If it wasn’t for Yang Kai inadvertently leaving a shadow in Shan Qing Luo’s heart, the Demon Queen wouldn’t currently be suffering from this torment, but now that her sentiments towards him had grown to such an extent, Shan Qing Luo had to separate herself from Yang Kai and focus wholeheartedly on suppressing her desires. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The moment she lost control, either Shan Qing Luo would die, or Yang Kai would.
It was for this reason that Bi Luo hated Yang Kai so much.
As the two were arguing, a familiar figure reappeared and stood staring helplessly towards the pair.
“You…” Shan Qing Luo stared at Yang Kai in shock, muttering, “Why did you come back?”
“I know that your current condition isn’t good,” Yang Kai sighed gently; Shan Qing Luo’s abnormal state was incredibly obvious, how could he not have noticed? A moment ago, he had only pretended to disappear so he could listen to this enchantress’ true feelings.
Her steadfast determination and willingness to sacrifice herself for him had touched Yang Kai deeply.
“Since you came back on your own then everything is simple! Mistress, you don’t have to suppress yourself anymore, just take his life.” Bi Luo enthusiastically encouraged as she glared towards Yang Kai.
“You seem to be quite prejudiced against me,” Yang Kai returned a sharp glance to Bi Luo.
“Good!” Bi Luo shouted resolutely, “I can’t wait to peel your skin, drink your blood, and eat your meat! If it weren’t for you, how could my Mistress have fallen into such terrible hardship?”
“Even without me, there would eventually be some other men who would enter her heart; such is the tragic fate of her Poison Widow Body lineage!” Yang Kai replied coldly.
Bi Luo wanted to argue back but didn’t know what to say, choosing instead to bite her lip.
“You have to leave, quickly!” Shan Qing Luo’s breathing accelerated rapidly. As early as six months ago the sentiment within her heart had reached a level where she had difficulty suppressing it. While she was unable to meet Yang Kai this past half a year, her condition had become slightly better, but now that they had reunited and spent three days together, suppressing her impulses was becoming impossible and each time she forcefully did so it would result in a severe backlash, “Go now while there’s still time.”
Yang Kai however slowly shook his head and declared firmly, “The problem between you and me must be resolved; evading the issue won’t solve anything.”
“This is what you said yourself,” Bi Luo smiled brilliantly, twirling her figure and sending out a brilliant flash of light. Suddenly, a faint melody began filling the world as Bi Luo softly whispered, “Mistress, the time has arrived, and you don’t need to suppress yourself anymore.”
All around the three people an intoxicating sense of enchantment emerged and Bi Luo no longer displayed any of her former aggression and anger, instead, an aura similar to Shan Qing Luo’s gently wafted from her body.
Bi Luo also cultivated a profound Seduction Technique.
When she displayed her Seduction Technique, her target surprisingly wasn’t Yang Kai but instead Shan Qing Luo.
“Bi Luo, you…” Shan Qing Luo was already having difficulty resisting the impulses in her heart so when Bi Luo suddenly used her Seduction Technique, it was as if a dam had burst as those desires flooded out, drowning her rational mind.
The overwhelming emotions Shang Qing Luo was now experiencing instantly destroyed her sincere wish to protect Yang Kai, leaving her with only one instinctual thought.
To embrace Yang Kai! If she was currently like an ancient block of ice, then Yang Kai was akin to a burning flame. All Shan Qing Luo wanted to do was approach him and either extinguish his fire or melt herself.
A bewitching moan leaked from her luscious red lips as the Beguiling Demon Queen’s face blushed bright red, her smooth slender neck turning a faint shade of pink. An intoxicated expression covered her face as her eyes quickly blurred as she made no attempt to hide her burning desire to devour Yang Kai.
The surrounding world also underwent a strange mutation and a wondrous scenery filled with countless young girls singing and dancing appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes. Each of these girls were beautiful and seductive, their enchanting figures all only half covered, further emphasizing their bountiful peaks and secret valleys. In an instant, all of them encircled Yang Kai, sinfully calling out to and flirting with him.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched.
Shan Qing Luo’s Seduction Technique had grown even stronger than before. At this moment, she hadn’t even deliberately displayed it, this fantastical illusion he had been drawn into was nothing more than her instinctual response to her current condition.
“Break!” Yang Kai coldly shouted, circulating his Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art causing the world around him filled with flirtatious young girls to shatter and disintegrate into tiny particles of light.
“Hehe…” Bi Luo smiled charmingly, “You bastard, give up, no man can resist my Mistress’ Seduction Technique, emm…”
As she spoke, her two slender legs involuntarily clamped shut as she felt a burst of heat pass through her lower abdomen. As the cold wind blew past her now slightly moist precious treasure, a slight chill ran up her spine further stimulating her body, causing her to nearly lose control of the impulses in her heart.
Clearly she had also been influenced by Shan Qing Luo’s Seduction Technique.
“I’ll tidy you up later!” Yang Kai glanced at her coldly and grumbled in a disgruntled tone.
“Hmph, you’ll have to live through this first!” Bi Luo panted for breath as she clenched her legs and twisted her hips, biting her thin lips as she stared at Yang Kai with hot eyes.
It was as if she wanted to rush over and ‘go all out’ with Yang Kai, but she stubbornly resisted this urge.
A delicate fan shaped artifact appeared in the Beguiling Demon Queen’s hand at this moment, various images of men and women embroidered on its surface. These handsome men and beautiful women were all half naked and were engaged in pleasurable acts, all of them seemed to be drowning in happiness, their lifelike faces filled with happiness and joy.
“Soft Silk Fan.” Yang Kai solemnly muttered.
This artifact was an heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation in Shan Qing Luo’s family. Coupled together with the unrivaled Seduction Technique of the Beguiling Demon Queen, it was able to display a truly fearsome power.
Shan Qing Luo gracefully waved the fan and the men and women on its surface become more active, all of them soon rushing out of the fan as if they had suddenly come to life before pouring into Yang Kai’s mind.
*Pa pa pa pa…*
These illusions that invaded his subconscious only lasted a short breath of time before disintegrating into powder.
The Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art easily broke Shan Qing Luo’s Seduction Technique even with the assistance of her Soft Silk Fan, allowing Yang Kai to remain unaffected.
However, Shang Qing Luo in her current intoxicated state didn’t seem to realize so after using her Soft Silk Fan, Shan Qing Luo simply giggled happily and in a burst of fragrant wind rushed in front of Yang Kai, stretching out her jade hands and gently wrapping them around his neck as she licked her supple lips with her small scarlet tongue. As her breathing became somewhat ragged, her perfectly shaped snow white peaks heaved up and down and slowly pressed against Yang Kai’s firm chest, bringing with them an amazing elasticity as she drew him into her embrace, bringing her delicate mouth closer and closer to Yang Kai’s own.
Yang Kai’s body twitched and heat began flooding his lower half; at this moment, he sincerely wished he could let go of all his constraints and fight a hundred rounds with the incredible beauty before him.
But once the Beguiling Demon Queen’s emotional state reached such a high, her every breath would fill with a potent toxin that no man could withstand.
“You little seductress…” Yang Kai smiled helplessly and lifted his reached his hand behind Shan Qing Luo’s head, sending out a violent burst of True Qi.
Suffering this sharp blow without the making the slightest effort to defend herself, Shan Qing Luo’s eyes quickly lost their light and the amorous music with seemed to pervade the air gradually faded to the wind. Falling into a stupor, her body went limp and sank into Yang Kai’s arms.
Bi Luo, who was waiting nearby to witness this exciting scene, had been thoroughly affected by the surrounding atmosphere and her two small hands were unconsciously kneading her milk-white bosom, her face filled with joy and anticipation, but upon seeing Yang Kai’s actions just now, all colour was drained from her face.
“Get over here!” Yang Kai slung Shan Qing Luo over his shoulder gently before smirking towards Bi Luo.
“What do you want to do?” Bi Luo immediately became vigilant and quickly stepped back, “What happened to my Mistress?”
“I killed her already, now it’s your turn.” Yang Kai sneered, a ruthless glint flashing across his eyes.
Bi Luo’s trembled violently as her eyes filled with tears before suddenly crying out hysterically, “I’ll kill you!”
Like an enraged beast, she recklessly charged towards Yang Kai and swung her fists.
Unfortunately for her, Yang Kai simply extended his hand and easily restrained her.
While carrying Shan Qing Luo on his shoulder, Yang Kai held Bi Luo under his other arm quickly, lifted his free hand and slapped it down on her perfectly rounded bottom.
*Pa…*
Bi Luo went stiff from head to toe, as shame and anger burst from her heart, but at the same time, she felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her body, like Yang Kai’s harsh slap had unleashed some long suppressed desire deep inside her, causing her to feel a kind of devastating pleasure.
*Pa…*
After the second strike, Bi Luo finally called out in alarm as she began struggling and squirming fiercely, shouting wildly as he punched and kicked Yang Kai.
But Bi Luo’s struggles were pointless because in his first strike Yang Kai had sealed her True Qi and was now meeting out her punishment in a rhythmical manner.
Gradually, Bi Luo struggled less and less and her cries of protest began changing into seductive moans. With each proceeding slap, her body filled with heat and became more and more limp, her face blushing and intoxicated pink.
Noticing this, Yang Kai was dumbstruck, “There is something wrong with your taste.”
“What’s it to you, you bastard? Put me down already!” Bi Luo suddenly regained her senses and angrily shouted.
*Pa…*
A squeal of pleasure resounded through the air once more.
One day later, Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, Fragrance City.
Inside Shan Qing Luo’s palace, Yang Kai suddenly appeared together with the Beguiling Demon Queen and Bi Luo.
The mature beauty who Yang Kai he met before, Yun Li, along with young girls Ruo Yu and Ruo Qing heard the news and hurriedly rushed over, all of them genuinely happy to see Yang Kai again.
However, upon seeing Shan Qing Luo and Bi Luo’s current states, they couldn’t help feeling shocked.
The Beguiling Demon Queen was unconscious, while Bi Luo’s eyes were red and swollen, it seemed like she had been crying for a long time but at the same time her face also had a strange glow about it, as if she had just run through a spring shower that had moisturised her skin giving it a faint radiant lustre.
When Yang Kai put her down, Bi Luo let out a small yelp as her legs went soft and she sank to the floor, her two small hands unconsciously reaching down and rubbing her butt as she gnashed her teeth.
“Bi Luo, what’s wrong with you?” Yun Li hurriedly asked.
“No…nothing…” Bi Luo replied stutteringly, her face blushing a light pink as she snuck a glance towards Yang Kai. Her beautiful eyes now flashed a terrified light and contained none of her previous domineering arrogance.
The slaps she had suffered on the road here had left a deep shadow in her heart.
“What about the Mistress, what happened to her?”
“Mistress, she… had an accident.” Bi Luo’s expression sank once again.
“Let them rest first.” Yang Kai said.
“Good,” Yun Li, Ruo Yu, and Ruo Qing quickly held Shan Qing Luo and Bi Luo and sent them back to their room.
Tranquil Phoenix Pavilion, where Yang Kai had once lived.
Inside the second floor room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged, his expression quite gloomy.
Shan Qing Luo’s relationship with him was not very profound; in fact, it was only because of a set of coincidences and accidents that Yang Kai had planted a seed of sentiment in her heart, inextricably linking the two of them together. If Yang Kai wanted to resolve Shan Qing Luo’s current crisis now, he had no idea where to begin so obviously he was feeling somewhat anxious.
Though it resembled being poisoned, Shan Qing Luo’s current state was actually a natural result of her special constitution, so the Myriad Drug Milk would have no effect on her.
Thinking it over for a while, Yang Kai eventually left the Tranquil Phoenix Pavilion.
Upon investigating Shan Qing Luo’s condition, although her life wasn’t in immediate danger, thanks to his True Qi blockade, it would be quite some time before she could regain consciousness. In the meantime , Shan Qing Luo’s body was radiated an intense heat like soldering iron, and if this persisted for too long, she would undoubtedly die.
Even if she was a powerful Transcendent, she could not resist this fate.
After asking Yun Li to take care of her, Yang Kai went to find Bi Luo in order to inquire about any clues she might have to resolve this crisis.
Shan Qing Luo’s palace was neither small nor big so it did not take long for Yang Kai to learn where Bi Luo lived from one of the maidservants.
Upon arriving at Bi Luo’s room, Yang Kai gently knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Probing the situation inside the room with his Divine Sense, he discovered that Bi Luo was indeed inside but appeared to be asleep.
Hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai eventually pushed the door open and walked in.
The picture that greeted him thought caused Yang Kai to chuckle.
Bi Luo was sprawled out across her bed, motionless, covered with only a thin bedding, her delicate curves completely exposed and her hips arched up high, tickling one’s fantasies. However, her bottom seemed to be a bit swollen. Whether it was her natural state or a result of Yang Kai’s spanking was another issue for another time.
From her bare shoulders, it was easy to infer that this young woman was not wearing any clothes at the moment.
Yang Kai remained indifferent and walked over to her bed, found a chair, and sat down.
Seemingly sensing the presence of someone in her room, Bi Luo finally slowly opened her eyes and after seeing Yang Kai’s face, she awkwardly squirmed and quickly covered herself with her beddings, staring back at him with a weak and fearful expression.
“What are you doing here?” Bi Luo asked coldly.
“Did your Mistress tell you about me and her?” Yang Kai asked.
Bi Luo nodded lightly and upon realizing that Yang Kai had no ill intentions, relaxed significantly.
“Since you know about us, you must know about the overbearing curse the Poison Widow Body carries.”
“So what if I know about it?” Bi Luo rested her chin on her hands and assumed a comfortable posture, continuing, “I can’t bear any of Mistress’s burden for her but you… Hmph, if you have the heart, you should sacrifice yourself to help her.”
“Do you want me to give you another lesson?” Yang Kai said coldly as he glanced towards her ass.
Bi Luo grit her teeth in anger as she glared hatefully towards Yang Kai, but after experiencing such torment once, even if she was quite dissatisfied, she didn’t dare argue back for fear she might stimulate an unwanted response from him.
“If I satisfy her urges now, I’ll die.” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “You don’t know how dangerous being with her is, the moment we become intimate, I’ll be poisoned by her and never again wake up. I’m not a fool.”
“You may not be a fool but my Mistress is!” Bi Luo’s tone suddenly became sharp and harsh, “For you, she is willing to suffer the backlash from her constitution and die! If a day ago you hadn’t come back on a whim, she… she would have…”
As he words trailed off, Bi Luo began to weep.
If Yang Kai hadn’t come back, Shan Qing Luo definitely wouldn’t have been able to last until he finished his business in the Central Capital and came to see her.
“Her being able to go so far for me honestly deeply touched me,” Yang Kai let out a sigh, “Although the Poison Widow Body’s lineage appears to be unfeeling, in truth, they are more passionate and caring than any other women.”
These words seemed to touch Bi Luo’s heart, causing her to look up at Yang Kai brightly. Taking a moment to wipe the corners of her eyes, she whispered, “If Mistress could hear your words I’m sure she’d be very happy.”
“I came here to find you, not to quarrel with you, but because you have accompanied Shan Qing Luo for many years. In all that time did you not hear her say anything about how to dissolve the sentiment in her heart?” Yang Kai asked.
Unfortunately, Bi Luo just slowly shook her head, “Once her sentiments have reached such a state, they can no longer be lifted, if you want to save Mistress’ life, the only way is for you and her to… to…”
Yang Kai smiled helplessly, “In other words, the situation is either she dies, or I die?”
Bi Luo nodded gently, “I hope you’re the one to die.”
Yang Kai chose to ignore her comment.
Bi Luo continued to softly weep for some time until she suddenly recalled something and hastily said, “Right, Mistress once said that if her sentiment couldn’t be dissolved, the only solution would be to resolve the issue with her special constitution that linked the release of a deadly toxin to her emotional state. If the issue of her poison backlash could be solved, then even if you and Mistress really… you know… neither of your lives would be at risk.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrow, seemingly seeing a glimmer of hope, “Did she have any idea how to accomplish that?”
“That was only something Mistress hypothesized about, how could she have developed a practical method?” Bi Luo’s expression sank once more.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s expression became pensive, as if he had grasped a faint idea but had yet to completely think through it.
Bi Luo fell silent and stared at Yang Kai, wondering just what kind of scheme he was thinking up.
After a long silence, Yang Kai suddenly stood up, a thick smile adorning his face as he let out a hearty laughed.
“What are you so happy about?” Bi Luo was shocked and a little annoyed by this sudden change.
“I think I might have a way.”
“What way?” Bi Luo curiously asked.
“Shan Qing Luo’s physique was inherited from her mother, and her mother inherited it from her mother, and so on and so on. But she once told me that her Special Constitution was originally formed when her ancestor accidentally broke into the Spider Mother’s lair and was affected by its poison. Instead of dying immediately, that ancestor somehow survived and became the first Poison Widow Body owner and each generation afterwards always consisted of a single daughter who would inherit the Poison Widow Body. Since the poison of the Spider Mother was the original source of her Special Constitution, maybe that Monster Beast knows how to resolve its flaw…”
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Pacing back and forth while rubbing his chin, Yang Kai quickly formed a plan and asked, “Bi Luo, where did the Spider Mother go? Did it die in the final battle?”
During the last part of the Central Capital’s final battle, he had been deep underground so he was unclear about what had transpired on the surface.
“The Spider Mother shouldn’t have died. The Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land suffered heavy losses and four of the Six Great Evil Kings died in battle. Only my Mistress and the Lightning Flash Shadow King managed to survive, but the Central Capital’s forces never found the Spider Mother’s corpse, so I’m fairly certain it managed to escaped.”
“Escaped? Good!” Yang Kai said, “If that’s the case, I should be able to find it.”
“Do you know where it is?” Bi Luo asked.
“Of course I know.” Yang Kai smiled confidently.
When he initially met Shan Qing Luo, the two of them had journeyed together to the Spider Mother’s den, so he had a fair understanding of where it was located.
“If that’s the case, we can summon all the masters within Mistress’ domain, capture the Spider Mother, and get the information we need.”
“No need, it’ll be faster if I go by myself.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Bi Luo couldn’t help feeling surprised, “The Spider Mother has an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivation, can you beat it on your own?”
“Just wait here for me, I’ll return soon with good news!” Yang Kai smiled and strode out.
“Wait! Wait for me; I’ll go with you…” Bi Luo hurriedly shouted but as she tried to get up, a stinging pain on her backside suddenly caused her to fall back onto the bed and by the time she recovered, Yang Kai had already disappeared.
Leaving Fragrance City, Yang Kai followed the path in his memories all the way to the Spider Mother’s den.
Shan Qing Luo had originally passed through the territory of the Thunderbolt Beast King before arriving at the right place and in his memory there was a very distinct lake nearby.
Four of the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land’s Great Evil Kings were dead and although the Lightning Flash Shadow King had successfully escaped, no one knew where he had disappeared to.
The Lightning Flash Shadow King was obviously concerned that the masters from the Central Capital would join forces to hunt him down so he had naturally gone into hiding.
In the final battle, the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land suffered severe losses so during Yang Kai’s journey he never once encountered any decent masters.
Basically, Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage cultivators were now the strongest masters in the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land.
After suffering the treachery of Yang Bai, the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land’s The foundation had been so badly damaged that even after decades, it would not be possible for them to recover back to their original strength.
So even though Yang Kai made no attempt to conceal himself as he swaggered throughout the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, no one came forward to find trouble with him, most people instead hurriedly trying to avoid his sight hoping he would ignore them.
Three days later, Yang Kai finally arrived at a familiar patch of jungle and after half a day of searching, discovered the cave he and Shan Qing Luo had once occupied together.
If was in this very spot that Yang Kai had accidentally invaded the Beguiling Demon Queen’s Knowledge Sea and planted his image into her heart.
At that time, Yang Kai was only a True Element Boundary Third Stage cultivator and had been easily captured by her.
Today, he had already broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage.
Spreading his powerful Divine Sense out across a several kilometer radius, Yang Kai quietly surveyed the surrounding area.
Whenever he discovered flowing water, Yang Kai would carefully inspect the region around it to see if it was the lake they had passed by.
After two days of persistent searching, Yang Kai finally found the right place.
Landing beside the lake where he had once stayed, Yang Kai smiled slightly before turning towards the location of the Spider Mother’s den.
Leaping into the sky again, he shot off in the direction of his destination.
An hour later, a huge canyon-like region appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes and as he stared down into its depths, he saw countless spider eggs lining the bottom of the trench along with a great many silk spider webs.
Here and there, he could also see the bones of some unfortunate cultivators who had accidentally strayed into this area and had been taken as captured as food for the Monster Beasts here.
Down below, numerous calf-sized spiders scurried back and forth, creating a lively scene, and at the very end of the canyon was a gigantic spider statue. Although Yang Kai couldn’t tell how long ago this statue had been erected, it was clearly quite ancient yet very well preserved.
Yang Kai floated above the canyon, his eyes coldly sweeping over it as he spread out his Divine Sense to investigate the interior of the statue.
There, he felt an aura not inferior to a Transcendent Realm master.
The Spider Mother! Sure enough, it had managed to escape from the Central Capital and return here.
Just as Yang Kai’s Divine Sense locked onto the Spider Mother’s existence, a burst of laughter resounded in his mind, “Hehe… Such a familiar scent, this flavour… It should be the Central Capital Yang Family’s little brat, no?”
Yang Kai coldly snorted before calling out, “Spider Mother, please come out and meet with me!”
“Since you’ve come all this way, why not come down here to speak?” There seemed to be a touching of charm in this pleasing voice, which unconsciously caused anyone who heard it to obey.
If Yang Kai had not seen the true face of the Spider Mother, from just her voice alone he would no doubt imagine that she was a stunning woman.
In fact, the Spider Mother’s face really was quite enchanting, no worse than any top level human beauty. Any man who saw such a beautiful face would inevitably be infatuated with it.
But when combined with the gigantic body that crawled around on eight sharp legs, one could only feel shocked and disturbed, unable to appreciate a single bit of her face’s charm.
With the Spider Mother sending out such a warm invitation, Yang Kai had no reason to refuse, so he flew down into the canyon and hovered in front of the huge spider statue.
“Hehe, little brother’s courage is really big.” The Spider Mother’s sweet voice continued to sound in his mind.
The other giant spiders, which were at least half the size of an ox, also moved quickly and surrounded Yang Kai, shaking their mandibles towards him, their small beady eyes giving off a threatening light as their mouths showed traces of silk thread, ready to be sprayed towards him at a moment’s notice.
The giant spiders were all Sixth-Order Monster Beasts and they numbered fifty or so in total while there were countless smaller spiders also scurrying about.
Yang Kai heard that the Spider Mother had reached an agreement with the Thunderbolt Beast King and temporarily followed his commands when Yang Bai invaded the Central Capital. In return, the Spider Mother had also received many benefits from the Thunderbolt Beast King.
These Sixth-Order spiders should have been a result of the benefits provided by the Thunderbolt Beast King.
The last time Yang Kai was here, he had not sensed so many formidable spiders.
The ground trembled slightly as something large seemed to be emerging from the depths of the spider statue.
A few moments later, the Spider Mother finally showed up.
While the lower half of her body was still that of a huge spider, her upper half was now actually that of a beautiful woman. Accompanying her flawless face were elegant smooth shoulders and a milk-white set of peaks that towered proudly, all of which was fully exposed to the air. Atop these twin peaks that while stop firm yet seemed to contain an infinite amount of elasticity were two pink cherry that were both dainty and enchanting. Her entire image seemed designs to stimulate the desires inside men’s hearts, inviting them to leap towards her in the hopes of taking a bite of her sweet fruit.
Seeing the Spider Mother’s current appearance, Yang Kai couldn’t help but sneer, “It seems like even though the Central Capital won the war, you’ve managed to gain a lot of benefits.”
The last time he saw her, the Spider Mother’s only human features were her beautiful face, but now her entire upper half had transformed into an exquisite and fascinating female form.
The Spider Mother smiled charmingly and nodded, “En, I ate a great many masters there and greatly enhanced my True Qi and physique, allowing me to evolve into the form you see now. The taste of those masters’ True Qi and flesh was simply wonderful! But when the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land was defeated, I had no choice but to escape. Thinking back on those days of endless feasting really stimulates my appetite.”
As she said so, she turned her beautiful eyes towards Yang Kai and used her small red tongue to seductive lick her luscious lips, “Your scent is also wondrous. It makes me wonder just what you’d taste like.”
“You want to eat me?” Yang Kai pointed to herself and laughed, shaking his head dismissively, “Spider Mother, although your intentions are in no way wrong, I’m afraid you do not have the ability to do so.”
The Spider Mother smiled teasingly, “Are you sure?”
“Naturally, since I dared to come here, obviously I am confident in my ability to take care of you.” Yang Kai declared firmly, his eyes suddenly becoming cold.
The Spider Mother’s pretty face also became dignified. Although she was only half human half Monster Beast, her thoughts were not in any way inferior to a full fledged human master. Naturally she noticed Yang Kai’s fearless demeanor.
Although she didn’t understand what he was relying on that gave him such confidence, she decided it was better to tread carefully.
“Of course, I could also not embarrass you.” Yang Kai suddenly smiled and said calmly, “I didn’t come here today to fight with you this time, if you want to rule over this place as its queen, as long as you don’t make any moves against the Central Capital, I couldn’t care less.”
“Oh?” The Spider Mother was a little surprised, “Then for what purpose did little brother come here?”
“To make a trade with you!” Yang Kai said.
“What kind of trade?”
“Tell me how to solve the Poison Widow Body’s flaw and in return, I’ll tell you how to fully transform into human form!” Yang Kai directly made his proposal; Shan Qing Luo was still waiting back in Fragrance City for him so he had to act fast.
“Do you really understand the method to transform into human form?” The Spider Mother’s expression suddenly became excited as she screamed out.
Seeing her react so strongly, Yang Kai’s expression brightened, thinking that his guess was right. The Spider Mother was the only Seventh-Order Monster Beast he had ever seen and it seemed like, for this highly-intelligent Monster Beast, its biggest goal was to assume human form.
Moreover, it had obviously been working hard towards that end.
“Have you ever heard of the Beast Transformation Pond?” Yang Kai smiled cunningly and cast the bait in his hand.
“Beast Transformation Pond?” The Spider Mother’s beautiful eyes shimmer as her body trembled lightly, suspiciously asking “What is that?”
“The essential component you need in order to assume human form, a profound and mysterious place!” Yang Kai continued to tempt.
“Where is it?” The Spider Mother’s expression became more and more excited as she quickly took a few steps forward, her aura gradually becoming forceful and dangerous.
Yang Kai still maintained a relaxed expression though and slowly shook his head, “If you want to know where it is, you first have to tell me how to resolve the Poison Widow Body’s poison backlash.”
In fact, Yang Kai didn’t actually know where the Beast Transformation Pond was.
It was just something he had heard Shui Ling inadvertently mention back in War City.
When Shui Ling first saw the Spider Mother on the day of the invasion, she had confidently declared that without help from the Beast Transformation Pond, the Spider Mother had no hope of completely assuming human form.
This one offhanded comment had revealed a great many things to Yang Kai, so he had taken special note of it. News of the Beast Transformation Pond was also the only bargaining chip he had to tempt the Spider Mother with.
The Spider Mother’s excited look quickly converged as she stared at Yang Kai fixedly, a while later wearing a tender and charming smile, “How do I know if you’re telling me the truth or not? Beast Transformation Pond, huh, I’ve never heard of such a place before.”
“Just because you’ve never heard of it before doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Do you want to remain in your current shape for the rest of your life? Do you not want to truly assume human form?” Yang Kai looked up and down the Spider Mother sarcastically, “Heh, quite pitiful if you ask me.”
“Shut up! Don’t speak about my body so casually!” The Spider Mother shouted angrily, obviously she was also quite dissatisfied with her half-human, half-Monster Beast form.
After taking a moment to calm herself down, she asked, “You came here to ask me about this for that Beguiling Demon Queen, right? How is her situation now? Has her sentiment reached the Grand Accomplishment Stage and now she needs to mate with you?”
“Seems like you already know,” Yang Kai’s heart jumped slightly, since the Spider Mother understood this much, obviously she had a farm more profound understanding of the Poison Widow Body than anyone else; after all, this Special Constitution had been granted by her.
“Good, I agree to your proposal!” Spider Mother nodded gently, “First tell me where I can find this Beast Transformation Pond then I will tell you how to solve the Poison Widow Body’s flaw.”
“You think I’m a three year old child?” Yang Kai sneered and shook his head, “I don’t trust you.”
“I don’t trust you either,” The Spider Mother smiled tenderly, “It seems I need to use some method to make you honest.”
Saying so, the giant spiders gathered around Yang Kai suddenly assumed an aggressive stance, apparently have received an order from the Spider Mother to prepare to attack Yang Kai.
“You can try if you, let’s see if it’s you or I that dies!” Yang Kai shouted as he stretched out his hand and summoned a gigantic bone shield.
This bone shield was several times larger than Yang Kai himself and had a great many scars and cracks along its surface while several of the bone spurs around its edge had broken off completely.
However, despite the obvious damage it had suffered, the terrifying aura the bone shield gave off was enough to cause the Spider Mother to tremble.
“What kind of artifact is that?” The Spider Mother couldn’t help taking a few steps back and asking cautiously.
“A Mysterious Grade artifact!” Yang Kai sneered, calmly explaining, “This artifact of mine was originally only the size of a washbasin but it has the ability to absorb the energy of any attack launched against me. The more energy it absorbs, the bigger it becomes. This stored energy can be released at will by me to attack my enemies. Given its current size, you should be able to imagine just how much energy this thing contains right now; so, what do you think your odds of surviving such an attack would be?”
On top of that, the energy contained within the bone shield right now was no ordinary energy, but was actually the force of void that had erupted from the Void Corridor when it collapsed under the Central Capital.
No mere Transcendent Realm master would be able to withstand it.
If it really came down to a fight with the Spider Mother, With his own skills and strength, Yang Kai did not feel too overwhelmed by her. But in this situation, summoning the bone shield undoubtedly created a bigger deterrent.
The Spider Mother’s pretty face paled slightly as she glared towards Yang Kai menacingly. Only after a long while did she suddenly laugh, her pair of snow white jade peaks bouncing rhythmically in a near hypnotic manner, “You won’t kill me, clearly you want to know the method to resolve the Poison Widow Body’s flaw quite badly.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “Indeed, that’s why we’re talking right now. Think of a safe way that both of us can accept that will allow us to get the answers we want.”
“I can’t think of a way,” The Spider Mother said expressionlessly, fling the problem back to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s expression became dignified as he sank into contemplation for a while. A moment later, seemingly thinking of something, he slowly proposed, “How about this, you send your Soul into my Knowledge Sea and I’ll show you the secrets of the Beast Transformation Pond, that way you’ll know I’m not lying to you.”
“Oh?” The Spider Mother’s eyes flashed brilliantly as she licked her bright red lips, “You’re not afraid I’ll try to harm you? I didn’t think you were so reckless.”
“If you’re so confident in your abilities, how about I send my Divine Sense into your Knowledge Sea instead?” Yang Kai smiled.
The Spider Mother decisively shook her head.
Everyone’s Knowledge Sea contained their most closely guarded secrets and under normal circumstances one would never allow a stranger to enter it. Yang Kai’s proposal sounded quite sincere, but the Spider Mother couldn’t help feeling like he was scheming something.
“Then you enter my Knowledge Sea and we both share our respective secrets, that way everyone gets what they want. Also, since my cultivation is lower than yours, you shouldn’t be afraid to enter my Knowledge Sea,” Yang Kai continued solemnly, “If you don’t agree to this proposal, then I’ll just have to settle things the hard way. I’ll kill you, capture your Soul, and then extract the information I want from it.”
Saying so, Yang Kai’s eyes became cold, as if to say that if the Spider Mother refused, he would immediately attack.
The Spider Mother grit her teeth and replied, “There’s no need for you to be so anxious, it’s not like I disagree with your proposal. Little brother, after we exchange secrets, how about we have a little fun with our Souls? The aroma of your Soul is quite delightful, Elder Sister very much wants to have a taste.”
“No thanks,” Yang Kai replied flatly, “I have no interest in your lower half.”
“Hehehe…” The Spider Mother giggled playfully, “Does that mean you’re interested in my upper body?”
“Enough nonsense, let’s get this over with,” Yang Kai spat impatiently.
“Good, let loose your Knowledge Sea’s defences.” The Spider Mother nodded, quickly sending out her Soul manifestation towards Yang Kai’s mind.
Seeing the Spider Mother really send out her own Soul without any fear, Yang Kai could not help but curl his lips into a weird smile.
Muttering in a low voice, “Spider Mother, you should give up any thoughts you might have of causing trouble in my Knowledge Sea. Although my realm is not as high as yours, but my Spiritual Energy is far stronger than an average Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator.”
Listening to his warning, the Spider Mother’s last trace of worry quickly disappeared, conveying back to him, “Don’t worry. If you want, I’m more than happy to blend Souls with you, but if you’re prefer not to, I won’t try to force you.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and put down the last of his Knowledge Sea’s defences.
The next moment, the Spider Mother’s Soul broke into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea.
Above an endless sea, the Spider Mother’s Soul phantom gradually appeared, but unlike her physical body, her current appearance was completely human, her upper body fascinating and enchanting, while her lower body was no less wonderful. Two slender legs that seemed to be carved from the purest, softest jade while between them lay a completely smooth flower petal, from top to bottom, her bare skin completely exposed to the air.
Floating above Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, she glanced around gracefully without revealing the slightest bit of nervousness.
She was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, the equivalent of a Human Transcendent Realm master, while Yang Kai was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage cultivator. With such a massive gap in strength, she was absolutely fearless.
Yang Kai’s Soul phantom also quickly appeared in front of her and after sweeping his eyes over her, his brow wrinkled slightly as he let out a snort, “Is this the form you want to evolve into?”
“That’s right,” The Spider Mother nodded gently, twirling in place slowly as she showed off her delicate body, emphasizing her smooth round bottom and her full milk white chest, “What do you think? Interested?”
“Absolutely not!” Yang Kai spat.
“Hehe…” The Spider Mother smiled and didn’t care, “Is that Beguiling Demon Queen with the Poison Widow Body’s physique not lewd as well? Good good, let’s not talk nonsense, quickly show me the secrets of the Beast Transformation Pond.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “Indeed, I don’t want to speak any more nonsense with you.”
As he spoke, he suddenly wore a cunning grin.
The Spider Mother’s expression gradually became dignified as she stared towards Yang Kai deeply. His strange performance here made the Spider Mother quickly realize what he was up to, doing her best to calm herself down as she muttered, “So it was a trap all along.”
“Good,” Now that things had reached this point, Yang Kai no longer needed to pretend.
“Hmph,” The Spider Mother sneered, “Your acting skills are quite good, putting on such a grand performance just to temp my Soul into your Knowledge Sea.”
“Even if you know that now, it’s already too late.”
“With your current cultivation, do you really think you can trap me here? If I want to leave, you won’t be able to stop me!”
“That’s where you’re wrong, I already told you, without enough confidence I wouldn’t be here in the first place. Since you’ve come in, there’s no way I’ll just let you leave.”
“Hmph, just a brat who doesn’t know how high the Heavens are!” The Spider Mother cursed, her Soul phantom transforming into a stream of light as she shot out, trying to exit Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea.
But the instant she moved, the endless sea beneath her suddenly became turbulent and great waves soared into the sky, covering both the sky and earth, cutting off all possible paths of escape.
The Spider Mother’s Soul phantom soared about and crashed into this wall of water multiple times but was completely unable to break through it, eventually coming to a halt and turning to stare at Yang Kai in shock, “How can your Spiritual Energy be so powerful?”
This little brat’s Spiritual Energy was actually not weaker than her own, she even suspected it might be stronger, for it that was not the case; she would not be incapable of escaping.
“Tell me how to resolve the poison in Shan Qing Luo, and I’ll let you leave, otherwise this will be your burial place!” Yang Kai declared firmly.
“In your dreams! Try saying that again after I swallow your Soul!” The Spider Mother’s eyes became ice cold as she screamed hysterically and rushed towards Yang Kai, trying to forcefully blend their Souls together, hoping to disturb his concentration, allowing her to escape.
But she had not travelled more than a few meters before a majestic and awe inspiring pressure suddenly emerged from within Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and descended upon her. Upon feeling this aura, the Spider Mother immediately froze up and involuntarily stared towards this pressure’s source; what she saw caused her to tremble violently. Floating high in the sky a fair distance away was a giant eye that gave off a dazzling golden radiance. This golden eye appeared akin to a divine presence to the Spider Mother and gave her the urge to fall to her knees and worship it.
*Xiu…*
A beam of golden light suddenly shot out from the golden eye and brushed past the Spider Mother Soul spirit.
*Tss…*
When the golden light made contact with the Spider Mother’s Soul phantom, it was as if a beam of hot summer sun had hit a patch of snow, causing a part of her Soul to be instantly melted and purified.
A pain filled scream leaked from the Spider Mother’s mouth, her pair of beautiful eyes staring towards the golden eye in utter terror.
“What… what is that?” The Spider Mother asked haltingly.
“The key to restraining you,” Yang Kai replied calmly and said, “If that golden light hits you directly, you’ll instantly die, your consciousness wiped from existence. What you experience just now was just a warning, I have no time to waste with you so tell me what I want to know, otherwise don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
The Spider Mother glanced back and forth between Yang Kai and the slowly opening Solitary Golden Eye, a look of pure hatred flashing across her face.
Panting heavily, her proud chest heaving up and down, the Spider Mother was obviously completely enraged.
“I’ll give you until the count of three, if within three breaths you don’t tell me what I want to know, you’ll die,” Yang Kai said flatly, issuing an ultimatum, raising his fingers as he slowly began counting, “One… two…”
“Wait!” The Spider Mother exclaimed, “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me, after you get what you want, you’ll let me go!”
“I promise you!” Yang Kai nodded without hesitation.
The Spider Mother stared at him deeply, hesitating for a moment before waving her hand, sending out a small ball of light from her Soul phantom towards Yang Kai.
This ball of white light was formed from the Spider Mother’s own Soul and Spiritual Energy, so separating it from herself meant she would lose that part of her memory.
Doing this would obviously damage her Soul.
Yang Kai smiled happily and reached out his hand to accept this ball of light, but before he could grasp it, the Spider Mother suddenly leapt towards him.
Wrapping herself around him, she laughed wildly, “I’m going to swallow your Soul! Your Spiritual Energy is so powerful, it will be enough for me to enjoy for quite a while. Hahaha, with us being so close now, do you still dare use that golden light against me?”
The Spider Mother felt that as long as she was entangled with Yang Kai’s Soul phantom, he would have no way of killing her without killing himself as well.
At the same time, she could use her own Divine Sense to harass Yang Kai’s Soul phantom, allowing her to wear down his defences and slowly consume him.
However, Yang Kai just stared at her coldly, his face completely indifferent as he sneered, “That thing is mine, naturally it’s impossible for it to hurt me, you’re too naive.”
The Spider Mother’s smile instantly stiffened on her face as she desperately stared into Yang Kai’s eyes one last time.
*Xiu…*
A beam of golden light shot towards the two Soul phantoms, instantly engulfing the Spider Mother’s seductive form.
Without even enough time to scream, the Spider Mother’s consciousness was disintegrated, only leaving behind a mass of pure energy.
“Hmph, bringing about one’s own end.” Yang Kai slowly shook his head. If the Spider Mother had obediently cooperated, Yang Kai didn’t mind letting her go; after all, he had no deep animosity towards her.
But after inspecting the memories that were given to him by the Spider Mother a moment ago, Yang Kai’s expression became awkward.
The Spider Mother hadn’t cheated him, the small ball of light indeed contained the method to solve the flaw in Shan Qing Luo’s physique, but this method… actually still required the Spider Mother to die!
Yang Kai needed to let Shan Qing Luo swallow the Spider Mother’s blood essence and monster core, essentially using poison to attack the poison, in order to relieve the toxic backlash in her body.
It really was a case of reaping what one sowed.
Yang Kai shook his head helplessly.
Temporarily putting aside the Spiritual Energy mass the Spider Mother left behind after her death, Yang Kai quickly opened his eyes.
The giant spiders gathered around Yang Kai seeming felt the death of the Spider Mother and immediately began fiercely attacking him, seeking revenge.
Coldly snorting, Yang Kai’s pushed his True Qi violently and sent out a pulse of energy which killed or severely wounded all of the nearby spiders.
These Sixth-Order spiders were only equivalent to low level Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators and were clearly no match for the current Yang Kai.
After only a few breaths, a large number of giant spiders had died and those who could still move began fleeing in all directions. Yang Kai didn’t bother pursing these fugitives and instead directly flew towards the giant spider statue and landed beside the Spider Mother’s corpse.
Plunging his hand into her chest near where her heart should be, Yang Kai quickly extracted a seven coloured monster core. This monster core contained a massive amount of energy and as Yang Kai started at it, his hand gradually became numb and quickly turned black.
[Such strong toxin!] Yang Kai’s face instantly changed as he hastily threw this monster core into the Black Book space, hurriedly circulating his Secret Art in order to dispel the toxins that had invaded his body.
After expelling all of the poison from his arm, Yang Kai quickly extracted the Spider Mother’s blood essence and then turned to leave.
Two days later, inside Fragrance City.
The moment Yang Kai came back, he heard the sounds of weeping from inside Shan Qing Luo’s room.
His expression sinking sharply, he quickly pushed open the door.
Inside the room, Bi Luo was kneeling beside Shan Qing Luo’s bed, shedding giant tears, Yun Li, Ruo Yu and Ruo Qing were present as well, also weeping sorrowfully.
The inside of the room was stiflingly hot, almost like an oven.
The source of this blistering heat was actually Shan Qing Luo’s body.
Her breathing was very rapid and her body was a shade of red more similar to molten iron than human flesh. Her thoughts were also quite blurred as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
When she noticed Yang Kai had returned, Yun Li was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly shouted, “Young Master Yang, you’re back.”
Hearing this, Bi Luo was stunned and quickly turned her head towards him, her eyes red and swollen as she stared nervously at Yang Kai, her lips quivering as if she wanted to say something but was unable to form her words.
“How is her condition?” Yang Kai asked eagerly.
Bi Luo slowly shook her head, tears once again welling up in her eyes, obvious the situation was not optimistic.
“Stand aside,” Yang Kai reached out and gently pulled Bi Luo away from the bed, replacing her at Shan Qing Luo’s side before quickly taking out the Spider Mother’s monster core and blood essence and feeding them to the Beguiling Demon Queen.
“What do you give Mistress?” Bi Luo hurriedly asked.
Yang Kai briefly explained.
Bi Luo was dumbfounded, “Did you kill the Spider Mother?”
“En, the only way to solve the poison in Shan Qing Luo’s body is with poison,” Yang Kai sighed deeply, “I just hope this method is successful.”
“It has to work! If it doesn’t then… then you must commit suicide together with Mistress to apologize!” Bi Luo shouted at Yang Kai, her voice filled with grief.
Yang Kai glanced back at Bi Luo once and then didn’t bother paying attention to her anymore, turning back to Shan Qing Luo’s bed, placing his hands on her fiery shoulders and injecting his True Qi into her body in order to help circulate the energy from the Spider Mother’s monster core and blood essence.
Inside Tranquil Phoenix Pavilion, Yang Kai closed his eyes and absorbed the Spiritual Energy left behind by the Spider Mother after her death, enhancing his strength and his understanding of Heavenly Way and Martial Dao.
Suddenly smelling an enchanting fragrance that wafted past the tip of his nose, Yang Kai slowly blinked, only to discover Bi Luo half-squatting in front of him, a strange light smoldering in the depths of her beautiful eyes as she stared at him curiously.
“What?” Yang Kai asked somewhat vigilantly. This little girl had always been hostile to him so now, suddenly seeing her stare at him with a curious and almost fascinated look made Yang Kai somewhat uncomfortable.
“I suddenly thought that you’re quite fierce,” Bi Luo grinned, “How did you kill the Spider Mother alone? It was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast. Even Mistress said that she wasn’t confident she could defeat it. The Thunderbolt Beast King and Spider Mother only had a partnership of equals because he was unable to subdue it. Just what method did you use to kill it and extract its Monster Core.”
It seemed like after Yang Kai rescued Shan Qing Luo, Bi Luo’s hostility towards him had vanished.
However, Yang Kai still furrowed his brow and didn’t answer, instead asking, “How is your Mistress now?”
“Everything is fine. She still has her Poison Widow Body Special Constitution, but the toxic backlash has been solved,” Bi Luo smiled charmingly as she stared into Yang Kai’s eyes. Bi Luo was an enchanting woman in her own right and because she had spent many years in Shan Qing Luo’s service she had even cultivated a very profound Seduction Technique. Even if it wasn’t to the same degree as Shan Qing Luo, the charm Bi Luo had as a woman was far from ordinary, “Mistress is currently attacking her bottleneck so when she next comes out her strength will have increased dramatically.”
“That’s good,” Yang Kai finally put down the burden in his heart, “Then the matters between her and I have been solved.”
Pausing for a moment, he continued, “En, since she is in retreat, I won’t bother her. I should head back to the Central Capital and have a look at the situation over there. I’ll have to ask you to inform her of my whereabouts when she exits her seclusion.”
“You can’t go!” Bi Luo suddenly rushed up and grabbed one of Yang Kai’s arms.
Yang Kai stared at her with a dumbfounded look, “Why can’t I leave? There’s nothing more for me to do here.”
“Well… In any case, you can’t go. When Mistress exits her retreat, the first thing she’ll want to do is see you! If you just leave now, she’ll definitely be sad.”
“You’re not serious, right?” Yang Kai suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Bi Luo’s eyes shifted a few times before she suddenly smiled, “If you stay here, I’ll show you something nice.”
“Something nice?”
Bi Luo’s face turned bright red as she suddenly stood up resolutely, her tender body trembling slightly as she lifted her arms and slowly removed her robes, unveiling her perfectly proportioned snow-white body to Yang Kai’s eyes. It was as if the most exquisite jade carving had appeared before him out of nowhere.
Her proud peaks that seemingly defied gravity were dazzlingly soft and her waist was thin and delicate without the slightest excess fat. Further down her most intimate place flashed in and out of view as her two long, slender legs shifted back and forth charmingly. The entire room slowly began filling with an intoxicating fragrance that seemed to gently waft from her naked form.
Standing in front of Yang Kai without a stitch of clothing on her, gently twisting her hips, showing off her exquisite curves, such a scene was enough to arouse the flames of passion from any man. Bi Luo was truly as beautiful as an Immortal Fairy, causing any male who saw her to want to embrace and devastate her maliciously.
Her pretty face was dyed red while her normally pure white neck had a healthy pink tinge to it as well, biting her luscious lips gently, she didn’t dare to look directly into Yang Kai’s eyes.
“Beautiful?” Bi Luo asked, her voice as quiet as a mosquito.
But this tiny voice finally shook Yang Kai out of his daze, his dumbstruck expression instantly being replaced by one filled with burning passion and lust.
However, this animalistic gaze only lasted a moment before his eyes became clear again, a strange smile slowly spreading across his face, “This situation seems a bit off doesn’t it? Don’t you like women? Why are you suddenly showing so much enthusiasm towards me?”
Bi Luo somewhat coyly replied, “Oh… Men aren’t so bad either… Is there something wrong with having a taste for both men and women?”
Yang Kai face went dark.
“Fine fine,” Bi Luo suddenly snorted, “Mistress said in her current state she’s unable to serve you, so she sent me here to replace her, firstly to take care of your ‘needs’, and secondly to thank you for everything you did for her. Mistress pledged that when she exits her retreat she’ll personally go forth into ‘battle’.”
Having spilled the truth already, Bi Luo no longer acted shyly and instead boldly stepped forward and pushed Yang Kai down onto the bed, smoothly mounting his body as she grinned teasingly, licking her red lips as a look of debauchery flashed across her face, “However, if you want to play today, I’ll accompany you. There’s no need to hold back.”
Yang Kai smiled back at her, extended his hands towards her and gently held her waist, only to in the next moment lift her up, sit her onto the bed, and wrap the nearby beddings around her, covering up her figure and stepped aside without saying a word.
“You…” This time it was Bi Luo’s turn to be dumbstruck as she stared blankly at Yang Kai.
The last time he was a guest at the Tranquil Phoenix Pavilion, he obviously wasn’t such a gentlemen and had even forced her to taste something she had never experienced before, yet this time when she took the initiative to seduce him, he was actually completely indifferent?
Did he lose his manhood or something?
“I’m not in the mood.” Yang Kai shook his head gently and sighed.
Su Yan had been brought to an entirely different world by Meng Wu Ya and Yang Kai had absolutely no idea how she was. On top of that, there were so many things he had to deal with that Yang Kai really didn’t have time to enjoy the company of women, especially one whose tastes were as ‘exotic’ as Bi Luo’s. He was afraid that if he really got involved with Bi Luo, the consequences would be beyond his ability to withstand.
“Qing Luo…” Yang Kai called out suddenly.
Shan Qing Luo’s voice quickly resounded in his mind, “Little bastard, since when did you become such a gentleman?”
How could Yang Kai not have detected that her Divine Sense had been paying attention to the movement here since the beginning?
“I’ve always been a virtuous gentleman.” Yang Kai righteously declared.
Shan Qing Luo giggled happily, obviously not believing a word he said.
A while later, Shan Qing Luo sighed quietly, “Are you really leaving?”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded gently.
“Then go, when I come out, I’ll come find you.”
“I’m afraid this time you won’t be able to find me, the place I’m going to is not in this world.”
Shan Qing Luo curiously asked, “You’re going to that higher world?”
“You know about it?” Yang Kai asked in amazement.
“I heard about it from Yang Bai, but I don’t know very much. However… you still have my Soul Seeking Seal within your body, even if you travel to the ends of the earth, or even beyond, I’ll still be able to find you.” Shan Qing Luo said smugly.
Yang Kai grinned, “If that’s what you think, then you’re welcome to try, in any case, take care of yourself!”
Saying so, Yang Kai glanced back at Bi Luo, who was no lying down atop the bed, and sent out a whip made of True Qi that gently struck across her smooth white bottom.
Bi Luo let out a half yelp, half moan, her face instantly flushing bright red as a trace of excitement flashed across her eyes.
Seeing her reaction, Yang Kai laughed happily and flew out the window, a moment later disappearing across the horizon.
Bi Luo slowly got up, wrapping a thin sheet around her body as she walked over to the window and leaned against it, staring off in the direction Yang Kai disappeared as she muttered, “Mistress, letting him go just like that, are you alright with that?”
“You took the initiative to seduce him whole-heartedly yet you couldn’t even force him to remain for a single breath. Obviously, he has many important things weighing on his heart right now. Although that little bastard likes to act shamelessly, a woman’s body alone isn’t enough to confuse him. Trying to seduce him with only beauty isn’t possible. In his heart I have some weight, but that weight isn’t very great. Later, when that weight becomes heavy enough, we’ll naturally be together.”
“Love and sentiment are really troublesome,” Bi Luo mumbled.
“Good, he seems to have left something behind, it’s probably for you, have a look at it yourself,” Shan Qing Luo gently reminded before focusing her attention back on her own cultivation.
Hearing this, Bi Luo turned around and walked towards the bed, lifting the ruffled beddings she quickly found a small sealed bottle and picked it up, curiously looking it over.
…………
Central Capital.
The vast majority of the Central Capital City was still in ruins. Although many cultivators from all over the Great Han Dynasty’s forces had come here to help in the reconstruction due to the now incredibly rich World Energy that pervaded the Central Capital, the work still proceeded quite slowly. At this rate, it would likely take more than a decade to restore the Central Capital to its former glory.
The masters from the Eight Great Families were also participating actively in this reconstruction work.
As for the eight young family heads, with assistance from the older generation masters, were now smoothing commanding the situation and everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Qiu Yi Meng also busied herself, wearing a silk scarf tied atop her head; she now looked like an ordinary village girl, or rather a beautiful village girl.
“Matriarch, there’s no need for you to personally handle such menial labour, you can simply direct operations here from the sidelines. What would happen if you damage your delicate skin by slaving away in these dirty ruins under the hot sun?” A old Qiu Family female Elder kindly advised Qiu Yi Meng who was currently digging through the rubble with her bare hands.
However, Qiu Yi Meng just shook her head with a smile, “It’s alright, in any case, I’m bored just sitting around signing paperwork. If I don’t do something to keep myself occupied… I always have some unwanted thoughts occupying my mind.”
“Is Matriarch still thinking about that little brat from the Yang Family?” The old woman grumbled before suddenly sighed, “To die so young, the Heavens truly must have been jealous of his talents.”
“Grandmother!” Qiu Yi Meng’s face suddenly became upset as she quietly rebuked, “He’s not dead.”
The old woman opened her mouth and wanted to console Qiu Yi Meng, but she couldn’t find any words to say.
After more than half a year, the Yang Family’s little brat had yet to appear; if he was still, he should have shown up long ago.
Ninety nine percent of people now firmly believed he was dead.
Only the youths who had resided in his mansion during the Inheritance War were still convinced that Yang Kai was alive, but obviously none of them could say where he currently was.
Only the young could have such unwavering trust in a person, the old woman lamented endlessly.
Suddenly, a piercing eagle came echoed throughout the sky, a hint of surprise and joy apparent within its resounding tone. When she heard this eagle cry, Qiu Yi Meng instinctively looked up and saw a giant Golden Feather Eagle transform into a streak of golden light and quickly dash beyond the Central Capital’s borders.
In their search for Yang Kai, naturally they had utilised the unique sensing abilities of the Yang Family’s Golden Feather Eagles.
However, a dozen or so Golden Feather Eagles had been searching for half a year and had yet to produce any results.
Only the Golden Feather Eagle that belonged exclusively to Yang Kai had been constantly hovering over the Central Capital since Yang Kai disappeared- until today, when out of nowhere it suddenly shot off.
“What happened to that eagle?” The Qiu Family Elder muttered, slightly surprised.
Qiu Yi Meng, who was still staring in the direction the eagle disappeared, suddenly became incredibly excited, a brilliant light flashed across her beautiful eyes as she shouted joyfully, “He’s back, he’s finally back!”
Shouting so, her body flickered as she hastily chased after the Golden Feather Eagle.
“He really didn’t die?” The old woman called out in shock, releasing her Divine Sense towards the direction Qiu Yi Meng had just flown. Unfortunately she was not able to detect anything out of the ordinary.
Thirty kilometers or so outside the city, Yang Kai noticed a streak of golden light flying towards him from Central Capital, causing him to smile warmly as he flew forward to meet this old friend.
A moment later, the Golden Feather Eagle’s figure flew over. Yang Kai reached out his hand and the Golden Feather Eagle perched cheerfully on his shoulders, quickly proceeding to comb his slightly messy hair with its beak, obviously very pleased that its master had returned.
“It seems your sense of smell is getting more and more sensitive!” Yang Kai laughed as he rubbed the eagle’s head.
He had not expected that upon his return to the Central Capital, the first one to come out and meet him would actually be this eagle.
Soon after the eagle reached him, a beautiful young woman soared over.
Qiu Yi Meng pushed her speed to the limit and had all but caught up to the eagle by the time it reunited with Yang Kai.
“Long time no see!” Yang Kai greeted her with a cheerful smile.
Qiu Yi Meng’s face flooded with a mix of excitement, delight, concern, worry, and a myriad of other emotions as she came to a halt ten steps in front of Yang Kai, tears instantly filling her big beautiful eyes as she stared at him.
She didn’t dare to approach any closer, for fear that all of this was just an illusion that would collapse and disappear the moment she touched him.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai asked gently.
Qiu Yi Meng took a deep breath, steeled her will, and stepped towards him. As soon as she was within arm’s reach, her pretty face flashed a glimmer of ruthlessness as she grabbed his arm and viciously bit down on it.
Staring up at Yang Kai’s face, her teary eyes filled with grievance, confirming that he was really real; she gradually loosened her bite and simply sobbed instead.
Yang Kai sighed, “Looking so sad and forlorn upon seeing me again, have I really bullied you so badly?”
“I… I thought… I thought you were really dead… that you died… You’ve been gone for over half a year… Where… Where have you been all this time?” Qiu Yi Meng finally couldn’t stand it and burst into tears, wailing like a lost child that had finally been reunited with her family, venting all the fear and anxiety she had accumulated in her heart these past seven months, her delicate body becoming slightly limp as she slowly squatted down, her shoulders quivering, appearing truly pitiful and helpless.
Yang Kai’s mood suddenly became complicated. Uncertain of what he should do, he stood there dumbly, waiting for her to vent for a while before slowly reaching out and helping her up.
Qiu Yi Meng wiped the corners of her eyes with as she did her best to choke back her sobs, her face blushing slightly, seemingly quite embarrassed.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you cry,” Yang Kai couldn’t help laughing, “It’s such a contrast from how you normally look, like two completely different people.”
“You bastard!” Qiu Yi Meng punched Yang Kai angrily, her sobs mixing with a tinge of laughter.
Taking a deep breath and finally regaining her calm, Qiu Yi Meng restored her usual self-confident look, but seeing the teasing grin on Yang Kai’s face and realizing he was still making fun of her even now, she swiftly trampled his foot and snorted coldly, turning around and walking back towards the Central Capital.
But on her face, there was still a big happy smile.
Yang Kai scratched his head and mused to himself that even such an intelligent and valiant woman also had such a fragile side.
It seemed like the movement of the Golden Feather Eagle had alerted the people of the Central Capital, so before Yang Kai even reached the city limits, large numbers of people had already come out to greet him.
From far away, Huo Xing Chen shouted in a tearful voice, “Young Lord Kai, Young Lord Kai, you really didn’t die! I had always said that good people don’t live long but scourges endure for a thousand years!”
Yang Kai’s face immediately went black.
Behind Huo Xing Chen was Dong Qing Han and Dong Qing Yan, the four girls from Ten Thousand Flower Palace, Luo Xiao Man from Purple Fern Valley, Chen Xue Shu and Su Xiao Yu from Reflecting Moon Sect, Zuo Fang from Pure Heart Palace, Chu Jing Shan from Soaring Feather Pavilion, the Hu Sisters of Blood Battle Gang, Fang Zi Ji from Storm Hall, Tao Yang from Treasure Instrument Sect…
Almost all of the younger generation of the leaders from his mansion had arrived, each and every one of them wearing excited smiles.
These people quickly flew over to Yang Kai and Huo Xing Chen even crashed into him and gave him a big bear hug.
“Young Lord Kai, you’re finally back, you nearly scared all of us to death!” Huo Xing Chen breathed a heavy sigh of relief and said sincerely.
Yang Kai felt quite touched in his heart as he gently pushed Huo Xing Chen away and said seriously, “I missed all of you too, come, everyone give me a hug, I need to see how all of you developed while I was away.”
“Shameless!” Han Xiao Qi of Ten Thousand Flower Palace turned red and couldn’t help shouting.
A burst of laughter resounded as Yang Kai glanced over at Luo Xiao Man and nodding approvingly, “Good, it seems Xiao Man’s chest has become even bigger since I left.”
“Nonsense…” Luo Xiao Man’s face turned red as she whispered in a grieved tone.
“Alright, stop fooling around. Let’s head back so we can talk,” Qiu Yi Meng said as she glared towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, who had been missing for half a year now, suddenly returned to the Central Capital, causing a great stir. The thirteen Blood Warriors from his mansion and the other young Patriarchs and Elder of the Eight Great Families immediately rushed to the Yang Family main hall upon receiving this news.
Inside the hall, the Yang Kai’s parents both cried tears of joy as Dong Su Zhu held tightly onto Yang Kai’s hand, as if she was afraid that he would suddenly disappear again.
The great hall was filled to the brim with all of the important figures from the Eight Great Families clamouring about, welcoming Yang Kai home.
These people all stared curiously at Yang Kai, wondering just where he had been these past seven months and why he hadn’t appeared until now. They also hoped he could tell them just what had transpired beneath the Central Capital half a year ago.
Why had so many people gone missing? Why was it that only Yang Kai had returned so far?
All kinds of doubts swirled about people’s hearts.
“Ninth Brother,” Yang Zhao suddenly stood up, “Since you’ve returned safely, this Yang Family Patriarch’s position…”
Yang Kai quickly raised his hand and interrupted him, smiling as he shook his head, “Second Brother, I have no desire to hold that position, the title of Yang Family Patriarch suits you far better than I.”
Yang Zhao slowly shook his head in response, “In the Inheritance War, I was thoroughly defeated, what qualifications do I have to hold the position of Yang Family Patriarch?”
Yang Kai disagreed though, “Second Brother is being far too modest, your means and ability are obvious to everyone, and the Inheritance War can’t prove anything.”
“But……”
“First listen to what I have to say.”
Yang Zhao paused before nodding slightly.
“I am going to be leaving here soon, so it’s impossible for me to take on the position of Yang Family Patriarch.” Yang Kai slowly said.
Dong Su Zhu trembled violently and couldn’t help grabbing Yang Kai’s hand even tighter as she asked nervously, “Where are you going?”
Yang Kai pointed his finger towards the sky, “A higher world!”
Inside the main hall, everyone stared at him blankly.
“The world we live in right now is not the only world. There are some places out there that we have never heard or seen before, similar to how we never knew that the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary is actually known as the Transcendent Realm!”
Many people in the halls suddenly showed curious expressions.
“Demon Lord Yang Bai’s leading the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land to attack the Central Capital was all in order to travel to that higher world.”
“What does attacking the Central Capital have to do with traveling to another world?” Dong Qing Han asked in confusion.
“Beneath the Central Capital, there is an Earth Pulse, and at the heart of that Earth Pulse, there was a portal that led to that higher world. Yang Bai’s real objective was that portal.” Yang Kai took a short breath and continued, “Seven months ago, he started that war in order to obtain enough fresh blood to locate and open the Earth Pulse with a special blood sacrifice ritual, allowing him to enter it and find that portal. The eight old Patriarchs followed him down there in order to stop him and I, together with Old Demon, Treasurer Meng, Senior Sister Su and Senior Sister Xia also pursued him. During the final battle, Treasurer Meng managed to kill Yang Bai, but in an attempt to drag all of us down with him, Yang Bai detonated all of his Demonic Qi causing the Earth Pulse and portal to become unstable and explode.”
Everyone held their breath as the listened to Yang Kai’s story with rapt attention.
What Yang Kai was narrating now was exactly what they had been puzzled about for the past half a year, what had happened in the depths below the Central Capital!
“Before the portal collapsed, Treasurer Meng managed to safely take his apprentice and Senior Sister Su through and safely arrive at that higher world.”
Meng Wu Ya transmitted some information to Yang Kai at the last moment before the Void Corridor fully collapsed which was how the latter knew that his two Senior Sisters and Treasurer Meng had survived.
“Unfortunately, I was a little late in entering and the force of the void sent me to the Endless Sea Islands instead of that higher world. For the past half a year I have been in the Endless Sea Islands recovering.”
Everyone suddenly understood what had taken place but they were still no less shocked.
The battle underground half a year ago actually had so many unexpected twists and turns.
“What about the eight former Patriarchs?” Someone asked nervously.
“They… they likely died,” Yang Kai’s expression became a little gloomy, “They entered the portal after me so while the force of the void sent me far away, they must have taken it head on along with the shockwave from the Earth Pulse exploding. They’re probably buried deep underground. It’s a great loss for the Eight Great Families.”
Hearing this news, everyone couldn’t help feeling a little depressed.
“But you managed to survive,” Ling Tai Xu nodded gently, “We all thought that everyone who went down there had died, but now we know that some of you managed to survive, this is truly good news.”
Meng Wu Ya surviving that incident obviously made Ling Tai Xu quite happy.
The main hall fell silent for a while before Qiu Yi Meng asked, “Yang Kai, you said you are going to a higher world, do you know anything about that place?”
“I do, but not much,” Yang Kai shook his head, a meaningful grin suddenly appearing on his face as he turned his eyes towards a remote corner of the hall, “Although I am somewhat ignorant about that place, there is someone here with knowledge of it, am I right, Shui Ling?”
In the corner of the hall, a young girl with light blue hair that stood out from the crowd leaned against the wall, calmly chewing on a piece of fruit as if this conversation had nothing to do with her, but when Yang Kai turned his gaze to her, Shui Ling couldn’t help grinning.
“If I’m not mistaken, you should be from that world, right? The same as Treasurer Meng and Old Demon.”
At that moment, everyone’s eyes turned towards Shui Ling.
“What of it? Why are all of you staring at me for?” Shui Ling said in a slightly annoyed tone. She was upset that she hadn’t followed Meng Wu Ya at that time, because if she had, she could have returned home seven months ago and not had to idle away in this backwater place any longer.
“I’d just like to know what that world is like,” Yang Kai asked politely.
“Is that all?” Shui Ling furrowed her brow slightly, “If you want me to describe it for you, I don’t think I can give you a complete picture.” Thinking about it for a moment, she continued, “But for example, in this place, you divided Sects and Families into Super, First, Second, and then Third class forces, correct?”
Yang Kai nodded, urging her to continue.
“Then if we were to consider your Central Capital Eight Great Families as a single force, by that world’s standard you’d only be a second-class force at best.”
Hearing this, everyone suddenly went slightly pale.
Yang Kai thoughtfully asked, “What about your Water Spirit Temple?”
“First-class.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help taking a sharp breath, discovering that he had still far underestimated this higher world; however, knowing how great the disparity between here and there was only caused him to yearn for it even more.
“The density of World Energy in the Central Capital right now is barely equivalent to that world’s average World Energy concentration while the places where large forces are entrenched, the World Energy auras there are more than ten times greater than this place. As for the Holy Land, where the super forces occupy, the density of World Energy is many times greater than even that.”
Shui Ling’s words were somewhat vague but this small bit of information was already enough to make everyone in the hall aware of that higher world’s heritage and strength, causing many people’s eyes to go red with envy.
The current Central Capital’s rich World Energy had already made it this world’s greatest cultivation paradise.
But if what Shui Ling said was true, then over there, any abandoned backwater countryside would have a comparable World Energy density while there were also many places that were vastly superior. Who among them wouldn’t yearn to experience such a world?
If a cultivator were to cultivate in a place with such rich World Energy, they would be able to achieve double the results with half the effort, enabling them to improve their strength many times faster than here.
Obtaining such a paradise was the goal of many cultivators and great forces.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, finally understanding why although Shui Ling was not much older than him, she was already a Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage. Of course, that was six months ago. Now, she had reached the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary and was only a step away from breaking through to the Transcendent Realm.
Having such cultivation at such a young age, it was nothing less than astonishing.
“You all now know that what you know as the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary is called the Transcendent Realm correct, but as to what lies beyond the Transcendent Realm, do you have any idea?” Shui Ling smiled slightly.
“Please enlighten us!” Yang Zhao’s eyes shining brightly as he humbling asked.
“Those who ascend beyond the Transcendent are known as Saints! Above the Transcendent Realm is the Saint Realm!” Shui Ling did not hold everyone in suspense and directly dispelled their doubts, “On the other side, only forces with Saint Realm masters can be considered top forces. My Water Spirit Temple only has one such powerhouse, so we can barely be counted as a first-class Sect. On top of that, artifacts, Precious Treasures, and pills that are capped here at the Mysterious Grade here have two additional levels over there that correspond to the Transcendent and Saint realm, respectively known as Spirit Grade, and Saint Grade.”
“Spirit Grade and Saint Grade?” Everyone murmured in amazement.
Shui Ling suddenly knit her brow, “I don’t know why but there seems to be some kind of shackle related to this world’s Heavenly Law that hampers the development of your cultivators and simultaneously limits the grade of artifacts and pills that can be refined.”
Shui Ling held nothing back in her explanations, directly illuminating the issues and limitations this world apparently had.
Inside the main hall, everyone inquired curiously about the other world, and the more they learned, they were filled with wonder and amazement because everything there was so far beyond the scope of their understanding.
The question and answer session continued on and time passed by inadvertently, yet no one felt the slightest bit bored. It seemed like all of them had suddenly become eager young scholars with strong desires for knowledge. The things they learned from Shui Ling broadened their horizons, which greatly pleased them.
After a whole day, with evening approaching, everyone had dry mouths from all the questions they had asked and even Shui Ling was beginning to get irritated. Answering one or two people about a few issues was no problem, but dealing with over a hundred had severely taxed her patience.
“Good,” Yang Kai saw her appearance and stepped in and ended the conversation, “Don’t ask anymore, the more you ask, the more anxious you’ll feel.”
“After hearing all this, do you still want to go there?” Ling Tai Xu’s eyes flashed brilliantly as he stared towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded firmly, “I have to go.”
Su Yan was there, Xia Ning Chang was also there, and at the very least he had to find both of them.
“I’ll support your decision!” Ling Tai Xu smiled, “Men should be like this, you should not restrict yourself to this small place.”
“Many thanks, Grand Master!”
Since Ling Tai Xu had said so, Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu naturally would not raise any objections, and although they were somewhat reluctant to part, this was the path Yang Kai wanted to pursue. How could they stand in his way?
“I’ll scout the path ahead, and after establishing a footing there, I’ll return and open the way for everyone else.” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “The reason I wanted Shui Ling to tell all of you about that world was to let you know the difference between there and here. After I leave, you can’t relax, otherwise when I one day return, if your strength is too low, you may not be able to cross over to the other side.”
“Naturally,” Huo Xing Chen’s eyes burned with fighting spirit, “If we never knew this than so be it, but now that we do, of course we can’t slack off. Whether it’s here or there, everyone has a head, two arms, and two legs. Why should we just lie down and accept people from there being stronger than us?”
Everyone nodded in agreement, their enthusiasm and spirits all lifted to new heights.
As night fell, everyone began dispersing and soon there were only two people left in the hall, Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
Looking at her doubtfully, Yang Kai wanted to know why this woman had specially stayed behind waiting for him.
“When are you planning on leaving?” Shui Ling asked eagerly.
“Why does that matter to you?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Of course it matters to me. Your servant, Old Demon, said that one day you’d be able to lead me back there, why else do you think I’ve stuck around here and even offered you my help?”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment before grinning lightly, “You don’t know how to get back?”
Shui Ling blushed faintly and nodded.
Yang Kai laughed, “So that’s it, I always wondered why you suddenly became so polite and friendly, it turns out it was for this.”
“Do you know the way there?”
Yang Kai neither confirmed nor denied her suspicions.
“In any case, no matter where you go, I’ll follow you.”
“Good, it just so happens I’m lacking a guide,” Yang Kai did not refuse.
“When are we going to start?” Shui Ling asked excitedly. Although Yang Kai hadn’t said so, she was confident that he knew a way to get there.
“It’ll be a little while longer, I still have some things here to deal with,” Yang Kai thought for a moment and said, “At most it’ll be another month.”
“Good,” Shui Ling nodded happily.
Leaving the Yang Family grounds, Yang Kai flew over to his mansion.
Ling Tai Xu had told him just before he left that after Meng Wu Ya disappeared, the Heavenly Palace that was guarding the mansion could no longer be actuated. It was still in an active condition so the barrier protecting the mansion was still intact, but aside from Ling Tai Xu, no one else could enter it, they could only exit.
So now the entire house was completely empty.
The Heavenly Palace was a very powerful artifact, so when Yang Kai decided to leave this place to search for Su Yan, naturally he planned to take this artifact away with him and return it to Meng Wu Ya.
Landing outside the house, Yang Kai walked towards the barrier and just as he expected, the Heavenly Palace opened a path for him to pass though.
This was obviously something Meng Wu Ya had set up before he left, leaving behind instructions allowing only Yang Kai and Ling Tai Xu to freely enter and exit the Heavenly Palace. If anyone else wanted to enter from the outside, they’d first require Meng Wu Ya’s permission.
Inside the quiet mansion, Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to every corner of the house, carefully examining the mysteries of the Heavenly Palace.
The body of the Heavenly Palace was just a small item that could fit on top of one’s palm, but after filling it with True Qi, it could open an impenetrable barrier, so now, if Yang Kai wanted to find it, it was actually not an easy task.
After a long period of searching, Yang Kai still had no clues.
But Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry; although he wanted to bring the Heavenly Palace back to Meng Wu Ya, if it wasn’t possible, he wouldn’t be too reluctant.
At worst, it could only be said that Treasurer Meng was too careless and accidentally lost this artifact.
Returning to his previous room and sitting down cross-legged, Yang Kai took out a small piece of flaming jade from the Black Book space and stared at it hesitantly.
This piece of jade wasn’t very large, only about the size of a fist, and its shape was somewhat odd, almost like a small doll that had indistinct facial features as well as stubby limbs.
This was the jade core from the Yang Crystal Jade Bed he had obtained from Lu Si.
When Yang Kai was a guest at the Lu Family home, he had traded a letter to Xiao Fu Sheng for this Yang Crystal Jade Bed from Lu Si.
After absorbing the Yang Yuan Qi contained inside the Yang Crystal Jade Bed, what remained was this jade core.
Both Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian had determined that this piece of jade had already produced a True Spirit, and if given a hundred more years or so, it may be able to evolve to the point where it could break free of this jade core and become a true independent, sentient being.
A Jade True Spirit was a legendary existence, every True Spirit that had managed to emerge would possess unrivaled strength and power when fully matured.
Each True Spirit could become an existence that even Transcendents would yield the way to!
Tang Yu Xian had sternly warned Yang Kai not to get any ideas about absorbing the Jade True Spirit, because doing so would be extremely dangerous.
But now, after Yang Kai learned from Shui Ling about the immense disparity between this world and the other world, he felt like he had no choice but to take some risks such as refining this Jade True Spirit.
An Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage wasn’t weak, but it was also by no means strong! Over there, there were many Transcendents and even numerous masters who had reached the Saint Realm. If he wanted to survive in such a dangerous and unfamiliar world with no backing, Yang Kai needed to have the strength to protect himself.
Yang Kai didn’t want to all of a sudden break through to the Transcendent Realm by refining this Jade True Spirit, that was too unrealistic, but he figured that absorbing this concentrated Yang Yuan Qi energy would at least increase his strength somewhat before setting out, allowing him a little more leeway if he encountered any unexpected danger.
After hesitating for a long time, Yang Kai’s look suddenly became firm.
He needed to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible in order to embark on the road to that higher world.
Staring hard at the jade core in his hand, he decided to take the risk.
Wealth and danger always coexisted, and with the Heavenly Palace still operating, even if he failed in his attempt to refine the Jade True Spirit, he could easily escape.
Gripping the jade core with both hands, Yang Kai began circulating his True Yang Secret Art, immediately exerting a huge suction force and beginning to peel away the concentrated Yang Yuan Qi stored within.
A constant stream of energy began flowing into Yang Kai’s body; even if this jade core was many times smaller than the original Yang Crystal Jade Bed, the energy contained within it was many times richer.
Yang Kai was slightly shocked as he sensed just how much Yang Yuan Qi was pouring into his meridians and how quickly they became saturated.
*Dida…*
A drop of Yang Liquid condensed and sank into his dantian for storage.
*Dida, dida…*
The sound of Yang Liquid drops condensing sounded again and again in rapid succession.
As Yang Kai gladly endured this strenuous process, he couldn’t help paling slightly as well.
The amount of energy contained within the jade core was somewhat beyond his expectations.
After half a day of constant absorption, there were no more than two hundred more drops of Yang Liquid inside his Dantian while only the surface of the small jade core had been peeled off.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt a burning sensation in his hands and at the same time, a terrifying destructive aura suddenly descended upon him. Yang Kai expression changed greatly as his eyes shot open and stared towards the jade core. What he saw was the jade core suddenly melt into a liquid that began slipping through his fingers.
*Tsss…*
Yang Kai’s hands were instantly burned and oozed blood, the violent heat given off by the jade liquid was something even he couldn’t withstand.
Not daring to hesitate, he quickly leapt up and retreated.
*Hu…*
As the liquid hen the liquid hit the ground, a large burst of flames erupted and began rapidly spreading out, temporarily blinding Yang Kai’s line of sight.
After falling back even further and composing himself, Yang Kai’s expression became dignified.
In the position where he had been meditating, a human-shaped figure completely composed of bright orange flame had emerged.
This eerie figure had fuzzy facial features and strange misshapen limbs, all of which was purely composed of flame.
A violent heat swept out in all directions, lighting Yang Kai’s mansion on fire and even reducing some buildings to ash instantaneously.
Even the air began distorting under this intense blaze, but what caused Yang Kai’s expression to be particularly dignified was the ruinous and brutal aura which radiated from this flame figure.
The Jade True Spirit already had some self-awareness, but before it could truly become sentient it had been stripped away from its jade core by Yang Kai, so at this moment it only had the most primal and primitive of instincts.
All the Jade True Spirit knew to do now was burn, burn everything, reduce anything within its sight to ashes!
*Hu…* With a roar akin to one from a giant fire dragon, the Jade True Spirit launched itself towards Yang Kai, the only other living thing nearby, at a terrifying speed, bringing with it an overwhelming heat and energy.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank as he hurriedly evaded, but the flame-creature still managed to nick his arm as it passed by.
The skin on Yang Kai’s arm instantly shrivelled up like it had been baked in flames for day, immediately peeling off and disintegrating into dust, causing a pain so sharp that Yang Kai couldn’t help but scream.
Locking his eyes onto the Jade True Spirit again, Yang Kai became even more aghast.
What he cultivated was the True Yang Secret Art, and the True Yang Yuan Qi inside his body was akin to the blazing sun. Ordinary high temperatures had no way of affecting him at all, but the heat given off by this Jade True Spirit was simply too intense.
This kind of heat and temperature had gone far beyond his ability to withstand; it was on an entirely different level.
Not allowing Yang Kai a moment to relax, the Jade True Spirit immediately launched another attack.
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion, the only living thing being other than itself was Yang Kai, so the Jade True Spirit, whose instincts drove it to incinerate everything in its path, was completely fixated on Yang Kai.
The flame creature transformed into a great wave that instantly swept forward and surrounded Yang Kai before launching an attack from all directions towards him.
Yang Kai’s pupils suddenly enlarged because at this moment he was completely engulfed by the flames and had absolutely no path of escape.
The Flaming Yang Wings, which he had not used for a long time, instantly opened on his back like a giant blazing bird spreading its wings, wrapping up Yang Kai in a kind of fire barrier and allowing him to rapidly dive through the surrounding flames.
*Hong…* A violent explosion sounded and what was left of Yang Kai’s house was reduced to ash in an instant. The house was gone and the ground was transformed into scorched earth while countless pillars of flame leapt towards the sky chasing after Yang Kai’s flickering figure.
Perceiving this great disturbance, many cultivators in and around the Central Capital quickly arrived.
After seeing the situation inside the Heavenly Palace, Huo Xing Chen was stunned, “What’s going on? Young Lord Kai disappeared for over half a year but the instant he comes back he suddenly gets involved in such an intense fight?”
Although the Heavenly Palace had an isolation function that blocked all outside Divine Sense probing so they were unable to feel the intense temperature inside, the terrifying pressure given off by the Jade True Spirit was enough to make them shudder.
“What is he doing?” Qiu Yi Meng was incredibly anxious, her beautiful eyes staring at the scene playing out before her, only somewhat able to make out Yang Kai’s fluttering figure inside the Heavenly Palace.
The flaming world inside was completely isolated from any attempt at outside investigation.
After a while, the chaotic scene gradually became clearer.
Yang Kai was now quietly floating midair, staring down below with a solemn expression as the distorted flame creature twisted and burned while roaring angrily towards him.
“What the…” Huo Xing Chen was dumbfounded as he stared at the pair of wings protruding from Yang Kai’s back.
Everyone else was also stunned silent.
No one knew that Yang Kai actually possessed such a fantastical technique as he had never once used his Flaming Yang Wings during the Inheritance War.
“So pretty…” Luo Xiao Man murmured, somewhat fascinated by the brilliance and beauty of Yang Kai’s flaming wings.
“Is that… the Jade True Spirit?” Tang Yu Xian’s beautiful face discoloured as she exclaimed.
Tu Feng’s face was also ugly as he stared at this living flame.
The two Blood Warriors immediately realized just what Yang Kai was fighting with.
“What Jade True Spirit?” Qiu Yi Meng asked anxiously.
Tang Yu Xian quickly explained to Qiu Yi Meng what actually happened in the Lu Family and after listening to her, the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady also began recalling such an incident.
When Yang Kai came back from Lu Si’s Yang Crystal Jade Bed, Qiu Yi Meng also saw it with her own eyes, but what she didn’t know was that Yang Kai got such a dangerous treasure from the Yang Crystal Jade Bed.
“That’s not something that can be dealt with easily!” Tu Feng frowned. Although he had now become a Transcendent, and even though the Heavenly Palace was still active, the Jade True Spirit still brought him a lot of pressure.
If was him inside, Tu Feng estimated that he would very quickly be burnt to death by those flames.
“Little Lord seems to want to absorb the power of the Jade True Spirit in order to strength himself,” Tang Yu Xian bite her red lips, “But it seems he was a bit too hasty.”
She was silently blaming herself for not making it clear enough to Yang Kai, causing him to mistakenly feel that with his current strength he had a chance to successfully absorb the power of the Jade True Spirit.
“Is there any way you can help?” Qiu Yi Meng asked nervously.
Unfortunately, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian shook their heads, “The heat inside there is not something we can bear, the reason Little Lord is still capable of resisting is because of the Secret Art he cultivates.”
Moreover, they couldn’t enter the Heavenly Palace in the first place.
Qiu Yi Meng, whose thoughts were currently a bit chaotic, had completely forgotten this point.
“Hah…” Huo Xing Chen suddenly grinned and shook his head, a profound glint flashing past the depths of his eyes as he said meaningfully, “After being together with Young Lord Kai for so long, do you still not understand his personality? Since he dared to do this, he definitely has enough confidence in his ability to succeed. Let’s just sit back and watch.”
Listening to these words, everyone expression suddenly brightened.
Yes, Yang Kai had never been one to act recklessly, and every action he took was always well thought out and considered. In fact, time had proven over and over again that the decisions he made were the correct ones.
What’s more, it was useless to worry about him now as there was nothing they could do to help, what they should do now is believe in him.
“But what if…” Qiu Yi Meng was still a little uneasy.
“If he really can’t succeed, Young Lord Kai will simply escape. Didn’t you notice that he deliberately choose to refine that Jade True Spirit inside the Heavenly Palace? He obviously did that to protect against any unexpected events like this.” Huo Xing Chen replied confidently.
His analysis of the situation was quite sharp and he explained it clearly and eloquently enough that no one could rebut.
Inside the Heavenly Palace, Yang Kai stared at the raging flames down below while continuously using his Divine Sense to try to subdue the Jade True Spirit.
If he wanted to finish absorbing the power of the Jade True Spirit, he would first have to force it to surrender.
However, the extreme power of the Jade True Spirit coupled with its thirst for destruction had made it instinctually arrogant so it was consciously refuse to submit to Yang Kai.
A flash of hot flames burst forth one more and spread throughout the entire Heavenly Palace.
Yang Kai coldly snorted as his Flaming Yang Wings waved, dodging in and around these erupting flames to quickly arrive at a particular spot in the mansion.
This was the location of the Su Yan’s room.
Of course, since the entire building had been destroyed by the Jade True Spirit, it was now just a flat open space.
When he arrived here, Yang Kai stopped dodging and dove towards the ground, breaking through the surrounding rubble he quickly flew down into the wreckage, only to return a moment later carrying a giant block of ice in his hands that was even now emitting strong waves of cold Qi.
Su Yan’s Ice Crystal Jade Bed!
Previously she had been using this ice crystal bed to cultivate, but after she was brought to the higher world by Treasurer Meng, this ice bed had been left behind here.
Ice and fire had always been each other’s greatest nemeses.
Yang Kai had long ago planned on using this ice crystal bed to counter the flames of the Jade True Spirit.
After sensing the presence of its nemesis, the always aloof Jade True Spirit suddenly stared towards the ice crystal bed as a violent light flashed across its misshapen eyes.
It immediately sent a blast of heat towards the ice crystal bed.
When the cold and hot Qi met, they instantly began neutralizing each other, sending out a cloud of white mist.
Yang Kai was unscathed.
In this collision between fire and ice, he had become just another spectator.
An angry roar rang out and the all of the dispersed flames inside the Heavenly Palace were quickly taken back by the Jade True Spirit. In the next moment, these flames condensed into a strange beast that snarling and rushing towards Yang Kai, its facial features warping constantly.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and stared at the rushing Jade True Spirit beast, but this time, instead of trying to avoid it, he simply picked up the ice crystal bed.
“Devil Transformation!” Shouting eerily, an earth shaking pressure began radiating from Yang Kai’s body as a pure and rich Demonic Qi burst forth from his Golden Skeleton quickly filling the Heavenly Palace. Simultaneously, he lifted the ice crystal bed up high and then slammed it towards the oncoming beast.
Outside the Heavenly Palace, all anyone could see at this moment was a burst of light followed by a billowing cloud of swirling energy.
This cloud had three distinct colours.
The red raging flames, the pure white icy chill, and the pitch black Demonic Qi.
These three colours swirled about the Heavenly Palace creating a terrifying yet beautiful scene.
It could be seen clearly that the red cloud currently occupied the absolute upper hand while the white and black segments were quickly being dispersed.
Seeing these, everyone involuntarily clenched their fists and silently prayed for Yang Kai’s safety.
At the same time, all of them admired Yang Kai’s courage and wit, thinking to themselves that if it were them in his place they would have immediately run away without making any effort.
However, Yang Kai was persisting, and his black Demonic Qi, although greatly suppressed, still had yet to fully dissipate.
Gradually, the red flames were no longer as strong as they once were, apparently having been weakened significantly as the white ice and black Demonic Qi gradually began to re-emerge.
A burst of wild cheers broke out as the surrounding crowd celebrated joyfully.
As the white and dark lights within the cloud became stronger, the two together began to push back against the red flames.
At this moment, the situation had become a stalemate with neither side able to gain the upper hand.
Time passed, the moon rose and fell, and an entire day had come and gone.
The situation inside the Heavenly Palace was still ongoing and the destructive aura pulsing from it had now spread across the entire Central Capital, causing the previous night to be quite restless, resulting in many being unable to sleep or eat in peace.
However, those who had come to Yang Kai’s house to observe the situation had not left or rested, all of them waiting patiently for the moment when Yang Kai would safely emerge.
Suddenly, the white ice light suddenly weakened significantly. No one knew what was going on, but a moment later the red flame light also began to dim while the black Demonic Qi suddenly became dominant.
Seeing this scene, everyone once again cheered happily as they knew that Yang Kai had fully grasped the initiative. They were now no longer worried, but instead looking forward to what kind of changes Yang Kai would have after this event and to what extent his strength would grow as a result of absorbing the Jade True Spirit.
As time passed, the three coloured cloud inside the Heavenly Palace began to visibly change.
The black Demonic Qi became more and more prevalent as the red and white fire and ice light gradually disappeared.
After nearly a month, a loud bang resounded, and the entire Heavenly Palace became completely filled with black light, all traces of red and white thoroughly annihilated.
Immediately, the black Demonic Qi began rushing towards a single point, as if a great whirlpool had appeared and was vigorously swallowing it up.
Soon after, Yang Kai’s figure appeared in the eyes of the crowd, the dense ruinous aura that had covered the Central Capital finally fading as he came into view.
*Xiu…* The Heavenly Palace which was surrounding Yang Kai also apparently exhausted its energy supply and collapsed.
Yang Kai didn’t know what grade of artifact the Heavenly Palace was, but seeing how Meng Wu Ya had left long ago yet it was still able to guard Yang Kai’s mansion until now, its power was obvious to all.
A little palace shaped object gently floated through the air and arrived in front of Yang Kai who casually reached out and received it.
This artifact belonged to Meng Wu Ya, so when Yang Kai tried to communicate with it using his Divine Sense it did not respond at all. Having expected this though, Yang Kai simply gave up trying and stored it into the Black Book space.
Quietly standing in the same place and feeling the changes he had undergone, Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a smile.
The people surrounding the mansion also stepped forward at this time, each of them wearing a joyful face as they swarmed around Yang Kai.
“Young Lord Kai, it looks like your harvest this time isn’t small,” Huo Xing Chen laughed.
Yang Kai gently nodded, “Not too bad.”
The thirteen Blood Warriors on the other hand were slightly puzzled because after absorbing the power of the Jade True Spirit for an entire month, Yang Kai’s cultivation hadn’t changed at all, he was still at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage.
This discovery made them somewhat confused.
If there was no change in his cultivation, where had all the power Yang Kai absorbed from the Jade True Spirit go?
That overwhelming destructive energy was clearly contained a large amount of extremely pure True Yang Yuan Qi and should have been enough for Yang Kai to advance at least two or three Minor Realms.
However, since Yang Kai didn’t open his mouth to explain, none of them asked. Sometimes, an increase in strength didn’t always necessitate an increase in realm. Vaguely, the thirteenth Blood Warriors now felt a sense of pressure when facing Yang Kai which they had not felt previously.
It seemed like, if Yang Kai wanted to, he would be capable of taking any of their lives in an instant.
Unable to understand and unwilling to ask, they simply shook their heads and smiled.
Having absorbed the power of the Jade True Spirit and receiving the Heavenly Palace, Yang Kai had now completed all of his remaining business in the Central Capital and it was time for him to depart.
The only thing he felt regretful about was that Su Yan’s Ice Cyrstal Bed had completely melted in his fight with the Jade True Spirit.
In the end, the grade of the Ice Crystal Bed was unfortunately inferior to the Jade True Spirit.
After spending another three days in the Central Capital making some travel arrangements and saying goodbye to his friends and family, Yang Kai embarked on his next journey.
Shui Ling was the only one to follow him and was clearly quite excited to finally be leaving.
Outside the Central Capital’s gate, a large group of people came to see Yang Kai off, many of them with wet, puffy eyes, quite reluctant to see him go.
“With Young Lord Kai traveling there, it seems that other world won’t be as peaceful from now on,” Huo Xing Chen muttered under his breath, seemingly prophesying the future.
…
All the way, Shui Ling’s demeanor was particularly upbeat. Since she had accidentally fell into this world, she had been unable to find a way back and two years had passed by. Now that she had hope of returning home, naturally she was quite happy. As they traveled together, she would often tell Yang Kai various things about the other world.
Yang Kai didn’t respond much to her and simply listened in order to learn as much information as he could.
Shui Ling wasn’t annoyed by his silence though and also didn’t try to hurry their pace, welcoming opportunities to stop and rest along the way.
The speed of these two was neither fast, nor slow, flying the whole way under their own power while enjoying the different local customs and sceneries, allowing them to relax even though Yang Kai’s heart was still full of expectation and enthusiasm for the future.
Ten days after their journey began, Shui Ling still didn’t see anything that resembled a way home and finally couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore, asking, “Where are we now?”
“Tian Lang Dynasty!”
“Tian Lang Dynasty?” Shui Ling was slightly surprised. She had already been in this world for two years so she had obviously heard about the Great Han Dynasty’s neighbouring country, how the latter’s social customs were quite different, and how the land there was quite barren in comparison to the Great Han Dynasty.
“No wonder these women dress so shamelessly,” Shui Ling muttered under her breath as she stared towards a pair of young beautiful women a slight distance ahead of them. These two women wore colourful sleeveless robes that showed a great deal of their skin, even exposing their smooth flat midriffs and the deep valley between their proud peaks.
As for their lower bodies, they only had short skirts from which their long slender legs extended.
These two women, as they walked in front of them, even shot flirtatious glances towards Yang Kai as the smiled charmingly.
“What are we doing here? Is there a way to get to the Tong Xuan Realm from here?” Shui Ling is puzzled.
Tong Xuan Realm was the higher world’s formal name. Over there, the World Energy was abundant and powerful Sects and masters were everywhere.
“I’m came here to find someone,” Yang Kai explained casually before raising his hand and calling out, “Young ladies, please wait a moment.”
The pair of young women were slightly surprised to be solicited so boldly and immediately halted their footsteps, the older of the two smiling warmly towards Yang Kai and asking, “Is there something we can help little brother with?”
Her face wore an interested expression as she seemed to be carefully checking Yang Kai out.
Yang Kai paid no mind to this; he already understood the boldness of the girls from Tian Lang Dynasty and knew that such behaviour was just how they normally acted.
“I just wanted to ask for directions, do you know how I can get to Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai asked casually, not bothering to conceal his goal.
However, as soon as he spoke these words, the looks on the two women’s faces changed sharply, the older girl’s expression became cautions as she quickly asked, “You want to go to Sen Luo Temple?”
Pausing for a moment before further interrogating, “Why do you want to go to the Sen Luo Temple?”
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, faintly realizing that something wasn’t quite right but still calmly replying, “I’m looking for someone, I left something with her some time ago and need to retrieve it.”
“Who are you looking for? What did you leave with her?” The girl continued to ask.
Yang Kai smiled wryly, he had just arrived in Tian Lang Dynasty and was unfamiliar with its landmarks, so upon finally encountering these two young women he had naturally wanted to ask them for direction, but he had never expected them to react so vigilantly towards him, apparently when he said he was looking for Sen Luo Temple he had caused some kind of misunderstanding.
He didn’t know anything about the internal affairs of Tian Lang Dynasty and didn’t want to get involved in any matters regarding Sen Luo Temple, all he wanted to do was look for Zi Mo and retrieve the thread of Divine Sense he had planted in her mind all those years ago.
Having been reminded by Old Demon, Yang Kai knew that leaving that thread of Divine Sense in the mind of another posed a danger to himself. Once the other party died, Yang Kai would suffer a blow to his Soul as well.
Of course that was not his only purpose in coming here. After retrieving his thread of Divine Sense, Yang Kai also wanted Zi Mo to lead him to Tian Lang Dynasty’s most famous Forbidden Zone.
These two girl’s intense reaction and wariness towards him had slightly irked Yang Kai though.
His expression suddenly becoming somewhat cold, he let out a sneer and grinned fiercely, bluntly replying, “There’s no need for you to ask so many questions, just tell me what I want to know.”
Seeing the gentle young man in front of them suddenly undergo such a dramatic change in personality caused the two young women to retreat a few steps and begin circulating their True Qi, preparing to hit back against Yang Kai if he made any aggressive moves.
Yang Kai simply snorted and released a huge pressure from his body, causing the girls in front of him to suddenly feel like they were carrying mountains on their shoulders, their pretty faces to cringe as they began panting for breath.
The older girl’s face went pale as she realized just how horrifying Yang Kai’s strength was, stealthily flicking her delicate hand, seemingly sprinkling something on the ground.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly stretched out his hand and created a strong suction force.
*Xiu xiu xiu…* A few small objects that had just burrowed into the ground quickly flew into Yang Kai’s palm.
“Soul Controlling Insects?” Yang Kai’s muttered curiously as he stared at the small bugs on top of his palm, a touch of nostalgia flashing across his eyes.
Many years ago, in that isolated world, several cultivators from Tian Lang Dynasty had used these same Soul Controlling Insects to enslave hundreds of Monster Beasts and cause great damage to the Great Han Dynasty cultivators.
Zi Mo had also wanted to use this trick to deal with Yang Kai, but he had easily resolved it.
Just now, this girl sprinkling these few Soul Controlling Insects towards the ground was obviously trying to do the same thing as Zi Mo had once done and control Yang Kai.
But having experienced this situation once before, how could Yang Kai allow her to succeed?
When he so easily dealt with their Soul Controlling Insects, the two girls expression became panicked as the older of the pair shouted in fright, “How did you know?”
“Of course I would know.” Yang Kai smiled smugly.
“Impossible, from the way you dress you’re clearly cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty. The Soul Controlling Insects are one of our faction’s core inheritances, how could you possibly understand them!”
“Your faction’s core technique?” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, his sinister grin becoming slightly more menacing, “What is your relationship with Zi Mo?”
The beautiful girls showed a dumbstruck expression as she exclaimed, “Do you know our Senior Sister?”
“Senior Sister?” This time Yang Kai was the stunned one. He had just asked casually but never expected this pair of girls to really have such a relationship with Zi Mo.
When he first encountered her, Zi Mo had told Yang Kai she belonged to one of Sen Luo Temple’s factions that focused on the study and control of special types of insects, so when he saw this girl also used Soul Controlling Insects, Yang Kai naturally thought she might be connected to Zi Mo somehow.
Suddenly meeting her Junior Sisters… Yang Kai’s expression became a bit awkward. Apparently, such coincidences did happen.
(Pewpew: Pft, coincidence? More like inevitability! Why invent a stranger no one will remember when you can just let your characters meet and get it over with…)
“En, Zi Mo is our faction’s Big Senior Sister! How do you know her?” The girl asked.
“We’re old… acquaintances.” Yang Kai furrowed his brow, “Since you are Zi Mo’s Junior Sister, I’ll return these Soul Controlling Insects to you.”
Saying so, he tossed the small insects back to the girl.
The girl reached out and looked Yang Kai up and down, her expression now containing some slight confusion and embarrassment, but also a deep sense of dread.
“Take me to see your Senior Sister, I have something I need to discuss with her.” Yang Kai faintly said.
The two young girls stared at him, but after hesitating for a while, the older girl nodded gently.
People below have to bow to those with power. Such is the way of the world.
As the pair lead the way, Yang Kai and Shui Ling casually following behind, from time to time the two young girls would glance back and whisper amongst themselves, apparently not understanding how their Big Senior Sister knew this Great Han Dynasty cultivator, and from his demeanor it seemed like he and their Big Senior Sister seemed to have some history.
He wouldn’t be here to seek revenge, would he? The pair secretly guessed, suddenly becoming somewhat worried.
This youth seemed to be about the same age as them, but they were unable to see through his cultivation, which obviously made them feel anxious.
If he was really here to settle a grudge, these girls weren’t too worried; after all, their faction also had a powerful master protecting them. If he arrogantly tried to barge in, he would no doubt only be seeking his own death.
Considering all this, the pair settled down and walked forward while trying to strike up a conversation with Yang Kai, hoping to glean some information from him about his origins.
Facing the inquiry of these young girls, Yang Kai chose to remain completely silent, trying to show the demeanour of a powerful master.
Shui Ling, who on the other hand was still in a good mood, immediately began mingling with these two fellow females and was soon chattering non-stop, but whenever they asked anything about Yang Kai, Shui Ling cleverly changed the subject.
Along the way, the pair of girls from Sen Luo Temple didn’t manage to obtain any useful information.
They still didn’t know what purpose this young male and female had for coming to Sen Luo Temple, or what their relationship with their Big Senior Sister Zi Mo was.
Half a day later, Yang Kai suddenly came to a halt and turned his head towards a certain direction, a smile slowly forming on his lips.
He had suddenly a sense of resonance, a fluctuation that belonged to his Soul.
Zi Mo should be close by.
The leading girls also stopped walking when they noticed Yang Kai stop, not knowing what to do; however, Yang Kai was too lazy to explain anything to them and instead just shot off in the direction he sensed the familiar aura.
“Hey…” The pair from Sen Luo Temple cried out in shock and tried to ask what was happening, but by the time they came to their senses Yang Kai had already disappeared.
A short moment later, in the sky over a lush jungle, Yang Kai stood mid-air, staring down at the land below him, his brow furrowed slightly.
In front of him was a range of low undulating mountains covered in a thick jungle, with not the slightest traces of any buildings much less the grand constructions of a Super Force. Instead, some fifty kilometers away Yang Kai discovered a large number of magnificent structures and could sense the auras of many powerful masters.
That place should be the real base of Tian Lang Dynasty’s Sen Luo Temple.
But if that was so, what was Zi Mo doing here?
As far as he could see, there were no unusual fluctuations here, nor even the shadow of people. There also didn’t seem to be some kind of Heaven’s Cave in the depths of these mountains, so Yang Kai was quite confused.
Slightly releasing his own aura, soon after, an angry voice echoed from the depths of the mountain below, “What do you want? We’ve already left Sen Luo Temple like you wanted. Are you people really so ruthless you want to ignore all our former ties and friendships and slaughter us to the last?”
Yang Kai was stunned but quickly smirked and called out teasingly, “Silly girl, is your temper still so hot? Before asking who it is you suddenly begin interrogating and accusing me?”
“You are…” The voice of the woman down below trembled slightly, seemingly trying to recall the identity of this familiar voice, a moment later exclaiming, “That bastard Yang Kai?”
“You can leave out the ‘bastard’ part out, can’t you?” Yang Kai’s face went black.
“Hehe…” A pleasant bell-like laughter resounded from the mountain below and after a few breaths a large stone suddenly moved to the side exposing a deep cave from which a beautiful young woman stepped out.
It was Zi Mo, dressed in her usual high exposure clothes, stimulating the fantasies of any man who saw her. Looking up, she saw the familiar face of Yang Kai standing in the sky and wore a delighted expression, seemingly not having thought that after these few years she could actually see him again, immediately flying up towards him.
Gently curling her lips, she said, “You bastard, aren’t you some kind of big shot in the Great Han Dynasty? Why come all the way over to Tian Lang Dynasty to make trouble?”
“I missed you, so I came to see you,” Yang Kai smiled happily.
Zi Mo rolled her eyes, “You think I’m some naive little girl you can easily lie to?” Turning her eyes next to Shui Ling who was standing next to Yang Kai, she sneered and quipped, “You ‘miss me’ yet you bring along another woman when you come to see me? Hmph, that’s just like you, unable to go without a beauty on your arm.”
“Hey, don’t say that, I have nothing to do with him.” Shui Ling grumbled unhappily.
“That doesn’t matter. As long as you stick around him long enough, sooner or later you’ll become his woman. If you want to keep your innocence, the farther away from him you stay, the safer you’ll be,” Zi Mo said in a completely serious tone.
“We haven’t seen each other for a few years and the first thing you do is slander me? When did I ever do wrong you?” Yang Kai suddenly felt a big headache coming on.
Zi Mo bit her luscious lips and blushed faintly, “When did you ever wrong me? All those years ago when you touched and kissed me so forcefully, that wasn’t wronging me? If it wasn’t for that small accident I would have already lost everything to you…”
As she spoke, she wore a pitiful expression, as if she had experienced the greatest shame under the Heavens at Yang Kai’s hands.
Shui Ling quickly turned to stare at Yang Kai badly, gnashing her teeth in indignation as she shouted, “I always knew you were such a bastard!”
“Lies! All lies! She’s slandering me! Don’t you believe me?” Yang Kai shouted furiously.
“Big Senior Sister, Big Senior Sister!” At this moment, the two young girls who had lead Yang Kai here finally caught up and flew over to Zi Mo before pointing towards Yang Kai, “This person said that he came here looking for you.”
“En, I know. There’s no need to be nervous, he’s not an enemy,” Zi Mo’s aggrieved expression instantly changed to a kind smile as she casually explained, “Although he’s the biggest bastard under the heavens, he also my savior.”
“Oh,” The two girls nodded and finally relaxed completely.
“An old friend from far away has come to see you yet this is how you treat me?” Yang Kai sighed helplessly, “Haa… Women really are the most ruthless creatures.”
“Stop putting on airs,” Zi Mo rolled her eyes again before waving her hand, “Come inside first, we can talk there.”
“Big Senior Sister…” The two other girls were shocked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to master later,” Zi Mo said calmly.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, although there were a lot of doubts in his heart, he also knew that he shouldn’t ask too many questions, the more he did the more trouble he’d bring to himself.
Flying down together with Shui Ling, the group of five walked into the cave leading to the base of the mountain.
A few steps into the cave, Zi Mo tapped the wall in a few spots and the big rock at the entrance rolled back and sealed the exit again.
Inside this mountain cave, every dozen steps or so there was a bright shining stone so it was not in any way dark or difficult to see.
Zi Mo led the way, a light smile adorning her face and a certain bounce in her step the whole way forward, seemingly not having felt so relaxed in a long time.
Bringing Yang Kai to a spacious stone room in the depths of the mountain, Zi Mo settled him and Shui Ling in and had her two Junior Sister bring over some fresh fruit.
“We don’t have much in the way of refreshments here so you’ll have to make do with this,” Zi Mo laughed.
Yang Kai nodded, indicating he didn’t mind, quickly picking up a plump red fruit, polishing it slightly on his robes before tossing it over to Shui Ling.
Shui Ling caught it, but having seen the whole process, was quite unwilling to take a bite.
“You wait here for a moment, I need to inform my Master about you first; after all, outsiders normally aren’t allowed into this place,” Zi Mo smiled and said, “But considering who you are, I decided to act first and explain later.”
“It seems like my face isn’t small.” Yang Kai smiled smugly.
Giggling slightly, Zi Mo left, leaving behind her Junior Sister who were now all staring at Yang Kai, their beautiful eyes filled with curious light.
Yang Kai didn’t know what they were expecting and didn’t bother to ask, instead choosing to wait quietly.
Spreading out his Divine Sense quietly, after quickly investigating his surroundings, Yang Kai’s expression became slightly weird.
He discovered that there were about a hundred people living in this mountain and that there was a Transcendent Realm master assuming command, probably the Master Zi Mo spoke of. Other than this powerhouse, there were only a few Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators, a dozen or so at most, while the rest were mainly at the True Element Boundary or Separation and Reunion Boundary. Also, from their auras, Yang Kai could infer that over eight percent of these cultivators were from the younger generation.
[It seemed like Zi Mo’s current situation isn’t good!] Yang Kai thought secretly.
Fifty kilometers away from this place was Tian Lang Dynasty’s only Super Force, Sen Luo Temple, of which Zi Mo was supposedly a disciple. By all rights, she and the other cultivators here should be living within the boundaries of the Sect, yet they were instead here in this underground cave.
On top of that, when Yang Kai arrived here, Zi Mo had said some intriguing words.
The whole situation seemed like some kind of internal Sect dispute, Yang Kai secretly shook his head.
About half an hour later, Zi Mo returned, a slightly annoyed look upon her face, “Master has allowed you to stay here for a while but you must depart as soon as possible. With the current state of affairs, it’s not convenient for us to be to receiving outsiders.”
“Good, I wasn’t planning to stay here for long anyways.” Yang Kai nodded.
“What are you here for?” Zi Mo sat down and asked curiously.
“To set you free,” Yang Kai .
Zi Mo was shocked, not immediately comprehending what he meant, but soon shaking her head lightly, “It doesn’t matter, I don’t care.”
“But I care,” Yang Kai laughed, not bothering to explain any further, quickly arriving beside Zi Mo and saying, “Just relax, this won’t take long.”
Zi Mo looked at him timidly for a moment before closing her eyes and relaxing her Knowledge Sea’s defence.
The next moment, she felt a huge and devastating Divine Sense pour into her Knowledge Sea.
The power of this Divine Sense absolutely terrified Zi Mo causing her beautiful face to go completely pale.
Moreover, this Divine Sense was actually seemed to be composed of violent and ruinous burning flames so hot that they could reduce her Knowledge Sea to ash in the blink of an eye.
As such terrifying thoughts filled her heart, this overwhelming Divine Sense suddenly withdrew from her Knowledge Sea.
“Done,” Yang Kai smiled.
Zi Mo opened her eyes slowly and suddenly felt as if some kind of invisible shackle that had been binding her had disappeared, simultaneously delighting her while giving her an odd sense of loss.
Suspiciously glancing towards Yang Kai, Zi Mo frowned and asked, “What realm are you now?”
“Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage!”
Gasps rang out as the two girls from Sen Luo Temple were shocked as they stared at Yang Kai incredulously.
Neither of them had expected that this youth who they had been dealing with had such incredible strength.
Their Big Senior Sister already had the best aptitude in their entire faction’s younger generation but was still only and Immortal Ascension Boundary Second Stage cultivator; compared with this man, they were as far apart as the Heavens and Earth.
“It seems like after we parted you had many more adventures.” Zi Mo gazed at Yang Kai somewhat enviously.
“I was just lucky,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “Enough about that, other than retrieving my property, I also wanted to ask you for your help.”
“My help? With what?”
“I need to go to your Sen Luo Temple’s Forbidden Zone, the Abandoned Earth!”
Zi Mo’s face changed slightly.
The Abandoned Earth was a desolate region where not even grass survived. Everywhere one went there faced life threatening crisis, and a mysterious energy capable of slicing apart anything or anyone randomly swirled about. No one knew how this place was formed or what secrets it hid, only that everyone who had dared enter its depths had died.
There had even been several Transcendents who had attempted to investigate the mysteries hidden in the deepest parts of the Abandoned Earth, but even they had failed to return.
The Abandoned Earth’s fearsome name commanded the same fear in Tian Lang Dynasty as Nether Mountain did in the hearts of the Great Han Dynasty’s cultivators.
Both of these places were the most forbidden of Forbidden Zones where no idle traveller dared to go.
The last time Yang Kai and Zi Mo went for life experience in that Isolated World, they had only traveled around the outermost region of Nether Mountain and had never saw true horrors hidden deep within.
So when she heard Yang Kai wanted to go to the Abandoned Earth, Zi Mo couldn’t help feeling some fear, “What are you planning to do there?”
“Since I want to go there, I naturally have my reasons, but I don’t know where it is, so I can only ask you to show me the way. Rest assured, I just want you to bring me there and don’t need you to accompany me into its depths, so you won’t be in any danger.”
“You really must hate living a calm and steady life.” Zi Mo looked towards Yang Kai like he was some kind of madman.
Shui Ling, on the other hand, wore an excited expression, faintly understanding that the way home must be hidden in this so called ‘Abandoned Earth’.
When she heard Yang Kai make such a request to Zi Mo, Shui Ling couldn’t help feeling a bit excited.
Zi Mo grit her teeth and grumbled, “You bastard, I knew you weren’t kind enough to come here just to find me. Turns out you had another purpose all along.”
Yang Kai laughed sheepishly.
Zi Mo scowled at him badly before letting out a sigh, “The Abandoned Earth hasn’t been peaceful recently.”
“Oh? What happened?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Since long ago, the masters of Tian Lang Dynasty recognized that there were incredible secrets hidden inside the Abandoned Earth, so sometimes people would take the risk of entering it in order to seek out these mysteries. A short time ago, a lot of forces teamed up in order to launch and exploration of the Abandoned Earth, if you go there now and are discovered, even with your current strength, I’m afraid you won’t have a good end.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, since I dare to enter there, I will not be afraid of those people.”
Zi Mo groaned under her breath, “Your tone is still so wild.”
Hesitating for a moment, Zi Mo finally said, “You wait here for a bit, I need to consult with my Master. If Master allows me to go out, I’ll take you where you want to go. If I can’t get permission to leave though…. I’ll give you directions and you can go there yourself, the Abandoned Earth isn’t that difficult to find.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Saying so, Zi Mo disappeared into the cave network again.
The two girls who they had originally met on the road still stood around curiously looking at Yang Kai and Shui Ling, who was now gnawing away at the red fruit in her hand happily. On the other hand, Yang Kai had gone silent again, basically ignoring their slightly rude stares.
Half an hour after, Zi Mo came back and said, “Master said that since you have a life-saving grace with me, this time he’ll allow me to help you, follow me.”
Yang Kai smiled, stood up, and along with Shui Ling, walked out with Zi Mo.
A short time later, the trio reached the large boulder again and after Zi Mo removed it, they exited the mountainside.
However, just after they stepped out, Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he turned his gaze towards a spot in the distance.
Zi Mo also frowned and stared in the same direction.
From the direction they were staring, a group of people quickly appeared, with a young man at their head, a mocking grin plastered all over his face.
The young man had an Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage cultivation, so it was obvious his aptitude was quite good. As for the people around him, most of them were also Immortal Ascension cultivators, numbering only a dozen or so in total.
This group of people flew forward and immediately blocked the trio’s path, sneering deviously the whole time.
After seeing the outfits of Shui Ling and Yang Kai, this group of people couldn’t help knitting their brows, especially when they noticed Shui Ling’s unusual pale blue hair. The leading young man showed a strong interest in her and kept sweeping his gaze wantonly over Shui Ling, from time to time an obscene light flickering across the depths of his eyes.
Shui Ling’s face and figure were both quite outstanding, and coupled with her hair that seemed to shimmer like water, it was only natural she became the focus of much unwanted attention.
“Xing Bao, what are you doing here?” Zi Mo immediately stepped forward and coldly asked the youth, her beautiful face now filled with loathing.
The young man named Xing Bao smiled back smugly and replied, “Junior Sister Zi’s question is quite interesting. This place is within the territory of my Sen Luo Temple, so why can I not be here? Oh right, Junior Sister Zi is no longer recognized as a disciple of Sen Luo Temple, perhaps I should call just call you Zi Mo now!”
As he spoke these words, the arrogance on his face only became thicker.
The group of people behind him also wore disdainful expression, clearly taking great pleasure in other’s misfortune.
Zi Mo’s tender body slightly trembled before she coldly snorted and shot back, “My Imperial Insect Faction has only temporarily withdrawn from Sen Luo Temple and has not formally separated from the Sect.”
“What? Zi Mo, do you still not know that Lord Sect Master has ordered the expulsion of your Imperial Insect Faction from Sen Luo Temple? If that wasn’t the case do you think that half dead old Master of yours would be able to bring all of you wastes out with him alive? Whatever the case, since you now know you’re not disciples of my Sen Luo Temple, you should know you can’t stay within our territory any more. Hurry up and get the hell out, if you dare linger here any longer, even if you want to leave, you won’t be able to.”
Zi Mo’s face changed from red to blue, “Are you really so ruthless?”
“Hah, ruthless, why shouldn’t I be?” Xing Bao coldly snorted, suddenly breaking out into a sinister laugh as he continued, “Well, it’s not like there isn’t any room for negotiation, as long as you can persuade your Master to submit to my father, you can still return to Sen Luo Temple.”
“Never,” Zi Mo sneered, “You want my master to crawl back and submit to your father? In your dreams.”
Xing Bao slowly shook his head, “Since you insist on being stubborn, you’ll have to pay the appropriate price.”
Saying so, Xing Bao waved his hand and said, “Capture these two Great Han Dynasty cultivators, let Zi Mo have a look at what fate awaits those who dare to offend us!”
Immediately after Xing Bao issued these orders, the people behind him quickly moved forward, snickering as they flew towards Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
For certain reasons, Xing Bao was not willing to directly deal with Zi Mo, but Yang Kai and Shui Ling were clearly cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty, so he naturally had no scruples about handling them.
Yang Kai simply sighed and shook his head.
He had already realized that something was afoot in Sen Luo Temple but he had intentionally not asked Zi Mo about what was happening because he was afraid of getting involved and delaying his departure, but now it seemed trouble had come looking for him instead.
Shui Ling glanced over at him silently, seemingly asking for instructions.
Yang Kai turned his eyes towards the sky, indicating he didn’t care what happened next.
Seeing his indifferent attitude, Shui Ling snorted lightly and pointed her palm at her would-be attackers, sending out a small ball of water towards each of them.
These balls of water were only about the size of a palm, but when they hit the approaching cultivator’s bodies, they immediately expanded and engulfed their targets, completely submerging them in a watery prison.
The formerly menacing Sen Luo Temple cultivators instantly transformed into miserable drowning curs, struggling violently in an attempt to escape from these water balls yet completely incapable of resisting.
Shui Ling reached out once more and instantly trapped Xing Bao inside a water ball as well.
A dozen or so cultivators had been trapped inside Shui Ling’s floating water balls and no matter how fiercely they struggled or how hard they pushed their True Qi, they were all incapable of freeing themselves, stunning and terrifying all of them.
Zi Mo was also dumbstruck by this scene, never having expected that the pretty young girl with shimmering blue hair was actually such a powerful master.
On top of that, the methods Shui Ling used were something Zi Mo had never heard of before, much less seen.
“Bitch, let me go this instant!” Xing Bao shouted as he struggled, squirming around awkwardly, constantly making threats towards Shui Ling, “If you dare to hurt me, you’ll die a miserable death!”
“Ridiculous!” Shui Ling spat disdainfully, but after all, this was someone else’s site so she wasn’t planning on taking things too far, only intending on giving them a harsh lesson.
However, Xing Bao not only did not appreciate this mercy but instead became even more rampant and arrogant. Seeing that Shui Ling wasn’t showing any killing intent, he quickly calmed down and wantonly shouted, “I’ll remember you, you slut! When I get out of here, I’ll definitely let me my father capture you for me and then I’ll discipline you well! My father is the Sect Master of Sen Luo Temple, just you wait, I’ll make sure you suffer miserably, hahahaha!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help gawking, staring towards Xing Bao like he was some kind of fool as he whispered to Zi Mo, “What’s wrong with him? Is he messed up in the head or something?”
Zi Mo didn’t respond and instead was focusing her attention on Shui Ling.
Thanks to Xing Bao’s rampant words, Shui Ling had been thoroughly enraged, her eyes becoming cold as she gripped her hand, causing the dozen or so water balls to rapidly contract.
“Don’t!” Zi Mo cried out in shock.
*Peng peng peng peng…*
The sound of bursting bubbles resounded one after another, as a dozen bloody flowers suddenly blossomed mid-air.
Not even their skeletons were saved as these dozen people were transformed into minced meat and blood.
Zi Mo’s tender body trembled.
“What are you doing?” Yang Kai came to his senses and angrily shouted towards Shui Ling, not having anticipated her to act so ruthlessly.
Shui Ling shot back in a wronged tone, “They insulted me, so I killed them.”
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead and suddenly felt a great headache.
“What?” Shui Ling stared at Yang Kai in confusion, “What’s the big deal with killing a few pieces of trash? You’ve killed so many people already, don’t tell me you’re still not using to seeing people die?”
“Killing these wastes isn’t the problem, the problem is killing them here in someone else’s territory,” Yang Kai sighed, “Seems things are about to become troublesome.”
“Troublesome indeed,” Zi Mo stared speechlessly at Yang Kai, thinking to herself she really couldn’t have any connection with this man again. This bastard had only just arrived in Tian Lang Dynasty yet he had already provoked so much trouble.
Letting out a sigh, Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “What’s done is done, they’re already dead and won’t suddenly resurrect even if we want them to.”
A figure suddenly appeared nearby, his eyes staring coldly at the scene below before turning towards Yang Kai, “Little friend, do you think this old master can use those words to smother the anger of Sen Luo Temple?”
“Probably not.” Yang Kai smiled calmly.
“Master!” Zi Mo shouted, “I’m sorry, I didn’t react in time…”
The old man floating nearby simply raised his hand to stop her and shook his head, “It’s not your fault, they’re the ones who killed them.”
Saying so, a crushing pressure filled with killing intent descended towards Yang Kai and Shui Ling
However, Yang Kai just casually stepped forward and stared back at this old man fearlessly, “What does Senior intent to do here?”
“This old master intends on capturing you two and then bringing you to Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master to face punishment, lest my Imperial Insect Faction be implicated by your reckless actions,” The old man replied flatly.
“Master!” Zi Mo exclaimed, but the moment she opened her mouth, the old man waved his hand and bound Zi Mo in place with his True Qi, apparently not wanting her to interject.
Zi Mo was incredibly anxious and was desperately trying to signal Yang Kai to quickly flee this place.
Her Master was a genuine Transcendent Realm powerhouse, in Zi Mo’s mind there was no way the Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage Yang Kai could hope to resist him.
But after listening to the old man’s declaration, Yang Kai still remained calm, simply nodding once, “Senior doing so is only natural, but if Senior thinks capturing us will be easy, this Junior will have to disappoint you.”
Yang Kai’s expression was completely carefree, as if he didn’t know how to write the word ‘death’.
The old man stared at Yang Kai deeply, not sure why this weak little brat still seemed so calm even now, suddenly bursting into laughter a moment later, “Interesting. Truly interesting, are all cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty as rampant as you?”
“Not all of us,” Yang Kai replied, his brow wrinkling slightly, the old man suddenly withdrawing his killing intent made him feel somewhat puzzled.
The old man nodded and continued, “Good, since you killed those brats, this old master really should capture you here and now, but this old master suddenly doesn’t feel like doing so. Since little friend acts so crazily, you should have some impressive hidden methods. This old master wants to see how you escape the pursuit of Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master.”
Having said so, the old man waved his hand again and freed Zi Mo, calmly saying, “Zi Mo, lead them to the Abandoned Earth, then make sure they know to never comes to my Sen Luo Temple in the future.”
Apparently finished with what he wanted to say, the old man’s figure flickered and disappeared.
Zi Mo quickly bowed towards the hidden cave in the mountainside, “Many thanks, Master.”
Zi Mo hurriedly led Yang Kai and Shui Ling out of the jungle and then rushed towards the Abandoned Earth, seemingly afraid that her master would change his mind.
Half a day later, her speed gradually eased up, gently gasping, she turned to look at Yang Kai and Shui Ling helplessly, “You two… haa…”
“Your master is quite interesting,” Yang Kai commented.
“Master isn’t someone who doesn’t distinguish between right and wrong. He is also quite grateful to you for killing those people, so he decided to let you go.”
“Grateful?” Yang Kai shook his head, “I doubt that, as to why he let us go, he seems to have his own considerations.”
“Considerations?” Zi Mo asked suspiciously.
Yang Kai smiled slightly before swiping the back of his hand lightly, opening a small cut out of which blood oozed. Staring for a moment, Yang Kai swiftly pinched a small object that seemed to be crawling out of the wound.
“A Tracing Insect?” Zi Mo’s expression changed greatly, turning her gaze back to Yang Kai and asking, “Did master plant it on you?”
“What do you think?” Yang Kai asked with a sly expression on his face.
Zi Mo immediately felt embarrassed. Secretly planting a Tracing Insect on Yang Kai, only her master could accomplish something like that. Moreover, the grade of this insect wasn’t low; at first glance it was obvious it belonged to her master.
“Don’t worry about it, your master doing this really indicates he didn’t want to kill us; after all, we took some revenge for your Imperial Insect Faction and I also saved your life once. He probably did this so he can have an excuse to calm your Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master’s anger.” Yang Kai analyzed, as if seeing through all of Zi Mo’s master’s thoughts, quickly returning the Tracing Insect to his body.
“You…” Zi Mo was dumbfounded, “Why did you put it back?”
“If I kill it, how would your master explain himself to Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai smiled, “If I haven’t guessed wrong, this little bug can be used to locate my position, yes?”
“En, Tracing Insects come in male, female pairs. Right now, the female has been planted on you so as long as one has the corresponding male, they can easily seek you out,” Zi Mo nodded lightly.
“This things male partner must be in the hands of Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master by now.”
Yang Kai’s clear understanding of the situation caused Zi Mo to nod in admiration.
“You’re not worried?” Zi Mo stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai shook his head, “If he dares to come, I’ll make sure he never goes back.”
“You’re as crazy as ever.”
“Enough about that. What’s going on with Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai finally couldn’t help but ask.
Yang Kai had intentionally acted ignorant before because he was worried about getting caught up in some unforeseen trouble, but now that he was already involved, naturally he wanted some more information.
Zi Mo gently breathed a sigh of relief, “Sen Luo Temple is the only Super Force in Tian Lang Dynasty, but within the Temple itself there are five different factions and our Imperial Insect Faction is the smallest and weakest of those factions. Every ten years, one person from each of the five major factions will be elected to compete for the position of Sect Master. The current Sect Master is the father of that bastard Xing Bao. Meanwhile, Xing Zong, the current Sect Master is a competent leader and a strong master, but his thirst for authority and power is too strong, so with the end of his term approached, he used some means to win the support of the other four factions. However, my master was not willing to compromise and insisted on following the teachings of our ancestors. As a result, our Imperial Insect Faction was thoroughly suppressed by Xing Zong and over the past year or so we’ve steadily been pushed out of Sen Luo Temple and forced to live in that mountain’s jungle.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, now having at least a basic understanding of Sen Luo Temple’s situation.
There were only a hundred or so people in the Imperial Insect Faction, so although there was a Transcendent Realm master leading them, facing the suppression of all of Sen Luo Temple’s other factions, it was obviously impossible for them to resist, leading to their exile from the Sect.
“Although we have temporarily left Sen Luo Temple and have done our best to distance ourselves from the Sect’s internal disputes, they still aren’t willing to let us live in peace. Xing Bao often brings people to trouble us or apply pressure, trying to force us to compromise and submit to his father’s authority, but so far Master has stubbornly refused.”
“No wonder when I first arrived you said those words to me.” Yang Kai smiled.
Zi Mo smiled faintly, “I didn’t know it was you; after all, it’s been so many years since we separated, how was I to know you were even still alive?”
Suddenly letting out a sigh, Zi Mo grumbled, “Well, the situation is like that.”
Yang Kai nodded silently. If Zi Mo had been a cultivator from the Great Han Dynasty, he could easily invite her to go to the Central Capital, but since she belonged to Tian Lang Dynasty, it wasn’t convenient for Yang Kai to interfere too much, even if Zi Mo was willing to move to the Central Capital, her master definitely would not be.
Judging from his uncompromising attitude towards Xing Zong, that old man obviously had a stubborn personality; such people were generally not willing to leave their homelands behind.
Yang Kai was unwilling to intervene in another Sect’s matters, but if they decided to find trouble with him, he would respond in kind.
At the same time, above a lush jungle fifty kilometers outside Sen Luo Temple.
A tall man with a stern face who appeared to be in his forties suddenly flew over.
Staring down at several piles of minced meat and dried blood, the stern faced man’s breath became ragged as a violent True Qi began surging from his body, turning towards a nearby mountain and roaring angrily, “Liu Yun, get out here!”
“Sect Master, I’ve been waiting for you,” Zi Mo’s Master appeared and calmly greeted.
“Who killed Xing Bao?” Xing Zong furiously interrogated, his aura fluctuating wildly as he was on the verge of erupting, staring at Liu Yun with an expression that seemed to say ‘if you can’t give me a satisfactory answer I’ll kill you where you stand’.
“It was two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty.”
“Cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty?” Xing Zong fumed, “Why would cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty appear here? Are you saying you colluded with outsiders to attack my son?”
“Sect Master must be joking, if I wanted to act against your son, Xing Bao would have been dead many times over by now, it is only because of Sect Master’s face that this old master tolerated his arrogance,” Liu Yun coldly snorted, clearly not afraid of Xing Zong’s threatening posture.
In response to these ruthless words, Xing Zong’s anger slightly abated, but he still refused to let the issue drop, “What exactly happened?”
Liu Yun’s tone also became more temperate as he narrated the course of events, shrugging his shoulders indifferently, “This old master didn’t expect the two of them to kill so decisively, by the time I realized it was already too late.”
“Where are they now?” Xing Zong asked, “Did you capture them already and were just waiting for me to arrive?”
Liu Yun slowly shook his head, “They’ve fled.”
Xing Zong’s aura became dangerous once more, “With you here, they still managed to escape? Could it be you just stood by and watched them leave?”
“You could say that; after all, I have no enmity with them, so why would I attack them for no reason?” Liu Yun calmly retorted.
Hearing this, Xing Zong’s anger fully erupted, a thick killing intent burst forth from his body as he coldly shouted, “If you don’t give me an explanation right now, I’ll personally exterminate your Imperial Insect Faction.”
To this naked threat, Liu Yun simply sneered, “This old master just thought that seeking revenge for the death of one’s child should be solved by Sect Master himself. Therefore, this old master decided to take a step back so as not to interfere in this important affair.”
Saying so, he took out a small insect and held it up, “Sect Master should know what this is, correct?”
“A Tracing Insect?” Xing Zong’s eyes flashed brilliantly.
“Indeed,” Liu Yun nodded gently, “This male Tracing Insect’s female partner has been planted on the person who killed Xing Bao. As long as Sect Master has this, it should be easy for him to track down the murderer.”
“Give it to me,” Xing Zong hastily put his hand out.
However, Liu Yun shook his head once more, “It’s not impossible for this old master to hand this Tracing Insect over to Sect Master, but I have some conditions.”
“You dare discuss conditions with me?” Xing Zong grinned fiercely, “You think that without that Tracing Insect I can’t find those two? Laughable, as long as they’re still in Tian Lang Dynasty, I will find them eventually!”
“If Sect Master knew where those two were going, you may not be so confidant,” Liu Yun sneered.
Xing Zong’s brow furrowed for a moment before he asked, “Where did they go?”
“The Abandoned Earth!”
Xing Zong’s expression immediately became ugly. Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he asked, “Your conditions, let’s hear them!”
The Abandoned Earth, even if it was Xing Zong, he couldn’t guarantee that he could find one or two people inside that Forbidden Zone. The energy inside that place was far too chaotic and dangerous, without some kind of reliable guidance, it was even possible that he could lose his way and never be able to leave.
“The Imperial Insect Faction returns to Sen Luo Temple, and the ten year tradition of electing a new Sect Master is restored according to our ancestral teachings! If Sect Master refuses, this old master will immediately crush this insect!”
“You dare!” Xing Zong roared as he flew into a rage.
Liu Yun sneered dismissively, gathering his True Qi into his palm, calmly waiting, exhibiting a completely uncompromising stance towards Xing Zong.
After rampaging for a moment, Xing Zong grit his teeth and nodded, “Good, I swear to you, as long as I can take revenge for my son’s murder, I will fulfill all of your conditions.”
“I hope Sect Master will honour his words!” Liu Yun said coldly. Although he did not have much faith in Xing Zong, right now this was the best he could hope for, so he decisively tossed the male Tracing Insect over.
Reaching out and grabbing the Tracing Insect, Xing Zong coldly snorted before turning and flying towards the Abandoned Earth.
…………
Two days later, at the periphery of the Abandoned Earth, Yang Kai’s trio came to a stop.
Looking at the barren wasteland that stretched out before them, completely devoid of all life, Yang Kai and Shui Ling were both somewhat amazed.
The aura surrounding this place was extremely odd, giving them a truly ominous feeling, no wonder it had become Tian Lang Dynasty’s most dangerous Forbidden Zone.
“We’re here,” Zi Mo said with a tinge of panic apparent in her voice, apparently quite unwilling to go any further.
“Thank you,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, over the past two days, Zi Mo had told Yang Kai everything she knew about the Abandoned Earth in the hopes that it would at least somewhat useful to him.
“Do you really want to go in?” Zi Mo stared at Yang Kai anxiously, wondering just what he was going to do in the Abandoned Earth.
“I have to.”
“Then I’ll wait here for you to come out,” Zi Mo sighed and no longer tried to dissuade him.
“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head, “After we go in, I’m afraid we won’t see each other for a very long time; at the very least, I don’t plan on ever coming out from this place again. You should return to Sen Luo Temple.”
Zi Mo was dumbstruck.
“Go back and tell your master, if he dares plot against me again, even if he is your master, I’ll still kill him!” Yang Kai grinned fiercely, his face filled with an evil light, laughing recklessly as he led Shui Ling into the Abandoned Earth.
Zi Mo stood silently for a moment before quickly coming to her senses, shouting out, “Yang Kai, be careful. Don’t you dare die.”
Yang Kai didn’t look back, just waving his hand casually as he continued forward.
Soon, both his and Shui Ling’s figure disappeared from Zi Mo’s view.
Seeing him vanish, Zi Mo suddenly felt an odd sense of loss.
In truth, her friendship with Yang Kai wasn’t too deep; it was just that when she was together with him in that Isolated World, his various performances and achievements had left a deep impression on her. This time, when they reunited after all these years, the shock Yang Kai brought here was even greater.
Unknowingly, this bastard of a man had actually become an Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage master.
Perhaps because he was the most outstanding man she had ever met, Yang Kai’s departure had made her feel a little regretful.
A place with no life, where not even grass grows. An endless wasteland where dust and gravel swirl randomly and one care barely see ten meters in front of their face.
This was the Abandoned Earth!
Upon stepping into this place, Yang Kai couldn’t help becoming more vigilant. According to Zi Mo, the flow of energy in the Abandoned Earth was chaotic and disaster could strike at any moment. If someone was even a little careless, even their bones might not remain.
Moreover, due to this chaotic energy, it was very difficult to maintain a sense of direction, so it was easy to become lost. Every year, a large number of powerful masters would come here seeking opportunities, but most of them would never return.
How did the Abandoned Earth form? Zi Mo didn’t know too much, only that this place had suddenly appeared some two hundred years ago.
The region where the Abandoned Earth now stood on had not always been this desolate. Although it wasn’t a rich vibrant land, at the very least, there were flowers and trees and traces of human activities.
The appearance of the Abandoned Earth more than two hundred years ago had created a big stir and to this day was one of the greatest mysteries in Tian Lang Dynasty.
But while Zi Mo didn’t know the origins of the Abandoned Earth, Yang Kai did.
Tian Lang Dynasty’s most famous Forbidden Zone was actually created by Meng Wu Ya.
Treasurer Meng had passed Yang Kai a message at the last moment before the void corridor to Tong Xuan Continent collapsed.
In that Divine Sense message, he had told Yang Kai a route to take to get to Tong Xuan Continent; it was because of this message from Meng Wu Ya that Yang Kai had come here.
If it weren’t for Meng Wu Ya, Yang Kai would never have known that there was a hidden void corner in this Abandoned Earth. If he could find it, he could travel to the other world.
When Meng Wu Ya first arrived in this world from Tong Xuan Continent, he had used the void corridor where the Abandoned Earth was now located, and in order to protect this passage, he had used a profound technique to create a protective array here, turning this place into a kind of Forbidden Zone.
Over time, feeding on the surrounding World Energy, this array became more and more dangerous and eventually grew beyond the scope that Meng Wu Ya could control, gradually growing to its current size and scope.
Two hundred years ago, Meng Wu Ya had come to this world through this void corridor, so just how old is Treasurer Meng? Yang Kai recalled the content of the message he had received and couldn’t help wondering.
Treasurer Meng was really mysterious. Every time Yang Kai thought he had figured Meng Wu Ya out, he would quickly realize that he actually understood nothing about him. Yang Kai even faintly thought that Meng Wu Ya’s current Third Order Transcendent Realm cultivation was not his full strength.
[That old fox!] Yang Kai grumbled to himself as he shook his head.
Shui Ling followed Yang Kai’s footsteps closely; although she was already a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, this place still gave her a rather insecure feeling. She did not dare stray too far from Yang Kai for fear of them being separated.
Walking only a short distance, Yang Kai suddenly paused, closed his eyes and listened carefully, a moment later his expression becoming solemn as he grabbed Shui Ling and pulled her forward rapidly.
After only rushing out several dozen meters, a terrifying wind howled behind them.
Shui Ling turned around instinctively to look and immediately went pale; in the place where the pair had just been standing now stood a great tornado that stretched high in to the sky, fierce blades of wind that contained a terrifying energy constantly flying out from it, digging up the surrounding earth.
“Follow me closely,” Yang Kai said, “The energy here is too chaotic, if we’re not careful we may die here.”
Shui Ling’s beautiful face, which was now drained of all colour, nodded repeatedly, and asked somewhat nervously, “This place is so dangerous and there are no Precious Treasure, so why did that Zi Mo girl say a lot of masters from Tian Lang Dynasty still come here seeking opportunities?”
“Because these chaotic energy flows are actually a portrayal of a profound Martial Skill,” Yang Kai explained casually.
“These things are the result of a Martial Skill?” Shui Ling was stunned.
“En, many years ago, in order to protect the secret of this place, someone released a lot of high-end Martial Skills in this area and then, through some special methods, preserved their destructive power. Although as time passed, the form of these Martial Skills dissipated and the energy become chaotic, they still contain wisps of that master’s comprehension of the Martial Dao. If someone is able to comprehend part of those sensibilities from these chaotic energies, they might be able to piece together some profound Martial Skills, so… do you think those masters won’t be tempted?”
“What master possesses such skill?” Shui Ling was dumbstruck, “It shouldn’t be possible to preserve the destructive power of Martial Skills for so long.”
“Nothing is impossible. Also, you’ve already met that person.” Yang Kai smiled.
“Who?” Shui Ling was now even more confused.
Yang Kai didn’t answer despite Shui Ling’s multiple inquiries, so after a while she couldn’t help snorting disdainfully, “You’re really just lying to me. How could someone from the Great Han Dynasty understand the secrets of this place when that Zi Mo who has lived here all her life doesn’t?”
However, apart from this explanation, Shui Ling couldn’t think of any benefit in this place that would be attractive enough for the masters of Tian Lang Dynasty to risk their lives here.
As Yang Kai and Shui Ling proceeded, the two would encounter violent energy storms almost every hour. These storms would release potent bursts of energy that was composed of multiple chaotic attributes, making them particularly difficult to block .
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s senses were outstanding and he was always able to notice some abnormalities at the most critical times and lead Shui Ling away from danger.
After two or three days walking inward, Shui Ling’s beautiful face was matted with dust and dirt and her shimmering light blue hair was dishevelled and caked with mud.
The deeper the pair went, the more dangers they encountered and the more frequent the chaotic energy storms occurred. By this point, Shui Ling had become quite helpless so even though she didn’t know what Yang Kai’s ultimate goal was, she didn’t become anxious and just docilely followed behind him.
She knew that Yang Kai would surely lead her home.
At the same time, in a different location inside the Abandoned Earth.
More than a dozen Immortal Ascension Boundary masters were following a glowing ball of light. This ball of light wreaked havoc wherever it flew and contained a formidable power.
These dozen or so Immortal Ascension Boundary masters shouted and yelled to each other while under the leadership of one person, scattered around and tried to spy on the mysteries of this light sphere.
After much effort, just as they were on the verge of success, a figure suddenly came from a distance. This newcomer’s aura was violent and dangerous and quickly arrived in front of them.
The earth trembled when he landed.
“Who are you?” The leader angrily questioned.
“Xing Zong!” The person who came announced his name in a low voice, and although he was doing his best to suppress the anger of his heart, anyone who heard him could tell he was not happy.
“Xing Zong?” Hearing this name, the leader of this group’s face changed dramatically and he quickly stepped forward. After seeing Xing Zong’s face and confirming his identity, the leader immediately became respectful. He cupped his fists and greeted, “So it is Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master.”
Sen Luo Temple was the only Super Force in Tian Lang Dynasty, so its status was completely unmatched.
Although the people gathered here now all had not small prestige in Tian Lang Dynasty, facing Xing Zong they still couldn’t help becoming respectful, all of them offering polite greetings.
Xing Zong simply nodded lightly.
The leader of this group wore a big smile on his face as he cautiously asked, “Did Sect Master Xing come to the Abandoned Earth in search of opportunities as well?”
In response, Xing Zong coldly snorted, “I don’t have so much free time.”
“Then for what reason has Sect Master Xing come here today?” The leader asked, slightly puzzled.
The Abandoned Earth was not a hospitable place, and since Xing Zong wasn’t here seeking inspiration, why had he suddenly decided to come here?
“My son was killed by two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty, since you arrived here, have any of you seen a pair of foreigners?”
Hearing this, the leader’s expression changed to one of astonishment, “Young Sect Master was killed by cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty?”
The other masters gathered here also became indignant.
The reputation of Sen Luo Temple in Tian Lang Dynasty wasn’t very good, but the son of its Sect Master being killed by two Great Han Dynasty cultivators naturally aroused some ire.
No matter what contradictions cultivators had, when facing foreign enemies, they would feel a common enmity.
“None of us have seen such a pair, but since they dared come to this place, they definitely have some skill,” The leader muttered.
How could someone without any skill or strength dare enter the Abandoned Earth, what difference was that from seeking death?
“Sect Master Xing, do you have need of our assistance?”
Thinking for a moment, Xing Zong nodded and said, “Good, I have a method of that can trace their approximate location, so it is only a matter of time before I find them. All of you follow me and if they try to escape, help me block them.”
“It is our honour to be of service to Sect Master Xing,” The leader yelled, casting aside any thought of the light sphere he had been studying for so long and immediately ordering his men to follow Xing Zong.
Selling Xing Zong a favour at this time by helping with some minor matters would definitely have advantages in the future.
Not long after, this group met another batch of Tian Lang Dynasty cultivators. This group was quite small, only numbering five in total, but after hearing Xing Zong’s purpose for coming here, they immediately expressed their willingness to cooperate.
All together, a Transcendent Realm and more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters began closing in on Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
With the Tracing Insect leading the way, Xing Zong wasn’t worried about whether he could find Yang Kai or not.
The special link between the male and female Tracing Insects was valid even in this chaotic environment.
Yang Kai and Shui Ling were still walking deeper into the Abandoned Earth, proceeding neither quickly nor slowly. Both were not aware of the great danger those pursers behind them posed.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the pair arrived in front of a region that was perfectly calm with a dark curtain surrounding it. Seeing this, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, a touch of joy surfacing on his face.
The message that Treasurer Meng had sent him had been too hasty so although there was some guidance in it, Yang Kai was afraid he would lose his way in the Abandoned Earth, but now seeing this island of calm in the storm he was finally able to relax.
They had arrived!
Inside this calm region was the void corridor that led to Tong Xuan Continent.
“Yang Kai, this place gives me a bad feeling,” Shui Ling muttered, her tender body shivering as she stared forward. Right now, she felt a profound chill brushing past her face and so long as she dared to step forward, she would die a gruesome death.
“Danger isn’t just in front of us,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, turning around and staring at the region behind them.
There, a number of vague figures could be seen. The two sides were separated by only a hundred meters or so but these people were all standing still, as if they didn’t dare to approach this place.
Shui Ling cried out in shock, never having expected to meet people here at this critical time, and from the auras these people were giving off, it was obvious they did not have friendly intentions.
A hundred meters behind Yang Kai and Shui Ling stood more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters along with Xing Zong, each of them staring forward with solemn expressions, a tinge of fear flashing across the depths of their eyes.
“Sect Master Xing, the Abandoned Earth’s absolute death zone is in front of us, do you really want to go in?” The former Great Han Dynasty asked in horror.
This so called absolute death zone was a place that no one, no matter who they were, had ever come out of alive.
Not even Transcendent Realm masters could survive here!
Once, when a powerful Transcendent from Tian Lang Dynasty attempted to unravel the mysteries of the Abandoned Earth, he had inadvertently strayed into this area and had died. When this news spread, it had shocked all of Tian Lang Dynasty. From then on, one hundred meter area in front of Xing Zong and the other Immortal Ascension masters had become known as the absolute death zone.
Anyone who came to the Abandoned Earth would take care to stay as far away from this place as possible.
None of them had expected that the two Great Han Dynasty cultivators they were chasing had actually ran here, causing all of them to become somewhat hesitant.
Even Xing Zong was slightly anxious, learning from his predecessor’s mistakes and not underestimating this place.
But after hesitating for a moment, Xing Zong steeled his will, “What is there to fear? Aren’t those two safe and sound right now? It seems that those old rumors aren’t true. If you don’t have the guts to go any further, then just stand back and watch. I can easily take care of those two trivial Great Han Dynasty cultivators myself.”
Xing Zong had brought these twenty or so people along with him out of an abundance of caution. Although he was a Transcendent, and killing these two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty would be as easy as flipping his hand, but inside the Abandoned Earth, not everything could be measured by common sense, having a few extra helpers around in this place wasn’t a bad idea.
Having made up his mind though, Xing Zong strode forward, anger and hatred reappearing on his face as he closed in on his targets.
The other twenty or so masters exchanged a few nervous glances before reluctantly following.
The hundred meter gap was quickly crossed.
When Xing Zong arrived in front of Yang Kai and Shui Ling and saw their faces, he couldn’t help feeling surprised.
He had never expected that the two Great Han Dynasty cultivators he had been chasing were so young.
Noticing the presence of a group behind them, Yang Kai casually placed his hand on the back of his nape and removed the Tracing Insect, burning it to ashes.
“I take it you’re Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master?” Yang Kai glanced over at Xing Zong casually and asked in a carefree tone.
Xing Zong coldly snorted, his face twitching slightly as his eyes became slightly bloodshot, “Since you can recognize my identity, you should be the one who killed my son, yes?”
However, Yang Kai just smiled and shook his head, “Nope, she’s the one who killed him.”
Saying so, Yang Kai calmly pointed his finger towards Shui Ling. In response, Shui Ling put on the timid expression of one who dared commit a wrong but dared not accept responsibility, quickly hiding herself behind Yang Kai.
She didn’t know why Yang Kai was so calm facing a Transcendent Realm master, but understanding his personality Shui Ling realized that Yang Kai must have something to rely on so she didn’t hesitate to push all the trouble onto him.
Xing Zong’s eyes narrowed, turning a fierce glare towards Shui Ling as he angrily spat, “It doesn’t matter which of you did the deed, both of you will have to pay the price!”
Yang Kai cocked his head to the side and stared at Xing Zong for a moment before chuckling and asking, “And why kind of price does Sect Master Xing wants us to pay?”
“For murdering my son you must pay with your lives! Only your blood and souls can comfort my son’s spirit in heaven!”
“Can we not sit down and discuss this?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, “To be honest, although your son’s behaviour was repugnant, I didn’t have any desire to kill him, but my companion here has something of a short temper, so when your son sexually harassed her she struck him down in a single blow. All of this was his fault. If you considered it seriously.”
“Scoundrels!” Xing Zong roared, interrupting Yang Kai’s casual explanation, “Just because he harassed her a bit she had to take his life?”
“If I didn’t kill him there, it wouldn’t have ended with a little harassment. About your son’s character, you should be the most clear,” Shui Ling poked her head out from behind Yang Kai and shot back indignantly.
Xing Zong took a deep breath and quickly glanced over Shui Ling and quickly noticed that beneath all the dirt and dust her features and style were indeed quite astounding, immediately understanding what Xing Bao had been up to.
“What you’re saying is, my son was the one to commit the first wrong?”
“En,” Shui Ling nodded.
“Good, then I’ll give you a chance to choose, choose how you want to die!”
The group of masters behind Xing Zong snickered as they stared at Yang Kai and Shui Ling, secretly shaking their heads, thinking that these two Great Han Dynasty cultivators really had eyes but failed to see. Filling the son of Sect Master Xing, they had sealed their own fate.
“It seems like there’s no room to negotiate then,” Yang Kai shook his head helplessly, “I only intended on passing through Tian Lang Dynasty and did not want to have any conflict with you Tian Lang Dynasty people, nor did I want to kill people needlessly.”
“You’re still thinking about killing people?” Listening to Yang Kai’s words, Xing Zong couldn’t help staring at him as if he was some kind of fool, coldly snorting, “You don’t have to worry about such things anymore, soon, you’ll be nothing but a corpse, you’ll never kill anyone ever again.”
In response, Yang Kai simply grinned and suddenly summoned his gigantic Bone Shield. The Bone Shield was now several times larger than him and the sharp spurs around its edge were no more akin to large spears, the great beast maw on its face pulsing with a horrific energy.
“Bye~” Yang Kai lifted the Bone Shield up and pounded it down towards the Tian Lang Dynasty cultivators.
Xing Zong and the more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters suddenly felt a sense of terror wash over them.
As soon as this thought flickered across their minds, a terrifying energy seemingly capable of shattering the Heavens and destroying the Earth surged towards them.
A beam of light visible to the naked eye shot from the beast mouth on the Bone Shield’s face, bringing with it the power of the void, carving out a hundred meter swath in the Abandoned Earth.
In this hundred meter region, everything was instantly vaporized by the unstoppable power of the void.
He Immortal Ascension Boundary masters from Tian Lang Dynasty didn’t even have time to react before they were reduced to dust.
Only Xing Zong, with his Transcendent strength, managed to resist for a moment, but even he was only able to let out an unwilling scream before being annihilated.
Shui Ling was stunned.
Although she knew that Yang Kai had something up his sleeve which allowed him to act so calmly, she hadn’t expected his trump card to be so ferocious.
As a result, by the time she recovered from her shock, all of their enemies were dead, including the Transcendent Realm powerhouse.
Shui Ling had never thought a Transcendent Realm master could be so frail and vulnerable.
A number of Spiritual Energy remnants were silently drawn into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea in the next instant.
Furthermore, the huge Bone Shield also shrank down to its original size after expending all of its stored energy.
*Kacha…*
A large number of cracks immediately appeared all over the Bone Shield, causing Yang Kai’s brow to wrinkle; letting out a sigh he quickly stored it away.
The Bone Shield had suffered a great deal of damage the last time he had used it to protect himself when the Void Corridor beneath the Central Capital had collapsed, and after using it in such a condition, it had only become further damaged.
If he couldn’t find an Artifact Refining Grandmaster to fix it, he probably wouldn’t be able to use it anymore.
The chaotic energy in the surroundings also underwent some subtle changes. It seemed like the previous attack Yang Kai had unleashed had disrupted the flow of energy in this region of the Abandoned Earth, causing them to become even more unstable and dangerous. Noticing this, Yang Kai and Shui Ling’s expression both became dignified.
Glancing around, the pair saw signs that the chaotic energy here was on the verge of exploding.
“Stick close,” Yang Kai did not hesitate, quickly turning around and rushing forward, Shui Ling following right behind him.
Charging towards the dark curtain, Yang Kai sent out waves of True Qi towards it in a special pattern.
This pattern was something Meng Wu Ya had passed to Yang Kai in his final message and was the key to breaking through the last barrier in this place in order to arrive at the location of the Void Corridor.
If one didn’t have this method and rushed into this dark curtain, they would immediately be killed by the remaining destructive energies left behind by Meng Wu Ya.
Sure enough, although the energy in this place still swirled about chaotically, when Yang Kai approached, he did not encounter any resistance.
Passing through a sea of flame and ice, a wall of lightning, and various other mysterious energies, Yang Kai finally arrived in front of a great stone wall with Shui Ling.
Having reached his destination, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and furiously poured his True Qi into the stone wall.
The stone deformed in the next instant and the familiar energies of the void began pulsing from it.
“The way home!” Shui Ling’s eyes flashed brilliantly as she called out in an excited tone.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai grabbed Shui Ling and flung her into the Void Corridor, jumping after her in the next moment.
Inside the corridor it was pitch black, everywhere one looked there was only a vast emptiness as if nothing existed in this place, no sun, no moon, no sky, no earth.
The feeling of emptiness that surrounded them caused even the usual calm Yang Kai to feel somewhat anxious.
In the next instant, a small hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed hold of Yang Kai’s hand, naturally it was Shui Ling!
She was also nervous and afraid and unconsciously sought some sense of security from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai squeezed her hand gently, offering what little comfort he could.
This time the Void Corridor had a very different feeling than in the past. The last time Yang Kai used a Void Corridor it had only been to travel across a large part of the Great Han Dynasty so the distance hadn’t been too great, but now he was actually crossing worlds.
If Yang Kai had to describe it, it was as if he was falling through a never ending expanse.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai suddenly saw a glimmer of light in front of his eyes and the darkness surrounding him quickly disappeared. Replacing it was a vast blue sky, and a fresh scent of earth soon filled his nostrils.
*Pa pa…*
Two splashes rang out as Yang Kai and Shui Ling hit what seemed to be a marshy ground.
Quickly recovering, the two stood up and looked around.
The pair found themselves in the middle of a muddy swamp surrounded by a forest of short trees with many small beasts scurrying back and forth nearby, probably disturbed by their sudden arrival.
There didn’t seem to be any danger nearby, but Yang Kai’s expression was still somewhat solemn.
It was because the World Energy here was extremely rich, even more so than the Central Capital after the Earth Vein had detonated. In this place, the millions of pores on his skin all automatically opened and his True Yang Secret Art circulated furiously, drawing in this rich World Energy at a breathtaking pace.
“Haha!” Shui Ling burst into joyous laughter, “I’m back, I’m back, I’m finally back!”
“This is the Tong Xuan Realm?” Yang Kai turned to her and asked.
Shui Ling was so excited that even though she was covered from head to toe with mud and her light blue hair was completely dishevelled, she didn’t seem to care, or even notice. Instead, she rushed over to Yang Kai and hugged him so tightly he nearly choked from the force, “Thank you, thank you for bringing me home!”
Yang Kai’s heart sped up and all kinds of thoughts flashed across his mind, turning his head to look up at the blue sky, a big smile slowly forming on his lips.
[Tong Xuan Realm, I’m finally here!]
This was the sky that Su Yan and his Little Senior Sister were staring up at, this was the same land that they stood on now.
This was the place where Treasurer Meng and Old Demon had come from.
As long as they were here, he would eventually be able to find them!
Yang Kai took a deep breath and slowly tried to regain his composure.
In the swamp, Shui Ling completely let loose, not minding her sloppy appearance, simply celebrating and dancing around joyfully.
Infected by her jubilance, Yang Kai’s mood also gradually became bright.
As he let go of all of his tension, Yang Kai began to feel like something was off because his body had never before felt so unrestrained, as if a layer of shackles that had been weighing him down had suddenly been lifted.
His True Yang Secret Art circulated faster and faster and the True Qi in his meridians flowed much more smoothly than before.
“Shui Ling…” Yang Kai called out, his brow furrowed slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Shui Ling stopped her revelry for a moment and stared at him curiously.
“I have to break through.”
Shui Ling covered her mouth in shock and asked, “Right now?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, immediately sitting down and closing his eyes.
Thinking about it for a moment, Shui Ling suddenly understood, “That’s right, in your former world there was a layer a shackles that seemed to fetter the development of all cultivators, but after arriving here on the Tong Xuan Continent, those shackles vanished, creating an opportunity for you to break through, it’s just…”
Taking a glance around, Shui Ling frowned slightly, the two of them didn’t even know where they were right now so to break through in such an environment was not ideal. If Yang Kai’s breakthrough was to be disturbed by a powerful Monster Beast or some other hidden danger, the consequences would be serious.
“Can you suppress it?” Shui Ling proposed.
Yang Kai struggled to open his eyes, and with a single glance said all he needed to say. Closing his eyes again he quickly calmed himself and focused on his breakthrough.
“Forget I asked.” Shui Ling sighed helplessly. Sudden breakthroughs like this were great strokes of fortune that could not be asked for, so intentionally trying to suppress one was quite unreasonable.
Now that things had gotten to this point, all Shui Ling could do was spread out her Divine Sense to scan the local region and probe for any signs of danger.
During her investigation, Shui Ling found nothing within a radius of ten kilometers that could pose a threat to them and subsequently relaxed, waiting quietly while Yang Kai completed his breakthrough, observing the surrounding territory in an effort to determined where they were.
More than a dozen kilometers away from Yang Kai and Shui Ling’s position, a small group of people were quietly lurking behind some tall grass.
There were only eight people in this group, but all of them were Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators, the leader a beautiful young woman with a plentiful chest and excellent style. She wore a tight fitting light blue dress that had a long slit down her skirt, revealing her slender jade white thigh.
This style of clothing provided excellent flexibility while not limiting her range of motion, but any time, whenever she made any big or rapid movements, her wondrous legs would become fully exposed.
The beautiful spring scenery made the males of her group breathe a little harder and their mouths go dry. Those of these men that crouched behind her would unconsciously stare at her snow white skin that was exposed to the air as well as her shapely hips and well-rounded bottom. The natural seductive power of her body and her current posture that further emphasized her abundant capital caused blood to rush to many of their heads.
However, due to the status of this woman, all of these men only dared to secretly steal glances at her, none of them having the courage to get up to any kind if misconduct.
This young woman in front seemed to not care about these nervous gazes behind her; not only did she not try to awkwardly hide herself but she was even able to maintain a calm smile.
“All of you are breathing too heavily, keep it down. If that thing is startled by you and runs away, I’ll hold all of you accountable,” Suddenly, the young woman faintly warned.
The men assembled behind her all awkwardly cringed before nodding lightly, consciously turning their eyes away from her beautiful figure.
“Do all of you know what our goal is this time?” The young woman asked softly.
This time all of them nodded firmly.
“Good,” The young woman expressed her satisfaction and smiled, “This Scarlet Blood Orchid is a World Spirit Treasure, so it already has a certain amount of sentience, don’t underestimate it. According to the information I gathered, this Scarlet Blood Orchid already has seven leaves, which would make it at least a thousand years old. It is incredibly valuable, and as long as we can obtain it, everyone will naturally obtain many benefits.”
One of them men behind her with a big bushy beard grinned, “Young Lady, if we succeed here, what kind of reward can we get?”
“Twenty Crystal Stones per person,” The young woman replied.
Hearing this, everyone’s breathing became heavy again; it seemed like twenty Crystal Stones was a huge amount for them.
In an instant, everyone’s fighting spirit had risen to a new height, the beautiful young woman’s figure no longer clouding their eyes as all of them held their breaths and completely focused their attention on the task at hand as they waited for the Scarlet Blood Orchid to make an appearance.
“Soon,” The young woman whispered, “Every month, it will surface here for a time to absorb some sunshine and today is the day it’s scheduled to appear. It won’t be long until we achieve our goal.”
“Don’t worry, Young Lady. The barriers and traps we set are more than enough to capture it, as long as it dares to appear, it won’t be able to escape.” The man with the big beard confidently said, chuckling under his breath.
“Very good, the Young Master of Langya Sacred Ground is currently wounded and is in desperate need of this Scarlet Blood Orchid to recover from his injuries. You should also be aware of the benefits our Bold Independent Union will obtain if we can forge a relationship with Langya Sacred Ground,” The young woman gently breathed, her plentiful chest trembling slightly, drawing eyes once more.
Everyone present nodded again.
The Bold Independent Union’s strength wasn’t bad, but without a true powerhouse assuming command, it was still disparaged by many forces in the nearby region, while Langya Sacred Ground was a true great force. If they could forge a strong relationship with Langya Sacred Ground this time, it would be quite beneficial to Bold Independent Union’s development.
“It’s here!” In the next moment, one person quickly called out.
Everyone in the group looked up towards the water in front of them anxiously.
There, in the middle of the swamp, amidst the murky muddy water was a faint red glow and as time passed, the red glow became brighter and clearer.
Gradually, a blood red seven leaved orchid began emerging from the swamp, the lines on its surface which resembled meridians giving off a soft glow.
Everyone’s breathing became rapid as they stared at this thousand year old Scarlet Blood Orchid, each of their hearts pounding fiercely, threatening to make unwanted noise, fortunately all of them hurriedly calmed themselves.
A moment later, the Scarlet Blood Orchid gradually exposed itself completely.
Although it was a plant, since it was a World Spirit Treasure, it had its own consciousness and sentience so it was able to detect danger and was capable of taking actions to protect itself.
“Young Lady…” The big bearded man couldn’t control himself and called out.
“Wait!” The young woman quickly said, “It’s quite crafty, showing itself like this is still just to probe.”
Sure enough, as soon as the young woman said so, the Scarlet Blood Orchid rapidly sank into the mud and disappeared.
A short while later, it still had not resurfaced, causing everyone to feel slightly anxious, worrying about whether their whereabouts had been exposed causing the Scarlet Blood Orchid to withdraw.
Only the young woman still wore a confident expression.
After almost half an hour, the red light re-appeared beneath the murky water’s surface and soon the Scarlet Blood Orchid showed itself for a second time.
This time, it had completely emerged from the water and quickly arrived at a nearby patch of grass, taking root and exposing its seven leaves completely to the sun.
“Now!” The young woman shouted.
This was no doubt their best opportunity as the Scarlet Blood Orchid was now in its most relaxed state.
As soon as the bearded man heard the order, his hands quickly moved, forming a series of seals in order to activate the traps they had set.
But before these traps and barriers could activate, more than a dozen kilometers away, a powerful burst of energy erupted. Sensing the arrival of this intense energy fluctuation, everyone’s face couldn’t help sinking.
The young woman didn’t hesitate, her lithe body suddenly transforming into a stream of light as she shot out towards the Scarlet Blood Orchid.
Unfortunately, she was still too late. When it noticed this energy fluctuation, the Scarlet Blood Orchid immediately leapt into the swamp and disappeared, causing the young woman’s hand to grab nothing but air, her pretty face cramping up as she stood there with her rage soaring to the heavens.
The other members of her group slowly walked over, all of them showing aggrieved looks.
Twenty Crystal Stones had just disappeared in front of them, obviously none of them was in a good mood.
“How come there are other people here?” The young woman angrily shouted, turning to glare the bearded man, “Didn’t you say that everyone within a fifty kilometer radius had been dispersed?”
In order to obtain the Scarlet Blood Orchid this time, their Bold Independent Union had begun making preparations any entire month ago and had designated everywhere within fifty kilometers of here a forbidden zone, not allowing anyone to set foot in this region.
Before this action, their group had also performed an intense search of the area and had not found any outsiders, but now, this energy fluctuation was clearly a sign that someone had just had a breakthrough.
The bearded man blushed and opened his mouth timidly, “We really didn’t discover anyone within fifty kilometers of this place during our morning search.”
“So how did this happen?” The young woman roared, “We already promised Langya Sacred Ground that we would deliver them the Scarlet Blood Orchid within half a month, now what are we going to do?”
The bearded man was dumbstruck for a moment before hesitantly saying, “We can try again…”
“Try again?” The young woman sneered, “The Scarlet Blood Orchid is thoroughly frightened and has already sunk into the swamp. We’ll be lucky if it appears again half a year from now, how are we supposed to try again? Do you want to go down and look for it on your own?”
All of them were hit with a stream of harsh rebukes but none of them dared to raise any objections, their faces all just becoming uglier.
The young woman panted for breath in between her angry outbursts, obviously incredibly mad.
Victory was within her sight yet this sudden unexpected event had caused all of her plans to fail, naturally the young woman was thoroughly enraged.
Standing there for a moment to regain her composure, the young woman soon turned towards the direction the energy fluctuations had originated from and scowled, “Come with me, I want to see just who it was that spoiled my good deed !”
“If we find that bastard I’ll definitely kill him!” The bearded man quickly expressed his anger.
The young woman shot an angry glare at him, immediately shutting him up.
More than a dozen kilometers away, Yang Kai gently clenched his fists and wore a satisfied look on his face.
Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage; after just arriving in this world and breaking free of the shackles that had bound him previously, he had managed to break through a Minor Realm and simultaneously absorbed all of the Spiritual Energy remnants in his Knowledge Sea, he had obtain a lot of benefits in a very short time.
“Congratulations,” Shui Ling walked over from afar and smiled, offering her sincere congratulations.
Yang Kai faintly shook his head, Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, such a cultivation on the other side was not bad, but after learning about Tong Xuan Realm and understanding the mysteries of the Transcendent and Saint Realms, Yang Kai didn’t dare think too much of himself.
Such cultivation was still somewhat weak when compared to a Transcendent Realm master.
It seemed like it was necessary for him to raise his strength as soon as possible in order to survive in this vast and magnificent world as well as enable himself to find Su Yan and Little Senior Sister.
Without enough strength, he wouldn’t even be able to protect himself much less others.
“Did you manage to figure out where we are?” Yang Kai asked.
When Yang Kai was in the midst of his breakthrough, Shui Ling had gone to explore the surrounding region, hoping to discover their current location.
In response to his question, Shui Ling shook her head, “Although this swamp has some distinct features, there are too many places like it in Tong Xuan Continent. I don’t know exactly where we are but we should at least be in the Human Territory.”
“Human Territory?” Hearing this unfamiliar term, Yang Kai couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh, that’s right, I forget to tell you that in the Tong Xuan Realm, not only is there the Human Race, but there is also the Demon Race and the Monster Race. These two other races are very strong and are capable of standing as equals with our Human Race. The region controlled by the Human Race is generally referred to as the Human Territory, the region occupied by the Demon Race is known as the Demon Land, and the Monster Race has its roots in the Monster Domain. There’s also a neutral zone that sits at the intersection of these three major regions and there are also some other minor races scattered about. You can learn about them later.” Shui Ling casually explained, not going into too much depth; after all, this information was just common knowledge here, as long as Yang Kai continued to live here, he would gradually learn what he needed to know.
Yang Kai on the other hand was stunned.
Shui Ling smiled and continued, “You remember that Seventh-Order Monster Beast spider over there, right? If that spider managed to assume to a complete human form, she would then become part of the Monster Race, but that would require the assistance of the Beast Transformation Pond. The Beast Transformation Pond is a supreme treasure of the Monster Race. Well, there’s no need to worry too much about it, you’ll see many things you hadn’t ever heard or even dreamed of after staying here for a while.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “It seems I’m really quite ignorant.”
Suddenly remembering something, Yang Kai asked, “Demon General Meng Ge, have you heard that name before?”
Hearing this, Shui Ling turned an aghast look to Yang Kai, “How do you know about him?”
“He really exists?” Yang Kai was amazed. He had just asked casually, but seeing Shui Ling’s reaction, it seemed that this Demon General Meng Ge really was a character from Tong Xuan Continent, and a particular bad person at that.
When Yang Kai delved into the Evil Cavern in the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land for life experience, he had encountered a great whirlpool of Demonic energy, and from that whirlpool, a giant egg was produced. Later, four powerful Demon Path cultivators came to investigate this disturbance and had encountered the newly hatched Demon General Meng Ge, who had proceeded to instantly kill two of them and causing the other two heavy losses, suffering deep wounds in the process.
Finally, Yang Kai had used the Devil Sealing Chain on the severely weakened Demon General and somehow managed to kill him. At the end of his life though, Demon General Meng Ge told Yang Kai that the entity in front of him was only a Soul Clone and that his true body would remember Yang Kai’s aura.
Yang Kai had never managed to figure out who this Demon General Meng Ge was, but when he heard Shui Ling mention the Demon Race and Monster Race, he had suddenly thought of it.
“He’s not a member of the Human Race, but rather a powerful master from the Demon Race!” Shui Ling stared at Yang Kai with a somewhat panic stricken expression, smiling bitterly, “You’re really quite strange, how is it that you know Devil General Meng Ge’s name even though you’ve never left that world before?”
Yang Kai simply explained the chain of events that took place in the Evil Cavern all those years ago.
Hearing this story, Shui Ling’s face went pale, staring at Yang Kai quite sympathetically, “You actually destroyed his Soul Clone… From now on, you absolutely must avoid him; he is one of the Demon Race’s true masters, not someone you can afford to face.”
“Just how powerful is he?” Yang Kai asked hesitantly.
“From what you said, that Soul Clone of his most likely wasn’t yet a Transcendent, but his true body has a Saint Realm cultivation. As for what order Saint he is, I’m not certain, but many masters from the Human Territory fear him.”
Yang Kai took a deep breath and let out a sigh. He hadn’t expected that he had offended such a powerful figure, nodding lightly, “I understand.”
Just as he finished speaking, Yang Kai’s face suddenly became cold as he quickly turned his eyes to the side.
Shui Ling also frowned, directing her gaze in the same direction.
Over there, a group of Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator’s auras were rapidly closing in on them, and although they seemed to be trying to conceal themselves, they obviously couldn’t hide from Yang Kai’s perception.
And inferring from their actions, it was clear this group of newcomers was aiming for them.
“Seems we’ll have an opportunity to figure out where we are,” Yang Kai grinned to Shui Ling, the latter smiling back calmly.
Shui Ling found that after following Yang Kai around for so long, she had become much more bold and courageous. If she had encountered this kind of situation in the past, she would definitely have already fled, afraid of getting into any kind of trouble.
A moment later, the figures of eight people appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes. The one who appeared to be their leader was a young woman with a mature air about her with a full chest, rounded hips, and slender legs. She wore a light blue tight fitting dress with a long slit down the side that perfectly accentuated her beautiful figure.
Seeing her, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed an appreciative light.
After coming to Tong Xuan Realm, the first stranger he met was actually a beautiful young woman, it was quite unexpected.
However, the young woman’s expression was gloomy, seemingly quite unhappy.
The seven people behind her also had cold auras, and upon seeing Yang Kai and Shui Ling, they immediately took an aggressive stance.
The bad attitude of this group of people caused Yang Kai to feel somewhat puzzled; he had no idea when or how he had offended them.
But having faith in his strength, he simply chose to remain silent and wait.
The young woman who led this group quickly approached to within ten meters of Yang Kai and swept her eyes over him and Shui Ling coldly, a look of annoyance filling her face.
“Who are you and why are you here?” The young woman coldly interrogated.
“We’re just travelers who were passing by,” Yang Kai replied casually, “We accidentally strayed into this swamp and lost our way, could you tell us where we are right now?”
“You want to know where this is?” The young woman became even angrier as she shouted, “You dare to ask me where this place is?”
“En, because we really can’t find our way out,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders calmly. Back in Tian Lang Dynasty, he and Shui Ling had traversed the Abandoned Earth for quite some time before entering the Void Corridor and being spat out into the middle of this swamp, so right now they really did look two lost, weary, and travel-worn travellers.
“If it’s convenient, would you mind telling us?” Yang Kai smiled benignly, continuing to ask, assuming the posture of someone harmless to humans and animals alike.
“Convenient, why would it not be convenient?” The young woman sneered and waved, “Ji Hong, grab these two, since we couldn’t obtain the Scarlet Blood Orchid, we’ll take them back instead!”
“Yes, Young Lady!” The bearded man shouted, leading the others in their group forward immediately.
“Wait!” Yang Kai raised his hand, although he also saw the hostility in the eyes of these people, since he had just arrived here Yang Kai wasn’t willing to stir up trouble easily. Everyone in this group had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary and was obviously acting together, so it was quite likely they belonged to some local force. Killing them wouldn’t be difficult, but dealing with the fallout would be troublesome.
Moreover, the young woman’s words had confused Yang Kai.
Being targeted for no apparent reason, Yang Kai felt like they were deliberately making trouble.
“What’s a Scarlet Blood Orchid?” Yang Kai asked.
“The World Spirit Treasure?” Shui Ling guessed, apparently familiar with the term.
“That’s right, a World Spirit Treasure, a seven leafed Scarlet Blood Orchid!” The young woman coldly acknowledged.
“What does that have to do with us? We haven’t seen any World Spirit Treasure,” Yang Kai argued back, wondering if these people thought they had stolen their treasure.
“You haven’t seen it? Haha…” The young woman smiled, suddenly thinking that capturing these two without explaining was a bit rash, patiently asking, “Just now, was it one of you who broke through?”
“Yes, what of it?” Yang Kai asked back, the young woman in front of him was indeed a beauty but her words and actions were all over the place and she wouldn’t get to the point so he was beginning to become annoyed.
The noise he had made during his breakthrough was too loud, so Yang Kai didn’t bother trying to deny it.
“Good! Because of the disturbance caused by your breakthrough, you frightened off the Scarlet Blood Orchid and wasted all the arrangements we spent the last month putting together, so you tell me, do you still think this has nothing to do with you!?”
“Uh…” Yang Kai was stunned as he turned to look at Shui Ling, both of them showing helpless expressions.
Connecting all of this young woman’s words together, Yang Kai quickly understood what was going on.
He had also seen World Spirit Treasures before, such as the Yin-Yang Monster Ginseng and the Nine Yin Yuan Condensing Dew. These special treasures all have their own consciousness’ and knew how to seek opportunities and avoid danger, so the energy fluctuations from his break through a moment ago really might have startled the Scarlet Blood Orchid and caused it to flee.
After unravelling the whole story, Yang Kai’s stomach full of grievances disappeared and was immediately replaced by a sense of awkwardness.
“I apologize; we didn’t know you were attempting to capture a World Spirit Treasure, if we had known… ahem…” Yang Kai said helplessly.
In truth, even if he had known, this sudden breakthrough was not something he could have suppressed.
Although all of this was unintentional, and Yang Kai did feel some regret and responsibility, it could only be said that these people’s luck was just too bad.
“Your apology is useless to us,” The young woman sneered, “We had an extremely important use for that Scarlet Blood Orchid, do you think all of this can be resolved with just a few words?”
“Then what do you want?” The apologetic tone in Yang Kai’s voice quickly faded, and a dismissive sneer crept onto his face.
If this group was willing to be reasonable, Yang Kai had no problem compensating them for their loss, but the aggressive attitude of this young woman made Yang Kai feel quite disgruntled so he stopped acting humble.
If it really came down to a fight, Yang Kai was confident he could kill all of these people within ten breaths.
It was now up to them to show some restraint.
Yang Kai’s sudden change in attitude caused the young woman to be stunned as she quickly shot back, “What? You want to pick a fight with my Bold Independent Union in our own territory?”
“Bold Independent Union?” Shui Ling smiled suddenly, “It turns out that you are disciples of Bold Independent Union. That would make this place Western Lake Marsh, correct?”
“Indeed,” The young woman nodded and looked suspiciously towards Shui Ling, “It seems you’re not totally ignorant, just who are you?”
Shui Ling’s smile grew bigger as she calmly replied, “I’m from Water Spirit Temple.”
Hearing this, the faces of the young woman and seven people behind her all changed greatly as the stared towards Shui Ling.
Seeing this change, Yang Kai secretly thought that Water Spirit Temple’s strength and reputation wasn’t as weak as Shui Ling had originally told him.
Shui Ling had previously disclosed a lot of information to Yang Kai including how different Sects were classified here and had even frankly admitted Water Spirit Temple was just barely a first-class force because they had a single Saint Realm master protecting their Sect.
Her modesty had made Yang Kai think Water Spirit Temple wasn’t very strong.
But now, seeing the big dramatic transformation in attitude of these Bold Independent Union disciples, Yang Kai realized that the force Shui Ling belonged to wasn’t weak.
At the very least, when the young woman leader heard the name Water Spirit Temple, her expression became dignified and she restrained much of her initial hostility while even a hint of dread flashed across her eyes.
Staring at Shui Ling hesitantly for a moment, the young woman and her group took a few steps back and began whispering to each other.
Yang Kai had no intention or interest in spying on what they were discussing so he just stood in place and waited quietly.
Shui Ling’s expression also completely relaxed. Before figuring out where they were, she hadn’t dared to reveal her identity, but now knowing they were in Bold Independent Union’s territory, she had no more scruples.
Water Spirit Temple was not too far from Bold Independent Union, only about half a month’s journey, so the two forces would occasionally engage in trade and had some small friendship.
The group from Bold Independent Union whispered back and forth while occasionally glancing over at Yang Kai and Shui Ling, seemingly trying to determine the validity of Shui Lin’s statement.
After a brief discussion, the young woman let out a sigh and called towards Shui Ling, “Miss, since you say you’re a disciple of Water Spirit Temple, would you mind showing us some identification?”
“Sure,” Shui Ling smiled and took out a blue Jade Token and casually threw it to the young woman.
The young woman caught it and after a quick examination, wore an even more solemn expression, nodding her head as she said, “This Jade Token does contain a trace of Water Qi and should have been carved by a master who cultivates the Water Attribute, but I’m sorry, I’ve never seen this kind of Jade Token before, so I cannot definitively determine you are a Water Spirit Temple disciple.”
Saying so, she threw the Jade Token back and the last trace of hostility on her face disappeared, only leaving behind a look of helplessness.
After a moment of hesitation, the young woman continued, “So, if it is convenient, can the two of you come to my Bold Independent Union for a while? If we can confirm that you are indeed a disciples of Water Spirit Temple, we will no longer investigate what happened here today, but if you’re not… You understand.”
The young women’s words were neither angry nor depressed, neither arrogant nor servile, fully demonstrating her adaptability and ability as a leader.
“Good,” Shui Ling smiled, not trying to refuse.
In any case, her identity was real, as long as Bold Independent Union inquired slightly, they would soon be able to confirm this.
“Yang Kai, what do you think?” Shui Ling also consulted Yang Kai; after all, she knew Yang Kai was someone who only ate soft food but refused hard food. These people clearly wanted to detain them, if that angered him and he was unwilling to cooperate, then their only option would be to fight.
But Yang Kai this time just shrugged his shoulders, “It doesn’t matter, I don’t know where to go from here anyway.”
Shui Ling couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The young woman nodded and waved, “Then it’s settled!”
Saying so, she turned around and led the way, Yang Kai and Shui Ling following close behind, and the other seven Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators bringing up the rear.
Their formation clearly showed they were still wary of Yang Kai and Shui Ling’s identities and motives.
As they walked through the marsh, the young woman also intentionally or unintentionally asked Shui Ling some questions, all of which Shui Ling care-freely responded to, making no attempt to hide anything.
And the more the two talked, the more the young women felt Shui Ling wasn’t lying.
“Right, you mentioned a Scarlet Blood Orchid, right? What’s all that about?” Shui Ling asked casually.
The young woman wore a forced smile but did not avoid the topic, briefly explaining what had just happened.
As she listened to their story, Shui Ling turned to Yang Kai stuck out her tongue playfully.
Yang Kai wore an innocent expression; he too didn’t know what importance the Scarlet Blood Orchid had to these people.
“After fleeing this time, it will be at least half a year before it shows itself again and it is quite likely it will leave this area of the swamp altogether. Finding it again will be quite difficult,” The young woman sighed.
“Why is that Scarlet Blood Orchid so important to you?”
“The orchid isn’t something our Bold Independent Union has great need of, but it is essential for the Young Master of Langya Sacred Ground. We promised to hand over that Scarlet Blood Orchid to Langya Sacred Ground half a month from now, but since we’ve lost our only opportunity to obtain it, I don’t know how we’re going to explain ourselves to them.”
“Langya Sacred Ground’s Young Master? Mu Hui? Was he injured?” Shui Ling was surprised.
“Does Young Miss know Young Master Mu?”
“En, we’ve met before,” Shui Ling nodded.
The young woman’s eyes flashed as she let out a laugh, her attitude becoming noticeably warmer, “It looks like young miss really is a disciple from Water Spirit Temple.”
“Naturally, our Water Spirit Temple and Langya Sacred Ground are close friends. Seeing how Mu Hui is the one who needs that Scarlet Blood Orchid, maybe I can help you.”
“Hm?” The young woman paused, directing a puzzled look towards Shui Ling.
“You said the Scarlet Blood Orchid dove into the depths of the swamp, yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Take me to where it disappeared and I’ll see if I can find it again.”
The group of people from Bold Independent Union stared blankly at Shui Ling. After a moment silence, the young woman smiled and shook her head, “Your offer is quite kind, but the swamp there is very muddy and over a thousand meters deep, even if you are a Water Attribute cultivator, it is impossible to find that orchid in such an environment. I know that everyone from Water Spirit Temple majors in Water Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills, but…”
“I’m not just skilled in Water Attribute techniques,” Shui Ling smiled confidently.
Shui Ling possessed the Water Spirit Body, a genuine special constitution, so in a place like this with lots of water, all of her abilities would be enhanced ten or twenty percent.
The young woman thought about it for a while before finally agreeing, turning in a different direction and waving, “This way.”
At this point, she decided to let Shui Ling give it a try. It didn’t matter if she was unsuccessful, but if she somehow managed to succeed, Bold Independent Union would be able to fulfill its commitment to Langya Sacred Ground.
A short time later, the group of people arrived at the place where the Scarlet Blood Orchid had disappeared. Around the area, Yang Kai detected several barriers and traps and confirmed that these people had not been lying. They had indeed been waiting here to capture the Scarlet Blood Orchid, but at the last minute had fallen short.
“There,” The young woman pointed to the swamp in front of them.
Yang Kai quietly released his Divine Sense and attempted to prove the depths below, but he was unable to discover anything.
“I’ll go down and have a look,” Shui Ling said, diving into the murky water and disappearing.
The young woman and the others from Bold Independent Union glanced over at Yang Kai once before no longer paying any attention to him, instead just anxiously waiting.
After the time it would take for a stick of incense to burn, bubbles began forming on the swamp’s surface, raising everyone’s tension even further.
*Hua…*
Shui Ling jumped out of the swamp. Her clothes weren’t the slightest bit wet, but her face somewhat pale and her lips were purple, trembling as if she had just experienced a deep chill.
The group from Bold Independent Union looked to her with anticipation.
Unfortunately, Shui Ling shook her head.
Seeing this, all of them revealed a look of disappointment.
“What happened down there?” Yang Kai asked in concern. Shui Ling currently looked like she had just emerged from a thousand year old glacier and was obviously chilled to the bone, traces of Cold Qi and frost wafting from her body.
“I’ll explain later,” Shui Ling quickly circulated her Secret Art to dispel the Cold Qi in her body.
A little while later, after Shui Ling had recovered somewhat, she let out a long breath and said, “Although I couldn’t bring it back, I did find where it was hiding.”
“You found it?” The young woman’s eyes lit up as she called out in surprise.
“En, but by myself, I have no way of obtaining it.”
“Why?” The young woman asked urgently.
“Because it’s hiding beneath a layer of Ice Flame Star Sand.”
“Ice Flame Star Sand?” Everyone from Bold Independent Union exclaimed, a greedy light flashing across their eyes.
“What’s that?” Yang Kai asked; seeing everyone’s reaction he immediately knew this Ice Flame Star Sand was some kind of precious treasure.
“A Spirit Grade Top-Rank Artifact Refining material. It has an extremely low natural temperature and is a greatly sought after by many Transcendent Realm masters, even some Saints use it when refining their artifacts,” Shui Ling explained lightly.
The expression of the Bold Independent Union group lifted greatly.
“So it’s hiding beneath a piece of Ice Flame Star Sand,” The young woman nodded repeatedly, “Although I know the places where World Spirit Treasures are born normally have some precious materials nearby, I didn’t expect it to be this.”
“It’s more likely that the Ice Flame Star Sand contributed to the birth of Scarlet Blood Orchid,” Shui Ling smiled, “But regardless, the ice that’s formed down below is very thick, I can’t break it.”
“I’ll help you!” A chubby man from Bold Independent Union immediately came stepped towards Shui Ling and summoned a ball of flame onto his palm, proudly declaring, “I cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, perfect for melting through ice.”
But in response, Shui Ling shook her head, “No, your strength is too low.”
“I’m an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivator!” The chubby man said, clearly a little dissatisfied.
But Shui Ling still just shook her head, “I have a helper in mind already, there’s no need for you to come up. Yang Kai, come with me, of the people here, I’m afraid only you can break open that layer of ice!”
The chubby man squinted towards Yang Kai and suddenly became angry, “You say I’m not good enough, but instead want to take this Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage kid instead?”
“Since I’ve said he can help, naturally he is capable. Or do you not want that Scarlet Blood Orchid? Right now I’m helping you for free you know.”
The man suddenly closed his mouth.
The young woman quickly laughed and said, “There’s no need to quarrel, we’ll leave it up to you.”
Although the Ice Flame Star Sand was valuable, Bold Independent Union’s current priority was the Scarlet Blood Orchid so the young women naturally didn’t want to make Shui Ling unhappy.
Shui Ling nodded and before even asking for his approval, pulled Yang Kai into the swamp.
After they disappeared, Ji Hong, the bearded man in the Bold Independent Union party, suddenly realized something and cursed, “Shit, Young Lady, you don’t think those two would take this opportunity to escape do you?”
Hearing this, the young woman’s beautiful face suddenly went pale, thinking such a scenario was possible.
In truth, there was no reason for this pair of strangers to help them, and facing the temptation of a World Spirit Treasure and a Spirit Grade Top-Rank material, it wasn’t impossible for them to simply rob them and disappear.
“They shouldn’t,” They young women replied somewhat faintly.
“Then why did she insist on bringing that youth with her even though he’s so weak? Clearly she wanted to create an opportunity for the two of them to snatch those treasures and then escape.”
Thinking this was a reasonable hypothesis, the entire Bold Independent Union group was filled with indignation and anger.
The young woman’s face became uglier and uglier and she felt an impulse to dive after them in order to confirm their suspicions, but no one among her group had cultivated a Water Attribute Secret Art so it was impossible for them to dive to the bottom of this swamp.
Sending out her Divine Sense, she also was unable to detect either of the pair’s auras.
At this moment, the young woman suddenly felt a bit depressed.
The swamp’s water was so murky that no sunlight could penetrate into its depths.
As they descended, Shui Ling used her water manipulation abilities to create a clear bubble of air around them so Yang Kai didn’t feel smothered or breathless.
Using their Divine Senses, they could easily examine their surroundings.
Sinking down for quite some time, Yang Kai realized that the young woman from Bold Independent Union wasn’t mistaken, this swamp really was more than a thousand meters deep.
Only someone like Shui Ling who possessed the Water Spirit Body could freely access this place, anyone else, even if they cultivated a Water Attribute Secret Art, would probably suffer a massive drop in mobility.
After reaching a certain depth, Yang Kai began to feel the surrounding temperature drop and the further they went the colder it became.
It wasn’t long before Shui Ling couldn’t bear it and her teeth began chattering. Seeing this, Yang Kai quickly released some of his True Yang Yuan Qi and immediately dispelled the surrounding chill.
“I was right to bring you along,” Shui Ling chuckled, Yang Kai’s control over his True Qi had reached a very profound level. If she had instead brought along the self-recommended man from Bold Independent Union, Shui Ling was quite certain him releasing his Flame Attribute True Qi would conflict with her water manipulation technique.
Yang Kai, on the other hand was different, he could easily dispel the Cold Qi around them while not damaging the bubble she had created to protect them.
Below them, through the murky water, a glimmer of light came into sight, like a cluster of white flames that swayed in the wind.
However, there was still a fair distance between them and the source of this illumination and a thick ice barrier was blocking their way, making it difficult for Yang Kai to get a clear picture of what was glowing.
“The flickering white flames are the grains of Ice Flame Star Sand; the Scarlet Blood Orchid is hiding further beneath them,” Shui Ling explained, “This ice is a couple dozen meters thick, can you break it open quietly?”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “I can try.”
Saying so, Yang Kai exited Shui Ling’s air bubble.
After leaping out of the bubble, Yang Kai suddenly felt stiff, like a great mountain was pressing down on him, causing his bones to creak.
Without the protection of Shui Ling barrier, Yang Kai had to resist the surrounding water pressure all on his own.
“If it’s too difficult you don’t have to force yourself,” Shui Ling urged.
Yang Kai nodded once before closing his eyes. After taking a moment to adapt to the huge water pressure, he slowly began.
From the palm of his hand, True Yang Yuan Qi burst out and like a sharp blade, it sliced deep into the ice layer in front of him, melting it away at a rapid pace.
As he pushed his True Qi fiercely, Yang Kai bore through the thick ice like as easily as smashing a piece of rotten wood.
Shui Ling brought her bubble and quickly followed behind Yang Kai.
In this way, Yang Kai managed to bore through the several dozen meter thick ice layer in less time than it would take to boil a cup of tea.
The pair soon arrived at the location of the Ice Flame Star Sand.
“You collect the star sand while I go deal with the Scarlet Blood Orchid!” Shui Ling said excitedly, darting away towards the Scarlet Blood Orchid.
A mysterious force soon created a large barrier around the surrounding water, keeping the Scarlet Blood Orchid from running away.
Yang Kai glanced around once at Shui Ling’s methods before turning his attention back to the white flame-like grains, casually digging them out and stuffing them into his Black Book space.
Although these things appeared like flames, they were actually solid grains of star sand. They were quite different from ordinary sand however, each grain like a beautiful gem that gave off a cold, biting aura.
Even the inexperienced Yang Kai could tell this was a valuable treasure.
Having just arrived in Tong Xuan Realm and encountering such an opportunities, it was a good sign.
There were only about a hundred grains of Ice Flame Star Sand but Yang Kai was in no rush, taking his time to collect all of them. After a while, Shui Ling came over, a joyful look upon her face as she held the seven-leafed World Spirit Treasure in her hand and beckoned towards Yang Kai.
With her ability to control water, in this environment, the Scarlet Blood Orchid obviously couldn’t escape from her grasp.
Having finished his work as well, Yang Kai smiled and rejoined her inside the bubble.
“Let’s go up, that group should be pretty anxious by now,” Shui Ling grinned, clearly guessing what the group from Bold Independent Union must be thinking.
Above the swamp, the group of people from Bold Independent Union all had ugly expression as they continued to wait quietly.
The bearded man suddenly let out cold snort and said, “It’s been almost an hour yet those two haven’t come up yet, they must have ran.”
“They better not let me see them again or I swear I’ll chop their corpses into ten thousand pieces!”
However, the young woman scolded her companions lightly, “Don’t make such irresponsible comments, that girl should indeed be a disciple of Water Spirit Temple, and her identity is definitely not low.”
“What makes you say that, Young Lady?”
“She has a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivation. Besides a disciple with extraordinary status from a powerful Sect like Water Spirit Temple, who else could have such great strength at such a young age? Someone of such high status shouldn’t lie to us…” Though she said so, the young woman’s voice grew quieter as she spoke, seemingly trying to convince herself to trust Shui Ling with this explanation.
“Even she has such an identity, both the Scarlet Blood Orchid and Ice Flame Star Sand are rare treasures. It’s difficult to guarantee they won’t covet them for themselves.”
“If this is the case, then we can only accept that our loss is deserved!” The young woman sighed, “All of this is a result of us not having enough ability.”
“Ha…” Everyone sighed.
In this world, those who have the ability can obtain good things while those who don’t are only capable of watching from afar. This kind of situation was not uncommon, quite often a person would discover some treasure only to have someone stronger swoop in and snatch it from them. When this happened, the original finder could do nothing but glare hatefully.
“Look, there’s movement!” As they were sighing, the bearded man suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards the swamp in front of them.
From beneath the surface, some ripples of energy slowly emerged.
Seeing this, the group from Bold Independent Union immediately sighed with relief while the young woman felt a great weight lift off her shoulders.
A moment later, a giant bubble of water broke through the surface and Yang Kai and Shui Ling emerged.
Shui Ling quickly flew over and landed in front of the group, “You should have brought a special container for this World Spirit Treasure, yes?”
“En!” The young woman nodded quickly, opened a small bag tied to her waist and removing a white jade box engraved with a number of Spirit Array lines.
Yang Kai secretly noted that the small bag on the young woman’s waist was actually a Universe Bag.
Seeing this, Shui Ling nodded slightly, “It seems you came fully prepared.”
Saying so, she casually handed over the Scarlet Blood Orchid.
The young woman’s expression became slightly awkward for a moment before happily reaching out and accepting it, “Thank you!”
Her manner was sincere, with not the slightest false pretense.
Placing the Scarlet Blood Orchid in the jade box, the young woman activated the Spirit Array and firmly secured the World Spirit Treasure.
“What about that Ice Flame Star Sand?” The bearded man couldn’t help asking.
“Ji Hong!” The young woman’s expression became cold as she angrily shouted.
“Haha, I’m just asking!” Ji Hong scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he smiled towards Yang Kai, “Fellow Brother shouldn’t mind me, I’m just naturally curious. It you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to, whether you obtained it or not, it was yours in the first place.”
Yang Kai smiled and suddenly found that this big man was actually somewhat interesting, although he was saying to not worry about it, he was still indirectly inquiring about the Ice Flame Star Sand.
“It’s fine, we indeed managed to obtain it,” Yang Kai frankly admitted.
“Brother has such good luck, I’m so jealous!” Ji Hong grinned, also not concealing his thoughts.
Watching this exchange, the young woman could only shake her head and turn to Shui Ling, “For Young Miss’ assistance, my Bold Independent Union is very grateful. En, according to union’s rules, each of us can receive twenty Crystal Stones as a reward for completing this mission while as the captain of this team I can obtain fifty, would you accept eighty percent of that as a token of our thanks?”
With a total of eight people, seven of whom could obtain twenty Crystal Stones while the young woman obtained fifty, the total reward for this mission was one hundred and ninety, so eighty percent would come out to one hundred and fifty-two Crystal Stones.
The young woman suddenly offering such a generous thank-you gift caused the rest of her team members’ faces to sink.
But after thinking about it, without Shui Ling and Yang Kai choosing to assist them, they wouldn’t be able to obtain anything for this mission and would likely be punished instead, so their moods quickly balanced out.
Shui Ling smiled and pointed to Yang Kai, “Give it to him, I don’t need Crystal Stones.”
Yang Kai didn’t ask much, although he didn’t know what these Crystal Stone were or how much value they represented, from the expressions of these people he could tell that these Crystal Stone should be a good thing.
“Alright,” The young woman smiled, “In addition, if the two are willing to sell us that Ice Flame Star Sand, I can guarantee you both a satisfactory price.”
“Hehe…” Shui Ling giggled, “A Spirit Grade Top-Rank Artifact Refining material, we don’t plan to sell it. Keeping it for ourselves will be more useful.”
“This…” The young woman was slightly disappointed, but she was not reluctant, soon nodding, “Let’s not discuss this for now, you can take your time to consider my offer, if you change your minds feel free to seek me out. This place is only three days away from our Bold Independent Union’s headquarters, Bold Independent City, would you care to accompany us there so we may offer you our hospitality?”
After this incident was resolved, the young woman no longer showed any hostility and instead began trying to forge a relationship with the two.
Shui Ling glanced over at Yang Kai and seeing him nod gently, decided to accept.
Shui Ling nodded, “Good, we were just looking for a place to rest.”
“Please!” The young woman said, glancing at Yang Kai intentionally or unintentionally as if she was re-examining him.
The quick exchange between Shui Ling and Yang Kai just now had not escaped her eyes.
This, however, only raised more doubts in her mind; Shui Ling seemed to be a very high-ranking member of Water Spirit Temple, so why did it seem like she was following this youth’s lead? Whenever a decision had to be made she would always solicit his opinion before making a choice.
Just what kind of background did this youth have to actually make a high-ranking disciple of Water Spirit Temple pay such attention to him?
The young woman was puzzled and couldn’t help feeling curious about Yang Kai.
As they traveled, the atmosphere gradually became harmonious.
The young woman deliberately made a few attempts to probe Yang Kai’s identity in casual conversation but Yang Kai never let anything slip, causing her some grief.
Through their conversations, Yang Kai and Shui Ling also learned that this young woman’s name was Yun Xuan and she was a team leader of one of Bold Independent Union’s external units.
The members of this team were the seven people accompanying her.
Bold Independent Union was a little different from other forces in that it had semi-permanent teams that were responsible for seeking, gathering, and transporting materials and finished products. These teams would travel all year round outside of Bold Independent Union’s headquarters looking for various business opportunities and in return, Bold Independent Union provided them with resources and a safe environment to cultivate in.
As a result of Bold Independent Union’s unique hierarchy, its name had spread quite far and was well known amongst common cultivators, many of whom wanted to join Bold Independent Union to take advantage of its less rigid system.
It was also for this reason that while the number of Bold Independent Union’s disciples was quite large, the number of masters it had was low. Compared with other local forces, Bold Independent Union was considered weak.
Yun Xuan reacted as she did when she heard that Shui Ling was a Water Spirit Temple disciple for this reason. Well aware of the status of the Water Spirit Temple, Yun Xuan was not willing to offend Shui Ling.
However, now that they had acquired the Scarlet Blood Orchid, and their task had been completed smoothly, whether Shui Ling was a true disciple of Water Spirit Temple didn’t matter as much anymore.
After two days, the group of ten left the swamp.
One day later, a huge city surrounded by a vast forest appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes; Bold Independent City, headquarters of Bold Independent Union.
This short three day trip had allowed Yang Kai to truly understand how rich the ambient World Energy of Tong Xuan Realm was. Along with the dialogue exchanged amongst this group of people, he also came to realize just how rich and vast this land was; many resources he had never heard of were often mentioned, along with many famous masters.
Yang Kai’s horizons were broadened greatly, and even his state of mind underwent some subtle changes.
At the gate of Bold Independent City, a number of cultivators who appeared to be guards were checking the passing pedestrians, staring at them vigilantly but not making any attempt to stop anyone.
Under the leadership of Yun Xuan, Yang Kai’s group of people easily entered the city.
The bustling atmosphere was obvious even before they entered the gates as cultivators shuttled back and forth just like an endless stream.
Yun Xuan proudly smiled and explained, “Because our Bold Independent Union mainly deals in cultivation resources, our headquarters is always very lively. Many people come here in order to purchase various Alchemy or Artifact Refining materials. In this realm, with the exception of the Merchant Union’s headquarters, Merchant City, our Bold Independent City has the widest selection of goods. Of course, Merchant Union has connections and dealings with all three major races, so that’s not something we can match, hehe.”
“All three major races?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“En, Merchant Union’s Merchant City is located in neutral territory which allows them to smoothly conduct business with the Demon Race, Monster Race, and Human Race. Didn’t you know?” Yun Xuan’s beautiful face wore a stunned look as she stared at Yang Kai.
“I rarely come out and walk around so my knowledge of the world is somewhat lacking,” Yang Kai replied calmly and casually.
Yun Xuan nodded lightly and didn’t ask any more; not wanting to annoy Yang Kai. These past three days she noticed that while Yang Kai was not very talkative, he showed exceptionally strong curiosity and interest in even some commonly understood things, this was clearly the performance of someone lacking worldly experience.
However, his mind was also very sharp and his thoughts were quite profound. Anything he wasn’t clear about would quickly be understood after making his own observations and asking a few questions. This only further confused Yun Xuan, making her wonder whether he was a little countryside brat who had never seen the world or an old soul who had traveled many lands and seen many storms.
In summary, whenever Yun Xuan faced him, she felt an inexplicably pressure and bewilderment.
“If the two of you have no objections, why not stay at our team’s lodging while you’re in the city? We purchased our own house inside the city and although it’s not much, it’s certainly better than staying at an inn,” Yun Xuan sent out an invitation.
“Sure,” Shui Ling readily accepted, she couldn’t wait to find a place to clean herself up, she hadn’t had an opportunity to wash her body properly during these past few days of traveling.
“Ji Hong, show them the way,” Yun Xuan lightly said.
The bearded man nodded, “Leave it to me.”
“Please go on ahead, we have to go make a report to the Union and hand over the Scarlet Blood Orchid. When we’re finished, we’ll come join you.”
Yang Kai nodded and then followed the bearded man along with Shui Ling as he walked off into the city.
A short time later, the trio came to a small house that Ji Hong enthusiastically introduced. Upon stepping into the yard, he quickly summoned a few servants and told them to prepare a hot bath and arrange rooms for Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
The house itself was quite simple and although it was located in the city’s downtown area, since it came with a security barrier, once they were inside the bustling noise from the street was greatly reduced.
Yang Kai, who had spent many years in a small rotting cabin and then camping in caves and forests, didn’t feel any sense of discomfort in this place.
In the evening, a maid came and called him, saying that dinner had been prepared.
Exiting his room, Yang Kai immediately met Shui Ling who had now restored her beautiful appearance.
The two met eyes, let out a light laugh, then set out for the dining hall together.
At this simple evening banquet, Yun Xuan and her small team were very hospitable and repeatedly proposed toasts. Shui Ling said that she didn’t drink but Yang Kai did not decline, eagerly tasting all of the exotic and foreign food and wine this new world had to offer.
Yun Xuan also handed over the previously agreed upon 152 pieces of Crystal Stone to Yang Kai, giggling happily as she joked, “Be sure to save it, don’t go blowing it all at once. There are many places in Bold Independent City that are difficult to resist for youths like you, hehe…”
As she spoke, her mood was light and playful, probably because of the alcohols, her tone no longer as rigid and her face blushing a faint shade of red, making her all the more attractive.
The bearded man saw Yun Xuan’s appearance and immediately cast Yang Kai aside while trying to get Yun Xuan even drunker, clearly holding some ulterior motives.
Yun Xuan, however, didn’t refuse, and continued drinking happily, causing Yang Kai to be stunned.
After passing half the night in this lively manner, Yang Kai and Shui Ling both took their leave while the people from Bold Independent Union persisted, but it wasn’t long before the last of them, Ji Hong, collapsed, all of them having been cleanly out drunk by Yun Xuan.
Back in his own room, Yang Kai took out a Crystal Stone from the Black Book space and carefully examined it.
He quickly discovered that this Crystal Stones contained a very pure World Energy that could easily be absorbed and refined into True Qi by cultivators.
Although he had already quietly asked Shui Ling about the function and worth of these Crystal Stones, Yang Kai only now realized just how precious they really were.
If they had these stones back in the lower realm, the cultivators back there would have been able to improve their cultivations at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, there was no such convenient resource there.
Crystal Stones were Tong Xuan Realm’s hard currency and were useful for cultivation, Alchemy, and Artifact Refining, almost all goods and services were priced in Crystal Stones.
Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing in admiration, never having expected that such a magical thing could exist in this world.
Since coming to Tong Xuan Realm, he had truly stepped into a different world, everything around him so strange, fresh, and new.
Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and confirmed who his visitor was, then quickly opened the door, allowing a moonlight bathed Shui Ling to enter.
“What’s up?” Yang Kai asked.
“Nothing. I just can’t sleep so I decided to come over and talk with you,” Shui Ling sat down on a nearby chair and casually poured herself a cup of tea.
“I noticed you went out earlier today for a while. Did you manage to contact your family?”
“You noticed?” Shui Ling asked him, slightly surprised.
Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Good, I did get in touch with my family. My Water Spirit Temple has a presence in Bold Independent City, so I went there and let them know about where I’ve been and what happened to me these past two years. About half a month from now someone will arrive from the main Sect to pick me up and escort me back.”
“Just who are you in Water Spirit Temple? From what I’ve gathered, your status shouldn’t be low.”
“Hehe, I’m the daughter of Water Spirit Temple’s current Sect Master.”
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow and smiled, “So you’re the Little Princess of Water Spirit Temple.”
Shui Ling smiled teasingly, “So what if I’m a Little Princess? Wasn’t I still bullied all that time in your mansion? You were ordering me around as and when you like!”
Yang Kai smiled and asked, “Are you going to look for revenge now?”
“I’m not that bored,” Shui Ling waved her hand casually, Yang Kai leading her back home was something she was extremely grateful for, and how could she still be worried about some petty revenge?
“However, I do have a request I hope you can listen to,” Shui Ling’s expression suddenly became serious.
“Oh?”
“Can you join my Water Spirit Temple?” Shui Ling went straight to the point.
Yang Kai stared back at her strangely, his brow furrowing slightly, “Why do you want me to join?”
“Because I’ve seen you create many miracles and I believe that with your skill and aptitude, your future achievements in Tong Xuan Realm will be great. Therefore, I hope you can join my Water Spirit Temple. As long as you agree, I can promise you the best cultivation environment and resources so you can quickly increase your strength. You’re also eager to find your friends, right? With my Water Spirit Temple’s help, finding them will be much easier.”
“Your offer is really quite generous,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
“You’re worthy of such an offer, and you shouldn’t doubt I have the ability to fulfill them either.”
“I believe you,” Yang Kai nodded. Since Shui Ling was the Little Princess of Water Spirit Temple, she really had such ability.
“Then do you agree or not?” Shui Ling asked eagerly.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai shook his head and decisively said, “Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but you lived and worked beside me for so long in the Central Capital, so you should understand my personality.”
“Of course I understand, and I can promise you that we won’t place any limitations on you, as long as you agree to join Water Spirit Temple, you’ll be free to do whatever you want.”
“Joining Water Spirit Temple is itself the biggest limitation,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Sure enough…” Shui Ling sighed faintly, although she knew there was at least an eighty percent change he would reject her, she still couldn’t help trying to lobby him, hoping that after Yang Kai had drank so much wine, he would agree in a drunken stupor.
However, ever after all that alcohol, he seemed to be as alert as ever.
“Forget it, I won’t force you, but if you are ever willing to come to Water Spirit Temple, just tell me.”
Yang Kai neither accepted nor rejected her final offer.
After a peaceful night’s rest, Yun Xuan took the initiative to come over in the morning and offered to take Yang Kai and Shui Ling on a tour of Bold Independent City.
Yang Kai also wanted to observe the customs and culture of this new world so he naturally accepted.
Looking at her relaxed demeanor and healthy complexion, Yang Kai suddenly had a clear understanding of this young woman’s incredible alcohol tolerance.
According to the house’s servants, after taking down all the other members of her team last night, Yun Xuan drank a few more jugs of wine before calmly returning to her room to sleep.
Such alcohol capacity was quite shocking to Yang Kai, causing him to raise his opinion of her somewhat.
Bold Independent City was not small; although it wasn’t as big as the Central Capital in terms of area, compared to any other city from that world, it was a colossus.
From time to time, in the sky up above, some strange Monster Beasts would fly by, cultivators riding on their backs. In addition to using Monster Beasts as flying mounts though, there were also some who used artifacts specially designed for transportation. Each of these flying artifacts was beautiful crafted and very eye catching.
Yun Xuan explained that anyone who dared to fly over Bold Independent City possessed great strength or status, while unimportant people like them could only walk along the streets.
Apparently, the difference in class and status were present no matter what realm one found themselves in.
Bold Independent City was really bustling, and as Yang Kai observed the crowds and the individual cultivation realms of these people, he couldn’t help feeling slightly shocked.
It seemed like in Tong Xuan Realm, Immortal Ascension cultivators were a common sight. Over sixty percent of the cultivators Yang Kai spotted wandering Bold Independent City’s streets had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary while he could even occasionally encounter some Transcendent Realm masters.
In his former realm, Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators were considered masters and in some places those at the True Element Boundary were treated like kings, but here, the Immortal Ascension Boundary was nothing.
Yun Xuan soon brought them to a large building. Yang Kai noticed that the flow of traffic here was even heavier than other places. Cultivators were entering and exiting rapidly and most of them wearing expressions of joy, tension, or expectation. This mix of happiness and anxiety confused Yang Kai somewhat, causing him to wonder what exactly this place was.
Inside a grand hall, there were a number of paths that lead to smaller side rooms, outside of which were long lines of cultivators.
Yun Xuan led the Yang Kai and Shui Ling towards one of the innermost rooms.
Inside this room, the floor was covered in a thick carpet and there were many lifelike carvings and sculptures adorning the walls. In the middle of the room was a small Incense Burner that emitted a pleasant fragrance obviously made from precious herbs which added to the warm atmosphere.
Behind a desk at the back, a slightly fat old man sat on a large wooden armchair, indifferently staring at a Peak Immortal Ascension cultivator in front of him, a slight look of impatience apparent on his face.
When Yang Kai followed Yun Xuan into the room, he overheard the old man say to the cultivator in front of him, “Without a sky poison feather, this old master can’t fix this artifact for you. On top of that, you’re not a disciple of my Bold Independent Union so the cost is automatically twenty percent higher. You don’t have appropriate materials and you aren’t offering enough compensation, yet you still dare ask for this old master’s services? Just who do you think this old master is!?”
Saying so, the old man casually shooed the man in front of him away, “Get out, when you find the right materials and collect enough of a reward, then you can come find this old master, otherwise you can go ask some other Artifact Refiner, the cost they charge won’t be as high as this old master.”
“Grandmaster…” The cultivator still wanted to beg, but after seeing the old man’s cold glare, he quickly swallowed down the rest of his words, shook his head and helplessly turned and left.
When this customer passed through the doorway and let out a heavy sigh, Yang Kai caught a glimpse of an artifact in his hands and remembering what the old man in the back had just said, Yang Kai suddenly understood what was going on here.
The old man sitting inside also quickly noticed Yun Xuan outside and couldn’t help smiling brightly, beckoning her over, “Yun girl, come in, come in.”
Yun Xuan showed a faint smile and walked inside, politely calling out, “Grandmaster Ma.”
The old man’s smile became even brighter upon hearing Yun Xuan call him so, none of the impatience and arrogance he had shown his previous client remaining on his face, instead becoming warm and friendly. This made Yang Kai quite surprised, and also caused him to wonder what kind of charm Yun Xuan had that could make this old man’s attitude undergo such a big transformation.
Even if she was a disciple of Bold Independent Union, that alone couldn’t explain the old man’s dramatic change.
Moreover, the look on this old man’s face was genuinely warm, like that of an elder meeting his treasured granddaughter.
“What artifact did you damage this time?” Grandmaster Ma smiled and shook his head, “Let me see it.”
Yun Xuan spat out her tongue adorably like a child as she turned her palm up and summoned a flash of light into her hand. Yang Kai quickly noted that what Yun Xuan summoned was a spear-like artifact, which was fairly high grade.
However, this spear’s body had some cracks on it at the moment and the spear head had a few spots dotted atop it, like it had been corroded by something.
“Seems the battle you had was not simple,” Grandmaster Ma’s expression sank slightly as he turned to look at Yun Xuan thoughtfully, sighing a moment later, “Ha… Silly girl, why are you acting so recklessly?”
Yun Xuan chuckled lightly, “I just wasn’t careful enough and accidentally allowed this to happen.”
“Why you, this old man really doesn’t know what to say to you.”
“Oh stop treating me like a child!” Yun Xuan spoke, acting like a spoiled child, taking out some materials and Crystal Stones and handing them to Grandmaster Ma, “These are the materials and reward for the repair.”
“There’s no need for any reward,” Grandmaster Ma shook his head.
“I’m also a Common Disciple in the Union, how can I so blatantly break the rules?”
“Since I said there’s no need, then there’s no need. Or what, are you looking down on this old master?” Grandmaster Ma said with a stern face, pretending to be angry.
Yun Xuan stuck out her tongue again and eventually took back her Crystal Stones.
“Come back for it in three days, this time this old master will refine it to the point you won’t be able to damage it again!” Grandmaster Ma declared confidently.
“Thank you, Grandmaster Ma.” Yun Xuan said happily.
“Does Grandmaster repair artifacts?” Yang Kai, who had been silently watching until now, finally asked.
The clothes Grandmaster Ma wore were tasteful and embroidered on his chest was a set of special symbols. Although Yang Kai didn’t know what these symbols represented exactly, it was clear to him that it was some kind of rank insignia for Artifact Refiners.
It was similar to the symbols he had seen Alchemist’s wear on their chests.
Hearing this, Grandmaster Ma turned a dumbfounded look towards Yang Kai and asked, “This old master has studied Artifact Refining for decades now, naturally I can repair artifacts. Are you a new member of Yun Xuan’s team?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Yun Xuan quickly explained, “Grandmaster, this is… um, a friend of mine, he’s not a member of my team.”
Grandmaster Ma smiled lightly, “Your friend seems a bit friendless and unlearned. Even after entering the unions Artifact Hall he’s still wondering what we do here.”
“He recently arrived here from a remote region, so he hasn’t quite adapted to the surroundings yet,” Yun Xuan said before quietly turning to Yang Kai and explaining to him, “This is the Artifact Hall of our Bold Independent Union, inside here there are a number of skilled Artifact Refiners, but Grandmaster Ma is the best. No matter what kind of artifact it is, if you bring it to him, he can repair it.”
Saying so, Yun Xuan suddenly understood, “Do you have an artifact that needs to be repaired?”
Yang Kai nodded and took out the Bone Shield.
The entire Bone Shield had suffered great damage when it had protected Yang Kai from the force of the void when the Void Corridor beneath the Central Capital collapsed, and had then further been damaged when he used it to create a large explosion in the Abandoned Earth.
Yang Kai had wanted to find a chance to repair it but he hadn’t expected Yun Xuan to bring him to the place he was looking for all of a sudden. This was like someone sending him a pillow just as he wanted to take a nap.
Grandmaster Ma reached out and took the Bone Shield, gently stroking it a few times before releasing his True Qi to investigate its internal structure, his face quickly filling with annoyance, “Which bastard refined this artifact?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know.”
“Incompetent, too incompetent. Although the materials used in this artifact aren’t very expensive, the end product still shouldn’t be such a low-grade artifact!”
Yang Kai smiled helplessly. Mysterious Grade Low-Rank, in his previous Realm, it was already a rare and precious treasure, but here, Grandmaster Ma had all but called it trash.
“The technique used to craft this shield is so juvenile; the Artifact Refiner who refined this artifact should be dragged out and put to death!” Grandmaster Ma shouted in annoyance.
Yun Xuan quietly whispered, “Grandmaster has very strict standards for Artifact Refining.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. He also saw that this Grandmaster Ma should be obsessed with Artifact Refining so he would not only be strict with himself, but also with others of his profession.
After ranting on for a while, Grandmaster Ma looked up at Yang Kai and sighed, “Yun Xuan said that you came out from some remote place, and sure enough, only in those backwater regions would they use such inferior methods to refine artifacts, some of the techniques that were used to forge this artifact were eliminated over a thousand years ago.”
“Can Grandmaster still repair this artifact?” Yang Kai asked.
“As long as you have appropriate materials, I can fix it!” Grandmaster Ma declared confidently, “What materials do you have on you?”
“Uh…” Yang Kai thought about it for a moment and soon realized that the only thing of value he had on him was the Ice Flame Star Sand he had acquired a few days ago, quickly taking it out, “Will this work?”
“Spirit Grade Top-Rank Ice Flame Star Sand?” Grandmaster Ma’s face suddenly lit up as he stared at the ice blue flickering grain of flame resting atop Yang Kai’s hand.
After this grain of Star Sand was taken out, the temperature in the entire room rapidly dropped, causing both Yun Xuan and Shui Ling to shiver.
Aware of their distress, Yang Kai quickly pushed his True Qi and wrapped it around the Ice Flame Star Sand to contain the chill.
Seeing this, Grandmaster Ma secretly nodded to himself, thinking: [This little brat’s True Qi is pure and his control is quite good. Although his methods are a little dull, he definitely has enough raw skill.]
“This Ice Flame Star Sand can indeed be used to repair your artifact.” Grandmaster Ma calmed himself before asking. Although a Spirit Grade Top-Rank material was very expensive, as the best Artifact Refiner in Bold Independent Unions Artifact Hall he had seen many such treasures before so he naturally wouldn’t lose his composure.
“However, using a Spirit Grade Top-Rank to repair a Mysterious Grade Low-Rank artifact, you should be able to understand. Using this Ice Flame Star Sand on this Bone Shield…” Grandmaster Ma’s mouth slightly twitched, “It’s too much of a waste.”
“As long as the Bone Shield can be repaired it’s fine,” Yang Kai insisted.
“Do you really want to do this?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
Grandmaster Ma wrinkled his brow slightly but no longer tried to persuaded him; in any case, the artifact and materials belonged to Yang Kai, so how he wanted to use them was his business. Letting out a sigh, Grandmaster Ma continued, “Good, since you insist, this old master will accept your request, but if you want to fully repair this artifact, just this Ice Flame Star Sand isn’t enough, you’ll need some other supplementary materials.”
“What kind of materials?” Yang Kai asked.
“Black Fog Iron or Sky Cicada Jade, either of these two materials would work. If you find the former, I can help you upgrade this Bone Shield into a Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank artifact, if it’s the latter, I can help you promote it to Mysterious Grade Top-Rank or even Spirit Grade, it all depends on what you can afford,” Grandmaster Ma said proudly.
“Black Fog Iron, Sky Cicada Jade?” Yang Kai muttered these two names.
“One is a Mysterious Grade material while the other is Spirit Grade.” Shui Ling explained quickly.
“Where can I find these two materials?”
“That’s your problem,” Grandmaster Ma snorted, seemingly a little unhappy with Yang Kai’s wasteful manner, “But as long as you have enough Crystal Stones, you can buy anything in Bold Independent City, not to mention Black Fog Iron and Sky Cicada Jade aren’t particularly precious so the local shops should have some in stock.”
“Uh, then, how many Crystal Stones would it cost to buy one of these two materials?” Yang Kai asked Shui Ling.
Shui Ling smiled lightly, “With your net worth, you probably can’t afford them.”
Yang Kai scratched his head awkwardly. He had thought he had obtained a considerable amount of wealth when he received 150 Crystal Stones, but now it seemed that this amount was still not much.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t have any Crystal Stones,” Shui Ling also said helplessly, she had lived in the Central Capital for more than two years and had long ago exhausted the Crystal Stones she had on her.
Yun Xuan heard their conversation and after hesitating for a moment, clenched her teeth and said, “I have a piece of Sky Cicada Jade here.”
Yang Kai stared at her blankly.
“I don’t have much use for it anyway, so I’ll give it to you,” Saying so, Yun Xuan reached out and took a piece of jade from the Universe Bag on her waist.
Yang Kai’s brow tightened as he accepted the piece of jade, “Then I’ll consider this a loan from you.”
“No need,” Yun Xuan smiled lightly.
Grandmaster Ma wasn’t sure who Yang Kai was or what his relationship with Yun Xuan was, but seeing her act so warmly towards him, even trying to gift him a valuable material like Sky Cicada Jade, he couldn’t help wondering.
Just what value did this boy from some remote land have that was worth investing in? Grandmaster Ma pondered to himself.
When Sky Cicada Jade and Ice Flame Star Sand were handed over to Grandmaster Ma, he reigned in his wandering thoughts and coughed lightly, “You are not a disciple of my Bold Independent Union, so in truth, the cost of repairing this artifact should be 20% higher…”
As he said so, he glanced over at Yun Xuan and smiled slightly, “But out of consideration for Yun girl’s face, this old master will only charge you 100 pieces of Crystal Stone. You at least have that much, right?”
Thinking that this country boy would be dirt poor, Grandmaster Ma didn’t dare ask for too much, lest he embarrass Yun Xuan.
Thankfully, Yang Kai nodded and freely took out a hundred pieces of Crystal Stone and handed them over.
Grandmaster Ma showed a satisfied expression and declared, “Good! Come back in ten days and I’ll give you your new artifact, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!”
“Then we’ll take our leave first,” Yun Xuan nodded lightly before leading Yang Kai and Shui Ling out.
After leaving the Artifact Hall, Yang Kai asked, “How many Crystal Stones is that Sky Cicada Jade worth?”
However, Yun Xuan just laughed and said nothing while Shui Ling casually pointed up towards the sky.
Yang Kai’s face immediately became awkward.
There was nothing on him of much value he could give Yun Xuan as compensation. He was not prepared to expose the Myriad Drug Liquid yet, and the Ice Flame Star Sand had all been given to Grandmaster Ma. He had originally planned on splitting the grains with Shui Ling but now even that wasn’t possible.
Fortunately, with Shui Ling being the Little Princess of Water Spirit Temple, she probably wouldn’t care about such minor gains and losses.
“I’ll definitely pay you back,” Yang Kai reiterated. He did not like owing people favours, especially unfamiliar people, not to mention Yun Xuan showing such a warm attitude towards him was because of Shui Ling’s status.
Yang Kai knew that with his current identity and strength, there was no reason Yun Xuan would gift him such a valuable material just to establish a connection.
“I told you there’s no need, you…” Yun Xuan pursed her lips and smiled before shaking her head, “Fine, fine, do as you like, let’s go back for now.”
“There’s still something I’d like to buy first.” Yang Kai said.
“Oh? What do you want to buy? Just tell me and I’ll lead you to an appropriate shop,” Yun Xuan stared at him with interest.
“Some spirit herbs.”
“What do you want to buy herbs for?” Yun Xuan asked, her beautiful eyes suddenly flashing a brilliant light, “Are you an Alchemist?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I have some interest in Alchemy, so I thought I’d try my hand at it.”
“You do?” Shui Ling was also dumbfounded. The time she had spent with Yang Kai wasn’t short, but she had never once seen him show any interest in pill refining. She knew that Yang Kai had a very close relationship with his ‘Little Senior Sister’ Xia Ning Chang, and that the latter had astonishing talent in the Alchemic Dao, but she never thought Yang Kai would have an interest in Alchemy as well. Shui Ling couldn’t help feeling somewhat confused.
“I just want to try it casually,” Yang Kai replied.
In any case he currently was idle, Grandmaster Ma had said it would be ten days before he could retrieve his Bone Shield so Yang Kai was just looking for something to pass the time.
On top of that, he was sincere when he said he was interested in Alchemy, it was just that he had never had an opportunity to practice it.
Before reaching the Immortal Ascension Boundary, one should not practice Alchemy, that was the teaching of Medicine King’s Valley’s Hidden Cloud Peak’s Xiao Fu Sheng! Yang Kai has already broke through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary some time ago so he had obviously met this condition.
Yang Kai previously had never needed to worry about pills for his cultivation as Little Senior Sister had constantly provided them to him. But now, he was alone in the Tong Xuan Realm and had no idea where Treasurer Meng, Su Yan, or Xia Ning Chang was, so he had to make plans for his future.
Besides, having such a skill would be better than nothing.
“I don’t understand you,” Shui Ling shook her head.
“Then come with me, I’ll take you to a medicine herb shop. What kind do you want?”
“The lower the grade, the better!” Yang Kai replied.
Yun Xuan was stunned, “The lower the better? Have you never performed Alchemy before?”
Only some apprentices who had yet to enter the Alchemic Way would choose the lower grade of herbs to practice.
“He’s never even tried before!” Shui Ling smiled.
“Seems you really are just trying casually,” Yun Xuan smiled, showing no intention of trying to stop him, leading Yang Kai and Shui Ling to another part of the city.
The further they walked from downtown, the lower the grade of resources were being sold, even the realms of the surrounding cultivators was lower than before.
Yang Kai knew that this region of Bold Independent City’s was where the lowest level cultivators came to shop.
Not long after, the group of three came to a medicine shop that was filled with a variety of low-grade materials. There were many Alchemy and Artifact Refiner apprentices looking about for materials to practice with here.
Although the material grades were low, the prices were also cheap. However, because many novices would purchase large quantities of these practice materials, business was actually good.
Under the guidance of Yun Xuan, Yang Kai purchased a large number of low-grade herbs with his remaining 50 Crystal Stones and left with satisfied look on his face.
Back at Yun Xuan’s team’s house, Yang Kai entered his room, closed the door, set up a simple barrier, and began his journey into the Alchemic Way.
About the mysteries and theory of the Alchemic Way, Yang Kai already had a deep understanding.
Over the years he had constantly been studying the True Alchemic Way which gave him a very broad range of knowledge about Alchemy, even more so than Xia Ning Chang.
With regards to the construction of various Spirit Arrays, the selection of herbs, the mastery of fire, and the experiences of various Alchemy Grandmasters, no one could match him.
What Yang Kai lacked now was only practical experience.
Moreover, the attributes of his True Qi and Spiritual Energy were also quite suitable for Alchemy.
His extremely pure True Yang Yuan Qi was perfectly suited for smelting and refining herbs.
It could be said that when it came to performing Alchemy, Yang Kai’s basic attributes were superb. Although he wouldn’t be able to compare with Xia Ning Chang’s Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, his starting point was at least much better than other Alchemists.
Pouring out the pile of low-grade herbs he had purchased, Yang Kai next summoned the little Incense Burner from the Black Book space.
This Incense Burner was the treasure that had appeared when he had unlocked the third page of the Black Book, and after he began studying the True Alchemic Way, Yang Kai realized that it was not just a simple incense burner.
It was also a pill stove that could be used to perform Alchemy!
The Incense Burner and the True Alchemic Way were meant to complement each other, but without the accident that occurred in Medicine King’s Valley where the True Alchemic Way contained inside the Pill Saint’s portrait was forcibly transfer to his Soul, Yang Kai might have missed the opportunity to enter the Alchemic Way.
The original owner of the Black Book seemed to have no intention of letting his successor study Alchemic Way, or at least had not meant to give him the True Alchemic Way.
However, it seems the Heavens had other plans.
Placing the small Incense Burner in front of himself, Yang Kai began injecting his True Qi into it following a pre-set path.
Soon, luminescent lines began appearing on the Incense Burner’s surface and it expanded to the size of a small water basin.
Yang Kai took his hands back and nodded with satisfaction.
The size of a pill furnace, to a certain extent, was a visual representation of the skill of an Alchemist.
Generally, the larger the pill furnace they required, the worse the Alchemist’s skill was, because while performing Alchemy, an Alchemist would need to use their own True Qi to portray different Spirit Arrays inside the furnace and use these Spirit Arrays to enhance the refinement and purification of medicine herbs and fuse the resulting medicinal liquid into a solid pill.
If an Alchemist possessed enough skill, no matter how small the pill furnace they used was, they could accurately portray and utilize these Spirit Arrays.
The current water basin sized pill furnace was suitable for Yang Kai to practice with. With such a large pill furnace, the tolerance for inaccuracy in his portrayal of the various Spirit Arrays would be slightly higher while the additional True Qi he would need to consume in order to do so was not an issue.
Recalling the recipe for one of the simplest pills, Yang Kai found the corresponding herbs from his pile of ingredients and placed them by his side; turning to the furnace again, he formed a series of hand seals and then began pouring his True Qi into it.
Soon, a simple Spirit Array was formed inside the pill furnace.
Because he was practicing, Yang Kai chose a Spirit Array that would increase the chance of successfully refining a pill. This Spirit Array was amongst the most basic he knew and was not too difficult to compose.
With his current True Qi manipulation abilities, Yang Kai could relatively easily control the shape and stability of this Spirit Array.
Inspected the Spirit Array inside the pill furnace, Yang Kai was extremely satisfied.
Orderly placing the spirit herbs into the pill furnace, Yang Kai then began pouring his True Qi into it, using his True Yang Yuan Qi to refine these herbs and extract their medicinal essence.
While he completed this process, the myriad of valuable experiences of various Alchemy Grandmasters he had read in the True Alchemic Way appeared in Yang Kai’s mind, allowing him to compare them to his current process.
These Alchemy Grandmasters also were one ignorant of the Alchemic Way and its profound mysteries.
But through their own efforts, they step by step rose to the peak of world and gained the respect of their peers.
Yang Kai proceeded cautiously, because the amount of True Qi he injected into the furnace would have a direct impact on the refinement of the spirit herbs’ medicinal properties. If he poured in too much True Qi, he would burn the herbs but if he put in too little, he would fail to completely refine them and would be unable to form a pill.
Alchemy was a profession that required one to have strict control over their own True Qi.
As the spirit herbs were refined into medicinal essence under the influence of Yang Kai’s True Qi, they began merging together and undergoing miraculous changes.
However, just as Yang Kai was about to succeed in this refinement, a puff of black smoke suddenly appeared from the pill furnace and a burnt smell quickly filled the room.
Yang Kai immediately stopped injecting his True Qi and wrinkled his brow.
He knew that this time’s Alchemy was a complete failure. It seemed like he had injected too much of his True Qi into the furnace and had burnt down all the herbs inside.
Taking out the burst waste material from the pill furnace, Yang Kai didn’t rush to start again but instead sat there calmly began mentally reviewing everything about the process he had just experienced, trying to confirm what he did correctly and what he did wrong.
It was quite some time before Yang Kai began his second attempt.
Due to his previous failure, the Spirit Array Yang Kai had drawn on the inside of the pill furnace had also been destroyed, so he first had to re-draw it.
Meticulously using his True Qi he once again engraved the pill furnace with his desired Spirit Array.
However, this time he did not succeed so easily. Due to a slight bit of carelessness, one of the True Qi lines Yang Kai drew when portraying the Spirit Array was distorted, causing the half-completed Spirit Array to burst.
Inside the pill furnace, a burst of chaotic energy quickly erupted and blasted out like a wild bucking horse.
Yang Kai suddenly felt a throbbing headache, quickly realize that understanding the theory behind Alchemy and actually using it were completely different matters.
Having understood this point, Yang Kai also realized just how envious Little Senior Sister’s aptitude was. With her Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, she was naturally talented in all things related to Alchemy. Any amount of herbs she touched could be perfectly refined and combined just by waving her hands.
After three consecutive failures, Yang Kai finally managed to engrave a stable Spirit Array inside the pill furnace.
Because of the nature of these Spirit Arrays, one needed to dedicate all their attention while portraying it as it had to be done in one complete motion. If there were any mistakes or deficiencies during this process, the Spirit Array would instantly collapse.
This task was quite draining on one’s True Qi and nerves.
Only a complete Spirit Array with no flaws would be of any use during Alchemy.
It was easy to say, but when one tried to do it, they would quickly come across a number of difficulties, and becoming impatient or impulse would only compound these problems. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s will was firm and demeanor resolute; he would not be discouraged by one or two failures.
To him, every failure only added to his experience.
When the Spirit Array stabilized, Yang Kai once again placed the herbs into the pill furnace in order and then began pouring his True Qi into it. The herbs were quickly refined into medicinal liquids and began blending together.
Various medicinal essences emerged and began amalgamating, each one having its own unique properties that when combined led to new effects.
This time, Yang Kai controlled his True Qi even more carefully, but he still ultimately failed.
While he was attempting to remove the impurities from the herbs and condense them into pure medicinal liquids, there was a sudden explosion inside his pill furnace and a familiar burnt smell once again permeated the room.
Sitting in the same spot, unmoving, Yang Kai quietly reflected on this latest failure for a while before returning to his senses.
Adjusting his mood and returning himself to his peak condition, he started again.
Failure, failure…
Failing over and over again would normally cause one to feel a sense of helplessness, but Yang Kai maintained his calm, repeatedly dumping the refuse materials from his pill furnace, pondering over where he went wrong, and then trying again.
He knew that every time he failed, he would make some progress.
Practice makes perfect, this saying was not just empty talk! Alchemy was not something one could learn or perfect in a single night; Yang Kai was just getting started.
The amount of destroyed materials in the room continued to pile up and the smell of burnt ash grew stronger by the hour, yet Yang Kai’s determination never wavered
Time passed slowly.
By now, eighty percent of the low-grade herbs Yang Kai had purchased for fifty Crystal Stones had been consumed, but Yang Kai still hadn’t produced a single finished pill.
He was now in an almost obsessed state, so meticulously focused on the task in front of him he ignored everything else.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai had long ago lost track of how many attempts he had made.
However, this time was different from the past, a kind of innate confidence welled up inside him, and his instincts were telling him that this time he would surely succeed.
He already couldn’t be more familiar with engraving the Spirit Array into his pill furnace so it only took Yang Kai ten breaths to do so.
Placing the herbs into the furnace one at a time, he once again began injecting his True Qi and refined them up. Pushing his True Qi through this raw medicinal liquid, he quickly burned away the impurities and purified the medicinal essences.
There were no mistakes made during this entire process. Yang Kai gave off the appearance of a skilled veteran and the pill gradually began taking shape.
Soon, a faint scent began leaking from the pill furnace.
Yang Kai’s spirit shook, and he became even more careful about controlling the output of his True Qi during these last crucial moments.
A short time later, when all the medicinal liquids had been purified and refined to their limits, Yang Kai suddenly took back all of his True Qi.
The Spirit Array inside the pill furnace immediately contracted like a great net, binding all of the medicinal liquids together and condensing them into a round pill.
*Ding dong…*
A crisp sound emerged out of the pill furnace.
Yang Kai was exhausted and sweating all over, but that did not dampen the joy in his heart, quickly opening his furnace and removing the finished pill.
An attractive, delicate fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose as he stared at the small pill in his hands. After painstakingly refining all of those herbs, all of their medicinal essences had been condensed into this thumbnail sized pill.
Carefully inspecting his word, Yang Kai quickly discovered that the first pill he had ever successfully refined was actually just a Low Quality Common Grade Pill.
The materials he had used were all Earth Grade materials because no one sold Common Grade herbs in the Tong Xuan Realm. If one wanted those they could just pick them like wild flowers by the roadside.
Only Earth Grade materials and above had any value.
Using Earth Grade herbs to refine a Common Grade pill was a complete and total waste of materials, but Yang Kai was still extremely satisfied, because this was the first pill he had ever personally refined.
Holding this pill, Yang Kai carefully recalled everything he did and felt during the refining process.
Yang Kai thought to himself that if he could further extract the medicinal essences from the herbs, remove more of the impurities, and control the heat distribution better, the grade and quality of the pill would rise again.
After this first success, Yang Kai deeply realized the profoundness of the Alchemic Way and gained a much greater appreciation of the mysteries Alchemy hid.
In order to become a qualified Alchemist, having vast knowledge was not enough, Yang Kai also had to accumulate massive amount of practical experience through repeated trial and error.
The road leading to this first success had given Yang Kai his first taste of this experience.
After a short break, he continued working hard.
Time passed by quickly and soon, ten days had elapsed.
The fifty Crystal Stones worth of herbs Yang Kai had purchased had now been completely consumed.
Just as he was about to exit, Yang Kai heard some light footstep outside his room. From the sound of these footfalls, Yang Kai immediately identified his visitor.
Smiling lightly, Yang Kai waved his hand to dispel the barrier surrounding his room and opened the door.
In the hallway outside stood Shui Ling, a slightly complex look upon her face.
After sniffing the smell wafting from Yang Kai’s room, she quickly waved her hand in front of her nose and frowned, “What is that?”
In response, Yang Kai could only scratch the back of his head awkwardly.
Not far away, Yun Xuan and the big bearded man also appeared and walked over.
Seemingly knowing that Yang Kai had been practicing Alchemy these past few days, the bearded man rushed forward towards Yang Kai and grinned, “Brother Yang, how’d it go? Did you manage to refine any good pills? Quickly show us.”
“Ji Hong!” Yun Xuan gave him a harsh glare.
Yang Kai had admitted to her that he had never performed Alchemy before and had only bought those herbs in order to casually experiment. Without anyone to guide or teach him, it would be strange if he had managed to refine anything.
If Alchemy was really so easy to learn, the title ‘Alchemist’ wouldn’t be so honorable.
From the smell that drifted from his room, and the big pile of burnt waste piled up inside, Yun Xuan already knew just what kind of setbacks Yang Kai must have suffered.
“Haha, I was just asking,” The bearded man laughed casually, apparently not having any malicious intent.
Yun Xuan shot Yang Kai an apologetic glance and hesitated for a moment before saying, “If you really want to study Alchemy, I can get you an apprenticeship with one of the Union’s masters. If you have someone teaching you, your chances of becoming a qualified Alchemist will be much better than if you just experiment on your own.”
“Thanks, but there’s no need, I really just wanted to give it a try,” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head.
Yun Xuan gently nodded, not pressing the issue any further, simply thinking that Yang Kai was a bit odd. Obviously he was interested in studying Alchemy, but he was not willing to be taught, preferring to seclude himself in his room and fumble through things on his own.
Yun Xuan sighed secretly. If he continued on like this, he would likely never successfully refine a single pill for the rest of his life; however, this was his own private matters so it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to continue inserting herself.
“Yang Kai, the people from the Temple are here to pick me up,” Shui Ling said.
“Oh? Congratulations,” Yang Kai smiled warmly.
“En, I wanted to tell you in person before heading out,” Shui Ling continued.
A group from Water Spirit Temple had arrived in Bold Independent City a couple days ago, but since Yang Kai was in secluded retreat practicing Alchemy, Shui Ling felt it was inappropriate to leave without saying goodbye.
After all, it was Yang Kai who had brought her back.
Now that the time of their parting was at hand, Shui Ling didn’t feel too sad and instead was quite relaxed, chatting happily with Yang Kai and the others as they walked outside.
Outside Yun Xuan’s team’s house there was a luxurious carriage drawn by several Monster Beasts waiting. Beneath the feet of these beasts one could see a small swirling stream of wind.
Seeing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help showing some admiration.
“Young Lady!” Outside the carriage, a Transcendent Realm master stood waiting, calling out respectfully upon seeing Shui Ling come out, his expression remaining solemn.
Shui Ling nodded lightly to this master before turning to look at Yang Kai once more, “No matter what, I still must thank you. Here, take this Blue Water Jade Pendant, if there ever comes a day when you need help, bring this with you to Water Spirit Temple and look for me. Also, I’ll do my best to find the whereabouts of your friends. If I obtain any news about them, I’ll find a way to inform you.”
“Thank you,” Yang Kai reached out and took blue jade pendant and gave his sincere thanks.
Watching this scene, the Transcendent Realm master couldn’t help taking a quick look at Yang Kai, seemingly wondering just what it was about him that caused his Sect’s Young Lady to pay so much attention to him, even to the point where she had given him her Blue Water Jade Pendant.
Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes also flashed as she glanced suspiciously towards Yang Kai.
Although Shui Ling had lived together with them for several days and the two of them had built up some small friendship, Yun Xuan has still not yet figured out what the true nature of the relationship between Yang Kai and Shui Ling was.
“Well then, I’m off,” Shui Ling smiled, turned, and walked over to the carriage.
From beginning to end, the Transcendent Realm master remained calm and composed, not sparing Yang Kai or any of the others a second look before taking a seat in the driver’s position and injecting his True Qi into the carriage. The Monster Beasts also responded at the same time and bursts of wind erupted from around their hooves, the entire carriage lifting off the ground in the next moment and ascending into the sky.
“Worthy of Water Spirit Temple’s Little Princess, her private carriage is really impressive,” The bearded man said, an envious light flashing across his eyes.
This elegant carriage was actually a special kind of flying artifact and its grade was definitely not low. Refining such an artifact was neither cheap nor easy so only forces as powerful as Water Spirit Temple possessed them.
After watching Shui Ling leave, Yun Xuan smiled and said, “Good, I’ll take you to the Artifact Hall to retrieve your Bone Shield. Grandmaster Ma should have fixed it by now.”
Yang Kai smiled happily, greatly looking forward to it.
Besides the small sword in his Knowledge Sea, the Bone Shield was the only artifact Yang Kai currently had.
And in the Tong Xuan Realm, where masters appeared one after another and crisis loomed around every corner, Yang Kai felt that his Bone Shield would be able to play an important role, so he had not hesitated to use the precious Ice Flame Star Sand and borrow Yun Xuan’s Sky Cicada Jade in order to let Grandmaster Ma repair it.
With the Bone Shield, he would gain another layer of protection.
Now that ten days had passed, it was naturally time to retrieve his Bone Shield.
Upon hearing this, the big bearded man and the others all expressed interest in coming along to see just what kind of artifact Yang Kai was having fixed, so Yun Xuan could only helplessly let them follow.
Arriving at the Artifact Hall, Yun Xuan led Yang Kai back to the innermost room where they found Grandmaster Ma waiting.
Upon seeing Yang Kai, Grandmaster Ma didn’t say much and simply handed over the Bone Shield.
The patterns and designs on the Bone Shield had returned to their original appearance and nothing about it seemed particularly out of the ordinary, but when Yang Kai held it in his hands he immediately felt that the Bone Shield was a little different.
All of the scars marring the shield’s face had been completely repaired and the bone spurs around its edge had also been reconnected but it also had a kind of icy chill circulating around it, clearly having taken on some of the characteristics of the Ice Flame Star Sand.
The Bone Shield’s grade was now also much higher than before!
Yang Kai was incredibly happy.
“Mysterious Grade Top-Rank, unfortunately it couldn’t be promoted directly to Spirit Grade, but it should be enough for you for now. With it, anyone below the Transcendent Realm won’t be able to break through your defense and even if you have to face a Transcendent, you’ll be able to put up some resistance,” Grandmaster Ma said lightly.
“Many thanks, Grandmaster Ma,” Yang Kai nodded in appreciation.
“No need for that, this is just business. This time, this old master especially helped you out of consideration for Yun girl’s face, but, next time, you need this old master to fix an artifact; you won’t get off so lightly.”
Yang Kai gently nodded and Yun Xuan smiled and said, “Then we’ll be taking our leave.”
Hearing this, Grandmaster Ma suddenly let out a sigh, “Yun girl, take care of yourself, there’s no need to act so rash.”
“I know, thank you for your concern, Grandmaster.”
Upon leaving the Artifact Hall, the bearded man and the others rushed over to see Yang Kai’s artifacts, and Yang Kai didn’t refuse, taking the Bone Shield out to let them observe it, secretly anticipating seeing the envy in their eyes.
Although all of them also had Mysterious Grade artifacts, most of them were just Mysterious Grade Low-Rank so there was still a noticeable gap with his Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Bone Shield.
Also, the Bone Shield was an artifact that specialized in defense. Having such a treasure was almost equal to having an extra life, so all the others were quite jealous of Yang Kai.
“Yang Kai, I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue accompanying you,” Yun Xuan looked at him slightly apologetically, “The Union has assigned us another mission so we’ll have to leave here soon. If you’d like, you’re welcome to continue staying in our house for now, but I can’t say for certain when we’ll be back.”
Yang Kai’s expression became serious, hesitating for a moment before saying, “I’d like to accompany you.”
“You want to come with us?” Yun Xuan was confused for a second before suddenly smiling, “Do you want to join our Bold Independent Union?”
However, Yang Kai shook his head, “I owe you a favour for that piece of Sky Cicada Jade, if I accompany you out and bump into some kind of opportunity I’ll be able to pay you back. Don’t worry, I won’t ask for anything regarding your mission’s reward.”
Yun Xuan’s brow suddenly furrowed slightly, apparently somewhat unease; after all, she was not very familiar with Yang Kai and had been treating him in such a warm manner mainly out of consideration for Shui Ling’s face.
Now that Shui Ling was gone though, she didn’t need to concern herself with Yang Kai so much anymore.
Gifting him that piece of Sky Cicada Jade in order to build a connection with Water Spirit Temple was a price she could afford.
But now Yang Kai suddenly saying he wanted to act together with them for their mission put Yun Xuan in a difficult position.
An Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivation wasn’t low, but Yang Kai seemed quite young so she had questions about his real combat power, if her team suddenly found themselves in a dangerous situation and he panicked, it would very likely bring trouble to her team and cause unnecessary losses.
As a team leader, Yun Xuan had to consider such issues.
“If you let me come with you, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Yang Kai said when he saw her hesitant expression, “In any case, while we’re together, I will follow your commands.”
“Surprised?” Yun Xuan smiled thinly, hesitating for a moment longer before suddenly nodding, “Good, since you want to return my favour in this manner, I won’t refuse you, but you must remember, during this mission, you must faithfully obey my orders, if because of you any of my team members encounter life-threatening danger, I’ll make you pay an appropriate price.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders casually and agreed.
He really didn’t like the feeling of owing others and had constantly been looking for an opportunity to pay Yun Xuna back for the piece of Sky Cicada Jade she had given him. Only after he did so could he depart from here and begin looking for Su Yan.
“Then let’s move out,” Yun Xuan waved her hand.
There is no need to prepare anything, the members of the Yun Xuan’s team were all long-time veterans so before they had left the house they had already gathered their equipment and supplies.
After Yun Xuan’s team exited Bold Independent City, the bearded man quickly ran up to Yang Kai and pulled his arm, asking curiously, “Brother Yang, what do you mean pleasantly surprised? What kind of surprise will we get to see if you come with us?”
Yang Kai already had a profound understanding of this bearded man’s persistent shamelessness, so he chose to observe the philosophy that silence was gold.
The entire journey, Yang Kai used his abnormally powerful Divine Sense to investigate their surroundings, hoping to find something of value.
Unfortunately, he gained nothing for his efforts.
However, from the chatter between Yun Xuan’s team members, Yang Kai gradually figured out what their mission was.
Apparently a number of unknown Monster Beasts had appeared in a place called Thousand Leaf Forest which was roughly seven or eight days travel from Bold Independent City. Many passing cultivators and even disciples of Bold Independent Union had lost their lives to these beasts.
Thousand Leaf Forest was incredibly valuable to Bold Independent Union, not only because of the rare herbs that grew in this forest, but also because of the Sun Tin ore vein that lay in the middle of the forest.
This Sun Tin ore wasn’t a particularly high grade material, but if Artifact Refiners smelted and refined it, it had many uses.
This accentuated the value of Thousand Leaf Forest to Bold Independent Union.
According to those who managed to escape with their lives, the strength of these Monster Beasts wasn’t great, all of them barely Sixth-Order, but their number were quite large.
Another team had been sent ahead to investigate the situation and now Yun Xuan’s team was being deployed as reinforcements to annihilate the Monster Beasts.
The Monster cores from these Monster Beasts as well as their various body parts and blood were all useful Alchemy and Artifact Refining materials. With such a juicy piece of meat being served up to them, how could Bold Independent Union not try to swallow it?
The entire trip was quite relaxed and after eight days, a vast and boundless forest appeared in front of Yang Kai’s eyes.
On the outskirts of the forest, a young man stood waiting and when Yun Xuan’s team, or rather Yun Xuan appeared, his face lit up and he warmly greeted her, “Yun Xuan, you’ve finally arrived?”
His smile was sincere and there were clear signs of love on his face. He seemingly was quite concerned with Yun Xuan and when he spoke, his gaze never left her for an instant.
Yun Xuan stared back at this young man in amazement, “Zhuo Luo, why are you here? Weren’t you out completing a different assignment?”
The young man named Zhuo Luo smiled and replied without disguise, “I heard that you would be coming here, so I decided to come offer my assistance.”
Yun Xuan couldn’t help but frown, her expression immediately becoming a few degrees colder, “What is the current situation?”
“Xin Yu’s team has already been here for more than a dozen days and have investigated everything regarding this pack of Monster Beast. They’ve concluded that they really aren’t that strong so we’ve only been waiting for your team’s arrival before beginning the cleanup,” Zhuo Luo politely explained.
“Good. Lead the way.” Yun Xuan nodded lightly.
Zhuo Luo smiled happily and led Yun Xuan’s team towards a nearby area.
“Fuck, it’s this bastard again,” The bearded man and many of the others suddenly began grumbling in dissatisfaction, all of their eyes glaring towards the young man named Zhuo Luo, their teeth grinding so hard it was audible to Yang Kai who was standing nearby.
“You guys have some kind of grudge?” Yang Kai asked offhandedly.
“There’s no grudge between us, it’s just uncomfortable having to see him,” Ji Hong muttered, “This little brat mouth only spouts crap and his attitude is terrible. Every day, all he’s thinking about is women. Many of the female disciples in the Union have already been harmed by him and six months ago, he began targeting our team’s captain. Of course, Captain never paid any attention to him, but even so… Don’t judge him by his clean appearance, it’s all a facade. He’s just a sinister brat who many times has used the excuse of doing missions to try to get close to Captain.”
“Oh…” Yang Kai faintly felt he shouldn’t delve into the subject any further.
To him, the internal struggles of Bold Independent Union had nothing to do with him, so he naturally wouldn’t go sticking his nose into other people’s business.
Ji Hong didn’t bother lowering his voice much so Zhuo Luo obviously heard him, the latter turning around a shoot at glance over at Ji Hong and grinned disdainfully.
After about a half a day or so following Zhuo Luo through the forest, Yang Kai suddenly felt the auras of several people waiting up ahead.
From a quick estimate, there were at least a dozen or so.
Bold Independent Union disciples functioned in small teams whenever they went on missions, each team consisting of about five to eight members. For example, Yun Xuan’s team had a total of eight.
Zhuo Luo had brought his team to help, and this Xin Yu, who had apparently been the first sent here to gather intelligence, was also the captain of her own team.
However, Yang Kai was keenly aware that amongst the cultivators waiting for them, there was also a Transcendent.
Obviously, Bold Independent Union was concerned there might be some unforeseen accidents here, so they had deployed a Transcendent in order to oversee the operation. With such a master assuming overall command, everyone would feel much more secure.
When they finally emerged from the forest and into a clearing, Zhuo Luo waved to the people in front and called out, “Yun Xuan’s team is here.”
The Transcendent Realm master, a middle-aged man, gave a light nod in response.
Beside this master stood a petite woman with a somewhat arrogant expression on her face. This woman had a full chest, shapely hips, causing Ji Hong and the men in Yun Xuan’s team to unconsciously sweep their gazes over her, their eyes becoming somewhat bloodshot as their temperatures rose.
Noticing this rude reaction, the young woman just coldly snorted. Her expression grew dark as she stared daggers towards Yun Xuan.
As for the manga, I spoke to Ninjascans and they have committed to posting one chapter a week starting from 1st of April.
Yun Xuan quickly came forward politely greeted the Transcendent Realm master, “Uncle Sun, I’ve kept you waiting.”
Sun Ying smiled and shook his head, “I just came. Have you been well, Little Yun?”
“Everything is fine with me, thank you in advance for your assistance here, Uncle Sun.”
“En,” Sun Ying nodded lightly, hesitantly following up, “If you have time, you should go see your father. He…”
“Uncle Sun!” Yun Xuan frowned, directly cutting him off.
“Alright, alright, alight. I won’t say any more,” Sun Ying sighed helplessly.
Seeing this scene play out, Yang Kai realized that this group had various different issues, but he smartly kept his silence and stayed out of it.
Yun Xuan turned to the other young woman next and nodded, “Junior Sister Ruan, I trust you’ve been well since we last met.”
Ruan Xin Yu coldly snorted, grumbling back unhappily, “If you had come earlier it would have been better. We’ve already been waiting here for you for several days. If not for the Union’s orders, I’d have insisted that my team complete this mission ourselves and claim all the credit.”
Yun Xuan smiled back faintly, “Junior Sister must be joking. Since the Union issued such orders, they must have a good reason.”
Ruan Xin Yu’s pretty face become gloomier, seemingly wanting to rebut Yun Xuan’s argument when Sun Ying suddenly clapped his hands and interrupted, “Good, that’s enough of that. You two girls are both disciples of the Union yet you always quarrel every time you meet. Do you really have such deep enmity that you can’t resolve it peacefully?”
Even with Sun Ying stepping in to mediate, Ruan Xin Yu maintained her cold expression while Yun Xuan wore her pale smile, causing this Transcendent Realm master no small headache.
“Oh…” Suddenly, Sun Ying discovered Yang Kai, a trace of suspicion flashing across his face, “Yun girl, how come your team has one more person today. Is he a new Union disciple?”
Saying so, Sun Yin quickly gave Yang Kai a once over with his Divine Sense, and after seeing his cultivation, he couldn’t help nodding lightly, thinking that possessing such strength at such a young age wasn’t bad. The only thing that confused him was that Yang Kai wasn’t wearing a Bold Independent Union’s disciple’s robes.
“He’s not a disciple of the Union,” Yun Xuan said.
This time, even Ruan Xin Yu and Zhuo Luo’s interest was piqued.
When Bold Independent Union disciples went out to execute missions, it was simply common sense not to bring outsiders along, so Yun Xuan’s behaviour was quite puzzling to them.
“He wants to join Bold Independent Union, so this time I brought him out to evaluate his performance in the field,” Yun Xuan calmly explained, secretly giving Yang Kai a wink.
Seeing this, Yang Kai remained silent and played along.
“So that’s it,” Sun Ying nodded, “Very good, then this old master will also take a look at his potential during this mission. However, if he passes, which team should he be assigned to? Your team is already full, Yun Xuan.”
“If you don’t mind, how about joining my team?” Zhuo Luo sent out an invitation.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled ever so slightly, somewhat uncertain about how he should answer. Thankfully Yun Xuan quickly stepped in, “There’s no need to consider such things right now, he might not even meet the Union’s requirements, let’s focus on completing our task first.”
“Good,” Zhuo Luo smiled and nodded, “Little Brother, work hard. I believe that Yun Xuan’s judgement isn’t bad, don’t bring shame to her this time.”
Ruan Xin Yu on the other hand just looked Yang Kai over and sneered, “Just a dull brat!”
Yang Kai hadn’t said one word the whole time, giving her the mistaken impression that he was a bit slow. Coupled with her grievances with Yun Xuan, naturally she found him not pleasing to the eye.
“Xin Yu, your team arrived here earlier and was responsible for investigating the situation, give us a brief explanation.” Sun Ying had also used his Divine Sense to explore the surrounding area, but he didn’t want to interfere as much as possible so he pushed Ruan Xin Yu to take the lead.
Getting down to business, Ruan Xin Yu’s expression became serious as she began explaining, “The situation here is similar to the information obtained from the Union’s survivors’ testimony. The Monster Beast that suddenly appeared here are Metal Devouring Beasts that mainly consume ores and minerals. Our Bold Independent Union’s Sun Tin Ore mine has essentially been taken over by them and they’ve built a nest inside. There are around forty to fifty of them in total, the majority of which are Sixth-Order with a few only at the Fifth-Order. So far no signs of a Seventh-Order have been found.”
“Metal Devouring Beasts?” Hearing this, Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes lit up.
“En, Metal Devouring Beasts, everyone here should have heard of this Monster Beast before and know what they’re worth.”
Zhuo Luo suddenly got excited, “Of course we know. This is stroke of good luck. If we can grab all of these Metal Devouring Beasts, it’ll be a huge boost to our Union’s Artifact Refiners. As long as we properly rear these Monster Beast, we won’t have to worry about smelting Sun Tin Ore anymore. This will be a huge merit for us.”
Even Sun Ying showed a faint smile, “Your three teams’ respective strength isn’t weak so you should have no difficulty handling some Sixth-Order Monster Beasts as long as you don’t let them besiege you. Good, our goal then is to capture alive these Monster Beasts, not to kill them. Each of you must take that to heart, if any of them die it will be a big loss to the Union, understand?”
Everyone nodded and suddenly looked motivated, as if these Metal Devouring Beasts had some kind of great value to them.
Only Yang Kai remained confused.
“Yun Xuan, Zhuo Luo, Xin Yu, each of you send half of your members out to help this old master arrange a barrier to prevent those Metal Devouring Beasts from running away. It’s already getting dark, so once the barrier is up, everyone can rest for the night before we take action tomorrow,” Sun Ying directed.
A moment later, half of the Bold Independent Union disciples went out with Sun Ying to set up a barrier around the mine.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and began restoring himself.
The bearded man soon walked over with a sullen expression and sat down opposite Yang Kai, seemingly a bit bored.
Yun Xuan hadn’t brought him along so he was feeling somewhat disgruntled.
“Brother Ji, what kind of Monster Beasts are these Metal Devouring Beasts? Why did everyone suddenly become excitement when you heard their name?” Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before asking.
On the journey here, Yang Kai had gotten the impression that this groups mission was to exterminate these invasive Monster Beasts in order to obtain materials and monster cores. Yet after arriving here, their objectives had suddenly changed to capturing these Monster Beasts alive. This made Yang Kai wonder why these Metal Devouring Beast were more valuable alive than death.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Ji Hong’s jaw dropped slightly as he stared back at him blankly, “Have you never heard of Metal Devouring Beasts?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
“Just what hole did you crawl out of?” Ji Hong was thoroughly speechless, staring at Yang Kai as if he was a complete country hick.
“Haha…” Yang Kai laughed somewhat embarrassedly.
“I really can’t understand you,” Ji Hong shook his head and patiently explained, “From the name Metal Devouring Beast you should be able to figure out their distinguishing trait. These Monster Beasts don’t eat plants or flesh, only minerals. As a result, their physiques are quite special and after eating a sufficient amount of ore, they’ll automatically process it within their bodies, discharging a fully refined product later.”
“You mean they shit metal?” Yang Kai’s face went black.
“In the bluntest sense, yes, but that shit has many valuable uses to us. Compared to ores processed by ordinary Artifact Refiners, the ones refined by Metal Devouring Beasts have far fewer impurities. As a result, they can be used to refine stronger and higher quality artifacts. You should be able to understand why we are so interested in capturing them instead of killing them, right?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “You want to bring them back to the Union and use them to refine your raw ores and minerals.”
“Exactly, with these Metal Devouring Beasts, the Union will be able to save a great deal of manpower, allowing the Artifact Refiners who are freed up to attend to other, more valuable tasks,” Ji Hong said enthusiastically, his face filled with excitement, “Forty or fifty Metal Devouring Beasts is quite a large number. The more our team catches, the better our rewards will be. Maybe this time, if we can snatch all of them up, we’ll all be able to become captains and interact with Yun Xuan on equal footing, hehe.”
Ji Hong was incredibly eager to get started, practically overflowing with energy.
“What is Yun Xuan’s situation exactly?” Yang Kai suddenly asked. Over the time they had been together, Yang Kai had noticed a great deal; he faintly felt that Yun Xuan’s identity was somewhat different than just Common Disciple of Bold Independent Union, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Ji Hong’s enthusiasm immediately gave way to awkwardness, hesitating for a while before saying, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to discuss Captain’s circumstances. If you want to know, you should ask her yourself, but I can’t guarantee she’ll tell you.”
Yang Kai gently nodded and let the subject drop.
Later in the evening, Sun Ying and the others came back having completed the perimeter barrier. Now everyone was just waiting for the dawn.
That night, everyone sat quietly in meditation adjusting their condition as they looked forward to tomorrow.
A fragrant scent suddenly brushed past the tip of Yang Kai’s nose, causing him to blink and open his eyes where he saw Yun Xuan’s graceful figure standing in front of him. The sky was still dark, and from the surrounding blackness it seemed to be the darkest time before dawn.
“What’s the matter?” Yang Kai asked.
“We’re about to begin. When we do, make sure you act carefully and follow my instructions. Don’t make any mistakes. If you die, I don’t know how I’ll explain myself to Miss Shui.”
“Understood.”
“Good, yesterday I said you wanted to join Bold Independent Union, but that was just a way to smooth the situation over, whether you want to join or not after we’re done here will be up to you,” Yun Xuan brushed her hair back gently, revealing a delicate earlobe and cheeks that seemed as ripe as a peaches.
Staring off towards the horizon where the first rays of dawn were rising, Yun Xuan suddenly asked, “How old are you this year?”
“Twenty,” Yang Kai replied casually.
“A twenty year old Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, heh, time really does fly,” Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes suddenly blurred as she stared towards Yang Kai, seemingly recalling some past memories, only returning to normal a while later and smiling, “You’re still so young, so you definitely can’t die, if you die, everything ends.”
Yang Kai brow furrowed slightly, feeling like Yun Xuan’s words carried some deeper hidden meaning, but just as he was about to ask, Sun Ying’s voice rang out, “Get ready to move out.”
Everyone who wasn’t already awake opened their eyes, a look of excitement appearing on their faces.
Yun Xuan’s expression also became serious as she quickly assembled the members of her team.
A short time later, everyone was ready to go, and under Sun Ying’s leadership, they made their way towards the Sun Tin Ore mine.
Halfway up a small mountain, there was a dark cave. This was the entrance to Bold Independent Union’s mineral lode inside Thousand Leaf Forest. Yang Kai perceived some kind of energy fluctuation around this cave entrance and figured it was related to the barrier the members of Bold Independent Union had set up yesterday.
Sending out his huge Divine Sense, Yang Kai quickly began probing the depths of the mountain and soon found the aura of a number of Monster Beast. If the information was correct, these were the Metal Devouring Beasts they were after; most of them were indeed Sixth-Order’s Monster Beast.
“Open!” Sun Ying shouted, holding up his hand and pouring his True Qi into the energy barrier, causing a visible gap to open.
After probing the mountain with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai faintly realized that there was more than one barrier erected here.
He knew that Sun Ying had only opened a single barrier last night to prevent their prey from escaping though.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, faintly feeling that something was off.
“Enter!” Sun Ying waved his hand and walked into the cave, the others following close behind.
The mine was quite deep and the path down was a long twisting passage.
Along the way, there were traces left behind of something gnawing on the walls and there were no traces of Sun Tin ore anywhere to be seen; the Metal Devouring Beasts had obviously cleaned this section out completely.
These Monster Beasts took minerals as food, so once they had finished eating what was available in the surrounding areas, they had apparently moved inwards and were now several kilometers from the entrance, scattered about scavenging for food. This situation was quite convenient for Bold Independent Union as it would allow them to capture them one by one.
After walking a short while, a fork in the path appeared.
Sun Ying paused for a moment to inspect the area in front of them before saying, “Yun girl, your team has the most people, and with your strength you should be able to handle yourselves on your own. Xin Yu’s team has the least members so I will follow them. If you encounter any unforeseen accidents, notify me immediately and I’ll quickly come to your aid.”
Yun Xuan nodded firmly before leading the members of her team and Yang Kai into the channel on the left.
“Yun Xuan, be carefully,” Zhuo Luo said in a concerned, affectionate tone…
Of course, he received no response, Yun Xuan acting as if she hadn’t heard him at all. Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help but laugh at this as she stared at Zhuo Luo scornfully, “Stop wasting your effort.”
“Alright, let’s get going,” Sun Ying knew that this particular group had a lot of emotional baggage and did not want to give them any more time to bicker, immediately signaling for everyone to continue with their mission.
After Yun Xuan’s team had walked a fair distance, Yang Kai quickly caught up to Yun Xuan and whispered, “With Senior Sun leaving the barrier in that place; will there be any problems?”
“What kind of problems?” Yun Xuan stared at him blankly.
“This way, without him opening the barrier, although the Metal Devouring Beasts can’t escape, doesn’t that mean we can’t exit either?”
“We’re here to capture those Metal Devouring Beasts, why are you worried about being able to exit?” Yun Xuan frowned and suddenly understood, “Are you afraid there’ll be some kind of danger?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Yun Xuan laughed in spite of trying not to, “You’re worried too much. Ruan Xin Yu’s team have already been investigating this place for more than a dozen days, and Uncle Sun also personally checked the situation here. Naturally they determined there wasn’t any danger here so they decided to erect that barrier. But don’t worry, if we really run into trouble we can’t solve, Uncle Sun will quickly help us.”
Listening to these words, Yang Kai knew it wasn’t a good idea to press the issue so he simply closed his mouth and nodded.
Yun Xuan looked at him for a moment before whispering, “Being cautions is a good thing, but if you want to be a real man, you have to be bolder, or you’ll never accomplish anything significant.”
Because she was worried that if she spoke to loudly she would disturb the nearby Metal Devouring Beast, Yun Xuan not only lowered her voice but also brought her lips close to Yang Kai’s ear.
As her intoxicating fragrance quietly drifted into Yang Kai’s nose, his face couldn’t help going slightly stiff.
Noticing her gaff, Yun Xuan’s face blushed faintly, quickly pulling away and letting out a cough, “Follow behind me, as long as I don’t give the order, don’t move about arbitrarily.”
Yang Kai secretly smiled, thinking to himself that this young woman really regarded him as a kid. Although it was true he wasn’t very old, the amount of worldly experience he had was immense.
“Captain!” At that moment, the bearded man suddenly called out; the entire team went silent and stared towards a bend up ahead.
From around the corner, a clear sound of chewing could be heard and a quick sweep with their Divine Senses clearly told them that they had come across their target.
“Only one,” Yun Xuan smiled, “Our luck is good.”
“Heh heh!” Ji Hong smirked as he rolled up his sleeves, the others also showing looks of excitement.
Gathering everyone’s attention, Yun Xuan quickly made a few gestures and the rest of the team soon nodded and spread out.
Sensing some subtle energy fluctuations, Yang Kai realized that two people were setting up something nearby, probably a trap. Everyone else stood guard to avoid having their movements startle the nearby Metal Devouring Beast.
A short time later, everything had been prepared.
Ji Hong glanced over at Yun Xuan.
Yun Xuan nodded.
Ji Hong smiled fiercely as he licked his lips and in the next instant summoned a giant axe into his hand. When this axe appeared, a cold murderous intent and bloody aura leaked out.
Ji Hong tightly gripped his axe and leapt out, rushing forward what raising a loud war cry.
The gnawing sound suddenly stopped and Yang Kai clearly felt that the nearby Monster Beast’s aura quickly become dangerous.
Ji Hong’s provocation had obviously angered the Metal Devouring Beast.
*Dong dong dong…* The earth trembled, lightly at first but growing heavier every moment until from around the corner big silver coloured head appeared. This head had two golden horns and its eyes emitted a faint metallic lustre. Its physical strength, accompanied by its strong murderous intent was nothing to scoff at.
Metal Devouring Beast!
This was also the first time Yang Kai had ever seen this Monster Beast. From a quick glance, Yang Kai determined it was about six meters in length, and one and a half meters tall. It was slightly fat and chubby, its belly jiggling as it ran but despite that, its speed wasn’t slow.
What most caught Yang Kai’s attention was the armoured plating that wrapped its body; this thick plating looked quite sturdy and obviously wouldn’t be easy to break open.
These pieces of armor resembled a turtle’s shell and covered everything with the exception of its tail and underbelly, leaving few weaknesses to target.
As soon as Ji Hong got within ten meters of the Metal Devouring Beast, he suddenly turned around and ran back.
He never intended to confront this Sixth-Order Monster Beast head on.
“Come on!” Ji Hong yelled as he ran, his and everyone else in the team’s faces filled with excitement.
Just as he reached the location of the trap, Ji Hong leapt forward across it but the Sixth-Order Metal Devouring Beast, with its fat body, obviously wasn’t capable of such movement and crashed directly into it.
The two cultivators who were standing by didn’t need to wait for Yun Xuan’s order before activating the trap.
A flash of light burst from the ground and a series of energy ropes sprung up, wrapping tightly around the Metal Devouring Beast.
Its four clumsy limbs quickly entangled, the massive body of the Metal Devouring Beast continued forward a few dozen meters under the influence of its own inertia before coming to a stop, leaving behind a deep gully-like trail on the ground behind it.
“Break both of its horns!” Yun Xuan shouted, taking the lead, a powerful force erupting from her tender body as she charged towards the Metal Devouring Beast.
The other members of her team also hurriedly kept up.
The Metal Devouring Beast struggled violently and wreaked havoc in the mine tunnel while releasing golden beams of energy from its two horns which puncture many holes in the walls, floor, and ceiling, but as a Sixth-Order Monster Beast, it was only equivalent to an Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator and with its mobility severely limited it couldn’t deal any effective damage to Yun Xuan’s team.
After only a few breaths of time, the Metal Devouring Beast’s hard horns were cut off by Ji Hong’s big axe.
Seemingly enduring excruciating pain, the Metal Devouring Beast wailed loudly.
Yun Xuan leapt forward and quickly bound its mouth, silencing it.
“Captain!” Ji Hong smiled sheepishly, handing over the two horns he had just cut down to Yun Xuan, the latter nodding with satisfaction as she stowed them in her Universe Bag.
Because of its diet, a Metal Devouring Beast’s horns were excellent Artifact Refining materials, so they couldn’t be wasted. “Too easy,” Ji Hong shook his head and said proudly.
“A Sixth-Order Monster Beast’s intelligence isn’t very high and with our pre-arranged trap, it only makes sense we were able to easily capture it. If we had to fight it head on, we would have had a significantly harder time. Its armour is thick and difficult to penetrate while the energy attacks it releases from its horns can’t be ignored, an ordinary Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator wouldn’t be its opponent and inside this mine, our mobility is quite limited making it harder for us to display our full strength. Don’t underestimate the enemy just because things went well this time,” Yun Xuan sternly said so that Ji Hong and the others wouldn’t suffer unnecessary losses due to carelessness.
“Yes ma’am,” Ji Hong nodded repeatedly.
Yun Xuan smiled, “Good, let’s keep moving. For now we’ll leave this fellow here; we’ll find a way to ship him back to Bold Independent City when this is all over.”
Encouraged by this first victory, everyone’s spirits rose to a new height as they enthusiastically walked forward.
Using this method, after half a day, Yun Xuan’s team easily captured three Metal Devouring Beasts.
All this time, Yang Kai had not acted.
This wasn’t because of Yun Xuan’s previous instructions to him to not act on his own, but because Yun Xuan’s team had no need of his help as they so far encountered minimal difficulty capturing these Metal Devouring Beasts.
The reason Yang Kai came this time was mainly because he wanted to return Yun Xuan’s favour. If he ended up not having any opportunity to act here then he wouldn’t impose himself and would instead think of another way to pay her back.
However, after observing for half a day, Yang Kai knew that it was impossible for them to capture all the Metal Devouring Beasts this way.
First of all, the number of trap artifacts they brought wasn’t enough, and second, not every Metal Devouring Beast acted alone.
As if to prove his analysis right, in front of their team, the auras of two Metal Devouring Beasts close to each other soon appeared, if they attacked one, the other would surely be alerted as well.
Sure enough, after Ji Hong came back from scouting ahead and described the situation to Yun Xuan, the latter’s brow couldn’t help furrowing.
“How many beast traps do we have left?” Yun Xuan asked.
“Three.”
“Set all of them up,” Yun Xuan thought for a while and said.
“En.” With a nod, the members of her team set about arranging these three beast traps.
After everything was ready, Ji Hong once again ran forward and shouted to provoke the two Metal Devouring Beasts and a moment later led both of them back.
However, when the two beasts hit the first trap, it didn’t have nearly the same effect as before.
The charge of the two Metal Devouring Beasts was so strong that any of the trap’s bindings were instantly shattered, only leaving behind light particles as remnants to highlight its failure.
The second trap also only managed to slightly slow down the pairs speed while the last trap finally bound one of them.
The remaining Metal Devouring Beast continued its charge towards Yun Xuan.
“Attack!” Yun Xuan didn’t panic, seemingly having expected such a result, and calmly issued the order to attack, the cultivators hidden to the left and right of the tunnel immediately using their Martial skills and artifacts to bombard the charging beast.
Yang Kai watched all of this and secretly nodded. The Bold Independent Union’s disciples weren’t weak either in strength or means, at first glance it was clear to him that each member of Yun Xuan’s team was a veteran of many battles and under her leadership, they formed a cohesive force that could not be ignored. Even with an absolute advantage in terms of raw strength and defence, a Sixth-Order Monster Beast was still instantly suppressed by these eight Immortal Ascension cultivators.
Ji Hong’s two-handed axe slashed at the back of the still rampaging Metal Devouring Beast, causing a loud bang and many sparks to fly, but only leaving behind a shallow mark on its armour.
“So hard?” Ji Hong was taken aback; the rebound from his strike caused his hands to go a little numb and a sour taste to well up in his heart. Quickly composing himself, he continued to use his axe artifact to attack.
*Dang dang dang dang…*
“Ji Hong, fall back!” Yun Xuan quickly ordered. Ji Hong’s actions had clearly completely enraged the Metal Devouring Beast and it was now staring red eyed towards him as a golden beam shot out from its forehead. This fierce and blinding energy blast barreled towards Ji Hong at frightening speed.
Seeing this incoming attack, Ji Hong’s face sank as he hastily placed his axe in front of him, just barely managing to defend himself.
Yun Xuan had already rushed over, the spear which she had Grandmaster Ma repair tightly gripped in her hands. Her tender body suddenly gave off a heroic image as her tiny sparks of lightning began emerging from her spear.
A phantom image of a great snake suddenly appeared on her spear, and the spear’s body itself seemed to transform into a real snake, causing a fierce aura to ripple through the air. Thrusting forward, Yun Xuan’s spear gave off a brilliant radiance as it slammed into the Metal Devouring Beast.
Disregarding Ji Hong’s attacks, the Metal Devouring Beast seemed to feel a sense of uneasiness as it let out a frightening roar, its aura becoming more dangerous as its eyes filled with violent madness.
Energy collected between its two horns once again and it quickly sent out an attack to intercept Yun Xuan’s spear.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The two attacks collided and a disordered burst of energy erupted, sending stone debris from the mine tunnel flying. A great rumbling sound echoed throughout the mine tunnel and there were even some signs of it beginning to crack.
Yun Xuan’s expression remained indifferent and fearless, waving her spear about skillfully, blocking or parrying the attacks of the Metal Devouring Beast.
The other cultivators had also taken the opportunity to attack and had begun pummeling the Metal Devouring Beast.
A strange energy suddenly spread from the ground.
*Pu pu pu…* A bunch of sharp spurs shot out from the earth just below the Metal Devouring Beast, causing it’s strength to deflate like a punctuated balloon.
Blood flowed from Metal Devouring Beast as it tried to escape, only managing to make it several dozen meters before letting out a sorrowful roar and collapsing to the ground.
From the side, one could clearly see a few bloody holes on its soft belly where it had been pierced by the earth spikes.
Yun Xuan’s team rushed in and swiftly cut off the two horns on the Metal Devouring Beast and then bound its legs, only then taking out some healing medicine and applying it to the beast’s wounds.
Everyone went about their work in an orderly fashion, not in any way flustered.
After everything was done, Ji Hong walked over and happily patted Yang Kai’s shoulder, “Brother Yang, enjoying yourself?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Until now, he had not taken action and had only been watching.
“This is just a simple mission, when you really join Bold Independent Union, your brother here will show you what a real fight is like.”
Yun Xuan took back her spear and shook out her hands, glancing over at Yang Kai and secretly nodding.
She found that throughout the day, this taciturn boy had always remained calm, and even when something unexpected happened, he didn’t show the slightest panic.
This discovery made Yun Xuan wonder about whether this was just his natural disposition or if he already had a great deal of worldly experience.
Clapping her hands lightly, Yun Xuan said, “Our traps have been used up so from now on, whenever we encounter Metal Devouring Beasts, everyone should be extra cautions and prioritize protecting yourselves.”
The team nodded firmly, their zeal and enthusiasm still at a fever pitch.
“Let’s go!” Yun Xuan waved her hand and walked forward.
The Metal Devouring Beast in the mine were all busy eating so they were all scattered about, most of them choosing to act alone while occasionally they would move about in groups of two or three. With the strength of the Yun Xuan’s team, catching them was quite easy.
As they advanced deeper into the mine, there were countless twists and turns, ramps and slopes, so the team made sure to record which path they had taken to avoid getting lost on the way back.
Yang Kai also began participating and in accordance with Yun Xuan’s orders, provided some small support, calmly attacking and defending in a stable fashion, causing everyone’s opinion of him to rise.
Even Yun Xuan couldn’t help re-evaluating Yang Kai.
She had originally thought he had come out from some remote countryside and was afraid that his combat strength wouldn’t be sufficient. Because of this concern, Yun Xuan had initially kept Yang Kai behind her and didn’t let him join the team’s battles, but after giving him a chance, he turned out to be surprisingly useful. At the very least, after he summoned his Bone Shield, he was able to block the charge of a Metal Devouring Beast head on.
This kind of frontal collision was something that even Ji Hong, who had the most brute strength of all her team members, couldn’t accomplish, yet Yang Kai did so with ease.
This ability was very important as it allowed everyone else on the team to focus on attacking.
After observing him block two such charges, Yun Xuan directly let Yang Kai with his Bone Shield act as the team’s blocker while everyone else launched attacks from the side or behind him.
Using this battle formation, Yun Xuan’s team’s efficiency shot up, bringing a smile to everyone’s face.
After half a day, the team stopped to take a break.
During this break, Yang Kai came over to Yun Xuan and said, “Ms. Yun, there’s something I don’t quite understand.”
“Oh?” Yun Xuan smiled back at him. Yang Kai’s performance today had earned her respect and she now really was thinking about how to get Yang Kai to join Bold Independent Union.
Any team that could have such a strong defensive specialist would be much safer when performing tasks.
“These Metal Devouring Beasts are all here to feed, right?”
“That’s right, why?”
“Brother Ji said that after they consumed enough minerals, they would process the raw ores in their bodies and then excrete the refined metals. This group of Metal Devouring Beasts have already been here for two or three months now but even after we traveled this far into the mine, why haven’t we seen any of their droppings?”
Yun Xuan was startled and after thinking about it for a moment, realized that what Yang Kai said was right.
The whole time they had been fighting she had never seen any refined metals anywhere.
Yun Xuan knit her brows as she didn’t know how to explain this, some doubts welling up in her heart.
The other members of her team heard this conversation and also wore confused expressions. All this time they had only been focused on capturing the Metal Devouring Beast so they had unconsciously overlooked this strange phenomenon.
“Maybe they have a specific place where they take care of their business, like a toilet!” Ji Hong suggested.
Yun Xuan’s face went slightly red but she nonetheless nodded, “It’s possible!”
“Then, if we were to find that place, couldn’t we harvest a large amount of refined metals?” Ji Hong thoughtfully stroked his beard.
Yun Xuan’s eyes flashed brilliantly. Capturing so many Metal Devouring Beasts this time would count as a great achievement and if on top of that they could find this mineral ‘storehouse’, the rewards they would receive would be incredibly rich.
Thinking about this bright future, everyone’s mental and physical fatigue was blow away and each of them once again became filled with enthusiasm.
“Then our secondary objective will be to search for such a place,” Yun Xuan, looking at their expressions, knew that they didn’t want to rest anymore and immediately issued this directive.
The rest of her team was obviously overjoyed and quickly got back on their feet.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, couldn’t help frowning slightly, thinking that there was something off about this situation, but with the little information he had he couldn’t form any reasonable hypotheses much less prove them so he chose to remain quite for now.
For now, whatever Yun Xuan decided, he would go along with.
As they continued into the mine, the number of Metal Devouring Beasts seemed to decrease so Yun Xuan’s team began spending more time scouting around for the refined mineral dump rather than fighting and capturing, unfortunately, they found nothing for their efforts.
As they continued their search, Yang Kai suddenly felt a trace of unease.
Suddenly thinking of a possibility, Yang Kai’s expression sank as he shouted, “Yun Xuan, there’s something wrong here!”
The team members, who were all excitedly searching for the metal dump, heard his voice and couldn’t help stopping, all of them turning puzzled looks towards him.
Yun Xuan frowned, “What do you mean?”
Yang Kai suddenly shouting gave her a fright and she quickly expanded the range of her Divine Sense, but after not finding anything out of the ordinary, she immediately became disgruntled.
When on a mission, one of the most taboo acts was to cause alarm for no reason. If one were to do this, their team members would begin to doubt their trustworthiness, and if trust was lost and a real emergency came up, it would put the team in danger.
Yang Kai didn’t answer; his warning just now was completely instinctual. Through a more in depth investigation of the surrounding area with his Divine Sense, he had noticed a powerful aura hidden deep within the mine.
From his experience, Yang Kai concluded that such a strong energy fluctuation could only be produced by a Transcendent Realm master!
A Transcendent Realm enemy was hiding nearby yet no one had discovered them yet, the fearfulness of this was obvious.
Sun Ying had previously checked the situation in the mine yet even he was unaware that there was another Transcendent here. That could only mean that Sun Ying wasn’t this master’s opponent!
Even Yang Kai himself hadn’t discovered anything up till now and could only conclude that the enemy had some frightening means of concealment.
“Well, what is it?” Yun Xuan’s asked again, a tinge of anger creeping into her voice.
“There’s some kind of danger in this place,” Yang Kai calmly said.
“Speak clearly.” Yun Xuan’s expression dimmed.
“There’s a very powerful master hidden below us, if you don’t want everyone here to die, we should leave now!”
“How do you know that?” Yun Xuan’s brow tightly wrinkled.
Ji Hong also came forward and sighed, “Brother Yang, you can’t joke about these kinds of things. How could there be such a hidden danger here?”
“I’m not making a joke,” Yang Kai shook his head seriously, but glancing around he noticed that everyone was giving him a distrustful look.
Yang Kai suddenly realized that his words really didn’t have any convincing weight behind them.
To an outside observer, he was just a young Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator. The strongest member of this team was Yun Xuan, who was a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary master yet she didn’t sense abnormalities nearby; naturally she wouldn’t readily believe his words.
Gently sighing, Yang Kai looked at Yun Xuan and said, “I only came here in order to return the favour I owe you. Right now, if you believe me, you’ll take everyone out of here. If you don’t believe me though, there’s nothing I can say to convince you.”
“How am I supposed to believe you?” Yun Xuan looked at Yang Kai coldly with a hint of disappointment flashing across her eyes, “I wanted you to join Bold Independent Union, but now it seems that’s not necessary. The actions of this team are for me to decide and are not dictated by others’ feelings, especially those of an alarmist.”
“I’m not trying to be an alarmist…”
“Then provide evidence. If you can’t, then don’t spout nonsense,” Yun Xuan spat coldly.
Yang Kai shook his head helplessly and indifferently stared back at Yun Xuan, “Then I’ll take my leave here.”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and quickly rushed out, not paying any attention to what anyone else thought.
“Hey, Brother Yang!” Ji Hong was shocked and called out to stop him.
“Let him go!” Yun Xuan shouted, staring at the disappearing back of Yang Kai as she shook her head.
Yang Kai’s performance just now was quite dissatisfying to her and didn’t reflect any of his previous calm. Yun Xuan felt that if such a person really joined Bold Independent Union, he would bring more harm than good, so her interest in recruiting him faded.
“Ha…” Ji Hong sighed as he looked at Yun Xuan, “Young Lady, him speaking with such confidence, do you think he really discovered something?”
Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes flashed before her expression dropped again, “Uncle Sun said that there was nothing to be wary of here, and I also didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, that kid is probably just making a fuss over nothing.”
“That is true!” Ji Hong nodded; he naturally had more faith in Sun Ying’s words.
Yang Kai’s figure quickly ran towards the mine’s exit, every step he took leaving a deep imprint on the ground and a long afterimage dragged out behind him. At this moment he had raised his speed to the limit.
He had clearly memorized the path they had taken to reach this point so even in this underground labyrinth he didn’t once get lost.
The hidden aura he had discovered with his Divine Sense was growing more powerful by the breath and was clearly preparing to take action.
Yang Kai had a clear understanding of his own strength.
With an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivation, coupled with his Devil Transformation, he was invincible in the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
Facing a Transcendent, Yang Kai wouldn’t be afraid, but he also had no confidence in being able to beat one.
Before, when he had killed the Spider Mother, he had relied on trickery and the mysterious power of the Solitary Golden Eye in his Knowledge Sea while killing the Sect Master of Sen Luo Temple was only possible because his Bone Shield had absorbed a massive amount of void energy; neither scenario was due to his own strength.
There was a massive gap between the Transcendent and Immortal Ascension realms.
Additionally, the terrain here was not suitable for an explosive battle, once the mine collapsed, everyone here would be buried alive.
So when he noticed the hidden enemy, Yang Kai’s first thought was to leave here and make plans after.
Unfortunately, Yun Xuan didn’t trust him, which made Yang Kai feel very helpless.
Staying to argue would only be a waste of time, so Yang Kai decisively chose to leave.
[I hope I’m just worrying too much,] Yang Kai secretly thought. Bold Independent Union also had a Transcendent Realm master with them. Sun Ying wasn’t weak and in a fight he may not lose to the hidden enemy here.
At that moment, another strong energy fluctuation erupted; naturally it came from Sun Ying.
From the booming sounds and the shaking of the ground, Sun Ying had likely encountered the hidden enemy and began fighting.
Yang Kai’s face sank and he pushed his speed even more.
At the same time, the fierce vibrations of this battle were also noticed by Yun Xuan and her team.
Everyone’s face changed greatly.
“What happened?” Yun Xuan was startled.
Sun Ying had actually taken action!
He was a Transcendent Realm master of Bold Independent Union, him being here was simply to act as a supervisor. If there were no accidents, he wouldn’t take the initiative to fight and would only be responsible for monitoring the situation and arranging the barrier to prevent the Metal Devouring Beasts from escaping.
But such vibrations were obvious signs that he had been engaged in battle, which meant that either Ruan Xin Yu or Zhou Luo’s team had encountered an enemy they couldn’t handle.
[What danger could there be that Uncle Sun had to take action personally?] Yun Xuan didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew it definitely wasn’t anything good.
Thinking so, she suddenly remembered that Yang Kai had just warned them there was a hidden enemy here. Yun Xuan’s expression suddenly became complicated as she only now realized that he wasn’t being an alarmist but had really noticed that something was wrong.
The ground trembled fiercely and the sound of explosions echoed throughout the tunnels. The entire mine seemed to be becoming unstable and fissures were beginning to open up.
The fallout from a battle between masters at the Transcendent Realm was quite devastating.
“Young Lady!” Ji Hong shouted.
“Evacuate!” Yun Xuan didn’t dare stand around waiting, deeply regretting in her heart at this moment. If only she had known this would happen, she would have listened to Yang Kai’s warning and brought everyone out of the mine. If they had left with him, they would be in far less danger.
Issuing the order to withdraw, Yun Xuan’s body flickered and transformed into a streak of blue like that flew towards the direction Yang Kai disappeared.
Ji Hong and the others followed.
However, after only going a hundred meters or so, a terrifying bang erupted from the depths of the mine and immediately after, the mountain began to collapse. Numerous huge chunks of falling rock crashed down and sealed off all the tunnels.
Yun Xuan’s face turned ashen. Not hesitating in the slightest, she gathered all of her True Qi and began striking towards the ceiling, desperately trying to open up an escape route.
With the echoes of the original bang and the crumbling walls around him, Yang Kai’s expression sank as he knew that his worst fears had come true.
Sun Ying was not the opponent of the hidden enemy. In the previous collision, Yang Kai clearly felt the former’s aura sharply weaken and the destructive wave of energy that burst forth from the two Transcendents’ final clash had caused the entire mine to collapse. Silently cursing to himself, Yang Kai quickly summoned his Bone Shield and held it atop his head, the next moment feeling like the sky was raining down on top of him.
The number of impacts he suffered was endless and the weight that pressed down on his arms was getting heavier by the breath.
The collapse of the mine continued for the time it would take to drink a cup of tea and when everything stabilized, Yang Kai was barely able to support his Bone Shield. His teeth were clenched hard and his face was blood red, his muscles bulged as if they were about to explode under the strain.
He didn’t know just how much stone and dirt he was supporting at that moment but the weight was almost impossible for him to bear.
The only good news was that thanks to the Bone Shield’s defence, Yang Kai was basically uninjured.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai concentrated his physical strength and True Qi and pushed upwards.
A passage above his head was quickly being excavated.
After a short while, the pressure suddenly disappeared and Yang Kai sprang from the rubble and landed on the ground, the sun shining down on him and the crisp mountain air brushing past his nose feeling particular refreshing.
The sound of a great many birds fleeing into the distance soon reached his ear, apparently the mine’s collapse had disturbed all of the local wildlife.
Looking around, all that remained of the once tall hill was cracked earth and rubble that spread out for almost a hundred kilometers.
As Yang Kai quietly observed his surroundings, he saw some unstable places continuing to cave, causing some low rumbling.
There was no one else around, Sun Ying’s aura had yet to disappear but it was fading fast while Yun Xuan, Ruan Xin Yu, and Zhou Luo’s teams were all missing.
Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to investigate and soon, he discovered signs of life at a position about a kilometer away.
Quickly rushing over, just as he arrived, a burst of True Qi erupted from the ground, sending a few bits of rock flying about.
A moment later, from this small newly opened hole, Yang Kai saw a faint flash of electricity.
“Yun Xuan?” Yang Kai shouted, immediately hearing a faint voice respond, “En!”
Grinning, Yang Kai clenched his fist and slammed it down onto the place where the lightning arc had flashed, completely opening the passage, allowing a dirt covered Yun Xuan to emerge.
Right behind her, Ji Hong and a few others also appeared.
All of them had many black and blue bruises and some even had broken bones.
Even though all of them were Immortal Ascension Boundary masters, such a large-scale mine collapse was not something they could escape from unscathed. In fact, it was only thanks to Yun Xuan’s quickly opening up a path for them that all of them weren’t buried alive.
Once seriously injured and buried deep underground, even Immortal Ascension Boundary masters would certain die.
After coming out, everyone wore an expression filled with lingering fear, having just survived a life threatening disaster, each of them couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief and reflecting on how fragile life truly was.
“Pang Qi?” Yun Xuan turned around and scanned the faces of her team members, her pretty face suddenly paling.
Ji Hong and the others all lowered their heads, none of them daring to answer.
“What about others?” Yun Xuan muttered hoarsely.
Ji Hong opened his mouth to speak, but failed to form any words, his eyes slowly tearing up.
Yun Xuan’s tender body shuddered and she no longer asked, knowing that the members of her team she didn’t see here now would never appear again.
“Now isn’t the time to grieve, we need to leave!” Yang Kai said with a serious face, “Can you open the barrier set up by Sun Ying?”
Yun Xuan was still absent-minded at the moment, but after a moment she nodded gently.
“That’s good,” Yang Kai also breathed a sigh of relief.
The barrier set up by a Transcendent would require a lot of time to break open if they didn’t understand how to. Yun Xuan knowing how to open it meant they didn’t need to break it by force.
“But…” Yun Xuan hesitated.
“No buts, Sun Ying is dead!” Yang Kai shook his head, a moment ago he could still faintly sense Sun Ying’s aura, but now he wasn’t aware of anything.
Yun Xuan’s face tightened as she stared blankly towards Yang Kai, seemingly unable to accept what he had just said.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from below.
Everyone expression changed as they stared towards a spot a short distance away.
A moment later, two or three kilometers away from them, several people emerged from the ground lead by Zhou Luo and Ruan Xin Yu.
Yun Xuan was overjoyed and quickly shouted out to them.
When Zhou Luo and Ruan Xin Yu heard her voice, they quickly rushed over to them. When they arrived though, Yun Xuan noticed that all of their faces were ghastly pale, as if they had all witnessed something terrifying.
“Uncle Sun?” Yun Xuan asked.
“Dead!” Ruan Xin Yu replied.
“What happened?” Yun Xuan’s tender body shuddered again. Just a moment ago she was leading her team to capture Metal Devouring Beasts and was reaping a huge harvest, everyone was rejoicing, then all of a sudden this happened and Sun Ying had actually died. Such a massive change in fortune in such a short period of time was quite difficult for her to accept.
“We don’t know,” Ruan Xin Yu said despondently, “All of sudden something leapt from the shadows. Uncle Sun fought back, and then… and then this!”
It was obvious to everyone that she was still quite frightened. Sun Ying had died right before her eyes and many of the members of her and Zhou Luo’s teams had perished under the fallout from the two Transcendents’ battle. Only a few of them managed to escape
This unknown enemy had shaken her greatly.
“We have to leave, quickly,” Zhou Luo’s face was pale, none of his previous calm elegance remaining. Their Transcendent Realm Elder had already died, so if they continued to remain here, the only result would be death. Right now, all he wanted to do was escape.
The three teams originally had more than twenty members in total, but now less than half that number was still alive.
All of the Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators realized at this moment just how fragile they were.
Although everyone felt sorrowful about the loss of their friends, there was no time for them to mourn as the priority right now was to escape.
Yang Kai followed behind the survivors, not daring to release his Divine Sense too strongly because although the enemy that killed Sun Ying had yet to make an appearance, his instincts told him that a pair of eyes was still watching them closely.
This hidden gaze was seemingly calm and composed and even contained a hint of mockery, like a predator that was enjoying the scene of its prey desperately trying to escape.
Yang Kai’s heart sank when he realized this because it meant the trouble they were facing right now was bigger than he had initial anticipated.
But unable to judge the true strength of his enemy and unable to even locate their position, Yang Kai could only take one step at a time.
The survivors from Bold Independent Union were also incredibly uneasy.
*Xiu…*
A sharp whooshing sound flew past them, causing everyone’s face to tighten. Freezing up for an instant, everyone quickly and silently assumed a defensive posture as they stared around their surroundings.
No one say anything.
But a moment later, Ji Hong screamed, “Young Lady, Zheng Wu, he… he…”
Hearing this, the crowd all turned towards the young man named Zheng Wu and saw that his eyes had glazed over and his body had gone limp as he stood there absentmindedly, the vitality quickly draining from his body.
“Zheng Wu…” One of the others who had a good relationship with him called out, but he received no response.
After Zheng Wu’s shoulder was tapped by this youth, the former fell straight to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
“Ahh…” Ruan Xin Yu screamed, her hand reaching up and covering her lips as all the colour drained from her face.
“He’s dead!” Ji Hong’s eyes widened as he stared at this scene in disbelief.
Yun Xuan was also greatly frightened, her pretty face drained to a pale white as her eyes darted around, desperately seek for the enemy’s whereabouts yet getting nothing for her effort.
Zhou Luo also couldn’t help trembling in fear.
The man named Zheng Wu was a member of his team and was a strong Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage cultivator, yet right in front of the eyes of so many others he was silently killed and bore no sign of any injuries or wounds on his body.
This unexpected development cause a cold chill to shoot up everyone’s back.
Their hidden enemy being able to silently kill Zheng Wu meant that any of them could also easily be killed.
After realizing this fact, everyone suddenly began to panic.
“Keep moving!” Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he shouted.
A moment ago, he noticed a strange and sinister Spiritual Energy attack pass by.
That Spiritual Energy attack was so powerful that even he felt uneasy. Such a powerful Divine Sense attack from the hidden enemy was definitely capable of silently killing anyone below the Transcendent Realm.
If the enemy wanted to, they could take the lives of everyone here in an instant.
But they hadn’t done this.
Yang Kai could only think of one possibility for this and that was that their enemy had a twisted personality that revelled in watching their victims struggle and panic.
Such an enemy was very difficult to deal with! Yang Kai had to find some kind of flaw in the enemies plans; he didn’t expect to be able to kill him, simply escaping would be enough.
While he was pushing his brain for an answer, Yun Xuan finally regained her composure, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves before waving her hand, “Let’s go!”
The small group continued forward and soon reached Sun Ying’s barrier. Originally, Sun Ying had arranged this barrier to completely encircle the mine in order to prevent any of the Metal Devouring Beasts from escaping, but now it had ironically become the barrier to their escape instead.
If they wanted to get out, they first had to bring down Sun Ying’s barrier.
Yun Xuan, Ruan Xin Yu, and Zhou Luo quickly joined forces to open the barrier.
But just after they began, another wisp of wind passed by.
*Peng…*
Just like Zheng Wu before him, another Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator fell lifelessly to ground.
With their Knowledge Sea completely destroyed, there was no way this person could survive.
Yun Xuan and everyone else shivered and didn’t dare make any movements for fear that the hidden enemy would target them next. In this environment, none of them could find any sense of security.
After waiting for a long time, nothing happened.
Everyone gasped for breath, glanced at each other, and then began opening the barrier again.
*Xiu…*
A third person fell.
Ruan Xin Yu suddenly began crying, her tears falling down like raindrop, her shoulders trembling as she whimpered, “What is happening, just who is it that’s secretly picking us off?”
Yun Xuan took a deep breath and despite her fear, still tried to maintain her calm, calling out the void, “Which respected Master is here? Please show yourself. We are disciples of Bold Independent Union and have only come here to execute a mission assigned to us by our Sect. If we have somehow offended you, we deeply apologize and ask you to please be broadminded.”
“Hehehe….* A string of silver bell-like laughter that seemed to contain an endless sense of charm suddenly reached everyone’s ears. Anyone who heard this sound, regardless of who it was, couldn’t help feeling a heat well up inside their body.
“Since you dared try to catch my Monster Beasts, you’ll have to pay an appropriate price,” The voice seemed to drift from place to place so none of them could determine where it was actually coming from , sometimes it seemed to be right next to their ear yet in the next instant it was far away.
Yun Xuan’s face sank even more as she desperately tried to put on a forced smile, “We weren’t aware that these Monster Beasts already had a master, if we had known…”
“There’s no need to explain, now I just want to have a little fun killing you. All of you, do struggle hard and give me some fun. hehehe…” The voice was soft and silky, stirring up the deepest most base instincts of any man who heard them, causing them to want nothing more in life than to find the voice’s owner and wantonly ravage them.
Yang Kai quietly circulated his Joyous Unification Art and quickly dispelled the fire in his body with a small sneer forming on his face.
He discovered that this hidden enemy really was as he thought a twisted person who enjoyed toying with her food. This kind of enemy was very dangerous, but also very arrogant, as long as he held out; she would definitely show some flaws.
What Yang Kai was most worried about right now though was if she would target him.
Once she tried to use her Divine Sense to attack him, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to conceal his real combat power and would instantly become her primary target.
Hearing this mysterious woman’s voice, Yun Xuan was dumbfounded and hurriedly shouted a few more words, but she no longer got any response; instead, a fourth Bold Independent Union disciple was killed right in front of her eyes.
A huge sense of panic spread throughout the survivors and Yun Xuan and everyone else sped up their efforts to open the barrier.
One after another, the cultivators fell down, and as time passed the hidden enemy no longer seemed content to kill one person at a time, sometimes taking two or even three at once.
The number of Bold Independent Union disciples plummeted, and the members of Yun Xuan’s team fell one after another.
Seeing the companions she had been together with for so many years slowly die one by one, yet never once being able to lay eyes on their killer, Yun Xuan couldn’t stop her tears from flowing out as unbearable pain filled her heart.
Ji Hong finally couldn’t handle it anymore, hefting his great axe in both hands over his head and roaring in anger, “Damn slut, show yourself! Or what, are you so ashamed of your ugly face you don’t dare let others see you!?”
The moment he spoke these words though, Ji Hong’s body shivered violently before freezing in place. Although he remained standing in front of the remaining survivors, his giant axe still lifted high, appearing akin to a great fortress that could shelter them from wind and rain. However, in a matter of seconds, his vitality had disappeared and Ji Hong had died.
“Ji Hong!” Yun Xuan cried out in agony.
Yang Kai shook his head as his expression became bitter, annoyed in his heart.
This big bearded man was simple and honest. Although somewhat lewd, but he treated others fairly and Yang Kai had a fairly good impression of him…
Sweeping his eyes over the crowd, Yang Kai discovered that only three members of Bold Independent Union remained.
He didn’t know if it was the enemy’s intention or not but the remaining three people were the three team captains.
With the addition of Yang Kai, that made four.
Having remained safe and sound until now was a pleasant surprise to Yang Kai and made him feel slightly lucky, but now that only these four people remained, if their hidden enemy attacked again, her target would likely be him.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai shouted, “Miss, don’t you think it’s about time you come out? Even if I die, I’d at least like to see who it was that killed me.”
“Are you insane?” Zhou Luo roared as he glared at Yang Kai.
This hidden enemy’s methods were cruel and merciless; she killed people like killing flies. Now that the barrier was on the verge of opening and they could flee from here, the last thing Zhou Luo had expected was for Yang Kai to say something so stupid.
Wasn’t this just adding fuel to the fire?
If she were to really appear… Just thinking about it caused Zhou Luo to tremble.
A few meters away, the air suddenly began to distort and a blurry figure strangely appeared, gradually solidifying.
Upon seeing this figure though, all the anger on Zhou Luo’s face suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a of pure infatuation, as if he couldn’t wait to throw himself to the ground and worship this woman.
Not only Zhou Luo, but even Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a hot light, his heart suddenly giving birth to a strange desire.
This young woman was incredibly beautiful, a shapely face with long supple black hair, a tight waist and rounded hips along with thin red lips, she was slender and graceful beyond words, and she gave off a somewhat soft and weak image, causing one to unconsciously want to care for and protect her.
Especially charming was her pair of clear, innocent eyes that seemed to draw in the soul of any man who saw them, shackling his heart to her.
Her skin was a soft white and gave off a delicate feeling. Her thin waist seemed tender while her hips were the perfect shape. Her twin peaks were neither too big nor too small, just the perfect size to accentuate her figure. She wore a one piece leather outfit that exposed her lower abdomen and lovely navel. She wore no shoes, allowing one to see her exquisite feet that seemed to be cared from the finest jade.
Zhou Luo’s eyes burned with desire and hot steam leaked from his nose as he stared at this woman, his breathing quickly becoming ragged.
Yang Kai on the other hand wore a cold expression as he became even more vigilant.
He had seen many beautiful women before, but even the bewitching Shan Qing Luo couldn’t suddenly eliminate all the anger and hostility in his heart simply by appearing before him.
But this woman could, the instant she showed her face, Yang Kai suddenly discovered that all negative emotions he had in his heart had vanished and all that remained was a desire to protect her.
His first instinct was that if such a weak yet beautiful woman had no one protecting her, she would soon fall into danger.
“A Charm Monster!” Yun Xuan cried out in alarm, her face instantly going pale.
Ruan Xin Yu also seemed to understand the true identity of this woman and her tender body couldn’t help trembling, a strange feeling of inferiority and self-deprecation suddenly welling up in her heart.
Charm Monster!
When Yun Xuan called out this name, Yang Kai was startled and realized that this woman’s identity wasn’t ordinary.
“What is a Charm Monster?” Yang Kai lowered his voice and asked suspiciously.
Although he had whispered this question, he couldn’t conceal his actions from this seemingly delicate woman, the latter turning a beautiful and enchanting gaze lacking any kind of impurity towards Yang Kai and softly smiling, “You haven’t heard of us Charm Monsters?”
Yang Kai grinned slightly and nodded, “Nope, I came from a small remote place and don’t know much about the outside world.”
“Hehe…” The Charm Monster giggled, “Interesting, I never expected there were still some people who hadn’t heard of us, en, let me see…”
Saying so, she placed one of her jade fingers onto her red lips, showing a face filled with a contradictory mix of innocence and enticement, capable of seducing any man who saw it, “Young man, your courage isn’t small, since you want to know, before you die, I’ll satisfy your curiosity. That little sister over there seems to know a lot about us Charm Monsters, she can explain.”
“Young man?” Yang Kai was amazed, “Just how old are you, miss?”
“A woman’s age is her greatest secret,” The Charm Monster smiled happily, her expression filled with a perfect balance of seduction and embarrassment; cause Yang Kai’s pulse to race.
This woman’s lethality towards men was even stronger than Shan Qing Luo’s.
Zhou Luo had already lost all control of his rational mind and could only stare towards the Charm Monster with a look of pure admiration.
When the Charm Monster glanced at him and saw this, she simply snorted, a thick meaning of disdain apparent on her face.
“Yun Xuan, what is a Charm Monster?” Yang Kai turned and looked at Yun Xuan.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Yun Xuan brow twitched as she shouted out in annoyance. Now, in this life or death crisis, this brat still wanted to learn more about this Charm Monster, this kind of sexual obsession was really awe inspiring.
“Since we’re going to die anyways, I’d like to at least know what it was that killed me,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
Yun Xuan looked at the Charm Monster in front of them and smiled bitterly, “Fine, since we’re dead either way, I’ll explain. Charm Monsters… they belong to the Monster Race and are a very high-ranking existence, each of them is born beautiful and has their own unique markings, whether it be an icy temperament, a bewitching smile, or a pure innocence. In short, Charm Monsters are the ultimate nemesis of all men, whether they belong to the Monster Race, Demon Race, or Human Race, no male can resist the enchantment of a Charm Monster.”
“Charm Monster’s physiques are different from other members of the Monster Race. Their bodies are relatively weak and they are quite few in number, so their rate of survival is actually quite low, but once they fully mature, they become terrifying enemies because their true strength lies not in their bodies but in their Souls! Compared to other cultivators in the same realm, a Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy is significantly stronger; Uncle Sun and all the others should have been killed by her Divine Sense attacks!”
As she explained, Yun Xuan glared towards the willowy girl in front of them and clenched her fists, a look of hatred blazing in the depths of her eyes.
The Charm Monster smiled and made no attempt to stop Yun Xuan from revealing her secrets, a gloating expression that was already declaring victory never leaving her face.
But hearing Yun Xuan’s explanation, Yang Kai’s heart jumped as he suddenly saw a chance to turn things around.
This Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy was definitely stronger than his own, so if he couldn’t somehow lure her into his Knowledge Sea, he could only count on his superior physical strength.
Yun Xuan just said that Charm Monster’s bodies were very delicate, and just from looking at the one in front of him, Yang Kai could tell it was true.
Concealing these thoughts as best he could, Yang Kai continued to listen to Yun Xuan’s introduction.
“I heard that Charm Monsters like to drink the blood essence of people,” Yun Xuan said, a blush suddenly appearing on her face.
Even Ruan Xin Yu’s expression became a little unnatural, a hint of pink appearing on her neck while crimson filled her cheeks, pupils flitting about randomly.
“Interesting taste,” Yang Kai smiled but suddenly became confused, “So why did she just kill everyone from Bold Independent Union?”
If she wanted to drink their blood essence, it would naturally be better for her to capture them one by one, so Yang Kai didn’t understand why she had instead slaughtered almost all of them.
“I don’t want just any blood essence,” The Charm Monster smiled and said with great meaning.
Yun Xuan’s face became redder and exuded a mature charm mixed with shyness that made her seem incredibly attractive.
“What she wants to drink is… the blood essence of men and women who are emotionally intoxicated…” Yun Xuan voice became as quiet as a mosquito.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded and hesitated to ask, “What do you mean?”
Yun Xuan stamped her foot and bitterly cried out, “Can’t you already understand what I mean?”
Saying so, she glared at him hatefully.
“No way…” Yang Kai’s face twitched as he turned to stare at the Charm Monster, “You’re tastes area really is too interesting.”
However, the Charm Monster simply giggled and ignored the bitterness in his voice.
Yang Kai’s expression became pensive for a moment before playfully grinning, “So what you mean to say is that before we die you need all of us to reach a point of ecstasy?”
“En,” The Charm Monster gently nodded, staring at Yang Kai with great interest, “What’s wrong, aren’t you afraid?”
“Of course I’m afraid!” Yang Kai readily admitted, but quickly continued, “But we humans have a saying, ‘Dying in the arms of a woman will let any man die without regret!’”
No wonder she had left the four of the them alive, specifically choosing two men and women, it turns out she had this idea all along, at this moment, Yang Kai finally understood.
He wasn’t a little kid, so although Yun Xuan hadn’t been explicit, he knew what this Charm Monster wanted.
The Charm Monster on the other hand was amazed, not having expected this little brat to have such an open-mind, lightly nodding her head in appreciation, “Good. Seeing how obedient you are I’ll reward you with a choice.”
“What kind of choice?” Yang Kai stared at the Charm Monster and smiled.
“Of these two women, you can choose which one you want to spend your last moments with!”
As soon as the Charm Monster said these words, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu’s faces paled, both of them unconsciously turning vigilant eyes towards Yang Kai. Ruan Xin Yu even clutching her robes tightly while Yun Xuan’s tender body trembled in fear.
Although she had just explained the special interests of this Charm Monster to Yang Kai, when the time came for the act to be carried out she still couldn’t bring herself to accept it.
“Can I choose both of them?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
“Hehe…” The Charm Monster let out a lovably giggle, she had never encountered such an interesting man before. At the point of death, he was still thinking about grabbing as many beauties as possible, “Your appetite isn’t small young man, but you can only eat one. Now choose, the other one will be given to that guy.”
Saying so, she pointed her finger towards the glossy eyed Zhou Luo.
Yang Kai put on a disappointed expression as he turned his eyes towards Ruan Xin Yu, a smug look appearing on his face.
Being stared at by him like this, Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help feeling like she had been stripped naked, unable to hide anything in front of Yang Kai’s eyes, immediately shouting at him angrily, “If you dare choose me I’ll kill you.”
“I’m going to die anyways, what do I care?” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and snorted, “But don’t worry, I’m not familiar with you nor am I interested in you, I prefer women who are more mature.”
Saying so, he turned his eyes decisively towards Yun Xuan.
Yun Xuan beautiful face changed paled, hurriedly cursing, “You bastard! At this time you dare have such despicable intentions; you still owe me a favour yet this is how you choose to repay me?”
“There’s no other way,” Yang Kai shook his head helplessly, “People must bow beneath the eaves. Even if I try to fight back or rebel, would that change anything?”
“A wise choice,” Charm Monster gently nodded, “Your Human Race has always been despicable like this. When your lives are threatened, all the wicked and evil thoughts you keep buried inside burst out, I’ve seen this too many times already.”
“You say that as if your Monster Race is above such worldly affairs,” Yang Kai sneered.
“We’re at least better than you degenerates,” The Charm Monster smiled slyly.
As the two bantered back and forth, Yun Xuan’s well rounded the chest heaved up and down as a look of struggle appeared on her face only to suddenly become calm and determined as she coldly shouted, “Even if I die, I won’t let you cheap animals feel any better.”
Saying so, she rapidly pushed her True Qi and her aura becoming dangerous, apparently intending on blowing herself up.
Yang Kai’s complexion changed but before he had an opportunity to move, the Charm Monster had already shot her unique Spiritual Energy into Yun Xuna’s Knowledge Sea.
In an instant, the cold and ruthless look on Yun Xuan’s face disappeared and was replaced by a fascinated expression that was staring straight at Yang Kai, an intoxicated light flashing across her blurry eyes that was mixed with traces of fear and resistance.
“In front of me, none of you should even think about committing suicide!” The Charm Monster coldly snorted, in the next instant looking at Yang Kai tenderly, “Good, she’s already been poisoned with my Spiritual Energy toxin, no female can resist it. Being able to enjoy such a good woman, young man, you’ve really won big. Don’t let me wait too long, start moving already.”
Yang Kai smiled lowly as he wore a lewd expression, “Can young miss help me with a little something first?”
The Charm Monster was obviously getting impatient and coldly asked, “What do you want?”
“Having a pair of spectators makes me a bit nervous, can you make them faint?” Yang Kai pointed his fingers towards Zhou Luo, who had basically been ignored by everyone up to this point, and Ruan Xin Yu, who was now completely frozen with fear.
The Charm Monster wrinkled her brow cutely and hesitated for a moment before agreeing, “Fine.”
Saying so, with a wave of her hand, a barrier that separated Yang Kai from Yun Xuan from everything else around them appeared, leaving behind only the two of them and the Charm Monster herself.
“There, now you don’t have to worry about being seen.”
“Good, and can you…”
“Enough!” The Charm Monster snapped, another pulse of Spiritual Energy shooting out from between her brows and submerging into Yang Kai’s mind.
In the next moment, Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea tumbled and a strange foreign energy began stimulated his Soul, causing his blood to boil and his heart to race, hot air leaked from his nose as his breathing became rough, his thoughts becoming blurred as his primal instincts became stimulated.
“Get started, let me see what kind of skills you possess!” The Charm Monster laughed happily, her big beautiful eyes staring at the play before her, her long scarlet tongue licking her delicate lips as she whispered to herself, “The blood essence of a man and woman at the point of climax is too delicious.”
Her base and low smile was filled with a cruel madness, her previous soft and gentle temperament instantly disappearing.
Yun Xuan’s breathing had also become heavy by now and her face was flushed bright red, an intense heat flowing through her lower abdomen as her slender legs clamped awkwardly, her balance crumbling causing her to fall to the ground.
Yang Kai also felt an unstoppable fire rampage through his body, the mature, seductive aura Yun Xuan currently emanated becoming an irresistible temptation to him, causing all his self control to crumble as he pounced upon her, locked his lips with hers, and began wantonly pressing himself onto her tender body.
As this erotic scene began heating up, even the Charm Monster’s breathing became slightly ragged as she spectated the battle taking place in front of her.
On the ground, Yang Kai and Yun Xuan tumbled and rolled, tangling together with one another, their clothes quickly becoming disordered.
Both of them had been poisoned by the Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy toxin. This Spiritual Energy toxin was incredibly potent and was so strong that even Yang Kai couldn’t totally resist it, let alone Yun Xuan.
As the two entangled, Yun Xuan’s consciousness gradually became clearer, the heat and desire within her body slowly being sated, the manly aura Yang Kai gave off tasting like the sweetest water her parched body desperately desired. Consciously or unconsciously she sought him out while her rational mind still struggled to resist, but when she wanted to make an effort to push him away, she found that her body refused to listen to her and her eyes couldn’t help glancing towards the Charm Monster who was excitedly staring at this amorous scene, causing Yun Xuan to cry tears filled with unwillingness.
Yun Xuan had never dreamed that such an absurd and ridiculous scenario, where she would be deprived of her purity by an unfamiliar young man, would ever occur.
Although she styled herself quite boldly and always had an aggressive and open attitude, she had never actually been with a man before.
The resistance in her heart grew stronger and stronger as every shred of sense she had left told Yun Xuan to fight back, that even if she were to die she mustn’t be defiled and used so.
Seeing her now scattered clothes and feeling the cold forest air against her bare skin, Yun Xuan stretched out her hand and tried to exert the last of her strength to slap Yang Kai away, but her arm lost power half way through and instead wound itself around his neck, holding him tightly and drawing him further into her embrace.
Her long slender legs also refused to listen to the pleas from her rational mind and slowly wrapped themselves around Yang Kai’s study waist.
Her rich, tender body closely pressing itself against Yang Kai’s caused a surge of joy that seemed to come straight from her soul to erupt inside her, causing Yun Xuan to cry out in a voice she never knew she could make.
Realizing what she had just done, Yun Xuan’s became even more embarrassed.
“Yang Kai…” Yun Xuan involuntarily sweetly whispered in a soft and intoxicated voice, causing her to want to find a hole to crawl into and hide.
Between her legs, a warm nectar began leaking out and staining the grass beneath her as a deep sense of emptiness that desperately sought to be filled overwhelmed her…
In the next instant, a hot, solid piece of iron suddenly intruded into her most intimate place and Yun Xuan couldn’t help but scream. Her tender body shivered and her jade white skin was dyed a faint red hue as she quickly realized just what had happened.
Now fully aware that trying to resist the Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy toxin was nothing but a dream, a tear rolled down Yun Xuan’s face as she slowly closed her eyes and gave up the last strand of resistance in her heart, fully surrendering her body to this new and unknown sensation.
A tearing pain came from the lower body causing Yun Xuan’s eyes to shoot open and a grunt to leak from her lips, tightly clutching onto Yang Kai’s back in the next instant with her hands, her nails leaving deep traces on his strong muscles.
Her flower had finally been completely plucked.
The initial sharp pain in her nether region quickly disappeared and was instead replaced with an endless surge and retreat of pleasure, the fierce, beast-like male above her not showing the slightest tender affection as he rampantly tried to occupy every inch of her body. Yun Xuan felt her consciousness fly away into the sky and her body and soul experienced a freedom and intoxication she had never imagined possible.
Biting down hard on her luscious lips, Yun Xuan now constantly leaked moans of pleasure and pain from her mouth as she gave all of herself over to the man in front of her.
Teardrops unconsciously leaked from the corners of her eyes and streamed helplessly down her cheeks onto the ground below.
Weakly opening her eyes, Yun Xuan stared up towards the slightly young face above her that was currently pressing down upon her and suddenly thought something was wrong.
This youth, whose eyes were bloodshot, had veins pulsing from his neck and forehead and who seemed no better than a wild animal that wanted nothing more than to devour the prey in front of him gave her a strange feeling. Although he seemed completely intoxicated and immersed in the deed, Yun Xuan still somehow noticed that in the deepest depths of his eyes there was still a cold, rational calm.
But before she had a chance to ponder over this uncoordinated feeling, a new wave of pleasure overwhelmed her body and she was once again submerged in the throes of passions.
“Good good, so delicious!” The Charm Monster’s face blushed as she slowly became intoxicated by the atmosphere. Gently stepping forward, it only took her a few breaths to arrive at Yang Kai and Yun Xuan’s side. Standing there, she stretched out a smooth, jade white hand and caressed Yang Kai’s strong back as if she was encouraging him, whispering into his ear, “Harder, just a little more!”
With this devilish voice floating into his brain, Yang Kai really began moving more aggressively, causing the Charm Monster to smile wickedly.
Time passed rapidly as the pair vented their desires and gradually climbed to a peak. Meanwhile, the Charm Monster’s demeanor became more focused, seemingly waiting for some critical moment.
As Yang Kai and Yun Xuan both reached a climactic apex, the Charm Monster suddenly made her move.
Her seemingly soft and boneless hand plunged into Yang Kai’s back like a hot knife through butter, piercing a hole straight through him and then continuing down into Yun Xuan and tearing open her lower abdomen.
Yun Xuan screamed miserably, tears streaming down her eyes as a flash of extrication washed over her.
The blood essence that mixed together and flowed from gave off a particular aroma that was absolutely intoxicating to the Charm Monster.
“It’s this… this taste… this flavour…” The Charm Monster’s tender body kept shivering as if she was experiencing a sense of euphoria, her legs tightly clenching up as some faint clear liquid dripped down her thighs. Closing her eyes she completely immersed herself in this feeling of bliss.
The bloodshot redness in Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly disappeared at that moment and was replaced with a eerie calmness.
Pushing himself off of Yun Xuan’s limp body like a spring, both his hands swiftly gripped the Charm Monster’s delicate arm that was still piercing his body and ripped with all his strength.
*Kacha…*…
The indescribably soft jade white arm was snapped in two, exposing flesh and bone to the as green blood sprayed from the Charm Monster’s freshly broken limb.
A different kind of scream pierced the air as the Charm Monster’s beautiful eyes shot open and her enchanting face twisted in agony, seemingly falling from Heaven to Hell in an instant, incredulously staring at Yang Kai in front of her as she staggered backwards, pulling her arm out from his back as she did.
Before the Charm Demon had time to stabilize herself though, a flash appeared before her eyes and the youth who she was just watching partake of a young woman’s innocence appeared in front of her, stretched out his hand, and mercilessly grasped her throat.
“Finally, you’ve let your guard down!” Yang Kai’s expression was cold, his eyes were cold, his entire aura was ice cold, so much so that the Charm Monster felt like as if her blood had frozen over.
Staring at the youth in front of her in horror, the Charm Monster found that his body had indeed been run through by her and that his blood was flowing out even now, but his movements were extremely steady and he wasn’t the least bit flustered. In his eyes, the Charm Monster saw a thick ridicule and contempt and suddenly realized that from the beginning this boy had never fallen under her control.
“Impossible!” The Charm Monster roared hysterically like a crazed woman, “There’s no way you could have resisted my Spiritual Energy Toxin!”
“Why is it impossible?” Yang Kai sneered, increasing the strength in his hands as he slammed the Charm Monster onto the ground.
*Peng…*
A sharp pain ran through the Charm Monster’s delicate body making it difficult for her to breathe.
However, even though her body was currently at Yang Kai’s mercy, the Charm Monster didn’t show any fear, only endless hatred.
A huge burst of Spiritual Energy shot out from her forehead and instantly tore through Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea’s defence, flooding it with violent toxin.
She wanted erase Yang Kai’s Soul with this blow in order to sooth the anger she felt from having her arm destroyed.
Receiving this blow, Yang Kai’s forehead wrinkled and his body trembled a few times, but he soon returned to normal.
“Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Feeling the feedback from when her Spiritual Energy pulse entered Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, the Charm Monster finally showed a look of fear. Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, there was a blazing heat that was so intense it burnt through her Spiritual Energy toxin almost instantaneously.
“So it’s called a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. Many thanks for your kind guidance!” Yang Kai nodded slightly.
Ever since he absorbed the Jade True Spirit back in the Central Capital, Yang Kai discovered that his Spiritual Energy had taken on a flame type attribute, similar to his True Yang Yuan Qi.
Moreover, his Knowledge Sea had changed. Some patches of the sea now had flames burning.
This change was completely unexpected and caught Yang Kai by surprise; there was no one around he could consult about it either, so until now he didn’t even know what this change was.
Listening to the Charm Monster’s panicked voice, Yang Kai suddenly felt that this mutation was probably a good thing for him.
The Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy contained a potent toxin, but his own Spiritual Energy was now comprised of burning flames which were far stronger than before.
“Don’t kill me, I can work as your slave!” The Charm Monster shouted.
Her physical body wasn’t as strong as Yang Kai’s, and her powerful Divine Sense and Spiritual Energy toxin had no way of harming Yang Kai, so she quickly understood there was no way for her to kill him in this situation, and if she didn’t beg for mercy, she would die.
“Recognize me?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Yes, we Monster Race members can offer our loyalty to members of the Human Race. As long as you nod, I can offer you my Soul brand and become your servant,” The Charm Monster quickly explained.
“No need, I’m not interested in having such a dangerous servant!” Yang Kai said ruthlessly, concentrating all of his True Qi into his fists and to the horror of the Charm Monster, viciously punching her beautiful face.
Perceived this life-threatening crisis, the Charm Monster screamed and unleashed all of her Spiritual Energy, shooting it into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea in a desperate last-ditch attempt to kill him.
However, Yang Kai remained un-phased!
*Hong…*
As if he had punched a watermelon, the Charm Monster’s head suddenly exploded, yet Yang Kai still felt uneasy and continued to relentlessly strike her until all the vitality had disappeared from her body.
Her physical strength was really too weak, otherwise, there would have been no way Yang Kai could so easily kill her with her Transcendent Realm cultivation.
A suction force emerged from Yang Kai’s head at this time and a massive Spiritual Energy remnant from the Charm Monster’s collapsed Knowledge Sea was pulled into his own.
Although the Charm Monster’s last offer had tempted Yang Kai, he knew that with his current strength there was no way he could completely enslave such a master, especially one that specialized in Soul cultivation.
The Charm Monster wasn’t the same as the severely weakened Old Demon, she was too dangerous to keep around, so Yang Kai decisively decided to end all troubles.
Coughing a few times, fresh blood flowed out of Yang Kai’s mouth.
Wiping away this blood, Yang Kai quickly took out some Myriad Drug Milk from the Black Book space.
His body had been pierced through and was quite heavily injured; fortunately, Yang Kai had managed to shift himself so his vital organs hadn’t been destroyed, or this blow would have been fatal.
With the help of the Myriad Drug Milk though, his injury should be completely restored within a few days.
Turning his attention to Yun Xuan, Yang Kai’s expression became a bit complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he walked over to her side where she was lying in a pool of blood.
Lying in the pool of blood, Yun Xuan’s eyes were wide open, staring up at the sky blankly. Her beautiful body was still fully exposed to the air and the gaping wound on her flat belly continued to bleed profusely, dying her pure white skin a dark shade of red, giving her a tragically enchanting look.
She was still breathing, and there wasn’t any immediate danger to her life, but Yang Kai was keenly aware that she had no wish to go on.
It seemed like everything she had just experienced had made her no longer wish to live.
Barely supporting his own weak body, Yang Kai slowly walked towards her, picked up his clothes and wore his pants before tearing his shirt in half.
Hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai still took out some more Myriad Drug Liquid and smeared it on Yun Xuan’s wound.
The touch of his fingers made Yun Xuan’s tender body tremble and she finally regained some of her composure. After glancing around slowly and taking in her current situation, a complicated light flashed across her beautiful eyes.
“I know what you want to say, but it’s best if you don’t speak right now, once I’m doing treating your wound, whether you want to curse or beat me I won’t fight back. After all, what’s done is done, but you can rest assured that I won’t pester or entangle you after this. It would be best if we both considered this to be a bad dream and when everything is settled, part ways!” Yang Kai’s said meticulously, seemingly thinking aloud.
Using half of his shirt to clean up the wound on Yun Xuan’s lower abdomen, Yang Kai then used the other half to bandage her up.
Yun Xuan wanted to resist, but she currently had no strength left in her.
Having just reached a peak she had never before experienced, her body was currently extremely sensitive, so when Yang Kai’s hand gently touched her, she felt a wave of pleasure and comfort radiate from her core.
This feeling made her feel incredibly shameful so she simply closed her eyes and wept.
After gently arranging Yun Xuna’s clothes, Yang Kai gasped for breath and collapsed to the ground.
Since he began cultivating, he had never suffered such a serious injury, and if at the critical moment he had not shifted his vital points, the Charm Monster’s last strike would probably have taken his life.
This time his plan had been extremely risky. After Yang Kai had listened to Yun Xuan’s description of the Charm Monster’s traits, he had quickly come up with the idea of tempting her to approach him and then launch a decisive attack when she lowered her guard.
He hadn’t expected that the Charm Monster would act so cautiously though, causing him to have to put on a much bigger show than he had planned to.
The place where he and Yun Xuan lay on the ground was still isolated from the outside world by the Charm Monster’s barrier.
After the Charm Monster’s death, the barrier around them had become significantly weaker, but Yang Kai strangely found that neither Ruan Xin Yu nor Zhuo Luo had made the slightest movement yet.
Pushing his True Qi slightly, Yang Kai broke open the barrier around them and upon seeing the state of Ruan Xin Yu and Zhuo Luo, he was suddenly relieved.
The Charm Monster was probably afraid that when she was absorbing Yang Kai and Yun Xuna’s blood essence, her other prey would take the chance to escape, so she had used some method to make the latter two faint.
“Rest for a while, they’ll wake up soon,” Yang Kai sighed.
Yun Xuan still lay there quietly sobbing, her tears streaming down her face, not paying any attention to Yang Kai.
Knowing she was not in a stable state right now, Yang Kai no longer spoke.
Yang Kai silently sat on the ground and circulated his True Qi to refine the Myriad Drug Milk’s medicinal efficacies.
This was the first time he had used the Myriad Drug Milk to heal his injuries and although he knew it was comparable to a Spirit Grade healing pill, Yang Kai quickly discovered that he had far underestimated its potency.
The throbbing pain in his lower abdomen quickly disappeared and was replaced with a slightly cool sensation and he could even physically feel his muscle and flesh re-grow and seal itself.
Taking advantage of this quiet interlude, Yang Kai pulled his Divine Sense into his Knowledge Sea and absorbed the Spiritual Energy remnant left behind by the Charm Monster.
Time passed slowly.
Half a day later, Ruan Xin Yu and Zhuo Luo revived from their forced sleep.
Seeming unable to figure out just what had happened and what their situation was after regaining consciousness, the two of them stared at each other in confusion.
A moment later, the pair finally remembered what happened before they were put to sleep.
Ruan Xin Yu’s expression immediately underwent a great change as she glanced down at herself and only after she discovered that her clothes were still intact, did she let out a sigh of relief.
Zhuo Luo looked around and upon catching sight of something his eyes shot open.
He found that not far away, the Charm Monster that had so easily killed over a dozen Bold Independent Union disciples and a Transcendent Realm master had died a horrible death, her once beautiful body beaten almost beyond recognition and her head completely broken open.
Yun Xuan sat a short distance away as well, her arms wrapped around her knees, a look of helplessness spread across her face, and although she was no longer crying, her eyes were thoroughly red and inflamed.
She was currently staring straight at Yang Kai who was meditating a few steps away from her.
“Yun Xuan, are you okay?” Zhuo Luo hurried to over and asked.
However, Yun Xuan didn’t even respond to his presence.
“What happened? How did the Charm Monster die? Did some passing master take action to save us?” Zhuo Luo continually asked several questions. This time he was certain he all of them would die, yet now he discovered he had survived, naturally Zhuo Luo was a little excited.
“Stop talking for a moment,” Ruan Xin Yu cut him off as her eyes narrowed, she had quickly noticed that Yun Xuan’s current state was somewhat off and quickly came forward, kneeling in front of Yun Xuan, biting her thin lip as she hesitated for a moment before softly asking, “Yun Xuan, can you tell me what happened?”
But Yun Xuan still said nothing and only kept staring at Yang Kai.
Yun Xuan’s dazed look suddenly made Zhuo Luo’s expression sink as he turned a cold glare towards Yang Kai.
“Ah, were you injured?” Ruan Xin Yu finally noticed the wound on Yun Xuan’s lower abdomen. Although it had mostly been healed by the Myriad Drug Liquid and was currently bandaged, the dried blood was still quite obvious.
“Injured? Let me take a look!” Zhuo Luo was shocked and quickly came over to inspect the wound.
Hearing these shameless words, Ruan Xin Yu shot a cold glare towards Zhuo Luo and snorted, signalling him in a not so subtle way to stand back.
Stretching out her hand and taking Yun Xuan’s pulse, Ruan Xin Yu whispered, “No obvious problems besides some slight weakness, but she should be able to recover with a few days of rest. Hm? What’s this strange scent?”
Ruan Xin Yu’s brow suddenly wrinkled. She smelled an unusual scent on Yun Xuan, it was a bit sour and quite unlike the iron smell of blood.
Listening to her say this, Zhuo Luo suddenly sniffed the air, and upon smelling a familiar odor, his expression became gloomy.
Glancing at Yun Xuan’s current state, then at Yang Kai’s bare upper body as well as the unrecognizable Charm Monster’s corpse. Zhuo Luo suddenly understood what had happened while he had been unconscious.
He was a veteran in this field and had already been with countless women, so while Ruan Xin Yu, who still had no experience in these matters, didn’t know what this scent was, he did.
His face suddenly twisting in anger, Zhou Luo’s True Qi began welling up uncontrollably.
“What are you doing?” Ruan Xin Yu said in a disgruntled tone as she stared at Zhou Luo, unable to understand why he had suddenly become angry.
Zhou Luo just stared gloomily at Yun Xuan and quickly said, “Yun Xuan, have you already been… tarnished by that little brat?”
Hearing this, the dazed Yun Xuan finally reacted, her tender body trembling slightly.
Noticing this sudden change, Ruan Xin Yu immediately covered her mouth and suddenly remembered what had happened before she was knocked unconscious. Yun Xuan and that boy named Yang Kai had already fallen under the Charm Monster’s control, and knowing the Charm Monster’s habits, she would definitely have caused something to happen between them.
The joy of surviving this disaster had temporarily made her neglect this point.
“Yun Xuan, is that true?” Ruan Xin Yu beautiful face paled as she whispered hesitantly; although she and Yun Xuan had some issues between them, in truth, she still respected Yun Xuan because of the latter’s identity was somewhat different from hers.
Yun Xuan’s tears began falling again as she buried her head in her knees and sobbed softly.
“Sure enough…” Zhou Luo almost went insane. He had been pursuing Yun Xuan for a long time now yet had never once earned her favour, yet now in this deserted wilderness, her beautiful body had been defiled by some unknown little bastard.
A huge sense of shame exploded inside Zhou Luo’s heart and his aura quickly became dangerous.
Coldly staring at Yang Kai who was meditating nearby, Zhou Luo smiled fiercely and began walking towards him.
“Zhou Luo, what do you want to do!?” Ruan Xin Yu exclaimed.
Zhou Luo sneered, “What do I want to do? Haha, what else can I do? This little brat stole Yun Xuan’s innocence, what do you think I should do? I want him to pay for that sin with his life!”
As he spoke, his pace suddenly quickened as he menacingly shot towards Yang Kai.
“Stop!” Ruan Xin Yu left Yun Xuan’s side, rushed over and grabbed Zhou Luo, “Don’t do this.”
“You still want to protect him?” Zhou Luo looked at Ruan Xin Yu sarcastically, “What does this little brat have to do with you? What reason do you have to protect him?”
“We haven’t figured out what happened yet, you just killing him like this doesn’t seem right, does it?”
“What else is there to figure out, Yun Xuan already admitted it!” Zhou Luo roared.
“And what does that have to do with you?” Ruan Xin Yu asked coldly, staring at Zhou Luo with disdain, “What exactly do you think you are to Yun Xuan?”
“Move!” Zhou Luo shouted furiously, unleashing his strength and shoving Ruan Xin Yu aside, “I truly am not anything to Yun Xuan yet, but I definitely won’t allow any other man than me to touch her! This little brat must die, otherwise I won’t be able to dispel the anger in my heart!”
Saying so, Zhou Luo threw out a punch filled with murderous intent straight towards the unsuspecting Yang Kai’s face.
“No!” Yun Xuan’s panic-stricken cry rang out from behind them.
Upon hearing this voice, Zhou Luo’s rage only increased and his determination to kill Yang Kai became even stronger.
He would send this brat to hell with a single strike.
Ruan Xin Yu, who was knocked off balance and had fallen to the ground, turned her head away, unable to bear what would happen next.
Zhou Luo was an Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage and had launched a sneak attack against an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage kid, how this would end was not difficult to imagine, not to mention the fact that his target seemed to be injured.
Just as this heavy punch was about to slam into Yang Kai’s face, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and one of his hands clawed forward, grabbing hold of Zhou Luo’s incoming strike.
Zhou Luo’s violent momentum, like a gale that had just encountered a mountain, was instantly blocked.
Yang Kai didn’t move, only staring coldly at Zhou Luo in front of him as he grinned coldly, “Friend, what are your intentions?”
Zhou Luo was clearly stunned. The punch he had put all his strength behind being easily caught by a kid much younger and two Minor Realms below than him was a scenario he found difficult to believe.
His expression changing greatly, Zhou Luo suddenly discovered that he somewhat couldn’t understand this boy.
Since there are 8, Monday will be a double release.
If there are 9, Monday and Tuesday will be a double release.
Not sure if this is confusing or not. Some people keep asking about this in the comment section so I thought it would be good to explain this.
Also,
It is not a joke (I hope). The manga will continue on the first week of April.
Stunned for only a moment, Zhou Luo quickly came to his senses and roared, “I want you to die!”
Yang Kai sneered, “You want me to die? I’m afraid you don’t have the skill.”
“Empty boasts!” Zhou Luo leapt back two steps and summoned a trident-shaped artifact into his hands. When this artifact appeared, it gave off a cold murderous intent.
As he poured his True Qi into it, the trident hummed as a brilliant radiance emerged from its head. Instantly concentrating all of his strength, Zhou Luo threw the trident out.
The trident soared forward like a mighty tiger, its jaws opened wide to rip Yang Kai apart.
Zhou Luo obviously didn’t want to waste any more time with Yang Kai, he wanted to kill him as quickly as possible to relieve his hate!
Yang Kai snorted, his expression becoming cold and solemn, Zhou Luo directing such thick killing intent towards him for some contrived grievance had angered him greatly.
Yang Kai’s figure flickered and easily avoided the attack of the trident.
His entire strength erupting, Yang Kai’s momentum and aura instantly underwent an earth-shaking change, causing Zhou Luo to unconsciously tremble in fear.
With Yang Kai as its centre, an invisible pressure wave burst forth, sending a strong gust of wind rolling in every direction.
Yun Xuan stopped crying and stared at Yang Kai in amazement, completely shocked by this sudden transformation, even briefly forgetting everything she had just endured.
Even Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help gaping as she stared dumbfounded at this scene.
*Hong hong hong…*
Yang Kai stepped out rapidly, leaving a series of afterimages in his wake and rushed to Zhou Luo’s side in the blink of an eye. Under the latter’s stunned gaze, a violent burst of True Qi slammed into his chest.
With a pitiful scream, Zhou Luo was sent flying like a paper basket, a trail of blood spurting from his mouth, making for a miserable sight.
Yang Kai stared coldly but did not immediately pursue.
*Peng…*
Zhou Luo’s body fell heavily to the ground but he quickly climbed up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a cruel light flashing across his eyes, “Playing the pig to eat a tiger? You really are a despicable bastard!”
It was only at this moment that he clearly realised that Yang Kai’s true strength was far beyond what an ordinary Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator should possess.
Being able to heavily wound an Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage with a single blow was not something an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage kid should be capable of.
“Xin Yu, help me kill him.” After experiencing Yang Kai’s strength, Zhou Luo not only did not give up but wanted to pull Ruan Xin Yu in to help him as well.
Right now, he is not this kid’s opponent, but with Ruan Xin Yu’s help, it should be possible to beat him, right?
Even if Yang Kai was a rare freak, he was still just an Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator.
Zhou Luo was absolutely determined to take Yang Kai’s life today.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a cold light; he did not kill Zhou Luo with his last blow because he still had scruples about offending Bold Independent Union. Yang Kai wasn’t willing to stir up more trouble than necessary, but he hadn’t expected that him showing mercy had caused his enemy to underestimate him.
Turning his gaze towards Ruan Xin Yu, Yang Kai saw that the latter has not recovered from her initial shock and still had a stunned expression on her face.
If this woman really agreed to Zhou Luo’s proposal, Yang Kai didn’t mind slaughtering both of them.
“Xin Yu!” Zhou Luo shouted again.
Ruan Xin Yu finally reacted, frowning deeply as she shot back, “Are you stupid? Why should I kill him for no reason?”
Zhou Luo face went from red to blue as he glared hatefully at Ruan Xin Yu, “Even you want to speak up for him? What? Did you also fuck him while I was knocked out?”
Zhou Luo’s rampant words immediately enraged Ruan Xin Yu as she angrily shouted, “Nonsense! Come to your senses Zhou Luo, stop making a scene.”
“Haha, making a scene?” Zhou Luo smiled wickedly, as if his previous insult was actually the truth.
At this moment, Yun Xuan stood up slowly and cast a faint glance towards Yang Kai, taking a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, “Zuo Luo, stop, if you dare attack him again, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Zhou Luo froze up, a stunned look appearing on his face as he stared towards Yun Xuan incredulously. A moment later shaking his head, he muttered, “Really nothing but a cheap slut. As soon as your body was tainted by him, you also surrendered your heart?”
Yun Xuan became angry out of shame and coldly declared, “What happened just now is my business, I don’t need to discuss anything with you, I can handle my own matters myself.”
“Handle your own matters? Haha!” Zhou Luo laughed like a madman.
He had gone completely crazy.
His gaze gradually becoming hostile as he hatefully glared at Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu, Zhou Luo’s expression filled with distress and disdain and, as he reached out and summoned his trident back to his hand, he sneered, “Since you insist on acting so, then don’t blame me for not showing due respect! But first, I’m going to butcher this brat!”
Seeing him like this, Yun Xuan slowly shook her head, “You don’t have such ability.”
“Even you say that!” Zhou Luo roared. Yang Kai had just despised him so, and now Yun Xuan was saying almost exactly the same thing. Zhou Luo had never felt more humiliated in his life, grinding his teeth in rage as he shouted, “If that’s what you think, then open your eyes and see if this Zhou Luo has the ability!”
Saying so, a violent True Qi erupted and several plate-sized light balls suddenly emerged from his body.
“Not good!” Ruan Xin Yu’s beautiful face paled, “Zhao Luo’s lost it.”
This move was Zhou Luo’s most powerful Martial Skill and he would almost never use it, but at this moment, he had actually brought it out to face Yang Kai. Obviously, he had lost his ability to judge the situation and was acting purely based on his hatred and anger.
As she shouted, Ruan Xin Yu quickly retreated, lest she be affected as well, not forgetting to drag Yun Xuan away with her as she fell back.
Yang Kai remained silent and stood watching until the energy balls around Zhou Luo’s body completely formed, a dignified expression filling his faces.
He could tell that these energy balls contained a terrifying amount of power.
But he was not afraid!
The light balls suddenly flew out while Zhou Luo simultaneously threw his trident, the two attacks complementing each other to increase the lethality of this attack several times compared to the one Yang Kai had just dodged.
This attack contained the full strength of an Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage cultivator.
“Be careful!” Yun Xuan exclaimed, her face blushing red after she spoke. She didn’t know why she had just tried to warn Yang Kai. She felt that the relationship between the two of them, because of the experience they just shared, had become somewhat strange.
There was no doubt that she hated this boy who had taken away her purity amidst the previous chaos, especially because he was at least seven or eight years younger than her!
But she also couldn’t bring herself to watch him die!
Originally, Yun Xuan thought that if anyone was going to kill him it would be her, that way she could wipe away her shame and then commit suicide to end everything once and for all.
A mess of difficult and unpleasant emotions swirled about in her heart that somehow led to her being unable to bear seeing Yang Kai in danger and warn him.
Seeing Ruan Xin Yu glance at her oddly in the next instant, Yun Xuan couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into and never come out again.
“You…he…” Ruan Xin Yu’s womanly instincts ignited.
“Don’t ask me,” Yun Xuan was red from the top of her head all the way down her neck, her heart tossing and turning chaotically.
“En…” Ruan Xin Yu immediately chose to remain silent.
*Hong hong hong…*
Not far away, Zhou Luo’s attack had already hit its mark, and the energy it contained exploded, engulfing Yang Kai, leaving the latter path of escape.
The two women couldn’t help covering their mouths, trembling slightly at the sight.
*Pa pa pa…*
A rapid set of bangs rang out and the blast of energy was quickly dispersed in a series of explosions, quickly revealing Yang Kai’s figure.
He was completely unharmed, only the wound on his abdomen had opened again due to his rapid movements, causing his face to go slightly pale.
Zhou Luo couldn’t help taking a few steps back as he stared at Yang Kai in horror, muttering over and over again, “Impossible!”
No one in the Immortal Ascension Boundary could withstand his killing strike, much less do so and emerge completely unscathed, yet this brat in front of him had done just that.
“Nothing is impossible!” Yang Kai walked forward slowly, his expression incomparably ugly. His injuries were on the verge of healing but because he was dragged into this ridiculous fight, his condition had worsened once again. Naturally, he wanted to end things quickly, “I originally didn’t want to kill you, but looking back now, there was never any reason for me to spare your life.”
Saying so, his figure suddenly disappeared.
Zhou Luo’s eyes bulged as he sensed the approach of a deadly crisis, but before he could mount any kind of defence, he felt a massive impact on his chest.
The sound of bones shattering rang out like rice being poured into a pot.
Yang Kai’s figure once again appeared in front of him, but Zhou Luo no longer had the ability to move. All of his bones had been smashed while his five viscera and six organs had been pulverized. He was now nothing more than a sack of meat.
His vitality had been completely eliminated.
*Cough…* Yang Kai staggered two steps before managing to stabilise himself again, his hand covered in wounds as fresh blood flowed down his fingers.
Casting a glance towards the distant Yun Xuan, he found that this woman actually had a trace of excitement on her face. Whether it was happiness or not, he couldn’t tell. Shaking his head helplessly, he no longer paid any attention to her, hurriedly sitting down and continuing to heal himself.
“Yun Xuan…” Ruan Xin Yu, who had nearly lost her ability to think after everything she had just seen, hesitantly asked, “What should we do about this?”
“Do about what?” Yun Xuan asked softly as she gently gasped for breath. Obviously, she was still quite weak.
“He killed Zhou Luo.”
“Do you want to seek revenge?” Yun Xuan turned her head and stared at Ruan Xin Yu coldly, the latter clearly noticing a trace of hostility and vigilance in the other party’s eyes.
“That’s not what I meant,” Ruan Xin Yu quickly stated, “It’s just that even though Zhou Luo was an annoying bastard, he was still a captain of one of the Union’s teams. Him dying in front of us…”
“Haven’t enough people died today already? Zhou Luo was clearly in the wrong here, and now he’s dead and gone. This kind of trash, no one will miss him. Him remaining would have only brought more trouble to the Union, in the end. En, after returning to the Union, I’ll make a full report to the higher-ups, you don’t need to concern yourself over it.” Yun Xuan said faintly.
After half a day, Yun Xuan had somewhat managed to stabilise herself and, after reflecting on things, she no longer felt completely helpless. Although she was still lost and confused, she had at least regained her calm.
“You…you really…towards him…” Ruan Xin Yu’s look became ambiguous “What’s so good about him?”
Yun Xuan blushed again and muttered under her breath, “Don’t say any more.”
As she whispered so, she snuck a glance over at Yang Kai before quickly averting her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering as she did so.
“You get some rest, I’ll handle everything else here,” Ruan Xin Yu sighed and swept her eyes over the dead bodies and chaotic battlefield around her, rubbing her forehead as she felt a big headache coming on.
Yun Xuan nodded lightly and sat down, crossing her legs and closing her eyes while controlling her breathing.
Inside the forest, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu leaned against a big tree, both of them feeling incredibly weak.
Yun Xuan was both emotionally and physically tired while Ruan Xin Yu was mentally and physically tired. Both of them took to resting against this big tree for quite some time before they gradually recovered.
There was still one big lingering question on Ruan Xin Yu’s mind though, and that was how the Charm Monster, who had easily killed Sun Ying, ended up dying in such a miserable fashion.
At that time, she was unconscious, and Yang Kai and Yun Xuan were concealed inside the Charm Monster’s barrier, so even if she was awake she wouldn’t have known what had happened.
After taking care of the aftermath around here, Ruan Xin Yu asked Yun Xuan about this.
Yun Xuan hesitated for a while before briefly explaining what had happened. Ruan Xin Yu was immediately shocked, of course, “He killed her?”
“En,” Yun Xuan nodded lightly, glancing over at Yang Kai who was still meditating not far away, a look of confusion flashing across her face.
“You’re kidding right?” Ruan Xin Yu quickly realized something wasn’t right, “Even if that Charm Monster’s body wasn’t strong, her Spiritual Energy is much stronger than an ordinary Transcendent. Before she died, if she had used any kind of Divine Sense attack, it should have been enough to kill him. What kind of ability does he have to be able to survive such an attack?”
“I don’t know,” Yun Xuan shook her head, “I only saw the scene where he killed the Charm Monster, I don’t remember anything else.”
“Then when you and him…”
“Don’t ask,” Yun Xuan’s face suddenly became awkward. Although she was poisoned at the time and her memory was quite vague, she would still remember some blurry images from time to time, and while her mind many not remember much, her body’s feelings were still quite vivid. Especially clear was the tearing pain she felt in her most private depths.
Remembering that one instant caused Yun Xuan’s face to blush red.
“He’s really a strange person,” Ruan Xin Yu seemed to have some interest in Yang Kai, “Only a trivial Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator yet capable of killing a Charm Monster. On top of that… even Zhuo Luo couldn’t take a single blow from him.”
Zhuo Luo was the captain of a small team in Bold Independent Union. Regarding his strength, neither Ruan Xin Yu or Yun Xuan were his opponent. Therefore, Yang Kai easily being able to kill him meant if he wanted to, he could also kill both of them.
“You’ve really picked up a treasure. If you can pull him into the Union…” Ruan Xin Yu’s eyes flashed as she thought about such prospects.
“Even if I could win him over, what of it? Ji Hong and all of them, they’re all dead…” Yun Xuan’s face sank, remembering how the team members she had been together with for over three years had all died, none of them having even seen their enemy before being cruelly murdered. She couldn’t help feeling a deep pain in her heart, “On top of that, I don’t know if he would even be willing to join Bold Independent Union.”
“If you don’t want to win him over, then let me try,” Ruan Xin Yu leapt up, an eager look of excitement appearing on her face, “So many of our members died, so there’s a need to do some recruitment.”
“You’re not allowed to have any ideas about him!” Yun Xuan immediately objected.
“Tch, such a fickle woman… You say you have no interest in him and don’t want to rope him in, but you also won’t allow me to try? What is this?”
“In any case, you’re not allowed!” Yun Xuan said seriously.
“Fine, fine, I won’t argue with you. Since you’re wounded right now, I’ll give you some face,” Ruan Xin Yu laughed.
Although the two of them had been at odds before, after surviving this life-threatening crisis, the bad feelings between the two of them had diminished significantly and their mutual grudge had basically disappeared, allowing them to interact far more harmoniously.
As the two were speaking, they suddenly heard a long breath. The two women glanced over towards Yang Kai and saw him open his eyes. Although his injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, his complexion was much better than before.
As if aware of their gazes, Yang Kai also glanced over at them, and when his eyes met with Yun Xuan’s, his expression became a little unnatural. As for Yun Xuan, she quickly averted her gaze as her tender body slightly trembled.
Remembering the fierce battle the two of them had fought; her entire body couldn’t help becoming somewhat hot.
Ruan Xin Yu obviously saw their reactions and faintly smiled, beckoning to Yang Kai as she called out, “Little Brother, come over here.”
Yang Kai coughed lightly and stood up, walking over to the two young women and sitting down in front of them, his expression calm and composed.
Ruan Xin Yu’s pair of beautiful eyes swayed as she glanced over Yang Kai’s naked upper body, a touch of admiration flaring up inside her. She had never noticed before but this young man’s physique was really quite good. His muscles were firm yet not bulky and seemed to contain an explosive power, so it was no wonder he had dared to lure the Charm Monster in close in order to find an opportunity to kill her.
“How is your injury?” Ruan Xin Yu asked.
“I won’t die,” Yang Kai grinned.
“Your body’s not bad,” Ruan Xin Yu said, throwing him a coquettish look.
Her overt actions obviously made Yun Xuan unhappy and earned her a gentle pinch.
Yang Kai awkwardly scratched his nose and began to say, “Yesterday…”
“Nothing happened yesterday,” Yun Xuan quickly interrupted him, trying to deceive both him and herself.
Hearing this, Yang Kai was stunned but quickly laughed, “That’s for the best.”
He thought this woman would cling to him and make a tearful scene but unexpectedly she reacted so calmly and indicated she didn’t want to bring up yesterday’s episode again. Her thoughts lined up well with Yang Kai’s intentions.
The event of yesterday was not something Yang Kai had done willingly, but under the influence of the Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy toxin. Both of them were unable to help themselves, and Yang Kai also intended on luring in the Charm Monster, so he could only make the best of a bad situation.
Dealing with an enemy like the Charm Monster, if he couldn’t get close to her and get her to drop her guard, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to kill her.
“Hmph…” Ruan Xin Yu immediately became disgruntled and glared at Yang Kai, “Nothing happened? Do you intend on eating a meal and then skipping out on the bill? Yun Xuan saying so is barely acceptable but what about you? Do you not dare admit your own mistakes?”
“What do you want to say?” Yang Kai asked. The concerned parties were willing to let the matter drop yet now this Ruan Xin Yu suddenly decided to butt in, obviously this made Yang Kai feel a bit bewildered.
“I want you to take responsibility of course,” Ruan Xin Yu said crisply, “The innocence Yun Xuan protected for thirty years was robbed by you. Don’t tell me you don’t feel the slightest bit responsible?”
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he looked at Ruan Xin Yu with great interest, “Weren’t you both enemies? Why are you suddenly fighting for her?”
Ruan Xin Yu simply sneered, “How I relate to her is none of your damn business. Right now, I’m standing up for her as a fellow woman. Helping her seek justice is only natural.”
“Are you also a virgin?” Yang Kai evilly chuckled.
Ruan Xin Yu’s face went stiff as she scolded, “Bastard!”
Raising her hand to smack Yang Kai across his face, she suddenly stopped and thought her actions weren’t quite right. She was definitely not his opponent so she could only retract her hand and gnash her teeth indignantly, blushing.
“Enough,” Yun Xuan interjected, “Xin Yu, this is my own matter, so I’ll solve it myself. You don’t have to say anymore.”
Ruan Xin Yu was helpless, shooting a hateful glare towards Yang Kai before turning her gaze away and snorting.
Turning her attention to Yang Kai, Yun Xuan’s beauty eyes clouded over somewhat as she stared absentmindedly.
After a long time, Yun Xuan finally said, “I want to ask you a few things, and seeing how I’ve just eaten such a big loss, I hope you can answer me honestly.”
“Go ahead. If I can, I won’t conceal anything!” Yang Kai gently nodded and replied frankly.
“Who exactly are you? What is your true cultivation?” Yun Xuan asked seriously. Obviously, she wanted to know more about this young man who had obtained her purity.
“As I told you before, I’m just a traveller from a very remote place. As to where exactly I’m from, I can’t describe it clearly. As for my cultivation realm, it’s exactly as you can see, Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, I haven’t made any attempt to conceal this point,” Yang Kai replied truthfully, pausing for a moment before adding, “Well, my Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivation isn’t quite the same as an ordinary cultivator. In the Immortal Ascension Boundary, I’m probably an invincible existence.”
“Shameless boasting!” Ruan Xin Yu snorted. Although she felt he was somewhat exaggerating, remembering his previous performance, he indeed had some impressive strength.
“What is your relationship with Shui Ling of Water Spirit Temple? Why does she care so much about you?” Yun Xuan asked again.
“My relationship with her… is not what you think. We can only be regarded as normal friends. The reason she cares about me is probably that I helped her when she found herself in a difficult situation.”
Yun Xuan gently nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer, thinking for a moment before continuing, “Why did you insist on following us on this mission? Inside the mine, why didn’t you clearly state what kind of danger there was? Since you’re so strong, when my Bold Independent Union disciples were being killed, why didn’t you take action sooner and instead waited until… until… she dropped her guard.”
This time, as Yun Xuan asked, her tone gradually became somewhat excited.
However, Yang Kai just calmly shook his head, “You’re suspicious of my intentions, right? You suspect that I have some kind of ulterior motive for entering Bold Independent City. However, you can rest assured that everything I’ve told you is the truth. Deciding to follow you on this mission was really because I wanted to return the favour I owed you for delivering me that piece of Sky Cicada Jade, and now that I’ve saved your life, I’d say our debts are cleared. As for not warning you back inside the mine, if you recall, I did try to warn you, but you didn’t trust me and I couldn’t provide any evidence. If I had tried to say anything more you would have only become even more suspicious of me, so I decided to say nothing. In any case, our relationship wasn’t that close. We couldn’t even be considered friends, so the lives of your Bold Independent Union disciples were irrelevant to me!”
“Finally, regarding me waiting for the Charm Monster to drop her guard… If she didn’t show any opening, how was I supposed to kill her? If I had really tried to fight her head-on, I might not necessarily have been her opponent; you should have realized just how powerful her Spiritual Energy was. As for obtaining your innocence, although it wasn’t my intention, that truly was my fault, so however you want to beat or curse me I won’t object. In any case, what’s done is done.” Saying so, Yang Kai’s attitude became one of a dead pig that doesn’t fear boiling water.
Hearing his gruff dismissal, Ruan Xin Yu ground her teeth and wanted to curse, but also secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, Yang Kai had chosen Yun Xuan. If he had instead picked her, she would have been the one to suffer. Thinking so, Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help feeling some lingering fear.
Although she was quite optimistic about this boy’s potential, it wasn’t to the point where she would freely offer up her body to win him over. If such a thing had really happened to her, Ruan Xin Yu felt she probably would have tried to hack him to pieces with her sword.
In comparison, Yun Xuan’s tolerance was quite strong.
Yun Xuan was also quite upset. Obviously, she was the one who had suffered the biggest loss here, but now Yang Kai was the one putting on a wronged expression.
Taking a deep breath, Yun Xuan slowly calmed herself, and upon opening her eyes, she gave Yang Kai an indifferent glare.
“Yang Kai…” Yun Xuan muttered softly.
“Hm?” Yang Kai replied softly.
“You’re a real animal!” Yun Xuan’s said gently.
“En…” Yang Kai blushed somewhat awkwardly.
After such a big event where everyone who survived was physically and mentally exhausted, although they knew that the Metal Devouring Beasts that were buried below wouldn’t die so easily, whether it was Yun Xuan or Ruan Xin Yu, neither of them had any desire to dig them out right now.
Instead, Ruan Xin Yu took out a small Universe Bag and handed it to Yang Kai.
“What’s this?” Yang Kai asked, somewhat confused.
“Your spoils,” Ruan Xin Yu grinned, “While you were resting, I took it off of the Charm Monster, guess what was inside?”
Yang Kai paused for a moment before offhandedly saying, “Probably a bunch of valuable refined metals.”
“How did you know?” Ruan Xin Yu immediately felt like something was caught in her throat.
Yang Kai simply grinned, “The Charm Monster previous said that those Metal Devouring Beasts were hers. Since that was the case, then these Monster Beasts showing up here wasn’t an accident but the deliberate actions of the Charm Monster. She let them devour the Sun Tin Ore and then collected their refined products. Moreover, when we were exploring the mine, we never found any traces of refined minerals excreted by the Metal Devouring Beasts. Everything must have been collected by the Charm Monster and stored inside her Universe Bag.”
Yang Kai’s sudden analysis made Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes shine brilliantly.
Ruan Xin Yu also began seeing him in a better light, “You… I’d never have guessed it but it seems your wit is also quite sharp.”
Smiling as she followed up, “There’s a lot of refined Sun Tin inside that bag, if you take it and sell it all, you can earn a lot of Crystal Stones.”
Yang Kai thought about it for a while before throwing the Universe Bag back to Ruan Xin Yu and shaking his head, “You lost so much this time, after returning, you’ll need to offer Bold Independent Union some kind of explanation, so you should hold on to these things.”
Ruan Xin Yu smiled happily and accepted. She had also thought of this point but seeing how the Charm Monster was basically killed by Yang Kai single-handedly, she had still offered the battle’s spoils to him first.
Yun Xuan opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but eventually chose not to.
“We should leave here now, I’ll escort you two to a nearby town,” Yang Kai got up first. This sentence made Yun Xuan somewhat confused as she turned a slightly suspicious look towards him.
This place was on the border of Bold Independent Union’s territory. Two or three day’s journey was a small city that the group had passed on their way here.
Half a day later, the group of three left the forest and in a small nearby village, Yang Kai rented a carriage and let Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu sit inside while he acted as the driver and proceeded towards the city.
This bit of gentle consideration improved Ruan Xin Yu’s impression of him and even caused Yun Xuan to smile softly.
After the two women chatted idly for a while, Yun Xuan succumbed to her fatigue and fell asleep. Ruan Xin Yu, now bored, hopped out of the carriage and sat side by side with Yang Kai, resting her head on her delicate hand as she stared fixedly at Yang Kai who was himself concentrating on waving the whip.
“Why are you staring at me?” Being observed in such a manner made Yang Kai feel somewhat uncomfortable.
“I’m just thinking about who or what you are,” Ruan Xin Yu grinned, “You were injured so heavily, yet now you’re basically bursting with energy?”
“My resilience is just a bit better than ordinary people.”
“I noticed,” Ruan Xin Yu gently nodded, “Being young is good.”
“You consider yourself old?” Yang Kai laughed as he glanced over at her.
“Compared to you at least. I’m almost thirty years old, the same as Yun Xuan,” Ruan Xin Yu laughed somewhat self-deprecatingly.
“Between you and Yun Xuan, what happened? Previously you two couldn’t stand being together, but now you’re practically acting like family. Are all women so fickle?”
When Yang Kai asked this, Ruan Xin Yu fell silent, her pretty face flashing a trace of sadness.
Seeing this unexpected reaction, Yang Kai knew he had asked something he shouldn’t have and quickly shrugged, “If you don’t want to say it, just pretend I never asked.”
However, Ruan Xin Yu shook her head and muttered, “We really should have been one whole family… Do you know what Yun Xuan’s real status is?”
“I only know that her identity is not simple,” Yang Kai replied casually. Whether it was Grandmaster Ma from the Artifact Hall or the former Transcendent Realm master Sun Ying, both of their attitudes towards Yun Xuan were quite polite and accommodating, even somewhat respectful. If she was just an ordinary Bold Independent Union disciple, such a display would have been impossible.
“It’s really not simple,” Ruan Xin Yu quietly glanced back and upon seeing Yun Xuan still asleep, she quietly said, “Yun Xuan is actually the daughter of the Union’s current master!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help stared at her blankly.
“That’s right, Bold Independent Union’s Union Master.”
“Then why is she…”
With such an identity, Yun Xuan shouldn’t be out here in the forest completing missions, but instead be occupying some important position. On top of that, she didn’t have the demeanor that the young lady of a big force should have.
“She has her reasons,” Ruan Xin Yu took a soft breath, “I can tell you, but you have to promise not to spread it around.”
“Do I look like someone who likes to gossip?” Yang Kai gave her a blank look.
Ruan Xin Yu looked at him seriously for a moment before nodding, “Yun Xuan had a younger brother with extraordinary aptitude. Even at a very young age, he displayed talent comparable to any core disciple of a first-class Sect, but because of our Bold Independent Union’s special system, the Union Lord intentionally let him start from the bottom of the ladder, making him go out and participate in missions as part of a team just like any other ordinary disciple. He performed quite well, and from his initial position, he quickly rose to become a team captain who was highly respected by his team members.”
Seemingly remembering this sweet past, Ruan Xin Yu’s face overflowed with smiles as she rambled on about a few random anecdotes.
Although these things seemed irrelevant to Yang Kai, he didn’t interrupt her reminiscence.
“However, if you often walk next to the river, how can your shoes not get wet?” Ruan Xin Yu’s voice suddenly fell a lot, “On what was supposed to be a routine mission, the Young Lord unfortunately died, and his team was almost completely annihilated, with only one member barely managing to survive.”
“Yun Xuan loved her younger brother very much, so when he died, she blamed the Union Lord, saying that if it weren’t for his stubborn insistence that the Young Lord work his way up from the bottom of the Union, he wouldn’t have suffered such a fate. After that, Yun Xuan announced that she would discard her identity as the First Young Lady and like her young brother work her way up from the grassroots level of Bold Independent Union…” Ruan Xin Yu’s eyes were a little red as her voice gradually began to choke up.
Yang Kai remained silent and indifferent, not showing any outward changes in expression.
“She obviously made that choice in protest against the Union Lord and also to complete the task the Young Lord had failed to finish,” Ruan Xin Yu sighed, “Do you know why Yun Xuan doesn’t hate you for taking her innocence, even not showing any meaning of trying to hold you responsible?”
“Why?”
“Because when her brother died, he just happened to be twenty years old at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage!” Ruan Xin Yu smiled miserably and added, “Seeing you now, like this, alive and well, she simply can’t bring herself to hate you!”
Yang Kai gently took a breath and thought for a moment before asking, “The only survivor from her younger brother’s team was you, right?”
Ruan Xin Yu was dumbfounded, but soon nodded gently, “Your head is really quite good. En, I was a member of the Young Lord’s team and the only reason I survived was because he saved me, that’s why Yun Xuan and I were at odds. However, I know she wasn’t trying to blame me, she just couldn’t bear to face me, because every time she sees me, she can’t help thinking about him.”
“Were you in love with him?” Yang Kai grinned.
Ruan Xin Yu glanced at him and blushed, “Why would you ask that? It’s all in the past now.”
“Fine, then why are you telling me all this,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“You’re so smart, how can you not understand after everything I just said?” Ruan Xin Yu glared at Yang Kai hatefully, silently criticizing this little bastard for still trying to play dumb at this point.
Yang Kai put away his wry grin and wore a serious expression, only shaking his head and speaking after a long silence, “I won’t join Bold Independent Union. Nothing you say could persuade me otherwise. Although I sympathize with Yun Xuan’s experience, and I admire her persistence, I have my own things I need to do.”
“You bastard!” Ruan Xin Yu shouted, “After gaining such a big advantage you want to just walk away?”
“What kind of advantage did I get?”
“You have the gall to ask that? You and Yun Xuan… you…”
“What?”
“You know in your own heart,” Ruan Xin Yu was incredibly angry, not understanding how this young man could act so shamelessly, clearly knowing what she wanted to say yet pretending otherwise just to embarrass her.
“In any case, you need to take responsibility!” Ruan Xin Yu immediately played rouge, “If you don’t join Bold Independent Union, I’ll report everything that happened to the Union’s leadership and have them chase you down!”
Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at her and smiled grimly.
Ruan Xin Yu felt a cold chill run up her spine and couldn’t help clenching her fists, trembling as she asked, “What do you want to say?”
Yang Kai looked up at the sky and slowly muttered, “The moon is hidden, and it’s a good night!”
Ruan Xin Yu’s beautiful face went pale as she quickly recalled everything that had happened earlier. If this youth really wanted to silence her here, she wouldn’t be able to resist.
If he were to silence her here, in this vast wilderness, no one would be able to find her body.
Just as she was feeling afraid, Yun Xuan’s gentle voice rang out behind her, “You two… don’t make such terrible jokes.”
Ruan Xin Yu was stunned for a moment, and then quickly spat out her tongue towards Yang Kai before hopping back into the carriage.
A moment later, she emerged again, supporting Yun Xuan as the two of them sat together beside Yang Kai, breathing in the crisp night air.
“Do you really want to leave?” Yun Xuan asked Yang Kai, a trace of melancholy upon her face.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded sternly.
“Fine, Bold Independent Union is too small to accommodate someone like you, it’s for the best that you go out and see the rest of the world,” Yun Xuan tightly gripped her clothes, feeling slightly cold as she muttered, “Regardless, I should still thank you for this time.”
“Are you stupid?” Ruan Xin Yu stared at her incredulously.
“If it weren’t for him, Uncle Sun and Ji Hong’s deaths would have gone un-avenged and we would both be dead. Naturally, we should thank him.”
Ruan Xin Yu’s brow furrowed and had to admit Yun Xuan had a point. If there was no Yang Kai this time, everyone from Bold Independent Union would have been wiped out with no one ever knowing the truth.
“No need for thanks, I was just protecting myself,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Yun Xuan smiled and said no more, a while later whispering, “Xin Yu, help me back inside. It’s a little cold tonight.”
“En,” Ruan Xin Yu nodded and helped Yun Xuan get back into the carriage. Soon, a soft breathing could be heard coming from inside and Yang Kai looked back to see the two women sleeping in each other’s embracing, a look of calm upon their faces.
After three days of traveling, the group of three arrived at Raging Flame City.
Even before arriving at the city, Yang Kai felt a hot wind blowing towards him and even the ground beneath his feet seemed warm to the touch, The horses that drew the cart all shed sweat as they trotted by.
This kind of heat made Yang Kai feel very comfortable and he couldn’t help breathing in the local atmosphere.
The special environment of Rag7ing Flame City also attracted a large number of masters who cultivated Fire Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills. No one knew why Raging Flame City was like this, but those who cultivated Fire Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills all clearly felt that cultivating here was much more efficient than in other places.
It seemed like even the air here was infused with Fire Attribute Yuan Qi far denser than ordinary.
It was rumored that a huge magma river ran deep beneath Raging Flame City which had led to the creation of this unique environment, but rumors were only rumors and no one had yet been able to confirm this one.
Standing here, Yang Kai fully released his Divine Sense and could indeed detect a rich Flame Attribute Yuan Qi deep underground.
His original intention was to escort Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu to Raging Flame City and then leave; after all, there was a branch of Bold Independent Union in this city, so arriving here would mean they had essentially returned to Bold Independent Union.
But the two women insisted that he stay to rest before setting out again.
Yang Kai thought about it and eventually agreed. After all, his injuries had yet to fully heal.
Once their identities were confirmed and they entered Raging Flame City, Raging Flame City’s City Lord Ji Yan quickly came out to greet them.
Ji Yan was a First Order Transcendent, the same level cultivator as Sun Ying. Because he cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, and his strength was quite good, he had been chosen as Raging Flame City’s City Lord and charged with protecting this place.
His presence here was a big boost to Bold Independent Union’s control in the region.
Ji Yan was a tall and burly man, and perhaps because of his Fire Attribute Secret Art, his skin was a bit dark with a hint of red. He had a bold and unrestrained appearance and laughed heartily as he personally brought Yun Xuan to the City Lord’s Mansion and arranged for a few maids to help them get cleaned up.
Ji Yan was shocked to learn about the terrible tragedy that had befallen the three Bold Independent Union teams and quickly inquired about the situation’s details.
Ruan Xin Yu and Yun Xuan seemed to have reached a consensus on the road and did not expose Yang Kai’s unusual strength, instead saying that a powerful master who had passed by had helped kill the Charm Monster and saved their lives.
This kind of consideration made Yang Kai very satisfied as he shot a grateful looked towards the two women.
He was quite worried that Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu would report everything that had happened, including his involvement. If they did, whether Ji Yan believed them or not, he would likely be forever tied to Bold Independent Union.
Fortunately, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu didn’t sell him out.
Their explanations were also reasonable, and when Ji Yan inquired about the passing master’s appearance, Yun Xuan gave him a brief yet fluent description. Nodding lightly, Ji Yan declared that this unknown master would be listed as a benefactor of Bold Independent Union.
“I have to report all this to the Union’s leadership. Yun girl, you haven’t had time to recover from this shock so you should rest here in Raging Flame City for a while. When your injuries have fully recovered, I will personally send you back to the Union’s headquarters,” Ji Yan said before getting up and leaving.
Nearly twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters and a First Order Transcendent had been killed; naturally Ji Yan had to quickly report such a major event to the Union’s leaders.
“Are you satisfied with this?” Ruan Xin Yu snorted, glancing over at Yang Kai somewhat uncomfortably.
“En, very satisfied,” Yang Kai scratched his nose, “I’ll leave here as soon as my injuries are fully healed.”
“Go, go. The further the better,” Ruan Xin Yu thoroughly disliked Yang Kai by now.
Yun Xuan just shook her head and returned to her room, immediately lying down on her bed without saying a word.
Excusing himself, Yang Kai also returned to his room, sat down, and began circulating his Secret Art while examining the benefits he obtained from the Charm Monster.
The Charm Monster’s residual Spiritual Energy still contained a fair amount of her special toxin, but this was easily purified by Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and Solitary Golden Eye, leaving behind only a large amount of pure Spiritual Energy and the Charm Monster’s insights into the Heavenly Law.
Incorporating these moods and sentiments, Yang Kai began to comprehend some of the changes that had occurred to his Knowledge Sea and Divine Sense.
Until now his Knowledge Sea did not possess any attribute.
Once a cultivator broke through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, they would open their Knowledge Sea inside their mind and condense their Divine Sense. Most Knowledge Seas were roughly the same and did not possess a specific attribute; however, there were some people whose Knowledge Seas could mutate due to various opportunities and acquire an attribute.
For example, after Yang Kai absorbed the energy contained in the Jade True Spirit, his Knowledge Sea had acquired a flame attribute and become blisteringly hot.
Others could possess Ice Knowledge Seas, Lightning Knowledge Seas, or even Wind Knowledge Seas.
Such attribute type Knowledge Seas each had different strengths and weaknesses, but all of them were significantly more power and destructive than ordinary non-attribute Knowledge Seas.
Yang Kai even wondered if he would receive some kind of unexpected boost if he used his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea while performing Alchemy.
He had studied the many insights and experiences of various Alchemy Grandmasters recorded in the True Alchemic Way, but none of these Alchemists had possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea so he currently had no reference to follow.
However, Yang Kai instinctually thought that using his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea for Alchemy would be more efficient and convenient than using his True Qi.
Mulling over this though for a while, Yang Kai eventually set it aside; after all, he was just getting started regarding Alchemy so now was not the time to perform wild experiments.
Only after he had enough experience in Alchemy could he begin to consider such matters.
While he studied these various insights, time passed by quickly and the wound on his lower abdomen began healing at a rapid rate.
The healing efficiency of the Myriad Drug Milk was simply extraordinary!
Three days later, when the moon was full, Yun Xuan hesitantly stood outside Yang Kai’s room, her jade hand reaching out half-way, unable to work up the courage to knock on the door.
As she was waffling back and forth, Ruan Xin Yu suddenly appeared beside her and smiled wryly, startling Yun Xuan.
“You scared me! Why are you acting so sneaky?” Yun Xuan’s face blushed as she held her well-endowed chest and shot Ruan Xin Yu a menacing look.
“I think the real question is what are you doing?” Ruan Xin Yu’s whispered ambiguously, “You planning a night assault?”
“Don’t say it!” Yun Xuan’s face became even redder, unconsciously remembering the spring scenery she had experience a few days ago, trembling lightly as she did.
Ruan Xin Yu spat disdainfully and snorted, “After so many years of holding on to your purity, now that you’ve finally lost it, you can’t help wanting to experience it again?”
“What are you saying?” Yun Xuan’s eyes spun as she tried to argue, “He’ll probably leave tomorrow, I… I just wanted to…”
“Now that you’ve crossed the threshold, what reason do you have to hold yourself back? In any case, you already let him get away with it once, one more time won’t make any difference, and who knows, maybe if you do this you can win his heart and make him stay here in the Union,” Ruan Xin Yu whispered sweet poison into Yun Xuan’s ear.
In fact, Yun Xuan really had such thoughts. Although she didn’t plan on stopping Yang Kai from leaving, but she naturally wanted the man who had won her innocence to stay by her side.
After so many years of hard work, sacrifice, and resentment, Yun Xuan was quite tired, and she had begun thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find someone who she could rely on, but until now no one had been able to enter her eyes.
Coming here tonight was supposed to be her last attempt, but she hadn’t expected to suddenly run into Ruan Xin Yu and couldn’t help instinctually trying to cover her motives up.
Ruan Xin Yu quickly inspected the other side of the door and discovered that Yang Kai’s aura was calm and stable and was probably in meditation. Signaling with her eyes to Yun Xuan, Ruan Xin Yu silently encouraged her to seize the initiative and go on the offensive.
But by now, Yun Xuan was like a frightened rabbit, constantly shaking her head in panic.
She couldn’t understand what her heart wanted. Obviously she had been defiled against her will; however, she couldn’t bring herself to hate the young man who had attacked her, and even found herself desiring some kind of attachment to him.
These conflicting emotions made Yun Xuan feel both ashamed and embarrassed.
“If you don’t try tonight, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,” Ruan Xin Yu sighed lightly, “If not for your own future, do it for the Union. This man’s potential is enormous and he will definitely become a strong pillar of our Union when he fully matures.”
Saying so, Ruan Xin Yu’s voice became a little excited as she grit her teeth and said, “If you don’t go, then I will.”
“You? Why?” Yun Xuan stared at her, dumbfounded.
“Hmph!” Ruan Xin Yu straightened herself up and brushed her hair back behind her ear, putting on a look of a determined young maiden who inspired tenderness from those around her, “Don’t think I’m just spouting nonsense; such a good helper, even if you don’t want him, I do. For my future, at worst I just have to make a little sacrifice. In any case, I also need to find a man to marry, he’s a good choice, although he’s a bit young, he’s also quite mature.”
Yun Xuan couldn’t help muttering under her breath in disbelief, “Were you always so debased?”
Ruan Xin Yu’s face went bright red as she shot back, “What of it? Are you going in or not?”
Yun Xuan bit her thin lip and hesitated, the combination of Ruan Xin Yu’s hard and soft sell tactics caused her to waver.
After thinking it over for a long time, Yun Xuan finally nodded, shyly pushed the door open, and went in.
“Hmph, if I didn’t force you so hard, you’d never have made up your mind,” Ruan Xin Yu snorted, quickly concealing her aura and perking up her ears to listen to the movements coming from inside the room.
Inside his room, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly shot open and his arm shot out, grabbing hold of the person who had entered and threw them onto the bed, holding a knife hand to their chest as he glared coldly at this intruder’s face.
He thought someone had snuck into his room to attack him but upon seeing the face of his would-be assassin, Yang Kai couldn’t help looking stunned, “what are you doing?”
Yun Xuan did her best to act calm, her neck and face blushing a faint shade of red, not daring to look Yang Kai straight in the eye as she bit her lip and didn’t say a word. Only her eyes filled with a look of affection, giving away her inner thoughts.
Yang Kai was stunned, but as his thoughts quickly spun, he couldn’t help muttering in shock, “Don’t tell me you’re…”
Yun Xuan not offering the slightest resistance despite their awkward position made Yang Kai quickly realize the seriousness of the situation.
“So what if I am?” Yun Xuan suddenly became emboldened, reaching up and turning the pair over, exchanging places with Yang Kai. Pressing her hands lightly against Yang Kai’s firm chest as her well rounded bottom sat lightly upon his waist, Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes gazed down into his, her face now bright red and her breathing somewhat disordered, “Last time, I was under the influence of the Charm Monster’s poison and didn’t get to feel anything, this time… this time…”
Halfway through, she exhausted her newfound courage and couldn’t say anymore, quickly taking back her hands and covering her face in embarrassment.
Yang Kai stared up at her, hot breath leaking from his lips as he couldn’t help swallowing hard, his breath also gradually becoming heavy.
“But, your injury…”
“It’s not an issue, I don’t know why, but this time I healed remarkably quickly,” Yun Xuan interrupted, slowly undoing her robes as she charmingly whispered, “If you don’t believe me, see for yourself…”
As she whispered so, a soul-stealing picture appeared in front of Yang Kai’s eyes.
“Since you’ve decided to deliver yourself, it would be rude to refuse,” Yang Kai said firmly, reaching up and tossing Yun Xuan over, pressing himself against her with great fervor.
Inside the room, only the moon bore witness to what happened, but outside the house, Ruan Xin Yu’s face was bright red as she listened to the strange, bone-numbing voices that leaked out.
After a while, she realized that eavesdropping like this was somewhat inappropriate, shook her head, and muttered indignantly, “Young people really can’t resist temptation!”
Saying so, she hurried back to her own room, blocked her ears, and calmed her breathing.
Although the night passed quickly, for Ruan Xin Yu, whose room was next door to Yang Kai’s, it couldn’t have passed quick enough. All night long, the ground tremble lightly, greatly disturbing her peace of mind.
Just as dawn broke, the movement next door gradually subsided and Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. Calming herself, she was about to finally get some rest, when the ground suddenly began to shake again.
“Still not finished?” Ruan Xin Yu wanted to cry but had no tears. She really didn’t think that the pair next door had such incredible strength and endurance, but just as she thought so, she suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Because the shaking this time was very different from the previous one. It was of an earth-trembling level that would send soul goose bumps. Furthermore, it felt as though a dangerous presence was approaching.
Ruan Xin Yu’s complexion immediately changed as she hastily exited her room.
As Ruan Xin Yu stepped out into the hall, the door next to hers also opened and Yang Kai and Yun Xuan appeared as well. The former wearing a dignified expression, while the latter had a look of satisfaction on her face. Yun Xuan also had a certain glow about her, like a spring flower that had just blossomed and been moistened by the early morning dew, making her appeared more radiant and beautiful than before.
Seeing this, Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help feeling some admiration and awkwardness, but she knew well enough to not say anything, instead turning her attention to the distant horizon.
Over there, the whole sky appeared crimson, as if someone had dyed the Heavens in fresh red blood, and what’s more, this stain was rapidly expanding in their direction.
All of Raging Flame City was abuzz with activity as countless cultivators noticed this set out to investigate this strange phenomenon, many of them quickly paling.
“What’s happening?” Ruan Xin Yu’s beautiful brow wrinkled.
“Something is rapidly approaching from that side!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed. Using his powerful Divine Sense, he noticed that a very dangerous and violent aura was moving towards Raging Flame city. This aura was so strong that he couldn’t help his heart from racing even though it was still so far away.
“Just what could possess such an imposing manner?” Yun Xuan muttered in shock.
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, the sound of clothing flapped, obviously Ji Yan had called up all the masters in the house and was rushing over to investigate.
“I’ll go take a look, you stay here,” Yang Kai thought about it for a moment and then moved to catch up with Ji Yan, but Yun Xuan quickly caught his wrist and firmly said, “Let’s go together, it’ll be safer that way.”
Yang Kai frowned but didn’t argue back, allowing the two women to follow him.
The three youths quickly followed behind Ji Yan’s group and flew out.
A moment later, all of them arrived outside the city.
At this moment, many cultivators had gathered outside Raging Flame City, most of them in small groups of three to five people while a few larger groups had upwards of ten. Everyone stood mid-air, watching the horizon, waiting to see what exactly was happening.
Some of these cultivators were disciples of Bold Independent Union, but there were also many others from different Sects and forces who for a variety of reasons had been staying in Raging Flame City or had noticed the incoming anomaly and had caught up.
Everyone was whispering back and forth as they point towards the distant sky, guessing what this blood red vision was, but none of them really had any idea.
Amongst all those present, Ji Yan, who has a Transcendent, was undoubtedly the strongest, but even his brow was furrowed as his Divine Sense continuously scanned the area of in front of him, trying to glean some useful intelligence. After a while, his expression suddenly changed and became dignified.
“City Lord Ji, what is it that’s approaching,” Someone asked to Ji Yan.
Ji Yan shook his head and replied, “I don’t know, but everyone should raise their guard. If you cherish your life, your safest bet would be to leave this place immediately.”
Listening to the seriousness of his words, many people immediately used their Movement Skills to evacuate, but even more people chose to stay.
In many cases, danger represented opportunity. This time, although there were many unknowns, there was also a chance they could obtain some benefits and those who thought along those lines naturally wouldn’t be scared off by Ji Yan’s words.
What’s more, with so many people here, even if there was some danger, it wouldn’t necessarily be impossible to escape.
Seeing his persuasion not having much effect, Ji Yan didn’t say anything more and just waited quietly.
Glancing around, he suddenly noticed Yun Xuan’s group of three and quickly beckoned to them.
Yun Xuan smiled lightly and led Yang Kai and Ruan Xin Yu over to where Ji Yan and the city’s masters were.
“Yun girl, you’re still injured, you shouldn’t be out here,” Ji Yan said in a concerned tone.
“My wounds have basically healed, but thank you for your concern, Uncle Ji.” Yun Xuan smiled.
“Good, looking at your expression, you do seem to be much better than yesterday, your complexion is much more radiant,” Ji Yan smiled and nodded.
“Hehe…” Yun Xuan giggled somewhat awkwardly, “It’s all thanks to Xin Yu’s care.”
Ruan Xin Yu curled her lips playfully as she shot a glance towards Yang Kai.
“Is this a new member of your team?” Ji Yan looked over Yang Kai and nodded, “Not bad young man, follow Yun girl well and your path should be steady, just don’t disappoint her expectations for you.”
Yang Kai showed neither approval nor disapproval to this advice.
Yun Xuan, worried Yang Kai would say something that shouldn’t be said, quickly cut in and asked, “Uncle Ji, what exactly is going on?”
Ji Yan turned to look at her and lowered his voice, “I don’t know the exact situation, but whatever is approaching is no doubt dangerous, there’s also a number of masters that seem to be following whatever is giving off this evil aura.”
In fact, it was because he sensed the auras of these masters that Ji Yan was still able to remain calm.
If it was only the great evil aura that was approaching, Ji Yan would have already ordered the evacuation of Raging Flame City, because of the strength of this aura was far beyond his own.
“There are people following this person?” Yun Xuan was astonished.
Ji Yan gently nodded, “But what’s most surprising is that the two sides don’t seem to be fighting. The people behind seem to be waiting and observing while the owner of the evil aura in front isn’t showing any signs of aggression. I really can’t understand.”
Saying so, he couldn’t help shaking his head.
Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu both looked at each other and also felt the situation was a bit weird.
Yang Kai’s expression was calm and composed the whole time, a fact that surprised Ji Yan a little and secretly causing him to feel that this member of Yun Xuan’s team was a good seedling, at least his mental fortitude was excellent.
As time passed, the blood-stained covered Raging Flame City’s sky and the evil aura drew ever closer.
Soon, a small black dot was appeared in people’s view.
“What is that?” Someone exclaimed.
“It looks like, a person?”
Everyone stared at the black spot, but it was still too far away and the sky wasn’t very bright right now so no one could make out a clear picture of who or what was approaching.
Just behind the black dot, the auras of a few dozen masters could be felt, many of whom were at the Transcendent Realm.
Ji Yan’s expression only became more and more dignified.
A moment later, the black spot in the sky is finally became clear, and after seeing this figure’s true appearance, Ji Yan couldn’t help calling out in alarm, “The Coffin Carrying Man?”
When this name left Ji Yan’s lips, he suddenly realized that the situation was much worse than he expected.
Looking around, he saw many of the cultivators still gathered here show looks of excitement and leap into the sky to confront the Coffin Carrying Man.
Yun Xuan was also surprised and asked, “Uncle Ji, is that really the legendary Coffin Carrying Man?”
Even Ruan Xin Yu showed a look of shock, apparently not having expected she would suddenly meet a character that existed only in legend.
“It should be,” Ji Yan’s face was currently very unsightly, a stark contrast to the surrounding cultivators, “This aura, this strength, only he could possess them. Haa… I never thought the Coffin Carrying Man would suddenly appear here…”
After listening to the conversations of several people, and looking up at the Coffin Carrying Man in the sky, Yang Kai quickly realized why he had such a strange name.
Because on his back, he was actually carrying a coffin, a huge red coffin. A thick demonic aura that could only be given off by a powerful corpse pulsed from this Coffin Carrying Man.
The Coffin Carrying Man himself had a tall and burly build, his physique several times larger than that of an ordinary man. He didn’t seem to belong to the Human Race. He was more than three meters tall and his muscles were unusually thick; however, his body was covered in welts and sores while his facial features were all distorted, giving him a terrifying appearance. From the openings in his mouth, one could also see sharp, jagged fangs arranged in a crooked pattern.
His movements appeared very slow, and every step he took seemed to take an incredibly long time to complete, but each of his steps seemed to contain some kind of extremely profound law so despite his slow movements, his actual speed was extremely fast.
Yang Kai carefully observed the Coffin Carrying Man’s steps, but after only a few breaths, he became incredibly dizzy.
Ji Yan quickly shouted, “Don’t try to comprehend his Martial Dao, it’s not something you can understand.”
Yang Kai hurriedly took back his gaze, and nodded slightly.
Turning around, he quietly asked Yun Xuan, “Is this Coffin Carrying Man very famous?”
Yun Xuan glanced at him blankly and suddenly remembered that this Yang Kai seemed to have very little understanding of the world’s common sense and began explaining carefully, “He is a legendary existence and his name has spread across almost all of Tong Xuan. No one knows what his background is or why he carries that blood red coffin, it’s only because of his image that the common people began calling him Coffin Carrying Man. This is also my first time seeing him, but I heard that every ten years the Coffin Carrying Man would appear, and every time he appears he does so in a different place. He has left his mark on every corner of the Tong Xuan; however, since he is the one who has come, there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Why?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously.
“Because even though the Coffin Carrying Man has tyrannical strength and a terrifying aura, he never attacks people on his own initiative.”
“He never attacks others?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“En, it’s very strange. I don’t know what kind of rules bind him, but no one has ever seen him attack others. Not only that, but whenever the Coffin Carrying Man appears, he brings those around him some unexpected benefits.”
“What kind of benefits?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested.
“The Coffin Carrying Man will choose to stop somewhere at will, and once he stops, if people compel him, he will throw out a lot of artifacts, Martial Skills, Secret Arts, and pills. All of the cultivators you see gathered around him are waiting to acquire those things.”
Outside Raging Flame City, the Coffin Carrying Man quickly approached, followed soon after by several dozen powerful masters.
All of Raging Flame City’s cultivators were now outside the city’s walls waiting to see this legendary existence.
When Yang Kai heard Yun Xuan’s remarks about the Coffin Carrying Man, he couldn’t help feeling puzzled, “Why would he do something like that?”
“Probably as compensation!” Ji Yan said in a forlorn tone.
“Compensation? Compensation for what?” Yang Kai raised his eyes.
“Compensation for the devastation he brings to the place he stops at!” Ji Yan took a deep breath, a deep look of anxiety and worry on his face, “The place where the Coffin Carrying Man finally chooses to stop always becomes a wasteland with a radius of over a hundred kilometers and for the next ten years, nothing will grow there.”
Yang Kai was shocked.
Ji Yan rubbed his forehead, “I hope he just passes by and doesn’t decide to stop near Raging Flame City.”
If the Coffin Carrying Man were to stop so close to Raging Flame City, then everything around here would be destroyed.
Yang Kai finally understood why only Ji Yan was gloomy while all the other cultivators nearby had excited looks. Because he was the City Lord of Raging Flame City, naturally he didn’t want to see the region he was charged with protecting get destroyed.
As the two of them were talking, someone suddenly called out, “He stopped, he stopped!”
Ji Yan noticeably trembled and his expression became ashen.
The matter Ji Yan was most worried about had actually come true. No one knew what remote place the Coffin Carrying Man had come from or where he was going, but for now, he had decided to stop near Raging Flame City.
The disciples of Bold Independent Union next to Ji Yan also had ugly expressions.
“Uncle Ji…” Yun Xuan called out gently.
Ji Yan stared at the Coffin Carrying Man in front of him and didn’t immediately respond, a look of struggle and hesitation filling his face for a while before he finally let out a long sigh and muttered, “Go back to the city and inform all the citizens to immediately evacuate, taking only their most valuable possessions. Quickly!”
“City Lord…”
“Go now before it’s too late, I’ll try to delay things here for a while!” Saying so, Ji Yan flew out towards the group of masters gathered behind the Coffin Carrying Man.
Yun Xuan also had a bitter and helpless expression. Since the Coffin Carrying Man has stopped here, it meant that very soon, Raging Flame City would become a dead zone, which was a huge loss to Bold Independent Union.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was still carefully observing this Coffin Carrying Man and the blood red coffin on his back. Though his Divine Sense’s probing, he quickly noticed a large amount of Death Qi and Corpse Qi emanating from this person, and the numerous wounds he had suffered appeared to be quite old. Most noticeable of all was he had no aura of life.
In other words, he should have died long ago.
However, the tremendous power hidden within him was enough to make anyone fearful.
As Ji Yan flew toward the few dozen masters, the Coffin Carrying Man slowly surveyed his surroundings with a dull expression, then, seemingly satisfied with the location he had chosen, suddenly fell straight down.
*Hong…*
The earth trembled violently and spider-web like cracks spread out from the point of impact. The Coffin Carrying Man quietly squatted for a moment, motionless, his eyes closed shut.
Many cultivators were stunned while others wore greedy looks on their faces, secretly circulating their True Qi, but deterred by strength of the masters who had followed the Coffin Carrying Man here, no one dared to rush in.
Ji Yan had already met these several tens of people and seemed to know quite a few of them, quickly exchanging greetings with them.
“Who are those people?” Yang Kai asked.
“They are masters from some of the nearby forces, Xu Qi of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Second Order Transcendent, Zuo Xing of Profound Heaven Alliance, Third Order Transcendent, Yao Di of War Spirit Temple, Third Order Transcendent…” Yun Xuan used her eyes to point out several of the most powerful people from this group.
“I don’t know who the others are, but since they can appear together with these people they’re definitely not nameless individuals,” Yun Xuan gently inhaled, “They should all have gotten word about the Coffin Carrying Man appearing here and quickly came to investigate.”
“Are they also interested in the ‘compensation’ given out by the Coffin Carrying Man?” Yang Kai was amazed, there were several Third Order Transcendent masters amongst this group of people, Yang Kai couldn’t imagine why they would care about such small profits.
“They aren’t interested in the compensation the Coffin Carrying Man hands out, but the Coffin Carrying Man himself is a huge mystery. There are many people who want to uncover the mysteries of the Coffin Carrying Man.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, somewhat understanding.
Ji Yan was still respectfully discussing things with this group of masters; although he was the City Lord of Raging Flame City which was under Bold Independent Union’s protection, he was still just a First Order Transcendent. In front of these masters, he still needed to act slightly cautious.
After talking for a long time, Zuo Xing of Profound Heaven Alliance finally nodded, “Since that’s the case, we will wait for an hour. I trust City Lord Ji will also hurry.”
Yao Di of War Spirit Temple also nodded, “The Heavens are just, naturally we won’t act too unscrupulously, City Lord Ji can rest assured.”
“Many thanks!” Ji Yan gratefully cupped his fists, quickly turning around and flying back to the city to make the appropriate arrangements.
Many cultivators lived or resided in Raging Flame City, and most of them did not have very high strength. Once things got started here, none of these weaker cultivators would be able to escape.
For the ones who said they were willing to leave, there was nothing more to be said. As for those who refused, there was nothing Ji Yan could do. Although he was a City Lord, he couldn’t order around the cultivators that didn’t belong to Bold Independent Union.
An hour soon passed.
With the Coffin Carrying Man at its centre, a multi-layer encirclement had formed, everyone staring greedily towards the tall absentminded figure as if he was some rare and valuable treasure.
Ji Yan returned from the city with a heavy heart and upon seeing this situation, he couldn’t help sighing helplessly and shaking his head.
He had done everything he could do. The people who were still here would definitely not leave, so Ji Yan no longer tried to convince them.
“Yun girl, don’t stray too far from me, although the Coffin Carrying Man will not take the initiative to attack people, that doesn’t mean there won’t be danger,” Ji Yan sternly warned Yun Xuan.
From amongst the surrounding masters, Zuo Xing suddenly stepped forward, glanced around at the people eyeing the Coffin Carrying Man, and called out, “All of you have heard the legend of Coffin Carrying Man, right? Haha, today a rare opportunity has appeared, if you all don’t seize the chance in front of you, then we old masters will take the lead!”
Zuo Xing of the Profound Heaven Alliance’s called out to goad the other cultivators into action. Although most of them knew he didn’t have any good intentions, when they thought about the legends regarding the Coffin Carrying Man, many of them still couldn’t restrain themselves and began using their Martial Skills and artifacts to attack.
More than a dozen brilliant rays of light shot out towards the dull faced Coffin Carrying Man. Each of these attacks was a full force blow from an Immortal Ascension Boundary master, but when they reached their target, they were like stones being tossed into the sea. Only some slight ripples appeared in the air around the Coffin Carrying Man before stillness returned.
The Coffin Carrying Man also showed absolutely no reaction. His body didn’t have a single new wound and his eyes were still closed.
The dozen or so people who participated in this first wave of attacks hurriedly took a few steps back, but after waiting for a long time and still not seeing any reaction from the Coffin Carrying Man, they all became overjoyed and realized that the rumors they had heard were true. No matter how others attacked, the Coffin Carrying Man would not fight back.
Another series of attacks were launched and they quickly enveloped the unusually strong Coffin Carrying Man.
*Hong hong hong…*
With a series of fierce explosions, the earth was torn apart and the region around the Coffin Carrying Man was instantly fragmented. Chaotic energy that contained an unimaginable destructive power swirled about randomly.
Yet through everything, the Coffin Carrying Man still showed no signs of movement.
Soon, all the cultivators who had gathered round were attacking.
Finally, the Coffin Carrying Man slowly opened his eyes, a visible stream of steam spewing out of his nostrils as he appeared to gasp heavily. As he gasped, it seemed as though the entire world around him pulsed.
Everyone who was attacking couldn’t help slowing down their offensive, fearing that the Coffin Carrying Man would suddenly begin to fight back. Fortunately, even after receiving so many attacks, the Coffin Carrying Man still showed no signs of fight back, just standing there, a dazed look upon his face as he blankly scanned the crowd around him, seemingly unable to understand the situation he was in.
It wasn’t until now that Yang Kai realized just how terrifying the Coffin Carrying Man was.
“He’s a Saint Realm master?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yun Xuan.
“Yes!” Yun Xuan nodded.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank.
[A Saint Realm master had actually fallen into such a pitiful state, just what had happened to him? Life really is filled with unexpected events.]
“Why are those people still not acting?” Ruan Xin Yu asked, turning her eyes to the people from Bright Thunder Spirit Religion and Profound Heaven Alliance.
“They’re waiting!” Ji Yan sighed, “Breaking through the defense of a Saint requires a lot of effort, now that they had so many free helpers, obviously they are more than happy to sit back and watch; however, they should begin soon.”
As Ji Yan said this, the several dozen masters who had followed the Coffin Carrying Man here finally took action.
Yao Di of War Spirit Temple, who had been watching for a while, muttered, “En, we should also contribute, or else when others who heard about his appearance show up we won’t be able to control the situation anymore.”
“Agreed,” Xu Qi nodded lightly, “The sooner we start, the sooner we can finish and head home, we’ve been following him for almost a month now and my old bones starting to get a bit tired.”
“Good! Let’s begin!” Zuo Xing nodded.
The three powerhouses quickly reached an agreement so naturally the others around them didn’t raise any objections, each of them quickly summoning their artifacts and pushing their True Qi.
An overwhelming aura welled up from this group as many powerful artifacts and Martial Skills fell like meteors onto the Coffin Carrying Man. This storm of attacks was far more devastating compared to the hodgepodge offensive that had been occurring up till now.
*Hong long long…*
The earth cracked open and everything within a several kilometer radius trembled violently.
This kind of offensive finally caused some changes to the Coffin Carrying Man. A number of fresh wounds appeared and the old sores and welts on his skin began to pop and split, releasing a green gas from his body.
When these gasses appeared, everyone in the surrounding suddenly smelled the scent of death.
*Cilala…*
Wherever this green gas passed, the earth became lifeless and was instantly dyed a putrid shade of green.
Moreover, this gas spread at an extremely fast rate, almost like an explosion.
Some of the relatively close cultivators did not have time to dodge and were directly swallowed by this cloud of gas and before they could even scream, they were reduced to pools of mush; even their bones dissolving into liquid.
After this group of Transcendent Realm masters began attacking, in less than three breaths, more than a dozen unlucky cultivators were killed, either by the green gas or fallout from the battle.
And as the attack intensity of everyone increased, the amount of green gas emitted from the Coffin Carrying Man’s body also grew, spreading faster and faster!
Blood-curdling screams rang out one after another and many cultivators began using their movement skills to retreat or dodge this poisonous cloud.
Ji Yan waved his hand and wrapped up Yang Kai’s trio with a True Qi barrier before quickly bringing them a thousand meters away and a few dozen meters up from the battlefield. Casting a cold gaze down at the battle below, Ji Yan snorted, “Idiots! Did they really think that just because the Coffin Carrying Man doesn’t fight back there wouldn’t be any danger? “
Obviously, Ji Yan had some knowledge about what happened when the Coffin Carrying Man appeared, but not everyone was so well informed.
Xu Qi, Zuo Xing, and Yao Di did not cease their attack just because of the death of those cultivators; after all, the lives and deaths of those people had nothing to do with them, so they simply continued their assault, causing the green gas to spread faster and faster.
Soon, with the Coffin Carrying Man at its centre, a several kilometer wide area had been blanketed in green eyes.
Yang Kai quickly realized the cruelty of the world. For these high-level masters, as long as they achieved their goal, the lives of others were inconsequential.
As more cultivators were swallowed up by the green gas and melted into puddles of flesh and blood, many chose to retreat and, like Ji Yan, flew up into the sky.
Seeing their competition scatter, the group of masters became even more violent in their assault against the Coffin Carrying Man.
“Almost there?” Zuo Xing stared at the Coffin Carrying Man down below while continuing his attack, muttering to himself in anticipation.
“It should be soon,” Yao Di also nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Sure enough, the Coffin Carrying Man below seemed to have suffered too much damage and finally began moving. His two unusually large hands slowly lifted up, and a harsh grating voice slowly leaked from his mouth, causing everyone’s ears to ring, “Take it… take it…”
This voice was like a helpless roar, filled with a deep sense of grief that caused people’s hearts to tremble.
In the sky above him, a glowing Spirit Array comprised of complex runes suddenly appeared. These runes were profound and mysterious and no one here understood what they meant.
But as soon as these runes appeared, the eyes of all the Transcendent Realm masters present flashed as they focused hard, seemingly trying to ingrain the structure of these runes into their minds so they could study them later.
Then, the runes flashed, and a ripple of energy propagated through the air, quickly followed by the emergence of many strange artifacts, pills, Secret Arts, and Martial Skills.
These artifacts, pills, Secret Arts, and Martial Skills appeared from the location of the Spirit Array’s runes, which allowed the surrounding cultivators to approximate their trajectory.
As soon as they saw this, the cultivators who were busily trying to escape suddenly cried out happily and pushed their movement skills even harder, chasing after these glowing treasures.
These things were the Coffin Carrying Man’s compensation for bringing destruction to the place he stopped, and although no one knew where he summoned these treasures from, everyone knew there were many good things among them.
A few of these rays of light also flew towards Yang Kai’s position. The disciples of Bold Independent Union all glanced towards Ji Yan, who gently nodded without a word.
The disciples Bold Independent Union were immediately overjoyed and flew out to intercept these lights to see if they could get any benefits.
Yang Kai remained where he was and watched indifferently, not having any interest in snatching these things, but Ruan Xin Yu and Yun Xuan both showed looks of interest.
When faced with mysterious unknown treasures, few people could remain indifferent, the two young women having some ideas was not unreasonable.
Soon, the strange treasures summoned by the Coffin Carrying Man were all snatched up, but under the fierce bombardment of the Transcendent Realm masters, the former continued mumbling the same two words while constantly summoning more items.
Just like a moment ago, a bunch of shining rays of light shot out. This time, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu did not hold back anymore, jumping out of Ji Yan’s protective range and rushing towards some of these flying treasures.
Yang Kai simply shook his head, releasing his Divine Sense and slightly constraining the treasures the two young women were after.
Soon, the two women caught the unknown treasures and flew back, looks of joy upon their faces.
“What did you get?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
“It seems to be some kind of Secret Art, but I don’t know if it’s useful to me or not,” Yun Xuan raised the thing in her hand, “The Coffin Carrying Man also tosses out many damaged and useless things.”
“That happens as well?” Yang Kai stunned.
“En, it seems that he has been hoarding these treasures for a long time, so some of them being damaged is reasonable,” Yun Xuan smiled lightly.
As the two were talking though, Yang Kai suddenly felt that something was wrong. Frowning, he turned his eyes down towards the battlefield but upon doing so his heart clenched up.
Yang Kai noticed through the thick green gas, the Coffin Carrying Man seemed to be staring straight at him, a look of excitement seemingly flashing across his dull eyes.
Everyone else also noticed the abnormality of the Coffin Carrying Man and even Xu Qi, Zuo Xing and Yao Di temporarily stopped their assault. Following the eyes of Coffin Carrying Man, everyone was suddenly staring towards Yang Kai suspiciously.
“Brother Zou, what’s going on?” Xu Qi asked with a frown, “What is he staring at that little brat from Bold Independent Union?”
“This old master isn’t clear. Is there something special about him?” Zuo Xing released his Divine Sense and swept Yang Kai quickly before shaking his head.
With this initial probe, he couldn’t discover anything special about Yang Kai.
In the air, all the bystanders who were hunting for treasures also realized something was wrong and turned to stare at Yang Kai.
Yun Xuan quietly asked, “Yang Kai, is he looking at you?”
“Probably!” Yang Kai nodded, a cold chill running up his spine as he answered.
All of a sudden being stared at by a mysterious Saint Realm master would unnerve anyone. Even Yang Kai was quite confused, he didn’t know what he possibly could have done to attracted the Coffin Carrying Man’s attention; from the very start of this event, all he had done was use a bit of his Spiritual Energy.
“Found… one…” The Coffin Carrying Man said in the same grating voice, his somewhat decayed mouth slowly curving into a terrifying grin, revealing his jagged and irregularly shaped teeth, seemingly laughing in a silent and horrifying manner.
In the next instant, the Coffin Carrying Man’s aura changed abruptly and his knees began to bend, seemingly accumulating power into his legs.
“What’s he doing?” Someone muttered.
In all the legends, the Coffin Carrying Man’s action had always followed a set routine, yet now he had suddenly began to make a series of inexplicable moves.
“Keep your distance from me!” Yang Kai hurriedly shouted. When the Coffin Carrying Man began to move, Yang Kai suddenly felt a tremendous sense of crisis, madly pushing his True Qi and activating his movement skill, attempting to flee.
*Sou…*
The Coffin Carrying Man also shot out, like an arrow from a bow, so fast that Zuo Xing and the other Transcendents didn’t even see clearly how he moved.
In the blink of an eye, the Coffin Carrying Man caught up with the escaping Yang Kai, grinned fiercely towards him, and lifted the giant red coffin off his back and opening it.
From the blood red coffin, an incredibly powerful suction force appeared and began pulling Yang Kai towards it.
Yang Kai face was ashen. Even though he was exerting all of his strength, he was completely incapable of resisting.
Before he could even come up with another plan, Yang Kai felt the world go black and was sucked into the coffin.
*Hong…*
The Coffin Carrying Man placed the coffin onto his back again, and before anyone could say another word, transformed into a green streak of light and soared towards the horizon.
From the time Yang Kai had shouted and tried to escape until he was captured and taken away, not even three breaths had passed, so when Zuo Xing and all the other masters finally came to their senses, the Coffin Carrying Man had already disappeared.
Everyone stood there, dumbfounded.
A moment later, Yun Xuan let out a scream and immediately tried to use her movement skill to chase after him.
Ruan Xin Yu grabbed her and shouted, “What are you doing?”
“Yang Kai, he…”
“I know he was caught! But think for a moment! Do you even think you can catch up?” Ruan Xin Yu shouted.
Hearing this, Yun Xuan became dazed before quickly turning to look at Ji Yan, “Uncle Ji…”
However, Ji Yan could only shake his head.
Nearby, the other Transcendents were equally stunned, and only after a long silence did Zuo Xing mumble, “Have any of you heard of a time when the Coffin Carrying Man captured someone?”
Most people around him shook their heads and said that they had never heard of such an event, but Yao Di slowly and thoughtfully said, “I heard that when the Coffin Carrying Man appeared ten years ago, he caught someone before vanishing.”
“Something like that happened?” Zuo Xing raised his brow, “What kind of person did he catch?”
“I’m don’t know, I only heard a rumor about it.”
“This is too strange…” Zuo Xing was confused and stared towards the horizon where the Coffin Carrying Man had disappeared, muttering under his breath, “What’s so special about that kid from Bold Independent Union?”
“We should just ask the people of Bold Independent Union,” Xu Qi glanced over Ji Yan.
After thinking about it, all of them rushed over to Ji Yan and began to ask about Yang Kai.
Unfortunately, Ji Yan knew nothing about Yang Kai, but although he was currently in a bad mood because Raging Flame City had just been destroyed, he didn’t dare offend this group of people and could only turn his eyes to Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu.
Yun Xuan currently looked like she had lost her soul and was incapable of responding at the time while Ruan Xin Yu didn’t have a deep understanding of Yang Kai, so naturally she couldn’t give them much information.
This only confused everyone further.
”Senior, the Coffin Carrying Man seizing him… what will happen to him?” Yun Xuan suddenly asked.
Zuo Xing slowly shook his head, “I don’t know, after all, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this happening.”
Xu Qi solemnly added, “However, even though the Coffin Carrying Man doesn’t attack others, it’s still very dangerous to be around him. The Death Qi and Corpse Qi he gives off can’t be resisted by ordinary Transcendents, let alone Immortal Ascension cultivators. There’s a good chance that kid is dead.”
Upon hearing these words, all the blood drained from Yun Xuan’s face.
“What’s your relationship with him?” Yao Di stared at Yun Xuan with an inquisitive gaze.
“He… we’re just friends,” Yun Xuan said forlornly. Thinking that Yang Kai was either dead or dying at this moment, she couldn’t help bursting into tears.
“Brothers, if it is convenient, why don’t you accompany me to Bold Independent City where all of us can sit down and carefully discuss what just happened?” Ji Yan thought about it and sent out an invitation.
Raging Flame City was ruined, so he had to go back to Bold Independent City to make a formal report, and these people were all masters from various nearby major forces, so using this occasion to forge some relationships with them would be good for the Union.
It also just so happened that everyone wanted to understand what was so special about Yang Kai, so they readily agreed to Ji Yan’s proposal. With those words, all of them travelled to Bold Independent City.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai finally woke up.
With the scene he had just encountered quickly resurfacing in his mind, Yang Kai’s expression sank and he quickly and quietly sent out his Divine Sense to explore his surroundings, trying to figure out what his current situation was.
However, after extending a few hundred meters away, Yang Kai found that his Divine Sense was blocked by some kind of invisible force.
Wherever he was right now, it seemed there was a barrier preventing him from snooping.
Reluctantly withdrawing his Divine Sense he slowly opened his eyes and an orange glow appeared before him. Yang Kai found that he was being held in a stone room, surrounded by cold stone walls, and above him, a number of egg sized stones had been installed to provide a soft illumination.
Sitting cross-legged, Yang Kai began running his healing art only to discover that he was unharmed. In fact, not only did he not have any injuries, even his True Qi did not show any signs of being sealed, providing him with a minute sense of relief.
He knew that he was captured by the Coffin Carrying Man, but as to why a legendary Saint Realm master had suddenly targeted him was still a mystery to Yang Kai, making it hard for him to understand his current predicament.
Out of so many people, why had the Coffin Carrying Man caught him? From beginning to end, Yang Kai had only used a bit of his Spiritual Energy to help Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu collect a pair of treasures.
Frowning in thought, Yang Kai came up with a couple of theories, but he couldn’t be sure if his guesses were correct.
Sitting on the ground, Yang Kai steadied himself while quietly waiting.
He knew that since the Coffin Carrying Man had not sealed his True Qi, he had no ill intentions towards him and had captured him for a specific purpose; thus, Yang Kai was certain he would sooner or later come to see him. As such, Yang Kai decided not to act rashly until he knew what was going on.
Time passed slowly, and after quite a while, Yang Kai finally heard a pair of approaching footsteps.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and glanced around calmly.
“Coffin Slave Senior seems to have sent another person in. Apparently, the newcomer is a skinny young man. Who knows if he has any useful skill?”
“There’s no use worrying about it, our job is just to bring him out. In any case, I don’t have any expectations, if he really is useless, when the ten-year deadline comes, he’ll die and that’ll be the end of it.”
“En, but Senior Li seems determined to fulfill our ancestors’ long-cherished wish. On the other hand, Sir Chu is actually more progressive; in fact, there’s nothing wrong with staying here.”
“Hey, don’t say too much, the ears have walls. You need to be careful, if someone hears you say such things they may tidy you up.”
The voices of the two men were clearly heard by Yang Kai, causing his face to become a little weird.
At first he thought one of them was the Coffin Carrying Man, but now it seems like things weren’t quite as he expected.
A moment later, there was a creaking sound as the door to the stone room opened. Standing in the entranceway were two men, one tall and one short, both of them staring coldly towards Yang Kai.
Taking note of their auras, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly.
Yang Kai found that the auras given off by these two were very different from any he had ever encountered before. They were slightly gloomy and cold and had an evil and violent air to them.
If he had to make a comparison, their auras were somewhat like Old Demon’s or his own after he used his Devil Transformation but significantly thinner.
[Demonic Qi?] Yang Kai thought to himself.
Looking at these two’s appearances, they did seem a bit different from ordinary people, their flat noses and narrow eyes gave them a sinister impression and there were a couple of strange lines seemingly tattooed onto their faces.
Seeing these lines, Yang Kai’s expression became even more confused.
Because when he activated his Devil Transformation, he too would be covered in such black tattoos and Yang Kai clearly knew that these tattoos contained enormous energy.
While such thoughts raced through his mind, Yang Kai maintained his composure and simply stared back at these two quietly.
“Woken up?” The taller man chuckled, “Good, since you’re awake, get up and come with us, our Lord wants to see you!”
Yang Kai frowned but did not object.
These two men were only at the Fourth Stage of the Immortal Ascension Boundary, so with Yang Kai’s current strength, if he wanted to kill them, it wouldn’t require any effort, but Yang Kai did not intend to do anything rash until he understood his current situation.
The two men performed their duties strictly, one of them leading the way while the other bringing up the rear to ensure that Yang Kai, who stood between them, did not try to pull any stunts.
As they walked, Yang Kai secretly investigated his surroundings.
Once he exited the stone room, after walking down a short hallway, Yang Kai and the two men climbed a long set of stairs; apparently he had been held underground until now.
After a long time, the trio exited the stairwell and set foot onto the surface.
When he finally came out, Yang Kai glanced around and couldn’t stop his eyes from narrowing slightly because he discovered that the scenery here was somewhat familiar to him.
Although it appeared to be night time, there were no stars or moon in the sky, only a dark swirling chaos…
Yang Kai stared blankly for a moment.
In his life, he seen such a place twice before.
Once was when he entered the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave near High Heaven Pavilion, and the second time was when Ling Tai Xu sent him into the Isolated World inside Nether Mountain.
Both times he had entered such isolated worlds; the scenery was too similar to the one in front of him now.
In that moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt like he had returned to the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave or the Isolated World in Nether Mountain, causing his expression to drop slightly.
“What are you stopping here for? Keep moving!” The man behind him shouted somewhat impatiently.
Yang Kai’s brow frowned as he regained his composure and glanced around, quickly discovering that not far away there were many men and women who were staring at him curiously, pointing at him and whispering amongst themselves.
These men and women, no matter who they were, all had similar dark tattoos on their exposed skin.
[Who are these people?] Yang Kai wondered to himself.
Not losing his temper, Yang Kai once again started walking, quietly examining the crowds around him just as they examined him.
Soon, escorted by the tall and short man, Yang Kai entered a spacious hall inside a grand building. Yang Kai noticed that the architectural style of this building, whether it was the interior or exterior, was somewhat different from what he was used to seemingly somewhat bolder and more aggressive.
Inside the hall, there were a number of huge columns with intricate fierce images carved on their surfaces.
Sitting on the highest seat in the middle of that hall was a beautiful woman wearing an elegant dress. Her style was excellent and her demeanor was dignified while her aura was temperate. Although her body seemed tender and delicate, Yang Kai instinctively felt it contained a terrifying power than made him feel quite nervous. To either side of this woman were a number of other people who were quietly standing at attention while silently examining him.
When Yang Kai walked in, the eyes of everyone in the hall lit up slightly, even the enchanting eyes of the beautiful woman at the head of the hall seemed to flash a trace of anticipation.
Yang Kai was secretly quite puzzled because in this hall, he didn’t see the Coffin Carrying Man, which was very different from what he had expected.
He had thought that the Lord the two men who brought him here were talking about was the Coffin Carrying Man, so when the one who appeared before him was a beautiful, mature, noble woman he couldn’t help feeling surprised.
Also, Yang Kai noticed that no one in this hall had the characteristic black tattoos all the other people he had seen in this place so far had.
Standing beside the beautiful mature woman was a young, delicate girl who wore a long yellow dress. This young girl had a simply beauty about her and upon seeing Yang Kai, her pair of sapphire-like eyes stared deeply at him as she whispered to the woman sitting beside her, “Mistress, this is the one Coffin Slave Senior brought in this time.”
The mature beauty gently nodded, her red lips moving slightly, “It’s been hard on him. Did Coffin Slave Senior receive any injuries this time?”
The tone of her voice, similar to how she appeared, was gentle yet dignified, it seemed like her personality was quite temperate.
The young girls shook her head in response, “It’s just some minor skin trauma. Those Human Race people are so hateful. Just because it’s inconvenient for Coffin Slave Senior to fight back they arrogantly attack him. If not, Coffin Slave Senior could easily kill all of them!”
“En, we’ve forced a great deal of hardship onto Coffin Slave Senior,” The Beautiful woman sighed slightly.
The people around her also shook their heads solemnly, seemingly quite distressed about this matter.
The mature beauty quickly composed herself and then turned her attention to Yang Kai, gently asking him, “Human, what is your name?”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, although he didn’t quite understand what was happening, through what he had just heard and observed, he quickly realized that the people gathered here weren’t members of the Human Race, his brow rising slightly as he hesitantly asked, “Demon Race?”
Only people from the Demon Race or Monster Race would call someone ‘Human’ when speaking to them! Moreover, from these people’s bodies, Yang Kai could feel traces of Demonic Qi which was quite different from human True Qi.
The mature beautiful woman’s face flashed a bit of surprise, seemingly not having anticipated that this young man in front of her had so quickly seen through their identity, and even after knowing who they were didn’t show any signs of panic.
In the past, when Coffin Slave Senior sent some people into this domain, all of them had either plead for mercy, cried miserably, or tried to fight back against them. There had never been a case where they had remained so calm and indifferent like this young boy.
“You really are from the Demon Race!” Seeing the reactions of these people, Yang Kai confirmed his hypothesis, “Is this place inside the Demon Land? For what reason did you capture me?”
“Impudence!” The young girl couldn’t help shouting as she glared angrily towards Yang Kai, “Respond to my Mistress’ question and don’t ask any unnecessary questions! If you dare speak any more nonsense, I’ll pull out your tongue!”
However, to this threat, Yang Kai just chuckled.
“What are you laughing at!?” The young girl shouted even more angrily, “You think I’m just trying to frighten you?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded gently.
“You…”
“Good,” The mature beauty raised her hand and stopped the young girl from shouting any further, turning an interested look towards Yang Kai as she asked, “You’re not afraid at all?”
Yang Kai just shrugged his shoulders.
“Why did you think Guan’er was just trying to scare you?”
“It was obvious,” Yang Kai snickered, “You caught me but didn’t injure me or seal my True Qi or Divine Sense, and when I arrived here, many of you showed expectant looks. I don’t know what it is you all want from me, but I do know you need me for something. Therefore, since you want my help, you definitely won’t hurt me before even asking.”
Inside the hall, many people suddenly laughed.
The young girl named Guan’er also couldn’t help staring at Yang Kai somewhat dumbfounded.
Showing an elegant smile, the beautiful woman at the head of the hall nodded, “The Human Race’s reputation for cunning is really well deserved.”
Not knowing if this comment was meant as praise or disdain, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling slightly uncomfortable.
I know some of you really took the Manhua thing as a joke but it really isn’t.
Chapter 47 for the Manhua is here.
Happy April Fools~
The beautiful woman’s words sounded like appreciation but were in fact meant as a form of irony, so Yang Kai responded in kind, “The Human Race’s deceitfulness is only as well deserved as the Demon Race’s brutal fierceness.
“It seems your courage is not small,” The beautiful woman smiled helplessly, “Forget it, there’s no need to haggle of such trivial things. It’s easier to deal with smart people rather than idiots anyways. Good, since you’re so smart, do you have any guesses as to what we need your help with?”
“That’s the part I’ve been trying to figure out,” Yang Kai shook his head and replied honestly, “I don’t know what it is about me you that you took so much liking to that you actually let a Saint Realm master bring me here. If it’s convenient, could you explain it to me?”
Seeing Yang Kai speak in such a confident and relaxed manner, the beautiful woman’s interested in him became even stronger.
Deeply staring at Yang Kai for a while, the beautiful woman sat back in her seat and nodded gently.
Beside her, another beautiful woman with an icy temperament began explaining, “Your Spiritual Energy is different from ordinary people’s; that’s what drew our attention!”
“Sure enough…” Yang Kai smiled bitterly.
Yang Kai already had some guesses about this, because only after he used his Spiritual Energy did the Coffin Carrying Man begin paying attention to him.
“Do you have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Another old man which a long white beard asked, “If you don’t have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Coffin Slave Senior would never have sent you into this place.”
At this point, denial was useless, so Yang Kai just nodded calmly, “Yes, I have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.”
Seeing him openly admit this, everyone in the hall showed some surprise, the mature beatify even staring towards Yang Kai with a look of anticipation as she asked, “Could you display your complete Spiritual Energy strength so we can see how much potential you have?”
Yang Kai frowned and thought for a moment before nodding, “Fine, but I still have some questions…”
“I can answer them for you!” The mature beauty readily nodded.
“Deal!” Yang Kai grinned and immediately released his Spiritual Energy.
In an instant, the entire blisteringly hot, as if it had been transformed into the inside of an active volcano.
Feeling this, the mature beauty showed a look of shock. She hadn’t thought that Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy would be so powerful and quickly had to use her own Spiritual Energy to protect the young girl beside her to prevent her from being affected. The icy woman and the old man also quickly reacted, using various means to protect the hall and the other people inside it.
After unleashing his full power for just a moment, Yang Kai quickly took back his Divine Sense.
The mature beauty, the cold woman, and the old man looked stared at him excitedly, like they had just seen a wondrous treasure.
“How unexpected, your Divine Sense is far more powerful than your cultivation would suggest, did you encounter some rare opportunity?” The beautiful woman speculated.
It was impossible under normal circumstances for a youth at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage to possess such potent Spiritual Energy, only a rare fortuitous encounter could explain this.
“That’s my business,” Yang Kai smiled faintly, “Can you answer my questions now?”
The mature beauty smiled slyly, “I can only tell you that we have no malicious intentions towards you. Not only that, but we assist you in your cultivation!”
Yang Ka’s eyes narrowed as he angrily asked, “You lied to me?”
The beautiful woman pursed her lips and giggled, “Deceiving others is a trick we learned from you humans.”
“I’ll remember you,” Yang Kai no longer said anything and just stared back at the mature beauty coldly.
As he said these words though, a very violent and cruel aura suddenly appeared and rapidly approached the hall.
Everyone inside the hall frowned, and even the mature beauty couldn’t help showing a helpless expression, as if she was not looking forward to seeing this newcomer.
Soon, a burly man with a thick chest, wearing only a pair of leather pants on his lower body, arrogantly strolled into the hall. He had a prideful look upon his face and his body exuded a thick malevolent aura. The first thing this newcomer did upon entering the hall was glance coldly towards Yang Kai before letting out a sneer and asking, “This is the human that Coffin Slave Senior sent in this time? He looks weaker than the last one. What use is such a waste?”
“Chu Jian, show some respect,” The old man shouted angrily.
The man named Chu Jian shot the old man a gloomy look before half-heartedly cupping his fist and bowing towards the beautiful woman at the head of the hall, “Greetings, Senior Li.”
The mature beauty nodded lightly, her expression indifferent as she responded in a composed tone, “Get up and take your seat!”
“There’s no need,” Chu Jian waved his hand, “I just heard that Coffin Slave Senior sent in another person so I decided to make a trip here to evaluate his worth, but now that I’ve seen him, I must say I am greatly disappointed. Senior Li, such a little brat, it’s better if we just kill him directly. Death ends all troubles, that way we can avoid giving our people false hope for the next ten years and wasting so many precious resources, sometimes, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Don’t tell me, after failing so many times, Senior Li still hasn’t learned such a simple truth?”
“Chu Jian, lately you’ve been acting more and more rude. Have you forgotten the rules set down by our ancestors?” The old man roared furiously as he openly began gathering his strength.
Chu Jian’s aura also became dangerous as he snorted and shot back, “I’m just telling the truth! Our clan’s fate should not be handed over to an unknown Human Race brat. Even without borrowing some outsider’s help, I will lead our clan and break free from this cage, Senior Li, what do you say?”
The beautiful woman’s brow twitched imperceptibly, but still barely managed to maintain her calm smile, “It heartens me to hear that Sir Chu Jian has such strong feelings towards our clan, it is truly a blessing for our people. Then I look forward to the day when Sir Chu Jian can achieve such a result and fulfil our ancestor’s long-cherished wish.”
Chu Jian grinned meaningfully, shot a dismissive glance towards Yang Kai, and muttered, “Human Race brat, you best be careful, you’re not in the outside world anymore, in this place, who knows when your life might be in danger.”
Saying so, Chu Jian turned around and left.
The faces of everyone in the hall were quite ugly.
Yang Kai’s thoughts turned quickly and sorted through the information this situation had provided him.
It seemed like because of Chu Jian’s rude visit, the people in the hall no longer had any interest in continuing the current conversation. The mature beauty waving her hand somewhat helplessly, “Guan’er, take him to rest.”
“Yes,” The young girl made a polite gesture before leaving the beautiful woman’s side and motioning to Yang Kai, “Come with me.”
Yang Kai said nothing and calmly followed her.
After Yang Kai left, the old man let out a deep sigh, “Senior Li, Chu Jian’s attitude is becoming more and more rampant. We should act now to solve this problem. Allowing him to continue like this will inevitably lead to trouble.”
The mature beauty showed a look of hesitation but eventually did not answer.
Seeing this, the icy woman also added, “Mistress, the more benevolent you are to him, the more arrogant Chu Jian will become, we should teach him a lesson now so he knows his place.”
“I’ll take your advice under consideration,” The mature beauty smiled bitterly, “There aren’t many of our clan left, if we really start something with Chu Jian, I’m afraid… Both of you go back for now, after I’ve thought things through I’ll send someone to notify you.”
“En,” The icy woman and the old man gently nodded; both of them knew that this beautiful woman hated the idea of causing civil unrest which could lead to the loss of their clansmen’s lives, causing both of them to feel even more resentful towards Chu Jian.
Over the years, as Chu Jian’s strength and influence had grown and he had started to have some improper ambitions.
Accompanied by the pretty young Guan’er, Yang Kai strolled through the stone city, occasionally bumping into one or two demons along the way. As they walked though, Guan’er kept muttering to herself, seemingly cursing under her breath.
Seeing this, Yang Kai suddenly asked, “That Chu Jian doesn’t seem to put your Mistress in his eyes, does he?”
“That bastard!” Guan’er angrily cursed, “He thinks he’s so great, all he is, is a greedy wolf who wants to snatch power. If it weren’t for Mistress’ tolerant heart I don’t know how many times he would have died by now.”
“En, a woman’s benevolence can sometimes lead to trouble,” Yang Kai agreed.
“You’re not allow to speak ill of Mistress, Mistress is the world’s gentlest woman!” Guan’er turned back and glared at Yang Kai.
“Good, I won’t say any more,” Yang Kai raised his hands, “But can you tell me now, where is this place? Your all capturing me, what exactly do you want me to do?”
Guan’er smiled brightly and giggled, “Before Mistress allows me to, I won’t tell you anything. Although your Human Race is sinister and conniving, I’m not a three-year-old child; do you think I don’t know your trying to casually pry information from me?”
Yang Kai smiled bitterly.
“However, you can rest assured that we really will not harm you. On the contrary, as Mistress aid, we will help train you, and if you can accomplish the task Mistress has for you, you will gain a lot of benefits.”
“You mentioned you’d train me before, but in what?” Yang Kai asked, “What matter do you need me to do that requires my Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?”
However, to Yang Kai’s questions, Guan’er didn’t say any more, firmly sealing her lips.
Not long after, upon bringing Yang Kai to a stone chamber, Guan’er said, “Go inside, from now on, this place will be your residence. You don’t need to worry about anything for now, we’ll prepare everything you require. En, although no one will be monitoring your movements, don’t even think about trying to escape, there’s nowhere you can run. This place is a sealed space, there’s no way out.”
Yang Kai stared at her indignantly.
Guan’er grinned back, “It’s useless to glare at me, I’m just carrying out Mistress’ commands. Good, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
In this way, Yang Kai was pushed into the stone room, and after she closed the door, Guan’er simply walked away.
After she left, Yang Kai reached out and tried opening the stone door and found that he really could open it and that there truly was no one was around watching him.
However, in this kind of sealed world, where he was completely unfamiliar with the terrain, Yang Kai knew there was basically no hope for him to escape.
He also determined that no matter where he fled, the beautiful woman he had just met with could easily capture him and bring him back.
Accepting his current reality, Yang Kai’s state of mind quickly became tranquil; closing the stone door, her turned around and started exploring his new home.
From a quickly glance around, Yang Kai discovered that this place was actually quite spacious and was even larger than grand hall he had just been in, there was also a distinct medicinal fragrance that lingered inside the room.
In one corner of the room, there were several large and small medicinal cauldrons.
The biggest of these was as large as a water tank while the smallest was only slightly bigger than his palm.
On the ground nearby, there was a large pile of burnt materials that were the result of failed pills.
Yang Kai frowned.
This room seemed to be an Alchemist’s residence.
Examining the cauldrons, Yang Kai discovered that each of them was actually a pill furnace used to perform Alchemy.
In another corner, Yang Kai found a long table piled high with what seemed to be a mix of ancient books and handwritten notes.
As time flowed by, and the sun and moon alternated, soon one month had passed.
On the first day of the new month, inside the huge stone room where Yang Kai lived, the pretty young girl Guan’er sat a few hundred meters away, bored, watching Yang Kai who was currently engaged in reading.
On the long table, there were hundreds of ancient books, but after this period of time, Yang Kai had basically read through all of them, and the ones he had finished stacked in a messy pile to his left while only a few he had yet to glance through remained on his right.
The previous knowledge contained in these ancient books has been deeply carved into Yang Kai’s mind.
Guan’er let out a light sigh, secretly thinking to herself that this Human Race boy was actually quite diligent, spending an entire month inside this stone room reading through all the ancient books piled up here with great enthusiasm.
Suddenly, the space nearby twisted, and a faint energy fluctuation came from her side. Standing up, Guan’er smiled happily and assumed a respectful posture.
Soon, from the small distortion, a mature and dignified woman gradually appeared, it was none other than Senior Li.
“Greetings, Mistress!” Guan’er quickly bowed.
“En,” Senior Li gently nodded before glancing over at Yang Kai in the distance, smiling as she asked, “How is his performance?”
“He’s quite interesting…” Guan’er replied honestly, “Very different from the humans that came here before.”
“Oh? How so?” Senior Li asked, slightly interested.
“He’s spent all his time studying those ancient books left by all the previous Alchemists and hasn’t taken a single step outside his room. He also hasn’t shown any irritable or urgent behaviour. Hehe, Mistress, do you think he’s perhaps a bit silly?”
Senior Li stared at Yang Kai deeply and slowly shook her head, her brow furrowing for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up, “He’s definitely not stupid, but looking at him, he seems to be quite interested in the Alchemic Way, which actually saves us quite a bit of trouble. In any case, let’s go see him, since he’s behaved quite well so far, it should be alright to tell him some things.”
“Yes!” Guan’er answered quickly.
Two women, one old, one young, walked towards Yang Kai, and soon came up beside him.
Yang Kai however remained indifferent, still sitting in his chair, immersed in the ancient book in his hands.
Guan’er lightly coughed and called out, “Outsider!”
“Wait a minute!” Yang Kai responded faintly, not even lifting his eyes.
Guan’er was stunned and suddenly felt unhappy, “Senior Li has come to see you, quickly stand up and greet her!”
Yang Kai let out a light sigh, glanced over at her, and then lowered his eyes back down to his book and ignored her.
Guan’er couldn’t help feeling annoyed and was just about to reprimand him again when Senior Li raised her hand and motioned to her to let it go, smiling light as she stood their patiently and waited.
Guan’er ground her teeth but still obeyed, but her impression of this outsider plummeted a few notches. She wished to give him a few good slaps to teach him a harsh lesson.
Time passed quickly and Senior Li and Guan’er had soon waited for half a day before Yang Kai finally closed the ancient book in front of him and let out a long sigh.
“Finished?” Senior Li finally spoke in a soft tone.
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“How is it?”
“Some gains!” Yang Kai replied.
Senior Li smiled beautifully, “It seems you really have some foundation in the Alchemic Way.”
Without a certain foundation in Alchemy, it would be impossible for anyone to understand these ancient books.
Yang Kai grinned, “You seem to have caught quite a number of people with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas before, then brought them here and trained them to become Alchemists… En, I now somewhat understand what it is you want me to do.”
This one month, Yang Kai had read all of these ancient books. Some of these books were left behind by famous predecessors who had deep attainments in the Alchemic Way while others were put together from the various experiences and insights of people who had suffered the same fate as Yang Kai.
They had been caught and sent here by the Coffin Carrying Man, and under the support and training of the members of the Demon Race here, they had toiled away to become Alchemy Grandmasters, but unfortunately, not one of them could satisfy the necessary requirements and all of them had eventually disappeared.
One month’s time was enough for Yang Kai to understand his capture’s intentions and his own situation which allowed him to completely calm himself.
As long as these people needed his help, he didn’t have to worry about his safety and would in fact gain many benefits instead.
“En, we have captured a lot of cultivators with Conflagrated Knowledge Sea for the express purpose of cultivating powerful Alchemists,” Senior Li frankly admitted.
“Why? Do you have some kind of problem you need an Alchemist to solve?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “Such as, refining some pill?”
Senior Li looked at him with amazement and after a long time, nodded lightly, “En, we need to refine certain pill, but not just any Alchemist can do refine the pill we need, it must be Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. That’s the reason why you were caught and sent here.”
“Good, it just so happens I want to become an Alchemist, so if your conditions are right, I don’t mind helping you!” Yang Kai looked at her said in a businesslike manner.
“Shameless boasting!” Guan’er spat disdainfully, “Cultivators with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas are rare, but over the countless years, Coffin Slave Senior has also caught and sent us more than a dozen people, each of whom was an outstanding master, yet none of them were able to complete our request, what makes you so confident that you can succeed where they have failed?”
“That’s my problem, you don’t have to worry about it, and besides, you should be hoping I can succeed should you not?” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
“Indeed, we very much hope that you can succeed and free us from our long imprisonment so we can go out and see the outside world,” Senior Li gently nodded, a look of anticipation flashing across her eyes, “First allow me introduce ourselves, our ancestors had the honour of serving as The Great Demon God’s disciples and elite guard. However, at some point, our ancestors were sealed by The Great Demon God in this Independent Small World, and from that time we have not been able to leave.”
“The Great Demon God… and an Independent Small World?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Great Demon God is the supreme being of our Demon Race, the master of our ancestors!” Senior Li said with great reverence and respect, “As for the Independent Small World, it’s what the space we currently occupy is known as. According to legend, in ancient times, when extraordinarily powerful masters fought, they would often tear open space and create small isolated spaces; we refer to these spaces as Independent Small Worlds. Have you heard of this before?”
“I’ve heard of such places before, I just didn’t know they were called Independent Small Worlds,” Yang Kai nodded.
Apparently the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave and the Isolated world in Nether Mountain were Independent Small Worlds.
Suddenly realizing something, Yang Kai smiled strangely, “Since Great Demon God was the master your ancestors served, why where they sealed in this place?”
Senior Li smiled and shook her head, “Although there are some speculations about this in our ancient books, no clear reason was ever recorded; however, after so many years, what that reason was has very little significance. Now, our greatest wish is to leave this Independent Small World. Because of a certain problem with our physiques, we aren’t able to survive in the outside world, so we need a special type of pill to be refined in order to fix the defects in our bodies, and this pill is what we need you to refine.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded and asked, “What about the Coffin Carrying Man? He should be one of your people, why can he walk about outside and why does he carry that blood red coffin everywhere he goes?”
Senior Li’s expression suddenly became a bit dispirited as she solemnly replied, “You should be referring to Coffin Slave Senior. He is actually dead, but through a special technique, he is able to maintain a very limited degree of consciousness. He travels around outside seeking cultivators with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas in order to help us. As for his true identity, we don’t know, we don’t even know how old he is or when his mission began, only that in our oldest records he has always existed. The blood red coffin he carries is actually the seal of this Independent Small World. It can be said that Coffin Slave Senior is literally carrying the destinies of the thousands of members of our clan on his back.”
“You mean, if someone was to successfully rob the blood red coffin from him and destroy it…” Yang Kai suddenly had a terrifying thought.
“Then this world will collapse and all of us will be killed by the power of the void!” Senior Li explained.
Yang Kai was stunned and couldn’t help feeling a burst of chills, “Your destinies are completely out of your hands.”
“As is yours now,” Senior Li smiled lightly, “So in order to get out of here as soon as possible, you should work hard. I hope that you are indeed different from the others who came before you and can fulfill our wish.”
Arriving at this point, Senior Li suddenly asked, “That’s right, what grade of Alchemist are you now, what grade of pill can you refine?”
Yang Kai lightly coughed, “I can reluctantly only refine Earth Grade pills.”
The young beauty Guan’er couldn’t help but covering her small mouth, and even Senior Li looked at Yang Kai with an incredulous look.
From how Yang Kai had spoken and acted so far, always confident and composed, the two women had thought he was already a skilled Alchemist, but now it seems that this was not the case at all. This outsider was clearly just a novice when it came to the Alchemic Way, so both of them couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed.
However, Yang Kai just chuckled, “My teacher taught me that before I reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary, I was not to perform Alchemy, as such I just recently began my practical studies.”
“How long do you need to become a Saint Grade Alchemist?” Guan’er asked, “Only a Saint Grade Alchemist can refine the pill we need.”
“Shouldn’t be long,” Yang Kai grinned confidently.
“I really hope that that’s true, you have to accomplish this goal within ten years, otherwise… you’ll die!” Senior Li stared at him seriously, “It’s not that we want to impose a deadline on you after which we will kill you, but you should be able to tell that this world is filled with Demonic Qi, which is incompatible with the True Qi of your Human Race. Once you have been exposed to it for too long, you will inevitably influenced by the surrounding Demonic Qi and your consciousness will become more and more irritable and violent, eventually degrading completely. All of those who were sent here before by Coffin Slave Senior suffered such fates and we were forced to kill them.”
“You can rest assured that even if I stay here for a hundred years, the Demonic Qi here will not affect me,” Yang Kai sneered.
Not only would he not be affected, his Unyielding Golden Skeleton would even become stronger, it actually quite liked the surrounding energy here.
“Your confidence is certainly not small…” Guan’er looked at Yang Kai with disdain, “You humans always like talking big, but in the end you’re not as good as us demons!”
Inside the huge stone room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in front of a water tank-sized pill furnace, slowly injecting his True Qi into it while concentrating on forming a simple Spirit Array.
After a while, the Spirit Array was successfully formed, and Yang Kai orderly put a series of herbs into the furnace while refining their medicinal essences with his True Qi.
Soon, these herbs were all refined into medicinal liquids and were gathered together into a single mass. Under the dual action of the Spirit Array and Yang Kai’s True Qi, this ball of liquid slowly underwent some subtle changes.
A faint medicinal fragrance began leaking from the furnace and Yang Kai become more and more focused.
A short time later, Yang Kai’s eyes shot open and his hands formed a series of seals while he rapidly injected his True Qi into the furnace. In the next instant, a round yellow-colored pill shot out of the pill furnace and was swiftly caught by Yang Kai.
The pill was still warm and after giving it a quick sniff and inspecting it’s quality, Yang Kai gently nodded.
Earth Grade Top-Rank!
With his current skill and experience, he could now easily refine Earth Grade Top-Rank pills.
Placing the finished pill into a nearby jade bottle, Yang Kai closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing for a moment before beginning this process all over again.
Inside the stone room where he lived, there was a big pile of herbs that had been provided to him by the Demon Race people here. With materials being provided to him freely, Yang Kai only needed to concentrate on improving his Alchemy skill.
Yang Kai didn’t show any signs of impatience or unease; even though he was sent here by the Coffin Carrying Man and although the task the beautiful woman needed him to complete wasn’t simple, Yang Kai still found this place somewhat comfortable.
Up until now, although he had wanted to study the Alchemic Way, Yang Kai had always been short on funds and was unable to buy the necessary herbs; his only real practical experience was the ten day period he had spent experimenting in Bold Independent City.
Now suddenly presented with such good conditions, being whole heartedly trained by these Demon Race people, Yang Kai was naturally not in a hurry to leave, not to mention even if he wanted to go he couldn’t.
He now knew that the mature beauty who had first greeted him who was called Senior Li, the beautiful woman with an icy temperament, the old man, and the annoying Chu Jian, were all Saints.
Faced with such powerful masters, Yang Kai wasn’t interested in disgracing himself by trying something stupid.
Now what he had to do was improve his Alchemy skills. Yang Kai not only found he enjoyed Alchemy, but by repeatedly using his True Qi to delicately portray Spirit Arrays and manipulate medicinal essences, his own strength and state of mind also improved as well, a very gratifying result.
The young girl Guan’er was responsible for monitoring Yang Kai’s movements so she would often sit in the same spot a few hundred meters from him and observe his progress.
Seeing Yang Kai successfully refine another pill, Guan’er couldn’t help smiling happily and clenching her fist, almost as if she was the one who had been the one to accomplish this.
When the air beside her began to warp, Guan’er was surprised for a moment before quickly composing herself.
A moment later, the beautiful Senior Li appeared, and this time she was accompanied by the icy woman and the old man as well.
“Greetings, three Lords!” Guan’er quickly greeted.
The three people gently nodded before turning their attention towards Yang Kai, the beautiful Senior Li asking, “How is his progress?”
“Very good,” Guan’er replied seriously, “It’s really quite surprising but he seems to be very talented in Alchemy. I can tell that before now he hadn’t had much experience performing Alchemy but in less than one month his skill has risen to the point where he can easily refine Earth Grade Top-Rank pills and in a few days, I believe he should be able to refine Heaven Grade pills.”
“Is he really so talented?” Senior Li’s beautiful eyes lit up, a look of expectation appearing on her face.
The last time she had come here and had a long talk with Yang Kai, although she was satisfied with his attitude, when she heard that he had only just begun experimenting with Alchemy, she couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.
Among the dozens of people who had come before Yang Kai who possessed Conflagrated Knowledge Seas there were a number who had never been exposed to Alchemy before. Those people, with no exception, after ten years, all had terrible achievements in the Alchemic Way.
As such, Senior Li didn’t expect much from Yang Kai at the time, thinking he would be like those people.
But now, after listening to Guan’er’s comments, Senior Li found herself pleasantly surprised.
This young boy seemed to be very different from his predecessors.
“Senior Li, if this boy continues to progress at this speed, within ten years, he may really be able to refine Saint Grade pills!” The old man caressed his white beard and gently nodded, his wrinkled face filled with a look of expectation.
“His performance is really reassuring, but right now, there’s still a big problem in front of us…” The icy woman cut in.
Listening to her words, both Senior Li and the old man’s expressions couldn’t help sinking.
“What problem?” Guan’er asked in confusion, glancing at the faces of the three seniors and realizing that there was some kind of difficult issue.
Senior Li smiled softly and replied, “It’s a matter of materials. The Mysterious Small World we live in is quite vast, but the materials produced are still limited, and after so many years of collection, the output is no longer as good as it once was. I don’t know if the materials we have on hand are enough to train him to become a Saint Grade Alchemist. If there aren’t enough…”
Guan’er suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem.
If this outsider wanted to continue raising his skills, he would need to use an incredibly large number of spirit herbs to practice. Only by accumulating vast amounts of practical experience would his Alchemy techniques reach the level they required of him.
The Demon Race believed in their physical strength, and because of the nature of the Demonic Qi within their bodies, they were basically unsuited to practicing Alchemy, so although they would occasionally collect herbs, they would normally just consume them raw and the benefits they obtained would be minimal.
Regarding this, many amongst the Demon Race were quite envious of the Human Race’s Alchemist, and they would also spend great sums of money to buy pills from the Human Race.
And so for countless years, the Demon Race people who lived here had collected and eaten a large number of herbs and although Senior Li had purposefully cultivated some herb gardens, the herbs they produced would still not be enough to fully cultivate Yang Kai.
“What should we do?” Guan’er was a little bit flustered. Now that they had finally seen a glimmer of hope, if all of their plans were to fail because they lacked enough raw materials, it would really be a pity.
“Can we let Coffin Slave Senior gather some herbs from the outside world?” Guan’er made a suggestion.
To her suggestion, Senior Li shook her head lightly, “Coffin Slave Senior has already passed on and only his remaining obsession to find those with Conflagrate Knowledge Seas allows his body to temporarily take action. We have no way of communicating other requests to him.”
The old man paused for a moment before angrily muttering, “Over the past hundred years, Chu Jian has never offered any herbs to Demon God Citadel, he should have a great many in storage!”
“You want him to ask him?” The icy woman’s eyes narrowed, “He won’t listen to you.”
“Senior Li is the Lord of Demon God Citadel, every member of our clan must heed her orders. If Chu Jian dares to ignore then he is guilty of rebellion!”
The icy woman just sneered, “He’s been rebelling for more than a few days now.”
Senior Li took a deep breath, her full chest undulating intoxicatingly for a moment before she let out a sigh, “Let’s set aside Chu Jian’s position for now, the herbs we have are still enough to support him for some time, we can discuss this issue again when it becomes a real problem.”
The icy woman and the old man both exchanged a glance and slowly shook their heads, thinking that Senior Li was being too lenient once again.
Her benevolence was quite a rare trait amongst those of the Demon Race.
“Guan’er, you continue taking care of him, if he has any requirements, as long as it is not too much, do your best to satisfy them,” Senior Li gave a command.
“En, understood,” Guan’er quickly responded.
The mature beauty glanced over at Yang Kai again but just as she and the two other Seniors were about to leave, Yang Kai seemingly sensed their gazes and turned his eyes towards them, grinning as he called out in a loud voice, “Perfect timing, I have something I’d like to ask you.”
Senior Li smiled lightly and together with the icy woman and the old man flickered and appeared in front of Yang Kai, softly asking, “What’s the matter?”
Yang Kai didn’t reply immediately, his eyes shifting back and forth.
The old man saw this and was quite dissatisfied, coldly shouting, “Human brat, take back your filthy eyes, otherwise this old master will teach you how to show proper etiquette.”
Yang Kai smiled awkwardly to this and replied, “I was just wondering what I should call you.”
Senior Li was stunned for a moment before she smiled gently, “My name is Li Rong.” Saying so, she lightly pointed to the icy woman and the old man and introduced them, “These two are Han Fei and Hua Mo, and of course you already know Guan’er, you can address us as Senior or by our names directly; after all, we are now a cooperative relationship.”
“Han Fei …” Yang Kai took a look at the icy woman and nodded gently, “Sure enough, a pretty name.”
Hua Mo’s expression couldn’t help becoming a little weird while Han Fei herself stared at Yang Kai coldly, “You’re not afraid of me? If those words were spoken by someone else with your pitiful strength, he’d be dead by now.”
No one had ever dared speak so flippantly towards her.
Yang Kai however just shook his head, “I just felt somewhat familiar with you.”
This time, the jaws of all the Demon Race people dropped.
“Don’t misunderstand, it’s just that I know another woman whose temperament is very much like yours, moreover, people like you generally appear cold on the outside, but inside… hehe,” As Yang Kai spoke, he couldn’t help thinking about Su Yan.
This bold evaluation seemed to greatly disturb Han Fei, her face flashing an unnatural look, but just as she was about to get angry, Yang Kai quickly changed the subject, “But I digress, let’s talk about business.”
“What do you want to say?” Li Rong asked.
“Since, as you say, we are now in a cooperative relationship, then I’ll get straight to the point. To be honest, I know that you’re still hiding some things from me, but here, I can study Alchemy without any worries, so I won’t ask you anything regarding what it is you’re concealing, everyone has their own secrets.”
Li Rong gently nodded, not denying Yang Kai’s assertions.
As the Lord of Demon God Citadel, she naturally wouldn’t explain everything to Yang Kai, an outsider. Concealing some things was only natural.
“However, if you want me to advance quickly, you’ll have to pay me a bit more; after all, no matter how comfortable you make things for me, I am still your captive. If I don’t take some more benefits, I’d feel somewhat uncomfortable,” Yang Kai grinned.
“You still want to snatch more benefits?” Hua Mo coldly snorted, “Human brat, don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch. Us not limiting your freedom is already showing you a great deal of respect.”
Hua Mo obviously didn’t like how Yang Kai still dared to bargain with them even though he was essentially their captive.
Yang Kai just smiled lightly though and replied, “Then maybe, when I become a Saint Grade Alchemist, when I’m helping you refine the pill you need, I can ‘accidentally’ make some mistakes.”
Hearing this thinly veiled threat, the expressions of everyone else in the room became bad, with Han Fei even sending a murderous gaze towards Yang Kai
“You dare?!” Hua Mo angrily roared.
However, Li Rong reached out and stopped Hua Mo, calmly turning her attention to Yang Kai, “Such matters are things to be considered far from now, and I believe that as long as we meet your requirements, there will be no need for you to do such things, yes?”
“Depends on my mood,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and assumed an indifferent posture.
“Name your requests then. I just mentioned to Guan’er that as long as your requests are not excessive, we will satisfy them unconditionally, and now, in front of you, I will make the same commitment,” Li Rong smiled slightly, not showing the slightest bit of anger.
Yang Kai glanced over at her and found that this dignified beautiful woman really had a quiet and gentle temperament. Her benevolence seemed to come straight from her soul. Moreover, she was a natural born leader, far more mature than Yun Xuan. Her eyes contained a wise and calm light that made those around her involuntarily feel a sense of comfort and intimacy.
When she spoke these words, the slight resistance and hostility in Yang Kai’s heart disappeared.
Smiling lightly, Yang Kai quickly spoke, “I want Conflagrated Knowledge Seas!”
Li Rong, Han Fei and Hua Mo’s look changed slightly but Li Rong quickly laughed to conceal this gaff, “Aren’t you already in possession of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea? You suddenly asking us for Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, are you perhaps trying to be difficult?”
Yang Kai remained calm and stared towards Li Rong meaningfully, “Let’s not waste each other’s time, you know what I mean.”
The three Seniors suddenly went silent.
Seeing their silence, Yang Kai knew that there was a chance so he quickly struck while the iron was hot, “What use are the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas you have stored up? Do you want to cultivate your own Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea? Heh, I advise you to give up now, if I didn’t guess wrong, you should have already tried this and know what the consequences are. To put it simply, your Demon Race people’s physique is not suitable for Alchemy!”
“You seem to know a great deal,” Hua Mo was a little surprised. The things Yang Kai had just said were basically true, which meant he knew some of their most hidden secrets, a fact that nearly made him speechless.
“Thanks to the ancient book that were left here, there were quite a few hidden records included.”
“Hateful Humans!” Hua Mo gnashed his teeth, the ancient books that were left here had been checked by them extremely carefully to ensure that no information detrimental to Demon God Citadel was recorded in them, otherwise they wouldn’t have let Yang Kai so casually read them.
But apparently, some information that could only be understood by Alchemists was still left behind!
Li Rong eventually nodded, “Indeed, we do have a dozen sealed Conflagrated Knowledge Seas on hand. These Conflagrated Knowledge Seas are the legacy of the Human Race cultivators who were sent here by Coffin Slave Senior over our many years of captivity. Through some special methods we have preserved them in almost perfect condition.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed brilliantly when he heard this and unconsciously licked his lips, “I want all of them, if you give them to me, I will certainly fulfill your wishes!”
“It’s not impossible to give them to you,” Li Rong frowned slightly, “As you said, we have really had thought about trying to cultivate our own Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, but our Demon Race people’s physique, even if it is incredibly strong, for some unknown reason, is really not suited to Alchemy, so whenever one of our clansmen tried to refine one of those Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, their Knowledge Sea would quickly be incinerated and they would die.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and knew that his guess was right.
Being locked up in this Mysterious Small World for so many years, Yang Kai would never believe that these Demon Race people solely relied on capturing cultivator from the outside world that had Conflagrated Knowledge Sea to free themselves from their imprisonment. Obviously they had attempted to find alternative solutions but hadn’t made significant progress.
“Your Demon Race is interesting, your physical strength is much stronger than any other race, but why can’t you study Alchemy?” Yang Kai smiled, taking some pleasure in others’ misfortune.
“It’s only natural, because our physiques are too strong, if we could also become skilled in Alchemy, would there be any space for other races in this world?”
“Of course that doesn’t mean that no one from the Demon Race can be proficient in Alchemy. The most outstanding Alchemist in Tong Xuan Realm’s history comes from our Demon Race, even the Alchemy Grandmasters of your Human Race could only admit defeat before him!” Han Fei shot back.
“Oh? Was there such a character? Who was he?”
Li Rong slowly shook her head, apparently reluctant to say any more, bringing the conversation back to its original topic, “The Conflagrated Knowledge Seas we have left really don’t have much use to us, so if you want them we can give them to you, but can you guarantee that you can safely refine them and not die? If you die, we will be very troubled; after all, it is very difficult to find someone like you, on average Coffin Slave Senior takes a decade or so to find one.”
“Do you think I’m someone who acts recklessly with his life?” Yang Kai grinned.
Li Rong stared at him deeply and after a long time, nodded, “Then I will meet your requirements. I hope you don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch again.”
“Happy doing business with you!”
Li Rong smiled, turned, and walked away, her soft voice gently drifting over as she left, “I will send the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas to you tomorrow.”
“Good!”
Han Fei stared at Yang Kai coldly and warned, “You only have ten years, if you can’t satisfy our request within ten years, I will let you experience what it means to live a life worse than death!”
This icy woman seemed to be holding a grudge for Yang Kai’s comments about her appearing cold on the outside but warm inside. Now being target by her, Yang Kai felt slightly helpless.
The three Saint Realm masters left, and even Guan’er quickly disappeared.
The next day, Guan’er brought a dozen or so containers made of fine white jade, each of them about the size of a fist, all of them wrapped in dense Spirit Arrays that formed some kind of elaborate seals.
Placing these dozen containers in front of Yang Kai, Guan’er coldly snorted, “These are the things you asked for.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as he quickly picked up one of them, but just as he was about to use his True Qi to break its seal, Guan’er expression changed dramatically as she called out, “What are you doing?”
“Breaking the seal and absorbing it,” Yang Kai smiled brightly.
“Are you insane?” Guan’er shouted anxiously, “The owners of each of these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas were all Transcendents, their Knowledge Seas were all far stronger than yours, if you rashly try to absorb them, you’ll be burned to death just like the members of my clan that tried to refine them! Please tell me you’re joking!”
“I’m not joking!” Yang Kai shook his head casually.
“Isn’t there a safer way?” Guan’er asked urgently, “When you said you wanted these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas yesterday, Senior Li thought that you had a safe way to absorb them, otherwise she wouldn’t have given them to you so easily, if this was your plan all along, then…”
“This is what I was planning to do from the start. Now, if you don’t want to die, move farther away.”
“Wait, I’ll go get Senior Li, wait for her to arrive.” Guan’er hurriedly said, rushing out of the stone room, apparently wanting to report the situation to Senior Li so she could make a decision.
“Before Senior Li arrives, don’t act rashly!”
As soon as she spat out these words though, Guan’er noticed a blistering aura that unconsciously made her feel uneasy.
This heat was not something physical, rather, it felt more like her very soul was burning. This burning heat greatly affected Guan’er’s Soul, the pain was difficult to describe.
Her beautiful eyes going wide, Guan’er rushed out in a flurry, afraid that her Soul really would be turned to ash if she remained.
Looking back, she saw that the entire stone room had become a sea of red and the space seemed to warp from the intense heat. A cluster of visible flames quickly formed. This cloud of flame not only contained the remnants of a powerful cultivator’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, but also the residual thoughts and consciousness that cultivator left behind when they died.
However, this blistering heat that made Guan’er so fearful seemed to have no affect on the Human Race brat.
He simply sat in the same place, a look of excitement on his face.
Suddenly, a terrifying suction force seemed to emerge from his forehead and in the blink of an eye, all the power of the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was swallowed up by him and disappeared.
Guan’er was dumbstruck as she stared at this incredible scene, almost forgetting to breathe.
The stone room was once again calm, but Yang Kai was seemingly not satisfied and quickly began unsealing all of the other jade containers.
Guan’er’s face went pale as she shouted out in alarm, “Lunatic!”
Guan’er hurriedly escaped from this place without looking back.
A single unsealed Conflagrated Knowledge Sea had already given her an extremely dangerous feeling. If several of them were to suddenly appear at once she definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
A blast of heat erupted from the stone room a moment later and Guan’er, who was rapidly fleeing, was struck hard and nearly tumbled to the ground. By the time she had regained her balance, several people from Demon God Citadel, who had been alerted by this disturbance, had arrived.
Li Rong also appeared in a flash and asked solemnly, “What happened? Didn’t you just send him the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas we had in storage? Why did all of their seals suddenly fail?”
“The seals didn’t fail, he undid them himself…” Guan’er desperately wanted to cry but was unable to shed any tears, quickly explaining what had happened, “I tried to stop him but…”
“Is he courting death?” Even the normally calm Li Rong couldn’t help calling out anxiously before she charged into the stone room. Although she had agreed to give Yang Kai these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, she hadn’t expected Yang Kai who always seemed to composed to suddenly act so recklessly.
How could he possibly survive if he was to suddenly undo all of those seals?
But after rushing into the stone room, Li Rong couldn’t help staring in shock.
Because she found that the blazing heat she had felt a moment ago had suddenly completely disappeared and the human kid in front of her not only didn’t seem to have suffered any injuries , but was actually sitting there with a look of joy upon his face.
Obviously, in that instant, he had absorbed all of the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas she had given him.
Li Rong’s expression cramped as her brow furrowed, suddenly discovering that she couldn’t completely understand this Human Race boy.
More than a dozen Transcendent Realm masters’ Conflagrated Knowledge Seas was something even she didn’t dare contact easily, but this Human Race kid had actually drawn all of them into his own Knowledge Sea without any hesitation.
What exactly gave him the confidence to act so daringly?
Li Rong’s face kept changing, her brow wrinkling and relaxing, a look of puzzlement the only thing consistent.
This Human Race boy had dared to absorb more than a dozen Conflagrated Knowledge Seas into his Knowledge Sea and outwardly showed no signs of distress. The only reasonable conclusion was there was some secret hidden in his Knowledge Sea that could contain the damage these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas should have on him.
The mature, dignified beauty couldn’t help feeling somewhat curious.
Making a decision, with a wave of her hand, she erected a barrier around the stone room and then sat down opposite Yang Kai, stretched out her jade like hand, and delicately placed her finger onto his forehead.
In the next moment, a strand of Divine Sense was sent out from Li Rong’s Knowledge Sea and rushed into Yang Kai’s.
She wanted to see for herself what this boy was hiding.
Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, a blazing hot aura lingered and even the water down below seemed to be boiling as wisps of burning flame leapt about.
As Li Rong quietly glanced around at this Knowledge Sea, a great storm welled up in her heart.
She clearly felt just how tyrannical this boy’s Knowledge Sea was. Even though he was only a Human Race brat at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, his Spiritual Energy was no worse than a peak Transcendent.
Although Yang Kai had previously demonstrated his Spiritual Energy in front of her, Li Rong now realized that at the time he had still been holding back.
The Human Race really was too deceitful!
Somewhere in the sky over the sea, a Soul avatar quietly floated, which was quickly identified by Li Rong as Yang Kai’s avatar.
Right now, in front of his Soul avatar, were a dozen or so flames which were no doubt the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas he had just absorbed. These Conflagrated Knowledge Seas each radiated a devastating power that warped the space around them, causing Yang Kai’s entire Knowledge Sea to look a turbulent, as if it was in danger of collapsing at any time.
Seeing this, Li Rong couldn’t help worrying.
“Senior Li, don’t you think it’s a bit inappropriate to spy on someone else’s inner secrets?” Suddenly, the Human Race’s Soul avatar turned its eyes towards where she was hiding.
Li Rong was stunned but quickly wore a helpless smile. She had thought that she could sneak into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea without being noticed because of the vast difference in their strength, but she hadn’t expected his Spiritual Energy to be so strong or for him to be so vigilant of his surroundings.
Since she had already been discovered, Li Rong didn’t bother hiding anymore and instead directly showed herself and lightly flew towards Yang Kai, waving her hand and saying sincerely, “Sorry, I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and wanted to see what method you had to safely devour these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas; after all, this is our Demon God Citadel’s investment in you, as the Lord of Demon God Citadel. So, do I not have some right to monitor how they are used?”
“Does Senior Li not trust me?” Yang Kai grinned.
“Somewhat. We have not yet reached a point where we can truly trust one another, and taking lessons from the past, acting prudently is reasonable,” Li Rong smiled back.
Yang Kai nodded in agreement.
“So, can you let me see your means? Rest assured, I will only observe quietly and will not bother you,” Li Rong proposed, obviously she was worried that when Yang Kai tried to refine these Conflagrated The Knowledge Seas something might go wrong. If that really happened, if she was nearby, she might be able to help him.
Although he was aware of her good intentions, Yang Kai still shook his head slowly, “Everyone has their own secrets. I believe Senior Li had no intention of spying on my secrets when you snuck into my Knowledge Sea so I didn’t immediately drive you out because Senior Li is a woman worthy of trusting. Now that we have reached this point though, please don’t force me to do something that would damage this fragile trust.”
To assimilate these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, he had to use the power of the Solitary Golden Eye.
The moment when Li Rong snuck into his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai had quickly concealed the Solitary Golden Eye and Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus.
These things were secrets he didn’t want anyone to know about, and as long as Li Rong didn’t deliberately pry into his secrets, she shouldn’t be able to find them.
Hearing Yang Kai give her such a high appraisal caused an unnatural look to appear on Li Rong’s face; after all, regardless of her intentions, she had still secretly intruded into his Knowledge Sea. Yang Kai’s praise made her feel awkward.
“Do you really insist?” Li Rong bit her red lips and asked, not willing to give up so easily.
Yang Kai nodded firmly.
Li Rong sighed and finally relented, “Good, then I won’t insist. Please be careful though.”
Saying so, a potent Spiritual Energy emerged from her Soul avatar and wrapped around the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas.
There was no hostile intent behind this move; she just wanted to help Yang Kai as much as possible before leaving.
Yang Kai also knew this and naturally made no attempt to stop her.
However, something shocking happened the moment she acted. All of a sudden, Li Rong’s Soul avatar trembled and the Solitary Golden Eye, which had been hidden by Yang Kai, actually took the initiative to show itself.
The Solitary Golden Eye then slowly opened, completely ignoring Yang Kai’s attempts to control it.
Faced with its endless majesty, even the incredibly powerful Li Rong couldn’t help trembling violently, as if her Soul avatar would collapse in the next instant.
When the Solitary Golden Eye appeared, it gave off a pressure that made any who saw it feel like kneeling down and worshiping it.
The dozen or so unstable Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, as if they were being stared at by a hungry predatory, all became quiet and clustered together, as if trying to find some sense of security in each other.
Li Rong stared blankly, as if the only thing reflected in her eyes was this golden eyeball.
Yang Kai’s expression also changed drastically as he desperately tried to communicate with the Solitary Golden Eye; however, he received no response at all.
A beam of golden light suddenly shot from the Solitary Golden Eye and engulfed all of the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, purifying all of their remaining impurities in an instant. But the golden light’s power didn’t decrease at all and continued forward, striking Li Rong’s Soul avatar in the next moment.
Yang Kai stared dumbfounded at this scene!
Li Rong’s Soul avatar was also motionless and very quickly faded and disappeared.
When Li Rong’s Soul avatar disappeared, the Solitary Golden Eye slowly closed. Yang Kai glanced over at it with an ugly expression.
After a brief moment, Yang Kai grumbled in discontent and ignoring the purified Conflagrated Knowledge Seas in front of him, quickly pulled his consciousness out of his Knowledge Sea.
Hurriedly opening his eyes, Yang Kai saw Li Rong sitting in front of him. At this moment, her eyes were wide open and her entire body was stiff, her jade white finger still gently poking his forehead. Sweat was dripping down her brow as if she had just awoken from a terrifying nightmare, her beautiful face now completely pale.
Sweeping his surroundings with his Divine Sense and noticing that the stone room was sealed off from the outside world, Yang Kai relaxed slightly.
The destructive power of the Solitary Golden Eye was abundantly clear to him so he knew that Li Rong’s Soul avatar had likely been instantly wiped out.
This woman was the Lord of Demon God Citadel, if she were to die right before his eyes, he wouldn’t have any way to explain it. Forget about studying Alchemy anymore or searching for Su Yan and Little Senior Sister. Han Fei and Hua Mo would likely chop his corpse into ten thousand pieces and avenge Li Rong.
Desperately trying to calm his nerves, Yang Kai carefully swept Li Rong with his Divine Sense but to his surprise she seemed to be unharmed!
Despite the frightened expression on her face, neither her Divine Sense nor her body appeared to have suffered any harm, it was just that right now for some reason her thoughts seemed to be in chaotic state.
[What happened?] Yang Kai felt confused.
Every time the Solitary Golden Eye exerted its power, it would easily purify any foreign Divine Sense that entered Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, leaving behind only the original owner’s sentiments and Spiritual Energy, but this was not the case with Li Rong.
Was her cultivation too strong compared to his own? Was there some other unknown reason?
Regardless, Li Rong was safe and sound, allowing Yang Kai’s mood to improve greatly.
Staring at the nearly unconscious beauty in front of him, Yang Kai’s aura slowly became dangerous.
Just now, Li Rong had definitely seen his Solitary Golden Eye, so the thought of killing her couldn’t help coming to Yang Kai’s mind.
But after a brief moment of hesitation, he slowly shook his head and gave up this idea.
Killing Li Rong would bring him more trouble than it was worth.
Sitting back again, Yang Kai let out a long sigh. There seemed to be a great deal of noise outside his stone room, the people from Demon God Citadel had probably noticed something was wrong and had begun to gather here. Yang Kai could also hear Guan’er’s voice from time to time, seemingly trying to call out to him.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to her calls.
Even after waiting for a while, Li Rong still didn’t react, so Yang Kai also ignored her and once again immersed his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea and began absorbing the purified Conflagrated Knowledge Seas.
Yang Kai had asked Li Rong for these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas because he saw some records in the ancient books that cultivators with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas could enhance themselves by devouring the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas of others.
Yang Kai had acquired his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea when he had refined the Jade True Spirit, so although its temperature was blisteringly hot, relatively speaking, it wasn’t too strong. If he could refine more Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, his own would undoubtedly become more powerful.
This would yield great benefits to Yang Kai with regards to his future Soul strength as well as his study of Alchemy.
So when he learned that Li Rong had more than a dozen Conflagrated Knowledge Seas in storage, Yang Kai was inevitably tempted.
The process of absorbing these Conflagrated Knowledge Seas was relatively simple and easy, and the effects on his Knowledge Sea were immediately apparent.
The patches of burning flame-like seawater became larger and denser, the power contained within them increasing several fold. Yang Kai’s current Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was now incomparable to the one he originally had.
This was a huge harvest and Yang Kai was quite satisfied.
When he pulled his consciousness from his Knowledge Sea once more, Yang Kai realized that Li Rong had already extracted herself from her abnormal state. Now, this mature beauty who always seemed so calm and wise was staring at him with a look of confusion on her pretty face.
When their four eyes suddenly met, Li Rong seemed somewhat frightened and hurriedly shifted her gaze.
“Are you alright?” Yang Kai asked.
Li Rong slowly nodded.
“Do you remember what you saw a moment ago?” Yang Kai solemnly asked.
Li Rong hesitated for a moment before nodding once more, but she immediately followed up, “You don’t have to worry, I won’t say anything regarding this matter.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s said with a curious expression.
Li Rong so anxiously saying this was almost as if she was eager to show good will towards him, which from Yang Kai’s perspective was quite odd, so he was somewhat at a loss as to what to say now.
“You don’t trust me?” Li Rong knit her brow, “I can swear an oath in the name of The Great Demon God that without your explicit permission I will not tell the second person about anything I just witnessed!”
Li Rong’s words and expression were completely serious.
Although Yang Kai didn’t know what it meant to swear an oath in name of the Great Demon God, he could feel Li Rong’s sincerity from her tone and demeanour.
[Was she scared by the Solitary Golden Eye? What other reason could the Lord of Demon God Citadel have for suddenly changing her attitude towards me by so much?] Yang Kai frowned and couldn’t understand.
However, this guess was also somewhat unbelievable, Li Rong was a Saint Realm master so her courage couldn’t possibly be so small.
Gently nodding, Yang Kai smiled, “Don’t be so nervous, I believe you.”
Li Rong couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, seemingly having a great weight lifted from her shoulders. After a brief moment, the dignified air about her returned and she continued, “I am well aware of your means now. Good. From now on, Demon God Citadel will provide your with all the support you need, you can be at ease while you continue to study Alchemy here, I will see to everything else.”
Saying so, Li Rong waved and dismissed the barrier around the stone room before turning around and walking out.
Just as she was about to leave, she glanced back and said, “Right, if you feel bored here and need a change of scenery, you can let Guan’er take you out, Demon God Citadel will place no limits on your freedom.”
“En, thanks,” Yang Kai’s eyes flickered.
After Li Rong left, Yang Kai shook his head. He was keenly aware that this mature beauty’s attitude towards him had undergone a dramatic change, and although she tried to hide it, this change directly manifested itself in her very demeanor.
Unable to understand no matter how he thought about it, Yang Kai simply didn’t bother trying anymore and decided to focus on his alchemic studies again.
Outside the stone room, as Li Rong strolled out, she couldn’t help stealthily glancing back a few times, a hint of excitement flashing across her eyes. Guan’er soon rushed up and worriedly asked, “Mistress, is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine,” Li Rong shook his head slightly before seriously saying, “Continue to take care of him.”
“Oh, en.”
Finished what she had to say, Li Rong’s tender body flickered and disappeared.
After the time it would take to drink a cup of tea, outside the deepest room of Demon God Citadel, Li Rong reappeared, quickly opening a heavy stone door before rushing inside.
This secret room was protected behind multiple barriers and contained the most valuable treasures in all of Demon God Citadel and only the Lord of Demon God Citadel was eligible to enter.
After Li Rong stepped inside, she walked over to a corner and took out a thick ancient book from one of the shelves. This ancient book had been left unattended for a long time and was covered in a thick layer of dust; however, Li Rong seemed to be in a great hurry and didn’t pay any attention to this, quickly brushing off this dust and then flipping the book open.
A moment later, Li Rong’s beautiful eyes fixed on a certain page inside the ancient book, attentively staring at its content, her breathing gradually becoming rapid as a look of excitement appeared on her face.
Only after a long silence did Li Rong put down the ancient book and close her eyes. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she sunk into a deep state of contemplation.
Upon opening her eyes again, Li Rong had regained her composure and a determined light appeared in the depths of her eyes, seemingly having made some kind of important decision. Placing the ancient book back onto the shelf, she swiftly left.
The next day.
As Yang Kai was once again immersed in Alchemy, the door to the stone room was suddenly opened and, under the leadership of Guan’er, a large group of Demon Race people came in.
Yang Kai was startled by this sudden visit and couldn’t help feeling a bit confused. In that moment, his True Qi became unstable and soon, black smoke appeared from inside the Pill Furnace in front of him. The herbs he had been refining had been reduced to ashes.
Guan’er ignored him and instead directed these Demon Race people about the stone room.
Yang Kai stared at this scene for a while trying to figure out what was going on but as time passed his expression only became more confused.
He quickly noticed that these people hadn’t come here to make trouble; rather, they seemed to be here to tidy up and decorate his stone room.
A large comfortable looking bed was carried in by them and placed in the corner of the stone room while new tables and chairs were also brought in, still others put together an elegant incense burner nearby before finally, a group of pretty maidservants placed a number of delicious looking dishes and fine wines onto the table.
Soon, a delicate fragrance quite unlike the burnt smell of ash filled the stone room.
After this team of people finished furnishing and decorating, the originally cold and dreary stone room had undergone earth-shaking changes and now had a warm, welcoming feeling to it.
Yang Kai brow furrowed and his heart was filled with doubts.
When everything was done, Yang Kai beckoned to Guan’er, “Come over.”
Guan’er shot him a glance that seemed to be filled with unwillingness and narrowed her eyes slightly before asking, “What’s the matter?”
“What is all of this?” Yang Kai asked directly, motioning towards the various changes in the stone room.
“Senior Li ordered us to take good care of you.”
“Even if that’s the case, isn’t this a bit much? What reason do you have for doing all this?” Yang Kai asked warily. Demon God Citadel not limiting his freedom and providing him with Alchemy materials was already better treatment than Yang Kai had expected, yet now Li Rong was suddenly treating him like an important guest, naturally he was somewhat suspicious.
“That’s what I want to know,” Guan’er grumbled, looking Yang Kai over, “You mean despicable human, did you say something sly to Senior Li in order to trick her into treating you so well?”
“Do you think she’s someone who could be so easily swindled?” Yang Kai sneered.
“You don’t have the skill!” Guan’er yelled, “Anyways, don’t ask me, right now I’m just following Mistress’ orders and am just as confused as you are. In any case, the things here are yours to do with as you please.”
Saying so, Guan’er waved her hand and led this large group of people out.
After they left, Yang Kai began to inspect everything that had been delivered.
There were no problems with the food or wine; on the contrary, everything seemed to have been carefully prepared. Although Yang Kai didn’t recognize many of the ingredients used, he could feel the subtle energy fluctuations from these dishes. This food seemed to be able to quickly supplement both his physical and spiritual strength.
The large bed was also a high quality item. Once again, Yang Kai didn’t know what materials it had been crafted from, but he did notice a number of Spirit Arrays were engraved on it. If he were to meditate on it, the rate at which he could restore himself would increase dramatically. Last but not least, among some other miscellaneous items Guan’er had brought him, there was a number of Crystal Stones.
Were they really regarding him as an important guest? Yang Kai wondered as he held swept his eyes over the dozens of Crystal Stones in front of him.
Demon God Citadel’s people had been sealed in this Mysterious Small World for centuries so Crystal Stones should be a rarity for them, yet all of sudden Li Rong had actually given him a few dozen of them, this was clearly a massive loss.
[What the hell is going on?]
Thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai soon gave up and turned his attention to the food in front of him. After filling his belly, he sat on the bed for a while to restore himself before continuing with his Alchemy studies.
From then on, every day, Guan’er would bring him some carefully prepared food and drink, Yang Kai would indulge in these delicacies, meditate for some time, and then return to refining pills. Following such a routine, his proficiency in Alchemy rapidly increased.
After just two months, Yang Kai could now easily refine Heaven Grade Top-Rank pills even without relying on the assistance of a Spirit Array.
Li Rong would also appear from time to time to observe Yang Kai’s growth.
Yang Kai’s stunning rate of improvement greatly satisfied her, a warm smile becoming more and more commonly seen upon her beautiful face while a kind of radiant glow seemed to linger about her.
As long as Yang Kai maintained this rate of progress, provided with sufficient materials, it would only be a few years before he would be capable of refining Saint Grade pills.
This kind of growth far exceeded her expectations, so Li Rong was naturally happy.
However, Yang Kai was keenly aware that this beautiful woman seemed be somewhat fearful of talking to him face-to-face now. Every time she came to observe him, she would do so stealthily and always from a distance, normally choosing to consult with Guan’er rather than see him in person.
During these few months, Yang Kai also learned a lot about this Mysterious Small World while chatting with Guan’er.
This Mysterious Small World wasn’t small at all. Although the Demon Race people who are locked up here all technically belonged to Demon God Citadel, they were actually divided into four branches, each of which had their own leader.
Yang Kai had already met all four of these leaders; Li Rong, Han Fei, Hua Mo, and Chu Jian. All four of these individuals were powerful Saint Realm masters. Each of their territories was quite vast, so if one of them wanted to meet another, they would need to fly for at least half a day.
Among these four, Chu Jian had ambitions of replacing Li Rong and becoming the true master of Demon God Citadel. On the other hand, Han Fei and Hua Mo strongly supported Li Rong, forming a three-to-one advantage, so even if Chu Jian possessed great strength, his ambitions were basically impossible to fulfill.
Because the relationship between the leaders wasn’t harmonious, even the people of the four territories don’t see eye to eye. The citizens of Chu Jian’s territory were more militant but without any real enemies inside this Mysterious Small World, they had no choice but to suppress their violent impulses and cooperate, often leading to the citizens of the other three territories becoming victims of misdirected anger.
Although Li Rong and the other two leaders had repeatedly tried to control this situation, they could not contain it entirely.
The Demon Race had never been known for their calm or restraint.
Early one morning, after the people of Demon God Citadel woke up from a night of cultivation.
Outside Yang Kai’s stone room, Guan’er led a group of pretty maidservants who were carrying some delicious food, but before she reached the door, a young man suddenly blocked her path. This youth had a sharp nose and his eyes were somewhat narrow and sinister, letting out a great laugh he greeted her, “Ms. Gu Guan’er, good morning.”
Guan’er pretty face sank as she snorted back, “What do you want?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to say hello to you,” The young man laughed, “After not seeing you for a few months, Ms Guan’er has become even more radiant, have you perhaps made some progress in your cultivation recently?”
“None of your damn business.” Guan’er seemingly had great disdain for this young man, an obvious look of disgust apparent on her face.
“Now now, don’t speak such cold words; after all, we’ll be family one day,” The youth didn’t seem to care and continued laughing haughtily.
Guan’er face instantly became cold as she shot back in an icy tone, “Who’s going to become family with you? Can you at least try to hold back your shamelessness?”
“My father said that once I break through to the Transcendent Realm, he will ask Senior Li to give you to me, which means you’ll definitely be mine sooner or later, so what’s wrong with saying we’ll be family?”
Guan’er just sneered, “Senior Li will definitely not agree, so keep your fantasies to yourself.”
The youth curled his lips smugly and didn’t bother arguing with her anymore, instead staring at her and asking curiously, “What are you doing here?”
“That’s also none of your business, now get out of my way!” Guan’er pushed him aside and led the others into the stone room.
The young man frowned as he stared at the door to Yang Kai’s stone room for a moment before beckoning to someone nearby. Immediately after, a Demon Race man rushed over and asked politely, “What orders does Young Master have?”
“During my closed cultivation these past few months, what happened? How come there’s suddenly another human here?”
The man quickly explained about Yang Kai’s arrival, and even told the young man about the enviable treatment the former was currently receiving.
Listening to this, the youth’s eyes narrowed and flashed a wicked light, “You mean, Senior Li gave him several dozen pieces of Crystal Stone?”
Just as Yang Kai had speculated, because the people of Demon God Citadel had been sealed inside a Mysterious Small World for so many years, Crystal Stones were already a rarity for them.
Although World Energy here was not thin, only with the assistance of Crystal Stones during cultivation could the strength of the Demon Race people here rapidly improve. Over the countless years, Demon God Citadel had fewer and fewer Crystal Stones and now there were barely any left.
The several dozen Crystal Stones Li Rong made Guan’er give Yang Kai were the ones she had carefully preserved all these years.
So when he heard that Yang Kai had obtained so many Crystal Stones, Pan Lang was inevitably tempted.
“A trivial Human Race cultivator, what right does he have to possess so many Crystal Stones?”
“What does Young Master want to do?” The Demon Race man suddenly realized that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, “Young Master Pan Lang, you mustn’t have any improper ideas, Senior Li is very attentive towards this Human Race cultivator and has explicitly ordered that no one is to act against him.”
“Who said that I wanted to bully him?” Pan Lang coldly snorted, “Who here saw me bullying him?”
The Demon Race cultivator nervously scratched his head and thought about it, seemingly still quite hesitant.
Pan Lang once again glanced coldly towards the stone room as a wicked grin crept onto his face.
Inside the stone room, Yang Kai waited for Guan’er to direct the maids to put down the food before he unhesitantly sat down and began eating.
Guan’er spat disdainfully as she stared at him with a look of indignation.
She simply couldn’t understand why, since two months ago, Senior Li had seemingly become so attentive towards this Human Race cultivator. The treatment he now received was enough to make others mad with jealousy.
However, whenever she asked Senior Li, the latter would only shake her head and smile.
“You should just choke and die!” Guan’er licked her red lips and spat enviously.
Yang Kai in response just waved to her, “You should come eat together with me, there’s so much here I can’t finish it all.”
“Who would eat with you?” Guan’er mumbled bitterly before turning around and resolutely walking towards the door; however, although she tried to hide it, Yang Kai still heard the sound of her swallowing and couldn’t help but laugh.
Judging from Guan’er’s attitude towards him these days, he could tell that the food she had sent him were all good things.
Yang Kai also clearly felt that after eating these dishes his physique had undergone some subtle changes and was slowly growing stronger.
Soon, Yang Kai had wolfed down everything that was sent to him and the maids who had accompanied Guan’er cleaned everything up and left.
Yang Kai stretched lazily and rested for a while before, full of energy, plunging back into the world of Alchemy.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, while Yang Kai was still immersed in Alchemy, his expression suddenly changed and his ears perked up.
He heard some light footsteps outside as well as the sound of a few people breathing as the quietly approached his room.
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly turned pensive.
It had been a few months since he came here and although many of the Demon Race’s cultivators seemed to look down on him, no one had ever dared to make any trouble, so why was someone suddenly trying to stir something up now?
And there were a lot of them at that, seven in total, all of them Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators while the one who seemed to be their leader was actually a Peak Immortal Ascension master.
Perceiving all this, Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged and didn’t show any signs of panic, continuing to steadily inject his True Qi into the Pill Furnace in front of him to refine the spirits herbs inside.
With a bang, the stone door was suddenly kicked open and seven people immediately burst in.
After they came in, they quickly closed the stone door.
Yang Kai looked up and glanced over at a young man with a sharp nose who stood at the front of the group and was snickering towards him.
His expression was scornful and contemptuous, and like most Demon God Citadel people, was clearly despising him. Yang Kai of course didn’t pay any attention to his attitude and just shook his head lightly.
“Hey, Pan Lang, this human kid is quite interesting, he doesn’t seem to be afraid of us at all,” One of the Demon Race cultivators snorted, somewhat surprised.
“Heh heh, he thinks that Senior Li will protect him, so naturally there’s no need to be afraid of us,” Pan Lang sneered and said, while striding towards Yang Kai.
When he arrived in front of Yang Kai, Pan Lang leaned over slightly and sneered right at his face.
Yang Kai however remained unmoved, still concentrating on injecting his True Qi into the Pill Furnace in front of him.
This blatant disregarded made Pan Lang somewhat annoyed so he extended his hand and slapped it onto the Pill Furnace, wantonly pouring his True Qi into it, instantly turning the herbs inside into coke.
“Human, you’ve got some nerve I’ll give you that,” Pan Lang’s mouth curled into a provocative grin.
“If you have something to say, say it, but don’t go wasting my herbs!” Yang Kai sighed lightly before turning an indifferent look towards him.
“The herbs here belong to my Demon God Citadel, they’re not yours,” Pan Lang shot back.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, a hint of annoyance flashing across his eyes. This demon youth had obviously come here to deliberately make trouble so Yang Kai didn’t have any patience to deal with him, muttering in a low voice, “What the hell do you want?”
“Nothing. I just heard that you’re an Alchemist, right?” Pan Lang stood up and looked around. After seeing a couple of jade bottles nearby, he couldn’t help but smiling, “Are these the pills you refined?”
All of the pills Yang Kai had refined had been placed into these jade bottles. He didn’t take any for himself; after all, the materials were all provided by Demon God Citadel so he could improve his Alchemy technique which was enough compensation for him already.
Yang Kai didn’t mind handing over all of these pills to Li Rong if she needed them.
Moreover, all of these were Earth Grade or Heaven Grade pills so they weren’t particularly valuable.
But unexpectedly, Pan Lang seemed quite interested in them.
One of the Demon Race people behind him rushed over, opened one of the jade bottles, and sniffed it, a look of joy soon appearing on his face, “Not bad, these Heaven Grade pills are still of some use to us.”
Pan Lang nodded arrogantly and waved his hand, “Take them all.”
His followers were all overjoyed when they heard this and they quickly began collecting the jade bottles.
“These things are for Senior Li, if you take them now, how am I supposed to explain?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Why should I care how you explain? Whether you say you took them yourself of failed to refine anything useful and threw them away, just make up an excuse,” Pan Lang sneered, “Oh, not only do I want these pills, but I’ll also be taking half of everything you refine. You better comply or else… heh…”
A strong threatening tone was apparent in his tone.
“If this kind of thing came to Senior Li’s attention, wouldn’t you be in a lot of trouble?” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“If you dare speak a word about this, I’ll teach you the meaning of dying without a burial,” Pan Lang coldly snorted. Seeing Yang Kai remain silent, he thought he was afraid of him and shook his head disdainfully, “Human, I also heard that Senior Li gave you a lot of Crystal Stones, hand them over now if you don’t want to suffer.”
Saying so, he stretched out his hand towards Yang Kai as if it was only natural.
Yang Kai gently nodded, slowly stood up, and said, “I understand, you’re really just here to cause trouble.”
“What about it?” Pan Lang sneered, “As a lowly human, what qualifications do you have to enjoy this treatment? I am Pan Lang, the future pillar of Demon God Citadel, only I should be able to enjoy such luxuries!”
“With just your pitiful strength?” Yang Kai shook his head before cracking his neck, “Alright, I haven’t gotten much exercise these past few months and it’s rare for someone to outright offer themselves up. I can’t very well disappoint your good intentions now can I?”
Pan Lang stared at Yang Kai with a stunned look and took a while to react, “Do you want to fight with us?”
Yang Kai nodded.
All of the Demon Race people seemed to have heard a hilarious joke and burst into laughter, Pan Lang even double over and pointed at Yang Kai’s while calling out to his followers, “Did you guys hear that? He actually wants to fight with us! A lowly human actually wants to fight against our noble Ancient Demon Clan, I really don’t know how someone so stupid managed to live until now!”
“Let me teach him lessons,” Behind Pan Lang, a burly Demon Race cultivator walked out and grinned fiercely, “Those from the Human Race have always been crazy and unable to recognize their own situation.”
“En, good, make sure it’s a lesson he never forgets!” Pan Lang sneered, his voice ice cold.
Although Senior Li’s attitude towards Yang Kai was quite generous, he was still nothing but a lowly human. Many of the Human Race Alchemists who had been here before had been taught harsh lessons by them and Senior Li had never spoken a word about it, as long as they weren’t killed it would be like nothing ever happened.
So, this time, these seven Demon Race cultivators were fearless, thinking that Yang Kai was the same as all the previous Human Race Alchemists.
The burly Demon Race cultivator pointed to Yang Kai before beckoning him with his finger and sneering, “I’ll let you make the first move!”
“Then you won’t be able to make one at all!” Yang Kai sneered.
As soon as his words fell, the stone room shook violently and before anyone could see what happened, the burly Demon Race cultivator was sent flying, quickly slamming into the stone wall several dozen meters away, creating a crater in it from which a number of large cracks extended as cracks appeared. The force of the rebound caused when this Demon Race cultivator hit the wall caused him to bounce off hard and hit the ground, rolling several times before finally coming to a stop.
The eyes of Pan Lang and the other Demon Race people shrank, their smiles all going stiff.
Turning back, they all began staring at Yang Kai with slightly solemn expressions.
The blow just how was not only fast but also powerful, almost on par with what their Demon Race cultivators could do.
“Seems you have a bit of skill,” Pan Lang muttered, somewhat shocked, looking over Yang Kai, not the slightest bit worried about his fallen companion, “No wonder you dare act so crazy.”
“En, good!” The others also nodded.
Yang Kai frowned as he stared towards the Demon Race cultivator who he had just sent flying.
He was quite clear about how much strength he had just used and had thought that this Demon Race cultivator would be instantly knocked unconscious, but Yang Kai found that this was not the case. The Demon Race cultivator that he had just beaten coughed a few times before staggering to his feet and although it was obvious he was in some pain, his predominant emotion right now seemed to be anger.
“How are you feeling?” Pan Lang asked.
The Demon Race cultivator traced the area he was struck a few times and quickly said, “A few broken ribs, but nothing serious!”
“If it’s nothing serious than continue, give him a bloody lesson, don’t let him look down on us!” Pan Lang snorted.
“That was my plan!” The Demon Race cultivator replied as his burly figure suddenly shot forward with incredible speed, instantly closing the distance between him and Yang Kai.
As his opponent approached, Yang Kai clearly saw that a number of dark lines suddenly appeared on his face, making him appear even more fierce and violent.
These lines were quite strange and appeared like snakes, climbing up his face. With the appearance of these black tattoos, the momentum of this Demon Race cultivator changed dramatically and his strength suddenly shot up.
Seeing this Demon Race cultivator undergo such dramatic changes, although Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent, in his heart he was actually quite surprised.
He had already noticed that many of these Demon Race people had such tattoos before but not all of them did. For example, he had never seen them on Li Rong and Guan’er’s skin. So what exactly were they?
But now it seemed like they weren’t simply a form of decoration but were rather some kind of special Martial Skill these Demon Race cultivators practiced and it was even possible for them to freely manipulate them!
More importantly though, once these tattoos appeared, the strength of the Demon Race cultivator would increase to a whole new level!
As Yang Kai’s opponent’s momentum shot up, Pan Lang and the rest of his followers let out a quite sigh of relief, sneers appearing on their faces as they prepared to watch Yang Kai eat a big loss, taking pleasure in his misfortune.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, but to everyone else’s surprise, did not evade and instead went for a head on collision.
Yang Kai did this deliberately to check just how much this Demon Race cultivator’s strength had increased.
*Hong…*
With a loud bang, a pressure wave visible to the naked eye burst from the two fighter’s point of collision. Yang Kai was thrown back and up into the air. However, it only took him a few rolls in the air to stop the momentum and stabilizing himself in the air.
The Demon Race cultivator was also forced to retreat, and although he desperately tried to hold his ground, he did not succeed, backing up more than a dozen steps before falling flat on his back, breathing heavily.
Pan Lang and his lackeys eyes all went wide, some of them even turning astonished looks towards Yang Kai.
Although humans rarely appeared in this Mysterious Small World, they knew that Human Race cultivator’s physiques were far inferior to those of their Ancient Demon Clan; in fact, even amongst all members of the Demon Race, none were comparable to the Ancient Demon Clan in terms of raw strength.
But now, in a frontal confrontation, their companion was actually not able to suppress this Human Race kid.
Pan Lang suddenly felt very annoyed and angered, “What are you doing? Can you not even beat a lowly human?”
The Demon Race cultivator who had been knocked down climbed up again, shaking his head, not caring about his own injuries and broken bones, muttering aloud, “This little brat’s body is very strong.”
“Are you saying his physique is better than our Ancient Demon Clan’s?” Pan Lang scoffed, “I’ll give you one last chance to prove yourself, if you fail again, then you’re not qualified to associate with me. From then on your status will be reduced to that of an ordinary clansman.”
“Rest assured, I will deal with him this time!” The Demon Race cultivator’s eyes became focused, the tattoos on his face one again undergoing some unusual changes, seemingly melting and re-arranging until they covered his entire face, almost like he was wearing a mask, his expression cold and unfeeling but his red eyes exuding a thick murderous intent.
His first two failures had already caused him to become enraged.
Yang Kai stood midair, staring back at his opponent with cold eyes while secretly becoming more and more surprised.
It wasn’t until now that Yang Kai really realized just how outstanding the physical strength of the Demon Race who lived in this Mysterious Small World really was. His opponent was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator, the same as him, but his ability to continuously raise his strength and momentum was simply astonishing.
From someone with this level of cultivation, if it were a human cultivator, Yang Kai could have made him not get up after the first hit, but now after two head on confrontations his opponent was still as mighty as a dragon and fierce as a tiger.
The physiques of the Ancient Demon Clan seemed to contain terrifying potential!
From the attitude and rhetoric of Pan Lang and his followers, Yang Kai also realized that these Ancient Demon Clan cultivators all had bloodthirsty and violent tendencies. Their companion’s ribs had been broken yet they not only didn’t show any concern, they instead repeatedly stimulated him, forcing him back onto the field of battle.
[The Demon Race is vastly different from the Human Race,] Yang Kai secretly thought to himself.
Once more, Yang Kai’s opponent launched an attack, the ground beneath his feet cracking under the force of his forward leap, his burly body disappearing for an instant before re-appearing right in front of him.
The speed approached the limit of what could be perceived with the naked eye.
Pan Lang nodded slightly, “Demon Crests’ second transformation, this human brat is definitely going to suffer!”
Just as he spoke these words, a loud bang rang out.
At that moment, the swift Demon Race cultivator’s foot at made contact with Yang Kai’s shoulder, the former’s expression gloomy, his eyes filled with hatred and unwillingness as he exerted all of his strength into his kick.
The floor around him for several tens of meters instantly transformed into dust, but Yang Kai remained unmoved, staring back at the attacking Demon Race cultivator indifferently. Under the latter’s astonished gaze, his ankle was grabbed and he suddenly found himself whirling around before being viciously tossed out.
The Demon Race cultivator let out a great shout as his Demonic Qi spurted from his body in an attempt to stop his uncontrolled flight, but before he could stabilize himself, he felt a stream of heavy impacts on his chest.
Somehow managing to turn his head, he saw that the Human Race brat he had been fighting had chased after him and was now pummeling him with a series of punches.
The fists came at him from every angle, creating multiple afterimages, making it impossible for him to predict where he would be hit next.
Worse though was that each punch that landed on his body would carry with it a stream of extremely pure and hot True Qi which was greatly suppressing his Demonic Qi!
*Hong Hong Hong…*
As the sound of explosions rang out, Yang Kai continued his unrelenting assault, all while wearing the same indifferent expression on his face, though inside he was secretly quite impressed with this Demon Race cultivator.
His assault would be difficult for a Human Race’s Transcendent to stand, but this Demon Race cultivator was actually capable of bearing it.
Even after the pair landed again, the Demon Race cultivator managed to retain his consciousness and was glaring back at Yang Kai incredulously, still tightly gripping Yang Kai’s clothes, a look that screamed he would sooner die than submit on his face.
Seeing this, Yang Kai sent another heavy punch to his enemy’s face.
This punch seemed to be the final straw as after a few teeth flew out, the Demon Race cultivator’s momentum finally dissipated as he fell over limp, the Demon Crests on his face quickly receding.
Yang Kai slowly stood up and gloomily glanced over at Pan Lang and the others who were standing not far away.
Even though their companion had been beaten into such a state, none of them showed any signs of trying to rescue him, as if they were all just there to enjoy the show.
However, whether it was Pan Lang or the other Demon Race people, there was a clear look of surprise on their face. None of them had ever expected this Human Race cultivator’s combat strength to be so strong and for his fighting style to be so brutal and blood, quite in line with their own.
“Interesting, it seems we’ve all looked down on you!” Pan Lang gently clapped his hands, “But you’ve only managed to win against the weakest of us, you won’t be so lucky in your next match.”
Saying so, Pan Lang gestured to another Demon Race cultivator behind him who immediately stepped forward.
“No need to make things so troublesome, all of you come together!” Yang Kai cracked his knuckles and said. He had immersed himself in Alchemy for a few months now and had not had a good fight for quite some time. Now that a fight had found him, he was practically itching to make trouble.
In truth, he enjoyed fighting!
Especially against powerful opponents, this feeling made Yang Kai feel like he was alive.
Pan Lang laughed in response, “We won’t bully you like that, if this was a life or death battle then it would be different, but all of this is just a little lesson, there’s no need for all of us to deal with a lowly human like you.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai took a deep breath and no longer retained his strength, his own aura bursting out as his figure flickered and rushed towards the group of Demon Race cultivators.
A burning hot True Qi burst from his pores and under his precise and subtle control, struck all six of his opponents simultaneously.
Pan Lang instantly became enraged, “You really don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!”
Now completely angered, Demon Crests appeared on the necks of all six Demon Race cultivators and quickly spread across their faces.
Despite their disdainful talk, Pan Lang and his followers knew by now that Yang Kai was not an easy opponent to deal with. Any bit of carelessness on their part would lead to their defeat, so all of them didn’t hold back.
What frustrated Pan Lang the most though was that the True Qi of this Human Race cultivator seemed to be able to restrain their Demonic Qi, allowing him to deal twice as much damage with half the effort whenever they clashed.
A great melee quickly unfolded and even though Yang Kai was surrounded and outnumbered, he showed no fear and was instead even more excited and aggressive.
Yang Kai had been suppressing his desire to battle for so long that if he didn’t find an opportunity to vent all the boredom and stress he had built up over the past few months, he was afraid he would suddenly one day lose control and pick an unnecessary fight.
As such, the provocation of Pan Lang and his lackeys was just what he needed right now.
All kinds of Martial Skills flew back and forth inside the stone room as Yang Kai thoroughly experienced just how strong the Ancient Demon Clan was. As time passed, the rumblings of battle slowly died down.
…..
When Guan’er pushed open the stone room’s door, her pair of beautiful eyes shrank as she glanced around at the wreckage in front of her, temporarily losing her ability to speak.
Over the past few months, Yang Kai had always behaved calmly and temperately, never showing the slightest signs of trying to escape or cause trouble, so Guan’er had naturally not needed to monitor him all the time.
She hadn’t expected at all that while she was away dealing with other matters something big like this would happened.
Seven members of her clan all lay sprawled out on the ground, each one of them in a tragic state, the stone room a complete mess as signs of battle and patches of blood could be seen everywhere.
“What happened?” Guan’er cried out and rushed in to investigate the situation of her people. When she examined them, she found that each of them was heavily wounded; the most seriously injured having had more than half of his bones broken. Such injuries, even for the extremely resilient Ancient Demon Clan, would take at least half a year to heal. Even the least heavily injured person here had more than a dozen broken bones and innumerable scars and cuts that were even now slowly dripping blood.
“Pan Lang?” Inspecting the last person, Guan’er couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock.
Looking up, Guan’er suddenly found out that Yang Kai was quietly sitting on his bed in a meditative posture, some traces of battle apparent on his body.
Although Guan’er felt Pan Lang was annoying and disgusting, these people were still members of her clan and Yang Kai was clearly the one who had injured them, as such, she naturally wanted to question him about this scene.
But before she could open her mouth to ask, Senior Li’s voice suddenly reached her ear, “Don’t disturb him, he seems to be in the middle of a breakthrough. Find some people and quietly carry Pan Lang away.”
“Mistress, what about…”
“I understand what took place here, Pan Lang and his friends were the ones who provoked him, this isn’t his fault!”
“I understand,” Guan’er nodded lightly before turning an interested look towards Yang Kai, a touch of surprise flashing across her eyes. From Senior Li’s tone just now, it seemed like he was the one who had injured Pan Lang and the others here.
Was this Human Race brat really so strong?
Also, some sad news. The novel’s ratings dropped below 3.9/5 on Novelupdates.
Inside the main hall of Demon God Citadel, the noble and graceful Li Rong sat upon her throne and stared down at a number of high-level figures of the Ancient Demon Clan.
This group was composed of many of the strongest and most powerful people below the four Demon Commanders.
An old man with a Third Order Transcendent cultivation had a face filled with anger as he loudly shouted, “Senior Li, that Human Race brat dared to attack members of our Demon God Citadel and heavily wounded all seven of them. He must pay an appropriate price for this!”
“Agreed!” Another Second Order Transcendent old man stepped forward and indignantly added, “A trivial human dares act so arrogantly, even after receiving so much of Senior Li’s kindness and obtaining many benefits from our clan he still isn’t satisfied and even viciously attacks members of our clan, we must teach him a harsh lesson so he knows his place!”
The rest of the crowd all nodded and spoke out in agreement.
The Ancient Demon Clan was a proud race and was also quite short tempered. The seven children of their families had been seriously injured by Yang Kai, the most badly wounded of them having nearly died on the spot and would require more than half a year to fully recover. Such an incident was incredibly shameful to them, and naturally they wanted to seek compensation from Yang Kai.
However, everyone knew just how attentive Senior Li was to this Human Race brat, so before they acted against him, they naturally had to seek her opinion; after all, she was the Lord of Demon God Citadel.
“Do all of you have such thoughts?” Li Rong swept her eyes over the crowd and asked softly.
“Yes!” The Third Order Transcendent old man at the head of the group nodded repeatedly.
“Why?” Li Rong sat up, her crystal clear eyes flashing a hint of coldness as she stared towards him, “Because the one who was injured was Pan Lang, your son?”
The old man was slightly taken aback by Senior Li’s tone but still nodded calmly, “That is one of the reasons, but more importantly this is necessary to preserve the honour of our clan!”
“Senior Li!” Another person interjected, “The impact of this incident is bad, many of our clansmen have already gathered outside that Human Race brat’s stone room, hoping to teach him a lesson. We know that he has excellent aptitude in Alchemy and provides a glimmer of hope for our clan, but many amongst our citizens don’t know that. If we don’t give him an appropriate punishment to preserve Pan Lang and the others faces, our clansmen won’t be satisfied!”
Li Rong smiled lightly in response, “My Ancient Demon Clan believes in strength above all else, if one of us loses in a contest and needs his Elders to take revenge, wouldn’t that really be a loss of face? If Pan Lang has the skill, he can take it back himself.”
“Though that should be the case, the people are quite agitated right now and many of them are displeased with that human brat…” The old man, who was Pan Lang’s father, suddenly said solemnly, “The mood of our clansmen needs to be considered.”
Li Rong took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment before asking, “What do you propose we do to punish him?”
“That’s simple,” Pan Bo said coldly, “Since he broke the bones of so many of our clansmen, we should crush his bones as well, blood and blood, and a tooth for a tooth!”
“Do you want his life?” Li Rong expression became cold.
Pan Bo simply smiled, “Senior Li can rest assured that I will not let him die so easily; after all, he still has great use for our clan. In any case, as long as his ability to perform Alchemy is not affected it shouldn’t matter.”
Li Rong slowly shook her head.
Pan Bo was startled and shouted, “Senior Li, our clan has been imprisoned here for countless years. You understand what kind of state we’re in. We have been shackled for far too long and now that some friction has appeared, it has ignited everyone’s desire to fight, if this is not handled properly, it is very likely to have adverse consequences.”
“For example?”
“For example, if someone is dissatisfied, they might choose to serve Chu Jian instead!” Pan Bo said as his eyes narrowed slightly.
Li Rong maintained her gentle smile but her aura suddenly underwent a massive change, her former tranquility transforming into a majestic pressure.
All of the Transcendent Realm masters in the hall felt their hearts clench as they hurriedly lowered their eyes. Only at that moment did they suddenly remember that Senior Li was able to become the Lord of Demon God Citadel not just because of her wisdom and benevolence.
Hidden deep beneath her kindness, Senior Li also had great strength and dignity.
Li Rong exposed her immense aura for just a moment before quickly taking it back, silently staring at the people before her for a moment before seemingly coming to some kind of decision and speaking, “I will handle this incident personally while all of you will be responsible for retraining your retainers. Additionally, from today onwards, if anyone dares to find the trouble that Human Race boy, I will personally send him to meet Sir Demon God!”
Pan Bo and others expression all changed drastically as they stared towards Li Rong in shock, “Senior…”
“Were my words not clear?” Li Rong coldly snapped.
“We will obey Senior Li’s orders!” Pan Bo quickly lowered his head.
“Good, you may go,” Li Rong waved and added, “Duan Ya, you stay!”
A Demon Race master who had been silent the whole time nodded and remained where he was standing while everyone else left the hall.
After they left, Li Rong smiled helplessly and muttered to herself, “That human brat…”
“Senior, what instructions do you have?” Duan Ya asked.
“From today on, you are to stand guard outside that stone room. If you discover anyone trying to act against him, kill them without mercy!” Li Rong firmly declared.
Duan Ya’s eyes flashed a hint of a surprise, seemingly not having expected Senior Li to actually value that Human Race kid so much, hesitating for a moment before asking, “What if Pan Bo and they…?”
“They won’t lower themselves to deal with a junior personally, but on the off chance they do… I’ll handle them myself.”
Duan Ya nodded slightly and respectfully withdrew.
Outside the hall, Pan Bo’s expression was bitter. He, like Duan Ya, couldn’t understand why Senior Li valued Yang Kai so much.
Even if he had excellent aptitude in Alchemy, it didn’t make sense for her to shelter him so strongly.
His son, Pan Lang, was a leader of the younger generation of Demon God Citadel and, in the future, was very likely to become one of its strongest pillars. This time, he was beaten so badly that seeking justice was only natural, so Li Rong’s decision had greatly disappointed Pan Bo.
“What’s going on? Senior Li seems to care a great deal about that boy,” One of them whispered what everyone was thinking.
“It couldn’t be that Senior Li, towards him…”
“Stop! Just how noble is Senior Li? How could she possible… towards a lowly human…”
“This matter isn’t that simple, Senior Li wouldn’t act like this for no reason. There must be more to this situation that we are unaware of.”
“But in any case, Senior Li’s handling of this matter is truly unfair.”
Pan Bo’s expression remained sullen as he sneered, “If Senior Li continues to act so, she will lose the support of the clan sooner or later!”
Everyone glanced around at each other, and although they were unwilling to accept this result, they didn’t immediately say anything.
Inside the stone room, an invisible aura spread out around Yang Kai as he slowly opened his eyes.
His True Qi and Blood Force both pulsed excitedly.
Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage!
While he was immersed in Alchemy these past few months, Yang Kai didn’t even notice that his cultivation had reached the critical point before breaking through.
Over the past half a year or so his Solitary Golden Eye had absorbed the sentiments and insights left over from a great many masters. It could be said that before Yang Kai broke through to the Saint Realm, he should have no bottlenecks, as long as his accumulation of strength could keep up, he should be able to smoothly break through again and again.
However, without the last battle, Yang Kai guess he would have needed another month or so before breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage.
But a fierce and bloody battle had allowed him to break through a month in advance.
Fighting was really the best way to enhance one’s strength.
Investigating his surroundings with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai noticed that a great deal of Ancient Demon Clan people had gathered outside his tone room, each of the aura’s carrying a thick sense of danger as they eyed his house.
Inside the room, not far away from him, Guan’er was staring at him curiously, seemingly re-examining him, her beautiful lashes fluttering slightly as a light interest flickered across her eyes.
“You…” After seeing Yang Kai successfully break through, Guan’er ran over and smiled at Yang Kai, asking in a somewhat excited tone, “How did you beat Pan Lang and his lackeys into that state?”
Yang Kai laughed but didn’t answer.
“Was it really just you against all of them?” Guan’er showed a look of shock.
“Who else could there have been?” Yang Kai replied dismissively.
“Are you really so fierce?”
“What? Did you think I was weak?”
“I didn’t think you were weak, I just didn’t expect you to be so strong. How could a human… how could your body be so much stronger than our clan’s?” Saying so, her small hand reached out, seemingly wanting to feel Yang Kai’s muscles only to suddenly realize how embarrassing that act would be and quickly taking her hand back.
“You seem to be taking great pleasure in their misfortune, aren’t you?” Yang Kai looked at her with great interest, “Is there some kind of grievance between you and that Pan Lang?”
“It’s not that we have grievances, I just think he’s too annoying, always trying to get close to me. Now that you’ve beaten him so badly, I can finally relax for a while, so for that, I thank you very much, but… as an outsider, you’ve created some trouble for yourself now!”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled and thoughtfully glanced outside the stone room, “You mean them?”
“En,” Guan’er gently nodded, “Everyone gathered outside right now wants to drag you out and teach you a good lesson. No matter how strong you are, I don’t think you can confront so many of my clansmen at once.”
“I’d have to try before I knew.”
“Hmph, you’re certainly crazy enough, you humans… all of you can’t help bragging so arrogantly,” Guan’er sneered disdainfully but still reminded him carefully, “You should prepare yourself, right now Senior Li is meeting with the other Elders of the Citadel to discuss how to deal with this matter, if Senior Li doesn’t side with you, you’ll definitely be in for some pain.”
Staring at Yang Kai with a cunning look, Guan’er continued, “Because you helped me get rid of Pan Lang for a while, even if you end up injured, I’ll still take care of you.”
“Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed!” Yang Kai grinned, “Because Senior Li seems to be on my side, isn’t that so, Senior Li?”
As he said so, he turned his head to look at a certain spot.
There, the air twisted and a moment later, Li Rong arrived. Having heard his words, her pretty face couldn’t help showing a trace of surprise before she shook her head wryly and walked over.
“You’re really quite laid back aren’t you,” Li Rong sighed.
Yang Kai just shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t blame my clansmen for being so excited, they’ve been repressing themselves for too long. There’s only one person here who isn’t a member of our clan and now you’ve badly beaten Pan Lang and his followers, obviously, those outside aren’t willing to let things slide so easily,” Li Rong explained softly.
Seeing Li Rong appear, Guan’er hurried saluted her.
However, the beautiful woman gently waved her hand, indicating that she didn’t mind, before turning to look at Yang Kai somewhat helplessly.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “If there’s resentment, there’s vengeance, if there’s a grudge, seeking revenge is natural. Your clansmen being worked up over this matter is only natural.”
“You’re not afraid at all?” Li Rong was amazed not seeing the slightest fear on Yang Kai’s face.
“There’s no reason for me to be afraid,” Yang Kai replied indifferently, “If Senior Li wasn’t prepared to intervene in this matter, you wouldn’t have appeared in front of me. Since you’re present now, it means that you will handle it, naturally I don’t need to be afraid because Senior Li seems to be quite good to me!”
Li Rong’s look suddenly became a bit unnatural, and Guan’er couldn’t help covering her mouth as she stared at Yang Kai in shock.
No one had ever dared speak such frivolous words in front of Senior Li, much less a little human brat, but not only did Senior Li not become angry, she instead wore an acquiescent expression.
“Might I ask why this is? What exactly is it that causes Senior Li to favour me so much?” Yang Kai cocked his head to the side and stared at the mature beauty in front of him curiously.
Li Rong lightly coughed, “Anyone who is sent here by Coffin Slave Senior, I will not treat him badly, because perhaps one day, this person will help set my clan free.”
These words were obviously only a half-truth, even Guan’er understood that, so how could Yang Kai not?
However, since Li Rong didn’t want to explain, Yang Kai didn’t push the matter any further. Think about it, Li Rong’s attitude had only changed to she had seen the Solitary Golden Eye in his Knowledge Sea.
Before then, although she hadn’t treated him poorly, it was only to the extent of a business partner, but now things were clearly different. Regarding every aspect of his daily life and his cultivation, Yang Kai could tell that Li Rong was sincerely trying to support him.
Yang Kai wasn’t arrogant enough to think that such a dignified and graceful lady would be interested in him; after all, she was a powerful Saint who had innumerable years of experience. By now, love and attraction were probably nothing but transient clouds in her eyes, so there must be some other reason, but the only thing Yang Kai could think of was that it had something to do with the Solitary Golden Eye.
Yang Kai just couldn’t understand why seeing the Solitary Golden Eye had had such a profound impact on her.
“In any case, your analysis is correct, since I’ve decided to appear here, I will handle this matter. You don’t have to worry about it. I have already told the Elders restrain the people so they won’t find trouble with you in the future, just remember not to stir up problems for no reason in the future. Just because I am protecting you this time doesn’t mean I will allow you to act impudently without consequence!”
“I never take the initiative to find trouble with others,” Yang Kai chuckled. Probably trying to cover up her previous gaff, this mature beauty was intentionally using a cold tone to warn him.
“That’s for the best,” Li Rong nodded lightly, no longer said anything, turned around, and walked out of the stone room.
A moment later, Yang Kai heard Li Rong reprimand the assembled Ancient Demon Clan outside and soon the crowd dispersed.
Guan’er rushed up to Yang Kai and spat out her tongue, saying with genuine admiration, “You really have some skill, but your arrogance isn’t proportional to your strength. You break through to the Transcendent Realm as quickly as possible, and it won’t be too late for you to act wildly then, hehe…”
With a big smile, Guan’er also turned around and left.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, right now he was the one beneath the eaves, so he could only helplessly accept this situation.
He knew that in this damned place, besides a select few, all of the members of the Ancient Demon Clan regarded him as an outsider. If there wasn’t someone powerful sheltering him, he would die a miserable death sooner or later.
This time, Pan Lang came to trouble him and he was able to cope with it on his own, but if the next time it was a Transcendent Realm master? Or what if a Saint took aim at him?
Having considered all of this, Yang Kai had spoken without reservation towards Li Rong’s in order to determine her attitude towards him; he wanted to make clear once and for all to what extent she would protect him.
Fortunately, his guess had been correct. Despite her efforts to hide it, Yang Kai could tell that Li Rong fully intended to shelter him.
Regardless whether she had some ulterior motive for doing so, for now, Yang Kai had to use her identity and status to ensure his safety.
After pondering over everything for a moment, Yang Kai scratched his head and remembered he had forgotten to ask Li Rong about the so called Demon Crests.
This had been on Yang Kai’s mind for several months now. This issue had been of particular concern to him ever since he first saw these crests on one of the Ancient Demon Clan, but because he wasn’t familiar with anyone at the time, he decided to not ask unnecessary questions to avoid stirring up trouble.
But now that he was certain Li Rong was acting favourable towards him, he had a chance to explore this issue.
Yang Kai was very interested in the Demon Crests of the Ancient Demon Clan because when he used his Devil Transformation, he would experience a similar change, just far more exaggerated than the one Pan Lang had undergone.
Not getting anywhere on his own, Yang Kai simply decided to wait until Guan’er came back to find an opportunity to ask her.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai set this issue aside for now and turned his attention back to improving his Alchemy skills.
…..
After Li Rong left the stone room and dispersed the crowd of people here to seek trouble with Yang Kai, a slightly vacant look appeared on her pretty face.
On that day, when she saw the Solitary Golden Eye and the golden light had swept over her, she felt a kind of resonance from her Ancient Demon Clan bloodline. After returning to Demon God Citadel, she had gone straight to the treasure chamber and checked the ancient books, quickly discovering a record that was very similar to her own experience.
It was for this reason that Li Rong’s attitude towards Yang Kai had changed so dramatically.
But over the past few months, through her secret observations, she found that things were not quite as she had thought. Although this human boy was mysterious and powerful in his own right, it was far from the extent she had anticipated.
[Was it really that?] Li Rong couldn’t make up her mind.
At this time, one of her clansmen came up and reported to her that Hua Mo and Han Fei had arrived and brought with them a large number of herbs.
Li Rong’s expression became happy once more as she walked in the direction of the main hall.
Because of Yang Kai’s rapid progress in Alchemy consumed countless herbs, what was stored in Demon God Citadel was not quite enough. Fortunately, the other territories also had also accumulated a large number of herbs over the years, so over the past few months Hua Mo and Han Fei had their subordinates collect them and they had finally come to deliver.
After seeing Hua Mo and Han Fei and receiving their collected herbs, the three Saints sat down and chatted.
“Senior Li, what about Chu Jian? Did he sent over any herbs?” Hua Mo asked.
“He did send some, but there were not many. Chu Jian said that the soil in his territory these past few years has been quite poor so not many herbs had been produced and he could only collect these few,” Li Rong rubbed her forehead.
“Only speaking nonsense,” Hua Mo coldly snorted, “There is a great mountain range in Chu Jian’s territory, how could there possible be no herbs there? He is becoming less and less respectful towards Senior Li these days.”
Han Fei is also coldly added, “He doesn’t place our clan’s future in his eyes at all, he just wants to rule over this Mysterious Small World. He’s really nothing but an ignorant fool!”
The two Great Commanders continued to point out Chu Jian’s recent arrogant actions while trying to pursued Li Rong to give Chu Jian a painful lesson so he would stay in line.
But as always, Li Rong just listened quietly and didn’t express any opinion on the matter.
After a while, Hua Mo and Han Fei both saw that their efforts were getting them nowhere and didn’t mention the matter anymore.
“Right, Senior Li, I just heard that human brat caused some trouble?” Hua Mo asked suddenly, “Senior Li has always been fair and just, how come you suddenly decided to speak out in favour of that outsider this time?”
Han Fei also looked at Li Rong slightly strangely. Regardless of what had led to Yang Kai and Pan Lang’s fight, who was right and who was wrong, since their clansmen had suffered losses, naturally the guilty party should pay a price, especially considering he was just an outsider, but Senior Li had actually intentionally sheltered him instead.
Li Rong chuckled, “You received word of this fairly quickly.”
Hua Mo waved his hand, “Everyone in the Citadel is talking about it, even if I didn’t want to inquire about it specifically I would definitely have gotten word of it.”
Han Fei’s spoke in her usual icy tone, “Senior Li, because of this incident, many of our clansmen have begun to express some complaints. Was it really worth it?”
Li Rong’s face suddenly became serious and her tone became solemn, “If my guess is correct, it is worth it!”
“Guess? What guess?” Hua Mo asked doubtfully.
“I can’t say for certain right now, I’m still in the process of observing, but I guarantee if you saw what I saw, you would definitely make the same choice. When everything becomes clear, I will inform you.”
Hua Mo and Han Fei nodded lightly, after associating with each other for so many years, they firmly believed in Li Rong’s vision and judgment. Since she had chosen to favour an outsider, she must have a compelling reason.
The trio talked for a while longer before Hua Mo and Han Fei left.
Although they were all people of Demon God Citadel, and each of them was a Great Commander, because the four branches were all based in separate locations, Hua Mo and Han Fei had to return to their own territories promptly.
The purpose of their trip this time had mainly been to deliver their collected herbs.
…..
After the incident where Pan Lang had come to seek trouble but was instead beaten up, most of the Ancient Demon Clan’s attitudes towards Yang Kai became increasingly bad, but Yang Kai was too lazy to deal with them, only concentrating on refining pills in his stone room every day. His Alchemy technique continued progressing rapidly and a large number of pills were produced every day. Simultaneously, his consumption of herbs was quite astonishing.
Yang Kai could sense that outside his stone room there was a powerful master protecting him from the shadows. Although this person had hidden himself very well, with Yang Kai’s many years of experience, he had slowly discovered some traces of him.
This person should have been sent by Li Rong to guard him.
Perceiving this, Yang Kai felt relieved.
On the other hand, his relationship with Guan’er had also become quite harmonious. This Demon Race girl seemed to be very curious about the outside world so when Yang Kai wasn’t busy, she would always pester him to tell her stories about the outside. These wonderful tales only seemed to increase Guan’er’s desire to see them though.
She also vigorously supported his efforts in Alchemy, hoping that one day Yang Kai would be able to refine Saint Grade pills and free her clan from its imprisonment.
Yang Kai also learned a lot about the Demon Crests from Guan’er.
According to Guan’er, their Ancient Demon Clan was a pure blooded and noble member of the Demon Race, incomparable to others of the Demon Race. Their Demon Crests were an innate ability and not something that could be acquired after birth. When they activated their Demon Crests, their strength would be increased and the more they comprehended and developed their Demon Crests, the greater this increase would be.
Pan Lang and his lackeys could transform their Demon Crests twice, similar to Guan’er herself. Yang Kai only knew of this because he caught a glimpse of her Demon Crest Pattern before.
After Guan’er, who was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage cultivator, activated her Demon Crests to their fullest, the intensity of her Demonic Qi and Blood Force reached a level equivalent to a Peak Immortal Ascension master.
Moreover, after activating her Demon Crests, many delicate deep green traces appeared on Guan’er’s pretty face, adding a completely different kind of beauty to her usual temperament.
As for masters like Li Rong, Han Fei, and Hua Mo, their Demon Crests were even more developed, as was the enhancement to their strength.
However, inside this Mysterious Small World, there were no enemies, so Guan’er had never seen any of the Great Commanders take action and had only heard rumors about their strength.
Inside Demon God Citadel, there were even special Martial Skills and Secret Arts developed specifically to compliment and cultivate one’s Demon Crests, a legacy passed down from the Great Demon God himself.
After hearing about this, Yang Kai expressed interest in borrowing these Martial Skills and Secret Arts, but Guan’er told him that these things were only available to members of her clan with extraordinary aptitude, even she had never seen them, so Yang Kai could only temporarily give up this idea.
Although Li Rong truly favoured him, Yang Kai knew not to push his luck too far. Right now, wanting to borrow the legacy Martial Skills and Secret Arts left behind by the Great Demon God was not realistic.
Shelving these thoughts for now, Yang Kai’s days continued on in an unremarkable fashion. Every day was spent either immersed in Alchemy, cultivating, or telling Guan’er stories about the outside world.
Time flew by and before he knew it, Yang Kai had spent almost an entire year inside this Mysterious Small World.
During this year, Yang Kai’s Alchemy technique had improved dramatically, and today, with the help of supplementary Spirit Arrays, he was able to refine Spirit Grade pills.
Medicine King’s Valley’s Xiao Fu Sheng’s lifelong wish that until now he had yet to achieve was actually accomplished by Yang Kai in less than a year of effort.
Yang Kai could only sigh helplessly at this fact, the world he was in was simply too different, so the ability he could display was also not the same. The attainments Grandmaster Xiao had in the Alchemic Way were definitely more profound than Yang Kai’s, but simply because of the limitations of the world he lived in, wanting to refine a Spirit Grade pill was nothing more than fantasy.
One day, after Yang Kai finished refining a Spirit Grade pill, he took a deep breath and meditated for a moment before suddenly opening his eyes, and staring towards an empty spot in the stone room and calling out, “Senior, can you I trouble you to call Senior Li? I have something I need to discuss with her.”
Duan Ya, who was hidden nearby, couldn’t help staring blankly when he found that this Human Race brat was staring right at his hidden place, the latter’s eyes not showing the least bit of doubt.
Duan Ya was dumbfounded.
Since the last incident between Yang Kai and Pan Lang, Duan Ya had followed Li Rong’s instructions and secretly protected him from the shadows, but now it seems that this boy was aware of his presence and could even accurately locate his position.
Yang Kai was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage kid while Duan Ya was a powerful Third Order Transcendent; the difference in strength between the two of them was immense, so how and when did he find him?
Many doubts swirled through Duan Ya’s thoughts but he somehow managed to keep his composure, quickly appearing from his hiding place and gently nodding towards Yang Kai before his body faded again and disappeared.
A short time later, the air beside Yang Kai distorted and a layer of ripples appeared. Soon after, the void itself seemed to warp slightly and Li Rong appeared.
Yang Kai revealed a look of interest. He noticed that every time this mature beauty appeared, she would do so in this fashion. It seemed like she had the power to step through the void and suddenly appear wherever she wanted to.
“I heard that you were looking for me?” Li Rong walked over and got straight to the point.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
“What’s the matter?”
“I need to supplement my True Qi.”
“Supplement your True Qi?” Li Rong’s brow furrowed slightly as she released her Divine Sense, but after quickly sweeping Yang Kai with it she couldn’t help asking in a confused tone, “Isn’t your True Qi quite abundant?”
With her strong cultivation, she was naturally able to perceive the thick and pure True Qi within Yang Kai’s meridians, as well as the destructive power it contained.
Moreover, this extremely pure Yang Attribute True Qi gave even her Demonic Qi a sense of oppression.
“No, no…” Yang Kai shook his head lightly, “The True Qi in my meridians is indeed abundant, but the True Qi in my dantian is running low, without True Qi, I can’t continue practicing Alchemy.”
“What do you mean?” Li Rong was even more puzzled, “If you need to supplement your True Qi, can’t you just cultivate? Why do you need my help with something so simple?”
Yang Kai smiled helplessly and replied, “My Secret Art is somewhat special, or rather my physique is somewhat special, I can’t supplement my True Qi by cultivating.”
The True Yang Yuan Qi in his body had always been obtained by absorbing naturally occurring Yang Qi or by refining some kind of Yang Attribute Precious Treasure and then condensing it into Yang Liquid which could be stored in his Dantian.
If he was to simply meditate and run his Secret Art, if he wasn’t in a suitable environment, all the World Energy he extracted from the air would simply be stored in his Unyielding Golden Skeleton, Yang Liquid would not be formed unless he cultivated in an environment with abundant Yang Qi.
Yang Kai couldn’t even remember the last time he had added more Yang Liquid to his Dantian and after such a long time, he only had a few drops left. If he couldn’t find a way to replenish his stock, he would sooner or later run out completely.
Without Yang Liquid to suppress the evil energy inside his Unyielding Golden Skeleton, Yang Kai estimated it wouldn’t take long for him to fall to the Devil’s Practices.
“What do you need me to do?” Li Rong still didn’t quite understand, but she had no interest in asking any more.
“Do you have any Yang Attribute Precious Treasures? I need something like that.”
“Things that have a strong Yang Attribute are incompatible with people of my Demon Race, do you think we’d keep such materials on hand?” Li Rong expression flashed a touch of disgruntledness, before immediately becoming somewhat suspicious, staring at Yang Kai with a distrustful look, “Are you trying to deceive me?”
“I have no reason to lie to you,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “You really have nothing Yang Attribute related?”
“En, nothing.”
Yang Kai’s face went black as his brow wrinkled, “This is a big problem, if I can’t absorb Yang Qi to supplement my True Qi, I can’t practice Alchemy… You should have seen that I need my True Yang Yuan Qi in order to perform Alchemy.”
“Then what should we do?” Li Rong asked somewhat anxiously.
This Human Race boy was very talented in Alchemy, it had only taken him one year to reach the point where he could refine Spirit Grade pills. At this rate of growth, there is no need to wait ten years before he became capable of refining Saint Grade pills, but now, for this seemingly ridiculous reason, he was unable to continue studying Alchemy.
Li Rong didn’t know what kind of special Secret Art Yang Kai cultivated, nor what was so special about his physique, but seeing him speak so seriously she understood that he wasn’t just making things up.
Staring at Yang Kai, Li Rong couldn’t help feeling a bit bitter and helpless.
Her clan had been trapped here for countless years, and for that entire time, there one greatest wish had been to leave here and see the outside world, but now that they had finally seen hope of achieving this wish, it had seemingly been ruthlessly cut off.
Li Rong could almost imagine how disappointed the expressions of her clansmen would be when they heard this news.
After wracking her brains for a solution, Li Rong’s beautiful face suddenly lit up as she murmured, “We don’t have any Yang Attribute Precious Treasures in storage, but there is a place in this Mysterious Small World that might work…”
“Where?” Yang Kai asked excitedly. Without Yang Liquid, he would also be in a very difficult position, if he could no longer enhance his Alchemy skill, he would lose all value to the Ancient Demon Clan, at that point, no how much Li Rong favoured him, the only end he would have would be death.
Li Rong didn’t answer his question but instead frowned and thought about it for a moment before saying, “You rest for now, two days later, I will give you an answer.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Li Rong quickly left.
With his Yang Liquid running out, Yang Kai didn’t dare practice Alchemy anymore. Now bored, he decided to let Guan’er take him out to play in Demon God Citadel for the next two days.
Now that he thought about it, since he had first arrived in this Mysterious Small World, he had barely left this stone room, partly because he was not willing to show his face and draw the attention of the surrounding Demon Race people but mainly because he had been obsessed with the promoting his Alchemy skill, even frequently forgetting to sleep and eat.
Now that he suddenly had free time on his hands though, naturally he wanted to go out and stretch his legs.
Walking around Demon God Citadel, Yang Kai fully experienced the tendencies and tenacity of these Demon Race people. When they practiced their Martial Skills, these Demon Race people tended to do so by engaging in real combat, completely different from the way humans cultivated, this was a real life or death struggle.
Often both sides would end up bloody and beaten when members of the Demon Race cultivated.
However, because the Ancient Demon Clan’s physiques were strong and robust, even if they suffered from heavy injuries, after a short break, they would be able to continue fighting.
Yang Kai expressed both amazement and admiration to this.
In a huge square in Demon God Citadel, Yang Kai saw a tall and majestic statue.
This statue was of a grand figure, and although it had obviously been carved many years ago, it still retained a vivid and majestic aura. Every Demon Race person who passed by it would show a very respectful look towards it.
Looking at this statue, Yang Kai felt like there was some kind of mysterious hidden energy within it that resonated with his Unyielding Golden Skeleton, causing the evil energy inside his Unyielding Golden Skeleton to nearly erupt.
Yang Kai expression changed greatly as he quickly suppressed this, his face becoming pale and sweaty.
At that moment, there seemed to be a strange voice echoing in his mind, but when carefully tried to listen to, the voice suddenly disappeared, and I couldn’t tell it had been real or an illusion.
“What’s wrong?” Guan’er asked, she didn’t know what had happened to Yang Kai who had gone from acting light and carefully to nervous and exhausted in the blink of an eye.
“It’s nothing, it’s just been too long time since I last came out,” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed.
“You humans, your bodies are really too weak…” Guan’er laughed.
“Whose statue is this?” Yang Kai asked casually.
“This is our ancestor’s master, a statue of The Great Demon God!” Guan’er quickly became respectful as she paid tribute to this statue.
“The Great Demon God?” Yang Kai was shocked.
“Yes, isn’t it majestic? It’s said that when The Great Demon God was alive, my Demon Race dominated the world while your Human Race and the Monster Race were all just vassals of my Demon Race.”
“So fierce?”
“The Great Demon God was certainly fierce. His strength was unprecedented, no one was his equal.”
“Such a powerful character, where is he now?”
“I don’t know.” Guan’er shook her head.
“Then why did he seal your ancestors here? What kind of mistake did they make to warrant such treatment?”
“I don’t know…” Guan’er suddenly became a little bit angry out a shame and shot back, “Why are you asking all of this all of a sudden, so annoying!”
It seemed that because Yang Kai asked too many questions she couldn’t answer, Guan’er no longer wanted to play with him and returned to the stone room instead, disappearing after she dropped him off.
Recalling what had just happened the moment he had seen the statue of Great Demon God, Yang Kai shook his head in confusion.
He didn’t know if that voice was real or simply an illusion but even if he wanted to get to the bottom of it he had no way to do so, so he could only ignore it for now.
Two days later, Yang Kai, who was meditating, noticed a subtle energy fluctuation nearby and quickly opened his eyes, discovering Li Rong and the cold Han Fei standing together in front of him.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, he didn’t understand why Han Fei had also appeared and asked, “What’s happening?”
In response, Li Rong shook her head lightly, “We don’t have what we need, but since you need it, you can take it for yourself.”
“Take it myself?” Yang Kai was slightly puzzled.
“Good, that’s why I had you wait for two days, Han Fei will escort you there.”
Han Fei’s territory was on the other side of Demon God Citadel, Li Rong had apparently sent a letter to let her telling her to come here which had caused the two day delay.
Yang Kai glanced at the icy woman and gently nodded, deciding to not ask anything.
“If you’re ready, then let’s go,” Han Fei didn’t speak any nonsense as she coldly glanced at Yang Kai.
“I have nothing to prepare.”
“Good,” Han Fei said, turned around, and walked out.
“Be careful out there,” Li Rong reminded.
Yang Kai gently waved his hand before following Han Fei outside.
As soon as Yang Kai exited his stone room, he saw Han Fei’s tender body transform into a stream of light and disappear, but he just stood there and watched.
Li Rong looked at him curiously, a trace of suspicion appearing on her pretty face.
After waiting for a while, Yang Kai still didn’t move, and Han Fei couldn’t help flying back, frowning at him with displeasure, “What are you doing? Why don’t you keep up?”
“I already said I don’t have much True Qi left and can’t afford to squander it; flying to wherever we’re going will be a big waste of True Qi, right?” Yang Kai said helplessly.
“What are you trying to say?” Han Fei frowned.
“You’ll have to carry me there,” Yang Kai said in a serious tone. Upon hearing this, Han Fei felt even more annoyed, “Hmph, you dare tell me to carry you?”
“I’m not trying to take advantage of you, nor am I trying to disdain your identity, this is simply the most appropriate choice,” Yang Kai replied sternly.
Li Rong knit her brows for a moment before nodding to Han Fei.
Han Fei grit her teeth but said nothing, flicked her hand, and wrapped Yang Kai in a wave of energy, lifting him up and once again shooting off into the sky.
Han Fei had a cold temperament and preferred silence to conversation, Yang Kai also understood that such a woman would not try to act friendly with strangers so he naturally didn’t take the initiative to speak, simply closing his eyes and allowing her to carry him to their destination.
However, just because she wasn’t speaking to him, Yang Kai was keenly aware that Han Fei seemed interested in him as she would stealthily use her Divine Sense to scan his body, repeatedly trying to uncover his secrets; of course, she never succeeded.
This Mysterious Small World was very different from the outside world. Here, there was no sun or moon, night or day, the sky was a chaotic mix of light and shadow and the land was vast and barren with few traces of grass or wildlife.
Only occasionally were there a few Monster Beasts.
Speeding along all the way, the pair remained silent, but after some time, the air temperature gradually began rise. Sensing this change, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling excited!
This kind of hot aura was exactly the kind of energy he needed.
As time passed, the concentration of Yang Yuan Qi in the air became higher and higher and it became obvious that a huge source of it was up ahead.
Yang Kai couldn’t help looking forward to this.
After two days of travel, Yang Kai finally saw it, on the distant horizon, the sky was dyed a dazzling golden red..
At this point, the air was flooded with Yang Yuan Qi and it was concentrated enough that when Yang Kai ran his True Yang Secret Art, his reserves of True Yang Yuan Qi were quickly being restored.
On the other hand, Han Fei had to circulate her Demonic Qi slightly in order to resist this Yang Qi.
Yang Yuan Qi had always been the nemesis of Demonic Qi, even the powerful Ancient Demon Clan cultivators couldn’t ignore its suppression, but powerful masters like Han Fei seemed to be able to ignore this ordinary Yang Attribute attacks.
After flying a while long, the density of Yang Yuan Qi became even greater and Han Fei finally stopped. Hovering mid-air along with Yang Kai, the pair shifted their gazes downwards.
Below, there was a winding mountain range with a particularly large one that had a great crater that was akin to the giant beast’s mouth. This crater was massive and Yang Kai could clearly see tumbling red hot magma bubbling within it.
The Yang Yuan Qi here was incredibly rich and could even melt rocks into magma.
From time to time, this boiling hot magma would well up and flood down the mountainside.
Moreover, the Yang Origin Seal in Yang Kai’s chest was violently throbbing, seemingly overjoyed with the massive concentration of Yang Yuan Qi down below.
The Yang Origin Seal, which only responded to in the presence of Yang Yuan Qi, had never pulsed so strongly before, so Yang Kai was fairly certain that there was an incredibly powerful source of Yang Attribute energy hidden beneath this volcano.
“This is our destination,” Han Fei finally spoke, “The rich Yang Attribute energy here should meet your needs. As far as I know, there is a large deposit of Yang Crystal Ore beneath the magma. If you have the ability, feel free to collect as much as you want, our Ancient Demon Clan have no need for such things.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly to express understanding.
“I’ll bring you down first and find a suitable place for you to cultivate,” Han Fei said, wrapped Yang Kai in her energy and rushing down.
Even facing this boiling magma that seemed capable of melting anything, the icy woman didn’t show the slightest fear, a terrifying force that shocked Yang Kai erupting from her seemingly tender body, pushing the magma aside, opening a channel for the pair.
Like it was pierce by a sharp sword, wherever Han Fei passed, the magma would split and give way.
There was no danger at all, and as soon as the pair passed through, the magma would converge again. Yang Kai glanced back but couldn’t see anything but an ocean of molten rock.
Yang Kai suddenly had a deeper understanding of just how immense this woman’s strength was.
Saints were all considered top masters in this world but Yang Kai didn’t know what order this woman was.
After descending an unknown distance, Han Fei eventually seemed like she had some difficulties coping. The Yang Yuan Qi here was too rich and even she could not ignore it.
Small beads of sweat began appearing on her delicate brow and an intoxicating fragrance began wafting towards the tip of Yang Kai’s nose, causing him to feel awkward.
Seemingly aware of the change in Yang Kai’s demeanor, Han Fei stared at him coldly and stopped moving forward, asking, “Is it alright here?”
“Yes,” Yang Kai quickly nodded.
“Then you stay here and cultivate,” Han Fei said, waving her hand, splitting apart the nearby magma, and opening a cave in the side of the volcano. This cave was just big enough to allow Yang Kai to sit cross-legged inside.
After setting up a few energy barriers to isolate this place, Han Fei tossed Yang Kai into the cave and coldly said, “Human, don’t play tricks, absorb the Yang Qi you need here quietly. I’ll come pick you up one month from now.”
“En!”
Han Fei glanced at him once more before turning around and vanishing into the magma.
After she left, Yang Kai took a deep breath and explored his surroundings.
This cave was safe and sturdy; after all, it had been carved out by a Saint Realm master, the flowing magma outside had no way of seeping in. Although Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of this magma it would be troublesome if he was caught inside it and became lost.
Settling down, Yang Kai began circulating his True Yang Secret Art.
As soon as he began cultivating, it felt like all of the pores on his skin opened wide and began drinking in the vast amounts of Yang Yuan Qi in the surrounding, madly pulling it into his body.
Yang Kai’s face lit up, he had never experienced such a rich amount of Yang Attribute energy before and felt incredibly comfortable.
*Dida…*
A light dripping sound rang out from within Yang Kai’s body and after only thirty breaths of time; a new drop of Yang Liquid was formed.
Now, Yang Kai’s cultivation realm was not the same as it once was, whether it was the purity or density of his True Qi, they were several times greater than when he had first begun cultivating the True Yang Secret Art.
This also meant that if he wanted to form a drop of Yang Liquid, he had to absorb dozens of times more Yang Yuan Qi than before.
Even so, it only took him thirty breaths of time to form one here.
This kind of speed was faster than Yang Kai had ever imagined.
The environment here was incredibly well suited to his cultivation.
*Dida…*
*Dida…*
The dripping sound continued constantly as Yang Kai cultivated single-mindedly, soon forgetting everything around him, even the passage of time.
Below the volcano, inside the rolling magma, Yang Kai entered an ethereal state and cultivated silently.
……………………………………
Great Commander Chu Jian’s territory, one of the four leaders of the Ancient Demon Clan, lay thousands of kilometers east of Demon God Citadel.
At this moment, Chu Jian was sitting in his castle’s hall, listening to one of his confidant’s reports. After a moment, Chu Jian’s eyes flashed and a hint of excitement appeared on his face, “You mean, that outsider left Demon God Citadel?”
“Yes Sir, he was taken away by Great Commander Han Fei,” The man replied quickly.
“Do you know where they went?”
“The seemed to be headed in the direction of the volcano.”
“The volcano…” Chu Jian frowned. Naturally he knew where this volcano was as it was one of the Ancient Demon Clan’s forbidden lands, even the four Great Commanders weren’t willing to go there if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
It was not that there was anything there that could threaten their lives, but that they instinctively wanted to avoid the rich Yang Qi the permeated the area.
“Why would they go to the volcano?” Chu Jian brow wrinkled, unable to understand what was happening.
If not for some special purpose, it was impossible for Han Fei to bring that human there.
“Sir, this is a rare opportunity, should we…” The man hesitantly asked.
Chu Jian’s eyes narrowed and a trace of coldness flashed across their depths, sneering as he said, “Naturally I know this is a rare opportunity. Come, let us go invite this outsider to visit my territory for a few days!”
Chu Jian had kept tabs on the various rumours surrounding Yang Kai and knew that his progress in Alchemy was quite impressive.
Chu Jian had always been looking for a way to suppress Li Rong. If this time, he could bring this human boy back to his territory, train him to refine Saint Grade pills, and free their clan from their imprisonment here, winning his clansmens’ support would become easy. At that time, Li Rong would have no choice but to abdicate her position to him.
Moreover, Chu Jian knew that the amount of herbs Li Rong had left was not much, while on the other hand he had many in store. If that human brat wanted to continue improving his Alchemy skills, only he could provide the necessary herbs.
As if he could already picture his glorious ascension, Chu Jian’s eyes filled with anticipation and excitement, so he quickly began deploying his subordinates.
Time hurried by and, in the blink of an eye, a whole month had passed.
Yang Kai knew this was a rare opportunity, so for the entire month, he had spared no effort circulating his True Yang Secret Art, madly absorbing the surrounding Yang Attribute energy.
After one month, there was finally a feeling of saturation in his dantian.
There were now countless drops of Yang Liquid stored in his dantian. When he arrived here, Yang Kai was quite concerned about how much Yang Liquid he could collect, but now, he had already lost track of how much he had.
He was brimming with strength.
With so much Yang Liquid, Yang Kai figured he could spend it freely for several years without worrying about it.
As Yang Kai wantonly consumed the surrounding Yang Yuan Qi, the nearby magma was also affected a bit and was no longer as hot as it first was, even showing some signs of solidification.
In the surrounding kilometer radius, the concentration of ambient Yang Yuan Qi had been greatly reduced.
Now that he was sated, Yang Kai wanted to dive down further and explore the volcano’s depths to see if there were other opportunities to be had, but with the deadline he had agreed upon with Han Fei approaching, he could only sit and wait.
He was not willing to provoke this icy woman and give her an excuse to question him.
Time passed by as he waited, but Han Fei never appeared.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai finally made up his mind and exited his cave and dove into the magma.
After wrapping himself in a protective layer of True Qi, although the temperature of the magma was still stifling, it didn’t cause any harm to Yang Kai.
There seems to be no bottom to this place and the further Yang Kai descended, the richer the surrounding energy became. The environment here was perfectly suited to him and his cultivation, but for the Ancient Demon Clan, it was nothing short of a forbidden hell.
Of course, Yang Kai had no intention of trying to escape; sealed in this Mysterious Small World, he knew that there was nowhere he could hide unless he wanted to spend the rest of his life in this volcano for the rest of his life.
He just wanted to see what kind of mysteries this place hid.
After diving for about an hour, there was no end in sight, and the surrounding temperature and pressure were reaching a level that even he couldn’t stand.
Cursing silently to himself, Yang Kai eventually just shook his head in annoyance.
Although he really wanted to fully explore this place, it seemed if he continued to press forward, he would be putting his life at risk, and with no guarantee of any benefits, there was no way he would act so rashly.
Thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai reluctantly gave up, turned around, and headed back up.
After another hour, he finally returned to his former position.
Waiting there for him, with an even colder than normal expression on her face, was Han Fei; apparently she had thought Yang Kai had run away and was grinding her teeth in anger.
After seeing Yang Kai re-appear, she quickly yelled, “Where have you been?”
“Exploring down below,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
“Down below?” Han Fei’s slender brow wrinkled slightly, “You can still dive further?”
Even she couldn’t dive much further into this volcano, their current position was basically her limit, so this human boy still being able to descend was somewhat surprising to her.
“I cultivate a Yang Attribute Secret Art, I’m like a duck in water here,” Yang Kai chuckled.
However, this explanation didn’t quite satisfy Han Fei, because even if he cultivated a profound Yang Attribute Secret Art, if he didn’t have enough personal skill, there was no way he could freely explore this place with his weak cultivation.
But such things didn’t concern her so she just brushed it aside and asked, “Did you get what you wanted?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Then let’s get going, Senior Li should be waiting anxiously,” Han Fei said, not waiting for Yang Kai to answer before wrapping him in her True Qi and flying upwards.
Soon, the two flew out of the volcano’s caldera.
But at that moment, Yang Kai suddenly grabbed Han Fei’s arm and whispered, “Wait!”
Han Fei tender body went stiff as she turned an icy glare towards Yang Kai, “What is it?”
She seemed to be unaccustomed to being touched, especially by men, so this small movement had caused her to react quite fiercely.
“See for yourself!” Yang Kai’s face became serious and he replied faintly.
Han Fei’s eyes narrowed slightly as she released her Divine Sense, her pretty face soon became gloomy.
Even Yang Kai was able to detect the anomalies around the volcano, so how could Han Fei not notice? It was simply that, at first, she hadn’t been vigilant of her surroundings.
“It seems we’re in a bit of trouble,” Yang Kai sneered as his pair of sharp eyes stared at the surrounding sky.
“Don’t say anything, I’ll handle this!” Han Fei snorted, her beautiful eyes suddenly fixing on a certain position as she coldly shouted, “Chu Jian, come out!”
A hearty laugh rang out as Chu Jian stepped out from his hiding place and boldly showed himself, his eyes staring towards Han Fei with a look of ridicule and a glimmer of lust, sneering as he said, “Commander Han Fei, what a coincidence meeting you here.”
Saying so, his eyes narrowed as his sullen gaze shifted towards Yang Kai for a moment before once again focusing on Han Fei, apparently not placing Yang Kai in his eyes at all.
“Chu Jian, what are you doing here?” Han Fei’s voice was ice cold as she glared back at him.
The area surrounding this volcano was a forbidden zone to the Ancient Demon Clan, no one would come here unless absolutely necessary so obviously she didn’t believe Chu Jian appearing here was just coincidence.
Also, when Chu Jian spoke, a number of figures appeared one after another, each of them a powerful master from Chu Jian’s territory, all of them wearing grim smirks as they surrounded the volcano.
The other party was well prepared; obviously they had received news about them being here and had set up this ambush.
“Oh nothing much, I just wanted to ask Commander Han Fei to do me a favour and allow this human brat to accompany me to my territory for a while!” Chu Jian replied slyly.
“You have guts, I’ll give you that!” Han Fei’s cold stare began mixing with traces of anger, “This human is a guest of Senior Li and is also the hope of our Ancient Demon Clan. Do you plan on stifling our clan’s best chance at obtaining freedom? Chu Jian, you best stop trying to stir up trouble like this, even if Senior Li has shown you great benevolence doesn’t mean she will allow you to act without any restraint!”
“Senior Li?” Chu Jian coldly snorted, “I will replace her one day, and become the real master of Demon God Citadel! My Ancient Demon Clan is a bold and warlike clan, even if we are currently trapped in this forsaken place, we should not forget that. All these years of peace have dulled our fangs and Senior Li’s ‘benevolence’ has only worsened the situation. She is not suitable to be the Lord of Demon God Citadel. Only I, Chu Jian, am worthy of such a role!”
Upon hearing these impassioned words, Chu Jian’s henchmen’s auras all suddenly became dangerous. It was as he said, even if they had been detained here for countless years, the masters gathered under Chu Jian still maintained their militant hearts.
“You’re insane,” Han Fei said as she shook her head disappointedly, “Although we knew you had wild ambitions and were conspiring against us, never had we thought that you were so far gone. Chu Jian, if you don’t cease this madness, only death awaits you!”
“Death?” Chu Jian burst into laughter, “I wonder if I’ll be the one to die, or if you will?”
When she noticed Chu Jian’s murderous intent, Han Fei couldn’t help feeling a chill shoot up her spine, realizing that he had already made his resolve. Chu Jian was apparently committed to usurping Demon God Citadel, and his first would be to eliminate any dissidents, so she and Hua Mo had become his primary targets.
After countless years being trapped in this Mysterious Small World, Han Fei had actually forgotten how the plots and intrigue the Human Race was so fond of worked.
“Han Fei, I can give you a chance!” Chu Jian stretched out his hand and pointed towards her arrogantly, “Submit to me and I will make you my wife, and together we can rule Demon God Citadel. Then as long as this human brat can refine the necessary Saint Grade pill, we can escape from this infernal prison. Compared to blindly following Senior Li, joining me has far greater advantages to you!”
In response, Han Fei just stared back at Chu Jian with a sarcastic grin filled with disgust, “You want me to marry you? Are you out of your mind? I’d rather marry this human than marry you!”
“Hey, why are you trying to pull me into this?” Yang Kai grumbled unhappily.
He didn’t care about the internal struggles of Demon God Citadel, who won or who lost was of no consequence to him, but now he had suddenly become the focus of this battle, Yang Kai was unable to stay out of it.
No matter who wins or loses, his existence had become a key component as the winning side would definitely need him.
“You shut up, there’s no place for you to speak here!” Han Fei’s pretty face showed a slightly flustered look as she glanced over at Yang Kai, her cold expression quickly returning to normal.
Chu Jian shook his head in disappointment and sighed, “You’ve made a grave mistake. Senior Li is too kind-hearted, so I need to take charge of Demon God Citadel! If we leave this world and finally escape to the outside, with her weak personality, what foothold will my Ancient Demon Clan possibly be able to establish? If she had at least fought with me, I may not have been so disappointed, but look, even though she knows I’m plotting against her, Senior Li has never once even condemned me. That woman… should never have been born in my Ancient Demon Clan!”
“Don’t use Senior Li’s benevolence as an excuse for your arrogance!” Han Fei shouted, “If Demon God Citadel were to be ruled by you, it would be my clan’s greatest misfortune!”
“You disappoint me,” Chu Jian kept shaking his head. “Han Fei, I’ll ask you one last time: Join me in my great crusade and forge a bright new future for our clan! Refuse me again and I will show you no mercy. Beautiful women are easy to come by, what I care about is only your Saint Realm strength!”
“Keep dreaming!” Han Fei’s aura burst erupted as she tightly wrapped Yang Kai in her True qi and rushed out, trying to smash through Chu Jian’s encirclement.
As long as she could break through this blockade, Han Fei was confident she could make it back to Demon God Citadel with Yang Kai.
However, since Chu Jian had long been preparing this move, he naturally wouldn’t give her this opportunity.
The moment Han Fei moved, he also took action.
Before she could figure out how he had moved, Chu Jian had blocked Han Fei’s path and sent out a powerful palm strike filled with vicious intent, like a roaring beast baring its fangs, ready to take a bite out of Han Fei and Yang Kai.
Han Fei expression changed dramatically as she pulled Yang Kai back, shielding him while she sent out a palm of her own.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A violent blast resounded and a brilliant glow spread around as Chu Jian and Han Fei’s strikes met mid-air.
“So many years have passed since we last fought, it seems Commander Han Fei’s strength has grown quite nicely,” Chu Jian said calmly, letting out a chuckle before his body flickered and several mirror images of himself were created; each one carrying the same tyrannical aura as the original.
In the next moment, these countless figures all waved their fists and sent a terrifying blow towards Han Fei’s delicate body.
Facing such an attack, Han Fei’s expression became tensed, immediately gathering all of her strength and concentrating it on the weak point of Chu Jian’s strike.
Yang Kai, who was being guarded by her, couldn’t help feeling like he was suffocating, as if he couldn’t even muster the will the resist.
Although he didn’t know what Order Saint Chu Jian was, Yang Kai fully realized just how massive the gap in their strengths was; even though he was not the one being targeted, the residual momentum from this attack alone was enough to fully suppress him.
As this rain of fists fell, Han Fei brought Yang Kai with her as she dodged, every step she took containing a kind of mysterious sentiment. Amidst this onslaught, the two were like a small boat floating within a hurricane, at risk of capsizing at any moment.
“Han Fei, you’re not my opponent. Surrender without a fight and I’ll grant you a quick death!” Chu Jian continued attacking while trying to disrupt Han Fei’s concentration by taunting her.
Both of them were Saint Realm masters, so even though there was some gap in their strengths, it would take a great deal of effort for Chu Jian to defeat Han Fei. On top of that, he had to carefully control his power so as not to accidentally kill Yang Kai, giving him an extra layer of shackles.
Han Fei remained silent, her teeth clenched tight as her delicate body swayed back and forth through the storm.
When the barrage finally ended, Han Fei’s unexpectedly didn’t have a single scratch on her, even her clothes weren’t ruffled. Seeing this, Chu Jian was infuriated and his eyes became red. He felt like he had lost a lot of face in front of his subordinates so he no longer planned on holding back, calling out in annoyance, “You brought this upon yourself, Demon God Transformation!”
Shouting angrily, his face quickly filling with complex black Demon Crests and his strength and Blood Force significantly increased.
Han Fei also didn’t dare hold back, quickly using her Demon God Transformation as well, a set of red Demon Crests decorating her face. In an instant, the world around her seemed to flood with a vague floral fragrance.
A storm of petals condensed from her Demonic Qi suddenly appeared and shot towards Chu Jian.
But Chu Jian didn’t evade at all, simply smashing his fist forward and shattering these petals into dust.
“Second Order Saint?” Han Fei exclaimed, “So you were hiding your real cultivation all along!”
Chu Jian let out an arrogant laugh, “It’s not too late to know the truth before you die!”
With a great shout, Chu Jian condensed a black spear completely out of Demonic Qi and threw it with unstoppable momentum towards Han Fei’s lower abdomen, running her through. Han Fei coughed out a mouthful of blood and her momentum quickly dropped, her beautiful ice cold face suddenly becoming pale as she fell towards the mouth of the volcano.
Suddenly unleashing his full strength, Chu Jian’s single blow had caused heavy losses to Han Fei.
The gap in strength between the two Great Commanders was too large. It was obvious that Chu Jian’s courage to rebel was not him simply acting recklessly.
“Escape…” As Han Fei fell, she whispered into Yang Kai’s ear and used the last of her strength to throw him out.
Under imposing auras of two Saints, Yang Kai found it difficult to even control his own body, so although he heard Han Fei urge him to go, he was simply not capable of following through.
Chu Jian wouldn’t kill him because like Li Rong, he needed something from him, but it was obvious from the first glance that Chu Jian was the type of person to burn bridges after crossing them, working with him would be much less safe than working with Li Rong.
Yang Kai understood all this but his body simply couldn’t muster any strength and was only able to fly out with Han Fei’s assistance.
“Take him!” Chu Jian didn’t spare Han Fei another glance and immediately ordered his henchmen to seize Yang Kai.
The one closest to Yang Kai, a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, jumped in front of Yang Kai and stretched out his arm towards the latter’s neck, a cold sneer appearing on his face, “Human, from now on, you serve Sir Chu Jian!”
Yang Kai’s expression was sullen as he gasped for breath, his bones creaking under the pressure.
Under this crushing pressure, Yang Kai’s Unyielding Golden Skeleton seemed to have some unusual reactions.
The greater the pressure, the stronger the Unyielding Golden Skeleton resisted.
Yang Kai suddenly recalled that he was able to obtain the Unyielding Golden Skeleton in the past precisely because he did not give in to despair.
After that, through countless desperate battles, he had slowly realized the mysteries of the Unyielding Golden Skeleton.
At that moment, in Yang Kai’s mind, it was as if an explosion suddenly went off and his mouth slowly curled into a provocative grin as he let out a ferocious roar, “Unyielding Will!”
The shackles formed by the immense surrounding pressure that had weighed down his body shattered in an instant and Yang Kai regained his freedom.
The pressure and momentum of Chu Jian, a Second Order Saint, had not disappeared and was still as weighty as a mountain, but Yang Kai no longer seemed to be affected by it any more.
“I will submit to no one!” Yang Kai roared at the Demon Race cultivator in front of him as a drop of Yang Liquid appeared in the palm of his hand and instantly transformed into a sharp blade.
*Pu…*
The Yang Liquid blade pierced the chest of this Demon Race cultivator who stared back at Yang Kai wide eyes, obviously not comprehending what had just happened.
*Cilala…*
The incredibly pure True Yang Yuan Qi violently reacted with the Demonic Qi in this man’s body and began burning it away.
A pitiful scream rang out as the True Yang Yuan Qi which had invaded his body caused an excruciating pain, completely suppressing his Demonic Qi to the point where he could not gather any strength at all, resulting in him plunging towards the volcano in the next instant.
“How is this possible?” Chu Jian was also stunned, not having imagined that even under the pressure he was emitting this human brat was still able to fight back!
When he saw that one of his subordinates had inexplicably suffered heavy losses he couldn’t help feeling angered, “Damn you!”
His momentum bursting out, Chu Jian opened his hand and grabbed towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s hair all stood up; killing that Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator wasn’t surprising because his enemy hadn’t been on guard against him at all, but facing the direct attack of a Saint Realm master, he instinctively felt a huge sense of crisis.
As the hand approached, Yang Kai quickly released more than a dozen drops of Yang Liquid from his fingertip and condensed them into a radiant golden spear that he shot out towards Chu Jian’s palm.
*Pu pu pu…*……
Chu Jian’s offensive was blocked for a moment. Such a large amount of pure True Yang Yuan Qi was something even he couldn’t ignore. The Demonic Qi protecting his palm was quickly purified and his skin even received some minor burns.
A drop of Yang Liquid was the crystallization of all the True Qi in Yang Kai’s meridians, so a dozen drops of Yang Liquid was equal to a dozen times Yang Kai’s full strength. Yang Kai using more than a dozen Yang Liquid drops all at once was equivalent to him using a strike more than a dozen times more powerful than his cultivation base would suggest he could, obviously this was a very frightening attack.
After sending out this Yang Liquid spear, Yang Kai didn’t stick around to see the result, ignoring Chu Jian’s fury as he turned around and rushed downward.
Before Han Fei hit the magma below, Yang Kai managed to catch up and grab her, hold her under his arm, and wrap her in his True Qi before diving into the volcano’s caldera.
*Putong…*
The two figures instantly disappeared into the orange molten rock
“Follow them!” Chu Jian was enraged and quickly ordered his men to pursue them.
Chu Jian’s subordinates all exchanged a reluctant glance before gritting their teeth and diving down as well. Even though all of them were normally brutal and fearless, this environment which heavily restrained their strength still gave them pause.
Beneath the magma, Yang Kai was like a fish in water, easily descending at a rapid pace while protecting the injured Han Fei.
Being held tightly by Yang Kai, Han Fei’s expression was quite complicated, a mix of shame and misery flashing across her eyes.
Never had she dreamed that in this situation this human would be the one saving her.
If not for Yang Kai suddenly breaking free of Chu Jian’s suppression and unleashing that oddly formidable strike, it was likely she would have fallen here today. Chu Jian really planned on killing her. In order to unify Demon God Citadel, he had to remove all dissidents; he would never have shown her any mercy.
But this boy… how did he do it?
Under such immense pressure, he had actually regained his freedom of movement, the very idea was ridiculous. In fact, the moment she had thrown him out, even Han Fei had not expected this result.
Staring at Yang Kai at close range, Han Fei could see that although his expression was incredibly serious, there were no signs of fear. If anything, deep within his eyes, there even seemed to be a trace of excitement.
Even now, he seemed to be enjoying this thrilling life or death crisis.
[Freak!] Han Fei thought to herself before her expression darkened once again, calling out in alarm, “Hurry up, Chu Jian’s still pursing!”
From above them, Han Fei could clearly feel Chu Jian’s cruel and angry aura approaching.
If this human boy managed to escape from his hands, Han Fei reckoned Chu Jian would go insane with rage.
“I know,” Yang Kai nodded faintly and asked, “Is your limit at the position where you left me to cultivate?”
“Almost, I could probably dive only a bit further,” Han Fei replied weakly.
“What do you think Chu Jian’s limit is?”
“Even though he’s now a Second Order Saint, he can probably dive at most another 1,000 meters! After all, the Yang Qi here is too rich and restrains my Ancient Demon Clan too severely.”
“Then he can’t catch us, haha,” Yang Kai grinned confidently.
Han Fei’s beautiful pupils lit up, suddenly remembering that this boy seemed to have been exploring the depths of the volcano before she had come to pick him up. Although she didn’t know just how deep he could dive, listening to his tone and seeing his currently relaxed performance, he should be able to descend quite a distance.
Suddenly, she had a sense of anticipation.
Hesitating for a moment, he finally decided to ask, “Can you withstand it?”
“I don’t know, but I have to try. Either way it’s better than being caught by him.”
“Actually… he won’t kill you. If you are caught by him, there won’t be any danger to your life, why do you want to take such a big risk?”
“Because I believe in Li Rong more. If my guess is right, if I was to be caught by Chu Jian, he would kill me after he’s done using me.”
“Seems you still have some self-awareness!” Han Fei nodded lightly.
“Don’t you and Hua Mo also have that idea?” Yang Kai suddenly smiled at her coldly.
Han Fei’s heart jumped as she stared back at Yang Kai with amazement.
“Sure enough!” Yang Kai let out a sigh, his expression quite gloomy.
“We truly had such thoughts, but we hadn’t made a decision yet. Because our Ancient Demon Clan doesn’t need to owe a mere human a favour!” Han Fei replied in a cold voice, even in this situation, she did not have any intention of backing down, freely admitting everything.
“You having such thoughts is enough of a reason for me to kill you now to avoid future troubles,” Yang Kai sneered.
“Feel free!” Han Fei turned her gaze away.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you, even if you are injured, killing you now would still be somewhat difficult.”
“You really have some self-awareness!” Han Fei snorted.
“However, after today’s events, I think you’ll reconsider whether you want to repaying kindness with enmity. If you still dare to have such thoughts though, I won’t show any mercy. I’m letting you live not because I’m being naive but simply because right now I am the one under the eaves.”
Han Fei spat disdainfully and no longer answered back. She found that when she spoke with this human, she could never occupy the initiative and was instead seen through by him, like he could read all of her thoughts and ideas.
Being chased by the Second Order Saint Chu Jian, Yang Kai didn’t panic at all; instead, he even began bargaining with Han Fei in a clear-cut manner, trying to use the favour of saving her life to diminish the hostility she had towards him.
Beneath the magma, Chu Jian took the lead, a powerful and chilling force pulsing from his strong body pushing aside the molten rock. Although the speed at which he dove was extremely fast, Yang Kai and Han Fei were still beyond the range of his sight, so he could only use his Divine Sense to determine their location.
“Human, you can’t escape. Surrender without a fight and I’ll spare you! Refuse, and when I catch you, I’ll peel the flesh from your bones!” Chu Jian roared while chasing after the pair.
Yang Kai ignored these threats and continued diving. The moment he stopped, everything really would be over.
No matter what, he couldn’t allow himself to fall into Chu Jian’s hands.
Soon, he and Han Fei reached the depth where he had been in secluded cultivation for the past month.
Upon arriving here, Han Fei’s condition rapidly began deteriorating. Although she was still wrapped in Yang Kai’s True Qi, her Demonic Qi was still fluctuating somewhat erratically, instinctively rejecting the surrounding Yang Qi, her pretty face going even more pale as a hint of panic flashed across her eyes.
Han Fei had already said that this was basically the maximum depths she could reach. If she were to continue down again, her Demonic Qi would be completely suppressed.
That is to say, upon reaching this depth, her life was basically completely in Yang Kai’s hands. If Yang Kai wanted to kill her, all he had to do was discard her here, and even if Chu Jian bypassed her, in her heavily wounded state, the surrounding Yang Qi would be enough to eventually kill her.
How could she not feel nervous?
Yang Kai glanced over at her and flashed a grin before increasing the output of his True Qi, wrapping her up even tighter, silently indicating that he would not abandon her.
Perceiving this, Han Fei couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief, her cold eyes glancing back at him, her mood somewhat complicated.
“Human, you’ve successfully angered me. I’ve decided, when I get my hands on you, I’ll make your life so painful you’ll beg for death!” Chu Jian’s angrily shouted from above. By now he knew that Yang Kai would never compromise, and was unable to hold back his rage. He no longer cared about anything else, all he wanted to do right now was capture Yang Kai and torture him to sooth the hatred in his heart.
As he shouted, Chu Jian’s speed increased again, fully displaying his determination to capture them.
Yang Kai’s face changed slightly, and he too began to dive quicker, but his cultivation was nowhere near as high as Chu Jian’s, so although this environment was incredibly favourable to him, the distance between the two sides was slowly being shortened.
Also, seemingly in response to Chu Jian and the other masters wantonly releasing their Demonic Qi, the magma within the depths of the volcano began churning rapidly, hindering the speed at which Yang Kai could penetrate it.
Twenty meters, thirty meters, fifty meters…
As the depth increased, the surrounding Yang Qi and the burning heat became more and more intense. This kind of heat even made Yang Kai sweat while Han Fei, who was nestled under his arm, was now dripping wet, beads of sweat pouring down her face, along her slender neck, and soaking her rich chest.
“Are you at your limit?” Han Fei asked, naturally she could see how much Yang Kai was struggling now.
However, Yang Kai remained silent.
“Such misfortune, having to die together with a human like you!” Han Fei sighed helplessly, a look of regret filling her face.
“You shut up!” Yang Kai shouted angrily, he hadn’t expected that even now this woman was still discriminating against him.
At Demon God Citadel, he felt that many of the Ancient Demon Clan looked down on him. Only Guan’er was easy-going around him, but at the beginning she too despised him.
It seemed like in the eyes of the Ancient Demon Clan, the Human Race was nothing but a third-class existence, only their Ancient Demon Clan bloodline was noble and worthy of respect. Everyone stared at him with clear contempt.
These kinds of gazes made Yang Kai feel very uncomfortable.
Han Fei’s attitude was even more obvious. From the very first time she laid eyes on him and even until now, she had always maintained a superior attitude and spoke down to him.
Yang Kai couldn’t understand what she was so proud of.
As he spoke, with a great burst of sound, a pair of wings suddenly unfolded behind Yang Kai.
When these wings unfolded, Yang Kai’s speed once again increased dramatically, and under his control, the pair of large, gorgeous wings curled into a protective shield that wrapped around Yang Kai and Han Fei.
The outside heat eased greatly when this was done.
“Heavenly Dao Law?” Han Fei shuddered as she stared blankly at the Flaming Yang Wings.
From this pair of fiery wings, she felt an esoteric and incomprehensible strength and mystery.
Such a profound manifestation of the Heavenly Laws was not something Yang Kai could cultivate, but must have been something he obtained through some special opportunity.
“You actually…” Han Fei couldn’t help but covering her mouth as she gazed at this sight in shock, nearly losing her ability to speak.
“Seems at least your vision’s not bad,” Yang Kai snorted, “Correct, this is indeed a Heavenly Dao Law.”
“Your good fortune really is enviable,” Han Fei said faintly, extending her hand gently to touch his wings, but before she could even make contact, her fingers were repulsed.
The rich Yang Qi contained in Yang Kai’s wings was completely incompatible with her Demonic Qi. Although she wasn’t injured by this small clash, a good portion of the Demonic Qi protecting her hand was purified.
Retracting her hand, Han Fei bit her lip but suddenly sensing something, she smiled happily and said, “Chu Jian’s speed has dropped.”
“He should be reaching his limit,” Yang Kai laughed.
“But as long as he continues guarding this place, we can’t get escape and will sooner or later be caught by him,” Han Fei said helplessly.
“Do you think that Senior Li won’t notice this?” Yang Kai sneered, “You’ve been together with Senior Li for so many years yet it seems you really don’t know much about her. While it’s true she is kind and benevolent, that doesn’t mean she’s ignorant. It’s impossible for Li Rong to not know about Chu Jian suddenly mobilizing so many people, and even if she didn’t receive word about his actions immediately, at most it will be a few days before she comes to rescue us. We just need to lay low for a while.”
Han Fei’s pretty face suddenly blushed bright red as she kept silent.
As one of the four Great Commanders, usually such a simple truth would have been obvious to her, but after all the sudden and unexpected events of today, her thoughts had become somewhat scattered.
“Human, you’ll regret this!” Chu Jian’s unwilling roars arrived from above, “Han Fei, if you don’t want to die, bring that human brat to me and I swear I’ll spare your life!”
Neither of them responded to him because both Yang Kai and Han Fei had noticed that he had stopped chasing them.
Even with his Second Order Saint Realm cultivation, Chu Jian was completely restrained by this environment and could no longer pursue them.
As if she had suddenly found hope amidst despair, Han Fei’s complexion became more radiant.
“Let me down,” She suddenly called out, now that there was a moment to catch her breath, she finally turned her attention to the embarrassing position she was currently being held in.
“But your injuries…” Yang Kai shot her a hesitant look.
“Don’t compare my Ancient Demon Clan’s physiques to your fragile human body…”
Before she could finish, Yang Kai let go of her. Seemingly noticing the displeasure in Yang Kai’s mood, Han Fei didn’t continue talking about it but instead followed behind Yang Kai under the dual protection of his True Qi and Flaming Yang Wings.
The roars of Chu Jian continued to resound up above causing the magma to become more and more unstable while Yang Kai and Han Fei nervously examined their surroundings with their Divine Senses, trying to find some kind of refuge.
Suddenly, Han Fei smiled happily and pointed in a certain direction, “Over there!”
Yang Kai glanced in the direction she pointed and after sweeping the area with his Divine Sense couldn’t help smiling and swimming forward.
A moment later, the magma that had been wrapped around them this whole time suddenly disappeared, and the two broke into a natural cave.
This cave was somewhat dark, but the ambient heat was at least less unbearable than within the magma.
Surprisingly, in the depths of this volcano, a place like this actually existed; this discovery caused Yang Kai to feel delighted.
Sitting on the ground, panting heavily, whether it was Yang Kai or Han Fei, suddenly surviving such a deadly crisis made them feel a sense of joy and relief.
Gradually adapting to the surrounding darkness, Yang Kai looked around and found that to his left, hot magma still slowly flowed past, while to his right, there seemed to be a deep, bottomless tunnel.
“Let’s move further in, if the magma was the suddenly rush inside…” Yang Kai didn’t feel at ease. The magma here was being kept out by some kind of natural barrier, but if this barrier were to suddenly disappear, the entire tunnel would quickly become flooded.
Han Fei thought for a moment but didn’t have any reason to refuse, quietly standing up and following behind Yang Kai.
In the pitch-black darkness which made it hard for him to even see his own fingers, Yang Kai fumbled his way forward while Han Fei didn’t dare to move too far from him; after all, the Yang Qi in this place was still too rich and she needed to rely on his True Qi to safely resist it.
A dripping sound echoed through the cave as blood flowed from Han Fei’s wound and splashed onto the ground, hissing as it hit the blisteringly hot rocks.
Yang Kai did not express too much concern. Judging from Han Fei’s earlier condition and the strong physical resilience of the Ancient Demon Clan, even such a heavy blow wasn’t enough to kill her.
After walking for who knows how long, through many confusing twists and turns, Yang Kai and Han Fei arrived at a large cavern with a particularly high World Energy concentration.
This caver was extremely spacious and so high that it was impossible to see the ceiling with only the weak ambient light. Although Yang Kai couldn’t see what kind of environment this was, but after releasing his Divine Sense he at least knew there was nothing else living here.
This alone gave him some peace of mind.
He knew that in such a special environment, there was a high likelihood that some strange and powerful creatures would exist. If they were to encounter such a beast right now, neither he nor Han Fei would be able to resist.
“Let’s rest here for now,” Yang Kai calmly suggested.
Han Fei nodded lightly, following Yang Kai to one of the cavern’s walls and sitting down cross-legged.
When she sat, she made sure to leave space for Yang Kai to sit down beside her.
Perceiving her intentions, Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling.
This woman clearly couldn’t separate from the protective range of his True Qi, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to apologize for her earlier words either, so she had to express herself with these kinds of actions.
[So hypocritical.] Yang Kai thought to himself.
No other news for now I guess.
After fighting a great battle and then fleeing from Chu Jian for so long, although the two still had an abundance of True Qi, their physical and mental strength had been greatly drained.
Soon after sitting down, both of them entered into a kind of meditative state.
The spiritual and physical strength rapidly recovering.
After two hours, a bright light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes as he slowly opened them; he had recovered to his peak state.
Han Fei was still sitting beside him and, although she had yet to wake up, her aura was a lot steadier now.
Her tender body now gently pressed against him, Yang Kai felt an indescribable softness and smelled a wondrous fragrance that seemed to naturally waft from this icy woman, rousing his spirits in many different ways.
A short while later, Han Fei gradually woke up, and upon noticing her current embarrassing state, took the initiative to open a small distance between her and Yang Kai before coldly asking, “What should we do now?”
“Explore the surrounding environment first,” Yang Kai said, standing up, pushing his True Qi slightly to emit a soft glow all around his body.
Han Fei couldn’t help but frown. She didn’t like the hot aura radiating from Yang Kai but there was no helping that, it was simply an instinctual reaction of her Demonic Qi towards his Yang Qi.
“I have some light crystals on me,” Han Fei said, pulling out two glowing stones from somewhere. Yang Kai smiled slightly accepted one before leading Han Fei around to explore the cavern.
Just as Yang Kai had suspected, this place was indeed a grand and expansive cavern.
More than three hundred meters tall and able to fit more than a dozen palaces inside it, this place also contained an astonishingly rich World Energy, not Yang Yuan Qi, but pure World Energy that any cultivator could absorb.
The two explored the cave for a while but found nothing until they came across a path that led deeper into the ground.
“Do you want to go in and explore or wait here for Li Rong to come to save us?” Yang Kai held up the light crystal and asked Han Fei.
A hint of curiosity flashed across Han Fei’s pair of beautiful eyes and after only a brief moment of hesitation, she replied, “Even if Senior Li receives word of this, she won’t necessarily know we’re down here. This is a rare chance, we might as well go in and see.”
“Alright,” Yang Kai smiled.
This place was a famous forbidden zone to the Ancient Demon Clan. Even the four Great Commanders would not be able to access this region easily. In fact, without Yang Kai’s asylum this time, on her own, Han Fei would not have been able to arrive at this cave safely and would have already been melted by the surrounding magma.
She was naturally very curious about what kind of secrets this place held.
Even though the Ancient Demon Clan had lived here for countless years, this was a completely unexplored area, so Han Fei’s inborn curiosity eventually won out.
Descending through the dark tunnel, the pair noticed that the surrounding rock walls were unusually sturdy.
After walking for what seemed like forever though, the two still had nothing to show for their efforts.
Han Fei, who was following behind Yang Kai, was now having some difficulty breathing steadily.
Her lower abdomen had been pierced through, and although this injury was not a threat to her life, it still greatly affected her strength and mobility.
“Let’s rest here for a while,” Yang Kai proposed.
Han Fei nodded indifferent, knowing that he was being considerate.
Upon sitting down, Yang Kai took out a healing pill and handed it to Han Fei, the latter simply glancing at him for a moment before calmly accepting it.
“You don’t have healing pills on you?” Yang Kai asked, frowning.
“We can’t practice Alchemy, how could we have healing pills?” Han Fei replied faintly.
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier…” Yang Kai was speechless. This woman was so proud that she had chosen to use only her natural healing abilities to deal with such a grave injury rather than asking him for a pill.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had thought that Han Fei, as one of the four Great Commanders, would at least have some common healing pills on her.
“Well excuse me,” Han Fei snorted, thinking about something for a moment before suddenly taking out a flask and handing it to Yang Kai, “Want some water?”
Yang Kai was surprised and almost unconsciously accepted the flask from her hand and drank a few mouthfuls.
Han Fei asked again, “Want something to eat?”
This time, she handed over a few pieces of fruit before Yang Kai could even answer. These fruits contained quite a lot of energy and were obviously high-quality items.
This woman… was she doing this in order to express her thanks? Yang Kai looked at her slightly awkward expression and suddenly understood what was going through her head.
Yang Kai secretly shook his head and accepted the fruits, eating them without any hesitation.
“You seem to have brought a lot of things with you,” Yang Kai looked at her up and down, wondering where she was keeping all these things.
Yang Kai knew that Universe Bags were artifacts that could be used to store items and since coming to Tong Xuan Realm, he had seen a number of people with them.
The several team captains from Bold Independent Union and the Charm Monster that he had killed were examples.
However, Han Fei didn’t seem to have one on her, so Yang Kai was very confused about what she was using to keep her possessions.
“En, I usually collect various things and store them in my Void Ring for when I need them later,” Han Fei explained casually, taking out another piece of fruit and eating it.
“Void Ring?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, his eyes instantly fixing on a small ring on Han Fei’s right index finger.
This ring was dark in colour, and at first glance was obviously something quite old.
“A higher-end storage artifact compared to Universe Bags, you probably haven’t seen them in the outside world before only some extremely old forces with rich heritages have such thing,” Han Fei faintly explained.
Staring at the Void Ring on her finger, a flash went off in Yang Kai’s mind suddenly as he asked, “Is this thing made of Soulstone?”
“You know about Soulstone?” This time Han Fei was the one who was surprised.
Yang Kai nodded gently, why wouldn’t he know about it? His Wordless Black Book was a gigantic piece of Soulstone.
“En, this Void Ring is forged from a small piece of Soulstone. It’s said that Sir Great Demon God obtained a large piece of Soulstone in the past. No one knows what he did with it, but after he was done there were apparently some scraps left over which, with a number of auxiliary materials, were forged into a few Void Rings by a famous Artifact Refiner. These four rings are currently kept by us, the Great Commanders.”
Listening to her, Yang Kai thought about it for a moment and indeed recalled seeing such rings on Li Rong and Hua Mo’s hands.
It turns out these rings were storage artifacts that were superior to Universe Bags!
“Good, enough about that. This time I really owe you a big favour, so I won’t advocate killing you after our agreement is completed anymore, but I can’t guarantee that Hua Mo will agree as well. However, you can rest assured that with Senior Li’s asylum, Hua Mo won’t easily take action against you,” Han Fei suddenly said.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, knowing that her saying this was her way of indicating her stance.
“I don’t understand why Senior Li is so optimistic about you and is so attention towards you.”
“I don’t understand either!” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “If you have a chance, please help me ask Li Rong what all this is about.”
After half an hour, the pair resumed their exploration. It seemed that Han Fei’s state was much better than before because of the healing pill.
As they descended further into the tunnel, Yang Kai realized that the surrounding World Energy was becoming even denser, as if it was gathering together somewhere below them.
Recalling his experience beneath the Central Capital, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shocked and ventured a bold guess, “There couldn’t be an Earth Vein below us, could there?”
Hearing this, Han Fei thought about it for a while before nodding solemnly, “It’s possible.”
Suddenly excited about such a fortunate prospect, the two couldn’t help greatly increasing their forward pace.
After a mild sprint, Yang Kai suddenly came to a dead end with no obvious way to proceed.
But on the rock wall in front of him, there were some shimmering lights.
“What are these?” Yang Kai muttered suspiciously, stepping forward to investigate.
Han Fei also hurried walked over after seeing the situation in front of them, unable to hold back her curiosity.
At the same time, the two reached out and gently pushed their True Qi to break the rock wall in front of them. Yang Kai quickly sifted through the debris and soon found a fist sized gem that gave off a pure and flawless aura.
Feeling the energy contained within this gem and carefully examining it, Yang Kai quickly shouted, “Han Fei, Han Fei, look at this, isn’t this Crystal Stone?”
Han Fei’s expression became a bit sour, not having expected this little human brat to suddenly start calling her name, but her attention was quickly attracted to the gem in his hand and no longer cared about Yang Kai’s rudeness. After examining the gem herself for a moment, she nodded, “It really is Crystal Stone”
“This is Crystal Stone?” Yang Kai was stunned, “Such a big piece?”
Yang Kai had seen Crystal Stones before, but whether it was the ones he had received from Bold Independent Union’s Yun Xuan or the ones given to him by Li Rong, they all had a very regular shape and size, roughly equivalent to his thumb, so he was surprised to find a fist sized chunk of Crystal Stone at the bottom of this volcano.
“Could this place be a Crystal Stone mineral lode?” Han Fei’s expression became excited as she leapt forward and sifted through the rock wall debris. A moment later, she too found a chunk of Crystal Stone amidst the gravel, but even though it was smaller than the one Yang Kai was holding, it was still several times larger than a common Crystal Stone.
“This really is a Crystal Stone mineral lode!” Han Fei declared confidently.
“Didn’t you say that it was a Yang Crystal Ore mineral lode beneath this volcano?” Yang Kai was also shocked.
“I just read so in the records of our ancient book, it might have been a mistake,” Han Fei explained, “But Crystal Stones are much more valuable than Yang Crystal, especially for our Ancient Demon Clan…”
Yang Crystal Ore was basically useless to her and her clansmen, only Yang Kai would want them, but Crystal Stones were different, Crystal Stones were extremely valuable to all cultivators.
After being trapped in this Mysterious Small World for countless years, almost all the Crystal Stones in Demon God Citadel had been consumed, many of her clansmen had never even seen Crystal Stone before.
This was also the reason why Pan Lang was so stunned when he learned that Yang Kai had obtained fifty or so Crystal Stones.
Crystal Stones were rare treasures inside this Mysterious Small World.
“About these…” Han Fei’s pair of beautiful eyes flashed a radiant light as she began to ask.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Whoever picks it, keeps it.”
“Don’t be so shameless. This place belongs to my Ancient Demon Clan, obviously the things here should be belong to my clan!” Han Fei shouted in annoyance.
“You’re the one who’s being unreasonable,” Yang Kai expression remained unchanged as he shook his head, “Although this place is a Crystal Stone mineral lode and contains who knows how many Crystal Stones, if it weren’t for me, could you even move about here freely? If I stopped sheltering you and tossed you away, I wonder how many Crystal Stones you’d be able to mine.”
“You…you… shameless!” Han Fei became indignant. Right now she was being protected by Yang Kai’s True Qi, and without him she would have trouble even moving about freely, never mind trying to mine these Crystal Stone.
“Then this is where we part ways, I’m leaving. You can stay here and keep these Crystal Stones company. Once you die, I’ll just come back and collect them myself,” Yang Kai said, turning around, preparing to leave.
Seeing Yang Kai really intending to leave, Han Fei hastily grabbed his sleeve, bit her thin lips and stared at him sorrowfully, her face filled with a look of grievances, as if she had suffered from a terrible injustice, evoking a deep sense of pity.
It was basically impossible for a woman as cold as Han Fei to show such an expression unless she found herself in a truly helpless situation.
But now was exactly such a time.
If Yang Kai were to leave, she had no choice but to follow him, but to have such a massive mineral lode in front of her eyes yet be unable to touch it, the suffering in Han Fei’s heart could easily be imagined.
Her clansmen very much needed these Crystal Stones.
“What do you want to say?” Yang Kai turned his head to look at her, remaining calm and indifferent.
“We’ll do things your way, whoever picks it, keeps it,” Han Fei clenched her teeth as flames of anger nearly shot out from her eyes.
“Then let’s get to work,” Yang Kai smiled happily, rubbing his hands gleefully.
Han Fei said nothing, turned around and began bombarding the rock wall that contained Crystal Stones, sending massive chunks of gravel flying all over the place. Soon, she found some Crystal Stones within this debris and with a happy smile forced them into her Void Ring.
Looking at her as if she was impatient to seize every last Crystal Stone in this mineral lode, Yang Kai couldn’t help laughing before he too walked over and began mining.
Crystal Stones were generally found amidst other minerals, so if a Crystal Stone mineral lode contained a ten percent concentration of Crystal Stone, it was already considered quite a high-grade deposit.
But the Crystal Stone mineral lode beneath this volcano was actually of even richer than that, with the total concentration of Crystal Stone here reaching as high as thirty percent.
Motivated by Yang Kai’s proposal of ‘whoever picks it, keeps it’, Han Fei was full of enthusiasm and no longer paid any attention to her injuries, violently bombarded the rock wall and sifting through the debris to find Crystal Stones, not even checking their size or shape before throwing them into her ring, as if she was afraid Yang Kai would rob them from her.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s movements were rather relaxed, calmly accompanying Han Fei as she worked, leaving most of the Crystal Stones to her and only picking up a few here and there.
While she was busy mining, Han Fei quietly glanced over at Yang Kai and couldn’t help feeling a bit smug, thinking about how silly this little human bastard was to try to compete with her even knowing the giant difference between their cultivations.
Although she felt so in her heart, she took care not to reveal her inner thoughts on her face so as to avoid him becoming angry and storming off again.
As time passed, the amount of Crystal Stones Han Fei gathered quickly grew to several times the amount Yang Kai collected. By now, she no longer worried about splitting these Crystal Stones with Yang Kai; after all, him trying to snatch things from here was really a bit unrealistic.
As the two tunnelled deeper and deeper, the concentration of Crystal Stones became higher and the stones themselves also became bigger.
Yang Kai even found a head sized piece of Crystal Stone which surprised even Han Fei.
She had never even heard of such a large piece of Crystal Stone.
The two of them, dazzled by the astounding wealth no in front of them, had completely forgotten their current predicament.
However, one thing that Han Fei felt was strange was not despite his harvest being many times smaller than her own, this human brat still had a leisurely look on his face, as if he wasn’t the slightest bit anxious.
Did he know he wasn’t able to grab as many Crystal Stones as her and was simple satisfied with the small part he was able to gather?
Han Fei secretly guessed.
This was actually not an unreasonable assumption; there were so many Crystal Stones here and while Han Fei was collecting them for her entire clan, Yang Kai was simply gathering them for himself, so even if he had a few times less than her, for his own use it would be more than enough.
After a long period of mining, even with her astounding strength, Han Fei finally began to feel a bit fatigued.
In this hostile environment, while having to keep one eye on Yang Kai in case he tried to pull some kind of malicious stunt, Han Fei’s mental and physical consumption were several times greater than his.
Suddenly, Han Fei’s actions stopped and a bitter look appeared on her face. She held a big piece of Crystal Stone she had just picked up and stood there staring at it, not moving.
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked with a playful smile.
“I’m a bit tired, just taking a break!” Han Fei said, taking the initiative to retreat a short distance and sitting down cross-legged, careful to not leave the range of Yang Kai’s True Qi protection, before quietly taking some unwanted items from her Void Ring and throwing them away.
A moment later, she began mining again.
But after less than an hour, Han Fei stopped again, a helpless look spreading across her pretty face as she shook her head.
“Your Void Ring’s full?” Yang Kai saw this and immediately pointed out the problem.
Han Fei glanced over at him faintly and asked, “Do you have any Universe Bags? Lend me a few.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and indicated he didn’t have any.
“What are you using to store all those Crystal Stones then?” Han Fei swept her eyes up and down Yang Kai but she didn’t see any trace of a Universe Bag or Void Ring on him. The Crystal Stones he had gathered so far seemed to have simply disappeared. She had no idea where he was hiding them.
“That’s a secret, no comment.”
“Hmph, trying to act mysterious,” Han Fei snorted, her Void Ring was a high-end storage artifact, its internal space as large as a small room.
She didn’t believe that a youth like Yang Kai could possible possess a higher grade storage artifact than her Void Ring.
After thinking about it for a moment, Han Fei gritted her teeth and softly called out to Yang Kai, “I don’t know why, but I suddenly feel a little cold.”
“Are your injuries that serious?” Yang Kai asked in fright, he didn’t want Han Fei to die here. This woman was one of this Mysterious Small world’s four leaders. If she were to die here, he didn’t know how he would be able to explain to Li Rong. Such an event would inevitably turn the entire Ancient Demon Clan against him.
Before he found a way to leave this Mysterious Small World, Yang Kai didn’t want to make enemies of the Ancient Demon Clan.
“I don’t know,” saying so, Han Fei actually began to shiver slightly.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed greatly and he immediately stopped his mining work, taking off his shirt and tossing it to Han Fei.
Han Fei’s expression became a bit complicated as she quietly whispered, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Yang Kai smiled lightly, but in the next moment, his smile stiffened on his face.
Because Han Fei, who a moment ago was shivering and had appeared quite feeble, suddenly straightened herself up, tied his shirt into a simple package, and began stuffing Crystal Stones into it.
Yang Kai’s face went pitch black as he realized that this woman’s whole act just now was actually just for this.
“Are you really so greedy?” Yang Kai said disdainfully.
“What do you understand? My clansmen have all been desperate for Crystal Stones for many years now, naturally I have to collect as many as possible. Every single Crystal Stone I gather will have a great impact on my clans development,” Han Fei shot back without the slightest bit of guilt, never once stopping her hands as she shoved Crystal Stone’s into her new sac.
“Would you like me to take my pants off too? You’d be able to make another sac with them,” Yang Kai sneered.
“Yes please,” Han Fei nodded indifferently, a completely serious look upon her face.
Yang Kai trembled with anger and pointed his finger at her, “I’ll remember this, you deceitful woman! I’ll never believe a word you say in the future, don’t you have any sense of moral integrity?”
At this moment, he suddenly felt quite distorted, emotionally speaking.
“What’s moral integrity?” Han Fei looked at him suspiciously.
Although she understood honour and loyalty, as a member of the Demon Race, the concept of moral integrity really was foreign to her…
Yang Kai huffed a few times before taking a deep breath and turning away, focusing whole-heartedly on mining Crystal Stones.
Han Fei was also feeling somewhat helpless. Her Void Ring had been filled, and even she conned Yang Kai out of his shirt by pretending to have the chills, she had run out of places to store Crystal Stones, so she could only stand back and watch Yang Kai continue harvesting this wealth, her eyes going somewhat bloodshot in the process.
One day passed, two days, three days…
To her great surprise, Han Fei discovered that this human boy showed no signs of stopping, the Crystal Stones he extracted all seemed to simply vanishing into thin air.
Over these past few days, Han Fei roughly estimated that the number of Crystal Stones Yang Kai had extracted was twice as much as she had.
It was no wonder he was so calm at first and showed no intention of competing with her; apparently he had already anticipated she would run out of storage capacity.
But what about him? What kind of storage artifact was he using that had such a large amount of space? Han Fei had been quietly observing Yang Kai these past three days trying to unravel this mystery but had yet to learn anything.
What made her even more shocked was that in the days that followed, Yang Kai continued to reap huge gains. He seemed to have some kind of bottomless pit that no matter how many Crystal Stones were thrown into it, it would never be full.
“I’ll help you gather these Crystal Stones and when we leave her, you give me half of them. Deal?” Han Fei finally couldn’t sit still and reluctantly proposed.
In response, Yang Kai shot her a cold look before completely ignoring her.
“Forty percent then!” Han Fei grit her teeth and took a step back, “Thirty percent? If I help you, your progress will be much faster; you have nothing to lose by cooperating with me!”
“How about twenty percent? Fine, ten percent… teen percent is the lowest I’ll go!”
“Don’t talk to me; I won’t believe anything you say!” Yang Kai blew two hot streams of air from his nose at her.
“You stingy little bastard, what do you want so many Crystal Stones for anyways? The amount you’ve gathered is already enough for you to use freely for several dozen years!”
“Even if I don’t use them to cultivate I can use them for other things,” Yang Kai counted his fingers and said, “Buying herbs, buying artifacts, buying Martial Skills, buy Secret Arts, and buying women!”
Han Fei clenched her fist and ground her teeth as she yelled, “Shameless!”
“You’re in no position to talk!” Yang Kai sneered, “You’re only safe right now because I’m protecting you! Don’t talk to me anymore, or I’ll abandon you here.”
Han Fei had never felt so bitter in her entire life, but didn’t dare say anything more.
In fact, with her Saint Realm cultivation, it would be a simple task for her to suppress Yang Kai here and force him to obey her, but just like he had said, Han Fei had her own pride and really couldn’t bring herself to repaying the kindness of saving her life with such enmity. It was because Han Fei knew how to calculate gratitude and grudge that even though he found her somewhat annoying, Yang Kai’s overall impression of her wasn’t actually that bad.
“Hm?” Yang Kai suddenly paused in surprise, picking up an unusual Crystal Stone from the rubble in front of him. This Crystal Stone wasn’t very big, at least not compared to the ones he had previously collected, only about the size of his fingernail, but Yang Kai was keenly aware that the energy contained within it was many times purer and denser than any he had come across before. So much so that only a Crystal Stone the size of a washbasin would be equivalent.
Staring at it for a moment, Yang Kai’s expression slowly became solemn.
“Saint Crystal?” Han Fei also called out in alarm, her hands covering her mouth in shock as she stared at the Crystal Stone in Yang Kai’s hand.
“Saint Crystal?” Yang Kai’s brow also rose, “You mean the legendary higher grade version of Crystal Stone?”
During his time in Bold Independent Union, Yang Kai learned a lot about the mysteries of Crystal Stone so naturally, he had heard of Saint Crystal.
A piece of Saint Crystal contained more than a hundred times the energy of an equivalent sized Crystal Stone.
And that was just a comparison of pure energy.
In terms of true value, a single piece of Saint Crystal was simply incomparable to a hundred pies of Crystal Stone, because Crystal Stones could be found everywhere, but Saint Crystals rarely appeared.
Anything that was rare, was precious!
“There’s actually Saint Crystal here?” Han Fei couldn’t sit still any longer. It was torture watching Yang Kai mine Crystal Stone because she had nowhere to store more herself, but now he had actually obtained a piece of Saint Crystal!
This kind of rare treasure could provide tremendous assistance to Saint Realm masters in their cultivation. By absorbing the energy inside a piece of Saint Crystal, she could quickly improve her strength.
Yang Kai obtaining this kind of treasure caused Han Fei’s jealousy to soar.
Whether she had the ability to store more or not no longer mattered to Han Fei as she rushed forward and began violently striking the wall again.
Yang Kai also refused to fall behind, drastically increasing his mining efforts, no longer showing the calm and relaxed demeanor he had before.
Chunks of rock flew everywhere along with big and small pieces of Crystal Stones. Han Fei exerted the full strength of her Divine Sense to observe this storm of debris but whether it was ordinary rock or Crystal Stone, she completely ignored it and let it fall to the ground.
Yang Kai pushed his True Qi furiously while carefully controlling it with his Divine Sense to collect all the Crystal Stones that Han Fei ignored, stuffing them into his Black Book space.
*Ding-dong…*
A clear sound rang out and Han Fei’s eyes locked onto a target, her hand shooting out faster than Yang Kai could see, stanching up a different looking gem. Grasping it in the palm of her hand, Han Fei smiled brilliantly.
She had also obtained a piece of Saint Crystal.
But in the next moment, she grit her teeth again because Yang Kai also harvested another piece and was casually showing it off to her.
“Just you wait!” Han Fei muttered under her breath, increasing the pace of her attacks again.
For a time, Yang Kai and Han Fei acted like they were possessed, going all out to attack the rock walls and harvest Crystal Stones and Saint Crystals.
The number of Saint Crystals was still quite small, only one or two occasionally popping up, but as time passed, Yang Kai managed to collect more than a dozen pieces while Han Fei gained a few times more. Her cultivation was significantly greater than his so obviously the pace of her mining was faster and taking advantage of her stronger Divine Sense, she would often discover the loose Saint Crystals first.
However, she had no way to store the ordinary Crystal Stones that came loose as she was mining so they ended up being taken for free by Yang Kai.
As such, in terms of gains, the two were basically equal.
*Hong…*
A loud rumbling soundly rang out, and the wall in front of the pair suddenly collapsed, revealing a great chasm, but from the dark chasm a terrifying pulse of energy could be felt.
It seemed that because the two people had broke open this passage, the energy flowing within the mine had become unstable.
*Kacha…*
A burst of cracking sound came from all directions.
Yang Kai and Han Fei’s faces both went stiff at exactly the same moment, stopping all their movements as they stood in place silently, not even daring to breathe.
*Kachacha…*
The cracking sounds around them grew louder and louder as the entire cave began to tremble violently while piece of stone began to fall from the ceiling.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched, his expression sinking as he whispered, “This… might be bad…”
“I think… we should probably leave…” Han Fei gently nodded.
“Mmhmm… Run!” Yang Kai shouted out panic, throwing all other thoughts to the back of his mind as he shot off like lightning towards the cave’s exit.
Han Fei also didn’t hesitate and followed close behind.
The earth trembled and the surrounding World Energy churned violently, chunks of rock and clouds of dust constantly falling all around the pair as the cracks in the wall spread rapidly.
Yang Kai did his best to observe the surrounding environment as he rushed forward.
He knew that they were currently in the bowels of an active, unstable volcano. Now it seems that his and Han Fei’s reckless activities over the past few days had disrupted some kind of delicate balance here and the chain reaction they had started would likely cause the volcano to thoroughly erupt.
When that happened, this cave beneath the volcano would no longer be safe.
Facing this life or death crisis, the pair held nothing back, using their fastest speed to escape, reaching the huge cavern where they had first stopped over in the blink of an eye before shooting up the tunnel they had entered through and arriving in front of the flowing magma chamber.
“Come here!” Yang Kai snorted and grabbed hold of Han Fei’s waist, spreading his Flaming Yang Wings and wrapping both of them up before diving straight into the magma, rushing upwards towards the surface.
Driven by the fierce momentum of the volcanic eruption, the speed at which the two ascended was several times faster compared to when they had dove down.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The deafening explosions around them and the massive flow of destructive energy caused both Yang Kai and Han Fei’s faces to become extremely dignified.
At the same time, above the mouth of the volcano, a number of figures floated midair, each of them a powerful master that gave off a formidable aura.
These people were divided into two groups, facing each other, n dangerous air lingering between them.
On one side was the radical, militant Demon Race group headed by Chu Jian, while on the other were the moderate clansmen led by Li Rong and Hua Mo.
As Yang Kai had expected, Li Rong had been paying attention to Chu Jian’s movements and when she learned about him suddenly leaving his territory with so many masters in tow, Li Rong immediately realized what he was planning to do.
Quickly summoning Hua Mo, Li Rong led her subordinates from Demon God Citadel and rushed to the rescue, but she was still a step late.
When she and Hua Mo arrived here, Yang Kai and Han Fei had already been forced into the depths of the volcano by Chu Jian and it was uncertain whether they were alive or dead.
Li Rong, who had always shown great tolerance and benevolence, was right now, for the first time, feeling a great urge to kill Chu Jian!
But before confirming the whereabouts and status of Yang Kai and Han Fei, Li Rong endured and ordered Chu Jian and his people to help her search for them.
These days, the masters of the Ancient Demon Clan had repeatedly dove into the volcano to search for traces of Yang Kai and Han Fei. Li Rong even went down personally but in the end still found nothing.
By now, most of the Ancient Demon Race were convinced that the human boy and Great Commander Han Fei had lost their lives inside the volcano.
Chu Jian’s expression remained unchanged. Not only did he not show the slightest hint of guilt, there was even a flash of excitement in the depths of his eyes as she stared at Li Rong from a distance, wondering what she would do next.
Now that things had gotten to this point, Chu Jian no longer bothered putting up a front. In recent years, he had been testing Li Rong’s bottom line while gathering his strength, by now he had a fair understanding of Li Rong’s capabilities.
If a fight really broke out here, Chu Jian wasn’t the least bit afraid, even somewhat eager to try.
After so many years of imprisonment, most of the Ancient Demon Clan’s fangs had been dulled. Now was the time to awaken the true nature of their clansmen and baptise them in fresh blood.
“Senior Li…” Hua Mo’s face was ugly as he let out a sigh and said, “Great Commander Han Fei has probably already fallen.”
Li Rong’s eyes were shut tight as she continued releasing her tyrannical Divine Sense, ignoring the burning pain the surrounding Yang Yuan Qi brought to her as she desperately searched the volcano, but unfortunately her efforts remained fruitless.
When she heard Hua Mo, Li Rong suddenly opened her eyes, the temperate expression on her beautiful face suddenly becoming gloomy as she ground her teeth, her tender body trembling as she glared angrily and coldly shouted, “Chu Jian, do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Chu Jian sneered and nodded, “I naturally know what I’ve done, there’s no need Senior Li to remind me.”
Li Rong’s expression became even colder as she slowly shook her head, calling out a low voice, “You have no idea. If that human boy turns out to be safe, I can still spare your life, but if anything has happened to him, I’ll bury you here along with him!”
As Li Rong shouted, a surging momentum pulsed from her body, causing Chu Jian’s expression to finally change as he quickly retreated a few steps and swung his arm forward to block these invisible ripples, his sleeve disintegrating upon contact and scattering into the wind.
Chu Jian’s eyes couldn’t help widening slightly, only no realizing that this woman who always acted tolerant and benevolent unexpectedly had strength that far surpassed his own!
However, he too was now a Second Order Saint, so he quickly stabilized himself and a cruel expression slowly spread across his face as he shot back, “Senior Li, instead of caring whether Han Fei is dead or alive, your first concern is about that human brat, why is that?”
Beside Li Rong, Hua Mo also couldn’t help frowning, a look of suspicion appearing on his face.
Li Rong’s words really drew everyone’s attention. She didn’t mention anything about Han Fei but was apparently only concerned about Yang Kai, causing even Hua Mo to wonder why.
“You don’t need to know why!” Li Rong showed no intention of explaining herself, simply taking a deep breath as she stared up into the chaotic sky, her eyes blurring slightly as she solemnly declared, “All you need to know is that I can tolerate any mistakes you have make, I can even tolerate you quarreling with me and seeking to usurp me! But I will never allow you to get away with killing that human boy… If he dies, you die!”
Chu Jian breath caught in his throat, Li Rong speaking such forceful words meant she was by no means issuing an idle threat… It seemed like he had really inadvertently violated some kind of taboo!
Chu Jian secretly shook his head, wondering if Li Rong had gone crazy. In front of so many of their clansmen, she had actually said this, wasn’t she afraid her reputation would be permanently damaged?
Even Hua Mo showed a look of confusion at the moment, let alone their other clansmen.
“I’ll give you three days, after three days, if he’s alive, I want to see him in person, if he’s dead, I want to see his corpse. If you can’t achieve even this, I’ll kill you myself!” Li Rong glared towards Chu Jian and issued her ultimatum.
Chu Jian didn’t show any signs of panic, but instead a look of anticipation, licking his lips as his fighting intent began to rise.
He had no intention of obeying Li Rong’s command, things had already progressed to this point so a fight was now inevitable.
But before he could do or say anything, a fierce rumbling sound came from the volcano below and the surrounding World Energy suddenly became turbulent as a dangerous aura began welling up.
Everyone’s face changed as they all looked down and saw the magma inside the volcano’s caldera begin to surge upwards.
*Xiu…*
A burst of magma violently shot a thousand meters into the air before spreading out raining down on the surrounding area.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Soon, more streams of magma burst from the volcano like arrows, each pillar of molten rock carrying with it an incredibly destructive force.
“Senior Li, fall back!” Hua Mo went pale and quickly shouted out, hurriedly pushing his strength as he tried to escape from the volcano’s fury.
The volcano that had been silent for so many years suddenly erupted, red hot magma spewing thousands of meters into the air from its gigantic mouth. In the sky above, a thick plume of ash began to spread out as flashes of lightning shot back and forth within it.
All the members of the Ancient Demon Clan scrambled to avoid the magma. Some of them who responded too late had been hit by the lightning and exploded into a cloud of blood, not even leaving behind any bones, a truly miserable death.
The surviving Ancient Demon Clan members all wore blank stares, their eyes filled with fear as they all pushed their strength and fled as fast as they could.
*Kacha…*
The magma and the lightning flew about randomly and the entire region above the volcano became a land of death.
The power of Heaven and Earth were unmatched!
The three Great Commanders, Li Rong, Hua Mo and Chu Jian, all wore extremely dignified expressions, none of them daring to stop as they brought their subordinates and fled from the danger zone. They didn’t understand what was happening here, but when confronted by the forces of nature, even they dared not act reckless.
Amidst the clouds of ash, thunder boomed and lightning streaked while down below, magma continued to spew out from the volcano’s mouth.
Such Heavenly wrath stunned the Ancient Demon masters and caused many of them to shudder.
Inside this Mysterious Small World, there were very few dangers capable of harming them, much less killing them, but today they had witnessed one.
A moment later, Chu Jian, and Li Rong and Hua Mo’s groups arrived a few dozen kilometers away from the volcano’s mouth, a relatively safe position, both sides staring back in awe of the sea of fire and lightning still erupting from the volcano’s mouth.
Li Rong face was ashen. She had still had a glimmer of hope that Yang Kai and Han Fei had somehow survived, but now this hope had been thoroughly extinguished.
Facing such a calamity, Li Rong felt that it was impossible for Yang Kai and Han Fei to have survived.
At that moment, from the center of the volcano’s mouth, two figures suddenly leapt out.
Submerged amongst the magma and lightning, no one managed to discover the existence of these two figures as everyone’s attention had been attracted by the vast Heavenly wrath.
The moment they left the volcano’s mouth, Yang Kai and Han Fei also wore shocked expressions.
Neither of them had expected that as soon as they escaped from the sea of magma, they would find themselves surrounded by this apocalyptic scene, the rampaging power that carried with it a scent of death caused both of them to tremble involuntarily in fear.
“Keep moving!” Han Fei shouted. Now that they had left the volcano, she no longer needed Yang Kai’s protection, instead pushing her own Demonic Qi and wrapping him up, flying out in a random direction.
Yang Kai didn’t resist, quickly summoning out his Bone Shield and pouring his True Qi into it. The Bone Shield’s mouth opened in response and created a barrier around the pair, helping block a number of deadly attacks for them.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
Great bolts of lightning crashed against the barrier and were quickly absorbed by the Bone Shield, but after only five such strikes, Yang Kai found that this defensive artifact which had been further upgraded to Mysterious Grade Top-Rank, began to show signs of collapsing.
Fortunately, Han Fei’s speed and agility were both outstanding and she managed to bring Yang Kai through the field of magma and lightning while avoiding the most dangerous regions.
A moment later, the two were finally escaped from the core of the calamity.
“There’s someone in front!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he called out, his face paling in the next instant, “It’s Chu Jian!”
“Damn!” Han Fei’s expression also became solemn, she had not anticipated that Chu Jian would still be waiting here for them.
She and Yang Kai had stayed in the depths of the volcano for half a month now; Chu Jian being so patient was completely beyond her expectations.
“We need to run,” Yang Kai’s face became gloomy as he whispered into Han Fei’s ear.
Han Fei nodded in agreement.
Just as the two discovered Chu Jian, the other side also noticed them. After seeing Yang Kai and Han Fei’s figures, Chu Jian couldn’t help grinning ferociously, “You’re still alive. Hahaha, the Heavens themselves are helping me!”
Saying so, he cast a glance towards the far side of the volcano but couldn’t see Li Rong and Hua Mo’s situation.
Chu Jian’s nerves immediately relaxed. Since he couldn’t see their situation, then they too wouldn’t be able to see his, which meant he had a chance to capture Yang Kai and Han Fei before Li Rong could react.
As long as he managed to hold these two, Chu Jian would have a strong bargaining chip to use against Li Rong!
Li Rong seemed to care a great deal about this human brat, even more so than Han Fei. Chu Jian was quite eager to understand why!
Coming face to face with their enemy after just escaping the magma and lightning, Yang Kai and Han Fei immediately turned in a different direction and fled, trying to escape from Chu Jian’s vision.
In response, Chu Jin just sneered and without hesitation directly displayed his Demon God Transformation.
Like pitch black snakes, complicated Demon Crests spread across Chu Jian’s face, giving him an even more menacing appearance. His Second Order Saint strength rapidly increased as his Blood Force and Demonic Qi surged.
His figure flickering, Chu Jian shot out and arriving in front of Han Fei and Yang Kai in an instant, mockingly calling out, “Seems your luck is quite good, but it’s just run out! Han Fei, hand him over.”
Saying so, he stretched his hand out to grab Han Fei.
Han Fei coldly snorted and gently threw Yang Kai out, quickly using her Demon God Transformation as well to block Chu Jian’s offensive.
Although their strength differed by a Minor Realm, if Han Fei went all out she could still delay Chu Jian for a short time.
Last time, Chu Jian had only managed to land a heavy blow and disable her because he had suddenly exposed his hidden strength and caught Han Fei by surprise.
Yang Kai understood Han Fei’s intentions and rode the strength of her toss to escape the immediate battlefield, but in the next moment he found himself surrounded by a dozen Ancient Demon Clan masters.
These people were all Chu Jian’s subordinates, the weakest of which were still Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators while three of them were Transcendent Realm masters.
Yang Kai stood mid-air, frowning at the enemies around him, his heart heavy. He felt tremendous pressure from these people.
“Human, surrender. Sir Chu Jian has something he needs you to do!” A powerful Third Order Transcendent looked down at Yang Kai coldly.
“And if I refuse?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, a stubborn light flashing across them.
“Then we will convince you through pain,” The brawny sneered, stepping towards Yang Kai and reaching out to grab him.
As this big hand came towards him, multiple phantom images of it appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes, making it impossible for him to see which one was real, bringing him a great sense of crisis.
Tightly gripping the Bone Shield in his hands, Yang Kai placed it in front of himself and furiously injected his True Qi, sending out the several terrifying bolts of lightning it had just swallowed.
*Xiu…*
A burst of lightning shot from the mouth of the Bone Shield and easily shattered the palm images approaching Yang Kai before smashing towards the man behind them.
The brawny Third Order Transcendent hastily retreated a few steps and pushed all of his strength into his hand in an attempt to resist this unexpected counterattack.
With a loud bang, two streams of energy collided with one another before disappearing.
Now in for a penny, in for a pound, Yang Kai gathered all of his Spiritual Energy into the small sword Soul type artifact in his Knowledge Sea, transforming it into a fiery red ray of light that shot towards the man’s forehead.
“Such a loathsome aura!” Realizing that Yang Kai’s Divine Sense attack carried with it a strong Flame Attribute, the Ancient Demon Clan master’s expression became ugly as he too pushed his Spiritual Energy to block this attack head on.
This invisible confrontation was over in a flash, resulting in Yang Kai coughing up a mouthful of blood, his face draining of all colour, and his body doubling over.
Although Yang Kai’s Soul and Spiritual Energy was comparable in strength to an ordinary Transcendent, it was still weaker than a Third Order Transcendent powerhouse’s. If it wasn’t for Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy having special attribute, this confrontation would have resulting in serious injuries to his Knowledge Sea, possibly even leading to its collapse.
However, the brawny master suffered a small loss in this exchange.
He had looked down too much on Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and after the collision, he couldn’t help holding his head tightly and roaring in pain.
A Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, cultivated to the extreme, was capable of burning away all creation, and although Yang Kai had only just began cultivating his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea a year prior to now, after swallowing the dozen Conflagrated Knowledge Seas Demon God Citadel had in storage, the strength of his Divine Sense attack could not be so easily ignored.
“Seize him! I want to crush every bone in his body, one by one!” The Third Order Transcendent angrily shouted, ordering his fellow clansmen to attack.
Yang Kai waved both his hands and instantly sent out several dozen drops of Yang Liquid, shaping them into sharp spears with his Divine Sense and sending them flying in all directions towards the surrounding Demon Race cultivators.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The Yang Liquid spears shot out light streaks of lightning.
Too late to dodge, the Ancient Demon cultivators all hastily attempted to block these spears but the pure Yang Yuan Qi harshly restrained their Demonic Qi and some of them were inevitably hit.
The strong physiques the Ancient Demon Clan cultivators were so proud of were pierced by Yang Kai’s Yang Liquid spears as easily as paper.
A sizzling sound burst out as the Demonic Qi and Yang Qi violently collided and tried to destroy one another and in an instant, three of the Ancient Demon Clan masters had taken serious damage.
If these injuries had been caused by some other kind of attack, they would have been able to basically ignore them and with the help of their bodies’ strong vitality restore themselves within a few days.
But the blazing hot Yang Qi contained in these Yang Liquid spears was the ultimate nemesis to their Demonic Qi and the wounds created by them could not be sealed unless they first dissolved the rampaging Yang Yuan Qi that had penetrated into their bodies.
Fresh blood spurting out like fountains from every wound that was created.
The remaining Ancient Demon cultivators became even more fierce and brutal with their attack, not paying any attention to whether their companions were dead or alive. All of them closed in on Yang Kai and sent a barrage punches and kicks towards him.
Yang Kai only had time to condense a two layer Yang Liquid shield to block this offensive.
The two layer Yang Liquid shield collapsed in an instant under the combined attacks of two Transcendents and eight Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary masters while Yang Kai himself only persisted for a single breathe after that.
Blood spraying from his mouth, Yang Kai’s body flew out like a kite, tumbling through the air dozens of meters before finally coming to a stop.
“We need him alive!” The Third Order Transcendent who had suffered a small wound to his Soul cried out, quickly turning to pursue Yang Kai.
At the same time, on the other side of the volcano, Li Rong and Hua Mo finally noticed something was wrong.
“Senior Li, someone seems to be fighting over there!” Hua Mo said with a puzzled look on his face, not quite certain what was happening.
“This aura…” Li Rong knit her brow as, with great difficulty, she extended her Divine Sense through the swirling magma and lighting in order to probe what was happening on the other side of the volcano. Soon recognizing a familiar energy fluctuation, her pretty face lit up, “It’s Han Fei!”
“Commander Han Fei didn’t die!” Hua Mo also cheered up.
“If she’s alright then that human boy is definitely fine as well!” Saying so, Li Rong’s tender body transformed into a streak of light as she shot off towards the opposite side of the volcano.
Since seeing the Solitary Golden Eye in Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea that day and having been struck by its divine golden light, Li Rong had her suspicions.
She found, at the time, that the Solitary Golden Eye gave off an aura that was very similar to what was described in the ancient books left by her clan’s ancestors.
So after leaving Yang Kai’s stone room that day, Li Rong immediately consulted with those ancient books and discovered that just as she thought, records of the Solitary Golden Eye’s appearance and abilities existed.
Upon learning this, Li Rong sent the Third Order Transcendent Duan Ya to guard Yang Kai, and even this time, she had specifically requested Han Fei to personally escort him to the volcano to ensure his safety.
Before she was able to uncover the truth of this matter, she didn’t want to see any harm come to this human boy. As to the speculations she had, she didn’t dare to inform anyone, even Han Fei or Hua Mo who were also Great Commanders of her Ancient Demon Clan.
Because she wasn’t certain, she needed time to observe Yang Kai and verify that her guess is correct.
However, Chu Jian’s sudden interference had nearly shattered her hopes, deeply angering her.
But now sensing that Han Fei and Yang Kai were alive, Li Rong was overjoyed and immediately flew towards the other side of the volcano, taking advantage of her outstanding cultivation to break through the most dangerous region right above the volcano’s mouth just so she could arrive a moment sooner to assist them.
Hua Mo followed close behind her, a touch of fear and anxiety appearing on his face.
He clearly noticed now that normally calm and steady Senior Li would lose self-control when it came to that human boy, even not caring about her own safety.
On the other side of the volcano, Yang Kai fell from the sky and hit the ground, bouncing and rolling a few times before finally coming to a stop. Quickly leaping to his feet, he wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and vigilantly swept his surroundings.
The Ancient Demon Clan masters who were chasing Yang Kai couldn’t help staring at him in amazement, one of them nodding slightly, “The flesh of this outsider is no worse than that of my clan; he’s not even hurt after falling from such a height.”
“I heard that when he was in Demon God Citadel, he severely injured Pan Lang and several of his lackeys.”
“Really?”
“This is getting interesting.”
All of them were chatting amongst themselves, apparently not in a rush to pursue Yang Kai, openly expressing their admiration.
One of the figures that was floating up higher also stared down at Yang Kai oddly, a powerful and imposing aura pulsing around him.
Chu Jian!
Noticing this stare, Yang Kai’s expression grew heavy as he glanced over towards the distance and discovered that Han Fei, who had been blocking Chu Jian a moment ago, was actually lying in a pool of her own blood, her pair of cold, beautiful eyes slowly blinking, her face pale, her lips slowly mouthing something.
Although they were too far away for Yang Kai to hear what she was saying, from the movement of her lips he could tell that she was trying to tell him to escape on his own.
“Sir!” The surrounding Ancient Demon masters saluted.
Chu Jian gently nodded before turning his attention back to Yang Kai, letting out a burst of laughter filled with mockery, “Your Human Race has a saying, a wise man will submit to his circumstances, I hope you won’t resist any further, Han Fei can’t protect you, and neither can Li Rong!”
“Haha…” Facing this desperate situation, Yang Kai suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Chu Jian coldly snorted, seemingly disgruntled with Yang Kai’s attitude.
In response, Yang Kai slowly lifted his hand and pointed to the sky behind Chu Jian’s back, “Instead of telling me that, you should tell Li Rong, she seems to be coming.”
Chu Jian’s look changed abruptly as he turned his head and looked, soon spotting a pretty figure rapidly approaching their position. Li Rong’s face was filled with anxiety as she loudly cried out, “Chu Jian, stop right there. If you listen to me this time, I can forgive all the transgressions you’ve made, but if you harm a single hair on that boy’s head, I’ll never forgive you!”
“Senior Li!” Chu Jian coldly snorted, shouting back at her, “Since I, Chu Jian, have already gone this far, there is now no turning back! Today, it will either be your death, or mine!”
Saying so, he no longer paid any attention to the approaching Li Rong, but instead turned around and stared at Yang Kai with his cold eyes.
The words Li Rong just spoke made Chu Jian feel even more strongly that this human brat really had an unusual position in her mind.
He didn’t have to fight with Li Rong at all. As long as he could capture this human brat, he would have already won!
In that instant, Chu Jian seemed to have seen Li Rong bow down in front of him as he took control of Demon God Citadel and become to absolute ruler of this Mysterious Small World.
Such wondrous prospects made him feel incredibly excited. As long as the Mysterious Small World was unified under his command, he could restore his clansmen’s true nature and when they finally left here, they would once more shake the world.
At that moment, a seemingly ancient voice suddenly resounded throughout the Heavens and Earth.
“Devil Transformation!”
Yang Kai’s quietly whispered, swiping the index finger of his right hand across his forehead. His voice was as ice cold as if it had come from the ninth level of purgatory, sending chills down the spines of all who heard it.
The world trembled, and everyone present couldn’t help feeling unsteady.
In the chaotic sky high above, a great vortex began to form, filled with a powerful destructive aura.
The wind surged and brought with it a sense of intimidation even greater than the fearful volcanic explosion.
Yang Kai’s upper body suddenly let out a scarlet light before a multitude of black lines began appearing, climbing up his body like snakes, branded his skin.
At that moment, Yang Kai’s aura underwent an enormous change, becoming fierce and bloodthirsty.
He had no choice now but to show his trump card in the hopes that he could buy just a little more time to allow Li Rong to arrive.
As long as he could hold out until Li Rong reached him, he would no longer have to worry about being taken away by Chu Jian.
If possible, Yang Kai didn’t want to use his Devil Transformation in front of the Ancient Demon Clan because this technique was too similar to their Demon God Transformation. The origins of his technique were unknown to Yang Kai, but he instinctively felt that if he were to display his Devil Transformation, it would bring him a lot of trouble.
The last thing he wanted was for them to think he had stolen their Demon God Transformation.
That was an untouchable taboo for the Ancient Demon Clan.
But now, he couldn’t concern himself with such things.
However, Yang Kai soon discovered that there was something very different this time when he used his Devil Transformation.
A pulse of energy from all of the surrounding Ancient Demon Clan members flew towards Yang Kai and entered his body, the Second Order Saint Chu Jian was no exception.
Even the heavily injured Han Fei who was a few hundred meters away had her power extracted and, as a result, immediately passed out.
In an instant, the Ancient Demon Clan masters gathered around Yang Kai discovered that their strength had dropped significantly.
On the other hand, Yang Kai felt a tremendous power circulating through his body. He almost couldn’t help roaring in excitement, lifting his hands and gripping them slightly, feeling like he was able to crush the entire world if he wanted to
At that moment, Yang Kai felt invincible, that there was nothing he could not do!
“Demon God Transformation?” Chu Jian called out in alarm as he stared at Yang Ka in shock. Right now, the exposed skin of this human boy, with the exception of his face, was covered in Demon Crests, the most standard form of the Demon God Transformation.
Moreover, the number of Demon Crests Yang Kai had was significantly more than Chu Jian’s own.
“How is that possible?” Chu Jian was dumbfounded.
Demon God Transformation was a heritage Martial Skill that could only be performed by members of the Ancient Demon Clan, not even other members of the Demon Race could cultivate it. After all, Demon Crests were an inherent characteristic, other Demon Race people didn’t have Demon Crests so it was naturally impossible for them to display the Demon God Transformation.
So how could this human brat do it? And his Demon God Transformation… seemed to be stronger and more profound than any Chu Jain had ever seen.
Vaguely, there was even a kind of power radiating from this human that was suppressing him.
Chu Jian quickly noticed that the Demon Crests on his face were melting like spring snow under a hot sun and quickly disappeared. His Blood Force and Demonic Qi plummeted at that moment and his combat strength fell to a near non-existent level…
Both Chu Jian and Li Rong were equally shocking.
But the latter also showed a look of pleasant surprise.
The attractive eyes of the mature beauty who rapidly flew over flashed a strange light as she stared towards Yang Kai, trembling with excitement as if she had just witnessed something she had been greatly anticipating.
Hua Mo, who was behind her, also stared dumbfounded at this scene.
Li Rong and Hua Mo both called out in alarm and fell powerlessly to the ground as soon as they came with a thousand meters of Yang Kai.
As soon as they reached this point, a strong suppressive force came over them, one that made them subconsciously feel like any resistance was futile.
Every Ancient Demon Clan member present couldn’t stop themselves from trembling as they stared towards Yang Kai as if he was their natural enemy, fear filling their hearts.
“It’s real… it’s real… it’s really real, I wasn’t mistaken…” Li Rong murmured over and over to herself, tears slowly gathering at the corners of her eyes.
“Senior Li… What’s happening? Why can he display the Demon God Transformation and why does his Demon God Transformation give us such a massive suppression?” Hua Mo was terrified and hastily asked.
“This must be a gift from Sir Great Demon God to my Ancient Demon Clan! The prayers of our ancestors have finally been answered! Sir Great Demon God has certainly sent him here to save my clan!” Li Rong’s face was filled with reverence and respect.
“Sir Great Demon God?” Hearing these words, Hua Mo’s complexion changed.
In the hearts of the Ancient Demon Clan, the status of Sir Great Demon God was supreme!
“But Senior Li, I can’t summon any of my strength right now,” Hua Mo expression became solemn.
“It’s not just you, but all our Ancient Demon Clan cannot stand before him. The majesty of Sir Great Demon God is inviolable!” Li Rong tried to straighten herself up, standing in place, staring towards Yang Kai with a look of utmost respect.
“Then Chu Jian…” Hua Mo looked changed slightly.
“He is no exception,” Li Rong sneered, no longer saying anything, now just calmly watching this situation play out.
On the other side, Yang Kai suddenly let out a roar.
At this moment, he experienced a kind of happiness that he had never felt before. He didn’t know what had happened or why he felt this way but after displaying his Devil Transformation this time, his mood had become somewhat different.
He felt as if he was standing above the clouds, indifferently looking down on the people below.
The Ancient Demon Clan masters who had given him tremendous pressure, and even Chu Jian who’s strength brought him to despair, were now nothing but ants in his eyes, their lives his to take if he so chose to.
He didn’t understand why he had such a feeling. Just now he had only used his Devil Transformation in the hopes he could delay his death long enough for Li Rong to arrive and save him, yet now this kind of unexpected accident had occurred.
As all the Ancient Demon Clan around him shuddered and trembled, Yang Kai collected himself and glanced over at Li Rong and Hua Mo, who were staring towards him from a thousand meters away, and oddly noticed that they were standing still, not showing any intention of moving closer.
However, the way the mature beauty Li Rong was staring towards him had once again undergone a great change.
If Yang Kai wasn’t mistaken, the look this beautiful woman was now sending him was one filled with respect.
This discovery stunned him.
“Are you a human or a demon?” Chu Jian’s eyes trembled violently, his face pale as he asked angrily.
“Who knows,” Yang Kai let out a light breath and grinned towards Chu Jian.
“Why do you know my clan’s Demon God Transformation? Where did your Demon Crests come from? Why is your Demonic Qi stronger and purer than mine!?” Chu Jian couldn’t understand what was happening, his expression filled with grief and indignation, harshly interrogating the human boy in front of him.
“No comment,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and walked over to him step by step, sneering as he said, “There was no hatred or grievances between us, but since you maliciously targeted and even tried to kill me, you must pay an appropriate price.”
“You dare!” Chu Jian cried out in rage, his eyes going completely bloodshot.
Staring at the human brat who was slowly approaching him and feeling the thick murderous intent he was giving off, Chu Jian naturally knew what he was planning to do.
All of his bones creaked as he desperately tried to summon the Demon Crests on his face, but no matter how hard Chu Jian tried, he simply couldn’t gather the slightest bit of strength.
It seemed that under the influence of this human boy’s aura, his own strength had been completely sealed and was no longer his to control.
This discovery enraged Chu Jian as he glared hatefully towards Yang Kai and shouted, “You despicable human, what do you do to me? Why can’t I use any of my strength?”
“You really can’t gather your strength? I thought it was just my imagination, but it turns out to be real,” Yang Kai gently nodded, his expression completely relaxing.
The reason why he had been slowly walking over was to create a sense of pressure on Chu Jian in order to test his reaction and see if his strange feeling was real.
Now it seemed his intuition was correct and there was no need to fear the current Chu Jian at all.
“Kill him!” Chu Jian shouted coldly, quickly ordering his subordinates. He felt that if he didn’t kill this human right now, he would be suppressed by him forever.
Chu Jian still hadn’t figured out what kind of method this human brat had used to seal his strength.
“Sir, we’re also…” What made Chu Jian fall into desperation was that apparently all of his subordinates, whether they were Peak Immortal Ascension or Transcendent Realm masters, were all rooted in place like wooden stakes, unable to move, only capable of helplessly staring at Yang Kai, powerless to stop him.
“No one can save you!” Yang Kai shouted, his speed greatly increasing, arriving in front of the Chu Jian in the blink of an eye and callously declaring, “Today is the day you die!”
Saying so, without the slightest hesitation, Yang Kai gathered all of his Demonic Qi summoned a massive Black Dragon behind him. Letting out a terrifying roar, the huge dragon gently hovered above Yang Kai’s head and glared down at Chu Jian.
“You can’t kill me, I’m a Saint! My flesh is dozens of times stronger than profound steel, with your pitiful strength…”
*Xii…*
The beam of dark energy struck out as fast as a snake towards Chu Jian and easily pierced a hole in his shoulder.
Chu Jian’s voice caught in his throat as he felt this sharp pain in his shoulder, his eyes going wide with shock as he stared blankly towards Yang Kai, his mouth moving but no sounding coming out of it.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
One after another, black energy beams bombarded Chu Jian and soon, his strong body was riddled with holes, blood flowing freely from each one, slowly forming a crimson puddle at his feet.
However, the strong vitality of the Ancient Demon Clan allowed Chu Jian to remain standing even though he had suffered such serious injuries.
“Saint Realm indeed!” Yang Kai’s moth curled into a sarcastic grin as he stared towards Chu Jian, “Come to think of it, I have yet to swallow the Soul of a Saint Realm master, I wonder what it tastes like. It seems you’ll have the good fortune to be the first. Don’t worry, I’ll make good use of your sentiments regarding the Martial Dao and Heavenly Law.”
“What do you want to do?” Chu Jian complexion finally changed. With his strength, even if his body were to be destroyed, so long as his Soul survived, he could take over another body, just like what Old Demon had once tried with Yang Kai. Chu Jian had been secretly planning on using this method to survive this ordeal.
All of his clansmen around him were possible candidates. As long as he quietly concealed himself, he would still have an opportunity to stage a comeback. As long as he figured out how Yang Kai was suppressing him and how to resist it, killing an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage human brat would be a breeze.
But Yang Kai’s words just now made him realize that something was wrong.
Apparently, Yang Kai had no intention of letting his Soul go!
At this moment, Chu Jian really began to feel desperate.
“You’ll understand soon enough,” Yang Kai grinned. In the next instant, the Black Dragon that had quietly been hovering above his head let out a fierce roar, opened its mouth, and swallowed Chu Jian into its stomach.
It was obvious that Chu Jian was struggling inside the Black Dragon but with his strength completely sealed, there was obviously no way he could escape.
Gradually, Chu Jian’s movements became slowed to the point they came to a stop. At that moment, the Black Dragon collapsed and disappeared, leaving behind a bloody corpse that fell to the ground.
“Sir!” Chu Jian’s subordinates called out in alarm as they witnessed this unbelievable scene.
A Second Order Saint, without even being able to resist, had been ruthlessly killed.
Yang Kai’s tyrannical and merciless methods caused all of them to tremble in fear.
From the corpse, a huge mass of Spiritual Energy emerged and tried to conceal itself. It was Chu Jian’s Soul, he had wanted to use the moment Yang Kai dropped his guard after killing him to secretly take over one of his men’s bodies.
But just as Chu Jian’s Soul left his Knowledge Sea, he suddenly felt an incredible force latch on to him. Facing this suction, Chu Jian was unable to resist, similar to what had just happened a moment ago when he was facing Yang Kai’s strange aura.
Everyone around faintly heard Chu Jian’s screams.
Yang Kai felt a massive Spiritual Energy mass enter his Knowledge Sea.
Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, Chu Jian’s Soul avatar vigilantly glanced around.
Everywhere he looked there were raging flames. This human’s Knowledge Sea contained a terrifying Flame Attribute which slowly roasted Jian’s Soul, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable.
In the center of this sea of flames was an incredibly beautiful five coloured island.
While floating high in the sky was a giant closed eye.
The moment he saw this eye, Chu Jian instinctively felt an urge to kneel down and prostrate himself, and before he could regain his composure, the closed eye slowly began to open.
Upon fully opening, the golden eye radiated an awe-inspiring sense of majesty.
A beam of golden light shot out from this solitary eye and struck Chu Jian’s Soul avatar.
An indescribable pain washed over him as his Soul was quickly being purified, causing Chu Jian to scream miserably. As his consciousness was fading, he suddenly recalled some old records he had seen many years ago, causing him to freeze up and his pupils to go wide, staring towards the golden eye in panic as he muttered, “Demon Eye of Annihilation?”
So that’s how it is!
At that moment, he finally understood why this human boy was able to use the Demon God Transformation, and why he was able to suppress all the members of his Ancient Demon Clan.
It turns out he possessed the Demon Eye of Annihilation!
The majesty of Sir Great Demon God… was inviolable.
Before his consciousness disappeared completely, Chu Jian understood everything and realized the stupidity of his actions, but everything was too late.
Outside, after watching Yang Kai kill Chu Jian, all the members of the Ancient Demon Clan couldn’t help shuddering.
All of them were bloodthirsty and militant by nature, unafraid of death, but seeing their leader, a powerful Second Order Saint, die so inexplicably caused them a great deal of fear, all of them directing panic stricken looks towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai stood motionless, observing the situation inside his Knowledge Sea. After Chu Jian’s consciousness was completely purified, he opened his eyes, nodded with satisfaction, and began glancing around at his surroundings.
His gaze was like a butcher staring at a flock of sheep, and no member of the Ancient Demon Clan could muster the courage to meet eyes with him.
Right now, Yang Kai was considering whether or not to kill all of Chu Jian’s henchmen.
In truth, he wasn’t worried about them retaliating against him. Although these people had followed Chu Jian and opposed Li Rong, in the world of the Ancient Demon Clan, the strong were revered. These cultivators had always been free to choose who they followed.
If Li Rong’s methods were strong enough, it would not be impossible for her to conquer them and let them obey her.
Moreover, after witnessing what happened here today, it was unlikely any of these people would dare try to find trouble with Yang Kai again.
So even if he didn’t kill them, the likelihood they would seek revenge against him was miniscule. Yang Kai had been learning the habits and characteristics of the Ancient Demon Clan from Guan’er over the last year so he understood this point fairly well.
[Might as well ask Li Rong.]
Yang Kai thought about it and decided to put the issue aside for now, ignoring these people and walking over to Li Rong, his pace slow and steady.
“He’s coming!” Hua Mo said, a tinge of fear in his voice. As Yang Kai approached, he could feel the power suppressing him increase. Just now, he could still use some of his strength, but when Yang Kai approached to within two hundred meters, Hua Mo found himself struggling to even move his fingers.
“I’ll talk to him, you just keep quiet,” Li Rong hurriedly urged, turning back to the clansmen who had accompanied her here and ordering, “Don’t show any hostility towards him!”
Even she didn’t know what Yang Kai was going to do now, so naturally she didn’t dare anger him.
All of these Ancient Demon Clan masters nodded solemnly.
“Senior Li!” To Li Rong’s relief, when Yang Kai stood ten feet in front of her and greeted her, his expression was still the same friendly one she was used to.
“Please don’t address me as Senior, just call me Li Rong,” Li Rong managed to squeeze out a smile, carefully observing all of Yang Kai’s reactions.
Yang Kai was a bit startled but soon nodded, “I accidentally killed one of your Saint Realm masters, what do you have to say about this?”
“His death is not worth pitying!” Li Rong rapidly replied.
Yang Kai’s face showed a satisfied expression. He could feel that Li Rong’s words were not just some perfunctory response but her true feelings; however, this answer still caused him to be slightly confused. Smilingly lightly, he followed up, “So, you don’t intend on blaming me?”
“Why would I blame you?”
Yang Kai chuckled and narrowed his eyes slightly, “The struggle between you and Chu Jian is an internal matter of your clan while I am just an outsider. Now that I’ve killed Chu Jian, I think it will be difficult to guarantee that none of your clansmen will want to avenge him. I’m a person who prefers to pull out roots when weeding out trouble.”
Li Rong expression quickly became solemn as she replied, “I can guarantee you that no one will find trouble with you over this.”
Yang Kai’s words were obviously hinting that even she was not free from his suspicion.
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s brow rose.
“Before today, you were still an outsider to my clan, but from now on, you are no longer an outsider.”
In front of Yang Kai who had activated his Demon God Transformation, the beautiful mature woman who led the Ancient Demon Clan also couldn’t summon the slightest bit of her strength, but she still maintained her calm appearance.
“I’m not an outsider?” Yang Kai pointed to himself with a blank expression.
Li Rong gently nodded, “As for the specific reason, please allow me to explain it to you later. This is not a place to talk.”
Yang Kai swept his eyes around and nodded, the erupting volcano and the thunder and lightning shooting across the sky seemed to be growing more and more intense. Soon, it would begin to negatively affect Li Rong and the other Ancient Demon Clan masters even at this distance.
“You’re a perceptive person, so you should know by now that I have never had any malice against you since the first time we met,” Li Rong said gently, “Now, could you please lift your Demon God Transformation so we can leave this place?”
Saying so, she stared at him expectantly with her beautiful limpid eyes.
Behind Li Rong, the other Ancient Demon Clan members also looked towards Yang Kai, waiting for his reply.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that their lives were currently completely in Yang Kai’s hands, as long as he wished for it, they would all die.
Deeply staring at the beautiful woman in front of him, Yang Kai thought for a moment before nodding, “I believe you.”
Li Rong let out a sigh of relief and her expression relaxed, smiling light as she said, “You’ll be glad you made such a wise decision.”
Yang Kai showed neither approval nor disapproval to this statement but still restrained his surging evil power. The Demon Crests that covered his body also quickly faded and the potent Demonic Qi quickly receded.
All the Ancient Demon Clan masters regained control of their strength and bodies at that moment.
“Hua Mo, protect him. Let’s go!” Li Rong softly order, her tender body flickering and arriving next to the unconscious Han Fei, gently picking her up before turning and shouting towards Chen Jian’s surviving subordinates, “Chu Jian is dead, if you still wish to remain loyal to him, I won’t stop you, but if you choose this path, there will be no place for you in this Mysterious Small World in the future. If you choose to follow me instead, as long as sincerely pledge your loyalty to Demon God Citadel, I will not hold you responsible for what has happened here.”
Chu Jian’s henchmen all glanced around at each other briefly before quickly falling to the ground and shouting in unison, “We are willing to obey Senior Li’s commands!”
Chu Jian was already dead. There was no benefit to remaining loyal to him, right now their first priority was to stay alive.
Li Rong nodded with satisfaction before quickly flying off with Han Fei.
A large group of people quickly evacuated from the volcanic region.
Hua Mo had a complex look upon his face mixed with a bit of nervous panic as he stuck close to Yang Kai in order to protect him.
After half an hour, the group of masters had traveled a fair distance from the volcano.
Looking back, the sky behind them had turned a brilliant red and orange colour. The aftermath of the volcanic eruption was still apparent even this far away, the ground beneath them even trembling lightly.
Everyone couldn’t help feeling some lingering fear in their hearts.
After taking a moment to stabilize Han Fei’s injuries, the group set off towards Demon God Citadel.
Yang Kai remained vigilant the whole way and quickly noticed that every member of the Ancient Demon clan was unconsciously staying away from him, as if they were very fearful of him. Only Li Rong continued smiling the whole time, seemingly very happy. While she held Han Fei close, she would occasionally whisper to Yang Kai about various trivial topics.
Most of what she talked about were the incredible feats Great Demon God had accomplished that were recorded in her clan’s ancient book, some of these tales were things even Hua Mo and her clansmen hadn’t heard before.
Everyone listened to these stories with great enthusiasm.
One day later, Han Fei woke up, and although her injuries had not healed yet, they didn’t cause her any significant difficulties.
She was in a coma when Yang Kai had used his Demon God Transformation, so she wasn’t aware of what had happened afterwards, but now seeing Li Rong holding her, she naturally assumed that Li Rong had dealt with Chu Jian and didn’t bother asking much.
Two days later, everyone returned to Demon God Citadel.
Yang Kai returned to his stone room and waited for Li Rong to arrive and finally tell him what was going on.
There were a great many things he didn’t understand so he was quite anxious for Li Rong to dispel his doubts, but she had said that that the volcano was not the place for such a discussion and had promised to explain everything later.
Demon God Citadel was still in a state of tranquility, apparently the news that one of the four Great Commanders had fallen had not been made public yet.
Overall, Yang Kai was quite satisfied with the results of this trip, the amount of Yang Liquid he had accumulated in his dantian was quite significant and as long as he didn’t waste it, he estimated he wouldn’t have to worry about having enough for around ten years or so.
On top of that, he had harvested the unimaginable amount of Crystal Stones which was an incredible amount of wealth.
However, what made Yang Kai happiest was that he now knew his Devil Transformation, which was referred to as Demon God Transformation by the Ancient Demon Clan, can be used to suppress them.
He had been here for more than a year now and during this time Li Rong had been quite good to him, neither imprisoning him nor restricting his freedom, allowing him to relax and pursue his studies of the Alchemic Way, and even sending a Third Order Transcendent master to secretly protect him.
However, Yang Kai always felt like he was under a kind of house arrest which made him quite uncomfortable.
But that feeling had disappeared as Yang Kai now had confidence to stand on equal footing with the Ancient Demon Clan and even restrain them in certain circumstances.
With this change in perspective, Yang Kai managed to finally relax somewhat.
Over the next few days, everything was tranquil. Li Rong had not appeared yet, but Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry. He knew that with Chu Jian’s death, Li Rong must have a lot to deal with, so he simply continued studying Alchemy quietly while he waited.
The door of the stone room was suddenly pushed open and Guan’er rushed in with an excited look upon her face. Arriving in front of Yang Kai, her pair of beautiful eyes filled with wonderment as she hurriedly asked, “Yang Kai, I heard that you killed Chu Jian, is that true?”
“Who told you that?”
“Senior Li told me, is it true?”
“What do you think?” Yang Kai chuckled.
“What do I think?” Guan’er blinked before letting out a snort, “With only your insignificant strength, it’s impossible for you to have accomplished that, but since Senior Li said so, it’s definitely the truth,” Saying so, she suddenly hugged Yang Kai’s arm and shook it like a spoiled child, “Come on, tell me, how did you manage to kill the bastard? Even Senior Li had always had a big headache about how to deal with him.”
As Guan’er swung back and forth, Yang Kai clearly felt a couple of amazingly soft yet elastic mounds press against his arm.
Noticing Yang Kai’s vision unconsciously being drawn downwards to where they were connected, Guan’er suddenly became alert, leaping backwards as she used her arms to cover her chest, grinding her teeth, “You hoodlum, what are you looking at.”
Yang Kai’s face went black, “Why are you asking a question you know the answer to already?”
Guan’er snorted, “You humans are really not good things! I’m going to tell Senior Li that you are trying to harass me!”
“Don’t try to slander me!” Yang Kai shot back angrily.
Guan’er’s eyes narrowed slightly as a cunning smile appeared on her face, “Then tell me honestly how you killed Chu Jian, I’m quite curious.”
“Can’t you just ask Senior Li yourself?” Yang Kai felt a slight headache.
“Senior Li has been taking care of Great Commander Han Fei these past few days and has also been dealing with the members of our clan that were close to Chu Jian. She’s very busy, how can I bother her with such trivial things?” Guan’er pouted, her red lips puckering attractively.
“I’m also quite busy,” Yang Kai sternly replied.
“How are you busy?” Guan’er swept her eyes over his lazy figure before shouting, “Good, then I’ll just go find Senior Li now and tell her that you’re a rogue who was blinded by my beauty and tried to force yourself onto me!”
“Guan’er, you mustn’t be rude!” From the void, a light scolding voice rang out.
The air distorted and Li Rong, Han Fei, and Hua Mo appeared on the scene.
Guan’er’s expression became slightly awkward as she quickly waved her hands, “Senior Li, I was just joking with him, he didn’t really do anything to me.”
Knowing her little argument with Yang Kai was heard by Li Rong, Guan’er was apparently worried that she would believe her and really punish Yang Kai.
“I know,” Li Rong gently nodded, “But don’t say he didn’t do anything to you, even if he really did do something, it would be your honour!”
Guan’er’s jaw couldn’t help dropping as she carefully digested the words her respected Senior Li had just said, becoming completely dumbstruck in the process.
Although officially she was just an ordinary clansman, she had always been together with Li Rong, so her status in Demon God Citadel was not low. Plus, Guan’er was quite beautiful and her aptitude was good, thus many young men in the citadel had intentions towards her, similar to Pan Lang who was thrashed by Yang Kai a while ago.
However, no matter how those people begged, Li Rong never showed the meaning of betrothing Guan’er to them, because Li Rong felt that none of those young men were worthy of Guan’er. Li Rong had always said that she would find a suitable candidate for Guan’er to marry or wait for the one in question to find someone she was interested in herself.
But now, Li Rong had actually said such words, how could Guan’er not be shocked?
How was being together with this human possible a good thing?
“Sorry I’ve made you wait a few days, I really couldn’t get away,” Li Rong nodded to Yang Kai gently.
“No problem, it gave me a chance to relax anyways,” Yang Kai laughed.
Guan’er’s brow wrinkled slightly as she noticed that Senior Li had a different attitude towards this human this time. She couldn’t tell why, but Guan’er now felt like Senior Li was actually somewhat cautious and respectful when she was addressing him.
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Guan’er couldn’t help feeling a bit scared.
Not only her, Han Fei and Hua Mo also didn’t understand and thus had suspicions of their own.
Even if this human boy was able to use the Demon God Transformation and restrain their Ancient Demon Clan, was that really reason enough to act respectfully towards him? Them not executing him for stealing their Demon God Transformation was already showing him great benevolence.
“Han Fei, Hua Mo, I know that you have doubts in your hearts, just like Sir has.”
“Sir?” Besides Li Rong, everyone else inside the stone room gasped in unison and stared towards Yang Kai.
“Don’t look at me, I’m just as confused as you are,” Yang Kai said.
“I’ll explain everything now,” Li Rong smiled, “Please sit down.”
Saying so, she sat in front of Yang Kai.
Han Fei and Hua Mo glanced at one another and saw each other’s helplessness, but in the end they decided to trust Li Rong and also sat down beside her.
Li Rong looked at Yang Kai gently for a moment before lightly saying, “Please lower your Soul’s defences, we need to enter your Knowledge Sea.”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed upon hearing this request, “Enter my Knowledge Sea?”
“Yes, only there can I explain everything clearly and allow Han Fei and Hua Mo to believe what I say.”
“You’re not afraid?” Yang Kai stared towards Li Rong meaningfully.
Li Rong slowly shook her head, “As long as we have no malicious intent towards you, it won’t hurt us. Wasn’t that also the case last time?”
Han Fei and Hua Mo both wore confused looks upon their faces, neither of them understanding what Yang Kai and Li Rong were talking about.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Fine, I’ll allow you to enter my Knowledge Sea, but don’t try to look through my memories, if any of you dares do so, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
“Of course,” Li Rong nodded heavily, “None of us has such poor taste.”
“Who would want to spy on your memories,” Han Fei spat disdainfully.
Hua Mo also laughed, “This old man doesn’t have such bad hobbies.”
“Then come in,” Yang Kai nodded, closing his eyes and sinking his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea, his Soul avatar soon appearing and lowering all of his Knowledge Sea’s defenses.
The next moment, he noticed that three powerful Spiritual Energy masses poured into his Knowledge Sea, and immediately, the Soul avatars of the three Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan appeared in front of him.
At that moment, everyone in the stone room become motionless. Guan’er stood the side, a mix of anxiety and curiosity plastered on her face as she glanced around at the figures before her, suddenly waving her fist towards Yang Kai and snorting cutely.
She knew that the three Great Commanders and this human brat were discussing some secrets at the moment and that she was not qualified to intervene. Naturally she didn’t dare to try to sneak into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea so all she could do was sit around outside and wait.
Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, wisps of flame whipped about.
Whether it was Li Rong, Han Fei, or Hua Mo, none of them could help instinctively using their Spiritual Energy to protect themselves from this uncomfortable feeling.
The Ancient Demon Clan all hated this blistering aura.
Li Rong was even more surprised than the other two though. The last time she was here, Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was far less powerful than it was now; now, the scotching heat here was now able to give even her some faint pressure.
Suddenly she understood; after all, Yang Kai had swallowed more than a dozen Conflagrated Knowledge Seas so obviously his Soul had experienced some growth.
“Can you please clear a place for us to speak more comfortably?” Li Rong suggested.
Yang Kai thought about it and knew that these three were truly a bit uncomfortable here so he quickly pointed to an island in the distance, “Let’s go there, that place isn’t affected by my Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.”
In the direction he was pointing, the three Great Commanders saw a five coloured island that seemed to be floating atop the flaming sea.
Their eyes sparkling slightly, they quickly followed Yang Kai to the island.
As soon as their Soul avatars set foot on this five coloured island, the three Ancient Demon Clan Saints were all shocked.
“How can my Soul be gaining strength inside your Knowledge Sea?” Han Fei stared at Yang Kai in amazement.
“I can also feel my Spiritual Energy growing slightly,” Hua Mo said with a look of shock.
“What is this five coloured island?” Li Rong smiled happily and asked curiously as she glanced around. She naturally felt that the reason their Spiritual Energies were being strengthened even thought they were inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea was entirely because of this strange treasure island.
“Did you come here to discuss such things?” Yang Kai said indifferently, showing no intention to answer them.
The Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was able to nourish and repair all things related to one’s Soul, so the three Great Commanders’ Soul avatars were obviously able to obtain some benefits by being around it, though these benefits were incredibly small.
Yang Kai on the other hand was different. As the owner of the Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, over many years the small yet steady stream of enhancement he received had accumulated into a significant advantage.
“En, I’ve spoken a bit carelessly,” Li Rong gently nodded, “However, it seems like you have many good things on you.”
“Every man has a secret or two,” Yang Kai said faintly, “Now, I think it’s about time you start explaining what exactly is going on. I’m quite curious to know the truth, and I believe Hua Mo and Han Fei are the same.”
Hearing these words, Hua Mo and Han Fei also quickly turned their attention to Li Rong.
Li Rong smiled and nodded, lifting her jade hand and pointing to an object gently floating high up in the sky, “Look over there.”
Turning their eyes in direction of her finger, Hua Mo and Han Fei stared attentively.
Floating above Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea was a single tightly closed eyeball. The moment they laid eyes on this eye though, Hua Mo and Han Fei couldn’t help feeling an overwhelming desire to kneel down and submit themselves to it.
Neither of them could explain why they suddenly had this feeling, both of their Soul avatars trembling lightly.
“Can you open it like last time?” Li Rong turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and conveyed his thoughts to the golden eye.
The closed eye slowly opened, and through a narrow crack, a majestic golden light appeared and flooded the three Saint’s eyes. It was as if a supreme master who was aloof from the world they lived in was staring down at them indifferently.
Under such an intense gaze, all of them suddenly felt tiny and insignificant, as if this gaze was capable of turning them all into dust and erasing them from the world if it so chose to.
Hua Mo and Han Fei shuddered even more and even Li Rong’s tender body couldn’t help trembling slightly.
“Do you two… recognize this?” Li Rong asked, a look of excitement on her face as her breathing became somewhat quick, her gaze locked solidly on this golden eye, completely unwilling to look away from it despite the intimidating feeling it gave her.
“The Demon Eye of Annihilation?” After a brief moment of silence, Hua Mo suddenly exclaimed.
Han Fei also shivered, her face filling with excitement as she turned to Li Rong and asked, “Is this really the Demon Eye of Annihilation?”
“Without a doubt, it is exactly as it is described in the records left behind by our ancestors. Also, the last time I experienced its golden light, I could feel a terrifying power of destruction, besides it being the Demon Eye of Annihilation, I can think of no other possible explanation,” Li Rong’s proud chest heaved up and down, highlighting her lack of inner calm despite her attempts to speak coherently.
“The Heaven’s have eyes! In this old man’s lifetime, I am actually able to bear witness to the Demon Eye of Annihilation!” Hua Mo couldn’t help calling out in joy, immediately kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to the giant golden eye.
Following his example, Li Rong and Han Fei also kneeled down and solemnly worshiped the floating eye.
Yang Kai’s brain froze up for a moment as he stared dumbfounded at this scene.
At that moment, three beams of golden light suddenly shot out from the Solitary Golden Eye and precisely struck the three kneeling Soul avatars.
Yang Kai expression changed dramatically but he quickly managed to regain his composure.
Because he found that after being illumined by the golden light, the three Saint’s Soul avatars not only didn’t disappear, remaining completely unharmed, but instead showed looks of incredibly joy, as if some kind of shackle which had bound them had been lifted, closing their eyes as they immersed themselves in this wondrous feeling.
Yang Kai carefully observed them and quickly discovered that they were receiving something from the golden light so he did not attempt to interrupt them, standing to the side and waiting quietly.
A moment later, the Solitary Golden Eye closed once more.
After waiting for a long time, the three Great Commanders opened their eyes again. At that moment, Yang Kai clearly noticed that their three Soul avatars were much stronger than before.
It seemed like the benefits they received weren’t small.
Yang Kai became pensive, at this moment, he also realized that the Solitary Golden Eye had a deep connection with the Ancient Demon Clan, but what exactly this relationship was, he wasn’t clear.
The three people all were aware of the changes they had undergone as well, looks of excitement appearing on their faces as they quickly exchanged a glance before turning towards Yang Kai and respectfully cupping their fists. “Greetings, Master!”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled deeply and a forced smile crept onto his face, “Ahem, what exactly is the situation, do all of you have some kind of misunderstanding?”
“No, there is no misunderstanding or mistake. Starting today, you are the leader of my Ancient Demon Clan!” Li Rong stared towards Yang Kai with a burning gaze.
Surprisingly, Hua Mo and Han Fei made no attempt to refute her, instead nodding solemnly in agreement.
“Is this some kind of big joke?” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled even further, “I’m just an ordinary human while all of you belong to the Demon Race. The blood flowing in our veins is completely different. How can I suddenly be the leader of your Ancient Demon Clan?”
“Please be patient, Master, I will explain everything in detail,” Li Rong smiled and pointed towards the sky, “May I ask, where did master acquire the Demon Eye of Annihilation?”
Yang Kai thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, “It’s not convenient for me to disclose that.”
Although he could make up a random explanation, trying to use such a petty trick in front of three Saint Realm masters was pointless. Since they seemed to be treating him completely sincerely, Yang Kai also didn’t want to deceive them.
“En, then I won’t ask about it any further,” Li Rong didn’t mind, laughing lightly, “Master surely has some suspicions about us right now, which is only natural. You acting with such prudence is appropriate. If you were to suddenly expose all of your secrets, we would have to consider whether handing our Ancient Demon Clan over to such an incompetent person was appropriate. However, your performance is indeed worthy of one chosen by Sir Great Demon God!”
“The Great Demon God?” Yang Kai’s brow rose, “What does any of this have to do with him?”
“The Demon Eye of Annihilation was the eye of Sir Great Demon God!” Li Rong replied.
Yang Kai was stunned.
“Master, you have lived in Demon God Citadel for more than a year now and should have heard a lot of rumors about Sir Great Demon God.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly. On the way back from the volcano, Li Rong had also talked at length about the Great Demon God. It turned out that her bringing him up wasn’t just her making conversation, but her deliberate attempt to inform him about the Great Demon God.
“Good, that makes it easier for me to explain,” Li Rong exhaled lightly and continued, “Sir Great Demon God was a supreme powerhouse who was able to shake the entire Tong Xuan Realm. According to the records of our ancestors, no one was worthy to stand side-by-side with Sir Great Demon God. During his time, the Demon Race’s dominion was unchallenged and all other races were but vassals of our Demon Race. Among the clans of the Demon Race, my Ancient Demon Clan had the noblest of bloodlines and were the direct servants of Sir Great Demon God.”
When Li Rong spoke about this glorious past, a look of pride appeared on her face and even Han Fei and Hua Mo showed looks of longing.
“Sir Great Demon God’s cultivation was tyrannical. No one was his opponent, but because his strength was so strong, and there was no one here who could challenge him, he broke from off this world’s shackles and set out alone in search of greater heights on the Martial Dao. According to many of our ancient records, he successfully left this realm, but where he went, no one knows. There are also some ancient books that say he failed, his soul was destroyed, and he was never seen again. No one knows the whole truth.”
“However, it now appears that Sir Great Demon God indeed failed to ascend to a higher plane, otherwise he would not have left behind his Demon Eye of Annihilation!” Li Rong said, suddenly wearing a forlorn expression. “Sir Great Demon God sealed my clan inside this Mysterious Small World before leaving because he knew once he departed, the Demon Race would be greatly weakened and the other races would surely take the opportunity to counterattack. As the closest servants of Sir Great Demon God, we would be facing the threat of extermination, which is why my clan was sent here. However, Sir Great Demon God did not mean to imprison us here forever and deliberately left a solution. When we finally succeeded in leaving this place, the world would have mostly forgotten about our Ancient Demon Clan and would no longer target us because of our role as servants of Sir Great Demon God.”
“Although Sir Great Demon God may no longer be among us, even if it is just one of his eyes, it is not something an ordinary person can acquire. Since you can possess the Demon Eye of Annihilation, it means that Sir Great Demon God has already recognized your ability, and as the servants of Sir Great Demon God, our Ancient Demon Clan will naturally recognize you as well! So, from now on, you are the master of my Ancient Demon Clan and we will serve you faithfully like our ancestors served Sir Great Demon God. You were certainly sent here by Sir Great Demon God to save my clan from their long imprisonment here!” Li Rong declared solemnly.
After listening to Li Rong’s ‘explanation’, Yang Kai was speechless for a long time.
If what this woman said was true, Yang Kai could understand why her attitude towards him had suddenly changed. It would only be natural for such a change to occur after she recognized the Great Demon God’s Demon Eye of Annihilation.
But that was just her side of the story, not enough to fully convince Yang Kai.
“This is all one big coincidence. The reason why I am here is because I was accidentally captured by the Coffin Carrying Man, are you certain that what is in my Knowledge Sea is really the Demon Eye of Annihilation?”
“Absolutely,” Not only did Li Rong nod, but even Hua Mo and Han Fei showed a look of certainty, “We are the blood descendants of the Ancient Demon Clan, our ancestors were the closest servants of Sir Great Demon God, we will not be mistaken about this, and who is to say that you being sent here wasn’t the result of Sir Great Demon God’s guidance?”
“Even so… you don’t have to follow the example of your ancestors, pledging your fealty to me, this kind of thing… Heh, honestly, I’m not too interested,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
Li Rong was stunned, but after thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly understood what Yang Kai was hesitant about.
Although he had been able to suppress all of their Ancient Demon Clan when he used his Demon God Transformation, his cultivation right now was still only Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage. Without the Demon God Transformation, many of her clansmen could easily put him to death.
If he wanted their clan to truly submit to him, it would be impossible without him having absolute strength.
“If master is concerned about his own strength not being sufficient, then there’s no need to worry. The three of us expressing our opinion to you right now is not because of your current strength, but your future potential! I believe that since the Demon Eye of Annihilation chose you, your future accomplishments will not be worse off when compared to Sir Great Demon God.”
“You seem to have a great deal of faith in me,” Yang Kai shook his head and smiled, his expression quickly becoming solemn, “Let’s not talk about this for now, for the moment, I am interested in other things.”
“If that is what Master wishes, then please do say,” Li Rong did not want to force Yang Kai to agree now. She knew if she pushed too hard it would only be counterproductive; for now, this human boy was still suspicious of her Ancient Demon Clan.
“I heard that Demon God Citadel has many Martial Skills and Secret Arts that are related to your Demon God Transformation?”
Li Rong smiled lightly, “If it’s about that, there’s no need for you to ask, you will have free access to all of those techniques. Master’s Demon God Transformation should have been obtained directly from the Demon Eye of Annihilation, correct? If so, then it is the most orthodox Demon God Transformation. Since the power of Sir Great Demon God flows through Master’s body, it is reasonable to understand it as such.”
Yang Kai didn’t say anything.
Li Rong’s speculation was actually wrong. He had no idea about what the Demon God Transformation was before he came to this Mysterious Small World, and his Devil Transformation technique wasn’t obtained from the Demon Eye of Annihilation, but rather from the mysterious Unyielding Golden Skeleton.
“Master, I am only trying to speak the truth, I hope you won’t be angry,” Li Rong giggled as she observed Yang Kai’s reactions.
Yang Kai just shrugged his shoulders in response.
“Master’s Demon God Transformation is too overbearing and although it already has the ability to restrain all of my clan, your understanding of the technique seems to be very shallow so you are unable to exert its full power. Right now, Master’s Demon God Transformation is still only at the initial stage.”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment but quickly became pleasantly surprised and asked, “You mean, my Demon God Transformation can still be further strengthened?”
“Indeed,” Li Rong nodded, “If not so, then how would my Ancient Demon Clan be able to guard and fight alongside you?”
Currently, when Yang Kai displayed his Demon God Transformation, everyone from the Ancient Demon Clan around him would be paralyzed. If they tried to fight an enemy in that state, they would only die in vain. Even a master like Li Rong would be easily killed by a cultivator far weaker than her if she was incapable of defending herself.
“At the very least, you must cultivate your Demon God Transformation to the second level. Only by achieving the second level will you be able to freely control your ability to restrain my Ancient Demon Clan, allowing us to fight together,” Li Rong quickly said.
“Interesting,” Yang Kai smiled. Before he had enough strength to convince the Ancient Demon Clan to submit to him, Yang Kai was not interested in Li Rong and the other’s announcing their desire to serve him, because his ability was definitely not enough to convince the general public. Even if these three leaders swore an oath to him, he wouldn’t accept, because if he couldn’t display enough competence in the role, it would only lead to their dissatisfaction and cause them to slowly despise him.
During the Inheritance War, Yang Kai had already had a similar experience with the Yang Family, so he had some understanding of these matters.
But studying the Demon God Transformation was something he was interested in.
Yang Kai would never let go of any opportunity to increase his strength.
“You can look for me at any time to read those ancient books,” Li Rong gently nodded.
“Then let’s do so tomorrow, you’ve told me so much today that I need some time to digest all of it,” Yang Kai said.
“Very well, your servants will calmly await Master’s arrival.”
“Also, don’t call me that way, it feels awkward,” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, the more this woman who was a hundred times stronger than him called him Master the more uncomfortable he felt.
“Then… how should we address you? We’ll do as you like.”
“Just call me like you did before,” Yang Kai smiled, “Your clansmen, if they hear you calling me Master, well, I’m not sure what they’d think, at the very least it would provoke some unnecessary disputes.”
Li Rong laughed in spite of trying not to, “You’ve thought things through quite thoroughly. The Ancient Demon Clan has always taken the four Great Commanders as their leaders, as long as we three recognize you, everyone will recognize you, but since you insist, I won’t insist. Good, I’ll let you get some rest, we’ll retire first.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Li Rong and Hua Mo nodded back and their Soul avatars quickly withdrew.
Han Fei hesitated for a moment, a complicated expression flashing across her face.
“Is there something else?” Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly.
“No, I just wanted to thank you for saving me back at the volcano.”
“You also saved me, so neither of us owes the other,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
“Even so, a few days from now I’ll send you something; perhaps it will be of use to you.”
“Send me something? What?”
“You’ll understand when you see it,” Han Fei said before also withdrawing from Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea.
When Yang Kai opened his eyes again, he discovered that the three Great Commanders had yet to leave his room and were instead standing in front of him, Li Rong smiling as she said, “I forgot to ask, do you want to change your room? This place was originally only meant as an Alchemy room.”
Before she was certain about the speculations she had about Yang Kai, Li Rong hadn’t wanted to offer him too much in terms of accommodations and privileges, lest it draws suspicions from her subordinates, but now that she was certain, naturally she wanted to provide him with better living conditions.
“No need, I’ve grown used to this place. I can practice Alchemy here whenever I want,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“About our Alchemy request…” Li Rong smiled awkwardly, “Before now it was just trade between you and my clan, but now that circumstances have changed, if you no longer want to…”
“You don’t have to worry about that, I was sincere when I originally told you I wanted to study Alchemy, I should really be thanking you for providing me with such a good opportunity to do so.”
Hearing this, Li Rong couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as she directed a grateful look towards Yang Kai.
Now, Li Rong naturally couldn’t demand Yang Kai to continue pursuing the Alchemic Way, if he were to strongly refuse, she would have no choice but to acquiesce.
“Would you like us to send you a few maidservants to take care of your needs? The young girls from my clan, whether it is their beauty or temperament, are no less outstanding than those from your Human race…” Li Rong bit her lip and asked blushingly.
Hua Mo’s expression remained indifferent, seemingly thinking that all human males were lascivious by nature.
However, Han Fei couldn’t help but cough a little, her expression a bit unnatural as she averted her gaze.
“Just Guan’er is fine, there’s no need to send anyone else,” Yang Kai knew what Li Rong was referring to. He was, after all, a young man. The need to relieve himself was normal, and now that more than a year had passed since he had come here, Li Rong was obviously taking into consideration his needs with respect to women as well, although her having other motives as well could not be ruled out.
If Yang Kai became involved with one of the girls from her clan and developed feelings for her, tying him to the Ancient Demon Clan would become much simpler.
“As you wish,” Li Rong gently nodded, a meaningful light flashing across the depths of her eyes as she turned to Guan’er and seriously told her, “Just like before, you will be responsible for his care, be sure to meet any request he has.”
“Any request? What about if he…?” Guan’er asked in confusion.
“Even that; his words are your orders from now on!” Li Rong firmly declared.
Guan’er was dumbfounded. When she had first been sent to take care of Yang Kai, Li Rong had told her that as long as it wasn’t excessive, she was to do her best to fulfil this human boy’s requests, but now, in front of his face, she had been told to fully satisfy any request he made!
Senior Li’s attitude towards this human boy had really changed dramatically.
As Guan’er stood there absentmindedly, Li Rong and the other Great Commanders left, and by the time she had come to her senses, only she and Yang Kai remained inside the stone room.
Snorting lightly, she waved her fists threateningly towards Yang Kai like a young female tiger, ready to pounce, as she ground her teeth and accused, “You bastard, what did you say to my Mistress? Why is she so attentive to you now?”
“I didn’t say anything really, we just talked casually.”
“Your Human Race really is sinister and deceitful!” Guan’er glared back at him, obviously not believing a word he said, snorting as she continued, “Mistress said I am I am to meet any of your requests, you won’t ask anything shameless of me will you?”
“I won’t.”
“You really won’t? I don’t believe you, you have to swear to me.”
Yang Kai let out a long sigh, feeling a slight headache coming on from listening to this girl’s incessant chatter. Thinking about it for only a brief moment, he took out a big piece of Crystal Stone and tossed it to Guan’er, “Play with that for a while and stop bothering me!”
Guan’er put on a disdainful look and shot back, “You want to buy me off with a single Crystal Stone? Aren’t you looking down on me a bit too much?”
Yang Kai quickly took out another piece and handed it over.
Nodding righteously, Guan’er took it turned around to leave, a big joyful grin on her face.
The stone room had finally become quiet again.
Reflecting back on the conversation he just had with the three Great Commanders inside his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai still couldn’t quite believe it had happened.
Although he had been studying Alchemy for the past year, he had never stopped thinking about his future plans; after all, it was impossible for him to accept being imprisoned here by the Ancient Demon Clan forever.
Now, unexpectedly, due to a series of accidents and coincidences, he had somehow managed to seize the initiative.
Now, assuming all of this was real, he didn’t have to worry about whether he would be imprisoned here. Whether Li Rong’s words were credible, Yang Kai couldn’t be certain, but he felt that this beautiful mature woman wasn’t deceiving him, because lowering her status and showing such goodwill towards him really didn’t have any advantage to her.
Yang Kai subconsciously trusted her somewhat.
However, as a result of their conversation, many things that had puzzled Yang Kai for many years had finally become clear!
At the very least, he understood that the original owner of his Wordless Black Book was the Great Demon God!
The Wordless Black Book had been inadvertently obtained by Yang Kai, and he had initially been using it as a pillow.
However, after a strange dream and accepting its unyielding will, the Wordless Black Book had opened a whole new world to him.
Yang Kai was able to confirm that the original owner of this Black Book was the Great Demon God from the story Han Fei had told him below the volcano.
She had said that Great Demon God had obtained a massive piece of Soulstone at some point, and although it was unknown what he had used it for, the scraps leftover when he was done had been forged into the four Void Rings that were currently worn by the four Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan.
It seemed like that large block of Soulstone that Great Demon God obtained in the past had been used to create the Wordless Black Book, which meant that the Black Book and the four Void Rings Li Rong and the other Great Commanders had originated from the same source!
If that was the case, then the owner of his Unyielding Golden Skeleton was also likely the Great Demon God.
In the past, the Great Demon God had wanted to break free of this world’s shackles and explore a higher realm, but the result was his failure and the destruction of his body; however, he had somehow managed to preserve his bones. Because the Unyielding Golden Skeleton originally belonged to the Great Demon God, it was only natural for it to be filled with demonic energy.
The Unyielding Golden Skeleton, Incense Burner, True Yang Secret Art, Myriad Drug Liquid, and Demon Eye of Annihilation were legacies that had been passed down to him by the Great Demon God.
However, Yang Kai’s growth had also deviated somewhat from Great Demon God’s expectations.
When he visited Medicine King’s Valley, Yang Kai had obtained the entire True Alchemic Way, which was not something the Great Demon God had intended him to inherit.
Perhaps Great Demon God wanted his successor to wholeheartedly pursue the Martial Peak and not be disturbed by the Alchemic Way.
Thinking about it, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he suddenly remembered something.
Guan’er had once told him that the Ancient Demon Race had produced a top-notch Alchemist, one that all the Alchemy Grandmasters couldn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with.
Had that Supreme Grandmaster Alchemist been the Great Demon God? If not, where would he have obtained the True Alchemic Way?
Although it was just a guess, it was a very likely possibility!
Yang Kai eyes flickered brilliantly, his mind rapidly turning as he carefully sifted through all the information he had and all the things he had experienced over the past few years, gradually becoming clear about many things that had once confused him.
…..
“Senior Li, although he has the Demon Eye of Annihilation, isn’t it too much to just hand over total control of our clan to him?”
Once they had left the stone room, Hua Mo suddenly said, a touch of worry surfaced on his face. Although when he first saw the Demon Eye of Annihilation, Hua Mo had been overwhelmed with excitement, after calming down and carefully considering the big picture, he couldn’t help feeling that Li Rong’s decision was not quite appropriate.
“En, there are quite a few questionable points, like how he acquired the Demon Eye of Annihilation in the first place; of course, the most important issue is that he is human…” Han Fei nodded and agreed with Hua Mo.
Li Rong just smiled lightly and replied, “The Demon Eye of Annihilation choosing him, is equivalent to Sir Great Demon God choosing him. We only need to follow the teachings of our ancestors. As for him being human, that’s only for now, as for later… we’ll have to wait and see.”
Hearing all this, Hua Mo and Han Fei went silent for a moment.
“Well, his performance is still satisfactory,” Hua Mo took a step back and nodded, “I thought a young man like him would act impulsively, and upon hearing our Ancient Demon Clan swear loyalty to him would immediately accept it. I hadn’t expected him to actually decisively refuse.”
Not only had Yang Kai refused, from start to finish he hadn’t even shown any excitement.
It seemed like for him, whether he obtained the Ancient Demon Clan’s allegiance or not was irrelevant.
If he wasn’t extremely foolish or overconfident, then he must have already experienced a great many storms and possessed a deep understanding of his own capabilities and abilities.
However, it was impossible for this young man to be an arrogant fool. The scene where Yang Kai had killed Chu Jian still flashed across Hua Mo’s thoughts from time to time, sending chills down his back.
As such, the only explanation left was that he knew very clear about his own weight and would not make a rash decision before he has absolute certainty.
Such people often relied on their own ability to do things rather than allow their fate to be controlled by others.
“That’s why I said Sir Great Demon God’s vision was not wrong,” Li Rong smiled happily, “Just you wait, within five years, our clan will obtain its freedom from this Mysterious Small World and once again return to the world our ancestors came from.”
Hua Mo and Han Fei’s visions trembled lightly, a look of expectation flashing across their eyes.
It had been thousands of years at least since they were sealed inside this Mysterious Small World by Sir Great Demon God, the world would have long forgotten about this clan that served as his most loyal servants and trusted right arm. The sun, moon, and stars, the grand rivers and vast endless seas, such scenes were things that their clansmen had only been able to dream of for generations.
The lifelong dream of each of their clansmen had been to leave this place and finally see these wondrous sights.
“I hope that in my lifetime, such a day will come to pass,” Hua Mo took a deep breath and slowly regained his composure.
…..
Demon God Citadel was an octagonal shaped building. This building wasn’t very tall but it had its own unique sense of architectural beauty. Each of its eight walls had been decorated with ornate carvings of ancient birds and beasts that seemed to fly and swim from window to window.
Under the leadership of Guan’er, Yang Kai walked into the octagonal building.
After a night of contemplation, Yang Kai had sorted out most of his thoughts.
Regardless of what the Ancient Demon Clan was planning, his ultimate goal was still to improve his strength; that had never changed. Only when he was stronger than anyone else could he truly live freely in this world and not be bound by others.
Therefore, how the Ancient Demon Clan treated him was irrelevant, he just needed to stick to the path he had decided upon.
“Mistress is inside, you can go in,” Guan’er reached out and opened the door, standing aside once she was done.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and walked in.
Inside the room, Li Rong was sitting on a chair beside a small table. Upon seeing Yang Kai come in, she quickly stood up and politely greeted him with a smile, “You’ve come?”
“En,”
“Good, the things you requested have been prepared,” Li Rong gently waved towards several old books on the table beside her, “These are all the manuals regarding the Demon God Transformation, you can look through them freely.”
“En, thank you for all your hard work.”
Li Rong’s eyes flickered slightly as she pursed her lips and said, “I am willing to not call you Master in accordance with your request, but in return please don’t act so polite towards us, it feels like you are treating us like outsiders.”
Yang Kai stared indifferently for a moment before finally nodding, “Then we’ll both act a bit more casual.”
Li Rong showed a faint smile.
Yang Kai stepped forward and picked up one of the ancient books before sitting down on the chair Li Rong had been occupying until now.
These secret manuals were indeed all about the Demon God Transformation, instructions for the Ancient Demon Clan’s clansmen on how to cultivate the Demon God Transformation, how to control and develop their Demon Crests, even some notes about how to improve their efficiency and combat strength while in their transformed state.
Every book here was quite precious and contained secrets that not many of the Ancient Demon Clan was privileged enough to access.
Yang Kai had only just begun looking through them yet his eyes were already growing brighter and more excited.
These ancient books all contained profound knowledge about the Demon God Transformation. Without exception, these secret manuals recorded the very essence of the Demon God Transformation.
As if he had found some invaluable treasure, Yang Kai quickly became immersed in the study of these ancient records.
Seeing him enter this kind of focused state so quickly, Li Rong smiled and left Yang Kai’s side, poured herself a cup of fragrant tea, and sat down quietly and waited.
Immersing one’s consciousness into their Demon Crests, guiding these Demon Crests to spread across their body, inspiring the power contained within these Demon Crests with one’s own Demonic Qi to enhance oneself.
In their initial form, the Demon Crests only spread across one’s body, just like when Yang Kai currently used his Devil Transformation.
In their second form, his Demon Crests would become integrated into his physique, so even if he activated his Demon God Transformation, his outward appearance wouldn’t undergo any changes.
What Li Rong wanted Yang Kai to do was to quickly achieve this second form. At that point, even if he activated the Demon God Transformation in front of the Ancient Demon Clan’s clansmen, they would not be negatively affected and retain their combat strength.
The third form would allow his Demon Crests to completely merge with his bones, bringing about an even greater boost in strength.
Yang Kai was fascinated by all of this, because he had already experienced the Demon God Transformation many times. After learning everything recorded in these ancient manuals, his understanding of this technique would increase many fold.
As for the rest, like how to actually apply these techniques, that could only be obtained through continued cultivation.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai put down the last ancient manual in front of him and closed his eyes. After a while, his eyes opened and he stared towards Li Rong with enthusiasm, “Is there a suitable place inside Demon God Citadel for me to enter secluded retreat and cultivate the Demon God Transformation?”
“I’ve already prepared an appropriate room,” Li Rong smiled, “Come with me.”
Saying so, she stood up and walked over to a nearby bookshelf, pushing on a few of the old books to activate a mechanism which opened the shelf, revealing a passageway behind it that lead deep underground.
Li Rong walked in and Yang Kai followed.
The sides of this passageway were lined with torches, so it wasn’t dark and down below there should be some kind of secret room.
After descending for quite some time, the pair arrived at a large empty room, even wider and taller than the stone room Yang Kai had been using to study Alchemy.
Around the edges of the room were a number of black stones that Yang Kai faintly perceived were emitting a strange kind of energy fluctuation.
“This is where I usually cultivate. Here, you can boldly activate the Demon God Transformation without worrying about affecting my clansmen,” Li Rong softly explained, next pointing to the black stone pillars, “These are Energy Sealing Stones, they are naturally able to block the transmission of all kind of energy, once you enter, I will activate them to erect a barrier around you.”
“Understood, let’s get started,” Yang Kai couldn’t wait, instantly leaping forward and landing in the centre of the room.
Seeing this, Li Rong smiled and shook her head, whispering softly under her breath, “So impatient!”
Saying so, she calmly began pouring her Demonic Qi into a nearby panel, activating the Energy Sealing Stones which soon erected a hemispherical transparent barrier.
Yang Kai glanced over at Li Rong to confirm everything was prepared, the latter nodding back at him gently.
Taking off his shirt and sitting down cross-legged, Yang Kai lifted his right hand to his forehead.
“Devil Transformation!”
As the Heavens and Earth shook, the barrier formed by the Energy Sealing Stones swayed as ripples propagated across its surface.
On Yang Kai’s upper body, a large number of Demon Crests began to appear, these Demon Crests were like snakes, climbing up his chest and back, forming a complex and imposing pattern.
His strength and Blood Force rose rapidly as his combat power soared…
Yang Kai clearly felt how powerful he was at the moment.
In the distance, Li Rong’s beautiful eyes flashed brilliantly as she stared at this sight and muttered, “Sure enough, it really is different.”
Despite the similarities between Yang Kai’s and the Ancient Demon Clan’s Demon God Transformations, Li Rong was still aware of certain differences.
It was impossible for an ordinary Ancient Demon clansmen’s Demon God Transformation’s Demon Crests to cover such a large area of their body, even when a master as powerful as Li Rong used her Demon God Transformation only her abdomen, chest, neck, and face would be covered by Demon Crests; however, from what Li Rong could see, this human boy’s Demon Crests covered his upper half, back and front, and were it not for his pants covering his lower half, she suspected she would see Demon Crests extending downwards from his waist as well.
In other words, his Demon Crests covered his entire body!
This was, without a doubt, the most orthodox form of the Demon God Transformation.
This discovery even made Li Rong somewhat jealous.
Inside the barrier, Yang Kai carefully felt the changes in his body before attempting to immerse his consciousness into his Demon Crests in an attempt to control them and integrate them into his physique.
Once he had successfully combined his Demon Crests with his physical body and merged their essence into his bloodstream, he would have successfully reached the second form and the strength he could display would increase again.
This was a difficult process, but Yang Kai was both meticulous and dedicated in his efforts.
Time passed by quickly.
After a dozen days, a beautiful figure appeared in the underground secret room. Li Rong, who had been paying attention to Yang Kai’s progress here, turned and look at Han Fei.
Gently nodding, Li Rong then turned her attention back to Yang Kai.
“Why did he take off his clothes?” Han Fei glanced over at Yang Kai inside the barrier, her face blushing slightly as she muttered in dissatisfaction.
“It’s easier for him to observe the progress of integrating his Demon Crests this way, haha,” Li Rong laughed lightly, “What are you embarrassed about? Both of us are many times his age, what’s wrong with seeing him topless?”
Han Fei looked a little unnatural and asked softly, “How is his progress?”
“Good,” Li Rong nodded with satisfaction, “He can already merge some of his Demon Crests into his body. I would guess that after at most a month he will achieve the second form.”
“So fast?” Han Fei was quite surprised.
“En, Sir Great Demon God’s vision is indeed outstanding. If his aptitude wasn’t so high, how could Sir Great Demon God feel relieved allowing him to inherit the Demon Eye of Annihilation?”
“It seems I’ve still looked down on him,” Han Fei narrowed her eyes slightly; “I used to think it was only his luck that was good.”
“Then you should take some time to re-examine him. Later, our clan will probably become his servants,” Li Rong smiled, suddenly turning her attention to a small jade box in Han Fei’s hand, “What’s that?”
Han Fei replied, “What I promised to give him a few days ago.”
Saying so, Han Fei opened the jade box for a moment before quickly closing it again.
Li Rong couldn’t help covering her mouth in amazement as she muttered, “Isn’t that the Wind and Thunder Wings? Why are you gifting him that?”
“He may be able to refine this thing,” Han Fei smiled and replied.
“Why do you say that? Even we haven’t been able to refine them,” Li Rong asked curiously.
The Wind and Thunder Wings was a pair of strange wings formed from a Heavenly Dao Law. It was unknown which Senior from their Ancient Demon Clan had originally obtained it, but after changes owners a number of times, it had eventually ended up in Han Fei’s hands.
Han Fei had been trying to refine the Wind and Thunder Wings for many years, but each time she had failed.
This pair of Wind and Thunder Wings was extremely valuable, and was one of the most remarkable of the Ancient Demon Clan’s treasures.
Li Rong had also tried refining it a number of times, but just like Han Fei, she had been rejected by them and finally had to give up.
But now, unexpectedly, Han Fei had actually taken them out and was preparing to give them to Yang Kai.
“Even though we can’t refine them, he may be able to, because he already has a pair of wings formed by a Heavenly Dao Law.”
“He also has one?” Li Rong was shocked.
“En,” Han Fei nodded lightly, briefly describing what had happened below the volcano.
As Li Rong listened, her beautiful eyes glistened, only collecting herself after a long silence and asking, “If what you say is true, then he really might be able to refine them, but are you willing to up such a precious treasure? I didn’t think you were so optimistic about him, were you?”
Han Fei smiled faintly, “There’s no harm in giving this to him. If he can’t refine them, it just means his ability is insufficient. On the other hand, if he can refine them, it will serve as my thanks for him saving my life. Also, because of him, our clan managed to obtain so many Crystal Stones. Compared to the development of our clan, this pair of dust laden Wind and Thunder Wings is nothing of importance.”
“Fair enough,” Li Rong nodded lightly, “From the looks of it, he won’t stop until he has successfully achieved the second form.”
Han Fei smiled lightly and no longer said anything, standing beside Li Rong as the two of them quietly watched Yang Kai from a distance.
One mature, one icy, two beautiful women standing together like this made for quite an alluring sight.
However, Yang Kai actually paid no attention to this marvellous sight, his entire mind completely immersed in studying his Demon Crests, trying to integrate them into his body, causing his flesh and blood to tremble.
Cultivation knew no years, this statement was not unwarranted.
Yang Kai only paid attention to the progress of his Demon God Transformation and had completely lost track of how much time had passed.
Although his progress seemed slow, it still made Yang Kai quite happy.
He was finally able to effectively control his Demon Crests.
Nearly a month had passed and Li Rong and Han Fei were still quietly waiting outside the barrier, not showing the slightest sign of anxiousness, instead just staring dumbfounded at Yang Kai’s performance.
The Demon God Transformation was capable of bringing great strength to an Ancient Demon clansman’s body, but it was also placed an incredible load on them.
Only the Ancient Demon Clan, with their incredibly strong bodies, could stand using it.
An ordinary clansman could only maintain their Demon God Transformation for about an hour.
Even someone as strong as Li Rong could not maintain her transformed state indefinitely.
However, Yang Kai apparently could. Since he initially activated his Demon God Transformation a month and a half ago, he had not once dismissed his Demon Crests. The strength of his physical body had far surpassed any other Li Rong or Han Fei had ever heard of. Even their Ancient Demon Clan physique was incomparable to it.
“A real monster!” Han Fei slowly shook her head.
Suddenly, there was a humming sound inside the barrier, and the last Demon Crests covering Yang Kai disappeared. His momentum and the intensity of his Blood Force not only did not fall though, but instead improved a grade.
Li Rong’s beautiful eyes flashed brilliantly as she exclaimed, “Success!”
After a month and a half of uninterrupted cultivation, Yang Kai finally managed to achieve the second form of the Demon God Transformation, fully integrating his Demon Crests into his body!
Saying so, Li Rong waved her hand and opened the barrier.
A wild and violent pressure suddenly descended upon them, causing Li Rong and Han Fei to instinctively resist.
However, although this pressure was tyrannical, it no longer had the effect of suppressing their Ancient Demon Clan’s strength and would only do so if Yang Kai intended it to.
In other words, Yang Kai now truly had the power to bargain with the Ancient Demon Clan.
When he noticed that the barrier had disappeared, Yang Kai turned to see Li Rong and Han Fei in the distance, smiling lightly before jumping up and walking towards them.
“How are you feeling?” Li Rong resisted the slight discomfort she felt and asked softly.
“Very good, although it’s still somewhat difficult for me to control,” Yang Kai nodded slightly, glancing down at his bare skin where a number of his Demon Crests seemed to fade in and out.
“Being able to achieve this much in such a short time is already remarkable, with time and practice you’ll become familiar with controlling them,” Li Rong smiled, “Hold out your hand.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly but although he didn’t know what Li Rong wanted to do, he still extended his hand to her.
Faster than Yang Kai could blink, Li Rong’s jade white hand swiped at his palm, opening a small cut.
Blood began leaking out.
Because he didn’t sense any malicious intent from Li Rong, Yang Kai made no effort to dodge this strike but instead just looked at her suspiciously.
“Take a look at your blood carefully, do you notice anything different from before?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai looked down at his palm and was immediately startled.
He discovered that there were some faint golden rays in his blood, almost like the golden light which shone from the Demon Eye of Annihilation; however, these golden streaks were incredibly subtle, if he didn’t pay close attention to it he wouldn’t have noticed them at all, but he could tell that these golden lights contained an enormous amount of power.
“Demon God Golden Blood?” Han Fei’s eyes lit up as she called out in alarm.
“Indeed, Demon God Golden Blood!” Li Rong nodded solemnly, “This is the most prominent sign that one has cultivated the second form of the Demon God Transformation. In our ancient books, only those who possess the golden blood of Sir Great Demon God can be considered part of the noblest lineage.”
Having said so, Li Rong also reached out and cut her palm.
Yang Kai stared carefully and quickly found there were some faint golden rays in Li Rong’s blood as well, and although the golden lights she possessed weren’t as brilliant as his own, they were significantly more abundant.
“This is the ultimate symbol and proof of my Ancient Demon Clan’s relationship to Sir Great Demon God!” Li Rong proudly stated.
Yang Kai’s look became slightly strange, “Do you want to say that I too am a member of your Ancient Demon Clan now?”
“In a manner of speaking, although you were born human, your blood has now undergone a transformation because you obtained Sir Great Demon God’s inheritance.”
“Then in the future will I be human, or demon?”
“That’s up to you. It’s not really that important whether you’re human or demon, what matters is how you perceive yourself,” Li Rong smiled lightly, “But from now on, as long as you continue cultivating the Demon God Transformation, your Demon God Golden Blood will become purer and purer. When your blood becomes completely golden, it will mean you have achieved mastery of the second form and when even your bones turn golden, you will have reached the peak of the third form.”
Yang Kai’s brow knit and didn’t respond.
Because of the Unyielding Golden Skeleton, his bones were already golden.
“Good, you’ve been cultivating for such a long time you should relax for a while. Maintaining the Demon God Transformation for so long must have placed a great burden on your body. When one cultivates, rest is also important,” Li Rong sincerely advised.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, it was true he felt a little exhausted and the ache he felt in his body was quite intense. After dispersing his Demon God Transformation, he felt much more relaxed.
“Han Fei also brought you something good,” Li Rong smiled warmly.
“Oh, what is it?” Yang Kai turned to look at Han Fei.
Han Fei stepped forward and handed Yang Kai the jade box she was holding, “Take a look yourself, maybe it will be of some use to you, maybe it won’t, don’t get your hopes up too high though.”
Hearing her speak so ambiguously, Yang Kai suddenly became curious, accepting the jade box and quickly opening it.
Inside the jade box, there was a pair of tiny wings only the size of his palm. This pair of wings was transparent, and didn’t seem to be forged out of physical material; it was unlike any artifact he had seen. Atop these wings, there were flashes of light and swirling currents. Yang Kai felt the strong powers of wind and thunder from this pair of wings.
As he held the jade box, Yang Kai revealed a surprised expression as he hurriedly asked, “What is this?”
“The Wind and Thunder Wings!” Han Fei replied lightly, “It’s a kind of profound treasure. No one knows what material it was created from but both I and Li Rong have tried to refine it numerous times over the past many years yet have never succeeded. When I saw that you already had a pair of wings that contained a Heavenly Dao Law, I thought I should let you try refining this.”
Yang Kai glanced over at her, a look of hesitation appearing on his face, feeling like he had somehow acquired something he hadn’t deserved to and was just about to refuse, but at that moment, his shoulder blades suddenly gave off a dull ache, as if something was restlessly stirring, trying to break free from his body.
Yang Kai expression changed and before he could regain control of them, his Flaming Yang Wings actually opened all on their own.
It was as if his Flaming Yang Wings and the Wind and Thunder Wings shared some kind of subtle connection.
Yang Kai couldn’t help clenching the jade box and stretching out his free hand towards the Wind and Thunder Wings.
The exquisite Wind and Thunder Wings transformed into a flash of light the moment he touched them and instantly sunk into Yang Kai’s chest. At the same time, Yang Kai expression cramped and as he suddenly felt an unbearable pain seemingly passing through his back, as if his shoulders were being ripped out of his body.
His face instantly went pale and great beads of sweat began forming on his forehead, his entire body trembling violently.
Li Rong and Han Fei glanced at each other but were both powerless to help, so all they could do was watch anxiously, praying that Yang Kai would be successful.
After what seemed like an eternity to him, Yang Kai slowly stood up, panting heavily, his shoulder blades still in intense pain but now at least somewhat bearable.
Seeing this scene, Li Rong couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief, letting out a light laugh, “It seems like you and the Wind and Thunder Wings really are fated for one another.”
“I haven’t refined them yet!” Yang Kai knit his brow, clearly feeling that there were two tyrannical energies hidden within his shoulder blades, constantly wreaking havoc on his body, the power of wind and thunder erupting from time to time, causing him a great deal of misery.
It was only thanks to his incredible perseverance and resilience that he wasn’t still showing a pained expression on his face.
“I know,” Li Rong smiled, “But when Hand Fei and I attempted to refine them before, without exception, after taking them into our bodies, we had to force them out within an hour, or else both of us would have died long ago. I don’t know how long you must persist for in order to subdue them entirely and fully refine them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
He already discovered that refining the Wind and Thunder Wings was similar to refining an artifact, he would need to supply it with a steady stream of True Qi in order to allow it to adapt to him and eventually surrender.
Before he refined it, the Wind and Thunder Wings was similar to a foreign object inside of him. Not only was it unusable, it was also causing harm to his body.
“I’ll send you back to rest. You have many things to do, but you shouldn’t be anxious, just handle them one at a time. No one can grow strong all at once,” Li Rong gently reminded, taking Yang Kai’s hand and silently using her profound movement skill.
Upon returning to the stone room, Yang Kai didn’t bother attending to anything else and quickly sat on his bed, closed his eyes, and began meditating.
In the octagonal building, Li Rong and Han Fei both sipped on fragrant cups of tea.
After a long silence, Li Rong suddenly asked with a serious expression, “Han Fei, what do you think of him?”
Han Fei put down her teacup and also wore a solemn face, “Whether it’s his aptitude, perseverance, boldness, or courage, all of them are far superior to any of our clan’s juniors or even ourselves when we were his age. If he does not die young, his future will definitely be bright.”
Li Rong also put down her teacup and gently tapped the tabletop with her jade fingers, her elegant face showing a slightly complicated expression, “Unfortunately he was born human. If it was our Ancient Demon Clan’s blood that had originally flown through his body everything would have been perfect.”
Han Fei’s look changed, “Li Rong, you…”
Li Rong laughed and shook her head, “What are you imagining? I’m not so vicious, I was just thinking out loud. I am not the kind of person who fails to keep her word.”
Han Fei’s expression loosened. After hearing Li Rong’s words just now, she couldn’t help thinking Li Rong was having some crooked thoughts.
Li Rong suddenly smiled meaningfully, “How come you seem so protective of him all of a sudden?”
“He saved my life beneath the volcano. If it weren’t for him sheltering me, I would already be dead,” Han Fei replied lightly.
Li Rong’s smile deepened as she continued, “It doesn’t seem that simple to me. You even sent him your precious Wind and Thunder Wings.” Saying so, she stared at Han Fei meaningfully.
“You’re thinking too much, he’s just a child!” Han Fei averted her eyes.
“He’s no mere child!” Li Rong shook her head, “Good, let’s put that aside for now, I was just feeling a bit helpless. Even though we’ve made our position clear and fully intend to be on good terms with him, he still seems to see our Ancient Demon Clan as outsiders. He has little sense of belonging here; much less dependence. His self-confidence and will to improve himself on his own are both very strong.”
“That’s only natural, he has enough ability to warrant his confidence; moreover, he was captured and sent here by Coffin Slave Senior and we have yet to really have any deep graciousness towards him. How is he supposed to have a sense of belonging here?” Han Fei said somewhat bitterly.
Both she and Li Rong understood that all of their Ancient Demon Clan’s hopes and dreams were dependent on Yang Kai now, but the other side had no sense of belonging or closeness to their clan. Without a certain degree of attachment and mutual trust, he would always have a sense of wariness towards them and at the very least wouldn’t fully exert all his efforts to help them.
If he could leave, Han Fei and Li Rong were almost certain he would not hesitate to do so and would not look back.
“Do you want to make him develop some kind of fondness towards our clan?” Han Fei suddenly realized Li Rong’s plan.
“That’s what I intended,” Li Rong did not deny it as she gently rubbed her forehead in frustration, “Unfortunately he hasn’t cooperated in that respect. Our ancient books all said that young human men had lascivious natures and constantly sought after beauties, so why does he seem so disinterested? I’ve had Guan’er accompany him for more than a year now yet aside from the occasional joke he hasn’t even attempted to approach her.”
“Is Guan’er simply not in line with his preferences?” Han Fei also felt confused.
She had lived her entire life inside this Mysterious Small World so her understanding of the Human Race was limited to what was recorded in her ancestors’ books. All of those records had said that humans were cunning, sinister, and insidious, and that their desire to possess beautiful woman had no limit!
“Then what kind of woman does he like? There are many young girls in Demon God Citadel with all kinds of temperaments and looks, but I’ve never seen him act anything but politely to any of them.” Li Rong muttered.
“Come to think of it, when we were together below the volcano, despite being in complete control he was still quite well-mannered towards me…” Han Fei said thoughtfully.
“Would you like to test him again?” Li Rong looked at Han Fei with a smile.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Han Fei’s face went red.
“I’m actually not entirely joking,” Li Rong expression became awkward, “We have to let him feel at least some kind of attachment to our clan, no matter what method we use, as long as it doesn’t hurt him.”
Han Fei stared at Li Rong in shock, seeing that she really was serious about what she had just said.
“I won’t go,” Han Fei’s brow furrowed deeply. Letting her seduce Yang Kai was beyond what she was capable of tolerating.
Li Rong smiled and was no longer forced the issue, just letting out a deep sigh while trying to deal with her headache. With the situation being what it was currently, she could only come up with this kind of harebrained scheme.
This method made her feel quite ashamed in her heart and if she hadn’t been forced into a corner now, she would never have considered trying to honey-trap Yang Kai.
…..
Although the pain on his shoulders was still severe, Yang Kai’s expression now turned to indifference. He had grown accustomed to this severe pain, and it no longer interfered with his ability to circulate his True Qi or refine pills.
Focusing his attention and making full use of his ever improving skill, Yang Kai dedicated himself to his study of Alchemy, and after half a day’s time, a fresh pill emerged from his furnace.
Examining the quality of this pill, Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, it was a Spirit Grade Mid-Rank pill!
Now, even without relying on supplementary Spirit Arrays, he was able to refine Spirit Grade Mid-Rank pills.
If he were to use a supportive Spirit Array and add a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid to the ingredients, it was even possible for him to refine Spirit Grade Top-Rank pills, meaning he was just one step away from becoming a Saint Grade Alchemist.
Taking out a piece of Crystal Stone and holding it in his palm, Yang Kai meditated for a moment. After restoring himself, Yang Kai walked out of the stone room and walked to the octagonal building that Li Rong had brought him to before.
Heading down to the secret room below the octagonal building, Yang Kai used his Devil Transformation and continued cultivating the second form of the Demon God Transformation.
It had been several months since Chu Jian’s death. Over the past few months, Yang Kai had lived a peaceful life, splitting his time between the stone Alchemy room and the secret room below Demon God Citadel.
Half his time was spent studying Alchemy while the other half was spent cultivating the Demon God Transformation, not a moment was wasted.
The Wind and Thunder Wings were hidden inside his body and were also constantly being nourished and refined by his True Qi, displaying a gratifying level of progress.
Yang Kai had also made great strides in his control of the second form of the Demon God Transformation. More and more golden lights were apparent and now at least a third of his blood had a golden hue. This golden blood contained an amazing amount of destructive power.
In addition to that, after a few months of hard work, Yang Kai’s strength had reached the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary!
His foundation was incredibly solid and his physical body was also many times stronger than an average Peak Immortal Ascension human master while his perception of the Martial Dao was not inferior to a Saint Realm master.
After all, he had swallowed up the sentiments of many masters into the Heavenly Way contained within the remnants of their Souls after their deaths.
But even though this life was quite relaxed and fulfilling, Yang Kai always felt like something was missing, and to his surprise, after reaching the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary, the progress of his cultivation became slower and slower.
The gap between the Immortal Ascension Boundary and the Transcendent Realm was massive!
Back in the Central Capital, Transcendents were top masters. Because of the shackles of that world, very few people were capable of reaching such a height and even the Eight Great Families only had three or four such masters each while first-class forces had one or two at most, the vast majority of which were First-Order.
But even in Tong Xuan Realm, with its rich and abundant World Energy, most cultivators would spend their entire lives at the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary, forever unable to step into the Transcendent Realm.
But overall, the number of Transcendents in this realm wasn’t small. Since he arrived here, Yang Kai had seen several dozen Transcendents and even a few Saints.
Today’s Yang Kai was currently stuck at the door to the Transcendent Realm and was having difficulties pushing past it.
In the underground room of the Octagonal Building, Yang Kai maintained his Demon God Transformation while he felt his Demon Crests faintly pulsing, causing his blood flow to accelerate, and raising his momentum to an astonishing height.
In the distance, the three Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan all observed his movements with great interest, each of them repeatedly nodding in approval.
Yang Kai’s growth these past few months had all been witnessed by them and each of them was quite impressed with Sir Great Demon God’s successor.
The only thing that still gave Li Rong a headache was the fact that even until now, she had not found any way to instill a sense of belonging to the Ancient Demon Clan into Yang Kai.
*Hong…*
A loud bang rang out, and with Yang Kai at its center, a violent wave of energy burst forth. The three Great Commanders who had been passively observing all quickly acted, injecting their energy into the Energy Sealing Stones to reinforce the room’s barrier.
The wild energy fluctuations rampaged about inside the barrier and Yang Kai looked like he was having trouble controlling the power inside his body. It was not until sometime later that everything gradually stabilized.
Li Rong and others exchanged a quick glance before quickly flying over to Yang Kai, a worried expression upon each of their faces as they asked, “How are you?”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled and only after a short silence did he finally shake his head, “I’m fine, just feeling a bit restless.”
“Restless?” Li Rong was stunned. She never would have imagined that someone was calm and deliberate as Yang Kai would also have an impetuous side.
“It’s nothing important, I’ll end my cultivation here for today and head back first,” Yang Kai said, getting up and walking out.
Staring at Yang Kai’s slowly disappearing back, the three Great Commanders were speechless for a while.
“Haa, he’s not the type of person who is suitable for growing up in a greenhouse,” Hua Mo sighed deeply.
“I’m afraid that staying here is giving him a feeling of restriction,” Han Fei gently nodded. Although since the death of Chu Jian, the three Great Commanders had not placed any limitations on Yang Kai’s freedom, and had even done their best to help make him feel comfortable, being stuck in this Mysterious Small World probably still made him feel like a prisoner.
The living Ancient Demon Clan people grew up here, so even though they all longed to leave this place, none of their clansmen felt a particular sense of repulsion towards it.
But Yang Kai was different, suddenly being snatched from an incredibly vast world and then being tossed into this small place would inevitably make him feel uncomfortable.
The three Great Commanders weren’t stupid, so they naturally understood what was making Yang Kai feel so restless.
“It seems we won’t be able to keep him here much longer,” Li Rong smiled bitterly.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Han Fei suddenly grit her teeth and said.
“Alright. Be sure to see if there is some other reason as well. If it is something we can help him with, make sure he knows he’s free to ask,” Li Rong reminded.
Han Fei gently nodded.
Back inside his stone room, Yang Kai took out a bunch of herbs and held them in his hands, but for a long time simply couldn’t bring himself to continue, seemingly having lost interest in practicing Alchemy.
Suddenly, a fragrant scent brushed past the tip of the nose. Yang Kai looked up and saw Han Fei standing there silently with her usual cold expression.
“Do you have some worries you’d like to talk to me about?” Han Fei asked softly.
“Worries?” Yang Kai was stunned, soon smiling lightly, “What worries could I have?”
“Then why are you feeling restless?”
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, apparently unwilling to discuss the matter.
“You don’t want to talk about it?” Han Fei stared at him fixedly.
Yang Kai put on a curious expression as he asked, “What is this? Is Great Commander Han Fei now also responsible for enlightening me? I’m afraid you can’t handle such matters, if someone really wants to provide spiritual guidance, I’d say Li Rong is more appropriate.”
“Am I really no good?” Han Fei immediately became a bit disgruntled.
“You prefer to keep to yourself, how are you supposed to get others to open up to you?” Yang Kai argued back.
Han Fei suddenly grinned, “This and that are different issues. It’s normal for young people to have troubles and regardless of anything else, I have at least lived many more years than you so my life experience is far more abundant. As long as you’re willing to discuss it with me, there’s nothing I can’t guide you about.”
“In that case, do you understand the relationships between men and women?” Yang Kai asked jokingly.
Han Fei was suddenly stunned and unable to speak, her tender body trembling lightly. She had never had feelings for any man throughout her life so naturally she had no idea about love. If that was really what Yang Kai was troubled about she really couldn’t help him.
“You just want to leave this Mysterious Small World don’t you?” Han Fei suddenly asked coldly.
“When did I say that?” Yang Kai felt inexplicable.
“What else could it be? The reason you feel restless is entirely because you feel like this world is imprisoning you!”
“Somewhat,” Yang Kai admitted calmly, “I really do feel a bit restrained here.”
“Even though we treat you so sincerely?”
“It has nothing to do with you, it’s just that I have things I need to do, people I need to find,” Yang Kai shook his head as he replied, unable to understand why Han Fei was suddenly so upset.
“I understand,” Han Fei took a deep breath, her rich chest rising and falling dramatically, exhibiting an amazing ripple of elasticity, “But you don’t have to worry, you won’t have to stay here much longer. In a little while you’ll be able to leave.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai suddenly looked happy.
Han Fei stared back at him coldly, “Coffin Slave Senior sent you here because you have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, which is necessary for you to refine the Saint Grade pill we require, but the rate at which your skill in Alchemy has improved is too fast, leading to a shortage of herbs in this Mysterious Small World. It won’t be long until our supply is completely exhausted. Without herbs, you can’t continue improving your Alchemy skill so the only solution is for you to leave this place and seek out resources yourself.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes gradually brightened and the shackles that had been binding him suddenly felt like they had shattered, giving him a renewed sense of freedom.
“Happy?” Han Fei glared at him scornfully, “Whether it is Li Rong, Hua Mo, or I, none of us ever planned on limit your freedom, if you wanted to leave, we would have arranged for it immediately. The only reason you’re still here is because you’re still suspicious of us and didn’t dare to make such a request.”
Yang Kai suddenly couldn’t help feeling awkward.
He indeed did have such concerns. The Ancient Demon Clan had placed all their hopes on him, so he didn’t dare to ask them if he could leave. Even if they respected him and had sworn to follow him, Yang Kai didn’t know if they would suddenly go back on their word if he were to make such a request.
But now Han Fei had bluntly exposed his thoughts and suspicions.
“I just wanted to tell you, no matter what you think or do, since you are the inheritor of Sir Great Demon God, my Ancient Demon Clan will follow the teachings of our ancestors and faithfully serve you and obey your orders for the rest of our lives. If you can’t realize at least that much, then I’m afraid my clan’s only fate will be to be buried in your hands!” Han Fei spat out these words angrily before turning around and leaving.
Yang Kai scratched his head for a while, feeling quite uncomfortable.
Recalling everything that had happened since Chu Jian’s death, especially Li Rong and the other Great Commander’s attitudes towards him, Yang Kai suddenly felt somewhat ashamed.
They had truly been treating him with complete sincerity, but in return he had always kept his distance from them.
After some time, the air in front of Yang Kai distorted and the three Great Commanders appeared together. Yang Kai looked up and noticed that the three of them all wore serious expression on their faces, seemingly having made some kind of important decision.
Li Rong first hurriedly apologized to Yang Kai, “What Han Fei just said to you is was a bit harsh, but she only said them because she was thinking about our clansmen, I hope you can understand.”
Han Fei also stepped forward, a somewhat awkward look upon her face as she stammered, “Sorry.”
“The one who should apologize is me,” Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m the one who was over-thinking things and disappointed your sincerity.”
“We also prioritized the future of our clansmen, so it is not just your fault,” Li Rong smiled bitterly, “But from now on, we will do our best to consider things from your perspective. Good, do you really want to leave here?”
As soon as she asked this question, all three Great Commanders couldn’t help staring at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded.
Han Fei couldn’t help feeling somewhat lost while Hua Mo’s expression did not hide his disappointment.
Li Rong’s expression remained unchanged though as she smiled lightly, “You wanting to leave is also reasonable. Good, then we’ll send you out as soon as possible. You’re not one of our clansmen so you won’t be subject to this Mysterious Small World’s restrictions, so you are free to come and go as you please.”
“I didn’t say I would leave right away,” Yang Kai shook his head.
The faces of the three couldn’t help brightening upon hearing this, doing their best to calmly wait for him to continue.
“Han Fei mentioned earlier that your supply of herbs is nearly exhausted, correct?”
“En,” Li Rong nodded, “Demon God Citadel’s supply was actually consumed some time ago but after collecting the herbs Chu Jian had privately stored away, we managed to stretch things until now. But at the speed you perform Alchemy, I’m afraid that within a month even that will be used up.”
“Then I’ll use all the remaining herbs to refine pills that will be useful to you and once supplies run out I’ll leave.”
“Fair enough,” Li Rong smiled faintly, “We’ve been fortunate to receive your contributions this past year and a half, my clan now has many good pills to use so our overall strength has improved significantly. On behalf of them, I sincerely thank you.”
“You say that as if I’m an outsider.”
“You think of yourself as an outsider anyways so what does it matter?” Han Fei said bitterly. Although she had apologized just now, that didn’t mean she wasn’t still angry about Yang Kai being so determined to leave.
“Since all of your herbs are gone, it’s pointless for me to stay here, you can’t possibly want me to wait here for dozens of years until your supplies are replenished in order to continue studying Alchemy, right?” Yang Kai smiled lightly towards her, “That would be a big waste of time. When I leave here, I can seek out my own herbs to continue improving my skill in Alchemy so I can become a Saint Grade Alchemist sooner.”
His expression suddenly becoming dignified, Yang Kai solemnly declared, “I promise you that when my Alchemy level meets your requirements, I will definitely return here and bring all of you out!”
The three Great Commanders couldn’t help trembling as the turned joyful and excited looks towards Yang Kai.
“Can we take your statement seriously?” Li Rong asked urgently.
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “I have never sworn an oath to anyone about anything before, this is the first and I do not intend on breaking it!”
Li Rong looked at him seriously and realized that he was being sincere, her pair of beautiful eyes suddenly becoming slightly wet as she whispered, “Thank you.”
Han Fei and Hua Mo also quickly thanked him, feeling a deep sense of gratitude in their hearts.
“You can rest assured that my clan also takes places the highest of importance on our commitments and ancestral teachings. Even after we gain our freedom, we will still faithfully follow you!” Li Rong quickly added, her expression incomparably firm.
“That’s a discussion we can have later,” Yang Kai smiled, “For now, give me the rest of your herbs.”
“I’ve already brought them,” Li Rong said, reaching out and swiping her Void Ring, dumping a heap of herbs in front of Yang Kai’s eyes.
“These are all the herbs we have left.”
“I’ll finish using these up as soon as possible,” Yang Kai gently nodded, his mind and body feeling much more relaxed.
Amidst towering snow-capped mountains, under layers of ice that were several hundred meters thick and thousands of years old, a great blizzard that seemed as if it would never end raged, making it impossible for one to see more than a hundred meters in front of their face.
The temperature here was extremely low. Even powerful cultivators, without special reason, would not be willing to step into this place. If one stood high up in the sky and scanned their surroundings, the only thing they would be able to see all around them was an endless world of snow and ice
Half-way up one of these snowy mountainsides was a hidden cave that led deep into the mountain’s belly, the interior of which was covered in pure, translucent ice that exuded a profound chill.
The power of the void suddenly filled the air, and immediately after, a red light burst forth, illuminating the entire cave, making everything inside seem extremely gloomy.
A figure emerged from the void, and as if unable to control his strength, crashed face first into the ice.
After picking himself up and established his foothold, Yang Kai immediately sent out his powerful Divine Sense to check his surroundings, a moment later his expression relaxing as he took back his Divine Sense.
“Sure enough, I’m really in the snowy mountains,” Yang Kai had used his Divine Sense to examine the terrain around here and couldn’t help muttering to himself.
Before exiting the Mysterious Small World, Li Rong told him that Coffin Slave Senior was most likely hiding in an extremely cold and desolate environment.
It seemed that her speculation was correct.
Coffin Slave Senior had been dead for innumerable years now, but even so, before his death, he was a powerful Saint Realm master and a member of the Ancient Demon Clan, so his body possessed incredible physical strength. Nevertheless, over the centuries, rot and decay would still occur and the only viable way to preserve his body would be to spend most of his time in a frozen, isolated area.
A cave deep inside a snowy mountain in the middle of a glacial dessert was undoubtedly the ideal location.
Li Rong had said that Coffin Slave Senior would go out once every ten years to search for cultivators that possessed Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, continuing until he either found one or could no longer maintain his strength before return to his resting place to restore himself.
Then, a decade later, he would set out again.
Li Rong didn’t know how many times Coffin Slave Senior had repeated this cycle, but he had sent in more than a dozen cultivators with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas over the years she knew about.
Turning his head to the side, Yang Kai immediately saw Coffin Slave Senior sitting cross-legged, his body exuding an unbearable rancid smell that made his stomach turn, his skin filled with old wounds, sores, scabs, and pus.
It wasn’t clear how much longer his body would be able to last.
Seeing him like this, Yang Kai instinctually understood that although he didn’t know what kind of obsession Coffin Slave Senior had that compelled him to loyally carry out this mission millennia after his death, such a person was worthy of respect!
Behind Coffin Slave Senior was the blood red coffin.
The world didn’t know what was hidden inside this coffin or what mysteries it concealed, but Yang Kai knew that in fact what was inside was the Mysterious Small World he had been a guest in for the past year and a half.
After reaching an understanding with Li Rong and the other Great Commanders, it took Yang Kai only half a month to refine all the remaining herbs into pills and after taking a day to recover, and the three leaders worked together to break the void of the Mysterious Small World and send Yang Kai out.
[I wonder if they found the gift I left them yet?] Yang Kai thought to himself, a smiling appearing on his face as he slowly stepped forward, keeping a watchful eye on Coffin Slave Senior.
He definitely didn’t want to wake up this living corpse Saint Realm master from his meditation.
Although he could use his Demon God Transformation to suppress Coffin Slave Senior, if there were any powerful masters nearby that detected his aura it would expose this hiding place.
Fortunately, Coffin Slave Senior seemed to be in a deep sleep and showed no signs of waking up.
After a long climb, Yang Kai finally exited the cave.
The bone-chilling wind blew past Yang Kai’s skin, alerting him to just how cold and unforgiving the surrounding environment was. Shivering from the cold, Yang Kai couldn’t help circulating his True Yang Secret Art to dispel the chill around him.
Seeing the blowing snowstorm all around him, Yang Kai gave up the idea of trying to find his bearings.
Although he had been in Tong Xuan Realm for more than a year and a half now, he had spent most of that time in the Mysterious Small World, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was completely unfamiliar with this world. Even if he could figure out his bearings, he still wouldn’t know where to go next.
With no better option available, Yang Kai simply decided to set out, shooting off into the snowstorm like a lighting bolt, quickly disappearing.
…………
Above Demon God Citadel, the three Great Commanders stared up at a slowly closing crack in the sky.
“He’s gone,” Han Fei muttered.
“En,” Li Rong nodded, “But he’ll be back.”
Hua Mo hesitated but was unable to stop himself eventually, “It’s not that I wish to play the gentlemen while thinking like a villain but, Senior Li, why are you certain he will honour his oath?”
“Instinct!” Li Rong smiled faintly, “That day, when he swore to us, the look in his eyes was very sincere, so I chose to believe in him. Just wait, he will definitely come back and lead us out of this world as he promised.”
Hua Mo’s brow furrowed but he no longer said anything.
Although he also wanted to believe Yang Kai’s promise, the idea that humans were cruel, cunning, and untrustworthy was deeply ingrained in his mentality, so who knew if Yang Kai had just said such words in order to deceive them.
“Mistress, Mistress!” At that moment, Guan’er suddenly ran over in a fluster.
“What’s happened?” Li Rong turned her head and gently brushed her hair back behind her ear.
“Look at this,” Guan’er said, reaching out and holding up something in her hands to the three Great Commanders.
“A Crystal Stone?” Li Rong was surprised, “Where did you get it?”
Although Han Fei had brought back a lot of Crystal Stones last time, compared to the demand of their entire clan it still wasn’t enough, so these Crystal Stones were currently being strictly managed by the three Great Commanders and were only given out at certain times to those who could truly make the best use of them.
Guan’er had also received a few pieces during the last distribution but she had quickly used them up and shouldn’t have any extra on her hands now.
“I found it in the stone room Yang Kai was using to study Alchemy! You should come and take a look, there’s still a lot of them there!” Guan’er’s face was filled with excitement as she quickly urged them.
Li Rong and Han Fei exchanged a dumbfound look before hurriedly flying off.
Soon, the three Great Commanders came to Yang Kai’s stone room, and after seeing the situation inside, they couldn’t help feeling stunned.
In the corner of the stone room, there was a mountain of Crystal Stones, the number too great to estimate!
“These…” Li Rong could hardly speak, her tender body shivering as she stared excitedly.
“These should be the ones he collected beneath the volcano last time,” Han Fei explained.
“This many?” Hua Mo almost bit his tongue as his face twitched awkwardly.
When they came back from the volcano last time, Han Fei had told them about the experience she and Yang Kai had under the volcano and also that Yang Kai had acquired a huge amount of Crystal Stones, but none of them had ever mentioned the issue again, much less asked him for them.
But apparently, before he left, he had decided to leave behind such a massive fortune to them.
The amount of Crystal Stones here was at least four times as many as the amount Han Fei had brought back.
“After giving us so many, he probably doesn’t have much left for himself,” Han Fei muttered, her pretty face showing a grateful look, her eyes suddenly fixing on a couple dozen crystal blocks that were placed in a more conspicuous position and gave off a much stronger aura, “He even left behind these Saint Crystals, he…”
When she recalled the little Crystal Stone mining episode she shared with Yang Kai under volcano, and how she had even conned him into giving her his shirt so she could carry more, Han Fei suddenly felt her cheeks become slightly hot.
“Senior Li…” Hua Mo took a deep breath, calming his excitement, and quickly said, “This old man also believes that he will definitely come back now.”
“En, definitely,” Li Rong smiled happily, tears of joy welling up at the corners of her eyes as she spoke her heartfelt thoughts.
If Yang Kai didn’t plan on returning, he would never have left them such a tremendous gift.
The reason he had left them such wealth was obviously because he hoped these Crystal Stones would be able to help the Ancient Demon Clan improve their strength, so when they finally left here, they would be better able to protect themselves.
[We can’t let down his expectations!] Li Rong secretly thought. Now, if anyone in Demon God Citadel wanted pills, they could have pills, if they wanted Crystal Stones, they could have Crystal Stones. Within a few years, these would lead to a comprehensive improvement in their Ancient Demon Clan’s strength.
When Yang Kai returns next time, the Ancient Demon Clan would also give him a big gift! Li Rong took a deep breath and reaffirmed her commitment.
…..
Above the snowy mountains, Yang Kai continued his lonely journey. This glacial field was simply too big and the bone-chilling wind was relentless, he could only fly for so long before becoming physically and spiritually exhausted.
Yang Kai landed and started walking to conserve his strength, yet no matter how far he went he didn’t see another living soul, no humans, demons, or even Monster Beasts.
It was as if he was the only person in this endless white world.
The density of World Energy in this place was quite extraordinary, but the environment was completely desolate. Even cultivators skilled in Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills would find it extremely difficult to endure such harsh conditions.
Yang Kai showed neither joy nor sadness, simply trudging along indifferently across the snow-capped mountains and fields of ice. The only time his expression changed was when he occasionally felt an unbearable burst of pain from his shoulder blades, the result of the Wind and Thunder Wings rampaging inside his body.
It had been some time now since he first absorbed the Wind and Thunder Wings and his progress in refining them was still progressing, but Yang Kai instinctually felt that refining the Wind and Thunder Wings was not as simple as nourishing them with his True Qi and that he needed some special method to truly complete the process.
After a few days in the snow-capped mountains, the wind and snow gradually began to weaken.
Atop a particularly high mountain, Yang Kai stood motionless, basking in the warm sunlight he had not seen or felt in many, many days, feeling particularly refreshed.
“Hm?”
All of a sudden, he noticed several auras a few dozen kilometers away.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but smile happily. Currently, he had no idea where he was, so naturally, he wanted to seek out someone to ask for directions. After walking for several days though, he had yet to come across a single person, but now he had finally found someone.
Inferring from the strength of these people’s auras, they should not be Transcendent Realm masters, allowing Yang Kai to relax somewhat.
Smiling lightly, Yang Kai didn’t act hastily, leaving his perch atop the snowy mountain and slowly flying towards this group.
Several dozen kilometers away, atop the snow, a group of three people, one man and two women, all of whom were Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage, were slowly walking along. The male was handsome while the females were beautiful, all three of them wearing matching golden robes which appeared particularly eye-catching above the pure white snow. Obviously, they were from the same Sect or family.
At the moment, the two women were walking in front with linked arms. Even in such a cold environment, one of the women’s clothes was still very thin, showcasing her slender figure and well-developed curves, drawing the heated eyes of the young man following behind her as her graceful waist and round hips swayed back and forth attractively.
The other woman was a little shorter and her pretty face contained a trace of curiosity and wonderment, once in a while pointing in various directions and giggling happily, seemingly innocent and cute.
As the three marched forward, they constantly released their Divine Senses into the surrounding snow and after a while, the face of the woman wearing thin clothes lit up as she pointed in a certain direction, “There should be spirit medicines over there!”
Saying so, she hurriedly led the other two over.
After crossing several hundred meters, the three worked together to clear a couple meters of snow, slowly revealing a plant which resembled fine ice crystals, it’s stem and leaves all glittered in the afternoon sun, giving it a beautiful and dazzling appearance.
Atop the plant were a few thumbnail-sized snow-white fruits which gave off a light appealing fragrance.
“Senior Sister Ji is amazing, you even managed to find White Jade Fruit buried so deep under the snow!” The younger woman happily applauded.
Ji Meng smiled as she glanced over at Zhu Ying Yue and warmly said, “You should pay closer attention to your surroundings and I’m sure you’ll also be able to find some.”
Zhu Ying Yue pursed her lips and pouted, “I’ve tried my best but every time Elder Sister Ji finds them first, even Senior Brother Qi isn’t your match.”
Qi Chao Wen felt a little disgruntled hearing these words and shot back, “Are you implying that I’m weak?”
Zhu Ying Yue just snorted, “You’re at least worse than Senior Sister Ji.”
Ji Meng tapped the young girl’s head gently, “When we go back you’ll have a share too, so don’t be discouraged.”
The latter innocently nodded her head.
Qi Chao stepped forward at that time and said, “Let’s pick these first. Make sure not to hurt the roots or stem. After a few years, it will bear more White Jade Fruit.”
Ji Meng nodded and stretched out her jade hand, carefully picking the small fruits and storing them into her Universe Bag.
For these kinds of spirits medicines that could continuously bear fruit, cultivators would generally not collect the whole plant as this was akin to killing an egg-laying chicken, reducing the overall amount of spirit grasses and spirit medicines in the world.
Obtaining this harvest, the three people looked very happy but suddenly, Qi Chao and Ji Meng frowned, both of them turning to stare at a spot in the distance, a look of vigilance appearing on their faces.
The two of them had just noticed that someone was quickly approaching them.
A vague figure appeared on the horizon and after a short moment, a young man appeared in front of them, stopping a couple dozen meters away from them.
Yang Kai saw the wariness in these three’s eyes but didn’t pay it any mind. In this wilderness, anyone who suddenly met a stranger would become somewhat vigilant.
It was the same for him, before he had approached them, he had determined their strength wasn’t enough to threaten him so he had decided to appear in an upfront manner.
If the other party had a Second Order Transcendent member among their ranks, Yang Kai would naturally have avoided them.
These three weren’t too old, at least not much older than he was, so communicating with them should be relatively easy.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, revealing a friendly smile.
“Who are you?” Qi Chao stepped forward, putting himself between Yang Kai and Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue, asking coldly, “Why are you here in the Snow Mountain Range Range?”
“I’m just a traveller who was passing through this place and accidentally lost my way,” Yang Kai replied honestly.
“A passing traveller?” Qi Chao frowned and swept his eyes over Yang Kai, his face expression with suspicion “You don’t look like a simple passerby. What purpose do you have for entering the Snow Mountain Range?”
This young man’s attitude wasn’t just vigilant but was bordering on outright hostile, which made Yang Kai feel somewhat puzzled, wondering what he had done to offend him. Not losing his temper, he quickly tried to explain, “I really was just passing through when I lost my way. When I noticed your auras I decided to come and speak with you hoping you could tell me how to leave this place, I’ve been stuck in this Snow Mountain Range for many days now after all.”
As he was explaining, Yang Kai noticed the small White Jade Fruit tree behind the trio, its beautiful appearance bringing a look of appreciation to his face.
Qi Chao carefully stared at Yang Kai, observing all of his movements and changes in demeanour; meanwhile, Yang Kai remained perfectly calm, not showing the slightest signs of anxiousness.
He wasn’t lying. Now that he had now left the Mysterious Small World, his current goal was really just to find his bearings and leave this seemingly infinite Snow Mountain Range.
After a short period of silence, Qi Chao slowly retrained his hostility and slowly nodded, “I’ll believe you for the time being, but this Snow Mountain Range is not something that outsiders can intrude upon. If you want to leave, just walk that way.”
Saying so, he pointed in a certain direction.
Yang Kai glanced in that direction before cupping his fists, “Thank you, perhaps one day I can return this favour.”
Having offered his thanks, he quickly used his movement skill and left.
“Wait!” Qi Chao suddenly shouted.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai paused, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Have you collected any spirit herbs or spirit medicines in these snowy mountains? If so, please hand them over. This is my Spirit Religion’s territory, everything here belongs to my Spirit Religion, outsiders aren’t permitted to take even one blade of grass from here!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help wearing a disdainful frown, feeling slightly impatient in his heart. Don’t say that he didn’t collect anything, even if he really had, with this man trying to order him about like this, he definitely wouldn’t hand anything over. This Snow Mountain Range was incredibly vast, it was impossible that it was the private property of a single force.
Glancing over at the two women behind this young man, Yang Kai was too lazy to stir up trouble and just bluntly replied, “No.”
The next moment, Yang Kai felt a Divine Sense unscrupulously searching for him.
Was this youth really so bold? Yang Kai was dumbfounded, wasn’t this guy worried about suddenly being retaliated against and being heavily injured?
But after thinking about it briefly, Yang Kai still decided not to bother with him and simply let him investigate.
After a moment, Qi Chao nodded with satisfaction, “You can go.”
Yang Kai said nothing, turned around, and walked away.
After he left, Zhu Ying Yue asked softly, “Senior Brother Qi, over there…”
“Shh!” Qi Chao raised a finger to his lips and slowly shook his head, glancing around before leading the two young women in a different direction.
Zhu Ying Yue stared at him doubtfully but still obediently followed, occasionally glancing back in the direction Yang Kai had walked, a trace of worry and regret flashing across her eyes.
After walking for an hour or so, Zhu Ying Yue finally couldn’t help asking again, “Senior Brother Qi, why did you point him in the wrong direction?”
Ji Meng also chimed in, “I’d also like to know what you’re thinking, Qi Chao,”
“That man is very suspicious don’t you think?” Qi Chao glanced at them and declared, “The words he spoke are clearly not credible.”
Ji Meng was struck speechless and slowly shook her head, “Even if he is suspicious, there was no reason to intentionally harm him, what you did just now is no different than sending him to his death! The direction you pointed him in is a region where Monster Beasts are active! If he encounters a powerful one how is he supposed to survive?”
“His life or death is none of our business,” Qi Chao coldly snorted, “Whenever you’re out in the field, you must always be on alert. His strength seems to be higher than ours, I only acted to ensure our safety.”
“How do you know that? I couldn’t tell at all,” Zhu Ying Yue asked curiously.
“Because he discovered us first,” Qi Chao explained briefly, “He is not one of our Spirit Religion’s disciples, so he either came to this Snow Mountain Range to collect spirit medicines or because he has some other hidden agenda. Didn’t you notice that when he saw the White Jade Fruit Tree he showed a greedy look? If I didn’t quickly send him away, maybe he would have killed us in order to seize our treasures. I’d be fine, death would be the end of it, but if you two fell into such a person’s hands, hah…”
Zhu Ying Yue’s pretty face went white, her tender body trembling somewhat, faintly recalling Yang Kai’s appearance and thinking his face did indeed look somewhat like a rogue.
Ji Meng’s face, on the other hand, became somewhat disgruntled as she argued back, “Why did you automatically assume he was someone nefarious? What if he really was just a traveller who lost his way? Getting lost in this Snow Mountain Range isn’t abnormal.”
“Then you can go back and tell him that the way we pointed to him is a dead end,” Qi Chao snorted.
Ji Meng became somewhat annoyed, “How am I supposed to find him?”
“When I lied to him, did you say anything? Why are you pestering me about it now, standing up for a mere outsider?” Qi Chao also became irritated.
“We’re all disciples from the same Sect, I didn’t want to say anything that would cause you to lose face in front of an outsider!”
“Stop arguing,” Seeing how these two were becoming more and more heated, Zhu Ying Yue quickly interceded.
“Let’s go, whatever happens, isn’t our concern. If he’s a good person he won’t die,” Qi Chao said indifferently while striding forward.
Ji Meng sighed helplessly, turning to look back somewhat reluctantly but after a while just shaking her head and following behind Qi Chao.
“Senior Sister Ji, will he die?” Zhu Ying Yue asked softly.
“Probably.”
“Did Senior Brother Qi do the wrong thing?”
“No, he also has his own reasons,” Ji Meng smiled slightly. However, when they had met, that young man had intentionally released his Divine Sense before making an appearance to alert them to his presence, so he shouldn’t have had any malicious intent.
If he really nefarious intentions, he could have just concealed himself and launched a sneak attack.
Ji Meng really couldn’t understand why Qi Chao had pointed him in the wrong direction so she felt a bit guilty towards this stranger.
…..
Yang Kai panted heavily, his expression quite gloomy as he stared down at the fresh corpse of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast beneath his feet.
Fresh blood still dripping from his wounds, the battle just now had not been an easy one.
A Seventh-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to Human Race’s Transcendent. Fortunately, this Seventh-Order Monster Beast wasn’t too strong and thus he could still somehow deal with it.
Following the directions given to him by the man in yellow robes, Yang Kai walked for three days but actually suffered seven or eight Monster Beast attacks.
These Monster Beasts, without exception, were all quite strong and posed grave threats to him. If it were any other Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, facing such powerful Monster Beasts in their home territory in such a harsh environment, who knows how many times they would have died?
And as time passed, Yang Kai found that the snowstorms were becoming stronger and stronger, as if he had gone back to where he had first emerged from the Mysterious Small World.
This discovery made his expression quite ugly.
By now, he also realized that he had been cheated by that man.
They had met by chance and he had only asked them for direction, never once revealing any malicious intent, so after receiving an answer Yang Kai naturally didn’t have any reason to suspect him, how could he have known that he would be so sinister?
Taking out the Monster Beast’s core and breaking off its two horns, Yang Kai turned around and with a cold look in his eyes began retracing his steps.
As he trekked along the towering Snow Mountain Range, a world of pure white surrounding him, Yang Kai’s mood was obviously not very good.
Three days later, Yang Kai suddenly stopped.
Hearing a commotion up ahead, he released his Divine Sense to investigate and his expression suddenly became strange.
A dozen kilometers or so in front of him were two familiar auras, they belonged to the group of three who he had bumped into earlier. However, these two auras were somewhat unstable at the moment and were seemingly being chased by something. Right now, they were actually fleeing in his direction.
Soon, Yang Kai noticed a powerful aura chasing behind the two which obviously belonged to a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
[The world is really small!]
Yang Kai revealed a weird smile and stopped in place, quietly waiting.
A great howl rang out and shook the earth, sending snow flying behind them as Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue fled for their lives. They no longer had the calm, carefree look they had when they first met Yang Kai, their clothes ripped in multiple places and blood leaking from numerous wounds, their exposed white skin now stained red.
Feeling the cold wind on her face, Zhu Ying Yue couldn’t help trembling.
“Hurry!” Ji Meng shouted as she ran.
“Senior Brother Qi, he…” Zhu Ying Yue cried out while glancing back, but seeing the ferocious Monster Beast chasing them, her beautiful face drained of all colour and fear flashed across her eyes.
“He’s dead, don’t look back.” Ji Meng did her best to sound calm, but her heart was already a mess. She had never thought they would suddenly encounter an Ice Crystal Wolf here.
Ice Crystal Wolves were authentic Seventh-Order Monster Beasts, their whole body covered in thick fur that was as strong as steel. Ordinary artifacts and Martial Skill could only leave shallow traces on it.
On top of that, it was extremely fast and its four claws and fangs were incredibly sharp.
The three of them had only confronted this Ice Crystal Wolf for a few breaths before Qi Chao was shredded to pieces before their eyes.
They had explored this region of the Snow Mountain Range numerous times and had never had any problems, but this time they had encountered such a terrible accident.
Compared with Ji Meng’s apparent calm, Zhu Ying Yue was completely flustered. Under the threat of death, she couldn’t even exert half of her Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage strength, only able to flee with all her might. If it weren’t for Ji Meng using her artifact from time to time to impede the Ice Crystal Wolf, Zhu Ying Yue would have been caught by it long ago.
“Senior Sister Ji!” Zhu Ying Yue wept as she shouted.
“If you don’t want to die, don’t cry!” Ji Meng shouted to her in a solemn tone.
Having been scolded, Zhu Ying Yue nodded hastily.
Through the wind and snow up ahead, Ji Meng suddenly saw a stationary figure, her beautiful eyes lighting up as she quickly called out, “Friend up ahead, can you help us?”
At this moment, it was like she had suddenly caught a glimpse of hope.
The other party was clearly waiting here so they obviously weren’t afraid of the Ice Crystal Wolf, perhaps it was a Senior from their Spirit Religion, if that was the case, Zhu Ying Yue and her might really be saved.
Just as she spoke though, a burst of True Qi shot towards her.
Accurately striking right in front of her, Ji Meng noticed a hostile aura from this person and quickly pulled Zhu Ying Yue closer to her, stopping in place.
“What a coincidence!” A sarcastic voice called out to them as the man slowly approached.
Ji Meng immediately became vigilant, her brow furrowing deeply as she gazed forward.
A moment later, Ji Meng’s expression froze up as she stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai. Zhu Ying Yue also couldn’t help covering her small mouth and exclaiming in shock, “You’re alright?”
“Were you hoping I wouldn’t be?” Yang Kai sneered lightly.
“No, we didn’t mean…” Zhu Ying Yue quickly waved her hands, her face filled with anxiety.
“What about that guy?” Yang Kai glanced around but didn’t see any signs of Qi Chao.
“He died!” Ji Meng protected Zhu Ying Yue behind her, replying icily, “He was killed by the Ice Crystal Wolf chasing us.”
“He’s dead?” Yang Kai was a bit surprised.
“I admit that we didn’t act appropriately last time. Qi Chao should not have pointed you in the wrong direction and I should not have stood idly by and allowed him to, but can we discuss that later?” Ji Meng hurriedly said, “If we don’t leave now, it will be too late. The Ice Crystal Wolf that is chasing us is a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, none of us can resist it!”
Yang Kai frowned and shook his head, “It’s already too late!”
Just as he said so, a whooshing sound burst from behind the two young women.
Feeling a cold murderous intent lock onto her, Ji Meng’s expression changed greatly as she quickly turned around, her hands waving as they sent threads of silk, blocking a number of ice blades that were approaching her
*Hong Hong Hong…*
Countless ice blades were smashed, creating a fog of white powder. Ji Meng grunted as her delicate shoulder was sliced through by one of the blades, immediately sending out a stream of fresh blood.
A huge figure suddenly landed in front of the trio, and the Ice Crystal Wolf bared its fangs, spewing a foul stench from its mouth, its two giant eyes staring towards Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue, drops of saliva leaking from its jaw, giving it a particularly fierce appearance.
The moment the Ice Crystal Wolf appeared, Yang Kai leapt up into the sky and stared down. He quickly noticed that this Monster Beast was actually crystal clear, like a jade carving, its smooth fur coat giving off a soft radiance. If it weren’t for the cruel murderous aura it gave off, it would look actually be quite beautiful.
Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue both went pale, knowing that the brief delay they had suffered dealing with Yang Kai meant they could no longer escape the scope of the Ice Crystal Wolf’s attack. Unwilling to simply lie down and die, Ji Meng summoned a Lightning Attribute artifact in the shape of a whip, poured her True Qi into it, and attacked the Ice Crystal Wolf.
At the same time, although she was still shuddering, Zhu Ying Yue summoned her own artifact, a small fan, and waved it frantically, sending out a stream of visible wind blades towards the Monster Beast.
When the two joined forces, the strength of the combined attacks was actually quite good.
But against the Ice Crystal Wolf’s thick fur, these attacks were nothing more than an irritant.
After a series of sparks bounced off its fur, the Ice Crystal Wolf stood in place, completely unscathed. Opening its mouth, the beast let out a loud roar and a giant ice spear quickly formed, shooting towards Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue in the next instant.
The two women were sent tumbling and were inevitably injured. The smell of fresh blood further stimulated Ice Crystal Wolf’s brutality and it became more and more aggressive.
Before the pair could steady themselves, another wave of ice blades condensed around the Ice Crystal Wolf and was sent towards them, forming an inescapable net. Facing this crisis, the two women could only focus all their efforts on dodging and defending themselves
Snow flew up and the entire scene became chaotic.
Ji Meng suddenly looked up, anxiety plastered all over her face as she shouted to Yang Kai who was still standing high up in the sky, “Please help us!”
Yang Kai however just stared back at her coldly and slowly shook his head.
Although Qi Chao, the one who had actually maliciously tricked him before, had already died under Ice Crystal Wolf’s claws, these two women not speaking up at the time had made Yang Kai quite disgruntled.
Their little deception had delayed him six or seven days and caused him to fall into danger numerous times.
Seeing Yang Kai’s decisive rejection, Ji Meng suddenly knew that he was still holding a grudge against them for their previous actions and quickly shouted, “We were certainly wrong to deceive you. Even though Qi Chao was the one who lies, we also share some responsibility, but are you really just going to stand there and watch us die?”
“Why should I save you? I also almost died because of you,” Yang Kai said indifferently.
The Ice Crystal Wolf charged at that moment, forcing Ji Meng to quickly retreat, but she was still scratched by one of its claws, tearing open her clothes and revealing her flat belly and delicate navel.
More fresh blood flowed out from this new wound but all Ji Meng could do was clench her teeth and endured the pain while trying to open some distance between her and the Ice Crystal Wolf.
Seeing this, Zhu Ying Yue quickly used her fan artifact to try to help.
The two women worked together to resist the Ice Crystal Wolf’s attacks but quickly noticed that this Seventh-Order Monster Beast wasn’t treating them seriously at all. Apparently, it had no intention to take their lives immediately and was instead treating them as toys, tormenting them like a cat playing with a mouse, its eyes flashing a hint of disdain.
Seventh-Order Monster Beasts already had a high degree of sentience and if they could obtain enough resources and meet certain conditions, they were even qualified to take on human form and join the Monster Race.
Realizing this truth, Ji Meng once again called out to Yang Kai, “We are disciples of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion. If you can save us, we will certainly compensate you for your losses after we return. Qi Chao is already dead, can you really not put down your grudge and help us?”
“Bright Thunder Spirit Religion?” Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly, feeling like he had heard of this Sect somewhere before but even after thinking about it for a while he couldn’t remember where.
When Ji Meng saw his thoughtful expression and realized he might have some kind of relationship with their Sect, she suddenly became excited, “Are you acquainted with my Spirit Religion?”
“Nope, I’m not,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“You bastard!” Ji Meng cursed, her heart filled with bitterness as she clenched her teeth in anger, wanting nothing more than to slap this shameless man across his face. She had felt quite guilty about deceiving him before but now seeing his abominable and petty character, she really thought he should have just died in the Snow Mountain Range to spare her some grief.
“Seeing two young women in danger and doing nothing to help, are you really a man!?” Ji Meng shouted.
Yang Kai still stood still, “Saving you isn’t difficult, but I’m still quite upset about our previous encounter, and since I’m upset, I don’t want you to feel happy either. Well, if you somehow manage to survive, I’d be happy to show you if I’m a man or not.”
As Yang Kai spoke, the two women fell into even greater danger, receiving more and more attacks from the Ice Crystal Wolf. Ji Meng clenched her jaw so tightly her teeth nearly shattered yet she didn’t give up trying, “How can we make amends? State your requests, if I can, I will fulfil them!”
“I don’t want anything,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, folding his arms pretentiously and putting on an amused expression, like he was enjoying a good show.
Ji Meng was so angry that she coughed up blood!
Yang Kai’s calm attitude made her realize that he certainly had the strength to deal with the Ice Crystal Wolf. At the very least, he could escape from this Seventh-Order Monster Beast, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to just stand there and being tormented to death, making Ji Meng feel even more helpless.
“Is it really no good, even if I beg you?” Ji Meng bit her lip so hard it bled, feeling a deep sense of resentment in her heart but still somehow managing to lower her attitude.
“This Senior Brother, I’m also begging you!” Zhu Ying Yue stared up at Yang Kai pitifully, his eyes completely wet, doing her best to hold on despite her obvious fear.
Staring into this pair of beautiful limpid eyes, Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help softening slightly, the coldness in his eyes gradually converging.
Seeing this young woman’s clear and innocent eyes, without the slightest trace of impurity, he was suddenly reminded of Xia Ning Chang.
Yang Kai suddenly went silent but also didn’t show any intention of helping them, so Ji Meng couldn’t help thinking he was really cold-blooded and was just going to stand by and watch them die.
Feeling a cold chill in her heart, she smiled bitterly and said, “Ying Yue, don’t bother asking him anymore, I’m afraid we’re really going to die here. Before I die, I just want to remember what he looks like, so when I die I can become an evil spirit and haunt him for the rest of his miserable life!”
As she spoke, she turned her head and glared towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling dumbly, “Woman, you’re really a vicious cunning snake!”
“Takes one to know one!” Ji Meng retorted sarcastically.
Yang Kai expression suddenly became serious as he asked, “With your strength, can’t you just run away?”
It wasn’t the two women differed that much in strength, but that in this dangerous situation Ji Meng was able to remain calm and exert her full strength. Even though the Ice Crystal Wolf was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, with her Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivation, if he wanted to escape, it should still be possible.
Unfortunately, the other young woman was different, she was really frightened so her attacks had become chaotic and her combat ability had sharply decreased. At first glance, it was obvious she was someone who had lived under others’ protection all the year round. Obviously, her status within her Sect wasn’t low thus she had very little practical experience, much less life or death experience.
“If I were to run, what would happen to Ying Yue? I’m not as despicable as you!” Ji Meng shouted as she clenched her fists.
“Seems you have some righteousness after all!” Yang Kai nodded gently, suddenly grinning, “I’ve changed my mind, I’m willing to save you!”
Every wrong had its justice, every debt its collector, the man who had cheated him had already died so Yang Kai hadn’t really planned on holding these two women accountable. He had just wanted to give them a bit of trouble for the role they had played. On top of that, Yang Kai really did need someone to acquire information from.
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Ji Meng was overjoyed and exclaimed, “Really?”
Yang Kai nodded, “But I have conditions!”
“What conditions?” Ji Meng asked hurriedly, with their lives hanging in the balance, she decided that no matter how excessive this man’s requests were, she would agree to them, as long as Zhu Ying Yue wasn’t hurt.
“Shouldn’t you replay a life-saving grace with your body?” Yang Kai touched his chin and smiled evilly.
Ji Meng’s expression suddenly became cold; although she had been mentally prepared for this, she hadn’t expected this young man to really make such shameless demands!
Although she was infuriated in her heart, she didn’t dare show it on her face, blocking a strike from the Ice Crystal Wolf before shouting out, “It doesn’t matter what happens to me, but… don’t get any ideas about Ying Yue!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai stared at her in surprise. He had only said those words in jest and had no real intentions towards these two women, from the conversation they had during this second meeting, he could tell that these two weren’t really malicious or treacherous in nature, saving them wasn’t an issue.
“Are you going to help us or not? If you don’t take action soon when we die you won’t be able to get anything!” Ji Meng had finally been driven beyond the limits of her forbearance, and so too had the Ice Crystal Wolf apparently, its attacks becoming more and more fierce, to the point where she and Zhu Ying Yue weren’t able to resist at all. If Yang Kai continued to idle any longer, the two of them would definitely be defeated.
“Very well,” Yang Kai shook his head before his figure flickered and disappeared from the sky.
The huge Monster Beast rapidly closed in, it’s fangs fully bared as a foul smell burst from its mouth. Seeing it approach, Zhu Ying Yue screamed in terror as tears poured down her face.
But before she knew what was happening, her body suddenly became light, and in the next moment, she found herself slung over someone’s shoulder and the surrounding scenery quickly receding behind her. Everything happened too quickly and she couldn’t help shutting her eyes in fear.
Ji Meng also had a similar encounter. Before she could respond, she too was grabbed by Yang Kai and taken away.
Obviously not having anticipated such a development, the Ice Crystal Wolf was temporarily dumbstruck before it roared angrily and hastily chased after the trio, but the distance between them was slowly opening. Seeing this, Ji Meng still didn’t feel relieved and constantly urged, “Faster! It’s still trying to catch up!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted in response, “Easy for you to say, this is already my fastest speed.”
Ji Meng decisively shut her mouth and simply stared at the Ice Crystal Wolf and only after seeing it slowly fall further and further behind, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After a while, the Ice Crystal Wolf finally stopped chasing them, stopping in place and howling towards the sky, its voice filled with unwillingness and anger.
Somewhere in Snow Mountain Range, Yang Kai stood calmly as he stared towards the two raggedly dressed women bustle about.
They seemed to have a lot of experience living in this snowy environment and quickly dug out a subterranean hollow. The interior was spacious while the outside was hardened and sturdy.
A short time later, a fully formed snow cave appeared.
Ji Meng glanced over towards Yang Kai vigilantly and said in a somewhat weak voice, “We have to change our clothes and apply some healing medicine to our wounds. You should not come in until we’re done, if you peek, I’ll dig your eyes out!”
“Hey, you’re already my women now, what’s wrong with me taking a peek or two?” Yang Kai teased.
“You…” Ji Meng was so angry that the sound of her teeth gnashing was audible, eventually shouting out, “If it’s just me I don’t mind, but Ying Yue is off limits!”
Saying so, the two women ducked into the snow cave and soon after, the sound of rustling clothes could be heard. Apparently, they had removed all of their bloodstained robes.
Yang Kai stared blankly and suddenly felt that this woman had actually meant what she had just said.
Was she really willing to offer up her body just like that? Yang Kai’s face went black, thinking to himself that if he got tangled up with her, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
Now he was in a bit of an embarrassing situation, who told him to have such a cheap mouth and propose such conditions? Now it seemed he had caught himself in his own trap.
After roughly half an hour, Ji Meng’s voice called out, “You can come in now.”
Yang Kai smiled wryly before jumping into the snow cave.
The inside was really quite spacious and was neither chilly nor damp, on the contrary, in the contrast of the outside environment, this snow cave actually gave off a warm, cosy feeling.
The two women had processed their wounds already and donned clean dresses, allowing Yang Kai to secretly nod.
The first time he had encountered them, Qi Chao had intentionally blocked his view, so Yang Kai didn’t really notice what they looked like, and during their second meeting, the two women were dishevelled and covered in blood so their true appearances were completely masked.
But looking at them now, the taller one had an outstanding figure and an elegant look, while the shorter one had a delicate face and a cute, innocent air about her.
Of course, right now, the taller woman was glaring towards Yang Kai with smouldering anger, seemingly wanting nothing more than to eat his meat and drink his blood, her teeth grinding heavily. Meanwhile, the little girl was currently shrunk behind her Senior Sister, only daring to peek out once in a while, appearing quite weak and helpless.
“Well, for the time being, hello,” Yang Kai offered this strange greeting before sitting down cross-legged across from them.
“I thought you were some kind of powerful master, but facing that Ice Crystal Wolf all you were capable of was fleeing,” Ji Meng said with a sneer.
Before, when she noticed how calm Yang Kai was acting, not showing the slightest fear in front of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast and even having the mind to toy with her, Ji Meng had mistakenly thought that this guy was capable of defeating it, so this outcome had inevitably disappointed her.
It turns out this young man was just a little bit faster and didn’t actually have the courage to fight with the Ice Crystal Wolf.
“My ability to run away is what saved you,” Yang Kai didn’t care about her little display.
Facing unfamiliar outsiders, especially ones who had tricked him once before, he was not willing to show all of his strength.
A Seventh-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a Transcendent Realm powerhouse, if he killed it in front of these two women, the full extent of his combat strength would likely be exposed.
Yang Kai was not willing to show them all of his cards until he had a better idea about their identities and dispositions.
“…Fair enough. Thank you for saving us,” Ji Meng suddenly relented, her expression quite sincere, gently urging Zhu Ying Yue behind her forward.
Zhu Ying Yue was apparently still in a state of shock and she noticeably trembled upon being pushed forward, but quickly understanding Ji Meng’s intentions, she somehow managed to whisper with a blushed face, “Thank you.”
“It was just a slight effort, no need to be too polite,” Yang Kai’s mood became significantly better upon seeing their frankness.
“In addition, we apologize to you about the previous incident,” Ji Meng bit her thin red lips a look of guilt surfacing on her face, “When Qi Chao lied to you, we wanted to remind you, but we didn’t know who you were, what your intentions for entering the Snow Mountain Range were, or what your strength was, so…”
“It’s all in the past, when one goes out, having a heart of vigilance is a necessity,” Yang Kai laughed, “In any case, that guy is dead so this matter should end here.”
Ji Meng gently nodded, suddenly discovering that this youth was actually quite easy to speak to and not as cold and ruthless as he had first appeared.
“We are the disciples of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, my name is Ji Meng and she’s Zhu Ying Yue, what about you?” Ji Meng introduced herself and then turned to ask Yang Kai.
Yang Kai casually reported his name.
“What Sect do you come from?” Ji Meng asked curiously.
“I have no Sect, I’m just a lone wanderer.”
“No Sect?” Ji Meng was a little surprised, “Seeing your methods, you don’t seem like someone who isn’t from a great force. You’re not strongest I’ve ever seen, but you’re still quite good.”
Being able to calmly rescue two people from an Ice Crystal Wolf, Ji Meng was certain that Qi Chao couldn’t do that if Yang Kai really was a lone cultivator who had never received any teaching or guidance, how could he be so powerful?
“How come you lost your way in the Snow Mountain Range, where were you headed?” Ji Meng continued to ask, seemingly wanting to know more about Yang Kai.
“I accidentally entered this place and became lost, as to where I was headed… I haven’t decided that yet. Do you have any recommendations?” Yang Kai said thoughtlessly.
“En,” Ji Meng nodded and explained, “This ten thousand kilometer Snow Mountain Range isn’t considered the territory of any one force, but because there are only two or three large forces nearby, my Bright Thunder Spirit Religion being one of them, it’s almost as if this region belongs to my Spirit Religion. Many disciplines from my Sect enter the Snow Mountain Range to look for opportunities like rare herbs or other valuables. If you don’t have any specific destination, you might as well come with us for the time being.”
Yang Kai glanced between the two women and immediately understood that Ji Meng’s invitation was not because she had a good impression of him or because she wanted to fulfil their previous agreement, but because they were currently injured and needed someone to help protect them.
“Sure!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Many thanks!” Ji Meng’s shoulders relaxed, a bright smile appearing on her face.
Over the next few days, the trio slowly explored their surroundings.
The Snow Mountain Range was vast and stretched in all directions; with the two women being injured, the groups’ speed was naturally not quick. Also, while they walked, the trio would occasionally come across some spirit herbs buried deep beneath the snow which further delayed them.
Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry though. Having someone lead the way was always much faster than him walking about aimlessly.
After five days of such wandering, the group finally left the more dangerous region of the Snow Mountain Range.
As they were walking, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and turned his eyes towards a spot in the distance, a moment later saying to Ji Meng, “There are people who seem to be from your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion over there.”
“Really?” Ji Meng was very surprised and also turned towards the direction Yang Kai was looking but was unable to see anything.
“En, their clothes are similar to the ones you were wearing when we first met, pure golden yellow in colour.”
“They’re definitely from my Spirit Religion then,” Ji Meng clenched Zhu Ying Yue’s hand, her nerves which had been quite strained these past few days finally relaxing while Zhu Ying Yue also smiled.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly and asked, “Is it going to be a problem if they find an outsider like me in this area of the Snow Mountain Range?”
Ji Meng was slightly startled but quickly replied, “It shouldn’t matter. As long as we say you’re together with us there won’t be any problems.”
“That won’t be necessary; perhaps we’ll meet again if there’s a chance.” Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and quickly flew off.
Ji Meng didn’t even have time to react before he disappeared into the distance.
“Ah…” Zhu Ying Yue looked towards the spot on the horizon Yang Kai disappeared over and said in a somewhat lost tone, “How could he just leave like that?”
Ji Meng’s expression was also somewhat complex as she thought back on the past few days they had been together, suddenly gritting her teeth and grumbling, “That bastard, turns out he was just messing with me this whole time! Hmph, causing me to worry for so long while he secretly laughed at me!”
“He was deceiving you, how?”
“He said that he wanted me to repay him with my body, and I really thought…” Ji Meng blushed bright red, only now realizing Yang Kai had just been joking with her.
If Yang Kai had really had such intentions, how would he have just left so easily?
“He’s a good person,” Zhu Ying Yue smiled mischievously, “Is Senior Sister Ji tempted now? If you chase after him quickly you can still catch up.”
“Stop speaking nonsense!” Ji Meng pouted.
However, in her mind, she also felt like Yang Kai wasn’t so bad. After getting along with him for a few days, Ji Meng found that he wasn’t really as hateful as he had first appeared to be.
At the edge of Snow Mountain sat Grand Boulder City.
This was the only major city within a few thousand kilometers, with so many cultivators passing through it they seemed like flowing water, the various businesses and stalls reaping large amounts of profit.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion wasn’t the only Sect near Snow Mountain Range. There were two or three other Sects that resided in the nearby area, so Grand Boulder City had become a natural transit point for these forces where exchanges between their disciples and Elders could take place, making it a veritable commercial and social hub.
Cultivation was not simply about dedicated self-torture in a secluded retreat, supplementary aids were also a necessity.
Pills and artifacts belonged to the category of supplementary aids and provided an indispensable boost both during combat and cultivation. Since there was a need to acquire or sell such things, a transaction market naturally came about.
After separating from Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue, Yang Kai took four days to arrive at Grand Boulder City.
Yang Kai showed a happy smile when he saw the flowing crowds as he had spent quite a lot of time wandering alone by now.
It’s not that he was specifically looking for someone to talk to, but that staying in the Snow Mountain Range, with no one and nothing around for tens of thousands of kilometers had made him feel somewhat gloomy.
At the gates of the city, there were several cultivators wearing guard uniforms, performing checks on the passing pedestrians. When it was Yang Kai’s turn, having learned from the people who had entered before him, he quickly stuffed a Crystal Stone into the guard’s hand.
Quickly collecting the Crystal Stone without exposing himself, the guard faintly nodded to Yang Kai and motioned him inside.
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai smiled and strolled into Grand Boulder City.
It wasn’t just cultivators from the local forces that patronized Grand Boulder City, but also those from far off lands. Snow Mountain Range produced a great deal of Ice Attribute spirit grasses and spirit medicines, so any cultivators in need of such items would come here seeking them. As such, many people would pass through here in order to acquire special local merchandise.
Grand Boulder City welcomed all visitors, but if you didn’t want to answer too many questions, you’d have to pay some Crystal Stones. This was also one of the ways Grand Boulder City made money, unofficially that is.
The various shops in the city were the real breadwinners of Grand Boulder City though.
The owners of these shops were mainly disciples of the several nearby Sects, and few outsiders managed to take roots here in Grand Boulder City.
Yang Kai strolled through the streets at a brisk pace; purchasing a number of herbs he needed as he passed through.
Although he had left most of his Crystal Stones to Ancient Demon Clan before leaving the Mysterious Small World, he still had quite a lot on him, at least enough for him to be considered quite a wealthy individual considering his cultivation realm.
Yang Kai also paid especially close attention to the materials needed to refine the Saint Grade pill the Ancient Demon Clan required.
Before leaving, Li Rong had told him this information, but what Yang Kai hadn’t expected was that the pill they needed was actually a Saint Grade Top-Rank pill.
Currently, he could barely refine Spirit Grade Low-Rank pills, so there was still a massive gap for him to cross before he could refine Saint Grade Top-Rank pills.
Along the way, having swept through a dozen or so shops, Yang Kai managed to haul in a decent harvest, piling up all kinds of herbs inside his Black Book Space.
When he came to a particularly large-scale shop, Yang Kai spent a lot of Crystal Stones to purchase many of the materials he needed.
“Little brother doesn’t look familiar, are you perhaps buying so many herbs to perform Alchemy yourself?” The grey-haired shopkeeper with an Immortal Ascension Eighth Stage cultivation sized up Yang Kai with great interest, stroking his beard gently as he asked.
“Old shopkeep, are you here to do business or inquire about news?” Yang Kai stared at him and asked with a smile.
The other party suddenly saying such words had inevitably made him a little vigilant, but in Grand Boulder City, law and order was relatively well maintained, so there wouldn’t be any disputes suddenly breaking out. Even if there was some kind of friction between cultivators, the dispute would generally be resolved outside the city.
As such, Yang Kai wasn’t the slightest bit worried.
“I was simply asking. If little brother doesn’t want to answer, you don’t have to,” The shop owner replied somewhat awkwardly, seemingly cognisant of Yang Kai’s vigilance. Not wanting him to misunderstand, he quickly continued, “But if little brother is an Alchemist, you can buy herbs here at a discount.”
“Discount? Why can I get a discount?” Yang Kai heard the words and became somewhat interested.
He had never heard at any of the other stores that Alchemist could receive a special discount.
Before the shopkeeper could answer, a nearby cultivator who was picking out herbs suddenly spoke up, “Because this shop was opened by the Alchemist Guild. As long the one purchasing things is an Alchemist, they can receive all kinds of preferential treatment. You didn’t know?”
As he spoke, he walked over and handed his chosen herbs to the shop keeper along with a Jade Token.
When Yang Kai snuck a peek at this Jade Token, he saw the word ‘Pill’ (丹) clearly engraved on it.
The shopkeeper took a look at the herbs and calculated the sale price before picking up the Jade Token and pouring a thread of True Qi into it. The Jade Token lit up and the shop keeper nodded slightly, “Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, according to the rules of the guild, you can receive a 20% discount.”
The man paid the required Crystal Stones to the shopkeeper and concluded the transaction.
After buying his herbs, the man left without looking back.
Yang Kai was dumbstruck.
“The Alchemist Guild is a force established by the world’s Alchemists. Only Alchemists are eligible to join but as long as one is a member of the guild, they will receive preferential treatment in any store owned or operated by the guild. On top of that, the guild’s stores are spread all over the world, so one can receive support from them in most major cities,” The shopkeeper explained with a smile.
“How did you know I was an Alchemist?” Yang Kai asked. The shopkeeper obviously knew he was intending on refining pills himself or he would not have asked such a question.
Now Yang Kai was somewhat curious, wondering how this Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage old man had seen through his status.
“Alchemists are unlike general cultivators. I’ve been tending this store for many years now and have seen plenty of Alchemists come and go. As such, I’ve developed a keen sense for this kind of thing,” The shopkeeper slowly shook his head, appearing a bit inscrutable. “Little brother is quite young, but from the herbs you’ve chosen so far, you should at least be a Mysterious Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, yes?”
Yang Kai neither confirmed nor denied this guess.
The old shopkeeper nodded in appreciation, “This old master has been studying Alchemy for many years but is still just a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist. I really envy you.”
How far one could go in the Alchemic Way had a lot to do with natural aptitude.
“Grand Boulder City has a branch of the guild. If you want to buy herbs at a discount in the future, you should go there and get a Jade Token. Not only will you save Crystal Stones, but you’ll also be safer when you travel. Alchemists are highly valued everywhere, so as long as you can prove your status basically no one will find trouble with you,” The old shopkeeper said with a smile.
“Many thanks for your advice.” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
“You’re welcome.”
Outside the shop, Yang Kai became lost in thought.
The old shopkeeper’s words had undeniable interested him, buying herbs at a discounted price was quite attractive. Although he had a lot of Crystal Stones right now, even if he had enough to pile into a mountain, there would always come a day when he would exhaust his supply. Saving a little here and there would allow him to continue his studies that much longer.
However, what he was most concerned with was the influence the Alchemist Guild possessed, something that far exceeded any other force.
He had come to Tong Xuan Realm in order to find Su Yan and his Little Senior Sister.
However, this world was incredibly vast and he had little hope of finding them on his own.
It wasn’t like back in the Central Capital, where he had a large number of allies and subordinates who he could issue orders to in order to expedite the process.
Here, he could only rely on himself.
When Shui Ling and Yun Xuan invited him to join Water Spirit Temple or Bold Independent Union, Yang Kai had directly turned down their kindness.
At the time, Yang Kai had wanted to rely on his own strength to find Su Yan.
But now he realized that idea was somewhat impractical.
Using his identity as an Alchemist, couldn’t he find a force to join and then get that force to help him in his search?
Inside an inn, Yang Kai thought over the issue for a long time before eventually deciding to go to the Alchemist Guild to get a Jade Token. In any case, possessing this Jade Token would save him a lot of trouble in the future so regardless of anything else Yang Kai wanted to acquire one
Asking around Grand Boulder City, Yang Kai quickly found the location of the Alchemist Guild branch.
Standing in front of a magnificent Alchemist Guild building, it took a while before Yang Kai managed to come to his senses, shaking his head wryly.
Although he had long known that Alchemists were a group of super-wealthy people, Yang Kai hadn’t expected them to be rich to this extent.
The Alchemist Guild’s building, even just its exterior, was quite different from the other buildings in Grand Boulder City. One could literally see an aura of wealth radiating from it.
On the outside of the building, various images of ancient beasts were carved out of rare ores and infused with subtle energy fluctuations; obviously, these engravings comprised a powerful Spirit Array.
If someone dared to have any malicious intentions towards this building, they would undoubtedly suffer a big loss.
Glancing towards the interior, Yang Kai saw that the floors were all covered in thick red carpets and the walls were inlaid with various gemstones that glittered brilliantly.
The Alchemists who occasionally entered and exited all had faces filled with pride and arrogance as if they couldn’t wait for people to look up to and venerate them.
A top-rank Alchemist not only possessed incredibly wealth but also had a venerable status, this wasn’t just idle talk but an actual fact.
In the Central Capital, Alchemists and Artifact Refiners all had noble identities, and in Tong Xuan Realm, this status was only magnified not diminished.
“Little brat, what are you doing sneaking around here?” An angry voice suddenly rang out as a man glared at Yang Kai and questioned, “Which force do you belong to? Don’t you know where this is?”
“Hello,” Yang Kai’s expression remained unperturbed as he calmly explained, “I’m actually here to acquire a Jade Token.”
“Acquire a Jade Token… Are you an Alchemist?” Hearing these words, the big man glanced over Yang Kai and scanned him with his Divine Sense, soon nodding his head slightly, “En, good, the True Qi in your body has a strong Yang Attribute, but you seem a bit too young, did you just start practising Alchemy?”
“Haha, I indeed haven’t been learning for that long,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Good, come in,” The big man waved his hand and walked inward, motioning Yang Kai to keep up.
Along the way, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed. Just from glancing around at the outside of the building he knew that the Alchemist Guild was quite rich, but upon entering and really seeing the interior he knew this place was far wealthier than he had initially anticipated.
After learning that Yang Kai was also an Alchemist, the big man’s contempt for him decreased significantly and began to converse with him in an easy-going manner, “Since you want to be certified as a member of the Alchemist Guild, you must first pass our test. After doing so, you can receive a Jade Token that corresponds to your rank, but keep in mind that once you become a formal member of the guild, you must not take any action that could be deemed harmful to our Human Race. If you dare perform Alchemy for the Demon Race or Monster Race, don’t blame the guild for tidying you up.”
“*Cough*, of course, of course,” Yang Kai hurriedly nodded.
Silavin: 9 Chapters this week 😀
There was an email directed to me about the comments – those within the ( ) and I posted a feedback post on Discord.
Well, the result ended up with quite a landslide: 3 – 49 (3 being changed to post two separate versions and 49 being no change).
Anyways, I would like to hear the thoughts of you guys.
The big man had clearly just been warning him casually but unexpectedly he had actually hit the mark.
Yang Kai studying the Alchemic Way was mainly in order to perform Alchemy for the Demon Race. Moreover, it was specifically to help the Ancient Demon Clan, the servants of the Great Demon God who reigned supreme thousands of years ago!
Inside the Alchemist Guild, a light medicinal fragrance could be smelt everywhere. From time to time, Yang Kai could also feel a surge of hot Qi coming from different wings of the building, obviously there were Alchemists here practicing Alchemy at this very moment.
Following behind the big man, Yang Kai eventually arrived at a relatively remote room, “Wait here, someone will come to see you after a while.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly and sat down on a nearby chair.
This room wasn’t big and there wasn’t much furniture inside, it seemed almost like an empty storage room.
After waiting for two hours or so, Yang Kai was beginning to feel somewhat impatient when he suddenly heard a set of approaching footsteps.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and a young woman with a somewhat disgruntled look upon her face walked in. Turning to look at Yang Kai, she bluntly asked, “Are you the one who wants to join the guild?”
Yang Kai nodded, stood up, and asked, “Is it possible to start the test now?”
“How long have you been studying Alchemy?” The woman’s brow wrinkled, seemingly a little unhappy as she muttered.
“Not too long, as for exactly how long, I’m not certain.”
If it was about how long he had actually been practicing Alchemy, then the answer would be about a year and a half, but if he counted the time he spent studying the fundamentals, then it would be a bit longer. From the time he acquired the True Alchemic Way until now, about four or five years had passed, but during that time he would only study the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way on and off.
So when this young woman asked this, Yang Kai didn’t know how to answer.
“Trying to act all mysterious!” The young woman coldly snorted, apparently dissatisfied that Yang Kai had not given her a straight answer. Touching the Universe Bag at her waist, she fumbled around for a moment before pulling out an herb and handing it over to Yang Kai, bluntly explaining, “This is a stalk of Cold Star Grass a Heaven Grade Low-Rank material. Purify it into medicinal liquid for me.”
Yang Kai reached out and accepted this stalk of grass from her blankly and couldn’t help asking, “Purify it just like that?”
The young woman sneered, “If you can’t even do this much, then don’t even dream about joining the guild. Do you think just anyone is eligible to join? Only Alchemists above Heaven Grade are qualified to receive Jade Tokens. Quickly now, I’m also in a hurry.”
Saying so, she began muttering under her breath, “Master is really too much. Such a young kid, why didn’t he just drive him out, wasting my precious time!”
When Yang Kai listened to her quietly complaining, he couldn’t help but laugh.
He understood that this young woman was unhappy because his arrival had cut into the time she had to study Alchemy.
When an Alchemist was performing Alchemy, the most taboo thing was to disturb them, so this young woman being in a foul mood was something Yang Kai could understand.
However, her words and demeanor clearly indicated she was looking down on him, which made Yang Kai feel somewhat helpless.
It was likely she really thought he had just begun studying the Alchemic Way.
Thinking so, Yang Kai began circulating his True Qi, wrapping up and slowly infiltrating it into the Cold Star Grass.
Soon, a faint fragrance began filling the air and the young woman finally reigned in the contemptuous look on her face, focusing her attention on Yang Kai’s movements.
The Cold Star Grass appeared as if it was melting and quickly transformed into a liquid suspended above Yang Kai’s palm, all the impurities evaporating under the effect of his True Qi.
As time passed, the Heaven Grade Low-Rank Cold Star Grass was transformed into a pure medicinal liquid with a light green hue.
With Yang Kai’s current level of skill, purifying a Heaven Grade herb into medicinal liquid was as easy as flipping his palm. Even without a pill furnace or any supplementary Spirit Arrays he could completely remove all traces of impurities.
After roughly the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, the medicinal liquid was completely formed. When the young woman released her Divine Sense and examined it, her pretty face quickly showed a look of surprise as she turned to stare at Yang Kai with amazement.
“Is this alright?” Yang Kai asked.
He could have further purified this medicinal liquid, but he had not done so intentionally as he thought this level should be able to meet this young woman’s requirements.
“Let me ask you, what grade of pill are you capable of refining?” The young woman looked at Yang Kai seriously, only not discovering that she had apparently underestimating the ability of this little brat.
“Spirit Grade.”
“What!?” The woman yelped as she gawked towards Yang Kai incredulously.
“Spirit Grade Low-Rank, and I sometimes still fail,” Yang Kai added hastily, not daring to over-inflate his skill lest he attract unwanted attention. Unfortunately for him, Spirit Grade Low-Rank still seemed to be beyond this young woman’s ability to accept.
“Impossible! You only look about twenty years old, how can you already refine Spirit Grade pills?”
“I can demonstrate for you,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
The young woman stared at him deeply, seemingly wanting to see if he was just idly boasting, a moment later saying seriously, “You come with me. If you really have such ability, it’s no longer within my ability to assess you.”
She was just a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, how was she supposed to evaluate a Spirit Grade Alchemist?
Inside another room, the big man who had first greeted Yang Kai was staring at an ancient Alchemy book with a serious expression, engrossed in studying an old Spirit Array, a pensive look upon his face.
When his door was suddenly knocked, the big man lifted his head and indifferently called out, “What is it?”
“Master,” The young woman softly shouted, “It’s about the young man who wanted to join the guild.”
“Oh? Did he pass the test?” The big man asked.
“Well… not exactly…”
“No? Then don’t bother me, go attend to your own Alchemy studies.”
Hearing this off-handed remark, the young woman suddenly ground her teeth and proceeded to violently kick open the door, leaving Yang Kai somewhat stunned.
Seeing his young female disciple rudely burst into his room, the big man angrily slammed his fist on the table in front of him, “How improper! Actually ignoring the orders of your master, do you still put your master in your eyes?”
The young woman grumbled in annoyance, holding her arms akimbo as she shouted, “Master, didn’t you say this guy had just begun studying Alchemy?”
“That’s right, what’s the problem?”
“Then why can he refine Spirit Grade pills? My using a Heaven Grade Low-Rank Cold Star Grass to test him made me lose a lot of face!”
“Ah?” The big man was dumbstruck, standing up from his chair quickly, “He can refine Spirit Grade pills? Impossible! Little girl, you dare lie to me!?”
“I’ve brought the person in question here, whether he has such ability, you can verify it yourself,” The woman beckoned to Yang Kai, the latter letting out a sigh and bracing himself.
The big man stared at Yang Kai with a dignified expression and asked, “You claim you’re able to refine Spirit Grade pills?”
Yang Kai nodded sternly.
The look on the big man’s face became somewhat gloomy, “Boy, you understand that this is the Alchemist Guild? No matter which force you come from, if you dare spout nonsense here you won’t be leaving alive!”
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead and felt a headache coming on. All he wanted was to get a Jade Token, never had he expected the process would be so convoluted and tiresome.
“Forget it, I don’t need that Jade Token anyways, I apologize for bothering you. I’ll see myself out.”
“You dare!” The big man roared, his voice echoing throughout the nearby halls, sneering hard as he said, “You think the Alchemist Guild is a place you can casually come and go as you please? Trying to back out now just because you’re afraid of being exposed is impossible! I will prepare the materials for you and see how you refine Spirit Grade pills. If you are unable to satisfy me, heh heh…”
“I also want to see if you have such skill,” The young woman also sized up Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, and helplessly nodded.
“Mi Na, take out your Spirit Grade materials,” The big man fixed his eyes on Yang Kai as he issued an order to the young woman.
The young woman nodded gently and searched through her Universe Bag, a moment later withdrawing a pile of Spirit Grade materials and placing them gently onto a nearby table.
The big man also stretched out his hand and summoned a pill furnace roughly the size of his head onto his palm, turning to look at Yang Kai and saying, “This is my personal pill furnace, I spent eight years collecting the materials for it before commissioning a Saint Grade Artifact Refiner to forge it. It is capable of greatly increasing the chance of successfully forming a pill, so don’t even think of claiming I am trying to make things difficult for you. If you can’t manage to refine a Spirit Grade pill even with this pill furnace, I’ll make sure your head flies from your body!”
Having issues this ultimatum, the big man threw the pill furnace over.
Yang Kai reached out and grabbed it, sweeping his Divine Sense over it and nodding slightly.
The quality of this pill furnace was indeed very good, beyond that of any ordinary furnace he had seen before, and the Spirit Array engraved inside it also had the effect of enhancing the chance of successful pill formation. However, Yang Kai was keenly aware that the Spirit Array inside it was not complete and wasn’t capable of displaying its full effect.
“Here are five sets of Spirit Grade materials, you must succeed three times in order to pass my test, if you can’t, heh!” The big man sneered, waving his hand as he said, “You may start. I will be observing you closely so don’t think about trying to pull some kind of clever trick.”
Now that things had gotten to this point, it was impossible for Yang Kai to back out; setting down the pill furnace on the table, he began to carefully check the five sets of materials.
After a moment, his brow wrinkled and rearranged the position of a number of herbs.
The big man and the young woman both couldn’t help looking at him suspiciously, not understanding why he seemed so self-confident still. The materials had already been laid out in the optimum configuration so why had he changed their positions?
Not saying anything, the two simply stood there and quietly watched.
After a brief silence, Yang Kai began moving, adding one herb after another to the pill furnace in a methodical way, pouring his True Qi into the furnace to refine them into medicinal liquid, paying careful attention to use the right amount of heat and the proper timing.
Seeing this, the big man and the young woman’s expression brightened.
Just this series of preliminary actions allowed them to realize that this young man really had some skill and was not idly boasting. His steady technique and calm demeanor were clearly built upon a large amount of experience.
Soon, all the medicinal herbs were added to the pill furnace, and under Yang Kai’s precise control, a light medicinal fragrance gently wafted out.
The big man and the young woman’s eyes stared at Yang Kai without blinking, their expressions gradually becoming solemn, without a hint of their prior suspicion or contempt.
After about the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai reached out and patted the pill furnace and a round, golden yellow pill leapt from it. The big man reached out swiftly and drew the pill into his palm.
After carefully inspecting it, his eyes bulged as he muttered under his breath, “It really is a Spirit Grade pill.”
“Is this little brat really so fierce?” Mi Na was also dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected Yang Kai could really refine Spirit Grade pills. Even though it was just a Spirit Grade Low-Rank pill, it was still beyond her current ability.
“The medicinal properties are well preserved and none of the herbs’ medicinal essences were wasted. It’s only a step away from giving birth to Pill Veins, a pity,” The big man pined, as if he was somewhat regretful.
A Pill that developed Pill Veins had twice the medicinal efficacy as one that did not. Even if it was the big man who was a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, he could only occasionally refine a single pill that possessed Pill Veins, and that was only under extremely good conditions while he was particularly lucky.
As for the legendary Pill Cloud, he had never even seen such a thing.
Holding this pill, the big man was rendered speechless for quite a long time.
After an hour or so had passed, Yang Kai had finished his Alchemy.
Out of the five sets of ingredients, a total of four pills had been successfully refined, but the last attempt had been a failure, something Yang Kai did deliberately.
By now, both the big man and the young woman were staring dumbfounded at Yang Kai, shocked beyond words.
“Master, did this guy use some kind of face rejuvenating technique? How else could he appear only twenty years old?”
“Unlikely. This should be his real age, yet how can he be so fierce?” Saying so, he turned to stare at the young woman, his expression a somewhat forlorn look upon his face.
“Master, why are you staring at me like that? I’ve been working very hard.” Mi Na felt aggrieved.
Her Alchemy aptitude was also quite outstanding, and she had acquired quite a bit of fame in the surrounding thousand kilometer range. All of the nearby forces were trying to invite her to be an Honoured Guest. Because of her talent, Mi Na had always been a bit conceited, but her pride had been thoroughly broken by the four Saint Grade pills lying in front of her.
While this master and disciple pair whispered to one another, Yang Kai did not deliberately eavesdrop, waiting until they seemed to have finished before asking, “Have I passed this test?”
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, the big man came back to his senses and let out a big laugh, smiling sincerely as he nodded, “Indeed, completely passed.”
“Then my Jade Token…”
“Rest assured, we will definitely issue you your Jade Token will, but before that, there’s someone you should meet. Wait a moment, I’ll call him now!” Saying so, the big man dashed out.
Now, inside the room, there was only Yang Kai and the young woman left.
Yang Kai was once again speechless.
“You’re really impressive!” The young woman said in heartfelt admiration, extending her hand without any of her previous contempt and solemnly said, “Let me re-introduce myself, my name is Mi Na, Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist and a member of Grand Boulder City’s Alchemist Guild branch.”
“Yang Kai,” Yang Kai laughed and gently shook her hand.
“Where do you come from?” Mi Na asked curiously.
“The west.”
Mi Na stared at him and pursed her lips, saying with a smile, “You’re quite vigilant aren’t you? Forget it, just pretend I didn’t ask.”
West of here was the Snow Mountain Range, Yang Kai saying he came from the west was obviously an arbitrary answer.
“Right, why did you change the configuration of those materials?”
“Wasn’t that part of the test?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Mi Na slowly shook her head, “They were arranged in what I thought was the best possible configuration, but after you changed it, it seemed that the refining process became smoother. Who taught you that?”
“It was just intuition…” Yang Kai replied somewhat nervously. He hadn’t thought much about it at the time and had just assumed that they had deliberately misplaced some of the herbs to examine his skill, but apparently that was not the case.
“Why did you arrange it like that? That pill recipe was taught to me by my master. Does that mean my master’s pill recipe was mistaken?” Mi Na knit her brows.
Yang Kai thought about it for a moment but decided not to conceal anything, carefully explaining why he had made those changes. Mi Na listened to him with sparkling eyes, suddenly feeling like she had greatly benefited.
The two of them soon entered into a discussion about the pill recipe in question. Meanwhile, outside the room, the big man and another old man lingered and listened. The more they listened though, the more surprised they became.
They had believed that pill recipe had been fully optimized, but after listening to and adopting the changes Yang Kai proposed, they discovered that it was indeed much better than the original one.
At the very least, if you they used Yang Kai’s method to refine that pill, it was possible to reduce the possibility of failure and increase the quality slightly while more fully utilizing the medicinal efficacies of the herbs.
“Where did you find this boy?” The old man asked as he stroked his beard, looking at the big man.
“He came here on his own,” The big man shrugged his shoulders, “Have we picked up a treasure?”
Not bothering to answer, the old man simply pushed the door open and walked in.
Upon hearing the movement of the door, Yang Kai quickly glanced over and saw the big man from earlier, as well as another sage-like old man enter.
Mi Na quickly introduced them to Yang Kai, “This is Old Man Du, Old Man Du is the manager of this branch and a Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemist.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help drawing a quick breath and hastily paying his respects.
Du Wan smiled and nodded, “Little friend does not need to be so polite, everyone here will be one family from now on.”
“This is my master, you’ve already met him, he’s a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist.”
Ye Xiong grinned towards Yang Kai.
“Please sit down,” Old Man Du gestured.
After taking their seats, from who knows where, Mi Na pulled out a few cups of fragrantly scented tea and offered them to everyone. After taking a sip, Old Man Du smiled warmly and said, “I am already aware of why little friend has visited our Alchemist Guild branch today. Already capable of refining Spirit Grade pills, you are certainly eligible to have your own Jade Token. This old master will later officially send you a Jade Token on behalf of the Alchemist Guild.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai nodded.
“May this old master ask, which great master did you study under?”
As he asked this question, Du Wan’s gaze towards Yang Kai became brilliant.
When he had listened to Ye Xiong’s report earlier, Du Wan had just faintly felt that this young man was not simple, but after listening to many of his unique insights and opinions from the other side of the door, Du Wan suddenly realized just how extraordinary Yang Kai was.
Such insights were things even he was unclear about, so how could a mere boy understand them?
The only possibility was that someone of incredible skill had taught it to him.
Du Wan very much wanted to know which powerful master could teach such an outstanding disciple.
At such a young age, reaching the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary and also becoming a Spirit Grade Alchemist, his background must be incredible and his teacher was no doubt an earth-shaking figure.
Although Old Man Du was a Saint Grade Alchemist and had an honoured status, there were still some famous Alchemist who surpassed him, not to mention the old monsters who hid in the mountains and forests all year round. These old monsters may not show up for hundreds of years but once they did, each of them had exceedingly profound methods and divine abilities that were capable of thoroughly astounding people.
Moreover, these old monsters were normally the type who would aggressively hide shortcomings and would send their disciples out from their places of seclusion at some point in order to gain life experience. These successors would often stir up a great storm within a few years of their appearance and become famous throughout the entire realm.
The young man in front of him called Yang Kai, in this respect, was quite suspicious.
He was already a Spirit Grade Alchemist, but there was no record of him in the Alchemist Guild, he didn’t even have his own Jade Token. This clearly meant he had only recently emerged from some very remote region.
When Old Man Du looked at Yang Kai, he could almost see the great monster hiding behind him, so naturally he would discretely try to inquire about Yang Kai’s true identity.
Ye Xiong and Mi Na also stared at him fixedly, apparently very interested in this topic.
“My master?” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “I don’t have a teacher, no one has formally taught me.”
“No master… hehe,” Old Man Du smiled lightly and didn’t mind. If he was able to dig up his background that easily, it would be strange. Instead, Yang Kai saying this just reinforced Old Man Du’s previous guess that the former had some kind of extraordinary backer.
However, these kind of silver lined words were a bit too naive.
Young people really didn’t know how to hide themselves.
These kinds of mysterious successors would not always openly announce their Master’s name or the Sect they belonged to when they went out for life experience. However, if one could establish a good relationship with such a person, it would be akin to establishing a connection with their formidable background as well, which would be hugely beneficial.
A hundred years ago, there was once a small force that had befriended such a mysterious successor. Ten years later, this force became enemies with another more powerful force and was madly suppressed, suffering heavy casualties, but overnight, that hostile forces was completely destroyed and disappeared entirely from Tong Xuan Realm.
Old Man Du was a Saint Grade Alchemist, so no one would seek trouble with him and he had no great personal enemies; he naturally didn’t want to rely on the power of outsiders to protect himself. What he valued was the master who had taught Yang Kai Alchemy. Such a person must be amongst the most powerful Alchemists in the world.
Old Man Du had been stuck at the Saint Grade Low-Rank for many years and his bottleneck showed no signs of loosening, but if he could get the direction of a powerful master, he might be able to gain some kind of enlightenment that would allow him to break through and become a Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist.
“Where is little friend planning to settle down?” Old Man Du kindly inquired.
“I don’t know, I was planning to stay in Grand Boulder City for the time being,” Yang Kai shook his head, “I just came out from a very remote place and am not familiar with the world. I’m not afraid to admit to Old Man Du that before recently I didn’t even know the names of the great forces in this region and I had not even heard of the Alchemist Guild before today.”
Du Wan’s old eyes flashed brilliantly as he smiled and nodded, “Good good good, there’s nothing for you to feel embarrassed about. As long as little friend is still in Grand Boulder City, you can come to this old master to ask about anything you don’t understand. This old man will certainly answer your doubts.”
Yang Kai expression became slightly strange, not understanding why this Saint Grade Alchemist was so good to him.
“Old Man Du, can you let him live here in the Alchemist Guild?” Mi Na suddenly proposed.
Old Man Du said with a smile, “That depends on whether he wants to or not.”
“I can live here?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Mi Na quickly explained, “As long as you are an Alchemist, you can live here. The entire Grand Boulder City Alchemist Guild branch basically only has the three of us living here. Everyone else has hired themselves to one of the nearby forces and there will only be some Alchemist from other regions stopping over here to rest. Therefore, this place is relatively clean and quite, if you don’t have any particular destination, you might as well just stay here for now, en, if you stay here we can also compare notes on Alchemy techniques so all of us can benefit, how about it?”
Mi Na obviously hoped that Yang Kai would stay. The brief conversation the two just had already allowed her to benefit greatly, naturally she wanted to compare notes with him again.
“Then I’ll thank you in advance for your hospitality.” Facing such a warm offer and seeing Mi Na’s look filled with expectation, it was difficult for Yang Kai to turn them down. On top of that, he also felt that Old Man Du and Ye Xiong didn’t have any malicious intentions.
“Little friend, you are too polite,” Old Man Du smiled.
“However, I probably won’t be staying here for too long,” Yang Kai added.
“Whatever little friend likes, no need to feel constrained,” Du Wan said, next pulling out a Jade Token and handing it over to Yang Kai, “This is the identify token of my Alchemist Guild. With this, you can enjoy special benefits in any shop operated by the guild and if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, showing this Jade Token will normally allow you to turn danger into safety.”
“Many thanks, Old Man Du,” Yang Kai accepted the Jade Token and poured in his True Qi with a happy expression. Inside this Jade Token were some mysterious energy markings that allowed a person to easily identify who its owner was and what grade of Alchemist they were.
Five hundred kilometers away from Grand Boulder City, at the very edge of the Snow Mountain Range, there was a beautiful temperate landscape that seemed to be in a perpetual state of spring. In the midst of this landscape was a great valley that was dotted with a large number of buildings stood. From time to time, powerful cultivators would fly in and out.
This place was the foundation of a great force.
At this moment, in a secluded secret room, an old man who normally sat in meditative retreat year to year suddenly opened his eyes, a brilliant spark flashing across them. A curious expression surfaced on his face as he turned his gaze in the direction of Grand Boulder City and stared.
Just now, he had felt a vague energy fluctuation coming from that direction that was somewhat familiar.
After thinking about it for a moment, the old man formed a series of profound hand seals and gathered his energy at his fingertips.
A moment later, the old man reached out and stroked the air in front of him. A series of ripples appeared as the void seemed to split and at the center of this distortion a vague figure emerged.
The old man stared at this figure suspiciously, his expression becoming more and more puzzled. Silently recording the general characteristics of this figure, he was about to push his strength slightly more to get a clearer view when the void trembled slightly and the figure he was observing suddenly turned its head towards him, a look of vigilance and doubt appearing on its face.
“Such strong vigilance!” The old man was surprised.
The old man could tell the age and cultivation of this individual were not very high and yet even though he had used a powerful divine ability to spy on the latter from a few hundred kilometers away, he had actually still been noticed.
The next moment, the ripples in the air settled and the figure disappeared.
“Interesting,” The old man grinned, calmly calling out, “Cang Yan.”
The door to this secluded room was soon pushed open and a man with a reserved aura walked in, respectfully asking, “What is ancestor’s command?”
“Go to Grand Boulder City and invite this person to see me!” The old man reached out his finger and shot a thread of Divine Sense into Cang Yan’s mind, showing him a fuzzy figure.
“Yes, ancestor,” Cang Yan nodded solemnly.
“Good, treat him politely,” The old man purposefully reminded.
Cang Yan’s expression became a bit strange but he did not ask anything more, turning around leaving to prepare for his trip to Grand Boulder City.
Alchemist Guild.
Mi Na, who was consulting Yang Kai about the Alchemic Way, suddenly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he stared at a certain place in the air. Just now, he had faintly sensed that someone was spying on him and could not help shiver slightly.
However, when he tried to investigate, he found nothing.
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai shook his head, though still puzzled in his heart. With the current strength of his Divine Sense, even if the one trying to spy on him was a Transcendent, he would still be able to trace them. Only if a Saint Realm master was secretly observing him would he not be able to find them, but why would such a master be staring at him?
Since he came to Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had not contracted any enmity with anyone besides the Charm Monster, but she was already dead.
“Oh,” Mi Na stopped asking about it and continued her discussion about Alchemy with Yang Kai instead. Yang Kai also didn’t try to hide his ability by remaining silent and answered her questions as best he could.
Of course, he did not speak about some of the more profound secrets of the True Alchemic Way.
The True Alchemic Way was very likely a legacy left behind by the Great Demon God, revealing too much about it would only bring harm to himself.
After having stayed in the Alchemist Guild for more than half a month, whether it was Old Man Du, Ye Xiong, or Mi Na, all of them treated him like family, which warmed Yang Kai’s wayward heart.
However, Yang Kai noticed that, Mi Na aside, both Old Man Du and Ye Xiong often treated him a bit too casually, not having the attitude or demeanor a senior should have towards a member of the younger generation, making him feel out of place.
These days, Yang Kai had also been immersed in Alchemy, and the materials he had purchased were being rapidly consumed.
Before, in Demon God Citadel, Li Rong had provided all of the herbs he had used, so Yang Kai didn’t feel anything about it, but now that he was preparing his own materials for Alchemy, he suddenly realized just how astonishing this consumption was.
Even though he had a lot of Crystal Stones on hand, at the rate he was spending them it would not be long before he ran out.
However, in order to continue improving his skill in Alchemy, he had to constantly keep practicing.
“Mi Na, how do you ensure that you have enough materials to practice Alchemy?”
“Who asked you to be such a freak?” Mi Na rolled her eyes, “You’re rate of Alchemy is simply too fast. When my master refines Spirit Grade pills, he normally spends at least half a day, so at most he can refine two per day.”
Yang Kai was stunned.
“But I digress; the pills we refine can be sold for Crystal Stones which we can then be used to buy materials to continue practicing Alchemy.”
A light suddenly went off in Yang Kai’s head. The whole time he had been practicing Alchemy, he had never once sold his own pills, so he had completely forgotten about this option.
Because until now, Yang Kai had never had to worry about maintaining his own finances, he had never thought about how to make money.
Most of the pills he had on him now were Spirit Grade and whether it was in terms of quality or grade, they were well aligned with the needs of most cultivators, so he would certainly have no trouble selling them.
Under the leadership of Mi Na, Yang Kai came to the shop operated by the Alchemist Guild. The old shopkeeper who he had previous met gave Yang Kai a favourable price and the Crystal Stones he had spent before were not only fully recovered but he also made a significant profit.
After purchasing enough materials, Yang Kai returned to Alchemist Guild again.
Time flew by and another month passed.
After confirming that the people from the Alchemist Guild really had no malicious intentions towards him, Yang Kai decided to have a chat with Old Man Du.
Yang Kai didn’t plan on studying Alchemy in Alchemist Guild for a lifetime. His goal in approaching them was to obtain the distinguished identity of Alchemist in order to help him realize his goal of finding Su Yan and his Little Senior Sister.
“Little friend is looking for someone?” Old Man Du was surprised to hear Yang Kai’s words.
“En, my two Senior Sisters and my Martial Uncle,” Yang Kai nodded, not daring to reveal any news about Old Demon. Meng Wu Ya was Xia Ning Chang’s master so he could naturally be counted as his Martial Uncle.
Old Man Du eyes flashed as he suddenly thought that along with Yang Kai there were actually three successors to the latter’s great Alchemy Master, and obviously the identity of these two women was not simple as there was even an Elder accompanying them. On top of that, this Elder was likely even more accomplished than Yang Kai.
“If little friend wants to find someone, the guild can provide you with some help. This old man will send a letter to the other branches of the guild, if there is any news, I’ll be sure to inform little friend as soon as I receive it. However, the guild has many matters to attend to so the old man can only guarantee that the other branches will keep any eyes out for your Senior Sisters and Martial Uncle. If little friend really wants to find them, it would probably be best to find your own solution.”
“Many thanks, Senior, even that will be a great help,” Yang Kai replied sincerely.
Old Man Du hesitated for a moment, mulling over something for a while before finally proposing, “If little friend wishes to take a more active approach, this old man suggests relying on one of the nearby forces to help find them. As a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, I don’t believe any Sect would refuse your, wherever you go you would be courteously received as a guest.”
“I also had this idea, but I am not familiar with the nearby forces and don’t know which one I should choose. I hope Senior can offer me some guidance!”
Yang Kai really wasn’t familiar with any of the nearby Sects so if he were to hire himself to one that had unscrupulous intentions, it would be difficult for him to later withdraw safely. If he wasn’t forced to by the situation, Yang Kai would not even have considered such an idea.
“I see,” Old Man Du nodded slightly, “Of the nearby forces, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Soaring Heaven Sect, Ancient Moon Cave, and Luo Sheng Sect are those with the greatest influence and strength. If you want to hire yourself to a force, you should pick from one of these four; however, I don’t suggest looking for Luo Sheng Sect, those people aren’t easy to get along with. As for the remaining three… En, this old man has some slight friendship with each of them, if you want to choose from among them, it really is a bit difficult for me to recommend one.”
“Can I choose any of these three forces?” Yang Kai asked spiritedly.
“These three Sects’ reputations are all quite good. Give this old man a few days to think about it before giving you an answer, alright?”
“Then I shall have to trouble you Old Man Du.”
“Little friend is too polite.”
The next few days passed by uneventfully, Yang Kai still practiced Alchemy every day and Mi Na would often come to him for advice.
One day, Old Man Du suddenly summoned him so Yang Kai put down what he was working on and went to the former’s room.
Yang Kai thought that Old Man Du had come to a decision about which of the local Sects he should look for but when he opened the door, Yang Kai found that there was actually an unfamiliar face present as well.
This man’s aura was restrained and a strong light could be seen in the depths of his eyes. When Yang Kai entered the room, this man immediately stared towards him with a look of intense interest.
A Transcendent Realm master! Yang Kai immediately thought, and judging from the faint pressure he felt he estimated that this man was at least a Second Order Transcendent.
“Old Man Du,” Yang Kai greeted.
“Little friend Yang, please sit,” Old Man Du smiled.
“This is the new member of the Alchemist Guild?” The man swept his eyes over Yang Kai curiously and asked.
“En, he is a Spirit Grade Alchemist with excellent aptitude,” Old Man Du answered seriously.
“Spirit Grade?” The man’s face changed abruptly, now staring at Yang Kai with some disbelief.
“This old master wouldn’t lie.”
“Naturally I trust Old Man Du,” The man replied hurriedly.
“Little friend, let me introduce you, this is Elder Duan Hai of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.”
Yang Kai nodded politely, offering his greetings.
“This old master has some friendship with Elder Duan, and I don’t know where Elder Duan heard the news but he recently learned about you staying in the guild and quickly came here today to invite you to go to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to serve as an Honoured Guest.”
Duan Hai smiled and said, “I haven’t been monitoring your Alchemist Guild or anything, it was just that when my Junior Brother came to Grand Boulder City the other day he happened to see Mi Na and this friend enter the guild together. My Junior Brother knew that Old Man Du and I share some friendship so he quickly pushed me to act, lest we move too slowly and allow him to be won over by someone else.”
Old Man Du let out a light chuckle.
Since Yang Kai first entered the Alchemist Guild, he had really only gone out once. It quite unexpected that this one outing allowed him to be discovered by someone interested in recruiting him. This could only be said to be a coincidence.
“Would this friend be willing to come to my Spirit Religion?” Duan Hai showed an expectant look to Yang Kai and asked. A Spirit Grade Alchemist was already a valuable asset, but what was especially noteworthy was that this person was very young so obviously his aptitude was extraordinary. If Duan Hai could truly recruit him into Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, in time it might be possible to cultivate him into a top Saint Grade Alchemist. This level of Alchemist had never once appeared in Bright Thunder Spirit Religion before.
This was a long-term investment.
But Duan Hai had such vision and boldness!
“If this friend is willing to come to my Spirit Religion and serve as an Honoured Guest, my Spirit Religion will offer very generous conditions,” Duan Hai said sincerely. Although he was a Transcendent Realm master and at least a generation older than Yang Kai, he still didn’t hesitate to affectionately call him friend.
“Brother Duan might as well explain what kind of treatment he is prepared to offer so that little friend Yang can make his own decision,” Old Man Du knew that Yang Kai was ignorant about these matters so he purposefully made this remark to assist him.
Duan Hai wore a forced smile and replied, “Old Man Du, since he is your person, of course I will not mistreat him.”
Staring towards Yang Kai seriously, Duan Hai continued, “My Spirit Religion will provide you with all the necessary spirit herbs. Any pill you refine, you can take 20% of its value as a reward, and that is, if the value of a pill you refine is worth one hundred Crystal Stone, my Spirit Religion will give you twenty Crystal Stones as payment.”
Old Man Du expression changed slightly and quickly nodded.
Yang Kai, who was observing closely, noticed this and realized that such treatment was probably quite good.
“That is only the most basic condition. My Spirit Religion will provide you with the most comfortable Alchemy environment and will do its best to meet any of your other needs. As long as it does not harm my Spirit Religion benefits, anything can be negotiated. How about it?”
When Duan Hai finished, he turned his eyes towards Yang Kai expectantly and waited for his reply.
To be honest, the conditions he proposed were already quite generous, and the payment of 20% was far greater than what would normally be offered. Even if it was a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist being hired as an Honoured Guest, they would not receive such a percentage.
If Yang Kai had any other requirements, he could also discuss it with him.
Yang Kai brow rose slightly and thought about it for a while before turning to Old Man Du and soliciting his opinion, “What does Senior think?”
“The conditions are quite good,” Old Man Du told the truth, “But whether you agree or not, everything depends on your own wishes.”
“Since it is a friend of Old Man Du… there should be no problem,” Yang Kai grinned. He had already been thinking about hiring himself to a force and with the recommendation of Old Man Du he could feel at least a bit more relieved.
Duan Hai was overjoyed as a big smile appeared on his face, “Friend is really easy to speak with.”
“However, the conditions have to be changed,” Yang Kai shifted the conversation.
“Please,” Duan Hai said respectfully.
“20% of the sale price… I don’t need, I’ll only take 10%!” Yang Kai raised a finger.
Duan Hai and Old Man Du were both stunned, but neither of them interrupted, waiting for the follow up. Yang Kai taking the initiative to give up some of his benefits obviously meant he had something else he wanted to ask for.
“In exchange, I hope that your Spirit Religion will help with a matter. Rest assured this matter will not bring any harm to you.”
“What matter?” Duan Hai asked.
“When the time is right, I will naturally inform you. Also, I hope Bright Thunder Spirit Religion will not limit my freedom in any way. If I wish to leave, I hope I will not encounter any obstacles.”
“Of course,” Duan Hai nodded quickly, “My Bright Thunder Spirit Religion already has a number of Honoured Guests. Whether these Honoured Guests wish to stay or go is completely up to them, my Spirit Religion never interferes.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Yang Kai laughed.
Duan Hai immediately showed a joyful look, “Then, is it settled?”
Yang Kai nodded firmly.
Old Man Du smiled and said, “Congratulations Brother Duan. In fact, this old master very much doesn’t want to let this little friend leave, but little friend has his own ideas so this old master can only reluctantly see him off.”
Duan Hai quickly proposed with deep meaning, “Old Man Du, if you’d like, why not come to my Spirit Religion as an Honoured Guest as well?”
“Don’t you think your appetite is a bit too big?” Old Man Du laughed, “You even want to hire this old master?”
“A Saint Grade Alchemist, which force wouldn’t want to hire one?”
“I’m afraid you can’t afford the price,” Old Man Du smiled lightly.
Duan Hai’s smiled bitterly, “Fair enough.”
Shaking his head slightly, he quickly turned to Yang Kai and asked, “When would it be convenient for this friend to leave?”
“I can depart at any time.”
“How about now?” Duan Hai obviously didn’t want to wait, causing Yang Kai to smile somewhat dumbly and nod.
“Good, important matters should not be delayed, let us be off,” Duan Hai said, quickly standing up.
“En, give me a moment to say goodbye to a friend,” Yang Kai said, also getting up and walking out to find Mi Na. The two of them had gotten along well these past few months so naturally he had to tell her before he left, otherwise he would appear too unfeeling.
Inside the room, Duan Hai and Old Man Du sat quietly.
Suddenly, Old Man Du said in a low voice, “Duan Hai, don’t say later that this old master didn’t remind you, this little friend should not be an ordinary person. While he resides in your Spirit Religion, don’t mistreat him.”
Duan Hai was stunned to hear such a comment and hurriedly asked, “What does Old Man Du mean?”
Du Wan just slowly shook his head though and said nothing more, leaving Duan Hai confused.
A moment later, Yang Kai returned after bidding farewell to Mi Na; he had no need to pack anything as all his belongings were in still in the Black Book Space. As Duan Hai led him out of the Alchemist Guild, Mi Na reluctantly waved goodbye to Yang Kai. After spending a lot of time with him, her Alchemy technique had improved at a pace far greater than when her Master taught her, so naturally she was reluctant to see him go.
Duan Hai waved his hand and wrapped Yang Kai in his True Qi before the two quickly took off and flew away from Grand Boulder City.
Along the way, Duan Hai’s attitude towards Yang Kai was very cordial, kindly explaining to him the various features and strengths of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
In order to make Yang Kai feel a sense of belonging quickly, Duan Hai naturally spared no effort to praise Bright Thunder Spirit Religion and from his words, Yang Kai learned quite a bit about this force.
Near the Snow Mountain Range, there were more than a thousand large and small peaks, and Bright Thunder Spirit Religion occupied one section of them.
After about an hour’s flight, the two came to the site of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
Landing atop one of the bigger mountain peaks, the air felt a bit chilly but overall the area was green and lush, with a rich World Aura circulating. From the base to halfway up the mountain was a vast field of herbs that filled the air with a strong medicinal fragrance while from halfway up to the top there were a number of simple residences.
Duan Hai quickly said, “This place used to be the residence of an Alchemist Honoured Guest of my Spirit Religion, but he resigned as an Honored Guest a few months ago, so right now this place is unoccupied. How is it? Would Honored Guest Yang like to live here? If you feel that this place is too simple, I can arrange for accommodations elsewhere in my Spirit Religion where the atmosphere is livelier.”
“No need, here is good,” Yang Kai nodded, quite satisfied with the location. He wasn’t interested in socializing and having many people around would only be distracting, so being further from the crowd was more relaxing to him.
Hearing this, Duan Hai smiled and nodded, “Honoured Guest Yang really is focused on studying the Alchemic Way, I also originally thought you would prefer to live in a more populated place.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai stared at him curiously.
“Generally, our Honoured Guests prefer to live where the crowd gathers as they are chasing wealth, power, and fame. These kinds of people, my Spirit Religion has never been too concerned about, but someone like Honored Guest Yang who wholeheartedly strives to improve himself will certainly have great achievements in the future and will inevitably be paid attention to by our Spirit Religion,” Duan Hai said with a smile, “Right, this is an Honored Guest’s token. Please bring it with you at all times. As long as you have this token, you can walk freely in my Spirit Religion, with the exception of a few forbidden areas that is.”
Saying so, he handed a dark coloured token over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai accepted it and looked it over briefly before storing it away.
“I will send someone to assist you later. If you have any needs, you can inform me through them or allow them to handle it for your directly.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly.
“Honoured Guest Yang, if this is nothing else, this one will take his leave first,” Duan Hai asked Yang Kai politely.
“For now, I have nothing else to ask.”
Duan Hai nodded slightly before activating his movement skill and quickly departing.
After Duan Hai left, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and explored the surrounding area.
This mountain peak was not too high, but also not too short, about two thousand meters in total. Standing at the top of the peak, surrounded by white clouds, it was just like floating in a fairyland.
[This place really isn’t bad,] Yang Kai thought to himself with a smile on his face.
According to Duan Hai’s words, from now on, before he resigned as an Honoured Guest, this mountain would belong to him. Of course, the spirit grass and spirit medicines on the mountain were the property of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
Yang Kai first walked around the mountain, examining the expansive herb garden, soon discovering that these herbs were all healthy and growing prosperously and didn’t need him to personally tend to them. Obviously there were other people responsible for their care.
Atop the mountain peak, there was a rich and pure World Aura that was very suitable for cultivation.
After checking out his own peak, Yang Kai began wandering around the nearby mountains.
Among the nearby peaks lived a number of Honoured Guests of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, each of them an Alchemist, so they had many common topics of discussion. After learning that Yang Kai was actually a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, those Honored Guests were quite surprised, many of them even showing him looks of awe and respect.
Yang Kai also learned a lot about Bright Thunder Spirit Religion from his chats with them.
In general, this Sect was a decent one. Just as Duan Hai had told him before, the treatment of Honoured Guests here was generous. If an Honoured Guest wanted to leave, they would not try to strong arm them into staying and instead see them off courteously.
Moreover, every Honoured Guest would be assigned a dedicated helper, and those helpers, without exception, were all young, beautiful women.
As they spent most of their time in secluded study, these Alchemists naturally had need of such distractions to help them relieve their stress. These helpers were sent by Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to assist these Alchemists and to meet any ‘other’ requirements they might have.
These helpers also willingly accepted this task and could even be said that there was fierce competition within Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to become a dedicated servant of an Honoured Guest.
After all, Alchemists had distinguished identities, so gaining the favour of or even becoming married to an Alchemist was naturally something these young beauties hoped for. At the very least, these mountain peaks were amongst the best places to cultivate in the Sect. In the more crowded regions, with so many people gathered together, the World Energy was obviously less abundant whereas here it was the exact opposite. As long as one cultivated here, their strength would improve rapidly, and by being close to an Alchemist, one could also not be lacking useful pills as well.
This abundance of benefits naturally aroused people’s interest.
Yang Kai spent two or three days touring around his new residence and had visited with a lot of his peers, mixing in with them fairly well. He also obtained a much better understanding of how Bright Thunder Spirit Religion operated and just how grand and wealthy a force it really was.
The forces back in the Central Capital were really incomparable to it. Not only was there a massive gap in terms of the pure cultivation realm of the masters here, whether it was the concentration of World Energy, material wealth, Secret Arts, or Martial Skills, this minor Sect from Tong Xuan Realm was far ahead of the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families by multiple grades.
Recognizing this gap, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel a bit listless.
Three days later, Yang Kai finally returned to his new home.
When he came to his peak though, his expression changed slightly because he realized that a new aura had appeared in one of the previously empty houses.
[Has the helper Duan Hai said would come arrived already?]
After a closer look, Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help becoming awkward because he found that this newcomer’s life aura was familiar to him.
Only thinking about it for a moment, he quickly made his decision, walked to the house, and pushed open the door.
A slight yelp was heard as the one who was meditating in the house was obviously startled, quickly jumping up and turning towards the door with a look of vigilance, but upon seeing Yang Kai’s face, she was dumbfounded and called out involuntarily, “Why are you here?”
“We meet again,” Yang Kai smiled back at her.
Never had he anticipated that the assistant Duan Hai would send him was actually the woman he met in the Snow Mountain Range, Ji Meng.
The golden robes she wore couldn’t hide her attractive figure, the magnificent height of her chest, or her long, shapely legs. Her ponytail of soft, supple, black hair flowed down behind her, stretching all the way to her thin waist and round hips, giving her a youthful and radiant look.
Ji Meng stared at Yang Kai with a surprised look, seemingly never having expected to see this person again.
All of a sudden, her look changed as her eyes darted about wildly, hurriedly asking, “How come you’re here? This isn’t a place you can just casually show up!”
“Huh?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Ji Meng acted swiftly, rushing over to his side and pulling on Yang Kai’s clothes, “You aren’t one of my Spirit Religion’s disciple, and this peak is reserved for one of my Spirit Religion’s Honored Guests. You need to leave quickly, if he sees you here, I’m afraid it won’t be good for you.”
“An Honoured Guest?” Yang Kai revealed a weird smile, “What kind of Honoured Guest?”
Seeing Ji Meng like this, Yang Kai realized that she knew nothing about his identity or arrival and had only been told to wait here for the new ‘Honoured Guest’.
“Apparently he’s a Spirit Grade Alchemist, and his background seems to be quite profound. Elder Duan ordered me to attend to him,” As she spoke, Ji Meng noticed that Yang Kai still hadn’t moved and didn’t show any signs of leaving, so she inevitably became anxious and shouted, “What are you still standing around for, do you want to die?”
“Is it really that serious?” Yang Kai smiled even more interestedly.
“It’s very serious! Entering the residence of my Spirit Religion’s Honoured Guest, any Spirit Religion disciple can immediately put you to death! What are the disciples guarding the mountain doing? How could they have let you in in the first place?”
“Then why aren’t you attacking me?”
“Why should I attack you? You’re so strange! In any case, you need to go, quickly, before he comes back, if he sees you there, it will be troublesome.”
Saying so, she actively walked over and began pushing Yang Kai towards the door, her face filled with worry.
“You being so anxious to drive me away, is if because you’re afraid that Honoured Guest will have some kind of misunderstanding seeing us together? Are you sure that person’s a man?” Yang Kai asked teasingly.
Ji Meng’s face went red as she quickly shot back, “What does it matter to you, are you so bored you have to meddle in my affairs?”
“I was just asking casually,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and chuckled, “I heard that the assists your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion send to serve Honoured Guests have to meet all the requirements of those Honoured Guest, and there’s a good possibility of becoming intimate and even getting married in the end. Aren’t you worried that this Honoured Guest is some bald old man?”
Ji Meng’s tender body couldn’t help trembling, a bit of panic flashing across her eyes as she shook her head, “No, Elder Duan said that this person isn’t old, or else I would not have agreed to come here in the first place. Although I don’t know what kind of person he is, but I at least know he’s not some old man. You’re really hateful, why are you slandering others for no reason?”
Yang Kai stared at her deeply before nodding slightly.
“What was that for?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Fine, whatever, just leave. Don’t force me to take action against you!” Ji Meng grumbled; Yang Kai pestering her endlessly was really beginning to annoy her, so her tone became somewhat impatient.
“Good good, I’ll stop here, for now,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, losing interest in continuing to tease her, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the token Duan Hai had given him before he had left and handing it to Ji Meng, “Do you recognize this? It seems Duan Hai really didn’t tell you much.”
“An Honoured Guest’s token?” Ji Meng couldn’t help covering her mouth as she stared at Yang Kai in amazement, “How come you…”
Suddenly, her beautiful eyes flashed a complicated light as she wore an expression of disbelief and shouted, “You couldn’t be the new Honoured Guest, could you?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, casually taking back the token.
Ji Meng was dumbstruck; she had been waiting here for two whole days, constantly wondering what kind of person this new Honored Guest was, and how much older than her he would be, but never had she dreamed it would be Yang Kai. Forget about how much of an old man he was, Yang Kai was actually even younger than her!
“Greetings, Honoured Guest!” Ji Meng’s hastily adjusted her face and respectfully welcomed him.
“No need to act so polite,” Yang Kai shook his head, seeing Ji Meng suddenly become so respectful after learning his identity made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were the one Elder Duan mentioned… I thought you had secretly snuck in, I really didn’t know…” Ji Meng hurriedly tried to explain.
“No need to explain,” Yang Kai glanced at her and smiled before turning around a walking inside.
Back in the outer room, Ji Meng stared blankly, desperately wanting to cry but unable to shed any tears. She had hoped to leave a good first impression on the new Honored Guest, but little had she thought that not only was that impossible, she actually had a terrible relationship with him in the first place.
Thinking about how she had just inadvertently revealed her true intentions here, Ji Meng was filled with regret, wondering what he thought of her now, afraid he saw her as a cheap woman who would resort to any means to gain benefits.
…..
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion headquarters.
Inside one of the side halls, Duan Hai, who had just sat down, had not had time to settle in before he heard someone hurriedly walk in.
Duan Hai looked up and laughed, calling out, “Junior Brother Xu!”
“Senior Brother Duan, how did the matter I told you about go?” Xu Qi quickly asked, an obvious hint of anxiety in his voice.
Duan Hai smiled happily, “Doesn’t Junior Brother usually not pay much attention to our Spirit Religion’s matters? How come this time you seem so anxious? However, this time you really gave me some good news and thankfully I did not fail in my mission and successfully brought that person over.”
“Really?” Xu Qi exclaimed joyfully.
“Naturally, he has already arrived in my Spirit Religion three days ago. Right now he should be settling in on one of the mountains reserved for Honoured Guests. I have also sent a female disciple with excellent looks and aptitude to serve him, so I believe it won’t be too long before he develops as sense of attachment to this place,” Duan Hai said, standing up and walking over to a nearby table, pouring a cup of tea for Xu Qi and thanking him, “Junior Brother, this time, thanks to you, my Spirit Religion has managed to win over an excellent seedling. He will definitely have great use in the future, I’ll be certain to report this merit to the Religion Master who I’m sure will reward you handsomely.”
Xu Qi expression became slightly strange hearing these words, not showing any signs of happiness, causing Duan Hai to be slightly confused, “What? Is something wrong?”
“Senior Brother Duan, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t request you personally invite that youth here because of his Alchemist identity.”
“Really? Then why?”
Xu Qi quietly released his Divine Sense and after sweeping the surrounding area to insure they were alone, motioned for Duan Hai to come closer.
Seeing him act so cautiously, Duan Hai couldn’t help becoming slight serious as well, quickly realizing there was more to this situation than meets the eye, leaning in close to listen.
“Because of the Coffin Carrying Man!”
Duan Hai’s trembled slightly before he turned a blank stare to Xu Qi.
After a long time, he lowered his voice as well and asked, “What do you mean? What does he have to do with the Coffin Carrying Man?”
“I don’t know if Senior Brother remembers the last time I went out I accidentally encountered the Coffin Carrying Man?”
“Of course I remember.”
“I followed the Coffin Carrying Man along with several others and eventually came to Raging Flame City in Bold Independent Union’s territory. There, the Coffin Carrying Man stopped; as for what happened afterwards, Senior Brother should have heard.”
“If I recall correctly, the Coffin Carrying Man captured a disciple of Bold Independent Union and then disappeared.”
“In fact, he wasn’t a disciple of Bold Independent Union. Afterwards, we found out that this person’s origins were unclear and that he just had some small friendship with two female disciples of Bold Independent Union. However, the important point is the one who was taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man, is that new Honored Guest Senior Brother Duan just brought back!”
“What?!” Duan Hai complexion changed greatly, “Is it really him? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Xu Qi shook his head, “To be honest, I also thought I was mistaken. When I saw him in Grand Boulder City that day, I could hardly believe my eyes, but after observing him for a while I am 100% certain that he was the one taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man.”
“How is that possible?”
Everyone thought that those seized by the Coffin Carrying Man would only have one end, death, but rather than dying, Yang Kai had now appeared in perfect condition, naturally drawing Xu Qi’s attention.
“Senior Brother, you also know what the Coffin Carrying Man means. There are rumors that the Coffin Carrying Man guards a shocking treasure that can bring a force enough wealth and treasure to allow it to grow into a true behemoth. Since this person can survive after having been caught by the Coffin Carrying Man, perhaps he knows something about that treasure. At the very least, he’ll know the location of the Coffin Carrying Man’s hiding place. If my Spirit Religion can successfully obtain that treasure, we can sweep away the Soaring Heaven Sect, Luo Sheng Sect, and Ancient Moon Heaven’s Cave and eventually rise to a dominate position in this world!”
“That’s only a legend though…” Duan Hai slowly shook his head.
“But it’s worth a try.”
“He’s a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist though!”
“What? Seriously?” This time it was Xu Qi’s turn to be shocked.
“En, and Old Man Du of Grand Boulder City is very attentive towards him. Before he left with me, Old Man Du intentionally reminded me to not be negligent towards him, saying that his origins may be extraordinary!”
“Even Old Man Du appraised him so?” Xu Qi was stunned, “But according to the information we dug up more than a year ago, although his origins weren’t clear, they shouldn’t have been anything important.”
“Because his origins are unclear, they are worth paying attention to!” Duan Hai said solemnly.
Xu Qi also seemed to have been splashed with cold water at that moment, the eagerness in his expression converging rapidly. When he thought back about the information he was able to collect about Yang Kai before, he also suddenly discovered several questionable points.
“I’ll let Senior Brother decide what we should do next. Whether we vigorously cultivate him into one of our Spirit Religion’s future pillars or stake everything on a single roll of the dice, Junior Brother will listen to you,” Xu Qi no longer persuaded, but instead handed over the decision to Duan Hai.
Such a young Spirit Grade Alchemist was truly a rare talent, and after just managing to invite him here, if they were to offend him, it would be a great loss for their Spirit Religion.
Duan Hai nodded slightly and waved.
Xu Qi nodded, got up, and walked out.
After Xu Qi left, Duan Hai closed his eyes and sunk into contemplation, his brow knit tightly and his expression somewhat hesitant.
The legends about the Coffin Carrying Man had circulated throughout all of Tong Xuan Realm for countless years, and there were countless rumors about him. However, many masters believed that at the very least, the Coffin Carrying Man hid some kind of shocking secret in the blood red coffin he carried that was worthy of their attention.
If that wasn’t so, how could so many Transcendent Realm masters waste so much time trailing the Coffin Carrying Man just for the chance to spy on this mystery?
It had been almost a month since Yang Kai came to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, and he had gradually begun to adapt to life here.
When Ji Meng came last time, she brought many herbs to Yang Kai from Duan Hai, which the former then used to refine pills each day. Of course, Yang Kai didn’t dare refine too many so as not to draw any unnecessary attention, maintaining a pace more in line with an ordinary Alchemist, two or three Spirit Grade pills per day.
The rest of the time he spent on cultivation or digesting the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way.
After spending a month getting along, Yang Kai noticed that Ji Meng was becoming more and more cautious around him, always wearing a hesitant and nearly fearful look on her face, far from the casual and unfettered appearance she had in the Snow Mountain Range.
In fact, most of the time she just shut herself in one of the other rooms and would only come to see Yang Kai when absolutely necessary.
Yang Kai was busy with his own affairs so he normally didn’t pay any attention to her either which resulted in Ji Meng feeling even more awkward. Sometimes she wanted to go to Yang Kai to talk and improve their relationship, but she just couldn’t bring herself to act so boldly.
On the first day of the new month, while Yang Kai was meditating, there was a knock at his door.
“Come in.”
Ji Meng pushed open the door and stood in the entryway, bowing politely, “Honoured Guest.”
“Do you need something?” Yang Kai smiled as he glanced over at her.
“Today is the day for this month’s pill collection, I need to deliver the pills that you have refined during this past month to the Spirit Religion’s headquarters,” Ji Meng answered softly, this was one of the tasks Duan Hai had sent her here to complete. Every month, the Alchemist Honoured Guest’s helpers would collect the pills they had refined during this time and then send them to Duan Hai for use within the Spirit Religion.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and took out the pills he had refined this past month and tossed them over to Ji Meng.
Ji Meng accepted them and thanked before gently biting her lip, as if hesitant to say something she had on her mind.
Yang Kai saw this and casually remarked, “I heard from the other Alchemist that as long as they give permission, their assistants can take a few pills from themselves, is that really the case?”
Ji Meng nodded lightly.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and nodded, “Then take five pills and make use of them yourself.”
Although the materials used for Alchemy here were all provided by Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, it was not uncommon for Alchemists to fail in refining pills now and again, thus wasting some of the raw ingredients.
As such, how many pills an Alchemist refined each month was really only known by the Alchemist themselves and their assistant.
As a result, before delivering each months pills to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, it was possible to play some small tricks like this, as long as it was within the realm of what the Spirit Religion deemed reasonable, these Alchemist Honoured Guests could choose to retain a small number of pills to help their assistants cultivate. This not only benefited their assistants but also improved the latter’s impression of the former, encouraging them to be more attentive in their duties.
This was an open secret and Duan Hai was also clear about it but he never made any attempts to interfere.
Because the small portions of pills privately retained by these Alchemists were ultimately used on disciples of the Spirit Religion and the aptitude of the women sent to serve these Alchemists was generally good, Duan Hai even hoped that this practice would take place, allowing these seedlings to quickly grow into pillars of the Sect.
Yang Kai had learned about this when he had chatted with the other Alchemist a month ago.
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Ji Meng couldn’t help feeling overjoyed and quickly thanked him, “Many thanks, Honoured Guest, I will make good use of these five pills.”
She was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivator, so these five Spirit Grade pills could bring her immense benefits.
Yang Kai said no more on the subject, simply informing Ji Meng about how many pills he had refined this month as well as their grades and usages before sending her to deliver them to Duan Hai.
Ji Meng bowed gratefully once more before quickly leaving the mountain.
Back in the Spirit Religion’s headquarters, Ji Meng reported the number and grade of the pills Yang Kai had refined and handed them over to Duan Hai, the latter nodding in approval.
But when Ji Meng was about to take her leave, Duan Hai called out to her.
“Is there anything else, Elder Duan?” Ji Meng asked.
“What do you think of him?” Duan Hai suddenly asked a question that made Ji Meng pause.
“He’s alright, though he is somewhat taciturn and doesn’t like to communicate with others, I’ve stayed by his side for a month now but he hasn’t said more than ten words to me.”
“You haven’t even spoken with him?” Duan Hai was amazed, “Then towards you has he…?”
Ji Meng’s face went bright red but shook her head lightly.
Duan Hai’s brow wrinkled and grumbled somewhat unhappily, “You should be clear about the purpose of sending you to serve him. These Honoured Guests are the roots of my Spirit Religion’s ability to grow and develop; however, they are still just Honoured Guests and can leave at any time. You must firmly grab hold of him and allow him to willingly join my Spirit Religion and if possible, officially become one of our disciples!”
“Disciple understands,” Ji Meng bowed deeply.
“Can you complete this task? If you can’t, I can always send someone else, my Spirit Religion doesn’t lack beautiful woman.”
“Disciple will not fail Elder’s expectations,” Ji Meng clenched her teeth and replied.
“Good, go back. I look forward to your performance,” Duan Hai waved.
With a heavy heart, Ji Meng departed. After she left, Duan Hai shook his head and turned his eyes to Xu Qi, who had been listening to the conversation, “Junior Brother, it seems that this person really does not intend to settle down in my Spirit Religion. When I brought him here, he had even indicated as such. Otherwise, a young man like him wouldn’t possibly be so indifferent to a beauty’s temptations.”
“This just shows he has his own insistences and goals, this kind of person is always steadfast and assertive and is not easy to control,” Xu Qi also sighed.
“But he also mentioned that when the time was right he would need our Spirit Religion to help him with a matter. I just wonder what it is he wants to ask of us…” Duan Hai was puzzled.
“How does Senior Brother plan to proceed then?”
“Go back and check again, send some people to Bold Independent Union to carefully investigate his background. Such a young Spirit Grade Alchemist… I really can’t bring myself to decide!”
Xu Qi nodded in agreement, if it was at all possible, they wanted to avoid offending Yang Kai and would prefer to be on good terms with him.
After Ji Meng returned, Yang Kai clearly noticed that she was somewhat depressed and had a lot on her mind.
However, Yang Kai didn’t ask anything, it was normal for a woman to have some issues she worried about, and asking her about it would only drag him into her affairs, giving him unwanted trouble.
Although the relationship between Old Man Du and Duan Hai gave him some degree of comfort, Yang Kai would not be stupid enough to wholeheartedly believe in Duan Hai. During his time here, he had also quietly been investigating Bright Thunder Spirit Religion in order to determine if they were trustworthy enough to ask for help in his search for Su Yan and Little Senior Sister’s whereabouts.
If things didn’t work out here, Yang Kai would not hesitate to leave.
He definitely couldn’t go back to Bold Independent Union; too many people had seen him being taken about by Coffin Slave Senior, if he was to really appear in Bold Independent Union’s territory, he would definitely draw unwanted attention.
Sudden, a sharp pain in his shoulder blades erupted and the hidden power of wind and thunder rampaged wildly. Yang Kai was woken from his meditation by this pain but before he even opened his eyes, an intoxicating fragrance wafted past his nose.
Opening his eyes, he was stunned to see Ji Meng standing at the edge of his bed, faintly gazing towards him, her beautiful pair of eyes flashing a complicated light.
“What are you doing?” Yang Kai asked.
Ji Meng’s face was dyed slightly pink and she seemed a little flustered, but she quickly calmed down, grit her teeth and slowly leaned over, sitting her well rounded bottom onto the edge of bed as she squeezed out a reluctant smile and whispered, “Are you not tempted at all?”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai stared back at her strangely.
“What do you think?” Ji Meng stared at him with a sullen yet charming look, boldly reaching out and taking hold of Yang Kai’s hand, bringing it to her milk-white bosom.
“Are you serious?” Yang Kai felt an amazing fullness along with an incredible elasticity and couldn’t help feeling slightly dazed.
He had not expected Ji Meng would suddenly act so boldly.
On the palm of his hand, amidst the sea of tenderness a small hard bulge also slowly appeared.
Ji Meng’s breathing became somewhat heavy and her cheeks went from light pink to bright red as her eyes unconsciously drifted towards Yang Kai’s lower body, her little hand trembling slightly as it reached out. Exhaling a fragrant breathe she whispered, “All the disciples sent to serve as assistants to Honored Guests are prepared for this, so you Honored Guests can do with us as you please.”
Yang Kai pinched her small hand and frowned slightly, “Is this your own intention or Duan Hai’s order?”
“Does that matter?”
“Ji Meng, this isn’t who you are, why embarrass yourself like this?”
Ji Meng stared at him dumbly before clenching her jaw and shooting back, “Even in this situation you’re so indifferent, are you really a man?”
Yang Kai smiled casually, “Whether or not I’m a man, do I have any reason to prove it to you?”
“Last time in the Snow Mountain Range you said if we survived you’d prove it to me,” Ji Meng leaned in further, the womanly scent from her body lightly floating about, stimulating one’s primal desires.
“I don’t like women who act so coquettish, but if you want to play with me, I can satisfy you,” Yang Kai grinned slyly.
“Then let’s play!” Ji Meng stared at Yang Kai bitterly.
Yang Kai’s smile became even wickeder as he reached out and pulled Ji Meng over, tossing her over onto the bed and climbing on top of her, his big hand covering her proud peak suddenly exerting more pressure.
“What are you doing?” Ji Meng was shocked. A moment ago, this bastard had been completely indifferent to her yet now he was acting like such a beast, it really was too much for her to adapt to.
“What you want,” Yang Kai laughed villainously.
“Then you have to promise me one thing first!” Ji Meng said hurriedly, being massaged by Yang Kai so suddenly, her pupils became slightly blurry as she called out to him temptingly, her body temperature rising as a healthy pink glow dyed her pure white skin.
“What?”
“After you take me, you have to join my Spirit Religion and become my Spirit Religion’s disciple!”
“And if I say no?”
“Then we will wait until you are able to make that decision. By that time, you can call on me whenever you want. You can do whatever you want as well.”
Listening to her bargain back and forth with him, Yang Kai’s enthusiasm suddenly plummeted and a frown appeared on his face, lifting himself up and pushing her away, faintly saying, “It’s late, you should go back and rest.”
Ji Meng stared at him with a look of disappointment and resentment.
She realized that she had been too anxious.
A mix of complicated emotions stirring inside her, Ji Meng got up and quickly arranged her messy clothes before slowly leaving.
After she left, Yang Kai smiled lightly, thinking that after she had suffered such a loss, this woman wouldn’t act so arrogantly in front of him anymore.
Regarding Ji Meng, Yang Kai actually had a decent impression of her, feeling like she was relatively frank and upright, unafraid to speak her mind, but now it seemed like it was not suitable for him to have too deep a connection with her so as not to be entangled by her in the future.
Time passed by and Yang Kai had now been in Bright Thunder Spirit Religion for two months. These two months were neither long nor short but Yang Kai had still yet to determine whether he should entrust Bright Thunder Spirit Religion with the task of finding his Senior Sisters.
Throughout his investigations though, he discovered that Bright Thunder Spirit Religion had participated in a number of shady activities so he was somewhat less inclined to believe in them.
After handing over the pills he had refined this month to Ji Meng, Yang Kai was surprised when she returned soon after with a message, “Elder Duan wants you to see him in the Sect’s headquarters.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly, “What for?”
“Elder Duan didn’t say,” Ji Meng shook her head, “He just told me to ask you to see him as soon as possible. Apparently he had something important to consult you about.”
“En, alright,” Yang Kai nodded. Duan Hai had never met with him ever since bringing him here, but as the Great Elder of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, he definitely had a lot of things to attend to, so Yang Kai hadn’t cared.
“Can we leave now?” Ji Meng asked.
“Might as well,” Yang Kai didn’t have any reason not to go so he simply nodded and flew off together with Ji Meng in the direction of the Sect’s Main Hall.
This was the first time Yang Kai had visited Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s headquarters, so he was unfamiliar with the route. Naturally, he needed Ji Meng to lead the way. After flying for a while, the pair eventually arrived above a bustling area.
Looking down from the sky, there was a group of buildings below with a large number of cultivators wearing golden yellow robes walking to and fro, many of them were also flying, seemingly in a rush.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s core region seemed to be teeming with activity with countless cultivators and masters emerging one after another.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai couldn’t help offering some silent praise in his heart.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion was by no means a big force in Tong Xuan Realm. It couldn’t even be considered top notch within the local region, that honour belonged solely to Soaring Heaven Sect, which was helmed by a powerful Saint Realm master. Luo Sheng Sect and Ancient Moon Heaven’s Cave were also considered stronger than it as well.
Amongst the four big forces in the Snow Mountain Range region, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion was actually the bottom most existence; however, it’s heritage was still quite good, at least several times more outstanding than any force from the world Yang Kai came from.
As Ji Meng landed directly in front of a magnificent building, Yang Kai took out his Honoured Guest token and showed it, causing the disciples on guard duty to hurriedly cup their fists and bow respectfully. Seemingly never having seen such a young Honoured Guest before, Yang Kai was drawing frequent surprised glances from the surrounding crowd.
“You should be able to find your way from here, Elder Duan is waiting inside you there,” Ji Meng gestured.
“You’re not coming too?”
“I’m not qualified to go in,” Ji Meng stammered slightly.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “Then wait her a moment for me, we’ll go back together.”
“Good,” Ji Meng said happily.
Walking up the stairs and into the building, after a while, Yang Kai eventually came to a large hall with its doors wide open, so he calmly walked in.
Duan Hai was waiting inside, and seeing Yang Kai arrive, he quickly smiled and stood up.
“Elder Duan,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
“Honoured Guest Yang, it’s been two months since I last had a chance to speak with you. Have you been well recently?”
“Well enough.”
“Has my Spirit Religion’s disciple not been serving you appropriately? If Honoured Guest Yang is not satisfied with her, I can send you a replacement. I will certainly satisfy any need you have.”
“No need, Ji Meng is just fine,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“As you wish,” Duan Hai smiled and asked Yang Kai to sit down. A disciple quickly offered tea and after enjoying it for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “I wonder what instructions Elder Duan has to summon me so suddenly?”
“This one wouldn’t dare!” Duan Hai quickly waved his hand and wore a modest look, “I have no specific reason for summoning Honoured Guest Yang this time, it’s just that every Honoured Guest that comes to my Spirit Religion is precious and spending some time becoming acquainted with them is something I should do.”
Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent, knowing that Duan Hai was simply looking to build some kind of relationship with him in order to further rope him into Bright Thunder Spirit Religion as all major forces would use this routine.
“I heard once that Honoured Guest Yang doesn’t intend on staying long in my Spirit Religion. Could it be that Honoured Guest Yang has some important matter he needs to attend to?” Duan Hai asked with a smile, “If that is so, Honoured Guest Yang need not be polite, just say the word and my Spirit Religion will do it’s best to assist you.”
“When the time is right I certainly won’t be polite,” Yang Kai replied lightly.
“En, good,” Duan Hai gently nodded, “Right, Honoured Guest Yang had once said on more than one occasion that when the time is right you would ask my Spirit Religion for a favor, dare I ask when that time might be?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
“I understand,” Duan Hai laughed frankly, “It looks like Honoured Guest Yang does not have much attachment to my Spirit Religion and possibly even holds some distrust towards us.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he stared deeply towards Duan Hai. He couldn’t help raising his vigilance after Duan Hai’s spoke such meaningful words.
“If it were possible, this Duan truly hoped that Honoured Guest Yang would join my Spirit Religion and become one of our core disciples,” Duan Hai expression suddenly sank , his tone becoming solemn, “But it appears Honored Guest Yang has no such intentions, so this Duan must use some other means to inquire about your secrets!”
Saying so, Duan Hai tapped his foot gently on the floor.
Suddenly, with Yang Kai as the center, a series of Spirit Array lines lit up and spread out. These Spirit Array lines quickly contracted and sunk into Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai complexion went pale as he hurriedly tried to circulate his True Qi.
But the moment his True Qi began revolving, a sharp pain came from his meridians, like there were hundreds of millions of ants biting them, causing him to shudder violently and the strength he had just gathered to instantly collapse.
“Elder Duan, what’s the meaning of this?” Yang Kai didn’t panic and simply stared coldly towards Duan Hai while carefully examining his own situation.
Duna Hai simply shook his head in disappointedly, a look of hesitation surface on his face as he coldly replied, “My apologies, Honored Guest Yang. In truth, this Duan actually would have preferred not to do this. Being able to attract such a young Spirit Grade Alchemist is definitely a huge good fortune for my Spirit Religion, but unfortunately you have no intention of joining my Spirit Religion, thus even if I was to try even harder to convince you, the chances of winning you over are too slim.”
“Hahaha,” Yang Kai laughed, “Elder Duan, have I done anything to harm your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion?”
“You truly haven’t, but as I said, this Duan is also helpless,” Duan Hai shook his head heavily.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed. Although he didn’t understand the reason for it, the fact that Duan Hai had set a trap for him was a fact.
The reason he had come to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion in the first place was entirely because of Old Man Du, so did this matter have anything to do with the latter?
Thinking about it, Yang Kai turned his attention to the screen behind Duan Hai and said coldly, “Can this friend also come out and talk? Hiding yourself now doesn’t have any further meaning.”
Yang Kai faintly felt that Duan Hai’s suddenly change in attitude towards him had a lot to do with the person hidden behind the screen.
Hearing this, Xu Qi was shocked, he hadn’t expected Yang Kai’s senses to be so sharp, but now that things had reached this point, he simply decided to show himself.
After seeing Xu Qi’s face, Yang Kai suddenly understood.
This person, he had seen him before.
Outside Raging Flame City in Bold Independent Union’s territory, this man had been amongst the crowd of masters following the Coffin Carrying Man.
No wonder he felt the name Bright Thunder Spirit Religion sounded familiar, it turns out he had heard about it previously from Yun Xuan.
At this moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt enlightened.
The root of everything was the Coffin Carrying Man incident.
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai smiled bitterly. Tong Xuan Realm was so vast, he hadn’t expected that the moment he came out of the Mysterious Small World someone would already have their eyes on him.
At Raging Flame City, there were only a few people who had witnessed the scene of him being taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man, who would have thought one of them would show up today?
Even if Yang Kai was more vigilant, this kind of coincidence couldn’t have been avoided.
“En, Honored Guest Yang understanding is for the best, you should also know that you are currently under the affects of my Sect’s unique sealing technique. Don’t try to break free, the more you use your True Qi, the more pain you’ll have to endure,” Duan Hai stared at Yang Kai somewhat regretfully, “This Duan does not want to embarrass you any further, as long as you cooperate with us, I promise we won’t harm you!”
Yang Kai sneered, “Elder Duan, taking such actions, aren’t you worried Old Man Du will investigate and hold you responsible?”
Duan Hai shook his head, “Although Old Man Du is optimistic about you, if he inquires about you, I can offer him any number of explanations. Honoured Guest Yang need not worry himself over such issues.”
Yang Kai felt his heart unclench slightly, knowing that Old Man Du should have no knowledge of this matter.
If even Old Man Du had been involved in this plot against him, Yang Kai could only admit that he was too stupid.
Sensing Duan Hai and Xu Qi’s cultivations, Yang Kai chose to hold down his temper and endure for now.
Both of these two were Second Order Transcendents, so even if he were to exert his full strength, it would still be impossible for him to escape from here. What’s more, Yang Kai knew he was currently in the very heart of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, so there were no doubt, countless other masters, nearby. With his True Qi sealed right now, rashly taking action would only make the situation worse.
“Can I ask, why did Elder Duan wait until today to act against me? You could have done this the moment your brought me here,” Yang Kai asked, trying to stall for time while he searched for some way to escape.
Duan Hai reluctantly shook his head, “It is just as this Duan had said, I am very optimistic about your future and would have preferred not to take such actions. Old Man Du also told me that you have a strong background, but after two months of dedicated persuasion and observation, I concluded that you will leave here sooner or later and that unlike what Old Man Du said, you are just a little brat from some remote backwater.”
“So Elder Duan no longer had any scruples?” Yang Kai sneered sarcastically.
Duan Hai neither agreed nor disagreed, “Honored Guest Yang, I won’t speak anymore nonsense with you. The reason why I did this is just because I want to know the secrets of the Coffin Carrying Man. What happened to you after he seized you? How did you escape from his clutches? Where was he hiding when you finally managed to flee from him? If Honoured Guest Yang can tell me these things, I promise to let you go.”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai laughed and flatly said, silencing the witness to the crime was even Yang Kai would do in this situation, naturally it was impossible for him to believe Duan Hai’s ‘promise’. Since Duan Hai dared to do this, he would make sure to clean up all lose ends. As long as Yang Kai kept his mouth shut, these two wouldn’t act rashly and he could buy himself some more time, but the moment he told them what they wanted to know he would definitely die.
“Senior Brother, there’s no need to pointlessly bargain with him, a little Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary brat, just let me use my Soul Searching technique to directly dig up the secrets in his Knowledge Sea,” Xu Qi came over and said coldly.
Duan Hai let out a faint sigh, “Honored Guest Yang, as you can see, my Junior Brother is not as good-natured or patient as I am. If you don’t want to become an idiot because of his Soul Searching technique, you should simply cooperate with me and save yourself some pain.”
The two men played out this carrot and stick farce to a tee, trying to use a combination of threats and enticement to break down Yang Kai’s psychological defenses so he would obediently tell them what they wanted to know.
Although the act of searching another’s Soul could allow one to spy on some of their memories, it was not a comprehensive technique, so Duan Hai and Xu Qi did not want to use this method to deal with Yang Kai if they could avoid it.
They needed Yang Kai to take the initiative to cooperate. Moreover, in their view, Yang Kai had come from some remote backcountry and was quite young, so his will certainly wouldn’t be too strong.
However, after actually trying to implement their plan, they quickly discovered that Yang Kai was a difficult bone to gnaw, completely intractable and unwilling to compromise in the slightest. No matter what threat or enticement they offered, Yang Kai refused to say a word about the Coffin Carrying Man’s secrets.
For Duan Hai’s part, he was actually being quite truthful; he really wasn’t willing to offend such a promising young Alchemist. Initially, he had wholeheartedly wanted to absorb Yang Kai into Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
As long Yang Kai officially joined the Sect, Duan Hai would have plenty of opportunities to inquire about these secrets from him.
But after fully understanding that Yang Kai had no such intentions, Duan Hai immediately decided to seize the initiative.
In any case, Yang Kai would leave sooner or later and may never be of any use to his Spirit Religion, so there was not much harm in offending him.
“Why are you looking for the Coffin Carrying Man in the first place? What kind of benefits are you hoping to obtain from him?” Yang Kai stared at Duan Hai and asked.
Duan Hai frowned but only hesitated for a moment before replying, “It is said that the Coffin Carrying Man guards a terrifying secret, and whoever can grasp that secret can control tremendous power.”
Yang Kai chuckled, there would be no wind in the house without a hole in the wall, Duan Hai obviously knew next to nothing about what kind of secret the Coffin Carrying Man was guarding, but in a certain sense, his words weren’t wrong.
The Ancient Demon Clan was indeed a tremendous force, but this clan was not something just anyone could control.
“Honoured Guest Yang, if you know something, could you disclose it to us?” Duan Hai stared at him with a burning gaze.
In response though, Yang Kai once again just shook his head, “You’re asking the wrong person, I really don’t know anything.”
“Senior Brother!” Xu Qi apparently had really run out of patience, calling out angrily as he shot a meaningful look towards Duan Hai.
Duan Hai nodded slightly and said in a heavy tone, “Honoured Guest Yang, pardon our offence.”
Xu Qi grinned fiendishly and walked over, muttering in a cold tone, “Since you refuse a toast then you must drink a forfeit, once this old master’s Soul Searching technique is applied, it’s quite possible your Soul will be destroyed and you will turn into an idiot! Pray your luck isn’t so bad.”
Yang Kai showed a look of panic on his face at just the right moment, causing Xu Qi’s expression to become became more and more self-satisfied.
Stepping in front of Yang Kai, Xu Qi stretched out his hand and placed it on top of Yang Kai’s head, his Second Order Transcendent Spiritual Energy gushing out.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s look changed.
Yang Kai had thought this would be an opportunity. Although his True Qi was sealed and he was no match for Xu Qi in terms of cultivation, if it was a contest of Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai was confident he wouldn’t be inferior to anyone.
As long as Xu Qi’s Soul dared to break into his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai could instantly make him pay with his life. Great Demon God’s Demon Eye of Annihilation couldn’t be resisted by Saint Realm masters much less Xu Qi who was merely a Second Order Transcendent.
Once he killed Xu Qi and then used his Demon God Transformation, there was a chance he could break through the seal that was binding him. Then with only Duan Hai, a Second Order Transcendent, blocking him, Yang Kai was confident he could escape.
But when Xu Qi started, Yang Kai found that his opponent’s Soul did not intrude into his Knowledge Sea and instead, Xu Qi’s Spiritual Energy intertwined with the surrounding Spirit Array and formed an invisible vortex that created a huge suction force which was directly trying to pull his Soul out of his Knowledge Sea.
Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, the scene was turbulent, waves rolled and everything became extremely unsettled.
An unspeakable pain erupted and Yang Kai’s expression immediately twisted, blue veins on his forehead popping up as teeth ground fiercely.
Pain inflicted on one’s soul was more than a hundred times stronger than the pain inflicted on one’s flesh.
“Hm?” Xu Qi was also slightly surprised, sneering dismissively, “Don’t bother trying to resist, the more you resist, the more you’ll suffer, just let go of your Knowledge Sea’s defences and let me extract your memories, that way you won’t have to endure this kind of pain.”
Contained within his words, there seemed to be an invisible force that was trying to break down Yang Kai’s will and force him to obey.
Perceiving this, Yang Kai became even more vigilant.
“Foolish stubbornness!” Xu Qi became angered and increased the output of his Spiritual Energy, causing the suction force to grow even stronger.
Although Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was comparable to a Transcendent’s, there was still a gap between him and Xu Qi, and there was also Duan Hai staring at him from close by, so even if Yang Kai continued to resist with all his might, he would eventually lose.
Quickly considering all this, Yang Kai gave up resisting and instead actively sent out his Spiritual Energy, changing it into an invisible attack that shot towards Xu Qi.
Seeing this, Xu Qi laughed contemptuously, “Don’t be so presumptuous!”
“Junior Brother, be careful!” Duan Hai’s face suddenly changed as he cried out. At that moment, he noticed a blazing hot aura filling the air. This heat gave him a terrifying sense of crisis, forcing him to hurriedly retreat and open up some distance between him and Yang Kai.
*Hu…*
A bolt of scalding hot energy shot through the void and Xu Qi’s smug expression instantly stiffened, his face contorting in pain as he gripped his head and screamed pitifully.
“Conflagrated Divine Sense?” Duan Hai’s eyes went round as he stared at Yang Kai in disbelief.
The shrieks of pain only lasted for a moment before Xu Qi again composed himself.
A moment ago, he had been caught off guard and was thus wounded by Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Divine Sense; fortunately for him, his Spiritual Energy was stronger than Yang Kai’s, otherwise his life would have been in danger.
Even so, Xu Qi was still covered in cold sweat.
He had nearly brought about his own destruction!
“Honoured Guest Yang, do you actually have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Duan Hai’s expression became incomparably complex as he stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai remained indifferent, a look of hatred and hostility filling his eyes as he glared at the two men before him, not saying a word.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Duan Hai face was filled with grief and annoyance, “If you had said you possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, I would never… bah…”
Grumbling so, he slowly shook his head and sighed.
If he had known that Yang Kai was an Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Duan Hai absolutely would not have offended him so easily simply to seek the secrets of the Coffin Carrying Man from his mouth.
After all, these secrets were all just rumors and legends. Whether the Coffin Carrying Man truly guarded some amazing treasure only the Heavens knew, Duan Hai was also just gambling.
On the other hand, a talented Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was an immense, tangible asset!
The world’s greatest living Alchemist, The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, had only achieved his current fame thanks to his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
Whether it was amongst Humans, Demons, or Monsters, The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep held supreme prestige; anyone who met him treated him with the utmost respect and courtesy.
If they had known Yang Kai also possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea like The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, Duan Hai would have exhausted every possible means to win him over, using whatever method at his disposal to let him join Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, even if he had to directly hand over the position of Great Elder, Duan Hai would have readily agreed.
What an Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea represented, every master in Tong Xuan Realm knew.
At this moment, Duan Hai was filled with regret and frustration.
“Senior Brother, what’s done has been done, trying to settle things peacefully with him now is unrealistic,” Xu Qi stared at Yang Kai angrily. He had just eaten a small loss and did not dare to use his Soul Searching technique again, a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was not something he could easily touch.
Duan Hai stared at Xu Qi coldly, a strong desire to slap his Junior Brother to death welling up inside him!
Back then, when he had successfully invited Yang Kai to be an Honoured Guest of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Duan Hai had been in an exceptionally good mood, thinking to himself that Yang Kai had a bright future ahead of him and feeling determined to cultivate him well. It was only because of Xu Qi’s incitement and persuasion that he had taken such rash actions for some uncertain profits.
Now that things had reached this point, there really was no possibility of resolving their grievances peacefully.
“I didn’t know he had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea,” Xu Qi’s expression also slowly became depressed, “If I had known…”
“There’s no need to say any more,” Duan Hai shook his head and turned his attention back to Yang Kai, “Honoured Guest Yang, you won’t forgive our actions today, will you?”
“Let me go and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened, how about it?” Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a mocking arc.
Duan Hai slowly shook his head and stretched out his hand, sending out a few strands of True Qi that transformed into ropes that bound Yang Kai, solemnly saying, “Then pardon our offence once more.”
Inside a dungeon cell, Yang Kai sat imprisoned.
This dungeon was construction from a special type of ore that had a mysterious energy flowing through it while the walls were covered in exquisite runes that flickered every now and then.
This cell was strong enough to hold Transcendent Realm masters, so Duan Hai and Xu Qi weren’t worried about Yang Kai suddenly escaping.
Yang Kai tried several times to break through the seal that was restricting his True Qi, but each attempt ended in failure; using his True Qi was so painful it was simply unbearable.
Although his situation was bleak, Yang Kai did not become flustered.
He had experienced worse situations than this before and had even had several bushes with death, but every time he managed to find an opportunity to save himself and had grown stronger after overcoming such adversities.
A chance to survive would eventually present itself; Yang Kai firmly believed this and only had to wait for that opportunity to arise.
Moreover, Duan Hai and Xu Qi did not want to kill him. After learning that Yang Kai had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, their attitude towards him also changed subtly.
Perhaps they now didn’t know what they should do with him, they were reluctant to kill him, but keeping him alive was also a big problem.
For a few days, Yang Kai lived in this dark dungeon, unable to see the sun or moon.
On this day, with a heavy sound, the door to the dungeon was opened, and a light shone in. Yang Kai blinked and stared towards the door, his expression suddenly becoming confused.
A tall, beautiful figure walked in slowly from the outside and approached his cell, her beautiful eyes staring towards Yang Kai with a complicated look.
Ji Meng!
After a long silence, Ji Meng squatted down and put down some things she had been carrying with her, softly saying, “I brought you some food. Although these things may not be necessary, I prepared them attentively so their flavour should be quite good.”
“Did Duan Hai tell you about my matters?” Yang Kai stared at her curiously, an unreadable smile adorning his face.
“En,” Ji Meng nodded.
“What does he want you to do?”
“Persuade you!” Ji Meng replied in a low voice, “In Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, only I am somewhat familiar with you, so only I could come.”
“Then what do you plan on doing?”
“Persuade you!”
“Good, since you’ve come personally, I suppose I can only choose to compromise, go tell Duan Hai that I agree to join Bright Thunder Spirit Religion,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Of course, Ji Meng just shook her head lightly, “Your words are so cheap that only three year old children would believe them. If you can’t fool me then obviously Elder Duan won’t believe them.”
That’s also the reason why there are a few comments down below before the actual date posted.
The chapters were all set to private and I was a little too busy with my Great Grandma’s birthday. (She’s 82 and my grandma is 59 – in case you are wondering.)
Inside the dungeon, Ji Meng faintly stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai laughed back at her, “Since he won’t believe me easily, how does he plan on winning me over? I can promise him anything now, but that won’t stop me from reneging on those promises the moment I leave here.”
“En, so I need to do something to ensure you keep your word,” Ji Meng smiled reluctantly, “I am a disciple of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, the Sect raised me so I must contribute to it, I hope you don’t blame me.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
He didn’t have any grounds on which to accuse or blame Ji Meng, but from his perspective, this woman now had to be counted as an enemy.
And regarding his enemies, Yang Kai had never been soft-hearted.
Seeing the coldness in Yang Kai’s eyes, Ji Meng felt bitter in her heart and softly advised, “Why do you insist on doing this? Although I don’t know what Elder Duan wants to obtain from you, as long as you are willing to cooperate, he will certainly not mistreat you, from the fact that he has simply imprisoned but has not tortured or killed you should be enough to prove his sincerity”
“He truly is sincere,” Yang Kai snickered sarcastically.
“Won’t you please compromise? If you compromise, whether it is you, Elder Duan, or me, there will be advantages,” Ji Meng continued her attempts to persuade him.
“Oh, there are advantages for you too?” Yang Kai spoke curiously, “Has Duan Hai promised you some attractive benefits?”
Ji Meng didn’t answer, instead just taking out a green jade bottle from her sleeve and opening it, allowing a faint white mist to escape from it.
Ji Meng waved the jade bottle lightly and the white mist quickly flooded the dungeon cell, enveloping Yang Kai.
Yang Kai stared at her vigilantly and held his breath, but the white mist still passed through his pores and penetrated his body.
Vaguely, Yang Kai felt that something was not right, his blood flow became faster and more turbulent while his heartbeat was stronger than before, there even seemed to be a faint haziness coming over his mind.
Ji Meng blushed and explained, “This is the Seven Emotions Six Pleasures Mist, a potent aphrodisiac.”
“What do you want to do?” Yang Kai laughed, “Are you planning on forcing yourself on me then using that as an excuse to control me?”
A beautiful woman using an aphrodisiac to for a man to sleep with her, it really was a ridiculous story.
“En, Elder Duan said that as long as I can have a child with you, you can leave this place,” Ji Meng replied to Yang Kai faintly.
Yang Kai’s face sank as he instantly understood Duan Hai’s sinister intentions.
He knew he couldn’t control Yang Kai, so he had come up with this trick.
Even a cruel tiger will not abandon its cubs, as long as he held Yang Kai’s child, Duan Hai would need to worry about Yang Kai not obeying him.
Although this kind of investment wouldn’t yield any benefits in the short term, Duan Hai could afford it.
A moment later, the white mist had been completely absorbed into Yang Kai’s body and gradually, his eyes became red and his breathing became heavy as he stared aggressively towards Ji Meng outside the cell.
Being stared at by him like this, Ji Meng couldn’t help blushing shyly, squirming slightly, her whole body feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but she didn’t make any moves yet, still waiting for the drug to take full effect.
“Do you like me? Are you willing to entrust your life to me?” Yang Kai strived to maintain his rational state of mind as he stared towards Ji Meng coldly.
“What I feel for you is far from what you could call love,” Ji Meng slowly shook her head, “We are nowhere near that close, but it shouldn’t be a bad choice to entrust myself to you. You’re an Alchemist with a bright future while I am just a Common Disciple of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, if I want to rise above my current situation, I can only choose to rely on someone powerful like you.”
“You think too highly of me,” Yang Kai grinned fiendishly, “Even if I want you now, perhaps I won’t be good to you later. Maybe I’ll just hit and curse you whenever I see you!”
Ji Meng’s tender body trembled, a forlorn look flashing across her face, “I can also accept that.”
“How disappointing,” Yang Kai shook her head and muttered under his breath, the last trace of respect he had for her shattering in that instant.
“You shouldn’t be able to resist anymore, right?” Ji Meng bit her lower lip and called out gently, “Elder Duan, open the door.”
Suddenly, there were a few faint flashes of light on the cell door and a whole in the barrier keeping Yang Kai in opened. Ji Meng walked inside slowly and then leaned down on top of him.
With an intoxicating fragrance filling the air and with a beautiful woman offering herself up to him, Yang Kai’s face seemed to show signs of madness as the light in his eyes flickered like that of a wild, starved beast.
Seeing this, Ji Meng was a little scared, but she firmly resisted the discomfort in her heart, closed her eyes, and pressed her red lips towards Yang Kai’s.
Her mood in chaos, Ji Meng slowly closed her eyes as her face blushed bright red.
Just before their lips met though, Ji Meng suddenly let out a muffled yelp and her eyes shot open.
Before she knew what was happening, Yang Kai’s hand had grabbed her neck, his eyes were calm and his breathing was steady, no longer showing any signs of intoxication.
His gaze was filled with disgust and disdain and his expression was cold and callous.
“Women should have more self-respect,” Yang Kai muttered icily.
Ji Meng struggled and quickly freed herself from Yang Kai’s grip, hurriedly darting out of the cell, gasping for breath as she stared towards Yang Kai with incredulity.
“I’ve been exposed to too many women who cultivate Seduction Techniques, wanting to use a trivial aphrodisiac to confuse my mind, your methods are a bit too disappointing, Elder Duan,” Yang Kai sneered as he stared in a certain direction.
Outside the dungeon, Duan Hai, who was using his Divine Sense to monitor the situation, had his expression sink.
“Yang Kai, I…” Ji Meng opened her mouth, stammering as she tried to explain herself.
“If you don’t want to die, get the hell out!” Yang Kai stared at her indifferently, without the slightest trace of warmth.
Ji Meng suddenly became somewhat absentminded, struggling for a while before she eventually lowered her head and quickly left.
“Senior Brother, isn’t this little brat a bit too strange? The Seven Emotions Six Pleasures Mist I arranged can even cause Transcendents to lose all sense of reason, how can be he be perfectly fine?” Outside the dungeon, Xu Qi showed a surprised expression.
Duan Hai on the other hand just looked sullen as a deep sense of frustration came over him.
Yang Kai so steadfastly resisting them made him feel somewhat helpless.
“Senior Brother, we might as well take him to the Wind Eye!” Xu Qi proposed in a low voice.
“The Wind Eye?” Duan Hai frowned, “Do you want to wipe away his Soul with the power of the Wind Eye?”
“Exactly!” Xu Qi nodded, “From the looks of things, we really have no way to get him to talk, so we might as well directly wipe his Soul clean. Even without mentioning the memories he has of the Coffin Carrying Man, just being able to obtain his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea will be of big use to us. If we can preserve it and allow one of our people to refine it, perhaps one of our Spirit Religion disciples will be lucky enough to obtain a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea…”
Duan Hai’s eyes lit up as he carefully considered it, soon feeling that this method was indeed feasible.
With such a plan in mind, Duan Hai didn’t hesitate and nodded firmly, “Then we’ll do that, but in order to use the Wind Eye like this, we should first inform the Religion Master.”
“It won’t be too late to inform the Religion Master after we succeed, and once we do, he’ll certainly be nothing but happy.”
“En, very well, you make the preparations and I’ll go bring out that little brat,” Duan Hai waved.
Xu Qi nodded, and with a look of excitement on his face, flew away.
After spending a moment thinking outside the dungeon, Duan Hai pushed open the door, walked inside, and grabbed Yang Kai.
Yang Kai just shot him an indifferent glance before closing his eyes again.
“Honoured Guest Yang, since you fail to appreciate kindness, then this old master will not give you any face,” Duan Hai said while flying towards the Wind Eye.
Yang Kai grinned in response, “Where is Elder Duan planning to take me now?”
“My Bright Thunder Spirit Religion has several profound heritages; we are now headed to one of them. The Wind Eye is an accumulation of wind energy and many of our disciples who cultivate Wind Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills choose to cultivate nearby to it in order to comprehend the mysteries of the wind. In addition to the Wind Eye, my Bright Thunder Spirit Religion also has a Thunder Eye which is similar in nature. Even this old master doesn’t dare to approach either of these eyes too closely because the power they exude is not something humans can resist; inside the Wind Eye, even a Third Order Transcendent’s Soul can be wiped away.”
Yang Kai’s face sank, suddenly realizing the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
“It’s not too late now for you to regret. As long as you give Ji Meng a child, I will admit that you are a disciple of my Spirit Religion and will definitely provide you with the best cultivation resources and environment in the future,” Duan Hai made one last attempt to persuade, “What do you think?”
“Forget about it!” Yang Kai shook his head while secretly sighing, considering whether or not he should take advantage of this opportunity to display his Demon God Transformation, break free from Duan Hai’s grasp, and flee.
However, still deep inside his enemy’s territory, Yang Kai didn’t have much confidence he could successfully escape and once he failed, he would never have a second change to try.
While hesitating, Yang Kai felt that there was suddenly a different kind of energy permeating his surroundings.
Naturally it was wind energy!
As he felt this rich wind energy, Yang Kai felt a throbbing sensation from his shoulder-blades that carried with it a sense of pain and excitement.
Yang Kai’s expression changed but he quickly suppressed while he stared with rapt attention towards the distance.
Up ahead, there was a huge visible vortex that was slowly rotating that was formed completely by natural wind energy; the closer one approached it the stronger that energy became.
“Spectacular, isn’t it?” Duan Hai’s face showed a proud look, “It is because of the Wind Eye and Thunder Eye that my Bright Thunder Spirit Religion put down roots here. These two places are listed as restricted areas of my Spirit Religion and with the exception of some talented disciples, no one can set foot near this place. Those disciples who cultivate here can achieve twice the results with half the effort.”
Yang Kai nodded secretly, this kind of Heavenly Manifestation was truly spectacular. This wasn’t something man had created but was instead some kind of natural phenomenon that had coincidentally formed and persisted for many years uninterrupted.
As Duan Hai explained, the two quickly approached the Wind Eye’s location.
Xu Qi was already waiting there and upon seeing Duan Hai bringing Yang Kai, he quickly said, “Senior Brother, the disciples who were cultivating here have all been dispersed, we can begin at any time.”
Duan Hai slowly nodded before turning his gaze towards Yang Kai, “Honoured Guest Yang, this is your last chance, once you enter the Wind Eye, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“There’s nothing left to be said,” Yang Kai sneered.
“Seeking your own end!” Xu Qi coldly snorted.
Duan Hai let out a long sigh and nodded, “Very well, you leave me no choice.”
Saying so, he dashed forward with Yang Kai and soon, the two approached the centre of the Wind Eye. Even someone as strong as Duan Hai had to furiously circulate his True Qi in order to resist the negative side-effects of the Wind Eye.
For those that are unable to read on Patreon, do check that your transaction has been processed. This month had a large number of declined payments.
Anyways, shameless promotion, try reading My Amazing WeChat. I’m translating that one directly. Only a few chapters out right now and I want some feedback to know if I should continue. Thanks.
Duan Hai came to a stop approximately a thousand meters from the Wind Eye’s core, glanced over at Yang Kai and was about to open his mouth when Yang Kai suddenly turned to him and shouted, “This time, if I survive this, I will definitely take my revenge against your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion!”
Duan Hai’s face went cold and no longer hesitated, throwing Yang Kai into the huge Wind Eye.
At the last moment though, Duan Hai wasn’t sure if his eyes playing tricks on him, but when Yang Kai’s figure disappeared into the Wind Eye, the latter seemed to have a sneer on his face.
Xu Qi quickly followed and landed beside Duan Hai, staring towards the Wind Eye with excitement.
“Senior Brother, are you still worried about something?” Xu Qi asked suddenly.
“En,” Duan Hai nodded slightly, “I still can’t forget about what Old Man Du said before…”
“That brat shouldn’t have any kind of formidable background, if he did, with the situation reaching this point, he would definitely have reported it to us. He’s not a fool after all. Old Man Du must have been mistaken,” Xu Qi advised.
“En, fair enough,” Duan Hai smiled faintly, “But it is true we have destroyed a rare talent, so it’s important we think up a way to explain this to Old Man Du.”
“If anyone asks about him, we can just say he’s in retreat. Given the identity and status of Old Man Du, he would rarely, if ever, pay a visit to our Spirit Religion personally. After a few years, when things have settled down, Old Man Du will also forget about this person.”
“I suppose so,” Duan Hai sighed slightly, “In any case, we’ll need to wait a few days. This little brat’s Soul is extremely strong, at least comparable to an ordinary First Order Transcendent’s, even inside the Wind Eye, he should be able to support himself for a while. Once his Soul has been purified, we’ll collect it and spy on his hidden secrets.”
“Agreed. We’ll do as Senior Brother says,” Xu Qi replied excitedly.
However, only an hour or so had passed since the two threw Yang Kai into the Wind Eye when Duan Hai suddenly frowned, turning around and staring towards the distance, “How come there’s a disciple approaching?”
Xu Qi also wore a dissatisfied expression, “I already announced that this place would be temporarily closed off so no one should arbitrarily have entered, is this disciple deaf or blind?”
Saying so, he impatiently muttered, “I’ll go have a look.”
Duan Hai nodded slightly.
Xu Qi activated his movement skill and a moment later returned with an odd look upon his face, saying to Duan Hai, “Senior Brother, Religion Master is summoning you, that disciple just now came to deliver the order.”
“Religion Master?” Duan Hai heard this and couldn’t help feeling startled, hurriedly composing himself and nodding, “Very well, I’ll go see what Religion Master needs, you wait here.”
“Please feel relieved, Senior Brother, I will strictly guard this place.”
Duan Hai quickly left and after wrapping the messenger in his True Qi, soared towards a certain peak of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion; naturally this peak was the residence of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master. This was a quiet place with rich World Energy, the best cultivation environment in Bright Thunder Spirit.
“Did Religion Master say anything to you about why he suddenly needed to see me?” As he sped along, Duan Hai asked the disciple.
“Disciples doesn’t know, Religion Master only said to summon Great Elder to see him as soon as possible,” The disciple replied respectfully.
“Has Religion Master finally broken through to the Saint Realm?” Duan Hai suddenly remembered a possibility and asked excitedly.
“Not likely, disciple did not feel any of signs one would expected from such a breakthrough.”
Duan Hai couldn’t help feeling puzzled, wondering what kind of urgent matter had come up that would require the Religion Master to suddenly summon him.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master, Xia Cheng Yin, was a powerful Third Order Transcendent master; however, he had encountered a bottleneck which had halted his cultivation at this level for the past hundred years, unable to comprehend the mysteries of the Saint Realm. For more than a decade, he had constantly been in secluded cultivation and he would only come out once every few months to half a year and even then he would not always speak with Duan Ha, yet now he had urgently summoned him.
[Could it be because of that little brat’s matters?]
Duan Hai’s suddenly though, his heart clenching up for a moment before relaxing again, thinking to himself that such a scenario was too ridiculous and he was simply too nervous, no longer asking anything and simply speeding along with the disciple who came to summon him.
Atop a mountain with the most abundant World Energy in Bright Thunder Spirit Religion stood a solitary palace constructed of the finest gold and jade that gave off a magnificent aura.
This was the place where Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master Xia Cheng Yin lived.
At that moment, Xia Cheng Yin sat at the head of a table with a big smile upon his face as he enthusiastically welcomed two people. Even if these two had interrupted his retreat, Xia Cheng Yin did not dare to show any unhappiness and instead treated both of them with great courtesy and politeness.
After offering these two guests wine and fruit, Xia Cheng Yin asked, “Old Man Du and Brother Cang Yan arriving together is truly an honour for my humble home.”
“Religion Master Xia is too polite, bothering you while you were in secluded cultivation really makes this old man feel embarrassed,” Du Wan replied apologetically, smiling reluctantly as he reached out and picked up a spirit fruit handing it to Mi Na who was standing behind him.
Mi Na had also come together with Old Man Du this time and was curiously looking around, as if she was searching for someone or something.
Xia Cheng Yin carefully observed his unexpected guests while secretly harbouring many doubts. He didn’t know why Old Man Du had suddenly decided to pay him a visit and had even come together with Soaring Heaven Sect’s Cang Yan. Silently making plans in his head, he laughed frankly and said, “Old Man Du is the one being too polite, obviously Old Man Du is more than welcome to visit my Bright Thunder Spirit Religion any time he wishes! Forget about if I am cultivating, even if I was dead, I would certainly climb out of my coffin to welcome you with a grand banquet!”
Du Wan wore a forced smile and didn’t say anything. With his identity as a Saint Grade Alchemist, he really didn’t need to act politely towards Xia Cheng Yin.
Although Xia Cheng Yin was Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master, a mere Third Order Transcendent was truly not qualified to exchange greetings with Old Man Du.
Xia Cheng Yin then glanced over at Cang Yan, who sat there silently, and felt a big headache coming on.
Although Old Man Du had an extraordinary status and could not be seen by ordinary people, his temperament and demeanor were quite amicable so he was not difficult to interact with, but the madmen from Soaring Heaven Sect were another story all together. Xia Cheng Yin couldn’t think of any reason why this troublesome fellow had suddenly come to his Spirit Religion.
If couldn’t be that someone from his Spirit Religion had offended him, could it? If that was really the case, then Xia Cheng Yin had to prepare himself for things to become difficult.
Soaring Heaven Sect’s four madmen each had Third Order Transcendent cultivations and were all comparable to Xia Cheng Yin in strength; on top of that, there was their Saint Realm Ancestral Founder behind them as well. It could be said that even throughout all of Tong Xuan Realm, Soaring Heaven Sect was a big force, stronger than Bright Thunder Spirit Religion by several times.
If they offended such a force, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s only end would be total destruction!
Even if it was just in single combat, Xia Cheng Yin couldn’t guarantee he could beat Cang Yan.
Gently coughing, Xia Cheng Yin asked, “Brother Cang Yan, recently, could it be that someone from my Spirit Religion had no eyes and accidentally offended you?”
“No,” Cang Yan cherished the words like gold and simply responded so.
“Then may I asked why Brother Cang Yan…” Xia Cheng Yin brow wrinkled slightly as he turned his gaze towards Old Man Du and asked.
Old Man Du laughed and replied before he could finish, “There’s nothing for Religion Master Xia to worry about; this time, I came with Cang Yan to handle some important matters.”
“If Old Man Du has anything to ask of my, please don’t hesitate!” Xia Cheng Yin’s expression became serious.
“We’re here to find someone.”
“Find someone?”
“Good, a young Spirit Grade Alchemist. Your Grand Elder, Duan Hai, should know where he is. Two months ago, Duan Hai recruited him from my Alchemist Guild to serve as an Honored Guest of your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.”
“So that’s it,” Xia Cheng Yin suddenly realized why these two had requested to meet Duan Hai the moment they arrived here. Apparently, Xia Cheng Yin had been on edge for no reason. After understanding the cause of this incident, Xia Cheng Yin couldn’t help but relax, smiling as he nodded, “This kind of minor matter is no trouble at all, since he is my Spirit Religion’s Honoured Guest, Duan Hai will surely treat him with courtesy and not harm him in any way.”
“It’s best if that is true, I have been looking for him for almost two months now,” Cang Yan nodded with satisfaction.
Over the past two months, Cang Yan had searched through all of Grand Boulder City for Yang Kai relying only on the vague image his Martial Ancestor had given him but hadn’t found anything. Finally, by complete coincidence, he had asked around the Alchemist Guild and finally understood that Yang Kai was no longer in Grand Boulder City.
Cang Yan was quite annoyed when he learned this. His Martial Ancestor had asked him to do such a small task, yet he had failed to accomplish it after two whole months, so he immediately blamed all of this on Bright Thunder Spirit Religion for taking Yang Kai away. Although he didn’t say this out loud, Cang Yan still gave off a cold aura and anyone could tell from his harsh gaze that he was in a foul mood.
“Soaring Heaven Sect’s heritage is strong, how can there be a lack of Spirit Grade Alchemists? Brother Cang Yan, if you’ve come here intending to snatch someone from me, this Religion Master can’t agree,” Xia Cheng Yin smiled and shook his head. He had no malicious intent in saying so, but he had to show such an attitude.
Hearing this, Cang Yan simply replied coldly, “I’m not here to grab him from you, it’s just that my Martial Ancestor wants to see him!”
Xia Cheng Yin’s courage suddenly deflated.
Du Wan also shook his head and sighed, feeling slightly annoyed.
Although he had long guessed that Yang Kai had a very powerful background, he had not expected that even Soaring Heaven Sect would pay attention to him. When Cang Yan came to the Alchemist Guild to inquire about Yang Kai, Old Man Du couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into.
If he knew that Yang Kai had a relationship with Soaring Heaven Sect, how could he have recommended Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to him.
Doing so was really far too stupid.
It seemed that Soaring Heaven Sect had some kind of connection to this little brat’s Master, so when their Ancestral Founder learned Yang Kai had come out for life experience, he had wanted to look after him a bit, or at least that was what Old Man Du thought secretly to himself.
“Why hasn’t he come yet, how can be so slow?” Mi Na finished the spirit fruit, stared at the door, and pouted with dissatisfaction.
Xia Cheng Yin just laughed lightly, “Little girl, don’t worry, Duan Hai should be here soon.”
“Who wants to see Duan Hai, I want to see Yang Kai. That bastard is so cruel, leaving me all alone in the Alchemist Guild, this time I must teach him a harsh lesson!” Mi Na snorted cutely.
Xia Cheng Yin’s lips twitched but wisely said nothing.
“Mind your manners!” Old Man Du saw Xia Cheng Yin’s embarrassment and quickly reprimanded Mi Na, who proceeded to pout even more.
At that moment, an aura quickly approached from afar.
“He’s here!” Xia Cheng Yin smiled.
A moment later, from outside the door, Duan Hai’s voice called out, “Religion Master, Duan Hai has come as ordered.”
“Enter,” Xia Cheng Yin shouted.
Duan Hai replied firmly and walked inside. Just as he was about to salute though, he suddenly saw Cang Yan and Du Wan sitting nearby.
Duan Hai’s heart clenched up once more and couldn’t wait to turn around and leave.
Cang Yan appearing here was very unusual. As one of the four madmen of Soaring Heaven Sect, Duan Hai had a good understanding of this man’s brutal methods and powerful cultivation. Regarding this man, Duan Hai had always maintained a respectful distance.
However, Old Man Du being here as well brought him even greater surprise.
Du Wan was an extremely rare Saint Grade Alchemist. For more than a decade, he had stayed in Grand Boulder City but had almost never left the Alchemist Guild branch. Each of the four major Sects nearby had extended him warm invitations, hoping he could give their Alchemists some pointers, but besides Soaring Heaven Sect which had succeeded merely twice in their efforts, whether it was Luo Sheng Sect, Ancient Moon Cave Heaven, or Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Old Man Du had never graced them with his presence.
Of course, what Duan Hai was really worried about was the fact that he brought Yang Kai back to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion from Du Wan’s place.
Just now, Xu Qi had said to him that someone of Old Man Du’s status was unlike to ever visit Bright Thunder Spirit Religion in person, but only an hour later Du Wan had appeared in front of him
Duan Hai’s heart pounded as he tried his best to maintain his composure, somehow forcing out a big laugh as he stepping forward and politely bowed, “Greetings, Old Man Du.”
He then turned to Cang Yan and cupped his fists, “Brother Cang Yan.”
Du Wan nodded slightly in response while Cang Yang said nothing.
Xia Cheng Yin quickly picked up the conversation, “Elder Duan has worked hard, sit down.”
Duan Hai took a seat, his expression a bit unnatural because Cang Yan of Soaring Heaven Sect’s pair of sharp eyes had been staring at him the whole time, an aggressive light flashing across them, making him feel a bit uneasy.
As if realizing Duan Hai’s inner turmoil, Cang Yan’s glare became even more intense.
Letting out a dry cough, Duan Hai asked, “May I ask what matter Religion Master has summoned me for?”
“Nothing important,” Xia Cheng Yin smiled, “Old Man Du and Brother Cang Yan just came here to find someone in our Spirit Religion.”
“Find someone?” Duan Hai’s uneasiness grew even stronger, his face twitching slightly as he forced himself to keep smiling and asked, “Who might they be looking for?”
He had a premonition things were about to become bad.
“The young man you brought here from the Alchemist Guild two months ago,” Du Wan said in a friendly tone.
Duan Hai desperately wanted to cry but was unable to shed any tears while in his heart he was cursing Xu Qi’s eighteen generations of ancestors, saying that a man of Old Man Du’s status would never come to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion. A powerful sense of helplessness overcame Duan Hai.
Although he was greatly flustered inside, Duan Hai didn’t reveal anything on his face as his thoughts turned quickly, trying to find a way to resolve the immediate problem.
“Elder Duan?” Old Man Du quickly noticed that Duan Hai seemed to be somewhat disturbed and quickly asked.
“Eh, ah…” Duan Hai quickly adjusted his expression.
“How has my little friend been since coming to your Spirit Religion?” Du Wan asked with concern.
“Very good, I have sent a young female disciple with excellent aptitude and good looks to attend to any of his needs these past two months. Honored Guest Yang has also produced a lot of high quality Spirit Grade pills for my Spirit Religion.”
“En, naturally, in some places, little friend Yang’s understanding of the Alchemic Way and his techniques are far superior to even this old master.”
As soon as this was said, Xia Cheng Yin and Cang Yan both stared towards Du Wan in shock.
“This old master isn’t exaggerating. The truth is, I believe little friend Yang’s Alchemy technique was taught to him by an incredibly powerful master.”
Duan Hai face nearly drained of all colour. From the words of Du Wan, he realized that he had made a big mistake. [How did that little brat really have a strong background? Which top Alchemist was he the disciple of? Otherwise, how could Old Man Du have given him such a high evaluation?]
In an instant, Duan Hai felt his hands and feet go numb as cold sweat dripped down his back.
“Is this Honoured Guest so incredible?” Xia Cheng Yin also showed a look of interest, “Being able to hire such an outstanding character, it is my Spirit Religion’s good fortune indeed! Duan Hai, you must not be negligent with his treatment, offer him the very best conditions, otherwise, Brother Cang Yan might very well snatch him from us.”
The corner of Duan Hai’s mouth twitched violently as he let out a strained laugh and nodded, “Subordinate will do his best.”
“En, where is he now? Old Man Du and Brother Cang Yan both wish to see him. Duan Hai, quickly invite him here,” Xia Cheng Yin wore a look of anticipation, very much wanting to see Yang Kai, wondering what kind of person he was to receive such high praise from Old Man Du.
Duan Hai’s forehead couldn’t help leaking a drop of sweat as he sat in place, not moving.
“Why are you just sitting there?” Xia Cheng Yin asked slightly unhappily.
“Religion Master…” Duan Hai’s expression cramped as he stammered with great difficulty, “Right now… I’m afraid… it’s slightly inconvenient for him to come here.”
“Why isn’t it convenient?” Cang Yan, who had not spoken since Duan Hai’s arrival, suddenly asked coldly, his expression extremely unfriendly.
Duan Hai trying to shirk responsibility like this in such an unnatural tone made Cang Yan quickly realize something wasn’t right, focusing a sharp glare on Duan Hai as he coldly interrogated, “It couldn’t be, he’s had some kind of accident?”
“No, no, he hasn’t been involved in any kind of accident,” Duan Hai quickly waved his hand, “It’s just, it’s really not convenient for him to come here right now.”
“Duan Hai!” Xia Cheng Yin’s expression also became somewhat disgruntled, “What are you trying to say? Old Man Du and Brother Cang Yan traveled all this way specifically to see this Honoured Guest, how can you stubbornly refuse them? This is not how my Spirit Religion shows hospitality.”
“Religion Master…”
“Where is he now?” Xia Cheng Yin asked impatiently.
Knowing that trying to avoid the subject any further would only make things worse, Duan Hai grit his teeth and replied, “The Wind Eye.”
“Why would he be at the Wind Eye?” Du Wan’s expression changed dramatically.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Wind Eye and Thunder Eye, naturally Du Wan had heard about them. The two restricted areas were holy lands for those who cultivated Wind or Thunder Attribute Secret Arts or Marital Skills, but what would an Alchemist like Yang Kai need to visit the Wind Eye?
“Earlier, he said he wanted to refine a pill with the help of the power of the Wind Eye, so I brought him there,” Duan Hai’s mind flashed, thinking up a good excuse.
Cang Yan turned his eyes to Du Wan questioningly.
Du Wan nodded slightly in response, “It’s possible, some Alchemists can take advantage of the powers of Heaven and Earth to perform some special Alchemy techniques, often allowing them to gain twice the result with half the effort, but doing so requires profound skill and methods. Little friend Yang’s abilities are really worthy of praise.”
Duan Hai couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief, realizing that the random excuse he came up with was at least somewhat reasonable.
“Since he is currently making use of the Wind Eye, perhaps you two would like to stay a few days in my Spirit Religion while we wait for that Honoured Guest comes out?” Xia Cheng Yin asked Old Man Du and Cang Yan.
Old Man Du smiled lightly, “This old master doesn’t mind, Cang Yan, what’s your opinion?”
“I want to see him now!” Cang Yan declared firmly, his expression indifferent as he spoke this unreasonable request without any hesitation.
Xia Cheng Yin laughed awkwardly, “Brother Cang Yan, you must have heard that the Wind Eye and Thunder Eye are both restricted areas of my Spirit Religion. Outsiders are not allowed to step inside them, and if we were to all suddenly show up there, it may disturb that Honoured Guest’s Alchemy. Why not wait a few days instead?”
“What bullshit restricted area!” Cang Yan sneered disdainfully, in the next moment fully releasing his Divine Sense, obviously not willing to speak any more nonsense with these two from Bright Thunder Spirit Religion. After searching for a moment, he stood up, shot out of the palace, and flew directly towards the location of the Wind Eye.
“Hey, Brother Cang Yan!” Duan Hai was shocked and wanted to stop him but he was a step too late.
“This uncle really has an anxious temper,” Mi Na, who feared that the world would not be chaotic, saw Cang Yan fly off and showed an excited look, quickly urging Du Wan, “Old Man Du, let’s go too.”
Du Wan shot a glance over at Xia Cheng Yin and saw that the latter’s expression was quite unpleasant. Cang Yan not giving him any face had obviously made him somewhat annoyed, but since the former was already gone, it was pointless for him to get angry so he just nodded and said, “We might as well all go take a look.”
Saying so, Xia Cheng Yin also stood up.
“If so, then I’ll thank Religion Master Xia in advance,” Du Wan apologized.
“Old Man Du is too polite,” Xia Cheng Yin naturally dared not accuse this Saint Grade Alchemist.
And so, this group of people hurriedly pursued Cang Yan quickly towards the Wind Eye.
Duan Hai’s face was, by now, a pale shade of white, as his mind was a complete mess. He thought that he could delay things for a day or two and then use that time to escape from Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to avoid this disaster, but he hadn’t expected to fall short at the last moment.
If he tried to leave now, it would only draw more suspicion towards him.
Behind Xia Cheng Yin and Du Wan, Duan Hai’s mood was complex as he thought to himself that he had quite possibly made a grave mistake.
A short time later, everyone arrived at the location of the Wind Eye, Cang Yan landing first.
Staring at the floating whirlpool filled with rich Wind Attribute energy, Cang Yan couldn’t help revealing a hint of dread. Such concentrated destructive power was enough to cause even him to shrink back slightly.
Glancing around the surrounding area and not noticing any trace of Yang Kai, Cang Yan’s expression quickly became ugly.
Xu Qi, who had been standing there the whole time, was somewhat shocked, unable to understand what was going on. After seeing Xia Cheng Yin and Du Wan though, Xu Qi’s heart jumped, quickly pretending to be calm and stepped forward to politely greet them, asking Duan Hai in the next moment, “Senior Brother, what’s all this about?”
“Old Man Du and Cang Yan are here to observe Honoured Guest Yang’s Alchemy,” Duan Hai replied casually.
Xu Qi blinked a few times and instantly understood the deeper meaning behind Duan Hai’s words.
As fellow brothers, the two of them had worked together for many years, and although they couldn’t say they understood everyone the other was thinking without any words, this brief eye contact and set of simple words had allowed Xu Qi to understand what Duan Hai really wanted to say.
“Where is he?” Cang Yan turned his head and stared gloomily towards Duan Hai.
Duan Hai opened his mouth but didn’t know how to answer, quickly turning to look at Xu Qi, “Junior Brother, where is Honoured Guest Yang? When I left a moment ago, wasn’t he right here?”
Xu Qi understood immediately and replied, “He entered the core of the Wind Eye, saying it was more convenient for him to perform Alchemy there.”
“Entered the core?” Everyone’s cried out in shock, their expressions going pale.
“How could he enter the core?” Old Man Du’s lips trembled, “Forget about him only being at the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary, even if he was a Third Order Transcendent, entering the Wind Eye’s core would still be a death sentence! How could you let him do that!?”
Xu Qi smiled awkwardly and replied, “I couldn’t stop him, Honoured Guest Yang said not to worry and that he had his own method of protecting himself.”
“This…this…” Du Wan wore a look filled with anxiety.
Cang Yan on the other hand didn’t say anything, releasing his powerful Divine Sense again, piercing it into the raging Wind Eye, a moment later letting out a painful roar and stumbling back a few steps, his face pale.
He wanted to use his Divine Sense to explore the inside of the Wind Eye and inevitably suffered some damage as a result.
Cang Yan’s eyes flashed as he turned to stare coldly at Duan Hai and Xu Qi, “Did he enter on his own, or was he thrown in?”
Xia Cheng Yin frowned and angrily said, “What does Brother Cang Yan mean? Do you think my Spirit Religion’s Elder will harm an Honoured Guest?”
Cang Yan smiled coldly, his eagle-like eyes glaring towards Duan Hai and Xu Qi as his aura became dangerous.
Duan Hai and Xu Qi didn’t dare return his stare, shifting their eyes away awkwardly.
Du Wan also noticed this and his old face couldn’t help sinking, seeing Duan Hai continuously try to avoid responsibility really was suspicious.
The people here were all powerful and experienced masters, naturally none of them was an idiot; although Duan Hai and Xu Qi sang the same tune, the lie they had woven was by no means perfect, everyone had seen some clues by now.
“What exactly happened?” Xia Cheng Yin’s expression became sullen as he questioned the two Elders coldly, “Brother Cang Yan is accusing my Spirit Religion of impropriety, so you two should give me a clear explanation and rebuttal!”
“Religion Master, please understand!” Duan Hai shouted, “Honoured Guest Yang’s Alchemy skill is outstanding, we could not favour him enough! How could we possibly harm him?”
Xu Qi also chimed in, “That’s right, it really was he who wanted to enter the Wind Eye, I strongly discourage him but he simply wouldn’t listen!”
Cang Yan’s mouth twitched a few times before putting on a false smile, “That would be best, otherwise, your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion should prepare for its complete destruction.”
Xia Cheng Yin shot him a cold stare, “Brother Cang Yan, this is my Spirit Religion’s territory, please take care how you speak.”
“Enough,” Du Wan snorted. After learning that Yang Kai had entered the Wind Eye, Old Man Du was feeling particularly unhappy, but he knew that regardless of what the truth was, Yang Kai was currently in real danger. What’s worse, he was the one who recommended Yang Kai to go to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to become an Honoured Guest in the first place.
“What’s more important now is to confirm little friend Yang’s safety; Cang Yan, what did you sense just now?” Du Wan turned to look at Cang Yan.
“He’s still alive, but his aura is a bit chaotic, nothing like it should be if he was performing Alchemy,” Cang Yan replied succinctly.
Du Wan’s face became even uglier, shooting an unfriendly glance towards Xia Cheng Yin, “Religion Master Xia, it seems that entrusting him to your Spirit Religion was not a wise decision. If he is lucky enough to survive this incident, I will be bringing him back to Alchemist Guild with me. I trust Religion Master Xia will not raise any objections.”
Xia Cheng Yin’s face contorted somewhat but still nodded. With Du Wan saying so, even if he tried to retain Yang Kai, the likelihood he would succeed was almost zero; glaring at Duan Hai and Xu Qi, he ground his teeth and shouted, “Such a good deed you’ve done! Even unable to look after a single Honoured Guest, I don’t think my Spirit Religion needs such ‘competent’ Elders!”
“It was his own…” Xu Qi still tried to argue.
However, Duan Hai just shook his head and sighed, feeling that everything was now beyond his control.
If Old Man Du and Cang Yan had come a few days earlier, this situation wouldn’t have ever occurred, but they just had to arrive right after he and Xu Qi took action. Was it their own luck that was too bad or was Yang Kai’s fortune just that good?
Everyone stood around watching, none of them speaking, the atmosphere quite strained.
Xu Qi and Duan Hai’s eyes continuously met, both of them well aware of how just how thorny a situation they had gotten themselves into.
That little brat would definitely not be able to leave the Wind Eye alive, the question now was if he was to die, what would Du Wan and Cang Yan do?
They really didn’t know why Cang Yan was even here; this whole situation seemed to have nothing to do with Soaring Heaven Sect.
Meanwhile, inside the Wind Eye, Yang Kai was currently enduring a great deal of pain, the omnipresent wind blades constantly slicing into his body, quickly shredding his clothes and dying him in blood.
With his True Qi imprisoned, Yang Kai couldn’t use it to protect himself from these wind blades and could only rely on the strength of his flesh to insist.
Instead of rushing to use his Demon God Transformation though, he was focusing all of his attention on his shoulder blades where the Wind and Thunder Wings he received from Han Fei back in Demon God Citadel resided as they seemed to currently be undergoing some unexpected changes.
The rich Wind Attribute energy in the surroundings was constantly being channeled into his body and absorbed by the Wind and Thunder Wings.
Fierce waves of pain erupted constantly, causing Yang Kai’s face to twist in agony.
The Wind Qi he was absorbing was rampaging inside his body, tearing apart his flesh, causing every part of his physique to ripple.
Through all the pain and hardship though, Yang Kai grit his teeth and did not utter a single sound, allowing the Wind and Thunder Wings to swallow the surrounding Wind Qi.
He faintly felt that this was the opportunity he was searching for that would truly allow him to refine the Wind and Thunder Wings!
Han Fei and Li Rong once told him that they didn’t know where this pair of Wind and Thunder Wings came from or who the original owner was and only after many twists and turns did it fall into Han Fei’s hands. Also, no matter how many times they tried to refine them, neither of them had succeeded.
When Duan Hai and Xu Qi brought him to the edge of the Wind Eye, Yang Kai felt the Wind and Thunder Wings transmit a vague sense of yearning to him, so he had not made any attempt to resist and simply allowed Duan Hai to throw him inside.
Now, it seemed his gamble had paid off.
The dust-laden Wind and Thunder Wings seemed to have been greatly moisturized by this environment and were showing signs of coming back to life, the speed at which they swallowed the surrounding Wind Qi increasing with every passing moment, reaching a point where even Yang Kai’s powerful physique couldn’t withstand the side effects.
As his flesh was constantly being destroyed, the Wind Attribute energy continued flooding into him like a raging torrent.
Not daring to hesitate, Yang Kai quickly took out a drop of Myriad Drug Milk from the Black Book space and swallowed it.
A moment later, a warm sensation appeared in his abdomen and quickly spread throughout his body.
The powerful restorative properties of the Myriad Drug Milk and the destructive power of Wind Eye both battled one another inside Yang Kai’s body, forming a kind of excruciating tug of war.
As Yang Kai’s body was constantly being torn apart and then repaired, it became tougher and more robust.
After enduring this cycle of destruction and restoration over and over again, Yang Kai gradually became numb to it and no longer felt any pain.
Simultaneously, the Wind and Thunder Wings swallowed the surrounding Wind Attribute energy at a horrifying speed. On Yang Kai’s left shoulder, there seemed to be some kind of invisible vortex that constantly drew in the surrounding Wind Qi, filling the Wind and Thunder Wings, and as more Wind Attributes energy was drawn into them, they became more and more energetic.
From the outside, it appeared like there was a small whirlpool inside the huge swirling Wind Eye. This small whirlpool was like a bottomless pit that was slowly drawing in the surrounding Wind Attribute energy and swallowing it.
The people outside who were at first concerned about whether Yang Kai was dead or alive now all wore amazed expressions, wondering how such a change had come about.
The Wind Eye was a restricted area of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion as well as one of its foundations. Since it was first discovered, it had already been countless years and over these centuries, innumerable disciples who cultivated Wind Attribute Martial Skills and Secret Arts had practiced here. And while all of them obtained many benefits from this place, no matter how many people absorbed the Wind Qi here, the Wind Eye never showed any changes.
But now, everyone here could clearly feel that the Wind Attribute energy that filled this place was slowly been consumed and was rapidly decreasing in density.
This discovery made the several members of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion pale.
If the Wind Eye was weakened, it would be a huge loss to their Spirit Religion.
“Duan Hai, did Honored Guest Yang say what kind of pill it was he wanted to refine?” Xia Cheng Yin now believed the words of his two subordinates and thought that the changes in the Wind Eye were related to Yang Kai’s Alchemy.
“He didn’t say,” Duan Hai grit his teeth and replied.
“Old Man Du, what do you think?” Xia Cheng Yin turned to look at Du Wan.
Du Wan’s face was quite gloomy as he muttered, “There is no pill that needs to consume such a huge amount of energy, this isn’t like Alchemy at all, rather, it seems like he’s cultivating!”
“Cultivating?” Xia Cheng Yin’s expression froze, “He entered the Wind Eye to cultivate? Isn’t he only at the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary?”
“Don’t ask this old master, I don’t know any more than you do!” Du Wan shouted, apparently quite disgruntled because of Yang Kai’s current situation.
Xia Cheng Yin looked awkward and dared not say anything more.
The destructive power inside the Wind Eye made it impossible for any of them to release their Divine Sense to investigate, so all they could do was wait quietly.
As more time passed, the small vortex within the Wind Eye seemed to gradually grow larger and even showed signs of beginning to devour the Wind Eye entirely. Even the Wind Attribute energy in the surrounding region was not as dense as it was before.
“Religion Master, at this rate, the Wind Eye will be destroyed!” Duan Hai screamed hurriedly.
Xia Cheng Yin’s complexion became pale as he stared at the Wind Eye without saying a word. How could he not understand what the consequences would be if this situation continued? If the Wind Eye was destroyed, it would be the equivalent of destroying a large part of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s foundation.
“I humbly request Religion Master to allow me and Junior Brother Xu Qi Junior to stop this disaster!” Duan Hai took the initiative to say.
“How do you plan on stopping it?” Xia Cheng Yin glanced at him strangely.
“Our only option now is to quickly kill Honoured Guest Yang inside the Wind Eye, he must have used the excuse of performing Alchemy to ruin the foundation of our Spirit Religion!” Duan Hai lied through his teeth, trying to turn this disaster to his advantage.
“Little friend Yang is not such a person!” Du Wan coldly snorted.
“You can try it if you dare!” Cang Yan also stared at him with a thick murderous intent.
“This is my Spirit Religion’s internal matter, isn’t Brother Cang Yan overstepping his bounds?” Duan Hai questioned in a disgruntled tone.
“This old man will not permit any reckless behaviour here, if little friend Yang encounters any accident as a result of your actions, this old man can guarantee that no Alchemist will ever refine pills for your Sect from now on!” Du Wan stared deeply towards Duan Hai.
Duan Hai suddenly felt a big headache.
He could still barely ignore Cang Yan’s aggressive attitude, but Du Wan’s words were not something dismiss. Given Old Man Du’s status, he could really accomplish what he just said. With a single order from a Saint Grade Alchemist, all the Honoured Guest Alchemists would not hesitate to cut all ties with Bright Thunder Spirit Religion and never return.
“Old Man Du, please calm your anger, Duan Hai was simply speaking thoughtlessly,” Xia Cheng Yin hastily stated, angering a Saint Grade Alchemist would bring about severe consequences.
At that moment, the huge Wind Eye underwent a noticeable change, and the once small vortex that had appeared inside it suddenly expanded.
A huge energy fluctuation erupted, almost knocking everyone off balance, forcing them to use their True Qi to stabilize themselves as they all turned their full attention back to the Wind Eye.
Inside the Wind Eye, Yang Kai suddenly felt the seal Duan Hai had planted on him shatter, and the True Qi which had been locked inside his meridians once again began rapidly circulating.
Not only that, the his flesh and blood around his shoulder blades began throbbing intensely, as if something was trying to break free from them.
He had experienced this feeling once before when he first obtained his Flaming Yang Wings.
His state of mind relaxing, not showing the slightest signs of fluster, Yang Kai let out a long breath and allowed these changes to take place without resisting.
*Hua…*
In the next instant, a pair of grand, beautiful wings suddenly unfurled behind Yang Kai. As it opened, all the pressure he felt inside and outside his body instantly vanished and was replaced by a kind of joyful sensation of freedom.
The Wind Attribute energy swirling around him no longer seemed capable of injuring him and instead gave Yang Kai a strange feeling of intimacy.
This nimble Wind Attribute energy lingered around Yang Kai and gave him the illusion that he had integrated himself into the wind itself.
Shifting his gaze to his side, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed.
He discovered that his Flaming Yang Wings had undergone a noticeable change as well.
The wing on his right side, as always, burned like a raging fire.
However, the wing that stretch from the left side of his back now not only contained his blazing hot True Yang Yuan Qi, but also a swift and sharp Wind Qi, causing both its shape and form to become more dazzling and breathtaking.
The remaining Wind Attribute energy in the Wind Eye continued flowing into Yang Kai’s left wing and he could clearly sense that it was rapidly becoming more powerful. As he swung his wings, the wind around him swirled and whipped, quickly transforming into massive wind blades that rushed towards the centre of the Wind Eye with incredible momentum.
These swirling wind blades not only contained the wind’s swiftness but also the burning heat of Yang Kai’s True Yang Yuan Qi; the combination of the two complementing one another and multiplying their destructive power.
Inside the restricted area of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, where the Wind Eye was located, a loud bang suddenly rang out and immediately, the surrounding World Energy became chaotic. Almost all the Spirit Religion disciples heard this disturbance and couldn’t help turning to stare in its direction, wondering what exactly had happened.
Soon, a violent wind blew outwards from the direction of the restricted area, uprooting trees and collapsing buildings. Everything within a radius of fifty kilometers of the explosion became a complete mess.
Many Bright Thunder Spirit Religion masters wore shocked expressions, an icy chill shoot up their spines.
As for those who were inside the restricted area, they were even more stunned when they felt the destructive power that was bursting forth from this natural formation.
The power that erupted from the Wind Eye not only contained blades of sharp Qi but also an invisible energy which sheared away at one’s Soul.
All of the energy which was normally contained inside the Wind Eye was exploding outwards at that moment.
None of the masters closest to the Wind Eye had expected that this disaster would suddenly befall them.
Duan Hai and Xu Qi both let out pitiful cries as the Soul destroying winds impacted them, causing their Knowledge Seas to become turbulent and their consciousnesses to become unstable and hazy.
Xia Cheng Yin didn’t dare show any neglect, immediately displaying his own means to guard his Soul.
Cang Yan first thought was to protect Old Man Du and Mi Na and give them a chance to retreat, but when he glanced over, he saw Old Man Du not show any signs of panic as he quickly took out a cyan stone and pour his True Qi into, producing a cyan coloured light barrier.
“Cang Yan, come inside!” Old Man Du waved to him.
Cang Yan quickly rushed into the light barrier and as soon as he did, the pressure on his Soul disappeared.
“Refined Bluestone?” Cang Yan’s eyes lit up as he uttered the name of this cyan stone, “Old Man Du’s heritage is impressive!”
“Now is not the time to say this,” Old Man Du smiled bitterly, “The wind blades are coming.”
Cang Yan nodded lightly and didn’t dare lower his guard, quickly gathering his strength and intercepting the wind blades that were approaching.
He knew that this cyan light barrier created by the Refined Bluestone could only resist attacks against one’s Soul and had no defensive effect on physical and Qi based attacks.
Cang Yan had also heard some rumors about Refined Bluestone and knew that it was incredibly expensive as it was a product from the Starry Sky that could defend against Divine Sense attacks of Saint Realm masters. It could be said that as long as one possessed a piece of Refined Bluestone, they wouldn’t need to worry about ever receiving injuries to their Soul.
Unfortunately, this treasure had a low resilience, meaning it could only be used a few times before it would crumble into dust.
Old Man Du taking it out at this time was also because he had no other option. He was a Saint Grade Alchemist, but not a Saint Realm master; in fact he was just a First Order Transcendent. On top of that, Du Wan was immersed in the study of the Alchemic Way all year round so his actual combat strength was basically equivalent to a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator.
“Old Man Du!” Xia Cheng Yin cried out urgently, as he struggled to make his way towards them.
Old Man Du frowned for a moment but eventually nodded lightly, increasing his True Qi output and expanding the light barrier allowing Xia Cheng Yin to squeeze inside.
With two Third Order Transcendents working together, the managed to completely shield Old Man Du and Mi Na behind them from all the incoming wind blades.
Duan Hai and Xu Qi were now both completely dazed by the Soul damaging winds, stumbling around like headless flies trapped in the violent storm and both of them were soon covered with bloody scars. Seeing this, Xia Cheng Yin anxious called out, “Old Man Du, can you let them in too?”
“This old man is also helpless, if I increase the output of power any further, I’m afraid this small stone will break,” Old Man Du slowly shook his head.
Knowing that Du Wan is not lying, Xia Cheng Yin could only sigh dejectedly.
Duan Hai and Xu Qi were both Elders of his Spirit Religion, he naturally couldn’t bear to see them buried in this place while he hid safely behind this light barrier. Unfortunately, all Xia Cheng Yin could do for them was try to offset as many wind blades that were approaching them as possible while constantly calling out to them in an attempt to stimulate their consciousnesses.
However, his efforts were futile, when the power that should have been contained within the Wind Eye suddenly erupted, Duan Hai and Xu Qi, two Second Order Transcendent masters, were completely incapable of resisting and both collapsed in pools of blood only a moment later. Although they were still alive, if they were exposed to this strange wind for too long, their Souls would sooner or later be sheared off completely.
Xia Cheng Yin was anxious but there was nothing he could do to help them now.
Suddenly, after a violent pulse of energy, everything suddenly calmed down, as if that final explosion contained all the remaining power of Wind Eye.
The cyan stone in Old Man Du’s hand also seemed to sense its mission was complete at that moment and shattered into dust that fell through his fingers.
“Yang Kai!” Mi Na suddenly shouted in surprise, pointing her jade finger towards the front.
Everyone couldn’t help feeling shocked when they heard Mi Na’s cry, all of them turning their eyes in the direction she was pointing only to see a scarlet Yang Kai. Although his body had innumerable wounds, his expression was still light and carefree. Another strange point was that his fresh blood seemed to radiate a terrifying destructive energy.
Cang Yan’s eyes narrowed, grinning slightly as he silently smiled.
The appearance of Yang Kai was quite consistent with the vague image in his mind, which means that the person his Martial Ancestor was looking for was him!
“The Wind Eye?” Xia Cheng Yin was dumbfounded, he discovered quickly that the Wind Eye which had existed since before the founding of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion had now disappeared.
There was not even a trace of Wind Attribute energy here anymore.
This realization turned Xia Cheng Yin’s face ashen.
The Wind Eye was essential to the prosperity of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, without it, all the future disciples who cultivated Wind Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills would no longer be able to take advantage of it to comprehend the mysteries of the wind.
“Can’t you put on some clothes you bastard!?” Mi Na cupped her hands over her mouth and called out, her face blushing bright red as she swept her eyes over Yang Kai’s impressive figure.
Seemingly awakened by Mi Na’s shout, Yang Kai slowly blinked and turned his head towards her.
Immediately, his brow furrowed slightly, as he discovered four people standing there, the familiar Old Man Du and Mi Na, and two others he didn’t recognize.
However, these two strangers undeniably gave him greater pressure than Duan Hai and Xu Qi, meaning they were definitely stronger.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yang Kai suddenly spotted Duan Hai and Xu Qi lying in a pool of their own blood and sneered menacingly.
His figure flickering, Yang Kai suddenly arrived in front of Duan Hai and Xu Qi at a speed several times faster than he was previously capable of.
“So fast!” Cang Yan and Xia Cheng Yin couldn’t help but exclaim. At that moment, the two of them seemed to have faintly felt a burst of swift Wind Qi. What’s more, despite their extremely high strength, both of them almost lost track of Yang Kai’s figure when he moved.
Before the two masters had even finished calling out, Yang Kai had already unleashed a decisive strike to Duan Hai’s neck.
With a snapping sound and a splash of blood, Duan Hai’s head flew out.
Seeing this, Xia Cheng Yin nearly went crazy.
Looking at the head that still had a pained expression on its face fly through the air, Xia Cheng Yin couldn’t turn his eyes away for a while, never had he imagined that a person his Spirit Religion had hired to be an Honoured Guest would actually kill his Sect’s Grand Elder.
Moreover, he had acted without the slightest hesitation.
“Hm?” Cang Yan secretly smiled a little as he stared at Yang Kai appreciatively, snickering under his breath. He found that this brat, whom his Martial Ancestor had tasked him to find, matched his temperament.
Seeing Yang Kai’s murderous intent not decrease at all as he turned to start at Xu Qi, who was currently unable to put up the slightest resistance, Xia Cheng Yin roared, “Boy, you dare!”
As he shouted, he shot out like lightning towards Yang Kai.
No matter what, he couldn’t let Yang Kai kill two of his Sect’s Elders right before his eyes.
Cang Yan grinned meaningfully and also shot out, arriving in front of Xia Cheng Yin in a flash.
“Cang Yan, what do you mean by this?” Xia Cheng Yin glared at Cang Yan as he coldly questioned; although both of them were Third Order Transcendents, facing Cang Yan, he wasn’t confident he could prevail in a direct conflict.
“I have no other meaning, but if you want to hurt him, you have to go through me first,” Cang Yan replied faintly.
“He has nothing to do with your Soaring Heaven Sect, Cang Yan, don’t go too far!” Xia Cheng Yin’s face twisted, shouting out somewhat hysterically.
“Little friend Yang, please show some mercy!” Du Wan also hurriedly shouted, bringing Mi Na with him as he rushed towards Yang Kai.
Upon hearing Old Man Du’s shout, Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, quickly examining Xu Qi’s current state, his determination not wavering but still reluctantly standing down for the moment.
Soon, Old Man Du and Mi Na arrived beside Yang Kai, Old Man Du sighing softly as he direct a complex stare towards Yang Kai.
During the time he had spent at the Alchemist Guild, Yang Kai had given Old Man Du a very good impression, not like an ordinary reckless youth who flaunted their strength and status, but now he couldn’t understand why this mild mannered boy had suddenly decisively tried to kill two Elders of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
“Old Man Du,” Yang Kai greeted indifferently before nodding lightly to Mi Na.
Mi Na’s neck was dark red, shooting a glance towards Yang Kai before pursing her lips and quickly averting her eyes again.
Yang Kai thought nothing of her reaction and instead turned to stare at Cang Yan. He didn’t know why this person would suddenly help him as he had no memory of ever meeting him before. Naturally the two of them had no prior friendship.
While observing the situation, Yang Kai also took out a set of clothes and put them on, his movements calm and collected.
Xia Cheng Yin was also no longer arguing with Cang Yan and instead just glaring at Yang Kai with hatred. Although this youth may be a rare talent in Alchemy, it was also an indisputable fact that he had just killed Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Great Elder; no matter what the circumstances were, Xia Cheng Yin had to seek justice for Duan Hai.
“Little friend, what is this all about, if it’s convenient, can you tell me?” Old Man Du inquired in a dignified tone.
“These two wanted to harm me and threw me into the Wind Eye in an attempt to wash away my Soul,” Yang Kai explained it faintly.
“Bullshit, as far as I know, you are an Honoured Guest Duan Hai personally invited to my Spirit Religion, why would he and Xu Qi suddenly want to kill you?” Xia Cheng Yin obviously couldn’t accept such an explanation.
For no reason at all, how could two Second Order Transcendent masters have ill intentions towards a little brat?
“Who are you?” Yang Kai turned to look at this person indifferently, feeling a palpable hostility and resentment from his stare.
Old Man Du coughed, “This is the Religion Master of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Xia Cheng Yin!”
Yang Kai gently nodded, his doubts abating somewhat before turning to look at Cang Yan, “And this is?”
“Soaring Heaven Sect, Cang Yan!” Cang Yan took a step forward and introduced himself.
“Do we know each other?” Yang Kai smiled at him temperately, his attitude neither warm nor cold.
“No,” Cang Yan smiled, “However, I have something to ask of you.”
“Something to ask of me?” Yang Kai’s asked curiously, shooting a glance towards Du Wan who quickly said, “Cang Yan has no malicious intentions towards you, I can guarantee this!”
“Alright. We can discuss about your matter later,” Yang Kai nodded to Cang Yan.
Noticing the confidence and indifference Yang Kai spoke with, Cang Yan smiled even wider.
[This little brat really fits well with my own temper! Ha Ha!] Cang Yan chuckled in his heart.
After killing a Great Elder, he was able to face Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master without the slightest trace of fear.
[Having such courage even in this situation, what exactly was this little brat’s background?] Cang Yan thought as he sized up Yang Kai thoughtfully.
His Martial Ancestor had asked him to find this person and he had spent two months doing so, causing Cang Yan to feel somewhat depressed and annoyed, but at this moment, he suddenly felt that these two months were worth it.
“Little brat, if you don’t give me an explanation today, don’t dream of leaving here in one piece!” Xia Cheng Yin’s complexion change from red to blue as he grit his teeth and angrily shouted.
“What more do you want me to explain?” Yang Kai smiled, “I think I made things clear already.”
“That’s just your side of the story, do you think this Religion Master will just smile and believe you?”
Du Wan knit his brow but still kindly asked, “Little friend, is what you said really the truth?”
Yang Kai nodded sternly.
“Then why? What advantage would they gain by throwing you into the Wind Eye to wash away your Soul?” Du Wan asked carefully, knowing that this time, if he couldn’t give Xia Cheng Yin a reason he could accept, it would be impossible for the latter to let things go.
Yang Kai hesitated, as if he was unwilling to answer.
If anything related to the Coffin Carrying Man was revealed, it would be extremely detrimental to him.
“Little friend can rest assured, if what you said is the truth and you weren’t in the wrong, this old master can guarantee that you will leave here unharmed. Cang Yan will also lend his assistance,” Du Wan said, glancing over at Cang Yan.
Cang Yan was even more straightforward, “Even if you are in the wrong, no one can hurt you in front of me.”
Yang Kai looked at him curiously, really unable to understand why this stranger was so adamant about trying to protect him.
After a long silence, Yang Kai turned to Xia Cheng Yin with a cold look and muttered, “Bright Thunder’s Religion Master, is it? If I can prove that Duan Hai and Xu Qi acted with intent to harm me, how do you plan on compensating me?”
“Compensate you?” Xia Cheng Yin eyes went red, “You killed my Great Elder and then expect me to compensate you? Are you not mistaken, little brat? Now we should be discussing how to make up for my Spirit Religion’s losses!”
“He only has himself to blame, this time, if it weren’t for my luck, I would have died inside the Wind Eye. Me killing him is only natural.”
Du Wan nodded, “If it is true that Duan Hai and Xu Qi conspired to kill little friend Yang, their deaths aren’t worth pitying. Religion Master Xia, what do you think? It was this old master who recommended little friend Yang enter your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, this old master naturally has a responsibility to maintain his interests and security.”
Du Wan’s tone was calm, but anyone could hear that he was not happy.
As a Saint Grade Alchemist, it was a rare occurrence for him to recommend a rising star to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, but now Yang Kai had actually encountered such misfortune. This incident would bring great damage to Old Man Du’s prestige and face.
Although Xia Cheng Yin was angry, he didn’t dare vent his frustrations in front of Old Man Du, nodding as he said, “What Old Man Du said is fair, if this is really the truth of the matter… there’s no need for outsiders to intervene, this Religion Master will clean up his Sect personally and give Old Man Du a proper account!”
Du Wan nodded with satisfaction and turned back towards Yang Kai, “Now little friend, can you explain everything?”
“I still insist on compensation!” Yang Kai smiled slightly, “This matter can’t be settled so casually.”
“This Religion Master has given Old Man Du face, but what do you count for? Don’t overestimate your own worth!” Xia Cheng Yin glared at Yang Kai resentfully, wishing he could immediately pound this insolent brat into meat paste.
“I agree with you!” Cang Yan nodded repeatedly to Yang Kai, “If Religion Master Xia doesn’t compensate you appropriately, within one month I will let his Bright Thunder Spirit Religion disappear from this world permanently.”
“Uncle, really knows how to talk!” Mi Na said to Cang Yan with a look of excitement and respect on her face.
[Uncle…] Cang Yan’s mouth twitched slightly, his expression sinking somewhat, unable to completely maintain his cold indifferent demeanor after suffering such an unexpected attack.
Yang Kai on the other hand only became more doubtful as he stared towards Cang Yan, really unable to understand what this master’s intentions were, but now was not the time to get to the bottom of things, for the moment Yang Kai could feel that this person was truly well-meant towards him, allowing him to feel relieved.
“Cang Yan!” Xia Cheng Yin clenched his fists, his True Qi surging up as he glared at Cang Yan coldly.
“You wanna fight? I’m more than happy to accompany you,” Cang Yan sneered dismissively.
“Please have some patience you two,” Old Man Du said helplessly, having no choice but to play peacemaker in this situation, “Religion Master Xia, this old master also hopes that if what little friend Yang said is true, you can offer him some compensation.”
“Old Man Du also has this intention?” The hatred in Xia Cheng Yin’s eyes increased once again, hesitating for a moment before somehow managing to mutter, “Good, this Religion Master can accept his impolite request, but Old Man Du, if we find out that things are not as he said, then don’t blame me for not giving you face.”
“As you like,” Du Wan nodded lightly, turning back to Yang Kai once more, “You can speak freely.”
Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before wearing a helpless expression and replying, “The two of them wanted to collect my Knowledge Sea!”
Saying so, Yang Kai released his Spiritual Energy slightly and followed up, “Because I have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!”
Everyone else became dumbstruck, almost unable to believe what they had just heard.
However, feeling the blazing hot aura in Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy, they had no choice but to believe him.
Old Man Du’s eyes gradually brightened, even becoming somewhat excited as he stared towards Yang Kai as if he had just discovered an incredible treasure.
Cang Yan was also showing signs of excitement. For a master at his level, there were very few things that could disturb his mood, but when he learned about Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, he nearly lost his self-control.
Laughing wildly in his heart, he now understood why his Martial Ancestor had let him search for this little brat, it turns out he was an Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
Didn’t that mean he was at the same starting line as the famous The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep? That also meant he might one day reach the same height as The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep? A man widely admired by Human, Demon, and Monster Races alike!
Conflagrated Knowledge Seas were rare existences, and even if one or two cultivators who had Conflagrated Knowledge Sea appeared now and then, it was not guaranteed they would also be proficient in Alchemy as these two traits weren’t necessarily mutually associated.
Xia Cheng Yin was also dumbfounded as he stared towards Yang Kai, his face filled with annoyance and remorse.
“I told Duan Hai that it was impossible for me to remain in Bright Thunder Spirit Religion so he and Xu Qi plotted to use the power of the Wind Eye to extract my Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, that’s the truth,” Yang Kai faintly explained.
Although this was not the most fundamental reason, it was also part of reason Duan Hai and Xu Qi acted against Yang Kai this way, so technically he wasn’t lying.
As he couldn’t disclose information about the Coffin Carrying Man, Yang Kai could only expose his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
“So that’s how it is,” Old Man Du nodded slightly, after feeling Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, naturally believed his words. Taking a deep breath, Du Wan turned to look at Xia Cheng Yin and said, “Religion Master Xia, what else do you want to say? Or could it be that you still don’t believe what little friend Yang said?”
“I have nothing to ask,” Xia Cheng Yin slowly shook his head as he stared at Yang Kai in a complicated manner. If he continued to make things difficult here, he would only end up offending both Old Man Du and Cang Yan, that was something he couldn’t afford.
Moreover, this Yang Kai was very likely to become an exceedingly influential character in the future, if he were to thoroughly offend him now, Bright Thunder Spirit Religions future days may not be peaceful.
“En, very good,” Old Man Du nodded with satisfaction, his expression quickly becoming solemn, “Today’s events should only be known to those present here, if anyone dares to leak any news of it, don’t blame this old master for being rude to him.”
“Agreed,” Cang Yan and Xia Cheng Yin both nodded firmly.
A Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was a rare treasure that would draw covetous eyes from all over the world, once word of its existence leaked out, it would only lead to countless troubles.
*Xiu…*
Together with a swift breeze, Xu Qi’s vitality disappeared, causing Xia Cheng Yin’s eyes to flash, never having expected Yang Kai to act so decisively. Unfortunately for him, even if he was angry, there was nothing he could do about it.
“Good, now we can talk about my compensation,” Yang Kai grinned.
Xia Cheng Yin’s face twitched slightly, but despite feeling extremely unwilling inside, he had no choice but to ask, “What compensation do you want? As long as it is something my Spirit Religion has, I can comply, but don’t try to force my to offer something I am not capable of, you must ask for something I can achieve.”
“Naturally,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “I want to go to the Thunder Eye to cultivate, so I must ask Religion Master Xia to open the way.”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone once again stared at him in astonishment.
“Go to the Thunder Eye?” Xia Cheng Yin was somewhat stunned, “You also cultivate a Thunder Attribute Secret Art?”
“That’s my business, does Religion Master Xia want to pry into my private affairs?” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Is the disappearance of the Wind Eye related to you?” Xia Cheng Yin watched Yang Kai vigilantly.
“Possibly, possibly not, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Does that mean, if you go to the Thunder Eye, will it also disappear?”
“It shouldn’t, please rest assured, Religion Master Xia.”
Inside the Wind Eye, Yang Kai had intentionally stimulated it, breaking it from the inside which had led to its ultimate destruction. At the time, Yang Kai had just wanted to seek revenge, if he hadn’t done this, the Wind Eye wouldn’t have disappeared; of course, the Wind Eye would definitely be much weaker than before.
“Does Religion Master Xia want to go back on his word? If so, you’ll have to ask if I agree,” Cang Yan looked at Xia Cheng Yin aggressively.
“The Wind Eye and Thunder Eye are the foundations of my Spirit Religion. Now that one of them has disappeared, very likely because of him, how can I so easily allow him to visit the other? Do you take this Religion Master as a fool?”
“If you intend to comply, then comply, but even if you don’t intend to comply, you must comply!” Cang Yan sneered, grabbed Yang Kai, and flew off.
“Cang Yan, don’t go too far!” Xia Cheng Yin shouted furiously and quickly pursued.
“Haa…” Du Wan sighed deeply, looking helpless, hesitating for a while before also following after them with Mi Na in tow.
Cang Yan’s speed was so incredible that Yang Kai could barely open his eyes, only able to vaguely see the surrounding scenery retreating backwards. After less than the time it would take to burn half a stick of incense, the pair arrived at the location of the Thunder Eye.
Here, there was still a large number of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion disciples gathered, cultivating quietly while feeling the ambient Lightning Qi in the air.
The stronger the disciple was, the closer they were to the Thunder Eye, and while the weaker one was the further away they sat.
Floating in the sky was a huge vortex of lightning that was constantly shooting off and drawing in sparks. The sound of thunder continuously burst out as the surrounding atmosphere was filled with violent Thunder Attribute energy.
When Cang Yan arrived here with Yang Kai, the Spirit Religion disciples who were in meditative cultivation all woke up and showed expressions of surprise and amazement as they looked up at them.
“Kid, are you sure you want to go in? This place is no joke, one misstep and your entire Soul will be blown away,” Cang Yan warned as he stared at the raging Thunder Eye with a dignified expression.
The violent energy contained within the Thunder Eye was stronger than that which was inside the Wind Eye. Cang Yan had dared to release his Divine Sense to spy on the Wind Eye, but he did not dare do so with the Thunder Eye.
Comparing the two, the Thunder Eye was definitely more dangerous.
“Bright Thunder’s Religion Master is pursuing us, please let me go in, Senior,” Yang Kai glanced back and saw Xia Cheng Yin rushing towards them, the latter’s face filled with a mix of anxiety and rage, howling towards them to stop.
Cang Yan obviously didn’t put Xia Cheng Yin in his eyes as he grinned and casually said, “You’re a strange one kid. Good, I’ll help you; however, don’t you dare die, or I’ll have no way to explain things to my Marital Ancestor!”
Having said what he needed to say, Cang Yang tossed Yang Kai towards the Thunder Eye.
Cries of shock rang out from all the surrounding Bright Thunder Spirit Religion disciples who saw Yang Kai disappear into the Thunder Eye, all of them wondering how this brat had offended Cang Yan, causing the latter to throw him to his death.
Xia Cheng Yin arrived a moment later, but was helpless to do anything but watch.
Inside the Thunder Eye, when Yang Kai first came in, he felt tremendous pressure, many times stronger than what he had felt inside the Wind Eye.
The power of lightning instantly surged through his entire body, causing all of his hair to stand on end and his Soul to tremble fiercely, his skin soon giving off a scorched smell.
Taking another drop of Myriad Drug Milk, Yang Kai quickly sat down inside the Thunder Eye and while ignoring his own injuries, allowed the Wind and Thunder Wings to extract the Thunder Qi around him.
After his previous experience, Yang Kai was much more relaxed, understanding exactly what it was the Wind and Thunder Wings were craving.
From Yang Kai’s back, at the position of his right shoulder blade, as expected, a huge suction force erupted, rapidly pulling the surrounding Thunder Attribute energy into his body.
*Hua…*
As Yang Kai’s wings opened once more. Wind danced freely to his left, while lightning arced back and forth on his right.
Yang Kai soon entered into a meditative state as he comprehended the mysteries of thunder and lightning.
Outside the Thunder Eye, the Bright Thunder Spirit Religion disciples had all scattered as Cang Yan and Xia Cheng Yin engaged in an earth shaking battle. It wasn’t until Old Man Du caught up and came forward to mediate that their fight ceased.
It was not easy to decide a victor in a contest between two Third Order Transcendent masters, but just from observing the two of them, Xia Cheng Yin was obviously in worse shape than Cang Yan.
If the battle had continued, undoubtedly Xia Cheng Yin would have eventually lost.
After realizing this, Bright Thunder’s Religion Master decisively took advantage of Old Man Du’s intercession to draw back.
As time went by, the small group of people outside the Thunder Eye noticed that the Thunder and Lightning Attribute energy in the surrounding atmosphere was gradually weakening. Even the most intuitive manifestation of this, the amount of lightning strikes falling from the Thunder Eye, had become noticeably sparser.
Xia Cheng Yin’s expression turned incredibly ugly.
Today, two Elders had died, the Wind Eye had been destroyed, and the power of the Thunder Eye was severely weakened. The only question now was whether it would disappear entirely like the Wind Eye.
The loss to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion was simply incalculable!
One day later, the intensity of the Thunder Eye was less than half what it originally was. By now, Xia Cheng Yin’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he stared at the Thunder Eye like a crazed beast, his resentment nearly palpable.
Although Old Man Du felt like destroying the foundation of a Sect was somewhat immoral, thinking about how Duan Hai had tried to kill a young genius he had recommended to him, he still chose to say nothing.
Inside the Thunder Eye, Yang Kai took a deep breath and suddenly opened his eyes as sparks of lightning flashed across them.
After one day of absorption, he realized that the Wind and Thunder Wings had perfectly integrated into his body.
From this moment on, this pair of wings had truly been refined by him and become a part of his strength.
The wings behind him were still filled with blazing hot Yang Attribute energy, but the left half now also contained sharp Wind Attribute energy while the right half contained wild Thunder and Lightning Attribute energy.
Wind, Thunder, and Yang Qi all came together to form a strange kind of balance while undergoing some subtle changes. These three different attribute energies were no longer in their most elementary forms; they combined into something new. The power of wind and thunder now containing a burning heat, creating a kind of Flame Wind and Flame Lightning, multiplying their lethality compared to ordinary wind and thunder.
His Flaming Yang Wings had not been completely replaced by the Wind and Thunder Wings.
The only thing that Yang Kai had difficulty with was determining what exactly this pair of wings was; it was somewhat like an artifact, but also somewhat like a Martial Skill.
However, what was undeniable was that Han Fei had sent him a big gift!
The reason why Han Fei and Li Rong failed to refine the Wind and Thunder Wings was likely because they had not had an opportunity like the one Yang Kai experienced.
Everything was a coincidence, but it still subtly felt like an inevitable result.
Withdrawing his Wind and Thunder Wings, Yang Kai stepped out from the greatly weakened Thunder Eye.
The group who had been waiting outside for a long time now saw Yang Kai coming out and couldn’t help smiling. Xia Cheng Yin also breathing a sigh of relief.
In the end, the Thunder Eye did not disappear, and although it was not as powerful as it used to be, it was at least intact.
Staring at Yang Kai, Xia Cheng Yin felt extremely complicated, annoyance, hatred, and doubt all swirling about his thoughts.
“Kid, you sure surprised us!” When Yang Kai appeared, Cang Yan immediately laughed, “Kid, your aura has changed a lot, did you reap a big harvest?”
“En, something like that,” Yang Kai nodded slightly, “Although my cultivation hasn’t increased, sensing the mysteries of thunder took some time. Sorry for making you wait.”
“Little friend Yang is too polite,” Du Wan smiled and shook his head.
“Since you’re done here, let’s go,” Cang Yan waved.
Yang Kai shot a glance over at Xia Cheng Yin, who although still looked sullen, eventually didn’t say a word or try to stop them from leaving.
With Cang Yan here, even if Xia Cheng Yin wanted to stop them he couldn’t. The losses suffered by Bright Thunder Spirit Religion over these past two days was already big enough, if he were to now completely offend Cang Yan and end up in a conflict with Soaring Heaven Sect, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion really wouldn’t be able to afford the consequences.
Soaring Heaven Sect’s four madmen were each no worse than him. Once a fight started, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion would definitely be destroyed.
Xia Cheng Yin had no choice but to swallow this insult.
“Religion Master Xia, many thanks for your hospitality this time,” Old Man Du nodded to Xia Cheng Yin.
“Leave, I won’t see you off!” Xia Cheng Yin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, unwilling to watch anymore.
Cang Yan just coldly snorted and wrapped Yang Kai, Du Wan, and Mi Na in his True Qi before soaring off into the sky.
After they left, Xia Cheng Yin’s face twisted as he stared at their fading backs for a moment before suddenly activating his movement skill and flying towards where the Wind Eye was formerly situated.
He still had numerous doubts about Yang Kai’s story. At that time, Du Wan was watching closely so he had not pressed the issue, but now that he had a chance, he naturally planned to investigate further.
Although Xu Qi and Duan Hai had been dead for a day, Xia Cheng Yin still had confidence he could gather some of their scattered Souls together and spy on their memories to unravel exactly what kind of grudges they had with Yang Kai.
Arriving at the spot where the two Elders died, Xia Cheng Yin quickly chanted some profound words while circulating a mysterious energy.
A moment later, a barrier encompassing the surrounding thirty kilometer radius formed. Xia Cheng Yin had to blockade this area in order to collect the broken fragments of Xu Qi and Duan Hai’s Souls.
He believed that given the strong cultivation of these two, even though their bodies had died, their Souls would not have been completely dispersed so quickly.
However, what made Xia Cheng Yin depressed and even more doubtful was that no matter how he tried, he couldn’t gather the slightest bit of residual Spiritual Energy. It was as if the two Elder’s Souls had been completely erased, surprising him greatly.
…..
Above Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, a group of four people flew forward.
When they passed by a certain mountain peak, Yang Kai inadvertently glanced down and saw a tall, beautiful woman standing there.
The other party seemed to also notice him, her beautiful eyes flashing with a guilty light as traces of amazement and sadness flickered past her face.
Suddenly, she leapt up and used her full strength to try to chase after them, her pretty face filled with anxiety.
But how could her speed compare with Cang Yan? After a few breaths, she had fallen out of sight.
“Hey, you big bastard, there was a young miss chasing after you just now,” Mi Na suddenly shot Yang Kai an accusatory look.
“Oh, where?” Yang Kai feigned ignorance.
“Trying to play dumb?” Mi Na snorted, “She called your name, I’m sure you heard. Did you thoughtlessly have your way with her only to abandon her after? Hmph, I didn’t think you were such a beast, but now it seems I should keep my distance from you in the future.”
“Can you not make wild accusations? I’m nothing if not a gentleman, I wouldn’t do something like that,” Yang Kai replied seriously.
Mi Na spat disdainfully, obviously not convinced.
She had stayed inside the Alchemist Guild for a long time so her desire for gossip was stronger than most. Not having caught wind of Yang Kai’s salacious scandal, obviously she was not about to let the subject drop so easily.
Yang Kai ignored her though and instead turned a puzzled look towards Cang Yan.
Even until now, he didn’t understand why this person had helped him for no reason, not even hesitating to offend Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master in the process!
After hesitating for a long time, Yang Kai finally asked, “Senior, can you tell me why you helped me? What advantage does any of this bring you?”
Cang Yan glanced at him as they continued to fly forward, a smile slowly appearing on his cold face, “You’re quite vigilant.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded forthrightly.
Old Man Du chuckled, “Little friend Yang doesn’t need to be suspicious of Cang Yan. Although I admit recommending you go to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion was wrong, this time I can guarantee that he will not act disadvantageously towards you.”
“I naturally believe Old Man Du’s words,” Yang Kai gently nodded, “But that still doesn’t clear up my confusion, since Senior does not have any malicious intentions towards me, can you tell me what reason you have for assisting me?”
“There’s really nothing for me to tell you, I’m just completing the task assigned to me.”
“Task?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“En, I can’t tell you anything else, you’ll have to figure that out when we reach our destination; after all, I don’t know much either.”
“Who gave you this task?”
“My Martial Ancestor.”
“Soaring Heaven Sect’s Sect Master?” Yang Kai was dumbstruck.
Cang Yan didn’t answer, only continuing to fly forward. Yang Kai asked him a few more times but never received any response so he could only give up, turning to Old Man Du instead and asking, “What kind of person is Soaring Heaven Sect’s Sect Master?”
“A Saint Realm powerhouse,” Du Wan replied, “As to which Order he is, I’m not certain. When you meet you might as well ask him yourself.”
Cang Yan suddenly came to a stop at that moment and said, “Old Man Du, let’s separate here, I need to bring him back to the Sect as soon as possible!”
“Good,” Du Wan gently nodded, turning to look at Yang Kai and saying, “Little friend Yang, this time I have caused you to endure some unpleasantness, this old man is truly sorry, just know that the Alchemist Guild’s doors are always open to you, if you are free, please do stop by to say hello.”
The kindness and sincerity in Old Man Du’s voice gave Yang Kai a warm feeling in his heart and he nodded, “This was not Old Man Du’s mistake, Old Man Du doesn’t need to take it to heart. En, I will definitely visit the Alchemist Guild in the future.”
Old Man Du showed a faint smile before saying to Cang Yan, “Give my regards to your Martial Ancestor, this old man is getting on in years so I won’t be visiting him this time.”
“I will certainly deliver Old Man Du’s sentiments,” Cang Yan replied firmly, “We’ll be taking our leave then.”
Saying so, he took Yang Kai and shot off in a different direction.
“Yang Kai, remember to come back soon!” Mi Na called out to Yang Kai as she waved goodbye.
Soaring Heaven Sect was one of the four major forces in the vicinity of Grand Boulder City.
However, although they were called the ‘four forces’, in reality, the other three Sects were not comparable to Soaring Heaven Sect. Whether it was in terms of heritage or the level of masters, Soaring Heaven Sect was far ahead of the other local Sects.
There were no Saint Realm masters in Ancient Moon Cave Heaven, Luo Sheng Sect, or Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, but it was rumored that there were at least two such powerhouses in Soaring Heaven Sect.
Beneath the Saint Realm though, Soaring Heaven Sect had four famous Third Order Transcendents.
These four all had tyrannical strength, and Cang Yan was one of them.
But in the eyes of the uninformed, Soaring Heaven Sect was on the same level as the other three forces because it had very few disciples, inferior to forces such as Bright Thunder Spirit Religion by several fold.
Yang Kai was carried the whole time by Cang Yan and was constantly asking questions about Soaring Heaven Sect as they traveled.
Cang Yan seemed to be a person who cherished words like gold, but to Yang Kai’s inquiries he still responded patiently.
At the same time, Cang Yan was also observing Yang Kai.
Why his Martial Ancestor had asked him to find this boy, Cang Yan was also confused.
Half a day later, when they were approaching Soaring Heaven Sect’s borders, Cang Yan suddenly paused and stared forward with a suspicious look, seemingly having discovered something.
Soon, Yang Kai also noticed that a powerful aura was rapidly approaching them. This aura was no weaker than Cang Yan’s, but unlike Cang Yan’s imposing pressure, this new aura felt softer, like the slowly flowing water in a vast river.
Yang Kai couldn’t help showing a curious expression and didn’t ask much, simply deciding to wait quietly and observe.
A moment later, a blue light appeared over the horizon and quickly flew over, stopping just in front of Cang Yan. When the blue light faded, a beautiful woman dressed in an unusually bold fashion appeared in front of Cang Yan.
This beautiful woman’s skin was snow white and her eyes were pure and watery, seemingly containing ten thousand kinds of charm. There was a tiny black mole at the corner of her mouth which only added to her appeal.
On her face was a lazy smile, and her upper body’s robes were quite messy and exposing, revealing her pair of round, white half-moons and the deep valley between them that seemed to unconsciously draw people’s eyes. As for her lower half, her skit had an extremely long slit which reached almost all the way up to her hips, allowing one to see the whole length of her slender legs, including her tender white thighs.
Yang Kai was dumbstruck and couldn’t help staring for a moment.
The beautiful woman didn’t evade his gaze, nor show the slightest bit of shyness, instead turning a glamorous smile towards Yang Kai as she too began evaluating him with an interested look.
Cang Ya’s brow wrinkled, “Fei Yu, how did you come out, didn’t Martial Ancestor punish you with half a year of confinement? Don’t tell me you snuck out.”
“I didn’t sneak out,” Fei Yu replied curtly as she lightly bit her lip. In the next instant, without even seeing how she moved, she suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai and extended a jade hand, gently lifting Yang Kai’s Chin, “Where did you find this little brother? Why does he look somewhat familiar?”
Yang Kai didn’t quite know why but he felt his hair stand slightly on end at that moment.
Cang Yan quickly pulled Yang Kai behind him, like a mother hen guarding its newborn chick, blocking him from Fei Yu as he frowned, “Don’t make trouble, this is the person Martial Ancestor is looking for.”
“Martial Ancestor?” Hearing this, Fei Yu’s beautiful eyes flashed brilliantly as she pondered, “Why does Martial Ancestor want to see him?”
“I don’t know,” Cang Yan shook his head, “But he’s not your toy.”
“Fine,” Fei Yu frowned slightly and muttered impatiently.
“Enough about that. Why aren’t you staying quietly in the Sect and have instead run out here?”
“Martial Ancestor sent me out,” Fei Yu giggled, “If I didn’t receive an order from the old man, how could I dare to go out?”
Suddenly, her beautiful eyes flickered as she said, “En, Martial Ancestor told me to redeem myself with good works, saying that if I can resolve this problem he will cancel my half-year confinement.”
“What matter do you need to solve?” Cang Yan asked curiously, but the moment these words left his mouth he felt the impulse to slap his own face, raising his hands and waving them, “Forget I asked, I’ll be returning to the Sect first. You carry on.”
“Don’t go!” Fei Yu swiftly grabbed Cang Yan’s arm, smiled warmly and said, “Since you asked, naturally I should tell you.”
Saying so, she didn’t dare give Cang Yan an opportunity to refuse, happily explaining her assigned duty.
Roughly a hundred kilometers outside Soaring Heaven Sect, it seemed a disciple had found a hidden cave. There was a barrier set up around this cave to conceal it so it should have been a blessed land that some powerful master had left behind many years ago. The disciple couldn’t break open this barrier so he had quickly returned to the Sect and gathered together a group of Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, a dozen people in total, to open up and explore the blessed land, hoping they could find some opportunities. But unexpectedly, there was a hidden trap in the blessed land, and before any of them noticed, they had all been incapacitated.
All the disciples who had entered were attacked by a swarm of Exotic Ancient Insects called Soul Devouring Insects. When this news was sent back to Soaring Heaven Sect, the Sect Master had dispatched Fei Yu to handle it.
“Soul Devouring Insects?” Cang Yan’s expression changed greatly, “Wasn’t that Exotic Ancient Insect supposed to be extinct?”
“Who knows,” Fei Yu shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know which despicable bastard left these troublesome bugs near our Soaring Heaven Sect, but if I find his bone, I’ll definitely trample them into dust!”
“Martial Ancestor sent you to handle this matter, but what are you planning on doing? This isn’t something that ordinary cultivators can deal with, even if it’s you, if you’re not careful, your life might be endangered.”
“En,” Fei Yu wore a pitiful expression that could make anyone who saw it sympathise with her as she whispered, “Therefore, Cang Yan, you have to help me.”
“How am I supposed to help you? I don’t have any method to handle this kind of Exotic Ancient Insect.”
“You cultivate Fire Attribute Secret Arts, you should be able to incinerate them.”
“Do you think flames created from True Qi can burn them? You must be dreaming,” Cang Yan coldly snorted, but as he said these words, he suddenly glanced over at Yang Kai, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.
“But no one other than you can help me! Those two bastards Li Wan and Fei Jian went into hiding the moment they learned I had accepted this task! Hateful!” Fei Yu gnashed her teeth.
“I also should have hidden from you,” Cang Yan muttered, feeling a big headache. Had he only known in advance he would not have spoken to her in the first place. After spending so many years together with this woman, Cang Yan couldn’t even remember how many times he had been deceived by her appearance and roped into dangerous situations like this.
“It’s too late,” Fei Yu glared at Cang Yan coldly and declared, “If you want to help me, then just help me already, but even if you don’t want to help me, you still have to help me!”
Cang Yan sighed, “It’s really not a convenient time for this, I have to bring this kid back to see Martial Ancestor as quickly as possible.”
“You’ve been searching for him for two months already, who cares if you wait another day or two. Just come with me to take a look, if we really can’t handle the situation, I won’t make things difficult for you,” Fei Yu continued.
Cang Yan’s brow wrinkled, seemingly weighing this decision carefully. Seeing that there might be hope, Fei Yu quickly struck while the iron was hot, continuing her attempts to persuade him.
After a long time, Cang Yan nodded slightly, “Good, I’ll help you out this time, but… whether we can ultimately succeed, I can’t guarantee.”
Fei Yu was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, “I knew you wouldn’t abandon me! You’re the best! Li Wan and Fei Jian, the two bastards, they should just go die in a ditch somewhere.”
“However, can I make a request?”
“What request?”
Cang Yan coughed lightly, “I remember fifty years ago, you brewed a batch of Thousand Safflower Wine, right?”
Fei Yu elegant face sank, gritting her teeth as she muttered, “Do you make a habit of remembering things from fifty years ago?”
“I always keep good things in mind,” Cang Yan nodded slightly, replying in a natural tone, “En, if we succeed, give me half of them.”
“No! I crossed the whole continent in order to collect the thousand different rare flowers to brew that Thousand Safflower Wine before waiting fifty years for it to ferment! Even I haven’t had a sip of it myself, yet now you open your mouth and demand half of it from me? I take back my words, you’re no better than Li Wan and Fei Jian! No, you’re even worse! If that’s your price, I’d rather not have your help at all!”
Yang Kai stared blankly at this beautiful woman, faintly thinking that this so-called Thousand Safflower Wine seemed to be more important to her than her own life.
“You brewed twenty bottles at that time, even if you give me half, you’ll still have ten jars left!”
“At most I can give you one bottle, don’t even dream you can get half a jar more.”
“Eight bottles!”
“One!”
“Five!”
…..
After an intense round of bargaining, Cang Yan finally could only pinch his nose and accept, “Fine, one bottle, one bottle.”
“That’ll depend on your performance!” Fei Yu spat disdainfully, curling her lips into a grin, “If you can’t help, I won’t give you a single drop.”
Saying so, she suddenly turned her gaze towards Yang Kai, “Smelly brat, what are you smiling about, you think this is funny?”
“No, but it is interesting,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, seeing these two Third Order Transcendents quarreling like this, the obvious friendship between them, it unconsciously gave him a warm feeling.
It had been quite some time since Yang Kai had experienced such a feeling, ever since he came to Tong Xuan Realm, he had always felt somewhat isolated and alone.
“Let’s go, where is that blessed land?” Having reached an agreement on price, Cang Yan was not willing to waste any more time.
“Follow me,” Fei Yu said, leading the way.
As this beautiful woman flew forward, her perfectly rounded hips swayed back and forth in a kind of hypnotising rhythm, enchanting one’s heart as her exquisite jet black hair danced lightly in the wind, revealing her slender white neck that seemed to be crafted from the finest porcelain.
“Don’t stare at her, if you’re not careful, she’ll dig out your eyes,” Cang Yan whispered into Yang Kai’s ear.
“For just that?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“Not long ago, because an Elder from Luo Sheng Sect had an obscene glint in his eyes as he stared at her, she…” Cang Yan didn’t say anymore but instead made a chopping motion with his hand as he glanced towards Yang Kai’s lower half.
Yang Kai’s face instantly went black.
“That’s why Martial Ancestor gave her half a year of solitary confinement,” Cang Yan nodded, “Actually, despite the flirtatious way she dresses and acts, she’s actually still…”
Before he could finish his words though, a delicate jade white fist landed on his face, sending Cang Yan flying over a thousand meters.
The air around Fei Yu seemed to freeze as an ice cold light flashed across her face as she stared towards the miserable Cang Yan, snorting as she scolded, “Do you think I’m deaf?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help gulping while secretly worrying about Cang Yan.
“Little brother, come here, you can travel together with Elder Sister.” Fei Yu suddenly smiled and rushed over to Yang Kai and waved her hand, not waiting for him to answer before directly wrapping him in her True Qi and flying off.
Being pulled close and involuntarily sniffing the enchanting fragrance that lightly wafted from this beautiful woman, Yang Kai’s face became slightly unnatural, but he wisely kept a serious expression on his face, not daring to show the slightest signs of impropriety.
“Don’t listen to that bastard’s nonsense, he’s just slandering me,” Fei Yu whispered as she exhaled a warm breath laced with a unique scent of flowers, tickling one’s heartstrings, “It doesn’t matter if you take a look, Elder Sister won’t punish you for just that, I’m quite gentle.”
Cang Yan, Fei Yu, and Yang Kai landed halfway up a lonely mountain peak and after spending a moment carefully examining the surroundings, the two Third Order Transcendents honed in on their target.
Yang Kai also faintly noticed that there was some kind of subtle energy overflow at the position Cang Yan and Fei Yu indicated.
However, even up close, Yang Kai couldn’t see any difference between it and the surrounding area. If he didn’t know any better he would swear it was just an ordinary piece of land.
“It should be some kind of camouflage, and it’s quite ingenious at that, no wonder so many people hadn’t discovered this place even after so many years,” Cang Yan revealed a solemn expression as he looked around.
“The Spirit Array probably degraded after such a long time which allowed the Sect’s disciples to inadvertently discover it,” Fei Yu also agreed, “Let’s go, we shouldn’t waste any more time.”
Cang Yan stamped his foot on the ground and spread out a scalding hot aura, after which Yang Kai quickly noticed some mysterious glowing runes on the ground.
These runes seemed to be floating within the earth like tadpoles in a pond, struggling for a moment before being burned to ashes under Cang Yan’s technique.
Cang Yan cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, so his True Qi flames were extremely potent, and with his Third Order Transcendent cultivation, it was naturally easy for him to crack this old, damaged, concealing Spirit Array.
A dark hole appeared on the ground, only big enough for one person to enter or exit at a time.
Fei Yu didn’t say anything and jumped straight in, disappearing in the next instant.
Cang Yan waved, “Go in.”
“I’m going in as well?” Yang Kai was surprised. He had thought he would be waiting outside for Cang Yan and Fei Yu to finish; after all, with over a dozen Soaring Heaven Sect disciples having met tragedy inside, this was definitely a crisis ridden place, if he were to recklessly follow these two masters, the only thing he would accomplish would be to slow them down.
“Of course you’re going in,” Cang Yan smiled meaningfully, “This time I’m afraid we’ll have to rely on you.”
“Rely on me?” Yang Kai became even more confused, “Senior must be joking.”
“I’m not joking at all. If it was just me here, I would never have agreed to Fei Yu’s request, but with you here, things are different. Good, once you enter you’ll understand.” Saying so, Cang Yan directly threw Yang Kai into the hole.
With that said, Yang Kai was helpless and could only quietly circulate his True Qi and gather his strength while increasing his vigilance.
This hole seems to be quite deep, and Yang Kai fell for almost as long as it would take for a stick of incense to burn before finally touching solid ground again. Standing firm, he quickly sidestepped and Cang Yan soon landed as well.
“So slow!” Fei Yu pouted, somewhat dissatisfied.
Cang Yan said nothing, summoning a bright fireball above his head, illuminating their surroundings.
“It really is a blessed land. I wonder which Senior’s secluded Cave Mansion this was!” Feeling the rich World Energy inside this place, Cang Yan’s eyes shined.
Fei Yu also seemed somewhat encouraged, “Since it’s a blessed land, there must be treasures as well.”
“Most likely!” Cang Yan nodded, “Let’s go.”
Saying so, he took the lead, with Fei Yu and Yang Kai following closely behind, all three of them on high alert.
As they walked forward, Fei Yu suddenly approached Yang Kai and whispered quietly into his ear, “Don’t use your Divine Sense to investigate, the favourite food of the Soul Devouring Insects in this place is Spiritual Energy, once your Soul and Knowledge Sea become infested with them, you’ll die just like the dozen disciples who first came here.”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he quickly nodded, suddenly thinking of something, “Since all the disciples who came to search this place suffered misfortune, how did you receive news of them, did one of them manage to send a message before falling?”
“No,” Fei Yu shook her head, “It was my Martial Ancestor that discovered their situation. With Martial Ancestor’s supreme strength, he can monitor everything within a five hundred kilometer radius.”
Yang Kai was shocked.
Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor was truly awe-inspiring. Yang Kai’s current Divine Sense was also quite powerful and allowed him to perceive things within a hundred kilometers of himself, but the further away he tried to investigate something, the more Spiritual Energy he would consume and the less clear his perception would be. On the other hand, Soaring Heaven Sect’s Marital Ancestor was able to clearly sense and investigate anything within five hundred kilometers of his position, the gap between them was as far apart as Heaven and Earth.
Cang Yan suddenly stopped, because in front of him there was a cultivator dressed in Soaring Heaven Sect’s robes lying face up on the ground, his eyes dull and unmoving. Sweeping his eyes over this disciple, Cang Yan slowly shook his head.
This person was obviously dead.
Fei Yu no longer whispered to Yang Kai, her pretty face also becoming dignified as she summoned a bell-shaped artifact and poured her True Qi into it, forming an invisible protective barrier around the two of them before immediately following behind Cang Yan.
This bell-shaped artifact was clearly a Soul type artifact and was at least Spirit Grade. As soon as this artifact was activated, Yang Kai felt like he was being soaked in a warm pool of water, his whole body relaxing somewhat.
“Be careful not to stray too far from me. With your limited cultivation, once those Soul Devouring Insects target you, you’ll die,” Fei Yu warned solemnly.
Yang Kai nodded sternly, not daring to show the slightest bit of carelessness.
Because Cang Yan was confident in his strength, he took on the role of leading the group. From time to time, they would meet one or two Soaring Heaven Sect disciples, most of them already dead; however, there were still a few who were simply unconscious, their faces showing signs of struggle.
These comatose disciples were all fed some pills by Cang Yan as the trio passed through.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the group of three suddenly came across a large bronze cast door.
The moment the trio arrived in front of this bronze door though, a black fog suddenly burst forth from it. This black fog, which was composed of countless tiny objects that could not be clearly seen by the naked eye, immediately rushed towards the three people.
Cang Yan’s complexion changed dramatically, hastily retreating as he sent out a blast of scorching hot True Qi. Unfortunately, this blast of True Qi unable to incinerate the black fog it and was only capable of slightly impeding its momentum.
“Soul Devouring Insects!” Fei Yu cried out, her beautiful face also paling slightly, hurriedly pushing her True Qi, sending out a barrage of water arrows into the black fog.
“How can there be so many of them?” Fei Yu’s voice was slightly unsteady, continuing to attack as she called out, “Cang Yan, we need to retreat!”
Although she and Cang Yan were both Third Order Transcendents and could be considered powerful masters, facing this swarm of Exotic Ancient Insects, their abilities were still somewhat insufficient.
In this situation, all they could do was escape from here and report back to their Martial Ancestor.
Cang Yan however didn’t panic, falling back to Fei Yu and Yang Kai’s side as he stared at the rapidly approaching black fog, shouting out to Yang Kai, “Burn them with your Divine Sense!”
Yang Kai was momentarily stunned but quickly collected himself and sent out a burst of Spiritual Energy towards the swarm.
*Hu…*
A blistering hot aura filled the air as a burst of flames exploded in midair, easily incinerating the black fog that had left both Cang Yan and Fei Yu incapable of resisting.
“A Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Fei Yu’s beautiful eyes flashed brilliantly as she turned a surprised look towards Yang Kai.
She had not expected this young man to actually be the possessor of a rare Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
“Without a card to play, do you think I would have accompanied you here just to die?” Cang Yan snorted, a gloating look appearing on his face.
Yang Kai on the other hand was completely focused. After seeing that his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was actually the nemesis of these Exotic Ancient Insects, his anxiety faded completely, stepping forward towards the sealed bronze door.
He could sense that hidden inside this door there were still countless tiny lives.
They were obviously more Soul Devouring Insects.
This bronze door was no doubt the source of the dozen Soaring Heaven Sect disciples’ misfortune.
Under the continuous assault of Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Divine Sense, these Soul Devouring Insects didn’t have any chance to escape back into the bronze door and were all burned to death.
Seeing this, Cang Yan and Fei Yu both wore joyful expressions.
Sometime later, Yang Kai took back his Divine Sense and nodded to the two, “They should all be dead now.”
“Good job, little brother!” Fei Yu swayed her hips mesmerizingly as she walked over and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder intimately, “Elder Sister especially likes young promising kids like you. In the future, we must get better acquainted.”
“Haha…” Yang Kai let out a hollow laugh.
Cang Yan also came over and stared at the closed bronze door, an adventurous light flashing across his eyes.
Since this was likely and ancient cave mansion of some great expert, there was bound to be some treasures beyond this bronze gate.
“Do you want to go in and take a look?” Cang Yan turned to ask Fei Yu.
“After coming all this way, we can’t just turn back without investigating, right?” Fei Yu grinned.
Yang Kai’s eyes flickered before decisively saying, “I’ll wait for you here.”
Cang Yan and Fei Yu both turned to stare at him curiously, but Yang Kai quickly explained, “There may be other traps inside; me coming with you will only slow you down.”
“Fair enough,” Cang Yan nodded, “Then you wait here, we’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful, don’t let your guard down,” Fei Yu sincerely urged.
Yang Kai nodded, after which Cang Yan and Fei Yu pushed open the bronze door and rushed inside, soon disappearing.
After they left, Yang Kai slowly stepped in front of the bronze door and stared at it, his mouth slowly curling into a grin.
Releasing his Spiritual Energy in a clever manner, a moment later a black flog once more emerged from the bronze door.
The Soul Devouring Insects weren’t all dead!
Yang Kai was well aware that Cang Yan and Fei Yu did not dare to release their Divine Senses in this environment so he took advantage of this to successfully deceive them.
He didn’t know why Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor wanted to see him, or what the latter had planned for him, but Yang Kai realized clearly that in the Tong Xuan Realm, his own strength was currently too weak. However, these Soul Devouring Insects which could even force Third Order Transcendents back could act as a powerful trump card for him.
Perhaps he was acting somewhat overly suspicious, but Yang Kai still had to make some plans for his future regardless.
This was also why, even though he knew perfectly well that there would be treasures hidden behind this bronze door, Yang Kai had not gone to seek them and instead had elected to collect these Soul Devouring Insects. On top of that, he was not willing to provoke any kind of dispute between himself, Cang Yan and Fei Yu.
If they obtained any treasures and didn’t apportion him anything, Yang Kai would definitely feel somewhat uncomfortable. At least this way, what he didn’t see or know about, he wouldn’t be upset over not obtaining.
Continuing to emit Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai carefully guided the Soul Devouring Insects into his Knowledge Sea.
Soul Devouring Insects were living creatures, but unlike the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng, they couldn’t be stored inside the Black Book space.
Under the influence of Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy, these Soul Devouring Insects seemed to have become incredibly obedient, all of them orderly flying into his Knowledge Sea as he wished.
Yang Kai expertly controlled the Spiritual Energy contained in his Knowledge Sea, preventing his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea from injuring his new ‘guests’ before placing them all on island formed by his Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus.
Inside Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, this was the only place where there was no burning flames, and it was also the most suitable place to house the Soul Devouring Insects.
Soul Devouring Insects fed on Spiritual Energy, and the Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was constantly emitting a gentle yet indescribably pure Spiritual Energy, nourishing Yang Kai’s Soul.
As soon as these Exotic Ancient Insects landed on the five coloured island, they immediately fell in love with this place and were longer willing to leave.
This result was not within Yang Kai’s calculations, but it was by no means a misdemeanour.
As long as he could carefully tame and control these Exotic Ancient Insects, not only would they not cause any damage to him, Yang Kai could even use his unlimited supply of Spiritual Energy to cultivate them, strengthen them, and use them to confront his enemies when need be.
Receiving the Soul Devouring Insects added another powerful card to Yang Kai’s hand.
Although his physical body and cultivation were still only at the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary, not even having reached the Transcendent Realm, if it came down to a pure confrontation between Souls, Yang Kai now felt that he wouldn’t even fear Saint Realm masters.
His Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and the Soul Devouring Insects could be used to handle external threats, and although the Solitary Golden Eye could only display its might internally, any overconfident master that rashly rushed into Yang Kai Knowledge Sea would never return.
Having acquired this additional layer of protection, Yang Kai felt slightly more relieved.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai did not immediately sit down to cultivate but instead walked back along the path they had entered from.
He wanted to collect all of the Soul Devouring Insects still attacking the surviving Soaring Heaven Sect disciples’ Knowledge Seas.
Of the original dozen or so, only four or five were still alive, and if they were left as is, they would certainly die. Even Soaring Heaven Sect’s Marital Ancestor may not be able to do anything about their situation.
Although Yang Kai was essentially acting in his own self-interest, if he succeeded, he would still be saving their lives, which would no doubt earn him some favour with Soaring Heaven Sect’s masters. It was a win-win situation.
With nothing to worry about, either way, Yang Kai acted decisively.
Beyond the bronze door, after Cang Yan and Fei Yu rushed inside, they had searched the entire cave mansion for hidden treasures.
Both of them had some gains so they were obviously quite happy.
“Cang Yan, I suddenly thought of something. Marital Ancestor sending me to handle this task me just now and then my running into you and that little boy… is all of this really just a coincidence?” Fei Yu seemed to have noticed something and spoke her doubts as the pair continued searching for treasures.
“It really shouldn’t be a coincidence,” Cang Yan nodded, “Martial Ancestor probably wanted to use this opportunity to find out what that kid’s disposition was.”
“Did you know from the beginning?” Fei Yu looked at Cang Yan with a sweet smile.
“Naturally, as soon as I heard about the Soul Devouring Insects, I understood Martial Ancestor’s intentions. Soul Devouring Insects can only be dealt with by those with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, so how could it be a coincidence that I just happened to be bringing back a person with such a rare Knowledge Sea mutation?” Cang Yan quickly said, “If it weren’t for me bringing him back, Martial Ancestor would never have sent you to deal with this situation.”
“If that’s so though, it would seem like Martial Ancestor isn’t that familiar with that little boy, but then why did Martial Ancestor ask you to find him?”
“That’s what I want to know. Two months ago, Martial Ancestor suddenly summoned me and told me to find him. After that, it took me quite a bit of effort to track him down,” Cang Yan’s brow knit slightly, “Moreover, I’m certain that kid doesn’t know Martial Ancestor.”
“Strange, but Martial Ancestor has always been unpredictable,” Fei Yu curled her lips meaningfully, “However, even though you already understood the idea of Martial Ancestor, you still dared to bargain with me for advantages. You’re too shameless! Don’t even dream of getting that bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine.”
Hearing this, Cang Yan’s expression turned bitter.
“A Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, interesting…” Fei Yu muttered with a smile.
“He’s also a Spirit Grade Alchemist,” Cang Yan suddenly added.
Fei Yu’s tender body trembled, “Really?”
“I think that may be the reason why Martial Ancestor asked me to find him. This kid’s future is boundless; I’m really looking forward to seeing if he can stir up a storm throughout all of Tong Xuan Realm, becoming an existence no less renowned than The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep.”
“If that’s the case, then I really should try to get closer to him. Such outstanding geniuses are incredibly rare,” Fei Yu said in a rare dignified tone, it was only now that she realized she had still been somewhat looking down on Yang Kai.
“Also… I have a feeling his potential is far from just that. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding that kid. Judging from his current performance, if he was to receive dedicated training, he would likely overwhelm all the young talents from the top forces across the realm and quickly become Tong Xuan’s most dazzling star.”
“Someone who could attract Martial Ancestor’s attention is certainly not ordinary,” Fei Yu agreed.
The two masters secretly decided that before Yang Kai fully revealed himself to the world, they would definitely establish a good relationship with him. When he was able to summon the wind and rain in the future, there would definitely be benefits for them.
Roughly one day later, Yang Kai saw Cang Yan and Fei Yu re-emerge from the bronze door.
Both of them wore big smiles on their faces; it seems their harvests weren’t small.
When they saw Yang Kai sitting cross-legged, quietly waiting for them with five Soaring Heaven Sect disciples lying down nearby, Cang Yan and Fei Yu couldn’t help showing amazed expressions.
“En, I was idle anyways so I tried to scatter the Soul Devouring Insects in their Knowledge Seas, I didn’t expect it to actually be so easy. They should be able to fully recover after a year or so of cultivation,” Yang Kai explained
“Impressive,” Cang Yan’s eyes flashed brightly as he complimented.
Earlier, he and Fei Yu could only give these disciples some pills to temporarily alleviate their conditions because they had no idea how to go about saving them. They had thought there was no hope for these disciples but now, unexpectedly, Yang Kai had given them a big surprise.
“Elder Sister is liking you more and more,” Fei Yu smiled warmly, “Good, you are these disciples’ saviour, in the future, you don’t have to worry. Elder Sister will not treat you unjustly.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, indicating it was just a minor matter, “How did things go on your end?”
“Good,” Cang Yan showed a faint smile before suddenly pulling out a number of items and showing them to Yang Kai as he said firmly, “This is everything I and Fei Yu found inside; unfortunately, most of the treasures had already turned to dust after such a long time. In any case, take a look, if you want anything, feel free to take it.”
“I also have a share?” Yang Kai pointed at himself and asked in surprise.
“Of course you have a share. Do you think we would horde everything for ourselves?” Fei Yu giggled lightly, “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have even been able to pass this door, let alone search for treasures. You also saved several of our disciples. For this trip, you definitely contributed the most.”
“Then I won’t hold back,” Yang Kai smiled faintly, turning his attention to the items laid out in front of him.
Cang Yan and Fei Yu glanced at each other and nodded secretly, both of them thinking this kid firm character while being neither servile nor arrogant.
If it was some other junior, in front of the two of them, they wouldn’t dare act so. Instead, they would certainly choose to give up these immediate interests in exchange for leaving a good impression on both of them.
When he needed to act, he acted decisively!
In front of Yang Kai were five things, three artifacts, a Secret Art, and a black fist-sized stone.
This was indeed everything that Cang Yan and Fei Yu had found inside, they hadn’t concealed anything.
Among the three artifacts, one of them was Spirit Grade Top-Rank while the other two were actually Saint Grade, their values immeasurable.
Even masters like Cang Yan and Fei Yu had never owned Saint Grade artifacts.
The Secret Art was also a rare treasure, actually reaching the Spirit Grade Top-Rank.
After examining these five items for a while, Yang Kai’s eyes finally fixed on the black stone. The stone was round and he couldn’t see what kind of material it was comprised of. Yang Kai poured his True Qi into it but there was no reaction, he also tried probing it with his Divine Sense but couldn’t glean anything from it once again.
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked the two masters.
Both Cang Yan and Fei Yu shook their heads, they also knew nothing about this stone, only that it had been placed in a very covert location, so they had conveniently brought it with them.
“Then I want this,” Yang Kai said with a smile.
Cang Yan frowned and said sternly said, “You should choose an artifact to defend yourself. Although you can’t use Saint Grade artifacts as your cultivation level is too low and may even harm yourself if you tried to, but this Spirit Grade Top-Rank artifact is still quite good.”
“That’s right, you don’t have to be so modest,” Fei Yu was also confused, wondering how this boy’s personality had changed so much after acting so decisive just a moment ago.
She was somewhat uncomfortable seeing this.
Choosing a stone that none of them knew how to use, it seemed like he was intentionally suffering a loss.
“I’m not trying to act modest!” Yang Kai laughed, “Since even you two can’t see what this thing is, it can only mean one of two things, either it’s worthless or it’s priceless, if I choose it, there’s a chance I’ll gain even more than you.”
“You want to gamble?” Cang Yan somewhat disapproved, “The benefits that one holds in their hands are the only real benefits.”
“True, but the very fact that it is here means you intentionally brought it out, which indicates there’s a great possibility of it being something valuable. The two of you aren’t blind after all,” Yang Kai smiled and grabbed the black stone, “I have no need for these artifacts and I can’t use this Secret Art, so I might as well take this.”
“Since you insist, we won’t say anymore, if some day you discover you’ve lost this bet, don’t come crying to us,” Fei Yu snorted and no longer tried to dissuade him, quickly carving up the other four items with Cang Yan.
Each of them took one of the Saint Grade artifacts and then divided up the remaining Spirit Grade Top-Rank artifact and Secret Art.
Having reaped a full harvest, Cang Yan and Fei Yu were both exceptionally happy.
“Let’s go, Martial Ancestor must be waiting for us,” Cang Yan said, grabbing two unconscious disciples and taking the lead.
Fei Yu also grabbed two, before turning to Yang Kai and grinning, “The last one is yours. I specially reserved a beauty for you. Don’t worry too much, she should be an unpicked flower. Feel free to take full advantage of this opportunity while she’s still unconscious.”
Saying so, she gave him a sly smile, silently egging him on.
Yang Kai laughed dumbly despite trying not to, carried the last female disciple of Soaring Heaven Sect on his back, and followed after Cang Yan and Fei Yu.
On their trip back, all three of them showed their movement skills and quickly returned to the outside world.
After taking a moment to find his bearings, Cang Yan simply flew off towards the direction of Soaring Heaven Sect without saying an extra word.
Yang Kai and Fei Yu hurriedly kept up.
After an hour or so, the three arrived above a huge mountain valley. Taking a look around, there were many scattered houses below as well as a good number of cultivators going about their business.
Although the cultivators here weren’t as numerous as they were back at Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Yang Kai quickly noticed that the overall strength of each individual cultivator was stronger.
The World Energy aura here was also rich to the point where it was nearly tangible, like a river that flowed through the valley. The moment Yang Kai arrived here and took a deep breath, he immediately felt comfortable and relaxed.
The mountain valley was enormous to the point that Yang Kai, who was floating high up in the air and looking down, couldn’t see the end of it, surprising him greatly.
Instead of calling it a valley, it was more appropriate to describe it as a concave plain.
Around the valley, there were a hundred mountain peaks that towered high into the sky like blades. These mountains were filled with birds, beasts, spirit grasses, and spirit medicines, exuding a rich vitality.
These mountain peaks seem to be randomly scattered around the valley, but upon closer inspection, Yang Kai felt that there was something special about their arrangement. The distant World Energy seemed to be attracted by some kind of invisible force and passed through the surrounding hundred mountain peaks and flowed into the valley, nourishing the cultivators, beasts, and plants that resided within.
Cang Yan and Fei Yu both secretly nodded to each other once more.
Yang Kai being able to so quickly notice the mysteries of this place clearly indicated his vision was extraordinary.
“These hundred peaks are the foundation of my Soaring Heaven Sect,” Cang Yan explained.
“Oh? Do they serve some kind of profound purpose?”
“Indeed they do,” Cang Yan gently nodded, “You should also be aware that the outside World Energy is gathering towards the sect, this is because of the Hundred Peak Spirit Array. The hundred and one peaks here act as nodes for this grand Spirit Arrays! What’s more, only half of these peaks were naturally formed.”
“What about the other half?”
“They were created by Martial Ancestor,” Cang Yan grinned.
Yang Kai’s eyes trembled as he exclaimed in shock, “Your Sect’s Martial Ancestor is incredible.”
“Naturally, when one’s strength and cultivation reaches a certain height, they become capable of boiling seas, raising mountains, and even plucking the stars themselves. Rumour has it that there are supreme masters capable of leaving this realm and traversing the Starry Sky in order to seek out the incredible resources and opportunities scattered amongst the stars.”
“Traversing the Starry Sky?” Yang Kai couldn’t help showing a brilliant look, as if a grand door in front of him was slowly opening, allowing him to spy on a profound mystery he had never even dreamed of before. His eyes flashing a brilliant light, he opened his ears and listened carefully to every word Cang Yan was saying.
“En, traversing the Starry Sky!” Cang Yan nodded repeatedly, “You saw the strange cyan stone in Old Man Du’s hand a few days ago, right? That was a product from the Starry Sky; it doesn’t exist in Tong Xuan Realm. That stone is incredibly valuable, it’s a pity it was ultimately destroyed.”
“The Starry Sky has an innumerable variety of medicinal herbs and ores, many of which actually even exceed Saint Grade; there are also giant beasts with the strength that exceed that of Saint Realm masters, even the smallest of which is bigger than my Soaring Heaven Sect’s entire valley.”
Yang Kai’s jaw dropped slowly, a look of amazement and disbelief appearing on his face.
What Cang Yan had just told him, was simply too incredible.
“Well, this is only what the legends say. As for what the Starry Sky actually looks like, nobody knows! No master has ever managed to successfully travel the vast Starry Sky and return to tell the tale,” Cang Yan rubbed his nose and added.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment but soon laughed and nodded, “Even so, your Soaring Heaven Sect’s Spirit Array is still amazing. Where I’m from, such a wondrous formation even existing would be inconceivable.”
“Where you’re from?” Cang Yan was intrigued.
“En, I’m from a small, remote backcountry that’s far, far inferior to here,” Yang Kai explained vaguely.
“I see,” Cang Yan nodded slightly. “The Hundred Peak Spirit Array is truly a magnificent accomplishment. Even throughout the entire Tong Xuan Realm, few Spirit Arrays are its equal. This Spirit Array doesn’t just gather the surrounding World Energy, if the Sect ever encounters a great disaster, the Hundred Peak Spirit Array can also play a defensive role; of course, no one dares to invade my Soaring Heaven Sect, so I have never actually seen the Hundred Peak Spirit Array fully open before.”
“Enough idle chatter you two, hurry up,” Fei Yu interrupted the two men’s conversation impatiently.
“En, I’ll finish introducing Little Brother to everything around here later,” Cang Yan said in a friendly manner, he had already decided to build a good relationship with Yang Kai.
Cang Yan no longer spoke about these matters and instead led Yang Kai and Fei Yu down towards the valley.
Perhaps because the World Energy here was so rich, when one looked down at this place from the sky, everything seemed somewhat illusory, like a light fog was enveloping the entire valley, adding a layer of mystery and danger to it.
A moment later, the group of three landed.
As Cang Yan leisurely strolled forward, the Soaring Heaven Sect disciples that met him along the way all bowed and greeted him respectfully. These cultivators were all quite strong, most of them have at least broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary. The aura surrounding these disciples was thick and solid, clearly, they were much stronger than average cultivators in the same realm and stage.
Yang Kai silently expressed his admiration.
Each of Soaring Heaven Sect’s disciples had vigorous yet well-restrained auras, their vitality, physique, meridians were all extremely solid while their True Qi was dense and potent, their combat power was obviously not to be underestimated.
After handing over the five disciples they had rescued to some disciples to take care of, Cang Yan led Yang Kai to a relatively remote courtyard and said, “You can stay here for now, after I report to Martial Ancestor, I’ll come and find you.”
“I don’t need to see your respected Martial Ancestor now?” Yang Kai frowned, he had thought he would immediately be meeting Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor.
After all, Yang Kai had many doubts in his heart, so he was quite anxious to meet this Saint Realm master and clear up his own confusion. But from Cang Yan’s words, obviously, he would have to wait for some time.
“When Martial Ancestor summons you, I’ll lead you to see him,” Cang Yan smiled and didn’t say anything more, turning around and departing casually.
Fei Yu turned her eyes to Yang Kai and gently consoled him, “You don’t need to worry yourself, it’s impossible for Martial Ancestor to have any malicious intentions towards a little boy like you, if that were really the case, he wouldn’t have specially sent Cang Yan out to find you. Good, let me give you a gift for you to pass your time with.”
Saying so, she suddenly threw two things to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai instinctually caught them and found that they were actually a pair of shackles made from some unidentifiable stone material.
“What are these?” Yang Kai examined them and, to his surprise, couldn’t discover anything extraordinary about them. They weighed less than half a kilogram each and there was no trace of any Spirit Arrays engraved on them or any kind of energy stored within them. It really seemed like an ordinary toy.
“Try pouring your True Qi into them, remember to pour in as much as possible!” Fei Yu instructed.
Yang Kai nodded unsuspectingly and quickly poured his True Qi into the two stone shackles.
In the next instant, he suddenly felt an incredibly heavy weight pulling down on him, causing him to fall forward and nearly plummeted to the ground.
After tumbling unsteadily through the air, Yang Kai somehow avoided embarrassing himself.
*Hong Hong…*
With two muffled thuds, the two shackles fell to the ground and smashed open two deep pits.
Yang Kai paled slightly, a surprised and shocked look appearing on his face.
Hearing an enchanting burst of laughter to his side, Yang Kai slowing turned his head and saw Fei Yu giggling happily.
“You tricked me?” Yang Kai knit his brow as he stared at this beautiful woman.
Because he felt that this woman had no malicious intentions towards him, Yang Kai naturally hadn’t thought much about things and had thus been successfully pranked by her. These two shackled were obviously not ordinary toys, but instead, valuable tools.
“Elder Sister is just teaching you a lesson, don’t readily believe anyone,” Fei Yu giggled lightly.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and nodded, “I have indeed been taught, aunty is quite a sinister character.”
Fei Yu’s laughter came to an abrupt end and her pair of beautiful eyes immediately flashed a dangerous light as she glared angrily towards Yang Kai.
Suddenly, from a nearby treetop, a burst of laughter rang out.
Fei Yu whipped around and pushed her hand forward, sending out a water dragon towards the man hiding in the tree.
“Just try laughing again and see if I don’t rip your mouth from your face!” Fei Yu stared at the man coldly.
The man shrank his neck, and he didn’t dare to laugh again, pointing his finger out and releasing a burst of light towards Fei Yu’s Water Dragon, smashing it before he too shot off like a bolt of lightning and disappeared, his voice passing over from far away, “Kid, if you want to live a bit longer, stay away from this crazy woman. The farther the better!”
“Li Wan, today is the day of your death!” Fei Yu’s tender body flickered and immediately chased after the retreating figure.
All Yang Kai could do was stare blankly.
[Another Third Order Transcendent master!]
The man who just appeared had been hiding right next to him yet Yang Kai didn’t even notice his presence, his method of concealing his presence was perfect.
Although it was only a glimpse, Yang Kai also saw the face of this man, his build was short and thin, as was his head, atop his mouth was a distinctive mustache that gave his face a particularly nefarious look. In short, he was a master who left quite a memorable impression.
On their way here, Cang Yan had told Yang Kai that Soaring Heaven Sect had four Transcendent Realm Third Order Protectors, of which he and Fei Yu were two of them.
This Li Wan should also be one, and as for the remaining one, Yang Kai had yet to meet him.
However, Yang Kai now faintly realized that these four all had their own fields of expertise.
Cang Yan specialized in fire, Fei Yu in water, and Li Wan’s forte should be either speed or explosiveness. From the explosion the latter created a moment ago, Yang Kai could naturally sense how tyrannical his power was.
Standing there for a while, with no one coming up to disturb him, Yang Kai’s expression became slightly weird.
He arrived at this extremely powerful Sect through a strange series of events that he had no control over, but for some unknown reason, this place made Yang Kai feel somewhat disquieted.
However, now that he was here, he didn’t think too much about it because there was really nothing he could do about it. He could only place his hopes on Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor, hoping the latter could dispel his doubts.
His eyes flashing, Yang Kai turned his attention to the two strange shackles that were currently lying in pits of their own making in front of him, reaching out and picking them up.
The moment he lifted them, Yang Kai was surprised to find that these two shackles no longer possessed that terrifying weight and instead weighed at most half a kilogram now, just as they had when he first received them from Fei Yu.
Of course, the fact that they had weighed a tremendous amount only a short time ago was a fact, the two giant pits being all the proof Yang Kai needed to know he hadn’t imagined it.
Frowning for a moment, Yang Kai slowly poured his True Qi into the shackles.
In the next instant, Yang Kai’s brow relaxed and as he expected, with the addition of True Qi, the two shackles became significantly heavier, causing his arms to tremble lightly from exertion.
As he continued to pour in his True Qi, the weight of the shackles also increased.
Even before Yang Kai fully pushed his True Qi, he found that he was somewhat unable to hold up the two shackles. By now they weighed at least five or six thousand kilograms.
The ground around where Yang Kai was standing suddenly trembled and spider-web like cracks began spreading from his feat. Obviously, the earth here couldn’t withstand the tremendous pressure.
After understanding the function and method of use of these shackles, Yang Kai wore a joyful expression, suddenly feeling that Fei Yu had really thrown him a valuable gift. Not only would these shackles give him something to fiddle with to pass the time, but it would also allow him to exercise his physique.
Soaring Heaven Sect, inside a secluded room.
Cang Yan stood respectfully and reported to his Martial Ancestor about the things that happened after he had found Yang Kai.
After hearing that Yang Kai killed Duan Hai and Xu Qi right before Xia Cheng Yin’s eyes, Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor’s eyes couldn’t help shining, revealing a deep smile.
Later, when Cang Yan reported to his Martial Ancestor about what transpired inside the ancient cave mansion, the latter couldn’t help asking in surprise, “He has a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?”
Cang Yan’s brow rose slightly as he asked, “Martial ancestor didn’t know?”
“En, I didn’t,” The old man slowly shook his head, “My intuition simply told me that this matter could be resolved by him, so I sent Fei Yu out just as you were returning.”
“Has Martial Ancestor really never met that kid before?”
“En, I’ve never met him, but… he has some connections to this old master!”
Cang Yan looked confused as he apparently couldn’t understand what kind of connection there could be between Yang Kai and his Martial Ancestor.
“Good, besides the two of us, Du Wan, and Xia Cheng Yin, is there anyone else who knows about him having a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor asked lightly.
Cang Yan’s expression became solemn as he nodded sternly, “Yes, a little girl from the Alchemist Guild knows and on the way back, Fei Yu also saw it.”
“I understand, you’re dismissed.”
“Disciple will now take his leave!” Cang Yan stepped back, turned around, and left. Once outside the secluded room, Cang Yan unconsciously turned his gaze towards the direction of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion and a cold; callus grin slowly crept onto his face.
…..
Yang Kai stayed in Soaring Heaven Sect for two days. During that time, only Fei Yu came to see him once. As for Cang Yan, Yang Kai had no idea where he had gone, and obviously, no one else came up and called out to him.
Fei Yu had actually delivered him a bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine, saying that it was a thank you gift for his help back in the ancient cave mansion.
This beautiful woman was somewhat unconventional. When she came to see Yang Kai, she was clearly drunk, her face and long slender neck dyed an intoxicated shade of red, giving her a particularly tempting glow.
“Don’t drink too much at once. With your small build, you won’t be able to handle it,” Fei Yu smiled as she put down the bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine before disappearing somewhere.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but smile; he didn’t even have the opportunity to ask her anything about the current situation and could only put the bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine into his Black Book space before continuing to walk around his courtyard slowly.
From a bystander’s perspective, he was just pacing around freely, his speed neither fast nor slow; however, if one looked closely, his muscles were all fully tensed, as if his body was bearing some kind of tremendous pressure.
But what was even stranger was that wherever he stepped, he left no traces behind, everything seemed completely ordinary.
Three days later, Cang Yan suddenly appeared beckoned towards Yang Kai, “Martial Ancestor wants to see you.”
Yang Kai smiled happily and quickly walked over.
He had too many questions he wanted to ask, and he also wanted to know what kind of person Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor was.
Before they had gone very far though, Cang Yan stared at him strangely and asked, “Are you nervous?”
“No,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Then why is your True Qi always surging? And your physique seems to be drawn taut… no wait…” Cang Yan’s expression suddenly changed as he stared at Yang Kai deeply and inquired, “Did Fei Yu give you her Primordial Shackles?”
“So these things are called Primordial Shackles?”
Cang Yan nodded lightly, “The more True Qi you pour into them, the heavier they become, how much weight are you currently carrying?”
“Somewhere between four and five thousand kilograms.”
“Kid, you’re really a strange one,” Cang Yan was shocked, “Have you also practiced body cultivation?”
“En, I have.”
The Unyielding Golden Skeleton’s Tempered Body Record was a Secret Art dedicated to the development of physical strength so now even though he was carrying an additional four or five thousand kilograms, Yang Kai could still move about unhindered. Besides feeling a little unnatural, even if he was walking around casually, he wouldn’t leave any kind of noticeable imprints on the ground.
Cang Yan silently expressed his admiration, he had also tried out Fei Yu’s Primordial Shackles before and understood them well. When he thought about when he was at Yang Kai’s cultivation realm, he couldn’t help thinking he wouldn’t be able to perform as well having to carry so much additional weight.
[But Yang Kai is an Alchemist. Why was his physical strength so intrepid?] Cang Yan thought.
Alchemist are normally immersed in their studies of the Alchemic Way all year round and spend very little time on cultivation, so basically, all Alchemists possess lower than average combat strength. When an ordinary cultivator and an Alchemist in the same cultivation realm fight, the one who suffers defeat is almost always the Alchemist.
However, earlier, Cang Yan had watched as Yang Kai killed Duan Hai and Xu Qi, and dove into the Wind Eye and Thunder Eye to cultivate some mysterious, so the former faintly felt that this kid seemed to be more than just a Spirit Grade Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. At the very least, he was not a simple character.
Sometime later, Cang Yan came to a small out of the way house and stopped, turning to Yang Kai and saying, “Go in, Martial Ancestor is waiting for you inside.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and strode forward.
Entering the house, he turned a corner and entered into a solitary room deeper inside. The candlelight seemed to be swaying in the faint breeze, as if it could be snuffed out at any time.
The illumination in the room wasn’t bright but that could not conceal an old man with a thin body and snow white hair who was silently sitting cross-legged. This old man gave off no aura and appeared as tranquil as an ancient well, as if he was just an ordinary mortal.
But Yang Kai still stared blankly for a moment for he knew without a doubt that this was Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor; carefully sizing him up, Yang Kai cautiously but firmly stepped forward.
Arriving in front of the old man, he cupped his fists and bowed politely, “Junior Yang, greets Senior!”
The old man slowly opened his eyes and stared at Yang Kai, soon smiling as he commented, “Excellent aptitude, steady will, and a bold and courageous temperament. Good, nowadays, such young people are a rare sight.”
“Senior’s praise is too generous.”
“En, sit down!”
Yang Kai sat cross-legged on the futon in front of him, but upon taking a seat, his expression tightened as he smelled a faint bloody scent lingering in the air.
“I know that you have a lot of questions, but there’s no need to be anxious, first open the package in front of you and have a look,” The old man said with a smile.
Yang Kai looked down and saw a small box in front of him; there were obvious fresh blood stains on it so there was no doubt it was the source of the bloody scent he had just smelt.
Yang Kai frowned slightly, but didn’t hesitate and proceeded to open the package. Upon seeing the contests though, his hand shook slightly before he turned his eyes towards Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor in surprise.
It was a human head!
Moreover, it was actually Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master, Xia Cheng Yin’s head!
“Before you have grown up, no one should reveal the existence of your Conflagrated Knowledge Sea,” The old man smiled and said.
“Many thanks Senior for taking action!” Yang Kai hastily expressed his sincere gratitude.
Originally, Yang Kai had been planning to quickly break through to the Transcendent Realm and then silence this remaining witness, but he had not thought that Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor would actually take the initiative to help him clean up this matter ahead of time. This allowed Yang Kai to put down a great burden that was weighing on his heart.
At that time, Yang Kai really had no other choice but to reveal the secret of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, because in his view, information about the Ancient Demon Clan and the Coffin Carrying Man absolutely could not be revealed.
“A minor matter,” The old man just lightly shook his head.
With his strength and means, killing Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s Religion Master, a mere Third Order Transcendent, was indeed a minor matter. Before Xia Cheng Yin had even responded, his head had already been separated from his body.
“Senior,” Yang Kai sat in a respectful manner and solemnly said, “May I ask, why have you done all this? Why did you send Cang Yan to look for me? Why did Cang Yan take such good care of me? And why are you even willing to kill Bright Thunder’s Religion Master? I don’t believe we’ve ever met, have we?”
“Heh heh,” The old man chuckled, “This old master doing so, naturally there is a reason, en, first of all, this old master is called Chu Ling Xiao. After hearing this, have you understood anything?”
Yang Kai’s expression changed, faintly realizing something as his eyes stared towards the old man, the vigilance in his gaze gradually melting and being replaced with a bright light.
“It seems you have some idea but are still not sure, then let this old master show you some evidence,” Chu Ling Xiao smiled and suddenly stretched out his hand, sending a pulse of energy into Yang Kai’s body.
Before Yang Kai could react, the sound of a clinking chain rang out inside the chamber.
A shining golden chain had suddenly strangely appeared above Yang Kai and flew over to Chu Ling Xiao.
“The Devil Sealing Chain!” Yang Kai called out in surprise.
This was the evil suppressing artifact he had acquired beneath High Heaven Pavilion’s Coiling Dragon Stream. Since he obtained it, Yang Kai had used it twice, the first time being when he killed Demon General Meng Ge’s Soul Clone in the depths of the Evil Cavern.
The second time was beneath the Central Capital, where he used the Devil Sealing Chain to deal with Demon Lord Yang Bai.
After the death of Yang Bai, Yang Kai had taken back the Devil Sealing Chain and not used it since.
But now, the Devil Sealing Chain was summoned out by Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial Ancestor!
“This thing belongs to this old master!” Chu Ling Xiao smiled as he said to Yang Kai.
The last remnants of confusion in Yang Kai’s eyes faded and he finally understood everything.
Yang Kai scratched his head lightly as asked the old man hesitantly, “Ancestral Founder?”
Chu Ling Xiao nodded lightly, “This old master didn’t expect that after a few hundred years someone from that world would arrive on Tong Xuan Realm. You must have encountered a lot of hardship, you’ve worked hard.”
“I haven’t suffered much hardship, many people have assisted me on my journey here,” Yang Kai’s was subtly excited as he looked at Chu Ling Xiao, feeling a sense of warmth and comfort, as if he had returned home.
“If so then that’s for the best,” Chu Ling Xiao sighed slightly, “A few hundred years ago, this old master also traveled to that side, so I know just how barren that place is, you being able to arrive here is really quite surprising.”
“Then, was High Heaven Pavilion really founded by Senior?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed brilliantly.
“En,” Chu Ling Xiao nodded, “I established the Sect using my own name. Originally, while I was pursuing a Demon General, I crossed a Void Corridor and arrived at your world. After fighting him there, I finally managed to scatter his Soul but was unable to destroy his physical body, so I could only use the Devil Sealing Chain to bind and seal it in a deep ravine. I then founded High Heaven Pavilion so there would be someone to stand guard over that Demon General’s body. After a couple dozen years had passed, I determined that the last remnants of that Demon General’s Soul had finally dissipated and then I found my way back here,” Chu Ling Xiao explained, asking curiously in the next moment, “Time has passed by so quickly. Are you one of High Heaven Pavilion’s current disciples?”
“Yes.”
“Good, good, you being able to obtain the Devil Sealing Chain means there is some fate between you and I,” Chu Ling Xiao smiled happily, pausing for a moment before asking, “What is the situation like on that side now? Is the Sect still alright?”
“Everything over there is fine now, but a few years ago the Sect was nearly wiped out.”
“Oh? It seems this old master was too irresponsible with the Sect he created. Tell me about it.”
Yang Kai spoke about how he joined High Heaven Pavilion and all the various events and trials, big and small, he and Sect had overcome these past few years. Having not been able to be so open with anyone for so long, Yang Kai did not try to conceal anything. After all, the old man with a gentle temperament and kind smile in front of him was not just Soaring Heaven Sect’s Martial ancestor, he was also the Ancestral Founder of High Heaven Pavilion. Yang Kai naturally did not need to hide anything from him.
Chu Ling Xiao also listened with great interested; seemingly quite concerned with the successors of his legacy he had left over on that side.
When he heard that High Heaven Pavilion’s current Sect Master had become a Second Order Transcendent, Chu Ling Xiao couldn’t help smiling brightly.
He knew just what the conditions of that world were like. Anyone being able to break through to such a realm must have extremely good aptitude and natural talent.
When Chu Ling Xiao departed, he hadn’t left much behind, only a single Universe Bag; the very same one Ling Tai Xu had given Yang Kai and which was currently in Su Yan’s hands.
“It turns out you were from one of the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families. When this old master was over on that side, I had heard much about their strength,” Chu Ling Xiao nodded lightly.
“There’s no comparison between them and this side though,” Yang Kai shook his head, any random force here was stronger than all of the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families combined.
“How did you come to this side?” Chu Ling Xiao asked curiously.
Yang Kai went on to describe how he had found a Void Corridor with Shui Ling and made the subsequent trip here.
“Water Spirit Temple, good, this old master has heard about them, a Sect that specializes in Water Attribute Secret Arts,” Chu Ling Xiao nodded slightly, “You’ve indeed worked hard to be able to arrive at this step.”
“This is just the path this disciple has chosen,” Yang Kai replied righteously.
“What plans do you have for the future?” Chu Ling Xiao kindly asked.
“Nothing for the time being; however, there are two people I want to find.”
“Who are you looking for?”
“My two Senior Sisters, they also crossed over to this side,” Yang Kai replied.
Chu Ling Xiao smiled and nodded, “What characteristics do they have? I can let the Sect’s people help pay attention to any news about them.”
Yang Kai quickly described the features of Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, adding on after, “Strictly speaking, they are actually four people I am looking for. In addition to my two Senior Sisters, there is also a Devil Lord who possessed the body of the Demon General Ancestral Founder sealed in High Heaven Pavilion all those years ago.”
“A Devil Lord?”
“Ancestral Founder can rest assured, he shouldn’t be a member of the Demon Race, it’s just that his cultivation techniques are somewhat evil. He has helped me a lot and I consider him my friend. He calls himself Old Demon, as for his real name, he’s never mentioned it before.”
“Old Demon? I’ve never heard of him, but I’ll believe in your vision, and the last one?”
“An old foggy name Meng Wu Ya, he’s a very mysterious person.”
“Meng Wu Ya?” Chu Ling Xiao expression changed dramatically, “Did you say Meng Wu Ya?”
“Does Ancestral Founder know him?”
“I do know someone named Meng Wu Ya, but I don’t know if it is the same person, what does he look like?”
Yang Kai quickly described the appearance of Meng Wu Ya. Chu Ling Xiao’s expression became weird as he murmured, “Is it really him? He was supposed to have died already but now it seems that old fox is alive and kicking and also escaped to that side.”
Yang Kai was also quite surprised, “Ancestral Founder seems to be quite familiar with Treasurer Meng…”
“I am indeed familiar with him, I’ve even fought with him several times, but there’s no hatred between us, both of us were just exchanging pointers. That guy… en, he’s a tough character to handle. About two hundred years ago, he and the Demon Commander fought a great battle after which he disappeared. We all thought he was dead.”
“He and Ancestral Founder fought one another?” Yang Kai’s eyes couldn’t help bulging, “What realm had he achieved that he could exchange moves with you?”
“The Saint Realm obviously,” Chu Ling Xiao was surprised by Yang Kai’s reaction, “Why? What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai mouth twitched a few times before he managed to reply, “Several years ago, when I first met him, his cultivation was only at the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary. When we last separated though, his strength had risen to somewhere around the Second or Third Order Transcendent Realm, but his full strength still seemed to be suppressed by some kind of seal.”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Chu Ling Xiao burst out into laughter, “That old fox got what he deserved, he must have been struck by the Demon Commander’s Profound Heavenly Seal, a powerful three layer seal, and from what you’ve described, it seems he’s already unlocked the first layer of the seal. It’s quite a feat he managed to escape from the Demon Commander with his life in that kind of state. It seems his luck is as good as ever.”
Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked, unable to accept this new information for quite some time.
It was no wonder he always felt that Treasurer Meng was surrounded in mystery, it turns out he was actually a top-level Saint Realm master. Lifting the first layer of the seal binding his cultivation had allowed him to restore his strength to the Transcendent Realm. If he could lift the second layer of restrictions, he will be able to return to the Saint Realm, and if he managed to break through the last layer of the seal, he would definitely return to being an apex master even by Tong Xuan Realm’s standards.
“You’ve brought me some good news,” Chu Ling Xiao said happily, “But it wouldn’t be easy to find him. When he fought with the current Demon Commander, the latter ate a small loss. The Demon Race is quite vengeful, so before that old fogey’s strength is completely restored, he won’t easily show his face; after all, he is also a famous character. Once the Demon Race become aware of his return, it will be difficult for him to escape their pursuit.”
Yang Kai was stunned.
“I’ll let the Sect’s people pay attention to news about the movements of your two Senior Sisters. If we learn anything, I’ll let you know. You are also a disciple of my Soaring Heaven Sect. From now on, you can stay here with peace of mind, no need to feel restrained, just treat this place as your own home.”
“Disciple understands,” Yang Kai took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
After learning that this old man was the Ancestral Founder of High Heaven Pavilion, Yang Kai truly didn’t feel he was an outsider.
Fortunately, Chu Ling Xiao had sensed the faint presence of the Devil Sealing Chain and thus found him, otherwise, Yang Kai would still be a homeless wanderer.
“Cang Yan,” Chu Ling Xiao called out.
Cang Yan, who had been waiting outside the door, immediately came in, “Disciple greets Martial Ancestor.”
“En, take care of your new Martial Nephew.”
“Disciple understands.”
“Right, Ancestral Founder, disciple has something to request,” Yang Kai suddenly spoke.
“Oh, if you have something to ask, feel free to speak.”
“For certain reasons, I need to quickly improve my proficiency in Alchemy, so I would like to ask the Sect to provide me with some herbs to concoct pills.”
“Let Cang Yan arrange it, this is also a good deed for my Soaring Heaven Sect!” Chu Ling Xiao smiled and nodded.
Yang Kai volunteering to perform Alchemy for the Sect was something Chu Ling Xiao was more than happy to see.
After bidding farewell to Chu Ling Xiao, Yang Kai and Cang Yan left the secluded house and Cang Yan gave Yang Kai a curious look, “Are you from that other realm?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder I’ve never heard of you before. I always wondered how such an outstanding young talent like you could be completely unknown, but now I understand. Good, from now on we are all one family. Martial Uncle will definitely take care of you, if anyone dares to mess with you, Martial Uncle will help you to exterminate his whole family,” Cang Yan grinned.
Yang Kai’s face went a little black at this terrifying comment which was made in such an offhanded manner.
When he returned to his temporary courtyard, Yang Kai discovered a red-faced Fei Yu lying down lazily on a bench in the corridor, her exquisite curves and tall peaks clearly outlined by her thin, messy robes, simulate one’s fantasies.
She had a bottle of wine in her hands and was drinking happily.
“Drinking again,” Cang Yan slowly shook his head and whispered to Yang Kai, “Your Martial Aunt here doesn’t behave like a woman at all, all she does is drink all year round, and I bet no one will want her for her entire life.”
Before he had finished voicing his thoughts, Fei Yu’s wine bottle flew over towards him. Cang Yan caught it, sniffed, and muttered in dissatisfaction, “Not your Thousand Safflower Wine?”
“Hmph,” Fei Yu got up and squinted at Cang Yan, “There’s no share of my Thousand Safflower Wine for a jerk who enjoys slandering me behind my back.”
“But you promised me before,” Cang Yan grumbled.
“I already gave that bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine to this little brother.”
“Gave it to him?” Cang Yan stared blankly at Yang Kai before breaking out into a flattering smile, “Martial Nephew, you see… Martial Uncle worked hard for two months searching for you, shouldn’t you offer me some thanks as a show on sincerity?”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “I want to keep good things for myself.”
Cang Yan blinked for a moment, apparently not having thought Yang Kai would actually flat out refuse him.
Fei Yu, on the other hand, frowned slightly as she asked suspiciously, “How did it suddenly become Martial Nephew? Did this little brother join our Soaring Heaven Sect?”
“Strictly speaking, he has always been a disciple of our Soaring Heaven Sect.”
“Oh, what happened?” Fei Yu was quite surprised as she stared curiously at Yang Kai.
Cang Yan gave a brief explanation of what had just happened, causing Fei Yu to suddenly rejoice, “So that means I’m also this boy’s Martial Aunt?”
“En,” Cang Yan nodded.
“Haha, it seems we’ve picked up another Martial Nephew,” Li Wan said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, his head not even reaching past Yang Kai’s shoulders as he crossed his arms and examined the latter from top to bottom like a wise old soul, his eyes fill with bright light as he nodded slightly, “Not bad.”
“Greetings, Martial Uncles, Martial Aunt,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
The three people glanced at each other and laughed, Fei Yu smiling even more brilliantly than before, obviously feeling very happy.
All of a sudden, Li Wan declared, “Good, I think we should celebrate Martial Nephew’s recognition of his ancestors and return to his roots.”
“Good idea!” Cang Yan nodded in agreement, continuing, “I think Serene Resplendent Peak would be the perfect place to hold a celebration.”
“No!” Fei Yu’s complexion changed rapidly as she hurriedly tried to object.
However, Cang Yan had already used his movement skill to fly away, his voice travelling back from afar, “I’m going to hunt for some fresh meat.”
Li Wan had similarly disappeared as he said, “I’ll go find Fei Jian. We can’t let him miss out on the celebration.”
In the blink of an eye, only Fei Yu and Yang Kai were left behind.
The beautiful woman bit her lip as she stared off in the direction Cang Yan and Li Wan disappeared, cursing under her breath, “You bastards!”
After scolding them for a while, she smiled helplessly and shook her head, “They just want to get their greedy hands on my Thousand Safflower Wine, a group of shameless men.”
Sighing, she then turned to look at Yang Kai and said, “Let’s go, if I don’t give them what they want this time, they’ll just squat on my Serene Resplendent Peak and bother me until I give in such a headache.”
“Am I going too?” Yang Kai was still a little dumbstruck.
“They’re taking advantage of your name to do all this, of course, you have to go,” Fei Yu nodded, swiftly reaching out and grabbing Yang Kai’s collar before flying off with him towards a mountain in the distance.
As soon as she flew up though, Fei Yu suddenly felt an intense weight dragging her down, her pretty face cramping up as she quickly increased her strength to compensate.
Shooting a glance towards Yang Kai, Fei Yu knit her brow and asked, “Are you wearing my Primordial Shackles on your body?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Stop injecting your True Qi into them, it’s too difficult to fly like this,” Fei Yu gave him a dirty look. Just now, she had almost embarrassed herself.
Yang Kai silently chuckled and took back his True Qi, the speed of the pair suddenly increasing a lot.
After a brief flight, the two arrived atop a beautiful mountain peak.
This mountain peak was exceptionally beautiful, with crystal clear streams that flowed towards towering waterfalls that cascaded down into the valley down below. The mist which scattered about shimmered in the sunlight like bright stars in the night. Everything here exuded a feeling of natural harmony.
Fei Yu brought Yang Kai past the lower streams and stopped just below one of the great waterfalls, landing atop a wide plateau in front of a cave halfway up the mountain.
Yang Kai took a deep breath in and felt his body and mind relaxing before quickly discovering that there was actually no one else around at all.
“This is Serene Resplendent Peak, the place where I live. Each of us four Protectors have our own peak. Their places are always lively but I prefer peace and quiet, so I live here alone. Come with me.” Saying so, she led Yang Kai towards the cave.
The interior of this cave was spacious and clean. Inside the belly of the mountain, a number of stones rooms were excavated and all the walls were lined with brilliant stones that gave off a gentle light.
Here, there was not even a whiff of foul odor, instead; there was a just a touch of alluring fragrance.
Yang Kai gazed around in appreciation and surprise. He had thought a woman like Fei Yu who was so addicted to alcohol would definitely not have a dwelling that could be described as ‘feminine’, but the truth was her home was actually filled with elegance and refinement.
“Little Martial Nephew, if you’d like, afterwards you can live here with me. Martial Aunt has grown somewhat bored with the constant loneliness,” Fei Yu commented suddenly, perhaps cracking a joke, or perhaps not, Yang Kai wasn’t sure.
“Me, live here?”
“En, I arranged a place for you in the valley before because I didn’t know your origins, but now, since you’re my Soaring Heaven Sect’s disciple, you are free to choose a mountain peak to live on, and since you will be often studying Alchemy, you will need a quiet and comfortable environment, right? My place is perfect then; Cang Yan and their side is crowded every day so there will definitely be more people there disturbing you.”
“The conditions here really are excellent,” Yang Kai nodded earnestly.
“Think about it, Martial Aunt’s offer is serious,” Fei Yu smiled with a healthy glow upon her face like that of a fully ripe fruit.
After touring around the mountainside for a while, Fei Yu led Yang Kai to a large open space.
Fei Yu had been grumbling earlier that Cang Yan, Li Wan, and Fei Jian were just a group of bastards after her Thousand Safflower Wine, but the moment she arrived here she still began enthusiastically arranging tables and chairs before taking out a few bottles of her specially brewed Thousand Safflower Wine as well as some fragrant spirit fruits.
Just after she finished setting the table, there was a rush of footsteps approaching from afar. In the next moment, Cang Yan, Li Wan and another man with a tall, thin build, appeared.
“I seem to smell some delicious wine!” Li Wan’s two thick eyebrows bounced in a wretched manner as he sniffed the air in an exaggerated manner.
Cang Yan beside him carried some Monster Beast Yang Kai had never seen or heard of before on his back with a valiant expression.
After seeing the bottles on the table, both of them showed an understanding smile as they licked their lips and complimented, “Fei Yu is truly a generous lady.”
Fei Yu’s complexion became cold as she snorted loudly, “One bottle per person, quickly drink it down then get the hell out!”
“Enough, enough!” Li Wan nodded quickly before reaching out and grabbing the bottle, apparently quite reluctant to let it go.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was quietly taking a look at the third newcomer. This man should be the last of the four Protectors of Soaring Heaven Sect, which meant he should also be a Third Order Transcendent powerhouse. Yang Kai quickly became aware that the aura this person gave off was quite different from Cang Yan’s oppressiveness, Fei Yu’s softness, and Li Wan’s insidiousness; this person seemed to give off a feeling of sharpness.
The opposite party also seemed to be observing him and after a moment, suddenly grinned, “Is this our newly arrived little Martial Nephew?”
When he grinned, Yang Kai almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
Because this person’s smile was actually so crooked.
Originally, Yang Kai had felt that Li Wan had a wicked enough appearance, but compared to this person, even Li Wan’s looks seemed somewhat soft.
These two masters from Soaring Heaven Sect were seriously distinctive.
“Junior Yang Kai greets Martial Uncle!” Yang Kai cupped his fists respectfully.
Fei Jian nodded lightly before suddenly assuming a posture of nocking an arrow and drawing a bow.
*Weng…*
The world seems to shiver as the surrounding World Energy suddenly stagnated.
Yang Kai eyes instinctively shrank; at that moment, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis, like he was being stared at by a poisonous snakes, unable to dodge or evade the coming strike.
Cang Yan, Fei Yu, and Li Wan all remained silent, just watching Yang Kai with interested smiles.
Fei Jian’s index finger twitched and suddenly, an invisible attack shot straight out towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s eyes bulged as he frantically pushed his True Qi and sent out a punch towards the incoming strike.
*Hong…*
A burst of energy erupted as waves of True Qi rippled through the air, but Yang Kai still stood tall, not falling back a single step.
The four Protectors all smiled brightly.
Fei Jian grinned and nodded, “En, not bad, Cang Yan told me that your strength was much stronger than an average Peak Immortal Ascension cultivator, but I didn’t believe him at the time. It seems I was mistake, my Soaring Heaven Sect has indeed added an outstanding talent.”
“Does Martial Uncle specialize in archery?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed.
Fei Jian nodded frankly, “Yes.”
Fei Yu came over and whispered into Yang Kai’s ear, “This guy is a real sinister fellow, he never fights people from the front but instead hides in the dark. No one can hide from his arrows. If you want to learn the ways of sneak attacking and assassinating your opponents, you should ask him for advice.”
Yang Kai nodded. He understood that Fei Jian’s attack just now was only a test and had no hostility or malice behind it; however, even then, his strike had almost been beyond Yang Kai’s ability to resist.
Each of Soaring Heaven Sect’s four Protectors was not to be underestimated.
“It’s a matter of one’s heart,” Fei Yu suddenly smiled and said with profound meaning.
“Hey, stop spreading nonsense,” Li Wan muttered unhappily.
“Alright alright, enough. I’ve waiting for this Thousand Safflower Wine for fifty years, so let’s drink already,” Cang Yan stepped forward and picked up a bottle, popping it open and taking a big swig, his face instantly blushing red as he praised loudly, “Good wine.”
Seeing Cang Yan’s ardent reaction, Li Wan and Fei Jian couldn’t help rushing over and joining him.
Yang Kai also sat down and picked up a spirit fruit, slowly eating it while he watched these four masters straightforward and unrestrained behaviour, suddenly feeling a touch of warmth inside.
These four Martial Seniors were clearly a close knit group, and their occasional disputes only seemed to serve as catalysts to enhance their bonds as brothers and sisters.
After three rounds of wine, no one was able to keep up appearances anymore, all four of them not showing any of the majesty Transcendent Realm masters should have.
Fei Yu, whose skin was now a dyed a health shade of red, suddenly shot Yang Kai and drunken look and threw him the bottle of wine she had been drinking and grinned, “Little Martial Nephew, you have a drink too.”
Yang Kai took it, glanced over at her suspiciously, but still didn’t hesitate to gulp down a mouthful.
Oddly, there was no strong taste of alcohol, instead only a rich yet mellow fragrance lingered on his tongue, but before Yang Kai had time to offer his praises for this concoction, a burning sensation erupted from the pit of his stomach and began spreading like a raging fire.
Yang Kai expression changed dramatically as he suddenly felt like his entire physique and all of his meridians were trembling, like a fierce, invisible torrent was flooding through every part of his body. In an instant, Yang Kai could no longer control himself, his body going stiff before he keeled over onto his back and passed out.
Fei Yu’s had moved faster than the eye could see and snatched the bottle from Yang Kai before it hit the ground.
The four Third Order Transcendent masters all exchanged glances before suddenly bursting into laughter together.
After a good laugh, the four of them began drinking again, none of them paying any attention to Yang Kai anymore.
…..
When Yang Kai woke up again, his surroundings were quiet, Cang Yan and the others had already left, leaving behind only a mess of dishes and bottles. As for Fei Yu, she was lying sloppily on a chair nearby, her head resting comfortably atop her jade arm as she stared at Yang Kai with a drunken look.
“You’re up?” Fei Yu smiled lightly.
Yang Kai’s face was still dyed red but he managed to nod slightly.
He hadn’t expected the so-called Thousand Safflower Wine to be so overbearing, he had only drank a mouthful but the energy it contained was still massive.
“How do you feel?”
“Very good, apparently,” Yang Kai examined himself quickly and soon discovered that his True Qi was now flowing faster and smoother than before and that his physique and meridians had become tougher and more resilient.
“That’s good. That bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine I gave you earlier, you can only drink a mouthful of it three times a month, if you drink any more, it’ll do more harm than good. I’m going to sleep for a while, feel free to make yourself at home,” Fei Yu said, still maintaining her gorgeous smile, pausing for a moment before adding, “Right, I told Cang Yan and those two that you’ll be living here on Serene Resplendent Peak. Later, they’ll send you some spirit herbs for you to practice Alchemy.”
“Got it,” Yang Kai responded lightly.
The next moment, Fei Yu closed her beautiful eyes and her breathing became slow and even. Apparently she had spent quite a bit of energy guarding Yang Kai while he was passed out.
After meditating for a while to completely absorb the residual medicinal efficacies left in his body, Yang Kai got up and began cleaning up the surrounding mess.
Two hours later, Fei Yu gradually woke up and without caring about her image, bent and stretched herself freely in front of Yang Kai, yawning as she inadvertently showed off her lithe body and exquisite curves.
“Follow me, I’ll take you to a place you can cultivate,” Fei Yu beckoned to Yang Kai before turning around and walking off.
The deeper the two proceeded into the mountain, the denser Yang Kai felt the World Energy became.
Not long after, a stone chamber illuminated by brilliant light crystals appeared in front of Yang Kai.
This stone room’s walls, floor, and even ceiling were completely inlaid with Crystal Stones. These Crystal Stones seemed to be arranged in the form of some kind of Spirit Array which caused the surrounding World Energy to continuously gather towards the stone room. Yang Kai felt particularly comfortable in this environment and even without consciously circulating his Secret Art, he could feel World Energy pouring into his body through his pores.
This was, quite simply, a cultivation Holy Land.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and soon found that this stone room did not just have a single layer of Crystal Stones, but at least a dozen or so, making each node of this Spirit Array at least half a meter thick.
Using so many Crystal Stones to create such a stone room, this expenditure was nothing less than astonishing.
Looking around the stone room in front of him, Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked.
“What do you think?” Fei Yu asked.
“Is this the place where you usually cultivate?” Yang Kai noticed some certain traces throughout the stone room. These traces were naturally left behind by someone who regularly sat here in meditation year after year. “If I use this place, what about you?”
“I have no use for this place temporarily,” Fei Yu smiled and said, “Perhaps when I can realize the mysteries of the Saint Realm I’ll have need of it again.”
Fei Yu and the other three Protectors had all reached the peak of the Third Order Transcendent Realm but were stuck comprehending the mysteries of the Saint Realm. Before they reached a high enough level of understanding and overcame this mental barrier, they would be unable to break through to the Saint Realm.
If all four of the Protectors could break through to the Saint Realm, the strength of Soaring Heaven Sect would increase dramatically!
“You don’t need to have any psychological burden, this stone room is idle in any case,” Fei Yu smiled and said.
Yang Kai nodded, “Then I won’t polite.”
“Here, you don’t have to worry about anything, just cultivate in peace. If you feel bored, you can come out and look for me, I’m usually around Serene Resplendent Peak. If you can’t find me, you can go seek out one of those three, they should be able to teach you many things,” Fei Yu urged him gently before quickly disappearing.
Cang Yan sent a large number of herbs to Yang Kai the following day and the latter immediately began diligently performing Alchemy.
When he grew tired from Alchemy, Yang Kai would meditate and rest for a while, restoring his spirit before once again continuing to refine pills.
Serene Resplendent Peak was truly a quiet place. There was only Yang Kai and Fei Yu on this entire mountain, and while Yang Kai was performing Alchemy or cultivating, Fei Yu would never bother him, allowing him to completely relax and immerse himself in his efforts.
All three meals Yang Kai ate each day were prepared from rare Monster Beast meat and medicinal herbs, providing him with massive nutritional supplements, although with Yang Kai’s current cultivation, he could go months or even a year without eating anything, Fei Yu still insisted on sending him this food every day.
These meals would be placed in front of his door every day and if Yang Kai needed it, all he had to do was take it.
Occasionally, when Yang Kai left the stone chamber, the four Protectors would get together and share with him their own insights and understanding of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao.
Here, Yang Kai felt a deep and meticulous care he had not previously experienced.
Soaring Heaven Sect provided him with the best possible environment for both cultivation and Alchemy.
For all of this, Yang Kai was incredibly grateful; although he knew that part of this was due to his own aptitude and his identity as an Alchemist, it was still the truth that his four Martial Seniors really were good to him.
Several months later, Yang Kai’s Alchemy skill had once again improved and he had even successfully refined a Saint Grade Low-Rank pill without the help of a supplementary Spirit Array!
This brought him one step closer to his goal.
During these past few months, Yang Kai had spared no effort to refine a large number of pills for Soaring Heaven Sect. The sheer number, quality, and grade of these pills shocked his four Martial Seniors greatly.
Originally, they had only know Yang Kai was certified as a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist by the Alchemist Guild and hadn’t thought much about it, so one could imagine their surprise when he continuously refined Spirit Grade Mid-Rank and Spirit Grade Top-Rank pills.
On top of that, many of the pills Yang Kai refined even had Pill Veins!
The four Protectors quickly realized the seriousness of this situation and after some simple deliberations, Yang Kai’s existence and abilities were quickly listed as one of Soaring Heaven Sect’s highest level secrets. Soon after, Fei Yu almost became Yang Kai’s exclusive bodyguard and atop Serene Resplendent Peak, she was never far from his side.
Yang Kai only met with Fei Yu several times over this period, but every time he did, this beautiful woman would inevitably be drunk, as if her greatest love in life was drinking. Every time she drank, she would display none of the style a Martial Aunt should have and would often entangle Yang Kai in her revelries, making the latter not know whether to laugh or cry.
Afterwards, when Fei Yu woke up from her drunk stupor, she wouldn’t remember a thing about her embarrassing performance, so Yang Kai was helpless to stop the cycle from repeating itself.
Occasionally, when he went out to relax, Yang Kai would visit Chu Ling Xiao and listen to his teachings.
Since he began cultivating, Yang Kai had always been forging his own path and never received formal instruction from anyone. There was a great difference between having someone enlighten him about the Martial Dao and groping around on his own was.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had acquired the Demon Eye of Annihilation which allowed him to absorb the insights and comprehensions of the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way of the masters he killed, benefiting his understanding greatly.
The only thing that made Yang Kai feel somewhat depressed about was that although Chu Ling Xiao had asked people to inquire about Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, there had thus far been no news about them.
Tong Xuan Realm was incredibly vast; searching for two people amongst this sea of people was undoubtedly more difficult than looking for a needle in a haystack.
One day a few months after his arrival, while Yang Kai was practicing his Alchemy, he suddenly heard a set of soft footstep outside his door.
Naturally it was Fei Yu.
She had never bothered Yang Kai while he was performing Alchemy but now she had deliberately made some noise to alert him to her presence so it was obvious she had something important to discuss with him.
Yang Kai did not pause the movements of his hands, focusing on the task he was performing, and an incense worth of time later, he took a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill out of his furnace.
Storing the pill into a jade bottle, Yang Kai stood up and opened the door to the stone room; looking at Fei Yu who was waiting out, he quickly asked, “Does Martial Aunt have a matter to discuss with me?”
“Did I disturb you?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
“That’s good,” Fei Yu let out a light sigh of relief before continuing, “Cang Yan is looking for you, he’s outside.”
“I’ll go greet him then,” Yang Kai said and hastily walked out.
A moment later, Yang Kai saw his Martial Uncle. This time though, not only was Cang Yan present, but so too were Li Wan and Fei Jian, the expressions on each of their faces somewhat dignified.
Yang Kai glanced around at them curiously, wondering what had happened to cause these three to suddenly seek him out with such stern faces.
“Martial Nephew.” Seeing Yang Kai appear, Cang Yan greeted him.
“I heard that Martial Uncles were looking for me?”
“Have a seat first,” Cang Yan waved.
Once everyone took a seat, Yang Kai waited quietly for his Seniors to speak.
After a brief silence, Cang Yan asked, “Martial Nephew, not that your Martial Uncle is suspicious of you, but I must ask you to confirm, what grade of Alchemist are you now?”
From Old Man Du, Cang Yan knew that Yang Kai was a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist.
However, his performance during his brief stay in Soaring Heaven Sect far exceeded that of a mere Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist. Refining Spirit Grade Mid-Rank and Top-Rank pills constantly indicated that Yang Kai’s true ability was far greater than Spirit Grade Low-Rank.
Old Man Du would not lie to Cang Yan, so the only possibility the latter could think of was that Yang Kai had hidden his true abilities when he took the Alchemist Guild’s test.
Fei Yu’s beautiful eyes flashed suddenly as she stared towards Yang Kai and let slip, “A few days ago, I remember you even successfully refined a Saint Pill!”
Hearing this, Cang Yan’s complexion changed greatly as he unconsciously asked, “Is that true?”
“En,” Yang Kai took that Saint Grade pill out and replied, “My luck was good; the pill was refined successfully.”
Cang Yan took it quickly and examined it carefully, unable to help himself from feeling somewhat excited, “Can you even refine Saint Grade pills now?”
“I should be able to,” Yang Kai nodded. When he refined that Saint Pill he did not use a supplementary Spirit Array or the Myriad Drug Milk and only relied on his own skill.
Spirit Arrays could increase the success rate of Alchemy and the Myriad Drug Milk could improve the quality of a pill.
If both of these boosts were also counted, Yang Kai could easily refine Saint Grade Low-Rank pills.
“Doesn’t that mean you’re a Saint Grade Alchemist now?” Li Wan exclaimed.
Everyone else also wore astonished expressions.
“Reluctantly so. But I still mostly consider myself to still be a High-Rank Spirit Grade Alchemist,” Yang Kai replied modestly.
The four Protectors all sucked in a deep breath as the glanced around at each other, Fei Jian flashing his crooked teeth in a grim smile as she shouted, “We may have hope yet!”
“Indeed!” Cang Yan also nodded repeatedly.
“Do Martial Uncles and Martial aunt want me to help you refine a pill?” Yang Kai asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Cang Yan replied, “First of all, Martial Nephew, have you heard of the Thousand Year Demon Flower?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Wrinkling his brow for a moment, Cang Yan suddenly smiled awkwardly, “Right, I forgot that you came from that world so you not having heard of it is completely normal. Regarding Tong Xuan Realm’s current situation, you should know that the Human, Demon, and Monster races form a delicate three-way balance, yes?”
“En, I know at least that much,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Human Territory, Demon Land, and Monster Domain, these are the names given to each of the regions occupied by the three races, with the Human Territory being the largest and most widely occupied, followed by the Demon Land, and then the Monster Domain. There is also a neutral zone which stands in the middle of all three of these territories.”
Yang Kai had heard about this from Shui Ling when he first arrived on Tong Xuan Realm.
“In the neutral zone, there is a place called Ascending Heaven Cliff! It is an incredibly tall mountain atop which the only Thousand Year Demon Flower resides. This special flower only blooms once every thousand years, and even then only for two hours of time before it begins to wither.”
“What profound use does the Thousand Year Demon Flower possess?” Yang Kai keenly grasped the key to the problem and asked.
“For you, nothing. In fact, for most people in this world, it has no use at all, but for the four of us, it is incredibly precious.”
“It can help us understand the mysteries of the Saint Realm. With the assistance of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, we will have a good chance of breaking through our current bottleneck and ascending to the Saint Realm,” Fei Yu said with some excitement.
Yang Kai couldn’t help showing a shocked expression.
“However, because of the special nature of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, a skilled Alchemist is required to condense its medicinal liquid when it blooms. The minimum grade of Alchemist required is Spirit Grade Top-Rank.”
“So you need my help for this?”
“Exactly!”
“The Sect should have Alchemist more skilled than me thought, right?” Yang Kai asked, slightly confused.
Soaring Heaven Sect was an incredibly powerful Sect and possibly had a true Saint Grade Alchemist in its employ. But even if the Sect did not have a dedicated Saint Grade Alchemist, there would definitely be a few Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemists. These Alchemists were no doubt much more experienced than Yang Kai.
“That might be the case, but those people are all Honoured Guests of the Sect and this trip will be very dangerous, so they won’t necessarily agree to accompany us. On top of that, even if their Alchemy techniques are superior to yours, their combat prowess is definitely worse.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded, “What Martial Uncle means to say is that there will be many people after the Thousand Year Demon Flower, right?”
“More than you can imagine!” Cang Yan’s expression became solemn as he sighed slightly, “As this opportunity only comes about every thousand years, people will naturally be paying attention to the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s situations. Since we can receive news that it is about to bloom, others naturally can as well. As long as one hopes to break through to the Saint Realm, they will definitely fight for this chance.”
“Martial Nephew, this time will really be quite dangerous, if you don’t want to go, we won’t force you,” Fei Yu looked towards Yang Kai and said sincerely.
“I’ll go!” Yang Kai smiled and replied immediately, “If it can help Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt break through to the Saint Realm, no matter what kind of dragon’s den or tiger’s cave it is, I definitely have to go!”
Fei Yu’s beautiful eyes shimmered as she smiled towards him gratefully.
Cang Yan and the others were also moved.
“Good kid, Martial Uncle has not cared for you in vain!” Li Wan laughed.
“Then you prepare yourself, we’ll leave five days from now, we still have plenty of time so there’s no need to feel rushed,” Cang Yan declared.
Yang Kai quickly nodded.
The three men quickly left. In order to cope with the upcoming journey, they had their own preparations to make.
“This time, whether or not we succeed, I must thank you,” Fei Yu said softly.
“Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt have looked after me a lot, this is something I should naturally do,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Fei Yu stared at him calmly, seemingly wanting to see thought his true intentions, smiling brightly after a long silence, “I’m going to take a bath, do you want to join me?”
Yang Kai’s face immediately became black, “Have you been drinking again?”
“Hmph, no fun at all!” Fei Yu curled her lips mischievously, her tender body flickering before she quickly disappeared.
Yang Kai could only shake his head. His Marital Aunt’s unrestrained behaviour was very difficult to deal with, and she would often say some astonishing things that would leave him at a loss for words.
Over the next five days, Yang Kai didn’t make any special preparations and was instead continuing his usual routine of pill refining as always.
Five days later, after putting everything in order, Yang Kai walked out of the stone room and met Fei Yu who was waiting outside. Seeing him appear, she smiled warmly and gently beckoned to him.
“What about Cang Yan Martial Uncle and the others?” Yang Kai asked.
“They’re all waiting outside.”
Leaving the cave, Yang Kai saw Cang Yan, Li Wan, and Fei Jian standing under the waterfall, staring up at it somewhat excitedly.
Seeing Yang Kai appear, Cang Yan and the others didn’t waste any time, nodding briefly before immediately setting off.
The four Transcendents all soared up into the sky, flying ahead at a relaxed pace with Yang Kai quickly following behind them.
Sweeping Yang Kai with their Divine Senses, Soaring Heaven Sect’s four Protectors all couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised.
This was because they found that Yang Kai had still not taken off the Primordial Shackles Fei Yu had given to him a few months ago; even at this moment he was still wearing them while burdening himself with several thousand extra kilograms of weight
On top of that, he even seemed to have completely adapted to this situation and showed not the slightest bit of disturbance on his face, as if he was in his natural state.
[This kid’s physical body is really more akin to a monster. He is likely to be even stronger than those of the Demon Race!] All four of them involuntarily thought.
Not long after their departure, Cang Yan suddenly came to a halt and turned his eyes towards a certain spot down below. At the same time, Yang Kai also heard a pair of voices calling out to them from the ground. Looking down, there was a white-haired old man stroking his beard while staring up at them while next to him was a young woman who was waving her arms towards them.
“It’s Old Man Du!” Cang Yan looked surprised and waved, “Let’s go down.”
As he landed on the ground, Yang Kai once again saw the Alchemist Guild’s Old Man Du and Mi Na. After seeing Yang Kai, Mi Na immediately rushed up and started complaining, “You bastard, didn’t you say when you had free time you’d come to Grand Boulder City to see me? Why have I not seen you for so many months now then?”
“Ah… Er, I was a little busy and forgot,” Yang Kai replied awkwardly.
“Really? Or did you perhaps think my Alchemy skills weren’t as good as yours and so you disdained to meet with me?” Mi Na narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and asked in an accusatory tone.
“Nothing of the sort!” Yang Kai quickly waved his hand, “I really was just busy with things.”
“You better be telling me the truth. If I find out you’re later that your lying to me, I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!” Mi Na snorted before saying proudly, “I’ll have you know I’m also a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist now just like you! So don’t be too proud, if you’re not careful I’ll overtake you before you know it.”
Old Man Du smiled as he watched this scene play out, his eyes flashing suddenly as he gently said, “Mi Na, Little Friend Yang is different from you.”
“What? Different how?” Mi Na asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Little friend Yang must be at least a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist now, right?” Old Man Du stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai scratched his head awkwardly before cupping his fists and replying, “Sorry Old Man Du, I wasn’t completely honest with you back at the Alchemist Guild. Actually, I was a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist a few months ago.”
The look on Old Man Du’s face changed slightly as he looked at Yang Kai with a bit of shock. Mi Na on the other hand couldn’t help covering her mouth in surprise, an absent minded look appearing on her face as if she had become somewhat dazed.
“So it’s like that,” Old Man Du chuckled and nodded, “It seems this old master underestimated you. Little friend Yang does not need to pay it any mind, you being able to honestly tell this old master now makes me very pleased.”
“How did Old Man Du know that I am now a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist?” Yang Kai asked.
“Cang Yan and them are traveling with you to Floating Clouds City, yes? Alchemist traveling there now must at least be Spirit Grade Top-Rank,” Old Man Du smiled.
Cang Yan expression changed hearing this, “Is Old Man Du also headed there?”
“Indeed, this old master was actually waiting for you here. The road is long so this old master wanted to find a few bodyguards to accompany him,” Old Man Du said half-jokingly half seriously, “But you can rest assured, this old master going there is not for the upcoming blossoming of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, I just want to take Mi Na out for some life experience to broaden her horizons. This little girl doesn’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth and thinks her aptitude in Alchemy is first under the sun, I believe this trip outside will benefit her greatly.”
“Old Man Du, I don’t think like that at all,” Mi Na objected in a somewhat wronged tone.
Before she met Yang Kai, Mi Na really did have eyes atop her head. She was quite young but still qualified as a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist a few months ago, and Old Man Du and her master Ye Xiong had great expectations for her, cultivating her as the heir to the Grand Boulder City’s Alchemist Guild branch.
However, when she met Yang Kai, Mi Na suffered a hard blow and redoubled her efforts, but now, a few months later, Yang Kai had already become a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, yet she had actually dared to brag to him about her small breakthrough.
Thinking about all of this, Mi Na’s pretty face blushed bright red and she couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into to avoid the eyes of these people she had just embarrassed herself in front of.
Old Man Du just laughed though, “The Thousand Year Demon Flower is about to bloom, so I believe there will be a lot of powerful Alchemists traveling to Floating Clouds City. This is a rare, once in a millennium event, this old master doesn’t want to miss it. If you don’t mind, how about we travel together?”
“Old Man Du is too polite,” Cang Yan waved his hand, “Since we are all going to Floating Clouds City, we may as well all go together, that way each of us can take care of the others.”
Old Man Du smiled and nodded gently.
After some quick discussions, the four Soaring Heaven Sect Protectors pushed their True Qi, wrapped up Old Man Du and Mi Na, and flew off together with them.
Seeing Mi Na’s somewhat listless appearance, Yang Kai also felt a bit guilty, quickly calling out to her, “Are you alright?”
“No! You’re too much!” Mi Na pursed her lips and shot him a glare.
“I’m too much?” Yang Kai was taken aback by her sharp response.
Mi Na nodded repeatedly before suddenly wearing a stern look and declaring, “But don’t get too full of yourself. As Old Man Du said, as long as I can keep working hard, I’ll catch up to and surpass you one day.”
“Do I look full of myself?” Yang Kai asked helplessly.
“Although you don’t show it on your face, you’re actually quite proud of yourself in your heart.”
Yang Kai stared at her blankly for a moment before shaking his head and sighing, “Your thoughts are quite dark.”
The others in their group of people saw these two juniors noisily arguing with each other and couldn’t help smiling; it seems this long journey wouldn’t be so dull after all.
Soaring Heaven Sect was quite far from their destination, Floating Clouds City; even with Cang Yan and the other’s great strength, they would have to spend at least a month on the road.
And that was only the case if they travelled at full speed.
Fortunately, there was still a lot of time before the Thousand Year Demon Flower was expected to bloom, so Cang Yan and others weren’t flustered.
Alternating flying and resting, Yang Kai finally had an opportunity to experience just how vast and prosperous Tong Xuan Realm was. On this continent, there were countless large and small forces, and every day, many of these forces were destroyed, yet like spring bamboo shoots after the rain, no matter how many were cut down, new ones would spring up to take their place.
Moreover, as they hurried along, their group encountered several other batches of Transcendent Realm masters heading towards Floating Clouds City. These teams of Transcendent Realm masters, without exception, would have an Alchemist amongst them.
Originally, when they met such a group, everyone would become vigilant and hastily avoid one another.
As time passed, and they got closer and closer to Floating Clouds City, the smell of danger in the air grew stronger. Cang Yan, Fei Yu, Li Wan, and Fei Jian were now constantly on alert, always paying attention to the safety of Yang Kai, Old Man Du, and Mi Na.
Twenty days after they set out, Yang Kai’s group witnessed a battle between Transcendent Realm masters.
The two parties were almost equal in terms of number and strength, so the battle was quite intense with dazzling Martial Skills and artifact attacks streaking across the sky.
The result of this battle was not witnessed by Cang Yan and the other as they didn’t have so much free time to intervene in other people’s disputes. The four Protectors simply took Yang Kai, Old Man Du, and Mi Na around the battlefield and avoided getting involved.
After this first battle, Yang Kai and his group witnessed an increasingly frequent number of fights between Transcendent Realm masters until almost every day they would see traces left behind of great battles that had been fought.
According to Cang Yan, these masters who were rushing to Floating Clouds City were already fighting like this to eliminate potential opponents.
Yang Kai’s blood ran cold as he gradually understood just how great the temptation of the Thousand Year Demon Flower was to these Second and Third Order Transcendents.
However, what puzzled Yang Kai was that even though this was a grand event that attracted the attention of Human, Demon, and Monster race powerhouses alike, he had yet to see a single Saint Realm master.
When he asked Cang Yan about this, the latter smiled and said, “Saint Realm masters won’t be interfering in this matter. It is an unwritten rule. The Thousand Year Demon Flower is only useful to Transcendents who are trying to break through to the Saint Realm. Whether they are Human, Demon, or Monster, if one wants the Thousand Year Demon Flower, they can only fight for it with their own ability.”
“That’s only one of the reasons,” Old Man Du suddenly interrupted, “There’s another, more important one.”
“Oh? Please enlighten us,” Cang Yan seemed surprised, obviously he wasn’t aware that there was a deeper reason behind this unwritten rule.
Yang Kai and Mi Na were also eager to hear about this and listened attentively. Such secrets were always very attractive to young people.
“The Thousand Year Demon Flower apparently isn’t native to Tong Xuan Realm,” Old Man Du quickly said.
Fei Yu’s thoughts revolved quick as she called out in amazement, “Is it from the Starry Sky?”
“Good, it is said to be so,” Du Wan nodded lightly, “It is said that a great many years ago, a seed fell from the Starry Sky onto Ascending Heaven Cliff. Afterwards, a plant that no one had ever seen before slowly grew there and after an entire millennium, it blossomed and was inadvertently obtained by a common man, after which the entire world came to know of its magical effect. Once the news spread, it set of a great stir among all three great clans. Saint Realm masters who were rarely seen all travelled to the Thousand Year Demon Flower to help their Third Order Transcendent juniors break through to the Saint Realm. After the second millennium, many Saint Realm masters participated in the contest for the Thousand Year Demon Flower and ultimately a Human Race master emerged victorious and boarded the Ascending Heaven Cliff, but surprisingly, when that master reached the summit, the Thousand Year Demon Flower withered the instant after it blossomed.”
“Why is that?” Everyone in the crowd couldn’t help revealing a puzzled expression.
“Nobody knows why exactly, but since then, there have never been any Saint Realm masters intervening in the battle for the Thousand Year Demon Flower. Once the aura of a Saint appeared, the Thousand Year Demon Flower will not bloom, so those who go to Ascending Heaven Cliff now are basically all Transcendents.”
“Is something so strange really true?” Li Wan muttered.
“The products of the Starry Sky cannot be explained by common sense,” Old Man Du slowly shook his head.
“Old Man Du, has anyone really travelled the Starry Sky?” Cang Yan knit his brow and asked, “Although I’ve heard many stories about the Starry Sky, it’s as if no one can actually confirm what kind of place the Starry Sky really is.”
“This old master isn’t clear either,” Old Man Du smiled faintly, “According to the Demon Race, the Great Demon God, their greatest ancient master, successfully entered the Starry Sky. Even among the Human Race and Monster Race such rumours exist, but whether or not it’s true, no one knows.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed but he did not interject.
Although he knew that Great Demon God had not broken through the Starry Sky and was already dead, he knew such things shouldn’t be discussed easily. Between the Human, Demon, and Monster Races there seemed to be a completely irreconcilable hatred where each of them couldn’t wait to exterminate the other two, so obviously no one was willing to admit someone from a different race had succeeded where theirs had not.
Soaring Heaven Sect and Old Man Du were both quite good to Yang Kai, but if they knew he had a relationship with the Ancient Demon Clan, they would most likely try to convince him to betray if not exterminate them!
Yang Kai didn’t wish to see such a scene.
During his stay in Demon God Citadel, Yang Kai had received much care from Li Rong and Han Fei and he felt that the Ancient Demon Clan was worth his trust and respect.
After their chat, everyone rested.
Late that night, as their dying campfire was providing only some scattered light in the wilderness.
Mi Na snuck over to Yang Kai’s tent and woke him from his meditation. Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and looked at her suspiciously.
“Follow me,” Mi Na whispered before walking off towards the dark forest nearby.
Yang Kai got up and followed her.
A thousand meters or so out, beneath a big tree, Mi Na sat down, her back to the trunk, patting the spot next to her, signaling Yang Kai to also sit down.
“What’s the matter?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Nothing much, I just wanted to chat with you. If we talk over there we’ll disturb them,” Mi Na smiled and said.
“What do you want to talk about?” Yang Kai plucked up a long stalk of grass and rolled it about his fingertips casually.
“Nothing in particular,” Mi Na stretched out her arms and legs, assuming a relaxed posture before she turned and asked, “Who did you learn Alchemy from? Why is it that you’re even younger than me yet already a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist?”
“If I told you that I learned everything through self-study, would you believe me?” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Mi Na snickered lightly, apparently not believing his explanation.
“Then I can’t help you,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
“Old Man Du said that the master who taught you must be a top-level Alchemist, one much more skilled than even he is.”
“Fair enough.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Yang Kai’s True Alchemic Way was something left behind by the Great Demon God. It could be said that Alchemy really was something he had learned through self-study, but it was also fair to say he had inherited his knowledge from the Great Demon God.
“Regarding that person, Old Man Du very much wants to meet him,” Mi Na said hurriedly after hearing Yang Kai’s words, “But Old Man Du also understands that such masters don’t show themselves easily, much less provide guidance to outsiders.”
“Heh heh…” Yang Kai chuckled. Old Man Du wanting to see this imagined masters of his was understandable to Yang Kai, most likely the former’s Alchemy skills had reached a bottleneck. As such, he wanted to receive some pointers from a higher ranked master in hopes that it would spark some kind of epiphany which would allow him to break through his current bottleneck.
Old Man Du’s trip to Floating Clouds City this time probably also had such a purpose; after all, there would be a great many powerful Alchemists gathered there.
“If there is an opportunity, can you introduce Old Man Du to your master?” Mi Na turned towards Yang Kai and asked sincerely.
Yang Kai fell silent and did not speak for quite some time.
This request, he really had no way to fulfill it.
“Is it not possible?” Mi Na saw him fall silent and subconsciously thought her request was a bit too excessive, becoming confused as to what to do now.
“En, the person who taught me Alchemy, is already dead.”
“Ah…” Mi Na covered her small mouth and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright…” Yang Kai shook his head.
At that moment, the pair’s faces both changed dramatically as they focused their attention on a spot in the night sky. A mass of Spiritual Energy that radiated a thick malicious intent was rapidly approaching them and in the blink of an eye arrived in front of Yang Kai and Mi Na.
Facing this critical situation, Mi Na hurriedly summoned a number of artifacts to protect herself.
Her combat experience was incredibly thin, but her response was still quite fast. Although she was in something of a panic, she still managed to fully protect herself in an instant.
Yang Kai glanced over at her frantic behaviour strangely before turning his gaze back towards the void, his eyes gradually becoming cold.
He felt that this mass of Spiritual Energy was a bit strange and seemed to be different from a Divine Sense attack one would normally release.
As he thought about it though, this mass of Spiritual Energy actually swept past Yang Kai and Mi Na and in the next moment rushed into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and disappeared.
”Yang Kai!” Mi Na’s beautiful face paled as she called out in shock.
Yang Kai’s pupils became blurry as he sat in place, not moving.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
Attracted by the burst of noise, Cang Yan quickly rushed over and asked worriedly, “What happened?”
Just a moment ago, he also felt a burst of Spiritual Energy an immediately rushed over after hearing Mi Na’s cry, but upon arriving he found nothing.
Mi Na was badly frightened and quickly said what had happened.
“Seizing a body?” Li Wan’s face changed, suddenly becoming aware of the truth of the matter.
Obviously a master had suffered a mortal wound somewhere nearby and then abandoned his body. That master’s unbound Soul must have coincidentally come across Yang Kai and was now attempting to take over the latter’s body for his own use.
“Seizing one’s body, is it…” Fei Yu pursed her lips and giggled, “In that case there’s nothing to worry about.”
Cang Yan also relaxed and nodded lightly.
Li Wan and Fei Jian both just snickered.
“You… how come none of you seem worried at all?” Mi Na was so anxious she could barely keep herself from crying; she too understood this was a case of body seizing and what the consequences of this could be. If things went poorly, Yang Kai’s very Soul may be destroyed.
However, the four masters from Soaring Heaven Sect not only didn’t seem worried, they were even grinning mockingly, like they were taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune, which greatly confused Mi Na.
Old Man Du smiled faintly and comforted, “Mi Na! Just be patient.”
“But Old Man Du, they…” Mi Na stamped her foot angrily.
“Little friend Yang’s body won’t be seized, did you forget about his special trait?” Old Man Du said meaningfully as he lightly tapped his head.
Mi Na thought about it for a moment before suddenly understanding, “That’s right, this bastard’s Knowledge Sea is…”
Old Man Du nodded slightly, “As long as it wasn’t a Saint Realm master’s Soul, little friend Yang will be able to easily handle it, all we have to do is wait.”
“This poor guy really has bad luck, of all the people he could choose, he just had to pick little Martial Nephew. If it was me, I would have chosen this tender, soft skinned little girl instead,” Li Wan smiled dreadfully.
Mi Na glanced at him and snorted angrily, “So old yet so rude!”
“Hey, I’m still very young!” Li Wan immediately became disgruntled.
Inside his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai’s Soul avatar’s mouth curled into a thin smile as he stared at the Soul that had become trapped and helpless the moment it invaded.
This guy had wanted to devour Yang Kai’s Soul and seize his body, but the instant he broke into this scalding how Knowledge Sea, he realized something was wrong.
It was as if he just stepped out of purgatory straight into the depths of hell!
All around him was a burning sea of fire. The scorching aura made him scream out in pain as his Soul was slowly roasted, it was a type of suffering he had never even dreamed possible before now.
“If you don’t want to die, show yourself right now,” Yang Kai said indifferently.
The mass of Spiritual Energy shook slightly and soon a clear Soul avatar appeared in front of Yang Kai, it’s face twisted in agony as it grit its teeth and stared at Yang Kai in fear and terror.
This person seemed to be fifty or sixty years old, but his Soul strength was only at the level of a Second Order Transcendent. In other words, when he was alive, he should have been quite a powerful master.
“You have really bad luck,” Yang Kai shook his head and snickered sarcastically.
Perceiving Yang Kai’s hostility, the man endured his pain and let out an awkward laugh, “Little brother, this is all a misunderstanding; it’s not at all what you think.”
“Oh really?” Yang Kai grinned, his Knowledge Sea becoming more turbulent as the intensity of the flames increased.
“Please allow me to explain,” The man screamed.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to his pleas though, since this person wanted to seize his body, naturally Yang Kai had no reason to be polite.
Inside his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea rushed towards the invader’s Soul, wanting to incinerate it in one fell swoop.
“Wait, wait, if you let me live, I can tell you a secret.”
“Not interested,” Yang Kai shook his head, his expression as cold and ruthless as ever.
“It’s related to your safety!” The man shouted desperately.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly, calming his turbulent Knowledge Sea somewhat as he stared at this person’s Soul avatar deeply, a moment later saying, “If you’re just stalling for time, or if you lying to me, I won’t just kill you, I’ll let you suffer a fate worse than death.”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Seeing that Yang Kai did not immediately try to kill him, the man couldn’t help calming down slightly, quickly continuing, “Are you also going to Floating Clouds City?”
“What of it?”
“If so, you’d better go turn around right now, there’s a large group of masters up ahead who are hunting those traveling to Floating Clouds City. Several groups have already been wiped out by them, including my own. We were all on our way to Floating Clouds City, but now all of us dead, only my Soul managed to escape…”
“How many people do they have?”
“A dozen or so, and a number of them are Third Order Transcendents, moreover each one of them is extremely brutal and vicious.”
“Not a small number,” Yang Kai muttered to himself.
“It’s like that, so… little brother, you see… I told you the truth, can you…” The man pleaded miserably but in the depths of his eyes there was still a smoldering vigilance; if Yang Kai still decided to attack him, he would immediately go all out and try to drag him down with him.
This kind of threatening gaze was normally enough to scare most people off, and he believed that Yang Kai, whose realm was much lower than his own, would certainly not make things difficult for him.
Yang Kai however just showed a faint smile and stared at him.
The man’s heart suddenly jumped and he was about to launch a last desperate struggle when suddenly, a burst of golden light struck him.
In an instant, this person’s Soul was completely purified.
After absorbing the energy from this Soul remnant, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes.
Glancing around, Yang Kai noticed that everyone in his group was currently staring at him curiously.
“It’s him alright,” Li Wan slapped his thigh and laughed, “That guy really has bad luck.”
“Are you alright?” Fei Yu asked kindly.
“I’m fine, but it seems we have a small problem,” Yang Kai shook his head and told them about the information he had just acquired.
“A dozen?” Cang Yan raised his brow, “There certainly are a lot of them.”
“En, if you didn’t accidentally obtain this information, we would have walked right into their trap. That might have been a little troublesome,” Fei Yu nodded lightly.
“So, do we take a detour?” Mi Na asked faintly.
“Why should we make a detour?” Li Wan grinned menacingly.
“Ah… Then how are we supposed to get passed them?”
“Let’s rest up first and then continue on our way. If they don’t come to provoke us, we won’t bother with them, but if they dare attack…” Cang Yan’s aura suddenly changed, his eyes becoming sharp like a sword, his whole body radiating an ice cold killing intent.
He knew no fear!
He was even quite looking forward to it!
Li Wan and Fei Jian were the same, and even Fei Yu, who was a woman, was no exception.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as he secretly thought that his four Marital Seniors from Soaring Heaven Sect were really a group of fighting madmen.
NinjaScans is trying to resume posting the manga one chapter per day. For those who are concern about the release rate.
In the quiet wilderness, a small group walked forward silently.
Cang Yan led the way, Li Wan and Fei Yu brought up the rear, and Yang Kai, Mi Na, and Old Man Du were sandwiched in the middle.
With the exception of Mi Na, everyone else looked calm and indifferent, as if they were oblivious to the danger they were approaching.
As they continued walking, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly flashed.
He was surprised to discover that Fei Jian had disappeared without a trace. This Third Order Transcendent master had managed to vanish without Yang Kai even noticing despite being only a few steps apart.
The night wind blew, the towering trees swayed back and forth, and the leaves rustled eerily, as if there were ghost and demons brushing past them in the darkness.
Mi Na was so scared her pretty face had completely paled and she unconsciously moved towards Yang Kai and leaned against him, looking for a sense of security, her pair of beautiful eyes darting back and forth nervously.
Sensing her uneasiness, Yang Kai firmly grasped her hand, allowing Mi Na to relax a lot; however, she made no attempt to distance herself from him either.
Cang Yan’s mouth slowly curled into a subtle grin, seemingly enjoying this thrilling situation. Li Wan and Fei Yu, who were at the back of the team, also wore aggressive expressions as they scanned the area, as if they couldn’t wait to start something.
Old Man Du, as an experienced Alchemist, maintained his usual calm, unflustered appearance.
Obviously he had great faith in the strength of the four masters from Soaring Heaven Sect.
Suddenly, a burst of strange laughter came from all around, like the howling of a ghost, gloomy and dreadful. At that moment, the night wind seemed to become stronger and colder.
Soon, several more laughing voices began ringing in their ears, trying to disrupt their hearts and weaken their concentration.
However, the three masters from Soaring Heaven Sect were completely unperturbed and continued walking forward without any pause.
Half an hour later, the wicked laughter gradually faded. The other party seemed to have noticed that this little trick wasn’t enough to cause Cang Yan and the others to panic, so they had stopped wasting their time.
“Not even daring to show your faces, just a bunch of cowards,” Cang Yan muttered discontentedly, he thought there would be a big battle when he first entered this region and his blood was boiling in anticipation, but the opposite party didn’t seem to have any intention of immediately attacking and were instead playing tricks on them and probing their reactions.
This made him quite disgruntled.
“Li Wan, go take a look,” Cang Yan said.
Li Wan grinned fiendishly and his small body suddenly disappeared into the darkness.
A short while later, a sad and shrill scream rang out from the forest, giving people a creepy feeling.
These screams didn’t last long, obviously this poor soul had been killed before he had time to react.
The next moment, another scream could be heard from a different direction.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed. He could tell that these screams came from two different locations at least a few thousand meters apart. In such a short period of time, accurately finding the hiding places of these two people and killing them, Li Wan’s great strength was obvious.
After a brief silence, Li Wan calmly returned and shrugged his shoulders to Cang Yan, “Two First Order Transcendent trash, not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth.”
Saying so, he licked his lips and showed a not satisfied expression.
Hearing this, Mi Na’s eyes rolled back and she fainted directly.
“This little girl… isn’t her courage a bit too small?” Li Wan was struck speechless.
Yang Kai shook his head and gently held Mi Na against his shoulder.
Fei Yu smiled tenderly and explained while trying to hold back her laughter, “She thinks you actually ate them.”
Li Wan’s face went black and realized how his ambiguous words could be misconstrued. He wanted to defend himself but the one with the misunderstanding was already out cold so he could do nothing but grumble in annoyance.
The team continued to move forward, but probably because Li Wan had just killed two of their group a moment ago, the enemy party became more vigilant.
After two more hours, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
However, Yang Kai could still sense a vague hostility in the air, indicating their opponents had yet to give up.
Once their group relaxed their guard, the other party would not hesitate to kill them all.
After waiting so long though, Cang Yan had finally lost patience and suddenly stopped, staring around with a cold glare as he shouted, “Since you’ve all already decided to kill us and seize our treasures, you should just come out and fight with us. If you want to keep hiding like timid rats we’ll just take our leave.”
All around it was quiet though, no one answered.
Cang Yan slowly shook his head and looked disappointed before taking out a long sword and waving it, leaving a cut several tens of meters long on the ground beside him.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank as he instantly recognized this long sword. It was one of the artifacts that Cang Yan and Fei Yu acquired back in the ancient secluded cave mansion.
“This is a Saint Grade artifact. To be honest, I haven’t had time to refine it yet, don’t you want it for your own? If you can kill me, this artifact is yours, act fast, Saint Grade artifacts are rare after all,” Cang Yan said lightly.
“I also have one,” Fei Yu, apparently fearing the world would not be chaotic, quickly added, also summoning out a Saint Grade artifact.
After two yet-to-be-refined Saint Grade artifacts suddenly beings summoned out, in the next instant, countless Divine Senses flooded over like locust to probe them.
At that moment, Yang Kai swore he could hear heavy breathing and feel greedy stares all around him.
“Hey, when did the two of you manage to get Saint Grade artifacts?” Li Wan squinted his eyes enviously, “How come I never knew?”
“A few months ago,” Fei Yu smiled, turning her eyes to Yang Kai, “We got them on our way back after picking up Martial Nephew.”
“The Heavens are blind, why didn’t I have a share?” Li Wan cursed and yelled.
“There were only two, so Fei Yu and I each took one; however, Fei Yu also got a Spirit Grade Top-Rank artifact.”
“Give it to me!” Li Wan quickly ran over to Fei Yu and stretched out his hand.
“What about Fei Jian?” Fei Yu frowned, appearing somewhat awkward.
“No need to bother with him, he only uses bows anyways.”
“How about we do this, I’ll give that artifact to whoever kills the most enemies,” Fei Yu smiled and proposed.
Li Wan clapped his hands and nodded, “Great idea, I’ve already killed two.”
At that moment, from all around, numerous figures shot out like lightning, all of them trying to snatch the two Saint Grade artifacts.
With the three masters on this side all noisily discussing some irrelevant nonsense, the surrounding enemies apparently thought now would be the opportune moment to strike.
A sharp light flashed past Cang Yan’s eyes as the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Each of the approaching figures was emitting the powerful aura of a Transcendent and moved with extreme speed; in the blink of an eye, all of them had arrived in front of the two Saint Grade artifacts.
Countless hands reached out to grab for the artifact.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Several whooshing sounds rang out in the dark and Yang Kai faintly saw a number of golden streaks flash through the night sky out of the corner of his eye.
Blood spattered, and all the cultivators who had rushed forward to seize the Saint Grade artifacts flew out from the resulting impact, each of their bodies having a new fist-sized hole that pierced from back to front.
On top of that, these holes, without exception, were where their hearts once were.
Before these cultivators hit the ground, their life auras had already disappeared.
One shot, one kill!
These Transcendants never even knew where this sharp attack came from.
Li Wan expression changed dramatically as he rushed over, shouting angrily, “Fei Jian, you sinister bastard, if you have the ability, stop sneaking around and fight up front like a man instead of shooting people in the back!”
Fei Jian did not respond, instead just sending out more arrows filled with destructive energy from various dead angles, reaping his opponent’s lives before they even had a chance to respond.
Yang Kai quickly released his Divine Sense towards the direction the arrows had originated from in an attempt to find Fei Jian’s hidden position, but discovered nothing.
A look of shock filled his face as he suddenly realized just how strong this Martial Uncle is.
The battle was over before it even began. After ten breaths of time, Li Wan managed to kill another enemy master before the scene suddenly became quiet again.
Only a thick smell of blood filling the air remained, filling everyone’s nose with the scent of iron.
The only noise around was the sound of swishing clothes as a number of enemies who had still been hiding up until now were hurriedly escaping.
They also understood that these four from Soaring Heaven Sect were not targets they could handle.
From beginning to end, only two people had attacked yet they were able to all but wipe them out, if all four of these masters had taken action, the consequences would have been even steeper.
A massive amount of Spiritual Energy gathered towards Yang Kai’s head and after a quick examination he discovered that these dead enemies were all First or Second Order Transcendents with not even a single Third Order.
Seeing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful. A Third Order Transcendent would already have some insights into how to break through to the Saint Realm.
These insights were something Yang Kai wanted.
His understanding and sentiments regarding the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao were all concentrated on the period before breaking through to the Saint Realm, so until he reached that height he would encounter no bottlenecks. But as to how to break through to the Saint Realm, he was currently clueless.
Although back in the Ancient Demon Clan’s Mysterious Small World, he had killed Chu Jian and obtained his Second Order Saint Realm insights, Yang Kai’s understanding of the Saint Realm was still quite shallow.
Yang Kai needed to absorb the sentiments from the Souls of many masters in order to gain a true understanding of the path ahead.
Meanwhile, Cang Yan and Fei Yu took back their artifacts.
“Idiots, how could I not have already refined this Saint Grade artifact?” Cang Yan sneered and took the artifact back into his body.
Li Wan walked back with a look of frustration on his face, sighing heavily as he grumbled under his breath.
Fei Jian also reappeared finally, like a ghost, showing a big crooked smile as he held out his hand towards Fei Yu, “Give it to me.”
Fei Yu smiled and placed the Spirit Grade Top-Rank artifact she had previously acquired into Fei Jian’s hand.
From start to finish, Li Wan had only killed three people while Fei Jian had taken out six, the winner of this match was undoubtedly Fei Jian.
Yang Kai also let out a long sigh. Although this time’s battle looked very relaxed, he also knew that only masters as strong as these four from Soaring Heaven Sect could accomplish such a feet.
Perhaps if it were other Third Order Transcendent’s victory wouldn’t have been so easily obtained.
Moreover, Yang Kai even more felt the massive gap in strength between each Order of the Transcendent Realm. Before the Transcendent Realm, each Great Realm was divided into Nine Stages, and the gap between each Stage was quite small.
But the Transcendent Realm was different. First Order, Second Order, Third Order, each step forward represented a massive leap in strength.
This group of hidden enemies had failed to recognize the gap in strength between themselves and the four Soaring Heaven Sect Protectors and had become blinded by greed due to the Saint Grade artifacts.
After this battle, the road seemed to become quite peaceful and as they traveled farther, fights became less common. These masters’ objective in coming here was ultimately the Thousand Year Demon Flower, so after eliminating the weak, no one was willing to stir up conflict with the strong before the Thousand Year Demon Flower had even blossomed.
Everyone understood that fights between true masters would only lead to others reaping the fisherman’s profits.
A whole month after they left Soaring Heaven Sect, Yang Kai’s group finally set foot on the neutral territory at the heart of Tong Xuan Realm.
The so-called neutral territory was an area where the Human, Demon, and Monster Races coexisted, a sight that could not be seen anywhere else.
As soon as he set foot on this piece of land, Yang Kai noticed a few unusual energies flowing through the air.
Here he could sense clear traces of Demonic Qi which he was already familiar with as well as another type of Qi he had never encountered before, it should be Monster Qi. Demonic Qi and Monster Qi could not be absorbed by Human Race Masters, but they were the powerful energies that the Demon Race and Monster Race needed in order to cultivate.
After arriving here, Cang Yan and the others became more vigilant.
The neutral territory was, in a way, more chaotic than anywhere else in Tong Xuan Realm. The slightest carelessness could lead to catastrophe.
Traveling forward a few more days, everyone finally came across a towering mountain peak that ascended above the clouds.
A dozen or so kilometers outside this mountain lay the destination of their group’s trip: Floating Clouds City!
Cang Yan’s pace picked up a lot as he led the group forward, and after half a day, everyone arrived at Floating Clouds City.
After paying enough Crystal Stones, the group of people finally entered the city.
The moment they stepped into the city, Yang Kai clearly felt Cang Yan and the others relax.
Du Wan smiled slightly and explained, “Once one enters the city, they will be safe from danger. Floating Clouds City is jointly administered by all three Great Races and the City Lord is always a Saint Realm master, so no one dares act recklessly here.”
“Which race does the City Lord belong to?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“This old master isn’t clear; Floating Clouds City changes its City Lord every three years. The master from the Human, Demon, and Monster Races decide who will hold the post of City Lord though a Martial Arts competition. It is because they select the City Lord this way that the tranquility of the city can be guaranteed. If one race was always held the position of City Lord, the other two races would certainly object.”
Cang Yan smiled and added, “As far as I know, the current City Lord is a master from the Demon Race, but don’t worry, because it’s related to the stability of the Three Clans, he won’t act unreasonably, that would throw the whole realm into chaos.”
“This old man and Mi Na are going to head to the Alchemist Guild here. Cang Yan, what about you?” Du Wan asked, “Would you like to come with us?”
“No thank you,” Cang Yan shook his head. Alchemists were a group of guys with eyes atop their heads, they didn’t care one bit that they were from Soaring Heaven Sect. If they were to enter the Alchemist Guild, they would no doubt suffer many disdainful looks and sneers. Worse, given Cang Yan’s hot temper, he may cause a falling out between them. If that really happened, even Old Man Du would be hard pressed to resolve things amicably.
Glancing over at Yang Kai, Cang Yan said, “Little Martial Nephew, if you want to go, you can follow Old Man Du. When the time comes, I’ll come find you.”
Mi Na also chimed in, “That’s right, you’re also an Alchemist, and it won’t be a problem if you come with us.”
She obviously wanted to stay with Yang Kai and continue learning Alchemy from him.
“You’re quite direct, little girl; do you perhaps like my little Martial Nephew?” Fei Yu grinned and teased.
Mi Na’s face went red, “Don’t talk nonsense, I wouldn’t like this bastard.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded by this exchange and couldn’t stop himself from laughing lightly, eventually shaking his head, “No thank you, I’ll be staying with Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt for now.”
Du Wan gently nodded, “Then this old man won’t insist. Little Friend Yang, come here for a moment,” Saying so, he gently beckoned to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai walked over hesitantly, “What instructions does Old Man Du have for me?”
Du Wan smiled faintly before reaching into his Universe Bag and pulling out a small box with a mirror on top, “This is something I obtained many years ago; it should be of some use to you this time. En, it’s probably best you use it as soon as possible.”
“What is it?” Yang Kai looked curiously at the small box.
“You’ll understood when you see it,” Old Man Du smiled mysteriously before leading Mi Na towards the Alchemist Guild.
After Old Man Du and Mi Na left, Cang Yan turned around and said, “Let’s also go, we need to find an inn to stay at.”
Fei Yu snuck over to Yang Kai and whispered, “What did Old Man Du give you?”
“I don’t know.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Inside a certain inn, Cang Yan booked two rooms. Floating Clouds City’s inns were packed full of guests due to the upcoming blossoming of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, so managing to get two rooms in a single inn was quite difficult.
After some brief deliberations, it was decided that Fei Yu would stay with Yang Kai while the other three took the other room.
Yang Kai had no objections. In any case, he was used to living with Fei Yu. Although Fei Yu was a woman, there was a big generation gap between them, so Yang Kai naturally didn’t feel bothered by this.
After all the hurrying about, everyone finally had a chance to settle down.
Yang Kai sat down and took out the mirror box Old Man Du had given him, a somewhat confused expression upon his face.
He hadn’t expected that the moment they entered Floating Clouds City, Old Man Du would give him such a gift.
“Open it and take a look. I’m also quite curious what Old Man Du sent you,” Fei Yu smiled lightly.
Yang Kai nodded and was about to open it when he suddenly smiled wryly and said, “If you’re curious you might as well come take a look.”
In the next room, Li Wan and Fei Jian, who were listening in, suddenly wore awkward expression. Li Wan snorted and walked out, muttering indignantly, “This little Martial Nephew doesn’t know how to preserve his Martial Uncles’ face. I need to teach him a lesson in manners.”
Fei Jian didn’t say anything and simply hurried to keep up.
Cang Yan just shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face, and followed behind his fellow brothers.
Inside the room, after everyone gathered, all of them stared towards the mirror box in Yang Kai’s hand, obviously wanting to know what was inside.
Under their gazes, Yang Kai opened the mirror box and found a thin as a cicada’s wings sheet.
This sheet was made from some material Yang Kai had never seen before and was slightly cold to the touch. There were some places on it that had holes cut out and at first glance, it resembled the peeled skin from a person’s face, a somewhat gruesome image.
“So that’s it!” Cang Yan expression changed, “Old Man Du’s insight is truly sharp.”
“Is this thing used to disguise one’s appearance?” Yang Kai also understood the function of this thing.
“Put it on and have a look,” Fei Yu urged.
Yang Kai nodded and covered his face with the thin mask. The next moment, he felt something stretch across his face and penetrate into his skin while giving off a cool sensation.
He didn’t know what his current appearance was, but from the changes in the expressions of his Martial Seniors in front of him, it was obvious that his current face was definitely quite different from before.
“This…” Li Wan’s jaw dropped, a look of disbelief appearing on his face.
Fei Jian’s eyes also bulged.
“Is the change really that big?” Yang Kai smiled helplessly.
“See for yourself!” Fei Yu waved her hand and condensed a mirror out of water in front of Yang Kai. Looking into that mirror, Yang Kai was instantly startled.
The face in the mirror was that of a complete stranger, moreover, it had a completely different style from his own. To put it bluntly, this face was pretty, with skin as white and flawless as a woman’s.
“Who is this gigolo?” Yang Kai expression dimmed, stretching out his hand and pinching his face, the image in the mirror perfectly responding to his actions.
“Impressive!” Cang Yan couldn’t help complementing, “This artifact is really a treasure, not only can it modify your appearance, even your life aura has changed!”
“With this, we don’t need to worry about you exposing your identity,” Fei Yu smiled, “We really need to thank Old Man Du, he’s solved a big headache for us.”
Since Yang Kai was going to Ascending Heaven Cliff to condense the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid, it would be difficult for him not to be noticed by others, and if his performance was too outstanding, it would definitely draw unwanted attention.
Fortunately, this artifact that Old Man Du gave him solved this problem perfectly.
With a simple disguising technique, Cang Yan and the others would be able to change Yang Kai’s face as well, but such a disguising technique would still easily be seen through by masters on their level, and it would not be able to camouflage Yang Kai’s life aura.
But now, they didn’t have to worry about any of this.
Even if Yang Kai’s performance was incredibly eye-catching, he would have to worry about being stared at afterwards because the one the world would be searching for would not be Yang Kai’s original appearance.
“Old Man Du really has a lot of good things,” Cang Yan sighed, last time Du Wan had taken out a cyan stone that could only be acquired from the Starry Sky and this time he had easily put out a high grade disguising artifact, Alchemists were really a group with amazing levels of wealth.
Especially high-level Alchemists; most times, if they wanted anything, they didn’t even have to act personally, as long as they put out a message, many powerhouses who wanted the request Alchemy services from them would do their best to fulfil this request.
Whether it was the former cyan stone or this disguising artifact, they should have been rewards Old Man Du received in exchange for performing Alchemy over the years.
“Little Martial Nephew’s new look is really pleasing to the eye,” Fei Yu smiled tenderly, “Martial Aunt really likes this kind of face.”
Although Yang Kai’s former appearance wasn’t ugly, it wasn’t flawless like his current one. Years of fighting and strenuous hard work had given him a fierce and valiant look, one appropriate for a seasoned warrior, wild and heroic.
But now, he was incredibly handsome to the point where it was world shaking, this kind of flawless visage was the type that could win the favour of any woman in the world.
Yang Kai’s expression was indifferent though, and after thinking about it for a moment, he quickly circulated his True Qi and focused on his face. In the next moment, his appearance squirmed slightly and the mask he was wearing took on a slightly different look.
“En, perfect,” Looking in the mirror, Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
“Why did you change it? You looked so handsome before. This isn’t bad either, but it’s not as good as the previous one,” Fei Yu pursed her lips and complained.
“Not having the slightest flaw is the biggest flaw,” Yang Kai shook his head. “This appearance is more natural.”
Listening to him saw this, Fei Yu thought about it and nodded after a moment, agreeing with Yang Kai’s point of view.
“Good, we really need to thank Old Man Du for this one day, with this artifact in hand, we can really let loose,” Cang Yan said, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Tomorrow, I’ll go to Ascending Heaven with Li Wan and Fei Jian to check out the situation. It shouldn’t be long now so I think there will be many people making such a choice. Having the lay of the land in advance will allow us to make better preparations. Fei Yu, you stay here in the city with little Martial Nephew and pay attention to his safety. Although Floating Clouds City is relatively peaceful, it doesn’t mean it’s completely safe.”
“I know.” Fei Yu nodded sternly.
After a brief discussion, everyone went back to their own rooms.
Yang Kai didn’t remove the disguising artifact from his face, but instead kept it on in order to familiarize himself with it.
When the night fell, in the sky over Floating Clouds City, one old and one young man suddenly appeared. The old man was somewhat hoary-haired and plain clothed while the young man next to him was at most in his early twenties; however, the latter’s eyes were nimble and smart, curiously glancing around the noisy Floating Clouds City.
The old man also stood mid-air and swept his gaze around, a faint glow appearing in his aged eyes after a while, seemingly silently recalling some long lost memories of this place.
“Master, is this Floating Clouds City?” The young man asked as he sized up the crowds down below with great enthusiasm.
“En, the name of this city hasn’t changed, but it seems many of the people have. After a thousand years, as I had expected, there are so many changes” The old man sighed.
“Then the mountain over there is Ascending Heaven Cliff, yes?” The young man shifted his gaze towards the towering mountain peaks nearby.
“Indeed, the Thousand Year Demon Flower blooms atop that peak,” The old man nodded lightly, “Yao’er, this time I’ve brought you here mainly for the blooming of the Thousand Year Demon Flower. You have been following me since you were just a baby, cultivating diligently among the mountains and streams, so you are somewhat ignorant of how to behave in society. When we enter the city, make sure not to cause troubles and beware of sinister intent from those around you.”
“Disciple understands,” The young man nodded respectfully. “Teacher, you also once condensed the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower. Can you tell me more about what the situation was like back there? I’m very curious to learn about it.”
The old man showed a faint smile, “I can’t describe it clearly to you, but you will understand once you experience it. Good, let’s pay a visit to the City Lord here; I recall that the current City Lord should be the descendent of one of this old man’s old friends.”
“Walk slowly, Master,” The young man who was called Yao’er diligently supported the old man as the pair stepped forward through the air.
Many people in the city look up curiously as this old and young pair, but none of them paid them much attention in the end. After all, there were too many cultivators coming and going from Floating Clouds City. The old man looked old and withered, as if he would die at any moment, but simultaneously he exuded the aura of a true master.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, one master from each of the Human, Demon, and Monster Race sat.
City Lord Ao Gu was a master from the Demon Race, while Vice City Lords Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao belonged to the Human Race and Monster Race respectively; all three of them were Saint Realm powerhouses.
Every three years, one master from each of the Three Clans would compete and the winner would become the new City Lord while the other two would hold Vice City Lord positions. Together, they would be in charge of Floating Clouds City.
At this moment, the Three Clans masters were discussing an important matter. The Thousand Year Demon Flower was about to bloom, and Floating Clouds City was becoming overcrowded, so they needed to deploy more security personal to guard against any chaos which might occur, lest it bring trouble to Floating Clouds City’s peace.
Moreover, during this critical period, they had to ensure there were no Saint Realm masters within a hundred kilometer radius of Floating Clouds City.
The Thousand Year Demon Flower was the symbol of Floating Clouds City and the foundation of its prosperity. Every thousand years, as the time of the Demon Flower’s blossoming approached; many people would come to pay homage to Ascending Heaven Cliff. This influx of people brought many benefits to the city.
Because of this, these three were treating the situation very seriously. Making sure that when the time came for the Demon Flower to bloom, it would not be disturbed by the aura of any Saint Realm master.
As they were talking though, a Monster Race guard hurried in and cupped his fists respectfully, “City Lord Ao Gu, there is an old man outside the mansion who requests to see you!”
“An old man?” Ao Gu frowned and waved his hand impatiently, “I won’t see him, ask him to leave.”
The guard however didn’t immediately depart, hesitating for a moment before saying, “But Sir, he said that he knows Senior Ao Si, and said that I must hand this to you.”
Ao Gu’s expression changed dramatically as he quickly stood up and said, “He knows my grandfather?”
Furrowing his brow, Ao Gu asked, “What is this thing? Give it to me.”
The guard hastily offered a small token which Ao Gu quickly snatched after only a single glance, his expression undergoing another earth-shaking change, his brow wrinkling deeply as he was trying hard to recall something, a moment later putting the token away and turning to Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao, “Brothers, pardon me for ending things here for today, it seems I must meet this individual.”
“City Lord need not be so polite,” Zhou Liang nodded lightly.
After Ao Gu left, Jin Jiao stared at the door thoughtfully, a moment later saying, “Brother Li, since this old man is acquainted with Ao Gu’s grandfather, doesn’t that mean he must be around a thousand years old?”
Zhou Liang gave him a curious glance, “In this world, aren’t there a number of old monsters around that age?”
Jin Jiao grinned meaningfully and continued, “There are indeed many, but masters who have relationships with Ao Gu’s family aren’t many. I don’t know if Brother Li noticed that what the guard took out was Ao Gu’s family’s highest level token. Only those who have made huge contributions to his family are eligible to hold them. As far as I can remember, Ao Gu’s family to date has only issued three such tokens, two to Demon Race masters who now belong to their family, and one to a Human Race master.”
“The one who has come is from the Human Race!” Zhou Liang concluded as he did not feel a strong Demonic Qi from outside the mansion.
“This issue is quite big then,” Jin Jiao’s expression deepened.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know of any Human Race master that could possess Ao Gu’s family’s highest level token?”
Zhou Liang thought for a moment before quickly replying, “To be able to receive such a token from Ao Gu’s family, this Human master must be truly extraordinary.”
The Human, Demon, and Monster Race’s divisions ran quite deep; the Three Clans basically did not interact with each other except for in the neutral territory. Ao Gu’s family was also not a small force. Any Human Race master that could make a huge contribution to such a family must possess a supreme status and identity.
“Brother Jin, I happen to know some rumors regarding this, if you are unaware, how about I inform you?”
Jin Jiao glanced around before moving slightly closer to Zhou Liang and whispered a few words.
Hearing these few words though, Zhou Liang’s expression changed dramatically, “Are you serious?”
“Indeed,” Jin Jiao nodded firmly.
“If it is really him…” Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao only exchanged a single glance before neither of them could sit still anymore, both of them quickly standing up and chasing after Ao Gu.
Outside the City Lord’s Mansion, Ao Gu hurriedly rushed over. After seeing the old man in front of him, he was dumbstruck and only recovered after quite some time. Hastily cupping his fists and bowing, he respectfully said, “Junior Ao Gu did not expect that it was truly old Sir who had come and was thus negligent in welcoming old Sir. Please forgive this Junior.”
The several guards outside the mansion almost had their eyes pop out of their sockets.
The Demon Race was known for the savageness and no master from the Demon Race would ever bow to others easily, this was a well-known matter, but now, Ao Gu had completely acted outside their expectations. None of the guards present had ever seen their City Lord greet any powerhouse so humbly and respectfully.
Moreover, this master was Human!
Just what kind of status did this old man have that could allow their City Lord to willingly assume the position of a junior and bow his head?
All of the guards instantly found themselves at a loss.
The old man however just smiled lightly, “I have not seen you for many years, the young man from back then has really grown up, it’s quite commendable that you still even remember my appearance. En, good, how is Ao Si now?”
Ao Gu’s expression sank somewhat as he replied low-spiritedly, “My grandfather died nearly a hundred years ago.”
Hearing this, the old man sighed slightly, “My old friends have already departed, leaving behind only my old bones, haa…”
“Senior is too modest; Senior’s continued existence is the good fortune to the Human, Demon, and Monster Races.”
“Heh heh, growing old isn’t always a blessing,” The old man slowly shook his head.
“This little brother is…” Ao Gu’s gaze landed on the young man beside the old man suspiciously.
“Junior Di Yao greets Senior, I am Master’s disciple!” The young man respectfully performed a Junior’s greeting as he reported his identity.
Ao Gu’s eyes immediately lit up as his expression became excited, “Has Senior accepted a disciple?”
The old man nodded, “My time is quickly approaching, so I decided to find someone to pass down my legacy to. This child’s aptitude is good, so I kept him by my side in order to teach him.”
“Young man, you are very lucky, being able to worship a character like Senior as your Master, I’m afraid that no one in this world would not envy you,” Ao Gu replied solemnly.
After a quick examination, Ao Gu also noticed that this young man named Di Yao was actually not human, but was instead from the Monster Race!
It was just that the Monster Qi inside this youth’s body was perfectly hidden, if the gap in their strength wasn’t so massive Ao Gu would not have been able to tell.
Ao Gu secretly nodded in praise, thinking that this Senior’s heart was truly open-minded; born a Human, yet actually receiving a Monster Race youth as his legacy disciple, this would be impossible for almost anyone else. Perhaps, in this Senior’s mind, there was no difference between Human, Demon, or Monster in the first place, they were all simply living beings of this world.
It was also because of this Senior’s unique viewpoint that he could gain the respect of the entire world.
At this moment, Ao Gu felt a profound sense of respect.
As they spoke, Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao also rushed out of the City Lord’s Mansion and arrived in front of the old man, cupping their fists and bowing, “Greetings, Senior.”
“You two should be Vice City Lords Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao of Floating Clouds City, yes?” The old man smiled slightly.
“Senior’s eyes are indeed sharp,” Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao straightened their backs and replied heartily, seemingly quite flattered that such an important master actually recognized them.
“En, very good,” The old man nodded repeatedly, “Under your three’s jurisdiction, Floating Clouds City is very prosperous, it seems that you have put in a lot of effort. If there were more people like you in this world, able to abandon the barriers which separate the Three Clans, it would truly be good. A time when the whole world can live as one family, this old master doesn’t know whether he will be able to see such a scene in his lifetime.”
“Junior will definitely work hard towards such a future,” Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao quickly stated, “Although we do not dare say anything about the outside world, but in this Floating Clouds City, Senior can definitely witness such a scene.”
“Hoho, then this old master looks forward to it,” The old man smiled lightly.
“Senior, let us talk inside,” Ao Gu hastily invited the old man into the City Lord’s Mansion, as if he wasn’t willing to let Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao continue monopolizing the conversation with this profound master.
The old man nodded slightly and strode forward with the help of the young man named Di Yao.
Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao also hurriedly kept up, thinking about whether or not to take this opportunity to ask this Senior to refine them some Saint Pills.
Inside the mansion, Ao Gu threw a banquet for the old man and Di Yao, serving many fine wines and rare spirit fruits along with numerous other delicacies.
The old man only tasted a few spirit fruits before stopping while on the other hand, Di Yao gorged himself as if his belly was a bottomless pit.
Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao also put down their status and identities and frequently toasted with Di Yao.
After three rounds of wine, Ao Gu asked, “Senior, have you come this time for the Thousand Year Demon Flower?”
“En,” The old man nodded lightly, “But you can rest assured that I will not break the existing tradition or harm everyone’s interests. My most important reason for coming this time is to allow this youngster to see more of the world.”
“We naturally trust Senior’s character,” Ao Gu nodded repeatedly.
Given this old man’s present status, if he really needed the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal essence, he only needed to say a few words and no one else would compete with him over it. At that time, the Thousand Year Demon Flower on Ascending Heaven Cliff would undoubtedly land in his hands.
“My coming here today is not for much, I just wish to ensure the safety of my disciple. This old master doesn’t want to worry about finding another legacy successor.”
“Senior can rest assured that in Floating Clouds City, Junior swears upon his life that no one will harm little brother Di Yao!” Ao Gu replied firmly.
“Then I shall be troubling you. En, in exchange, I can help you three people each refine a Saint Pill.”
As soon as this statement came out, the faces of Ao Gu and the others lit up, each of them exchanging a joyous glance before hurriedly making their request.