In the void, the huge Giant Spirit God sat cross-legged like a mountain. He massaged his stomach with his big hands as he watched the small figure in front of him pointedly with two small sun-like eyes on his sad face, looking hungry and unsatisfied.
Goosebumps covered Zhang Ruo Xi. Although she knew that the Giant Spirit Gods were born kind and disliked conflict, she did not have much sense of security in facing such a powerful existence that could easily kill her on a whim.
She obeyed Yang Kai’s orders to wait here, and since then, half a year had passed, yet Yang Kai still had not shown up.
The Giant Spirit God had awakened from his deep sleep, seeming dreadfully hungry. She also knew that the Giant Spirit Gods would always look hungry except when they ate and slept. This was their nature and no one could change it.
But the invisible pressure of being stared at by a starving-looking giant who was constantly rubbing his stomach still made her feel uneasy.
From afar, a figure was seemingly approaching.
Elated, Zhang Ruo Xi focused her sight there, and a moment later, she exclaimed delightfully, “Sir is coming!”
She was addressing Ah Da, the Giant Spirit God, when she said this; however, Ah Da did not react to her words. He had no idea who this so-called Sir was, and continued to gape at her.
But soon, Ah Da suddenly looked excited and turned in the direction Zhang Ruo Xi was watching. He obviously felt something.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai appeared out of thin air not far from the Giant Spirit God. He glanced at Zhang Ruo Xi, nodded lightly, then turned to Ah Da with a smile, “Are you hungry?”
Ah Da nodded vigorously, “Hungry!”
Yang Kai continued, “Open your mouth!”
“Ah!” Ah Da did as he was told, opening his mouth widely. Several refined chess pieces were thrown into his mouth, only then did Ah Da close his mouth and start chewing.
Yang Kai shouted, “Ah Da, I’m going for a long trip, and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
Ah Da was enjoying his food with his eyes half closed and answered Yang Kai inaudibly.
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” Yang Kai questioned again.
Ah Da did not respond. He swallowed and looked at Yang Kai eagerly, who asked again, “Are we friends!?”
“Friends, friends!” Ah Da nodded.
“Since I’m a friend, you have to take care of my home while I go out, but you can’t eat my home. I’ll be homeless if you eat it.”
Ah Da’s face scrunched up at his words as if he was in pain.
Yang Kai pressed on with a smile, “If you really want to eat, you have to wait until I come back. But you can’t eat when I’m not here.”
Ah Da nodded joyfully, “Ah Da won’t eat until you come back!”
Yang Kai said no more. He casually tossed a few more chess pieces, and the crunching noise sounded again.
Looking back at the half-moon-shaped world, Yang Kai took a deep breath, and beckoned Zhang Ruo Xi, “Let’s go.”
Although he was notably reluctant to leave and wanted to go back to take a look now, he suppressed his desire. If everything went well, he would naturally be home as soon as possible and would be able to save the Star Boundary. If it did not, it would not be too late to think of a solution by then. He always had a chance to see it again in the future.
Although Ah Da was eyeing the Star Boundary, he should not be in a hurry to make a move until it really died, and it would still take at least a thousand years for that to happen.
In such a long time, Yang Kai did not believe he could not find the World Tree.
Moreover, there was another advantage to having Ah Da here. At least, the power of the Giant Spirit God could deter others. Even if a Master inadvertently passed through here, he believed that they would not approach easily with Ah Da present. In other words, Yang Kai did not have to worry about the safety of Star Boundary.
And so, Zhang Ruo Xi and Yang Kai flew away side by side.
Ruo Xi was in a cheerful mood. Although she did not talk much along the way, a smile was hanging on her face the whole time. She recalled when she followed her Sir out of the Zhang Family manor outside Maplewood City, she was almost powerless to face the world and its various dangers. It was Sir who protected her at that time. How would she ever think that she could one day stand side by side with him and help him to solve his problems? Her greatest wish at that time was to somehow be able to help her Sir, and after several decades of retreat inside the Blood Gate, she finally achieved the qualifications to do so.
“Tell me about the Outer Universe.” Yang Kai suddenly asked. He had no idea what to expect from this trip to the Outer Universe; therefore, the more information he gathered, the better.
Zhang Ruo Xi turned solemn and answered, “The memories of my ancestor are incomplete, so what I know is not comprehensive.”
“It’s better than knowing nothing. Just tell me what you know,” Yang Kai smiled.
Then, Zhang Ruo Xi disclosed everything she knew without reservation.
The Star Boundary was an independent Universe World. The number of such Universe Worlds in the entire Outer Universe was unknown, but collectively these worlds were the so-called Inner Universes, while everything else composed the Outer Universe.
The Outer Universe was vast and boundless.
There were various great forces in the vast Outer Universe, each occupying either a large or small territory and always competing against each other. Generally, it was chaos, which was not much different from the original situation of the Star Boundary, just that those beings in the Outer Universe had mastered more potent powers. Those who could mingle in the Outer Universe were Masters who had condensed their own Dao Seal. In other words, they all basically had the capability of Great Emperors.
Yang Kai secretly mocked himself, [Am I not the weakest being in the Outer Universe then? If I really encounter an Open Heaven Realm Master, I’m afraid I would be powerless to fight back.]
Although Great Demon God was also an Open Heaven Realm Master at that time, he had just been reborn and the battlefield was the Star Boundary. With the support of the Star Boundary behind them, Yang Kai and the other Great Emperors were able to unleash far more strength than they could elsewhere.
But now, without the support of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai understood that it was impossible to resist an Open Heaven Realm Master with just his own strength. He was still able to recognize his limitations.
In the developed areas of the vast Outer Universe, the top treasure lands had been occupied by various powerful great forces. Accordingly, these treasure lands could be divided into the Seventy-Two Paradises and Thirty-Six Cave Heavens. These great forces that occupied these treasure lands were all extremely indomitable and possessed incredible numbers of Open Heaven Realm Masters.
“Seventy-Two Paradises and Thirty-Six Cave Heavens?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up hearing it, feeling as if a new door was slowly opened in front of him.
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded, “All these treasure lands are famous and represent the peak power of the Outer Universe and it is best if one can join such a power. In the past, my ancestor seemed to have come from a place called Lang Ya Paradise.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “So, can you return to your origin if you want?”
Zhang Ruo Xi chuckled, “Ancestor is ancestor, and I am me. I’m not sure if they will recognize me since it’s already been hundreds of thousands of years. Furthermore, I have no idea where Lang Ya Paradise is now. Without a specific map, it will be difficult to find it, unless we have particularly good luck. As for returning to my origins, there is no need to think about it for the time being.” Her face flushed as she stopped and glanced at Yang Kai, “I still want to be with Sir.”
Yang Kai patted her little head, and returned a smile, “If you have a chance, and if the other party is willing to accept you and they are also good people, you should return to your origins. You also mentioned that it’s better to have the backing of a powerful force in the Outer Universe.”
Zhang Ruo Xi pouted, and immediately changed the topic, “But if Sir wants to condense the Metal Element of the Five Elements in the future, perhaps you can go to a place called Golden Antelope Paradise.”
“Why do you say so?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
Zhang Ruo Xi explained, “Sir knows he has to refine the powers of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements in order to break through to the Open Heaven Realm. Sir chose to refine the Wood Element first, and Wood sustains Fire, so the next element Sir requires is the Fire Element. Fire refines Earth and Earth begets Metal, so after Earth Element would be Metal Element. Given that it’s Sir’s first time entering the Outer Universe, I’m afraid it won’t be easy for you to find a suitable Metal Element material, but the Golden Antelope Paradise has ready-made Golden Blade Yuan Spirits. As long as Sir can afford the price, Sir can enter a certain place to refine his Metal Element.”
Yang Kai was stunned listening to the information, “Does this Golden Antelope Paradise do business? Why do I feel like it’s making it convenient for us?”
Zhang Ruo Xi replied with a smile, “Most of the Seventy-Two Paradises and Thirty-Six Cave Heavens only allow their own people to go in and out of their territory, but Golden Antelope Paradise is an exception. You may think of it as them doing business. Moreover, the quality of Golden Blade Yuan Spirits in the Golden Antelope Paradise is not low. As long as one refines the appropriate power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements to reach the Open Heaven Realm, the outcome would not be lower than the Fifth Order!”
Yang Kai nodded, “The Fifth Order is indeed not low.”
The Open Heaven Realm was not subdivided into First, Second, and Third Order like the Emperor Realm, but rather into a wider range with nine Orders in total. The First-Order was the lowest, while the Ninth-Order was the highest. The power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements was also divided into nine Orders.
For example, the Immortal Tree that Yang Kai possessed before was a Ninth-Order Wood Element. Its value was high enough to make even the greatest Masters of the Outer Universe covet it.
According to Zhang Ruo Xi, the Golden Blade Yuan Spirits in the Golden Antelope Paradise were all Fifth-Order materials at least.
The materials selected to condense the power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements were crucial to an Open Heaven Realm cultivator. When a cultivator broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, his Order would be determined according to the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements materials he or she had refined. It was possible to improve one’s Order after the initial breakthrough, but doing so had its own difficulties and restrictions.
Although Golden Antelope Paradise opened its gates wide to the public, it was not without cost to enter it. One could only enter if they could afford the price, and there was also a time limit. Once time was up, they would be thrown out regardless of whether they had succeeded or not.
From their Golden Blade Yuan Spirits alone, the Golden Antelope Paradise was filthy rich.
“The Golden Blade Yuan Spirits in Golden Antelope Paradise are Fifth-Order materials, but if you are lucky enough to find a Spirit Essence there, it will be a pleasant surprise.”
“Spirit Essence? What Order is this material?” Yang Kai did not bother to ask what the Spirit Essence was, because he could guess that the Spirit Essence must be the origin or core of a Golden Blade Yuan Spirit, which was absolutely much higher than the Fifth Order.
“Seventh-Order!”
Yang Kai could not help whistling. For now, he was not familiar with the ranking system of the material quality to condense the power of Yin, Yang and Five Elements. He also had no clue how high the Order should be to be considered as valuable in the eyes of those Masters in the Outer Universe, but it was undeniable that the Seventh Order was not low. It was definitely a decent material that was worth fighting for.
“Has anyone ever obtained one there?” Yang Kai asked.
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head, “I have no idea. Maybe my ancestor would know, but I didn’t get any memories related to that.”
Yang Kai nodded gently and came up with another question, “What is the currency in the Outer Universe?”
In different planes and different worlds, the currency was different too. Demon Crystals were the currency in the Demon Realm, while Source Crystals were the currency in the Star Boundary. They were all resources naturally generated that contained the energy of that world, which could be absorbed by the cultivators to enhance their strength.
If he was right, the currency in the Outer Universe should be something that could enhance one’s strength too.
“Open Heaven Pills!”
Yang Kai frowned, “Open Heaven Pills? Why does it sound like a kind of Spirit Pill?”
Zhang Ruo Xi smiled lightly, “They are indeed a type of Spirit Pill, one that is extremely useful for Open Heaven Realm Masters. As I’ve told Sir before, upon reaching the Open Heaven Realm, one’s Order is set, but it’s not impossible to improve it. The resource used to break through higher Orders are Open Heaven Pills. If one consumes enough Open Heaven Pills over a long time, they can generally improve their Order one or two times, and their strength naturally increases.”
Yang Kai was baffled, “If Open Heaven Pills are useful to Open Heaven Realm Masters, are they useless to people like us?”
“Of course, they’re not useless.” Zhang Ruo Xi explained, “In Sir’s realm, Open Heaven Pills as a standard currency allow one to purchase and trade for materials they need.”
A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai, “Materials to condense the power of Yin, Yang and Five Elements?”
“En!” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded, “These materials are what cultivators at our Realm need most; therefore, everyone will generally exchange for what they need if they have a chance.”
“It seems that if I have a chance in the future, I will have to get a pill recipe for these Open Heaven Pills.” Yang Kai was immersed in thoughts. He was familiar with Alchemy, so if he could obtain the pill recipe for Open Heaven Pills, he might be able to refine them for himself. Of course, that would require appropriate materials as well.
Zhang Ruo Xi beamed, “Sir, there are two kinds of Open Heaven Pills. One type is spontaneously generated, and the other is refined by Alchemists.”
Yang Kai was flabbergasted, “Since it is a Spirit Pill, how can it be generated by the Universe?”
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head slowly, “The Universe has a will of its own and occasionally, an object called the Universe Furnace will appear. This furnace is not a physical object, but a projection that can absorb the power of the Stars and Universe itself to refine innate Open Heaven Pills.”
Yang Kai replied in amazement, “Such a wonder occurs?”
At that moment, he suddenly recalled a time when he was taught the Alchemic Dao directly by Heavenly Way. Since the Heavenly Way could pass on an Alchemy Technique to him, why could it not generate Spirit Pills by itself?
“Strictly speaking, it was all due to the Open Heaven Pills generated by the World that the Masters in Outer Universe gradually derived a pill recipe for refining artificial Open Heaven Pills.”
“There should be some differences between the two, right?”
“You are right, Sir. Although both are Open Heaven Pills, there are enormous differences between them, the biggest one being effectiveness. Although consuming the artificially refined Open Heaven Pills can improve one’s Order, it comes with a limit. After promoting one’s Order by two Orders, it is not possible to advance any further using this method. But the Open Heaven Pills generated by the Universe are different. They contain the purest power of the World, and rumour has it that this kind of Open Heaven Pill can raise the strength of an Open Heaven Realm Master without limits, making the Ninth-Order reachable!”
Yang Kai’s blood boiled with excitement as he heard this and he immediately began looking around.
Zhang Ruo Xi asked strangely, “Sir, what are you looking for?”
Yang Kai answered, “I’m looking for the Universe Furnace that you mentioned! Aren’t we going to be rich if we encounter it now?” Although he had condensed his Wood Element directly from the Immortal Tree and his starting point was incredibly high, he was afraid that it would be difficult to find materials of the same Order as the Immortal Tree. Even if there were such good things, he could not compete for them if he was not strong enough.
Therefore, Yang Kai had mentally well-prepared too. He would not reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he was first promoted to the Open Heaven Realm in the future, even getting to the Eighth-Order would be tough for him. It would be great if he got to the Seventh Order, but it was possible for him to just reach the Sixth Order or even the Fifth Order too.
If he wished to improve his own Order and strength then, these spontaneously generated Open Heaven Pills were necessary.
Zhang Ruo Xi giggled, “How can this kind of treasure be so easy to encounter? Even if the Universe Furnace is really born, it would have nothing to do with us. People from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises would probably swarm over for it at once, resulting in a furious battle.”
Ignoring her, Yang Kai frowned, “I seem to see something.”
Zhang Ruo Xi pouted, “Sir likes to make jokes.”
Yang Kai shook her arm, and pointed in a certain direction, “There’s really something over there. Did I see it clearly…” Just when he finished, his face changed drastically, “So fast!”
Previously when he looked around, he vaguely saw something coming towards them, but in the blink of an eye, the other party had shortened half the distance between them. The whole process was extremely abrupt, with no trace of movement.
When those words fell, Zhang Ruo Xi also saw the situation and her pretty face immediately paled, “Myriad Facets Insect!”
Yang Kai did not have time to ask what the Myriad Facets Insect was, but seeing Zhang Ruo Xi’s expression, he understood that this insect was not simple. From its look, it was a huge snow-white bug with holes all over its body. The bug’s body stretched over ten kilometres in length and it looked considerably swollen, but it was strangely fast as well.
Just as Zhang Ruo Xi’s voice fell, the Myriad Facets Insect had broken through more than ten thousand kilometres, and immediately arrived in front of the two. Its mouth was so huge and deep that it resembled a black hole, which enveloped the two people from above, swallowing a big piece of the void.
“Run!” Yang Kai grabbed Zhang Ruo Xi’s arm and Space Principles flared as he attempted to flee.
But Yang Kai was startled to find that the local space was completely locked, and they were immediately shrouded in darkness, all light in front of him suddenly lost.
The next moment, the world spun and even Yang Kai, who had now won the throne of a Great Emperor, was left feeling dizzy, as if he was plummeting endlessly.
He was speechless. He had just come out of the Star Boundary with Zhang Ruo Xi, so how could he just run into such a monster? He did not understand the danger of the Outer Universe until now.
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat when he thought of Zhang Ruo Xi, because his hands were empty. He was still grabbing Zhang Ruo Xi’s arm just a moment ago, but now, he was holding nothing.
[Where’s Ruo Xi!?] While enduring the discomfort in his head, Yang Kai hurriedly released his Divine Sense to examine his surroundings, but he found no trace of Zhang Ruo Xi anywhere. He forced himself to calm down and recalled what just happened. Instinctively, Yang Kai felt that he should have been swallowed by the Myriad Facets Insect, so both Ruo Xi and he should be in the Myriad Facets Insect’s stomach right now.
He was so infuriated. He came out of the Star Boundary full of hopes and ambitions, but how could have anticipated being swallowed by a bug before he could achieve anything? How could he bear this shame?
With a low roar, he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, turning into a 2,000 meters tall Half-Dragon in an instant. The Azure Dragon Spear was summoned to his hand as his aura soared. Inside his body, his Dao Seal radiated brightly, and all his power was gathered in the Azure Dragon Spear before he thrust out wildly.
In the next moment, the world stopped spinning. His vision blurred and he suddenly appeared in the void. He was still in his previous stance in the momentum of stabbing.
Yang Kai felt extremely annoyed. He unleashed his strength but ended up stabbing nothing but empty space. When his power was exhausted and he finally came to a halt, he looked around at a loss.
[Where is this?]
Although he had just entered the Outer Universe and did not know much about it, Yang Kai was sure that he was no longer where he originally was. Everything around him looked completely different from before.
He did not see Zhang Ruo Xi or the Myriad Facets Insect, as if everything that happened just now was an illusion.
Yang Kai hefted his spear and looked around on alert, but it was quiet all around him, with nobody present except himself.
[What the Hell just happened? I have never been so confused like this.]
After confirming that there was no danger around, Yang Kai quickly dispelled his Dragon Transformation, took out a Space Spirit Bead, and tried to contact Zhang Ruo Xi, but he received no response.
Yang Kai grew anxious.
[I’m fine with encountering such weird things inexplicably, at least I’m unharmed, but where did that little girl Ruo Xi go?] He tried to recall carefully and remembered the moment when he attempted to get out of trouble, there seemed to be a subtle Space Principle fluctuation.
In addition to the strange environment in front of him, Yang Kai vaguely felt that he experienced some kind of exceptionally long-distance teleportation. He had no idea how far he was from the Star Boundary, and he was afraid that he could not even figure out where the Star Boundary was now.
Last time when he escaped from Demon Realm, he used the blessing of the World’s Will inside him to locate the Star Boundary in the vast Outer Universe, allowing him to successfully return home.
But at that time, it was because Demon Realm was not too far from the Star Boundary. The two Universe Worlds were close together, relatively speaking, otherwise Great Demon God would not have the idea to lay his hand on the Star Boundary in the first place.
But now the World’s Will would not work as he was too far away, so Yang Kai could not return to the Star Boundary even if he wanted to.
He was swallowed by the Myriad Facets Insect, and after forcefully escaping from it, he found himself in this new place.
[What the Hell was that bug? Where is Zhang Ruo Xi now?]
Yang Kai was totally clueless. He could only choose a random direction and try to find traces of Ruo Xi. He secretly prayed that she had also managed to escape the belly of the Myriad Facets Insect, otherwise he was afraid that even an Open Heaven Realm Master could not escape the fate of being eaten by such a monster.
Yang Kai was speeding through the void with a frown on his face. It was difficult to distinguish the passage of time in the Outer Universe, but it should have been half a year ever since he encountered the Myriad Facets Insects.
In the past six months, he had been looking for traces of Zhang Ruo Xi nearby. From time to time, he would try to use his Space Beacon; unfortunately, he found nothing and received no signal from Ruo Xi.
After wandering for half a year, Yang Kai experienced all kinds of dangers in the Outer Universe just as horrifying as the Myriad Facets Insect. There were countless frightening beings in this vast Outer Universe, and he had met several of them in this half year. Nevertheless, none of them were Myriad Facets Insects, but other monsters.
Basically, they were all massive in size, on par with the Myriad Facets Insect; however, although these beings had terrifying auras, they seemed to be lacking in sentience, just like the Myriad Facets Insect. As long as Yang Kai could see them far away and avoid them in time, he would be safe.
He even found a Universe World during this half-year of wandering.
It was a world similar to the Star Boundary, but before he approached, he felt that he was being targeted by several hostile intents.
Clearly, they were the Great Emperors of that world.
Although Yang Kai was also a Great Emperor now, it was extremely unwise to rush into someone else’s World recklessly; therefore, after realizing he was unwelcome, Yang Kai took a detour and left.
Thinking about it, given that Ruo Xi knew more about the Outer Universe than him and her strength was not low, there should not be a problem for her as long as she could escape from the belly of the Myriad Facets Insect.
But Yang Kai was not sure when they would meet again after the parting this time. The Outer Universe was so big that the probability of two people meeting randomly was just too small.
Another month later, Yang Kai had no choice but to accept reality. He gave up searching for Zhang Ruo Xi, identified a direction, and proceeded forward.
Now that he had leapt out of his original World and arrived in the Outer Universe, he should finish his unsettled business and look for clues about the mysterious World Tree.
Perhaps when he found the World Tree and returned to the Star Boundary, Zhang Ruo Xi would already be waiting for him there.
With such hope, Yang Kai forged onwards.
The lonely exploration and the wandering suddenly gave him a long-lost sense of familiarity. Long ago, when he first entered the Starry Sky from Tong Xuan Realm, and then to the Star Boundary from the Star Field, was he not facing the storm alone and eventually overcoming all obstacles spectacularly? Although the Outer Universe was dangerous, as long as he strived forward bravely, he would naturally make his way.
His mood was suddenly lifted, and he could not help looking forward to the path ahead.
One day, Yang Kai, who was speeding along, suddenly looked in a certain direction and his face changed drastically. Unsure if it was an illusion, he seemed to hear a vague call from that direction at the moment.
He immediately focused his mind and listened carefully, but he noticed nothing.
The void was dangerous, so Yang Kai naturally had to be vigilant at all times, and the Soul Warming Lotus was always closely guarding his consciousness against being invaded by foreign interference.
Yang Kai frowned slightly and felt strange about it, but he sensed no abnormalities; thus, he put down his worries and continued to move forward. After he travelled for a while though, the same noise called out to him again.
Yang Kai immediately halted his feet and his face turned solemn. It could be a misconception if it only happened once, but it did not make sense if it occurred again. It was not some figment of his imagination; there was really something out there.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai changed his direction and flew towards the source of the voice.
There were no changes in the Soul Warming Lotus, and he did not notice anything wrong either, so Yang Kai deduced that the voice should be harmless. His current knowledge about the Outer Universe was limited to the information Zhang Ruo Xi disclosed to him earlier, so if there really was someone out there, maybe he could learn something from them.
Of course, he had to be wary of danger, but asking for directions was better than him flying around like a headless fly.
There was no resistance travelling through the void, so Yang Kai could travel at his maximum speed easily. However, in order to watch out for some possible dangers, he still maintained a lower pace.
Moreover, Yang Kai had also found that the Outer Universe was remarkably clean over the past few months, unlike the Star Field which was dotted with Asteroid Seas. Now that he thought about it carefully, this phenomenon should have something to do with the Giant Spirit God Clan.
The Giant Spirit Gods had an Innate Divine Ability that allowed them to sniff out dying worlds in advance, which they could then move towards and wait to feed upon. Once the world died, they would devour the World clean.
Since the dead worlds had been eaten by the Giant Spirit Gods, it made sense there were no Asteroid Seas in the Outer Universe. They must have long been swallowed into the stomachs of the Giant Spirit Gods. Thinking about this, it seemed like the Giant Spirit Gods were the cleaners of the universe…
Yang Kai had no idea how long he had been flying, but the further he travelled, the more obvious the call in the dark became. Yang Kai could feel that he still had some distance from his destination, but it should not be too far now.
Until one day, a bright spot suddenly appeared in a nebula in front of him. Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, realizing that he had finally arrived. He fixed his eyes on it, and could not help being flabbergasted.
It was too far away for him to see clearly, but Yang Kai vaguely felt that… he was seeing something familiar.
He picked up speed, and a few days later, Yang Kai’s expression became strange.
In front of that, a huge oval light barrier stood quietly in the void. Strange lights constantly flashed on top of the light barrier, and from the oval light barrier were extremely clear Space Principle fluctuations.
[Territory Gate?] Yang Kai raised his brow.
He already found it to be familiar when he was far away. Now that he looked closer, it indeed looked familiar.
In the Demon Realm, the world was broken into pieces, and each continent relied on Territory Gates to connect to each other. The oval light barrier in front of him had the exact nature of a Territory Gate.
The only difference between them was their size. There was a world of difference between the size of this gate and the Territory Gates of the Demon Realm. The two were completely incomparable.
This Territory Gate was simply massive!
Yang Kai believed that even with the huge size of the Giant Spirit God and the Myriad Facets Insect, they could easily shuttle through this Territory Gate to the other side, that was how big this gate was.
Yang Kai could not help being fascinated by such a Territory Gate that emerged in the void all of a sudden, especially when the vague voice was calling out from this Territory Gate.
Although he had no idea what the exact name of this Territory Gate in the Outer Universe was, its function was clearly to shuttle between two places.
In a few days, Yang Kai finally arrived in front of the Territory Gate and stood ten thousand kilometres away from it. Feeling the vastness of the object and his own insignificance, Yang Kai sighed. The Outer Universe was truly full of wonders.
He could feel that this Territory Gate was not artificially refined but naturally occurring. The fluctuations of Space Principles were clearly transmitted from it, but they did not seem to be hazardous. Anyone should be able to pass through this gate as long as he possessed sufficient strength.
So the question was, where did this Territory Gate lead to? What was on the other side that kept calling out at him?
It took Yang Kai more than twenty hours to complete a circle around this enormous Territory Gate.
Standing in place, he scratched his head, debating whether or not to enter. It was really a tough decision for Yang Kai to make.
If he chose not to enter, what was the point of arriving here? Furthermore, other than encountering several gigantic and horrifying monsters in this more than half-a-year journey through the void, he only found a single Universe World, and had not experienced a single thing about civilization in the Outer Universe yet.
But if he chose to enter, he had no idea what would be waiting for him on the other side. What if Masters were waiting to ambush him? He could face some unexpected disaster as soon as he passed through the gate.
However, without a long hesitation, Yang Kai made up his mind, he would enter!
Along the way, he had encountered many dangers but escaped narrowly each time. If he became timid just because he was worried about the difficult path ahead, how could he continue to explore the Outer Universe? It was better to return to the Star Boundary and retire in that case. Moreover, his strength was not low now, so it was not like he was powerless to resist even if he really came across any danger.
Once a decision had been made, Yang Kai no longer hesitated.
With a flicker, he plunged into the Territory Gate in front of him.
The Territory Gate barely rippled as if a stone had been thrown into a vast sea. Only a small disturbance appeared at the place where Yang Kai entered, and it instantly recovered after.
Yang Kai, who entered the gate, felt the world spinning around him. The great pressure from the surrounding overwhelmed him, as if an infinite force was squeezing him from all directions.
Shocked, Yang Kai hurriedly circulated his Secret Art.
It was impossible to resist such pressure unless one was on par with a Great Emperor. In other words, only an existence who condensed their Dao Seal was qualified to pass through this Territory Gate.
After what felt like thousands of years, but was probably just an instant, the pressure around Yang Kai suddenly dissipated.
When he regained his senses, he realized he was still in an endless void, and after turning around, was even more at a loss.
[What the Hell?] After shuttling through the Territory Gate, the scene that he came to was just as inexplicable as after being swallowed by the Myriad Facet Insects. If it was not for the giant Territory Gate behind him, Yang Kai would think that he was still in the same place.
But after arriving here, the call in the dark became clearer.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai quickly rushed towards it.
Half a day later, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and stared ahead of him with a look of surprise.
In that void, a door appeared, and the voice that he kept hearing was reverberating from it.
Yang Kai almost could not believe his eyes and rubbed them vigorously before staring again. It was real, there was truly a door there, isolated, looking extremely out of place.
There was nothing extraordinary about the door. There was a door plate and a doorbell on the door, and two stone lions squatting on either side, baring their ferocious-looking fangs.
Usually, Yang Kai would not feel anything if he saw such a door in the Star Boundary, but in this vast empty void of the Outer Universe, how could a lone door like this not be bizarre?
When Yang Kai approached, he looked at the two stone lions squatting on either side of the door. He vaguely felt that these seemingly ordinary stone lion decorations were not as simple as they looked. Then again, if they were ordinary, how could they appear in the void?
Right at that moment, a voice came out of the door, “Where did this little friend come from? Forgive this Old Master for greeting you from afar. Please come in.”
The voice was gentle and welcoming, causing a warm feeling to fill Yang Kai’s body. Even though the voice appeared abruptly, it did not alarm him but made him feel comfortable instead.
However, Yang Kai was secretly stunned; after all, right in front of him was just a door. Although there were two stone lions squatting on either side of the door, there was no house behind it, so where was the speaker? Yang Kai peeped behind the door but found nothing.
By the sound of the voice, the speaker should not be young. After pondering for a while, Yang Kai felt like it was better for him to face things head-on and cupped his fists to ask, “Where is Old Sir? How can this Junior get in?”
The old voice laughed, “Just push the door.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow but still nodded.
He put his hands on the door plates and pushed gently and the door opened, but what came into his view on the other side was not the scenery of a void that he imagined. At the moment of opening the door, a colourful light flashed before him, followed by a powerful suction that drew Yang Kai inside before he could respond.
When he regained his senses, he was standing on an expansive reef. The sound of sea waves echoed around his ears and as he looked up, he could see a blue sky filled with clouds.
Yang Kai blinked, and could not help shouting, “A Small Universe!”
Reaching the Open Heaven Realm required splitting Heaven and Earth apart from within to create an independent world, and this independent world was known as a Small Universe. Only Open Heaven Realm Masters could possess a Small Universe.
Laughter burst out from the side, “Little friend has good vision, this is indeed this Old Master’s Small Universe!”
Yang Kai turned in the direction of the voice and saw an old man with white hair and a beard standing nearby, a kind smile on his face. The old man was a little chubby, and the deep and numerous wrinkles on his face revealed the signs of ageing.
The old man was wearing a black, spotless robe and had the demeanour of a Senior Expert. With a round bowl in one hand, the old man’s fingers tapped rhythmically.
Strangely, there was no sound following his taps, but Yang Kai could obscurely perceive something from the movement.
Recalling the call that guided him all the way here, a sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai, “Is Old Sir the one who called me?”
The old man smiled lightly, “Indeed, where might I ask did little friend come from?”
Yang Kai answered, “My homeland is not a place worth being mentioned. In fact, I’m not certain what to call it.” Although the old man in front of him seemed harmless, he was still a true Open Heaven Realm Master. If he really wanted to make a move on Yang Kai, Yang Kai would probably be powerless to resist, especially inside the former’s Small Universe. Yang Kai did not expect that the first person he met in the Outer Universe would be an Open Heaven Realm Master. He had to stay alert against the people here, and it was better not to expose the name of the Star Boundary.
The old man did not mind it, and smiled faintly, “I see.” He did not continue asking, which surprised Yang Kai.
“Why did Old Sir call out to me?” Yang Kai was puzzled. If it had not been for this sudden summon, he would not have come here.
The old man replied with a smile, “This Old Master did not just summon you. I have just been picking up various Juniors who manage to free themselves of the shackles of various Universe Worlds.” While talking, he stretched out his hand and pointed aside.
Yang Kai looked at the place he pointed and found that the old man and he were not the only people in this Small Universe. There were other people on the surrounding reefs.
Fear crept into Yang Kai’s heart as he did not notice anything when he came in just now, and he was sure that he had clearly checked his surroundings and saw nobody at all. It meant that if it was not for the permission of the old man, he was afraid that he would not be able to see anything at all in this place.
Four other figures were present, three men and one woman.
A burly man, a dignified woman, a naive boy, and the last one looked like he was from the Monster Race. He had two horns on his forehead, but it was unclear which bloodline he carried.
Each of them sat on a reef nearby, looking at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai swept his eyes across them, and except for the naive-looking one who smiled back at Yang Kai, everyone else was expressionless. Although Yang Kai had no idea what kind of Realm these four were, since they could appear here, it meant that each of them was a Master on par with a Great Emperor in their own right, and had condensed their own Dao Seal. Otherwise, they would not be qualified to wander the Outer Universe.
Seeing this, combined with what the old man mentioned just now, Yang Kai asked in amazement, “Were these people summoned by Old Sir too?”
The old man nodded with a smile, “There are many dangers in the Outer Universe. It’s not a friendly place for newcomers like you. If you rush around rashly, you are likely to encounter some unpredictable dangers. This Old Master has set up here and used a Secret Technique to spread a summon far and wide. Those who perceive this summon will come here to meet this Old Master, just like little friend and the others.”
“Why did Old Sir do this?” Yang Kai was baffled.
“If this Old Master told you that it was to protect newcomers like you, would you believe it?”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly. After years of cultivation, even though Yang Kai dared not say that he had a clear understanding of Human nature, he did not believe that someone would do such a laborious task for no benefit whatsoever.
The old man guffawed, “It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, but this is indeed one of this Old Master’s reasons.”
“Does that mean there are other reasons?” Yang Kai questioned.
“Another reason is that the force this Old Master belongs to needs to absorb new blood. There are countless large and small forces in the Outer Universe, and many will perform similar solicitations. It’s not uncommon to try to recruit new people who have just jumped out of the Inner Universe to strengthen their own forces. This Old Master is not the only one doing this. Little friend, it seems we share some common destiny, that is why you heard this Old Master’s call and came here.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly, “May I know what great force Old Sir belongs to?”
The old man replied, “You will know in the future. It’s useless to say too much now.”
“What if I don’t want to join Old Sir’s great force?” Yang Kai asked.
As soon as Yang Kai said this, he clearly felt the attention of the other four people on the reefs around him focus on him.
The old man responded, “That is your decision. This Old Master is only responsible for recruiting and guiding. Someone will explain everything to you when we go back. Whether to join or not will be up to you then. Just stay if you’re willing to join. If not, no one will force you.”
Yang Kai nodded. He had encountered this kind of situation once before when he entered the Ancestral Domain. Many great forces in the Ancestral Domain also sent out Masters to stake out territory and absorb new blood to strengthen their own forces.
But in comparison, the old man’s method was undoubtedly superior. Instead of waiting in place, hoping others would pass by, he actively used a technique to summon others to him across a great distance.
Yang Kai had nothing to lose in the Outer Universe, and now that he was separated from Zhang Ruo Xi, he did not even know where to go next. He just wanted to go somewhere with many people to get information. Since the old man had already said so much, Yang Kai naturally would not reject.
Of course, Yang Kai did not completely believe the old man’s words, but at least for now, he should be safe.
“Old Sir, I have one more question to ask you,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
“You may ask.”
“This Junior leapt out of his Universe World with another friend to enter this vast Outer Universe, but we bumped into a monster called the Myriad Facets Insect on our way. After we were swallowed by it, I was brought to another place for some reason…”
At this point, the old man smiled lightly, “Don’t worry, your friend should not be in danger.”
“Please enlighten this Junior, Old Sir.”
“The Myriad Facets Insect is a special being in the Outer Universe. Its movements are unpredictable, but it is generally harmless. When you saw it from a distance, didn’t you see there were many holes on its body?”
“Exactly!”
“Those holes are connected to random corners of the vast Outer Universe. When you are swallowed up by Myriad Facets Insects, you inevitably come out of one of those holes and appear in a completely different place. Your friend’s experience is the same as yours, but where they were sent is unknown now.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Nevertheless, he instinctively felt that the statement of the old man in front of him should not be wrong. As he recalled now, from getting swallowed by the Myriad Facets Insect to escaping out of it, everything happened in just the blink of an eye. But when he got out, Yang Kai noticed obvious Space Principle fluctuations, as if he just experienced ultra-long-distance teleportation, which was consistent with the old man’s explanation.
In this way, Yang Kai was relieved to confirm that Zhang Ruo Xi was not in danger, but he had no clue where she was teleported to.
“Many thanks, Old Sir. This Junior still wants to ask…”
“You’ve travelled far, and must be tired. It would be best for little friend to rest first.” The old man looked at Yang Kai with a grin, and as he spoke, his fingers gently tapped on the round bowl again.
The doubt in Yang Kai’s heart calmed down at once, as if the question he had was something he should not have asked. He immediately looked ashamed and bowed, “Senior is right, then this Junior will not bother Senior any further.”
Yang Kai then retreated respectfully.
The old man nodded, closed his eyes, and continued casting his Secret Technique.
Yang Kai looked around, jumped onto an empty reef, sat cross-legged, and silently circulated his Secret Art. In the next moment, rich and pure World Energy poured into every pore of his body, greatly refreshing his spirit.
Although this was the old man’s Small Universe, it was also a world with the complete Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. The World Energy was also authentic, which could be absorbed to enhance Yang Kai’s strength.
Moreover, the World Energy in this Small Universe was far purer and more concentrated than in any natural place in the Star Boundary. Yang Kai opened his eyes quietly and saw that the other four people were devouring the World Energy around them hungrily. Seeing this, Yang Kai simply let go of his concerns, no longer worried about anything, and greedily began cultivating.
However, Yang Kai still used a portion of his Divine Sense to examine himself. When the old man uttered the last sentence, he clearly felt that he was unable to resist his words. In other words, he was completely obedient to the old man at that time, and that was the reason he felt ashamed. Fortunately, when the Soul Warming Lotus reacted, his mental state recovered.
Since the Soul Warming Lotus reacted like this, it proved that the old man definitely used some kind of Soul Technique on him in that moment. Yang Kai did not understand how it happened, it could be because of the old man’s high Realm and skill, or it could be due to the effect of the round bowl, but if he had not been protected by the Soul Warming Lotus, he could not imagine what would have happened just now.
Sure enough, nothing came for free in the world. The old man kept saying that he would not force anyone to join the great force behind him, but judging from his current behaviour, Yang Kai strongly believed that he may not end well if he rejected the old man’s offer.
But since Yang Kai was already here, there was no way for him to just leave now. Moreover, Yang Kai desperately wanted to travel somewhere with many people to get information. His understanding of the Outer Universe was only limited to the information disclosed by Zhang Ruo Xi before, and he was clueless about anything else as he had just entered this world. It would be good if he could follow the old man to join a great force, and then gather information carefully before making further plans.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was hoping that Zhang Ruo Xi could be attracted to this place too. Since Ruo Xi was swallowed by the Myriad Facets Insects with him at the same time, if luck was on their side, she may appear at a place not so far away and might be led here by the old man’s summon too.
If so, they could reunite.
Thinking this way, Yang Kai was no longer worried. He simply let go of his concerns and devoured the World Energy around him.
The three Humans and one Monster nearby acted like him too. Although Yang Kai did not know which Universe Worlds they all came from, it was obvious that they each came from different places. There were many differences in details from their clothing. However, no matter which Small World they came from, by their hungry looks for cultivation, they clearly had not stayed in a place with such a good cultivation environment before.
After what had happened earlier, Yang Kai suspected that these four people had already been influenced by the old man’s Secret Technique and were now obeying his commands.
The old man kept the same posture, holding a bowl in one hand and gently drumming it with the other hand. The invisible inspiration continued to spread into the world from this Small Universe, attracting more newcomers.
This was a bit like fishing, and the willing ones took the bait. If the person who perceived the inspiration did not have much curiosity or was paranoid enough, they would not come here.
Time flowed freely. Although the Small Universe was also a world, it was somewhere between ethereal and corporeal, and it would not be as wondrous as a true Universe World. The sun, moon, and stars were absent, and the scenery was invariable. By the look of it, it probably had something to do with the old man’s state of mind.
After an unknown amount of time, which Yang Kai estimated to be at least a year, the old man, still holding the bowl, smiled, “Where did this little friend come from? Forgive this Old Master for greeting you from afar. Please come in.”
It was the exact same speech as that of when Yang Kai arrived, not a single word was changed. When Yang Kai heard this, he knew that a newcomer was here. He could not help being excited, secretly hoping that it would be Zhang Ruo Xi.
Like him, the other four people who had been cultivating opened their eyes.
The next moment, a crisp and pleasant voice sounded, “Where are you, sneaky fellow? Show yourself!”
It was a woman’s voice, but it sounded quite young.
The old man laughed, “This Old Master is not a sneaky fellow. This Old Master is here, it is just that Young Lady cannot see me. Please come in.”
The woman outside the door squealed, “Why should I listen to you? This Young Lady doesn’t want to enter!” After a pause, she asked, “Are you in this door?” From the tone of the question, one could imagine that she was looking around the door curiously.
“En!” The old man nodded.
“Then come out and talk. I’ll wait for you outside the door.”
The old man chuckled, “Young Lady is quite vigilant.”
“Hmph, it’s necessary to be careful. I don’t even know who you are. Why should I enter easily?”
“You’re right.” The old man smiled. While talking, he suddenly formed his hand into a hand seal, “However, this Old Master insists on inviting Young Lady in.”
When the words fell, there was an exclamation outside the door, followed by the woman’s scolding, “Bastard, how dare you… Ahhh!”
After her shout, a wave of ripples permeated around the old man, followed by the appearance of a graceful figure. It was the woman who refused to enter the door earlier. She ended up being dragged in by the Old Master’s unknown method.
Yang Kai understood the situation. As long as one was led by the old man’s inspiration, whether they were willing or not, they had to enter the door and come to this Small Universe. Everything would go smoothly if one was willing; otherwise, they would be dragged in forcefully. A harmless smile was plastered on the old man’s face, but in fact, he was clearly quite domineering. In short, he was using his strength to bully the weak.
Yang Kai could not help raising his vigilance.
The woman seemed to have a hot temper and after being dragged in, a curtain of water immediately circulated around her. As soon as she raised her hand, the boundless water curtain turned into a white silk that shot towards the old man.
A gust of wind blew and joined itself with the white silk to form a rushing river. Yang Kai raised his brow and could not help praising this young woman in his heart.
How was this a real piece of white silk? It was clearly refined from a river. The rushing force contained a boundless Water Element that splashed everywhere wantonly.
“Impudence!” The four people who had been sitting upright on the reefs since before Yang Kai’s arrival rebuked in unison and rushed out together. The burly man swung his fists, the dignified woman took out a sword, the naive boy took out a treasure like a slingshot loaded with a stone, while the twin-horned Monster roared and turned into a tiger-like being.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded!
Nevertheless, he quickly regained his senses, jumped off the reef and sent the woman a palm strike.
The young woman’s face turned pale. Obviously, she did not expect to be besieged by so many people as soon as she entered this place. Although she was also a Master on the level of a Great Emperor and had condensed her own Dao Seal, all the others present were on par with her. It would be a draw even if it was a one-on-one fight, let alone one against five.
The white silk that was pumped out was immediately withdrawn and turned into a water curtain wrapping around her.
Following after a rumbling sound, the water curtain shattered and the young woman fell out of her wall of defence, the blood drained from her face.
A Master as strong as a Great Emperor, was now sitting on the ground with tears in her eyes, covering her rear with her hands, looking helpless as she cried, “You… You’re all bullies!”
She looked like a child who lost a fight…
Yang Kai wanted to laugh, but he did not find it to be appropriate.
“You are all bullies just because you have numbers on your side!” The young woman sat on the ground, unable to get up, glaring at Yang Kai and the rest before finally fixing her eyes on the old man and shouting, “Fight me alone with me if you have the courage!”
The old man maintained his smile, however, and asked, “Young Lady, do you really want to fight alone with me?”
“Yes, just you and me, don’t involve them!” The young woman stretched out her hand and pointed one by one at Yang Kai and the others.
The old man shook his head gradually, “You are no match for this Old Master.”
“How can you be sure before we fight?” The young woman looked unconvinced.
“Then, do you want to try?” The old man teased her with great interest.
“Of course I want to try!” The woman clenched her teeth and clamoured. There was still nothing unusual when she uttered the first word, but when she finished the last word, she had rushed in front of the old man, as vigorous as a tiger. Her slender palm turned crystal clear, a mysterious power fluctuating around it as it slammed towards the old man.
A smile still on his face, the old man just looked at her quietly and without doing anything, lightly spoke, “Solidify!”
The woman was instantly stiffened in front of the old man, completely immobilized. It seemed that she had only realized the huge gap between her and the old man now and her face turned pale involuntarily, her long lashes trembling endlessly.
“Do you want to try again?” The old man challenged.
The young woman blinked her eyes, and became exceptionally obedient, “I dare not.”
“If you don’t dare, stop,” The old man waved his hand.
As soon as he said this, the young woman immediately regained her freedom. Her offensive momentum did not stop at once, and her whole body swiftly charged forward. She quickly bent her knees and half-knelt on the ground, with her fists cupping, “Junior was naïve and thought that she was invincible in this world. Today, I have realized there are actually people beyond people after meeting Senior. Please accept this Junior as a Disciple. This Disciple will be respectful and filial to Master in the future!”
Her movements were slick and neat, without a single unnecessary motion. Her speech was also notably smooth, as if she had said it countless times before, but her look was extremely sincere.
Everyone present, including the old man, were shocked by the young woman’s behaviour.
Yang Kai was also dumbstruck and asked himself, [Who is this girl? Earlier, she was still yelling rudely in front of him, so how did she turn so quickly to worship the old man in the blink of an eye? This change of heart is a little too drastic…]
On the contrary, the burly man and Monster Race youth showed looks of regret after regaining their senses.
The dignified woman also seemed to be moved, but the naïve boy looked like he did not care at all.
There was dead silence, as if someone had performed a petrification technique; only the sound of the lapping waves remained.
Suddenly, the old man laughed and stretched out his hand to hold the young woman’s arm, “This Old Master is grateful to see your sincerity; however, we will talk about the matter being this Old Master’s Disciple later. This Old Master does not know much about your character or aptitude yet, so I will still need to observe you more in the future. If you match this Old Master’s requirements, I will consider accepting you as my Disciple.”
The woman was overjoyed, “Future Disciple thanks Master in advance!”
“What is your name?”
The woman replied with a grin, “Disciples name is Ah Sun.”
“Where are you from?”
Ah Sun shook her head, “This Disciple has no idea. The world where this disciple came from has been shattered. This Disciple is the only living survivor from that place.” Her eyes became full of sadness as she spoke.
“Everything comes to an end, even the world. Don’t mind it too much. Now that you have jumped out of the shackles of the Inner Universe, you will see a vaster world. Isn’t it better than being confined to one place?”
“Master is right!” Ah Sun nodded repeatedly with a happy face, “Ah Sun’s home is gone, so in the future, Master’s home will be Ah Sun’s home.”
The old man did not respond to her, but turned to the others, “Well, we have an appropriate number now, so let us return.”
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai and the others were delighted. Although the cultivation environment here was good, since all of them had leapt out of their respective Universe Worlds, they naturally wanted to explore more of this vast sky. They were looking forward to leaving this place, and following the old man to the force behind him.
The old man did not waste any time after announcing their departure. He beckoned everyone, pointed in front of him, and a door immediately materialized.
Yang Kai looked at it and realized that the door was the one he had seen in the void earlier.
The old man pushed open the door, which squeaked noisily, and all of them rushed into it and came to the place before they entered. The door immediately became distorted and transformed into a big ship. Two ropes of light extended from the bow of the ship and tied themselves around the two stone lions.
The stone lions were the two that were squatting on either side of the door previously, and seeing this, Yang Kai immediately knew that he was right. The two stone lions were really not ordinary things, otherwise, how could there be such a transformation?
At this moment, the two stone lions expanded, their bodies permeating a notably violent aura as they shook their majestic heads.
The newcomers on board the ship were dumbfounded. Not to mention the wondrous transformation of the stone lions, the aura permeated from the two was not inferior to, and possibly even exceeded their own.
In other words, the strength of these two stone lions was more likely to be higher than theirs.
They were each overlords of their own Universe Worlds, Great Emperors who had condensed their Dao Seal; however, now that they came to the Outer Universe, they could not help feeling bitter seeing these two beasts that were used to pull a ship were stronger than them.
The old man looked at the expressions of the people and smiled at their shocked faces.
“Wow, Master, what are these two things? They look so powerful!” Ah Sun stood on the bow of the ship, looking down and exclaimed with an astonished face.
The old man did not deliberately correct the way she addressed him, or maybe he just did not care about it, and instead smiled and answered, “These two little things were originally two stone fetuses of our Seven Wonders Land. They then gained sentience through a certain opportunity. This Old Master found them useful, so he used them as watchers and to pull this ship.”
“Seven Wonders Land?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “May I ask Senior, is the Seven Wonders Land that you mentioned just now the place we are going to?”
For a year in the Small Universe, he did not communicate with the old man, so he had no idea where the old man came from. Now when the old man mentioned this, it naturally piqued his interest.
“En!” The old man nodded.
“Is Seven Wonders Land one of the Seventy-Two Paradises?” The burly man suddenly asked with a fervent face.
“Oh? You know of the Seventy-Two Paradises?” The old man looked at the burly man with a smile.
The burly man replied respectfully, “Junior hails from Black River World. There was a Great Senior Expert who returned once to my world and shared some experiences with this Junior, so this Junior knows that there are Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises in the Outer Universe.”
The old man nodded in understanding, “Do you know this Senior well, or which great force he belongs to?”
The burly man shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“Did he leave a Faith Token for you so that you could find him?” The old man questioned again.
The burly man stretched his hand into his pocket, took out something, and handed it over respectfully, “This is the Faith Token left by that Senior.”
Yang Kai had sharp eyes and instantly saw that it was a piece of jade, but it was an unknown type of jade, unlike any he had seen before. There was a small fish swimming around like a living creature inside this jade, and although he had no idea what the fish in the jade was, Yang Kai could vaguely feel that it contained some mysterious Principle Strength.
Fear surged in Yang Kai’s heart as chills ran up his spine.
Not because of this Faith Token, but because of the burly man’s unreserved manner towards the old man.
He was ambushed by the old man once before and was only safe due to the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus. Yang Kai wondered at the time whether the old man had manipulated the others too.
However, it was still just a speculation, and Yang Kai did not really care about other people’s affairs.
It wasn’t until when Ah Sun was dragged into the Small Universe, attempted to hurt the old man, and was besieged by the burly man and the others that Yang Kai realized that his guess was accurate.
How could these four Great Emperors from different Universe Worlds act like that if they had not been manipulated by the old man? Even if they tried to please the old man, how could they make a move at the exact same time?
By the look of it, this jade was definitely an exceptionally valuable thing for the burly man. With the guidance of the jade, he could certainly find the whereabouts of his Senior from his own world and join him. At that time, he would naturally be well taken care of. Why would he have to plead with others?
The burly man took out such a valuable thing immediately after the old man asked casually, and the problem was, he had not the slightest reservations against the old man.
The several people nearby did not find it strange either; instead, they acted like everything was reasonable…
After the burly man took out the jade, the old man squinted his eyes slightly. He grabbed the jade and examined it carefully. After a moment, he revealed a smile, “Since it is a reward from your Senior, store it carefully. It could be useful in the future.”
The burly man nodded gently, put away the jade, and turned to glare at the others. He acted like this not because he did not know the value of his jade, but because he was influenced by the old man’s Secret Technique to lower his guard.
For now, Yang Kai could not see how much of an effect this mental suggestion had; however, he was finally able to confirm that those who entered the Small Universe were being influenced by the old man. That said, he wasn’t sure about Ah Sun yet.
“I know you all have a lot of questions. Let us talk on our trip back.” The old man gently raised his hand while speaking, and the two stone lions tethered to the ship in front immediately raised their heads and charged forward with a roar.
In an instant, the ship began moving at lightning speed.
Yang Kai was shocked. Although the two stone lions looked ordinary, he did not expect them to be so fast. No wonder they would be taken in by the old man as steeds to pull his ship.
After travelling for a while, the old man spoke, “Someone just asked if Seven Wonders Land is one of the Seventy-Two Paradises.” He turned to the burly man, and shook his head, “Seven Wonders Land is not one of the Seventy-Two Paradises.”
“Master, what are the Seventy-Two Paradises?” Ah Sun questioned curiously with her eyes blinking.
Other than her, the dignified woman, the naïve boy, and the male Monster revealed puzzled expressions. They obviously were clueless about it too. Yang Kai followed the crowd and looked at the old man blankly.
Perhaps it was because he was returning to his home, but the old man was clearly in a good mood and started explaining, “There are countless wondrous places in this vast Outer Universe, but they can also be divided into many different grades. The strongest great forces occupy the best territories, and the weak ones occupy lower-level places. Although all of you came from different Universe Worlds, this principle still applies. Among the many territories, the best ones are divided between the Seventy-Two Paradises and Thirty-Six Cave Heavens. They are the top great forces and can shake the entire Outer Universe.”
“Oh!” Ah Sun was enlightened, “Disciple understands now.”
The old man continued, “If our Seven Wonders Land occupied one of the Seventy-Two Paradises, we would not be called Seven Wonders Land anymore, but Seven Wonders Paradise. Do you understand?” The old man explained to the burly man.
The burly man nodded, “Many thanks for dispelling my doubts, Senior.”
“It’s fine, it’s not a secret anyway. You will naturally know this if you stay in Outer Universe for long enough.”
Yang Kai inferred, “According to Senior, does this mean those top great forces all have ‘Cave Heaven’ or ‘Paradise’ behind their names?”
“Basically so, but not all!” The old man shook his head, “For example, Myriad Demons Heaven occupies a Cave Heaven, but instead of calling itself Myriad Demons Cave Heaven, its name is just Myriad Demons Heaven.”
Yang Kai blinked his eyes, [Myriad Demons Heaven… This name sounds like the place where Demons gather. Did Mo Sheng come from that place?] Myriad Demons Heaven must be amazing to be recognized as a Cave Heaven in this vast Outer Universe. If they were told that Mo Sheng died in the Star Boundary, he was unsure whether they would avenge the latter or not.
But on second thought, Mo Sheng’s body was destroyed and he wasted tens of thousands of years scheming to acquire the Auspicious Spirit Essence of the Star Boundary. If the great force behind him knew his situation, how could they ignore it? At once, Yang Kai was relieved. Even if Mo Sheng was born in Myriad Demons Heaven, Myriad Demons Heaven definitely did not know about his case.
The old man pressed on, “However, although our Seven Wonders Land can’t compare with those Cave Heavens and Paradises, it can be considered outstanding in the 3,000 Worlds. The master of our Seven Wonders Land is Qi Qiao Heavenly Monarch, who is proficient in the Alchemic Dao. The Spirit Pills that he refines have a good reputation. Even those Cave Heavens and Paradises request Alchemy Services from our Seven Wonders Land from time to time.”
“So powerful!” Ah Sun looked shocked.
The old man smiled lightly, “You will know in the future. This Old Master only disclosed this because you asked.”
Yang Kai immediately wanted to ask about Open Heaven Pills, since it was the currency in the Outer Universe according to Zhang Ruo Xi, equivalent to Source Crystals in the Star Boundary. Since Qi Qiao Heavenly Monarch was proficient in Alchemy, he should also be able to refine Open Heaven Pills.
When Zhang Ruo Xi talked about Open Heaven Pills before, Yang Kai was thinking of trying to get the recipe for himself, but he did not expect to have a clue so soon.
However, according to the situation in the Outer Universe, the pill recipe of Open Heaven Pills was definitely one of the top secrets of any great force, certainly not easy to acquire.
Moreover, Yang Kai did not know what kind of great force this Seven Wonders Land was. Judging from this old man’s character and behaviour, Seven Wonders Land was definitely not a decent force, and he suspected all the old man’s previous words were just extravagant boasting.
In the following time, whether it was the dignified woman, the naive boy, or the Monster Race man, all of them asked the questions that they wanted to know. Like Yang Kai, they were led by the old man’s summon after leaping out of their own Universe World and were confused about the things here.
At least Yang Kai had Zhang Ruo Xi to solve his doubts. Although he did not know much, his knowledge about the Outer Universe was at least better than theirs, except for the burly man who had a Senior that left him some information about the Outer Universe.
The journey was long, but the old man answered all their questions, which benefited everyone on the ship greatly.
They passed several Territory Gates during the journey…
The so-called Territory Gates were almost identical to the Territory Gates that Yang Kai shuttled through before. It worked to transfer people between two places.
The Outer Universe was too vast, so without these connecting Territory Gates that were scattered all over, it would be extremely difficult to go from one place to another even for those powerful Masters, and the time it would take was absolutely unbearable for anyone.
But it was a different story with these Territory Gates. Although it would still take some time, it greatly improved the efficiency of travelling in general.
Yang Kai, who knew the convenience of Space Arrays, was deeply amazed by this.
The reason a Territory Gate was called a Territory Gate was that the Outer Universe was divided into numerous territories of various sizes. Countless great forces coexisted in these territories.
Although it was a lonesome journey, everyone communicated with each other apart from with the old man, making for a harmonious atmosphere. The young woman, Ah Sun, who was the liveliest of them all, had already gotten close to the dignified woman in just a few days.
It was only a month later when Ah Sun, who was looking around on the bow of the ship, suddenly spotted something and shouted, “Master, there’s something over there!”
They had travelled across this vast void, and although the surrounding scenery was beautiful, they lost their interest towards it after such a long time. A sudden appearance of something unusual immediately attracted Ah Sun’s attention.
Yang Kai and the others, who were leaning on the side of the ship, ran to the front when they heard her shouting. At a glance, there was a large cloud in the void from a distance. It was blurry inside, as if some sort of barrier was isolating it, which hindered them from seeing through even with the cultivation they had.
The old man smiled lightly, “We’re here.”
Ah Sun asked excitedly, “Is that Seven Wonders Land?”
The old man nodded, “En.”
Looks of anticipation filled their faces when they heard the old man, even Yang Kai was no exception. Although he felt that the old man and this Seven Wonders Land were not a righteous power, this was the first great force he came into contact with in the Outer Universe ever since he jumped out of the Star Boundary, so it was natural for him to be a little curious about it. More importantly, according to the old man, Qi Qiao Heavenly Monarch, the master of Seven Wonders Land, was an Alchemy Grandmaster.
Perhaps he could count on him to obtain the Open Heaven Pill recipe.
When the old man’s words fell, the two stone lions that were pulling the ship suddenly changed their direction and galloped towards the cloud.
After a few hours, they finally came to the edge of the cloud. The old man stood on the bow of the ship and pointed, his fingertips gleaming with a golden light. The next moment, the dense clouds split to both sides on their own, opening a path forward.
The stone lions did not change their pace, and continued to charge into the path with the ship behind them, the clouds closing behind them.
After penetrating through the vast white world, everyone regained their vision, realizing they were in a new world. Above them was a clear blue sky, and below them were clear waters and lush mountains. It was amazing scenery.
Moreover, the World Energy was exceptionally rich. Compared to the cultivation environment that everyone had experienced in the old man’s Small Universe previously, it was just as good, superior even.
After all, the previous place was just the old man’s Small Universe, halfway between ethereal and corporeal. Nevertheless, this was a complete world, so it was normal to have some differences between them.
Yang Kai sensed the environment quietly. The World Principles were perfect and solid, stronger than the Star Boundary’s. If anyone with adequate aptitude cultivated in such an environment, there would be no problem for him to reach the Emperor Realm.
“Master, what’s over there?” Ah Sun, the one who was most curious, questioned as she pointed in another direction.
The old man answered, “You will know in the future.”
“Oh,” Ah Sun did not ask further. After more than a month of being together, she learnt that the old man would only answer if he was willing to; otherwise, no one could force him to say things that he did not wish to disclose.
Yang Kai glanced casually in the direction she pointed, and found that it was a land of fiery red mountains and fields, like a large orchard. Many fruit trees were planted there, and there were many people busying themselves tending to them.
The orchard was so huge that he could not see its end at a glance. Yang Kai estimated that the orchard occupied one-third of this world.
Curiosity grew in him. He wondered what Spirit Fruits were planted there. Given that so many Spirit Fruits were grown here, the nutrients needed to nurture them would surely not be small in quantity. Where did these nutrients come from though?
In addition to the vast orchard, there were some scattered buildings on the ground below.
In general, this place had beautiful and picturesque scenery.
The ship descended and soon came to a huge palace. There was already a group of people waiting in front of the palace. The group leader was a young man in blue, his eyes glowing with vigour and his brow sharp, giving him an outstanding air.
When the ship landed, the young man immediately shouted, “Welcome back, Venerable!”
A group of people behind them echoed him with high spirit.
In a flash of brilliance, the ship turned back into a door, which then disappeared. Everyone landed on the ground, while the two stone lions pulling the ship flew away and soon settled on the left and right sides of the palace, turning into two motionless lion-like stone mountains.
Behind the old man, Yang Kai and the others looked around curiously.
The young leader came forward, glanced at Yang Kai and the rest, then smiled lightly, “Venerable has found a lot of new blood this time.”
The old man returned with a smile too, “Luck is on our side. You may make arrangements for them.”
The young man responded respectfully.
The old man asked, “Is Heavenly Monarch here?”
The young man answered, “Heavenly Monarch departed after receiving a message from someone six months ago and has not returned yet.”
The old man nodded, “Remember to inform me when Heavenly Monarch returns.”
“Yes!”
After issuing the order, the old man turned to Yang Kai and the others, “Follow him and he will make arrangements for you.” Then, he went into the palace.
The young man took the lead, and the group of people saw off the old man respectfully.
“Just who is my Venerable Master?” Ah Sun asked curiously.
“Master?” The young man looked back at Ah Sun.
When Ah Sun pointed in the direction where the old man went, the young man’s face instantly darkened, “Where’s this little girl from? If you dare to talk nonsense again, I’ll cut out your tongue!”
An enormous aura swept in all directions as he bellowed.
Ah Sun’s pretty face changed drastically, and she stepped back staggeringly. Fortunately, Yang Kai reached out his hand and helped her so that she did not fall to the ground, but her face turned extremely ugly.
The faces of Yang Kai and the rest did not look good either. They were not angry about anything, but the young man’s aura was so strong that they could barely withstand it.
[He’s not an Open Heaven Realm!] Yang Kai had the experience of fighting against the Great Demon God, so he could see that the young man had not reached the Open Heaven Realm, but he should be very close to it.
It was probably the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm cultivation that Zhang Ruo Xi once mentioned, which was the existence that condensed the power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements in his body.
The young man looked at Ah Sun coldly, “Venerable is the Venerable Protector of our Fire Spirit Land. Reckless little girl, where are you from? How dare you speak like this!”
Ah Sun’s face flushed. Under the suppression of this man’s aura, she could not utter a word, and could only respond with tears rolling in her eyes.
The young man snorted coldly, “I’ll forgive you this time as you’re new here and don’t understand the rules. If you dare spout nonsense again, you will be punished harshly, understood!?”
Ah Sun nodded bitterly.
The young man swept his eyes across Yang Kai and the others with both hands folded behind his back, “The same goes for all of you! No matter where you came from or what status or position you had before, since you have come to Fire Spirit Land, you must abide by the rules here! You will have no worries if you follow the rules, but if you don’t, your end will be miserable.”
The Male Monster cupped his fists and asked, “Sir, may I know what the rules of this Fire Spirit Land are?”
The young man announced arrogantly, “The words of this King are the rules.”
The Male Monster nodded, “Understood.”
Seeing that the Male Monster was so sensible, the young man’s expression relaxed, “This King is not sure if Sir Venerable has told you anything before. It doesn’t matter if he hasn’t, because I’m going to tell you now. This place is the Fire Spirit Land of our Seven Wonders Land. Sir Venerable is the Heavens and Earth here, so no disobedience to his words will be tolerated. Do you understand?”
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement.
“Good.” The young man continued, “However, Sir Venerable is busy; therefore, as a Disciple of Fire Spirit Land, this King will supervise you during normal times. My surname is Du while my given name is Ru Feng. If you have any questions in the future, you can inquire from this King. If it is something you should know, this King will tell you; otherwise, you won’t get an answer even if you ask.”
“Since today is your first day in Fire Spirit Land, this King won’t say too much. You will understand everything here given some time. You have three days to rest. After three days, someone will give you your assignments.”
After that, the young man waved his hand, and a cold-looking middle-aged woman immediately came out from behind and beckoned, “Come with me.”
Then she soared to the sky.
Yang Kai and the others exchanged looks, and could only follow after her.
During the whole conversation, no one dared to ask anything other than the Male Monster. As for what the old man declared at the beginning about those who wanted to stay could stay while those who wanted to leave could leave, it was clearly just empty talk. After leading Yang Kai and the rest here, he went into the palace and did not show up again. Du Ru Feng did not even ask Yang Kai and the others if they were willing to stay; instead, he made all the decisions on his own.
However, although Du Ru Feng did not disclose too much, Yang Kai caught some information. This place was Fire Spirit Land of Seven Wonders Land. In other words, there should be other places besides Fire Spirit Land. Furthermore, the name Seven Wonders Land seemed to be related to Yin, Yang and the Five Elements. Yang Kai could not help guessing whether Seven Wonders Land was composed of seven Spirit Lands. If so, this place would be interesting.
The middle-aged woman, who had a cold and fierce aura, did not talk much. In addition to the pressure from Du Ru Feng before, everyone remained silent while following her all the way. No one dared to ask more questions.
However, Yang Kai observed secretly and found that the direction they were going was the location of the huge orchard he had just seen from the sky. The cultivation of this middle-aged woman should also be about the Emperor Realm, but he could not see whether she had condensed her Dao Seal or not for the time being.
An hour later, a vast area of undulating houses appeared in front of them, surrounded by green mountains and clear rivers. At first sight, the place looked like a land of idyllic beauty.
There was a large plaque at the front of the village, with two characters engraved on it, ‘Worker’s Room’!
Yang Kai and the others exchanged dry looks.
Although they came from different Universe Worlds, they were not stupid enough to not understand the meaning of the word ‘Worker’. They could not help thinking, [We were brought to Fire Spirit Land by that Venerable to be labourers?]
Standing in front of the village, the woman took out a bell and rang it gently. The bell jingled, and a man as thin as a bamboo stick flew out of the village. He did not look old, but his clothes looked oversized, and hung loosely on him, which made him seem amusing from a distance.
When he flew closer, the bamboo man cupped his fists, “Senior Sister Yao.”
He glanced across Yang Kai and the others with a light smile, “These people look unfamiliar…”
The woman surnamed Yao interjected coldly, “They were all brought back by Sir Venerable.”
The bamboo man responded, “Sir Venerable is back?”
The woman surnamed Yao nodded gently and pointed at Yang Kai and the others as she continued, “These people are handed over to you now. It’s not often we have new people here. If you complain about the shortage of manpower again, find your own solution.”
“Enough, enough!” The bamboo pole man beamed happily, “If I, Zhou Zheng, still cannot finish the task after Sir Venerable worked so hard to find these helpers, I will offer up my head!”
The woman surnamed Yao snorted coldly, “You better!”
After speaking, she turned and left.
Zhou Zheng shouted at her back, “Senior Sister Yao, are you leaving now? Junior Brother has just harvested some good quality tea. Would Senior Sister like to try it?”
There was no response from her.
Seeing the woman surnamed Yao left, Zhou Zheng who was smiling rubbed his hands and started to examine Yang Kai and the others excitedly. He introduced himself with a smile, “My name is Zhou Zheng, the one in charge of this Worker’s Room. You can call me Manager Zhou!”
Everyone cupped their fists and greeted in unison, “Greetings, Manager Zhou.”
Zhou Zheng nodded, “You all are so blessed. Tsk tsk, really blessed.”
The burly man frowned, “May I know what kind of blessing you are referring to?” Although he did not know what they would face next, it was obvious that they would not have a good life in the future being sent to the Worker’s Room. In their respective Universe Worlds, they were all peak Masters, so it was natural for them to feel bitter to be treated this way when they came here.
Zhou Zheng laughed, “Are you new to the Outer Universe?”
Everyone nodded.
“Then do you know about the Open Heaven Realm?”
“Venerable briefly mentioned it on the way here.”
“That makes things simple.” Zhou Zheng grinned like a sneaky thief, and continued with both hands folded behind his back, “If you want to reach the Open Heaven Realm, you need to open a Small Universe in your own body by splitting Heaven and Earth apart. And in order to form said Small Universe, you must first condense the power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. Do you know why this Seven Wonders Land is called Seven Wonders Land?”
Without waiting for an answer, Zhou Zheng explained himself, “Because our Seven Wonders Land is composed of seven Spirit Lands. Now you are in the Fire Spirit Land. Other than this, there is Yin Spirit Land, Yang Spirit Land, Metal Spirit Land, Wood Spirit Land, Water Spirit Land, and Earth Spirit Land. Our Seven Wonders Land is a unique existence in the entire Outer Universe. No other great force has such an advantageous environment.”
There was a change in the dignified woman’s expression at his words, “Does Manager Zhou mean that Seven Wonders Land can meet our needs in condensing the power of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements?”
Zhou Zheng answered with a smile, “Yes! In this way, it will save you from wandering around and looking for resources to condense the necessary Elements. In other words, as long as you stay in Seven Wonders Land long enough, you will have the opportunity to be promoted to the Open Heaven Realm. This opportunity is not something that disciples of other forces can obtain. So, don’t you think this is your blessing!?”
The Male Monster was pleasantly surprised and asked, “Really?”
Zhou Zheng cackled, “Why should I lie to you? You can go around and ask others. It’s not a secret anyway.”
“That’s indeed a blessing for us!” The Male Monster was overjoyed.
To the side, Ah Sun questioned with her eyes blinking, “Is Manager an Open Heaven Realm Master now?”
Zhou Zheng cleared his throat when he heard the question, “Not yet, but that is mainly due to my laziness in cultivation. If I worked harder, promoting to Open Heaven Realm won’t be a problem. Remember not to procrastinate when you cultivate in the future; otherwise, you’ll end up like me. Good, let’s not talk too much, there will be many opportunities in the future anyway. Follow me.” He then turned around and led the way.
Yang Kai and the others followed closely.
As they entered the village, they saw houses lining the street on either side. Each of the houses seemed to possess some barriers. Some doors were closed with activated barriers, while some doors were open, in front of which some people stood and watched Yang Kai and the others coldly. The owners of these houses were both Humans and Monsters, all of them with cultivations in the Emperor Realm, but there was still a difference in strength among them.
After a while, a charming voice called out, “Manager Zhou, are these new people?”
Zhou Zheng looked at the source of the sound with a smile, “Yes, Venerable came back and brought us some new blood.”
Yang Kai and the others also looked to the source of the voice. In front of a house over there, a lithe figure leaned casually on the door frame. The woman looked indolent and her hair was a little dishevelled as if she had just woken up. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and smiled, “That means less work for us in the future.”
She then turned to greet Yang Kai and the others, “This Elder Sister lives here. If you don’t understand anything in the future, just look for me. This Elder Sister likes to teach beginners.” She giggled while speaking. Her voice was euphonious, as if it had infinite attraction to it.
No one knew how to answer her, so they pretended they did not hear what she said.
They walked all the way to one of the houses with its door closed, only then did Zhou Zheng stop, turn to look at Yang Kai and the others, and point at the burly man, “You’ll live here from now on.”
Zhou Zheng tossed a Jade Token to the man casually, “This is the Access Token of this house. You can refine it yourself. You have three days to rest, after which this Manager will tell you what you need to do. You don’t have to think about anything in these three days; just have a good rest.”
The burly man nodded and held the Jade Token in his hand, circulating his power to refine it.
Zhou Zheng continued to lead the others forward.
It was Yang Kai’s turn when they arrived at the third ownerless house. Similar to the previous two people, Zhou Zheng gave him an Access Token and asked him to refine it before leading the rest of the people away.
Yang Kai was not sure if the house was inhabited before, but there was no trace of a former owner in the token, so it was easy to refine.
Yang Kai spent only a stick’s worth of incense to complete the refinement before waving the Jade Token in front of the house, opening the barriers, and pushing the door in.
There was no unpleasant smell and the facilities in the house were notably simple. It covered an area of only a few dozen square meters and was divided into two floors. There were tables and chairs on the lower floor, probably a place to welcome guests. Following the stairs up to the second floor was just a bed and a mattress, which should be a place for him to rest.
A Spirit Array was set up in the house, and Yang Kai could clearly feel that the World Energy was being gathered by it, making the environment feel quite comfortable.
Such a place would be a cultivation treasure land that everyone competed for in the Star Boundary, but in Seven Wonders Land, it was only the residence of a Worker.
It was hard to imagine where the Manager, the Disciples, and even the Venerable Protector lived.
After activating the barriers, the house was isolated again. While comprehending the various functions of the Access Token, Yang Kai was thinking about his current situation too.
No doubt it was a good thing to be introduced into Seven Wonders Land as he was a newcomer to the Outer Universe, but he was a little shocked to be a Worker as soon as he arrived.
Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling how he ended up being a floor sweeper because of his unsatisfactory progress when he first stepped onto the Martial Dao and joined High Heaven Pavilion.
His current scene reminded him greatly of that time. The only difference was that the power he mastered at that time was by no means comparable to his power now.
This time, he had the capital to resist.
However, this was someone else’s territory after all, and there were Open Heaven Realm Masters standing guard. Since his life was not threatened now, Yang Kai was not willing to cause trouble, so he decided to take things one step at a time.
In Yang Kai’s view, however, the ‘blessing’ Zhou Zheng mentioned was just an exaggeration.
The others had no idea about the secrets of breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, but Yang Kai was different. It was true that he had to condense the power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements to be promoted to the Open Heaven Realm, as Zhang Ruo Xi told him as much. Furthermore, he had condensed his Wood Element already, and of the highest Order possible.
Nevertheless, Zhou Zheng did not mention the most important information, which was the Order of the materials here!
Perhaps it was true that Seven Wonders Land gathered the power of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, which was sufficient to meet the requirements of a cultivator to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, but the Order of these resources certainly would not be high. Otherwise, there would be countless powerful Open Heaven Realm Masters in Seven Wonders Land.
From the information Yang Kai now had in his hands, there should not be too many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Seven Wonders Land; otherwise, they would not occupy just a small piece of territory like this, but would be competing to be a part of the Seventy-Two Paradises and Thirty-Six Cave Heavens.
Among these Open Heaven Realm Masters, Qi Qiao Heavenly Monarch must be one of them, much like the Venerable Protector who led them here earlier. As for others, Yang Kai had no way to know.
However, to have at least eight Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command here, although a great force like Seven Wonders Land could not compete with the likes of Cave Heavens and Paradises, it was overall not too bad in the Outer Universe.
When Yang Kai first arrived here, what he saw and heard gave him a rough understanding of Seven Wonders Land’s strength; and now, as a Worker of Seven Wonders Land Fire Spirit Land, he did not know what kind of future awaited him in three days.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai walked out of his room and towards a house on the left.
Yang Kai recalled that this house was occupied by a young man. Now that he had nothing to do, he decided to use the time to gather information.
He needed to know what exactly a Worker was supposed to do here.
But judging from Zhou Zheng’s attitude today, it was obviously not going to be a difficult task even if it required some hard work.
The houses here were not densely built, with each one being separated from the other by several tens of metres. Yang Kai reached the front of the neighbouring house with just a few strides to see that the barriers were deactivated. The door was closed, so Yang Kai raised his hand and knocked on the door. After waiting for a while, the door opened. The young man who greeted him earlier stood by the door and looked at Yang Kai indifferently “What?”
Yang Kai cupped his fists and started, “This friend, please enlighten this little brother. I’m new here and I don’t know anything about this place, so I thought…”
“Get out!” The young man slammed the door shut without waiting for Yang Kai to finish.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose, speechless. There was nothing he could do if others did not want to disclose any information. He contemplated for a moment and decided to move on to the next house.
The owner of the second house, a warm and hospitable, somewhat short elderly man, welcomed Yang Kai into the house.
Yang Kai repeated the same request he did not manage to finish earlier, and the elderly man looked at him with a smile while examining him up and down, “Where does little friend come from?”
Yang Kai shook his head and said, “My homeland is remote and unknown. I don’t even know what to call it.”
The old man continued to ask him, “Does little friend have a gift for this Old Master?”
Yang Kai blinked, almost thinking he must have heard wrongly, and asked surprisedly, “What did Old Sir say?”
The old man smiled and explained, “Little friend wants information, and this Old Master is willing to give it, but you can’t let this Old Master tell you in vain, can you? Some compensation is due, wouldn’t you say?”
Only then did Yang Kai understand that he was seeking some profit.
He indeed possessed quite a few treasures; the Azure Dragon Spear, Sealed World Bead, and numerous others. Even in the Outer Universe, such things would still be coveted by many people, but it was also impossible to give away these things, and his other possessions were of little value. Moreover, Yang Kai found it difficult to accept that payment was needed for just answering a few general questions.
Without another word, he gave a small smile, got up, and cupped his fists to leave.
The old man did not stop him.
After two failures, Yang Kai discarded any thoughts of asking others. In any case, he would get his answer after three days.
Back at his own residence, Yang Kai took out a Space Beacon and tried to reach out to Zhang Ruo Xi again, but to no avail. Resigning himself, he decided to settle down to adjust his breathing. Now that he had condensed the Wood Element, his next target was the Fire Element. It could be fate, or it could just be a coincidence, but he was incidentally brought to Seven Wonders Land’s Fire Spirit Land.
The catch was, he just did not know if there were suitable resources in Fire Spirit Land.
Unconsciously, a day has passed.
The loud crowing of a rooster announced that it was dawn. Yang Kai opened his eyes with a look of surprise.
He had not heard such a sound for many decades, because the rooster’s morning call was something that could only be heard in some ordinary commoner families. At first, he thought it was an illusion, but when he listened again, he confirmed it was indeed the sound of a rooster crowing.
Confused, Yang Kai walked down from his bedroom on the second floor, deactivated the barriers, pushed the door, and looked out.
It was dark outside, but it was notably lively. The Workers of Fire Spirit Land walked out of their houses, some in groups, some of them alone, and turned into streams of light rushing into the distance, disappearing somewhere unknown.
In the very centre of the village, a golden rooster as tall as a man’s waist hovered in mid-air, radiating golden rays like a small sun as it raised its head to crow again.
The crow came from this golden rooster.
Yang Kai looked at it in amazement.
He could sense that this golden rooster was a Monster Beast of a unique bloodline, and it seemed quite strong. Yang Kai wondered who raised it.
In just three crows, more than half of the village was emptied; at least hundreds of people had left.
Yang Kai found it intriguing, and thought to himself, [Do the Workers here need the rooster to wake them before they go out to work?] As he thought about it, the golden rooster turned to look at him. Although it was just a rooster, it had an arrogant look that made Yang Kai wonder if he should be laughing.
The next moment, the golden rooster flapped its wings and flew straight towards Yang Kai, and landed in front of him.
Yang Kai’s eyes met with its glaring eyes with surprise. He wondered what about himself had attracted this golden rooster.
However, it was his first time meeting this type of beast, so Yang Kai could not help feeling a little curious. He reached out and wanted to touch it, but just as he reached out, the golden rooster extended its neck and pecked with its sharp beak.
Yang Kai’s quick reflexes would not allow himself to be hit so easily, so he instantly withdrew his hand and chuckled, “You’re quite the hot-tempered one!”
“Oh oh oh…” The golden rooster was apparently offended and flapped its wings violently, every golden feather on its body standing on end.
“Stop crowing, there’s nothing to crow about!” Yang Kai glared at it.
The golden rooster was even more aggravated, and continued flapping its wings, which stirred up a violent wind. Its chubby figure jumped up and down in anger.
Yang Kai was flabbergasted, but seeing that the rooster was starting to cause a commotion, he stretched out his hand, grabbed its neck, and threatened with a low voice, “Stop crowing, or I will slaughter you for soup!”
It immediately fell silent, and the golden rooster’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Yang Kai looked at it up and down, and continued maliciously, “I’ve never seen a chicken like you before. The soup you make will surely be tasty.”
“And then you’ll be dead,” A coquettish voice floated towards him.
Yang Kai looked up and saw a graceful figure walking towards him. It was the woman who was talking to Zhou Zheng on the way over yesterday. He did not take a close look yesterday, but now he had the chance, the woman seemed to be in her early twenties and her demeanour was just as indolent as yesterday, her eyes seemingly perpetually sleepy, like she was severely overworked. She yawned as she walked over, but her little red lips were as alluring as ever.
Yang Kai smiled at her, “Is this your chicken?”
The woman covered her mouth and laughed lightly, “Don’t talk nonsense.” The exhausted beauty frowned lightly, “Let go of it now, nothing good will come out of it if someone sees you holding Ruler of the Dawn Great General.”
“Ruler of the Dawn Great General?” Astonished, Yang Kai looked down at the motionless golden rooster whose neck was still in his grip, [This chicken even has such an imposing name!]
The woman pressed on frustratedly, “Ruler of the Dawn is Venerable’s pet!”
“Ah…” Only then did Yang Kai understand that this golden rooster had a serious backer. In this Fire Spirit Land, Venerable was the Heavens and Earth, he held all the authority, so even his pet, which was just a golden rooster that crowed in the morning, should not be provoked.
With an awkward laugh, Yang Kai released his grip and the Ruler of the Dawn Great General immediately rushed and hid behind the woman, but its fat bottom was barely hidden at all. It stuck its head out from behind the woman and crowed at Yang Kai angrily.
Yang Kai naturally did not understand, but he could tell it was probably scolding him.
“It was just a little joke, don’t get so worked up,” Yang Kai shrugged.
Ruler of the Dawn Great General ignored him, and probably because it had someone to protect it now, its crows became increasingly fierce.
“Alright, alright, Great General, calm down, I’ll give you some treats.” The woman chuckled and flipped her little hand, summoning a fiery red, crystal-clear, worm. It looked like it was carved from fire jade, and although it was only about a palm’s length, it exuded a scorching aura.
The long worm was a living creature, but it was unable to move due to the restriction placed on it by the woman.
Ruler of the Dawn, who was angry at Yang Kai, saw the worm and immediately became energetic. It quickly stretched its neck, pecked the worm, and swallowed it with a look of satisfaction on its face.
The woman patted Ruler of the Dawn Great General’s head, and tidied up its golden feathers, chuckling, “The Jade Fire Silkworm is Great General’s favourite food. Bring some back if you ever encounter some.”
“Where can I find them?” Yang Kai asked.
“In the orchard. Although it’s hard to find, there are always some. Oh, I almost forgot, you’re new here so you don’t know anything about it.”
“Please enlighten me, Elder Sister,” It was rare to have such an opportunity, so naturally Yang Kai would not let it go to waste. This woman should be different from the other two people he asked yesterday. She looked notably warm-hearted; otherwise, she would not have warned him about Ruler of the Dawn Great General, “If Elder Sister is alright with it, please come in.”
“You want to talk inside?” The woman looked at Yang Kai teasingly with a meaningful expression on her face.
Yang Kai replied sternly, “I just arrived here and I don’t understand anything, I just want to ask Elder Sister to help clarify my doubts.”
“Okay, I’m bored anyway.” The woman nodded, then turned to the golden rooster, “Great General, go along now, I’ll talk to him.”
Ruler of the Dawn Great General responded by crowing a few times, and the woman covered her mouth as she laughed, “Okay, I’ll tell him.”
She turned to look at Yang Kai and explained, “Great General said he should be reporting you to Venerable for offending him today, so you can be punished severely to serve as a warning, but since you are a newcomer and are not aware of his status, the kind-hearted and generous Great General will not be harsh with you. But it is necessary to give you a small punishment, and the punishment is…”
She looked at Ruler of the Dawn Great General again, that crowed a few times again, and then continued, “To bring him five Jade Fire Silkworms within a month!”
Yang Kai expected it to be something much more difficult, but when he heard it was just to capture five Jade Fire Silkworms, he wanted to burst into laughter badly, but he still cupped his fists with a solemn face, “Many thanks for your magnanimity, Great General. I will definitely come back with five Jade Fire Silkworms for you.”
After receiving assurance and a sincere apology from Yang Kai, Ruler of the Dawn Great General departed proudly like a lord.
Yang Kai invited the woman into the house and offered her a seat.
There was nothing for him to serve her, but the woman did not seem to care about such pleasantries. As they introduced themselves, Yang Kai learnt that the woman’s name was Dié You.
After a short chat, Yang Kai went straight to the point, “Sister Dié You, may I know what the Workers in the Worker’s Room do every day?”
Dié You reclined on the chair lazily, her graceful curves outlined by her close-fitting clothes. And laughed lightly before replying, “What else can Workers do? Of course, it’s the work of Workers. To be specific, it’s to take care of the Fire Spirit Fruit Trees.”
“Where are the fruit trees?”
Dié You casually pointed in a direction, “There is an orchard over there. Everyone in the Worker’s Room works there.”
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “Is this Fire Spirit Fruit a material for refining Open Heaven Pills?”
Dié You glanced at him with a surprised look, “It seems that you’re not entirely clueless.”
Yang Kai explained, “Venerable mentioned a bit about it when we followed him back here.”
Dié You nodded, “You’re better off than me then. I was totally clueless when I first came here…” As if she was recalling something, a hint of reminisce flitted in her eyes, but she clearly did not want to talk more about it and thus changed the topic, “En. The Fire Spirit Fruit is indeed one of the herbs for refining Open Heaven Pills. In addition, there are six other Spirit Fruits, which are all planted in Seven Wonders Land.”
Yang Kai raised his brow at that, “In other words, the situation of the other six Spirit Lands is not far from that of Fire Spirit Land? They all have their own orchards and a Worker’s Room?”
“Yes!” Dié You nodded, “If not, how can there be so many materials for Heavenly Monarch to refine the Spirit Pills? Open Heaven Pills refined by Heavenly Monarch are the main industry of Seven Wonders Land.”
Yang Kai’s heart was pumping rapidly when he heard this. He did not expect to get in touch with all kinds of things related to Open Heaven Pills just when he arrived in the Outer Universe, and it was absolutely excellent for his plan to get the recipe for the Open Heavens Pill. Initially, he was a little unwilling to be a Worker, but now he was looking forward to it after learning that the work that he had to do was to take care of these Fire Spirit Fruit Trees.
He wondered what the Fire Spirit Fruit Trees looked like.
“If it’s convenient for Sister Dié You, can you tell me the details of taking care of the Fire Spirit Fruit Trees?”
Dié You raised her eyes and looked at him before grinning, “I didn’t think you would be so interested in such things that you would ask about it before you even started working.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “There’s no harm in being informed.”
Dié You grinned, “What’s in it for me?”
That sounded familiar…
Yang Kai looked at her, “What benefits do you want?” He patted his chest as he continued, “I have nothing but this body. If you are interested in it, how about I spend three days with you?”
Dié You covered her mouth and giggled, “Forget it.” Then she shrugged her shoulders, “But my shoulders have been a bit stiff lately.”
With a flicker, Yang Kai came behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and kneaded gently.
Dié You was extremely elated, “Little brat, you’re quite quick. Not bad, not bad.” While praising, she guided Yang Kai to massage with her preferred pressure.
Yang Kai followed her lead and quietly surged his strength, applying pressure through his fingertips. Dié You’s face immediately melted in pleasure as her eyelids closed slowly, her face looking sleepier and lazier.
After a long time, while her eyes remained closed, Dié You suddenly opened her mouth, “Taking care of Fire Spirit Fruit Trees requires a lot of attention. There are certain restrictions on how often to water, how much to water, how often to fertilize, how much to fertilize, how often to extract the Qi from the Earth Vein, and how to extract. No more, no less. As for the pests, you’ve seen the Jade Fire Silkworm before. Fire Spirit Fruit Trees are most prone to having such pests. However, in appropriate quantities, these pests have certain benefits on the maturation of Fire Spirit Fruits, so they can’t be eliminated completely. We need to keep a certain number to maintain a balance. It’s hard to explain in just a few words, you’ll only master them with more hands-on experience.”
Behind her, Yang Kai nodded furiously and sighed, “I didn’t expect there to be so many things to pay attention to in taking care of these fruit trees. How long has Sister Dié You been here?”
“What do you think?”
“No idea, but it seems that you have been here for some time.”
“A thousand years…” Dié You smiled wryly, “A thousand years ago, I first leapt out of my Universe World and was brought here, and here I’ve stayed for a thousand years.”
“That’s really a long time,” Yang Kai was aware that she had remained in this Worker’s Room for a thousand years. Although he had no idea what Dié You’s cultivation was a thousand years ago, by the look of her now, it seemed that her strength did not increase much.
“So, if you have a chance, you better leave this Worker’s Room, because this place has no future.”
“How does one leave?”
“If you do well and are appreciated by the superiors, you would have a chance to leave, but these opportunities are rare. Furthermore… You don’t need to consider this now, just try to learn the work first.” While talking, she raised her eyelids and glared at Yang Kai with her beautiful eyes.
Yang Kai chuckled, withdrew his hands slightly, back towards her shoulders, and continued to massage.
Dié You closed her eyelids again, and continued, “You’re new here, so Zhou Zheng will arrange a suitable place for you. Don’t fall for that smiling face he puts on all day, though. The truth is he is a ruthless and greedy man. You’ll understand in the future. Also, you must remember that the Spirit Fruits on each Fire Spirit Fruit Tree are recorded. If one goes bad, you must inform the supervisors immediately. Don’t ever think about stealing it for yourself, otherwise no one can protect you.”
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “I will remember.” After pondering for a while, he asked, “Are we paid for our work?”
“Yes.”
“Really?” Yang Kai was surprised. He had only asked casually, but he did not expect such an answer.
Dié You sneered, “Three Open Heaven Pills every year.”
“Three…” Yang Kai blinked his eyes. He had never seen an Open Heaven Pill before, so he did not know how effective it was or what kind of significance three pills had, but judging from Dié You’s look, it should be a pitifully small number.
Yang Kai quickly asked without really calculating, “Elder Sister Dié You, haven’t you saved 3000 Open Heaven Pills then?”
“Who’s your Elder Sister?” Dié You was a little upset.
“Little Sister Dié You?”
“How old are you?” Dié You hissed.
Yang Kai stayed quiet.
Dié You sneered, “Forget it. Since you called me Elder Sister, this Elder Sister will take care of you in the future. If you have any questions, come and ask me when I’m free.”
“Many thanks, Elder Sister.”
“You’re a sweet talker.” Dié You curled her lip, “As Workers, we depart for work every day when the rooster crows, and we get three days of rest every month. There is a market in the middle of Seven Wonders Land, and there are many good things for sale there. When this Elder Sister is free, I will take you exploring.”
“En, call me at that time,” Yang Kai nodded.
After asking more questions about Seven Wonders Land and Fire Spirit Fruit Trees, only then did Dié You pat the back of Yang Kai’s hand, “Alright, that’s it for today. You are new here, so be careful in everything you do. Don’t get into trouble.”
“Noted,” Yang Kai withdrew his hands.
“I’m off to have a rest. I’m so tired!” Dié You did not even look back. She just waved her hand, pushed the door out, and her slender and lithe body swayed with her footsteps.
Someone came in just after Dié You departed, staring at Dié You’s back with interest.
Yang Kai smiled, “What’s up, Sister Ah Sun?”
“Do you know that person?” Ah Sun was curious.
“We just met.”
Ah Sun revealed a suspicious look, “How can you two talk for so long when you two just met…”
Finding it funny and embarrassing at the same time, Yang Kai questioned, “Young Lady, were you watching me?”
“No, I just found out some information. Since we came here together, I just wanted to inform you about it.”
Yang Kai snapped his fingers, “I happen to know something too.”
Hearing this, Ah Sun’s eyes brightened, “Shall we exchange information?”
“Sure!”
…
Three days flew by, and during these three days, Yang Kai did not stay idle in the house all the time; instead, he went out for a walk. However, there was nothing special in the village where the Workers lived, and nothing great was discovered after wandering around. Initially, he wanted to visit the orchard, but when he arrived at the place, he found that it was enveloped with a barrier, and he could not enter without a token, so he could only give up his plan.
Yang Kai met many people from different Universe Worlds, but he didn’t get close to any of them yet, much less build a close friendships with them.
Every time Ah Sun acquired some information, however, she would come and share it with Yang Kai. She was actually quite kind-hearted. Nevertheless, the other people who came with them shut themselves in their own houses, it was uncertain what they were afraid of.
In the early morning of the third day, as the Golden Rooster announced the break of dawn, Yang Kai pushed his door out.
Numerous figures outside the house turned into all kinds of streams of light, rushing towards the orchard. Yang Kai also hurried to keep up, but before he flew too far, Ah Sun called him from behind.
Yang Kai slowed down a little and kept pace with her when she caught up, chatting along the way. It could be seen that Ah Sun was a little nervous. Perhaps because of going to a new environment, this little girl’s mood was a bit affected.
Yang Kai casually said a few comforting words to her.
In about half an hour, they finally arrived at their destination.
Several figures were waiting outside the light barrier. Other than Zhou Zheng, the Manager of the Worker’s Room, the remaining people were Yang Kai and all the other newcomers who were brought here together by the Venerable.
Seeing that Yang Kai and Ah Sun were late, Zhou Zheng was a little annoyed and warned them, “Be punctual next time.”
Yang Kai and Ah Sun nodded repeatedly.
As soon as Zhou Zheng turned around and waved the token in his hand, the barrier opened up a gap, and the group of people immediately rushed in. As soon as they entered the orchard, a scorching hot aura surged towards their faces. The world was filled with strong Fire Energy, which was so scorching hot that everyone could not help pushing their strength to resist it.
A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai. Previously, he wondered why an ordinary land like this was called Fire Spirit Land. Now that he stepped into the orchard, he understood that this place was named as such because of the particular environment of the orchard. It was indeed matching the name of Fire Spirit Land.