When they entered the Grand Burial Valley, because they were searching around and exploring, Yang Kai and Yang Yan hadn’t moved very fast and could only travel on foot, but now that they were simply trying to leave, Yang Kai had directly summoned his Star Shuttle, so naturally, they were travelling much faster.
Just as Yang Kai was hurrying along with Yang Yan though, he suddenly came to an abrupt halt and turned his head in a certain direction, letting out a slight expression of surprise.
“What happened?” Yang Yan asked curiously, wondering why Yang Kai had suddenly stopped.
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai replied faintly, “I just sensed someone from that group we met before, but her condition seems to be a bit off.”
By some kind of coincidence, there was a figure who was rushing towards Yang Kai and Yang Yan’s position hurriedly, and under the pair’s observation, they quickly discovered that it was the young woman named Lu Ying who had been together with Chen Shi Tao.
However, at this moment, she looked quite panicked and her Saint Qi was fluctuating unstably.
Another strange point was that Lu Ying was by herself; Chen Shi Tao of Clear Sky Sect, and Chen Fan Lei and Wang Yu Han of Extreme Path Sect were all nowhere to be seen.
The other party had obviously encountered some kind of trouble. If it had been a stranger, Yang Kai would have immediately left; after all, he had just provoked all of the powerful monsters in the Corpse Cave not long ago, so how could he stupidly remain here?
But the one who was approaching in a state of distress was someone he knew, so Yang Kai could not just pretend like he never saw her. If he were to leave just like this, it would leave a bitter after taste.
On top of that, it was thanks to Chen Shi Tao that he had learned that this was Grand Burial Valley, so however minor it was, he owed her a favour.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai grit his teeth and flew his Star Shuttle down to meet Lu Ying.
Lu Ying was sweeping her eyes over her surrounding as she was fleeing, seemingly looking for something so when she suddenly noticed someone approaching, she could not help feeling a bit startled. However, glancing over and noticing that it was Yang Kai, she showed a joyful expression and the vigilance and panic on her face disappeared and she raced over to meet them.
Before she even got close, she shouted, “Senior Brother Yang!”
“Sister Lu Ying!” Yang Kai returned the greeting as he came to a stop in front of her before asking curiously, “Why are you so flustered?”
“Senior Brother Yang, please help me rescue Senior Sister Chen! She is currently being attacked by a Ninth-Order Monster Beast.”
“A Ninth-Order Monster Beast?” Yang Kai’s face sank, “How could there be Monster Beasts here? And a Ninth-Order one at that.”
Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were equivalent to Human Race Origin Returning Realm masters, but in this strange Grand Burial Valley, such a Monster Beast existing was quite unexpected.
“I don’t know, but it was indeed a Ninth-Order Monster Beast. Senior Sister Chen and the others were trapped by it, but they found a way for me to escape so I could look for help. Senior Brother Yang, I beg you, please come with me before it’s too late.”
“Sister Lu Ying must be joking,” Yang Kai didn’t immediately agree, putting on a frown as he said, “I am just a Second-Order Saint King, even lower than Sister Chen and Brother Wang. If even they were trapped by that Monster Beast, if I come with you, wouldn’t I just be seeking death?”
Hearing this, Lu Ying’s expression went blank as she did not know how to respond.
Just now, she had been incredibly anxious to find help, but with so few people in this Grand Burial Valley, when she finally met Yang Kai, she had immediately asked him for assistance. Now though, after receiving Yang Kai’s reminder, her beautiful face suddenly lost colour.
Lu Ying had experienced firsthand how powerful that Monster Beast was. Even with all four of them together, they had barely been able to resist it, so even if she brought Yang Kai back with her, with his low cultivation, what help could he provide them? Most like he would only wind up as another victim.
For a time, Lu Ying froze up as her thoughts were in complete chaos.
Although Yang Kai did not readily agree, he still asked, “What type of Monster Beast was it? How strong was it exactly?”
Lu Ying replied subconsciously, “It is a Thunder Attribute Monster Beast that has strength equal to a First Order Origin Returning Realm master; however, it was able to use the Thunder Pond where it lives to create a barrier and raise its strength, otherwise Senior Sister Chen and the others wouldn’t have been trapped and would have already escaped. Even if they could not defeat it, running away shouldn’t have been a problem.”
“Thunder Pond?” Before Yang Kai could say anything, Yang Yan’s eyes lit up as she called out in interest.
“En, there is a Thunder Pond here that not many people know of. This time, Senior Sister Chen’s younger brother, Chen Fan Lei, wanted to use that Thunder Pond to break through a bottleneck he was facing with his Secret Art, but that Monster Beast suddenly appeared,” Lu Ying quickly explained.
Yang Kai glanced over at Yang Yan only to have her voice reach his ear, “I want the Thunder Liquid in that Thunder Pond!”
Yang Kai sighed, knowing that this time he would have to take a detour. Without even mentioning that, in the first place, he had not intended to stand by and do nothing. Since Yang Yan was interested in that Thunder Liquid, it was definitely a good treasure she had an important use for.
His objections just now were just Yang Kai’s way of acting cautiously.
Having reached this point, Yang Kai no longer hesitated and said, “Sister Lu Ying should lead the way then. Although this Yang’s strength is not high, since Sister Chen is in danger, I cannot just remain indifferent; however, I cannot promise you anything, only that I will try my best to help.”
“Ah?” Lu Ying’s face turned from worry to happiness when she heard this. From how Yang Kai was speaking just now, she had assumed he was unwilling to get involved, but somehow, in the blink of an eye, his attitude had changed entirely. With great joy, she immediately nodded and led the way.
However, she did not seem to have much faith in Yang Kai’s abilities as along the way, she would release her Divine Sense from time to time, trying to see if there were any other more powerful cultivators nearby.
But to her disappointment, she found no one.
On the way, through a series of questions, Yang Kai also learned that the main purpose of Lu Ying’s group’s visit to Grand Burial Valley this time was the Thunder Pond. Originally, everything had gone according to plan; after finding the Thunder Pond, Chen Fan Lei entered it and began circulating his Secret Art to absorb the Thunder Attribute energy into his body while the other three stood guard. But a few days later, a Silver Night Thunder Beast suddenly rushed out from the depths of the Thunder Pond, causing Chen Fan Lei’s breakthrough to fail. This Silver Night Thunder Beast seemed to possess quite a high level of intelligence as it was able to stimulate an ancient Spirit Array around the Thunder Pond, activating a barrier that trapped their group of four inside. This Monster Beast was obviously intent on killing the four cultivators who had broken into the Thunder Pond it perceived as its domain.
Because Lu Ying had an artifact which was specially designed to help her escape, Chen Shi Tao joined forces with Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei to forcefully tear open a part of the barrier and let her out.
Unfortunately, the barrier that was activated by the Thunder Pond could draw power from it to repair itself, so the other three did not have time to escape and were still trapped inside.
It had been a full day and a night since Lu Ying escaped to find help, so she currently could not tell what the situation was back there.
“After such a long time, I don’t think things are optimistic,” Yang Kai sighed slightly.
“No,” Lu Ying quickly shook her head, “Senior Sister Chen has a powerful defensive artifact, so even if they can’t defeat that Monster Best, holding out for some time shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
Lu Ying took the initiative to explain, “Actually, it’s all thanks to Senior Brother Yang. Last time, in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, we collected a lot of Saint Crystals, and after returning, we handed most of them over the Sect. As a reward, the Elders gave all of us some rare artifacts. Senior Sister Chen was given a Nine Palace Heavenly Silk Parasol, an Origin Grade High-Rank defensive artifact. Senior Sister Chen had long ago finished refining it so she can control it with ease. The escape artifact I used was also granted to me by the Elders, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to flee with just my strength.”
“I see!” Hearing this, Yang Kai also relaxed slightly. Since she had an Origin Grade High-Rank’s defensive artifact, Chen Shi Tao should not have any major problems in a short span of time. If this were not the case, the only thing Yang Kai would be able to do when he arrived, would be to collect Chen Shi Tao’s corpse.
The Thunder Pond was not close to the position their group of three met, so it took some time to travel to it.
Yang Kai constantly kept an eye on their surroundings for fear that Corpse Soldiers or Corpse Generals would suddenly emerge to chase him down. After all, he could not be sure those creatures back in the Corpse Cave would simply let him go. Agreeing to rescue Chen Shi Tao involved a certain amount of risk.
When they approached to within ten kilometres of the Thunder Pond, Lu Ying pointed ahead and said with pleasant surprise, “It’s over there, and it looks like Senior Sister Chen and the others are still safe and sound!”
There was no need to remind Yang Kai of this as he could tell there was a disturbance up ahead. In front of them, there was a patch of blue clouds, and among those clouds, there were bolts of lightning flickering back and forth. From time to time, a bolt or two of lightning would crack, carrying with it amazing momentum. With the blue clouds covering the region, even with the glow from the lightning, it was impossible to get a clear picture of what was happening; however, judging from the sounds of battle, it was obvious Chen Shi Tao and the others hadn’t died yet. However, Yang Kai noticed that the three auras inside the cloud bank were somewhat weak, so even though they had managed to endure until now, they were likely approaching their limit.
Seeing this, Yang Kai said without hesitation, “Let’s move.”
In an instant, Yang Kai rushed out a distance of nearly a thousand metres while Lu Ying followed close behind. At the same time, she let out a sweet voice like that of a chirping bird. Each chirp contained information that outsiders couldn’t detect.
When she heard this voice, Chen Shi Tao, who was struggling to support herself beside the Thunder Pond, exclaimed, “It’s Junior Sister Lu Ying! She brought help, so we’re saved.”
Hearing this, Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei’s spirits were roused and they began urging the defensive artifacts in their hands even harder to resist the lightning attacking them.
Thanks to the three of them cooperating, focusing only on defending themselves and not even counterattacking, they had managed to persist until now.
“Senior Sister Chen!” A moment later, Lu Ying’s voice came from outside the barrier.
Chen Shi Tao quickly turned her head and with a joyful voice called out, “Junior Sister Lu Ying, you found help?”
“En, I didn’t fail Senior Sister’s expectations. I brought Senior Brother Yang back with me,” Lu Ying nodded quickly.
“Senior Brother Yang?” Chen Shi Tao was stunned and looked behind Lu Ying to see Yang Kai standing there solemnly, observing the situation without saying a word.
“Little Brother Yang…” Chen Shi Tao did not know whether to laugh or cry, she had never thought that the helper Lu Ying found was actually Yang Kai. Although she recognized him as a man of great destiny, good luck would not help in the current situation. Relying on destiny and luck here would likely just end up with all of them dying.
After learning that the helper Lu Ying had found was Yang Kai, Chen Shi Tao’s mood immediately became somewhat complicated as her lips curled into a bitter smile. Although she was interested in establishing a friendship with Yang Kai so she could invite him to adventure and travel with her in the future, if they could not overcome their current crisis, what point was there in planning for the future?
Yang Kai was only a Second-Order Saint King, so how was he supposed to break the barrier and rescue the three of them?
However, despite all of this, he had still come to help them, so while Chen Shi Tao was disappointed in her heart, she still sent out some words of gratitude. Wang Yu Han of Extreme Path Sect, on the other hand, shouted angrily, “What use is there in bringing him here? The three of us struggled desperately to let you escape yet he was the best you could find? It’s like you’re looking forward to us dying sooner!”
Although he had not cursed directly, his words were nothing short of harsh.
Lu Ying’s small face turned somewhat pale as she directed a guilty and uneasy look towards Wang Yu Han.
Chen Shi Tao’s pretty face also sank though as she harshly rebuked, “Senior Brother Wang, don’t you think you’ve said too much? Did you forget just where we are? Ordinarily, no one will come to this Grand Burial Valley, Junior Sister Lu Ying being able to find and bring back Little Brother Yang is already a stroke of good fortune, what more do you want?”
Chen Shi Tao reprimanding him without any trace of politeness caused Wang Yu Han’s face to become sullen. Although he did not refute her argument, it was obvious he did not agree with her either.
Yang Kai, who was standing outside the barrier, finally shifted his gaze from what he was staring at to Wang Yu Han for a moment before silently turning away again. Although Yang Kai didn’t appreciate Wang Yu Han’s tone or words, he was disinclined to bother with him so he simply ignored him.
What Yang Kai was currently focused on was the barrier and Silver Night Thunder Beast in front of him.
There was no need to wonder why there was a sealing Spirit Array here. The Thunder Pond’s presence here clearly indicated that this was once a Restricted Area of Ancient Yang Sect. It was probably developed for cultivators who cultivated Thunder Attribute Secret Arts or Martial Skills. However, what method the Silver Night Thunder Beast had used to deploy this barrier and trap Chen Shi Tao and her group inside was a mystery.
The Silver Night Thunder Beast was a pure Thunder Attribute Monster Beast, so with control of the local barrier and the Thunder Pond, it occupied a great advantage and was able to display strength far in excess of its own, just as Lu Ying had described.
This Silver Night Thunder Beast’s appearance was quite weird. It had an ox head, deer body, and leopard tail, while sparks of lightning constantly ran across its skin, which itself was covered in a thick layer of extremely tough protective scales.
There were two curved horns extending from its forehead between which sparks of lightning bounced. Every time it swung its giant head, the blue clouds around it seemed to respond by releasing a bolt of lightning towards its horns. After absorbing these bolts of lightning, the Silver Night Thunder Beast would then release a bolt of thunder towards Chen Shi Tao and her companions down below; however, the attack released from its two horns was clearly even stronger than the natural lightning it had pulled down from the sky above.
From time to time, this beast would also open its maw and spit out a ball of thunder. When this thunder ball struck Chen Shi Tao and the others, it would burst into a myriad of lightning snakes that twisted about in unpredictable patterns.
Chen Shi Tao’s trio were currently hiding behind an umbrella giving off strong energy fluctuations that had created a ten-metre diametre light curtain. Across this umbrella’s surface there were flowing runes and glowing lines. It was clearly the Nine Palace Heavenly Silk Parasol Origin Grade High-Rank defensive artifact Lu Ying had told Yang Kai about on their way here.
When any Thunder Attribute attack came into contact with this Nine Palace Heavenly Silk Parasol’s defensive shield, their power would be dramatically reduced.
Yang Kai observed for a moment and immediately knew that if it were not for this defensive artifact, Chen Shi Tao’s trio would have long ago perished.
AlthoughChen Shi Tao was able to intercept most of the attacks from the Silver Night Thunder Beast with this excellent defensive artifact, the trio were still in quite a distressed state. A multi-coloured screen that floated in front of Wang Yu Han was clearly another defensive artifact and he was using it to block any attacks that Chen Shi Tao failed to stop. When any lightning arc hit this screen, it would mysteriously vanish, disappearing to some unknown place.
Lastly, Chen Fan Lei, like the Silver Night Thunder Beast, had arcs of lightning rippling across his body. He was not making any obvious defensive movements but was instead swallowing the scattered lightning into his mouth.
Among the three, he seemed to be the most relaxed. It seemed the scattered lightning was not only unable to hurt him but could even enhance his strength.
This drew Yang Kai’s attention and he quickly speculated that this young man either had some kind of Special Constitution or cultivated a very profound Secret Art as, even now, his eyes were bright and full of energy.
The three of them each stood with their backs to one another to defend against the Silver Night Thunder Beast’s assault, and there didn’t seem to be any immediate risk to their lives, but if this situation dragged on, it would only be a matter of time until Chen Shi Tao and Wang Yu Han’s Saint Qi was exhausted, at which point, all three of them would die. At that point, even if Chen Fan Lei had a Special Constitution or cultivated a profound Secret Art, he would not be spared.
“Little Brother Yang,” Chen Shi Tao shouted out during a break in the Silver Night Thunder Beast’s attacks, “If you have any way means to help us, please hurry, we won’t be able to last much longer!”
She saw that since he arrived, Yang Kai had simply been standing still, neither taking action nor showing any intention to leave, causing her to grow a bit anxious.
However, Yang Kai just said, “Wait a moment.”
Chen Shi Tao’s expression immediately became bitter, but she did not urge him anymore. On the other hand, Wang Yu Han glared at Yang Kai coldly, as if silently telling him to scram if he was not going to help.
Lu Ying entered the battle without any hesitation, but blocked by the barrier, she was only able to attack from the outside in hopes of being able to break it.
Besides Yang Kai, no one else noticed that Yang Yan had secretly begun to crack this Spirit Array. Yang Kai had naturally handed this matter over to Yang Yan, which was why he had not taken action yet.
This barrier was clearly quite extraordinary, and with the Thunder Pond as an energy source, it clearly couldn’t be broken through brute force in a short time, so why would Yang Kai waste his energy trying?
A moment later though, Yang Yan suddenly whispered, “You can begin. It will take me a certain amount of time to crack this barrier completely, it will be quicker if you just attack it directly; but I’ve already removed the connection between the Thunder Pond and the Barrier. Without its energy source, you should be able to destroy now.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded and once again summoned his Hundred Mountains Picture, but this time was different from when he rescued Chen Shi Tao previously. As soon as the Hundred Mountains Picture appeared, Yang Kai summoned out twenty phantom peaks, each one bigger than the last; then, under Yang Kai’s urging, these peaks slammed towards the barrier mercilessly.
“Hmph, I was wondering if he had some kind of profound skill, but in the end, he’s still just relying on brute force. Sister Chen, we can’t rely on this little brat, we have to find a way to overcome this crisis on our own!” Seeing Yang Kai use the exact same method as last time, Wang Yu Han couldn’t help snorting disdainfully, “Can’t he see that with this Thunder Pond here as an energy source, trying to break this barrier by force is pointless?”
Chen Shi Tao also couldn’t help frowning slightly as she thought Yang Kai’s actions were indeed a bit rash, but the way Wang Yu Han was speaking also made her quite uncomfortable, so for a moment, her pretty face became complication and she didn’t know how to answer.
As the two of them spoke though, the illusionary mountains smashed onto the barrier, causing it to creak under the impact, but in the next moment, Thunder Attribute Energy welled up to seek the Thunder Pond to replenish the energy of the barrier.
Chen Shi Tao and Wang Yu Han had witnessed this countless times, and it was precisely because of this that they had not wasted their energy attacking the barrier. With the Thunder Pond supplementing any loss the barrier experienced, it was all but impossible for them to break it.
However, to their surprise, this time, for some unknown reason, the Thunder Attribute Energy from the Thunder Pond didn’t flow into the barrier but instead rushed out of it towards a certain direction, failing to supplement the losses it had just suffered.
Looking outside the barrier, Chen Shi Tao and Wang Yu Han spotted a piece of seemingly dead wood that was absorbing the Thunder Attribute Energy and channeling it harmlessly into the earth.
This surprised and delighted them while it also caused them to wonder how this trivial piece of dead wood was able to play such a magical role.
Yang Kai also had no idea what was happening, but he had absolute confidence in Yang Yan. Seeing that this method to divert the Thunder Pond’s energy was effective, Yang Kai spared no effort to urge the power of the Hundred Mountains Picture and continued to smash the barrier.
Yang Kai truly did not want to delay here for long, so he didn’t hold back his strength, causing the power the Hundred Mountains Picture displayed to be several times greater than last time. Seeing this, Chen Shi Tao could not help feeling shocked as she realized that Yang Kai had been concealing much of his strength until now.
With Yang Kai smashing the barrier from the outside, the Silver Night Thunder Beast inside obviously was not going to just sit back and ignore him. Releasing a roar that sounded like a cross between an ox and a tiger, it condensed a bolt of lightning as thick as a human leg atop its two horns and blasted it towards Yang Kai.
“Little Brother Yang, watch out!” Chen Shi Tao shouted hurriedly as she knew just what kind of power this attack contained. Without her Nine Palace Heavenly Silk Parasol, she would not dare to take this attack head on. Yang Kai was only a Second-Order Saint King though, so if he was hit by this attack, he would likely be killed.
What surprised her though was that although Yang Kai heard her warning, he just stood there without moving. Instead, in front of him, a shield that emitted a purple glow suddenly appeared. In a flash of light, a sandstorm appeared from this purple shield.
With a loud crackling, the lightning bolt plunged into this sandstorm and was quickly scattered by the swirling wind and sand, soon disappearing without a trace.
“Origin Grade High-Rank defensive artifact!” Wang Yu Han shouted as a greedy light flashed across his eyes.
He was an Extreme Path Sect disciple and had a Third-Order Saint King cultivation, but so far, he hadn’t been able to obtain a single Origin Grade Mid-Rank or above artifact. Chen Shi Tao had been given her artifact by her Sect’s Elders, but where had this brat surnamed Yang gotten his?
And just from a cursory glance, the defensive power of this purple shield seemed no worse than the Nine Palace Heavenly Silk Parasol.
Comparing these artifacts with his own, Wang Yu Han suddenly thought he was quite poor and unavoidably felt resentful.
While Wang Yu Han was eyeing Yang Kai’s shield artifact, the Silver Night Thunder Beast roared loudly, as if enraged because its attack had failed. Suddenly, it began using only half of its energy to deal with Chen Shi Tao’s group while focusing the other half of its energy on Yang Kai. The two curved horns atop its forehead flashed brilliantly as it opened its great maw and sent out crackling booms of thunder.
This development caused Chen Shi Tao’s trio to rejoice because the pressure they were facing suddenly eased greatly and the almost non-stop attacks that had originally been solely targeted on them were now being split between them and Yang Kai. The three of them exchanged a quick glance and quickly took advantage of the situation; Chen Shi Tao continued using her Nine Palace Heavenly Silk Parasol to defend their group while Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei both summoned their offensive artifacts and began bombarding the barrier.
For a time, the area around the Thunder Pond became quite lively, with assorted burst of Saint Qi exploding and many artifacts displaying great might.
Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei both had some status in Extreme Path Sect, so the artifacts they owned weren’t low quality. While they weren’t qualified to own Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts, both of them had one or two of Origin Grade Low-Rank. Under their combined attacks, the barrier quickly became unstable.
Seeing this, the two knew that they were having an effect and didn’t dare have any reservations, instantly pushing their strength even harder. Even Lu Ying seemed to be encouraged by this and increase the strength of her attacks.
Meanwhile, outside the barrier, protected by his Purple Shield, Yang Kai was naturally unafraid of the Silver Night Thunder Beast’s long range attacks, and after seeing that he had managed to attract the majority of this Monster Beast’s attention, he urged the power of the Hundred Mountains Picture even further, smashing the phantom peaks down with even greater force.
With everyone cooperating from inside and outside, the Thunder Attribute barrier which originally left Chen Shi Tao and her group helpless grew dim within ten breaths and spider web like cracks began to form across its surface. Obviously, it was on the verge of collapsing.
Seeing this, Wang Yu Han knew that it was a good opportunity to show off and immediately summoned a blue long sword into his hands. Holding this sword in front of himself, he bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood mist onto it, causing the blue long sword to buzz loudly and take on a radiant glow. It was as if this blue long sword had come to life and was desperately struggling to free itself from Wang Yu Han’s grasp.
After Wang Yu Han sprayed out this blood mist, an abnormal blush flashed across his face. Obviously, the technique he was about to use had cost him a considerable price.
As the long sword cried out, Wang Yu Han’s aura rapidly inflated. Lifting his sword up high, a dazzling glow burst for as he leapt straight towards the barrier.
Wang Yu Han himself was wrapped up in this sword glow and it seemed as if he had almost merged together with it. In an instant, Wang Yu Han reached the barrier and as he slammed into it, countless small lightning arcs exploded forth, seemingly trying to smother the brilliant sword glow.
A cold snort suddenly sounded as a fierce buzzing from the sword glow competed with the crackling lightning arcs, the two completely different forces seemingly falling into a kind of stalemate as an ear piercing grating sound rang out.
This stalemate only lasted a moment though before Wang Yu Han suddenly roared, “Break!”
As soon as he uttered these words, the sword wave surrounding him suddenly inflated and sliced a large hole through the barrier. Thunder Light exploded out in all directions but after a crisp crackling resounded, the barrier surrounding the Thunder Pond was finally completely broken.
Since Yang Kai first took action until now, only about twenty breaths of time had passed.
This result was because Yang Kai didn’t want to waste time here and had gone all out, but it was also because Chen Shi Tao and her companions weren’t ordinary Saint King Realm cultivators. They were the elites of their respective Sects, so whether it was in terms of purity or density, the Saint Qi flowing through their bodies was far greater than that of average cultivators in the same realm.
In addition, the barrier here was only opened by the Silver Night Thunder Beast, and although it was still unknown how it accomplished this, it was obvious that it didn’t understand how to manipulate it, resulting in a failure to use its full might. If it had been able to skillfully manipulate this Thunder Attribute Spirit Array, even if everyone had been working together, breaking it would have been quite difficult.
The moment the barrier was broken, Chen Shi Tao and her brother rushed out of it, neither of them willing to remain where they were a moment longer.
Clearly, they were still feeling some lingering fear.
Wang Yu Han fell from the sky with a laugh, a proud look upon his face, flourishing his blue long sword before assuming an aloof pose, seemingly waiting for others to praise him.
Chen Fan Lei looked at him with admiration and said sincerely, “Senior Brother is amazing!”
Receiving the cooperation of his Junior Brother, Wang Yu Han was naturally quite pleased and even spoke a few humble words while constantly shooting Yang Kai a somewhat provocative gaze.
“Isn’t it a bit premature to be celebrating?” Chen Shi Tao splashed cold water on Wang Yu Han in the next instant though as she stared solemnly towards the extremely angry Silver Night Thunder Beast floating nearby.
It seemed that because the barrier was destroyed, the Silver Night Thunder Beast was releasing an even more ominous Monster Qi and the blue clouds up above were emitting stronger pressure than before.
Wang Yu Han’s face twitched slightly before he spoke confidently, “Junior Sister Chen need not worry, it was only because we were somewhat negligent before that we fell into the trap laid by that thing, causing us to be unable to display our full power. Now that we’ve escaped from that barrier though, naturally we won’t give it any chance to fight back. Junior Brother, join me in testing its might!”
“Yes!” Chen Fan Lei wore an eager look on his face and nodded repeatedly without thinking.
Before Chen Shi Tao could persuade them otherwise, the two Sect Brothers from Extreme Path Sect rushed up.
Yang Kai frowned, but was too lazy to stop them. He had taken this little trip firstly because he owed Chen Shi Tao a favor. To fulfill that, he resolved Lu Ying’s plea for help. Secondly, it was because Yang Yan needed the Thunder Liquid from the Thunder Pond. With debts repaid, as for whether the others lived or died, that was none of his concern.
However, Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering whether this Wang Yu Han simply overconfident or flat out foolish, actually underestimating a Monster Beast equivalent to an Origin Returning Realm master. From Yang Kai’s perspective, it looked like Wang Yu Han was the kind of cultivator who only remained inside his Sect and never experienced any real life or death fights in the outside world.
Such people generally had high cultivations but were ultimately unable to display their strength in real combat, often resulting in them suffering losses or even dying as they couldn’t adapt to situations were rules no longer existed.
Yang Kai thought Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei would definitely suffer a big loss!
To Yang Kai’s surprise though, after recklessly charging the Silver Night Thunder Beast, Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei actually launched a coordinated and efficient campaign. No cultivator without real combat experience could accomplish this.
Wang Yu Han proved himself quite flexible in combat and was able to make rational judgements even while engaged in a dangerous fight, so although he and Chen Fan Lei had no way to easily kill this Silver Night Thunder Beast, they had no trouble fighting with it by taking advantage of their mobility, artifacts, and Martial Skills.
For a time, the Silver Night Thunder Beast was unable to cope with the two of them.
Yang Kai’s brow rose as he realized that these two rushing forward was not just due to recklessness but because of confidence.
After observing anxiously for a while, Chen Shi Tao and Lu Ying’s two pairs of beautiful eyes flashed with fierce light as they too began having thoughts of killing this beast and obtaining its core.
A Ninth-Order Monster Beast’s Monster Core, especially one from this Thunder Attribute Silver Night Thunder Beast, was incredibly valuable. Whether it was used for Alchemy or Artifact Refining, there would be many people who wanted it. On top of that, the materials from this Monster Beast’s body were also good things.
It seemed that because they had previously been trapped and suppressed inside that barrier, Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei were feeling quite indignant, so now that they had escaped, their killing intent towards this Silver Night Thunder Beast was quite strong. The two fellow Sect Brothers cooperated flawlessly, one of them attacking while the other defended and soon showing signs of suppressing the Silver Night Thunder Beast. Without the barrier to rely on, the Silver Night Thunder Beast actually fell into a slight disadvantage in this battle, and if it weren’t for its thick scales, it would likely have already been injured. This development made Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei pleasantly surprised and they began acting even more fiercely.
Yang Kai didn’t pay any attention to the thoughts of these four, instead shoot Yang Yan a slight glance. Yang Yan saw this and nodded lightly, quickly rushing over to the Thunder Pond and taking out a special container. As soon as she began pouring her Saint Qi into this bottle, it began drawing in the Thunder Liquid from the Thunder Pond.
This Thunder Pond was only about a hundred metres or so in diameter, but it was deep enough that one was unable to see its bottom. The liquid it was composed of was also not ordinary water, but instead a kind of liquefied Thunder Attribute energy.
This kind of Thunder Pond could be artificially manufactured as long as there was something that could attract the natural Heavenly Thunder to this place and some powerful Spirit Arrays were set up to trap and condense it into Thunder Attribute energy. With this kind of setup, after a hundred years or so, the embryonic form of a Thunder Pond could be created. If other Thunder Attribute treasures or spirit herbs were added during this time, they would also speed up the formation of the Thunder Pond.
Of course, some Thunder Ponds were naturally produced.
Regardless of their type, Thunder Ponds were quite scarce, but they were of great benefit to cultivators who cultivated Thunder Attribute Secret Arts or Martial Skill. This Thunder Pond in Grand Burial Valley was originally owned by Ancient Yang Sect, and many cultivators knew of its existence, hence why Chen Shi Tao and her group had come here.
But they hadn’t anticipated that a Silver Night Thunder Beast actually lived at the bottom of this Thunder Pond and would suddenly appear while Chen Fan Lei was cultivating. Fortunately, this Silver Night Thunder Beast seemed to have only reached the Ninth-Order recently, otherwise the situation would have been far more dangerous.
Even so, Chen Shi Tao’s group being able to escape this crisis was mostly thanks to Yang Kai’s arrival.
Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei entangling the Silver Night Thunder Beast gave Yang Yan the perfect opportunity to collect Thunder Liquid, so Yang Kai was happy to let them do as they pleased. After gathering up this Thunder Liquid, whether these four stayed here to fight the Silver Night Thunder Beast, Yang Kai couldn’t care less.
He only wanted to escape as far away from this dangerous place as quickly as possible!
The battle up above grew fiercer by the moment and at a certain point, the Silver Night Thunder Beast let out a great roar and released a giant thunder ball from its mouth that exploded between Chen Fan Lei and Wang Yu Han. Although this attack wasn’t able to hurt them, it did force them to focus on defending themselves.
The Silver Night Thunder Beast took advantage of this opportunity to suddenly fall motionless mid-air, lift its huge beast head to the sky, and let out a grand roar filled with unparalleled rage.
As the Thunder Beast roared, it seemed that the blue clouds up above were drawn to it, and under the astonished gazes of everyone present, a great funnel formed high in the sky and drew the surrounding Thunder Attribute Energy into the body of the Silver Night Thunder Beast madly.
In just three breaths of time, the blue clouds that once filled the sky completely disappeared, all of them being sucked into the body of the Silver Night Thunder Beast.
Yang Kai saw this and his eyes couldn’t help but shrink as his hair suddenly stood on end. Although the Silver Night Thunder Beast did not seem to change at all, he now felt a slightly dangerous aura coming from it.
At that moment, Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei, who originally saw the Silver Night Thunder Beast come to a halt, wanted to rush in and land a fatal blow. But before they could even approach it, the Silver Night Thunder Beast suddenly turned its giant eyes towards them while flashing a look of disdain and ridicule on its face.
Suddenly, a terrifying coercion burst from the Silver Night Thunder Beast. After absorbing all the blue clouds just now, it seemed its strength had dramatically increased.
It was not until he felt this sudden increase in pressure that Wang Yu Han finally realized what was happening and exclaimed, “Not good!”
Abruptly turning around, a multi-coloured prism the size of a palm flew out from Wang Yu Han’s body and immediately transformed into a protective shield around him. Chen Fan Lei also realized the situation had become perilous and quickly summoned a powerful looking Battle Armour comprised of Lightning to cover his body.
However, the Silver Night Thunder Beast ignored their attempts to defend themselves and its figure flickered in the next moment, as if transforming into a bolt of lightning that disappeared from sight. In the next instant, both Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei let out pitiful cries as they were swatted from the sky, seemingly having suffered heavy losses.
The multi-coloured barrier protecting Wang Yu Han’s body had shattered while Chen Fan Lei’s Lightning Battle Armour had gone completely dim. Both of their faces had gone pale and they simultaneously coughed up blood. Clearly, they were severely injured.
This change happened in the blink of an eye, and Chen Shi Tao and Lu Ying, who had been standing to the side until now, could not help going pale as they called out in alarm. All thoughts of joining in this battle disappeared from their minds as they each rushed out to rescue their companions and inspect their injuries.
Back up in the sky, the previously disappeared Silver Night Thunder Beast reappeared, but this time its cold gaze was focused on Yang Yan, who was standing beside the Thunder Pond collecting Thunder Liquid. A trace of anger flashed across this beast’s eyes as its body flickered and vanished once more.
Sure enough, after absorbing the blue clouds, its strength had increased significantly.
Yang Yan stood in place, not moving, but with her instincts telling her that danger was approaching, she swiftly activated a protective artifact, creating a red-light barrier around herself. Almost as fast as this barrier formed, however, it was shattered as the Silver Night Thunder Beast appeared before her at a speed so great that she was barely able to see it.
Yang Yan’s face went pale, but she quickly calmed down.
Just as the Silver Night Thunder Beast was about to kill her, Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of her, his fist wrapped in Demonic Flame as he sent out a punch.
There was a loud bang as a shockwave rippled outwards. Yang Kai couldn’t help being knocked backwards, but as he flew back, he made sure to grab hold of Yang Yan who was still standing in place. The Silver Night Thunder Beast, which had disappeared, also appeared with a low growl. It also seemed a bit unsteady as its huge body backpedalled, its four strong claws seemingly gripping at the air to stabilize itself.
As soon as it stood firm, the Thunder Beast let out a great roar and condensed a huge ball of thunder in its mouth. With a flick of its head, the ball of thunder shot forward towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he released a golden thread from his fingertips and instantly transformed it into a giant golden net. Engulfing the thunder ball with his golden net, Yang Kai forcefully cut it to pieces, causing it to explode into hundreds of individual pieces and dissipate.
The re-formed golden thread then shot out of the surging area of thunder and arrived right in front of the Silver Night Thunder Beast, stabbing at it like a spear.
A clinking sound rang out as dazzling sparks burst from the point where the golden thread impacted the Silver Night Thunder Beast. The incredibly sharp gold thread failed to completely penetrate the Silver Night Thunder Beast’s scales, only managing to sink a finger’s length in before it lost its forward momentum.
Yang Kai had seemingly anticipated this result though and stared coldly at the Silver Night Thunder Beast as a lotus flower mysteriously formed in his eyes. This Silver Night Thunder Beast was quite extraordinary and its realm was also higher than Yang Kai’s by a large amount, so Yang Kai decided to end the fight quickly by immediately using one of his trump cards.
When the Silver Night Thunder Beast saw this lotus, it instinctually felt danger and unease flashed across its pupils. It did not dare meet eyes with Yang Kai again and immediately dove into the Thunder Pond, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Ripples spread across the Thunder Pond for a moment before it once again calmed down.
His opponent fleeing without a fight surprised Yang Kai greatly.
However, Yang Kai also could not help feeling relieved. To be honest, he was unwilling to fight a life or death battle with this Silver Night Thunder Beast right now, so the other party retreating on its own was an ideal outcome. Ordinarily, Yang Kai would not have been willing to let this Ninth-Order Thunder Beast leave.
Chen Shi Tao and Lu Ying had only just picked up the injured Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei and glanced over to see the Silver Night Thunder Beast flee in a panicked state. This scene dumbfounded them and caused them to wonder just what Yang Kai had done to scare off this formidable Monster Beast.
Exchanging a glance, the two women could see the suspicion in the other’s eyes.
At that moment, Yang Yan quietly handed Yang Kai a certain object and whispered something softly into his ear.
Hearing what she had to say, Yang Kai cast a thoughtful look towards the pale Wang Yu Han and flashed a meaningful grin. Wang Yu Han happened to cast a glance towards Yang Kai at that moment too, but facing him, he did not show the slightest bit of timidity, instead wearing a rather gloomy look upon his face.
“Little Brother Yang…” Chen Shi Tao walked over towards him while occasionally looking towards the Thunder Pond in surprise, asking after a short pause, “Was that Silver Night Thunder Beast injured?”
“I’m not sure, it just suddenly retreated on its own.”
Chen Shi Tao was stunned and immediately smiled bitterly, “It looks like Little Brother Yang has hidden his abilities quite well. You’re even able to scare off this Silver Night Thunder Beast, it seems this Young Lady has looked down on you.”
“Sister Chen thinks too highly of me, it retreating has nothing to do with me, all the credit belongs to Brother Wang and your little brother. That Monster Beast probably realized it wasn’t their opponent, so it decided to escape while it had the chance.” Yang Kai responded faintly, not trying to take any credit.
“Exactly!” Wang Yu Han shouted out with no trace of politeness, “Obviously, it used some kind of forbidden technique to dramatically increase its strength temporarily but doing so clearly came at a very high cost. On top of that, it only recently reached the Ninth-Order, so it likely wasn’t able to suppress the backlash from its technique and took the initiative to retreat.”
Hearing this, the others present thought about it for a moment but no one raised any objections, implying that they tacitly approved of Wang Yu Han’s guess.
“Brother Wang seems to understand this Monster Beast’s situation quite clearly,” Yang Kai suddenly said with a smile.
“What?” Wang Yu Han frowned.
“Nothing,” Yang Kai waved his hand before turning to Chen Shi Tao, “Sister Chen, since everything here has been settled, I’ll say goodbye first.”
“Where do you want to go?” Chen Shi Tao asked.
“Away from here naturally,” Yang Kai replied casually, but upon seeing Chen Shi Tao’s awkward smile and somewhat disappointed expression, he let out a laugh and explained further, “After we separated last time, my companion and I became lost for a while, but we finally found the right direction to leave, so we shouldn’t have that issue again.”
The last time they parted ways, Yang Kai told Chen Shi Tao that he was going to leave this place, but after so many days had passed, him still being here made it seem like he had lied to her.
Chen Shi Tao did not show any intention to pursue the issue. Glancing around at her companions for a moment, she quickly declared, “We should leave too.”
“But Junior Brother still hasn’t completed his cultivation yet,” Wang Yu Han immediately objected, subconsciously not wanting to act together with Yang Kai. The seemingly offhanded comment Yang Kai had just made had caused Wang Yu Han to become wary and made him wonder if this brat had discovered something.
“Since there is a Ninth-Order Silver Night Thunder Beast here, it is naturally impossible for him to continue cultivating. We were lucky to escape from it this time, but if we continue to linger…”
“That Silver Night Thunder Beast is clearly injured now; with our combined strength, it shouldn’t be a problem to kill it,” Wang Yu Han suggested, clearly still having ideas about the Silver Night Thunder Beast.
Listening to him say this, Chen Shi Tao also felt a bit conflicted, but after a moment of pondering, she turned to Yang Kai and asked, “Little Brother Yang, what do you think? Do you think that if we remain, we can kill that Silver Night Thunder Beast?”
Yang Kai frowned slightly at this question. He could tell that while Chen Shi Tao seemed to be asking for his opinion, she was actually subtly inviting him to act together with them. If Yang Kai agreed to stay, Chen Shi Tao might really decide to stay and deal with the Thunder Beast, after all, she and her team all thought the Silver Night Thunder Beast was suffering from a severe backlash and as long as they could find a way to force it out of the Thunder Pond, they may be able to kill it.
Understanding this, Yang Kai immediately shook his head, “I don’t know if it can be killed, but I believe this isn’t a place to linger for long; after all, something unexpected may happen at any moment. If Sister Chen is willing to trust me, I’d suggest you leave quickly.”
He did not mention anything about the Corpse Cave, so his words came off a bit mysterious.
Wang Yu Han looked displeased upon hearing this and was about to say something when Chen Shi Tao suddenly nodded and said, “Since Little Brother Yang thinks so, let’s depart quickly. Fan Lei, your Secret Art does not necessarily require you to cultivate in this Thunder Pond, correct? Although it might have some lesser effect, it should still be possible for you to make a breakthrough with an appropriate Thunder Attribute pill. Just wait until we return to Black Crow City, I’ll help you buy one.”
She seemed to believe quite strongly in Yang Kai’s judgment.
“Alright,” Chen Fan Lei had no objections and simply agreed with his big sister’s decision.
Chen Shi Tao nodded before turning an elegant smile to Yang Kai, “Since that’s the case, let’s leave this place together, it will allow us to take care of one another along the way.”
It was impossible for Yang Kai to refuse her at this point so he simply nodded, and while Wang Yu Han was reluctant, he alone could not make a decision for everyone so he could only hold his nose and comply.
And so, the group of six people began heading out of Grand Burial Valley together.
Along the way, Chen Shi Tao finally remembered to inquire about Yang Kai’s background. As such, she learned that Yang Kai was not a Shadow Moon Hall disciple, or even the disciple of some big family force, but instead a lone cultivator who lived on a remote hill called Dragon Cave Mountain.
To put it simply, Yang Kai was a cultivator with no backing or support, someone who had to depend entirely on himself to continue advancing. There were many such cultivators in this world, and their path was always quite difficult. Firstly, they did not have any Elders or masters to teach them, so they would inevitably run into problems during their cultivation that they could not solve. Secondly, they often lacked good cultivation environments and resources, resulting in their rate of advancement becoming slow. On top of these issues, if they ever encountered bullying or oppression, they did not have anyone who would help them. So, these kinds of cultivators had grim futures and despite there being a great many of them, those who succeeded were incredibly few, and those who did achieve success were often recruited by major Sects and families.
A lone cultivator being able to reach the Second-Order Saint King Realm like Yang Kai was already quite impressive.
When she learned about this, Chen Shi Tao felt a great sense of admiration towards Yang Kai, but Wang Yu Han only showed disdain. Obviously, from his perspective, while Yang Kai might be able to reach the Third-Order Saint King Realm, it was definitely impossible for him to break through to the Origin Returning Realm.
Not only did Chen Shi Tao admire Yang Kai greatly, her younger brother Chen Fan Lei also became quite interested in him. This young man was very open-minded and good-natured. On top of that, even though he was injured, he still seemed quite energetic and would constantly keep asking Yang Kai about what had happened in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Yang Kai chose some insignificant stories to tell but even these were listened to by the young man with relish, prompting him to ask even more questions.
The atmosphere was quite harmonious as this group travelled together. The four people from Chen Shi Tao’s group, with the exception of Wang Yu Han who inherently disliked Yang Kai, were relatively easy to get along with.
Half a day later, the group of six finally left Grand Burial Valley. Until now, Yang Kai had not noticed any trace of those special existences from the Corpse Cave, something that made him feel relieved as he concluded that this matter was over, at least for now.
Another day later, a small mountain range appeared in front of the group; and although the World Energy aura here was not too rich, it also was not too thin. Seeing this place, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly and he quickly came to a stop and called out to Chen Shi Tao, cupping his fists as he said, “Friends, although I do not know where you plan on going from here, I believe we’ll have to part ways here. My companion and I have some things to deal with, so we’d like to stay here for a few days.”
“How long do you plan to stay?” Chen Shi Tao’s eyes lit up, “It just so happens we’re also in need of a few days of rest. As I am sure you can see, Fan Lei and Senior Brother Wang haven’t had an opportunity to restore themselves or treat their injuries properly, so resting here for a moment would be a good idea.”
“You want to rest here too?” Yang Kai frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong? Could it be Little Brother Yang doesn’t welcome us?” Chen Shi Tao shot Yang Kai a slight look of rebuke.
“Nonsense, this place isn’t my property, it’s just an unclaimed mountain, naturally everyone can freely rest here.”
“That’s good,” Chen Shi Tao smiled, “And since Little Brother Yang came from Heavenly Fate City, he must intend to return there, correct?”
“En, of course.”
“Hehe, this place isn’t close to Heavenly Fate City. If you fly by Star Shuttle, it will take at least two or three months, and if you encounter something along the way, it may take even longer.”
Yang Kai gave her a thoughtful look and asked, “Does Sister Chen have a suggestion that could save us this time?”
“I do indeed. Little Brother Yang might not know, but five days from here is a city called Black Crow City that has a Space Array which is directly linked to Heavenly Fate City.”
“Is there such a thing?” Yang Kai could not help turning his head to look at Yang Yan, only to find that she had a blank face. Obviously, she didn’t know this either.
“Do you think this Young Lady would deceive you about something so simple?” Chen Shi Tao smiled, “Black Crow City is a neutral city that doesn’t belong to any force, so the Space Array doesn’t have as many usage restrictions as other places. Of course, not everyone can use it, but… Fan Lei seems to know a Senior who is responsible for guarding that Space Array, so it shouldn’t be an issue to let Little Brother Yang use it if he acts as a guarantor. It would just be a matter of having enough Saint Crystals for the transfer fee then.”
“As long as we can use it, Saint Crystals aren’t a problem,” Yang Kai looked at Chen Fan Lei with a happy expression.
Chen Fan Lei grinned in response, “Brother Yang may rest assured, I helped that Senior who guards the Space Array with a small matter so he owes me a favour. It won’t be a problem obtaining his permission regarding this, not to mention, Brother Yang isn’t some unknown person.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll leave this matter to Brother Chen,” Yang Kai quickly thanked him before glancing down at the small hills below, “Then let’s stay here for a few days before continuing on to Black Crow City.”
Chen Shi Tao and her group naturally had no objections and quickly descended to the small mountain range.
Although Chen Shi Tao and Lu Ying weren’t injured in the battle with the Silver Night Thunder Beast, they had consumed a great deal of their Saint Qi and had not had an opportunity to restore themselves until now, so even they needed some time to adjust their condition. As for Chen Fan Lei and Wang Yu Han, they needed to treat their injuries and restore themselves, so the four of them quickly found a small mountain peaks and soon vanished inside it.
Yang Kai and Yang Yan flew to another remote mountain.
After a while, the two arrived at their destination, and Yang Kai immediately used his Saint Qi to open a temporary residence in the hillside.
With Yang Kai’s current cultivation, opening such a cave mansion required little effort, and in just the time it would take a boil a cup of tea, he had carved out a simple hollow.
Entering this cave, Yang Kai’s face became solemn. Yang Yan also seemed to sense something and hurriedly followed him without saying a word.
After making their way inside, Yang Kai suddenly sat down cross-legged down.
“Is there something wrong with Xiao Xiao?” Yang Yan asked anxiously.
After swallowing the Sun’s True Essence, the Stone Puppet had been taken away by Yang Kai, so Yang Yan didn’t know what its current condition was, but she knew that Yang Kai suddenly wanting to rest here must be related to this matter.
“It’s not a major problem yet, but if we continue on like this, the Stone Puppet won’t be able to bear it,” Yang Kai sighed.
“I figured so. Even if you didn’t say anything, I would have asked you to find a spot and stop for a few days to process Xiao Xiao and the Sun’s True Essence,” Yang Yan commented before quickly taking out a few items from her Space Ring and arranging a simple Spirit Array inside the cave mansion.
She didn’t dare take the matter of the Sun’s True Essence lightly, so before letting the Stone Puppet come out, Yang Yan intended to arrange an Isolation Array; otherwise, once this supreme treasure’s aura leaked out, it would likely attract unwanted trouble.
With her mastery of Spirit Arrays, it was quite easy for Yang Yan to arrange a barrier to conceal all their auras. After half a day, the entire cave mansion was enveloped by an invisible barrier that even an Origin Returning Realm master would not be able to see through.
Only after this was completed did Yang Kai wave his hand and release the Stone Puppet from the Black Book Space.
As soon as the Stone Puppet appeared, the temperature in the entire cave mansion shot up. The Stone Puppet itself had become crimson red and the heat radiating from it was distorting the air around it. There were even signs of its body melting.
A look of unbearable pain filled the Stone Puppet’s face and its eyes had become extremely red.
The violent heat of the Sun’s True Essence was not something it could resist. The Stone Puppet even being able to persist until now was all thanks to its innate talents.
Seeing its situation, Yang Kai did not dare to hesitate and immediately took out the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal, causing a profound chill to ripple through the cave mansion and restore the temperature to a somewhat ordinary level.
Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to communicate with the Stone Puppet who, having received these instructions, stood up unsteadily and opened its mouth. A moment later, the Stone Puppet spat the Sun’s True Essence Ice out on top of the Ice Jade Pedestal.
Seeing this, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned to the Stone Puppet. After it arrived in front of him, Yang Kai began to carefully investigate its condition.
Fortunately for Yang Kai, although the Stone Puppet had suffered some damage, it was not too serious. As long as it rested for a while, it should be able to restore itself to its original condition. This made Yang Kai feel both relieved and optimistic about the Stone Puppet’s future potential.
Using his Divine Sense, Yang Kai told the Stone Puppet to refine the precious ores in its belly to repair itself before he took it back into the Black Book Space.
Previously, in the Corpse Cave, the Stone Puppet had devoured seven or eight hills of Saint Crystals and rare ores. Yang Kai did not know if Saint Crystals would provide the Stone Puppet with any benefits, but those rare ores would definitely be useful to its growth, so Yang Kai naturally would not be stingy with it. He also believed that after absorbing the mineral essence from those ores, the Stone Puppet would be as good as new, if not better.
Obtaining this piece of Sun’s True Essence was far more valuable than obtaining a few more pieces of ore.
Having processed the Stone Puppet, Yang Kai next turned to Yang Yan, “What should we do now? If the Stone Puppet cannot carry it for extended periods of time, how will we take it back to Dragon Cave Mountain with us?”
“It will be fine as long as I refine a special container for it,” Yang Yan seemed to have a plan in mind already and replied lightly.
“What materials do you want?”
“Naturally, I’ll need Ice Attribute materials, and that Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal would be best. Relax, I know what kind of vessel will be appropriate, the only problem is that refining it will be a bit troublesome. I’ll need at least ten days to finish.”
“Ten days… En, that shouldn’t be a problem. They won’t be able to heal themselves so easily,” Yang Kai smiled slightly before getting up and setting out. Before he left, he gave the four Space Rings he collected from the Corpse Cave to Yang Yan as he believed the materials inside would meet the requirements for the special container Yang Yan planned to refine.
Not wanting to disturb Yang Yan, Yang Kai walked to the outermost part of the cave mansion and sat down cross-legged.
After thinking for a while, he took out his Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace and used his Divine Sense to inspect it, receiving a pleasant surprise as he did.
Before collecting the Sun’s True Essence, Yang Kai had used his Artifact Spirit to face the Fire Dragon it produced to protect itself; however, the Artifact Spirit had been unable to handle the Sun’s True Essence and was wounded in the fight.
Yang Kai had thought that the situation would be quite troublesome to deal with, but after examining the Artifact Spirit, he discovered that it had fallen into a kind of deep sleep inside the Artifact Refining Furnace. Although it still appeared somewhat weak and injured, it wasn’t as serious as Yang Kai had imagined, and there even seemed to be a trace of the Sun’s True Fire now circulating through its body, as if it was refining and absorbing it.
This Sun’s True Fire was visible to the naked eye and swam through the Artifact Spirit’s body like a tiny fire snake, but no matter how it struggled, it was incapable of escaping and was gradually being assimilated.
It seemed the Artifact Spirit had turned this misfortune into a blessing.
This made Yang Kai overjoyed; after all, in order to gather the Sun’s True Essence this time, both of his little assistants had suffered significant damage, making him quite depressed. Now that he knew that the Artifact Spirit was fine and the Stone Puppet’s injuries were not serious, Yang Kai was able to relax somewhat.
With the Artifact Spirit like this though, it was likely impossible for Yang Kai to use the Artifact Refining Furnace to continue refining the Dragon Bone and Dragon Bead. So instead, he simply sat on the spot, adjusting his breathing while taking inventory of the harvest from this trip.
In addition to the four Space Rings he had tossed to Yang Yan, there was a lot of Saint Crystals and rare minerals currently stored inside the Stone Puppet’s belly. There were also a few Secret Arts and Secret Books along with artifacts that originally belonged to the Ancient Yang Sect that Yang Kai had managed to collect.
It was needless to say that the artifacts would all be left to Yang Yan to handle as many of them would need to be repaired before they could be used. Moreover, Yang Kai did not need other artifacts to enhance his combat effectiveness, so he didn’t concern himself with these things greatly.
As for the Secret Arts and Secret Books, however, Yang Kai was at least interested in browsing through them.
After all, two thousand years ago, the Ancient Yang Sect was a force not inferior to Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect, so the Secret Arts and Secret Books owned by them must not be bad. What’s more, since these were placed in that Secret Cave, they were likely related to the core inheritance of the Ancient Yang Sect.
After a cursory inspection, Yang Kai found himself quite startled.
He found that, as he guessed, these Secret Arts and Secret Books were all profound works. If any of these manuals were to appear in the outside world, they would draw the interest of countless cultivators. Several of the Secret Arts and techniques in this collection were reserved for only the core members of the Ancient Yang Sect and were thus extremely high-grade. Many of these techniques were also quite profound and esoteric, to the point that even Origin Realm masters would be joyful to obtain one.
With Yang Kai’s current abilities and capital, there was no need for him to waste time and energy cultivating these things, but if he were to find some spare time, cultivating one or two sets of secret skills would increase his combat effectiveness and also increase the number of life-saving techniques he had at his disposal.
At the very least, Yang Kai was quite interested in several of these secret manuals.
However, when he remembered that he still had to cultivate his Golden Blood Threads, refine the Dragon Bone and Dragon Bead, cultivate Space Force, and refine the Coloured Glass Bead Dai Yuan had given him, Yang Kai could only set this matter aside for the moment and make a note to revisit these Secret Arts and Secret Books in the future.
Although he had the intention of cultivating many of these texts, reading through some of these Secret Arts and Secret Books still broadened Yang Kai’s knowledge and provided him with some inspiration for his cultivation. In particular, there was a set of Body Tempering Secret Arts that Yang Kai was very much interested in.
It was the first time he had encountered a Secret Art specifically dedicated to tempering one’s physique and refining their body.
The reason why Yang Kai’s physique was so powerful was thanks to his Unyielding Golden Skeleton, which had allowed him to store and use large quantities of Demonic Qi before, giving him some Demon Race physical qualities. On top of that, Yang Kai had various opportunities over the years which allowed him to enhance his physical strength.
However, now that he thought about it, when he first began cultivating and obtained the Unyielding Golden Skeleton, the Tempered Body Record he used should have also been a kind of Body Tempering Secret Art. However, this Secret Art was created by Great Demon God and obviously could not compare with the techniques of the Ancient Yang Sect.
It was not that Great Demon God’s aptitude was poor, but that he had only managed to reach the Saint King Realm before he died and had not been able to truly step out from Tong Xuan Realm. Naturally, a technique he created wouldn’t be a match the millennia-long inheritance of a great Sect.
Yang Kai did not know what grade this Ancient Yang Sect Body Tempering Secret Art was, but after studying it for a time, he concluded that it wasn’t low. In fact, it was quite likely a priceless treasure. With his ability as an Origin Grade Alchemist, Yang Kai could also refine some Body Tempering pills that would presumably allow him to obtain twice the results with half the effort when he did begin cultivating this Secret Art, allowing him to save a great deal of time.
Deciding so, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in place and continued to refine his Golden Blood Threads while occasionally finding some time to review the mysteries of this Body Tempering Secret Art.
In the blink of an eye, eight days passed by.
During this period, the small mountain range remained completely calm, with nothing out of the ordinary happening, but this was not much of a surprise as this place was quite close to Grand Burial Valley so no one would come here usually. If it was a thousand years ago, the situation would definitely be different as many cultivators would be passing through to go treasure hunting in the Grand Burial Valley.
But now, although some would still occasionally dive into Grand Burial Valley, their numbers had decreased sharply, and unless they had some kind of specific purpose, like Chen Shi Tao’s group, only fledgelings who wanted to quickly make their mark on the world or adventurous little brats would come here to try their luck. Most of these people, however, would not return safely after entering the Grand Burial Valley.
On this day, Yang Kai was meditating at the front of the cave mansion when his expression suddenly changed, and he looked up to see a blue streak of light quickly approaching. This person was not trying to conceal their presence at all, so Yang Kai was able to determine it was Chen Shi Tao riding her Star Shuttle.
Slowing the Saint Qi circulating through his body, Yang Kai waiting quietly for her to arrive.
A moment later, Chen Shi Tao floated down from above and landed not far away from Yang Kai, looking at him with a smile.
After a few days of meditation, Chen Shi Tao had apparently completely restored herself. At this moment, her complexion was like that of peach blossom and the shimmering quality of her eyes gave her a unique and enrapturing charm. After she landed, a faint aroma wafted from her body towards Yang Kai, causing his spirit to shake slightly.
“Sister Chen,” Yang Kai greeted her with a polite nod, raising his brow a bit as he commented, “Looking at Sister Chen’s complexion, it seems you’ve recovered completely, yes?”
Chen Shi Tao smiled, “Thank you for worrying, Little Brother Yang. Fortunately, I wasn’t injured, just somewhat exhausted, so after a few days of meditation my Saint Qi and strength had been restored.”
“En, that’s good. Does Sister Chen have something she needs to discuss? Or perhaps you are ready to leave?”
“Not yet,” Chen Shi Tao shook her head slowly, “While Fan Lei’s injuries were not too serious this time, they also were not light, so I’m afraid we’ll need to stay here for a few more days.”
“Oh? Good, I also happen to need a few days to finish a little something here.”
“This Young Lady came here this time specifically to thank Little Brother Yang for assisting us twice. Although the first time there was no risk to our lives, without Little Brother Yang coming to our aid the second time, I’m afraid it would have been difficult for us to leave Grand Burial Valley alive. I will not forget this graciousness. If Little Brother Yang ever needs this Young Lady’s help in the future, just come to Clear Sky Sect to call upon me, I will certainly not refuse!”
When she said these words, her face was serious and sincere.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and waved his hand, “I only helped you out a little bit. You being able to survive was all thanks to your own strength; after all, that Silver Night Thunder Beast took the initiative to retreat after it saw it couldn’t kill you without the help of that barrier.”
“Is that so?” Chen Shi Tao frowned, seemingly a bit puzzled. If that was really the case, the Silver Night Thunder Beast should not have taken the initiative to provoke them. During these past few days of meditation, Chen Shi Tao had been going over their encounter carefully but was still unable to understand why the Silver Night Thunder Beast had suddenly retreated.
Thinking it over though, she felt that it had something to do with Yang Kai, but under her subtle probe, Yang Kai had categorically denied her assumption, making her wonder if the Silver Night Thunder Beast’s retreat really was for the reason he gave.
Yang Kai didn’t intend to discuss this issue further and simply said, “As for your thanks, there’s no need to go so far. When cultivators go out into the world, they will always encounter difficulties, and since we are not strangers, it is only natural for us to support one another. Perhaps next time this Yang will need Sister Chen’s assistance with something.”
On Chen Shi Tao pretty face, a fascinating smile appeared as she narrowed her eyes happily, “Being able to meet Little Brother Yang is really this Young Lady’s good fortune.”
“Because you believe I’m a person of great destiny?” Yang Kai laughed jokingly.
“Hehe…” Chen Shi Tao giggled, “Although I have no way to prove such a thing, this Young Lady has faith in her intuition. If not for me taking advantage of your luck, how could I be standing here with you now, speaking casually like this?”
“Alright. Sure, think whatever you’d like,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly, not trying to argue with her.
“Actually…” Chen Shi Tao began to say something but suddenly hesitated.
Yang Kai immediately knew that she should have something she felt awkward about asking him and immediately assumed the pose of a conscientious listener.
Noticing this, Chen Shi Tao slowly continued, “Actually, this time, this Young Lady came here first to thank you, but second to ask Little Brother Yang if he has any intention to join a Sect?”
“Join a Sect?” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly before smiling, “Could it be that Sister Chen wants to invite me to enter Clear Sky Sect?”
“Talking to smart people like Little Brother Yang really saves a lot of trouble,” Chen Shi Tao smiled and nodded, “I certainly had such an idea; after all, you are a lone cultivator with no Elders to guide you and no Sect to protect you. At present, you might not notice any significant drawbacks, but as your cultivation continues to grow, there will definitely be some situations that Little Brother Yang won’t be able to cope with on your own.”
Yang Kai gently nodded as he knew what she said made sense.
For example, Shi, the unique power Origin Returning Realm master’s possessed, was something Yang Kai had next to no knowledge about. When he had fought against the cultivator brought by Xie Hong Wen to Dragon Cave Mountain, because there were no Elders or Seniors to inform him about Shi, Yang Kai had fallen into a disadvantage during that fight.
After seeing Yang Kai’s thoughtful appearance, Chen Shi Tao became encouraged and hurriedly continued, “And, since you were able to cultivate to the Second-Order Saint King Realm all on your own, obviously your aptitude isn’t low, so entering Clear Sky Sect shouldn’t be difficult. Half a year later, Clear Sky Sect will hold a recruitment open to all of Shadowed Star. At that time, anyone who passes will be allowed to enter the Sect.”
“Of course, when you first enter the Sect, your status and treatment certainly won’t be too high, but given your cultivation state, as long as you complete a few tasks for the Sect, becoming an Inner Disciple won’t be a problem. If Little Brother Yang has any interest in participating in the trial, this Young Lady can give you a participation token.” Saying so, Chen Shi Tao looked at Yang Kai eagerly, seeming to really look forward to him joining her Sect.
After all, Yang Kai’s strength wasn’t low, and once they become fellow Sect disciples, she could openly invite him to travel together with her in the future.
Under her expectant eyes, Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing to himself and not immediately refusing. This made Chen Shi Tao feel like there was a chance of success so she decided to strike while the iron was hot, but Yang Kai quickly cut her off, “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline Sister Chen’s good intentions; temporarily, I have no plans to enter any Sect.”
Chen Shi Tao’s expression drooped at Yang Kai’s surprise answer.
Yang Kai proceeded to explain with a smile, “If I was really alone, I wouldn’t mind entering a Sect, but Sister Chen has seen that I have my own companions.”
“You mean that Sister Yang Yan?”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Not only her, but there are several dozen as well.”
“Several dozens…” Chen Shi Tao was stunned.
“Yeah, and their cultivations vary greatly. There are a few Origin Returning Realm masters, some Saint King Realm, but also a number who are just Immortal Ascension, Transcendent, and Saint Realm cultivators,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“This…” Chen Shi Tao mutter to herself for a moment before smiling, “No wonder you would refuse. Since Little Brother Yang has such concerns, this Young Lady won’t say anymore.”
Although she failed to invite Yang Kai to participate in the trial, causing Chen Shi Tao to be slightly disappointed, since he had such a reason, she wouldn’t try to force the issue. After chatting with Yang Kai for a while, she left to return to the small mountain she had occupied a short distance away.
After she left, Yang Kai smiled slightly, seemingly pondering something before turning his eyes and staring at a certain spot up in the sky and calling out lightly, “Did you see something interesting after looking for so long?”
As soon as he spoke these words, a slight aura fluctuation appeared where Yang Kai was looking at, but in the next moment everything became calm once more, as if nothing had happened.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “What’s wrong? Since Brother Wang has already come, does he want this Yang to offer an invitation before showing up?”
Listening to Yang Kai address him by name, a ripple suddenly appeared in the sky and a figure soon revealed itself. Staring down somberly at Yang Kai, this newly appeared person asked solemnly, “How did you discover me?”
As he spoke, he took back a cloak-like artifact and stared at Yang Kai, quickly adding, “My Concealing Aura Coat is an Origin Grade High-Rank artifact, it’s impossible for someone like you to notice any flaws.”
“An Origin Grade High-Rank artifact!” Yang Kai raised his brow as he grinned slightly, “Brother Wang actually possess such a good artifact. En, but despite this artifact not being low grade, with your strength, it seems you can’t activate it completely, and this Yang has always been quite sensitive to other peoples’ prying eyes, heh heh!”
“Seems you have some skill!” Wang Yu Han snorted coldly, not showing the slightest embarrassment after having been exposed.
“Shouldn’t Brother Wang be concentrating on recovering right now? Why stealthily stalk her? If I hadn’t realized it was Brother Wang’s aura nearby, I might just have attacked,” Yang Ka smiled faintly.
“Hmph, my injuries are already healed; moreover, I didn’t come here with any malicious intent, I was simply curious,” Wang Yu Han replied bluntly.
“If it was just curiosity, then I suppose it can’t be helped. If Brother Wang has something he’d like to say to me, you might as well say it directly. If I can do something to alleviate some worry for you, I certainly will. If not… Brother Wang need only be patient for a few more days.”
“Why would I need anything from you?” Wang Yu Han’s complexion suddenly sank as he said meaningfully, “But you rejecting Sister Chen’s proposal was a wise move. Although your strength isn’t too low, it’s still not enough to enter a great force like Clear Sky Sect. If you had made an attempt, it would have only disappointed Sister Chen’s good intentions. At that time, it would certainly be awkward to face her.”
“Such matters are my concern; Brother Wang does not need to trouble himself over them. En, if Brother Wang has nothing else to say, please go back, my companion and I simply wish to use the Space Array in Black Crow City, so we will naturally leave when the time comes.”
“That would be for the best!” Wang Yu Han nodded flatly before cupping his fists and turning to leave.
At that time, Yang Kai suddenly called out, “Right, I should remind you that I dislike being spied upon by others. This time I will let the matter go, but if it were to happen again…”
“You’ll what?” Wang Yu Han turned back to Yang Kai and snorted disdainfully.
Yang Kai smiled mysteriously as he released a pulse of Spiritual Energy from his Knowledge Sea to envelope Wang Yu Han.
Wang Yu Han’s face changed greatly as at that moment, he felt the aura of death sudden descend upon him. Just as he was about to fight back though, he discovered that the ominous feeling had disappeared. Meanwhile, Yang Kai was simply standing exactly where he had originally been, looking at him with a smile, as if what just happened had nothing to do with him.
Wang Yu Han’s expression immediately became suspicious as he felt some cold sweat drip down is back, but after a short silence, he turned his head and flew off into the distance.
“Suddenly treating me like a love rival for no reason, how annoying!” Yang Kai muttered to himself.
Yang Kai had long since realized why Wang Yu Han was constantly opposing him and why he had stealthily snuck over to observe him. However, Yang Kai really had no intentions towards Chen Shi Tao; after leaving Black Crow City this time, they might never even meet again, so Wang Yu Han’s worries were completely unnecessary.
Although Yang Kai could tell that Wang Yu Han wasn’t a good thing, there was no need for him to remind Chen Shi Tao; after all, he was disinclined to meddle in such troublesome matters. On top of that, Chen Shi Tao was not some naive young girl who didn’t know how the world worked, so there was no need for him to warn her about something she clearly already knew.
For Yang Kai, as long as he could gain access to Black Crow City’s Space Array, he wasn’t interested in intervening in these matters, but Wang Yu Han spying on him in secret had touched Yang Kai’s nerves, so he had given him a small warning. Although the Soul pressure Yang Kai used just now didn’t appear to do any immediate harm to Wang Yu Han, he had actually planted a kind of Divine Sense mark deep in his opponent’s Knowledge Sea. With this seed of fear laid down, in the future, if they really came to blows, all Yang Kai would need to do is trigger it and Wang Yu Han would degenerate into a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
With the current power of Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, pulling this kind of small trick on a Third-Order Saint King was a simple matter, and unless a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master or someone stronger were to carefully probe Wang Yu Han’s Knowledge Sea, it would be impossible to discover and destroy this Divine Sense seed.
The probability of this happening was minimal though, and Yang Kai wasn’t worried even if it did happen.
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Kai felt that he hadn’t exposed his strength or means a moment ago, so he closed his eyes and nodded with satisfaction before continuing to focus on his own affairs.
Three days later, Chen Fan Lei and the others had finished healing from their wounds and recovering their strength. Yang Yan had also handed a ring-like object to Yang Kai already. This ring had a bitter cold chill about it and one could tell at first glance that cold materials had been used to refine it. Yang Kai even noticed some traces of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade’s aura.
Sweeping it with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found that Sun’s True Essence, which had rendered him helpless to even touch it, was stored inside with multiple layers of barriers surrounding it, gathering Ice Attribute Energy in order to restrain the Sun’s True Fire.
This ring was somewhat similar to a Space Ring, but its capacity was extremely small, only about ten square metres. It was obviously an artifact refined by Yang Yan specifically to store the Sun’s True Essence.
With such a thing, Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about the Sun’s True Essence’s aura being exposed and he could easily transport it from place to place. After investigating this ring slightly, Yang Kai put it away while liberally praising Yang Yan’s skills, declaring that she was unparalleled under the Heavens.
Of course, Yang Yan only shot Yang Kai a disdainful look.
Finished with what they needed to do here, Yang Kai and Yang Yan met up with Chen Shi Tao’s group and learned that they too were ready to depart.
After a brief discussion, the group of six set out for Black Crow City. On the way, Wang Yu Han’s former incessant chatter gave way to silence and he also seemed to intentionally or unintentionally distance himself from Yang Kai, often shooting him strange looks.
Chen Shi Tao and the others seemed to not notice this change and instead busied themselves telling Yang Kai in detail about the situation of Black Crow City.
Through their explanations, Yang Kai learned that because the geographical location of Black Crow City was a bit special, it didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of any single great force. Three mid-sized forces, Extreme Path Sect, Imperial City Sect, and Honoured Oath Pavilion, all had their headquarters roughly the same distance from Black Crow City, and as a result had competed with each other for many years and lost many disciples to gain control over it. However, in the end, no single Sect was able to triumph over the others.
In the end, the three Sects came to some kind of agreement where all of them swore not to interfere with Black Crow City any further.
After this agreement was reached, Black Crow City itself began to rise in strength, with its City Lord recruiting a number of powerful cultivators to guard and protect it. With the help of some nearby mineral lodes, over time, Black Crow City managed to survive even though it was caught between these three Sects.
There were actually many cities like Black Crow City on Shadowed Star, most of them achieving a degree of independence because the local Sects were unable to agree on who would take ownership of it. As a result, these cities would often grow into sizeable forces.
This kind of independent city force was very attractive to lone cultivators, and through some solicitation, these cities would occasionally be able to attract some powerful masters to join them.
These cities were generally referred to as Free Cities, and even if there weren’t a thousand of them on Shadowed Star, there were are least eight hundred. Because these Free Cities didn’t have strict constraints like formal Sects, and their management was relatively loose, the City Lord position would often change hands. Essentially, whoever’s fist was biggest would become the City Lord, so although these Free Cities had some strength, they were never able to form large, cohesive forces. As a result, the surrounding Sects wouldn’t pay much mind to these Free Cities, instead maintaining cooperative relationships with them.
However, there were always exceptions. On Shadowed Star, there were a few Free Cities that weren’t inferior in strength to great Sects. Such cities were often controlled by a single, extremely powerful family or governed by several families that were relatively united with each other. Although infighting was unavoidable, it was restrained to an acceptable range, and once outside enemies invaded, they would band together to repel them.
After thousands of years of prosperity, these super cities obtained status and strength no worse than other great forces on Shadowed Star.
Black Crow City couldn’t be compared to that kind of super city, so even though Chen Fan Lei was only a Saint King Realm disciple of Extreme Path Sect, he has some personal relationships with a Senior responsible for guarding the city’s Space Array. Having once been entrusted by that person with a certain task, that Senior now owed Chen Fan Lei a favour and would have to give him some face. Learning this, Yang Kai calmed down as he understood that gaining access to the Space Array shouldn’t be a problem, unlike back in Demon Blood City.
In general, moving about Shadowed Star was a hassle. Even just being able to use the Space Arrays in each city was a headache.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had good luck and was able to obtain help from others to use these Space Arrays twice.
Yang Kai began wondering if there was some kind of token or pass that would allow him to use any of the Space Arrays on Shadowed Star at will. If there was such a thing, it would undoubtedly make his life more convenient.
Of course, Yang Kai didn’t expect such a convenient item to exist, but after casually mentioning it to Chen Shi Tao, he learned there really was such a thing! This surprised Yang Kai greatly and he hurriedly asked her for more details.
Chen Shi Tao seemed to know what he was thinking so she freely shared everything she knew.
After listening to Chen Shi Tao’s explanation though, Yang Kai could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
Although this kind of access pass existed, and would be recognized and accepted by about eighty percent of the forces on Shadowed Star, obtaining it was akin to trying to ascend to the Heavens. There were two ways to acquire this pass; the first was to perform some kind of meritorious deed that brought great benefit to all of Shadowed Star. While this condition sounded simple, it was essentially impossible to complete.
There were as many forces on Shadowed Star as there were hairs on an ox, and although many of them would cooperate with each other, there was also no end to the conflicts and struggles between them. Something that was beneficial to one party would undoubtedly be detrimental to another. Trying to accomplish something that improved everyone’s lives was nothing short of a fool’s dream.
The second method was actually much simpler than the first method. One simply needed to receive the joint approval of ten first-class Sects. With that, they could get this free entry pass to all of Shadowed Star’s Space Arrays!
Although this second method was simpler, that was only compared to the first method. There were only about twenty first-class Sects on Shadowed Star, so collecting the support of ten of them was basically impossible.
Yang Kai had a fair amount of contact with Shadow Moon Hall, Clear Sky Sect, and Coloured Glass Sect, which were all first-class Sects, but only famous Elders of such Sects could act as guarantors for the pass.
Either of these methods could be used to obtain the pass Yang Kai wanted, but after listening to Chen Shi Tao, he extinguished such thoughts completely as he couldn’t achieve either of them with his current abilities.
Chatting along the way, time passed quickly and five days later, the group of six arrived at the outskirts of Black Crow City. After paying some Saint Crystals, the guards allowed them through the city gates without incident.
After entering the city, Yang Kai looked around and saw many wide and narrow winding roads, all of them lined with many shops on both sides. Although Black Crow City couldn’t be called crowded with people, it was still quite lively and bustling.
“Little Brother Yang, are you planning to stay here for some time or are you anxious to depart?” Chen Shi Tao suddenly looked back at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai thought about it for a moment before replying, “If possible, I naturally want to leave here quickly, as there are still some things I have to attend to.”
After acquiring so many materials and Saint Crystals, and with the Stone Puppet having stolen so much Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, Yang Yan was naturally eager to continue her Artifact Refining, and from what Yang Kai heard from her it seemed she would be refining a truly shocking treasure this time. As for what she was working on specifically, Yang Yan insisted on keeping it a secret, making Yang Kai helpless.
On top of Yang Yan’s desire to return, the fact that the Stone Puppet and Artifact Spirit were currently wounded left Yang Kai unwilling to remain outside. Only after he returned to Dragon Cave Mountain would he be able to provide his two assistants with a safe environment to recuperate.
Hearing this, Chen Shi Tao’s eyes flashed with some disappointment, but she didn’t insist anymore and said, “Since that’s the case, Fan Lei will go to the Space Array now to see if that Senior is in. If everything goes well, before the night falls, Little Brother Yang should be able to leave.”
Yang Kai naturally had no opinion and simply thanked Chen Fan Lei politely before finding a spot out of the way to wait quietly with Chen Shi Tao and the others.
In the meantime, Chen Shi Tao tried to invite Yang Kai to participate in the Clear Sky Sect recruitment trial once more, but Yang Kai still politely refused. Seeing this, Chen Shi Tao chose not to pester him about the issue and instead began chatting with him about other topics with a smile.
After about an hour, Chen Fan Lei returned.
However, the look on his face was a bit awkward, as if he had failed to accomplish the task he had been assigned.
Upon seeing his expression, Yang Kai couldn’t help clenching his fist slightly, secretly wondering whether the other party was unwilling to bend the rules. If this was the case, then he could only choose to take two or three months to fly back to Dragon Cave Mountain from here.
Chen Shi Tao obviously also had similar speculations and after her little brother arrived, she hurriedly asked, “Fan Lei, did things not go smoothly?”
Chen Fan Lei smiled mirthlessly as a guilty look appeared on his face, shaking his head as he said, “Things really didn’t go smoothly.”
“What happened?” Chen Shi Tao asked.
“The Senior I know just happens to be out of the city. From what I heard from the others, it seems he was assigned some kind of task outside the city.”
“He’s out of the city?” Chen Shi Tao stunned, “How could he be out of the city at this exact moment? Could it be they were just trying to deceive you?”
“No, no!” Chen Fan Lei quickly waved his hand, “I found some others to ask about this matter and confirmed that the Senior I know is indeed on a mission. He just left the city a few days ago and it seems the soonest he’ll return is in three days.”
“Three days…” Chen Shi Tao murmured, turning her head to look at Yang Kai and smiling apologetically, “Little Brother Yang, I’m sorry, it seems that things won’t be as easy as I anticipated.”
“It’s fine, accidents are bound to happen,” Yang Kai replied faintly.
Seeing that Yang Kai didn’t show a displeased look, Chen Shi Tao calmed down and said, “But that Senior will be back in three days at the soonest, can you wait that long? You may rest assured, as soon as that Senior returns, we will definitely arrange for you to leave here.”
“It’s not a problem, even if I have to wait ten days it’s still fine; after all, it’s better than taking two or three months to fly back by Star Shuttle. But Brother Chen, are you certain that Senior won’t be delayed too long? If he doesn’t return for some time, it may not be worth waiting.”
“There’s no need to worry!” Chen Shi Tao smiled brightly, “If that Senior hasn’t returned after three days, we can go to another place, whether it’s Extreme Path Sect’s Gale City or Clear Sky Sect’s Black Sea City, both are only ten to fifteen days from here and both have Space Arrays which are directly connected to Heavenly Fate City. Here we have to rely on my personal connections, but in Gale City or Black Sea City we will have full authority to access the Space Array.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up slightly as the last trace of concern faded from his mind, nodding as he agreed to Chen Shi Tao’s proposal.
Since they had decided to wait for three days here, it was necessary to find a place to stay. Fortunately, there were many inns in Black Crow City, while both Chen Shi Tao and Lu Ying were wealthy Young Ladies worth more than a million Saint Crystals each, so the place they chose naturally wasn’t bad.
A short time later, the group of six arrived at a top-level inn called Flying Spirit Palace.
Flying Spirit Palace was a well known establishment in Black Crow City and was among the highest quality lodgings available. Generally, the cultivators who stayed here were either rich or held extremely high status, as a single night would cost three thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals.
This kind of price was quite exorbitant. One had to know that the best rooms at an average inn would only cost hundreds of Saint Crystals a night, making the price of this Flying Spirit Palace over a dozen times higher.
If it weren’t for Yang Kai helping them out twice, one of which could be counted as a life-saving grace, Chen Shi Tao wouldn’t have spent so lavishly. After all, although she had a lot of Saint Crystals now, she had never been one to waste it on frivolous luxuries. This time could only be considered her borrowing Yang Kai’s favour as an excuse to spend somewhat freely.
Although the price was ridiculously high, after seeing their accommodations, everyone felt it was a worthwhile cost.
The reason was simple, every guest staying here was given a separate three-story loft. The first floor was for entertaining guest, the second for meditating, and the third for Alchemy or Artifact Refining.
Each floor was equipped with at least seven or eight different Spirit Arrays that not only shielded against outside Divine Sense intrusions but also provided other types of protection.
On top of that, each loft came with two beautiful young maidservants. These maids were also cultivators, but their cultivations weren’t high, most of them just True Element Boundary or even Separation and Reunion Boundary cultivators; however, all of them had received careful training to greet and entertain guests. Of course, some excessive requests wouldn’t be met.
According to the cultivator who received Chen Shi Tao’s group, Flying Spirit Palace was actually the private industry of the City Lord and several other powerful Elders from the city, so safety was guaranteed as no one would dare come here to make trouble.
The cultivator who welcomed them seemed to unintentionally reveal this news, which was obviously meant as a subtle warning for Yang Kai and the others to not underestimate the background of this inn, or worse, try to stir up trouble themselves.
A group of six people, of course, didn’t need six whole lofts, so Chen Shi Tao only booked three, one she would share with Lu Ying, one that Wang Yu Han and Chen Fan Lei would stay in, and one for Yang Kai and Yang Yan.
After all the arrangements were complete, everyone dispersed to their respective loft.
The loft where Yang Kai and Yang Yan were staying in had an ornate design and a very impactful name, the Floating Snow Moon Pavilion.
Seeing this building, Yang Yan licked her lips happily while Yang Kai held no opinions of it. The two of them quickly chose a room for themselves before sitting in meditation to rest.
An uneventful night passed, and the next day Yang Kai and Yang Yan took advantage of this opportunity to wander around Black Crow City; after all, it was their first time here, so they wanted to see if there were any local special products. If they were lucky, they might even find some useful materials.
A day of shopping with Yang Yan yielded some good results as the pair was able to buy some materials and ores that were difficult to come by in Heavenly Fate City.
The price they paid was naturally not a discounted one like when they purchased from Shadow Moon Hall, but inside Grand Burial Valley, Yang Kai and Yang Yan had obtained quite a few Saint Crystals, so naturally, they wouldn’t care about such small expenses.
By the end of the day, Yang Yan had purchased nearly fifty million Saint Crystals worth of Artifact Refining materials.
Although Yang Kai did not object, he was still shocked to witness this. At the rate Yang Yan was spending, the Saint Crystals they harvested this time may not be able to last very long; however, judging from the materials she purchased, Yang Kai vaguely felt that she really wanted to refine something astonishing.
While panicking slightly inside, Yang Kai was also quite looking forward to what the end result would be.
If not for Yang Kai worrying about drawing unwanted attention, Yang Yan would have continued dragging him around, buying up everything she was interested in. Yang Kai had not failed to notice several people paying attention to them already, quite interested in both him and Yang Yan.
This was not a surprise though, as they were clearly just a young man and woman but had spent tens of millions of Saint Crystal in a single day. This would inevitably cause some people to get ideas about them. Fortunately, these people were only curious at the moment and did not make any moves, simply following them around stealthily.
In the evening, Yang Kai and Yang Yan returned to Flying Spirit Palace, but as soon as they entered the Floating Snow Moon Pavilion, Yang Yan went straight to the third floor and secluded herself in the Artifact Refining Room there.
Helpless, Yang Kai went to the second floor to meditate.
After about two hours though, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and looked outward with a slight frown. Waving his hand, the door was opened silently by a beautiful young girl in a green dress standing outside. She was one of the two maidservants responsible for this Floating Snow Moon Pavilion.
She first greeted Yang Kai elegantly before softly explaining, “Young Lord, you have a guest. Would Young Lord like to meet with them?”
“Who is it?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“He said he was your companion and that his surname was Chen!”
“Chen?” Yang Kai was surprised, pondering for a moment before asking, “Is he by himself?”
“Yes,” The maidservant nodded gently.
Yang Kai’s lips curled into a slight smile hearing this and without waiting for the maidservant to ask again, he waved his hand lightly, “I understand, let him wait downstairs for a while, I’ll be down in a moment.”
The maidservant bowed gracefully before turning around and gracefully walking downstairs.
Yang Kai did not get up immediately, but instead sat on the spot, his eyes flashing slightly as his thoughts turned. Only after a moment of contemplation did he stand up and walk out.
On the first floor inside the hospitality room, Chen Fan Lei sat with his back straight like a sword, his well-groomed brow and bright eyes highlighting his face. Although he could not be considered incredibly handsome, he seemed to have been born with a heroic temperament, especially his eyes which always seemed to burst with life.
The two maidservants of this Floating Snow Moon Pavilion seemed quite taken with him and would casually sneak glances at his face from time to time, blushing slightly as they did so.
Chen Fan Lei had apparently noticed this but pretended not to, instead choosing to sit up straight with a serious look upon his face. However, one did not need to look too closely to notice that he was constantly fidgeting, as if he was sitting on pins and needles.
Sometime later, when Yang Kai finally came down from upstairs, Chen Fan Lei felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and quickly got up, cupped his fists, and said, “Brother Yang, I’ve taken the liberty to pay you a visit but it seems I’ve disturbed your cultivation, I hope Brother Yang won’t take offence.”
Hearing him say this, Yang Kai wore a stunned look but soon smiled warmly and said, “Brother Chen is too polite. I was also just filling the time, so you haven’t disturbed me at all.”
Saying so, he ordered the two maidservants to prepare some tea.
The maidservant in green who had gone upstairs to inform Yang Kai of Chen Fan Lei’s arrival nodded and immediately got to work.
Not long after, not only was tea served, put a platter of exquisite spirit fruits was laid out as well.
Yang Kai didn’t know why Chen Fan Lei had suddenly run over to see him, so he didn’t rashly inquire; however, it seemed Chen Fan Lei didn’t want to explain his purpose directly and instead began talking about random things.
But Yang Kai could clearly feel that Chen Fan Lei was acting very different from usual, and for some reason the presence of the two maidservants seemed to be stressing him. Instead of his usually free and unfettered speech, Chen Fan Lei was now picking his words carefully, even speaking somewhat incoherently at times.
Whenever he would trip over his words, the two maidservants would let out a light giggle, embarrassing Chen Fan Lei even further.
Seeing this, Yang Kai seemed to understand something and lightly instructed the two maidservants, “There’s no need for you to remain here, you may go back and rest. I will call for you if I require your service.”
The two maidservants glanced at each other and, although they were a little disappointed, politely nodded before reluctantly departing, both secretly casting Chen Fan Lei a sincere glance before they left.
Yang Kai saw this and laughed dumbly despite trying not to.
After the two maidservants left and Chen Fan Lei and Yang Kai were alone, the former was obviously relieved, and his usual demeanour was instantly restored. No longer embarrassed or anxious, he began chatting freely with Yang Kai, sometimes laughing joyfully while at other times acting quite seriously as he argued over different topics related to cultivation that he disagreed with Yang Kai over.
This chat lasted for two hours, but even then, Chen Fan Lei showed no signs of saying goodbye or revealing his true intentions, so Yang Kai had no choice but to raise the subject.
[He couldn’t have forgotten why he came here, right?]
At this point, Yang Kai lightly coughed and asked, “Does Brother Chen have some specific purpose for coming to see me this time?”
Hearing this, Chen Fan Lei showed a stunned expression before immediately smacking his forehead.
[He really had forgotten!]
Seeing this, Yang Kai smiled bitterly but remained silent, waiting for him to speak.
“Actually, it’s nothing important, it’s just that Brother Yang rescued us twice in Grand Burial Valley, but after arriving here in Black Crow City, I’ve barely been able to reciprocate the favour, so I thought I should try to entertain Brother Yang.”
“Entertain?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
“Yes,” Chen Fan Lei nodded repeatedly, “I’ve heard there is a very interesting place in Black Crow City. This Chen has long been curious about it but has never had an opportunity to patronize it, but now that we are in this situation, I thought I’d invite Brother Yang to accompany me. I wonder if Brother Yang is interested?”
“An interesting place?” Yang Kai suddenly became curious, “What kind of place is it?”
Chen Fan Lei’s face suddenly showed a hint of embarrassment, but that soon disappeared and with a meaningful grin, he said, “Allow this Chen to keep that a secret for now. When we arrive, Brother Yang will naturally understand.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and pondered for a while before nodding, “Sure, since Brother Chen has come to invite me, then I will accompany you. Should we also call Sister Chen and the others?”
“Absolutely not!” Chen Fan Lei’s complexion changed as he waved his hands frantically, “This matter can never be known by her, otherwise she’ll skin me alive! I wouldn’t have come to visit so late at night if it weren’t specifically to avoid her noticing.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s thoughts flashed, suddenly guessing what kind of place Chen Fan Lei wanted to go to, but after thinking about it for a moment, he asked, “What about Brother Wang?”
“Senior Brother Wang, he went out during the day and said that he was visiting one of his family Elders here. I do not know when he will return. We don’t have to wait for him.”
Yang Kai gently nodded, “Since that’s the case, let’s go.”
Chen Fan Lei saw Yang Kai agree and his spirits lifted, immediately nodding before leading the way.
Together, the pair left Flying Spirit Palace and quickly blended into the crowds of Black Crow City.
At night, Black Crow City seemed livelier than during the day as even more cultivators were now coming and going. Chen Fan Lei had apparently made preparations before, so he quickly led Yang Kai down a series of roads with great familiarity.
Soon, the pair arrived at a seemingly inconspicuous mansion. At the door of this establishment were two Saint Realm cultivators in black armour holding spears, their eyes coldly glancing around their surroundings.
At first glance, there was nothing special about this place, and it truly seemed to be an ordinary mansion, but when Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to investigate it, he was surprised to find that many barriers had been arranged here and he was actually unable to learn anything about its internal situation.
However, from time to time, some cultivators would swaggeringly enter this building. These cultivators had uneven cultivations, but regardless of their strength, the two guard-like cultivators at the door turned a blind eye to them, without even asking any questions.
This inevitably aroused Yang Kai’s curiosity as he wondered what exactly this place was for it to be so lively.
After arriving here, Chen Fan Lei did not proceed any further, his eyes staring at this mansion seriously, but also with a faint feeling of excitement. Yang Kai clearly noticed that Chen Fan Lei’s temperature had risen slightly, and his pulse had become faster.
Casting him a suspicious glance, Chen Fan Lei simply smiled back at Yang Kai and said, “This is the place, let’s go inside.”
Saying so, just like the cultivators who had entered previously, the two of them walked right inside, the two guards out front not trying to block or interrogate them in the slightest.
Upon entering the mansion and crossing a short black stone path, then turning a few corners, the pair were suddenly greeted by a very lively scene with a strong fragrance of wine and women lingering in the air. Bursts of crisp and sweet laughter echoed about as a wondrous melody played in the background.
There was actually an earthly paradise inside this place!
Yang Kai looked around in amazement and quickly saw an open-air courtyard with countless banquet tables where guests where constantly coming and going while drinking and celebrating. Most notably though was that on the arms of each of these guests were charming young women who were clearly flattering and flirting with them. These women all had different styles and temperaments, and they were all dressed quite diversely as well, some wearing tight-fitting highly exposing dresses while others were dressed up as noble young ladies, but without exception, all of them were great beauties.
This scene stunned Yang Kai as he realized that the ‘interesting place,’ Chen Fan Lei wanted to bring himself was just as he had guessed.
This was clearly similar to the brothels in cities where ordinary mortals lived!
However, this place was countless times bigger than an average brothel, because the people who came and went from here were all cultivators, and the women who accompanied them were also cultivators. At the very least, when Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to sweep the crowd in front of him, he found no one with a cultivation lower than the True Element Boundary. The women, however, did not have very high strength, the strongest being just Immortal Ascension Boundary Third or Fourth Stage.
While it was slightly different for the male guests, no one had a cultivation higher than the Saint Realm, which was only slightly higher than the cultivations of the women accompanying them.
Chen Fan Lei being interested in this kind of place surprised Yang Kai.
Turning his head and glancing at him, Yang Kai could not help feeling dumbstruck once again.
The current Chen Fan Lei seemed like he had lost his soul, his jaw dropped as he stared at the exaggerated scene in front of him, the mere visual impact apparently having been enough to make him lose the ability to think or act. On top of that, his face was now a bright shade of crimson.
Yang Kai shook his head wryly and was just about to wake him up when a young woman suddenly walked over to them. This woman wore a gorgeous formal dress and had a face the colour of peach blossoms. Her beautiful eyes shimmer like stars and her twin peaks were rich and full, contrasting greatly with her slim, graceful waist and long slender legs. Arriving in front of the two young men, this young woman bowed elegantly and spoke, “This Mistress greets two Young Lords.”
After she spoke, she glanced over at Chen Fan Lei lightly, covered her mouth with her hand and tittered sweetly.
However, it was obviously not the first time she had witnessed such a reaction so she didn’t pay him much mind, instead quickly continuing, “Two Young Lords look unfamiliar, could it be this is your first time visiting our Joyous Union Pavilion?”
Yang Kai shot a glance over at Chen Fan Lei and saw that he was still in a daze. Sighing slightly as he realized he couldn’t expect anything from him for a while, Yang Kai gently nodded and replied, “Yeah, we are indeed the first time patrons, but we have long heard rumours of your famous establishment, so as we were passing through Black Crow City, we specially came here to see it for ourselves.”
“So that’s how it is,” The young woman heard these words and nodded lightly, brushing her hair behind her ear in what seemed to be an unintentionally flirtatious manner before smiling and saying, “I hope we have not disappointed two Young Lords’ expectations. If you are satisfied, would you like this Mistress to arrange a private room for you?”
She could tell that Yang Kai and Chen Fan Lei had strong cultivations and knew they would not be content to simply remain in this open square, so she took the initiative to make such a proposal.
Of course, Yang Kai had no objections, nodded, and allowed her to make appropriate arrangements.
The young woman responded with a nod and quickly led the two through the square and into an exquisite loft a slight distance away.
At the same time, in a chamber deep inside the Joyous Union Pavilion, an old man and a young man sat cross-legged across from each other. The old man had a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation while the young man was a Third-Order Saint King.
The old man sat calmly as he quietly circulated his Secret Art, not showing the slightest signs of anxiousness; however, the well-dressed young man seemed to be distracted and would frown from time to time, looking outside.
“Yu Han, you need to temper your heart and mind again,” The old man’s eyes did not open but he still spoke authoritatively.
The youth opposite him trembled slightly and showed a look of embarrassment on his face, respectfully nodding as he said, “What Seventh Grandfather said is correct, Yu Han is still too immature.”
The old man smiled slightly and opened his eyes to look at the youth opposite him, “You don’t have to rebuke yourself too harshly; after all, this matter is related to your future, naturally you should act careful about it. Although our Wang Family is not a small family, it is not a big one either. In the current younger generation, you are the most talented and the only one able to join Extreme Path Sect. Now that you have cultivated to the Third-Order Saint King Realm, as long as you have enough opportunity, breaking through to the Origin Returning threshold is not impossible. When that time comes, you and I will be the pillars of our Wang Family. Additionally, your background is also much better than this old master’s, so you will probably be able to go further than this old master in the future.”
“Seventh Grandfather thinks too highly of me. Yu Han was only able to have his current achievements thanks to the family’s great blessings. If I can rise up in the future, I certainly will not bring shame to our Wang Family.”
“Hearing you say so makes me feel reassured. If it were not you but some other clansman who asked this old master for such a favour, I would have immediately refused. Although I was able to become a manger of this Joyous Union Pavilion, you should also know that this place is secretly supported by Imperial City Sect and has the backing of the City Lord. If some kind of accident were to happen here, the consequences would not be something my Wang Family could afford.”
“Yu Han understands, but this time the one I need to deal with is just a Second-Order Saint King and there is no need to confront him directly, just tarnishing his reputation will be enough. There should be no problem.”
“If not for this, how could I have agreed to your request?” The old man snorted before shifting the topic with a chuckle, “Does that woman you fancy truly come from a big force like Clear Sky Sect?”
“Yes!” The youth opposite him nodded as his spirit seemed to rise, immediately following up, “Not only does she come from Clear Sky Sect, she also has extremely high status and possesses a great amount of wealth. At least a million Saint Crystals!”
“A million?” The old man was truly surprised, and a hint of greed flashed across his eyes, “She is just a trivial Third-Order Saint King, how can she possess such wealth?”
“Her luck was incredibly good. When she entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field, she discovered an underground Saint Crystal lode where she spent five months collecting several tens of millions of Saint Crystals. After returning to Clear Sky Sect, most of those were handed over to the Sect, but she was still allowed to keep a portion of them.”
“I see!” The old man’s doubts were cleared instantly, and he nodded, “If that’s the case, then you absolutely cannot let go of her easily. You must do whatever it takes to win over that woman; as long as you can obtain her heart, your future cultivation path will be smooth and you will never need to worry about having enough resources.”
“Yu Han also thinks so, otherwise I would not have had to deal with that little brat surnamed Yang. I know that little brat also has his eyes on Sister Chen, but as long as I can expose him coming to this place, Sister Chen will definitely disdain to see him again.”
“This method is truly good, but are you certain he will come here?” The old man asked again.
The young man smiled and declared, “I cannot say I am absolutely certain, but I am at least eighty percent confident.”
“Let me hear the details then…” The old man asked with interest.
The young man proceeded to explain his scheme, with the old man nodding from time to time, showing his approval.
A moment later, a soft voice suddenly came from outside and the old man’s eyes flashed. After listening to this message, the old man muttered, “They’ve come.”
“Really?” The young man asked joyfully.
“Yes!” The old man looked at the young man with a smile and tossed him something, “Your plan is sound. You can now carry out the next step. You can handle this yourself. This is my manager token. So long as you have it, others here will cooperate with you for most minor matters. “
The young man caught the token and quickly bowed, “Many thanks, Seventh Grandfather!”
…..
In a separate lost inside Joyous Union Pavilion, Yang Kai and Chen Fan Lei had sat down casually while the young woman who had led them here had taken her leave. There was no one else inside this building except Yang Kai and Chen Fan Lei.
There was a pot of spirit tea set on the table, and while Yang Kai didn’t drink a drop, Chen Fan Lei had already poured himself several cups, seemingly wanting to use this spirit tea to extinguish the flames in his body.
While he was drinking this tea, Yang Kai just observed him with a smile.
After a while, Yang Kai suddenly said, “Brother Chen, could this be your first time visiting this kind of place?”
“En…” Chen Fan Lei nodded with a deep look of embarrassment on his face, a moment later suddenly looking up at Yang Kai and asking, “Looking at Brother Yang’s relaxed expression, could it be you’re very experienced with this type of thing?”
“Nonsense!” Yang Kai put on a serious face, “This is also my first time visiting such a place.”
“Haha…” Chen Fan Lei let out a dry laugh, not knowing whether to believe Yang Kai or not.
Yang Kai suddenly stared at Chen Fan Lei solemnly, “Brother Chen should not have wanted to visit this place for no reason. You do not seem like the type who indulges in these kinds of activities. Do you have a specific objective for coming here tonight? Could you explain to me?”
Chen Fan Lei smiled bitterly, “Did Brother Yang see through me?”
“I was simply speculating,” Yang Kai said in a non-committal tone.
“Since that’s the case, this Chen won’t try to act mysterious,” Chen Fan Lei took a breath and calmed himself down greatly before explaining, “Does Brother Yang believe this place is purely for seeking entertainment and pleasure?”
“It’s not?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“Naturally, it isn’t. If it was just about seeking pleasure, there are plenty of other places to do so in Black Crow City, there’s no need to specifically come here,” Chen Fan Lei said while quickly regaining his normal condition; after all, he was still a Saint King Realm cultivator so he had at least that much mental discipline.
“Oh? Is there something special here that can attract Brother Chen’s attention?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Actually, this is an open secret. Anyone who visits Joyous Union Pavilion should have the same purpose as I. Although there is also a pure entertainment and pleasure seeking business here, there are also a number of specially cultivated women here who had trained in a special Dual Cultivation Technique that is said to be quite helpful for males hoping to break through bottlenecks!”
“A Dual Cultivation Technique used to break through bottlenecks?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as immediately understood what Chen Fan Lei wanted to do here.
“Yeah,” Chen Fan Lei nodded lightly, “Last time I was going to take advantage of the Thunder Pond to break through my bottleneck, but unfortunately I was disturbed by that Silver Night Thunder Beast which resulted in my attempt failing. However, I was still able to soak in the Thunder Pond for several days and I can tell that I am just half a step away from breaking through. If I were to rely only on my own hard work, I don’t know how long it will take me to succeed, so I decided to take a chance here. If my luck is good, I will be able to save a lot of time, effort, and pills, and even if I wind up unlucky, it won’t cause any harm and I can simply return to the Sect and continue practicing.”
“So that’s it,” Yang Kai suddenly realized why when Chen Fan Lei first came to his loft and was being observed by those two maidservants he had seemingly felt intense stress. Originally, he wanted to come to this kind of place to try to break through his bottleneck.
“Did Brother Chen learn about this method on his own?” Yang Kai asked seemingly casually.
“No, it was actually Senior Brother Wang who told me about this secret place in Black Crow City when I was discussing with him about how to break through my bottleneck earlier today. I was hoping to come together with Senior Brother Wang but unfortunately he went out and didn’t inform me when he would return, so I could only ask Brother Yang to accompany me as I was too embarrassed to come by myself. I hope Brother Yang won’t blame me,” Chen Fan Lei said apologetically.
Listening to his explanation, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed and he let out a slight chuckle, “Brother Chen asking me to accompany him was out of goodwill, so how could I blame you? Truth be told, I’m also quite interested in this place now.”
“Brother Yang, you…” Chen Fan Lei looked at him in amazement.
Yang Kai grinned, “Brother Chen misunderstands. I am simply interested in this special Dual Cultivation Technique which can help break through bottlenecks. If it turns out to be real, then this Dual Cultivation Technique must be quite amazing. You should know that one of the biggest problem’s we cultivators face is overcoming bottlenecks. Often, a single bottleneck can halt our progress for a lifetime. If this Dual Cultivation Technique is that good, it should be enough to become the core foundation of a great Sect. There would be no need to open this Joyous Union Pavilion in the first place.”
“What Brother Yang means is…” Although Chen Fan Lei was not one for plots of schemes, it didn’t mean he was stupid, so he was able to pick up some clues from what Yang Kai had just said.
“Does this Dual Cultivation Technique used to break through bottlenecks have some kind of hidden danger to it?” Yang Kai looked became serious.
“I don’t know about this, I only heard about this place briefly from Senior Brother Wang and he didn’t mention any risks,” Chen Fan Lei could not help frowning. With Yang Kai’s reminder, he suddenly became vigilant and, after thinking about it for a moment, Chen Fan Lei felt these concerns were reasonable. Wasn’t a Dual Cultivation Technique specifically used to break through bottlenecks a bit too convenient?
“I don’t know if Brother Chen has come into contact with any Dual Cultivation Techniques before, but most of them are actually extremely cruel, gathering Yin to supplement Yang, or gathering Yang to supplement Yin, resulting in one partner benefitting at the other’s expense. Since this Joyous Union Pavilion continues to exist to this day, obviously theses women do not cultivate a gathering Yang to supplement Yin Secret Art, but instead sacrifice their Primordial Yin or foundation to help guests who come here improve their cultivation and break through bottlenecks,” Yang Kai pondered out loud as he began mentioning the characteristics of Dual Cultivation Techniques. In fact, he did not need to say such words as Chen Fan Lei should have heard them before; after all, he wasn’t an inexperienced youth unfamiliar with how the cultivation world worked. Even if he had never seen or read a Dual Cultivation Technique before, he should have at least heard some rumours about them.
Yang Kai had cultivated a very profound Dual Cultivation Technique, so he had the qualification to speak about them.
“If this is the case, there really might be some hidden dangers! After all, if I don’t have a special Secret Art to refine the Primordial Yin or Yuan Qi from others, even if my cultivation increases somewhat and I am able to break through my bottleneck, it will cause my foundation to become unsteady,” Chen Fan Lei said thoughtfully, quickly muttering, “But since it’s like this, why would Senior Brother Wang specifically mention such a place to me? If it were not for him suddenly needing to go out, I even thought he would be the one to bring me here.”
“Perhaps Brother Wang had just mentioned it unintentionally and you misunderstood his intent?” Yang Kai said casually.
“I see!” Chen Fan Lei gently nodded, “That might be the case. En, since there are such hidden dangers with this method, I cannot go through with it anymore. I’d rather spend more time in meditation than ruin my foundation by trying to Dual Cultivate with some woman I don’t know.”
After realizing this, Chen Fan Lei finally restored his usual cleverness and said while standing up, “Brother Yang, let’s go now.”
“Since we’ve already arrived, there’s no need to rush off. If we were to suddenly leave like this, we might even offend this place’s owners,” Yang Kai laughed dumbly.
Chen Fan Lei scratched his head as a look of helplessness appeared on his face. If he had known things would turn out like this, he would not have dragged Yang Kai along with him to this place. Now even leaving had become somewhat troublesome.
“Could it be that we are really going to… have to…” Chen Fan Lei looked at Yang Kai with a mixture of uncertainty and anticipation.
Yang Kai laughed, “That depends on Brother Chen’s intentions. Of course, we should avoid any dual cultivation, but if it’s simply having some fun, it shouldn’t matter too much.”
“Brother Yang must be joking,” Chen Fan Lei blushed brightly.
At this moment, Yang Kai expression suddenly changed as he turned his head to look at the door. A soft knocking soon echoed as the young woman who had led them here earlier softly called out, “Two Young Lords, this Mistress has kept you waiting.”
Saying so, she pushed open the door and walked inside followed by two maidservants, one of whom held a scented wine jug while the other carried a platter of exquisite spirit fruits. After bowing gracefully, the two maids walked up and placed the refreshments onto a small table before bowing and retreating to stand behind the lead young woman.
The young woman then took a seat across from Yang Kai and Chen Fan Lei before asking, “I wonder if the two Young Lords are here to seek pleasure or if they have some special requests?”
“What is the difference between seeking pleasure and special requests?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he asked in a calm and experienced tone, making the young woman not dare to look down on him.
The young woman smiled as her lashes fluttered, exuding a kind of intoxicating charm. Turning her eyes to meet Chen Fan Lei’s, she began explaining, “If two Young Lords simply wish to seek pleasure, there are many Young Ladies with excellent aptitudes and appearances you may freely choose from at our Joyous Union Pavilion. Regardless of cultivation or beauty, our girls are far superior to other places in Black Crow City. Of course, our prices are also not comparable to those places either.”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Price is not an issue, as long as you can satisfy us, but I wonder, what is the highest cultivation of the girls in your establishment?”
The young woman smiled lightly, “It seems Young Lord’s vision is quite high. If we are speaking of the girl with the highest cultivation, that would be Hong Yue, she is a Second-Order Saint King!”
“A Second-Order Saint King!” Yang Kai was genuinely stunned and when he looked at Chen Fan Lei, he saw that the other party was also wearing a shocked expression. The two of them had not expected that such a woman would actually exist here; after all, with such a cultivation, it would be easy for her to join some big Sect and obtain far better conditions than in this place.
The young woman continued, “But Lady Hong Yue only acts personally twice a year; after that, no matter the price, she won’t see any guests. On top of that, whether she is willing to attend to a guest is completely up to her, so even if Young Lord offers an incredible price, it may be useless.”
“This Lady Hong Yue seems to have quite an interesting temperament. En, never mind,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “Such troubles are best avoided.”
“Very well,” The young woman seemed relieved upon hearing this and quickly asked, “May I ask if two Young Lords have some other special requests?”
“I heard that your noble establishment has a group of women who specifically cultivate a special Dual Cultivation Technique which is useful for breaking through bottlenecks. Is this true?” Yang Kai asked while looking straight at her.
The young woman gently nodded, “En, we do have such a group of women at Joyous Union Pavilion. Moreover, as long as they are Saint King Realm guests, eight out of ten come here because of this. It seems the same is true for two Young Lords.”
“Yeah, in our recent cultivation, we have indeed encountered some bottlenecks that we are unable to break through, so we came here to inquire about your services.”
“If that is the case, then it is easy to handle. If you do not mind, how about you allow this Mistress to make the appropriate arrangements. I guarantee two Young Lords will be satisfied,” The young woman asked with a smile.
“Sounds good.” Yang Kai gently nodded.
The young woman slowly stood up and walked out to make preparations, but just as she reached the door, she suddenly turned back and said, “Right, two Young Lords, this Mistress must forewarn you, although many guests who visit our establishment use this special Dual Cultivation session to successfully break through their bottlenecks, not everyone can succeed. If the two Young Lords happen to fail to achieve their wishes…”
“Naturally, we understand this, you may rest assured. If we cannot achieve our objectives, it will simply mean our fortune isn’t good enough and we will not hold you responsible.”
The young woman nodded with satisfaction and this time really left.
After she left, Chen Fan Lei looked at Yang Kai suspiciously, wondering why he had specifically asked about the women who cultivated the special Dual Cultivation Technique. However, Yang Kai did not show any intention to explain himself, so Chen Fan Lei could only puzzle over it on his own. Steeling himself, Chen Fan Lei swore to treat this as a simple new experience; if he didn’t actually engage in any dual cultivation, everything should be fine. Relaxing somewhat, he began helping himself to the spirit fruits on the table.
After a while, the young woman returned once again but this time there were more than a dozen beautiful young women accompanying her. The women all had truly outstanding appearances and astonishing figures, but what was most impressive was that all of them were First-Order Saints. This kind of cultivation was much higher than the women Yang Kai and Chen Fan Lei had seen outside earlier.
As these dozen or so women entered the private room, a floral fragrance filled the air, adding to the enchanting atmosphere.
Chen Fan Lei both eyes both glowed as he examined each of these beauties with great enthusiasm, while on the other hand, Yang Kai remained completely indifferent.
The young woman was carefully observing the two of them and although a trace of surprise flashed across her eyes upon seeing Yang Kai’s lack of reaction, she did not say anything and instead just clapped her hands gently.
The group of women who came in left as swiftly as they had come and were replaced by a different group a moment later.
This second batch of women had slightly higher cultivations, each of them a genuine Second-Order Saint.
However, Yang Kai remained indifferent.
The lead young woman was even more surprised now, her brow furrowing slightly as she clapped her hands once more, sending out the second batch of women and replacing them with a third.
“Two Young Lords, are you not satisfied?” After waiting for a while, she saw that Yang Kai still did not show any interest and her pretty face couldn’t help sinking slightly, her voice going cold. This group of women was the highest quality group Joyous Union Pavilion ordinarily had to offer, each of them a Third-Order Saint Realm cultivator. One of these two young men seemed quite interested right from the start, but the other showed next to no reaction, making the lead young woman wonder if he was deliberately trying to cause trouble.
Yang Kai just flashed a light smile though as he ignored the cold eyes staring at him and calmly asked, “Could it be that your noble establishment can only offer this level of service? If so, it would be too disappointing.”
The young woman heard this and snorted, waving her hand to dismiss this third group of women as she clenched her teeth and shot back, “This Young Lord’s vision is truly extraordinary. Joyous Union Pavilion indeed has higher quality girls, but there are very few of them and each one of them is extremely expensive, I wonder if the two Young Lords will be able to afford them.”
“As I said, price is no issue, as long as you can satisfy us,” Yang Kai smiled slightly as he tossed a Space Ring over to the young woman.
The young woman caught this ring and promptly swept its contents with her Divine Sense. After seeing the number of Saint Crystals inside, her beautiful face changed slightly and in the next moment, she smiled brightly, all of her previous annoyance thrown beyond the highest Heavens as she said charmingly, “This Young Lord is a man of great spirit! Since that is the case, this Mistress won’t dare disappoint.”
Saying so, she flipped her delicate little hand, causing the Space Ring to disappear. Judging from her expression, she was obviously very satisfied with the price Yang Kai offered and with a flick of her wrist, she sent out a ray of silver light towards him.
Yang Kai frowned, but did not take any precautions, simply putting his hand out and catching this silver streak. Upon closer investigation, he found that what he caught was a set of extremely thin silver mirrors.
On each of these mirrors’ surfaces a beautiful woman. These women showed various expressions and poses, some of them aloof while others smiling, some of them stood while others sat. These images were incredibly lifelike, as if real people had been sealed inside these mirrors, eliciting great excitement from any man who saw them.
However, Yang Kai soon discovered that the figures on these thin silver mirrors only made a few simple actions before repeating the sequence from the start.
“These girls are the signature specials of our Joyous Union Pavilion. Each one of them still retains their purity and possesses a First-Order Saint King Realm cultivation. If not for Young Lord bringing out so many Saint Crystals at once, this Mistress would not have been able to take responsibility for introducing them. I believe they should satisfy the requirements of two Young Lords, but if not, then this Mistress can only express her deepest regrets.”
“First-Order Saint Kings!” Yang Kai gently nodded but his expression remained faint, not betraying any of his thoughts as he checked through the silver mirrors one by one
The number silver mirrors were indeed not high, only eight in total, but each of these mirrors seemed to be quite a special artifact. Each one was capable of recording several lifelike pictures that perfectly showed off the graceful style and features of these women.
If Yang Kai had simply been seeking pleasure here, each of these beauties would have met his requirements, but he knew that Chen Fan Lei had come here because of Wang Yu Han ‘unintentionally’ mentioning it, so Yang Kai knew there was something afoot.
By now, how could Yang Kai not have understood that Wang Yu Han had malicious intentions towards him? It was just that the schemer’s method this time was clever, allowing him to achieve his objective without acting overtly.
Yang Kai was currently stalling for time, deliberately making things difficult because he wanted to see what Wang Yu Han was up to.
He did not really want to have fun here, so after quickly checking through each of these silver mirrors, he would shake his hand and toss them over to Chen Fan Lei who was currently staring dumbly at him.
After browsing through four of these mirrors, Yang Kai still wore a look of indifference, causing the young woman to feel a little uneasy, but remembering how the other party had paid so much Saint Crystals in advance, she didn’t lose her temper like before and simply decided to quietly wait.
When Yang Kai reached the fifth silver mirror, he planned on just taking a casually glance like before, but in the next instant, his complexion changed greatly as a sharp light flashed across his eyes, even his aura suddenly became unstable as he stared at the beautiful figure presented on the silver mirror in his hand.
The young woman who had been closely observing Yang Kai’s expressions naturally did not miss this change and giggled lightly, “Has Young Lord found a beauty that suits his fancy?”
Yang Kai lifted his gaze as a complex light flashed across his eyes, something that surprised the young woman somewhat, but a moment later, that slight awkwardness disappeared and Yang Kai smiled widely, “En, I have indeed. This woman suits my requirements so perfectly I was taken aback for a moment, causing me to embarrass myself slightly.”
Saying so, Yang Kai tossed the silver mirror he was looking at back.
The young woman caught this mirror and looked at the figure displayed on it, murmuring lightly, “So it’s her. En, Young Lord having a liking for her shows you have exquisite taste.”
“Would it be possible to learn this girl’s name?” Yang Kai seemed to ask casually.
The young woman giggled as she covered her mouth, “Please don’t blame me, Young Lord, it is not that this Mistress doesn’t want to tell you, it’s just that Joyous Union Pavilion has a rule that forbids our girls true names from being disclosed. However, Young Lord You may call her Yue’er!”
“Yue’er!” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed strangely once more before he gently nodded and asked, “Then may I know what attribute the Secret Art she cultivates is?”
This time the young woman frowned and hesitantly said, “Is there a reason Young Lord wishes to know this?”
“Please don’t misunderstand, it’s just that since I’ve come here to take advantage of your special Dual Cultivation Technique to break through my bottleneck, I naturally wish to know what the attribute of my partner’s Secret Art is, otherwise, if there is some kind of conflict with mine, wouldn’t it cause some complications for me?”
“En, Young Lord seems to be quite a cautious person, your concern is indeed reasonable,” The young woman heard this and nodded, not giving any hint as to whether she believed him or not as she smiled and replied, “In that case, informing Young Lord is not an issue. Yue’er’s original Secret Art was of the Ice Attribute, but there is no need to worry about conflicts occurring with Young Lord when you engage in dual cultivation because our establishment’s Dual Cultivation Technique does not draw on any kind of attribute. No matter what attribute of Secret Art Young Lord cultivates, there will be no incompatibility. If there were really such worries, this Mistress would naturally have informed Young Lord in advance. “
“I see!” Yang Kai took a deep breath, as if he had just made a big decision, and nodded firmly, “Good, then I’ll choose her.”
“Understood,” The young woman saw Yang Kai make up his mind and quickly clapped her hands. Immediately after, a maidservant walked into the room and the young woman instructed her, “Take this Young Lord to the Snow and Ice Pavilion!”
The maidservant nodded obediently before leading the way.
Yang Kai glanced over at Chen Fan Lei and grinned, “Brother Chen, please help yourself.”
“Eh… ah…en, good good!” Chen Fan Lei nodded repeatedly.
After leaving the private room, Yang Kai followed the maidservant along a long path. As his figure merged into the night, Yang Kai’s face suddenly sank and his body shivered slightly, seemingly unable to suppress the violent swings in his mood.
He had never imagined that after coming to this place he would see a person from Tong Xuan Realm!
How could he not feel shocked?
Originally, he wasn’t certain it was who he thought it was; after all, the world was wide so there were many people who looked similar; but after learning the other party’s name was Yue’er, that she cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art, and that she was a First-Order Saint King, Yang Kai immediately determined that this Yue’er was someone he knew.
It had been almost ten years since he stepped into the Star Field and all this time, he had never met anyone he knew from his homeland, but now, the first person he met was not just someone related to him, but was actually living in this kind of amorous establishment.
Most importantly, however, she should have been with Su Yan! Now that she was here though, where was Su Yan? Yang Kai’s heart pounded with uncertainty as a series of chaotic thoughts crossed his mind. It took him quite a while to finally calm his mood and begin chatting with the maidservant, trying to probe for some more information about this woman named Yue’er.
But whether Joyous Union Pavilion had rules against it, or this maidservant’s position was too low for her to know anything, Yang Kai was unable to extract anything of use from her. In the end, the maidservant could only apologize with a guilty look on her face.
Seeing this, Yang Kai could only sigh softly and hold his questions until he met Yue’er in person.
Not long after, the two arrived in front of an exquisite pavilion that was constructed from some kind of special material that gave off a faint chill.
Here, the maidservant bowed and said, “Young Lord, please enter. This is where Lady Yue’er spends most of her days in meditation. Since she is here today, she should have already been informed that she had a guest so she should be waiting for Young Lord’s arrival.”
“En,” Yang Kai waved his hand and sent the maidservant away before striding into the small palace.
There was no one on the first floor, but Yang Kai’s Divine Sense had already located a person on the second floor. After realizing that this person’s life aura was indeed the same as the one he knew, Yang Kai no longer hesitated and quickly rushed upstairs.
The series of footsteps sounded like a drum, causing the woman on the second floor to tremble with fear and a dangerous light quickly flashed across her beautiful eyes, but soon, she seemed to remember something that caused her face to darken and a bitter smile to appear on her face. She then sat quietly at a small round table and waited expressionlessly.
A moment later, Yang Kai arrived on the second floor and directly opened the door to enter a snow-white room. Everything in this room could be described as pure, and whether it was the curtains or the bedding, everything was white, and together with the slight chill in the air, it gave the illusion that one had just entered a world of ice and snow.
Yang Kai’s eyes landed on the woman sitting nearby and he could tell that she was currently feeling quite uneasy, her head drooping down, not standing up to greet him in any way. A few strands of hair hung down to her chest which gave her an extremely desolate and helpless appearance, eliciting a great sense of pity from any who saw her.
As Yang Kai walked straight towards her, this woman’s tender body trembled slightly, as if she was panicking and a painful expression appeared on her face; however, she remained still without moving.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai arrived right in front of her that she let out a resigned sigh and got up to bow politely, “This mistress greets Honoured Guest. May I ask if Honoured Guest wishes to begin immediately?”
She had apparently been informed about having a patron and she continued to hang her head down from beginning to end, avoiding looking at Yang Kai as if she was afraid of something. Even when she spoke, she shows the slightest intention of making conversation, cutting straight to the point.
Yang Kai did not speak as he simply stared at her silently, causing Yue’er to feel quite uncomfortable, as if everything about her was being seen through, causing her to shiver unconsciously.
However, even after quite some time, her guest did not try to take advantage of her at all, causing Yue’er’s brow to wrinkle slightly. Just as she was about to say something more, a sigh rang across from her and a faintly familiar voice sounded in her ear, “Elder Qian Yue, it’s been a long time!”
Although it was only a soft greeting, when it reached Elder Qian Yue’s ears, her body shivered greatly as she hurriedly raised her head to stare at Yang Kai in disbelief.
Immediately, a look of surprise and confusion bursts flashed across her beautiful eyes, as if recognizing Yang Kai but unsure if she was just imagining things, her thoughts being thrown into complete chaos for a time.
“What? Could it be Elder Qian Yue doesn’t recognize this Yang?” Yang Kai smiled at her lightly.
“Yang Kai!” Qian Yue called out in shock, covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes trembled violently, “It’s really you!”
“In this place, besides me, who else knows you as Elder Qian Yue?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Qian Yue’s expression became even more complicated as she stared at Yang Kai fixedly, wanting to laugh, wanting to cry, a deep struggle taking place on her face for quite some time before she was finally able to restore her calm, leaving only a touch of fondness in her eyes, as if she had finally met a family member after being separated from them for a very long time. Taking a light breath, she pats on her abundant bosom in relief and finally offered her own greetings, “I never expected to be able to meet you here.”
Yang Kai grinned, “I also didn’t anticipate such a reunion.”
“Right, sit down so we can talk,” Qian Yue regained her composure and offered him a seat.
Yang Kai nodded and sat across from her.
Qian Yue sat down, and as their four eyes met, both of them went silent. Obviously they both had a stomach full of questions, but neither of them immediately began asking them.
Qian Yue’s mood was still a bit unstable and Yang Kai was not much better, as the woman named Yue’er in front of him really turned out to be Elder Qian Yue from Tong Xuan Realm’s Ice Sect!
Yang Kai hadn’t really had much contact with this woman and they could at most be considered unfamiliar acquaintances, but in the past, Qian Yue had helped direct Su Yan’s cultivation and although they weren’t officially Master and Disciple, the relationship they shared was essentially that.
When Meng Wu Ya returned to Tong Xuan Realm with Xia Ning Chang and Su Yan through the Void Corridor belonging to the Central Capital, because he needed to free himself from the Profound Heavenly Seal planted on him by Demon Commander Zhang Yuan, he found it impossible to constantly protect Su Yan, so he had entrusted her to the reclusive Ice Sect.
Later, Yang Kai also arrived in Tong Xuan Realm, and after much searching, he had arrived at the Ice Sect where he met Elder Qian Yue and even fought with her.
At the time, Ice Sect’s entire leadership had been drawn out and, in addition to Qian Yue, Yang Kai vaguely remembered several other Saint Realm Elders. Among them was a person named Qian Hao who was Qian Yue’s older blood-related brother as well as Sect Master Qing Ya, who was a peak Third-Order Saint, one of the top masters who stood at the summit of Tong Xuan Realm’s cultivation world.
Back then, Yang Kai had only been a Transcendent Realm cultivator and had only been able to deal with the several Saint Realm Elders of Ice Sect with the help of his Soul Devouring Insects. In the end, he had forced Sect Master Qing Ya to give way and then spent some time to finally communicate with Su Yan’s Soul, bringing their Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art to the grand accomplishment stage.
Now, less than two decades later, an Elder-class figure that Yang Kai had needed to look up to was currently a destitute traveller who had lost even the freedom to decide her own fate and had degenerated into a Dual Cultivation tool for paying customers to use for breaking through their cultivation bottlenecks. The myriad twists and turns which had resulted in the current situation really made Yang Kai feel somewhat emotional while the same must be even truer for Elder Qian Yue.
As these thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, his expression suddenly changed as he put on a smile and asked, “I heard that Lady Yue’er has cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art. Did you come here from afar? How did you wind up in this place?”
Qian Yue’s brow furrowed slightly as she stared at Yang Kai suspiciously, but after seeing the unusual look in his eyes, she suddenly understood something and replied lightly, “I indeed once cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art, but this matter will not have any detriment to Honoured Guest’s request. As for how I came to this place, it is not something Honoured Guest need concern himself with.”
Yang Kai didn’t reveal any signs of discontent and simply smiled lightly, “If that’s the case, then this Yang will not ask any further, I simply thought that before we dual cultivate, some communication would benefit both of us. This Yang would like to have a good discussion with Lady Yue’er to increase our mutual understanding, does Lady Yue’er have any objections?”
“If that is what Honoured Guest requests, this Mistress will naturally cooperate,” Qian Yue still replied indifferently.
Yang Kai gently nodded before launching into a conversation about some trivial matters with Qian Yue, most of which were about some interesting rumours he had heard which actually piqued Qian Yue’s interest. Although her expression remained cold, her beautiful eyes were quite animated and revealed a curious light.
After a long time, Yang Kai’s voice abruptly came to a halt as his expression became serious once more, nodding to Qian Yue slightly, “Alright. The Divine Sense which was monitoring us has withdrawn.”
Qian Yue expression also became serious while some surprise flashed across her eyes at the same time as she said, “Yang Kai, you really are a bit difficult to see through. When you were just a Transcendent, you dared to break into the Ice Sect all alone, and now you’ve come to Joyous Union Pavilion and are actually able to detect the Divine Sense surveillance of those people. How did you accomplish that?”
Any Divine Sense that would be monitoring this place must belong to an Origin Returning Realm master! If not for seeing Yang Kai’s expression which was silently warning her about this, Qian Yue wouldn’t have cooperated with him.
However, Qian Yue could clearly tell that Yang Kai’s cultivation had only reached the Second-Order Saint King Realm, something which greatly surprised her for many reasons.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and explained, “My Divine Sense is a bit stronger than the average cultivator’s.”
“This can’t be described as merely being a bit stronger,” Qian Yue shook her head wryly but didn’t try to dig any deeper, instead asking eagerly, “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to ask you the exact same question,” Yang Kai looked at her seriously.
“It’s a long story,” Qian Yue smiled bitterly, picking up the teapot to pour both of them a cup before sorting out her thoughts and continuing, “Presumably you should know by now why Ice Sect had established itself in that glacial world?
“En, I have a fair understanding. It must have been to guard against the resurgence of the Bone Race,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, his memories of the past surfacing slowly.
“Yeah, but the Bone Race’s reappearance was far more violent than what our Ice Sect anticipated and after many years of decline, we were unable to resist them by relying on just the few Saint Realm masters we possessed! Fortunately, the Seniors of Ice Sect had seized a Star Shuttle during their first conflict with the Bone Race and that Star Shuttle had been passed down from one generation of Sect Master to the next. After Ice Sect was destroyed, Qing Ya knew that she wouldn’t be able to escape with us in tow so we had no choice but to risk entering the Void Corridor nearby and rely on the power of the Star Shuttle to enter the Star Field!”
“En, it’s just as I had inquired about,” Yang Kai took a deep breath, “After entering the Star Field though, how did you wind up here? Where are Sect Master Qing Ya and Su Yan?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.
Qian Yue’s expression dimmed suddenly, and upon seeing this, Yang Kai’s face turned pale as fear and anxiety threatened to overcome him.
Seeing his look, Qian Yue immediately knew that he had misunderstood her and quickly waved her hands, “It’s not what you think. Although I don’t know where they are now, Sect Master Qing Ya and Su Yan are definitely still alive.”
“How can you be so sure?” Yang Kai looked at her suspiciously.
“Because of this,” Qian Yue turned her palm over and summoned two pure and flawless ice crystal beads, each of them only the size of a thumbnail.
As soon as he saw these two ice beads, Yang Kai was startled and his eyes immediately became fixed on one of them in particular, unable to look away. He felt Su Yan’s aura from this ice bead while the other carried Qing Ya’s.
“What are these?” Yang Kai eventually looked up at Qian Yue.
“These are Ice Soul Beads created using one of our Ice Sect’s secret techniques. This bead will only shatter when the person who condensed it falls!” Qian Yue explained softly, “Every Ice Soul Bead corresponds to a specific person. We were also concerned that we would become separated after entering the Star Field, so we condensed several sets of these just in case. I have the others’ Ice Soul Bead in my hands, and they have my Ice Soul Beads in theirs. Since these two Ice Soul Beads haven’t broken, that can only mean they are still alive!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai finally calmed down as a look of pleasant surprise flashed across his eyes.
As long as Su Yan was alive, he could feel at ease. Although he didn’t know where she was right now, there would be a day when they would meet again, of this, Yang Kai was convinced.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “This Ice Soul Bead, can you give it to me?”
Qian Yue smiled lightly, “Of course; after all, you are little Su Yan’s most beloved person in the world.”
Saying so, she handed over the Ice Soul Bead that belonged to Su Yan. Yang Kai expressed his thanks once more before accepting it.
Staring at the cold bead, Yang Kai couldn’t help reminiscing about Su Yan’s appearance and the smile she showed him all those years ago, a trace of tenderness filling his expression. Yang Kai indulged in this reverie for a moment before very cautiously placing this Ice Soul Bead into his Black Book Space.
After doing this, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief as his mind and body seemed to relax greatly. The invisible pressure which had been weighing on his heart for so long finally lifted at this moment and the Saint Qi in his body began to involuntarily churn, causing the surrounding World Energy to stir violently.
After learning that Su Yan had not encountered any kind of fatal accident, relieving the stress in his heart, Yang Kai’s aura began to surge and he showed signs of breaking through.
Although Yang Kai hadn’t mentioned the matter about Su Yan to anyone for a long time, and even if he only occasionally had time to think about it, the subtle worry he felt had never left him and had become something of a stumbling block for his process.
Now, feeling Su Yan’s aura once more, this shackle had been released. As long as this Ice Soul Bead still existed, Yang Kai could rest assured that she was still alive, so naturally, he was able to relax. After refining the Profound Yin Sunflower Water in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Second-Order Saint King Realm, and now that almost two years had passed, he had truly reached the edge of a breakthrough.
Today’s matter was simply a sudden opportunity, and even if it hadn’t happened, Yang Kai estimated that within three to six months he would still be able to break through. Him being in a rush to return to Dragon Cave Mountain was also because he wanted to make preparations for this breakthrough.
The abnormalities in Yang Kai’s aura naturally didn’t escape Qian Yue’s eyes and she couldn’t help looking at him in surprise. A look of delight appeared on her face and Qian Yue was just about to congratulate him when suddenly Yang Kai frowned and forcibly suppressed the roiling of his Saint Qi. A moment later, after his face went a bit red, nothing more happened.
The surrounding World Energy, which had been disturbed by Yang Kai’s surge in aura, quickly settled and returned to normal.
“Why would you give up such an opportunity?” Qian Yue asked with a slight look of pity in her eyes.
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “It’s fine, I will have another one sooner or later. Right now, I’d rather learn more about your current situation, like how you wound up separated after entering the Star Field.”
Qian Yue heard this and couldn’t help flashing a bitter smile, nodding after a moment of silence and agreeing, “Alright, your mood is unstable right now so it’s not the best time to break through anyways.”
After collecting her thoughts, Qian Yue began explaining what happened after she and the other Elders of Ice Sect entered the Star Field.
Through Qian Yue’s narration, Yang Kai realized that the initial journey she and the others had through the Star Field was far more dangerous than his own, especially when it came to Starry Sky Storms and vast Asteroid Seas.
In terms of physical strength and Soul cultivation, none of the Ice Sect survivors could match Yang Kai, so after entering the Star Field, they were immediately beset by crisis. If not for Qing Ya and the other Saints doing their utmost to protect her, with Su Yan’s cultivation, she would have quickly fallen.
Even so, two Saint Realm Elders of Ice Sect had failed to withstand the impact of a particularly harsh Starry Sky Storm and fallen, leaving behind only Sect Master Qing Ya, Su Yan, Qian Yue, and Qian Hao.
These four had continued wandering destitute through the Star Field for several years before they stumbled upon a Void Corridor.
Although they had no idea what kind of dangers might lie beyond this Void Corridor, if they gave up this opportunity, they would soon be unable to support themselves.
So, after some discussions, the four dove into the Void Corridor, but this particular Void Corridor seemed to be a little unstable and actually had many internal forks, causing their group to inadvertently be dispersed. After Qian Yue passed through this Void Corridor, she found herself on Shadowed Star.
As for the others, she could not tell where they went.
Yang Kai’s expression became much heavier after hearing this.
If they had simply been separated after passing through the same fork in this Void Corridor, then Sect Master Qing Ya, Elder Qian Hao, and Su Yan must have also arrived on Shadowed Star, but if they had taken different forks, who knows where they could have been sent?
Moreover, Yang Kai was at least ninety percent certain that the other three weren’t on Shadowed Star, because if they were, he would have been able to faintly sense Su Yan’s presence, and as he grew stronger, this link would have become easier to detect.
Yang Kai had used a drop of Golden Blood and circumnavigate all of Shadowed Star, so if Su Yan was really here, he would definitely have been aware of it.
[Void Corridors could have multiple branches!] This concept startled Yang Kai quite a bit, but he soon felt that with the world being so vast, such things should not really be a surprise. He was still just a small Second-Order Saint King, so there were obviously many things he could not understand yet.
The Ice Soul Beads indeed showed that the other three were still alive, but it did not provide any clues as to where in the Star Field they might be.
When Qian Yue arrived on Shadowed Star, she appeared near Black Crow City. At that time, she had just passed through an unstable Void Corridor and been seriously wounded, with almost no power to protect herself. Unfortunately, soon after, she encountered several heinous cultivators who, after seeing her extraordinary appearance, immediately had ill intentions towards her. Fortunately, a nearby Origin Returning Realm master happened to pass by, rescued her, and brought her back to Joyous Union Pavilion.
Since then, Qian Yue had lived in Joyous Union Pavilion and cultivated the Dual Cultivation Technique given to her by the Origin Realm master who saved her.
As time passed, Qian Yue gradually understood what kind of place she had been brought to and what fate would be waiting for her. Fortunately, her cultivation was not low and after quickly reaching the First-Order Saint King Realm, no ordinary person would be able to afford her. Occasionally, several distinguished guests who paid a lot of money had come here, but none of them had selected her, allowing her to retain her freedom until now.
Today though, when she received word that an Honoured Guest would soon be visiting her boudoir and that she would need to give him her innocence, Qian Yue’s heart had been thrown into turmoil, but to her great surprise this VIP actually turned out to be Yang Kai.
While Qian Yue told her story, Yang Kai did not interrupt and simply listened attentively.
It seemed that recalling all her bitter experiences made Qian Yue a bit emotional and she would sometimes wipe a few tears that leaked from her eyes as she spoke. Before, she had been an Elder of Ice Sect, and although her reputation wasn’t resounding, she was still one of the top masters in all of Tong Xuan Realm, but after entering the Star Field, before she could even see any of its wonders, she had encountered several life threatening disasters and when she finally settled down, she had actually been put under house arrest and degenerated into a prostitute.
Her circumstances before and after could only be described as worlds apart.
Yang Kai did not know how to comfort her. In a certain sense, Qian Yue could barely be considered his Elder, but as one’s cultivation rose, they would pile up many different experiences, making it impossible to judge one’s true age from their appearance and demeanor. If Yang Kai tried to comfort her as a peer, it would instead feel more like he was overstepping himself.
After Qian Yue had settled down somewhat, Yang Kai asked, “Do you still remember the scenes of the Star Field you saw before you entered that Void Corridor?”
“I can’t be certain, but I do still have some impressions of the nearby star patterns,” Qian Yue gently nodded.
“Okay…” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Then another day you’ll have to describe those star patterns to me!”
“Naturally, that’s not a problem, but with that alone, how do you plan on determining that location?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, I naturally have my ways. Right, you mentioned just now that there was a restriction placed on you, correct? If it is convenient, can you show it to me?”
“It should be fine for you to examine it, but don’t act rashly. That seal was placed on me by the Origin Returning Realm master who rescued me, one of the managers of this Joyous Union Pavilion. She spends most of her days in a secret room in this compound meditating, so if she is alarmed, the consequences will definitely be dire.”
“En, I understand,” Yang Kai nodded lightly before reaching out and placing two fingers on Qian Yue’s wrist. Injecting a thread of his Saint Qi into her body, Yang Kai began examining the seal placed on her.
As he investigated this restriction, Yang Kai’s expression gradually became dignified.
After some time, Yang Kai withdrew his fingers, revealed a thoughtful expression, and said, “It’s not too vicious a seal, it seems its only purpose is to stop you from running away.”
“En, I tried to escape a few times, but every time she activated this seal, I became too weak to even move. If it were not for me breaking through to the Saint King Realm in the past few years, she wouldn’t have been so forgiving towards me.”
A few years ago, Qian Yue was just a Saint Realm cultivator, but to the Joyous Union Pavilion, the worth of a Saint Realm woman was incomparable to that of a Saint King Realm woman. It was for this reason that even though Qian Yue tried to run away multiple times, she only received a bit of light punishment.
After Qian Yue successfully broke through to the Saint King Realm, she was immediately pushed into becoming a Dual Cultivation partner for rich cultivators.
It was obvious now that the reason that Origin Realm master had rescued Qian Yue at that time was because of it. After all, Qian Yue seemed to be all alone, had decent cultivation, and had her innocence intact. Rescuing and cultivating her was undoubtedly more cost-effective for the Joyous Union Pavilion than training a girl from scratch.
“I’ve told you my story now, but what about yours? What is the situation in Tong Xuan Realm? Did the Bone Race wreak havoc?” Qian Yue sorted out her appearance and asked nervously.
Although she had come to the Star Field, Tong Xuan Realm was still her home and she could not help worrying about it.
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Don’t worry about the Bone Race, they’ve been annihilated. Tong Xuan Realm was quite prosperous when I left, and the relationship between the Demon Race, Monster Race and Human Race was also much more harmonious after they worked together to defeat a common enemy.”
“The Bone Race has been annihilated?” Qian Yue was shocked to hear this and quickly asked, “How did it happen?”
Yang Kai explained briefly about how all of Tong Xuan Realm’s races banded together to fight the Bone Race. Qian Yue listened with a fascinated look, and after understanding the events of that great battle, Yang Kai also explained to her about his experiences in the Star Field.
Compared with Qian Yue’s experience, Yang Kai’s was far more fantastical but also far more dangerous.
After Yang Kai entered the Star Field, he had quickly been captured and imprisoned in the Power Room of a Starship where his Saint Qi was continuously extracted to replenish its energy reserves. Soon after, the Starship he was aboard was caught in the Chaotic Abyss’ domain eruption and was destroyed, resulting in him being stranded on the strange floating continent with Gui Zu. Eventually escaping from the floating continent, Yang Kai then went to Water Moon Star where he had inexplicably drawn the attention of Xue Yue Third Young Master of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce and taken a perilous journey filled with unexpected twists and turns to Rainfall Star.
After unlocking the Soul Chains, Yang Kai had then escaped from Rainfall Star and been trapped in a deep sleep inside the strange blood-red crystal for several years, eventually drifting all the way to Shadowed Star where he was fished from the Starry Sky by Wu Yi and the others from the Hai Ke Family.
Only after explaining everything up until and including his recent exploration of the Flowing Flame Sand Field did Yang Kai stop.
Of course, Yang Kai intentionally brushed over the strange ‘battle’ he had fought with Xue Yue Third Young Master on that unnamed Dead Star, as well as the fact that Xue Yue was a woman.
After listening to his story, Qian Yue could not help feeling a sense of envy, as well as admiration. What she envied was the free and unconstrained life Yang Kai had while what she admired was how he had crossed so many dangerous roads after entering the Star Field. His original intentions of entering the Star Field to Su Yan also improved Qian Yue’s impression of him greatly and she even felt that Su Yan had not entrusted herself to the wrong person.
On top of that, seeing his concern about Su Yan just now, it was obvious that even after so many years had passed, Su Yan’s weight in his heart had not diminished in the slightest.
After falling silent for a moment though, Qian Yue suddenly smiled meaningfully as she stared at Yang Kai and said, “Seeing you like this, it seems you’ve really led an unrestrained life, you even have the time and mind to come to a place like this!”
Gawking for a moment, Yang Kai quickly understood that she was speaking to uphold justice for Su Yan and quickly waved his hands, “Elder Qian Yue misunderstands, I have a reason for coming here.”
“Of course you have a reason, every man who comes here says the same when he’s asked, but in light of your performance just now, on behalf of Su Yan, I will give you a chance to explain yourself. If you really have some important reasons to come here, then so be it, but if not… hmph, don’t blame this Elder for speaking a few malicious remarks to Su Yan the next time we meet,” Qian Yue said with a faint grin.
Yang Kai’s eyes swam as his heart clenched but he quickly regained his composure and began explaining about Chen Fan Lei inviting him to come here as well as his suspicions about Wang Yu Han’s interference.
Qian Yue was able to become an Elder of Ice Sect, and had also cultivated to the Second-Order Saint Realm on Tong Xuan Realm, so naturally, she was an intelligent woman. After listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, how could she not understand the circumstances surrounding his situation?
After pondering for a while, she nodded, “If it is as you say, you really do have a reason for coming here, but that Wang Yu Han is quite the schemer, the plan he came up with fulfils his objective while allowing him to remain hidden. He’s not someone to be underestimated.”
Yang Kai smiled faintly and said, “If him plotting against me like this is just to discredit me in Chen Shi Tao’s eyes, then so be it, but if he has other malicious intent, heh…”
Although he had guessed what Wang Yu Han’s plan was, Yang Kai didn’t intend to leave here right away. Originally, he had been planning to wait here and force Wang Yu Han to reveal his true intentions, but after seeing Qian Yue’s figure on those silver mirrors, he had naturally pushed the plot along and come to this Snow and Ice Pavilion.
“It seems you’re still as fearless as ever,” Qian Yue muttered absent-mindedly, the scene of Yang Kai breaking into Ice Sect alone and running amok suddenly flashing across her memories. Whether it was at that time or now, Yang Kai’s strength hadn’t been very high, but he dared to do things ordinary people would never even dream of. After pondering for a while, Qian Yue continued, “But since you dare to do this, you must have some degree of confidence, so I won’t try to persuade you otherwise; however, you have to be careful. I don’t want to have to collect the dead body of an old acquaintance I managed to encounter after so long.”
“Rest assured, if I cannot win, I can still escape,” Yang Kai grinned, “However, you have to tell me first, what kind of background does this Joyous Union Pavilion have?”
“Background?” Qian Yue’s brow furrowed slightly, “I don’t know much about the specific situation; after all, since I came here, I haven’t had much contact with outsiders, but occasionally I overheard some gossip from the maidservants. There are three Origin Returning Realm masters who oversee this place, and Joyous Union Pavilion itself seems to be the hidden industry of a Sect called Imperial City Sect. They also seem to have the support of the City Lord here.”
“Imperial City Sect?” Yang Kai froze for a moment, feeling like he had dealt with members of this Sect somewhere before, but even after thinking about it for a while, he was unable to remember.
Since he couldn’t remember though, it shouldn’t have been anything important, so Yang Kai didn’t pay it any mind. Stroking his chin for a moment, he began pondering out loud, “Three Origin Returning Realm masters standing guard here, its not a weak lineup.”
Seeing the strange light flashing across his eyes, Qian Yue beautiful face changed and she hurriedly asked, “What do you want to do?”
Yang Kai waved his hand lightly and smiled, “It’s not what you think. I have no grudge or grievance with this place, so I don’t plan on stirring up trouble, I simply want to take you away from here.”
“Take me away?” A look of joy flashed across Qian Yue’s face; however, her expression quickly dimmed and she said with a bitter smile, “Leading me away from here won’t be easy.”
“Is there some kind of problem?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Naturally there are problems, and not small ones at that! Since you can come to Snow and Ice Pavilion, you must have paid a lot of Saint Crystal, yes? I don’t know where you obtained those Saint Crystals from, but just one night with me already costs so much, so the price to take me away from here must be at least ten times as high. Do you have that many Saint Crystals?” Obviously in her opinion, it was impossible for Yang Kai to have so many Saint Crystal. Just the fee for a night of passion here was already an astronomical figure in Qian Yue’s eyes.
However, Yang Kai just smiled happily and replied, “You don’t need to worry about this, I can take out a trivial few Saint Crystals.”
“A trivial few…” Qian Yue couldn’t help covering her red lips as she stared at Yang Kai in amazement, as if she wanted to confirm it was really him once more. No matter how she thought about it, she wasn’t able to figure out how Yang Kai could possess such great wealth.
“I just don’t know if the Joyous Union Pavilion will let you go. It stands to reason that a woman like you, after receiving an Honoured Guest and losing your Primordial Yin, wouldn’t be too important to Joyous Union Pavilion,” Yang Kai thought out loud, but upon saying these words a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, “This Yang’s words were too crass, I hope Elder Qian Yue won’t take offence!”
Qian Yue’s pretty face blushed lightly, giving her quite a charming appearance, but she quickly recovered and calmly said, “It’s fine, what you said is true, but do you think that Joyous Union Pavilion’s people won’t be able to see I still have my Primordial Yin? While I still retain it, you wanting to purchase me might be a bit difficult.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown, “That will probably be the case. I’m afraid that Joyous Union Pavilion will use this point to try to raise the price, but that’s fine. There’s nothing that can’t be negotiated in this world, it all depends on whether an appropriate price can be paid. Both you and I are from Tong Xuan Realm, and encountering each other here is nothing short of divine intervention, so no matter what I can’t just leave you here.”
Hearing this, Qian Yue’s face flashed a trace of gratitude and didn’t say anything more; instead, she began looking forward to the future in her heart. If there was a chance for her to leave here, how could she choose to remain? Yang Kai’s arrival today had finally given her a glimmer of hope, and if she missed this opportunity, all that would await her was a destitute life as a product sold to men for dual cultivation.
Following up, Yang Kai asked for more details about Joyous Union Pavilion. Qian Yue naturally told him everything she knew; unfortunately, her limited knowledge wasn’t much help to him.
After an hour or so, Qian Yue summoned a maidservant of Joyous Union Pavilion, and after giving her some instructions, the maidservant showed a shocked expression and directed a complex look towards Yang Kai before quickly leaving.
After the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, the young woman who had dealt with Yang Kai before appeared and looked towards him with a smile, a strange light flashing across her eyes, apparently having heard some information from the maidservant.
Qian Yue personally offered tea before standing beside Yang Kai, a slightly nervous expression on her face.
The young woman took a few sips of the tea before lightly opening her lip and exhaling an orchid scent while asking, “I heard that the Young Lord intends to redeem Yue’er and present her freedom?”
“It is as you heard,” Yang Kai nodded calmly, getting straight to the point, “I am very satisfied with Lady Yue’er, so I want to take her out of here. I wonder if your noble establishment is willing to part with her?”
The young woman giggled and looked at Qian Yue with a hint of surprise in her eyes before saying, “If this Mistress isn’t mistaken, Yue’er’s Primordial Yin is still intact. Since Young Lord has not yet savoured her most precious possession, why do you want to take Yue’er away?”
Yang Kai frowned, “I naturally have my reasons, does your noble establishment insist on inquiring into such matters?”
“Please forgive me, Young Lord, it’s just that there is little precedent for girls from Joyous Union Pavilion to be redeemed. This Mistress has to be a bit cautious.”
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, “Since that’s the case, it seems I really should give your noble establishment an explanation. Good, I have indeed not partaken of Lady Yue’er’s innocence, what I am interested in however is her Ice Attribute Secret Art. It has some use for my future cultivation.”
“Her Ice Attribute Secret Art? If that is the case, then this Mistress is even more confused. Those who cultivate such Secret Arts are innumerable, why does Young Lord insist on needing Yue’er specifically?” Saying so, the young woman fixed her beautiful eyes on Yang Kai’s, seemingly wanting to see into the depths of his soul.
Yang Kai chuckled, “There are indeed a lot of cultivators who cultivate Ice Attribute Secret Arts, but those who I feel intimate with are not many. If I said I fell in love with Lady Yue’er at first sight, would you believe it?”
The young woman couldn’t help giggling, and Qian Yue standing beside Yang Kai also showed a high of blush on her face, giving her a shy and embarrassed look.
“Whether you believe it or not, it is the truth. I have nothing to hide,” Yang Kai argued strongly, as if he would go to his death swearing it was the truth.
The young woman’s brow furrowed as she suddenly stood up and walked over to Qian Yue, holding the other’s arm intimately as she smiled elegantly to Yang Kai, “Please don’t be upset, Young Lord. It’s not that this Mistress is trying to make things difficult, it’s just that Yue’er is a disciple Joyous Union Pavilion has cultivated since childhood and invested a great number of resources into. Moreover, this Mistress and Yue’er have a bond of sisterhood, so I am truly reluctant to part with her. I truly hope that she can stay here with me forever.”
“Cultivated since childhood, a bond of sisterhood…” Yang Kai smiled faintly, but the smile on the young woman’s face didn’t diminish as she stared back confidently at him.
If Yang Kai hadn’t known Qian Yue from before and has been aware of her origins, he would likely have been deceived here. This young woman’s ability to talk nonsense was quite astonishing.
Yang Kai’s look suddenly became serious and he waved, “Name your price. Since you haven’t directly refused, there’s obviously room for negotiation. Give me a number and I will see if it can bear it. As long as we can reach an agreement, this transaction can be completed.”
The young woman curled her lips before turning and returning to her seat, saying lightly, “Since Young Lord wants to get straight to business, this Mistress won’t delay any further. Indeed, our Joyous Union Pavilion has precedents for girls being redeemed, but there has never been a Saint King girl among them. If Young Lord wishes to set such a precedent, the price you will have to pay will not be small.”
“Go on,” Yang Kai looked at her lightly.
The young woman’s brows furrowed slightly as she glanced over at Qian Yue and said, “If Yue’er had lost her Primordial Yin, it would be a different matter entirely, but since she still retains her innocence, her price will naturally be higher. “
“Haven’t you made a mistake?” Yang Kai sneered suddenly, “I already paid quite a few Saint Crystals for tonight, so in principle, Lady Yue’er’s Primordial Yin already belongs to me, yet you actually want to take it as a chip to bargain with?”
“There is indeed some truth to that,” The young woman pursed her lips and smiled, “But does Young Lord really wish to claim Yue’er’s Primordial Yin? If not then it must be taken into account. However, if Young Lord wishes to unite with Yue’er now, this Mistress won’t interfere. When your dual cultivation sessions finishes, we can discuss this matter again. How about it?”
She seemed to understand that Yang Kai wouldn’t do this, so she fully intended to take advantage of this point.
Yang Kai’s face went cold, while Qian Yue’s expression also became quite bitter. Being forced to watch others bargaining back and forth over her like she was some kind of item for sale, even discussing the matter of her purity like it was a selling feature, caused Qian Yue’s face to turn sour.
Listening to this young woman’s words, if he were to take Qian Yue’s Primordial Yin right now, the price to redeem her would undoubtedly be much lower. Just as Yang Kai and Qian Yue had previously concluded, but how could Yang Kai possibly do this?
In this situation, Yang Kai could do nothing but hold his nose and accept it! This caused him to feel quite depressed in his heart.
With a cold face, he continued, “I cannot accept your proposal, so your demand is reasonable.”
When the young woman saw him compromise, she immediately smiled happily and said, “Without even mentioning the resources Yue’er has consumed for her cultivation so far, just the Dual Cultivation Technique she has cultivated is a core secret of our Joyous Union Pavilion. Since Young Lord has plans to redeem her, I believe there is a need to discuss how to deal with this particular problem, yes? Or could it be possible that Young Lord intends to purchase our Dual Cultivation Technique as well?”
Yang Kai’s face changed slightly, suddenly recognizing that he had ignored this problem, but he quickly realized something and immediately retorted, “Surely you must be joking. Although this Dual Cultivation Technique is indeed your noble establishment’s core secret, as far as I know, there should be many hidden dangers with using it, correct?”
Hearing this, the young woman shot a cold glare towards Qian Yue, seemingly believing she had revealed something she should not have.
Yang Kai quickly interjected though, “You may rest assured, Lady Yue’er did not tell me anything about your Dual Cultivation Technique, I simply know that there is no Secret Art which is so convenient in this world. The Dual Cultivation Technique of your noble establishment is indeed quite unique, but it must surely have its drawbacks as well.”
The look on the young woman’s face became a bit complicated, but she didn’t try to deny Yang Kai’s assertion, simply nodding a moment later and saying, “Being able to see through this point, Young Lord is also a person of great insight it seems. En, our Joyous Union Pavilion’s Dual Cultivation Technique does have hidden dangers, but this kind of thing is not a secret. Many people know about it and even the guests who come here for this service are aware.”
“Oh?” It was Yang Kai’s turn to be surprised this time, “Could you explain a bit more?”
“Certainly. In any case, if you go outside to inquire a bit, you will be able to learn of it anyway. The hidden dangers of using our Dual Cultivation Technique to break through a bottleneck is that your cultivation will never again increase.”
“I see!” Yang Kai gently nodded, “Since they know about this danger, why come here to break through a bottleneck in the first place?”
“Because the customers who feel they have no hope of breaking through in their lifetime naturally don’t care about such detriments. If they come here, perhaps they can advance another step. If it were Young Lord in their place, and you were unable to break through your bottleneck even after hundreds of years, and you learned our Joyous Union Pavilion might provide that opportunity, how would you choose?”
Yang Kai thought for a moment before nodding in agreement, “I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist such temptation.”
“That’s right. Our Dual Cultivation Technique does indeed have hidden dangers, but it is still a rare and powerful Secret Art. Young Lord wants to redeem Yue’er, and Yue’er knows how to cultivate this Dual Cultivation Technique, so who could say for certain that Young Lord doesn’t have ideas about this Secret Art?”
“You’re well aware of the truth, so why try to press me over this?” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I’m not stupid enough to destroy my great future with a mere dual cultivation session.”
The young woman laughed lightly, “I am certainly not pressing Young Lord, it is simply necessary for this Mistress to remind Young Lord about this point. However, if Young Lord still insists on taking Yue’er away, there is room for negotiation.”
“I’d like to hear the details!” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“If Yue’er had cultivated the most core principles of our Dual Cultivation Technique, even if Young Lord offered an extraordinary price, this Mistress would not dare to let her go. Fortunately, Yue’er has not been cultivating this technique for very long and has not studied its core concepts yet. As such, some accommodations can be made. This Mistress has two proposals for Young Lord to consider.”
With that said, she looked to Yang Kai and waited until he signaled her to continue before stating casually, “The first proposal is very simple, Yue’er simply needs to abolish her Dual Cultivation Technique.”
As soon as this was said, Qian Yue’s face turned pale and her tender body shivered.
Yang Kai could not help but frown. Although this Dual Cultivation Technique was something Qian Yue had been forced to cultivate after coming to Joyous Union Pavilion, she had nevertheless incorporated it into her cultivation. If it were to be abolished, it would affect her negatively. If her luck was good, it would simply cause some damage to her foundation which could be restored with enough time and resources, but if she was unlucky, it may leave her permanently crippled.
Naturally, Yang Kai immediately shook his head, “This option is unacceptable, tell me about the second one.”
The young woman seemed to have expected this and continued with a smile, “The second option is, Young Lord simply must pay a bit more.”
“Enough to cover the expense of the first parts of Yue’er Dual Cultivation Technique, right?” Yang Kai asked pointedly.
“That is indeed what this Mistress is proposing. Does Young Lord have any issue with this option?”
“Your proposal is reasonable, so I have no problems with it,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
The young woman’s expression filled with happiness as she nodded, “Young Lord is really a straightforward person. But if it is like this, the price Young Lord must pay will not be small.”
“What kind of price does your noble establishment want then?” Yang Kai stared at her fixedly.
The young woman frowned slightly and thought for a moment before reporting a number.
Qian Yue’s tender body shook noticeably as she stood beside Yang Kai, her eyes flashing a trace of despair. The price was shockingly high. From Qian Yue’s meager understanding of Shadowed Star, she knew that such an amount of Saint Crystals would be enough to buy an excellent Origin Grade artifact. Even if she were to spend the rest of her life saving, she may not necessarily be able to accumulate such a sum.
Yang Kai’s calm and indifferent expression also gave way to one of frustration as he hesitantly stroked his chin.
Seeing this, the young woman smiled slightly, “Young Lord, there’s no point in trying to bargain this price down. Since this Mistress has reported such a number, you can rest assured that it is in line with our Joyous Union Pavilion’s policies and not something I can simply change at will. If you cannot afford the price, please give up.”
Her last sentence was spoken quite bluntly, as if she had already determined that Yang Kai was strong in will but weak in strength. She was not prepared to waste any more time with him.
Yang Kai let out a sigh and said, “Such a huge amount of Saint Crystals really makes things difficult for me.”
The young woman sneered but did not say anything further.
Quickly advancing the conversation though, Yang Kai continued, “Would your noble establishment be willing to accept some items as collateral?”
“Collateral?” The young woman’s brow rose slightly.
“Yes. artifacts, pills, materials, or other valuables,” Yang Kai replied, “These items are all important for this Yang, so I can only offer them as collateral. After returning home, I will raise enough Saint Crystals and return to redeem them. After all, no one simply carries such a large amount of Saint Crystals with them.”
“What Young Lord says makes sense, but it also depends on what you are willing to put up as collateral. If Young Lord were to simply toss out a few random items but never return, wouldn’t my Joyous Union Pavilion wind up suffering a loss?”
“You need not worry about this point, since I must offer something as collateral, they will definitely be important treasures, it is impossible for me to not return to redeem them.” Saying so, Yang Kai wore a look of struggle for a moment before waving his hand and taking out two jade bottles, two artifacts, and a Space Ring. Placing these items on the table between them, Yang Kai pushed them towards the young woman and said lightly, “Please see for yourself if this will be enough.”
The young woman gave Yang Kai a suspicious look but quickly nodded. Picking up the Space Ring first, she swept its contents with her Divine Sense. After discovering that there were some Saint Crystals in it, she put this ring back down without any change in expression; after all, the number of Saint Crystals in this ring was far lower than the price she had just quoted.
Next picking up one of the jade bottles, she opened it and took a sniff. In the next instant, her beautiful face changed slightly, and she quickly poured a pill out of the bottle onto her palm and began carefully inspecting it. After a moment, she showed a trace of surprise and muttered, “An Origin Grade Low-Rank Fire Cloud Pill, and its quality is extremely high. Which Alchemy Grandmaster refined this?”
Yang Kai wore a neutral expression, showing no intention to answer her.
The young woman’s expression immediately became more dignified than before, because in order to obtain such a bottle of Origin Grade Low-Rank pills, it was necessary to have a strong connection with an Alchemy Grandmaster and possess extraordinary status and wealth. Realizing this, she no longer dared look down on Yang Kai.
After all, Imperial City Sect, which was Joyous Union Pavilion’s secret backer was only a mid-rank Sect and they possessed no such Grandmaster.
Checking the other pill bottle, the young woman found it also contained Origin Grade Low-Rank pills, allowing her to affirm the speculation in her heart. These two pill bottles were incredibly valuable, not something that could be purchased simply by possessing enough Saint Crystals.
The two artifacts, on the other hand, were not as impressive, just ordinary Saint King Grade High-Rank artifacts. However, they were still worth a fair number of Saint Crystals.
“These two bottles are treasures I had to expend great effort to obtain and are very useful for my future cultivation, so you may rest assured I will come back for them,” Yang Kai said with a slight smile to the young woman.
The young woman nodded slowly; all of her previous suspicions being swept aside. In truth, these two bottles of pills were treasures that even ordinary Origin Realm masters might not necessarily be able to possess. A Second Order Saint King having them clearly indicated he had extraordinary connections and means.
What she did not know was that these pills were things Yang Kai had refined himself.
Seeing her fall into contemplation, Yang Kai did not say anything further, simply casting a glance of reassurance to Qian Yue. He could tell that this young woman was very interested in the offer he had made and shouldn’t try to put forward any kind of excessive request, so as soon as this transaction was completed, he would immediately take Qian Yue away from Black Crow City and never return.
As for the pills and artifacts he just handed over, how could Yang Kai care about such insignificant things?
The reason Yang Kai had not just taken out the number of Saint Crystals this young woman had asked for was simply out of an abundance of caution. Casually taking out such an astonishing amount of wealth would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention.
Having witnessed this entire process, Qian Yue could not help but smile.
After a long time, the young woman seemed to have made a decision and lifted her head to smile at Yang Kai, but just as she was about to speak, a look of surprise appeared on her face and she quickly took out a communication artifact and apologized, “Forgive me Young Lord, please wait a moment.”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, indicating he did not mind.
The young woman poured her Divine Sense into this communication artifact and seemed to be communicating with someone, her expression fluctuating greatly as the conversation continued.
A moment later, she put away this communication artifact with a confused look before turning to Yang Kai and flashing an awkward expression.
Seeing this look, Yang Kai’s heart sank as he suddenly had a bad premonition.
Sure enough, the young woman smiled apologetically and said, “Young Lord, I’m afraid this deal cannot be completed!”
“Can’t be completed?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as he asked coldly, “Is this offer not enough?”
“Not at all!” The young woman shook her head helplessly, “It’s just that this Mistress suddenly received orders from above saying that Yue’er cannot be redeemed. As for the specific reason, I’m afraid I cannot say anything more!”
When Qian Yue heard this, her tender body couldn’t help trembling slightly and her face went pale. She had just seen hope of freedom yet now it had been mercilessly taken away.
Yang Kai’s face was turned ugly and he directed a cold glare at the young woman opposite him, but upon seeing the look of embarrassment on her face, he quickly understood that this was not her doing, so becoming angry with her was useless. Taking a deep breath, he asked thoughtfully, “Did the message you received say that Lady Yue’er cannot be redeemed or that no one can be redeemed?”
“Is there a difference?” The young woman asked in surprise.
“Just answer the question.” Yang Kai snorted.
It seemed that because she had suddenly reneged on their agreement this young woman felt somewhat embarrassed, so after pondering for a moment, she replied, “Only Yue’er’s name was mentioned. As for the others, nothing else was said.”
“Is that so!” Yang Kai sneered deeply, a light flashing across his eyes before he continued, “I believe that there is no such thing in this world as a deal that cannot be reached, only prices that cannot be paid. If I were to pay another pill, do you think there’d be room to negotiate?”
Having said this, Yang Kai took out an exquisite jade bottle, held it tightly as a pained look appeared on his face for a moment before solemnly handing it to the young woman.
The young woman however just smiled helplessly, “Young Lord, please don’t make things difficult for this Mistress. Since the managers have already made a decision, this matter is really no longer within my ability to negotiate.”
“Whether you can negotiate this matter or not, please take a look at this pill first. If you really aren’t able to conclude this deal, I hope you can at least contact the person who sent you the message just now and ask him what price I need to pay.”
A trace of surprise flashed across this young woman’s eyes as she said with some astonishment, “It seems that Yue’er is truly important to Young Lord. It is definitely Yue’er’s blessing to be so appreciated by Young Lord.”
When she glanced over at Qian Yue again, she couldn’t help revealing a look of jealousy. Yang insisting on redeeming Qian Yue like this clearly showed how much value she had to him. For a woman who lived in this kind of place, such care was undoubtedly extremely enviable.
As a fellow woman, she could naturally empathize with this.
So instead of refusing Yang Kai again, she opened the small jade bottle and glanced inside. After seeing just what was inside, the casual expression on her face disappeared and was replaced with one of great shock.
There was only one pill in this bottle, and it was round, white, and flawless. It exuded a very pleasant aura, and after sniffing it lightly, the young woman felt her mood quickly become calm.
Immediately after, this young woman shot an amazed look at Yang Kai, and seeing him smiling faintly at her, she didn’t dare to act carelessly, pouring out the pill inside this bottle and examining it carefully.
After a long time, she put the pill back into its bottle and let out a light sigh before turning an unusual look towards Yang Kai, “Although this Mistress doesn’t know much about pills, would I be correct in assuming this is an Extinguishing Demons Pill?”
“It seems your knowledge is quite good, it is indeed an Extinguishing Demons Pill!” Yang Kai nodded as his face twitched slightly as if he was distressed.
“This is one of the best auxiliary pills for Saint King Realm cultivators who are attempting to break through to the Origin Returning Realm. It can even drive out heart demons. Although it is not as rare as the Origin Condensing Pill, its value is comparable. Young Lord, are you sure you want to use this treasure as collateral?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s not collateral, it’s a bargaining chip, if you allow me to redeem Yue’er, this Extinguishing Demons Pill will belong to your Joyous Union Pavilion!”
“A bargaining chip?” A look of joy flashed across the young woman’s face upon hearing this. Gritting her teeth, she declared, “Young Lord, please wait a moment while I contact the managers to see if they are willing to release Yue’er. To be honest, if it were up to me, this deal would have long ago been completed, it’s just…”
She smiled bitterly as she realized just how rare and valuable this Extinguishing Demons Pill was. Not daring to neglect, she quickly took out her communication artifact and poured her Divine Sense into it.
While she was conversing with this unknown party, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed and he released a thread of his Divine Sense quietly to begin sweeping Joyous Union Pavilion. A moment later, besides a few places where there were particularly powerful Spirit Arrays and where there seemed to be Origin Realm masters sitting in meditation, Yang Kai had probed the entire Joyous Union Pavilion.
Not long afterwards, he obtained the information he wanted, and realizing his suspicions were correct, he snickered to himself before quietly withdrawing his Divine Sense, never once exposing anything on his face.
Glancing over at the young woman opposite him, Yang Kai saw her arguing strongly with the party on the other end, her expression quite stern. Obviously, she was unwilling to give up this Extinguishing Demons Pill.
This was only reasonable though. An Extinguishing Demons Pill’s usefulness was very much dependent on the situation. If a small heart demon appeared when a cultivator was trying to break through, there would be no need for this Extinguishing Demons Pill, but if they had a profound heart demon, this kind of pill would be invaluable.
Having such a pill could greatly affect the success or failure of a cultivator breaking through.
The Extinguishing Demons Pill Yang Kai had put out was also something he had refined; he had prepared it for Chang Qi and Hao An when the two of them were attempting to break through to the Origin Returning Realm, but these two already had the Ten Thousand Year Incense Yang Kai brought back from the Flowing Flame Sand Field so they didn’t face any influence from heart demons in the end.
As such, Yang Kai had saved this Extinguishing Demons Pill, and now it happened to come in handy.
Yang Kai also had a number of Origin Condensing Pills on him, but he wasn’t foolish enough to bring these out. Origin Condensing Pills and Extinguishing Demons Pills were supposedly of equal value, but in reality the former was rarer and more precious.
While the young woman continued to converse through her communication artifact, Yang Kai put on an anxious expression. He had to take Qian Yue away from here. It would be best if this deal could be concluded successfully, but if it couldn’t, he could only use more forceful means, subduing this young woman and then immediately fleeing with Qian Yue.
Of course, if the situation devolved to such a point, he would be unable to remain in Black Crow City, so Yang Kai would only use this method as a last resort. He didn’t want to fall out with Joyous Union Pavilion; after all, strong dragons don’t oppose local snakes. Not to mention, he was only a Second-Order Saint King while there were three Origin Realm masters guarding Joyous Union Pavilion. This establishment also seemed to be supported by the local City Lord, so it was definitely not a place to be casually provoked.
With a plan in mind, Yang Kai’s expression became indifferent as he secretly sent a message to Qian Yue, telling her to quietly prepare herself.
Some time later, with an annoyed and somewhat dejected look on her face, the young woman put away her communication artifact and turned an apologetic look to Yang Kai as she slowly shook her head, “This Mistress is really helpless. I don’t know why, but the managers insist that Yue’er cannot be redeemed. Please give up, Young Lord.”
Yang Kai slowly got up and nodded, “Good, since that’s the case, then I won’t embarrass you any further. Just rest here for a while!”
Saying so, he flashed a fierce grin at the young woman.
The young woman’s heart clenched but before she could react, a powerful pressure burst through her Knowledge Sea’s defenses, causing her to suddenly become dizzy.
At the same time, she saw that the young man opposite her flicker and re-appear in front of her, his big hand reaching out towards her. The young woman was thoroughly shocked and wanted to resist, but immediately discovered she was unable to circulate her Saint Qi at all.
She was also a Second-Order Saint King, but when facing Yang Kai, an opponent who was supposedly at the same level, she was unable to fight back at all.
In the next instant, a scalding hot force poured into her body and quickly moved to form an ingenious seal which made it impossible for her to use any of her strength.
The tender body of the young woman went limp as she became unable to even lift her fingers. Only her mouth was still able to move and she hastily called out, “Young Lord, what is the meaning of this? If you dare act unruly in Joyous Union Pavilion, you won’t have a good end!”
Yang Kai grinned before snapping his fingers, causing the young woman to lose the ability to speak as well before he leisurely said, “I’ll be taking her away with me, but I’ll be leaving these items here as agreed, so your noble establishment won’t suffer any kind of loss and instead will be making a big profit. As for your managers… I suggest you check carefully with them after you regain your freedom, perhaps you’ll find a little fool who was intentionally interfering with our transaction. En, after a thorough investigation, I’m certain you won’t be punished.”
The young woman looked at Yang Kai in surprise, not knowing what he was trying to reveal by saying these words.
She wanted to ask for more details, but she was unable to open her mouth, so she could only watch the figures of Yang Kai and Qian Yue disappear from her field of vision. Feeling quite anxious, she forcibly urged a secret technique she had practiced to shatter one of her earrings.
The moment the young woman’s earring burst, Yang Kai immediately noticed and his face changed greatly, shouting under this breath, “Let’s go!”
Saying so, he grabbed Qian Yue’s waist and tried to quickly escape from this place.
“You want to go?” Suddenly, a tender voice with a hint of coldness rang out through the air, “You dare act dissolute in my Joyous Union Pavilion? Don’t even think of leaving!”
As these words fell, an invisible force suddenly enveloped Yang Kai, making him feel as if the surrounding space had solidified, his body which had just leapt up into the air falling down in the next moment.
“Shi!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed. It was not the first time he had experienced this power so he was able to recognize it instantly.
After landing, Yang Kai immediately moved to put Qian Yue savely behind him and looked towards a certain spot. On the other side of his vision stood a beautiful middle-aged woman in a light blue dress that tightly wrapped around her enchanting figure; a stark contrast to the cold gloomy look on her pretty face.
Seeing this middle-aged beauty, Qian Yue’s face changed drastically as she exclaimed, “Manager Lian!”
Hearing Qian Yue’s shout, Yang Kai’s face sank as he felt the situation had become quite troublesome.
When Yang Kai was talking with Qian Yue earlier, he learned that the one who had saved her, brought her back to Joyous Union Pavilion, and taught her this place’s Dual Cultivation Technique was this Manager Lian, a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master and the most powerful cultivator among the three Origin Realm managers of Joyous Union Pavilion.
Below this woman were two other managers who were at the First-Order Origin Returning Realm.
If it had been one of the two First-Order Origin Returning Realm managers who had blocked his path, Yang Kai would still have confidence in being able to escape with Qian Yue, but facing this Manager Lian, he was far less certain. After all, the difference in their cultivation was an entire Great Realm and, if Yang Kai got tied down here for even a moment, the other two Origin Realm masters would certainly catch-up quickly. At that point, facing three Origin Returning Realm masters alone, and needing to protect Qian Yue at the same time, the result was easy to imagine.
After the last incident in the Corpse Cave, Yang Kai didn’t dare to rashly try to escape by tearing space while bringing along another person.
As various thoughts crossed Yang Kai’s mind, Manager Lian shot a cold glare at Qian Yue and snorted angrily, “Yue’er, your courage isn’t small, actually daring to try to flee here with an outsider. It seems your last punishment wasn’t harsh enough for you to learn!”
Saying so, her Divine Sense pulsed and Qian Yue, who was being protected behind Yang Kai, suddenly let out a cry of pain and her tender body fell to the ground, sweat dripping from her pale face.
Yang Kai’s expression became sullen, but he did not act rashly as he saw that this Manager Lian had simply activated the seal placed on Qian Yue to restrain her rather than take her life.
After a while, Qian Yue’s cries gradually weakened and Manager Lian finally turned her attention from Qian Yue to Yang Kai. A disdainful sneer flashing across her face as she scoffed, “I was wondering who had eaten a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall to gain the courage to dare try to make trouble in my Joyous Union Pavilion, but it turns out to be just a little Saint King Realm brat. Who gave you such nerve? Do you know what the consequences will be?”
Yang Kai’s face remained indifferent as he helped Qian Yue up off the ground. Sweeping her with his Divine Sense, he quickly confirmed that she hadn’t suffered any serious injuries and his expression softened a little. Turning his attention to the beautiful middle-aged woman before him, Yang Kai said lightly, “Manager Lian I presume? I was not trying to escape with her, I had reached a deal with your noble establishment to redeem her. Could it be that after providing payment I cannot take the woman I settled on and leave here? Could it be your noble establishment not only deals in prostitution but also in murdering and robbing?”
“Bold!” The beautiful middle-aged woman’s face went ice cold as she waved her hand and sent out a ray of white light towards Yang Kai.
In response, Yang Kai let out a loud roar as black flames burst from his fist and, while fiercely pushing his Saint Qi, sent out a flurry of punches.
Fist shadows visible to the naked eye blasted out, each one containing searing hot energy as they flew to intercept Manager Lian’s attack.
A great rumbling rang out and a blinding explosion of light filled the surrounding darkness of night. The countless fist shadows all collapsed but Manager Lian’s attack also dissipated halfway and was completely dispersed.
Yang Kai remained standing in place, his figure not retreating a single step while Manager Lian’s eyes flashed with a trace of surprise as she stared at the young man in front of her. Although she had not exerted herself fully in the previous attack, she had still used at least thirty percent of her strength, so Yang Kai being able to resist her with ease, even under the influence of her Shi, greatly surprised her.
Forgetting the fact that this young man was just a Second-Order Saint King, even if he had been a peak Saint King it would normally be impossible to accomplish this. Manager Lian had thought that she would at least be able to punish Yang Kai for his brazen words.
Although her blow failed to produce the desired effect, given her status and identity, she was unable to strike a second time, so all she could do was stare at Yang Kai in amazement and uncertainty.
From this brief exchange it was obvious to her that Yang Kai was not an ordinary cultivator, rather he was likely an elite among the elite. Having such strength while only being a Second-Order Saint King meant that this young man’s background was not low. Before she could figure out Yang Kai’s origins, it would be unwise to act rashly lest she provoke a powerful enemy for Joyous Union Pavilion.
The noise from this conflict had naturally alarmed the entire Joyous Union Pavilion.
A moment later, two other First-Order Origin Returning Realm masters rushed to the scene from separate locations. After seeing the scene before them, they were both greatly surprised and quickly gathered around Manager Lian to inquire about the situation.
On the other side, a young man rushed out directly to Yang Kai and asked in a stunned voice, “Brother Yang, what happened?”
Naturally, it was Chen Fan Lei! But looking at the state of his clothes and his still neat and tidy appearance, it was clear he had not yet achieved ‘good things’ before rushing over to see what all the commotion was about.
Yang Kai gave him a wry smile and whispered, “It’s a bit inconvenient to explain right now, I’ll tell you later.”
“Oh,” Chen Fan Lei no longer asked anything, but instead quietly glanced over to the other side. After only a brief glance, his heart sank; never had he imagined that his first time entering this kind of pleasure-seeking establishment he would be involved in so much trouble.
The three Origin Returning Realm master managers of Joyous Union Pavilion had all gathered and were staring at Yang Kai, none of them quite knowing how to proceed while from all directions, countless guards of Joyous Union Pavilion had surrounded this place, making for a lively scene.
Chen Fan Lei felt tightness in his chest and was in the midst of a deep regret. He felt he really should not have come to this damned place today and gotten into this mess for no apparent reason.
After a short discussion, the three Origin Returning Realm masters seemed to have reached some kind of decision, with Manager Lian taking the initiative to speak to Yang Kai, “You just said you have already redeemed Yue’er, but who was it you made this deal with?”
“Manager Lian, it was I!” The young woman who had been negotiating with Yang Kai suddenly called out.
The seal Yang Kai put on her was not very strong and was only meant to buy him some time, so after a short while she had broken it and regained her freedom. After freeing herself, she hurried over to this place and upon hearing Manager Lian’s question, she did not dare conceal anything and answered immediately.
“Xiao Qing… Are you alright? Did he attack you?” Manager Lian saw that something had happened to this young woman and asked coldly.
“This maid has not been affected greatly, this Young Lord did not act with malicious intent,” The young woman actually put in a good word for Yang Kai, obviously because she was still quite impressed by the offer Yang Kai had just made.
“Even if that’s the case, daring to cause trouble in my Joyous Union Pavilion, he’s clearly looking down on us,” Another old man in azure robes coldly snorted as he turned a bad look towards Yang Kai.
“Manager Wang is correct. Such an incident cannot just be overlooked, but for the time being, tell me about this transaction that boy over there mentioned,” Manager Lian turned to the young woman and asked.
The young woman took a moment to collect her thoughts before carefully explaining the twists and turns that had taken place in her negotiations with Yang Kai. As she narrated this series of events, the three Joyous Union Pavilion managers each showed varying expressions.
When Manager Lian heard the extraordinary price Yang Kai had offered to redeem Qian Yue, she was naturally quite shocked. Although she was still annoyed by Yang Kai’s previous actions, the coldness on her face undoubtedly dissipated a lot.
On the other hand, Manager Wang appeared to think of something, and he seemingly unintentionally shot a glance towards a nearby building, an angry glare flashing across his eyes.
The last Origin Returning Realm manager simply stood by with an indifferent look upon his face.
After the young woman finished speaking, Manager Lian nodded lightly, “Good, according to our establishment’s rules, since this boy was willing to pay such a big price, there was no reason not to agree! You also have the right to complete such a deal. Manager Wang, Manager Xu, which one of you insisted on keeping Yue’er, is there any deep meaning behind this move?”
“This has nothing to do with me, I was in secluded cultivation the whole time,” Manager Xu, who still retained his indifferent expression, shook his head slowly.
Hearing this, Manager Lian set her sights on the old man surnamed Wang.
This man wore a helpless look and was just about to speak when Yang Kai suddenly grinned and cut in, “Perhaps Manager Wang doesn’t know the circumstances of this matter.”
“What do you mean?” The beautiful middle-aged woman asked coldly.
“Get out here!” Yang Kai suddenly snorted as a Golden Thread shot out from this hand and pierced towards a nearby loft. This Golden Thread flew extremely fast, as if it could leap across space, and in the next instant, a panic filled scream rang out from the targeted building. There was a burst of Saint Qi, but this faded as quickly as it had appeared.
Yang Kai flicked his wrist, and the Golden Thread flew back again, but now, there was a male cultivator that had been tied up at its end and was currently struggling to break free.
“Little brat, you dare!” Seeing this, Manger Wang shouted severely and swiftly raised his hand to attack Yang Kai.
“If you dare to move, I’ll crush him to death!” Yang Kai sneered as the Golden Thread suddenly radiated an extremely dangerous aura.
Manager Wang’s face changed and he didn’t dare act rashly; however, the glare he directed at Yang Kai was still filled with incredible hate, as if he wished to skin him alive.
The Golden Thread flew back leisurely, bringing its captured prey with it.
Manager Lian also showed an astonished look on her face. With her Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, she had naturally seen what just happened. The cultivator hiding in the nearby loft was a genuine Third-Order Saint King, but facing the assault of this Second-Order Saint King boy in front of her, the other party only managed to resist for a breath of time before he had been captured.
Possessing such extraordinary combat strength, just where did this young man come from? Moreover, the Golden Thread in his hand was also very strange. It seemed like an artifact, but also not, and the aura it revealed made it difficult to not pay attention to.
Manager Lian’s expression grew cloudy as she secretly felt that it was not a good idea to provoke this young man. He likely had an extraordinarily strong background, something far superior to Imperial City Sect.
“Senior Brother Wang!” After Yang Kai captured this man, Chen Fan Lei could not help shouting, staring at the other person in surprise, “Senior Brother Wang, why are you here? Didn’t you have somewhere to go today?”
Wang Yu Han’s expression was incredibly ugly, and he was in no mood to answer Chen Fan Lei’s question, instead turning his attention to the old man surnamed Wang nearby. Opening his mouth, it seemed Wang Yu Han wanted to ask for help, but he was unable to say anything, causing a look of extreme unwillingness to fill his face.
“Also surnamed Wang…” The beautiful middle-aged woman’s eyes flashed, as if she realized something. Turning to the old man surnamed Wang with a smile, she asked, “Manager Wang, how are you and this boy related?”
The old man surnamed Wang wore a bitter look but he still replied honestly, “I’ve shown Manager Lian something embarrassing. This boy is one of my descendants and is currently a disciple of Extreme Path Sect. He happened to be visiting Black Crow City and came to visit this old man!”
“Came to visit?” The middle-aged beauty nodded slightly. “It’s good that he is so filial, but… it seems visiting isn’t the only reason he came here. Why is Manager Wang’s manager token in this boy’s possession?”
As she said this, she suddenly waved her hand and an invisible suction force appeared, pulling a token Wang Yu Han had in his sleeve over to her. It was the token Manager Wang had given Wang Yu Han before.
The old man surnamed Wang’s complexion instantly filled with resentment.
He did not know that Wang Yu Han would act so stupidly, actually daring to use his manager token to impersonate him and order the young woman called Xiao Qing to block a profitable transaction for Joyous Union Pavilion. If he had known this would happen, how could he have so easily handed Wang Yu Han this token?
Manager Wang had not wanted to personally intervene in the matters of his juniors, so he had made an exception and given his grand-nephew some extra authority to handle things himself.
But now that something like this had happened, and it had even alarmed this beautiful middle-aged woman, the situation was not going to end well.
Facing the middle-aged beauty’s question, the old man surnamed Wang did not know how to answer and could only remain silent. Manager Lian was a worldly woman, so after a little thought she had a fairly good idea of what was happening, but this only caused her expression to grow colder. Sending a Divine Sense Message to Manager Wang, she scolded, “I don’t care what kind of grievance your descendant has with that boy, but allowing an outsider to interfere in Joyous Union Pavilion’s business, and even hindering such a high-level transaction, you should know what the consequences of this will be!”
Manager Wang’s heart sank as his expression grew even more bitter.
The beautiful middle-aged woman snorted and continued with another Divine Sense Message, “Seeing how everything has already happened, it would be inappropriate for me to continue rebuking you in front of outsiders. The price this boy has offered is not low, so as long as he still wants to take Yue’er away, this deal can still be done! Manager Wang, this time your punishment will be a year’s worth of salary, do you have any opinion?”
“I wouldn’t dare, I will abide by whatever Manager Lian decides!” The old man surnamed Wang heard this and finally relaxed somewhat.
“Moreover, don’t let your descendant ever set foot into Joyous Union Pavilion again, otherwise don’t blame this Mistress for being acting impolitely!” The middle-aged beauty issued another warning and received a prompt nod from Manager Wang.
This Divine Sense exchange was naturally not missed by Yang Kai, and although he did not know what exactly these two were discussing, considering the current situation, it seemed things weren’t going to be too bad. Seeing that there was still plenty of room to manoeuvre, Yang Kai’s expression immediately relaxed.
After a moment, the middle-aged beauty finished dealing with Manager Wang and turned her eyes to Yang Kai, a light smile forming at the corner of her lips, “Boy, although the price you offered was quite attractive, enough to redeem Yue’er, it’s still the case that before the deal was completed you tried to force your way out with her and even took action against Xiao Qing. It seems you don’t take this Mistress or my noble establishment seriously.”
Yang Kai’s expression flashed as he broke into a grin and cupped his fists, “Junior’s previous actions were indeed reckless, I can only hope that several Seniors will be broadminded. Ms Xiao Qing, I also apologize for raising my hand against you.”
With his shrewdness, how could Yang Kai not see that the previous obstruction was all due to Wang Yu Han severely overstepping his authority? The beautiful middle-aged woman was obviously very satisfied with the price he offered, so now the only trouble was how to compensate for the damage Yang Kai had done to Joyous Union Pavilion’s face. After all, there were currently many guests who had come here seeking pleasure who had been attracted by this disturbance and were now observing curiously.
If Manager Lian really let him go just like that, her dignity and the dignity of the other managers would be completely lost. The other party needed a way to de-escalate the situation and to preserve face, so Yang Kai was naturally willing to cooperate with them.
Seeing him being so cooperative, the smile on the middle-aged beauty’s face became thirty percent brighter, but she still turned her head to look at the young woman named Xiao Qing and asked solemnly, “Xiao Qing, what do you think? No matter what he says, this boy attacked you just now. If you want me to teach him a lesson, just say the word and guarantee he won’t feel better.”
The young woman glanced over Yang Kai before replying in a low voice, “Although this Young Lord indeed acted against me just now, he did not cause any harm and only slightly restricted my freedom. Manager Lian can decide how to process this matter.”
“Good!” The middle-aged beauty nodded in satisfaction, pondered for a while, then turned to Yang Kai, “The transaction you discussed is still valid, but the content of the deal must be modified.”
“Modified?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“En, I won’t ask you to pay a greater price, so as to avoid others saying I am using my strength to bully you, and since you are so determined to take Yue’er away with you, obviously you truly love her. So, I won’t try to come between such a happy couple, but the items you used as collateral will now become the chips for this transaction. You need not try to redeem them anymore. This will suffice as the penalty for your actions just now. After this deal is completed, Yue’er and my Joyous Union Pavilion will no longer have any involvement with one another, and my Joyous Union Pavilion will not seek trouble with you in the future!” The beautiful woman stared at Yang Kai with a smile. Obviously, the two bottles of Origin Grade pills he had used as collateral were of great interest to her.
“This…” Yang Kai immediately wore an awkward and hesitant expression.
“What? Do you want to disagree?” The beautiful woman’s face went cold. “If so, then this deal will be invalidated, Yue’er will remain, and we’ll need to have a little chat about the disrespect you’ve shown my noble establishment.”
Yang Kai’s face twitched before he put on a forced smile and declared firmly, “Senior must be joking, this Junior is very satisfied with Senior’s proposal, how could I dare disagree? Such being the case, everything will be done in accordance with Senior’s will, but before that, this Junior has a small another request!”
Seeing Yang Kai really agree, a happy light flashed across the depths of the beautiful woman’s eyes, but she still wore a sullen look as she snapped, “Boy, don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch.”
“For Senior, this request will only take a slight effort,” Yang Kai responded calmly.
“Very well, but let me warn you, if you have some kind of excessive request, you need not open your mouth.”
Yang Kai laughed lightly, “This Junior simply wants to request Senior lift the seal on Lady Yue’er.”
“If that is all, then I can accommodate you!” The beautiful woman nodded lightly. After all, the seal on Qian Yue’s body was planted by her, so how could lifting it be any trouble? “Yue’er, come here!”
Qian Yue looked at Yang Kai subconsciously but upon seeing him nod to her, she slowly walked over to Manager Lian.
Yang Kai stood by and calmly waited.
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai could break a seal a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm created, but it would take him a fair amount of time and energy. Also, while he was breaking this seal, he would need to have some close physical contact with Qian Yue, which would undoubtedly be awkward for both of them. Now that an opportunity to have it lifted had appeared, Yang Kai was naturally going to take advantage of it. Judging from his performance just now, the people from Joyous Union Pavilion probably felt they had won a huge advantage just now so Manager Lian had agreed to this request quite easily.
Lifting the seal did not take long and after just a half cup of tea’s time, Qian Yue returned with a happy face. Seeing the questioning look in Yang Kai’s eyes, she nodded quickly to indicate that the seal had been completely lifted.
“Good, this matter ends here! Boy, take Yue’er and quickly leave. Be kind to her, if you dare make her do anything dangerous in the future, I will certainly not let you off!” The middle-aged beauty gestured towards the exit.
Yang Kai did not know how much sincerity was behind her last words, but he figured she was just trying to create some goodwill. In any case, a few words did not cost her anything.
Bringing Qian Yue and Chen Fan Lei with him, Yang Kai took his leave.
Wang Yu Han also wanted to go, but under the watchful eyes of Manager Lian, he did not dare to move, only able to turn to his Senior with a pleading look on his face.
Manager Wang was completely furious now, however, and was unable to even protect himself, so how could he have the leisure to care about Wang Yu Han?
After Yang Kai and his group left, the beautiful woman coldly snorted and ordered, “Manager Wang, bring your descendant and come with me. We need to have a thorough discussion of this time’s matter.”
In front of outsiders, it was inconvenient for her to rip this old man surnamed Wang’s face. However, she still needed to hold him accountable.
Manager Wang wore a bitter look but still nodded compliantly, glaring at Wang Yu Han fiercely before following after the middle-aged beauty.
Back at Flying Spirit Palace, Yang Kai and his group quickly returned to the Floating Snow Moon Pavilion.
Along the way, Chen Fan Lei kept looking at Qian Yue curiously. He really wanted to know how Yang Kai and him, who had gone out for a little fun, had wound up actually bringing a woman back. And from what he had heard just now in Joyous Union Pavilion, it seemed that in order to bring back this woman, Yang Kai had paid a huge price.
Was there something special about this woman? Chen Fan Lei was very puzzled.
Yang Kai had no intention of giving him an explanation, and Qian Yue only followed Yang Kai silently, enjoying her newly regained freedom while secretly feeling shocked at Yang Kai’s growth and wealth.
When she first met Yang Kai, his cultivation had been several steps lower than her own, but now, he had surpassed her. Moreover, back at Joyous Union Pavilion, he had taken Manager Lian’s attack and come out unscathed, so he was undoubtedly among the strongest Saint Kings out there.
As for the price to redeem her, Qian Yue did not even dare to think about it.
Yang Kai had left Tong Xuan Realm and entered the Star Field later than she had, so how did he manage to achieve such astonishing growth in strength and accumulate so much wealth in such a short period of time? Qian Yue felt truly shocked.
As soon as the trio arrived at Floating Snow Moon Pavilion, they saw Chen Shi Tao and Lu Ying chatting on the first floor under Yang Yan’s hospitality, but from Yang Yan’s stiff expression, it was obvious she wasn’t good at handling such matters, so when Yang Kai returned, her eyes lit up and she quickly called out, “You’re back? Sister Chen and Sister Lu Ying have been waiting for you for more than an hour here.”
“Is something wrong?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“It’s nothing, it was just that Fan Lei wasn’t in his room, so I came here to look for him as it seemed he had come here to see Little Brother Yang a while ago. Oh, who is she?” Chen Shi Tao suddenly saw Qian Yue and asked with a confused expression.
Facing Chen Shi Tao’s enquiry, Yang Kai only vaguely explained that Qian Yue was an old acquaintance. Even if she had her doubts, Chen Shi Tao wasn’t silly enough to interrogate him further.
On the other hand, Yang Yan’s pair of beautiful eyes stared at Qian Yue thoughtfully.
Chen Shi Tao and the others may not be clear about Yang Kai’s origins, but Yang Yan was.
Yang Kai had come from the outside world, and wasn’t even a native of Shadowed Star, yet now he had said this woman was actually an old acquaintance. Did that mean that this First-Order Saint King woman also came from the outside world?
Little did she expect that Qian Yue not only came from the outside world but even from the same place as Yang Kai.
After the host and guests were seated, Chen Shi Tao immediately began to ask Chen Fan Lei where he had gone and why he was out so late. Chen Fan Lei’s face turned bright red and he immediately turned to Yang Kai for help, really not sure how to explain himself.
He couldn’t exactly tell his big sister that while feeling bored tonight, he had decided to come over and invite Yang Kai to a brothel. If he were to really tell the truth, receiving a reprimand would be unavoidable.
Seeing Chen Fan Lei clam up so awkwardly, Chen Shi Tao seemed to guess something and turned to look at Yang Kai with a smile, “Little Brother Yang, where did you and Fan Lei go tonight? And why is there a somewhat obscene scent lingering about you?”
Yang Kai glanced over at Chen Fan Lei, saw him silently begging him not to say anything, and smiled bitterly, “Brother Chen, if none of the twists and turns of tonight had happened, staying silent would be fine, but after such a big commotion, trying to hide things is probably impossible. You should just tell the truth.”
Hearing this, Chen Fan Lei’s head immediately drooped.
After hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth and explained what happened tonight.
After hearing that they really had gone to a pleasure house, Chen Shi Tao’s pretty face froze over, but once she learned about all the twists and turns her little brother and Yang Kai experienced, as well as how Wang Yu Han had been creating trouble from the shadows she couldn’t help feeling startled. After learning about the hidden dangers of the Dual Cultivation Technique of Joyous Union Pavilion from Yang Kai, her beautiful face lost all colour and she hurriedly asked, “Fan Lei, you didn’t really…”
Chen Fan Lei waved his hands frantically, “No, no! Thanks to Brother Yang’s warning, I only had a little talk about life with that girl, besides that, nothing else happened.”
Hearing this, Lu Ying couldn’t stop herself from giggling and even Chen Shi Tao, who was still quite annoyed and worried, had a hard time stifling her laughter.
Entering such an establishment and paying a great sum of money yet not actually engaging in the act and instead discussing life with the young woman accompanying him, it was likely only Chen Fan Lei had ever done such a thing. The girl who accompanied Chen Fan Lei was probably completely confused even now.
However, hearing that events had played out like this, Chen Shi Tao was finally able to relax.
After pondering for a while, her beautiful eyes flashed as she said, “So in short, the reason Fan Lei decided to go to that kind of place was that Wang Yu Han’s unintentionally mentioned it? And you brought Little Brother Yang along just to give you a bit more courage?”
“I don’t know if he had mentioned it unintentionally, but Wang Yu Han arriving at Joyous Union Pavilion in advance and targeting and obstructing me at every turn is definitely true,” Yang Kai said lightly.
Chen Shi Tao’s face changed slightly as she thought out loud, “Wang Yu Han should have a good understanding of Fan Lei’s character, and also know what kind of effect his words would have. It seems that his ultimate goal was Little Brother Yang, while Fan Lei was just a pawn. How hateful, to deal with Little Brother Yang, he didn’t even care about ruining Fan Lei’s future! What kind of Senior Brother is he? If he had really succeeded, wouldn’t Fan Lei have been unable to advance a single step further?”
Wang Yu Han’s actions this time had touched Chen Shi Tao’s reverse scale, causing her to become livid as a cold light flashed across her eyes.
“Fan Lei, don’t have any dealings with him in the future. After returning to Extreme Path Sect, you must also report this matter to your Master.”
“Ah, I still have to tell Master about going to Joyous Union Pavilion…” Chen Fan Lei hesitated suddenly.
“Naturally you must explain everything to him! Or what, you don’t want to? If you don’t want to, I’ll come with you to Extreme Path Sect and tell him myself!” Chen Shi Tao narrowed her eyes as she glared at her little brother.
Chen Fan Lei didn’t dare to refuse and could only helplessly nod.
After this incident came to light, even if Wang Yu Han wasn’t expelled from Extreme Path Sect, a heavy punishment would be unavoidable; however, the former was far more likely.
Chen Shi Tao remained angry for a while before suddenly remembering something, shedding her annoyed expression, and bowing to Yang Kai elegantly, “This time it was fortunate Little Brother Yang was around, otherwise, that bastard’s plot might have succeeded. This Young Lady offers her sincerest thanks.”
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and said, “It was likely I who implicated Brother Chen in this matter, it’s not his fault! En, since things have reached this point, there’s nothing more to say about this incident, but I should inform Sister Chen about a certain matter.”
“What matter? Please speak freely Little Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai flipped his hand and suddenly a piece of dried up dead wood appeared on his palm. This piece of wood was completely black and did not have any distinctive smell or aura to it, as if it was just an ordinary piece of dead wood one could find anywhere.
“Does Sister Chen know what this thing is?” Yang Kai asked.
“This is…” Chen Shi Tao frowned as she observed this piece of dead wood hesitantly, as if she recognized it but couldn’t put a name to it.
“Huh, isn’t this Beast Attracting Incense?” Chen Fan Lei called out in surprise.
“It seems that Brother Chen recognizes this, so you should also know where it came from, yes?” Yang Kai looked at him.
“En, I used this kind of thing with Senior Brother Wang before to lure out Monster Beasts that were good at concealing themselves. It is quite useful actually. As long as one burns a small portion of it, it can attract any nearby Monster Beasts. It’s odourless and we cultivators can’t detect any aura from it though,” Chen Fan Lei explained, “It turns out Brother Yang also has this kind of Beast Attracting Incense on him. Oh, it looks like it’s already been burnt slightly, where did Brother Yang obtain it?”
“I picked it up in Grand Burial Valley, next to the Thunder Pond!” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
Chen Fan Lei wore an expression of surprise, but Chen Shi Tao’s eyes flashed a thoughtful light, her expression soon changing to one of shock as she stared at Yang Kai.
“Actually, this thing wasn’t found by me, but by Yang Yan. When she was collecting the Thunder Liquid, she accidentally discovered it. If it wasn’t for Yang Yan having a broad knowledge of strange items, she might have missed it!” Yang Kai handed the Beast Attracting Incense over to Chen Shi Tao before turning to Chen Fan Lei and asking, “Brother Chen, it’s not that I wish to come off overly suspicious and pessimistic, but I have to ask whether your Senior Brother Wang visited that Thunder Pond before?”
“Little Brother Yang’s meaning is…” Chen Shi Tao narrowed her eyes sharply.
“Since Sister Chen already understands, why bother asking?” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Chen Shi Tao gently nodded before turning to her little brother. “Fan Lei, has Wang Yu Han been to that Thunder Pond before?”
“En, he has. A few years ago, he accompanied another Senior Brother there. That Senior Brother also cultivated the same Secret Art as I and at that time wanted to use the Thunder Pond to achieve a breakthrough. It was because of that previous experience that Senior Brother Wang proposed we go there for my breakthrough,” Chen Fan Lei scratched his head in confusion, “Why? What’s the problem?”
Chen Shi Tao ground her teeth in anger as she muttered in a cold voice, “It seems falling into distress at the Thunder Pond this time was something Wang Yu Han plotted from the beginning.”
“It can’t be,” Chen Fan Lei exclaimed, “Why should Senior Brother Wang do that? If Brother Yang hadn’t arrived in time, he would probably have lost his life!”
Chen Shi Tao shook her head, “I don’t know the specific situation, but if I were to guess, when Wang Yu Han went to the Thunder Pond a few years ago, he should have discovered that Silver Night Thunder Beast as a peak Eighth-Order Monster Beast. You must have noticed that Silver Night Thunder Beast had only reached the Ninth-Order recently. This was something Wang Yu Han didn’t anticipate, which caused us to fall into such a dangerous situation! As for why he did all this…”
“Probably to create a dangerous situation he could take advantage of to play the hero rescuing a beauty and win her heart,” Yang Kai chuckled, finishing off what Chen Shi Tao didn’t say.
Chen Shi Tao’s face turned red before shooting a glare towards Yang Kai, but she didn’t try to deny his assertion, obviously agreeing with his guess.
Hearing all this, Chen Fan Lei wore a look of pure shock, murmuring out loud, “How could Senior Brother Wang do this?”
The danger at the Thunder Pond, the incident at Joyous Union Pavilion, all of it had been the result of Wang Yu Han’s scheming, something that Chen Fan Lei found difficult to accept for a while.
“Fan Lei, you have too little experience in the real world and aren’t able to recognize the true nature of others, so it’s understandable you were deceived. However, in the future, you must think more deeply about such matters. This time you were fortunate enough to meet a noble person like Little Brother Yang, but next time, your luck might not be so good,” Chen Shi Tao warned her naive little brother sincerely.
Chen Fan Lei nodded subconsciously.
While Chen Shi Tao educated Chen Fan Lei, Yang Kai kept silent. In fact, he had not planned on exposing this Beast Attracting Incense at first; after all, Wang Yu Han taking such actions were simply because he was desperate to pursue this beauty, so it wasn’t as if he had malicious intentions.
But what happened tonight had made Yang Kai extremely unhappy, so he wasn’t going to be polite with Wang Yu Han anymore.
Yang Kai didn’t mind trampling over this petty and narrow-minded man.
With something like this having happened, Chen Shi Tao didn’t have the mood to stay any longer, so she took Lu Ying and Chen Fan Lei and left Floating Snow Moon Pavilion to return to their own loft, preparing to thoroughly discipline Chen Fan Lei.
After they left, Yang Kai turned to Qian Yue and said, “Have a rest here for now, it will be two days before we leave.”
He then introduced Yang Yan and Qian Yue to each other. After learning that Qian Yue was actually from the same Star as Yang Kai, Yang Yan was also taken aback and became quite curious about the circumstances behind this situation. When facing Chen Shi Tao, Yang Yan’s attitude was neither hot nor cold, but when facing Qian Yue, a woman she had just met, she was actually quite friendly and enthusiastically invited her back to her room.
Qian Yue happened to want to ask about Yang Kai’s situation as well, so she naturally didn’t refuse.
Exhausted from all the unexpected twists and turns he had to deal with tonight, Yang Kai retired to his room alone to rest.
For the next two days, Yang Kai stayed inside the Floating Snow Moon Pavilion, spending his time meditating while, whereas, the relationship between Qian Yue and Yang Yan seemed to become much more harmonious.
It wasn’t until mid-day of the third day that one of the maidservants of Flying Spirit Palace came to report that Chen Shi Tao and the others had come to see him. Yang Kai heard this and immediately sent a Divine Sense Message to Qian Yue and Yang Yan, gathering with them before proceeding downstairs.
Chen Shi Tao brought good news. The Origin Returning Realm Senior who Chen Fan Lei knew had returned from his mission and when Chen Fan Lei went to ask him this morning about using the Space Array, the other party had readily agreed. Now that Black Crow City’s Space Array was open to them, Yang Kai could travel to Heavenly Fate City at any time.
Moreover, all the expenses accrued by Yang Kai and his group to use the Space Array were paid for by Chen Fan Lei.
Yang Kai was not surprised by this; after all, the Chen Family brother and sister both had a deep sense of gratitude towards him, so a few trivial Saint Crystals were nothing to them. Yang Kai kindly accepted their generosity before he, Yang Yan, and Qian Yue followed Chen Shi Tao to the Black Crow City Space Array.
The Space Array of any city had many layers of protection around it and was overseen by numerous experts, Black Crow City was naturally no exception.
Upon entering the hall where the Space Array was located, Yang Kai immediately noticed that there were at least four Origin Returning Realm masters concealing themselves nearby. Beside the Space Array, a middle-aged man dressed in scholarly robes stood waiting, who, upon seeing Chen Fan Lei, smiled and nodded lightly. Apparently, the relationship between these two was quite good.
Yang Kai immediately understood that this middle-aged scholar was the Senior Chen Shi Tao had mentioned.
Leading Yang Kai and his group over, Chen Fan Lei greeted the middle-aged man before hurriedly saying with a smile, “Brother Yang, it seems everything has been prepared.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Brother Chen!” Yang Kai cupped his fists politely before walking over to the Space Array with him.
Chen Fan Lei pointed to the middle-aged man and introduced him, “This is Senior Jiang Wen Jie. Being able to use the Space Array so easily this time is all thanks to Senior Jiang’s assistance.”
“Many thanks, Senior Jiang.” Yang Kai gently nodded to the middle-aged man.
The other party looked Yang Kai up and down and smiled slightly, “Sure enough, a heroic young man. Nephew Yang looks quite young but like Nephew Chen, is already a Second-Order Saint King. It seems a promising future awaits you.”
Jiang Wen Jie only said this out of consideration for Chen Fan Lei’s face. Yang Kai didn’t have a deep relationship with this Senior, but receiving such praise, he still acted humble.
Immediately, Jiang Wen Jie ordered people to open the Space Array, and after Yang Kai said goodbye to the Chen sister and brother, he led Yang Yan and Qian Yue onto the platform.
In the next moment, the Space Array began to glow and Space Force fluctuations appeared. Just as the figures of Yang Kai’s group of three began to blur though, Jiang Wen Jie suddenly looked at Yang Kai and mouthed something silently.
A ray of light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes, but it was too late for him to ask anything as a slight dizziness overcame him.
On a Space Array platform hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from Black Crow City, Yang Kai and his group appeared.
Yang Kai had cultivated Space Force, so this long-distance teleportation did not affect him greatly. He could even use this transmission to gain some small insight into the Dao of Space.
However, neither Yang Yan nor Qian Yue could ignore the side-effects of such a teleportation and felt quite dizzy after emerging from The Void. After circulating their Saint Qi a bit though, this fit of discomfort eased.
Sweeping her eyes over their surroundings, Yang Yan’s expression quickly became puzzled while Qian Yue called out in surprise, “Is this Heavenly Fate City? Why is there no one here?”
“This isn’t Heavenly Fate City!” Yang Kai said in a solemn tone, finally understanding what Jiang Wen Jie’s last minute warning to be careful meant.
Looking around, although they were indeed in a grand hall with a Space Array platform beneath their feet, everything seemed quite run down and clearly did not match with the Heavenly Fate City hall in their memory. This place was clearly a deserted ruin!
“Correct, this is not Heavenly Fate City!” An eerie voice suddenly called out from nearby. Qian Yue and Yang Yan were startled and simultaneously turned their heads in the direction the voice came from. There, a familiar person, wearing a look of self-satisfaction upon his face, was strolling over towards their group. However, when this man’s eyes landed on Yang Kai, a look of deep hatred and anger replaced his smug expression.
Seeing this man’s face, Yang Kai understood everything and grinning towards him said, “Brother Wang, we meet again! The world is far too small!”
Wang Yu Han laughed loudly, “I’ve been waiting for you, this is the place I specifically chose for your grave. I hope Brother Yang is satisfied.”
“En, not bad at all, this place is a good spot to make a grave, but whether it will be mine or yours is still uncertain!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he coldly snorted and shouted, “Manager Wang, since you’ve come as well, stop hiding and come out.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai turned to look at a certain spot in these ruins.
An old man with a dark expression on his face slowly appeared from behind the crumbled walls, followed closely by several other Saint King Realm cultivators, all of them glaring at Yang Kai menacingly while occasionally shooting obscene looks towards Qian Yue.
Seeing this situation, Qian Yue’s face went pale. How could she not understand that these people had been waiting here in ambush for them? Although she did not know much about the specific course of events, she vaguely guessed that these people had somehow meddled with the Space Array they just used.
“Young kids really know how to boast, completely ignorant of how high the Heavens are!” The old man surnamed Wang coldly snorted.
Wang Yu Han laughed wildly as he glared fiercely, “Yang Kai, I bet you didn’t think things would end up like this, but it’s far too late to regret now.”
“Regret? You think far too highly of yourself,” Yang Kai shot him a look of indifference. Not seeing any of the fear he had expected, Wang Yu Han could not help feeling surprised. He thought for sure Yang Kai would break down in a panic, maybe even get down on his knees and beg for mercy, that way he could torture and humiliate him to vent his anger. How could Wang Yu Han have anticipated that even in this situation, it would not cause the slightest bit of change in Yang Kai’s demeanor?
Although Yang Kai knew that Wang Yu Han would not be willing to simply let these matters drop, he hadn’t expected to be redirected to this abandoned city via the Black Crow City Space Array.
Yang Kai had thought that with his group of three teleporting directly from Black Crow City to Heavenly Fate City, even if Wang Yu Han wanted to retaliate against him, he wouldn’t have any opportunity to do so, not that Yang Kai was afraid of him in the first place.
Yang Kai had not expected that his group would be sent here, nor did he expect that this old man surnamed Wang’s status was great enough that he could get the authorities of Black Crow City to cooperate with him. Jiang Wen Jie must have known something like this would happen so he had given Yang Kai a warning at the last moment as a way of giving face to Chen Fan Lei. As for whether Yang Kai and his group lived or died, he probably did not care; after all, there was no friendship between them.
“Wasting time here will just cause more problems later. Go!” Manager Wang saw Yang Kai acting so calmly and inexplicably felt a hint of discomfort in his heart, decisively waving his hand as he shouted, “This little brat is a bit unusual, I’ll deal with him personally, you lot take care of the two women behind him. That Yue’er still has her innocence and has cultivated Joyous Union Pavilion’s special Dual Cultivation Technique, she will be of great benefit to several of you, as for the other girl…”
“I want her!” Wang Yu Han smiled coldly.
“Good, Young Master Wang will have her!” The several Saint Kings behind Manager Wang nodded in agreement before turning their wicked gazes towards Qian Yue, causing her to feel both fearful and angry.
“Since you all court death, I’ll fulfill your wishes!” Yang Kai shouted as he pushed his Saint Qi, condensing a layer of black flame around his body, turning himself into a human fireball as a strange aura pulsed from him.
Immediately after, Yang Kai formed a black sword in his hand and, with a single swing, sent out a powerful sword wave towards the enemy.
“Daring to show off with mere paltry tricks!” The old man surnamed Wang saw Yang Kai dared to take the initiative and flew into a rage, shouting angrily as an invisible power suddenly spread out from his body.
Under the influence of this force, the sword wave which Yang Kai shot off immediately slowed down, as if it had sunk into a quagmire, even some scraping sounds could be heard as it tried to advance through this thickened space.
Although Manager Wang was just a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, he had been immersed in this cultivation realm for many years and had piled up some understanding of the application of Shi. He wanted to use this opportunity to swiftly suppress Yang Kai’s arrogance.
Seeing this, Wang Yu Han and the several other Saint Kings looked overjoyed and were just about to act when suddenly, the black sword wave distorted and transformed into a number of lifelike serpents. These snakes immediately regained their full speed and rushed out towards these Saint Kings.
“Yuan Control Mastery!” The old man surnamed Wang’s eyes bulged as he shouted in surprise, immediately increasing the power he was putting into his Shi by thirty percent.
At the same time, Wang Yu Han and the others quickly assumed a defensive stance.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
With a series of explosions, the blocked black snakes burst apart and Demonic Flames splashed about. Although these flames were unable to cause any harm, they still left all of the enemy Saint Kings in quite a distressed state, many of them wearing terrified looks on their faces now.
Manager Wang had also gone pale!
Taking his status into consideration, and having received a request from Wang Yu Han, Manager Wang had not immediately taken action to kill Yang Kai and was only planning on constraining him slightly, allowing his grand nephew to obtain his revenge personally. How could Manager Wang have anticipated that this brief moment of carelessness had resulted in his grand nephew suffering such a big loss?
Yuan Control Mastery was an extremely profound ability, not something Saint King Realm cultivators were supposed to be able to use at all. Only when one reached the Origin Realm and gained comprehension of Shi would they be able to display Yuan Control Mastery.
But today, Manager Wang had witnessed a mere Second-Order Saint King break this convention; how could he not be shocked?
On top of that, the black flames this little brat used were quite unusual. When Manager Wang used his Divine Sense to investigate these black flames, he felt an aura from them that frightened him greatly and realized that being contaminated with them would lead to very bad consequences.
He did not dare underestimate Yang Kai again and quickly strengthened his Shi, suppressing Yang Kai and his group. Yang Yan and Qian Yue, who were standing behind Yang Kai, both let out a gasp as they felt invisible shackles lock them in place, making it impossible for them to move or even circulate their Saint Qi.
Facing the full might of an Origin Realm master, Yang Kai was naturally affected and his body froze in place. At the same time, a barrage of attacks was rapidly approaching as Wang Yu Han and the other Saint Kings had taken advantage of this opening to act. These Martial Skills and artifact attacks each contained frightening power and seemed intent on killing Yang Kai on the spot.
As long as Yang Kai died, the two women behind him would pose no threat.
With this wave of attacks closing in, Yang Kai’s thoughts made the Purple Shield appear in his hand. The shield’s two attributes burst out and, in a flash, a small sandstorm formed around Yang Kai’s trio, completely shielding their bodies!
A loud noise rang out as the wave of attacks impacted the sandstorm, but none of them were able to penetrate its defences and they were all quickly swallowed up and disappeared.
Seeing this, Wang Yu Han’s expression went cold. In Grand Burial Valley, he had seen Yang Kai use this Origin Grade High-Rank shield artifact and realized how extraordinary it was, but now that he had personally attacked it, he further understood how outstanding its defensive capabilities were.
With such a defensive artifact, as long as the cultivator wielding it didn’t run out of Saint Qi, it would be impossible for the few Saint Kings here to break through its defences. It could be said that wrapped in this sandstorm, Yang Kai and his companions were invincible.
“Excellent!” The old man surnamed Wang’s eyes flashed as a look of greed filled his face, excitedly declaring, “This old master wants that artifact!”
As he spoke, he condensed a huge palm from his Saint Qi and stretched out his hand to grab towards the spot where Yang Kai stood, its five fingers appearing as imposing as mountains, like it could grasp the entire world.
At the same time, an almost imperceptible golden light suddenly flew out from the sandstorm and quickly transformed into several golden threads that began cutting through the air.
The huge Saint Qi palm condensed by Manager Wang lasted less than a breath before it was chopped to pieces by these Golden Threads, disappearing along with them in the next instant.
Before Wang Yu Han and the Saint Kings beside him could react though, these Golden Threads reappeared in front of them and wove together to form a massive net that threatened to engulf them.
“Be careful!” The old man surnamed Wang hurriedly warned as he concentrated his Shi towards these golden threads.
But to his horror, these golden threads seemed completely unaffected by his Shi and instead began cutting it apart before it could completely condense.
“Impossible!” Manager Wang’s expression changed dramatically, suddenly seeming to remember something in the next moment and called out in horror, “Demon Blood Thread! This is the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique of Demon Blood Temple! You’re from Demon Blood Temple?!”
He finally remembered the origin of this golden thread, but according to what he knew, the Demon Blood Thread was not golden, instead it should have been blood red.
The Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique was famous across all Shadowed Star as it was one of the few techniques that could cut through Shi.
“Whether I’m from Demon Blood Temple or not doesn’t matter!” Yang Kai’s figure hidden in the sandstorm called out indifferently. Flicking his finger, which was connected to his Golden Thread, he swiftly captured the several enemy Saint King Realm cultivators together with Wang Yu Han.
At the same time, Yang Kai sent out a faint signal with his Divine Sense, seemingly issuing a vague command.
Wang Yu Han and the others were all at least Second-Order Saint Kings and their strengths were certainly not weak, but seeing the look of panic on Manager Wang’s face, they knew that this Golden Thread was extremely dangerous so each of them immediately put all their strength into defending themselves, with two of them even using secret techniques in order to avoid getting caught.
But to their shock, before they could fully act, a sudden and sharp pain radiated from their Knowledge Seas, disrupting their concentration and movements for a moment and causing them to fail in fully condensing their Saint Qi or activating their artifacts. The result was them only being able to watch as the Golden Thread net enveloped them.
A loud slicing sound rang out as the Golden Threads flickered back and forth before they were swiftly retrieved by Yang Kai.
However, the several Saint King Realm cultivators, Wang Yu Han included, stood motionless, their eyes filled with terror, as if they had just witnessed something impossible.
“Yu Han!” The old man surnamed Wang cried out in alarm.
“Seventh Grandfa…” Wang Yu Han opened his mouth to respond, a look of desperation on his face, but before he could finish his sentence, his body was suddenly torn apart and turned into a pile of minced meat and fresh blood.
The other Saint Kings shared the same fate as Wang Yu Han, all of them shattering like broken mirrors, their wounds all extremely clean and smooth, as if they had been cut by an incredibly sharp weapon.
With just one blow, every Saint King Realm cultivator here had fallen.
The scene was terrifying, and a rich bloody smell quickly filled the air.
The old man surnamed Wang stood in place, staring at the spot where Wang Yu Han had been killed, his eyes flashing with rage as he saw the neatly severed limbs and shredded flesh.
He simply could not accept this scene.
The opponent was just a Second-Order Saint King, so how was he able to kill so many cultivations at or above his realm in an instant? This made Manager Wang wonder if he was seeing some kind of illusion as he simply couldn’t believe his eyes. After staring for a while at this though, he grit his teeth and turned his gaze towards Yang Kai, “Boy, you dare kill my grand nephew! Speak, what kind of dirty trick did you use?!”
“Dirty trick?” Yang Kai sneered as he waved his hand to disperse the sandstorm shielding him, revealing himself again. Shooting a disdainful glance over at the old man, he said lightly, “When you die, you’ll understand.”
“Ignorant child, you think you can kill this old master?!” The old man surnamed Wang roared angrily, his Saint Qi bursting out as a thick murderous intent condensed around him. Obviously, Wang Yu Han’s death had thoroughly enraged him.
As soon as he spoke these words, a yellow bell appeared in Manager Wang’s hand. This yellow bell was small enough to fit in one’s palm and looked quite unremarkable, but when Yang Kai saw it his eyes shrank, and he didn’t dare underestimate it.
The other party was a genuine First-Order Origin Realm master, but in order to deal with him, a Second-Order Saint King, he had actually summoned such a powerful artifact. Although part of the reason for Manager Wang doing this was rage, it was also clear that he realized he had to go all out.
Just as Yang Kai raised his guard against this strange yellow bell, Manager Wang flicked his wrist and the bell rang, its sound penetrating directly into Yang Kai’s ears. Yang Kai felt his heart beat violently and the speed of the blood flowing through his veins rapidly sped up.
“This old master has never used this Soul Burying Bell against a Saint King before, so you should feel honoured to die by it!” Manager Wang grit his teeth and shook his hand gently, continuing to ring the yellow bell.
Every time the bell’s sound rang in Yang Kai’s ear, his heartbeat accelerated. This ringing was quite strange and irregular, and after the second ring Yang Kai could already feel a sharp pain in his chest, as if his heart was about to burst.
Yang Kai’s complexion changed as he immediately realized that no Origin Returning Realm master should be underestimated. This old man surnamed Wang was not young, and although age did not have much relation to cultivation, over a long life one would naturally gain more and better methods of killing their opponents.
Urging his Saint Qi, Yang Kai forcibly suppressed the pain in his heart while simultaneously summoning his Hundred Mountains Picture. In the next instant, sending a phantom peak smashing towards Manager Wang’s head.
A rumbling sound rang out, but the old man surnamed Wang completely disregarded this phantom peak, not even trying to dodge it as it approached. Opening his mouth, Manager Wang spat out a black flag that quickly flew up and expanded to over a dozen metres in length and formed a cover above his head. When the illusionary mountain smashed down, a multitude of eerie shadow-like figures rushed out of the black flag and intercepted it, preventing the mountain from reaching its target.
“Boy, use whatever means you have at your disposal! Today, this old master will let you die convinced!” The old man surnamed Wang clamoured wildly as he glared hatefully towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sneered repeatedly, “Old dog, haven’t you made a mistake? It’s not just me fighting you!”
“You want to count on those two little girls…” Manager Wang glanced over at Qian Yue and Yang Yan disdainfully, but before he could finish speaking, his face changed dramatically as he saw Yang Yan actually take out an exquisite looking miniature pagoda and toss it up into the sky, allowing it to gently float mid-air.
This pagoda had seven levels to it and each one exuded a different colour. Each of the seven layers of the pagoda began rotating as it floated, each one revolving at a different speed, creating a strange resonant melody that resounded through the air.
This melody was extremely beautiful and sounded as if many different instruments were playing together, creating a harmonious ensemble. This mixed rhythm spread out a mysterious force that dispelled the pain in Yang Kai’s chest and even covered the dissonant sound of the Soul Burying Bell.
“A sound artifact!” Manager Wang stared at this scene in disbelief, his eyes twitching unconsciously.
His Shi had been broken by Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Thread, and the power of his Soul Burying Bell had been neutralized by this seven-layered pagoda, making Manager Wang suddenly feel as if his enemy had been specially put together to restrain him, causing his anger to erupt as well as a tinge of worry to sprout in his heart.
Yang Kai quickly charged, the Demonic Flame sword in his hands cleaving down as he laughed carefreely, “Old dog, just because Wang Yu Han thought of me as his love rival, you actually want to put me to death! Your care as an Elder is truly awe-inspiring! Since you have come to threaten me, don’t dream of leaving!”
“Too arrogant!” The old man surnamed Wang did not put this sword strike in his eyes at all, pushing his Saint Qi as he thrust his palm out to intercept it.
In the next moment though, Manager Wang suddenly felt a sharp pain in his Knowledge Sea, as if something was tearing at it, causing his face to pale and a sense of panic to spread through his heart.
But before he could investigate the situation inside his Knowledge Sea, another blade-like attack sliced towards his head, and he was forced to once again stretch out his palm to intercept it.
The accident in his Knowledge Sea drew so much of his attention that he did not bother investigating this incoming attack, but when Manager Wang’s hand contacted this black blade, he realized it was nothing like the previous sword wave.
Feeling a deep sense of crisis, the old man surnamed Wang tried to pull his hand back but was a moment too late. The black blade-like attack was like the sharpest of weapons and sliced through the palm of his hand as easily as a hot knife through butter, proceeding without any hindrance all the way to his shoulder.
Half of his arm vanished, as if it had been swallowed into the abdomen of some invisible beast, never to be seen again.
The loss of half his arm terrified Manager Wang and he hurriedly retreated several steps before turning to stare at Yang Kai with surprise and anger, clear shock apparent on his face. He was an Origin Returning Realm master, yet in a battle with a Second-Order Saint King, he had actually been seriously injured. If he told this story to anyone else, they would never have believed him.
Quickly condensing his Saint Qi at the severed section of his arm to prevent his blood from flowing out, the old man surnamed Wang took out a pill from his Space Ring and tossed it into his mouth all while keeping a watchful and somewhat fearful eye on Yang Kai. Since this boy could hurt him, he could also kill him!
Only now did Manager Wang have a moment to investigate the anomalies occurring inside his Knowledge Sea. If it wasn’t for the sharp pain in his Soul a moment ago, he would have been able to notice the strangeness of this boy’s last attack, so it was urgent to figure out what was happening to his Knowledge Sea.
After a brief investigation though, the old man surnamed Wang went pale and called out in shock, “Soul Devouring Insects? How is that possible?”
Under his investigation, he discovered that countless tiny insects had, at some point, infested his Knowledge Sea. These insects were so small they were invisible to the naked eye and at the moment they were actually lying dormant, seemingly waiting for orders before launching an attack.
The changes in his Knowledge Sea just now were obviously because these Soul Devouring Insects had begun consuming his Spiritual Energy!
Could the reason his Saint King Realm subordinates had been cut apart so easily by Yang Kai’s golden thread net have something to do with these Soul Devouring Insects as well? After understanding this point, Manager Wang felt cold sweat drip down his forehead. He had heard about Soul Devouring Insects before, but although they had quite an ominous reputation, ordinarily, he wouldn’t place them in his eyes, because with his Origin Realm strength, he should be fully capable of expelling them.
However, these Soul Devouring Insects were obviously different, some kind of mutated or evolved species. When Manager Wang tried to use his Divine Sense to drive them out, they remained completely unaffected, still burrowed deep into his Knowledge Sea, turning into a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. If he wanted to purge them completely, Manager Wang estimated it would take him at least two days of focused meditation!
Realizing this, the old man surnamed Wang suddenly began contemplating retreating.
His Shi and Soul Burying Bell were restrained and he had been seriously injured. On top of that, these Soul Devouring Insects had infested his Knowledge Sea and were just waiting for an opportunity to strike. If he didn’t withdraw now, he might never be able to, that black blade-like attack which cut through his arm frightened him terribly.
“Even able to recognize my Soul Devouring Insects, Old Dog, it seems your knowledge is quite broad! However, your luck has run out. Your Shi is useless against me, so this Young Master is truly your ultimate nemesis!” Yang Kai laughed sarcastically, waving his hand as he spoke, sending out a series of Space Blades that tore through space as they slashed forward. If someone were to probe these attacks with their Divine Sense, they would actually discover that they were composed of nothingness, as if they didn’t even really exist.
In an instant, more than a dozen pitch-black Space Blades silently shot towards the old man surnamed Wang.
Manager Wang’s eyes twitched and his complexion turned extremely ugly as he shouted, “Boy, don’t get too cocky!”
At the same time, he suddenly soared up into the sky and a mass of black mist burst from his body, covering a several dozen metre radius, this strange skill completely concealing his figure.
However, after the dozen or so Space Blades hacked through this black mist, leaving a series of wide, clear passages in their wake, The old man surnamed Wang’s voice cried out as he hurriedly tried to dodge.
“Old Dog, use whatever means you have at your disposal! Today, this Young Master will let you die convinced!” Yang Kai grinned mockingly as he began taunting his opponent, disrupting his concentration while unleashing a flurry of Space Blades towards him.
Manager Wang nearly coughed up blood when he heard Yang Kai’s words as they were exactly the ones he had spoken not long ago; however, the situation had completely reversed since then.
Feeling like he had slapped his own face, Manager Wang’s face turned a deep shade of crimson from both anger and embarrassment. At the same time, his expression filled with unwillingness, as he was forced to continue dodging Yang Kai’s Space Blades, unable to even argue back much less counterattack. When his arm had been severed by these black blade-like attacks, Manager Wang was unable to see the attribute of this attack, but now he had some speculations.
After all, the Space Force fluctuations emanating from the Space Blades was quite obvious. Manager Wang wasn’t a fool, so how could he not detect this?
The old man surnamed Wang was genuinely shocked! He never knew that on Shadowed Star someone had actually cultivated the Dao of Space to the point where they could condense a blade of Space Force and use it in combat with an enemy from a distance.
Even Elder Mo Xiao Sheng from Heaven Battling Union couldn’t do this! It was rumored that Elder Mo was proficient in the Dao of Space and many great forces would need to seek his assistance to repair their Space Arrays when they became damaged or malfunctioned, but even Elder Mo’s use of Space Force was not on the same level as that of this rampant young man.
The other party not only possessed Soul Devouring Insects capable of threatening him, he had also mastered this profound and mysterious skill! Manager Wang no longer dared underestimate Yang Kai and instead considered him an opponent of equal strength.
The stream of Space Blades seemed inexhaustible and each one fierce and unstoppable, cutting through and swallowing anything in their path as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, making dodging the only action Manager Wang could take.
“Old Dog, do you only know how to flee?” Yang Kai snorted and after releasing a few more Space Blades, a lotus flower illusion suddenly appeared in his eyes as he shouted lowly, “Blossoming Lotus!”
While desperately dodging all of the Space Blades, Manager Wang’s figure suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Even if his gaze wasn’t meeting Yang Kai’s at this moment, a lotus bud still appeared in his vision and in an instant, the entire world seemed to disappear, leaving only the radiant seven coloured bud.
In the next moment, the old man surnamed Wang felt the Spiritual Energy in his Knowledge Sea madly draining towards the strange lotus bud, a phenomenon he was completely incapable of controlling.
As the Spiritual Energy of his Knowledge Sea was consumed, the lotus bud actually began to quickly blossom.
Although he didn’t understand what mysteries this blossoming lotus bud held, the old man surnamed Wang knew that he mustn’t allow it to fully bloom, otherwise the consequences would be dire.
With a great shout, Manager Wang bit his tongue and forcibly withdrew his attention from the blossoming lotus, causing his Knowledge Sea to tumble violently.
*Hong…*
A loud explosion resounded from the depths of Manager Wang’s Soul and his face instantly went pale white. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, his body staggered and he instantly felt several dozen years older.
Manager Wang had used some Secret Technique to burst the lotus bud, but doing so had clearly caused great damage to his own Soul.
Qian Yue was dumbstruck as she stood to the side and observed this battle, her eyes flashing brilliantly as her expression was filled with both joy and shock.
When she first noticed that they had fallen into an ambush, Qian Yue thought that all hope was lost, but how could she have imagined that the enemies she felt were impossible to defeat were actually easily routed and killed off by Yang Kai? Even Manager Wang wasn’t Yang Kai’s opponent.
If Qian Yue didn’t know Manager Wang, she might have thought that he was just another Saint King Realm cultivator, but she was well aware that he was a genuine Origin Returning Realm master. When she saw him, she was also trembling and talking carefully, but now, Manager Wang was panicking like a stray dog, no longer holding the swag of a former senior expert.
For a time, Qian Yue felt quite complex in her heart, staring at Yang Kai in something of a daze while thinking that Su Yan’s vision was really profound. When she had first met Yang Kai, she had looked down on and despised him greatly, but it seemed that Su Yan was the one who really stood high and saw far.
At this moment, she finally relaxed and took the opportunity to glance over at Yang Yan, but what she found was that the other party’s expression was completely indifferent, as if she hadn’t felt any tension at all. Qian Yue now realized that, from the start, Yang Yan had complete confidence in Yang Kai’s ability to win.
“Seems Origin Returning Realm masters really aren’t much!” Yang Kai sneered sarcastically, “In all honesty, I have no interest in Chen Shi Tao at all, nor did I have any intention to get in Wang Yu Han’s way, it was all your grand nephew’s petty insecurity that brought about his own destruction, even implicating his Elder in the process. If I were you, after acting so stupidly, I would get it over with and just kill myself. Why bother struggling to maintain your worthless existence?”
After listening to sarcastic ridicule, Manager Wang felt immense regret and annoyance. If what this boy said was really true, what was the point in coming here in the first place? To be humiliated and then die?
At this moment, Manager Wang wished he could drag Wang Yu Han back from hell so he could kill him a dozen times over. Although he continued wearing a fierce look on his face, in truth, he was already beginning to weaken.
He realized that even if he was in his peak state, he couldn’t defeat this strange boy. If he did not find an opportunity to escape soon, he might really never be able to leave here again.
A ruthless light flashed across Manager Wang’s eyes as he lifted his hand and pointed a hand sign towards the giant black flag he was using to resist the Hundred Mountains Picture, causing an unstable energy fluctuation to burst out from it. In the next instant, a loud explosion rang out as countless illusory phantoms flew out uncontrollably.
This artifact actually had the power to self destruct!
Yang Kai was shocked by this unexpected development and quickly withdrew the Hundred Mountains Picture before once again summoning his Purple Shield in front of Qian Yue and Yang Yan to protect them from the explosion fallout.
By the time Yang Kai finished this, he suddenly discovered that the old man surnamed Wang was already a thousand metres away.
[To think he is really trying to flee!]
Yang Kai coldly snorted as he unfurled his Wind and Thunder Wings, his figure flickering and disappearing in a storm of wind and thunder.
So far, he had not killed an Origin Returning Realm cultivator, so with such a rare opportunity in front of him, how could he possibly miss it? Moreover, after observing the various methods used by this old man surnamed Wang, it was obvious the other party’s understanding of Shi was quite deep. As long as Yang Kai could kill him and absorb his remnant Soul along with his understanding of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, it would be possible to begin comprehending Shi, preparing him for his eventual breakthrough to the Origin Returning Realm.
Although Manager Wang’s cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, he was still quite heavily injured, so with the assistance of his Wind and Thunder Wings, Yang Kai was able to move much faster.
Yang Kai was quickly closing the thousand-metre gap between himself and Manager Wang, but just as he was about to catch up, Yang Kai felt a shocking energy fluctuation rapidly approaching from behind. In the next instant, a stream of light shot past him and impacted the old man surnamed Wang’s back.
A pitiful scream rang out before Manager Wang fell to the ground, struggling for only a moment before lying still.
Yang Kai raised his brow as he looked back in surprise only to see Yang Yan in her black robe holding up a crossbow-like artifact.
Yang Kai recognized this artifact as one of the prizes he had looted in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
He had obtained it from a cultivator from the Xie Family. The other party had used this artifact to sneak attack him but had ultimately failed to kill Yang Kai. In the end, Yang Kai had ended the Xie Family cultivator’s life. This artifact’s power was quite impressive, but the cost to use it was equally high, even requiring a blood sacrifice from its wielder, a truly evil artifact. As such, Yang Kai had not paid much attention to this crossbow after obtaining it and had simply tossed it into his Space Ring.
Now it seems that Yang Yan had improved and enhanced it, allowing her to use it against enemies in combat.
The old man surnamed Wang dying like this saved Yang Kai some trouble so he didn’t mind either way. Immediately walking over the body, Yang Kai urged the power of his Demon Eye of Annihilation and soon, Manager Wang’s Soul remnant was sucked into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and purified. Finished with this, Yang Kai removed Manager Wang’s Space Ring before turning around and returning to Yang Yan and Qian Yue.
Inside the abandoned hall, Qian Yue stared at Yang Kai, as if she was having trouble recognizing him.
After Yang Yan used the crossbow artifact, she had nearly collapsed, and her face had gone quite pale. It seemed even after her special refinement and improvement, the cost of using this artifact was still quite high.
“Let’s rest here for a while before setting out again, there should be no further ambushes,” Yang Kai said before handing Yang Yan a bottle of pills then walking over to the Space Array.
He wanted to completely destroy this Space Array to ensure that any further arrangements his opponents might have made couldn’t be implemented, and to ensure that no clues about what happened here were left behind.
Taking advantage of this time, Yang Yan quickly adjusted her breathing while Qian Yue went to clean up the remains of the other fallen Saint King Realm cultivators.
While Yang Yan sat in meditation, both Yang Kai and Qian Yue finished their respective work and Qian Yue handed over the Space Rings she had collected to Yang Kai, the look of shock still lingering on her face, as if she was unable to believe the scene she had just witnessed, even now.
Yang Kai glanced at her and naturally understood what she was thinking. Waving his hand lightly, he said, “Keep those Space Rings for yourself, there’s probably nothing good inside them, but there are probably some resources which will be suitable for you to use. Don’t reject, when you reach Dragon Cave Mountain, you’ll understand what true riches look like and how worthless these things are.”
Qian Yue froze for a moment, but eventually did not object, simply happily replying, “Then I’ll look forward to it.”
She really could not help anticipating arriving at Dragon Cave Mountain now. Since wandering about destitute through the Star Field and arriving at Joyous Union Pavilion, Qian Yue had never met anyone she knew or found a place to rely on. She felt like a rootless tree, a river without a source, suffering through each day.
But now, Yang Kai had appeared in front of her, allowing her to find a pillar of support for her weary heart and giving her hope for the future. Although Yang Kai was her Junior, this Junior had now exceeded her cultivation, so depending on him a little was not something to feel embarrassed about.
While waiting for Yang Yan to restore herself, Yang Kai sat down and began reviewing his gains and losses from this battle.
This was not the first time Yang Kai had battled an Origin Returning Realm master, but it was his first time killing such a cultivator. If not for the interference from his Soul Devouring Insects and his mastery of the Dao of Space, however, Yang Kai estimated he would not have been Manager Wang’s opponent.
Nevertheless, this battle allowed him to understand that his Golden Blood Thread could cut apart Shi, a pleasant surprise. When Deng Ning of Demon Blood Temple handed him the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique, he had not mentioned anything about this particular ability.
Facing this old man surnamed Wang, a First-Order Origin Returning Realm master, Yang Kai had to go all out, so what about a master at the Second-Order or Third-Order?
Yang Kai suddenly realized that his cultivation realm was still too low. After returning to Dragon Cave Mountain, he decided to enter retreat to break through to the next realm. Only when his cultivation reached the Origin Returning Realm would he not have to fear anyone on Shadowed Star.
Half a day later, Yang Yan had restored herself sufficiently, so Yang Kai summoned his Star Shuttle and left this deserted city with the two women.
After flying for two days, the trio arrived at a small town and Yang Kai flew down to ask for directions. After learning that this place was only half a month away from Heavenly Fate City, he finally relaxed.
He was really afraid that the deserted city was actually farther away from Heavenly Fate City than Black Crow City, but it seemed his luck was good and Wang Yu Han had chosen to set up this ambush in the same direction as Heavenly Fate City.
On top of that, they had arrived inside Shadow Moon Hall’s territory, so with his friendship with Qian Tong, Wei Gu Chang, and Dong Xuan’er, they were basically safe.
Along the way, Yang Kai remained silent as he was immersed in planning what to do in the future, while Yang Yan and Qian Yue chatted a bit from time to time. Like this, half a month passed by and the group of three arrived at Dragon Cave Mountain. As soon as she saw this place, Qian Yue fell in love with it.
Although Dragon Cave Mountain was not as grand and imposing as the foundations of a great Sect, it had its own unique style. The mountains and rivers here were all incredibly beautiful, making it seem like an untouched paradise.
After letting Yang Yan help Qian Yue settle in, Yang Kai went to see the Divine Tree and learned that it was currently in good spirits. On top of that, the Golden Sun Fruit Tree Yang Kai had transplanted was now doing well, its vitality slowly growing stronger with no possibility of it perishing anymore.
After giving the Divine Tree a drop of Golden Blood, Yang Kai immediately announced he was entering retreat.
Inside his cave mansion, Yang Kai played with a small, crystal-clear bead in his hand as tenderness filled his eyes.
This bead was Su Yan’s Ice Soul Bead. As long as this bead remained intact, the person who condensed it was certainly still alive. Although he did not know where Su Yan was right now, as long as this Ice Soul Bead remained, it meant she was still fine.
Feeling Su Yan’s aura gently wafting from this bead made Yang Kai feel nostalgic.
After watching it for a long time, Yang Kai smiled warmly, held it tightly, closed his eyes, and silently cultivated, attempting to break through.
Back in Joyous Union Pavilion, Yang Kai had touched the threshold of the Third-Order Saint King Realm, but at that time, he was too anxious to hear news about Su Yan, so he had firmly suppressed his breakthrough. Now that he had returned to Dragon Cave Mountain, his first order of business was to attempt a breakthrough again.
The Ten Thousand Year Incense burned in the background, its mellow and calming fragrance filling the air. The place where Yang Kai chose to meditate was also right beside the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, and with his thorough comprehension of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, this breakthrough posed no problem to him.
With just a trivial ten days worth of effort, and without the assistance of any pills or Saint Crystals, Yang Kai successfully broke through to the Third-Order Saint King Realm.
His breakthrough did not cause any spectacular scene as the cave mansion was completely isolated by powerful Spirit Arrays, so not even the other residents of Dragon Cave Mountain knew Yang Kai had made a breakthrough.
After taking another month or so to consolidate his cultivation, Yang Kai began taking inventory of his harvest from his latest trip.
With a thought, Yang Kai summoned another bead into the palm of his hand. This bead was different from Su Yan’s Ice Soul Bead, it had an inconspicuous grey appearance. It was the Coloured Glass Bead Dai Yuan had given him.
As Dai Yuan cultivated her Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Art, taking a small amount of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass into her body, she was able to condense this bead which was equivalent to the Monster Core of a Monster Beast. It was extremely valuable.
Dai Yuan had said that if he could refine this Coloured Glass Bead, he might be able to comprehend the mysteries of Coloured Glass Divine Light!
Coloured Glass Divine Light had the incredible ability to suppress others’ Souls and it was very difficult to guard against. Yang Kai had even suffered a small loss to this Coloured Glass Divine Light, so he had a deep interest in it. If he could really achieve what Dai Yuan said, it would give him another powerful card to use in battle.
Moreover, Coloured Glass Divine Light shared some similarities with his Demon Eye of Annihilation; both had the function of suppressing other’s Souls, so if he was able to combine the two of them, Yang Kai couldn’t say what kind of mutation would happen.
After quietly contemplating for a while, Yang Kai decided to put aside this Coloured Glass Bead for now and instead take out his Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace.
Inside the Corpse Cave, in order to collect the Sun’s True Essence, the Firebird Artifact Spirit had suffered some injuries, but Yang Kai had learned afterwards that this had actually been a blessing in disguise because the Artifact Spirit had ingested a wisp of Sun’s True Fire and was assimilating it inside the Artifact Refining Furnace.
Now, more than a month had passed, yet the Firebird showed no signs of awakening as it was still refining that wisp of Sun’s True Fire. However, when he observed it, Yang Kai discovered that the wisp of Sun’s True Fire had diminished greatly while the Artifact Spirit’s aura had become significantly more powerful.
Yang Kai immediately understood that the Artifact Spirit had truly obtained huge benefits from that incident.
Leaving it alone, Yang Kai put away the Artifact Refining Furnace.
Next, Yang Kai checked on the Stone Puppet. The Stone Puppet was the same as the Artifact Spirit. Some time ago, when the Stone Puppet spat out the Sun’s True Essence, Yang Kai had told it to absorb as much mineral essence as it needed to repair itself, but upon seeing it now, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised.
The Stone Puppet’s injuries were now completely healed, and after being released by Yang Kai, its pair of eyes sparkled somewhat, its spirituality having obviously increased greatly.
However, what shocked Yang Kai the most was that the Stone Puppet’s body now seemed to contain an extremely intense Fire Attribute Energy. Even with his powerful Divine Sense, Yang Kai was unable to probe this Fire Attribute Energy as it was burnt the moment it tried to make contact with it.
Sun’s True Fire!
Unexpectedly, the Stone Puppet had absorbed some Sun’s True Fire! And it had finished refining this Sun’s True Fire even before the Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit. This was a bit of a pleasant surprise and made Yang Kai realize just how powerful the Stone Puppet’s innate talent was. Even the Artifact Spirit born from pure Fire Attribute Energy could not compare to it.
The Stone Puppet had an innate ability to quench and refine minerals, and now it seemed that the Sun’s True Fire was no exception, in the future this pure Fire Attribute Energy would only become purer and more potent.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai had yet to find another Blood Essence Stone; after all, there was another Stone Puppet in his Black Book Space, but without a Blood Essence Stone, that Stone Puppet couldn’t be hatched from its black shell.
After confirming that the Stone Puppet was alright, and even gained some unexpected advantages, Yang Kai sent it a Divine Sense command.
The Stone Puppet opened its mouth a moment later and began spitting out a massive amount of refined ores, soon creating a massive hill in front of Yang Kai.
These items were all from the Corpse Cave and had been swallowed by the Stone Puppet. At that time, Yang Kai and Yang Yan had been busy trying to collect the Sun’s True Essence, so they hadn’t had any time to deal with the mountains of materials and Saint Crystals lying around. Therefore, they had let the Stone Puppet handle this matter.
There had been seven or eight hills of various ores and a few more of pure Saint Crystals, so although the Stone Puppet only had time to swallow about half of them, they still added up to an amazing amount.
Some of the ores had their essence absorbed by the Stone Puppet to strengthen it and make up for the damage caused by the Sun’s True Fire, but the vast majority was now piled up in front of Yang Kai.
Up until now, Yang Kai had too many things on his mind, so he wasn’t able to take inventory of this harvest, but since they had been piled up out in the open, Yang Kai figured these materials weren’t as high in quality or rarity as the ores he had found in the four Space Rings atop the Ice Jade Pedestal. Sweeping them with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai confirmed his speculations.
However, he did not need to worry about such things as all these minerals would be handed over to Yang Yan to process.
While preparing to stuff these ores into Space Rings, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly landed on one of the hills of materials. He reached out, and picked up a fist-sized, perfectly round, flawless and pure white object.
Staring at this sphere in amazement, Yang Kai soon had a thought and a look of surprise filled his eyes. Circulating his Secret Art, he noticed the huge amount of pure energy flowing from the sphere in his hand into his body and his expression turned strange, glancing over at the Stone Puppet in amazement and asking, “You can even purify this kind of thing?”
The Stone Puppet looked at him with a tilted head and did not say a word.
Yang Kai smiled slightly, knowing that it might not be able to express its thoughts; after all, the Stone Puppet’s sapience was limited.
Taking out the token Yang Yan gave him to control the cave mansion’s arrays, Yang Kai poured his Divine Sense into it and sent out a message.
A moment later, the barrier around the cave mansion was opened from the outside and Yang Yan walked in quickly, asking curiously, “Didn’t you say you were going to enter retreat? Why suddenly call me over?”
“Look at this!” Yang Kai said as he tossed the white sphere in his hand over to her. Catching it, Yang Yan looked at him suspiciously for a moment before taking a closer look at the sphere.
Soon after, Yang Yan’s beautiful eyes widened as a look of pleasant surprise filled her face, as if she had just discovered something incredible. Quickly turning to Yang Kai, she eagerly asked, “Where did you get this thing? Are there any more?”
Yang Kai simply pointed his finger to a hill in front of him.
Yang Yan turned her head in the direction he pointed and was immediately dumbstruck as she saw many similar spheres lying in that hill.
After a few breaths, Yang Yan let out a cry of joy as she rushed over to the hill and began stuffing everything into her own Space Ring.
“Leave me a few,” Yang Kai stared at her with a depressed expression.
“What do you want them for?” Yang Yan snorted as her small hand covered her Space Ring, hiding it from view.
“Cultivation. You can see what these things are formed from, right? I just finished breaking through so using these things will help better consolidate my realm,” Yang Kai said while his face twitched slightly.
“Of course I can see what this is! These things should have been condensed by Xiao Xiao, right?” Yang Yan picked up the Stone Puppet and kissed it repeatedly, causing Yang Kai to wear a dumbfounded look while the Stone Puppet wore a helpless one.
“I didn’t expect that Xiao Xiao could even purify and compress Saint Crystals. This is perfect! One of the worries I had has been solved, hehe!” Yang Yan stared at the Stone Puppet with her beautiful eyes, seemingly wishing she could kiss it a few more times.
“Can Stone Puppets even purify and compress Saint Crystals? Did you know about this before?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Yang Yan shook her head, “I tried before, but Xiao Xiao didn’t have this ability then. Stone Puppets have an innate ability to absorb and temper various ores and mineral essences, refining them into their bodies to strengthen themselves. Xiao Xiao being able to do this now might have something to do with it absorbing some of the Sun’s True Essence, although I’m not completely sure.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai gently nodded, the Sun’s True Essence was said to be the source essence extracted from a Sun Star. The Stone Puppet had refined a little Sun’s True Fire, so it wasn’t surprising that its abilities had undergone some changes.
However, being able to purify and compress Saint Crystals, transforming their essence into the shape of a ball was quite a sensational development.
Throughout the Star Field, the highest quality Saint Crystal known so far was High-Rank Saint Crystal, but the existence of this sphere completely went against that norm, creating a brand-new precedent.
The energy contained in this sphere was both denser and purer than an equivalent-sized piece of High-Rank Saint Crystal. Yang Kai had only absorbed a small part of it, but he estimated that the energy contained inside this sphere was five to six times greater than High-Rank Saint Crystal.
That was not to say that the value of this sphere was only that of five or six High-Rank Saint Crystals of equivalent size; in fact, its value was far greater than this.
In theory, the exchange ratio between High-Rank Saint Crystal, Mid-Rank Saint Crystal, and Low-Rank Saint Crystal was one to ten, but every cultivator knew that in truth, the higher the rank of Saint Crystal, the greater its value was.
With higher quality Saint Crystals, a cultivator would be better able to impact their bottlenecks, restore their Saint Qi, or restore themselves while meditating. At a critical moment, such an advantage may even mean the difference between life and death.
Although the energy contained in this sphere was only equivalent to the sum of five or six High-Rank Saint Crystals of equal size, if it were to be circulated in large quantities, it would likely be valued at ten or even twenty High-Rank Saint Crystals.
Of course, that was only assuming a massive amount of them entered the market. If this sphere were to be auctioned off as a single treasure, it could likely sell for 100,000 High-Rank Saint Crystals or more.
After all, rare things were always more expensive.
Of course, Yang Kai didn’t have any intention of releasing these things into the market. From Yang Yan’s reaction just now, this Saint Crystal sphere which had unintentionally been compressed by the Stone Puppet was of great use to her.
Most likely, this was related to whatever secret project she had been working on. Yang Kai did not ask any questions though. Since Yang Yan had said she wanted to give him a surprise, he decided to patiently wait until she was ready to reveal it to him.
After confirming that these spheres were something the Stone Puppet had created after refining the Sun’s True Fire, Yang Kai set the matter aside and asked Yang Yan about Qian Yue. Apparently, since coming here, Qian Yue had quickly gotten close to the other residents and Wu Yi had provided her with a lot of cultivation resources and a good cultivation environment. Right now, she was also in secluded retreat.
After about the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, Yang Yan happily walked out of Yang Kai’s cave mansion, taking with her not only the strange Saint Crystal spheres and all of the various ores, but even the Stone Puppet as well.
According to her, even if Yang Kai had not called her over, she would have come looking for him to ask for the Stone Puppet’s help. With the Stone Puppet beside her, the efficiency of her Artifact Refining would greatly increase, which was essential to bringing her grand plan to fruition.
After Yang Yan left, Yang Kai opened the cave mansion barrier again while touching the special Space Ring Yang Yan had refined for him with a smile on his face. There were only two things inside this ring, the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal and the Sun’s True Essence; however, these two things were without a doubt the most valuable and precious treasures he had obtained on this trip. If any news were to leak of their existence, it would create a stir across all of Shadowed Star.
Pondering for a while, Yang Kai’s expression became dignified as he took out a certain ancient book.
This ancient book had also been obtained from the Corpse Cave and had once belonged to the Ancient Yang Sect. At first, there were too many of these ancient books and Yang Kai did not have time to investigate them carefully. Later, while Yang Yan was refining the special Space Ring to store the Sun’s True Essence, Yang Kai casually browsed through these ancient books and this one in particular had caught his attention.
Because this ancient book was not some ordinary Secret Art, but rather one that was specifically for Body Tempering.
Yang Kai’s physical body was already much stronger than average cultivators in the same realm, but this was a result of various opportunities he had come across over the years rather than intentional cultivation. Secret Arts specifically for Body Tempering and Soul Cultivation were extremely rare, and even if some were occasionally widely circulated outside, they were generally trash that couldn’t enter the eyes of truly powerful masters. Yang Kai naturally looked down on these generic methods as well.
Yang Kai had never expected that in the underground Corpse Cave of the Ancient Yang Sect he would obtain this Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art.
When Yang Kai first saw it, he thought that this Secret Book was an art related to swordsmanship, but after careful investigation, he learned it was actually a Body Tempering Secret Art.
Yang Kai had a rough understanding of this Secret Art from the last time he browsed through and knew it was extremely profound and mysterious. If this Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art worked as described, once someone cultivated it to the extreme, they would be able to obtain a near immortal and indestructible physique; moreover, even at the minor accomplishment stage, one would be able to use their vitality and Blood Qi to condense Five Elements Profound Heavenly Sword Qi, which had incredible offensive and defensive power.
Reading about this Secret Art’s possibilities made Yang Kai excited, but the requirements to cultivate it were also extremely high.
The physical strength of anyone who wished to cultivate this Secret Art had to already be at least twice as high as an average cultivator in the same realm just to withstand the pain involved in the tempering process. This condition was no problem for Yang Kai.
Secondly, one needed to possess extremely strong vitality because cultivating this Secret Art would cause a great deal of harm to oneself. If one did not possess tenacious vitality, not only would they fail to cultivate this Secret Art, they may end up losing their life in the process. Yang Kai felt that this requirement would also not be an issue for him. Although he did not dare claim he had the strongest vitality of any cultivator in the Star Field, with the astonishing restorative power of his Golden Blood, he was confident that only a few people could surpass him in this aspect.
Thirdly, to cultivate the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art, one needed to obtain extremely high-rank precious treasures from the five basic elements. By absorbing and refining the energy contained in these precious treasures, they would continuously temper their flesh and wash their marrow. After many years of repeated accumulation, one would eventually reach the pinnacle of the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art.
What kind of precious treasures were required was only vaguely described in the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art’s ancient book, but essentially, the minimum requirement would be something equivalent to a Tenth-Order Monster Beast’s Monster Core.
This requirement alone basically made it impossible for anyone on Shadowed Star to cultivate this Secret Art; after all, Tenth-Order Monster Beasts were equivalent to Origin King Realm masters, and there were no such things on Shadowed Star.
Yang Kai currently had two treasures he was certain met these criteria: The Sun’s True Essence and the Profound Yin Sunflower Water. The Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal also met the appropriate conditions, but if he were to really begin cultivating this Secret Art, Yang Kai wasn’t prepared to use the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal as he had other important uses for it.
In addition to the Fire and Water Attribute treasures, Yang Kai also had the Bird Wood, which might satisfy the Wood Attribute treasure.
This Bird Wood was something Yang Kai obtained before arriving on Shadowed Star and was formed from the corpse of a Tenth-Order Thunder Luan Monster Beast. It should be no worse than the Monster Core of a Tenth-Order Monster Beast in value.
As for where he could find appropriate Earth and Metal Attribute treasures, Yang Kai temporarily had no ideas.
However, he wasn’t in a hurry; after all, even if he did manage to gather treasures from all five elements, he didn’t have time to dedicate to cultivating this Body Tempering Secret Art. Right now, Yang Kai had to cultivate his Space Blade and Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique, refine the Dragon Bone and Dragon Bead, and find a way to refine the Coloured Glass Bead.
The Golden Blood Thread was of particular importance to Yang Kai after he learned that it was capable of cutting through Shi. Yang Kai’s evaluation of this Demon Blood Temple Secret Technique had risen dramatically after he discovered this and he couldn’t help praising its creator for their ingenuity once more.
Currently, he had only cultivated a single Golden Blood Thread, and even that had yet to reach the grand accomplishment stage. Yang Kai wanted to cultivate more Golden Blood Threads, but he had no idea how much time that would take. For these reasons, even though Yang Kai was extremely interested in this Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art, he didn’t immediately begin cultivating it, planning to wait until he collected all the required treasures first.
Of course, studying and comprehending this Secret Art wasn’t an issue as doing so would allow him to gain twice the result with half the effort once he did begin cultivating it.
After silently making up his mind, Yang Kai temporarily stored the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art back into his Space Ring before clearing his head of distractions and beginning to absorb the Soul remnant left behind by Manager Wang.
This was the first Origin Returning Realm Soul remnant that Yang Kai had absorbed, so naturally, he was quite prudent and careful with it, refining it slowly to ensure he didn’t miss anything.
After three days, the Soul remnant of the old man surnamed Wang was completely refined and Yang Kai opened his eyes to reveal a thoughtful look.
Although Manager Wang’s cultivation wasn’t very high, he had spent many years in the First-Order Origin Returning Realm and had his own unique insights into Shi. Now, these insights had become Yang Kai’s and through this refinement, he had gained a small understanding of Shi.
An understanding was one thing, but Yang Kai realized even more now that if he wanted to try to cultivate Shi, it would be almost impossible unless he broke through to the Origin Returning Realm. However, if he were to face an Origin Returning Realm master again, Yang Kai would now be able to use his understanding of Shi to bolster his resistance to it, so it wasn’t like he hadn’t obtained any immediate benefits at all.
Yang Kai believed that as long as he killed more Origin Returning Realm masters in the future, his comprehension of Shi would continue to increase, allowing many grains of sand to become a tall tower and ultimately reach a height greater than anyone else.
Regarding the process of breaking through, only when an Origin Returning Realm master cultivated their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage would they have a chance to break through to the Origin King Realm, but on Shadowed Star, no person was able to achieve this, so no Origin King Realm masters currently existed here.
The World Principles of Shadowed Star suppressed all the Origin Realm masters’ understanding of Shi. Yang Kai had yet to reach this level but even so, it was impossible for him to remain trapped on Shadowed Star forever. If he really reached the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, Yang Kai would find a way to leave Shadowed Star, escape the suppression of its World Principles, and break through to the Origin King Realm in the outside world.
It was too early to be worried about such things, however, so Yang Kai quickly focused his mind and took out the Coloured Glass Bead Dai Yuan had given him, holding it in his palm before silently pouring his Saint Qi into it, attempting to refine it.
After maintaining this process for some time, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face. Immediately increasing the output of his Saint Qi, a faint multi-coloured light began leaking from the Coloured Glass Bead into Yang Kai’s body, and under his guidance, it began gathering in his left eye.
This Coloured Glass Bead was equivalent to a Monster Beast’s Monster Core, so Yang Kai had thought that refining it and absorbing the energy from a Monster Beast’s Monster Core would be the same. Therefore, he had tried to use this kind of direct method and, to his surprise, it seemed this method was not only effective, but also quite easy to implement.
This made him overjoyed.
No longer holding back, Yang Kai slowly began to refine this Coloured Glass Bead while continuing to cultivate the Golden Blood Threads inside his body at the same time.
Time flew by and soon it had been two months.
This day, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and glanced down at his empty palm, furrowing his brow.
After two months of absorption, the Coloured Glass Bead Dai Yuan had given him was finally consumed clean and no longer existed. However, although this Coloured Glass Bead’s essence had been absorbed into his body, it would still take some time for Yang Kai to completely refine it. Now, in his Knowledge Sea, the gorgeous glowing light comprised of the Coloured Glass Divine Light contained inside the Coloured Glass Bead was suspended close to the Demon Eye of Annihilation.
However, Yang Kai felt that it was going to take quite some time to fuse this Coloured Glass Divine Light with his Demon Eye of Annihilation, something that slightly differed from his expectations, causing him to feel a bit unhappy.
After all, according to his previous predictions, the Demon Eye of Annihilation and the Coloured Glass Divine Light shared many similarities. So, in theory, they should have easily integrated, but now it appeared that his thinking had been too naive.
But such a possibility wasn’t beyond Yang Kai’s expectations, and as long as there was enough time, the Coloured Glass Divine Light and his Demon Eye of Annihilation could be successfully combined, the only difference now was how long it would take.
Putting this matter aside temporarily, Yang Kai waved his hand casually and two Golden Threads appeared from it.
One of these Golden Threads radiated a brilliant golden light and seemed capable of cutting space itself with unstoppable might. The other Golden Thread was obviously inferior to the first, with not only its coloured being dimmer but the power contained within it also being weaker.
This Golden Thread was the second one Yang Kai had condensed.
When a Demon Blood Temple cultivator cultivated this Secret Technique, even if they spent their entire life they may not have been able to create two Demon Blood Threads because the foundation of this technique was their own vitality. Everyone had a limited amount of vitality and using it excessively endangered their life. In Demon Blood Temple, only Elder-level characters whose strength had reached the Second or Third-Order Origin Returning Realm were capable of cultivating two or three Demon Blood Threads, while those below the Origin Realm would never have more than one.
Even so, these Elders were only able to cultivate multiple Demon Blood Threads after consuming numerous elixirs to nourish their vitality, otherwise, once they used too much of their vital energy they would die.
However, Yang Kai was different as there were several dozen drops of Golden Blood in his body. One drop of Golden Blood could be converted into a Golden Blood Thread, and he could increase the amount of Golden Blood in his veins infinitely. In theory, Yang Kai could condense countless Golden Blood Threads, which was also why he dedicated so much time and effort to this Secret Technique. It was simply tailor-made for him.
More than a month ago, he felt that his first Golden Thread had been cultivated as far as it could be.
It wasn’t that this Golden Thread was refined to its peak though. Because he had only obtained the first half of the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique, Yang Kai simply didn’t know how to continue enhancing this Golden Thread.
With no other choice, Yang Kai began to cultivate this second thread.
With his previous experience, this second Golden Thread took shape much faster than the first and Yang Kai was certain he could bring it to its limit much faster as well.
Also, while cultivating the second Golden Thread, Yang Kai faintly realized something.
He felt that this Secret Technique wasn’t as simple as he first thought. If he had enough Golden Threads, he may be able to combine them to take on new forms and functions, but none of these were introduced in the first half of the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique, so Yang Kai could only speculate that they were hidden in the second half!
After cultivating his Golden Threads to their limit, Yang Kai had no idea how to continue enhancing them or how to combine or manipulate them, so everything right now was only his own speculation. It seemed that if there was a chance in the future, he would have to pay Demon Blood Temple a visit. Only by obtaining the second half of the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique could he continue enhancing his Golden Blood Threads.
During this retreat Yang Kai had gained a lot and, after calculating how much time he had been in seclusion, he decided it was time to go out.
He remembered Yang Yan saying that she would require his power to complete whatever project she was working on last time, but he couldn’t tell if that time had come yet. Since he had been in retreat all this time, Yang Yan had definitely not considered disturbing him.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai took another look at the Red Candle Fruit piece to make sure it showed no signs of withering under the nourishing of the Red Candle Stalk before opening the cave mansion’s barrier and leaving.
The World Energy aura on Dragon Cave Mountain seemed to have become a bit richer than before, but this was only to be expected as there weren’t very many cultivators living here and their respective cultivations weren’t high. Because of this, the World Energy which was drawn to Dragon Cave Mountain by the Aura Gathering Array would only grow in richness, unlike in big Sects where thousands of disciples would continuously consume it. In such Sects, even if they had high-quality Earth Veins providing a constant stream of World Energy, maintaining a balance was the best they could do.
Dragon Cave Mountain was peaceful and quiet, and as Yang Kai swept his eyes around, he was unable to see anyone at all. This wasn’t a surprise though. Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai quickly found where Yang Yan and the others were.
But what puzzled Yang Kai was that all those who had any authority on Dragon Cave Mountain were gathered together, as if they were discussing something important.
With a slight smile, Yang Kai wandered over to a bamboo tower where these few people were gathered, but before he arrived he heard Hao An’s voice call out, “They’re going too far! They were the ones who set the price in the first place, so why is this happening now?”
Immediately, Chang Qi responded in a calming tone, “Okay, okay! Old Hao, sit down first. The young ones are all sitting calmly, so why are you getting all excited for?”
“Foreign Elder Chang, what do you think of this?” Wu Yi asked.
“Hmph, this situation is clearly a little strange!” Chang Qi replied with a sneer, “Our cooperation with Shadow Moon Hall isn’t something recent. Over the past two years, the number of materials we have purchased from them can be considered to be astonishing, worth in excess of two hundred million Saint Crystals. We’ve always negotiated in good faith and paid in full, but now they are suddenly saying the cost of materials has increased! There’s definitely something more to this than meets the eye.”
“Exactly! Not only that, they even detained Yu Feng, which is also truly unusual,” Hao An seemed to have calmed down and agreed with him.
“On top of that, I noticed another strange matter,” Wu Yi said pensively deeply.
“Oh, what?”
“For the past three months, many of the shopkeepers and shop hands belonging to Shadow Moon Hall in Heavenly Fate City have been replaced and the people we’re all familiar with have completely disappeared. I cannot even find Luo Qing anymore.”
Inside the bamboo tower, the group of people looked around at each other as they suddenly realized that something big must have changed inside Shadow Moon Hall.
Amidst the crowd’s rising suspicions, the main door of the bamboo tower opened, and a single person stepped in.
After an initial period of shock, everyone stood up, having recognized the person who entered. Wu Yi said in joy, “Yang Kai, you came out of seclusion?”
“Mhm,” Yang Kai nodded. Looking around the crowd, his gaze finally settled onto Qian Yue. She was looking much better than when Yang Kai saw her at the Joyous Union Pavillion, a reassuring sign that she was rather happy with her life here.
Off to the side, Chang Qi and Hao An exchanged a glance, a look of awe flashing across their eyes. Both of them made a fist palm salute at the same time. “Congratulations, Nephew Yang, for reaching Third-Order Saint King. Your rate of cultivation is unmatched within the entire Shadowed Star.”
When they went to the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Yang Kai was a mere First-Order Saint King. By the time they made it out of there, he had reached the Second-Order, and now he was already a Third-Order, all within a period of two to three years. This left the duo with not just a sense of awe, but also a slight feeling of inferiority. Compared to Yang Kai’s cultivation speed, they were mediocre at best.
“You flatter me, Foreign Elders. Luck played no small role in getting me to where I am today. Compared to the true geniuses, this is nothing.” Yang Kai smiled humbly before changing the topic, “That aside, I heard you discussing Shadow Moon Hall and mentioning something about Yu Feng being detained? I want to hear more about this.”
Hearing Yang Kai’s questions, everyone exchanged glances, allowing Wu Yi to take up the role of explaining the situation to Yang Kai.
Listening to her explanations, Yang Kai finally found out about the unfavourable occurrences which had taken place in Heavenly Fate City regarding the order of goods Dragon Cave Mountain had made from the Shadow Moon Hall a month ago.
A few days ago, Yu Feng led cultivators from the Hai Ke Family to Heavenly Fate City to pick up the goods, only to find that they refused to honour the previous terms of exchange, instead raising the price of the goods by more than a good thirty percent.
Such a price was obviously unacceptable, and Yu Feng immediately went to reason with Shadow Moon Hall’s person-in-charge stationed there. However, they refused to back down a single inch. Exasperated, Yu Feng then requested them to return the initial deposit. After all, they were the ones who went back on the contract, and Yu Feng thought that they should at least get the deposit back even if they were not going to purchase the goods.
Nobody expected even that request to be refused. Not only that, they decided to resort to force to settle the conflict, resulting in Yu Feng and the other four disciples being injured.
Obviously, Yu Feng’s group wouldn’t simply sit there and allow themselves to be beaten up, so they returned a few blows, damaging some of the shelves within the shop. They were immediately captured by an Origin Returning Realm master, detained, and stripped of all of the Saint Crystals which they were preparing to use for the exchange.
Only a single disciple was allowed to return to let Dragon Cave Mountain know that they had to prepare a large amount of Saint Crystals as ransom.
Otherwise, Wu Yi and the rest wouldn’t have known about the details either.
Having listened to the explanation, Yang Kai remained calm and expressionless, speaking only after a moment of thought, “Their lives are not in danger, right?”
“According to the disciple who returned, their injuries are not light, but not that serious either. They should be fine after a few days of recuperation.”
“Hm, that’s good,” Yang Kai nodded, directing his next question to the crowd, “What do you think is the problem here?”
“What’s the problem?” Wu Yi looked bewildered. Then she retorted, “Everything’s a problem! We have been working with the Shadow Moon Hall for so long without facing a single issue. We pay the Saint Crystals, they sell us the materials and we all mutually benefit. In the last few years, we seem to have already become the largest buyers of Shadow Moon Hall. Normally, they should be trying to maintain our interest instead of causing rifts like this. Not to mention, they wouldn’t have the courage to do so in the first place. I suspect there’s someone behind the scenes giving the orders.”
“I think so too!” Chang Qi agreed, “Dragon Cave Mountain doesn’t have a strong establishment, only plenty of resources. The precious stone lands its innocent possessor in jail. Perhaps Shadow Moon Hall is no longer willing to continue trading with us periodically and instead wishes to take everything that we have in one go?”
“You suspect this is the work of Qian Tong?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes.
“It’s not impossible,” Wu Yi nodded.
“The possibility is there, but I don’t think this has anything to do with him,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly. Out of everyone here, he’d interacted with Qian Tong the most. Regardless of his inherent character, Qian Tong wouldn’t turn against Yang Kai, especially considering his relation with Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, and how he saved them in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
“I heard you saying that three months ago, all the Shadow Moon Hall’s stores at the Heavenly Fate City replaced all their store owners and employees? Is that true?” Yang Kai asked again.
“Yes, that’s right,” Wu Yi nodded immediately, “I often go to Heavenly Fate City, so I’m quite confident about this.”
“In the last six months, did anything peculiar or significant happen at the Shadow Moon Hall?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows.
“If we’re talking about peculiar things, nothing happened at the Shadow Moon Hall, but there’s something going on here. In recent months, a few unfamiliar faces appeared around Dragon Cave Mountain. At first, they were just loitering around the area, but then some of them started trying to breach into our territory. They were caught in the Spirit Array, and all of them said that it was an accident when we questioned them. We decided to release them after a warning since none of them had high cultivation. As for significant things… well, there was one.”
“What?” Yang Kai’s expression grew serious.
“Grandmaster Ge Lin passed away!” Wu Yi lowered her voice.
“Grandmaster Ge Lin?” Yang Kai thought for a while before realizing, “the Low-Rank Origin Grade Artifact Refiner of Shadow Moon Hall?”
“That’s him. This happened half a year ago. According to rumours, Grandmaster Ge Lin had lost a lot of vitality right after repairing an artifact for Shadow Moon Hall, so much so that he hadn’t refined a single artifact these past few years. But what does that have to do with us?”
“I don’t know about the exact details, but there might be some connection,” Yang Kai pondered, “I heard from Qian Tong that he was on very good terms with Grandmaster Ge Lin once.”
Wu Yi thought for a moment, “You’re saying that Grandmaster Ge Lin’s passing affected Elder Qian Tong, and since he’s the one who’s been looking out for us, we’re being affected too?”
Yang Kai grinned, “It’s just my guess. It could also be Qian Tong turning on us, but if it really has something to do with Shadow Moon Hall’s internal strife, we should try not to get dragged into the situation.”
“That’s right. We definitely can’t mess with the matters of Shadow Moon Hall,” Wu Yi immediately became more cautious. She hadn’t thought about this this deep before, but with Yang Kai’s help, she was starting to see the underlying issue.
“Any news from Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er?” Yang Kai asked.
Wu Yi shook her head, “All that Shadow Moon Hall said was that they were secluding themselves to break through to the Origin Returning Realm, nothing else.”
“Understandable. Forget it, it’s not good to depend on others anyway. I’ll make a trip to get Yu Feng back. Saint Crystals aside, the people are what’s important.”
“That’s a whole twenty million Saint Crystals gone!” the expression of pain was clearly written on Wu Yi’s face, “So what’s your plan?”
“If they’re not going to be nice, then I’m not going to be nice either. Otherwise, they’ll really think that Dragon Cave Mountain is an easy target,” Yang Kai said coldly.
Wu Yi stared at him, dumbfounded.
Yang Kai merely smiled and waved away her concerns, “If it really is due to internal strife, we have nothing to worry about. They don’t have the time to divert any attention onto us, so there probably aren’t any masters there. Plus, I myself really want to know exactly who is showing such malicious intent towards our Dragon Cave Mountain! What better way to find out than to personally make a trip there?”
“This elder will accompany you!” Chang Qi stood up.
Hao An said, “So will this elder! Even though my and Old Man Chang’s cultivations are nothing special, we’re still Origin Returning cultivators. Ever since we broke through, we haven’t had a single fight yet. This is the perfect opportunity to test our strength.
The two elders looked at each other and smiled.
Yang Kai thought this over before replying, “Alright, then I’m counting on you two Foreign Elders. The rest of you, however, should stay here.”
“Okay, be careful,” Wu Yi warned.
With that settled, Yang Kai exited the bamboo tower with Chang Qi and Hao An, took out his Star Shuttle, and headed straight for Heavenly Fate City.
At Heavenly Fate City, in a room within the inner garden of a store called the Gathering Source Hall, Yu Feng and the rest were tied up. All of them had bruises all over, and not a single strand of Saint Qi could be detected in their bodies. Clearly, they had all been restricted by a strong barrier.
They had been lined up in a single row and forced to kneel on the floor.
In front of them was a malicious looking old man with white hair sitting on a chair of sandalwood and holding a purple teapot in his hands. His eyes were half-closed, as if asleep, but the occasional sparkle of ferocity which could be seen in his eyes proved that he was wide awake.
“Speak. I want to know a safe way into Dragon Cave Mountain. Speak and I will allow you to leave, so you no longer have to suffer.” Beside the old man stood a fierce-looking brute, toying with a long whip with the thickness of three fingers in his hands as he spoke.
“Ptui!” Yu Feng’s reply was a glob of spit mixed with some blood aimed right at the brute’s face, “You want information from me? Dream on! I’d die before handing any information over to you despicable lot!”
The brute stayed still, allowing the glob of spit to run down his face. He smiled viciously, and the whip in his hands suddenly moved, swishing through the air and landing on Yu Feng’s face.
Coupled with a resounding crack, the right side of Yu Feng’s face tore open and a piece of mutilated meat flew out amidst the bloodshed. Yu Feng’s whole body was shaken by the force of the blow, nearly causing him to fall over. However, he quickly straightened back up, roaring with a fierce look in his eyes, “Come on! You can beat me to death today, and you still won’t get anything out of me! Just wait till you rush into Dragon Cave Mountain and get ripped to pieces by the thousands of Spirit Arrays there. Hahahahaha!”
The arrogant laughter caused a look of annoyance to show on the brute’s face, and even the old man seated on the chair was starting to lose his patience.
The old man was a First-Order Origin Returning cultivator. If it weren’t for certain concerns he had, he would have saved himself all this trouble by reading the information from Yu Feng’s mind using a Soul Search.
However, because of said concerns, the old man didn’t dare to kill off anyone just yet. Furthermore, using a Soul Search was exhausting and did not guarantee that one will get the exact piece of information that one is looking for. These factors combined were why he was resorting to these simple methods of interrogation instead.
Seeing how stubborn Yu Feng was, the malicious-looking brute laughed, “Good, good! I like people with guts! You can withstand this torture, but what about them? I’d like to see if everyone is as tough as you are!”
He looked towards the second person, asking the same question as before.
The reply was another glob of bloody spit.
Once again, the whip lashed out, sending the disciple from the Hai Ke Family spinning into the air. He landed heavily on the ground and stayed there for a long while.
Following this, he turned towards the third person, furious to the extreme. He roared, “Make this easy for yourself and give it up! Or else you’ll get what’s coming to you!”
The third Hai Ke Family disciple raised his head and looked him in the eye, expression cold. He had the lowest cultivation out of everyone here, a mere First-Order Saint. With his Saint Qi sealed, a single strike from the whip could mean half a month in bed.
Yu Feng opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but the disciple cut him off, “Don’t worry, Brother Feng. We haven’t spent that much time at Dragon Cave Mountain, but we have all received great benefits. We won’t be ungrateful traitors. To hell with Shadow Moon Hall. Have they got the means to improve the cultivation of so many people by one or two Minor Realms in such a short period of time?”
“Exactly!” Yu Feng felt a swell of pride and nodded. The disciple was right. The fifty or so Hai Ke Family disciples who separated from the family under the leadership of Wu Yi to join the Dragon Cave Mountain had no worries regarding cultivation resources these past two to three years. They were given an endless supply of various pills and medications and each received at least one or two artifacts, all of which were Saint King Grade. This was infinitely better than what they could have gotten back in the Hai Ke Family.
It can be said that every Hai Ke Family disciple had recognised Dragon Cave Mountain as their home, resulting in a strong sense of belonging.
By now, the brute understood that he was wasting his breath with these questions, and simply raised the whip. Just as he was about to unleash a strike, the old man on the chair suddenly opened his half-closed eyes and turned to look outside.
Boom…
A loud noise was accompanied by several violent pulses of Saint Qi. There appeared to be a fight going on outside, but everything died down after a few cries of shock and agony.
“Who dares trespass the Gathering Source Hall!” The old man’s expression stiffened as he rose from his seat and turned to head out. However, he let out a strange cry midair, flying backwards as if he had suffered a serious injury.
A burst of white light followed after him, landing in the room and heading towards the old man with a tremendous aura.
Shocked, the old man immediately took out a defensive artifact in the shape of a small shield, placing it in front of himself.
A huge blast rang out, causing the old man to stumble back several steps before he was able to disperse the immense force. Looking down at his shield, he couldn’t help but wince.
A small flicker of jet-black flame was burning on this Low-Rank Origin Grade Artifact, and its blazing heat was starting to cause the shield to melt.
This sight frightened him greatly. Had he touched this flame just now, he would have suffered a fatal injury even if he didn’t outright die.
Before he could react, two gusts of Shi descended from the sky, enveloping the whole room. He raised his head and saw the imposing figure of a youth clad in a chilling aura entering the room.
Behind the youth were two old people, both who were First-Order Origin Returning cultivators. The two gusts of Shi from earlier were clearly their doing.
The old man’s eyes widened, knowing that the situation had become unfavourable for him. As a lone First-Order Origin Returning cultivator, there was no way he could handle two other cultivators of the same Realm by himself. Realising this, he immediately took out an item from his Space Ring and crushed it, secretly breathing a sigh of relief as he successfully did so.
“Yang Kai! Foreign Elder Chang, Foreign Elder Hao!” Yu Feng and the rest exclaimed in joy when they saw the intruders.
Yang Kai took a quick look across the room, eyes narrowing as he saw the grievous injuries on several of the detained individuals. Murderous intent welled up within him. He could tell how serious the injuries were, and how they had caused their vitalities to deplete almost to the extent of damaging their foundations. Right now, a few pills and a few days of recuperation could still heal them, but had he come out of seclusion a day or two later, their cultivations would undoubtedly have fallen.
“You’re Yang Kai?” the old man stared at him in shock after hearing their words.
Yang Kai glanced at him, showing no interest in answering his question. Instead, he signalled towards Chang Qi.
Chang Qi immediately walked up, condensing Saint Qi onto his fingertips like knives, cutting Yu Feng and the rest out of their bondage. He then checked the restrictive barrier that was placed within their bodies and furrowed his brows.
Although this was merely the work of a fellow First-Order Origin Returning cultivator, it would still take him two to four hours to undo it. Now was clearly not the best time for that.
He brought Yu Feng and the rest back to Yang Kai’s side, and communicated the situation to him in a hushed voice before standing down.
Yang Kai nodded, then looked towards the old man. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “You sound like you already know me?”
“Hmph! So what?” the old man grunted.
Yang Kai smirked, then asked, “Is your surname Xie?”
The old man’s expression changed immediately to one of extreme shock, “How do you know?”
“I knew it!” Yang Kai nodded, a look of understanding spreading across his face. He had guessed it earlier when talking with Wu Yi and the rest about the situation. If there really was internal strife in Shadow Moon Hall, the Dragon Cave Mountain shouldn’t have been affected to this much of an extent.
After all, Dragon Cave Mountain was a major customer, meaning that there’s nothing but benefit in cooperating with them. No one would make an enemy of them without any reason like this.
Yang Kai instinctively felt that anyone who would stand against Dragon Cave Mountain so brazenly must be someone with a grievance against him. That, together with the criteria of being related to Shadow Moon Hall, narrowed the choices down to a single one: the Xie Family.
Xie Hong Wen had been a disciple of Shadow Moon Hall, while his father, Xie Li, was a Deacon. His status was not as high as Qian Tong, but it did give him some degree of power.
The Xie Family was a faction independent from Shadow Moon Hall, but these two definitely shared some connections.
As for why they would antagonize Yang Kai, there were two reasons. Firstly, out of suspicion that Xie Hong Wen’s death had something to do with him. After all, Xie Hong Wen died in the Flowing Flame Sand Field after a Shadow Moon Hall disciple told him about Yang Kai’s location there, which was enough for the Xie Family to believe that Yang Kai had something to do with his death. They probably refrained from causing Yang Kai trouble so far because they were apprehensive of Qian Tong and that Origin Grade Artifact Refiner.
Secondly, they probably wanted to take this chance to test the waters with Qian Tong!
If Qian Tong still had the time to look after Dragon Cave Mountain, he would have long since done so. It would, therefore, seem that he wasn’t in a favourable situation either.
Yang Kai quickly deduced the possible state of affairs based on his own assumptions. Even though he couldn’t be completely certain whether that was the truth just yet, it shouldn’t be far off. He just had to ask around a little afterwards to make sure.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s mood improved slightly. As long as it wasn’t Qian Tong acting against him, it was fine. Moreover, since the Xie Family was the main mastermind, it must mean that the strife in Shadow Moon Hall was quite serious. Not only was Qian Tong occupied, but his opponent also didn’t have the time to care about this either.
In that case, Yang Kai had no more concerns. The current Dragon Cave Mountain had no problem handling a mere Xie Family. If they came at him, he would give them a reason to be sorry.
“I am Xie Quan!” The old man realised his slip-up and stopped trying to hide it altogether. He laughed coldly, “You’re quite bold for daring to destroy the Gathering Source Hall even after knowing that I’m from the Xie Family!”
“Xie Family… Hehe…” Yang Kai laughed for a while. Stroking his chin, he asked Yu Feng, “Who beat you up?”
Yu Feng looked stunned for a while, before pointing at the brute behind Xie Quan.
Yang Kai nodded, face twisting into a rage. He flicked his wrist, sending a thin golden thread flying straight at the brute.
Xie Quan’s expression changed, and he exclaimed, “How insolent!”
At the same time, a wave of Shi burst from his body, and he sent several bursts of energy towards the golden thread with flicks of his fingers.
He thought that it would be easy to disperse the attack of a Third-Order Saint King. In fact, releasing his Shi was beyond necessary.
However, his eyes grew wide in shock the next moment. The golden thread tore his Shi to shreds, nullifying the bursts of energy completely.
That’s when he understood that he had underestimated his opponent. He hurriedly took out an artifact in the shape of a top. As it spun, wave after wave of light rays shot out from it, forming a protective layer in front of the brute in the blink of an eye.
As an Origin Returning cultivator, it would be too shameful to allow Yang Kai to capture someone right in front of him.
However, yet another shocking scene unfolded. The protective shield was not able to stop the advance of the golden thread, shattering to pieces as it made contact. In the next moment, the brute shouted in surprise as he was pulled towards Yang Kai with immense force.
“Put him down!” Xie Quan’s face was fuming red. Channelling the Saint Qi within his body, he struck his palm towards Yang Kai, materializing a gigantic palm print in the process, as if trying to flatten Yang Kai completely.
Yang Kai laughed coldly and pushed his own palm forward.
Another gigantic palm print materialized, meeting Xie Quan’s own head on. Not only did it swallow Xie Quan’s palm print entirely, it advanced towards Xie Quan with an intensity that seemed to cover Heaven and Earth.
Xie Quan’s eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. Never had he thought that a Third-Order Saint King could face him head-on, not to mention gain the upper hand in the process!
In a flash, the brute had been captured and brought to Yang Kai’s side, his eyes wide in an expression of horror.
As a Third-Order Saint King, it was terrifying how powerless he was in front of this youth who was at the same cultivation level as him. Only now did he remember to try and resist, but just as he was gathering up his Saint Qi, Yang Kai tapped lightly on his shoulder, causing the brute to turn pale and let out a grunt, the energy he was trying to summon dispersing all over again.
Following that, Yang Kai sent him flying in front of Yu Feng and the rest with a single kick. He grabbed the whip from him and threw it over to Yu Feng, speaking coldly, “Take revenge for your grudges!”
Yu Feng caught the thick whip, looking stunned for a moment before regaining his bearings. He exchanged a glance with the fellow detainees who had been beaten and surrounded the brute while grinning maliciously.
The next moment, the brute’s pitiful cries of pain rang out amidst the sounds of kicks and punches and the cracks of the whip.
Xie Quan’s face was dark with anger while eyes shining with a fierce glow, as if looking for prey to release his anger upon. He looked at Yang Kai, “Youths are reckless indeed. Good, I shall see how long you can maintain that arrogance!”
As he said that, he waved his hand. All of a sudden, numerous figures started appearing from all around the place. There were at least several dozen of them, and they surrounded the now decimated Gathering Source Hall, glaring at Yang Kai’s group with animosity. Although there were no Origin Returning Realm cultivators amidst the group, the large number was enough to cause Chang Qi and Hao An to feel uneasy.
Not only that, but many people from all around Heavenly Fate City were starting to fly towards them, and there was no lack of Origin Returning cultivators amongst those.
In a mere moment, the situation had flipped. Where Yang Kai’s side originally had a slight advantage, it was now completely lost in terms of both numbers and cultivation.
Chang Qi scanned his surroundings, his expression growing sombre as he did. There were seven to eight Origin Returning cultivators here, and they were all reinforcements Xie Quan had called. Reinforcements were within expectations. After all, they were heading deep into the enemy camp with this trip, and it would be impossible to expect there to be no backup. However, the scale of it was completely unexpected.
He stole a glance at Yang Kai, only to find him looking calm and composed as always. This surprised Chang Qi a little but also gave him a bit of confidence. Surely, Yang Kai had some kind of trump card hidden away.
“Brother Xie, is this the brat who destroyed the Gathering Source Hall?” one of the newcomers was an old man sporting a goatee, and he asked this question coldly while staring at Yang Kai after exchanging quick greetings with Xie Quan.
Xie Quan made a fist palm salute, saying, “Regretfully so. I didn’t expect there to be two Origin Returning cultivators with him, and I alone was no match and could not protect this place. I will apologize to Shadow Moon Hall after this.”
The goateed old man laughed and waved his hand in dismissal, “Don’t take this too seriously, brother Xie. With such a grand scale of the enterprise, our Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t care so much about the destruction of a mere Gathering Source Hall. More importantly, your junior looks to be in quite the predicament.”
He shifted his gaze towards the group who was still beating up the brute. Speaking sharply and coldly, he said, “Are you not being too contemptuous by continuing with your acts of violence even after we have arrived? This old master is asking you to stop!”
With that, a spark of light flashed across his eyes, and an imposing gust of spiritual energy descended from the heavens towards Yu Feng’s group.
At the same time, Chang Qi smirked and channelled out his own spiritual energy, causing the two gusts to clash midair and disperse silently. As a fellow First-Order Origin Returning cultivator, he would obviously have no fear of meeting the attack, and this particular clash hence ended in a draw.
Yu Feng and the rest couldn’t help but stop, and they collectively looked towards Yang Kai. This was the first time they had been surrounded by so many Origin Returning cultivators, and it was making them anxious.
“Go on. Don’t stop until you feel like the grudge has been completely settled!” Yang Kai glanced nonchalantly at the numerous Origin Returning cultivators, the condescending look in his eyes eliciting widespread displeasure from them.
The goateed old man was about to say something, but Yang Kai interrupted him, “You’re from the Shadow Moon Hall?”
“That’s right!” the old man stroked his beard, “This old master, Ma Xin Yuan, is a Lower Manager of Shadow Moon Hall.”
“Lower Manager…” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, the edges of his mouth rising in mockery, “May I ask where Elder Qian Tong is right now?”
“Elder Qian…” Ma Xin Yuan’s expression changed slightly, as if he were slightly apprehensive. This reaction was shared by most of the Origin Returning cultivators gathered around. Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately realized that this group of cultivators were not under Qian Tong. They were probably on opposing sides within Shadow Moon Hall, otherwise, they would not have shown such expressions.
Looks like his prior deductions regarding the situation have been quite accurate.
“Elder Qian is naturally standing guard within Shadow Moon Hall. Listen up, brat! Not only did you destroy the Gathering Source Hall, you also injured our men. Don’t think that you can get away with this just by saying that you know Elder Qian. You’re not getting away today no matter what!” A middle-aged man towards the right exclaimed.
Yang Kai glanced at him and laughed lightly, “Of course I will not leave until the matter is settled. I came here today for two reasons.”
He pointed towards Yu Feng and the rest as he spoke, “To bring them back, and collect the resources you owe us while I’m at it.”
The numerous Origin Returning cultivators looked at one another, seeing the amusement in each other’s eyes. A few of them couldn’t help but laugh out loud, mocking Yang Kai’s inability to understand the extent of his own powers.
Xie Quan smirked at Yang Kai, “Such arrogance. Did you say you were going to bring them back? Have you asked whether this master agrees to that?”
“If you dare disagree, I will beat you until you change your mind!” Yang Kai exclaimed as he pointed his hand out. An artifact resembling an Artifact Refining Furnace appeared out of thin air, causing the temperature within a thousand-metre radius to rise rapidly. It caused everyone to feel as if they had suddenly fallen into a sea of fire, and even the air was being distorted due to the heat.
The next moment, a sharp shriek sounded out from within the furnace, and a ten-metre long Firebird of bright scarlet flew out. As it spread its wings, all the Fire Attribute World Energy in the Heavenly Fate City seemed to be pulled towards it, gathering within its body.
No one could have expected Yang Kai to be so daring as to make the first move even under such a clearly disadvantageous situation.
It was only after the Firebird absorbed the World Energy, growing to a massive size of over thirty metres, and starting to cover up the sky that the group of Origin Returning cultivators began to regain their senses. Xie Quan, in particular, was staring at the firebird with shaking eyes, exclaiming in shock, “Artifact Spirit! It’s an Artifact Spirit!”
No sooner had he finished speaking, that the Firebird spit a fireball the size of a washbasin at him.
The Artifact Spirit Firebird had awoken a month ago, which was one of the better pieces of news during the period of Yang Kai’s seclusion. After absorbing a strand of Sun’s True Fire, not only did it become more sapient, its strength increased drastically as well.
At the very least, the power of its flames was thirty percent stronger than when Yang Kai first obtained it.
Xie Quan’s face drained of all colour as he stared at the fireball approaching with an earth-crushing force. Completely tense against the imminent threat of death, he hurriedly took out his Defensive Artifact in hopes of mitigating the impact, at the same time turning and running away as quickly as possible.
Boom…
With a loud explosion, the fireball crashed down. The Defensive Artifact was not even able to hold for a single second before becoming badly damaged, losing all its lustre. A large pit appeared on the ground, the edges of which still showed signs of melting.
“This Artifact Spirit is fierce! Everyone, attack it together!” Xie Quan knew immediately that he would be no match for the Artifact Spirit.
Hearing this, the other Origin Returning cultivators all took out their artifacts, preparing to gang up on the Firebird. Everyone had a glint of excitement in their eyes, and no one bothered to direct any more attention towards Yang Kai.
In their eyes, the only reason why Yang Kai would so fearlessly go on the offensive was due to this Artifact Spirit. As long as they subdue it, what was a single Third-Order Saint King to them?
Furthermore, subduing this Artifact Spirit would benefit them greatly. In front of such a precious treasure, who had the time to care about Yang Kai?
Seeing that, Yang Kai laughed coldly and, with a wave of both hands, sent blasts of black fireballs shooting in all directions, causing the rest of the cultivators to fall all over the place. Where the Demonic Flames passed, everything ignited spontaneously. The ones with quicker reactions were able to scatter, while the ones who were too slow were swallowed whole by the flames, not a single bone remaining of them.
In an instant, this region of Heavenly Fate City had turned into a sea of fire, the intensity of the blaze threatening to burn a hole in the very heavens.
“Run!” Yang Kai shouted towards Chang Qi and Hao An.
The two of them took out their Star Shuttles, immediately dragging Yu Feng and the rest onto them. Mobilizing their Saint Qi, they headed straight out of Heavenly Fate City with the ex-detainees in tow.
“Stop them!” How could that goateed old man called Ma Xin Yuan allow them to escape from right under his eyes? With a single flash of the long sword held in his hand, he sent several bursts of Sword Waves towards Chang Qi and Hao Ao.
Yang Kai laughed coldly, immediately bringing out his purple shield and injecting Saint Qi into it. A gust of sandstorm immediately encased Chang Qi and the rest within it, protecting them. At the same time, Yang Kai sent out a hasty message to Chang Qi.
Chang Qi stared back for a moment before flying forward again at full speed, disappearing together with Hao An, Yu Feng, and the rest of the disciples.
The only one left on the ground was the brute who whipped them earlier, now howling in pain. He was mutilated beyond recognition and looked wretched to the extreme.
Yang Kai flicked a single burst of Demonic Flame at him with a single finger, causing him to burn away without a trace from the world. Yang Kai was not going to be merciful to someone from the Xie Family.
“Little Brat! How dare you kill a disciple of the Xie Family!” Xie Quan raged when he saw Yang Kai kill the brute.
“So what if I did? What can you do?!” Yang Kai’s expression was one of ferocity. The Demonic Flame shrouded his body, making it look like a savage god descended from the heavens, thirsting for blood.
As he spoke, he fired a strand of Saint Qi into the Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace floating in the air, causing it to start spinning. As it spun, bursts of flames emerged one after another, transforming into the shape of Firebirds and shooting out.
Those Firebirds were like miniature versions of the Artifact Spirit, looking very much the same, other than the smaller size and lower power. This was the Fire Attribute World Energy stored within the Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace itself. After spending tens of thousands of years burning within the Earth Lung Fire Pond, it was no ordinary item. Usually, Yang Kai only needed to release the Artifact Spirit in order to deal with his enemies, but against so many Origin Returning Realm masters, he didn’t dare to be careless, opting to invoke the force of the Furnace as well.
The Artifact Spirit Firebird spread both wings, causing countless fireballs to form and swarm towards the enemies like a cloud of locusts.
The combination of the two caused the many Origin Returning Realm masters to scramble in fear.
The already blazing Heavenly Fate City suffered even greater losses from this. All the houses and shops within a thousand-metre radius turned to ashes, leaving a seared, pitch-black wasteland where they once stood. Ten or so cultivators were too slow to avoid the attack and died on the spot.
Several gusts of Shi descended from the heavens, and Xie Quan exclaimed in fury, “Little brat! Now that those two old farts are gone, let’s see how a mere Saint King like you can escape!”
The pressure from more than ten layers of Shi stacked together caused Yang Kai to feel like he was completely unable to move. In response, two strands of Golden Thread shot out, furiously cutting away the formless Shi, causing their strength to decrease drastically. With that, Yang Kai took another step forward, his body suddenly blurring away, causing all of the Origin Returning cultivators to be unable to perceive where he went.
He was invoking the Space Force. Although this was not directly tearing space, it was enough to free him from the usual restrictions of space.
When he next appeared, he was already behind Xie Quan.
“Brother Xie, watch out!” No sooner had Yang Kai appeared than the goateed old man shouted.
Xie Quan similarly realized this, his expression changing to shock. A layer of white mist suddenly emerged from his body, wrapping around him and concealing his figure. Yang Kai snorted in disdain, letting a single strand of Golden Thread fly out and wrap around the white mist.
A small bursting sound rang out, followed by Xie Quan’s scream. The layer of white mist condensed, then spontaneously erupted, causing his figure to appear once again.
When the crowd registered the scene before them, they gasped in shock.
Xie Quan was standing at his original position, his face ashen. He stared blankly at the single strand of Golden Threaded passing right through his chest, shock written all over his expression. His eyes were filled with apprehension, and he did not dare move even a finger.
The other end of the Golden Thread was wrapped around Yang Kai’s finger.
He was so easily subdued by Yang Kai! Not only was it unexpected to the rest, but even Xie Quan himself did not imagine that he would fall so easily. All he knew was that the Golden Thread had mysterious properties and was sharp beyond measure. The Saint Qi protecting his body could not block it at all, or else he would not have been pierced by it so easily.
A sharp shriek came from overhead once again, and the gigantic Artifact Spirit Firebird moved to hover over Yang Kai’s head, its eyes scanning the area around it. Every Origin Returning Realm cultivator who met its gaze turned white in fear. Though their fight with it had not been long, everyone had realised how scary it was. One-on-one, not a single one of them was a match for it, and even if they teamed up, it was impossible to subjugate it. Even if this Artifact Spirit was not as strong as a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, it was close.
“Move and you die.” Yang Kai’s voice sounded to Xie Quan like the cold wind blowing from the ninth pit of hell, sending a shiver down his spine.
Seeing that Xie Quan was obeying his instructions and standing there quietly, a look of satisfaction flashed across Yang Kai’s face. He then turned to the other Origin Returning Realm cultivators, and said, “I told you, I came here for two things. The first is done, now the second.”
“What do you want?” Xie Quan said bitterly.
“Return all of the Saint Crystals that you took from my Dragon Cave Mountain!” Yang Kai said coldly.
“Your Saint Crystals are in my Space Ring. Take it if you want.” Xie Quan said through clenched teeth. He had no choice but to obey Yang Kai right now.
Yang Kai glanced at his finger and sent the other Golden Thread out. It wrapped around Xie Quan’s finger, and in the next moment, both the ring and his finger landed onto Yang Kai’s palm.
Fresh blood spurted out, but Xie Quan could only clench his teeth and bear with the pain, not daring to make a single move.
Yang Kai scanned the contents of the ring with his Divine Sense, a smirk forming on his face, “Isn’t the quantity a little low?”
Not just a little, half of it was gone. The materials that Dragon Cave Mountain had ordered from Shadow Moon Hall this time around were worth twenty million Saint Crystals, yet only ten million could be found within the ring, with the rest nowhere to be found.
Xie Quan remained silent, but he glanced towards the goateed old man Ma Xin Yuan. Immediately, Yang Kai understood that they had already split the Saint Crystals that Yu Feng had brought, and the remaining half was probably on him. He stared coldly towards Ma Xin Yuan.
Ma Xin Yuan’s face was one of hesitation and unwillingness. Obviously, he wasn’t too happy to simply give up the profits he had just obtained. A whole ten million Saint Crystals! If it weren’t for this, why would Shadow Moon Hall assist the Xie Family in fighting against Yang Kai? Especially when the internal strife had gotten so heated that very few people could be sent out to deal with external affairs.
Seeing how he looked like he didn’t want to hand the Saint Crystals over, Yang Kai’s expression hardened, the second Golden Thread flying out once again and wrapping around Xie Quan’s shoulder.
Bathed in blood, Xie Quan’s arm fell to the ground. Everyone paled immediately, looking at Yang Kai in disbelief, not expecting him to be so ruthless as to inflict such a grievous injury without saying a single word.
Xie Quan had the tenacity to stay silent, at least. He didn’t make a single noise when his finger was cut off earlier, and similarly not when this whole arm was chopped off. All he did was to turn towards Ma Xin Yuan in anger, his dry lips cracking as he exclaimed, “Brother Ma! Are you simply going to watch as I get dissected by this little brat?”
At this point, Ma Xin Yuan knew that he could no longer keep the Saint Crystals for himself. The Xie Family still had Xie Li within the Shadow Moon Hall, whose position was even higher than his own. If he really allowed Xie Quan to die at the hands of Yang Kai, Xie Li would definitely come for him.
Clenching his teeth, he took the Space Ring off of his finger, taking out his personal belongings and throwing it over to Yang Kai as he spoke vehemently, “Little brat, the rest of the Saint Crystals are all in there. Now release him, unless you want a fight to the death!”
They initially thought that they had everything in control, only to have the entire plan come undone by the Artifact Spirit. Even this little brat called Yang Kai was extremely strange. Up until now, Ma Xin Yuan still hadn’t figured out how he was able to attack Xie Quan and subdue him.
While cursing Xie Quan’s carelessness, he was also starting to feel a little apprehension towards Yang Kai.
If he was able to subdue Xie Quan just like that, there’s a chance that he might be able to kill him. After all, he wasn’t much stronger than Xie Quan.
[Is he really a Third-Order Saint King?] Ma Xin Yuan had strong suspicions that Yang Kai was hiding his cultivation. Looking at how relaxed he was, it was clear that he still hadn’t played all his cards.
Catching the ring that Ma Xin Yuan threw over, Yang Kai did a quick check to make sure he didn’t lie, before nodding and keeping both rings. He ignored Ma Xin Yuan’s threat entirely, instead saying, “Now that I have the Saint Crystals back for, let’s settle the other grudge!”
“What is there to settle?” Ma Xin Yuan’s expression darkened.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Yang Kai snickered, “detaining the disciples of Dragon Cave Mountain, even going as far as to whip them. After causing them such injuries, did you think I was going to let this go?”
“Injuries…” Ma Xin Yuan roared in anger, “if that’s the case, what about all these shops you destroyed? The disciples you killed? Should I settle things with you as well?!”
“That’s your own fault. Our Dragon Cave Mountain has been fairly trading with you these past two years, never lagging behind on Saint Crystal payments, and yet you abuse our trust in such a way. Just try getting the word out. No one will side with you.”
“Alright then. State your terms!” Ma Xin Yuan seethed.
“Pay up!” Yang Kai went straight to the point, “If not, let’s see if you are prepared to face the consequences!”
“Are you threatening this old master, you little brat?!” Ma Xin Yuan shouted.
“Yes!” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes at him, “I’ll count to three. Disagree, and negotiations are over. One…”
Seeing how unrelenting Yang Kai was, to the point that he was actually starting to count, all the Origin Returning Realm cultivators’ expressions turned cold, a sense of helplessness arising despite their anger. Originally, they thought that their forces were more than enough to take down Dragon Cave Mountain, but things soon got out of hand.
“Two…”
When this number sounded out, Xie Quan started yelling urgently, “Brother Ma…”
Ma Xin Yuan looked at him from afar, an ambiguous expression flashing across his face as he said, “Brother Xie, it was a disciple of your Xie Family who caught and injured them, right? This doesn’t have much to do with Shadow Moon Hall, don’t you agree?”
Xie Quan looked stunned, then immediately felt a pang of anguish. While Ma Xin Yuan was technically correct in that the main perpetrators who engineered this episode against Dragon Cave Mountain were the Xie Family, the way he was shifting all the blame was still too hurtful. After all, they only proceeded with the plan after receiving orders to take the opportunity to test Qian Tong’s response. Either way, Ma Xin Yuan shouldn’t be trying to distance himself completely from this affair.
“Three!” Yang Kai grinned after reaching the last number, “looks like you’re not willing to pay up. Well then, allow me to collect it myself!”
As he said that, the Golden Thread on his hand trembled slightly, and amidst the golden radiance that seems to fill the skies, Xie Quan turned into a pile of mincemeat.
As the smell of blood wafted out, all the Origin Returning Realm cultivators stared in shock.
Nobody expected Yang Kai to kill Xie Quan.
The Origin Returning Realm masters had not dared to act carelessly just now for two reasons. Firstly, there was the threat of the Artifact Spirit Firebird. Secondly, Xie Quan had been subdued by Yang Kai. They acted cautiously out of fear that Yang Kai might kill Xie Quan out of anger. After all, everyone had seen how brutal Yang Kai was. If Xie Quan really died here, it would become a problem with Xie Li later on.
But now, this was no longer a concern, and ironically, Yang Kai was the one who removed the concern for them. This was not just unexpected, it was infuriating as well! Only now did they realise that they had completely underestimated this youth’s madness and insolence!
Without Xie Quan as a hostage, did he really think that he was a match for so many Origin Returning Realm masters? The thought of Xie Li’s anger when he learned of the deaths of Xie Quan and the Xie Family disciples further agitated the crowd. Ma Xin Yuan pointed several times at Yang Kai, seemingly too enraged to speak. After a long while, he finally spoke through clenched teeth, “You’re dead, brat. You’re really dead.”
“Brother Ma, stop wasting your breath with him. Let’s just capture him and bring him to Manager Xie,” someone spoke coldly from aside.
“You think you can?” Yang Kai laughed boldly. If Chang Qi and the rest were still here, he might have some trouble, but now that he was the only one left, not even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm would be able to stop him. Having cultivated Space Force, he could escape by tearing space anytime.
The situation this time was nothing like that time in the Corpse Cave, where he not only had to bring Yang Yan with him but also face off an opponent on the level of a Thousand-Year Corpse General.
There were only seven or eight First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators here. They would be dreaming if they thought that they could capture Yang Kai.
“Let me turn Heavenly Fate City upside down before I settle my grudges with you!” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly grew cold, raising his hand and commanding, “Burn it!”
The Artifact Spirit Bird raised its head towards the sky and let out a long shriek when it received the command. The flames on its body blazed, and the Fire Attribute World Energy started converging onto it once again. In a flash, it had become even larger.
Seeing this, the Origin Returning Realm cultivators turned pale, hastily covering their bodies with Saint Qi and summoning their own defensive artifacts in order to protect themselves.
The Firebird opened its mouth wide, a huge ball of light forming within. After a moment, the ball turned into a beam of fire that burst out with frightening force, its temperature almost high enough to melt space itself.
The target of the attack was not any cultivator, but the largest store in the vicinity.
Yang Kai was actually planning on turning the entire Heavenly Fate City upside down. Given how badly the people of Dragon Cave Mountain had been bullied, there was no way he could back down. Doing so would only leave an impression of weakness, making them the prime choice as a target in the future.
After all, this could be considered Dragon Cave Mountain’s first fight since its establishment!
Before the beam of fire reached the store, the latter had already been set ablaze by the high temperatures. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from far away, reaching the store before the fire, causing a thin layer of energy to surround the building.
This was the defensive barrier of the store, which can be considered a kind of Spirit Array. All of the larger stores in Heavenly Fate City had this, but the strength of the barrier depended on the profits of the store in question.
The barrier of this particular store clearly wasn’t weak. It was emitting a light green glow like ripples of water, obviously a work of intricate design.
Even so, when the fire came into contact with the barrier, it shook and broke apart almost immediately. The green glow dimmed quickly, and it didn’t even last a few seconds before shattering into pieces.
The remaining fire roared straight down towards the shop.
Suddenly, an artifact looking like a Round Bowl appeared, growing to a size of several dozens of metres in midair and intercepting the fire right above the shop.
Unable to change its course, the fire shot right into the Bowl. Following this, a flash of blue light shone out from within the Bowl, rounding the fire into a ball and suppressing it within. A middle-aged man dressed like a scholar then appeared above the Round Bowl, his expression sombre to the extreme. He shot several bursts of Saint Qi towards the Round Bowl, and with the activation of his Divine Sense, the Bowl quickly shrank to its original size.
With a wave of his hand, the middle-aged scholar summoned the Round Bowl back to his palm, staring at the fire raging within with a disturbed expression.
“You’ve finally shown yourself!” Yang Kai snorted coldly. He did not make any further moves, instead choosing to stand there and glare at the middle-aged scholar.
He had sensed the scholar’s presence the moment he stepped foot into Heavenly Fate City. After all, the scholar had the cultivation of Third-Order Origin Returning Realm!
Other than him, there was no one else in the entire Heavenly Fate City whom Yang Kai was apprehensive about. Otherwise, he would not have acted so fearlessly before.
The only thing he could not understand was how the scholar did not seem to have any intention of showing himself despite everything that Yang Kai was doing. However, Yang Kai had kept track of him, and now that the store was almost going to be destroyed, the scholar finally could not bear to stay hidden any longer.
Yang Kai did not yet know whether he was friend or foe, but he instinctively felt that he did not mean any harm, or else he would have come out long ago.
“Blue Jade Bowl!”
“City Lord Fei!”
The exclamations of the First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators gave away the identity of the scholar.
The City Lord of Heavenly Fate City, Fei Zhi Tu!
Although Yang Kai has never interacted with him before, he had heard of his name. Back when he was having a conflict with the Hai Ke and Xu Families, the two Families once went to the City Lord’s Mansion to ask for help. While they were not able to meet Fei Zhi Tu in the end, Patriarch Yi En from the Hai Ke Family bumped into Xie Hong Wen there and managed to drag him into the conflict.
Yang Kai only knew him from Wu Yi’s introductions, and even then he didn’t know that he was a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
Looking at him, Yang Kai finally felt a sense of apprehension. The Blue Jade Bowl, being able to contain the attack of the Firebird, was clearly of a rather high grade and he, himself, had an unbelievably deep aura comparable to that of Qian Tong’s.
Just because he had the ability to act as he wanted under the eyes of seven to eight First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators didn’t mean that he could do the same before a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master. However, he also didn’t have any plans to retreat before confirming the standpoint of the scholar. There were still trump cards that he had not yet played, such as the Space Blade and the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique.
The crowd’s expression changed slightly when they recognised Fei Zhi Tu, and immediately stepped forward to pay their respects. Ma Xin Yuan said, “City Lord, Sir, I heard that you were cultivating a Secret Technique in retreat? Does this mean that you have succeeded?”
Fei Zhi Tu took a slow look at him, replying, “Why, is Steward Ma interested in the Secret Technique of this City Lord?”
“No, no, it was just a random question,” Ma Xin Yuan flinched and decided to stop talking.
“Hmph!” Fei Zhi Tu looked at the First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators one by one, speaking in slight mockery, “If this City Lord had not appeared, were you planning on taking apart this entire Heavenly Fate City?”
“We apologise, City Lord!” The crowd cupped their hands and responded immediately after hearing that. One of them stepped forward to explain, “There’s a reason for all of this. It is not our fault that the stores ended up in this state, but that insolent brat’s reckless actions that caused this. We ask you to be fair in your judgements, City Lord, Sir!”
He pointed towards Yang Kai.
Fei Zhi Tu turned to look at Yang Kai. While he was somewhat surprised at the fact that Yang Kai met his gaze without fear, he did not show it, instead scolding, “What a bunch of useless garbage! You call yourselves Origin Returning Realm cultivators when you can’t even handle a single Saint King Realm brat? I can’t believe you’ve still got the face to be here. Even dogs can do better than you!”
The seven or eight Origin Returning Realm cultivators all lowered their heads without saying a single word, a feeling of indignation growing in their hearts.
After scolding them, Fei Zhi Tu finally turned to Yang Kai and laughed dryly, “And aren’t you a brave little brat? Daring to wreak all this havoc in the Heavenly Fate City as if I didn’t exist?”
“Please understand, Senior. I was only forced to engage in a little bit of self-defence because this group of dishonest people were bullying me,” Yang Kai replied indifferently.
“A little bit of self-defence…” Fei Zhi Tu’s face twitched slightly. He had seen the whole exchange while he was in hiding. It was not so much self-defence as it was Yang Kai toying with the Origin Returning Realm cultivators. [What a shameless brat], he thought, lying with a straight face. “I heard you saying that you wanted to turn Heavenly Fate City upside down?”
Yang Kai cringed, “That was merely a bad choice of words due to all the anger I was feeling just now. Surely, you are too magnanimous of a person to take it seriously. Right, Sir?”
Fei Zhi Tu took a deep breath, laughing coldly, “I don’t care if it was just a bad choice of words. What’s said is said. Either you actually turn Heavenly Fate City upside down today, or you accept a punishment. Otherwise, you won’t be leaving this place that easily.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai’s expression hardened. After a moment’s thought, he smiled, “If that’s the case, then I shall be so bold as to ask for your instructions!”
With such a high cultivation master here, he certainly wouldn’t be able to keep causing trouble. However, from the implied message within Fei Zhi Tu’s words, it seemed that he wasn’t exactly an enemy.
The other Origin Returning Realm cultivators weren’t idiots either, and they clearly understood Fei Zhi Tu’s unspoken message. The City Lord was trying to call a truce with Yang Kai. Ma Xin Yuan’s heart jumped at the thought, and he was just about to speak up when Fei Zhi Tu said, “You’ve killed quite a few people and burned a number of shops. Even if the Shadow Moon Hall was in the wrong, this should be more than enough revenge for you. Originally, things would end here, but if word got out that I let you off just like this, people will assume that this City Lord is but a mere coward.”
“I understand!” Yang Kai nodded.
Seeing how collaborative Yang Kai was being, Fei Zhi Tu showed a look of approval. When observing the little brat earlier, he had thought Yang Kai was an utterly lawless rebel, but as it turned out, he was quite the perceptive fellow, so his efforts did not go to waste.
Even though many stores in the city were indeed burned down, those were ultimately replaceable and could be easily reconstructed afterwards. As for the people who died, most were disciples of the Xie Family, who didn’t have much to do with Fei Zhi Tu. In fact, even if everybody here died, it didn’t really matter much to him.
After a moment of thought, Fei Zhi Tu said, “I shall give you two choices. You pick one.”
Yang Kai immediately started acting as if he were listening attentively.
“One, use the Saint Crystals you obtained just now as reimbursement. I can’t simply let you go after all that destruction, but those Saint Crystals should be enough as a fine. What do you say?”
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the goateed old man and the rest immediately changed. Their worry was real, and City Lord Fei was indeed intending to let Yang Kai off lightly! Remembering the rumours that were going around the Hall, they seemed to understand something, and nobody dared to speak.
Yang Kai looked stunned for a moment, then tilted his head in thought for a while before replying with a confident smile, “That is a great suggestion, Senior, but I’m afraid I would like to reject it.”
“Hm?” Fei Zhi Tu narrowed his eyes, staring at Yang Kai in surprise. Honestly speaking, the only reason he would make such a suggestion was that he was the strongest of everyone here, and the City Lord on top of that, which meant that Ma Xin Yuan and the rest were unlikely to raise any objections. However, he didn’t expect the little brat to reject his goodwill entirely, making him slightly annoyed. While silently berating Yang Kai for not understanding the severity of the situation, he snorted coldly, “You dare reject it even before hearing the other option?”
Yang Kai replied seriously, “The reason why I came here today was to take back the Saint Crystals which were stolen. Now that I have them, there’s no way I will give them back. Please tell me what the second choice is, Senior.”
Fei Zhi Tu stared at him for a long while before saying, “Alright then. Since you’re set on it, this City Lord will not attempt to persuade you any further. The second choice is much simpler. Withstand a single move of mine without dodging. As long as you don’t die, I shall allow you to leave!”
“Withstand a single move without dodging!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed. Contrarily, Ma Xin Yuan and the rest were overjoyed to hear that.
Fei Zhi Tu was already at the peak of Third Order Origin Returning Realm, his strength almost comparable to Qian Tong’s. If he personally attacked, even if it’s just a single move, the arrogant brat would most certainly be gravely injured, if not outright dead.
As they rejoiced, Ma Xin Yuan and the rest even thought that they had misinterpreted Fei Zhi Tu’s intentions. So he didn’t plan on letting the little brat leave unharmed. It was only because of the difference in status and cultivation that made it difficult for him to act directly, but now that Yang Kai chose this himself, there was no more contention to be had. They looked towards Yang Kai in glee, waiting for the show to start.
“Chicken?” Fei Zhi Tu looked towards Yang Kai in mockery.
“Why would I be?” Yang Kai’s eyes were shining with anticipation. A Third Order Origin Returning Realm was too great an opponent for him right now, but a single move shouldn’t be too much to withstand. Even if he were to be hurt, it wouldn’t take long for him to recover with his current restorative abilities.
This was the perfect chance to test the difference between himself and a cultivator of that level.
On the Shadowed Star, the peak of Third Order Origin Returning Realm was the highest cultivation. If he could leave unscathed after a clash against Fei Zhi Tu, then he could re-evaluate his own strength.
“Little brat, you’ve got balls!” Fei Zhi Tu’s previously amiable expression suddenly grew fierce. He exclaimed, “I hope you don’t regret your choice!”
Yang Kai remained silent, a look of focus on his face. With a wave of his hand, the Firebird hovering above his head let out a shriek and morphed into a ball of flames, shrouding his body completely in what looked like flowing magma, causing the space around him to bend.
Yang Kai then summoned his Purple Shield and poured his Saint Qi into it. The sandstorm formed around him immediately, concealing his figure within.
The next moment, a shield formed of pitch-black flames appeared before Yang Kai. This was the Grand Heavenly Shield formed from his own Saint Qi!
No sooner were the three layers of defence put up before a frightening pulse of Saint Qi radiated out from Fei Zhi Tu’s direction. He took a step forward and, without anyone being able to see what happened clearly, appeared directly around thirty metres away from Yang Kai.
The roar of a tiger rang out from within his body, and a gigantic tiger head began to form right above his body. At first, it looked to be a mere illusion, but as Fei Zhi Tu started injecting his Saint Qi into it, it became more and more solid.
At the same time, an unparalleled aura of savagery spread out from the tiger head.
The onlookers turned pale and backed away hurriedly. Although Fei Zhi Tu was not directing the attack towards them, the waves of murderous intent spreading out from the tiger head felt like wind blades cutting into their skin, chilling them to the bone.
The City Lord was serious! Everyone watched on in joy.
“Be careful, little brat!” Fei Zhi Tu exclaimed as the tiger head floating above his own suddenly opened its mouth and pounced towards Yang Kai with immense force, much like a real tiger pouncing on its prey.
Yang Kai’s expression was grave as he mobilised his Saint Qi with all his might.
In the next moment, the tiger head came into contact with the Grand Heavenly Shield set up in the outermost layer. A series of loud cracking sounds rang out as the tiger head tore through several dozen layers of the Grand Heavenly Shield like they were paper mache as it headed unimpeded towards the second layer of sandstorm.
The enormous power of the sandstorm was generated by the force hidden within the Purple Shield. As the tiger head plunged into it, it slowed all of a sudden, and even seemed to show signs of stopping.
However, Yang Kai was shocked rather than elated at this, and his expression grew even graver.
Fei Zhi Tu laughed coldly. Activating his Divine Sense, the tiger head suddenly shot out a beam of dark light from its mouth, which exploded as soon as it appeared, tearing a gap in the sandstorm. Taking this opportunity, the tiger head pushed forward, and the sandstorm could do nothing to stop it.
In the blink of an eye, the gigantic tiger head had advanced all the way to Yang Kai, opening its mouth and biting downwards at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai didn’t dare be careless, and he immediately willed the defensive barrier which the Artifact Spirit Firebird had morphed into to start rotating, causing it to appear as if his whole body was being set ablaze, radiating an intense heat outwards.
The roars of the tiger and shrieks of the bird were unceasing.
Ma Xin Yuan and the rest craned their necks in hopes of seeing if Yang Kai was already gravely injured or dead, but their sights were completely obstructed by the sandstorm, and they could only wait anxiously for the result.
Nonetheless, a few people were able to infer from Fei Zhi Tu’s expression that Yang Kai wasn’t suffering any immediate dangers.
With a fwoosh, the sandstorm suddenly dispersed, converging once again into a shining Purple Shield as it flew aside. At the same time, Yang Kai’s figure backed away from within, his face pale. The Artifact Spirit Firebird which had been shrouding him had already disengaged and was now hovering once again above his head. While the colour of the tiger head had dimmed significantly, it was still chasing after Yang Kai, looking like it was still going for the kill.
Midair, Yang Kai’s expression grew fierce, and with a wave of both of his hands, several pitch-black Space Blades slashed out, heading towards the tiger head.
Seeing this, Fei Zhi Tu furrowed his brows, then shouted as realisation dawned on him, “Stop!”
As he spoke, he had already repositioned himself in front of the tiger head, absorbing it back into his body with a wave of one hand while the other summoned out the Blue Jade Bowl. A beam of blinding blue light shot out and headed towards the Space Blades.
Chi chi chi…
The blue light instantly dimmed, causing Fei Zhi Tu to show a pained expression.
The Blue Jade Bowl was a long-time artifact of his, and one of which he relied upon most. The blue light stored in it harboured some strange qualities, and had been able to save him many times in fights against enemies. However, just now, he clearly felt that some of that light had disappeared, and he couldn’t even tell exactly where to.
Possibly because of those mysterious blades giving out the pulse of Space Force, he realised as his pained expression grew.
The blue light that he had lost would take years for him to replenish, and he would even have to sacrifice some precious treasures for that purpose.
At this point in time, he was having serious thoughts about killing Yang Kai. He had not suffered such a loss even against opponents of the same cultivation, not to mention a mere Saint King Realm.
By the time Fei Zhi Tu summoned the Blue Jade Bowl, Yang Kai had already stopped his attacks, retreating to his shield and reclaiming it. He took a few deep breaths, finally restoring some colour to his pale face. Only after all this did he look towards Fei Zhi Tu with a slightly strange expression on his face.
“You…” Fei Zhi Tu looked at his Blue Jade Bowl, then at Yang Kai, his expression twisted to the extreme.
Yang Kai merely chuckled, “Senior, that’s the second move.”
Fei Zhi Tu froze, laughed bitterly, took a long look at Yang Kai, then finally waved his hand in exasperation, “Go on, get out. Don’t ever step foot within Heavenly Fate City ever again, or I will make you regret it.”
“Thank you for showing mercy, Senior. Um, if possible, I would like to ask Senior to return the ball of fire you absorbed earlier!” Yang Kai stared at the Blue Jade Bowl in his hands.
Fei Zhi Tu’s face twitched. He then sent a strand of Saint Qi into the Blue Jade Bowl, and a ball of fire flew out at once. The Artifact Spirit Firebird opened its mouth and sucked the fire in, hovering one last round before disappearing into Yang Kai’s body.
It wasn’t that Fei Zhi Tu was being extremely nice, just that he felt that something was off with the ball of fire that had been absorbed. It wasn’t something he could refine and, if sealed within the Blue Jade Bowl for too long, could not only affect the artifact’s power but also cause damage to it. Compared to that, he was more willing to do Yang Kai a favour.
“Goodbye!” Yang Kai cupped his fists. He took one last long look at Ma Xin Yuan and the rest, as if trying to commit their faces to memory, and let out a cold laugh before summoning his Star Shuttle and heading off towards the direction of Dragon Cave Mountain.
Among the ruins of Heavenly Fate City, Ma Xin Yuan and others stood silently, their faces sombre and the atmosphere dignified.
They had not expected Yang Kai to really be able to resist one move from Fei Zhi Tu and then retreat safely.
All of them had witnessed the power behind that move and understood that Fei Zhi Tu had not just been putting on a show. None of the Origin Realm masters present were confident they could have successfully blocked that move, yet a mere Third-Order Saint King Realm youth had.
While Ma Xin Yuan and the others felt shocked, a fear of Yang Kai swept over them. This boy was just a Third-Order Saint King yet already possessed such strength, so what would happen if he were to break through to the Origin Returning Realm?
Everyone on the scene was an old fox, so naturally they understood the truth of strangling danger in its cradle, and after witnessing Yang Kai’s cold gaze before he left, none of them doubted he would seek revenge for this when he rose up in the future.
After hesitating for a moment, Ma Xin Yuan cupped his fists and haltingly asked, “Sir City Lord, are you really going to just let him go?”
“If I don’t let him go, what do you want me to do?” Fei Zhi Tu had a stomach full of grievances but nowhere to vent, so he glared coldly the moment Ma Xin Yuan spoke up.
“But that little brat killed a member of the Xie Family…”
“Xie Family!” Fei Zhi Tu coldly snorted, “So what? Are you also a member of the Xie Family? What do the lives of the Xie Family have to do with me?”
Ma Xin Yuan lowered his head and did not dare say anything more.
“Hmph, if you don’t want to let him go, you can chase after him now, as long as you have the confidence to make him remain!”
“Sir City Lord surely jests,” The group of people all looked extremely embarrassed, none of them daring to mention Yang Kai again.
“Since you have no confidence in your own strength, just shut up and stay put! If anyone dares question this City Lord’s conduct again, do not blame this City Lord for not giving any face. In addition, do you really think that old fart Qian Tong really will not come back? Heh, you’d all best pray you’ve made the right choice today, otherwise, there may be no place for you in Shadow Moon Hall in the future.”
The group of people all glanced around at each other in dismay and were about to try to inquire more about the current situation when they saw Fei Zhi Tu flick his sleeve and fly off.
“Brother Ma, what should we do? Listening to what City Lord Fei said just now, there seems to be some twists and turns in the battle inside the Sect. Perhaps the rumours about Elder Qian aren’t…” Someone looked at Ma Xin Yuan and asked.
“That’s right! Brother Ma, didn’t you say this time’s matter was foolproof and wouldn’t have any repercussions? Why else would we all cooperate with the Xie Family against a Saint King Realm Junior if that wasn’t the case?” Someone else chimed in.
Ma Xin Yuan’s expression became ugly and impatient as he shouted, “If you ask this old master, who is this old master supposed to ask? This old master just listened to the people above and followed their instructions, how am I supposed to understand the specific situation? If you really want to know, go try asking Manager Xie and see what answer he can give you.”
“Manager Xie…” Listening to Ma Xin Yuan’s excuses, how could everyone here not know that this time they had been used as pawns? Feeling deeply regretful and remembering Qian Tong’s power and ability, all of them went pale, cupped their fists, and left quickly.
Back at Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai returned with a pale face.
As soon as he entered the mountain, he saw Wu Yi, Yang Yan, Qian Yue, and the others standing there waiting for him. When the three women saw him appear, they all greeted him joyfully.
“Are you hurt?” Wu Yi saw Yang Kai’s complexion and could not help calling out in alarm.
“I’m fine. How are Yu Feng and the others doing?” Yang Kai waved his hand and asked.
“They’re busy healing, but it shouldn’t take long before they recover. If you had not returned just now, Foreign Elder Chang and Foreign Elder Hao would have rushed back to Heavenly Fate City.”
“En,” Yang Kai gently nodded, “Tell them there’s no need for that, this time’s matter will end here. Shadow Moon Hall shouldn’t engage in any kind of harassment anymore, but you should try not to go out during this time and be especially careful of the Xie Family. They might try to make a move.”
“Understood, I’ll make sure no one leaves unless absolutely necessary,” Wu Yi responded quickly before immediately saying with concern, “You also need to heal your wounds.”
Yang Kai nodded and walked towards his cave mansion.
Fei Zhi Tu deserved his reputation as a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master. Although the move he made did not outwardly seem fancy or profound, only Yang Kai, who had taken it head-on, understood how fierce it was. Unfortunately, whether his opponent had used his full strength or not was something Yang Kai could not tell.
Needing only a single move to wound him, even without using full strength, it seemed the gap between Yang Kai and the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm was still too big.
Taking a few bottles of pills out from his ring, Yang Kai poured them out and began stuffing them into his mouth before closing his eyes and adjusting his breathing.
Fortunately, his injuries were not serious and only his aura was a bit unstable, so after half a day of meditation, Yang Kai had basically completely recovered. His Golden Blood’s restorative abilities were as astonishing as ever, so this minor injury was really nothing to Yang Kai.
Releasing his Divine Sense and realizing that it was already late at night, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he quietly got up, opened the cave mansion’s barrier, and stealthily left Dragon Cave Mountain before flying straight to Heavenly Fate City.
Soon after, Yang Kai arrived at the city and, following the route in his memory, rushed towards the City Lord’s Mansion.
After another cup of tea worth of time, Yang Kai landed outside the City Lord’s Mansion, and although this was his first time here, under the investigation of his Divine Sense, he was quickly able to grasp the situation here.
Tonight, the City Lord’s Mansion seemed a little weird. There were no people around, not even the cultivators who would normally be responsible for patrolling and guarding the perimeter.
The City Lord’s Mansion’s staff did not know what was happening, only that tonight the City Lord himself had ordered that everyone was forbidden to move about the compound. Anyone found disobeying this decree would be killed without mercy!
Facing this kind of strict order, no one dared to violate the City Lord’s command.
Seemingly having anticipated this, Yang Kai simply walked right through the front entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion. After taking a few turns, he soon arrived at a certain side building inside the City Lord’s Mansion and, just as he stood firm, Fei Zhi Tu’s voice called out, “Since you’ve arrived, come in and sit down.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai smiled slightly and pushed the door openly.
Inside this building, Fei Zhi Tu sat on a chair and looked towards the door with a smile. After Yang Kai walked in, he waved his hand lightly, using his Saint Qi to close the door again.
Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged as he walked directly to another chair across from Fei Zhi Tu and sat down calmly.
“Today I saw you were quite bold, but it seems I still underestimated your courage. Aren’t you afraid that after entering the tiger’s cave you won’t be able to easily leave?” Fei Zhi Tu sneered meaningfully.
“Senior need not joke, if you really wanted to deal with this Junior, there would be no need to go through all this trouble. Taking action directly would have sufficed,” Yang Kai replied lightly.
Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes flashed brightly, and he nodded, “Good, it seems that old fart Qian Tong didn’t misread you, a truly impressive youth!”
“May I ask why Senior Fei silently sent this Junior a message earlier today, asking me to come here at this time?” Yang Kai asked in a solemn tone.
During the day, when he fought with Fei Zhi Tu, the other party had suddenly sent him a Divine Sense Message asking him to come to the City Lord’s Mansion at night, a development that puzzled Yang Kai greatly. Although he did not know the reason, he could guess that it was related somehow to the recent changes in Shadow Moon Hall.
“If I said I want to ask you for your help, would you believe me?”
“My help?” Yang Kai frowned, “What kind of help?”
“Let’s set that aside for the moment. Let me first ask you, what do you think of Shadow Moon Hall’s current situation?” Fei Zhi Tu lowered his voice and asked solemnly.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Junior has recently been in retreat on Dragon Cave Mountain, so he isn’t aware of what has been happening outside. I hope Senior can enlighten me.”
“So, that’s how it is!” Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, “In that case, this City Lord won’t beat around the bush. The reason your Dragon Cave Mountain was targeted this time is actually because of the infighting going on inside Shadow Moon Hall. Regarding this, my Shadow Moon Hall has utterly wronged you; after all, you have been happily cooperating with us over the past few years and our relationship has brought great benefits to both parties. However, your Dragon Cave Mountain still being able to remain safe and steady is mainly because of that old fart Qian Tong sheltering you. Now though, Qian Tong has encountered a little trouble and some people want to take this opportunity to deal with him. They used your grievance with the Xie Family as an excuse to act against your Dragon Cave Mountain so they could test Qian Tong’s reaction.”
Having said this much, Fei Zhi Tu stared at Yang Kai for a moment but to his surprise he did not see any change in expression on this youth’s face, prompting him to ask, “You already knew?”
Yang Kai simply chuckled, “I had my speculations.”
“Fierce!” Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes flashed with approval, “Since you’ve already guessed that much, the rest is easier to explain. In short, Shadow Moon Hall is currently divided into two camps, one headed by Qian Tong, the other by an Elder named Feng Zhen. These two have different ideas and employ different methods, causing conflict between them inside the Sect. Moreover, these two respectively oversee the Sect’s Artifact Refining and Alchemy divisions with the other Elders and Deacons fairly evenly distributed among them. These two factions have been struggling with one another for many years, but no major incidents had taken place until recently a big event broke the balance between them.”
“Grandmaster Ge Lin’s death?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he recalled this matter. Qian Tong and Grandmaster Ge Lin had a particularly good personal relationship, so when Grandmaster Ge Lin passed away, it was equivalent to Qian Tong losing one of his greatest supporters, inevitably causing the other faction to have some ideas.
Yang Kai thought his guess was correct, but Fei Zhi Tu sneered and shook his head, “Grandmaster Ge Lin’s death was indeed part of the reason, but the real cause of this falling out was something else.”
“Something else?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Speaking of this matter, you were also involved in it,” Fei Zhi Tu whispered, “The Red Candle Fruit piece!”
“That?!” Yang Kai suddenly realized.
“In Shadow Moon Hall, the Sect Master isn’t actually the strongest. The most powerful ones are that old fart Qian Tong and Feng Zhen. Both of them have the highest chance to break through to the Origin King Realm, but there is only a small piece of the Red Candle Fruit and everyone wants it. Surely you can imagine how the situation developed from there, right? “
“If that’s the case, it certainly could explain the current situation,” Yang Kai’s expression flashed a look of understanding.
Two years ago, when the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, a Red Candle Fruit had appeared in the third layer, and although it had ultimately been cut into several pieces by Leng Qing of Star Emperor Mountain, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er managed to snatch one of those pieces and successfully bring it back to Shadow Moon Hall. This treasure was rumoured to be able to allow an Origin Returning Realm master to break through to the Origin King Realm. This kind of temptation was far too great, so it was not surprising that the original balance between Shadow Moon Hall’s factions was broken by its appearance.
“Heh, in truth, that old fart Qian Tong isn’t the type of person who likes fighting with others, but the significance of that Red Candle Fruit piece is just too great. If it could really promote him to the Origin King Realm, then my Shadow Moon Hall would become the first Sect on Shadowed Star. Not even Star Emperor Mountain would be a match for my Shadow Moon Hall, so although this hope is slim, in the end, it is still hope. Old Qian knows this and Feng Zhen naturally knows it as well, so the hostility that had been just below the surface finally broke out. The internal workings of Shadow Moon Hall can now only be described as a chaotic mess,” Fei Zhi Tu said with some sadness, “If this matter isn’t handled well, at best my Shadow Moon Hall will suffer a sharp decline, and at worst it will completely collapse!”
“Are things really so serious?” Yang Kai’s face changed slightly.
“The grievances between the Elders and Deacons of the two factions that Qian Tong and Feng Zhen lead have been piling up for many years. Until now, they had been suppressed by the Sect Master so no big trouble ever erupted, but this time, the Sect Master is truly helpless. In fact, if not for Sect Master being so old, this Red Candle Fruit piece would have been taken by him and that would have been the end of it, but Sect Master couldn’t bear to waste such a Heaven defying treasure, so he refused to use it. If this dispute inside the Shadow Moon Hall really turns into an all-out conflict, heh, little brat, you understand what it means to be an egg in a quarrelling nest?”
Yang Kai’s eyes twitched; how could he not understand what Fei Zhi Tu wanted to say? If Shadow Moon Hall really fell apart, then Dragon Cave Mountain would also suffer disaster; after all, Dragon Cave Mountain was still within the core territory of Shadow Moon Hall, so what would happen to them if a war broke out was impossible to say.
But soon, Yang Kai’s expression became flat as he stared at Fei Zhi Tu and asked, “Senior need not spin such a terrifying tale, this Junior just wants to know now, which faction do you belong to?”
“Me?” Fei Zhi Tu raised his brow, laughing wryly a moment later as he slowly said, “This City Lord had grown tired of those people’s infighting, so I asked the Sect Master to assign me the duty of overseeing Heavenly Fate City. As the master of this city, which faction do you believe I belong to?”
Yang Kai gently nodded and said with a smile, “From Senior’s words just now and the concern you showed about Elder Qian, I thought for sure you were a member of Elder Qian’s faction.”
“Bullshit! Qian Tong that old fart…” Fei Zhi Tu coldly snorted, seemingly wanting to continue cursing, but halfway through he swallowed his words and waved his hand in annoyance, “Forget it. Long story short, I owe Qian Tong a big favour, so this time I plan on paying it back in full!”
“What does this matter have to do with me?” Yang Kai frowned, “For what reason did Senior call Junior out here so late at night?”
Fei Zhi Tu stared at Yang Kai with a solemn look and said, “Qian Tong ran into some trouble!”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t seem like an ungrateful person. Your Dragon Cave Mountain being able to develop steadily these past few years has much to do with Qian Tong’s care. Do not think he hasn’t looked after you. If not for him taking a commanding position here in Heavenly Fate City, your little home might have already been swallowed whole. A trivial few youngsters who don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth actually occupying other people’s territory and lording over it? Hmph.”
“For the time being, let us not mention Dragon Cave Mountain. City Lord Fei, tell me about Elder Qian’s situation. If there is any place I can help with, I will certainly not refuse,” Yang Kai said lightly. There was no need to mention out loud things that Yang Kai was already well aware of. He knew that Dragon Cave Mountain remaining so calm and steady these past few years was indeed mainly thanks to Qian Tong’s shelter, but Fei Zhi Tu blatantly pointing out this fact was still uncomfortable to hear, causing his tone to become somewhat cold.
Fei Zhi Tu didn’t seem to mind either way and continued, “What I want to tell you next is something only a few people know. This matter is of great importance, so absolutely do not let it leak out.”
After receiving this urge, Yang Kai nodded in understanding.
Listening to Fei Zhi Tu’s explanation, Yang Kai realized that Qian Tong had been missing for nearly half a year. Calculating the time, Qian Tong had already been gone when Yang Kai and Yang Yan set out for Coloured Glass Sect.
As for where he went, there were many differing opinions. Some people said that he had entered a secluded retreat to comprehend some kind of profound Secret Technique. Others said he went out in search of some opportunity and encountered an unexpected accident. Others still said he did not wish to be the cause of Shadow Moon Hall’s collapse and had decided to go into exile.
However, no matter which hypothesis, no one was able to confirm anything.
At this moment, when Shadow Moon Hall was falling apart and fierce disputes were happening throughout the Sect, Qian Tong’s sudden disappearance was truly quite puzzling. It was precisely because he had disappeared at such a critical juncture that Feng Zhen was becoming more and more daring. Now, in Shadow Moon Hall, although there were still several influential Elders who could join forces to suppress Feng Zhen, without a key person like Qian Tong to lead them, they had fallen into a disadvantage.
If Qian Tong failed to return soon, the consequences would definitely be unimaginable.
This time, Ma Xin Yuan and several others joining forces with the Xie Family to deal with Dragon Cave Mountain was a final probe from Feng Zhen towards Qian Tong. Feng Zhen wanted to see if, when he took this opportunity to deal with Dragon Cave Mountain it would force Qian Tong to appear. Although the result of this probe was the death of an Origin Returning Realm master from the Xie Family, it should still be able to satisfy Feng Zhen’s faction.
Qian Tong not showing up from beginning to end was enough to prove that something had gone wrong.
As soon as the outcome of this probe was passed back to the Sect, it was almost certain that Feng Zhen’s faction would begin making a big move.
“Where is Elder Qian now?” Yang Kai asked with a frown.
“An Ancient Ruin!” Fei Zhi Tu replied in a low voice.
“An Ancient Ruin?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
“Yes, but whether he’s alive or dead, I don’t know,” Fei Zhi Tu sighed, “The last time I received news from him was half a month ago. At that time, he used this thing to pass me a message.”
Saying this, Fei Zhi Tu flicked his wrist and a small white light suddenly appeared at his fingertips and flew directly to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai reached out and directly grabbed the white light, holding it in his palm as he observed it. To his surprise though, this white light turned out to be a kind of insect similar to a snow-white silkworm. It was only a couple centimetres long and through its pure white exterior one could make out some tiny blood vessels.
However, when Yang Kai swept this strange insect with his Divine Sense, a message suddenly sounded in his mind.
Yang Kai was startled but quickly calmed down and listened quietly.
The message this insect relayed was indeed left by Qian Tong, and by listening to it, Yang Kai immediately understood the other party’s situation.
It was just as Fei Zhi Tu had said, Qian Tong was stranded in an Ancient Ruin and could not get out of it. He had been forced to let this insect come to Heavenly Fate City with his distress message to ask Fei Zhi Tu for help.
“This insect is called a Messenger Insect. It is an Exotic Ancient Insect whose only use is delivering messages. However, because it can ignore all forms of barriers and arrays, it is quite convenient to use. Don’t be fooled by its bloated appearance either, it’s quite fast,” Fei Zhi Tu explained after Yang Kai finished his investigation.
Yang Kai gently nodded, and a dignified look flashed across his face as he returned the Messenger Insect to Fei Zhi Tu.
Judging from what he heard just now, Qian Tong’s situation was not optimistic. The message left in this Messenger Insect seemed to have been recorded after Qian Ton had suffered injury, so after so long it was impossible to know what state he was in.
“City Lord Fei, might I ask why Elder Qian would choose such a critical moment to go explore an Ancient Ruin?” Yang Kai asked in confusion.
Fei Zhi Tu coldly snorted, “How should I know what he’s thinking?”
After a pause though, he continued, “If I had to guess, he didn’t want Shadow Moon Hall’s conflict to erupt into a full blown civil war, so he was looking for a way to balance the two factions’ power again in order to stabilize the current situation. You should know that he had a close personal relationship with Grandmaster Ge Lin before. En, with the prestige and contacts of Grandmaster Ge Lin, it was previously possible to completely suppress Feng Zhen’s faction, but now that Grandmaster Ge Lin has passed away, while the other side still has an Origin Grade Alchemist supporting them, the delicate balance has naturally disappeared. The Ancient Ruin Old Qian went to explore was something Grandmaster Ge Lin had discovered, and the reason Grandmaster Ge Lin was able to become an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner was also thanks to that ruin. Qian Tong going to search this Ancient Ruin this time was his desperate attempt to allow another person to break through their bottleneck and reach the level of Origin Grade Artifact Refiner. Once another Origin Grade Artifact Refiner emerges, the initiative for this situation would fall back into Qian Tong’s hands. Right, I forget to tell you, Qian Tong did not go out alone, he brought with him another person, a Saint King Grade Artifact Refiner who can be regarded as Grandmaster Ge Lin’s successor.”
“Then Elder Qian’s actions were well thought out,” Yang Kai could not help saying with a hint of admiration.
“Well thought out?” Fei Zhi Tu sneered disdainfully, “I think he was just trying to avoid the issue. Originally, with his means and connections, as long as he could harden his heart, even without Grandmaster Ge Lin’s presence he could definitely make Feng Zhen beg for death, but instead, that old fart chose to go around the sun to reach the moon. Why bother with those damned Ancient Ruins? Why not just solve the problem once and for all?”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “It seems City Lord Fei and Elder Qian have a very good relationship.”
“The relationship between this City Lord and that old fart has no need for your comments!” Fei Zhi Tu’s face went cold, “I called you this time because I want your help fishing Qian Tong out from those Ancient Ruins, lest he really dies inside.”
“How this Junior can assist in this matter, I hope City Lord Fei can make clear. If those Ancient Ruins can trap Qian Tong, with my negligible cultivation, if I were to run over and explore them, what difference with seeking death would there be?”
“You’re certainly cautious enough, but this City Lord will make his point clear, lest you not be able to feel at ease. What I am interested in is not your personal strength. You are indeed extraordinary, a Third-Order Saint King being able to socialize with so many Origin Returning Realm masters, and even receive a move from me is quite extraordinary. Even if you relied on external forces like that shield artifact and your Artifact Spirit, your skills cannot be discounted. But if you were to enter that Ancient Ruin with only this kind of strength, you would only be a burden… however, your Artifact Spirit is a different matter. I want to borrow its power.”
Yang Kai curled his lips, realizing that Fei Zhi Tu’s purpose in calling him out here late at night was because he had his eyes on the Artifact Spirit.
“There is an ice road inside that Ancient Ruin which is extremely dangerous. Your Artifact Spirit’s flames are also not ordinary; even my Blue Jade Bowl was unable to refine and disperse them. If this City Lord can have your Artifact Spirit’s assistance, it will be much easier to pass through that ice road.”
“Is that all?” Yang Kai asked in surprise after he finished listening.
“That’s all!” Fei Zhi Tu nodded slowly, “After crossing that ice road, whether breaking any kind barriers or rescuing Qian Tong, you don’t need to worry about it, this City Lord will make appropriate arrangements. If not for being unable to find an appropriate Fire Attribute artifact to restrain the chill of that ice road, I wouldn’t have delayed for so long. “
Yang Kai stroked his chin silently.
Fei Zhi Tu did not urge him further, allowing Yang Kai time to think things over. This was a matter of great importance, and although Fei Zhi Tu said he only wanted to use the power of Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit to safely cross the ice road, it would still require entering an Ancient Ruin, so saying that there would be no risks was impossible. Even a master like Qian Tong had become trapped in that place, so Fei Zhi Tu could not make any guarantees.
This was a life or death risk, so of course, Yang Kai would need to think about it.
However, Fei Zhi Tu was confident Yang Kai would agree. As Heavenly Fate City’s City Lord, Fei Zhi Tu knew much about the nearby Dragon Cave Mountain and had heard enough rumours about Yang Kai to know he wasn’t an ungrateful villain.
Sure enough, after a while, Yang Kai raised his head and a steady look flashed across his eyes, obviously having made a decision. Noticing this, Fei Zhi Tu immediately stared at him.
“City Lord Fei, my Dragon Cave Mountain truly owes Elder Qian a great graciousness, so now that he has encountered trouble this Junior will naturally try his best to help!”
Hearing this, Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, a trace of satisfaction appearing on his face as he secretly thought this youth had a praiseworthy sense of character.
But in the next instant, Yang Kai grinned and asked, “But what benefits are there in this for me?”
“Benefits?” Fei Zhi Tu was dumbfounded as he gawked towards Yang Kai and asked, “You actually want benefits?”
Yang Kai smiled as he said, “Isn’t City Lord Fei underestimating Junior too much? Junior has already passed the age where he acts hot-blooded and reckless with no regard for the future. City Lord Fei doesn’t think I will agree to help after only hearing a few words, right? Since I must take on risks, naturally I want to obtain some benefits!”
Fei Zhi Tu frowned as a trace of disappointment flashed across his face, coldly saying, “But this is about rescuing Qian Tong, not some random stranger!”
“And so? If Elder Qian had sent me a message personally, of course, Junior would have done his utmost without asking for compensation, but the one asking for my help now is Senior Fei. Junior is not familiar with you, so naturally, I should be asking you for benefits; after all, if we successfully rescue Elder Qian, the one Elder Qian will owe a favour to is you. It will have little to do with this Junior.”
“What kind of sophistry is that!?” Fei Zhi Tu’s face went blue as he shouted. Never had he imagined that Yang Kai would bluntly ask him for benefits. This was completely different from what he had envisioned. In Fei Zhi Tu’s opinion, his inviting Yang Kai was already giving this youth a great amount of face. If the other party didn’t possess that Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit, with his Third-Order Saint King Realm cultivation, he would simply not be eligible to participate in this action, and when the time really came, how could Qian Tong not show this kid any gratitude?
[This little brat is too shameless!] Fei Zhi Tu snorted angrily.
“Whether or not my words are sophistry, City Lord Fei should be able to judge himself,” Yang Kai replied calmly, not showing any signs of impatience.
Fei Zhi Tu glared at him for a long time, but suddenly remembering something, he wore a cunning grin and said, “If you want benefits, then I will give you benefits! Boy, you killed Xie Hong Wen of the Xie Family, right?”
Yang Kai’s face changed slightly but he quickly said, “City Lord Fei, food can be eaten freely, but words may not be spoken randomly. What evidence do you have to prove that I killed Xie Hong Wen?”
“Don’t try to play dumb with me!” Fei Zhi Tu coldly snorted, “Do you think other people don’t know about what you’ve done?”
Yang Kai frowned, feeling that the other party really was not just making baseless accusations. Quickly wearing a humble appearance, he asked, “Please enlighten me, Senior.”
Fei Zhi Tu smiled deviously and said, “Your grievances with Xie Hong Wen were known by many people, and when the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, Xie Hong Wen deliberately brought two Xie Family Saint King Realm disciples with him just to seek revenge on you. However, when the Flowing Flame Sand field closed, none of them appeared again, so clearly they had died in the Flowing Flame Sand Field!”
“The Flowing Flame Sand Field is filled with danger. Even if he did die inside, what does that have to do with me?” Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as he continued to deny the charge.
“Shadow Moon Hall has a rather special Secret Technique which can be applied to a Junior by their Elders. When a Junior falls, this Secret Technique will transfer itself to the one who killed them automatically. Not only does Xie Hong Wen have this Secret Technique placed on him, Wei Gu Chang, Dong Xuan’er and all the other elite disciples of the Sect do as well. I assume this City Lord doesn’t need to explain any further, yes?”
Yang Kai’s flashed an amazed expression. If Fei Zhi Tu was not lying to him, he must have been marked by that Secret Technique, and if that was the case, his killing Xie Hong Wen was probably not a secret.
“The Xie Family hadn’t taken action against you for two reasons, firstly because they feared Qian Tong and secondly because you rarely appeared after returning from the Flowing Flame Sand Field. The barriers and arrays protecting Dragon Cave Mountain are extremely powerful, so the Xie Family masters were unable to detect whether that Secret Technique had been transferred to you, but you leaving Dragon Cave Mountain just once was enough to confirm you killed Xie Hong Wen,” Fei Zhi Tu grinned meaningfully, “As long as you can accompany this City Lord on this trip, not only can I help you to disperse that stubborn Secret Technique, I can also promise you that in the future the Xie Family will never trouble your Dragon Cave Mountain again. I can even restore your previous trade relationship with Shadow Moon Hall, so are these benefits enough?”
While he was talking, Yang Kai had already used his Divine Sense to carefully examine his body, a moment later his expression turned extremely ugly.
In his body, Yang Kai discovered an extremely well concealed foreign energy mark. This mark’s energy fluctuations were very weak and if not for him meticulously scanning every inch of his body, Yang Kai would not have noticed it. Even with Fei Zhi Tu revealing this, Yang Kai had to check himself three times before he was able to discover the existence of this mark.
It seemed that this Shadow Moon Hall Secret Technique was truly covert.
“You found it?” Fei Zhi Tu looked at him in surprise. Although Yang Kai did not say anything, from the change in his expression, this point was fairly easy to determine.
This Secret Technique was extremely stealthy, and as far as Fei Zhi Tu knew, the mark which was applied to Xie Hong Wen was planted by Xie Li. Xie Li was a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, but even a master with equivalent strength may not have been able to find a trace of it, so how had this Third-Order Saint King youth done so?
Fei Zhi Tu could not help admiring Yang Kai while secretly wondering if he had used some kind of powerful artifact to help him find this mark.
Yang Kai did not answer his question and instead tried to wrap this weak energy mark with his Demonic Flames to dissolve it. However, he soon found that although this mark’s energy fluctuations were extremely weak, they were also extremely difficult to refine. From the looks of it, it would take at least a few days to eliminate this mark.
Now that he had found it though, Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to remove it and pondered for a moment before turning to Fei Zhi Tu with a solemn expression, “I can agree with half of Senior’s proposal!”
“Half?”
“En, after this matter is completed, Dragon Cave Mountain’s trade relationship with Shadow Moon Hall can be restored, but the price of goods will need to be discussed again. As for Xie Family… heh, this Junior only has one request.”
“Let’s hear it!” Fei Zhi Tu narrowed his eyes at him.
“Shadow Moon Hall must not interfere with my and the Xie Family’s grievances!” Yang Kai declared.
Fei Zhi Tu raised his brow in astonishment. He had thought that Yang Kai was going to ask Shadow Moon Hall to suppress the Xie Family and not allow them to seek trouble with Dragon Cave Mountain in the future, how could he have known that this little brat’s courage would be so great. From the request Yang Kai made, it was obvious he wanted to personally and permanently settle things with Xie Family!
After understanding this point, Fei Zhi Tu suddenly became interested.
Although the Xie Family wasn’t a top-level family, it still had many Origin Returning Realm masters with its Patriarch being a genuine Second-Order Origin Realm master. With the strength of Dragon Cave Mountain today, could it really compete with a force like this? Was this boy simply sleep-talking?
Fei Zhi Tu didn’t want to interfere in the grievances between Yang Kai and Xie Family in the first place, and he was completely disinterested in what kind of bear hearts and leopard galls this boy had eaten to dare run his mouth like this, so he immediately nodded, “Sounds reasonable. As long as Qian Tong can return, I can guarantee that even if you destroy the Xie Family completely, Shadow Moon Hall will not raise any objections; of course, that will depend on if you have this ability.”
He was not very confident about Yang Kai’s chances.
Yang Kai did not bother arguing with him and instead began discussing the details of the operation. After agreeing on a date and place to meet, he got up and left the City Lord’s Mansion alone.
After Yang Kai left, Fei Zhi Tu frowned and muttered, “Wait, why didn’t that boy ask me to help him get rid of that Secret Technique mark? Does he have a way to remove it himself?”
Thinking about it for a while, Fei Zhi Tu slowly shook his head, too lazy to bother with it any further. The Xie Family already knew that Xie Hong Wen had died at Yang Kai’s hands, so it didn’t really matter if this mark was removed or not.
Yang Kai returned to Dragon Cave Mountain without alerting anyone.
The date he agreed on with Fei Zhi Tu was in three days’ time. Fei Zhi Tu apparently still had to make some preparations and he had to make sure to conceal his activities, otherwise, he might draw unwanted attention.
Taking advantage of these three days, Yang Kai planned to purge the weak mark from his body. Although from what Fei Zhi Tu had explained, this Secret Technique was only used to determine the killer of an elite disciple, who knows what other kinds of effects it could have?
Such a thing lingering inside his body made it impossible for Yang Kai to rest easy.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Demonic Flames were quite extraordinary, incomparable to the Saint Qi of ordinary cultivators.
With the Artifact Spirit Firebird’s help, only two days later, Yang Kai managed to destroy the energy mark and, upon re-examining himself, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, Yang Kai summoned Chang Qi, Hao An, Yang Yan, Wu Yi, and Qian Yue, carefully telling them not to go out during this time, so as not to be targeted by the Xie Family’s people. After seeing everyone nod, Yang Kai returned to his cave mansion to make a few preparations.
In fact, there were no special preparations to make. Saint Crystals would ordinarily be a must, but in addition to what Yang Kai always carried with him, Yang Yan had given him many of the crystal spheres the Stone Puppet had compressed and refined. Whether it was in terms of quantity or total internal energy, these spheres were far superior to High-Rank Saint Crystals whether they were used for healing, restoring, or combat.
Yang Yan called these Saint Crystals spheres made by the Stone Puppet Saint Crystal Sources!
Just before the sun rose, at the darkest time before dawn, a figure quietly snuck out from Dragon Cave Mountain and quickly disappeared.
Half an hour later, several thousand kilometres north of Heavenly Fate City, this figure appeared again. It was Yang Kai. Glancing around for a moment, Yang Kai spotted the meeting place and immediately flew towards the small, nearby hill.
At this moment, two other people who had arrived earlier were sitting in meditation atop this hill. Both were male and they didn’t appear very old. Most surprising, however, was that both of them were just Third-Order Saint Kings.
Yang Kai did not conceal his approach and after landing atop the hill, the two young men opened their eyes and glanced over at him lightly. One of these two did not show any intention to speak and simply closed his eyes indifferently again.
The other observed Yang Kai with interest for a moment before nodding slightly.
Yang Kai nodded back, but neither side made any attempt to speak. This hill was not small, so with a few doubts in his heart, Yang Kai found an empty spot and sat down cross-legged.
He heard from Fei Zhi Tu that this operation would be very dangerous, so Yang Kai had naturally assumed there would be many Origin Returning Realm masters taking part; after all, Fei Zhi Tu had made it clear that if not for the existence of the Firebird Artifact Spirit, even Yang Kai would not be qualified to participate in this action.
Yet, as soon as he arrived at the rendezvous point, Yang Kai was greeted by two young men with cultivations equal to his own.
Although he was quite curious about this, Yang Kai also understood that, since Fei Zhi Tu had invited these two, he must have a good reason. Either these two had some kind of special ability Fei Zhi Tu needed to borrow, or they were elites among the elite.
Judging from their appearances, the former was more likely.
Atop this hill, the three young men did not make a sound, and for some time only silence could be heard. Half an incense stick worth of time later, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the distance where he saw an azure streak of light rapidly approaching. Obviously, it was another cultivator.
Because Fei Zhi Tu’s action this time required the utmost confidentiality, everyone had arrived here separately, something Yang Kai had anticipated.
After the azure streak arrived, it flew down and landed on the hill, revealing a beautiful figure. The one who had come was a young woman with an enchanting body, beautiful face, and long raven black hair. She was an eye-catching beauty.
However, this woman’s cultivation was also just Third-Order Saint King, puzzling Yang Kai even further.
Counting himself, there were now four Third-Order Saint Kings gathered here, but where was Fei Zhi Tu? Surely, he couldn’t be expecting these four Saint Kings to rescue Qian Tong, could he?
Thinking of this possibility, Yang Kai’s face sank.
After this young woman landed, she quickly discovered that the three best spots on top of the hill had already been occupied, causing her brow to furrow.
Upon seeing this young woman, the man who had nodded politely to Yang Kai earlier stood up hastily and cupped his fists, “So it is Sister Si Si, it has been many years since we last met! I trust Sister Si Si has been well since then.”
From the tone of his voice, it was apparent that he knew this young woman and from the look on his face, it was also obvious he was interested in her.
The woman named Si Si glanced over at this young man indifferently and said, “Cai He? So you’re here too. It seems City Lord Fei’s vision is not very good, even inviting an Array Master like you on this trip. It makes me worry deeply about the future.”
Despite being belittled by this young woman, the man named Cai He didn’t show any trace of annoyance and continued, “Actually, City Lord Fei invited my father first, but unfortunately he is currently in retreat, making it inconvenient to come out. As such, I was sent in his place. During this trip it seems Sister Si Si and I will need to cooperate; I hope Sister Si Si will grant me your instruction.”
“Hmph!” The woman named Si Si coldly snorted, her pretty face filling with arrogance as she declared, “I wouldn’t dare grant you instruction. Although your Cai Family’s understanding of Spirit Arrays is not as profound as my Du Family’s, it has its own unique insights. Just don’t become a burden this time and everything will be fine.”
“Naturally, naturally!” Cai He nodded while still smiling, as if he had no backbone at all, making the other young man present flash a look of contempt.
After listening to their conversation, Yang Kai realized why Fei Zhi Tu had invited these two Third-Order Saint Kings along. It turns out that they were both experts in the field of Spirit Arrays and came from famous families which were similarly professionals in this regard. Evidently, Fei Zhi Tu wanted to be prepared for any situation.
Du Si Si next glanced over at the indifferent man then Yang Kai before asking proudly, “Who are these two? Were they also invited here by City Lord Fei? How could they only have the same cultivation as us?”
This young woman looking down on all other Saint Kings made Yang Kai frown and realized she was a spoiled, arrogant young lady from a big family.
Cai He smiled helplessly, “I’m not clear about these two brothers’ origins. If they do not mind, why don’t we all introduce ourselves? In any case, all of us will be travelling and working together, so getting to know one another will benefit our future cooperation.
Compared with Du Si Si, this Cai He’s demeanor should be very temperate, almost the opposite of Du Si Si. When he asked Yang Kai and the other young man about their backgrounds, he did it with a smile on his face with not even a trace of arrogance.
“Lian Guang!” The indifferent man apparently cherished his words like gold and only reported his name before falling silent again.
“Surnamed Lian…” When Du Si Si and Cai He heard this name, both of their expressions changed dramatically. Both of them now looked at this Lian Guang with a hint of fear, as if the other’s surname by itself was a powerful deterrent.
Even Yang Kai could not help giving this Lian Guang a curious look.
This was because, in the local region, the Lian Family was quite famous. Even if one were to take all of Shadowed Star into account, the Lian Family’s reputation wasn’t lower than general second-class Sects, allowing even someone as ignorant and uninformed as Yang Kai to have heard of them. It could easily be imagined what kind of reputation this family had.
The Lian Family itself did not have very powerful masters, nor did it have many members. All in all, there were only about a hundred or so Lian Family members with the strongest being just a First-Order Origin Returning Realm master. On Shadowed Star, even if there were not a thousand such families, there would be at least eight hundred, but only the Lian Family name was widely known.
The reason for this was simple: The Lian Family were Puppet Masters.
It was well known that the Lian Family specialized in refining and operating puppets, so while their personal cultivations weren’t too high, their combat effectiveness was far superior to others in the same realm because they could use countless puppets to assist them in battle. When a Lian Family cultivator fought, it would always become a spectacular scene where up to dozens of puppets would appear.
Moreover, the Lian Family had several supreme puppets which were comparable to Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters in strength. The existence of these puppets alone was enough to deter many other forces.
There was once a family force which far exceeded the Lian Family in strength that coveted the latter’s puppet techniques. This family attempted to destroy the Lian Family and claim its Secret Techniques for themselves, but at the end of that conflict, it was the Lian Family that emerged victorious and wiped out the other family.
It was this war that caused the Lian Family’s reputation to soar and highlighted their Third-Order Origin Returning Realm puppets’ incredible strength. These supreme puppets killed countless enemies during that battle, causing many to covet and fear them all at once.
The Lian Family weren’t fools though, and understood that an ordinary man is innocent, but treasures made him guilty. After that war, the Lian Family attached themselves to Shadow Moon Hall and agreed to refine some puppets for them free of charge in exchange for protection.
So, after hearing this Lian Guang’s self introduction, Du Si Si and Cai He were both taken aback. The families the two of them came from weren’t small or unknown and could even be considered quite famous due to their proficiency in Spirit Arrays, but compared to the Lian Family they were still dwarfed.
Yang Kai also wore a thoughtful look. Fei Zhi Tu bringing Du Si Si and Cai He along must be in anticipation of needing to break through some barriers and Spirit Arrays in the Ancient Ruins, which was justifiable, but what point was there in inviting someone from the Lian Family?
After Lian Guang reported his name, he fell silent. Obviously, he was a naturally reticent individual.
After Du Si Si and Cai He recovered from their shock, they turned to look at Yang Kai. After Yang Kai, too, reported his name, their expressions became strange.
Cai He looked Yang Kai up and down for a moment before venturing a guess, “Brother Yang, you wouldn’t happen to be the one who caused a scene in Heavenly Fate City a few days ago, would you?”
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “If there was no other person who went and caused a fuss that day in Heavenly Fate City, it should be me!”
Cai He was immediately startled by Yang Kai’s admission, and even Du Si Si withdrew much of the arrogance on her face. Even Lian Guang opened his eyes again to take a second look at Yang Kai.
Although the families of these three were not weak, none of them had the courage to go to Heavenly Fate City, kill people, and burn down shops. What was even more bizarre was that after this guy ran amok and even committed murder, he emerged essentially unscathed and was even invited by Fei Zhi Tu to participate in this operation.
This surprised all three of them and made them wonder what kind of agreement Yang Kai and Fei Zhi Tu had reached that allowed him to get off scot free.
However, the three of them knew that there were some secrets best left unknown, so they didn’t try to get to the bottom of the situation. However, after learning Yang Kai‘s identity, Cai He became much friendlier towards him, no longer remaining silent and even engaging him in a lively discussion.
After chatting for a while, Yang Kai realized why this Cai He’s attitude had changed so dramatically. It turned out that there were many disputes between the Cai Family and Xie Family, and Cai He himself had suffered a few big losses at the hands of Xie Family disciples. Last time Yang Kai went to Heavenly Fate City though, he had killed a Xie Family Origin Returning Realm master. The details of the incident had spread, and many families and cultivators who had grudges against the Xie Family cheered; the Cai Family was, naturally, among them.
Yang Kai cutting down Xie Quan was equivalent to helping them get revenge, so how could they not be happy?
As a Cai Family member, Cai He naturally found Yang Kai pleasing to the eye.
Du Si Si on the other hand found a place to sit down, and closed her eyes.
After waiting for about half an hour or so, several figures suddenly and mysteriously appeared atop the hill, surprising the Saint Kings here apart from Yang Kai. Only Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was powerful enough that he had noticed this group’s arrival ahead of time, allowing him to remain calm and indifferent.
After seeing that the one who led this group of newcomers was Fei Zhi Tu, Cai He and the other young cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and quickly cupped their fists in greeting.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yang Kai looked at the cultivators who had accompanied Fei Zhi Tu here. There were three Origin Returning Realm masters, one of whom was a middle-aged man who appeared to be about the same age as Fei Zhi Tu and had reached the Second-Order. The other two were an old man and an old woman who were both First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators.
However, although these two were just First-Order Origin Realm masters, their auras were deep and steady, very different from those who had only recently broken through to the Origin Realm. These two should have been immersed in the Origin Realm for many years and possess great strength.
The appearance of these Origin Returning Realm masters made Yang Kai feel a little relieved. It seemed that Fei Zhi Tu was not unprepared. Moreover, with the current unstable situation, secretly gathering these Origin Realm helpers must have been quite difficult.
After all, this operation was to rescue Qian Tong, so it would definitely have been inconvenient to requisition helpers from Shadow Moon Hall. At the same time, it was also necessary to ensure no one realized this rescue mission was taking place. It actually came as a surprise to Yang Kai that so many Origin Returning Realm masters had been recruited. With this many masters and a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm powerhouse leading this operation, security shouldn’t be a problem. The only concern now was whether there were any hidden dangers inside the Ancient Ruin.
Fei Zhi Tu exchanged a few words with the Origin Realm masters he brought with him before addressing Yang Kai and the other youths, “It looks like you kids have already gotten acquainted. En, very good, during this trip there will be a place for each of you to contribute, so forming a mutual understanding will be of great benefit. As long as this trip is successful, this City Lord will certainly write down this favour. After we return, you may tell your respective Patriarchs that if they have need of my help in the future, they need only ask.”
Cai He, Du Si Si, and Lian Guang all heard this and showed joyful looks as they quickly thanked Fei Zhi Tu.
“Good! Now that everyone is here, let’s set out!” Fei Zhi Tu waved his hand, summoned an Origin Grade Low-Rank Star Shuttle, boarded it, and led the way.
Yang Kai thought he would introduce the three other Origin Returning Realm masters to him and the other youths, but apparently Fei Zhi Tu had no such intentions, so after snapping out of his daze, Yang Kai quickly summoned his own Star Shuttle and followed.
From the chat he had with Cai He just now, Yang Kai had learned from him that the only objective of this trip was the rescue Qian Tong from the Ancient Ruins, but where these Ancient Ruins were, Fei Zhi Tu had not disclosed.
Even now that everyone had gathered together and were currently on their way, Fei Zhi Tu apparently still had no intention to explain. This caused Yang Kai to feel a bit annoyed, but he didn’t try to ask anything and simply followed along for now.
The three Origin Returning Realm masters who came with Fei Zhi Tu seemed to be very interested in Yang Kai and would use their Divine Sense or eyes to examine him from time to time, especially the old man. When Yang Kai looked back once, the other party actually nodded to him with a smile, showing a kind and amiable look, causing Yang Kai a great deal of confusion, he really wanted to know what kind of snake oil this old man was trying to pedal.
Although the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and the old woman didn’t show such obvious favour, they were clearly displaying goodwill towards Yang Kai as well.
Yang Kai understood that these three people shouldn’t have any ill intentions towards him, but receiving such obvious favour for no apparent reason caused him to become tense and he immediately decided to keep his mouth shut and focus entirely on hurrying along. To Yang Kai, the fewer incidents he got caught up in the better because he had so many things to do. If not for the need to rescue Qian Tong this time, Yang Kai had planned to hole up in Dragon Cave Mountain for a long retreat to study various Secret Techniques.
Also, since the Firebird Artifact Spirit woke up, the efficiency of refining the Dragon Bone and Dragon Bead had greatly increased, decreasing the amount of time it would take to finish this process from several years to just a few months. Yang Kai wanted to immediately enter retreat and use the power of the Artifact Refining Furnace and the Artifact Spirit to fully refine these two treasures.
The people in this group of eight all seemed quite reticent. At the beginning, Cai He laughed and tried to interact with Du Si Si, but after being rebuffed several times, he gave up trying to court favour with this arrogant young lady.
After flying for four days straight, Fei Zhi Tu arrived at a large rolling mountain range and came to a stop, landing a moment later.
The remaining seven naturally followed behind him.
A moment later, the crowd stood outside this mountain range and Fei Zhi Tu took out a yellowed map from his Space Ring before studying it carefully.
“Isn’t this Fallen Emperor Mountain?” Cai He wondered, asking in surprise, “Is the Ancient Ruin we’re entering inside Fallen Emperor Mountain?”
“That can’t be, can it? How many people come to Fallen Emperor Mountain every year? Even you and I have come here a few times, but I’ve never heard anything about an Ancient Ruin. If there really is an Ancient Ruin here, why hasn’t word of it leaked out?” Du Si Si shook her head slowly.
While these two were talking amongst themselves, Yang Kai was busy observing this so-called Fallen Emperor Mountain. It was his first time hearing about this mountain range and naturally the first time he had come here so, of course, he knew nothing about it. Looking around, all Yang Kai could tell was that this mountain range was expansive, stretching out beyond the horizon. It was hard to tell just how vast this lush and verdant mountain range was, but the weirdest part about it was that it was completely quiet, without even the song of birds or insects in the air.
Yang Kai also couldn’t see any traces of beasts wandering about, confusing him greatly.
“Hoho, is this little friend’s first time coming to Fallen Emperor Mountain?” Just when Yang Kai was feeling puzzled, the old man came up to him suddenly, stroking his white beard and asking with a smile.
“Yes, this is indeed Junior’s first time here,” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, not understanding why this old man had suddenly taken the initiative to talk to him.
“No wonder. En, this old man is Ning Xiang Chen!” The old man actually turned his head and introduced himself with a smile. Although this only caused Yang Kai to feel even more suspicious, he still returned the greeting politely; after all, this old man was clearly his senior.
But this wasn’t the end to this strange situation. The old man named Ning Xiang Chen next pointed to the old lady and the middle-aged Second-Order Origin Returning Realm man and introduced them to Yang Kai, both of them showing him a smile and offering some casual praise to him.
Several Origin Returning Realm masters suddenly taking the initiative to show goodwill towards Yang Kai naturally shocked Cai He and the other youths. None of them could understand what it was about Yang Kai that warranted such favourable treatment. Du Si Si was particularly incensed, seemingly feeling that Yang Kai had robbed her of the limelight.
“Several Seniors, may I ask what is so special about this Fallen Emperor Mountain?” Yang Kai took advantage of a pause in their words to quickly change the subject. By now, Yang Kai could tell that these three Origin Realm masters probably had something they wanted to ask of him, otherwise, they would never have bothered showing him goodwill.
But no matter what kind of help they sought from him, it would certainly be troublesome, so Yang Kai had to make sure the conversation wasn’t dominated by them.
Hearing this question from him, Ning Xiang Chen’s expression suddenly became solemn and started by asking a question of his own, “Do you know why this place is called Fallen Emperor Mountain?”
Yang Kai frowned and pondered for a while before hesitantly asking, “Does it have something to do with the legendary Starry Sky Great Emperor?”
Ning Xiang Chen nodded in approval, but before he could speak, the old lady next to him said with a smile, “Yes, this place is indeed related to the Starry Sky Great Emperor, because there are rumours that this is the place where he fell!”
Yang Kai’s face changed as he asked in shock, “Is that true?”
Ning Xiang Chen chuckled, “Whether this is true or not, no one can confirm, but the fact that there is a trace of Emperor Pressure permeating this Fallen Emperor Mountain is well known across Shadowed Star.”
“Emperor Pressure?” Yang Kai frowned.
“You should have noticed by now that this Fallen Emperor Mountain is devoid of all birds and beasts. The reason for this is not because this place is unsuitable for them to live; in fact, with this place’s rich aura and beautiful scenery, it is superior to the headquarters of many Sects. However, there is no Sect in this place, and not even any Monster Beasts because of the omnipresent Emperor Pressure! This invisible Emperor Pressure envelopes all Fallen Emperor Mountain and the closer one gets to its centre, the more powerful it becomes. No birds or beasts can survive for long under this Emperor Pressure which is why you can’t see any here.”
“En, a long time ago, Fallen Emperor Mountain was also favoured by a powerful Sect who wanted to set up their headquarters here, but even their Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t stay inside Fallen Emperor Mountain for long. No matter how high one’s strength is, prolonged exposure to the Emperor Pressure in this place will only lead to one being driven insane!” The old lady followed up and explained.
“Is that Emperor Pressure so powerful?” Yang Kai was amazed.
“Don’t underestimate this Emperor Pressure. I also came here to cultivate many years ago, but if I hadn’t withdrawn quickly at that time, I would have certainly been driven mad,” The Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master sternly warned.
“It’s possible to cultivate inside this place?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
“Hoho, this was actually what this old man wanted to tell little friend. The Emperor Pressure in Fallen Emperor Mountain makes it impossible for any living creature to remain here for long, and the closer one gets to the centre of this mountain range, the more intense the Emperor Pressure will become. However, this Emperor Pressure is actually quite suitable for tempering one’s Soul and Spiritual Energy, so every year, there are many cultivators who come to Fallen Emperor Mountain to take advantage of the Emperor Pressure to cultivate their Souls. Not only that, but this Emperor Pressure also has the effect of enhancing one’s ability to comprehend Shi. This old man can see that little friend’s aptitude is extraordinary and one day you will certainly break through to the Origin Realm. When that time comes, little friend might as well come to Fallen Emperor Mountain to try to enhance your understanding of Shi. You should find that cultivating in this place will allow you to achieve twice the results with half the effort.”
“Exactly. Out of all of Shadowed Star’s Origin Returning Realm masters, probably sixty percent or so come to Fallen Emperor Mountain to comprehend and condense their own Shi. Although no one has verified it, it appears the Shi condensed here in Fallen Emperor Mountain is better than Shi condensed in the outside world, and one’s comprehension of Shi will also be higher if they comprehend it here. Little friend must not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity in the future!”
“There’s actually such a good opportunity here!” Yang Kai was amazed and quickly cupped his fists, “Many thanks to three Seniors for enlightening me. If the day comes when this Junior breaks through to the Origin Realm, he will definitely come to this Fallen Emperor Mountain to condense his Shi.”
Although there was no need for these three to tell him about this, as Yang Kai would definitely have heard about it from other sources, in the end, they were still showing him goodwill, so Yang Kai needed to express his thanks.
“A minor matter,” Ning Xiang Chen smiled, “If at the time little friend needs someone to escort him here, just let this old man know and he will certainly do his best to help.”
Not only did Ning Xiang Chen say so, the old lady and the middle-aged Second-Order Origin Realm masters also made similar pledges, causing Yang Kai heart to clench even tighter. He felt that these three clearly wanted something from him, so he quickly waved his hands and declared he wouldn’t dare inconvenience them so.
As the four of them were talking, Fei Zhi Tu’s brow slowly rose as he seemed to have gotten his bearings. After putting away the animal skin map, he beckoned to the rest of the group before setting out towards Fallen Emperor Mountain.
“Hoho, little friend, please go on ahead, this old man will bring up the rear. Right, you should try to not resist the Emperor Pressure in this Fallen Emperor Mountain right away and instead feel it silently,” Ning Xiang Chen once again kindly advised.
“Many thanks for your guidance, Senior!” Yang Kai gently nodded and, together with Cai He, Du Si Si and Lian Guang, rushed into Fallen Emperor Mountain.
After the four Saint King Realm Juniors entered, Ning Xiang Chen and the three Origin Returning Realm masters followed after them.
Inside Fallen Emperor Mountain, there was no such thing as dangerous beasts, but there were some mad cultivators that would suddenly launch indiscriminate attacks.
These cultivators all came to Fallen Emperor Mountain to cultivate, but for various reasons had stayed too long inside and been driven insane by the Emperor Pressure.
Every year, countless cultivators came here and accidents happened quite frequently. In addition, there were some wicked cultivators who regarded this place as a good hunting ground to kill others and steal their possessions.
However, with four Origin Realm cultivators accompanying them, Yang Kai and the other Juniors weren’t worried, especially with a master like Fei Zhi Tu leading the way.
As soon as they stepped into Fallen Emperor Mountain, Yang Kai felt an invisible force envelop his body. Under the influence of this invisible force, Yang Kai found Saint Qi circulation hindered slightly and when he released his Divine Sense, he could only detect the situation within a few thousand meters of himself.
Unexpectedly, under the influence of this Emperor Pressure, his Divine Sense had been suppressed to this extent.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit frightened. This omnipresent Emperor Pressure felt like there was a pair of eyes constantly staring at him, observing his every movement and giving him the impression that he was under constant surveillance.
And this was just a small leftover portion of Emperor Pressure! If the real Starry Sky Great Emperor were here, just how terrifying would he be?
Now, Yang Kai no longer doubted whether this person really existed. The two Star Emperor Tokens were relics left behind by the Starry Sky Great Emperor while Star Emperor Mountain was rumoured to have some kind of relationship with this legendary figure. The same was true of Fallen Emperor Mountain.
All of these things couldn’t have simply appeared out of nowhere. It was more than likely that the Starry Sky Great Emperor really existed.
Facing this Emperor Pressure. Yang Kai instinctually wanted to resist it, but remembering the kind advice of Ning Xiang Chen and noticing that Cai He and the others weren’t pushing their strength to protect themselves, Yang Kai also calmed down and began sensing this mysterious force.
This place was still considered the outer periphery of Fallen Emperor Mountain, so the Emperor Pressure wasn’t too strong and no harm would be done from not resisting it for a time.
Following Fei Zhi Tu, the group of eight didn’t encounter any other cultivators on the road. Fei Zhi Tu was able to perfectly lead everyone around any cultivators who had come here to cultivate.
Secrecy was vital to this expedition, so Fei Zhi Tu wanted to have as little contact with others as possible.
In a flash, two days passed by.
As the group proceeded deeper and deeper into Fallen Emperor Mountain, the power of the ambient Emperor Pressure also grew far stronger; however, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about this and instead felt quite happy about it because, after just two trivial days, he felt that his Spiritual Energy had become slightly stronger and, under the influence of this Emperor Pressure, his Knowledge Sea had become slightly purer.
This was really a good place for cultivating one’s Soul. Yang Kai didn’t need to do anything at all. Just by standing here he could continuously obtain benefits. If one were to really cultivate their Soul or Soul Skills here, they would certainly obtain twice the result with half the effort.
It was a pity that the Emperor Pressure of Fallen Emperor Mountain was only suitable for Soul cultivation though. Besides also helping one condense their own Shi, it had no other effects on one’s strength, otherwise this place would have become a cultivation paradise. The great forces on Shadowed Star would likely have even fought over the distribution of land in this place.
After proceeding another three days, Yang Kai began having some slight difficulty. The reason was simple; although the Emperor Pressure here could purify one’s Knowledge Sea and improve the strength of their Spiritual Energy, this constant pressure would also put a burden on a cultivator’s Soul. This kind of burden couldn’t be sustained indefinitely or it would begin damaging one’s mind.
Yang Kai’s performance so far had been quite good as he had not needed to circulate his strength to resist the Emperor Pressure so far. All this time, he had been silently comprehending the mysteries contained in this Emperor Pressure like Ning Xiang Chen had advised him to and had gained much in the process.
The other three Saint Kings, on the other hand, weren’t so fortunate. As early as yesterday, the three of them had been forced to use their Spiritual Energy to resist the invasion of the Emperor Pressure. This alone painted a clear picture of whose Soul was more powerful.
This scene not only surprised the three Saint Kings, but also the Origin Realm masters.
Although Cai He and the other Juniors were Third-Order Saint Kings like Yang Kai, two of them were proficient in Spirit Arrays and the other was proficient in refining and operating puppets.
Both of these professions were extremely demanding on one’s Soul, especially the puppeteering techniques Lian Guang used. In combat, he could manipulate hundreds of puppets at once, each of which required a thread of his Divine Sense. In fact, the requirements for Lian Guang’s Divine Sense were even more terrifying than studying Spirit Arrays.
It could be said that the Soul cultivation of these three youths already far exceeded the average cultivator in their own realm.
But now, compared with Yang Kai, they were obviously weaker.
How could this not surprise them? All of them began secretly guessing what kind of Secret Art Yang Kai cultivated to allow his Soul to become so strong.
Of course, Yang Kai was not paying any attention to such things, he simply felt that by resisting the Emperor Pressure, the benefits obtained would be diminished, so he freely opened his mind and body to it instead.
When Du Si Si noticed this, she immediately showed a look of unwillingness; after all, since she began cultivating and studying Spirit Arrays, she had always had a much stronger Soul than other cultivators in the same realm. Yang Kai showing off so blatantly in front of her wounded her pride.
Grinding her teeth, she steeled herself and let go of her Knowledge Sea’s defenses again.
Cai He didn’t notice anything wrong until he saw Du Si Si’s face go pale. Quickly stepping forward to ask if she was alright though, he was rebuffed by her once more and could only smile bitterly and withdraw.
Arriving at a large swamp, Fei Zhi Tu came to a halt and wore a dignified expression. Taking out the animal skin map again to verify their position, he soon whispered, “We’re almost there. All of you, follow closely.”
Hearing this, everyone felt their spirits lift and quickly kept up with his pace.
This swamp in Fallen Emperor Mountain was actually the basin of a huge mountain valley. No one knew why there was a swamp here, but because of the lingering miasma and clearly poisonous water, cultivators seldom came here.
After all, cultivators that came here did so to cultivate their Souls, so their first objective would be to find a comfortable place to cultivate. Who would come to this kind of place to suffer?
Following behind Fei Zhi Tu, the group traversed this swamp for some time before Fei Zhi Tu suddenly came to a stop in front of a particularly large puddle.
“Here?” Ning Xiang Chen stepped forward, stood side by side with Fei Zhi Tu and asked.
“Yes, according to the message from old Qian, it should be right here, but revealing the entrance requires a little trick!” Saying so, Fei Zhi Tu took out a kind of bead and tossed it towards the centre of the puddle.
In front of everyone’s eyes, when the beads fell into the puddle, it immediately became turbulent, as if something underneath it was stirring the water.
Moreover, a whiff of white mist suddenly emerged from this puddle and caused the temperature in the surrounding thousand meter range to plummet.
*Kacha…*
With a loud crackling noise, the huge puddle froze into a sheet of ice at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving behind only a dark, downward passage at its centre.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense but was unable to explore what was at the bottom of this hole.
After waiting for a while, the crackling sounds ceased and the passage completely stabilized. Fei Zhi Tu then nodded, “Let’s go. Brother Ning, you bring up the rear, I’ll take these little guys down first.”
“Understood,” Ning Xiang Chen gently nodded.
Fei Zhi Tu glanced at Yang Kai and the others, but after seeing Du Si Si’s pale complexion and sweat drenched brow, a trace of displeasure appeared on his face. How could he not understand that Du Si Si had done this to herself by acting recklessly out of a petty sense of rivalry? This operation was very important, and if not for him being unable to find a true Array Master, he would not have invited this little girl to help in the first place.
Releasing a blue halo of light, Fei Zhi Tu wrapped Yang Kai and the other Saint Kings in his Saint Qi before immediately jumping into the passage.
Yang Kai estimated that their group fell several thousand meters before they reached the ground. The sound of a flowing stream entered his ear and with the help of the blue light around him, Yang Kai spotted an underground river nearby.
Moreover, the Emperor Pressure which had enveloped them all this time had suddenly disappeared.
“There’s actually such a place underground here?” Cai He also looked around strangely, apparently never having expected that such a cave existed under Fallen Emperor Mountain.
“Yeah, if the location of this Ancient Ruin was easy to find, it would have long been turned upside down while that old ghost wouldn’t have been able to obtain anything from it!” Fei Zhi Tu coldly snorted before shooting a sharp glare towards Du Si Si, “Rest here for a moment, if this happens again, you don’t need to continue following us.”
Du Si Si bit her red lips lightly and nodded. Although she was prideful and arrogant, she didn’t dare rebel against Fei Zhi Tu.
After waiting for a while, Ning Xiang Chen and the other Origin Realm masters came down and the group of eight decided to take a short rest.
Yang Kai stared in one direction silently, not knowing whether it was an illusion or not that he felt some kind of ancient and desolate aura. He was unable to describe this aura in words, but he found it quite fascinating.
When Fei Zhi Tu saw him staring in that direction, he couldn’t help raising his brow, because that was the direction they needed to head next, making him wonder whether Yang Kai had discovered something.
About half an hour later, after everyone had restored themselves, Fei Zhi Tu stood up and motioned, “Let’s go.”
Having said that, he began following the underground river in the direction Yang Kai had originally been staring.
As they travelled further, the ancient and desolate aura Yang Kai felt earlier became more and more apparent until even Cai He and the other Saint Kings were able to notice it, causing some excitement to flash across their eyes.
Anything that was capable of exuding such an aura must be extremely ancient. Everyone in this group was an experienced cultivator and had been on many external excursions, so they could determine with great confidence that this place really had an Ancient Ruin!
Despite knowing it was impossible for Fei Zhi Tu to have deceived them, as they approached their destination, everyone couldn’t help feeling excited.
For this time’s mission, rescuing Qian Tong was naturally the priority, but there was no reason they couldn’t obtain some benefits during their exploration of these Ancient Ruins.
The chances of finding treasure were particularly high in ruins like this one where very few, if any, people had previously come.
But a moment later, when a Space Array appeared, everyone couldn’t help feeling surprised.
The desolate aura all of them had been feeling up until now was actually coming from this Space Array, and looking at its appearance, it was clearly somewhat different in design from the Space Arrays in use on Shadowed Star today. Although it shared many of the same characteristics, there were still many subtle differences.
Yang Kai had also seen a number of Space Arrays and had even cultivated the Dao of Space, so he was immediately able to determine that this Space Array was a relic from many millennia ago.
This being the case, it wasn’t a surprise that this Space Array differed from the ones on Shadowed Star; after all, over many years, the Space Arrays on Shadowed Star would have been patched and altered numerous times.
Around the base of this Space Array were several grooves where a number of depleted High-Rank Saint Crystals were inserted. Obviously, these Saint Crystals had been consumed in order to activate it.
Fei Zhi Tu picked up one of the depleted Saint Crystals and examined it for a moment before nodding, “En, that old fogy Qian should have used this Space Array to teleport to the Ancient Ruins. These Saint Crystals were drained recently.”
“Since that’s the case, let’s quickly go in,” Ning Xiang Chen said anxiously.
Fei Zhi Tu shook his head slowly though, “We must certainly enter, but as for what is on the other side of this Space Array, we have no way of knowing. The message sent by that Old Qian is too vague, even us finding this place was in part due to luck. However, since these Ancient Ruins were capable of trapping him, whatever is inside them is definitely quite dangerous. You kids must not act rashly after we enter. Stick close to us at all times so that we can protect you if there is any danger, is that understood?”
Cai He and the others didn’t dare to refute and all quickly nodded.
Seeing these four Saint King Realm juniors act obediently, Fei Zhi Tu nodded in satisfaction. With a big wave of his hand, Fei Zhi Tu inserted a number of High-Rank Saint Crystals into the grooves at the base of the array before using his own Saint Qi to cover everyone and step onto the platform.
In the next moment, the Space Array flashed and the group of eight disappeared.
When the eight people appeared again, they were already in a completely different place.
Immediately after firmly steading themselves, Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters released their Divine Senses to sweep their surroundings vigilantly while they all condensed their Saint Qi in case they needed to take action.
After confirming that there was no danger nearby, Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters relaxed and began to carefully examine their surroundings.
Yang Kai also took the opportunity to observe the area but after a quick scan, he couldn’t help showing a strange look, because he found that after using that Space Array, the place they had arrived at was actually kind of bizarre.
The World Energy aura here seemed quite rich compared to the outside, even higher than the current Dragon Cave Mountain. Moreover, in the sky, there was blue, with white clouds and a sun shining in a seemingly boundless space.
The location his group had arrived at was actually among a large group of buildings that seemed to be the ruins of an ancient Sect.
However, under his Divine Sense’s perception, Yang Kai found no living creatures other than the eight from his group.
“This is the Ancient Ruin?” Ning Xiang Chen and others couldn’t help looking at each other, revealing a trace of suspicion.
“There’s no doubt these are the Ancient Ruins we were looking for,” Fei Zhi Tu replied confidently, seemingly having discovered something and pointing his finger in a certain direction, “Those characters are not the ones we currently use on Shadowed Star and haven’t been widely seen for tens of thousands of years.”
In the direction Fei Zhi Tu was pointing there was a loft. This loft was quite exquisitely constructed and had a plaque hanging from the second floor that had several stylized characters written on it. What these words meant, however, was unknown to anyone present.
In addition, there were some other buildings that also had plaques engraved with unreadable words.
“It’s really an Ancient Ruin, and one that is so well preserved!” Ning Xiang Chen said excitedly, his old face suddenly looking a bit ruddy. The old lady and the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator also wore inspired looks.
It wasn’t like other Ancient Ruins hadn’t been discovered on Shadowed Star, but none of them were so complete. An intact ruin meant that no one had searched through them for treasures, so anything of value was likely still here. As long as they successfully rescued Qian Tong, there would be a lot of time to explore this place.
Thinking this, the several Origin Returning Realm masters suddenly felt far more enthusiastic.
“Finding Old Qian is our first priority, as for these ruins, it won’t be too late to explore them after!” Fei Zhi Tu understood his priorities and swiftly issued this order, to which everyone else nodded in agreement.
After all, he was the one with the greatest strength here and Ning Xiang Chen and the other Origin Realm cultivators had close friendships with him, so naturally, none of them would try to argue at this point.
Immediately, Fei Zhi Tu began looking around for marks left by Qian Tong. Fortunately, Qian Tong had acted cautiously and after entering these Ancient Ruins he had left markers along the path he travelled, otherwise Fei Zhi Tu wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for him.
After a short time, Fei Zhi Tu found the right direction and began leading the way.
Everyone followed after him, but glancing at the buildings around them they couldn’t help letting out some sighs. If they weren’t in a rush to rescue Qian Tong, they would have all gone to search through these buildings.
With so many intact structures around, finding something valuable was all but guaranteed.
But now, they could only try to ignore this urge to explore.
Unexpectedly, after about a stick of incense worth of time, the group of eight remained perfectly safe, as if there was no danger in this Ancient Ruin at all; however, this only made everyone’s expression grow more dignified.
Suddenly, a strange medicinal fragrance reached the tip of everyone’s nose, and all eight of them couldn’t help turning their heads in a certain direction as a sense of comfort and enlightenment washed over them.
“This is…” Ning Xiang Chen’s eyes widened as he pointed forward, “The medicinal fragrance is coming from there!”
Fei Zhi Tu’s expression also brightened and he accelerated the group’s pace. Only a valuable treasure would be able to produce such a rich medicinal fragrance, so naturally, he wanted to see what the source was.
Soon after, the group of eight arrived in front of a flower bed where a number of exotic flowers and grasses. Although most of these had substantial effects, only the half metre tall purple grass stalk in the very centre of the garden which stood straight like a sword was worthy of their attention.
The fragrance everyone smelled before was being exuded by this purple grass.
“Sword Soul Grass! And it’s purple!” Ning Xiang Chen exclaimed, staring hotly at this purple grass. Not just him though, even Fei Zhi Tu couldn’t hide his excitement.
Sword Soul Grass was the primary ingredient in the Sword Soul Pill, which was the most suitable auxiliary pill for cultivators who cultivated swordsmanship. Consuming a Sword Soul Pill would increase a cultivator’s ability to grasp and control the Dao of Swords and allow them to display greater strength when using sword type Divine Abilities.
The Sword Soul Grass itself was an Origin Grade Mid-Rank spirit herb, so even taking all of Shadowed Star into consideration, it was incredibly rare. When mature, a Sword Soul Grass would have a pale blue colour, but as its medicinal age increased, its colour would also slowly deepen.
At present, this Sword Soul Grass that had turned purple must have a medicinal age exceeding ten thousand years, a rare and precious treasure.
If one were to use this Sword Soul Grass to refine a pill and then let a cultivator who cultivated the Dao of Swords consume it, the benefits that cultivator obtained would be difficult to estimate.
This spirit grass was of incredible value! What’s more, it was incredibly useful for the Origin Returning Realm masters here, including Fei Zhi Tu.
Although no one here took the Dao of Swords as their primary cultivation path, all of them had more or less dabbled in it and mastered some Martial Skills or Divine Abilities related to swords. As a result, all of them naturally coveted this Sword Soul Grass greatly. Even if none of them could really use it, selling it would result in massive profits.
“Brother Fei…” Ning Xiang Chen turned his head to look at Fei Zhi Tu. Although this treasure was incredibly precious, it wasn’t enough to destroy the friendship between these people. On top of that, they had just entered this Ancient Ruin and had already found such a thing, so if they continued searching, wouldn’t they be able to find even more good things?
As such, Ning Xiang Chen’s first response was to ask Fei Zhi Tu’s opinion on how to deal with this Sword Soul Grass. While they couldn’t go and explore the surrounding buildings for treasures for fear of complications, if a treasure were to appear right in front of them there was no reason to simply ignore it.
“If several friends are willing to trust this Fei, I will collect this Sword Soul Grass for now and after we exit, everyone can discuss how to assign it,” Fei Zhi Tu declared.
“I have no objections,” The old lady immediately expressed her support.
“We trust City Lord Fei, I have no objections!” The Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator also nodded in agreement, and the remaining Ning Xiang Chen naturally wasn’t going to disagree.
Seeing that everyone had reached an agreement, Fei Zhi Tu quickly took out a small jade shovel and walked over to the Sword Soul Grass, seemingly intent on digging it up completely.
“Brother Yang, why do you look so serious?” Cai He suddenly approached Yang Kai and asked with concern after accidentally having noticed Yang Kai’s deeply furrowed brow.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to his question as he frowned even deeper, but in the next instant a look of understanding flashed across his face and he quickly shouted, “No, this isn’t a Sword Soul Grass, City Lord Fei, stop!”
Cai He was taken aback by his sudden shout and quickly looked over towards Fei Zhi Tu, but Yang Kai’s words came out a moment too late as the jade shovel in Fei Zhi Tu’s hand had already dug into the soil of the flower bed.
When Fei Zhi Tu’s jade shovel hit the soil of the flower bed where the Sword Soul Grass was planted, a white flash of light suddenly burst from it and an abnormal energy fluctuation filled the air at the same time.
Fei Zhi Tu’s face changed dramatically as he hurriedly withdrew. The old lady and old man along with the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master also pushed their Saint Qi rapidly to protect the four Saint King Realm juniors.
The Sword Soul Grass, which originally looked like a straight purple sword, suddenly distorted and in the blink of an eye disappeared. Replacing it was a dazzling halo of light that rapidly spread out and then transformed into a thick cloud bank which enveloped the group of eight.
Within just a breath, the surrounding environment had undergone a tremendous change. Looking around, there were no more lofts or buildings, no exotic flowers and no Sword Soul Grass, only an endless sky filled with strange clouds.
The place where everyone was standing now appeared to be inside a gathering of multicoloured clouds of all shapes and sizes, with nothing else visible for as far as the eye could see.
“A Spirit Array!” Fei Zhi Tu’s face went black. By now it was obvious that the Sword Soul Grass everyone had been coveting a moment ago was just a trap. Once someone tried to pick the Sword Soul Grass, this Spirit Array would appear immediately and surround the would-be thieves.
However, this Spirit Array was incredibly well concealed. Among the eight cultivators present, only Yang Kai was able to notice something wrong and shout a last minute warning; unfortunately his warning came too late.
Thinking of this, Fei Zhi Tu glanced over at Yang Kai curiously, wondering how he had noticed a flaw in this trap when none of the four Origin Returning Realm masters had.
Yang Kai naturally understood what Fei Zhi Tu was thinking and proactively explained, “Junior has some slight knowledge of alchemy. Since the Sword Soul Grass just now was purple, its medicinal age must be extremely high, but such a Sword Soul Grass should give off a slightly pungent fragrance that would make one feel as if they were being pricked by invisible sword blades.”
Fei Zhi Tu was startled, but didn’t dwell on the subject further. Now that the trap had been sprung and they had been surrounded by this Spirit Array, figuring out why wasn’t the immediate priority. Turning to Cai He and Du Si Si, he asked, “You two are skilled in Spirit Arrays, do you have any idea what this one is?”
Hearing this, Du Si Si and Cai He began observing their surroundings, and after a while, Du Si Si’s pretty face became gloomy as she reported, “If Junior is not mistaken, this should be a type of lost, ancient Spirit Array called the Spectral Cloud Array!”
“Junior concurs!” Cai He nodded in agreement with Du Si Si’s conjecture.
“Spectral Cloud Array?” Fei Zhi Tu glanced at the other three Origin Returning Realm masters, but seeing their blank faces it was apparent none of them had heard of this Spirit Array before, so he turned back to the youths and asked, “Is this array difficult to crack? What kind of power does it have?”
Du Si Si smiled bitterly, “Setting aside cracking it for the moment… Junior should explain about this array’s characteristics first. Do you all see the clouds surrounding us?”
“Naturally! These clouds don’t seem to be illusions or a form of energy, truly peculiar!” Ning Xiang Chen nodded.
“Because they are real clouds!” Du Si Si declared.
“What?” Fei Zhi Tu and all the others couldn’t help showing looks of shock as they asked, “You mean to say these are real clouds?”
“Yes, the reason why the Spectral Cloud Array became a lost Spirit Array was because of the requirement of refining the clouds in the sky. Currently, even the most powerful cultivators on Shadowed Star lack such ability, so naturally it became impossible to arrange this Spirit Array.”
“Refine the clouds in the sky…” Fei Zhi Tu and all the others present were dumbfounded by Du Si Si’s statement, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
What kind of shocking means would a cultivator need to even be capable of refining the clouds in the sky?
Du Si Si turned a blind eye to their stunned expressions and continued to explain, “Refining the clouds is just the first step. Next, different energy attributes need to be fused with these clouds along with the Souls of powerful Monster Beasts, transforming the originally inanimate clouds into a kind of life form. All the clouds in a Spectral Cloud Array can transform into Cloud Beasts. The Monster Beast Souls extracted by the one who arranged this array can vary greatly in strength, creating Cloud Beasts over different strengths, but regardless of what kind of strength they possess, these Cloud Beasts are extremely difficult to kill!”
“You mean all these things will transform…” Fei Zhi Tu glanced around at the countless different coloured clouds with an extremely ugly expression.
There was no need for Du Si Si to answer though, because before Fei Zhi Tu could even finish his question, a dozen or so of the scattered clouds began to wriggle and twist, transforming into different forms resembling Monster Beasts in the next moment. However it was apparent that these so called Cloud Beasts didn’t have a true physical body and were simply a combination of the cloud they were formed from and a large amount of pure attribute energy, making them even stronger than ordinary Monster Beasts.
Everyone’s Divine Sense swept through the bodies of these Cloud Beasts nervously, but after feeling the energy fluctuations emitted by them, Du Si Si breathed a sigh of relief and a bit of colour returned to her pretty face as she said, “It seems our luck isn’t too bad, there are only Ninth-Order Cloud Beasts here.”
Her thinking they were fortunate wasn’t without reason. Since this Spirit Array was from ancient times, who could tell how powerful the master who arranged it was? If there was even one Tenth-Order Cloud Beasts here, all of them would certainly die here.
Even if they had Heaven shaking methods, there was no way Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters here could fight against a Tenth-Order Monster Beast, as it would be the same as trying to fight an Origin King.
Just having stepped into this Ancient Ruin and already falling into such a Spirit Array caused everyone to feel great pressure and naturally none of them dared to take the situation lightly. Fei Zhi Tu quickly shouted, “Du Girl and Cai Boy, focus on cracking this array, leave these Cloud Beasts to us!”
“Yes!” Cai He and Du Si Si nodded hurriedly and knowing that the time for them to display their talents they immediately became spirited.
Fei Zhi Tu glanced over at Yang Kai and the reticent Lian Guang next, “You two take care of yourselves, don’t accidentally fall here.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly while Lian Guang said nothing.However, he did take out a number of palm sized puppets from his Space Ring; all exquisitely refined. With a wave of his hand he scattered them around. Immediately after, Lian Guang began pouring his Saint Qi into each of these puppets.
In the next moment, these puppets rapidly grew bigger, causing Yang Kai’s eyes to flash in surprise and interest.
This was the first time he had witnessed someone using puppet techniques. Lian Guang was a Third-Order Saint King Realm cultivator, but all of the puppets he was operating gave off energy fluctuations equivalent to First or Second-Order Saint Kings.
There were six puppets in total, all of them different shapes and sizes. The smallest one looked like a small snake while the biggest was actually the size of a house, but all of them had an imposing aura to them.
Yang Kai immediately understood the reason why the Lian Family was so famous, and clearly deserving of their reputation. With these puppets, Lian Guang was invincible among cultivators in the same realm, and even if he were to encounter an Origin Realm master, he would still have an opportunity to escape.
Nearby, Fei Zhi Tu summoned his Blue Jade Bowl and expanded it to over ten metres in diameter. With a wave of his hand, Fei Zhi Tu sent out his Blue Jade Bowl towards one of the menacing Cloud Beasts and in the next instant, a flash of blue light erupted. Before this Ninth-Order Cloud Beast could even launch a single attack, it was engulfed by this blue light and, despite struggling and howling fiercely, it was dragged into and captured by the Blue Jade Bowl.
Seeing this, Yang Kai realized he had greatly underestimated the power of this Blue Jade Bowl.
At the same time, Ning Xiang Chen snorted and a cane-like artifact appeared in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, this cane transformed into a black streak that struck towards a nearby Cloud Beast while the old lady sent out a large net-like artifact that emitted a dazzling three-coloured light that not only captured another Cloud Beasts but also began viciously cutting into it.
When the Origin Realm masters of this group all suddenly took action, the surrounding Cloud Beasts seemingly became enraged and bestial roars rang out. Besides the Ninth-Order Cloud Beast which had been swallowed by the Blue Jade Bowl, all the others leapt forward with their great maws opening wide. Before any of them even arrived, beams of energy shot out from their mouths, raining down on the group with imposing might.
This scene caused Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters’ expressions to grow even more dignified. Summoning back the Blue Jade Bowl, Fei Zhi Tu used it to create a light shield around Cai He and Du Si Si to protect them.
“Brother Wen, take care of Du Girl and Cai Boy,” Fei Zhi Tu left behind his Blue Jade Bowl while shouting to the middle-aged Second-Order Origin Realm man before he pushed his Saint Qi and shot forward to meet the approaching Cloud Beasts.
Ning Xiang Chen followed with his cane artifact along with the old woman and her net artifact, the three of them intercepting eight of the attacking Cloud Beasts.
The middle-aged man surnamed Wen remained where he was, but seeing Du Si Si and Cai He standing there stunned, he shouted, “Haven’t you begun yet?”
“Oh!” Hearing this scolding, Cai He and Du Si Si recovered and quickly took out some specialized tools from their Space Rings and injected their Saint Qi before spreading them around.
Yang Kai glanced over at them and seeing them begin to study this Spectral Cloud Array, he calmed down.
He had been together with Yang Yan for a long time now and naturally knew that the tools these two had scattered a moment ago were called bases and plates. These things were used not only to arrange Spirit Arrays but were also essential when one was trying to crack them.
Moreover, with these tools, even if one wasn’t proficient in arranging Spirit Arrays, they could still set up some simple ones.
Before, Yang Kai had wanted to ask Yang Yan to refine a couple powerful sets of these tools for him, but unfortunately he had not found the opportunity or time to ask her. It seemed that after returning from this mission, he would need to prioritize asking her for these tools.
Although using such tools to arrange a Spirit Array wouldn’t result in as powerful a Spirit Array as when one follows an orthodox methodology, as long as the tools themselves weren’t damaged, they could be reused without limit. For someone like Yang Kai who frequently encountered crisis when out exploring the world, such tools would undoubtedly be beneficial to have on him.
Suddenly, Yang Kai saw Lian Guang send his puppets to intercept one of the Eighth-Order Cloud Beasts Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters let past them. Completely made of clouds, this Cloud beast was incredibly unpredictable and after rushing in, it quickly entangled several of Lian Guang’s puppets.
Yang Kai did not hesitate either, leaping forward to block another one of the Eighth-Order Cloud Beasts.
Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters had let these two Eighth-Order Cloud Beasts through deliberately. Firstly, there were too many of these Cloud Beasts to deal with, so the ones they were holding off were their limit as it was. Secondly, they wanted to know what kind of combat effectiveness Yang Kai and Lian Guang possessed so they could judge whether they would be an asset or a burden going forward.
The Eighth-Order Monster Beast stopped by Yang Kai had the appearance of a giant tiger with a majestic aura about it. Its long tail looked like it was made of cold steel that flashed dangerously and its body overall was more than ten metres high; however, this tiger was completely green in colour, making it appear quite strange.
As it moved, a foul scent wafted from its body, making anyone who smelled it feel like vomiting. Yang Kai immediately understood that this Cloud Beast had been fused with a highly toxic substance.
Yang Kai did not wait for it to act, taking the initiative to send out a Golden Thread from his finger and slice apart the tiger’s body. Angry roars continued to ring out as the giant tiger was chopped to pieces, easily falling apart in the next instant.
However, this scene did not cause Yang Kai any joy as the aura of this tiger had not decreased in the slightest, even after it was cut to pieces. Instead, its momentum became even more violent.
After Yang Kai took back his Golden Thread, the cut up pieces of the giant tiger burst into puffs of green clouds then quickly fused together. Within a couple of breaths, the giant tiger reappeared without a scratch on it, apparently not even slightly weakened.
These Cloud Beasts were incredibly difficult to kill. If this tiger had been an ordinary Eighth-Order Monster Beast, after experiencing Yang Kai’s attack it would definitely have died, but this Cloud Beast didn’t have a traditional physical form so even if it was cut apart, it could quickly fuse back together. It seemed that what Du Si Si said earlier was not an exaggeration.
After understanding this, Yang Kai put away his Golden Thread and with a flash of his Divine Sense, a crisp bird cry rang out. In the next moment, the crimson Firebird Artifact Spirit appeared, spreading its wings wide as it grew to several tens of metres in length before diving towards the giant tiger under Yang Kai’s orders.
The tiger’s eyes flashed a trace of fear as it instinctively felt that the Artifact Spirit was not an existence it could face, the arrogance and disdain it had on its face when hunting Yang Kai disappearing completely. Inhaling deeply, it spat out a green poisonous mist that rapidly engulfed and concealed its body.
The Artifact Spirit flashed a disdainful look before letting out a crisp cry and charging into the poisonous fog without a moment’s hesitation.
For a time, the green and crimson lights became entangled as tiger roars and bird cries sounded one after another, all while Yang Kai stood back with his arms folded, observing fixedly.
Wisps of green fog were rapidly being evaporated by the extremely high-temperature flames and soon, the poisonous mist which had been concealing the giant tiger grew thin, revealing its figure once more.
Very quickly, the Artifact Spirit got the upper hand completely in this battle and the hot flames it sprayed from its beak continued to burn down the giant tiger’s poisonous mist, suppressing it to the point where it couldn’t even fight back. Every time it was burned by these flames, the giant tiger would show a terrified expression.
The Firebird seemed unsatisfied with the progress it was making though and increased the heat and intensity of its flames, clearly intent on ruthlessly eliminating the giant tiger.
This scene made the cultivator surnamed Wen, who was protecting Cai He and Du Si Si nearby, stare at the Firebird with deep envy.
Word of Yang Kai causing trouble in Heavenly Fate City and even executing an Origin Returning Realm master of the Xie Family had quickly spread and many people now knew he had an amazingly powerful fire attribute Artifact Spirit.
This was also the reason why the old man named Ning Xiang Chen and the other three Origin Realm masters kept showing goodwill to Yang Kai.
Almost every Origin Returning Realm would possess at least one Origin Grade artifact, but over many years of use, these artifacts would become damaged and lose spirituality in battle. If one wanted to repair such an artifact, an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner would be necessary.
However, on Shadowed Star, how scarce were Origin Grade Artifact Refiners? In Shadow Moon Hall, a great sect, only Grandmaster Ge Lin was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, but after he passed away six months ago, all of these Origin Realm masters who wanted to repair their artifacts now had nowhere left to turn.
When these masters learned that Yang Kai possessed a Firebird Artifact Spirit, they immediately took an interest.
If Yang Kai allowed them to borrow this Firebird Artifact Spirit for a period of time, with their own strength, it may not be impossible for them to repair some of the damage to their artifacts. Even if they could not restore them to their peak state, it would certainly be of great benefit.
If not for this, how could three Origin Returning Realm masters have lowered themselves to fawning over Yang Kai so obviously? It could not be more apparent they had a reason for acting so.
Now that the cultivator surnamed Wen saw the power of this Firebird Artifact Spirit with his own eyes, he was even more overjoyed. When Yang Kai was running amok in Heavenly Fate City, he had summoned a furnace-like artifact.
If things were as he expected, this Firebird should be the Artifact Spirit of that furnace. The Artifact Refining Furnace such an Artifact Spirit was born from was not low in grade.
With an Artifact Refining Furnace that had an Artifact Spirit, even if one wasn’t proficient in Artifact Refining it would still be possible to make decent repairs to their artifact; however, wanting to borrow this kind of treasure would certainly not be easy. To convince someone to loan you such a precious treasure, a life-long, life and death friendship would be required.
While the cultivator surnamed Wen was looking after Cai He and Du Si Si, he was actually looking for an opportunity to assist Yang Kai, wanting to sell him a favour, but how could he have known that Yang Kai wouldn’t need any help fighting these Cloud Beasts? Seeing that there was no need for him to intervene made him pleasantly surprised at the power of this Artifact Spirit while at the same time caused him some slight regret.
While he was mulling over these complicated thoughts, the body of the giant tiger had shrunk by a third. After suffering the pursuit of the Artifact Spirit, half of the cloud that formed its body had been evaporated.
Being the fusion of a cloud and the Soul of a Monster Beast, after noticing its precarious condition, the giant tiger roared loudly and its huge body suddenly swelled up, emitting a dangerous aura.
Yang Kai’s expression sank, and the Artifact Spirit’s eyes flashed intelligently, immediately flying up high to avoid the giant tiger.
In the next moment, the giant tiger suddenly burst into pieces, sending out scattered green mist and light. This mist and light however quickly transformed into many miniature green tigers that fled in all directions.
The Artifact Spirit was startled for a moment before flying into a rage. It had thought this giant tiger wanted to detonate its own Soul and had withdrawn to a safe distance to avoid taking damage, but it turned out the other party actually was just putting on a show in order to escape.
With its wings spread wide, the Firebird sent out a barrage of scorching fireballs towards these miniature tigers, rapidly burning them down.
However, after the giant tiger’s body exploded, it released far too many of these miniature green tigers and the Artifact Spirit could not take all of them out, allowing a few of them to avoid this barrage of fireballs and survive.
Yang Kai saw this and grinned wryly, waving his hands to send out a large net formed from Demonic Flame to surround the escaping tigers.
In an instant, all the miniature green tigers that had escaped the Firebird’s attack were wrapped up in this giant net.
Capturing Heaven Net was one of Yang Kai’s Nine Heavens Divine Skills and just so happened to be suitable for this occasion.
Although the Nine Heavens Divine Skills were a set of Martial Skills from Tong Xuan Realm, with the improvement of Yang Kai’s strength, the power they could display had also grown rapidly, not to mention this net was formed from his Demonic Flames.
A sizzling sound rang out and no matter how these miniature green tires struggled, they were unable to break free of the Capturing Heaven Net, instead quickly burning down under the scorching hot Demonic Flames.
A moment later, the giant tiger Cloud Beast disappeared without a trace.
Yang Kai let out a light sigh as he realized that, without the Firebird Artifact Spirit’s power, if he wanted to kill this Cloud Beast, it would have been too difficult. Although his Demonic Flames could also restrain its poisonous mist, Yang Kai wasn’t impervious to this poison like the Artifact Spirit. If he were to have fought it alone, he would have had to act more cautiously, lest he have an accident.
Calling back the Artifact Spirit, Yang Kai turned to see what was happening on Lian Guang’s side, catching him looking over towards him as well. Apparently, he had also concluded his battle with the Cloud Beast, his puppets having thoroughly destroyed it.
Looking at each other, both showed looks of surprise, Yang Kai not knowing what method Lian Guang had used to kill the Cloud Beast in such a short time while the other party was thinking the same about Yang Kai.
However, after seeing the Firebird Artifact Spirit perching on Yang Kai’s shoulder, preening its feathers, a look of understanding appeared on Lian Guang’s face and a trace of disdain flashed across his eyes. Obviously, he thought that the elimination of the Cloud Beasts was all thanks to the Artifact Spirit.
Immediately after, the two young men looked up to see how the battle the Origin Realm masters was going.
Straightaway, both of their expressions became gloomy.
Because when the two of them had killed their respective Cloud Beasts, one of the wandering clouds began transforming into a Cloud Beast and was exuding the aura of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast.
After noticing this, not only did Yang Kai and Lian Guang’s expression become ugly, even Fei Zhi Tu and the others felt headaches.
Teaming up with the old lady and old man, the three of them were finally able to hold back the remaining Cloud Beasts, but if another Ninth-Order Monster Beast were to join the fray, how were they supposed to resist?
The cultivator surnamed Wen saw this too, but his job was to protect Cai He and Du Si Si, so even though he wanted to help, he did not dare leave these two easily. If these two were to have an accident, there would be no one left to break this Spirit Array.
And seeing that there are still so many clouds around, even if he were to go all out and quickly kill this newly emerging Cloud Beast, another would certainly take its place.
This Spirit Array was clearly designed to ruthlessly consume its victim’s strength before killing them.
Everyone understood the sinister intentions of the master who arranged this array, allowing them to see a trace of hope only to crush it brutally. It was truly malicious.
As the cultivator surnamed Wen was wavering, Yang Kai simply pointed his finger and ordered the Artifact Spirit to meet this Cloud Beast head-on, turning his head to Lian Guang with a laugh and saying, “Brother Lian, how about we hold it down together? Looking at the situation, there’s no need to keep killing, stalling for time will work just as well.”
“You don’t need to tell me of this kind of thing!” Lian Guang snarled coldly before sending out his puppets to join the Artifact Spirit.
Although a Ninth-Order Cloud Beast possessed extraordinary might, neither Yang Kai nor Lian Guang were ordinary Third-Order Saint Kings. Yang Kai could defeat opponents above his own realm while the several puppets operated by Lian Guang were also not to be underestimated, so together with the Firebird Artifact Spirit, holding down a single Ninth-Order Cloud Beast was not a problem.
If not for them having scruples about what changes the Spectral Cloud Array would undergo, the two Saint Kings would have been able to destroy this Ninth-Order Cloud Beast in short order.
Seeing that the two Saint King Juniors could easily handle the situation, Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters were overjoyed and quickly regained their composure. After seeing what happened after they destroyed some of the first Cloud Beasts to appear, they also understood that, in this Spirit Array, stalling for time was the best solution and immediately changed their tactics from killing them to suppressing them.
As a result, the pressure on the group was greatly reduced and they were able to cope with the current situation more easily.
During this period, Cai He and Du Si Si continually poured their Saint Qi into their array tools to spy on the mysteries of this Spectral Cloud Array, trying to find where its Array Core and Array Nodes were located. However, this Spirit Array was quite ancient and exotic, so even though the two of them had good attainments in Spirit Arrays, for a short time, they were rendered helpless as cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.
Despite Yang Kai, Lian Guang, and the three Origin Returning Realm masters led by Fei Zhi Tu seemingly having an easy time dealing with the current situation, once it dragged on, all of them would definitely begin to tire and lose ground. Not to mention, Heaven knows how many more Cloud Beasts were sealed inside this Spirit Array.
Therefore, Du Si Si and Cai He both had to hurry, taking everything they had learned in their lifetime to continuously unravel the structure of this Spirit Array.
An incense stick of time passed…
Half an hour passed …
An hour passed…
The cultivator surnamed Wen’s complexion gradually grew dignified while Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters also began showing signs of unease. On the other hand, Yang Kai and Lian Guang both seemed quite refreshed as they freely and liberally fought.
For Yang Kai, his main contribution to this battle was the Firebird Artifact Spirit while he personally displayed his Nine Heavens Divine Skills only occasionally to contain the Ninth-Order Cloud Beast. In terms of Saint Qi consumption, Yang Kai was using the least. On the other hand, Lian Guang was primarily using his puppets to meet the enemy, so although his Divine Sense consumption was quite high, after taking some pills to supplement his Spiritual Energy, he remained calm and steady.
However, after being entangled in this fight for so long, Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters were getting slightly overwhelmed since their Saint Qi consumption was truly enormous. If they continued on in this way, the situation would soon become worrying. Fei Zhi Tu couldn’t help feeling anxious as he kept glancing over at Cai He and Du Si Si, hoping to see how they were progressing.
Seeing this, the cultivator surnamed Wen also opened his mouth to urge Cai He and Du Si Si. Fortunately, the two of them lived up the group’s expectations and, only an hour into their analysis, they finally found a flaw to exploit.
A strong light suddenly burst from Du Si Si’s and Cai He’s array tools and, after circling them for a moment, it shot off into the distance.
In the blink of an eye, the flash of light hit a particular fiery-red cloud. After being struck by this light, the fiery red cloud that was originally gently drifting suddenly froze in place.
Du Si Si’s pretty face beamed with delight as she quickly shouted, “The Array Core is there, if it’s broken, the Spectral Cloud Array will also collapse!”
Hearing this shout, everyone showed a happy expression. All of them had already speculated the Array Core was hidden amongst the countless clouds in their surroundings, but none of them had dared to touch these clouds as there was no guarantee something terrible wouldn’t happen. Now that they had identified exactly where the Array Core was though, this concern naturally disappeared.
“Brother Wen!” Fei Zhi Tu shouted.
“Leave it to me!” The cultivator surnamed Wen’s face showed a severe look as he glared towards the cloud which was struck by the flash of light. Lifting his hand, he summoned a half metre long golden needle between his fingers and poured his Saint Qi in, causing it to release a radiant, golden light before shouting out, “Go!”
As soon as his voice fell, his hand shook and the golden needle shot forward. Mid-air, the golden needle seemed to transform into a glowing golden snake that bared its fangs fiercely as it struck out.
Just as the golden needle was about to hit the red cloud though, a surprising scene took place.
This cloud unexpectedly changed into a fiery red beast that looked like a squirrel, its tiny eyes narrowing slightly as it revealed a disdainful look before its figure flickered and it completely disappeared.
The golden snake’s fangs hit only thin air.
The cultivator surnamed Wen’s expression turned ugly as he saw this. Although he knew that the cloud would certainly undergo some kind of change when it was attacked, he had never expected that the Cloud Beast would suddenly just disappear. Worse yet, releasing his Divine Sense, the man surnamed Wen was unable to find any trace of this red squirrel’s aura.
Just as he was feeling annoyed though, he saw Yang Kai’s figure shoot out, arriving directly at the place where the small Cloud Beast vanished, stretch out his hand coldly, and grab something.
*Puchi…*
Yang Kai’s huge hand seemed to have caught something, but no matter how the cultivator surnamed Wen looked, he was unable to see anything. Instead, only a kind of squeaking noise rang out.
Immediately after, a flash of light erupted and the little Cloud Beast which had disappeared a moment ago unexpectedly reappeared in the grip of Yang Kai’s hand.
It hadn’t gone anywhere; it had instead concealed its figure using some kind of extremely profound method that was capable of even deceiving the Divine Sense of the man surnamed Wen!
But how did this boy find it then? The cultivator surnamed Wen looked at Yang Kai in amazement, wondering if it was just a case of a blind cat hitting a dead mouse or if Yang Kai had actually been targeting it from the beginning.
Just as this thought crossed his mind though, black Demonic Flames covered Yang Kai’s hand and burned down the little beast mercilessly.
Regardless of how the little beast struggled to resist, it was unable to free itself from Yang Kai’s clutches. It seemed this Cloud Beast which served as the Array Core had no fighting power at all and was only capable of concealing itself. Perhaps it did have some other profound abilities, but it simply didn’t have any time to display them.
In the blink of an eye, the little beast was incinerated by the Demonic Flames and transformed into a wooden token-like object that floated strangely in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai showed a look of surprise as he grabbed the Wooden Token.
At the same time the little beast was destroyed, all the Cloud Beasts that had been entangled with Fei Zhi Tu and the others, the one which was being tied down by the Firebird and Lian Guang, and even the countless clouds floating in the group’s surroundings, all transformed into streaks of light that poured into the Wooden Token.
It was as if there was an amazing suction force coming from this Wooden Token that pulled in all the surrounding clouds.
After just three breaths, the crisis was lifted, and the originally cloud-filled world suddenly shattered. After everyone recovered their wits, they actually found themselves standing once again beside the flower bed where the purple Sword Soul Grass still stood straight like a sword.
The Spectral Cloud Array was completely broken!
However, no one called out for joy at the moment as they were all standing there staring blankly at the Wooden Token in Yang Kai’s hand, revealing envious expressions; even Fei Zhi Tu was no exception.
The look on Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s faces could even be described as fanatical.
At this moment, this Wooden Token-like thing was releasing a powerful white light which made it impossible for others to look at it directly. At the same time, it was releasing a powerful energy fluctuation clearly identifying it as a great treasure.
“Array Plate! This is actually a legendary Array Plate!?” Du Si Si screamed out, drawing everyone’s attention.
“It really is an Array Plate!” Fei Zhi Tu’s voice rose in pitch greatly as his expression became a bit complicated. Although he had guessed this just now, he wasn’t certain, but after hearing Du Si Si shout, he immediately knew his hypothesis was correct.
It turned out to be an extremely rare and precious Array Plate!
Everyone present had obviously heard about the rarity and preciousness of an Array Plate, and when the cultivator surnamed Wen remembered that this kind of exotic treasure had actually slipped through his fingers and landed in Yang Kai’s hand, he couldn’t help feeling bitter.
Just now, if he had taken action directly to catch that little squirrel, this Array Plate might be his own. Such an Array Plate was undoubtedly more precious than an ordinary Origin Grade artifact.
“Brother Yang…” Cai He began to call out, but the moment he began speaking, he saw Yang Kai calmly and relaxedly put the Array Plate into his Space Ring, causing him to stand there and stare blankly.
*Ahem…* Fei Zhi Tu lightly coughed, “Since Yang Boy obtained it, that is his opportunity. It’s his now.”
Listening to this, Ning Xiang Chen pondered for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh and saying, “Congratulations for obtaining this rare treasure, little friend. It seems your strength has greatly increased.”
The old lady and the cultivator surnamed Wen thought about it and also offered their congratulations, obviously agreeing with Fei Zhi Tu’s decision and not showing any intention to snatch this Array Plate from Yang Kai.
After all, the main purpose of their journey this time was to rescue Qian Tong, so it would obviously be unwise to fall out over this Array Plate right now.
What’s more, these three Origin Returning Realm masters all wanted to forge a friendship with Yang Kai in order to borrow his Firebird Artifact Spirit.
With the opinions of the Origin Returning Realm masters having been unified, the remaining three Saint Kings didn’t dare voice any objections.
Nevertheless, Du Si Si pouted openly as she glared towards Yang Kai. In her opinion, this guy did not understand anything about Spirit Arrays, let alone how truly precious an Array Plate was, yet he was the one who actually managed to obtain it. It was completely unreasonable.
If she could acquire this Array Plate and bring it back with her, perhaps her Du Family’s attainments in Spirit Arrays would advance a level and allow them to completely suppress the Cai Family.
Cai He mulled over the issue for a moment before also offering his congratulations to Yang Kai; however, the smile on his face was clearly quite bitter. If it was some other kind of treasure, he wouldn’t have cared, but this Array Plate’s significance to him and his family were just too great.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai just frowned slightly. Although he had never heard of an Array Plate before, from the reactions of the people around him, he was at least certain he had obtained something amazing.
However, he had no intention to ask these people about it and was simply planning on waiting until he returned to Dragon Cave Mountain to ask Yang Yan what this Array Plate was.
After this incident with the Sword Soul Grass, everyone deeply understood that this Ancient Ruin was not as peaceful or safe as it appeared on the surface, and was instead filled with crisis. One small slip up had actually trapped them in a deadly Spirit Array.
Everyone naturally raised their vigilance.
“Let’s first restore ourselves. If we encounter anything on the road from now on, don’t act hastily,” Fei Zhi Tu said a moment later before sitting down to meditate.
Everyone nodded their heads before taking out some Saint Crystals and pills to restore themselves.
Although Yang Kai had no need to restore himself, in order to avoid being too conspicuous, he found a quiet spot nearby and sat down to meditate.
The World Energy here was much richer than outside, so meditating here produced twice the result with half the effort; as such, after a short while, the Saint Kings had completely restored themselves.
Sensing approaching footsteps, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and saw Cai He and Du Si Si walking over towards him. Du Si Si wore the same gloomy look on her face while Cai He was smiling lightly.
“Is there something you two wish to discuss with me?” Yang Kai asked when they approached, pretending to be confused. Although he wasn’t certain why they had come over to speak with him, Yang Kai was fairly positive it had something to do with the Array Plate.
Sure enough, Cai He cupped his fists and said, “Please don’t blame us, Brother Yang. We’re all comrades here so naturally this Cai doesn’t wish to impose on you. I simply came here to ask Brother Yang how he plans to deal with the Array Plate he just acquired. Do you perhaps have any intention to sell it?”
When he asked this question, Du Si Si also stared at Yang Kai, seemingly quite eager to cut in, as if she couldn’t wait to make an offer the moment Yang Kai said he planned to sell it.
Unfortunately for them, Yang Kai simply smiled and shook his head, “Sorry, I’m not currently lacking money so I don’t have any plans to sell this thing right now!”
A trace of pity flashed across Cai He’s face. Despite having some faint speculation, when he heard Yang Kai’s answer in person, he inevitably felt disappointed.
On the other hand, Du Si Si coldly snorted, “Just by looking at you it’s obvious you know nothing about Spirit Arrays. Do you even know what that Array Plate is or what it’s used for?”
Yang Kai glanced over at her lightly, “Is that any concern of yours? This thing is in my hands, so naturally I have the freedom to do with it what I please.”
“You…” Du Si Si’s chest heaved up and down as she shouted, “But your being able to obtain that Array Plate is thanks to everyone’s concerted efforts! On top of that, your being able to find that Array Core is all thanks to me and Cai He! Even if that Array Plate is now in your hands, it still partially belongs to me!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai stroked his chin as he looked at her with a smile, “Listening to you, it seems you want to snatch this Array Plate from me, yes?”
“I said no such thing, don’t make false accusations!” Du Si Si’s complexion paled slightly as she unconsciously glanced over at Fei Zhi Tu. After all, Fei Zhi Tu had just said that since the Array Plate had been taken by Yang Kai, it belonged to him. If she really tried to snatch it from Yang Kai now, she would have no way to explain herself to Fei Zhi Tu.
“Then what do you want?” Yang Kai’s expression became cold. He didn’t have a favourable impression of this arrogant young woman. If others didn’t provoke him, he could ignore them, but once they did provoke him, he would certainly not give them any face.
“I… I just want to buy your Array Plate on behalf of the Du Family!” Du Si Si grit her teeth and declared.
“I’ve already said that this Array Plate is not for sale,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly. Right now, he still didn’t know the value of this Array Plate, so forget about a trivial Du Family, even if Shadow Moon Hall wanted to buy it from him, he wouldn’t agree. How could he so easily give up this Array Plate before understanding its role and value?
Du Si Si raising the Du Family’s name was clearly an attempt to pressure Yang Kai, something he felt even more disgusted by.
Hearing Yang Kai’s refusal, Du Si Si sneered before saying, “Don’t be in a rush to refuse, it won’t be too late to reject my offer after you hear it. My Du Family will pay you thirty million Saint Crystals for that Array Plate!”
“Thirty million… that’s certainly a lot of Saint Crystals,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
This little girl clearly had no clue about Dragon Cave Mountain’s reputation if she thought a trivial thirty million Saint Crystals would be enough to move Yang Kai. On the contrary, Cai He seemed to have heard some rumours about Dragon Cave Mountain and smiled wryly.
“You’re not satisfied with such a price?” Du Si Si was obviously taken aback. After all, she heard that Yang Kai was nothing more than a wanderer who had occupied a single mountain and was followed by a band of misfit cultivators. Such a cultivator should never have seen such a number of Saint Crystals before. Even for her Du Family, taking out so many Saint Crystals at once was not a simple matter and Du Si Si certainly had no right to make such a decision on its behalf, but for a matter as important as this Array Plate, even if she returned home and informed her family of this negotiation, they would definitely not object.
Even if they needed to smash their pots to sell the scrap iron, they would find a way to put together this amount.
Du Si Si’s brow furrowed. She thought Yang Kai was simply trying to raise the price by acting aloof and silently cursed him for being so despicable. Narrowing her eyes, she continued, “If you can sell this Array Plate to me, my Du Family will not only pay you thirty million Saint Crystals, but our Array Masters will also help you arrange several sets of powerful Spirit Arrays for free. Is that not enough?”
“It’s not for sale!” Yang Kai still shook his head.
Du Si Si stared at Yang Kai as if he was a fool. In all honesty, the price she offered was not low, but she never expected that it wouldn’t be able to move Yang Kai at all. After hearing what he said, she ground her teeth audibly and began to hesitate, seemingly debating whether to raise her offer again.
Yang Kai interrupted her with a wave of his hand though and declared, “Miss Du, please withdraw. No matter what kind of offer your Du Family makes I will not sell this Array Plate!”
“You’ll regret this!” Du Si Si shouted angrily before stomping her foot, turning around, and walking away, no longer interested in talking nonsense to Yang Kai.
Cai He opened his mouth and seemed to want to comfort her, but eventually held his tongue.
After Du Si Si left, he smiled bitterly and apologized, “Brother Yang, don’t blame her. Si Si was raised a bit spoiled and so her temperament is a bit difficult. If Brother Yang feels offended, this Cai will respectfully withdraw as well.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and shook his head, “It’s fine, I won’t lower myself to her level.”
“Many thanks, Brother Yang,” Cai He breathed a sigh of relief before continuing, “It seems Brother Yang really doesn’t understand the value of this Array Plate, correct?”
Yang Kai brow rose slightly as he said, “Please enlighten me!”
Cai He chuckled as he sat down cross-legged opposite Yang Kai and began chatting with him.
After listening to Cai He’s explanation, Yang Kai realized just how rare and precious this Array Plate was and why Du Si Si was so adamant about obtaining it.
The Dao of Spirit Arrays was broad and profound, and even if a cultivator spent their entire life studying them, they may not be able to truly understand all the various aspects and components of Spirit Arrays.
Meanwhile, Array Plates were another field unto their own.
Shadowed Star’s current Array Masters were no longer capable of producing Array Plates, not only because the method of refining Array Plates had been lost to history but because even those qualified to refine Array Plates no longer existed.
It was rumored that a long time ago, there was a special division of Array Masters known as Artifact Array Masters!
From this title alone, it could be easily inferred that Artifact Array Masters weren’t only proficient in Spirit Arrays, but also in Artifact Refining. Only by reaching a certain level of competency in both fields could one become an Artifact Array Master, and only Artifact Array Masters could refine Array Plates.
In general, Array Masters would have some knowledge of Artifact Refining; after all, arranging Spirit Arrays required a number of auxiliary tools similar to artifacts.
In the same way, Artifact Refiners also understood methods of arranging Spirit Arrays. The Spirit Arrays used in Artifact Refining were still Spirit Arrays. This was also the case with Alchemists.
However, under normal circumstances, one would not have deep knowledge of two such fields.
The Dao of Spirit Arrays was extensive and profound, so how could an Array Master have enough time and energy to also study Artifact Refining? Over time, the special existences called Artifact Array Masters disappeared.
An Array Plate refined by an Artifact Array Master, in a strict sense, was a self-contained Spirit Array.
It didn’t require setting up a complicated set of equipment, but could still perfectly play the role of a Spirit Array. In other words, as long as Yang Kai refined the Array Plate in his hand, he could arrange and activate that Spectral Cloud Array whenever or wherever he wanted.
Hearing Cai He explain this point, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
He had experienced the power of the Spectral Cloud Array in person. The strength of the Cloud Beasts inside wasn’t low, to the point where he had no confidence in beating them. Even Origin Returning Realm masters like Fei Zhi Tu and Ning Xiang Chen were completely trapped by it. With this Spirit Array at his disposal, Yang Kai’s strength would rise sharply and he would have another powerful method of combating his enemies.
Moreover, when their group had been trapped by the Spectral Cloud Array just now, it hadn’t actually displayed its full might; after all, no one was operating it so it was simply responding automatically.
If Yang Kai were to personally deploy it and drive the power of this Spirit Array, even a master like Fei Zhi Tu would have died inside.
This lost Array Plate was of great significance to Array Masters. If they could obtain and study it, they may be able to deduce the refinement method for Array Plates. This would obviously be far superior to having to arrange Spirit Arrays with cumbersome tools and equipment. And an Array Plate was akin to a type of artifact which, after being refined, could be received inside one’s body and taken out at will, meaning it would be impossible for others to steal.
There were so many advantages!
While Cai He was explaining these things to Yang Kai, his face was filled with complicated emotions and envy, so how could Yang Kai not know what he was thinking?
Although he didn’t openly bid for it like Du Si Si, Cai He obviously had the same intentions as her. It was only out of consideration for Yang Kai’s face that he didn’t directly raise the topic.
“Does Brother Yang understand the rarity and value of this Array Plate now?” Cai He asked with a face full of envy.
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand. Many thanks for dispelling my doubts, Brother Cai. If this Yang ever finds himself in desperate need and has to sell this Array Plate, he will definitely give priority to your Cai Family!”
Hearing this, Cai He was overjoyed and quickly cupped his fists, “Many thanks for Brother Yang’s good intentions. Although this Cai also hopes to obtain this Array Plate, I sincerely hope such a day does not come.”
Yang Kai chuckled, knowing that Cai He was being honest when he said he hoped the day didn’t come when Yang Kai went down in the world and became desperate for money. Yang Kai’s impression of this young man improved once more as he felt he was an upright character.
What transpired between these three Saint Kings was naturally not missed by Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Returning Realm masters; however, none of them minded, nor did they have any intention to interfere. After Cai He got up and left though, a thoughtful frown appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
[Artifact Array Masters… There are actually such special people in this world.]
Although such masters couldn’t be found elsewhere, there was definitely one on Dragon Cave Mountain!
Yang Yan was not only proficient in Artifact Refining, but also in arranging Spirit Arrays, so she was clearly an Artifact Array Master. Didn’t that mean Array Plates could also be refined by her?
Moreover, when Yang Kai obtained this Array Plate, he felt a faintly familiar aura lingering about it but was unable to identify where he had felt it before. Yet now, he couldn’t help feeling a bit suspicious.
Putting the Array Plate aside for the moment, Yang Kai secretly decided that after going back he would ask Yang Yan about it. If she was really capable of refining Array Plates, he would definitely ask her to refine a few of them so he could set up large Spirit Arrays anytime, anywhere in the future.
A moment later, Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters finished restoring themselves and the group continued forward after a brief discussion.
As they travelled, they would see some exotic flowers and plants randomly sitting in nearby flower beds, from time to time, each of them worth as much as a city, some of them even thought to be extinct and all of them seemingly genuine.
However, after their first experience with the Spectral Cloud Array, Fei Zhi Tu and the others no longer dared to arbitrarily touch these rare spirit flowers and herbs lest they accidentally trigger another Spirit Array.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, had an extraordinarily strong interest in these spirit flowers and herbs because, with his knowledge and judgment, he found that these things were all the real deal.
In other words, those things were not set up as traps but were instead real herbs that were just waiting to be picked. However, because he could not be one hundred percent certain there were no traps here and the priority of this trip was to rescue Qian Tong, he suppressed his desires and followed behind Fei Zhi Tu and the others.
Still, Yang Kai silently memorized the route they took in preparation for after they saved Qian Tong. At that time, he planned to come back here and carefully determine whether these things were real or just traps.
Even acting with an abundance of caution, the journey forward was not free of trouble. The Spirit Arrays inside this Ancient Ruin were all extremely well hidden, to the point where even Fei Zhi Tu, a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, was unable to always spot them despite constantly using his Divine Sense to sweep their surroundings.
Fortunately, the two young Array Masters, Cai He and Du Si Si were accompanying them. Whenever the group found themselves trapped inside a Spirit Array, the two of them would work together to crack it while the others defended against the Spirit Array’s attacks.
This pattern continued for some time and, although everyone was somewhat dishevelled, there were no casualties. Only the old lady was slightly injured while Yang Kai and Lian Guang, the two Saint King Juniors, never encountered any real danger.
Unfortunately, after these Spirit Arrays were cracked, none of them left behind an Array Plate, greatly disappointing Cai He and Du Si Si.
After three days, the group of eight stood in front of a spacious passageway. This passageway was white and flawless, seemingly paved from the purest of white jade. However, a deep chill lingered in the air while wisps of frigid energy visible to the naked eye floated about. On either side of this passage were numerous ice cones that glistened with cold light, giving off an imposing and dangerous aura.
Even if they were just standing in front of this passage and had not actually entered, everyone was still being affected by the chill, and frost was even forming at the tips of their hair.
“This should be the ice road!” Fei Zhi Tu’s expression grew solemn as he spoke, half to himself, half to everyone else.
“So cold, how did Elder Qian pass through this place?” Ning Xiang Chen’s old face turned slightly pale. He estimated that if he were to enter this passage on his own, forget about reaching its end, he would quickly be transformed into an ice sculpture.
Although Qian Tong was a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, without some kind of powerful treasure or artifact to restrain the cold here, it would have been impossible for him to take a mere Saint King Grade Artifact Refiner with him to cross this ice road.
“I heard that Elder Qian obtained a Blazing Flame Bead several dozen years ago, he probably crossed this ice road with the help of that,” The old lady said thoughtfully to the side.
Fei Zhi Tu lightly nodded, “En, Old Qian indeed has a Blazing Flame Bead, otherwise, he would definitely have had to retreat here,” Saying so, he turned to Yang Kai and asked, “How about it?”
Yang Kai stared at the passage but did not answer the question directly, “City Lord Fei, do you know how long this passage is?”
Fei Zhi Tu shook his head slowly, “The message from Old Qian didn’t mention how long this passage was. However, since Old Qian was able to lead another person through it with just his Blazing Flame Bead, it shouldn’t be too long.”
“As long as it’s not too long it should be fine then,” Yang Kai said somewhat hesitantly.
Fei Zhi Tu’s reason for bringing Yang Kai on this trip was to borrow the power of the Firebird Artifact Spirit to cross this ice road, so now it was naturally time for Yang Kai to fulfil that role.
“Relax, this City Lord also prepared something for this moment, we’re not counting on your Artifact Spirit alone.” Fei Zhi Tu reassured as he waved his hand and summoned a bronze bell-like artifact into his palm. This bronze bell was crimson in colour and radiated a pure, hot aura.
“The Grand Fire Ward!” Ning Xiang Chen’s eyes lit up as he smiled, “I didn’t expect Brother Fei to even borrow the Grand Fire Ward. It seems that passing this ice road shouldn’t be a difficult matter.”
Fei Zhi Tu smiled, “Although this Grand Fire Ward is the Sect Master’s treasure, he rarely summons it even if he is in a fight. However, since this trip is to rescue that old ghost Qian, the Sect Master naturally won’t act stingy.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai and the other juniors understood that this Grand Fire Ward artifact belonged to Shadow Moon Hall’s Sect Master and had only been borrowed by Fei Zhi Tu for this mission.
Although a borrowed artifact could not display its full power, providing some assistance wouldn’t be an issue.
Seeing this, Yang Kai nodded his head and calmed himself. With a command of his Divine Sense, the Artifact Spirit rushed out of Yang Kai’s body and quickly transformed into a light curtain that surrounded the group of eight.
The Firebird did not have a true physical form so although it usually appeared in the shape of a bird, it could transform into essentially any shape.
At the same time, Fei Zhi Tu poured his Saint Qi into the Grand Fire Ward and in the next moment, it expanded in size until it too covered everyone.
Under these two layers of protection, everyone felt more secure.
“Hey, don’t push me!” Du Si Si murmured from behind, causing Yang Kai to glance back in time to see Cai He smiling awkwardly.
It was not his fault though, there were simply too many people here. To maximize the protective power of the Firebird Artifact Spirit and the Grand Fire Ward, Yang Kai and Fei Zhi Tu both made sure to expand them to only the minimum radius required to cover everyone.
As a result, the group of eight had to stand quite close together. Cai He clearly had intentions towards her, so he stood next to Du Si Si to play the part of a gentleman and shield her from the others, but not only did she not appreciate his gesture, she even began complaining.
Cai He had a temperate personality, so he didn’t get angry and patiently explained himself to Du Si Si.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai took the lead together with Fei Zhi Tu and began advancing.
As soon as they stepped onto the ice road, everyone shuddered involuntarily. The cold here was so profound it was like an invisible blade that pierced through the double-layered protection and directly entered everyone’s body, causing their skin to tighten.
Even with two powerful Fire Attribute shields, the cold was still potent, so without any protection, it was obvious that stepping onto this ice road would be deadly.
Realizing this, everyone paled slightly. Du Si Si no longer had any complaints about Cai He and instead moved closer to him, seemingly looking for some sense of security. Seeing this, Cai He was overjoyed and suddenly began wishing this ice road would never end.
Yang Kai’s expression became dignified as he was communicating with the Artifact Spirit with his Divine Sense. As such, he could perceive the coldness of this ice road far clearer than anyone else. For every moment they stayed here, the Artifact Spirit would consume a great deal of energy, and although it wasn’t impossible to supplement this consumption, the Firebird was one of Yang Kai’s greatest boons for this Ancient Ruin exploration, so he didn’t want to needlessly drain its strength.
Immediately, the group’s pace increased.
When they were standing in front of it, none of them could clearly see what was happening on this ice road, but now that they had set foot onto it, glancing around, everyone could not help trembling slightly. The Ice Attribute energy that was lingering in their surroundings was so dense it had transformed into a kind of thick fog.
Although everyone knew that some incredible treasures would definitely have been formed due to such extreme densities of Ice Attribute Energy and so many years of accumulation, no one had any interest in searching for them and only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
After a half cup of tea’s time, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he found that he had underestimated the length of this ice road. Looking forward at this moment, he was still unable to see the end of this ice road. At the same time, he could not clearly see his surroundings. It was as if the entire world had fallen silent, with only the occasional heartbeat and breath filling disrupting the eerie stillness.
Sometime later, Du Si Si suddenly called out, “Look over there!”
Everyone was startled and turned to look in the direction she was pointing, only to pale upon seeing what she had seen.
In front of everyone’s eyes, about three hundred metres away, were several human-shaped ice sculptures, each one of them exceptionally lifelike.
These ice sculptures had male, female, old, and young forms. All of them wore different robes and had different expressions on their face. Some of them showed looks of pleasant surprise, others wore looks of terror, while others showed completely indifferent looks, as if they did not realize what was happening right up until the moment they died.
These ice sculptures were all frozen people!
“It seems like it wasn’t just Old Qian who found this Ancient Ruin,” Fei Zhi Tu sighed softly.
These ice sculptures were clearly cultivators who had come here to explore before, but for some unknown reason, they had all become frozen here, with no trace of scars on their bodies from a battle at that.
“This is…” Ning Xiang Chen’s old eyes flashed a terrified light as he stared at a certain ice sculpture, unable to speak for quite a while.
“Brother Ning, do you recognise him?” The old lady glanced over at him and asked.
“Since you were able to recognize him as well, I shouldn’t be mistaken. Unexpectedly, it is really him. When I was young, I was fortunate enough to meet him once, but I never dreamed he would actually fall here,” Ning Xiang Chen smiled bitterly.
“Is there someone here whom two Seniors know?” Cai He asked in surprise.
“Yes, two hundred years ago, there was an extremely famous master on Shadowed Star who, although not from Star Emperor Mountain, was rumoured to be the most likely to break through Shadowed Star’s World Principles and reach the Origin King Realm. Unfortunately, he suddenly disappeared a hundred years ago and was never heard from again,” Ning Xiang Chen explained lightly.
“Such a master also fell here…” Cai He showed a trace of sympathy.
“Take a closer look at the robes these people are wearing!” Fei Zhi Tu seemed to have discovered something and called out.
After a few careful examinations by the Saint King Realm Juniors, all of them showing amazed looks because the robes on these ice sculptures were clearly similar to the Sect uniforms of Shadowed Star’s current great Sects.
For example, there was one person with a small thunder pattern embroidered on their chest, which was the emblem of the Thunder Typhoon Sect.
Another person had the character for ‘War’ emblazoned on his sleeve cuff, identifying him as a disciple of Heaven Battling Union.
There were others who wore uniforms from Coloured Glass Sect, Grand Fire Temple, Myriad Beast Mountain, etc as well. Fei Zhi Tu even found a Senior who once belonged to Shadow Moon Hall.
The cultivators frozen here were all great masters, and since they were able to reach this place, their luck was also quite good. Each of them had profound strength and means, but they all still fell here.
“Is this the time to be casually observing these people?” Yang Kai frowned, seeing Fei Zhi Tu and the others all glancing towards the Space Ring worn by these dead Seniors, urging them lightly, “Perhaps these people being frozen here means there is some great danger here, shouldn’t we hurry and leave?”
When Yang Kai said this, the looks on Fei Zhi Tu and the others sank.
When they discovered these ice sculptures just now, everyone naturally was attracted to their Space Ring. Since these people were all famous masters during their lifetimes, there were definitely many good things in their Space Rings.
Everyone had some degree of greed in them but while they were distracted by thoughts of these Space Rings, all of them had failed to wonder why these people would all be frozen in this place until Yang Kai spoke out.
Fei Zhi Tu instantly felt some cold sweat drip down his back and nodded quickly, “Exactly! Let’s hurry!”
Ning Xiang Chen and the others also withdrew their unwilling gazes and immediately fell in behind Fei Zhi Tu and Yang Kai.
But after walking just a thousand metres, Yang Kai suddenly snorted, “Who!”
At the same time, a Golden Thread shot out from his hand and pierced towards the air. There was a flash of white light and a faint flicker of a shadow before whatever it was disappeared from everyone’s sight without a trace. However, at that moment, a burst of frigid Ice Attribute Energy descended, crashing towards the group and colliding with the protective curtain formed by the Artifact Spirit, causing it to creak audibly.
In the blink of an eye, the Firebird’s layer of protection was punctured and a terrifying wave of Ice Attribute Energy rushed in through the hole that had been opened. Fortunately, the Grand Fire Ward played its role and blocked this rush of cold energy.
Even so, Fei Zhi Tu’s complexion paled because the residual Ice Attribute Energy which penetrated the Firebird’s defensive cover still nearly caused the Grand Fire Ward to collapse.
“What was that?” Ning Xiang Chen’s face changed greatly as his eyes began darting around.
Everyone else was equally frightened. Without even mentioning how strong the protective heat curtain formed by the Artifact Spirit was, the Grand Fire Ward was originally a special artifact owned by Shadow Moon Hall’s Sect Master that specialized in restraining cold energy, but simply being touched by whatever it was that attacked them had nearly caused it to break. It could be imagined just how powerful this blast of Ice Attribute energy was.
If not for these two layers of protection, whatever happened a moment ago might have caused everyone here to join their nearby frozen Seniors.
There really was great danger in this place!
Yang Kai’s face was particularly ugly, because in that brief exchange a moment ago, he discovered that his Firebird Artifact Spirit was not this attacker’s opponent, a fact which greatly shocked him.
The Artifact Spirit had been formed under tens of thousands of years of accumulated Fire Attribute Energy from the Earth Lung Fire Pond, yet it still couldn’t compete with this creature. What exactly was it they were facing then?
Fortunately, the flashing white light did not attempt to hide itself for long. After failing in its initial attack, it re-appeared in its original form a short distance away.
Glancing over at this creature, everyone could not help feeling stunned.
Because their attacker turned out to be a white rabbit, but this white rabbit was quite large, at least three times the size of a normal rabbit. It was covered in snow white hair without the slightest blemish, like it was a sculpture carved from the finest white jade. Only its pair of eyes was different, crimson red in colour and exuding a violent and cruel light.
“World Energy Manifestation!”
“World Spirit!”
Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Returning Realm masters exclaimed.
With their knowledge and vision, they were naturally able to see that this white rabbit didn’t possess a true physical form but was instead an existence similar to the Firebird Artifact Spirit which was completely composed of World Energy and possessed its own sentience.
This kind of existence was known as a World Spirit!
Artifact Spirits could barely be classified as World Spirits; they differed greatly from the genuine article because they were born from Artifacts. For instance, Yang Kai’s Firebird was his Artifact Refining Furnace’s Artifact Spirit and the Artifact Refining Furnace was the foundation of its existence. Once the Artifact Refining Furnace was damaged, the Artifact Spirit would possibly be destroyed.
But this white rabbit with red eyes in front of them was a true World Spirit. It did not have a container from which it was born, instead it was purely a manifestation of the intense Ice Attribute Energy in this place that had gained self-awareness and sapience over many millennia.
World Spirits were extremely scarce, and their value was immeasurable.
Once a cultivator with the same attribute obtained a World Spirit, if they could refine or even absorb it, their strength would increase dramatically without any negative side-effects, saving them many years of cultivation.
However, World Spirits were also incredibly powerful, so even if someone managed to find one they were compatible with, they may have the tables turned on them and be killed by it before they could capture it.
Although everyone had long speculated that some good things would be born in this ice road under such severe conditions and after years of accumulation, no one had expected that a World Spirit would appear.
For a moment, everyone’s expression was filled with a strange mix of emotions including, fear, excitement, panic, and so on.
Why all these Seniors had been frozen into ice sculptures was apparent now, it was clearly the handiwork of this World Spirit. It had hidden itself among the flows of Ice Attribute Energy and suddenly launched a sneak attack, catching even Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters by surprise. With its strength and means, once a cultivator was hit, they would not have a good end.
If Yang Kai had not received a warning from his Artifact Spirit just now, he definitely would not have noticed this World Spirit’s approach. It was also only because the Firebird and this white rabbit World Spirit’s attributes were polar opposites that the former realized an incoming attack a moment ago.
It was no wonder Yang Kai felt his Artifact Spirit was not this thing’s opponent, it turned out to be a genuine World Spirit!
At this moment, the World Spirit in the form of a white rabbit was staring at Yang Kai’s group with clear, malicious intent, making none of them dare act rashly.
Fei Zhi Tu’s face twitched as he asked, “This is quite a problem. Does anyone have a way to scare it off?”
He did not expect anyone here to be able to defeat this World Spirit or even capture it. Driving it off so that they could cross this ice road was the best he could hope for. In front of such a powerful World Spirit, in this environment, even if the eight of them joined hands they might not necessarily be its opponent. The reason why the other party had not attacked again was only that the layers of protection formed by the Firebird and the Grand Fire Ward restrained it.
But this place was flooded with Ice Attribute Energy, so as long as it could stall for time, the power of the Artifact Spirit and Grand Fire Ward would be exhausted at some point and this white rabbit wouldn’t even need to act as none of Yang Kai’s group would be able to survive.
Hearing Fei Zhi Tu’s question, everyone wore an ugly expression and shook their heads.
Ning Xiang Chen’s complexion paled as he whispered, “I’ve heard that World Spirits like to devour the vitality of living creatures to strengthen themselves. It seems the reason all our Seniors here were killed was because of this reason.”
“Swallow vitality?” The several Saint King Realm Juniors paled, apparently hearing this secret for the first time.
Yang Kai, however, revealed a weird look, secretly thinking that if this white rabbit really wanted to devour their vitality, he may have a way to lead it away.
After all, the amount of vitality in his Golden Blood was astonishing, so as long as he put out a drop, it should be enough to lead this white rabbit away. However, this white rabbit was far too fast, and there was no way to tell how long this ice road was, so if it managed to swallow the drop of Golden Blood Yang Kai put out before their group left this place, it would definitely return to pursue them. At that point, Yang Kai would be forced to put out a second or third drop, possibly even more.
It was not cost-effective! Yang Kai shook his head secretly, deciding to use this method as a last resort. Only if there was no other feasible way for them to escape would he use his Golden Blood to attract its attention.
“If we can’t lead it away, we can only try to break through!” Fei Zhi Tu smiled bitterly, “Continuing to delay will only make the situation worse. Everyone, stay alert. Let’s go.”
“Yes!” Everyone nodded their heads before summoning their defensive artifacts to protect themselves.
Lian Guang said nothing before suddenly throwing out a python puppet. After pouring his Saint Qi into the puppet, it transformed from a tiny figure into one that was over ten metres in length. With its thick scales and imposing aura, it was clearly not weaker than a Third-Order Saint King cultivator.
“Go!” Lian Guang snorted, sending his python puppet out to clear the way ahead. Apparently, he intended to use this puppet to attract the attention of the white rabbit.
Generally speaking, rabbits had an instinctual fear of snakes, so although no one knew if this would be the case with this World Spirit, Lian Guang felt it was worth a try.
Seeing this, a trace of satisfaction flashed across Fei Zhi Tu’s face as he led everyone to closely follow behind the giant python.
The group’s actions weren’t too hurried, and their pace wasn’t very fast as they didn’t want to stimulate the white rabbit unnecessarily.
The giant python puppet, on the other hand, lifted its head high and displayed a mighty stance, surprising Yang Kai greatly.
The Lian Family’s techniques for refining and controlling puppets were impressive. This python would be indistinguishable from a real one if not for the fact that it did not radiate any vitality.
Nearby, the white rabbit’s crimson eyes flashed a strange light. Obviously, its sentience wasn’t low and, after staring at the giant python for a moment, its body began to distort and it soon transformed into a giant eagle.
A loud eagle cry rang out and in the next moment, the transformed World Spirit swooped down at the python’s head while spewing a white mist from its beak.
Seeing this, everyone paled as none of them had thought this World Spirit would actually know how to freely manipulate its form.
Lian Guang was even more surprised and quickly formed a seal with his hand, causing the python puppet to stand upright, open its mouth, and spew out an imposing red beam of light.
However, when this red beam of light touched the white mist, it was instantly overwhelmed and frozen. Not only that, but when the white mist reached the python itself, its body began to freeze over at a speed visible to the naked eye, making an eerie crackling sound as it happened.
Even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master wasn’t an opponent of this World Spirit, so how could a trivial python puppet equivalent to a Third-Order Saint King defeat it? After being shrouded in the white mist, the python puppet immediately began to freeze. Lian Guang’s complexion paled and he tried to take it back, but he was still a step late.
In the blink of an eye, the giant python was frozen into an ice sculpture and even the connection between it and Lian Guang was forcefully severed!
Immediately, the giant eagle’s claws grabbed the giant python, flew up into the air with it, and then dropped it to the ground.
With a loud bang, the python puppet shattered into pieces!
Under normal circumstances, such a puppet falling from such a height would suffer no damage. This python puppet had strength comparable to a Third-Order Saint King and was extremely durable, otherwise Lian Guang wouldn’t have used it to fight with his enemies; however, the white mist the giant eagle spat out had easily embrittled the puppet’s body so falling from any height naturally let to its destruction.
Lian Guang’s expression was as cold and gloomy as the ice road itself! He was a Third-Order Saint King, so it had taken him a great deal of energy and effort to refine this puppet that possessed strength equal to his own, but now, without being able to play any role at all, it had suddenly been destroyed.
It was easy to imagine the pain and grief in Lian Guang’s heart.
However, facing this World Spirit, he was helpless and could only stand there with a sullen face. No matter how many puppets he had, he was unwilling to simply discard them, but against such a World Spirit, all of his prided puppets were little more than scrap.
After the giant eagle crushed the giant python, its red eyes flashed a trace of smug disdain and soon began flapping its wing towards the crowd.
Fei Zhi Tu saw this and roared, “Block it!”
As soon as his words fell, Fei Zhi Tu summoned his Blue Jade Bowl while Ning Xiang Chen and the others all activated their defensive artifacts. In an instant, colourful light filled the air as various secret techniques and artifacts intertwined to form a defensive shield.
An eagle cry resonated through the air and another blast of white mist descended upon Yang Kai’s group. No matter what kind of attack or artifact it was, all of them were overwhelmed by the white mist and quickly froze. Even the blue light shield emitted by Fei Zhi Tu’s Blue Jade Bowl showed signs of freezing.
The giant eagle was unrelenting and immediately swooped down towards its prey, extending its talons like sharp blades to directly pierce the protective shield formed by the Firebird Artifact Spirit.
With a crack, the protective shield formed from the Artifact Spirit actually began to break in several places as a dense spider-web cracks rapidly spread out. Yang Kai’s face changed when he saw this and sent the Artifact Spirit a command via his Divine Sense before immediately releasing scorching hot black flames from his body to condense another dome-like shield to protect everyone.
At the same time, a sharp tweet rang out and the Artifact Spirit restored its usual Firebird shape. Spreading its fiery red wings several dozen metres wide, the Artifact Spirit charged at the giant eagle.
The Artifact Spirit seemed to be enraged; after all, although it wasn’t an orthodox World Spirit, it was still an existence extremely close to one. Just now, in order to protect Yang Kai and the others, it was impossible for it to show its true body and had to passively suffer repeated attacks from the giant eagle World Spirit. Naturally, it had become annoyed.
Now that it received Yang Kai’s permission, it immediately began fighting back.
Yang Kai was forced into this action. It was obviously not a wise decision to continue simply using the Firebird Artifact Spirit as a shield. The power of his Artifact Spirit was slightly inferior to this World Spirit so if he allowed the situation where it was continuously beaten to continue, sooner or later the Artifact Spirit would run out of strength.
That being the case, the better option was to let the Artifact Spirit fight directly with the giant eagle while everyone else used this opportunity to quickly escape the ice road.
Fortunately, the Grand Fire Ward was still active and, supplemented by Yang Kai’s hot Demonic Flames, there was temporarily no need to worry about freezing to death.
In the sky, the battle between the giant eagle and Artifact Spirit quickly became intense as the World Energy aura in the ice road distorted amidst the constant eagle and bird cries.
Seeing this, Fei Zhi Tu was overjoyed and hurriedly waved, “Go!”
As he spoke, he quickly used his movement skill to lead the way. Everyone else also hurriedly activated their defensive artifacts and vigorously pushed their Saint Qi to resist the chill which leaked through Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame and the Grand Fire Ward as they followed Fei Zhi Tu.
Unlike the anxious looks on everyone else’s face though, Yang Kai wore a puzzled expression on his.
Because the moment a whiff of the Ice Attribute Energy seeped into his body, he felt something stir within him and actually begin to absorb this cold energy in his surroundings.
Even with the profound chill invading his body, Yang Kai didn’t feel much discomfort. Instead, whatever it was that was absorbing this cold energy seemed to have received a great supplement and was becoming excited.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed and while running forward he began probing himself.
A moment later, his expression became even weirder.
“So, that’s what it is!”
Yang Kai hadn’t imagined the Ice Phoenix Tattoo on his back would suddenly show a reaction at this time!
Strictly speaking, this was the Phoenix Empress’ Inheritance. He and Su Yan cultivated the Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art and obtained two profound inheritances, both of which originated from Dragon Phoenix Palace in Tong Xuan Realm. Among them, the Dragon Emperor Inheritance was obtained by Yang Kai personally and had long ago been integrated into his body. The Phoenix Empress Inheritance on the other hand had previously been sealed in the Phoenix Nest, but before leaving Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had visited it and managed to take it away with him.
Since then, Yang Kai had two tattoos on his body, one was of a Golden Dragon and the other was of an Ice Phoenix.
Yang Kai’s plan was to take the Phoenix Empress Inheritance with him so that when he found Su Yan, he could give it to her directly; but so far he hadn’t been able to accomplish this wish. Before meeting Qian Yue again, he hadn’t even heard the slightest news about Su Yan.
Yang Kai had received this Ice Phoenix Tattoo into his body more than ten years ago, but after accepting it, it had shown no movement at all. Thankfully, after arriving at this ice road and especially when the cold energy of this place had invaded his body, the Ice Phoenix Tattoo began reacting. After swallowing this wisp of Ice Attribute Energy, the Ice Phoenix Tattoo became more and more rowdy and was even showing signs of wanting to leap out from Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai’s mood suddenly became subdued as he couldn’t figure out whether the situation was good or bad.
The reason the Ice Attribute Energy here could stimulate the dormant tattoo was obvious; after all, the Phoenix Empress’ Inheritance itself was related to the Ice Attribute. However, Yang Kai had no control over it at all so he couldn’t tell what would happen if he were to release it now.
If it didn’t come back, Su Yan’s Phoenix Empress inheritance would be gone.
As Yang Kai was worrying about such a possibility though, his complexion changed.
Within moments of its first stirring, the Ice Phoenix Tattoo movements grew to the point where Yang Kai could no longer suppress it and in the next instant, he felt something suddenly rush out of his body. With a loud phoenix cry, a crystal white Ice Phoenix phantom more than thirty metres in length suddenly appeared on top of everyone’s head.
In that instant, an awe-inspiring pressure suddenly descended from above.
Fei Zhi Tu and the other’s complexions changed dramatically as they all came to a halt and turned to stare at the manifestation which had appeared above Yang Kai’s head.
After just a glance, Fei Zhi Tu was unable to stop himself from calling out in alarm, “Ancient Divine Spirit!”
The shock he felt in his heart could no longer be described in words. Originally, he felt that although there would be some danger in diving into this Ancient Ruin to rescue Qian Tong, with his plans and means, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
But contrary to his expectations, after stepping onto this ice road, he had first seen a true World Spirit, and then all of a sudden an Ancient Divine Spirit appeared out of thin air! Neither of these things were creatures ordinary people would be able to see in several lifetimes as they belonged to the category of legendary existences, but today they seemed to be appearing one after another.
Even with Fei Zhi Tu’s incredible self discipline and composure, at this moment, he couldn’t help his body from trembling and his heart from clenching.
The others present weren’t fairing much better; all of them had their mouths agape as they stared at the majestic Ice Phoenix before them, as if all of them had suddenly fallen into a daze, unable to speak and even forgetting to continue escaping.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he stared at the Ice Phoenix with a worried look. The Ice Phoenix itself was in an illusionary state and although the pressure coming from it was grand and imposing, the actual energy fluctuations it was giving off weren’t very strong.
“No, it’s just a Remnant Soul!” Fei Zhi Tu also soon noticed this, allowing his expression to relax somewhat. If a true Ancient Divine Spirit had appeared here, it would be impossible for it to be giving off such a weak aura, the only explanation was that this was just a Remnant Soul.
However, even if this was just a weak Remnant Soul of an Ancient Divine Spirit, if it was given enough time, it may be able to restore itself, and even if it only managed to recover ten percent of its peak strength, it would still be an existence rivaling an Origin King!
The moment the Ice Phoenix appeared, its pair of beautiful eyes fixed on the giant eagle that was fighting with the Artifact Spirit, a look of pleasant surprise flashing across its eyes as it let out a joyful cry.
The giant eagle reacted as if its natural predator had suddenly appeared and its behaviour became chaotic, allowing the Artifact Spirit, which was originally being completely suppressed, to burn its face. Immediately, the World Spirit ignored the attack of the Artifact Spirit and fled.
The Ice Phoenix spread its wings and transformed into a streak of white light to pursue the fleeing World Spirit.
In the blink of an eye, the Ice Phoenix and the giant eagle had disappeared.
After losing its opponent, the Firebird Artifact Spirit immediately flew back and once again transformed into a protective cover, shielding Yang Kai’s group from the cold.
The chill which had been seeping past the Grand Fire Ward and Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame barrier was immediately blocked.
The entire ice road suddenly became silent as everyone stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai. Yang Kai himself wore a somber expression as he stared in the direction the Ice Phoenix had departed, no one able to tell what he was thinking.
Only after quite some time had passed did Fei Zhi Tu cough and asked hesitantly, “Yang Kai, was that Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul yours?”
Although he had seen a flash of light come from Yang Kai’s body before the Ice Phoenix appeared, until now he still couldn’t believe that this young man actually possessed a Remnant Soul of an Ancient Divine Spirit.
This little brat had a shocking Artifact Spirit as well as an Ancient Divine Spirit’s Remnant Soul…
Just how Heaven-defying must his luck be to have obtained these two things?
“Yes!” Yang Kai glanced over at him, and although he felt that it was impossible for the people here to try to fight for the Ice Phoenix with him, he still had some vigilance in his heart as he asked lightly, “City Lord Fei, do you know why my Ice Phoenix chased after that World Spirit?”
He had yet to figure out why the Ice Phoenix had suddenly reacted this time. There was no way it was simply because it had been stimulated by the Ice Attribute Energy in this place as Yang Kai had traveled to many frigid places before and had never seen such a reaction. His Profound Yin Sunflower Water also had an extreme amount of cold energy stored within it and the same was true for the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal, but the Ice Phoenix had never appeared like that before Yang Kai came to this ice road.
Fei Zhi Tu chuckled, his attitude softening significantly as he explained, “You not understanding is reasonable. Ancient Divine Spirits like to devour World Spirits of the same attributes because it is extremely beneficial to them. It looks like your Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul is quite weak, so it should urgently want to swallow that World Spirit to restore its strength. Ancient Divine Spirits are natural predators to World Spirits! However, you can rest assured, since that Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul belongs to you, after swallowing that World Spirit, it will naturally return.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded with a composed look while still feeling anxious inside.
Others did not know the situation, but he was perfectly clear that the Phoenix Empress Inheritance was only using his body as a vessel to reside in for a time and didn’t actually belong to him. If not for him possessing the Dragon Emperor Inheritance, the Phoenix Empress Inheritance would not have come with him and would still be sealed in the Phoenix Nest back on Tong Xuan Realm.
Naturally, Yang Kai wasn’t going to disclose this kind of information and could only swallow down his worries. If the people here learned that the Ice Phoenix did not actually belong to him, it might cause some unnecessary trouble.
However, after this incident, Yang Kai understood that Dragon Phoenix Palace’s Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress Inheritances were actually Ancient Divine Spirit Remnant Souls. Knowing this, it was easy to understand why they had such power and why the two tattoos on his back seemed so lifelike, often swimming across the surface of his skin.
The World Spirit of this ice road wanted to devour the vitality of Yang Kai’s group, but now it had met its natural enemy and been forced to flee. As a result, the big stone that was pressing on everyone’s hearts lifted along with the life or death crisis. With the Artifact Spirit and Grand Fire Ward’s two layers of protection, the group didn’t need to worry about being affected by the ambient cold but they still accelerated their pace to rush towards the end of the ice road.
A short time later, Yang Kai realized that the coldness of this place was converging towards a certain place and the dreadful chill in the air was significantly easing.
After a while, this abnormal movement stopped and at a certain point in the distance, a bright glow appeared. A gorgeous and noble figure soon came into view as it rushed over towards Yang Kai’s group.
Yang Kai wore a look of joy as the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul returned.
Although he had been somewhat worried, he was still certain the other party wouldn’t just leave so easily; after all, the Phoenix Empress Inheritance and his Dragon Emperor Inheritance shared a strong bond that attracted one another.
For these years, the Ice Phoenix had taken his body as its vessel and been in a state of deep sleep, so it suddenly leaving without reason was an unlikely scenario.
With a great flash of light, the huge figure of the Ice Phoenix floated above everyone’s head, its cold and noble eyes staring down at all of them, causing everyone to unconsciously hold their breath.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a strange light and quietly whispered, “City Lord Fei, could I trouble you to open a gap in the Grand Fire Ward?”
“En,” Fei Zhi Tu nodded quickly and with a quick thought opened a small hole in the Grand Fire Ward’s protection. At the same time, the Firebird Artifact Spirit also opened a passage through its barrier.
The Ice Phoenix’s figure transformed into a beam of white light that dove into Yang Kai’s body and disappeared.
Although everyone was curious whether the Ice Phoenix had successfully swallowed the World Spirit, no one asked at this time as what was most important right now was to leave this ice road.
Fortunately, it seemed that they were not far from the ice road’s end and after only a few dozen breaths the group stepped off it and into a stone hall. At the same time, the chill which had filled the air finally disappeared.
Fei Zhi Tu turned his head and looked at Yang Kai, but upon seeing him frown as he seemingly investigated himself, he didn’t bother him and just said, “All of you take a rest here for now, I’ll search for the markings left by Old Qian.”
Saying so, he walked off to search the area.
When everyone heard Fei Zhi Tu’s proposal, none of them objected, all of them finding a spot to sit down cross-legged and control their breathing. Although they had not expended much strength when crossing this ice road, the mental strain they experienced was great. If not for the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul appearing at the last moment, the consequences would have been unimaginable. To resist the ambient cold and the World Spirit’s attack, everyone had consumed some power, so now was a good chance to restore themselves.
Yang Kai sat silently as he continued to inspect the situation in his body.
Although the Phoenix Empress Inheritance did not belong to him, since it was living in his body, he was able to sense some things about it. To his surprise, the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul did not seem to have obtained much nourishment after it left him, and although it indeed felt stronger than before, it was obviously not because it had swallowed that World Spirit.
[It failed to devour the World Spirit!] Yang Kai immediately made this conclusion. However, after absorbing some of the Ice Attribute Energy from the ice road, it had managed to strengthen itself a bit.
This result did not surprise Yang Kai. For one, the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul did not have much strength right now. It was just an ancient inheritance and could not play any kind of big role in his hands. Only when he transferred it to Su Yan and the two fused would it be able to display its full might.
Secondly, since the Ice Attribute World Spirit was born on this ice road, it must be extremely familiar with the environment so avoiding the Ice Phoenix should not have been a problem.
[What a pity!] Yang Kai sighed. If the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul could have swallowed the World Spirit, maybe some unexpected changes would have occurred. If he could give it to Su Yan after that, the benefits she would obtain would be even greater.
Yang Kai was not ready to go back to find trouble with the World Spirit right now though. Although the Ice Phoenix was its natural enemy, Yang Kai could not control the Ice Phoenix at all and even a cornered rabbit would bite back, let alone a powerful World Spirit. From what Yang Kai observed, if that World Spirit was really driven into a dead end, who would die and who would live between it and the Ice Phoenix was uncertain.
While everyone was meditating and resting, they would also shoot glances towards Yang Kai from time to time. Everyone hid deep envy in the depths of their eyes, and even the always indifferent Lian Guang was no exception.
In response, Yang Kai pretended not to notice and simply continued his meditation. What they thought to themselves was not any of his concern, as long as they didn’t try to find trouble with him.
“Good, I found the marks left behind by that old ghost Qian. Follow me!” Fei Zhi Tu’s voice suddenly called out. When everyone heard this, they stood up and walked over towards the source of the sound.
This hall’s area was not very large and, after leaving it, the group soon arrived at the entrance to a labyrinth. There were many passages that split and criss-crossed, leading to who knows where. Just looking at it made everyone feel a headache coming on.
Standing at the entrance of the labyrinth, everyone looked around at one another, unsure of how to proceed.
Fei Zhi Tu stepped forward at that moment, causing everyone to fall in behind him.
As he walked, Fei Zhi Tu explained, “Although some of the things in Old Qian’s message were not clear, he did mention this labyrinth. There are no Spirit Arrays in this maze but there are some other traps!”
“Traps?” Ning Xiang Chen looked surprised.
“Yeah, traps!” Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, “Don’t underestimate these traps, if you accidentally touch one of them, we may not be able to escape from here with our lives!”
Ning Xiang Chen and the others all paled slightly upon hearing this.
While talking, a fork in the road suddenly appeared in front of the group. Fei Zhi Tu stood at the fork and looked back at Lian Guang, “Lian Boy, you’re up.”
Without a word, Lian Guang waved his hand and suddenly a few puppets resembling mice appeared on the ground. Under Lian Guang’s command, these mice dove into the various forks and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he finally understood why Fei Zhi Tu had brought the Saint King Realm Lian Guang along: it was to use his puppet to explore the way here.
This was indeed an excellent method. In places where it was too dangerous for a cultivator to explore, Lian Guang’s puppets could be used instead. Even if some of these puppets were lost, it wouldn’t result in much harm.
After the few mice-like puppets disappeared, Lian Guang closed his eyes as if he was sensing something. After a while, a squeaking noise came from the left channel and Lian Guang’s face cringed in pain for a moment.
Judging from this, the passage on the left was probably quite dangerous and the puppet which was scouting it had been destroyed.
After a while, another squeak sounded from the front passage and Lian Guang opened his eyes and said, “Right!”
Fei Zhi Tu nodded lightly and headed into the right passage.
With Lian Guang’s pathfinder puppets, it was much more convenient to explore this labyrinth. These mouse puppets did not seem to have any combat power but were instead extremely well suited for scouting. After sacrificing about thirty of these puppets, the group exited the labyrinth without a single scratch.
But Lian Guang’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot and it was obvious that he was feeling quite distressed.
Although it was not too difficult to refine these mice puppets, each of them had consumed a lot of materials. Thirty mouse puppets were equivalent to a few years of Lian Guang’s savings.
It would be strange if his mood was good.
“Rest assured, after we return, you will receive enough benefits to compensate for your loss,” Fei Zhi Tu comforted.
With this promise, Lian Guang’s complexion became much better.
“Brother Fei, you didn’t mention anything about this before. What should we do now?” Ning Xiang Chen frowned as he stared forward.
Hearing this question, Fei Zhi Tu turned his head and looked towards the front, a dumbfounded expression soon covering his face.
Because after passing through the labyrinth, two arched doors appeared in front of the group, one black and one white. These doors were quite strange, the white one seemingly made of warm white jade while the black one gave off a cold and menacing aura. The contrast was quite stark.
Beyond the two arched doors there was only a void. Any Divine Sense that penetrated this void was unable to perceive anything. It was like staring into a bottomless lake.
“A Space Array Gate?” Fei Zhi Tu exclaimed in surprise.
“What, did Elder Qian not tell you which one of these we’re supposed to enter?” Ning Xiang Chen asked in amazement. If there was something in the message sent by Qian Tong, Fei Zhi Tu would not be showing a surprised look right now, so the only explanation was that even Fei Zhi Tu didn’t know about this thing.
“He didn’t mention this gate!” Fei Zhi Tu slowly shook his head.
“How could Elder Qian have neglected to mention something so important?” Ning Xiang Chen called out in alarm.
“That old ghost Qian’s message was clearly sent in a rush, so him not being able to mention some things isn’t unexpected,” Fei Zhi Tu frowned. Saying so, he turned his head to look at Cai He and Du Si Si and asked, “Can you two analyse this gate?”
Two completely different circular doors, one black, one white; a difficult choice had appeared in front of everyone. In general, most people would tend to choose the white door because black always represented evil and death, but one could not make such an arbitrary judgement as none of them knew where these two Space Array Gates led.
Perhaps one represented life and one death, or perhaps it did not matter either way…
Fei Zhi Tu could only pin his hopes on Cai He and Du Si Si.
Hearing this question, the two Array Masters exchanged an awkward look with Cai He eventually replying, “Although we’ve both studied Spirit Arrays all our lives, we know nothing about the Dao of Space or Space Force, nor have we ever come into contact with something like a Space Array Gate. However, Spirit Arrays are still Spirit Arrays, if Senior Fei is willing to allow us, Si Si and I can study this Space Array Gate to see if we can determine which path is the suitable one.”
Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, “Good, don’t worry, the two of you just study it carefully. If you discover anything, be sure to inform me right away.”
Cai He and Du Si Si nodded and stepped forward, spreading out their tools to begin their examination of the two Space Array Gates.
Everyone else present could not provide any assistance to these two so they had no choice but to sit or stand on the sides and observe. Even Yang Kai, who cultivated the Dao of Space, could not help. The situation right now was quite simple. Both Space Array Gates could be used, but where they lead, no one knew, so everyone could only pin their hopes on Cai He and Du Si Si.
It was a pity that although these two had been trained by their families since they were young and had decent attainments in Spirit Arrays, this situation was essentially completely foreign to them. In the beginning, everything proceeded smoothly, but soon the two young Array Masters began arguing. It seemed one of them favoured entering the white Space Array Gate while the other was convinced the black Space Array Gate was the correct choice. Neither could persuade the other as their decisions were based on their own intuition rather than substantive facts.
Although Cai He was interested in Du Si Si, this was a matter of great importance, so he refused to compromise on his opinion.
Seeing this, Yang Kai sighed slightly.
These two certainly had exceptionally good attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, but compared with Yang Yan, the difference was still immense. When they fell into Spirit Arrays along the way, Yang Kai was able to estimate that, if Yang Yan were here, it would not take her longer than a quarter of an hour to find their cores and crack them. On the other hand, these two working together would often take many times longer than that.
If Yang Yan were here, which gate would she choose?
Yang Kai squinted at the two Space Array Gates for a moment before smiling wryly, secretly thinking that if Yang Yan encountered this situation, she would choose the black one.
The reason was simple, that girl was always wearing a black robe, even going so far as to wrap it around her head and face, so obviously she had a liking for the colour black.
Just as he was thinking this, an intense suction force suddenly erupted from the black and white Space Array Gates, their surfaces changing in appearance from the surfaces of calm lakes to massive vortices in the shape of funnels, drawing in everything around them.
It seemed that after being probed by the Array Tools arranged by Cai He and Du Si Si, the two Space Array Gates had been inadvertently activated and were now running out of control.
The power of this suction force caused everyone to pale because when it appeared they all felt themselves being pulled towards the black and white Space Array Gates uncontrollably.
Fei Zhi Tu and the other Origin Realm masters furiously pushed their Saint Qi but were still unable to resist this suction. Seeing himself being dragged towards the Space Array Gates, Fei Zhi Tu hurriedly shouted, “Cai Boy, Du Girl, which choice is the right one?”
Cai He and Du Si Si, who were arguing a moment ago, were currently panicking, so there was no way they would be able to reach a consensus within a short time, each of them shouting out their own choice.
Hearing this, Fei Zhi Tu immediately understood he couldn’t count on them for an answer but he didn’t blame them, no one had expected such a strange incident to suddenly occur.
“I can’t hold on!” Ning Xiang Chen shouted and consciously stopped resisting, turning his head back to shout, “Brother Fei, this old master will be going on ahead.”
As soon as his words fell, he rushed towards the white gate and his figure disappeared through it in a blink of an eye.
At the same time, the old woman was being drawn into the black gate. Seeing Ning Xiang Chen rush to the other gate, she struggled violently but to her dismay, she was unable to escape the black gate’s pull and was sucked into it with a pitiful cry.
In a flash, two Origin Returning Realm masters were pulled into two different Space Array Gates, causing everyone to no longer know which choice they should make.
Moreover, at this moment, even if they wanted to make a choice, they were unable to. The cultivator surnamed Wen and Fei Zhi Tu were also pulled towards the white gate and seeing that their resistance was pointless, Fei Zhi Tu grit his teeth and shouted, “Go in!”
As he said so, he and the man surnamed Wen disappeared into the white gate.
Before the two of them entered, Lian Guang had also disappeared. Everyone had been busy trying to save themselves, so no one had noticed when he had been sucked into the gate or even which gate he had entered. On the other hand, Yang Kai was still quite far away and struggling to resist. Cai He and Du Si Si were also putting up a last-ditch struggle with the help of the Array Tools they had previously deployed.
Seeing that most of the masters had rushed into the white gate, Du Si Si grit her teeth and shifted her figure, hoping to follow after them, but at that last moment she was actually pulled back by Cai He who hurriedly shouted, “We need to go this way!”
Du Si Si did not even have time to get angry before she and Cai He were sucked into the black gate.
Yang Kai was the last one remaining of the group and as he was being pulled towards the gates, he smiled wryly and muttered aloud, “Yang Yan, Yang Yan, don’t let me down!”
Saying so, he leapt into the black gate.
In the next instant, his body was swallowed by the black gate and, after a brief bout of dizziness, Yang Kai found himself in a completely different place. After looking around carefully, he spotted Du Si Si harshly scolding Cai He while the latter was frantically apologizing.
Fortunately, all of them had been transported to the same place and there did not seem to be any danger in their immediate surroundings. Realizing this, Yang Kai calmed down and immediately released his Divine Sense to scan the local region.
This place seemed to be another grand hall, one that was surrounded by open fields, a fact that relieved Yang Kai greatly.
The reason why he chose the black Space Array Gate was not entirely because of Yang Yan’s preference for black, Yang Kai also had his own thoughts about the issue. Although acting with most masters would probably increase his security, no one could say for certain what lay beyond the two gates, so the choice he made didn’t really matter.
On the other hand, the two Array Masters Cai He and Du Si Si would be able to play a huge role in exploring this Ancient Ruin and since they had entered the black gate, Yang Kai was naturally willing to follow.
This would allow him to avoid getting stuck inside some Spirit Array.
“Don’t quarrel!” The old woman who had come here a step faster suddenly shouted, interrupting Du Si Si’s tirade against Cai He. After glaring at the two young Array Masters for a moment, she turned to Yang Kai and asked, “What about the others?”
“All the others entered the other gate, I was the last one to come through,” Yang Kai glanced around but didn’t see any trace of Lian Guang’s figure, concluding he must have entered the other side.
“What…” The old woman’s complexion changed slightly as she did not seem to expect she would be completely separated from the other masters. When she looked at the three Juniors in front of her, she could not help feeling a bit frustrated and helpless. At this time, given her strength and status, if their group encountered danger, it would probably fall on her to deal with it, so the pressure she felt was quite unpleasant.
However, when she thought about the power of Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit, the old woman relaxed slightly. While the two Array Masters probably would not be much use in a fight, Yang Kai was a different story.
After pondering for a while, the old woman said, “Regardless of the situation on their side, Du Girl, this old woman feels that our choice should be correct.”
Although Du Si Si’s anger was suppressed by the old woman’s words and she did not try to chastise Cai He for bringing her here against her will, she still asked in an unconvinced tone, “Why is that?”
“At the very least, it’s safe here. City Lord Fei’s side may not be as peaceful as this place. Don’t blame Cai Boy anymore, he had good intentions.”
“En,” Du Si Si nodded reluctantly. She still felt it would have been better to follow the other group which had more masters.
The old woman sank into thought for a while before turning to Yang Kai and asking, “Little Friend Yang, what do you think we should do now?”
She took the initiative to ask Yang Kai’s opinion.
Yang Kai chuckled and cupped his fists, “Senior is too polite. Junior is young and inexperienced, so he will defer to Senior’s knowledge. Senior need only lead, Junior will follow!”
Hearing this made the old woman’s wrinkled brow loosen slightly and a smile form on her lips, “Alright, let’s first leave here then.”
Cai He and Du Si Si naturally did not have any objections, so the three Saint King Realm juniors quietly followed the old woman out of the hall.
The outside of the hall appeared almost identical to the scene everyone had seen when they first entered these Ancient Ruins. There were flower beds all around with rare and exotic plants growing here and there, but in addition to these, there were several decorative rockeries.
Sniffing the air, Yang Kai suddenly showed a look of surprise.
At the same time, the old woman and the two young Array Masters also noticed something and could not help exchanging an excited glance.
Because there was an incredibly refreshing fragrance floating through the air. This fragrance was not fake or some kind of illusion, which could only mean that there was something good at the location it was originating from!
Considering all this, everyone’s pulse sped up.
“Obviously, you’ve also noticed!” The old woman smiled slightly, “Accompany this old woman to see what good thing it is, but be careful not to fall into another Spirit Array trap.”
The several Juniors nodded before quickly following behind the old woman to search for the source of the fragrance.
Surprisingly, while everyone acted very careful along the way, they didn’t encounter any kind of danger, and after spending about half an hour, they arrived at the source of the fragrance.
Unexpectedly, what lay in front of their group was a large rockery, one that was over ten metres high and several tens of metres wide. No one knew what material this rockery was built from, only that it seemed to be quite uniformly constructed.
Yang Kai squinted at this rockery with interest. He noticed that whatever this rockery was constructed from was a rare Artifact Refining material. If he was able to bring it out from this place, it could definitely be refined into several powerful artifacts! Unfortunately, this rockery was far too large. Even if a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master came here, they wouldn’t be able to take it away, causing Yang Kai to sigh helplessly.
Inside the rockery was a small pool only about a metre in diameter. This pool seemed to be only a finger deep, but the liquid inside it was a milky white, making it impossible to see the bottom.
The fragrance everyone smelled was coming from this pool.
Just above the pool, there were trances of flowing liquid, so it seemed that the water here was collecting from some unknown place. However, after not being maintained for countless years, there still only being the accumulated liquid in this pool clearly indicated how slowly this accumulation process was.
“This is…” The old woman stared at the finger deep pool as her expression changed from serious to excited, and from joy to hesitation.
“Is this Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk?” Cai He exclaimed.
“It really is Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk?” Du Si Si was also excited. Although they had never seen Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk before, both of them had heard its name before. Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk was extremely rare but had some incredible uses.
It was said that when used in Alchemy, it could produce a wondrous healing remedy that could bring a cultivator back from the brink of death. It was a rare treasure for any cultivator.
Yang Kai initially thought this was Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk as well; after all, the appearance of the liquid in this pool was very similar to the records he had read, practically identical in fact. However, upon closer inspection, he felt this was wrong, because Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk was rumored to be milky white with a touch of light gold, but this pool of liquid was only milky white.
If it wasn’t Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk though, what was it? Although Yang Kai was an Alchemist, and had read many ancient books about herbs and pill recipes, it didn’t mean he recognized all the medicines in the world.
He couldn’t help turning his eyes to the old woman, hoping she would recognize what this was.
The expression of the old woman had been changing constantly, but after much pondering, she gently exhaled and said, “Whether it is Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk or not, we’ll know after giving it a try!”
Saying so, she dipped her finger into the pool of liquid, extracted a drop, then placed it into her mouth.
In the next moment, the old woman’s eyes bulged as an incredible vital energy suddenly burst out from her aging body, causing her old face to flush bright red.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, the wrinkles on her face began to diminish and her rickety back slowly straightened up.
After a dozen breaths, the old woman’s expression returned to normal, but her appearance had undergone a dramatic change. She seemed to be a lot younger, and although she would still be classified as an old woman, it was far better than before.
The three Saint Kings were stunned.
The old woman also couldn’t believe the change she just experienced. Quickly taking out a mirror from her Space Ring, she held it in front of her face as she stroked her cheek with her free hand. After seeing her new appearance, a few tears leaked from her old eyes and her body trembled visibly.
Yang Kai and the others didn’t disturb her, standing to the side and waiting for her to calm down, hoping she could give them an explanation.
It took a while before the old woman let out a burst of laughter and began nodding repeatedly, “So that’s how it is!”
“Senior, what kind of elixir is this to have such magical effects?” Cai He asked anxiously.
“What kind of elixir is this…” The old woman glanced over at him, “This isn’t a mere elixir, it is a long-lost supreme treasure that no amount of money can purchase!”
When she said this, Yang Kai frowned slightly and secretly began circulating his Saint Qi preparing to take action at a moment’s notice. Men die for wealth just as birds die for food, so although this old woman had been showing him much goodwill during this expedition, if this treasure truly was as precious as she described it, there was no guarantee that this old woman wouldn’t try to kill all of them in order to keep it for herself.
There were only four of them in this place with her strength being the greatest and, judging from her reaction just now, this pool of liquid was apparently worth her taking some risks.
Yang Kai even noticed a light flash across this old woman’s eyes. Obviously the other party was weighing such thoughts, but for some unspoken reason, she ultimately decided not to act on his impulse and instead slowly answered Cai He’s repeated questions with a question of her own, “Have you ever heard of the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters?”
“Three Great Divine Waters?” Cai He and Du Si Si both wore confused looks.
Yang Kai on the other hand raised his brow.
“It seems Little Friend Yang has heard of them,” The old woman saw Yang Kai’s reaction and smiled.
“I have heard the term, but as for what these Three Great Divine Waters are, I don’t really know,” Yang Kai answered honestly.
He really had heard of the Three Great Divine Waters; after all, the pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field was one of them! Soul Cleansing Divine Water could remove the impurities in a cultivator’s Soul and greatly increase their Soul cultivation.
However, the conditions for the creation of Soul Cleansing Divine Water were extremely demanding. First, an Origin King Realm master needed to die inside a Spirit Spring or Spirit Well, then the Spiritual Energy of that dead Origin King needed to blend together with that Spirit Spring; finally, after thousands of years, there was a chance a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water would form.
At that time, back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Yang Kai had obtained many benefits from the pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water which eventually led to the Soul Warming Lotus evolving to its Seven Coloured form. Yang Kai also comprehended his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique from that opportunity.
At that time, Yang Kai had heard people talk about the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters and had made a note to ask Yang Yan about them when he returned, but after many twists and turns he had forgotten to do so.
Now hearing the old woman mention the Three Great Divine Waters, Yang Kai naturally paid attention.
“Is this one of the Three Great Divine Waters?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Yes, if this old woman isn’t wrong, this is Life Revitalizing Jade Cream!” The old woman declared.
“Life Revitalizing Jade Cream!” The three Saint Kings all called out in shock. Although they weren’t clear just how precious this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was, since it could be classified as one of the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters, and after witnessing the changes the old woman just underwent, they could at least tell it was indeed a priceless treasure.
“Heh heh,” The old woman chuckled, “Our luck is really quite good, actually finding Life Revitalizing Jade Cream here. This is a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-year opportunity!”
“Senior, what exactly is this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream used for?” Cai He asked excitedly.
“The number of wondrous uses for it is countless, but the primary one is to enhance the vitality of a cultivator. It can even extend the life of the cultivator. This old woman only swallowed a drop of it yet I already feel decades younger! It is no different from restoring one’s youth! Compared to Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk, this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream’s value is many times higher,” The old woman explained excitedly.
Because her aptitude had been insufficient, she had remained stuck at the First-Order Origin Returning Realm for many years, and with her remaining lifespan growing shorter, she felt it was impossible for her cultivation to rise any further.
But all of a sudden, this Heaven defying Life Revitalizing Jade Cream had appeared in front of her.
With this treasure, not only could she restore her youthful appearance, she could greatly extend her lifespan. With these additional years, she would have ample opportunity to break through her own bottlenecks and reach the peak of Shadowed Star’s Martial Dao in time.
Listening to her explanation, how could Yang Kai and the others not understand how valuable this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream?
On Shadowed Star, the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm was the highest cultivation one could reach and their lifespan was also limited to the peak of this realm. Many shocking talents were crushed by this immutable reality that forever shackled them, but if they could obtain some Life Revitalizing Jade Cream and increase their lifespan, they would also be increasing their chances of breaking through those very limits.
Once word of such a treasure’s existence leaked out, it wouldn’t be long before all of the masters on Shadowed Star came to try to snatch it.
Thinking of this, everyone fell silent.
The old woman glanced around at the three juniors and said solemnly, “I hope all of you can keep silent regarding this treasure. Even when you return to your families, it would be best to not let irrelevant people hear of this.”
“Junior understands!” Cai He and Du Si Si echoed in unison.
Yang Kai also nodded his head. He knew the significance of this matter and naturally wouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble for himself.
“Senior, if I may ask, you just referred to this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream as one of the Three Great Divine Waters, so what are the other two?” Cai He asked curiously. Naturally he was unwilling to let an opportunity to gain some important insight slip by. Although the Three Great Divine Waters were no doubt extremely difficult to obtain, since they were able to discover one of them, there was no reason to believe they wouldn’t have an opportunity to obtain the other two in the future.
Hearing this, the old woman nodded and explained, “The other two are equally valuable once-in-a-hundred-thousand-year existences. One of them is Soul Cleansing Divine Water, and I heard that this treasure actually appeared a few years ago.”
“It did?” Cai He and Du Si Si exclaimed.
“Yes, it appeared in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. If neither of you went in, it’s reasonable you didn’t know about it. Unfortunately, no Origin Realm cultivator can set foot into the Flowing Flame Sand Field, otherwise this old woman might have had a chance to obtain some of it.”
“What about the last one?” Du Si Si asked.
“That last one, heh, the last one is the Immortal Source Liquid!” The old woman’s face revealed a fascinated look as she slowly said, “Soul Cleansing Divine Water can help a cultivator wash and purify their Soul while improving their Soul cultivation. Life Revitalizing Jade Cream can increase one’s vitality and lifespan. Finally, Immortal Source Liquid can help a cultivator strengthen their physique and is the ultimate Body Tempering treasure. If one has truly Heaven defying luck, they may even be able to refine the Immortal Divine Tree and gain an immortal and indestructible body!”
“Immortal Divine Tree?” Yang Kai’s expression changed and he unavoidably became very excited when he heard the old woman say that Immortal Source Liquid was the ultimate Body Tempering treasure. Although he had the Five Element Indestructible Sword Tempering Art, a high-grade Body Tempering Secret Art that, when cultivated to its highest level, could produce an immortal and indestructible physique, in the end, he had yet to cultivate it, so there was no way of knowing what its true efficacy was. On top of that, he was still lacking two of five elemental treasures and was not anticipating obtaining them any time soon. Now hearing that this Immortal Divine Tree actually had such a wondrous effect, of course he would take an interest.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of relationship there was between the Immortal Divine Tree and the Immortal Source Liquid, but since the old woman had mentioned it, there must be a reason.
Cai He and Du Si Si were also listening and with rapt attention.
The old woman paused for a moment before explaining, “The Immortal Divine Tree is said to have been created at the beginning of the universe and is, itself, an immortal and indestructible existence. Immortal Source Liquid is rumoured to be the dew secreted from the Immortal Divine Tree. According to ancient records, some people with Heaven defying luck have managed to acquire some Immortal Source Liquid, but no records of anyone ever seeing the Immortal Divine Tree itself exist. Whether it is even real or not, this old woman doesn’t know.”
“So it’s like that!” Yang Kai thought about it while stroking his chin. If this was the case, it would clearly be more reliable for him to cultivate the Five Element Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. Even if the effects of the Five Element Indestructible Sword Tempering Art were somewhat exaggerated, all in all, it was still a high-quality Body Tempering Secret Art. After cultivating it, it would definitely increase his strength whereas this Immortal Source Liquid and Immortal Divine Tree were only illusory existences that may or may not exist.
“Good, let’s end the talk about the Three Great Divine Waters here. Right now, we should decide how to divide this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream,” The old woman waved her hand and wore a solemn look as she stared at the three Saint Kings in front of her and said, “This old woman won’t use her age to take advantage of you Juniors. How about we simply split this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream equally?”
Cai He and Du Si Si glanced at each other briefly before nodding happily.
Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t raise any objections.
Seeing this, the old woman immediately took out a few jade bottles and used some mysterious method to extract the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream from the pool. The whole process was carried out in front of the three Saint King Realm youths’ eyes so they could tell she didn’t play any tricks. This old woman really divided up the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream into four equal parts, one for each of them.
“Take good care of this and after you return home, make sure you discuss its existence with no one!” The old woman again exclaimed solemnly.
“Yes!” Cai He and Du Si Si tightly clenched the bottle of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream in their hands before carefully storing it away into their respective Space Rings.
Having obtained such a precious treasure, both of them felt that this entire trip had been worthwhile and Du Si Si no longer felt like blaming Cai He for dragging her through the black Space Array Gate. Deep down, she was now actually feeling grateful towards him.
If not for Cai He’s actions back then, she would have missed this opportunity to obtain this priceless treasure.
“Let’s go, we still need to find a way out of this place,” The old woman seemed to be in a good mood and led the three Saint King youths away after saying so.
Yang Kai remained silent the whole time, but before he left, he couldn’t help glancing back at the rockery, a strange light flashing across his eyes.
Since Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was known as one of the Three Great Divine Waters, according to reason, its effects couldn’t possibly have been so weak. The old woman had taken a drop of it but it had only made her appearance a few years younger, which was not something too remarkable.
Moreover, the old woman had freely divided the pool of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream into four parts, something which puzzled Yang Kai greatly. Just taking her strength and age into consideration, even if she requested to take half of the pool for herself, Yang Kai believed Cai He and Du Si Si wouldn’t refuse, nor would he, but the old woman only took a quarter, which was oddly generous.
Thinking about the traces of liquid flowing into the rockery, Yang Kai silently guessed that this pool of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was not actually composed of pure Life Revitalizing Jade Cream.
Perhaps… it was just a diluted byproduct which had flowed here from somewhere else!
If he could follow the flow of this liquid back to its source, he may be able to find a purer Life Revitalizing Jade Cream!
If this was the case, the old woman’s actions could also be explained. She may have been aware of this, so she was willing to divide up the pool of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream equally, satisfying the others first while intending to come back here another time to further explore this region.
This wasn’t impossible! Considering all this, Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a grin. If others had such ideas, there was no way he didn’t have them too. After all, obtaining good things for oneself would not only bring a greater sense of accomplishment, but also a greater sense of satisfaction.
Of course, all of this was just his own guess and it would be necessary to verify whether this was really the case in the future.
After dispersing for a time, the group of four gathered together at an agreed upon spot and began going over their findings in turn.
After half a day of exploration, everyone found that there was really no danger here, but even after deciding to split up and search for a way out, it had taken half a day to fully search this space.
Once they regrouped and spoke of their individual discoveries, Yang Kai immediately understood that this location was an isolated space that occupied a large area, but apart from the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream they had previously discovered, there was nothing else worthy of note. There was also no obvious exit.
The only possible way out was discovered by Cai He.
After he mentioned this possible exit, the old woman quickly postulated, “So we can only leave through that exit? Cai Boy, did you see anything about that exit we need to pay attention to?”
“There was nothing there worth noting besides a several-dozen-metre-tall humanoid statue that was standing above the exit. That statue looked fierce and imposing and the exit is actually between its legs.”
“A humanoid statue?” The old woman frowned.
“En, other than that, there was nothing suspicious.”
The old woman nodded lightly, “Since that’s the case, let’s go take a look.”
After a brief discussion, the group of four moved to the location Cai He had found. Half an hour later, everyone arrived at their destination and Cai He pointed to the front and said, “Senior, that’s the exit I found.”
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and couldn’t help staring for a moment because there was indeed a round gateway there, one that was pitch black and seemed bottomless. Sending their Divine Senses into this black abyss felt like tossing a rock into the ocean, making it impossible to determine what lay beyond.
In front of this gateway was a several-dozen-metre-tall statue, its legs spread ever so slightly as they stood on either side of the gateway. This scene made everyone smile somewhat bitterly.
Although it was just a statue, it was quite an uncomfortable feeling to have to pass under a humanoid figure’s crotch.
Moreover, whether this statue held any secrets or dangers was undetermined. The old woman said nothing and released her Divine Sense to probe the statue carefully. Yang Kai did the same.
After a while, the old woman took back her Divine Sense and whispered, “There doesn’t seem to be anything amiss with this statue, nor do there seem to be any traces of barriers or Spirit Arrays, but everyone should remain alert. Since this statue was placed here specifically, it must have some purpose, so don’t act carelessly.”
The Saint King juniors naturally nodded and consciously raised their vigilance.
The Spirit Array traps in this Ancient Ruin were all extremely well hidden, to the point that even Fei Zhi Tu was sometimes unable to notice them until it was too late. If that wasn’t the case, after entering this Ancient Ruin their group wouldn’t have gotten trapped in one Spirit Array after another.
There was no guarantee that this statue wasn’t part of some kind of barrier, Spirit Array, or trap mechanism.
A dignified look flashed across the old woman’s eyes as she opened her mouth and spat out a brown beam of light. This brown light was clearly some kind of artifact and quickly transformed into a halo which surrounded her body.
With this extra layer of protection, the old woman’s expression calmed slightly as she called out, “This old woman will lead the way, all of you follow close.”
Yang Kai and the others also summed their own defensive artifacts and then immediately followed after the old woman.
A moment later, the old woman walked to within a hundred or so metres of the gateway while constantly monitoring her surroundings to guard against any accidents. Of course, most of her attention was focused on the statue.
However, until now, nothing had happened, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. After all, even after approaching so close, there had been no signs of danger, causing her to think that this place was probably really safe.
But instead of relaxing her guard, she became even more alert.
Walking a dozen more steps forward yet still not suffering any accidents, the old woman let out a wry laugh and was about to say something when a subtle noise suddenly rang out from the humanoid statue standing in front of her.
Hearing this, everyone’s face changed dramatically.
The old woman’s reaction was also extremely quick, her figure leaping backwards, leaving behind an afterimage in her place as she hurriedly escaped.
But what happened next terrified the old woman. When she looked up, her view was covered with a giant palm that was reaching towards her with unstoppable momentum. This palm moved so fast it gave the old woman no opportunity to dodge and in the blink of an eye had captured her.
“Senior!” Cai He called out in alarm as his eyes bulged with fear.
Yang Kai was also shocked as he hoarsely called out, “A puppet?”
At this moment, the humanoid statue, which hadn’t shown any reaction until now, actually began moving, its eyes gleaming with terrifying, dark-red light. Its giant body seemed clumsy at first glance, but its actual speed was nothing short of astonishing.
Yang Kai was right behind the old woman so he had clearly seen what happened just now. The moment the humanoid statue made a noise, its big hand swept over, and although the old woman’s reaction was quick, she was still caught by the other party.
All this happened in the blink of an eye and by the time Yang Kai had instinctually leapt away, the old woman had been captured.
Fortunately, this old woman was a First-Order Origin Returning Realm master who had been immersed in this realm for many years, so her strength was deep. Condensing her Saint Qi, she formed a massive blade that she ruthlessly chopped down onto the puppet’s hand that was holding her body.
A crisp metallic sound rang out at the moment of impact and a large amount of sparks flew out, but to the old woman’s shock, her full powered attack was unable to even scratch the puppet’s giant hand.
Seemingly angered because it had been attacked, the giant puppet’s red eyes flashed dangerously and it tightly clenched the hand it was using to hold the old woman.
The old woman’s complexion became ashen as a force not inferior to a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master burst from her body as she struggled violently.
Unfortunately, all of this was to no avail as the giant hand was like an iron vice, tightly binding her body and rendering all of her struggles futile.
*Kacha…*
A loud noise rang out as the brown light halo the old woman was using to protect her body filled with cracks under the immense force of the puppet’s giant hand, and in the next moment it completely shattered. At the same time, a bead-shaped artifact fell to the ground and crumbled to dust.
This high-grade defensive artifact had actually been completely destroyed!
After the artifact protecting her body was destroyed, the old woman’s aged physique was directly exposed to the puppet’s might, and as the giant hand tightened, the sound of cracking bones burst out.
After a brief struggle, the old woman realized she was unable to escape her current crisis with only her strength and a trace of panic and fear flashed across the depths of her eyes. Turning to Yang Kai and the others, she shouted, “Save me!”
But as soon as her voice rang out, a muffled bang occurred.
The old woman suddenly exploded, her blood splashing out through the air as her head fell from the sky, a look of great unwillingness still filling her face.
Although she had been on guard against this humanoid statue, the old woman never imagined that it wasn’t either a kind of mechanism or a part of the Spirit Array and instead a real puppet!
On top of that, this puppet seemed to be able to move independently without an operator, a completely unreasonable existence.
If Lian Guang had been here, perhaps he may have been able to see some clues, but the four who were here knew next to nothing about puppets, nor did they expect to see puppets operating inside these Ancient Ruins.
Moreover, this was no ordinary puppet. Being able to easily crush a First-Order Origin Returning Realm to death fully illustrated the enormous strength of this puppet.
The instant the old woman died; Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a resolute light as he stared at the round gateway between its legs. Sprinting forth at full speed, Yang Kai ignored the puppet’s reaction, not wanting to become entangled with it, only hoping he could leave from this place.
Yang Kai’s speed was extremely fast, but the response of the puppet was also extremely fast. After crushing the old woman, the statue’s red eyes fixed onto the approaching Yang Kai and a dangerous aura soon erupted from it. Sensing this dangerous aura, Yang Kai’s face changed, and he swiftly summoned his Purple Shield and activated its sandstorm ability to protect his body.
Faintly, Yang Kai saw a flash of light appear from the giant puppet’s hand and immediately after a thick shadow swept towards him.
Even before this shadow hit him, Yang Kai felt his breathing become laboured, as if the entire world was collapsing on him, giving him the illusion that he could not escape this blow.
Clenching his teeth, Yang Kai pushed the power of his Purple Shield to its greatest extent while at the same time condensing his Saint Qi to form a strong second protective barrier outside his body.
*Hong…*
With a great bang, the sandstorm was scattered, the Purple Shield’s proud defensive ability shattered under a single blow. The shield itself was impacted next and was knocked away by an immense force. Yang Kai next felt his Saint Qi protection break just before his body was struck, sending him flying uncontrollably.
His vitality tumbling, a mouthful of golden blood spewed from Yang Kai’s mouth, transforming into a cloud of blood mist.
*Hong long long…*
Yang Kai flew a thousand metres through the air before he crashed into a flower bed, bouncing a few times before he finally came to a stop.
Up until now, Yang Kai still had not seen exactly what the statue had hit him with, only knowing that in front of that thick shadow any kind of resistance or protection had been rendered useless.
Among the ruins of the flower bed, Yang Kai coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood as he gasped for breath and forced himself to his feet through sheer willpower, a look of fear still lingering on his face.
He had never eaten such a big loss before, so the discomfort in his heart could easily be imagined.
If not for his Purple Shield taking the brunt of this blow though, his injuries might have been far more serious, but even so, Yang Kai found that his five viscera and six organs had all been shifted and his entire body felt like it was on the verge of breaking apart.
This both shocked and angered him!
Looking up, Yang Kai took in the situation and could not help gawking for a moment.
Right now, the puppet was still standing in the same spot, as if it had never moved, while Cai He and Du Si Si were standing just over a hundred metres from it, their faces deathly pale. It was as if the two of them had been struck by lightning as they stared in terror at the statue in front of them; however, the puppet itself showed no intention of attacking them at all.
Grasped in the puppet’s hand now tough, was a giant stick,
Calling it a stick was a bit inappropriate though as it was clearly some kind of powerful artifact; however, from appearance alone, stick was the most accurate description. This giant stick was jet black in colour, made from some unknown material, and was several dozen metres long and a couple metres wide. It was incredibly imposing.
Yang Kai immediately understood that it was this giant black stick that had struck him just now.
[Where did that thing come from?] A trace of suspicion flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes. There was no such thing anywhere near the puppet a moment ago; however, the moment Yang Kai tried to escape through the round gateway, he vaguely remembered seeing a flash of light from the puppet’s hand. Could the two things be related?
Even a thousand metres away, Yang Kai could feel the threatening aura from this giant stick. On this stick’s surface, there were some strange indecipherable characters engraved, identical to the ones they had seen upon entering these Ancient Ruins.
After coughing a few more times, Yang Kai spat out a last mouthful of blood before staring fixedly at the puppet, but soon discovered that it showed no intention to pursue him.
Only now did Cai He and Du Si Si seem to have recovered their wits, with Cai He turning his head to Du Si Si tremblingly and whispering, “Si Si, retreat!”
Du Si Si’s pretty face was completely white, apparently still in shock over the old woman’s death, turning her head to Cai He as tears leaked uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
She was terrified!
Although she had encountered some dangers before today, this event was simply too shocking for her. The moment the old woman burst into a blood fog was witnessed by Du Si Si clearly and even now, the severed head of the old woman was lying on the ground. The old woman’s eyes were still spread wide and staring directly at Du Si Si, seemingly blaming her for not helping.
Such a tremendous mental shock caused Du Si Si to completely lose her ability to react, so she simply froze in place.
Even though she heard Cai He, she was unable to take a single step, fearing that if she moved, she would be the next to die.
Cai He saw this and new anxiety filled his face. Although the puppet seemed to only be concerned about guarding the gateway, there was no way to know whether it would suddenly strike out at them. Cai He certainly did not want to see the woman he was interested in die the same way as the old woman just had.
Gritting his teeth, Cai He’s body flickered as he rushed over to Du Si Si’s side, grabbed her, then fled without looking back.
Cai He didn’t stop until he arrived at the spot Yang Kai had landed, after which he collapsed to the ground a few metres away. This brief action seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and his teeth kept chattering in fear as he kneeled on the ground.
Du Si Si was not any better, the shock of recent events reducing her to a miserable state, her eyes still filled with fear and panic.
Although the old woman was just a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, while she was alive, she still gave these two young Array Masters some sense of security, but now that she was dead, leaving just three Saint King juniors behind, Du Si Si suddenly felt like there was no one here she could rely on.
Yang Kai’s expression was also extremely gloomy. He had been struck by that giant stick just now and had yet to completely regain his faculties. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Golden Blood had extremely powerful restorative abilities; if it had been someone else who had taken that strike, they would likely need at least a few months to recover.
Swallowing a few healing pills, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and adjusted his breathing.
Regardless of what came next, his first priority was to stabilize his injuries, only after doing so could he begin thinking about how to leave this place.
Half a day later, Yang Kai opened his eyes and silently examined his condition.
Although his wounds had not been completely healed, they wouldn’t hinder his movements or his ability to fight anymore. Cai He and Du Si Si also seemed to have recovered slightly and their conditions were much better than before. However, Du Si Si’s eyes were still red and puffy while a gloomy expression filled her face.
Cai He’s state wasn’t as bad, but despair and helplessness were still apparent in his eyes.
This was not surprising though. Since that puppet was able to kill the Origin Realm old woman with a single blow and it was tightly guarding the door, Cai He didn’t think there was any way he or anyone else here could safely escape.
After glancing at the two of them, Yang Kai frowned slightly, but said nothing before standing up. Waving his hand, he summoned back his Purple Shield which had been blown away earlier. Catching this shield, Yang Kai checked it for a moment and found that it had a noticeable dent in it and a crack along its surface at least a finger-width wide. From the dim glow it was emitting, it had obviously lost a great deal of spirituality as well.
Seeing this, Yang Kai could not help shivering slightly. This Purple Shield was a defensive artifact Yang Yan had enhanced twice to reach the Origin Grade High-Rank. As the artifact that specialized in defense, its toughness was extremely high.
But even so, after a single hit from that giant jet-black stick, it had actually been reduced to such a state, highlighting just how terrifying the force behind that blow was.
Sighing slightly, Yang Kai put away the Purple Shield, preparing to have Yang Yan fix it once again after he went back. Glancing over at the huge puppet a thousand metres away next, Yang Kai paused for a moment before wearing a dignified expression and walking over towards it.
“Brother Yang…” Cai He saw this and his expression shrank slightly as he hurriedly called out, “What are you planning on doing?”
“Testing its strength!” Yang Kai replied.
“Testing…” Cai He looked dumbfounded and said in amazement, “Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”
He had witnessed the old woman’s tragic death at the hands of this giant puppet so naturally he wasn’t optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances; after all, according to common sense, Yang Kai’s strength should be much lower than that old woman’s.
“Are you trying to make trouble!?” Du Si Si, who had been staring out soullessly for some time now suddenly screamed, “It finally stopped moving, yet now you’re going to provoke it on your own? Do you want to kill all of us?!”
Yang Kai shot her a cold glare.
Du Si Si shifted her eyes, seemingly a little afraid to look at him, but still anxiously argued, “That Senior died, if you die too, what are Cai He and I supposed to do?”
Although she was arrogant and thought highly of herself, never placing other cultivators in the same generation in her eyes, the more people there were here right now the more at ease she felt. She did not really care about Yang Kai’s life, but she didn’t want to see him die here either because that would only make her feel less secure.
Yang Kai snapped back coldly, “Then what do you suggest we do?”
Du Si Si immediately lowered her head as she had no good answer to this question.
Cai He thought about it for a moment before smiling bitterly. When the old woman was still alive, the four of them had carefully searched this place and confirmed that there was no other way out except for the exit guarded by the giant puppet. If they wanted to leave here, they needed to pass through that gateway.
The only other option was to remain here and wait for Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters to come rescue them, but there was no guarantee that would ever happen. Whether Fei Zhi Tu and the others could even find this place was debatable, so doing nothing might just be akin to waiting here to die.
Rather than depending on hope, they might as well take their chances trying to escape. If they were lucky, they may be able to find some kind of weakness in the puppet they could exploit to escape from here.
Although such hope was thin, it was better than doing nothing.
Considering all this, Cai He’s expression became firm and he nodded to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, I’ll accompany you. Although this Cai is not very good at fighting, two people sharing the burden is still better than one.”
Yang Kai, however, just slowly shook his head and said, “No, I am just going to test its abilities, I don’t need Brother Cai’s help for the time being. After learning more about that puppet’s strengths and weaknesses, we can come up with a plan to leave here together.”
“Very well, but Brother Yang, you must be careful!” Cai He exclaimed nervously.
Yang Kai nodded before turning around, raising his vigilance as high as it could go, then slowly approaching the puppet while Cai He and Du Si Si stood nervously and observed.
Half an hour later, Yang Kai returned in a disheveled state.
This test forced Yang Kai to use all of his methods, and thanks to his strength greatly exceeding those in the same realm as him, combined with a bit of luck, he was able to avoid taking any serious damage from the puppet. Only once was his body brushed by the statue’s giant stick, causing half of his clothes to shred and his body to go a bit numb.
Cai He and Du Si Si watched this battle from beginning to end, and when Yang Kai returned, both of their eyes contained a trace of awe, because the various probes Yang Kai had just made were all taken by risking his life. Many times, both were convinced Yang Kai would die, but no matter how desperate the situation was he always managed to find a way to survive.
After watching this life or death struggle for half an hour, the two of them were even more tired than Yang Kai, the one who was doing all the fighting. Both of their palms were drenched in cold sweat as they felt it had been an entire year since the fight began.
From this exchange though, the two of them clearly saw that Yang Kai was no ordinary Saint King Realm cultivator. The methods he displayed were both varied and powerful, exceeding even those or ordinary Origin Returning Realm masters.
Neither Cai He nor Du Si Si dared look down on Yang Kai anymore.
After returning, Yang Kai silently took out several healing pills and sat down cross-legged to meditate.
A day later, Yang Kai exhaled lightly and opened his eyes, a strong light flashing across their depths, seemingly fully recovered. Cai He and Du Si Si, who had been waiting nearby, saw this and quickly walked over with expectant looks upon their faces.
Yang Kai obviously knew what they were thinking and did not keep them in suspense, declaring firmly, “There’s an opportunity!”
Hearing this, Cai He and Du Si Si’s eyes lit up as a touch of joy appeared on their faces. Cai He quickly sat cross-legged in front of Yang Kai and asked anxiously, “Brother Yang, how do we get past that puppet? Just inform us and Si Si and I will do our best to cooperate.”
“Get past it?” Yang Kai smiled strangely as he stared Cai He in the eye, “We can’t get past it. You should have seen what happened when I tried just now. Although its build is massive, it is extremely fast and agile. If it was just me, I might have a chance to slip past it, but with the two of you, there’s absolutely no possibility of success!”
This was not Yang Kai underestimating them, but simply telling them the truth. Even with Yang Kai using his full speed and boosted by his Wind and Thunder Wings, he still had less than a fifty percent chance of slipping through the puppet’s blockade. He had experimented with this just now, rushing towards the gateway several times during the fight, but each time he had been forced back by the statue.
This puppet seemed to have extreme hostility towards any living creature that tried to pass through this gateway and went all out to kill anyone who tried!
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Du Si Si pretty face paled and she immediately shouted, “You can’t leave us here!”
She instinctively thought that Yang Kai planned to leave here without them.
Cai He forced out a smile and said loudly, “Si Si, you’re thinking too much, Brother Yang won’t do that.”
His words weren’t just meant to comfort Du Si Si, but himself as well, and while he said them, he quietly observed Yang Kai’s reaction, obviously a little worried Yang Kai might really do this.
Yang Kai did not try to explain himself either way. In all honesty, if he really was confident that he could slip past the puppet, he would have done so. That did not mean he intended to abandon these two here, though. If he was able to leave, he would have gone to look for Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters before returning to rescue them; after all, one person escaping and looking for help was better than three people being trapped here with no hope of survival.
Ignoring Cai He’s thinly veiled probe, Yang Kai simply continued his explanation, “If we want to leave this place now, we need to work together. With just my abilities, protecting myself is the best I can do, while being its opponent is completely out of the question.”
Cai He nodded repeatedly for a moment before asking, “Brother Yang, you just said that we can’t get past it, so what are we going to do? From the looks of it, that thing won’t leave too far from the exit.”
This was something Yang Kai had also confirmed while probing the situation. Once he got to within a hundred metres of the gateway, the puppet would immediately attack, but if he left this range, it would return to being an inanimate object.
Listening to Cai He’s question, Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Naturally we’re going to kill it!”
“Kill it…” Cai He parroted dumbfounded.
Du Si Si also gawked and retorted, “Are you insan…”
Before she could finish speaking though, she saw Yang Kai shoot her a cold glare and quickly swallowed down the rest of her words; however, her face remained sullen, clearly indicating she thought Yang Kai’s proposal was ridiculous.
“Since I dared to speak about this, naturally I have confidence in accomplishing it,” Yang Kai knew that if he didn’t explain things properly these two wouldn’t cooperate with him. The great power of this giant puppet and the scene of it killing the old woman had left a shadow in their hearts, making it impossible for them to summon the courage to oppose it.
“First, let us talk about its biggest shortcoming. That puppet only guards that gateway, so what lies beyond it must be too important for it to leave its post; however, we can use this to our advantage. Since the two of you are Array Masters… it should go without saying what we need to do, yes?” Yang Kai glanced at the two of them.
Cai He and Du Si Si’s expressions became thoughtful and both soon gently nodded.
This huge shortcoming of the puppet gave them ample time to arrange a large Spirit Array, and if they could coordinate this Spirit Array with Yang Kai, there might really be a chance for them to kill this puppet.
“Arranging an array isn’t a problem; moreover, we can arrange one specifically to limit that puppet’s speed. From what I have seen, while that puppet’s resistance to damage from various attributes is a problem, its speed is the most troublesome issue. If we can slow it down, it will become far easier to deal with,” Cai He stroked his chin slowly.
“You can arrange such a Spirit Array?” Yang Kai was overjoyed. It seemed that Cai He was thinking the same as he was. Puppets were different from living creatures, so there were some Spirit Arrays that, although powerful, would have no effect on it. Yang Kai’s original intention was to ask Cai He and Du Si Si to arrange a Spirit Array to dampen its speed, and Cai Hi had unexpectedly drawn this same conclusion.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult, I have the equipment to arrange the Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array while Si Si should have the materials to arrange the Painting Earth Prison Array, right?” Cai He looked towards Du Si Si.
“En,” Du Si Si gently nodded, not surprised he knew about such details; after all, the Cai Family and Du Family both specialized in arranging Spirit Arrays, so it was normal for there to be some competition and intelligence gathering between them.
“How powerful are these two Spirit Arrays?” Yang Kai asked hurriedly.
Cai He quickly showed a proud look, “The power of these two Spirit Arrays is naturally immense. If they can be fully activated, even if a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master falls into it, their speed will fall dramatically,” Saying so though, an embarrassed look flashed across his face, “Unfortunately, with just mine and Si Si’s strength, we’ll only be able to display about half that kind of power.”
“Half…” Yang Kai frowned slightly. Seeing this, Cai He quickly followed up, “Rest assured Brother Yang, even at only half strength, these two Spirit Arrays will be able to display incredible might. They’ll be able to reduce that puppet’s speed by at least ten percent, possibly even twenty percent!”
“Ten to twenty percent, it’s a bit less than I was hoping for, but it’ll have to do!” Yang Kai nodded.
“But Brother Yang, even if Si Si and I used our Spirit Arrays to slow it down, how do you plan on eliminating that puppet?”
“En, you weren’t able to damage it in the slightest when you were testing it yesterday!” Du Si Si also hurriedly asked. This was a life or death matter so no one dared act carelessly after all, if they couldn’t coordinate and cooperate properly in the upcoming battle, there was a chance all of them would die.
Yang Kai showed a faint grin, “Although I wasn’t able to damage it, I was able to verify one thing.”
“And that is?”
“The reason that puppet can move autonomously without being operated by a cultivator is because there is some kind of Soul Wisp inside it!”
“Soul Wisp?” Cai He and Du Si Si asked curiously.
“En, you can think of it as a kind of Soul Clone. Have you ever observed Lian Guang operate his puppets?” Yang Kai looked at the two of them as he said solemnly, “Lian Guang inserts a wisp of his Divine Sense into each of his puppets that allows him to operate them. Although this puppet is much higher in grade than Lian Guang’s, the principle behind its operation should be similar; after all, puppets aren’t living creatures. If you want it to act, it needs to have something giving it commands! Since this puppet is not being operated by some external cultivator, it must have some kind of Soul Wisp sealed inside of it, but as to what exactly this Soul Wisp is, I can’t be certain.”
Listening to Yang Kai’s analysis, both Cai He and Du Si Si suddenly felt their confusion clear up. Before, both of them had simply been overwhelmed by this puppet’s incredible power and had not considered the issue carefully. Now that Yang Kai explained this to them though, the two of them immediately felt he made sense.
“So Brother Yang’s meaning is…”
“En, I don’t need to destroy this puppet, as long as I can find where the Soul Wisp is located and destroy it, the puppet naturally won’t be able to move anymore,” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed fiercely.
Cai He’s eyes also lit up as he nodded, “So that’s how it is. In that case, this approach might really be feasible!”
Compared to destroying such a solid puppet, finding and eliminating the Soul Wisp controlling it was naturally much easier.
“Then, do you know where that Soul Wisp is located?” Du Si Si asked.
Yang Kai’s face darkened upon hearing this question and slowly shook his head, “I’m not sure yet; however, there are a few suspicious places, which is why I need to borrow your strength to restrict its speed so I can investigate these locations to find where that Soul Wisp is stored.”
When beset by crisis on all sides, the most fearful thing was being unable to see any hope of survival; but now, after listening to Yang Kai, both Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s spirits rose because, if he was right, the three of them may have a chance to disable the puppet.
The haze which had covered the two young Array Masters’ faces was swept away and, after exchanging a competitive glance, they became very enthusiastic.
Without further ado, the three got to work. Because of Yang Kai’s previous probe, all of them knew the puppet’s exact range of movement so standing at a distance of just over a hundred metres, Cai He and Du Si Si began taking out a number of tools and materials from their Space Rings, infusing them with their Saint Qi and arranging them in specific patterns on the ground nearby.
As soon as these tools fell to the ground, they disappeared without a trace; even Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was unable to detect them.
While these two arranged their respective Spirit Arrays, Yang Kai’s eyes lingered on the puppet’s head, chest, abdomen, and a few others vital positions. These were the spots he felt the Soul Wisp, which was driving this puppet, might be located while he was fighting it earlier, but had been unable to confirm.
As long as he could identify the exact location this Soul Wisp was hiding and destroy it, the puppet should stop moving.
Yang Kai went over his plan again and again and ultimately felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
A short time later, both Cai He and Du Si Si nodded to one another, clapped their palms together, and let out a shout, “Start!”
The next moment, their Saint Qi seemed to form a kind of resonance with something in their surroundings which in turn harmonized with the World Energy within a several-hundred-metre radius around the humanoid puppet before quickly returning to normal.
Yang Kai looked around but was unable to see the slightest anomaly; however, that didn’t mean nothing had changed. Many Spirit Arrays, even when activated, couldn’t be detected from the outside. Only by entering such an array would one be able to see its effects.
“Brother Yang. Si Si and I are ready, you can begin at any time!” Cai He shouted.
Yang Kai gently nodded and said with a serious expression, “Then I’ll be troubling you two.”
“Brother Yang need not act so polite, you are the one responsible for the actual battle. Be careful, Si Si and I can only operate our Spirit Arrays to cooperate with your actions!”
“Don’t take this opportunity to run away,” Du Si Si’s expression changed a few times, clearly somewhat worried about how Yang Kai would act. If Yang Kai suddenly fled from this place while they used their Spirit Arrays to suppress the puppet’s speed, all her and Cai He’s efforts would go to waste.
Facing her mistrust, Yang Kai didn’t get angry; after all, she wasn’t familiar with him in the slightest, so it was only natural to have such concerns. Now that they were forced to work together, any disagreement or conflict may lead to unimaginable consequences, so he simply said lightly, “Rest assured, since I’ve decided to work together with you, I naturally won’t just ignore your wellbeing.”
Receiving this commitment from Yang Kai, Du Si Si smiled widely and said perfunctorily, “I was just joking.”
Yang Kai did not say anymore, instead taking a deep breath and staring at the unmoving giant puppet in front of him, his expression becoming solemn and dignified as his figure flickered and he charged forward.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai rushed into the large array arranged by Cai He and Du Si Si and found the scene before him suddenly distort. From Yang Kai’s perspective, he was now standing atop a shimmering clear lake, one that perfectly reflected his figure, but from its surface, he felt an invisible suction that seemed to be trying to restrain his actions.
Not only that, another invisible pressure was weighing down on him from all directions, similarly restricting his freedom.
The lake illusion at his feet was obviously an effect created by Cai He’s Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array while the invisible pressure he felt from the air should be the Painting Earth Prison Array arranged by Du Si Si.
[Seems these two have some good methods after all!]
Neither of these two Spirit Arrays were deliberately aiming at Yang Kai, but even so, the moment he stepped into them, Yang Kai felt his movements become sluggish. If these two Spirit Arrays were to be aimed at him, the suppression he felt would clearly be far greater.
Thinking this, Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a smile. For him, the greater the power of Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s Spirit Arrays the better since it meant the puppet he was facing would be even more constrained.
Moments after he stepped into these Spirit Arrays, the two Array Masters changed their hand seals as they adjusted the Saint Qi they were pouring into the barriers at the bottom of their feet. Suddenly, Yang Kai felt the suction force and pressure disappear and his freedom restored.
With the two Array Masters personally driving the Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array and Painting Earth Prison Array, they naturally would not allow them to affect Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took another step forward, his foot-falls causing ripples to spread out on the reflective lake surface, while at the same time, the giant puppet, which had not been moving, suddenly flashed its red eyes and opened its mouth, spitting out a beam of red light straight towards Yang Kai in the next moment.
Yang Kai’s expression did not show any surprise as he quickly kicked off the lake and disappeared.
When he had been probing the puppet’s abilities before, he had witnessed it use this attack many times, so he was easily able to avoid it.
*Hong…*
The crimson energy beam hit the lake surface, but aside from a huge splash and some large ripples, the Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array remained unaffected, allowing Yang Kai to relax slightly.
“Go!” Yang Kai shouted and the Firebird Artifact Spirit immediately appeared, spreading its wings several dozen metres wide as it rushed towards the giant puppet.
The giant jet black stick in the puppet’s hand immediately rose and smashed against the Artifact Spirit. As the giant stick passed through the air, it seemed to distort space itself and released a crushing pressure like an oncoming landslide, making its way pale.
In a single hit, the Artifact Spirit’s body collapsed, but the Artifact Spirit didn’t have a true physical form, so such an attack actually didn’t pose any threat to it. The scattered flames coalesced quickly and the Firebird soon reappeared, opening its mouth and spitting out a giant fireball that struck the puppet with astonishing might.
A violent bang resounded as the puppet was hit by this fireball, its giant body pushed back slightly.
After taking such a blow, the puppet seemed to become irritated as the red glow of its eyes deepened somewhat. Staring at the Firebird, it began waving the giant stick in its hand, immediately engaging in a fierce struggle with it. In an instant, a scene of giant stick after-images, beams of crimson energy, and scorching fireballs filled the sky.
These two strange beings fought wildly with one another, and while the Artifact Spirit didn’t fear the puppet’s giant jet-black stick, it did have to worry about the red energy beams it shot from its mouth. Once the puppet released these beam attacks, the Firebird had no choice but to dodge while looking for opportunities to counterattack.
Yang Kai was overjoyed to see this. When he had been probing the puppet before, his Artifact Spirit had also participated and now it seemed this puppet was holding a grudge against it. At this moment, the puppet was ignoring Yang Kai, focusing all its attacks on the Artifact Spirit. This lined up with Yang Kai’s intentions.
Seizing this opportunity, a golden thread shot out from Yang Kai’s hand straight towards the puppet’s left eye.
With a loud ringing sound, the indestructible Golden Thread hit the puppet’s left eye accurately, but after a few sparks, the Golden Thread was easily bounced back.
Yang Kai frowned slightly at this sight, but at that exact moment, a shout rang in his ear, “Brother Yang, watch out!”
As soon as he heard this, Yang Kai saw the puppet wave its giant stick and smash it down towards him. The murderous intent pulsing from this giant stick was so thick it almost solidified the entire space.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank, but just as he was about to dodge, he suddenly noticed that the mirror lake beneath his feet began releasing a strange energy fluctuation. Immediately, the calm, crystal clear lake’s surface became muddy and turbid. This mud rapidly gathered and transformed into a dragon’s shape which flew up and intercepted the giant stick.
At the same time, small wisps of light began appearing all around Yang Kai, like fireflies. At first, there were only a few of these wisps, but in the blink of an eye, they had covered the entire sky, like a swarm of locusts. These wisps of light then shot towards the giant stick, like maggots drawn to rotten meat.
Before Yang Kai’s eyes, the speed of the giant stick noticeably decreased.
The mud dragon rushing out of the lake hit the giant stick and was instantly scattered, but it succeeded in blunting the force of its attack in the process.
Yang Kai saw this and smiled happily.
What happened just now was obviously a result of the two Spirit Arrays, causing Yang Kai’s evaluation of the Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array and Painting Earth Prison Array to rise once more along with his confidence in killing this puppet.
As long as Cai He and Du Si Si cooperated closely with him, the chances of them being able to escape this place increased greatly.
The giant stick was still crashing down towards Yang Kai, but with the hindrance of the two Spirit Arrays, he was able to dodge it without much effort. Commanding the Firebird with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai had the Artifact Spirit transform into a great blaze of fire that engulfed the puppet’s body and go all out to burn it down.
Yang Kai did not really expect the Artifact Spirit to be able to burn this puppet of course. Whatever material this puppet was refined from was impervious to fire and water, and swords and spears. Even though the Artifact Spirit had refined some of the Sun’s True Fire, its current firepower was still not enough to melt this puppet.
Yang Kai’s goal here was to use this special form of the Artifact Spirit to find the place where the Soul Wisp controlling the puppet was hiding.
The Artifact Spirit’s fire raged but the giant puppet remained completely unaffected; instead, without the Artifact Spirit to distract it anymore, it immediately began moving to target Yang Kai.
After just two steps though, the lake beneath the puppet’s body transformed into a great vortex, sucking in one of its feet, causing it to lose its balance and nearly fall over.
Yang Kai did not miss this opportunity and immediately pushed his Saint Qi violently, sending out a Heaven Covering Hand to strike the puppet’s head and further knock it off balance.
Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s two Spirit Arrays were greatly helping Yang Kai. Before, when he fought the puppet alone, he had constantly been in life threatening danger, but with the three of them cooperating now, Yang Kai no longer felt as much of a burden when fighting this statue.
As long as this situation continued, Yang Kai just needed to avoid the puppet’s attacks while using his Divine Sense in concert with the Artifact Spirit to find the hidden Soul Wisp. As long as he found it, Yang Kai could launch an all-out attack towards it and disable this puppet once and for all.
Trapped by the mirror lake vortex, the puppet was unable to move and Yang Kai’s Heaven Covering Hand accurately landed on its body with a thunderous bang. Under the force of this impact, the puppet, which was already unstable, fell directly to the ground.
Yang Kai hurriedly retreated two steps but didn’t attack again.
For him, the priority now was to keep the puppet occupied because, before finding the Soul Wisp which was driving it, any attack was meaningless.
Cai He and Du Si Si apparently knew Yang Kai’s intentions and increased the power of their Spirit Arrays, causing more eddies to appear on the lake’s surface and the wisps of light in the air to become more dense.
Restricted by the two Spirit Arrays, the puppet was unable to get up immediately and its red eyes continuously flashed with anger.
Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as he observed the puppet, silently monitoring its condition through his Artifact Spirit while at the same time scanning it constantly with his Divine Sense.
Since there was a hidden Soul wisp inside of this puppet, it would definitely be emitting some kind of aura fluctuations, something Yang Kai could only find by relying on his Divine Sense.
Just as he was investigating the puppet though, a sudden change occurred and the entire lake suddenly became turbulent. The puppet saw that it couldn’t easily get up so it had begun waving its giant jet black stick around in a rage, smashing its surroundings aimlessly.
Such an attack wouldn’t cause any harm to Yang Kai, but when Cai He saw this, his face changed greatly.
The reason was simple, in order to maximize the power of their Spirit Arrays, the two young Array Masters had arranged their tools and equipment over a very narrow range, but now that the puppet was wantonly destroying its surroundings, once it damaged the framework of the Spirit Array, it would likely collapse entirely.
Not only that, the puppet’s wild attacks carried enormous force behind them, creating shockwaves that were affecting the Spirit Array’s stability. If the puppet was not stopped, even if none of the equipment which created the Spirit Array was damaged, it would still collapse in time.
Out of desperation, Cai He could only weaken the suppression of the Spirit Array to ensure it continued functioning. Next to him, Du Si Si was forced to make a similar choice, weakening the power she put into the Painting Earth Prison Array.
Neither of them had ever encountered such a situation and it unavoidably frustrated them.
The glowing wisps in the sky and swirling vortexes on the lake diminished in strength rapidly, and with the shackles binding it weakened, the puppet no longer waved its giant stick indiscriminately and instead got back on its feet. However, when it finally stood firm, it first stared at Yang Kai for a moment, then down at the mirror lake under his feet, revealing a thoughtful expression.
Immediately after, it opened its mouth wide and released a swarm of buzzing wasp-like creatures. Each of these wasps was only about the size of a fist, but they easily numbered in the hundreds. Gathering together in a group, these wasps circled the puppet a few times before swooping down towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank as he revealed a look of surprise.
This was the first time he saw that this puppet actually possessed such a strange ability. When he had tested its capabilities the other day, it hadn’t released these wasps.
Sweeping this swarm with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai’s face sank because he discovered that these wasps were all small puppets, each one exuding a strange aura.
Naturally, Yang Kai wasn’t about to allow these wasps to approach him, so he quickly condensed a long Demonic Flame sword in his hand and hacked towards them.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
An unexpected scene happened next. These wasps, which seemed to have extraordinary power, actually burst apart the moment Yang Kai’s sword waves struck them, as if they were frail and unable to withstand even the lightest blow. However, this only led to Yang Kai’s brow creasing even further.
Because these wasps hadn’t actually exploded as a result of his attack, rather they all self-destructed.
Each exploding wasp sent out powerful energy fluctuations while at the same time releasing a yellow mist into the air. This mist soon completely filled the surrounding space.
Yang Kai carelessly inhaled a bit of this yellow mist and immediately felt slightly dizzy. Sobering up immediately, he shouted, “It’s poison, hold your breath!”
As he shouted this warning, a jet black ball of Demonic Flame appeared in his hand and flew towards the yellow mist. Wherever this ball of Demonic Flame passed, the yellow mist was swept away. Although the yellow mist was quite toxic, it apparently was unable to resist the burning power of the Demonic Flame.
Cai He and Du Si Si breathed sighs of relief. When they heard Yang Kai shout just now, both of them had immediately tensed up, worried that the situation would spiral out of control, but after witnessing Yang Kai easily incinerate this yellow mist, they were able to relax and concentrate on operating their Spirit Arrays.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was unable to relax in the slightest as he continued to chop and slash the wasp-like puppets while burning the yellow mist released by them with his Demonic Flame.
Since this puppet had such a method, there was no way of knowing if it didn’t have stronger ones as well. Delay only invited complications, so Yang Kai secretly began feeling anxious.
The hundreds of wasp puppets were soon wiped out.
However, at that moment, Yang Kai’s complexion changed, immediately revealing a look of pleasant surprise because he received a message from the Firebird Artifact Spirit.
It had found the location of the Soul Wisp that was driving the puppet’s actions!
Just as Yang Kai expected, the hiding spot of this Soul Wisp was in the centre of the puppet’s chest. Because this Soul Wisp was constantly sending out orders to manipulate the puppet, under the constant investigation of the Artifact Spirit, it had finally revealed a trace of itself.
Light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes as he sent out a Divine Sense command. In the next instant, the Artifact Spirit which had been wrapping the puppet in flames reverted to its Firebird form and flew up above the puppet’s head while spraying out a barrage of fireballs to attract its attention.
Simultaneously, Yang Kai focused his own attention on the puppet’s chest, took advantage of it being distracted by the Artifact Spirit, and rushed up right in front of it. Leaping up high, Yang Kai curled his fist and punched fiercely towards the puppet’s chest.
With a loud bang, Yang Kai was bounced back by a huge counter-force while the puppet’s chest remained unharmed, without even a scratch on it.
This punch was just a probe, not meant to do any real damage, so Yang Kai wasn’t surprised by this result. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly shouted, “You two, increase your Spirit Arrays to their maximum power, victory or defeat will depend on this next move!”
Hearing this, Cai He and Du Si Si no longer held back and fiercely pushed their Saint Qi to power their Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array and Painting Earth Prison Array to their limits.
In an instant, the wisps of light appeared in the sky again and the small vortexes on the mirror lake’s surface swelled in size. At the same time, a new mud dragon rushed out of lake and wrapped around the puppet’s limbs, shackling its movements.
In conjunction with the Firebird’s attack, the puppet immediately fell into disadvantage and began waving its giant jet black stick around aimlessly again.
This time however, Cai He and Du Si Si paid it no mind and only increased the suppressive force of their Spirit Arrays.
Yang Kai saw the speed of the puppet greatly slow down and a look of joy surfaced on his face. Lifting his Demonic Flame long sword, he leapt up and chopped down at the centre of the puppet’s chest once more.
Flames splashed out and Yang Kai’s sword disappeared, but still no damage was done to the puppet’s chest.
Cai He and Du Si Si witnessed this scene and couldn’t help feeling their hearts sink.
Although the two of them could use their Spirit Arrays to limit the puppet’s actions, if Yang Kai couldn’t break through the puppet’s defense, they would still fall short. The situation was already beyond their ability to control though, so they could only put all their hopes on Yang Kai and pray that he would have a way to succeed.
To their disappointment, however, Yang Kai actually created another black blade-like attack and chopped towards the puppet’s chest.
But in the next moment, both of them were startled because this blade-like attack actually left a shallow mark on the puppet’s body! Although this mark was small, it was the first real damage the trio had managed to deal to the puppet.
This naturally filled Cai He and Du Si Si with joy as they stared towards Yang Kai with looks of admiration.
Even if they hadn’t faced it directly, the two of them understood just how tough this puppet’s body was from all the previous attacks Yang Kai and the Artifact Spirit had launched against it. Even if an Origin Returning Realm master were here, they may not necessarily have a way to damage this puppet, but now it seemed Yang Kai could.
This meant that there was a chance he could cut open the puppet’s body and destroy the Soul Wisp hidden inside it!
As if they had seen the light of dawn after a dark night, their hearts filled with great anticipation for Yang Kai.
On the other hand, Yang Kai looked at that tiny mark he had made and couldn’t help frowning. Just now, he had used his Space Blade condensed from Space Force which, although appearing similar to a sword wave, worked on an entirely different principle.
Space Blade could be considered Yang Kai’s trump card, difficult to sense and capable of devouring anything it touched; however, even it was only able to cause this degree of damage to the puppet. If he wanted to cut into the puppet’s chest, he would need to hit that exact spot at least a hundred times with his Space Blade.
Could Cai He and Du Si Si hold out for that long?
It was not that Yang Kai didn’t have confidence in their abilities, it was just that this puppet was far too difficult to hold down. The giant stick it waved around randomly not only made it difficult for Yang Kai to attack it accurately, it also destabilized the two Spirit Arrays which were fettering it. If too much time passed and these two Spirit Arrays broke, Yang Kai couldn’t guarantee he could hit that spot on the puppet’s chest at all.
There was no point in worry about such things right now, so Yang Kai steeled himself and began sending out one Space Blade after another towards the mark on the puppet’s chest.
Silently, Yang Kai’s Space Blades continued to strike the puppet.
As time passed, the scar on the puppet’s chest gradually became larger, but Cai He and Du Si Si were paling much faster. The two of them were trembling as they powered their Spirit Arrays to their maximum potential, and although they continued swallowing restorative pills, they were still consuming Saint Qi far faster than they could recover it.
What made everyone more anxious though was that, after the puppet fiercely struggled for so long, the two Spirit Arrays suppressing it had become precariously unstable. Whether it was the swirling vortexes and the mud dragon produced by the Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array, or the light wisps produced by the Painting Earth Prison Array, both were clearly losing strength.
As a result, the force holding down the puppet weakened significantly and the number of Yang Kai’s attacks that were able to hit their mark decreased accordingly, frustrating him greatly.
Compared with the anxiety and helplessness of the three of them, the puppet only grew fiercer by the moment. Then it waved its giant stick around so violently that even the Firebird was unable to get close to it, only able to send out streams of pure Fire Attribute Energy from a distance to attract its attention.
Inside the Ancient Ruins, in front of the round gateway, Yang Kai continuously released his Space Blades towards a certain point on the puppet chest while it was still being tied down by the Mirror Lake Clay Dragon Array and Painting Earth Prison Array. Suppressed like this, the puppet had no other recourse than to wildly wave its giant stick around.
As a result, even if Yang Kai often failed to hit the exact same point, after repeated strikes, a crack about palm length deep had been cut into the puppet’s chest. Unfortunately, this cut did not seem to affect the puppet in any way.
On the other hand, achieving just this had cost Yang Kai and the two young Array Masters a great deal of strength.
Cai He and Du Si Si had almost exhausted their Saint Qi to maintain the large formation, needless to say.
Yang Kai, too, was suffering from a heavy load releasing so many Space Blades in succession. Once or twice was not an issue, but as the number of Space Blades he sent out approached the thousand mark, his Knowledge Sea began drying up. If not for the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus constantly nourishing his Soul, this kind of overdraft would have already caused Yang Kai to pass out.
Even after stuffing another round of pills for restoring Spiritual Energy into his mouth, Yang Kai’s face remained as pale as paper. However, his eyes stayed fixed on the crack on the puppet’s chest as he continued sending out Space Blades.
Suddenly, a cracking noise resounded from all around him.
In the next instant, Cai He called out, “Brother Yang, we can’t hold it any longer!”
His voice was filled with an indescribable anxiety because the Spirit Arrays restraining the puppet were on the verge collapsing. Once these Spirit Arrays failed and the puppet regained its full speed, the trio’s actions this time would very likely end in failure.
Although they would still have a chance to escape even if that happened, given the puppet’s monstrous speed, whether he or Du Si Si would be able to escape its deadly wrath was highly uncertain.
Moreover, after investing so much effort and time into this plan, Cai He was naturally unwilling to fall short now.
Just as his words ended though, a louder crack rang out and in an instant, the countless glowing wisps of light which had filled the air around the puppet vanished, as if they had never even existed.
Beside Cai He, Du Si Si’s pretty face sank as she stared at the array control device in her hand. This Spirit Array had been given to her by the Elders of her family. Yet now, it had broken completely and could no longer be used.
The Painting Earth Prison Array she had arranged had failed before Cai He’s Spirit Array! This caused Du Si Si to feel both distressed and frustrated.
Without the assistance of the Painting Earth Prison Array, the vortexes and mud dragons generated on the mirror lake couldn’t restrict the puppet’s movements anymore and the puppet’s strength erupted in the blink of an eye, allowing it to rid itself of the several mud dragons’ entanglement. Finally freeing itself from the swirling vortexes, the puppet’s red glowing eyes fixed on the dazed Du Si Si. Seeing this, Yang Kai swiftly touched his Space Ring, summoning out a scroll-like artifact.
Pouring his Saint Qi madly into this scroll, illusionary mountain peaks flew out of it one after another.
Hundred Mountains Picture! Yang Kai’s only offensive artifact. Because in combat, Yang Kai was more inclined to believe in his own personal strength than the external power of artifacts, he rarely used offensive artifacts. It was only because of its unusual abilities that he had even bothered refining this Hundred Mountains Picture.
The entire time he had fought with the puppet, Yang Kai had not summoned the Hundred Mountains Picture, but now he had taken it out.
Suddenly, the air was filled with large and small peaks, with Yang Kai ignoring the stability of the artifact to forcibly summon almost forty of them all at once.
This was the absolute limit he could achieve currently.
As soon as these phantom peaks appeared, they flew towards the puppet, but by waving its giant stick around, the puppet managed to knock back all the mountains, not allowing a single one to get close.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed sternly as he sent out a command with his Divine Sense, moving all of the phantom peaks that had been blown away back again, but this time, instead of pounding towards the puppet, they formed a ring around it, sealing off all its escape routes.
“Explode!” Yang Kai grit his teeth and shouted.
As soon as he shouted this, all the large and small phantom peaks gave off a shocking energy fluctuation and released a dazzling flash of light brighter than the noon sun, causing Cai He and Du Si Si to be unable to look at it directly.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A terrifying energy wave blasted out, as if the entire world was shaking apart. Fierce winds erupted and violently swept up Cai He and Du Si Si, hurling them off into the distance while at the same time blasting away all the Spirit Array equipment which had been hidden in the surroundings.
After this pulse of energy subsided, a tattered scroll-like artifact fell from the sky. Obviously, it was the Hundred Mountains Picture Yang Kai had just summoned.
But at this moment, the Hundred Mountains Picture had lost all spirituality and the pictures of mountains drawn on it had all disappeared. Before this scroll even hit the ground, it was reduced to dust.
The artifact had self-destructed!
Not every artifact had this kind of ability, but the Hundred Mountains Picture that Yang Kai obtained happened to be one of the ones who did by chance. The Hundred Mountains Picture had helped Yang Kai a lot since he acquired it and its grade was also quite good, at the upper end of the Low-Rank Origin Grade; however, in order to restrict the puppet’s movements, Yang Kai had no choice but to sacrifice this artifact. If he had not exploded the Hundred Mountains Picture just now, Du Si Si, who had been shocked stiff, would definitely have died.
When Yang Kai looked back at the puppet, he was stunned for a moment but quickly became overjoyed.
The puppet had been knocked to the ground by the Hundred Mountains Picture’s self-destruction and currently seemed to be disabled as it was no longer moving. At the same time, from the location of the crack on its chest, a strange red light was flickering.
The power of an Origin Grade artifact’s self-destruction was obviously extraordinary.
Steeling himself, Yang Kai immediately rushed forward and, in the blink of an eye, arrived beside the puppet. Leaping up, Yang Kai landed directly above the puppet’s chest and took aim at the crack he had opened, sending out one Space Blade after another.
At such a close distance, the puppet was unable to resist or dodge at all, allowing Yang Kai’s Space Blades to precisely hit their target, causing the crack to deepen at a speed visible to the naked eye.
A look of joy flashed across Yang Kai’s face as he felt that as long as he was given a bit more time, he could definitely pierce the puppet’s chest.
Yang Kai did not relax his vigilance though while wielding his Space Blades and continuously monitored the puppet’s movements. After twenty breaths, the puppet’s eyes suddenly flickered and a crimson light like that of an enraged beast burst flashed across them.
Yang Kai instinctually felt this danger, causing his hair to stand on end as he noticed a fierce wind approaching his head. Unwilling to give up now though, Yang Kai condensed a Space Blade onto his fist and punched down with all his might towards the crack.
Yang Kai’s fist and Space Blade hit the crack at almost the same time.
*Kacha…*
Hearing a cracking sound, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he sent a Divine Sense command to the Firebird Artifact Spirit.
The Firebird cried out sharply as it swooped down and rushed straight towards the open crack. At the same time though, the puppet’s giant hand, which seemed to cover the entire sky, swatted at Yang Kai.
Looking at this terrifying horrible palm, Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as he did not even try to dodge. It was not that he didn’t want to evade, but that he no longer possessed the strength to even move. Currently, Yang Kai felt as if his head was splitting apart. Using his Space Blade so many times had put an incredible strain on his Divine Sense, so even his vision had gone blurry at this point.
However, there was no need for Yang Kai to avoid this blow.
In that instant, the Firebird Artifact Spirit rushed into the puppet’s body through the crack Yang Kai had desperately opened and immediately began incinerating its insides.
Red lights appeared all over the body of the puppet, like tiny snakes wandering about its surface, but soon these red lights disappeared and the giant palm came to a stop mid-air.
A crisp bird cry came out as the Artifact Spirit rushed out of the puppet and circled Yang Kai’s head before landing on his shoulder.
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as a heavy look of fatigue appeared on his face before he fell to the ground and landed flat on his back.
On the other side, Cai He and Du Si Si, who had been caught up in the explosion of the Hundred Mountains Picture were a bit disheveled but had not suffered much damage. Struggling to their feet, the two of them saw that the puppet had frozen in place and exchanged a confused gaze, not knowing what was going on.
After releasing their Divine Senses to probe the situation, both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Although they did not know what Yang Kai had done, his life aura was still there which meant he was alive, and since that was the case, the puppet had definitely been defeated.
Apart from their excitement, both also felt some lingering fear.
Although they knew they were not a match for this puppet which was capable of instantly killing an Origin Returning Realm master, they had apparently still underestimated its toughness. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s strange attack had worked on it and, with their cooperation, they slowly but surely managed to grind away the puppet’s defenses and ultimately defeat it.
After experiencing this great battle, neither Cai He nor Du Si Si had any energy to talk any more. Cai He only yelled out to Yang Kai once to confirm he was alright, and after receiving a positive reply, the three of them fell silent and adjusted their breathing.
Half a day later, Yang Kai was the first to get up. He had consumed much of his strength, but as a high-grade Alchemist, he had countless restorative pills in his Space Ring. Coupled with his Golden Blood’s powerful restorative abilities, Yang Kai naturally recovered faster than the two Array Masters.
After glancing over and seeing the two Array Masters were still meditating, Yang Kai did not disturb them and instead jumped back onto the giant puppet’s body while stroking his chin.
This puppet was clearly not ordinary. Even the Lian Family could not possibly create such a monstrosity. In a direct confrontation, even a master like Fei Zhi Tu probably would not be this thing’s opponent.
Three Saint King Realm Juniors being able to bring this puppet down this time was mainly thanks to the two Spirit Arrays they arranged beforehand. Without the assistance of these two Spirit Arrays, Yang Kai would have had a difficult time just protecting himself, while destroying this puppet would have been impossible.
Aside from the crack on his chest, this puppet’s body was still completely unscathed.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense, wrapped up this puppet, and attempted to store it into his Space Ring; however, when he attempted this, the puppet did not even budge. This surprised Yang Kai greatly.
It was not that his Divine Sense wasn’t strong enough, but rather that the puppet itself was too heavy to fit into his Space Ring.
Space Rings weren’t able to store everything without limit. If an item was too big or too heavy and exceeded the capacity of a Space Ring, it could not be stored inside one. There were also some special treasures, such as the Sun’s True Essence Yang Kai and Yang Yan took from the Corpse Cave that could not be stored either.
The Sun’s True Essence couldn’t be placed into a Space Ring because the heat it gave off far exceeded what a Space Ring could withstand. Once one tried, the Space Ring would be destroyed.
That was why Yang Yan spent a great deal of time and effort to refine a special storage ring for it.
Strictly speaking, the puppet in front of Yang Kai wasn’t too great in size, but since it couldn’t be put into a Space Ring, the only explanation was that it weighed far more than Yang Kai estimated.
Realizing this, a trace of surprise flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes.
Just when he was thinking about what to do next, Cai He and Du Si Si came over from where they had been meditating. Now that the battle was over, it was time to divide up the spoils. Everyone had seen how extraordinary this puppet was, so the Array Masters naturally didn’t want Yang Kai to reap all the benefits by himself and hastily ended their meditation to meet up with him.
“Brother Yang, this puppet is probably a work from ancient times and is of incredibly great value,” Cai He chuckled, his words carrying thinly veiled hidden meaning.
“En, if we can figure out how to operate it, it would become a massive boon,” Du Si Si’s beautiful eyes flashed with excitement.
Yang Kai stroked his chin as he looked at these two, not exposing their inner thoughts as he smiled and said lightly, “Are the two of you interested in it?”
Cai He laughed awkwardly while Du Si Si just bluntly stated, “Of course. Who would want to miss such a good thing? Even if it’s impossible to figure out how to operate it directly, studying it should still yield some information on how puppetry in ancient times worked. Others might not care, but I think Lian Guang would be incredibly interested in it.”
What she said held some truth. Such a puppet, regardless of its own value, had incredible worth as research material. If the Lian Family, known for their puppet techniques, heard about this thing, they would definitely go all out to acquire it.
“En,” Yang Kai gently nodded. Although Du Si Si had the demeanor of an arrogant young lady, after the three of them joined forces in a life or death battle, Yang Kai’s opinion of her had improved somewhat. Pondering for a moment, he followed up, “All three of us made great efforts in this battle, but there is only one puppet, how should we allocate it?”
Cai He and Du Si Si looked at each other awkwardly, unable to immediately come up with any good ideas.
Seeing these two act like this, Yang Kai chuckled lightly and proposed, “Good, I’m not that interested in this puppet so I don’t mind giving it up. In exchange, I want that giant jet black stick. The two of you can discuss who this puppet will go to; of course there is also the Space Ring that dead Senior left behind to allocate.”
After the old woman was crushed to death, her Space Ring had fallen at the feet of the puppet. Yang Kai had never had a chance to pick it up but now that actually came in handy as, together with the puppet and giant stick, there were three treasures to divide among the three of them.
No one knew the complete content of her Space Ring, but what was certain was there was a bottle of the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream in it.
“You want that stick?” Du Si Si glanced at the giant jet black stick and a trace of reluctance flashed across her beautiful eyes. To tell the truth, she also saw that the value of this giant stick was not under the puppet itself, so simply handing it over to Yang Kai was something she hesitated over. However, when she thought about what was inside the old woman’s Space Ring, her reluctance dissipated somewhat.
Cai He saw all this and quickly cut in, “Good, Brother Yang was also the main contributor in this battle, risking his life several times, so this Cai has no objections.”
With him saying so, what else could Du Si Si do?
Yang Kai nodded in thanks before walking over to the giant jet black stick. After thinking about it for a moment, he reached out his hand, placed it on the stick, then poured his Divine Sense into it to carefully examine it.
A short time later, Yang Kai’s expression changed and he poured a large amount of his Saint Qi into the giant jet black stick.
An incredible scene happened next. As Yang Kai infused his Saint Qi into it, the giant stick with a length of a couple dozen metres and a thickness greater than a man’s height actually rapidly shrank and became only a metre or so long in the blink of an eye.
Cai He and Du Si Si, who were negotiating over the puppet’s and Space Ring’s distribution, saw this and couldn’t help gawking for a moment.
Yang Kai nodded in affirmation when he saw this. The first time he saw the puppet, there was no sign of this giant stick at all, but after it crushed the old woman, it had suddenly appeared in its hand. At that time, Yang Kai wondered if this giant stick could freely change its size, and after trying it just now, he was able to confirm his guess.
Reaching out to pick up this black stick, Yang Kai’s face suddenly froze before revealing a look of pleasant surprise.
He found that he was unable to lift this stick at all, making him more certain that his decision to take it as his spoils of war was right. Whatever materials this stick was refined from were certainly incredible.
The puppet had been destroyed, and with the techniques and knowledge of Shadowed Star, it was impossible to repair it, so it was essentially useless. At most it could be exchanged for some Saint Crystals or treasures with the Lian Family. As for the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream in the old woman’s Space Ring… there was a good chance it was just a diluted byproduct. Yang Kai was almost certain that there was purer Life Revitalizing Jade Cream somewhere in that rockery.
Rejoicing in his heart, Yang Kai’s face remained indifferent as he used his Saint Qi and Divine Sense to wrap up this stick and move it into the special ring Yang Yan had refined for him.
This ring was even capable of storing the Sun’s True Essence and Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal, so it naturally had no trouble storing this strange stick.
While Yang Kai finished putting away the stick, Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s negotiations also concluded. Cai He walked over to the place where the puppet originally stood and picked up the old woman’s Space Ring while Du Si Si took out a bracelet-like artifact and tossed it up as her pretty face flashed a look of joy. Mid-air, the bracelet rapidly expanded until it completely encircled the fallen puppet. Silk like threads of energy then began shooting out from the giant bracelet.
These energy filaments swiftly wrapped around the puppet, soon making it look like a giant dumpling, at which point Du Si Si shouted, “Seal!”
The countless silk threads instantly began pulling the huge puppet into the bracelet and it had been completely secured in less than ten breaths. The strange storage bracelet then shrank back down and flew back over to Du Si Si’s wrist.
Everyone was happy with the gains they made.
Yang Kai also had no plans of eating everything up on his own. This time, Cai He and Du Si Si limiting the puppet’s ability to move really helped him a lot, so naturally Yang Kai wasn’t going to destroy the bridge after he crossed it.
As for which one of the three had gotten the best deal out of this, only the Heavens knew. In any case, after Cai He searched the old woman’s Space Ring, his face filled with joy, so obviously he was very satisfied with the result.
“Brother Yang, what should we do next?” It seemed that because of the previous battle, Cai He was now unconsciously treating Yang Kai as their group’s leader.
Hearing this, Du Si Si also turned her head and looked over.
Yang Kai pondered for a while before grinning, “Waiting here isn’t really an option, and since there’s only one exit, we have no choice but to go through it. What’s on the other side of this gateway, or what dangers we might face, are impossible to tell, but since this puppet was guarding it so tightly, there must be something good…”
Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s eyes both shined.
Yang Kai however quickly became solemn as he warned, “But where there are good things, there is definitely danger, so the two of you should prepare yourselves.”
“Naturally. So Brother Yang’s intentions are to continue exploring this place?”
“Yeah. No matter what, we need to find a way to leave these Ancient Ruins, at least.”
Regarding Yang Kai’s decision, the two Array Masters naturally had no objections so the three of them rested a while to completely restore themselves before Yang Kai took the lead and passed through the round gateway.
Through the gateway, Yang Kai suddenly found himself in front of a straight corridor.
After sweeping the area with his Divine Sense and confirming that there were no immediate dangers, Yang Kai began walking forward while maintaining a high level of vigilance.
The corridor wasn’t too long, only about a thousand metres in total, so it wasn’t long before the trio crossed it and arrived at another hall.
As soon as he entered this hall, Yang Kai’s eyes shrank as he looked towards the centre spot with clear surprise on his face and called out, “Elder Qian?”
Cai He and Du Si Si heard Yang Kai call out like this and couldn’t help smiling and quickly catching up with him. However, when they looked over in the direction Yang Kai was staring, bitter smiles filled their faces.
Over there, Qian Tong sat cross-legged, wearing an equally bitter smile as he stared back towards them.
Sitting beside Qian Tong was another middle-aged man who was a Second-Order Saint King. This man’s face was somewhat pale, clearly indicating that he had been injured. Yang Kai quickly judged that this person was the Artifact Refiner who followed Qian Tong to this place.
Fei Zhi Tu had said that Qian Tong hadn’t come here alone but had brought a Saint King Grade Artifact Refiner with him, hoping that through this exploration, this middle-aged man would be able to become an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner to replace Grand Master Ge Lin who recently died.
Next to Elder Qian and this middle-aged man was a Stone Tablet. This Stone Tablet was densely engraved with countless tiny characters. Even from a fair distance away, Yang Kai was able to identify these characters as the same unrecognizable ancient text they had come across multiple times since entering these Ancient Ruins. However, unlike all the other writing they had encountered, the characters on this Stone Tablet had a strange charm to them, almost as if one would gain some kind of enlightenment if they diligently studied them.
Most importantly though, around Qian Tong were a dozen or so puppets. Some of these puppets had humanoid appearances while others resembled Monster Beasts, but every one of them was radiating a thick malicious intent. Each of these puppets was clearly not affable and were currently eyeing Qian Tong and that Saint King Grade Artifact Refiner covetously; however, they currently showed no intention to attack and were simply surrounding them for now.
After probing these puppets lightly, Yang Kai felt the urge to curse.
Even if these dozen puppets weren’t as powerful as the giant one they had encountered before, the difference wasn’t great. It made sense that Qian Tong could only sit in place, not daring to act rashly; if he did, these dozen puppets would quickly tear him and the middle-aged Artifact Refiner to pieces.
“How did you get here?” Qian Tong’s voice was a little weak, but it didn’t seem he was in any kind of life threatening danger. Looking at Yang Kai and the other two young Array Masters though, clear surprise filled Qian Tong’s face.
“Elder Qian, these puppets…” Yang Kai didn’t answer immediately, instead concentrating solely on the dozen puppets.
“Don’t worry, they seem to only care about protecting this place. As long as you don’t come any closer, they won’t attack. As for this old master… en, with this Stone Tablet as a deterrent, they don’t dare to come close, so we won’t die any time soon.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s taut expression loosened. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he began explaining how Fei Zhi Tu had recruited them to launch this rescue operation.
Hearing that Yang Kai and the other two beside him had been invited by Fei Zhi Tu to help rescue him, Qian Tong expressed his sincere gratitude. The three Saint King Realm Juniors naturally replied humbly. After hearing that they had been scattered when passing through the black and white Space Array Gate, then had watched the old woman die a tragic death at the hand of the giant humanoid puppet, Qian Tong’s expression became gloomy as he seemingly blamed himself.
A short time later, after Yang Kai finished narrating his group’s story, Qian Tong frowned and asked, “So you don’t know where Old Fei and his group are now, correct?”
Yang Kai and the others shook their heads slowly.
Qian Tong laughed bitterly, “This time, this old master has wrongly implicated all of you. This place is a dead end; even if you return the way you came, I’m afraid you won’t be able to find a way back.”
“Then what should we do?” Du Si Si asked anxiously.
“There are only two options!” Qian Tong sighed heavily.
“What options?”
“Do you see the Space Array over there?” Qian Tong pointed his finger towards a certain direction. Following his finger, Yang Kai, Cai He, and Du Si Si saw an intact Space Array at the opposite end of the hall.
“That Space Array should lead to the outside world, so if you are confident in slipping past these puppets, you can try to escape through it; however, this old master doesn’t recommend trying this. Most of the puppets here are somewhat avoidable, but that wolf-shaped one’s speed is quite frightening. Even this old master isn’t certain he can outrun it.”
Yang Kai and the two Array Masters had already fought one of these puppets before so how could they have any thoughts of challenging another casually? Even if these puppets were not as overwhelming as the previous one, just the number of them in this place was enough to cause Yang Kai’s blood to run cold.
What’s more, although the Space Array was intact, it would still take some time to activate. That slight delay would be more than enough time for these puppets to swarm them.
Facing such a dire situation, how could they act rashly?
“Other than that, the only option is to wait. When Old Fei arrives, we can try to find a way out of this mess together,” Qian Tong saw the look of helplessness and despair on Cai He’s and Du Si Si’s face and couldn’t help comforting, “Rest assured, if the situation becomes dire, this old master will find a way to delay these evil creatures long enough for you all to escape.”
“No!” Cai He panicked and hurriedly objected, “Elder Qian must not! Shadow Moon Hall’s internal strife continues to escalate even now, so Elder Qian must return to help the Sect Master overcome the situation. If Elder Qian were to fall here because of us, then we three would forever be dishonoured. We cannot afford such disrepute.”
Du Si Si nodded firmly in agreement.
Qian Tong chuckled heartily as he shook his head, “It was only a method of last resort. Don’t worry, unless there is truly no other way, this old master won’t do such a thing, I also want to live a few more years.”
Only when he heard this did Cai He feel relieved.
With no way back and the way forward blocked, the three newly arrived Saint King Realm Juniors could only sit down cross-legged to meditate while sometimes chatting with Qian Tong to pass the time.
After chatting for a while, Yang Kai learned that the Stone Tablet was actually engraved with an ingenious Artifact Refining technique, and although no one could understand these ancient characters, if an Artifact Refiner simply meditated nearby and studied it, their comprehension of Artifact Refining would gradually increase.
This middle-aged man had gained a certain understanding of this profound technique now and had begun personally refining an Origin Grade artifact. Once this artifact was completely refined, he would become the next Origin Grade Artifact Refining Grandmaster of Shadow Moon Hall.
With the assistance of this person, together with Qian Tong’s methods and prestige, Shadow Moon Hall’s internal strife could be settled once more.
Time passed by as everyone grew somewhat anxious, all of them wondering what had happened to Fei Zhi Tu and the others as no trace of them had been seen for half a month.
After half a month of rest and recuperation, all the injuries Yang Kai and the two young Array Masters suffered in their battle with the giant puppet completely healed.
On this day, as Yang Kai was sitting in meditation, he suddenly noticed a strange energy fluctuation around him and immediately opened his eyes in surprise.
At the same time, Qian Tong also noticed this anomaly and released his Divine Sense to investigate.
Cai He and Du Si Si on the other hand failed to notice anything.
However, a moment later, both wore terrified looks because the hall they were sitting in suddenly began shaking violently, with dust and debris falling from the ceiling, as if the entire Ancient Ruin had become unstable.
“This is…” Qian Tong’s eyes widened, as if he had discovered something.
Yang Kai was also shocked. He did not know what Qian Tong had discovered, but he had clearly felt that this Ancient Ruin was now being flooded with pulsing Space Force.
Yang Kai had cultivated this strength, so he was very clear about its unique fluctuations.
A violent rumbling filled the air and everything around began heaving and shaking, as if the end of the world was approaching. The middle-aged man next to Qian Tong as well as Cai He and Du Si Si all began looking around in panic.
The dozen or so puppets that had been surrounding Qian Tong also experienced a change at this moment, all their red eyes flashing warily as they slowly retreated in fear.
This change had happened too fast, and before Yang Kai could investigate properly, the surrounding space filled with a kind of irresistible repulsive force, wrapping everyone’s body and making it difficult for them to even breathe.
But Yang Kai was not frightened by this and instead wore a happy look because he had experienced this feeling once before.
The current situation was exactly the same as the one he experienced when the Flowing Flame Sand Field was closed a few years ago!
[Could it be…]
Just as this thought crossed Yang Kai’s mind, the surrounding World Energy began condensing at a speed visible to the naked eye and a moment later a burst of radiant light filled the hall. After the flash high up in the air passed, the World Energy that caused it transformed into a giant hand.
Seeing this, Yang Kai brow lifted as his face filled with joy.
This hand formed from World Energy looked incredibly familiar and was no doubt the same female jade white hand that had appeared in the Flame Sand Field at that time.
However, this jade white hand was several times larger than the one from back then. At that time, this jade hand had wanted to expel Yang Kai from the Flowing Flame Sand Field but was blocked by the Star Emperor Token he had obtained by chance, allowing Yang Kai to remain inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field for six months after it had closed.
Having previously experienced this matter, Yang Kai naturally calmed down.
The jade hand soon reached down from above and grabbed hold of Yang Kai, squeezing him tightly.
During this process, Yang Kai did not attempt to resist at all. Glancing over and seeing Cai He and Du Si Si’s desperate expressions as they fiercely pushed their Saint Qi, apparently wanting to struggle, Yang Kai quickly comforted them, “Don’t panic, this will let us escape from this place.”
Just as he finished saying this, the jade hand holding him exploded into particles of light and Yang Kai felt a violent repulsion from the space around him. In a flash of light, Yang Kai’s figure disappeared from where he was standing.
After receiving Yang Kai’s reassurance, Cai He and Du Si Si both froze for a moment, allowing two jade hands to grab hold of them as well. After these two jade hands burst, they also vanished.
This scene also happened to Qian Tong and the middle-aged Artifact Refiner, as well as a gloomy-faced Fei Zhi Tu somewhere else inside the Ancient Ruins.
In the blink of an eye, no living person remained inside the Ancient Ruins.
Somewhere ten thousand kilometres outside Fallen Emperor Mountain, a figure strangely appeared, and after trembling and staggering slightly, the figure stood firm. It was Yang Kai, who was sent out of the Ancient Ruins by its unique World Principles.
At almost the same time as he appeared, several other silhouettes appeared around him one after another.
Everyone looked around and after seeing each other’s faces, Cai He shouted with joy, “Senior Fei, Senior Ning!”
Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes widened as he showed a happy look, “You also managed to come out?”
“En, I don’t know what happened, but we were suddenly teleported out of the Ancient Ruins and came here. What about Senior Wen?” Cai He suddenly discovered that the cultivator surnamed Wen was missing.
Fei Zhi Tu and Ning Xiang Chen both sighed deeply as their faces darkened.
Seeing this, the others immediately understood that the cultivator surnamed Wen had died in the Ancient Ruins.
“My old friend…” Ning Xiang Chen was also surprised when he found no trace of the old woman.
Cai He smiled bitterly, “That Senior also fell.”
Ning Xiang Chen was dumbfounded for a moment before he let out a sigh and smiled bitterly, “It was her fate!”
During this Ancient Ruins’ exploration, two Origin Returning Realm masters had died but all four Saint King Realm Juniors had managed to return safely, including Lian Guang who appeared unharmed; however, after spending these days suffering greatly together with Fei Zhi Tu and the other masters, his expression was now quite haggard.
“Old Ghost Qian, you’re not dead, seems your luck is as good as ever,” Fei Zhi Tu looked at Qian Tong and coldly snorted.
Qian Tong didn’t retort as his eyes filled with the light of remorse. Seeing this, Fei Zhi Tu, no longer made any sarcastic remarks.
Yang Kai and his group had been sitting in that hall all this time without moving, so naturally it was not anything they did that allowed them to leave the Ancient Ruins this time. As such, it only made sense that Fei Zhi Tu and his group had triggered something which caused the entire Ancient Ruins to expel them.
Although only Yang Kai had entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field among the people here, all of them had naturally heard some information about it, including the appearance of the jade white hand condensed from World Energy that sent everyone out.
The situation just now was exactly the same as when the Flowing Flame Sand Field closed, so was there some kind of connection between the two? Not only was Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, the Origin Returning Realm masters also sank deep into thought. Of the people here, it seemed only Cai He, Du Si Si, and Lian Guang did not understand what was going on.
Just as Qian Tong opened his mouth to say something though, a sudden rumbling sound came from afar.
Suddenly, everyone’s footing became unsteady and their faces changed greatly as they stared in shock towards the source of the sound.
“It’s coming from Fallen Emperor Mountain?” Du Si Si muttered.
The direction of the sound was indeed from Fallen Emperor Mountain, and even though they were already ten thousand kilometres away, everyone could vaguely see traces of the mountain range and hear it rumbling, as if some great change had suddenly occurred.
One could only imagine how violent the movement over there was to produce such a violent sound.
And just now, all of them had been sent out of the Ancient Ruins, so could this sudden development be related somehow?
As everyone stared curiously, Fallen Emperor Mountain, which was ten thousand kilometres away, suddenly underwent another astonishing change as all the World Energy within tens of thousands of kilometres rapidly began flooding towards it.
The cultivators who were cultivating on Fallen Emperor Mountain all suddenly wore horrified looks as they hurriedly used their movement skills to try to escape to the periphery, but clearly, they acted a bit too late. Just as these people began to flee, an incredible Emperor Pressure suddenly descended upon them, one just as strong as at Fallen Emperor Mountain’s most central region.
Under this omnipresent Emperor Pressure, everyone could not help feeling like a majestic pair of eyes was looking down at them.
Under the gaze of these eyes, everyone felt as tiny as an ant and their movements stiffened to the point where even moving a finger was difficult.
Fortunately, this Emperor Pressure disappeared as quickly as it came, but when the cultivators who regained their freedom wanted to continue escaping, they were shocked to discover that all the World Energy within a hundred thousand kilometre radius had gathered around them in what appeared to be colourful bubbles visible to the naked eye.
Inside each of these bubbles was an astonishing amount of energy, enough to cause anyone who saw them to tremble.
A violent rumbling suddenly came from down below and the earth began cracking in a giant web-like pattern. Many cultivators fell into these cracks and were ruthlessly crushed to death by some strange power without even a chance to fight back.
In just a dozen breaths, most of the cultivators who were cultivating on Fallen Emperor Mountain died or were seriously injured as wails echoed through the air.
Only those cultivators whose strength was not very high and had already been in the mountain range’s periphery had luckily escaped.
Ten thousand kilometres away, Fei Zhi Tu and Qian Tong both stared forward with pale complexions. Despite being so far away and being unable to see the situation clearly, they were able to feel the powerful energy fluctuations coming from Fallen Emperor Mountain. Exchanging a glance, these two masters could clearly see the doubt and panic in each other’s eyes.
Before Qian Tong was even able to ask Fei Zhi Tu and his group what they had experienced, Fallen Emperor Mountain had undergone such a violent change. A moment later though, all these strange occurrences suddenly subsided and the rumbling sound swiftly vanished; however, an incredibly dangerous aura still filled the air.
It was like the calm before the storm, only increasing everyone’s anxiety.
World Energy was still flowing towards the centre of Fallen Emperor Mountain and even seemed to be increasing in speed now.
A moment later, a dazzling light burst from somewhere in Fallen Emperor Mountain, like a great thunderbolt across the clear sky, rendering all unable to look at it directly.
A Heaven-destroying-Earth-shattering aura filled the air, causing everyone to go pale.
When the light faded, the crowd looked over and could not help being stunned.
In the sky above Fallen Emperor Mountain, a palace-like building had suddenly appeared. This palace was simple in design but gave off an ancient aura as gold and silver runes flickered and flowed across its surface.
At the moment, this palace was flying up into the sky, not seeming to move that fast, but a terrifying Emperor Pressure that covered all Shadowed Star radiated from it.
“This is…” Ning Xiang Chen stared blankly at this palace and, as he suddenly seemed to remember something, his face changed drastically, a complex expression of surprise, excitement, and anxiety filled his face.
“Emperor Garden!” Fei Zhi Tu and Qian Tong exclaimed at the same time.
The few Saint King Realm Juniors who heard this all could not help showing looks of shock as their eyes lit up.
Yang Kai was no exception as he had long ago heard of the Three Great Forbidden Zones on Shadowed Star.
One was the Flowing Flame Sand Field that he had been to, its dangers needing no further explanation. More than ten thousand elite disciples from all the great Sects on Shadowed Star had entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field but more than half fell inside, and that was while the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s Flame Area had been dramatically weakened.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field’s opening always had such a survival rate.
The second Forbidden zone was the Emperor Garden which Fei Zhi Tu and the others had just labelled this floating palace.
According to rumours, this was the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s personal palace! This alone was enough to awe others.
As for the third one, it was Shadowed Soul Island, which existed somewhere on Shadowed Star’s Limitless Ocean!
The first Forbidden Zone was constantly present on Shadowed Star and would open once every few hundred years. Every great force on Shadowed Star was incredibly familiar with it, and every time it opened they would reap great benefits.
The second Forbidden Zone, the Emperor Garden, had never been entered by anyone and would only occasionally appear before disappearing soon after. Most cultivators on Shadowed Star had only heard of the existence of the Emperor Garden. While over tens of thousands of years a few people had seen it for themselves, it had always been in an illusionary state and no records of anyone ever having set foot into it existed.
As for the third, Shadowed Soul Island, it was a complete mystery. It was rumoured that anyone who entered Shadowed Soul Island perished, making it much more mysterious than the Emperor Garden.
At this moment, hearing Fei Zhi Tu and Qian Tong actually shout the words ‘Emperor Garden’, how could Yang Kai not be shocked? Quickly composing himself though, he asked respectfully, “Two Seniors, is this the rumoured Starry Sky Great Emperor’s personal palace?”
Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes flashed as he continued staring at the floating palace, gently nodding his head as he replied, “It should be. Although this City Lord has never seen it personally, it matches the records in the Sect’s ancient books exactly, but…”
“But what?” The several Saint King Realm Juniors stared at him.
“It’s slightly different from the descriptions,” Qian Tong frowned.
“Different how?”
Qian Tong pondered for a while before saying slowly, “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. Since the Emperor Garden has appeared now, even if this old master does not say anything, this information will certainly spread out quickly and reach you. You should have heard some rumours about the Emperor Garden saying that it appears mysteriously and then disappears soon after. More than a thousand years ago, a Senior of my Shadow Moon Hall had the honour of witnessing the advent of the Emperor Garden and left records of it in the Sect’s archives. At that time, the Emperor Garden appeared silently and then disappeared silently, not alarming many people, but this time… I’m afraid at least half of the Shadowed Star’s population can see it.”
Saying this, Qian Tong showed a slightly bitter smile.
“Not only that, the Emperor Garden has always had an illusory appearance like a mirage, visible to the naked eye, but immaterial and ethereal, yet this time…” Fei Zhi Tu’s brow furrowed deeply as clear worry appeared on his face.
There was no need for him to explain further as everyone here could clearly see that the Emperor Garden in front of them was nothing like a mirage. Its image was so vivid it made one believe they could fly up and enter it.
“Was the Ancient Ruin we entered before actually the Emperor Garden?” Yang Kai’s expression flashed as he wondered out loud.
Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu didn’t reply, but judging from their complexions, they clearly agreed with Yang Kai’s conjecture. After all, moments after they had been expelled from Fallen Emperor Mountain, the Emperor Garden had slowly risen above Fallen Emperor Mountain. There must be some connection between the two events.
If the Ancient Ruins they were exploring just now were really the Emperor Garden, then it would easily explain why so many long-lost herbs and treasures had appeared. The Emperor Garden’s name was so renowned that it would be strange if there were not many good things inside it.
Thinking that they had entered the Emperor Garden and managed to leave alive, Cai He, Du Si Si, and the others could not help trembling.
Now though, since the Emperor Garden had appeared, they may have a chance to enter it once more.
As Yang Kai’s group conversed, the Emperor Garden continued flying upwards, but the strange thing was that no matter how high or how far it flew, they could all still see it clearly and it did not seem to shrink in size at all. The only thing that changed was the Emperor Pressure surrounding it slowly weakened.
“When the Emperor Garden appears, the Star Field will be thrown into chaos. The ancient books recorded this, but whether it is true or false remains to be seen!” Fei Zhi Tu murmured softly.
“No matter the case, Old Fei, you and I should go investigate it first. If the Emperor Garden has truly manifested this time, it may not be a good thing for us!” Qian Tong said with a worried look on his face.
“Yeah, even if you didn’t propose this, this City Lord would have,” Fei Zhi Tu nodded.
With the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters reaching an agreement, Qian Tong immediately urged the juniors to return to Heavenly Fate City as soon as possible and not involve themselves in this matter. Then, Qian Tong spoke a few words to Ning Xiang Chen, asking him to look after the Juniors before he and Fei Zhi Tu flew off in the direction of the Emperor Garden.
After they left, Ning Xiang Chen stood on the spot, his face sullen for a while before he eventually let out a sigh and said, “Let’s go back.”
He also wanted to visit the Emperor Garden, but after thinking of the Emperor Pressure being emitted from it, he had no choice but to give up such thoughts; after all, his strength was lower than Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu. Before he even got close to the Emperor Garden, he might be ground to dust by the Emperor Pressure.
Accepting this reality, he flew off together with the four Saint Kings and the middle-aged Artifact Refiner towards Heavenly Fate City.
On the way, Yang Kai could not help glancing back at the Emperor Garden suspiciously. The more he looked, the more puzzled his expression became.
He had seen a flying palace before, namely Meng Wu Ya’s Heavenly Palace artifact. It may be that this Emperor Garden was also a kind of artifact, but it was innumerable times higher grade than Meng Wu Ya’s Heavenly Palace.
On top of that, the owner of this artifact was definitely the Starry Sky Great Emperor as the Emperor Pressure emanating from it was impossible to fake.
Yang Kai was not puzzled about this, however, but rather because he felt that this Emperor Garden seemed to be missing something. But this was just a feeling and he was unable to tell what was missing.
Yang Kai quickly set aside this idea, not bothering to think about it any further; after all, this was related to the Emperor Garden, so even if he was curious, there really was no one he could ask to learn more.
On the way back, Cai He and Du Si Si asked Ning Xiang Chen some questions and soon learned that after the two groups had separated, Fei Zhi Tu’s group had repeatedly fought with a number of puppets, causing them a great deal of suffering and even resulting in the man surnamed Wen dying a tragic death.
Hearing all this, Du Si Si shot a grateful look towards Cai He.
If not for Cai He’s foresight, taking her hand back then and bringing her with him, she would have certainly passed through the white Space Array Gate with Ning Xiang Chen and the other masters, which would have undoubtedly been disastrous for her with her weak cultivation.
Lian Guang’s safe return should be taken as an exception; after all, he was proficient in puppet techniques so, at a moment of crisis, he could use his puppets to preserve his life. Du Si Si, on the other hand, didn’t have such an ability.
Although they had still encountered that giant humanoid puppet after entering the black Space Array Gate, the overall situation on that side was quite relaxed, with only a single battle needing to be fought.
On Fei Zhi Tu’s side, after fighting several dangerous battles, their group had entered an ice-cold chamber where they found an Ice Crystal Jade Coffin. There seemed to be a person lying inside this jade coffin, but before they could figure out who it was, they accidentally triggered some kind of Spirit Array.
What happened next, Yang Kai and the others already knew; the Emperor Garden’s World Principles repelled everyone, teleporting them ten thousand kilometres outside of Fallen Emperor Mountain.
It seemed that jade coffin was the root of this sudden development as Fei Zhi Tu and his group tripping the Spirit Array near it had resulted in all of them being sent out and the Emperor Garden appearing.
As for who was inside that jade coffin, Ning Xiang Chen couldn’t tell clearly. All he could see from that individual’s outline was that it was most likely a woman.
Hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow pensively.
He had experienced this World Principle rejection twice now, and both times he had witnessed a flourishing jade white hand. That jade hand was obviously a woman’s hand. Now, an Ice Crystal Jade Coffin inside the Emperor Garden contained a woman who seemingly possessed no vitality. Were all of these incidents somewhat related?
Moreover, what kind of connection was there between the Flowing Flame Sand Field and the Emperor Garden? The more Yang Kai thought about it, the more confused he became.
Unable to make sense of any of this, Yang Kai simply shook his head.
In addition to these mysteries, Shadowed Star also had quite a few peculiarities to it. There were no Origin King Realm masters here, and even the highest grade of Alchemist and Artifact Refiner was merely Origin Grade Low-Rank. It seemed like there was some kind of suppressive force at work here that made it impossible to overcome these bottlenecks. Everyone being unable to escape these shackles made Yang Kai faintly feel there was more to this star than met the eye.
The journey back was uneventful, with only a few words exchanged the whole way. Several days later, the group returned to Heavenly Fate City and Cai He, Du Si Si, and Lian Guang said their goodbyes, while Ning Xiang Chen stayed and chatted with Yang Kai briefly before taking his leave.
Knowing what it was this old man had been thinking about, and taking into consideration the care Ning Xiang Chen had shown him along the way, Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t act stingy. Immediately, he told him that whenever he had time he could come to Dragon Cave Mountain as a guest, and if he wanted to repair his artifacts, to simply let him know.
Receiving this promise, Ning Xiang Chen was overjoyed and immediately thanked Yang Kai before hurriedly leaving. Apparently he had some preparations to make; after all, in order to properly repair his artifacts, it would be necessary to collect some materials. He couldn’t expect Yang Kai to also provide such things.
Standing outside Heavenly Fate City, Yang Kai looked up at the sky.
At this moment, Emperor Garden seemed to have stabilized and was suspended somewhere above Shadowed Star. Its size had still not changed, but the crushing Emperor Pressure had essentially disappeared, obviously because it was now very far from the ground.
Yang Kai didn’t know what Fei Zhi Tu and Qian Tong were planning on investigating, but he estimated that before long, all of the great forces on Shadowed Star would begin moving.
The Emperor Garden’s appearance was a matter of great importance, so no great force could afford to ignore it. When the time came, everyone would want a piece of the benefits, so there would definitely be some friction and conflict in the near future.
After observing for a while though, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly sank and became incredibly ugly.
He hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now that he observed the Emperor Garden carefully, especially its placement, he noticed that it was hovering above Heavenly Fate City. Or more precisely, it was hovering just above Dragon Cave Mountain.
[Shit…]
Yang Kai almost couldn’t help cursing out loud. With the Emperor Garden floating here, although Dragon Cave Mountain was simply adjacent to the real prize, that would be enough to cause some unnecessary trouble. The masters of all the great forces on Shadowed Star would definitely come here to investigate, and Shadow Moon Hall would not be willing to provoke them, so even with Qian Tong’s protection, Dragon Cave Mountain may not necessarily remain safe.
With a hazy expression, Yang Kai stood in place pondering for a while before eventually stomping his foot and flying off towards Dragon Cave Mountain.
Worrying about this now was meaningless; in the first place, he didn’t have any way to get rid of the Emperor Garden. What he should be considering right now was how to strengthen Dragon Cave Mountain’s defences.
Silently cursing the Starry Sky Great Emperor in his head, Yang Kai quickly rushed back.
A short time later, Yang Kai arrived outside Dragon Cave Mountain’s protective barrier and took out the control token Yang Yan had given him. Pouring his Saint Qi into this token, a stream of light poured out from it and into the giant Spirit Array.
Instantly, a straight passage opened in the fog bank that surrounded the mountain. With a casual look, Yang Kai put away the token and walked inside. After he passed through it, the passage disappeared again and the entire Dragon Cave Mountain was once again shrouded in a fog bank, completely obscuring it from the outside world.
As soon as he entered, a few figures flew over to intercept him, but upon seeing it was Yang Kai, all of these people showed looks of joy on their faces and quickly cupped their fists to welcome him.
Yang Kai couldn’t actually remember the names of these people, only knowing they were originally disciples of the Hai Ke Family. After Wu Yi separated from her family and joined Dragon Cave Mountain, all these people, with their incredibly varied strengths, followed her here.
However, thanks to the amazing financial resources of Dragon Cave Mountain, everyone’s cultivation had improved greatly. Now, the leaders among this group were all Saint Kings, while almost everyone else was a Third-Order Saint.
This kind of cultivation in the outside world was nothing, but it was something the Hai Ke Family could only dream of cultivating in such a short time.
“Sect Master, it’s good that you’ve returned,” The leading Saint King Realm called out happily, but a hint of anxiety remained on his face.
Yang Kai frowned and asked, “Why do you address me as Sect Master?”
The leader grinned meaningfully and explained, “Young Lady Wu Yi said I will have to call you Sect Master when I see you in the future. She said that you will definitely found a Sect in time, so calling you Sect Master now shouldn’t matter.”
Yang Kai was struck speechless.
He indeed had the idea of founding a small Sect, not to develop some kind of great force, but rather to pave the way for his friends and family on Tong Xuan Realm. When the time comes, he would need to bring them out into the Star Field. At that time, they would need a place to stay, and given the number of people he planned to bring, forming a Sect was the most logical option.
He had never mentioned this out loud, but it seemed Wu Yi had taken notice and begun making plans.
Yang Kai didn’t dig any deeper into this issue, instead noticing the look of anxiety on the face of the man who spoke to him and asking, “What happened while I was out? Why do you all look so worried? Did the Xie Family stir up trouble again?”
Yang Kai almost took it for granted that the Xie Family would target Dragon Cave Mountain, so seeing the anxious looks on everyone’s face, he immediately felt some anger welling up.
Hearing this question, the lead cultivator quickly said, “No, no, a trivial Xie Family can’t pose any threat to our Dragon Cave Mountain. After Sect Master left, they tried to scout us out a few times, but after everyone they sent died without a complete corpse, they learned their lesson and didn’t dare try to break into our protective barrier.”
“Then why do you all look like this?”
“It’s… it’s…” His eyes darting around, it appeared that whatever this lead cultivator had to say was something quite difficult to bring up.
“Stop hesitating and explain!” Yang Kai’s face sank.
“It’s Young Lady Yang Yan!” The cultivator grit his teeth and shouted.
“Yang Yan?” Yang Kai’s complexion changed, “What happened to Yang Yan?”
“I don’t know, I only heard from Young Lady Wu Yi that Young Lady Yang Yan suddenly fell into a deep sleep a few days ago and has not awoken since. Young Lady Wu Yi and Miss Qian Yue have been trying to find a solution this whole time but…!” The lead cultivator couldn’t finish answering Yang Kai’s question before the latter disappeared without a word. With his First-Order Saint King Realm cultivation, this man wasn’t even able to tell how Yang Kai disappeared, causing a look of admiration and envy to fill his face.
Hearing that something happened to Yang Yan, Yang Kai had no patience to listen to a long explanation.
Since coming to Shadowed Star, he had only made a few friends, and even fewer of these friends could he truly open up to.
Yang Yan was one of his closest friends, and the weight she held in Yang Kai’s heart ranked first in Shadowed Star. Without her, Dragon Cave Mountain wouldn’t have been able to develop to such a scale. Without her, Yang Kai wouldn’t have so many artifacts in his possession.
Dragon Cave Mountain being able to reach its current glory was largely in part due to Yang Yan’s contributions. Yang Kai was able to cultivate with peace of mind all thanks to Yang Yan’s efforts.
In the beginning, this mysterious woman was refining Saint Grade artifacts to earn a measly few Saint Crystals at the Artifact Refining Pavilion in Heavenly Fate City. If not for a series of coincidences that resulted in Yang Kai bringing her back with him to assist with arranging a Spirit Array, the two of them might never have even met.
As time passed, Yang Yan’s importance to Yang Kai increased greatly, so now hearing that something was wrong with her, he naturally became anxious.
Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai soon found that Yang Yan was in the loft where she normally lived.
At the moment, Qian Yue and Wu Yi were there too, one of them feeding Yang Yan a bowl of some kind of potion while the other sat cross-legged by her bed and poured their Saint Qi into her, attempting to wake her up.
The two women were in a state of sorrow and anxiety.
In a flash, a figure suddenly appeared behind them and Wu Yi’s and Qian Yue’s expressions both changed dramatically. The two of them were about to attack, but when they saw it was Yang Kai who had come, both of them smiled happily towards him.
Yang Kai didn’t waste any time talking to them as he focused his attention on Yang Yan. From a glance, he could see she was completely unconscious and extremely pale. Even in this kind of deep sleep, she seemed to be experiencing some kind of nightmare.
The Saint Qi in her body was also flowing irregularly, creating a kind of chaotic circulation.
Yang Kai quickly arrived at the bed, stretched out his fingers, and placed them on Yang Yan’s wrist while also releasing his Divine Sense to carefully inspect her condition.
A moment later, his brow furrowed as he removed his hand from Yang Yan’s wrist and asked, “What happened? When did it happen?”
Wu Yi and Qian Yue glanced at each other for a moment before the former replied, “Just four days ago she was perfectly fine. At that time I was helping her refine something when suddenly her complexion went pale and she whispered some words I couldn’t understand before directly fainting. I didn’t know what had happened, so I brought her to her bed, but since then she remained unconscious. We fed her the healing pills you left behind as well as pills meant to restore Spiritual Energy, but nothing we did was able to improve her condition.”
Four days ago? Yang Kai raised his brow thoughtfully. Four days ago was exactly when the changes in Fallen Emperor Mountain had occurred and the Emperor Garden had appeared. Why would Yang Yan’s sudden collapse coincide with those events?
What was the relationship between the two events? After thinking for a while, Yang Kai shook his head as he felt that his speculations were too absurd.
Fallen Emperor Mountain and the Emperor Garden were both related to the Starry Sky Great Emperor, so how could that have anything to do with Yang Yan?
“Yang Kai, what happened to her?” Wu Yi asked anxiously, concern filling her pretty face.
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai raised his eyes to meet hers, “Have Foreign Elder Chang and Foreign Elder Hao examined her?”
“En, but the two Foreign Elders were also helpless. Should we send her to Medicine Pill Sect for treatment?” Wu Yi bit her thin lip lightly and proposed. Although Medicine Pill Sect was famous for its Alchemy techniques, there was also no one on Shadowed Star who better understood Alchemy and medical treatment than masters. If they sent Yang Yan there, they might be able to help her.
Wu Yi came up with this idea a while ago, but since Yang Kai was not around, she didn’t act on it immediately.
“No,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Forget about how long it would take to bring her there, even if we did, we may not be able to have one of their Elder level characters act.”
“What should we do then?” Wu Yi was as anxious as an ant on a hot wok. In Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai was the hidden dragon who showed his tail but never his face, often in a state of secluded retreat or out on some adventure, so in his absence, everything about this place’s development and management had been handed over to her and Yang Yan. Yang Yan was also the one Wu Yi got along with best, so now seeing Yang Yan suffer like this, Wu Yi felt helpless and anxious.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to help her,” Yang Kai comforted, before casually explaining, “I just performed a check on her condition, and there appears to be nothing wrong with her physically. Since that is the case, the reason she’s remained unconscious obviously has something to do with her Soul. If I can break into her Knowledge Sea, I should be able to determine what’s wrong with her.”
“Then be careful, don’t hurt her.”
“I know, you should go out first!” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Wu Yi and Qian Yue exchanged a glance before the two both walked out with worried expressions.
In a blink of an eye, only Yang Kai and Yang Yan remained inside the loft. Seeing Yang Yan’s pale complexion, Yang Kai sighed slightly, stretched out his hand to support her head, then sat her up in a cross-legged sitting position facing him before slowly touching her smooth forehead with his finger.
Immediately after, Yang Kai closed his eyes and began pouring his Divine Sense into Yang Yan’s forehead.
Currently, Yang Yan was in a coma, so her Knowledge Sea had sealed itself off automatically. If Yang Kai wanted to break into Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea, he first had to break through her Knowledge Sea defences. Doing so may cause some damage to Yang Yan, but Yang had great confidence in his methods, so he was not worried about permanently harming her.
After all, after so many years of being nourished by the Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai’s Soul cultivation far exceeded other cultivators in his realm.
A moment later, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar left his body and appeared outside a barrier inside Yang Yan’s mind. This barrier was Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea defence. At a glance, Yang Kai couldn’t help showing some surprise as he hadn’t expected Yang Yan to have such powerful protections around her Knowledge Sea even while in a coma. Yang Kai felt like he was staring at a strong, solid and thick city wall, one that would not allow him to go one step further.
Not only that, but there were also glowing runes flowing across this giant wall that gave off an uncomfortable aura.
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He found that he had underestimated Yang Yan’s strength. Since encountering this woman, Yang Kai had never been able to discover her true cultivation and had never taken the initiative to ask. Yang Kai had thought that she carried a special artifact that blocked others from investigating her, but now it seemed that her cultivation was actually much higher than expected.
Sure enough, she was a woman full of mystery! Yang Kai was not totally surprised and instead looked up at this great barrier with a grin. In the next moment, his Divine Sense burst out, forming a powerful Soul attack which he launched.
The runes on the wall flashed brightly as Yang Kai’s attack landed and was subsequently dispersed like a rock sinking into the sea, leaving no trace.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he increased the power behind his attack and began repeatedly bombarding the barrier. During this process, Yang Kai was careful, not only to ensure the effectiveness of his attacks but also to make sure he maintained absolute control so that he would not cause Yang Yan any harm after breaking through the barrier.
This was no easy task to accomplish.
The runes on the barrier shone continuously and several of them often flew out to meet and counter Yang Kai’s Divine Sense attacks.
However, Yang Yan was in a coma, so even though her Knowledge Sea defences were not weak, they couldn’t withstand Yang Kai’s persistent bombardment. After an hour, Yang Kai finally tore a hole in the great barrier.
Seeing this, Yang Kai smiled happily and was just about to rush into Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea when three beams of light suddenly flew out to cover this opening.
An elegant purple glow, a flawless white glow, and a deep blue glow.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he instinctively sensed great danger from these three glows. It seemed that if he didn’t withdraw his Soul Avatar, he would quickly face disaster, so he hurriedly retreated.
Looking back, Yang Kai could not help being dumbfounded.
These three brilliances turned out to be three differently shaped artifacts.
The purple glow was a dagger-like artifact whose image sometimes morphed into a twisting snake with vicious fangs which gave off a thick malicious intent.
The white glow was a loop made of pure white jade which seemed both big and small at the same time and gave off a terrifying restrictive force.
The last sky blue light was a profound looking seal. The azure light which radiated from this seal made Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar feel like a snowflake under the hot summer sun, melting away the Spiritual Energy which composed his Soul Avatar at an incredible rate.
Yang Kai paled.
Although he had long known that Yang Yan was a powerful Artifact Refiner and had many artifacts on her person for her own protection, he had not imagined she would have three Soul type artifacts this powerful in her Knowledge Sea.
And from the way these three artifacts moved, it was obvious they could act independently to protect her.
With the situation becoming troublesome, Yang Kai’s face became ugly.
Although he had successfully torn open a hole in Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea defences, if he could not resist the attacks of these three Soul type artifacts, he couldn’t enter Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea.
Judging from the energy fluctuations coming from these three Soul type artifacts though, it would be no simple matter to overcome them! If Yang Kai really fought against these three artifacts, either he would be injured or Yang Yan would be. Whatever the result, it was not what Yang Kai wanted to see.
With a solemn look on his face, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar hovered in front of Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea defences, not daring to act hastily.
But after delaying like this, Yang Kai saw Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea defences begin to repair themselves, and he estimated it would only be a few breaths before they completely recovered.
When that happened, all his previous efforts would have gone to waste.
The opening continued closing at an increasing rate, but with the three Soul type artifacts focused on him, Yang Kai did not dare move forward to launch an attack. Suddenly, however, Yang Kai thought of a solution.
Sending out a burst of Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai silently sent a message straight into Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea.
Finishing this, he watched nervously.
To his disappointment, Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea defences continued repairing themselves and had been completely restored in the blink of an eye, as if Yang Yan had not heard his call at all.
Just as Yang Kai let out a sigh and was about to give up this attempt, the city-wall like Knowledge Sea defences suddenly took the initiative to open on their own and the three artifacts silently flew back inside.
Yang Kai stood on the spot for a moment before noticing that this crack showed no signs of immediately closing. Overjoyed, his figure flickered as he rushed into Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea through this opening.
Yang Yan had really heard his call! Clearly, she had taken the initiative to open a hole in her Knowledge Sea defences to let him enter.
Yang Kai had only sent out that Divine Sense Message as a shot in the dark, not actually expecting it to succeed, but it seemed Yang Yan was not unaware of what was happening to her at the moment, but rather her Soul was deeply immersed in her Knowledge Sea and had no ability to react to the outside world.
Entering Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai stood mid-air and looked around, a trace of surprise soon flashing across his face.
Because he found that the situation in Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea was extremely similar to his own. The water that rolled below was like a sea of flames and extremely hot, even the sky was dyed crimson. Standing here was like standing in a furnace.
Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
When Yang Kai brought back nine Flowing Flame Flying Fires from the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he had given a couple of them to Yang Yan. Flowing Flame Flying Fires were precious treasures that could allow one to obtain a mutated Knowledge Sea, but after Yang Kai gave her these, he had not asked her about them again.
Now, it seems that Yang Yan had successfully refined them. Not only that, but her Conflagrated Knowledge Sea wasn’t much different from his own. Even if there was a gap in power between them, that was simply the result of a difference in accumulation.
After all, Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea had formed long before Yang Yan’s.
Inside this Knowledge Sea filled with tumbling flames, many transparent bubbles were suspended mid-air. These bubbles were filled with images of Yang Yan’s life experiences and the memories she had created over the years.
Yang Kai was not so crass as to intentionally spy on Yang Yan’s secrets; but he still noticed that many of these bubbles exuded a special kind of aura, something that surprised him greatly.
No such profound aura existed in his Knowledge Sea.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai put aside the doubts in his heart and looked up into the sky. Spotting what he was looking for, he quickly flew over.
Somewhere in the sky above this burning Knowledge Sea, a figure curled up into a ball, with her hands clasped around her knees and her long hair flowing down to her hips was wrapped in the inexplicable transparent energy barrier.
It was Yang Yan’s Soul Avatar!
At this moment, she looked like a baby in a mother’s womb, seeming somewhat vulnerable, her eyes closed tightly, her lashes fluttering gently.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai inexplicably felt a sense of sadness, causing him to frown. Even though Yang Yan’s Soul Avatar was without a wisp of covering right now, with every part of her body exposed to his eyes, he couldn’t feel even a single wicked thought, only a great impulse to awaken her and comfort her.
Seemingly aware of Yang Kai’s arrival, Yang Yan slowly opened her beautiful eyes and glanced at him through the transparent energy barrier.
When their eyes met, Yang Kai felt startled.
Because at that moment, he was shocked to find that Yang Yan’s eyes were a little strange, involuntarily giving him the illusion that he was nothing but a small, humble ant in front of her.
But when he looked again carefully, Yang Yan had returned to normal, as if everything just now was his mind playing tricks on him.
After Yang Yan glanced at him, she closed her eyes again, her look not changing in the slightest. Yang Kai tried to call out to her several times, but never once received a response.
The next instant, Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea seemed to boil as an orange bubble suddenly appeared from below the sea of flames. This bubble slowly rose towards Yang Yan before bursting right below her. When this bubble burst, Yang Kai sensed some kind of strange energy pour into her Soul Avatar.
As soon as this happened, Yang Yan’s expression filled with pain, as if she was experiencing great suffering, her brow furrowing tightly as her tender body trembled violently, her arms clinging even tighter to her knees.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched as uncertainty and confusion filled his face.
He did not understand what had happened to Yang Yan, but at this moment, he finally realized the reason she was in this state was related to these bubbles in her Knowledge Sea.
[Didn’t these bubbles contain Yang Yan’s life experiences and memories? Why would they cause her so much discomfort?]
Suddenly, Yang Kai remembered something. Yang Yan once told him that no one had taught her about Artifact Refining or Spirit Arrays and that all her knowledge was innate, as if it had been buried in her subconscious and she could unlock them through studying Spirit Arrays and Artifact Refining.
Could it be that knowledge of these two fields Yang Yan had yet to master was what was sealed inside these orange bubbles? But where did this knowledge come from? Why would they be stored in her Knowledge Sea? Why would all of them suddenly become unlocked?
Yang Kai could not figure it out.
Yang Yan’s current situation was like she was forcefully accepting a massive amount of information, far more than she could immediately digest, resulting in her Soul Avatar closing itself off in her Knowledge Sea to protect itself.
Although all of this was just Yang Kai’s guess, he was certain they were correct.
If this was really the case, Yang Kai couldn’t help her unless he stole away some of the knowledge sealed in those bubbles to share the burden with Yang Yan, but this knowledge was Yang Yan’s wealth, so without her permission, Yang Kai would naturally not do this.
Doing so now would be nothing short of robbing Yang Yan.
Although she seemed to be suffering a little right now, as long as she could endure this, her gains would be unimaginable.
Understanding this, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief. Now that he had found the source of the problem and it was nothing bad like he had imagined, he was naturally no longer worried.
However, for the time being, Yang Kai was not in a hurry to leave, planning on watching over Yang Yan’s Soul Avatar so he could intervene quickly if a real accident happened.
After making up his mind, Yang Kai whispered a few words to Yang Yan, informing her of his intentions, before immediately withdrawing a short distance and sitting down cross-legged in the air while carefully observing her condition.
Yang Kai did not know if it was an illusion or not, but Yang Yan seemed somewhat encouraged because he was close by. For some time after, the bubbles in Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea continued to rise and pop around Yang Yan, flooding her with all the information sealed within them when they burst.
Even though Yang Yan’s expression was filled with pain, her reaction seemed much better than before.
And as time passed and the number of bubbles that appeared decreased, Yang Yan’s expression gradually stabilized.
In a blink of an eye, about half a month passed. During this period, Yang Kai did not withdraw an inch or even close his eyes for a moment, paying constant attention to Yang Yan’s state at all times.
Finally, the last bubble rose from her Knowledge Sea and burst, and the information sealed inside of it was quickly absorbed by Yang Yan. When this was finished, the transparent barrier around Yang Yan’s body also broke and she slowly opened her eyes. Slowly stretching out her body, Yang Yan used one hand to cover her chest while the other blocked her most precious place. As she rose into a standing stance, her long hair flowed out widely despite there being no wind.
Her entire Knowledge Sea suddenly became calm at this moment.
Yang Kai stared blankly. This beautiful scene made him feel that Yang Yan was like an awe-inspiring goddess.
Until now, Yang Yan had always worn black robes that covered her completely, so even if Yang Kai had wanted to see her whole face, he had never had an opportunity. Now, although he had somewhat expected it, he was quite shocked at how attractive she was. If Yang Yan dressed better, she would certainly be able to drive countless men crazy for her.
While Yang Kai was staring, a dazzling light suddenly burst from Yang Yan’s Soul Avatar. Not only was this light blinding, it was accompanied by an aura that caused Yang Kai to pale slightly.
When that aura struck him, he could not help trembling.
[Emperor Pressure!] Yang Kai’s eyes widened instantly. He had experienced this kind of aura before in Fallen Emperor Mountain, so it was naturally impossible for him to mistake it for something else.
This strange Emperor Pressure disappeared quickly and, when the light faded and Yang Kai regained his sight, he saw Yang Yan’s Soul Avatar had donned her signature black robe and was currently staring towards Yang Kai with a somewhat apologetic look.
Seeing this, Yang Kai frowned slightly, stood up, and quickly flew towards her, sticking close as he swept his eyes over her a few times.
Yang Yan seemed to be the same Yang Yan he had always known, without any kind of change, but everything he had witnessed still caused Yang Kai to become suspicious.
“Are you all right?” Yang Kai asked after a long silence.
“En, I’m fine now,” Yang Yan brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled at Yang Kai.
This smile was filled with immense self-confidence! It was a look Yang Kai had never seen on Yang Yan before. Until now, she had always seemed as timid as a mouse, only showing her confidence when it came to Artifact Refining or Spirit Array arranging.
“I’ve made you worry,” Yang Yan whispered gratefully.
“As long as you are alright, everything is fine. Wu Yi and Qian Yue were very worried, they had no idea what happened to you. En, since you’re fine now, I’ll take my leave.”
“En, you go first, I have to stay here for a while, there are some things I need to take care of!” Yang Yan bit her red lips.
Yang Kai looked at her and nodded, “Alright, just come out after you finish what you need to.”
Saying so, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and disappeared out of Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea.
After Yang Kai left, Yang Yan’s face suddenly showed a complicated expression that made it impossible to understand what she was thinking. There seemed to be a haze covering her beautiful eyes, but after a while, she let out a gentle sigh, sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes and began sorting through all the information in her head.
Inside the loft, Yang Kai opened his eyes and glanced towards Yang Yan who was sitting cross-legged in front of him. Seeing that her face had become much rosier and her breathing was much smoother, Yang Kai understood that she really was out of danger. Right now, her Soul Avatar was simply immersed in her Knowledge Sea, so she wouldn’t regain consciousness for some time.
No matter what she suffered or what she obtained, Yang Kai did not try to ask. To him, as long as Yang Yan was still Yang Yan, that was all that mattered. If she was willing to tell him, she would do so on her own.
After carefully laying Yang Yan down on her bed and covering her with her bedding, Yang Kai left.
Outside the door, Wu Yi and Qian Yue were still anxiously waiting. Yang Kai had remained inside Yang Yan’s room for half a month, silent the entire time, so naturally they were quite worried.
They did not dare to disturb him at will, but that didn’t mean they weren’t anxious.
Hearing the door opening, the two women were overjoyed, and after seeing Yang Kai, Wu Yi hurriedly asked, “How is she?”
“Everything’s fine now, don’t worry. She will probably wake up in a few days.”
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Wu Yi and Qian Yue could not help exchanging a joyful glance and breathing sighs of relief.
“Putting aside Yang Yan’s matter, after the Emperor Garden appeared, has our Dragon Cave Mountain been affected?”
“You also know about the Emperor Garden’s appearance?” Wu Yi showed a trace of surprise. After all, the Emperor Garden had only appeared recently and during this period Yang Kai had been with Yang Yan, so it was quite strange he would have obtained this news so quickly.
The reason why Wu Yi knew about the Emperor Garden’s appearance was because news had come from Shadow Moon Hall.
But soon, Wu Yi sorted out her thoughts and replied, “There are more strange faces around the area, and the number of cultivators in Heavenly Fate City has also skyrocketed, but it hasn’t had much impact on our Dragon Cave Mountain yet. However, if things continue like this, that may not be the case for much longer.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. What Wu Yi had said was exactly what he was worried about.
The Emperor Garden had coincidentally appeared right above Dragon Cave Mountain, attracting the attention of many foreign cultivators this past fortnight. As more time passed, more masters would arrive and at that time this place would be swarmed by many hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
“Elder Qian sent you a message a few days ago, would you like to see it?” Wu Yi quickly remembered and asked.
“Oh? What message?” Yang Kai looked towards her.
Wu Yi immediately took out a letter from her Space Ring and handed it over. Yang Kai took it, but after opening it, he found that there wasn’t anything written on it. However, this did not surprise Yang Kai as he quickly used his Divine Sense to scan it and soon collected all the information it contained.
The news from Qian Tong was quite simple. There were only two points. Shadow Moon Hall’s internal strife had subsided. It was not difficult to imagine that, since the other party only made a move after Qian Tong disappeared for half a year, they were quite wary of him. Now that Qian Tong had returned safely and brought with him an Artifact Refiner highly likely to reach the Origin Grade level, all of the internal turbulence had quickly been suppressed.
What’s more, now that the Emperor Garden had appeared, everyone inside Shadow Moon Hall didn’t have the liberty to fight anymore. The Sect Master had issued a firm command and the battle had ceased, with only a few people being disposed of to warn others not to act up.
With the end of this internal struggle, Qian Tong made sure to mention to Yang Kai that Shadow Moon Hall would not intervene in any way in the grudge between Dragon Cave Mountain and the Xie Family. He also said that the trade relationship between Dragon Cave Mountain and Shadow Moon Hall would be fully restored and that Shadow Moon Hall would lower its selling price on materials by an additional ten percent as an apology.
Seeing this, Yang Kai was very satisfied. Qian Tong was a man worthy of respect. Yang Kai risking his life to rescue Qian Tong had paid off. Without even mentioning the grievances between Yang Kai and the Xie Family, just the ten percent discount on materials purchased from Shadow Moon Hall would be of enormous benefit. From the speed at which Dragon Cave Mountain purchased materials, this ten percent discount would save them many Saint Crystals in short order.
The second piece of information recorded in this letter was about the Emperor Garden.
On that day, Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu had joined forces to investigate whether the Emperor Garden had truly manifested or not, and although they were forced to retreat before they could get close due to the Emperor Pressure, they were able to confirm one thing.
The Emperor Garden before them was real, and not some short-lived illusion that would quickly disappear like its previous incarnations. This time, it had appeared before all of Shadowed Star’s cultivators, creating a shocking scene.
Moreover, after so many days, many Origin Returning Realm masters had gone to check the situation, but none were able to approach the Emperor Garden. On top of that, no one knew how to enter it even if they did manage to approach it. As the host of this place, Shadow Moon Hall had widely distributed invitation letters to all the great forces on Shadowed Star to hold a discussion about entering the Emperor Garden.
Qian Tong told Yang Kai that many masters from all over Shadowed Star had rushed to Heavenly Fate City in recent days, many of whom were Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators.
Although this was conveyed to him as simple information, Qian Tong’s meaning was very obvious. He was subtly telling Yang Kai to not cause trouble during this time.
Seeing this, Yang Kai raised his brow and grinned.
Even without Qian Tong’s causion, he wouldn’t try to stir up trouble. It was really not an appropriate time to be taking overt actions and Yang Kai still had many things to deal with, so he had already been thinking about using this opportunity to completely close off Dragon Cave Mountain and cultivate quietly for a while.
It wouldn’t be too late to worry about the Emperor Garden after it was investigated. If the masters found a way to enter the Emperor Garden, Yang Kai would naturally be willing to participate. The Life Revitalizing Jade Cream rockery needed to be investigated, and that Ice Attribute World Spirit was also important to the Phoenix Empress Inheritance. If the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul was able to swallow that World Spirit, it would definitely bring it great benefits, which in turn would allow Su Yan to gain more benefits when she finally accepted it.
Thinking so, Yang Kai used his Demonic Flames to burn the letter from Qian Tong to ash before telling Wu Yi and Qian Yue to take good care of Yang Yan and handing over his damaged Purple Shield to them. Asking the two women to have Yang Yan repair the broken shield, Yang Kai returned to his cave mansion alone.
Yang Kai first took a look at the Red Candle Fruit which had been stored in the cave mansion and found that, under the nourishing effect of the Red Candle Stalk and the rich World Energy aura over the past few years, the Red Candle Fruit piece showed no signs of withering or losing its medicinal efficacies.
Back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, choosing to prioritize this Red Candle Stalk had really been the right choice. Yang Kai didn’t know how the other great forces were preserving their Red Candle Fruit pieces, but even if they had astonishing means, he was confident that none were as good as the one he implemented.
This fruit piece was a rare treasure, and if refined into a pill it might help a cultivator break through the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm bottleneck and reach the Origin King Realm! Although Yang Kai couldn’t use it right now, there would always come a day when he could.
The Ten Thousand Year Incense fragrance lightly floated through the cave mansion, but its magical effects of calming one’s mood did not diminish in the slightest.
This tiny cave mansion was actually filled with countless treasures.
After checking up on all these precious treasures, Yang Kai returned to his regular room, sat cross-legged and sorted out his thoughts.
In any case, his top priority was to increase his strength. If those masters really found a way to enter the Emperor Garden, he would need enough strength in order to compete with Shadowed Star’s tyrants for the benefits inside.
Yang Kai didn’t believe he could break through to the Origin Realm any time soon, but increasing his cultivation realm wasn’t the only way to improve his strength, there were many other methods.
Considering all this, Yang Kai’s expression became firm and he waved his hand, laying out all of the spoils he collected during his latest outing.
This time, there weren’t many items harvested, but each one was invaluable. Not to mention the long-lost Life Revitalizing Jade Cream, the Spectral Cloud Array Plate was a powerful trump card. Yang Kai originally owned two artifacts, but during this trip he had detonated one while the other was severely damaged, lowering his overall combat strength greatly. This Array Plate happened to supplement his losses just perfectly.
As long as he refined it, it would provide him with a big boost in combat strength.
There was also the strange, giant, jet-black stick. Yang Kai had never seen the material this thing was made from, but the amount it weighed was truly astonishing. It didn’t need any fancy effects or to be wielded in any special manner, as long as one could swing it at an enemy, given its immense weight, it would simply be unstoppable.
Before overwhelming strength, nothing else mattered.
However, to his dismay, Yang Kai found that even when using his full strength, he was unable to use this stick as a weapon, causing him to sigh helplessly.
These three things were his gains this time, nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, Yang Kai had other things to deal with besides these three treasures.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai reached out his hand and summoned the Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace into his palm. A crisp chirp resounded as the Artifact Spirit materialized, spreading its wings a dozen metres out across the cave mansion.
In the next instant, the Artifact Spirit shrank down and flew over to Yang Kai’s shoulders, landing on him before calmly preening its feathers with its long beak.
Yang Kai glanced at it and a smile appeared on his lips, immediately using his Divine Sense to communicate with it. After a moment, Firebird tilted its head at him before glancing down at the special ring on Yang Kai’s finger, a dignified yet excited light flashing across its eyes.
It was hesitant and fearful, but also extremely excited.
“If you don’t want to, you can refuse and continue to help me refine the Dragon Bone and Dragon Bead,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
As soon as he said these words, the Artifact Spirit turned into blazing flames and rushed towards the special ring. Yang Kai raised his brow as he sent his Divine Sense into the ring, causing a suction force to emerge from it and draw in the Artifact Spirit.
The Artifact Spirit ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation Yang Kai had just suggested. Seeing this, Yang Kai was very satisfied.
After a moment, the ring flashed and Yang Kai released the Artifact Spirit again. Only now, the Artifact Spirit’s body appeared slightly different from before, because there was a red fiery thread wandering about inside of it like a snake.
The Artifact Spirit let out a sharp tweet as the raging flames which composed its body seemed to be struggling against this crimson light, trying to refine and assimilate it.
Sun’s True Fire!
This special ring on Yang Kai’s finger contained only two things, one was the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal and the other was the Sun’s True Essence.
The last time the Artifact Spirit devoured a wisp of Sun’s True Fire, it had gained tremendous benefits and growth, but when fighting with the Ice Attribute World Spirit in the Emperor Garden, it had still not been the latter’s opponent, showing just how difficult it was to handle this Ice Attribute World Spirit.
Since Yang Kai had ideas about this Ice Attribute World Spirit, naturally he intended to enhance the strength and power of his Artifact Spirit, and devouring more Sun’s True Fire was the most effective and efficient way to accomplish this.
Of course, this method was quite dangerous, so he had offered the Artifact Spirit a choice and it had not failed to live up to his expectations. Its desire for the Sun’s True Fire exceeded its fear, and it had actively entered his ring to ingest a trace of it.
Having experienced this process once before, the Artifact Spirit’s performance this time was much better than back in the Corpse Cave. Although it seemed that its form had become somewhat unstable under the impact of the Sun’s True Fire, and the Fire Attribute Energy which composed its body was fluctuating unstably, at least it had not fallen directly into a coma.
Yang Kai smiled heartily as the Artifact Spirit returned to the Artifact Refining Furnace and began to assimilate the Sun’s True Fire.
He believed that when the Artifact Spirit re-emerged, it would become stronger than before.
After dealing with the Artifact Spirit, Yang Kai put away the Artifact Refining Furnace, picked up the Array Plate of the Spectral Cloud Array, and began carefully examining it.
When he obtained this Array Plate, he didn’t have time to take a closer look at it, and only through talking to Cai He and Du Si Si did he learn about its great value and that it was a long lost treasure. Now, after observing it, Yang Kai suddenly found that this Array Plate wasn’t made of any kind of metal or wood he could identify. It looked like a wooden token, but it weighed quite a bit more than that. It was roughly the size of a palm and there were many images of white clouds on its surface. If one stared at it closely, they would feel as if they were seeing a sea of clouds. Yang Kai sighed and quickly withdrew his vision before holding it in his palm, closing his eyes and using his Saint Qi and Divine Sense to refine it.
Array Plates were refined by Artifact Array Masters and were existences similar to artifacts, so the process to refine them was naturally the same. Moreover, an Array Plate could be completely refined without too much effort, making it an extremely convenient tool.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed by. During this period, Yang Kai had successfully refined the Array Plate and taken it into his body. Now, as long as he could comprehend the mysteries of the Spectral Cloud Array, he could instantly set up this powerful Spirit Array anytime, anywhere he wanted.
Yang Kai was very pleased with this unique treasure as it more than made up for the loss of his Hundred Mountains Picture, which he was forced to destroy.
At this moment, Yang Kai opened his eyes as he sensed something and found Yang Yan sitting in front of him, staring at the metre long black stick lying nearby.
Although she was still shrouded in her signature black robe, Yang Kai found that her expression was a little weird, as if she was deep in thought.
“When did you arrive?” Yang Kai asked in amazement.
Although Yang Yan also had a control token for the cave mansion’s barriers, Yang Kai not even being able to notice her arrival was quite surprising.
“A few days ago, but I saw you were refining that Array Plate so I didn’t disturb you,” Yang Yan replied casually before wearing a cheerful smile and pointing to the black stick on the ground, “Did you bring the Heaven Shaking Pillar back with you from the Emperor Garden?”
“Heaven Shaking Pillar?” Yang Kai frowned, but quickly realized something and asked in surprise, “Can you read these characters?”
There were three ancient characters on this black stick, ones that Yang Kai could not understand, but now that Yang Yan had called it the ‘Heaven Shaking Pillar’, he immediately made the association.
Yang Yan glanced over at him and snorted lightly, “What’s wrong with me understanding these characters? In any case, that Array Plate you refined before, was it also from the Emperor Garden?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded as he continued staring towards Yang Yan.
Realizing Yang Kai’s gaze was somewhat different from before, Yang Yan chuckled, “What’s wrong, you think I’ve changed?”
“That’s not it. Although I know you know a great many things, I didn’t think that would include this star’s ancient characters.”
“These aren’t ancient characters, they were still in use a couple dozen thousand years ago, it’s just that Shadowed Star experienced a great change during that time so these words became lost. This Heaven Shaking Pillar is a treasure, it’s actually composed entirely of Heavenly Crystal Profound Iron.”
“Heavenly Crystal Profound Iron?” Yang Kai raised his brow, his expression filling with shock.
Although he did not know much about Artifact Refining, Yang Kai was still somewhat knowledgeable about precious Artifact Refining materials, and Heavenly Crystal Profound Iron was one of the most valuable. It was a top-class Origin King Grade material and was rumoured to weigh an astonishing amount. A palm-sized piece could weigh ten thousand kilograms. Moreover, it was exceptionally hard, nearly impossible to destroy.
Adding a little of this material when refining an artifact could dramatically increase that artifact’s strength, giving one a powerful advantage in combat.
Yang Yan said that this Heaven Shaking Pillar was actually entirely refined from Heavenly Crystal Profound Iron though! This was nothing short of astonishing.
However, if this was really the case, it would explain this stick’s incredible weight.
“Was it very dangerous acquiring this?” Yang Yan asked with concern.
Yang Kai chuckled before briefly explaining about the battle with the giant humanoid puppet. After listening, Yang Yan nodded, “You made the right choice. Although that puppet is quite precious, its value is still far below this Heaven Shaking Pillar. You profited greatly. On top of that, only such a puppet can wield this kind of artifact.”
“Only a puppet can wield it? Alright then, I’ll just give it to you, if you melt it down you should be able to refine many artifacts with it,” Yang Kai’s brow twitched. Originally, he had chosen this giant jet black stick because he fancied the material it was refined from.
“Melt it down?” Yang Yan spat disdainfully, “Why should I melt it? I cannot refine this kind of artifact now, and there are many amazing Spirit Arrays portrayed inside it. Melting it is too much of a waste of Heaven’s precious gift. If we can just find the right person to use it, then…”
“Who can use it?” Yang Kai laughed, “Unless you can also refine a puppet like the one that originally wielded this thing that is.”
“Someone can use it though!” Yang Yan smiled mysteriously.
“Who?” Yang Kai’s brow rose. He did not believe that on Shadowed Star someone had the strength to freely wave this Heaven Shaking Pillar around. This thing was simply not designed to be used by human cultivators. Even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master wouldn’t be able to use this artifact for long before their Saint Qi and strength would be completely exhausted.
“It!” Yang Yan pointed to a certain spot nearby. Yang Kai looked over in the direction she pointed and suddenly noticed the Stone Puppet looking towards him fixedly.
Seeing both Yang Kai and Yang Yan staring at it together, the Stone Puppet no longer concealed itself and using its hands and feet, like a little stone ape, it raced over to Yang Kai, it’s two eyes staring up at him fixedly.
“The Stone Puppet?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Just let it try and you’ll understand,” Yang Yan smiled before pointing her hand towards the Heaven Shaking Pillar and shouting lightly, “Xiao Xiao!”
Hearing this shout, the Stone Puppet looked at Yang Yan then over Yang Kai. After getting Yang Kai’s permission, the stone puppet walked over to the metre-long Heaven Shaking Pillar.
After a short moment, the Stone Puppet’s eyes flashed a joyful light as its hunched back straightened up and its hands pounded its chest a few times before it grabbed the Heaven Shaking Pillar.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank as he watched without blinking.
He clearly saw the Heaven Shaking Pillar, which he was unable to lift through normal means, being picked up by the Stone Puppet as if it weighed nothing at all. The Stone Puppet acted like a small child which had been given a new toy, its face filling with smiles as it held the Heaven Shaking Pillar appreciatively in front of it before swinging it around.
*Hu hu…*
A strong roar of wind rang out as the air within the cave mansion was greatly disturbed and a kind of tornado began forming with the Stone Puppet at its centre. The next moment, Spirit Arrays began flashing all around, creating barriers to block the fallout of this event.
At the same time, Yang Kai felt invisible blades of wind cut at his body, even going so far as to create scraping noises.
[This…]
Yang Kai was dumbfounded!
Back in the Emperor Garden, when the humanoid puppet waved this giant stick, its movements were not nearly as smooth as the Stone Puppet’s just now. This tiny Stone Puppet’s body contained such immense power that it was hard to believe.
Yang Kai realized that this Stone Puppet was not as simple as he originally thought. It seemed that other than quenching and refining Artifact Refining ores, it had other untapped potential!
Last time, in the Corpse Cave, the Stone Puppet had suddenly grown larger and swallowed the Sun True Essence before keeping it inside its body for several days. Without it, Yang Kai would not have been able to take away the Sun’s True Essence.
This little guy was truly full of surprises.
“Good, good!” Yang Yan’s eyes filled with brilliant light as she waved at the Stone Puppet, “Go play outside, if you keep waving it around in here all the Spirit Arrays will get destroyed and I’ll have to fix them. It’s too troublesome.”
Receiving this command, the Stone Puppet stopped its movements immediately and the whirlwind which had formed quickly dissipated. Immediately, the Stone Puppet opened its big mouth wide and swallowed the Heaven Shaking Pillar into its belly before diving into the earth and disappearing.
When Yang Kai sensed it again, it had already moved a dozen kilometres away.
Realizing the potential of the Stone Puppet once more, Yang Kai was excited. The reason was simple, inside his Black Book Space, there was another Stone Puppet egg. Unfortunately, he had not found another Blood Essence Stone, otherwise, it would have been born as well.
Over the years, this Stone Puppet embryo had maintained its strong sense of vitality, showing no signs of dying.
“Here’s your shield. You need to be more careful next time. Although I can repair it once or twice, if it’s damaged so badly repeatedly, I’m afraid it will reach a point where it can no longer be fixed,” Yang Yan said while handing Yang Kai his Purple Shield.
Yang Yan didn’t actually care about the shield but seeing this Origin Grade High-Rank defensive artifact so badly damaged, it was conceivable how much danger Yang Kai had been in, so this was her way of indirectly caring about him.
Yang Kai understood this and did not say a word, simply nodding vigorously before accepting the shield. Examining it silently, he found that it was as good as new, without the slightest defect, and happily put it away.
“Show me that Array Plate again,” Yang Yan held out her hand to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not hesitate to take out the Array Plate and give it to her.
Yang Yan stared at the Array Plate for a while, probing and examining it seriously before tossing it back to Yang Kai, “This Spectral Cloud Array Plate is very powerful. I’ll teach you how to manipulate it properly so that you can maximize its power in the future.”
Yang Kai’s expression brightened slightly upon hearing this. Yang Yan deserved her reputation as a Spirit Array Grandmaster, a single glance and she was able to recognize the Spectral Cloud Array inside this Array Plate. If it were some other Array Master, such a feat would have been impossible.
Even if she boasted like she was first under the Heavens, Yang Kai would not doubt her at all.
Yang Yan stretched out a finger, condensing a white ball of light at its tip before pointing it towards Yang Kai’s forehead.
Yang Kai did not move, allowing her to do whatever she wanted. A moment later, Yang Kai felt a slight jolt as a stream of information flowed into his mind. After a brief investigation, he found that this Divine Sense package contained a variety of subtle yet profound descriptions about the Spectral Cloud Array, causing him to be overjoyed. Originally, he was going to ask Yang Yan about this Spirit Array, but now she had taken the initiative to teach him about it, saving him the effort.
However, after using this method, Yang Yan’s face became slightly pale, seemingly suffering from some overdraft.
“Alright, you can study it yourself. There is a lot of chaos outside right now with countless cultivators coming and going. There is also no shortage of powerful masters. Dragon Cave Mountain has been completely sealed up according to your instructions. We can use this time to deal with our own matters. En, right, I’ll need to bring you some things over the next few days that I need your help with refining.”
“Got it,” Yang Kai nodded gently, but as he saw her turn around, about to leave, after hesitating for a moment, he called out, “Yang Yan!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is there nothing you can tell me?” Yang Kai looked at her with a faint smile.
“Not now, I will tell you when the time is right!” Yang Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, a complicated expression filling her face before she turned back, opened the barriers, and left.
Staring in the direction she left, Yang Kai smiled slightly. No matter what happened to Yang Yan, she did not have any malicious intentions and was still his friend just as before, which was all Yang Kai wanted. As for whatever secrets she was still holding onto, Yang Kai would not ask.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai set these matters aside and began comprehending the mysteries of the Spectral Cloud Array.
Two hours later, Yang Kai had mastered the operation of this Spirit Array. All that was left was to test it out in battle, but even now he could not help feeling slightly awed.
This Spectral Cloud Array was worthy of being a lost ancient Spirit Array. Arranging it alone was extremely difficult and required the ability to refine the clouds in the sky. Such methods were incredibly shocking, and Yang Kai was clearly unable to understand or use this Spirit Array’s full power.
Back in the Emperor Garden, no one was operating this Array Plate so it was only able to display a small portion of its might, allowing Yang Kai and the others to break through it and resulting in him picking up a bargain.
Now, with Yang Kai’s strength and understanding of the Spirit Array, he would be able to bring out about thirty to forty percent of this Spectral Cloud Array’s might, but that was enough for now. With this Array Plate, Yang Kai’s combat strength has risen dramatically, and as long as it was not a master on Qian Tong or Fei Zhi Tu’s level, Yang Kai estimated he would have no trouble dealing with them. Of course, if he wanted to kill such a powerful enemy, it would mainly depend on what kind of strength and means the other party had.
Under normal situations, Yang Kai was confident he could now kill a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master in one-on-one combat.
After dealing with the Array Plate, Yang Kai picked up a jade bottle in front of him.
What was contained in this jade bottle was none other than the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream obtained inside the Emperor Garden! However, if Yang Kai’s guess was correct, this was just a diluted version of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream.
In order to verify his conjecture, Yang Kai opened the jade bottle and took a big sip without any hesitation.
If someone were to see Yang Kai doing this, they would likely hurl curses at him for his family-ruining practices. Life Revitalizing Jade Cream could extend the life of a cultivator and enhance their vitality. It was nothing short of a magical elixir that could rejuvenate one’s youth, something extremely attractive to any Origin Returning Realm master. A single drop could extend a cultivator’s life by a hundred years, yet Yang Kai just drank a mouthful of it. This was nothing short of a careless waste of Heaven’s precious gifts.
The taste was pure and even somewhat sweet, as if it was the freshest spring water from a mountain stream, and after this liquid reached Yang Kai’s stomach, it immediately transformed into a wave of pure energy that began flowing through his veins.
Yang Kai carefully felt the changes going on inside his body while showing a joyful look upon his face.
He found that his own vitality and Blood Qi were rapidly being strengthened, with his blood showing faint signs of boiling over. Soon, this massive influx of vitality reached a kind of limit and no longer had any place to go, causing Yang Kai’s face to flush bright red and making him feel like he would explode and die in the next moment.
However, Yang Kai was not panicked at all and instead began silently cultivating, using his Saint Qi to gather the erupting vitality in his body together.
As this vital energy gathered, so too did Yang Kai’s blood, all of its components and essence coming together, as if attracted by some kind of inexplicable force.
Time passed by and after roughly half an hour, Yang Kai suddenly heard a soft dripping sound in the depths of the mind.
Frowning slightly, Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to investigate his body and was shocked and pleasantly surprised by what he discovered.
He found that a new drop of Golden Blood had been added to his body!
Not the kind of ordinary, dull golden blood that flowed through his vessels, but the pure, orthodox Golden Blood that could be cultivated into a Golden Blood Thread!
Not much of this Golden Blood currently existed in Yang Kai’s body. When he first came to Shadowed Star, he possessed more than ninety drops, but after all these years, using some of it in combat, feeding some of it to the Divine Tree, and using it for various other reasons, the number of drops of Golden Blood had decreased to about half that number.
And since Yang Kai knew that his Golden Blood was of great benefit to the Divine Tree, he had been giving it a drop every few months. This was quite an expensive price to pay, but the results were also quite astonishing.
Now that he had his Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique, each drop of Golden Blood could be cultivated into a Golden Thread, but even if Yang Kai refined every drop of Golden Blood he had left like this, he would still only possess a couple dozen or so, which was far fewer than he planned for.
Although Yang Kai could supplement this Golden Blood all on his own through cultivation, each drop of Golden Blood required three months of accumulation to condense. This was something Yang Kai verified a long time ago.
Yang Kai never imagined this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream would allow him to condense pure Golden Blood in his body.
However, this was not difficult to understand; after all, Life Revitalizing Jade Cream was one of the Three Great Divine Waters and was originally meant to enhance the vitality of a cultivator. Yang Kai’s Golden Blood was essentially an extremely condensed mass of vital energy.
Composing himself, Yang Kai continued circulating his Secret Art, refining the efficacy of this Life Revitalizing Jade Cream.
After another half an hour, a second drop of Golden Blood was formed.
It was not until after the third drop of Golden Blood took shape that the efficacy of the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream disappeared completely.
A small sip of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream allowed him to condense three drops of Golden Blood, so with the amount he had left, Yang Kai figured he could condense another thirty or so drops. This would almost completely make up for all these years of consumption.
Yang Kai was overjoyed and immediately began drinking the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream bit by bit, continually refining it into Golden Blood.
He did not feel it was wasteful in the slightest. Life Revitalizing Jade Cream may be a life-saving medicine for those masters who didn’t have long left to live, but for him, creating more Golden Blood from it was the best use possible.
After taking it like this though, Yang Kai was even more certain that the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream he obtained was just a diluted product. The real Life Revitalizing Jade Cream must have more powerful effects than this and was surely hidden somewhere inside the Emperor Garden!
Considering all this, Yang Kai’s blood began to boil. If he could really enter the Emperor Garden and obtain that pure Life Revitalizing Jade Cream, he would never again have to worry about having enough Golden Blood. In fact, it probably would not be a dream to replace all of his blood with this kind of pure Golden Blood.
With the powerful vitality and restorative abilities of this pure Golden Blood, even if Yang Kai became grievously injured, he would be able to recover rapidly.
After two days, the entire bottle of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream had been consumed clean, but Yang Kai still showed an unsatiated look. But unable to ask for more, he took out a piece of Space Spirit Crystal, closed his eyes, and began absorbing the Space Force contained within it.
Quickly, half a year passed by.
Over the past six months, Yang Kai did not take one step outside his cave mansion, only doing three things.
First was cultivating the Dao of Space by absorbing the Space Force contained within Space Spirit Crystals, and the second was refining more Golden Blood Threads inside his body. By now, he had several Golden Blood Threads. Because of his previous experience, he had become much faster at cultivating them.
The number of Golden Blood Threads had increased, but his combat strength had not grown much. The main reason for this was that Yang Kai only had the first half of the Demon Blood Temple Secret Technique. How to manipulate and combine these multiple Golden Blood Threads was likely hidden in the technique’s second half.
Yang Kai was not in a rush though, as long as Demon Blood Temple still existed, he would always have an opportunity to deal with this issue. Refining more Golden Blood Threads in advance is still beneficial.
The third thing Yang Kai attended to during this six-month retreat was promoting the fusion between the Coloured Glass Bead and his Demon Eye of Annihilation. After previously refining the Coloured Glass Bead, it had transformed into a hazy halo which encircled the Demon Eye of Annihilation. The two different entities had the same effect, but merging them together proved to be somewhat difficult. Now that he had some time, Yang Kai naturally focused on hurrying this process along.
In addition to these things, Yang Yan had brought him a number of strange looking items and had him pour his Space Force into them three times!
Not only did these things range in size from big to small, they had all kinds of shapes to them, making it impossible for Yang Kai to know what they were for. He had asked Yang Yan once about what these items’ purpose was, but the latter just grinned and refused to answer, only saying not to worry and just pour his Space Force into them.
Yang Kai shook his head helplessly. He had originally wondered why Yang Yan specifically said she would need his help refining some items, but now he understood, there really was no one else other than him who could do this.
In his spare time, Yang Kai also refined some pills.
After all, there were several dozen people on Dragon Cave Mountain, and they all required pills to assist in their cultivation. If they bought all their pills from the outside, the expense would be too great, so Yang Kai just instructed Wu Yi to purchase the appropriate herbs which he then refined himself, saving a large amount of Saint Crystals. This also allowed Yang Kai to practice and improve his Alchemy skills.
Over the past half a year Yang Kai refined many pills, but to avoid raising too much of a fuss, he intentionally only refined ordinary pills. Only occasionally would he refine one or two that had Pill Veins.
Yang Kai found that with the growth in his strength, his Alchemy technique had also improved greatly. It was no longer difficult for him to refine Origin Grade Mid-Rank pills and he figured that as soon as he broke through to the Origin Realm, he would be able to refine Origin Grade High-Rank pills.
The Artifact Spirit had also just recently woken up. This was its second time awakening as Yang Kai had allowed it to swallow another wisp of Sun’s True Fire after the first time. Counting the previous one, the Artifact Spirit had now devoured three wisps of Sun’s True Fire.
The burning aura of the Artifact Spirit was now more than twice as powerful as when Yang Kai first received it.
While Yang Kai busying himself, the Artifact Spirit used its power along with its Artifact Refining Furnace to refine the Dragon Bone and Dragon Bead for him, saving Yang Kai some additional effort.
On this day, Yang Yan brought a bunch of miscellaneous items for Yang Kai to inject his Space Force into.
Yang Kai had no complaints and did what she asked.
As he was doing this, Yang Yan informed him about the developments in the situation outside.
Because Qian Tong regularly sent people to deliver news, Dragon Cave Mountain was aware of the changes in the outside world.
Shadow Moon Hall had issued an open invitation to all the masters of all the major forces on Shadowed Star to discuss the matter of the Emperor Garden. After some discussions, it was agreed that a group of fifty top level Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters would attempt to approach the Emperor Garden in search of a way inside.
Fifty masters set out, but only half returned.
The other half had fallen!
This happened almost four months ago. When Yang Kai heard about this, he nearly bit his tongue in surprise. After some inquiries, he learned that these fifty masters accidentally triggered some kind of profound Spirit Array and were immediately suppressed by a surge in Emperor Pressure, rendering them defenceless as the flourishing jade white hand transformed from World Energy crushed them to death one by one. The half who survived had only managed to escape using profound Secret Techniques or by causing their precious artifacts to self-destruct to free themselves, otherwise they would have all been wiped out!
Learning from this costly lesson, no one dared to approach the Emperor Garden again. Even a powerful lineup of fifty Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters had no way to reach the Emperor Garden, let alone others.
However, the great forces did not simply give up and instead left behind some people to monitor the movements of the Emperor Garden!
Everyone guessed that the Emperor Garden had not yet officially opened. This guess was not without reason though; because of the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s precedent. Ordinarily, the Flowing Flame Sand Field was extremely dangerous and anyone who tried to intrude would be killed; however, after it opened, Saint King Realm cultivators could enter and explore it.
It was impossible to verify this hypothesis, but it had gradually been accepted by most people.
The masters from the great forces naturally didn’t have time to simply sit here and wait for the Emperor Garden to open as they had their own business and problems to attend to, so they simply left behind some people to monitor the situation.
Unfortunately, Shadow Moon Hall suffered much hardship after this incident.
They had invited all the parties to explore the Emperor Garden together, which was done out of good intentions, but suddenly, more than twenty Third-Order masters had died, damaging nearly every great force on Shadowed Star. With no other place to vent, the blame naturally landed on Shadow Moon Hall’s head.
Shadow Moon Hall’s good intentions had only given them trouble in this instance. If one or two great forces had accused them, they would not have cared, but with more than twenty blaming them, Shadow Moon Hall had no choice but to handle things with caution.
In fact, this kind of unfounded accusation was completely unjustified; Shadow Moon Hall knew it and the other great forces knew it too.
But who made the Emperor Garden float above Shadow Moon Hall’s territory? Everyone feared that Shadow Moon Hall would reap all the benefits due to their proximity, but no one said it out loud, instead using this incident to raise a fuss.
After some arguing and bargaining, the great forces on Shadowed Star reached a consensus, which was, even if the Emperor Garden opened, the masters from Shadow Moon Hall couldn’t enter it in advance and had to wait for the other great forces to arrive, otherwise they would face universal condemnation.
Although the current situation of Shadow Moon Hall wasn’t akin to walking on thin ice, it clearly wasn’t in a very good situation either; after all, it had just experienced a serious internal power struggle and was in need of time to rest and recuperate, so faced with this unfair proposal, they had no choice but to acquiesce.
Currently, Heavenly Fate City was completely overcrowded as the number of people left here to monitor the Emperor Garden was quite significant. All the inns in Heavenly Fate City had no open rooms, their businesses literally bursting at the seams.
Even some small families in the surrounding area had begun hosting one or more delegations from the various great forces.
Where there were more people, there were inevitably more conflicts; after all, the great forces on Shadowed Star by no means had only harmonious relationships. There were various rivalries and grievances between each of these forces, so when they all gathered, disagreements and fights naturally broke out.
Almost every day, cultivators died, all while the host, Shadow Moon Hall, adopted a policy of non-interference. As long as these foreign forces didn’t interfere with Shadow Moon Hall’s interests, they were content to remain a neutral party.
Inside his cave mansion, Yang Kai poured his Space Force into the strange contraptions Yang Yan brought him while listening to her update him on the situation outside, asking a question or two, which she promptly answered.
As the two of them were conversing, Yang Yan’s expression suddenly changed and she quickly took out a communication artifact from her Space Ring, sent her Divine Sense into it, then shot a somewhat ambiguous look towards Yang Kai.
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Someone is looking for you,” Yang Yan smiled and said profoundly, “A special friend.”
“Special friend?” Yang Kai’s face turned black. There were very few people he knew on Shadowed Star and even fewer he could call friends, so Yang Yan saying someone was looking for him confused him greatly. Even after thinking about it for a moment, he could not think of anyone who would suddenly come to find him. On top of that, when Yang Yan said it was a ‘special friend’, her tone was clearly a bit strange.
“Who?” Yang Kai did not bother guessing and simply asked.
“Dai Yuan!” Yang Yan replied with a smile.
“Her…” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed. If it was someone else who had come, he would have unceremoniously declared that Dragon Cave Mountain was closed and refused to see them, but since it was Dai Yuan then it was a different matter. She had given him her Coloured Glass Bead, which Yang Kai had obtained great benefit from. Additionally, Yang Kai had no idea if Coloured Glass Sect had discovered any clues about the Stone Puppet digging a channel from Dai Yuan’s peak to the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain last time, so this was an opportunity to quietly probe Dai Yuan about this matter.
Considering all this, Yang Kai stood up and said, “I’ll go have a look.”
Saying so, he walked outside.
A moment later, Yang Kai arrived at the entrance to Dragon Cave Mountain, took out his control token and poured his Saint Qi into it, causing a mysterious light to be emitted from it and open a large path through the protective barrier.
But before Yang Kai could step outside, he heard many voices and couldn’t help feeling suspicious. Could Dai Yuan have come here with a group? However, when he listened to what the people outside were saying, his face sank and he quickly walked out.
Currently, Dai Yuan silently stood outside Dragon Cave Mountain. If one were simply to observe her from behind, they would think she was a peerless beauty whose mere figure was enough to enchant others, making them sink into an inextricable reverie.
However, once one saw her face from the front, they would not be able to associate her with the word beauty.
Dai Yuan maintained the same image as before, her face filled with scars and pustules, giving her an extremely ugly appearance which she stubbornly refused to cover up.
Beside her, a group of more than a dozen cultivators wearing matching robes and with various cultivations were unscrupulously showing their disgust, pointing at Dai Yuan while several women were snorting disdainfully towards her.
These women were not too beautiful, but compared with Dai Yuan’s face, all of them immediately appeared more attractive, causing them to feel a sense of superiority.
“Hey, this Young Master is talking to you! Are you deaf or mute woman?” The leader of this group shouted out to Dai Yuan.
Dai Yuan glanced over at him lightly but showed absolutely no intention of answering.
This blatant disregard immediately annoyed the leader of this group and he quickly sneered, “Damn woman, just speaking to you is giving you more face than you deserve. Don’t think that this Young Master doesn’t dare deal with you because you’re a woman. Although you are the epitome of ugliness, you’re still a woman. This Young Master has given you face, so don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.”
Dai Yuan’s brow furrowed and a trace of disgust flashed across her face, but she quickly regained her calm.
Before, if she had heard such an insult leveled against her, she would lose control and attack. This was simply because her appearance was her reverse scale. But now, after Yang Kai helped detoxify her, her appearance had been restored, and she was just using her pockmarked face as a disguise. Even if this group of people’s words were unpleasant to hear, she didn’t let it get to her.
“Senior Brother Hai, don’t bother speaking any nonsense with her, just seize her directly. Clearly, she came here to find someone so she must know the people inside. We’ve been waiting here for a few days now yet the owner of this place has yet to appear. They’re clearly not putting us in their eyes,” Someone from the crowd called out impatiently, his face filled with eagerness to fight.
“Oh? And who exactly am I supposed to put in my eyes?” A slightly mocking voice suddenly called out from inside Dragon Cave Mountain. As these words were spoken, the fog-like barrier split open, revealing a young man.
“Yang Kai,” Dai Yuan wore a happy expression as she quickly called out to him.
“Sister Dai Yuan!” Yang Kai gently nodded to her before glancing over at the other group of people standing outside and asking lightly, “Are these people with you?”
Dai Yuan shook her head and said softly, “They’re from Sea Heart Sect.”
“Sea Heart Sect? Never heard of it,” Yang Kai spat disdainfully. Although he still wasn’t familiar with all the various big and small forces on Shadowed Star, he at least knew about all of the relatively powerful and influential ones so, since he hadn’t heard of this Sea Heart Sect, it showed that they weren’t an important influence.
On the contrary, Dai Yuan seemed to be incredibly well informed about such matters, allowing her to see through the origins of these people from their robes alone and quietly whisper, “It’s a force from the Limitless Ocean. It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it.”
“So that’s how it is,” Yang Kai nodded. The Limitless Ocean was extremely far away from here, and if not for the Emperor Garden sudden appearance, they would definitely not have sent representatives here.
“Are you the owner of this place?” On the Sea Heart Sect’s side, their leader swept his eyes over Yang Kai and with some surprise.
“Yes, I’m the master of this place!” Yang Kai grinned.
“En, since you’re the owner of this place, then we can talk,” The cultivator saw Yang Kai’s cultivation wasn’t very high, only reaching the Third-Order Saint King Realm, and inevitably felt somewhat contemptuous, speaking with a smug, prideful look on his face, “We are Sea Heart Sect’s disciples from the Limitless Ocean. This mountain is now requisitioned by our Sea Heart Sect! Go back inside and tell your people to clean it up and make room for us.”
This man wore an aloof expression, as if he was instructing his subordinates to do things, speaking without a trace of politeness.
Dai Yuan heard this and could not help wearing a strange look on her face, turning back to Yang Kai, wondering if these people regarded Yang Kai as the patriarch of the small family attached to Shadow Moon Hall.
Yang Kai also had this conjecture. Although he did not understand what was going on when he first came out, he now had a rough guess.
Now that Heavenly Fate City was completely full, many foreign cultivators could not find places to lodge, and as a result, some small families nearby were becoming targets. To conveniently monitor any chances in the Emperor Garden, it was only natural to find a good location.
Dragon Cave Mountain was located almost directly below the Emperor Garden, so its location was excellent and many people had set their sights on it.
As a matter of fact, since a while ago, many cultivators belonging to various great forces had taken a fancy to Dragon Cave Mountain and tried to enter it, but the protective Spirit Array here was incredibly powerful and seeing this, most groups had simply given up.
Others knew that Dragon Cave Mountain’s owner was a young man capable of killing Origin Returning Realm masters and who had a good relationship with Qian Tong, so they naturally steered clear. However, Sea Heart Sect was based on the Limitless Ocean, so it was inevitable that they did not know such local information.
Dragon Cave Mountain had many internal secrets and was constantly shrouded by various powerful Spirit Arrays, so not to mention Sea Heart Sect, even if representatives of Heaven Battling Union or Thunder Typhoon Sect came, Yang Kai would not give this place up. On top of that, these people had come forward and declared that this place was now theirs, as if letting them living in Dragon Cave Mountain was an honour that couldn’t be refused, a fact that Yang Kai found both funny and infuriating.
Requisitioning Dragon Cave Mountain for themselves, this Sea Heart Sect’s tone was simply higher than the Heavens.
Understanding all this, Yang Kai’s eyes turned slightly before he let out a chuckle and cupped his fists, “So these friends are from Sea Heart Sect, this one has long admired your Sect’s resounding name.”
This flattering comment caused this group of Sea Heart Sect disciples’ pride to inflate even further, thinking that their Sect’s reputation was so great that it had even spread all the way to Shadow Moon Hall’s territory. Their leader puffed up his chest proudly as he glanced back confidently at his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters before turning to Yang Kai and saying with a smile, “There’s no need to act so polite, since you know we are from Sea Heart Sect, quickly prepare a proper place for us to stay. For the dozen or so of us here, it matters not, but when our Martial Uncle arrives you must serve him well. Martial Uncle’s temper is a bit poor, so if you cannot satisfy him, you should know the consequences.”
Saying so, the threatening tone this man used was quite strong, as if providing insufficient entertainment would result in disaster for Dragon Cave Mountain.
“Oh? Your Sect’s Senior is not here yet?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“Naturally, Martial Uncle is currently resting in Heavenly Fate City and has sent us out to find a more permanent place to stay. Since we have now found such a place though, I will send word to him!”
Saying so, the lead cultivator took out his own Sect’s communication artifact and poured his Divine Sense into it.
Yang Kai didn’t make any attempt to stop this man, instead just looking on with a smile. After waiting for this man to put away the communication artifact, Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly and began speaking, “It’s not a problem to host your honoured Sect here. Dragon Cave Mountain has many spare lofts, beautiful scenery, and rich World Energy, so it should meet your requirements.”
“Heh heh, from the looks of it, your little hill does have a good World Energy aura, why else would do you think we decided to wait here for a few days?” The leading cultivator shook his head for a while before boldly declaring, “With the strength of our Sea Heart Sect, any small family nearby would definitely welcome us to stay with them. En, little brat, your luck is quite good, although my Martial Uncle’s temper is somewhat bad, he is also quite generous. If you can please him during our stay here, you will receive plenty of benefits.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai replied in an excited and overjoyed voice, asking quickly, “Then seeing how you’ve traveled so far, why not let little brother here prepare a grand banquet for you all to help you recover from your fatigue?”
“Good, seems you know what you should do. It does not matter to us whether you arrange anything, but be sure to not disappoint Martial Uncle, his taste is very refined so if what you serve displeases him there will be consequences!” Seeing how using his Martial Uncle’s name was so effective, this cultivator immediately began making veiled threats and demands as such.
“Yes, yes!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “Yes, dare I ask this friend, does your honoured Senior have any other interests or preferences?”
“Other interests?” The Sea Heart Sect cultivator raised his brow and smiled knowingly, “You mean…”
“Heh heh!” Yang Kai laughed meaningfully, as if he was a master of flattery and groveling.
Standing off to the side, Dai Yuan watched this whole scene in dumbfounded silence. She had never known that Yang Kai had such a side. She knew Yang Kai was mocking these people, but the other party was clearly unaware and only thought he was cowering before them, making for quite a funny dynamic.
“Good, good, good. Boy, you’re quite thoughtful,” The lead cultivator laughed, leaning in and whispering a few frivolous words to him.
Yang Kai raised his brow and nodded firmly, “Alright, such a matter is easy to handle. Dragon Cave Mountain may not have much to offer, but we do have many beautiful women.”
As soon as he spoke these words, the male Sea Heart Sect disciples showed joyful looks, their leader nodding, “Very good, but before allowing Martial Uncle to see them, I should first inspect these women of yours so as to avoid disappointing him.”
“Very good!” Yang Kai thumped his chest before quickly grabbing Dai Yuan’s arm and pulling her over, “Please take a look friend, how about this girl?”
Dai Yuan’s face immediately filled with shame and anger as she shot a vicious look towards Yang Kai. Although she did not hear what Yang Kai and this man had been whispering just now, seeing the loose look on both of their faces, how could she not understand what they were discussing?
Although she had now truly restored her stunningly beautiful appearance, she was still annoyed at being pulled into this farce by Yang Kai.
All of the Sea Heart Sect cultivators froze up as they stared at Dai Yuan. The smile on their leader’s face quickly collapsing as a cold light flashed across his eyes, “Boy, what kind of joke are you making? Can that thing even be counted as a woman?”
Dai Yuan’s pretty face grew colder!
“I’m not joking at all!” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “This young lady possesses peerless grace and talent, a true Heaven-blessed beauty, can’t you see?”
Hearing this, Dai Yuan’s eyes revealed even more anger, but on the contrary, her heart filled with happiness.
Others didn’t know her true face hidden behind her ugly visage, but Yang Kai was perfectly clear about it, so when he spoke these words, he had done so in a completely heartfelt manner, the smile on his face filled with sincerity.
“You don’t have any other women here?” The lead Sea Heart Sect cultivator asked hesitantly.
“We do have some, but they’re a bit inferior to her,” Yang Kai shook his head.
The Sea Heart Sect disciples froze up, their leader now feeling that something was wrong, his expression turning gloomy as he snapped, “Little brat, are you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m being serious?” Yang Kai’s mouth curled up into a grin as he stared back at this man.
Realizing that Yang Kai had been mocking him all along, with all the previous flattery and worship nothing but a show, this man roared angrily, “Boy, you court death!”
Saying so, he grabbed towards Yang Kai ruthlessly.
This man’s cultivation was also at the Third-Order Saint King Realm and he was an elite disciple of Sea Heart Sect, so he did not put someone like Yang Kai in his eyes.
As he grabbed towards Yang Kai, Saint Qi condensed on this man’s palm, causing the surrounding World Energy to twist fiercely and transform into a giant blue palm that was seemingly condensed from pure water.
Sea Heart Sect was based on the Limitless Ocean so its disciples naturally cultivated Water Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills, taking advantage of their geographical location to obtain twice the results with half the effort.
This giant blue palm of water covered Yang Kai and Dai Yuan in an instant.
But in the next instant, a golden radiance suddenly flashed, seemingly cutting through the sky and, in the blink of an eye, the giant blue palm burst apart, as if it were a fragile bubble.
The lead Sea Heart Sect cultivator was overwhelmed and unconsciously shouted in alarm as he pushed his Divine Sense to activate an artifact.
The moment they clashed, this man found that Yang Kai was a little different from other Saint King Realm cultivators he had dealt with before and he quickly put away his contempt and urged the power of his artifact.
Suddenly, the golden light which had just appeared condensed into a thread and shot towards him.
This man’s reaction was not slow. Waving his hand, he sent out a burst of energy to intercept the golden thread, but unfortunately for him this thread seemed to have a mind of its own and easily avoided all his attacks before swiftly winding itself around him.
Feeling a deadly threat from this Golden Thread, the cultivator’s forehead instantly oozed cold sweat and he did not dare to move, simply screaming out “Stop!”
The Sea Heart Sect disciples behind him who were about to attack hurriedly withdrew their Saint Qi when they heard this shout, all of them staring blankly at the scene in front of them.
This Senior Brother Hai was the strongest Saint King in Sea Heart Sect. Normally, when sparring with his fellow Sect Brothers and Sisters, no one was his opponent. The Sect Master and Elders all lavishly praised him while his Juniors worshiped him with great respect.
But now, a young cultivator in the same realm from some small hill had easily managed to subdue their Senior Brother Hai Zhen.
The other Sea Heart Sect disciples stared at this scene in disbelief but quickly found that they were not seeing things. Their awe-inspiring Senior Brother Hai had indeed been entangled by some kind of golden thread; his life was no longer even his to control.
With Yang Kai’s current methods, handling a cultivator in the same realm was as easy as waving his hand.
With a slight snort, Yang Kai brought the captured Hai Zhen before him, raised his hand, and slapped him across the face.
*Pa…*
A crisp slapping sound rang out as Hai Zhen’s face twisted to the side and a mouthful of blood and some broken teeth flew out, his cheeks also visibly swelling up.
Seemingly stunned by this slap, it took quite a while before Hai Zhen recovered from his daze.
Yang Kai waved his hand, as if he were disgusted at being made to touch something unclean as he stared at Hai Zhen lightly and asked, “Do you know why I slapped you?”
Hai Zhen shook his head subconsciously.
*Pa…*
Another resounding slap rang out, causing Hai Zhen’s cheeks to swell further.
Yang Kai snorted louder and declared, “Because you had eyes but failed to see!”
Hai Zhen suddenly recovered and began nodding repeatedly, “Yes, yes, this Hai had eyes but failed to see and offended Your Excellency. Please show mercy, Your Excellency!”
“Heh heh!” Yang Kai chuckled lightly before lifting his hand and slapping Hai Zhen again, his expression remaining completely indifferent as he snapped, “Wrong, try again!”
After three slaps, even though Yang Kai hadn’t used extreme measures, Hai Zhen still felt dizzy, his eyes seeing stars, and his nose and mouth were dripping blood as he shouted, “This Hai did not know his place and coveted Your Excellency’s property!”
“Wrong!” Yang Kai slapped him again.
By now, the dozen or so Sea Heart Sect disciples were completely dumbfounded while Hai Zhen felt dead inside. Yang Kai said he had eyes but failed to see, so his first thoughts were obviously about the two issues he had just mentioned, but the only response to his apology was another slap. Regardless of how he thought, he could not think of what other mistake he had made while this whole time he was being helplessly suppressed by Yang Kai’s Golden Thread. Worse, this disgraceful scene was playing out right in front of his Junior Brothers’ and Junior Sisters’ eyes; after this was over, what face would he have left in Sea Heart Sect?
As his thoughts churned quickly, whether by luck or coincidence, Hai Zhen’s wits finally kicked in and he quickly shot a glance over towards Dai Yuan as he shouted, “This Hai’s eyes were blind and were unable to see this young lady’s Heaven-defying beauty and grace!”
When Dai Yuan heard this, her face inevitably turned slightly red. Although the other party wholeheartedly did not believe the words he just spoke, it still made her feel somewhat bashful.
Yang Kai raised his brow and grinned, “Good, good. it seems your two eyes aren’t completely useless after all. If they had failed to see again, I would have had to dig them out!”
Hai Zhen dripped cold sweat. Although he felt so disgusted he wanted to die, he still vigorously praised Dai Yuan as a world destroying beauty, as if her ugly pockmarked face was the most radiant continence he had ever seen, weaving words of adulation most would find difficult to even conceive of.
Listening to all these, even Yang Kai felt his skin crawl slightly.
“Yang Kai!” Dai Yuan stomped her feet, unable to bear this situation any longer. Although she knew Yang Kai was just looking for excuses to punish this man, hearing all this false praise was quite awkward for her.
“I know,” Yang Kai gently nodded, but just as he was about to release Hai Zhen, he suddenly frowned and turned his eyes towards the sky.
In the direction he was staring, a streak of light was quickly approaching this place. Before this person arrived, their Divine Sense swept the area and after seeing what was happening, a great shout rang out, “Who dares to shame my disciple!”
This voice was filled with anger and a trace of force even impacted Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea when he heard it.
Yang Kai just coldly snorted, condensing his Spiritual Energy to offset this shockwave.
Hearing this voice, Hai Zhen, who was still entangled by the Golden Thread, was overjoyed, and shouted, “Martial Uncle, save me!”
From this cry, Yang Kai immediately understood that the person approaching must be the Origin Returning Realm Elder from Sea Heart Sect he had been hearing about. Heavenly Fate City was only a few dozen kilometres away from Dragon Cave Mountain, so with a message being sent a short time ago, it was not strange for this master to arrive so quickly.
However, Yang Kai was not afraid; in fact, he had been waiting for this Origin Returning Realm master to arrive so he could settle this issue once and for all.
Staring in the direction of the approaching man, a strange smile appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he condensed an invisible blade of Spiritual Energy from his Knowledge Sea and shot it towards the other side.
Since the other party wanted to use their Divine Sense to attack him, Yang Kai naturally felt it rude to not return the gesture.
The streak of light which was rapidly approaching suddenly staggered and a low shout rang. Trembling slightly, the light streak surrounding the approaching master trembled and seemed on the verge of collapsing.
Although the one who was coming was a First-Order Origin Returning Realm master, under Yang Kai’s Divine Sense attack, he had still suffered a small loss and now had a suspicious look on his face, no longer rampantly approaching Dragon Cave Mountain but instead doing so vigilantly.
He had just received a message from one of his Sect’s disciples that they had found a good place to stay and the owner had submissively welcomed them. He had just thought it was a small family and had flown over with great interest, but the sight which greeted him was an embarrassing scene.
In the blink of an eye, the Origin Returning Realm master from Sea Heart Sect arrived at Dragon Cave Mountain and revealed his figure.
Yang Kai glanced at him and found that this man gave off a powerful image, if not an imposing one. He had a sturdy build and long red hair, accompanied by a somewhat flat nose and concave eyes. This man had a fierce and somewhat malicious look about him overall.
Sweeping his eyes over the scene in front of him, this newcomer’s eyes shrank, and anger filled his heart.
Although strong dragons don’t challenge local snakes, his Sea Heart Sect was considered a strong force on Shadowed Star so, after travelling so far just to witness his disciple in such a miserable state, he immediately questioned angrily, “Boy, what’s the meaning of this?”
When he said this, he stared straight at Yang Kai, a cold, coercive light flashing across his eyes.
Although he had suffered a small loss just now, when he discovered Yang Kai’s true cultivation, he was not afraid, subconsciously believing this boy had used something like a powerful artifact to achieve the last strike he made. With his Origin Realm cultivation, dealing with a mere Saint King was child’s play, all he needed to do was use his Shi to suppress the other party.
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai grinned at him, seemingly not caring in the slightest about his coercion, remaining calm and relaxed.
“Why did you attack my disciple?” The red-haired cultivator asked sharply.
“Why?” Yang Kai smiled lightly and glanced over at Hai Zhen whose face was black and blue, swollen all over, “Your Excellency, why not just ask your disciple to explain?”
The red-haired cultivator frowned before glaring fiercely at his disciple, quickly snapping, “Tell me what the hell happened here. If you were the one who wronged him first, don’t blame this old master for not involving himself; however, if it was others who first shamed you, although my Sea Heart Sect’s base is in the Limitless Ocean, we are not some soft persimmon that anyone can pinch.”
These words were spoken quite meaningfully, and when Hai Zhen heard them, his eyes quickly lit up and he immediately wore a despondent expression, leaking tears and snot as he cried out, “Martial Uncle must see, we were simply following your instructions to find a suitable place to lodge when we came across this place. I wanted to have a polite discussion with the owner of this place to negotiate an appropriate price to rent some rooms here, but how could I have known these people would act so unreasonably? Without any provocation, he suddenly attacked. Caught off guard, Disciple was captured by this scoundrel and then humiliated by him, forced to speak words contrary to my beliefs and convictions, causing me such great shame I can only wish for death! I beg Martial Uncle to seek justice for me!”
Yang Kai stared at Hai Zhen in amazement, discovering for the first time that this man really had no sense of shame. With his miserable appearance and the forlorn tone he cried out in, it was as if he had suffered unimaginable shame and torment.
Although Yang Kai was angered by this farce, his expression remained calm and only a light sneer appeared on his face.
The red-haired old man heard this and the cold light in his eyes became more profound, asking in the next moment, “Did you inform him you were all disciples of Sea Heart Sect?”
“Yes, disciple made sure to state our origins, but he didn’t put our Sea Heart Sect in his eyes at all,” Hai Zhen replied with a sad face, continuing to speak a stream of slander and embellishment, thinking that now that his Martial Uncle was here, he was perfectly safe.
“Great!” The red-haired old man took a deep breath before suddenly turning his eyes to Yang Kai, questioning aggressively, “Little brat, do you have anything to say?”
“Naturally not,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, his expression somewhat strange, “Your Sea Heart Sect’s Secret Arts and Martial Skills don’t seem to be worth much, but your ability to speak nonsense and reverse black and white is truly impressive!”
“Little brat, you dare to insult my Sea Heart Sect!?” The red-haired old man was infuriated and almost could not stop himself from immediately attacking. Although he understood that any force which was situated so close to Heavenly Fate City must have some connection to Shadow Moon Hall, with the latter being suppressed on all sides by Shadowed Star’s great forces, he figured that if he taught this boy a lesson, it wouldn’t raise any fuss. According to his estimations, Shadow Moon Hall would not make things difficult for his Sea Heart Sect for a few unimportant people.
Even if he used this opportunity to seize this Dragon Cave Mountain, presumably Shadow Moon Hall would remain silent.
“Bringing contempt upon oneself yet trying to blame others?” Yang Kai coldly snorted as he turned to stare at Hai Zhen and said, “Do you think I don’t dare to kill you?”
“Ah?” Hai Zhen noticed murderous intent in Yang Kai’s eyes and his expression changed dramatically.
“Little brat, you dare!” The red-haired old man also felt something was wrong and quickly released his Shi to enveloped Yang Kai, trying to limit his movements and save his disciple.
Yang Kai simply shot this old man a contemptuous glance before clenching his fist, causing his Golden Thread to flicker and a faint slicing noise to ring out, his actions as swift as the wind, not affected by the red-haired old man’s Shi at all.
Demon Blood Temple’s Secret Technique could cut through Shi, so the Golden Blood used by Yang Kai, which was a more powerful variant, naturally had such ability as well. How could the red-haired old man possibly hinder it?
The Golden Thread cut into Hai Zhen’s body a dozen times in an instant, after which Yang Kai withdrew it, allowing Hai Zhen to stand on his own in a daze, unable to figure out what had just happened.
However, in the next moment, his face changed dramatically as he looked down at his body and found thin lines of blood flowing out from all over it. This blood continued flowing out steadily until all of a sudden it burst forth like a fountain.
With a clatter, as if a mirror had been broken, Hai Zhen collapsed to the ground in dozens of pieces of minced meat.
A bloody smell filled the air and witnessing this horrifying scene caused the dozen or so other Sea Heart Sect disciples to go pale, with a few of the more timid women turning away and vomiting.
The red-haired old man’s eyes instantly bulged as he stared at Yang Kai in disbelief. It seemed he had never imagined this little brat would act so decisively and ruthlessly.
As for Yang Kai, at first, he didn’t intend on killing these people, only wanting to teach them a harsh lesson to deter others from having ideas about Dragon Cave Mountain, but the way the situation developed, with Hai Zhen and this red-haired old man so blatantly confusing right and wrong, Yang Kai’s murderous intent had been roused.
As such, Yang Kai could not be bothered trying to negotiate a settlement here. A trivial force from the Limitless Ocean was nothing he needed to take seriously.
After the tragic death of Hai Zhen, the red-haired old man was naturally livid, his fiery hair blowing outwards despite there being no wind as his murderous intent soared to the Heavens. Gritting his teeth, he called out menacingly, “Little brat, this old master will make you pay for this in blood!”
The one who died just now was Sea Heart Sect’s top disciple, making the loss quite significant. This red-haired old man had been ordered to remain near Heavenly Fate City to monitor the movements of the Emperor Garden and Hai Zhen had been left in his care so the latter could gain some life experience here; however, before being able to accomplish anything significant Hai Zhen had been tragically killed. After returning to the Sect, this old man would suffer severe punishment.
After all, Hai Zhen was a direct descendant of the Sect’s Great Elder!
“Daring to act dissolute in my Dragon Cave Mountain? None of you will leave here alive!” Yang Kai’s expression became stern as murderous intent burst from his body. Killing one or killing a dozen made no difference to him, but the deterrent from killing everyone here would clearly be stronger, making it less likely others would try to ‘requisition’ Dragon Cave Mountain in the future.
“Oh, it’s so lively here!” Just as Yang Kai and the red-haired old man were about to act, a voice filled with surprise called out from afar and soon after two streams of light quickly appeared on the horizon. At the same time, two powerful Divine Senses belonging to Origin Returning Realm masters swept the area.
Realizing the strength of the approaching party, the red-haired old man’s expression became gloomy and he glanced over.
Yang Kai raised his brow, revealing a surprised but somewhat understanding look.
“Senior Brother, Senior Brother Yang seems to be fighting with someone,” After the first voice called out, a second, melodious female voice followed up.
“En, Senior Brother noticed, but I really wonder which blind fool actually dared come to provoke Dragon Cave Mountain. Too interesting.” The male voice quipped, seemingly taking pleasure in another’s misfortune. The red-haired man heard this and could not help feeling his heart clench. Was there some reason this Dragon Cave Mountain should not be provoked?
Wasn’t this place just some small family force attached to Shadow Moon Hall? The red-haired old man frowned. He was no fool though, so he immediately withdrew his murderous intent while putting on a solemn expression.
A moment later, the two streams of light had flown over and as their glow faded, two figures appeared.
One of these figures was an imposing and heroic-looking young man with sharp eyes. Being stared at by this young man, the red-haired old man could not help feeling chills shoot up his spine, causing the unease in his heart to grow stronger. Beside this young man was a beautiful young woman who stood shoulder to shoulder with him, the two of them looking very intimate. Obviously, these two shared an uncommon relationship.
After the newly arrived young woman’s pair of beautiful eyes looked around, she revealed a curious look.
Upon seeing Dai Yuan standing behind Yang Kai though, this young woman called out in pleasant surprise, “Big Sister Dai Yuan, you’re here too!”
“Xuan’er!” Dai Yuan returned the smile.
“Brother Wei!” Yang Kai laughed as he cupped his fists to the young man. The ones who had come were amongst the few friends Yang Kai had made on Shadowed Star. They were Shadow Moon Hall’s top disciples, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er.
“Brother Yang, long time no see!” Wei Gu Chang replied spiritedly.
“En, it’s been a few years since we last met, but I didn’t expect Brother Wei and Sister Dong would already have broken through to the Origin Returning Realm. Congratulations!” Yang Kai sincerely said.
After returning from the Flowing Flame Sand Field last time, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had entered secluded retreat in order to prepare to break through to the Origin Returning Realm. Now that Yang Kai was meeting them again, it was obvious these two had successfully arrived at the realm.
And from the momentum and Saint Qi fluctuations being emitted by these two, their cultivations had obviously been completely consolidated, otherwise, they would not have come out from Shadow Moon Hall like this.
Dai Yuan had also told Yang Kai she would be entering secluded retreat to prepare for her own breakthrough to the Origin realm, but for some reason, she had now appeared here. Recalling this, Yang Kai shot a glance over towards Dai Yuan but found that she was simply holding hands with Dong Xuan’er and chatting intimately. Because they were whispering, he wasn’t able to hear what they were saying. Dai Yuan’s face was clearly blushing as Dong Xuan’er smiled brightly and cast her eyes towards Yang Kai.
All of them, however, were completely ignoring the red-haired old man and the other Sea Heart Sect disciples as if they were nothing but air.
Receiving such treatment, the red-haired old man naturally became livid, but after observing Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er for a while and recalling how Yang Kai had addressed these two, his complexion changed slightly and he solemnly cupped his fists, “May I be so bold as to ask, is Your Excellency Shadow Moon Hall’s Wei Gu Chang?”
Hearing this, Wei Gu Chang glanced over and nodded lightly, “En, it is this Wei. What advice does Senior have?”
Although in terms of age, Wei Gu Chang was much younger than the red-haired old man, because their cultivations were the same, he didn’t need to act too polite so he only responded flatly.
“I wouldn’t dare!” The red-haired old man was stunned. Wei Gu Chang might have only recently broken through to the Origin Returning Realm, but if one were to ignore that, his name had become famous across Shadowed Star. With Wei Gu Chang’s aptitude and talent, he would no doubt become one of the dominant characters of Shadowed Star in the future!
Offending him now would definitely lead to trouble in the future.
After determining that the young man he was dealing with was Wei Gu Chang, how could the red-haired old man dare act dissolute? Just from the previous chatter he witnessed, the red-haired old man could tell that Wei Gu Chang and this boy who owned Dragon Cave Mountain were quite close. Realizing this, the red-haired old man knew it was impossible for him to avenge his disciple’s death, but simply choking down this insult made him incredibly uncomfortable, not to mention the damage that withdrawing here would cause to Sea Heart Sect’s dignity.
For a moment, the old man hesitated, uncertain of how he should proceed.
At the same time, he was violently cursing to himself. If not for Hai Zhen having eyes but failing to see and provoking such a person, how could he have been put in this awkward situation? If the one who had killed Hai Zhen was from some small family force, the old man wouldn’t have any scruples in killing the offender.
But now, there was essentially no hope for revenge, and whether he himself could withdraw from this situation unharmed was no longer in his hands.
“Brother Yang, what happened here? Why are there so many people gathered around?” Wei Gu Chang asked, “Is there going to be a fight? This Wei just broke through recently and hasn’t had an opportunity to test out his new strength. If you have such an opportunity available, why not allow me to take it?”
Wei Gu Chang’s remarks only caused the red-haired old man’s expression to become uglier.
“Haha,” Yang Kai laughed, “It’s no big deal, just some people coming here to requisition my Dragon Cave Mountain.”
“Requisition?” Wei Gu Chang raised his brow, a deep sneer appearing on his face, “Such boldness! Who are these people who want to take over this treasured land? I think they should first ask this Wei for his opinion.”
Saying so, Wei Gu Chang turned his eyes to glare at the red-haired old man, making no effort to hide his malicious intent.
The red-haired old man was startled by how rapidly the situation was deteriorating, but understanding what needed to be done, he quickly cupped his fists and said, “Nephew Wei misunderstands, this old man’s disciple simply misspoke before. There are no problems here, everything is just a misunderstanding!”
This old man knew when to advance and when to retreat, speaking such words without any sign of distress or resentment on his face. It was as if he didn’t care at all that his Sect’s top disciple had just been killed in front of him.
“A misunderstanding?” Wei Gu Chang, however, wasn’t prepared to just let things end here and swiftly pointed to the broken corpse on the ground, “This misunderstanding seems to be a bit big, how else could someone have died here?”
The red-haired old man’s eyes shrank and his face began twitching slightly as he said, “Nephew Wei may rest assured, that blind fool’s death isn’t worth pitying. This old master will have his disciples clean up this place so as not to stain this treasured land.”
Wei Gu Chang’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the red-haired old man, and only after a long silence did he chuckle and turned back to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, what do you think?”
“Since it’s all a misunderstanding, there’s no need to take things any further; however, such a misunderstanding better not happen again, otherwise, there might be undesirable consequences,” Yang Kai stared at the red-haired old man with a smile.
“This old master will take Your Excellency’s words to heart and properly educate his disciples in the future,” The red-haired old man nodded. Seeing Wei Gu Chang and Yang Kai not show any intentions of further discussion, the old man instructed his disciples to clean up Hai Zhen’s remains before all of them cupped their fists and departed quickly.
Looking at this group’s disappearing backs, Wei Gu Chang frowned and muttered, “Brother Yang, be careful of this fox. Someone capable of enduring such humiliation will not give up so easily.”
“I know, I’ll deal with it when the time comes,” Yang Kai grinned, not caring about this incident in the slightest.
“This Wei didn’t intend to stop Brother Yang from acting just now, but you should know Shadow Moon Hall’s current situation. If some people were to use the conflict that sparked here as an excuse to make trouble for Shadow Moon Hall…”
“I know, Brother Wei doesn’t need to worry,” Yang Kai certainly understood what he meant. In fact, if Wei Gu Chang hadn’t arrived just now, Yang Kai would have certainly slaughtered everyone from Sea Heart Sect, even if he knew doing so would cause problems for Shadow Moon Hall. Any small conflict right now would certainly be blown up into a big conflict with all the great forces around engaging in shadowy intrigue. But since Wei Gu Chang had come and inserted himself into the matter, Yang Kai had to sell him some face.
“Enough about this, please come in first,” Yang Kai chuckled, waving his hand to open a channel in Dragon Cave Mountain’s barrier before leading Wei Gu Chang and the others inside.
As soon as they stepped inside and felt the rich World Energy aura around them, Wei Gu Chang could not help taking a deep breath and praised liberally, “Brother Yang, your Dragon Cave Mountain is truly an amazing place. The World Energy concentration here is so high that it’s comparable to best locations in Shadow Moon Hall atop the Earth Vein intersections.”
“Brother Wei is too polite. Dragon Cave Mountain’s territory and population are so small, how can they be compared with Shadow Moon Hall? The aura here is just right for helping a few dozen people cultivate.”
“The scenery here is also good. Senior Brother and I often talk about coming here to relax for a few days, I don’t know if Brother Yang would welcome us, though,” Dong Xuan’er pursed her lips and smiled.
“Haha!” Yang Kai laughed heartily, “Was that a subtle hint from Sister Xuan’er? If you were to come, how could I reject you? Dragon Cave Mountain’s doors will always be open to you.”
Dong Xuan’er heard this and her pretty face couldn’t help blushing slightly, spitting out her tongue playfully to cover her embarrassment in the next moment.
Just as Dong Xuan’er was feeling slightly awkward, she suddenly saw something and couldn’t help calling out in surprise.
Wei Gu Chang also spotted this strange phenomenon and asked curiously, “Brother Yang, you actually have a sapient tree here?”
What they saw was obviously the Yang Attribute Divine Tree. The Divine Tree had been living on Dragon Cave Mountain since Yang Kai brought it out from his Black Book Space, and although it didn’t possess traditional limbs, moving about wasn’t an issue for it. As a result, sometimes it would migrate from place to place, taking root in different locations to enjoy different sceneries. Using its roots as legs, the Divine Tree was able to walk around at a moderate pace and was currently in the middle moving.
On the thick trunk of the Divine Tree, there was a withered face, and although it was quite a weathered, old-looking face, its features were very distinct.
This was a clear sign it had gained a high degree of sapience.
Seemingly hearing these voices, the Divine Tree paused and looked over, rustling its leaves for a moment before extending two branches from its canopy over to Dong Xuan’er and Dai Yuan.
Held by these branches was a golden yellow fruit that gave off a lovely fragrance. The old face on the Divine Tree’s trunk smiled amiably as it offered these gifts.
“This…” Dong Xuan’er and Dai Yuan glanced at each other, both showing surprised looks, but soon reached out and accepted these fruits and offered their thanks.
Yang Kai was also extremely surprised by this scene. It was the first time he saw the Divine Tree doing such a thing, and while he was shocked inside, he was also extremely happy. It seemed the Divine Tree’s sapience was becoming more and more complete, which in turn indicated its evolution was going well.
After the Divine Tree sent out these two fruits, it continued its walk by slowly moving its roots forward.
Wei Gu Chang failed to stifle his laughter as he commented, “This sapient tree actually discriminates between men and women? Why do these two get a gift but I don’t?”
As soon as this remark came out, everyone burst into laughter.
In the end, this was just a minor interlude. Although the Divine Tree’s fruits weren’t anything special, since it was the first time Dong Xuan’er and Dai Yuan had received a gift like this, they naturally treasured it.
Yang Kai soon shook his head and continued leading this group of people forward.
At the same time, outside Dragon Cave Mountain, the Sea Heart Sect group, led by the red-haired old man, all wore extremely gloomy looks on their faces. They had thought that with the arrival of their Martial Uncle, they would be able to avenge the death of Hai Zhen, but things had turned out far differently from their expectations. Suffering such humiliation, all of them were naturally quite unhappy and the atmosphere around them was clearly quite depressing.
Suddenly, another Origin Returning Realm master appeared in front of them, rousing the red-haired old man’s anger. He had humbled himself in front of Wei Gu Chang, not daring to act presumptuous, but how could he not be upset now that someone dared block his path all of a sudden without so much as a word?
If he hadn’t noticed that this newcomer had no malicious intent, the red-haired old man might have directly attacked in his anger.
“What important matter does this friend have to go so far as to bar our way?” The red-haired old man forcefully held down his anger and asked in a cold tone.
“Please be at ease, Brother Cui, I’m a friend, not an enemy,” The man smiled slightly.
“You know my origins?” The red-haired old man heard this newcomer address him by his surname and could not help becoming somewhat vigilant.
Of course, this issue extends to groups and gangs as well. You can also see this in drama shows.]
“En, although Sea Heart Sect is situated far away on the Limitless Ocean, it is not a weak Sect, so this one has heard a thing or two about it. On top of that, in Sea Heart Sect, there is only one Elder with fiery red hair, so naturally I knew you were Brother Cui,” The cultivator in front of the Sea Heart Sect group explained in a calm and relaxed manner.
After hearing such compliments, the red-haired old man’s look eased, but he did not relax his guard and continued to ask, “And who are you?”
“My surname is Xie!” The man smiled profoundly.
“Surnamed Xie? What business do you have with me?” The red-haired old man frowned.
The cultivator surnamed Xie’s brow wrinkled slightly, but after thinking about it for a moment, he tentatively asked, “Brother Cui has travelled far to come here. How many days has it been since you arrived?”
“It’s only been three days, but what does that have to do with you?” The red-haired old man was confused by the seemingly erratic line of questioning the other party was following. This man was not explaining himself clearly, or even giving his full name, making him seem all the more suspicious. This, in turn, caused the red-haired old man to become somewhat impatient.
“So that’s how it is. Presumably, Brother Cui didn’t carefully investigate the various forces located around Heavenly Fate City yet, yes?” The cultivator surnamed Xie seemed to understand something and smiled lightly.
The red-haired old man coldly snorted, “What of it? Speak clearly damn it!”
The man surnamed Xie chuckled, “Please forgive me, Brother Cui, but it now makes sense why your disciples actually went and pulled the tiger’s whiskers atop Dragon Cave Mountain.”
“Pulled the tiger’s whiskers?” The red-haired old man narrowed his eyes, “Atop that small hill? Are they worthy?”
The man surnamed Xie said lightly, “If this Xie told Brother Cui that the owner of that hill has a close relationship with Elder Qian Tong, is rumoured to have ties to City Lord Fei Zhi Tu, and killed a First-Order Origin Realm cultivator with his own hands, would Brother Cui continue looking down on him?”
“What?” The red-haired old man suddenly paled, his expression becoming somewhat hesitant as he muttered, “Are you serious?”
“This Xie doesn’t need to lie to you.”
“Even so, that brat killed my Sect’s top disciple! He must pay for this with his own blood!” The red-haired old man tried to put up a strong front while secretly feeling anxious inside. Although the information this man surnamed Xie just gave him was very worrying, there was no way for him to not seek revenge with things having reached this point.
If he could not achieve this, there was no way he could return to Sea Heart Sect.
“Haha! This Xie was hoping Brother Cui would have such sentiment,” The man surnamed Xie laughed as a sharp glow flashed across his eyes, “I’ll be honest with Brother Cui, the Origin Realm master who died at that brat’s hands was from my Xie Family, so we have an absolutely irreconcilable grudge with that brat!”
“Oh?” The red-haired old man raised his brow in surprise, seemingly understanding something all of a sudden as he swept his eyes over the cultivator in front of him and hesitantly asked, “In Shadow Moon Hall, there is a Deacon named Xie Li. Could Your Excellency be…”
“Xie Li is my cousin!” The man surnamed Xie smiled lightly.
Hearing this, the red-haired old man was overjoyed and did not dare continue acting in a standoff manner, cupping his fists politely and bowing, “So it is Brother Xie, this Cui has been disrespectful.”
“Pay it no mind!” The cultivator surnamed Xie waved his hand carelessly, continuing intimately, “Might I assume Brother Cui has been tasked with monitoring the movements of the Emperor Garden along with your disciples and is currently searching for a place to stay nearby? If so, why not come to my Xie Family’s residence? Although my Xie Family is not a big family, we still have plenty of well-tended courtyards that I’m sure we can make available.”
“That sounds great! Then we’ll be imposing on your honoured family,” The red-haired old man smiled happily. He had been worried that he would not be able to find a good place to settle down nearby, but now someone had actually come to invite him into their home. On top of that, it seemed that this new host of his had a profound resentment with the boy who owned Dragon Cave Mountain. As someone who shared a common enemy, it was natural for this man surnamed Xie to reach out to them; after all, the enemy of one’s enemy was their friend. Although the red-haired old man also understood that this man surnamed Xie was trying to take advantage of them, he did not particularly care.
“Brother Cui is too polite; you and your disciples are more than welcome at my Xie Family. Let us talk while we walk, this one has always been interested in visiting the Limitless Ocean but has never had a chance to go. Perhaps Brother Cui has some interesting stories he could tell,” The cultivator surnamed Xie invited.
“Please!” The red-haired old man politely nodded before leading the dozen or so Sea Heart Sect disciples towards the Xie Family residence.
The man surname Xie was quite an elegant speaker and chatted fluidly with the red-haired old man along the way, weaving a web of stirring stories while expressing just the right amount of interest and longing for the scenes of the Limitless Ocean, immediately making the red-haired old man open up to him as if they were old friends.
After chatting for a while, the red-haired old man started to inquire about Yang Kai. After learning that he truly had Qian Tong’s backing, his face could not help becoming slightly gloomy. If this was really the case, the difficulty of seeking revenge definitely wouldn’t be small.
Moreover, the Xie Family was also a peripheral force related to Shadow Moon Hall. Would blatantly acting hostile towards the Dragon Cave Mountain be an issue as well?
Seemingly realizing the concerns in this red-haired old man’s heart, the cultivator surnamed Xie immediately told him that Shadow Moon Hall had decided to not intervene in the grievances between the Xie Family and Dragon Cave Mountain. This news greatly heartened the red-haired old man and he felt that deciding to go to the Xie Family was the right decision more and more. As long as Shadow Moon Hall didn’t interfere with the Xie Family and his Sea Heart Sect’s strengths combined, wouldn’t it be easy to destroy a small hill?
Thinking this way, the red-haired old man could almost imagine the scene of him shredding Yang Kai’s corpse into ten thousand pieces.
……
Meanwhile, on Dragon Cave Mountain, inside a relatively large loft, Yang Kai welcomed Wei Gu Chang and the others. After everyone had taken their seats, Wu Yi personally brought out a few plates of spirit fruits and served them fragrant tea before respectfully withdrawing.
“Brother Yang, please accept this Wei and Xuan’er’s sincerest gratitude!”
To Yang Kai’s surprise, Wei Gu Chang suddenly stood up again and bowed deeply to him along with Dong Xuan’er.
“Brother Wei, what is this for?” Yang Kai was stunned and quickly got up to hold them up.
Wei Gu Chang grinned, “This Wei has lived his entire life never humbling himself to anyone from Shadowed Star’s younger generation. Even Qu Chang Feng and Fang Tian Zhong are not worthy of having this Wei bow. Brother Yang, you are the first and the only one I sincerely admire.”
Yang Kai frowned for a moment but quickly understood why Wei Gu Chang was acting so solemnly here and hurriedly waved his hand, “Brother Wei need not do this. Rescuing Elder Qian recently had little to do with me. The specific process must have been explained to you by Elder Qian so you should know I simply followed City Lord Fei around the Emperor Garden. In the end, if City Lord Fei and the others had not accidentally triggered that ancient restriction, perhaps I would still be trapped back there.”
“Perhaps, but I know for a fact that if not for Brother Yang, Cai He and Du Si Si would definitely have died inside that place. If those two had fallen inside the Emperor Garden, their families would resent my Shadow Moon Hall so, regardless of anything else, I and Xuan’er should thank you.”
Hearing him go this far, Yang Kai did not try to argue any more as doing so would only make him appear insincere. On the other hand, when Dai Yuan heard this conversation, she could not help turning a surprised look towards Yang Kai, seemingly never having expected him to have already entered the Emperor Garden.
“I only regret that Xuan’er and I were both consolidating our cultivation at that time and were unaware of the outside situation. If not for us accidentally hearing some people gossiping about this matter after we went out, we might still have been ignorant of these events,” Wei Gu Chang’s face flashed a low-spirited look. Although he was not Qian Tong’s direct disciple, but rather the Sect Master’s, after so many years of receiving his favour, Qian Tong held no less weight in Wei Gu Chang’s heart. Learning that Qian Tong had fallen into danger yet knowing he had not done anything to help made Wei Gu Chang feel a deep sense of guilt every time he thought about it.
“The Seniors of Shadow Moon Hall were only acting out of concern for both of you. So soon after you two broke through to the Origin Returning Realm, before you even had time to consolidate your cultivations, how could they possibly tell you such news and risk disturbing your state of mind? Enough about this though, Brother Wei. Might I ask why you’ve come to visit all of a sudden?” Yang Kai quickly changed the subject when he noticed the atmosphere turning gloomy.
“It’s nothing important really. We’re just here to deliver an invitation,” Wei Gu Chang chuckled as he nodded to Dong Xuan’er.
The latter understood and quickly withdrew a golden invitation from her Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.
“An invitation you say? Could it be an invitation to Brother Wei and Sister Xuan’er’s most important celebration?” Yang Kai chuckled as he asked meaningfully.
Dong Xuan’er immediately blushed brightly, spat out her tongue, and ran over to Dai Yuan’s side, seemingly too embarrassed to continue this conversation.
Wei Gu Chang, on the other hand, wore a big grin and said, “Unfortunately not, but there will certainly be a chance in the future. When that day comes, Brother Yang will, of course, receive an invitation. The invitation we’re here to deliver today still isn’t something an ordinary person can obtain, mind you.”
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly and looked down only to mutter in surprise, “Treasure Trove Pavilion?”
“Yes, it is an invitation from Treasure Trove Pavilion,” Wei Gu Chang returned to his seat and took a sip of the fragrant tea before slowly explaining, “This invitation is to Treasure Trove Pavilion’s upcoming auction; does Brother Yang have any interest in participating?”
Yang Kai did not answer immediately. The last time he had participated in the Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction, his gains were not small and he was also somewhat interested in this upcoming event, but he didn’t think it was necessary to go either. Rather, he was wondering why Treasure Trove Pavilion had suddenly decided to hold an auction and what implications this action had.
“Oh, they’re hosting it in Heavenly Fate City again?” Yang Kai was even more surprised now. According to what he knew about Treasure Trove Pavilion, they were the biggest merchant and commercial alliance on Shadowed Star, focused on doing business to accumulate Saint Crystals. Their auctions were held once every few years to a decade, but each time the location would change as they rotated through the major cities in the various great force’s territories.
It had only been a few years since the last auction was held, yet they were planning to host another, and in Heavenly Fate City, no less. Obviously, this was breaking with their previous practices. According to precedence, it should be at least another hundred years before this grand auction was held in Heavenly Fate City again.
“Naturally, it’s going to be held in Heavenly Fate City. All the great forces on Shadowed Star have their attention focused here because of the appearance of the Emperor Garden, so if Treasure Trove Pavilion chose Heavenly Fate City as the location to host its auction, no one would disagree,” Wei Gu Chang chuckled.
Hearing this explanation, Yang Kai nodded in agreement. The cultivators gathered in Heavenly Fate City were more numerous than the hairs on an ox, with all forces big and small being represented. Taking advantage of this opportunity to hold a grand auction was a natural move.
Moreover, although the Emperor Garden had indeed appeared, it was temporarily impossible for anyone to enter it and no one knew when it would open, so many cultivators were already planning ahead and trying to find ways to enhance their strength. When the Emperor Garden opened, they all hoped to rush inside to obtain a rich cup of soup. Under these circumstances, an auction would surely attract a lot of guests.
After all, when Treasure Trove Pavilion was taking advantage of the Flowing Flame Sand Field opening last time, their auction had been a massive success, so obviously, Treasure Trove Pavilion was hoping for a repeat performance.
As for why Treasure Trove Pavilion would specifically send him an invitation, it was not difficult to guess.
After all, in the auction a few years ago, all the final auction items had been brought by Yang Kai. Others may not know this information, but Treasure Trove Pavilion certainly did. Not to mention, with the financial resources shown by Dragon Cave Mountain, they were completely qualified to participate in this auction.
“This invitation was personally made by Senior Yan Pei, who gave it to Elder Qian, who in turn ordered us to deliver to you. If Brother Yang has the time, you should participate,” Wei Gu Chang laughed.
Hearing that this invitation was from Yan Pei himself, Yang Kai immediately recalled a somewhat sinister-looking old man and asked, “Could it be that Senior Yan specially asking you to deliver this invitation was because it’s not just an invitation? Is there something else as well?”
Wei Gu Chang scratched his cheek and shook his head with a wry smile, “Xuan’er, I told you Brother Yang was too smart and even if we didn’t mention it, he would certainly realize.”
Dong Xuan’er also smiled bitterly.
Yang Kai looked at Wei Gu Chang and said, “Brother Wei, just say it, you and I are not strangers.”
Wei Gu Chang hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Senior Yan did give me another message to pass along, but I wasn’t planning on mentioning it. However, since Brother Yang has asked, I will just say that Senior Yan hoped you could provide a few items for the auction’s finale!”
“Final auction items?” Yang Kai parroted with a stunned voice before sneering wryly, “What does he think this place is, an inexhaustible treasure-trove? How could I possibly have so many final-auction-worthy items?”
Wei Gu Chang shrugged helplessly. This was truly what Yan Pei had requested, and if not for Elder Qian and Yan Pei having a good relationship, Wei Gu Chang would not have come to deliver such a message, so he simply said, “I’ll report back to Elder Qian that you have no more treasures here.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded. In truth, this place really was filled with a great many incredible treasures, any of which could be used as a final item in the upcoming grand auction. Even if he did not take out one of these precious treasures, all Yang Kai would need to do was ask Yang Yan to refine a few Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts so he could fulfil the requirement.
The Emperor Garden had appeared, so presumably, Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts would be highly sought after.
However, Yang Kai understood the truth of great wealth inviting criticism. The few items he had casually brought out last time had stirred up an incredibly heated competition between all Shadowed Star’s top forces. If he were to do so again, he would attract unwanted attention.
He did not even allow Yang Yan to sell her artifacts without permission, so how could he do something as foolish as exposing his true wealth?
“However, Brother Yang, you really should participate in this auction as there may be some good things you’d like to obtain,” Wei Gu Chang laughed heartily before saying, “The following pages of the invitation in your hand list some of the more precious items that are being auctioned.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai heard this and suddenly found himself somewhat interested. Flipping through the invitation, Yang Kai soon found that what Wei Gu Chang said was right. These pages were filled with exquisite pictures and descriptions of some of the most valuable items being auctioned.
There were good artifacts, pills that could increase one’s cultivation, powerful Secret Techniques, and rare and valuable materials.
Yang Kai browsed through these items one by one and was secretly surprised by Treasure Trove Pavilion’s ability. This great force was worthy of being the biggest commercial alliance on Shadowed Star. It had only been a few years since the last grand auction, yet they had already managed to collect so many treasures. This really made one wonder where they had acquired all these treasures.
Unfortunately, although there were indeed many good things listed on this invitation, nothing really caught Yang Kai’s eyes. It was not a problem of value or rarity; it was simply that Yang Kai had no use for any of these things. Whether it was artifacts, pills, or Secret Techniques, he already had more than enough, so naturally, he felt disinterested in this auction.
However, when he arrived at the last page and saw the treasure which was listed there, his expression suddenly changed as he stared at the picture fixedly, a trace of surprise and joy flashing across the depths of his eyes.
Although this change of expression happened extremely quickly, Yang Kai still failed to conceal it from the others present. Seeing this, Wei Gu Chang chuckled, “It looks like Brother Yang really found something good that he currently needs.”
“I have indeed. I never expected Treasure Trove Pavilion to even be able to take out this kind of treasure!” Yang Kai openly declared as he did not feel the need to conceal this fact in front of the people present. Carefully putting away the auction invitation, he asked, “When will this auction start?”
“A month from now, and the location is the same as last time. Has Brother Yang decided to go?”
“Such a grand event naturally shouldn’t be missed!” Yang Kai chuckled and nodded.
“Then, this Wei will look forward to seeing you there,” Wei Gu Chang also showed a happy expression. In any case, he had to attend this auction, so he naturally felt it was better to have like-minded friends to accompany him.
Next, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had a long chat with Yang Kai.
After all, none of them had seen each other since they entered retreat to break through. Only a few years had passed and Yang Kai was now a Third-Order Saint King, likely not far away from breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm as well. Both Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had just finished crossing this stage and were not stingy with explaining their experiences, allowing both Yang Kai and Dai Yuan to benefit greatly.
Especially Dai Yuan, who listened with extreme interest while asking a few questions about particular details she didn’t immediately understand. Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er patiently answered any questions Dai Yuan and Yang Kai asked, not concealing anything.
Half a day later, the two Senior Brother and Junior Sister took their leave. Before setting off though, Dong Xuan’er invited Dai Yuan to come to Shadow Moon Hall for a time, the latter naturally agreeing.
After the Shadow Moon Hall pair left, Yang Kai turned to Dai Yuan with a smile.
The latter, however, shot him an angry glare as her ugly facial features suddenly distorted. In the next moment, a completely different face appeared in front of Yang Kai.
Creamy white skin with gentle crescent eyebrows, eyes that shimmered like stars, a dainty nose, and fine red lips. It was not an exaggeration to describe her as a Heavenly beauty.
This abrupt change in appearance stunned Yang Kai. Dai Yuan gently brushed her hair back behind her ear and demurely chuckled, “Does Junior Brother Yang think this look is more appealing?”
Yang Kai put on a serious look and shook his head, saying, “One’s external appearance is inconsequential, whether one is ugly or beautiful is an inherent trait that is gifted by their parents. What is most important is internal and intrinsic.”
Dai Yuan was deeply stunned and was preparing to nod in agreement when Yang Kai suddenly declared solemnly, “But you’re not wrong that your current look is more appealing; after all, everyone loves beauty.”
Dai Yuan was instantly filled with indignation as she shot a wicked glare at Yang Kai, her peerless face distorting once again and being replaced by the former pockmarked ugly continence.
Just now, she had felt deeply touched by Yang Kai’s words, but he had gone and ruined that sentiment completely before she could even digest them properly.
Yang Kai lightly coughed, knowing he had severely annoyed Dai Yuan and quickly changed the subject, “Right, Sister Dai Yuan coming here so suddenly, do you need my help with something?”
“What? Do you think I only come here when I need something from you? Could it be that I cannot just come here to say hello? Am I not welcomed here?” Dai Yuan snorted as she continued glaring at Yang Kai.
“That’s certainly not what I meant,” Yang Kai knew he had once again misspoken and suddenly found himself at a loss for what to say.
However, Dai Yuan soon grinned and said, “I’m kidding. Do you think you are the only one who can make fun of me? To be honest, I really did come here to ask for your help.”
Yang Kai’s look finally relaxed and he quickly declared, “If I can be of help, Sister Dai Yuan only needs to ask.”
Dai Yuan nodded and spoke frankly, “I need an Origin Condensing Pill!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai showed a look of understanding.
Dai Yuan still explained though, “Originally I was planning on breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm after a long secluded retreat, but now that the Emperor Garden has appeared, I cannot afford to wait that long, so I need an Origin Condensing Pill to assist me. This shouldn’t be a problem for Junior Brother Yang, should it?”
“Naturally,” Yang Kai smiled confidently. Him being an Alchemist was a secret only known to three people on Shadowed Star, Wu Yi, Yang Yan, and Dai Yuan. The first two knew for obvious reasons while the latter knew because Yang Kai had used his Alchemy skills to help detoxify her.
With Yang Kai’s current methods, refining a trivial Origin Condensing Pill required little effort.
Dai Yuan wore a delighted smile and said, “I have all the materials ready. I’ll be troubling Junior Brother Yang.”
Saying so, Dai Yuan took out several sets of herbs necessary for refining an Origin Condensing Pill from her Space Ring. Yang Kai nodded and accepted the herbs before quickly saying, “Rest here for today, I’ll bring you your Origin Condensing Pill by tomorrow.”
“En,” Dai Yuan nodded happily.
Refining an Origin Condensing Pill was truly a simple matter for Yang Kai, only requiring an incense stick worth of time to complete, but he still said he would bring it to Dai Yuan tomorrow personally.
Dai Yuan had no objections and gave her thanks.
Chatting for a while longer, Dai Yuan informed Yang Kai that there were many people stationed in Heavenly Fate City from Coloured Glass Sect to monitor the changes in the Emperor Garden, and that her Junior Sister Yin Su Die was among them.
Yin Su Die, like Wei Gu Chang, had successfully broken through to the Origin Realm, but she had only done so recently and was still in the process of consolidating her cultivation. It also seemed that she had ill intentions towards Yang Kai, which Dai Yuan thoughtfully warned him about.
Hearing this, Yang Kai wore a strange look upon his face as he tapped the table with his finger, immediately concluding that Yin Su Die had concealed the matter about their fight and even him killing a Coloured Glass Sect disciple when he last left Coloured Glass Sect.
This was good news for Yang Kai. Yin Su Die willingly covering up that incident was something he was happy to learn.
Then, however, Dai Yuan seemingly casually mentioned the accident that had befallen Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, causing a bit of cold sweat to drip down Yang Kai’s back as he faced a meaningful stare from this woman.
Fortunately, she did not seem to have any interest in continuing this topic, just mentioning it before moving on.
After finally managing to take his leave, Yang Kai stood in front of his cave mansion with a contemplative look upon his face.
Yang Yan mysteriously appeared beside him a moment later, frowning as she said, “From her tone, it seems she knows something.”
“En, others might not be clear, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know; after all, the Stone Puppet entered Coloured Glass Mountain from her Thousand Illusion Peak. Although I concealed the tunnel it dug, she might have discovered something if she investigated carefully. Moreover, since she cultivates that Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Art, she may have been able to learn something from examining Coloured Glass Mountain itself,” Yang Kai postulated.
Although he did not know what the truth was, he was fairly certain about his speculations. The reason why Dai Yuan knew there was something wrong inside Coloured Glass Mountain was largely in part due to her practising that particular Secret Art.
“What should we do?” Yang Yan asked with some worry.
“It’s fine to do nothing. She purposefully brought the subject up as a subtle way to tell me not to worry about it. No one else in Coloured Glass Sect should know about this, otherwise she wouldn’t have come here to ask me to refine her an Origin Condensing Pill.”
“That being said, we should act carefully; after all, Coloured Glass Mountain is Coloured Glass Sect’s foundation and most precious treasure. If they were ever to find out what we’ve done, Coloured Glass Sect would definitely not let it go.”
“I know,” Yang Kai gently nodded, “Right, is Qian Yue in retreat right now?”
“Nope.” Yang Yan shook her head.
“Tell her to come see me then, I have something I need her to help me find!” Yang Kai said briefly before turning around and walking into his cave mansion.
Inside his cave mansion, Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged, his expression calm and indifferent, seemingly thinking about something. When he noticed someone approaching from the outside, he immediately opened the barrier and let them in.
As expected, it was Qian Yue.
“Yang Kai, you wanted to see me?” Qian Yue asked.
“En, come in and sit down!” Yang Kai gestured to her. Qian Yue was somewhat confused about why Yang Kai suddenly summoned her, but she still quickly sat down cross-legged on a futon while glancing around curiously.
Besides Yang Yan, who came and went frequently, Yang Kai’s cave mansion was basically unvisited by others. Only when one of Dragon Cave Mountain’s cultivators wanted to break through a bottleneck or when they needed to enter a long secluded retreat would they come here to use one of the specially prepared cultivation rooms. Using these cultivation rooms was of great benefit because the aura from the Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree and the fragrance of the Ten Thousand Year Incense which permeated the cave mansion were both useful for achieving breakthroughs.
This was Qian Yue’s first time coming here, in fact, so naturally she was a bit curious.
This was one of the most confidential places in all of Dragon Cave Mountain.
“What did you need from me?” After looking around for a moment, Qian Yue collected herself and asked. She and Yang Kai were natives of Tong Xuan Realm, and although many years ago her strength was enough to tower over Yang Kai, the good cultivation environment and abundant resources she had now were all thanks to Yang Kai’s blessings. On top of that, Yang Kai’s current strength far exceeded her own.
As such, Qian Yue treated Yang Kai as someone from the same generation, even feeling a hint of awe towards him in her heart.
“I need your help with something.”
Qian Yue smiled lightly, “Oh. I was just worrying about not being able to contribute anything here. Whatever you need from me, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I need your Soul Avatar to enter my Knowledge Sea!” Yang Kai stared into her eyes and said seriously.
“Ah?” Qian Yue looked surprised as she stared back at Yang Kai in shock. She had never expected him to make such an unbelievable request. It was not a trivial matter to allow someone else’s Soul Avatar to enter your Knowledge Sea. Generally speaking, this practice was only done between the most trusted of friends or the most intimate of partners.
After all, there were too many private things stored in a person’s Knowledge Sea that no one would want outsiders to know about.
Last time, Yang Kai diving into Yang Yan’s Knowledge Sea was also thanks to Yang Yan lowering her Knowledge Sea’s defences, otherwise, there would have been no way for Yang Kai to enter.
Listening to Yang Kai say this, Qian Yue was of course extremely surprised as well as grateful.
Regardless of what kind of request Yang Kai had for her, him allowing her into his Knowledge Sea proved first and foremost how much he trusted her.
“It’s fine for me to enter your Knowledge Sea, but what do you want me to do once inside? Are you cultivating some special Secret Technique?” Qian Yue guessed casually.
“No, you don’t need to think too much about it, I just want you to help me find a place,” Yang Kai explained.
“Find a place?” Qian Yue frowned, even more confused. Why would she need to enter Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea to find a place?
“The place where you separated from Su Yan!” Yang Kai’s complexion became slightly gloomy as he let out a sigh. Not waiting for Qian Yue to ask any more questions, he quickly continued, “It’s a bit troublesome to explain in words but you’ll understand once you’re inside.”
Qian Yue was still confused, but she no longer made any inquiries, simply nodding, “Then lower your Knowledge Sea defences.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, closed his eyes, and immersed his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea. The next moment, his Soul Avatar appeared, standing at a position high above the flames.
Before long, Yang Kai felt another Soul attempting to enter his Knowledge Sea. Not making any attempt to resist, he allowed this newcomer inside and soon after, a light flashed in front of him and Qian Yue’s Soul Avatar appeared.
The moment she appeared though, she couldn’t help letting out a scream and quickly circulated her Spiritual Energy to resist the heat coming from all directions.
The situation inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea was similar to that of Yang Yan’s but more powerful. The seawater below was essentially comprised of burning hot flames so Qian Yue, who was just a First-Order Saint King, was naturally affected by them.
Seeing this, Yang Kai waved his hand to create a barrier of Spiritual Energy around Qian Yue, isolating her from the impact of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
“Your Knowledge Sea… is quite dangerous…” Qian Yue’s face was filled with lingering fear as she scanned her surroundings. With her vision, she could naturally tell that Yang Kai possessed a mutated Knowledge Sea, and one of great power at that. If not for Yang Kai providing her protection in this place, she wouldn’t be able to remain for long.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai beckoned to her and immediately flew upwards while focusing his consciousness.
A moment later, an incredible scene appeared as a vast starry expanse began to appear above Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. One by one, twinkling stars like fireflies began flickering into existence and rapidly spreading out across the sky. Qian Yue’s thoughts froze up as she involuntarily felt like she had suddenly been transported to the Starry Sky.
“This is…” Qian Yue looked around in shock. The scene around her had changed so dramatically and so rapidly that if she was not conscious of being inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, she would definitely have believed she had somehow entered the Starry Sky.
Looking at this astonishing scene, Qian Yue couldn’t help recalling the various trials and tribulations she experienced after entering the Star Field together with Sect Master Qing Ya and her fellow Sect Brothers and Sister from Ice Sect.
These stars were so massive, dazzling, and imposing that Qian Yue could deeply feel how small and insignificant she was. The devastating Starry Sky Storms and endless Asteroid Seas also appeared in her eyes as she examined her surroundings.
Reminded of the tragic death of several of her fellow Ice Sect Elders, Qian Yue’s expression dimmed.
Everything that had happened during that perilous journey was still vivid in her memory and Qian Yue was capable of recalling it all like it was yesterday.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside her; naturally, it was Yang Kai. Qian Yue turned her head to look at him as a hint of loneliness filled her beautiful eyes.
At the moment, Yang Kai was the only person close to her that she was familiar with. She had no sense of belonging to the Star Field. Qian Yue soon whispered, “Yang Kai, I want to go back to the Tong Xuan Realm. I want to go back to the Ice Sect.”
The weakness in her heart seemed to be completely exposed because of the scene before her, making her look extremely delicate and fragile.
A slightly unusual light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes as he said lightly, “Such a day will definitely come, but before then, you need to first improve your strength.”
As if there was some kind of mysterious power in his voice, Qian Yue heard these words and her beautiful eyes began to cloud over. Yang Kai frowned when he noticed this and quickly let out a shout.
With the loud shout ringing in her ears like spring thunder, Qian Yue’s tender body shook and the weakness clouding her eyes quickly disappeared, allowing her original demeanour to restore itself. After understanding what just happened, she couldn’t help revealing a trace of fear and gratitude.
When she saw this scene of the Starry Sky just now, a crack in her heart had appeared. This flaw in her mind might currently seem unremarkable, but if it was allowed to fester, it would definitely become a Heart Demon, one that would pose a great danger to her whenever she tried to break through in the future.
Once a Heart Demon surfaced during a breakthrough, not only would one fail to reach the next realm, they would suffer from severe backlash and quite possibly have their Soul extinguished on the spot.
Although Yang Kai’s shout wasn’t too loud, he had used his own Spiritual Energy to deliver a shock to Qian Yue, allowing her to awaken her from weakness and reminiscence.
After understanding this point, Qian Yue naturally felt grateful and even rejoiced somewhat. At the same time, she secretly felt like her will was inferior to Yang Kai’s as he was able to maintain control while carrying an even heavier burden.
Taking a deep breath, Qian Yue collected herself before asking, “What is this, and why does it exist in your Knowledge Sea?”
“This is a Star Chart!” Yang Kai stood beside her while also observing the surrounding stars.
This Star Chart was something he obtained from a Chart Master named Wu Suo, who belonged to Purple Star when he first entered the Star Field.
Although Yang Kai didn’t know how Chart Master Wu Suo obtained this strange Star Chart, when the latter died aboard the Purple Star Starship, his Remnant Soul was swallowed by Yang Kai and this Star Chart had remained after using the Demon Eye of Annihilation to purify Wu Suo’s memories.
Yang Kai had explored this Star Chart before but hadn’t paid too much attention to it. After arriving on Shadowed Star, he hadn’t actually taken the time to study this Star Chart thoroughly.
However, after finding Qian Yue and learning that she had been separated from Su Yan and the others from Ice Sect at some point, Yang Kai began searching this Star Chart in his Knowledge Sea for probable locations where the separation might have occurred.
He had once asked Qian Yue to carefully describe the surrounding scene where she had been separated from Su Yan, but he had so far found several matching positions, making it impossible to determine which was the correct one. As such, he needed Qian Yue to enter his Knowledge Sea to confirm the location he was looking for.
Yang Kai was currently unable to find Su Yan, but if he could determine her approximate location, Yang Kai felt he would at least have a place to start looking.
After briefly explaining the mysteries of this Star Chart to Qian Yue, the latter couldn’t help showing a look of shock, never having imagined such a magical thing existed in the Star Field!
The Chart Master profession was non-existent on Shadowed Star; after all, Shadowed Star was extremely remote and isolated from the outside world. Sometimes, people would travel the nearby Starry Sky to look for ores and Saint Crystals, but there was no need for a Chart Master on such a short journey.
“You mean, this Star Chart includes every star in the entire Star Field?” Qian Yue asked with surprise and joy.
“En, even if it doesn’t have absolutely everything, it shouldn’t be missing much,” Yang Kai nodded.
“What about Tong Xuan Realm?” Qian Yue turned to look at him.
“Do you want to have a look?” Yang Kai smiled.
Qian Yue nodded repeatedly, an impatient expression filling her face.
“Then I’ll lead you to have a look!” Yang Kai waved his hand and wrapped Qian Yue in his Spiritual Energy before shuttling through the Star Field in the Star Chart.
As she passed many bright stars, Qian Yue felt as if she could touch them if she just reached out, but she knew that these seemingly real stars were just projections from the Star Chart and were not actually material.
Nevertheless, travelling through the Star Chart still felt like a dream to Qian Yue.
Not only were there brilliant Sun Stars, but also soft glowing Moon Stars, countless Dead Stars without any vitality, and vast Asteroid Seas. It was like the entire Star Field had been shrunk down countless times over and transplanted here.
Qian Yue followed Yang Kai without a sound, and in what seemed like a flash, but felt like forever, the pair came to a halt. At this moment, Yang Kai wore a complicated look upon his face as he stared forward silently.
Following the direction of his eyes, Qian Yue saw a faint blue star. This star was not too noticeable amongst the vast Star Field. This star was not brilliant or dazzling in any way, inferior to many she had witnessed before, but the moment she laid eyes on it, this star became all Qian Yue could see.
Staring blankly at this star, a strange sense of homecoming filled her heart with warmth.
Tong Xuan Realm!
This star was none other than the homeland she dreamed of, the place she had been born and raised, Tong Xuan Realm.
After entering the Starry Sky from the Ice Sect, she had once had the opportunity to see a similar scene of this gorgeous blue star from afar. At that time, she had been filled with a sense of yearning but had no choice other than following Sect Master Qing Ya away.
Qian Yue wept bitterly!
Even if she was a Saint King Realm cultivator now, even if she had been cultivating for several dozen years, at this moment, she was still unable to control her emotions as she felt like a wanderer who had finally returned home, the deep longing in her heart bursting forth.
Yang Kai did not say anything. When he was initially exploring this Star Chart by himself and found where Tong Xuan Realm was located, his reaction wasn’t much better than Qian Yue’s. As a man, he managed not to shed tears, but his emotions were still just as chaotic.
It took a long time for Qian Yue to stop sobbing, turn to look at Yang Kai, and ask softly, “Yang Kai, can we return?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai affirmed categorically.
Qian Yue’s eyes glowed with pleasant surprise. Although Yang Kai’s answer was unfounded, and she was unable to really see any hope of achieving it right now, hearing this answer still filled the emptiness in her heart greatly.
“Thank you, thank you!” Qian Yue suddenly felt quite embarrassed for completely losing self-control in front of a junior, but when she saw her homeland, she simply could not keep her emotions in check. The grievances she had suffered in the Joyous Union Pavilion over the years had weighed down on her heavily, all of them erupting at this moment.
Fortunately, all of that was now behind her and it did not take long for her to regain her composure.
Yang Kai smiled slightly before sending out his Spiritual Energy again to wrap up Qian Yue and lead her away from the blue star.
After a while, the two stopped at a certain place in the Star Chart and Yang Kai asked, “Take a look closely, is this where you and Su Yan separated?”
Qian Yue observed her surroundings for a while before slowly shaking her head, “It’s not here. I remember the Asteroid Sea there was bigger than this one.”
Yang Kai nodded and set out together with Qian Yue again.
…..
Half a day later, the barrier of the cave mansion opened and Qian Yue walked out. Meanwhile, Yang Kai sat alone in his cave mansion with a big smile upon his face.
Finally, Qian Yue was able to positively identify the place where she had separated from Su Yan and the others. Although the rest of Su Yan’s group had also passed through that Void Corridor at that time and it was unknown where they had ended up, this was still an extremely precious clue.
When the time came, as long as he was strong enough, Yang Kai could go directly to that place, find that Void Corridor, enter it, and hopefully find Su Yan.
Of course, all of this depended on him having the necessary strength, so it was a bit early to be considering such things.
After sorting out his thoughts, Yang Kai took out his Alchemy Furnace and a few herbs, refining some pills to calm his mood.
Time flew by and soon a month had passed. On this day, the gateway barrier surrounding Dragon Cave Mountain opened and two figures slowly emerged from it. It was Yang Kai and Yang Yan.
The two of them were naturally setting out to participate in the Treasure Trove Pavilion auction.
In fact, Yang Kai’s original attitude towards this auction was indifference, but after seeing one of the items which was going to be auctioned off, he immediately changed his opinion.
That item was of great use to him, and no matter what, he had to obtain it. As such, he brought out all of the Saint Crystals he could get from Wu Yi in preparation.
Currently, Dragon Cave Mountain did not have anywhere near its peak amount of Saint Crystals, but there were still around 70 million of them. According to his and Yang Yan’s estimates, this number of Saint Crystals would be enough to get that treasure.
After all, although that item was precious, it was just a raw material, so no matter what use others might have for it, no one except Yang Kai should be willing to pay this much for it.
Yang Kai was confident about his assumptions.
Crossing the trivial distance between Dragon Cave Mountain and Heavenly Fate City took but a moment via Star Shuttle.
Heavenly Fate City was currently filled with fishes and dragons, becoming completely overcrowded. City Lord Fei Zhi Tu had already become thoroughly exhausted attempting to maintain order in the city. He was originally a person who didn’t want to get involved in troublesome matters, otherwise, he wouldn’t have requested the Sect Master to assign him to supervise Heavenly Fate City, but with the appearance of the Emperor Garden and a sudden influx of foreign masters from all of Shadowed Star, Fei Zhi Tu’s peace and quiet had been completely destroyed.
The City Defending Array was now fully open, and no one was allowed to fight inside, or else they would be severely punished. On top of that, a powerful Flight Inhibiting Array was active inside the city, preventing anyone from flying.
This set of rules was completely different from before. Previously, when Yang Kai came to Heavenly Fate City, he was able to fly in and out directly, but now he had no choice but to land outside and enter through the city gate together with Yang Yan.
The city gate was also extremely crowded, and Yang Yan couldn’t help shrinking down towards Yang Kai. It took quite a lot of effort for the two of them to pass through safely.
After entering the city and seeing the sea of people literally rubbing shoulders as they walked through the streets, whether it was Yang Kai or Yang Yan, both of them felt a headache coming on. The population of Heavenly Fate City was now more than ten times its usual number.
Fortunately, with the auction being held today, teams of people had been specially assigned to clear roads and maintain order from all the major gates to Treasure Trove Pavilion. This allowed those people of high status who were participating in the auction to move relatively unhindered.
Making his way over to a reception area, Yang Kai took out the golden invitation from his Space Ring and handed it over. The cultivator responsible for the reception immediately showed a flattering look and respectfully said, “Welcome to Treasure Trove Pavilion’s grand auction, two Honoured Guests. You have been assigned a private room in Block B. This way please!”
Saying so, this cultivator called out to a young woman nearby and commanded, “Qing’er, take these two Honoured Guests to their room!”
Although Yang Kai and Yang Yan’s cultivations were not very high, the number of these golden invitations wasn’t large. Yan Pei was fully aware of the amazing financial strength of Dragon Cave Mountain and hoped that Yang Kai could provide a few items for the auction’s finale, so the invitation he had sent to Dragon Cave Mountain was of very high grade. Even if it was not as good as those received by first class Sects, the difference wasn’t great.
When the cultivator responsible for the reception near this city gate saw this invitation, how could he dare act disrespectful?
Upon hearing his orders, a young girl who seemed only seventeen or eighteen years old immediately responded. Bowing elegantly, she opened her red lips and gently beckoned, “Honoured Guests, please come with me!”
Although the girl did not have a particularly beautiful face, she was by no means unpleasant to the eye. Her strength was not very high, only reaching the Immortal Ascension Boundary, however, her voice was particularly charming to the ear. Every move and smile she made had a mysterious charm to it. Clearly, she cultivated a type of Beguiling Technique.
Seeing this, Yang Kai quietly nodded, knowing that Treasure Trove Pavilion had really put in a lot of painstaking effort for this auction. Probably every great force that came here to participate would be assigned a female attendant such as this young girl. Treasure Trove Pavilion wouldn’t have any difficulty cultivating maids of this cultivation, but having them serve their guests would allow them to gain some favour with those who had particular interest in women.
Perhaps if these men were happier, they would be more inclined to spend their money.
The girl named Qing’er walked ahead, leading Yang Kai and Yang Yan in the direction of Treasure Trove Pavilion. While walking, she explained warmly, “Qing’er will be responsible for the two Seniors this time. If two Seniors win anything at the auction, Qing’er will deliver the required Saint Crystals and retrieve the auction item. If two Seniors have any other orders, please don’t hesitate to ask. The managers have specifically instructed Qing’er to satisfy any requirements two Seniors may have.”
“Any requirements?” Yang Yan raised her brow, revealing a faint smile.
“En,” The girl named Qing’er gently nodded, her exquisite earlobes dying a tantalizing shade of pink.
Yang Yan giggled as she shot a meaningful glance over at Yang Kai before moving closer to Qing’er and whispering into her ear. The young girl’s face quickly turned from pink to red, but she still nodded.
Yang Kai wrinkled his nose when he saw this. Although he did not deliberately try to overhear the conversation between Yang Yan and this girl, he knew what kind of questions Yang Yan had asked.
Since this girl had awoken from her coma, her personality had changed! Yang Kai observed Yang Yan pensively as he felt she was not so bold or dissolute in the past. However, this much did not matter as he always felt that Yang Yan’s character was too shy and introverted. Such a change was actually good for her.
Along the way, there were a lot of people on the road and the surrounding area was even more crowded, but with the routes deliberately opened by Treasure Trove Pavilion, the three of them had no trouble advancing.
A short time later, the group arrived at Treasure Trove Pavilion.
There were not many people standing in front of this building, only two actually, but when Yang Kai saw them, he couldn’t help narrowing his eyes.
Because these two were both Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters.
One of them was City Lord Fei Zhi Tu, who was standing there with a clearly unhappy and disgruntled look on his face. Thinking about how he was able to relax freely just a short time ago, but now was inundated with problems all day long and needed to constantly deter others from causing trouble, it would be strange if his complexion was good, and indeed it was only slightly better than the man standing next to him.
The one standing next to City Lord Fei was none other than Yan Pei. This Old Black Face not only had a dark complexion but also an even darker heart. Everything auctioned by him personally was sold for a sky-high price; for example, the Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins that sold during the last auction garnered a miraculous hundred million Saint Crystals.
The masters from the various great forces on Shadowed Star had a complicated relationship with Old Black Face Yan Pei. What they loved about him was that once he organized an auction, the items sold were all guaranteed to be superb, but what they hated was naturally how he made sure each of these items was sold for an outrageously high price, even making their powerful forces feel like they had been taken advantage of.
Two Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters standing here showed just how much importance Treasure Trove Pavilion placed on this auction.
Seeing Yang Kai arrive, whether it was Fei Zhi Tu or Yan Pei, both suddenly wore smiles on their faces. When the young girl Qing’er saw this, she couldn’t help feeling greatly stunned. According to her memory, Head Manager Yan Pei rarely showed a smile, and it was enough to cause her to become quite excited.
Such a reaction illustrated that Yang Kai’s status was incredible, which in turn meant that the rewards she might receive were also greater. If she was lucky enough to have Yang Kai take a liking to her, then she wouldn’t need to worry about having enough cultivation resources ever again. Anyone who could attend this auction definitely didn’t lack Saint Crystals.
“Greetings, two Seniors!” Yang Kai’s brow twitched but he still had to step forward and salute.
At the end of the day, he was still the Junior here so he couldn’t just ignore decorum.
“Haha, there’s no need to act overly courteous,” Fei Zhi Tu smiled lightly and waved his hand, causing an invisible force to lift Yang Kai up in a kind and friendly manner. Since seeing the Phoenix Soul Remnant Yang Kai was carrying in his body back in the Emperor Garden, Fei Zhi Tu no longer dared underestimate him.
Even if it was just a weak Soul Remnant, it still belonged to a legendary Ancient Divine Spirit that had disappeared long ago. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that as long as Yang Kai didn’t die and his strength kept improving, the power that the Ancient Divine Spirit Soul Remnant could display would also increase. Although Yang Kai may not have an opportunity to break through to the Origin King realm while suppressed by Shadowed Star’s World Principles, once he reached the peak of the Origin Realm, with the help of that Ice Phoenix Soul Remnant, he would be absolutely invincible.
If Fei Zhi Tu didn’t take advantage of this opportunity to curry favour with Yang Kai while the latter was still small and weak, once he became strong it would be too late.
“Boy, I heard you stirred up some trouble again recently,” Fei Zhi Tu grinned meaningfully and commented.
“I don’t know what Senior is referring to,” Yang Kai replied doubtfully.
“Don’t feign ignorance, didn’t you kill someone from Sea Heart Sect?” Fei Zhi Tu glared at him.
“So it’s about Sea Heart Sect. En, I killed him, so? Did Senior hear some kind of rumour about this?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Not really,” Fei Zhi Tu shook his head slowly, “Sea Heart Sect is based far away, on the Limitless Ocean, but it is still counted as a second-class Sect after all, not a force that can be casually humiliated. Acting so unscrupulously right from the start, have you considered the possible consequences?”
Yang Kai grinned back meaningfully, “After being intolerably bullied, did Senior expect me to simply stand back and bear it?”
Seeing the sharp look in Yang Kai’s eyes, Fei Zhi Tu failed to stifle his laughter and nodded, “If you could bear it, then you wouldn’t be you.”
Last time, Yang Kai had made a mess in Heavenly Fate City despite being surrounded by eight Origin Returning Realm masters and had even killed one of them that belonged to the Xie Family. Fei Zhi Tu had long known that Yang Kai was not one to settle things peacefully, but he still warned lightly, “I heard that the people from Sea Heart Sect are now staying at the Xie Family’s residence and the relationship between the two forces seems to be quite good.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. A cupped his fists said, “Many thanks for Senior’s reminder.”
“En, in addition, there seems to be another force staying in the Xie Family called Flowing Cloud Valley. In any case, you should be careful.”
“Flowing Cloud Valley?” Yang Kai frowned, his expression changing slightly.
“What, don’t tell me there’s some kind of grudge between you and that Flowing Cloud Valley too?” Fei Zhi Tu was stunned.
Yang Kai just laughed.
Seeing him acknowledge it, Fei Zhi Tu was speechless and quickly waved his hand, “It’s fine, young people should be energetic, so raising a big fuss is only natural. If it gets to be too much of a problem just come to my Heavenly Fate City, that Flowing Cloud Valley won’t be able to stir up anything here.”
“Junior will remember,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
Fei Zhi Tu believed that Flowing Cloud Valley was just a trivial little force, but Yang Kai was actually most concerned about it simply because that Lu Ye came from Flowing Cloud Valley! Yang Kai really didn’t know what he had done to offend Lu Ye to the point where the latter wanted to put him to death back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, and although Yang Kai successfully cut off one of Lu Ye’s arms during that conflict, the latter has still managed to escape.
At that time, Yang Kai felt that Lu Ye was somewhat unusual, even an elite like Wei Gu Chang might not be his opponent.
Facing Lu Ye, Yang Kai felt no less pressure than when facing that young man named Leng Qing from Star Emperor Mountain. Both of them could pose a great threat to him, something not possible for Qu Chang Feng or Fang Tian Zhong.
Flowing Cloud Valley was actually able to cultivate such a disciple, so even if they themselves weren’t too powerful a force, Yang Kai didn’t dare look down on them. As such, he had especially collected information on Flowing Cloud Valley since then and after hearing Fei Zhi Tu mentioned them, Yang Kai’s first thoughts were naturally about Lu Ye.
Now that several years had passed, it was impossible for Yang Kai to tell how much Lu Ye’s cultivation had advanced. If he were to fight him again, it wasn’t certain who would emerge the victor, but Yang Kai wasn’t afraid. After all, his own strength was also much higher than when he first fought Lu Ye and he had obtained many more methods with which to confront powerful enemies.
Yang Kai’s conversation with Fei Zhi Tu ended here, but Yan Pei seemed to be waiting to jump in and quickly said, “Little Friend Yang being able to participate in my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction is a great blessing.”
“Haha, Senior is too polite. It is this Junior’s honour to be able to participate in this auction,” Yang Kai replied humbly.
Yan Pei maintained an affable smile as he lowered his voice to ask, “Does little friend perhaps have anything he would like to auction today? Although the auctioned items have already been determined, if little friend has something to contribute, this old master is willing to make an exception. This is not difficult for this old master.”
“Senior must be joking. The good things accumulated by my Honoured Master were all taken out many years ago for the previous auction, there’s really nothing left worth contributing,” Yang Kai said casually. In any case, he had always used this non-existent master to deflect trouble and no one as of yet had been able to determine whether such a powerful master really lived on Dragon Cave Mountain, so speaking nonsense here wasn’t a burden for Yang Kai in the slightest.
“Is that so…” Yan Pei showed a disappointed look, suddenly lowering his voice further and whispering again, “How about this old master reduces the commission by fifty percent again?”
“I truly have nothing to contribute!” Yang Kai replied bitterly.
“Oh, seems this old master was being too forceful. En, little friend, since you’ve arrived then you shouldn’t have to stand around outside. Go inside and rest for a moment, the auction will begin in an hour!” Yan Pei reluctantly relented and allowed Yang Kai’s group to pass.
Yang Kai cupped his fists once more before he and Yang Yan were led inside by Qing’er.
Like the last time he was here, the hall of this grand building was already full of cultivators here to participate in the auction. Even if there were occasionally a few free positions, the number wasn’t high and in the centre of the auction hall was a large round raised platform. It was from this stage that Treasure Trove Pavilion presided over its auction. The walls were all inlaid with glowing stones that spotlighted the high centre platform.
“Two Seniors, please wait a moment,” The young girl named Qing’er asked after walking inside before she moved to a nearby spot and discussed something with another Treasure Trove Pavilion cultivator.
A short time later, she returned with a smile and respectfully handed Yang Kai a wooden token, “This is the control token for two Senior’s private room.”
Yang Kai accepted this token, glanced down at it, and found it was inscribed with the characters ‘B-13’.
After having participated in such an auction before, Yang Kai was familiar with this type of token and knew that it was for room B-13.
However, this was an interesting coincidence. The last time he participated in the auction here, he had been seated in room C-13. But today, he was assigned to room B-13. Although the number had not changed, the grade increased a level.
Last time, it was because of Qian Tong that he could obtain a private room, but this time it was not due to anyone else’s prestige, it was entirely due to Dragon Cave Mountain’s reputation.
Considering all this, Yang Kai curled his lips slightly before storing away this token and indicating to Qing’er to lead the way.
Shortly after, Yang Kai and Yang Yan were seated in the room B-13 and Qing’er was attentively serving them tea. There was no one else in the box except for the three of them.
Motioning to the spirit fruits arranged on the table, Qing’er explained, “These are Sparrow Spirit Fruits which were specially collected by the pavilion for this auction. They are quite sweet and can help purify one’s Saint Qi. Please feel free to try them.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, picked up one of the fruits, and stuffed it into his mouth, nodding with satisfaction a moment later.
Seeing his pleased expression, Qing’er became slightly emboldened and continued, “The auction will not start for another hour. If two Seniors would like, I can arrange for some dancers to entertain you.”
“Oh? Is your Treasure Trove Pavilion’s hospitality so thorough?” Yang Yan asked in surprise.
Qing’er smiled, “Not every guest receives such treatment, only those in Block B and above.”
Yang Yan swept her eyes over Qing’er and smiled tenderly, “It’s not necessary to call anyone else, from your supple waist and slender legs, it’s obvious you’re also versed in such forms of entertainment, why not show us how you dance?”
“Me?” The girl blushed as she timidly shot Yang Kai a glance. Although her cultivation and status weren’t high, she could tell that of these two, Yang Kai was the lead, so naturally, she sought his approval first.
“Don’t cause trouble!” Yang Kai glared over at Yang Yan before saying to the young girl, “She’s just joking with you, you don’t have to take it seriously.”
“Yes,” Qing’er whispered softly, both happiness and disappointment flashing across her eyes.
Fortunately, these two Honoured Guests she was assigned to seemed easy going. Although the woman seemed to like to tease her, there was no malicious intent behind her actions while the man was obviously an upright person so she didn’t have to worry about being put in an awkward position. What disappointed Qing’er was that she didn’t have a chance to perform here.
Yang Kai saw the look on her face and could guess what she was thinking, so he lightly said, “We have no special requirements. You can just tend to your own matters for now. After the auction is over, there will be plenty of benefits for you.”
Qing’er heard this and smiled very happily, “Many thanks, Senior.”
Seemingly having figured out the temperaments of these two Honoured Guests, Qing’er withdrew a few steps and remained silent, only taking the initiative to speak or act if Yang Kai or Yang Yan called upon her.
Soon after, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er came over to chat with Yang Kai.
It wasn’t surprising that these two knew which room he was in as all they needed to do was ask Yan Pei.
These two only left just as the auction was preparing to start.
Inside the auction hall, a middle-aged man dressed in scholarly robes walked onto the high platform. The light beams emitted by the lighting stones gave him a clean appearance, and with the paper fan in his hands, he seemed like a free and unrestrained spirit.
This middle-aged scholarly man was quite good looking and had a few sharp edges to his eyes, which did not make him appear old, but rather added a refined flair to his face. Many of the young girls and women in the hall were instantly drawn to him and many even revealed infatuated looks while they hid more unspeakable desires in their hearts.
There were many other cultivators who also recognized this middle-aged man and could not help showing bitter and gloomy expressions when he appeared.
Many began whispering in the hall and private rooms.
“Damn, it’s Little Black Face presiding over this auction, what the hell is Treasure Trove Pavilion thinking.”
“It’s all over, this time we’ve all fallen into a pit again.”
“I knew Treasure Trove Pavilion didn’t have any good intentions hosting this auction, but I never expected this guy to suddenly run out. Hasn’t it been more than ten years since the last time he played host?”
…..
There were various opinions and comments, and although no one spoke loudly, everyone who was participating in this auction had fairly strong cultivation, so it wasn’t difficult to hear what was being said. This was also true of the middle-aged scholarly man called Little Black Face, but upon hearing all this not only did he not look upset, but he smiled more brilliantly instead, as if he didn’t care one bit about the harsh words being said about him. Seeing this, the young girls and young women who were infatuated with this man began sweeping their beautiful eyes around angrily, as if they were rebuking others for their indiscreet words.
“Little Black Face?” In private room B-13, Yang Kai frowned before thoughtfully asking, “Is this person related to Senior Yan?”
Yan Pei’s nickname was Old Black Face, so this person clearly had something to do with Yan Pei as he was called Little Black Face; however, Yang Kai didn’t understand why all the cultivators around him were treating this middle-aged man like some kind of plague to be avoided.
Yang Yan shot a look of inquiry at Qing’er, expecting her to give an explanation.
Qing’er pursed his lips, seemingly wanting to laugh but not daring to act so inappropriately, taking a moment to compose herself to just smiling before explaining, “Two Seniors, this is Ren Tian Rui, one of our pavilion’s lead auctioneers. Senior Yan Pei is his master, so everyone calls him…”
Qing’er did not dare say anymore. It was alright for outsiders to use the nicknames Old Black Face and Little Black Face as Yan Pei and Ren Tian Rui had clearly earned such reputations, but as a junior member of Treasure Trove Pavilion, Qing’er obviously couldn’t take such liberties, otherwise, if others were to hear of it, she would definitely be punished.
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter though and nodded, “So that’s how it is, I understand.”
It seemed that this auctioneer named Ren Tian Rui was Yan Pei’s disciple and followed his master’s practices quite religiously. Otherwise, he would not have such infamy. It seemed that Yang Kai would have to be a bit careful while participating in this auction.
Atop the high platform, Ren Tian Rui smiled as warmly as ever and waved his hand before saying loudly, “To all of the Honoured Guests who have travelled from afar to participate in my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction, Treasure Trove Pavilion offers its sincere thanks. This auction will be presided over by this Ren. Please forgive me if you find that I have made a mistake.”
These opening remarks were so polite and inviting that no one was able to find any fault with them. No matter who saw him, they would think this Ren Tian Rui was the perfect host for an auction and he instantly earned the favour of many who were none the wiser.
Ren Tian Rui quickly followed up, “In fact, this auction was originally going to be presided over by my Master…”
As soon as these words were spoken, many people’s expressions became aghast and they subconsciously covered their Space Rings while staring towards the centre platform with vigilance, afraid that Yan Pei would suddenly slink out from the shadows.
Fortunately, Ren Tian Rui smiled and said, “But this Junior felt that, at Master’s age, he should stay behind the scenes and allow the younger generation to have a chance in the spotlight.”
“Good!” A cry of applause rang out.
“Brother Ren is a man of boldness with a great breadth of spirit!”
“Just let Old Black Face stay behind the scenes forever!”
Laughter quickly filled the hall.
Ren Tian Rui also smiled and nodded to the guests in the hall, “This Ren also had such intentions. En, after the auction is over, he will certainly work hard to persuade his Master to spend his remaining days in relaxation.”
Although these words carried a faint implication of betrayal and treason, it undeniably garnered a great amount of goodwill from many in the audience. At once, everyone’s vigilance towards Ren Tian Rui disappeared and was replaced with gratitude that he was the host of this auction.
“He’s not simple!” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he stared towards Ren Tian Rui. With just a few words, he had managed to bring the audience around to his side, and although this was nothing but a simple prologue, it had given him an advantageous position to host the following auction from. When the bidding began in earnest, even if this Ren Tian Rui continued raising prices, most people wouldn’t feel anything wrong with it.
This Ren Tian Rui’s comprehension of people’s mentality was extremely profound; it was no wonder he was called Little Black Face. His style of auction hosting was quite different from Yan Pei’s, but it was equally interesting.
“Good, I’m certain these friends are anxious to get started so this Ren won’t waste any more time on idle gossip. The auction will begin now!” Ren Tian Rui closed his folding fan with a snap and motioned to the curtains behind him.
A beautiful woman wearing an exquisite dress quickly walked out with an enchanting smile on her face. Holding a jade plate in her jade white hands, she soon arrived to stand in front of Ren Tian Rui.
Although this woman was an extraordinary beauty and her slightly wet eyes were capable of drawing in any man’s soul, at this moment, very few people were looking at her. Since these people had come here to attend the auction, naturally their attention was focused on the jade plate this woman was holding.
Needless to say, the object which was placed atop the jade plate was the first auction item. Unfortunately, this object was covered in a special red cloth making it impossible to see what it was. Many of the participating cultivators craned their necks anxiously as they waited for an explanation to be given.
Ren Tian Rui carefully read the mood of the hall and after pausing just enough to add some suspense to the atmosphere, he shouted, “In accordance with tradition, the first item auctioned, while not comparable to those of the finale, is not trivial either. If any of you find it of interest, please make a bid, otherwise, if you miss this opportunity you will certainly regret it for the rest of your life!”
Saying so, he reached out, grabbed the red cloth, and pulled it away to reveal a colourless round bead roughly the size of a goose egg. At first, this round bead appeared completely transparent, but if one looked carefully, they would see some thin filaments swimming about inside it. What was odd though, was that this bead gave off no energy fluctuations at all, as if it were just a common ornament without any real value.
“What is this?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it before!”
“Since Treasure Trove Pavilion dared to use it as the first auction item, there must certainly be something unique about it. En, just let Brother Ren explain.”
…..
“Spirit Storage Bead?” Inside private room B-13, Yang Yan’s eyes lit up as she instantly identified this first auction item.
Yang Kai glanced over at her lightly, really beginning to suspect that there was nothing in this world she did not recognize. If not for her seemingly boundless knowledge, Yang Kai would not have brought Yang Yan to this auction.
However, Yang Kai did not ask her what the purpose of this Spirit Storage Bead was, because he knew Ren Tian Rui would explain carefully.
Atop the centre high platform, Ren Tian Rui reached out and silently picked up the Spirit Storage Bead, holding it in his hand before quickly circulating his Saint Qi and infusing it into the bead. In front of everyone’s eyes, the colourless round bead began acting like a bottomless pit as it continuously absorbed Ren Tian Rui’s Saint Qi.
After a short time passed, the round bead began radiating a faint light and giving off a Saint Qi fluctuation identical to Ren Tian Rui’s.
Moments later, Ren Tian Rui stopped his actions and while smiling meaningfully he began circulating his Secret Art.
A surprising thing happened next. The Saint Qi which had been absorbed by this Spirit Storage Bead once again returned to Ren Tian Rui’s body in a smooth manner, without the slightest signs of incompatibility.
At the same time, the Spirit Storage Bead’s original appearance was rapidly restored, and its internal energy fluctuation also quickly disappeared.
The entire process was clearly witnessed by everyone in the hall, and by now, ninety-nine percent of the cultivators who were participating in the auction had at least a vague awareness about what this Spirit Storage Bead’s function was, causing them to stare excitedly towards the platform.
Ren Tian Rui chuckled and declared loudly, “I’m certain everyone must now understand the purpose of this Spirit Storage Bead. Indeed, it can store a cultivator’s Saint Qi and then rapidly return it to them, providing them with an immediate boost in the middle of a battle. Many friends, all of you must know that in the midst of a battle, the only way to supplement one’s Saint Qi is to take pills or absorb the energy from Saint Crystals, but regardless of which method one uses, the effect is far too slow. This Spirit Storage Bead is different! It can restore a cultivator’s Saint Qi reserves from empty to their peak state in an extremely short amount of time! Of course, one must store enough Saint Qi inside it beforehand.”
As soon as this description came out, the audience broke into a stir. Although everyone had their speculations just now, when Ren Tian Rui explained it in detail, they all found that they had greatly underestimated the value of this Spirit Storage Bead.
If this Spirit Storage Bead worked exactly as described, possessing it would be was nothing short of possessing a second life!
Many cultivators had fallen because their Saint Qi reserves had dried up in the middle of a fight, but if they could use this Spirit Storage Bead to supplement their Saint Qi, turning certain defeat into victory was not impossible.
For a time, countless hot eyes stared towards the centre platform, full of greed and desire. If not for having scruples about this being Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction, countless masters here would have raced to snatch this life-saving treasure.
Even Yang Kai in room B-13 was moved by this Spirit Storage Bead.
This kind of treasure was truly Heaven defying, and even with his net worth and assets, Yang Kai was unable to ignore it, let alone others.
However, this thing was useless to Yang Kai because he never lacked Saint Qi, so soon after the idea of acquiring it occurred to him, he dismissed it and sat back to observe quietly. After all, such a good thing would certainly sell for an extremely high price. Although he brought 70 million Saint Crystals with him, Yang Kai was not completely confident he could win the item he had come here for. If he were to use his Saint Crystals now, causing him to be short of funds later, the gains would not equal the losses.
Yang Kai’s reactions weren’t missed by Yang Yan and, seeing that he seemed somewhat interested in this Spirit Storage Bead, she smiled and said, “Although this thing is indeed a good treasure, it has a number of limitations to it, so you don’t have to feel bad about missing it.”
“Oh? What kind of limits?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Hmph, although this is no doubt a good thing, no matter how Nephew Ren promotes it, this bead must have some kind of limits to its use, correct? Why don’t you explain about it clearly!” Before Yang Yan could answer Yang Kai’s question, a majestic voice from one of the other private rooms echoed loudly.
[It seemed Yang Yan is not the only one who knows about this Spirit Storage Bead,] Yang Kai mused to himself.
Ren Tian Rui looked over towards where the voice came from and smiled slightly, cupping his fists as he said, “So it is Thunder Typhoon Sect’s Senior Cheng. Senior’s vision is indeed profound. Although this Spirit Storage Bead is very convenient to use, it does have some limitations. Even if Senior Cheng had not brought this up, Junior would have properly explained so these friends would properly understand the value of the item they were bidding on. After all, this Ren must uphold the reputation of Treasure Trove Pavilion.”
Hearing this, the cultivator surnamed Cheng snorted dismissively. Whether he believed Ren Tian Rui’s words or not, only the Heavens knew.
Many people secretly suspected that Ren Tian Rui would not have said anything about this Spirit Storage Bead’s limitations if no one had questioned it. At most, after the auction was over, he would quietly inform the new owner of this Spirit Storage Bead as a minimum courtesy.
This wasn’t the first time Treasure Trove Pavilion had done something like this.
“Who was that?” Yang Kai asked Qing’er as he gazed in the direction of the previous voice.
Although Qing’er’s cultivation was not high, she was born and raised on Shadowed Star so she naturally would have some idea about this speaker’s identity. After hearing Yang Kai’s inquiry, the young girl’s eyes flashed with slight surprise, seemingly puzzled about why Yang Kai would ask her this, but she still replied quickly, “If Junior is not mistaken, this should be Senior Cheng Peng Xuan of the Thunder Typhoon Sect. After all, in the Thunder Typhoon Sect, he is the only master surnamed Cheng.”
Yang Kai gently nodded, satisfied with her answer.
At the same time, Ren Tian Rui had begun explaining the restrictions on the use of the Spirit Storage Bead.
The story was not too disappointing. It seemed this Spirit Storage Bead had inadvertently been acquired by a small declining family and sold to Treasure Trove Pavilion. According to the one who sold it, this Spirit Storage Bead had a limited capacity to store Saint Qi, roughly equivalent to the total amount an average Third-Order Saint King could hold in their body.
In other words, it could not accept any more Saint Qi beyond what a Third-Order Saint King cultivator could hold; once it did, it would simply leak that energy into its surroundings.
This was not a major problem though. For Saint King Realm cultivators, this was not even a restriction at all. As for Origin Realm cultivators, as long as they paid attention to this storage limit, and didn’t pour too much Saint Qi into it, this Spirit Storage Bead could still play a useful role.
What it really meant was that, in a moment of crisis, an Origin Realm master would not be able to use this thing to completely restore their Saint Qi reserves.
Overall, this limitation was harmless.
However, the second limitation greatly diminished the value of this Spirit Storage Bead.
This was an artifact that stemmed from ancient times and had already been used many times. According to what the previous owner of this Spirit Storage Bead told Treasure Trove Pavilion, this bead could only be used five more times at most before too much damage was done to it and it became useless.
Hearing this, the heat in the eyes of many cultivators immediately cooled. Although five uses was not an insignificant amount, spending a lot of Saint Crystals on something which was not helpful for improving one’s fundamental strength wasn’t worth it.
“Besides these two limitations, there is nothing else one needs to concern themselves over with this bead,” Ren Tian Rui didn’t seem to care about whether this item sold for a high price or not, continuing to smile as he said, “The starting price of this Spirit Storage Bead is 500,000 Saint Crystals and each new bid must increase the price by no less than 10,000. Everyone, please!”
In fact, such a starting price was not remarkably high considering the purpose and value of this Spirit Storage Bead; after all, as the first item to be auctioned, Treasure Trove Pavilion intended for it to generate some excitement.
However, half a million Saint Crystals instantly precluded about ninety percent of the cultivators in the hall from bidding.
A Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact normally sold for about 300,000, so with this bead’s reserve price being 500,000, even if some technically had enough Saint Crystals to purchase it, most could not afford to.
Of course, this was not the case for everyone. Since they had come to attend this auction, these people had gathered enough Saint Crystals for their own use, so immediately after Ren Tian Rui’s voice fell, someone bid the base price.
Swiftly, more voices rang out throughout the hall.
Each price increase was modest, but with gathering momentum, in less time than it would take to make a cup of tea, this Spirit Storage Bead had already risen in price to 820,000 Saint Crystals.
By this time, the competing bids inside the auction hall had become somewhat sparse, with only two or three people still raising the price.
“This old master bids one million!” The booming voice of Cheng Peng Xuan suddenly called out from Thunder Typhoon Sect’s private room.
When Ren Tian Rui heard this voice as he stood atop the centre platform, he just smiled lightly, not showing the slightest surprise. It would be strange if those from the great Sects did not participate in this competition.
The few cultivators who were sitting in the main hall bidding on this item heard this and all wore dark expressions before letting out deep sighs. Since someone from Thunder Typhoon Sect had made a bid, they no longer had any hope of obtaining this Spirit Storage Bead. One by one, these cultivators silently cursed Cheng Peng Xuan for not speaking up sooner. If they had known he would bid for this item, why would they have futilely plowed the air all this time?
[Such awful luck!] Each of them grumbled to themselves.
“Haha, Old Ghost, you’ve already reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, why would you want this Spirit Storage Bead? Did you feel like brazenly competing with these Juniors?” Another voice suddenly laughed and called out from a different private room, a thick meaning of sarcasm and taunting apparent in its tone.
“Hmph, this old master may not need it, but can he not give it to the disciples of his Sect?” Cheng Peng Xuan coldly snorted, “Aren’t your words a bit misplaced, Brother Mo? Since this is an auction, this old master making a bid is perfectly reasonable, how is that in any way brazenly competing with these Juniors?”
“En, en, what Brother Cheng says makes sense!” The person man from the other private box replied carefreely before slowly adding, “Good, then this Mo will also join in the fun. We cannot have Brother Cheng enjoying the spotlight all on his own. 1.1 million!”
“Old Ghost Mo, do you know what you’re doing?” Cheng Peng Xuan called out in an unhappy voice, “1.2 million!”
“Brother Cheng just said that this was an auction, so naturally the highest bidder will win, 1.5 million!”
“Good, then let’s see who will come out on top here, 2 million!”
…..
These two seemed to be old enemies and immediately took to fighting one another both verbally and financially, neither one of them willing to back down. As a result, the price of this Spirit Storage Bead had increased several fold in the blink of an eye, and judging from the ongoing competition, it seemed like the final price was going to reach an outrageous number, causing all the cultivators in the hall to stare dumbfounded.
“Surnamed Mo?” In private room B-13, Yang Kai frowned as he glanced towards the private room which was competing with Cheng Peng Xuan.
“It should be Elder Mo Xiao Sheng of Heaven Battling Union!” Qing’er quickly explained.
Yang Kai gently nodded. This time, even if Qing’er had not explained, Yang Kai could have guessed the identity of this man because he had heard many others talk about Mo Xiao Sheng of Heaven Battling Union. Yang Kai himself had paid more attention to this person because, like him, Mo Xiao Sheng cultivated Space Force!
Even considering all of Shadowed Star, only Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Sheng studied this esoteric field, there was no third individual to be found.
Regarding the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was confident he was not inferior to this Mo Xiao Sheng. In fact, if it was just a contest of Space Force, Yang Kai estimated that he could easily crush the other party; after all, Yang Kai’s Space Blade was an incredibly lethal technique, one that not just anyone could understand.
However, this Mo Xiao Sheng had lived many more years than Yang Kai, so he may have his own unique comprehensions about the Dao of Space. Therefore, he should not be underestimated. If Yang Kai could find an opportunity to have an exchange with this Elder Mo, he might be able to obtain some positive results.
But that was clearly impossible. With Heaven Battling Union’s arrogant and aloof behaviour, if Yang Kai exposed his proficiency with Space Force, it would only bring him trouble.
So as quickly as Yang Kai had this thought, he also dismissed it.
Meanwhile, standing atop the high platform, Ren Tian Rui lightly fanned himself with his paper fan, a gentle smile adorning his face as he carefreely listened to the two Elders from these two great forces argue back and forth. Every time one of them spoke, it made Ren Tian Rui all the happier.
Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect had always been somewhat incompatible, so this competition for the Spirit Storage Bead was not just a financial competition but also one for the face of their Sect. As such, neither of these two was willing to show weakness.
After an incense stick worth of time, Cheng Peng Xuan shouted a sky-high price of 10 million Saint Crystals, causing all the cultivators in the hall to audibly gasp.
In all fairness, the Spirit Storage Bead was an excellent treasure, but 10 million Saint Crystals had obviously far exceeded its true value. If Mo Xiao Sheng of Heaven Battling Union had not stepped forward to compete with Cheng Peng Xuan, the price would never have reached such an outrageous level.
By now, whether it was Cheng Peng Xuan or Mo Xiao Sheng, both were feeling quite annoyed. The two of them naturally knew that fighting like this would only result in Treasure Trove Pavilion profiting, but both were riding a tiger now with no way to vent their anger, so they could only choke down their bitterness and continue to bid.
10 million Saint Crystals was not a big deal for their respective Sects, but it was also not a figure to casually be wasted. This many Saint Crystals would be sufficient for several elite disciples to cultivate for a lifetime, but the Spirit Storage Bead could only be used by a single person a few times.
Both Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters ground their teeth while cursing at each other.
After the price reached 10 million, Heaven Battling Union remained silent. It seemed that Mo Xiao Sheng was weighing the gains and losses of continuing this struggle.
It was at that moment that another voice suddenly called out.
“Ten million ten thousand!”
In an instant, almost all eyes in the hall gathered on this new bidder and were shocked to discover that the one who had called such a grand price was not from any of the private rooms but was instead a young cultivator in the main hall.
This cultivator’s realm was not too high, just Third-Order Saint King Realm, and the clothes he wore were quite ordinary. This young man was the very definition of a generic Shadowed Star cultivator and from the fact that he was sitting in the main hall to participate in the auction, it was clear his background was not high.
Still, simply calling out such a price made many in the hall admire this young man’s guts and courage!
One had to know that the two who were competing fiercely just now were Elders of Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union, two people no one wanted to offend, but now this young man had suddenly stepped in and outbid them.
The price this young man shouted was exactly 10,000 more Saint Crystals than the previous bid, just in line with the rules Treasure Trove Pavilion set out for this auction item.
Not only were many cultivators wondering about this youth’s identity, even Ren Tian Rui, who had been as stable as a mountain, frowned slightly as he cast a suspicious glance towards this young man, wondering where he came from and how he possessed such massive net worth.
Even stared at by everyone in the hall, this young cultivator looked perfectly at ease, seemingly not feeling the slightest pressure or tension at all, winning him some approving nods from the masters in the crowd.
“Lu Ye!” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes from inside room B-13, staring at the young man down in the hall who had just bid with a look of disbelief. What shocked Yang Kai wasn’t that Lu Ye had come to participate in this auction, Flowing Cloud Valley wasn’t a giant force, but it was still at least a second class Sect, so Lu Ye was naturally eligible to enter Treasure Trove Pavilion as the Young Master of Flowing Cloud Valley, he simply wasn’t fortunate enough to obtain a private room and could only sit in the crowded hall.
No, what shocked Yang Kai was Lu Ye’s arm!
At this moment, both Lu Ye’s arms were completely intact, neither one of them missing.
[How is that possible?] Yang Kai exclaimed in his heart. He clearly remembered that he had cut off one of Lu Ye’s arms during their fight for the Red Candle Stalk in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. At that time, Lu Ye had quickly fled, but Yang Kai still vividly remembered the scene.
Yet now, this severed arm had somehow grown back, and judging from the colour and aura fluctuations, this new arm wasn’t some kind of prosthesis or artifact, it was clearly a flesh and blood arm!
How did he do that? Yang Kai was stunned on the spot. Re-growing a severed limb was something that only happened in legendary tales, not to mention that Lu Ye was just a trivial Saint King Realm cultivator.
Yang Kai suddenly found that he had underestimated Lu Ye. Solely from the fact that he was able to regenerate his severed arm, it was clear that this person still had many shocking secrets.
“This person…” Just as Yang Kai was feeling puzzled, Yang Yan suddenly frowned and stared towards Lu Ye down below, a thoughtful look flashing across her beautiful eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai turned to look at her.
“I don’t know why, but for some reason I find him quite repugnant!” Yang Yan shook her head slowly, her pretty face filling with suspicion, “But this is the first time I’ve seen him. You just called him Lu Ye, do you have some kind of grudge with him?”
“Yes! I don’t know why, but this person tried to kill me back in the Flowing Flame Sand Field!” Yang Kai snorted. His grievances with Lu Ye were indeed inexplicable; his opponent had suddenly attacked him for no reason, and directed a kind of malice towards him that said it was impossible for them to coexist under the Heavens.
Yang Kai had carefully thought about it, but before going to the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he was certain he had never even met Lu Ye. Indeed, inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field, they hadn’t even exchanged greetings before suddenly becoming life or death enemies.
“En, be careful of this person, he seems very dangerous,” Yang Yan made a point to warn Yang Kai.
“I know.” Yang Yan didn’t need to warn him as Yang Kai already understood this point. However, he couldn’t help wondering where Lu Ye managed to obtain so many Saint Crystals to bid on this Spirit Storage Bead. According to his understanding, Flowing Cloud Valley was actually quite weak among second-class Sects, barely stronger than some small families with the Sect Master only being a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, and totalling in only three or four hundred disciples.
The territory they controlled wasn’t wealthy and they possessed no Saint Crystal mines, so where had these ten million Saint Crystals come from?
“Haha, Brother Cheng, I believe as Elders we should be generous with the younger generation. Since this little friend wants this Spirit Storage Bead, this Mo will withdraw,” Just as Yang Kai was immersed in his suspicions, he heard Mo Xiao Sheng’s hearty laughter from Heaven Battling Union’s private room.
Immediately afterwards, Cheng Peng Xuan snorted in response, “Hmph, Old Ghost Mo, stop putting on a righteous act. Since you’re willing to give up then this Cheng will also bow out.”
These words made it seem like he no longer had any interest in this Spirit Storage Bead, but many of the cultivators present weren’t fooled by this. They naturally understood that these two old men were simply taking advantage of this opportunity to dump this Spirit Storage Bead onto someone else.
From another perspective, this young man, for the price of ten million ten thousand Saint Crystals, had not only won the Spirit Storage Bead, but had also sold a favour to these two powerful figures.
Considering all this, many people secretly felt regret. If they had only thought of this sooner, they would have willingly paid such a price for this prize. Although ten million Saint Crystals wasn’t a small amount, if they could exchange that for an opportunity to become friends with these two Elders, it would certainly have been worth it.
But even if they understood this now, if they were given the chance once more, they still might not have had the guts to enter such a bid. If these two old men saw it as an affront instead of a favour, wouldn’t they have brought disaster down upon themselves?
This young man’s decisiveness and boldness made many admire him.
Ren Tian Rui stood on the high platform, called the last price three times and, since no one up-bid again, the Spirit Storage Bead was purchased by Lu Ye for a price of ten million ten thousand Saint Crystals. Immediately, someone led Lu Ye to the back of the auction hall where the transaction was completed.
The auction continued soon after and became more spirited with the atmosphere being heated up after the first item. Treasure Trove Pavilion hosting an auction at this time was indeed a good idea. Each treasure that appeared set off an intense competition between the gathered cultivators, causing the prices to rise sharply. Ren Tian Rui stood atop the high platform fanning himself with his folding fan the whole time appearing aloof and harmless, but he didn’t fail to live up to his nickname of Little Black Face as he quietly pushed the audience along to lift each auctioned item’s price well above their original value. However, most of the cultivators present seemed unaware of the clever means he was using to accomplish this, causing those who did understand to admire Ren Tian Rui’s methods.
The items sold in this auction were all very useful for cultivators; artifacts, pills, Secret Arts, Secret Techniques, spirit grasses, precious ores, and so on.
Yang Kai didn’t participate at all, simply sitting in room B-13 and listening to Yang Yan describe the auctioned items while enjoying a comfortable massage from Qing’er.
Although these items were indeed good, he had no use for them as it wasn’t difficult to acquire such things through Dragon Cave Mountain and Shadow Moon Hall’s channels. On the whole, the first half of the auction went smoothly, with most of the items being things that could be bought with Saint Crystals under normal circumstances. Most of the bidders were cultivators in the main hall, while the masters from the private rooms rarely participated unless something they truly needed appeared.
Nevertheless, during the second half of the auction, the masters from the private rooms bid frequently, but the items being auctioned now weren’t things the cultivators in the main hall were qualified to compete for in the first place.
Surprisingly, the young man who won the first auctioned item participated in this second half multiple times, showing off his huge financial resources. It wasn’t long before the number of Saint Crystals he spent exceeded 40 million.
Lu Ye’s actions naturally stunned Yang Kai, but soon his mouth curled into a sneering smile.
Without a strong Sect as a backer, Lu Ye showing off his wealth like this was akin to drawing trouble to himself. Sitting in his private room, Yang Kai felt many powerful Divine Senses continuously sweep towards Lu Ye. After the auction ended, Yang Kai didn’t doubt these people would try to ‘talk’ with Lu Ye.
This was something Yang Kai was happy to see. No matter what reason Lu Ye had for targeting him, since the other party had taken the initiative to attack, they were now enemies. Since Lu Ye was asking for trouble, Yang Kai was content to stand by and watch, hoping very much that someone would be able to kill him.
However, this Lu Ye was clearly not ordinary as he was still able to calmly sit inside the hall with so many malicious eyes peering towards him, not showing the slightest intention to leave, as if he was intent on continuing to participate in the auction.
With each item being sold off, the auction gradually approached its finale.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling somewhat nervous now as he waited for the item he needed to appear. Unfortunately, there had been no trace of it until now, causing Yang Kai to grow anxious and wonder if Treasure Trove Pavilion had suddenly changed its mind and withdrawn it from the auction. However, when he thought about it, since Treasure Trove Pavilion had advertised that this item would be sold on the invitations it sent out, and those invitations had been widely distributed, it was highly unlikely they would suddenly withdraw it lest they ruin their own reputation.
Just as Yang Kai was thinking about this though, atop the high platform down below, another beautifully dressed woman walked out with an exquisite jade plate, and although the item to be auctioned was covered with a red cloth like always, when Yang Kai’s Divine Sense swept it, a look of joy filled his face and he hurriedly sat up in preparation.
The item he was here for had finally appeared.
At the same time, Divine Senses also swept forward from all the private rooms and soon even the cultivators in the main hall began whispering amongst themselves. The reason for this was simple, it was because the item being auctioned this time seemed a bit unusual. When the jade plate appeared, everyone felt an invisible energy emanating from it, one that felt like an invisible blade cutting against their skin.
What could this be!
The crowd sat up and stared curiously, anticipating this item’s reveal.
Ren Tian Rui was very satisfied with everyone’s response and tapped his folding fan against his shoulder as he smiled lightly, “The next item to be auctioned is something which one may only see once in ten thousand years, an incredibly rare treasure. When this treasure was first discovered, this Ren was actually unable to identify it and could only conclude it was some kind of precious material. However, to many Seniors who cultivate some special Secret Arts or Techniques, it certainly has great uses.”
“Enough flowery words, let this old master see what it is!” From one of the private rooms in the A Block, an old yet dignified voice called out. There was a hint of anxiety in this voice however, clearly indicating that the owner placed a great deal of importance on this auctioned item.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he secretly felt that obtaining this item would not be as simple as he imagined.
“Oh, is this not Senior Jin Shi of Demon Blood Temple? Senior need not be so anxious, this Junior will let you see this treasure clearly,” Ren Tian Rui immediately exposed the identity of the person who spoke before reaching out and lifting the red cloth.
Instantly, a dazzling golden light blossomed, causing many of the cultivators in the hall with lower strength to feel a stinging pain in their eyes, forcing them to look away or close them. Even those of higher strength had to condense Saint Qi into their eyes in order to clearly see through this golden radiance.
Yang Kai’s eyes also narrowed, but after seeing through the golden light clearly, his heart filled with excitement.
Atop the jade plate was a fist sized lumpy piece of unidentifiable ore that had a pure gold colour!
What was shocking about this ore though was that there were runes flowing across its surface. Obviously it was sealed under a barrier arranged by some powerful master to prevent its aura from leaking out, but even so, everyone in the auction hall could clearly feel the sharp energy radiating from it.
It was already like this in a sealed state, so what would happen if the seal was broken?
The cultivators in the hall with slightly lower strength here likely wouldn’t even be able to approach this ore in its raw form!
This item was clearly unusual, but the number of people who recognized what it was was very small, everyone only knew that it was definitely a rare treasure. It only made sense for Treasure Trove Pavilion to auction this off as its finale item.
“Good good good, hahaha, this Jin has struggled for most of his life searching for this but never expected to see it here today! Treasure Trove Pavilion’s reputation for gathering treasures from all over the world is well-deserved!” The master named Jin Shi laughed, seemingly immensely satisfied with this ore and extremely determined to obtain it.
“Do you want this?” Yang Yan glanced suspiciously towards Yang Kai inside.
Yang Kai was clearly excited so how could Yang Yan not see his thoughts?
“En,” Yang Kai nodded gently.
Yang Yan nodded but didn’t ask why Yang Kai wanted this or what he planned on doing with it.
The young Qing’er obviously overheard this and a look of joy flashed across her face, but soon that look turned to one of worry as she said, “Senior, Elder Jin of Demon Blood Temple seems to want this item too.”
“This is an auction, so the highest bidder will win it!” Yang Kai grinned. He had brought 70 million Saint Crystals this time, so he wasn’t afraid of fighting Jin Shi for this; after all, during the auction, Demon Blood Temple had already purchased a number of items for quite a sum.
Qing’er nodded docilely and said, “Then I wish Senior a swift victory!”
“I’ll be taking advantage of your auspicious words!” Yang Kai grinned. He naturally knew why this little girl seemed anxious. It was because if he participated in this auction and successfully obtained this item, she would receive a reward from Treasure Trove Pavilion and this reward would be directly proportional to the price Yang Kai paid. Before now, Yang Kai had not bid on anything, so naturally she wouldn’t be receiving any special reward; however, if Yang Kai won this item, the reward given by her Treasure Trove Pavilion would be enough for her to enjoy for a very long time.
This matter was explained by Qing’er herself without Yang Kai needing to ask her about it. This entire time, this little girl had served them very attentively, so naturally Yang Kai didn’t mind giving her some small benefits.
“Forgive this old master’s ignorance, but what exactly is this thing? Old Ghost Jin, why are you so eager to obtain it?” Another strange voice called out from a different private room, and from what was said, it seemed this individual couldn’t identify this ore.
It wasn’t as if this individual was ignorant and uninformed, but rather that in the vast Star Field, there were so many kinds of materials and this particular ore was extremely rare. Jin Shi being able to identify it was because he cultivated a special Secret Art that required this kind of ore, so he actively paid attention to and searched for it.
Only someone like Yang Yan, who seemed to possess infinite knowledge, would be able to identify this kind of material offhand, but people like her were obviously a rare minority.
“Oh, it’s understandable that Senior Jin will be this excited; after all, this Profound Gold is of great benefit to the Golden Cicada Extreme Demon Art Senior Jin cultivates. With this Profound Gold as an auxiliary, I presume Senior Jin reaching the grand accomplishment stage is just around the corner!” Ren Tian Rui spoke openly, as if he was afraid that others wouldn’t know Jin Shi’s personal details.
“Profound Gold?” The person who spoke before heard this name, seemed to think of something, and called out in surprise.
“Little brat Ren, your only job is to host an auction, not spread around information about this old master’s Golden Cicada Extreme Demon Art!” Jin Shi snapped in annoyance as he naturally understood Ren Tian Rui’s malicious intentions here. If they were anywhere else right now, Jin Shi would definitely have taken action to teach Ren Tian Rui a harsh lesson, but they were currently inside Treasure Trove Pavilion, so even if he was angry, he had no choice but to endure it. Perhaps because of the thinly veiled threat Ren Tian Rui gave just now, the difficulty of winning this Profound Gold would increase greatly; after all, Demon Blood Temple had many enemies and they would not want him to easily obtain this Profound Gold.
“Please forgive me, Senior. This Junior clearly spoke too much just now!” Ren Tian Rui seemed to know that he was wrong and quickly bowed in apology.
However, words spoken were like water spilling, there was no way to take it back. Although Ren Tian Rui seemed to be apologizing, behind his seemingly fearful expression was a trace of pride. To Treasure Trove Pavilion, it didn’t matter who won this Profound Gold, as long as they could sell it for a high price.
“Enough nonsense. Hurry up and start the auction!” Jin Shi urged strongly in his annoyance.
“Good!” Ren Tian Rui smiled, pointing his folding fan at the Profound Gold and declaring loudly, “For this one kilogram piece of Profound Gold, the starting price is 5 million Saint Crystals. Everyone, please!”
“Ten million!” As soon as Ren Tian Rui’s words fell, Jin Shi called out, directly doubling the price, demonstrating his determination to obtain this Profound Gold.
It was no secret now that he needed this piece of Profound Gold, so he had no reason to hold back.
“Heh, such a rare Artifact Refining material, just what this old master needs for his Golden Bone Shield, 10.1 million!” Heaven Battling Union’s Mo Xiao Sheng’s voice sounded.
“This old master will also join in the excitement, 10.5 million!” Cheng Peng Xuan of Thunder Typhoon Sect chimed in, seemingly not wanting to be outdone.
“11 million!” Another husky voice sounded from a different private room, an old woman’s voice at that.
“12 million!”
…..
Inside Demon Blood Temple’s private room, Jin Shi’s expression was ugly to the extreme. Although he knew that Demon Blood Temple had many enemies and that obtaining this Profound Gold would definitely be difficult, he hadn’t anticipated that six other people would actually try to compete with him. Worse, these six all had equal status and strength to him, so there was no way he could suppress them in any way. Frustrated by this development, he angrily shouted, “20 million!”
“Brother Jin’s boldness is admirable, but you don’t really believe you can obtain this piece of Profound Gold for a trivial 20 million do you? Brother Jin should stop dreaming. This old woman bids 25 million!” The old lady sneered and raised the price by 5 million directly.
However, this price only lasted a moment before a higher one replaced it.
This wasn’t surprising though as this Profound Gold was truly rare. Ren Tian Rui wasn’t exaggerating when he introduced it before. This kind of rare material was really something that only appeared once in ten thousand years. Whether it was used for Artifact Refining or to cultivate a special Secret Art, it would yield great benefits.
For a time, bids came flying in from the private rooms of the auction hall, and the price for this Profound Gold soared to a height which shocked countless people as they secretly admired these great Sects. The amount of Saint Crystals being quoted here was high enough to allow a small Sect or family develop worry-free for many years, these great forces were actually willing to spend this much for a single small piece of material.
Inside room B-13, Yang Kai remained silent, not participating in this competition at all because he knew that the current price was far from what it would eventually sell for. As such, he didn’t want to waste his energy and instead was waiting for his competitors to drop out.
“40 million!” Jin Shi’s voice sounded again. This piece of Profound Gold had heated the auction up to new heights, but it was still far from over. After shouting this price, Jin Shi called out again, “This Profound Gold is truly important to this Jin, if fellow friends are willing to relinquish it to me, this Jin will always remember it in his heart and will certainly return the favour in the future.”
Even now, no one was willing to withdraw, causing Jin Shi’s heart to pound like a drum. Seeing the price continue to rise, he faintly felt it wouldn’t be long before it surpassed his limit, so he chose to speak out.
As soon as this remark came out, the bids from Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect stopped as it seemed Cheng Peng Xuan and Mo Xiao Sheng were weighing the pros and cons.
A moment later, Mo Xiao Sheng let out a laugh and said aloud, “Since Brother Jin has said so, this Mo will withdraw. En, in any case, no Artifact Refiner can properly refine this grade of material, so using it on this old master’s Golden Bone Shield would be a careless waste of Heaven’s precious gifts.”
Immediately afterwards, several other masters who had been participating in this bidding war also expressed their willingness to withdraw. It wasn’t that Jin Shi’s face was so big, but rather, all of them knew how determined he was to obtain this Profound Gold. Continuing to fight over it would only result in Treasure Trove Pavilion and Ren Tian Rui picking up a bargain. Instead of allowing this little brat with a slippery tongue to profit, it would be better to sell a favour to Jin Shi.
What’s more, even if they bought this Profound Gold for themselves, it didn’t really have a big use to them. Although it was a very high grade ore, there was no Artifact Refiner capable of using it to its fullest, so what point was there struggling over it to this extent?
Seeing this, Jin Shi calmed down and offered some words of thanks.
“Hmph! Old Ghost Jin, just because you say this Profound Gold has a big use to you, you think this old woman will simply hand it over? 41 million!” The old woman’s voice sounded again, but contrary to the others, she didn’t give Jin Shi any face.
“Old Woman Feng, what do you want this Profound Gold for? If you don’t make yourself clear immediately, this old master will not forgive you!” Jin Shi was furious. Everyone else had known when to back down, but this Old Woman Feng seemed intent on competing with him. Unable to stand it anymore, Jin Shi erupted in fury.
“You think this old woman is afraid of you?” Old Woman Feng seemed to also have a bad temper and, hearing Jin Shi’s threat, she immediately snapped back dismissively.
Inside the private rooms of these two great forces, the auras of two Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters surged upwards and their words were quickly filling with hostility.
“You two, this is Treasure Trove Pavilion, please act with some restraint!” Suddenly, from somewhere undisclosed, a faint voice called out. Hearing this voice, Old Woman Feng and Jin Shi’s looks both changed slightly as they seemingly remembered something and quickly withdrew their auras.
The cultivators in the main hall all panted for breath as lingering fear filled their faces.
Ren Tian Rui, who was still standing atop the high platform, couldn’t help wiping his cold sweat as well. Although Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auctions have had some minor incidents in the past, if these two people had really exchanged blows, the matter would not have ended with just some small consequences. Thinking for a moment, Ren Tian Rui opened his mouth and said, “Please do not feel aggrieved Senior Jin, since Senior Feng insists on participating in this auction, she must naturally have a use for this Profound Gold.”
“And what use would that be?” Jin Shi coldly snorted, obviously not believing Ren Tian Rui’s words so easily.
Ren Tian Rui however just smiled lightly and said, “As far as this Junior knows, the Golden Thunder Vein Lion which has accompanied Senior Feng for most of her life should have need of this Profound Gold to assist it with breaking through.”
“Golden Thunder Vein Lion!” Demon Blood Temple’s Elder Jin Shi exclaimed with a hint of fear in his voice.
Many of the masters in the other private rooms also frowned, seemingly quite wary of this Golden Thunder Vein Lion.
“Qing’er, where does this Senior Feng come from? What kind of Monster Beast is that Golden Thunder Vein Lion?” Yang Kai turned to the young girl standing nearby and asked.
Qing’er smiled and replied softly, “Senior, this Senior Feng is an Elder of Myriad Beast Mountain and that Golden Thunder Vein Lion is her Companion Monster Beast which is connected to Senior Feng’s life. It is said that this Golden Thunder Vein Lion is a variant of a powerful ancient species and is currently a Ninth-Order Monster Beast. In terms of strength, it is probably equivalent to a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm Master. Senior Feng has apparently just recently broken through to the Third-Order Origin Realm, but if she works together with her Companion Monster Beast, the two should be able to display strength equal to an established Third-Order Origin Realm master.”
“Myriad Beast Mountain?” Yang Kai raised his brow. He had long heard about this great force which was capable of taming and controlling Monster Beasts. Yang Kai had also briefly encountered a group of Myriad Beast Mountain disciples in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. This Sect seemed to be situated close to Coloured Glass Sect and there was clearly some friction between the two forces.
As for the Companion Monster Beasts that Qing’er spoke of, Yang Kai had also heard about them. Myriad Beast Mountain cultivators cultivated somewhat differently from other cultivators. Every Myriad Beast Mountain disciple had their own Companion Monster Beast and their strength would improve together with the said Monster Beast’s. If their Companion Monster Beast broke through, it would be of great assistance to their cultivation as well, possibly even providing an opportunity to break through their own bottlenecks.
According to Qing’er, this Old Woman Feng had just reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, but if her Golden Thunder Vein Lion was able to obtain this Profound Gold, it was very likely that the pair’s strength would increase dramatically.
Once her Companion Monster Beast broke through as well, if they worked together, they would be able to overpower most lone Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters.
Thinking of this, Yang Kai immediately understood why this Old Woman Feng was competing with Jin Shi for the Profound Gold. At the same time, Yang Kai felt a slight headache coming on. Whether it was Old Woman Feng or Jin Shi, both had great need of this Profound Gold, so they were unlikely to give it up. The only way Yang Kai could obtain it now was through outbidding them.
“Little brat Ren, does your Treasure Trove Pavilion not only gather treasures from around the world but information as well?” Old Woman Feng’s voice was mixed with a trace of annoyance, obviously because Ren Tian Rui had exposed her reason for wanting this Profound Gold.
Ren Tian Rui, who was standing atop the high platform, laughed lightly but didn’t dare respond.
“Hmph, even so, this old master won’t easily give up. Your little beast may need this Profound Gold, but this old master needs it more, 42 million!”
Old Woman Feng hadn’t had time to raise its price yet when all of a sudden a melodious giggle, full of seductive flavour, rang out from a nearby private room, “This Junior would also like to join the fun, 43 million!”
Yang Kai was startled and the corner of his mouth curled upwards slightly, revealing a strange smile.
It was a natural reaction though as the one who just bid was none other than Yin Su Die of Coloured Glass Sect! It wasn’t surprising that she was here; after all, Dai Yuan had told Yang Kai the last time she came to Dragon Cave Mountain that Yin Su Die was leading the team Coloured Glass Sect had sent to monitor the Emperor Garden.
However, her daring to bid now should be on instructions from the Elders of her Sect. Coloured Glass Sect and Myriad Beast Mountain had always been incompatible with one another, so naturally, they weren’t just going to stand by and watch Old Woman Feng obtain this Profound Gold which would allow her strength to soar.
This was a great opportunity!
Yang Kai was still thinking about how to enter this bidding war without being too noticeable, now Yin Su Die calling out this price had given him his chance. Not hesitating, Yang Kai quickly followed up, “50 million!”
A burst of noise immediately spread throughout the auction hall while, in private room B-13, Qing’er’s beautiful eyes opened wide as she stared at Yang Kai in shock. It seemed she had not thought Yang Kai possessed such great wealth.
Two new voices suddenly joining this auction caused the already tense atmosphere to become even more treacherous.
“Good good good!” Old Woman Feng ground her teeth and coldly snorted, “Truly interesting, it seems many stray cats and dogs dare to fight for this old woman’s thing, are you not afraid of paying out money but failing to receive anything in the end?”
The implied threat in her tone was so apparent that Ren Tian Rui, who was standing atop the high platform, immediately narrowed his eyes coldly.
Treasure Trove Pavilion had held many auctions in the past, and although masters from various forces would always furiously compete for items, even coming to blows once the auction was over, sometimes resulting in deaths, no one had ever dared utter blatant threats while still inside the hall.
After all, such a statement was showing naked disdain for Treasure Trove Pavilion’s authority and credibility. As such, Ren Tian Rui sullenly called out, “Senior Feng, I only want to hear such words spoken once in my Treasure Trove Pavilion, if it happens again, Myriad Beast Mountain will be forever banned from attending our auctions. Please consider carefully!”
Although Ren Tian Rui’s cultivation wasn’t high, he was representing Treasure Trove Pavilion at the moment, so his words naturally carried weight.
Old Woman Feng also seemed to realize that her words had been out of line and let out a peal of hoarse laughter, “Little brat Ren, there’s no need to get so worked up. This old woman was just making a joke, of course. This matter will be settled through bidding.”
“I see,” Ren Tian Rui suddenly smiled happily, fanning himself lightly as he nodded, “It seems this Junior became overanxious, please forgive me for speaking out of turn, Senior Feng. Good, for this Profound Gold, does Senior Jin wish to enter a new bid?”
“Naturally, 51 million!”
“60 million!” Yang Kai didn’t hesitate, immediately entering this price without even raising his brow. To him, the biggest purpose of this trip was to obtain this piece of Profound Gold, so he was naturally not going to back down. Even if he had to spend all his fortune, he would acquire it. At this point, there were still a number of people competing for this Profound Gold, so Yang Kai felt he had to display some financial prowess and determination by sharply raising the price in order to deter others.
The private room belonging to Myriad Beast Mountain suddenly fell silent. It seemed that this price had exceeded Old Woman Feng’s bottom line. This Profound Gold was indeed valuable, but apparently not more than 60 million Saint Crystals.
On the contrary, Jin Shi of Demon Blood Temple said after a moment of hesitation, “60.1 million! If you can offer a higher price, this old master will withdraw.”
60 million Saint Crystals had obviously also exceeded Jin Shi’s bottom line.
Inside private room B-13, Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and shouted,”60.2 million!”
He only added 100,000, which was the minimum up-bid.
“Good, good, good!” Jin Shi said good three times in succession, with everyone able to hear the dark emotion in his voice. However, he really didn’t increase the price further, allowing Yang Kai to relax as this Profound Gold was now in all likelihood his.
Treasure Trove Pavilion was obviously very satisfied with such a price and with a big happy smile on his face, Ren Tian Rui looked up to private room B-13 and said, “Is there any higher bid? If not, this Ren will begin the countdown. Good, 60.2 million once, 60.2 million twice…”
“61 million!” Just as Yang Kai was full of confidence and was preparing to have Qing’er receive the Profound Gold, a new voice suddenly called out from inside the hall.
Yang Kai was startled, but as he traced the voice back to its source, he couldn’t help clenching his teeth.
Because he found that the one who had suddenly raised the price at the last moment was none other than Flowing Cloud Valley’s Lu Ye!
Lu Ye had completely exposed himself to the limelight during this auction by bidding numerous times on various treasures, spending tens of millions of Saint Crystals.
This was completely unheard of for a small cultivator from a small Sect, and many people were now secretly paying attention to him. However, instead of knowing when to conceal his abilities and wealth, Lu Ye had actually swaggered out at the last moment and drawn everyone’s attention back onto himself.
However, since the price had been refreshed, Yang Kai, of course, refused to show any weakness, gritting his teeth and immediately going all in, “70 million!”
Ren Tian Rui raised his brow atop the high platform as he turned his attention to Lu Ye, seemingly expecting him to bid again, but to his disappointment, Lu Ye only offered a single bid after which he stayed silent, shooting a meaningful grin up towards Yang Kai, one filled with pride and sarcasm.
[Fuck!] Yang Kai cursed to himself as his face sank, understanding that he had been badly cheated.
If he hadn’t bid just now, it would surely have caused great trouble for Lu Ye because he absolutely didn’t have enough Saint Crystals on him anymore to pay up. Lu Ye had only called out a new price to coax Yang Kai into up-bidding him, and in a moment of carelessness, Yang Kai had fallen into this pit.
Understanding this, Yang Kai’s mood plummeted as he felt like he had just been forced to swallow a fly.
Yang Kai wasn’t too distressed over the extra Saint Crystals he was forced to pay, but rather that he had missed an opportunity to cause trouble for Lu Ye. Treasure Trove Pavilion had its own rules. If a cultivator didn’t have enough Saint Crystals but still bid with malicious intentions, they would surely pursue and kill this agitator after the auction ended!
This was a Heaven-sent opportunity Yang Kai had just missed, so his face was naturally quite ugly.
But soon, a smile returned to his face as he calmed himself. If you often walk next to the river, how can you not wet your shoes? There was nothing to do but continue walking and see what the future had in store!
After the price of 70 million Saint Crystals was called, no one made another bid, Ren Tian Rui happily completed his three-count and announced at last that this piece of Profound Gold belonged to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took out a Space Ring and handed it to Qing’er, ordering her to retrieve his winnings from Treasure Trove Pavilion, an order she carried out swiftly.
At this moment, another item was brought up to auction, a Ninth-Order Monster Beast egg, and like Old Woman Feng’s Golden Thunder Vein Lion, it too traced its lineage to a powerful ancient Monster Beast. Although not as powerful as the Golden Thunder Vein Lion, it was still quite precious.
Such a good thing naturally caused many people to furiously bid for it, especially Myriad Beast Mountain which truly spared no effort.
After all, this was a Ninth-Order Monster Beast’s egg. As long as it was properly cultivated, it would be akin to one day adding another Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master to a Sect.
This beast egg was eventually snatched by Myriad Beast Mountain for the not high but not low price of 36 million. Several other finale items were brought up one after another following this beast egg and each one was sold for several times its initial price, causing the cultivators sitting in the main hall to be struck speechless.
As the last few items were being auctioned, Yang Kai was naturally sitting on the sidelines. All of the Saint Crystals he had taken from Wu Yi had already been used to buy the Profound Gold, so he no longer had the capital to fight for other things.
Having said that, although the last few auction items were all quite good, Yang Kai was not interested in any of them.
After an incense stick worth of time, Qing’er returned along with a jade box. Handing this box to Yang Kai respectfully, she congratulated him, “Congratulations Senior for obtaining the item you desired, please accept this.”
Yang Kai naturally accepted it with a smile and opened the jade box to take a look. Inside he found the piece of Profound Gold he had bid on. It was the size of a goose egg and its entire body radiated a pure golden radiance. This piece of Profound Gold was sealed by powerful masters with a strong barrier, but it still could not stop the strong metal aura from overflowing from it. The sharpness of this aura was not to be underestimated.
The best way to describe this Profound Gold was as an invisible sharp blade.
Yang Kai happily played with it for a while before storing it away into his Black Book Space.
The reason he acquired this Profound Gold was naturally in preparation to cultivate the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. If one wanted to cultivate this Body Tempering Secret Art, they first needed to find five extremely precious treasures from the five elements!
Of these five treasures, Yang Kai already possessed the Thunder Wood, Profound Yin Sunflower Water, and Sun’s True Essence. Now that he had acquired this Profound Gold, the only precious treasure he still needed was one of the Earth Attribute. Once he found such a treasure, he would be able to start cultivating the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art.
Yang Kai actually thought about asking Treasure Trove Pavilion to help him with this matter; after all, this great force was dedicated to searching the world for precious treasures. As such, after this auction ended, Yang Kai felt that he should pay a visit to Yan Pei.
He did not believe the other party would refuse as long as he offered a sufficient price.
In a good mood, Yang Kai naturally wasn’t going to be stingy with his reward, so he quickly waved his hand and gave Qing’er several bottles of pills, a good artifact and many Saint Crystals.
The pills were all refined by him personally, so their quality was naturally superb, while the artifact was one Yang Yan had refined and was also equally excellent. These things were all quite suitable for this little girl to use right now, and although there weren’t so many Saint Crystals, only a couple tens of thousands, for a cultivator a Qing’er’s level, it would be enough to support her cultivation for quite some time.
Naturally, this made Qing’er extremely happy.
Just then, Ren Tian Rui’s slightly excited voice came from below, “Friends, this auction has been very fulfilling and will end here. Many thanks to all of you for travelling from afar to participate. En, though the auction has ended, please remain for a moment. My Treasure Trove Pavilion has been entrusted by a powerful secluded master with a certain request.”
“Ren boy, what is this all about?” Immediately, a master from one of the great forces asked.
Ren Tian Rui just smiled lightly however, and gestured towards the rear while bowing slightly. The crowd all followed this gesture with their eyes but soon could not help recoiling slightly, because the one who emerged from the shadows was none other than Old Black Face Yan Pei.
“Hehe, friends, there’s no need to act so nervous. Since the auction is over, there will be no more items sold. This Yan was only entrusted by an old friend to discuss a certain matter with all of you,” Yan Pei said unhurriedly.
“What is this matter for discussion? If you want to fart, put it out quickly, we don’t have time to waste here with any nonsense.” Obviously not everyone believed Yan Pei and many remained on high alert.
“My old friend simply wanted to propose an exchange of goods!” Yan Pei did not keep everyone guessing and after lightly explaining, he took an item from his Space Ring and held it up high in front of the crowd.
The masters in the hall all released their Divine Senses to carefully scrutinize this object.
A moment later, a burst of exclamations sounded.
“This is…”
“No, could it possibly be?”
“There’s a lingering Emperor Pressure about it, so there’s no chance we’re mistaken. I never dreamed that legend was actually true!”
Inside private room B-13, Yang Kai also stared at the object in Yan Pei’s hand with a stunned expression on his face. As he was lost in thought though, he suddenly realized something was off and turned to look at Yang Yan who he saw was wearing a look of excitement and hesitation, her two pink fists clenched tightly with her nails unconsciously almost piercing into her flesh.
“Star Emperor Token!” Mo Xiao Sheng’s exclamation sounded, “Brother Yan, forgive this old master’s limited vision, but is the object in your hand truly a legendary Star Emperor Token?”
Yan Pei smiled lightly, “Since Brother Mo already knows, why ask this Yan? Presumably, most of you present have reached this conclusion, yes?”
“It’s really a Star Emperor Token? Not a fake?”
“If it was a fake, how could this Yan take it out?” Yan Pei snorted, “This Yan and several others from Treasure Trove Pavilion have personally appraised this and determined it to be a genuine Star Emperor Token; after all, the faint remnant Emperor Pressure around it is something no one can imitate!”
“Rumor has it that the Starry Sky Great Emperor refined ten of these Star Emperor Tokens, each of which sealed one of his Divine Abilities. Each of these Divine Abilities can only be described as Heaven Destroying and Earth Shattering, moving mountains and filling seas. Could it be that it is so for this one too?” Cheng Peng Xuan’s voice was filled with excitement.
If this was truly one of the ten Star Emperor Tokens refined by the Starry Sky Great Emperor, as long as one could possess it, they would essentially be invincible.
The Starry Sky Great Emperor was an existence above the Origin King Realm! On top of that, there were no Origin Kings on Shadowed Star, so who could possibly compete with the Divine Ability sealed inside a Star Emperor Token?
All the masters from each of the great forces had this thought and, in an instant, they fixed hot eyes on this Star Emperor Token, causing the atmosphere inside Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction hall to become incredibly tense.
Yan Pei was carefully observing everyone’s mood and understood that countless people now felt intense greed in their hearts towards this token, but he still didn’t rush and simply explained slowly, “This is indeed one of the ten Star Emperor Tokens, but the Divine Ability that was sealed inside of it has already been used, so do not even consider it.”
There was a slight implied warning in his words.
Hearing this, many of the masters felt like they had cold water splashed onto them. This only made sense though, if this Star Emperor Token was completely intact, no fool would ever take it out to trade, nor would Yan Pei make its existence public.
“Its Divine Ability has already been used. A pity, a pity,” Mo Xiao Sheng’s tone was extremely deflated as he let out a long sigh.
“Hmph, Old Ghost Mo, do you not want to obtain this Star Emperor Token even though its Divine Ability has already been used up?” Cheng Peng Xuan sneered.
“Does Brother Cheng not have the same idea?” Mo Xiao Sheng did not mind the sarcasm in Cheng Peng Xuan’s voice and readily admitted his intentions.
“Brother Yan, what use does this Star Emperor Token have now that its Divine Ability has been used up?” Someone asked.
Yan Pei calmly answered, “Although the Divine Ability in this Star Emperor Token has already been expended, the token itself is by no means useless; after all, it is a treasure personally refined by the Starry Sky Great Emperor. Without even mentioning the remaining Emperor Pressure inside that one can meditate on and gain inspiration from, just the material this token is refined from is beyond the understanding of my Treasure Trove Pavilion. Perhaps others know of even more uses for this Star Emperor Token.”
“That being said, the value of this Star Emperor Token is still not too high. What, may I ask, does Brother Yan want in exchange for it?” Mo Xiao Sheng asked after he pondered over the matter for a moment. Even if the Divine Ability of this Star Emperor Token had already been used, the token still retained tremendous research value, so Mo Xiao Sheng was certainly not willing to miss an opportunity to acquire it.
Many other masters had similar thoughts to him, some of them echoing Mo Xiao Sheng’s sentiments, “Yes, Brother Yan, with all of Shadowed Star’s great Sects here, there’s a good chance one of us has what you want. Please tell us what your friend is seeking, perhaps one of our Sects will have it in our treasuries!”
Yang Pei shook his head lightly, “What my old friend wants in exchange for this is not something easily found!”
This made sense. If whatever this person wanted was easy to find, with the strength and connections of Treasure Trove Pavilion, this Star Emperor Token would have long ago landed in their pockets. So, although there were many people gathered here, Yan Pei did not have much confidence he could help his old friend acquire what they wanted.
“Well, what is it then? Out with it!” Cheng Peng Xuan said impatiently.
“A Flowing Flame Flying Fire!” Yan Pei revealed the answer.
“Your friend actually wants a Flowing Flame Flying Fire?”
“Where are we supposed to find such a thing?”
“The previous Flowing Flame Sand Field opening was over four hundred years ago, and although it opened again just a few years ago, I haven’t heard of any Sect whose disciple managed to obtain one by luck.”
…..
The auction hall instantly became noisy.
Some masters inquired if this Star Emperor Token could be exchanged for other valuable materials. Some others even proposed purchasing it with Saint Crystals. However, Old Black Face Yan just swung his head like a rattle and repeatedly said, “Forgive me, but this Star Emperor Token is not my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s thing, it was only entrusted to this Yan to exchange specifically for a Flowing Flame Flying Fire. Of course, if there is anyone who can inform this Yan about the location of a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water, that will also be acceptable!”
“Soul Cleansing Divine Water, Brother Yan must be joking. If any of us knew where such a treasure was, we would already have enjoyed it for ourselves. How could we possibly exchange it for a useless Star Emperor Token?”
Many of the masters present felt deeply annoyed, thinking that the owner of this Star Emperor Token was being too unreasonable. If they possessed a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, exchanging it for this Star Emperor Token wouldn’t count as a loss, but Soul Cleansing Divine Water was known as one of the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters and its value was immeasurable. No fool would exchange it for a used Star Emperor Token.
Inside private room B-13 on the other hand, Yang Kai and Yang Yan looked at each other with strange expressions.
While no one else might have a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, Yang Kai did!
Last time, in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Yang Kai obtained a total of nine Flowing Flame Flying Fires, and besides the few he used and the two he gave Yang Yan, he still had three left. Yang Kai was thinking about finding time to refine them to enhance the power of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, but having been busy with so many other things, he simply had not gotten around to it.
Never had he expected that these Flowing Flame Flying Fires would suddenly come in handy like this.
Yang Kai was no stranger to Star Emperor Tokens as he already possessed two of them. One of these two was given to him by the Origin King Realm master Gui Zu while the other he had found deep inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field. However, the one given to him by Gui Zu actually still possessed its stored Divine Ability while the one from the Flowing Flame Sand Field was the same as the one Yan Pei now held, devoid of the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s power.
“Should I trade for it?” Yang Kai muttered to himself, his expression a little hesitant. Regarding this exchange, he was qualified to make it, but he felt that trading a Flowing Flame Flying Fire for a useless Star Emperor Token wasn’t quite worth it.
“You should!” Yang Yan firmly declared.
“Oh? Why?” Yang Kai looked at her curiously.
“I don’t know, but I have a vague feeling that these Star Emperor Tokens are useful for more than just the Divine Ability sealed inside of them. It must have other valuable secrets.”
This token possessing other secrets was a distinct possibility; however, to exchange for it, there probably wasn’t a need to use a Flowing Flame Flying Fire. Yang Kai had some guesses about what the other party really wanted in exchange for this Star Emperor Token, but he could not be sure yet. Regardless, each Flowing Flame Flying Fire was of great use to him for enhancing his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, so if there was a chance to save it, Yang Kai was willing to try.
Considering all this, Yang Kai nodded gently and prepared to make an exchange.
Atop the high platform in the centre of the auction hall, Yan Pei waited for half a stick of incense, but after seeing that no one was willing or able to make this exchange, he couldn’t help showing a look of disappointment, “It seems that none of you have a Flowing Flame Flying Fire or news of a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water. Alright. Very well, that is all, thank you all again for attending this auction!”
Saying so, he turned away and left.
Although the masters from the various great forces very much wanted to acquire the Star Emperor Token, since none of them could meet the request of the token’s owner, they could only shake their heads and sigh. They had no intention to snatch this token either; first of all, the Divine Ability it contained had already been used rendering it mostly useless, but more importantly, doing so would highly offend Treasure Trove Pavilion which made it not worth it.
Soon, the cultivators in the auction hall withdrew, but when Yang Kai glanced around the hall curiously, he suddenly discovered that Lu Ye had at some point disappeared.
It appeared that even he knew he had shown off too much of his wealth and drawn too much attention to himself, making it dangerous for him to remain, thus he quickly and quietly left. Yang Kai snorted and no longer paid any attention to the issue. In any case, the grievance between him and Lu Ye would be resolved sooner or later, so Yang Kai wasn’t in a rush. Standing up, he turned to Qing’er and said, “Take me to see Senior Yan, I have something I want to discuss with him.”
“Yes!” Qing’er nodded, not asking any questions before leading the way.
Although Yang Kai had only bid on one item this auction, that alone was enough to prove his extraordinary wealth. On top of that, when he had arrived at Treasure Trove Pavilion, Qing’er saw Yan Pei take the initiative to speak to Yang Kai and Yang Yan, indicating that the two of them weren’t strangers. As such, Qing’er knew that Yang Kai was qualified to meet with Yan Pei.
Just after leaving private room B-13, Yang Kai felt two subtle Divine Senses sweep over him, causing him to pause for a moment before he continued following after Qing’er casually.
Although he couldn’t trace who was spying on him, Yang Kai had a fairly good guess.
No doubt it was Old Woman Feng from Myriad Beast Mountain and Jin Shi from Demon Blood Temple. During the auction, the one time Yang Kai bid on something he had been competing against these two, and now it seemed they had not given up on acquiring the Profound Gold.
Sneering dismissively in his heart, Yang Kai didn’t show anything on his face.
The Divine Senses that spied on him just now had come and gone rapidly, without showing any other intentions. After a while, Yang Kai arrived at one of Treasure Trove Pavilion’s back rooms and sat down to wait.
About half a cup of tea’s worth of time later, Old Black Face Yan Pei opened the door with a smile, walked in, and greeted, “Little Friend Yang.”
“Greetings, Senior Yan!” Yang Kai got up and cupped his fists.
“You are very courteous, please have a seat,” Yan Pei gestured before walking over to a chair opposite Yang Kai, sitting down, and asking, “Does Little Friend Yang have a matter he needs this old master’s assistance with?”
“Senior Yan thoughts are indeed sharp. This Junior does have something he wishes to ask Senior Yan to assist him with,” Yang Kai grinned and added, “En, to be precise, I want to borrow the strength of your noble establishment.”
“Please go on. However, please keep in mind that my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s primary objective is to earn profit, so even though this old master is happy to help Little Friend Yang, you will still have to pay a certain amount of Saint Crystals. Additionally, Treasure Trove Pavilion and this old master do not accept requests that require killing or pillaging.”
“Junior naturally understands this and has no intention of violating Treasure Trove Pavilion’s principles.”
“Very well!” Yan Pei nodded in satisfaction.
“En, Junior would like to request Treasure Trove Pavilion look for a precious treasure of the Earth Attribute.”
“An Earth Attribute precious treasure?” Yan Pei raised his brow as he observed Yang Kai and smiled meaningfully, “Today, Little Friend Yang spared no expense to obtain a piece of Profound Gold, and now you come requesting my Treasure Trove Pavilion search for an Earth Attribute precious treasure… could it be Little Friend Yang is trying to cultivate some kind of profound Secret Technique?”
[This old fox!] Yang Kai secretly cursed. Around sharp and well informed people like Yan Pei, one needed to be extra careful with how they spoke as anything one said may give away precious information. However, even though the other party had guessed his purpose, Yang Kai wasn’t about to foolishly admit to anything and instead just smiled, “Senior Yan, in addition to collecting treasures from around the world, could it be Treasure Trove Pavilion is really responsible for prying into others’ private information?”
During the auction that was just held, Old Woman Feng of Myriad Beast Mountain had said something to similar effect, so now Yang Kai taking advantage of her words couldn’t be considered as offensive.
Yan Pei gawked for a moment before letting out a chuckle, “This old master was simply asking casually. Little Friend Yang does not need to explain his purpose, of course. However, I must ask Little Friend Yang for a few more specifics so that this old master and Treasure Trove Pavilion will be able to determine a direction and objective for our search. There is even a chance we may have what Little Friend Yang needs in our storehouses already.”
“My specific requirements are that the scale of this treasure must be no lower than a Tenth-Order Monster Beast core!”
“A Tenth-Order Monster Beast core…” Yan Pei narrowed his eyes as he stared at Yang Kai with some shock. Although he had some speculations, he hadn’t expected Yang Kai’s request to be so great. If this was the case, then the items Treasure Trove Pavilion currently had in storage would not be able to meet Yang Kai’s request; after all, a Tenth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to an Origin King Realm master. It was impossible to find such an existence on Shadowed Star.
“It need not be a Monster Core, any treasure which is of equivalent scale to a Tenth-Order Monster Beast Core will do,” Yang Kai added.
“Alright. This request will be somewhat difficult to fulfil, so this old master doesn’t dare make any guarantees. I can only say that Treasure Trove Pavilion will do its best. Of course, Little Friend Yang should not remain idle himself, perhaps with enough opportunity Little Friend Yang will be able to obtain what he wants on his own.”
“Junior naturally understands this,” Yang Kai gently nodded. Of course he wasn’t going to place all his hopes on Treasure Trove Pavilion. This time, him coming to see Yan Pei was primarily to discuss the Star Emperor Token, the Earth Attribute treasure was simply a side-note.
Thinking this way, Yang Kai moved the conversation forward, “Right, Senior Yan, the Star Emperor Token you took out a moment ago…”
“What’s wrong, do you want to exchange for it?” Yan Pei put down the tea he was drinking when he suddenly heard Yang Kai mentioning the Star Emperor Token, raising his brow and asking hurriedly, as if he was quite anxious to make this deal.
This came as a great surprise to Yang Kai; after all, according to Yan Pei, he was only acting on behalf of a mysterious old friend. Seeing Yan Pei act so urgently though, showed that the relationship between this powerful master and Yan Pei was not shallow, otherwise how could this Old Black Face act so urgently?
“Good, this Junior is interested in this exchange!” Yang Kai nodded thoughtfully.
“You have a Flowing Flame Flying Fire?” Yan Pei’s eyes widened as he asked excitedly.
Yang Kai, however, shook his head.
Yan Pei frowned for a moment but was immediately startled and shouted, “Then you know where to find Soul Cleansing Divine Water?”
“I don’t,” Yang Kai still shook his head. Soul Cleansing Divine Water could not be carried away from its source, hence it could only be used where it was found. If this wasn’t the case, when the pond of Soul Cleansing Divine Water was found in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Qu Chang Feng, Leng Qing, and all the others would have long ago divided it up and taken it away, there would have been no need to soak in that pool at all.
Seeing him repeatedly deny having the required items for this exchange, even though Yan Pei had a good impression of Yang Kai, he still couldn’t help his face from sinking as he asked lightly, “Little Friend Yang, are you intentionally making trouble for this old master? Only these two items can be exchanged for that Star Emperor Token, but since you have neither a Flowing Flame Flying Fire nor information about Soul Cleansing Divine Water, why would you bring up this topic?”
“Please calm yourself, Senior!” Yang Kai smiled lightly, not showing the slightest signs of panic as he explained, “If it is convenient, could you allow this Junior to speak directly with the Senior who made this request? Junior guarantees he will not disappoint him.”
Seeing how calm Yang Kai looked, Yan Pei couldn’t help wondering where the former’s confidence came from.
If it were someone else, Yan Pei would have already asked them to leave, but Yang Kai’s origins were quite profound. According to his investigations, Yang Pei knew that Yang Kai actually came to Shadowed Star from the outside world. Perhaps he would have some means or methods that locals of Shadowed Star didn’t possess that were comparable in effect to Soul Cleansing Divine Water or a Flowing Flame Flying Fire.
Considering all this, Yan Pei’s complexion eased but he still stated calmly, “Since that is the case, I will call him over, but Little Friend Yang, you’d best have enough assurance of success.”
“Is one hundred percent assurance enough?” Yang Kai grinned confidently.
This was not an exaggeration on Yang Kai’s part, for even if his speculations were wrong, he still had Flowing Flame Flying Fires on him; it was simply that he didn’t want to exchange them unless forced to do so.
Yan Pei’s mouth twitched slightly when he heard this but did not say any nonsense, instead immediately taking out a communication artifact, pouring in his Divine Sense, exchanging a few words with someone, then quietly waiting.
Less than half an incense stick worth of time later, a knock came at the door.
“Come in!” Yan Pei shouted.
The door was pushed open immediately and a man walked inside. This man looked young but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showed that he was not as young as he appeared.
What was more eye-catching though was this man’s peculiar looking face. He had two thin eyes that seemed to almost be closed as well as puffy cheeks and rounded ears, making him look a bit like a monkey. Additionally, his arms were somewhat long, his hands somewhat big. However, of all his odd features, it was his two buck teeth that drew the most attention.
Yang Kai’s first impression of this person was wild.
After recovering from his initial shock, Yang Kai swept this man with his Divine Sense and was shocked to discover that he was only a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator.
This was the man Yan Pei called an old friend?
[Why does he look like a common thug from the city backstreets?] Yang Kai almost spat out his tea, and even Yang Yan who was sitting next to him couldn’t help covering her mouth with her small hands, trying hard to suppress her shock and laughter.
Yan Pei lightly coughed and broke the silence, “There’s no need for suspicion, this is a disciple of my old friend. It is a little inconvenient for my old friend to appear in public, so the Star Emperor Token was brought to exchange this time by him.”
Yang Kai showed a look of understanding. If this wild looking man was the disciple of a powerful mysterious master, having such a cultivation at such an age was reasonable.
“Senior Yan, you wanted to see me?” The bucktoothed man didn’t seem to put Yang Kai or Yang Yan in his eyes at all and instead directly asked Yan Pei upon entering.
“En,” Yan Pei gently nodded.
The other party looked delighted and asked, “Is there news about the proposed exchange?”
“Something like that,” Yan Pei didn’t know how to answer, and his words caused a look of surprise to appear on this bucktoothed man’s face. Fortunately, Yan Pei moved the conversation along quickly by pointing to Yang Kai and explaining, “This Little Friend Yang Kai, he says he can satisfy Nephew Ge’s requirements, but that he wished to speak with you face-to-face first. This old master is only responsible for introducing the two of you, as for what comes next, that will be up to you to discuss.”
“Satisfy my requirements?” The bucktoothed cultivator turned his head and looked at Yang Kai for the first time, a strong look of suspicion and disdain flashing across his eyes.
After all, Yang Kai was just a Third-Order Saint King, and although this bucktoothed man was only a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, it was not an exaggeration to say most Second-Order Origin Realm masters were not his opponent, so naturally, he felt a sense of superiority.
Without sparing Yang Kai a second glance, he turned his eyes to Yang Yan.
In that instant, the face of this bucktoothed cultivator changed dramatically, as if he had just seen something impossible, causing him to stumble backwards involuntarily, directly bumping into the door he just walked through with a loud thud. With a look of shock and fear, his slit eyes shot open as he lifted his finger and pointed at Yang Yan while muttering, “You… you you…”
“Nephew Ge, what’s wrong?” Yan Pei looked at him in amazement before glancing back at Yang Yan, not knowing why he suddenly looked like he had seen a ghost.
Yang Kai was also suspicious and quietly asked Yang Yan, “Do you know him?”
Yang Yan shook her head blankly and replied, “I’ve never seen him.”
“Could he have mistaken you for someone else?” Yang Kai became even more confused. Although Yang Yan had reached an astonishing height in the fields of Artifact Refining and Spirit Array arranging, she had always maintained a temperate personality and shouldn’t have made any enemies. However, from the reaction of this bucktoothed cultivator, it was clear that the other party was absolutely terrified of Yang Yan, as if he had suffered a massive loss at her hands before, ingraining fear of her into his very soul.
“Nephew Ge!” Yan Pei called out loudly, sending an invisible pulse of Spiritual Energy to the bucktoothed cultivator which forcefully shook him out of his shock.
Under the effects of this pulse, the fear in the eyes of this cultivator surnamed Ge faded significantly, but his forehead was still saturated with cold sweat and his face visibly turned from blue to white.
[What is this all about?] Yang Kai muttered to himself unhappily. Even if this person had suffered some kind of loss at Yang Yan’s hands before, did he need to act so miserably when simply meeting her again? What’s more, Yang Yan clearly said she didn’t recognize this man, so it was quite likely the other party had simply mistaken her for someone else.
Acting so frightened for such a reason, it seemed this bucktoothed man was just an embroidered pillow. Yang Kai coldly snorted and could not help looking down on this man.
Finally recovering somewhat, the cultivator surnamed Ge continually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hands. Unfortunately, both his hands quickly became soaked, he next resorted to using his sleeves, soaking them in short order as well.
While wiping his sweat, he kept glancing over at Yang Yan, but he never stared at her for more than a moment, quickly looking away in fear and awe.
Seeing this, Yang Yan pursed her lips and smiled, suddenly finding this person quite interesting. Immediately grinning widely, she stared at this man fixedly with her pair of beautiful eyes, and under her intense gaze, this cultivator surnamed Ge’s legs slowly began trembling and his eyes began darting around, as if he couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into or a way to quickly flee from this place.
Seeing this disgraceful display, Yan Pei did not know whether to laugh or cry and quickly called out, “Nephew Ge, we should continue our discussion.”
The cultivator surnamed Ge seemed like he wanted to laugh but was only able to squeeze out a smile that was uglier than if he had been crying and stutteringly asked Yang Yan, “Dare I ask this young lady’s high… no no, honoured name!”
Just speaking this sentence alone seemed to use up all his strength and after he finished, he anxiously began gulping.
Yan Pei rubbed his forehead seeing this, as he was struck speechless.
He knew a little bit about this disciple of his old friend and understood that this bucktoothed man had secluded himself from the world along with his master, but although that meant his life experience wasn’t great, his cultivation aptitude was Heaven defying. It was for this reason that even as a First-Order Origin Realm cultivator, this bucktoothed man could defeat enemies above his realm, making him an elite amongst the elite.
This time, his old friend had assigned this task to his disciple, and any troubles this bucktoothed man had encountered along the way were solved with overwhelming force.
This cultivator surnamed Ge was by no means a timid person. Despite his appearance being somewhat dreadful, he was without a doubt bold and imposing. Yan Pei even intended to ask his old friend to let this cultivator surnamed Ge take up an important position in Treasure Trove Pavilion.
All of this was why the scene Yan Pei was seeing was so unbelievable. Even if this little girl was hiding some kind of astonishing methods, there was no need for this bucktoothed man to act so scared, was there? What’s more, this little girl appeared harmless to humans and animals alike.
“Me?” Yang Yan smiled lightly and charmingly, making this cultivator surnamed Ge not dare look at her directly, “My name is Yang Yan. Is there something Your Excellency would like to say to me?”
“Yang Yan…” The cultivator surnamed Ge trembled visibly and nearly collapsed onto his butt, muttering this name repeatedly to himself before suddenly straightening himself up, cupping his fists, and bowing deeply, “This one doesn’t dare. My name is Ge Qi, but please just call me Xiao Qi.”
As he spoke, Ge Qi put on his best flattering smile, but with his great buck teeth it only made him look more dreadful than before.
“Xiao Qi!” Yang Yan gently nodded, hiding her smile and replacing it with a noble expression as she lightly called out, “Xiao Qi.”
“Yes!” Ge Qi responded quickly, bowing nearly parallel to the floor.
“Am I that ugly?” Yang Yan seemed to ask casually.
This remark boomed like a thunderbolt on the sunny day in Ge Qi’s ears, causing his face to pale greatly as he frantically waved his hand, “No, no, Young Lady’s appearance shames the moon and flowers alike, in no way related to the word ugly.”
“Is that so?” Yang Yan raised her brow and pressed the issue, “Then why did it seem like you saw a ghost when you first laid eyes upon me? I began to think my appearance was frightful.”
Ge Qi became more and more terrified as he teetered on the verge of crying, “That’s not true, Young Lady is, is…”
“Is what?” Yang Yan asked in a forceful manner as she suddenly gave off a dignified and majestic aura.
This scene caused both Yang Kai and Yan Pei to stare in shock, because the majesty Yang Yan was suddenly radiating was not something one could simply fake, but instead carried with it a kind of overwhelming pressure that made one unconsciously wish to submit. At that moment, even Yan Pei felt as if Yang Yan stood at a height far beyond his own.
Under this invisible coercion, Ge Qi became even more miserable as his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, before he could hit the floor, Yan Pei waved his hand and managed to hold him up before lightly coughing and turning to Yang Kai. “Little Friend Yang, this…”
Yang Kai gently nodded and glared at Yang Yan, “Don’t make trouble!”
Regardless of anything else, Ge Qi was still a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, so although Yang Kai did not know why he was so afraid of Yang Yan, he couldn’t allow her to continue playing tricks on him.
Yang Yan spat out her tongue playfully and pouted, “Who asked him to be so timid?”
[Timid…] Yan Pei smiled wryly, this disciple of his old friend could not be described as timid, it was just today that he had acted in such a strange fashion. As for why this was all happening, Yan Pei had no ideas.
“Brother Ge!” Yang Kai stood up and cupped his fists slightly to Ge Qi, putting a smile on his face as he said, “My Senior Sister is a bit mischievous and likes making jokes, I hope Brother Ge will not take offence.”
“Senior Sister?” Ge Qi froze for a moment before the look he directed towards Yang Kai swiftly changed, all of the contempt and disdain vanishing as he nodded vigorously, “I wouldn’t dare. This friend is too polite.”
Yang Kai scratched his forehead helplessly. He could see that in front of Yang Yan this Ge Qi was like a mouse that ran into a cat. Pondering for a moment, Yang Kai proposed, “Yang Yan, could you go out first? I want to speak with Brother Ge about something.”
“Oh?” Hearing this, Yang Yan pouted with displeasure.
“There’s no need!” Ge Qi quickly waved his hand again, as if making Yang Yan wait outside for him was a sin worthy of death.
Yang Yan also secretly began feeling a headache. She had just wanted to tease this person a little bit, but now seeing him act so submissive and frantic, even she felt a bit apologetic.
Seeing Ge Qi looking at him with an almost imploring look, Yang Kai smiled bitterly and gave a glance at Yang Yan. Yang Yan understood what he meant and quickly concealed her face with her black robe and sat back quietly.
Seeing this, Ge Qi exhaled heavily.
“Brother Ge, please sit down,” Yang Kai greeted with a smile.
Ge Qi looked at Yan Pei for direction, and seeing him nod gently, he hesitantly sat down. His appearance remained that of a Junior meeting his Elders, and even though he was sitting, his muscles were taut, fully illustrating his continued anxiety.
Yang Kai and Yan Pei both saw this clearly but neither of them commented on it.
“From what Senior Yan has said, it seems that the Star Emperor Token that appeared earlier was brought here by Brother Ge, yes?” Yang Kai asked Ge Qi.
“Yes,” Ge Qi nodded bitterly while quietly glancing over at Yang Yan before for some reason taking the initiative to explain, “If not for having no choice, my Martial Ancestor would never have taken this Star Emperor Token to use in an exchange, but currently, we simply have no other options. Please understand this, Brother Yang, Sister Yang Yan.”
After hearing this, Yang Kai seemed to suddenly understand something that, if true, would explain Ge Qi’s inexplicable actions up until now.
“And what Brother Ge wants in exchange for this Star Emperor Token is a Flowing Flame Flying Fire or the whereabouts of Soul Cleansing Divine Water?” Yang Kai asked again.
“Yes!” Ge Qi nodded cautiously.
“Although this Yang made Senior Yan call Brother Ge here, I should mention up front that I have neither a Flowing Flame Flying Fire nor information about Soul Cleansing Divine Water.”
“That’s fine,” Ge Qi said completely earnestly, “If Brother Yang wants this Star Emperor Token, please just allow this Ge to report about this matter to my Martial Ancestor. If Ancestor agrees, delivering it to Brother Yang… and Sister Yang Yan should not be a problem.”
“Eh…” Yang Kai looked at Ge Qi in amazement before quickly waving his hand, “This Yang did not mean to imply that. Although this Star Emperor Token’s Divine Ability has already been used, it is still a treasure refined personally by the Starry Sky Great Emperor and is of extraordinary value. This Yang has no intention of receiving it for free. What I wished to ask from the start was, could Brother Ge’s Martial Ancestor have a problem with their Knowledge Sea?”
After listening to Yang Kai’s inquiry, Yan Pei’s eyes flashed in surprise, finding it quite astonishing that Yang Kai was able to make this kind of connection. As an old friend to this mysterious master, Yan Pei naturally knew why the other party would resort to trading this Star Emperor Token at this time.
More surprising though was that Ge Qi openly admitted this with a nod, “Brother Yang is correct. My Martial Ancestor was plotted against by a wicked enemy half a year ago and had her Knowledge Sea poisoned, which is why I need a Flowing Flame Flying Fire or Soul Cleansing Divine Water, because according to Martial Ancestor, only these two things are capable of detoxifying this poison.”
“So, that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded confidently before reaching out, touching his Space Ring, and taking out a jade bottle which he handed to Ge Qi, “Although I do not have a Flowing Flame Flying Fire or information on a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water, Brother Ge may wish to see if this pill meets the requirements of your Martial Ancestor.”
Even after conversing a bit, Ge Qi’s expression was still filled with caution, but his emotions had at least stabilized somewhat, so after directing a somewhat suspicious look towards Yang Kai, he nodded and accepted the jade bottle.
Ge Qi carefully opened the bottle and was instantly hit with a delicate medicinal fragrance that caused his furrowed brow to stretch as a look of surprise filled his face because the moment he inhaled this pill fragrance, he felt his soul become somewhat refreshed.
Pouring out the pill from its bottle, Ge Qi’s eyes instantly bulged.
“This is…” Yan Pei, who was sitting to the side, also straightened up, his eyes fixed on this pill, his expression filled with shock and disbelief.
Although Ge Qi had secluded himself from the world with his Martial Ancestor for many years, he was still an Origin Realm cultivator and was able to judge the quality of treasures.
Meanwhile, as the chief auctioneer of Treasure Trove Pavilion, Yan Pei had seen many valuables during his life, so his vision was naturally quite extraordinary.
The two of them instantly recognized how extraordinary this pill was.
“An Origin Grade High-Rank pill?” Yan Pei called out in alarm, paying no heed to his age or status as he quickly snatched the pill from Ge Qi’s hands and held it in his own to investigate it.
“It really is an Origin Grade High-Rank pill?” Ge Qi asked in disbelief.
“Yes! It is indeed an Origin Grade High-Rank pill! This colour, this fragrance, the medicinal efficacy stored inside it, there’s no doubt it is an Origin Grade High-Rank pill!” Yan Pei shouted.
Yan Pei could not be blamed for his extreme reaction as, on Shadowed Star, Origin Grade High-Rank pills were legendary existences. Here, the highest grade of Alchemist was Origin Grade Low-Rank; it was impossible to advance beyond that. It was also well known that when an Alchemist refined pills, there was a high chance of failure, so even those Origin Grade Low-Rank Alchemists didn’t dare claim they had a one hundred percent chance to refine an Origin Grade Low-Rank pill.
On occasion, with extremely good luck and some auxiliary methods, these Alchemists could refine an Origin Grade Mid-Rank pill, each one of them selling for an incredible price or more often hidden away by the force which refined it to ensure the outside world never learned of its existence
But an Origin Grade High-Rank pill… To put it bluntly, with the level of Alchemy on Shadowed Star, no one was capable of refining one.
Over its many years of existence, Treasure Trove Pavilion had managed to obtain a handful of pills of this grade, but without exception, they were found in Ancient Ruins and had already lost most of their medicinal efficacies. Only once had one such pill which was still in relatively good condition been taken to auction and Yan Pei vividly remembered how all the great forces on Shadowed Star had competed madly for it, almost resulting in war.
During that Treasure Trove Pavilion auction, many had almost lost their lives, and whenever he thought back to that day, Yan Pei could not help trembling.
Now, after so many years, another Origin Grade High-Rank pill had appeared in front of his eyes. No matter what kind of effect this pill had, its value was inestimable.
However, since Yang Kai had taken this pill out at this time, Yan Pei had a fairly good idea about what effects it had.
“This is a Soul Cleansing Pill, perhaps Senior Yan has heard of it,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before taking a sip of his tea.
“Soul Cleansing Pill, it really is a Soul Cleansing Pill!” Yan Pei exclaimed, “This is the perfect pill for this situation!”
“Senior Yan, do you mean…” Ge Qi turned to look at Yan Pei and asked hesitantly.
“Take it,” Yan Pei poured the Soul Cleansing Pill in his hand back into its jade bottle and threw it to Ge Qi, “This Soul Cleansing Pill is enough to resolve Nephew Ge’s crisis. Although its effects are not as profound as Soul Cleansing Divine Water or a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, it is actually better suited to your need.”
“Really?” Ge Qi was overjoyed.
“You think this old master will deceive you?” Yan Pei snorted, “The reason why Nephew Ge didn’t try to exchange for such a pill was presumably because you didn’t believe an Origin Grade High-Rank pill would exist in this world and thus settled on using a Flowing Flame Flying Fire or Soul Cleansing Divine Water, but this pill’s effects are perfect to your Martial Ancestor’s condition. Nephew Ge is truly lucky.”
Ge Qi heard this, and his face filled with joy, quickly and carefully storing this Soul Cleansing Pill into his Space Ring before profusely thanking Yang Kai.
“Brother Ge is too polite, we both simply exchanged for what we wanted,” Yang Kai smiled and waved his hand. This Soul Cleansing Pill was, of course, something he refined during his last retreat. During his last seclusion, Yang Kai had refined many pills, but only a few of them were Origin Grade High-Rank, one of them just so happened to be this Soul Cleansing Pill though.
During the auction, when Yan Pei said that the owner of this Star Emperor Token wanted to exchange it for a Flowing Flame Flying Fire or the whereabouts of a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water, Yang Kai had guessed that the other party was suffering some kind of problem with their Knowledge Sea, and if that was the case, this Soul Cleansing Pill would no doubt be the best solution to use.
Accepting the Soul Cleansing Pill, Ge Qi naturally handed the Star Emperor Token over to Yang Kai. Examining it slightly, Yang Kai found that it was no different from the Star Emperor Token he obtained in the Flowing Flame Sand Field last time and simply tossed it into his Space Ring.
Having completed his task, Ge Qi could not wait to leave this place and return to his Martial Ancestor to deliver the Soul Cleansing Pill.
Before leaving though, Ge Qi solemnly cupped his fists and said, “If Martial Ancestor recovers, we will surely come to express our gratitude. At that time, I hope Sister Yang Yan will not refuse our visit!”
Having said what he needed to say, he nodded to Yan Pei before hurrying off.
Inside the room, Yang Kai rubbed his nose as he turned a somewhat confused look towards Yan Pei. Ge Qi’s words before leaving had been quite meaningful, imply that his Martial Ancestor would pay a visit to Yang Yan rather than Yang Kai; it was all quite intriguing.
“Senior Yan, this Brother Ge…”
“Little friend does not need to inquire, if my old friend really comes to visit, you will naturally understand at that time. If they do not, then this old master will not reveal their identities. However, Little Friend Yang should know that although my old friend has been in seclusion for many years, she has an incredibly resounding name and status!” Yan Pei smiled lightly and inscrutably before suddenly asking in a low voice, “Yes, Little Friend Yang, about that Soul Cleansing Pill…”
Yang Kai, of course, knew what Yan Pei was thinking and quickly shook his head, “That was the only one.”
Obviously, Yan Pei would not believe him so easily, but instead of continuing to struggle, he gave Yang Kai a thoughtful look, “Was this pill something Little Friend Yang obtained by chance?”
“Yeah,” Yang Kai nodded, “Senior Yan should know about my origins, but even in the outside world, Origin Grade High-Rank pills are rare treasures, so I’m afraid I must disappoint you.”
“So that’s how it is,” Yan Pei sighed and smiled, “Very well, if Little Friend Yang ever finds such a good pill again, please consider bringing it to Treasure Trove Pavilion to auction, I guarantee the price will definitely satisfy you.”
“Certainly,” Yang Kai replied casually.
Yan Pei chuckled, got up, and said, “Alright then, this old master will also do his best to search for the thing Little Friend Yang asked about. If I do find an Earth Attribute treasure of appropriate grade, I will inform you as soon as possible.”
“Many thanks, Senior Yan.” Yang Kai also stood up, “This Junior will take his leave then.”
After exiting Treasure Trove Pavilion, Yang Kai cast a curious look towards Yang Yan, secretly wondering what this mysterious woman had done before he met her and why Ge Qi seemed to be so frightened and cautious around her.
However, he truly had no clues to work with. Yang Yan had always been quite a mystery, and the more he was around her, the more Yang Kai was unable to see through her.
The one thing Yang Kai could be sure of though was that Yang Yan had no malicious intent towards him, allowing him to relax.
“Yang Kai, it seems that someone is observing us,” Yang Yan suddenly whispered once they left Heavenly Fate City.
“Oh?” Hearing this, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense immediately and soon realized that there was indeed someone hidden nearby, but the cultivation level of this person was not too high, only reaching the First-Order Origin Returning Realm. On top of that, it was not just one person but a group of people.
Although it was clear these people didn’t have good intentions, Yang Kai couldn’t sense any murderous intent from them, so after a little bit of thought, he immediately understood who they were and smiled lightly as he said, “Don’t worry about them, this area is still within Heavenly Fate City’s jurisdiction, they won’t dare attack us. Let us head back first.”
Saying so, he flew off towards Dragon Cave Mountain with Yang Yan.
A moment later, the two landed outside the Mountain Defending Array and Yang Kai said to Yang Yan, “You go back first, I’ll talk to them here.”
“Understood,” Yang Yan nodded, not saying another word as she walked forward. The defensive array obviously could not block Yang Yan in the slightest and it wasn’t long before her figure disappeared completely.
After Yang Yan left, Yang Kai turned around with a smile on his face and called out loudly, “After following me all this way, you’re still not coming out?”
No response came.
Yang Kai was not surprised by this though and just continued smiling, “Since you don’t want to come out, I will say goodbye here.”
Seeing that Yang Kai really intended to leave, the cultivators who had hidden finally could not contain themselves. On his left, with a series of ripples, a group of six people appeared while on the right, in a flash of light, another group roughly the same size appeared.
As soon as these two groups appeared, they began directing fierce glares laced with hostile intent at one another.
The group on the left were contaminated with a faint Monster Qi and their robes were embroidered with various birds and beasts. Needless to say, these people were from Myriad Beast Mountain as only disciples from Myriad Beast Mountain, who dealt with Monster Beast all day, would themselves have persistent Monster Qi on them.
As for the group of people on the right, although their cultivations were about the same as the group of the left, the vitality they exuded was clearly stronger, and a faint bloody smell lingered about their bodies.
Demon Blood Temple!
Yang Kai’s eyes fell on one person in particular on his right. Raising his brow slightly, Yang Kai cupped his fists and smiled, “Brother Deng, long time no see.”
This man smiled bitterly and showed a helpless look before returning the greeting, “Brother Yang is doing well it seems!”
The words spoken between these two clearly indicated that they were familiar with one another, causing the group from Myriad Beast Mountain on the left to frown slightly while Origin Returning Realm master who led the group of the right smiled and asked, “Do you know this little brother?”
“En,” Hearing his Elder’s question, the cultivator surnamed Deng nodded helplessly.
“Oh?” The Origin Returning Realm master grinned. “Since you know him, this will be easy to handle. Deng Ning, explain to this little brother here carefully about how Elder Jin Shi needs that Profound Gold. See if you can make him see reason.”
This Demon Blood Temple disciple was none other than Deng Ning, whom Yang Kai had met once before. When Yang Kai emerged from the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he happened to encounter this Deng Ning being chased down by two of his fellow Sect Brothers. After helping him conveniently, Yang Kai had acquired the Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique from Deng Ning. This Secret Technique’s power was immense and had helped Yang Kai quite a lot.
Later, Deng Ning had also brought Yang Kai to Demon Blood City, where he used a mixture of personal connections and contribution points to allow Yang Kai to use the Space Array to teleport to a city nearby Heavenly Fate City.
From their brief interaction, Yang Kai’s perception of Deng Ning was quite good. Although the Demon Blood Temple that Deng Ning belonged to had a rather poor reputation, that was not a problem when it came to private relationships.
Yang Kai had not expected Deng Ning to come to Heavenly Fate City this time though; but seeing how he was just part of a group from Demon Blood Temple, Yang Kai wasn’t about to blame him for following orders.
What’s more, the relationship he shared with Deng Ning wasn’t even on the level of friendship, so a minor event like this didn’t matter much, to begin with.
Receiving orders, Deng Ning turned a helpless look to Yang Kai, but before he could speak, Yang Kai simply raised his hand to stop him and declared, “Brother Deng need not say any more since this Profound Gold is of great use to me. I will not hand it over to anyone, please withdraw!”
The expression on the face of the Origin Realm master leading Demon Blood Temple’s group instantly became gloomy, but just as he was about to say something, a burly man over on Myriad Beast Mountain’s side let out a laugh, “Boy, don’t be in such a hurry to make a decision, you should first hear the price we’re offering. Although my Myriad Beast Mountain is not quite on par with Heaven Battling Union or Thunder Typhoon Sect, it is still a first-class Sect. I’m certain we can make you an offer you won’t be able to refuse.”
This man spoke casually, but the meaning of threat in his voice was not lost on anyone present.
The Demon Blood Temple Origin Returning Realm master immediately sneered, “Your tone is quite bold, what are you planning on offer? If you had enough capital from the beginning, why did you shrink back during the auction?”
The burly man leading Myriad Beast Mountain’s group just coldly snorted, not bothering to address the Demon Blood Temple man and instead stared directly at Yang Kai, his lips wriggling as he used his Divine Sense to send a message, “Boy, I can see you don’t lack Saint Crystals, otherwise you wouldn’t have offered such a high price back at the auction, but my Myriad Beast Mountain has our own unique means of bargaining. I can take responsibility here to offer you thirty Seventh-Order Monster Beasts and ten Eighth-Order Monster Beasts, with a method of controlling them of course, as long as you hand over that Profound Gold. En, your little hill here is not very broad, so if you were to have these Monster Beasts to help you guard it, it would become far more secure. I cannot make any guarantees, but such a force would be more than enough to deter most troubles. How about it?”
Objectively, this price was neither high nor low, but it was definitely not equal to the amount of Saint Crystals Yang Kai had paid; after all, Seventh-Order Monster Beasts were only equivalent to Saint Realm cultivators while Eighth-Order ones were on par with Saint Kings.
Myriad Beast Mountain clearly wanted to pick up a bargain here, but with all the layers of protection around Dragon Cave Mountain, what use would Yang Kai have for these few Monster Beasts?
So even if the other party had shown some slight sincerity, Yang Kai decisively shook his head.
The lead man from Myriad Beast Mountain frowned slightly but continued to bargain, “I can add five more Eighth-Order Monster Beasts, but that is as high as my Myriad Beast Mountain is willing to go, you best think hard about your answer!”
“I already said, this Profound Gold is mine now, I won’t be selling it for any price. Please withdraw,” Yang Kai looked at him lightly.
“Little brat, don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Don’t think I don’t dare flatten your tiny hill right here and now!” The burly man flew into a rage seeing Yang Kai bluntly refuse his face-saving offer.
Hearing his intimidation though, Yang Kai simply grinned, “Sure. I look forward to seeing how you plan to flatten my Dragon Cave Mountain!”
“You court death!” A murderous intent flashed across the eyes of the burly man, but soon, as if remembering something, he suddenly glanced over to his side to see the people from Demon Blood Temple staring at him happily, as if they couldn’t wait for him to attack.
This burly man immediately realized that once he took action, he would only be helping this group from Demon Blood Temple. Quickly pressing down his anger, the burly man sneered and stepped back, as if he was preparing to watch a good show.
He was unable to obtain the Profound Gold, but he was not going to help the Demon Blood Temple group obtain it by acting rashly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself to Elder Feng when he returned.
Moreover, this place was too close to Heavenly Fate City, so he could not just kill at will. If this were not the case, how could he have been here in the first place? Old Woman Feng or Jin Shi would have already personally dealt with Yang Kai if they could settle things by force.
Because this area was technically still under Heavenly Fate City, and because they didn’t want to lower themselves to deal with a Junior, these two Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters had sent their respective disciples to negotiate with Yang Kai about this Profound Gold, hoping he would understand his limits and turn it over to one of them.
The Demon Blood Temple Origin Returning Realm master saw the man from Myriad Beast Mountain snickering towards him but didn’t back down, declaring out loud, “I don’t know what price this friend from Myriad Beast Mountain has offered you, but my Demon Blood Temple is willing to offer you twenty virgin Blood Slaves in exchange for that Profound Gold, what do you think?”
Having said this, he looked down at Yang Kai smugly, as if he could not imagine this young boy refusing such an offer.
When the group from Myriad Beast Mountain heard this, all of their faces changed greatly, with the burly man even drawing in a sharp breath as he shouted, “Twenty virgin Blood Slaves, your Temple is willing to go that far?!”
After he finished speaking, he turned a rather nervous look towards Yang Kai, worrying he might agree; after all, the temptation of twenty Virgin Blood Slaves was too great for most to refuse.
If Demon Blood Temple was willing to give himself such benefits, he would immediately betray Myriad Beast Mountain and join them instead.
“Heh heh, compared to allowing Elder Jin Shi’s Secret Technique to advance, what do twenty Blood Slaves count for?” The leader of the Demon Blood Temple’s group smiled slightly as he looked towards Yang Kai and said, “Only my Demon Blood Temple has the ability to train Blood Slaves on Shadowed Star, but by following a few special rituals, these Blood Slaves can be made to faithfully and whole-heartedly serve you until death. Each of the Blood Slaves you receive would also have their Primordial Yin intact which can help you significantly enhance your vitality.”
Saying so, he suddenly turned his eyes to a woman standing behind him and flashed an evil grin, “This is one of my Blood Slaves!”
Immediately after declaring so, he issued a stunning command, “Take off your clothes!”
The woman froze for a moment, her face turning pale and her tender body trembling lightly.
This woman’s face was beautiful and her figure was enchanting; moreover, probably due to cultivating some kind of Charm Technique, she gave off a kind of seductive aura that drew men’s eyes to her.
This woman’s cultivation was not low either, reaching the First-Order Saint King Realm; however, after listening to the orders of this Demon Blood Temple man, in full view of the public, she began to undress.
Biting her thin lip strongly, this woman’s face was completely white, making it obvious she was extremely unwilling, but she seemed incapable of disobeying this man’s orders.
As the sound of rustling clothes echoed through the air, the male disciples of Myriad Beast Mountain stared dumbfounded as they constantly made audible gulping noises while the few female disciples present eyes them with extreme scorn.
Finished removing her dress, the woman was soon left with just her undergarments covering her most sensitive places. Her skin was pure white, like warm jade, and there was an attractive lustre on her face, causing a primal reaction to stir in the men present, making it hard for them to keep their composure.
Seeing that she was actually on the verge of removing her undergarments as well, Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown while revealing a look of impatience as he said, “I’ll only say this one last time, I won’t hand this Profound Gold over to anyone, there’s no room for negotiation.”
Demon Blood Temple’s Origin Returning Realm master’s complexion changed slightly as he stared at Yang Kai and muttered in a low voice, “Do you really want to act so stubbornly, boy? You won’t even consider my offer?”
Yang Kai looked at him indifferently, too lazy to say anything more.
“Hmph, good, kids nowadays all think they are mightier than the Heavens, I hope you don’t regret your rashness!” The man sneered as he left his ruthless remark, no longer interested in engaging in any discussion with Yang Kai. Waving his hand, he quickly led the other Demon Blood Temple disciples away.
Before leaving, the female Blood Slave gently nodded to Yang Kai as she flashed a look of gratitude, grabbing her clothes which were on the ground and disappearing in the next moment.
Deng Ning also cupped his fists to Yang Kai somewhat apologetically before following after the others.
After the group from Demon Blood Temple withdrew, the burly man leading Myriad Beast Mountain’s group chuckled, “Boy, you’d best reconsider our offer. My previous offer still stands, once you’ve cleared your head, come find me in Heavenly Fate City.”
His face flashed a temperate look, as if all the unpleasantness from a moment ago had not happened.
Finished here, he too took his people away.
After temporarily resolving this issue, Yang Kai secretly frowned. He found that he had been making more and more enemies recently, but there was nothing he could do about it; after all, this Profound Gold had an important use to him, there was no way he could easily hand it over.
Dragon Cave Mountain was situated near Heavenly Fate City, so naturally, it fell under Shadow Moon Hall’s protection, and although they had agreed to not get involved in Yang Kai’s grievances with the Xie Family, if Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple were to openly attack Dragon Cave Mountain, Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t just stand idly by.
As such, Yang Kai could ignore these two forces for the time being; however, a method to handle the Xie Family needed further consideration.
Originally, Yang Kai planned to handle the Xie Family after coming out of his latest seclusion, but now that he learned that Lu Ye was currently staying with the Xie Family and even Sea Heart Sect’s people had joined them, it was a bit difficult for Yang Kai to immediately take action.
The strength of Dragon Cave Mountain’s defence was unquestionable, but in terms of offensive power, it was indeed somewhat lacking. This matter needed further consideration. Yang Kai still dreaded Lu Ye, especially after seeing the other party had some mysterious method which allowed him to regrow his severed arm. Before he was able to completely understand Lu Ye’s capabilities, Yang Kai felt it was unwise to openly challenge him.
Thinking so, Yang Kai turned and walked into the Mountain Defending Array.
Yang Yan had not gone inside to rest but instead waited for him. Seeing Yang Kai return safe and sound, Yang Yan did not seem too surprised, instead just beckoning to him to walk towards the cave mansion.
Yang Kai smiled faintly before leisurely following after her.
Inside the cave mansion, the two sat face to face and Yang Yan reached out and said, “Show me that Star Emperor Token.”
Seemingly having known Yang Yan would say so, Yang Kai smiled slightly and handed the Star Emperor Token he obtained from Ge Qi to her.
Yang Yan accepted it and a slightly complex look appeared on her face as she gently stroked it. Her expression changed constantly as her eyes revealed a look of reminiscence.
Yang Kai sat to the side without interrupting.
After half an hour, the strange look upon Yang Yan’s face completely faded and she let out a long sigh, returning the Star Emperor Token to Yang Kai as she said, “Keep this thing safe, it may be of great use in the future.”
“Great use?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “What kind of use?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Yan shook her head slowly, “This is just my feeling, I can’t give you anything more than that; however, I can confirm that there is some secret hidden within this thing. It’s rumoured that the Great Emperor refined ten of these Star Emperor Tokens, so perhaps one needs to gather all ten pieces together to unravel that mystery.”
Saying so, Yang Yan let out a wry laugh, “But doing so is far too difficult. Obtaining a single Star Emperor Token can already be considered a once in a very lucky lifetime opportunity, how is one supposed to obtain all ten?”
“Really?” Yang Kai smiled strangely, “I have others.”
“What?” Yang Yan stared at him in amazement, her beautiful eyes going wide in the next moment as she stared at another Star Emperor Token that appeared in Yang Kai’s hands.
This Star Emperor Token was basically identical to the one exchanged by Ge Qi, with the Divine Ability which had been sealed inside already having been used. Both of these tokens had faint Emperor Pressure lingering on them, so it was clear they were genuine.
The surprise hadn’t ended yet though as Yang Kai raised his other hand and summoned another Star Emperor Token to it.
When Yang Yan saw this third Star Emperor Token, she couldn’t help covering her mouth as her beautiful eyes bulged in shock, hesitantly asking, “Could this be…”
This third Star Emperor Token was obviously different from the first two. Although their appearances were identical, this third one gave off a terrifying energy fluctuation, and with Yang Yan being so knowledgeable, how could she not understand what this implied?
“Yeah, this in an unused Star Emperor Token!” Yang Kai smiled lightly as he tossed it over to Yang Yan.
Yang Yan hurriedly caught it.
Just as she did though, something unexpected happened.
When that unused Star Emperor Token was caught by Yang Yan, a ripple of energy visible to the naked eye burst from it. At the same time, a resonant cry rang out, like the piercing call of a bird. Immediately after, an exotic looking cyan coloured bird with long feathers suddenly emerged from the Star Emperor Token.
In the next instant, Yang Yan’s Saint Qi fluctuations and the energy contained in the Star Emperor Token resonated with each other and both floated up involuntarily.
A pulsing noise so great rang out that the entire cave mansion was thrown into disorder and a pressure which caused Yang Kai to pale suddenly emerged.
Yang Kai didn’t understand what was going on so he hurriedly summoned his Purple Shield and circulated his Saint Qi to protect himself. Only once this was done did he release his Divine Sense to check Yang Yan’s situation.
After a brief investigation, Yang Kai was shocked by what he discovered.
He found that Yang Yan hadn’t received any ill effects and instead seemed to be receiving some kind of information from the Star Emperor Token. Her beautiful eyes were shut with her lashes fluttering slightly, her brow sometimes tightened while sometimes relaxed.
This scene didn’t last long, only about ten breaths. Just as Yang Kai was wondering what to do, Yang Yan suddenly opened her eyes and caught the Star Emperor Token floating in front of her before lightly descending to the ground, a thoughtfully look filling her face.
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked hurriedly.
Yang Yan glanced over at him lightly before completely changing the subject, “You haven’t refined this yet.”
“This thing can be refined?” Yang Kai was shocked.
Yang Yan smiled lightly, “This is also a kind of artifact, a single-use one, so naturally it can be refined. Fortunately you’ve only been hiding it so far and hadn’t tried to use it at all, otherwise you would have died.”
Yang Kai didn’t show any surprise or shock at this comment. Gui Zu had warned him about this earlier, so even though he had encountered many dangerous situations over the years, Yang Kai had never thought of using this Star Emperor Token. Currently, this token was only a way to drag down an enemy with him, so of course Yang Kai wasn’t going to use it easily.
“You seem to know a lot about this,” Yang Kai stared at her with a slight frown.
“What are you trying to say?” Yang Yan pursed her lips lightly, her expression slightly uneasy.
“Since you fell into a coma for no reason last time, I feel like you’ve changed a lot, what exactly is it that you’re hiding? Is there anything you can tell me?” Yang Kai finally decided to express his doubts. He had become incredibly curious after he saw Ge Qi react to meeting Yang Yan, as if the former had seen a ghost yet Yang Yan claimed to have never met him. And now, this Star Emperor Token actually resonated with Yang Yan. All of this pushed Yang Kai to the point where he could no longer just ignore the situation.
He wanted to speak with Yang Yan openly.
“It’s not that I want to hide anything, it’s just…” Yang Yan showed a hesitant look on her face.
“Just what?”
“It’s just that I’m not sure either, so I didn’t want to say anything. When I am certain, I promise I’ll tell you, okay?” Yang Yan looked at him, nearly begging.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before suddenly smiling, “Tell me how to refine this thing, I’ve studied it a few times before but was never able to learn anything about it.”
Seeing Yang Kai not continue to press to issue, Yang Yan felt relieved and smiled happily, “I can do that, hehe.”
Saying so, she condensed a ray of Saint Qi at her fingertip and with a quick stroke made a small cut on her wrist, allowing her fresh blood to immediately flow out. Yang Yan next presse the Star Emperor Token against this new wound.
Yang Kai heard a terrifying suction force, like a starving ghost was feasting, as the Star Emperor Token began absorbing the blood from the wound on Yang Yan’s wrist.
In the blink of an eye, the Star Emperor Token became blood red.
After finishing this, Yang Yan seemed a bit tired as she tossed the Star Emperor Token to Yang Kai and sat down cross-legged.
“Is that it?” Yang Kai stared at Star Emperor Token in amazement, finding that only its colour had changed while everything else seemingly remained the same.
“En,” Yang Yan nodded seriously.
Yang Kai observed this token with some suspicion. If refining this thing required blood, it should be the one attempting to refine it that provides it. Why would Yang Yan need to provide her blood?
“You’ll understand if you try it now,” Yang Yan smiled before standing up and walking towards the exit, “Make sure you keep these three Star Emperor Token safe.”
“Got it,” Yang Kai nodded helplessly.
After Yang Yan left, Yang Kai held the bright red Star Emperor Token in his palm curiously and tried pouring his Saint Qi into it. Surprisingly, his Saint Qi easily infiltrated it, without the slightest hindrance. There was no sign of the Divine Ability inside being triggered but the Star Emperor Token at this moment was like a bottomless pit that constantly swallowed Yang Kai’s Saint Qi, establishing a kind of vague connection with him.
This was clearly the first sign of an artifact being refined, causing Yang Kai to feel overjoyed and immediately understood that what Yang Yan said was right. This Star Emperor Token could really be refined, so he spared no effort to do so.
At the same time, in a jungle about four hundred kilometres away from Dragon Cave Mountain.
A young man seemed to be carefreely flying forward, his speed neither fast nor slow.
If Yang Kai were here, he would have immediately attacked this person for a very simple reason: it was none other than Lu Ye of Flowing Cloud Valley. Yang Kai hated Lu Ye greatly, and from the direction he was flying, it seemed he was headed to the Xie Family.
Lu Ye’s face was filled with a meaningful grin as he quickly changed the direction his Star Shuttle was flying and flew deeper into the jungle, gently landing on the ground with his hands behind his back a moment later.
It was silent all around, with only the breeze blowing and the noise of swaying branches and leaves.
“What? You all waited here in ambush for this Lu did you not? This Lu has now arrived, yet you haven’t actually shown yourselves. Why hide your head and show your tail?” Lu Ye tilted his head slightly as he glanced around at the thick trees surrounding him.
No one answered and no one showed up, as if it really was just Lu Ye here.
However, Lu Ye wasn’t discouraged and sneered, “A group of cowardly rats actually dares to ambush this Lu? Good, since you refuse to show yourself, don’t blame this Lu for being rude.”
“Little brat, your sight is quite good, even able to see through my concealment methods. What a pity your life has come to an end!” A loud voice sounded, and the next moment, several people suddenly jumped out from behind the nearby trees.
Immediately afterwards, there were clamouring noises all around, from left and right, as more figures emerged one by one, all of them staring towards Lu Ye with malicious intent.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye was surrounded on all sides, with no way to escape.
At the auction just now, Lu Ye had been too high-profile and had naturally drawn the attention of countless people. Although he had quietly withdrawn during the last moments of the auction, he had still been followed by many people in secret.
Knowing that he was going to return to the Xie Family, many had set up an ambush in this jungle in advance, waiting for gains without pains.
Sure enough, Lu Ye did pass through here, but what these conspiring people didn’t expect was that Lu Ye would truly not know how to fear the Heavens and was willing to step into this ambush.
The one who spoke just now was a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator with short stature and a big forehead. This ugly looking man stared at Lu Ye with an evil grin on his face and nodded, “Not bad, you’ve got some guts. I haven’t met a brat as brave as you for many years.”
“Brother Cheng, enough nonsense, just hurry up and do it,” On the other side of the ambush, an elderly man with a long beard urged impatiently. Although on the surface, this man looked far older than Cheng Dong, the two didn’t differ in age much.
“Good, a long delay only creates more troubles. This little brat is worth a lot of money so our gains this time will definitely not be small.”
“What’s the rush?” Cheng Dong coldly snorted, “We can take care of this brat at any time, I think we should first discuss how to allocate his wealth, what do you say?”
There were a total of three Origin Returning Realm masters here while the others were just Saint Kings or Saints. Altogether, there were a total of sixteen people.
In this situation, none of these three groups placed Lu Ye in their eyes; after all, under the investigation of their Divine Senses, he was just a Third-Order Saint King, discussing how to divide up his wealth seemed more troublesome than actually killing him.
Anyone capable of spending more than 40 million Saint Crystals at an auction should have some Saint Crystals left over. Not to mention, the things he won at the auction were all excellent treasures, enough to divide amongst all of them.
These three groups did not have strong backgrounds, each of them at most representing a force on par with Flowing Cloud Valley, where Lu Ye was from. Only such small forces would engage in this kind of blatant banditry as cultivators in great forces, because of concerns about face and regulations, would act with more self-discipline.
With such a fat sheep in front of them, everyone from these three groups was practically drooling, each of them trying to use their own strength to lay claim to a bigger portion of his wealth. The three Origin Returning Realm masters quarrelled quite vehemently, with spit flying between them, none of them willing to compromise.
Lu Ye stood in place indifferently, with no look of panic on his face, as if these people were not even talking about him; however, his expression gradually became impatient.
Glancing between the three masters, who were only becoming noisier and noisier, Lu Ye finally could not help coldly snorting, “Just a bunch of incompetent wastes!”
As soon as this remark came out, all three Origin Returning Realm masters looked at him in amazement, Cheng Dong cupping his ear and asking in a thuggish manner, “Boy, what did you just say? If you have the courage, say it again.”
“I called you a bunch of incompetent wastes. Before you even kill the person you want to rob, you start bickering over how to distribute the benefits? Simply ridiculous. You think you’re capable of killing this Lu?” Lu Ye snapped sarcastically as he flashed a disdainful smile.
Cheng Dong’s face sank as he let out a hollow laugh, “Brothers, this little brat seems impatient to die. Since he is asked for it, we might as well fulfil his last wish before sitting down to discuss how to split his wealth.”
The other two masters were also incensed by Lu Ye’s rampant words and naturally had no reason to disagree.
Cheng Dong grinned, waved his hand, and shouted, “Cut him to pieces, I want him to regret being born into this world!”
Receiving this order, the many Saint Kings and Saints present summoned their artifacts and were just about to launch an attack when Lu Ye’s expression suddenly changed and became extremely ghastly, letting out wicked laughter, “You want these wastes to take the life of this Senior? You are the most ridiculous wastes this Senior has met in ten thousand years!”
“Huh?” The three Origin Returning Realm masters were dumbfounded as a faint sense of uneasiness welled up inside them, as if something bad was about to happen.
After Lu Ye let out this wild laughter, he waved his hand and sent out bolts of blood-red light towards the cultivators surrounding him.
There was a strange noise coming from these blood-red lights, as if they were living creatures, causing everyone’s expression to change dramatically as they quickly tried to resist, but regardless of what kind of offensive or defensive action they took, none of them were able to stop these blood-red lights from approaching. Forget about the various Saint King Realm and Saint Realm cultivators, even the three Origin Returning Realm masters like Cheng Dong failed to stop these red lights.
The blood-red lights only flickered slightly before passing through these cultivators’ Saint Qi protection as if it were nothing, digging into their flesh in the next instant before disappearing.
“What is this?!” Cheng Dong screamed in horror as he stumbled back a few steps, his face going pale as he hurriedly used his Divine Sense to examine himself.
What surprised him though was that he did not find anything wrong. His Saint Qi was still circulating smoothly, his meridians were unobstructed, and his Divine Sense hadn’t been affected in any way, so what did that blood-red light just do?
Even after so many years of cultivating, this was the first time Cheng Dong had encountered something so strange. Suspicious, he glanced over at the other two Origin Realm masters and found that they were in the same condition as he was, making it impossible for him to learn anything from them.
After releasing those blood-red lights, Lu Ye didn’t move, just standing in place with a contemptuous look on his face, coldly snorting with dissatisfaction, “Originally I thought that I would be able to draw out a number of useful people, but all I got was three wastes! Whatever, you still might have some use; from now on, you take orders from this Senior!”
“Draw out?” Cheng Dong heard these words and frowned slightly, but after a moment of contemplation, his face changed greatly, “You deliberately acted so boldly at the auction to tempt people into trying to rob you?”
The other two Origin Returning Realm masters heard this and instantly understood what happened, the two of them turning somewhat fearful looks towards Lu Ye.
No matter what this person had planned, just this intention alone was suspicious enough. On top of that, none of them could figure out what those blood-red lights from a moment ago were for.
“You’re not qualified to ask questions. Obey this Senior’s orders and I may let you live, otherwise…”
“Otherwise, what?” Cheng Dong was obviously not willing to sit here waiting for death, and he did not believe that the blood-red light just now had any mysterious use; after all, he didn’t feel any kind of discomfort.
Perhaps the other party was just bluffing! Or at least that was how he comforted himself.
“Otherwise your end will be quite miserable!” Lu Ye grinned incredulously. Just as his voice fell, Cheng Dong suddenly grabbed his head with both hands and screamed loudly, terrifying everyone present.
In less than a breath of time, Cheng Dong’s clothes had been soaked with sweat and he had collapsed to the ground as he writhed in pain. The beast-like roars he was releasing showed just how much agony he was in and it was not long before his skin turned bright red, as if he was about to explode.
“What did you do to Brother Cheng!? What was that thing just now?” Another Origin Returning Realm master’s eyes bulged as he asked in horror.
Cheng Dong was not the only one hit by that blood-red light just now, everyone present was! Seeing Cheng Dong tortured like this, naturally, these cultivators felt a deep sense of fear.
“This Senior simply gave him a Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect, why raise a fuss?” Lu Ye sneered.
“Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect?” Everyone heard this and exchanged an aghast look with one another. Although none of them had heard of this thing before, just from Cheng Dong’s performance, it was obviously something sinister.
The elderly Origin Realm master’s expression flickered before he suddenly pointed his hand and a jet-black sword strangely appeared. This sword was shrouded in black Qi and there was a faint bloody aura about it. In an instant, this black Qi surged up and condensed into a several metre-long snake that opened its fanged mouth and shot towards Lu Ye.
He planned to kill Lu Ye directly!
This plan was not a mistake. It did not matter what Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect was. Even if it could cause Cheng Dong to be reduced to this state, it was still only able to do so through Lu Ye’s command. Since the elderly man had also been invaded by the Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect, the only way for him to escape was to kill Lu Ye by surprise.
In this old man’s opinion, Lu Ye was just a Third-Order Saint King, and the only reason he could stand here so calmly was because of his strange Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect.
But even if he had a Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect inside him now, if the one controlling it died, wouldn’t it become useless?
The elderly man was a decisive person, so the moment he came to this conclusion, he immediately attacked. Without any kind of shout or warning, this elderly man acted ruthlessly, summoning and using his most powerful artifact without hesitation.
The black snake arrived in front of Lu Ye in an instant and a cruel smile appeared at the corner of the elderly man’s lips.
But in the next moment, his eyes bulged.
Because Lu Ye reached out and grabbed the black snake without any apparent effort. Lu Ye held the black snake in his hand while it tried to struggle, but ultimately it was unable to break free.
“How can this be?” The elderly man’s face changed greatly. His artifact was extremely malevolent, so let alone holding it, any Saint King that came into contact with its black Qi would immediately be rendered unconscious, allowing them to be casually slaughtered without even being able to fight back.
This scene shocked the elderly man, but as an Origin Realm master with extremely rich battle experience, he immediately composed himself and commanded the black snake being held by Lu Ye to open its mouth and spray out venom.
“Let’s see if you can survive this!” The elderly man chuckled sullenly, but after saying this, his jaw dropped and was unable to close anymore.
He was shocked to find that even after being sprayed with this venom, Lu Ye was completely unharmed, his expression gradually becoming violent as his eyes grew extremely cold.
Facing these two eyes, the elderly man shivered as a chill ran from his head all the way down to his feet.
He felt the chill of death.
Lu Ye reached out his free hand and slowly wiped the venom from his face, sneering in a low tone, “I originally wanted to spare your life, but if you wish to die, this Senior will accommodate you.”
Saying so, he shot a piercing glare towards the elderly man.
The next instant, the elderly man’s blood began to boil as his skin turned red like soldering iron and his body began to swell.
“No… no! Merc…” The elderly man shouted in horror before bursting apart into a blood mist before he could even finish his words, not even his bones remaining behind.
The smell of blood filled the air!
The last Origin Realm master standing saw this scene and was frozen in place, as if he had been plunged into a frozen world.
What kind of monster had they tried to ambush? Clearly, this boy was just a Third-Order Saint King, yet he was able to completely ignore the attacks of the elderly man and make him explode with a single thought. Could such a feat be accomplished by a mere Saint King?
After killing the elderly man, Lu Ye casually dropped the black snake in his hand to the ground. Without its owner operating it, the black snake reverted into a black sword. Lu Ye took out a cloth and wiped his face clean before turning to the last standing Origin Returning Realm master.
This cultivator was not a fool and realized immediately that he only had one chance to escape this disaster. Seeing Lu Ye looking towards him, this man immediately knelt down and knocked his head to the ground, “This humble one is willing to serve Master through flame or ice, never refusing a single command on pain of death!”
With an Origin Returning Realm master kowtowing for his life, the Saint Kings and Saints all exchanged a knowing glance before also kneeling on the ground and swearing allegiance.
Meanwhile, Cheng Dong, who had been brutally tortured, was now terrified of Lu Ye, so how could he possibly choose to rebel? He also hurriedly got on his knees and expressed his willingness to serve Lu Ye.
The reaction these people had obviously satisfied Lu Ye greatly. Even if he knew that their words carried no sincerity, Lu Ye didn’t need it.
In the face of absolute strength, what did unwillingness matter?
Grinning wickedly, Lu Ye nodded, “Good, since you are so sincere, it’s not a bad idea to spare your lives, but… the Saints are too weak, they’re useless to me. Kill them all!”
Hearing this, the faces of everyone present changed dramatically, especially those of the few Saint Realm cultivators who began to panic. None of them had expected that even after kowtowing and pledging allegiance to this man, they would still be unable to escape death, so they immediately began begging for mercy.
The two Origin Returning Realm masters also wore incredulous looks; after all, these Saints were their Juniors. How could they just kill them?
Lu Ye was unimpressed by this sight, however, and coldly uttered, “Do I have to do it myself?”
Cheng Dong and the other Origin Realm master were dazed when they heard this, but remembering what the fate of the elderly man and exchanging a knowing glance, they steeled themselves and pushed their Saint Qi towards the few Saint Realm cultivators.
With a series of cracking noises, all the Saints had their heads crushed and died on the spot.
“En,” Lu Ye gently nodded, satisfied with this and commanded, “This Senior has a task for you all.”
“Please command us, Master!” Cheng Dong said reverently.
“No matter what method you use, whether through force or temptation, find some more Origin Realm masters for this Senior. Their strength should not be lower than yours. Find some more Saint Kings as well.”
“Yes,” Cheng Dong heard this and immediately understood what Lu Ye was going to do. This young man clearly wanted to use the same method he had used on them to gather subordinates, something Cheng Dong felt no reluctance to do.
A person’s psychology was usually like this. After suffering a loss, they were quite happy to see others suffer with them.
“But Master, where should we bring these people?”
“The Xie Family!” After Lu Ye finished, he summoned his Star Shuttle and flew off towards the Xie Family residence.
After he left, Cheng Dong gasped for breath. When he was tortured by Lu Ye just now, he was certain he was about to die, but unexpectedly he had survived, so he felt naturally somewhat fortunate.
“Brother Cheng, do we really have to take orders from that little brat?” The other Origin Realm master stared in the direction Lu Ye disappeared and frowned, his face filled with unwillingness. Although he was the first one to kneel down and pledge allegiance, he was clearly still unconvinced.
Lu Ye’s cultivation was lower than his, and Flowing Cloud Valley, which he belonged to, wasn’t any more powerful than his own background, so what skill or ability did he have to command his loyalty?
“What else can we do? Would Brother Ren like to try the pain of that Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect?” Cheng Dong recalled the torture he had just suffered and couldn’t help shivering in fear.
Ren Zhu’s face turned ugly as he hesitantly said, “But this little brat…”
“It’s strange, right?” Cheng Dong said thoughtfully, “Flowing Cloud Valley isn’t a very strong force, so how could they produce such an extraordinary character? His methods are simply extraordinary, even that Black Snake Sword was unable to harm him. Brother Ren, do you have confidence that you could withstand a sneak attack from that Black Snake Sword?”
Ren Zhu shook his head slowly, the Black Snake Sword was elderly man’s most powerful artifact so Ren Zhu didn’t dare take a hit from it, but Lu Ye did. Now, in retrospect, there were many strange aspects to this brief confrontation, but Lu Ye’s strength was obviously not low.
“Neither you nor I would be a match for him alone, yet he’s only a Third-Order Saint King. If he reached the Third-Order Returning Realm one day, heh heh, Brother Ren, don’t you understand the concept of finding shade under a great tree?”
Hearing this, Ren Zhu’s eyes flashed.
“Furthermore, both of our families aren’t very powerful, and now that the Emperor Garden has appeared, everyone wants a cup of soup from it. If we join hands with that little brat, perhaps we can obtain some benefits. Most importantly, this Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect is too strange, I’ve never even heard of it before, so there obviously aren’t many people who would be able to remove it.”
“What Brother Cheng says makes sense; it seems we might as well take orders from that kid for now. In any case, the future is still far away.”
“En, my thoughts exactly!” Cheng Dong nodded.
Now that the two of them had reached an understanding, they quickly started planning how to carry out the task assigned to them by Lu Ye: Finding some Origin Returning Realm masters and luring them to the Xie Family to let them be implanted with the Ten Thousand Poison Evil Insect.
…..
Half a month later, inside his cave mansion on Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai stared at the blood-red Star Emperor Token in his hand with a look of joy on his face.
After half a month, he had finally finished refining this intact Star Emperor Token and could now take it into his body. He had heard of one-time use artifacts before and understood that each one was incredibly powerful, but because of the limited number of uses, ordinary Artifact Refiners wouldn’t easily refine them.
Yang Kai never expected to obtain one, much less an incredibly famous one like this Star Emperor Token!
Sealed inside of this token was one of the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s Divine Abilities, one powerful enough to make him invincible on Shadowed Star; however, the consequences for using it were equally great. The Starry Sky Great Emperor’s Divine Ability was not something ordinary, and if one didn’t possess enough strength to withstand the backlash from using it, they would very likely die together with the enemy he used it on.
Yang Kai couldn’t withstand such backlash currently, and even if he reached the Origin Returning Realm, he would have to think twice about it. Perhaps he would need to reach the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm just to be capable of using it.
After happily playing with this token for a while, Yang Kai took it into his body. Just as he was about to begin cultivating his Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique though, his expression suddenly changed as he turned to stare in a certain direction, a look of surprise on his face.
A moment later, Yang Kai got up and disappeared like a ghost from his cave mansion, concealed his aura, and silently flew out of Dragon Cave Mountain.
With it being night time and with Yang Kai deliberately hiding his whereabouts, no one on Dragon Cave Mountain noticed he had left.
Half an hour later, Yang Kai’s figure landed in a patch of wilderness about three hundred kilometres from Heavenly Fate City.
Not far away stood a graceful figure, seemingly waiting for him. Aware of his arrival, this figure glanced over at him and helplessly said, “I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide from you.”
“Of course not!” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “You gave me a control token for the Mountain Defending Array, of course I’ll notice if you activate it!”
It was Yang Yan who had quietly left Dragon Cave Mountain in the middle of the night!
“What did you come out here for?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously.
“I want to go somewhere,” Yang Yan didn’t conceal anything.
“Where do you want to go? Why didn’t you tell me first?” Yang Kai looked at her with dissatisfaction. Nowadays dragons and snakes mixed together all around Heavenly Fate City. Every great force on Shadowed Star had masters here to monitor the Emperor Garden, but the Emperor Garden hadn’t done anything for quite some time, so many had become idle and were now beginning to stir up trouble; after all, many of the forces gathered here had grudges between them.
Every day, fights occurred near Heavenly Fate City and many people died each time.
Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t interfere casually with these grievances, so the situation near Heavenly Fate City had become more and more chaotic.
Yang Yan leaving alone at this time was very dangerous, so Yang Kai would naturally be angry.
“Didn’t you follow me anyways?” Yang Yan pouted.
“Tell me, where do you want to go by sneaking out?” Yang Kai looked at her helplessly.
“You’ll know when we get there,” Yang Yan grinned, and before Yang Kai could ask any questions, she continued, “When I get there, I’ll know much more and I may be able to answer all of your questions. Don’t ask now, because I currently don’t have those answers.”
Yang Kai frowned, but still nodded gently after a long silence, “Let me explain to everyone back on Dragon Cave Mountain, then we can set out.”
“No need, I already sent a message to Wu Yi and Qian Yue,” Yang Yan spat out her tongue, causing Yang Kai to realize that she never had any intention of leaving alone.
Unable to stifle it, Yang Kai let out a laugh.
Yang Yan next wiped her Space Ring and took out a shuttle-like artifact.
Tossing it up, in an instant, a brilliant light flashed and this shuttle-like artifact rapidly began expanding, growing to a length of ten metres in the blink of an eye while quietly floating in front of the pair, looking like a long shark.
“This is…” Yang Kai stared in shock.
“My improved flight type artifact, the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle. This should be a good test for its maiden voyage,” Yang Yan smiled lightly before injecting some of her Saint Qi into the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle, causing a door in its side to open.
Yang Yan flew up to the door and beckoned to Yang Kai before hurriedly disappearing inside.
Still in a state of shock, Yang Kai flew up and circled the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle several times before following Yang Yan inside.
Upon entering, Yang Kai abruptly froze because, from the outside, this so-called Flying Shark Battle Shuttle was only ten metres long, but inside it actually had the appearance of a ship with several rooms, and although the space wasn’t too large, it wasn’t small either.
A familiar power fluctuation came from all around Yang Kai, allowing him to realize what was happening.
[Space Force!]
After briefly examining the interior of this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle, Yang Kai located Yang Yan and walked over to her, arriving at a room filled with a variety of Spirit Arrays.
The entire room was filled with a dense aura and many objects that resembled Saint Crystals were densely placed in various grooves.
Saint Crystal Sources!
These were Saint Crystal Sources that only the Stone Puppet could condense, existences on a higher level than High-Rank Saint Crystals.
At this moment, Yang Yan was fiddling with an array in front of her. When Yang Kai looked over her shoulder, he found that this array actually displayed a giant map with many glowing points on it, similar to a Star Chart.
Yang Yan chose one of these glowing spots and in the next instant, Yang Kai noticed that the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle jerked slightly and shot off like a bolt of lightning.
Releasing his Divine Sense to check, Yang Kai was again dumbfounded.
He found that the flying speed of this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle was several times greater than that of a Star Shuttle, reaching quite a terrifying level.
“A while ago, you had me infuse Space Force into a number of objects, were they used as components for this thing?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a surprised light.
“En.”
“You can even refine something like this?” Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked.
This Flying Shark Battle Shuttle was nothing short of a miniaturized Starship, one of an extremely high grade at that.
One had to know that Starships on Shadowed Star were not very high grade and the total number of them was also quite small, with only a few big Sects possessing them.
The Starship the Hai Ke Family sent to the Star Field last time had been rented from Shadow Moon Hall for an exceedingly high price.
If one wanted to refine a Starship, it was no simple process. Ordinarily, it required dozens or even hundreds of skilled Artifact Refiners working together for many years to complete a single one.
Yet, Yang Yan had actually achieved something of this level with just her own strength.
Although it was small compared to normal, in the end, it was still a Starship.
“This is nothing, I can refine a bigger one,” Yang Yan stated proudly as she puffed out her chest and threw her head back.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded and suddenly felt his mouth go dry as he stared at Yang Yan fixedly.
Why was Shadowed Star isolated from the outside world and unable to communicate with other stars in the Star Field? It was because its location was too remote, several years’ journey from the nearest Cultivation Star. Travelling across such a distance meant encountering many crises and difficulties; the Artifact Refiners on Shadowed Star were unable to refine a Starship capable of undertaking such a long-range, high-risk voyage.
If there were an Origin King Grade Starship, or even just an Origin Grade High-Rank Starship, Shadowed Star’s cultivators could completely restore contact with the outside world.
The time Yang Kai had spent on Shadowed Star was not short, so he also knew that there were only two ways to leave Shadowed Star. One was by using the power of his own cultivation. Yang Kai could ignore many of the various dangers in the Star Field with his special strength, and cross the vast distance required if his cultivation were to reach a high enough realm. The second way to leave Shadowed Star was to rely on a high-grade Starship.
However, neither of these methods could be easily used. Forget about Shadowed Star’s World Principles which made it impossible for cultivators to break through to the Origin King Realm, just refining a Starship that could withstand the hazards of the Star Field was impossible.
But now, Yang Yan had actually refined such a Starship. This Flying Shark Battle Shuttle was definitely a powerful artifact that could support travelling across the Star Field.
This gave Yang Kai hope of leaving Shadowed Star!
Suddenly, he felt that he had taken a giant step closer to reuniting with the beauties he yearned for. Before obtaining news of Su Yan’s whereabouts, Yang Kai did not spend too much time thinking about this issue, but after confirming that Su Yan was alive and well somewhere in this Star Field, he couldn’t wait to find her.
On top of that, Xia Ning Chang was still living in the Tong Xuan Realm! Yang Kai very much wanted to go back and see how she was.
Seeing Yang Kai staring blankly towards herself, how could Yang Yan not know what he was thinking? Snickering lightly, she continued, “Okay, okay, after this matter is over, when we return, I’ll let you see it. The ship itself has already been refined and is being stored in the Secret Storehouse under Dragon Cave Mountain; however, some improvements are still needed so I’m a bit reluctant to use it right now.”
“Dragon Cave Mountain has an underground Secret Storehouse?” Yang Kai was even more shocked.
Yang Yan could not help laughing, “You spend all day in secluded retreat or wandering around outside, so of course you wouldn’t know about it.”
Yang Kai suddenly felt embarrassed. Although he was technically the owner of Dragon Cave Mountain, he never cared much about what happened on the mountain. The only thing he would ask about was the need for more Saint Crystals or materials. When a shortage came up, he would think of a way to collect the required resources, as for what happened to them afterwards, he did not really know.
He used to think that Dragon Cave Mountain spent money like running water because Yang Yan was constantly arranging new Spirit Arrays, but now he knew that Yang Yan had been refining a Starship.
It was no wonder it wasn’t enough, no matter how many Saint Crystals and materials he collected. Thinking about the scale of the Starships he had previously seen on Water Moon Star at Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Yang Kai understood just how expensive refining one must be.
As the pair talked, the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle continued flying forward at an incredible speed, almost faster than Yang Kai’s Divine Sense could track.
“I’m going to do an experiment. If something goes wrong, remember to save me,” Yang Yan suddenly said.
“What?” Yang Kai was stunned but quickly recovered when he saw Yang Yan flash a strange grin. Covering his entire body with a layer of Saint Qi, Yang Kai saw one of the large Spirit Arrays inside this control room light up. With a loud humming noise, all the Saint Crystal Sources which were installed in the room’s slots began glowing brilliantly and a shocking amount of energy began gathering from them towards a certain spot.
Yang Kai turned to look at these Saint Crystal Sources and was shocked to discover that they had all grown dim, as if all the energy inside had been drawn out.
Roughly calculating the amount of energy which the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle had just consumed, Yang Kai could not help going slightly pale.
*Hong…*
With a muffled thud that sounded like thunder from the Heavens above, the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle began to tremble violently.
In the next moment, Yang Kai saw a beam of energy, so dazzling it nearly blinded him, shoot out from somewhere on the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle’s hull and smash towards the front.
Like snow under a scorching sun, the space in front of the shuttle began to melt and transform into a chaotic vortex of nothingness that slowly rotated while emitting strong Space Force fluctuations.
“A Void Corridor!” Yang Kai’s eyes bulged.
Yang Yan steered the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle towards the newly opened Void Corridor before Yang Kai could stop her, her joyful, silver bell-like laughter filling the control room the whole time.
A familiar feeling he had experienced many times before overcame Yang Kai in the next instant, the kind of unique sense of weightlessness that only occurs when you pass through a Void Corridor or use a Space Array.
This feeling disappeared as soon as it came, and after everything calmed down, Yang Kai found that he and Yang Yan were already in a different place as the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle was slowly exiting from a large vortex.
With no time to remain shocked, Yang Kai hurriedly released his Divine Sense to investigate his surroundings and in the next moment, his face sank.
Because not far away, there were two groups of people fighting each other. The strength of these two groups was not high, with each one being led by Second-Order Saint Kings while most of the rest were merely Saints.
The total number of people in these two groups added up to around forty but there were also a few corpses nearby, each one of them appearing to have died quite terrible deaths.
Nearby, there was also an Eighth-Order Monster Beast corpse. Just from looking at this scene, it was obvious that these two groups were fighting over this dead Monster Beast. Most likely, these two parties had joined forces to kill it, but after succeeding, their cooperation had broken down for some reason.
This kind of situation was all too common, and Yang Kai was able to guess what had happened almost immediately after sweeping the area with his Divine Sense.
“Aiya…” Yang Yan muttered, showing an apologetic look on her face. She had not expected the first time the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle tore space in order to perform a long-distance jump, it would emerge not in a deserted wilderness but nearby two groups of people.
“What are you gawking for? Let’s hurry up and leave, unless you enjoy being stared at like an odd monkey,” Yang Kai snorted to her wickedly.
“Ah, en,” Yang Yan immediately recovered and tapped on a control panel in front of her, causing the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle to buzz and shoot off like a stream of light once more.
Down below, the two groups who had been fighting all stared up in shock.
“Senior Brother, what was that?” A young woman approached one of the leading Saint King Realm cultivators and asked, her beautiful eyes flashing somewhat. She was not young, but she had been properly maintaining her appearance, so she remained charming. It could be seen that when she was young, she must have been a beauty, but now, her pretty face was full of confusion, obviously because she had no idea what had just happened.
“I’m not clear either,” The Saint King Realm man shook his head in something of a daze.
It was not as if these people were ignorant, it was just that what transpired was too shocking. A Void Corridor appeared out of nowhere, then a giant shark flew out of it, as if it was leaping out of the sea. Even if an Origin Returning Realm master was here, they would likely be stunned, not to mention these people.
“From the looks of it, it should be a Starship, right?” The man murmured again.
“Is there such a small Starship?” The young woman was obviously sceptical. “Junior Sister was lucky enough to see one of Thunder Typhoon Sect’s Starships set sail a few years ago, but it was several dozen times larger than that one.”
Just as the two were talking, a scream rang out, causing the young man and woman’s faces to go cold as they turned their heads and suddenly found that one of the cultivators on their side had suffered a severe wound and was now crying out in pain while bleeding profusely.
The man was furious, “Old Xu San, launching a sneak attack now, have you no shame?!”
Saying so, he once again urged his artifact and sent a blast towards the other group. The brief silence was instantly broken, and the two groups began fighting again; as for what they just saw, it was thrown beyond the furthest Heavens as they once again drowned themselves in a sea of blood.
Above a piece of grassland thousands of kilometres away, the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle quietly came to a stop.
Inside, the shock on Yang Kai’s face had still yet to fade while Yang Yan was busy changing the Saint Crystal Sources.
Yang Kai never thought that this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle could tear space! Although the consumption was enormous, requiring the complete energy of hundreds of Saint Crystal Source for a single use, this was still not a simple feat.
Moreover, the distance covered by the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle just now was much farther than Yang Kai could cross on his own. At the very least, Yang Kai was unable to find their initial position with his Divine Sense anymore.
Moments later, after Yang Yan finished replacing the Saint Crystal Sources, the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle began moving forward again.
“How far can this thing cross in a single jump?” Yang Kai asked.
“Just now we should have crossed about a hundred thousand kilometres,” Yang Yan replied casually, frowning slightly a moment later as if she was still a bit dissatisfied.
“A hundred thousand kilometres…” Yang Kai gasped.
“En, but the consumption is too great and I’m unable to determine our destination accurately; after all, I only applied the principles of a Space Array to the shuttle, so it seems that it needs to be improved still,” Yang Yan stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“This thing’s existence can never be leaked out, otherwise it will cause great trouble,” Yang Kai said seriously.
“Hehe, it doesn’t matter if word of this leaks,” Yang Yan stated confidently, “Even if others get hold of this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle, they can’t use it.”
“Why?” Yang Kai looked at her in surprise.
“Because others don’t have Saint Crystal Sources! High-Rank Saint Crystals are insufficient to drive this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle, only the Saint Crystal Sources condensed by Xiao Xiao can supply its needs,” Yang Yan explained.
Yang Kai suddenly understood, “So that’s why you’ve constantly been keeping the Stone Puppet with you?”
“En,” Yang Yan nodded happily.
[The poor Stone Puppet…] Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly as he paid silent tribute to the Stone Puppet.
The Flying Shark Battle Shuttle flew forward at an unimaginable speed while Yang Kai sat cross-legged and cultivated alone in one of its rooms. As for Yang Yan, she was still busy in the control room.
This kind of special flight type artifact was far superior to an ordinary Star Shuttle.
First, this Battle Shuttle had separate rooms that weren’t small or cramped, allowing Yang Kai to seclude himself without the worry of being disturbed, something Star Shuttles couldn’t compare to.
Secondly, when using a Star Shuttle, in order to resist headwinds, one needed to open the protective barrier which would consume Saint Qi, but this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle didn’t have such a drawback as its power was provided entirely by Saint Crystal Sources, so a cultivator wouldn’t experience any consumption.
Thirdly, the speed of this Flying Shark Battle Shuttle refined by Yang Yan was far greater than any Star Shuttle.
Yang Kai had spent the last ten days in cultivation but hadn’t felt the slightest bit of disturbance, as if the cultivation room he was in could block out everything outside.
Yang Kai was currently a Third-Order Saint King, one step away from the Origin Returning Realm where he could condense his own Shi; however, breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm wasn’t a simple matter. At least, Yang Kai could not currently see an immediate path to breaking through. Secretly, he felt that in order to break through, he couldn’t just rely on hard work but needed some kind of opportunity or external stimulus.
It was similar to how he broke through to the Third-Order Saint King last time. When he heard the news about Su Yan from Qian Yue, it had led to an opportunity for him to break through.
Yang Kai wanted to find such an opportunity through cultivating his various Secret Techniques, so these days he had been busy cultivating his Golden Blood Thread, assimilating the Coloured Glass Bead with the Demon Eye of Annihilation, and had even refined his last few Flowing Flame Flying Fires.
The intensity of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea had increased a lot, allowing him to improve his Alchemy. At the same time, the power of his Divine Sense also greatly improved. If he were to use his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique now, it would definitely show even greater might.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai couldn’t find an opportunity to experiment with it.
On this day, while Yang Kai was using his Golden Blood to condense a new Golden Blood Thread, he suddenly felt the Battle Shuttle tremble slightly and come to a stop.
Yang Kai opened his eyes, got up, and walked out, soon arriving in the control room next to Yang Yan.
“We’re almost there, so we should use our Star Shuttle’s to fly the rest of the way,” Yang Yan glanced over at him and said.
Naturally, Yang Kai had no objections. He had been quite curious where Yang Yan was taking them all this time and now that he was about to get an answer, he couldn’t help looking forward to it.
After the pair left the Battle Shuttle, Yang Yan waved her hand and caused it to quickly shrink down. Taking the miniaturized Flying Shark Battle Shuttle into her Space Ring, Yang Yan summoned her Star Shuttle together with Yang Kai and flew off.
The further they flew, the clearer Yang Kai could feel Fire Attribute aura in the air, causing his expression to gradually become somewhat thoughtful.
Two hours later, standing atop a barren ground that was filled with cracked earth and dried up ravines, with a fiery red sky hanging overhead, Yang Kai couldn’t help muttering, “The Flowing Flame Sand Field? The place you wanted to go was the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”
Yang Kai was quite familiar with this scene. Throughout all of Shadowed Star, only the Flowing Flame Sand Field had such a harsh environment.
As far as Yang Kai could tell, even if one continuously used a Star Shuttle, it should take three months or so to go from Heavenly Fate City to the Flowing Flame Sand Field, but this time he and Yang Yan had covered that distance in just ten days.
This was a testament to how terrifying the speed of the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle was.
Facing Yang Kai’s inquiry, Yang Yan didn’t answer and instead stared at the fiery red wall in front of herself, a complex look flashing across her beautiful eyes, seemingly remembering something, but at the same time being slightly worried.
As the pair stepped closer, Yang Yan’s expression became clearer and clearer, seemingly afraid of something, her face slightly pale.
Yang Kai walked up and gently held her hand.
Yang Yan was startled by this, but after turning her head to look at Yang Kai, she managed to wear a forced smile.
“What are we doing here? Can you tell me now?” Yang Kai stared into her eyes.
“Confirming something,” Yang Yan hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully.
“Oh? What do you want to confirm by coming to the Flowing Flame Sand Field?” Yang Kai was confused. The last time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, Yang Yan didn’t even bother thinking about it. She never showed any interest in coming together with him, but now, several years after it had closed, Yang Yan had suddenly taken the initiative to come here.
One had to know, there was no way to enter this place now, unless one had a Star Emperor Token to protect them and open the way.
Yang Kai had been stranded inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field a few years ago and had to use a Star Emperor Token to return safely from it, wasting him a good deal of time.
“Yang Kai, do you believe in reincarnation?” Yang Yan suddenly asked.
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai frowned.
Yang Yan smiled bitterly, “Do you remember when I told you that my knowledge of Artifact Refining and Spirit Arrays is all innate and that no one has ever taught me any of it? All of it was simply buried in my memories and would appear out of thin air.”
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed deeper. Not knowing what Yang Yan wanted to express, he could only offer some faint comfort, “Nothing simply appears out of nowhere; perhaps you encountered some kind of accident which damaged your memory a bit.”
“Perhaps,” Yang Yan smiled bitterly, not trying to argue.
As the two talked, they arrived at the periphery of the first layer Flame Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Staring at the dark, tumbling flame barrier, even though Yang Kai’s strength had greatly increased since he was last here, he still felt somewhat anxious.
The terrifying power coming from this flame barrier was something even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master couldn’t withstand; entering it would only lead to certain death.
Yang Kai also didn’t know if he was imagining it or not, but when Yang Yan arrived here, the flames seemed to become even more powerful.
“Over the years, I’ve often dreamed I was another person. That person… was someone who commanded the wind and clouds, could cover the Heavens with one hand, and held dominion over the entire world!” Yang Yan stared forward without showing any signs of panic, just quietly mumbling to herself.
“Do you think you were that person?” Yang Kai looked at her serious face wanting to laugh but couldn’t bring himself to as he faintly felt something wasn’t quite right.
“Before, I didn’t think so, but since the Emperor Garden appeared, those hazy dreams have become much more vivid. Sometimes, when I meditate or refine things, these inexplicable scenes will also appear. After experiencing such things so frequently, I can no longer just dismiss them as my imagination.”
“So you came here to confirm everything?” Yang Kai finally cleared his head and asked curiously, “How do you plan on confirming things? Is there something special here that will help you do that?”
“En, it’s actually quite simple!” Yang Yan smiled widely before her tender body flickered, disappearing from the place she stood and instantly rushing straight into the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of exquisite Movement Skill Yang Yan executed, but he was completely unable to stop her.
Yang Kai’s face changed drastically as he turned his eyes to the Flowing Flame Sand Field just in time to see Yang Yan’s figure plunge into the flame barrier.
Hurriedly taking out one of his Star Emperor Tokens, Yang Kai was about to use its power to chase after Yang Yan, but before he could, the first layer’s flame barrier roared violently and began to tumble. Suddenly, an irresistible force burst forth from the barrier and formed what seemed to be a giant invisible hand that shoved Yang Kai several thousand metres away.
Yang Yan’s intrusion into the flame barrier was like sprinkling a handful of salt in hot oil, causing the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s first layer Flame Area to boil over.
The world shook and the already red sky became an even deeper shade, as if it was weeping blood. The dried-up crisscrossing ravines on the ground cracked apart, creating even bigger gaps and heaving up and down in all directions, causing Yang Kai’s footing to become unstable.
Looking ahead, the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s first layer Flame Area had become completely unstable, with all the World Energy and Fire Attribute energy within a few thousand-kilometres of the flame barrier suddenly gathering towards it madly, creating a tidal wave of energy that was so thick it became visible to the naked eye.
Yang Kai stared at all of this blankly.
Facing such a violent gathering of energy, let alone Yang Yan, even the most powerful masters on Shadowed Star would be unable to resist it and would quickly be ground to death.
However, when he saw a graceful figure standing quietly in midair, Yang Kai’s nervousness completely dissipated.
Yang Yan was actually fine!
Although Yang Kai couldn’t clearly see her face or movements, he could infer from the vague figure in front of him that Yang Yan was forming a series of hand signs and the Fire Attribute Energy and World Energy which composed the first layer Flame Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field was all gathering towards her.
The resulting momentum was absolutely terrifying.
Such a massive disturbance had naturally drawn the attention of many people, with cultivators tens of thousands of kilometres away from this place still able to clearly feel it.
Immediately, many azure lights shot up into the sky and began racing over towards the Flowing Flame Sand Field, wanting to investigate what had happened.
Yang Kai stood on the spot and watched anxiously.
He never imagined that Yang Yan’s courage would be so great that she would directly rush into the Flame Area. She only wanted to confirm something to herself, so was there any need to risk her life? While Yang Kai felt some anger and anxiety, he mainly felt helpless. Every time he wanted to get closer, he would be pushed away by that invisible force.
Yang Kai deeply realized at this moment what powerlessness felt like!
*Hong long long…*
A loud noise suddenly echoed from all directions as the heat and energy of the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s first layer Flame Area began flowing towards Yang Yan, as if she had become a bottomless hole able to accept all of it.
As time passed, Yang Kai was surprised to find that the Fire Attribute energy of this first layer Flame Area was rapidly becoming thinner and thinner, its power greatly reducing.
Within half an hour, Yang Yan’s tender body was clearly revealed and the first layer Flame Area had almost ceased to exist. Yang Kai stood in place and saw Yang Yan standing with a solemn look upon her face, her eyes closed, her black robe and long black hair fluttering in the wind, and a large red ring held in both her hands.
This red ring was only about the size of a collar, but it gave off a terrifying Fire Attribute energy fluctuation. All the Fire Attribute aura and energy from the Flame Area was pouring into this ring and being absorbed.
Yang Kai had never seen this ring before, and he was certain Yang Yan did not possess such an artifact before. It was as if this artifact appeared out of thin air, and as for its grade, Yang Kai was unable to tell, something which shocked him greatly.
With his current vision, Yang Kai could clearly identify Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts, so could this ring be an Origin King Grade artifact?
Thinking so, Yang Kai was taken aback.
A moment later, everything suddenly became calm, and the chaos in the surrounding world completely disappeared.
At the same time, the First-Layer Flame Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, a famous Forbidden Zone on Shadowed Star that all cultivators dared not enter, had ceased to exist, leaving behind only an expanse of dark red ground in its place.
Yang Yan slowly opened her eyes and Yang Kai was about to call out to her, but before he could, he noticed a strange light coming from her beautiful eyes and immediately squinted.
Yang Yan played with the ring in her hands for a moment before a smile appeared on her face, as if she had just recovered something precious to her, making her extremely happy.
Holding up her hands, the ring she was holding quickly shrank down and wrapped around her wrist, fitting perfectly in place. Yang Yan flashed another happy smile as she revealed a look of satisfaction.
“Yang Kai!” Standing mid-air, Yang Yan suddenly raised her head and called out loudly.
Yang Kai didn’t respond immediately and instead just stared at her more and more intensely because the current Yang Yan, although identical in appearance, gave him a completely different feeling compared to before, as if she had become a different person, making him feel a bit uneasy.
Although he did not know why Yang Yan had undergone this kind of change, Yang Kai was certain it had something to do with the strange event that had just transpired. Rather than why the First-Layer Flame Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field had disappeared though, Yang Kai was more interested to know what had happened to Yang Yan.
Yang Yan did not mind Yang Kai staying silent, instead just brushing her hair back behind her ear and saying softly, “I know who I am.”
“Who are you?” Yang Kai asked aloud.
“I am the Starry Sky Great Emperor!” Yang Yan flashed a proud look on her face, lifting her head up slightly, revealing a majestic and noble aura. This kind of temperament shouldn’t have appeared on this timid woman at all, but at the moment it seemed completely natural for her, as if it was part of Yang Yan’s innate nature. This caused anyone who gazed upon her to feel lowly and humble.
Even an Origin King Realm master may not necessarily possess such a temperament.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed and he nodded lightly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as his figure suddenly flickered, disappearing from where he stood and appearing again beside Yang Yan a moment later.
Under her stunned gaze, Yang Kai lifted his finger and flicked Yang Yan’s forehead.
With a light thump, Yang Yan let out an alarmed cry and used her hands to cover her forehead, her beautiful eyes watering up as she directed a grievance-filled stare towards Yang Kai. The graceful and majestic temperament she had been exuding had seemingly been instantly defeated by this finger and disappeared without a trace.
“So your name is Starry Sky Great Emperor, is it?” Yang Kai grit his teeth and stared at Yang Yan for a moment before reaching out his hand, pinching her cheek, and pulling it out.
“What are you doing?” Yang Yan seemed to be dumbstruck as she called out, her speech somewhat unclear as her cheek was being pulled.
“What do you think I’m doing?” Yang Kai grinned wickedly as he pulled even harder.
“Let go of me!” Yang Yan shouted as she glared at Yang Kai, “Hurry up and let go, don’t think I don’t dare fight back! Just you wait for my true body to awaken, then I’ll make you pay!”
“Wait for your true body to wake up, right?” Yang Kai reached out his other hand and pinched Yang Yan’s free cheek, twisting her face into funny shapes. Yang Yan responded by waving her hands angrily and trying to break free, but regardless of how she struggled, Yang Kai remained unmoved and continued playing with her.
It was not long before tears welled up at the corner of her eyes.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s expression changed and he turned his head to look into the distance. At the same time, Yang Yan’s struggles also stopped, the two of them exchanging a knowing glance before their figures flickered and disappeared.
Both of their Divine Senses had detected a large number of people rapidly approaching their location, obviously attracted here by the massive disturbance that had just occurred.
About a cup of tea’s worth of time after Yang Kai and Yang Yan disappeared, dozens of different coloured lights flew over from various directions. When these people landed at the periphery of the Flowing Flame Sand Field and saw the surroundings, all of them were dumbstruck as looks of disbelief filled their faces.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field’s First-Layer Flame Area had existed on Shadowed Star for tens of thousands of years, yet now it had suddenly disappeared. These cultivators rubbed their eyes involuntarily, wanting to confirm whether or not they were seeing things.
However, to their shock, the First-Layer Flame Area really seemed to have strangely disappeared.
After a long, stunned silence, these cultivators began quickly taking out their communication artifacts and sending out messages, and as time passed, more and more cultivators rushed to this place, all of them wearing blank looks of shock.
After several hundred cultivators had gathered, everyone reached a simple agreement to explore the situation together; after all, the First-Layer Flame Area had disappeared, which meant the Second-Layer Treasure Area had become exposed, so there were perhaps gains to be had.
What disappointed everyone though, was that after several days of searching, no one was able to discover anything of value in the Second-Layer Treasure Area. It was as if all the spirit herbs which should have existed had disappeared without a trace together with the Flame Area.
While these people were searching through the Second-Layer Treasure Area, Yang Kai and Yang Yan had already penetrated the rolling mountains of the Fourth Layer.
Yang Kai did not have to use his Star Emperor Tokens to reach this place. Instead, all he needed to do was follow behind Yang Yan.
The Third-Layer Flame Area had much more intense heat and Fire Attribute energy than the First-Layer, but for some reason, whenever Yang Yan passed through it, the heat and flames separated on their own, as if they had spirituality and didn’t dare bar her path.
The pair continued deeper this way, but didn’t encounter any danger.
Looking at the expansive palatial pavilions shrouded in mist, Yang Yan revealed a look of reminiscence as she stated, “These are the ruins of the Supreme Profound Sect.”
“The Supreme Profound Sect’s ruins?” Yang Kai frowned as he turned to look at her and asked, “Is it related to you?”
“Yes and no,” Yang Yan’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s the Sect the Starry Sky Great Emperor conveniently created in the past.”
“Aren’t you the Starry Sky Great Emperor?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched slightly.
Yang Yan curled her lips, “I am me, the Starry Sky Great Emperor is the Starry Sky Great Emperor. Although we are somewhat related, I cannot represent the Great Emperor.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai became even more interested. He never doubted what Yang Yan had said; after all, he had suspected that there might be some connection between the Flowing Flame Sand Field and the Starry Sky Great Emperor ever since he obtained a Star Emperor Token in the loft in the sixth layer.
When Yang Yan fell unconscious after the Emperor Garden appeared and Yang Kai had broken into her Knowledge Sea to awaken her, he had seen many incredible things.
Now Yang Yan had easily been able to enter and even take away part of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, combined with all the information he had gathered before, Yang Yan declaring herself the Starry Sky Great Emperor wasn’t actually too shocking.
Even though there was some uneasiness and hesitation in his heart, Yang Kai still chose to believe Yang Yan.
After a long silence, Yang Yan asked, “Have you heard of Soul Clones?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
“I am a kind of Soul Clone of the Starry Sky Great Emperor. For some reason, the true body of the Great Emperor is in a deep sleep. My Artifact Refining and Spirit Array knowledge have also been inherited from the Great Emperor.”
“Why is she in a deep sleep?” Yang Kai frowned and asked. He was not too curious about Soul Clones because he had cultivated a Soul Clone technique that he comprehended after refining a drop of Golden Blood from Great Demon God. Yang Kai had used his Soul Clone back on the floating continent when Gui Zu was testing out his Space Array. As a result, it had been severely damaged and nearly destroyed.
However, after so many years of cultivation, Yang Kai’s Soul Clone had been restored and was now even more powerful than before.
It was just that Yang Kai was unable to find a vessel to fuse his Soul Clone with so it could act independently.
“She seems to have been injured,” Yang Yan spoke an astonishing truth.
“The Starry Sky Great Emperor can also be injured?” Yang Kai was startled.
“Why can’t a Great Emperor be injured? She also has enemies, enemies that possess strength on par with her own. However, I do not know the specific situation as the memories I’ve inherited from her are somewhat incomplete. I didn’t even know about any of this until I arrived here; although, from what I can gather, it seems that after fighting a great battle, the Great Emperor fell into a deep sleep, and now tens of thousands of years have passed,” Yang Yan slowly shook her head, “My strength is too low, so I can’t recall too much. Only after my strength improves will I be able to remember everything.”
“What about that enemy?” Yang Kai asked.
“They’re probably dead,” Yang Yan replied uncertainly.
“And that bracelet…” Yang Kai asked thoughtfully as he glanced towards the red ring on her wrist.
“One of the three Blazing Flame Rings. Since it was one of the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s artifacts, I can also use it,” Yang Yan smiled lightly, “The Third Layer and Fifth Layer are both parts of the Three Blazing Flame Rings, but with my current strength, I can’t recall them for now, nor can I use much of the first ring’s power.
Yang Kai secretly panicked. While he had been able to tease and toy with Yang Yan a moment ago, that was only because he had been friends with her for many years now, but if the one standing before him was the true Starry Sky Great Emperor, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare act so dissolute.
The Great Emperor’s majesty could not be easily offended.
Moreover, the so-called Three Blazing Flame Rings was just one of the Great Emperor’s artifacts, yet it had become a famous Forbidden Zone on Shadowed Star for tens of thousands of years. So how strong was the Great Emperor herself?
To think that such a person had actually been severely injured though. Who was her enemy?
But what shocked Yang Kai even more was that the Starry Sky Great Emperor famous throughout the Star Field was actually a woman!
If such knowledge were to be spread out, many men would likely feel so ashamed they would want to die.
Fortunately, many things became clear to Yang Kai with this.
No wonder when the Flowing Flame Sand Field closed, the hand which appeared to remove everyone clearly belonged to a woman, and when the Emperor Garden appeared, that same jade-white hand appeared for a second time. Obviously, this was some kind of technique left behind by the Great Emperor; after all, whether it was the Flowing Flame Sand Field or the Emperor Garden, they belonged to the Great Emperor, strictly speaking.
With the Great Emperor’s strength and methods, being able to accomplish these feats should not have been difficult.
Although Yang Kai’s heart was tumbling and it felt as if a chaotic storm was blowing in his mind, he remained extremely calm on the surface. While chatting with Yang Yan, he learned all kinds of information about the Starry Sky Great Emperor; after all, Yang Yan’s memory was slowly being restored and after learning she was the Soul Clone of the Great Emperor, she herself must have become quite flustered. Therefore, if Yang Kai didn’t maintain composure, the situation would only get worse.
What Yang Kai was most curious about was why the Great Emperor had chosen to enter a deep sleep on Shadowed Star. Were the World Principles here restricting cultivators from breaking through to the Origin King Realm somehow related to her?
After chatting for a while, Yang Kai learned that the place where the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s true body was currently sleeping was inside the Emperor Garden.
This reminded him of something.
Fei Zhi Tu had said that he and his group had come across a jade coffin that held a woman inside a palace in the Emperor Garden.
Fei Zhi Tu and the others accidentally touched a barrier near this jade coffin at that time, causing the Emperor Garden to appear after sending Yang Kai, Qian Tong, and the rest out.
Could it be that the woman lying inside that jade coffin was the Starry Sky Great Emperor? On this isolated and backward Shadowed Star, a supreme master was actually in deep sleep? Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling that all of this was too shocking.
While contemplating these issues and examining Yang Yan, Yang Kai was still unable to connect her with the Starry Sky Great Emperor, a figure famous across the entire Star Field.
“Let’s go,” Yang Yan looked at the fog covered ruins of the Supreme Profound Sect for a long time before seemingly losing interest and moving on.
“Don’t you want to go in and see?”
“No,” Yang Yan shook her head slowly, lightly stepping away.
“Where are you going now?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“To the Sixth Layer to retrieve something,” Yang Yan smiled lightly, not bothering to explain further.
The Sixth Layer was where that small loft was located, the place Yang Kai had found the Ten Thousand Year Incense. It seemed that the Ten Thousand Year Incense belonged to the Great Emperor. In other words, it was Yang Yan’s.
Yang Kai wrinkled his nose for a moment before relaxing, not showing any kind of embarrassment. In any case, Yang Yan was his friend, so there was no need to worry about such minor issues.
The speed of the pair wasn’t too fast, but because Yang Yan was leading the way through the Flowing Flame Sand Field, they didn’t encounter any danger. The pair quickly arrived at the Fifth-Layer Flame Area and, similar to the Third Layer, the heat and flames all spontaneously separated in front of Yang Yan, revealing a path leading to the Sixth Layer.
A piercing cry suddenly came out and the Firebird Artifact Spirit leapt out from Yang Kai’s body on its own initiative.
Flapping its wings, it circled above Yang Kai’s head for a moment, communicating with him. Yang Kai smiled lightly as he understood its intentions and nodded, not making any attempt to stop it.
The Artifact Spirit cried out happily before immediately transforming into a flame and flying off into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye. From the direction it was flying, it was obviously headed towards the Earth Lung Fire Pond.
The Earth Lung Fire Pond was the Artifact Spirit’s birthplace, and although it had been there for tens of thousands of years, it was unable to continue to draw more power from Earth Lung Fire Pond due to its growth limitations. But now, it was different from the past. After absorbing several wisps of Sun’s True Fire, the Firebird Artifact Spirit was significantly stronger compared to when Yang Kai first obtained it.
Now, it wanted to go to the Earth Lung Fire Pond to devour the pure Fire Attribute aura there to further strengthen itself.
For something beneficial, how could Yang Kai prevent it?
Half a day later, the pair crossed the Fifth-Layer Flame Area and reached the delicate loft hidden in the bamboo forest.
Looking at this humble loft, Yang Yan’s eyes flashed a nostalgic light, seemingly recalling many memories of this place. Seeing this, Yang Kai didn’t disturb her, instead just waiting outside the bamboo forest silently.
These bamboos were extremely hard. Yang Kai had spent half a year here cutting them with his Space Blade, but had only managed to harvest twenty pieces. These cuts still appeared fresh when Yang Kai spotted them.
“These are Black Gold Bamboos. Although they are an excellent material for refining sword-type artifacts, that’s nothing compared to their other uses so don’t cut down any more of them,” Yang Yan suddenly spoke.
“Other uses?” Yang Kai heard this and asked. He knew the strength of these bamboos so, naturally, he understood they were a rare artifact refining material.
“En, after these Black Gold Bamboos blossom, they produce Black Gold Bamboo Shoots which contain highly concentrated and extremely pure World Energy. These shoots can be easily absorbed by any cultivator to raise their cultivation without any hidden dangers.”
Yang Kai was startled and quickly asked, “Is that true?”
“You think I’d lie to you?” Yang Yan shot him an unhappy glare.
“When will they blossom and produce shoots?” Yang Kai asked eagerly.
“From the looks of it, somewhere between ten and twenty years,” Yang Yan smiled, naturally knowing what he was thinking.
“Ten or twenty years…” Yang Kai showed an ugly expression. Who could tell what would happen over the next ten or twenty years? By that time perhaps he would no longer even be on Shadowed Star.
With a chuckle, Yang Yan ignored Yang Kai and walked towards the loft. Letting out a reluctant sigh, Yang Kai hurriedly followed after her.
After entering the first floor of the loft, the first thing Yang Kai saw was the picture hanging directly in front of him. There was nothing else depicted in this picture other than a woman’s back. When Yang Kai first came here, he had studied this picture for a while, but was unable to discover anything out of the ordinary with it. This picture seemed to only be a common painting, without the slightest energy fluctuations.
At that time, Yang Kai had felt this back was faintly familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Now that he saw it again though, everything became clear.
This back was exactly the same as Yang Yan’s!
Yang Kai simply hadn’t connected the two at that time because Yang Yan was always wearing a loose black robe, making it difficult to see her profile; however, with Yang Yan currently standing in front of the picture staring at it intently, Yang Kai could clearly see the similarity between them.
While thinking this way, the picture seemed to be shaken by the breeze, trembling slightly before an incredible scene appeared.
The figure in the picture actually turned around slowly, and her beautiful eyes met Yang Yan’s directly as a smile formed on her lips.
Yang Kai stared at all this in amazement, too shocked to move for a while.
When the woman drawn in the picture turned around completely, it was clearly Yang Yan, the only difference was that she was wearing very different clothes. The Yang Yan that Yang Kai knew was always wearing a long black robe, but the woman in the picture wore all white, giving her an icy and pure look.
This strange scene looked like Yang Yan was standing in front of a mirror, causing Yang Kai to feel somewhat at a loss for what to do.
What shocked him even more though was that the woman in the picture actually glanced over at him, as if she had her own sentience and consciousness.
If Yang Kai had any doubt about Yang Yan’s identity before, now that doubt had been completely erased. Forget about anything else, just the extraordinariness of this picture alone was beyond Yang Kai ability to understand.
One person and one portrait stared at each other for a long time before Yang Yan suddenly let out a gentle sigh, “I’ve already awoken, so you no longer need to remain here. Come out, you’ve worked hard all these years.”
“I am you and you are me, why try to draw distinctions now?” The same voice as Yang Yan’s sounded from the picture and immediately, the woman in it smiled slightly before transforming into a stream of light and leaping off the canvas before diving into Yang Yan’s forehead and disappearing.
Yang Yan herself shivered slightly, showing a hint of pain on her face, but she quickly calmed down and closed her eyes, seemingly sensing something.
Yang Kai didn’t disturb her. This trip with Yang Yan to the Flowing Flame Sand Field had allowed him to witness many things that exceeded the scope of his understanding. The Great Emperor’s means were not something a cultivator of his level could possibly comprehend.
After the portrait of the Great Emperor disappeared, the canvas it was drawn upon suddenly ignited and was burnt to ash in an instant, disappearing from the world entirely.
Yang Yan remained immersed in her perception with her eyes closed, so Yang Kai also remained silent and waited.
After about two hours, Yang Yan exhaled suddenly and slowly opened her beautiful eyes before turning to Yang Kai and smiling.
Although he still found it impossible to determine Yang Yan’s cultivation, Yang Kai felt that after receiving the portrait from the picture, some changes had taken place in Yang Yan’s aura, making her seem more powerful than before.
“This place was left here as a failsafe by the Great Emperor. If I hadn’t appeared and regained my memories, she would have taken up my role,” Yang Yan explained softly.
“And what role is that?”
“To awaken the Great Emperor!” Yang Yan replied, “You should be thankful that you aren’t a woman. If you were, your body would already have been taken over when you arrived at this place.”
Yang Kai’s face sank as he was struck speechless, but soon his curiosity re-asserted itself, “So what you mean to say is you now have the duty of awakening the Great Emperor?”
“Yes,” Yang Yan nodded.
“How are you going to accomplish that?”
“Wait for the Emperor Garden to open then travel to its innermost sanctum,” Yang Yan looked up towards the location of the Emperor Garden but, unfortunately, nothing could be seen through the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s red flame barrier.
Yang Kai didn’t ask any more questions, as he knew sometimes knowing too much was not a good thing.
“That’s how it is, let’s head back,” Yang Yan said with satisfaction.
“Yeah, just wait a moment,” Yang Kai nodded while sending out a command with his Divine Sense before standing in place and waiting.
A moment later, a blazing wisp of fire flew over. It was the Firebird Artifact Spirit which had left Yang Kai a few hours earlier.
In the blink of an eye, the Artifact Spirit arrived in front of Yang Kai as violent flames and heat surged around its body.
It seemed that although it had not spent much time in the Earth Lung Fire Pond, the Artifact Spirit had still gained many benefits. After being summoned back by Yang Kai, the Artifact Spirit showed a look of reluctance and continued to tweet its displeasure.
Yang Kai just waved his hand helplessly and the Artifact Spirit obediently entered his body.
Finished with their business here, Yang Kai and Yang Yan began walking out.
In order to avoid being seen, the two proceeded very carefully. Fortunately, the Emperor Garden had attracted the attention of most cultivators, so the number of people who rushed to investigate the changes in the Flowing Flame Sand Field wasn’t too high. Concealing themselves properly, the two finally left the Flowing Flame Sand Field without incident.
Once they were a fair distance from this Forbidden Zone, Yang Yan immediately summoned the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle and the pair set out towards Heavenly Fate City.
Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye before a young man and a black-robed young woman stood two thousand metres outside Heavenly Fate City. Naturally, it was Yang Kai and Yang Yan.
After leaving the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Yang Yan made the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle tear space again, but unfortunately, while the distance travelled this time did not change, the position the Battle Shuttle emerged from The Void was completely wrong, delaying the pair’s return trip by a few days.
However, this little mishap did not matter too much as the Emperor Garden was still not open, so there was no need to rush.
Yang Kai figured out another important point during this trip, and that was why the Emperor Garden had settled in the sky above Dragon Cave Mountain, bringing so much attention to Heavenly Fate City. This was no accident, nor did it have anything to do with Dragon Cave Mountain’s good or bad fortune, but rather because Yang Yan lived on Dragon Cave Mountain!
The Emperor Garden was both the Great Emperor’s residence as well as the place where her true body slumbered, so there being an inextricable connection to Yang Yan was only natural.
Of course, this was just Yang Kai’s conjecture, and he did not ask Yang Yan to confirm it, but he felt all of this shouldn’t just be a coincidence.
Now, Yang Kai was staring out towards a certain direction where multiple flashes of light were constantly occurring accompanied by strong energy fluctuations. Exchanging a knowing glance with Yang Yan who was standing next to him, the pair both showed gloomy expressions.
It was obvious that a battle was taking place, and this fight was surrounding Dragon Cave Mountain.
Could it be that, in the month he and Yang Yan had been gone, someone had decided to attack Dragon Cave Mountain?
Thinking so, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense before summoning his Star Shuttle and rushing over at full speed with Yang Yan following close behind.
Yang Kai’s expectations were soon confirmed as he determined that Dragon Cave Mountain was indeed under siege, and the leader of this assault was none other than the Xie Family that held many grudges against him.
Due to Lu Ye’s staying in the Xie Family and because Yang Kai had been busy with a number of issues recently, he hadn’t had time to settle his grievances with the Xie Family, but he hadn’t expected the other party would actually launch an all-out attack.
At the moment, outside Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array, a middle-aged man wearing a purple robe with a hazy look in his eyes stared angrily towards the flashing light display occurring in front of him.
This man was none other than Xie Li, the Xie Family’s most powerful master, a genuine Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master. He held a fairly high position in Shadow Moon Hall, but currently, he had not hesitated to leave Shadow Moon Hall in order to avenge the dead Xie Hong Wen!
It was no secret that Xie Hong Wen had died at Yang Kai’s hands, and although no one had publicly revealed it, before Xie Hong Wen dived into the Flowing Flame Sand Field he had a secret technique planted on his body, proving Yang Kai killed him as this secret mark had been stealthily transferred to him during the process.
Afterwards, as long as the Xie Family investigated, they could confirm who the murderer was.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai had Qian Tong as a backer, forcing Xie Li to act cautiously lest he harm himself. The only option Xie Li had was to wait for an opportunity to act.
Such an opportunity came quickly though. When Qian Tong disappeared, he naturally wanted to immediately take revenge, so Xie Li instructed his subordinates in Heavenly Fate City to embezzle Dragon Cave Mountain’s Saint Crystals then seize the cultivators who came to investigate in an attempt to draw out Yang Kai.
This strategy worked perfectly, but Xie Li had greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s strength. After storming into Heavenly Fate City, Yang Kai had killed a Xie Family Origin Returning Realm master in front of the entire city’s eyes and, even after Fei Zhi Tu intervened, Yang Kai was able to calmly leave.
Afterwards, Qian Tong returned safely and Xie Li was forced to withdraw temporarily.
What Xie Li had not expected, however, was that Qian Tong actually announced that Shadow Moon Hall would not intervene in any way in the grievances between the Xie Family and Dragon Cave Mountain. This statement made Xie Li both happy and wary, thinking that Qian Tong was simply trying to lure all the snakes from their holes to destroy them all at once.
However, after inquiring through many parties, Xie Li learned that this non-interference pledge was made at Yang Kai’s request; Qian Tong was only cooperating with him.
[This little brat was seeking his own destruction!] Xie Li was overjoyed; without Qian Tong as a backer, and without Shadow Moon Hall’s support, how could a trivial Dragon Cave Mountain withstand the Xie Family’s strength?
As far as Xie Li knew, there were only two Origin Returning Realm masters on Dragon Cave Mountain, and both were just First-Order Origin Realm cultivators that had broken through a few years prior.
There was even a time when Xie Li could not wait to personally rush to Dragon Cave Mountain to kill Yang Kai, but after seeing Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array, Xie Li realized he had greatly underestimated this place.
He was unable to see the slightest flaw in this protective Spirit Array, and even after sending many of the Xie Family’s disciples in to probe it, Xie Li had been unable to learn anything, instead incurring severe losses.
Originally, Xie Li planned to invite members of the Cai Family and Du Family who were proficient in Spirit Arrays to try to crack Dragon Cave Mountain’s protective array, but to his surprise, the leaders of both the Cai Family and Du Family categorically rejected his request and sent back all the rewards he promised them without hesitation.
Afterwards, Xie Li learned that Yang Kai had once saved the lives of the Cai Family’s Cai He and the Du Family’s Du Si Si, so when these two heard someone wanted to act against Dragon Cave Mountain, as the rising stars of both families, they used their influence to force their families to reject Xie Li’s invitation, frustrating the latter greatly.
Fortunately, the Heavens opened another path for Xie Li. Dragon Cave Mountain was apparently extremely proud of its defensive capabilities and did not put anyone in their eyes. As a result, they had offended a great force from the Limitless Ocean, Sea Heart Sect, and then offended Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple.
On top of that, the Young Master of Flowing Cloud Valley staying at the Xie Family, Lu Ye, had some kind of deep grudge with Yang Kai.
Xie Li’s confidence soared when he learned these several forces were willing to collaborate! He even believed that Dragon Cave Mountain would be trampled flat this time and immediately assembled the elites of his family and declared their separation from Shadow Moon Hall before beginning an assault on Dragon Cave Mountain.
There were more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters in this attacking force, and although there was no Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master leading them and Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple did not openly cooperate with them, just secretly sending some masters to provide assistance, Xie Li was still very satisfied.
In any case, there were no masters on Dragon Cave Mountain, so they could only rely on the protection of their Mountain Defending Array. As long as this protective array was destroyed, Xie Li was confident he could easily slaughter the people inside by himself.
Every time he imagined Yang Kai kneeling before him, begging for mercy, Xie Li felt great happiness.
The saddest thing in this world was for a parent to have to bury their child. When he first learned that Xie Hong Wen had died in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Xie Li had been overcome with grief. Then, after finding out that Yang Kai was the murderer, Xie Li had been unable to rest at ease these past few years, or even eat or sleep in peace, knowing Yang Kai was still alive. Yang Kai’s very existence had become a kind of heart demon for Xie Li, even preventing him from cultivating properly.
Although he was no longer young, Xie Li’s violent temper had not changed since his youth.
Revenge for the death of his child was one thing, but the incredible wealth of Dragon Cave Mountain had also drawn Xie Lie’s attention. The heritage exhibited by Dragon Cave Mountain in recent years was extremely shocking. Just the materials it had purchased from Shadow Moon Hall alone were worth hundreds of millions of Saint Crystals.
Xie Li even wondered whether Dragon Cave Mountain sat atop a rich Saint Crystal lode; how else could they have acquired so many Saint Crystals?
If the attack on Dragon Cave Mountain was successful this time, the biggest gains would go to his, Xie Family. The people from Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple had already declared they did not want anything other than the Profound Gold Yang Kai had taken from them. As for who would ultimately end up owning the Profound Gold, that was a matter for them to decide among themselves and had nothing to do with the Xie Family.
Being offered such good conditions, Xie Li naturally agreed.
As for the condition that Flowing Cloud Valley put forward, it was even stranger. That Flowing Cloud Valley Young Master Lu Ye wanted Yang Kai’s body and nothing else.
What use did a mere Saint King Realm cultivator’s corpse have? Although Xie Li didn’t understand, he had no intention to dwell on the matter. Lu Ye, on the other hand, was worth being vigilant about. Whenever he saw this young man, Xie Li always felt a sense of unease, as if he weren’t facing a Saint King Junior but rather a poisonous snake hiding its fangs!
What surprised Xie Li even more was that this Lu Ye’s subordinates consisted of more than a dozen Origin Returning Realm cultivators. Although all these cultivators were just First-Order Origin Realm masters, Flowing Cloud Valley was just a small force so they shouldn’t have had so many masters in the first place.
These Origin Returning Realm masters also gave Xie Li a sense of incongruity. The few times he had seen them interact with Lu Ye, Xie Li could clearly tell these Origin Realm masters were incredibly respectful towards Lu Ye, displaying a mix of awe and fear, as if they were slaves facing the master who controlled whether they lived or died.
All sorts of miscellaneous thoughts flashed across Xie Li’s mind, but he soon shook his head to dismiss them before shouting to the crowd of people gathered around him to bombard Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array.
Since he could not bring an excellent Array Master to come here to crack this array, he could only use brute force to break it open.
Xie Li firmly believed that he could eventually break open this protective array.
This method also aligned with Xie Li’s temperament. He wanted to see the look on Yang Kai’s face when this Spirit Array was broken and he wantonly destroyed Dragon Cave Mountain.
Two days had passed since the siege was launched, but over this time the more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters had exhausted themselves, not to mention the many Saint Kings under their command. Countless Saint Crystals and pills had already been consumed to supplement everyone’s Saint Qi.
This Mountain Defending Array was far stronger than Xie Li ever imagined. After two days of continuous bombardment, the light curtain itself had only become slightly dimmer and was nowhere near breaking.
Up until now, Dragon Cave Mountain had not launched any kind of counterattack, as if everyone inside was already dead.
Various artifacts of different shapes and sizes radiated dazzling light as all of the cultivators present pressed down their shock and continued to attack the light curtain in front of them.
None of them had ever encountered such a solid Spirit Array before. All of them could only describe it as impregnable.
Suddenly, inside the Spirit Array, the fog began to tumble and revealed several figures.
Xie Li frowned and raised his hand, motioning everyone to stop.
In the next moment, everyone withdrew their artifacts and looked towards the newly appeared figures. What they saw was two beautiful women standing side by side, with three old men who were clearly First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators standing behind them.
Xie Li’s eyes were cold as he observed the two women leading this group with a sneer.
Many other cultivators revealed ill-intent as well, some even directing lecherous looks towards these two women, sweeping their eyes over their beautiful bodies as if these two women already belong to them. Many of them wished to hurriedly break through this barrier and devastate these two.
On the other hand, the two women remained indifferent, not showing the slightest fear.
Xie Li recognized the identity of these two women at a glance. In order to deal with Dragon Cave Mountain, he had naturally investigated the details of this place. One of these two women was named Wu Yi, a disciple of the Hai Ke Family who later left her family to join Dragon Cave Mountain. As for the other woman, she was called Qian Yue and seemed to have been brought back by Yang Kai from somewhere.
The cultivations of these two were not even worth mentioning. A Second-Order Saint King and a First-Order Saint King could not be placed in Xie Li’s eyes at all.
Of the three old men standing behind them, two of them must be Chang Qi and Hao An, former Foreign Elders of the Hai Ke Family. These two had entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field when it last opened and obviously obtained some opportunities which allowed both of them to break through to the Origin Realm, after which they joined Dragon Cave Mountain.
As for the last person, Xie Li looked at him suspiciously for a moment before calling out to him in surprise, “Brother Ning, why are you here?”
The last old man with a snow-white beard was none other than Ning Xiang Chen, who had accompanied Yang Kai to the Emperor Garden.
Ning Xiang Chen felt extremely helpless at the moment. After returning from the Emperor Garden and receiving Yang Kai’s promise, he had immediately gone to collect the necessary materials to repair his Origin Grade Artifact before coming to Dragon Cave Mountain to borrow Yang Kai’s Firebird Artifact Spirit.
Finally, he had managed to gather the materials he needed and rushed to this place, but unexpectedly, Yang Kai was out.
With no other choice, he decided to stay on the mountain to wait for Yang Kai to return.
However, he had barely gotten settled in before the Xie Family began its assault on Dragon Cave Mountain.
Ning Xiang Chen immediately fell into an embarrassing situation. It would be dangerous to remain here as, once the Mountain Defending Array of Dragon Cave Mountain was broken, he would definitely be lumped together with the others here, but simply escaping was also somewhat inappropriate. At the very least, he could forget about ever borrowing Yang Kai’s Firebird Artifact Spirit to repair his artifact if he abandoned this place now.
Ning Xiang Chen was now riding a tiger, uncertain of what to do next.
He was a lone wanderer with neither a Sect nor family. Cultivating to his current realm had been a treacherous journey filled with countless dangers and narrow escapes.
In the past, when Shadow Moon Hall’s Grandmaster Ge Lin was still alive, if his artifacts became damaged, Ning Xiang Chen could bring them to the former to have them repaired as the Grandmaster was quite friendly and approachable. Ning Xiang Chen had been under the care of Grandmaster Ge Lin for many years and did not know any other Origin Grade Artifact Refiners as a result. If this was not the case, how could he have come to ask for help from Yang Kai?
Ning Xiang Chen had spent the last two days on Dragon Cave Mountain in a constant state of unease as so many cultivators were constantly bombarding the protective barrier, but after these two days, he noticed something very strange.
Even facing such a heavy siege, none of the cultivators on Dragon Cave Mountain showed the slightest sign of panic, all of them simply going about their business, cultivating calmly, as if the enemies outside did not even exist.
One or two cultivators behaving like this could be interpreted as them having unusual mental fortitude, but everyone behaving so was a bit strange.
This was especially true for Wu Yi and Qian Yue. These two women were calmer than anyone else, even gathering to drink tea and chat happily several times these past two days. Did they simply not know how to write the word ‘death’?
Ning Xiang Chen felt shock and admiration after seeing this. Compared to him constantly weighing the pros and cons of remaining here and suffering in anxiety, the performance of these Juniors was markedly superior.
What truly shocked Ning Xiang Chen though was that Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array had been assaulted for two straight days by more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters and two hundred or so Saint Kings but had barely taken any damage.
This small hilltop was not simple!
This Mountain Defending Array alone was not something ordinary people could arrange.
Recalling Yang Kai’s incredible performance back in the Emperor Garden, Ning Xiang Chen grit his teeth and decided to take a risk! He would stay here and fight together with Dragon Cave Mountain. There were various indications that this hilltop was not a soft persimmon that could be easily pinched and very likely had many powerful hidden cards that could turn danger into safety.
Of course, Ning Xiang Chen making such a choice was not out of a sense of chivalry, but rather a deliberate gamble.
He was betting on Dragon Cave Mountain being able to survive this disaster, and once it did, he would be able to easily borrow the Firebird Artifact Spirit from Yang Kai. Otherwise, Ning Xiang Chen would have already left.
As such, when Wu Yi and Qian Yue went out to meet the enemy, Ning Xiang Chen requested to follow them without even being asked.
Hearing Xie Li’s question, Ning Xiang Chen chuckled, “Brother Xie, it’s been too long since we last met. I heard Brother Xie has recently left Shadow Moon Hall, is that true?”
“Why ask something you already know, Brother Ning?” Xie Li coldly snorted. Ning Xiang Chen was a lone cultivator without any background, so even if he was an Origin Realm master, Xie Li didn’t put him in his eyes. The only reason he bothered speaking to him was because they had met before in the past, “Since Brother Ning is here though, this Xie has a suggestion. I wonder if Brother Ning would be willing to consider it?”
“Oh? And what does Brother Xie propose?” Ning Xiang Chen frowned.
Xie Li glanced over at Qian Yue and Wu Yi before using his Divine Sense to send a message, “Brother Ning, I’m certain you can understand the current situation. In the face of so many forces collaborating with me, this puny hilltop is as good as doomed. Once this annoying barrier is broken, Dragon Cave Mountain will be a fish on a chopping board. I do not know what kinds of benefits Dragon Cave Mountain promised you, but this Xie is willing to pay double the price as long as you can capture those two women and turn them over to me. It shouldn’t be difficult for Brother Ning to accomplish this, yes?”
Ning Xiang Chen raised his brow for a moment before revealing a faint smile and saying out loud, “Brother Xie, this Ning doesn’t believe he is a noble warrior, but he at least understands honesty and loyalty, sneak attacking two Juniors from behind is an incredibly improper act. If this Ning were really to perform such a scandalous act, I’m afraid there would be no place left in this world for me to take shelter in the future.”
Hearing Ning Xiang Chen’s words, Xie Li’s complexion sank. The other party had not sent him a Divine Sense Message but chose to speak openly, so that everyone present could hear him. This was a naked display of contempt, something which made Xie Li annoyed.
Ning Xiang Chen continued to speak however, “Brother Xie does not need to speak any exaggerated words. Although there are indeed many people who have come here to stir up trouble, I’m afraid that breaking this barrier is not a matter that can be accomplished in just a day or two. En, this old master choosing to interfere in this matter is also my own decision, no one has offered me any kind of reward or compensation, so I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Brother Xie.”
When they saw Xie Li quietly sending messages to Ning Xiang Chen, both Wu Yi’s and Qian Yue’s expressions had become a little nervous, worried the other party would be won over by Xie Li. After all, they were not familiar with Ning Xiang Chen, but listening to his words just now, they couldn’t help showing a relieved look while nodding to him in appreciation.
As for Chang Qi, he patted Ning Xiang Chen’s shoulder and said with a hearty laugh, “Brother Ning, you will rejoice you made this choice one day.”
Hao An also smiled as his opinion of this old fellow Ning Xiang Chen improved greatly.
[I hope so…] Ning Xiang Chen portrayed calm on the surface while his heart was pounding like a drum on the inside. Ning Xiang Chen making this choice was also due to him not being able to stand Xie Li and these people using strength to bully the weak. However, now that he had torn face with Xie Li, if Dragon Cave Mountain were really to fall, he would certainly suffer severe consequences.
Wu Yi smiled lightly while a look of confidence filled her face, making it impossible to read what she was thinking as she spoke, “Seniors, my Dragon Cave Mountain has neither grievance nor grudge with any of you, why make things difficult for us?”
“Neither grievance nor grudge?” Xie Li heard this and grinned angrily, “If there was no injustice or hatred between us, do you think we would all assemble here to attack your pathetic little hill? This old master will not speak any nonsense with you. Girl, you’d best know your place and withdraw this Mountain Defending Array. Do so and I will spare you some suffering, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Wu Yi raised her head slightly and stared towards Xie Li, not displaying a hint of timidity.
Xie Li coldly snorted, “Otherwise, when this barrier breaks, we will peel your skin and crack your bones!”
“Senior’s words are big, are you not afraid the wind will clip your tongue after speaking so forcefully?” Wu Yi still laughed lightly, but her words were filled with ridicule. Sweeping her beautiful eyes over the many enemies eyeing her covetously, Wu Yi declared, “Junior advises all the Seniors present to leave now. Do so and my Dragon Cave Mountain will not hold you responsible for what has already transpired here, but if you fail to heed this warning, do not blame my Dragon Cave Mountain for acting ruthless!”
The words she spoke were nothing less than astonishing.
Many of the Origin Returning Realm masters present could not help staring at Wu Yi as if they were looking at a fool.
They had been attacking this barrier for two days but still had not managed to break through Dragon Cave Mountain’s protection, so they were already quite disgruntled, but listening to Wu Yi’s shameless boasting, they immediately became incensed!
All of the cultivators who had come here to attack Dragon Cave Mountain either had ulterior motives or deep hatred against Yang Kai, so how could they be scared off by a few empty threats from Wu Yi? Not only were they not deterred, they became even more aggressive.
Some of the more hot-tempered people present immediately attacked with their artifacts or Martial Skills towards Wu Yi.
*Hong long long…*
A series of explosions rang out as the light curtain in front of Wu Yi shone brilliantly blocking all these attacks.
Wu Yi’s expression remained completely calm as she glanced over at the cultivators who just attacked and declared, “Since you insist on acting besotted, I can only hope you won’t regret the decision you made today!”
Saying so, she waved her hand and the thick layer of fog re-emerged, engulfing the figures of Wu Yi and the others, causing them to disappear from the sight of their enemies.
“Arrogant little bitch, when this old master catches her, he will let her know what a life worse than death feels like!” An old Origin Returning Realm master sitting cross-legged atop a giant toad-like Monster Beast stared at the spot where Wu Yi disappeared and cursed.
This old man was extremely ugly, with bulging eyes, a crooked nose, a bald head, and warts covering his face. On top of that, he was at least a head shorter than average, making his appearance perfectly match with the toad he was sitting on.
Needless to say, this person was from Myriad Beast Mountain, and although no one present was wearing any robes or markings that could identify them as being from Myriad Beast Mountain, people would easily be able to see their origins as long as they weren’t fools because these people’s main method of attack was by controlling Monster Beasts.
Such an obvious trait could not be concealed.
The Blue-Eyed Blood Toad this old man was sitting on was a powerful Ninth-Order Monster Beast, and combined with his own techniques, this human-beast combination was powerful enough to take on Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators. Everyone present also knew that not only was this man’s outer appearance ugly, his mental state was also quite distorted. While being petty and lustful, he most enjoyed torturing and humiliating beautiful women, often to death, deriving some kind of sick, vindictive pleasure from such acts.
If Wu Yi really fell into his hands, she would certainly experience a fate worse than death.
“Heh heh, those two girls both have good strength, if this old master can capture them, they can be made into two good Blood Slaves!” Nearby, a middle-aged man covered in a blood-red aura flashed an evil grin and was undoubtedly from Demon Blood Temple.
“There’s no point talking about any of this until we find a way to break through this barrier!” Xie Li chided, showing a disgruntled look. Their group had barely made any progress trying to destroy this Mountain Defending Array, so what use was there discussing how to carve up the benefits behind it?
The old man from Myriad Beast Mountain cackled, “Originally this old master didn’t want to use this trick, but since that little bitch wants to seek death, this old master can only offer a helping hand, haha!”
Saying so, his expression suddenly became solemn as Saint Qi burst from his body. At the same time, the cheeks of the Blue-Eyed Blood Toad beneath him swelled up and a low croaking like the sound of a frog rang out.
Suddenly, the surrounding World Energy aura became turbulent and began gathering towards the man-beast pair.
Xie Li’s eyes lit up as he stared at the old man’s movements for a moment before asking, “Do you plan on using the Blood Toad Poisonous Smoke?”
Hearing this, the other Origin Returning Realm masters all looked startled and turned shocked gazes towards the old man.
The old man from Myriad Beast Mountain just coldly snorted and said, “Blood Toad Poisonous Smoke is my baby’s unique skill, but the number of times it can use it in its lifetime is limited. This old master is putting forward such effort, so I hope friends will not continue to conceal their cards as well!”
Finished with his explanation, this old man suddenly spat out a blood arrow. This blood arrow shot forward towards the Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array. Simultaneously, the Blue-Eyed Blood Toad blew a jet of black venom from its mouth towards the blood arrow.
When the blood arrow and black venom mixed together, they instantly transformed into a dark fog that bombarded towards the barrier’s light curtain.
*Ci la la…*
A sound reminiscent of something being corroded filled everyone’s ears in the next moment as the light curtain surrounding Dragon Cave Mountain began to flicker and at a speed visible to the naked eye, a gap was melted in it.
This gap was large enough to allow a person to pass through, and although it quickly repaired itself, it still demonstrated the great power of this blow.
Over the past two days, no one had been able to open even a tiny hole in this barrier, but now this old man from Myriad Beast Mountain had done just that.
Even if the barrier was quickly restored, this blow had depleted a significant amount of the Mountain Defending Array’s power, so if a few more attacks of similar intensity could be unleashed, perhaps it really could be broken.
After using this technique though, the old man’s complexion became slightly pale and the Blue-Eyed Blood Toad he was riding also seemed a little emaciated. Without saying a word, the old man took out a jade bottle from his Space Ring, poured out a blood red pill, and tossed it forward. The Blue-Eyed Blood Toad spat out its scarlet tongue and caught this pill, swallowing it down in the next moment, its blue eyes flashing a look of enjoyment as it did.
For the Blue-Eyed Blood Toad, this blood red pill was undoubtedly a great supplement.
“Excellent,” Xie Li laughed loudly while carefully concealing his shock, nodding in approval as he declared, “In that case, this Xie will not hold back either.”
Saying so, he quickly summoned a small dagger-like artifact that radiated a silvery luster and potent spirituality.
“White Rainbow Dagger!” When the old man from Myriad Beast Mountain saw this dagger, he could not help calling out in surprise, “I never expected Brother Xie would possess this kind of barrier breaking artifact. It seems that Brother Xie’s opportunities in life have not been small.”
The other Origin Returning Realm masters present also turned greedy looks towards this White Rainbow Dagger, as if they had all heard about it before.
Xie Li chuckled and said lightly, “Rather than an opportunity, I simply obtained it by accident.”
As he said so, he poured his Saint Qi into the White Rainbow Dagger with a solemn expression. Naturally, no one believed Xie Li when he said such words; as far as they knew, this White Rainbow Dagger was an artifact specifically designed to break Spirit Arrays and barriers, and its grade was also extremely high, reaching the Origin Grade Mid-Rank. Perhaps such an artifact was not considered much when considering the entire Star Field, but on Shadowed Star, it was incredibly valuable.
After all, when something is rare, it becomes precious.
Moreover, this White Rainbow Dagger should be an heirloom from some small family. As for why it fell into Xie Li’s hands, that was unknown, but it was likely that Xie Li had forcefully obtained it at some point in the past.
Nevertheless, this was someone else’s problem, so although everyone felt Xie Li’s actions were somewhat shameful, they did not bother commenting out loud.
A moment later, Xie Li activated the White Rainbow Dagger and the tiny dagger transformed into a mass of silvery light in a flash and vanished in place, reappearing just outside Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array in the next instant.
With a loud bang, the White Rainbow Dagger plunged into the barrier, penetrating it without any kind of difficulty. While seemingly not having any effect, everyone present could tell that the spirituality of this grand Spirit Array had been greatly damaged.
The reason why this White Rainbow Dagger was known as a Spirit Array breaking artifact was because it utilized a trace of Space Force to penetrate any kind of barrier and directly disrupt Spirit Arrays from the inside.
Such artifacts could not be refined by Shadowed Star’s current Artifact Refiners, making this White Rainbow Dagger a relic from ancient times.
Sure enough, after Xie Li drove the White Rainbow Dagger back and forth a few times through the Mountain Defending Array, the light curtain became somewhat dim.
Seeing this, Demon Blood Temple, Sea Heart Sect, and Lu Ye’s Origin Returning Realm masters all began displaying their own methods which they would normally try to conceal to attack the Mountain Defending Array.
Anyone who could reach the Origin Realm was no vegetarian, everyone present had experienced countless life or death battles and been on countless adventures, so it was only natural for them to possess some hidden means or treasures. However, these cards normally remained hidden and were only brought out as last resorts.
With more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters acting together, it became a spectacular display of force that even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master would have to tread carefully before.
Seeing this, the remaining Saint Kings also began taking action and for a time, this hastily organized coalition of forces’ momentum became greatly inspired.
Under such a violent attack, the Mountain Defending Array began to buckle, causing everyone to become even more excited.
At the same time, in Heavenly Fate City, atop a certain building fifty kilometres away from Dragon Cave Mountain, Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu were sitting opposite each other, each of them holding a glass they occasionally raised to their mouths, seemingly lost in thought as they casually drank.
Behind Qian Tong, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er stood together with anxious looks upon their faces.
Feeling the violent energy fluctuations coming from Dragon Cave Mountain, Wei Gu Chang finally could not bear it and shouted, “Elder, please allow this disciple to go!”
Although Dong Xuan’er did not say anything, it was clear to anyone that worry filled her beautiful eyes.
Qian Tong just smiled lightly however, put down the glass in his hand, and turned to Wei Gu Chang, “What can you do even if you go?”
“Although disciple has only recently broken through to the Origin Realm, I can still offer some kind of help to Brother Yang. At least it’s better than just sitting and watching!” Wei Gu Chang declared forcefully.
Qian Tong raised his brow, grinned, and asked, “Do you think this old master is just sitting here drinking and having fun?”
“Disciple wouldn’t dare!”
“You don’t dare to even admit your own thoughts?” Qian Tong didn’t seem to mind.
Wei Gu Chang wore a look of struggle on his face for a moment before it became firm, cupping his fists and saying, “Elder, please forgive this disciple for speaking with disrespect!”
“Good, speak,” Qian Tong gently nodded.
“Elder, without even mentioning Brother Yang’s life-saving grace for both Xuan’er and myself, just him being willing to risk entering the Emperor Garden last time to rescue Elder should be enough reason for Elder to not stand idly by. What thing is Xie Li? In order to deal with Brother Yang, he even declared he was separating himself from Shadow Moon Hall. Is our Shadow Moon Hall a place anyone can join or leave as they please? As for that dead Xie Hong Wen, hmph, everyone is well aware of his nature. Even if Brother Yang had not killed him back then, this disciple would definitely have done so one day! Elder, please allow this disciple and Xuan’er to go kill Xie Li! Even if Xuan’er and I have only reached the First-Order Origin Realm, killing Xie Li will not be a problem!”
“Bold!” Qian Tong roared loudly, but with a wide smile on his face. Obviously, he didn’t feel that Wei Gu Chang was simply speaking nonsense and acknowledged his strength. “Then tell this old master, what justification do you want to use to kill Xie Li? Because he arbitrarily decided to leave Shadow Moon Hall?”
“Is such a reason insufficient?”
“Even if it wasn’t, it would be the Law Enforcement Hall’s responsibility to handle this matter, it is not your place to intervene.”
“But…”
“I understand. You don’t have many friends, but Yang Kai is definitely one of them, naturally you don’t want to just stand back and watch this, but… he was the one who requested Shadow Moon Hall to not interfere in his grievance with the Xie Family.”
“It’s not just the Xie Family that is attacking Dragon Cave Mountain though! Demon Blood Temple, Myriad Beast Mountain, Flowing Cloud Valley, and Sea Heart Sect are all particip…”
“Yes, this old master is well aware, which is why I am so interested in seeing what kind of method he is going to use to resolve this disaster. If he can really turn danger into safety this time, haha, this little brat would be too amazing.”
“And if Brother Yang can’t?” Wei Gu Chang did not seem to have much confidence in such a possibility, the gap in strength between the two opposing forces was too great. As long as they weren’t blind, anyone would be able to see that Dragon Cave Mountain was completely outmatched.
“Calm down, do you really think Old Ghost Qian is really just observing the situation?” Fei Zhi Tu, who had remained silent this whole time, shot a mild glare towards Wei Gu Chang. He had not wanted to intervene, but this little boy was being a bit too noisy and spoiling the mood while he was trying to watch the good show in front of him.
Wei Gu Chang turned to look at Fei Zhi Tu in amazement, wondering what he meant.
Fei Zhi Tu snickered in response, “Do you think the Heaven Gathering Hall’s forces really went out to perform some kind of task? The Sect is currently besieged by troubles and is being constantly monitored by all of Shadowed Star’s great forces. Everyone is worried that the Emperor Garden will suddenly open and Shadow Moon Hall will use its proximity to gain a decisive advantage. At such a sensitive time, what kind of task could possibly make the Sect deploy its elite forces outside? Wouldn’t such a rash action only allow others to take further advantage of us?”
Hearing this, Wei Gu Chang’s eyes lit up, “Sir City Lord means…”
Wei Gu Chang had also heard about many masters from the Heaven Gathering Hall being sent out on some task a few days ago, so when Fei Zhi Tu mentioned this point, he immediately understood what was happening.
“You still fall far short when it comes to using your head, young man!” Fei Zhi Tu snorted before taking another sip from his glass.
Wei Gu Chang scratched his cheek for a moment before awkwardly nodding and turning an apologetic look towards Qian Tong, bowing deeply as he declared, “Elder, please forgive this disciple for misunderstanding you.”
“Hahaha!” Qian Tong laughed heartily, “Daring to stand up for your friends, even if it meant acting against this old master’s wishes, not acting pretentious nor hypocritical, good, you’ve not disappointed this old master. Come fill this old master’s cup, there will be a good show to watch today!”
“Yes!” Wei Gu Chang hurried forward, picked up a nearby jug, and filled both of his elder’s glasses before stepping back and standing next to Dong Xuan’er, the two of them exchanging a glance devoid of the anxiety and worry that had just been plaguing them.
Heaven Gathering Hall was a special existence in Shadow Moon Hall; it didn’t have many members, only about sixty or so, but each one was a powerful elite ranging in cultivation from First-Order Saint King Realm to First-Order Origin Returning Realm. However, because of the special Secret Arts and Martial Skills they cultivated, each of these people was capable of fighting across realms. More importantly, every member of the Heaven Gathering Hall was trained in group combat tactics, making them stronger when more of them fought together.
If the entire Heaven Gathering Hall joined forces, even fighting a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master head on would be easy.
So, as soon as Wei Gu Chang heard that the Heaven Gathering Hall’s forces had been deployed, his worries faded greatly. Even without mentioning Dragon Cave Mountain’s incredibly mysterious Mountain Defending Array, just the Heaven Gathering Hall’s forces alone would be enough to make this shameless group of bandits suffer a cruel death.
It was just… Elder Qian was taking a big risk. Once others noticed what was happening, it was highly likely that Shadow Moon Hall would be further suppressed by the other great forces.
The appearance of the Emperor Garden had forced Shadow Moon Hall into an incredibly uncomfortable position already.
Elsewhere, on a desolate hillside a few dozen kilometres away, a ruddy faced old man stood with his arms crossed as he stared towards Dragon Cave Mountain, his demeanor as tranquil as an ancient well, devoid of any joy or sorrow, however, the strong vitality which pulsed from his body created an intimidating atmosphere.
Next to him there was an old woman with a rickety body supporting herself with a dragon head walking stick. This old woman had a seemingly frail appearance and even coughed weakly from time to time, as if she might collapse at any moment. Beside this old woman was a young beauty who seemed to be assisting her by supporting her arm. As the wind blew through these two women’s hair, a sharp contrast in image became apparent between the two of them.
The old man was none other than Demon Blood Temple’s Elder Jin Shi, and the old woman was Myriad Beast Mountain’s Old Woman Feng!
Two top-level Origin Returning Realm masters gathering in such a spot was not difficult to understand; after all, both of them were seeking the piece of Profound Gold in Yang Kai’s hands. As such, it was only natural for them to be monitoring the activity on Dragon Cave Mountain. Once Dragon Cave Mountain fell and Yang Kai had been killed, the two of them would immediately move to snatch the Profound Gold.
As for why they had not moved personally, it was simply because it was inconvenient for them to use their strength to bully the weak.
After all, this place was still within Shadow Moon Hall’s territory, so if they took direction action, it was difficult to guarantee that Shadow Moon Hall would not respond in force.
“Senior Sister Feng, are you interested in considering this Jin’s proposal? As long as you can give up on obtaining this piece of Profound Gold, this Jin promises to fulfill three of your requests in your lifetime,” Jin Shi said suddenly.
“Hmph!” Old Woman Feng struck her cane against the ground and sneered, “Old Ghost Jin, don’t address me so intimately, my Myriad Beast Mountain and your Demon Blood Temple have never been allies and we have never been Senior Sister and Junior Brother. Still, if you can give up on this Profound Gold, this old woman will accomplish three tasks for you in your lifetime.”
She threw his proposal right back to him.
Both of them knew this kind of verbal commitment carried very little weight, and that the one who obtained the Profound Gold would be the biggest winner regardless.
Jin Shi’s eyes narrowed as his expression became a little unpleasant, but after thinking about it for a moment, he chuckled, “Why must Senior Sister Feng insist on refusing my offer? As far as this Jin knows, Senior Sister’s age is not small. How many more years do you have to live? What matters could you possibly accomplish for me in that time?”
“Is that so? This old woman can guarantee that she’ll live longer than you at least!”
“Ahem… There’s no point in us arguing here,” Jin Shi suddenly felt that arguing like this with Old Woman Feng was juvenile and instead decided to get to the root of the problem, “How about this, why don’t we exchange pointers here and whoever wins will also win the Profound Gold. What does Senior Sister Feng think?”
“You think this old woman fears you?” Old Woman Feng’s rickety waist suddenly straightened up and as an astonishing fighting intent pulsed from her body. Sneering, she declared, “This old woman has been interested in witnessing the power of your Golden Cicada Extreme Demon Art for some time now!”
Saying so, she directed a shocking momentum towards Jin Shi, indicating she was more than willing to fight with him here. Old Woman Feng was indeed advanced in age, but although she was now an elderly figure, in her youth she had been as hot-tempered and aggressive as any man, something which had not been calmed with age. In fact, her vicious nature was even more pronounced now than when she was young.
Jin Shi, on the other hand, as an Elder of Demon Blood Temple Elder and a man who had cultivated the Golden Cicada Extreme Demon Art, possessed extremely powerful vitality and an equally short temper. Facing such naked coercion, he naturally wasn’t going to show any weakness as a top-level Origin Returning Realm master.
An invisible pressure began to spread out, forcing these two masters’ in-name disciples standing behind them to retreat in fear.
The young woman who stood beside Old Woman Feng, holding her arm, stumbled briefly before standing firm; however, her face had become slightly pale as she was caught up in the storm these two masters were creating.
“Grandmother, Senior Jin, please show some patience,” The young woman brushed her hair back behind her ears as she laughed helplessly, “Dragon Cave Mountain’s protective array is yet to be broken, so you bothengaging in a fight now to decide who will claim ownership of the Profound Gold, it will only make outsiders laugh. Not to mention, both of you are top masters on Shadowed Star, if you really fought, I am afraid deciding a winner will take quite some time, no?”
How could Jin Shi and Old Woman Feng not already understand what this young woman pointed out? It was just that both were somewhat short-tempered and neither was willing to show weakness to the other, slowly forcing them into this kind of confrontation. After listening to this young woman though, Jin Shi borrowed her words as an excuse to de-escalate and let out a laugh, “What you say is quite right little girl. En, what is your name?”
As he spoke, he also withdrew his aura.
The young woman’s complexion improved greatly with the reduction in ambient pressure and gave an elegant salute, “Disciple’s name is Feng Yan.”
“Feng Yan?” Jin Shi frowned before glancing suspiciously towards Old Woman Feng, after which the latter coldly snorted, “She is this old woman’s granddaughter. Don’t get any ideas about her, otherwise this old woman will fight with you to the death!”
A hint of awkwardness flashed across Jin Shi’s face as he lightly coughed, “She’s just a junior, how could this old master have any ideas about her? En, no wonder this little girl’s cultivation is so good despite being so young, it turns out she is Senior Sister Feng’s descendant. Alright, little girl, let me ask you, if Senior Sister Feng and I do not compare notes, how should we decide who the Profound Gold belongs to? Since you have already intervened, you must have a proposal regarding this, hurry up and inform us.”
Feng Yan smiled lightly, “In front of Senior Jin, how could this Junior dare insert her opinion?”
“There’s no need to fear, just speak freely, this old master won’t blame you,” Jin Shi said with a temperate expression.
Feng Yan glanced at Old Woman Feng for her approval before continuing, “Since that is the case, Junior will offer her suggestion. Grandmother and Senior Jin are both powerful masters, so it is somewhat inappropriate for the two of you to settle things with each other directly. If by some chance something goes wrong, wouldn’t it push our two Sects into a precarious situation? Now that the Emperor Garden has appeared and no one knows when it will open, having more friends is always better than having more enemies.”
Hearing this, Jin Shi nodded lightly, apparently feeling that what Feng Yan said made sense. Even Old Woman Feng’s face eased greatly as her anger faded.
“Although it is not suitable for the two of you to confront one another, both my Myriad Beast Mountain and Senior Jin’s Demon Blood Temple have sent forces to participate in this attack on Dragon Cave Mountain, so why not let them decide who will claim ownership of the Profound Gold? If Demon Blood Temple’s disciples manage to snatch it, my Myriad Beast Mountain is willing to withdraw and wishes that Senior Jin manages to reach new heights in strength!”
“Oh?” Jin Shi looked at Feng Yan with a faint smile on his lips, “Are you so confident in the disciples of your Myriad Beast Mountain?”
Feng Yan returned the smile and asked, “Is Senior Jin not confident in your Sect’s disciple’s methods?”
Jin Shi’s eyes narrowed slightly before letting out a laugh, “Little girl, there is no need for you to provoke this old master, this old master naturally has full confidence in the methods of his Sect’s disciples. Good, this old master can agree to your proposal, but can your words represent Senior Sister Feng’s opinion as well?”
“Since Yan’er has made this proposal, this old woman will naturally agree!” Old Woman Feng lightly tapped her cane and nodded.
“Since you have said it, I will take it that you really mean it!” Jin Shi coldly snorted before extending his hand to Old Woman Feng. The latter glanced down at it for a moment before clasping it. After exchanging an oath about this agreement, the two masters began completely ignoring one another as they turned all their attention towards the distance, strange smiles appearing on both of their faces.
Both of them were clearly completely confident in their own disciples.
While Dragon Cave Mountain was under siege, it was not just Qian Tong, Fei Zhi Tu, Jin Shi, and Old Woman Feng who were observing from afar. At this moment, at various positions between a dozen and hundreds of kilometres away from Dragon Cave Mountain, there were strong observers pointing and whispering to one another as they spectated this event.
Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction had happened not long ago, so many of the masters who had come to participate had yet to leave. They had wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to observe the movements of the Emperor Garden, but after several days of nothing happening, these masters found themselves idle. Now that such a good show had appeared, no matter who it was, they were willing to take a look in hopes of finding some small entertainment.
The extraordinary sturdiness of Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array was of particular concern to the observing masters.
Needless to say, Thunder Typhoon Sect, Heaven Battling Union, Twin Heart Valley, Grand Fire Temple, Floating Mist Palace, Clear Sky Sect, Flame Shield Union, and the various other great forces from Shadowed Star were coveting this Mountain Defending Array.
A small, trivial hill possessing such a powerful defensive array, the question all of them was asking was, [Who arranged it?] No one cared whether Dragon Cave Mountain survived or not, but all of them cared about the Grandmaster who arranged this formation. If they could rescue this master at a critical moment, they might be able to recruit them for their own force.
Everyone was silently making such plans, but all of them had tacitly chosen to stand by and let the Xie Family take the lead along with its allies that were attacking Dragon Cave Mountain.
At the same time, inside Dragon Cave Mountain, Wu Yi and Qian Yue, who had retreated back behind the Mountain Defending Array, couldn’t help going slightly pale.
The two of them had stepped forward just now in order to negotiate, and although they appeared calm and composed, not displaying the slightest fear or cowardice, anyone who saw so many masters gathered against themselves would feel pressured. When had either of these two young women encountered such an astonishing scene? What was especially troubling though was that neither Yang Kai nor Yang Yan were present at this critical moment.
If it weren’t for Wu Yi having a thorough understanding of Dragon Cave Mountain’s various Spirit Arrays, she would likely have already fallen into a panic.
In terms of familiarity with the grand Spirit Arrays covering Dragon Cave Mountain, after Yang Yan who had arranged them, Wu Yi’s understanding was the best; even Yang Kai didn’t know these Spirit Arrays as well as she. After all, when Yang Yan was arranging these formations, Wu Yi had often accompanied and assisted her, so she clearly knew just what kind of terrifying heritage lay in the region surrounding Dragon Cave Mountain.
As such, even though she was somewhat anxious, her emotions remained relatively stable and she was able to withdraw calmly while issuing instructions to the other cultivators present.
However, relying on the protective barrier was not a long term plan. Even if the Mountain Defending Array was incredibly sturdy, under a persistent bombardment, it would eventually break. Wu Yi’s only hope was to somehow establish contact with Yang Kai and Yang Yan. As long as either of them could return to take charge of the situation, Dragon Cave Mountain would be able to mount an effective defence.
Unfortunately, Wu Yi had no idea where the two of them had gone, nor when they would return.
Just as her anxiety was beginning to well up, Qian Yue beside her suddenly let out a cry of surprise and pulled out her communication artifact. Pouring her Divine Sense into it, Qian Yue soon smiled and reported, “Yang Kai and Yang Yan are back.”
“Really?” Wu Yi was overjoyed and hastily asked for confirmation, almost like a drowning person catching hold of a life-saving straw.
“En, Yang Kai sent me a message.”
“Where are they?” Wu Yi looked around, but was unable to spot any trace of Yang Kai or Yang Yan.
“They’re in a hidden spot nearby. Yang Kai said there are too many people outside so it’s difficult for them to sneak in without anyone noticing, so they haven’t returned yet, but…”
“But what?”
“But, he sent a message saying to deactivate the Mountain Defending Array and then let everyone hide inside the cave mansion while Foreign Elder Chang and Foreign Elder Hao confront the enemy. He and Yang Yan will also find an opportunity to act in ensuing chaos.”
“Is that so…” Wu Yi showed a thoughtful expression while everyone else wore calm expressions. Everyone except for Ning Xiang Chen, who had only been here for two days, was calm.
[Could it be that this little brat surnamed Yang has gone crazy? Why else would he issue such an outrageous order?] Although he had not been on Dragon Cave Mountain for long, Ning Xiang Chen knew that there were only a few dozen cultivators here, most of whom were just Saints or Saint Kings, there were even a few Transcendents. There were only two First-Order Origin Realm cultivators, Chang Qi and Hao An.
On the other hand, there were more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters attacking them, a number of whom were Second-Order. As for Saint Kings, there were more than two hundred among the enemy’s force. In this situation, if Dragon Cave Mountain continued to use its Mountain Defending Array, it could hold out for a while longer, but once the barrier was lowered, the only option left would be to fight a hopeless battle. How was this any different from digging their own grave?
Even if Yang Kai’s strength was exceptional, he was still just a single person. How were Yang Kai, Chang Qi, and Hao An planning on overcoming such impossible odds?
Ning Xiang Chen’s mind was simply unable to keep up with all of these sudden developments, and just as he was about to ask what exactly was happening, he suddenly saw Wu Yi smile and calmly declare, “If that’s the case, then we’ll do as he says! It’s about time we show those shameless bastards Dragon Cave Mountain’s fangs.”
With how she so categorically issued this order, it was as if she didn’t place the invaders outside in her eyes, like Yang Kai’s presence alone gave her unlimited confidence.
Ning Xiang Chen on the other hand nearly bit his tongue off.
Qian Yue responded immediately by issuing orders to everyone to take shelter inside Yang Kai’s cave mansion as it was the most secure and strongly fortified position on Dragon Cave Mountain. Unless one had a token to open it, Yang Kai’s cave mansion’s barriers would be even more difficult to break through than the Mountain Defending Array itself.
After Yang Kai’s order was given, Wu Yi understood what he wanted to do and naturally wouldn’t make any objections.
The other cultivators on Dragon Cave Mountain acted swiftly after receiving orders from Qian Yue, all of them rushing over to the cave mansion. In the blink of an eye, only Chang Qi, Hao An, Qian Yue, Wu Yi and Ning Xiang Chen remained.
At this time, Wu Yi frowned as she glanced towards Ning Xiang Chen. Despite her insight and intelligence, she didn’t know what to do with Ning Xiang Chen at this moment.
Allowing him to enter the cave mansion to take refuge was clearly impossible; the cave mansion was Yang Kai’s retreat where many incredible secrets were hidden, and although all of the important treasures were protected behind powerful barriers. If Ning Xiang Chen accidentally discovered something, it would inevitably lead to trouble.
But it was even more impossible to simply make him leave at this point. Just now, Ning Xiang Chen had taken the initiative to stay and offer his assistance to Dragon Cave Mountain, earning him Wu Yi’s gratitude. If she were to shut him out at this point, making him fend for himself, it would be too ungrateful. Not to mention, Ning Xiang Chen couldn’t even leave if he wanted to because Dragon Cave Mountain was completely surrounded by enemies.
Wu Yi immediately felt a headache.
Fortunately, Ning Xiang Chen was a worldly person and was quickly able to discern Wu Yi’s concerns, so he actively proposed, “If you have use for this old master, please don’t be polite. Although this old master’s strength is not high, he is still willing to contribute.”
In that short moment of time, Ning Xiang Chen had again weighed the pros and cons in his mind and decided to gamble once more!
Although he didn’t know where Wu Yi and others were getting their confidence from, their calmness and indifference facing their current situation put him more at ease. Perhaps this Dragon Cave Mountain really was as dangerous as a dragon’s den!
What’s more, after having shown himself to everyone outside and torn face with Xie Li, even if he wanted to withdraw now, he didn’t possess the necessary strength or status, so he might as well see this through to the end.
Ning Xiang Chen had encountered many desperate situations throughout his life, some even more dangerous than the one he currently found himself in, so he was well aware that the greater the investment, the higher the return.
This was the best time for him to make his standpoint clear.
Moreover, even if Dragon Cave Mountain really wound up powerless to resist this foreign invasion, he may still be able to escape.
Based on these considerations, Ning Xiang Chen decided to take a risk.
“Alright. Since Senior Ning is willing to contribute, this Junior won’t be polite. In light of this, I hope Senior Ning can join Foreign Elder Chang and Foreign Elder Hao to meet the enemy. This Junior will retreat first. I wish the three Seniors a swift victory!” Saying so, Wu Yi cupped her fists respectfully before turning around and entering the cave mansion.
Wu Yi was just a Second-Order Saint King, so she understood that there was no point in her remaining outside. As such, she decisively entered the cave mansion.
Ning Xiang Chen was once again left with his mouth slightly agape, standing in place with a dumbfounded look upon his face.
He had thought that Wu Yi would have some kind of clear instructions or proper plan, but what he received instead was just a request to wait here to confront the enemy. It was simply too irresponsible.
[Have I just dug my own grave?] Ning Xiang Chen’s heart filled with bitterness as he wondered to himself.
But Chang Qi just patted him on the shoulder and laughed, “Brother Ning, you will definitely rejoice you made this decision in the future!”
[This sentence again!] Ning Xiang Chen had now heard this line twice within a stick of incense worth of time, but as for what kind of cards this place had hidden, he had no idea, so how was he supposed to rejoice? As far as he could tell, he had made a stupid decision in the heat of the moment and as a result dug his own grave! Ning Xiang Chen really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Old Hao, you still have two bottles of that Moon Beam Wine don’t you?” Chang Qi suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Hao An.
“What are you trying to say?” Hao An asked back vigilantly.
Chang Qi grinned widely, “You and I are old brothers, are you still unclear what I’m trying to say?”
Hao An was immediately filled with righteous indignation, “Last time, little Wu Yi bought back ten bottles of that wine and you and I split them evenly between us, five bottles each. You drank all of yours already so now you’re having ideas about this old master’s? You think this Hao is so easy to bully?!”
“We’re all one family, why speak such distant words? Brother Ning has also joined us so you shouldn’t act so stingy Old Hao, take those bottles out and let us have a drink before we kill our enemies!” Chang Qi pestered Hao An with both logical and emotional pleas.
Hao An ground his teeth as he glared at Chang Qi with grief and anger for a time before finally letting out an exasperated sigh, “Damn it, I know you’re just coveting this old master’s two bottles of good wine, but since you’ve involved Brother Ning as well, this Hao won’t be stingy lest others accuse me of being mean-spirited.”
Saying so, he wiped his Space Ring with his hand and took out two bottles of wine from it.
Chang Qi laughed happily before quickly taking out a few plates of splendid spirit fruits from his Space Ring along with a table and a set of chairs.
Hao An opened a bottle of the Moon Beam Wine and filled three glasses with it before sitting down in an exhausted manner.
At the same time, Chang Qi beckoned to Ning Xiang Chen before reaching out and picking up one of the glasses and sipping it, his face filling with joy as he urged Hao An to continue to fill it.
Ning Xiang Chen looked at this absurd scene and couldn’t help his expression from contorting weirdly. He couldn’t understand anything anymore. With such strong enemies literally knocking on their door, knives placed against all of their necks, how could these two old fogeys still have the thought to drink and make merry? Could it be that they really not know how to write the word ‘death’?
After a long hesitation, Ning Xiang Chen let out a sigh and asked, “Brother Chang, Brother Hao, if it is convenient, could you enlighten this Ning how you plan to repel the enemy outside? With just the three of us, how are we supposed to overcome so many masters?”
Hearing this, Chang Qi and Hao An both looked at each other and laughed.
Ning Xiang Chen secretly felt irritated seeing this and anxiously asked, “Do you two think my words are so funny?”
Chang Qi waved his hand lightly before adjusting his expression to a serious one and declaring, “Brother Ning, you’ve only recently come to Dragon Cave Mountain, so although this Chang is quite impressed with your temperament, it is a bit inconvenient for us to disclose too much. However, this Chang suggests you just wait and see how this group of clumsy mischief-doers brings about their own destruction. En, this glass of wine is by no means the last toast before our demise, but rather one to our coming victory. Each of these bottles is worth 100,000 Saint Crystals and is exceedingly difficult to buy. Brother Ning should really give it a try.”
Ning Xiang Chen’s expression changed dramatically as he was overwhelmed with shock. Not because of the price of this Moon Beam Wine, of course, since Moon Beam Wine was quite famous Ning Xiang Chen had naturally heard about its incredible cost; what he was surprised by was Chang Qi’s confidence.
He clearly didn’t put any of these invaders in his eyes!
After his expression fluctuated for a while, Ning Xiang Chen grit his teeth, steeled his heart, and sat down with a snort, “Alright then! This old master will see if you are all bringing about your own destruction or are luring the enemy into a deadly trap! If it is the former though, don’t blame this old master for greasing his soles and taking off.”
Chang Qi and Hao An looked at each other, smiled, and nodded, “Should be so!”
Saying so, they filled up Ning Xiang Chen’s glass.
With varying thoughts, the three old men sat around eating spirit fruits while tasting this fine wine, not showing any awareness that the enemy was approaching.
Inside the cave mansion, Wu Yi had settled the disciples and had joined Qian Yue inside a separate room before taking out a silver and gold disk from her Space Ring. Tossing this glowing disk forward, Wu Yi said with a solemn expression, “Elder Sister Qian Yue, this is the master control plate for all of Dragon Cave Mountain’s Spirit Arrays. By myself, I’m afraid I will not be able to operate it smoothly, so I must ask Elder Sister to assist me.”
“Okay,” Qian Yue nodded.
Wu Yi reached out and poured her Saint Qi into the control plate. In an instant, the gold and silver colours began rotating an incredible speed, filling the room with a brilliant light.
Wu Yi’s expression turned solemn as she shouted, “Open!”
The control plate made a whirring sound as the gold and silver colours on its surface intertwined as if they had come to life before withdrawing to their respective sides and in the blink of an eye, splitting apart cleanly.
At the same time, outside Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array, the more than thirty Origin Realm masters headed by Xie Li continued their assault on the barrier. After everyone had displayed some of their powerful hidden methods, this seemingly solid Spirit Array had begun to crumble, dimming significantly as it flickered weakly.
“Everyone, keep it up! This damn Spirit Array won’t be able to last much longer!” Xie Li’s eyes shone cruelly as he shouted. Simultaneously, he used his White Rainbow Dagger to shuttle back and forth through the light curtain, continuing to apply damage.
There was no need for him to remind these Origin Realm masters, as all of them who were participating in this attack could see that they were making progress. From the intensity of their assault, many judged that this Mountain Protecting Array wouldn’t be able to last more than half a day before breaking.
For a time, this group became excited and their blood boiled as they poured more Saint Qi into their artifacts and Martial Skills.
Brilliant rays of light continued to bombard the light curtain, setting off a continuous rumbling.
Suddenly, along with a strange buzzing sound, the light curtain of Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array began fading at an extremely fast speed before disappearing altogether.
The attacks of more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters suddenly passed through the place where the barrier once stood and blasted the surrounding ground.
“It broke?” The old man from Myriad Beast Mountain who was riding the Blue Eyes Blood Toad raised his brow and revealed a surprised look. Just now, he clearly felt that this Spirit Array could last a while longer but now it had suddenly disappeared, making him wonder if some kind of unexpected accident had occurred.
“It doesn’t seem like it, it looks more like they closed it on their own!” A middle-aged man wrapped in a blood-red aura from Demon Blood Temple narrowed his eyes towards the interior of Dragon Cave Mountain, a trace of vigilance appearing on his face.
“Hmph, maybe they realized that resisting to the end would only cause them to suffer more, so they took the initiative to lower the barrier thinking they could somehow escape?” Someone posited.
Naturally, not many agreed with this idea, but since the other party had indeed withdrawn their defensive array they must have some other method to rely on. With the layer of fog still tumbling outside Dragon Cave Mountain, not to mention their eyes, even their Divine Senses were greatly restricted, so no one could determine the situation inside, causing all of them to become cautious. No one wanted to be the first to act.
“A group of spineless cowards!” Xie Li ground his teeth secretly as he prepared to force others to move forward and investigate the situation, but before he could say anything he saw the fog bank covering Dragon Cave Mountain begin to dissipate.
A short time later, the rolling clouds and mists lifted revealing the scenery inside Dragon Cave Mountain.
Today’s Dragon Cave Mountain had become quite picturesque actually, the surrounding mountains and streams all appearing clean and refreshing. The ambient World Energy aura was also rich. It was a far cry from the barren hill it once was.
But what shocked everyone present was that no one had left the mountain to meet the enemy. There were no apparent defences or cultivators lying in wait, just three old Origin Realm men gathered around a table drinking and relaxing.
When this kind of rampant contempt entered everyone’s eyes, all of their expressions became cold.
Clearly these people weren’t putting them in their eyes, otherwise, how could they be sitting there leisurely drinking?
“Hmph, still trying to act mysterious after reaching a dead end!” Xie Li coldly snorted as he released his Divine Sense to explore Dragon Cave Mountain. Although he was unable to discover anything suspicious, he still instinctively felt a sense of trepidation, as if stepping into this hill was akin to treading through the gates of death.
This feeling made him extremely uncomfortable and as he turned his head to look at the others, and found that everyone was similarly wearing a solemn expression.
However, this situation was akin to an arrow already having left the string, so although Xie Li hadn’t carefully inspected the surrounding region, he knew that many eyes were currently watching him. If at this point, he was to meekly withdraw, he would no longer have any face to appear in public.
Understanding this, Xie Li’s expression became firm and he shouted loudly, “Everyone, this damn barrier has finally broken. If we don’t act now, when will we?”
As he said so, he waved his hand and immediately sent twenty Saint Kings from the Xie Family towards Dragon Cave Mountain.
Although these twenty Saint Kings were clearly not capable of defeating the three Origin Returning Realm masters in front of them, they could at least test Dragon Cave Mountain’s depths. Xie Li had such intentions and after these twenty flew forward, he immediately began carefully monitoring them.
With the Xie Family taking the lead, the people from Demon Blood Temple and Myriad Beast Mountain were naturally unwilling to be outdone. Lu Ye, who was hidden from view, also quietly issued a command and soon after, sixty more Saint Kings stepped forward from the main force and began approaching Chang Qi, Hao An, and Ning Xiang Chen.
Seeing the number of enemies, Ning Xiang Chen’s hand trembled and he nearly spilled the wine in his glass. Even though he was an Origin Realm master, he wasn’t confident he could face so many Saint Kings all at once.
Chang Qi obviously didn’t miss this but simply let out a chuckle and said, “Don’t worry, Brother Ning, it’s not yet time for us to act.”
“Yes, Brother Ning, you should put your heart at ease,” Hao An echoed, not even bothering to look at the approaching Saint Kings.
Unfortunately, Ning Xiang Chen didn’t share their calmness and couldn’t help turning to observe the nearing enemies while secretly condensing his Saint Qi, preparing to take action at a moment’s notice.
However, in the next moment, these aggressive Saint King Realm cultivators all let out a cry of shock as panic filled their faces and their bodies fell from the sky one by one, making for quite an amusing scene.
“A Flight Inhibiting Array?” Ning Xiang Chen’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, never having expected that this tiny Dragon Cave Mountain would actually have a Flight Inhibiting Array.
This Spirit Array was extremely complex and only some large cities and Sect headquarters would be equipped with them. Once they entered the range of such an array, cultivators would lose the ability to fly. Of course, the ability of such an array to restrict cultivators varied greatly depending on the skill of the master who arranged it and the materials invested in its construction.
Ning Xiang Chen tried circulating his own Saint Qi, wanting to fly up into the air, but to his horror, after reaching a height of just two metres, he felt a crushing pressure restricting him from ascending further.
In light of this, Ning Xiang Chen determined that the Flight Inhibiting Array here was capable of at least suppressing Second-Order Origin Returning Realm masters. Even if a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm came here, they wouldn’t be able to fly very high!
The power of this Spirit Array was simply astonishing!
Just as he was immersed in his shock, the dozens of Saint King Realm cultivators fell like raindrops onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust upon impact.
Fortunately for these Saint Kings, they had not been flying very high, so with the innate strength of their physiques, other than becoming slightly dirt and embarrassed, none of them suffered any harm. Of course, after getting up, all of them wore frowns filled with resentment.
Having suffered such shame, these Saint Kings’ hatred towards Dragon Cave Mountain increased dramatically.
But before they could completely recover, another abrupt change occurred.
Suddenly and strangely, energy fluctuations appeared all around these Saint Kings. These energy fluctuations were extremely well concealed and inconspicuous at first, but they quickly condensed into a whirlwind. When this whirlwind first appeared, it wasn’t very strong, but in the blink of any eye, its size and intensity multiplied many times over. Countless wind blades flew about, slicing into all of the nearby Saint King Realm cultivators.
Screams rang out as the sound of flesh being torn apart filled everyone’s ears, horrifying all who were watching. Soon, this whirlwind was dyed blood red as smashed meat and broken flesh swirled through it.
At a different location, numerous ice cones as thick as a grown man’s thigh strangely materialized mid-air and shot forward like arrows, immediately passing through the chest of two absent-minded cultivators, causing them to explode into blood fogs.
There were also fireballs the size of washbasins being shot about, causing several unlucky Saint King Realm cultivators who were hit to instantly be burned to ashes.
Other Saint Kings from this group just inexplicably disappeared before everyone’s eyes, seemingly vanishing from existence with only their panic-filled screams remaining behind.
A rich scent of blood soon filled the air as this first batch of more than eighty Saint Kings who rushed into Dragon Cave Mountain failed to advance more than a few metres before suffering serious losses.
In literally the blink of an eye, yet in what seemed to last unbearably long, less than half remained alive of the more than eighty Saint Kings who had gone forward to test Dragon Cave Mountain’s defences. Those who were left now scrambled about like headless flies, unable to escape.
As they witnessed this eerie scene, the cultivators outside all felt their blood go slightly cold.
Everyone could tell that these Saint Kings acting so erratically was due to them falling into some kind of Illusion Array, making it impossible for them to determine where they were or where they were going, making the few steps it should have taken them to escape an impassable moat separating life and death.
Moving around indiscriminately would only lead to triggering more Spirit Array traps, akin to seeking one’s death.
Sure enough, with all the Spirit Arrays arranged around Dragon Cave Mountain’s periphery, the more than eighty Saint King Realm cultivators that entered to probe its defences were wiped out in just half an incense worth of time.
Ning Xiang Chen could hardly believe his eyes!
That was eighty plus Saint King Realm cultivators! If he were to encounter such a force, he would have no choice but to avoid head on confrontation, but now, without even needing to deploy a single soldier, Dragon Cave Mountain had easily annihilated them.
What did a dragon den count for? This little hilltop was clearly more terrifying than any dragon den or tiger cave!
However, Ning Xiang Chen also realized that with the power of these Spirit Arrays alone, it would have been impossible to kill those eighty or so Saint Kings so quickly. The decisive factor was the expenditure of the master who had arranged these Spirit Arrays.
The Array Cores of each of these Spirit Arrays was actually a powerful artifact! With these Spirit Arrays powering these artifacts, the might they could display was greatly enhanced, making it impossible for those Saint Kings to put up any kind of resistance at all.
Just how many powerful artifacts were used to arrange all these Spirit Arrays? Ning Xiang Chen couldn’t even begin to imagine.
Back in Heavenly Fate City, Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu were also dumbfounded as they exchanged an astonished glance. Although they both knew that there were many Spirit Arrays arranged on Dragon Cave Mountain, they never thought that they would be able to display such power.
Eighty Saint King Realm had been sent in, but before they could even probe Dragon Cave Mountain’s depths, they had been eliminated. This time, the Xie Family, Myriad Beast Mountain, and Demon Blood Temple were bound to suffer a great loss.
“It seems Heaven Gathering Hall’s forces may not even need to move!” Wei Gu Chang snickered, taking great pleasure in others’ misfortune.
“Not necessarily!” Fei Zhi Tu shook his head slowly, “The attacking force only lost Saint Kings during this probe, none of the Origin Realm masters have acted yet. We should continue monitoring the situation.”
Wei Gu Chang pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement; after all, the might an Origin Realm master could display was in a different league compared to mere Saint Kings. While it was true that the Xie Family coalition had taken heavy losses just now, they hadn’t suffered a fatal blow.
Outside Dragon Cave Mountain, Xie Li, the old man from Myriad Beast Mountain, and the middle-aged man from Demon Blood Temple all wore gloomy looks, their expressions were all dark. None of them had anticipated that Dragon Cave Mountain’s defensive power would be so overwhelming. Even without those three drinking old men acting, all of the Saint King Realm disciples they had deployed had been killed.
If all the Spirit Arrays around Dragon Cave Mountain were this strong, Saint Kings wouldn’t be able to play much role here other than becoming sacrificial pawns.
After hesitating for a moment, Xie Li suddenly proposed, “Friends, shall we try attacking separately?”
“Attacking separately?” The old man from Myriad Beast Mountain frowned.
“Yeah, there seems to be a massive number of Spirit Arrays arranged at the front of this mountain, so breaking through from this spot won’t be easy. But since that’s the case, we can simply try attacking from different directions. This Xie doesn’t believe that this mountain is completely surrounded by such troublesome Spirit Arrays, it’s bound to have weak spots,” Xie Li explained.
“Yes, what Brother Xie says makes sense,” The old man nodded in agreement, feeling that what Xie Li said was correct, immediately following up, “Then this old master will take that side.”
Saying so, he pointed his finger towards a certain direction, signaling to the disciples of Myriad Beast Mountain to follow him, sat down on his Blue-Eyed Blood Toad and flew over.
The middle-aged man from Demon Blood Temple naturally had no objections and immediately brought his Sect’s disciples in the opposite direction.
The others from Sea Heart Sect and Flowing Cloud Valley did not move, instead choosing to stick together with the Xie Family and follow Xie Li’s lead.
Immediately, the coalition of forces split into three groups and began probing Dragon Cave Mountain’s defenses from three different directions.
Xie Li’s eyes flashed a ruthless light and issued a few commands before waving his hand and rushing towards Dragon Cave Mountain. Under his leadership, a dozen or so other Origin Returning Realm masters, accompanied by several Saint Kings each, split up and began advancing forward while maintaining a high degree of wariness.
Divine Senses began probing every rock and patch of grass on Dragon Cave Mountain, the invading enemy unwilling to miss the slightest detail or suspicious place in worry they would accidentally trigger a Spirit Array and doom themselves to disaster.
This extremely cautious approach soon bore fruit.
Several traces of Spirit Arrays were quickly discovered by these masters and were subsequently avoided with great vigilance. Even if someone did accidentally touch some restriction or trap, they didn’t fall into the kind of hopeless situation that had been witnessed moments earlier.
After all, with the addition of Origin Returning Realm masters, even if someone fell into a Spirit Array, they could put up some resistance.
What made everyone even more overjoyed was that, after the Spirit Arrays arranged around Dragon Cave Mountain had displayed such profound might, they seemed to have exhausted their strength and could now only display relatively weak attacks. Even if some of these arrays were triggered, they could be easily resisted by the Origin Realm cultivators.
After proceeding a distance of five hundred metres and not suffering any casualties, the attacking forces’ morale soared upwards as many people began directing malicious glares towards Chang Qi’s group of three who were still casually drinking. It was as if these invaders couldn’t wait to soar over to these three old men and cut off their heads to vent the anger in their hearts.
A moment later, the many cultivators following Xie Li arrived just twenty metres away from Chang Qi’s group of three and Xie Li raised his hand to signal his group to stop. Staring at these three old men with a cold glare, Xie Li sneered, “You three, if you have any other means, why not let this Xie experience them now? Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t get a second chance.”
Hearing this, Chang Qi simply looked over at him without the slightest panic on his face and smiled very strangely, “Brother Xie, why do you think you were able to travel this far unscathed? Do you really think my Dragon Cave Mountain is so easily trespassed?”
These two faint questions caused Xie Li’s face to fill with alarm as he cried out, “Not good!”
As he spoke, he lashed out with a jet black long whip. This whip seemed to contain a potent Wind and Thunder Attribute energy and was clearly a powerful artifact. Striking out, it was like a dragon soaring out of the sea towards Chang Qi’s chest.
What made Xie Li feel strange though was that Chang Qi didn’t make any attempt to defend himself, simply remaining where he sat smiling towards him, not moving at all.
Xie Li’s plan had been to capture Chang Qi in order to force Dragon Cave Mountain to act cautiously lest he be hurt, but how could he have anticipated that facing his vicious attack, his opponent would not even try to resist?
[Hmph, courting death!] Xie Li’s eyes flashed sharply, not retracting his whip but instead pouring his Saint Qi into it, intending to instantly kill Chang Qi.
*Hong…*
With a loud bang, the jet black whip struck Chang Qi’s body and released a burst of lightning, splitting its target apart and reducing the nearby table and chairs to dust. Even Hao An and Ning Xiang Chen who were sitting nearby were not spared.
When Chang Qi’s body was torn apart, the two of them also burst into pieces.
However, there was no spattering of blood or smell of iron, nor did it feel like he had hit anything. Xie Li’s eyes shrank as he called out in shock, “An Illusion Array?”
Looking again, there was no table or chairs in front of him, and even the surrounding scenery had disappeared, being replaced by a dull grey world with no sun, moon, or stars. All that surrounded Xie Li was a barren world that stretched out without end.
Unexpectedly, he had stepped into an Illusion Array his enemy had arranged, causing Xie Li’s heart to sink.
What disturbed him even more though was that the Origin Realm masters who should have been accompanying him were now all gone, leaving just four Saint King Realm cultivators beside him.
It seems that the moment this Illusion Array activated, all the masters in his group had been separated and forced into a situation where they had to fight alone.
“How can this be?” Xie Li’s complexion became ugly. How could a puny little hilltop arrange such a profound Spirit Array? He suddenly felt that it was not a wise decision to provoke Dragon Cave Mountain.
While the group of cultivators headed by Xie Li were trapped in an Illusion Array, the group from Myriad Beast Mountain was also struggling hard.
The Myriad Beast Mountain cultivators, led by the old man, had detoured around Dragon Cave Mountain preparing to look for a weak spot in its defences. Everything had gone smoother than anyone expected and it seemed that the direction they had chosen to invade from had no powerful Spirit Arrays to block them. Without much difficulty, this group had soon made it halfway up Dragon Cave Mountain.
The old man leading the group even noticed that many cultivators were hiding inside a cave up ahead.
This caused the old man to rejoice and immediately prepare to end this once and for all by breaking into that cave and finding Yang Kai.
But all of a sudden, his good fortune came to an end as Monster Beasts of all different shapes, ranks, and sizes, seemingly composed of flaming red aura, strangely appeared all around his group just after this old man gave the order to attack.
The old man was shocked by what he saw as these Monster Beasts clearly didn’t have physical bodies and were simply condensed of pure Fire Attribute energy. On top of that, these Monster Beasts seemed a bit familiar to him.
It was not until one of the young disciples following him shouted that this old man suddenly realized that these things were the Fire Spirit Beasts that were supposed to be unique to the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
[How could these things appear in this damned place? There doesn’t even seem to be a strong Fire Attribute Aura in this area?]
Although he didn’t understand how this was happening, the old man didn’t show any fear and was even somewhat happy instead because Fire Spirit Beasts would produce Fire Crystal Stones when they died. Each Fire Crystal Stone was a treasure that could be used for Artifact Refining or Alchemy. The only shortcoming was that Fire Crystal Stones could only be acquired by Shadowed Star’s cultivators when the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened.
But now, with such a large group of Fire Spirit Beasts in front of them, the gains would definitely not be small if they could kill them all.
Feeling excited, the old man began coordinating with his Blue Eyes Blood Toad to kill these Fire Spirit Beasts.
Soon though, the old man noticed something wrong. No matter how many of these Fire Spirit Beasts he beheaded, none of them produced a Fire Crystal Stone! It was as if these Fire Spirit Beasts didn’t have Fire Crystal Stones to begin with.
Instead of a great harvest, this fight turned into an endless killing grind with several of the leading Fire Spirit Beasts equivalent to Ninth-Order Monster Beasts causing considerable casualties among the old man’s disciples.
The old man became enraged and used a powerful Secret Technique to cut open a path through these Fire Spirit Beasts.
Unfortunately for him, the Fire Spirit Beasts with strength equivalent to Ninth-Order Monster Beast simply refused to die no matter how much he attacked, as if they were immortal.
This situation occurred several times in succession, causing the old man to gradually become anxious.
Although most of these Fire Spirit Beasts weren’t difficult to deal with, enough ants would still be able to bite an elephant to death. If they continued fighting like this, besides a few of the stronger Origin Realm masters in this group, everyone else would certainly die.
From the opposite direction Myriad Beast Mountain’s group was invading, the other force from Demon Blood Temple was carefully walking through a thick jungle, the middle-aged man covered in a blood-red aura in the lead was extremely alert. Although this man was constantly examining his surroundings with his Divine Sense and had yet to discover any kind of anomaly here, he could still feel a vague sense of unease in his heart, as if there was great danger all around him.
This place should be regarded as the right flank of Dragon Cave Mountain, and was not too far from its centre; after all, Dragon Cave Mountain itself wasn’t very big to begin with.
Suddenly, a few screams came from far away as the characteristic rumblings and violent energy fluctuations of battle appeared.
The expressions of the Demon Blood Temple disciples behind this middle-aged man all changed when this occurred and one of the First-Order Origin Realm cultivators said with a somber face, “Senior Brother Wu, those sounds came from Myriad Beast Mountain’s side, it seems something has happened to them. We should not take this small hilltop for granted.”
“En, although there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong here, everyone should remain vigilant. Don’t fall into the enemy’s traps or Spirit Arrays,” Wu Xun turned back and said lightly.
“Yes.”
“Huh, what’s this?” Suddenly, one of the Saint King disciples behind Wu Xun seemed to discover something strange and asked aloud. However, before Wu Xun and the other Origin Realm masters were able to investigate, a panic-stricken scream rang out before coming to an abrupt halt, after which the fresh smell of blood filled the air.
*Kacha…*
A gruesome crunching sound echoed, and as Wu Xun looked back, he saw that, where once one of his disciples stood, there was now a strange blood-red plant at least ten metres in height. At this moment, the plant had actually wrapped itself around a corpse and was squirming violently, as if it was a mouth tasting delicious food.
The crunching sound was clearly coming from this plant.
What was even more terrifying though was that as the corpse of this Demon Blood Temple disciple was being chewed up, it was also shrivelling at a rate visible to the naked eye, as if the very essence of its physique was being drained, transforming it into a dry husk moments later.
After this strange plant absorbed the corpse’s blood and vital essence, it turned an even darker shade of red, like a giant sword giving off a blood-red aura, causing everyone who saw it to shudder.
*Xiu…*
This seemingly hard blade suddenly danced like a long whip, shooting out tens of metres towards another Demon Blood Temple disciple who was standing dumbfounded.
This disciple’s reaction was not slow, and he hurriedly summoned a golden shield-type artifact to defend himself in a panic. Although this artifact was not high grade, it was still a decent defensive artifact.
With this shield protecting his front, the Demon Blood Temple disciple could not help breathing a sigh of relief, but just as he was about to retreat, his eyes caught sight of an incredible scene.
*Kacha…*
The tough shield was unable to withstand a single blow from this strange plant and was sheared directly in half. The strange plant’s momentum was not even slightly diminished as it continued forward and quickly pierced this cultivator’s lower abdomen before wrapping around him and dragging him back.
“You dare!?” Wu Xun roared angrily. How could he simply stand by and watch as his Sect’s disciple was brutally murdered? His failure to respond in time just now was simply because this scene had been so unusual; he had never met such a strange and cruel plant.
As he shouted, Wu Xun’s right hand flicked, sending out a sword-wave-like attack that cut towards the retreating blood red plant.
The blade struck its mark and caused a series of sparks to fly along with a grinding sound of metal to ring out; however, besides causing the long blade of grass to tremble slightly and slow down a bit, it had not actually been cut apart.
[How could it be so hard!] Wu Xun sucked in a sharp breath. Although he had not put much strength into his attack just now, it was still a blow delivered by a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, yet it had failed to cut down a mere plant.
A sharp light flashed across Wu Xun’s eyes as he again flicked his wrist and sent out a jet-black thread from his fingertip. This black thread revealed a very strange aura and had a strong black Qi pulsing from it.
Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique!
Rather than the Secret Technique Yang Kai was cultivating, this was the real Demon Blood Thread Secret Technique. Almost every high-ranking member of Demon Blood Temple was proficient in this flexible and mysterious method that was even capable of cutting apart Shi.
The black thread flashed forward and the long blade of grass that was dragging the helpless Demon Blood Temple disciple was swiftly cut apart. With a crisp sound, the strange blade of grass was cut into two sections, the base rapidly retreating back towards its roots while the section which was wrapping the Demon Blood Temple disciple fell to the ground.
What made everyone’s skin crawl though was that the section of this strange plant that had been cut off continued to wriggle on the ground, as if it had a life of its own.
The Demon Blood Temple disciple that had been caught by this strange plant was still unable to escape misfortune. Even though Wu Xun attacked swiftly to rescue this disciple, by the time the strange plant was severed in two, this unfortunately disciple had been completely drained of all his blood.
“What the hell was that?” Wu Xun turned slightly pale as he stared towards the strange plant, a clear look of fear appearing on his face. A single plant had managed to do this, but if there were ten or them, or a hundred…
Wu Xun didn’t dare think about it any further, for if that was the case, everyone here would definitely fall today. Where had Dragon Cave Mountain found this monstrosity? Moreover, weren’t they worried they would bring about their own destruction by planting it here?
Just as he was frowning deeply and his expression was filling with bitterness, another First-Order Origin Returning Realm nearby suddenly shuddered, “Senior Brother Wu… Isn’t this bad?”
“What do you mean?”
“That damn thing has been constantly smacking the ground as if… as if…”
“As if what?” Wu Xun asked but suddenly seemed to think of a possibility which caused him to pale greatly.
The moment after Wu Xun realized this possibility, the ground all around his ground began to tremble and crack. Soon, one after another, more strange plants began bursting up from below, like mushrooms sprouting after a spring rain.
These strange plants all had different heights, some of them an imposing five to ten metres tall while others barely reached half a metre in height, as if they were newly sprouted; however, all of them were deep red in colour, as if they had been soaked in fresh blood.
The most terrifying thing was that after these plants sprouted, they began probing around, as if they were predators drawn here by the scent of their prey.
Wu Xun’s forehead began dripping with cold sweat.
In fact, all the Demon Blood Temple disciples were currently standing perfectly still, not daring to move.
Just now, all of them had witnessed the terrifying power of this strange plant. Their two fellow disciples had not even had a chance to fight back before dying on the spot. Now, many of these strange plants had emerged from the ground and surrounded their group so how could they act rashly? Wouldn’t that be akin to seeking death?
However, them not moving did not mean these strange plants would not. After these strange blade-like plants swung back and forth for a moment, all of them suddenly pierced forward like arrows towards the Demon Blood Temple disciples.
“Dodge! Quickly!” Wu Xun shouted as he pushed his Saint Qi violently. Using his Demon Blood Thread again, he began cutting through the blood red blades of grass approaching him before his figure flickered and disappeared as he took evasive action.
But not everyone had Wu Xun’s strength. The Saint King Realm cultivators were the first to fall, with six of them dying instantly during the first wave of attacks, cut into pieces of bloodied meat by these strange plants. The broken remains of these six splashed out across the ground, but a moment later their flesh and blood was absorbed by these plants. After absorbing fresh blood, these strange plants seemed to become even more violent and began swinging around wildly, turning the surrounding several-hundred-metre region into a bloody killing field filled with terrified screams, each one representing another dead cultivator.
Wu Xun was both startled and furious, but at the same time he was helpless. Although he was not afraid of these strange plants, wanting to rescue all the others from Demon Blood Temple with his strength was nothing but a fantasy.
Above Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai and Yang Yan stood quietly, overlooking the whole situation.
The reason why these two could stand here undetected by anyone was thanks to a cloak artifact Yang Yan had refined. This artifact had an incredibly powerful concealment ability. Of course, this artifact could not hide them from the senses of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, but the closest master of that level was more than fifty kilometres away so it was impossible for them to be exposed from across such a distance.
“Did the Blood Sword Grass already grow to such a scale?” Yang Kai was greatly surprised. The strange blood-red plant Demon Blood Temple had encountered was clearly the Blood Sword Grass he had brought back from the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
At that time, Yang Kai had only brought a single seed with him. After planting it, he had given it a drop of Golden Blood, but Yang Kai has not paid any attention to it since then. Now, the Blood Sword Grass had given him a pleasant surprise.
“This thing has astonishing growth potential. With enough blood, it can grow indefinitely. It once caused a lot of trouble on Shadowed Star,” Yang Yan explained lightly, but in her beautiful eyes, a trace of suspicion flashed, “However, it shouldn’t have grown this fast. We haven’t given it much blood in recent years… strange.”
Yang Kai wrinkled his nose as he secretly speculated that this was related to the drop of Golden Blood he had fed it, but he didn’t bother explaining this and instead asked curiously, “But I only brought back one Blood Sword Grass seed, how come there are so many of them now?”
“This thing’s vitality is tenacious. As long as there is a mother plant, it can produce an endless stream of offshoots.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded lightly before glancing over towards Myriad Beast Mountain’s group that was fighting with the Fire Spirit Beast horde and grinning, “We should make our move, it’s time to cut off the enemy’s retreat and annihilate them.”
Yang Yan had been waiting for this for a long time now and immediately took out a plate from her Space Ring. This plate was similar to the one Wu Yi was using, half gold and half silver, but it was significantly smaller.
Although this control device was smaller, it was still fully capable of manipulating all of Dragon Cave Mountain’s Spirit Arrays.
After Yang Yan poured her Saint Qi into this plate, a whirling sound immediately rang out from it and the silver and gold colours began moving closer together, quickly merging into one solid state.
At the same time, the originally clear Dragon Cave Mountain was once again obscured by fog as the Mountain Defending Array surrounded the mountain.
“I’m going back first. Wu Yi isn’t very skilled at controlling the various Spirit Arrays,” Yang Yan said.
“En.” Yang Kai gently nodded.
Yang Yan flew down below in a flash, and as soon as she left, Yang Kai’s figure was immediately exposed. This scene surprised all the masters who were staring at this place.
Yang Kai swept his eyes around coldly. Although he could not see anyone, he knew that, at this moment, Dragon Cave Mountain had attracted the eyes of many powerful masters. Most of these people were just here to enjoy the show while a few had a role in the current siege.
Sneering dismissively, Yang Kai also quickly flew into Dragon Cave Mountain.
“This little brat… opening his Mountain Defending Array again, does he want to trap and kill all of these people?” In Heavenly Fate City, Fei Zhi Tu stared blankly.
Qian Tong also starred in confusion, “Does he really have such a ravenous appetite?”
The two exchanged a glance but really did not know how to explain the scene in front of them.
Elsewhere, Jin Shi and Old Woman Feng also had similar doubts, but they were still completely confident in their subordinates, so they did not display any worry. Only Feng Yan, who had been attending to Old Woman Feng, showed a look of interest as she stared towards Dragon Cave Mountain.
She very much wanted to know what the result of this battle would be.
“Doesn’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!” Among Coloured Glass Sect’s group, a glamorous young woman in magnificent dress slowly shook her head, a look of disapproval flashing across her eyes. Originally, when she had witnessed all of Dragon Cave Mountain’s powerful Spirit Arrays, she had been somewhat impressed, but now, after seemingly gaining some small advantages, Dragon Cave Mountain being so pretentious as to open their Mountain Defending Array again only disappointed her.
Without possessing an absolute advantage, opening this protective barrier was not catching a turtle in an urn but trying to contain a ferocious tiger.
Behind this young woman stood two other women, one seemingly taking pleasure in Dragon Cave Mountain’s misfortune while the other was slightly pale with worry.
These two young women appeared to be the same age and their bodies were equally enchanting, but their appearances could not have been more different. One of them was incredibly beautiful while the other was extremely ugly. These two were naturally Yin Su Die and Dai Yuan of Coloured Glass Sect, and the young woman who had spoken just now was none other than Gong Ao Fu, the daughter of Coloured Glass Sect’s Sect Master who was Yin Su Die and Dai Yuan’s Honoured Master.
“Honoured Master, what do you think Dragon Cave Mountain’s fate will be this time?” Although Yin Su Die seemed to be asking her Honoured Master for her opinion, her beautiful eyes were fixed towards Dai Yuan.
Yin Su Die had once suffered a big loss at Yang Kai’s hands, so she naturally hated him. Now seeing Dragon Cave Mountain battered by wind and rain, she could not help rejoicing, especially when she saw the worried look on Dai Yuan’s face. This whole situation brought her immense satisfaction.
“Why bother asking something so obvious?” Gong Ao Fu coldly snorted.
“Honoured Master means that Dragon Cave Mountain won’t be able to overcome this tribulation?” Yin Su Die grinned.
“From the beginning, the decision of the person who owns this Dragon Cave Mountain was wrong,” Gong Ao Fu slowly shook her head, not directly answering the question, “With just the power gathered on such a small hilltop, opposing Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple was akin to trying to break a rock with an egg. Even if this hilltop had numerous powerful Spirit Arrays that allow them to gain a victory this time, what does it matter? With Jin Shi and Old Woman Feng still here, do you believe they will stand by and watch Dragon Cave Mountain bluff and bluster before them? If those two take action, what other choice will there be but to submit?”
“So that’s how it is!” Yin Su Die showed an enlightened look before glancing proudly towards Dai Yuan who was biting her red lips tightly without saying a word.
With a chuckle, Yin Su Die continued, “Then what Honoured Master means is that Dragon Cave Mountain should have known its limits and not provoked Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple.”
Gong Ao Fu showed neither approval nor disapproval, simply saying, “The way of the world is just like this, whoever’s fist is bigger is right.”
“But Honoured Master, if Senior Jin Shi and Senior Feng really take action, Shadow Moon Hall won’t just sit back and do nothing, Elder Qian Tong will surely not stand idly by!” Dai Yuan suddenly asserted with a serious expression.
“Shadow Moon Hall?” Gong Ao Fu glanced lightly towards Dai Yuan and chuckled, “Even so, what of it? If Jin Shi and Old Woman Feng want to deal with this Dragon Cave Mountain, it will not take them more than a few breaths. Even if Qian Tong moves, will he be able to stop them? When the time comes and everyone on that hilltop is dead, do you think Shadow Moon Hall will choose to make enemies of Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple?”
Hearing this, Dai Yuan could not help shivering.
Gong Ao Fu frowned seeing this and asked suspiciously, “Yuan’er, are you feeling alright?”
Before Dai Yuan could answer, Yin Su Die giggled and said, “Honoured Master, Senior Sister isn’t feeling unwell, she is just worried about Dragon Cave Mountain.”
“Why would you be worried about this Dragon Cave Mountain’s fate?” Gong Ao Fu looked at Dai Yuan puzzledly and asked, “Do you know someone there?”
“Honoured Master, have you forgotten? Didn’t two people come to visit Senior Sister at the Sect a while ago?”
“Naturally, I remember this, it was a young man and a young woman, right? Could it be that man and woman were…” Gong Ao Fu suddenly thought of something?
“Yes, that young man’s name is Yang Kai and the woman’s name is Yang Yan, they are the leaders of this Dragon Cave Mountain and their relationship with Senior Sister seems to be quite good,” Yin Su Die replied with a smile.
Gong Ao Fu wrinkled her brow as she stared towards Dai Yuan and asked, “Yuan’er, is that true?”
“Yes!” Dai Yuan nodded heavily.
“No wonder you look so worried, but even if that is the case, you must not draw calamity to yourself. This time, whether Dragon Cave Mountain wins or loses, their future will certainly be quite bleak. Too many great forces are involved in this matter so my Coloured Glass Sect must not wade into these muddy waters.”
“But Honoured Master, I owe Junior Brother Yang a life-saving grace!” Dai Yuan said anxiously.
“So what?” Gong Ao Fu glared at her, “Just looking at his rampant behaviour, he is clearly a foolish and arrogant child. Such a person is not one to become friends with, otherwise you will sooner or later suffer disaster. Su Die!”
“Exactly!” Yin Su Die responded quickly.
“Your Senior Sister’s mood is unstable, stay close to her and do not let her do anything stupid.”
“Yes!” Yin Su Die looked over at Dai Yuan with a harmless smile upon her lips, but in her heart, she was secretly rejoicing. The meaning of her Honoured Master was already obvious, she wanted her to monitor this Senior Sister of hers and not allow her to go to Dragon Cave Mountain and involve herself in this matter.
Looking at Dai Yuan’s sorrowful face, filled with helplessness and anxiety, Yin Su Die felt happier than if she had picked up a million Saint Crystals. Although her cultivation level had now reached the First-Order Origin Returning Realm, one step higher than Dai Yuan’s, because of the special Secret Art Dai Yuan cultivated, she was an indispensable asset to the Sect, so Yin Su Die still felt uncomfortable in her heart. She always dreamed about completely suppressing Dai Yuan inside Coloured Glass Sect so she could enjoy all her Honoured Master’s attention and favour.
…..
Inside Dragon Cave Mountain, Ning Xiang Chen stared blankly at the enemy in front of him who had the same cultivation as him, like he was lost in a dream.
The enemies in front of him no longer had any vitality and had only a single wound on his body, a bloody hole in his chest the size of a finger out of which red blood still flowed.
Needless to say, this enemy had been killed by him.
But the ease with which he had made this kill made Ning Xiang Chen unable to believe it had happened. If it were not for him being certain it was impossible, he might have thought he had somehow instantly become a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master.
After encountering this enemy just now, Ning Xiang Chen simply summoned a short sword artifact and fought for half a cup of tea’s time before everything was over. Originally, he had wanted to feign weakness to lure the enemy into lowering their guard then take advantage of the situation by launching a killing strike, but how could he have anticipated that this enemy would be completely incapable of resisting him, allowing Ning Xiang Chen to thrust his short sword through his opponents chest and kill him on the spot.
Was this person really an Origin Realm master like him? Why did it feel like he was casually killing a Saint King Realm cultivator?
Moreover, this was already the second Origin Returning Realm master Ning Xiang Chen had killed.
In the past, when he encountered an opponent in the same realm, when had he not fought a hard battle for at least an hour? The longest time Ning Xiang Chen remembered fighting continuously was eight hours, after which he and his opponent had both exhausted their Saint Qi and mutually withdrawn, swearing to settle the score another day.
But now, in just the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, he had killed two opponents who possessed strength equal to his own.
Both of these enemies had died with their eyes wide open, as if they had seen something impossible at the moment of their death.
Although Ning Xiang Chen didn’t quite understand what happened to his enemies here that caused them to act so erratically, he knew there was some kind of mysterious force at work helping him, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to kill these two masters so easily.
Obviously, this mysterious force was related to the Spirit Arrays arranged here, as when Ning Xiang Chen encountered these two Origin Returning Realm masters, he had keenly noticed that they seemed disoriented and unable to circulate their Saint Qi properly, as if they were suffering both suppression and confusion. When he was fighting these two masters, they would often scream out in panic and attack towards empty space for no apparent reason.
Ning Xiang Chen had lived for many years, but this was the first time he had ever encountered such an outrageous scene. The evaluation of Dragon Cave Mountain in his heart soared upwards after experiencing all this. Being able to completely confuse the sense of and suppress the Saint Qi of enemy Origin Returning Realm masters while not hindering the strength of their own allies was not a feat an ordinary Array Master could achieve.
Recalling the inscrutable smiles of Chang Qi and Hao An, Ning Xiang Chen suddenly realized why they had remained so calm even in the face of so many strong enemies.
Perhaps this time he had really made the most brilliant decision of his life!
Thinking so, Ning Xiang Chen stretched out his hand, recalled his short sword from a short distance away, then continued walking forward calmly, without any of his previous uneasiness and anxiety.
He did not need to understand how these mysterious Spirit Arrays worked, he just needed to casually kill the enemies that kept ‘appearing’ in front of him.
The situations of Chang Qi and Hao An were almost exactly the same as that of Ning Xiang Chen, but the two of them had long known the phenomenal power of Dragon Cave Mountain’s Spirit Arrays. Therefore, after picking a spot to defend, they were acting in a far more calm and relaxed manner.
From time to time, some enemies would appear in front of them in a state of bewilderment and would be killed unceremoniously.
After Yang Yan returned to take control of Dragon Cave Mountain’s defences, she used the various Spirit Arrays she had arranged to split up the enemy forces and slowly guide them towards the positions where Chang Qi and Hao An were waiting.
As such, Chang Qi and Hao An were having an even easier time than Ning Xiang Chen.
The Saint King Realm invaders, who were significantly weaker than Chang Qi and Hao An from the start, had their Saint Qi further suppressed by Dragon Cave Mountain’s Spirit Arrays, so they were unable to last even three breaths in a fight while even the First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators were forced into a desperate struggle. As time passed, they too began falling one after another.
The number of cultivators from the Xie Family, Sea Heart Sect, and Flowing Cloud Valley began decreasing at a terrifying rate, sending those who were still alive into a state of panic. Every time an anguished scream rang out, the fear of the survivors inside this forsaken place increased, making all of them wish they had never come here in the first place. Many of them secretly vowed that if they were able to escape this calamity, they would never come near Dragon Cave Mountain again.
Xie Li, on the other hand, had not encountered any kind of danger, but he and the several Saint Kings trapped together with him in this Illusion Array were unable to escape and quickly became anxious like ants on a hot wok.
The Spirit Arrays arranged by Yang Yan already exceeded the limits of Shadowed Star, so it was naturally effortless to keep a few people trapped like this.
On the left flank of Dragon Cave Mountain, the old man from Myriad Beast Mountain managed to lead a number of his Sect’s disciples to break through the horde of Fire Spirit Beasts and arrive at the inner depths of Dragon Cave Mountain.
Looking at the elaborate lofts and large open scenery up ahead, the surviving Myriad Beast Mountain cultivators shivered with excitement and rushed forward at full speed.
A moment later, the crowd arrived at what seemed to be a safe location and glanced back with fear. Fortunately for them, the inexhaustible Fire Spirit Beasts did not pursue them after they left a certain range, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.
The old man riding his Blue Eyes Blood Toad narrowed his eyes and glanced around to find that only eight of his subordinates remained with him, causing his heart to sink.
When he entered this place, there were forty cultivators in his group, but now, only eight remained. Two of these survivors were First-Order Origin Realm masters while the rest were just Saint Kings, and each and every one of them had visible injuries.
What kind of place was this Dragon Cave Mountain? Just crossing the periphery had cost them so many lives so who could say what kind of dangers lay ahead of them?
Thinking so, the old man stopped his pulse from racing as thoughts of retreating came to mind, but he knew that returning the way they came was impossible because they would have to once again face the horde of Fire Spirit Beasts.
The only option now was to capture the king!
The old man squinted towards the cave where all the cultivators in this area seemed to be gathered and a trace of cruelty flashed across his eyes.
However, in the next instant, the old man’s expression cramped up because a young man with a sturdy figure appeared not far away with a sarcastic grin on his lips and a cold glint in his eyes.
Whether the other party was originally there or suddenly appeared, the old man was uncertain, but he naturally recognized that this young man was none other than the owner of Dragon Cave Mountain and the one who had won the Profound Gold at the recent auction: Yang Kai!
He was no different from the description in the information, only a trivial Third-Order Saint King!
What made the old man truly rejoice was that the other party had boldly appeared by himself, like a tiny mantis trying to stop a runaway cart. Even if his group had suffered heavy losses arriving here, there were still three Origin Realm masters and five Saint King Realm cultivators together with him, not to mention that he himself was a Second-Order Origin Realm master, so there shouldn’t be any problem capturing this boy.
The only thing to worry about was whether this boy was plotting something!
Considering all this, the old man pointed and shouted angrily, “Boy, you dare make enemies of my Myriad Beast Mountain? Today I’ll make you die without a burial!”
“Shameless boasting!” Yang Kai snickered, “After daring to invade my Dragon Cave Mountain, your life and death are no longer yours to control!”
Yang Kai was disinclined to say anything more to this group, so he simply shouted, “Yang Yan!”
As soon Yang Kai called out, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed, the exquisite lofts and open fields distorting and being replaced by a vast expanse of green grassland.
“Illusion Array?” The old man’s face changed slightly. He never thought that Dragon Cave Mountain would arrange such a profound Spirit Array in such a place. Logically, the periphery and core regions of a force would be filled with powerful defensive barriers, not the space between the two where nothing of importance was housed. So, generally, there should not be any Spirit Arrays. After all, this was ordinarily the location where the force’s cultivators lived and worked; if a disciple accidentally triggered a dangerous Spirit Array, wouldn’t that result in more harm than good?
This logic was why the old man from Myriad Beast Mountain and his subordinates had rushed over when they saw an open space just now.
Little did they know that what they thought was safe harbour was the location of another powerful Spirit Array.
Dragon Cave Mountain was just a small hilltop so there should not have been a reason for them to arrange so many Spirit Arrays. Did they anticipate that a day would come when they would be invaded by powerful enemies?
How could this old man have understood the strange thoughts of Yang Yan? In truth, the reason why Dragon Cave Mountain had so many Spirit Arrays arranged all over the place was entirely because Yang Yan wanted to use this method to unlock the Spirit Array and Artifact Refining knowledge buried in her subconscious mind.
Only by constantly arranging Spirit Arrays would Yang Yan be able to recall more of her original knowledge about Spirit Arrays.
In short, the arrangement of Spirit Arrays on Dragon Cave Mountain did not follow common sense at all.
After falling into the Illusion Array, the old man did not panic however, because his strength wasn’t weak. Laughing wildly, he shouted, “You think a trivial Illusion Array is enough to put this old master to death? You look down on this old master far too much!”
“I never said anything about killing you with this Illusion Array,” Yang Kai sneered.
“Then what were you planning on doing? If you have some other shocking means, feel free to display them!” The old man smiled proudly, “Today, this old master will let you understand the gap between you and me.”
“Sure, but there is no need to be so restless, I’ll be right back! Wait for me here patiently, okay?” Yang Kai nodded lightly before his figure strangely and rapidly began fading away.
“You want to run?” The old man shouted furiously as he released his Divine Sense and sent a burst of scarlet light towards the position where Yang Kai stood.
However, the old man was a step too late as Yang Kai’s figure disappeared before the scarlet light could hit him.
The old man’s expression became extremely gloomy!
He had allowed Yang Kai to escape from him, proving that this Illusion Array was not simple! No matter how he tried, the old man was unable to figure out how this boy had managed to evade his sight and Divine Sense, nor did he know what Yang Kai was planning on doing.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to the old man and he quickly scanned his surroundings, his face turning green in the next instant.
The two Origin Realm masters and five Saint King Realm juniors that had been accompanying him had mysteriously disappeared, as if the only one trapped in this Illusion Array was him.
When he thought about what Yang Kai said just now, the old man immediately understood what this boy was going to do and his heart filled with rage. Roaring hysterically, he summoned a one-handed hatchet filled with malevolent aura and poured his Saint Qi into it before ruthlessly slashing the air, trying to destroy the illusion in front of him.
He did not even notice when he had fallen into this Spirit Array, so he naturally had no idea how to crack it and could only use the crudest method of breaking it by force.
The grade of this one-handed hatchet artifact certainly was not low, reaching the Origin Grade Mid-Rank. Although the Artifact Refiners of Shadowed Star were not capable of refining such an artifact, such items could still be obtained from ancient ruins so albeit rare, they still existed.
After pouring his Saint Qi into this one-handed hatchet, the old man swung it to release a giant black wave which flew out several dozen metres before smashing into the air, creating a loud buzzing sound and producing an amazing shockwave.
However, such an attack obviously was not enough to destroy this Illusion Array, not to mention that this Spirit Array was currently being controlled by Yang Yan.
After releasing five such attacks and consuming a great deal of Saint Qi, the old man stayed his hand as a dark expression filled his face. Silently, he waited and observed his surroundings.
He believed that Yang Kai would appear again soon.
Sure enough, after the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, a blurry figure suddenly emerged out of thin air and, as it solidified, it revealed Yang Kai’s appearance.
The old man’s eyes were instantly drawn to Yang Kai’s face and clothes because there were several fresh blood stains on them now, seemingly having been spattered onto him. There was also some lingering Monster Qi in this fresh blood.
As a master from Myriad Beast Mountain, this old man was naturally familiar with this aura. It was the blood of powerful Monster Beasts, and the only cultivators around who possessed such powerful Monster Beasts came from his Myriad Beast Mountain.
“What happened to my subordinates?” The old man glared at Yang Kai and asked coldly.
“Why ask something you already know? Since I have returned, what fate do you think befell your disciples?” Yang Kai sneered. Two First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators and five Saint Kings were not enough to trouble Yang Kai here on Dragon Cave Mountain.
After all, when he was just a Second-Order Saint King, Yang Kai was able to kill First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators, so now that he had Yang Yan controlling the various Spirit Arrays here to assist him, if he couldn’t solve these invaders he would really have cultivated all these years in vain.
Although he already had some speculation in his heart, the old man still grit his teeth when he heard this response and nodded, “Good! Good! Daring to slaughter my subordinates, from today onwards, my Myriad Beast Mountain and you cannot exist under the same sky!”
Even though he was making such a dramatic declaration, the old man’s face remained incredibly calm.
Seeing this, Yang Kai was incredibly surprised. Unexpectedly, even at this moment, this old guy was able to restrain his anger. It seemed that this old man’s mental fortitude was commendable. Yang Kai immediately raised his vigilance while maintaining an arrogant and rampant facade, “How Myriad Beast Mountain acts from today onward is none of your concern old dog, because today, you will die here!”