was just in the First-Order Emperor.
But the World Barriers were incomplete here because of the existence of the Revolving World floating between the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm, so some flaws had appeared in it.
Although Yang Kai was disoriented after the collision, he also noticed a chance to break through it.
Suddenly, the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea bloomed with seven coloured brilliance, stabilizing Yang Kai’s mind. At the same time, Yang Kai pushed his Space Principles to form Moon Blades one after another which he crazily fired towards the front.
Countless Moon Blades fell like a meteor shower and a gap really began to appear in the sturdy World Barrier.
Yang Kai rejoiced as he led everyone through that gap.
But right then, an accident occurred. Who knows whether it was triggered because of Yang Kai’s methods or because a gap had suddenly appeared in the World Barrier, but the Void Turbulences suddenly rioted, sweeping everyone up in an instant.
Yang Kai was caught off guard, and by the time he regained his wits, Zhu Qing was nowhere to be found.
He immediately turned pale in horror and promptly spread out his Divine Sense, but the next moment, his heart hit rock bottom.
Not only had Zhu Qing disappeared, even Zhu Lie and Li Jiao, who were following behind him, had also disappeared. Even the black puppy was nowhere to be found.
Yang Kai broke into a cold sweat and stood rooted on his spot.
Yang Kai turned around, wanting to rush back, but the World Barrier had already repaired itself.
After a bright flash of light, Yang Kai appeared in another world.
Feeling the familiar World Principles in his surroundings, Yang Kai understood that he had returned to the Star Boundary, but it was a little different from his expectations. He wasn’t in the Frozen Earth, because there was no ice and snow anywhere in sight.
This wasn’t even the Northern Territory as although the World Principles of the Star Boundary were roughly the same everywhere, there were some subtle differences between the different territories.
Yang Kai had lived in the Northern Territory for quite some time, so if he was in the Northern Territory now, he would definitely have sensed it.
[Where the Hell am I?]
[Zhu Qing and the others wouldn’t have failed to keep up and get lost into the Void, could they?] Just as this thought crossed Yang Kai’s mind, his face immediately turned incomparably ugly. He hadn’t expected for an accident to happen when he had opened a rift in the World Barrier. Had he known this earlier, he would have been more cautious.
If Zhu Qing and the others were really lost in the Void, they might never be able to find their way out. In that case, he would have to return to the Revolving World to search for them, but even the black puppy was gone now, so even if he could really enter the Revolving World, he would not be able to venture deep into Yin Wind Mountain.
In a flash, Yang Kai became extremely depressed, and all the joy of returning to the Star Boundary had completely vanished.
He lowered his head and looked at his waist where Zhu Lie’s ribbon artifact was broken and had lost most of its brilliance. Its spirituality was completely lost as this fairly good Emperor Artifact was cut to pieces by the intense Void Turbulence. If Zhu Qing and the others had suffered similar fates, even their dragon bodies would be injured.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai forced himself to calm down and carefully think about what just transpired.
After a moment, Yang Kai’s taut nerves finally relaxed.
Although everything happened during a very short span of time, he still had sensed a little, and recalling everything step by step, he found some clues. He now believed that Zhu Qing and the others should not be lost in the Void as the Void Turbulence, which caused them to be separated, struck them as they passed through the World Barrier.
If that was the case, it meant that they had all returned to the Star Boundary, but the place where everyone returned was different.
[As long as Zhu Qing and Zhu Lie returned to the Star Boundary, they would not be in any danger. Perhaps they might be searching for me now.]
As this thought crossed his mind, Yang Kai finally relaxed somewhat, but whether this was the case or not, it had not been verified yet.
Finally, he looked around and found himself standing amidst scorching sand and violent sandstorms, like he was in a desert. The World Energy here was pretty lacking, and the environment was a little harsh too; he could not find a single piece of grass growing anywhere in sight.
[In any case, I need to find Zhu Qing and the others first.]
Thinking so, Yang Kai immediately summoned his Flowing Clouds Shuttle and flew off in a random direction to begin searching.
The desert seemed vast; Yang Kai had been searching around for several days but had not found its end. Of course, he had been circling around where he had appeared and hadn’t travelled in a straight line. Had he flown in just one direction, perhaps he would have left the desert.
The reason he was constantly circling was to look for any signs of Zhu Qing and the others.
After five days though, Yang Kai, who was keeping a close watch on the surroundings on the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, finally sensed a familiar aura. He was taken aback and immediately made a beeline in that direction.
It didn’t take him that long to reach that place, where he saw billowing sand as if an army was rushing over; it was quite an amazing sight.
And in front of that dust storm, a small black figure was running. It seemed to be running away from some fearsome Master, looking quite panicked as it weaved left and right.
The black figure was extremely fast, but pursuing it was an extremely powerful Monster Beast. This Monster Beast was treading the sand but was still unable to catch up to its target. Furious, it kept angrily roaring and attacking, leaving enormous pits in the surrounding deserts.
Promptly stowing the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, Yang Kai ran towards the fleeing black figure.
The black figure had obviously sensed Yang Kai’s aura and raised its head to stare at him. The black figure looked pleasantly surprised and immediately made a beeline towards Yang Kai, its speed shooting up as it pulled away from its pursuer.
After a while, the little black shadow arrived before Yang Kai and jumped into his arms, whimpering and trembling.
“Ah Wang, it’s alright now, don’t be afraid!” Yang Kai’s anxious heart finally relaxed as he gently stroked the black puppy’s back.
Seeing the black puppy, Yang Kai finally confirmed that Zhu Qing and the others were safe and sound. At least Zhu Qing was absolutely fine as the black puppy had been in Zhu Qing’s arms the whole time. Since the black puppy had returned to the Star Boundary, Zhu Qing had definitely returned as well. Only, he had no idea where she was.
Obviously, the black puppy had been fleeing for a long while as it was out of breath and its small body was heaving up and down. It had finally found a sense of security in Yang Kai’s arms.
“Hou!”
A deafening roar suddenly reverberated across the sky, shaking eardrums before the billowing sand flew over and an enormous Monster Beast the size of a two story building suddenly appeared. The beast looked extremely terrifying, like an angry bull that had two fangs protruding from the corners of its mouth. Its eyes were red as blood and it was exuding fearsome Monster Qi. Judging by the aura it was radiating, it appeared to be a peak Eleventh-Order Monster Beast.
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter, “You are really useless. You were chased by this guy? Don’t you have your Swallowing Divine Ability?”
An Eleventh-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a Dao Source Realm Master, that’s all. This Monster Beast might appear fearsome but the black puppy had even swallowed Demon Kings, so how could it be helpless before a mere Eleventh-Order Monster Beast?
Yang Kai couldn’t understand what was going on?
“Don’t make trouble! Swallow it.” Yang Kai poked the black puppy, but he didn’t expect it to shrink even more into his arms, leaving only its butt and its short tail between its legs exposed. It looked as if it would not come out no matter what.
“Hou!” The Eleventh-Order Monster Beast was angered by Yang Kai’s carefree appearance and let out another roar before it lifted its enormous paw and smacked it down towards him with the intention of flattening Yang Kai into nothing.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow before lifting his arm and flicking his finger straight towards the Monster Beast’s hoof.
The enormous hoof suddenly exploded and the Monster Beast was sent flying. The brutality in its scarlet eyes disappeared all of a sudden, replaced by pure horror.
Having cultivated to the Eleventh Order, a Monster Beast would naturally have some level of sentience even if it did not have a Human Form; hence, it would know how to seek out fortune and avoid misfortune.
When Yang Kai easily used a finger to cause its huge hoof to explode, it immediately sensed that it was in mortal danger. Therefore, it turned around without hesitation, wrapped itself in sand and dust, and escaped into the distance as swiftly as the wind. The ability to wrap itself in sand and dust seemed like some sort of Innate Divine Ability for it to escape from danger.
Yang Kai was in a good mood since he managed to locate the black puppy; thus, he did not give chase nor kill it ruthlessly. An Eleventh-Order Monster Beast was nothing to him, so he simply watched it escape without stopping it.
“What’s with you?” He held the black puppy up in front of his eyes and studied it carefully; he was unable to make heads or tails of the situation. It could even devour a Demon King, so why is it being driven into the corner by a mere Eleventh-Order Monster Beast? He would not have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes.
Thinking back on it, Gong Yue, who had been taken over by a Demon Spirit at the time, once said that the black puppy had a faint trace of the Abyssal Returner’s bloodline; however, he did not outrightly mention that it was an Abyssal Returner cub. It was very likely that the puppy did not come from a pure bloodline.
Its Innate Divine Ability would instinctively be stimulated when faced with its favourite food, the Demon Race. Unfortunately, that ability was unstable and unreliable against other kinds of enemies. It once devoured Liao Guan Shi in the Revolving World without any warning, but behaved very ordinarily when fighting against the Princes and Princesses of the Imperial Family. It had not used its innate devouring ability at the time even once.
From the looks of it, it probably failed to bring out its Divine Ability and was chased by an Eleventh-Order Monster Beast as a result. It was pretty troublesome to have impure bloodlines.
Even so, Yang Kai wasn’t bothered by this. It was good if the black puppy was capable, but it was fine even if it wasn’t; after all, he did not need to rely on its power. The most important thing was that he finally knew that Zhu Qing and the others were here.
Picking up the black puppy, he placed it on his shoulder, but did not summon his Emperor Grade flight-type Artifact. Instead, Yang Kai just flew into the air directly before he continued his search. Unfortunately, for the next ten days, he made no new discoveries.
Ten days later, an oasis suddenly appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision. Discovering such a pleasing spot out of the blue in this land of endless sand and dust instantly made his mood brighten.
There seemed to be a small village in the oasis, and Yang Kai could sense a number of life auras inside. Sweeping his Divine Sense across the village, he discovered that there were no powerful cultivators here, with the strongest person being just a Dao Source Realm while the rest were even lower than that.
Yang Kai headed to the oasis and landed beside the clear pool of water. Bending down, he washed his face in the water while the black puppy jumped into the water and started swimming freely. When he lifted his head again, he saw several children standing next to him and staring at him with wide eyes brimming with curiosity.
The children were a mix of boys and girls, with the youngest no older than five while the oldest was perhaps eleven or twelve. It might have been due to the environment, but their clothes were shabby and patched over multiple times. Moreover, they had terrible complexions and were all skin and bones, looking extremely malnourished.
The older ones among them seemed to have begun cultivating. Unfortunately, their cultivation was weak to the point that it was pitiful. They stood tens of meters away from Yang Kai, staring at him timidly with eyes that sparkled with curiosity.
Yang Kai smiled at them slightly, but just as he was about to speak, his gaze focused on something in one of the girl’s hair. Smiling even more happily, Yang Kai asked in as friendly a voice as possible, “Hey, where did you get that?”
This girl was among the older ones in the group of children and had tied a ribbon into her hair. What surprised Yang Kai was the material the ribbon was made out of. It turned out to be part of the Emperor Artifact Ribbon Zhu Lie had brought out!
Back in the Void Crack, everybody had used this Emperor Artifact Ribbon to tie themselves together to prevent getting lost or separated. However, that artifact had been shredded when they crossed the World Barrier by a violent Void Turbulence. Yang Kai had one section in his possession originally, but later threw it away since he no longer had a use for it.
[I can’t believe I’d find another section of that artifact here! This is clearly not the one that I threw away as the place I discarded mine is far away from here, there is no way this little girl could have picked up that ribbon from over there. In other words, this section of the ribbon must have been dropped by either Li Jiao or Zhu Lie.] This discovery confirmed Yang Kai’s suspicions from before: everyone had returned to Star Boundary, it was just that they all landed in different places.
When Yang Kai spoke up abruptly, the children jumped in fright and took several steps back in unison.
“Can you let me see that for a moment? I will return it to you once I’m done,” stretching out his hand, the ribbon loosened and flew over to Yang Kai. He lowered his head and studied the ribbon and was now certain it was a piece of the Emperor Artifact. It was too bad that its spirituality was completely lost after it was torn to pieces and no longer had any use. If not for that, the aura of an Emperor Rank Artifact alone would be enough to crush this little girl into dust.
Nodding repeatedly, he lifted his head again to ask something, but to his surprise, he saw the children fleeing without warning. They were probably frightened away by his sudden movements.
Moments later, several dozen cultivators of varying strength rushed over from all directions following the screams of the children. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded Yang Kai, all of them staring at him warily, their expressions rather unkind.
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter even though he knew that his actions were a little reckless. His gaze shifted and landed on the face of one of the middle-aged men as he asked, “Are you the one in charge here?”
That middle-aged man’s cultivation was at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm and he was the strongest person here, but for some reason, his face looked particularly haggard and aged. It seemed even his cultivation could not prevent the passing years from carving wrinkles into his face while the rest of the villagers were in similar situations. Moreover, Yang Kai could tell that something was amiss from their expressions. The looks in their eyes seemed to be filled with despair.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s question, the middle-aged man nodded, “That is correct. I am the one in charge of Green Water Village. May I know Your Excellency’s name?”
Although his cultivation was not as high as Yang Kai’s, he could tell that the young man in front of him was not somebody he could afford to provoke. Thus, he spoke with great respect, for fear that he might bring disaster down on the Green Water Village.
“My name doesn’t matter, I just wanted to ask something,” Yang Kai lifted the ribbon in his hands and continued, “I saw the little girl wearing this on her head just now, so I wanted to know where she obtained it. I didn’t mean to frighten them. Can you help me ask her about it instead?”
The middle-aged man said, “If that’s the case, there’s no need to ask her.”
“Do you know about it?”
He nodded and replied, “She received that item from a red-haired young man.”
“A red-haired young man!” Yang Kai was overjoyed when he heard the news. He didn’t need to inquire further to know that the red-haired young man was Zhu Lie and thus, he hurriedly asked, “Where is that red-haired young man now?”
“He left a long time ago,” the middle-aged man mulled over it for a bit before continuing, “He suddenly appeared in this place about half a month ago and waited here for about half a day. Then, a woman came looking for him. After that, they left together.”
Yang Kai anxiously asked, “What did that woman look like? Did she have red hair too?”
The middle-aged man nodded, “That’s right. Moreover, those two looked very strong, I believe they were even stronger than you.”
“That’s right; that’s right. They are certainly stronger than I am,” Yang Kai was all smiles, his worries finally completely laid to rest. Although he had guessed that Zhu Qing was fine when he managed to locate the black puppy, it was still a huge relief to receive confirmation.
Red hair was a unique characteristic of the Red Dragon siblings. Zhu Lie had obviously arrived at this oasis and used a Dragon Clan Secret Technique to contact Zhu Qing. Then, they left this place together after she arrived.
The middle-aged man continued, “This ribbon is what the red-haired young man left behind when he left this place. Please excuse the child’s ignorance for picking it up and playing with it. You can have it back if it is something you need.”
Yang Kai waved his hand lightly in response, “That is not necessary. I just wanted some information, there’s no need to be so nervous.”
While speaking, he flicked his wrist and the ribbon immediately flew to the little girl and stopped in front of her. The little girl glanced at Yang Kai several times before grabbing the ribbon and holding it in her palm like a treasured item.
After ascertaining that he meant no harm, the group of people finally felt relieved. They had sensed how powerful Yang Kai was and knew if he meant to harm them, they would have no way to resist.
“Which direction did that man and woman leave in? Do you know?”
The middle-aged man pointed with his hand, “That way!”
Glancing into the distance, Yang Kai cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks!”
Subsequently, he turned around and called for the black puppy. Picking Ah Wang up, he then left in the direction Zhu Qing and her brother had gone, chasing after them.
Upon seeing him leave, the villagers secretly breathed a sigh of relief; however, it was just a momentary respite as a figure appeared in front of them again a moment later. It was the powerful young man from before who had for some reason returned.
The middle-aged man asked curiously, “Does Your Excellency need something else?”
Yang Kai smiled, “I thought about it, and since you helped me out, I should return the favour to you.”
“It was nothing; please don’t worry about it!” The middle-aged man shook his head in response.
“It might be a trivial matter to you, but it is extremely important to me. In that case, go ahead and tell me what you need. I will do my best to satisfy you!”
As soon as those words left his mouth, a small commotion ran through the crowd as they looked at the middle-aged man in unison.
Similarly, the head of the village’s expression changed significantly. Even so, he hesitated for a long time before shaking his head and saying, “Many thanks, Your Excellency; however, we are currently not in need of anything in particular.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Looking at your expressions, it must be something difficult to ask, or perhaps there are lives at stake. Not answering when asked means that you are either being restrained by something, or do not have confidence in me. Tell me, who is troubling you?”
“It’s nothing,” the middle-aged man shook his head again with a nervous expression, “Your Excellency, please go quickly. The people you are looking for left half a month ago, so if you don’t leave now, you won’t be able to catch up with them again.”
Yang Kai ignored the village head and turned his gaze to the little girl who had picked up the ribbon instead to ask, “In truth, you are the one who did me the favour, so I would like to return the favour in kind. Tell me, is somebody bullying you? I will go and beat them up so that they won’t be able to bully you again.”
The little girl exclaimed in surprise, “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Then, the little girl said, “Then, can you go and defeat that giant snake? It often comes here to eat people. Both my brother and sister were eaten by it.”
“A giant snake?” Yang Kai frowned.
Ten days later. Yang Kai leisurely appeared in a city somewhere. After so many days, he finally figured out where he was. He was in the Western Territory! The Western Territory was said to be the most barren and desolate of the four domains in the Star Boundary.
Despite coming to Star Boundary for so many years, Yang Kai had yet to step foot into the Western Territory. He never thought that he would accidentally come here upon escaping from the Revolving World and did not know if there were mysterious and unseen forces at work behind the scenes.
Ten days ago, he had left the oasis and went to slay a Monster Beast, a giant snake. It was a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, which was comparable to a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. It considered the people living in the oasis food and would devour one or two of them from time to time. Unfortunately, the people living in the oasis were powerless, even if they wanted to escape. Anyone who dared to venture any further than five kilometres from the oasis would die a horrible death.
Even though that Twelfth-Order Monster Beast was a terrifying nightmare to those people, it was nothing to Yang Kai; thus, he got rid of it in passing. It was also to return a favour to those people. He did not return to the oasis again afterwards, leaving straight away without another word. He was certain that the people in the oasis would discover that the giant snake causing trouble for them had been slain within a few days.
He then chased after Zhu Qing and her brother but did not find traces of them anywhere, so he concluded they must have returned to Dragon Island or gone back to High Heaven Palace. At this point, Yang Kai was no longer in a rush to search for them. Travelling across the mountains and the rivers, he enjoyed the unique customs and sceneries of the Western Territory in a leisurely manner.
It was a rare opportunity for him to come to the Western Territory; hence, he wanted to find a remote and hidden location to set up a Cross-Territory Space Array. That way, it would be more convenient for him to come to the Western Territory again in the future. However, he couldn’t find a suitable place for his use despite searching for several days, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless.
The Western Territory might be relatively remote and barren compared to the other three territories, but relative was still just relative. Having said that, it contained many famous lands which were cultivation paradises rich in World Energy.
The famous Shadow Killer Palace was also located in the Western Territory. Shadow Killer Palace was the Hegemon of the Western Territory and was led by a Great Emperor. It was established by none other than the frightening Night Shadow Great Emperor.
Compared to other Great Emperor Sects, Shadow Killer Palace was undoubtedly the most mysterious one. That was because even the local cultivators in the Western Territory were not sure as to where the Sect was situated, nor how many disciples it had. Even so, it did not prevent Shadow Killer Palace from standing supreme in the hearts of the Western Territory’s cultivators.
If one were to say that Star Soul Palace was the Holy Land in the hearts of the Southern Territory’s cultivators, then Shadow Killer Palace held the same status in the Western Territory.
As Great Emperors were Masters among Masters, a Great Emperor who was proficient in the way of assassination was even more terrifying. There were rumours in the Western Territory that although there were no obvious differences in strengths among the Great Emperors, the most feared one was none other than Night Shadow Great Emperor. That honour was not something ordinary people could ever grasp.
The city Yang Kai entered was not that small, and he immediately made his way into a tavern, found a table by the window, and sat down. Then, the shop-hand immediately came over and greeted him enthusiastically, “Hello, what would you like to order?”
“Do you have any Sword Wine?” Yang Kai asked.
The shop hand grinned meaningfully in response, “You came to the right place, Sir. There are thousands of shops in Star Point City, but only ten of them sell Sword Wine. This small shop happens to be one of them.”
Yang Kai waved his hand magnanimously, “Bring me a hundred bottles to quench my thirst!”
The Western Territory was not just famous for Shadow Killer Palace and the Night Shadow Great Emperor. It was also famous for the Sword Wine, a wine brewed by a place known as the Sword Villa. The brewing process of the Sword Wine was extremely complicated and time-consuming. More importantly, it required a Master proficient in the Sword Dao to pour their insight into the wine. For that reason, every bottle of it was extremely precious.
The Sword Wine was very beneficial for cultivators, and consuming it long-term could improve cultivation, especially for those cultivating the Sword Dao. It could help cultivators comprehend the concepts of the Sword Dao better and it was precisely because of the Sword Wine’s existence that there were more Sword Masters in the Western Territory compared to the other three territories.
When Yang Kai first met Zhu Qing, she kept pestering him non-stop to be ‘friends’, which annoyed him to no end. Hence, he sent her to the Western Territory to obtain some Sword Wine in order to escape from her pestering. He originally did that just to make things difficult for her, but to his surprise, she actually managed to obtain a bottle of Sword Wine in rather short order.
Recalling the unfamiliarity and repulsion between them in the beginning, Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing in amazement at the thought that they were now husband and wife. It truly was impossible to predict the future. Fate is decided by the Heavens, and everything in life is part of a never-ending cycle. Zhu Qing herself probably never expected the two of them to end up as a couple either.
Now that Yang Kai had experienced the Western Territory for himself, the first thing he thought about was the Sword Wine. If he could obtain large quantities of the Sword Wine, it would be helpful to the future development of High Heaven Palace. More so since his relatives and friends back on Shadowed Star were not strong enough. When the time came for him to bring them to the Star Boundary, it would surely be easier for them to cultivate if they had the assistance of the Sword Wine.
[Perhaps, I should visit Sword Villa to find a way to cooperate with them. At any rate, I am an Emperor Rank Alchemist, so I’m sure Sword Villa won’t be able to deny my request if I can meet their requirements.]
As those thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, mocking laughter sounded from the table next to him, “Which rock did you crawl out from under? What do you take the Sword Wine for? I can’t believe you tried to order a hundred bottles. You sure don’t know your own limits!”
Yang Kait turned his head to look in the direction of the sound and saw a burly man with his chest exposed looking at him mockingly. He had a bulb-like nose and a toad-like mouth, making him look extremely ugly. He wore a string of skulls around his neck that originated from some sort of unknown beasts. Each skull was approximately the size of a fist and gave off a chilling aura, which only served to set off his ferociousness even more.
That person’s appearance might be rather horrendous, but Yang Kai was more surprised to discover that that man was a Second-Order Emperor. Moreover, two other First-Order Emperors shared a table with that man.
Yang Kai couldn’t help frowning. According to his observations, Star Point City was not considered a big city, so it did not make sense for so many Emperor Realm Masters to be here.
However, the truth was that there seemed to be two other Emperors in this tavern aside from those three at that table. Stealthily extending his Divine Sense outward, Yang Kai studied his surroundings and instantly discovered that something was wrong. These Emperor Realm Masters seemed to be waiting for something here.
When their gazes met, the brawny man slammed his fist against the table and sternly roared, “What are you looking at?! I was talking about you, you country bumpkin!”
[What a nasty temper!] Yang Kai chuckled secretly. He couldn’t be bothered to pick a fight with that man while on the other hand, the other two Emperor Realm Masters sharing the same table as him hurriedly piped up, “Senior Xiong, please calm down. Why are you trying to reason with a country bumpkin like him? We should focus on business instead.”
“That’s right!” The other person fervently agreed.
The burly man with the surnamed ‘Xiong’ snorted coldly at those words. Yang Kai showing weakness seemed to stroke his ego and vanity so he threw a disdainful look at him before picking up his wine and draining the contents with a smug expression.
Seeing that a storm had passed, the shop-hand nearby wiped away his cold sweat and tentatively glanced at Yang Kai to ask, “Does Sir come from afar?”
“You have a good eye, little guy!” Yang Kai smiled gently without denying it.
Generally speaking, servants working in these kinds of crowded environments would develop an excellent eye for people. They could pretty much figure out the origins and status of a person with a single glance. Besides, there were subtle differences between Yang Kai’s clothes and the clothes of the Western Territory’s cultivators and he was also covered in dust from his travels. If the shop hand failed to notice these details, he would be unqualified for his job.
The shop hand smiled and said, “Then, I can’t blame Sir for not knowing. I’m sure you know that Sword Wine can only be produced by Sword Villa; therefore, the amount produced every year is limited. This shop may sell Sword Wine, but we have a limited supply of it. I’m afraid something like a hundred bottles of Sword Wine… Is beyond what we can sell.”
Yang Kai understood and asked, “How many bottles can I buy?”
The shop hand answered embarrassedly, “One bottle.”
“Only one bottle?” Even though Yang Kai was somewhat mentally prepared, he was still taken aback by the answer. It seemed as though the Sword Wine was not something one could drink casually even in the Western Territory. [I wonder how Zhu Qing obtained the Sword Wine back then?]
Despite his curiosity, Yang Kai didn’t care too much so he simply nodded, “Oh well. One bottle it is, then. I want the best one you have.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the burly man by the side sneered again, “Is the best Sword Wine something that you are worthy of drinking? Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror? What a shameless fool.”
Another person at the same table laughed, “There are all kinds of people out there in the world. Senior Xiong, why do you care about what he does?”
That burly man shook his head, “I can’t stand these useless good-for-nothings that have nothing to them aside from their good looks. I get the urge to beat them up every time I meet one.”
Meanwhile, Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to those words and simply addressed the shop hand again, “Can you explain it to me?”
The shop hand felt even more embarrassed as he explained, “The Sword Wine can be categorized into three classes: Low-Rank, Mid-Rank, and High-Rank. This shop only sells Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Sword Wines. On the other hand, only one bottle of the High-Rank Sword Wine is sold each day and those can only be bought by participating in the auction.”
“An auction?!” Yang Kai looked surprised but soon realized that this was a way for the shop to solicit customers; after all, special goods always sold better. He immediately asked, “About today’s auction…”
“It ended this morning.”
Yang Kai nodded and pondered in silence for a moment, “I see, get me a bottle of Mid-Rank Sword Wine then.”
“Good! Please wait a moment!” The shop hand seemed relieved to see that Yang Kai was being so reasonable; thus, he turned around to leave after responding.
Yang Kai turned to look out the window then, watching the weaving flow of people as the urge to visit Sword Villa grew stronger.
At that moment, a quiet conversation entered his ears. One person said, “The Wind and Cloud Pavilion has gone all out this time around and issued a wanted order for that little girl. If anybody manages to kill her, they will receive a reward of 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals. The reward for capturing her alive is even more remarkable. They are offering a reward of 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals for that!”
The voices came from the table by the side where those three Emperor Realm Masters sat. They believed that their voices were soft enough that nobody else could hear them; however, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was extremely powerful so he could hear their voices clearly regardless of how softly they spoke.
A reward ranging from 10 to 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals was very tempting to these Emperor Realm Masters; after all, even Fire Dragon Palace, a top Sect in the Northern Territory, only made 50 million High-Rank Source Crystals a year. Moreover, that was the income of the entire Sect. What was distributed to the individuals within the Sect was much less than that. For that reason, 10 million to 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals was quite astonishing in comparison.
As soon as the words left that person’s mouth, another said, “It’s all that girl’s fault for killing the Young Pavilion Master of Wind and Cloud Pavilion. Because of that, she provoked Wind and Cloud Pavilion’s ire. How can she possibly survive? She will die sooner or later.”
The first person replied, “That girl is pretty interesting too. Of all the people she could choose to kill, she had to kill the Young Pavilion Master of Wind and Cloud Pavilion. Although the Old Pavilion Master of Wind and Cloud Pavilion has many wives and concubines, he does not have any children to continue the family name. It was not easy for him to get a son; moreover, he spoiled his son rotten. How could he let bygones be bygones now that his precious son has been killed? If not for that, the reward would never be that generous.”
“Speaking of which, the Young Pavilion Master wasn’t anything good either. He abused his status and the love the Old Pavilion Master had for him to oppress both men and women. He was completely lawless. Even though his cultivation wasn’t high, he had a strong background supporting him. I don’t know how many women he ruined. I heard that the reason he was killed was that he had molested that little girl.”
The eyes of the burly man surnamed Xiong brightened at those words, “Does that mean that the girl is a beauty?”
The first person burst out laughing, “Of course! Think about it; the Young Pavilion Master has played with countless women already, so what kind of woman has he not seen before? He wouldn’t be interested in ordinary women! I’ll be honest with you, I caught a glimpse of that girl from a distance, and I can say with confidence she is extremely beautiful. It was as if an Immortal Fairy had descended to the Earth! If I could marry a woman like that, I would surely lose my motivation to cultivate. How could a sleazy Young Master like the Young Pavilion Master keep his hands off her the moment he saw her? It’s just that…”
“What?”
“It’s just that her strength was equally extraordinary. I’m not sure I could win against her, that’s why I just watched the opportunity slip away from me.”
“I love gorgeous women too,” the man surnamed Xiong grabbed the wine bottle from the table and took a swig. The wine dripped out of the corner of his mouth, making him look bold and unconstrained as an evil light flashed across his eyes, “I want to see just how beautiful this woman is. She is merely a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, so if I ever meet her, she won’t be able to escape from me!”
“With Senior Xiong taking action, the girl won’t be able to escape anymore,” one of them flatteringly said.
The man surnamed Xiong laughed, “Once I capture her, I will have a good time with her before handing her over to Wind and Cloud Pavilion to get the bounty.”
“Good! If you really capture her, Senior Xiong, please let me have some fun with her too.”
He snickered, “Brother, you sure have strange preferences. You want my leftovers?”
“It’s just for fun. It’s not like I’m marrying her, so what does it matter?”
“Sure, then let’s do that. It’s just that I don’t know if the information is accurate. Is that little girl really going to pass by this place?”
“The information has been confirmed. That girl is bold if nothing else. Despite offending Wind and Cloud Pavilion, she did not conceal her whereabouts and is instead killing her way towards Wind and Cloud Pavilion. It seems like many died at her hands already. Since she is making her way towards Wind and Cloud Pavilion, she will surely pass by Star Point City. We can just wait here for her to come. Didn’t the two of you notice that there are many Emperor Realm Masters in Star Point City? They are all here for that girl.”
“Hmph, they want to steal my prey? With their strength? How arrogant of them! They had better not get in my way or they can’t blame me for being merciless!”
“What you said is right, Senior Xiong! How can this pile of trash compare to you?”
While those people were talking among themselves, the man surnamed Xiong suddenly looked up and glanced in Yang Kai’s direction.
At that moment, Yang Kai was tasting the Mid-Rank Sword Wine that had been delivered to him by the shop hand; however, he immediately frowned after taking a sip as he discovered that the taste of this Sword Wine was a little different from the one he had drunk before.
[It’s not the same Rank at all!] Although the wine contained some Sword Intent, it was extremely weak. Yang Kai could easily refine the Sword Intent that rushed into his body and his meridians, so it was of no use to him at all.
[The Sword Wine Zhu Qing gave me before seems to be a rather high-end product.] Holding the wine glass in his hand, he frowned and suddenly felt rather empty inside.
All of a sudden, the opened bottle of wine on the table was sucked to the side by a powerful force as the man surnamed Xiong laughed loudly and said to Yang Kai, “Little brat, the Sword Wine isn’t something you can drink. I’ll reluctantly help you finish it. You don’t need to thank me.”
The Sword Wine at his table had been finished a long time ago; therefore, he indiscriminately snatched Yang Kai’s bottle away. While speaking, he picked up the wine bottle and gulped down the contents greedily, his Emperor Qi rippling slightly as if stimulated by the Sword Intent in the wine.
In response, Yang Kai’s expression immediately darkened. This burly man surnamed Xiong had scorned him several times, and at first, Yang Kai had been too lazy to bother with him, but now this man went so far as to snatch away his Sword Wine from right under his nose. Although Yang Kai did not care much for that bottle of Mid-Rank Sword Wine, nor plan to finish drinking it, letting it be snatched away by somebody else was a different matter altogether.
“What great wine!” The burly man surnamed Xiong finished drinking the bottle and the vitality of his body was stimulated by the Sword Intent, causing his face to become flushed. Wiping at his mouth, he yelled out cheerfully. Similarly, the other two people at the table were watching Yang Kai with scornful and jeering looks.
Yang Kai’s expression was frosty as he said, “As the saying goes, ‘all lay loads on the willing horse’. Initially, I had no plans to stoop down to your level, but you trash just had to provoke me. It looks like you are begging to die.”
When the burly man surnamed Xiong heard those words, he was taken aback for a moment before he burst out laughing, “What did you say, boy? I didn’t hear you clearly, why don’t you say that again, hmm?”
He deliberately leaned his ear towards Yang Kai while speaking, acting as if he really wanted to hear properly.
Yang Kai sighed softly, “Some people are simply frogs in a well; the sky above them is only as wide as they can see, but for some reason, they seem to think that they’re amazing.”
The expression of the burly man surnamed Xiong turned cold as he stood up abruptly and snarled, “Little brat, just who did you say is a frog in a well?!”
The other two people sitting at the same table as that man stood up as well and started to circulate their Emperor Qi. One of them snorted, “Don’t talk nonsense, little brat. This place is not your poor countryside home. It’s fine if you get embarrassed from saying the wrong things, but it’ll be bad if you lose your life because of that.”
“The ones that will lose their lives are you people!” Yang Kai lifted his hand slightly to teach these three people a profound and unforgettable lesson.
But at that moment, an abnormality occurred. A loud noise came from afar, followed by several blood-curdling screams that resounded through the sky. It sounded like a battle was taking place nearby. Emperor Qi filled the air as the World Energy and Principles were thrown into chaos. In the next instant, a pink figure suddenly shot by overhead.
Yang Kai was sitting by the window and caught a whiff of a faint fragrance as that figure passed him by. He then spotted a graceful figure with long hair flying in the wind and a fluttering pink robe out of the corner of his eyes, but she was gone in a blink of an eye. Immediately after that, several rays of light rushed by as they gave chase.
“Slut! How dare you run away?”
“How dare you show up here in Star Point City?! You won’t be able to escape this time!”
“Hurry up! Don’t let her get away again! The reward is 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals!”
The commotion lasted for a while as hundreds of people chased after the girl. There were some Emperors, but most were just Dao Source Realms, obviously tagging along to join in on the fun.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was frozen in place from shock. His brain had blanked out at that moment as he stared blankly at the figure that had long since disappeared into the distance before he rubbed his eyes vigorously.
“It’s that little girl!” Exclamations rang out from behind him.
“Let’s go!” Another person hurriedly leapt out the window.
The moment that burly man surnamed Xiong heard those words, he lost all interest in Yang Kai and simply shot him a glare before he stomped his big foot and broke through the roof to pursue the girl.
The tavern instantly became a huge mess, with the shop hand running over to check on the situation. The scene that greeted him left him close to tears though, but he was unable to cry.
On the other hand, Yang Kai recovered from his shock and quickly threw some Source Crystals onto the table before he disappeared in a flash. When he reappeared again, he was already outside the city.
A group of people swarmed out from the city, seemingly unbothered by his sudden appearance, their eyes fixed on the beautiful figure fleeing in front of them, energetically chasing after her. To them, that girl was equivalent to 10 or 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals.
Yang Kai joined the chasing team without saying a word. It was not a particularly eye-catching action, but unlike the other pursuers, he only had one question in his heart, [Was I mistaken? Did I see wrongly?]
The speed the young woman flew past him was too fast; moreover, his attention had been fixed on the people sitting at the neighbouring table. Therefore, he failed to get a proper look at her appearance and only saw something out of the corner of his eyes.
That one glance shook his heart to the core though as he found the girl oddly familiar. In addition, she was a young woman he had not seen in many years. If he was not mistaken, then the situation was far too coincidental; therefore, he planned to mix into the crowd to observe the situation carefully before he made a decision since he wasn’t too sure about what he saw. It would be awkward if he recognized the wrong person. Besides, that girl was not in a good situation right now. In the worst case, he might be suspected of being her accomplice or something.
Outside Star Point City, the girl fled with unusual speed. She was like a pink streak of lightning shooting across the sky while the group of cultivators behind her chased after her perseveringly.
Within a short time, the differences between the strength of the cultivators manifested. The pursuers in the Dao Source Realm were all left behind and only those in the Emperor Realm managed to barely keep up with her speed.
Not many people were left soon, only about ten or so of them were left and most of them were First-Order Emperors. Nevertheless, that was a force that could not be underestimated, especially for this lone girl.
Despite the distance between them, Yang Kai could tell that the girl was only a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, and it was precisely because of her current cultivation that he wasn’t sure if he was mistaken. After all, he himself was just a First-Order Emperor. [If she is truly who I think she is, then it should have been impossible for her to reach this realm so quickly.]
A First-Order Emperor had little chance of winning when facing so many pursuers at the same realm; however, Yang Kai soon realized that something was amiss.
The girl fleeing in front of him didn’t seem the slightest bit flustered. Her aura was deep and serene, clearly indicating that she was not using her full strength. Rather, she seemed to be baiting her pursuers. As soon as the thought surfaced in Yang Kai’s mind, he failed to stifle his laughter and dismissed his suspicions as an excessive worry.
They soon left Star Point City far behind on their cat and mouse chase. Then, the girl who had been fleeing all this while suddenly stopped in her tracks amid the wild plains approximately five thousand kilometres away from Star Point City. She stood quietly in the plains, showing a beautiful back to her pursuers. A breeze blew past her and her long hair swayed lightly in the wind. It was a mesmerizing sight to behold.
Consequently, the dozen or so Emperor Realm Masters pursuing her came to a stop as well. At this point, they finally noticed that something was wrong. The girl did not seem to be escaping; rather, she seemed to be leading them into a trap. When that thought occurred to them, they hurriedly checked the surrounding area, lest there be a hidden Spirit Array or a powerful helper lying in wait.