After taking the ring, Yang Kai scanned it with his Divine Sense and became dumbstruck. The Open Heaven Pills inside the ring were piled up like a mountain, and the glow radiating from the pills dazzled his eyes.
It was impossible for him to count them all at once, but from the look of it, there really should be 10 million pills.
At that instant, he still couldn’t believe that he had obtained 10 million pills so easily.
It was substantial wealth for anyone who had just arrived in the Outer Universe, and with the right connections, one could even buy a Sixth-Order material with this amount. Old Fang and the others could never have expected that Yang Kai would possess a ring that contained 10 million pills one day.
Although he was over the moon, he still remained calm, thinking that those from First Inn had really treated him well. After all that had happened, they still gave him such generous compensation, which made him feel somewhat guilty. After all, he had absorbed a lot of the Golden Crow’s True Fire, so he wasn’t sure if the remaining True Fire was enough for another person to condense their Fire Element. If it wasn’t enough, it would ruin that person’s cultivation for life.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t expose this secret, so he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
While Yang Kai was still lost in his thoughts though, the Proprietress said coldly, “Now that you’ve gotten your compensation, it’s time we talked about this Queen’s losses.”
A shocked Yang Kai lifted his head, “Your losses? What do you mean?” He instinctively had a bad premonition, and even the ring in his hands seemed to have become scorching hot.
The Proprietress sneered, “As I said, First Inn values our reputation deeply, so we have always been fair when it comes to doing business. Since you’ve given us some benefits, we naturally have to provide you with appropriate compensation in return. However, since you’ve also made us suffer some losses, we’ll need appropriate compensation from you. See, perfectly fair, isn’t it?” Then, she clenched her fist and declared, “Let us settle accounts now.”
The accountant stepped forward from the crowd and made some loud noises with the golden abacus in his hands.
Yang Kai became dumbfounded as he stared at the accountant. A moment later, the accountant was done with his calculation and presented the abacus to the Proprietress. With a sympathetic look on his face, he gazed at Yang Kai and announced, “Including the accommodation fee, you owe us twenty million forty-six thousand pills in total.”
The Proprietress nodded gently and fiddled with the abacus with her slender fingers, then she said impassively, “We’ll just round it down and make it an even 2o million.”
“Yes,” the accountant replied.
The Proprietress extended her hand, and before Yang Kai could react, the ring that contained 10 million pills was taken back by her. With the ring in her hand, she showed it to Yang Kai and demanded, “There are 10 million pills here, so you now owe us just 10 million.”
Yang Kai was astounded. Just a few moments ago, he became wealthy as he was dazzled by 10 million pills, but in the next instant, he owed the Proprietress 10 million pills for no apparent reason.
Then, he became incensed as he gritted his teeth and glared at her, “Is it fun to mess with me?”
The Proprietress gave him a look with her alluring eyes and replied dispassionately, “Do you think I’m messing with you? I don’t have the time to waste on such things.”
“What do you mean by this, then?” Yang Kai felt his fury rising within him like a volcano that would erupt at any moment. He secretly swore that if she couldn’t give him a satisfactory explanation, he would immediately summon his Azure Dragon Spear and stab it at her beautiful face. Regardless of whether he could defeat her or not, he would make a move first and deal with the consequences later. He still had a Mie Meng’s golden tail feather that could be put to use anyway.
“What do I mean?” The Proprietress was so exasperated that she started laughing, then she pointed in a particular direction, “See for yourself!”
Yang Kai turned his head around, but there was nothing special in sight. A moment later, he gazed at the Proprietress and asked, “What?” What was he supposed to look at when there was nothing over there?
The Proprietress said slowly through clenched teeth, “First Inn was destroyed!”
“What does that…” Before Yang Kai finished his words, he gulped down what he was about to say. With a frown, he soon realised what had happened, then he appeared helpless, “I didn’t destroy your inn, so what’s the point of settling accounts with me?”
The Proprietress snapped, “If it weren’t because of you, the inn wouldn’t have been destroyed! I’ve been in charge of the inn for 1,300 years without making a single mistake; however, because of you, my inn is now gone! Who else should I settle the score with?”
Yang Kai replied under his breath, “Look for those who actually broke down your inn…”
“Don’t worry. This Queen will never let those bastards off, but as you’re the main culprit, you have to take up most of the responsibility. I don’t think I’ve gone overboard by demanding 20 million pills from you.”
“You!” Yang Kai was infuriated, “Don’t go too far!”
Just then, a figure flashed across his eyes as he caught a whiff of a pleasant scent. The next instant, a slender finger was pointed at his chest as a dangerous aura fluctuated around the tip of her finger. Madam Lan narrowed her eyes and threatened, “I dare you to say that again.”
Yang Kai gulped as he looked down at the finger on his chest, then he minced his words and said, “Proprietress, can we discuss this? While I feel sorry that your inn has been destroyed, I never made a move or damaged a single piece of furniture, so I don’t think it’s righteous of you to try to extract wealth from me because of that.”
“You say I’m not righteous?” The Proprietress laughed in exasperation, “If you had accepted my offer from the start, none of this would have happened. How dare you say that it has nothing to do with you!?”
“I have the right to decide whether I wanted to accept your offers or not. As a business person, you couldn’t force me to agree to anything, could you?”
The Proprietress said, “No one was forcing you, and you indeed had a right to decide whether you wanted to accept my offers, but do you have the guts to say that the inn’s destruction has nothing to do with you?”
Yang Kai braced himself and replied, “No, I don’t think it has anything to do with me.”
The Proprietress examined him for a moment and started laughing. Upon withdrawing her hand, she swung her sleeve, “It’s fine even if you don’t admit it. No one can renege on a debt with me.”
Yang Kai balled up his fists and glared at her.
With a faint smile on her face, the Proprietress stared back at him with a mocking gaze. Behind her, Bai Qi kept hinting at him with his gaze to motion for him to calm down.
After taking a deep breath, Yang Kai suppressed his urge to summon the golden tail feather to make a scene, then he looked away, “I have no money!”
10 million Open Heaven Pills were an astronomical number for him. There was no way he could fork out so many pills.
Surprisingly though, Madam Lan simply said, “I don’t expect you to pay me now.”
“Hmm?” Yang Kai turned his head in shock, “Then… do you need a note of indebtedness or something?” It would be wonderful if he could flee from this place by leaving such a note. The Outer Universe was expansive, so he might not come across the Proprietress again if he was careful enough. Certainly, it wasn’t hard for the Proprietress to order her subordinates to look for him, but if he never showed up again, it would be easy for him to escape from her.
“What would I do with a mere notice of debt?” The Proprietress sneered and sized him up.
Then, she said impassively, “However, you can use your body to compensate.”
Yang Kai almost spat blood as he thought he had heard her wrong, “What?”
Ignoring him, the Proprietress ordered her subordinates, “Take him. We’re leaving.”
Upon receiving the order, Bai Qi and the accountant stepped forward and captured Yang Kai.
An astounded Yang Kai bellowed, “What are you doing!?”
While the accountant sported a poker face, Bai Qi kept winking at him, but it was hard to know what message he was trying to convey.
Madam Lan raised her hand and summoned an artifact that looked like a ship. The artifact expanded rapidly and turned into a several dozen metres long ship with three floors. Then, she flew towards a room on the top floor and stepped inside.
Those from First Inn subsequently boarded the ship and got to work. Yang Kai was dragged towards the ship by Bai Qi and the accountant.
Although the ship looked ordinary from the outside, Yang Kai could feel that it was of a much better quality than the ship from Great Moon Province, which wasn’t surprising seeing as it was the Proprietress’ artifact, so it must be good enough to match her status.
After a hum, the ship trembled slightly as a visible membrane appeared and surrounded it. The next instant, Yang Kai shuddered as he could feel the ship moving rapidly in a particular direction.
A baffled Yang Kai turned to look at Bai Qi, “Where are we going?”
Bai Qi shook his head, “I have no idea. Proprietress never told us.”
“You have no idea as well?” Then, Yang Kai shifted his attention to the accountant, who silently released him and shuffled into the cabin.
Bai Qi stretched his back, and upon seeing that Yang Kai appeared dejected, he patted his shoulder, “Are you still upset?”
“If you were me, would you not be upset?”
After giving it a thought, Bai Qi nodded his head, “I would’ve felt the same way; however, not everything is as simple as it seems. We should think positively.”
A frustrated Yang Kai replied, “I don’t know what benefits I’ll gain out of it.”
“Then look over there.” Bai Qi suddenly extended his finger.
Yang Kai looked in the direction he pointed and faintly saw a ship silently hovering in the distant void.
“What do you mean?” He asked in puzzlement.
Bai Qi grinned, “I have no idea which great force they’re from; however, if you left on your own just now, they certainly wouldn’t have let you go. I’m sure you can imagine what the outcome of that would be.”
Yang Kai frowned, “But the carcass was taken away by Senior Si Tu. It’s pointless for them to care about me.”
“True, but who knows whether you obtained other treasures from the Golden Crow Divine Palace? For example, things like Sun’s True Fires or Sun’s True Golds.”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he said through gritted teeth, “Outrageous!” Although he had no Sun’s True Gold, he had obtained quite a number of Sun’s True Fires, three of which were Fifth-Order.
Bai Qi patted his shoulder, “Proprietress might seem ruthless from your perspective, but she’s actually protecting you. Regardless of whether you’re willing or not, we have a business deal with you, so there’s no way we’ll see you falling into danger and stand idly by. If we really did that, our reputation would be tarnished.”
“In that case, should I go over and thank her?” Yang Kai snorted.
“That’s up to you,” Bai Qi shrugged.
A furious Yang Kai said, “Even if she’s well-meaning, what is she trying to achieve by making me owe her 10 million pills? She could have directly told me that she wanted to protect me.”
“Well…” Bai Qi scratched his chin, “I’m not sure about that, so you have to talk to the Proprietress. With that said, you’re indeed responsible for the inn’s destruction.”
Presently, Yang Kai was hesitating in front of a room on the top floor of the ship. A long time later, he summoned enough courage and knocked on the door.
A languid voice could be heard coming from the room, “Come in.”
Yang Kai forced himself to push the door open. Upon entering the room, he realised that the interior wasn’t luxurious; instead, it gave off a clean and fresh feeling. The scent that permeated was pleasant, but he wasn’t sure if it was the smell of sandalwood or bodily fragrance.
The Proprietress was nowhere in sight, so he figured she was in the inner room.
Upon pulling the bead curtains apart, Yang Kai saw the Proprietress lying on her side on a wooden bed. With one hand propping up her temple, she appeared languid as her clothes perfectly outlined her curvy figure.
Without looking at her, Yang Kai said impassively, “What do you want?”
Then, he fell silent and sized her up. They had frequently come into contact, but they mostly argued or fought one another, so he had never had a proper look at this woman before. Upon closer examination, he realised that the Proprietress was indeed strikingly gorgeous as every move she made had an innate charm to it. Even just lying there, she still appeared indescribably alluring.
It was no wonder that the customers at the inn would always try to flirt with her. No man in the world would ignore such an enchantress.
On the wooden bed, the Proprietress suddenly opened her eyes, “If you dare to keep staring, I’ll dig your eyes out!”
Yang Kai lowered his gaze and shuffled forward. While the Proprietress was dumbfounded, he climbed onto the bed and moved past her before lying on the other side; then, he spread his limbs and looked away as though he felt utterly humiliated, “Even if you can obtain my body, you’ll never have my heart!”
The Proprietress was astounded as what Yang Kai had done was simply too shocking. Even a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her was unable to react to it when he climbed into the bed all of a sudden. As though she had been stung by a scorpion, she jumped up and stood on the bed before glaring at him, so exasperated her entire body shook as she snarled, “What are you doing!?”
Yang Kai turned to look at her, “You said…”
Over ten breaths later, a pitiful shriek was heard. Following that, the door flung open, and Yang Kai shot out of the room like an arrow leaving the bow, crashing into the light barrier around the ship before he slid down miserably.
Covering his chest with his hands, he bellowed, “It’s you who didn’t make yourself clear! You said I could compensate with my body, but now you attack me? Why are you so unreasonable!?”
“Get lost!” The Proprietress yelled from the room.
“What’s going on?” Bai Qi and the others dashed out of the cabin after hearing the commotion. Then, they saw Yang Kai standing there with a furious expression. Two symmetrical dark circles around his eyes.
At that instant, they felt like they had seen a similar sight before.
“What are you all looking at? Get back to work! Now!” The Proprietress growled, upon which Bai Qi and the others shrank their necks and hurriedly left.
“Crazy woman!” Yang Kai cursed through clenched teeth before shuffling towards the cabin.
“What did you just say? I dare you to repeat that!” The Proprietress was heard yelling.
Yang Kai glared at the room on the third floor as his lips trembled for some time before he hung his head low, “A wise man does not fight against the odds.” Then, he dashed into the cabin and looked for an empty room.
Upon entering a room, he realised that it was spacious and had complete facilities.
Then, he sat down on the bed with his legs crossed and rubbed his black eyes as he felt completely incensed. When the Proprietress said that his body could serve as a form of compensation, he thought she wanted to bed him, but he hadn’t expected that it wasn’t what she meant at all. She simply wanted him to work for First Inn, slowly earning back his freedom from his 10 million Open Heaven Pill debt.
Although he had no idea how much money Bai Qi and the others received every month as salary, he reckoned that it wouldn’t be so easy to pay back 10 million pills. Therefore, he would probably be forced to work for that crazy woman for tens or even hundreds of years.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai let out a long sigh. There were some benefits he could gain by following the Proprietress. At the very least, a Sixth-Order Open Realm Master like her was powerful enough to ensure his safety; however, it was also dangerous to work for her. He had absorbed most of the Golden Crow’s True Fire to condense his Fire Element. If she found out about it in the future, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself.
Recalling the Golden Crow’s True Fire, Yang Kai became fervent. He had condensed his Fire Element in the Six Fated Paths Bag, but he hadn’t had an opportunity to examine himself. Now that he was free, he wanted to see what transformation he had gone through.
Thus, he emptied his mind and inspected himself.
Inside his Dao Seal, two wisps of light, one green and one black, could be seen swirling around. The green one was full of vitality, while the black one was quite low-key. Despite that, it contained an aura that seemed capable of burning down the world.
The Wood Element and Fire Element lived in harmony within his Dao Seal, which was why the two colours existed at the same time. Although it looked slightly odd, it gave off a powerful feeling.
The Golden Crow’s True Fire was immensely powerful, but Yang Kai had successfully absorbed it and condensed his Fire Element from it. He came to the realisation that the Proprietress was right to say that only a Wood Element that was strong enough could suppress the True Fire. If his Wood Element wasn’t strong enough, his Dao Seal would have been at risk of shattering after he absorbed the True Fire.
Once his Dao Seal collapsed, the foundation of his Martial Dao would be destroyed, and he would certainly lose his life.
Besides that, Yang Kai could also feel that his strength had increased. It then dawned on him that just like the Open Heaven Realm Masters, there was a gap in power between those who had condensed their Dao Seals. The reason for that disparity was how many of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements one had condensed.
Every time a cultivator successfully condensed an Element, their cultivation would increase significantly. Once a person managed to condense five Elements, there would be an exponential growth in their strength. Such a person was called a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master.
Only after splitting Heaven and Earth apart within their body would one be able to take another great leap forward in power.
Certainly, the growth rate was also correlated to the Order of the materials one absorbed. If a cultivator had condensed a single Third-Order material while another had condensed a Seventh-Order material, the latter would certainly be more powerful.
Yang Kai felt that his strength had increased considerably, but he hadn’t battled against anyone yet, so he couldn’t make a proper judgement. Whatever the case, it was good news for him. The incident at the Golden Crow Divine Palace made him desperately crave greater strength. He wouldn’t want to be helplessly hunted down by a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters again.
Next, Yang Kai decided that he wouldn’t easily use the Golden Crow’s True Fire unless he was left with no other choice; otherwise, his secret would be exposed.
Now, he had successfully condensed his Fire Element, and he was satisfied with the Order of the material. Although he wasn’t sure what Order the True Fire was, Yang Kai reckoned that it was at least Seventh Order.
Wood supported Fire, which then suppressed Earth. His next step was to condense the Power of Earth.
Yang Kai was immensely lucky to have obtained the Golden Crow’s True Fire, but where was he going to look for a Seventh-Order or higher Earth Attribute material? He was clueless.
A Seventh-Order material could possibly be bought for 150 million Open Heaven Pills, but Yang Kai severely doubted whether one could actually purchase such a material with just pills. Just like the Sun’s True Gold, once such a treasure appeared, countless top cultivators would come over and fight for it. Even if a great force possessed such a material, it would likely serve as a strategic resource and not be sold for any price.
Yang Kai couldn’t think of any item in his possession that could be traded for such a treasure with those great forces; furthermore, without being powerful enough, he had no right to make such a deal in the first place.
Therefore, it was pointless to think about it for the time being. In any case, his Fire Element had just been condensed, so he needed some time to stabilise it and adapt to his new strength.
The ship moved forward at great speed, but it wasn’t clear where it was heading.
While Yang Kai was meditating, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. With a frown, he got to his feet and opened it only to see Bai Qi holding a tray with delicate dishes and a jar of wine on it.
Upon catching a whiff of the aroma, Yang Kai forced a smile and stepped aside, “Come in.”
Bai Qi was startled for a moment before he said, “It’s not for you.”
A speechless Yang Kai asked, “Why are you here if these dishes aren’t for me?”
Bai Qi pointed at the ceiling, “The Proprietress wants it.”
A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “Since she wants it, you should go to her instead of coming to my place.”
With a sympathetic look on his face, Bai Qi explained, “She has given the order that you must deliver it to her.” Then, he pushed the tray towards Yang Kai and didn’t wait for his reply, “It’s your job now. Do it well.”
Yang Kai was rooted to the spot as Bai Qi left, and only after coming to his senses did he bellow, “Outrageous!”
Following that, he raised the tray in an attempt to smash it to the ground, but he didn’t have the guts to do so in the end. As his face twitched visibly, he thought that the crazy woman had started bossing him around as though he was really a shop hand in her inn.
After taking a deep breath, he suppressed his fury and stared at the dishes on the tray. Although he had the urge to spit on them, he was worried that the Proprietress might be monitoring him; hence, he didn’t do it in the end.
“What are you waiting for? Come up now!” The Proprietress’ voice suddenly rang out.
Yang Kai shuddered as he realized she was indeed monitoring him. Fortunately, he didn’t spit on the dishes on a whim; otherwise, he would be punished.
“I’m coming now. Stop rushing me,” Yang Kai replied in exasperation before leaving the room with the tray in his hands.
Upon reaching the top floor, he kicked the door open, but before he could enter, he was swept backwards by a gale.
“Didn’t your parents tell you that you have to knock before entering another’s room?”
The door was then shut with a loud slam, which almost smacked him in the nose. After blowing his top for a while, Yang Kai knocked on the door and asked through clenched teeth, “Is anyone inside?”
“Come in,” the Proprietress was heard replying from the room.
Then, Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered the room before putting the tray on the table, “Your food is here. Enjoy.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” The Proprietress questioned.
Yang Kai turned his head, “Of course, I’m going back to my room to have a rest. What else do you need?”
The Proprietress retained her languid posture as she pouted her moist lips at the table, “Fill the cup.”
While the Proprietress was watching Yang Kai, the corners of his eyes twitched as he picked up the wine jug and filled the cup for her. The Proprietress, who was lying on the wooden bed, then extended her slender hand.
Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he laughed in exasperation, “Why are you so lazy?”
She was obviously trying to make things difficult for him; however, since he was unable to defeat her, he had no choice but to present the cup to her. A straightforward Proprietress gulped down the wine and rubbed the cup with her fingers, then she shot him a glance, “Are you unhappy with it?”
Yang Kai looked up at the ceiling, “I wouldn’t dare to. Since I’m in your hands now, you can even kill me as you please.”
The Proprietress put on a smile, “Just say it out loud that you’re not happy. There’s nothing to be bashful about.”
Knowing that she loved to mock, Yang Kai decided to ignore her lest she became even smugger.
A languid Proprietress went on to say, “First Inn is famous throughout the entire Outer Universe, and many people are unable to join our inn even if they want to. Many people are jealous of you because you’ve managed to join us. Smelly brat, you should count your blessings.”
Yang Kai turned to look at her and put on a hollow laugh.
Staring at him, the Proprietress said, “You’re my subordinate now. Are you sure you want to treat me with such an attitude?”
An exasperated Yang Kai replied, “What kind of attitude do you expect from me, then?”
She replied, “I don’t need you to be obsequious to me, but you have to respect me at the very least. If others see you treating me in such a way, how am I supposed to discipline them?”
“This is just the way I was born.”
The Proprietress snorted, obviously displeased with his attitude; however, she didn’t reprimand him as she fell silent for a moment, “Where’s your home?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“How many family members do you have?”
“I can’t tell you.”
After getting the same reply over and over again, the Proprietress lost her patience as she waved her hand, “Go back now.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists and turned around to leave.
The Proprietress could be heard saying from behind, “From now on, you’ll be responsible for sending me three meals a day and cleaning my room.”
Yang Kai turned around to stare at her, only to see that she had hung her head low and fallen into a dazed state as she held the cup in her hand, as though she was pondering on something. He wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but the Proprietress in such a state made him feel that she was a frail woman, unlike the imposing Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that she usually was.
Gritting his teeth, he replied in a hushed voice, “Understood.”
Then, he returned to his room, and before he even sat down, Bai Qi pushed the door open, entered the room, and closed the door, his stealthy behaviour that of a thief as he whispered, “Did Proprietress make things difficult for you?”
Hearing that, Yang Kai landed a palm on the table and bellowed, “She goes too far!”
A shocked Bai Qi hurriedly took the other man’s arm, “What are you doing? Keep it down!” He was puzzled as to why Yang Kai was incensed, “Why are you mad? What happened?”
Yang Kai replied, “You have no idea how unreasonable she was. She wants me to send her three meals a day and keep her room clean. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she won’t lose her life even if she’s starved for a thousand years, but now, she wants three meals a day? What a joke! I’ve never served a woman before in my life! She’s clearly retaliating against me by making things difficult for me!”
Bai Qi persuaded him by saying, “That’s not true. The Proprietress has nothing against you, so I don’t think she’d intentionally make things difficult for you. She might appear to be sharp-tongued, but she’s actually a soft-hearted person. You’ll get to know her better after spending some time with her.”
Yang Kai sneered, “I’m afraid that she’ll torture me to death first.”
Bai Qi smiled helplessly, “There’s no way that’s going to happen…”
“Forget it. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Yang Kai raised his hand to stop him as he clenched his teeth, “Since she wants to mess with me, I’ll gladly accept the challenge. Let’s see who will be the last one standing.”
Life was peaceful for everyone in the following days. Although the Outer Universe was paved with danger, no one in the 3,000 Worlds had the guts to attack a First Inn ship as its markings were fairly distinct.
Yang Kai was busy every day as he had to send three meals a day to the Proprietress on time, and he would also have to retrieve the dishes and tableware after a while. He wasn’t even sure if the Proprietress had eaten anything as the dishes looked the same as when he sent them into her room.
Although he was frustrated, he still carried out his task in silence and didn’t speak to the Proprietress.
A few days passed just like that when one day, Yang Kai was meditating in his room when Bai Qi entered without permission again and stuffed an exquisite bamboo basket into his hands.
“What’s this?” Yang Kai asked.
Bai Qi explained, “In one hour, we’ll pass by a Universe World called Nine Nether Continent. There’s a place called Heavenly Mountain there. Go over and look for their Sect Master. After passing the basket to him, your job will be done.”
“Am I going there alone?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Bai Qi nodded, “En, you’ll be going there on your own. Come back quickly after you’re done with the task. Don’t mess this up.” Without waiting for Yang Kai to speak, he shuffled out of the room upon finishing his words.
Yang Kai was puzzled as he held the basket in his hand. With a frown, he pondered on the issue for some time, but he still couldn’t understand what was going on. Then, he examined the basket and didn’t find anything special about it. Although the basket was delicately weaved, there was no powerful barrier around it or any kind of imposing aura radiating from it; hence, it was clearly not an artifact. Instead, it looked just like the average basket that a mortal could use to carry stuff.
[Nine Nether Continent, Heavenly Mountain…] Yang Kai memorised the names.
After one hour, the ship, which had been flying non-stop for days, abruptly came to a halt. Yang Kai stepped out of his room and looked around from the deck, whereupon a magnificent Universe World from a distance came into sight. Despite the long distance, he could still feel the universe’s aura wafting around him.
[I suppose that’s Nine Nether Continent.] Upon that realisation, Yang Kai clenched the basket and flew off.
The distance between the ship and the continent was just right, half an hour exactly. Yang Kai arrived at the Universe World, and after breaking through the World Barrier, he descended upon the continent.
It wasn’t the first time Yang Kai visited a different Universe World. When those from Seven Wonders Land hunted Fang Tai down, he had the opportunity to experience the customs of a different Universe World. The world before Yang Kai’s eyes seemed to be more powerful than the one he had previously visited, on par with the Star Boundary at its peak.
At the very least, after he broke through the World Barrier and arrived at this world, he immediately felt some strong Divine Senses scanning him.
He was Void Great Emperor in the Star Boundary, so Yang Kai was quite familiar with such auras, knowing that it was the reaction from the Great Emperors of this world who had detected a top cultivator’s aura. That was the reason he felt his chest tightening. Although he was already much stronger than when he had just ascended to become a Great Emperor, he was currently in someone else’s territory. While those Great Emperors had the support of this Universe World, he had lost the Star Boundary’s protection, so the power he could use was limited. If he really got into a scuffle with those Great Emperors here, he would suffer a setback even if he was a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
While Yang Kai was pondering on how he should reveal his identity and purpose of visit, those powerful Divine Senses vanished into thin air.
One of the Divine Senses even showed him some kindness before disappearing, which caused Yang Kai to be puzzled.
While he was wondering what was going on, he saw a figure rapidly approaching from a distance. Following that, an old and gentle voice was heard saying, “Heavenly Mountain Sect Master, Bao Ze Tong, greets Special Envoy. Forgive me for not attending to you earlier.”
The elderly man was still in the distance when he uttered his first word, but by the time he finished, he was already standing in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai lifted his head, only to see a burly old man with a ruddy complexion smiling at him. The old man didn’t look like anything special, but Yang Kai could sense a familiar aura coming from him. Apparently, the old man was a Great Emperor of this world, and judging from his aura, he figured this old man was the one who showed him kindness earlier.
Yang Kai hadn’t expected that the Sect Master of Heavenly Mountain would be a Great Emperor, but that made things easier for him. He was just thinking about whether he should ask around to find out where Heavenly Mountain was, but now that the Sect Master had personally come over to meet him, it saved him the trouble.
However, why did this old man just call him ‘Special Envoy’? Suppressing his doubts, Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Yang Kai greets Sect Master Bao. Sect Master Bao is too polite.”
Regardless of what Universe World they were in, only a small number of people could become Great Emperors by obtaining the World’s Recognition and Will. Although Bao Ze Tong appeared ordinary, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to show any disrespect when he was in someone else’s home.
“So it is Envoy Yang!” The smile on Bao Ze Tong’s face was amiable, “You’ve put this old man to shame having achieved such powerful cultivation at such a young age.”
“Many thanks for your compliment, Sect Master Bao,” Yang Kai replied politely before moving the conversation along, “To be honest with you, I’m here to look for you, but I don’t know the reason behind it. Can you tell me why you called me a Special Envoy?”
With a smile, Bao Ze Tong pointed at the basket in the young man’s hand, “The person holding this basket is the Special Envoy.”
Upon that realisation, Yang Kai looked down at the basket, “Things are easier now since you can recognise the basket.” It was no wonder that the Sect Master would come over right after he arrived at this place, that was because Bao Ze Tong could recognise the basket. Yang Kai even thought that Bai Qi had informed this elderly man about their visit beforehand.
Bao Ze Tong said, “Let’s go somewhere else for a chat. Come with me.” Then, he stepped forward and apologised to Yang Kai before grabbing the young man’s arm. The next instant, Yang Kai realised that everything around him seemed to be moving rapidly.
Seeing that, he knew that it must be a Divine Ability exclusive to these Great Emperors. Any Great Emperor born on the Nine Nether Continent could go anywhere as they pleased. This was different from his Space Secret Technique, but had a similar effect.
After just a short moment, the pair appeared before a splendid palace. Many cultivators had been waiting here and seeing the duo, they cried in unison, “Greetings, Sect Master, Special Envoy.”
Their voices were loud, and since so many of them had gathered together, it was apparent that they were well prepared. In response, Yang Kai cupped his fists at them.
A woman in an imperial dress emerged from the crowd and saluted Yang Kai before extending her hands.
Yang Kai turned to gaze at Bao Ze Tong with an inquisitive look on his face, with the latter replying with a smile, “Your basket.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai immediately passed the basket to the woman and nodded, “Many thanks.”
He had no idea what the basket was for as Bai Qi had not explained it to him; however, those from Heavenly Mountain were obviously aware of its purpose. In that case, he didn’t need to ask any questions as he just had to pass the basket to them.
After taking the basket, the woman shot into the air and disappeared. Yang Kai wondered where she was going, but before he could ask, Bao Ze Tong extended his hand and said, “Envoy Yang, please come in and have a chat with me.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Excuse me, then.”
After they entered the hall, Bao Ze Tong took the Master’s seat while Yang Kai sat down as a guest. Following that, a maidservant presented cups of tea and rare fruits to them. Both the tea and the fruits were aromatic. Besides the tea, Yang Kai had never seen the fruits on the plate before. Apparently, these were the fruits exclusive to this world. After having a taste, he realised that they were delicious; moreover, these fruits could help refine the strength of cultivators. Nevertheless, these fruits were useless to people like Yang Kai and Bao Ze Tong. Yang Kai just regarded it as trying out new delicacies.
As he drank tea and ate fruits, Yang Kai made small talk with Bao Ze Tong, and soon, the atmosphere became lively.
A moment later, Bao Ze Tong asked, “How has Madam been?”
Yang Kai reckoned that the elderly man must be talking about Madam Lan, so he nodded, “She’s well.” In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself almost too much. No other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters needed three meals a day.
Bao Ze Tong replied with a smile, “That’s good.” Then, he heaved a sigh, “In fact, life has been hard on her.”
Yang Kai lifted his head, “What do you mean?”
Although he had frequently come into contact with the Proprietress, he basically knew nothing about her. He only knew that she was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with a powerful background. Therefore, his interest was piqued when Bao Ze Tong said that life had been hard on her. He was resentful because the Proprietress had been tormenting him, but he was unable to defeat her. It would be wonderful if he could learn some gossip about her to make him happier.
However, Bao Ze Tong waved his hand and said, “Please excuse this Bao’s loose lips, Envoy Yang.”
At that, Yang Kai became frustrated. Since the elderly man wasn’t willing to tell him, it was inappropriate for him to keep asking, thus, he asked, “By the way, although I’ve received orders to come here, I have no idea what I should do. Could you please enlighten me?”
Without answering his question, Bao Ze Tong asked, “How long has Envoy Yang worked for Madam?”
“A few days…” Yang Kai flashed a bashful smile at him. Strictly speaking, he was forced to work under her; otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed that crazy woman around.
Bao Ze Tong nodded, “I see. In fact, it’s nothing important. We have a kind of spirit fruit on Heavenly Mountain called Heavenly Snow Fruit. It has a special taste and only grows here. Madam loves this fruit deeply, so she always has someone collect some from us whenever she passes by Nine Nether Continent.”
“Heavenly Snow Fruit?” Yang Kai arched his brow as the name sounded somewhat poetic. He wondered what kind of spirit fruit could hold the Proprietress’, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s, interest so greatly that she would make a point to collect some every time she passed by this place. He decided to have a proper look at them later.
It was then he realised why Bai Qi had passed him a bamboo basket. It was supposed to be used to carry these spirit fruits.
“Heavenly Snow Fruit…” As Bao Ze Tong spoke, he seemed to be walking down memory lane, then he became dejected, “Let’s not talk about it. Since Envoy Yang works under Madam, you will find out about it soon.”
The elderly man would never finish his words after he started a topic, frustrating Yang Kai to the point he wanted to pry open Bao Ze Tong’s mouth with his Azure Dragon Spear.
Bao Ze Tong realised this as well apparently, so he took the initiative and led the conversation to topics such as cultivation, which Yang Kai was more than willing to go along with.
Yang Kai asked him why, since he had become a Great Emperor, he had not broken free from the world’s bounds and headed to an even wider world. Bao Ze Tong replied with a smile, “This Bao is too old and lacks the ambition he once had. So what if I can break free from this world’s restrictions? What can I do after that?”
Yang Kai frowned, “Have you decided to stay on Nine Nether Continent forever?”
An optimistic Bao Ze Tong said, “This Bao was born and raised here, so I’m willing to protect it for the rest of my days.”
Yang Kai nodded as the Star Boundary came to mind. If the Star Boundary hadn’t been devastated by Mo Sheng, would he have come to the Outer Universe? Was he willing to stay in the Star Boundary for the rest of his life? He didn’t have an answer to these questions.
Half an hour later, the woman, who had taken the basket earlier, returned to the hall and respectfully put it down on the table beside Yang Kai before saluting him, “Sir Special Envoy, your Heavenly Snow Fruits are ready.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai nodded and examined the spirit fruits in the basket. He realised that Heavenly Snow Fruits were dark red and about the size of a baby’s fist. All of them looked similar in terms of their size, so it was apparent that they were carefully selected; after all, these fruits were for the Proprietress, so those from Heavenly Mountain wouldn’t dare to be negligent.
The fruits were aromatic, so he wondered what they tasted like. After rising from his chair, Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Sect Master Bao, since the fruits are ready, I’ll take my leave now.”
Bao Ze Tong nodded, “Safe travels, Envoy Yang. When you see Madam later, please send our regards to her and tell her that we’re grateful for the protection she has granted our world over the years.”
“I shall,” Yang Kai nodded his head and shuffled out of the hall with the basket while Bao Ze Tong respectfully saw him off.
It was easier for him to leave the Nine Nether Continent as, unlike the time he tried to enter, he didn’t have to break through the World Barrier. Apparently, Bao Ze Tong must have communicated with the World Principles to allow him to pass.
Meanwhile, in a room on the top floor of the First Inn ship, Bai Qi was standing in front of the Proprietress with his head hung low in an obsequious manner. As usual, the Proprietress had closed her eyes to take a rest as she was lying on her side on the wooden bed.
A long time later, she asked, “Has he not returned?”
Bai Qi shook his head, “No. I’m worried that he’s fled.”
The Proprietress didn’t respond to him.
Bai Qi went on to say, “He was never willing to join First Inn, so now that he has a chance, it’s expected that he’d flee. I’m worried that he won’t come back again.”
“Forget it, then,” the Proprietress replied impassively, “If he’s really fled, his life or death will have nothing to do with us anymore.”
A shocked Bai Qi said, “Proprietress, since you knew this would be the outcome, why did you allow him to go to Nine Nether Continent on his own?” Soon, he realised the reason though and nodded, “I understand. You were trying to find out whether he would flee?”
The Proprietress replied dispassionately, “It’s not so complicated. It just annoyed me to see him around me.”
Bai Qi was speechless at that, but just when he was about to say something, he saw the Proprietress opening her eyes as a glint flashed across her gaze.
“What happened?” He asked.
“He’s back,” The Proprietress closed her eyes again.
Bai Qi didn’t understand her at first, but he soon realised what happened as he turned around and left the room. Then, he stood on the deck and looked out at Nine Nether Continent. As expected, a moment later, a figure flew over rapidly. The person was none other than Yang Kai.
“He didn’t flee!” Bai Qi couldn’t believe his eyes as he muttered under his breath. He thought for sure that Yang Kai would seize the chance to escape from them, but Yang Kai had really returned. [Could this guy be a fool?] If Bai Qi were in his shoes, he would have run away.
A while later, Yang Kai landed on the deck as the light around him faded and revealed his figure. He raised his head, only to see Bai Qi staring dazedly at him.
Yang Kai looked around and furrowed his brow before asking, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Bai Qi crossed his arms and stroked his chin. As he sized Yang Kai up, he said in amazement, “I suddenly realise that you look like someone I once knew. Why hadn’t I noticed it in the past?”
“Who are you talking about?” Yang Kai asked.
Bai Qi shook his head and fell silent, then he pointed at the room on the top floor to suggest that the Proprietress was waiting for him.
After a snort, Yang Kai leaped towards the room and knocked on the door, “Proprietress, I’m back.”
“Come in,” the Proprietress’ languid voice was heard saying, upon which he pushed the door open.
On the deck, Bai Qi seemed to be lost in his thoughts, but he soon shook his head and walked back towards the cabin as he muttered, “Why didn’t I realise it before? Odd…”
Then, he entered the accountant’s room and told him about it. The accountant looked emotionlessly at him, “Are you blind or something? You drank with him pretty frequently, but you only realised it now?”
“You already knew?” Bai Qi was astounded.
The accountant replied, “I realised it the first time he walked into the inn.”
Upon that realization, Bai Qi said, “It’s no wonder Proprietress wanted him to stay. So that’s the reason. Has she been tormenting him because of that as well?” Then, he put on a bitter expression, “It’s all over, then. She just managed to put down what had happened in the past, but now she’s forced to recall those sorrowful memories. What should we do?”
The account replied, “I’ve been pondering on this issue recently, and I’ve finally come up with a way to permanently settle this problem. Do you want to know?”
“Go on.” Bai Qi nodded.
The accountant went on to say in a hushed voice, “You’ll look for a chance and bring him somewhere quiet, then we’ll kill him together.” After finishing his words, he slashed at his own neck with his hand.
The corner of Bai Qi’s eye twitched, “Is this what you mean by a permanent solution?”
The accountant said matter-of-factly, “Do you have another solution?”
“No, no, no!” Bai Qi shook his head, “We don’t even know what Proprietress really thinks about it. If we cause her even more sorrow, we’ll be eternal sinners.”
The accountant heaved a sigh, “That’s a problem as well. The most important thing is that we have to find out what Proprietress thinks. Why don’t you try to sound her out?”
Bai Qi shook his head like a pellet drum, “You know what she’s like during this period of time every year. We must not look for her for the next three days; otherwise, it’d be akin to courting death.”
Hearing that, the accountant couldn’t help but shudder as though he had recalled a horrible memory. In a resolute manner, he said, “I’ll go into seclusion for a few days now. Tell the others not to bother Proprietress for the next three days.”
“I’ve already told them about it, or rather, they’ve all worked for the inn for a long time now, so they don’t need me to remind them. In any case, I’ll also go into hiding now.”
In the room on the top floor, Yang Kai entered the inner room and put down the basket on the table before saying, “Proprietress, I’ve brought back your fruits. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take a rest now.”
He wondered why the Proprietress loved these Heavenly Snow Fruits so much as on his way back, he had tried one of them and realised that they were actually quite bitter and sour, making them basically unpalatable. However, Bao Ze Tong told him that the Proprietress would always tell someone to fetch a batch of these fruits every time she passed by Nine Nether Continent. In the end, Yang Kai figured everyone had their own preferences when it came to food and just left it at that.
The Proprietress remained unfazed on the wooden bed, so after waiting for a moment, Yang Kai cupped his fists and turned around to leave.
Upon returning to his room, he sat down with his legs crossed and started adjusting his breathing. Now, he had condensed the Fire Element in his Dao Seal. Although its Order did meet his expectations, he needed more time to stabilise it. This was not a process that could be rushed.
Furthermore, he wasn’t even sure where to look for an Earth Element material, so he reckoned that he’d stabilise the Element he had just obtained while he was waiting.
He could clearly feel that the Fire Element in his Dao Seal contained an aura that could burn down all existence. This kind of power was horrifying when used against enemies, but unfortunately, the features of Golden Crow’s True Fire were too conspicuous. It was different from his Wood Element, which mainly worked internally, so others wouldn’t notice it. His Fire Element might be exposed if he was not careful, and if that happened, it would be hard for him to explain himself.
Therefore, Yang Kai secretly decided that unless he was left with no choice, he wouldn’t activate the Fire Element in his Dao Seal. Just like his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, this power had become one of his hidden trump cards.
Two points of light, one green, one black, continued swirling around in his Dao Seal, forming an abstruse picture.
While he was meditating, Yang Kai suddenly heard a strange voice, which prompted him to open his eyes and carefully listen. The voice was indistinct at first, but after listening to it for a while, he realized that it was a woman who was weeping; however, the cry sounded suppressed. If it weren’t because Yang Kai’s senses had become sensitive due to the fact that he was fully focused, he wouldn’t have heard it at all.
Why was a woman heard crying in this expansive void all of a sudden? Furthermore, her voice sounded mournful, as though she had experienced some kind of deep, sorrowful tragedy. At that instant, Yang Kai had goosebumps all over his body.
He wanted to ignore it at first, but the voice just wouldn’t stop reaching his ears, which made it impossible for him to focus on his meditation. With a frown, he got to his feet and pushed the door open before looking for the source of the voice.
A moment later, he stood on the deck of the ship and looked up at the room on the top floor, thoroughly astounded. The woman’s cry was clearly coming from the room on the top floor; in other words, it was the Proprietress who was weeping.
Yang Kai thought that he had sensed it wrongly. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the Proprietress could be considered one of the top cultivators in the entire 3,000 Worlds, so how was it possible that she’d be secretly sobbing? However, the voice was indeed coming from the top floor.
“Serves you right!” Yang Kai snorted. He had been tormented by the Proprietress for the past few days, and although he had no idea why she was so sorrowful, the sobbing was like music to his ears, causing him to feel gleeful.
After listening to it for a while, he folded his hands behind his back and returned to his room in a calm and collected manner. At that moment, he no longer felt so irritated about what had happened these past few days.
One day later, Yang Kai, who was meditating on his bed, appeared incensed as he looked up at the ceiling with clenched teeth. [Is she not done yet?] He wondered what this crazy woman had come across that made her cry for the entire day. Although she was just secretly sobbing, she still unintentionally affected the others around her due to her powerful cultivation. Yang Kai was unable to keep calm and meditate, which was why he was currently grinding his teeth in annoyance.
Exasperated, he leapt off the bed, and a moment later, he appeared in front of the Proprietress’ room and knocked on the door, “Proprietress! Proprietress!”
She didn’t respond to him, but her sobbing was still heard coming from the room.
“I’m entering now,” Yang Kai said and directly pushed the door open.
After entering the inner room, he took a glance at his surroundings as his face twitched. The room, which was originally spotless, had become a mess with fruit pits scattered everywhere. All the tables and chairs had been turned upside down, and a thick smell of alcohol permeated the air.
Then, he looked to the side, only to see that half of the fruits in the basket were gone. Apparently, the Proprietress had eaten them; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been so many fruit pits on the floor.
Yang Kai wondered how the Proprietress managed to eat these fruits since they were so bitter and sour.
Following that, he turned to look at the wooden bed and frowned. In the corner of the bed, the Proprietress had her arms wrapped around her legs, and she had buried her head between her knees. As she was sobbing, her shoulders could be seen shaking.
Yang Kai had never expected to see such a sight. At this moment, the First Inn Proprietress looked so frail that it was as though she was a small kitten with no place to call home.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling slightly affected by this scene and secretly heaved a sigh. What had happened to her? Why did she end up in such a state? It seemed she was a woman in the end; despite her incredible strength, she would still be vulnerable at times.
At that instant, he no longer took pleasure in her misfortune as he began putting the tables and chairs straight while cleaning up the fruit pits and empty wine bottles.
After he was done with that, he stood in front of the wooden bed and gave it a thought. However, he still had no idea how to console her mainly because he didn’t know what had happened to cause all this. Thus, he sighed and clapped the Proprietress’ shoulder, “Proprietress, misfortune is a part of life. Let go of the past and stop crying.”
The Proprietress, who was sobbing, lifted her head and gazed at him. As their eyes met, the corners of his eyes twitched.
Presently, the Proprietress appeared extremely sorrowful as her alluring eyes were as swollen as a pair of peaches. Her face was covered in tears, and there were still teardrops wetting her long eyelashes. Moreover, her face had turned scarlet. By just looking at her, one could understand what it meant to be heartbroken.
Yang Kai forced a harmless smile as he looked down at her. The Proprietress’ vision slowly focused, and her frailty was soon replaced by ferocity as she pressed her lips together and then said through clenched teeth, “Smelly Brat, it’s you!”
“Huh?” Yang Kai instinctively had a bad premonition. It seemed that the Proprietress was thoroughly intoxicated, but how could a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master even get drunk?
“How dare you come back!?” The Proprietress questioned resentfully, her gaze filled with tears and grievance.
“What?” Yang Kai was no completely baffled.
The next instant, he felt a grip on his arm. He lowered his gaze, only to see that the Proprietress had clenched his arm as a violent force gushed into his body. At that moment, his expression changed drastically as he felt like he was a leaf that had dropped onto a raging ocean. He was completely unable to use his energy, and faced with the imminent storm, he could only be resigned to fate.
He hadn’t expected that the power of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be so horrifying. While he was still shocked and dumbfounded, the Proprietress exerted more force with her hand and hurled him away, which caused him to fall to the ground with a loud crash.
Following that, she leapt off the wooden bed and pressed one hand against his chest to make sure that he was unable to resist; then, with her other hand and two legs, she attacked him like raindrops falling from the sky. As she beat him up, she bellowed, “Little bastard, how dare you come back! How did you even have the gall to show your face here? Why didn’t you just get yourself killed out there? Why did you have to come back?”
Loud booms continuously rang out. Initially, Yang Kai was still able to parry her attacks, but he was soon overwhelmed. Left with no choice, he curled up on the ground and covered his face with his hands as he silently endured the unfathomable assault.
A long time later, the Proprietress seemingly became exhausted as she fell on her backside. While she was weakly thumping Yang Kai, she started bawling again.
Anyone would understand that she was truly heartbroken by just hearing her cry. Her tears streamed down her face like pearls slipping off a string as though she had suffered immense grievances.
Yang Kai lifted his head with a hideous expression, he wanted to curse, but upon seeing that she was in such a state, he couldn’t bring himself to. Resentfully, he questioned, “Crazy woman, why did you beat me up?”
He was well-meaning in his intent, coming all the way here to console her, but he had never expected that she would pin him to the floor and beat him. The fury in his heart couldn’t be alleviated no matter what.
In an abrupt manner, the Proprietress stopped crying. While her tears were still sliding down her face, she stared at Yang Kai and questioned darkly, “Did you just scold me?”
Her vision appeared blurred, so it was apparent that she wasn’t sober yet.
“So what if I scolded you?” Yang Kai yelled. Although he couldn’t defeat her, it didn’t mean he would meekly submit either, “Crazy woman! Crazy woman! Crazy woman!”
The Proprietress stared fixedly at him and put on a smile all of a sudden. Then, she wrapped one hand around his neck and pulled him towards herself, then she rubbed his head with her free hand, “Smelly Brat, you’re still the same!”
No one had ever rubbed Yang Kai’s head in such a way before, so he felt somewhat humiliated. Although he clenched his teeth and attempted to struggle out of her grip, he was unable to do so as he was going up against a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
“Since you’re back, don’t ever leave again! Come drink with me!” The Proprietress yelled as she grabbed a wine jar. Regardless of whether Yang Kai was willing to drink with her or not, she clenched his jaw and lifted his head a little before pouring the wine into his mouth.
The cold liquid slid down Yang Kai’s throat, and he immediately felt a burning sensation overwhelm him. In just a moment, a full bottle of wine had been poured into his stomach.
The next instant, Yang Kai felt like his stomach was on fire and he began seeing stars. His only thought was that this wine was ridiculously strong. Even someone like him, who possessed a Dragon Vein, became intoxicated immediately, so it was no wonder that the Proprietress was fully inebriated.
This was obviously no ordinary wine.
“I’m so happy you’re back. Don’t ever leave me again.” The Proprietress was laughing and crying at the same time, so it wasn’t certain what had gotten into her. After making Yang Kai chug a bottle of wine, she picked up a Heavenly Snow Fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, “It’s your favourite. Eat up,” she muttered.
[No! I don’t like such bitter and sour fruit!] Yang Kai wanted to resist, but his body had turned limp because of the wine and his vision had become blurred, so the entire fruit was easily stuffed into his mouth by the Proprietress.
The next thing Yang Kai knew, he was seeing double, then triple. Trying his hardest to stay conscious, he struggled out of the Proprietress’ arms and scrambled towards the door. In a drunken manner, he desperately called out, “Old Bai, save me!”
Not long after Yang Kai started crawling, he felt a grip on his ankle. He reckoned that the Proprietress must have grabbed him, and in the next instant, he was pulled backwards.
“Let’s drink!” The Proprietress pried his mouth open and poured another bottle of wine into his mouth.
Soon, Yang Kai felt the world spinning around him.
A long time later, he opened his eyes as his mouth felt extremely dry while his throat was burning. At that instant, all he could see were pink bed curtains, which caused him to fall into a dazed state.
A moment later, vague memories from the previous night sprang back into his mind. He recalled coming all the way here to check on the Proprietress, then he was beaten up by her. Following that, he was forced to down several bottles of wine before he passed out.
His memory stopped at the moment when he was pulled backwards and forced to drink the second bottle. As for what happened next, he had not the slightest idea. Yang Kai seriously wondered what kind of wine it was that was so strong it only took two bottles to knock him out.
[Where am I?] After staring at the pink bed curtains for a long time, he came to his senses and realised that he was possibly lying on the Proprietress’ bed; after all, he remembered that these bed curtains were hung around her wooden bed.
Feeling a piercing headache, Yang Kai tried to rub his head to relieve the pain, but he soon realised that something was holding his arm down. After turning his head, he widened his eyes and instantly sobered up. At that moment, he felt extremely agitated.
It wasn’t a thing that had been pressed against his arm, it was the Proprietress’ head! Presently, she was lying beside him with her body curled up. She appeared to be having a sweet dream as there was a faint smile on her face. Yang Kai had no idea how long she had remained in this posture, but he knew it was long enough for his arm to go numb.
At that instant, his expression was transformed by horror.
The situation he was in was terrifying. It wasn’t that the Proprietress was ugly, far from it in fact as she was an alluring lady with a beautiful face and a curvy figure. Any man would have fallen head over heels for her and given anything for a chance to lie in her bed.
The crux of the problem was that she was the Proprietress! Yang Kai had been tormented by her in the past few days, and when he came over to console her, she even beat him up. If she found out that not only had he climbed into her bed, but they had also snuggled for a long time, he would probably be skinned alive.
Fortunately, she was still fully dressed while he, although somewhat dishevelled and battered, was also wearing all his clothes. In other words, they didn’t do anything when they were drunk, which allowed Yang Kai to relax ever so slightly.
The outcome wasn’t the worst at the very least. If they had really done something more, his life would be over. Despite that, they were still in an intimate position. Anyone would have misunderstood them if they saw them lying on the same bed. Whatever the case, Yang Kai reckoned that he’d better run away now.
With his mind made up, he held his breath and carefully pulled out his arm from beneath her slender neck. Following that, he cautiously moved past her and got out of the bed.
Looking around, he realised that wine bottles had been scattered everywhere, and the smell of alcohol still filled the air. Clenching his teeth, Yang Kai recalled hearing from someone before that too much wine could easily lead to trouble. He had always been a disciplined man, so he would exercise moderation whenever he drank, which was why he had never gotten totally drunk before. After getting forced to down so many bottles of potent wine, he finally had a taste of true intoxication.
Yang Kai had no time to clean up the room, so after shooting a glance at the Proprietress, who was still lying on the wooden bed, he clenched his fist at her and began tiptoeing out of the room. After gently opening the door, he dashed out of the room and carefully closed the door in silence. His behaviour was that of a common thief, and if he hadn’t been actively suppressing it, he would’ve heard his own heartbeat.
When he was done, he was finally able to relax. He reckoned that he’d better stay as far away from this place as possible and return to his room quickly. As he re-arranged his clothes, he took a leap forward and directly landed on the deck.
Raising his head, he saw Bai Qi standing in front of him with a bucket of hot water in his hand. As their eyes met, Bai Qi became astounded, “You…”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded as well. He felt extremely guilty when he bumped into Bai Qi, so he hurriedly adjusted his collar and said, “Brother Bai, it seems that you’re busy with work.”
“En,” Bai Qi subconsciously nodded.
“Good, then, I’ll be going back to my room now,” Yang Kai replied, then he placed his hands behind his back and shuffled towards the cabin.
A stunned Bai Qi watched him leave, then he shifted his attention to the room on the top floor. The next instant, the bucket in his hand fell to the ground as the hot water splattered everywhere.
As Yang Kai pretended to be calm, he returned to his room and brushed away the cold sweat on his forehead. Not long after he was seated, he heard a loud boom coming from the door. Following that, three men charged into the room with gloomy expressions on their faces, their eyes seemingly filled with murderous intent.
“What are you doing?” A shocked Yang Kai stared vigilantly at Bai Qi, the accountant, and the chef, who were inching closer to him, as he slowly stepped backwards.
Without uttering a word, the three men tacitly pounced on Yang Kai and pinned him down.
The accountant raised his golden abacus as though he was ready to strike while a glint flashed across the chef’s kitchen knife as he pointed it at Yang Kai’s head. Bai Qi even wrapped a white towel around Yang Kai’s neck twice and tightened it.
Yang Kai bellowed, “We can talk it out if you’re not happy with me! Why must you resort to violence!?”
Bai Qi lowered his figure and stared at Yang Kai as their faces almost came into contact. With a hideous expression, he said through gritted teeth, “Brat, I’ll ask you some questions, and you’d better answer me honestly. If you dare to lie, I’ll kill you immediately.”
“Then ask,” Yang Kai nodded. There were three of them while he was on his own, so he was unable to defeat them.
With bloodshot eyes, Bai Qi questioned, “Where were you last night?”
“Where else could I be other than inside a room?” He wasn’t lying as he was indeed in a room, just not his room.
“How dare you try to lie to us at this point? Show him what the consequences are!” Bai Qi shot a glance at the chef, who then raised his kitchen knife.
“Wait!” A horrified Yang Kai finally realised that these guys were serious. He would be seriously injured if he was hacked by the knife.
“You should’ve treasured the chance I gave you. I’ll ask you one more time. Where were you last night?” Bai Qi yelled.
An embarrassed Yang Kai felt speechless at that, “You already saw. Why are you still asking me this question?”
“What I saw might not be the truth. I want you to tell me yourself. Now, where were you last night?”
“I was… in the Proprietress’ room.” With a fawning smile, Yang Kai scratched his face and darted his gaze around. Right after he finished speaking, he felt that the towel around his neck became tighter, and a sharp knife was pressed against his head.
Bai Qi had exerted more force with his hands and with reddened eyes, he puffed out a hot breath through his nostrils and questioned, “Did you do it?”
“W-What do you mean?” Yang Kai found it difficult to breathe as he thumped the other man’s arms.
“I asked you whether you did it or not!” Bai Qi asked again through clenched teeth.
“No, I did nothing! The Proprietress and I did nothing!” Yang Kai defended himself with difficulty.
“Is that true?” Bai Qi didn’t seem to believe him. That was because the sight he saw earlier made him fall into his wild thoughts. It was morning when Yang Kai dashed out of the Proprietress’ room with dishevelled clothes, so Bai Qi couldn’t help thinking that something untoward might have happened between them.
“It’s definitely true!” Yang Kai hurriedly stuck out three fingers and swore to the Heavens.
Bai Qi examined him for a long time before the redness in his eyes faded. Then, he pulled the towel away from Yang Kai’s neck and stared fixedly at him, “Tell us what happened. If you dare to lie to us, we’ll never let you off!” After finishing his words, he clenched both ends of the towel and straightened it.
The accountant shook his golden abacus as the beads clacked with one another while the chef swayed his kitchen knife as a cold glint flashed across it.
Yang Kai covered his neck and coughed for a bit. With an apprehensive expression, he gazed at the three men in front of him and replied in a hushed voice, “Actually, I don’t know what happened either.”
“You don’t know?” Bai Qi glared at him with a furious expression, “Tell us what you do know then!”
A helpless Yang Kai briefly told them what had happened. Last night, upon hearing a woman’s sobs that were coming from the top floor, he went over to have a look. After entering the Proprietress’ room, he realised that she was the one crying, so he instinctively tried to console her; however, he hadn’t expected to be forced to down two bottles of wine, whereupon he passed out. When he awakened, he realised that he was already lying on her bed. As for what had happened when he was unconscious, he really had no idea, and he wasn’t able to recall it.
Upon hearing this, the three of them traded glances and secretly communicated with one another using their Divine Senses.
“Old Bai, didn’t you tell him not to bother the Proprietress recently?” The accountant asked.
An embarrassed Bai Qi replied, “I forgot! After he sent the Heavenly Snow Fruits to the Proprietress, I immediately turned on the barrier around my room, so I couldn’t detect anything.”
The chef and the accountant nodded to mean that they had done the same. If Bai Qi hadn’t messaged them earlier, they would’ve hidden in their rooms for one more day.
With the kitchen knife in his hand, the chef stroked his chin and shot Yang Kai a look, “Do you think we can trust him? Old Bai, you said that you saw him leaving the Proprietress’ room with dishevelled clothes, and his behaviour was stealthy.”
“That’s right. I personally saw it,” Recalling the sight earlier, Bai Qi became incensed as he glared at Yang Kai.
The accountant gave it a thought and said, “I think we can believe what he has said. All of us have tried the Proprietress’ wine before. We couldn’t even take half a bottle before blacking out. If two bottles of wine were really forced down his throat, I guess he wouldn’t be capable of anything else.”
Bai Qi and the chef nodded as they shuddered, recalling how strong the wine was. They never wanted to have a taste of it again.
“Everything is fine, then?” The chef stared at them.
The accountant nodded, “I guess nothing had happened.”
“I’ll take my leave, then,” the chef said, “The Proprietress might awaken soon, so I’ll prepare some hangover soup for her now.”
“I still have some accounts to sort out. So I’ll be leaving too,” the accountant said and shuffled out of the room with the chef.
In the blink of an eye, two of the three men were gone. Only Bai Qi was left standing there.
Yang Kai was puzzled by the change in their attitude. Earlier, he saw them communicating with one another using Divine Senses and shooting him cold glances from time to time, he was quite unnerved. Regardless of what had happened, he had climbed into the Proprietress’ bed and slept beside her for a night. Even though he didn’t do anything, it still wasn’t righteous. He had come up with the answers to the questions Bai Qi and the others might ask him, but never expected to just leave like that.
Bai Qi turned to look at him and nodded, “It seems that it’s just a misunderstanding. We’ve wrongly blamed you.”
Yang Kai nodded his head as well, “Indeed, a misunderstanding!”
“En,” Bai Qi replied with a smile, “Good, why did you enter the Proprietress’ room to console her now? Usually, around this time, we would just go into hiding and stay as far away from her room as possible. It seems I should be blamed for not informing you earlier… Hey! What are you doing?” While he was speaking, he suddenly realised that Yang Kai had turned on the room’s barrier and rose from the chair. Then, Yang Kai punched his right fist against his left palm as he stepped towards him with a hideous grin on his face.
Bai Qi forced a harmless smile at him, “Yang Kai, it’s just a misunderstanding. Let the past be the past. Cultivators like us should look forward and move on… Don’t hit my face!” He directly squatted and covered his head.
“Misunderstanding? Misunderstanding you say? You brought two partners into my room to interrogate me just because of a misunderstanding? Did you know how sharp the chef’s kitchen knife was? If I hadn’t shouted in time, he would’ve diced me into quarters. How dare you tell me it’s just a misunderstanding?”
Yang Kai went on to beat Bai Qi to vent out the grievances he had suffered from in the Proprietress’ room.
After a long time, Bai Qi stood up straight in exasperation and bellowed, “Enough! If you keep beating me up, I’ll fight back! Do you seriously think I’m no match for you? I’m just restraining myself from making a move on you!”
Hearing that, Yang Kai directly landed a kick on him, which caused him to fall to the ground.
…..
“How could you be so ruthless?” Sometime later, Bai Qi, whose face was swollen and livid, was seated and rubbing his wounds as he glared at Yang Kai.
“This is nothing compared to how brutal the Proprietress was.”
“You deserved it!” Bai Qi sneered, then he gasped upon irritating his wounds.
“Does it hurt?” Yang Kai stared at him and asked.
An exasperated Bai Qi replied, “What do you think?”
An elated Yang Kai cackled for a moment before he straightened his face and said in a hushed voice, “I must ask you something.”
“What?” Bai Qi replied with displeasure.
After pondering on how he should phrase the question, Yang Kai said, “Do I look like someone who is close to the Proprietress?”
Bai Qi froze, then he pretended to be nonchalant and asked, “What do you mean?”
Yang Kai replied with a frown, “I have no idea…” Then, he recalled what he had gone through in the Proprietress’ room as some of the things she had said bothered him. At that time, she must have mistaken him for someone else, which was why she said that she was glad that he was back, and that he should never leave again. Apparently, she thought she was speaking to someone close to her whom she hadn’t met for a long time.
“Why would you ask this question if you have no idea?” Bai Qi sized him up.
Yang Kai didn’t know how to explain it to him, so he replied vaguely, “She just gave me a feeling that she had mistaken me for someone else. By the way, is she married?” He thought that this crazy woman might have regarded him as her husband.
“No. Proprietress has many admirers, but she’s never been interested in any one of them. I’ve also never seen her getting into a relationship with anyone.” Bai Qi shook his head and tried to change the topic, “What did she do that made you feel this way?”
“Well, nothing much. She basically beat me up and then forced two bottles of wine down my throat. I don’t know what happened next.”
“Didn’t she say anything?”
“She told me not to leave again since I’d come back.”
“Perhaps she was just spouting nonsense after getting drunk?”
Yang Kai nodded as that was the only reasonable explanation.
After they remained silent for a moment, Bai Qi asked, “Didn’t you think about running away?”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai turned to look at him in shock.
Bai Qi explained, “You were told to get some Heavenly Snow Fruits from Nine Nether Continent. Did the idea of fleeing never cross your mind? No one was with you at that time.”
“Where could I go?” Yang Kai snorted, “First Inn is immensely powerful and well-connected, so unless I go into hiding forever, I’ll be exposed and get caught. By then, I’ll end up in an even more miserable state.” Then, he suddenly understood something and stared at him with a frown, “So, it was a test for me by letting me go to Nine Nether Continent on my own?”
“Not really. You’re also a part of First Inn now, so you’re supposed to do something for the Proprietress,” Bai Qi chuckled.
While they were speaking, the door was pushed open from the outside. The chef entered the room and put down a basket on the table, “I’ve prepared some hangover soup. Take it to the Proprietress when she awakens.”
Yang Kai batted his eyes for a moment before he came to his senses, “Me?”
The chef shot him a glance, “Who else?”
A guilty Yang Kai said, “I don’t want to go. Chef, can you take it to her?”
The chef refused, “The Proprietress has said that you’re responsible for taking her three meals a day. I wouldn’t dare to disobey her orders.”
“Old Bai…” Yang Kai turned to look at Bai Qi and pleaded with him.
Bai Qi rose from the chair and patted his shoulder, “I’m not supposed to help you. Whatever happens though, you have my blessings.” Before Yang Kai could say anything, Bai Qi shuffled out of the room with the chef. Left alone in the room, Yang Kai stared at the basket on the table and fell into a dilemma.
He had no idea when the Proprietress would awaken, but he reckoned that it wouldn’t take long before that happened; after all, as the weaker cultivator, it had been half a day since he awakened, so there was no way the Proprietress, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, would be knocked out for significantly longer.
After just one hour, the bell in his room suddenly rang out.
Yang Kai was frustrated at the sound of this bell. Since the Proprietress told him to take her three meals a day and clean her room, Bai Qi had installed a bell, and whenever it rang, it meant that the Proprietress was summoning him. If he ignored it, the bell would never stop ringing.
Regardless of how reluctant he was, Yang Kai knew he had to face the music. After taking a deep breath, he picked up the basket and trudged towards the deck. Following that, he leapt onto the top floor and knocked on the door, “Proprietress.”
The Proprietress could be heard grunting in a languid manner. Yang Kai could even imagine what she looked like now.
“I’m entering now,” he said and pushed the door open.
He directly entered the inner room and lifted his head. Just like what he had expected, the Proprietress was seated at her table as she propped up her forehead with her hand as she rubbed her temples.
The room looked just as chaotic as when he left. Fruit pits and wine bottles were scattered everywhere, and the bed was a mess.
Staring at the curvy figure before him, Yang Kai still couldn’t believe that he had slept beside her, feeling extremely fortunate to have survived.
At that moment, he wondered if she remembered what had happened last night, and whether she would find fault with him.
With his heart filled with apprehension, Yang Kai stepped into the room and opened the lid before fishing out a bowl of soup from the basket. Then, he presented it to the Proprietress and said, “Chef has prepared some hangover soup for you. Drink it while it’s warm.”
The Proprietress grunted lethargically and closed her eyes before falling into her thoughts. A long time later, she pulled the bowl of hangover soup towards herself and picked up a spoon. After she puffed out some air to the spoon, she started drinking the soup.
The way she drank soup was elegant. Although she was suffering from a hangover, she still hadn’t forgotten her manners. In a way, she was oddly attractive.
After drinking the soup for a while, she suddenly said, “Give me a massage.”
“Huh?” Yang Kai was apprehensive when she suddenly said that, so he was unable to react to it.
“I’m suffering from a headache. Give me a massage.” The Proprietress raised her hand and pointed at her head.
A speechless Yang Kai circled around her and started rubbing her temples from behind.
As she continued drinking soup, she questioned, “Why are you so obedient today?”
Yang Kai realised that he appeared overly guilty. That was because he wasn’t sure if she remembered what had happened last night, so he quickly said, “I just don’t want to argue with you since you’re hungover. As a woman, is it appropriate for you to get this drunk?”
After gulping silently, he then asked probingly, “What if someone took advantage of you when you were unconscious? You would be unable to resist.”
“That person would suffer a horrific death then,” she replied dispassionately, but her tone sounded menacing enough.
“I’m saying what if. There are brazenly licentious people out there.”
“You were pretty restrained at the very least.”
Yang Kai froze as he almost coughed up blood. After another hard gulp, he asked, “You… remember?”
“If you remember, how could I not?” She continued having her soup, “But I don’t remember much.”
Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to utter one more word lest he say something wrong. It was said that silence was golden, so he decided to quietly rub her temples. Nevertheless, he felt so anxious that it was as if someone was pointing a blade at his back.
“Don’t tell anyone what happened last night,” the Proprietress warned.
Yang Kai secretly thought that he had already exposed the secret. He was threatened by Bai Qi and the others at that time, so he had no choice; however, he wouldn’t dare to reveal that to her, so he nodded repeatedly, “Of course, I won’t tell anyone.”
After she was done with the soup, she said, “Clean up the room and prepare some hot water for me. I want to take a bath.”
Without saying a word, Yang Kai got to work. Soon, he finished cleaning up the room and left with the basket. A while later, he returned with a basin of hot water and poured it onto her bathtub.
Suddenly, he realised that after the incident last night, he was unable to rebuke the Proprietress anymore as he felt extremely guilty. Although he was bossed around like a servant, he didn’t dare to get mad at her.
While waiting outside the room, he heard the woman taking off her clothes, and following that, the sound of water splashing came from inside. However, he remained calm and collected as he didn’t dare to have any wild thoughts about her. As he looked into the void, his mind drifted elsewhere.
After she was done with the bath, Yang Kai helped her dispose of the bath water. Fortunately, he didn’t have to clean her clothes as she naturally didn’t allow him to. A maidservant from First Inn was responsible for this particular chore.
When the Proprietress emerged from her room, she appeared radiantly attractive. Upon seeing that, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state as though the woman before his eyes and the drunkard from last night were two different people.
Yang Kai watched attentively as the Proprietress ambled towards the gunwale and looked out at the colourful and endless void. She seemed to have fallen into a dazed state as though she was pondering on something.
Without disturbing her, Yang Kai entered the room and got rid of the bath water she had just used; then, he approached her and said, “Is there anything else you want me to do for you? If not, I’ll excuse myself now.”
The Proprietress didn’t turn her head as she said, “The universe looks beautiful.”
Yang Kai took a look and thought that the view was the same everywhere, so whether it was beautiful or not didn’t matter; however, he wouldn’t dare to respond like that, so he just remained standing behind her.
A long time later, the Proprietress waved her hand, “You may go now.”
After cupping his fists, Yang Kai turned around and left.
There were no more upheavals in the following journey. The only difference was that, since the incident, the Proprietress seemed to have gone through some kind of transformation. She stopped staying in her room all the time and would frequently visit the cabin and have a drink and play some games with Bai Qi, the accountant, and the chef. Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t be spared from joining them.
Bai Qi and the others were obviously used to this, while on the other hand, as a newcomer, Yang Kai was forced to drink after losing the games for the first few times. Gradually, he became adept at the games and started gaining the upper hand.
It could be said that Yang Kai had finally seen the other side of the Proprietress. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she could be considered incredibly amiable for being friendly to mere Emperor Realm Juniors like them.
One day, Yang Kai was meditating in his room when the door was once again pushed open without his permission. It was Bai Qi who barged into his room.
A speechless Yang Kai stared at him. He had told him countless times that he should knock before entering the room, but this guy refused to remember. Yang Kai even suspected that he was doing it intentionally.
“I won’t drink with you today,” Yang Kai waved his hand. He didn’t mind joining them and having a drink once in a while; after all, as long as he wasn’t given the Proprietress’ special wine, he wouldn’t get drunk. However, they had done it too frequently, so he was a little sick of it now.
“We’re not having a drink today. I’m here to take you somewhere,” Bai Qi grinned.
“Where?” Yang Kai looked doubtfully at him.
“A good place. Come with me,” Bai Qi beckoned to him.
Yang Kai frowned, but his interest had been piqued because of how Bai Qi was acting. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to leave the room with him.
Upon reaching the deck, Bai Qi shouted at the room on the top floor, “Proprietress, open the barrier!”
The Proprietress didn’t respond to him, but the next instant, a gap opened up at the light barrier, which had always surrounded the ship. Apparently, the Proprietress was able to control it freely.
“Let’s go,” Bai Qi took Yang Kai’s arm and shot forward. After they were gone, the gap was immediately sealed.
Flying alongside Bai Qi, Yang Kai turned his head and asked, “Where are we going?”
“There,” Bai Qi pointed in a particular direction.
Yang Kai looked in the same direction and soon became amazed. That was because there was a building that looked like a palace in this endless void. The palace didn’t look special, but it was obviously massive. Furthermore, it faintly radiated a golden glow.
“What is that?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Haha. You’ll find out about it when we reach our destination.” Bai Qi kept up his mysterious act.
Yang Kai pursed his lips and stopped asking. He reckoned that Bai Qi wouldn’t harm him so he decided to just wait and see.
After flying for one hour, they finally arrived at the palace. While they were still far away from the building earlier, Yang Kai had already seen many people moving around inside this palace, which made the place look bustling. Furthermore, a giant stone had been erected beside the main entrance, and a character had been engraved on it.
‘Universe’ was intricately carved on the stone, with strokes resembling soaring Dragons and flying Phoenixes. Obviously, it was a work by a Master carver.
“Is this a Universe Temple?” Yang Kai suddenly recalled what Bai Qi had told him before, which was why he attempted such a guess.
Bai Qi grinned, “You’re a clever brat. That’s right. This is a Universe Temple.”
“Why did we come here all of a sudden?”
Bai Qi replied, “Proprietress told me to bring you to this place so you can leave your Imprint here. It’ll be easier for you if you want to come back here in the future that way. Although you’re a Master of the Dao of Space, and you’re able to use a kind of teleportation, the void is extremely vast; therefore, the Universe Transference Law is more useful for travelling around.”
An elated Yang Kai said, “I’ll have to thank her, then.” He was already deathly curious when Bai Qi told him about Universe Transference Law and Universe Transference Seal some time ago in the inn. He wanted to visit those Universe Temples as quickly as possible, but he had no idea where they were. He hadn’t expected that he would see one so soon.
A moment later, the duo landed in front of the Universe Temple. Although it was called a temple, it was much larger than any palace Yang Kai had ever seen before. Moreover, he saw many cultivators exiting the temple, with no one entering the place like how and Bai Qi were doing.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai realised that this wasn’t so strange. These cultivators could reach this temple by using the Universe Transference Law, so they didn’t have to fly in from the outside. On the other hand, he had to go in this way because he had never left his Imprint in this temple before. Yang Kai reckoned that many first-timers had to do the same.
Two guards, who were clad in golden armour, stood on both sides of the entrance. One of these imposing men was holding a spear, while the other one had a sword in his hand.
Bai Qi secretly spoke to Yang Kai via Divine Sense, “Universe Temples are jointly operated by the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises, so these guards are also from these top forces. They’re all very arrogant, so don’t say anything later. I’ll handle everything.”
Yang Kai nodded to indicate that he understood him; then, he secretly sized up the guards and realised that they were both Open Heaven Realm Masters. He was shocked by the revelation as these top forces made Open Heaven Realm Masters act as door guards. What kind of top cultivator was in charge of this temple? He reckoned that the person must be as powerful as the Proprietress at the very least.
It was no wonder that no one would dare to make a scene here. Who would have the guts to do that if they were not strong enough? Those who were capable of doing so also wouldn’t attempt to offend those Cave Heavens and Paradises. It wouldn’t be fun to be hunted down by them if they joined forces.
The Open Heaven Realm Master on the left, who was holding a sword, stared at Bai Qi and Yang Kai as he bellowed, “What is your business here?”
With a smile, Bai Qi cupped his fists at him, “Sir, my friend wants to leave an Imprint here. Please permit us to pass.”
The person turned his head and swept a glance over Yang Kai. There was no emotion on his face as he had probably seen countless people who were just like Yang Kai. In a dispassionate tone, he said, “You know the rules, right?”
Bai Qi nodded repeatedly, “I know. I know.” Then, he presented a Space Ring to the guard.
The person took it and gently tossed it into the air before scanning it with his Divine Sense. Then, he nodded his head, “Come with me.” Upon finishing his words, he led the way for them.
Bai Qi called out to Yang Kai as they hurriedly followed along.
As they were walking behind the cultivator in golden armour, a puzzled Yang Kai asked, “Why did we have to give him some benefits for leaving an Imprint in this temple?”
Bai Qi shot him a glare, “Don’t say that!” Seeing that the Open Heaven Realm Master in front of them didn’t react in any way, he secretly spoke to Yang Kai in his mind, “Why do you think those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises decided to occupy these Universe Temples? Was it because they wanted to make life more convenient for everyone? If you want to leave an Imprint, you have to pay a fee.”
“How much is it?”
“100,000.”
A shocked Yang Kai said, “So expensive!”
He couldn’t believe that they needed 100,000 Open Heaven Pills to leave an Imprint here. In comparison, a Third-Order material cost about 150,000 pills. This was a lot of money for most people and most Emperor Realm Masters couldn’t afford it. 100,000 also wasn’t a small amount of money for Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters.
At that moment, Yang Kai recalled something and asked with a frown, “You said that in this universe, there are Universe Temples in every Great Territory. Some of them even have multiple temples. Does every temple charge a separate fee?”
“That’s right. However, the price is fixed. We have to pay 100,000 pills for every Imprint we want to leave behind.”
Yang Kai gasped upon hearing that. In that case, a cultivator had to spend a substantial amount of money just to leave a Brand in these Universe Temples. However, taking one’s safety into consideration, these expenses were inevitable.
After all, compared to wealth, a person’s life was obviously more important. If someone was unable to escape from his or her enemies, he or she could use the Universe Transference Law to reach any Universe Temple, which was one of the greatest safety charms in life in that kind of situation.
Those who weren’t willing to spend money on it would be hunted down and killed.
“It’s such a good way to make money,” Yang Kai lamented. If a cultivator decided to leave behind an Imprint in 10 different Universe Temples throughout his life, he would have to fork out 1 million pills. There were countless cultivators in the 3,000 Worlds, and everyone would attempt to have some measures to keep themselves safe. Moreover, the rich would certainly leave behind their Imprint in more than ten temples, so the amount of money they would end up spending was astronomical.
These Universe Temples were basically money trees for the Cave Heavens and Paradises. As long as these temples were not destroyed, countless pills would flow into their pockets without any effort on their side.
“Haha. That’s why they have joined forces to manage these places. No single great force can monopolise such a big business.” Bai Qi grinned.
As they moved forward, they continued chatting. Yang Kai realised that there were quite a lot of shops in this temple, and most of them were crammed with customers. As he watched these people move around, Yang Kai had a feeling that this place was just like a city. Although it wasn’t as lively as a real city, it was a rare sight to see so many people in this void.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai realised that it wasn’t so surprising. The people who had come to this place using the Universe Transference Law must want to take a rest upon arrival. Some of them might even be forced to come here as they were hunted down by their enemies, so they needed a break. That was why this place was filled with people. Businesses flourished when people gathered together in the same place. Nevertheless, fighting was forbidden in any Universe Temple; therefore, even though there were many cultivators around, it was a very safe place.
While the cultivator in golden armour was leading the way, Bai Qi and Yang Kai followed him and communicated with one another. Yang Kai also regarded this as a chance to do some sightseeing.
Soon, they reached a secluded room. The cultivator in golden armour stopped in his tracks and turned around, “Go in. After you reach into the array and leave behind an Imprint, you can come out.”
Bai Qi patted his shoulder, “You might feel a little uncomfortable as this is your first time, but don’t worry. I’ll be waiting out here for you.”
In response, Yang Kai simply nodded his head.
The cultivator in golden armour fished out a token and unlocked the barrier around the secret room, whereupon Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered.
After Yang Kai entered the secluded room, the door was closed once again. He couldn’t see anything as it was pitch dark inside.
While he was puzzled, he suddenly saw a light expanding right in front of him. After a glance, he realised that the floor had lit up as a complicated and massive array was gradually outlined.
Knowing what was going on, he strode towards the centre of the array. As soon as he stopped in his tracks, a buzzing sound could be heard, which suggested that the array was now operating.
A faint pull could be felt coming from the array, and upon that realisation, Yang Kai hurriedly performed a hand seal and focused his mind. Clearly feeling that his own aura was attracted to the array, he reckoned that it was trying to record some of his unique information.
The buzzing sound was continuously heard as the array continued running.
A long time later, the buzzing sound slowly died down, and the light of the array faded. Eventually, the room became completely dark again.
After carefully sensing it, Yang Kai realised that a connection had been established between somewhere in the temple and him; however, he wasn’t sure how to make use of that connection as he had never learned the Universe Transference Law. Judging from what had happened though, he should have successfully left behind an Imprint.
In fact, he was curious about what the Universe Transference Seal looked like. He thought that he would see it after entering the room, but it was nowhere in sight; instead, he only came into contact with this array.
Since the Seal wasn’t around, there was nothing else he could do. After pacing around in the room for a while, Yang Kai realised that there was nothing special, so he pushed the door open and left.
Bai Qi asked, “How was it?”
“No problems,” Yang Kai didn’t feel any discomfort like what Bai Qi had described, figuring it had something to do with the fact that he was a Master of the Dao of Space. Those who couldn’t use Space Principles might feel uncomfortable when they came here for the first time.
“Good!” Bai Qi heaved a sigh of relief before turning to cup his fists at the cultivator in golden armour, “Many thanks, Sir.”
That person nodded dispassionately, “Fighting is forbidden inside the Universe Temple, violate the rules and you will be executed.” After finishing his words, he sealed off the room and turned around to leave.
He was only responsible for bringing Yang Kai to this place to leave his Imprint, not caring about the rest. As for when Yang Kai and Bai Qi would leave, it was up to them, as those from the Universe Temple wouldn’t interfere with that.
“Let’s buy some stuff while we’re here,” Bai Qi said and took Yang Kai’s arm before walking in a particular direction. He seemed familiar with the routes, so it was apparently not his first time here.
There were all sorts of things that Bai Qi had to buy, obviously purchasing supplies for the inn, so Yang Kai followed him and looked around.
“After leaving an Imprint here, you’ll have to cultivate the Universe Transference Law. Once you’ve learned it, you’ll be able to come here as you please. Of course, the prerequisite is that you’re in the same Great Territory. However, you have to remember that you must be within a safe distance. Once the Universe Transference Law is used, you’ll directly come to this place. Given your cultivation now, if the distance is too far away, you won’t be able to take the strain and might even be crushed to death.”
Yang Kai nodded to indicate he understood.
“There’s one more thing you have to remember. There’s a delay after you use the Universe Transference Law, so it’s not like you can use it to flee immediately. You have to take the delay into consideration. If you’re being hunted down by your enemies in the future, don’t use it in front of them; otherwise, you’ll be killed before you can escape. You must only use it in a safe place.”
Yang Kai asked, “How long is the delay?” He had to have a clear idea about it.
Bai Qi shot him a glance, “Given your cultivation now, about five to six breaths. Certainly, the more powerful your cultivation is, the shorter the delay becomes; however, it’s impossible to eliminate.”
“Who should I learn this Universe Transference Law from?” Yang Kai asked.
“I’ll teach you later.” Bai Qi grinned, “But you’ll have to pay me a fee.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai immediately covered his Space Ring and replied vigilantly, “I have no money!” He still owed the Proprietress 10 million pills, so who knew when he would be able to clear his debt?
Bai Qi said, “It’s fine even if you have no money. You even snatched that Golden Crow corpse from the Golden Crow Divine Palace, so you must have some Sun’s True Fires or even Sun’s True Golds on you,” As he spoke, he winked at Yang Kai.
“Nonsense!” Yang Kai replied resolutely.
“Don’t be such a stingy man. I’m not picky at all, so you can just give me a random Sun’s True Fire.”
“Forget it. I’ll ask the Proprietress to teach me the Universe Transference Law. Your help is not needed.”
Bai Qi was speechless at that.
One hour later, they flew out of the Universe Temple and returned to the ship. The First Inn’s ship was still anchored for them at a nearby place, so after they landed on the deck, the Proprietress summoned them to find out how things went. Upon learning that they had achieved their goal, she said nothing more and simply waved her hand to motion for them to leave.
Before that though, she tossed a jade slip at Yang Kai, “Since you’ve left behind an Imprint, you’ll have to study the Universe Transference Law. You’re an expert in the Dao of Space, so this Secret Technique shouldn’t be difficult for you to master. Go and cultivate it now.”
Yang Kai thanked her and left the room with Bai Qi. After closing the door, Yang Kai showed him the jade slip in his hand with a smug smile on his face.
Seeing that, Bai Qi appeared frustrated.
For the following ten or so days, Yang Kai stayed in his room to cultivate the Universe Transference Law. Just like what the Proprietress had said, it wasn’t difficult for him to learn this technique; after all, he was already familiar with Space Principles. Technically speaking, the Universe Transference Law was also a kind of Space Secret Technique; however, one had to rely on the Universe Transference Seal to use it. Anyone could use the Secret Technique without being a Master of the Dao of Space, which was why it was attractive.
It would take the average person half a year or more to learn the Secret Technique, but Yang Kai only needed slightly more than ten days to do so. If it weren’t because it wasn’t convenient for him, he would have loved to try out the Secret Technique.
Although he had no chance to give it a try, when he activated the Universe Transference Law, he could clearly feel that there was a connection between the Universe Temple and himself. However, at the most critical moment, he would cut off the connection lest he really be transferred to the temple.
The ship continued moving forward, but it wasn’t certain where their destination was. One month after they left the original location of First Inn, a loud buzzing sound was suddenly heard as the entire ship shook violently.
A flabbergasted Yang Kai dashed towards the deck, only to see that Bai Qi, the chef, and the accountant were already there. The Proprietress was standing at the bow with a solemn expression as she performed a seal with one hand, her power fluctuating around her.
“What’s going on?” Yang Kai asked in a hushed voice.
Bai Qi replied, “Don’t worry. We’re just passing through a Territory Gate.”
It was then that Yang Kai realised that they had reached a Territory Gate as the ship slowly entered it. He had passed through several Territory Gates in the past, but he was protected by Ah Sun’s jade white fox for those times. Except for the last time when the jade white fox ran out of energy, which made the journey become slightly dangerous for them, his other attempts were uneventful.
However, he hadn’t expected that it would cause so much commotion when the ship was passing through a Territory Gate, which made him think that they were confronted by some formidable enemies.
“Are we going to a different Great Territory?” Yang Kai was shocked.
“I think so,” Bai Qi nodded. Judging from what he had just said, it seemed that he had no idea where their destination was either.
The gigantic ship had to endure increased pressure when passing through the Territory Gate. Fortunately, the Proprietress was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so they were not worried at all.
A moment later, the entire ship entered the Territory Gate. With the protection of the light barrier, they didn’t feel any pressure. Looking around, Yang Kai realised that the view around him kept changing in an odd yet captivating manner.
After just a short while, the entire ship shook suddenly and became stabilised. The view around them looked just like any other in the void. Apparently, they had left the Territory Gate and arrived at a different Great Territory.
The Proprietress seemed exhausted after navigating the ship through the Territory Gate, so she returned to her room and took a rest while Yang Kai was dragged away by Bai Qi to have a drink and play games with the chef and the accountant.
A few days later, Yang Kai left the ship with Bai Qi and headed to another Universe Temple. After the first time, he already became familiar with the process, so he soon left his Imprint.
The ship continued moving forward. From time to time, Bai Qi would bring Yang Kai to the nearby Universe Temples. After seven to eight times, Yang Kai became embarrassed and when returning to the ship, he asked, “Old Bai, have I held all of you up?”
Bai Qi turned to look at him with a grin, “Have you only realised it now?”
An abashed Yang Kai said, “If it weren’t because of me, all of you could have used the Universe Transference Law and arrived at those Universe Temples in an instant. The ship isn’t even needed.”
“That’s right; however, you’re now a part of First Inn. In that case, we can’t possibly leave you behind.”
Yang Kai pressed his lips together, “Is this the Proprietress’ order?”
Bai Qi nodded, “Of course.”
“Seems she really is kind-hearted…” Yang Kai scratched his head, “She spent 800,000 pills for me to leave an Imprint in those temples.”
Bai Qi gazed at him and batted his eyes, “Do you think Proprietress was paying the fees for you?”
A stunned Yang Kai asked, “Isn’t that the case?”
Bai Qi grinned, “Proprietress said that she’s just lending you the money. You’ll have to pay her back in the future.”
“What!?” Yang Kai was astonished, “So, I’m the one who has to pay those fees?”
“Of course!” Bai Qi winked at him.
Yang Kai became rooted to the spot. He thought that the Proprietress had paid the fees for him, but he hadn’t expected it to be nothing more than a loan. At that instant, he felt his face twitching.
Seeing that, Bai Qi said, “If you’re reluctant to spend the money, we don’t have to stop the ship whenever we pass by a Universe Temple.”
“Of course I want to go to those Universe Temples!” Yang Kai said through clenched teeth. Certainly, he had to visit those temples as they might save his life in the future. Even if he didn’t come across any danger, he could use them to reach his destination faster. He already had a substantial debt anyway, so it didn’t matter for him to spend 100,000 more for each temple. Compared to the 10 million he owed already, this was practically nothing.
Half a year had passed just like this, and after passing through four Great Territories, they finally arrived at their destination.
Upon learning the news, an excited Bai Qi dragged Yang Kai towards the deck and pointed at a Spirit Province in the distance, “Brat, do you know where this is?”
Yang Kai replied, “How would I know?”
He was still exploring the Outer Universe that he was unfamiliar with, which was why he had no idea where they were. Looking to the side, he realised that the Proprietress was just standing at the gunwale, her dress gently flapping in the wind, a faint smile on her face. Apparently, she also became extremely bored after doing nothing for half a year, so now that they had finally arrived at their destination, she became cheerful.
Yang Kai ambled forward and stopped in a spot that wasn’t far away from the Proprietress, “Is that our destination?”
The Proprietress tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded her head, “You’re right. That’s our destination.”
“Where is this?” It took the ship half a year to pass through several Territory Gates to finally reach this place, so Yang Kai was curious.
“That’s the Star City of this Great Territory.” Bai Qi approached him with an excited expression and asked, “Brat, have you heard of Star Cities?”
He thought that Yang Kai had never heard of such a place before.
Yang Kai’s gaze brightened, “That’s a Star City?”
He couldn’t help looking in that direction, but he couldn’t see what was going on over there due to the great distance; moreover, the Spirit Province seemed to have been surrounded by a Grand Array, so all he could see was a blurred area.
Zhang Ruo Xi told him that if he wanted to learn anything about the World Tree, his best option was to visit a Star City. That was because such places were where people from all walks of life in the Outer Universe gathered together. With so many people coming and going, a lot of information could be traded for along with many precious items. Perhaps he could find out where the World Tree was in such a place.
Unfortunately, right after he arrived in the 3,000 Worlds, he was brought to Seven Wonders Land to become a Worker. Then, he roamed around the universe for a while before arriving at First Inn. He had no time to look for a Star City, nor did he have any idea where one was. He hadn’t expected that the Proprietress’ destination was actually a Star City.
“You already know about them?” Bai Qi was shocked.
“I’ve heard of them before.” Yang Kai nodded, and then he turned to look at the Proprietress, “Will we stay there for the long term?”
First Inn was destroyed during a battle, so they had to look for a new place to settle down. There was no way they had spent half a year coming all the way here just to buy supplies, so they would most likely stay there.
“For the time being,” The Proprietress nodded. Noticing the excitement on his face, she flashed a smile at him, “You seem interested in this Star City.”
Yang Kai replied, “I’ve never seen one before, so of course I’m curious.”
The Proprietress said with a smile, “There’s nothing special about it. The world you’re from must have many different shopping districts and trade cities. A Star City is just a bigger, higher-level type of shopping district. The things on sale are also more expensive.”
Yang Kai nodded his head and looked forward again. He was pondering whether he should ask the Proprietress about the World Tree; after all, First Inn engaged in the business of collecting information. If the World Tree really existed, the Proprietress must be aware of it. After giving it a thought though, he decided not to. He would just ask around after reaching the city.
Bai Qi, the chef, and the accountant were having a chat amongst themselves on the deck, and a salacious look adorned Bai Qi’s face.
One hour later, the ship arrived at a dock in the periphery of the Spirit Province. There were quite a few cultivators guarding the dock. Their leader was clad in golden armour and had a long sword sheathed at his waist. He looked just like an imposing General.
After the ship stopped at the dock, the Golden Armour General lead a group of cultivators and boldly jumped onto the deck. With his hand resting on his sword, he swept a glance over them in an imposing manner.
A soldier in silver armour stepped forward and yelled, “Identify yourselves and present documents!”
The Proprietress hinted at Bai Qi, who then moved forward and passed a jade slip to the soldier in silver armour. After scanning it with his Divine Sense, the soldier became surprised and presented the jade slip to the Golden Armour General.
After reading it, the general nodded gently, “So it is First Inn’s Madam, I apologize for failing to recognise you earlier.”
The Proprietress kept a faint smile on her face, “General, you’re responsible for guarding an important place like the Star City’s dock, so you must be swamped with work. It’s understandable that you didn’t recognise me.”
While they were speaking, Bai Qi put on a smile and passed a Space Ring to the soldier in silver armour. At this point, the Proprietress said, “All of you have worked hard. Please take this gift from me and buy some refreshments for yourselves.”
The soldier didn’t know how to handle the Space Ring as he looked inquisitively at the Golden Armour General.
The general said with a smile, “Since it’s a gift from Madam Lan, just accept it.”
It was only then that the soldier set his mind at ease and stored the Space Ring before cupping his fists to the Proprietress.
The Golden Armour General went on to say, “Madam Lan, it’s just the usual practice, so please don’t pay it any mind.” Then, he passed the jade slip back to Bai Qi and led them to leave the ship. Following that, he waved his hand, “Let them pass!”
Then, the barrier at the dock slowly opened and the Proprietress thanked him before sailing the ship towards the Spirit Province.
Aboard the ship, Yang Kai was amazed by what had just happened. It was apparent that the Proprietress had a wide network. She might not know the Golden Armour General, but after she fished out a simple jade slip, the general could immediately recognise that she was First Inn’s Madam Lan, which suggested that she was truly famous in the Outer Universe.
It wasn’t surprising as she could be considered a powerful cultivator as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; furthermore, she was a charming lady, so she could easily attract others’ attention.
However, there was one thing that Yang Kai didn’t understand, so he approached Bai Qi and asked in a small voice, “Why are there so many soldiers in the periphery of the Star City? Is this city not safe? Would anyone invade this place?”
Bai Qi replied, “No one would dare to do so. This Star City is the property of Great Battle Heaven. The Golden Armour General and the soldier in silver armour are all from Great Battle Heaven. They keep guard on the dock because that allows them to control the entire Star City. Secondly, they have to fend off Space Beasts. Have you seen Space Beasts before?”
“Is the Myriad Facets Insect considered a Space Beast?” The only Space Beast Yang Kai had come across was the Myriad Facets Insect, which caused Zhang Ruo Xi and him to be separated at that time. Until this day, he still had no idea where she was.
Nevertheless, she had inherited some memories from her ancestor, so she had a better understanding of the Outer Universe than he did. In the light of that, Yang Kai felt he didn’t have to worry about her. If he wasn’t mistaken, she must have headed to Lang Ya Paradise; after all, that was the place where her ancestor was born.
“Yes, it can be considered a Space Beast; however, Myriad Facets Insects are basically harmless. Some Space Beasts love places that are bustling with noise and activity, and they’re all generally quite powerful. If they manage to barge into a Star City, they can cause a lot of damage. With the soldiers guarding the dock, these Space Beasts normally wouldn’t dare to make a scene.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai went on to ask, “You just mentioned Great Battle Heaven. Is it one of the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens?” He recalled seeing the name in the jade slip given to him by Meng Hong, who was a disciple from Great Moon Province.
“That’s right. The first Universe Temple you visited was guarded by those from Great Battle Heaven as well. They’re easily recognisable as they’re just like an army. They live by military rules, and they’re divided by ranks. They’re a bunch of rough people.”
Yang Kai grunted, “It’s no wonder Proprietress called him General.”
Bai Qi grinned, “A General is in fact a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. That guy is supposed to be a Great General in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realms. There are also Great Generals in the Fourth-Order or Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. A Grand Marshal is someone who is one rank above them.”
“Interesting…” Yang Kai was amazed, then he changed the topic, “By the way, which great force is First Inn from?”
Although it had been half a year since he joined First Inn, he still had no idea which great force was behind the inn; nevertheless, he was certain that it had to be one of the Cave Heavens or Paradises.
“Go ask Proprietress,” Bai Qi grinned.
Yang Kai shot him a glare as he had the urge to rip his mouth off.
While they were speaking, the ship arrived at the Spirit Province where the Star City was located. After the ship passed through the clouds, an abundance of World Energy came right at them, which prompted Yang Kai to take a deep breath. They had been roaming around the void for a long time. When he finally reached such a place, he felt like a wanderer who had finally found a place to settle down.
The Spirit Province couldn’t be considered expansive. Looking from above, one could see the end of it at a glance. It was the equivalent of a few major cities combined.
However, one could see that the entire Spirit Province was full of different styles of buildings. The clean and wide streets criss-crossed one another like the pattern on a chessboard. The streets were also lit up by beautiful lights.
On the ground, countless people could be seen moving around. In the sky, some people could be seen flying around from time to time. There were also some uniquely-shaped flight-type artifacts.
Seeing that, Yang Kai fell into his thoughts. It seemed that flying wasn’t prohibited in this place, which was a friendly practice. Many cities and forces erected Flight Inhibiting Arrays which prevented anyone from flying.
After the ship moved forward for about a quarter-hour, the Proprietress called out, “Disembark now.”
Upon hearing that, the people on the deck flew up. The Proprietress performed a set of hand seals as her energy fluctuated around her, whereupon the ship began shrinking rapidly and soon became an item the size of a palm. Following that, she hid it in her sleeve.
“Let’s go,” she said and landed on the ground, followed by those from First Inn.
There were over ten people that worked for First Inn, a number that was neither big or small. Besides Bai Qi, the accountant, and the chef, whom Yang Kai was already familiar with, the rest of them were general workers.
After all, it didn’t require a lot of people to run an inn. Ten people were more than sufficient.
A moment later, the group reached a shop, but it wasn’t certain what was sold here as there was no signboard. It was in a prime location, however, as it was at the intersection of some streets, there were a lot of people moving around.
The Proprietress looked around and nodded gently before walking inside.
Soon, an elderly man approached her and cupped his fists, “Greetings, Madam. This one is Yuan Rui De.”
The elderly man was an Open Heaven Realm Master, but he wasn’t very strong. Although he was old, he was still respectful to the Proprietress.
In response, the Proprietress nodded her head.
Yuan Rui De said, “You must be exhausted. Do you need to take a rest?”
The Proprietress waved her hand, “There’s no need for that. Let’s get down to business now.”
“Good. Have a seat, please.” Yuan Rui De extended his hand.
After Madam Lan was seated, he fished out a jade slip and passed it to her, “This is the title deed of this shop. Everything has been settled.”
The Proprietress took it and briefly scanned it before storing it.
Then, Yuan Rui De fished out another jade slip, “This contains the information of the businesses under those great forces, including the shop names and the top cultivators that work in those shops.”
After that, he took out one more jade slip, “This one contains the information about the shopkeepers and the shop hands in those shops.”