Inside the room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and circulated his Secret Arts, causing the rich surrounding World Energy to immediately rush towards him like a river flowing into the sea. It was then absorbed into his pores and distributed through the meridians in his body.
Gradually, the room where Yang Kai sat turned into a vortex that swallowed everything around it. It guided the World Energy that surged towards him from the surroundings before vanishing without a trace.
His cultivation slowly climbed, becoming stronger and stronger. Little by little, signs of a breakthrough appeared. The aura in his body fluctuated, his meridians expanded, and his body trembled.
Yang Kai steadied his mind to prevent external influences from interfering and his expression turned indifferent, neither happy nor sad. His aura simultaneously grew stronger and stronger as time went on.
The shackles of the First-Order Emperor Realm felt like a mountain that was lying directly in his path, with the beautiful scenery in the surroundings and the obstacles along the road to achieving a breakthrough. If Yang Kai were to become distracted by the scenery and stop, his Martial Dao would end then and there. On the other hand, the fierce winds, the thunder, and the lightning at the top of the mountain were the challenges hindering his growth. Many cultivators had stopped in front of these hurdles, leading to a lifetime of regret. Even if they thumped their chest in sorrow later, they would no longer have another chance to try again.
Yang Kai meandered up the winding mountain path without stopping, ignoring all distractions around him. The fierce winds, lightning, and thunder could not stop him at all. He only had one thought lingering in his mind. He wanted to overcome the mountain in front of him and stand at a higher place, overlooking the vast numbers of living beings beneath him.
He did not know how long had passed before a slight change abruptly came over his calm expression. His eyebrows furrowed together slightly. Following that, the changes became more and more obvious.
Finally, he coughed out a mouthful of blood while at the same time, the aura in him that had climbed to its limits suddenly wilted like a dying flower.
If the path to breakthrough was compared to climbing a mountain, then what just happened was equivalent to him rolling down from the top of the mountain. His goal was right before him; all he needed was one more push to overcome all that stood in his way; however, he failed to take the last step. Not only did he fall short of his goal and tumble down the cliff, he also suffered a slight injury from the agitation of his aura.
Yang Kai’s complexion was rather unsightly. Opening his eyes, he glanced at the Source Crystals around him, of which nearly eighty percent had been used up. He reached up with his hand and wiped away the blood at the corners of his mouth before taking out several Emperor Grade Pills and stuffing them into his mouth.
With a wave of his hand, the room was immediately filled with countless High-Rank Source Crystals.
[Again!]
This time around, Yang Kai proceeded even more cautiously than before. In the Emperor Realm, each breakthrough to the next Minor Realm was very difficult and represented a significant increase in strength. Unfortunately, Yang Kai was stuck at the peak of the First-Order Emperor Realm. The threshold of the Second-Order was right at his fingertips, but he kept falling short for some reason. Therefore, he could not take this resentment lying down.
First, he took some time to recover from his wounds and steady his condition. Once all his preparations were complete, he began trying to break through again. The World Energy churned again under his influence while at the same time, the Source Crystals inside the room began to turn into mist and pour into his body.
His aura climbed steadily. It wasn’t fast, but it was a constant increase. In less than half a day, his First-Order Emperor Realm aura began to climb to the peak again. He swiftly used several Secret Techniques to guide the strength in his body to challenge that layer of shackles again.
*Hong…*
A shock reverberated in his soul again and his vision blurred, causing him to feel dizzy. Unable to restrain the sweetness rising in his throat, he spat out another mouthful of blood and his aura deflated once more.
[I was so close!] A flash of determination flitted across his expression as he internally shouted, [Again!]
Ever since Yang Kai began his journey on the Martial Dao, his experience could be described as filled with wonders and tribulations. How many times had he narrowly escaped death? How many times had he created miracles? Compared to everything he faced in the past, what was this small obstacle? He refused to believe that he couldn’t even break through the barrier of the First-Order Emperor Realm.
Another day later, Yang Kai grunted as blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. When he opened his eyes, a sharp light flashed through them. [I was almost there! Again! Just a little more!]
The stubbornness in his bones had been completely triggered. There was a fierce determination burning in his heart as Yang Kai tried again and again, only to fail each time.
[There will always be a chance of success as long as I don’t die!]
…..
Yang Kai did not know how many days passed, but during this time, he challenged his limits again and again only to fail again and again, finally forcing him to accept reality. His cultivation had reached a bottleneck!
After realizing this, Yang Kai took several deep breaths and calmed the surging vitality in his chest. He stopped trying to break through to the next realm and simply sat there cross-legged. He was motionless and expressionless; there was no joy, anger, or sorrow.
Along his journey, he had gone through all kinds of dangers and nearly lost his life countless times; however, this was his first time experiencing something like this. Basically, every breakthrough he went through was a matter of course, occurring naturally and freely when he accumulated enough experience and energy. This was the first time he had ever encountered a bottleneck.
[It feels like I was so, so close. It’s like there’s a thin film blocking me from prying deeper into the mysteries of the Martial Dao. It feels like I can reach out and break it with a touch, but it just won’t break!]
These kinds of situations could not be solved through brute force and determination alone. He had tried several dozen times, so if he could have pushed through with will alone, he would have already.
[Is this the Emperor Realm? The obstacles are truly much harder to overcome than previous realms.] Yang Kai believed that it had something to do with the smoothness of his cultivation up until now. He had never encountered a bottleneck during a breakthrough before; hence, he had never known this helpless feeling either. Over time, this common obstacle finally showed itself in the Emperor Realm. It also gave Yang Kai a taste of what an ordinary cultivator felt like.
The Heavens were truly fair, and the joy of success could only be tasted after experiencing setbacks. Besides, only after experiencing such setbacks could the road of cultivation be considered complete.
Yang Kai was not discouraged. Rather, he considered himself lucky. It was fortunate that the bottleneck had appeared in the First-Order Emperor Realm. Although it seemed difficult to overcome right now, it did not mean that there was no hope. If it had occurred in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, it would have been much more troublesome than this.
After understanding this point, his emotions calmed as he knew that as long as he could overcome this obstacle, his journey on the Martial Dao in the future would be smoother than before.
Yang Kai waved his hand and put away all the remaining Source Crystals in the room before getting up and going outside. Since effort was not enough for him to break through, then it wasn’t a question of effort anymore. It was simply that his opportunity had yet to arrive and he could not force it.
When he pushed open the door, the black puppy lifted its head and looked up at him. Yang Kai did not know how many days the black puppy had been waiting here; however, nothing seemed to have changed with it at all. When it saw him walking out, it simply glanced at him before closing its eyes again and continuing its nap.
Yang Kai used his leg to nudge at it, but it seemed intent on playing dead. Chuckling, his figure flickered and disappeared instantly. When he reappeared again, he had arrived at a different mountain peak.
A loud trio of voices then reached his ears, “Big! Big! Big!”
“Big! Big! Big!”
Yang Kai swept his glance in that direction and saw the three Monster Kings yelling so hard that their faces were flushed. They were staring intently at a dice cup that was being held in Hou Yu’s hands with all her might. A rattling sound came from inside the dice cup. It wasn’t just crisp and pleasant, it was also refreshing and calming. The shaking of the dice cup was accompanied by the rippling of the air which spread out to the surroundings.
Hou Yu, the Chief Emperor Artifact Refiner of High Heaven Palace and the ‘Monkey Grandmaster’ famous throughout Star Boundary, had rolled up her sleeves to reveal her fair and tender arms. She had one foot on a wooden stool, her long skirt fluttering to reveal her calves. It was an extremely indecent posture.
Nevertheless, she ignored her lack of elegance as her beautiful eyes were staring fixedly at the three Monster Kings in front of her. Meanwhile, her hands moved faster and faster, a triumphant expression on her face.
None of them noticed Yang Kai’s arrival as all their attention was fixed on the dice cup, causing his expression to darken with rage.
Yang Kai was well aware of Hou Yu’s gambling addiction. Back then, she incurred a huge debt of Source Crystals because of this vice. In the end, she was cornered on an island, relying on the Spirit Array Nanmen Da Jun had arranged for her years ago to avoid being tracked down. This continued until Yang Kai had rescued her out of there. Otherwise, she would still be stuck on the island right now.
He had recruited her into High Heaven Palace because of her skills as an Emperor Artifact Refiner, and in regards to that particular aspect, she had not disappointed him. She had easily refined the Flowing Clouds Shuttle for him.
Not a day went by since Hou Yu entered High Heaven Palace that she did not wish to escape though. Unfortunately, there were three Monster Kings taking turns guarding her, so how could she hope to escape? Oftentimes, she was captured before she could even leave the gates of High Heaven Palace.
But now, it seemed like this woman was a terrible influence. Who did these three Monster Kings think they were? How could they be dragged into gambling with her!?
Looking at how they were behaving, it was clear that they were extremely into it as well; thus, Yang Kai suddenly became a little worried for High Heaven Palace. It felt like the Sect’s future was becoming uncertain.
[Was it the right choice to recruit Hou Yu?] He glanced at the dice cup again, and his expression darkened further. [That damn thing is an Emperor Artifact! What’s more; it’s an Emperor Rank Artifact that can prevent Divine Sense probing!]
Thinking about it though, it made sense. The Monster Kings were all very powerful so what could they gamble on if she could not prevent them from seeing the results beforehand with their Divine Senses?
“Place your bets!” Hou Yu shook the dice cup for a long time before slapping the dice cup down on the stone table in front of her. She had a sneer on her face as she glanced over at the three Monster Kings. Her posture was full of confidence, as if she was undefeated in this world.
“Open it! Hurry up!” Xi Lei urged.
“Xiao Hou, you better refine my Eagle Claw carefully if you lose!” Ying Fei smiled.
“Me? Lose? How can I lose? You must be joking!” Hou Yu sneered.
Xie Wu Wei added, “Don’t forget about me!”
She snorted, “Don’t worry. Just leave your Crab Shell to me if I actually lose.”
“Good good, quickly open it!”
“Are you sure?!”
“We’re sure!”
“Then look carefully!” Hou Yu’s eyes flashed madly as she lifted the cup and revealed three carefully crafted dice.
Upon looking at the dice, the three Monster Kings smiled widely. On the other hand, Hou Yu’s expression changed. She looked like she had a layer of frost on her face, like her parents had just died.
“Xiao Hou, don’t forget about your promise!” Xi Lei grinned.
Hou Yu turned her head away with a furious expression. She was just about to say something when her expression changed in an instant to the most forced smile possible as she stuttered, “P-P-Palace Master, you came! Why didn’t you say something?”
After Hou Yu said that, the three Monster Kings finally noticed Yang Kai’s presence and hurriedly cupped their fists and saluted him, looking extremely embarrassed.
Ying Fei nimbly and swiftly put the dice cup and the dice on the stone table away.
All three Monster Kings and one Emperor Artifact Refiner were not doing their jobs properly. Instead, they had gathered here to gamble and were caught red-handed by Yang Kai. It truly was too outrageous.
“En, I sensed that you were all here, so I came to see what was happening,” Yang Kai replied nonchalantly.
Xi Lei hurriedly asked, “Young Master Yang, do you have any instructions for us?”
“Nope!” Yang Kai did not mention anything about their gambling as he reached out his hand and captured Hou Yu who was trying to sneak away.
“Palace Master… I won’t do it again…” Hou Yu was being held like a chicken in Yang Kai’s hand. Hence, she forced an ingratiating smile on her face, “Please forgive me just this once. I will go back to Artifact Refining immediately. Didn’t you bring back many precious materials for me recently? Don’t worry; you can leave it all to me.”
Yang Kai released her and asked, “What do you do when you encounter a bottleneck in your cultivation and cannot break through?”
“Huh?”
“A bottleneck?”
“What bottleneck?”
The three Monster Kings stared at Yang Kai in puzzlement. They had not expected him to ask such an off-topic question out of the blue.
Ying Fei replied, “We never encounter bottlenecks.”
Yang Kai stared at Ying Fei in surprise, “Not even once?”
Xi Lei chuckled, “Young Master Yang, we of the Monster Race are dependent on our bloodline and our Sources. We are different from Humans. Our bloodline and our Sources basically determine the height we can achieve in our lives. Of course, there are some outliers and unexpected opportunities, but generally speaking, those from the Monster Race do not experience bottlenecks in their cultivation.”
“Indeed,” Xie Wu Wei nodded in agreement, “The cultivation of those of the Monster Race are basically based on our innate talent. It’s different from the Secret Arts cultivated by Humans, so the term ‘bottleneck’ doesn’t hold any meaning for us.”
“Right, I forgot that part about the Monster Race!” Yang Kai nodded before glancing at Hou Yu, “What about you?”
“Me?” Hou Yu had yet to recover from her panic and fear, so when she saw Yang Kai focusing on her, she smiled in embarrassment, “Palace Master, I am an Artifact Refiner so I don’t pay much attention to my cultivation. I don’t even know how I managed to become an Emperor Realm Master… So, this question of yours… is a little out of my realm of expertise…”
“So, you’ve never encountered a bottleneck before?” He glanced at her incredulously.
“No, I have, I think…” she dived into her memories for a moment before nodding, “En, I did.”
“How did you break through?”
“I just waited, I guess. I practised Artifact Refining or gambled… When the time was right, I naturally broke through to the next realm.”
Yang Kai groaned in response before nodding lightly.
“Young Master Yang…” Ying Fei looked at Yang Kai and hesitated.
“It’s nothing. You can continue,” Yang Kai smiled before he flickered and instantly disappeared out of sight. Just like how he had appeared silently, he left without a trace either.
“Did Young Master Yang encounter a bottleneck in his cultivation?” Xi Lei murmured thoughtfully.
“Probably,” Xie Wu Wei nodded, “I heard that he has been cultivating in retreat over the past few days, but his cultivation remains unchanged, so it might be true that he has encountered a bottleneck.”
Ying Fei remarked, “Humans have Secret Arts and Secret Techniques to help in their cultivation so their strength generally increases much faster than we of the Monster Race; however, they might not be able to move forward if they encounter a bottleneck that is very difficult for them to break through. I hope Young Master Yang will not be stuck in the First-Order Emperor Realm.”
Xi Lei added, “He is still young. It’s not a big deal for him to encounter a bottleneck. Besides, who doesn’t suffer from setbacks in life? With Young Master Yang’s talent and fortitude, he would surely make it through this ordeal.”
“Hopefully.”
“Are we still gambling?” Hou Yu glanced at the three Monster Kings pitifully, clearly itching to continue.
Xi Lei glanced sideways at her and asked, “What else do you have that you can afford to bet?”
Hou Yu considered it for a moment but found that she had no answer to that statement.
…..
Medicine Pill Peak was one of the Main Peaks of High Heaven Palace. Both the landscape and the World Energy were not inferior to that of High Heaven Peak. It was also the place where Ji Ying, the Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor and the Chief Alchemist of High Heaven Palace, lived.
Yang Kai heard a gentle voice when he arrived. It sounded like somebody was preaching the Alchemic Dao. Glancing over, he saw a person who was speaking eloquently and passionately while sitting cross-legged at the top of the peak. In front of that person sat more than ten cultivators of different realms. They were listening attentively with pensive expressions.
These cultivators were disciples of Thousand Leaves Sect who were interested in learning the Alchemic Dao and who had come here to study the craft from a true Master. It was too bad that Ji Ying’s status as one of the few Emperor Alchemists in the Star Boundary made it impossible for him to teach them. Even if he had the heart to do so, chances were they wouldn’t understand what he meant.
At this moment, the person giving the lecture was a disciple of Ji Ying. Yang Kai greeted him, knowing that he was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist with a solid foundation.
“Brother Yang, you’re here! Please come in quickly!” Ji Ying’s voice suddenly sounded in Yang Kai’s ears. It was obvious that he had noticed Yang Kai’s presence.
Yang Kai smiled slightly and walked into a large hall that was filled with heat waves from a Pill Fire that was burning brightly. Ji Ying was standing next to an Alchemy Furnace that stood in the middle of the hall with a smile on his face. When he saw Yang Kai approaching, he cheerfully exclaimed, “Brother Yang, you came at just the right time! I was looking for you recently, but Manager Hua told me that you were cultivating in retreat and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Do you need something from me, Brother Ji?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“It’s like this. I’m preparing to refine the Nine Heavens Good Fortune Pill, but there are some obscure elements regarding the condensing of the medicinal liquid and the engraving of the pill arrays, and I wanted to ask you for some advice.”
“The Nine Heavens Good Fortune Pill?!” Yang Kai was surprised to hear what Ji Ying said. Needless to say, he knew of this Emperor Grade Pill. It was one of the most difficult Spirit Pills to refine, and even if an Emperor Alchemist went all out, they might not succeed. Although Ji Ying was the Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, he was obviously not on the same level as his Master; thus, he was not certain he would succeed in refining such a difficult Spirit Pill. Yang Kai was the only person he could discuss such topics with in the entire High Heaven Palace.
“I don’t dare to give advice, but I happen to have some time on my hands. Why don’t we study the problem together?” Yang Kai said modestly.
“I was hoping for that. With your help, Brother Yang, refining this Spirit Pill shouldn’t be a problem,” Ji Ying was overjoyed.
Three days later, Yang Kai walked out of Medicine Pill Peak looking tired, but his eyes were extremely bright.
As he walked off, his expression suddenly changed into a wry smile. [I came here to ask Ji Ying about the way to overcome a bottleneck in cultivation but instead got dragged into studying the refinement process of the Nine Heavens Good Fortune Pill. I can’t believe I even forgot about what I wanted to ask…]
Ji Ying had already started the Alchemy process, so it wasn’t convenient to bother him at this point. Besides, he might not have an answer even if he was asked about this matter. Ji Ying’s situation was similar to that of Hou Yu’s after all, where his focus was not his realm, but the Alchemic Dao. Neither of these two probably thought much of it even if they did encounter a bottleneck during their cultivation, so they would not have much experience in this area.
Sighing, Yang Kai raised his gaze and looked around. [Even though High Heaven Palace is so large, I don’t have anybody I can talk to.]
At that moment, several beautiful figures flashed across his mind and a wave of loneliness washed over him.
A long while later, he stepped forward and vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he had already arrived at the Space Array.
“Greetings, Palace Master!” The disciples guarding the Array quickly saluted him.
He nodded in acknowledgement before stepping onto the platform.
One of the disciples asked, “Palace Master, are you going out? When will you be back? The Head Manager might ask about this.”
“I’m going to Ice Heart Valley,” Yang Kai answered before pushing his Space Principles, after which a bright light instantly wrapped around him.
Yang Kai’s figure appeared at Ice Heart Valley’s Restricted Area, the Ice Lake, in the next moment. As soon as he appeared, a feminine voice rang out, “Are you from High Heaven Palace?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai replied.
This Array was only connected to Ice Heart Valley and High Heaven Palace, making it quite easy to travel between the two places. Therefore, only the people of High Heaven Palace could use the Array to teleport here. Even so, the disciples of Ice Heart Valley guarding the Array had to verify this fact upon seeing the Array being activated.
After confirming that it was somebody from High Heaven Palace, the disciple stepped forward, but when she saw his face, she blurted out, “P-P-Palace Master Yang?!”
Yang Kai looked at her but did not recognize her. She was a young girl with a babyface. Although she looked only eighteen or nineteen years old, her cultivation was in the First-Order Dao Source Realm so she was clearly older than that.
At this moment, the young woman looked very surprised and her beautiful eyes flashed with a strange brilliance, almost as if she was welcoming home a long lost family member.
“Do you know me?” Yang Kai cocked his head to the side and asked.
The young woman explained excitedly, “Everybody in Ice Heart Valley knows you!”
Her response made Yang Kai sweat slightly, but thinking about it, it wasn’t that surprising; after all, when Ice Heart Valley was besieged by Seeking Passion Sect, he had brought the Monster Kings here and turned the tide of the battle. Many Ice Heart Valley’s disciples had seen him in that battle, and even if they did not witness it themselves, they would still hear some information about it from their fellow disciples.
“Palace Master Yang, did you come to speak to Ancestral Founder? Or, did you come to find… Martial Aunt Ji Yao?” Everyone in Ice Heart Valley knew that Yang Kai and Ji Yao had a close relationship; moreover, the only reason their missing Third Martial Aunt was able to return to the Sect was that Yang Kai had brought her back. It was rumoured that she had experienced a lot of hardship outside the Sect over the years.
“I’m here to meet Senior Bing Yun,” Yang Kai said politely.
“I’ll relay your request then!” The disciple hurriedly took out her communication artifact and poured some Divine Sense into it. A moment later, she beckoned, “Palace Master Yang, please follow me.”
“Many thanks!”
While following this disciple, Yang Kai encountered many Ice Heart Valley’s disciples along the way. Their cold yet alluring nature was simply beautiful. Indeed, it was as this young woman guiding him had mentioned, all the Ice Heart Valley’s disciples recognized him. Most of them bowed deeply at the sight of him while others gathered from afar to point at him and murmur among themselves. Yang Kai did not know what they were saying, but from the way they were acting it was obvious they weren’t making malicious remarks.
Ice Heart Valley was a female-only Sect. Only women could be found here and men were basically not allowed to set foot in this place. That was to say, only Yang Kai would receive such courteous treatment in this place. If it had been any other man, they would have been cut into ten thousand pieces a long time ago.
The scenery in the valley was stunning, and the World Energy was dense. Combined with the countless beauties around, any man would wish to linger in this place.
The female disciple leading the way seemed to be very proud of the fact that she was the one escorting Yang Kai and occasionally chatted with him along the way, arousing the envy of many within the Sect.
After a short walk, they came to a great palace where that female disciple stopped walking and said, “Palace Master Yang, please go inside. Ancestral Founder is waiting for you.”
“Many thanks!”
The female disciple hurriedly waved her hand in dismissal, “Palace Master Yang, please don’t be so formal with me. It was not trouble for me at all.”
As Yang Kai stepped forward, a beautiful figure suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
He looked up and a cold yet beautiful face entered his vision. The graceful figure was slender, and her white skirt fluttered in the wind. She looked like an immortal fairy that had descended into the mortal world. A refreshing fragrance wafted into his nose, clearly this woman’s natural scent, and a very pleasing one at that.
“Junior Sister Yao, it’s been a while. I trust that you’ve been well since we last met!” Yang Kai smiled at her lightly.
Ji Yao nodded lightly, sweeping her eyes over him before parting her red lips to utter a sentence that nearly made him spit blood in response, “I see you are still alive, Senior Brother.”
“Haha…” The corners of his mouth twitched, “Many thanks for your concern, Junior Sister. I’m doing well.”
“Where have you been all this time?” She asked.
“Just wandering around,” he replied offhandedly, feeling guilty for some reason.
Speaking of which, he had barely met with Ji Yao after he annihilated Seeking Passion Sect as he had been busy running around all this time; however, Hua Qing Si would always mention that Ji Yao was looking for him during his rare trips back to High Heaven Palace. Each time he had remained in High Heaven Palace for a while after hearing that; unfortunately, he would leave again before he had the opportunity to meet her.
[I believe Hua Qing Si also mentioned that Ji Yao was looking for me again when I returned this time.]
There had been many misunderstandings between him and Ji Yao.
Ji Yao had not been in the right state of mind while wandering about in the Ancient Wild Lands of the Eastern Territory. During that period, she somehow mistakenly identified Yang Kai as Bing Yun. As a result, some embarrassing incidents occurred. Even now, Yang Kai could recall the shocking scene he had witnessed in Luan Feng’s bathing room.
Seeing her at this moment instantly caused that shocking image to pop up in his mind again.
Fortunately, she later regained her senses from the shock of meeting the real Bing Yun. Regardless, Yang Kai still felt somewhat guilty when facing her as he was certain that she remembered those embarrassing incidents as well. Nevertheless, she never mentioned them and he was not foolish enough to mention them either.
Ji Yao looked at him coolly for a moment before the corners of her mouth lifted, “How many flowers have you picked this time?” Then, she actually sniffed the air around him a little and nodded, “Mm, very fragrant.”
Yang Kai felt even more guilty and quickly wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead before he smiled brightly, “Junior Sister, what are you saying…”
While speaking, he snuck a sniff of his aura and thought to himself, [It has been so long, so how could Zhu Qing’s scent possibly still be on me?]
“Is Yang Kai here? Come in if you’ve arrived. Why are you still standing outside?” Bing Yun’s voice suddenly called out from inside the palace.
When he heard Bing Yun’s voice, Yang Kai reacted as if he had received a Heavenly pardon and made some non-committal sounds before hurriedly rushing inside. Meanwhile, Ji Yao gave him a vicious look, one that made him feel as if a knife was stabbing into his back.
Upon entering the room, Yang Kai hastily greeted Bing Yun.
In response, Bing Yun studied him with a smile before nodding to Ji Yao, who had followed him into the room. Shen then gently said to him, “You’re not an outsider. Please, have a seat.”
Yang Kai thanked her graciously before sitting down opposite her.
On the other hand, Ji Yao knelt by the side with an indifferent expression. She took out a tea set and started making preparations without saying anything. Clearly, she was very familiar with the process and it would appear she was also quite skilful at it.
“When did you return?” Bing Yun asked warmly.
“I came back two months ago,” he replied.
Ji Yao’s hands paused slightly in their movements when she heard those words. Lifting her head, she looked in his direction and happened to meet his gaze. He saw the hint of blame in her eyes when their gazes collided in mid-air. She initially thought that he had just returned not long ago but how could she have known he had been back for two months now, yet she had received no word from him?
Yang Kai immediately retracted his gaze and straightened his back somewhat awkwardly.
“Have you been well, Senior?” Yang Kai desperately looked for a topic to fill the silence.
Bing Yun smiled, “En, I’ve been fine.”
That was not a statement made out of politeness, but rather just the plain truth. Ever since Yang Kai helped Ice Heart Valley tide over its crisis, the Sect had been progressing by leaps and bounds. Now that the Sect had a close relationship with High Heaven Palace, who in the entire Northern Territory dared to be discourteous towards them? Ice Heart Valley used to be one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, but Bing Yun had been missing for many years. During that time, the Sect had been managed by Bing Yun’s disciples who, despite being stronger, were not as powerful as their Master. Combined with the fact that they were all women, they were constantly looked down upon or coveted, sometimes both. The so-called title of being one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory was nothing more than a name on paper. If this was not the case, Seeking Passion Sect would not have dared to attack Ice Heart Valley.
However, things were different now. High Heaven Palace had become one of the most prestigious Sects in the Northern Territory, second only to Medicine Pill Valley. Consequently, Ice Heart Valley had also benefited from being connected with High Heaven Palace. Nobody dared to provoke an Ice Heart Valley disciple when she went out anymore.
Bing Yun asked, “I heard that Wondrous Pill Great Emperor invited you to the Medicine Pill Valley. Have you gone yet?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Not yet. I’ve been caught up with some trivial matters recently, so I have not had the time to go pay my respects.”
She advised, “The Great Emperor’s invitation should not be neglected. You should head there once you have the time. It will benefit you greatly if you can receive guidance from any Great Emperor.”
“En, you’re right.” Yang Kai nodded.
The two chatted for a bit and a short while later, the tea was ready. Ji Yao poured a cup for each person, and then sat there quietly.
Taking a sip of the tea, Yang Kai praised her, “This tea is delicious. Junior Sister, your tea-making skills are impressive.”
His flattering words did not seem to have any effect as she gave no response whatsoever. Hence, Yang Kai gave a dry cough and continued to drink.
Bing Yun chuckled, “Did you run into trouble?”
Yang Kai was startled before he responded with a wry smile, “Senior certainly has sharp eyes.”
To which she replied with a smile, “You seemed absent-minded, like you were lost in your own thoughts. I’d be blind if I couldn’t even see that.”
Yang Kai gave a faint nod, “I did run into something troublesome.”
Upon hearing those words, Ji Yao looked up at him and stared fixedly. Bing Yun followed up, “If you don’t mind, you may discuss it with me. I might not be able to help you, but I can at least listen.”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn, “I seem to have encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation.”
“Oh?” She looked at him in surprise.
“I have been cultivating in retreat recently and I can clearly tell that I’m very close to breaking through, but I just can’t seem to grasp that vague opportunity.”
“And?” She asked.
“And that’s what’s been troubling me so,” he sighed helplessly.
Bing Yun failed to stifle her laughter and asked, “Is that all?”
Yang Kai looked speechlessly as he thought, [This is a huge deal to me!]
Seeing his face, Bing Yun laughed once more and tried to give him some sense of comfort, “I don’t know your exact age, but if I were to guess, you don’t seem a day over a hundred.”
He nodded affirmatively, “More or less,” while thinking to himself, [I don’t even remember how old I am anymore…]
Bing Yun then continued, “For most mortals, such an age is indeed close to the end of their lifespan, some might even have passed away already, but for cultivators like us, such an age is just the beginning. You have already reached the First-Order Emperor Realm despite how young you are; moreover, you climbed your way up from a lower Star Field. Just that alone is enough for you to be considered an unparalleled genius.”
“You are praising me too much, Senior.”
She shook her head, “I’m not praising you; it’s simply the truth. Do you know how long it took me to cultivate to the First-Order Emperor Realm?” Before he could answer, she raised a finger and continued, “A thousand years. I cultivated for a whole thousand years! Compared with your achievements, my aptitude for cultivation is insignificant.”
Yang Kai felt ashamed as he muttered, “How can I compare myself with you, Senior.”
Then, she pointed to Ji Yao, “Do you know how long it took for your Junior Sister Yao to reach the Emperor Realm?”
Yang Kai looked at Ji Yao curiously.
Ji Yao raised her hand, picked up the teapot, and poured a cup for Bing Yun while speaking softly, “Master, please have some tea!”
Bing Yun smiled and did not continue with the previous line of conversation. Instead, she focused back on the primary subject, “To be so accomplished at your age… I’m sure you’ve gotten accustomed to a smooth-sailing journey.”
[Did I have a smooth-sailing journey?] He considered it briefly. [It doesn’t feel like everything has been going smoothly for me. Rather, it feels like the journey was very difficult and bumpy.]
“That’s why you feel like it is a serious matter now that you’ve encountered a bottleneck.” Bing Yun smiled, “But in my opinion, this is nothing to be concerned over. Who doesn’t experience a bottleneck or two when cultivating? Who doesn’t encounter setbacks during their growth? A blade gets sharper the more it is honed, the same goes for cultivators. Bottlenecks and setbacks are just tools for polishing yourself…”
“Senior’s words make sense,” Yang Kai nodded.
Bing Yun then narrowed her eyes slightly and abruptly remarked, “Though, that does not really seem to be your main cause of concern. You aren’t worried about the bottleneck you encountered.”
Yang Kai now looked at her in amazement.
She smiled, “You have long understood what I mean, and you also know that you will break through this bottleneck sooner or later. You are worried about something else.”
“What do you mean?” He looked at her strangely.
She continued to smile enigmatically, her piercing gaze seemingly burning a hole into him to the point he felt uncomfortable. Then, all of a sudden, she advised, “Follow what your heart tells you.”
After saying that, she closed her eyes and gestured for him to leave.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed and he pondered in silence for some time before picking up the cup in front of him and downing its contents. Following that, he stood up and bowed, “Many thanks, Senior.”
Bing Yun gave no reply, so he simply turned to Ji Yao and added, “Goodbye, Junior Sister Yao.” He then strode out in large strides.
Ji Yao stared at his back as he left and did not chase after him. She waited until he left before speaking, “Master, what happened to Senior Brother Yang?”
“I don’t know,” Bing Yun shook her head slowly. “But, he must have been hesitating about something. That bottleneck issue is just an excuse for him to avoid that.”
“So, Senior Brother Yang didn’t encounter a bottleneck?”
“The bottleneck is indeed there, and the opportunity for him to break through that bottleneck hasn’t arrived yet, but he understands that such an opportunity will come in due time. However, the other matter he is worrying about isn’t something as easily resolved.”
Ji Yao looked out, wondering what Yang Kai was hesitating over.
Yang Kai stood in Ice Heart Valley, summoned the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, boarded, and disappeared in a flash of light. He did not return to High Heaven Palace through the Space Array because his goal for this trip was not located in the Northern Territory. His goal was in the Eastern Territory; Dragon Island!
Zhu Qing never came back. At first, he assumed that she had been delayed on her way; however, it had been two months since he returned to High Heaven Palace. In other words, she must have returned to Dragon Island.
Yang Kai had been hesitant to go to Dragon Island to find her; but even so, he had been looking forward to Zhu Qing’s return to High Heaven Palace. They were now husband and wife, their relationship inseparable. Unfortunately, there had been no news even after waiting for so long, so it left him feeling rather uncomfortable.
[What are you trying to do? Are you trying to make us into a couple with a short-lived relationship? You can’t just eat your fill then not pay! Just you wait for me, little girl, I’m going to find you, and when I do I’ll spank you hard!] He vowed ruthlessly in his heart. Recalling what she had said to him before, he smiled coldly.
He knew that she had made this choice for his sake; however, he was not convinced that it was the right choice nor could he accept her decision. [I’m a man. I don’t need her protection.]
Yang Kai had been hesitating between waiting for Zhu Qing to come back and going to Dragon Island to find her. At this moment, he finally made his decision.
Fire Dragon Palace, the back of a certain mountain, the scenery was as beautiful and refreshing as a spring day.
Li Jiao was strolling leisurely in a flower garden, feeling at ease. Beside him, a young woman in a fine dress accompanied him on his stroll. Their fingers were tightly intertwined, and they looked very intimate. She gently snuggled against him with a contented smile on her face.
She was dressed in red; her face was like a peach blossom; her skin was fair, tender, and delicate. Her eyes had an unconcealable charm to them, and her gaze was so elegant that it was breathtaking.
The Dragonic Nature was a lustful one, and even though Li Jiao was not a Pureblood of the Dragon Clan, this trait was not absent in him. It gave him an extremely high libido as a result. As such, he had many wives and concubines in Fire Dragon Palace. Despite his numerous wives and concubines though, his favoured consort was undoubtedly Lady Hong, the woman currently standing next to him.
In the past, he would be intimate with Lady Hong whenever he had the free time, and as Lady Hong was well aware that her life’s happiness was tied to Li Jiao, she was dutiful and dedicated herself to pleasing him.
It could be said that none of the other wives and concubines he had could compete with her for his love. It used to be so, and it was even more so right now.
Lady Hong could tell that Li Jiao pampered her even more than before ever since he returned to Fire Dragon Palace two months ago. Even though he had always treated her very well, things had obviously changed a lot recently. He had not separated himself from her for two whole months, leisurely spending each day with her. It indicated just how important she was to him.
She could keenly feel the change in him, but she was wise and did not question him about it; instead, she took the opportunity to completely capture his body and his heart by showing him how gentle and loving she was.
“Palace Master, that flower is so beautiful,” she suddenly pointed to a big red blossom with a loving smile.
“Do you like it?” His tone was extremely gentle as he looked at her with a smile.
“Yes, I love it!” She nodded lightly, acting like a weak and obedient woman.
Smiling, Li Jiao stretched out his hand, plucked the flower, and turned to her.
She glanced at him with joy, lowering her head slightly as she allowed him to insert the flower into her hair. When she looked back up, she turned her head left and right, pursed her lips, and asked with a smile, “Is it pretty?”
Reaching out his hand to pinch her delicate face, Li Jiao couldn’t help but nod, “It looks beautiful, but you look even more beautiful.”
Upon hearing those words, she felt as if her heart was overflowing with sweetness. It made her entire body feel light and fluttery yet she still pretended to sulk and ask, “Palace Master, why do you only know how to tease me?”
[The Palace Master has really changed a lot recently! I wonder what he experienced outside. He treats me even better than before after his return and has become much gentler.] In the past, he would have gone into retreat to cultivate; however, he had not shown any interest in cultivating for the past two months and simply took her out on trips all day long, making the rest of his wives and concubines green with envy and jealousy. They claimed that she had snatched all his favour away.
“Hong’er, I will stay with you like this from now on, okay?” He asked softly, the reflection in his eyes as he looked at her was filled with nothing but her face.
Her tender body trembled, and when their eyes met, hers reddened slightly as she said emotionally, “I can’t keep you for that long, Palace Master. You still need to cultivate.”
“Cultivate? Why bother?” He sneered, “My cultivation journey has come to an end. I will never cultivate again in the future! I’ll spend all my time looking at flowers with you until we grow old together.”
Those words were like sharp swords piercing her heart. She was so moved by them that she couldn’t stop her tears from flowing out.
“Why are you crying?” Lifting his hand, Li Jiao wiped away the string of pearl-like tears on her face and chuckled, “It is said that women are made from water. It seems that saying is true.”
“Palace Master, you are so kind to me. Hong’er is happy,” she gently snuggled in his arms and soon a small patch of wetness appeared on his robes. Li Jiao had been very good to her in the past, but he had never been so sweet before. She immediately felt as though she had entrusted her life to the right person and no longer had any regrets left.
“What is this? We still have a long future ahead of us.” Li Jiao smiled, reaching out to pat her on the back with a gentle and rhythmic motion.
She squirmed in his arms and shyly whimpered, “Palace Master… I want…”
Li Jiao suddenly became energetic when he heard those words, raising his brow as he asked teasingly, “What do you want?”
Lady Hong pouted, hammered her tender fists against his chest, and coyly cried out, “Palace Master, you are so awful!”
Li Jiao roared with laughter, but all of a sudden, his voice caught in his throat and his expression darkened as he whipped his head and shouted, “Who goes there?!”
When he looked over, he saw that an extra person had appeared by the rockery at some point in time. That person crouched there quietly, watching the intimacy between him and Lady Hong with relish.
As soon as he saw that person’s face clearly, Li Jiao felt as if his soul escaped his body from fright and he cried out in a markedly higher pitched voice, “You…”
“Hello!” Yang Kai smiled and raised his hand in greeting, “I haven’t seen you in two months, but you are still the same, Brother Li!”
“Ah!” Lady Hong was startled and quickly jumped out of Li Jiao’s arms. Looking in the direction of the sound, her face turned bright red. [This person must have heard what I said just now!] Thinking back on how indecent she had been, she wished that the ground would open up for her to jump in. Her shame soon turned to anger as she stomped her feet and yelled, “Who are you?! How can you be so discourteous?!”
The words had just left her mouth when Li Jiao pulled her behind him. She had never met Yang Kai before, so she did not know him; however, Li Jiao knew Yang Kai very well.
“Palace Master Yang…” He sounded almost close to tears, “When did you come? You should have said something.”
[If I had to name one person who I never wanted to meet again for the rest of my life, it would definitely be this boy! Even the Dragon Clan cannot compare to this walking ill omen!] This person was practically Li Jiao’s nightmare, as well as his natural enemy!
Anytime he got involved with him, he would definitely suffer. The experience he went through recently was the best proof there was. It was simply an unbearable memory.
“I’ve been here for a while. I apologize for interrupting your fun. Please forgive me!” Yang Kai laughed.
[Apologize for interrupting my fun?! Don’t you feel embarrassed secretly spying on us?!] Li Jiao retorted in his heart. Even so, he did not dare to show anything in his expression and simply stared at Yang Kai cautiously, “Palace Master Yang… Why did you come here?”
“You can continue. I’m not in a hurry. We can talk when you’re done.”
Li Jiao’s expression turned frigid as he cursed to himself, [You completely ruined the atmosphere. What do you mean by continue?!] Then, he resentfully said, “Palace Master Yang, please get straight to the point. I’ll say this first, if you are here to collect your debt, then we have nothing to discuss.”
“I’m not here about the debt. Why do you always assume I’m here about that?” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively before he stood up from the rockery with a serious expression and quickly said, “I just wanted to ask you for a favour, Brother Li!”
*Gudong….*
Li Jiao gulped hard. [Why do those words sound… so horrendously familiar!?]
The last time Yang Kai came to Fire Dragon Palace, he had said something similar. Because of that, Li Jiao was dragged to the Frozen Earth, entered the Revolving World, and wandered about the Western Territory. During that time, he faced countless life-and-death situations and nearly lost his life on multiple occasions. That experience was far too rich and colourful for his taste.
[I’ve lived for so many years and been through all sorts of hardships, but all the hardships I experienced have never been as crazy as one particular trip! And, you want me to do it again?! Are you insane?! All I owe you are some Source Crystals, so why do you have to bully me like this?!] He was tempted to simply fight it out with Yang Kai on the spot. Even if he died, it would still be better than being constantly tormented like this.
Still, those thoughts remained as mere fanciful thoughts as Li Jiao knew that he was definitely not Yang Kai’s match. The bloodline suppression could not be overcome with willpower alone.
“If I may humbly say, my strength is not high so I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you much, Palace Master Yang.” Li Jiao didn’t even have the intention to ask about the favour and simply refused it outright.
[I never want to get involved with you ever again! I want to live the rest of my days freely and peaceful, regardless of how much turmoil the world outside is in. I just want to live and grow old with my beloved!]
Yang Kai solemnly continued, “I want to go somewhere, and I need you to help me, Brother Li.”
[Damn it, are you ignoring me?! Didn’t you hear what I said?!] Feeling sad and angry at the same time, he muttered through gritted teeth, “Palace Master Yang, I’ve been very clear with you. I’m afraid I can’t help you with your favour, so please…”
“I want to go to Dragon Island!”
“Enough!” Li Jiao couldn’t suppress his rage anymore and roared. He glared at Yang Kai fiercely as if he was about to eat his flesh and drink his blood, but then he froze in shock before exclaiming, “Y-Y-Y-You… What did you say?! Where did you want to go?!”
“Dragon Island!”
“Aahh!” Li Jiao gasped as his complexion went as white as a sheet. He was silent for a long while before asking cautiously, “Palace Master Yang, are you insane?”
“Do you have a way?”
Li Jiao was rendered speechless. Taking a deep breath, he asked, “Palace Master Yang, don’t you know what kind of place Dragon Island is? Why would you want to go there?”
Yang Kai replied, “Zhu Qing hasn’t come back!”
Li Jiao immediately became happy when he heard those words and he blurted out, “Were you dumped?”
“Nonsense!” Yang Kai became angry out of shame, “She has her own considerations.”
Li Jiao obviously realized something and nodded, “Young Lady Qing is both strong and wise, if she chose to do this, it must have been for your own good. So, why are you asking for trouble by going to Dragon Island, Palace Master Yang?”
Yang Kai snorted, “It’s not certain who will be troubled.”
Li Jiao looked speechless, “If you want to go to Dragon Island, just go. Why did you come to me? What can I do to help you?”
Yang Kai explained, “You are Dragonborn; don’t you know the location of Dragon Island?”
Li Jiao blinked in response, “Why would I know where Dragon Island is? Palace Master Yang, what you say simply doesn’t make sense.”
“You really don’t know?” Yang Kai looked at Li Jiao.
Li Jiao shook his head, “I really don’t know.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “If that’s the case, then I won’t disturb you any longer. This… uh, sister-in-law, please forgive me for disturbing your time together.” Saying so, he cupped his fists at Lady Hong, tapped his foot gently, and rushed straight into the sky.
[Is he gone? Did he leave just like that?] Li Jiao stared blankly at Yang Kai’s back. He could barely believe what he was seeing. He thought Yang Kai would be as forceful as he was the last time, but who knew he would be so reasonable this time around?
“Um… Was that the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace?” Lady Hong asked, looking in the direction Yang Kai was leaving, the blush on her face yet to fully recede. Having realized who Yang Kai was, she couldn’t help feeling scared. It was rumoured that the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace was the greatest devil who killed without batting an eye. Moreover, he was the one who annihilated Seeking Passion Sect.
Li Jiao did not answer. It was as if he had not heard what Lady Hong said. His expression kept changing constantly, and his gaze seemed conflicted.
Lady Hong glanced at him, walked over, and straightened his clothes, then said gently, “I remember what you once said to me years ago, Palace Master.”
“What?” Li Jiao subconsciously asked.
“You told me that the greatest wish in your life was to set foot on Dragon Island. You wanted to see the place where your bloodline originated from. You said that if you could just take a single look, you would be able to die without regrets.”
“Hong’er, you…” Li Jiao turned to look at her in shock. He did not expect her to recall something he mentioned so many years ago while drunk. Moreover, she remembered it so clearly.
“Go, I will wait for you.” She looked at him with eyes that were full of reluctance, but her expression was full of smiles.
The struggle in his eyes became more apparent and all of a sudden, he stretched out his arms, wrapping them around Lady Hong’s waist and back as he lowered his head and kissed her red lips.
“Mmph…” She moaned and slowly closed her beautiful eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly.
He kissed her deeply and held her tightly as if trying to merge her alluring body with his so that they would never separate again. A moment later, he parted his lips from hers, turned around, and spoke in a low voice, “If I don’t return … You… should remarry as soon as possible.”
After saying that, he rushed straight into the sky and chased in the direction Yang Kai had left just now. His aura was so imposing that even tens of thousands of people couldn’t stop him!
Staring in the direction Li Jiao was leaving with teary eyes, Lady Hong cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Hong’er will wait for you to return! If you don’t return, I will go to the underworld to find you!”
Li Jiao paused for a moment, but after a brief hesitation, he sped up and disappeared from Lady Hong’s field of vision.
…..
Yang Kai set off on his journey alone. His entire mind was filled with thoughts of how to enter Dragon Island.
Dragon Island was an extremely mysterious place. Although it was famous and had many rumours about it concerning the Dragon Clan living there, practically no one knew where it was located. All that was known about Dragon Island was that it was located somewhere on the East Sea in the Eastern Territory. Needless to say, Yang Kai was clueless as to where it was actually located.
He came to Fire Dragon Palace to ask Li Jiao, hoping that he might get lucky. Since Li Jiao was a Dragonborn and a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master at that, Yang Kai thought he might know something about Dragon Island’s location.
However, Yang Kai was greatly disappointed after asking. [If Li Jiao doesn’t know, then I have to think of another way. Fortunately, I have another plan, so I’m not totally unprepared.]
Just as he was considering his options, his brow furrowed slightly and he turned to look back. A figure was chasing after him at a high speed. Before that person came closer, Yang Kai had already detected that person’s familiar aura with his Divine Sense and he frowned even deeper, a strange look appearing on his face as he waited in place for that person to arrive.
A moment later, Li Jiao appeared in front of Yang Kai with a complicated expression.
Yang Kai scoffed, “Why did you chase after me, Brother Li?”
“Are you really going to Dragon Island?” Li Jiao scowled and answered Yang Kai’s question with a question of his own.
“Yes.” Yang Kai nodded gently.
“For Young Lady Qing?”
“Yes.” He nodded again.
Li Jiao smiled bitterly and cupped his fists, “Palace Master Yang, this Li deeply admires your courage.”
“Enough with the nonsense. Why did you chase after me?” Yang Kai looked at Li Jiao curiously.
Li Jiao scratched his face and apologetically stated, “I came because I wanted to help you, Palace Master Yang.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai lifted his eyebrows slightly.
Li Jiao continued, “I know the approximate location of Dragon Island…”
“Hmm?” Yang Kai lowered his eyes.
Li Jiao observed Yang Kai’s expression. [This is bad. I vehemently denied knowing anything just now, yet now, I am admitting that I lied. My actions might have angered this guy…] Thus, he hurriedly explained, “I honestly only know the approximate location. I don’t know exactly where it is, so I didn’t dare to mention it before. I was worried I might cause trouble for you, Palace Master Yang.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai walked over with a smile.
Li Jiao paled in response. [I’ve made this walking disaster mad after all! I shouldn’t have chased after him… Wasn’t living peacefully with Hong’er in Fire Dragon Palace nice? Why did I have to invite trouble to myself? Now, I’m riding on a mad tiger and I don’t even know why!]
He watched as Yang Kai walked over to him and raised a hand, causing Li Jiao’s heart to leap into his throat. [It’s impossible to win against him in a fight. Even if I resist, I’ll still end up being crushed. I might as well close my eyes and get this embarrassment over with!]
He believed that Yang Kai wouldn’t kill him. At most, he would be beaten up to allow Yang Kai to vent his anger.
*Pa…*
Li Jiao shuddered, but the attack he imagined did not come. Rather, he only felt an arm being placed on his shoulders.
Opening his eyes, Li Jiao saw Yang Kai had put his arm around his shoulders and was actually laughing in delight, “Hahaha… I knew you’d have a way, Brother Li! As expected, I didn’t come to the wrong person. Good, good! Let’s barge into Dragon Island and see what kind of lion’s den it is!”
Li Jiao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, “I’m just going to take a look.”
“Rest assured; with me around, you won’t suffer any losses.”
The corners of Li Jiao’s mouth twitched, “Then, I’ll have to depend on your protection, Palace Master Yang.”
He did not believe those words. [Yang Kai might be powerful, but once we enter Dragon Island, even he will be forced to crawl on all fours in that damn place. What kind of waves can I expect him to make?]
“Leave it to me. This matter cannot be delayed any longer; let’s set off now.” While speaking, Yang Kai summoned the Flowing Clouds Shuttle. The two of them boarded, then the shuttle turned into a stream of light and left this place at an even faster speed.
Inside the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, Li Jiao hesitated for a long time before he cautiously said, “Palace Master Yang, I’m doing you another favour, so about the debt…”
“Debts are debts and favours are favours. The debt you owe me and the favour I owe you are two different things altogether. How can we confuse them together?”
Li Jiao sighed, he didn’t even know whether he would return from this trip alive, so why was he worried about mere Source Crystals now? He should just consider it a win as long as he returned alive.
“Palace Master Yang, how were you planning to enter Dragon Island if I had not come? Did Young Lady Qing tell you anything about Dragon Island’s location before she left?”
“Nope.” Yang Kai shook his head. He answered the question while controlling the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, “I was planning to go to Spirit Beast Island and ask Martial Beast Great Emperor for directions. The location of Dragon Island is hidden, but I’m sure Martial Beast Great Emperor knows where it is.”
“Spirit Beast Island?!” Li Jiao was absolutely shocked as he asked in horror, “Palace Master Yang, are you acquainted with Martial Beast Great Emperor?
“Nope!”
Li Jiao was instantly dumbfounded, “If you are not acquainted with Martial Beast Great Emperor, how were you planning on asking him for directions?”
“I have my ways,” Yang Kai replied nonchalantly. He might not be acquainted with Martial Beast Great Emperor, but he was acquainted with Martial Beast Great Emperor’s daughter! He had not seen Mo Xiao Qi since they separated after the Shattered Star Sea closed, which was some time ago, so he wondered how that silly little girl was doing now.
Spirit Beast Island might be hard to find, but at the very least, it wasn’t as secretive as Dragon Island. His initial plan was to go to Spirit Beast Island first and head to Dragon Island after that. The two Great Islands were both located in the East Sea, so even if there was some distance between them, they shouldn’t be that far apart from each other. As long as Mo Xiao Qi gave him directions, wouldn’t finding Dragon Island be a simple matter?
However, Yang Kai’s casual answer shocked Li Jiao so much that he began to sweat profusely and wonder, [Just who on Earth is Palace Master Yang!?]
He had not known Yang Kai for long, but their relationship wasn’t short either; however, the more Li Jiao learned about Yang Kai, the more terrifying this youth became. [It’s bad enough that his relationship with Dragon Island is ambiguous, and just recently, I found out that he has a very close relationship with the Disciple of Iron Blood Great Emperor, but now he is also connected to Spirit Beast Island?!]
Li Jiao was utterly confused. He found that it was getting harder and harder for him to figure Yang Kai out. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Palace Master Yang, if… I’m just saying; if we really manage to enter Dragon Island… No matter what you want to do on that island, never mention your relationship with Spirit Beast Island.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai looked at Li Jiao in astonishment.
Li Jiao explained, “Dragon Island and Spirit Beast Island… Are as incompatible as fire and water with each other.”
Yang Kai’s mouth was agape with shock as he exclaimed in shock, “Where did you hear that from?”
He had never heard of such a thing before; thus, his first reaction upon hearing what Li Jiao said was disbelief. The two Great Spirit Islands were considered to be among the top existences across the entire Star Boundary. If they were in conflict with each other, everyone would have known about it, so how was it possible he had not even heard a rumour to that effect?
Li Jiao wiped his sweat and continued, “This isn’t mere gossip, Palace Master Yang. You probably don’t know because you are too young. Besides, it has not been long since you became an Emperor Realm Master. It’s only natural that you don’t know many of the secrets between the Star Boundary’s top forces. In time you surely would have come to learn about it.”
Yang Kai frowned, “The two forces are at odds with each other? Is it that serious?”
Li Jiao solemnly replied, “More or less.”
“Why?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested. A secret like that wasn’t something ordinary people had the chance to hear about. Li Jiao could understand; it was most probably because Yang Kai had the Dragon Clan’s blood in him.
Li Jiao explained, “Among the ten Great Emperors, Martial Beast Great Emperor’s Dao is that of Beast Taming. There are countless different exotic beasts on Spirit Beast Island and I’ve even heard there are one or two Divine Spirits there. Cultivating such a Dao naturally drove Martial Beast Great Emperor to want to control the most powerful Monster Beasts in the world. Think about it; what is the most powerful Monster Beast in the world?”
Yang Kai widened his eyes, “The Dragon Clan!”
Li Jiao slapped his thigh and said, “Exactly! The Dragon Clan claims to be the head of the myriad spirits, the leaders of the Divine Spirits, but when it comes down to it, they are still Monster Beasts. On the other hand, Martial Beast Great Emperor’s greatest dream is to control the Dragon Clan. Can he really have a good relationship with the Dragon Clan? You can even say that the reason why Spirit Beast Island is located in the Eastern Territory is that Martial Beast Great Emperor wanted to stay close to the Dragon Clan.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course!” Li Jiao looked solemn, “Not many people know about this, but there is no impenetrable wall in the world.”
“This news is absolutely shocking.” Yang Kai looked lost. [Martial Beast Great Emperor wants to control the Dragons, but the Dragon Clan’s pride would never allow such a thing. Putting it that way, it’s no surprise they have a poor relationship with each other.]
Li Jiao continued, “Recently, the relationship between Martial Beast Great Emperor and Dragon Island deteriorated drastically and it is said that the Great Emperor caused a ruckus on Dragon Island some twenty years or so ago.” Then, Li Jiao added, “Of course, nobody knows if this information is real or fake. The only thing we can be certain about is that Martial Beast Great Emperor and the Dragon Clan are on bad terms with each other.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand. If we really enter Dragon Island, I will not mention Martial Beast Great Emperor.”
“That would be for the best.” Li Jiao was relieved.
“By the way, why did you chase after me?” Yang Kai tilted his head to look at Li Jiao and smilingly added, “It’s not like I forced you this time.”
Li Jiao smiled wryly and answered, “Everyone has something they yearn for in their heart. Dragon Island… To visit that place has always been my deepest desire.”
Those words sounded sorrowful, but Yang Kai understood what Li Jiao was trying to express. Stretching out his hand, he patted Li Jiao on the shoulder and said, “Rest assured. We will definitely reach that place, and if you are lucky, you might even be able to improve your bloodline”
Li Jiao burst into laughter, “I’m not aiming for such heights. This Li will be happy enough just to get to see Dragon Island.”
“Just you wait. One day, I’m going to make you pay for this!”
Yang Kai’s expression was gloomy as he muttered seemingly to himself. Meanwhile, Li Jiao silently hid in a corner like a cicada in winter. For some reason, Yang Kai’s temper suddenly became extremely bad one month after they set off from the Northern Territory. His expression was so cold and dark that it felt like his face was covered in a layer of frost. Moreover, he constantly cursed at somebody under his breath.
Yang Kai’s behaviour caused Li Jiao to be on edge all the time. [I didn’t do anything to upset him recently, so why is he acting like this all of a sudden?]
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not lash out at Li Jiao even though he was in a bad mood. Nevertheless, Li Jiao behaved very carefully around Yang Kai, lest he caused the building resentment in the other to suddenly erupt.
There was no doubt that Yang Kai was in a bad mood; however, it wasn’t because of Li Jiao but Luan Feng! [It’s all because that damn woman destroyed the Space Array I previously arranged in the Ancient Wild Lands. Otherwise, I could have gone directly from High Heaven Palace to the Ancient Wild Lands, then headed towards the East Sea!]
Although the distance between these two locations was not small, it was still infinitely better than the distance between the Northern and Eastern Territories. It was because Luan Feng destroyed his Space Array that he now had to fly all the way to the Eastern Territory. Even if the journey went smoothly, it still took a great deal of time!
For that reason, Yang Kai felt extremely upset and annoyed and vowed to himself that he was going to make Luan Feng pay for this. It was simply too frustrating otherwise!
The Flowing Clouds Shuttle travelled very quickly with Yang Kai and Li Jiao taking turns steering.
Whenever Yang Kai was free, he would sit down cross-legged to cultivate. His cultivation might have hit a bottleneck, but it didn’t prevent him from cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Art. At present, he became forty-five metres tall after his Dragon Transformation. Besides, cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Art could greatly help the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source integrate with his body and increase the power of his Dragon Transformation.
Once in a while, he also contemplated the Dao of Space. The Space Divine Abilities he currently wielded were essentially the fruits of his comprehension of the Dao of Space, each of them strong in their own way. Thus, it would be of great help to him if he could gain more insight into the Dao of Space.
This trip to Dragon Island was rather impulsive, but it was also the result of careful consideration. Yang Kai knew that he still had a long way to go in his cultivation, and if things went sour, they might get dragged into a conflict on Dragon Island. [Entering Dragon Island with my current strength spells certain death. Still, Zhu Qing is on that island. I can’t just sit around and do nothing.]
What Zhu Lie mentioned to him in the Revolving World echoed in his ears. He did not know what Zhu Qing might have encountered after she returned to Dragon Island, but it was obvious that the outcome would not be good.
A True Dragon was involved in an intimate relationship with a Human. Yang Kai didn’t even need to think to know that Dragon Island would never allow for something like that. If Zhu Qing gave in and decided to end their relationship because she failed to stand up against the pressure, he would have to reluctantly accept; however, if she refused to give in to the pressure, she would surely have to suffer.
[Will Zhu Qing be willing to sever our relationship?] Yang Kai never even bothered to consider this question because he knew what she would choose without even needing to think about it.
Time passed, and the days went by peacefully.
Yang Kai had not made much progress in the Dragon Transformation Secret Art. He had not been cultivating that Secret Art for long after all. It was all thanks to the Dragon Blood Pill and Zhu Qing’s pure Primordial Yin that he could achieve a height of forty-five metres. If he wanted to improve that Secret Art even further, then he would need time, a lot of it actually.
Finally, the duo arrived at the East Sea. Standing above the vast and boundless waters, it seemed like the blue sky was cloudless for tens of thousands of kilometres.
Even with the assistance of the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, it took Yang Kai and Li Jiao two months to arrive from the Northern Territory. That went to show just how far apart the major territories in Star Boundary were.
Upon arriving at the East Sea, Li Jiao took over control of the Flowing Clouds Shuttle. Yang Kai had no idea where Dragon Island was, whereas Li Jiao was the one who knew the approximate location.
It was understandable. Just as Yang Kai had guessed, Li Jiao was a Dragonborn with the blood of the Dragon Clan in him; therefore, he had a special attachment towards Dragon Island. Even the fact that he had never been to Dragon Island before did not hinder these feelings from growing in him. Li Jiao desperately wanted to visit Dragon Island; however, he was aware that his meagre bloodline did not qualify him to enter.
Still, five hundred years ago, Li Jiao had searched the East Sea for a very long time to find Dragon Island. He spent a full three years looking for clues, but was only able to gain a general idea of its location.
According to Li Jiao, back then, he inadvertently followed somebody into a coastal region, but unfortunately, the person he had been following, who seemed to be part of the Dragon Clan, mysteriously disappeared after entering that place.
This discovery made him very excited and he later searched the area for a long time only to fail to obtain any other clues. Thus, he could only give up on his endeavour. It wasn’t until Yang Kai came looking for him that the suppressed desire in his heart burst out again. For that reason, he had chased after Yang Kai so boldly.
“Back then, I lost sight of that guy in this region.” The Flowing Clouds Shuttle had been put away and above the vast and borderless sea, Li Jiao stretched out his hand and drew a circle in front of him as he explained to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai glanced left and right. Frowning, he asked. “Are you sure this is the place? There’s nothing here that you can use as reference.”
Li Jiao said. “Although there is nothing here to use as reference, I will never forget this place. I have always kept the image of this place in my heart.”
Yang Kai nodded. [If he is that confident, then it’s probably the right place.] “This area is vast, at least tens of thousands of kilometres across. Moreover, we have no clues whatsoever.”
“Should we just forget about it then?” Li Jiao looked at Yang Kai timidly. Throughout the entire journey, he had been extremely excited; he wanted to enter Dragon Island and explore that place; however, now that he had arrived at this place again, he was getting cold feet. He was scared, but he wasn’t scared of dying. He was afraid as to whether he had the courage to enter Dragon Island if they actually managed to find it. It was a question he asked himself constantly but could not answer.
“Brother Li, you can go back if you want to, but I’m going to continue searching.” Saying so, Yang Kai flew off.
Li Jiao stood there and hesitated for a moment before shouting, “Let’s search separately!” After saying that, he began flying in the opposite direction.
Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense around like a tide in the sea, carefully exploring every inch of this place. He even flew slowly, lest he missed anything.
Dragon Island’s location was so mysterious that no one knew where it was. In his opinion, that must be the work of an impressive Spirit Array which completely concealed all the traces of Dragon Island from the world.
[If Dragon Island is being concealed by a Spirit Array, then there will surely be traces of its existence.] As long as he could locate that Spirit Array, the location of Dragon Island would be revealed too. Yang Kai might not know much about Spirit Arrays, but he did know that all of them gave off fluctuations. Everything would fall into place once he detected the fluctuating energy of a Spirit Array.
One day, two days, three days…
Yang Kai expanded the search scope little by little but found nothing despite turning the coastal area spanning tens of thousands of kilometres upside down. During this period, he met up with Li Jiao several times. Unfortunately, Li Jiao had no results to show either.
Ten days later, they had doubled the scope of the search. One month later, the search scope doubled again.
Yang Kai’s expression gradually became extremely ugly. [Don’t tell me I’ll have to return home empty-handed without even locating Dragon Island? That would be the world’s biggest joke.]
When he met with Li Jiao again, he frowned and asked, “Are you sure Dragon Island is in this coastal area?”
“Of course, I’m certain,” Li Jiao nodded repeatedly. A long while later, he suddenly seemed to realize something. “Palace Master Yang, are you doubting me? You can’t wrong me like this; I’m innocent! Besides, what good will it do me to lie to you?”
“I’m not doubting you. It’s just that so many years have passed and the surrounding scenery in this vast sea is homogenous. It’s inevitable if you recall the place wrongly.”
“Impossible!” Li Jiao denied vehemently, “It’s impossible for me to get it wrong! It’s definitely this place! There’s no doubt about it!”
Yang Kai couldn’t say anything anymore after seeing Li Jiao’s reaction. He nodded slightly and looked out into the distance. [Should I go to Spirit Beast Island? Although Martial Beast Great Emperor and Dragon Island are on bad terms with each other, it shouldn’t be a problem for Martial Beast Great Emperor to provide some directions, right?]
“Haa… Dragon Island is so mysterious and hard to locate… If only we had a Dragon Island Token…” Li Jiao sighed.
Yang Kai abruptly turned his head to look at Li Jiao.
“What is it?” Li Jiao exclaimed in surprise.
Yang Kai said, “Can the Dragon Island Token locate Dragon Island?”
Li Jiao replied, “I think so. The Dragon Island Token is something the Dragon Island issued to others after all. Those who hold one of the Dragon Island Tokens can ask Dragon Island to fulfil one of their wishes as long as it is within the Dragon Clan’s abilities. However, the Dragon Clan rarely appears in public. If somebody obtained the Dragon Island Token, they would have to come to Dragon Island to make their wish, right? But, how do they get into Dragon Island? Naturally, they can only rely on the Dragon Island Token to do so.” Then, Li Jiao sighed, “Unfortunately, only a few Dragon Island Tokens exist. Besides, I heard Dragon Island took most of them back, so finding a Dragon Island Token now is more difficult than ascending to the Heavens.”
Yang Kai let out a long sigh. He raised his head and patted Li Jiao on the shoulder with a sorrowful expression.
Li Jiao was shocked. “What’s wrong, Palace Master?!”
Yang Kai lifted his head and forced out a smile that looked even worse than if he had cried. Gritting his teeth, he growled. “Why didn’t you mention something so important sooner!?”
Li Jiao felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, as if his arm was about to be crushed. [Why is Yang Kai going crazy all of a sudden!?]
“You didn’t ask.”
He had only mentioned it off-handedly; he did not expect Yang Kai to react so strongly to his words.
“A Dragon Island Token, right?” Yang Kai released his grip and took something out, “I have one right here!”
“Huh?” Li Jiao was dumbfounded; he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he shouted, “Why didn’t you take that out earlier?!”
“How was I supposed to know it would be of use here?!”
The two of them looked at each other, both feeling a little speechless and close to tears. They had worked so hard trying to locate Dragon Island for the past month with no results to show for it, only to learn that the key to solving the puzzle had been in their hands all along.
“Is this really a Dragon Island Token?” Li Jiao asked in disbelief. He had just mentioned how rare Dragon Island Tokens were. As far as he knew, only a handful of them even existed. Moreover, most of them had been retrieved by the Dragon Clan. Thus, he could not believe that Yang Kai could pull one out of his pockets.
Upon a closer look, the Dragon Island Token was simple and unpretentious. It was made out of unknown materials that were neither metal nor wood. On one side, a life-like Great Dragon had been carved into it while the character ‘Dragon’ had been engraved on the other side.
Li Jiao felt a little out of sorts. [This… Really seems to be a genuine Dragon Island Token! It’s not much different from the records I have seen in ancient books!]
“Are you sure this is useful?” Yang Kai asked, looking at Li Jiao.
Li Jiao was uncertain, “Probably?”
He had no way to be sure; after all, he had never used this before. Still, it was just as he had said. The location of Dragon Island was hidden and the Dragon Clan had not shown themselves for a long time now. If anybody obtained a Dragon Island Token and wanted to get to Dragon Island, they would most likely need to use the Dragon Island Token to find the location of Dragon Island. After all, it’s not as if the Dragon Clan was going to guide them there.
“We’ll know whether it has any use once we try it!” Yang Kai took a deep breath, circulating his Emperor Qi, and poured it into the Dragon Island Token.
Li Jiao widened his eyes and watched carefully, for fear of missing something.
The Dragon Island Token had been in Yang Kai’s possession for many years. When he first got this token, he had experimented with it to see what use it had; however, it had not shown any reaction whatsoever when he poured his Qi into it back then.
This time was no different from the rest. His Emperor Qi was accepted by the Dragon Island Token. Unfortunately, this simple token showed no response whatsoever.
Yang Kai and Li Jiao’s expectant gazes gradually became looks of disappointment.
“W-W-What?! How can it be useless?” Li Jiao felt slightly guilty. What he said just now had been based on mere guesswork, but there was some basis to it. Who could have known that the experiment would produce no results at all? He couldn’t help feeling rather embarrassed, as if he had offered up a bad idea.
On the other hand, Yang Kai sighed softly. Just as he was about to stop pouring his Emperor Qi into the Dragon Island Token, a sudden change occurred. The Dragon carving on the Dragon Island Token blinked all of a sudden.
He looked up and stared at Li Jiao. Similarly, Li Jiao was staring at him with wide eyes too. Their gazes met, and Yang Kai exclaimed, “Did you see that?!”
Li Jiao confirmed, “You saw it too?!”
The two of them were shocked. Once again turning their attention to the Dragon Island Token, they finally saw it clearly. That Dragon carving was indeed blinking. Not only was it blinking, but it also seemed to have been given a breath of life. It looked like it was going to jump out of the token.
The lifelike Dragon carving stretched its body as if it truly had a life of its own, swimming about inside the palm-sized token. Needless to say, it could not escape the constraints of the Dragon Island Token regardless of how hard it swam. Even so, its actions gave one the feeling that it was swimming freely.
Yang Kai observed it carefully and seemed to realize something. Placing the Dragon Island Token flat on his palm, he slowly rotated the token around in all directions. The direction the Dragon carving pointed in did not change. No matter how he rotated the Dragon Island Token, the Dragon carving always faced a certain direction. The Dragon’s Claws danced as if it were travelling through the skies.
“Dragon Island lies in the direction the Dragon’s head is facing!” Li Jiao shouted.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai was overjoyed and hastily flew in the direction the Dragon’s Head was facing. Likewise, Li Jia seemed very fired up and quickly followed after Yang Kai.
They sped forward without paying any attention to their surroundings. Yang Kai only needed to follow in the direction indicated by the Dragon’s Head. They did not know how many tens of thousands of kilometres they flew when all of a sudden the Dragon carving spun around. The original position where the Dragon’s Head had been was replaced by the Dragon’s Tail while the position of the Dragon’s Tail was replaced by the Dragon’s Head.
Yang Kai slid to a stop and a moment later, Li Jiao abruptly stopped next to him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai did not answer. Instead, he slowly backtracked, and after taking several dozen steps, a change came over the Dragon carving again. The Dragon carving folded down into a right angle and the Dragon’s Head disappeared, leaving only the Dragon’s Tail pointed at Yang Kai.
“What does this mean?” Li Jiao was paying close attention to the changes of the Dragon Island Token and couldn’t help being puzzled.
Yang Kai frowned and studied the Dragon Island Token carefully for a moment. Then, he stretched out a finger and pointed at the sea, “That’s where Dragon Island is!”
“What?!” Li Jiao was shocked, “That’s where Dragon Island is?! Are you sure you aren’t making a mistake?”
Yang Kai replied, “If this token really does have a guiding function, then I’m not mistaken.”
The Dragon Island Token had been placed flat against his palm all this while. At this moment, the Dragon carving was obviously perpendicular to the sea surface and the Dragon’s Head was pointing toward the depths of the water.
“How can this be?! How can Dragon Island be beneath the sea?!” Li Jiao had trouble accepting such a truth. [Dragon Island! It’s called Dragon Island! Since it’s an island, shouldn’t it be on the surface of the sea?! In any case, it shouldn’t be under the sea!] Even so, the Dragon Island Token was guiding them in that direction so it left him with no other explanation.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai shook his head, “If that’s the case, it’s not surprising why Dragon Island has managed to remain concealed for so long.”
Everybody assumed that Dragon Island was located above the sea, who could have thought that Dragon Island was actually located under the sea?! This dramatically increased the secrecy of Dragon Island!
“Let’s go and investigate!” After saying so, Yang Kai plunged downwards.
With a loud splash, seawater splashed in all directions and he vanished from sight. He activated his Emperor Qi and formed a defensive barrier around his body, pushing the seawater around his body away.
At first, the light from above was sufficient; however, as Yang Kai dove deeper and deeper, the light from the surface became dimmer and dimmer. At the same time, more massive Sea Beasts passed him by. Those black shadows flitting by gave him a strong sense of oppression and anxiety.
Sea Beasts were usually large, and their strength normally corresponded to their size. Fortunately, Yang Kai and Li Jiao were not weak. By releasing their Emperor Pressure, the nearby Sea Beasts did not dare to approach them at all and their journey was unobstructed.
They did not know how long had passed. The depths of the sea were pitch-black and they couldn’t even see their fingers in front of them. Simultaneously, the surrounding pressure became quite terrifying. With such heavy pressure crushing down on them, even a Dao Source Realm Master would have been crushed to death. Only an Emperor Realm Master could manage to continue diving.
Their Emperor Qi flowed outward as rapidly as floodwaters and cold sweat was pouring from Li Jiao’s forehead, but he could sense with his Divine Sense that Yang Kai had not stopped. Thus, he could only grit his teeth and keep up with him.
All of a sudden, a powerful aura swiftly rushed towards them from the front. It was a Sea Beast hurtling towards them without any hesitation. Although both their Emperor Pressures could scare away most Sea Beasts, some domineering existences were utterly fearless.
When the black shadow passed by, the two of them were swallowed into its abdomen before they could even react. A fishy smell immediately enveloped them.
Yang Kai’s expression turned grim and raising his hand, countless Moon Blades flew out. Thudding sounds echoed as Yang Kai followed the Moon Blades and slipped out of the Sea Beast’s abdomen.
When Yang Kai looked back, he saw the huge black shadow writhing constantly. The pitch-black waters surrounding it seemed to be dyed red. Meanwhile, Li Jiao also escaped from that Sea Beast’s stomach through the wounds Yang Kai had inflicted on it. Sea Beasts generally had strong vitality and would not die even if they suffered this level of injury. Even so, it immediately understood that it had provoked an enemy that should not be provoked, and consequently, it swiftly fled.
“Keep up!” Yang Kai sent Li Jiao a Divine Sense message to which the latter nodded and sped up.
Another quarter of an hour passed but the pair still couldn’t see the bottom of the sea. Without warning, Yang Kai abruptly stopped in his tracks for some reason. At this point, they no longer knew how deep they had gone. There was no light nor sound from their surroundings, making it extremely quiet. It felt like the world had not been born yet and this was an endless space of chaos.
“What’s wrong?” Li Jiao asked, puzzled, standing beside Yang Kai. The defensive barrier he built with his Emperor Qi deforming slightly under the pressure of the seawater.
Yang Kai replied, “We’re in the right place.”
Li Jiao was overjoyed to hear those words, “That’s great! It’s great that we got the right place, but… Is Dragon Island really beneath the sea?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s not beneath the sea.”
Li Jiao was a little confused, “What do you mean?” [We’ve come so far down into the sea… He even said that we’ve come to the right place. Where else can Dragon Island be if not here?]
“The entrance to Dragon Island is right in front of us!” Yang Kai raised his finger and pointed to the front.
Li Jiao hurriedly spread his Divine Sense out to investigate what was ahead of them, but his Divine Sense did not find anything related to what Yang Kai had mentioned.
“It’s a Void Corridor!” Yang Kai breathed out softly, “There’s a Void Corridor here. It’s just that it’s very well-hidden. Look closer.”
Upon hearing those words, Li Jiao finally noticed that something was wrong with this place. There certainly were traces of a Void Corridor nearby. Although he did not cultivate Space Force, he was still a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. He had some experience and eye for these kinds of things and immediately exclaimed in shock, “Dragon Island is hidden behind a Void Corridor?!”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded gently. With this, everything made sense. He had not been able to understand it before. He did not know why the Dragon Island Token would point into the depths of the sea. It wasn’t until he found the entrance to the Void Corridor that he had a sudden realization.
Putting aside the exact location of Dragon Island, this was obviously the entrance. Thus, it meant that whichever direction the Dragon Island Token pointed in was the location of the entrance.
*Gudong…*
Li Jiao swallowed audibly, “Will we enter Dragon Island once we pass through this?”
What he had been pursuing and dreaming about his entire life was now right in front of him so he couldn’t help becoming nervous. He had dreamt and imagined what Dragon Island was like, what he would feel upon setting foot on Dragon Island. He had imagined the scene so many times that he lost count. Therefore, he felt a little lost now that the goal was within his reach.
“Brother Li, you should leave now if you want to go back. I can handle the rest alone.” Yang Kai sent a transmission to Li Jiao.
When Li Jiao heard those words, the impulse to leave this place and return to the Northern Territory surged up in his heart; however, that impulse disappeared just as quickly as it came.
“I’m going with you!” He said decisively.
“Good, are you prepared?” Yang Kai turned his head to look at Li Jiao with a smile.
Li Jiao’s expression was solemn. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed the tumultuous emotions in his heart and nodded firmly, “Yes!”
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai shouted and enveloped Li Jiao with his Space Principles before plunging into the Void Corridor.
The surrounding space changed suddenly. At the same time, a tearing force came at them from all directions. The barriers of space were broken and the two of them seemed to enter a whole new world in the next moment.
Just then, a thunderous Dragon Roar sounded from the Void ahead. Immediately following that, several huge Dragon Phantoms aggressively rushed towards them from the front, brimming with murderous intent.
When the Dragon Roar rang out, Li Jiao nearly jumped in fright. All the hair on his body stood on end as the feeling of death wrapped around him.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically too. He could feel the horrifying murderous intent coming from those Dragon Phantoms and without even thinking about it, he shouted, “Dragon Transformation!”
Another Dragon Roar sounded and a Golden Dragon Phantom flashed behind him before rushing into his body and disappearing. With the Dragon Clan’s blood in him awakened, a crackling explosion rang out and Yang Kai’s body grew to a massive forty-five metres in height. Stubby Dragon Horns appeared on his forehead and his hands turned into Dragon Claws while his body was covered in Dragon Scales.
Just as Yang Kai assumed his Half-Dragon Form, the Dragon Phantoms from before slammed into him. A mighty wave of power struck him from the front, forcing him to stagger backwards by more than three hundred metres. A sweetness rose in his throat and he nearly coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, those Dragon Phantoms immediately turned their heads back after that attack and haughtily looked down at Yang Kai and Li Jiao from above.
Yang Kai was covered in cold sweat. If he had reacted the slightest bit slower just now, he would have either died or been seriously injured. Fortunately, his Dragon Transformation protected him, otherwise, things would be very bad by now.
Yang Kai stared at those Dragon Phantoms, frowning slightly. That was because he noticed that the Dragon Phantoms did not have physical bodies nor were they like Soul Avatars. Rather, they seemed more like a kind of Secret Technique, a Dragon Clan Secret Technique!
The power of the Dragon Clan’s Secret Techniques was extremely potent, but only those with the Dragon Clan’s bloodline could perform them. These illusory phantoms were clearly Secret Techniques left here by a Dragon Clan Master.
This Secret Technique would not appear in the Void Corridor for no reason though. Yang Kai hadn’t thought that the defenses of the Dragon Clan would be so tight. Dragon Island was on the other side of the Void Corridor after all, so who would dare to risk their lives just to sneak in?
Looking at the Dragon Phantoms again, it was clear as day that they were lethal existences. If Yang Kai had not used his Dragon Transformation to bolster his defences, it would have been impossible for him to stand here at this moment.
[This is a trap! It’s definitely a trap meant for somebody. A trap like this is enough to kill a Third-Order Emperor on the spot. Was it aimed at me?] A sudden thought came to mind, but Yang Kai couldn’t be certain.
While he was distracted, the Dragon Phantoms suddenly started chanting in the obscure Dragon Language. Dragon Language was the foundation supporting the Dragon Clan’s Secret Technique. On the surface, it sounded similar to the spells of the Ancient World’s Shamans; however, it was even more ancient and esoteric than that.
The Dragon Language rang out rhythmically as the Dragon Phantoms suddenly separated from each other, their voices never stopping.
Meanwhile, Li Jiao shivered uncontrollably, instinctively feeling scared. He deeply regretted coming here. [If I had known this would happen, I would have turned around and gone home just now!]
The scattered Dragon Phantoms regrouped and suddenly transformed into a huge ancient character. They loomed over Yang Kai and Li Jiao like a net that covered the skies.
Yang Kai and Li Jiao hastily retreated only to discover that no matter how they tried to escape, they could not avoid being enveloped by this ancient character. The mysterious ancient character looked like four squarish ancient characters superimposed on one another, forming a regular and orderly shape.
In that tense situation, the ancient character blanketed the two of them. Following that, a strange Principle Strength began fluctuating.
Li Jiao’s complexion turned ashen in response. He looked like he had given up. On the other hand, Yang Kai made a soft exclamation of surprise with an odd expression.
In the next moment, their visions blurred and they instantly found themselves standing in a world of nothingness. There was neither light nor sound in that space. It was even more disturbing than when they had been deep under the sea previously.
Yang Kai swept his Divine Sense out and sensed Li Jiao standing not too far from him. Thus, he reached out to pull him over.
“Palace Master Yang… What is this place?” Li Jiao asked, gulping hard.
“A Void Crack!” Yang Kai replied as he dispelled the Dragon Transformation Secret Art and changed back to his original appearance.
The Dragon Phantoms from before were gone without a trace. After they transformed into the ancient character, they had forced Yang Kai and Li Jiao into a Void Crack.
“Ah!” Li Jiao paled in shock.
It was only natural that he was familiar with what a Void Crack was. Even for a Master like him, this was an extremely dangerous place where the slightest bit of carelessness would cause him to lose his way and never find his way out again.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai took out a new set of clothes from his Space Ring and put them on while carefully taking in his surroundings. He did not know how many times he had been in and out of Void Cracks by now; but even so, this place gave off a slightly different feel. It was as though something profound was hidden everywhere within its depths.
Yang Kai tried to manipulate the local Space Principles and, fortunately, there were no restrictions placed on them. He believed that he could break out of this Void Crack and return to the outside world if he used his full strength. It was just that he did not know where they would end up appearing; therefore, he was in no hurry to make a move. Besides, he still needed to enter Dragon Island.
A Void Crack would not appear for no reason. From the accumulation of his past experiences, Yang Kai could vaguely sense that this Void Crack was between the Star Boundary and Dragon Island. In other words, as long as they could locate the proper exit point of this Void Crack, they could enter Dragon Island.
[This is definitely a trap!] Yang Kai had a faint feeling that this trap was aimed at him, yet at the same time, it didn’t seem like that either.
Anyone who passed through the Void Corridor would have triggered this trap and been exiled to this place. Yang Kai might just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time; after all, Dragon Island was so well-hidden and their defences were so strict, that they were willing to leave a Dragon Clan Secret Technique here to defend against intruders.
If that was the case, Yang Kai couldn’t just tear space as he pleased here. He could not determine where they would land if he did that. There was no guarantee that he could enter Dragon Island.
As that thought passed through his mind, a plan formed in his heart and he sent a Divine Sense transmission to Li Jiao, “Follow me closely. The Void Turbulence in the Void Crack is very unstable. If you get caught, you will be sent to another place instantly and I’m not sure I’ll be able to find you then. There are also Void Fissures lurking here, and if you touch those, you will either die or suffer from severe injuries.”
Void Cracks were different from Void Fissures. The environment they were in was a Void Crack. On the other hand, Void Fissures were much smaller tears in space, sometimes so tiny they were imperceptible. They were similar to sharp blades randomly floating about, and if one were to come into contact with one they would be lucky to get away with some scratches. If they were unlucky, they could be cut in half.
Li Jiao clearly understood the situation he was in. In this damned place, only Yang Kai, who was proficient in the Dao of Space, could guarantee his safety. Thus, he nodded heavily, “I understand.”
After that, Yang Kai immediately led the way forward. Space Principles fluctuated as he inspected their surroundings, carefully avoiding all the Void Turbulence and Void Fissures around them. Li Jiao followed at Yang Kai’s heels, stepping where Yang Kai stepped and always staying one step behind him, his nerves stretched to their limits.
Yang Kai’s movements were rather erratic, constantly moving from left to right without a pattern. Although there was nothing to be used as a reference in this place and Li Jiao couldn’t distinguish North, South, East, or West, Yang Kai’s change in direction was still rather obvious. Sometimes, he would even turn around and walk backwards without warning.
Li Jiao kept quiet through it all, not daring to disturb Yang Kai. Only the Heavens knew how long it had been since they started walking when all of a sudden, Yang Kai stopped in his tracks with a strange expression on his face.
“Palace Master Yang… Did you find the exit?” Li Jiao asked cautiously.
“No,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Then…” Li Jiao looked at Yang Kai inquiringly.
“We’re lost,” Yang Kai replied.
“Huh?” Li Jiao was taken aback, “We’re l-lost?!”
He nearly thought that he had misheard. [The surrounding space is in pure chaos and nothingness. There is no road to speak of, so how can we get lost? Still, Yang Kai must have his reasons to say that; after all, he has the most authority to speak in this place.]
“We passed through here earlier.” Yang Kai sighed softly.
Li Jiao scratched his head and released his Divine Sense into his surroundings to look around. [This damned place is the same everywhere. I can’t tell the difference at all. I can’t believe Yang Kai can differentiate where we are in this place.]
“This is a labyrinth.” There was a strange light in Yang Kai’s eyes. If he had not seen it for himself, he wouldn’t have dared to believe that there was such a mysterious labyrinth within this Void Crack.
The labyrinth was incredibly large. Using the Void Turbulence as paths and combining countless Void Fissures into one, it transformed a vast region into a maze with no way out.
What shocked him even more was that the labyrinth was not static. It changed constantly. Any changes to the surging Void Turbulence and the flowing Void Fissures could trigger a change across the entire labyrinth.
[Who set this up? Who has such great ability to pull this off? Is it Dragon Island? If it is Dragon Island… For what reason did they set up this labyrinth? Who are they trying to trap?]
All of a sudden, a sentence Li Jiao said before came to mind. Twenty years ago, Martial Beast Great Emperor had caused a ruckus on Dragon Island!
Yang Kai burst out in cold sweat. [This labyrinth… Maybe it was meant for Martial Beast Great Emperor! Only such a huge layout could trap a Great Emperor after all! On that same note, only a Great Emperor has the ability to force Dragon Island to set up a labyrinth like this, I’m nothing more than an innocent victim caught up in their squabble!]
When that thought crossed his mind, Yang Kai’s spirits lifted suddenly. [It looks like my previous guess was right. I can enter Dragon Island as long as I can crack this labyrinth because this Void Labyrinth was created with the Void Corridor as its foundation. The exit of the Void Labyrinth should coincide with the exit of the Void Corridor!]
He started moving again, carefully observing the changes around him. Then, he gradually formed a map in his head. It was a map of the entire labyrinth. He believed that as long as he could perfect this map, he could find a way out of the labyrinth.
Li Jiao did not know what plan Yang Kai had come up with. All he knew was that Yang Kai suddenly sped up; thus, he could only grit his teeth and keep up.
Time flew by. There was no Sun, Moon, or Stars here, and there was no way to tell how much time had passed, but even so, Li Jiao had the feeling that at least one month had passed.
Yang Kai spent the entire month walking here and there aimlessly. He stopped from time to time and observed his surroundings, muttering something under his breath before setting off again.
Although no battles had taken place during this month, Li Jiao nearly died several times. Void Turbulence could appear anywhere, and there was one time when he got caught in them and was nearly teleported away to a random place. Fortunately, Yang Kai had reacted swiftly and pulled him back or he might have been trapped here for the rest of his life. Li Jiao did not have the confidence that he could escape this place on his own.
During this past month, Yang Kai’s expression had gotten grimmer and grimmer. He slowly realized that he had underestimated this Void Labyrinth greatly. The map in his head had to be redrawn over and over again, to the point where he had barely made any progress.
With his knowledge of the Dao of Space, it was not difficult for him to leave this place. All he had to do was tear open the space randomly and he could return to the Star Boundary; however, doing that would mean giving up on his plan to enter Dragon Island. That was not what he planned on doing.
On this day, Yang Kai and Li Jiao were walking in the Void Labyrinth while looking for the exit as usual.
Li Jiao felt dead inside. He had given up, feeling as though he should never have hoped to set foot on Dragon Island in the first place. He simply followed Yang Kai mechanically, stepping where Yang Kai stepped.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai stopped in his tracks and his Emperor Qi surged. Surprised, Li Jiao pushed his Emperor Qi without any hesitation, thinking another Void Turbulence was coming.
Contrary to his expectations though, Yang Kai didn’t make any moves. He simply stood there and stared to the front in a daze. Li Jiao frowned and looked in the direction Yang Kai was staring before his jaw suddenly fell open in shock.
Not far away, a figure sat cross-legged inside the Void. It seemed to be exuding a strange Principle Strength fluctuation from its body and the surrounding Void Turbulence could not approach it.
[There’s somebody here? There are people in this damned place?!] Li Jiao could barely believe his eyes. However, he soon discovered that this ‘person’ was not really alive. Rather, it seemed to be a phantom image. Although that person’s entire being exuded a faint glow, they did not have a physical body.
A labyrinth existed inside the Void Crack. That in itself was incredible. However, there was a human phantom image in the labyrinth at this moment. That was even more incredible.
[Who is this person? Or should I ask; who is the person who left this phantom image behind?]
Both Yang Kai and Li Jiao were staring in that direction with widened eyes. Unfortunately, they were disappointed to learn that they could not see the true face of the phantom image no matter how hard they looked.
That Phantom Image Secret Technique seemed to have existed for many years. It might have been extremely powerful once, but it had become a little unstable after being exposed to the Void Crack for so long. The figure wavered erratically. Sometimes, it was long and thin; sometimes, it was short and round. It looked as if it might collapse at any time.
For some reason, Yang Kai had the feeling that the figure looked familiar, as if he had seen the one it was modelled after somewhere before.
“Brother Li, have you seen this person before?” He asked softly.
Li Jiao shook his head, “I can’t tell, but this person was definitely not just a nobody.”
That phantom image might be unstable, but the occasional short-lived aura that pulsed out from it was extremely powerful. That person was obviously not an ordinary Emperor Realm Master.
Yang Kai nodded. Images of all the Masters he had met before flashed through his mind as he tried to match them to the figure in front of him.
At that moment, the phantom image suddenly expanded then rapidly contracted. It turned into a small fist-sized ball of white light that slowly drifted towards somewhere.
Yang Kai did not have the time to think about anything else as he grabbed Li Jiao and shouted, “Follow him!”
Li Jiao was stunned, “Follow him?”
“En!” Yang Kai replied. He had the feeling that the appearance of this figure might be a turning point. He had been searching this place for a month now; however, he still couldn’t find a way out of this Void Labyrinth. [At this point, it won’t hurt to try everything at our disposal. We might as well see what that ball of light will do.]
Yang Kai no longer hesitated and followed closely behind that ball of light. The movement of that ball of light was even more erratic and elusive than Yang Kai’s movements from before. It looked aimless, but there were signs of predictability upon closer look.
Yang Kai was secretly encouraged, thinking that his guess was right. Now, all he wanted to know was who had left that figure behind; therefore, he had been observing the state of that ball of light but had not found any traces that would identify its source. That ball of light was produced by a Secret Technique cast by a Master who also made that phantom image. Unfortunately, it had long since become completely unrecognizable after so many years in this chaotic place. Thus, it was extremely difficult for Yang Kai to trace the origins of that figure.
They walked for several days and Li Jiao was becoming desperate while, similarly, Yang Kai felt his heart pounding wildly. The idea of giving up had popped up in his head several times by now, but doing so seemed like such a waste. Hence, he could only grit his teeth and continue to persevere.
All of a sudden, the ball of light accelerated and rushed forward. Yang Kai hurriedly chased after it upon seeing that. Unexpectedly, the ball of light suddenly exploded in a shower of sparkles and disappeared when it reached a certain spot in the Void.
“Uh…” Li Jiao looked a little dumbfounded.
They had been walking behind this ball of light for several days now but he had not expected that this would be the outcome of their efforts. Thus, he nearly cursed out loud at the sight. [Wasn’t this a waste of time?]
Following this incident, he began to lose confidence in Yang Kai. [We are probably destined to be trapped here for a lifetime. We will never be able to get out of this labyrinth.]
He turned to look at Yang Kai only to find that Yang Kai’s expression had lit up with joy as if he had discovered something amazing.
“Palace Master Yang?” Li Jiao called out.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at Li Jiao and said, “I found it!”
“You found it?” Li Jiao frowned and subconsciously asked, “Found what?”
“What do you think?”
Li Jiao was startled, then he became excited, “Are you saying… you found the exit?!”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. He mulled over it for a moment before continuing, “I will open the exit now. Follow me as quickly as possible. If we are too slow, Dragon Island might discover us.”
“Good!” Li Jiao couldn’t help swallowing nervously. [We found it just like that? We actually found the exit just by walking behind that ball of light for a few days? What in the world was that ball of light?! Why would it guide us to the location of the exit? Whatever; that’s not important anymore. What’s important is that I’m about to set foot on Dragon Island! I’m about to complete my life’s greatest wish!] He was excited, nervous, eager, and anxious…
While Li Jiao’s emotions were all over the place, Yang Kai’s expression had already turned solemn. Space Principles began surging as he stretched out his hands and fiercely tore space apart.
“Go!” Yang Kai shouted.
Li Jiao immediately plunged into the gap and Yang Kai followed closely. Then the two of them instantly disappeared from this endless Void.
In the East Sea of the Eastern Territory stood a lush and beautiful island rich in World Energy, reminiscent of a paradise.
On that island stood a man dressed in white, holding his hand out to the void. Beside him stood a beautiful woman dressed in an elegant black dress. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, squeezing her ample assets so tightly that they were slightly deformed. The split in her dress rose up to her thighs, exposing more than half of her legs to the air. Her fair skin was smooth and tender, exuding a seductive lustre akin to fine soft white jade. If a man were to witness this sight, he would be so charmed that he would lose his soul to her.
The man was handsome while the woman was voluptuous and graceful. Just by standing there, the two of them made an extremely eye-catching sight.
The two of them were looking out into the distance where a small figure was sitting cross-legged at the mouth of an active volcano. The blazing heatwave did not harm her whatsoever. Rather, it continuously rushed towards her childlike body and was completely absorbed into her.
“Feng’er, did that girl really assimilate with the Phoenix True Fire?” The white-robed man asked abruptly.
The beautiful woman in black who was called ‘Feng’er’ replied, “En. Moreover, it was a perfect assimilation.”
He asked, “Isn’t she an Artifact Spirit? Although she is a Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit, which does not clash with the attribute of the Phoenix True Fire, she does not have a flesh and blood body. How did she assimilate with the Phoenix True Fire?”
She responded, “Don’t underestimate her body. It might be artificial, but its ability to adapt and grow is incredible. That is the body of a Spirit Puppet. You will never find another one like her in this world.”
“You seem really taken with her,” he turned his head and looked at the person next to him.
She smiled, “Her future achievements will surely surpass mine.”
He nodded, “In any case, I should congratulate the Phoenix Clan for adding another clansman to their ranks.”
Her smile widened. It was an amorous sight.
At that particular moment, the white-robed man frowned and revealed an expression of surprise.
“What happened?” The beautiful woman glanced at him in amazement. At their cultivation, it was rare for anything to surprise them anymore; however, the expression on his face clearly indicated that something big and unexpected had occurred.
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you!” He turned to look at her with a strange expression, “Somebody has broken into Dragon Island!”
She was stunned for a moment. Then, she giggled, “Who could be so desperate? What an unlucky guy.”
She did not ask how the white-robed man knew about this because she knew that he had probed into the situation on Dragon Island several years back. Furthermore, he had left a kind of Soul Clone back in that Void Labyrinth.
That Void Labyrinth was not easy to crack. Even the white-robed man had failed to find the exit back then. In the end, he could only cast a Secret Technique to leave a Soul Clone to slowly decode the labyrinth.
More than a decade had passed since then and that Soul Clone had obviously made some headway in regards to escaping the labyrinth during that period. For the white-robed man to receive this information could only mean that he had received feedback from it. In other words, the Soul Clone he left behind in the Void Labyrinth had been dispelled.
“If it was really him, you also know him,” the white-robed man said with an odd expression. He couldn’t be sure about the identity of the person that had broken into Dragon Island; after all, the message he received from his failing Soul Clone after it had scattered had been incomplete. Thus, he was only sixty percent certain.
“I know him too?” The beautiful woman was taken aback by those words and asked curiously, “Who is it?”
“He is related to the Young Lady.”
She frowned at those words.
“He is also related to her!” He pointed at the small figure by the mouth of the volcano.
“Do you mean that guy?!” She was dumbfounded. His hints were so obvious that she would be an idiot if she still couldn’t guess who he was referring to. Still, she could not imagine that that person could successfully break into Dragon Island.
“How can it be him?” She was in disbelief, “Is he insane?! He actually dared to break into Dragon Island!?”
In response, he shrugged with a look that seemed to say, ‘I don’t know either.’
“Did you lead him in?” she asked.
He replied, “No, it wasn’t me. It’s something my Soul Clone did on its own.”
“Nonsense! What kind of place do you think Dragon Island is? What can he do after entering that place with that paltry strength of his!? He will probably be beaten to a pulp!”
The man added, “I left my Soul Clone there more than ten years ago. I didn’t know him back then, so the Soul Clone I left behind doesn’t know him either. It only led him into Dragon Island in hopes that he could make some waves in that place. It wanted to see if that person could create an opportunity for me to take advantage. It would be great if he causes a ruckus there, but it’s fine even if he doesn’t.”
“If anything happens to him, Xiao Qi will never forgive you for it. It’s not like you don’t know how important he is to her. She has been clamouring to go to the Southern Territory to look for him for years now. If she had not been confined by her father, she would have run off a long time ago.”
He sweated profusely at those words, “Please don’t tell her.”
She replied, “There are no secrets that can be kept forever.”
He exclaimed, “So, what should we do? He has already gone inside. If he was going to die, he would already be dead by now!”
She pondered in silence for a moment, “Well, this is certainly an opportunity. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if we took this chance to sneak into Dragon Island… I will report this to Sir. We’ll see how he decides to proceed with this matter.
“Good.” He nodded.
Then, the beautiful woman transformed into a fiery light and headed into the distance as swiftly as lightning.
“Were you talking about Master just now?” A childish voice suddenly rang out.
The corners of the white-robed man’s mouth twitched at those words. Lowering his head, he glanced in the direction of the voice and saw a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl standing there. He did not know how long she had been standing there. She was staring unblinkingly at him with a pair of large, sparkling eyes.
The little girl looked like a jade sculpture. One glance was enough to determine that she would become a beauty that would turn the world upside down in the future.
However, the white-robed man knew that this little girl wasn’t a little girl at all. Lifting his head to look at the sky, his expression was full of vicissitudes as he groaned, “The wind today sure is noisy…”
The sky was blue and the earth was vast. Two figures stood mid-air, dazed and unable to respond. Needless to say, these two were none other than Yang Kai and Li Jiao who had experienced all kinds of hardships during their journey to this place. Yang Kai had torn open the space after that ball of light had led them to the exit of the Void Labyrinth, and they arrived in this place. However, what greeted them was so different from what they had imagined that they couldn’t help being stupefied for a while.
“Palace Master Yang, i-is this Dragon Island?” Li Jiao turned to look at Yang Kai with a look of astonishment.
“I don’t know either.” Yang Kai was also at a loss. He had assumed that they would arrive at Dragon Island after exiting the Void Labyrinth; however, at this moment, he was not sure if this place was Dragon Island because this place was not an island at all. It was a Sealed World!
Extending his senses out into the surroundings, he could tell that the World Principles in this Small Sealed World were complete, even more perfect than the Sealed World Bead in his possession. Lifting his head to look at the sky, he was amazed to see that it even had a scorching sun.
If somebody clueless to the situation were to see this place, they would have mistaken it as someplace in Star Boundary. Fortunately, Yang Kai was aware that this was not anywhere within Star Boundary. He had traversed many Small Sealed Worlds before, and even owned one, hence, he was extremely sensitive to these kinds of places.
This was a Small World, a perfect Small World. Furthermore, the World Energy here was impressive. It couldn’t be said to be extremely dense. After all, Star Boundary was vast with countless cultivation paradises, so which large Sect was not located in a beautiful spot that was rich in World Energy? This Small World might contain dense World Energy, but it was not much better than the cultivation paradises in Star Boundary.
The key point was its purity! The World Energy here was extremely pure, several times more so than any other World Energy Yang Kai had ever come into contact with before. A cultivation environment like that was extremely advantageous as the higher the purity of the World Energy, the faster and more easily one could absorb it. What cultivator would not thirst for that?
“We… Didn’t end up in the wrong place, right?” Li Jiao had an expression that indicated he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Why do you say that?” Yang Kai turned his head and looked at Li Jiao.
“How does this look like an island?!” Li Jiao was a little disappointed. In his imagination, Dragon Island was above all worldly considerations. It was an island isolated in the middle of the ocean with gigantic Dragons flying about and puffing out smoke. This place was also a paradise of sorts, but it was just too different from what he had imagined.
“Who stipulated that Dragon Island had to be an island?” Yang Kai countered rhetorically.
Li Jiao was stunned by those words before thinking to himself, [Fair enough.]
The name ‘Dragon Island’ had been passed down through the generations, so everyone assumed it was an actual island, but no one had ever entered Dragon Island nor spoken about what the island was like on the inside.
“In my opinion, this is probably Dragon Island,” Yang Kai took a deep breath. The pure World Energy in the air made him relax, physically and mentally. It felt as though even the pores in his body had expanded. Then, he broke into a grin, “It’s not just ‘probably’. This is definitely Dragon Island!”
What other place in this world could be better than the legendary Dragon Island? Yang Kai had been to many other cultivation paradises before, but nowhere else was comparable to this place.
Li Jiao nodded lightly and did not argue with Yang Kai on that point, “So, what should we do now?”
Yang Kai frowned and thought for a while before speaking, “Since we’re already here, we might as well enjoy ourselves. Let’s investigate this place first.”
“Sounds good!” Li Jiao nodded.
Afterwards, the two of them immediately flew off in the same direction. Both of them tried hard to conceal their auras to prevent revealing their whereabouts. Additionally, they neither flew too high nor too fast.
The Small World seemed to be rather large compared to the Revolving World they went to previously and while flying, they passed numerous mountains and rivers. However, they didn’t even see a single member of the Dragon Clan anywhere.
Although the numbers within the Dragon Clan were extremely low, as far as Yang Kai was aware, there should still be some of the Dragon Clan members living on Dragon Island. Thus, it made no sense that they couldn’t find a single trace of the Dragon Clan anywhere.
For that reason, he couldn’t help doubting whether his previous conjecture was wrong. [Could it be that this isn’t Dragon Island? Don’t tell me Li Jiao and I fell into a random Small World by accident. If that’s the case, things will get embarrassing…]
On the other hand, they ran into several Monster Beasts. Some were strong while some were weak. Moreover, many of the stronger Monster Beasts possessed some thin Dragon Clan bloodline. Their auras were terrifying, and they ran wild in the mountains and forests.
The appearance of these Monster Beasts with the Dragon Clan bloodline greatly increased Yang Kai’s confidence; even so, the True Dragon Clan was nowhere to be seen.
Two days later, a huge city suddenly appeared before them. The city was built on a huge plain and occupied almost one-third of the horizon. From a distance, the buildings in the city seemed densely packed with streets of varying sizes crisscrossing between them. Such a huge city could accommodate at least a million people.
Yang Kai and Li Jiao were instantly dumbstruck while at the same time, an inexplicable feeling surged in their hearts.
“Brother Li, is there a city on Dragon Island?”
Li Jiao smiled wryly, “I have never heard of a city on Dragon Island. However, the members of the Dragon Clan are so scarce, so why would they create such a large city?”
Yang Kai agreed with that sentiment. [The Dragon Clan has no reason to create such a large city. So, is this not Dragon Island after all?] At that thought, his expression turned grim. Two days ago, he had confidently declared to Li Jiao that this place was definitely Dragon Island. Who could have known that those words would slap him in the face two days later?
[But, what is this place if it isn’t Dragon Island?] Yang Kai mulled over it for a moment and said, “Let’s go take a look.”
They might as well take a look at the place regardless of where this was. Even so, they did not rush headlong into the city. They did not know where exactly this place was nor who exactly lived in this city. Therefore, they landed about a hundred kilometres away from the city, found a hidden spot to hide, and prepared to observe the situation for a while.
Upon a closer inspection, they saw many people actively going about their day inside the city. Even if the number of people in the city did not amount to a million, there were at least several hundreds of thousands of them here. This discovery made Yang Kai and Li Jiao even more disappointed. [This really isn’t Dragon Island… Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people here!]
“Somebody is coming!” Yang Kai shouted suddenly, staring intently at something.
The moment Li Jiao heard that, he hurriedly turned his gaze in that direction and saw several figures rushing in their direction. Soon, those people flew over the two of them, seemingly heading for the city.
After they passed by, Li Jiao muttered, “Those were Humans in the Dao Source Realm.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly at those words. Those were Humans indeed. Moreover, their cultivation was neither high nor low. People like them were everywhere in the outside world; it was nothing special.
Not long after those people left, another group of people flew towards the city. This time around, Yang Kai and Li Jiao discovered a strange phenomenon. The leading figure among this group was a person with a Dragon Clan bloodline.
He was a man with a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation and had several Dragon Scales on his face. Apart from that, he did not show any other Dragon Clan like characteristics. Even so, this discovery astonished Yang Kai and Li Jiao greatly.
This man’s situation was very similar to Li Jiao’s. He was probably a Dragonborn with an impure bloodline. In fact, the purity of his bloodline was even lower than Li Jiao’s.
Yang Kai frowned slightly, feeling there was something unusual here.
For the next half a day, the two of them did not move from that spot. A figure or two would fly over their heads from time to time, heading straight towards the city.
The more they observed, the larger the shock and doubt in their hearts grew. This couldn’t be helped though as it was frightening just how many Dragonborn were in this place. At least a hundred people flew over their heads during the time they spent observing and a full ten had Dragon Clan bloodlines. That was a ratio of ten to one, which would have been impossible anywhere else in the Star Boundary but Dragon Island.
Dragonborn could be found in the Star Boundary of course, but there were not many of them. However, in this damned place, one out of every ten was a Dragonborn. If Yang Kai had not seen this ratio for himself, he would never have believed it.
The cultivations of these Dragonborn were uneven; some were high and some were low. The lowest was only in the Origin King Realm while the higher ones were in the Emperor Realm. The distinct Dragon Clan characteristics that they displayed varied too. Some had a short Dragon Horn on their heads, some had Dragon Tails behind them, some had nondescript Dragon Claws while most of them had a few Dragon Scales on their bodies. Naturally, the Dragon Clan characteristics that they had were completely incomparable to that of the true members of the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Scales they had were not so much Dragon Scales as they were more like snake scales.
Aside from Humans and Dragonborn, there were members of the Monster Race thrown into the mix too.
“Palace Master Yang, what’s going on? Why are there so many Dragonborn here?” Li Jiao couldn’t remain calm any longer.
“Do I look like I know the answer to your questions?” Yang Kai gave Li Jiao a sideways look.
Li Jiao laughed awkwardly. He had only been asking in passing. It was just that what they had seen over the past half a day was too startling.
“It’ll be easy to get down to the bottom of this matter. We’ll know once we go inside, right?” Yang Kai pointed out while looking in the direction of the city.
Li Jiao was silent for a while, then he nodded in agreement.
After observing for so long, they discovered that the city’s defences were very lax. Nobody would bat an eyelid at them even if they rushed straight into the city. Moreover, there were no gatekeepers asking them questions or collecting any kind of entrance toll. In other words, Yang Kai and Li Jiao could literally just walk in.
Upon discussing their plans, they immediately rushed out from their hiding spot and flew towards the city. They soon closed the distance of one hundred kilometres and imitated how the people from before had acted. Landing some distance away, they walked into the city on foot.
When they arrived at the city gate, Yang Kai looked up and saw three characters drawn across the city gate in a showy fashion. He was stunned by those words. Similarly, Li Jiao also seemed shocked. Those three characters drawn across the city gate in such showy fashion read ‘Half-Dragon City’!
The two looked at each other and saw the surprised look in each other’s eyes.
A lifelike gigantic Dragon carving sat on the city gates. At first glance, this Dragon seemed to be alive, lunging forward at them with fangs bared. It made Li Jiao pale slightly at the sight and he couldn’t help walking a little faster.
When they entered the city, the two were shocked again. They had long speculated that this city housed a large population, but the size of the population exceeded their expectations. The people coming and going in the city were so numerous that they looked like a school of silver carps moving down a stream. There were shops and stalls in every direction, and they were surrounded by a cacophony of everyday noises like people shouting and bargaining. Moreover, there were beings from the different races, Humans, Monsters and Dragonborn, mixed into the crowd.
Humans numbered the most among them, making up nearly half of the population. Next came the Monster Race that, although lesser in number than the Humans, were not far behind. Last came the Dragonborn who were the rarest.
[What is going on!?] Both Yang Kai and Li Jiao were a little confused.