“A Venerable is dead? Which one?” Although Dié You saw the Water Spirit Land Venerable die with her own eyes, there were seven Venerables in Seven Wonders Land, so she wondered which Venerable Ah Sun was referring to.
Ah Sun answered, “Our Fire Spirit Land Venerable.”
“Duan Hai?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Did you see it?”
Ah Sun nodded, “With my own eyes.”
Yang Kai clenched his fist and secretly celebrated. With Duan Hai’s death, Yang Kai’s secret was also buried with him. Even if Old Xu failed in his revenge and Seven Wonders Land managed to survive this disaster, no one would trouble him by then. However, if he could find an opportunity to leave here, Yang Kai did not want to stay any longer.
Two Venerables died back-to-back. One could imagine how fierce the fight was up there. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough now, otherwise he would want to watch the battle.
Old Fang and Dié You were not familiar with Ah Sun, but although Yang Kai was not too close with her either, he knew this little girl had a good heart. They got in touch several times when they first came to Seven Wonders Land, and Yang Kai had a good impression of her. It could be considered fate that they were brought together during this difficult time.
The battle continued, but it had not spread to the shopping district yet. As such, the four of them were safe hiding here.
As time passed, more people gathered in the shopping district. They were the Workers from various Spirit Lands, and also the Seven Wonders Land disciples donned in Seven Coloured Robes. Now that the Grand Array of the entire Seven Wonders Land was usurped, everyone probably had the idea that the other places were not safe at all, and only this shopping district which was a separate space added after the arrangement of the Grand Array was the last safe haven.
Yang Kai changed out of his Seven-Coloured Robe into his normal clothes to avoid raising attention.
The great battle persisted for more than ten days without stopping, and more and more people took shelter in the shopping district. Everyone was extremely worried, for they feared being involved in the disaster.
At a certain moment more than ten days later, a bright light suddenly lit up the dark shopping district. Everyone looked up and saw a hole had torn in the cloudy sky and light was now spilling down on them from the tear.
“The Grand Array is broken!” Someone shouted before many figures rushed towards the hole in the sky, disappearing into it.
Yang Kai and the others exchanged a glance and saw the delight on their faces. Without hesitating, the group of four people surged their power and soared into the sky together with the crowd.
The Grand Array covering Seven Wonders Land had finally broken. No one knew whether it was because Old Xu had spent too much power to activate the Grand Array these days, or whether Seven Wonders Land Masters used powerful means to disable it. Regardless, since the barrier was broken, no one could stop them from escaping.
After leaving Seven Wonders Land, Yang Kai did not know which way to go, so he just kept flying forward. Wherever it was, the farther away from Seven Wonders Land, the better.
Dié You, Old Fang, and Ah Sun followed him without saying a word. They had no place to go either, so anywhere was the same to them. After the initial excitement of escaping, Dié You and Old Fang could not help feeling lost. Ever since they jumped out of their own Universe Worlds, they had been taken into Seven Wonders Land, where they had not left even after so many years. They had fortunately escaped from Seven Wonders Land now, but where could they go in the future? Especially when they had not been promoted to the Open Heaven Realm, so their strength was insufficient to survive in this vast world.
The four of them flew for several days straight. Along the way, it was an endless void without any reference points, so they had no idea where they were at the moment.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt a sense of apprehension in his heart, and when he looked back, he was frightened and his face turned pale as he shouted, “Run!”
Old Fang and the others were puzzled, so they looked back too. At a glance, their faces changed drastically. A streak of light in the rear was rushing towards their side, and by the looks of the brightness and speed at which it travelled, their pursuer was obviously an Open Heaven Realm Master. They were unsure which Order this Open Heaven Realm Master was, but no matter which Order they were, this person was not someone they could compete with now.
They changed directions several times, but the light continued chasing after them persistently. No matter how they changed directions, the light did not deviate, and the distance between them was getting closer and closer instead.
The group was anxious when suddenly, they heard Yang Kai scream and saw him suddenly stop.
Dié You was taken aback and shouted, “What’s wrong? Quickly run!”
Yang Kai smiled wryly, “I can’t run!”
Earlier, he had no clue who was chasing behind them, but he knew now. It was Old Xu. Yang Kai had the Soaring Black Centipede in his body, and his Dao Seal was clenched by the centipede seal just now. It was obviously Old Xu’s warning to him. If he continued to run, he would lose his life.
Yang Kai could not figure out how Old Xu found him after running so far, but he guessed that it was most probably due to the Soaring Black Centipede. Since it was a kind of Exotic Ancient Insect raised by Old Xu, there should be some kind of connection between the two. As such, it was not surprising that he could track him with it.
[Why is Old Xu here? Shouldn’t he be fighting with those Venerables and the Heavenly Monarch back in Seven Wonders Land? Since he came here at this time, does it mean he lost?]
Yang Kai was resentful, but he could only stand in place and wait, looking at Old Fang and the others as he declared, “You guys go.”
It was a blessing, not a curse, and if it was a curse, it could not be avoided.
Old Fang hurriedly replied, “Take care!”
When the words fell, he continued to speed forward, but Dié You did not move. Yang Kai turned to look at her only to see her smile, “If he really wants to harm us, we won’t be able to escape. Since that’s the case, we might as well take a chance and fight alongside you.”
Her speech was not convincing at all as there was always a glimmer of hope if she ran away; otherwise, she could only hand over her life to Old Xu.
Unsure whether Ah Sun was too kind or foolish, she continued, “I’ll stay with you…”
Yang Kai was speechless.
On the other hand, Old Fang, who had not run far, turned around and flew back, standing beside Yang Kai as he snorted and retorted angrily, “I’m dead now because of all of you.”
Yang Kai could not help but laugh.
During their conversation, Old Xu had already flown to them. Yang Kai sighed and cupped his fists, but when he was about to greet him, he saw Old Xu raise his hand. The Six Fated Paths Bag was summoned, enveloping them from above, and in the next moment, their vision turned dark and they were stuffed into the bag.
Old Fang exclaimed, “What happened?” He was taken in before he could see clearly what the enemy looked like, and he was totally clueless about the mystery of Six Fated Paths Bag.
Ah Sun complained, “It’s so crowded here. What is this place?”
Dié You panicked, “Who… Who touched me… Whose hand is this…”
Yang Kai coughed lightly, “Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose. Don’t move around, everyone. This place is like this. Just bear with it.”
The bag immediately became quiet as no one dared to move.
Suddenly, there was a loud squeaking noise, followed by a foul stench.
Ah Sun retched, “Who… Who farted!?”
Old Fang quickly clarified, “It wasn’t this Old Master!”
Dié You also clarified, “Well it wasn’t me…”
“Little Brother Yang, you…”
Yang Kai was immediately enraged and lashed out, “It wasn’t me, it was this stupid chicken!” Yang Kai would have crushed Great General if it were not for the small space. The stench lasted for a long time in this enclosed space, forcing everyone to hold their breath.
After an unknown period of time, a slit of light suddenly appeared above them and following a flash, Yang Kai instantly emerged in an empty cave.
There was a chaotic aura of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements coming from nearby, and when he looked over, he saw Old Xu sitting in a corner, clearly not in good condition.
As for Old Xu, he was simply staring back at Yang Kai indifferently.
Yang Kai hurriedly cupped his hand, “Old Xu!”
By the looks of it, Old Xu did not look like he was hurt, but it was impossible not to be wounded after so many days of fighting. Moreover, Yang Kai believed that his revenge plan probably had failed, otherwise, he would not be here. If it succeeded, he should have taken over Seven Wonders Land.
Yang Kai wondered how Old Xu was feeling now as his revenge plan failed after putting so much effort into it. He was probably upset, so Yang Kai had to be careful with his words.
Old Xu stared at him steadily, various complicated feelings flashing through his eyes before he finally started, “Little brat, you spoiled my good deed!”
Yang Kai looked confused, “Old Xu, why did you say so? I’ve never leaked any information about you to Seven Wonders Land.”
Old Xu sighed, “Although you didn’t leak anything, the Soaring Black Centipede has been exposed. Duan Hai could have followed that clue to track down this King within a few days, so this King was forced to act earlier!”
“This…” Yang Kai had nothing to say, “This Junior didn’t know things would turn out like this.”
It could be said that it was a coincidence. Duan Hai and Yu Lian arranged an array and tried to seize his Wood Element. As a result, the Soaring Black Centipede’s seal was triggered. Old Xu sensed it, and he had no choice but to act earlier. By the looks of Old Xu’s current state and according to his words, the result of his early action was a failure…
“If I had just three more months to prepare, things would not have ended like this.” Old Xu snorted coldly.
Yang Kai gulped and looked ahead warily, “What does Old Xu want to do now? Kill me?”
“If killing you could change the result, why would this King have let you live until now? In the end, this Old Master’s thousands of years of plotting have all ended in failure, falling short at the last moment!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai was relieved that his life was not in danger; however, falling into the Old Xu’s hands now was just like jumping out of the wok into the fire and he began wondering how he would be tortured in the future.
Yang Kai felt dreadfully aggrieved. If he knew it would be like this, he would have stayed back in Seven Wonders Land. Although his future prospect would be unpromising, he was still an Orchard Manager with a large number of people under him. Now that Seven Wonders Land suffered a great tragedy, it would definitely be short of manpower, so if he had stayed, he might have had better opportunities.
Old Xu snorted coldly again, “Although this King’s plan failed, those dogs did not get off any better. More than half of the Venerables died and Seven Wonders Land suffered serious losses. They won’t be able to recover without hundreds of years of effort.”
“Then it’s not for nothing.” Yang Kai congratulated insincerely, and comforted, “This time, Seven Wonders Land’s strength has been greatly damaged. Old Xu just needs to spend some time recovering before launching another assault. At that time, Old Xu will be able to stage a comeback and obtain his revenge.”
“Heh heh… Stage a comeback…” Old Xu laughed for no reason, “This King is afraid he won’t have such an opportunity.”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “What does Old Xu mean?”
“This King is dying!”
Yang Kai was taken aback, “How?”
Even though Yang Kai knew that he must have been injured, he could not see any injuries on Old Xu’s body, certainly not one that would be fatal.
Old Xu did not explain anything more to him, but tossed something to him.
Yang Kai caught it and saw that it was a jade ring.
“What is this?” He wondered.
“It’s Seven Wonders Land’s main array token!” Old Xu answered faintly, “With this token, you will have the opportunity to control the Grand Array of Seven Wonders Land!”
Yang Kai’s heart jumped. Although he had not refined it yet, he could sense a mysterious fluctuation from the jade ring in his hand. Old Xu was not lying. This may truly be the main array token of Seven Wonders Land. It was probably the reason that Old Xu was able to usurp the Seven Wonders Land Grand Array in the first place.
“It’s yours now. Whether you dump it or keep it, it’s up to you.”
[How could it be so simple…] Yang Kai was in doubt. From his past experience dealing with Old Xu, he learnt that this guy was not a good man and wondered, [Are all people so kind when they are about to die?]
Old Xu explained, “This King has no strength left to take revenge, but if you can grow stronger in the future, you will stand a chance to seize Seven Wonders Land with this jade ring. You may rest assured that if Seven Wonders Land wants to change their Grand Defence Array, it cannot be done in a short time. This jade ring will still be useful within a thousand years, but this King can’t guarantee anything after that.”
Hearing his explanation, Yang Kai was relieved of his doubts. Old Xu just wanted him to avenge him. With this main array token in hand, when Yang Kai was strong enough, he certainly would covet Seven Wonders Land as it was a big piece of prosperous land.
Because of this, Old Xu did not vent his anger on him, otherwise, he would have been killed. Killing Yang Kai now could only ease his anger for a moment, but if Old Xu let him live, he might still have a chance for revenge.
As soon as he thought about this, Yang Kai quickly put away the jade ring and cupped his fists solemnly, “Rest assured, Old Xu. I will break through to the Open Heaven Realm within a thousand years and when that time comes, I will return to Seven Wonders Land.” No matter what, he had to act like what Old Xu wanted in front of him. As for whether he would help Old Xu to take revenge in the future, it depended on his mood and the benefits at that time. Although Yang Kai did not have a favourable impression of Seven Wonders Land, he did not want to waste too much time there either; after all, his hatred was not enough to launch a massacre.
Old Xu was noncommittal, probably aware of Yang Kai’s thoughts, but he did not have much time left now, and there was nothing he could do about Yang Kai so he just nodded lightly and closed his eyes.
As his eyes closed, the aura of his body rapidly weakened, and his vitality dissipated in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the chaotic Yin, Yang, and Five Elements aura coming from him became even more unstable.
Yang Kai asked anxiously, “Old Xu, can you take back the Soaring Black Centipede?”
Old Xu did not respond.
A moment later, an eruption of World Force occurred. It seemed Old Xu’s Small Universe completely collapsed and with that, the cave they were in exploded. Yang Kai found himself floating in the void and not far away he saw Old Xu, sitting cross-legged, but without any vitality.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand to check his breathing and confirmed that Old Xu had indeed passed away.
Yang Kai immediately felt distressed. Given that the Soaring Black Centipede on his Dao Seal was raised by Old Xu, he wondered if Old Xu’s death would have any impact on it.
Only after standing in place for a long time and not seeing any response from the seal did Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief.
However, Yang Kai felt insecure to have such a thing on his Dao Seal. Previously, Old Xu was still there to constrain it, but now that Old Xu was gone, Yang Kai probably would not know how he died if the Soaring Black Centipede suddenly went berserk and crushed his Dao Seal one day.
Yang Kai even suspected that Old Xu might have given some instructions to the Soaring Black Centipede before he died. He was worried that if he did not avenge him in Seven Wonders Land in the future, something would be triggered in the Soaring Black Centipede.
This was very likely to have happened, otherwise, what would Old Xu keep his life for?
However, now that Old Xu was dead, worrying was pointless. He could only try to break through to the Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible and get rid of it himself. Yang Kai reached out his hand next and took Old Xu’s Space Ring. After sorting through the ring, he did not find the Six Fated Paths Bag so he searched Old Xu’s body again, finding the bag in the latter’s sleeve.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had slightly refined the Six Fated Paths Bag before, so although he could not use it against his enemies, he had no problem opening and closing it at least.
Forming a hand seal, Yang Kai opened the Six Fated Paths Bag and Old Fang, Dié You, and Ah Sun appeared together with Great General.
As soon as Old Fang emerged, he cupped his fists, “Greetings, Senior!”
Yang Kai informed, “He’s dead!”
“Dead… Dead?” Old Fang looked up in surprise and examined Old Xu carefully, and found that he had really lost all vitality, so he could not help wondering, “How did he die?”
Yang Kai answered, “Probably because his injuries were too severe.”
Dié You asked, “Is he the one who attacked Seven Wonders Land earlier?”
Yang Kai nodded, “En, that’s him.”
Old Fang let out a long breath, “It’s good that he’s dead!” It would be stressful to have such a Master watching them. If he got into a bad mood and decided to vent on them, they would not be able to survive.
They did not expect to encounter such an incident during their escape. Fortunately, Old Xu succumbed to his injuries before he could harm them. Yang Kai kept Old Xu’s body in his Small Sealed World and secretly ordered Mu Zhu and Mu Lu to bury him properly. He did not know whether Old Xu had left a card up his sleeve, so Yang Kai decided to keep his body just in case.
“Let’s go.” After handling this matter, Yang Kai beckoned to the others.
Naturally, everyone had no opinion, but Great General just stood still. Previously, Great General blocked Du Ru Feng’s furious blow for Yang Kai and was seriously injured. He had been healing his wound and only woke up a short time ago. However, he did not follow Yang Kai and instead kept crowing at him.
Yang Kai was puzzled, so he looked around.
Seeing Yang Kai halt, Great General flew behind him and pushed him towards a certain direction with his fat body.
Old Fang remarked curiously, “Little Brother, it seems like he wants you to go somewhere!”
Yang Kai noticed it too and reached out to grab Great General before asking, “Where are you taking me?”
The Great General crowed twice and turned to look in a certain direction.
Yang Kai looked towards that direction, but he saw nothing.
Pondering for a moment, he continued, “Great General might have found something, so I’ll go with him and check it out. What do you all want to do?”
Dié You and the others exchanged looks before Old Fang answered, “We don’t know where to go anyway, so let’s go together. We can at least look after each other that way.”
“Let’s go together,” Dié You also nodded.
Ah Sun had no objections either.
Therefore, Yang Kai put Great General on top of his head and asked him to lead the way before the four of them continued to fly through the vast Outer Universe.
During the long journey, Yang Kai quietly counted the harvest of these past few days.
Although his life was in danger ever since he was summoned by Du Ru Feng, he also had a huge windfall! He obtained Du Ru Feng’s Space Ring, then the Space Ring of the Water Spirit Land Venerable Protector, and finally Old Xu’s Space Ring.
Without mentioning anything else, the Six Fated Paths Bag itself was an amazing artifact! Up to now, Yang Kai has never seen an artifact that could store living creatures other than his Small Sealed World and the World Beads that he refined personally. The Six Fated Paths Bag was the first one!
Entering the Outer Universe, if Yang Kai could not enhance his strength, he could only rely on external sources of power like artifacts for the time being. Although the artifacts he obtained in the Star Boundary were not bad, they weren’t sufficient when considering the Outer Universe. Whether it was the Mountains and Rivers Bell or the Soul Splitting Saber, even though they could be used to deal with other Emperor Realm cultivators without a problem, they would be useless against Open Heaven Realm Masters.
With the Six Fated Paths Bag he obtained, however, Yang Kai could make up for his shortcomings slightly. As such, he had to finish refining it as soon as possible so he could make use of its other miraculous effects if he encountered a strong enemy later.
Examining the Space Rings one by one, Yang Kai realized that he had truly gained a lot. There were as many as 300,000 Open Heaven Pills alone. About 10,000 were from Du Ru Feng’s Space Ring while the rest were from the Space Ring of the Water Spirit Land Venerable Protector.
Yang Kai was ecstatic! A month ago, he had to work hard to collect worms to feed Great General in order to earn a few thousand pills each month. But now he gained more than 300,000 Open Heaven Pills at once. His hands suddenly felt heavy.
However, after some pondering, he realized this was nothing much. A Third-Order material alone cost at least 15,000 Open Heaven Pills, so these 300,000 or so pills were only enough to buy a couple Fourth-Order materials, while they weren’t sufficient for a single Fifth-Order material.
In addition to the pills, however, Yang Kai had retrieved the Fourth-Order Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame that was collected by Du Ru Feng previously. This material was valuable and as long as he could find a suitable channel, he could exchange it for more than 100,000 Open Heaven Realm pills easily.
Nevertheless, what pleasantly surprised Yang Kai the most was the Shadowless Veil that was found in Du Ru Feng’s Space Ring.
Yang Kai had experienced the fantastic ability of this artifact which could turn one invisible and undetectable even to nearby eyes. Moreover, Du Ru Feng also mentioned that the Shadowless Veil was given to him by Duan Hai, and that any Third-Order and below Open Heaven Realm Masters would have no way to see through its concealment. Even if it was a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, one could miss it if they were not careful.
Compared to the Six Fated Paths Bag, this Shadowless Veil was a more suitable artifact for him at the moment.
Due to his low strength, Yang Kai had no way to resist strong enemies, so perhaps the Shadowless Veil could save his life in times of crisis.
In comparison, Old Xu’s Space Ring was actually quite empty. Other than a strange wooden sword, there were only a few personal miscellaneous items. It was not surprising though once Yang Kai thought about it. Old Xu had been focusing on taking revenge all these years, and probably did not have extra time and effort to do other things.
However, there was one thing Yang Kai was curious about. According to his own understanding, Seven Wonders Land should have belonged to Old Xu before, but it was seized from him later for some reason. He wondered what reason caused Old Xu to fail to protect his own territory.
No one could answer him, unfortunately. Old Xu was dead, so who else could he ask?
After sorting out the things in the three Space Rings, Yang Kai took out the Shadowless Veil, held it in his palm, and refined it silently. Because it belonged to Du Ru Feng, there was Du Ru Feng’s Soul Imprint on it, but since Du Ru Feng was dead now, the mark could be erased at will.
The journey was silent. After experiencing such a drastic change, the few of them lost interest in talking after narrowly escaping death. They all followed Great General silently, and let him guide them.
As time passed, they no longer knew how long they had flown. Yang Kai estimated that it was at least two to three months, yet Great General was still not stopping.
There was no great danger along the way. Occasionally, there would be some natural disasters like turbulence, but they managed to avoid such things in advance.
Finally, one day, a small black spot suddenly appeared at the end of their vision. At this moment, Yang Kai felt an obvious change in Great General’s mood. He became much more excited and his speed increased sharply.
It was too far away to see clearly what the black spot was, and it was not until a long time later that Yang Kai found it to be a huge Universe Fragment. He did not know which Universe World had shattered to leave this fragment, but despite its large size, it was completely desolate.
Great General led the group straight to the Universe Fragment.
A day later, the group of four landed on the Universe Fragment. At first sight, it was an endless desolate land without a single living soul there.
Great General flapped his wings and continued to lead the way, causing Old Fang to look around curiously and asked, “What did Great General lead us here for?”
“No idea.” Yang Kai shook his head, “Let’s just follow him and see.”
Just the fact that Great General risked his life to take a blow from Du Ru Feng for him, Yang Kai would not sit idly by if Great General needed help.
Great General seemed to be familiar with this place as he went in a specific direction after arriving here and came to a barren mountain. In the middle of the mountain was a deep, dark cave that led to unknown depths. Wind whistled eerily at the entrance of the cave. Yang Kai scanned it with his Divine Sense, but he could not find the end of the cave, so it was certainly very deep.
Great General finally stopped when they arrived here and turned his head to Yang Kai and crowed.
Yang Kai nodded and looked back at Old Fang and the others, “I’ll go down with Great General and have a look. You all stay here and wait for me for a bit.” Although he believed that Great General would not harm him, it was better to be careful in this unknown place. If he went in alone, he would stand a chance to escape in case of danger, but it would be inconvenient to do so with Old Fang, Dié You, and Ah Sun.
Dié You hastily proposed, “We should all go down together.”
Yang Kai shook his head as he rejected, “Just wait for me.”
Saying so, he grabbed Great General and flashed into the cave. Old Fang and Dié You looked at each other helplessly, only able to wait for him outside.
The cave was unusually dry. The terrain was initially flat, but after a short distance, it suddenly turned down steeply, like it was leading to the underground. The more they went forward, the darker it became as no light could be seen. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s cultivation was not low, so the absence of light did not bother him.
After venturing into the cave for four hours, when Yang Kai wondered if they had come to the deepest place in the Universe Fragment, light began to pour into their surroundings.
They arrived at a surprisingly massive yet unremarkable underground cave, but after arriving here, Great General was obviously excited and jumped out of Yang Kai’s arms, flying around and crowing excitedly. The intriguing noises gave Yang Kai a vague sense of grief and longing.
Yang Kai frowned lightly as he did not understand why this place had caused such a great reaction from Great General.
However, before he could figure it out, he suddenly noticed an aura permeating from the depths of the cave.
[There’s something living down here?] Yang Kai did not realize it at all when he arrived. Frightened, he quickly concealed his aura and peered ahead.
He could not see anything, but Yang Kai clearly felt an aura coming to life, like a sleeping creature who was awakened by Great General’s call.
What sent shivers up Yang Kai’s spine was that the aura was overwhelmingly powerful. The sense of danger he felt was far more intense than the one he felt in Old Xu’s presence, which undoubtedly showed that the owner of the aura was stronger than Old Xu.
In the darkness, two points of light suddenly appeared.
Yang Kai’s blood froze, as if someone had used a binding technique on him. He was stiffened in place, staring at the two twinkling lights in terror.
These were no ordinary lights, but rather a pair of eyes, exceptionally huge eyes the size of houses.
Following the opening of these eyes, a layer of golden light slowly expanded in the dark cave. The golden light grew brighter and stronger, and soon filled the entire cave in shining gold radiance.
Yang Kai could not close his mouth for a long time as the shock in his heart was beyond measure.
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed that such a giant golden rooster was before him. The golden rooster looked exactly like the Ruler of the Dawn Great General, but its size was many, many times greater.
The awakening aura, the dazzling golden light, and the eyes as large as a house all belonged to this giant golden rooster.
At this moment, the Ruler of the Dawn Great General had rushed to the strange beast and crowed endlessly. The strange beast’s originally fierce eyes slowly became gentle, showing a hint of kindness. It then lowered its head and nudged Great General tenderly.
Great General crowed even louder as he flew up on top of the head of the strange beast, and combed its feathers with his beak.
Seeing this, Yang Kai understood that the giant golden rooster in front of him was a close relative of the Ruler of the Dawn Great General. He just had no idea whether it was his father or mother, but he guessed that it was most likely to be his mother.
Great General was here to seek his family!
He had long thought that Great General was not an ordinary golden rooster, but rather an exotic beast with an ancient bloodline. At this moment, he realized his guess was correct.
However, if Great General had family, how did he end up being a pet for Duan Hai in Fire Spirit Land? Moreover, by the looks of his mother, it was obvious that her strength was astonishing. Without a doubt, Duan Hai was no match for her, so how did Duan Hai take away Great General?
[Did Duan Hai abduct him?] As Yang Kai thought about it, it seemed to be possible. Otherwise, why would Great General ignore Duan Hai’s life and death earlier? Instead, he followed him to escape from Seven Wonders Land.
Just as he was lost in thought, Yang Kai suddenly heard a voice call out to him, “Junior, you have an aura that I detest!”
Yang Kai was taken aback!
The voice sounded directly in his mind. It was a soft and gentle female voice, but the meaning of the words was quite the opposite. Looking up, he saw the giant golden chicken looking down at him, and he could see his own figure in her house-sized eyes.
Yang Kai gulped and looked around anxiously, but in the end, he fixed his eyes ahead and asked carefully, “Are you talking to me?”
Ruler of the Dawn’s mother narrowed her eyes lightly as a dangerous aura flashed across them, “What do you think?”
Yang Kai’s face twitched visibly as he quickly cupped his fists, “Junior Yang Kai greets Senior. May I know how I should address Senior?”
“I am Mie Meng!”
“So it is Senior Mie Meng. I’ve long heard your name!” Yang Kai cupped his fists again. He was unsure whether Mie Meng was her name or her Race as he had never heard of it before; however, the Outer Universe was full of strange things, so it was normal to see something he had never seen before. The only thing Yang Kai knew for sure was that he did not want to mess with the Ruler of the Dawn’s mother.
However, even though she mentioned that he had an aura she detested, Yang Kai was not too worried. Because he brought Ruler of the Dawn back, his mother probably would not do anything to him.
Mie Meng examined Yang Kai quietly, with a hint of scrutiny in her huge eyes while on top of her head, the Ruler of the Dawn Great General crowed for a while. Mie Meng listened to him attentively, and nodded slightly after a long time, “I understand.”
Then she looked down at Yang Kai and spoke, “My child said that it is all thanks to you he could leave that place and return to me.”
Yang Kai replied sonorously, “Great General and I became fast friends at first sight. Such a small favour is nothing worth mentioning.” After a pause, he continued, “Senior, how did Great General end up in Seven Wonders Land?”
Mie Meng answered, “He was captured and taken away. My child was young and insensible, not understanding the dangers of the world outside, leading to him accidentally getting lost when he went out to play.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded lightly. It was just as he thought. Since the Ruler of the Dawn had such a powerful mother, there was no way that he would end up in Seven Wonders Land as Duan Hai’s pet unless he was abducted somehow.
Perhaps, the Ruler of the Dawn Great General did not like Duan Hai either, so when Seven Wonders Land faced disaster, he did not care about the latter’s life or death at all but sought out Yang Kai instead.
At this time, Yang Kai received a communication from Old Fang. They were aware of the aura of Mie Meng from outside, and asked Yang Kai about his safety out of worry.
Yang Kai replied to him and asked them to stay outside, assuring them that he was safe.
Putting away the communication artifact, Yang Kai continued, “Senior, Ruler of the Dawn has returned to his home now, and Senior can finally reunite with your child. This Junior shall go now. I hope that we will meet again next time.”
To be honest, he truly wanted to receive some benefits from Mie Meng, for he had contributed more or less in bringing Ruler of the Dawn back; however, in the face of such a powerful existence, even if he knew that she would not harm him, he was still a little uncomfortable. It was better for him to leave as soon as possible. Although Mie Meng sounded gentle and reasonable, who knew what kind of temperament she really had. If he someone angered or offended her, he would not be able to leave here alive.
“There’s no hurry to leave!” Mie Meng sent a transmission hastily and declared, “I need you to do me a favour!”
Yang Kai was stunned, “May this Junior know what he can do for Senior?”
“Help me to leave this place!”
“Senior is trapped here?” Yang Kai was stunned. He did not notice it, but when he thought about it carefully, Mie Meng really did not move at all ever since his arrival. It seemed that she really was trapped. Still, Yang Kai could only reply hesitantly, “Junior may be strong in will, but he is lacking in strength to assist Senior.”
One must be stronger than Mie Meng to be able to trap her, and Yang Kai doubted that he could help her from the shackles imposed by such a being.
Mie Meng replied, “You can, as long as you are willing to.”
Since she said so, Yang Kai did not think that he could refuse her anymore. He was suddenly a little dispirited, and questioned with a frown, “What does Senior want me to do?”
Mie Meng did not answer, but the golden light on her body suddenly flickered endlessly. As the golden light twinkled, Yang Kai clearly saw many chain-like objects wrapping around Mie Meng’s giant body and sensed a familiar aura.
“A Dragon Clan Secret Technique?” Yang Kai’s brow rose in astonishment.
It had never occurred to him that the reason for Mie Meng to be trapped here was because of a Dragon Clan Secret Technique. Only a Dragon would be able to use Dragon Clan Secret Techniques.
When Yang Kai thought about this, he asked excitedly, “Has Senior met someone from the Dragon Clan?”
Mie Meng snorted coldly, “If not, how would this Queen be trapped in here?”
Although it was a little funny to hear a golden chicken claiming to be ‘this Queen’, Yang Kai was not in the mood to care about it at the moment and asked, “When and where did Senior meet that Dragon?” He queried eagerly.
He also possessed a Dragon Vein, so if he could find another Dragon in this Outer Universe, it would mean that he had found a backer, and would not have to travel around like a headless fly like now. Maybe he could use the power of the Dragon Clan to find the World Tree, making life a lot more convenient for him.
“I encountered him by chance in this vast Starry Sky and ended up in a conflict. I don’t know where that stupid Dragon is now, but none of you Dragon Clan are anything good!” Mie Meng snorted coldly.
Cold sweat beaded over Yang Kai’s face as he was scolded by Mie Meng for no reason. But in this way, he understood what Mie Meng wanted him to do. The Dragon Clan Secret Technique could only be executed or lifted by a Dragon. If Mie Meng wanted to get out of trouble here, he might really be able to help her.
However, there was only one thing that made Yang Kai curious.
“How does Senior know I’m a Dragon?” Yang Kai was pretty sure that he did not reveal any flaws about himself.
Mie Meng replied in a cold voice, “Your Dragon Clan aura is not detectable by ordinary people, but how can this Queen not be aware of it? This is also the reason why my child brought you here.”
A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai. This explained why the Ruler of the Dawn Great General favoured him so much. He treated him differently compared to the others when they were in Fire Spirit Land, and even blocked Du Ru Feng’s blow for him later. Great General even went through all the trouble to bring him here. It turned out that he was aware of the Dragon Vein in Yang Kai’s body, and knew that he could help his mother.
Mie Meng stated again, “But you don’t seem to be a Pureblood Dragon. Whether you can help me or not will depend on the purity of your bloodline.”
Yang Kai frowned, “What does this Junior need to do?”
“I need your Dragon Blood!”
Yang Kai asked, “And what can this Junior receive in return?”
“What do you want?” A hint of ridicule flashed across Mie Meng’s eyes.
“It depends on what Senior can offer,” Although he got along with the Great General well, he was not close to Mie Meng. He probably would have to pay a great cost to help her this time, so he needed to secure some benefits in return.
Mie Meng looked at him solemnly for a while before she suddenly extended her beak out towards him.
Yang Kai was shocked and instinctively attempted to dodge. Unexpectedly, her movements were so quick that he did not even have the time to react before it was all over. At the same time, Yang Kai sensed something had left his body, as if he had gotten rid of a layer of shackles.
There was a strange noise and Yang Kai turned to look up. A struggling, pitch-black centipede with a hundred limbs was clamped firmly between Mie Meng’s beaks, emitting strange shrieks.
“Soaring Black Centipede!” Yang Kai widened his eyes and quickly examined himself, confirming that the centipede seal that originally existed on his Dao Seal had disappeared. He looked at the centipede in Mie Meng’s beak again and knew that she had removed Old Xu’s technique.
Overjoyed, Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Senior!”
Although Old Xu was dead, it was still disturbing to have such a thing curled up around his Dao Seal. Yang Kai had planned to get rid of it when he broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, but who knew that the Soaring Black Centipede would be easily removed through an unexpected encounter?
Mie Meng’s effortless move had made Yang Kai deeply aware of her strength. He could not help imagining how powerful the Dragon who trapped Mie Meng with this Dragon Clan Secret Technique was!
Mie Meng lifted her neck, and swallowed the Soaring Black Centipede with a single gulp before asking lightly, “Is this enough?”
“Enough, more than enough!” Yang Kai could not stop nodding. Mie Meng’s move was a great help to him, and he should repay her kindness. Therefore, without hesitation, he asked, “Please tell me what you want me to do.”
“I only need your Dragon Blood. The more, the better. I will deal with the rest. But before that, I have to see if your Dragon Blood is pure enough. If it is not pure enough, it won’t help even if I drain all your blood.”
Without delay, Yang Kai gently cut his fingertip and squeezed out a drop of blood. He then enclosed the droplet with his power and pushed it to Mie Meng.
Mie Meng gulped the blood and her eyes which were originally slightly narrowed suddenly widened. She looked at Yang Kai in shock for a moment before a hint of amazement flashed across her eyes.
“Does this Junior’s blood meet the requirements?” Yang Kai questioned.
“We can try!” Mie Meng nodded.
“So… what next?” Yang Kai looked at her.
Mie Meng instructed, “Apply your Dragon Blood on my chains, then leave the rest to me.” Saying so, the chains on her body reappeared.
Yang Kai examined the situation for a moment before he secretly rolled his eyes. Mie Meng’s body was massive, and there were several rounds of chains binding her. It would take a lot of blood if he wanted to coat all the chains.
However, since Yang Kai has received her favour, he would not back out now. He immediately took a deep breath and bellowed, “Dragon Transformation!”
Following a series of crackles, Yang Kai’s body quickly grew into a 2,000 metres tall Half-Dragon, making him no smaller than Mie Meng. Vigorous Dragon Aura radiated from his body from the tip of his horns to the end of his tail.
The hint of amazement in Mie Meng’s eyes intensified!
Yang Kai strode over to Mie Meng and cut open his palm roughly with his claw. Blood spurted as he grabbed a chain and smeared it with his Golden Dragon Blood.
As if being stimulated by the Dragon Blood, a faint Dragon Roar echoed from within the chain, its light flickering unsteadily.
Yang Kai ignored it, grasped another chain and repeated the process.
It was good to have powerful restorative abilities, but right now they made things a little awkward. The wound on his palm soon showed signs of healing, so Yang Kai had no choice but to cut himself over and over again while continuously draining his Dragon Blood.
More and more chains were soon covered with his Golden Blood, causing them to flicker even more intensely.
Excitement was revealed in Mie Meng’s eyes. She initially just wanted to give it a try, but it turned out that she might really stand a chance to escape the bindings which held her here all these years. How could she not be excited?
After half a stick worth of incense, the chains on Mie Meng were all covered with Yang Kai’s Dragon Blood. Even if Yang Kai had high vitality, it would take him a while to recover after such expenditure.
“It’s enough!” Mie Meng suddenly opened her mouth and shouted.
Yang Kai was relieved as he could no longer maintain the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique. His body rapidly shrunk, and soon turned back to his original appearance.
“Take my child out of here first,” Mie Meng turned to Yang Kai and ordered.
The Ruler of the Dawn Great General flapped his wings and flew towards Yang Kai, who caught him and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear before soaring upwards without delay.
The spear smashed everything wherever it passed, forcibly opening a path to the surface.
Yang Kai broke out of the ground in a rumble a short while later. Not far away, Old Fang and the others heard the noise and turned to look, but before they could ask for an answer, Yang Kai bellowed, “Run!”
Old Fang and the others were stunned but did not dare to question him as they immediately followed him into the sky.
After flying a long distance away, Yang Kai finally stopped and looked back at the still-silent Universe Fragment.
“What happened?” Dié You questioned.
“Great General’s mother is here. She is currently trying to break free of a binding technique which had her trapped,” Yang Kai said briefly, not having time for a detailed explanation.
“Great General’s mother?” Old Fang was bewildered as he stared at the silly chicken that was held in Yang Kai’s arms.
As soon as his voice fell, however, a loud noise came up from the distance. When he turned to look, his face paled.
The enormous Universe Fragment was trembling endlessly at the moment and a violent energy burst out from inside. Even standing so far away, they could clearly feel the overwhelming aura which made them feel as small as ants.
Old Fang was terrified, “Did Great General’s Mother do this?” Judging from Great General’s appearance, Old Fang had not thought highly of his mother; however, by the looks of it now, he realized Great General’s mother was extraordinarily powerful!
Before Yang Kai had time to respond, a loud boom resounded, and a violent power erupted. The Universe Fragment exploded into debris that scattered in all directions.
Among the scattered fragments, a dazzling golden light appeared.
When all the dust settled, a giant golden chicken was revealed in front of everyone’s eyes. She lifted her head and chest, looking around majestically, glowing as radiantly as a rising sun, her terrifying aura causing the world around them to tremble.
*Gudong…* Old Fang gulped hard as his teeth chattered, “Great General… Is she your mother?”
Great General ignored him.
In the distance, as soon as Mie Meng broke free, she spread her wings and looked up at her audience. Her sharp crow was ear-piercing and the invisible sound wave swept out endlessly, turned into a rampaging force that forced them all backwards.
Only after a long celebration did Mie Meng withdraw her wings and stop crowing. She then began striding towards them step by step.
Old Fang’s face turned pale, he whispered to Yang Kai, “How should I address her?”
“She calls herself Mie Meng!” Yang Kai replied.
Enlightened, Old Fang immediately cupped his fist before she reached them, and shouted, “Junior Fang Bi Qi greets Senior Mie Meng!”
Dié You and Ah Sun quickly followed after him and saluted.
Mie Meng swept her eyes across the crowd before stopping on Yang Kai. She nodded slightly as she sent him a Divine Sense transmission, “Many thanks little one.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Senior is too polite. You’ve also helped this Junior greatly, so it was mutually beneficial.”
Mie Meng continued, “You’d better not let others know about your Dragon Vein!”
Yang Kai asked bafflingly, “Why?”
Mie Meng sneered, “Your Dragon Clan has many enemies in this vast world. What do you think will happen to you if you let those enemies know that you are a Dragon?”
Yang Kai was enlightened, and thanked solemnly, “Many thanks for your reminder, Senior, this Junior will remember your advice.” It seemed like he could not simply use his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique in the future, at least not before he got stronger, otherwise, he may bring himself some trouble.
Yang Kai learnt of the arrogance of the Dragon Clan back when he was still in the Star Boundary and guessed that the reputation of the Dragon Clan in the Outer Universe was not much better.
Mie Meng solemnly added, “However, your Dragon Clan is one with great unity. Although the Dragons are mysterious with their whereabouts, the others will certainly avenge you if you encounter disaster. Therefore, if you encounter any unavoidable danger, you might as well reveal your Dragon Vein as it may make others think twice before hurting you.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists, “This Junior has been enlightened!”
After a pause, he proceeded, “Does Senior know where I should look if I want to find other Dragons?”
Mie Meng snorted coldly, “Didn’t I just mention that every Dragon of the Dragon Clan is mysterious with their whereabouts? Most never lay eyes on one. However, it was said that the Dragon Clan lives in the Dragon Altar, which serves as both their homeland and origin. However, no one is sure where the Dragon Altar is as only members of the Dragon Clan can find it. Try to improve your Dragon Vein, and maybe one day you will be able to sense the location of the Dragon Altar.”
“Improve my Dragon Vein…” Yang Kai was slightly baffled. If he wanted to improve his Dragon Vein, he had to continue to assimilate the Golden Divine Dragon Source into his body. Although Yang Kai now possessed a 2,000-metre-tall Half-Dragon Form, he could feel that the Dragon Source in his body had not been fully integrated yet, and he still had a lot of room for growth. However, the growth of a Dragon was time-consuming and he could not afford to wait.
Great General jumped out of Yang Kai’s arms, flapped his wings, and flew up and down unsteadily towards Mie Meng. Mie Meng lowered her head, grabbed him with her beak, turned her head and place him on her back.
Great General crowed for a while, and Mie Meng listened to him attentively. Then, she looked at Yang Kai again, and sent him a message, “Little boy, take care of yourself. Here are three golden tail feathers sealed with three Divine Abilities of this Queen. If you run into danger, you can activate them to resist your enemy. Farewell!”
As she finished, a gust of wind so strong that everyone had to close their eyes blew and by the time they recovered, Mie Meng had already disappeared, leaving only a faint trail of golden light in the distance.
To Yang Kai’s surprise, three thirty-meter-long golden feathers were floating in front of him, as if they were made of pure gold without any impurities.
Yang Kai was stunned as he did not expect Mie Meng would leave such benefits to him. It was probably the result of the last request from Great General, because Great General did seem to be communicating with her before their departure.
Yang Kai reached out towards the feathers before they rapidly shrank down to palm length. He then stuffed them into his Space Ring. Looking in the direction of Mie Meng’s departure, he raised his hand and waved goodbye. After today, he probably would never see them again.
Old Fang stared at Yang Kai’s Space Ring fixedly. Although he was clueless about the use of the three golden feathers left by Mie Meng, he naturally saw that they were not ordinary. Following a gulp, he asked, “What did Senior Mie Meng tell you just now?”
Previously, Mie Meng and Yang Kai communicated through Divine Sense transmissions, so Old Fang and the others could not hear them at all.
“She didn’t say too much, just thanked me for helping her.” Yang Kai simply responded, looked at the crowd, and continued with a smile, “Where should we go now?”
All four of them were all relatively new to this Outer Universe, as although Old Fang and Dié You had left their Universe Worlds many years ago, they had been trapped inside Seven Wonders Land most of that time. Their understanding of this Outer Universe was no better than that of Yang Kai and Ah Sun.
Before, they still at least had a goal by following the guidance of Great General; however, with the departure of Great General, they truly were like headless flies with nowhere to go.
Ah Sun proposed shyly, “Do you want to go to a place with me?”
Yang Kai turned to look at her, “Where are you going?”
“Great Moon Province!” Ah Sun looked guilty.
“Where is that?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
Old Fang looked at Ah Sun thoughtfully, and explained slowly, “There are countless great forces in the Outer Universe. If these great forces are divided into three grades, the top are naturally the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises, where there are the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Below these Cave Heavens and Paradises, there are Second Class forces which are led by Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like Seven Wonders Land. Further below, there are various Spirit Provinces, which have neither High-Rank nor Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators. In these places, there are only Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Great Moon Province must be one of them, “
Ah Sun nodded, then shook her head, “I’m not sure, but it should be.”
Old Fang chuckled, “It seems that Sister Ah Sun also has a good background. Otherwise, how could you know such a place as Great Moon Province?”
Ah Sun could not help sticking out her tongue, “I have a Senior from Great Moon Province. I just want to find him.”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Ah Sun, didn’t you say that the Universe World you came from had collapsed and perished, and that you were its last survivor?” He remembered clearly what Ah Sun said when he first met her.
Ah Sun explained, “Yes, that world has indeed collapsed and perished, and I am the only one left. But hundreds of years ago, a Senior from our world returned once.”
This sounded familiar… It seemed like Fang Tai had said the same before.
“That Senior left me a Faith Token so that I could find him with it one day when I entered the Outer Universe!”
This sounded even more familiar… Yang Kai was speechless for a while.
Fang Tai showed his Faith Token to Duan Hai at that time, but unlike him, Ah Sun kept it a secret. Judging from the current results, Ah Sun undoubtedly made the right choice. Although Fang Tai was sentenced to death because of assisting Zhou Zheng and Xiang Yong in stealing the Spirit Fruit, Yang Kai believed that his background might be the main cause of his death.
Thinking about it, if the senior expert from Black River World found out that his descendant, Fang Tai, was baited to be a Worker in Seven Wonders Land in the future, he would never let such a matter slide. As such, Duan Hai ordered him to hunt down Fang Tai to avoid future trouble.
If Ah Sun had followed in Fang Tai’s footsteps at that time, perhaps she might have ended up the same.
While talking, Ah Sun took out a small fox. The fox seemed to be made from an unknown Spirit Jade the size of a palm. It was white and crystal clear, looking vivid, just like a living creature.
“Can we find Great Moon Province with this?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
Ah Sun stated, “I think my Senior left the path guide in this Faith Token.”
A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai. He immediately remembered the jade ring Faith Token left by Fang Tai. They probably had similar functions that would guide their possessor. Relying on the guidance of these Faith Tokens, one could find a specific location. Yang Kai had stored the jade ring in the Small Sealed World, but now it seemed that he needed to get rid of it as soon as possible, otherwise it could be a problem.
However, it was not enough to just get rid of the Faith Token, for he still had a mark on his body. If the mark was not removed, once he met that senior expert from Black River World, the latter would surely know that he had killed Fang Tai.
“Since you have a place to go, why didn’t you mention it before and just followed us all this time?” Dié You looked at Ah Sun as she questioned.
Ah Sun stuck out her tongue again, “I didn’t dare to run around in the Outer Universe alone, and I didn’t know what kind of people you were before…”
“So do you know now?” Dié You giggled.
Ah Sun hugged Dié You’s arm and grinned, “At least you all are not bad people.”
Dié You glanced at Yang Kai helplessly, and Yang Kai remarked, “It’s always better to be careful in the outside world. What do you all think?”
Old Fang shrugged, “I have no opinion. I can go anywhere.”
Dié You replied, “You can decide.”
They let Yang Kai make the call.
Seeing the situation, Ah Sun immediately came to Yang Kai, and shook his arm vigorously, “Senior Brother Yang, please come with me. Ah Sun really doesn’t dare to run around alone, and after you get there, you can stay there if you find it suitable for you. My Senior seems to have some power in Great Moon Province, so it shouldn’t be a problem to take in a few people.”
“Don’t simply guarantee things for others!” Yang Kai chuckled and continued after pondering for a while, “Alright, alright, stop shaking my arm. Since we have no place to go anyway, we’ll come with you.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother Yang!” Ah Sun was overjoyed.
“You only thank him?” Old Fang asked faintly.
Ah Sun grinned, “Thank you, Senior Brother Fang, Senior Sister Dié You!”
Old Fang nodded, “Good girl!”
Yang Kai pressed on, “But we can only decide whether to stay after seeing the situation there.”
Ah Sun nodded repeatedly, “Ah Sun understands, but don’t worry, if Senior Brothers and Sister really want to stay, you won’t be treated like Workers.”
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai raised his hand and tapped his knuckles on her head.
Ah Sun did not mind it. She held the fox-shaped white jade in her palm, her face suddenly turning solemn as she started muttering something. They had no idea what she was chanting, but a power surged around her, which was then poured into the fox.
A white figure abruptly shot out of Ah Sun’s palm and turned into a six-meter-long Three-Tailed Fox. The fox turned its head and looked at the people with intelligent eyes, and after nodding, it started running swiftly.
Needless to say, the fox was guiding them towards Great Moon Province.
“Keep up with it!” Yang Kai gave a low cry and the four of them immediately followed after the fox.
Fortunately, the fox was galloping in the same direction as they were travelling before. In other words, they did not waste time travelling here with Great General to save his mother and now just needed to continue to follow this path.
It seemed there was a long way to go as the four of them followed the fox, speeding along through the void.
None of them knew where Great Moon Province was, so they could only follow the guide. One month had passed, and the fox-shaped guide was still leading the way for them ahead, and it wasn’t certain when they would reach their destination.
Initially, they were still calm and collected, but as time passed, they began becoming fidgety, especially Ah Sun. She even doubted whether the guide given to her by her Senior was useful at all. Otherwise, why hadn’t they arrived at their destination even now?
One day, a Territory Gate that was hanging in the void suddenly appeared in front of them. The fox guide shot forward and stopped right in front of the gate, then it turned its head to look at them.
“It seems that we have to go through the Territory Gate.” Yang Kai muttered out loud. He was familiar with Territory Gates as he had moved past several of them when he and Duan Hai were heading to Seven Wonders Land. However, one had to be powerful enough to pass through a Territory Gate; otherwise, the person would fall into danger. Yang Kai wondered whether they would be able to do it. It would be terrible if they came out of the other side of the gate dead.
Apparently, Old Fang and the others shared the same concern as well, so they stopped in their tracks and stared forward with a frown.
Just then, the fox guide suddenly swirled around and turned into a mass of white light before engulfing everyone in it.
They traded glances and put on smiles, thinking that the Senior Ah Sun had come across was truly considerate. He must be aware that, given Ah Sun’s strength, she wasn’t able to pass through the Territory Gates, which was why he had given her a guide that could act as a protector.
Without the need for a discussion, all four of them dashed into the gate.
Following that, the world could be seen spinning around them, and as their vision refocused, they realised that they were already in a different Great Territory. The Starry Sky around them had changed and none of them knew how far they had travelled by just passing through the gate.
After that, the white light around them turned back into a fox, but at this moment, the fox no longer looked bright; instead, it appeared to be dim. It seemed that it had cost the fox quite some energy to shuttle through the gate.
Still, the fox led the way for them at the front while they followed behind, dashing forward at full speed.
Half a month later, the fox once again stopped in front of a Territory Gate. With a similar experience in the past, they already knew what to do. After they gathered together, the fox once again turned into a beam of white light and engulfed them.
Yang Kai took the initiative and led the others into the Territory Gate. However, they weren’t as fortunate as the previous time. After entering the gate, Yang Kai realised that a power that seemed able to tear them apart was pressing down on them from all directions as the white light around them became increasingly dim.
A shocked Yang Kai realised that they were in trouble. This fox was given by a Senior to lead Ah Sun to Great Moon Province, but that Senior probably never expected Ah Sun to be heading there with three others in tow. As a result, the fox guide had to use significantly more energy to pass through the Territory Gates.
Great Moon Province was just a Third-Class force, the lowest possible rank in the Outer Universe according to Old Fang’s knowledge. The strongest masters in such a force would only be Third-Order Open Heaven Realm. Apparently, the power of that Senior was limited as well, so there was no way the guide he had left behind was very strong. After passing through two Territory Gates, it was running out of energy.
“Don’t resist!” Yang Kai yelled and summoned the Six Fated Paths Bag before enveloping the others inside.
Apparently, they also noticed that something was wrong with the guide, so upon seeing what Yang Kai was doing, they immediately realised his intention and relaxed their guard. With a flash, the three of them were put inside the Fated Paths Bag.
After they were gone, the speed at which the white light around Yang Kai was diminishing had indeed slowed down, but it still turned dim after a moment. Yang Kai was extremely nervous as he wasn’t sure how he would end up without the guide’s protection. He could do nothing but pray that they would leave the gate soon.
In the chaotic time and space, a light could be seen up ahead. A highly motivated Yang Kai hurriedly manipulated Space Principles to drive himself forward. It felt like a short while, but also like an eternity had passed. Yang Kai soon realised that the view around him had changed as he dashed out of the gate.
Turning around, all he could see was Starry Sky. This Territory Gate was identical to the ones in the Demon Realm in the sense that they were unidirectional. Maybe there were bidirectional ones, but Yang Kai hadn’t come across any.
Then, he lowered his head and realised that the white light around him had disappeared, which rendered him speechless.
After Old Fang and the others were released from the Fated Paths Bag, Ah Sun asked, “Where’s the fox?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Ah Sun’s expression changed as she quickly fished out the Faith Token given to her by her Senior, only to see that the palm-sized fox-shaped white jade appeared dim and full of cracks, as though it would break apart at any moment.
Obviously, the Faith Token could never be activated again.
“Ah Sun…” Yang Kai felt his head aching. “Maybe we’ve caused you some trouble.”
If Ah Sun was on her own, the guide should have had enough power to safely bring her to Great Moon Province; however, with three more people along for the ride, the guide had expended too much energy when passing through the Territory Gates. Before they even reached their destination, the guide was gone, which was pretty embarrassing.
Ah Sun fell into a dazed state as she hadn’t expected this to happen. There were two reasons why she had invited Yang Kai and the others to head to Great Moon Province with her. Firstly, she believed that they were kind-hearted people. The second reason was also the main reason. Just like what she had said, she wouldn’t dare to roam around the Outer Universe alone as she had only condensed her Dao Seal. If she came across any danger, she wouldn’t be able to protect herself.
With the fox in her hand, Ah Sun forced a smile and shook her head, “It has nothing to do with you all. I was the one who asked you to come with me.”
“What should we do now?” Dié You looked at Yang Kai and asked.
It took them a lot of effort to finally decide on a destination, but now, both the guide and the destination were gone.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai said, “The guide’s lead should be correct. Since it has brought us to this place, it means that Great Moon Province is in this direction. We just don’t know whether it is in this Great Territory. If it is, we’ll stand a chance to find it. If it’s not, it’ll be troublesome. We’d better ask around now.”
Old Fang put on a bitter smile. “How are you going to ask around? We’ve been roaming around for months, but we’ve never seen anyone else.”
“That’s because we didn’t look for other people. In any Great Territory, there must be great forces of different sizes. As long as we have the heart, we can find some people.”
“What if the great forces in this place are like Seven Wonders Land?”
“Consider us unlucky, then,” Yang Kai shrugged.
After he finished speaking though, Yang Kai caught a glimpse of a light flickering in the distance, which prompted him to turn his head. Realising that there was nothing over there, however, he frowned deeply. Just when he thought it was just an illusion, Dié You asked, “Did you see it?”
“You saw it too?” Yang Kai questioned.
Dié You nodded. “I saw something flickering in the distance.”
Old Fang craned his neck and looked in that direction, but he appeared puzzled, “I didn’t see anything. Were you mistaken?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It might have been my imagination if I was the only one who saw it, but there’s no way two people would be mistaken at the same time. Something flickered over there.”
“Why didn’t I see anythi… Wait!” Old Fang suddenly exclaimed and pointed in that direction, “Look! Did you see that?”
He appeared as though he had discovered something strange, which shocked Yang Kai and the others as they looked in the direction he pointed. Initially, they couldn’t see anything, but when Yang Kai sharpened his vision and kept looking, his pupils suddenly contracted.
That was because he saw a building floating in the distant void.
After blinking a few times, Yang Kai could confirm that there was indeed a building over there. It was small with two flapping flags erected at the front of the door.
Upon seeing this, Dié You and Ah Sun appeared surprised as well.
“Is that a Small Universe?” Yang Kai frowned. When he came across Duan Hai in the past, the entrance to his Small Universe was a door in the void. Seeing this building now, he couldn’t help associating the two.
“I have no idea,” Old Fang replied and shook his head, “Why don’t we go over to have a look?”
Dié You and Ah Sun remained silent as they turned to look at Yang Kai, awaiting his decision.
Yang Kai looked around before bursting into laughter, “Well, we’ve finally come across other people, so it would be a shame if we don’t go over to have a look. However, we don’t know what’s going on over there, so we’d better observe it from a distance before making any decision.”
The three of them nodded at the same time, “Good.”
Upon making a decision, the group of four flew over and stopped in a spot that was far away from the building as they wouldn’t dare to go near. After concealing their auras, they started observing the building.
Soon, they were surprised because they could see people going in and coming out of the building. Even though there were not many people, the sight was pretty shocking in and of itself.
Some of them had companions while some of them were on their own. It wasn’t certain how powerful they were, but there was no way they were all Open Heaven Realm Masters. Some of them must be like Yang Kai and the others who had only condensed their Dao Seal as they were still trying to reach the Open Heaven Realm.
“Little Brother, look. There are characters on the flag,” Old Fang suddenly said.
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai realised that there were indeed words on the flags in front of the building. The character on the left flag was for ‘wine’, while the ones on the right flag read ‘First Inn’.
At that instant, Yang Kai’s expression turned stiff.
Dié You said, “Why does this place look like…”
“An inn?” Ah Sun widened her eyes.
“No way…” The corner of Old Fang’s mouth twitched.
“It’s possible.” Yang Kai fell into his thoughts. “Anything can happen in the Outer Universe. There are people going in and coming out of that building, and there are two flags in front of the door. What else is this place if it is not an inn?”
“Who would build an inn here?” Old Fang still couldn’t believe it. Could the owner earn any money by building an inn here? Was the owner expecting people passing by to stay for a meal and a rest?
“Well, we’ll only find out after we take a look.” Yang Kai clenched his teeth and turned to look at them.
A moment later, the group of four stood in front of what looked like an inn. There was an open space before the building, and the flags were erected on the ground. Even though there was no wind in the void, a rustling sound was heard as the flags flapped freely.
Now, they had nowhere else to go, and they knew nothing about the Outer Universe. More importantly, all of them were considered weak in this place. Now that they had finally come across what looked like an inn, they certainly had to take a look. It would be wonderful if they could find out where Great Moon Province was from the people here.
However, Old Fang appeared worried, “Little Brother, could this be a bandits’ inn?”
Yang Kai gave him a look and grinned meaningfully, “Even if it’s really a bandits’ inn, it’s too late for us to leave now.”
Upon hearing that, Old Fang turned pale as he looked up at the flags; however, before he could derive anything useful from the flags, a person stepped out of the inn with a bright smile on his face, “Welcome, honourable guests!”
Yang Kai turned his head, only to see a person who looked like a shop boy, flashing a fawning smile at them, a white towel draped over his shoulder. He looked just like the shop hands he had come across in the past.
At that instant, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state for a moment before he subconsciously activated his Divine Sense to find out about this person’s cultivation. However, he was stunned by the outcome as he couldn’t make out how powerful this shop hand was. Despite the bright smile on this person’s face, he didn’t seem to have existed at all, which was extremely peculiar.
Yang Kai believed that this person must have an artifact that could conceal his cultivation. Even if an Open Heaven Realm Master was standing in front of him, they probably wouldn’t be able to detect anything.
Since they had arrived at this place, there was no way they would just leave, so Yang Kai nodded gently and led his companions inside.
From the outside, there was nothing special about the inn as it was just a building that was made of red bricks and green tiles; however, upon entering, they realised that it was different from what they had expected.
The hall was spacious, easily accommodating over twenty tables. Besides that, there was a second floor.
Presently, it was hustling and bustling in the hall. Most of the tables had been occupied as the guests drank wine and chatted. The customers were dressed up in all different kinds of styles. Some of them were obviously from the same great force as they wore similar robes. Some of them were dressed up differently, but they were apparently from the same group.
There was a counter near the entrance, and behind it was an accountant who was loudly fiddling with a golden abacus. Inside the hall, shop boys could be seen moving around as the delicate dishes exuded an aromatic scent.
When Yang Kai and the others stepped into the hall, the accountant took one look at them and continued fiddling with his abacus.
The shop hand from before hospitably led them to an empty table and wiped it with the white towel on his shoulder before asking, “What would you like to order?”
“What do you have?” Yang Kai looked around and absent-mindedly asked.
The shop boy said proudly, “Whatever you want to eat, we’ll be able to prepare it for you.”
That was indeed a bold statement, so Old Fang grinned meaningfully and asked, “Are you able to prepare Dragon livers and Phoenix hearts?”
The shop boy replied, “We can get them for you, but you’ll have to wait as they’re out of stock now. If you’re not in the rush, you can stay for three to five years and we’ll definitely acquire the dishes for you.”
The corner of Old Fang’s mouth twitched as he muttered, “Are you serious?”
The shop boy said, “It depends on whether you’re patient enough to find out if it’s true.” He placed the white towel over his shoulder and declared, “Integrity is the key to our First Inn’s success; otherwise, we wouldn’t have survived until now. Don’t you agree?”
Yang Kai coughed, “We don’t need Dragon livers and Phoenix hearts. Just get us some of your signature dishes and some bottles of wine.”
“Good. I’ll be right back,” the shop boy replied and turned around to leave.
“It’s really an inn,” After the shop boy was gone, Old Fang looked around and spoke to Yang Kai via Divine Sense, his voice filled with disbelief.
Yang Kai nodded, “It doesn’t look like a bandits’ inn either. Maybe we can ask the shop boy whether Great Moon Province is in this territory.”
Ah Sun’s gaze brightened when she heard that and nodded her head repeatedly, “We certainly have to ask him about it.”
It was still noisy in the hall, and observing from the side, Yang Kai detected some auras that were clearly in the Open Heaven Realm. Apparently, there were Open Heaven Realm Masters present. However, some of those people were just like them who had only condensed a Dao Seal and had yet to reach the Open Heaven Realm.
After some observation, Yang Kai was finally able to set his mind at ease. This wasn’t a bandits’ inn, and the cultivation of the people coming in and out of the inn varied. In that case, they didn’t have to worry about their safety.
The workers in First Inn were pretty efficient and in just a quarter hour, the shop boy returned with four delicate dishes, a bowl of soup, and two bottles of wine, which were an ample meal for the group of four.
It wasn’t certain what the dishes were made of, but they looked appetising; moreover, the aromatic scent made them feel eager to have the food immediately. Ah Sun gulped repeatedly as though she hadn’t eaten anything for a few hundred years.
“All the dishes are ready. Please enjoy,” the shop boy said and wanted to leave.
Yang Kai quickly raised his hand, “Shop hand, there’s no rush. Can we get some information from you?”
The shop boy turned around with a smile on his face, “Our First Inn serves guests from all over, so we’ve gathered all kinds of information. We can sell the information to you, depending on what you want to ask.”
“Sell the information to us?” Yang Kai frowned, “Do we have to pay?”
The shop hand replied, “There are no free meals in this world. Regardless of what kind of information it is, it has some value in our inn.”
“How much do you charge?”
“It depends on what you want to ask. Some information is cheap, while some information is expensive.”
Yang Kai felt speechless at how profit-minded they ran their business, but after giving it a thought, he realised that it wasn’t surprising. In this Outer Universe, it was difficult to look for anyone to ask about any information. Since they were able to do this kind of business, they must have their own unique capabilities.
“I want to know the location of a certain great force,” Yang Kai said.
“Which great force?”
“Great Moon Province.”
The shop boy extended his hand, “One hundred Open Heaven Pills, please.”
Old Fang almost sprayed out the wine from his mouth, “O-One hundred Open Heaven Pills? Why don’t you just rob us?” Having served as a Worker in Seven Wonders Land, only receiving a wage of 3 Open Heaven Pills a year, Old Fan could not believe that this little piece of information cost 100 pills. Gazing at the dishes in front of him, he gulped. If such a piece of information was already so expensive, how much did these dishes cost? He subconsciously covered his Space Ring.
The smile on the shop boy’s face seemed to be eternal as he commented, “You’re free to decide whether you want to ask.”
After a nod, Yang Kai fished out a hundred pills from his Space Ring and passed them to him. The shop boy took them and gave Yang Kai a jade slip, “The location of Great Moon Province is inside. You just have to check it.”
Yang Kai infused his Divine Sense into the slip and immediately saw something like a Star Chart. Upon getting his bearings, he found their current location and that of Great Moon Province. After calculating the distance, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
“How is it?” Ah Sun asked anxiously.
Yang Kai passed the jade slip to her, “It’s not in this territory. We’ll have to go through two more Territory Gates before we reach the Great Territory that Great Moon Province is in.”
Ah Sun took a look and realised that just like what Yang Kai had said, Great Moon Province wasn’t in this Great Territory. If they wanted to go there, they still had a long way to go. That revelation made her feel dejected.
Yang Kai raised his head and stared at the shop boy, “How do we move past a Territory Gate?” As he spoke, he fished out another hundred Open Heaven Pills.
The shop boy replied, “Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters can pass through the gates as they please. People who are below that realm need to buy some defensive flight-type artifacts, which are sold in every Star City.”
“Is there a Star City in this place? Where is it?” Yang Kai passed a hundred pills to him again.
The shop boy gave him another jade slip, “Just follow this route and you’ll reach there in a month.”
Without the need to have a look, Yang Kai knew that it must be a map.
“Are all of you new to the Outer Universe?” The shop boy suddenly asked.
This wasn’t any kind of big secret; moreover, what Yang Kai had asked was all basic knowledge, so anyone could deduce that they were new to the Outer Universe. Therefore, he nodded, “En.”
“In that case…” The shop boy gave it a thought, “Since you’ve already paid for three pieces of information, I’ll give you some basics for free as a bonus.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
The shop boy went on to say, “Let’s talk about the First Inn first. Our business spans the entire Outer Universe, and we have a shop in every Great Territory. If you come across any trouble you’re unable to solve, like you’re being hunted down by your enemies, you can seek refuge in our inn. Inside our inn, no one is allowed to fight. Otherwise, the consequences would be dreadful for that person.”
A shocked Yang Kai asked, “Does your inn serve as a shelter as well?”
The shop boy smiled meaningfully, “Everyone who steps into our shop is our guest, so it is only natural we ensure they are provided a safe environment. If anything happens to our guests inside our inn, how would we continue running our business?”
Despite his nonchalant tone, Yang Kai understood the profound meaning behind his words. Initially, he thought that this was just an ordinary inn, but now it seemed that this business had some powerful backers. If that wasn’t the case, this shop boy wouldn’t have dared to say such a thing. It had to be noted that many people who roamed around the Outer Universe were Open Heaven Realm Masters.
“Let’s move on to the Great Moon Province…” The shop boy smiled gently, “Perhaps you won’t need to travel there yourselves. Just wait here for some time, and you may see some people from Great Moon Province.”
“Why?” Ah Sun hurriedly asked.
“Because something has happened in this Great Territory. Many people from different great forces have come to this place for a certain event.” The shop boy pointed at the hall, “Why else do you think so many people have come here?”
“What happened?” Yang Kai was curious as he reckoned that it must be something serious; otherwise, it couldn’t have attracted so many people to gather here.
The shop boy gave it a thought and heaved a sigh, “Forget it. Since you’re new here, you probably don’t have much wealth with you. I’ll give you the information for free.” Then, he passed one more jade slip to Yang Kai and swung the white towel across his shoulder, “Enjoy your meal. Call out to me if there’s anything else you need.”
After taking a few steps forward, the shop boy turned around, “By the way, we not only sell but also buy information. If you have any useful information in the future, you can sell it to any First Inn location. You can also sell some rare treasures to us. We have always been fair when doing business.”
After the shop boy left, the others stared at the jade slip in Yang Kai’s hand. Ah Sun asked, “What has happened in this place? Why did he say we might be able to meet people from Great Moon Province by waiting here?”
Yang Kai shook his head and infused his Divine Sense into the jade slip. A moment later, he arched his brow and appeared shocked. Gazing at the others, he passed the jade slip to them, “Have a look.”
After all of them took turns to see what was in the jade slip, they all appeared astounded and fell silent.
“A Sun Star is dying?” Dié You fell into her thoughts, “So, the glint of light we saw some time ago was the final radiance of the Sun Star?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I think so.”
When they left the Territory Gate some time ago, he and Dié You caught a glimpse of a bright light that flashed across their eyes, but the duration was short. At that time, they didn’t understand what had happened. Now, upon reading the content in the jade slip, they came to the realization that it was the final radiance of a Sun Star before its death.
The imminent death of a Sun Star was a major event in any place. If it was as simple as that, it wouldn’t have attracted so many great forces to come over though. The crux of the matter was that a Sun Star contained something called Sun’s True Gold. Usually, even an Open Heaven Realm Master wasn’t able to approach, much less dive into a Sun Star as the heat was simply too horrifying. However, a dying Sun Star was a different case. Given a chance, anyone could venture inside and have a look.
Even the lowest quality Sun’s True Gold was a Sixth-Order material. Moreover, it was one of the purest Fire Elements in existence. More importantly, on rare occasions, a Golden Crow Divine Palace could exist inside a Sun Star, and the reason behind a Sun Star’s imminent demise was that its Golden Crow was dying.
As the saying goes, men die for wealth just as birds die for food. If there was nothing to be gained in this place, no one would have come.
Be it the possible existence of Sun’s True Gold or the unlikely existence of the Golden Crow Divine Palace, it could attract great forces of different sizes from all the nearby Great Territories, which was why there were so many guests in this First Inn. Otherwise, no one would have stayed over and had their meals here in the void.
“Sun’s True Gold…” A glow radiated from Old Fang’s eyes, “If we can get just one piece of it, we’ll never have to worry about money again for the rest of our lives.”
According to the jade slip, Sun’s True Gold was at least a Sixth-Order material, making it worth at least 15 million Open Heaven Pills. Furthermore, it was so rare that if it was really sold, the seller could expect to get several million more pills on top of that.
Dié You pressed her lips together, “Even if we’re lucky enough to get our hands on such an item, we won’t live long enough to enjoy it.”
The great forces from the neighbouring Great Territories had gathered in this place as they stared fixedly at the dying Sun Star. It wasn’t hard to imagine that once the Sun’s fires really died down, countless people would go over to explore the Star. Given their strength, even if they were lucky enough to find a piece of Sun’s True Gold, they wouldn’t be able to leave with it alive.
When Old Fang heard what Dié You said, his expression dimmed as he thumped himself with a fist, “Damn it!”
“No one can tell whose side fortune will favour. We might stand a chance.” Yang Kai put on a smile, “In any case, we have to stay here and see if we’ll come across anyone from Great Moon Province.”
To the side, Ah Sun nodded repeatedly.
Compared to passing through two Territory Gates to head to Great Moon Province’s headquarters, waiting here was an easier option. If they were lucky enough, they might meet some people from Great Moon Province, and Ah Sun could reunite with them.
“So… we’ll try our luck, then?” Old Fang looked inquisitively at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai bowed his head, “That’s all we can do now.”
After the discussion, they finally relaxed and enjoyed the meal while chatting. It had to be said that the chefs in First Inn were truly skillful as the dishes were delectable. The group of four quickly finished everything that was served.
Then, the same shop boy passed them the bill. Upon seeing that the meal cost two hundred Open Heaven Pills, Yang Kai felt his hand shaking. Even though he had obtained several hundred thousand Open Heaven Pills previously, they would not last long if they continued to splurge like this.
After calming his nerves, Yang Kai asked the shop boy when the Sun Star was expected to perish. The shop boy had no idea unfortunately as the current situation had lasted for over three years, and may still take a few months to years before they would see any apparent results. After all, the death of a Sun Star was a gradual process.
The group of four had no other choice but to stay here. The accommodations were extremely expensive as well though. One room would cost five hundred Open Heaven Pills per night, and there was no negotiation on that price. The benefit of staying here was that they would provide free meals, and whether or not they ate, the price wouldn’t change.
Initially, they thought that they would just get one room for the four of them. They didn’t need to sleep anyway and just wanted to stay here because they were trying to come across anyone from Great Moon Province. Secondly, they wanted to observe the Sun Star. Given a chance, Yang Kai wouldn’t mind exploring it.
However, the shop boy wouldn’t agree to it. He told Yang Kai that one room could accommodate two people at most. They had to get another room if there were more than two people.
They had to obey First Inn’s rules since they were on their territory. Left with no choice, they booked two rooms. One room was for Old Fang and Yang Kai, while the other room was for Dié You and Ah Sun. They had to spend a thousand pills every day for a place to stay. Ah Sun had no idea what that number meant, but Old Fang and Dié You were heartbroken as they persuaded Yang Kai to just stay outside.
However, Yang Kai refused because all of them were too weak. By staying in this inn, they didn’t have to worry about their safety at the very least. If they stayed outside, they wouldn’t know what would happen to them. A lot of people came and went from the inn, so they might come across some wicked people if they lingered outside.
After they got the room cards from the counter, the shop boy hospitably led them to the inner court. Before the shop boy left, Yang Kai told him to take note of any news about Great Moon Province and immediately inform him if anyone from that great force came to this place.
The shop boy nodded.
The rooms were beside one another, so they could assist each other if anything happened. Then, they agreed to meet every three days and exchange information they had gathered. Yang Kai and Old Fang looked around and realised that the room was small with only a single bed, table, and chair. There was barely enough space for two people, and it really would be too cramped for four people to stay together.
Old Fang said, “Little Brother, you sleep on the bed while I take the floor.” Yang Kai had paid for everything, so Old Fang didn’t dare to request to sleep on the bed, nor would he want to do so.
Yang Kai didn’t turn him down as he directly sat down on the bed with his legs crossed. Then, he fished out the Shadowless Veil and started refining it.
The incident regarding the Sun Star was too complicated, as the major great forces would be gathering in this place. If Yang Kai wanted to participate in the upcoming exploration, he would need to become stronger. In that case, the Shadowless Veil was of utmost importance. When they were on the road previously, Yang Kai had been trying to refine it. However, this item seemed to be of high grade, making it difficult to refine, which was why he still hadn’t fully finished already. Certainly, he had to seize the chance to refine it as it might save his life at a critical moment.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed and it was time for their first meet-up. After leaving the rooms, Yang Kai and the others met with one another in the dining hall as they chatted and exchanged some information.
In truth, there was nothing new to share. The people from Great Moon Province hadn’t arrived, and the Sun Star was still in a half-dead state as it shot out a dazzling light from time to time. No one knew when the Sun’s fire would truly die.
After they were done with their meal, they decided to leave the hall. They didn’t have to pay for the meal anyway as it was included in their accommodation fees.
And so, the group of four went on to stay in the inn for the next three months, thus making them some of the longest staying customers in the inn. With 1,000 pills a day as the fee, Yang Kai had to pay 30,000 pills for a month, 90,000 pills for three months. In other words, his wallet had shrunk by almost a third already.
They would still meet up every three days; however, they had been staying here for three months now and still hadn’t got any information they wanted, which made them feel dejected.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had familiarised himself with the shop boy and the accountant, securing a slight discount if he needed any information. Furthermore, he had discovered that there was an elusive lady boss in the inn. It had been three months since he started living here, but he had only met her three times. She was a charming woman who always kept a smile on her face. Every time she emerged from the rear court, she would greet every customer and ask how they were doing, so it was apparent that she was an adept host.
There were many kinds of customers. Some would drool over her beauty and flirt with her, but she would never become incensed. Instead, she could have a good laugh with them.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai had once seen a man attempt to molest her. In the end, he was thrown out of the inn, and even those from his great force were chased away. They were barred from entering the inn again, and not just this location, but all First Inns in the Outer Universe had blacklisted them.
It was because of this incident that Yang Kai managed to speculate about this woman’s true power. She was a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Master at the very least, but he wasn’t certain which Order she was in.
After giving it a thought, he came to the realisation that no matter how powerful First Inn’s backers were, a top Master needed to be stationed at each branch in order to deter miscreants and thugs.
Even though he hadn’t gotten any useful information for the past three months, Yang Kai had actually gained something. He had fully refined the Shadowless Veil, so he decided to move on to the Six Fated Paths Bag.
However, the Six Fated Paths Bag that he had obtained from Old Xu was clearly of a higher grade than the Shadowless Veil, which meant that it was even more difficult to refine. Fortunately, in the past, Old Xu had taught him how to refine it because he wanted Yang Kai’s help to smuggle him into Seven Wonders Land. Furthermore, Old Xu had assisted Yang Kai with the initial refinement, so Yang Kai managed to make quick progress with it. He reckoned that he wouldn’t take long to fully refine it.
It had been four months since they started staying in First Inn. One day, Old Fang, who was meditating on the ground, suddenly heard Yang Kai calling out to him, so he opened his eyes; however, before he could ask anything, he saw a shadow engulfing him.
A shocked Old Fang tried to dodge, but the shadow seemed able to seal off the space around him, which made him feel he was unable to flee. While he was in a dazed state, his vision darkened as he plunged into a pitch-black space.
After blinking, he came to the realization that he had been put inside the strange bag by Yang Kai. Recalling what Yang Kai had been doing recently, he hurriedly asked, “Little Brother, have you successfully refined it?”
Yang Kai replied, “I can use it with some effort now.”
On the bed, Yang Kai was holding the Six Fated Paths Bag as he furrowed his brow. In the past, he could only open and close the bag, which meant that he couldn’t activate the artifact’s power. After some refining, he could finally use it to fend off his enemies.
To him, this item felt just like his Sealed World Bead. Both of them could be used to suck people in, but depending on the enemy’s power, the energy needed to do so varied.
The only difference was that Yang Kai was the ruler of the Sealed World Bead, so after he put someone inside it, he could do whatever he wanted to them. Fated Paths Bag was no match for the Sealed World Bead in this regard. Nevertheless, the bag wasn’t only useful for keeping people. He could also activate some seals and killing arrays within it.
He experimented on Old Fang by putting him inside the bag, but he didn’t intend to use any seals, so he soon released him.
Old Fang stared at the bag in Yang Kai’s hand with an envious gaze, “It’s such a treasure.” He had lived for a long time, but he had never seen such an artifact before.
Without replying to him, Yang Kai got to his feet and said, “Let’s go out to have a look around.”
After they left the inner court and entered the hall, Yang Kai was startled. The hall, which was usually hustling and bustling, was extremely quiet now while all the tables were empty. Raising his head, Yang Kai realised that the accountant was still loudly fiddling with his golden abacus behind the counter, and the shop boy was taking a nap on a stool in the corner.
“What’s going on?” Old Fang looked around as he appeared puzzled.
An astounded Yang Kai walked up to the shop boy and patted him, “Wake up.”
The shop boy shuddered and raised his head, only to see that it was Yang Kai who patted him, “It’s you.” After he finished speaking, he lethargically lay down again.
After a few months, they had become familiarised with one another. The shop boy was no longer as hospitable as before, and he spoke in a more nonchalant manner.
“Where are all the others? Why are they missing?” Yang Kai asked.
The shop boy turned over and pointed at the door, “They’ve gone out.”
Yang Kai’s chest tightened when he heard that, “Has anything happened to the Sun Star?” The reason so many people had been staying at the inn was that they were waiting for the Sun Star to die. Now that everyone had gone out, it was apparent that something had happened.
The shop boy replied, “En. It seems that the Sun’s fire is about to die out. All of them have gone over to try their luck.” All of a sudden, he sat up and stared at Yang Kai, “By the way, the people from Great Moon Province have arrived as well. They’re over at the Sun Star now.”
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai gazed at Old Fang and said, “Call Dié You and Ah Sun.”
“There’s no need for that.” Dié You’s voice could be heard coming from behind. Yang Kai turned his head, only to see Dié You and Ah Sun stepping out of the inner court, “We’ve heard everything. What should we do now?”
Yang Kai turned to Ah Sun, “We’ll look for those from Great Moon Province first, then go from there.”
The Sun’s fire was dying out, so the time to explore the Sun Star had come; however, the four of them were too weak to participate on their own. If they could be protected by those from Great Moon Province though, they might stand a chance.
All of them agreed and set off on their journey.
The shop boy got to his feet and yelled, “Do you want me to keep the rooms for you?”
“Fuck off! I’ll never stay at this bandits’ inn again!” Yang Kai shouted as he didn’t even turn his head. He had spent over 100,000 pills just to stay in this inn for four months. If he hadn’t obtained a great fortune from some dead cultivators previously, he couldn’t have afforded to stay here. Whatever the outcome of their journey to the Sun Star, he would never come back to this inn again. He would even circumvent the inn if he had to return to this place!
The shop boy pointed at Yang Kai and roared, “Brat, I dare you to call our noble establishment a bandits’ inn to Proprietress! She’ll definitely skin you alive!”
However, Yang Kai was already nowhere in sight as he had fled from the scene.
After flying forward for a few days, they still hadn’t reached their destination surprisingly. They had come across some powerful people who were heading in the same direction, which frightened them, but nevertheless, this way, they could confirm that they were moving in the right direction.
A few days later, a dazzling light suddenly expanded in front of them and illuminated almost half of the Starry Sky. At the same time, a scorching power spread around like a ripple. Despite being far away still, Yang Kai could acutely sense how pure this power was. He became elated as he knew that the Sun Star might really contain Sun’s True Gold.
There were three reasons why he wanted to insert himself into this matter. Firstly, he wanted to join in the fun and have a look at the heritage of the different great forces in the Outer Universe. Secondly, he wanted to bring Ah Sun to reunite with those from Great Moon Province. The third reason was also the main reason. Now, he had condensed his Wood Element, and Wood sustained Fire, so he had to condense his Fire Element next. However, because of the high starting point of his Wood Element, he had to look for High-Rank Open Heaven materials; otherwise, it would be considered a waste. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to find such materials. There was no doubt that Sun’s True Gold could meet Yang Kai’s requirements. Despite the word ‘Gold’ in its name, it was a Fire Element material instead of a Metal Element one.
Yang Kai had set a new goal for himself, and that was to directly break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm at the very least. Only by achieving that could he make use of Open Heaven Pills to help him ascend to the Eighth Order or even the peak Ninth Order. Even the lowest grade Sun’s True Gold was a Sixth-Order material. If he was lucky, he might be able to find a Seventh-Order one. If not for the possible benefits, Yang Kai really wouldn’t have the guts to butt in on this affair when so many great forces taking part in it.
While they were flying forward, the group of four suddenly felt an immense pressure coming from behind. They became shocked as they turned their heads, only to see a giant ship coming at them at full speed.
The ship was apparently an extraordinary flight-type artifact with incredible speed. When they saw the ship, it was still in the distance, but in the blink of an eye, the gap between them had shortened by half. When they came to their senses, the ship was already right in front of them.
The ship didn’t slow down at all, as though the people it inside were not aware of their existence, and soon, it would collide with the four of them.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he shouted, “Scatter!”
All of them were fairly powerful as they had condensed their own Dao Seals; however, if they were struck by such a ship, they would certainly end up in a miserable state.
Even before Yang Kai finished shouting, all four of them separated to both sides, and the next instant, the ship flew past them and moved further into the distance. When they gathered together again, Old Fang said with a dark expression, “Which great force was that? This is outrageous! Can’t they see there are four of us here? Are they blind!?”
Dié You put on a helpless smile, “Alright, alright. At least all of us are fine. I guess they just have no regard for us at all.”
“How could they oppress us in such a way?” Old Fang was incensed.
Yang Kai heaved a sigh, “If we don’t want to let anyone oppress us, we have to grow stronger…” As he spoke, he suddenly knitted his brows because the gigantic ship had returned as it was coming towards them again.
Old Fang turned pale in an instant as he stammered, “W-What are they trying to do? Did they hear what I just said?”
Yang Kai said grimly, “If they intend to harm us, flee immediately.” Even though he had no idea why this ship had returned, he reckoned that they were up to no good. If they got into a conflict, the four of them were certainly no match for the other party, so their best option was to try to flee.
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in a solemn manner.
Just then, the ship stopped in front of them. A tall and thin man emerged on the deck as he looked down at Yang Kai and the others in an aloof manner. The man looked like he was in his late twenties, and his arms were wrapped around two alluring ladies whose outfits were on the skimpy side as a large amount of their fair skin was exposed. Their eyes were attractive, and even the smell of their breaths was pleasant. Snuggling up to the man from both sides, they followed his gaze and looked down with a smile.
Seeing this, Dié You and Ah Sun started blushing.
The young man only shot a brief look at Yang Kai before shifting his attention to Ah Sun and Dié You as he said with a smile, “Ladies, are you going to the Sun Star?”
His smile appeared sincere, and paired with his outstanding appearance, he gave off a clean-cut feeling; however, judging from the fact that he was hugging two women in his arms, Dié You knew that he was a licentious fellow. The reason he had even returned must be that he was drooling over their beauty.
She wasn’t willing to speak to him, but refusing to reply to him might infuriate this man as they were on the weaker side, so she had no choice but to bow her head and curtly reply, “Yes.”
The young man said, “What a coincidence. This Young Master is heading to that place as well. Why don’t you two come with me? My flight-type artifact is pretty quick, much better than if you keep flying on your own.”
Dié You forced a smile, “There’s no need for that. I have some companions with me already, so we’re going there together.”
It was then the young man took a look at Yang Kai and Old Fang, upon which he put on a smile, “In that case, all of you can come onboard together. I don’t mind having two more people.”
“Well…” Dié You was at a loss for words as she regretted not rejecting him right away, which caused her to fall into a dilemma. Even though she had no idea what great force this man was from, she knew that they couldn’t afford to offend him, but if they boarded his ship, their lives would be his to control.
Just as she was worrying over how to turn him down, Yang Kai stepped forward and cupped his fists, “Many thanks for your generous offer, Sir, but we’ve just met so I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to bother you.”
Then, Yang Kai turned to look at his companions and declared, “Let’s go.”
The young man kept a smile on his face as he stared at Yang Kai and asked faintly, “Where do you think you’re going without this Young Master’s permission?”
Yang Kai frowned and stared back at him, “What do you want, then?”
The young man sighed, “There are always fools in this world who don’t appreciate other people’s kindness. Normally, people like that don’t live long.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai sneered, “I don’t know which great force you belong to, but we, the disciples of Great Moon Province, are not so easily bullied!”
It wasn’t the first time Yang Kai pretended to be someone he was not. Now that they were on the weaker side, they would be put at a disadvantage if they got into a scuffle with the other party; however, they were not familiar with the great forces in the neighbouring Great Territories, with Great Moon Province being the only one they knew, which was why he decided to pretend to be their disciple.
In any case, Ah Sun indeed had something to do with Great Moon Province, so Yang Kai wasn’t worried that they would be exposed. That was the reason he wasn’t flushing when claiming to be their disciple. On the other hand, Old Fang and the others appeared to be on pins and needles.
Upon hearing that, the young man frowned, “Are you really from the Great Moon Province?”
“Of course,” Yang Kai replied solemnly, and his expression remained calm.
In an instant, the young man’s expression turned awkward. Even though Great Moon Province wasn’t a powerful great force, he didn’t come from a formidable background either. The great force he was from and Great Moon Province were basically equals. Now that Yang Kai mentioned Great Moon Province all of a sudden, he became slightly wary. However, he would be unresigned if he had to leave just like this. It would make him look like he was afraid of Great Moon Province.
While he was in a dilemma, an elderly man stepped forward and said in a hushed voice, “Young Master, the Sun’s fire is about to die out completely. The matter over there is of utmost importance, so we shouldn’t get into any conflict at this point.”
The young man snorted and shot a cold look at Yang Kai and the others before disappearing from the deck. A moment later, the ship charged forward, moving thousands of kilometres in the blink of an eye.
After the ship was gone, Old Fang and the others let out a long breath as they were finally able to set their minds at ease. Dié You stared at Yang Kai and giggled with her mouth covered, “You’re really something.”
She admired Yang Kai for his resourcefulness as he was able to come up with this solution to get them out of trouble, which went to show that he was truly a quick-thinking person.
Yang Kai heaved a sigh, “Let’s go. Be careful.”
After bumping into such a group of people, all of them became more vigilant. They hadn’t frequently come into contact with those from the Outer Universe, so they had no idea what the people were like. Now, it seemed that the Outer Universe was the same as the Inner Universe, where strength was everything. With enough strength, one could do whatever they wanted without consequence. When one was weak, he could do nothing but choke down their grievances after being oppressed.
Fortunately, they didn’t come across another such incident again in their following journey. Even though many flight-type artifacts had moved past them, none of them seemed to have the time to find trouble with them. They must be eager to reach the Sun Star quickly, which was why no one intended to make a fuss.
As the group of four moved forward, a humongous Sun Star gradually came into their sight. It was a crimson Star that was surrounded by a scorching heat that even contorted a wide range of the surrounding space.
The Sun Star was dying, which was why it was no longer glowing so brightly that one couldn’t stare at it. Otherwise, no one would have the guts to go near it. The further they moved forward, the hotter they felt and they were left with no choice but to circulate their strength to protect themselves.
After a few days, Yang Kai’s group finally arrived at the periphery of the Sun Star. From afar, they could see that countless people were standing on their flight-type artifacts in the void. Apparently, they were from the great forces in the neighbouring Great Territories who intended to get a share of the treasures.
Yang Kai also saw some familiar faces that he had met in First Inn.
The Sun Star was gigantic, which was why its periphery was also expansive. Even though many people had arrived at this place, they were far away from one another. Now, all of them were waiting quietly, trying to avoid getting into conflict with others.
Given their low strength, Yang Kai and the others wouldn’t dare to get to close and stopped in a faraway spot. Turning his head, Yang Kai stared at Ah Sun, “The shop boy told me that those from Great Moon Province are here, but we’ll have to rely on you to look for them. Did that Senior tell you about any special symbol that represents their force?”
Ah Sun shook her head, “No.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brows, “Do you remember anything special about the Senior’s clothes when you met him? Are any of them here dressed up like that Senior?”
“There was nothing special… He was just wearing normal clothes. He only passed me the jade white fox and told me that I could look for him with the token when I went to the Outer Universe.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai and Dié You traded glances. Dié You said, “That’ll be troublesome. Without any clues at all, how are we going to look for those from Great Moon Province? It’s not like we can ask them about it one by one.”
Yang Kai shook his head. It would be a waste of time if they really asked all of them one by one. They would be fine if they came across people who were friendly; however, if they met someone ill-tempered or ill-intentioned, like those on the ship they had bumped into earlier, they might be beaten or even killed.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai suggested by saying, “Let’s look around first. Maybe that Senior has also come to this place. In that case, Ah Sun will surely recognise him.”
Ah Sun nodded, “I can definitely recognise him if I see him.”
Once it was decided, they started looking around by circling the Sun Star. They wouldn’t dare to go near any of the great forces as they simply gazed at them from afar and ruled out those who were not the ones they were looking for.
After a few days, they still hadn’t found the people from Great Moon Province.
Nevertheless, they had come across many strange-looking flight-type artifacts. Ships were the most common ones, while some looked like palaces. This wasn’t so strange as the Flowing Time Temple was also an extraordinary artifact. After it was refined by Yang Xiao and Yang Xue, they could fly it around. Some people here were riding on very rare beasts which looked sturdy and tough. It wasn’t certain how they were tamed. Old Fang and the others were jealous because if they could also tame such beasts, they could go anywhere in the world without fear.
Ah Sun felt disappointed at the fact that their effort was futile. Yang Kai also found it pointless to look around aimlessly, so after giving it a thought, he said, “Ah Sun, can I have a look at the jade white fox?”
Ah Sun nodded and fished it out. After they passed through the second Territory Gate, many cracks appeared on the jade white fox, as though it would break apart at any moment. Furthermore, no illusory phantom would appear after it was infused with Spiritual Energy.
With the jade white fox in his hand, Yang Kai carefully infused his strength into it and he could feel that the fox was absorbing it, but no changes could be seen on it.
After trying for a while, he shook his head and passed the fox back to Ah Sun. Staring at the three of them, he said, “There’s no other choice now… We have to ask around. I reckon that we don’t need to ask many people. There must be people who know those from Great Moon Province or have met them before. As long as we can find someone to help us, we’ll be able to determine where those from Great Moon Province are.”
Dié You nodded her head, “That’s the only thing we can do now.”
While they were having a discussion, a bearded man, who was meditating inside a great ship’s room in the Sun Star’s periphery, suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of surprise flashing across his gaze as he grunted.
Then, he emerged on the deck and looked at a particular spot in the void.
“Martial Uncle Wei!” When the disciples on the ship saw the man appearing on the deck, they quickly cupped their fists at him. The man surnamed Wei waved his hand to motion for them to return to their own business as he kept staring in a certain direction.
A woman approached him from behind and followed his gaze as she asked curiously, “Senior Brother Wei, what are you looking at?”
The man turned to look at her and grinned, “Junior Sister Tao, do you remember that Junior I told you about before?”
The woman surnamed Tao gave it a thought and recalled something, “The one from your Universe World?”
The man nodded, “She should be the only survivor…”
The last time he returned to that world, it was already beginning to collapse. Now, the world must have ceased to exist, and after the Universe World was gone, he and his Junior were the only proof that it had once existed.
“What happened to her?” Junior Sister Tao asked in puzzlement, “Why do you mention her all of a sudden?”
Senior Brother Wei beamed, “She has come to this place. She must be somewhere near us.”
Junior Sister Tao covered her mouth, “Are you serious? How do you know?”
Senior Brother Wei said, “I just know that she must be here. Junior Sister Tao, will you please take care of everything here? I’ll be right back.” After he finished speaking, he stepped forward and disappeared into the distance.
On the other hand, Yang Kai and the others were wrapping up their discussion. Just when they were preparing to enact their new plan, a burly figure suddenly approached them.
A shocked Yang Kai quickly stood in front of the others and stared vigilantly at the bearded man. His outfit was quite casual and his muscles that were exposed appeared strong. He was the very definition of a scruffy, burly man. After scanning him with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai realised that this man was an Open Heaven Realm Master so, with his chest tightening, he cupped his fists and greeted, “Senior, how may I help you?”
Senior Brother Wei shot a look at Yang Kai and grinned meaningfully. Then, he tilted his head and gazed at Ah Sun, who was behind Yang Kai, “Xiao Sun’er, stop hiding. I can see you!”
Ah Sun shuddered, and then she appeared pleasantly surprised as she stepped away from Yang Kai and looked forward in disbelief. Upon making out the man’s face, she called out in a shaking voice, “Senior?”
“Hahaha. You’ve really come to this place. You’re really quite something.” Senior Brother Wei guffawed as his beard shook. It seemed that he was truly overjoyed.
Ah Sun’s eyes reddened in an instant as she recalled the grievances she had suffered recently, and then her tears slid down her face like pearls breaking off from a string.
Senior Brother Wei’s face twitched when he saw that, and then he put on a bitter expression, “Why are you crying? Please stop crying… Did Uncle Wei scare you?”
Right after he spoke, Ah Sun broke into tears and hung her head low before spreading her arms and crashing into the man’s embrace like a little bird returning to its nest. In an instant, her tears soaked the man’s clothes.
“Ah… em…” Senior Brother Wei’s big hands froze in the air as he had never expected that Ah Sun would react in such a way upon their reunion, which made him feel slightly uneasy.
Then, he coughed and said in a hushed voice, “Why are you crying? Has anyone bullied you? Tell Uncle about it and he will seek justice for you.”
Then, he shot a glare at Yang Kai and the others.
As they felt their skin tightening, Old Fang hurriedly waved his hands, “Senior, don’t get us wrong. We have never bullied Sister Ah Sun. Instead, we’ve been protecting her along the way.”
Senior Brother Wei snorted, “I don’t think you’d dare to bully her!”
“Senior…” Ah Sun uttered in a choking voice, “O-Our homeland is gone.”