The dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Madam Lan, who had rushed into the hall, were rooted to the spot. Although there were many people in the hall, the place was completely silent. The imposing pressure felt like an entire world was pressing down on their bodies, making it difficult for them to breathe and causing their vitality to churn.
Only after a long silence did someone finally say in a hoarse and shaking voice, “Golden Crow!”
It was rumoured that a mature Golden Crow was able to kill High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like they were ants. No one wasn’t terrified of such a ferocious existence. Furthermore, forget High-Rank Open Heaven Masters, there were only a small number of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Masters among these people.
They had practically barged into the Golden Crow’s nesting chamber without its permission. If they infuriated the beast, no one would be able to survive. At this life-or-death moment, many of them regretted coming to this place and wished for nothing more than to immediately leave. However, as they were engulfed in the beast’s pressure, no one dared to move a muscle.
“What are you afraid of?” A person suddenly bellowed, “The Golden Crow is already dead!”
Although his voice was loud, it seemed that he was just trying to rally his courage rather than state a fact.
Upon his reminder, all of them turned to look at the Golden Crow and examined it. As expected, the beast was just standing there. Although its eyes still appeared vigorous, it remained unmoving all this time. It didn’t even react to the fact that so many people had entered its room.
“The Golden Crow is indeed dead,” Madam Lan nodded as she couldn’t detect any vitality from the beast. She was stumped when she entered the room just now. Her mind had turned blank when such a horrifying being came into her view all of a sudden, but upon calming down a bit, she took a proper look at the beast and then set her mind at ease.
Before coming to this place, they had already hypothesized that the reason the Sun Star was going out was that the Golden Crow was dying.
Now that the Sun’s fire had been put out, it also meant that the Golden Crow had passed away; however, judging from the carcass’s appearance, it seemed that it hadn’t been a long time since it perished.
Of all the people at the scene, Madam Lan was the most powerful by far. Since she had said so, the others also set themselves at ease as the sounds of their breathing and pounding hearts reverberated around the hall.
Yang Kai, who had been hiding beneath the Shadowless Veil in the rear corner, licked his dry lips. There was an admiring look on his face as he gazed at the carcass, which was engulfed in a crimson light barrier.
Just its corpse was able to give off such immense pressure, so it was unimaginable how mighty the Golden Crow was when it was still alive. What about the Dragon Clan then that was ranked higher than the Golden Crow? Now, it seemed that his Dragon Source still had immense untapped potential. Yang Kai figured at this moment he hadn’t even unlocked ten percent of his Source’s full power.
Moreover, upon reaching this place, he could clearly feel that his Dao Seal had become restless, as though something had caught its attention, something it was craving.
Following his instincts, Yang Kai gazed at a platform at the head of the hall and realised that there were four red crystals arranged at its corners.
“Sun’s True Gold!”
Yang Kai wasn’t the only one who noticed this. Since their lives were no longer at risk, they had the time to examine their surroundings and the red crystals on the platform immediately caught their attention.
They had never seen Sun’s True Gold before, but when the forearm-length red crystals came into their sight, they were certain that these were the legendary Sun’s True Gold.
It had been a few days since the Open Heaven Realm Masters started exploring the Sun Star, but they hadn’t come across any Sun’s True Gold during that time. They had all obtained some Sun’s True Fires, but their value wasn’t comparable to that of the Sun’s True Gold, which was a Sixth-Order material at minimum. There could even be Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order Sun’s True Gold.
At that instant, all eyes turned bloodshot. One figure dashed forward and pounced at one corner of the platform. Seeing that, over ten figures followed suit and headed towards different corners.
Yuan Xiao Man, who had been sticking close to Madam Lan, snorted, “What a bunch of fools.”
Madam Lan sighed, “Men die for wealth just as birds die for food.”
Soon, a shocking shriek was heard. An Open Heaven Realm Master, who was the first one to dash towards the platform, was sent flying backwards as his right hand was engulfed in flames. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t put out the fire and the nauseating smell of his burned flesh soon permeated the hall.
Following that, the fire soon expanded and reached his arm. A myriad of expressions came over that man before he resolutely drew out his sword and slashed down.
A sword light flashed across everyone’s eyes as blood spurted out of the fresh wound. Following a grunt, an arm fell to the ground with a thud. Right in front of everyone’s eyes, the fire soon turned the arm into ashes, making their faces turn pale.
Upon seeing that this man had suffered such a loss, the others, who were eager to make a move just now, didn’t dare to go forward again. Two of the more than ten people who had dashed forward earlier suffered from the same fate as they were forced to cut off their arms to save their own lives.
A solemn Yuan Xiao Man said, “It’s the Golden Crow’s True Fire.”
Madam Lan nodded her head as she gazed at the red light barrier, “It seems that the Golden Crow cast a barrier around its treasure before its death. If we don’t break the barrier, we’ll never be able to get the Sun’s True Gold.”
“Big Sister Lan, do you have a solution?” Yuan Xiao Man asked.
Madam Lan frowned and gave it a thought, “I can give it a try, but I can’t do it on my own.”
“Why don’t we join forces, then? After that, you can take seventy percent while I’ll get thirty.” Yuan Xiao Man appeared excited. Even though there were not many Sun’s True Golds on the platform, there were still eight pieces in total. Even if she only got thirty percent, she would still get two or three. Just one piece of such a treasure would make her rich beyond her wildest dreams, not to mention if she could get two or even three.
However, Madam Lan shook her head, “We’re not strong enough. Let’s wait for the others. We’ll only stand a chance if we all make a move together.”
“You mean Old Hong and the others?” Yuan Xiao Man was shocked, “They’ve gone in different directions, so it’s not certain whether they’re still alive.”
They had chosen the Path of Life and hadn’t come across any danger along the way. Nevertheless, the others might not be as lucky as they were.
Just then, the voice of Old Hong could be heard from behind, “This Old Master is a fortunate man. Of course, I’m still alive!”
Yuan Xiao Man turned around and saw Old Hong strolling towards them. He was followed by a few Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, they all appeared to be in a terrible state as they had varying degrees of injuries. Some of their robes had even been dyed crimson.
Although Yuan Xiao Man had no idea which path Old Hong had chosen, it seemed that it wasn’t as safe as the Path of Life. They must have come across a lot of danger, and some of them had lost their lives.
“Madam Lan indeed has deep wisdom and acute vision. This Old Master should have followed you to enter the Path of Life,” Old Hong said with a bitter smile.
“I was just lucky.” Madam Lan smiled, “Didn’t Brother Zhang and Brother Ji go with you?”
Old Hong shook his head, “They both chose different paths.” Then, he caught a glimpse of the Golden Crow corpse on the platform as his eyes turned fervent, “What’s the situation here?”
Before Madam Lan could explain it to him, a loud boom was heard coming from another side of the hall. Following that, a blood-soaked figure that was surrounded by a malevolent aura entered. It was none other than Ji Tian Xing from Blood Dragon Altar.
It wasn’t certain what he had encountered to make him appear so battered. Furthermore, he was the only person who had stepped out of the path. Right after he appeared, his attention was attracted by the Golden Crow carcass and exclaimed, “Golden Crow?”
After taking a look at Madam Lan and others, he quickly came over.
Old Hong examined him and grinned. Although he had come across some trouble, he still turned out fine in the end. On the other hand, Ji Tian Xing must have gone through terrible experiences.
Madam Lan nodded gently, “Only Brother Zhang is left, then.”
A displeased Yuan Xiao Man asked, “Must we wait for him?”
Madam La replied, “More people means more power. Furthermore, there is enough Sun’s True Gold for all of us.”
In response, Yuan Xiao Man pouted, and they went on to wait for a few more hours. During this period of time, Old Hong and the others, who had come at a later time, learned what had happened here and began to strategize. The Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were trying to come up with a way to break the barrier, but they didn’t have any practical solution.
Even though the barrier appeared simple, it was arranged by a mature Golden Crow; therefore, even the simplest barrier would undoubtedly be difficult to break, unless they had enough strength.
A few hours later, Zhang Qi from Righteous Land finally appeared. Although it had taken him a long time to arrive at this place, he appeared to be in a much better state than Old Hong and Ji Tian Xing. At the very least, there were no visible injuries on his body and many Open Heaven Realm Masters were accompanying him.
It seemed that all eight paths in the cave led to this hall, but the time needed to reach this place and the danger contained in each one varied greatly.
Upon meeting the others and getting the necessary information, Zhang Qi nodded gently, “Good. I’m fine with anything.”
While waiting for Zhang Qi, Madam Lan and the others had come up with a method to break the barrier.
Old Hong moved and shot into the air before shouting, “Friends, please be silent for a moment. This Old Master has something to say.”
Hearing that, the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who were chatting among themselves looked up at him.
A satisfied Old Hong nodded and grinned, “The reason you’ve come to this place is that you want to get some benefits. Now, the benefits are right in front of you, so it now depends on whether you’re capable of seizing them. However, the treasures are protected by a powerful barrier. If we don’t break the barrier, no one can ever get anything. We have had a discussion and determined that if we want to break the barrier, we need all of you to help us. So, please put aside your differences for now and cooperate with one another so that we can destroy the barrier together.”
Upon hearing that, the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters traded glances while most sneered, thinking Old Hong was spouting nonsense.
These Open Heaven Realm Masters had their own plans. They wouldn’t mind helping to break the barrier, but what would happen after that? There was no way they could snatch anything from the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Masters. By then, all the treasures would fall into the hands of Old Hong and the others. The rest of them could only watch angrily from the side. No one was willing to lend a hand for free, which was why they had fallen silent.
Old Hong seemed to have seen through their thoughts, so he went on to say with a smile, “Of course, we won’t ask you to help us for free. We’ve examined things carefully and confirmed that there are eight Sun’s True Golds on the platform before us. Before the barrier is broken, no one can tell what Order these Sun’s True Golds are.
Once the barrier is broken, we Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters will each receive one piece respectively, while the remaining three pieces will go to you. The most capable will obtain the prize. What do you think?”
There were five Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters at the scene while the rest were all Low-Rank. Although many had lost their lives when passing through the Eight Paths of Divination, there were still some sixty or seventy left.
It was imaginable how bloody and chaotic it would be for sixty-plus people to snatch three pieces of Sun’s True Gold. However, in front of such treasures, no Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had flinched; instead, they became energised upon hearing what Old Hong had said.
Amidst the commotion, the people who were either close to one another or came from the same great force gathered together and secretly communicated using their Divine Sense.
Looking down, Old Hong silently hovered in the air and waited. He didn’t seem to have the intention of rushing them.
A long time later, a person stepped forward from the crowd. Yang Kai, who had been hiding in the corner, realised that the person was none other than Wei Que of Great Moon Province.
Wei Que was a straightforward man, so it wasn’t surprising that he would come forward at this point. After cupping his fists at the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, he said, “Old Hong, do you really mean what you’ve just said?”
Old Hong put on a meaningful grin and pointed at the people behind him, “Even if you don’t believe this Old Master, don’t you trust the people behind me? This is our collective decision after a discussion, so it’s definitely true.”
Wei Que went on to say, “This Wei apologizes for any offence his words may cause, but if three of us are lucky enough to get the remaining pieces of Sun’s True Gold, will all of you come snatch them from us?”
He had asked the most important question. Once the barrier was broken, the five Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would quickly grasp their own share of the Sun’s True Gold, and the rest of them would fight for the remaining three pieces. However, if Old Hong and the others decided to interfere, all the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would have to step aside as they were no match for them.
In this case, they would rather not take part at all so that they wouldn’t have to take risks without any chance of reward.
Old Hong stared at Wei Que and replied, “You’re quite the distrustful one, aren’t you?”
Wei Que refuted, “None of us will be able to be at ease if we don’t get a clear answer.”
All the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters agreed with him as they echoed what he had said.
Old Hong nodded, “Since you’ve asked this question, then this Old Master will give you an answer. We won’t have a hand in fighting for the remaining three pieces of Sun’s True Gold. The treasures will go to the most capable people.”
“How do you guarantee that?” Wei Que asked again.
A tinge of anger flashed across Old Hong’s face and he snorted, “Is this Old Master’s word not good enough for you? So many people here have heard what I’ve said. Can I even go back on it now?”
“There’s nothing we can do if you decide to go back on your word,” a person suddenly said.
“Who just spoke! I dare you to come forward!” Old Hong bellowed. The person’s voice was elusive, so it was apparent that he had used a Secret Technique when speaking. With so many Open Heaven Realm Masters around, Old Hong was unable to accurately locate this individual, which was why he had a long face.
Just then, Madam Lan stepped forward and looked smilingly at the crowd, “I will give you all a promise on behalf of First Inn. When the time comes, we will only take our share of the Sun’s True Gold and will not attempt to snatch the remaining pieces from any of you.”
The Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters all relaxed greatly upon hearing this and Wei Que cupped his fists, “Since Madam Lan has given us her promise, we have no more doubts.”
All of them had complete trust in First Inn.
Seeing this, Old Hong appeared slightly displeased as they made him look like he was someone who would go back on his word. Even though he indeed had such intentions before, there was no way he could act upon them now. Madam Lan had given a promise on behalf of First Inn, so if he still decided to snatch the Sun’s True Gold from them, it would give Madam Lan an excuse to act against him. He was wary of her because he wasn’t sure what Order she was in. He could tell that she was at least a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so there was no way he could defy her.
After a snort, Old Hong said, “Since there are no more questions, this Old Master expects you all to cooperate fully when the time comes. If anyone doesn’t agree with this arrangement, get the Hell out now; otherwise, this Old Master doesn’t mind showing you the exit.”
As he swept a cold glance over them, the Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters started communicating with one another again. Some people decided to leave, thinking that it was too big a risk to take. Although each piece of Sun’s True Gold was extremely valuable, they might not even be able to bring one out while losing their lives in the process. With sixty to seventy people trying to snatch three pieces of Sun’s True Gold, many would die in the process.
Soon, more than ten people had left.
After waiting for over ten breaths, Old Hong nodded, “Go now if there’s anyone else who wishes to leave. Otherwise, we will begin.”
Certainly, those who had decided to stay didn’t have the intention of leaving. Madam Lan came forward then and explained how they would break the barrier. Then, under the leadership of the five Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters surrounded the platform and formed a simple pentagonal formation.
Basically, they were going to use brute force to break the barrier, which was why the stronger cultivators needed the help of so many Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Otherwise, the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would have taken the remaining three pieces of Sun’s True Gold as well.
After they stood on their respective Formation Nodes, they started adjusting their World Force.
Yang Kai felt helpless as he was looking from afar. Countless ideas had flashed across his mind, but he had overruled all them. Strength was the only factor that truly mattered if he wanted to snatch the treasure at this point; however, he had only condensed his Dao Seal. In front of so many Open Heaven Realm Masters, any scheme he thought up would be useless.
Yang Kai was extremely anxious. Even though he wasn’t sure what Order those pieces of Sun’s True Gold on the platform were, one of them must be Seventh Order. If he could get one piece for himself, he could start condensing his Fire Element.
Nevertheless, it was a cold hard truth that he was weak. Even if he used Space Principles to snatch a piece of Sun’s True Gold, he wouldn’t be able to leave this place alive when the others made a move on him together. Even his Half-Dragon form couldn’t protect him from such an onslaught.
Could he only watch on the side? He was unwilling!
Looking from afar, he realised that Madam Lan secretly took a glance in his direction, but she just as quickly looked away; after all, Yang Kai was too weak to be worth her attention.
She must have discovered him back in the hallway, and the reason she didn’t expose him was that his presence made no difference either way.
Just when Yang Kai felt sorrowful over his low cultivation, the pentagonal formation activated. The five Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters took charge of each node respectively while about ten Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were behind each of them.
World Force undulated as these Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered their strength. Every Open Heaven Realm Master had their own Small Universe, so they could activate World Force on their own without borrowing it from a Universe World.
After they made a move, there seemed to be dozens of worlds that were colliding with the barrier as booming sounds rang out. The violent force was able to flip the Heavens and Earth before shattering them to pieces.
There was an admiring look on Yang Kai’s face as he envisioned how powerful he would be when he made a move as an Open Heaven Realm Master in the future.
The Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were fairly powerful, so with them in charge of the formation, they were able to unite everyone’s strength and concentrate it on their target, ensuring that only minimal fallout was released into the surroundings. If not for this, Yang Kai would have been exposed even though he was shrouded in the Shadowless Veil.
Rumbling sounds were heard as the entire world seemed to be shaking. Ripples spread around on the crimson light barrier on the platform as though countless stones had been thrown into a still lake.
The gap between their powers was soon revealed. There wasn’t much difference between the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, who assisted in breaking the barrier, but it was pretty conspicuous for the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Yuan Xiao Man was the first to appear exhausted as her face had turned pale. She hurriedly fished out some Spirit Pills from her Space Ring and stuffed them into her mouth to supplement her strength.
Ji Tian Xing, Zhang Qi, and finally Old Hong followed suit.
It was now that the First Inn Proprietress, Madam Lan, showed her strength. Since they began breaking the barrier, the expression on her face had never changed and she hadn’t used any pills to restore her energy.
It was as though she was able to keep expending her World Force at this rate forever.
Yang Kai observed everything from afar and realised that the Proprietress would steal a glance at a particular spot on the platform from time to time. He didn’t understand it at first, but he soon realised that the Sun’s True Gold over there must be of a higher Order.
With the barrier in place, no one could tell the quality of these Sun’s True Golds. Nevertheless, everyone had their own speculations.
The fact that the Proprietress had been paying close attention to that particular Sun’s True Gold suggested that she believed it was the best one. After the barrier was destroyed, she would immediately snatch it.
Furthermore, there was one thing that bothered Yang Kai.
Compared to the Sun’s True Gold, the Golden Crow corpse was even more valuable. The carcass was perfectly intact, so its value was incalculable. They had only discussed distributing the Sun’s True Gold, but no one had mentioned the Golden Crow itself.
He was certain that the corpse would ignite a fierce competition between the top Masters present. The other four Mid-Rank cultivators might even join forces to snatch the corpse from the Proprietress.
Whatever the case, it all had nothing to do with him because he was too weak. Fortunately, it had been a fruitful trip for him as he had obtained nine Sun’s True Fires, three of which were Fifth-Order. Therefore, Yang Kai just regarded the sight before his eyes as a good show to broaden his horizons. With this thought in mind, he was able to set himself at ease.
As time passed, except for Madam Lan, the other Open Heaven Realm Masters, including the four Mid-Rank cultivators, had consumed numerous pills.
Their effort wasn’t futile, however, as the crimson light barrier on the platform had become visibly dimmer.
At this rate, it would take them one or two hours to completely shatter the barrier.
As hope was right in front of them, Old Hong shouted agitated, “Everyone, don’t hold back your strength! This barrier will break soon!”
Certainly, his reminder was not needed as everyone could see the transformation the light barrier had gone through. Nevertheless, they still had to reserve some energy as a chaotic struggle was bound to break out after the barrier was broken.
Otherwise, the barrier would have been broken already.
One hour later, the light barrier on the platform had become extremely thin, as though it would collapse at any moment. At this point, the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters no longer appeared united as they were all looking around warily. It was as if everyone at the scene was their competitor. Some of them had even readied themselves to make a move at any moment.
“Focus! We just need one last strike!” Madam Lan shouted at the most critical moment as she formed a different hand seal. With the pentagonal formation operating, all the Open Heaven Realm Masters collectively launched an attack on the translucent light barrier from five different directions.
Following a loud boom, cracking sounds were heard as countless fissures appeared on the light barrier.
“It’s broken!” Old Hong appeared elated as a glow radiated from his eyes.
Following the cracking sounds, the barrier began falling apart. Everyone laid their eyes on the different Sun’s True Golds, and Yang Kai was eager to get his hands on them as well; however, it was too late for him to make a move even if he was an Open Heaven Realm Master, not to mention that he hadn’t even broken through to that realm yet. In order to conceal himself, he didn’t dare to approach the others, so he was the farthest away from the platform right now.
Just then, he frowned and looked up at the Golden Crow corpse on the platform. That was because he seemed to have caught a glimpse of the Golden Crow moving its eyes.
He thought he was mistaken, but after staring a bit longer, Yang Kai realised that there was a tinge of mockery behind the Golden Crow’s gaze.
The beast hadn’t died yet!
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he moved backwards without thinking, hurriedly sending a Divine Sense transmission to Wei Que at the same time.
Right then, the light barrier on the platform completely shattered. Dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters charged forward from all directions as they extended their hands towards their targets.
Wei Que was well prepared as well, but just as he was about to make his move, he heard Yang Kai’s desperate cry in his mind and after an abrupt change in expression, he grabbed Tao Rong Fang’s arm and withdrew as quickly as he could.
A shocked Tao Rong Fang called out in surprise and confusion, “Senior Brother?”
She didn’t understand why Wei Que would choose to run away at this important moment; after all, if he wanted to leave, he could have done so earlier. Now that the barrier had been broken, it was the best chance to snatch the Sun’s True Golds. Leaving at this point would mean that their previous effort would all go to waste.
Wei Que didn’t have the time to explain anything to her; after all, he had only heard what Yang Kai had said. He decided to leave because he would rather believe what he had heard, even if he couldn’t be sure whether Yang Kai had told the truth. As he was retreating though, he took a glance up at the Golden Crow and in the next instant, he felt a fierce chill shoot up his spine.
That was because he realised that the Golden Crow had moved its eyes. The beast really wasn’t dead yet!
“Leave now!” Wei Que bellowed as he brought Tao Rong Fang to the exit.
On the platform, Yuan Xiao Man and the others all reached for the same Sun’s True Gold, the one Madam Lan had been secretly glancing at earlier. On the other hand, Madam Lan pounced at another piece.
Seeing that, Yuan Xiao Man and the others almost coughed up blood, realising that they had been fooled by Madam Lan. The fact that she kept glancing at that particular Sun’s True Gold made them think that it was the best one, which was why they wanted to get their hands on it; however, they hadn’t expected that she had actually pulled a trick on them.
Now that the barrier had been broken, the quality of the Sun’s True Golds was laid bare. After taking a look at Madam Lan’s target, they realised that it was indeed a Seventh-Order one while the one they were fighting for was only at the Sixth-Order.
All of them responded quickly by changing their targets. However, they didn’t even think about snatching the Sun’s True Gold from Madam Lan. She was already the strongest among them, and she had used a trick to divert their attention, so by now, the Seventh-Order Sun’s True Gold was safely in her possession.
“Scram!” The aura around Old Hong weltered as he pushed the Low-Rank cultivators away. Soon, he reached a Sun’s True Gold and stuffed it into his own Space Ring without ascertaining its Order.
On the other hand, Yuan Xiao Man made use of her incredible speed and obtained one piece with ease.
Murderous intent swirled around Zhang Qi as he held an Open Heaven Realm Master’s corpse in his hand. After taking that person’s Sun’s True Gold as well as his Space Ring, he nonchalantly hurled the corpse away.
Ji Tian Xing had found his target as well. When a Low-Rank cultivator, who had grabbed a Sun’s True Gold saw Ji Tian Xing pouncing on him, he secretly cursed and clenched his teeth, then he hurled the treasure at Ji Tian Xing, “Take it!”
Ji Tian Xing caught the treasure and stopped in his tracks. After examining it, he realised that it was just a Sixth-Order Sun’s True Gold, which made him furrow his brows.
However, Madam Lan had given her word on behalf of First Inn that the Mid-Rank cultivators would only take one piece of Sun’s True Gold respectively, and they wouldn’t snatch the remaining three pieces. Although he was unwilling, he didn’t dare to interfere in the competition again; otherwise, Madam Lan would be forced to make a move against him.
Barely three breaths after the barrier was broken, five Sun’s True Golds had been obtained by the stronger cultivators, while the remaining three pieces were tossed between the Low-Rank cultivators as no one could safely keep the treasures. Once someone obtained it, countless attacks would be targeted at them. In the blink of an eye, a few cultivators had been killed. The competition in the hall was horrible.
“Big Sister Lan, you tricked us!” Yuan Xiao Man stood close to Madam Lan as she stomped her foot and pouted.
Madam Lan put on a smile, but just as she was about to say something, she suddenly turned to look at the Golden Crow ‘corpse’, and the next instant, the colour drained from her alluring face.
The beast’s wings were fluttering lightly as its gaze was filled with mockery. The Golden Crow, which was supposed to be dead, moved its eyes and came back to life. In an instant, its immense pressure engulfed the entire hall and sealed off the space.
Yang Kai, who was retreating, crashed into a layer of invisible force and was sent flying backwards. Upon feeling the horrifying pressure, an extremely bitter taste appeared in his mouth.
As soon as he realised that there was something wrong with the Golden Crow, he started running away; however, in order not to expose himself, he didn’t dare to make any noise, so his speed was quite slow. Nevertheless, at this moment, the Golden Crow had sealed off the entire hall, so he could no longer flee even if he used Instantaneous Movement.
Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang were unable to leave as well. Upon Yang Kai’s warning, they managed to withdraw quickly from the chaotic competition; however, they were now in the same situation as Yang Kai.
“I-It’s not dead yet?” Old Hong’s originally pinkish face turned as pale as snow in an instant.
Ji Tian Xing, Zhang Qi, and Yuan Xiao Man also wore looks of horror. Even though they were Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivators, they could do nothing but shudder under the Golden Crow’s pressure. Even the Mid-Rank cultivators were rooted to the spot, let alone the Low-Rank ones.
As the Golden Crow’s pressure permeated, the hall which was hustling with noise a moment ago instantly fell silent. The Low-Rank cultivators were unable to move, nor were they able use their strength smoothly as though a few worlds were pressing down on them.
The Low-Rank cultivators on the platform widened their eyes in horror as the Golden Crow lightly raised its claw and slashed at them. After their vision darkened, they were no longer able to feel anything.
It was rumoured that a Golden Crow was able to kill Open Heaven Realm Masters like they were ants, but it wasn’t until this moment that these people realized how accurate that rumour was. With just one claw, all the Low-Rank cultivators before it were ground into paste without even being able to resist. Although they were only in the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm, they were still considered fairly powerful.
After casually killing a few people, the Golden Crow swept a glance over the others with its golden eyes. Its stare made everyone feel like their Soul had left their body. Even Yang Kai, who had been hiding under the Shadowless Veil, felt cold all over his body as the aura of death was on him.
The Golden Crow raised its wings and stirred up a fierce Astral Wind, which caused everyone to stagger backwards. The Low-Rank cultivators closest to the beast started bleeding as their flesh separated from their bones. At the same time, the glow on the Golden Crow’s body became brighter as a scorching aura spread out.
Following a great screech, the light exploded and illuminated the entire hall, blinding everyone within. The Golden Crow seemed to have turned into a miniature Sun as its Golden Crow’s True Fire, which was able to burn down everything in existence, swept out across the hall.
[It’s over!]
That was the thought everyone had at that instant. They had experienced the power of the Golden Crow’s True Fire before, so the Low-Rank cultivators knew they were completely powerless to resist. As soon as they came into contact with the fire, they would be reduced to ashes. Now that the Golden Crow had fully unleashed its True Fire, none of them would be able to parry it. Furthermore, there was nowhere they could hide as this was a wide area indiscriminate attack.
The dazzling light only lasted for a moment before it dissipated, taking the terrifying energy fluctuations with it.
The astounded crowd turned around, only to see an artifact that looked like an umbrella hovering before the platform. There were intricate patterns on the light green umbrella as it gently twirled, an abstruse power exuding from it.
It was this umbrella that had blocked the Golden Crow’s dazzling light, shielding everyone from its horrifying power.
Presently, Madam Lan was trembling in mid-air as she rapidly formed a set of hand seals. It wasn’t until this moment that her true power was exposed to them.
“Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” Old Hong exclaimed.
The Sixth Order was already the upper limit of the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm, just one step away from the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. There were only a small number of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in existence.
Although they had always known that Madam Lan was formidable, it wasn’t until this moment that they realised that she was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The umbrella that had shrouded the platform and saved everyone’s lives was undoubtedly summoned by Madam Lan. Only she could possess such a powerful artifact capable of blocking the Golden Crow’s attack.
Upon escaping from death’s door, everyone was elated and scrambled towards the exits in an attempt to leave the hall. Old Hong and the others were doing the same.
Seeing this, Yang Kai clenched his teeth as he cursed these people for their foolishness. Right now they should be joining forces to deal with the Golden Crow instead of fleeing.
He would have fled if he could instead of staying in this place until now, but as expected, the entire hall was completely sealed off, so none of them could leave.
“I can’t hold on any longer!” Madam Lan clenched her teeth and yelled, appearing to be struggling desperately.
A flicker of fire penetrated the umbrella and formed a hole in it. As the fire expanded, the hole also became larger. Besides that, the light of the umbrella swayed and rapidly became dim.
Madam Lan stared at her artifact with a gaze filled with sorrow and reluctance. This treasure was given to her by a Senior from her former Sect and it could even easily parry a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s attack. However, she had never expected that the artifact would be destroyed on this day. Compared to the Seventh-Order Sun’s True Gold she had just obtained, she wasn’t even sure whether she had made a gain or suffered a loss.
It was pointless to think about it now, however. While she was lost in her thoughts, a loud boom was heard as the umbrella exploded. The dazzling light, which was shielded earlier, filled everyone’s vision again as the scorching power permeated the hall.
Shrieks were immediately heard as the cultivators closest to the platform started burning and turned into fireballs in an instant. No matter how hard they tried, they were not able to put out the Golden Crow’s True Fire on their bodies.
The ones further away from the platform were luckier, but they also had to use all their strength to resist the expanding flames.
The World Force undulated as the different illusory phantoms of Small Universes appeared behind these cultivators.
Realising that he was in mortal danger, Yang Kai hesitated between using his Sealed World Bead, Six Fated Paths Bag, and Mountains and Rivers Bell for a moment. After making a decision, he snuck into Six Fated Paths Bag and summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell to cover it. With two layers of protection in place, he felt much safer.
The next instant, his heart shook violently as though someone had landed a heavy blow on his chest. With his vitality churning, he felt like he was going to cough up blood, causing him to realize that the Mountains and Rivers Bell must be severely damaged, resulting in him suffering a backlash.
Fortunately, the raging Golden Crow’s True Fire lasted only ten breaths of time.
Presently, corpses could be seen lying all over the floor. Half of the Open Heaven Realm Masters had been killed, burned to death by the Golden Crow’s True Fire. As for the ones who were not dead, they were all injured and had gone completely pale.
This was the result of Madam Lan using her artifact to block the initial attack. Without the umbrella containing the raging Golden Crow’s True Fire, all of the Low-Rank cultivators would have been killed by now.
It was also thanks to her umbrella weakening the power of the Golden Crow’s True Fire that so many were still alive.
The Mid-Rank cultivators were fine, but their expressions were still filled with fear. Faced with a powerful Golden Crow, no one had the courage to confront it.
In the corner, Yang Kai quickly left the Six Fated Paths Bag and covered himself with Shadowless Veil to conceal himself again.
Fortunately, it was so chaotic in the hall just now with everyone desperate to save themselves that no one had noticed him. Otherwise, he would have been pretty conspicuous as the only Emperor Realm cultivator in this place.
After a glance, Yang Kai felt his face twitching as he appeared heartbroken. His Mountains and Rivers Bell was practically destroyed, its surface completely melted as most of its spirituality had been lost. Unless he could find someone to repair it and then nurture it for a long time, it couldn’t be activated again.
He had never expected that this Ancient Exotic Artifact, which had been by his side since his trip to the Shattered Star Sea, would be destroyed in this place. Even though he had psychologically prepared himself for it, he still felt heartbroken when he was faced with the truth.
Nevertheless, he had no other choice in that kind of situation earlier.
He wasn’t certain how powerful the Golden Crow’s True Fire would be when it reached him, so he didn’t dare to hide inside the Sealed World Bead. That was because once he did that, the Sealed World Bead would be exposed in the hall and subject to the Golden Crow’s True Fire. He couldn’t be sure whether the Sealed World Bead would be fine after it was struck by such flames. If anything happened to the bead, his medicine garden would be gone for good. Furthermore, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were still living inside it.
Therefore, hiding inside the Six Fated Paths Bag was his best option. To be safe, he also decided to summon the Mountains and Rivers Bell and covered the bag.
Now, it seemed that his decision was right. Compared to the other injured cultivators, he was practically fine besides some backlash he had suffered after his artifact was destroyed.
The Ancient Exotic Artifact, Mountains and Rivers Bell, had reached the end of its life. Yang Kai could only console himself in such a way. However, it wasn’t the time to be sorrowful. The Golden Crow had come back to life after feigning death, so he was still in grave danger. If he couldn’t flee from this place, he would end up dead as well.
Looking around, he realised that Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang were hiding in a far corner. Despite their pale faces, they seemed to be in excellent condition as there were no injuries on their bodies.
It must have something to do with the fact that Yang Kai had warned them earlier. When the barrier around the platform was broken, everyone else charged forward, while Yang Kai, Wei Que, and Tao Rong Fang retreated. When the Golden Crow’s True Fire erupted, the people closest to the platform were the most affected, while the flame’s power weakened as it expanded.
[Should I join them?] If Yang Kai had two Open Heaven Realm Masters as his companions, he would stand a better chance of surviving.
Right after the thought flashed across his mind, a murderous intent permeated from the centre of the hall.
A horrified Yang Kai turned his head, only to see the Golden Crow standing on the platform. The beast was staring fixedly at Madam Lan with its golden eyes, its gaze filled with endless hatred.
Apparently, the beast was aware that Madam Lan had ruined its plan. If it weren’t because she had summoned that umbrella, there wouldn’t be any living people in the hall by now.
As their eyes met, Madam Lan felt as though her Soul was being drawn out of her body, causing her to shiver violently. Then, a thought suddenly flashed across her eyes.
The Golden Crow, which was standing on the platform earlier, appeared before her eyes and lightly pushed out its claw.
A terrified Madam Lan hurriedly extended her slender hand to parry the attack as the illusory phantom of her Small Universe expanded and her World Force exploded out.
A violent force swept across the hall as Madam Lan was sent flying backwards like an empty sack. While in mid-air, she coughed up blood several times, dying her robes red. The Golden Crow also staggered backwards, almost unable to support its own weight.
After flipping through the air a few times, Madam Lan agilely landed on her feet and held her chest with her hand. Despite her pale face, her eyes appeared bright as she exclaimed, “The beast is already an arrow at the end of its flight! Everyone, please assist me!”
Earlier, she couldn’t ascertain the Golden Crow’s true strength; however, after trading blows directly, she realised that the beast wasn’t as powerful as she had imagined. Even though she couldn’t defeat it on her own, it also wasn’t easy for the beast to kill her.
At that instant, it dawned on her that the Golden Crow was really dying. The reason it had feigned death was that it wanted to attract people to come over and launched a sneak attack on them, which would deliver a harsh lesson for those who coveted its treasures. It also served as a warning for other people who intended to steal its things in the future. It had to be said that the beast was truly vicious.
The beast was like a lamp that was running out of oil, and its condition was exacerbated after it expended so much energy to cast its Golden Crow’s True Fire just now.
Unfortunately, even though Madam Lan had come to that realization, the others were not aware of what was going on. Upon seeing that Madam Lan, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was unable to bear the beast’s attack, and even spat blood upon impact, no one dared to move forward.
Even the other Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yuan Xiao Man, Ji Tian Xing, and Zhang Qi, only looked on from afar, let alone those Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
A tinge of mockery flashed across the Golden Crow’s gaze as it strode towards Madam Lan.
Madam Lan stared fixedly ahead as she bellowed, “What are you all waiting for? If I lose my life here, none of you will be safe! By then, all of you will be doomed! Rather than wait for death, why not join forces with me and deal with the beast now? Only by doing so do we stand a chance to survive!”
Upon hearing that, the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters traded nervous glances.
Usually, they wouldn’t mind sitting atop the mountain, watching the tigers fight. First Inn was truly powerful, but as long as they didn’t make a move against Madam Lan, her death would have nothing to do with them. However, if Madam Lan, who was the strongest among them, lost her life at this point, none of them would be able to face the Golden Crow. By then, just like what Madam Lan had said, they would be killed by the beast like ants.
While the Mid-Rank cultivators were still hesitating, two figures shot forward from the corner of the hall and landed beside Madam Lan. They were none other than Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang.
Wei Que said, “Madam Lan, we’ll assist you.”
Madam Lan gave him a grateful look and nodded gently, “Many thanks to you and your wife.”
Besides possessing courage, it was clear they also had trust in Madam Lan as they were the first ones to step forward at this moment.
Tao Rong Fang stole a glance at Wei Que and started blushing furiously, but she didn’t explain their relationship to Madam Lan. In her heart, she thought that even if she had to lose her life today, as long as she was together with this man she loved, it was worth it.
“Big Sister Lan, I’ll help you as well!” Yuan Xiao Man shouted and darted towards them.
Old Hong, Zhang Qi, and Ji Tian Xing nodded before they appeared beside Madam Lan.
With the help of the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, Madam Lan set her mind at ease and wore a smile, “You’ll not regret your decision.”
Old Hong shot a cold glance over those Low-Rank cultivators who were still hesitating, then he said grimly, “If you want to survive, come and help us defeat this beast. If any one of you dares to play tricks, this Old Master will kill you even if the Golden Crow doesn’t!”
It had to be said that deadly threats were more useful than benevolent requests at this point. At the very least, after Old Hong threatened them, these Low-Rank cultivators shuffled forward even though they were still reluctant.
At that instant, the Golden Crow was surrounded by the surviving Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The Golden Crow stopped in its tracks and looked around with a tilted head. There was no doubt that it was infuriated by the situation it was in. As the beast raised its wings and cried out, the Astral Wind, which could cut through gold and jade, surged at the cultivators from all directions. The Open Heaven Realm Masters hurriedly fended it off as clanging sounds were heard.
“Today, we either kill this beast or die trying!” Madam Lan took a deep breath as her chest heaved. Then, she raised her hand and summoned a silk ribbon, “Everyone, follow my lead!”
She knew that this kind of impromptu group was weak to pressure and if she couldn’t show them there was hope, none of them would have the guts to make a move against the Golden Crow. Therefore, she had to take the initiative so that the others became aware of the condition the Golden Crow was in.
The silk ribbon could be seen whipping about as the illusory phantom of a Small Universe flickered behind the agile Madam Lan. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, each of her moves was awe-inspiring. Her silk ribbon artifact kept lashing at the Golden Crow, causing it to stagger and shriek in fury. Although it would strike back from time to time, Madam Lan managed to dodge these attacks with ease.
Seeing this, Old Hong and the others were elated. Just like Madam Lan had said, the Golden Crow was indeed a dry oil lamp. If it weren’t so, this legendary beast wouldn’t have become so weak. Madam Lan alone was able to tie down the beast, and even though she appeared to be at a disadvantage, she wouldn’t be defeated soon.
Madam Lan alone was able to achieve this, so what if everyone in the hall made a move at the same time? There was no way the Golden Crow could survive.
At the thought of this, Old Hong shouted, “Madam Lan, allow this Old Master to assist!”
His chubby figure dashed forward as he pushed out his palm at the beast. Following that, Yuan Xiao Man, Zhang Qi, and Ji Tian Xing summoned their own artifacts and attacked.
Since the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had already made a move, the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters stopped hesitating and charged forward. At that instant, the hall descended into chaos again as all of them launched attacks on the beast using their Secret Techniques and artifacts.
In the corner of the hall, Yang Kai was hiding beneath the Shadowless Veil as he suddenly felt sorry for the Golden Crow. The powerful beast was born with the Sun Star and they grew together with a symbiotic relationship, eventually becoming one of the strongest beasts in existence. However, at this moment, it was oppressed by those who were much weaker than itself. The passing of time was not to be underestimated as even the strongest of beings would be laid low by it eventually.
The Golden Crow already had one foot in the grave, and its last explosion of power was mostly contained by Madam Lan’s artifact earlier, which was why it was exhausted. With that said, Madam Lan alone was still no match for the beast. However, over thirty Open Heaven Realm Masters had survived in the hall, and four of them were in the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Since all of them had joined forces, the Golden Crow was immediately put at a disadvantage. Judging from the current situation, it was just a matter of time before the beast truly fell.
Yang Kai smacked his lips. It wasn’t certain who would reap all the benefits in the end as the value of the Golden Crow’s body was incalculable. Even though he had no idea what the carcass could be used for, he reckoned that it was probably superior to even the Sun’s True Gold.
[what a shame…] As his power was too weak, he could only watch the show from the side, unable to join in the fun. This helplessness only increased his desire to become stronger.
Although the Golden Crow was at a disadvantage on the battlefield, its True Fire was indeed overwhelming as no one dared to come into contact with it. When the pitch-black True Fire sprayed out, everyone would be forced to step backward, giving the beast another chance to catch its breath.
After a quarter hour though, a shriek was heard. It was a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who was struck by the True Fire as he dodged too late. Half of his body evaporated instantly. His companions quickly pulled him out of the battlefield, but he would probably end up dying a horrible death.
As time passed, many wounds were added to the Golden Crow. Blood that looked like magma streamed out of his wounds and dropped onto the floor, opening up holes in the ground.
Of the more than thirty Open Heaven Realm Masters who had originally participated in this battle, five had been killed while the rest of them were panting heavily, exhausted from the effort. Even the Mid-Rank Open Realm Masters were in a terrible state. Despite being more powerful than the others, they also had to endure greater pressure than the Low-Rank Open Realm cultivators. All of them had expended all their strength, and even Madam Lan’s face had turned pale.
Of all the people present, she bore the greatest pressure because the Golden Crow seemed to be targeting her specifically for ruining its plan earlier. If it weren’t because she was fairly powerful, and she had many artifacts with her, Madam Lan would’ve died already.
Right then, Old Hong suddenly shouted excitedly, “Hang in there. This beast is running out of energy!”
The Golden Crow’s eyes had lost their earlier vigour as they appeared turbid now. Countless wounds had formed on its body, and it no longer appeared imposing. It was indeed in the last moments of its life. Despite the fact that the beast was staggering, it never allowed itself to collapse to the ground. As the beast swept its eyes over the crowd, it still didn’t have any regard for them despite the fact it was dying. That was its pride as an ancient beast.
Just then, Madam Lan dashed towards the beast as her silk ribbon whipped out at it.
The Golden Crow seemed to have the intention of dodging the attack, but it had no more energy left to do so. The silk ribbon directly struck its neck, and the cracking sound of bones was immediately heard. Upon impact, the Golden Crow was sent flying towards the corner of the hall.
After the strike, Madam Lan also faltered as she almost fell to the ground.
With a loud boom, the Golden Crow fell to the floor and slid forward for a long time before finally stopping.
Despite that, no one had the guts to go over and check it. That was because the Golden Crow had feigned death once already. Before they could make sure that it was really dead, no one wanted to make the same mistake again. If the beast spat out a jet of Golden Crow’s True Fire again, they wouldn’t be able to resist the attack.
The sounds of panting were heard reverberating around the hall. At the same time, all of them fished out Spirit Pills from their Space Rings and stuffed them into their mouths, hurriedly refining them to restore their energy.
Right in front of everyone’s eyes, the Golden Crow remained unmoving on the ground.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai, who had been hiding the whole time, felt his face twitching as he silently cursed. This couldn’t be helped, as the Golden Crow was just one step away from him. He had never expected that Madam Lan would push the beast towards him with her final blow.
Yang Kai found himself in quite an awkward position as it was too late for him to leave and everyone’s attention was now focused on that spot as they scanned the beast with their Divine Senses. If he moved now, he would be exposed.
[What should I do? If the Golden Crow is really dead, those guys will come over to check it and snatch it. I’m very close to the beast, so I probably can’t hide from the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters once that happens. How should I explain myself if they ask me what I’m doing here?]
While he was in a dilemma, the Golden Crow in front of him suddenly moved. Then, in a slow and firm manner, it got to its three feet.
Yang Kai felt a sense of coldness rising within him as goosebumps rose all over his body. Even though the Golden Crow appeared battered, it could still kill Yang Kai as easily as an insect.
Yang Kai prayed in his heart that the beast wouldn’t discover him, but to his dismay, the Golden Crow set its eyes on him instead of Madam Lan and the others as he was closer.
Following that, the Golden Crow lowered its head and stared fixedly at Yang Kai with its golden eyes.
They were only a single step apart, and Yang Kai could even feel the beast’s breath on him. As their eyes met, he knew that the beast must have discovered him.
He couldn’t hide from Madam Lan using the Shadowless Veil, so how was it possible that he could conceal himself from a mature Golden Crow? Therefore, he quickly put on an expression that suggested that he was harmless. With a face filled with sincerity, he forced an ugly smile at the Golden Crow.
Naturally, the Golden Crow parted its beak as a scorching aura exuded from his mouth. A wisp of fire could faintly be seen, and the aura of death soon engulfed Yang Kai.
[Damn it!] Yang Kai was enraged because he had pleaded with the beast in such a pitiful manner to let him off, but the Golden Crow still mercilessly decided to roast him in return.
At the critical moment, Yang Kai realised that he couldn’t wait for the beast to spit its Golden Crow’s True Fire, so he hurriedly summoned a golden feather and infused his strength into it. As a golden light expanded as another ferocious aura undulated.
From a nearby spot, the expressions of Madam Lan and the others, who were vigilantly watching the Golden Crow get up, changed drastically.
They were wary that the Golden Crow would use the same trick of playing dead, but now, it seemed that even though they hadn’t managed to kill him with the last strike, the beast was indeed on the brink of death. However, why had a ferocious aura appeared all of a sudden at this point?
As their eyes trembled, they saw a golden chicken expanding right in front of their eyes. The gigantic chicken radiated a golden glow, and its figure seemed able to cover the entire sky. Its might, which seemed no weaker than that of the Golden Crow, caused everyone to shudder.
“Mie Meng!” Old Hong exclaimed as Zhang Qi and Ji Tian Xing felt their eyes popping out and Yuan Xiao Man and Madam Lan parted their lips in shock.
The minds of all these Open Heaven Realm Masters had turned blank as they couldn’t think clearly. They couldn’t understand why a Mie Meng had appeared in this place all of a sudden. Where had it been until now? How did it sneak into this place?
However, Madam Lan soon realised that something was off and yelled, “It’s not the real thing, it’s just a Divine Ability!” Despite the fact that it wasn’t the real thing, they were still unable to oppose it.
Mie Meng lowered her head and looked down at the Golden Crow. Following a strange cluck, it landed a peck on the beast with its sharp beak.
With a crack, a big hole was formed in the Golden Crow’s head, and after it staggered slightly, it collapsed to the ground as all its vitality left its body. It was really dead this time.
If the Golden Crow came across Mie Meng when it was still at full strength, it could definitely defeat the latter. Nevertheless, the Golden Crow was on its last breath. Earlier, it had used a trick to kill some Open Heaven Realm Masters, who coveted its treasures, causing it to expend much of its remaining energy. Then, it had spent a long time battling against Madam Lan and the others, so it didn’t have much strength left.
Therefore, it was totally powerless to resist Mie Meng’s attack, so it wasn’t surprising that it had been killed.
After killing the Golden Crow, Mie Meng’s figure rapidly dissipated and turned into golden wisps of light before disappearing, its imposing might also vanishing with the wind.
“Hmm?” Old Hong widened his eyes and gazed at the spot where the Golden Crow had collapsed in shock. That was because there was a young man, who appeared quite embarrassed, standing beside the corpse. At that moment, Old Hong couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you?”
He had never seen this young man before and was quite surprised to learn that the latter’s aura was very weak. It was apparent that the young man wasn’t even an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai felt his brow twitching fiercely. He had no choice but to use one of the feathers given to him by Mie Meng, which caused the Shadowless Veil to lose its effect, revealing his figure.
He had managed to remain hidden for so long, but in the end he was still exposed, which made him feel quite helpless.
However, it wasn’t the time to think about it. Since he had been exposed, he had to immediately flee from this place. At the thought of this, he solemnly cupped his fists and called out respectfully, “Madam Lan.”
Old Hong and the others turned to look at Madam Lan, thinking that she was close to the young man. Nevertheless, after successfully diverting their attention, Yang Kai quickly summoned his Six Fated Paths Bag and stuffed the Golden Crow’s corpse into it. Without pause, he then disappeared from the scene.
Although Yang Kai had no idea what exactly the Golden Crow corpse could be used for, it didn’t stop him from snatching it first. It was the reward he obtained after sacrificing a feather from Mie Meng, so there was no way he wouldn’t take it away with him.
When he brought Ruler of the Dawn Great General to look for his family in the past, Mie Meng had given him three golden tail feathers. Since he was still weak, the three golden tail feathers were extremely valuable as they could be said to be his safety charms. If it weren’t because he was left with no other choice, he wouldn’t have used one here.
However, when faced with the Golden Crow’s attack, he had to use it no matter what; otherwise, he would have lost his life.
As Yang Kai moved, Space Principles around him undulated. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that after the Golden Crow died, the space around the hall had also been unsealed, which allowed him to use Instantaneous Movement.
There was no time for him to identify a direction, so he simply ran first.
Forget about poking the hornet’s nest, Yang Kai had practically smashed and stomped on it. The Open Heaven Realm Masters in the hall widened their eyes in disbelief, then they became shocked and incensed. They had paid a hefty price to deal with the Golden Crow, and even some Low-Rank cultivators had sacrificed their lives during the battle. Now that the Golden Crow was finally killed, a little brat suddenly appeared and took their trophy away.
It wouldn’t have mattered if that person was powerful enough, as the weak had no rights before the strong, but the crux of the problem now was that this boy wasn’t even an Open Heaven Realm Master! How dare he have the guts to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth?
Old Hong and the others were especially enraged. Although each of the Mid-Rank cultivators had respectively obtained one Sun’s True Gold, nobody minded having more good stuff. More importantly, the corpse of a fully grown Golden Crow was undoubtedly more valuable than a piece of Sun’s True Golds.
“How dare he!” Old Hong bellowed as his Divine Sense swept out like a tidal wave and immediately locked onto Yang Kai’s location. As his chubby figure moved, he disappeared from the spot to chase after the young man.
Without saying a word, Zhang Qi and Ji Tian Xing used their own Secret Techniques and disappeared from the hall.
Yuan Xiao Meng turned to look at Madam Lan and asked, “Big Sister Lan, are you not going to pursue him?” Without waiting for Madam Lan’s reply, she shot into the air and broke through the ceiling, forming a path that led to the outside world. Seeing that, the Low-Rank cultivators quickly followed her.
Back inside the hall, Madam Lan sported an awkward expression as she wiped away the blood at the corner of her lips.
In fact, she did know who the young man was. He had stayed in First Inn for four months now, so he could be considered a valued customer. She even recalled that his name was Yang Kai. She had no idea how he snuck into the Golden Crow Divine Palace and hid inside the outer hallway. At that time, she didn’t expose him because she thought that he was just a reckless youth who was trying to secretly obtain some treasures by taking advantage of an artifact that could conceal himself. Given her strength as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, she had seen through his concealment at a glance. They were not close to one another, so she didn’t intend to butt in on his affairs. Another reason she didn’t expose him was that this was how First Inn did business. Given the choice between being on good terms or offending, they would always choose the former.
However, she had never expected this young man would end up looting the biggest treasure in the hall.
The Golden Crow corpse was even more precious than the Seventh-Order Sun’s True Gold that she had obtained. With that said, she also found this whole situation dreadfully interesting. Just where did a mere Emperor Realm youth get the guts to pull such a stunt in front of so many Open Heaven Realm Masters? Wasn’t he worried that the corpse would become a hot potato for him?
“I wonder if you’ll be able to keep both the treasure and your life!” Madam Lan let out a breath before looking up. Yuan Xiao Man had already opened up a tunnel in the ceiling to the outside world, so she didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it as she shot into the sky.
At this moment, Yang Kai was fleeing like his backside was on fire, pushing his Space Principles madly. A group of Open Heaven Realm Masters were racing after him like a long snake, with Old Hong and the other Mid-Rank Masters at its head.
Seeing how infuriated they were, anyone who had no idea what was going on would have thought that Yang Kai had dug up and defaced their ancestral tombs.
It was the first time Yang Kai had been hunted down by so many Open Heaven Realm Masters, which consisted of people from numerous great forces in the neighbouring Great Territories. He was also getting a taste of how difficult it was to deal with numerous Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Although he made use of Space Principles to flee from the hall, Yang Kai soon realised that a few auras had locked onto him from afar. Without even needing to think about it, he was certain that it was the Mid-Rank Masters who were tracking him.
After a few Instantaneous Movements, Yang Kai managed to widen the gap with his pursuers a little, but he still couldn’t shake them off.
Furthermore, Old Hong and the others soon realised that Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, so they hastened their pace, quickly shortening the gap between them. Yang Kai was significantly weaker than them, so how could he outpace these Open Heaven Realm Masters?
Fortunately, his Space Secret Techniques were unparalleled when it came to escaping and fleeing; otherwise, he would’ve been captured already.
At the back of the chase group, Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang from Great Moon Province sported awkward expressions as they communicated with each other via Divine Sense.
“Senior Brother, if I’m not mistaken, that’s Yang Kai, right?” Until this moment, Tao Rong Fang still couldn’t believe what she had seen in the hall. How did Yang Kai appear there?
Wei Que slightly nodded his head, “That’s him.”
“Why did he…”
“I don’t know why either, but he’s in big trouble now.” A solemn Wei Que heaved a sigh, “He’s so foolish. Since he had a way to conceal himself, he should have just remained hidden until the end. Why did he expose himself? He … He even…” Wei Que sighed again.
In that situation, even he wouldn’t have dared to snatch the Golden Crow’s corpse, not to mention that Yang Kai wasn’t even an Open Heaven Realm Master yet. By grasping such a hot potato, he was basically courting death. Now, it was such a magnificent sight that dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters were chasing after him. Even though Yang Kai was a Master of Space Principles, there was no way he could escape.
“That’s a shame. He was a good boy. It was thanks to him that Ah Sun was able to meet up with us,” Tao Rong Fang sighed.
“He also saved our lives,” Wei Que said.
A puzzled Tao Rong Fang asked, “When did he save our lives?”
“When the Golden Crow originally revived after feigning death, you were curious why I suddenly dragged you away, right? It was because that boy sent me a warning that the Golden Crow might still be alive at the last moment. Looking back, if it weren’t because of his timely warning, the consequence would have been dreadful.”
Recalling the situation from earlier, Wei Que couldn’t help but shudder. When the Golden Crow’s True Fire exploded, half of the Open Heaven Realm Masters were killed in an instant. If he and Tao Rong Fang hadn’t retreated much further than the rest, Wei Que wasn’t certain they would have survived.
A shocked Tao Rong Fang asked, “He was already there at that time?”
Wei Que smiled helplessly, “I have no idea how he snuck into the hall or how he concealed himself until then. I guess he made use of an artifact. However, in that situation, only he was able to see the whole picture. Even Madam Lan and the other Mid-Ranks were completely attracted by the Sun’s True Gold, so no one had noticed that there was something wrong with the Golden Crow until it was too late.”
Tao Rong Fang seemed to be reeling from the shock and hurriedly declared, “In that case, we truly owed him a great favour. Senior Brother, he saved our lives, so now that he is in trouble, we can’t just stand idly by.”
A frustrated Wei Que replied, “Of course we can’t stand idly by, but I don’t even know how we can help him. In any case, we have to reach him quickly. That brat is so good at running away. I have the urge to break his legs.”
Tao Rong Fang burst into laughter, “It’d be wonderful if he could keep fleeing like this. At least he won’t be captured this way. However, I’m worried he won’t have enough stamina.”
They were still charging forward while chatting, but the gap between the Mid-Rank and Low-Rank cultivators was still widening. Fortunately, the place was brightly lit from the remnant glow of the Sun Star, so they were not worried about losing them.
Just then, a roar that seemed able to shake the universe was clearly heard coming from afar, “Brat, if you still want to live, stop right now! Otherwise, once this Old Master captures you, I’ll let you have a taste of the cruellest torture in the world, making you beg for death!”
If it weren’t because he was left with no choice, Old Hong wouldn’t have resorted to threatening an Emperor Realm youth in such a way, because doing so was a great shame to his identity and status. However, this young man was truly adept at fleeing, and he had managed to seize the chance to widen the gap between them again. If the gap between them was shorter, Old Hong could have disturbed the space around him so that the young man could no longer use his teleportation technique, allowing Old Hong to reach him with ease. However, given the distance between them now, it would be useless for Old Hong to make a move as the young man could still smoothly teleport away.
As he spoke, Old Hong appeared infuriated.
Yang Kai, who was fleeing at full speed, naturally ignored him. He would have to be insane to stop at this point. Honestly speaking, Yang Kai was regretting his reckless actions right now. He had watched the good show for a long time, but none of the eight Sun’s True Golds went to him. In the end, he had even been forced to use one of Mie Meng’s precious golden tail feathers. Thinking that he couldn’t suffer such a big loss, Yang Kai rashly snatched the Golden Crow carcass.
Since he had already done the deed though, there was no way he could return the corpse to them now. Several Mid-Rank cultivators were chasing after him right now, so who could he even return the corpse to? No matter who managed to obtain the prize, the rest of the Mid-Rank cultivators wouldn’t let him off.
Since he would be targeted regardless, Yang Kai decided to just keep the corpse; after all, fortune favours the bold!
Seeing that Yang Kai outright ignored him, Old Hong became even more incensed as he bellowed, “Boy, you court death!”
After he finished speaking, his chubby body suddenly expanded and turned into a several-dozen-metres-tall figure. Then, he extended his hand in an attempt to capture Yang Kai.
Feeling a horrifying pressure from behind, Yang Kai turned his head, only to see a gigantic hand engulfing him. Fortunately, the distance between them was still too wide and the giant hand missed its target. Yang Kai’s neck shrank as he suppressed his urge to curse, drenched in cold sweat from nervousness.
After using such a Secret Technique, Old Hong, who was already injured from the battle with the Golden Crow, seemed to have expended too much energy and started coughing violently, his speed dropping noticeably as a result.
When Yuan Xiao Man whizzed past him, she said, “You should stop pretending to be tough when you’re already so old. Why did you even try to reach him from so far away?”
Seeing as she easily surpassed him, Old Hong felt a fury rising within him.
“Little Brother, can you wait for me? You’re running too quickly,” Yuan Xiao Man said in a sweet voice as she flew forward, causing Zhang Qi and Ji Tian Xing to furrow their brows.
“Little Brother, stop running. Where do you think you can go? Although the universe is wide, there’s no shelter for you. If they capture you, you’ll end up in a terrible state.”
Zhang Qi and Ji Tian Xing turned to look at Yuan Xiao Man with a sneer. It wasn’t like Yang Kai would be treated well if she managed to catch him!
“Stop chasing after me if you don’t want me to keep running,” Yang Kai yelled as he continued fleeing.
Yuan Xiao Man said, “Stop running, and we won’t keep chasing after you.” After she finished speaking, she hinted at Zhang Qi and Ji Tian Xing with her gaze. Seeing this, they nodded gently.
“Stop chasing after me, and I’ll stop running!”
Yuan Xiao Man sneered, “Little Brother, that’s too much to ask for, don’t you think? Since you refuse a toast, you must suffer a loss. Given your strength, you won’t be able to escape from us.”
Ji Tian Xiang then bellowed, “Brat, give the Golden Crow corpse to us now, and we’ll spare your life!”
“Good, good, good, I’ll give it to you!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, then he appeared hesitant, “But there are three of you here. Who should I give it to?”
“““Give it to me!””” Not surprisingly, all three of them shouted at the same time, then they traded glances as their gazes were filled with hostility. Every one of them was eager to slap the other two to death.
Yuan Xiao Man’s eyes darted about for a moment before she proposed, “Little Brother, if you give the Golden Crow carcass to me, I’ll let you join Mirror Flowers Water Moon Land. What do you think? Judging from your strength, it seems that you’ve just arrived in the Outer Universe. This is a place that is filled with danger, and you need a powerful background to survive. If you join Mirror Flowers Water Moon Land, I will ensure your safety.”
“You’ll let me join Mirror Flowers Water Moon Land?” Yang Kai sounded tempted.
Yuan Xiao Man replied with a smile, “I might look young, but I’m actually an Elder of my force, so I can definitely let you join. Moreover, there are many beautiful female disciples in my great force. If you’re interested in any one of them after you join, I can even act as a matchmaker for you.”
[Cheap slut!] Zhang Qi and Ji Tian Xing cursed in their hearts. In order to get the Golden Crow carcass, Yuan Xiao Man had even resorted to using this kind of trick, which was embarrassing for all the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
After giving it a thought though, they realised that it wasn’t so surprising. The Golden Crow’s corpse was extremely rare and if she could make this young man willingly hand it over, this kind of sacrifice was worth it.
“Are those female disciples as beautiful as you are? What if I’m more interested in you?”
Yuan Xiao Man’s expression turned cold as she secretly cursed at him for crossing the line, but she still replied smilingly, “That will depend on how capable you are. If Little Brother can make me fall in love with you, I don’t mind getting together with you.”
“Are you telling the truth?” Yang Kai sounded elated.
“Of course, I’m not lying.”
Seeing that they were still in the mood to flirt with one another in this situation, Zhang Qi sneered, “Brat, if you dare believe her, I can guarantee you won’t live to see the Sun rise tomorrow. Why don’t you join my Righteous Land? Although we don’t have many beautiful female disciples, I can give you my word that you will become a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.”
“Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?” Yang Kai exclaimed.
Zhang Qi continued, “Cultivators like us should focus on cultivation, while all other matters come second. Personal strength is the key to everything. As long as you become powerful enough, you can have any woman you want.”
“Sir has a point.” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly.
An enraged Yuan Xiao Man turned her head to shoot Zhang Qi a glare, “Why are you interfering in my plan?”
Ignoring her, Zhang Qi snorted and continued persuading Yang Kai by saying, “Little Brother, give the corpse to me, and I can swear on my Dao Heart that I’m not lying to you!”
What he had said was pretty sincere. After one swore on their Dao Heart, they wouldn’t dare to go back on their word. That was because if they did that, their Dao Heart would be tarnished and it would affect their pursuit of the Grand Dao.
Yuan Xiao Man couldn’t believe that Zhang Qi was willing to go so far and even forgot to rebuke him.
Just then, Yang Kai’s voice was heard coming from afar, “I can feel your sincerity, and am very tempted; however, there are still three of you. I’d like to know what the last one can offer me.”
Ji Tian Xing grinned, “I’ll give you a chance to live. How about that?”
Yang Kai replied, “That’s very insincere. Don’t you even think about getting the corpse from me now. I’d rather throw it away than give it to you!”
Yuan Xiao Man hurriedly nodded, “En, en, don’t ever give it to him. He’s a ruthless fellow, so if you give the carcass to him, you’ll only end up in a horrible state.”
Zhang Qi said, “Brat, we’ve said all we should. Think it over and quickly make a decision.”
“Please slow down and give me some time to ponder. I can’t even think clearly because of the pressure,” Yang Kai replied.
Zhang Qi said grimly, “I don’t think you’re sincere at all. Stop playing these kinds of childish tricks. I’ll repeat what she said. Although the universe is wide, there’s no place for you to take shelter. Hand over the Golden Crow to us now!”
Yuan Xiao Man snorted, “No one likes an obstinate man!”
As they spoke, they never slowed down as they continuously shortened the gap with Yang Kai; however, they were enraged by the fact that whenever they were close enough to him to make a move, the young man would use his Space Principles to teleport away before they could disturb the space around him.
They couldn’t figure out how a mere Emperor Realm Junior who was so adept at fleeing had suddenly appeared in 3,000 Worlds. All the Open Heaven Realm Masters found it extremely difficult to capture him.
One day later, Old Hong also rejoined them and from afar, they could feel Madam Lan’s aura closing in on them.
Madam Lan had expended most of her strength during a battle against the Golden Crow, so she only started pursuing them after resting for a while. Despite the fact that she had lagged behind at the start though, her true strength ensured that she could eventually catch up to them.
Half a day later, all five Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered together again as they charged forward across the Starry Sky.
Madam Lan gazed at the others with an awkward expression and asked, “Is that boy so adept at running away?”
Yuan Xiao Man said through clenched teeth, “I don’t even know where he’s from, but once I capture him, I’ll skin him alive and crush all his bones!”
Although the others didn’t say anything, their expressions suggested that they were fuming mad. That was because it would be a huge embarrassment for them if what happened on this day was made public.
Madam Lan said with a smile, “We’ll talk about it if you manage to capture him. I’ll see you soon.”
After she finished speaking, she suddenly dashed forward at an even greater speed, rapidly widening the gap between her and the other four. Seeing this, Yuan Xiao Man and the others felt unresigned, realising that the Golden Crow carcass would have nothing to do with them anymore. It couldn’t be helped though as they were weaker than Madam Lan, and even their speed was slower than hers. Regardless of how good Yang Kai was at running away, he could not possibly outpace a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even the four other Mid-Ranks didn’t think they could achieve such a feat.
As expected, Yang Kai became flustered upon seeing Madam Lan closing in on him. The other Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to deal with him after such a long time, but as soon as she arrived, Madam Lan immediately gave him immense pressure.
Given her incredible speed, it was just a matter of time before she would reach him even if he was a Master of the Dao of Space.
In the light of this reality, Yang Kai yelled, “Proprietress Boss, I stayed at your First Inn for four months and spent many Open Heaven Pills there. Is this how you treat all your guests?”
Madam Lan simply laughed, “Rest assured I just want the Golden Crow carcass and won’t do anything to you. Why don’t you stop running and pass the corpse to me? It will save both of us much trouble.”
Torn between fury and sorrow, Yang Kai protested, “As the First Inn Proprietress, do you also commit such atrocious crimes of oppressing the weak?”
Madam Lan replied, “This Queen does not represent First Inn now and is solely acting for her own sake.”
“Proprietress is truly insincere with her words! I’m warning you, don’t force me or you’ll regret it!”
Intrigued, Madam Lan curiously asked, “And just what can you do?”
“Just you wait!” Yang Kai said through clenched teeth as began fishing something out of his pocket.
The next instant, he raised his hand and hurled a bunch of small objects out in different directions. At the same time, he shouted, “There are ten Space Rings in total, one of them contains the Golden Crow’s corpse. It will belong to whoever gets it first and has nothing to do with me anymore!”
Madam Lan’s expression changed when she heard this and she secretly cursed at him for coming up with such a wicked and shameless scheme.
Yuan Xiao Man and the others frowned as well. Although they knew it was entirely likely that Yang Kai was just trying to divert their attention and that there was nothing in any of the ten Space Rings, they couldn’t just ignore the possibility either.
What if the corpse was really in one of the Space Rings? If they didn’t have a look, someone else would pick it up. Therefore, despite the fact that they were doubtful, all five of them still separated and shot in different directions.
Half a cup of tea later, all ten Space Rings had been collected, but after checking them, they realised that they were completely empty, without even a trace of the Golden Crow carcass.
Yuan Xiao Man gritted her teeth so hard they creaked before she roared, “I must kill that brat!”
Despite knowing that it might be a pit, she still had to jump into it, which infuriated her. She secretly swore that once she captured Yang Kai, she would let him have a taste of the cruelest torture the universe had to offer.
“I’ve given you the corpse already, why are you still chasing after me!? Must you ruthlessly kill me too!?” Yang Kai bellowed as his voice was filled with fury.
“Brat, how dare you still try to divert our attention!” Zhang Qi snorted.
Yang Kai said, “Why don’t you check the rings in each other’s hands then? One of you must have hidden it and is now trying to frame me!”
Madam Lan was so exasperated that she started laughing, “This brat is trying to sow discord among us…”
Yuan Xiao Man scoffed, “There’s nothing in the two rings I’ve obtained.” She turned to look at the others, who also said the same thing.
“Well, we don’t know whether he’s speaking the truth or not,” Yuan Xiao Man said impassively.
Zhang Qi shot her a glare, “Has all the nutrition for your brain gone to your chest or something? It’s true what they say, a woman with a big chest is always brainless. Madam Lan just said that he was sowing discord between us. Why have you still fallen into his trap?”
Yuan Xiao Man refuted, “Why are you cursing me? I was just saying, and I didn’t fall into his trap. Are you anxious because you’re hiding something from us?”
“Fuck off!” Zhang Qi bellowed.
Madam Lan sighed before she said, “There’s an easy way to ascertain the truth.”
Then, she shouted at the one in front of her, “Yang Kai, do you have the guts to swear on your Dao Seal that the Golden Crow is inside one of the Space Rings you just threw out? If you dare to make such an oath, we’ll stop right now!”
Yang Kai yelled, “I’ve given the corpse to you, so you have no right to make me swear on anything! Is oppressing others the only law in the Outer Universe?”
Ji Tian Xing guffawed, “Law? In the Outer Universe, strength is the only law. Since you have no power, you can only be oppressed by others!”
Yang Kai said through gnashed teeth, “Many thanks for your lecture!”
Nothing else needed to be said as they continued chasing after him. The carcass was obviously still in his possession. It had to be said that he had pulled a skilful trick on them as although he couldn’t change the outcome in the end, he had stalled for more time for himself at the very least.
Half a day later, all five Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were hunting down Yang Kai, appeared pleasantly surprised.
Yuan Xiao Man said, “He finally stopped?”
Old Hong became energised, “He must have run out of strength!” After all, Yang Kai was only an Emperor Realm Junior who had just condensed his Dao Seal. He could be considered fairly powerful as he was able to run for such a long time with so many Mid-Rank cultivators chasing after him; however, under such immense pressure, there was no way he could go on running forever.
All of their eyes brightened as they hastened their pace. Madam Lan charged forward at a greater speed and soon shook off the others, causing them to feel frustrated.
Presently, Yang Kai was standing in the void in the distance as he gazed at the figures who were dashing towards him. After letting out a breath, he fished out some pills and stuffed them into his mouth while hurriedly adjusting his breathing.
“Smelly brat!” Madam Lan’s voice could be heard coming from afar, “Why don’t you join my First Inn after this incident?”
Yang Kai was incredibly adept at escaping since he was an expert in the Dao of Space, which was why she became interested in a talented youth like him. Furthermore, regardless of how she put it, she was going to snatch the Golden Crow carcass from him. Those from First Inn would rather make friends than foes, and although she was doing this for her own sake, she was still going to forcefully take a valuable treasure away from him. Therefore, letting him join First Inn could be seen as a form of compensation. More importantly, Yang Kai had offended so many top cultivators this time, so without anyone’s protection, he would never be able to gain a foothold in the Outer Universe. Perhaps his corpse would even be found floating in the void tomorrow.
Hence, she found it necessary to ensure his safety after snatching his prize.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Join First Inn? What can I do after joining First Inn? I can’t cook.”
Madam Lan replied with a smile, “Since you’re so good at running, you can become a waiter for us.”
An amused Yang Kai said, “Proprietress, many thanks for the generous offer, but this Junior must decline. That’s not where my ambition lies, so I’m sorry for disappointing you.”
Madam Lan furrowed her brows, “Do you understand that you’re in big trouble? Without someone’s protection, you won’t be able to survive.”
“Of course I understand!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “However, I’m not used to letting anyone else decide my fate. So, Proprietress, we’ll meet again if there’s such a chance in the future. Farewell!”
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand at Madam Lan.
Madam Lan instinctively felt that something was off so she hurriedly exclaimed, “Wait!”
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t wait for her and in the next instant, he disappeared from the spot.
“Damn!” Madam Lan said through clenched teeth. She was so close to being able to make a move to seal off the space around Yang Kai, which would ensure that he wouldn’t be able to use his Instantaneous Movement again. However, she was still a short distance away from being able to do so. After Yang Kai used his Instantaneous Movement, the gap between them had widened significantly again, which would take her more effort to chase after him.
[What an ungrateful brat!] Madam Lan gritted her teeth. Following that, she released her Divine Sense in an attempt to locate Yang Kai, but the next moment, her expression changed drastically. That was because she couldn’t detect Yang Kai’s aura with her Divine Sense. The young man seemed to have vanished into thin air!
Her jaw dropped as her gaze filled with disbelief. Yang Kai had used Instantaneous Movement in front of her many times already, but there was a limit as to how far he could go, so she could always detect his aura and quickly locate him before continuing to pursue him. However, this time, he had completely disappeared.
[How did he do that? Can he really escape that far with his teleportation technique? If he was capable of doing that all along, he could have gotten rid of us a long time ago. Why did he wait until now to do so?]
While she was pondering on the issue, Old Hong and the others arrived, and after looking around, Old Hong asked, “Where is he?”
Madam Lan shook her head to mean that she had no idea.
Naturally, Old Hong and the others wouldn’t believe her; however, after releasing their Divine Senses, they were shocked to discover they couldn’t detect his aura anywhere. They were only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm while even a Sixth-Order cultivator like Madam Lan couldn’t locate Yang Kai, so this result was obvious.
“Big Sister Lan, did you capture that brat?” Yuan Xiao Man sized her up with a gaze full of doubt.
Torn between laughter and tears, Madam Lan landed a knock on the young girl’s head, “How I wish I had captured him. Unfortunately, he’s not in my hands.”
Yuan Xiao Man covered her head with her hands, “You could just say he wasn’t with you. Why did you hit me?”
As they spoke, Old Hong suddenly performed a hand seal as an abstruse aura fluctuated around him. The others turned to look at him, only to see that there was a translucent red thread on his finger.
Yuan Xiao Man’s gaze brightened, “Soul Tracing Silk! When did you plant it?”
Old Hong snorted, “I did it as a precaution, but I never dreamed I would actually need it.”
Previously, he had made a move against Yang Kai but due to the distance between them, he hadn’t managed to cause any real harm. Nevertheless, it was because of that move that Old Hong managed to plant a Soul Tracing Silk on Yang Kai’s aura.
Soul Tracing Silk wasn’t a very useful material, but it was an excellent tool to track people. As long as the target wasn’t too far away, the silk could point out their direction.
After Old Hong finished speaking, he activated the red thread, which then flew forward and showed them a direction.
They widened their eyes and turned around because the direction the silk pointed was where they were coming from earlier. In other words, Yang Kai had doubled back on them without their knowledge.
“Old Hong, are you mistaken? That doesn’t seem to be the right direction.” Yuan Xiao Man batted her eyes and gazed at him.
“Impossible!” Old Hong appeared embarrassed, “There’s no way the Soul Tracing Silk would make a mistake. Since it has pointed out a direction, it means that he must be moving in that direction.”
“But… we just came from there. If he’s really gone that way, how could we not be aware of it?”
It didn’t make sense. Given their powers, they should have detected him.
After giving it a thought, Madam Lan said, “That brat is skilled in Space Secret Techniques, but until now he only showed us a kind of instantaneous movement. I’m sure he still has other tricks up his sleeves. The Soul Tracing Silk from Old Hong is truly famous, so now that it has pointed out the direction for us, I’m sure there’s no mistake.”
“Shit!” Zhang Qi’s expression changed all of a sudden as he cursed.
“What’s wrong?” Yuan Xiao Man turned to look at him in shock.
Without looking at her, Zhang Qi stared fixedly at the other woman, “Madam Lan, I’m sure you know what’s in that direction.”
Madam Lan was startled for a moment before she realised what he meant and parted her lips, “First Inn! So, that’s what that brat is planning!”
An astounded Yuan Xiao Man said, “All this time he was planning to head to First Inn?”
Zhang Qi put on a bitter smile, “That seems to be the case. It’s no wonder that, over these past few days, he never seemed afraid or worried that he wouldn’t be able to escape from us. It’s because he already came up with such a plan.”
“That smelly brat is pretty interesting,” Madam Lan laughed heartily.
She could make a move on Yang Kai in the void, but if he really hid inside First Inn, given the inn’s reputation and guarantee to their customers, his safety would become First Inn’s responsibility. No one would dare to deal with him inside the inn, not even Madam Lan. Instead, she had to protect him lest he was killed by someone else. Nevertheless, the young man was too naive.
“Congratulations, Madam Lan.” Zhang Qi reluctantly cupped his fists at her.
Ji Tian Xing heaved a long sigh, knowing that the young man had made the wrong move. Not only was he walking right into a trap, but he had also made them lose any chance to snatch the Golden Crow carcass.
Yuan Xiao Man took Madam Lan’s arm and pitifully gazed at her, “Big Sister Lan, please bring me with you. I promise that I won’t compete with you. I just want to have a look.”
With a faint smile, Madam Lan extended a delicate finger and poked Yuan Xiao Man’s forehead as she said clearly, “In your dreams!”
A soft force suddenly exuded from her finger and pushed Yuan Xiao Man away. Seizing the chance, Madam Lan said, “I’ll take my leave now.”
A white light appeared from Madam Lan’s feet and soon engulfed her. After the white light diminished, she also disappeared from the spot.
“Universe Transference Law!” Yuan Xiao Man rubbed her forehead and returned to the others, “That boy is so foolish. Doesn’t he know about the Universe Transference Law? As long as Big Sister Lan is still in this Great Territory, she can use it to return to First Inn whenever she wants.”
“It seems like he just arrived in the Outer Universe, which is why he doesn’t know about the Universe Transference Law.” Zhang Qi sounded frustrated.
“What should we do?” Yuan Xiao Man turned to look at the others.
Without saying anything, Ji Tian Xing frowned and headed to First Inn.
Old Hong said, “Whatever the case, we can go over there to watch the show. Moreover, we each have a piece of Sun’s True Golds with us, so it’s not safe for us to move around. We’d better head to First Inn for now.”
Yuan Xiao Man nodded, “You’re right.”
After a short discussion, the four Mid-Rank Open Heaven Masters began flying back towards First Inn. This time, they were no longer in a hurry as Yang Kai had fallen into a trap. Given Madam Lan’s power, there was no way Yang Kai could escape from her.
They wondered what kind of expression Yang Kai would sport when he saw Madam Lan appear before him all of a sudden.
…..
Somewhere in the void, Yang Kai’s figure abruptly appeared. There was a Space Beacon hovering beside him, and after grabbing the Space Beacon, he finally let out a breath of relief. Earlier, when he threw away the ten Space Rings to divert their attention, he also secretly left behind a Space Beacon.
By using this Space Beacon, he managed to leap across a vast distance to escape the detection of his pursuer’s Divine Senses.
At this moment, the auras that had been locked onto him had finally disappeared. Knowing that his plan had worked, he was finally at ease. Then, he looked around and made sure that no one else was around before identifying the direction and charging towards First Inn.
Just like what the other Mid-Rank cultivators had surmised, he had been planning to head to First Inn all along. He could only feel safe by hiding in that place; otherwise, there was nowhere else he could go with the Golden Crow carcass in his possession. It wouldn’t be safe for him wherever he went.
As for what he would do after arriving at First Inn, he would have to see how things went.
First Inn was a building that was hovering in the void. Presently, it was completely silent in the hall. Since the Sun Star’s fire went out, First Inn was no longer hustling with noises as all their customers had left. Although some of them had returned to the inn, they were merely the disciples from those great forces. No one present was an Open Heaven Realm Master, so they didn’t dare to go anywhere. At this moment, they were taking a rest in their own rooms, which was why the shop boy and accountant had nothing to do. One of them was taking a nap on a stool, while the other was asleep with his head on the front counter.
All of a sudden, a figure shot out from the rear court, which stirred up a gale, and disappeared into the distance.
The shocked shop boy fell from his stool and widened his eyes, but there was nothing in sight.
Behind the counter, the accountant raised his head, and his eyes still appeared sleepy, “Was that Proprietress?”
The shop boy batted his eyes, “I have no idea as I couldn’t see it clearly. Hasn’t Proprietress gone to the Sun Star?”
After giving it a thought, the accountant nodded and fell asleep again.
…
Presently, Yang Kai was charging forward through the void. It had been a day since he got rid of the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, and he was getting closer to First Inn; however, for some reason, he had a foreboding feeling, as if a crisis was slowly creeping up on him.
He wouldn’t dare to ignore this feeling; therefore, he had been careful along the way and kept an eye on the surroundings in the void to prevent any danger.
After observing for a bit, he realised that there was no danger that awaited him. Besides the Mid-Rank cultivators that he had shaken off, he also hadn’t seen any Low-Rank cultivators so far.
At that instant, he suspected that he was being paranoid; after all, he had kicked the hornet’s nest and offended many great forces, creating a crisis he had no way to deal with.
A long time later, he became energised as First Inn, which was hovering in the void, came into sight.
[I’ve arrived at last!] He let out a long breath and decided that he would immediately take a shower and change into clean clothes upon entering the inn. Then, he would take a proper rest. Regardless of how turbulent the outside world was, the Golden Crow carcass was in his hands now. He would just have to look for potential buyers and become wealthy from it.
Not long after he set his mind at ease though, he felt all his bodily hair standing on end. Turning to look in a particular spot in the void, he yelled, “Who goes there!”
Upon finishing his words, he waved his arm widely and shot a Moon Blade towards that spot.
A slender hand appeared out of the void and accurately pinched the Moon Blade. Space Principles undulated around the fair hand, but they couldn’t cause the slightest harm. As the unknown person tightened her grip, the Moon Blade collapsed and disappeared.
Yang Kai felt cold all over his body as it was the first time he saw someone grabbing his Moon Blade with their bare hand. Regardless of who the person was, her power was clearly unfathomable.
Realising that he was unable to oppose this newcomer, he decided to flee immediately, but right then, he felt that the space around him be sealed off, making it impossible for him to use his Space Principles.
[I can’t escape!] Sweat streamed down his forehead as a curvy figure materialised from the void and came into his sight.
Upon making out her face, Yang Kai opened his mouth so wide that it was as though a fist could be stuffed into it. He couldn’t believe his eyes!
The person put on a faint smile as her blue dress perfectly outlined her hourglass figure. She seemed to be happy with his stunned reaction, so her smile became even sweeter.
“You…” Yang Kai stared hesitantly at her and frowned, “Are you Madam Lan’s twin sister?”
Otherwise, he couldn’t explain why Madam Lan would appear here to intercept him. Even though she was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there was no way she could return to First Inn before he did and hide her aura, awaiting his arrival.
The grin on the Proprietress’ face widened as she announced, “I am Madam Lan, and I don’t have a twin sister.”
“Impossible!” Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t believe such a ridiculous statement. As he looked around in a vigilant manner, he made one last attempt to weasel his way out of this predicament, “What is Madam Lan doing here? This Junior would like to return to First Inn now. Please step aside.”
Madam Lan smiled, “You know exactly what I’m doing here. Smelly brat, give that thing to me. My earlier proposal still stands, and I will give you appropriate compensation.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai sized her up like she was a ghost and asked, “You’re really Madam Lan?”
An exasperated Madam Lan snickered, “Could there be a fake Madam Lan or something?”
“But you…”
“That’s none of your business. Since I’m here, there’s no way you can return to First Inn. I don’t want to oppress you, so you’d better do what you’re told.”
An incensed Yang Kai said through clenched teeth, “You’re blocking my way, but at the same time, you’re telling me you don’t want to oppress me? Madam Lan, do you know no shame at all?”
Madam Lan’s face fell, “Brat, who are you calling shameless? If I was shameless, I wouldn’t have bothered talking to you at all and instead would have killed you directly.” After that, she calmed herself down though, she continued, “Yang Kai, it’s not a blessing for you to keep the Golden Crow carcass in your possession. I’m sure you understand the situation you’re in. Even if you can get into First Inn, can you hide inside forever? Only a powerful cultivator can protect such a treasure. Since you’re too weak now, the carcass only places a target on your back. Now, you’ve only come across a few Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, but when what has happened in the Golden Crow Divine Palace is made known to others, High-Rank Open Heaven Masters will surely come to investigate, and they won’t be as easy-going as I am.”
Yang Kai knitted his brows, knowing that Madam Lan was right. Just like what she had said, she could have made a move on him if she had intended to do so. Given the fact that she was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there was no way he could resist even a single attack; however, she didn’t forcefully take the carcass away from him and instead was doing her best to persuade him to willingly give it up. Considering all that, she could be considered a kind and righteous person.
“Think it over now, but there’s not much time left for you. I’ll be waiting here. Tell me your answer when you’ve made up your mind.” Madam Lan sighed and gave him a sympathetic look. This was the fate of the weak. Even though he had obtained a treasure, he wasn’t powerful enough to keep it.
Yang Kai shook his head, “There’s no need to think it over.”
Madam Lan scowled, “What’s your answer?”
“Many thanks for your offer, but I must refuse. I refuse to let someone else tell me what I can and cannot do. If you want the Golden Crow carcass, you’ll have to take it from me.”
Hearing that, Madam Lan was so exasperated that she started laughing, then she stared at him with a tilted head, “Are you sure you want me to make a move against you?”
“Come!” Yang Kai appeared solemn, as though he was determined to protect his treasure no matter the cost.
Madam Lan took a deep breath as her chest heaved, then she parted her lips and said, “Don’t worry. Although you’re not willingly giving it up, I’ll still compensate you.”
What she had said could be considered incredibly sincere, and after she finished speaking, she extended her slender hand towards Yang Kai.
Just then, she had a feeling of crisis descend upon her. Flabbergasted, she instinctively pushed her strength to defend herself. At the same time, Yang Kai chuckled, “Madam Lan, protect yourself!”
As a golden light expanded and her vision turned blurred. Following a series of clucks, a horrifying pressure fell from the sky.
Releasing her Divine Sense, she realised that the illusory phantom of a gigantic golden chicken was right in front of her as it looked down at her with an impassive gaze.
“Mie Meng!” Madam Lan exclaimed and dashed backwards, so infuriated that she almost spat blood.
Previously, Mie Meng’s Divine Ability had appeared in the main hall of the Golden Crow Divine Palace and dealt a fatal blow to the Golden Crow. After that, Yang Kai snatched the carcass and fled from the scene.
She had speculated that the appearance of Mie Meg’s Divine Ability might have something to do with Yang Kai, a kind of trump card that could save his life that he could only use once.
She never expected that he could use the same Divine Ability again.
Even if she was in peak condition, she would still have to retreat when faced with Mie Meng’s Divine Ability, to say nothing of the fact that she had been injured and had expended a great deal of strength to pursue Yang Kai these past few days.
Therefore, as soon as she detected the Divine Ability, she hurriedly retreated.
As Mie Meng was crowing, she extended her neck and pecked in the direction Madam Lan was fleeing. The movement was light, but the attack contained a power that could shatter worlds.
Madam Lan exclaimed as a flash of light descended upon her. After she sprayed out a mouthful of blood, her aura plunged. Fortunately, she had retreated in time and Yang Kai had given her a warning in advance, so she wasn’t at risk of losing her life. Turning her head, she saw Yang Kai shooting towards First Inn, almost at the entrance already.
Madam Lan was so incensed she screamed and extended her hand in his direction, “Smelly brat, you still dare try to flee?!”
Yang Kai, who was charging forward, felt a terrifying force swiftly approaching from behind, and before he could turn around to parry the attack, he was struck. At that instant, he felt his senses go numb as all his bones cracked, prompting him to hurl curses. Still, using the force of the impact, he crossed the last stretch of territory and landed on the front foyer with a loud thud.
Inside the entryway, the shop boy and accountant, who were napping, were stunned as they raised their heads to look around. Soon, the shop boy saw a man lying on the floor before him. Feeling that the figure looked familiar, he walked up to the man and turned him over, then he appeared stunned as he muttered, “Yang Kai?”
Blood streamed out of Yang Kai’s mouth as he coughed violently and waved his hand.
With a smile, the shop boy crouched down and poked him, “Hey, why are you back?”
Yang Kai had just stabilised his breathing when he was poked, which caused him to cough again. He looked like he was about to lose his life. Although Madam Lan hadn’t used her full strength to attack, it was still too much for the current Yang Kai to resist. A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her was truly formidable.
Grabbing the shop boy’s arm weakly, Yang Kai widened his eyes and said, “S-S…”
“Stop? I have never made a move on you.”
“Stay! I want to stay at your inn!”
Shocked, the shop boy questioned, “You want to stay here? This is a bandits’ inn, are you sure you want to stay? I remember someone who looked a lot like you claiming that he would never come here again when he last left.”
With a pair of widened eyes, Yang Kai gave it a thought and realised that he had indeed said so before. Forcing a smile, he said through clenched teeth, “I’ll stay!”
The shop boy turned to look at the accountant, “Do we have any rooms available?”
The accountant stuck out his head from behind the counter to have a look at Yang Kai, then he understood what the shop boy meant, “Yes, but only the best room is free.”
Then, the shop boy looked smilingly at Yang Kai, “Do you want the best room? It’ll cost a thousand Open Heaven Pills per night, and you have to pay in advance.”
The price Yang Kai had to pay had practically doubled, so how could they say they weren’t a bandits’ inn!? Despite that, he still stuffed a Space Ring into the shop boy’s hand, “Cut the crap! Damn it!” Forget 1,000, even if he had to pay 10,000 pills per night, he would still have to stay here. There was nowhere else he could go apart from First Inn in this wide universe.
“You still have some energy left to curse me?” The shop boy chuckled and straightened himself up. Then, he placed the Space Ring on the counter and motioned for the accountant to get a room for him. After that, he asked, “Who was it that hurt you? Your injuries look quite serious.”
“A crazy woman!” Yang Kai replied through gritted teeth.
“Who are you calling crazy?” A figure shuffled into the inn, her face pale and blood still leaking from the corner of her lips.
“Proprietress?” The shop boy was stunned, “What happened to you?”
He was fully aware of the Proprietress’ power and was certain no one in the neighbouring Great Territories could possibly hurt her. Furthermore, there was something wrong with the way she stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai snapped back at her by saying, “I’m just calling the one who wounded me a crazy woman!” Earlier, he had safely arrived at his destination, but he hadn’t expected that not only would he be intercepted by Madam Lan, but he also had to waste another golden tail feather from Mie Meng. There was simply no way he wouldn’t complain.
A malevolent aura exuded from the enraged Proprietress as she inched closer to Yang Kai and said smilingly, “Smelly brat, you’re pretty brazen.”
Seeing this, the shop boy hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Proprietress, please calm yourself. Don’t ruin our reputation!” If the Proprietress made a move on their customer here, the good name of First Inn would be severely tarnished.
Hearing this, Madam Lan frowned and stopped in her tracks. After glaring at Yang Kai for a while, she suddenly broke into a fit of giggles.
An exasperated Yang Kai said, “What are you laughing at? Aren’t you worried that your teeth might fall out?”
Waving her hand, Madam Lan took a seat to the side and kept a smile on her face. Although she was hurt after being caught off guard by Yang Kai, it was indeed rare for an Emperor Realm Master to have achieved all this under her watch. Her injuries weren’t severe in any case, and compared to her wounds, she was more interested in finding out more about Yang Kai.
In the 3,000 Worlds, no other Emperor Realm Master could have achieved what Yang Kai had done in the past few days.
As though alerted by the Proprietress’ aura, a few figures soon appeared at the staircase on the second floor.
The person at the front was none other than Meng Hong from Great Moon Province, followed by Old Fang, Dié You, Ah Sun, and the others. Upon receiving Wei Que’s order some time ago, they returned to First Inn and sent a message to the headquarters of Great Moon Province. That was the reason they were in this inn.
Upon seeing the battered Yang Kai, who remained paralysed on the ground, Meng Hong was stunned. However, just when he was preparing to go over and check on him, Yang Kai hurriedly sent him a transmission, “Don’t come over!”
Despite not knowing the reason, Meng Hong still stopped in his tracks.
“Pretend that you don’t know me,” Yang Kai secretly spoke to him, Dié You, and the others before looking away.
Old Fang and the others had heard his voice in their minds, and although they had no idea what was going on, they realised that Yang Kai must be in some sort of trouble.
Just then, the accountant had gotten the room ready so the shop boy helped Yang Kai up and passed him the key, “I’ll help you to your room.”
Without saying a word, Yang Kai just let the shop boy help him upstairs. When they were walking past Madam Lan, she said impassively, “Come to me when you have made up your mind.”
It was indeed noble of her to still keep her word at this point, and Yang Kai was no longer incensed, so he nodded and replied, “Many thanks, Madam. I was forced to make a move against you earlier. Please forgive me.”
Madam Lan waved her hand and fell silent.
After Yang Kai entered the room with the shop boy, he realised that it didn’t look like the best room at all. In fact, it was identical to his previous room in every way except that the price had doubled.
The shop boy helped him have a seat and said, “Just call me if there’s anything you need. I have my own things to do now.”
In response, Yang Kai nodded. After the shop boy left, Yang Kai fished out some pills and stuffed them into his mouth. Before he could refine them though, he heard someone gently knocking on the door.
Upon hoisting himself with difficulty and opening the door, he saw Meng Hong, Old Fang, and the others dashing into the room.
A worried Dié You asked, “Yang Kai, are you alright? Are your injuries serious?”
Yang Kai replied with a bitter smile, “It’s not so serious. I’ll recover in a few days.”
Certainly, Madam Lan hadn’t used her full strength when she pushed out her palm as she never intend to kill Yang Kai; however, she had apparently underestimated his physical strength, so she failed to completely incapacitate him. Instead, he made use of the force and leapt into the inn.
Any other Emperor Realm Master would have become paralysed after getting struck, allowing her to do whatever she pleased with him. Yang Kai might appear to be battered, but given his physical resilience, his injuries were not so serious.
To the side, Old Fang bellowed, “Who hurt you? Little Brother, just tell this Old Master who it was and I’ll get revenge for you!”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “Just forget about it.”
Old Fang refuted, “Little Brother, are you looking down on me? Although this Old Master may not be powerful enough, he is no coward. Even if I have to lose my life, I’ll certainly seek justice for you!”
A moved Yang Kai gazed at him and replied, “Old Fang, since you’ve said as much, I’ll tell you the truth. The person who hurt me is none other than Madam Lan! Go out now and beat her up for me!”
“M-Madam Lan?” Old Fang was shocked, “Which Madam Lan?”
“First Inn’s Madam Lan!”
Old Fang gulped and coughed into his fist before clapping Yang Kai’s shoulder, “Little Brother, it’s said that one is bound for great fortune after surviving a disaster. Since you’re alive and kicking, I think we should put off getting your revenge and come up with a plan first. By the way, why did you go missing on the Sun Star all of a sudden? We were worried about you, and we had been looking for you for a long time, but we still couldn’t find you in the end. Xiao Dié and Ah Sun were bawling their eyes out… Sii! Why did you pinch me?”
Yang Kai replied in a hoarse voice, “It’s a long story. Sorry for making all of you worry.”
Meng Hong knitted his brows, “How did you offend Madam Lan? Why did she attack you?”
“That’s a long story as well.” Yang Kai put on a helpless smile, “Senior Wei and Senior Tao will return to First Inn soon, when they do, you can just ask them about it.”
It wasn’t that Yang Kai wasn’t willing to tell them, but rather that it was useless to do so. Moreover, they would only become more worried. As for whether Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang would tell them what really happened, that wasn’t up to him.
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai warned, “I’m in a troublesome position, so from now on, all of you must pretend that you don’t know me; otherwise, you might invite trouble to yourselves.”
Upon hearing that, Meng Hong immediately realised the severity of the matter and nodded his head, “If there’s anything we can do to help, don’t hesitate to tell us.”
“Many thanks, Brother Meng.” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
They went on to talk for a while more before Meng Hong and the others took their leave. Yang Kai needed to recuperate, so they figured that they shouldn’t keep bothering him. Before leaving, Meng Hong even put down a bottle of healing pills on the table.
After closing the door, Yang Kai focused on healing his wounds and stopped caring about what was going on outside. Although the healing pills left behind by Meng Hong were not too precious, they were products from the Outer Universe after all, so they were still better than the ones Yang Kai had brought from the Star Boundary. After a few days, most of his injuries were healed.
However, during the same period of time, First Inn became bustling once again.
The Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters successively returned to First Inn and began asking around. Upon learning that Yang Kai was injured when he entered the inn, and that Madam Lan was the next to return, they became frustrated.
Since Yang Kai was injured, it meant that Madam Lan had made a move against him. In other words, she must have snatched the Golden Crow carcass from him, so it was pointless for them to come all the way here. Then, they secretly cursed at Yang Kai for making things difficult for them only to walk into a trap in the end.
Following that, the Low-Rank cultivators, who had survived the Sun Star’s dangers, returned to the inn as well.
Initially, they too had chased after Yang Kai, but due to their slower speed, they gradually lost sight of their target. With nowhere else to go, they decided to return to First Inn; after all, their disciples were waiting for them here.
Upon learning that the Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivators, as well as the Emperor Realm Master who had taken the carcass, were all in First Inn, they were astonished. However, after giving it a thought, they realised Yang Kai’s intentions and basically figured out what had happened next.
In one of the rooms, Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang were seated, while Meng Hong and the others were standing in front of them and reporting what they had seen.
After the briefing, Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang traded glances, then the former said with a smile, “That brat is indeed quite lucky to have survived.”
“Although he has survived, he’s in some big trouble now,” Tao Rong Fang sighed.
Meng Hong asked, “Martial Uncle, Martial Aunt, what happened on the Sun Star? How did Junior Brother Yang offend Madam Lan to the point she would attack him?”
Wei Que fell silent for a moment. Truthfully, he didn’t want to tell them, but he knew that this incident couldn’t be concealed. Even if he refused to tell them, the incident would be made known to everyone soon. By then, their disciples would also find out about it.
In light of that, he decided to briefly explain what had happened in the Golden Crow Divine Palace.
Hearing this story, Meng Hong and the others were utterly dumbfounded.
A horrified Old Fang stuttered to ask, “Martial Uncle Wei, you mean Yang Kai snatched the Golden Crow’s corpse in front of dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters and escaped with it?”
If it weren’t because Wei Que appeared solemn and serious, he wouldn’t have believed such a fantastical story.
Tao Rong Fang nodded, “That’s right. At that time, many Open Heaven Realm Masters chased after him, but his escaping speed was simply too quick. Low-Rank Open Heaven cultivators like us were quickly left behind by him while the Mid-Rank cultivators kept pursuing him. As for what happened next, we have no idea.”
Old Fang and the others traded shocked glances. Although they hadn’t experienced it, they could imagine what kind of dangers Yang Kai had gone through.
How bold must he be to dare snatch such a treasure from so many Open Heaven Realm Masters? More importantly, he actually succeeded!
Wei Que stared at Old Fang and asked, “Does Yang Kai have an artifact that can conceal him?”
At that time, Yang Kai had hidden inside the hall of the Golden Crow Divine Palace, and if it weren’t because the Golden Crow was pushed towards him at the end, he wouldn’t have been exposed.
Old Fang appeared hesitant as he didn’t think he should expose Yang Kai’s secret.
Seeing that, Wei Que said, “I was just asking. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Many thanks for your understanding, Martial Uncle,” Old Fang replied gratefully. Nevertheless, he knew that even if he didn’t tell them the truth, those Open Heaven Realm Masters had their own speculations.
“There’s one thing we haven’t figured out.” Tao Rong Fang frowned deeply, “Is the Golden Crow carcass still with Yang Kai? Or has it been taken away by Madam Lan?”