Luan Bai Feng had been active in the Black Territory for many years, and though she could not say that she knew this place like her own backyard, she was still much more familiar with it than Yang Kai.
Under her guidance, their journey progressed without incident.
While following the woman, Yang Kai also brought out his Demon Eye of Annihilation, so he could keep an eye on the situation around them. Sure enough, the Demon Eye of Annihilation was amazing. Yang Kai could obviously see traces of some Arrays around them, but since he was not proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, he could only see them, unlike Luan Bai Feng who could not only see them but could also see the appropriate method in cracking them.
Several times, Luan Bai Feng clearly led him into a Natural Array, but mysteriously, they did not trigger.
After moving forward a while longer, a mysterious aura appeared in the void. Under the guidance of that aura, Yang Kai could feel the World Force inside of his Small Universe leaking out.
Yang Kai made an exclamation of surprise and quickly shut his Small Universe, but it was to no avail as World Force continued spilling out from his body.
“It’s useless.” Clearly, Luan Bai Feng noticed his actions, “The first danger of the Black Prison is the Arrays you can find everywhere, but the second is this strange aura. Once enveloped by this aura, no matter what Order the Open Heaven Realm Master is in, they can’t stop their World Force from flowing out of their bodies. Right now, we are only at the edge of where we come in contact with this aura. The deeper we go, the stronger the aura becomes, and the faster our World Force leaks out. I would advise you to start replenishing yourself now; otherwise, the further we go, the more difficult it will be!”
Saying so, she grabbed a handful of Open Heaven Pills and stuffed them into her mouth, swallowing them down and silently refining them.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, but he did not take her words too seriously. Right now, even though the World Force inside of his body was leaking, it was at a very low rate, so he could ignore it for now. What was more, he also wanted to know what was going on with this aura, and why such changes would happen in his body because of it.
He calmed his mind and tried to search for an answer, but came up empty.
However, he was reminded of his experience in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. There was a formless Astral Wind that he encountered there, the essence of which was a powerful Divine Ability that swept across the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven. Occasionally, it blew through the Shadowless Cave Heaven and entered the Small Universes of Open Heaven Realm Masters inside, wreaking havoc with their World Force and shaving it away.
Unlike the strange aura found in the Black Prison, the formless Astral Wind could be regarded as a gush of a foreign power that entered one’s Small Universe and ground down some of the Small Universe’s heritage. The situation here in the Black Prison was that the heritage of one’s Small Universe would constantly leak away.
In the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Yang Kai relied on his Towering Evergreen to resist the formless Astral Wind, but he had no idea whether this Wood Element Divine Manifestation would have any effect on the situation in the Black Prison.
With this in mind, Yang Kai immediately released his Towering Evergreen, and a vibrant green light emerged, brimming with rich vitality. The ancient tree appeared and its branches hung low, wrapping around both Luan Bai Feng and himself.
As soon as this Secret Technique was used, the strange aura that had been surrounding them in the void was kept at bay, and the leakage of World Force from their Small Universes also stopped.
[It worked!] Yang Kai was overjoyed. As he expected, the Wood Element Power that he condensed from the essence of the Immortal Tree was truly extraordinary. Not only could it stop the encroachment of the formless Astral Wind, but it was also able to keep out the strange aura that filled the void!
However, when he thought about it, the Immortal Tree was a Supreme Treasure of an exceptionally high Order, so it was not strange for it to have such amazing effects. Now, a big problem of theirs was solved.
“What did you do?” Luan Bai Feng looked at Yang Kai, eyes wide in shock. She could clearly feel the change in herself during that instant. The World Force which had been slowly pouring out of her body suddenly stopped escaping. She could not even feel the strange aura anymore, “Isn’t this Divine Manifestation supposed to only heal?”
Previously, Yang Kai had also used the Towering Evergreen to heal her injuries after she had been burned by his Golden Crow’s True Fire. Now, it seemed like this Divine Manifestation may not be as simple as just a mere healing method.
For years, she had been trying to find a solution to the strange aura that was omnipresent in the Black Prison, yet she never found a single clue. She did not expect that she would be able to find such a miracle in Yang Kai on this day.
“Not only can it heal injuries, but it can also be used defensively!” Yang Kai gave a simple explanation.
Luan Bai Feng looked at him with bright eyes, “How long can you hold this Divine Manifestation for? Does it consume a lot of energy?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “If it’s only to cover the two of us, then it does not consume much energy. I should be able to keep it going for a long time!” Right now, as he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, his heritage was also mighty. Being limited to just a small area, the Towering Evergreen did not consume too much of his strength to maintain, to the point it could even be called negligible. What was more, he had countless Open Heaven Pills inside of his Space Ring, so it was not like he was unable to replenish what he was consuming.
Luan Bai Feng looked at him with complicated eyes. The problem that had been bothering her for hundreds of years was finally resolved today, so naturally, it would not be right to say that she was not ecstatic. Only, once she remembered the current situation she was in, as well as her status, that joy dimmed considerably. After all, even if she could mine the Ore Stars deeper within the Black Territory now, whatever she could find would still belong to someone else and have nothing to do with her.
Her mood suddenly plummeted, and she stayed quiet during their journey, simply using her Eye Secret Technique to check for the Spirit Arrays that surrounded them, continuously leading Yang Kai forward.
Half a day later, Luan Bai Feng said, “Another hour more and we will be reaching the no man’s land. My subordinated ore slaves were unable to stay there for long, so it has been many years since anyone has gone to mine the Ore Stars there.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Is that where all the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order materials were mined?”
“Most of them are. Of course, a few pieces were found in the outer region. Even though the Ore Stars on the outside are a little lacking in terms of their output, finding Sixth-Order materials is not impossible, just very rare.”
Yang Kai turned to look at her, “I heard that the ore slaves under your subordination are either captives or prisoners of war. In that case, they must not be loyal to you, so how can you ensure that they will not pocket any of the resources they find?”
Luan Bai Feng was frank, “World Force must be consumed in order to mine the Ore Stars. Subsequently, just going deep inside the Black Prison would mean that their World Force is constantly being depleted, so where would they have the spare World Force to dissolve Black Stones once they got there. What’s more, even if they did secretly dissolve some Black Stone, they are still not guaranteed to find anything. Since that’s the case, it’s better for them to exchange for Open Heaven Pills from me using the Black Stone that they’ve mined. If they’re lucky enough and mine enough Black Stone, it’s completely possible for them to exchange enough Open Heaven Pills for their own use.”
It did make sense. The Black Stones may not necessarily contain anything, and the ore slaves would have to spend a lot of effort dissolving even one piece while there was a high chance of getting nothing in return.
For the ore slaves that live here in the Black Prison, every last thread of World Force was extremely precious to them. As for running away… there was little hope of that happening. The Black Territory was surrounded by Natural Arrays. If they were to accidentally trigger one of them, then the chances of surviving were slim to none!
Even compared to the Shattered Heaven, this Black Prison was no less dangerous!
While they spoke, Luan Bai Feng looked up ahead and declared, “We’re here. That Ore Star ahead is the deepest one that my ore slaves have been able to mine so far. No one has ever reached deeper before.”
Looking over, Yang Kai saw a dark Ore Star floating in the void.
This Ore Star was truly not small, even bigger than the Star Boundary itself. Like all the Ore Stars in the Black Territory, it was filled with cracks and pits without any vitality.
Luan Bai Feng led Yang Kai to a certain spot on the Ore Star, and at first glance, he was able to see the traces left behind from a previous mining expedition. Obviously the work of the Sixth-Order ore slaves that were here long ago.
However, even Sixth-Order Open Heaven Masters could not survive long in this environment. In the months and years they spent mining, their World Force never ceased escaping their bodies, weakening the heritage of their Small Universes. In the end, their Small Universe Collapsed, leading to their deaths.
“What are you planning to do now? You’re not planning to mine Black Stone here, are you?” Luan Bai Feng looked askance at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai laughed, “Do you have any other good ideas? If not, then get to work. Don’t tell me that you don’t know how to mine after living here in the Black Prison all these years!”
Luan Bai Feng was furious, “You ran all the way here just so you can mine Black Stone yourself? Are you stupid? Even if you did manage to gain anything out of this, it’s hard to guarantee you’ll be able to get your Sixth-Order Yin-Yang Element materials.”
Yang Kai stroked his chin in thought, “What you say makes sense, but there’s one part where you’re wrong.”
“Where?” Luan Bai Feng frowned.
“You’ll be the one mining Black Stone, not me!” Yang Kai wagged his finger in front of her eyes.
Luan Bai Feng blinked and gawked, “Then what are you going to do?”
Yang Kai said matter-of-factly, “Supervise!”
Luan Bai Feng’s lungs were about to explode from anger, “Keep dreaming! You may kill me, but I won’t allow you to humiliate me!”
“Hurry up and get to it. You know you can’t go against my orders, so why make a fool of yourself?”
Luan Bai Feng glared viciously at him with eyes that seemed like she wanted to eat him alive. It was clear that she was not willing to compromise on this issue.
However, when Yang Kai took out the Loyalty List and gave the order, she had to mine regardless of how reluctant she was. While exerting her Divine Abilities without restraint, sending debris flying everywhere, she cursed through her teeth, feeling extremely aggrieved.
There were a number of ways to mine Black Stone on an Ore Star, and Yang Kai quickly understood after watching for a while.
Since the Black Stone itself can block the probing of one’s Divine Sense, it was easy to see where they were just by spreading out one’s Divine Sense. Wherever the Divine Sense was being blocked, that was where the Black Stone was located. Then, using Secret Techniques, as long as one controlled their strength, they could simply blast apart the surrounding rock to obtain Black Stone.
Luan Bai Feng was a powerful Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so she was naturally efficient at mining Black Stone.
Even though Yang Kai said he was going to supervise, he wasn’t being serious. After observing and studying what Luan Bai Feng was doing for a while, he also began mining.
Only then did Luan Bai Feng’s anger subside slightly.
Now, with their united strength, it took only a short three days for them to mine 100 pieces of Black Stone. According to Luan Bai Feng, her ore slaves would be lucky to get five or six pieces of Black Stone in a single day in a place like this. Usually, they would only come away with a couple of pieces per trip, or even less.
Out of 100 pieces, at most 30% would contain anything, while most of the Black Stone was empty, so Yang Kai just tossed them aside.
In the end, Yang Kai harvested 27 materials from different Orders.
“You can see inside the Black Stone?” Luan Bai Feng looked in shock at Yang Kai.
The two of them had mined over 100 pieces of Black Stone after working for three days, most of which Yang Kai tossed after just a glance. In the end, only 27 pieces were left behind, and all of them contained cultivational materials without exception.
That only proved one thing.
“This is impossible!” Still refusing to believe her eyes, Luan Bai Feng grabbed a piece of Black Stone that Yang Kai had thrown aside. This piece of Black Stone was only the size of a palm, not very large. Circulating her World Force around it, it took only a few moments to dissolve the Black Stone, but there was nothing inside.
“Are you truly able to see into the Black Stones?” With the facts now placed before her eyes, Luan Bai Feng had no other choice but to believe it, “What exactly is that Eye Technique that you’re using?”
Yang Kai did not answer. He only frowned.
Even though he had obtained 27 pieces of cultivation materials, Luan Bai Feng was right. The Order of the materials produced on the deeper Ore Stars were slightly higher than on the outside as three pieces were in the Fifth-Order.
It was unfortunate that they were unable to find any Sixth-Order materials, much less any Sixth-Order Yin or Yang Element materials!
Luan Bai Feng, on the other hand, cheered up unexpectedly, “If you truly can see into the Black Stones, then it will save a lot of time, and the rate of our output will be increased.”
However, Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s too slow!”
Luan Bai Feng was surprised, “You still think it’s too slow? How fast do you want it to be?”
Yang Kai told her, “You and I have been working here for three days, and this is all we got. It is simply not worth the effort.”
Luan Bai Feng frowned, “If you want to get materials of the Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Elements, then it will naturally depend on your luck. You don’t expect this Ore Star to be full of the materials you need, do you?”
“Naturally I never thought so,” Yang Kai shook his head with a frown, “This is just different from what I expected.”
Luan Bai Feng pondered for a moment. Then, she pointed into a certain distance, “Perhaps you can bring your search to an even deeper Ore Star. The one we are standing on now is the farthest my subordinated ore slaves have ever reached. We never went deeper, but there is no saying that the materials found in the Black Stones that are found in the Ore Stars even deeper won’t be of higher Order.”
Yang Kai looked in the direction where she pointed, only to see the void littered with countless Ore Stars of all different sizes. After some thought, he shook his head, “No need. The mining speed with only the two of us is too slow. Who knows when we will be able to find the things I need.”
“This won’t do, that won’t do…” Luan Bai Feng was inexplicably angry, “Then why don’t you go back and bring my ore slaves here to mine? With your Divine Manifestation protecting them, they won’t die in a short amount of time no matter how low their cultivation is. It should be enough to do something, at the very least.”
Yang Kai shook his head. Luan Bai Feng’s suggestion was even less feasible.
He could probably shelter a couple dozen more without any trouble; however, it would be impossible for him to shelter all of her ore slaves. It would consume too much energy if he had to maintain his Divine Manifestation for a long time. What was more, it was impossible for him to stay here forever, sheltering the ore slaves using Towering Evergreen.
He had no idea what the situation in Void Land was right now, so he had to return as soon as possible.
Right now, he had already obtained enough materials for ten people. Including the three sets he had back at Void Land, they had enough resources to meet the needs for thirteen people to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Perhaps he could return for now before waiting slowly for the Black Prison to mine more resources. If he was lucky, then he might be able to find more of the materials that he needed.
However, that thought only entered his mind for a moment before he dismissed it.
Luan Bai Feng had already told him that her personal collection of resources were basically mined from this Ore Star that they were standing on long ago. The rate of any Sixth-Order materials appearing in the outer Ore Stars was simply too low.
Yang Kai sighed, feeling that his way of thinking was too naive.
As he was about to leave, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and turned to look into the void.
Luan Bai Feng looked over in confusion and saw Yang Kai frowning at first. Then, his expression changed. Seemingly having thought of something, his spirit was lifted.
“You…” Luan Bai Feng eyed him warily.
Yang Kai grinned, “Of course! Bringing the ore slaves over is too troublesome, and there’s no way I can shelter them forever; however… we can bring an Ore Star back instead!”
Luan Bai Feng was dumbfounded by his whimsical idea and she narrowed her eyes at him and asked for confirmation, “Bring an Ore Star back?”
Yang Kai was inspired though and explained excitedly, “This strange aura does not exist in the outer region of the Black Prison. At least, not the place where you usually live. If we can bring out an Ore Star from the depths, then it can be mined without fear, and we would not have to worry about our World Force leaking out.”
“You must be crazy…” Luan Bai Feng stared at Yang Kai as if she were looking at a fool, “Why don’t you take one back and show me, then?”
“How would we know that it’s impossible if we don’t try?” Yang Kai rolled up his sleeves and observed the situation ahead, “I noticed it when we arrived here, but there are both big and small Ore Stars in the Black Territory. Naturally, there’s no need for us to even consider bringing back the larger ones, especially since we might not even be able to move them; however, if we could find one at just the right size, we could bring it back.”
“Wait, you’re not joking?” Luan Bai Feng was convinced that Yang Kai was serious now, and she was dumbfounded by that.
“Who’s joking with you?” While saying that, Yang Kai circulated his World Force and wrapped it around Luan Bai Feng, heading deeper into the void.
Since he was determined to bring back an Ore Star, then naturally, the deeper it came from, the better. That was because the boon was richer and the Order of the materials was higher the deeper the Ore Star was.
All along their journey, Luan Bai Feng maintained a dumbfounded expression.
She could hardly keep up with Yang Kai’s whimsical way of thought. After countless years of living in the Black Prison, she had never once considered bringing an Ore Star from the depths of the Black Prison back to the outer periphery, not because she had never thought of this idea, but because it was impossible.
Even with her strength in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it was difficult to stay in these depths for long, not to mention the fact that the Ore Stars were generally humongous. Who could carry them away?
But not only did Yang Kai have that idea, he was even prepared to give it a try!
On the way, Yang Kai was constantly muttering, “This one’s too big, we probably won’t be able to take it back, but this one’s too small. It will not last long even if we bring it back. It’s simply not worth it. Why isn’t there one that’s neither too big nor too small?”
Annoyed by his constant babbling, Luan Bai Feng rolled her eyes.
It was not known how long they flew through the Black Territory’s depths, but Yang Kai was unable to find a suitable target. Then, at a certain point, a strange aura suddenly penetrated Towering Evergreen’s defensive barrier, instantly enveloping the two of them. Both Yang Kai and Luan Bai Feng grunted in unison. They could feel the World Force inside of their Small Universe flow out of them like a broken floodgate!
Luan Bai Feng’s face changed dramatically!
Yang Kai was also shocked at the sudden change and quickly stopped in his tracks before retreating backwards for 1,000 kilometres!
Still horrified at their encounter, both of them exchanged glances. Luan Bai Feng was first to break the silence as she asked hesitantly, “What just happened?”
Yang Kai shook his head, indicating that he did not know. However, when he checked, 10% of the heritage of his Small Universe had been drained away in that brief moment.
Even though he had no idea how Luan Bai Feng was faring, she must have suffered much more than he did, because even her face had gone slightly pale at this moment. Her aura was unstable, and it was obvious that she had just lost a lot of strength.
“Is it that your Divine Manifestation is unable to stop the encroachment of that aura anymore?” Luan Bai Feng asked tentatively.
Yang Kai quickly shook his head, “If that were the case, then the World Force in our Small Universes would still be flowing out right now.”
“But just now…” Just recalling what happened made Luan Bai Feng shudder. The experience was simply too frightening. Under the envelopment of that aura, she could not help but get the illusion that she was powerless to resist and would be drained of all her strength within a few breaths.
Yang Kai looked into the distance, “There must be a critical point that if we pass, even my Divine Manifestation won’t be able to defend against the Black Territory’s power!” He shook his head, “We can’t go any deeper than this. This is my limit. If we go any deeper, then both of us will die!”
He felt shocked inside. What exactly was the strange aura that was present in the Black Territory that even the Divine Manifestation he cultivated from the Immortal Tree’s essence was unable to resist against it? It had to be known that his Towering Evergreen could even pass through the formless Astral Wind without issue, but could this aura actually be even more dangerous than the innate Divine Ability of the formless Astral Wind?
“You’ve been in charge of this place for so many years, how could you not know what is inside the Black Territory’s depths?” Yang Kai frowned.
Luan Bai Feng shook her head, “Without you, it would be impossible even for me to reach this deep.”
“It seems like there’s a big secret hidden inside of this Black Territory!” Yang Kai sighed.
However, no matter what might be hidden up ahead, Yang Kai would naturally not step over the line again now that he knew where it was. It would not be too long to wait until his cultivation was higher to explore the secrets hidden deep inside of the Black Territory.
“You should recover your energy for now. I’ll see if I can find a suitable Ore Star. I might need your help when that time comes,” Yang Kai ordered.
Luan Bai Feng did not stand on ceremony and took out handfuls of Open Heaven Pills, swallowing them as she began refining them in order to make up for what she lost just now.
Even though Yang Kai also lost some energy, his heritage was much greater than Luan Bai Feng’s, so losing that much energy did not impede him from continuing his search.
He travelled in all directions, constantly searching.
However, he searched and searched, but still could not find a suitable Ore Star. All of them were either too large, making it too troublesome to take them away, or too small, making it not worth the effort to begin with.
Two days later, when Luan Bai Feng opened her eyes again, her complexion was rosier. Obviously, she was able to recover some of her strength.
“Did you find anything?” She looked at Yang Kai and asked.
Even though she had been meditating in order to restore her energy this whole time, she was not completely oblivious to what was happening around her. She could sense all of Yang Kai’s movements the past two days, and she could vaguely feel that Yang Kai had come to some sort of decision.
“Here, come and take a look with your Eye Secret Technique. What sort of Spirit Array is that?” Yang Kai pointed to a certain direction in the void. He could see that there were traces of an Array using his Demon Eye of Annihilation, but his proficiency in the Dao of Spirit Arrays was not high enough to determine what type of Array it was.
Luan Bai Feng immediately activated her Eye Technique, and after studying it for a short moment, she said, “It should be an Illusion Array!”
“An Illusion Array!” Yang Kai frowned. Then, he brought her to another place and pointed to the void in the front, “What about this one?”
Luan Bai Feng observed it for a moment before responding “This is a Trapping Array!”
Yang Kai shook his head and brought her to another place.
“This is a Killing Array, and… I can’t decipher it, we’d better stay away from it. If we get caught up in it, then it would be disastrous for both of us.” A purple light flowed in Luan Bai Feng’s eyes as she observed the area in the distance.
However, Yang Kai seemed cheerful to hear her answer, “This is it!”
Saying so, he dragged Luan Bai Feng along and flew off into the distance.
“What are you trying to do?” Luan Bai Feng could not resist the urge to ask. Previously, Yang Kai had the whimsical idea of bringing back an Ore Star with him, and now, he was looking for a specific Spirit Array for some reason. The way his thoughts jumped around was truly unpredictable.
Yang Kai replied casually, “Most of the Ore Stars here are too large for the two of us to bring back alone, so we have to think of another way.”
As they were talking, the two of them arrived before an Ore Star. Luan Bai Feng looked at the Ore Star and sneered, “So your idea is to bring such a small one back? Fine. This one is small, but it will take about a month to mine. Maybe we can get something good out of it.”
Yang Kai did not speak and just took a deep breath. Even though air did not exist in this void, Yang Kai’s chest still swelled up from his actions.
A Dragon Roar suddenly reverberated in Luan Bai Feng’s mind, and Dragon Pressure spread out, which shocked her greatly. After that, a crackle could be heard and Luan Bai Feng could not help but feel her vision lifting constantly.
There, in plain view, she saw Yang Kai covered in a golden light, and in a very short amount of time, he transformed into a literal giant. He had Dragon Scales from head to toe, sharp Dragon Claws, and a swaying Dragon Tail. A Dragon Beard fluttered under his jaw, and there were even two Dragon Horns growing atop his forehead. A terrifying pressure pressed down on her chest like a giant mountain, making her tremble with unease.
Luan Bai Feng’s vision could not help but freeze. Before this giant that stood several thousand metres tall, Luan Bai Feng simply felt as little as an ant.
Yang Kai looked down at her and leaned down slightly, extending a giant Dragon Claw to her and shouted majestically, “Climb up!”
Looking at the claw, which was countless times larger than her own body caused Luan Bai Feng to gulp regardless of her tough mental fortitude. Stiffly, she raised her feet and stepped onto Yang Kai’s palm.
Yang Kai straightened up again and gently placed Luan Bai Feng on her shoulder before urging, “Stay close to me. Don’t stray too far!”
Luan Bai Feng immediately grabbed onto one of the raised Dragon Scales on Yang Kai’s shoulder and nodded repeatedly, just like a naive but docile little girl.
Without the shelter of Yang Kai’s Wood Element Divine Manifestation in these depths, it would not take long for the World Force to be drained from her body entirely, so there was no need for Yang Kai to command her as she would stick close to him regardless.
However, Yang Kai’s actions gave her a vague awareness that he was going to be doing something big soon.
And that was exactly what happened. Hot Dragon Breath blowing in and out of Yang Kai’s nostrils, he shook his head faintly and stretched out his hand, summoning a spear into it.
The Azure Dragon Spear had also become incomparably large at this moment.
With a light shake of the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai circulated his energy and thrust the spear out towards the small Ore Star.
The void shook as dazzling spear light erupted out.
Luan Bai Feng even wondered whether the Ore Star would immediately shatter into pieces under this thrust.
However, Yang Kai clearly did not mean to blow up the Ore Star before him. So, he thrust his spear with just enough force that when it was applied to the Ore Star, the latter shook violently and began moving forward!
All the Ore Stars in the Black Territory were stationary relative to each other, yet Yang Kai’s power had been so violent in that moment that it was enough to push forward an Ore Star of such a scale.
However, the speed was not very fast!
Yang Kai followed the Ore Star and thrust his spear forward again.
Again and again he prodded the Ore Star with his spear, and the repeated blows made the small Ore Star go faster and faster! Luan Bai Feng could clearly see that Yang Kai was not only pushing the Ore Star forward with his own strength, but also adjusting the direction of its advancement.
Surprised, she looked up to see a massive Ore Star up ahead! It was obstructing Yang Kai’s path, so if this went on, then the two Ore Stars would collide sooner or later.
Luan Bai Feng suddenly came to her senses, “Are you trying to break apart that big Ore Star using this smaller one?”
After gaining an understanding of what he was trying to do, Luan Bai Feng could not help but feel shocked by Yang Kai’s crazy ideas. This was a method she had never thought of before; of course, she did not have the means to even execute it either.
It was not worthwhile to bring a small Ore Star back with them, and they could not move the large Ore Stars. However, if the big Ore Star can be broken into smaller pieces, then it might be just right for him.
Under Yang Kai’s successive pushes, the small Ore Star was able to reach a certain speed. Suddenly, he collected his spear and stopped in place, looking ahead and shaking his head, “The size difference between them is too great. The larger Ore Star won’t be broken by it.”
Luan Bai Feng frowned, “If you knew that, then why are you still wasting your effort?”
Yang Kai grinned, but he did not explain.
As if to verify Yang Kai’s words, the small Ore Star soon collided with the surface of the large Ore Star. There was no sound, but they could see a huge circle of dust rise up from where they collided as the small Ore Star was shattered by the impact. A huge crater had also appeared on the surface of the large Ore Star that was surrounded by cracks.
Under the transmission of such a terrifying force, the large Ore Star, which had been sitting still in the void, began moving forward at a considerable speed.
“It worked!” Yang Kai’s brows were raised in joy.
[What worked?] Luan Bai Feng did not understand; however, when she looked up again, her pupils suddenly shrank.
The direction that it was going was exactly the large Killing Array that she identified before!
“So that’s what you’re trying to do!” Luan Bai Feng finally understood. Yang Kai’s series of actions confused her, and it wasn’t until now that she finally realized what he was trying to accomplish. She could not help but frown, “Are you so sure that the Killing Array will work?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “There’s no way to be sure, but we have to try regardless. Naturally, it would be for the best if it worked, but otherwise… We can just bring back a small Ore Star. It’s better than nothing!”
Since he had already said so, Luan Bai Feng had no choice but to listen.
The large Ore Star did not move nearly as fast as the small one. Despite the force transferred onto it from the collision earlier, it was still a very large Ore Star, so it was naturally impossible for it to gain much speed from that. In the vastness of the void, it did not seem that far away from the Killing Array, but it still flew for several hours before slowly arriving at its destination.
Luan Bai Feng activated her Eye Secret Technique with interest and began observing the situation.
Regardless of Yang Kai’s ultimate goal, she was very interested in the Spirit Arrays located deep within the Black Territory, and she wanted to know what sort of magnificent sight would erupt from it when something triggered it. Perhaps, she could take this as an opportunity to explore the profound mysteries of the Spirit Arrays located in these depths.
Yang Kai was also paying close attention. His goal was to bring back one of the Ore Stars here, but since he could not take back one that was too large, he had to find a way to make it smaller. In the end, whether his goal could be achieved or not, he was not very sure.
He only hoped that the might of the Killing Array was not too much, but also not too weak either.
Under the careful observation of the two, the large Ore Star finally rushed straight into the Killing Array’s range.
Lights of all colours suddenly emerged in the clearly empty void. At the same time, both Yang Kai and Luan Bai Feng could clearly feel a destructive aura releasing from inside the Killing Array. It was as if a sleeping Dragon was disturbed by an unexpected guest and awakened from its slumber in a rage.
Silently, the large Ore Star seemed to suffer an indescribable blast. Dust rose up from the surface as large swaths of the surface were shredded off. One after another, long cracks spanning millions of kilometres appeared out of thin air.
The entire Ore Star shrank at a rate visible to the naked eye as every inch of its surface was attacked indiscriminately.
As the Ore Star travelled deeper, the power of the Killing Array was stimulated further. The energy fluctuations coming from that place grew stronger and more terrifying by the moment. The Ore Star was becoming smaller and smaller, and in just a dozen breaths of time, it had shrunk by a large amount. Inside of the Killing Array, the barren mountains and land separated from the Ore Star drifted about and were ground into dust under the destructive force.
Luan Bai Feng’s face was slightly pale, and the purple light flowing in her eyes had also reached its brightest point. She muttered to herself, “Incredible. This power… It’s simply unfathomable!”
Yang Kai also had a very solemn expression at this moment. Even though Luan Bai Feng always stressed that the Arrays present deep within the Black Territory were very strong, it wasn’t until now that he understood just how much he underestimated them after seeing it with his own eyes.
Such a terrifying Killing Array would kill even him in less than ten breaths.
Suddenly, a bright light blossomed. Just like a stunning sword wave, it cut through the Ore Star and disappeared in a flash, but what shocked Yang Kai and Luan Bai Feng was the fact that the entire Ore Star had been split into two after the light passed through it!
The Ore Star… was actually split apart!
One side was clearly bigger than the other, but the cut was still almost clean!
The larger part was about 70% of the Ore Star, while the smaller part made up the rest. The cut was so neat and smooth that it seemed as if it had been sliced with a knife!
The Killing Array was still in full bloom, so the two halves of the Ore Star continued to shrink in size.
It took a while before the explosive force of the Grand Array slowly subsided.
“The Killing Array has been exhausted!” Luan Bai Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Kai could sense it, too. Even though his Demon Eye of Annihilation had no way of discerning what type a Spirit Array was, he could still detect some of its traces.
The traces of the Killing Array that previously existed there had been extinguished, which undoubtedly meant that it had been destroyed. However, the price it paid was that the huge Ore Star was worn down and cut into two pieces.
However, this was exactly what Yang Kai hoped to see, so everything was still going according to plan.
Maintaining his Half-Dragon Form, Yang Kai rushed to the larger half of the Ore Star and pressed the tip of his Azure Dragon Spear to one of its sides, shouting, “Help me!”
Luan Bai Feng understood what he wanted to do and shifted over, raising her hand to press the end of the Azure Dragon Spear to give Yang Kai a boost!
The Ore Star had been split into two after it fell into the Killing Array’s range. Yang Kai did not bother with the smaller half and allowed it to float about freely. Perhaps its fate was to end up in one of the other Arrays, eventually being reduced to nothingness.
The remaining piece was the larger one. After being cut and shaven down, it was less than half of the original size of the Ore Star, but it was just perfect for them to bring back.
In his Half-Dragon Form, Yang Kai possessed immense physical strength, but even with Luan Bai Feng’s added help, it still took them a lot of effort in order to change the Ore Star’s direction of movement.
After a few moments of continuous pushing, Yang Kai said, “It’s almost there.”
While saying that, he landed on the Ore Star in a flash while bringing Luan Bai Feng along, allowing the Ore Star to fly forward. He did not dare to speed up the pace that the Ore Star was moving at further; after all, there would be many Arrays on their way back. He still had to adjust the direction at certain points, and if the Ore Star was moving too quick, then it would be too late to stop it if a dangerous Array were to appear in front of them.
Yang Kai took out some Open Heaven Pills, swallowed them down, and refined them in order to restore his strength, all the while looking thoughtfully behind him.
Luan Bai Feng was also focused on recovering her strength. Even though she only exerted a little bit of energy from beginning to end, it still took a lot of effort in order to change the trajectory of the broken Ore Star.
“What are you looking at?” Luan Bai Feng followed Yang Kai’s gaze and asked curiously.
Though he bordered on what she would define as crazy, she held much admiration for Yang Kai after seeing what he was able to achieve. If everything went well, then it would take less than a month for them to bring this broken piece of Ore Star back to the outer periphery. Then, she could bring her ore slaves over to mine the Black Stones in peace.
However, Yang Kai was perhaps the only person who could achieve such a feat. As for others, they may not be able to do it even if they were in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Before meeting Yang Kai, she had never seen anyone that was able to stop the encroachment of the strange aura present in the Black Territory before.
“Your attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays are not low. Were you able to discover anything from that Killing Array just now?” Yang Kai released his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique and returned to his original form.
Luan Bai Feng pondered for a moment before responding solemnly, “Did you see something?”
“If I could see something, then why would I still have to ask you?” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “However, I have the nagging feeling that the Killing Array was not as simple as it seemed… That light at the end looked very much like a sword wave!”
“A sword wave?” Luan Bai Feng was stunned. She had an expression of uncertainty, “You’re not trying to say that Killing Array was man-made, are you?”
Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully, “If that truly was a sword wave, then I’m afraid it might be man-made.”
“Impossible!” Luan Bai Feng shook her head, “The might of that Killing Array is too terrifying. Who would be able to set such a terrifying Spirit Array? And, even if it were man-made, who would have the time to do something so meaningless? Don’t forget, there are Natural Arrays present all throughout the Black Territory.”
“That’s right!” Yang Kai nodded, “There are so many Arrays that, if someone truly did arrange one here, it would be shocking indeed.” After a pause, he added, “And also, you have been staying here for so many years, yet you have never understood what this strange aura that fills the Black Territory is, correct?”
Luan Bai Feng did not deny it, “I tried to study it at first, but I couldn’t figure out any clues.”
Yang Kai frowned, “I heard before coming here that this Black Prison was a natural prison. Is that a rumour that spread after you took over this territory, or has that been around since the beginning?”
“It has been called that since long ago. It has nothing to do with me being here.” Luan Bai Feng also frowned, “What are you trying to say?”
Yang Kai looked pensive, “I’m not sure either, but since the saying that this Black Prison was a natural prison had been circulated since a long time ago, if this place truly was a prison, were any prisoners held here in the past? Then, could it be possible that those Natural Arrays that we saw are actually…”
Luan Bai Feng shuddered, “Don’t say any more. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “What’re you worried about? We’re just having a casual chat. Of course, these are all just speculation and do not mean anything.”
Luan Bai Feng’s face looked grim, “If it truly was as you said, then what kind of prisoners are being held in the depths of the Black Prison that require so many layers of Arrays to restrict them? How terrifying must their cultivation be?”
Yang Kai stroked his chin in thought, “That is true. If there truly existed someone so terrifying, then there was no way that they would be captured. Maybe I was just overthinking it.”
Luan Bai Feng looked deeply at him and suddenly burst into a fit of anger, “Are you trying to scare me?”
Yang Kai snickered, “You yourself have small guts and you’re trying to blame others?”
Without waiting for Luan Bai Feng to snap back at him, he ordered, “Enough chit-chat. Hurry up and watch the front. If we accidentally crash into an Array, it would be too late to cry then.”
“You’re the one who’s going to cry!” Luan Bai Feng was pissed; however, despite how she reacted, she still activated her Eye Secret Technique and looked towards the void in front.
Along the way, they encountered all sorts of Arrays of all different types, but whether it be Yang Kai or Luan Bai Feng, they both had Eye Secret Techniques that could detect their presence early on, so they were able to change the direction of the Ore Star in advance.
Though the journey ahead was fraught with trouble, they did not encounter any actual risk.
A full month later, the two finally returned to the outer periphery of the Black Territory. The main reason it took so long was because they did not dare to speed up the Ore Star too much in case there were any incidents that they were unable to deal with in time.
It took a lot of effort for the two of them to stop the Ore Star just 10,000 kilometres away from the main shattered Spirit Province, despite it already having lost half of its initial speed during their trip. As soon as the Ore Star was in place, Luan Bai Feng sent out a command.
An incense stick of time later, Xin Peng led a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters over.
After landing on the broken Ore Star fragment, all of them were shocked beyond words. They had been living here for countless years, so they knew well what the situation was like in the outer periphery; however, it had been many years since any unmined Ore Star had existed in this outer region. All of them have been mined beyond recognition, and some had even shattered into dust.
So, the sudden emergence of a craggy Ore Star was naturally surprising.
“Warden, this is…” Xin Peng looked around curiously and confirmed that this Ore Star that he was standing on was one that he had never seen before.
“This is the Ore Star that Bai Feng and I brought from the Black Territory’s depths,” Yang Kai gave a casual explanation.
Luan Bai Feng immediately turned over to glare at him. Being called ‘Bai Feng’ did not sit right with her.
Many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters’ mouths hung open, all of them stunned as if they could not believe their ears.
Yang Kai did not explain much either, he just turned to Luan Bai Feng and said, “Call over all your ore slaves and tell them to begin mining.”
Luan Bai Feng snorted in response, but she still passed down the order. A few moments later, many Open Heaven Realm Masters took off, clearly in preparation to bring the ore slaves over.
Looking over at her, Yang Kai asked, “How long do you think this Ore Star will last?”
Luan Bai Feng thought about the answer for a moment before answering, “It should last for at least two or three years. The environment here is comfortable, and there is no need for the ore slaves to worry about their World Force leaking, so they will be able to dedicate more time and energy to mining.”
“Two to three years… That sounds about right,” Yang Kai nodded.
Even though what he brought back was less than half of the original size of the Ore Star, there should be a good amount of cultivation materials present within it. After all, this Ore Star came from very deep within the Black Territory. It should not lack Sixth-Order materials, and there was the possibility of finding materials of the Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order…
As long as they could fully mine this Ore Star, it should be enough for Void Land’s use for the time being.
Once the day came when this Ore Star was exhausted, there was no harm in running into the depths once more to bring back another in the same way. Now that he had Luan Bai Feng serving him, the entirety of the Black Prison was his personal treasury. Other than him, no one had the right to put their hands on the resources found deep inside of the Black Prison.
“Since everything is settled, I will return to Void Land. I’ll leave the rest to you to handle. Head to Void Land once every half year and hand me the mined materials,” Yang Kai ordered.
Luan Bai Feng was surprised, “Leaving already?”
Yang Kai smirked, “Have you grown attached to me already?”
“As if!” Luan Bai Feng spat, but then she simmered down a little, “But isn’t your Void Land in conflict with Zuo Quan Hui right now? It can’t be easy dealing with a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, right?”
Yang Kai nodded gravely, “Yes. The strength of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master is truly powerful.” Recalling his fight with Zuo Quan Hui previously, he had to admit that there was a huge gap between himself and a Master in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Last time, he was only able to injure Zuo Quan Hui with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel because the latter was careless. If they were to fight again, and if Zuo Quan Hui was any more prepared than he was before, it would make it very difficult for Yang Kai to injure him again.
Luan Bai Feng quickly said, “I’ll go with you. I’m still a Sixth-Order Master, at the very least. I should be able to provide you with some help.”
Yang Kai looked at her in surprise, not expecting such an offer from her.
However, he had no intention of bringing Luan Bai Feng away from here. Void Land had 9 Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so having one extra wouldn’t make much difference. Right now, the matter of gathering resources in the Black Prison was his top priority, so he wanted Luan Bai Feng to keep watch here.
“You’re not that loyal, are you?” Yang Kai grinned at her.
Luan Bai Feng snorted, “What good would it do me if you were to die? That’s why I have to keep an eye on you.”
It was easy to garner that she had been insincere just from this sentence alone. From her words and expression, Yang Kai instantly understood why she would take the initiative to offer her help.
Perhaps the bold speculation that he made on their way back from the Black Prison’s depths had scared her a bit, and now this woman didn’t feel safe here, which was why she was in such a hurry to leave with him.
To be honest, that speculation was just a casual thought Yang Kai had. Even he felt that the idea was ridiculous, but he did not expect Luan Bai Feng to take it so seriously.
“If you leave, then what about…” Yang Kai frowned.
Luan Bai Feng reminded, “Xin Peng has already signed your Loyalty List, so there is no need for you to worry if you keep him here to oversee the mining process. Later, I will teach him all the techniques required to enter and leave the Black Prison, and in case anything happens, he will report to you.”
She had already arranged everything, so Yang Kai could not refuse her. What’s more, Luan Bai Feng was a veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with excellent combat capabilities he could make use of if he brought her back. So, he eventually nodded, “In that case, we shall act according to your suggestion.”
Immediately, Luan Bai Feng called Xin Peng over and said a few words to him. She also handed him several jade tokens.
Flying Smoke Territory was the Great Territory adjacent to Void Territory, so the two could be considered neighbours.
There was a Second Class great force located in Flying Smoke Territory that was not considered too strong, Flying Smoke Temple, and it was from them that Flying Smoke Territory’s name came about. The Temple Master of Flying Smoke Temple was called Yu Xiu Shan, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
When Seven Wonder Land occupied Void Territory, they had many conflicts with this Flying Smoke Territory. Such feuds between neighbouring Great Territories were common in the 3,000 Worlds.
Back then, Seven Wonders Land’s foundation was severely damaged when Xu Huang wrestled control of their Grand Array away from them. Even several of their Protector Venerables were killed. Qi Qiao Heavenly Monarch was also severely injured in that event. Naturally, Flying Smoke Temple was unwilling to miss this opportunity to attack. Yu Xiu Shan gathered all his troops to march against Seven Wonders Land before they could recover and slaughtered them.
Yang Kai had just returned from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary at that time and was being hunted down by Scarlet Star’s Head Manager Zhao Bai Chuan and his men. Nearing the end of his rope, Yang Kai remembered Seven Wonders Land, so he used the Array Jade given to him by Xu Huang before the latter’s death to sneak into the shopping district of Seven Wonders Land.
Somehow, Zhao Bai Chuan and his men, who were in pursuit of Yang Kai, ended up conspiring with Yu Xiu Shan to attack Seven Wonders Land, killing all their Open Heaven Realm Masters and seizing control of their land.
Yu Xiu Shan had his foundation in Flying Smoke Territory, so he naturally would not stay in Seven Wonders Territory for long, so he ended up returning with a large amount of loot. Zhao Bai Chuan and the others stayed in Seven Wonders Land, planning to use it as a base to revive Scarlet Star.
Unfortunately for Zhao Bai Chuan, his beautiful dream was cut short when Yang Kai led his men out of the shadows to attack them, catching Scarlet Star’s survivors off guard and unprepared.
After that battle, most of Scarlet Star’s members either died or escaped, leaving only Chen Tian Fei behind who had even offered up the Loyalty List to keep his life.
It was then that Yang Kai took over Seven Wonders Land and became its new ruler, later renaming it Void Land.
Looking back on it now, Flying Smoke Temple and Yu Xiu Shan actually had a lot of merit in Yang Kai’s successful takeover of Void Land. Only, Yu Xiu Shan had no idea what he had done at that time.
Subsequently, Void Land emerged and rapidly grew in prestige. Yu Xiu Shan had also come to Void Land himself in order to meet Yang Kai and try to form connections with him; after all, they were neighbours so it would make everything more convenient to have a good relationship. However, Yang Kai was mostly cultivating in retreat or outside, so Yu Xiu Shan failed to meet him even after visiting twice.
When Heavenly Sword Union led the Hundred Sects Alliance to attack Void Land, Flying Smoke Temple also participated, but during that fight, Yu Xiu Shan was beaten back until he was thoroughly traumatized.
The result was needless to say. Kong Feng died during the battle, and the Hundred Sects Alliance collapsed. Flying Smoke Temple also suffered heavy losses, with Yu Xiu Shan fleeing with heavy injuries.
Flying Smoke Temple was one of the great forces that took the initiative to come to Yang Kai’s door to apologize. They scraped together everything they could afford as an offering, and fortunately for them, Void Land had no intention of settling accounts. Everyone in Flying Smoke Temple lived nervously for several years before they finally began to breathe a bit easier.
Yang Kai led Luan Bai Feng all the way from the Black Territory back to his territory through the Flying Smoke Territory route.
Currently, Yang Kai and Luan Bai Feng were both concealing their auras and figures as they stood several thousands of kilometres away from the Territory Gate, watching over the situation there.
This Territory Gate was the one connecting Flying Smoke Territory and Void Territory. In other words, they need only pass through this Territory Gate to arrive at Void Territory.
However, there were several great ships just outside of the Territory Gate at this moment, but not passing through it.
Yang Kai could clearly see that these great ships were trying to block off the Territory Gate. He saw a ship head over to pass the Territory Gate but was stopped by the great ships forming the blockade.
Both sides seemed to have gone through a simple discussion, then the ship had no choice but to turn back.
Yang Kai frowned at this sight. He had the vague sense that this had to have something to do with Zuo Quan Hui. He had only left Void Territory for half a year and the situation had seemingly changed again.
As for what exactly that change was, he could not say for now.
A little less than half a year should be enough time for Zuo Quan Hui to recover. He had eaten a big loss last time, and even lost his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Disciple, Zhou Ti, at Yang Kai’s hands. Now, he would definitely try to take revenge.
“Follow the ship and find out what exactly happened.” Yang Kai could not go himself, so he had no choice but to order Luan Bai Feng to head over.
Luan Bai Feng spat disdainfully, but she still flew out obediently.
Yang Kai waited in place for more than two hours before seeing Luan Bai Feng return.
“What’s the situation?” Yang Kai asked.
Luan Bai Feng said with a strange expression, “Those ships blocking off the Territory Gate are Heavenly Sword Union’s ships. They say that nobody who wishes to enter Void Land is allowed to pass.”
“Heavenly Sword Union?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “Why have those trash jumped out again? What are they blocking off the Territory Gate for?”
He was now burning with rage. When Heavenly Sword Union led the Hundred Sects Alliance to attack Void Land, basically all of the great forces involved had come to apologize with gifts after he razed Boundless Altar and Golden Rainbow Province to the ground. Only Heavenly Sword Union did not make any noise about the matter.
Yang Kai was busy with Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly previously, so he had wanted to wait until it ended before dealing with Heavenly Sword Union, only to be delayed by Zuo Quan Hui who came over to give him trouble, ending up in him being caught in his current mess. Naturally, he had no time to care about a trivial Heavenly Sword Union.
However, Yang Kai never expected that the latter would come to his doorstep to flaunt their presence before he could even do anything.
Luan Bai Feng looked at him with a deep gaze, “Do you know who the current Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union is?”
Yang Kai could not help but frown when faced with her strange tone, “Who?”
“Zuo Quan Hui!” Luan Bai Feng muttered.
Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly understood, “The enemy of an enemy is a friend, is it? Zuo Quan Hui ‘rebelled’ from Thousand Cranes Paradise, and with his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, he is more than qualified to become the Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union. Obviously, Heavenly Sword Union could want for nothing than to be under a Master like him. That means those bastards are colluding!”
Luan Bai Feng nodded, “Now that Zuo Quan Hui is the Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union, the people of Heavenly Sword Union will naturally obey his orders. The reason they are blocking off this Territory Gate is so that they can stop any outsiders from entering Void Territory in order to cut off the foundation of your Star City.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “That man has wicked ideas, but what use is this? It’s not like this Territory Gate is the only one to my Void Territory! It’s not as if his Heavenly Sword Union has blocked off all the Territory Gates, right?”
Luan Bai Feng shook his head, “There’s no need to block off all of them. They only need to show their stance and spread the news.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai frowned. Even though he was stronger than Luan Bai Feng and had forced her to submit using the Loyalty List, Yang Kai could not compare with her in terms of experience and vision in the 3,000 Worlds.
After all, she was a veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with many centuries of experience. Compared to Yang Kai, a fresh face in the Outer Universe, she would often have the ability to see farther.
Luan Bai Feng explained, “Zuo Quan Hui is one of Thousand Cranes Paradise’s Inner Elders. With his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, his name echoes loudly across the 3,000 Worlds. On the other hand, your Void Land is nothing more than a rising star. Even though you do have some reputation, most of it is only based on your Star City’s specialty products. Tell me, if the two of you clash, who will the outsiders lean towards?”
Yang Kai frowned, “Naturally it would be Zuo Quan Hui, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.”
Luan Bai Feng nodded, “En. A High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master can exert more power than just their own personal strength. There is also the terrifying connections and imposingness that they have built up over the years. If it were anyone else, how could Heavenly Sword Union give up the position of Union Master so easily? However, Zuo Quan Hui was able to obtain it at will, which shows the trust that Heavenly Sword Union has in him. Now that he has become the Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union and has come to block the Territory Gate of Void Territory, he’s trying to tell the world at large that he intends to go to war with Void Land. How do you think people will react if they find out? How do you think the merchants in your Star City will react?”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened.
Luan Bai Feng continued, “Zuo Quan Hui is smart. This way, he can isolate your Void Land without sacrificing a single soldier, and your Void Land’s resource supply will be cut off. Perhaps, even your Star City will find it hard to maintain itself over time. You have so many people in Void Land and all of them need to cultivate, do they not? Without resources, how are they going to do that? No matter how many resources Void Land has accumulated, it will eventually run dry.
“Cunning old bastard!” Yang Kai ground his teeth, “He truly has a wicked mind!”
“It’s an open conspiracy!” Luan Bai Feng said bluntly, “Even if you know his intentions, there is nothing you can do to stop it, unless your reputation can overshadow his! That is why he does not need to block off all of Void Territory’s entrances. He just needs to make a show here, and the news will soon spread all throughout the 3,000 Worlds.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “My Void Land is no soft persimmon either. If he wants to gnaw on my Void Land, then first let’s see whether he has strong enough teeth for it.”
Luan Bai Feng nodded repeatedly, “I know your Void Land has two great Divine Spirits to watch over it, but that old man Bi Xi is not mobile, so he won’t be able to do much in such a situation. The only one you can count on now is that Heavenly Moon Demon Spider. If she makes a move against Zuo Quan Hui, then your situation will naturally be solved.”
The corners of Yang Kai’s brow twitched. Just thinking about Zhu Jiu Yin filled his stomach with grievances.
With her identity as his Protector now voided, Zhu Jiu Yin had become even more fickle than before. She would rather see him suffer than to care about him at all. If she had been willing to join the fight last time, then how could Zuo Quan Hui have escaped from Void Land?
However, Yang Kai also knew what Zhu Jiu Yin was worried about. It was not a matter as simple as whether she joined the fight or not; after all, Zuo Quan Hui was from Thousand Cranes Paradise. If she were to kill Zuo Quan Hui, then she would definitely have to worry that Thousand Cranes Paradise would come to settle accounts with her in the future.
No matter how strong a Divine Spirit was, they were not invincible. Take the Eighth-Order Masters of the major Cave Heavens and Paradises, which one of them was any weaker compared to a mature Divine Spirit? Zhu Jiu Yin had come from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and had no foundation to speak of at all in the outside world. If she were truly to catch the eye of Thousand Cranes Paradise, then her days would not be easy.
After a deep thought, Yang Kai asked, “How long has it been since Zuo Quan Hui became Heavenly Sword Union’s Union Master?”
“It should be several months now,” Luan Bai Feng answered.
[Several months…]
That was to say that Zuo Quan Hui left for Heavenly Sword Union to recuperate after being injured by him. It seemed that he had long intended to bring Heavenly Sword Union under him.
It did make sense. Void Land did not possess any Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but they did have plenty in the Sixth-Order. After Zhou Ti died, there was that Sixth-Order female disciple and the three from the Prison Star among Zuo Quan Hui’s subordinates on that level. Even though they were all strong, they were lacking in numbers, and it was necessary for him to rely on external forces. In this case, Heavenly Sword Union was undoubtedly the best choice…
“You worked with Kong Feng before. Do you have any idea how many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters there are in Heavenly Sword Union?” Yang Kai asked. The biggest advantage that Void Land had right now was their superior numbers of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. If even that advantage was nullified, the situation would become tricky.
“On the surface, only four appear to show themselves. Right now, two have died, so only two are supposedly left. However, Heavenly Sword Union has a long history, so it is hard to say exactly how many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters they are hiding in the shadows. Those Sixth-Order Masters in hiding are old veterans who spend all their time cultivating in retreat, their goal to spy into the path of the Seventh-Order.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Heavenly Sword Union was one of the top Second Class great forces, so the number of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm members they have will definitely not be too small; after all, even Golden Rainbow Province had a hidden Old Ancestor. When Yang Kai attacked Golden Rainbow Province, Li Luo Shui had just broken through to the Seventh Order and almost made him eat a big loss.
Compared to Golden Rainbow Province, Heavenly Sword Union had an even deeper and broader heritage, so it was not strange for them to be hiding some old monsters.
It seemed Zuo Quan Hui’s strength had greatly increased after receiving Heavenly Sword Union’s full support. Even with more Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, it was likely that Void Land would not have that much of an advantage anymore.
Yang Kai pursed his lips, feeling a headache setting in. Sure enough, beating the snake to death to avoid future calamity comes along with endless consequences.
“Also, you must not forget. Zuo Quan Hui has his own connections, too. The people that Void Land has to fight in the future will not only be Heavenly Sword Union. There is most likely going to be more.”
Yang Kai nodded grimly.
“What are you planning to do?” Luan Bai Feng turned to look at him.
“Let me think about it!” Yang Kai fell into deep thought. From the looks of this situation, Void Land and Heavenly Sword Union had yet to break out into an open conflict. When Zuo Quan Hui infiltrated Void Territory to set up an ambush, firstly, he did not expect Void Land to be so strong, and secondly, it was because he had absolute confidence in his own strength.
There was no way a Seventh-Order Master would slip up trying to plot against one in the Sixth-Order.
However, Void Land’s heritage gave him a huge surprise, and Yang Kai’s abilities were also far beyond what he imagined possible. In the end, not only did he fail in his plot, he even lost a Sixth-Order Disciple and was wounded in the process.
Now that he controlled Heavenly Sword Union, the power Zuo Quan Huai could mobilize was far greater than just the subordinates he brought before, yet he did not send any troops to Void Land. That was obviously because he was also concerned about the two Divine Spirits keeping watch over Void Land, but mainly, he was worried about Zhu Jiu Yin!
It seemed that Zhu Jiu Yin still had some use even without having to lift a finger. At the very least, her presence was a deterrent that was enough to keep Zuo Quan Hui from acting rashly.
Otherwise, there was no need for him to block off the Territory Gate. Zuo Quan Hui could have just led his men into Void Territory like last time and started a war.
Combined with what Luan Bai Feng told him before, Yang Kai now vaguely understood what Zuo Quan Hui’s plans were. He was truly prepared to swallow up Void Land. There are so many people in Void Land that even if all they did was sit idly and ate on their mountains, they would one day run out of resources. When that time came, they would be forced to go out by themselves, and that would be the best time for him to make a move.
Considering all this, Yang Kai was actually quite relieved. This was also what he wanted to see. The longer the fight dragged on, the greater the advantage would be for Void Land!
Licking his lips, Yang Kai looked up at Luan Bai Feng, “You were planning to help Zuo Quan Hui, weren’t you?”
Luan Bai Feng fidgeted, “That’s right. If I follow a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, then even if I can’t taste the meat, I will at least get a share of the soup.”
Yang Kai grinned, “Then go. I believe that Zuo Quan Hui would also be happy to see you join him.”
Luan Bai Feng blinked her eyes and answered in a daze, “Are you asking me to be a spy?”
“You don’t dare?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
Luan Bai Feng scoffed, “What’s there for me to worry about? Everyone knows that there are grievances between me and your Void Land. It is only normal for me to hear the news and come to join him. Obviously, Zuo Quan Hui will not be suspicious of anything.”
“Exactly!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Luan Bai Feng asked, “If I do find out any important information, how am I supposed to report to you?”
“There is no need to contact me in the near future. Zuo Quan Hui will most likely not be starting anything yet either. Once the real fight starts… there will be opportunities for us to communicate.”
Luan Bai Feng nodded, “Good. What about you?”
Yang Kai turned towards the Territory Gate, “Naturally, I’m returning to Void Territory!”
Luan Bai Feng followed his gaze and asked with some concern, “Are you planning to fight your way through? What if Zuo Quan Hui happens to be here. You are not his opponent. Why don’t you take the long way around and return through another Territory Gate?”
Yang Kai laughed, “Zuo Quan Hui is a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Where would he have time to idle around here? Even if his injuries are healed, he must still be recuperating somewhere. Not to mention, even if he is here… Do you think I can’t run if I can’t beat him?”
Luan Bai Feng stared blankly at him. If any other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were to say that, she would definitely scoff at them. Despite there only being a difference of a single Order, the Sixth-Order and the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realms were worlds apart in terms of true strength. It would only require the raise of one’s hand for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to deal with someone in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but if it was Yang Kai…
“Then be careful lest you let the ship capsize on calm seas!”
Yang Kai nodded, “You should find a place to hide for now. Wait until the dust settles before you go to Zuo Quan Hui so you don’t rouse his suspicions.”
If Luan Bai Feng tried to join up just after Yang Kai got into a fight in Flying Smoke Territory, Zuo Quan Hui would definitely investigate it.
“I know!” Luan Bai Feng nodded.
“You should watch out, too. If things take a turn for the worse, leave immediately.” Yang Kai left her with a few more instructions before disappearing in a flash.
Luan Bai Feng tried to follow his traces, and at first, was able to detect which direction Yang Kai had gone, but it did not take long for her to lose track of him. She quietly withdrew 10,000 kilometres before all of a sudden, she felt a strong energy fluctuation burst out from behind her. When she turned around to look, a great battle had broken out near the Territory Gate. The ships floating in the void had all gone up in flames, illuminating the area as if it were daytime. Obviously, Yang Kai’s fight with those people had begun.
Several figures were engaged in battle near the Territory Gate. One by one, Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were unleashed, shaking the Void and flipping the world.
There were five people surrounding Yang Kai, four of whom were old acquaintances. One of them was the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm female Disciple under Zuo Quan Hui, as well as Yellow Spring Heavenly Monarch, Firm Gold Heavenly Monarch, and Blue Flame Heavenly Monarch. However, the last one was an elderly man Yang Kai was unfamiliar with.
Yang Kai guessed that he must be one of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of Heavenly Sword Union!
To fight one against five was a little strenuous, even for Yang Kai. Other than the woman, whose heritage was a little shallower, the rest of his enemies were all veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and the World Force that they were exuding from their bodies was extremely rich and imposing. Each one of their Divine Abilities also contained great power.
If it were not for mastery of the Dao of Space and his Azure Dragon Spear’s might, Yang Kai would have long been defeated.
There was still a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters under the Sixth Order surrounding him in all directions, forming an impenetrable wall. Everyone was moving quickly, tightly surrounding the chaotic battlefield.
It was hard for these weaker cultivators to keep their positions under the fallout from the battle, so it wasn’t long before their vitality began roiling, shocking them greatly. If this was the aftershock of the battle, then how could they still survive if they were caught up in the real battle?
Huang Quan and the others were similarly shocked.
Last time, when they followed Zuo Quan Hui to ambush Yang Kai, they had not fought the latter head-on. Even though they knew that he was highly skilled, they did not know the true extent of Yang Kai’s strength.
However, they were finally able to fully realize how powerful he was at this moment.
His Azure Dragon Spear stabbed forward and retreated as quickly and unpredictably as a ghost, and it was simply impossible for them to catch its traces. Even while uniting their strength, they were unable to gain a decisive advantage. What’s more, they dripped with cold sweat each time they were faced with one of Yang Kai’s counterattacks.
Though on the surface, Yang Kai seemed like he was being suppressed and could do little to fight back, his every counterattack was wrapped in the aura of death, leaving the five people on their toes the whole fight.
Huang Quan and the other two from the Prison Star, as well as the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from Heavenly Sword Union, struggled to keep Yang Kai in check as they tried to extend their advantage and simply hold him in place.
However, the Sixth-Order woman seemed to have gone crazy as she bombarded Yang Kai with attacks indiscriminately. Even her eyes were dyed crimson.
The scene of her Senior Brother Zhou Ti’s death had been haunting her for the past few months. With the killer in front of her, it was only natural that she would fly into a murderous rage, wanting nothing more than to rip Yang Kai’s corpse into 10,000 pieces and avenge her Senior Brother’s death.
Her reckless behaviour forced Huang Quan and the others to have to divert a large part of their energy in order to make up for the openings she left. They tried to give a few words of advice during the battle, but she simply was not listening to any of it.
Huang Quan and the others were almost going mad at this situation! They all felt miserable, as if someone was dragging them down despite all their best efforts in working together.
However, Huang Quan and the others did not dare allow her to get into any trouble; otherwise, they would have no way of explaining themselves to Zuo Quan Hui.
“Yang Kai, you killed my Senior Brother, and now I must take your life to avenge him!” The woman gnashed her teeth and screamed at him after a failed strike, but her hands did not stop moving as she continued, releasing her World Force recklessly.
Yang Kai raised his spear to block her assault before replying with a barrage of thrusts, pushing against his five opponents all at once. Gaining some breathing room, he snickered and taunted, “Is your Senior Brother the one called Zhou Ti? Hm, let me think about how he died… That’s right, I burned him to death with Golden Crow’s True Fire, and your Honoured Master, Zuo Quan Hui did nothing but watch! He should have been able to save him, but he didn’t, do you know why?”
The woman’s eyes became even redder, and there seemed to be tears welling up in them. She could not help but recall the scene of Zhou Ti’s demise, and his pitiful screams and pleas for help were still echoing in her ears. Tears quickly blurred her vision, but her moves continued to grow in ferocity.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense, he’s just trying to distract you!” Huang Quan yelled.
“It’s because your pathetic Honoured Master was trying to protect himself from further injury!” Yang Kai was fighting one moment and retreating the next, laughing wantonly, “If he saved Zhou Ti, then his injuries would become more serious; however, he could have done it if he wanted to. I’m not a match for him after all!”
“I’ll kill you!” The woman’s World Force was fluctuating violently, clearly showing her disturbed mood. She also separated from the rhythm of the other four and lunged straight at Yang Kai.
A cold light flashed past Yang Kai’s eyes, and the Azure Dragon Spear was thrust out at an unpredictable angle. A black dot the size of a bean suddenly appeared at the tip of the spear. Space Principles flared as he thrust out towards the woman.
Rupture!
“Watch out!” Huang Quan had been vigilantly guarding the woman the whole time, so he immediately unleashed a Divine Ability towards Yang Kai as soon as the woman made her move.
Jin Gang and Cang Yan both hastened to remedy the situation as well while the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from Heavenly Sword Union blasted out a Divine Ability towards Yang Kai, attempting to save the woman by forcing the enemy back!
In a chaotic exchange of blows, the mighty powers of Divine Abilities exploded all around. Yang Kai’s face had turned slightly pale and he retreated 100 kilometres back, suppressing the blood that was roiling up inside of his chest.
Huang Quan and the others were guarding the Sixth-Order woman and confronting Yang Kai from a distance, but all of them were covered in a cold sweat.
If they had not rescued her at that moment, then Zuo Quan Hui’s female Disciple would have been severely injured if not dead. Cursing inside their hearts that sure enough, women were the source of all trouble, they still did not dare to loosen their guard.
It was at that moment that a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from deep inside Flying Smoke Territory. The aura was clearly very far away, yet it could clearly be felt by everyone here.
“The Divine Monarch has come!” Huang Quan and the others were all overjoyed. They knew that Zuo Quan Hui, who was recuperating in retreat all this while, must have sensed the energy fluctuations from their battle and rushed over to support them.
Yang Kai’s face darkened. Looking up towards the source of that aura, he could vaguely see a huge illusory phantom closing in rapidly, and that phantom was a terrifying face that was large enough to cover half the void.
He sighed. He had originally planned to take down another one of Zuo Quan Hui’s generals even if he were to suffer an injury while doing so, but now it seemed like that was impossible. Zuo Quan Hui was coming, and he had to make his escape now.
After glaring at Huang Quan and the others, Yang Kai turned around and left.
“Stop him!” Huang Quan shouted as he already began rushing in Yang Kai’s direction. As long as they could keep Yang Kai here, then when Zuo Quan Hui arrived, he would definitely be killed without a doubt.
“Those who stand in my way must die!” Yang Kai raised his spear and thrust it out. A spear aura blossomed, and screams of agony broke out among the many Open Heaven Realm Masters surrounding him.
Those Open Heaven Realm Masters who were surrounding the fight were all under the Sixth Order, so how could they hope to block Yang Kai’s path?
A hole was opened up before him, leaving a dozen corpses drifting across the void while the rest of the group fled in all directions with frightened faces.
By the time Huang Quan and the others rushed over, Yang Kai had already plunged straight into the Territory Gate and disappeared, leaving Huang Quan and the others with helpless looks on their faces.
They did not have the guts to follow him into Void Territory. Who knew whether Yang Kai would suddenly turn his spear back against them if they travelled to the other side? If they went in under such circumstances, it would be no different than stepping through the gates of Hell.
After standing quietly in place for an incense stick, Zuo Quan Hui finally arrived. Sweeping a glance around the wreckage, he coldly snorted.
Huang Quan and the others all hung their heads, not daring to speak.
“Where did Yang Kai come from?” Zuo Quan Hui asked.
They all looked at each other, but all of them shook their heads, not knowing the answer. They never thought that Yang Kai would show up in Flying Smoke Territory, either. If they had thought of this possibility, then they would have been more vigilant.
“Wastes!” Zuo Quan Hui cursed angrily.
Many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters did not dare to raise their heads after being scolded by Zuo Quan Hui. They had their complaints, but considering that Zuo Quan Hui’s mood had been terrible recently, none of them dared to make a sound.
Zuo Quan Hui had an angry fit by himself before he flicked his sleeve and left.
Seeing that he did not insist on chasing Yang Kai into Void Territory, Huang Quan and the others breathed sighs of relief. Inside, they regretted that they ever joined Zuo Quan Hui in the first place, and now they had to suffer his temper just after being freed from the Prison Star. The gains simply did not make up for the losses.
Inside Void Territory, Yang Kai stopped to observe the Star City from afar.
The dock was as bustling as ever; however, while there were people lining up to enter the Star City in the past, this time, it was people in the Star City who were lining up to leave.
Of course, there were still those who were entering the Star City, but the number was very small, which was extremely inconsistent with the previous situation at the Star City.
Yang Kai had expected this, but he did not expect the situation to develop so quickly. It seemed that no ordinary great force dared to provoke Thousand Cranes Paradise or Zuo Quo Quan Hui.
When Yang Kai appeared at the Void Dock, Jin Yuan Lang, who was responsible for overseeing this area, immediately came over to greet him. With a worried expression, he cupped his fist, “Sect Master!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly in response, “Let’s talk somewhere quiet.”
“Follow me, Sect Master.” Jin Yuan Lang gestured with his hand and led Yang Kai into a quiet room.
Before Yang Kai could speak, Jin Yuan Lang sputtered, “Sect Master, that Zuo Quan Hui has released news that he is now absolutely irreconcilable with our Void Land, and vows to raze our Sect to the ground. When the merchants in the Star City heard the news, many of them began scrambling to leave.”
“I saw.” Yang Kai nodded, “How long has it been since the message was released? How many have left?”
Jin Yuan Lang thought for a moment, “The news came out more than a month ago, and now, 10% of the merchants have left Void Star City. I’m afraid that number will only grow. The Governor has sent word that many businesses in the Star City are packing up to leave.”
“We’re not making it difficult for these merchants who are trying to leave, are we?” Yang Kai asked.
Jin Yuan Land shook his head, “Second Manager said that we cannot force them to stay if they have the intention to leave. So, all of them have been allowed to pass freely. That is why they are only checked routinely at the dock and released without any trouble.”
“Second Manager did well,” Yang Kai praised.
The people in the Star City were all from different great forces, both big and small, so it was only natural that they would fear a High-Rank Open Heaven Master like Zuo Quan Hui. If Void Land tried to force them to stay, then it would only draw criticism and ire, so they might as well just let everyone leave on good terms.
“But Sect Master, if this goes on, then the foundation of the Star City will be shaken. The popularity that we have built up with so much effort will all go up into smoke.”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “It’s not that serious! There will be businesses that won’t leave.” After a pause, he added, “How many merchants do you think will stay?”
Jin Yuan Lang shook his head, “That is hard for me to say. I am only in charge of watching over the Void Dock. Sect Master should seek Governor Mo for such questions!”
Void Star City had a Governor’s Office, where Mo Mei was assuming command.
As they were talking, they heard Mo Mei’s voice emerge, “We should be able to keep about 30% of them, possibly less.”
Yang Kai looked over and saw Mo Mei walking in, then bowing elegantly, “Welcome back, Sect Master.”
Yang Kai nodded and gestured towards a seat, “Sit.”
Mo Mei took her seat and explained, “My subordinates informed me that Sect Master appeared at the dock, so I came over to take a look. Has Sect Master’s trip been fruitful?”
Yang Kai left half a year ago without raising any noise, but the higher-ups of Void Land were still made aware of his movements, so they all knew that he had gone to the Black Prison to seek out Luan Bai Feng.
“It was a decent harvest.” Yang Kai nodded and smiled, “I brought back many good things from this trip.”
Mo Mei’s eyes lit up and she giggled, “Sure enough, nothing is impossible for Sect Master.”
“It was just luck,” Yang Kai waved his hand casually, “Let’s talk about the Star City. How can you tell that 30% will stay?”
Speaking of business, Mo Mei’s expression also turned serious, “Of course, there are merchants in the Star City who are afraid of Zuo Quan Hui and Thousand Cranes Paradise’s resounding presence, and do not think highly of our Void Land; however, as merchants, there are still those with the instinct to pursue profit. That is why there will still be brave ones who will remain. We will have to see what happens. Besides, not all are afraid of Zuo Quan Hui. There are a few who do not put him in their eyes, such as Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Temple and Asura Cave Heaven’s Asura Arena.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. The ones behind these two businesses were both Cave Heavens, so there was indeed no need for them to fear a measly Zuo Quan Hui.
“The rise of our Void Star City is due to the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, a Spirit Pill that only we can sell. There will always be people who will stay, so 30% is my estimate, though I can’t be sure.” Mo Mei smiled, “Still, the Star City’s popularity will take a plunge with so many merchants leaving, and before the conflict with Zuo Quan Hui is resolved, it will be impossible for us to restore our previous prosperity.”
“No matter. Even though this Star City is my Void Land’s foundation, we have still accumulated a lot of supplies over the years. It should be enough for us to use for a short period of time. As long as we win this war, the Star City’s popularity will be restored sooner or later.”
“Sect Master is right!” Mo Mei nodded, “Second Manager had also gathered us to discuss this matter. With the resources that Void Land has accumulated up until now, there is no need for us to worry for the next few years.”
“The next few years?” Yang Kai nodded lightly. He had brought enough materials for 10 people to break through to the Sixth Order during this trip. If the Great Emperors continued to do their best, then there was no reason for them not to be able to advance in the next few years. When that time came, Void Land would naturally gain the qualification to compete with Zuo Quan Hui.
“Sect Master, I have an idea,” Mo Mei looked at him.
“Speak.”
“The merchants in the Star City have signed contracts valid for differing numbers of years to rent the shops in the Star City. Now that they have left of their own accord, the contracts are naturally null and void. This will suddenly create an influx of unoccupied shops and stalls.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That is inevitable. What is your suggestion?”
Mo Mei smiled, “Naturally, I cannot solve the problem with the unoccupied shops, but for those who are willing to stay, can’t we provide them with some concessions and benefits, such as reducing their rent and taxes? At least, we should let them know that our Void Land is not ungrateful.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment and agreed, “That’s a good idea. Also, if those who left ever want to return to the Star City, they will have to pay a higher rent and tax compared to the others.”
Mo Mei was surprised, “Would… Would that not backfire?”
Yang Kai laughed, “The Star City belongs to our Void Land. They can come if they want to, but if they don’t then no one will force them. There’s nothing wrong with this arrangement.”
Every step in a First Class Star City was paved with gold, and it was very difficult for a great force to rent shops in good locations. Void Star City had the qualifications to be called First Class and it had taken them several expansions to get to their current size. In the past, those merchants would fight desperately for the best locations. Now that Void Land was suffering external problems, those merchants were free to leave, but if they wished to return, then they would have to accommodate Void Land’s mood.
Mo Mei smiled, “You are the Sect Master, so your word is law. I will arrange for someone to take care of it.”
Yang Kai nodded, “En, go.”
Once Mo Mei left, Yang Kai turned back to Jin Yuan Lang, “For those who wish to leave, there is no need to denounce them. Just let them all go. Sooner or later, they will come crawling back.”
Jin Yuan Lang cupped his fist, “This subordinate will obey!”
The situation in the Star City was not stable right now, but there was also no need for Yang Kai to pay too much attention to it. When an external threat makes its presence known, everyone has the innate instinct to protect themselves.
Getting up and walking out, Yang Kai looked up into the void. This fight had just begun!
Void Land was surrounded in a grim atmosphere. Everyone was desperately cultivating so that they could play their part in the approaching great war.
For the disciples with lower cultivation, this was a battle that would determine Void Land’s fate, and the fighting could break out at any moment. Their cultivation was not high, but they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of Void Land.
Yang Kai worked hard to bring them out of the Star Boundary and gave them the chance to see the vast and colourful world of the Outer Universe, giving them a place to reside and a peaceful environment to cultivate.
Now, someone wanted to destroy that; nobody was willing to let it happen. Anyone who wished to do so would have to do it over their dead bodies!
Surprisingly, a month went past, but everything remained peaceful. Two months, then three months passed, but it was still the same!
However, that was just what Void Land’s disciples wanted, more time to cultivate, though the supplies that were being handed to them each time grew smaller and smaller.
The Star City’s population had taken a serious hit, and each day, large droves of merchants left. Now, Void Star City was no longer the bustling city it once was. Walking through the Star City, the traffic was sparse, and most businesses were shut down.
In a matter of months, Void Star City had lost more than 70% of its initial tenants, which was higher than Mo Mei’s initial estimate.
Its popularity plummeted and the merchants left, which meant that the Star City’s income was significantly reduced, and the rate at which it could gather cultivation resources also slowed greatly.
Even though the Star City had accumulated a good amount of wealth for Void Land, it would not last them for more than a few years at this rate. In order to plan for the future, Bian Yu Qing, the Second Manager of Void Land, had no choice but to ration cultivational resources.
A large amount of supplies were given to those who were expected to advance into the Open Heaven Realm within a short time, such as the Great Emperors and Pseudo-Great Emperors, so it was only natural that disciples with lower cultivation were being allocated less now.
The more than 10,000 materials that Yang Kai brought back from the Black Prison entered Void Land’s treasury, relieving their resource woes for the near future. Bian Yu Qing was especially pleased and surprised at the Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials he brought that were enough for ten peoples’ use.
Including the three sets that Void Land had originally, they now had enough resources to help 13 cultivators advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and it was foreseeable that more than a dozen Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would appear in Void Land soon.
Not to mention the fact that the mining operation was still going on back at the Black Prison. The Ore Star that Yang Kai spent a lot of effort bringing back from the Black Territory’s depths would grant them plenty of resources in the coming two to three years. Void Land’s material situation would be greatly improved once the ore slaves in the Black Prison had finished mining that half of the Ore Star.
The fact that Zuo Quan Hui has remained quiet for months without any intention of attacking Void Land all but confirmed Yang Kai’s theory that the former intended to wage a protracted war against Void Land.
This was exactly what Yang Kai hoped to see. Void Land had only been around for a short time, and what it needed most was time. The disciples needed time to grow, and the Great Emperors also needed time to break through.
For any other great force, they would definitely be forced into a very passive situation under such circumstances. Once their Star City’s population fell into a slump and without enough resources to support them, any great force would sooner or later run out of supplies even if they did nothing but wait idly. Then, they would have to find ways to go out and find resources to continue cultivating.
This time could be as long as 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years…
Zuo Quan Hui could afford to wait! Open Heaven Realm Masters had extremely long lifespans, so even 100 years was just a snap of one’s fingers, let alone to plot against a rising great force like Void Land. In Zuo Quan Hui’s estimation, it would take at most 5 years to cripple Void Land financially. Then, without resources to cultivate, Void Land’s members would fall into disarray and be at his mercy.
So, he need not block all the Territory Gates into Void Territory. He only needed to put in an appearance and release the news to be able to cut off Void Land’s resources and put them on pins and needles!
Such a plan would work on any ordinary Second Class great force. If Zuo Quan Hui were to use this method against Heavenly Sword Union, it would not be able to hold up for long. Such was the influence wielded by a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. One man alone could stand against 10,000.
However, Void Land was no ordinary Second Class great force, and this was something that Zuo Quan Hui did not anticipate.
Inside his bed chamber, Yang Kai sat cross-legged, refining Open Heaven Pills while studying the mysteries of Space-Time Strength. Behind him, a Great Sun and round Moon rising and setting could be vaguely seen.
Sun and Moon Divine Wheel was a Divine Ability that he had discovered only after advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. In terms of raw power, it wasn’t much stronger than his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, but the new Space-Time Strength it exuded was extremely profound, and even he himself had barely scratched the surface of its mysteries.
If the Divine Ability was compared to the Divine Armaments of the Divine Armament World, that Golden Crow Casts the Sun was undoubtedly a top-class Divine Armament, easily able to pierce a hole through one’s body when stabbed.
Sun and Moon Divine Wheel could similarly be compared to a Divine Armament, but unlike Golden Crow Casts the Sun, Sun and Moon Divine Wheel was laced with poison! Not only could it pierce a hole through someone, it would also corrode their vitality on contact, which made it that much more powerful.
It had not been long since Yang Kai advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he had done so by using a World Fruit. So, even though he gained great benefits from the Wind Spirits in the Astral Wind Divine Ability and from Yin-Yang Heaven’s Small Source World, increasing his heritage and making him much more powerful than ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still a long way from advancing into the Seventh-Order.
Without advancing into the Seventh Order, there was no way for him to compete head-on with Zuo Quan Hui. The only weapon that Yang Kai had against Zuo Quan Hui right now was his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel. This was something that Golden Crow Casts the Sun had no way of comparing to.
When the war broke out in full with Zuo Quan Hui, Yang Kai would be the only one capable of dealing with him, which showed how crucial the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel’s existence was.
While stuffing Open Heaven Pills into his mouth, Yang Kai immersed himself in that Space-Time Strength, unable to extricate himself.
Right now, Void Land’s resources and supplies were under strict rationing with the full allocation rights handed over to Bian Yu Qing, who heavily skewed the flow of resources towards the cultivators who were nearing their advancement into the Open Heaven Realm so that they could ensure that they would have more Open Heaven Realm Masters on their side when the great war came.
In the coming battle, only Open Heaven Realm Masters would be qualified to participate. If the Emperor Realm cultivators went out, none of them would survive!
That meant that the Open Heaven Realm Masters could only use Open Heaven Realm Pills to cultivate. Even Void Land’s Lord, Yang Kai, was no exception.
Refining Open Heaven Pills was the least efficient method for an Open Heaven Realm Master to cultivate, but it was also the simplest and most common. Basically, no Open Heaven Realm Master could avoid refining large amounts of Open Heaven Pills during their lives.
Inside the Second Manager’s office, Bian Yu Qing, who had already been working hard for more than half a month, was rushing back and forth. As the steward of the entire Void Land, Bian Yu Qing was usually busy enough, but the situation now had become even more serious due to the addition of both external and internal problems.
Previously, in High Heaven Sect, there was Hua Qing Si to take charge of the overall situation, and all she had to do was pick up the slack here and there. Now that they had come to Void Land and with Hua Qing Si still back in the Star Boundary, the burden was on her shoulders alone.
She had given a lot for the sake of Void Land, more than any other person. She could not even get any time for her own cultivation, which resulted in her seeing little growth despite all the time that had passed. She had not even been able to condense her Dao Seal yet.
However, she was happy to take on this responsibility.
If it was not for the support that Yang Kai gave her back then, she may have died long ago before even reaching the Emperor Realm. How could she even have the opportunity to see the sights of the Emperor Realm, much less gain such great power in her current status as Second Manager?
After consulting with Yang Kai, she selected a few apprentices from among the lower disciples and nurtured them to the greatest extent of her abilities so that they could share the managerial pressure with her.
Only, time was still short, and those few apprentices were not ready to take on real responsibilities yet.
Whenever this happened, she would inevitably think of Kou Wu. She could barely remember his face after all these years, but she would never forget the way that disciple who had sacrificed himself to protect her when she was in mortal danger.
If only Kou Wu were still alive, he would have become her greatest assistant!
She had barely sat down to rest for a half cup of tea’s time when a disciple rushed in, one of those that she had been training to become her right hand recently.
“What is it?” Despite her exhaustion, Bian Yu Qing still availed herself mentally. The situation in Void Land was very tense right now, and she could not afford to loosen up for even a moment.
The disciple blurted in a panic, “Something unusual has happened within Sect Master’s chambers!”
Bian Yu Qing’s exhaustion was tossed to the back of her mind and she rose with a start, “What happened?”
This was a matter concerning Yang Kai, so her heart jumped to her throat in an instant. If anything were to happen to Yang Kai, the pillar that held Void Land up, then Void Land’s foundation would truly be lost.
The disciple shook his head, “I’m not sure. I just saw it from afar when I was passing by. Second Manager should head over as soon as possible.”
Bian Yu Qing moved out without dallying for a moment, transforming into a bolt of light that shot towards Yang Kai’s chambers as quickly as possible.
Before she could even get close though, Bian Yu Qing saw the unusual situation witnessed by that disciple.
With Yang Kai’s room at the centre, the space in the surrounding area spanning a couple of dozen kilometres was in chaos. As if a mirror had been shattered and put back together by a child, light folded and interlaced, and everything inside of this warped region became distorted beyond recognition.
She could vaguely feel a profound aura coming from inside this altered space.
[What is going on!?] Bian Yu Qing was shocked. She could feel that the power fluctuations were extremely chaotic, but also extremely profound and mysterious.
When she extended her Divine Sense to investigate, she simply could not probe into what was going on inside. Instead, she only felt dazed and confused.
A number of disciples had already noticed the unusual scene and stopped to watch from afar, all of them with worried looks on their faces.
Bian Yu Qing did not dare to intrude, so she landed just outside the strange phenomenon. The chaotic Void entered her vision clearly as pieces of space folded in on themselves, twisting and reassembling themselves. Her vision was so blurred that she could not even see what was happening inside this anomaly.
*Shua…*
A figure suddenly landed beside her.
Bian Yu Qing turned her head to see Yue He and quickly called out, “Left Protector!”
Yue He’s face was grave. Obviously, she had heard what was going on and had rushed over to investigate.
Yue He nodded lightly and asked urgently, “Second Manager, what is going on?”
Bian Yu Qing shook her head, “I’ve only just arrived and I don’t know what’s going on either. Didn’t Sect Master say anything to you before going into retreat?”
“Nothing.” Yue He frowned anxiously, “It must just be an unusual cultivation session.”
“Left Protector can’t see anything either?” Bian Yu Qing was slightly shocked. Right now, she was only in the Emperor Realm, so it was normal for her to not be able to see what was going on inside; after all, she was lacking in insight and strength. However, if even the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Yue He could not see through the chaos, then the situation must be quite unusual.
[Could it be a cultivation dissonance?]
When that thought came up, Bian Yu Qing’s face went pale.
Yue He seemed to have realized her concern and comforted, “Don’t worry too much, it’s not what you think. Young Master is probably just comprehending something. En, hurry off to Dragon Son’ Peak and invite Senior Bi Xi to come. With his eyes, he should be able to see something.”
Bian Yu Qing nodded, “I’ll go at once.”
Two mature Divine Spirits resided in Void Land, Zhu Jiu Yin and Bi Xi. The former always secluded herself, having little to no interactions even with Yang Kai. Second Manager Bian Yu Qing could only meet Zhu Jiu Yin if the latter was in the mood. However, Bi Xi was different. Despite being a venerable Divine Spirit, he was very amiable. Bian Yu Qing would also visit Bi Xi occasionally. Knowing his temperament, it should not be difficult to invite him over.
After rushing to Dragon Sons’ Peak, she found Bi Xi, who was currently occupied with teaching Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong. After informing him about the situation, Bi Xi did not dare to dally either and rushed over to the site with her.
In just a few moments, Bi Xi arrived, dragged over by Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong.
“Senior!” Yue He bowed elegantly. Everyone in Void Land was very reverent and appreciative of this kind-hearted Divine Spirit.
“En,” Bi Xi answered and looked up ahead.
“Please take a look, Senior. What is going on over there with our Young Master?”
“No need to worry,” Bi Xi waved his hand and looked on solemnly. After a while, he made an exclamation of surprise. Staring straight at a certain spot in the void, he revealed a look of astonishment and surprise.
Yue He and Bian Yu Qing stood by, not knowing what he had seen, but not daring to speak up and interrupt him either.
Another while passed and Bi Xi suddenly raised his hand, probing the area in front.
In front of everyone’s eyes, when Bi Xi reached out into the chaotic space, his hand actually disappeared from everyone’s view out of nowhere.
A moment later, Bi Xi pulled his hand back. Neither Yue He nor Bian Yu Qing could hold themselves back from gasping in amazement because when Bi Xi’s hand reappeared, the old man’s wrinkly hand was wrapped in a crystal clear material similar to a layer of porcelain with a strange power surrounding it.
Bi Xi observed his hand for a moment and suddenly laughed, “Interesting.”
With a shake of his hand, the porcelain-like shine quickly faded, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Senior, is Young Master in any danger?” Yue He asked nervously.
Bi Xi mused, “It’s nothing you need to worry about. He is quite clearly comprehending some sort of Divine Ability or Secret Technique. En, it is most likely related to the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time, which is why such a bizarre spectacle has appeared.”
Yue He and Bian Yu Qing exchanged glances, then breathed sighs of relief.
“Keep an eye out on the situation and let me know if anything else unusual happens.” After saying that, Bi Xi led the two children back.
“Let me see you off, Senior!” Bian Yu Qing quickly offered.
After sending Bi Xi back, Bian Yu Qing hurriedly returned, dispersing the disciples who had gathered to watch the sights and ordering them to clear the area within several dozen kilometres of Yang Kai’s palace while she and Yue He kept a close eye on the situation here.
In the coming month or so, the space around Yang Kai’s home remained in a chaotic state of flux, but subtle changes did appear over time.
Yue He and Bian Yu Qing caught sight of very peculiar things in the chaotic space more than once. From time to time, visions of human figures would appear, and occasionally, it seemed like someone was fighting inside.
However, since time and space were in such chaos, nobody could see anything clearly. The two were not even sure whether what they saw was real or an illusion.
This situation continued for several more months.
One day, the strange occurrences suddenly disappeared, as if they had never even existed, restoring the local space to its original state.
Bian Yu Qing and Yue He, who had been keeping watch nearby all this time, exchanged glances before both of them made their way towards Yang Kai’s chambers.
Inside his room, Yang Kai opened his eyes, still deep in thought.
He had managed to gain a lot during this retreat. Since creating the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, he had not had the time to properly look into the mysteries contained within it; however, now that he had some free time, it was just right for him to perfect this Divine Ability.
However, Yang Kai discovered a problem when he reached this point. His understanding of the Dao of Time lagged behind his understanding of the Dao of Space.
After all, the Dao of Space was his foundation, and though he dared not say that his grasp of it was perfect, it was as good as it could be for his current realm.
His Dao Seal had been condensed with the Dao of Space as its foundation, which later became the foundation for his Small Universe.
However, it was different for the Dao of Time. Yang Kai had cultivated the Time Flies Seal Divine Ability many years ago, but only superficially understood the Dao of Time. Later, when he arrived at the ruins of the ancient battlefield between Flowing Time Great Emperor and Great Demon God, he witnessed the reverberations left behind from their great battle, gaining much inspiration from it.
After a successful advancement into the Open Heaven Realm, the Sun rose and the Moon set in an endless cycle within his Small Universe. The passing of time became far more vivid and enabled him to take a great leap forward in his comprehension of the Dao of Time.
However, when all was said and done, his proficiency in it still could not compare with his mastery of the Dao of Space.
If he were to divide comprehension of the Daos he held into different categories, then from lowest to highest, it would be arranged something like Superficial Contact, Peering Through the Doors, Taking Initial Steps, Traversing a Familiar Path, Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding, Exceeding the Ordinary to Reach the Extraordinary, Standing Above All Others Within Sight, Summiting the Peak, Transcending the Mundane, and eventually Shocking History and Amazing the Present!
In comparison, Yang Kai had barely reached the seventh level of mastery in his Dao of Space, possibly touching upon the eighth.
However, he was only barely at the fourth level of mastery when it came to the Dao of Time, and that was only thanks to the special good fortune of his Small Universe; otherwise, he would likely be stuck in the second level.
Space-Time Strength was a mix of two different Principal Strengths, so the difference in Yang Kai’s grasp on the Dao of Space and Dao of Time limited the power he could display. He could only exert Space-Time Strength equal to his level of mastery over the Dao of Time when he executed the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel.
This was similar to advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. A barrel could only hold as much water as the shortest plank of wood it was made from.
If Yang Kai was able to raise his grasp of the Dao of Time, then the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel would definitely become even stronger.
After months of study, Yang Kai finally saw the path extending towards the Grand Dao, and his eyes glowed!
He had not been prepared to spend so much time on the Dao of Time as comprehending a Grand Dao relied on both quality and quantity. The Dao of Space alone was enough for him to study for a lifetime, so if he wasted his time on studying and cultivating the Dao of Time, it may not necessarily give him any benefits. However, now it seemed that he truly had to spend some effort studying it.
This was the only way he could increase his strength within a short amount of time.
And, it was not too difficult to cultivate the Dao of Time. Flowing Time Great Emperor also made his name as a Great Emperor through his mastery over the Dao of Time and currently, his two Legacy Disciples lived in Void Land, as did the Flowing Time Temple which contained his inheritance!
What was more, Yang Kai could loosely be described as an in-name Disciple of Flowing Time Great Emperor.
In fact, Flowing Time Great Emperor had split his mastery over the Dao of Time that he passed on in his inheritance. Doing this would result in less immediate benefits to his Disciples, but it would also allow them to better understand their own abilities and shortcomings, which would allow them to set their own course.
Yang Kai had never encountered another Master who had split their mastery over a Grand Dao with such detail before.
Now enlightened, Yang Kai got up and slowly walked out.
As soon as the door was open, he was greeted by the worried gazes of Yue He and Bian Yu Qing.
Yang Kai had long felt their presence, so he was not surprised to see them waiting outside and gently nodded, “I managed to discover some things, but it seems I’ve made you worry.”
“Young Master seems to have made good progress,” Yue He smiled. She could feel subtle changes in Yang Kai’s aura after not seeing him for the past few months, but she could not say what those changes were.
“It was decent!” Yang Kai nodded lightly and asked, “How has Void Land been doing?”
Bian Yu Qing hurried forward to report to him. When he heard that everything was fine and that Zuo Quan Hui had not made any unusual moves, Yang Kai put his heart at ease.
More than 10 months had passed since Zuo Quan Hui blocked off the Territory Gate, but he never mobilized his troops during this time, only making his presence known in Flying Smoke Territory and putting pressure on Void Land.
Yang Kai knew that this guy was wary of Zhu Jiu Yin’s presence, but Yang Kai was also happy that the other side remained idle.
“There are two things that I must tell Sect Master.”
“En, go ahead.” Yang Kai nodded as he walked outside.
Bian Yu Qing hurried over to follow him and reported, “Firstly, someone called Xin Peng has come from the Black Territory, saying that it was under Sect Master’s instructions to deliver supplies here every six months.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “How did he get here? Where is he now?”
When he was returning from the Black Territory, Yang Kai himself had been stopped on his way back through Flying Smoke Territory. If Xin Peng managed to reach Void Territory, then it was likely he came from a different route.
Bian Yu Qing said, “He has already returned. It seems like he came over from a different Great Territory, but he brought a lot of good things with him.”
Yang Kai glanced at her and smiled, “If even Second Manager says they are good, then it must really be good.”
“There were two Sixth-Order Yin Element materials and one Yang Element material. Besides that, there were 34 Sixth-Order materials of other Elements, 262 Fifth-Order materials, and over a thousand below the Fifth-Order.”
“So much!” Yang Kai was visibly moved.
Despite knowing that the Ore Star that he brought back from the Black Territory’s depths was sure to hold great riches, he never thought that it would be so bountiful. It had only been half a year, so how much would they be able to obtain if the entire half of the Ore Star was mined out?
And that was merely half of an Ore Star. What would happen if he could mine all of the Ore Stars in the Black Territory?
“There were even two Seventh-Order materials!” Bian Yu Qing added.
Yang Kai’s brow jumped upon hearing that, but then he felt a twang of regret.
The half-an Ore Star he had brought back from the Black Territory’s depths had been ground down by a great amount when it was pushed into the Killing Array, and he had no idea how many of its resources were lost during that ordeal, especially the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order ones.
However, this was the only way things could be done if Yang Kai wanted to mine those Black Stones. Those ore slaves were simply unable to hold up for long in the depths of the Black Territory.
With no way to deal with the strange aura permeating the depths of Black Prison, they would inevitably incur losses when mining the Ore Stars located there.
The amount of resources that Xin Peng brought over on this trip could not be described as large, but the quality was excellent.
Without even mentioning the two Seventh-Order materials, there were a total of 34 Sixth-Order materials alone, with two Sixth-Order Yin and one Yang Element materials!
The latter were exactly the materials that Void Land was most in need of right now!
For the current Void Land, this was not exactly big news, but it was not small news either; however, knowledge about Xin Peng’s visit was limited to only a few people.
“What else?” Yang Kai gathered himself and asked.
“Gathering Yuan Union’s Young Union Master, Lu Jing came to visit a month ago, and has been waiting for Sect Master to exit retreat since his arrival.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, showing a look of surprise. At this juncture, almost over 70% of the Star City’s merchants had left. Even for those who chose to remain, a good many of them were still on the fence. The great forces with cooperative relationships with Void Land were all wishing they could cut off contact lest they draw unwanted fire to themselves.
[Why would Lu Jing rush over here to see me during this time? Is he acting in the Gathering Yuan Union’s name or is he here by himself?]
“Is he alone or with someone else?” Yang Kai asked.
Bian Yu Qing responded, “Apart from a few guards, he is alone.”
Yang Kai nodded, now having an understanding of the situation.
An hour later, inside the reception hall, Yang Kai met Lu Jing. After exchanging pleasantries, they took their seats.
“Brother Lu, what can I help you with on this visit?” Yang Kai looked at him curiously after taking a sip of tea.
Lu Jing responded with some awkwardness, “I have failed to make good on Senior Brother Yang’s favour, and I originally did not have the face to return because of that, but I had to come regardless because I owe Senior Brother a life-saving grace.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded, “Why are you talking about that?”
Lu Jing said, “I have spoken to my Father about Senior Brother’s proposal. Originally, he seemed quite interested, but… things changed!”
He sighed deeply with a helpless expression on his face.
Yang Kai smiled, “That’s how business is. There is no need for it to sour our relationship just because the deal did not go through, so pay it no mind, Brother Lu.”
Last time, when Lu Jing came by, Yang Kai tried using distribution rights for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill as a bargaining chip in order to negotiate a deal with Gathering Yuan Union. Originally, he figured that since Gathering Yuan Union’s merchant ships were spread across the 3,000 Worlds, it would surely not be difficult for them to gather up some rarer resources. If Gathering Yuan Union could truly help him acquire the Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials that he needed, then Void Land would not be at a disadvantage even if they exchanged some Heavenly Yuan Stabilizing Pills for them.
At that time, Void Land and Zuo Quan Hui had not broken out into a full confrontation yet.
Though less than a year had passed since then, things had changed greatly. Void Land fought a great battle against Zuo Quan Hui and his Disciples, in which Zhou Ti was killed. Zuo Quan Hui subsequently became Heavenly Sword Union’s Union Master then spread word of his feud with Void Land far and wide. Anyone who was slightly well-informed would naturally have found out about what happened.
Gathering Yuan Union was a mercantile-based Sect, so it was only natural for them to be very well-informed, which explained why Lu Jing said that things had changed. Even though his Father was interested in the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, he also had to watch out for the stance of Zuo Quan Hui and Thousand Cranes Paradise behind him. So, how could he dare to work with Void Land at such a time?
However, Yang Kai did not care about that anymore. After heading to the Black Prison and bringing so many resources back, Void Land’s immediate needs had already been satisfied, so they did not have to worry about cooperating with Gathering Yuan Union anymore.
Lu Jing looked even more embarrassed now and hung his head low, “Senior Brother Yang’s generosity is admirable.”
Yang Kai waved his hand and laughed, “Brother Lu is exaggerating,” Without the harvest from the Black Territory, he may have been slightly disappointed by how things turned out. However, with the Black Territory as a backup for resource production, the problem he had, had already been solved.
Lu Jing raised his head and cupped his fist, “Additionally, I have also come with a request.”
Yang Kai sat up straight and gestured for him to continue, “Pray tell, Brother Lu.”
Lu Jing said, “I would like to rent some shops in Void Star City and open a Trade Company.”
Yang Kai’s face became serious, “Is this Brother Lu’s idea, your Father’s, or Gathering Yuan Union’s?”
Moving into Void Star City was not a good choice in these times. There was no need to mention the merchants who stayed since they were originally established in Void Star City to begin with. Whether they left or stayed, Zuo Quan Hui was in no position to question or rebuke them for their choice.
However, to move in at this juncture would likely be interpreted by outsiders as a gesture of goodwill towards Void Land, which was no different than drawing fire upon oneself! There was no way that a business alliance as large as Gathering Yuan Union would not be able to see that.
Lu Jing responded, “This has nothing to do with my Father or Gathering Yuan Union. I am solely responsible for this decision.”
Yang Kai looked deeply at him, clearly not believing him. Despite being the Young Union Master, Lu Jing’s cultivation was still only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. If his Father had any objections to this idea, he had thousands of ways to keep Lu Jing from acting. How could he possibly have allowed his son to wade into these muddy waters?
Since Lu Jing was here, then someone must be supporting him from behind. As a whole, Gathering Yuan Union likely would not support him in such a move. In which case, that must mean that as the Union Master of Gathering Yuan Union, his Father had at least given his tacit agreement for Lu Jing to proceed.
Doing things this way, however, meant that even if Void Land were to ultimately lose the war, Zuo Quan Hui would have no reason or be in any position to give Gathering Yuan Union any trouble.
It was not appropriate to speak about such matters openly, but it was fine as long as all involved understood the subtleties of the situation. As a result, Lu Jing was not deliberately trying to deceive Yang Kai.
After a short pause, Yang Kai said, “Brother Lu, you should know what the current situation is like in my Void Land. Coming to our Star City at a time like this is not the best choice.”
Lu Jing smiled, “I understand what Senior Brother Yang is trying to say, but for a merchant, danger also signifies opportunity, does it not?” He winked playfully at Yang Kai as he said so.
“Well, as long as you’ve made up your mind,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Lu Jing was no child. As a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and the Young Union Master of Gathering Yuan Union, he could make his own judgements and decisions. There was no need to coddle him with advice.
Receiving Yang Kai’s agreement, Lu Jing perked up and asked, “Senior Brother Yang, how many shops can you offer me here in Void Star City?”
Yang Kai laughed, “How many does Brother Lu want?”
Lu Jing said generously, “The more the better, naturally. The best would be if you could offer me a whole street or two.”
Now, Yang Kai was even more sure that Gathering Yuan Union’s Union Master was behind this move; otherwise, Lu Jing would not have the guts to make such a big request.
“You really don’t hold back!” Yang Kai laughed. After some thought, he continued, “I will contact the Governor’s Mansion about this matter later, then you can go there and discuss it with Governor Mo yourself. Right now, the Star City has many empty shops to offer, so we will definitely be able to satisfy your requests.”
“In that case, Many thanks, Senior Brother Yang.” Overjoyed, Lu Jing stood up at once to bow, “There’s no time to lose, I will head to the Governor’s Mansion at once!”
Clearly, he was also eager and impatient to start his own business. And, Void Star City was a place with the opportunity for him to do so.
“I will send someone to go with you,” Yang Kai contacted Bian Yu Qing and had her arrange for someone to take Lu Jing over to the Star City.
Naturally, Lu Jing thanked him again. While waiting for his escort to arrive, Lu Jing added, “By the way, Senior Brother Yang. About the things you were looking for last time… Gathering Yuan Union is unable to provide you with them for now, but I do know of two places that are rich with Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials.”
Yang Kai asked with great interest, “Oh? Where?”
Lu Jing casually blurted, “The first place is the Black Prison. Yang Kai should have met a woman named Luan Bai Feng before, yes?”
Yang Kai burst out in laughter inwardly, but on the surface, he kept calm and nodded repeatedly, “Yes, more than once.”
“Then that makes things easy. The Black Prison produces something called Black Stone, and these Black Stones can contain cultivation materials of all different Orders and Elements. If Senior Brother Yang could take over the Black Prison, then you will naturally have no need to worry about cultivation materials anymore.” Lu Jing looked at him, “Only… There are many Natural Arrays all over the Black Prison. Even though Luan Bai Feng is only in the Sixth Order, not even a Seventh-Order Master can best her inside the Black Prison because of her mastery over the Dao of Spirit Arrays. If Senior Brother Yang is truly interested, then you must be careful of Luan Bai Feng.”
“I know a thing or two about the Black Prison’s situation,” Yang Kai nodded. Inside, he thought to himself, [Not only do I know about it, I just came back from the Black Prison recently after carrying out an Ore Star from its depths!]
After a pause, Yang Kai asked, “What about the other place?”
Lu Jing’s expression became a bit serious when he mentioned the Black Prison and Luan Bai Feng. Clearly, he knew the oddities present within the Black Prison as well as Luan Bai Feng’s strength. However, his face turned even more serious when he continued, “Has Senior Brother Yang heard of the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer?”
Yang Kai’s face also turned solemn, “Chaos gives rise to Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang give rise to the Four Symbols, Ancestors of all Divine Spirits, Burning Light and Serene Glimmer?”
According to ancient legends, at the beginning of existence, there was only Chaos, which later gave rise to Yin and Yang, which became the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer, the oldest Divine Spirits in the world.
It was only after the two beasts transformed into the Four Symbols that Divine Spirits like the Dragons and the Phoenixes appeared.
It could be said that the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer were the progenitors of all Divine Spirits. That was to say, they were the shared ancestors of all Divine Spirits!
These two were terrifying existences that were highly likely to be even stronger than the Giant Spirit Gods.
Back then, Yang Kai obtained a Divine Spirit Record which listed the ranking of all the Divine Spirits in the 3,000 Worlds. The book listed the Dragons and the Phoenixes at the top, but the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s introductions appeared at the very beginning of the manuscript. Only, the author of the book did not believe that these two beasts still existed in this world, and that was why the Dragon and Phoenix Clans were ranked first.
Yang Kai was surprised when he read this, but he did not think much of it.
The one who really brought up the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer to him later was the Proprietress!
At that time, Yang Kai was looking to advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly and was in search of a source of High-Rank Yin and Yang Element materials. That was when the Proprietress brought out her Universe Chart for him to see. Inside the Universe Chart, there were several Great Territories that were blank, without the markings of any great force. Not even Universe Worlds existed there.
According to the Proprietress, those Great Territories used to be thriving places, but the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer were naturally opposing forces. Since fire and water did not mix, the continuous clash between the two eventually tore those Great Territories apart.
The Great Territories then became areas forbidden for all life, Dead Territories so to speak. Whether it be a Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, none could survive after they entered that place, so nobody had any idea what the situation was inside of these Dead Territories. Even the Proprietress herself had only heard others mention rumours about them, and there was simply no way of confirming whether the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer truly existed.
Naturally, Yang Kai would not dare to provoke existences as terrifying as them. Even Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters went silent after entering the Chaotic Dead Territory. He was only a trivial Emperor Realm Master back then, so how could he dare to have any extravagant thoughts about them?
However, he never thought that he would once again hear the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer’s names, this time from Lu Jing!
It was clear that though Lu Jing’s cultivation was low, he was still well-informed.