Chapter 2101

“Stone… Stone Giant?”

After a long while, Hua Qing Si finally managed to utter those few words with great difficulty.

This sight was too incredulous. It was a giant silhouette with a height rivalling a dozen storey building, yet he was endowed with a good figure of clearly defined muscles, and his simple-looking head had a pair of bright and intelligent-looking eyes, unbefitting his rough look.

His every move and action seemed able to shake the whole world!

He seemed like one of the Giant Mountain Domain foretold in ancient legends, and his presence alone had shaken up Hua Qing Si.

“A Stone Giant? Hehe, you can call me so,” The Embodiment let out a chuckle, a deafening chuckle despite trying his best to lower his voice.

“Are you alive? Are you self-conscious?” Hua Qing Si asked in surprise. She was no ordinary woman and was from the Divine Star palace. She had come in touch with many secrets unbeknown to people, thus she quickly got over her shock and came back to her senses. But despite this, she couldn’t associate this being with any creature in existence after racking her brains for so long.

“Did you assume I was dead?” the Embodiment looked in mockery at Hua Qing Si.

Hua Qing Si’s pretty face got flushed and she laughed out of delight. She asked back, “Then this means I’m alive, too… By the way, you said that he has brought me here. Where are we?” 

The Embodiment quietened for a while, then squinted his eyes and asked, “Are you sure you want to know?”

Hua Qing Si furrowed her brows and unease welled up in her heart, as if she was already aware she wouldn’t end up anywhere good for her, but she still couldn’t curb her curiosity and she revealed a longing look.

“Fine, there is no harm in telling you. In any case, since he has already brought you here rather than killing you, you won’t ever get to leave again.”

Upon hearing him, Hua Qing Si’s pretty face darkened and she realized that her worries turned out to be true.

“This is a Small Sealed World, the Emperor Artifact Sealed World Bead’s Sealed World.”

“An Emperor Artifact? The Sealed World Bead?” Hua Qing Si cried out in alarm and she said in surprise, “Are you implying that it has formed a world, and it’s a treasure equal to our Star Soul Palace’s Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?

“More or less,” the Embodiment nodded. Seeming tired from speaking so much, it sat down on the ground cross-legged, and said while looking at Hua Qing Si, “But, comparatively speaking, each of them has its pros and cons. The Star Soul Palace’s disciples can enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda for practice, and it also has many marvellous functions, while the Sealed World Bead is quite different. First, it was refined from an almighty being’s body and it’s pretty small, which makes it easy to carry around. Is that understandable?”

Hua Qing Si nodded numbly. As a member of the Star Soul Palace, she had obviously discerned and understood the Embodiment’s unspoken implication.

The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was the Star Soul Palace’s best treasure, and it was its foundation, mainly because numerous disciples could train in it, make advancements, study World Principles, and absorb remnant World Principles’ power.

This was the best Emperor Artifact in the whole Star Boundary!

As for the Sealed World Bead, it was obviously equal to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and even though people couldn’t train and get various benefits in it, it was still more practical than the latter.

This was a priceless treasure, yet it was in the hand of a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.

It wouldn’t be easy even for an Emperor Realm Master to get an Emperor Artifact, and even such experts couldn’t easily craft an Emperor Artifact. Every Emperor Artifact’s birth was preceded by innumerable years gathering of resources, as well as many experts’ blood and sweat.

An Emperor Artifact was a lot more precious than a Dao Source Grade artifact, yet this said treasure was in the hand of a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, and it wasn’t even an ordinary Emperor Artifact, but rather one equal to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.

If news spread out, then the whole Star Boundary’s experts would go into an uproar and hunt down Yang Kai to snatch his treasure.

“Can you just forget I heard this secret…” The corners of Hua Qing Si’s mouth twitched.

She had already been placed by Yang Kai into the Sealed World Bead, and after learning such a secret, it was impossible for anyone to let her leave. In other words, she would be imprisoned by Yang Kai for a lifetime!

She had been still rejoicing over her survival, yet she got upset by this news.

“Hehehe…” The Embodiment laughed heartily, “Your fate was doomed from the moment you got sent here.”

Having said this much, the Embodiment’s voice turned gloomy. He said, “He hasn’t killed you only because you saved his life once, but his current state is far from good and he can’t control his murderous impulses, this is why he was forced to opt for this solution.”

“Is that true?”

“Actually, you still have a chance to leave this land.”

“What’s it?” Hua Qing Si rejoiced and questioned him right away.

“Die… Or vow loyalty to my main body and offer him your Soul Imprint.”

Hua Qing Si’s pretty face fell and she shouted, “That is out of the question!”

“Nothing in the world is out of the question. Young girl, you don’t have to be so dead-set against it! Do you really want to spend the rest of your life here?” The Embodiment questioned her.

Hua Qing Si got lost in her thoughts and her inner struggle was apparent on her face, but she suddenly got over it and said, “That little bastard can’t even protect himself now, let’s leave this until he overcomes his crisis.”

The Embodiment nodded and said, “You’re right, you should discuss it with him, I have only offered a suggestion.”

Hua Qing Si’s expression suddenly changed and she said, “By the way, why are you here?” As she spoke, she suddenly thought of something and said excitedly, “Were you thrown here by him, too? Did he force you to offer him your Soul Imprint?”

Hua Qing Si seemed excited, as if she had suddenly found a fellow sufferer.

The Embodiment wore a strange look on his face and mumbled, “I have already been imprisoned by him for more than a million years…”

“He’s really scum,” Hua Qing Si said through gnashed teeth, but she suddenly noticed a weird detail and looked at the Embodiment suspiciously. She said, “How old is he? How come it’s a million years?”

The Embodiment scratched his face with his large and thick finger and said, “Don’t pay heed to those insignificant details. He’s already in trouble. Have a look at those people, do you know them?”

As the Embodiment spoke, he waved his hand.

In the empty space between him and Hua Qing Si, ripples visible to the naked eye appeared and were followed by a strange screen, which appeared out of nowhere.

Hua Qing Si gazed over there and said in wonder, “This is…”

Hua Qing Si had noticed that the scene displayed in the sky was Yang Kai’s current location. He had been engulfed by thick black Qi, and only his eyes still shone with a golden, yet evil radiance.

In his vicinity, three people were surrounding him in a triangular formation.

Those three people were all composed and had outstanding bearings.

The middle-aged man in the left was clad in plain hemp clothing, which despite not looking bright and new, was tidy and neat, while he was also endowed with a pair of bright and shining eyes.

The one on the right side was a short old man with white hair and a beard, yet still rosy face. He observed Yang Kai with furrowed brows and his apprehension was apparent on his face.

As for the one in the middle, it was a dignified and cold-looking pretty woman with an icy expression plastered on her pretty face. She was clad in a white dress, which gave her a special mature charm.

After Hua Qing Si had been thrown into the Sealed World Bead by Yang Kai, those three people appeared suddenly out of nowhere and surrounded him.

Everyone was a famous Emperor Realm Master of the Southern Territory and Yang Kai had seen all of them once.

“Those are several Great Forces’ big shots.” Hua Qing Si cast a glance at them and recognized them right away.

“Can you elaborate further?” The Embodiment next to her said.

“The one on the left is the Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Senior Chen, Chen Wen Hao. As for the one on the right side, it’s the Orthodoxy Temple’s Elder Feng, Feng Ming, and the last one is the Azure Sun Temple Senior Gao, Gao Xue Ting.”

“It’s unexpectedly those people.” The Embodiment came to a realization.

More than a year ago, those three people had once dropped by Maplewood City to pursue a Luan Feng’s trails in Clear Jade Mountain. Later on, the Star Soul Palace’s Xiao Yu Yang had also come and cast a magical art to create a long-distance portal to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda to take the city’s cultivators into it.

At that time, Yang Kai had also seen those outstanding people, and since Yang Kai knew them, then the Embodiment had also heard about them.

Upon hearing their status from Hua Qing Si, a worried look appeared on the Embodiment’s face.

Even though in his current state, Yang Kai was endowed with great and unstoppable power, he was facing three Emperor Realm Masters from outstanding backgrounds, and he might not be a match for them.

Moreover, the more Yang Kai maintained his current state, the worse his situation. If he got held up by those people, then his mind might end up corrupted by the Demon Spirit, and he would then turn into a real demon.

“There is still hope left!” Hua Qing Si didn’t notice the Embodiment’s worries and shouted in delight. She still didn’t forget to shout at the Embodiment. She said, “Big Stone, once that little bastard gets subdued by those three seniors, we’ll get to leave.”

The Embodiment nodded repeatedly, wearing the same indifferent look as usual.

In the outside world, Chen Wen Hao and others stood in silence and didn’t make a move.

They came here because someone had used Maplewood City’s Teleportation Array to leave and notify them.

The three Great Forces had heard that an Ancient Great Demon’s seal got damaged and pure Demon Qi leaked out, which didn’t leave a single living soul in Maplewood City’s vicinity. Thus they didn’t take it lightly and dispatched Emperor Realm Masters to investigate its ins and outs.

Chen Wen Hao and the others, who had once visited Maplewood City a year ago, were obviously their best choice, and they had also undertaken this task willingly.

They had all hurried up from their sects and used countless Space Arrays on the way to reach Maplewood City in the shortest time possible.

When they had reached Maplewood City, the Demon Qi had already started dispersing and the Demonic Beings were coming back to their senses.

They were all bewildered and they followed the trails to get into this event’s source, and they ended up intercepting Yang Kai’s way here.

At this moment, they were all confused and puzzled!

A Luan Feng had first emerged in the little Maplewood City only to be followed by an Ancient Great Demon’s seal a year later, as if any major event was bound to happen in this little city, and they all found it incredulous.

Opposite them, Yang Kai’s facial features were indistinct and they couldn’t discern his identity prior to his transformation, while the pure Demon Qi engulfing him gave them a stifling feeling, as if this Demon Qi could pose a deadly threat to Emperor Realm Masters.

Chapter 2102

All demonic beings the three people saw in their flight had already come back to their senses, yet the one in front of them was still plagued by Demon Qi as before and he emitted an astounding vicious aura.

“Who are you?” Chen Wen Hao broke the silence and raised a question.

He really wanted to know why this demon didn’t come back to his senses like the other demonic beings, and how he turned out to be so powerful.

The person opposite him didn’t respond, and he could only hear muffled beastly roars from the mass of Demon Qi.

“Brother Chen, he has already lost his mind, so why are you still wasting your breath with him?” Feng Ming said impatiently and his treacherous-looking eyes glared at Yang Kai.

Gao Xue Ting didn’t utter a single word, but her pretty eyes shone brightly, as if she wanted to penetrate the thick Demon Qi and have a look at Yang Kai’s face.

But, it seemed as if Yang Kai had detected her actions and he turned his head suddenly to look at her. Their gazes ended up meeting and an invisible collision broke out between their gazes mid-air

“Ahh!” Gao Xue Ting’s pretty face turned pale and her body staggered, as if she had suffered the brunt of a ferocious attack.

“Let…” A muffled, indistinct, and pained roar transmitted from the Demon Qi, but they all heard it clearly and understood what the demonic being wanted to express.

An eerie glow flashed past Chen Wen Hao’s eyes and he strode forward. As he moved, a cyan sword appeared in his hand and he said calmly, “I’ll test the water and try his means. Sirs, please support me from the rear.”

As he spoke, a soft whistle echoed out. Chen Wen Hao had already turned into an illusory silhouette and appeared before Yang Kai.

*Shhing! Shhing!*

The Sword light shot out, the Sword Qi emitted a humming noise, while the torrential Sword Force left behind it a whistling noise.

*Clang!*

Sparks flew around and energy pulses ran amok in the void. The sword strike was so swift and torrential!

After a short while, Chen Wen Hao sheathed his sword and stood on his former position motionless, as if he had never moved in the first place.

On the other side, numerous web-like fissures appeared on the Demon Qi surrounding Yang Kai’s body, and one could faintly see some parts of his body through the cracks. The flesh exposed to the air was covered with dense Demon Crests. But, those cracks were instantly mended by the billowing Demon Qi.

Chen Wen Hao furrowed his brows, while Gao Xue Ting and Feng Ming were very surprised. Yang Kai was more thorny than they expected.

“Die!” It seemed like Yang Kai had been enraged by Chen Wen Hao’s attack, and he let out a roar, while the churning Demon Qi enveloping him let out jarring wails, as if the Nether King had just blown the war horn and ordered them to advance.

*Swoosh!*

He suddenly disappeared!

“What?” Chen Wen Hao was finally surprised for real. Even his strong Divine Sense wasn’t able to follow Yang Kai’s trail. His speed had already surpassed anything he knew.

He tried as hard as he could to manoeuvre his Spiritual Energy’s power and he surveyed tightly a perimeter of a hundred feet around him, trying to peer into Yang Kai’s movements.

“Be careful!” Gao Xue Ting’s expression changed drastically and she cried out aloud.

“Brother Chen, he’s behind you!” Feng Ming also let out a strange cry.

But, did he really need their warning? When Yang Kai had just appeared behind him, Chen Wen Hao had also detected him, and he instantly manoeuvred the power of the Unfettered Worldly Principle. His sword let out a dazzling radiance and he instantly thrust it behind.

*Ding!*

A crisp metallic collision sound echoed out, and Chen Wen Hao felt like he had struck something, but his attack was blocked. It wasn’t limited to just this, as his sword let out a sad cry and its light flickered intensely. He was so startled he broke into a cold sweat, and he ended up taking the wrong step out of fluster and stumbled forward.

The torrential force that erupted out behind him didn’t manage to harm him, but it still scared him greatly.

Yang Kai didn’t wait for him to regain his balance and he followed him closely like his shadow. He appeared on his right side, and he thrust his fist, which was covered by Demon Qi, into him. His fist contained indomitable destructive power!

It was a simple, yet very ferocious move, and it could be said that it was a natural move.

It was unavoidable!

Chen Wen Hao’s mind was in turmoil. He was just a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but he had already come in touch with the real essence of the world’s Martial Dao, and even if he faced a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, he wouldn’t be so thoroughly suppressed, he would still be able to exchange some moves against him.

Yet, this peculiar demonic being suppressed him. He depended upon his brilliant Movement Skill and ridiculously high speed to suppress him, and he wasn’t even able to fight back.

At this critical juncture, he let out a shout: “Water Source Transformation!”

As his voice echoed out, he turned semi-transparent, as if his body was made of water.

Yang Kai’s fist fell on him directly and penetrated his chest. He left a large hole in his body!

Chen Wen Hao let out a groan, and it seemed like he suffered serious injuries, but he still didn’t move back. Instead, he circulated his Source Qi and the Water Source Embodiment to condense his body and stranded Yang Kai’s arm within him.

At this moment, Feng Ming and Gao Xue Ting, who had been watching the battle, finally made a move at the same time.

A long spear with a shape resembling a flying goose appeared in Feng Ming’s hand, and arcs of lightning were dancing around it. This was obviously the fruit of his hard labor, the Emperor Artifact, Lightning Goose Spear. It was one of the Southern Territory’s famous weapons!

“Relentless Lightning!” Feng Ming let out a shout and seized the opportunity created by Chen Wen Hao to make an attack. He swung his long spear and thrust it at Yang Kai.

On the other side, a little mirror appeared in Gao Xue Ting’s palm. After she infused her Source Qi into it, it let out a dazzling radiance, and it looked like a mini sun hung in the air. The mirror fired a dazzling light beam, which enveloped Yang Kai’s body.

Gao Xue Ting wore a cold and stern look as usual, and as her white dress fluttered in the air, she looked like a goddess that had descended from heaven.

A scorching air started pervading this region, and it seemed able to burn all myriad matters.

The Demon Qi around Yang Kai’s body started wiggling, as if it had just run into its nemesis, and many of its wisps evaporated and turned into drifting smoke.

…

“Emperor Artifact: Radiant Sun Mirror!”

In the Small Sealed World, Hua Qing Si had seen everything that had occurred thanks to the projection created by the Embodiment.

The girl’s face was filled with excitement, and she shouted aloud and cheered for them.

She knew those people, and she had also heard of the artifacts used by them, and even if she didn’t hear of them, she would get an understanding of them upon observing them.

The sword in Chen Wen Hao’s hand was also no ordinary artifact, it was the Emperor Artifact, Flowing Water Sword.

Three great Emperor Realm Masters launched a joint attack with three great Emperor Artifacts in their hands. She felt like she could already foresee the Demon King, Yang Kai’s fall.

She felt like she would shortly get to take in a fresh breath of freedom…

…

In the twinkling of an eye, Yang Kai was engulfed by the Radiant Sun Barrier, and as if he had detected a deadly threat, he suddenly let out a roar and a hot yet dignified aura, completely different from his other evil and vicious aura, erupted out of his body.

In the next moment, his hand which had been stuck in Chen Wen Hao’s Water Source Embodiment started expanding and draconic scales emerged on it. His whole hand turned into a dragon claw, and he drew support from its transformation to pull it back.

Chen Wen Hao let out a soft groan, and it seemed like he wasn’t able to maintain his Water Source Embodiment any longer. Thus when Yang Kai’s hand finally broke free, it brought with it some of his blood.

Shortly after, Yang Kai turned around and stretched his hand toward the ferocious lightning.

*Sizz!*

Yang Kai’s body shook violently, but he still managed to block Feng Ming’s Secret Technique with his dragon claw. However, his body had been paralyzed by the electric current.

Gao Xue Ting’s pretty eyes turned cold and she took avail of this chance to raise the Radiant Sun Mirror’s might.

The Demon Qi on Yang Kai’s body started evaporating at a higher speed, and this brought him a great deal of pain. It wasn’t any different than inhuman torture.

“Die, all of you!” Yang Kai let out a roar and the space within a dozen kilometres suddenly changed drastically. 

A World Principle power suddenly fell upon Gao Xue Ting’s body and her movement came to a sudden stop.

While on the other side, after Yang Kai had broken free and escaped, Chen Wen Hao had just raised his sword to launch another attack, yet his body suddenly turned heavy.

“Space Principle?” Gao Xue Ting let out a sharp cry and her pretty eyes trembled.

The Emperor Realm Master present here had all high attainment in cultivation, and they obviously had a unique understanding of the World Principles. They had all practised a Secret Technique or a Cultivation Method to comprehend a World Principle and advance into the Emperor Realm.

Every Emperor Realm Master had a different understanding of the World Principles and they were all specialized in different domains.

Only geniuses blessed by Heaven could comprehend the deepest and most primitive Principle of his domain.

Five Elements’ Principles, various Forces’ essences, and Divine Abilities’ mysteries. Those were all cornerstones crucial for an Emperor Realm Master’s growth into a real expert.

Among them, there were several Principle powers considered the most difficult to comprehend, and the Space Principle was one of them. It was nearly impossible to comprehend it!

In the Star Boundary’s long history, many Great Emperors depended upon their comprehension of Principle power to reach the apex, yet they never heard about anyone who could manoeuvre Space Principle power to this point.

The Space Principle was too mysterious, and even an Emperor Realm Master could only stare at it from afar.

Yet, a demonic being, which had been forcefully converted into a demon, could manipulate the Space Principle and seal this region.

Gao Xue Ting couldn’t help but hold her breath for a moment out of shock and she got into a trance, but it was precisely at this moment that Yang Kai, who bore the might of the Radiant Sun Mirror, went after her. He was as swift as lightning and his speed was already beyond comprehension.

In the twinkling of an eye, Yang Kai reached Gao Xue Ting, but he turned a blind eye to the enemy after his life and thrust his fist at the Radiant Sun Mirror.

*Roar! Roar!*

Dragons’ roars resounded out and a dozen demonic dragons’ phantom images emerged out of his fist and danced in the sky.

Even though Gao Xue Ting reacted quickly and moved away in time, she still didn’t get out of harm’s way.

*Rumble!*

As the black demonic dragons collided against the Radiant Sun Mirror, its light flickered repeatedly.

By the time Gao Xue Ting rushed to Chen Wen Hao’s side, her expression turned unsightly and she looked in pain at the fruit of her sweat and blood, her Emperor Artifact.

The Radiant Sun Mirror had been covered by a layer of faint Black Qi and its spirituality had already been damaged.

In the Sealed World Bead, Hua Qing Si observed everything in a daze with her mouth wide open. She couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “How come he’s so strong?”

Three Emperor Realm Masters joined hands and they had even used their Emperor Artifacts. She assumed that they would quickly take down Yang Kai, yet once the confrontation started, it was them who suffered one setback after another, and Yang Kai was as unstoppable as ever.

Hua Qing Si couldn’t accept this outcome!

Chapter 2103

“This is tricky, his Demon Qi can corrode even our Emperor Artifacts.” Chen Wen Hao took a look at his Flowing Water Sword and the Radiant Sun Mirror in Gao Xue Ting’s hand with a grave look on his face.

The Flowing Water Sword had also been covered by a layer of Black Qi like the Radiant Sun Mirror, and it had obviously been corroded.

Corrosion of this level wouldn’t damage an Emperor Artifact’s spirituality unless they didn’t get rid of it in time.

It wasn’t easy to craft an Emperor Artifact, and every Emperor Realm Master treasured them. So, how could they allow this?

“What a troublesome guy, it seems like we have to get serious.” Feng Ming sneered coldly.

Chen Wen Hao glared at Yang Kai, while speaking with Gao Xue Ting, “Junior Sister Gao, we’ll have to draw support from your power.”

Gao Xue Ting gnashed her teeth, as if she had just made a hard decision. She said, “If the Radiant Sun Mirror gets ruined, you’ll have to compensate me.”

Feng Ming laughed and said, “It’s still an Emperor Artifact and it won’t be destroyed so easily. Let’s not waste our breath. Hurry up and make a move. If we delay it any further, we may face some unforeseen circumstances.”

Gao Xue Ting raised her hands and the Radiant Sun Mirror flew into the air as if it wanted to break into the firmament and quickly overlapped with the sun in the sky. At this moment, she raised her hands upwards and started weaving hand seals.

The Radiant Sun Mirror let out a humming noise and a mysterious power started spreading from it, while the blazing sun in the sky suddenly let out a dazzling sunbeam and struck the mirror. That said sunbeam penetrated the mirror and its radiance spread to the surroundings.

“Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory, Nine Suns’ Radiant Shine!” Gao Xue Ting put her arms against her chest and pushed them forward slowly.

As the blazing radiance spread out, the region sealed by Yang Kai’s Space Principle power let out a crisp snapping noise, as if some force broke through its confines.

Soon after, an unusual phenomenon appeared. Nine radiant suns appeared in the sky and their light was nearly blinding. Those suns emitted scorching rays, which burned the earth and left it charred.

Yang Kai let out a loud shriek, as if he couldn’t stand the numerous blazing suns surrounding him, and he made a move right away.

He rushed toward a sun and thrust his fist at it.

*Rumble!*

The radiant sun up in the sky was shattered apart, but another sun emerged out in a different location right away.

But, Yang Kai still went in and destroyed another sun, as if he had already lost his reason, yet the same scene unfolded again, and all of his efforts turned out pointless.

…

“It’s useless, such attacks wouldn’t be of any use against Senior Gao’s Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory.”

In the Small Sealed World, it seemed like Hua Qing Si had already heard of the Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory, and upon seeing Yang Kai running around aimlessly, she shook her head slowly and took pleasure in his misfortune.

The Embodiment rolled his eyes around and asked, “What kinds of attacks would be useful against it?”

“It’s obviously attacking Senior Gao,” Hua Qing Si replied quickly and chuckled. “But, in the Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory, Senior Gao is omnipotent and the body shown by her is only a phantom image, while her true body is hiding somewhere else.”

“Is it?” The Embodiment curled the corners of his mouth and let out a meaningful laugh. “You really know a lot, as expected of a member of the Star Soul Palace.”

In response, Hua Qing Si laughed complacently.

If she wasn’t from a supreme faction of the Southern Territory, the Star Soul Palace, then how could a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator get any info about the mysteries of Gao Xue Ting’s Secret Technique?

…

While Yang Kai was crazily attacking the loathsome suns, a silhouette appeared suddenly next to him and condensed the power of his Sword Principle within his sword and thrust it slowly, yet carefully toward Yang Kai.

“Myriad Swords Dao!” Gao Xue Ting shouted in a low voice.

When he thrust his sword, even the nine suns in the sky lost their radiance, and only Chen Wen Hao’s sword was left here, a sword that was the fruit of his whole life’s cultivation.

As the sword’s light flickered, fresh blood spluttered and Demon Qi billowed, while Yang Kai let out a miserable shriek.

This sword strike had achieved its aim. It had penetrated Yang Kai’s belly and brought with it his golden blood.

Yang Kai stretched his dragon claw out of pain and held the Flowing Water Sword without any regard for the harm inflicted upon his palm by its sharp edge. As for his other hand, it turned into a giant palm that went after Chen Wen Hao to swat him down.

Chen Wen Hao’s pupils contracted and he was about to move back, yet he discovered in surprise that a peculiar Space Principle power descended upon him, and stranded him for a moment.

Yet this short moment was enough for Yang Kai’s palm to reach him.

“Location Swap!” Gao Xue Ting’s voice resounded out, as she folded her palms and pushed them forward. One of the suns in the sky replaced Chen Wen Hao’s and got shattered by the giant palm.

As for Chen Wen Hao, his body appeared somewhere else in the vicinity. His face had already turned pale and he nodded at Gao Xue Ting to express his gratitude.

If Gao Xue Ting didn’t cast a Secret Technique to move him away, he would have been gravely injured.

“Didn’t you forget someone?” A voice suddenly resounded behind Yang Kai. While he was dealing with Chen Wen Hao, Feng Ming took advantage of this chance to close in on him with the Lightning Goose Spear in his hand. He condensed his Source Qi in his spear and thrust it forward.

“Flying Thunder Explosion!”

A large lighting ball appeared on the spearhead. This ball contained berserk lightning with great destructive power and it had suddenly exploded near Yang Kai.

Lightning ran amok, and silver serpentine lightning danced around, while the ground had been turned into a lightning field.

At this moment, the Demon Qi on Yang Kai’s back got thinned out and his white bones were exposed.

It seemed like this strike had inflicted great harm upon him!

But, Feng Ming still couldn’t rejoice over this, as Yang Kai had already turned around and thrust his palm at him.

“Are you looking down on me?” Upon seeing Yang Kai attacking him head-on, Feng Ming flew into a rage and thrust his spear. He launched another attack, yet he hit thin air this time.

The person in front of him had already disappeared!

Feng Ming’s heart tightened, and he pulled back his spear to retreat. His wariness was apparent on his face.

After all, he was fighting against a fearful being able to use Space Principle to manoeuvre and he didn’t dare to take him lightly.

Meanwhile, Feng Ming had also enveloped this region with his Divine Sense to seek Yang Kai’s trail.

Yet, at this moment, a delicate shout reverberated out.

In an empty region with no soul in sight, Gao Xue Ting’s body stumbled out, closely followed by the murderous-looking Yang Kai.

“How is this possible?” Astonishment was apparent on Gao Xue Ting’s face. She couldn’t believe that Yang Kai was able to accurately find her real body’s hiding spot within the Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory, and he still got to launch a sneak attack on her. 

Upon looking at the black silhouette closing in on her, she felt death looming over, and she felt like she heard the Death God’s whispers.

“Boundless Sword Dao!” At this critical juncture, Chen Wen Hao rushed over with his Flowing Water Sword in hand. Boundless Sword Qi emanated from the sword and swept Yang Kai like a hurricane.

Yang Kai roared and the Demon Qi on his body surface billowed and formed numerous ethereal serpents, which collided against the Sword Qi.

*Sizzle!*

The Sword Qi was extinguished, while the ethereal serpents had also dispersed.

By the time Yang Kai’s body was revealed again, Gao Xue Ting had already moved back to Chen Wen Hao’s side. Her face was deathly pale and her clothes had already been soaked by sweat.

“Did this person retain his mind and wisdom?” Feng Ming’s eyes widened up and he asked in surprise.

A while ago, Yang Kai had used himself as bait to attract the crowd’s attention, while he closed in on Gao Xue Ting in silence to launch a sneak attack. A demon who had lost his mind couldn’t achieve this endeavour, and this was obviously a pretty intelligent battle tactic.

Even if he possessed the same power, he wouldn’t be able to do better.

“Perhaps.” Chen Wen Hao pulled back his sword and stood motionless with his hands behind his back. He looked like an unsheathed sword and he emitted an astonishing Sword Intent. He said, “Demon, I’ll let you have a taste of my sword.”

As his voice reverberated, he revealed his murderous intent and his Sword Qi ran amok. Chen Wen Hao used up his Source Qi without any restraints and displayed his exquisite sword technique. He condensed his power and Principle power in his sword and launched an attack.

When he had just made a move, Gao Xue Ting’s body disappeared once again from the Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory. But, the nine suns in the sky emitted intense radiance. They shot nine light pillars, which fell upon Yang Kai and sealed this region.

As for Feng Ming, he launched his best skill with the Lightning Gose Spear and targeted Yang Kai’s vital regions.

The three great Emperor Realm Masters attacked jointly to slay the demon and protect the human world!

Yang Kai could only roar loudly as usual and he dealt with them in the same way as before. As the Demon Qi on his body billowed, he launched various crude and simple moves. He was obviously in a disadvantageous position, but his enemies still weren’t able to slay him in a short while.

The Demon Crests on the surface of his body possessed extremely strong defensive power and even the three great Emperor Realm Masters’ various Secret Techniques and Emperor Artifacts’ attacks couldn’t break through his defence.

The region was wrecked apart and even the celestial bodies had lost their radiance here!

…

In the Small Sealed World, Hua Qing Si was left speechful for so long and her pretty eyes shivered lightly.

Getting to watch Emperor Realm Masters’ fight was a great opportunity for a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, yet usually, closing in on Emperor Realm Masters’ battlefield was pretty dangerous and ordinary cultivators wouldn’t get a chance to watch and observe it.

Yet, due to a series of coincidences, she got the chance to watch one from beginning to end.

She already didn’t wish for Yang Kai to die quickly, and she had gotten lost in her thoughts while watching the battle and a pensive look was apparent on her face

The Embodiment cast a glance at her and curled up his mouth. He didn’t disturb her, and turned his head again toward the battlefield and revealed a worried look.

Even though it looked like the main body had just gotten into a deadlock, he was only a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, and even if he drew help from the Demon Qi, he still couldn’t deal with three Emperor Realm Masters.

As time passed, the main body was only accumulating more injuries and this was clear proof of its terrible situation.

Actually, he didn’t really care about his injuries, the crux was that the main body didn’t escape despite knowing fully he wasn’t a match for them, and this was the source of the Embodiment’s worries.

The Embodiment wasn’t sure whether the main body retained his mind. He had tried to contact him, yet he didn’t get any response. But, when he told him stealthily the weakness of Gao Xue Ting’s Radiant Sun Heavenly Territory, the main body took notice of his advice.

If this wasn’t the case, the main body wouldn’t have sought and uncovered Gao Xue Ting’s hiding spot, then almost inflict heavy injuries upon her.

He had suddenly gotten great power, and it was still the evil and vicious power of an Ancient Great Demon. It wasn’t good news for the main body, if he kept using it for so long, then some unforeseen problems might befall him.

Chapter 2104

Several thousand miles away, in Maplewood City.

The few hundred thousand cultivators in the city didn’t get to rejoice over surviving the calamity, and they all looked in fear in a certain direction.

Intense energy ripples and deafening explosion sounds were reverberating from there.

Duan Yuan Shan, the Drunkard, Qin Zhao Yang, as well as various great families’ Dao Source Realm Old Ancestors were all standing atop the city wall. Those people’s gazes penetrated the void, seemingly trying to see and get some clues about this affair.

“City Lord, who is fighting over there?” The Liang Family’s Old Ancestor Liang Peng Le asked in surprise.

Duan Yuan Shan mulled it over for a moment and said, “On the way back, I ran into the Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Senior Chen and another two seniors, and they are likely behind this disturbance.”

“Is it Senior Chen, Chen Wen Hao, who had once visited our City?” The pupils of the Xin family’s Old Ancestor Xin Gao Jie contracted.

“It’s precisely him!”

“Then who is their enemy?” An astonished look was apparent on Xin Gao Jie’s face.

Chen Wen Hao and his two companions were all Emperor Realm Masters, and they had even joined hands, yet they still ended up fighting so intensely against that said enemy and couldn’t take victory in a short time.

The enemy’s great power could be discerned through this!

“I have no idea,” Duan Yuan Shan shook his head.

But at this moment, Yang Kai’s image suddenly ran across his mind.

At that time, seven Great Dao Source Realm Masters brought Qin Yu with them to repair the seal, yet they slipped up. Zhuang Pan had escaped before the battle, while the Black Tortoise Seven Sections Array collapsed by itself, Du Li Shen suffered a miserable death on the spot and Qin Zhao Yang sustained heavy injuries and lost consciousness.

When Yang Kai had been corrupted by Demon Qi, he stood in his place motionless, and it looked like he was on the verge of turning into a demon…

If Yang Kai had lost his mind, then he could really become a demon.

But, even if he became a demon, could someone at his level contend against three Emperor Realm Masters?

Duan Yuan Shan shook his head and threw this ridiculous thought to the back of his mind.

Moreover, the strange Ancient Demon Qi had already disappeared, and the demonic beings, who had been corrupted and lost their minds, had also recovered, so Yang Kai had obviously also recovered.

Rumble!

A loud thunderclap reverberated in the sky, and it was shortly followed by an unusual phenomenon. The world’s Yuan Qi was attracted by something and it converged toward a certain direction.

“What happened?” Xin Gao Jie responded ahead of others and looked in surprise at a certain place in Maplewood City.

Duan Yuan Shan turned his head around and observed that said location for a while, then said out of delight, “Someone in the city is advancing into the Dao Source Realm, whose family’s disciple is it?”

The various Old Ancestors looked at each other in dismay, then shook their heads. They all expressed that it wasn’t their families’ disciple.

“Let’s go over there and have a look, our Maplewood City has just gone through a great calamity, and this is a good omen,” Duan Yuan Shan shouted loudly and he conveyed his voice with the help of his Source Qi, and it was so loud that all cultivators in the city could hear him clearly.

He was the City Lord and he obviously had to pacify people, and the breakthrough’s phenomenon gave him more assets to use.

It didn’t matter who was advancing, as he had managed to prompt the world’s Yuan Qi’s change, and this was good news for Maplewood City’s cultivators who had just gotten a new lease of life.

After a short while, the crowd landed in front of a top-notch cave mansion.

An elderly woman, a pretty middle-aged woman, and a young girl were standing in front of the cave mansion, guarding it.

“Miss Xiao Qi?” Duan Yuan Shan cast a glance at the young girl with a surprised look plastered on his face.

It wasn’t so strange for him to recognize Mo Xiao Qi. After all, they had fought together against the demonic beings and Demon Qi who enveloped the city, and even though Mo Xiao Qi was only a Third-Order Origin King, he didn’t belittle her or look down upon her.

After all, Duan Yuan Shan had discovered through his short contact with the young girl that her origins were quite mysterious and all techniques studied and employed by her were all so profound.

The crux was that Mo Xiao Qi was seemingly only sixteen or seventeen years old.

A sixteen or seventeen years old Third-Order Origin King, even a Great Force like the Heavenly Martial Holy Land couldn’t raise such outstanding talent, and it was a feat possible only by the Star Soul Palace.

Duan Yuan Shan had even taken Mo Xiao Qi for a secret disciple of the Star Soul Palace for a moment.

He didn’t dare to belittle her!

“City Lord Duan, seniors!” Mo Xiao Qi revealed a smile and greeted them.

“Miss Xiao Qi, the person making a breakthrough is…” Duan Yuan Shan didn’t beat around the bush and got right to the point. He questioned her directly!

“It’s the Spirit Pill Plaza’s Shopkeeper Kang.” Mo Xiao Qi didn’t plan to hide anything from him.

“Kang Si Ran?” Duan Yuan Shan revealed a surprised look and the various families’ Old Ancestors had also widened their eyes in shock, as if they had just heard some implausible news.

The Spirit Pill Plaza was an industry of the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, and Maplewood City’s masters obviously knew it, and they also knew Kang Si Ran, yet they were confused mainly because they knew him.

How could Kang Si Ran make a breakthrough to the Dao Source Realm?

His martial path had already reached its end, and his aptitude wouldn’t allow him to go farther than the Third-Order Origin King Realm. They didn’t dare to claim that he would never reach the Dao Source Realm, but that said the probability wouldn’t be any higher than one in ten thousand.

Yet, they had just heard a disturbance made by Kang Si Ran’s breakthrough into the Dao Source Realm, and they were all astounded.

A peculiar light flashed past Duan Yuan Shan’s eyes and he said with a smile, “Turns out it’s Shopkeeper Kang. We must congratulate him.”

His disappointment was apparent through his words.

Even though Kang Si Ran resided in Maplewood City, he didn’t belong to it due to his origin and status. Furthermore, his advancement wouldn’t be of any help to Maplewood City. That’s why Duan Yuan Shan’s feelings about this affair changed so drastically.

“Shopkeeper Kang probably had some outstanding fortuitous encounter.” Xin Gao Jie wore a pensive look.

If he didn’t get a fortuitous encounter, then Kang Si Ran wouldn’t be able to advance to the Dao Source Realm just through his efforts due to his poor aptitude, and timewise, it looked like he had gone into seclusion when the city got enveloped by Demon Qi.

Since he dared to go into seclusion and make a breakthrough at this critical juncture, then he was obviously fully confident in his success.

“Seniors, after Shopkeeper Kang leaves seclusion, you can question him yourself,” Mo Xiao Qi replied with a smile.

Duan Yuan Shan nodded and said, “That’s a matter of course.”

As they exchanged several words, the phenomenon in the sky became fully visible and its heavenly might erupted. The World Energy’s baptism started and lightning descended from the dark clouds in the sky. The lightning cleaved open the void and struck Kang Si Ran’s body.

Inside the cave mansion, Kang Si Ran’s miserable cries reverberated out, as if he was bearing excruciating pain and any person’s scalp would turn numb upon hearing those shrill cries

…

Sword Qi ran amok, nine suns enveloped the land and a flood dragon phantom image formed by spear light danced around.

In the face of three Great Emperor Realm Masters’ joint attack, Yang Kai’s Demon Qi billowed ceaselessly, and he fought desperately without retreat even though his body had been thoroughly covered by wounds, as if he couldn’t feel even an ounce of pain.

Those were wounds inflicted by Emperor Realm Masters and Emperor Artifacts, so even the Demon Qi and Golden Blood’s great recovery ability couldn’t heal them in a short while. Those wounds contained World Principle power and it was gnawing at Yang Kai’s life force, and his injury state was only turning for the worse.

As his blood spluttered around, the blood-soaked Yang Kai only fought more bravely.

The three Emperor Realm Masters had joined hands and managed to suppress and inflict wounds upon him, yet they were getting more surprised the more they fought.

It was fortunate that three of them had arrived here, if only one of them faced this demon, none had any confidence that they could contend against him.

This was the most vicious and bloodthirsty demon they had seen in their lives!

As the battle reached its climax, a resonant cry resounded from a distant land.

*Shriek!*

This clear cry travelled across the void and fell upon their ears. It sounded like an Ancient Phoenix Divine Spirit’s cry and its voice betrayed its great anxiety and anger.

When the voice reached them, Yang Kai who was fighting toe-to-toe against the three great Emperor Realm Masters came to a stop, as if he had been struck by lightning, and the Demon Qi enveloping his body turned unstable.

Upon seeing this, Chen Wen Hao and the others moved back anxiously and got on the alert. They didn’t know whether Yang Kai was only putting on an act and they didn’t dare to rashly advance.

When experts exchanged blows, any careless move might cost them their lives.

“What’s that noise?” Feng Ming asked.

Chen Wen Hao and Gao Xue Ting shook their heads slowly.

The three people looked ahead and witnessed Yang Kai looking in a certain direction. They all followed his gaze and looked at the horizon. A scarlet dot was quickly closing in on them!

“She has come!”

In the Small Sealed World, the Embodiment had also seen everything clearly through the projection and he was overjoyed by the turn of events.

“What’s that?” Hua Qing Si had good eyesight, yet still couldn’t see through that scarlet light’s nature. She could only feel that it contained unimaginable power!

“It’s his Artifact Spirit,” the Embodiment replied

“Artifact Spirit?” Hua Qing Si furrowed her brows and said in surprise, “Did his Artifact Spirit take on a physical form?”

Artifact Spirits were intangible beings and their life and death depended upon their artifact.

But, this Artifact Spirit had surprisingly taken a physical form, and it was obviously no ordinary Artifact Spirit.

Hua Qing Si suddenly recalled that according to the intel she got in her investigation, an Artifact Spirit with a physical form had been auctioned off in Maplewood City a year ago.

[Could it be this one?]

But, it was only a trifling Artifact Spirit, how could it reverse this deadlocked situation?

Hua Qing Si couldn’t understand why this huge rock was so overjoyed.

“I hope that your… Emergence can awaken my main body’s consciousness,” the Embodiment prayed inwardly.

Yang Kai had fallen into a disadvantageous position in his fight against the three Emperor Realm Masters, yet he still fought them stubbornly. This was anything but good news, and the Embodiment had been trying all along to awaken his main body and make him leave and escape, yet he couldn’t awaken him despite exhausting all his means.

Liu Yan had now arrived suddenly, and she probably might be able to help him cause she had a mental link with the main body.

As a matter of fact, this matter unfolded as the Embodiment had expected. When Liu Yan emerged in the distance, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense’s fluctuations descended into chaos, and he stood quietly in his place, gazing upon the closing scarlet light in the distance. His eyes were first engulfed by confusion, then his inner struggle quickly showed up in them.

Shriek!

The resonant cry wasn’t any different than a sharp sword stabbing at Yang Kai’s heart, and that scarlet light wasn’t any different than a spark setting a prairie afire, setting Yang Kai’s consciousness afire. At this moment, the close mental link between him and the Artifact Spirit played a crucial role.

Yang Kai’s mind got sober for a moment!

In the next moment, he realized his current dire straits and he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

“The situation has changed, let’s end this battle.” Chen Wen Hao had realized that something was amiss with Yang Kai and he immediately let out a shout and got ready to use his ultimate move and end this battle as soon as possible.

Chapter 2105

Upon hearing Chen Wen Hao’s statement, Feng Ming and Gao Xue Ting both started fully manoeuvring their Source Qi.

“Seniors, do you have to go so far and take my life?” Yang Kai suddenly spoke.

The three Emperor Realm Masters were taken aback.

Since the beginning of the fight, Yang Kai had only uttered several words and they weren’t any different than a madman’s yells, yet at this moment, his voice was pretty calm and he was obviously lucid.

“Demon, don’t waste your breath, we won’t rest today until one of us is dead,” Chen Wen Hao shouted and waved his sword. The Myriad Sword Principle power went after Yang Kai!

Feng Ming and Gao Xue Ting had also attacked at the same time.

Yang Kai held his breath. After he came back to his senses, he realized and understood the Emperor Realm Masters’ terrifying power.

He wasn’t able to contend against those three people!

Previously, he was able to exchange blows with them for so long only thanks to the Demon Sense, which had aroused his instinct for survival and slaughter.

But now, upon facing the Emperor Realm Masters’ shocking joint attack, Yang Kai detected a deadly threat looming over him.

He quickly tapped the ground several times with his foot and moved back gracefully, while he gnashed his teeth and shouted: “Black Eye Prison: Infinite Darkness!”

As his voice echoed out, his right eye’s pitch-black Demonic Pupil shot a dark ray.

When the three Emperor Realm Masters faced said black pupil, their movement came to a stop for a moment. It looked to them like that pupil contained a whole ever-changing world and a universe full of revolving celestial bodies.

A desolate and ancient aura started spreading out, while the sky fell into darkness, a darkness so deep that one couldn’t see his fingers.

The region enveloped by absolute darkness turned into a prison, a large prison with a perimeter of a hundred miles.

Even the radiance of the dazzling sword light, the spear phantom image, and the Nine Suns’ Radiant Shine in the sky couldn’t penetrate the darkness’s seal and disperse it.

The Emperor Realm Masters got nervous, as they couldn’t see even their nearby companions, and when they released their Divine Sense, its detection power was disturbed by the boundless darkness and it descended into a mess.

It looked like this said darkness spread out to the ends of the world, engulfing it whole.

After the Emperor Realm Masters had gone through some short-lived fluster, they quickly regained their calm and started weaving hand seals.

Myriad sword light flew around, while the Lightning Goose Spear turned into a Flood Dragon of Thunder and danced in the sky. As for the nine radiant suns, they had all exploded.

A wisp of light was sparked in the boundless darkness, and it quickly expanded until it dispersed and scattered the darkness.

The three people stood in the air and looked around. They were the sole people left here, while the demon had already disappeared. Who knew where he ran away to?

They all couldn’t help but exchange a glance. Their expressions were quite unsightly as they all released their Divine Sense to cover the land, yet they still couldn’t discern in which direction the demon ran.

“What kind of Divine Ability was that?” Feng Ming shouted with a gloomy look plastered on his face.

Chen Wen Hao shook his head, “No idea!”

“We must quickly report this affair to our sect, and… We should also take a trip to the Star Soul Palace. An Ancient Great Demon’s Demon Sense has emerged, and they probably have some inklings about it,” Gao Xue Ting collected the Radiant Sun Mirror and stroked it lightly with a pained look appeared on her face. A wisp of Dark Power was left in the mirror, and it wasn’t any different than a maggot gnawing at it, yet she couldn’t get rid of it.

“Junior Sister Gao, you’re right. There’s no time to lose, we must quickly set off toward the Star Soul Palace. Let’s hope that the Great Emperor has already detected it,” Chen Wen Hao said and took out a Jade Token. He quickly imbued his Divine Sense into it then shattered it.

A complex and strange pattern emerged in front of him, yet shortly disappeared and left with the wind.

Feng Ming and Gao Xue Ting had also cast various Secret Techniques and reported what they had seen and experienced to their sects’ headquarters.

Soon after, they set off toward the Star Soul Palace to visit the Bright Moon Great Emperor and demand an answer out of him.

As for whether the fugitive demon would scourge the nearby Maplewood City, that wasn’t something they had to deal with. That demon acted so strangely, and its means were all-powerful. They weren’t able to slay it even after joining hands, and they still had some apprehension about the Barrier Divine Ability cast by the demon at the end.

If the demon seized that chance to mount a surprise attack on them, then they would end up either dead or injured.

They all didn’t care about the little Maplewood City, and if they hadn’t learned of the damaged Ancient Great Demon’s seal here, then people of their status would never drop by this place.

After a short while, the plane recovered its calm.

…

Meanwhile, a pretty woman with a cold look plastered on her face sneaked into Maplewood City. The woman was clad in an outfit as red as sunset clouds.

The numerous cultivators had just survived a calamity, yet after seeing this pretty woman, they all couldn’t help but gaze at her. 

Some people had detected faintly that this said woman possessed an unusual spiritual nature, which was both ethereal yet berserk. It was pretty bewildering!

Soon after, the woman took out a Sound Bead and infused her Divine Sense into it, and it looked like she was communicating with someone.

After a short while, she put away the Sound Bead and made her way toward a secluded alley.

She waited in silence for half an hour until a pretty silhouette emerged strangely.

The young woman detected her presence and turned her head to gaze at her. Upon seeing the young girl, she smiled and said, “You are Sister Xiao Qi, aren’t you?”

Mo Xiao Qi furrowed her brows and cast a glance behind the woman, yet didn’t see that familiar silhouette. She couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Who are you? Did Brother Yang send you to seek me?”

“That’s right!” The young woman nodded and a Sound Bead appeared on her palm with a flip of a hand.

“This is what I have given Brother Yang,” Mo Xiao Qi nodded and asked, “Where is Brother Yang? I heard from City Lord Duan that he got corrupted by the Demon Qi outside the city, is he alright?”

She looked very nervous, as if she was very worried over Yang Kai’s safety.

“My master isn’t in danger for now, he’s only suffering from some minor issues and can’t meet you in person. He sent me over to pass some words to you,” the young woman replied.

“It’s fine as long as he’s alright,” Mo Xiao Qi set her mind at ease and cast a glance at the young woman. She asked with a smile, “Big sis, what’s your name?”

“My master has given me the name Liu Yan,” the woman replied.

An odd look appeared on Mo Xiao Qi’s face and she said, “It looks like Brother Yang is only a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, and you are also a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, aren’t you? So, why do you call him master?”

Liu Yan replied with a smile, “If it wasn’t for my master’s help, I wouldn’t be here. My master has given me a new lease of life.”

Mo Xiao Qi pouted and said, “Fine! In any case, it isn’t my business. Big sis, what do you plan to do later?”

“I’ll follow my master’s orders and reside for now in the Zhang family’s old house outside the city. My master has also instructed me to bring the Zhang family’s members with me,” Liu Yan said.

“Since it’s Brother Yang’s instruction, then please come with me,” Mo Xiao Qi called her over.

Liu Yan shook her head and said, “Isn’t Shopkeeper Kang making a breakthrough now? Isn’t the City Lord in front of your Cave Mansion now?”

“That’s right,” Mo Xiao Qi nodded.

Liu Yan revealed a smile and said, “I can’t see City Lord Duan and the others for now. Miss Xiao Qi, please escort the Zhang family’s members to the outside of the city. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

After she spoke, Liu Yan turned into a ray of light and flew toward the outside of the city.

Meanwhile, Duan Yuan Shan who had been waiting in front of the Cave Mansion detected something and cast a glance toward Liu Yan’s direction. He said in confusion, “What a foreign aura! Is it another Dao Source Ream Cultivator?”

On the other hand, after Liu Yan disappeared, Mo Xiao Qi rolled her eyes and said sceptically, “She doesn’t look human at all, this sister is really strange.”

She was quite curious about Liu Yan’s true form, but since the woman was related to Yang Kai, she just acted like she didn’t notice anything. However, she was also aware of why Liu Yan stated that she couldn’t see and meet City Lord Duan and the others.

Duan Yuan Shan was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator and he probably could see through her real nature.

Mo Xiao Qi just shook her head and walked toward her Cave Mansion.

…

After an hour, outside the city.

Mo Xiao Qi brought the Zhang family’s members to Liu Yan.

The Zhang family members had gotten some information about this from Mo Xiao Qi and didn’t reject Liu Yan, rather they all treated her respectfully after they detected her profound cultivation base.

They all couldn’t disregard even Liu Yan’s First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivation, let alone her master-servant relationship with Yang Kai.

“Are you Miss Ruo Xi? As I thought, you are so pure-looking and cute,” Liu Yan’s gaze surveyed the Zhang family’s members before it fell upon Zhang Ruo Xi. She spoke with a smile, while confusion flashed past her pretty eyes.

She couldn’t understand why Yang Kai was so fond of Zhang Ruo Xi.

Even though the young girl was quite pretty, her young body hadn’t fully matured yet, and if Yang Kai wanted a woman, he didn’t have to seek such a young girl. Someone with his cultivation base could get any woman he wanted.

Moreover, she also had a good understanding of Yang Kai and he wasn’t a lecherous man.

As for Zhang Ruo Xi’s cultivation? She was only a Second-Order Saint King and she couldn’t provide any help to Yang Kai. Thus, Liu Yan couldn’t see through this no matter how hard she racked her brains.

“Senior Liu Yan, hi,” Upon hearing Liu calling her out, Zhang Ruo Xi’s face got flushed and she greeted her in fluster.

Liu Yan responded with a smile.

“Senior Liu, how is mister…” Zhang Ruo Xi bit her rosy lips and summoned her courage to raise a question.

The Zhang family’s grandma and mistress had also looked over at her nervously. They all wanted to inquire about Yang Kai’s well-being and whereabouts.

“My master is safe and sound, you don’t have to worry about him. But, his body has been corroded by Demon Qi and he’s feeble for now. He’s now recuperating and he’ll come back within the next few days,” Liu Yan explained.

“I can set my mind at ease then,” the Zhang family’s mistress heaved a sigh of relief, relieved looks were also apparent on the faces of Zhang Ruo Xi and the others.

“Sister Xiao Qi, I’ll take them back,” Liu Yan spoke with Mo Xiao Qi.

Mo Xiao Qi nodded. “Fine, I’ll look for Brother Yang again once he comes back.”

Thus, both sides bid farewell to each other and separated.

Liu Yan and the Zhang family’s members departed toward a residence outside the city and they quickly reached it.

After they arrived back home, they all treated Liu Yan as an honoured guest and provided her with the best room.

Soon after, Liu Yan told them she would carry out secluded cultivation, and she just shut the windows, set up a barrier, and isolated the room thoroughly.

Inside the room, Liu Yan opened her rosy mouth, spat out a fruit-sized bead, and held it carefully in her palm. She gazed at the bead with worry apparent in her pretty eyes, while her former relaxed and easy-going air had disappeared completely!

This bead was none other than the Sealed World Bead!

At that time, after Liu Yan emerged and awakened Yang Kai’s mind, he forcefully cast an Ancient Great Demon’s Secret Technique and stranded the three Emperor Realm Masters with Dark Power. Soon after, he cast a Spatial Secret Technique and converged with her, then left the Sealed World Bead in her care, before he went into hiding within the bead.

Chapter 2106

Yang Kai had handed over some instructions to Liu Yan then hid in the Sealed World Bead…

Liu Yan’s identity was quite special and she couldn’t travel around. That’s why he just asked her to stay in the Zhang family’s residence outside the city. He had no better choice!

In Yang Kai’s short moment of sobriety, he considered many matters.

His situation was very precarious. He might have lost his mind and turned into a real demon, and if he hadn’t hidden in the Sealed World Bead and stayed outside and ran amok, then Chen Wen Hao and his companions would have caught his trail and slew him.

Moreover, he lusted for the slaughter of all living beings in that bloodthirsty state, and if he ended up venturing into Maplewood City, he would have slaughtered everyone in the city; that’s why he had to stay in the Small Sealed World.

…

Inside the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai’s consciousness was currently quite muddled. If the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea didn’t protect the last strand of his consciousness, he would have already been engulfed by that great power and would have lost any sense of self.

At this moment, the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was fighting ceaselessly against the Ancient Great Demon’s Demon Sense, and they were evenly matched, while Yang Kai didn’t have any solution to reverse this situation.

If it was just an issue within his Knowledge Sea’s, then it would have been fine, as he wouldn’t end up losing his sense of self thanks to the potent Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus. Unfortunately, an unimaginable amount of pure Demon Qi had accumulated in his body. His body had absorbed the Demon Qi which engulfed tens of thousand miles, and it had even absorbed the Demonic Beings’ Demon Qi!

The Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was quite potent, but its effects were limited to his soul and it couldn’t provide any help to his fleshly body.

If he couldn’t solve his body’s issue, then he would sooner or later fall into the Ancient Great Demon Dao.

Repressed and muffled roars were echoing ceaselessly, and even the Small Sealed World was affected by Yang Kai’s emotions, its World Energy descended into chaos.

…

Hua Qing Si’s face was pale, and she was hiding next to the Embodiment’s foot, as its thick and large thigh served as a natural shelter, while her pretty eyes were staring at the source of the noise.

She had a powerful cultivation base at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, yet in the face of the Energy Ripples created by Yang Kai, she felt like a little boat among giant waves, which would be toppled at any moment.

The Embodiment’s expression was grave, and his worry was apparent in his bright eyes, but it didn’t have any countermeasure.

Gradually, the roars turned louder, and it seemed like Yang Kai started obeying his instinct and he started destroying everything in sight in the Small Sealed World.

A storm of sand and rubble arose, while the land cracked open, the mountains quacked ceaselessly and broken rocks tumbled around.

At a certain moment, the ceaseless roars suddenly came to a stop and the havoc in the land had also come to an end.

Hua Qing Si observed him with her senses for a moment then asked with great difficulty, “What… happened over there?”

The Embodiment squinted his eyes, as if his gaze was able to penetrate the void, then said in a deep voice, “It looks like he came back to his senses for now.”

“If I seek him now and ask him to let me out… What’ll be the outcome?” Hua Qing Si couldn’t bear spending her days in fear here and a ridiculous idea sprang to her mind.

“You can give it a try,” The Embodiment cast a glance at her then looked back at a distant location and exclaimed in surprise.

Soon after, his eyes lit up and he said, “That’s right, that thing may be effective against him.”

“What thing?” Hua Qing Si asked in surprise.

The Embodiment didn’t pay heed to her, and she could only pout in response.

…

On the other side, Yang Kai drew help from his Knowledge Sea’s power to recover his sobriety for a moment and he rushed toward the medicine garden.

In his last moment of clarity, he had already realized where the issue lied, and it was precisely the abundant Demon Qi in his body. If he couldn’t solve the Demon Qi’s issue, then he would never get rid of the Ancient Great Demon’s Demon Sense plaguing him.

He had suddenly recalled the Immortal Tree planted in the medicine garden.

That Immortal Tree was indestructible as everlasting as the world itself. It had lived from ancient times to the present.

If he could find a way to fuse it with his body, then he wouldn’t just get the legendary Undying Body, he would also get the Immortal Tree’s power and would be able to contend against the Demon Qi in his body and quell it.

Yang Kai had already refined the Sealed World Bead and he could control the Small Sealed World with his thoughts.

With a mere thought, he arrived into the medicine garden and sat cross-legged in front of the Immortal Tree. He started circulating his Secret Art and tried to absorb the Immortal Tree’s power.

When he had just gotten the Immortal Tree, he had once tried to refine it, yet couldn’t find any way to achieve this feat and had to give up in the end.

At that time, he was a First-Order Origin King, and the reason behind his failure might have been his low cultivation base.

At this moment, he had already reached the First-Order Dao Source Realm, and his cultivation base was higher than last time by a whole Great Realm, so he should give it another try.

But, he quickly discovered that despite his First-Order Dao Source Realm’s cultivation base, he still wasn’t able to absorb the Immortal Tree’s power. The Immortal Tree had taken root in the medicine garden, and it wasn’t really tall, but the astonishing Life Force emitted by it filled the whole Small Sealed World with abundant vitality. Sadly, he still couldn’t absorb and use even a strand of its Life Force.

Yang Kai’s gaze turned gloomy and a wisp of despair welled up in his heart.

Usually, such a weak emotion wouldn’t have been anything serious, but he was now plagued by an Ancient Demon Sense. His despair had been spread out by the Ancient Demon Sense and the whole Small Sealed World’s ambience turned heavy. Even Hua Qing Si, who was in a distant region, was engulfed by despair and a heartbroken expression appeared on her pretty face. She looked quite pitiful!

She had been affected by his emotions and she felt like she saw herself stranded in this strange dimension for life and she stayed here until she grew old then died.

Even on her deathbed, only this huge rock was accompanying her.

She quickly stretched her hand to wipe the corner of her eye and she found out that her finger ended up moist.

“Alas!” The Embodiment let out a heavy sigh.

“Why am I suddenly so heartbroken?” Hua Qing Si raised her head to look at the Embodiment while wiping her eyes ceaselessly. Her tears were flowing out none stop and she could only wipe them one time after the other fruitlessly.

The Embodiment stretched his large hand which wasn’t any smaller than a large door and patted Hua Qing Si’s head.

The beauty’s body was pushed down, and she said in an adorable voice, “I’m so sad! Why did I end up crying so much… Huh? It’s so annoying, my tears won’t stop…”

As she spoke, her eyes had already turned red and swollen like a peach.

“Huh…” The Embodiment exclaimed in surprise once again and he suddenly stood up. His eyes gazed at a distant region, and his eyes trembled intensely as if he had just seen an inconceivable matter. He couldn’t help but cry out, “This is…”

In the medicine garden, Yang Kai was still sitting down cross-legged in front of the Immortal Tree and trying to absorb its power to no avail, yet he ended up absorbing a different power.

The Golden-Silver Tree near the Immortal Tree shook lightly and shone with two different radiances: Extremely pure gold and silver radiance.

The golden and silver radiances weren’t any different than spirits dancing in the wind and they turned into innumerable specks of light, butterfly-like specks of light that revolved around Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was taken aback!

After he had killed the Wood Spirit, he got a seed and planted it, and it had grown into the Golden-Silver Tree.

At that time, the seed had also been both golden and silver and each colour occupied half of the seed surface, but Yang Kai had no idea what kind of seed it was.

However, the Wood Spirit had lived for a long time, and it should have been an Ancient Exotic Ancient Tree that had gained sentience. In other words, that said seed was an Exotic Ancient Tree’s seed.

Originally, he planned to study it slowly, but at this moment, the Golden-Silver Tree released a mysterious power and he was taken aback by it.

While Yang Kai was still in a trance, the golden and silver light specks flew into his body and disappeared.

Yang Kai was surprised and he revealed a bitter smile.

He had no idea about the effect of the golden and silver light specks and he didn’t know whether they would pose any threat to him, but his body had already been engulfed by the abundant Demon Qi and he didn’t mind getting something else. In any case, he was already in trouble.

So, Yang Kai just lowered his guard and allowed them to enter his body.

In the next moment, his body shook and his eyes widened up and shone with bright light.

It looked like the Demon Qi billowing on the surface of his body was restrained by something and it let out a roar, then drilled into his body through his pores.

In a short while, Yang Kai’s body was revealed again.

Meanwhile, the Demon Qi inside his body had been compressed by an unknown force and it gathered in a certain region of his body.

Even though the Demon Qi was pretty terrifying, that mysterious force wasn’t a pushover and it was very powerful. It had driven out the Demon Qi like it was herding sheep and pushed it into his belly.

Soon after, a burning pain transmitted from his belly and he let out a pained cry in spite of himself, but that burning pain quickly turned into a bone-chilling cold.

He couldn’t refrain from shivering, and he felt like even his bloodstream was frozen.

But, before he could get used to this change, it changed back into a burning pain, then cold, and so on.

He didn’t know how long this cycle lasted, and it was only after he had been tormented for so long that a golden and silver light suddenly emanated from his belly.

Yang Kai’s body shook and he faintly realized something. He pulled open his clothes and took a look. He could see two golden and silver lights moving around in his belly like little fish.

Moreover, as they moved around, a mysterious and abstruse pattern was gradually formed, as if it had been imprinted there.

After a moment, the golden and silver light flickered brightly then disappeared. As for Yang Kai, he let out a miserable scream then dropped down unconscious.

A light breeze blew over, and the Small Sealed World regained its calm.

…

In a distant region, the Embodiment was mumbling, “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Hua Qing Si had already gotten over that boundless sadness and she rubbed her eyes, as she said coyly, “Did that guy die?”

The Embodiment cast a glance at her and said with a smile, “I’ll have to disappoint you, he’s still living well.”

“Damn!” Hua Qing Si gnashed her teeth, “He has made me cry like a little girl.” Her shame was apparent on her face and she said resentfully, “I’ll surely avenge this humiliation.”

After she spoke, she turned into the Embodiment and said, “Big Stone, you’ll help me, won’t you?”

“Huh? Do you have any feasible plan for carrying out your revenge?” The Embodiment gazed at her with great interest.

Hua Qing Si revealed a smile, and as her beautiful hair fluttered in the wind, she looked like the quintessence of beauty, and this said beauty said, “A hero can’t escape a beauty’s honey trap.” 

Upon hearing this, the Embodiment nodded and commended her.

Chapter 2107

In the Small Sealed World.

After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai slowly woke up.

When his eyes snapped open, the previous scene ran across his mind and he promptly sat up in surprise, then furrowed his brow and started observing the state of his body.

He discovered in surprise that the source of his trouble, the Demon Qi, had disappeared completely and there wasn’t even a wisp of it left in his body.

But, an indescribable pain was spreading from his belly, it was a scorching, yet bone-chilling pain, and it was very strange.

He quickly lowered his head to observe his belly and he discovered a strange golden-silver pattern there, as if it had been branded on his flesh.

“What the hell is this?” Yang Kai observed that mark in bewilderment.

When his consciousness fell upon the mark, his vision went black, as if the whole world had suddenly descended into darkness. Frantic roars were reverberating among the boundless darkness, as if something confined there was attempting to break out.

Yang Kai was astounded and he bit on his tongue. He made use of pain to recover his sobriety.

As he took another look ahead of him, there wasn’t any boundless darkness left, and everything he had just seen was a mere illusion.

“Is it a seal?” He raised his brows and revealed a surprised expression.

At this moment, he finally understood what had happened.

The golden-silver mark branded on his belly was obviously a profound seal, which had sealed the Demon Qi in his body and the strand of Demon Sense in his Knowledge Sea.

“Does such a thing exist in this world?” He let out a muffled shout and his expression changed dramatically.

He had already experienced that Demon Qi and Demon Sense, and was clearly aware of the density of the former and the ferocity of the latter.

Even with his current power, after he had been engulfed by Demon Qi and controlled by Demon Sense, he became able to contend against three First-Order Emperor Realm Masters. Its great power could be discerned from this.

But at this moment, a naturally formed seal suppressed them, and if he didn’t pry into it closely, he wouldn’t have even noticed that his body still contained Demon Qi and Demon Sense. [How strong is this seal?]

Upon thinking of this, Yang Kai turned his head around to gaze at the Golden-Silver Tree, and a stupefied look appeared on his face.

The Golden-Silver Tree had been growing well, yet at this moment, its leaves were yellow and drooping, as if they lacked enough nutriment, while its golden and silver radiance had disappeared completely.

It looked like it had lost most of its vitality!

The seal had obviously been formed by the mysterious power of the Golden-Silver Tree, and it had ended up in this state after its power was extracted.

The Golden-Silver Tree had been in the medicine garden for only a year, but the Small Sealed World’s medicine garden contained innumerable plots of Heavy Earth and five Earth Vein Crystals, which was excellent for spirit grasses’ growth.

A year in the medicine garden was equivalent to a hundred years in the outside world!

The Golden-Silver Tree’s hundred years essence had been extracted by Yang Kai, and it wouldn’t be strange for the natural seal formed by such a thick essence to suppress Ancient Demon Qi.

Upon thinking of this, Yang Kai was shaken up at first, then delight welled up in his heart.

If he wasn’t wrong, then he wouldn’t have to worry about the Demon Sense’s corruption in the future.

He didn’t know how long the seal on his belly would last, but as long as the Golden-Silver Tree had another year here, then it would again form that mysterious power, and even if the seal weakened, he could draw help from the Golden-Silver Tree’s power to continue suppressing the Demon Sense.

He was very curious about what kind of Exotic Ancient Tree possessed such great power!

As such a thought ran across his mind, he stretched his hand and flickered to the Embodiment and Hua Qing Si to where he was.

“Have you resolved it?” The Embodiment observed Yang Kai and didn’t detect any Demon Qi on him. He was quite baffled!

Yang Kai nodded and used his Divine Sense to transmit relevant info to his Embodiment.

After he mulled it over, the Embodiment understood everything. He nodded and said, “So, that’s how it’s!”

The Embodiment also looked toward the Golden-Silver Tree with a flickering gaze.

“Little brother, hi,” Hua Qing Si revealed a faint, yet weird-looking smile with great difficulty. Yang Kai’s former might had traumatized her. Fu Si Tong’s power wasn’t any lower than hers, yet he had been easily swatted to death by Yang Kai.

Yang Kai didn’t kill her immediately, but she had been imprisoned by him and didn’t have any sense of security, that’s why, as she spoke, she deliberately revealed her charm. She said, “I was quite worried about you because of your previous dire state.”

Yang Kai cast an indifferent glance at her and didn’t comment over her statement. He said, “I’ll ask you a question.”

“Little brother, go ahead and ask,” Hua Qing Si said sheepishly.

“Can you recognize this tree?” Yang Kai pointed at the Golden-Silver Tree and spoke.

In his eyes, Hua Qing Si was a member of the Star Soul Palace with pretty good power, and she must be quite knowledgeable. That’s why she might know something about it.

But, he quickly noticed that once Hua Qing Si cast a glance at the exotic tree, only confusion appeared in her pretty eyes. She obviously couldn’t recognize it!

But, the Immortal Tree next to it emitted an astounding Life Force, and Hua Qing Si couldn’t help but cast several glances at her and an unusual light flashed past her pretty eyes.

“This is the Immortal Tree,” Yang Kai explained.

Hua Qing Si’s body shook and an astounded look appeared on her at first, then her face immediately fell, and she covered her ears and shook her head. She started mumbling morbidly, “I don’t want to hear anything, I don’t want to hear anything…”

Yang Kai was taken aback and he cast a glance at the Embodiment. He asked, “Did this woman go crazy?”

The Embodiment chuckled in response, “The more she knows, the more precarious her situation will become. She’s quite clever.”

“So, that’s why…” Yang Kai nodded and looked mockingly at Hua Qing Si. He said, “It doesn’t matter whether you heard it or not, in any case, you won’t get back your freedom.”

“Smelly brat!” Anger appeared on Hua Qing Si’s face and she looked at Yang Kai with gnashed teeth. She said, “Did I ever offend you? Why do you have to torment me? Did you forget that I have once saved your life when you were in danger? It’s me who saved you, and if I didn’t intervene in time, you would have been killed by that useless Fu Si Tong, yet you didn’t show any gratitude. Rather, you repaid kindness with malice. I must have been blind to save you. If I had known that it’ll end here, I would have left you to die. At least, I wouldn’t have to suffer in this prison.”

She revealed an infuriated look, and she stood at the moral high ground, as she criticized and denounced Yang Kai with forceful and resounding words, and she only got more worked up the more she spoke and her pretty face got flushed out of fury, while her chest heaved up and down.

Yang Kai didn’t utter a word and only looked at her with great interest. He waited for her to finish her speech before he shook his head and said, “Even if you didn’t intervene, Fu Si Tong wouldn’t have been able to harm me, and if he really dared to attack me, it’s only him who would suffer.”

Yang Kai was very confident about this!

At that time, Yang Kai wasn’t able to control his body, but it wouldn’t be easy for anyone to break through the Demon Qi engulfing his body. If Fu Si Tong dared to assault him, he would have faced the backlash and counterattack of the Demon Qi.

“Despite this, you can’t deny that I intended to save you, and I’m your benefactor. You can’t treat me like this and imprison me there,” Hua Qing Si said through gnashed teeth.

“Didn’t you have your own selfish reasons for saving me?” Yang Kai looked with a smile at her.

Hua Qing Si said angrily, “I have no enmity with you and I didn’t even know you prior to this ordeal, so what selfish reason would I harbour? Don’t tell me you think I have taken a liking to your handsome face?”

“Aren’t you from the Star Soul Palace?” Yang Kai asked this question out of the blue.

“That’s right,” Hua Qing Si said proudly and threatened him. “I’m from the Star Soul Palace. If you’re sensible, then hurry up and let go of me, or you’ll end up facing great trouble.”

“I didn’t kill Han Leng, but I was at the scene when he got killed,” Yang Kai squinted his eyes and spoke.

“What are you talking about?” Hua Qing Si looked around diffidently.

Yang Kai chuckled, “Fu Si Tong came to Maplewood City to investigate Han Leng’s cause of death. So, didn’t you also come here for the same reason?” He said confidently and calmly, “Besides this, I can’t think of any other reasons for masters of your calibre to visit the little and insignificant Maplewood City.”

“Can’t I just say that I have passed by here on the way?” Hua Qing Si said obstinately.

“You really came because of Han Leng’s death, didn’t you?” Yang Kai looked in surprise at her.

This had been only his own conjunction, but now, he was completely sure of it. When he spoke a while ago, Hua Qing Si’s emotions fluctuated a little, but she had hidden it well.

If they were outside, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to detect it, but they were now in the Small Sealed World and nothing could escape his Divine Sense.

“Did you just trick me?” Hua Qing Si was taken back and she spoke out of exasperation.

“You have come to investigate a banished disciple. It looks like Han Leng either has an outstanding familial background or carried an important secret.” Yang Kai wore a pensive look and stroked his chin. It looked like he was only talking to himself, but his Divine Sense didn’t leave Hua Qing Si even for a moment. “The former possibility is quite unlikely, as it’s said that the Star Soul Palace has hunted him down many times, and if he has any outstanding familial background, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state. Then it’s likely the other possibility, isn’t it?”

“I’ll kill you!” Hua Qing Si let out a sharp shout and used her body’s Source Qi to launch an attack against Yang Kai.

She was quite wary of Yang Kai due to his former prowess, but he was now only a First-Order Dao Source Realm and she probably could deal with him.

Yang Kai had only stretched and clenched his hand, and the power of the Principles suddenly moved and stranded Hua Qing Si’s mid-air and she couldn’t break free no matter how hard she struggled. She was quite helpless and she could only cast a meaningful glance at the Embodiment.

A weird expression appeared on Yang Kai’s face and he cast a glance at the Embodiment, he said, “Didn’t you tell her that everything in this world is within my control?”

“Well, she didn’t ask.” The Embodiment laughed in response.

“Then why is she giving you a meaningful glance?”

“She’s probably asking me to charge forward with her.” The Embodiment wore an innocent look.

“Hey, why are you chatting so merrily?” Hua Qing Si turned pale with fright and she yelled at the Embodiment, “Big Stone, don’t you want to regain your freedom? This is your best chance, so why aren’t you making a move, yet?”

The Embodiment spread out his arms and said, “I can’t provide any help, I’m sorry, but you’re by yourself.”

Hua Qing Si was left without a choice and she could only size up her situation, then bite her rosy lips and look at Yang Kai pitifully with her watery eyes. She said softly, “Little Brother, I’ve made a mistake, please let me down.”

The Embodiment said in surprise, “Where did your integrity go?”

“If you shut up, none will take you for a mute,” Hua Qing Si looked at him angrily then said through gnashed teeth, “Traitor!’

An embarrassed look appeared on the Embodiment’s face.

Chapter 2108

“I have never agreed to join hands with you, why are you calling me a traitor?” The Embodiment looked innocently at Hua Qing Si.

“I don’t care!” Hua Qing Si turned her head sideways and didn’t spare him a glance. She said disdainfully, “Traitor, traitor, traitor…”

“Don’t make a scene here!” Yang Kai snorted coldly and said, “Tell me, what’s Han Leng’s secret?”

“I don’t know,” Hua Qing Si replied bluntly.

“Hehe…” Yang Kai chuckled and said calmly, “It looks like you still don’t understand your current situation… I’ll have to postpone this discussion until you come back to your senses.”

Upon speaking, he waved his hand, and Hua Qing Si who had been stranded mid-air disappeared suddenly. It was unknown where in the Small Sealed World she had been thrown!

Soon after, Yang Kai started weaving hand seals with both hands and sent several seals into the air. It looked like he cast some Secret Technique against Hua Qing Si!

“Even though this woman is pretty dull-witted, she’s not a vile person,” the Embodiment said suddenly.

“I know,” Yang Kai nodded. “If she didn’t want to save me, I wouldn’t have brought her here, and I would have killed her long ago to silence her.”

“It’s fine as long as you don’t go overboard,” the Embodiment said and cast a glance at Yang Kai’s body, then spoke again, “You should quickly treat your injuries.”

Yang Kai nodded and sat down cross-legged next to the medicine garden.

In the previous battle, he had been possessed by the Demon Sense and he fought bravely with no fear of death against three Emperor Realm Masters, and he ended up sustaining a lot of injuries, injuries that contained those said Emperor Realm Masters’ Principle Power. It wasn’t easy to heal those injuries.

If an ordinary Dao Source Realm Master sustained similar injuries, then he could only consume elixirs to stop his injuries from worsening, and he wouldn’t have any means to treat them.

But Yang Kai was within the Small Sealed World, and he could draw help from this dimension’s World Principles to erase the remnant Principle Power in his injuries.

Three days quickly elapsed, and Yang Kai finished treating his injuries. He had drawn help from the Life Force emitted by the Immortal Tree in the medicine garden to speed up his body’s recovery power, and that’s why he completely recovered from his injuries in such a short time, there weren’t even any scars left.

However, he had just gone through a great battle and his body was still pretty feeble. He had to recuperate for several days to recover to his peak state.

Thereafter, he left the Small Sealed World and appeared within a guest room in the Zhang family’s manor.

Liu Yan had been keeping guard near the Sealed World Bead all along, and her pretty eyes immediately lit up upon seeing Yang Kai, and she said out of delight, “Master…”

As she spoke, she observed Yang Kai thoroughly, and she heaved a sigh of relief upon ascertaining his well-being

“You’ve gone through a lot.” Yang Kai nodded at her then collected the Sealed World Bead.

Liu Yan said, “That’s my duty.”

“Seems like you have advanced into the Dao Source Realm. Congratulations!”

Liu Yan had been sleeping all along within the magma beneath the Yuan Furnace Mountain and she absorbed the magma’s fire power. Yang Kai had detected that she would shortly make an advancement, yet she hadn’t achieved it even after a whole month, and that’s why he set off toward Maplewood City alone.

However, she had fortunately returned at the most crucial juncture and helped Yang Kai recover his sobriety by making use of the close mental bond between them. If she hadn’t shown up there, the consequences would have been too horrible to imagine.

“I’m already at the Dao Source Realm, but I’m still too lacking in comparison to you,” Liu Yan said with a faint smile.

“You don’t have to disparage yourself. You aren’t like ordinary beings and don’t have any outstanding advantage. But since Heaven has allowed you to reach your current realm, then it’ll surely allow you to walk further down your road.”

“I hope so…” Liu Yan revealed a longing look.

“By the way, have a look at this, is it useful to you?” Yang Kai suddenly recalled something and took it out of his Space Ring.

When this object appeared, the whole room’s temperature rose and a scorching aura pervaded it.

“This is…” Liu Yan’s pretty eyes contracted and she looked in shock at the object in Yang Kai’s hands.

It was a feather, a one-meter-long golden feather with a black and lively flame burning on it, a flame seemingly able to burn even souls.

“It’s a Luan Feng’s feather,” Yang Kai explained.

He had gotten the feather of Luan Feng in Clear Jade Mountain. It wasn’t a fallen feather of a young Luan Feng, but rather the Divine Feather of a fully grown Divine Spirit.

Upon hearing Yang Kai’s statement, Liu Yan’s body shook as he expected and she stared in a daze at Luan Feng’s feather with her shivering pretty eyes. She said, “Can I refine it?”

“That’s what I hope,” Yang Kai handed over the feather to her with a smile.

Liu Yan took it and stroked it fondly.

Upon seeing this, Yang Kai sent her into the Sealed World Bead and left her there to refine it.

Soon after, he left the room and went to meet the Zhang family’s members.

When the Zhang family’s members saw Yang Kai, they all inquired about his well-being, and it was especially so for Zhang Ruo Xi. She was so bashful that she couldn’t utter a single word, but Yang Kai could feel her concern and relief through her frequent glances at him.

After Yang Kai had a chat with the Zhang family members, he went back to his room, then took out the Sound Bead and told Mo Xiao Qi that he was already out of harm’s way.

Mo Xiao Qi got pretty excited and promptly said that she was coming to see him, then hung up on him before he could stop her. He could only let out a bitter laugh in response!

After a short while, Yang Kai detected several powerful auras closing in from the distance and a person’s voice reached him before their arrival. “Hahaha, brother Yang, we’ve come to pay you a visit!”

A voice full of vigour reverberated!

Upon discerning who had just spoken, the Zhang family descended into chaos and they all lined up outside to welcome him under the lead of the Zhang family’s matriarch.

After a short while, there was a bright flash and several silhouettes appeared.

The Zhang family’s old madam bowed and shouted, “City Lord, you’ve honoured our humble abode with your presence, and we’re sorry for failing to welcome you properly.”

The other people had also greeted Duan Yuan Shan.

Duan Yuan Shan waved his hand and said with a smile, “Old Madam, you don’t have to be so polite, I’ve come uninvited and it’s me who should ask for your forgiveness. I’ve come here to see brother Yang and I wonder if he’s…”

“Senior Yang is resting in our guest room. Sirs, please come with me,” The old madam had been speaking calmly, yet anyone could discern her repressed excitement.

Usually, the little Zhang family wouldn’t get into the City Lord’s eyes, and it was even impossible for him to leave Maplewood City to visit them, yet at this moment, this impossible matter had occurred.

They knew well it was all because of Yang Kai, but this was still a great honour for the Zhang family.

Only a bunch of orphans and widows were left in the Zhang family and other families might set their eyes on them, but if what happened on this day spread out, then those families eyeing them wouldn’t dare to make a move against them, and their survival might even depend on the Zhang family’s attitude.

The old madam had finally seen hope for the Zhang family’s rise and she was quite grateful to Yang Kai.

“Sorry for bothering you,” Duan Yuan Shan said with a faint smile and was about to land with his companions, yet one of them couldn’t wait any longer and turned into a light beam that ventured into the Zhang family’s manor and disappeared in one of its rooms.

“Why is he so anxious and impatient?” Upon seeing this, Duan Yuan Shan could only laugh bitterly, and he didn’t reprimand him.

In the guest room, Kang Si Ran pushed open the door and entered, and he found Yang Kai gazing at him with a smile.

“Brother Yang, are you… alright?” Kang Si Ran observed Yang Kai’s state nervously, and he heaved a sigh of relief only after assessing his well-being. “I heard from the City Lord that you got corrupted by the Demon Qi outside the city and you had almost turned into a demon. It really gave me a scare!”

“Something like that happened, but fortunately, I have crossed that crisis without suffering a mishap,” Yang Kai nodded with a smile.

Kang Si Ran felt ashamed of himself and said, “At that time, I had been trying to break through my bottleneck in secluded cultivation and had no idea about what’s happening outside and didn’t get any information about it until I left seclusion two days ago. But, you had already disappeared then and I couldn’t find you despite searching for you with the City Lord. I really have no face to stand before you.”

Kang Si Ran’s expression was sincere and those were heartfelt words.

After all, he had become a Dao Source Realm Cultivator thanks to the Dao Source Pill given to him by Yang Kai.

Moreover, Kang Si Ran detected faintly that the Dao Source Pill with Pill Veins didn’t just help him advance into the next Great Realm and it had also altered something within him.

He couldn’t describe with words what it had altered, but he could still feel that the First-Order Dao Source Realm wasn’t the end of his Martial Path and he still had hope to advance further and peer into the Emperor Realm’s mysteries.

This wasn’t any different than giving him a new lease of life, and he felt like he would never be able to repay this great favour.

Yang Kai’s favour wasn’t any different than a mountain weighing on his shoulders, yet when Yang Kai was facing grave danger, he was in the dark, and he felt very ashamed of himself.

However, upon seeing that Yang Kai was safe and sound, he finally felt a lot better.

Yang Kai said earnestly, “Brother Kang, thanks for your concern!”

“Please don’t thank me…” Kang Si Ran scratched his face.

“Shopkeeper Kang, you’ve got a good relationship with Brother Yang,” Duan Yuan Shan’s voice reached them, as he entered the room, followed closely by Mo Xiao Qi.

Upon seeing Yang Kai, Mo Xiao Qi’s eyes lit up and she stuck out her tongue sheepishly. She said, “I wanted to come alone, but when City Lord Duan and Shopkeeper Kang heard that you had come back, they insisted on following me here…”

“Miss Mo Xiao Qi, that isn’t your fault, I’m the one to blame for coming uninvited. Brother Yang, I hope that I didn’t disturb your rest.” Duan Yuan Shan chuckled and spoke.

“City Lord Duan, you don’t have to treat me as a stranger,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded at Mo Xiao Qi. “Our room is simple and crude, and you can sit wherever you see fit.”

Duan Yuan Shan didn’t act with reservation and he just picked a chair and sat down, while Mo Xiao Qi and Kang Si Ran had also done the same.

After they all took their seats, Duan Yuan Shan said with a solemn expression, “Brother Yang, I have to apologize to you.”

“City Lord, what do you mean?” Yang Kai acted dumb and asked in confusion.

Duan Yuan Shan said, “At that time, Zhuang Pan escaped and the Black Tortoise Seven Sections Array collapsed by itself, while you got corrupted by Demon Qi, and I couldn’t save you in time. I really couldn’t get over it and I feel ashamed of myself every time I recall it.”

Yang Kai shook his head and said, “City Lord Duan, it isn’t as grave as you said. I was well aware of the situation then, and it wasn’t your fault.”

Upon hearing Yang Kai’s statement, Duan Yuan Shan said with a smile, “Brother Yang, you’re a sensible and just man.”

“Humph, you’re only a spineless coward,” Kang Si Ran next to them spoke indignantly.

Chapter 2109

“Shopkeeper Kang, when did I ever offend you?” Duan Yuan Shan looked in confusion at Kang Si Ran.

Honestly speaking, he wasn’t on friendly terms with Kang Si Ran, but he had known him for a long time. After all, Kang Si Ran was from the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and had an outstanding background. He didn’t dare to belittle him despite his low power.

But, after Kang Si Ran advanced into the Dao Source Realm, he discovered that the former’s attitude toward him turned quite impertinent, and it had even turned for the worse upon learning of Yang Kai’s incident.

Duan Yuan Shan had been both confused and irritated by this, and he felt like Kang Si Ran got conceited after gaining great power.

At this moment, he got mocked in front of Yang Kai and he couldn’t stand this any longer. His anger was apparent through his words.

“City Lord Duan, you really know how to joke, how can a great City Lord offend an insignificant person like me?” Kang Si Ran said in a strange tone.

“You…” Duan Yuan Shan’s fury was apparent on his face.

After all, he was still a City Lord, and Kang Si Ran didn’t just treat me disrespectfully, he still mocked him brazenly, and anyone would be displeased by this.

“Sirs, please let me say a few words,” Yang Kai mulled this over. He was aware of why Kang Si Ran couldn’t stand Duan Yuan Shan, and he looked at him and said with a smile, “At that time, City Lord Duan wasn’t able to provide any help and didn’t have any other alternative. He could only protect himself and retreat, and he can’t be blamed for his actions.”

“Brother Yang, you’re the sensible one here,” Duan Yuan Shan snorted coldly and his expression turned for the better.

“Is that true?” Kang Si Ran furrowed his brows and cast a glance at Yang Kai, then cupped his fist at Duan Yuan Shan and apologized, “Brother Yang has already explained what happened and I have to apologize to you. I was too impulsive, and I hope that you won’t take offence.”

Duan Yuan Shan’s expression changed and he said, “Brother Kang, never mind!”

Even though he said so calmly, he was quite shocked inwardly. Kang Si Ran’s attitude had changed so drastically due to a mere word from Yang Kai, and it looked like Kang Si Ran obeyed every word of Yang Kai.

If this wasn’t the case, a Dao Source Realm Master from the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t have given in to him and apologized.

[These two’s relationship isn’t as simple as it looks!] Duan Yuan Shan started making guesses inwardly. He really couldn’t understand how Yang Kai could make a cultivator of the same realm obey and serve him.

“City Lord Duan, what about Zhuang Pan?” Yang Kai’s expression suddenly turned gloomy and he raised a question.

Zhuang Pan might not be the main cause of all the issues, but he still played a part in making the whole situation worse. If this cowardly rat hadn’t escaped ahead of others, then the Black Tortoise Seven Sections Array wouldn’t collapse in a short while, and they would have been able to keep going for a while.

Moreover, Qin Zhao Yang wouldn’t have sustained injuries and Du Li Shen wouldn’t die on the spot… As for Yang Kai, he wasn’t really sure whether this would have been enough to save him from the Demon Sense and Demon Qi.

Yang Kai already had some issues with Zhuang Pan and he abhorred his cowardly actions.

“He has gone missing,” Duan Yuan Shan said with a composed look. “I wasn’t able to pick good people, and it’s my fault. If I had known earlier that Zhuang Pan was so cowardly, I wouldn’t have allowed him to take part in setting up the array and almost harm everyone.”

Duan Yuan Shan stopped for a moment then said, “After Zhuang Pan escaped, he didn’t go back to Maplewood City. A person with his cultivation base would likely end up corrupted by Demon Qi. However, from how things played out, I doubt he’s dead. It’s just that we don’t know where he is currently hiding.”

“Don’t let me run into him, or else I’ll make him regret being born into this world,” Kang Si Ran snorted coldly and murderously.

Duan Yuan Shan cast a glance at him then said to Yang Kai, “By the way, Brother Yang… What happened later on that day?”

Upon hearing his question, Mo Xiao Qi and Kang Si Ran also looked at Yang Kai curiously.

Yang Kai said with a bitter smile, “I’m not sure, I had been corrupted by Demon Qi and my Knowledge Sea was a mess. I could only feel that I was engulfed by darkness, and by the time I woke up, everything had already come to an end.”

He had already expected that they would inquire about this affair’s ins and outs, and he prepared an appropriate excuse ahead of time.

After he spoke, he then said in confusion, “But I detected several astonishing energy ripples and I wonder whether this really occurred.”

Duan Yuan Shan replied, “Brother Yang, your senses aren’t deceiving you, the Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Senior Chen and two other masters of great sects arrived and it looked like they carried out a great battle against someone outside the city.”

“Huh?” Yang Kai revealed a surprised look, “Where are they now and did they tell you anything?”

An embarrassed look appeared on Duan Yuan Shan’s face and he said, “They didn’t drop by Maplewood City and I don’t know where they went after the battle.”

He was Maplewood City’s Lord and it was quite embarrassing for him to admit this. After all, those people dropped into his territory, yet they didn’t bother to greet him, and they didn’t even notify him. They obviously didn’t take him seriously!

He was only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator and he didn’t dare to denounce those Emperor Realm Masters.

“Then, does this mean it’s those seniors that have extinguished the Demon Qi?” Yang Kai said solemnly, “As expected. Those seniors’ means are impressive and their power is astounding. They made a great contribution then retreated and left right away. Admirable!”

Duan Yuan Shan’s expression turned stern and he said, “Our Maplewood City’s crisis has already come to an end and we must express our thanks to those seniors.”

Even Kang Si Ran and Mo Xiao Qi approved of his opinion and they obviously assumed that the Demon Qi disappeared suddenly thanks to the Emperor Realm Masters.

Yang Kai was glad to see this and he wouldn’t need to divulge the truth.

“Huh, Brother Yang, I have come here to visit you and… Ask something of you: Are you willing to reside in Maplewood City?”

“Long-term residence?” Yang Kai raised his brows.

“That’s right.” Duan Yuan Shan nodded. “According to the intel in our hands, you aren’t from any sect and faction and you also don’t belong to any family. If you stay in Maplewood City, then I’m willing to give you the Vice City Lord’s position. You also know that Zhuang Pan was the Vice City Lord, but he has already escaped and his position is vacant, while you are also endowed with enough power to take over this position.”

After he spoke, he looked expectantly at Yang Kai, as if he really wished for him to agree.

“Well…”An embarrassed look appeared on Yang Kai’s face. When they had been defending Maplewood City together, he had already heard similar news from Qin Zhao Yang and knew that Duan Yuan Shan wanted him to take over Maplewood City’s third Vice City Lord’s position.

At that time, Yang Kai’s reply had been vague and ambiguous, and he didn’t expect that Duan Yuan Shan would drop in personally to question him.

“Brother Yang is a man with outstanding talent and will sooner or later soar into the sky. How can the little Maplewood City keep him?” Kang Si Ran next to them spoke.

Duan Yuan Shan cast a glance at him then looked at Yang Kai. He said, “I understand!”

Yang Kai said with a bitter smile, “City Lord Duan, I’m really sorry, but I’m used to travelling alone and I don’t stay in the same place for long, but I still appreciate your kindness.”

“It’s no bother, you have already given me an answer and that’s enough for me.”

Mo Xiao Qi next to them giggled and said, “Brother Yang, whenever you are about to leave Maplewood City, don’t forget to notify me. I want to accompany you and travel the world with you.”

Yang Kai cast a glance at her and teased her, “I won’t refuse a beauty’s company.”

“Pah!” Mo Xiao Qi’s face got flushed and she said coyly, “Brother Yang, you’re so wicked!”

Duan Yuan Shan and Kang Si Ran burst into laughter, but when they sighted upon the large birthmark on Mo Xiao Qi’s face, they couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. If she didn’t have this birthmark, she would have been a great beauty, even though this birthmark still couldn’t cover up her beauty, it had already ruined her overall look.

Soon after, the three people chatted for a while before Duan Yuan Shan and his companions stood up and bid farewell to Yang Kai.

“By the way, Brother Yang,” When he was about to leave, Duan Yuan Shan suddenly turned around and said. “I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Yang Kai looked in confusion at him.

“It’s about the guy which you asked our men to imprison, I don’t know what means he used, but he has already disappeared from the city jail.”

Yang Kai raised his brows and said, “Do you mean the old swindler?”

“That’s right!” Duan Yuan Shan revealed a strange look. “At that time, all of the city’s cultivators had been defending the city and none looked after him, but his power had already been restricted by your seal and someone with his cultivation base shouldn’t have been able to escape, yet, the jailer came to report that he had disappeared and didn’t leave any trails behind him. It’s just too strange!”

“Hehe…” Yang Kai let out a laugh and said, “I know.”

Duan Yuan Shan was taken aback and he said in surprise, “You have already expected this outcome?”

Yang Kai didn’t seem surprised at all, and Duan Yuan Shan could easily discern the reason behind this.

“It was merely a guess, but it looks like that old man is anything but simple,” The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.

The old swindler travelled alone from the Forest City to ask for reinforcement from Maplewood City and he depended upon his Third-Order Origin King’s power to venture among the Demon Qi without suffering any harm. He had obviously resorted to some unknown means to achieve this feat!

Later on, Yang Kai put a seal on him, yet, he suddenly disappeared from the jail cell.

Ordinary Origin Kings couldn’t achieve those feats, and it was a wonder what secrets he harboured and how came to possess such mysterious skills.

“Should we hunt him down?” Duan Yuan Shan asked. “If you want, I don’t mind providing help.”

“No need!” Yang Kai shook his head. “I imprisoned him only out of curiosity to see whether I could get my hands on the secret skill that helped him venture into areas with Demon Qi freely and see whether our city’s cultivators could make use of it. But, the crisis has already come to an end and we don’t need to carry out this plan any longer. It isn’t like he has done anything outrageous, he’s only fond of swindling people off their wealth.”

“Since you have given a word, then I’ll let him off the hook,” Duan Yuan Shan laughed and cupped his fists at him. He said, “Brother Yang, you should rest and recuperate in the next few days, we’ll now take our leave.”

Yang Kai nodded and saw them off with his gaze then went back to a side room and sat down.

After an hour, his eyes snapped open and he said calmly, “Since you have already arrived, then come in, what are you doing so stealthily outside?”

Chapter 2110

When Yang Kai’s voice had just echoed out, someone rushed inside swiftly, then waved his hand to close the door.

Upon seeing the person that had arrived, Yang Kai cupped his fists and broke into laughter. “Old Sir Qin!”

The person who had arrived was none other than the Qin family’s Old Ancestor, Qin Zhao Yang.

“Brother Yang!” Qin Zhao Yang returned his greeting with a slightly embarrassed look plastered on his face.

Yang Kai said, “Old Sir Qin, weren’t you recuperating at home? Why did you drop by?”

Qin Zhao Yang’s complexion was anything but good, and it was obviously because he still hadn’t recovered from the injuries he sustained last time, yet strangely enough, he didn’t visit Yang Kai along with Duan Yuan Shan, but rather sneaked here alone.

As Yang Kai mulled it over, he understood what he was up to.

“My injury is nothing serious!” Qin Zhao Yang waved his arms and looked for a seat, then sat down and said, “Brother Yang, after I heard that you came back safely, I rushed over here and didn’t expect that the City Lord would forestall me.”

“So, that’s why you hid outside?” Yang Kai chuckled.

“I have something to tell you and can’t do so in front of the City Lord,” Qin Zhao Yang said awkwardly.

“Sigh!” Yang Kai let out a sigh and looked at him earnestly then said, “I can more or less guess what you want, and I can only politely decline.”

Qin Zhao Yang said curiously, “I still didn’t say anything yet, how come you know what I want?”

Yang Kai let out a bitter laugh and said, “Mister Qin, aren’t you here to ask me to join your Qin family?”

“Is it so obvious?” Qin Zhao Yang was taken aback.

Yang Kai nodded. “Old Sir Qin, you have already made insinuations several times and only a fool won’t guess your intentions… Besides, I heard that the Qin family took over the Jiang family’s large industry, and if you don’t have enough power to rule over it, you won’t be able to deter the restless people eyeing it.”

“Brother Yang, you know me well.”

Upon hearing him, Qin Zhao Yang’s eyes lit up as he nodded, then said, “It’s as you said and that’s why I came to pay you a visit. I want to invite you to undertake our Qin family’s Supreme Elder position, whose status isn’t any lesser than mine. If we join hands, the other old geezers won’t dare to run amuck.”

Yang Kai sighed and said, “I have already refused the Vice City Lord’s position offered by City Lord Duan.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhao Yang’s expression turned gloomy and he said in disappointment, “Is that so…”

They were both astute people and Yang Kai didn’t have to provide a detailed explanation. Qin Zhao Yang had already understood that Yang Kai wouldn’t accept his offer.

Yang Kai had just refused Duan Yuan Shan’s invitation, so if he accepted Qin Zhao Yang’s invitation, Duan Yuan Shan would surely take offence and might assume that Yang Kai looked down upon him, and he might even harbour a grudge against him.

At that time, even the Qin family couldn’t stay out of this dispute.

He would get a Supreme Elder, but would end up offending the City Lord. This wasn’t a worthwhile deal and Qin Zhao Yang knew this clearly.

Yang Kai looked at Qin Zhao Yang and said ashamedly, “Actually, you have taught me the Black Tortoise Seven Sections Array’s arrangement method, and if you need any help, I won’t refuse you. But, in regards to this matter, I won’t be of any help to your Qin family, rather, I would only harm you. So, I’ll have to disappoint you.”

“I understand,” Qin Zhao Yang nodded and spoke.

“But…” Yang Kai changed the subject and said, “If the Qin family needs help, then I don’t mind making a move as your friend. When the time comes, you can go ahead and ask for my assistance.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhao Yang raised his brows and chuckled. “Since I already got your word, I can set my mind at ease.”

He looked pretty delighted, as even though he didn’t achieve his trip’s objective, he still got a promise from Yang Kai and didn’t come here in vain.

Qin Zhao Yang said meaningfully, “Perhaps, I’ll shortly need your help.”

Yang Kai nodded and said, “I’ll await news from you.”

At that time, Qin Zhao Yang taught Yang Kai the complete arrangement method of the Black Tortoise Seven Sections Array through a jade slip, and he asked only for a promise in exchange, a promise to ensure Qin Yu’s safety, and take her away with him in case of the city’s fall.

But, what had happened later was beyond everyone’s expectation. The Demon Crisis had been more daunting than dangerous and the former’s promise had turned useless.

However, Yang Kai had already gotten benefits from him, yet, he refused Qin Zhao Yang’s invitation. Feeling ashamed of himself, he wanted to look for an opportunity to repay this favour.

The two people chatted for a while before Qin Zhao Yang stood and took his leave.

He was still injured and needed to recuperate. Besides, the Qin family had just taken over the Jiang family’s large industry and was awfully busy. He really couldn’t spare the time to spend here and couldn’t afford to waste his precious time.

After Qin Zhao Yang left, Yang Kai finally got some time for himself and he started adjusting his breathing.

He had just gone through demonization and his body was quite feeble. The great power, which greatly surpassed his current cultivation base, didn’t come at no cost.

For the next few days, Yang Kai stayed in the guest room.

…

On a certain day, Yang Kai’s eyes snapped open. His eyes shone brightly and were full of vigour. He didn’t look tired and feeble any longer, and it could be said that he had already recovered to his peak.

Yang Kai first observed his body’s state and he felt quite relieved to discover that there weren’t any hidden injuries left in it.

He didn’t rush to leave at the first moment. He just took out the Sealed World Bead and, as his body flickered, he entered it.

The Small Sealed World was as serene as usual, but after Yang Kai observed it with his senses for a while, he couldn’t help but cry in surprise. He detected an unusually strong power at a certain corner of the Small Sealed World.

His body moved and he directly descended upon that location.

Liu Yan was sitting cross-legged in front of him with her hands crossed in front of her. She was circulating her Secret Technique!

She was engulfed by berserk lightning fire. Fire was running amok and serpentine lightning was dancing within a perimeter of dozens of miles around her.

There was still a giant phantom image behind Liu Yan, a phantom image of a bird with unfolded wings, as if it would soar into the sky at any moment.

“A Luan Feng!” Yang Kai looked in surprise at the phantom image.

It was the phantom image of the Ancient Divine Spirit, Luan Feng, which he had once seen at close distance, but it was still a mere projection and wasn’t alive.

Despite this, it still emitted a Divine Spirit’s aura and indomitable black flames with a great imposing manner were burning on the phantom image.

Liu Yan’s expression was quite tense, as if her Secret Technique had reached a critical juncture.

After Yang Kai observed her for a while, he realized that she was refining Luan Feng’s feather and her progress was good, but it still was an arduous task for her.

Even though he was the Small Sealed World’s master, he couldn’t provide her with any help and she could only depend upon her will and resolution.

If she could refine it successfully, her strength would rise further, but if she failed, she would suffer a grave backlash.

Fortunately, Liu Yan had been absorbing the Sun Essence and tempering her body for years, and she was already used to intense energy, or else, it wouldn’t have been possible for her to refine Luan Feng’s Divine Feather with her First-Order Dao Source Realm’s cultivation base. However, her success and failure still depended upon her luck.

The Embodiment was sitting solemnly in a distant region and observing Liu Yan’s situation closely.

Upon seeing the main body looking at him, the Embodiment nodded in response and his implication was clearly evident.

The Embodiment was keeping watch over Liu Yan, if she suffered any mishap, he would get notified immediately. So, he could set his mind at ease and leave.

His body moved again and he arrived in another region of the Small Sealed World.

It was vacant land, and a shivering silhouette was holding onto her knees and sitting down. It was as if she was trying to hide in a corner, far from people. Such a sight would make people wonder what kind of traumatizing experience and torment she had just gone through. The woman’s hair was a mess, her face pale and her pretty eyes were looking around warily, while fright and alarm were apparent on her face.

Yang Kai had appeared before her, yet she was oblivious to it, as if she couldn’t see him.

“This…” Yang Kai looked at her and mumbled, “This should be enough, right?”

Upon speaking, he snapped his fingers.

The snap’s noise wasn’t loud, yet when it fell upon Hua Qing Si’s ears, it wasn’t any different than a deafening bell noise. Her body suddenly shook and she raised her head. She suddenly discovered that the boundless darkness engulfing her had been scattered and replaced by dazzling light.

A person, which she had cursed ceaselessly and wished to hack into pieces, had appeared next to her and was observing her lazily.

Upon seeing that person’s face, the fright and suffering Hua Qing Si had gone through in the past few days turned into a raging desire for revenge and she shouted, “I’ll kill you!”

As she spoke, she shot toward Yang Kai swiftly. Her body turned into a hundred butterflies that covered the land and they quickly enveloped Yang Kai tightly.

Yang Kai raised his hand and hacked it toward an empty region, while completely ignoring the hundred butterflies.

As a collision sound echoed out, his palm hit something…

“Ouch…” Hua Qing Si’s body fell off the void and the hundred butterflies disappeared completely. She was holding onto her head and moving back ceaselessly. She was in so much pain that tears almost flowed out of her pretty eyes.

“It looks like…” Yang Kai observed her calmly and said, “You still don’t understand your current situation, I should give you more time to reflect on it before having another discussion.”

After he spoke, he was about to resort to the same old measure, but Hua Qing Si suddenly cried sharply, “No! Don’t! I’ve made a mistake, and I don’t dare to resort to mischief again, please… Forgive me!”

In the boundless darkness, she had been killed by some strange beings many times every day and she could clearly feel death looming over every time. None would be able to stand this torment for long!

When she had been killed for the first time, she assumed that she was dead for real. But, she quickly came back to life a short while later.

However, life had been worse for her than death, as every once in a while, she would be killed by some strange beings.

After a lot of deaths, she finally understood that she was stranded in a pretty advanced illusion; an illusory cycle of life and death.

Every day, she would die at least several hundred times, and she had almost gotten numb and used to it.

If she wasn’t endowed with decent strength, this torment would have been enough to drive her crazy.

When she had sighted upon the main culprit, Yang Kai, flames of anger raged in her heart and she got daring, but she had been subdued by him with one move.

She was thoroughly in despair!

“Pretty good, I’m gratified that you have become so sensible,” Yang Kai cast a glance at her and nodded, still standing calmly.

Chapter 2111

Hua Qing Si stared at Yang Kai with hatred and dread, thinking about what she had gone through. She couldn’t help but pout then sit down on the ground and make a scene, “Heartless bastard, you are worse than a dog. I curse you to suffer in hell for all eternity…”

Yang Kai’s face fell and he glared at her in silence, waiting for her to finish her tantrum, yet she didn’t stop grumbling even after a long while, and he could only yell at her, “Enough!”

Hua Qing Si suddenly quieted, choking with sobs, while her fragile shoulders shivered lightly…

“Just look at yourself, you are a great Third-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, yet you’re spewing profanity like a street thug. What a disgrace!”

Hua Qing Si said aggrievedly, “What can I do… fight you? I can’t defeat you, and I don’t even have the right to curse you?”

“As long as you obey me, I won’t torment you,” Yang Kai snorted coldly and spoke.

Hua Qing Si nodded repeatedly, saying, “I’m obedient, very obedient.” Not forgetting to wipe her tears and show him an ugly smile.

“You should have done so long ago,” Yang Kai snorted and spoke.

Yang Kai mulled this over for a while, then walked toward Hua Qing Si and stretched his hand toward her.

Hua Qing Si moved back instinctively, seemingly out of fear, but upon noticing that he didn’t harbour any malice, she pursed her lips, summoned her courage, and stretched her hand toward him and let him pull her up.

“Come with me!” As he spoke, he used his power and teleported along with Hua Qing Si.

A flash of light streaked past her eyes for a short moment, and by the time she regained her sight, they had already arrived at a bamboo house, a simple yet graceful bamboo house.

“This place has buildings?” Hua Qing Si was bewildered. “Does someone live here?”

“Yeah, but that’s a matter of the past,” Yang Kai replied calmly.

Many years ago, he brought his friends and relatives from Tong Xuan Realm into the Shadowed Star. During his trip, more than ten thousand people resided in the Small Sealed World, and many houses were still left here.

“Sit down!” Yang Kai beckoned at her then sat down.

Hua Qing Si hesitated for a moment then sat down opposite Yang Kai.

“I’ll ask you several questions, and you have to answer me honestly,” Yang Kai spoke only after she sat down.

Hua Qing Si nodded in response.

“Did you travel to Maplewood City to investigate the cause of Han Leng’s death?” Yang Kai asked.

Hua Qing Si hesitated for a while, but she still nodded in the end. “That’s right!”

“Why?” Yang Kai stared at her.

Hua Qing Si organized her thoughts and words for a moment then said, “Junior Brother Han Leng is my master’s disciple, a banished disciple, and it looked like he had stolen one of my masters’ treasures before escaping from the Star Soul Palace. So, I hunted him down mainly to retrieve that treasure.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t have any idea, as my master didn’t tell me, but he told me that it’s a token.”

“A token?” Yang Kai raised his brows, but he quickly recalled something and took a strange token off his Space Ring. He showed it to Hua Qing Si and asked, “Is it this one?”

The token was pocket-sized with a very special texture, which was neither wooden nor metallic, and the word ‘Dragon’ was carved on its front side, while the design of a True Dragon soaring into the firmament was carved on its backside.

He had gotten this token from Han Leng’s Space Ring, but he couldn’t fathom its function at that time, and that was why he just placed it in his Space Ring and paid no more heed to it.

Now, Hua Qing Si had just told him that she came after this token under her master’s orders, and he immediately realized that the token was anything but simple.

Hua Qing Si was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator and her master should be at least a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, yet he was still preoccupied with the token, which clearly showed its worth.

“Did you find it in Junior Brother Han Leng’s Space Ring?” Hua Qing Si asked.

“That’s right.”

“If he didn’t have another token in his Space Ring, then this should be my mission’s objective,” Hua Qing Si cast a glance at the token with a weird look plastered on her face.

“Can you recognize what it is?” When Yang Kai raised this question, he paid close attention to her expression.

Hua Qing Si first shook her head, then stretched her hand and took the token. Upon examining it closely for a while, her expression changed and her body shook all over. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and let out a surprised cry.

“Speak!” Yang Kai urged her impatiently.

“If I am not wrong, then it should be the famous Dragon Island Token,” Hua Qing Si said in alarm.

“Dragon Island Token?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows and said, “What’s that?”

“Have you never heard about it?” Hua Qing Si stared at him, seemingly surprised that he didn’t even know the Dragon Island Token. [He is really ignorant!]

But upon casting another glance at his face, she swallowed the mocking words that had just reached her tongue, and said carefully, “Sir, did you ever hear about the Dragon Island?”

“Dragon Island? Does a dragon live in it?” Yang Kai asked back, then chuckled, “I’m just cracking a joke.”

But, Hua Qing Si’s expression was still tense and solemn.

“Does a dragon really live on Dragon Island?” Yang Kai asked sceptically.

Hua Qing Si nodded in response.

“Are you serious?” Yang Kai rolled his eyes at her.

Dragons were one of the strongest Ancient Divine Spirits, and beings the likes of True Dragons and Heavenly Phoenixes were only the talks of legends and ancient records, and they didn’t exist in this world.

Hua Qing Si’s face got flushed and she rolled her eyes at Yang Kai. She said, “If the Dragon Island is real, then a dragon should be living in it, and it isn’t just one or two.”

The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched. He was left speechless!

Hua Qing Si said, “It’s said that the Dragon Island is the most mysterious force of the Star Boundary, and it’s also the strongest because a lot of True Dragons’ descendants reside there, and there are even Ancient and Primordial Dragons. Even the ten Great Emperors dread those ancient beings, but ordinary people such as us still aren’t sure whether it exists or not, and it’s only the strongest cultivators who have access to this secret and it’s also only them who can find the Dragon Island.”

“As for the Dragon Island Token, it’s a token from Dragon Island,” Hua Qing Si added, “Anyone who holds this token can go to Dragon Island and ask for a favour from the Dragon Clan, as long as it isn’t anything overboard which they can’t accept. For example, if I travel to Dragon Island with the token, then I can ask the Dragon Clan to use a True Dragon’s Power to raise my cultivation base into the Emperor Realm, and it won’t be limited to just the First-Order of the Emperor Realm…”

As she brought up this subject, a longing look appeared in her pretty eyes and she held the Dragon Island Token tightly, while her breathing turned rough.

Yang Kai stretched his hand and the Dragon Island Token flew back to his palm. He cast a glance at Hua Qing Si and said, “Go on!”

Hua Qing Si revealed a sheepish smile and hid the zealous look apparent on her face, then said, “Since primordial times, only five Dragon Island Tokens appeared, and it’s still only a talk of ancient legends. It’s said that three of them were used up, and every usage has shaken up the whole Star Boundary.”

As she spoke up to this point, she raised a finger and said, “One of them was eighty thousand years ago. The Northern Territory’s second greatest sect, the Profound Frost Sect was destroyed in one night. None of their tens of thousand disciples had survived and their Emperor Realm Masters also perished. It’s said that a Dragon Aura was left in its ruins and is present to this day. A lot of cultivators visit it to try their luck and seek a fortuitous encounter.”

“The second one was fifty thousand years ago. Some gutsy person provoked the Divine Spirit Shi Huo, and the whole Southern Territory was turned upside down by the infuriated Divine Spirit. Sects were destroyed, families exterminated and innumerable beings perished. Even the ten Great Emperors made a move, to no avail and none could stop the Divine Spirit’s killing spree. If Dragon Island didn’t step in to repel it, all of the Southern Territory’s people would have suffered the brunt of its rage.”

“As for the third time, it was thirty thousand years ago. The strongest master of the Human Clan, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, died with signs pointing to the Dragon Clan’s involvement in this ordeal. That battle had been earth-shattering, many stars were shifted and World Principles were toppled…”

“The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was killed by the Dragon Clan?” Yang Kai suddenly interrupted Hua Qing Si and questioned her sceptically.

Hua Qing Si stuck out her tongue. “It’s only a legend and I’m not certain of it, but it’s quite likely. After all, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was the strongest master of the Human Clan, and his opponents wouldn’t have been able to slay him despite joining hands, and the Dragon Clan’s involvement is the sole logical explanation for this.”

As she spoke up to here, she looked in confusion at Yang Kai, “Have you heard of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor?”

“Are you taking me for a country bumpkin?” Yang Kai looked askance at her.

Hua Qing Si laughed sheepishly and said, “In any case, it’s said that those three incidents are all related to the Dragon Island Token’s usage, and if this token is really the Dragon Island Token, then… You should properly consider how you will use it. After all, it’s a priceless treasure.”

“Since when are you so concerned about me?” Yang Kai snorted coldly.

Hua Qing Si mumbled out of displeasure, “Is it wrong to show any concern for you?”

“Are you sure it’s the Dragon Island Token?” Yang Kai asked.

Hua Qing Si shook her head. “I have never seen the real Dragon Island Token and don’t know what it looks like, but from its design and texture, it can be surmised that it’s this one. If you are still sceptical, then why don’t you ask some knowledgeable person. You may probably get more clues about it.”

“We aren’t even sure whether Dragon Island is real or where it is. It’s too early to give any thoughts into the Dragon Island Token’s matter,” Yang Kai said then put away the token.

He already had a person in mind, and he should question him, as he might have some accurate info about it.

“Sir…” Hua Qing Si said coyly, while twisting uneasily. She stared at Yang Kai and said stammeringly, “I have already told you everything you want to know… So, why don’t you…”

“Enough daydreaming!” Yang Kai rejected her bluntly.

“Do you really plan to imprison me here for life?” Hua Qing Si was quite frustrated. “I’m from the Star Soul Palace and I came here to investigate Junior Brother Hang Leng’s death under the order of my master. If I don’t go back to make a report, then my master will sooner or later come over and he may even trace this back to you.”

As she spoke up to here, she nodded repeatedly, saying affirmatively, “He’ll surely trace it back to you. You don’t want to be eyed by him, do you? He’s a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, so hurry up and let go of me. Let’s part on good terms.”

Chapter 2112

“Let’s leave this discussion for another time.” Yang Kai stood up and observed her from above. He couldn’t help but curl his mouth into a faint smile and say, “Actually, if you want to regain your freedom, then it’s easily achievable.”

“What do you mean?” Hua Qing Si shivered and looked warily at Yang Kai. She said, “What are you up to?”

Yang Kai burst into laughter and said, “Relax, relax. I’m not after your body. But, if you really want to regain your freedom, then you have to hand over your Soul Imprint and I’ll give it some consideration. After all, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivation is pretty good…”

“Keep daydreaming!” Hua Qing Si said through gnashed teeth and interrupted Yang Kai’s speech.

“Then… Farewell,” Yang Kai waved his hand at her then left the Small Sealed World.

He left the dumbstruck Hua Qing Si alone, sitting there in a trance for a long while before she came back to her senses and let out an aggrieved cry, “Come back, come back, come back…”

…

In the room, Yang Kai’s body appeared once again. He stood there in contemplation for a little while before his body turned into a light beam and flew out of the Zhang family’s residence. He was leaving for Maplewood City!

After a short moment, Yang Kai reached Maplewood City, but he didn’t seek Mo Xiao Qi or Kang Si Ran. Rather, he went toward the Qin family’s home.

He had already visited the Qin family once and knew its location. Moreover, after he swept the area with his Divine Sense, he immediately found Qin Yu’s location.

Yang Kai didn’t plan to hide his aura and he just casually walked toward her. In a short while, he reached a room and knocked on its window.

“Who is it?” a shout sounded from behind the door.

Yang Kai responded, and the person inside quieted for a while, then light footsteps echoed as she walked to the window and opened it.

Qin Yu looked in surprise and confusion at Yang Kai. She asked, “Yang… Senior Yang, why are you seeking me so late in the night?”

“Hmm, I have some questions for you,” Yang Kai replied and stuck his head inside to take a look at the room and said. “Can I come in?”

Qin Yu’s face got flushed and she said, “Senior, please come in.”

By the time her voice fell, Yang Kai had already jumped into the room through the window.

Upon seeing this, Qin Yu’s face reddened further. Yang Kai sneaked into her room through the window so late in the night, and if a person oblivious to the truth witnessed this, it would give rise to some awkward misunderstandings.

But, Qin Yu was still at ease as she trusted Yang Kai. After all, if someone with his power had any malicious aims, he could achieve his aims stealthily; he didn’t have to expose himself to her.

The room setting was refined and comfortable, while a pleasant fragrance was present here. This was Qin Yu’s personal room.

Yang Kai was aware that his actions were quite presumptuous, but he didn’t care.

After Yang Kai sat down, Qin Yu offered him a cup of tea and asked, “Senior, what questions do you have for me?”

Yang Kai took a sip of tea and said, “Miss, you are both pretty and exceptionally smart and you’re the most knowledgeable person I have ever known. I have come here hoping that you can dispel some of my doubts.”

Qin Yu pursed her lips and said with a smile, “Senior, I don’t deserve such high praise, I have only read more books than your average cultivator. But, if I can be of any help to you, then just go ahead and ask.”

Yang Kai smiled and said, “I’ll go right to the point, but I hope that today’s discussion…”

“I’ll take a Soul Oath that I won’t divulge it to anyone,” Qin Yu said sternly.

Yang Kai cast a glance at her, thinking, [it’s so easy to converse with smart people], then said, “I have been corrupted by the Demon Qi outside the city and I almost turned into a demon. You must have seen this, correct?”

Upon hearing him, fear flashed past her pretty eyes and she nodded, “That’s right, but Heaven helps the worthy and you have crossed this crisis with no mishap.”

“When I was corrupted by the Demon Qi and was on the verge of turning into a demon, many strange scenes emerged in my mind,” Yang Kai started making things up.

Qin Yu said in surprise, “Many strange scenes?”

“That’s right,” Yang Kai nodded and said. “At that time, we had cast a Secret Technique and we peered into the Ancient Great Demon’s silhouette within Jiang Chu He’s Knowledge Sea, which is likely a remnant will of the Ancient Great Demon hidden within the Demon Qi, and it has retained that demon’s memory and knowledge. After I was corrupted by the Demon Qi, I got a chance to peer into some affairs.”

“You’re not mistaken, and I agree with you,” Qin Yu said, gratified, as if she had just found a soul mate.

“But, what I have seen is completely different from what Jiang Chu He saw. Those scenes were also fragmented and intermittent, and didn’t have the Ancient Great Demon’s silhouette.”

“Huh? What kind of scenes?” Qin Yu got interested in this subject.

Yang Kai revealed a pensive look and said in a low voice, “There were numerous scenes and I have only seen two clearly. One of them has a golden and silver seed, with each colour taking up roughly half of its surface. After that seed had been planted, it grew into a Golden Silver Exotic Tree after innumerable years. The tree emitted overlapping silver and golden radiance and it looked quite mighty!”

“A golden and silver, two-coloured exotic tree?”

Upon hearing this, amazement showed up in her pretty voice, and she let out a cry, covering up her mouth.

“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded and looked at her. He said, “I wonder whether you know that Golden Silver Exotic Tree?”

“I vaguely remember reading some records about this Exotic Tree.” Qin Yu furrowed her brows and tried to recall some information about it.

A stunned look appeared on Yang Kai’s face and he looked at her expectantly.

But, Qin Yu didn’t provide him with an answer even after a long while, and she only shook her head and said, “Senior, I’m sorry. I have seen records about it, but I can’t recall them in a short while. Please give me a few days and I’ll go to look up some ancient books I read before and look for some relevant records about it.”

“It’s fine, I’m not in a hurry. I’m only a little curious about it,” Yang Kai chuckled in response. He was quite disappointed, but he didn’t let it show up on his face.

“Senior, what’s the second scene you have seen?” Qin Yu asked.

“It’s a token, a pocket-sized token with a strange texture, neither wooden nor metallic. A ‘dragon’ word was carved on its surface and it looked like some ancient script, while the picture of a True Dragon soaring into the sky was carved on its back.”

When Yang Kai finished describing it, Qin Yu gave an answer. She said, “It’s the Dragon Island Token!”

“Is it really the Dragon Island Token?” Yang Kai was quite delighted.

Hua Qing Si had already told him so, but he didn’t trust her completely. Besides, Hua Qing Si couldn’t affirm that it was a genuine one. But, since even Qin Yu had as much, then it was likely genuine.

“If your description is accurate, then that’s the Dragon Island Token.” Qin Yu was so excited that her face turned flushed. “It’s said that only five Dragon Island Token appeared since ancient times, and three had already been used, while only two were left…”

She had recounted the same story as Hua Qing Si, and all details, including the number of the Dragon Island Tokens, their usage date, and locations, were the same.

It could be seen that Hua Qing Si didn’t lie and deceive Yang Kai.

“But…” As Qin Yu continued talking about it, a confused look appeared on her face. She asked in confusion, “Why has a Dragon Island Token appeared in the memory of the Ancient Great Demon’s remnant will.”

“Why wouldn’t it appear?” Yang Kai asked back.

“It’s because it doesn’t make sense time-wise. When the Ancient Great Demon was sealed, the Dragon Island Tokens hadn’t appeared yet… So, why does the Great Demon know of them?”

Qin Yu revealed a bewildered look.

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai lamented inwardly about his awful decision. He had just come to get an answer to his questions from Qin Yu and didn’t expect her to be so shrewd. She had quickly spotted a clear flaw in his story.

“I’m not sure about that, maybe it’s because the Ancient Great Demon detected that the Dragon Island Token posed a threat to it,” Yang Kai said and chuckled.

“That is possible,” Qin Yu didn’t dig into it. After all, those were all matters of the ancient past and she couldn’t get any concrete evidence about them.

“Fine, I have come here just to get an answer to those questions. It’s already so late and I won’t disturb your rest. Farewell,” Yang Kai said and stood up.

Qin Yu also stood up to bid farewell to him and she said, “I’ll quickly look into the Golden Silver Exotic Treem’s matter, and I’ll notify you the moment I find anything.”

“Got it!” He nodded and his body disappeared out of sight shortly after he walked out of the main door.

After a short moment, Qin Zhao Yang appeared suddenly next to the door to Qin Yu’s room and he gazed toward where Yang Kai had just been. He said with a strange look plastered on his face, “Yu’er, why did Brother Yang seek you?”

“It’s just to ask about some matters,” Qin Yu replied.

“What matters?” Qin Zhao Yang asked with a startled look.

Qin Yu stuck out her tongue and said, “It’s a secret!”

Qin Zhao Yang was taken back and he shook his head then said with a bitter smile, “Little girl, are you keeping secrets even from your Old Ancestor?”

Qin Yu said helplessly, “It isn’t up to me, I can’t tell you. But, I can still tell you that what Senior Yang asked isn’t related to Maplewood City or the Qin family.”

Qin Zhao Yang understood her implication and nodded. He said, “Then it’s fine.”

He quieted for a moment, then let out a sigh and said, looking at Qin Yu, “How is your body?”

“Alright!” Qin Yu replied.

“Don’t lie to me!” Qin Zhao Yang’s expression turned solemn. “Do you think I don’t know how much effort you have put into repairing the seal last time? I know that your body can’t keep on any longer.”

Qin Yu didn’t reply and kept her silence.

Qin Zhao Yang sighed and said, “If you didn’t have that constitution… someone with your talent may rise to the same height as our Qin family’s ancestor. But… It’s so frustrating, I’m so weak and can’t do anything to prolong your life or cure you. I’m really ashamed to face you.”

Qin Yu’s eyes turned flushed and she said in a low voice, “Old Ancestor, don’t disparage yourself, if I didn’t have your help, I would have died three years ago. I’m already happy to live for three more years and my sole regret is that I can’t stay by your side and help you, and I have even troubled you.”

“You can set your mind at ease, I’ll come up with a solution, I won’t let you die in your early years,” Qin Zhao Yang said in a deep voice before his body flickered and disappeared.

Qin Yu had just opened her mouth to speak, yet Qin Zhao Yang had already disappeared from her sight.

After she mulled this over for a moment, her pretty face fell, as if she had realized what Qin Zhao Yang was up to.

Chapter 2113

After Yang Kai returned to the Zhang family’s home, he pushed upon the door of the guest room then entered it, sighting upon the tearful Zhang Ruo Xi sitting there in a daze.

Upon hearing some noise, she raised her head to take a look and her pretty eyes immediately shone with delight. She quickly stood up and said in fluster, “Sir…”

Yang Kai cast a glance at her then said with a smile, “What’s wrong? Did you assume that I have abandoned your Zhang family and left? Are you wiping your tears over it here?”

Zhang Ruo Xi pursed her lips and shook her head slowly.

“Then why are you crying?” Yang Kai asked.

Zhang Ruo Xi said in a soft voice, “Since Ruo Xi followed Sir, she no longer had anything to do with the Zhang Family… Ruo Xi thought, Sir… didn’t want me anymore,” As she spoke up to here, she summoned her courage and raised her head to look at Yang Kai. “Sir, I know that I’m weak and can’t provide any help to you, rather you would have to take care of me. But, I can still serve you tea, make your bed and other trivial daily affairs and I don’t mind becoming your maid…”

After she finished her speech, she was shocked by her bold words and she quickly lowered her head, while her pretty face got flushed. She bowed and said, “Please forgive me, I won’t disturb your rest.”

After her voice fell, she turned around to leave.

“Stop!” Yang Kai yelled suddenly.

Zhang Ruo Xi’s body shook and she stood there nervously, then said in a shivering voice, “Sir, what instructions do you have for me?”

It looked like she had just thought of something in particular and her nervousness was apparent on her face. She put her little hands against her belly and started tangling them unconsciously, while her face turned as red as a peach and the fragile heart hidden behind her modest chest started beating loudly like a drum.

Yang Kai looked at her and said firmly, “Don’t disparage yourself. I have already accepted the madam’s request and I’ll take you with me. Besides, I really need your help in some matters.”

“How can I help?” Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes lit up and she said eagerly, “Sir, what do you want me to do? Can you tell me?”

Yang Kai said with a smile, “I planned to raise your power a little before telling you, but since you are so eager, then I’ll just tell you now.”

As Yang Kai spoke, he took out the Space Spirit Jade he got from the Lu family’s Lu Bai Chuan.

When the Space Spirit Jade appeared, Zhang Ruo Xi’s body shook and she stared at it, mumbling, “This feeling is…”

At this moment, it looked like the Space Spirit Jade had been stimulated by some unknown power, and it had emitted ripples of Space Force, which sent the surrounding space into a mess, as if it would be engulfed by the void at any moment.

Lu Bai Chuan wasn’t mistaken. Zhang Ruo Xi was the crux to inducing a reaction from the Space Spirit Jade. As long as Zhang Ruo Xi was within a certain range of it, it would release a mysterious power, and this power was precisely the reason Lu Bai Chuan had been able to get slight attainments in the Space Force.

Moreover, he still devised ways to eliminate the Zhang family’s remaining power and force it to marry Zhang Ruo Xi into the Lu family. If his ploy prevailed, he would get a lot of opportunities to study the Space Spirit Jade and he might be able to use its distinct Space Force to raise his own power further.

Yang Kai waved his hand and used the Space Principle to seal the whole guest room’s space. He had isolated it thoroughly, preventing any fluctuations from spreading outside.

“What did you detect and feel?” Yang Kai looked at Zhang Ruo Xi and asked.

“I’m not sure.” Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head and said, “But, it’s a familiar feeling. When I was a guest in the Lu family’s residence, I frequently got the same feeling, as if something within it was summoning me. It’s the same feeling as before, yet it never has been so intense.”

Yang Kai nodded. It could be seen that the connection between Zhang Ruo Xi and the Space Spirit Jade ran both ways.

“Can you recognize it?” Yang Kai asked.

Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head slowly.

“I got it from Lu Bai Chuan,” Yang Kai said.

“It belongs to Uncle Lu?” Zhang Ruo Xi was quite surprised.

Lu Bai Chuan had been the Zhang family’s enemy, yet Zhang Ruo Xi still didn’t dare to call him by his name casually and it could be seen that the girl’s mindset was still pure and kind-hearted.

“But, I heard from Lu Bai Chuan that it once belonged to your Zhang family,” Yang Kai spoke again. “And it seems to have been owned by a female ancestor of the Zhang family. At that time, she had married into the Lu family, and this object had been her dowry. She had brought it with her into the Lu family.”

“Since it’s a dowry, then it does belong to the Lu family now,” Zhang Ruo Xi said with a smile.

Yang Kai said, “It doesn’t matter who’s its rightful owner, the crux is that it’s from your Zhang family. Did any outstanding person emerge amongst your Zhang family’s ancestors?”

Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head and said, “I don’t know, but I heard from my grandma that our Zhang family was one of the top families in the past, but we had gradually declined due to some unknown reasons.”

“Then, everything makes sense,” Yang Kai nodded.

“But… Why does this object have such a strange connection with me? What about the other members of the Zhang family?” A confused look was apparent on Zhang Ruo Xi’s face.

“The others didn’t cause the same response and the reason why it’s you is…” Yang Kai paused for a while then said, “There are two possibilities. You either have some Bloodline Power, a Bloodline Power stronger than your other relatives and that’s why the Space Spirit Jade showed some response to you. As for the Bloodline Power, it must have originated from the previous owner of the Space Spirit Jade, one of your Zhang family’s ancestors.”

“Then, what’s the other possibility?”

“You have some kind of Special Constitution,” Yang Kai looked at Zhang Ruo Xi then shook his head slowly. “I don’t think that is possible. I have observed you for many days and you don’t possess any Special Constitution.”

“Then it’s likely the first possibility, isn’t it?” Zhang Ruo Xi said.

“That’s right,” Yang Kai revealed a faint smile. “I’m not clear about the nature of Bloodline Power, but your bloodline is probably quite similar to that said ancestor, and that’s why you can interact with the Space Spirit Jade.”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t show any strong reaction.

“Aren’t you happy?” Yang Kai looked at her with great interest.

Zhang Ruo Xi furrowed her brows and said, “Sir, why are you asking this?”

Yang Kai said with a smile, “It looks like you don’t know anything, then let me explain it to you. Your Bloodline Power is similar to that said ancestor and you have gotten some sort of recognition from the Space Spirit Jade. So, your future achievements may be on par with that ancestor.” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly turned low and he said, “The Space Spirit Jade is no ordinary object, and if you can become its master, then you’ll be at least an Emperor Realm Master.”

Upon hearing this, it looked like it finally dawned on Zhang Ruo Xi and a stunned look showed up on her face. She said, “Sir, are you implying that I have a good chance to become an Emperor Realm Master in the future?”

Yang Kai nodded in response.

“That’s awesome!” An excited and delighted look appeared on Zhang Ruo Xi’s face, “If I can get such great power, then I’ll be able to help you.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai was taken aback. After she learned that she could become an Emperor Realm Master, her first thought was that she would be able to help him. The girl’s concern really warmed up his heart.

“Sir, can I have a look at it?” Zhang Ruo Xi looked eagerly at Yang Kai and asked, then cast a glance at the Space Spirit Jade in his hand.

She was quite concerned about it because it was closely related to her future prospects.

“That’s what I planned to do,” Yang Kai said with a smile and handed over the Space Spirit Jade to her.

He had already studied the Space Spirit Jade several times since he had gotten it, yet couldn’t make any discoveries and he only knew that someone had refined it with a great Divine Ability, and it should be some sort of Artifact, but he didn’t know how to use it.

He was quite proficient in Space Force and had already grasped the Space Principle, yet he still couldn’t fathom the mysteries of the Space Spirit Jade. If anyone could understand the Space Spirit Jade’s mystery, then it would be none other than Zhang Ruo Xi.

After Zhang Ruo Xi took the Space Spirit Jade excitedly, a matter beyond their expectations occurred.

When Zhang Ruo Xi touched the spirit jade, it suddenly shook and emitted intense energy ripples.

As for Zhang Ruo Xi’s body, it had also been shaken up, as if she had been electrocuted.

*Sizzle!*

A peculiar sound reverberated and dazzling flowing light appeared on the surface of the Space Spirit Jade.

Soon after, many bizarre projections emerged out of the Space Spirit Jade and filled the whole room. Those projections surrounded Zhang Ruo Xi and the Space Spirit Jade, and were circling around them ceaselessly.

Yang Kai’s expression turned stern and he couldn’t help but furrow his brows as he observed them. They were flickering rapidly, but he still got a clear look at many of them with his great eyesight power.

Towering pavilions, a mountain hidden in fog, a mass of rubble, towering peaks, flying spirit cranes, and various birds, as well as a mountain spring with clear water…

Those scenes were the stuff of an earthen paradise, and those were all dazzling and attractive sights.

Yang Kai had been stunned!

At this moment, Zhang Ruo Xi let out a soft groan and her aura started weakening, while a pained look appeared on her face. Meanwhile, mysterious Space Force ripples started pervading the room.

Yang Kai sighed upon a pitch-black Void Corridor, which had appeared suddenly in the middle of the room. It was still quite unstable, but it was slowly taking shape.

The Void Corridor’s interior was pure chaos and he couldn’t discern what location it was connected to.

“Throw it away!” Yang Kai let out a shout and used his Source Qi and the Spatial Principle to suppress the Void Corridor taking shape here. Soon after, he exerted his power to jump toward Zhang Ruo Xi and take the Space Spirit Jade off her.

The scenes that filled up the room suddenly disappeared, while the Void Corridor in the middle of the room collapsed.

Zhang Ruo Xi let out a soft groan and fell weakly on the ground.

Yang Kai’s face fell. He didn’t expect that such an accident would occur, simply because Zhang Ruo Xi held the Space Spirit Jade in her hands. If he had known this earlier, he wouldn’t have taken such a risk.

Yang Kai put away the Space Spirit Jade then stooped to pick up Zhang Ruo Xi only to find her drenched. She got drenched in sweat in that short moment.

Yang Kai placed her on the bed then held her wrist and circulated his Source Qi within her body. At this moment, his expression had already turned gloomy.

He had discovered that a lot of Zhang Ruo Xi’s vitality had been forcefully extracted and she suffered serious damage. She was a girl in her teens, yet her body’s internal state wasn’t any different than a person who lived for dozens of years.

These fundamental injuries couldn’t be treated by ordinary pills, and if he didn’t pay heed to her and abandoned her, then the state of her body would quickly deteriorate.

Chapter 2114

Yang Kai didn’t give this too much consideration. After he had detected that Zhang Ruo Xi’s vitality had been damaged, he used the Sealed World Bead and brought her with him into the vicinity of the Small Sealed World’s medicine garden.

After he placed Zhang Ruo Xi on the ground, he waved his hand, and this seemingly ordinary movement shook the whole world and gave rise to a gale.

The Immortal Tree planted in a distant region emitted a green aura visible to the naked eye, a green aura that flew along with the gale and circulated around Zhang Ruo Xi, enveloping her body thoroughly then flowing into it through her pores.

Since her vitality had been damaged, then he would just have to supplement, and the astonishing Life Force emitted by the Immortal Tree was the best medicine.

As he had expected, after Zhang Ruo Xi got the Immortal Tree’s vitality, her furrowed brows relaxed and the pain apparent on her was replaced by a calm expression.

Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to observe her body, and he discovered that its state had already turned for the better, while her organs and meridians that had aged excessively were now brimming with vigour.

She was suffering from this condition due to external factors, and that’s why the Life Force emitted by the Immortal Tree could easily solve the issue. If it was an old man with a foot in the grave in her stead, then this might not have been enough to supplement his vitality.

Yang Kai waited for two hours before he inspected her body again, ascertaining that she was already fine and well. Besides this, she still got some benefits from the Immortal Tree’s nourishment.

Later on, he brought Zhang Ruo Xi out of the Small Sealed World and put her in her room. She was still asleep for now, but she would shortly wake up.

After this ordeal, Yang Kai had ascertained his previous guess. Zhang Ruo Xi’s current cultivation base wasn’t enough to dig into the Space Spirit Jade’s mysteries, and that’s why her vitality had been forcefully absorbed.

[But… What’s the source of those scenes? Just where is this incomplete Void Corridor connected to?] Yang Kai had many questions about this and he was looking forward to getting an answer for his doubts.

He had a feeling that the Space Spirit Jade was hiding a great secret.

After Yang Kai went back to his room, he set up a barrier and sent a Divine Sense Message to the Zhang family’s matriarch, informing her that he would go into seclusion and wouldn’t receive any guests, then waited for a positive response from her before entering the Small Sealed World once again.

He first checked Liu Yan’s situation and discovered that she was still refining the Luan Feng’s feather strenuously. Contending against the power of Luan Feng contained within that divine feather. Her situation was anything but good, but she wasn’t in danger.

He didn’t pay much attention to her and he quickly looked for a secluded region then sat down cross-legged. 

He stayed seated there for two days until he had recovered his peak condition, only then did he wave his hand and take out two objects, a jade bottle and an edgeless sword.

The jade bottle contained a churning scarlet liquid, which would frequently take the shape of a little dragon and run amok. The little dragon was still spitting flames in a vain attempt to burn the bottle, and it looked like this seemingly sentient little creature wanted to get out.

The blood of a Fire Dragon!

Yang Kai had gotten it from the First Stage of the Soaring Dragon Altar in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, but he hadn’t used it since then.

As for the edgeless sword, it was none other than Yang Kai’s Verdant Dragon Bone Sword.

The Verdant Dragon Bone Sword was a piece of a dragon bone found by him in the Shadowed Star’s Flowing Flame Sand Field, and he had only added to it a Dragon Bead to craft a sword out of it and didn’t ruin the original materials.

At this moment, he took out those Artifacts belonging to a true dragon’s body to refine them. He had already refined one Dragon Artifact, the Dragon Scale, and it had been always covering his chest’s vital region. The scale’s great defensive power had helped in a lot of battles.

Despite this, he still couldn’t forget the great pain he had gone through to fuse the Dragon Scale with his body, but this wasn’t the reason why he didn’t consider refining more Dragon Artifacts. It was mainly due to his lacking cultivation base.

Now, he had already advanced into the Dao Source Realm and he couldn’t advance his cultivation further in the near future. So, if he wanted to raise his battle prowess, he could only look for other ways, and fusing the Dragon Blood and Dragon Bone Sword with his body were the most effective methods.

He had the Monster Transformation Secret Art, a Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Power, and they were enough to help him achieve this seemingly impossible feat.

Yang Kai’s gaze paced back and forth between the Dragon Blood and the Dragon Bone Sword for a moment, but he quickly made up his mind and decisively took the jade bottle.

It looked like the little dragon in the bottle had detected his actions and it had turned its tiny head toward him, opened its mouth and shot a fire beam toward Yang Kai’s face.

But, the jade bottle able to store blood from an actual dragon was no ordinary object and it had been refined well. The little dragon couldn’t inflict any harm on Yang Kai and it only looked funny and ridiculous.

Yang Kai curled the corners of his mouth and opened the bottle’s lid. The tiny dragon immediately rushed out of it, swayed its tail, and turned into a flowing light as it tried to escape.

But everything in the Small Sealed World was within Yang Kai’s control, and it couldn’t possibly escape Yang Kai’s clutches.

Yang Kai just had to grasp the void with his hand and the flowing light was immediately stranded mid-air. In response, the little dragon struggled desperately and let out ceaseless roars, yet to no avail. It couldn’t escape from Yang Kai’s clutches.

The power of the World Principles had fallen upon the little dragon and it could only turn back into a drop of Dragon Blood despite its reluctance. The drop was as scorching as magma and it emitted intense heat.

Yang Kai sucked the Dragon Blood toward him then observed it for a moment nervously. But, he didn’t hesitate for long and quickly opened his mouth, enveloped the drop of Dragon Blood with his Source Qi and swallowed it down.

Soon after, he immediately cast the Monster Transformation Secret Art and used his Dao Source Realm Cultivation Base to refine the drop of pure Fire Dragon Blood.

After the Dragon Blood reached his belly, the Source Qi couldn’t bear its high heat any longer and it had been burned thoroughly while heat started rising from his belly, as if it contained an active volcano shooting out scalding lava.

Yang Kai didn’t dare to take this lightly and sent more of his Source Qi into it, trying to erase the drop of Dragon Blood’s weak spirituality.

As time elapsed slowly, the ground around Yang Kai had been turned into charred land. The earth was dry and the trees in the vicinity had withered, while many cracks appeared on the ground. Even the void had been affected and twisted by the intense heat.

Indistinct dragon roars reverberated ceaselessly within Yang Kai’s body as the Dragon Blood’s spiritually put on its last struggle.

At a certain moment, the roars suddenly stopped, while Yang Kai detected that the intense fiery energy in his belly had erupted and rushed into his meridians and flesh.

He couldn’t help but let out a soft groan and his face turned deathly pale.

He swept his body with his Divine Sense and he detected that his flesh and meridians had been wrecked by the fiery energy, and his body had already sustained heavy injuries.

After all, this was the blood of a true dragon and even Yang Kai’s strong body couldn’t withstand it, but fortunately, his Golden Blood quickly showed its strong recovery power and contended with the fiery Dragon Blood’s destructive power and they gradually reached a subtle balance.

At this moment, Yang Kai wasn’t any different than a mortal sitting on an active volcano’s crater and his mind had already turned dizzy from the intense heat.

In his muddle-headed state, he felt like an illusion of an Ancient True Dragon appeared in front of him, an illusion of a scarlet dragon gazing at him with its dignified and terrifying eyes.

Soon after, the dragon let out a deafening roar and opened its large mouth to bite Yang Kai and swallow him down.

“Humph!”

But at this moment, Yang Kai’s eyes flickered and he yelled, “I have waited for you for so long.”

As his voice fell, the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Power in his body spread out and turned into a golden giant dragon’s phantom image behind Yang Kai. The phantom image bared its fangs, brandished its claws then pounced on the Fire Dragon.

The Fire Dragon who didn’t expect this was taken aback, while surprise and fright appeared in its dignified eyes and it moved back repeatedly.

Every dragon was innately strong, but they depended too much on their Bloodline Power, so Bloodline Suppression had a great and distinct effect on them, while the Golden Divine Dragon was obviously of a higher grade than the Fire Dragon!

The Fire Dragon moved back, but the Golden Divine Dragon didn’t let go of it. It pursued and took a large bite of it.

The majestic Fire Dragon’s body had been easily torn by the golden dragon’s bite, and its whole body was quickly swallowed down into its belly.

The awe-inspiring golden dragon shook its head, wagged its tails, and surveyed the surrounding disdainfully. But it couldn’t find any worthy opponent and it could only go back to Yang Kai’s body lazily.

At this moment, the spirituality of the drop of Dragon Blood had been erased.

After the Fire Dragon Blood’s spirituality had been erased, the pressure on Yang Kai’s shoulders had been alleviated, and he started using his Golden Blood’s recovery power to repair his meridians and flesh, while he also started fusing with the Fire Dragon Blood fearlessly. He started fusing it with every inch of his blood and meridians.

This process put to the test one’s wits and patience, but this wasn’t an issue for Yang Kai, as he wasn’t in a hurry and he carried it out methodically.

…

After an unknown amount of time, the drop of Dragon Blood had been finally refined completely by Yang Kai.

He opened his eyes slowly and stood up, then observed himself with his senses. His cultivation base was the same as before, but he could still clearly feel that he had become stronger.

The great improvement of his power didn’t show up on his fleshly body, but rather on his…

“Dragonization!” Yang Kai let out a shout.

The power of the Dragon Blood in his bloodline was activated and the bones of his hands let out a snapping noise and started bulging. They turned into a pair of Dragon Claws.

As for his arms, a mass of Dragon Scales formed by Source Qi emerged on them. Those Dragon Scales had a fiery scarlet colour, as if they contained the power of fire.

Even the True Dragon Scale on Yang Kai’s belly had been affected by the power of the Dragon Blood and they started multiplying. They turned from one to two, then four, and so on.

In the end, it looked like Yang Kai’s whole body was clad in an armour of Dragon Scales.

As he swung his arms, he could clearly feel the boundless power pouring forth out of his body and he couldn’t help but laugh cheerfully.

Chapter 2115

After he had refined the blood of a true Dragon, the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique’s form became quite different from before.

The first difference was his hands. Previously, only one of his hands turned into a Dragon Claw, yet now it was both, and it went without saying that two Dragon Claws were stronger than one, while the might of those said Dragon Claws was indomitable and they were able to contend against an Artifact befitting someone with his cultivation base.

In the past, his arm had also been covered by Dragon Scales formed out of his energy but they didn’t have a scarlet tint nor a wisp of a Fire Dragon’s aura. They were now obviously harder and stronger than before, while the Dragon Scale Armor formed by the genuine Dragon Scale in his chest provided Yang Kai with pretty good defence.

Refining a drop of a true Dragon’s blood alone had so many amazing effects, and he couldn’t help but wonder what he would get if he refined and fused the Dragon Bone Sword with his body.

As this thought sprung into his mind, he got quite enthusiastic and he dispelled the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique then sat down cross-legged again.

Refining a Dragon Blood was quite simple, as he only had to swallow it down, but the Dragon Bone Sword was different. This was a piece of a dragon’s backbone and he couldn’t resort to the same method with it.

But, he had already refined it roughly once and he could collect it into his body, and as long as he put some time into it, he would be able to fuse with it.

Yang Kai didn’t hesitate and he immediately divided the Dragon Bone Sword’s two materials, the Dragon Backbone and Dragon Bead, then fused them with his body and started refining them.

…

In the serene Small Sealed World, a month quickly elapsed.

In the last month, many people in Maplewood City came over to visit Yang Kai. Among them, the number of Mo Xiao Qi’s visits had been the highest, followed closely by Kang Si Ran, and the City Lord’s Mansion’s people, as well as the various families’ Dao Source Realm Ancestors.

But, the Zhang family’s matriarch had already gotten a Divine Sense Message from Yang Kai, and she knew that he wouldn’t accept any visits during his secluded cultivation. So, she could only brace herself and keep the guests outside.

It hadn’t been difficult for her to deal with Mo Xiao Qi, Kang Si Ran, Duan Yuan Shan, Qin Zhao Yang, and others, as they didn’t embarrass her after hearing about Yang Kai’s secluded cultivation. They had only raised some questions about Yang Kai’s current situation out of concern.

The Zhang family had even gotten close to those few Dao Source Realm Masters through this and they got a lot of help from them.

But the other families’ Dao Source Realm Ancestors didn’t treat them kindly. They had all come excitedly to recruit Yang Kai and invite him to undertake an elder position in their families, yet they had been obstructed by a First-Order Origin King granny, and they all felt like they got the cold shoulder.

During this ordeal, the Zhang family’s granny and beautiful madam had been quite nervous and fearful, and they could only smile apologetically and provide them with an explanation.

After several similar visits, people stopped dropping by.

Even though the Dao Source Realm Ancestors were displeased by the Zhang family’s treatment, they still didn’t dare to make trouble for those orphans and widows, simply because they were under the protection of the City Lord’s mansion. The Zhang family had gotten through this ordeal without suffering any harm thanks to them.

…

After a month, Yang Kai left seclusion safely, and upon getting news of it, all of the Zhang family’s members dropped by to visit him.

The granny enquired about his well-being for a while, then said, “Sir, I have something to tell you. A lot of people came to see you in your seclusion.”

“En.” Yang Kai didn’t inquire about them, simply because he could easily guess who had come.

“In addition, the Spirit Pill Plaza’s Shopkeeper Kang and Miss Mo Xiao Qi both left a jade slip for you,” as the granny spoke, she cast a meaningful glance at Zhang Ruo Xi.

Zhang Ruo Xi understood her intentions and she respectfully handed over two jade slips to Yang Kai then stood next to him with her head lowered.

Upon getting the jade slips, Yang Kai swept one of them with his Divine Sense then said with a smile. “As expected, Brother Kang has been transferred…”

Upon hearing him, the Zhang family’s granny nodded and said, “That’s right, it looked like Shopkeeper Kang has gotten a movement order from the headquarters of the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and he has already left Maplewood City half a month ago. In his last days, he stayed in our mansion, hoping to see you one more time before leaving, but it’s a pity that you didn’t leave seclusion in time.”

“I hope we cross paths again,” Yang Kai revealed a faint smile.

He had already guessed long ago that Kang Si Ran would be transferred.

After all, Maplewood City was quite small, while Kang Si Ran had already advanced into the Dao Source Realm and it was beneath him to manage a store here. The Violet Source Chamber of Commerce would obviously pick a better place in need of his talent.

Kang Si Ran was a member of a Chamber of Commerce and couldn’t act as he wished. He couldn’t defy an order passed down by the headquarters unless he planned to betray it. But, if he had done so, he wouldn’t have a place for him in the whole Southern Territory.

“Prior to his departure, Shopkeeper Kang said that he didn’t know where he would be transferred to, but he said that he would send a message to you after ascertaining his new destination, and he mentioned that he would be at your call whenever you need him. Furthermore, he said that he felt ashamed that he couldn’t bid you farewell in person and he hopes that you can forgive him,” the Zhang family’s granny reported solemnly.

Yang Kai nodded in response. Kang Si Ran was quite considerate. He had gotten his current cultivation base only thanks to the Dao Source Pill gifted to him by Yang Kai, and he was obviously quite grateful to him.

Yang Kai didn’t comment and he just scanned the other jade slip. When he checked its contents, a surprised look appeared on his face, “Xiao Qi has also left?”

The jade slip’s message was quite simple and it only had several sentences.

“Hateful Brother Yang, why are you still in seclusion? I can’t even see you one last time. Aunt Feng has come for me, and I have to leave. If I don’t leave now, I won’t make it in time…”

Mo Xiao Qi’s origins were quite mysterious, but Yang Kai could still easily discern her outstanding familial background, and from the message left by her in the jade slip, it looked like her relatives had come to fetch her.

Yang Kai couldn’t help but imagine this scene. A rebellious young girl left her home to travel the world, yet they caught her trails and sent masters after her. In the end, she got intercepted and captured by them, then taken back home.

“Xiao Qi’s fate is so pitiful…” Yang Kai sighed. He sympathized with her, but he wasn’t worried about her. She had only said that one of her relatives had come to capture her and take her back home, and it would be unlikely for them to harm her.

Moreover, Yang Kai had once heard Mo Xiao Qi mention Aunt Feng, and it looked like they were quite close, as Mo Xiao Qi said that her Aunt Feng had told her a lot of good stories.

He had only stayed in seclusion for a month, yet two of his friends had already left Maplewood City, and they were forced to leave. He couldn’t help but lament over this ever-changing world.

Yang Kai crushed the jade slips then said, looking at the granny, “Is there anything else besides this?”

The granny replied, “The Qin Family has sent someone to pass a message to you, asking you to drop by their home once you finish your secluded cultivation. They said that they have an answer for your question.”

“Huh?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he said out of delight, “That’s awesome, I’m leaving for the Qin Family right now.”

As his voice fell, he stood up.

Zhang Ruo Xi said anxiously, “Sir… Do you need me to accompany you?”

Yang Kai replied, “That isn’t necessary, stay home and focus on your cultivation.”

“Then… Take care.” A sad gleam flashed past Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes, but she quickly recalled the previous ordeal with the Space Spirit Jade and got a newfound resolution.

She still couldn’t provide any help to Yang Kai with her current lacking cultivation base, and she had to improve her cultivation to uncover the secret of the Space Spirit Jade and help Yang Kai.

Yang Kai strode forward within the hall, while his body flickered and disappeared before his foot reached the ground.

…

After a short moment, Yang Kai reached the home of Maplewood City’s Qin Family.

This time, he didn’t go inside right away and he stood outside and released his Divine Sense.

In the next moment, Qin Zhao Yang’s laughter resounded within the Qin Family’s home. He said, “Brother Yang, you have finally left seclusion.”

As his voice fell, Qin Zhao Yang had already appeared within Yang Kai’s line of sight. He was as swift as lightning and he quickly reached Yang Kai, then started examining him back and forth with his eyes. Soon after, his pupils contracted and he blurted out, “Brother Yang, it looks like you made a lot of progress in your seclusion.”

Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t really explain what he was feeling. Yang Kai’s cultivation base didn’t improve at all, yet he looked stronger than before, and even his aura had gotten stronger.

But, he quickly understood that Yang Kai should have cultivated some Secret Technique in his seclusion that lasted a whole month.

He didn’t bother with getting to the bottom of this and he didn’t even wait for Yang Kai’s answer. He just said warmly, “Come, please come in.”

Yang Kai revealed a smile and followed Qin Zhao Yang into the inside of the Qin Family’s home.

In the way, all members of the Qin Family greeted him politely with a solemn expression and they all didn’t dare to slight him.

Surprisingly though, Qin Zhao Yang didn’t bring him into the reception hall, rather he went to a certain chamber.

After they reached the chamber, Qin Zhao Yang said with a smile, “Brother Yang, I know that you have left some questions for Yu’er and it looks like she has already found the answer. She’s now inside, please go in and discuss it with her. After you’re done, I’ll come back to have a chat with you. By the way, Yu’er didn’t breathe a word about your questions, and she didn’t tell me anything.”

“I trust Miss Qin,” Yang Kai nodded and pushed the door then went inside.

It was the same chamber as before and Qin Yu had already been waiting here for him for so long. Upon seeing him, she quickly stood up and greeted him.

“Miss Qin, you’re so polite, there are no strangers here.” Yang Kai waved his hand at her in response.

“We must respect basic courtesy,” Qin yu said with a smile.

Yang Kai cast a glance at her with a smile, but his expression suddenly turned strange and his gaze stayed locked into her face for several seconds. In the end, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows as if he had detected something unusual.

Qin Yu opened her mouth and spoke, oblivious to everything, “Sir, you have once questioned me about a Golden Silver Exotic Tree and I have flipped through some books left by our ancestors in the past days and I have finally found some inklings.”

“Go on and elaborate further,” Yang Kai quelled his excitement and spoke calmly.

“Prior to this, I have a question for you,” Qin Yu said.

“What is it?”

“Did the Golden Silver Exotic Tree in the scene seen by you display any special abilities?”

“Why are you inquiring about this?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows.

Qin Yu said, “At the beginning of the world, everything was pure chaos. Even time and space was unstable. At that time, the Firmament Tree emerged and sealed the world with its Yin-Yang Chaos Power, suppressing the void, locking the whole world, and trapping the four seas…”

Qin Yu’s voice was low and indistinct, while her eyes flickered in a silver radiance as she uttered those words. They looked quite profound and mysterious!

“It has been like this until an almighty being cast a great Divine Ability to shatter the seal of the void, destroy the cage and slay the Firmament Tree… The power of Heaven and Earth had finally exploded out for the first time and innumerable Mighty Warriors emerged one after the other in those Primordial Times. They all cast and displayed their Divine Abilities and fought for supremacy.”

Chapter 2116

“The Firmament Tree which sealed the world and suppressed the void?” Yang Kai’s pupils contracted.

Qin Yu nodded and said, “It’s recorded in old books. The Firmament Tree is a tree that has taken root in the void and its Yin-Yang Chaos Power has pervaded every corner of the world and sealed its power.”

“Is it that amazing?” Yang Kai was stunned.

Qin Yu said with a smile, “Those are only old records and I’m not sure they are genuine. But, the tree described by you looks like the Firmament Tree and it’s probably related to it in some ways…”

“Then the question you have raised before…”

“The Firmament Tree is able to seal the world and its Yin-Yang Chaos Power possesses a great might. If the tree seen by you in that scene has also displayed sealing power, then the Firmament Tree is likely real.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai was shaken up. The Golder Silver Exotic Tree planted in the Small Sealed World had also displayed sealing power, and its Golden Silver Power had sealed even an Ancient Great Demon’s Sense and Demon Qi in his belly. It was already evident that it was related to the Firmament Tree in the legends.

“The Firmament Tree has Yin-Yang Chaos Power and it’s able to seal anything and everything…” Qin Yu added and said, “It’s no wonder it has appeared in the Ancient Great Demon’s remnant will, as he likely dreaded its sealing power and couldn’t forget it even after innumerable years.”

“I think so too,” Yang Kai approved of her opinion and kept up this misunderstanding.

“Senior, I have fulfilled your task. Is my explanation up to your satisfaction?” Qin Yu asked with a smile.

“Miss Qin, you’re well learned and I really admire you. I’m quite satisfied with this explanation.”

“Senior, I don’t deserve such high praise.” Qin Yu’s face got flushed and she quieted for a moment then said, “Hum, it looks like the Old Ancestor has something important to discuss with you. So, I’ll have to bid farewell to you for now.”

As her voice fell, she opened the chamber’s barrier and turned around to leave.

But, when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and turned her head to say, “Senior, if my Old Ancestor’s request is too difficult, you can just refuse it right away. You don’t have to put too much consideration into it.”

After she spoke, she pushed the door and left without waiting for Yang Kai’s response.

Yang Kai stood there with furrowed brows, wondering what Qin Yu was insinuating. But, from what she had said, it looked like Qin Zhao Yang would ask for his help.

Yang Kai was already prepared for this as he had already made insinuations about it last time Qin Zhao Yang visited him. But, it looked like it wouldn’t be easy to help him and fulfil his request.

A short moment after Qin Yu had left, Qin Zhao Yang opened the door and entered.

“Old Mister Qin.” Yang Kai smiled at him.

“Little Brother Yang,” Qin Zhao Yang was seemingly troubled by something and he said absently, “Please sit down and let’s have a talk.”

After they took their seats, Qin Zhao Yang furrowed his brow and kept his silence for a long while, as if he was organizing his thoughts and words.

Upon seeing this, Yang Kai started the conversation and said, “Old Mister Qin, I have observed the state and aura of Miss Qin a while ago… Is anything wrong with her?”

Qin Zhao Yang sighed and said, “Yu’er had always been sickly and you must have noticed it long ago. In the past, I used my power daily to stabilize her condition, but this time…”

“What’s wrong with Miss Qin’s body?” Yang Kai asked.

He felt like Qin Zhao Yang’s request would be likely related to Qin Yu’s matter.

“Since you have already asked, then I’ll tell you bluntly.” Qin Zhao Yang gritted his teeth and continued, “Yu’er is innately gifted and she had an Innate Divine Ability, the Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil.”

“The Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil?” Yang Kai raised his brow.

“It’s a type of pupil ability, and as for its power… Yu’er’s cultivation base is still too low, while she’s also quite young, and I haven’t studied it thoroughly yet. But, from what Yu’er has shown until now, she can see people’s fortune and even peer into the future, and she can also observe the void…”

“It looks like it’s a useful Divine Ability,” Yang Kai was quite surprised.

He had already guessed long ago that Qin Yu possessed a special pupil ability, and the little girl had even used her Innate Divine Ability several times in front of him. But, he didn’t know the name of her pupil ability, nor its special power, and only finding out now from Qin Zhao Yang’s explanation.

“If it was just the Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil alone, it would have been fine. This Innate Divine Ability didn’t bring any harm to her body and it only affected her a little whenever she used it. But, Yu’er doesn’t just have the Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil, she also has the Heaven Earth Tribulation Body.”

“Heaven Earth Tribulation Body?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows.

Qin Zhao Yang nodded and said, “When she was five years old, a Master that passed by Maplewood City had seen her and noticed her peculiar constitution. After he examined her for a while, he told me that she has the Heaven Earth Tribulation Body. If I hadn’t met this Master, I would have never known this.”

“What’s so bad about the Heaven Earth Tribulation Body?”

Qin Zhao Yang sighed and said, “The Heaven Earth Tribulation Body is also a type of special constitution, and that Master said that as long as a person with Heaven Earth Tribulation Body is residing within the world, their vitality would be severed by the world and they won’t live past eighteen.”

“Eighteen?” Yang Kai’s face fell and he asked in surprise, “May I ask how old is Miss Yu’er?”

“She will be eighteen in… eight months,” Qin Zhao Yang said with a sad look apparent on his face.

“Then doesn’t this mean…” Yang Kai said in a low voice, “Miss Yu’er can only live for eight more months?”

“That’s right,” Qin Zhao Yang nodded solemnly.

Yang Kai was left dumbstruck. Generally speaking, whenever a person was born with a special constitution, he was blessed by the world, while Qin Yu didn’t just have a special constitution, she also had the Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil at the same time, an extremely rare occurrence.

Unfortunately, the Heaven Earth Tribulation Body wasn’t a good constitution and it had severed her vitality.

Now, he finally understood why Qin Yu had always looked feeble. It was because she wouldn’t be in this world for long.

She had the Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil and could peer into the future of people, and she probably could also see her future and the end of her road, but she still didn’t show any fluster or fear in front of others.

Upon thinking of this, respect for her welled up in his heart. An ordinary person couldn’t face death so calmly and fearlessly.

“Then our private discussion is about Miss Qin, isn’t it? How can I help you? Just go ahead and ask,” Yang Kai said firmly.

“Little Brother Yang, you don’t mind helping me?” Qin Zhao Yang was glad to hear Yang Kai bring up this subject by himself.

“I had only a short contact with Miss Qin, but she had dispelled my doubts and I don’t hope for her to die in her early years.”

“Little Brother Yang, thank you!” Qin Zhao Yang suddenly stood up and bowed to Yang Kai.

“Old Mister Qin, you don’t have to thank me,” Yang Kai said with a bitter smile.

Qin Zhao Yang said, “You should first know that it won’t be so easy to achieve this, and even though you won’t face any fatal threat, it would still be a difficult task. If you want to refuse it, then just do so, as it’s a sensible decision. I’ll respect your decision and won’t force you.”

Yang Kai said with a smile, “It looks like it would be quite dangerous. Old Mister Qin, let’s first hear what it’s.”

Qin Zhao Yang nodded and said, “In the past, that said Master didn’t just discover the special constitution of Yu’er, he also told me the way to solve its issue, and it’s seeking a precious treasure, the Tribulation Fruit. As long as she consumes it before her eighteen birthday, she’ll cross the tribulation, and she won’t just live safely for long, the might of her Heaven Earth Tribulation Body will also be unleashed and she will have bright prospects.”

“The Tribulation Fruit?” Yang Kai was startled.

“Little Brother Yang, have you heard about it?” Qin Zhao Yang looked in surprise at him.

“Yeah!”

If this happened a year ago, then he wouldn’t have any idea about this fruit. But, since he got the jade slip inheritance of Gong Sun Mu in Yuan Furnace Mountain, he got an understanding of all plants in the world.

The Tribulation Fruit had been recorded in the jade slip left by Gong Sun Mu.

It was the main material for the Spirit Pill, Tribulation Pill. This pill wasn’t anything good, but a sort of poison.

It was colourless, odourless, and could be easily melted in water. If one consumed it, then even the Yuan Qi of an Emperor Realm Master would be frozen and he would turn into a harmless sheep at the mercy of others.

But, which Emperor Realm Master still drank water? So, even though this pill had an outstanding might, it was practically useless, an impressive-looking, yet useless pill.

The Tribulation Pill was a Poison Pill, and its main material was obviously also very toxic, yet it was necessary to treat the Heaven Earth Tribulation Body. It looked like they were fighting poison with poison.

Yang Kai didn’t express his opinion about this, as he was also not sure if the Tribulation Fruit was useful for Qin Yu or not.

But, the Tribulation Fruit grew either in Extreme Cold Land or under millennials old ice. It was extremely rare!

“I had almost forgotten that you are also an alchemist…” Qin Zhao Yang had suddenly recalled this and revealed a faint smile.

In the past, after that Master asked him to seek the Tribulation Fruit, he had spent a lot of effort to get information about this fruit’s appearance and effects, yet Yang Kai already knew everything about it.

“Since that Master has told you even this… Did he also tell you where you can find the fruit?”

Qin Zhao Yang said in a low voice, “It’s in the Four Seasons Realm!”

“What kind of place is that?”

A weird look appeared on Qin Zhao Yang’s face and he cast a glance at Yang Kai then said, “The Four Seasons Realm is the most famous Sealed World of the Southern Territory, and every time it opens up, countless elite disciples of various great sects will rush into it to seek precious treasures and opportunities.”

An embarrassed look appeared on Yang Kai’s face. It looked like he had shown once again how ignorant he was. He said, “Since it’s a public Sealed World of the Southern Territory, then can’t everyone enter it?”

Qin Zhao Yang said with a bitter smile, “If that was true, then everything would have been easy. Since ancient times, the Four Seasons Realm has been in the hands of the Southern Territory’s great sects and every sect has a specific quota for its disciples while our Maplewood City’s residents don’t have any chance to enter it.”

“Then how can I accomplish this task?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows.

“You have to use this,” Qin Zhao Yang said and took out a token from his pockets.

After he took out this token, Qin Zhao Yang’s old face got flushed.

Yang Kai took it in confusion and cast a glance at it, yet upon seeing it, his body shook and the corners of his mouth twitched. He said, “Old Brother Qin, where did you get this? You’re so old and impudent, does Yu’er know of this?”

Chapter 2117

Generally speaking, some designs or words would be carved on tokens to show their origin and usage, and the token handed over to Yang Kai by Qin Zhao Yang was no exception.

There weren’t any words carved on the token’s face and there was only a design, a lifelike design of a beauty rising from water.

The patterns and lines of the token looked rigid and rough, yet the beauty depicted on it looked realistic. It was the design of a beauty with beautiful curves and refined facial features. This beauty was just about to leave a pond and her upper body was faintly visible among water droplets…

Moreover, her lower body was also naked, but her pretty legs and nether regions were hidden below the water surface. Anyone who saw this pic would get a strong urge to pull the beauty out of the token and peer into what was hidden from view, which would be shortly followed by frustration born out of failure to satisfy those said urges.

“Damn!” After Yang Kai observed it for a while, and couldn’t help but break into curses. His mood had been dampened!

The person who drew this picture was quite treacherous. He was a person who understood the heart of men well and had deliberately done this. It was so hateful!

Yang Kai flipped over the token and found another design on its backside. It was a painting of a man with dishevelled hair curling up on the ground with a broken and empty bowl placed in front of him.

This was a painting of a beggar, a completely different painting from the beauty on the front side.

Upon observing this painting, Yang Kai felt like he could see the beggar shivering in the cold as wind swept him.

“This beggar…” Yang Kai furrowed his brow and mumbled, “He looks like a certain person…”

As he spoke, the image of a wretched person ran across this mind.

“It’s that Master who has passed it to me,” Qin Zhao Yang provided a weak explanation.

“Brother Qin… are you sure that Master isn’t just a… Swindler?” Yang Kai looked in surprise at him and said, “It looks like this token is made out of ordinary wood, even though the designs should have been painted by a competent Master… But, what kind of Master is so childish?”

“This isn’t ordinary wood,” Qin Zhao Yang said solemnly, “I have observed it carefully, it’s a hundred-year-old elmwood.”

“Does this make any difference?” Yang Kai asked.

The corners of Qin Zhao Yang’s mouth twitched and he could only say, “Nope.”

Every token was a symbol of authority and represented some sort of status or power. This was why tokens wouldn’t be crafted with cheap material such as a hundred-year-old elmwood, and Yang Kai’s Dragon Island Token was even made from materials beyond his knowledge.

As for the Jade Beauty Beggar Token, its materials were very ordinary.

Yang Kai couldn’t help but get sceptical and felt like Qin Zhao Yang had been deceived.

“Little Brother Yang, I know what is in your mind,” Qin Zhao Yang said in a deep voice. “But, why don’t you try crushing this token.”

Yang Kai squinted his eyes and said, “Old Man Qin, are you sure about this? What if I destroy…”

“Then it’ll prove that I have been deceived and it won’t be a loss then.”

Yang Kai nodded and said, “Fine, I’ll give it a try.”

As his voice fell, he held the token in his hand tightly and exerted his power.

A snapping noise echoed out!

Yang Kai’s expression changed, while Qin Zhao Yang revealed a smile, as if this outcome was within his expectations.

The snapping noise wasn’t a result of crushing the token, but rather just the sound of the joints of Yang Kai’s fingers. As for the token held by him, it was still intact.

“How is this possible?” Yang Kai’s eyes widened up in disbelief.

The material of the token was just common wood and it wasn’t a special treasure, yet he couldn’t damage it despite his great power.

Yang Kai couldn’t believe this and he exerted more power, yet he still couldn’t damage it nor twist it.

“Little Brother Yang, did you confirm it by yourself? He’s a real Master,” Qin Zhao Yang looked at Yang Kai’s embarrassing actions and chuckled. “I have suspected this a lot of times in the past years and I have tried a lot of methods to destroy the token, yet to no avail. If I wasn’t sure it’s genuine, I wouldn’t have taken it out.”

“He really is a great Master!” A terrified look was apparent on Yang Kai’s face.

The mysterious Master had used some sort of power on this token, and it had turned the ordinary wood so hard that it was almost indestructible. Ordinary Emperor Realm Masters couldn’t achieve this feat!

At this moment, Yang Kai didn’t have any more doubts and he returned the token to Qin Zhao Yang solemnly then said, “How can I use this token to enter the Four Seasons Realm?”

Qin Zhao Yang said, “The Master has asked me to make a trip to the Azure Sun Temple and ask for a quota from them.”

“So that’s how it is…” An enlightened look appeared on Yang Kai’s face.

The Azure Sun Temple was also one of the Southern Territory’s top sects and its fame and power were second only to the Star Soul Palace. This great sect surely had a lot of entry quotas and it wouldn’t be strange for Qin Zhao Yang to get one with the token.

He couldn’t help but wonder what was the relationship of the token’s Master with the Azure Sun Temple.

“Will the Four Seasons Realm open up soon?” Yang Kai asked.

“Likely!” Qin Zhao Yang nodded then mulled it over for a moment and said, “I’m suspecting that everything is within that Master’s expectations. When Yu’er was five years old, he passed the token to me and asked me to make a trip to the Azure Sun Temple in twelve years. I don’t know if the Four Seasons Realm will open up soon or not. After all, our little Maplewood City has no access to this information, but from what happened up to this day, it’ll most likely open up.”

“Brother Qin, you want me to visit the Four Seasons Realm in your stead and seek the Tribulation Fruit?”

Qin Zhao Yang revealed a bitter smile and said, “If I had half of your power, I wouldn’t trouble you with it. But, you also know my situation. I’m also a Dao Source Realm Cultivator, but I’m not on par with the sect elites, and if I go into it, then I won’t leave it alive. I’m not afraid of death, but Yu’er is… I can only trust you with this.”

“When are we leaving?” Yang Kai went right to the point and raised a question.

Qin Zhao Yang said in surprise, “Did you just accept my request?”

Yang Kai smiled and said, “Why would I refuse? You have provided me with a rare opportunity, and I’ll obviously seize it. I also want to visit the Sealed World of the Southern Territory.”

As Yang Kai said this, he revealed a longing look.

Qin Zhao Yang had asked him to enter the Four Seasons Realm to look for the Tribulation Fruit, but if he looked at it from another perspective, then this was a golden opportunity.

The elite disciples of great sects would all compete against each other to get a chance to enter that Sealed World and it obviously had a lot of precious treasures.

Even if it didn’t have innumerable precious treasures in it, just the talented youths were enough of a reason for Yang Kai. This was a good chance to test his power against them.

“Alright!” Qin Zhao Yang didn’t expect Yang Kai to agree so readily and he had even been worried about his refusal, yet he didn’t even need to try to convince him in the end. He was so overjoyed and he said excitedly, “I don’t know when the Four Seasons Realm will open up, but we mustn’t delay this matter further. Little Brother Yang, if you’re free, then why don’t we set off tomorrow? We’ll have to spend a dozen days on the road to reach the Azure Sun Temple.”

“Fine!” Yang Kai nodded and stood up then said, “I’ll go back to get ready for it. I’ll seek you again tomorrow.”

“Then it’s settled!”

After a short moment, Yang Kai left the Qin family’s residence and went toward the residence of the Zhang family.

…

Shortly after Yang Kai left, Qin Yu suddenly returned to the chamber. She cast a glance at Qin Zhao Yang’s face, then asked in a low voice, as if she had realized the outcome, “Old Ancestor, did Senior Yang… agree?”

“He has agreed readily,” Qin Zhao Yang said out of delight. “I didn’t have to waste time convincing him. Little Brother Yang is a straightforward man.”

“Old Ancestor, did you tell him the danger lurking in it? Killing people and stealing their treasures isn’t any different than drinking water there. The competition between various sects’ disciples is very intense and none will be there to oversee and restrict them. Senior Yang’s power is pretty great, but he’s only a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, what if…”

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhao Yang quieted and he only spoke again after a long while, “Little Brother Yang doesn’t look like a person doomed to die young…”

“Old Ancestor, since when can you read others’ futures?” Qin Yu said through gnashed teeth.

An embarrassed look surfaced on Qin Zhao Yang’s face and he could only say weakly, “I don’t have a choice. There is no one else our Qin family can trust in Maplewood City other than Little Brother Yang, and I couldn’t find any other candidate. Why don’t I just go by myself?”

Qin Yu’s expression turned sad and she said, “Old Ancestor, if you go by yourself, then you won’t make it back alive. Our Qin family has just taken over the Jiang family’s industry. So, who will oversee the place if you leave?”

She stopped for a moment then said, “Fine, Old Ancestor, give him our Qin family’s Myriads Sword and its usage method.”

“Myriads Sword?”

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhao Yang’s expression changed and he said, “Yu’er, that’s our Qin family’s ancestral heirloom…”

“I know how important it’s, but none in our family can wield this Emperor Artifact now, and even though Senior Yang’s cultivation isn’t high enough yet, he’ll still be able to release some of its might with his power and it may even help him in the Four Seasons Realm and save his life. Senior Yang has put his life in the line for our Qin family, so we must show him our concern. If you don’t do so, I’ll have to live the rest of my days in guilt and unease..”

“Since you have already said so much… Fine, when he drops by tomorrow, I’ll hand over the Myriads Sword to him. I hope he can appreciate your regard for him,” Qin Zhao Yang sighed and gave in.

…

Yang Kai went back to the Zhang family and handed over some instructions to Zhang Ruo Xi. He told her that he would shortly take a trip and asked her to focus on her cultivation at home.

Zhang Ruo Xi had revealed a reluctant look, yet she still agreed in the end and didn’t comment on this. Yang Kai had noticed that the young girl was fired up and she wanted to quickly go into seclusion and raise her cultivation base.

As he mulled this over a lot more, he changed his mind and said, “Why don’t you accompany me?”

“Sir, you don’t mind taking me with you?” Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes lit up and she spoke in delight.

“I don’t mind bringing you with me, but you won’t always be next to me,” Yang Kai said.

“Sir, I can’t understand what you mean.” Zhang Ruo Xi revealed a confused look.

Yang Kai smiled and waved his hand. As the Source Qi enveloped Zhang Ruo Xi, she let out a soft cry and was sent into the Small Sealed World.

Chapter 2118

The next day, Yang Kai visited the Qin family early in the morning.

Qin Zhao Yang had already made adequate preparations and he was glad to see that Yang Kai had arrived as promised. He greeted him, “Little Brother Yang, I have something to pass to you before leaving.”

“What is it?” Yang Kai asked.

Qin Zhao Yang gestured lightly at Qin Yu, who was waiting next to him respectfully, and she walked slowly to Yang Kai with a wooden box in her hands and showed him a faint smile.

Yang Kai cast a glance at the wooden box. This was a four-foot-long rectangular box crafted out of exceptional materials and decorated with mysterious designs.

As for the inside of the box, it was emitting unusual energy ripples.

“Huh?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows. He had detected that the object inside the wooden box was anything but simple.

Yang Kai cast a glance at Qin Zhao Yang and the latter only nodded at him, asking him to open the box and take a look at it.

Yang Kai didn’t hesitate and he stretched his hand toward the wooden box and opened its lid.

Sword light emanated out of the box, a sword light so dazzling that Yang Kai had to squint his eyes. But shortly after, he got a clear look at the object inside the box and he said in surprise, “This is…”

As he spoke, he stretched his hand into the box and took a long sword out of it then said, “An Emperor Artifact?”

This was a three-foot-long sword with a heavy three-inch-wide blade. Both sides of the blade were crystal clear, while one little word was carved on the hilt of the sword.

“The Myriads Sword!”

“Once the sword makes a move, it can obstruct the way of myriads of men. This is the Myriads Sword left by our Qin family’s ancestor,” Qin Zhao Yang explained with a solemn look on his face.

Yang Kai raised his brows. “Myriads Sword? What a bold name!”

As he spoke, he raised the sword and infused it with his Source Qi. The sword let out a humming noise and its blade started shivering.

It looked like a heroic spirit, which had been asleep for innumerable years, was finally awakened again. The sword blade emitted a bright halo and a sizzling Sword Qi.

Upon seeing this, Qin Zhao Yang’s pupils contracted. He couldn’t help but say out of frustration and shock, “Little Brother Yang, your power is really far above mine. You didn’t even refine it, yet you could still release such great power out of the sword.”

This was an Emperor Artifact, and even though it had been asleep for innumerable years, it still couldn’t be used by an ordinary Dao Source Realm Cultivator. Even if Qin Zhao Yang had infused it with his whole Source Qi, it might not show any response.

But, what surprised Qin Zhao Yang more was that Yang Kai didn’t show any surprise and excitement upon learning that it was an Emperor Artifact, as if this was only an ordinary artifact in his eyes.

“Brother Qin, what do you mean by this?” Yang Kai tried several moves with the sword in his hand then turned his head to look at Qin Zhao Yang.

Qin Zhao Yang said with a smile, “If you want a horse to run, then you’ll have to feed it grass…”

Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t finish his statement, as he quickly found himself face to face with Qin Yu’s infuriated glare.

“It’s a slip, a slip of the tongue.” An embarrassed look appeared on Qin Zhao Yang’s face and he said solemnly, “Little Brother Yang, take this sword and use it to protect yourself. The Four Seasons Realm isn’t a… safe place.”

Yang Kai said, “Brother Qin, aren’t you afraid I’ll just run away with it?”

Qin Yu next to them then spoke up, “Senior Yang, if you were to do so, then it’ll still be its glory. This sword has been passed through many generations of our Qin family and it has been buried for so long. It probably wants to find a better Master, carry out a new journey and display its magnificent power.”

Yang Kai cast a glance at her. [This little girl is so shrewd and has a way with words.]

After hearing Qin Yu’s statement, even if he planned to run away with it, he would still be too embarrassed to carry it out. But in any case, he didn’t really plan to take it for himself in the first place.

Emperor Artifacts were very rare, but Yang Kai wasn’t short of them and he had more than just one…

Yang Kai mulled this over for a moment then said, “I’ll take the Myriads Sword for now and I’ll return it to your Qin family after leaving the Four Seasons Realm.”

Qin Yu curled her mouth into a smile and passed over a jade slip to Yang Kai. She said, “Senior Yang, this is the Myriads Sword’s refining method passed down by our ancestor. It’ll probably be useful to you.”

Yang Kai received it and nodded. He didn’t bother with observing it carefully and he just threw it into his Space Ring along with the Myriads Sword.

“Then… let’s leave,” Qin Zhao Yang waved his hand and spoke.

Yang Kai nodded and walked outside along with him.

“Senior Yang….” Qin Yu’s shout echoed out behind them. She said, “Nothing is more important than your safety.”

Yang Kai didn’t bother with turning his head around and he just waved his hand at her.

…

After they left Maplewood City, Yang Kai took out the Ship Artifact he got from the Flying Saint Palace and got into it along with Qin Zhao Yang, then he manoeuvred it and flew away.

Originally, Maplewood City had a Space Array, but it had been destroyed by the Drunkard when the city got shrouded by Demon Qi and they couldn’t build another one by themselves in a short while. They could only notify the Star Soul Palace or other great sects and ask them to send people to build the array.

Yang Kai could obviously provide help, but he didn’t want to do so.

He was still quite weak and it wouldn’t be good for him if more people learned that he was proficient in Space Force.

The ship flew at a very high speed, while Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang took turns in driving the ship and adjusting its direction. This wasn’t really a hard task!

On the road, Qin Zhao Yang made use of their free time to inform Yang Kai of detailed information about the Four Seasons Realm, as well as some key things he must pay attention to, and Yang Kai had borne everything in mind.

According to what Qin Zhao Yang had said, the Four Seasons Realm’s entrance was located in a valley within the Southern Territory and it would open up by itself every so often. Once it got opened, it would stay open for thirty days, and once this time had elapsed, all cultivators within the Sealed World would be expelled and teleported outside.

The Four Seasons Realm got its name from its strange environment. Its environment was divided into four areas corresponding to the four seasons. the verdant Realm of Spring, the Realm of Summer with its blazing sun, the Autumn Realm known for its cool breeze, and the Winter Realm covered by snow.

Many precious treasures and herbs rarely seen in the Star Boundary were present in the Four Seasons Realm, and there were even some special opportunities in it. Once the elite disciples of great sects entered the Four Seasons Realm, they could choose to enter and search a specific realm based on their necessities and the methods cultivated by them.

As for the Tribulation Fruit sought by Yang Kai, it was present in the Winter Realm. Only the Winder Realm’s cold environment satisfied this spirit fruit’s growth conditions.

The opening of the Four Seasons Realm wasn’t just a chance for the Southern Territory’s sects to collect rare resources, and it was also a chance for them to compete against each other. This was why they allowed the disciples to fight and kill each other, and they used this trial to test the disciples’ cultivation attainments.

The great sects would send their top disciples into the realm precisely for this reason. Every trip there would be an intense and violent competition and the casualties would always cross four-tenths of the participants. The stronger one was, the least likely they were to die.

Qin Zhao Yang wasn’t a member of a great sect and he also hadn’t ever entered the Four Seasons Realm. He learned everything he knew about it from information collected by Qin Yu from various books or word of mouth.

This was why, once Yang Kai entered the realm for real, it would be up to him to determine the most appropriate course of action.

The trip had been safe and uneventful!

Other than chatting with Qin Zhao Yang, Yang Kai didn’t do anything else other than studying the jade slip about the Myriads Sword’s refining method, and he learned a lot from it.

He had many of Emperor Artifacts in hand, but the Myriad was a Sword Artifact, a Sword Artifact at the Emperor Grade, and he might get some interesting insights through studying its refining method

…

After five days, the ship flew over a piece of wilderness.

Yang Kai who was sitting in one of the ship’s rooms and refining the Myriads Sword suddenly detected something and his heart skipped a beat. His eyes suddenly snapped open and he gazed with rapt attention at the void.

Soon after, Qin Zhao Yang had also discovered something and he stopped the ship in the air, then yelled, “May I ask who you are and why are you obstructing our path?”

After his voice fell, Yang Kai jumped from the ship’s rear and looked ahead. A scarlet silhouette was standing three hundred meters from the ship with her back facing them.

The silhouette was covered by blazing flames and her face was hidden from view, but from her curvaceous body and plump butt, it could be seen that it was a woman.

“What happened?” Yang Kai asked in a low voice.

Qin Zhao Yang shook his head and said, “This woman suddenly appeared in front of us and I don’t know if she had always been here or if she…”

“She’s so unfathomable…” Yang Kai’s expression changed after he swept the woman with his Divine Sense.

His Divine Sense couldn’t see anything there, and if he wasn’t seeing her with his naked eye, then he wouldn’t have noticed the red-robed woman.

“Is she… at the Emperor Realm?” Qin Zhao Yang cried in alarm, while a chill ran down his spine.

“She’s no ordinary Emperor Realm Master.” Yang Kai couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

When he had been possessed by the Demon Sense, he fought against three First-Order Emperor Realm Masters, and he had some understanding of their power. He could clearly feel that those three Emperor Realm Masters wouldn’t be a match for the woman even if they joined hands.

In other words, the woman was at least a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master or more. She was most likely a… Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.

As this thought ran across Yang Kai’s mind, his heart sank.

No matter why the woman was standing in front of them, if they ended up incurring her wrath, then they would both die here.

“Yang, Little Brother Yang… Do you know her?”

“How the hell would I know her?” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.

Yang Kai gave this some thoughts then shouted, “Senior, may I ask for your name? Why are you obstructing our path?”

After his shout, the woman slowly turned around and showed them a side of her face.

She had a delicate nose, rosy lips, and pretty facial features, as well as long hair and a curvaceous body. She had a plump chest and delicate snow-white skin, as well as a pair of watery eyes.

Upon facing the woman’s gaze, even Qin Zhao Yang fell into a daze and got mesmerized by her beauty.

“You’re really so slow,” the woman mumbled, but despite Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang’s high cultivation base, as well as their acute hearing, they still couldn’t hear the woman’s voice. She must have used some mysterious power to achieve this feat!

After she spoke, the woman curled the corners of her mouth and looked at the ship with a fake smile.

Yang Kai’s body suddenly stiffened.

He felt like the woman’s gaze had penetrated the void and all obstructions of the ship in its way and fell upon his body directly. He got alerted and he used his Source Qi, getting ready for any conflicts, while he also started pondering over this. [When did I meet this woman and how did I offend her?]

Chapter 2119

Yang Kai mulled this over for long, yet couldn’t come up with an answer.

He had arrived at the Star Boundary not long ago and he had met only a few Emperor Realm Masters. If he had really seen this red-robed woman, then he would have an impression of her.

Then, there were only two explanations for the current situation. One of them was that the woman was handling some matters here, and Qin Zhao Yang and him stumbled upon her by mistake.

As for the second one, she had been waiting for him and Qin Zhao Yang here…

The second explanation was very unlikely, so it could only be the first one.

As Yang Kai racked his brain over this, the red-robed woman suddenly opened her rosy mouth and spoke in an indifferent, yet pleasant voice. “You are talking to me, yet you still dare to hide within the ship? Daring!”

The woman wore a faint smile at the corners of her mouth, but her eyes were as cold as ever.

After she spoke, she slowly raised her lily-white hand and snapped her fingers. A scorching force suddenly emerged and formed a fist-sized fireball in front of her. That fireball shivered lightly then flew toward the ship.

The faces of Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang fell and they decisively flew outside.

*Bang*

A deafening explosion sound echoed out and the large ship had been engulfed by raging flames. Qin Zhao Yang had been swept by the explosion’s terrifying might and lost consciousness on the spot. to only be thrown onto the ground.

Yang Kai had also felt a scorching pain on his back, as if several of his ribs had been broken.

When he regained his balance, he turned his head to take a look and he found out that his ship had been quickly turned into ashes by the raging flames.

“My artifact!” Yang Kai shouted out of distress.

He had gotten a means of transport such as a Flying Artifact only with great difficulty and it was still an artifact of a pretty good grade, yet it had been destroyed by an Emperor Realm Master for no reason on his first trip.

Upon hearing him, the red-robed woman curled the corners of her lips and smiled with her cold eyes. She said calmly, “Lad, shouldn’t you worry over your life rather than your artifact?”

“Senior, who are you and why are you assaulting us?” Yang Kai turned his head to face her and shouted. Flames of anger were raging up in his heart!

The opponent was at least a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master and she had already destroyed his artifact at a slight disagreement, yet it looked like she still didn’t plan to let him off the hook and she wanted to attack him. How could he bear this any longer?

“You don’t have to know who I am.” The red-robed woman revealed a mesmerizing smile and spoke, then took light steps. She had used some unknown Divine Ability and closed in on Yang Kai with only two or three steps. When they were only thirty feet apart, she raised her hand and pointed it at Yang Kai then said, “You’re just an eyesore.”

After she spoke, she swatted the air with her fair hand. The World Principles were suddenly frozen and a formless wave of pressure assaulted Yang Kai’s body. His bones let out a snapping noise, as if they would shortly be crushed by the terrifying wave of pressure.

“Are you sick?” Yang Kai’s expression was unsightly. He never imagined that he would one day suffer such undeserved misfortune. She planned to kill him only because she found him an eyesore.

As he spoke, he used his Source Qi and a three-inch-wide sword appeared in his hand. He shouted, “Myriad Sword Move, a Single Man Guards the Pass.”

As Sword Light shone brightly, the Sword Qi let out a humming noise.

*Sizzle*

At this moment, it looked like the Myriads Sword had turned into innumerable swords that covered Yang Kai’s surroundings and they all shot out like a swarm of locusts.

“Huh? An Emperor Artifact?” Surprise flashed past the red-robed woman’s pretty eyes. But, she didn’t take him seriously and she only said mockingly, “How much of its might can you release with your weak cultivation base?”

*Rumble!*

As she spoke, many sparks broke in the air. It was a result of the innumerable Sword Qi’s collision against the formless wave of pressure.

But, Yang Kai had refined the Myriads Sword for only a short period and his cultivation base was still low. The Sword Qi was impressive-lookinghonourable but pretty weak, and it had been quickly extinguished by the boundless wave of pressure.

The terrifying wave of pressure swept Yang Kai and engulfed the region around him.

“It doesn’t matter how much of its might I can release, as I didn’t count on it to stop your Divine Ability.” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly reverberated behind the red-robed woman.

He held the sword with both hands and exerted all of his brute power and thrust it at the red-robed woman’s long neck.

The red-robed woman shouted in surprise, “Teleportation? Space Force? Interesting…”

As she spoke, she turned around and stared at Yang Kai with a smile. She didn’t plan to dodge his strike.

The sword fell upon her neck and cut her body into two halves, but Yang Kai couldn’t rejoice over this, and he suddenly retreated quickly as if he had been struck by a scorpion tail.

Meanwhile, the red-robed woman suddenly appeared next to his former place and tapped the afterimage left by him.

“You can dodge even this?” The red-robed woman furrowed her brow and mumbled, “It looks like I have underestimated you…”

As her voice fell, her expression suddenly changed and she observed the surroundings with furrowed brows.

A pitch-black hole suddenly appeared next to her and a terrifying suction force emanated from it.

On the other side, Yang Kai weaved hand seals and shouted through gnashed teeth: “Banishment!”

“Do you plan to deal with me…” The red-robed woman revealed a smile. “Through such means?”

The woman only waved her hand and the black hole immediately disappeared.

Yang Kai chuckled bitterly and stood in his place motionless then collected the Myriads Sword.

“Huh? Do you plan to give up?” The red-robed woman observed Yang Kai with great interest and spoke mockingly.

“I can’t beat you, so why would I continue fighting?” Yang Kai said with an indifferent look plastered on his face.

“Then, are you ready to die?” The red-robed woman laughed in response.

Yang Kai replied, “It doesn’t matter! In any case, I’ll only suffer more if I fight back, please give me a quick death. But, I still want to ask you, why did you attack me? How did I offend you?”

“Didn’t I tell you already… I found you an eyesore,” the red-robed woman replied.

“Crazy woman!” Yang Kai said resentfully.

“Pff….” At a certain region in the void, a person was drinking tea slowly, yet he suddenly splurted a mouthful of tea upon hearing Yang Kai’s words and he had almost sprayed it on the face of the young girl opposite him.

The young girl was oblivious to this and she was still observing Yang Kai and the red-robed woman nervously, entreating the man anxiously, “Uncle Li, please let go of me. I’ll go back with you to the island. Why are you making trouble for Brother Yang, he’s only a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator and he’s no match for you.”

“That’s not true,” the man called ‘Uncle Li’ by the young girl shook his head and corrected her, “It isn’t me who is causing trouble for the young lad, but your Aunty Feng and it has nothing to do with me. I’m only drinking tea here…”

“Why? Aunty Feng has never seen Brother Yang, so why is she making trouble for him?” The young girl asked anxiously.

“Xiao Qi…” Uncle Li wore an experienced look and said meaningfully, “The outside world is… very complex, and the outside world’s men are all cunning and shrewd. Your Aunty Feng is doing this for your own good.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Xiao Qi pouted then snorted and said, “I don’t care, if you don’t call back Aunty Feng, then I’ll… I’ll tell her that you peeped while she was bathing.”

Upon hearing this, Uncle Li’s expression changed and his face turned deathly pale, while beads of sweat streaked across his forehead. He said, “Xiao Qi, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want. I’m a just and honorable gentleman and I have never done such a despicable thing… Fine, fine, it was only one time, a single time and I was caught by you before I could see anything. Young girl, you really have a good memory. You were only four years old at that time.”

“Don’t try to change the subject, I’m asking you, will you do it or not?” Mo Xiao Qi snorted and said, “If you dare to refuse, then I’ll add interesting details to that story and turn that single occurrence into dozens and dozens then tell them to Aunty Feng one by one…”

“Ah! Spare me! Please!” Uncle Li’s expression turned bitter. “Let me off the hook, why are you making life hard for me…”

“Then will you agree or not?” Mo Xiao Qi looked coldly at Uncle Li.

Uncle Li sighed and said, “If it had been a while ago, then I could still do you a favour, but now…”

“But now, what?”

“The young lad dared to call your Aunty Feng crazy, he’s done for!” Uncle Li spoke, taking pleasure in Yang Kai’s misfortune!

“Ah… No!!” Mo Xiao Qi was scared and she turned her head to take a look. As expected, Aunty Feng had been infuriated and her pretty eyes shone with a cold glint. Those were clear signs she had gotten angry for real, and even Mo Xiao Qi was afraid to see her in this state.

“Lad, what did you just say?” The red-robed woman revealed a sweet smile, but Yang Kai could clearly discern that her voice had turned bone-chilling.

However, the current situation was already bad enough, and Yang Ka had thrown caution to the wind. If the woman dared to attempt killing him for real, then he would open the Golden Silver Seal in his belly and give her a great surprise. At that time, even if he wasn’t a match for her, he could still escape, probably.

But, the sole issue was that he didn’t have enough power to seal the Demon Sense and boundless Demon Qi again. The Firmament Tree still needed more time to accumulate enough Sealing Power.

“Crazy woman!” Yang Kai raised his head high and stared at the red-robed woman.

“Hehe…” The red-robed woman didn’t get angry, but rather laughed in response. However, her voice suddenly turned sharp, “Do you think I won’t kill you right now?”

Yang Kai raised his brows and said in surprise, “Huh? Does this mean… You didn’t plan to kill me?”

As he spoke, his tense nerves relaxed and he said with a smile, “I already found this strange, you’re a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, yet you let go of everything and ran over here to block our path. What are you up to? I have never seen you and don’t have any grievances with you.”

The red-robed woman sneered and said, “You think you’re clever?”

But upon hearing Yang Kai’s next words, the red-robed woman’s expression changed.

“Ah. Hello, Aunty Feng!”

A startled look appeared on the red-robed woman’s face. She didn’t expect that Yang Kai could see through her identity and disclose it.

She quickly looked toward a certain region in the void. Uncle Li could only spread his arms in response, expressing that this had nothing to do with him.

“Aren’t you Aunty Feng?” Even though Yang Kai was questioning her, he spoke in a confident and sure tone, and he also cast a glance at the region observed by the red-robed woman a while ago. He waved his hand at the void and shouted with a smile. “Xiao Qi!”

Chapter 2120

In the void, the hiding Uncle Li looked in surprise at Yang Kai and whistled “This lad is quite… attentive.”

“Does Brother Yang know I’m here?” Mo Xiao Qi was also taken aback and she looked toward Yang Kai, who was waving his hand at her in greeting. She quickly tried to give him a reply, but her voice couldn’t reach Yang Kai.

The void had been confined by a powerful force and it had been isolated thoroughly.

Mo Xiao Qi couldn’t help but get anxious!

On the other side, Yang Kai laughed, “Mo Xiao Qi, it’s enough for you to see me. Go back to your family obediently. I hope we will meet again.”

“Huh…” Mo Xiao Qi nodded and said, “Okay!”

She had been dejected for a while because she couldn’t see Yang Kai one last time before leaving, yet upon hearing Yang Kai’s words, she got over her sorrow and laughed cheerfully.

Yang Kai turned his head to face the red-robed woman and said, “Aunty Feng…”

“Who is Aunty Feng and who are you calling?” The red-robed woman gazed at Yang Kai with a cold look plastered on her face.

“Senior…”

“If you dare to say so again…”

Yang Kai took a deep breath and said, “Miss… I already know why you have obstructed us here…”

“You think you’re clever?” The red-robed woman snorted coldly and interrupted Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was taken aback and he could only furrow his brows, “Since you don’t want to admit it… Then I can only…”

As he spoke, he suddenly faced the void and said warmly with an affectionate look plastered on his face, “Xiao Qi, go back home and wait for me. Once I prepare a betrothal gift, I’ll visit your home to ask for your hand.”

The red-robed woman’s face fell and she yelled, “Lad, you dare…”

But, she suddenly realized something midways and said through gnashed teeth, “You’re so cunning.”

At this moment, she had realized that Yang Kai’s words didn’t reach Mo Xiao Qi and he had said them only to her, while her reaction had clearly confirmed Yang Kai’s guess.

“That’s right, I’m Xiao Qi’s Aunty Feng,” the red-robed woman couldn’t continue acting dumb and she could only admit it. She glared at Yang Kai, “I don’t care about your origins nor your prospects. Xiao Qi isn’t a girl the likes of you can covet, don’t ever forget this.”

“Miss, you have come here just to admonish me for lusting over swan meat?” Yang Kai said calmly, “If that’s so, then why didn’t you say so early on.”

“At least, you know your place.” The red-robed woman snorted and said, “You’re quite sensible and I won’t bully you. But, don’t forget my words, if you dare to have any presumptuous thoughts about Xiao Qi, then I’ll make you regret being born in this world.”

“Miss, your threat is so… feeble.” Yang Kai chuckled. “But, you don’t have to worry, Xiao Qi and I are only friends…”

“That is for the best!” The red-robed woman nodded with satisfaction.

Yang Kai chuckled, “I prefer alluring mature women over such young girls, mature women such as… you. I really couldn’t help but fall for you.”

*Splurt*

In the void, Uncle Li splurted a mouthful of tea again and his jaw dropped in shock. After a long while, he came back to his senses and said, while wiping the sweat off his face, “She got teased… She really got teased…”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh loudly. “A lad wet behind the ears dared to tease Miss Jiu, if the Great Emperor hears of this, he’d have a good laugh.”

“Brother Yang, how can he say…” The face of Mo Xiao Qi opposite him got flushed, “He’s so shameless!”

“Do you like women such as me?” The red-robed woman’s expression turned strange and she observed Yang Kai with great interest. She said, “Those presumptuous words are enough of a reason for me to cut off your tongue.”

“But…” She suddenly smiled sweetly and looked at him coquettishly. She said in a silky voice, “I really like your honesty. If your cultivation base surpasses mine, then I may consider giving you a chance to court me.”

“Haha, then it’s a promise,” Yang Kai laughed and said.

The red-robed woman stared at him for a long while then said mockingly, “Conceited fool!”

As her voice fell, her body flickered and disappeared suddenly.

“Hey! Miss, you have destroyed my Flying Artifact, yet you just want to walk away? Aren’t you too shameless?” Yang Kai shouted at the void.

After his voice fell, a blue light suddenly shot toward him and it stopped in front of him.

Yang Kai observed the blue light for a while and discovered that it was a little wooden boat shrouded by light. It was a three-inch-long boat, emitting the energy ripples of a Dao Source Artifact.

“She has given me compensation for real?” Yang Kai was surprised, but still gladly accepted the wooden boat and put it in his Space Ring, then stood in the air and waited in silence.

After a long while, he suddenly shivered and beads of sweat seeped off his forehead and his clothes quickly got drenched in sweat. He couldn’t help but open his mouth and start gasping for breath, as if he was a fish that had just left water.

The confrontation with the red-robed woman hadn’t been dangerous, but it was still anything but peaceful.

After all, she was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and her cultivation base was above Yang Kai’s by many Realms. Even if Yang Kai opened the Golden Silver Seal in his belly, he might not have a good chance to escape from her. This was why he could only try risky moves.

Fortunately, he suddenly guessed her identity at a crucial juncture.

It hadn’t been hard for him to guess it. After all, he didn’t have any feud with the red-robed woman, yet this Third-Order Emperor Realm Master had come specially to make trouble for him. So, she obviously had different reasons behind this.

As Yang Kai mulled it over repeatedly, he could only think of Mo Xiao Qi. Prior to her departure, she left a jade slip and told Yang Kai that her Aunty Feng was coming for her.

Mo Xiao Qi was only a Third-Order Origin King. So, how could she escape from Aunty Feng? She would surely get caught and sent back home.

Moreover, Aunty Feng might have heard about Yang Kai from Mo Xiao Qi after catching her and that was why she had come especially for him to feel him out.

Yang Kai could understand the reason behind Aunty Feng’s actions. If that inexperienced and naive girl mentioned a stranger repeatedly, then she would surely have to go have a look at Yang Kai’s character and see whether he had deceived her.

As for what happened later? It was quite simple. After he learned of the woman’s identity, he realized that Mo Xiao Qi was likely hidden in the vicinity.

As for the red-robed woman, she would surely not kill him.

But, she had used some sort of Soul Secret Technique before leaving and Yang Kai had almost made a fool out of himself due to her brief seduction.

However, Aunty Feng had underestimated Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy and he managed to draw help from the Soul Warming Lotus to get rid of her influence, or else, he would have made a fool out of himself in front of Mo Xiao Qi and she wouldn’t ever pay heed to him again.

“They should have left, right?” Yang Kai mumbled. He was quite feeble right now, but he still braced himself and went to check on Qin Zhao Yang.

After he checked him briefly, he ascertained that he was only unconscious and didn’t suffer any injuries. It looked like Aunty Feng had knocked him out on purpose to get a chance to talk to Yang Kai in private.

…

In the distance, Uncle Li cast a Great Divine Ability and travelled through the void with Mo Xiao Qi and Aunty Feng.

Mo Xiao Qi was sulking, but the two Emperor Realm Masters didn’t pay any heed to her.

Uncle Li was frequently casting glances at Aunty Feng, as if he had something to tell her.

“What’s on your mind? Just blurt it out, why are you casting stealthy glances at me?” Aunty Feng flew into a rage and glared at Uncle Li with her pretty eyes.

Uncle Li laughed sheepishly, “I’m only curious, how did the lad resist your Soul Suction Technique. How much power did you use? One-tenth… or half a tenth?”

Aunty Feng quieted for a while then said, “Two tenths!”

“Are you making fun of me?” Uncle Li’s eyes widened.

Aunty Feng said, “That brat’s Spiritual Energy is so strange. He’s only a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, yet his Spiritual Energy is on par with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, and he’s also…”

“What else?”

“It looks like he’s also protected by a strong Artifact… That artifact resisted most of my Soul Suction Technique’s might.”

“Even you can’t detect what kind of Artifact it is?”

“It’s within his Knowledge Sea and I can’t detect it unless I crack open his head and have a look at it.”

“Don’t bring up such scary matters, I’m still here,” Mo Xiao Qi cut into the discussion and reminded them of her existence.

“Moreover, that brat is…” Aunty Feng didn’t pay heed to Mo Xiao Qi and looked at Uncle Li with great interest. She chuckled and said, “His attainments in the Space Force are pretty high and he can even cast a black hole-like Secret Technique. I clearly remember that you weren’t able to achieve this feat in the past at his cultivation level.”

“What are you trying to say?” Uncle Li looked askance at her.

Aunty Feng smiled and said, “It isn’t easy to find a suitable candidate, why don’t you consider taking him in as your disciple? Honestly speaking, that brat is pretty good, and even the Star Boundary’s top sects couldn’t raise a person of his calibre.”

“Pah!” Uncle Li sneered, “What’s so good about having a disciple? If I take one, then I’ll have to waste time teaching him and I’ll still have to worry about him as he may have an early death at any moment… If he was a pretty young girl, then I may consider raising him, but it’s a pity… Tsk, tsk…”

“Then, that’s his loss,” Aunty Feng said with a smile.

“That’s right.” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly clapped and said, “Uncle Li, you and Brother Yang are both proficient in Space Force, why don’t you take him in as your disciple? He can inherit your mantle.”

“I refuse!” Uncle Li didn’t give this any consideration.

Mo Xiao Qi cast a glance at him then turned around and looked at Aunty Feng. She said, “Aunty Feng, when I was four years old, Uncle Li…”

“Hey, hey…” Uncle Li’s expression changed and he suddenly prayed and let out strange cries, “I suddenly think that taking in a disciple is a pretty good idea. If I’m in a good mood, I can teach him for a while, and if I’m in a bad mood, I can call him over and teach him a lesson. Taking care of a mischievous disciple would be a pleasant experience.”

“Uncle Li, are you serious?” Mo Xiao Qi looked at him excitedly.

“Huh…huh…” Uncle Li nodded solemnly, “Once I meet him again, I’ll take him as a disciple.”

Chapter 2121

It took two hours for Qin Zhao Yang to wake up.

After a moment of fogginess, he suddenly remembered what had happened before he fell unconscious. His face changed greatly. He looked around, and he was relieved when he found that Yang Kai was safe and sound.

He was naturally very curious about what the woman in red wanted and what happened while he was knocked out.

He asked Yang Kai, who did not tell the truth since this matter involved Mo Xiao Qi’s origins and identity. Therefore, Yang Kai casually shared that the woman in red had the wrong person…

Qin Zhao Yang was doubtful, but since the two of them were unharmed, he did not dive deeper into it and they continued to drive towards the direction of Azure Sun Temple.

Yang Kai’s ship artifact had been destroyed, and Yang Kai had no time to refine the smaller ship artifact he had gotten from Qin Zhao Yang. Thus, Qin Zhao Yang had to summon his own flight-type artifact and the two of them shared it.

It was a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank wagon-like artifact. Although the space inside is not as big as Yang Kai’s ship, its speed was not much slower.

In the meantime, Yang Kai took the time to refine the artifact he was given.

The woman in red was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so she could easily compensate Yang Kai for the broken artifact, which was Dao Source Grade High Rank! And there were many barriers inside. Although it had no attack power, the defence was solid, which made Yang Kai extremely satisfied.

If he wanted to enter the Four Seasons Realm, there would inevitably be a need to use flight-type artifacts, so he was seizing the time to refine his.

No accidents happened along the way. More than ten days later, the two entered the territory of the Azure Sun Temple.

Azure Sun Temple was a famous sect in Southern Territory, and it ranked alongside Orthodoxy Temple and Heavenly Martial Holy Land. It was second only to Star Soul Palace.

Its headquarters were located in a rolling mountain, with tens of thousands of disciples at the foot, and an endless number of masters!

Neither Yang Kai nor Qin Zhao Yang knew why the senior expert appointed Qin Zhao Yang to Azure Sun Temple in exchange for the Four Seasons Realm quota, but since the other party said so, it probably had something to do with Azure Sun Temple.

The two of them stepped into the Azure Sun Mountain Range. Yang Kai was shocked by the spiritual energy contained in the mountain.

The full-bodied world energy rushed towards one’s face, with the fragrance of flowers and plants, which made people feel refreshed. Cultivating in such a good environment, the effect was absolutely amazing.

Yang Kai estimated that there should be a lot of good Earth Veins under the Azure Sun Mountain Range. Even the highest quality Earth Vein should exist, otherwise, there wouldn’t be such rich world energy.

And this was just the periphery. If one went nearer to the centre, what would it be like?

He looked around, secretly shocked by the heritage that Azure Sun Temple sat on, but unexpectedly found that Qin Zhao Yang’s demeanour was a little nervous and cautious.

When Yang Kai thought about it, he understood.

This was the headquarters of the top sect in the Southern Territory. Qin Zhao Yang was a patriarch from a small family in Maplewood City, and he may still be the number one person there, but maybe even the common disciple here made him inferior. Naturally, he was under a lot of psychological pressure, for fear of making a mistake in speech or lack of courtesy or something else.

After all, he came here to beg for help. Naturally, he was very nervous.

In contrast, Yang Kai seemed to be under no pressure, as if he were travelling in the mountains and playing in the water, having a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery along the way.

Suddenly, Yang Kai paused and said, “Brother Qin, someone is here.”

“Ah…” Qin Zhao Yang, who seemed to have his thoughts wandering away, was suddenly startled when he heard the words, but stopped. He stood quietly in place.

In a short while, two streams of light shot over from a distance. They fell not far in front of the two and looked at them coldly.

One of them had a large head, big ears, and a fat body, the fat on his face piled up together. It was almost impossible to see where the eyes were. The other person was a blue-faced man, and it was unknown whether it was his original skin colour or the consequence of cultivating some secret technique. Anyway, he didn’t look like a normal person.

The cultivation of these two was not high: A Second-Order Origin King and a Third-Order Origin King.

But as a mountain patrol disciple, such cultivation was enough to demonstrate the strong heritage of Azure Sun Temple!

“Who are you waiting for? Why are you trespassing into my Azure Sun Temple?” The obese man wasn’t afraid of the cultivation gap. Instead, he looked aloof, interrogating Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang.

Yang Kai’s heart moved, and he thought to himself that a big sect was a big sect. In any other place, if a Dao Source Realm expert stood in front of them, an Origin King Realm cultivator would be trembling. Here, neither of these two guys showed timidity, on the contrary making it seem like his cultivation was lower than theirs.

Qin Zhao Yang was also surprised, but when he thought this was Azure Sun Temple, he was relieved and quickly lowered his posture, cupped his fists, and said, “Greetings, two little brothers. This old master is the master of the Maplewood City Qin family… This is-“

Before he could introduce Yang Kai, the fat man frowned and said, “Maplewood City? I haven’t heard of it.”

“I haven’t heard of it!” The green-faced man also looked impatient and said contemptuously, “Probably some impoverished town.”

“Senior Brother makes sense!” The fat man touched his double chin with a look of approval and then shouted at Qin Zhao Yang, “Country bumpkin, what are you here for? Why did you not stay in that Mapleleaf City??”

“Co… country bumpkin!” Qin Zhao Yang was shocked. This fat man called him this way in front of his own face. No one had ever called him that way.

A trace of anger burst out of his heart, but now people under the eaves had to bow their heads and could only suppress the anger in his heart, displaying a smile. “It’s Maplewood City, not Mapleleaf City!”

“Aren’t they all the same?” said the fat man.

“Well, it’s all the same!” The blue-faced man also nodded.

“You haven’t answered my question yet. What are you doing here at Azure Sun Temple? If you don’t answer quickly, you will be regarded as enemies invading. Don’t blame my fellow brothers for being ruthless!” the fat man said as he didn’t fit his body shape. The attacking posture contained agility and speed.

“Our fellow brothers are strong and will move very quickly when called!” The green-faced man also put on a pose at the right time, meaning that he would have to fight if he didn’t agree with him.

“Wait!” Qin Zhao Yang was taken aback. The two Origin King Realms dared to show their intention to attack. Although there was some overconfidence, this was the headquarters of the Azure Sun Temple. Once the fight began, there was bound to be a master. Here, he and Yang Kai would never escape from this place even if they had the means to reach the sky.

He pondered his words and said, “Two little brothers, don’t be nervous. Brother Yang and I are not enemies of the noble temple.”

The fat man shouted in a low voice, “Senior Brother and I will make our own judgment whether you’re an enemy or not!”

“Yes, it’s not for you to decide!” Although the green-faced man was the Senior Brother, he seemed to be someone who had no opinion. He said whatever the fat Junior Brother said.

Qin Zhao Yang sighed and said helplessly, “The old master came here to beg noble Temple Master Wen.”

Hearing this, the fat junior brother and the green-faced senior brother both froze and were silent for a while.

After a while, the fat junior brother turned his head to look at his Senior Brother and said, “Senior Brother, did I hear them wrongly? The bumpkin just said he asked to see the Temple Master?”

“Senior Brother heard it too.” The blue-faced senior brother nodded.

“Impudent!” The fat junior brother suddenly turned furious and shouted, “You country bumpkins, if you are given three types of dyes, you plan to open a dyeing workshop! How dare you!”

It was too late. The fat junior brother shook his body, his hands clasped, and the power inside his body pushed forward violently. A surging force was suddenly aroused and hit Qin Zhao Yang.

The blue-faced senior brother didn’t react too slowly. He directly took out a long sword artifact, and under the flickering light of the sword, he took on Yang Kai from the front, showing off his moves. To put it plainly, it was full of flaws…

“What are the two little brothers doing?” Qin Zhao Yang was shocked, and Source Qi immediately resolving the fat Junior Brother’s attack.

He didn’t expect that the other party would try to kill him immediately after he stated his intention.

Fortunately, the strength of these two was not high, with his Dao Source Realm cultivation, there was no need to be afraid.

On the other side, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and clamped the fierce long sword of the blue-faced man, in the palm of his hand.

Both of them just cracked the opponent’s killer move and did not fight back.

“Ah!” The fat junior brother exclaimed when he saw this scene. “No, Senior Brother, these two are Dao Source Realm cultivators. Retreat!”

It seemed that until this moment, he had no insight into the fact that Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang’s cultivations were higher than theirs.

“Oh!” The blue-faced senior brother also recovered at this moment. He didn’t know what movement skill he had used, but instead of ignoring his clamped long sword artifact, he slipped back to junior brother’s side.

“The enemy! Senior Brother, run! These two people are not easy to deal with!” The fat junior brother had a serious look on his face and sped off once his attack was complete.

The blue-faced man followed closely behind.

From a distance, the fat Junior Brother’s voice could be heard. “If you have the guts, wait for us to return. When the experts from my temple arrive, I will make sure to remember your face!”

“Well, this is…” Qin Zhao Yang was dumbfounded, standing in place with a bewildered expression.

Yang Kai’s face was turning a shade darker. He thought for a while and switched to holding the long sword in his palm, instead of his fingers.

“Brother Yang, we…” Qin Zhao Yang looked flustered, a little beaten retreat.

“We should just go in. We should see the person he is speaking about soon.” Yang Kai smiled faintly.

“Is that really a good idea?” Qin Zhao Yang was indecisive.

“Once we are wanted by Azure Sun Temple, I’m afraid we will be chased throughout the Southern Territory. It is better to take the initiative to meet and explain to their higher-ups.”

“Brother Yang is right… but, I’m afraid they won’t believe us…” Qin Zhao Yang worriedly said.

Yang Kai laughed and continued, “The two just now… were a bit strange… I doubt that the others from Azure Sun Temple will be like them. If we explain clearly, they should understand.”

“I hope so.” Qin Zhao Yang nodded. After thinking about it, the tension and fear in his heart disappeared and he followed Yang Kai forward.

Chapter 2122

This time, Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang didn’t go far before they realized that a Dao Source Realm level master was coming.

It should be the helper invited by the two Azure Sun Temple disciples before.

They arrived extremely quickly, and there were more than one. There were four or five people, and the leader was at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm level.

Yang Kai waited quietly and didn’t move forward. Qin Zhao Yang also looked down and looked uneasy.

After a while, a bright light flashed, and a group of cultivators appeared in front of the two of them.

“Deacon Tao, these two guys trespassed into our Azure Sun Mountain Range, and they also ranted loudly. Senior Brother and I lost and retreated. Look, that guy still has the Senior Brother’s sword in his hand!”

The fat junior brother and the blue-faced senior brother who had appeared before were also among these people. As soon as they appeared, the fat junior brother started to dance about in front of an elderly man to explain, while pointing to Yang Kai.

The elderly man looked like he was about fifty years old. His hair was half white, and his figure was not tall, but his eyes were gleaming with capability.

This person should be the Deacon Tao that the fat junior brother talked about.

A Second-Order Dao Source Realm level cultivator only played the role of Deacon in the Azure Sun Temple. Therefore, those that are Elders of the Sect must be much more powerful cultivators.

Yang Kai deduced.

After the fat junior brother finished speaking, the blue-faced senior brother yelled, “Hey, country bumpkin, return my Senior Brother’s artifact, or you will know what happens to you…”

Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.

He didn’t have the intention to take the opponent’s artifact as his own. This long sword was just an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact. The reason he held it in his hand was to wait to see this blue-faced man again, then give it back to him when he saw him.

However, the manner in which the other party spoke left him in a dilemma. Even if he returned it, he would still be in the wrong.

Returning it seemed too cowardly, but not returning it was an obvious provocation… This made Yang Kai’s head ache, and he couldn’t wait to go forward and tear the blue-faced man’s mouth off.

“Don’t be rude!” Fortunately, Deacon Tao seemed to be a sensible person. He did not blindly believe in his own sect disciple. It was estimated that he also knew about how the fat junior brother and the blue senior brother were a bit different from ordinary people.

While speaking, he glanced lightly at Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang. He suddenly had a thought.

Although the cultivation of the two being First-Order Dao Source Realm and not high, it was not very low either compared with outside cultivators.

“About what happened, this Deacon already knows. I don’t know what the two of you have to say?” Deacon Tao said.

Qin Zhao Yang hurriedly cupped his fists and said, “The master of Maplewood City Qin Family, Qin Zhao Yang, greets Deacon Tao. Brother Yang and I took the liberty to come to Azure Sun Temple, not to provoke trouble, but to ask for help. The two disciples suddenly took the initiative, so Brother Yang and I were forced to be helpless and could only defend. Deacon Tao, please understand!”

“Maplewood City…” Deacon Tao, upon hearing this, suddenly furrowed his brows and frowned. He said lightly, “Recently, this Deacon seems to often hear the words ‘Maplewood City’…”

The other two Dao Source Realm cultivators standing next to him also gently nodded.

First, Divine Spirit Luan Feng appeared in Clear Jade Mountain near Maplewood City, and then, the seal of the ancient demon was broken, and Demon Qi was released. Also…

These things were not secrets, and those who were interested could naturally find out.

“What happened to Maplewood City?” Deacon Tao was surprised and asked. He thought Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang were messengers from Maplewood City asking for help.

Hearing what he said, Qin Zhao Yang immediately understood. The other party didn’t know why he came, obviously because the fat Junior Brother and the blue-faced Senior Brother didn’t explain it.

Qin Zhao Yang said, “It’s not that Maplewood City had an accident. I am here for a private matter.”

“Private matter?” Deacon Tao heard the words. Slightly frowned, and asked, “Do you know someone in the Azure Sun Temple?”

“No.” Qin Zhao Yang shook his head.

“Then are you here to join my Azure Sun Temple?” Deacon Tao asked again.

“No!”

Deacon Tao suddenly became impatient. At this moment, the fat junior brother leaned over, attached to Deacon Tao’s ear, and whispered.

A cold light flashed in Deacon Tao’s eyes, staring at the two opposite people, and nodding. “So, that’s how it is. Shameless boasting! No wonder they would attack you.”

After a pause, he continued, “It’s not easy for you to cultivate to the Dao Source Realm, and it’s the first offence. Leave one arm each and we’ll let you go!”

Qin Zhao Yang’s body shook, his eyes widened, and he looked at him incredulously.

Yang Kai frowned and secretly felt that things were a little difficult to handle. Although Deacon Tao’s thinking was more normal, and the way he acted was also straightforward, he didn’t give them a chance to explain at all.

Seeing the look of the two of them, Deacon Tao chuckled lightly. “What’s wrong? Reluctant? If you are reluctant, this Deacon doesn’t mind helping you!”

“Deacon Tao!” Yang Kai shouted abruptly.

“What else do you want to say?” Deacon Tao cast his gaze on Yang Kai.

Yang Kai chuckled and said, “Could it be that Deacon Tao knew we asked to see your noble Temple’s Temple Master Wen, so he wanted us to cut our arms? What kind of order is this? To think Azure Sun Temple shows this level of hospitality? The top sect in the Southern Territory, we’ve really never seen anything like it!”

His tone of sarcasm made everyone on the other side glare at him.

Deacon Tao even sneered and said, “You trespass into my Azure Sun Mountain Range, this Deacon can take your life. I don’t even want your life. You should be grateful and leave. If you are any more verbose, you don’t have to go.”

He looked confident.

Not surprisingly, he was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm. With Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang’s First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, Deacon Tao did not think they were his opponents. What’s more, there were two more companions in the First-Order Dao Source Realm beside him.

Yang Kai said, “Just because of our request?”

“Yes!”

“This is strange. Does the noble temple’s rules say that outsiders are not allowed to see Temple Master Wen?”

“Naturally not, but… What qualifications do you have to ask for Temple Master Wen?”

The Azure Sun Temple Temple Master, Wen Zi Shan, was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master who deserved his title. As a figure standing at the top of the Martial Dao, he was not someone that could be met casually. If one wanted to see him, they had to at least be Emperor Realm. Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang, two First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators… it was simply an insult to have them ask to see the Temple Master himself!

This was like a sloppy beggar who wanted to see the noble emperor of a country. Those guards would naturally rather kill the beggar than let them stain the eyes of the emperor.

“Since Brother Qin and I came here from a far off land, naturally there is a reason to speak with Temple Master Wen.” Yang Kai quickly said, “Why not, Deacon Tao, please report the matter to Temple Master Wen. As for seeing us… If he doesn’t want to see us, that is for Sir Temple Master to decide.”

“Impudence! Sir Temple Master has things to do. How can he meet little people like you!?” Deacon Tao snorted coldly.

Yang Kai looked at him with interest, and said, “What Deacon Tao said… Could it be because you can’t see Temple Master Wen either?”

After speaking, without waiting for him to deny it, Yang Kai looked enlightened. He muttered to himself, “Yes, with Deacon Tao’s status, I am afraid it is not so easy to meet Temple Master Wen. How about this Deacon Tao? You go and report to an elder or a guard stationed close to him, and have them report to Temple Master Wen.”

“The way this Deacon acts is not for you to dictate!” Deacon Tao was enraged out of shame. Obviously, Yang Kai was right.

Yang Kai was unmoved, and said lightly, “Deacon Tao, I came here with Brother Qin. Not only are there reasons to beg to see Temple Master Wen, but also things he needs to hear! Are you sure you want to drive us out of Azure Sun Mountain Range?”

Upon Deacon Tao hearing this, his eyes couldn’t help but shrink.

Yang Kai was too calm, which was definitely not something that a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator should be in such a situation. It seemed that Sir Temple Master would really meet them.

If they really brought any important information to Sir Temple Master, and they were stopped here by him… If he drove them out and waited until Sir Temple Master Sir knew about it… He could damage their relationship…

Considering all this, Deacon Tao suppressed the unhappiness in his heart. He opened his mouth and said, “What do you have for Sir Temple Master Sir to hear? Let’s hear it. If what you said is true and important enough, this Deacon will take you.”

Yang Kai, hearing this, took a look at Qin Zhao Yang.

Qin Zhao Yang knew that this was the deciding factor and that proof had to be taken out, otherwise they would not be allowed to enter the gate of Azure Sun Temple.

He stretched out his hand to take out the Jade Beauty Beggar Token from the Space Ring, used a little strength, and threw it towards Deacon Tao, saying, “Sir Deacon only needs to transfer this to Temple Master Wen, and he will understand. “

When he said this, although Qin Zhao Yang was still calm, he was praying in secret, praying that the Master he met back then was not joking with him. If the Jade Beauty Beggar Token did not work, then he was afraid that Yang Kai and himself were doomed.

“What is this?” Deacon Tao reached out his hand to take the token and looked at it carefully in the palm of his hand.

The other two Dao Source Realm cultivators also leaned in and took a look.

Soon, Deacon Tao’s face changed. From the initial surprise to the puzzlement, he was shocked, angry, and sternly shouted, “Bold! Thinking that if you just carve a nondescript token, you can deceive this Deacon? You must still be sleeping! Wake up!”

Deacon Tao’s reaction was completely unexpected by Yang Kai.

Anyone who saw this token would be suspicious. When Yang Kai first saw the Jade Beauty Beggar Token, he too didn’t take this token seriously. He only knew about its uniqueness after experimenting with it. He concluded that this was created in the hands of a Master, and a Master beyond his imagination.

Such an expert had no reason to play around with Qin Zhao Yang, a Dao Source Realm cultivator. So, Yang Kai concluded that this token must be real, it must be symbolizing some kind of identity or status!

So he smiled confidently. “Deacon Tao, although this token is a bit weird, it is not something I am capable of crafting. It is by a Great Master. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it. But I strongly believe Temple Master Sir will understand it!”

“Good, good, good! You two bastards, you think that this Deacon is so easy to sweet talk to? I don’t know if you will think so after your limbs and scalp have been cut off!” Deacon Tao’s face suddenly became sullen. The hand holding the token shook fiercely.

Then, a shocking scene happened.

*Kacha…*

Chapter 2123

The Jade Beauty Beggar Token, which was unscathed by Yang Kai’s brute strength and could not be damaged by Qin Zhao Yang by any means, was casually crushed into four or five pieces in Deacon Tao’s hands!

Effortlessly!

Yang Kai was transfixed, with his eyes staring ahead blankly while his mind was full of chaos.

Qin Zhao Yang was beside himself, staring ahead with his jaw dropped and eyes wide opened.

“Heh…” Deacon Tao sneered and tossed the fragments. “This Deacon can easily carve a few hundred pieces of this rubbish. How can such rubbish be used as a token? It must be the biggest joke in the world! You two scums, what else can you say?”

“Brother Qin…” Yang Kai spoke in a low voice, turned to look at him, and said, “What’s going on?”

He expected Qin Zhao Yang to give him a reasonable explanation.

Qin Zhao Yang, however, did not respond, as if he had lost his soul, standing there ludicrously.

“We were tricked…” Yang Kai wailed and scolded the so-called ‘senior expert’ deep inside his heart!

Of all times, the token just had to be broken when it was in the hands of Deacon Tao. Obviously, the power inside of the token had disappeared. Otherwise, with the strength of Deacon Tao, it would be impossible to destroy the Jade Beauty Beggar Token!

Now that the token has been broken, the pledge was gone, and the both of them were speechless.

Yang Kai was already considering whether he should leave the Southern Territory after escaping from the Azure Sun Mountain Range, otherwise being targeted by a huge Sect, given his strength, he would be in trouble.

“Listen to my order, fellow disciples. Follow this Deacon and kill these two treacherous scumbags on the spot, show them the might of our temple!” Deacon Tao commanded eagerly.

The two First-Order Dao Source Realm responded and pounced forward aggressively. The fat Junior Brother and the green-faced Senior Brother seemed to have found a good opportunity for revenge, they followed the attack closely despite the difference in their realm cultivation!

“Brother Qin, run!” Yang Kai shouted.

But Qin Zhao Yang was rooted to the ground, with his lips moving slowly and muttering to himself, as if he had lost his mind: “It’s broken, it’s broken…”

It seemed that this recent incident had hit him quite hard.

What was broken in front of him was not only a piece of token, but also the only hope to save Qin Yu’s life!

In the nick of time, an inexplicable force suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Time seemed to be frozen at this moment.

In the sky, clouds rose and wind surged, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

A rhythm of energy waved leisurely from the layers of clouds in the sky……

In that instant, Yang Kai Qin Zhao Yang, Deacon Tao and others felt a terrifying pressure.

Not only them, but even all the cultivators within the Azure Sun Mountain Range could feel it. All of them trembled in horror due to the pressure…

…

“This is…” At the Azure Sun Mountain Range’s Main Peak, inside of a palace, a middle-aged man wearing a purple shirt, who seemed to be around forty years old and was originally in retreat to cultivate some secret technique, opened his eyes immediately at the moment that the pressure fell. His eyes were full of brilliance and he fiercely looked in one direction as if his eyes could penetrate the void, and he saw the scene that took place a few thousand kilometres away. His face turned solemn. After a moment, he was a little startled and said: “How is this possible?!”

While at the same time, in another mountain peak, which was beautiful and refreshing like a spring day, quiet and free from disturbance, as if it were from Heaven.

On that peak, a dignified and beautiful woman abruptly stood up. Her dazzling eyes gazed into the distance with a slight change of expression on her pretty face. Without a thought, she swayed her tender body and then disappeared from this place.

On the other side, an elderly man sat down cross-legged. There were many elite disciples of the temple in front of him, listening to this old man’s explanation of Martial Dao Heavenly Way, feeling elated but rather dazed.

All of a sudden, the old man’s voice ceased. He looked up in one direction, and after a moment, he gradually got up and disappeared in a flash, leaving a crowd of disciples in doubt and in shock.

A similar scene happened in all parts of Azure Sun Temple, and those Emperor Realm masters, whether they were in retreat or not, sensed the assembly of this terrifying power and rushed from their residences to the place where the incident occurred, hoping to find out what was going on.

…

At the edge of Azure Sun Mountain Range, seven people were trembling, regardless of their cultivation level.

This had nothing to do with courage or will, it was simply a complete suppression of power!

Both the fat Junior Brother and the Green-faced Senior Brother, whose cultivation was weak, had their bones rattling all over their bodies and fainted after holding on for a few seconds.

While the four First-Order Dao Source Realms there urged the strength in their inner body to resist the inexplicable pressure, Deacon Tao did the same. He showed a tortured expression and hunched his back due to the overwhelming pressure, as if a huge mountain pinning down his tiny body. 

“What is this? What kind of power is this!?” Deacon Tao screamed in horror.

The other two Dao Source Realms from Azure Sun Temple and Qin Zhao Yang were also full of awe and fear.

Yang Kai rolled his eyes around, searching and trying to release his Divine Sense to sense the source of this power and pressure, but found that his Divine Sense could not leave his body. This space seemed to be completely confined!

*Hong…*

A strong beam of light was cast down from the sky and a man appeared in a bizarre way.

The light faded, and that man became the focus in everyone’s eyes.

He wore a broad bamboo hat. The hat was slightly slanted, covering the upper half of his face. It was not clear what his face looked like. He had an unevenly trimmed beard and a lazy gaze, seemingly void of energy, which strangely gave off a mysterious charm.

His dressing was extravagant. He was obviously a tall man with wide shoulders and long torso, yet, he wore a garish gown and a pair of buckskin boots, which made him look like neither fish nor fowl!

As soon as he showed up, Qin Zhao Yang widened his eyes and shouted out with pleasant surprise: “Senior Expert! “

When Yang Kai heard him shout, he immediately realized that this man should be the master of the token.

As expected, the strength of this man had achieved the highest level, definitely a master of Third-Order Emperor Realm level! The aura that came out from him seemed to be even stronger than the Aunty Feng before!

More importantly…

This man standing in front of them did not possess a physical form, he was just a projection!

“Who, who is this?” Deacon Tao freaked out. If he had not been in his own territory, he would have fled long ago, but even so, he trembled in fear. He dared not to make eye contact as he was afraid of upsetting that man.

“Azure Sun Temple…” the mysterious man looked up slightly and spoke to himself. He ignored Deacon Tao, and turned around to look at the place where Qin Zhao Yang stood, and said: “It’s only been over ten years since we have seen each other, yet you already got so old… looks like you have worked your heart out for all these years.”

“Sir!” Qin Zhao Yang could not speak another word, his eyes full of tears. 

“Since I’m here… feel free to relax.” The man smiled and looked around until he set his sight on Yang Kai and spoke in surprise, “You are here too…”

 Yang Kai was shocked. He swallowed hard and asked, “Sir, do I know you?”

“Heh…” the man laughed without saying a word and gave out a pretentious look that maddened everyone. His projection only lasted for a few breaths and the signs of disappearing showed up, “Too bad, it seems like time is up…”

With that said, the projection disappeared in front of everyone’s eyes, and no one had any idea of what he meant.

As soon as the projection disappeared, all kinds of Heavenly Manifestation disappeared at the same time. Naturally, the sensational pressure before was gone too.

Everyone was gasping for breath in the jungle.

*Pa pa pa… *

There was a sound of something falling on the ground.

Those who heard the sound turned to look, and found that what fell on the ground was actually the four to five pieces of the token fragments that were crushed by Deacon Tao previously. The fragments landed on the place where the mysterious master had disappeared from moments ago.

Seeing this scene, Deacon Tao’s face turned pale, realising he had made a huge mistake!

The token that he crushed obviously had a great background, otherwise, it would not have been able to act as a medium to project the figure of that master.

Perhaps, the master had infused his power into the token when it was made, and once the token was destroyed, his projection would appear!

“I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to…” Deacon Tao was terrified like a stray dog and tried to get near to the fragments of the token by rolling and crawling. He even fell down in the middle of the process. After putting up some great effort, he finally reached the fragments and picked them up.

Just as the token was in his hand, it turned into dust and slipped away from his fingertips, and flowed with the wind…

“It’s over, it’s over…” Seeing this, Deacon Tao stiffened.

 Xiu xiu xiu…

The sound of something fast flying through the sky came in succession, and a group of figures suddenly emerged around the crowd.

These figures included the old and the young, the male and the female. Each of them came from a different direction with a solemn expression, as if they were facing a great enemy, but when they scanned the place with their Divine Senses, they all had a puzzled expression.

Because of the fluctuation of the energy and the pressure they had sensed before, was completely gone!

“Ah!” The other two Dao Source Realms of Azure Sun Temple hastily bowed as soon as they saw these people.

“Greetings to Deputy Temple Master and all Elders!”

These people were all Emperor Realm masters, who were the top combat force of Azure Sun Temple!

 Yang Kai scanned through these people, and once he saw a dignified and glamorous woman, he withdrew his gaze and secretly cursed in his heart.

That woman was none other than Gao Xue Ting, who had fought against him before!

Yang Kai had foreseen that there might come a time when he would bump into this beautiful woman again when he came to Azure Sun Temple, but he never thought this day would come so soon!

During their last fight, Yang Kai was possessed by Demon Qi and his face was unrecognizable, but if Gao Xue Ting noticed him now, it was over.

She was the last person that Yang Kai wanted to see…

“Who was he!?” asked an elderly man, about seventy or eighty years old, after his majestic gaze swept across the whole place.

The aura of this elderly man was profound. It was noticeably greater than Gao Xue Ting’s, but kind of on the same level with Xiao Yu Yang, whom Yang Kai greeted before. He was most likely a Second-Order Emperor Realm master!

Chapter 2124

The elderly man asked a question, but the disciples of Azure Sun Temple did not know how to answer.

The fat Junior Brother and the blue-faced Senior Brother had already passed out before they could see the master’s projection, while Deacon Tao was still mumbling in a dazed manner and the two First-Order Dao Source Realms were dumbstruck.

“Bunch of mutes,” the elderly man could not help but coldly snort after seeing this, looking displeased.

“Tao Ming, what are you doing?” shouted a middle-aged man, First-Order Emperor Realm in the corner. He looked at Deacon Tao and frowned.

When Deacon Tao heard it, he felt as if a sledgehammer was pounding his heart, a mysterious power flowing out of him in a jolt, causing Tao Ming to spit out a mouthful of blood. With that, Tao Ming finally calmed down, his eyes regaining focus.

He looked around in confusion, and when he saw the elderly man, his body shook and shouted, “Greetings to the Deputy Temple Master and all Elders!”

“Cut to the chase!” The middle-aged man who used the Soul Secret Technique to awaken Tao Ming bellowed, “Tell me, what exactly happened here? Did anyone trespass?”

“Did anyone…” Tao Ming muttered. He recalled the horrifying scene of the token turning into dust flowing through his fingertips. He panicked and fell to his knees on the ground: “Spare my life Sirs, it was not my intention!”

The elderly man shook his head slowly at this sight.

“Let me try!” In the other corner, a young girl in her late teens suddenly spoke up.

Despite her appearance and age, she was an Emperor Realm master. With a mysterious power, her body hovered in mid-air weirdly. While speaking, she gradually floated towards Tao Ming.

She stretched out her jade white hand, gentle as water, and patted Tao Ming’s head. “Do not be afraid, speak the truth about what you have seen and heard!” She spoke.

As soon as she finished, Tao Ming stopped trembling and his fears soothed.

He looked at the void with a slightly dull gaze and said, “Sir, here’s what happened…”

He did not slander and embellish, nor did add fuel to the fire, but told the truth about everything that had happened before, in unparalleled detail.

Yang Kai was alarmed. He realised that the young Emperor Realm Master must have performed some kind of Soul Secret Technique, which led Tao Ming to tell the truth without damaging his soul.

When Tao Ming described the strange figure who descended from the sky, the elderly man bellowed, “Describe this person in detail!”

Tao Ming said, “I did not see clearly. The person was wearing a broad bamboo hat that covered his face. His attire was extremely odd. He was obviously a man, but he was wearing a garish gown…”

After hearing this, the expression on the elderly man changed, and asked in surprise: “What about that token? What did it look like?”

Tao Ming described it truthfully.

The old man was silent for a long time.

The middle-aged man looked at the elderly man with an odd expression and asked, “Vice Temple Master Qiu, do you know who this man is?”

Everyone stared at the old man curiously, waiting for an answer.

The old man did not have the intention to answer. He simply looked at Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang.

It was also the first time anyone paid attention to Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang.

They hurriedly cupped fists to salute.

The old man nodded lightly and asked, “Did you bring that token?”

Qin Zhao Yang said, “Sir, the token was brought by me.”

“Good!” The old man said, and said lightly, “Come with me. This is not the place to talk!”

The next moment, Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang were wrapped in a gentle force that carried them forward, following behind the old man.

The other Emperor Realms looked at each other and followed the old man.

Only after the crowd had left for a while did Tao Ming regain his thoughts. He trembled, his face paling in fear.

“Deacon Tao!” The other two Dao Source Realm rushed forward, watching him nervously.

“I’m fine!” Tao Ming waved his hand with lingering fear and said, “Thank goodness for Chen Qian’s subordinate, otherwise… I would have gone insane!”

Tao Ming was nervous when he thought of the vital token that was destroyed in his own hands, in fear that the Sect executives would blame him for his mistake!

……

Azure Sun Temple Main Peak, on Myriad Saints Peak.

In front of the temple, Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang were standing there, looking at each other.

There was no guard at the entrance of the temple, the elderly man left both of them there, unattended. The others entered the temple together.

The temple had many barriers and doors that were tightly closed. They were not able to pry into anything even with Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang’s strength.

Although they were not bound by anything, they did not dare to act rashly and could only stand there obediently.

“Young Brother Yang, do you think…” Qin Zhao Yang spoke up somewhat apprehensively.

“It won’t happen!” Yang Kai didn’t wait for him to finish because he knew what Qin Zhao Yang was worried about. He smiled lightly and said, “If they wanted to, they would have done something already and we would not have a chance to resist. The reason they left us here… Looks like they want to have discussions before making a decision about us! I overheard those people talking earlier, it seems that many people do not know who the token master is!”

“This Qin has not figured out who he is yet!” Qin Zhao Yang said, chagrined.

“It’s normal not to know,” Yang Kai smiled faintly. “But a normal Third-Order Emperor Realm may not have the ability to make Azure Sun Temple so afraid. That person…”

“What Young Brother Yang means is…” Qin Zhao Yang suddenly thought of a possibility and whispered. “Could it be one of the ten Sirs?”

“Most likely!” Yang Kai nodded.

*Si….* Qin Zhao Yang sucked in a breath of cold air, in disbelief that he had ever come into direct contact with such a legend.

……

Inside the temple was the Azure Sun Temple Master, the Master at the Third-Order Emperor Realm, Wen Zi Shan. He donned a purple shirt and sat on the throne with an intimidating expression and a profound aura. 

The elderly man and the other Emperor Realms whom Yang Kai previously greeted had gathered in the hall. Everyone listened intently to the Elder reporting the obtained information to Wen Zi Shan.

“Token, a man in a flowery outfit…” Wen Zi Shan smiled at his words. His smile was not attractive, but it seemed to have a strange charm that brightened up the whole temple in an instant.

“Temple Master, did you figure something out?” The elderly man asked.

“Dear old Qiu,” Wen Zi Shan did not have the appearance that befit a Temple Master. The veins on Deputy Temple Master Qiu Ran were jumping when the Temple Master addressed him casually in front of the audience, making everyone else unable to resist laughing. 

Even the corners Gao Xue Ting’s mouth, who was usually as cold as ice, curved slightly.

“Why did you ask me when you’ve already figured it out…” Wen Zi Shan said. He reached out and picked up a bunch of spirit fruits next to him, held them high above his head and took one mouthful of them after another… with overflowing saliva in his mouth. 

“Sir Temple Master!” Qiu Ran could not help but shout.

“Well, well, well,” Wen Zi Shan said blurrily, putting down his unfinished spirit fruit. He clapped his hands, stood up, and said, “Who on Earth would carve an image of a beggar on one side, and a jade woman on the other side of a token that symbolizes one’s identity? And who would stroll around wearing such tasteless clothes? There is only one answer…”

Everyone in the temple held their breath and watched Wen Zi Shan intently.

At this moment, Wen Zi Shan’s aura changed abruptly, his gaze as sharp as a sword that could pierce through the void, and he quickly said, “Wandering Bustling World, playing on Earth…”

“Bustling World Great Emperor!” Gao Xue Ting suddenly lost her voice and shouted.

“Oh? Smart, Little Xue Ting got it right,” Wen Zi Shan took a glance at Gao Xue Ting, his majestic expression suddenly disappearing into a bright smile. He softly said, “What reward do you want? I can meet any of your requests.”

The corners of Gao Xue Ting’s mouth twitched slightly, and she said, “Sir Temple Master, please behave yourself! I am no longer the same little girl, I am long past the age for rewards! And… I am more than two hundred years old!”

“Two hundred years old… is still very young.” Wen Zi Shan smiled, with a slight sadness: “I preferred when you were still a child, you are so cold now that you grew up…”

“Humph!” Gao Xue Ting coldly snorted and turned her head aside, ignoring him.

“Sir Temple Master, let’s get down to business!” Qiu Ran said, the veins on forehead throbbing more violently, unable to tolerate more, his body stiff.

“Alright, alright,” Wen Zi Shan said after hearing this. His expression returned back to normal, “The Bustling World Great Emperor is the most mysterious out of Ten Great Emperors. That old thing always comes and goes like a shadow, like a hidden dragon who shows his tail but never his face.”

“Old thing…”

The Emperor Realms were shocked, each face twitched.

The Ten Great Emperors were such respectful figures, but they are just old things from the mouth of their Temple Master…

“Sir Temple Master, is it okay to call him that? What if that Sir finds out…” one of the middle-aged men interjected in shock.

Wen Zi Shan laughed, “That old thing may look intimidating, but he is a nice person and he will not be angry over a trivial matter…”

He casually explained, then said, “Only a few people have seen his Bustling World Token. Even in the Emperor Realm, rarely anyone knows what it looks like, but I just happened to know. One side of the token is the carving of a jade woman, the other side is a carving of a beggar, and the material that composed the token is quite common, not anything valuable.”

Chapter 2125

“From the information that you provided, the two Dao Source Realm kids have indeed brought the Bustling World Token. No doubt, the appearance of the Bustling World Token can be imitated by anyone, but the power in it… cannot be infused by any commoner,” Wen Zi Shan smiled and said. “Then again, who would want to imitate this kind of token…”

“How on Earth could these two possess the Bustling World Great Emperor’s Bustling World Token!?” Qiu Ran frowned.

Wen Zi Shan shrugged his shoulders and said, “Regarding that Sir’s behaviour… heh, it is unpredictable. So, it’s not surprising that both of them have the Bustling World Token. Who knows, one day, there might be a lot of beggars or prostitutes coming to Azure Sun Temple with Bustling World Tokens too!”

The crowd showed an indifferent look.

“You all have to believe me!” Wen Zi Shan said, “Back then, when this King established Azure Sun Temple in the early days, a group of prostitutes came to this King with a Bustling World Token and begged for money! Well, at that time, only Little Xue Ting was with me, while the rest of you were not here yet. That’s why you have no idea about it.”

“Who would have thought of such a thing!?” The crowd was shocked.

Qiu Ran was speechless and muttered, “How could the Bustling World Token fall into the hands of women like that?”

“How tricky!”

“How unpredictable!”

“Bustling World Great Emperor lives up to his name!”

Meanwhile, the young girl Chen Qian, who previously performed Soul Secret Technique against Deacon Tao, quietly hovered in mid-air. She broke her silence in a soft tone: “Back to our topic, why do I feel like the style of Sir Temple Master is kind of similar to the Great Emperor?”

Everyone pondered over her words. The more they thought about it, the more they agreed with it.

“Sir Temple Master has been chattering nonsense all day too!”

“And he also wears tasteless clothes!”

“Badly behaved too!”

“This King is here, and you criticized him in front of his face? Am I… deaf to you?” Wen Zi Shan said with a stern face.

Qiu Ran took a glance at him, cupped his fists, said, “Sir Temple Master, I heard that Sir Temple Master was adopted by the Bustling World Great Emperor during younger days, is it true?”

“Absolutely not!”

“I also heard that Bustling World Great Emperor had taught and instructed Sir…”

“By no stretch of the imagination!”

“What?” They were shocked, “Really? There was such a story between Sir Temple Master and Bustling World Great Emperor?”

“So, that’s how it is!”

“Now I understand why.”

Wen Zi Shan looked down at the people and spoke weakly, “What do you understand? Are you saying that this King being who he is now is because of that old thing? Nonsense! This King has no relationship with that old thing at all, needless to say about the rest.”

“Then why does the Bustling World Token appear in our Azure Sun Temple so often?” Qiu Ran questioned, “Including this time, it has already appeared twice in Azure Sun Temple.”

“I have never heard of any other great force receiving a Bustling World Token before!”

“Well, this King wants to know why they came to our Azure Sun Temple with a Bustling World Token. Send both of them in.” Wen Zi Shan turned serious at once.

Qiu Ran sighed deeply, realizing that his Sir Temple Master resembled the Bustling World Great Emperor even more.

But he was unambiguous. He waved his hand to open the temple gate and passed down the message.

Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang looked at each other outside the temple, both with a solemn look, and entered the temple together.

After they had set foot in the temple, the temple gate closed again.

The Emperor Realms were inside the temple. These people did not deliberately release their power, but their omnipresent pressure was not something that the two First-Order Dao Source Realms could resist. Yang Kai was slightly better, though he struggled to move, but at least he did not make a fool of himself.

However, Qin Zhao Yang was trembling. His clothes were soaked in his sweat. His wet feet were even leaving clear footprints all around the temple.

When the two approached, they cupped their fist and saluted around.

The rest just looked at them quietly. Wen Zi Shan waved his hand, emitting a formless wave of power that put Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang at ease.

“Many thanks to Temple Master Wen!” Yang Kai rushed to the altar and cupped his fists. It was obvious that the one seated on the throne and donning a symbolic purple shirt was none other than Azure Sun Temple’s Temple Master.

“After being verified by this Temple Master, the token that has been brought by you two is real!” Wen Zi Shan looked down at them with a stern voice. “Let this King ask you, what are you up to for bringing this token to our Azure Sun Temple?”

Yang Kai took a glance at Qin Zhao Yang, but realized he was a coward who dared not to open his mouth.

He had no choice but to answer, “In reply to Temple Master Wen, we came from Maplewood City. Twelve years ago, a Senior Expert who always comes and goes like a shadow, gave this token to Older Brother Qin, and instructed him to visit Azure Sun Temple twelve years later, in order to request Temple Master Wen to grant him a place in Four Seasons Realm!”

“Hmmm? Four Seasons Realm?” Wen Zi Shan was a little surprised, while the rest had an odd expression.

Everyone thought that they would probably ask for some special favour for bringing the Bustling World Token to Azure Sun Temple, but who could have guessed that they were just asking for a place in Four Seasons Realm?

Wen Zi Shan scanned through Qin Zhao Yang with his Divine Sense, said lightly, “This old man doesn’t seem like a talented person. Why would that old… that Sir allow him to enter Four Seasons Realm? Although Four Seasons Realm is not really some glorious Sealed World, entry is still limited, and only the elites from the various huge Sects and clans can enter. Give us a reason, why must this King fulfil your wish?”

Qin Zhao Yang took a deep breath, quickly said: “In reply to Sir, it’s for a grandchild of this old man! She suffers from severe illness since birth, and only one type of spirit fruit in Four Season Realm will be able to save her! Back then, that Sir saw this, and that’s why this Qin was given a token and was instructed to visit Azure Sun Temple twelve years later!”

“I see!” Wen Zi Shan nodded without further questions, “Since these words were given by that Sir, this Temple Master cannot reject. It is just a slot in Four Seasons Realm after all…”

After hearing this, Qin Zhao Yang was delighted.

He expected this trip to be painful at first. He was not sure if Azure Sun Temple would recognize and respect the token master. Even if they did, granting him a place in Four Seasons Realm might still be another story.

Throughout this trip, Qin Zhao Yang had been worried.

But everything went smoother than he expected. The thing that he longed after seemed to be within his reach! He was filled with lots of joy and surprise.

“However…” Wen Zi Shan changed the conversation, “This matter has always been taken care of by an Elder…”

He turned aside and said, “Little Xue Ting…”

As soon as the voice reached her ears, Gao Xue Ting glared at him.

“Ahem… Elder Gao!” Wen Zi Shan quickly corrected.

“Subordinate’s here!” Gao Xue Ting stepped forward and answered with a solemn look.

“You have heard what I just said, can you take care of this?” asked Wen Zi Shan.

Hearing this, Gao Xue Ting could not help but reveal a bitter look on her face.

“What’s the problem?” Wen Zi Shan found her expression strange.

Qin Zhao Yang started to get nervous.

Gao Xue Ting took a glance at Qin Zhao Yang, said, “Four Seasons Realm will be opened soon. The list of names allowed to enter has been set long ago, and those disciples have been informed as well. Some of them would not be satisfied if we revoked their slot!”

“It’s true…” Wen Zi Shan pondered, and muttered, “Getting into the Four Seasons Realm has always been their dream. It’s unfair if we randomly disqualified one of them, but on the other hand, that Sir’s will cannot be rejected either… Argh, this decision is hard to make!”

Gao Xue Ting said, “Actually, Subordinate has an idea!”

“Oh? Let’s hear it!” Wen Zi Shan’s eyes lit up.

Gao Xue Ting proposed, “This old man has just mentioned that he wanted to enter the Four Seasons Realm to obtain a type of spirit fruit in order to cure his grandchild’s disease. Here’s my question to this old man, what kind of spirit fruit in the Four Seasons Realm are you looking for? Do you mind telling us? If this is available in our Azure Sun Temple, there is no need for you to get into Four Seasons Realm, and risk your life. Forgive me for my honesty, but with your power…” She paused, and tried to think of a polite wording, but to no avail, “You might not come out alive!”

When Qin Zhao Yang heard this, he agreed, and immediately responded, “ Elder Gao, this old man would like to ask for a Tribulation Fruit!”

“Tribulation Fruit!” Qiu Ran frowned.

Gao Xue Ting’s face turned bitter again.

Wen Zi Shan set his sight on the young girl named Chen Qian, asked, “Elder Chen, since you have been in charge of our temple storehouse, do we have Tribulation Fruit in our vault?”

Chen Qian answered: “Allow subordinate to check it out!”

“How long will you take?”

“A quarter of an hour!”

Wen Zi Shan nodded and rested with his eyes closed.

Chen Qian took out a communication artifact and transmitted her Divine Sense into it. Apparently, this was her way of sending orders to the disciple below.

For a while, there was just dead silence in the temple.

Only the sound of Qin Zhao Yang’s racing heart could be heard while waiting for the result with extreme trepidation.

Yang Kai remained silent in his spot, but all of a sudden, he sensed something and turned aside to see what was happening.

Gao Xue Ting was watching him. She did not avoid eye contact when their eyes met but looked even more intently at him instead.

This gave Yang Kai a heart attack, feeling that nothing good would happen.

Most of those in the temple were Emperor Realms, so this scene instantly attracted the attention of others. The crowd started to look at Yang Kai with curiosity because they had no idea which part of him could grab Gao Xue Ting’s attention.

Even Wen Zi Shan peeked from his closed eyes and enjoyed watching all of this under his eyes.

“Elder Gao, what can I do for you?” Yang Kai felt uneasy for being stared at, especially by an Emperor Realm. It made him feel anxious, so he decided to break the silence to avoid embarrassment.

“Have I seen you somewhere before?” Gao Xue Ting asked, “I thought you looked familiar!”

“HAHAHAHA!”

Wen Zi Shan interjected with laughter before Yang Kai could answer her.

Gao Xue Ting frowned and gave him an offended look.

Chapter 2126

Wen Zi Shan asked, “Elder Gao, wasn’t that a pick-up line usually used by a man to a woman? Especially in a particular ambience and environment, with an ulterior motive. This King would understand if this was said by this little brother to you, but coming from you… this just doesn’t seem right!”

“Shut up!” Gao Xue Ting bellowed.

Yang Kai was frozen on the spot at the sudden outburst.

Qin Zhao Yang was also dumbfounded. He looked towards Gao Xue Ting with an odd expression.

Gao Xue Ting was the First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but she was only an Elder in the Azure Sun Temple, while the one seated above was Wen Zi Shan, the Temple Master!

How dare she, just an Elder, ask the Temple Master to shut up?

Was this not treachery?

More shocking to Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang was that Wen Zi Shan really did shut up!

They looked around, but the others did not seem to be surprised by what happened and had no hint of blame for Gao Xue Ting’s insubordination. In fact, some of them threw Wen Zi Shan a look of contempt.

Yang Kai was at a loss.

His first thought was [The Wen Zi Shan sitting up there must be an impostor, for Gao Xue Ting to be able to act rude to him, while the others even threw him dirty looks.]

[On second thought, maybe not.] Yang Kai felt the fluctuation of the power in his body clearly when Wen Zi Shan waved his hand earlier. 

This guy was definitely a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master!

He was the only Third-Order Emperor Realm in the whole Azure Sun Temple. Who else could be Wen Zi Shan, if he was not? 

Yang Kai was perplexed and found the bunch of Azure Sun Temple executives really strange.

“You still have not replied to me. Have I seen you somewhere before?” Gao Xue Ting turned to Yang Kai and asked relentlessly. 

Yang Kai muttered to himself, then said: “I am from Maplewood City, there was once when Elder Gao visited to assist Sir Xiao Yu Yang in activating the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. I was also present at that time and entered the trial… maybe that is why Elder Gao recognized me.”

“I see…” Gao Xue Ting figured that he made sense, nodded. “That could be it!”

She stopped paying attention to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was immediately relieved.

If Gao Xue Ting had recognized him as the Demon she fought against before, he would have a terrible fate. 

The crowd waited silently in the hall for a while. Chen Qian’s communication artifact suddenly fluctuated with Divine Sense.

After confirming the information given through the communication artifact, she looked up and shook her head at Wen Zi Shan and said, “Temple Master, there is no such thing as a Tribulation Fruit in our vault!”

“That makes this King very disappointed…” Wen Zi Shan spoke in a low voice.

A look of disappointment etched on Qin Zhao Yang’s face. 

It would be best if the Tribulation Fruit was readily available, and there would be no need for Yang Kai to venture into the Four Seasons Realm. There was no telling what decision the Emperor Realm would make since there was none in Azure Sun Temple.

“Since there are none available here…” Wen Zi Shan said, “You may go in and search for it yourself, but what happens next is out of our hands.”

Wen Zi Shan was referring to Qin Zhao Yang when he said that.

Qin Zhao Yang was delighted at his words.

Gao Xue Ting frowned slightly. It seemed that she had something to say, but it was too late to interject after Wen Zi Shan had already spoken.

“Many thanks, Temple Master Wen.” Qin Zhao Yang bowed to the ground, “However… this Qin has one more request!”

Wen Zi Shan smiled slightly: “If it’s not too much, let’s hear it.”

Qin Zhao Yang said, “This Qin requests Sir Temple Master to give the slot for entering the Four Seasons Realm to Brother Yang!”

As he spoke, he extended his arm and gestured towards Yang Kai, looking embarrassed, “I’m sure you Sirs are able to tell that this Qin is old in age. Even though I possess the cultivation of the First-Order Dao Source Realm, I know my own strength. Just as Elder Gao had said, I may not be able to return alive with the current level of my strength. The cost of my life is a small matter, but if I fail to obtain the Tribulation Fruit…”

“Do you mean that he will be able to survive?” Wen Zhi Shan asked with great interest.

Qin Zhao Yang replied, “Brother Yang is much stronger than this Qin.”

“At least you are aware of your own condition!” Wen Zi Shan smiled gently, “Since you have such a request… this King will allow it! That Sir said to give you a slot but did not specify to whom it will be given to, so you can decide it yourself!”

“Many thanks to Temple Master Wen!” Qin Zhao Yang thanked him with great joy.

Wen Zi Shan turned to Yang Kai and said: “This King doesn’t know what kind of relationship you have with this old man, but this King has to remind you that the Four Seasons Realm is not a safe place… although you are considered an elite with a body that is rich in Source Qi, who else but elites would be permitted to enter the Four Seasons Realm? Be careful!”

Yang Kai grinned, “I would like to meet the elite disciples of the great Sects!”

“This young man is too proud and arrogant!”

“He is so naïve!”

“The First-Order Dao Source Realm is only at the bottom of the list of Elites!”

The Emperor Realm Masters present in the temples started discussing.

Wen Zi Shan laughed, “That’s the spirit! Well, I hope you will keep it up when you get inside. The both of you shall leave, someone will come for you on the day of departure.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand once more. Before Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang could react to it, they were teleported outside of the temple.

They stared at each other for a few moments. Suddenly, a stream of light appeared from afar, and when it got closer to them, they saw that it was Tao Ming, Deacon Tao that they had met before! 

The current Tao Ming no longer possessed the aggressive aura he had before. He rushed towards them, flustered and covered in sweat, beckoned them with his hand, and said: “The two of you, please come with me!”

He then led the way with Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang following closely behind.

Inside the temple. After Wen Zi Shan sent away Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang, he turned to the side and asked, “Little Xue Ting, is there anything else you want to say?”

Gao Xue Ting frowned, “Temple Master, you are making this very difficult for me.”

Wen Zi Shan laughed and replied: “It’s just a slot, just make space for one.”

Gao Xue Ting snorted coldly and said: “Sure, I will send an order saying that the Temple Master wants to revoke someone’s slot, and it has nothing to do with me!”

“Okay!” Wen Zi Shan nodded, and said, “If anyone has any objections, they can feel free to come see me!”

Gao Xue Ting was stunned by his bluntness. 

Chen Qian spoke up: “Honestly, I don’t think it’s necessary to give them that slot. We could ask the disciples with slots to search for the Tribulation Fruit when they enter inside. If that does not work, Sister Gao can stay at the exit of the Sealed World and buy one from anyone who comes out of the Realm. You know, there are others, other than disciples from the Azure Sun Temple who can enter the Four Seasons Realm, maybe they possess that type of spirit fruit.”

Wen Zi Shan replied “Although what Little Qian said makes sense, this is the Sir’s request. This King cannot refuse. Let us put an end to this matter, and give them a slot…” He smiled wickedly. “It depends on them as to whether they can survive. If they are unable to even keep the slot, they might as well not go, they would be sending themselves to death anyway! And this King will not be considered to have gone against the wishes of that Sir as well.” 

Hearing this, Gao Xue Ting’s eyes lit and nodded, “Subordinate knows what to do now.”

Wen Zi Shan nodded lightly and disappeared with a sway of his body. 

The crowd gradually dismissed until there was only Chen Qian and Gao Xue Ting left in the hall. 

“Sister Gao, who do you have in mind to make a move?” Chen Qian asked.

Gao Xue Ting thought about it and said “What do you think about Xue Yi?”

“Xue Yi?” Chen Qian was not familiar with this person. She thought about it for a while and said: “He is a Second-Order Dao Source Realm. Can Yang Kai.. handle it?”

“Among the twenty people, Xue Yi’s abilities are considered to be below average. If Yang Kai can’t even handle Xue Yi, there’s no point in entering the Four Seasons Realm. That place is not to be taken lightly, and it’s not easy to obtain the Tribulation Fruit. It’s for his own good.”

“Sister Gao… has a point!” Chen Qian nodded, but still sensed that something was wrong.

…

Tao Ming brought Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang and left them at a palace on a solitary peak that was at least 600 miles away from the temple earlier. 

Yang Kai explored around for a little and found that there was no one else on the solitary peak. In other words, Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang were the only people there. 

It was quite tranquil.

They chatted for a while, then searched for a room for themselves.

Qin Zhao Yang wanted to regain his strength and return to Maplewood City after such a stressful and frightening journey.

Yang Kai, on the other hand, wanted to grasp this opportunity to refine the flying treasure Aunty Feng gave him, as well as the Emperor Artifact Myriads Sword.

The Myriads Sword was of an extremely high grade, it was not necessary to refine it thoroughly, he could only slightly strengthen his connection to the sword. Fortunately, he had inherited the Qin Family’s ancestral secrets of refining, it was much easier for him. 

There was not much time. According to Gao Xue Ting, the Four Seasons Realm would open in a month. Including the time needed for travelling, Yang Kai estimated that he would have to depart in two weeks.

He was racing against time. 

Qin Zhao Yang recovered after a speedy five days.

After giving Yang Kai some final advice, he said goodbye and departed. 

Since he had already decided to let Yang Kai enter the Four Seasons Realm, there was no purpose for him to continue his stay.

Yang Kai was all alone in the palace.

On that day, while he was isolating himself in his room, he felt two strong auras from afar, charging towards him.

The intruders had no intention of concealing themselves. One of them was emitting the aura of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, and the other was Second-Order Dao Source Realm.

“Are we departing now?” Yang Kai frowned and muttered to himself, thinking that it was a summon from Azure Sun Temple to gather for departure. He got up immediately and went out of the palace to greet the visitors.

Chapter 2127

Two beams of light came in a flash, falling nearby in front of Yang Kai, and two figures came out of it.

The one on the left was in clothes as white as snow, his eyes glowed with vigour and his eyebrows were sharp. He had an extraordinary sharp aura exuding all over his body, like a sharp sword pulled out of its sheath.

This man had impressive cultivation at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm that captured Yang Kai’s eyes.

The aura of this man made him feel pressured, as if that ferocious aura could cut his skin through thin air, which frightened him a bit.

Yang Kai thought to himself that an elite disciple of a big Sect was no joke. Just by looking at the aura that he emitted, whether it was intentional or not, it was not what an ordinary Third-Order Dao Source Realm could have done.

On the right was a man with a wide mouth and nose, a burly figure, and was wearing a short shirt and shorts. Dark hair could be visibly seen on his thick calf, as well as on his arms.

At first glance, this man looked like a standing gorilla, giving out a strong visual impact! 

He possessed a cultivation of Second-Order Dao Source Realm.

When they landed, they set their sights on Yang Kai.

“Greetings. I am Yang Kai from Maplewood City!” Yang Kang cupped his fist, “How should I address the both of you?”

The man in white was cold as ice, looking indifferent, as if he was not listening. On the contrary, the burly gorilla-man suddenly bellowed, “Hey, are you the Yang Kai we are looking for?”

Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat, but still nodded solemnly, “If no one else shares the same name, it would be me.” 

“Very well!” After seeing him, the burly man grinned and scanned Yang Kai thoroughly as though he was prey. He yelled, “You little brat! You stole my slot to the Sealed World! It seems like you can’t wait to go to hell!?”

From his words, Yang Kai realized that these two men were not messengers to inform him of his departure to Sealed Word. They were probably here to cause trouble.

Yang Kai frowned and explained, “My friend, there must be some misunderstanding. It’s complicated for me to explain. Why don’t you ask Elder Gao? I believe she will give you a satisfying answer.”

“Humph. There’s no need for that,” The burly man snorted coldly, “Elder Gao has already told me that she revoked my slot because of you. Bullshit! I earned it through a bloody battle in the Sect’s martial arts challenge. How could you just take it away like this?”

“Sect’s martial arts challenge?” Yang Kai frowned.

The quiet man in white had suddenly spoke, “Three months ago, a Sect’s internal competition was held for the disciples of our temple. Only the top twenty disciples in the competition were qualified to enter Four Seasons Realm. Xue Yi was… ranked fifteenth!”

“Oh, it’s Brother Xue!” Yang Kai just learnt the burly man’s name, then curiously looked at the man in white, “How do I address Your Excellency?

“This is Xiao Bai Yi, Senior Brother Xiao!” Xue Yi coldly snorted.

“I’m a little curious, I believe Brother Xiao’s ranking in that Sect’s martial art practice was…” Yang Kai tempted him for an answer.

“Senior Brother Xiao was ranked second!” Xue Yi replied with a smug face. He was stunned for a second after speaking and immediately regained his consciousness again, yelling, “Don’t try to change the topic, you little brat! Today, I came with Senior Brother Xiao to warn you. Don’t you dare to take the slot away from me without my permission! Do you really think that you can do whatever you want because Elder Gao has your back? Don’t be stupid, or I will crush your head!”

He opened his large hand while speaking, clenched his fist and moved it towards Yang Kai to threaten him.

Yang Kai smiled, “Then what should I do to persuade Brother Xue to give up his slot?”

“Very simple!” Xiao Bai Yi said lightly, “Our slots were all obtained through Sect’s martial arts challenge. In other words, the strongest wins. If you can kill Junior Brother Xue, then your slot will be well deserved, and none will complain about it.”

“Indeed!” Xue Yi nodded with excitement, “Kill… or be killed, the one who remains alive wins the spot!”

“Well, that isn’t something I can do….” Yang Kai hesitated.

This bloody ‘killed or be killed’ suggestion made him feel uneasy. It was just death after all if he got killed, but he was worried that he might get into trouble if he really killed Xue Yi.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Xiao Bai Yi cold as usual. “Unless… you’re scared?”

“Why does Brother Xiao have to provoke me?” Yang Kai expressed a wry smile.

“Heh heh, if you are scared, it’s better for you to leave Azure Sun Mountain Range now. Given your weak cultivation of First-Order Dao Source Realm, I’m worried that I would accidentally kill you!” Xue Yi laughed arrogantly.

“Haiz!” Yang Kai sighed, “I understand your intention.”

He did not expect that a slot in the Four Seasons Realm could cause such drama. If he had a choice, he would prefer not to fight with the cultivator of Azure Sun Temple.

But since Xue Yi was being so aggressive, he realized that forbearance was not the way out of this.

After all, getting into the Four Seasons Realm was a must, since he had promised Qin Zhao Yang and he had also used the Jade Beauty Beggar Token from the Senior Expert.

“Since you two are so enthusiastic… then it would be impolite if this Yang refused. Brother Xiao, please be our witness!”

“Of course,” Xiao Bai Yi was surprised that Yang Kai accepted their challenge. He was expecting Yang Kai to be scared shitless and run for his life when he appeared along with Xue Yi. However, it did not go as he expected.

He said lightly, “The purpose of me coming here with Junior Brother Xue is just to be a witness. No matter who wins or who is in danger, I will not interfere.”

“Brother Xiao seems like someone who can be trusted,” Yang Kai grinned. “Then I shall rely on you.”

“You better look out for yourself and not give up your life easily. Otherwise, it will give a bad reputation to our temple if this rumour spreads out.” Xiao Bai Yi narrowed his eyes.

…

In the void, two beautiful shadows were hiding aside, quietly looking downwards.

Chen Qian said, “This Yang Kai is quite courageous. He didn’t even flinch when facing a person who is one Order higher than him.”

“Courage has nothing to do with strength!” Gao Xue Ting said lightly.

She lifted her head and spotted something in the void while speaking. She got annoyed and said angrily, “How improper for you to be here for such a small thing! Go mind your own business!”

Chen Qian turned after hearing this and smiled, “Sir Temple Master, are you bored?”

At this moment, the voice of Wen Zi Shan reached their ears. “Two beautiful ladies, are you interested in having a drink with this Temple Master? This Temple Master has specially prepared…”

“Not interested!”

“Not joining!”

The two ladies did not wait for him to finish his sentence and ruthlessly rejected him, leaving no room for negotiation.

Wen Zi Shan was stunned for a while, then sighed with a heartbroken face, “Life is meaningless if there is wine without company…”

“Behave yourself, or I will flip your table!” Gao Xue Ting looked there coldly.

Wen Zi Shan slapped his face, and cried in despair, “How did I raise you into such a cold-hearted person… unlike me at all!”

Gao Xue Ting spoke furiously, “Are you my father or what? Why do I have to be like you?”

Wen Zi Shan was speechless.

The corner of Gao Xue Ting’s mouth curved, revealing a smile that she was trying to hide.

…

“Senior Brother Xiao, is he going to fight me?” Xue Yi asked.

“Yes!” Xiao Bai Yi nodded.

“Then, shall I start?” Xue Yi asked again.

He did not even wait for Xiao Bai Yi’s answer. Right after his words, he rushed at Yang Kai and swung a punch at him.

Even though Yang Kai had a fast reaction, he did not expect that this simple-minded gorilla-man to be so cunning. In the blink of an eye, his punch already reached in front of his face.

There was a raging wind following the punch, a strong destructive force surrounded at the top of his fist, gathered at one point and gleamed.

In shock, Yang Kai could only retreat a few steps with his unsteady feet. 

Despite having a huge body, Xue Yi was unimaginably agile. He kept an extremely close distance with Yang Kai, like maggots on rotting bones, and smiled with a smug face, “Little brat, if you can still survive after this, better be good to yourself!”

The punch landed straight on Yang Kai’s face.

A loud explosion and an unleashed raging power followed closely right after the hit. Yang Kai lost his ground and was thrown into the temple wall, smashing a big hole in the strong wall.

*Hong long long…*

A series of sounds came out from the temple. It seemed that several walls had been destroyed due to the impact. The breaking sounds gradually stopped after a long while.

“So boring!” Xue Yi shook his big pot fist and coldly snorted. Without even looking in Yang Kai’s direction, he said, “Senior Brother Xiao, let’s go!”

Xiao Bai Yi did not move. He looked forward with his squinted eyes, and his gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the void.

Suddenly, his expression changed. He bellowed, “It’s not over yet…”

“Huh?” Xue Yi turned around after hearing it.

A man slowly came out from the hole in the wall. He shook both his arms, and bared his teeth in a grimace, seeming to be telling everyone that he was in pain.

“Luckily he blocked it in the nick of time!” Wen Zi Shan was looking downwards with his squinted eyes, and praised, “Good reflexes!” 

In that instance, Wen Zi Shan clearly saw that Yang Kai crossed his arms hastily in front of him and blocked the punch.

The devastating blow from Xue Yi did not hit his head, but his arms. Otherwise, with his brutal force, Yang Kai would have passed out even if his head was not blown up.

“He is physically strong… This little brat!” Gao Xue Ting squinted her beautiful eyes too.

Chen Qian said, “I remember Xue Yi cultivated the Golden Monarch Body before, right?”

Gao Xue Ting nodded, “He started to cultivate it when he was at the Origin King Realm. If I’m not mistaken, he cultivated it to the Sixth stage. Talking about physical strength, among all of the Dao Source Realm disciples, except for that man, he is the best.”

“Seems like he was unscathed by taking a direct blow from Xue Yi. I suppose Yang Kai has cultivated the Body Tempering Secret Art!” Chen Qian thought deeply.

Chapter 2128

“Little Xue Ting, why don’t we make a bet?” Wen Zi Shan turned his attention to her.

“What bet?” Gao Xue Ting looked over.

“A bet on who wins!” Wen Zi Shan smiled, pointing downwards.

“What will we be betting?” Gao Xue Ting asked coldly.

“Hm, let me think…” Wen Zi Shan thought deeply. “Ah, Little Xue Ting, didn’t you always want to see what it is like in the Life or Death Door? This King shall allow you to enter if you win.”

“Really?” Gao Xue Ting exclaimed as her eyes focused.

Standing in a corner, Chen Qian’s expression changed at those words “Life or Death Door”.

“When has this King ever lied to you?” Wen Zi Shan had a harmless smile as he spoke.

Gao Xue Ting’s eyes bored into Wen Zi Shan, trying to figure out his true intention, but he merely maintained a gentle smile. After a while, Gao Xue Ting finally removed her gaze, said “It is true that as a Sect Master, you have never behaved like one. You are always fooling around and never did any honest work…” 

Wen Zi Shan’s face turned dark, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, “This King feels so useless after hearing that!”

Gao Xue Ting changed the direction of the topic and said, “But you have never lied to anyone!”

“Does this King only have this one good virtue?” Wen Zi Shan looked dejected.

“Then, what do you want if you win?” Gao Xue Ting asked coldly.

Wen Zi Shan laughed whimsically, his bright eyes swept across Gao Xue Ting from top to bottom a few times.

She blushed, feeling extremely uncomfortable and said, “Stop any of your dirty thoughts or I’ll dig your eyes out.”

“What were you thinking?” Wen Zi Shan laughed, “Well, how about this: If I win, you will owe me a small favour that will not violate your principles and will not be a demanding request!” 

“Small favour? What kind of favour?” Gao Xue Ting asked carefully.

“Well… I haven’t thought about it. I’ll let you know when I have thought of one.” Wen Zi Shan laughed.

“Sister Gao, don’t be fooled! Who knows what he’s plotting to do?” Chen Qian warned her, lest Gao Xue Ting fall into Wen Zi Shan’s trap.

“I know!” Gao Xue Ting agreed, she turned her attention downwards as she spoke “But he has to win the bet first, otherwise, there’s no meaning to anything he said.”

She turned to Wen Zi Shan and agreed, “Okay, it’s a deal.”

“That’s a promise!” Wen Zi Shan chuckled, “No regrets.”

“You should start preparing the permit for me to enter the Life or Death door!”

Chen Qian sighed, looking helpless. Although she did not believe that Yang Kai would be able to defeat Xue Yi, who was ranked fifteenth in the entire Azure Sun Temple’s Dao Source Realm hierarchy, she could not help but have a bad hunch – Sir Temple Master was always unpredictable, but he was always very reliable during critical times.

Chen Qian was doubtful that Wen Zi Shan would allow Gao Xue Ting to enter the Life or Death Door. He must be very confident that he would win.

Considering all of this, she quickly looked down. 

Below them, Xue Yi was startled by Yang Kai, who was walking towards him. “You should have stayed down. Why did you get up? You are seeking your own death!”

“Friend, you sure are vicious. Thanks for the lesson!!” Yang Kai snorted.

A voice suddenly spoke into his ear, “Little brat, do well and beat your opponent to the ground. This King promises to grant you any request that is not too excessive!”

Yang Kai was stunned by the voice.

It was undeniably the voice of the Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, Wen Zi Shan!

Yang Kai had only met this man a few days ago, therefore, he was still very familiar with his voice. Besides, not a single person in the Azure Sun Temple headquarters would dare to impersonate Wen Zi Shan. 

In other words, the person who whispered in his ear was none other than Wen Zi Shan.

“What the…?” Yang Kai frowned. He released his Divine Sense, scanned the surrounding area but found no trace of Wen Zi Shan.

If it had not happened to Yang Kai himself, he would have never believed that the Master of a Sect had sent a secret message to an outsider to defeat an elite disciple of his own Sect. 

On top of that, Wen Zi Shan actually promised to grant him a favour?

[What is the meaning of this?]

Even the intelligent Yang Kai could not fathom.

Just when he was lost in his thoughts, a fierce blow came his way.

“What are you thinking about? How dare you get distracted in front of your enemy? Are you underestimating me?” He finished his sentence with another attack, just as aggressive as the previous one, a force enveloping his fist, preparing to destroy anything in its way.

“Enemy?” Yang Kai raised his head abruptly, pierced Xue Yi with his ice-cold gaze. Without flinching, he returned Xue Yi’s attack with a punch just as vicious.

*Hong…*

There was a loud commotion, and the sky trembled.

The ground on which both Yang Kai and Xue Yi were standing began to crumble apart in a spider web pattern and collapsed into a large round pit.

*Chi chi chi…*

An ear-splitting sound emitted from their fists when their Source Qi clashed with each other. 

The surrounding rubble and soil floated into the air weightlessly, and space within a thousand-metre radius was distorted.

“Not too bad!” Xue Yi raised his thick eyebrows slightly, surprised by the Yang Kai who was inches in front of him. Although Yang Kai was one Minor Realm beneath him, he was a tough opponent.

Xiao Bai Yi was astonished, his face changed ever so slightly.

“You’re not too bad yourself…” Yang Kai returned, the corners of his lips curved and sneered, “At talking!”

With a swing of his arm, Yang Kai sent another punch towards Xue Yi’s face.

Xue Yi did not falter. With a cold snort, he blocked the attack with his arms. He then immediately released his arms and took advantage of Yang Kai’s attack to launch a counterattack.

Yang Kai responded quickly by unclenching his fist and positioned it in front of his neck. He waited for Xue Yi’s attack to land and grabbed his punch tightly as though he was trying to crush it into pieces.

“How naïve!” Xue Yi grinned. He tilted his body backwards slightly, his feet rebounded from the ground like a cannonball, propelling him towards Yang Kai’s abdomen.

Yang Kai lowered his elbows ferociously, and he dissolved the attack before it arrived!

Fighting in close combat, their probing, attacks and counter-attacks were speedy, like flashes of light.

Each of their movements was as smooth as floating clouds and flowing water, free of any routine, fully captivating their audience.

There was a trace of solemnity in Xiao Bai Yi’s eyes.

Although he was ranked second in the Sect’s martial arts challenge, he would definitely be overthrown in close combat with Xue Yi. However, Yang Kai was on par with Xue Yi.

In other words, he was on the same level as Xue Yi in aspects of close combat. 

What baffled Xiao Bai Yi even more was that Yang Kai only had the level of First-Order Dao Source Realm! He was one level lower than Xue Yi, two levels lower than him.

[Where on Earth does this guy come from?] He and Xue Yi are the elites of Azure Sun Temple!

*Peng peng peng…*

In front of the palace, the two figures crisscrossed, going back and forth in front without using any artifacts or secret techniques, only the collision of the bodies and Source Qi. The raging battle bloomed in wild beauty, dazzling anyone who watched it.

One large pit after another appeared on the ground, the void was battered by the violent forces, and the battlefield shifted from one place to another. The entire solitary peak was chaotic!

“Sister Gao…” Chen Qian was dumbfounded. She was shocked by Yang Kai’s abilities, but she was even more worried about the bet between Gao Xue Ting and the unscrupulous Temple Master. In the case of Yang Kai winning, who knew what this tasteless Sir Temple Master would request of Gao Xue Ting.

“Damn, I got it wrong!” Gao Xue Ting gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at Wen Zi Shan. He was still sipping wine and eating spirit fruit with a triumphant look etched on his face, aggravating the already frustrated Gao Xue Ting.

“Don’t be so confident.” Gao Xue Ting spoke coldly, “If that is the case, don’t blame me for summoning my trump card!”

As she finished, she stared down again with a slight change in Divine Sense.

Below, Xue Yi, who was in mid-battle with Yang Kai suddenly yelled in horror, “No!”

He seemed to have received a great shock, his face filled with terror.

Yang Kai ignored whatever that was happening to him and threw a direct punch at his face.

Xue Yi let out a strange cry. Like a kite with a broken string, he floated high above the ground, blood spurting out of his nostrils, then fell heavily to the ground.

“Huh?” Xiao Bai Yi gasped at the scene in astonishment, unable to fathom how Xue Yi could have received a direct hit when both parties were evenly matched.

“It seems like your help was wasted!” In the void, Wen Zi Shan smiled at Gao Xue Ting, fully taking pleasure in her misfortune. 

Gao Xue Ting snorted coldly, said: “Save your nonsense, just wait and see!”

Wen Zi Shan was unaffected by this embarrassment, after all, he had always been thick-skinned…

On the other side, Xue Yi slowly got up from the ground, rubbed beneath his nose and snickered, “Of course I don’t want to be confined for half a year… Ancient Dark Peak, that damn place is not meant for the living!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Have you been beaten stupid?” Yang Kai squinted at him.

“I’m saying… you’re dead meat!” An extremely dangerous beam of light shot out of Xue Yi’s eyes, and his body was glowing. “I wanted to just teach you a lesson, but now… I might just kill you by accident!”

The light emitted by his body suddenly exploded, accompanied by a shocking roar, his skin and body glowed with a metallic lustre like steel.

Chapter 2129

Meanwhile, the momentum of Xue Yi’s body was rising steadily. He was only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, but was able to unleash a domineering aura, comparable to one with Third-Order Dao Source Realm!

Yang Kai examined the transformed Xue Yi with his eyes squinted, and smiled faintly, “Body Tempering Technique!”

While speaking, he flicked two beams of Source Qi towards Xue Yi.

It was just a probing, Xue Yi clearly noticed it too, and he did not bother to dodge it.

*Dong Dong…*

Two sounds popped from the attack that hit on Xue Yi’s body, resulting in crisp sounds like stones striking steel, and also causing some sparks.

“It’s useless. Your attack is nothing against my Golden Monarch Body!” Xue Yi proudly said with his head held high, looking downwards at Yang Kai.

“You will know soon if it’s useless or not!” Yang Kai did not try to argue with him and disappeared in a flash.

Xue Yi narrowed his eyes and frowned.

At that moment, he lost sight of Yang Kai. The speed of his opponent was beyond his imagination.

But as an elite disciple of Azure Sun Temple, he did not fluster and panic. He stretched his large fan-like hand and reached behind him.

As he had predicted, Yang Kai appeared right behind him and into Xue Yi’s large hand, as if walking right into a trap.

Xue Yi smirked and stomped his big foot.

In an instant, the Earth quaked and the mountains trembled.

Followed by a dull roar, an Earth Dragon suddenly surfaced from the ground, then performed a killing charge towards Yang Kai in a serpentine motion.

There was the might of Principles lingering above the Earth Dragon. It was obviously a certain kind of Secret Technique cultivated by Xue Yi.

The Earth Dragon moved like lightning and rushed at Yang Kai’s face in the blink of an eye. At this moment, it was too late for Yang Kai, who was in the air and attempted to backstab Xue Yi earlier, to escape. The Earth Dragon opened its mouth and bit Yang Kai. Followed by a munch, Yang Kai’s body was broken in two. 

“Huh?” Xue Yi did not feel glad or relieved when he got him, but looked startled instead.

In that instance, he did not receive the sensation of triumph. He looked at, unsurprisingly, the broken body disappearing into blue smoke. It was actually just an afterimage.

“Shit!” Xue Yi bellowed and immediately looked forward.

Yang Kai had emerged in front of him. He lowered his body, aimed closely to his abdomen, and swung both of his fists, which then turned into countless afterimages…

*Peng peng peng…*

Xue Yi’s burly physique kept retreating while receiving such heavy blows. Haloes of forces consistently erupted from the blows on his stomach, resulting in blasting noises.

“Golden… Barrier!” Xue Yi abruptly roared. A layer of earthy yellow halo emerged around him, like a cylinder enveloping him in it. After performing this defensive Secret Technique, he held his fists together and smashed down fiercely.

*Hong…*

Dust was everywhere. An enormous deep pit was formed on the ground, but Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen.

Yang Kai was standing still several tens of metres away, with a deeply thoughtful face.

“After I refined the blood, bones and bead of an actual Dragon, my strength and reflexes seem to have grown a lot. Perhaps, it might also be due to the effect of continuous refining and absorption of the Ten Thousand Medicinal Treasures Soup. When I drank it that time, it hadn’t been fully refined yet, only stored inside my physique,” He secretly pondered.

Some time ago, he would not be able to deal damage to an enemy like Xue Yi with this move. But now…

Opposite of him, Xue Yi seemed to be unscathed, but his aura was a little disordered, and there was even a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.

“How can this be?” Xiao Bai Yi’s insides were in a stormy state of shock. In the Sect’s martial arts challenge three months ago, he fought Xue Yi head-on once, and he learnt how powerful his Golden Monarch Body was.

The defence was solid as a rock, it was not easy to break through even for him. That battle was still fresh in his memory, which had taken a full hour for him to defeat Xue Yi, even with his best effort.

But now, he witnessed that Yang Kai had injured Xue Yi with only his physical strength.

[Now that I notice, did he actually keep his true potential hidden during the last battle?]

This thought flowed out of Xiao Bai Yi’s mind, making him a mess.

[This man must not be as simple as he looked! He either concealed his real cultivation, or he was born extraordinary!] Xiao Bai Yi secretly guessed.

“Not bad, Brother Xue! You have trained yourself well to put up a fight!” Yang Kai stood not far away, smiling at Xue Yi.

Xue Yi had long lost the arrogance he had before. Since his injury, he had sensed that something was wrong. His Golden Monarch Body had been cultivated to the Sixth Stage, and even the Emperor Realms in the Sect had praised him for his physical strength. Still, he was now being wounded by an anonymous First-Order Dao Source Realm.

If someone told him about this earlier, he would probably just laugh.

However, the truth was right in front of him.

“But…” Yang Kai said with the look of an eagle in his eyes, “You will only be beaten… because there is no way for you to beat me!”

“Keep all your shameless boasting to yourself!” Xue Yi became angry out of shame. The corner of his eyes twitched furiously. He got triggered and turned ferocious, yelling, “Don’t blame me for killing you later!”

After speaking, he fiercely performed a mudra with both hands.

A mysterious power exploded out of his body, and his already burly figure suddenly grew even larger. The metallic lustre from the stacked muscles in his body became more and more dazzling, shining in a bright white light.

He kicked his feet, and a light flashed across his fists. He summoned a brass knuckles artifact, exuding an extremely dangerous aura, and pounced at Yang Kai.

Suddenly, the white light on his body burst radiantly and lingered around the mountain peak, making the whole world misty white.

“This is not good! He is ready to fight to the death!” Wen Zi Shan looked down with his squinted eyes, secretly prepared to interfere if the situation turned bad. After all, Xue Yi was an elite disciple of Sect while Yang Kai was an important guest, so he did not wish for either of them to die.

“It’s unexpected that this little brat is capable of forcing Xue Yi into this situation!” Chen Qian was slightly surprised, “This man seems to have talent. I wonder if Sir Temple Master plans to invite him into Sect?”

“It’s fine to invite him into Sect, but…”

“But what?”

“But I feel like I have seen this little brat somewhere, and… it’s dangerous!”

Chen Qian looked at Gao Xue Ting in wonder. She did not understand what she was talking about.

At this moment, colourful skyglow burst out in the white world. The skyglow was so bright that it could hurt the eyes and cut out a path in the white world like a heavenly blade.

“The Power of Five Elements?” Gao Xue Ting raised her eyebrow. Her face was full of surprise.

She felt the Power of Five Elements from the colourful skyglow, which are mutually restraining, endless cycling, continuously flowing…

It seemed like the colourful skyglow and the white light were the only things left in the whole world, battling each other.

The path opened by the skyglow was widening, coming from there were Xue Yi’s roar with dissatisfaction and Yang Kai’s continuous low mumbles. They were clearly fighting in the heat of the battle.

Xiao Bai Yi, who was watching from below, had no choice but to perform a Secret Technique in order to withstand the impact of terrifying power.

“He got to this level in just three months?” Xiao Bai Yi was terrified, “It seems that Xue Yi has worked very hard too!”

He was sure that the Xue Yi today was so much more powerful than three months ago. If he had the strength at that time, he would have gotten into the top ten!

But even so… it was unbelievable that the little brat named Yang Kai could compete with him!

Suddenly, a low voice was heard, “Myriads Sword Light, Radiant Moon Swallows the Wolf!”

When the words fell, countless dazzling sword lights shot down from the sky. All of them showed colourful lights and were full of the Power of Five Elements, unstoppable!

At the same time, a wave of extraordinary energy slowly drifted away.

*Chi chi chi…*

The white world was instantly shattered, leaving a group of colourful lights, silently in the mid-air.

Xue Yi was full of wounds and fell from the sky with a look of unwillingness and helplessness. His face was extremely pale and his metallic body had lost its previous lustre.

The brass knuckles artifacts on both his fists lost their shine too.

Seeing that Xue Yi was about to fall heavily on the ground, Xiao Bai Yi moved swiftly under him with a sway of his body and caught him in his arms.

He examined Xue Yi’s injuries and felt relieved after finding that he was not in serious trouble, but had just overly consumed his energy.

Lifting his head again, Xiao Bai Yi coldly stared at Yang Kai, who was still in mid-air. He then fixed his sight on the long broadsword in Yang Kai’s hand and coldly snorted, “Emperor Artifact?”

Yang Kai grinned.

“Do you still call yourself a man for relying on the suppressive power of Emperor Artifact?” Xiao Bai Yi despised.

Yang Kai wondered, “If he can use artifacts, why can’t I?”

“If you have guts, you should fight fairly with Junior Brother Xue!” Xiao Bai Yi looked even more contemptuous.

To him, the reason why Yang Kai was able to win all of a sudden was only because of the power of Emperor Artifact. If he just depended solely on his own abilities, he may not be able to beat Xue Yi.

“If you can, find him an Emperor Artifact and have him fight me again!” Yang Kai did not feel ashamed of himself.

“Very well!” Xiao Bai Yi seemed to be annoyed and coldly stared at Yang Kai, “You have won this battle. I hope you can return from the Four Seasons Realm alive!”

After speaking, he ignored Yang Kai, carried Xue Yi on his back and flew away.

After they left, Yang Kai looked up at the void and asked, “Is this good enough?”

A shadow flashed in the void and Wen Zi Shan appeared. He gazed at the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand and asked, “Hey little boy, where did you get this Emperor Artifact? This is not something that you can simply find on the street.”

“None of your business!”

Wen Zi Shan was choked by his words, and could not help but to roll his eyes. Soon enough, He regained his expression and said solemnly, “I can see your good intentions. You knew that the longer Xue Yi continued his behaviour, the more dangerous it would be for him, and he might just end up losing his mind. That’s why you used Emperor Artifact to make a quick fight, but too bad… You have been misunderstood.”

“I was just having fun with the suppressive power of Emperor Artifact,” Yang Kai coldly snorted.

“Heh heh, Xiao Bai Yi is not as easy to deal with as Xue Yi. The words he left behind are very concerning. Perhaps, he is going to lay his hands on you in the Four Season Realm. Do you need this King to talk to him?”

Chapter 2130

“No need!” Yang Kai pouted.

Wen Zi Shan did not get angry but smiled. He thought for a while then said, “Then… do you want this King to help you in refining this Emperor Artifact? I noticed that you have low compatibility with this Emperor Artifact, you can’t even unleash a small portion of its power. You don’t have much time left, if you accept the help from this King, you can be assured that you can unleash ten percent of its power in the Four Seasons Realm and be invincible in the Sealed World. Interested?”

Wen Zi Shan seemed to be sincere in offering Yang Kai help.

However, Yang Kai shook his head and teased, “Temple Master Wen, are you that desperate for me to make a request?”

The corner of Wen Zi Shan’s mouth twitched after hearing this, and he whispered, “Damn it… he saw through me!”

Yang Kai burst into laughter, “This little brat will cautiously think of a request. When the time comes, I will come and ask from Temple Master Wen!”

He understood that Wen Zi Shan was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and also an Azure Sun Temple’s Temple Master. Even though this person seemed to be unreliable sometimes, Masters like him always kept their promises.

Wen Zi Shan had promised him he would fulfil a request that was not too excessive if he beat Xue Yi.

Yang Kai could not think of any favour that he wanted at that time, so it was better for him to keep his chip now. Maybe he would need some great help at a certain critical moment in the future.

“This little brat is too cunning!” Wen Zi Shan bitterly said. Soon after, his face turned indifferent and shrugged, “Fine, you deserve to make the call. Come and gather at Fallen Flower Peak in seven days. There will be someone guiding your departure at that time.”

“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded, cupped his fist and bowed, “Goodbye, Temple Master Wen!”

Wen Zi Shan smiled faintly. His body started to fade gradually and completely disappeared a few breaths later.

After his departure, Yang Kai frowned and glanced at the void on the other side with a bewildered expression.

He had felt that some people were hiding there, but he could not find them. However, if they were Emperor Realms, everything would make sense.

Since they did not take the initiative to reveal themselves, they were probably just here to watch the show and Yang Kai certainly would not try to cause himself any troubles.

He turned towards the ruined temple and left.

“This little brat seems to have noticed us!” Chen Qian was surprised, staring at Yang Kai’s back and spoke softly.

“I think he is just suspicious of us,” Gao Xue Ting said. “But even so, his senses are extraordinarily keen, this person is very interesting!”

“Sister Gao, do you think he was from… there?”

Gao Xue Ting turned and took a glance at her.

Chen Qian said, “If he wasn’t from there, how could he have such strength? What’s more, he has an Emperor Artifact with him! He is only just a First-Order Dao Source Realm!”

Gao Xue Ting shook his head, “If he really came from there, we would know. Still… the rising stars of this generation are really coming out more and more!” 

Chen Qian nodded after hearing this, “Yeah… Princess Lan perfectly inherited the Bright Moon Ethereal Body of the Bright Moon Great Emperor and I heard that she was promoted to Dao Source Realm one year ago. She will definitely go to Four Seasons Realm this time. As for Heavenly Martial Holy Land, they seem to have someone who possesses a Yin-Yang Dual Body there. The Zhuang Bu Fan from Orthodoxy Temple doesn’t have a special physique, but he is bright and talented. Since the beginning of his cultivation, he has been challenging the stronger cultivators like they were a piece of cake and made a big name for himself at his young age. Right now, he is already a Third-Order Dao Source Realm. Although the two major chambers of commerce are mainly businessmen, they have recruited many talented people in recent years… I suddenly feel like this Southern Territory already belongs to them. Damn, I’m old…”

Gao Xue Ting was quiet. Obviously, she felt the same.

…

Yang Kai returned to his room and stepped up his efforts in refining the Emperor Artifact.

Wen Zi Shan had made it clear: After seven days, he would have to proceed to gather at Fallen Flower Peak, and there was not much time left for him.

While comprehending the knowledge and experiences that passed down by the ancestor of Qin’s Family, he was also strengthening his connection between Myriads Sword at the same time.

Wen Zi Shan was right about him not being able to unleash even a small portion of Myriads Sword’s power yet. He could severely injure Xue Yi with one move mostly due to his own strength, and only used a tiny bit of power from the Emperor Artifact.

Time flew and a few days passed.

On this day, Yang Kai was cultivating in isolation.

All of a sudden, his expression changed and he opened his eyes.

An unusual tidal force surged between the Heavens and Earth. This force was extremely mighty and mysterious, it was unpredictable.

When he listened attentively, there was a vague noise coming out of it.

Yang Kai looked solemn. He went outside of the temple with a sway of his body.

The sky was dim and the earth was hazy. There was a tremendous shadow covering the sky, and it seemed like a huge monster was flying over from above.

Yang Kai gazed with his head up and was stunned by it right on the spot.

It was a gigantic white bird flying in the sky. The white bird looked very normal, like a pigeon being magnified many times, but the pressure that came out from its body was as high as a mountain.

“What is this? A Divine Spirit?” Yang Kai was surprised and puzzled.

Looking at the flying direction of the giant pigeon, it seemed to be flying towards the Main Peak of the Azure Sun Mountain Range.

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

Many figures emerged from all directions. Apparently, they were all alarmed by this.

While on top of the Main Peak, Wen Zi Shan appeared strangely in a flash. He stared at the giant pigeon, and his usual playful face had turned serious.

After a short while, the giant pigeon flew above Wen Zi Shan.

In a flash of brilliance, the giant pigeon turned instantly into a normal-sized pigeon. The astonishing pressure and force also disappeared.

The white pigeon did not stop and sped straight at Wen Zi Shan. Wen Zi Shan did not block or dodge it, and he just stood still in place.

When the white pigeon was only about ten feet away from Wen Zi Shan, it immediately exploded into fluorescent snow. The fluorescent snow wrapped Wen Zi Shan’s whole body and immersed into his skin, then gradually disappeared.

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…*

The crowd who followed the white pigeon closely emerged beside Wen Zi Shan one after another. They were the Emperor Realm Masters of Azure Sun Temple.

Qiu Ran frowned and stared silently at the change of Wen Zi Shan’s expression.

Chen Qian and Gao Xue Ting were standing side by side. They both seemed to know about something and quietly waited.

Among them, a middle-aged man beside Gao Xue Ting, whispered to her with a frowning face, “Elder Gao, about that thing just now… was it a messenger from that Sir?”

Gao Xue Ting nodded, “It should be, but I have only heard about it, I have never really seen it with my own eyes.”

The middle-aged man was astonished, “I can’t believe that Sir actually sent a message, does it mean that something big is about to happen?”

The crowd stayed in silence, feeling apprehensive. Everyone here was in the Emperor Realm, they would not be worried and anxious if it was just a casual matter. However, the situation changed, a messenger from that Sir had appeared in Azure Sun Temple, that Sir would never make a scene like this, if it was not for something big.

And now, Wen Zi Shan, who received the message, was the only one who learnt about the matter.

Therefore, all of them looked at Wen Zi Shan, in hope of knowing what happened.

But they could not figure out any clues from the change of Wen Zi Shan’s expression, which made them feel nervous and helpless.

After a long while, Wen Zi Shan gave out a soft breath and spoke lightly, “Who would have thought of such a thing!?”

“Sir Temple Master!” Qiu Ran was the first one who stepped forward and broke the silence of the crowd. Just when he was about to ask about it, Wen Zi Shan interrupted him and explained, “A message from Sir Heaven’s Revelations regarding the Four Seasons Realm. This time, things have changed!”

“Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor!” the middle-aged man who spoke previously, shouted in excitement, “Is this truly from Heaven’s Revelation Great Emperor!?”

Among the Ten Great Emperors, except for a few who built the great forces of Sects and seated in the headquarters, the rest were like a hidden dragon who showed their tail but never their face. For instance, Bustling World Great Emperor, he incarnated into various forms and fooled around the world. Perhaps, a pitiful beggar who was seen along the street in the cold weather, was actually a disguised Bustling World Great Emperor.

If someone was being kind enough to give him a hand, he or she would receive a great blessing from him in return.

Heaven’s Revelation Great Emperor was equally unpredictable.

Since he was titled the name of Heaven’s Revelations, he had the ability that none of the Great Emperors could possess. Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor had the ability to see through time, he could see the past and foresee the future! It was the most mysterious Divine Ability of all Great Emperors.

Although most of the people knew that he lived in the Valley of Heaven’s Secret, no one knew where this place was, not even a clue of which part of the Star Boundary it was at!

“Four Seasons Realm… Why would it bother Sir Heaven’s Revelations to take action?” Qiu Ran was bewildered.

Four Seasons Realm, this particular Sealed World was relatively renowned in Southern Territory, but it did not involve the entire Star Field. According to the character of Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor, he would not bother to lay his hand on matters in such a middle class Sealed World.

“That’s why I said, the situation changed!” Wen Zi Shan said with a frowny face, “Four Seasons Realm this time… has a connection with the Shattered Star Sea!”

“What?” Qiu Ran exclaimed.

“Shattered Star Sea?” the pretty face of Gao Xue Ting slightly changed.

Shattered Star Sea was a place kept secret, only a few people, including masters of Emperor Realm knew exactly where it was. Shattered Star Sea can be found in The Void Crack of the Star Boundary, but it did not have a fixed location.

And Shattered Star Sea was the place where the well-known Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was buried.

It could even be said that Shattered Star Sea was born due to the death of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.

Rumor had it that the Shattered Star Sea possessed the mystery of becoming a Great Emperor, also the secrets and power of the Divine Ability of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.

Such a place was astonishingly attractive to the Emperor Realm experts.

Unfortunately, the cultivators with the level of Emperor Realm could never enter Shattered Star Sea. It seemed that the masters of the Emperor Realm were being repelled by the Power of Law, while only the cultivators with the level of the Dao Source Realm were able to enter.

Every time the Shattered Star Sea opened, the entire Star Boundary would become excited.

All of the huge Sects would send their disciples into it, attempting to search for the mystery and legacy of the Great Emperor, desiring to accomplish an achievement that could be written in history.

Shattered Star Sea, a place much more earthshaking than the Four Seasons Realm!

Chapter 2131

When Wen Zi Shan said this, everyone immediately understood why a matter as trivial as the opening of the Four Seasons Realm could shock the Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor.

The Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor was involved when the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was overthrown. They were able to track the whereabouts of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor and saw his end with Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor’s Divine Ability.

Otherwise, who would have dared to act rashly in front of the strongest master in the Star Boundary back then?

He would have been seeking his own death.

“What did Sir Heaven’s Revelations say?” Gao Xue Ting asked nervously.

Wen Zi Shan said, “It is not that serious, but it is quite unexpected for the Star Seal to appear in the Four Seasons Realm!”

“Star Seal?” Qiu Ran’s eyebrow jumped, “The ticket to enter the Shattered Star Sea?”

“Yes.”

“But…”

“I know what you want to say.” Wen Zi Shan waved his hand. “Over the years, the Star Seal has always appeared immediately prior to the opening of the Shattered Star Sea. It was unusual for the Star Seal to appear in one of the Sealed Worlds, but I assume it is probably a coincidence that this is happening at the same time as the opening of the Four Seasons Realm. Anyway, since it happened so suddenly, and we have been informed by Sir Heaven’s Revelation, we shall inform the disciples to work hard in searching for it. The number of Star Seals is related to the number of slots to enter the Shattered Star Sea, we absolutely cannot be careless about this.”

“What Sir Temple Master says does make sense,” Qiu Ran thought, nodded and said. “If that’s the case, I shall pass the order to the disciples to work hard. By the way, Sir Temple Master, since Azure Sun Temple received a message from Sir Heaven’s Revelations, the other great forces…”

“Anyone with a little bit of ability will definitely receive it.” Wen Zi Shan said.

“If that’s the case, the venture in the Four Seasons Realm will be many times more dangerous than before.” Qiu Ran could not help but reveal a worried look.

Wen Zi Shan smiled and said, “The seedlings must go through some rough patches, they can’t grow up if we’re always protecting them.”

“Sir Temple Master is right!” Qiu Ran said respectfully.

“Okay. Now that the situation has changed, we should depart earlier! Pass the order, gather everyone for departure tomorrow morning!” Wen Zi Shan said to Gao Xue Ting.

“Understood!” Gao Xue Ting replied.

Wen Zi Shan grinned and said, “Elder Gao, don’t forget what you have promised me…”

Gao Xue Ting’s pretty face changed slightly. She grit her teeth and said, “Does it have to be that way?”

Wen Zi Shan laughed sinisterly and said, “What’s wrong? You have to keep your word if you want to be a respectable person…” 

Gao Xue Ting said bitterly, “Subordinate understands and will not disappoint Sir Temple Master!”

She finished her sentence with her jaw clenched, her beautiful eyes filled with bloody and tearful accusations!

“I’m looking forward to it!” Wen Zi Shan laughed loudly, he seemed to be in a good mood. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Everyone cast curious looks at Gao Xue Ting, wondering what had happened between her and the Temple Master.

“Sister Gao…” Chen Qian said worriedly.

“There’s no need to speak, you’ll know tomorrow.” Gao Xue Ting was in an extremely bad mood, her emotions abnormal. Her chest inexplicably puffed violently as if she was in fury.

“Okay…!”

It was night when Yang Kai received the news for his departure to the Fallen Flower Peak the next morning.

To his surprise, it was Xiao Bai Yi who brought him the news.

He had no intention of any interaction and just left after passing on the message coldly.

It did not bother Yang Kai at all, but he secretly guessed that the advanced departure could have been related to what had happened during the day.

The next day, Yang Kai got up early and headed straight towards Fallen Flower Peak.

After a short while, he arrived at the square on top of the mountain.

Many people were already gathered there, some were Dao Source Realms, some were Emperor Realms, including Qiu Ran and Chen Qian whom he had met before, but they paid no attention to him after glancing at him.

However, the Dao Source Realm disciples were looking at him curiously.

It seems that the news of the battle between him and Xue Yi had spread among them, and everyone was very interested in him even as a stranger. Several people paled at the information that he was only a First-Order Dao Source Realm.

Xiao Bai Yi was among them but he did not even look at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai did not know anyone there and was not interested in making friends either, so he just waited quietly in a corner.

This was his first time witnessing disciples gathered in a big Sect ever since arriving in Star Boundary, but he was confident in his own abilities and did not feel intimidated.

As he waited quietly, someone approached him.

He turned his head to see an ordinary-looking young man in his twenties smiling at him.

The young man dressed very casually as well and did not possess any charisma. Such a person would not stand out in a crowd.

However, when he made his way towards Yang Kai, the few groups of disciples who were gathered stopped their chattering and turned their attention toward them.

Even a few Emperor Realm Masters noticed, including the young girl named Chen Qian, who had a look of worry on her face. 

The young man stopped a short distance in front of Yang Kai, swept his eyes over him and broke into a bright and gentle smile, saying, “Are you the outsider who defeated Xue Yi?”

“I’m Yang Kai!” Yang Kai introduced himself while squinting at the man, giving him a sweep of his Divine Sense.

What changed Yang Kai’s indifferent expression was that he could not identify the level of the young man’s cultivation. It was as if he was non-existent after being scanned with Divine Sense. If Yang Kai did not see him with his own eyes, he would assume there was no one in front of him.

[This guy… is definitely not as ordinary as he looks!]

Combining the reactions of the surrounding disciples and Emperor Realms, Yang Kai privately deduced.

The young man smiled slightly and said, “So this is Brother Yang, I am Xia Sheng!”

“How can I help you, Brother Xia?” Yang Kai skipped the greeting and went straight to the point, maintaining vigilance.

“Nothing, I just want to chat,” Xia Sheng retained his bright smile and said. “I heard that Xue Yi was defeated by you, so I’m just a little curious.”

Yang Kai raised his brows, “Is Brother Xia planning to seek revenge for your fellow disciple?”

“Haha…” Xia Sheng laughed aloud, he waved his hand and said as if there was no one watching, “Don’t think like that, Brother Yang, I have no such intention. It’s just that… Although Xue Yi is crappy, considering that he was defeated by someone who has a cultivation a minor stage below him, Brother Yang’s abilities are not to be underestimated.”

At this point, Xia Sheng’s expression hardened. There was an enormous change in aura and demeanour, and he said in an arrogant and confident tone, “People like us are destined to dominate and become the overlords of the world, all of these old guys can kiss my foot…”

Yang Kai was speechless, trying hard to keep a straight face. The corners of his mouth twitched, feeling like something terrible was going to happen. As he had expected, a loud yell came from the side…

“Bastard!” Qiu Ran was furious and shouted at Xia Sheng, “I will tear your mouth open if you dare to speak such nonsense again!”

“Sir Deputy Temple Master…” Xia Sheng returned to his ordinary appearance again and said in a panic, “Disciple wasn’t referring to you, and I didn’t mean that… Please calm your nerves!”

Qiu Ran seemed to be familiar with Xia Sheng’s actions and did not really mean to teach him a lesson, but he did look extremely hurt by Xia Sheng’s words and sighed, “Subordinates imitate their superiors’ vices…”

But no one knew who was the superior he mentioned.

Xia Sheng looked at Yang Kai again, laughed, “Let me introduce myself again. Hello Brother Yang, I am Xia Sheng, ranked first place in the Sect’s martial arts challenge!”

“I had more or less guessed it.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

Xia Sheng gave a stronger aura than Xiao Bai Yi, who ranked second place in the Sect’s challenge, so it was no question that he would rank first.

“We will definitely meet again, so… let’s work hard together!” Xia Sheng said.

“Okay! Let’s hope Brother Xia won’t be too far behind.” Yang Kai smiled sinisterly.

The smile on Xia Sheng’s face slightly stiffened, but quickly recovered and grinned, “Interesting, interesting! Brother Yang is indeed fascinating, much more than Little Bai.”

Xiao Bai Yi, who was standing nearby spoke in anger, “Who are you calling Little Bai? I will challenge you to a fight now!”

Xia Sheng shrugged his shoulders, looking helpless.

A streak of violet light gleamed across the crowd.

Wen Zi Shan appeared.

He swept across the room wondering, “Isn’t Elder Gao leading the group? Why isn’t she here?”

Chen Qian stepped forward and replied, “Sister Gao should be here soon.”

“Women… so troublesome!” Wen Zi Shan muttered to himself. He looked upwards to the sky and smiled, “There she is.”

For some reason, he had a look of extreme anticipation that his eyes had a slight glow.

The crowd followed the direction of his gaze. Sure enough, a bright white light was zooming towards them at an incredible speed.

The white light descended and faded in front of everyone, revealing the alluring figure of Gao Xue Ting. 

“Elder Gao, all the disciples have assembled. Do you…” Qiu Ran rushed toward Gao Xue Ting. After all, she was in charge of the expedition to the Four Seasons Realm Sealed World, she was also the one to lead the disciples to the entrance. However, due to unexpected reasons, there was still something that everyone needed to be informed of before departing, especially regarding the Sealed Star!

Before Qiu Ran could finish, he gaped at Gao Xue Ting with huge eyes as if he had seen a ghost, exclaiming inside, “This woman is NOT Elder Gao!”

The visual impact was so shocking that he almost blurted out, “Who the hell are you and how dare you impersonate the Elder Gao of our temple? Reveal yourself now!”

He swallowed his words before they came out, but the look on his face said it all.

Chapter 2132

Not just Qiu Ran, Chen Qian also opened her pair of beautiful eyes wide and covered her red lips with a small hand, staring appallingly at Gao Xue Ting.

It was the same for all of the Emperor Realms, they were dumbfounded.

Even the Emperor Realms who usually kept their face straight were affected by this scene, so there is no doubt that those disciples were naturally more shocked.

Everyone gaped at Gao Xue Ting in astonishment, as if their eyes were popping out.

“Everyone… Why are you looking at me like this? Is there something on my face?” Gao Xue Ting asked faintly. The corner of her mouth curved slightly, revealing a charming smile, but her beautiful eyes were filled with intimidation.

An inexplicable chill struck them, making everyone shiver like they were in an igloo.

*Dong Dong…*

The sound of gulpings could be heard.

“Did I see it wrongly? Elder Gao is actually… smiling?” a voice came in suddenly.

“She really smiled! Oh my god, for several dozen years, since this disciple came to this temple, never have I seen Elder Gao reveal her smile. Now that I have seen it, I have no more regrets.”

“This is not real, this is not real, this is not real… It’s my imagination, it’s my imagination, it’s my imagination…”

A bunch of Dao Source Realm disciples were baffled, they could not believe their eyes. And the reason for it was Gao Xue Ting’s smile.

“You guys seem to have a lot of opinions about this Queen!” Gao Xue Ting turned to the disciples after hearing their discussions. She still continued smiling, but her expression became even stiffer.

None of the disciples dared to have eye contact with her. All of them turned their eyes away, afraid of getting caught by her.

“Sister Gao…” Chen Qian stepped forward and asked in worry, “Are you okay?”

“What’s not okay about me?” Gao Xue Ting slightly smiled and grit her teeth, staring at Wen Zi Shan as she spoke. “I’m okay!”

“Oh…” Chen Qian did not know what to say, confused.

Aside from those Dao Source Realm disciples, even her, a Sect Elder who was often together with Gao Xue Ting, had never seen Gao Xue Ting smiling, not to mention that she was smiling for so long. This made her feel strange and scared, and she could not help but shiver.

“Gao… Elder Gao!” Qiu Ran could not stand it anymore. Even though it was gratifying to finally see Gao Xue Ting smiling, her smile was more frightening than her usual cold expression. As a Deputy Temple Master, he thought that it was his duty to give her advice, “Stop forcing yourself!”

Gao Xue Ting turned to him, still smiling, and said, “Forcing myself? I’m not… Why? Does Senior Qiu find the smile of this Queen to be ugly?”

“No such thing!” Qiu Ran was shocked, immediately denying and changing the topic, “The disciples are all assembled. Elder Gao, do you have anything to tell them?”

“What else is there to say?” Gao Xue Ting’s eyes swept across the twenty Dao Source Realm cultivators and said crisply, “I’ll tell them during the journey, so now… Let’s depart!”

While speaking, she opened her mouth and spit out a miniature ship. With both her hands clenched together while chanting an incantation, the ship enlarged suddenly, reaching a length of several tens of meters, then it gradually stopped.

The design of the ship was slick and exquisite, with dragons and phoenixes carved on it, much better than the ship that Yang Kai got before.

After all, it was an artifact that belonged to an Emperor Realm, a flight type artifact of Dao Source Grade High-Rank!

“Get on board!” Gao Xue Ting said.

The Dao Source Realm cultivators did not dare to hesitate, they performed their movement skills and boarded the ship. Yang Kai followed the crowd, casually found a spot after he got onto the ship and sat down with his legs crossed.

Gao Xue Ting waited for everyone to settle down, then started to move towards the deck.

After that, she turned around slowly, with a ghastly grin on her face, staring at Wen Zi Shan, who had been hiding the whole time in the crowd, and said through her gritted teeth, “Wait for me… I will deal with you later!”

She looked like she had suffered from a shameful humiliation, which made her feel like killing him.

“Bon… voyage!” Wen Zi Shan waved his hand, with his body shaking lightly.

“Humph!” Gao Xue Ting coldly snorted, with a surge of Source Qi, the ship instantly speeded up and flew out of Azure Sun Mountain Range.

Unstoppable laughter burst out when the ship got out of everyone’s sight.

Wen Zi Shan laughed until his tears were about to flow out, hugging his own stomach and almost needed to roll on the floor to relieve himself. He spoke while continuing laughing, “Did you… did you see Little Xue Ting’s… face? HAHAHAHA, it was so funny…”

“Haiz… How improper!” Qiu Ran looked speechless, shook his head in sorrow, flicked his sleeves and walked away.

“Sir Temple Master, please behave yourself!” another Emperor Realm could not stand it anymore either, and he felt ashamed of this person.

“You are so dead!” Chen Qian looked at Wen Zi Shan in disdain, “Wait until Sister Gao comes back from the Four Seasons Realm, and see how she will deal with you!”

When the conversations ended, the people started to leave one by one, leaving Wen Zi Shan alone.

After a while, he got tired of laughing too. He straightened up with a solemn look and sadly mumbled to himself, “It seems that I haven’t seen Little Xue Ting’s smile for many years. I really miss it… She was such a playful and clingy girl during her younger days, why did she become so cold these days? Well, no wonder there is a saying: A girl changes quickly from childhood to womanhood!”

…

Everyone was quiet on the ship.

All twenty Dao Source Realms were silently cycling their Source Qi in order to resist the chill from the front.

Gao Xue Ting had been standing in front of the deck the whole time. From the time they departed until now, she had exuded a kind of bone-chilling sensation, which seemed to be able to freeze one’s soul.

From time to time, Gao Xue Ting chuckled like a crazy person, which made everyone feel creeped out.

In this situation, who would dare trigger Gao Xue Ting? Therefore, no one dared to make a noise, not even a whisper. Everyone was just giving each other uncomfortable looks.

Azure Sun Temple had twenty slots for entering the Four Seasons Realm. Initially, the slots were owned by the top twenty Dao Source Realm disciples in the Sect’s martial art challenge, but since Xue Yi was defeated by Yang Kai, Yang Kai had become the only outsider here.

Among the twenty people, seven were women and the rest were men.

Yang Kai only knew Xiao Bai Yi and Xia Sheng among them. He did not even know the names of the others.

However, he did not bother to inquire. His main purpose of this Four Seasons Realm journey was the Tribulation Fruit. As long as he could find this spirit fruit, he would not let Qin Zhao Yang down.

The ship was indeed a Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact, it was remarkably fast.

There were no obstacles along the flying trip.

After all, an Emperor Realm master was guarding, an extremely foul mood Emperor Realm. The stormy murderous intent released by her put all of the cultivators in fear, and they were not foolish enough to cause a disaster.

This situation lasted for three days!

Three days later, Gao Xue Ting, who had been standing in front of the deck with her back to the people, suddenly turned around.

Sensing this, everyone’s expressions turned solemn, immediately opened their eyes and looked at her, feeling a great deal of apprehension.

But after seeing Gao Xue Ting’s face clearly, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief simultaneously.

Because Gao Xue Ting at this moment had finally regained her indifferent and cold expression, replacing the strange and scary smile on her face.

Yang Kai heard a lot of them secretly sighing.

“Elder Gao’s face indeed looks a lot more comfortable like this,” Xia Sheng said with a lingering fear while patting his chest. “Before this, Elder Gao looked like a completely different person, her face really scared me to death!”

As soon as he said this, Xiao Bai Yi sensed the incoming danger and quickly slapped Xia Sheng in the face.

Xia Sheng was stunned by the slap, and glared fiercely at Xiao Bai Yi, “Xiao Bai, did you just backstab me? How despicable and shameless of you! Believe it or not…”

Before he finished his sentence, Xia Sheng shivered involuntarily. He slowly lifted his head and looked at the spooky appearance in front of him. It was Gao Xue Ting staring down at him. With his mouth twitching, he weakly asked, “Elder Gao, did this disciple… say something wrong?”

“No such thing!” Gao Xue Ting replied faintly. Soon, she suddenly smiled and said, “Is this the face… that scared you to death!?”

The face of Xia Sheng turned green.

Gao Xue Ting stretched out her hand, catching him off guard, and lifted Xia Sheng before tossing him out of the ship like a piece of rubbish. Her moves were smooth as silk and fast as lightning.

“Elder Gao…” Xia Sheng’s shout came from afar, but he was just a little dot from the view on the ship.

“Great! The unpleasant guy is gone!” Gao Xue Ting clapped her hands and swept across the crowd with her eyes.

Those disciples who were seen by her during the process lowered their head and avoided contact with her eyes.

“That idiot!” Xiao Bai Yi cursed secretly in his heart. At the same time, he glanced at his back and saw that Xia Sheng was trying hard to catch up. As the top in Sect’s martial art challenge, he was undoubtedly strong and had hastily caught up with the ship.

However, there was a fluorescent curtain acting as a barrier on the ship. If Gao Xue Ting did not open the barrier, Xia Sheng would not be able to get on the ship, so he could only stick to the fluorescent curtain and kept crying for mercy.

Gao Xue Ting turned a deaf ear to his crying, and when she got irritated, she just isolated his voice with a wave of her hand.

Many of them looked at Xia Sheng with sympathy, feeling sorrow for his misfortune.

“I have one thing to tell you.” Gao Xue Ting spoke suddenly.

Everyone held their breath and looked at her intently.

“The Four Seasons Realm this time is a little different from previous years!” Gao Xue Ting continued, “You should have obtained the information of the Four Seasons Realm before you departed. I don’t need to say anything more about this, but this time, a Star Seal will appear in the Four Seasons Realm!”

“Star Seal?” Xiao Bai Yi’s face shifted, as if he thought of something. He questioned in astonishment, “The Star Seal that is related to the Shattered Star Sea?”

Gao Xue Ting glanced at him approvingly, and said, “Yes, it’s those Star Seals that are related to the Shattered Star Sea! The Star Seal is a certificate pass to enter the Shattered Star Sea, so those who obtain it may enter the Shattered Star Sea when it’s opened! As such, this Queen needs you to work hard in the Four Seasons Realm. Finding Star Seals will be your primary objective, and it is also your only objective!”

Chapter 2133

“However, because of the emergence of the Star Seal, the Four Seasons Realm will be much more dangerous than the previous years, so in addition to the search for the Star Seal, it is more important for you to ensure your own safety! You are all the Sect’s future. Any deaths will be a loss for the Sect, so this Queen wants each and every one of you to put in your best effort!”

“Yes, many thanks to Elder Gao!” The disciples replied in unison.

“Elder Gao, what exactly does the Star Seal look like?” Xiao Bai Yi asked.

“The Star Seal is formless, and you will be branded with a pattern on your body when you obtain it. If you really do have the opportunity to obtain it, you will naturally know it.”

“Disciple understands!” Xiao Bai Yi nodded.

“Also, the Star Seal can be transferred. If any of you obtains the Star Seal, it can be transferred to the Sect. Of course, in return for getting the Star Seal, you will be eligible to enter the Shattered Star Sea in the future!”

Everyone was breathing in excitement.

“Then… what happens if a disciple gets two or more?” Xiao Bai Yi asked again.

Gao Xue Ting said, “Keep one for yourself, and give the rest to the Sect, and the Sect will reward you correspondingly!”

She turned her head towards Yang Kai at this point, said, “Same goes for you!”

“Me?” Yang Kai looked alarmed.

“Of course!” Gao Xue Ting nodded gently, “Although you’re not a disciple of the Azure Sun Temple, you are going into the Four Seasons Realm using one of our slots, so you would have to abide by the rules.”

“Okay then,” Yang Kai obeyed helplessly, as there was no way he could defy her anyway. The officials of Azure Sun Temple would most likely fully examine him when he exited the Four Seasons Realm to ensure he did not keep any extra Star Seals on his own.

“This is the only extra instruction I have for you, there’s nothing else. You’re dismissed.” Gao Xue Ting finished and returned to the front of the ship with her back facing everyone, as still as a statue.

Outside of the ship, Xia Sheng managed to catch up to them, maintaining a parallel level with the ship. He had a pitiful expression, mouthing at them soundlessly. It seems like he was begging for mercy.

Gao Xue Ting did not even glance at him.

Xia Sheng looked at Xiao Bai Yi in exasperation, begging for him for help.

Xiao Bai Yi decisively turned his head in the opposite direction. 

On the boat, Yang Kai frowned, pondering.

He was considering whether he should request some information about the Four Seasons Realm from Gao Xue Ting. 

However, her mood seemed to be very unstable due to the previous incident, so Yang Kai did not want to have any contact with her in case she found out anything.

Just when he was hesitating, someone poked him quietly.

He looked around and found a woman with red lips looking at him.

She looked about twenty years old, but her actual age was far greater than that. She had a tall and slender figure, with fair skin and delicate features, her long hair moved with the breeze.

“How can I help you, miss?” Yang Kai asked curiously.

“I don’t think you have this. Here!” The woman handed him a jade slip as she spoke.

Yang Kai raised his brows and reached out to take it. He scanned the object with Divine Sense, and was delighted when he found out the content recorded in the jade slip, “This is…”

The contents recorded in the jade slip was the information of the Four Seasons Realm.

Azure Sun Temple was very familiar with the internal situation of the Four Seasons Realm as it would dispatch disciples into the Four Seasons Realm every time it opened. The information recorded in the jade slip included not only the locations of dangerous barriers but also detailed information of various Monster Beasts in the Four Seasons Realm.

Yang Kai did not expect someone to give him just what he needed while he was hesitating to ask Gao Xue Ting for it.

His favour towards this woman had greatly increased, as she had given him just what he needed most. It was a gift better than anything else he could have wanted.

She probably guessed that he did not have such a thing, and decided to give him one.

It was easy to tell that she was very kind-hearted.

“Many thanks, miss, how should I address you?” Yang Kai thanked her sincerely, and it was only polite to ask for her name in return for such a kind gesture.

“Murong Xiao Xiao!”

Yang Kai nodded, and when he was about to speak again, Xiao Bai Yi suddenly said, “Xiao Xiao, don’t waste your time with an outsider.”

Murong Xiao Xiao stuck her tongue out at Yang Kai, but did not speak further so as not to disobey Xiao Bai Yi.

Yang Kai said, “This Yang will remember your kindness, miss.”

“It’s nothing,” Murong Xiao Xiao smiled slightly, not caring.

“Brother Xiao Bai!” Yang Kai turned towards Xiao Bai Yi.

“Who are you calling!” Xiao Bai Yi turned cold.

“Brother Xiao…” Yang Kai corrected. “Although I’m not a disciple of the Azure Sun Temple, we’re considered companions now that we’re going to the Four Seasons Realm together…”

“Who wants to be your companion?” Xiao Bai Yi said dismissively, “You will soon pay for taking away Xue Yi’s slot!”

“Brother Xiao, do you really have to…?” Yang Kai shook his head and sighed, “You’ll never know if there will be a time in the Four Seasons Realm that you will need my help.”

“You?” Xiao Bai Yi snorted coldly, “You won’t be able to provide any help if ever there is something that this Xiao can’t handle.”

“I have nothing to say if you insist.” Yang Kai smiled bitterly and shook his head.

By the looks of it, Xiao Bai Yi had added him to his hate list, so Yang Kai assumed that he and Xue Yi must have had a good relationship, and as a Senior Brother to Xue Yi, he would not be giving Yang Kai a good time.

It would be extremely odd if he was on good terms with Yang Kai.

It was only understandable.

Gao Xue Ting did not involve herself in the clashes between the Dao Source Realms but continued to navigate the ship on her usual spot.

Five days passed.

That day, a giant mountain valley appeared ahead of the ship.

The silhouettes of a large crowd could be seen on the mountain valley, gathered in groups waiting for something.

From this distance, they could sense the aura of a few Emperor Realm Masters.

Upon perceiving this, Yang Kai was shocked that they had arrived at their destination.

The information provided by Qin Zhao Yang and the jade slip given by Murong Xiao Xiao regarding the entrance to the Four Seasons Realm was similar; it was in an unnamed, inconspicuous mountain valley. The mountain valley was ordinary and had no reason for anyone to stop by. However, there would be a congregation of strong auras before the opening of the Four Seasons Realm. After the level of the aura had reached a certain level, the entrance of the Sealed World would open and last for thirty-three days.

The entrance would be sealed after thirty-three days, and no one would be able to exit the Four Seasons Realm after that. 

Those cultivators residing in the mountain valley should be cultivators who had arrived in advance.

The Azure Sun Temple group seemed to be relatively late because all the places on the mountain valley with good landscape and strong aura were already occupied by others.

The cultivators on the mountain valley looked up and stiffened at the sight of the ship that was slowly moving towards the mountain valley.

Azure Sun Temple was, after all, the top Sect in the Southern Territory, and the ship alone exhibited authority with its identity.

From the information recorded in the jade slip, Yang Kai learned that top Sects such as Azure Sun Temple, Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Orthodoxy Temple, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce, each had twenty slots to enter the Four Seasons Realm. Whereas Star Soul Palace, the Southern Territory strongest Sect has forty slots, which was twice as much as Azure Sun Temple.

The other lower rank Sects had approximately ten slots.

Some Sects only had a few slots.

As for how these slots were distributed, Yang Kai was not sure, but surely it had been carefully calculated and coordinated.

Judging from the four to five hundred bodies gathered below, the Southern Territory consisted of many Sects.

Gao Xue Ting merely looked down for a while and found a spot to anchor the ship.

She put the ship away when all the disciples had disembarked. 

“Rest here and don’t cause any trouble. This Queen needs to discuss something with the other Sirs.” She left without waiting.

Everyone seemed to have looked forward to this a long time ago, so they were well prepared in advance. They pulled out their tents from their Space Ring and began setting up.

“Huh…” Someone gasped, and suddenly a person landed from the sky, and crashed into the ground, creating a big crater like a meteorite.

Yang Kai fixed his eyes on the crash site and found that it was Xia Sheng who had been deliberately ignored by Gao Xue Ting during the whole journey.

It was indeed quite admirable that he kept up with everyone by relying on his Source Qi alone for five days, and reached this place at the same time as everyone.

He was panting, but there was no sign of exhaustion.

“I… made it!” Xia Sheng, looking faint and weak, stared at Xiao Bai Yi sadly and said, “Xiao Bai, you’re too heartless!”

A vein on Xiao Bai Yi’s forehead jumped, but he made the clever decision to not respond to him.

“Brother Yang, you didn’t help me either! I had to fly all the way here on my own!” Xia Sheng put his hands on his knees, rolled his eyes at Yang Kai, and said “How are we supposed to conquer and dominate the world together if you’re so cold to me?”

Yang Kai said helplessly, “I’m just an outsider, it’s none of my business!”

“Forget it, forget it, you guys are all unreliable!” Xia Sheng sighed, waved his hand and sat on the ground, feeling rejuvenated, like a dying fish that had returned to the water.

Yang Kai gave him a last look, ignored him, looked for a quiet place and sat down crossed leg.

It was clear that there was still a little time before the opening of the Four Seasons Realm. There were many masters here, and Yang Kai did not feel like wandering around to cause any trouble, so he decided to rest together with the rest of the Azure Sun Temple disciples.

Chapter 2134

Time passed slowly, and smaller groups of cultivators from somewhere else gradually arrived at the place.

They were not many in number and were obviously the cultivators from small Sects or families from far away.

After they arrived, they were clever enough to find an empty spot to settle down. The cultivators who knew each other would gather together, prepared to join forces in the Four Seasons Realm in case a big fight broke out.

Those who could enter the Four Seasons Realm were cultivators of the Dao Source Realm level. Origin King Realm cultivators did not qualify for the Four Seasons Realm at all, because they would only be seeking their own death. 

But this did not mean that Emperor Realm Masters could not enter the Four Seasons Realm too.

In fact, Emperor Realm cultivators could also enter, but every entry of an Emperor Realm expert would cause some unstable turbulence to the entrance, and once more than three Emperor Realm cultivators entered, the entrance would shut down.

As a result, the few slots for Emperor Realm cultivators could not be distributed at all, so under the proposal of Star Soul Palace, cultivators of Emperor Realm level were forbidden from entering the Four Seasons Realm to avoid the early closing of the entrance.

Yang Kai learned this information from the jade slip that was given by Murong Xiao Xiao.

While Yang Kai was recalling the data recorded in the jade slip, trying to memorize all of it, he was also strengthening the connection between him and Myriads Sword.

Even though this Emperor Artifact had to be returned to the Qin Family in the end, he believed that it might be useful to him in the Four Seasons Realm.

“What are you doing!?”

All of a sudden, a woman’s angry shout reached his ears, while in that instance, an extremely strong force burst out in a certain place.

The woman who yelled immediately gave a loud exclamation, then started to groan like she had suffered from a heavy blow.

Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound source with a frown.

Because he recognized the voice was Murong Xiao Xiao, who gave him the information about the Four Seasons Realm.

He found it strange, Murong Xiao Xiao was an elite disciple of Azure Sun Temple and her cultivation level was not low, so who would dare to trouble her in such a place?

Looking there, Murong Xiao Xiao was biting her red lips and looking in one direction with fear and anger. Beside her, was another Azure Sun Temple female disciple supporting her by her arms, and she nervously asked, “Xiao Xiao, are you alright?”

Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, indicating that she was fine.

However, in perceiving her slightly disordered aura, it was obvious that she had experienced a dangerous encounter just now.

Her sight was set on a group of Dao Source Realm, and there was one man among these cultivators who looked exceptionally weird.

It was a man, but there was an invisible demarcation line on the centre of his body that split him into left and right. The skin and hair of the left side were fiery red, but the right side of the body was snowy white. The two contrasting colours appearing on the same person created a strong visual impact, portraying Yang, the masculinity, on the right side, whilst Yin, the femininity, on the left.

The person Murong Xiao Xiao glared at was this man!

The hand that he raised high also indicated that he was the culprit, and there was still a trace of undissipated power at his fingertips.

A figure flashed past and stood in front of Murong Xiao Xiao, guarding her while staring quietly at the monstrous cultivator.

It was Xia Sheng!

Xia Sheng did not really have a tall figure, but when he stood in front of Murong Xiao Xiao, he was as dependable as a huge mountain.

Yang Kai frowned, stood up and walked towards that side unhurriedly.

“Xiao Xiao, what happened?” Xia Seng asked calmly.

Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “I have no idea, this person just suddenly attacked me!”

“Oh?” Xia Sheng squinted his eyes and said faintly, “Interesting. Someone just challenged us, the Azure Sun Temple disciples. It’s impossible to let this go!”

As he spoke, there was a dangerous light in his eyes.

The odd-looking cultivator on the opposite side also cast his eyes on Xia Sheng. The two gazes collided in the void, as if there were sparks in it.

The atmosphere immediately turned intense.

Both the disciples of Azure Sun Temple and the cultivators who had gathered opposite looked stern and secretly urged their Source Qi.

It seemed that a clash was about to happen.

The scene alarmed the rest of the cultivators who were waiting there too, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, and the ripple from it was rapidly noticed by everyone. All of them surrounded and watched with curiosity.

“Xia Sheng?” the odd-looking cultivator lifted the corner of his mouth and asked with a sinister smile. It seemed that he knew the name Xia Sheng, but this was just the first time they met.

“Wu Chang?” Xia Sheng’s eyebrows raised.

Yang Kai frowned when he heard it. He had never heard the name Wu Chang before, but judging from Xia Sheng’s expression as if he was facing a formidable enemy, he knew that this man was certainly not easy to deal with.

Given his strange body, this man most likely possessed a special kind of physique!

“Is he the Xia Sheng from Azure Sun Temple? It is said that he won first place in the last Sect’s martial arts challenge!”

Someone among the crowd of cultivators exclaimed. Xia Sheng appeared to be having quite a high reputation.

“Wu Chang? Isn’t he the rising star of Heavenly Martial Holy Land? Yes, it must be him because rumour has it that Wu Chang has a Yin-Yang Dual Body. So that’s what it looks like, it is really an eye-opener for me!”

“Shhhh… Keep your voice down. I heard that Wu Chang is bipolar and cruel, it would be bad if he heard you.”

“What are you afraid of? There are so many people here, how can he hear…”

He suddenly held his tongue before finishing his sentence, because he realized the Wu Chang, who was facing Xia Sheng over there, turned his head suddenly and stared at him coldly.

A mysterious power radiated from Wu Chang’s heterochromatic pupils, which then manifested in front of him, turning into a massive red and white vortex. The vortex spun towards the person, with an exaggerated noise of strangling power coming from it. 

The man shouted in shock and wanted to back off hurriedly.

But what horrified him, was that his body had been stiffened instantly, and became immobilized. He could only stand still with his pale face and trembling eyes, as he watched the vortex continue to spin and shroud him in it.

“Ah!”

*Peng…*

With a deafening bang, the head of the person burst into pieces, like a watermelon that was smashed by someone, splashing the blood and brain all around. Seeing this, the cultivators beside him quickly retreated in fear.

The headless corpse slowly fell and hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust and painting the ground with blood. The scene was horrible to watch.

The other cultivator who previously spoke to this person witnessed the whole tragic incident. Instead of avenging his companion’s death, he was utterly dumbfounded in fear and fell to the ground like he had lost his soul. He could not speak a word, the only sound that could be heard from him was the clicks from the grinding of his teeth.

No one knew which small Sect and family the two of them were from. It was not easy for them to finally obtain slots in the Four Seasons Realm, and it was unfortunate that one of them suffered from a catastrophe just because of his own blunder.

In the place where the Orthodoxy Temple was stationed, a handsome man in green stood and watched this horrible scene. He could not help but snort coldly, then said to his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters beside him, “Remember, if you bump into Wu Chang in the Four Seasons Realm, run as far as you can and never confront him head-on!”

“Yes, Senior Brother Zhuang!” Everyone responded with sorrow.

None of them thought of contesting Wu Chang after seeing his sadistic killing method. In their minds, Zhuan Bu Fan, the Eldest Senior, was the only one who could stand a chance in fighting Wu Chang.

“Is that Wu Chang from Heavenly Martial Holy Land?”

In the station of Star Soul Palace, Lan Xun, who looked like an elf dressed in blue, hovered in mid-air with an attractive fair-skinned youngster guarding closely on her left.

Lan Xun frowned slightly at the moment and asked, upset.

She was a woman after all and she felt uncomfortable and downhearted by witnessing what just happened.

“Yes,” The fair-skinned man nodded. While speaking, his eyes never left her charming face and he was undoubtedly madly in love with her. He said, “I have fought against this guy several times before, and he’s difficult to deal with.”

“Even Brother Xiao can’t deal with him?” Lan Xun was surprised.

Xiao Chen continued, “I can beat him if I use the Emperor Artifact bestowed by Lord Father, but the cost of it is too great!”

“I see…” Lan Xun was unimpressed. Although Xiao Chen was the son of Xiao Yu Yang and possessed the Emperor Artifact bestowed by him, Wu Chang might have an Emperor Artifact too.

The Heavenly Martial Holy Land he was born in was not an ordinary great force. As the first of Heavenly Martial Holy Land rising stars, having an Emperor Artifact in his hand to defend himself was only natural.

“Princess doesn’t believe me?” Xiao Chen vaguely sensed something and raised his eyebrows, “If Princess wants to see it, I will go now.”

“No need!” Lan Xun waved her hand and frowned, “I did not mean that.”

Xiao Chen said, “But Wu Chang really did not have any respect for the Star Soul Palace by killing someone in public. After all, the Southern Territory is not a place for their Heavenly Martial Holy Land to do whatever they want!”

Lan Xun did not express an opinion. While she was looking around, she suddenly shouted and looked at a figure in the distance with her beautiful eyes filled with surprise.

“It’s you!” Lan Xun secretly whispered in her heart.

She still remembered that during the last time she was breaking through the Dao Source Realm Level, in the Third Stage of the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda, he sneaked into the Third Stage too and robbed a lot of shattered Principle Fragments from her.

However, it was fortunate for her that he showed up too. Otherwise, judging from the situation during that time, even if she could successfully clear the stage, she would still have gotten hurt, or maybe worse, it could have severely damaged her foundation. 

Lan Xun was very interested in this man and wanted to know the method he used to sneak into the Third Stage like a shadow when it was supposed to be closed. She also wondered what kind of Divine Ability tricks he had performed, resulting in snatching so much of her shattered Principle Fragments!

It was just that after she came out of the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda, she was too eager to consolidate her cultivation in isolation, so she didn’t think much about this man.

But she did not expect to see him again in this mountain valley, and this time, he was also promoted to Dao Source Realm. 

Chapter 2135

“Is he a disciple of the Azure Sun Temple?” Lan Xun saw Yang Kai standing together with a group of disciples from Azure Sun Temple.

“What did you say, Princess?” Xiao Chen asked.

“Nothing,” Lan Xun shook her head.

Xiao Chen frowned slightly. Although he was a little upset at Lan Xun’s lack of communication, she was the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor, holding a noble status, and it was inappropriate to keep asking. He followed her eyes and saw Yang Kai, and snorted coldly inside, “How could such a trivial person like him interest the Princess?”

On the other side, after killing the disciple from a small family, Wu Chang was calm and relaxed, as if he had only killed a cockroach, and continued to look at Xia Sheng with his head turned.

Xia Sheng said, “Brother Wu Chang is so strong!”

Wu Chang smiled coldly, without saying a word.

“I don’t care about the life or death of others, but will Bother Wu Chang give me a reasonable explanation for attacking my Junior Sister?” Xia Sheng squinted ahead of him.

Wu Shang said, “Brother Xia wants an explanation? Sure. My explanation is that no one can fly over my head, except if they’re dead!”

Xia Sheng froze. He did not expect that Murong Xiao Xiao had been attacked for such an absurd reason.

Murong Xiao Xiao came back to her senses, pursed her lips and said, “I just wanted to go to the Star Soul Palace.”

She had an acquaintance at the Star Soul Palace that she had not seen for a long time and wanted to meet, but she got attacked by Wu Chang just as she started to fly and fell from shock.

Wu Chang said, “Brother Xia should be thankful that she is from Azure Sun Temple, otherwise…”

“Otherwise?”

“Otherwise, she would be dead!”

“I see,” Xia Sheng grinned. Suddenly, he made an unexpected move.

He leapt, as swiftly as the wind towards and over Wu Chang’s head, and with a twist of his body, he flew back and leapt across Wu Chang’s head again.

While flying, he shouted, “I flew here, I flew back, then I flew here again, and I flew back again. Hit me if you can.”

He flew several times back and forth, then landed right above Wu Chang, with his hands on his hips and looked down, “Do you believe that I will pee on your head?”

As he spoke, he pulled up his pants, preparing to do what he had just said.

Murong Xiao Xiao and a few other female disciples of the Azure Sun Temple blushed.

Xiao Bai Yi and the others were speechless, turned their heads and pretended to not know this person.

“Hahaha!” The audience laughed at Xia Sheng’s extremely crude behaviour, which was extremely inappropriate for a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.

“Xia… Sheng!”

Wu Change was also subjected to shifting moods. With such a violent and perverse personality, he would not allow others to be provocative and presumptuous in front of him. He let out a low growl as Xia Sheng lifted his pants, and his arms shook violently. A tornado-like force rushed straight into the sky in an attempt to swallow Xia Sheng.

“Paltry tricks!” Xia Sheng snorted coldly, opened his palms and pressed downwards.

With a surge of Source Qi, the World Principles became chaotic, and a gigantic palm took shape and fell from the sky like a huge mountain. It had not landed, but gave everyone a destructive oppression. 

*Hong…*

The giant palm collided with the tornado, and the World Energy raged in all directions.

At the same moment, Wu Chang leapt with his red and snow-white palms together, and two completely different auras were released with mysterious runes appearing around him.

He charged towards Xia Sheng like lightning. 

Xia Sheng’s face was replaced by a solemn expression. With a change of his hands, clanging sounds of metals were transmitted from the void, and immediately many weapons, blades of every shape and design, appeared by his side. These weapons were formed by World Energy.

He stretched out his hand, and countless swords and blades charged downwards as ordered.

*Hong hong hong…*

The intense sound shook the air, a dazzling light burst out and swallowed both Xia Sheng and Wu Chang. For a while, no one could see the battle between the two, only the sounds of explosive kicks and punches could be heard from the void.

Yang Kai stared with his eyes narrowed, dazzled by the battle above.

It was the contest between the top rising stars from the top two Sects of the Southern Territory. In other words, it was the highest level battle of the Southern Territory. Such battles were rare for him.

Not only could he compare his own shortcomings from the fight between the two, but he could also collect more information.

“Is Senior Brother Xia going to be okay?” Murong Xiao Xiao asked, feeling responsible for what was happening. If she had not accidentally flown over Wu Chang’s head, she would not have caused such trouble.

“How could anything happen to him!?” Xiao Bai Yi snorted coldly, completely unworried for Xia Sheng’s safety, then continued, “He has a good chance to escape death if a normal Emperor Realm fights against him, how bad can it be if it’s just a Wu Chang?”

Yang Kai’s interest perked as he listened to Xiao Bai Yi.

Xiao Bai Yi obviously knew Xia Sheng well, but he did not elaborate, and Yang Kai did not ask.

Judging from the battle, it seemed that Xia Sheng did not reveal his true strength, and of course, Wu Chang was not at his full strength either.

“Childish!” In a remote area on the mountain valley, where a certain Sect named Eight Paths Sect had stationed, a cross-legged youth who was meditating and watching the battle in the air, had commented disdainfully.

Eight Paths Sect was not a top tier Sect in the Southern Territory, but it was not weak. It was on the same level as the Flying Saint Palace, and there was an Emperor Realm Master in the Sect.

Eight Paths Sect was fortunate enough to have seven slots to enter the Four Seasons Realm this time.

The cultivation levels among the seven were not equal, some were Third-Order Dao Source Realm, and some Second-Order and First-Order.

The youngster who spoke was only Second-Order Dao Source Realm, but judging from the reactions of the others, he was the leader among them.

The only Third-Order Dao Source Realm was a middle-aged man in his forties. He smiled and said, “You can’t stand battles like this, Junior Brother Luo Yuan?”

Luo Yuan replied, “They are just testing each other, nothing interesting.”

“You call this testing?” Another Second-Order Dao Source Realm woman exclaimed, “Why do I feel like they’re about to kill each other?”

“That’s because your cultivation is not high enough.” Luo Yuan replied bluntly, not caring if he had embarrassed his fellow disciple.

The woman choked for a moment, then chuckled dryly.

The middle-aged man said, “Junior Brother Luo Yuan indeed has sharp eyes. We’re counting on you in the Four Seasons Realm this time.”

Luo Yuan frowned, “Rest assured, after this expedition to the Four Seasons Realm, I will make Eight Paths Sect a renown Sect in the Southern Territory, but I’m not planning to take a bunch of trash with me, so don’t follow me when we go in, otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

No one dared to speak up to his arrogance, only fearing him quietly.

The middle-aged man said, “Of course we will be a hindrance to Junior Brother. You can do as you like.”

“Hmph!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly, closed his eyes, and said no more.

The others looked at each other gloomily.

It was quite unacceptable for them to be called ‘trash’, as they were all Dao Source Realm cultivators with equitable strength. However, knowing Luo Yuan’s temper and character, they did not refute.

The battle in the void continued.

Xia Sheng and Wu Chang were at a tie, none could overpower the other, the only result from the battle was the collapse of the void and the disorder of the World Principles.

“Enough!”

The majestic, furious bellow struck Xia Shang and Wu Chang like lightning, and they both froze mid-air, faces pale, and cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.

Two streaks of light flashed below them, and two people appeared.

Immediately, the light dispersed into spider webs. In a blink of an eye, it transformed into two cages, confining Xia Sheng and Wu Chang in mid-air.

The same voice echoed, “Xia Sheng of Azure Sun Temple, and Wu Chang of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, this King will confine you until the opening of the Sealed World for instigating a fight. I hope you will take this as a warning!”

Xia Sheng’s face turned green and quickly responded, “Sir Xiao, this disciple is innocent!”

He had recognized the owner of the voice and quickly begged for mercy. It was the voice of Xiao Yu Yang, the Silver Star Envoy of Star Soul Palace.

Xiao Yu Yang deliberately ignored him.

Wu Chang, who was also confined in the other cage, gave him a cold look and snorted, “Coward!”

“It’s none of your business!” Xia Sheng rolled his eyes at him and continued pleading, “Sir Xiao, please understand! This disciple has always abided by the rules! Unless someone provoked me, I would never do this kind of thing, Sir Xiao please let me go.”

He pleaded for a while before deciding that it was useless, then he changed his tone, “Sir Xiao, please at least confine me on the ground? It’s too embarrassing to be locked up in the air.”

“Will you shut up?” Wu Chang was initially not affected by the confinement. After all, it was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master who confined him, so it was only natural that he could not resist. However, what Xia Sheng had said was true, it was indeed quite embarrassing, and he became angry out of shame.

Xia Sheng narrowed his eyes at him, “What’s wrong? Did I disturb you?”

“Noisy!” Wu Chang snorted coldly.

“How dare you say that!” Xia Sheng was angry, he pulled up his pants, said, “Would you believe that I will pee right in your face all the way from here? The breeze is blowing towards you!”

The corners of Wu Chang’s mouth twitched. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He did not want to be shameless like the other party.

He only left a cruel remark, saying “Let’s settle this when we enter the Sealed World!”

Chapter 2136

A battle between dragons and tigers ended due to the intervention of an Emperor Realm Master.

“Is this all right now?” Xiao Yu Yang, who was at the station of Star Soul Palace, looked at Gao Xue Ting and Chen Wen Hao and asked.

Gao Xue Ting replied, “Thank you, Senior Xiao!”

Chen Wen Hao also nodded lightly.

Even though the rising stars of the two Sects did not have a pleasant encounter, it did not affect the relationship between the Emperor Realms of both Sects. To them, it was just some youngsters being competitive with each other.

Who had not been through this phase before?

“It’s okay, but these two kids are really hyperactive.” Xiao Yu Yang chuckled.

“Elder Gao has Xia Sheng under her while Brother Chen has Wu Chang under him, I envy them so much!” Feng Ming suddenly spoke bitterly from the side.

Gao Xue Ting glanced at him and asked, “Isn’t there a Zhuang Bu Fan in your Orthodoxy Temple?”

Feng Ming smiled, “Although Bu Fan’s name means extraordinary, he has only an ordinary physique. How can he be compared with these two kids?”

“Didn’t Brother Feng already pass down the Reverse Heaven and Earth Phantom Trick of your noble Temple?” Chen Wen Hao looked at Feng Ming and said, “Why so humble? Too much humility is hypocrisy.”

“Heh heh…” Feng Ming grinned and responded with a smiley face.

“It’s enough, will you stop testing each other?” Xiao Yu Yang could not help but roll his eyes, “It’s a good thing that the little kids are being active, but remember, the elders better just observe and not interfere. We are all from the Southern Territory, so I don’t wish for infighting!”

“What Senior Xiao said is right!” Everyone nodded together.

“Oh yeah, Senior Xiao…” Gao Xue Ting suddenly said, “Regarding the matter that the three of us asked when we went to the Star Soul Palace last time… is there any response?”

Hearing this, the faces of Feng Ming and Chen Wen Hao turned solemn and focused on listening.

Xiao Yu Yang frowned. After pondering for a while, he said, “About that Ancient Great Demon… The Great Emperor said that the demon hasn’t perished yet, but is only hibernating. However, the Great Emperor has no idea of its exact location.”

“Even the Great Emperor doesn’t know?” Feng Ming’s expression changed.

“The Great Emperor only told me eight words!” Xiao Yu Yang quickly said.

“What eight words?” Gao Xue Ting wondered.

“Seems dead but alive, alive but seems dead!”

“What does this mean?” Feng Ming was puzzled by the words.

Xiao Yu Yang shrugged his hands, “I don’t understand either. But relax, the Ancient Great Demon has been sealed for so many years, so its Divine Ability is no longer like in the past. If he dares to show up and do evil in the future, this King will slay it with his own hands.”

“With the words of Senior Xiao, we are not worried.” Chen Wen gave out a sigh of relief and nodded.

Last time, Feng Ming, Gao Xue Ting and he teamed up against the Ancient Great Demon. Unfortunately, they had failed at the last minute, as the Ancient Great Demon performed a terrifying Divine Ability and trapped them in a dark and boundless world. By the time they escaped it, the demon was long gone. In desperation, they went to the Star Soul Palace to request a meeting with the Bright Moon Great Emperor in hopes of receiving some guidance from the Great Emperor.

Regrettably, the three of them went to the Star Soul Palace but did not manage to meet the Great Emperor. In the end, they could only tell Xiao Yu Yang and let him pass on the message for them.

That was why the first thing that Gao Xue Ting did was to find Xiao Yu Yang as soon as she got here, in order to find out about the demon.

“Okay, let’s not think about the matter of the demon for now. Let’s talk about the Four Seasons Realm this time.” Xiao Yu Yang said.

When everyone heard it, they knew that he was going to talk about the matter of the Star Seal, and their faces immediately turned serious.

…

At the station of the Azure Sun Temple, Yang Kai, who was meditating crossed leg and recuperating, had his expression changed suddenly, opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction.

He frowned, pondering for a while, then he stood up and walked in that direction. 

“Junior Brother Yang,” Murong Xiao Xiao hurriedly shouted when she saw him, “where are you going?”

She was like a burnt child that dreaded fire. She initially just wanted to hang out with her friends at the side of Star Soul Palace, but did not expect to trigger a storm and caused Xia Sheng to get detained. She was secretly blaming herself.

At this moment, seeing that Yang Kai was about to leave the station, she asked with concern.

“Just walking around!” Yang Kai smiled faintly.

“Then, you have to be careful,” Murong Xiao Xiao exhorted but did not stop him.

Yang Kai nodded lightly and continued to walk forward.

“Why do you care about the outsider’s life?” Xiao Bai Yi unpleasantly snorted beside her.

Murong Xiao Xiao responded, “Junior Brother Yang came with us after all.”

“You still call him Junior Brother?” Xiao Bai Yi glared at Murong Xiao Xiao, “He is not our temple’s disciple!”

Murong Xiao Xiao stuck out his tongue and said, “Senior Brother Xiao, do you particularly dislike him?”

“It’s not that I dislike him.” Xiao Bai Yi coldly snorted, “Just that he is not pleasing to my eyes!”

Murong Xiao Xiao shook her head slowly without saying much.

On the other side, Yang Kai kept going until he walked out of the mountain valley and came to a dense forest before stopping.

The breeze was whispering and the leaves rustled.

Yang Kai sighed and asked, “Since you called me over, why don’t you show up yourself?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a chuckle. A pretty figure appeared on top of a tree, looking down at him with a pair of beautiful eyes filled with curiosity.

She stared at Yang Kai, clicked her tongue and said, “I did not expect you to be promoted to Dao Source Realm in such a short time. A master from a low-level Star Field indeed has an extraordinary aptitude!”

Yang Kai looked at her with his head lifted, and chuckled, “Protector Bian, it’s been a long time!”

The woman who quietly transmitted her voice to him previously and told him to meet here was astonishingly one of the four guardians of the Blue Feather Sect, Bian Yu Qing!

It was this woman who took him into the Blue Feather Sect at that time. 

And the Blue Feather Sect was also Yang Kai’s first stop in Star Boundary!

Bian Yu Qing knew some of his details and understood that he was a cultivator from a low-level Star Field. It was precisely for this reason, Bian Yu Qing accepted him into the Sect. Otherwise, with Yang Kai’s cultivation only being a Second-Order Origin King at that time, Bian Yu Qing would not be interested in him at all.

This woman had the cultivation of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm!

Meeting Bian Yu Qing again reminded Yang Kai about Liu Xian Yun who was with him at that time. This girl was like him, coming from a low-level Star Field, a place named Grand Desolation Star Field, and was also taken into the Blue Feather Sect by Bian Yu Qing.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun were separated when they fled from a calamity.

After such a long time, Yang Kai had no idea about how Liu Xian Yun had been.

“It’s remarkable that you still remember this Queen, which makes this Queen very gratified.” While he was still pondering, Bian Yu Qing smiled. With a slight effort of her feet, she gradually landed in front of Yang Kai, like a goddess descending from the sky.

“The great grace of Protector Bian was carved on this little brat’s heart, how can it be forgotten?” Yang Kai smiled faintly.

Although Bian Yu Qing took him in the Blue Feather Sect with an ulterior motive, this woman did not abuse him or treat him harshly. Of course, she did not deliberately care for him either, so Yang Kai just treated her with an indifferent attitude. Even though he sounded grateful, he did not mean it at all.

Bian Yu Qing looked at him, “You are good at lying through your teeth! If you really remember the kindness of this Queen, why did you come over so reluctantly?

“That’s not true!” Yang Kai showed an innocent face, “It’s just that I didn’t expect to meet Protector Bian here.” After a pause, he spoke, “Protector Bian is not alone, right?”

He glanced at the side while speaking.

Bian Yu Qing raised her eyebrow and said unexpectedly, “You, little brat, are sharp.”

She waved to her side, “Don’t hide anymore, come out.”

After her words, the laughter from a man was heard, “Haha, Junior Brother Yang. After a long time, you still look great!”

Yang Kai looked aside with a smile, and cupped his fist, “Senior Brother Kou!”

Surprisingly, that person was Kou Wu, a confidant of Bian Yu Qing. Kou Wu was the first Dao Source Realm Master that Yang Kai saw after coming to the Star Boundary and also the guy who caught him and Liu Xian Yun and sent them to Bian Yu Qing.

But unlike Bian Yu Qing who was apathetic, Kou Wu still took a little care of Yang Kai during that period, so Yang Kai had a good impression of him.

“This Kou is surprised that Junior Brother Yang is already in the Dao Source Realm,” Kou Wu scanned Yang Kai up and down with an amazed expression.

When he first met Yang Kai, Yang Kai was just a Second-Order Origin King, who knew nothing about Star Boundary. He did not understand how Yang Kai could get to the same level as him in just a short time.

No wonder it was said that the cultivators from the low-level Star Fields have outstanding aptitude and extraordinary potential. He did not believe it much before, but after seeing Yang Kai, he started to believe it.

“It’s just a fluke.” Yang Kai answered casually.

“What amazed this Queen even more is that you have become the disciple of Azure Sun Temple? It seems that Azure Sun Temple has put in a lot of effort into you!” Bian Yu Qing smiled faintly.

Previously, when she was watching the show between Xia Sheng and Wu Chang, she accidentally saw Yang Kai’s presence, so she privately transmitted a voice message to him, to meet her outside.

Yang Kai was resting at the station of Azure Sun Temple, and she naturally thought that Yang Kai had joined Azure Sun Temple. If so, it would make sense to her that he could swiftly be promoted to Dao Source Realm.

Blue Feather Sect, a small Sect that didn’t even have one Emperor Realm, was incomparable to a well-resourced Sect like Azure Sun Temple.

“Protector Bian had misunderstood,” Yang Kai shook his head. “I’m not from Azure Sun Temple.”

“Do you think this Queen is blind?” Bian Yu Qing glared at Yang Kai ferociously.

Yang Kai said, “I just came here together with the people from Azure Sun Temple for some reasons, believe it or not.”

“Really?” Bian Yu Qing was stunned at his words. She was astonished, but she felt that Yang Kai did not have any reason to deceive her on this matter, so she stopped asking anymore.

“As for me, I’m really curious about which great force are Protector Bian and Senior Brother representing here?” Yang Kai looked at the two of them suspiciously.

Kou Wu answered, “Of course it’s Blue Feather Sect!”

“Both of you are still in the Blue Feather Sect?” Yang Kai’s expression changed and he immediately thought of the Sect Master of Blue Feather Sect, Wu Meng Chuan.

This guy was the descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. When he was being released from Bone Prison by Yang Kai during the last time, he turned the entire Blue Feather Sect upside down. Miao Qi, Tong Chong and Zhu Jun Shan, the three great guardians of the Sect were no match against him and were slain on the spot.

Luckily Bian Yu Qing was out of the Sect during that time, and she was the only one who escaped this calamity.

Chapter 2137

Kou Wu had travelled outside the Sect with Bian Yu Qing and had also escaped from the disaster. Otherwise, with Wu Meng Chuan’s temperament at that time, no doubt that he would have killed all of them.

“Seems like you figured something out!” Bian Yu Qing suddenly sneered, gritted his teeth and said, “Little brat, if it weren’t for you, this guardian wouldn’t fall into such a situation, and now my life is still being controlled by another!”

Yang Kai’s face turned slightly, and he acted dumb, “I don’t understand what Protector Bian is saying.”

Kou Wu sighed, “Junior Brother Yang, Sect Master was released by you, right?”

There was no way for Yang Kai to deny it, so he nodded, “Yeah!”

After that, he followed by explaining, “It’s because I had no choice. When I was being locked in Bone Prison, Senior Brother Kou and Protect Bian weren’t in the Sect. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I could only make a deal with Wu Meng Chuan at that time.”

Bian Yu Qing snorted, “As a result, the Sect Master carried out a massacre after he was released, and the almost entire Blue Feather Sect was slaughtered, leaving only a few of them who were quick-witted and surrendered to the Sect Master.”

Yang Kai chuckled, “So, Protector Bian is also one of them?”

“This Queen?” Bian Yu Qing coldly snorted, “This Queen was just lucky. Kou Wu and this Queen only returned to the Sect a month after that incident. We didn’t know about his release and it was too late for us to run away when we realized it. However, the Sect Master did not take my life, maybe because he thought that killing everyone and leaving him alone was not a good idea. Indeed, he spared my life, but…” At this point, she showed hatred on her face, “He cast a seal on this Queen, so from now on, I could only be a slave to him.”

“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai understood now.

“You, little brat, were the cause of this incident. Speak! How should this Queen punish you in order to dissolve her hatred?!” Bian Yu Qing glared at Yang Kai spookily and considered punishing him heavily.

Yang Kai smiled, “Protector Bian, since you guys have been dealing with Wu Meng Chuan for all these years, you should have understood what kind of person he is. For such a person, either you pluck out the evil by the roots, or you just don’t provoke him. Not only did you provoke, but you also imprisoned and tortured him. Did you not expect retribution?” 

Bian Yu Qing frowned and stared at Yang Kai, “What do you mean?”

Yang Kai replied, “What I mean is, even without me, Wu Meng Chuan would still get out of trouble, so your tragedy has nothing to do with me.”

“Bullshit!” Bian Yu Qing was infuriated.

Yang Kai shrugged his hands, “Besides, isn’t Protector Bian in good condition now? Even though Protector Bian had a seal cast on her by Wu Meng Chuan, who is the descendant of that person, he will definitely be successful in the future and you will be blessed with fortunes. It’s just a temporary hardship for now, can’t Protector Bian wait for it?”

Bian Yu Qing looked at him coldly and snorted, “How come it sounds like this Queen has won a grand prize? Should this Queen thank you for it?”

“You don’t have to,” Yang Kai waved his hand.

Bian Yu Qing said helplessly, “Anyway, what’s done is done. Kou Wu and this Queen can only take one step at a time now.”

Seeing that she did not really have the means to take revenge, Yang Kai finally felt relieved after a time of worry.

Kou Wu smiled, “Protector Bian and I were being ordered by the Sect Master to represent the Blue Feather Sect in the Four Seasons Realm this time. We saw you on the Azure Sun Temple’s side, so we decided to call you over to ask you about something.”

The Blue Feather Sect was just a small Sect. Although they lacked an Emperor Realm Master, originally there were still a few of Third-Order Dao Source Realm with them. As such, there were two slots for them to enter the Four Seasons Realm.

After the massacre by Wu Meng Chuan, it caused a massive shortage of manpower in the Blue Feather Sect, so Bian Yu Qing and Kou Wu were the only two left who could carry this responsibility.

“Information about the Four Seasons Realm?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.” Bian Yu Qing nodded, “Don’t tell me you know nothing. Since you are with the Azure Sun Temple, you must know more than us, right?”

Yang Kai frowned, and spoke after pondering for a while, “I do have the information, but I can’t disclose the information that is confidential to the other Sect.”

Bian Yu Qing smiled faintly, “No one will know if we keep it a secret.”

Yang Kai shook his head.

Bian Yu Qing’s face turned red, just when she was about to say something more, Yang Kai said, “I can only tell you about this… Star Seals will appear in the Four Seasons Realm this time.”

“Star Seals?” Kou Wu frowned, obviously he had no idea what they were.

On the contrary, Bian Yu Qing vaguely recalled something. After a while of pondering, she exclaimed, “You mean the ticket to enter the Shattered Star Sea?”

“Precisely!” Yang Kai nodded.

“Shattered Star Sea?” Kou Wu finally reacted to it and let out a low voice in shock.

Yang Kai smiled, “All the best to both of you. If we meet in the Four Seasons Realm, maybe we will still have a chance to cooperate with each other!”

After speaking, Yang Kai left them without turning back.

Neither Bian Yu Qing nor Kou Wu was his close friend. The information that he provided to them just now was fair enough to pay off the little favour that he owed them in the Blue Feather Sect last time.

He no longer owed either of them any favours. Nothing would happen if neither stepped on his toes. However, if one did anything malignant towards him, they should not blame him for his cruelty. After all, they were now under Wu Meng Chuan.

Yang Kai was very afraid of the descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.

At that time, Wu Meng Chuan had actually passed on to him a complete set of Heaven Devouring Battle Law, which was the Secret Art of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. It was because of this Secret Art that the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor became the number one of Star Boundary at that time.

Yang Kai would have never believed Wu Meng Chuan did not have some sort of nefarious plan. It was just that he really did not understand what his intention was by passing on the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to him.

Yang Kai did not cultivate the Secret Art but gave it to the Embodiment. During the period of cultivation, the Embodiment had strengthened a lot. Yang Kai had also discovered the Heaven defying effects of this Secret Art.

If it were not for his own concern, he would have been tempted to cultivate it himself.

Occupied by his own thoughts, Yang Kai soon returned to the Azure Sun Temple.

Everyone was quietly meditating, taking advantage of the little time they had left to restore to their perfect condition.

Only Xiao Bai Yi opened his eyes and glanced at him, but he did not say anything.

Days flew by.

As time passed, the density of World Energy in the nameless mountain valley increased gradually to a level of where Spirit Qi Mist was formed.

Looking down from above, the entire mountain valley was enveloped in a white mist. The mist was not the regular mist but was a sign of the condensation of World Energy.

The cultivating environment had reached an incredible level.

Anyone who could cultivate in such a place for a long period of time would be able to increase in strength at an extraordinary speed.

Unfortunately, the condensation of World Energy was only a sign before the opening of the Sealed World. Even a Sect like Star Soul Palace did not have such a jaw-dropping cultivating area.

Finally, at a certain moment on the fourth day after everyone arrived on this nameless mountain valley, everyone heard a faint, strange noise coming from the void. 

Immediately afterwards, the World Energy suddenly trembled, and the mist rolled over madly towards a certain location – the centre of the entire mountain valley, the only empty area.

It seemed that all of the Sects knew that the entrance to Sealed World was here as there was no great force stationed here.

At this moment, all the cultivators opened their eyes together to look over.

“It’s started!” At the Star Soul Palace station, Xiao Yu Yang shouted in a low voice. All the disciples stirred up and secretly rolled up their sleeves!

“The entrance is about to open!” At the Azure Sun Temple station, Gao Xue Ting looked at the twenty people in front of her and said, “This Elder hopes that you stay together for as long as possible after you enter to avoid the situation of being alone. If someone insists on going their own way, you may ignore what this Elder said.”

After a pause, she continued, “Best wishes to all of you, and return safely!”

Xia Sheng grinned and said, “Don’t worry Elder Gao, this disciple will take good care of them.”

Gao Xue Ting nodded and said no more, then turned her attention to the place where World Energy was converging.

At this moment, the World Energy between Heaven and Earth was swarming over there, arousing the whistling of the wind that sent the sand and rocks in the mountain valley flying, but did not affect anyone’s vision.

Suddenly, all the World Energy that had converged there disappeared, as if it had fallen into a black hole, and the space suddenly became unstable at the same time.

The more World Energy poured into the void, the more unstable it became.

At a certain moment, the void opened, and a gap was visible to the naked eye.

Auras continued to pour in, and the gap was getting bigger and bigger. Looking above, it seemed as if a mighty man had opened a window in the sky. Through that window, some scenery on the opposite side could be vaguely seen, ethereal and unmarked, twisting and changing.

This lasted for half an hour.

Half an hour later, the World Energy in the mountain valley that had been condensed into mist had all poured into the void gap.

The entire mountain valley, absent of any World Energy at this moment, had restored to its depressing state.

And the gap had become more than ten feet long and five feet high.

“The entrance is open!” Some exclaimed.

 “Go!” People could not wait. They activated their Movement Skills and passed over everyone’s heads and rushed directly to the narrow entrance.

A man and a woman, probably cultivators from a small Sect like Blue Feather Sect with only two slots, had used what seemed to be a Secret Technique. They transformed into a stream of light and zapped towards the entrance as quick as lightning, ahead of everyone else.

They seemed to think that getting in earlier would give them some advantages.

It was a pity that it was unlike what they had hoped for.

Several Emperor Realms from the big Sects just looked at them coldly and silently, with no intention of stopping them.

“Aw!” Gao Xue Ting sighed, “There’s always someone desperate!”

Two screams radiated from the void just as she finished.

Chapter 2138

The male and female cultivators, who no one knew where they hailed from, crashed into an invisible barrier protecting the entrance of the Four Seasons Realm, forcing them to be unable to enter.

Not only that, the barrier that blocked the two of them contained an extremely brutal killing power, directly wringing the two into a mass of flesh and blood, exploding in the air.

The two of them died unexplainably!

“What?”

“What is going on?”

Below, many cultivators screamed, their faces turned pale.

[If the entrance of the Four Seasons Realm was so dangerous, how can we get in? I’m afraid that most of the people present can’t pass through the entrance at all, and all will die here.]

However, many Dao Source Realms’ faces stayed unmoved, as if they had long expected this.

Yang Kai sighed.

He got the jade slip from Azure Sun Temple, and he knew that the two’s behaviour was reckless. If he wanted to enter the Four Seasons Realm, he couldn’t force it. No matter how high one’s cultivation was, he would end up just like those two people.

If you wanted to enter the Four Seasons Realm, you could only wait for a mysterious force.

This was the benefit of information.

If Yang Kai went alone, if he was ignorant, he could just break in and cause some unpredictable consequences.

A transparent energy ball emerged from the crack. The energy ball was like a bubble, suspended in the air.

When the energy ball appeared, the disciples of Star Soul Palace moved into action.

Ten of the forty disciples rushed into the bubble one after another. It was twisted and deformed but never burst. It looked amazing.

The bubble seemed to have just enough space for ten people to stand. After ten Dao Source Realm cultivators got inside, there was not much space left. The bubble contracted very quickly and swiftly drifted towards the entrance.

Those that got on went into the entrance and disappeared.

The cultivators who came to participate in the Four Seasons Realm Sealed World for the first time now understood what was going on.

The bubble was the key to entering Four Seasons Realm.

Another bubble emerged, and once again, ten disciples jumped into action…

After the process repeated four times, the disciples of Star Soul Palace were all gone.

Star Soul Palace was the overlord of the Southern Territory. The first batch to enter Four Seasons Realm was of course going to be them. Meanwhile, for the other positions, no one really knew how the Emperor Realms negotiated the order. After Star Soul Palace, it would be the 20 disciples from Heavenly Martial Holy Land who would be divided into two groups. One group entering the Four Seasons Realm after the other.

The Azure Sun Temple came in as the third batch.

When it was Azure Sun Temple’s turn, Xia Sheng took the lead and pointed out nine people to follow him and they took the mysterious bubble to enter the Sealed World.

Yang Kai was with the remaining nine people.

The bubbles looked amazing. Yang Kai felt no obstacles when he got inside. Instead, they seemed to have fallen into the water. The surrounding area was soft, but there was no suffocating feeling.

While wrapped in the bubble and passing through the crack, there was no danger at all.

When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere else. In front of him was a flower.

The ten were still wrapped in a bubble, suspended in the air. As the bubble began to burst, everyone hurriedly circulated their Qi and suspended themselves in the air.

From the information recorded in the jade slip, Yang Kai learned that every batch of cultivators that were introduced into the Four Seasons Realm by the bubble appeared in the same area, but it was difficult to guess where in that area they would actually land.

At that moment, the ten were still together, looking around. There were no other cultivators around, and those present did not know where the dozens of people who entered the Four Seasons Realm before had been teleported to.

Azure Sun Temple’s second batch of ten was a team headed by Xiao Bai Yi. After all, in the Sect rankings, Xiao Bai Yi ranked second only to Xia Sheng.

This was also negotiated in advance, and he and Xia Sheng would each lead a team.

The moment the bubble burst, Xiao Bai Yi took out a communication artifact from his Space Ring and poured his Divine Sense into it, as if he wanted to see whether Xia Sheng was nearby or not.

After waiting for a while, there was no response. Xiao Bai Yi had no choice but to put away the communication artifact.

“This should be the Realm of Summer, right?” Murong Xiao Xiao, who had been exploring the surroundings, suddenly asked.

The sun was scorching where they appeared, and the air contained extremely abundant Fire Attribute spiritual power. The ground was dry and cracked, and there was little vegetation. This location was known as the Realm of Summer.

“It should be,” Xiao Bai Yi said with a gentle nod, when he was about to speak again, his expression hardened and he turned and looked in one direction.

At the same time, Yang Kai’s expression sank, and he shouted in a low voice, “Something is coming!”

Xiao Bai Yi glanced at him in amazement, shocked by Yang Kai’s keen sense.

“What do you mean?” Murong Xiao Xiao questioned.

There was no need for Yang Kai to explain anything. As soon as her voice fell, there was a bang from far away, as if some behemoth was rushing towards them, shaking the earth with each step.

Everyone was startled, and they all quickly urged their Source Qi to be on guard.

The sound was getting closer and louder, and the shaking of the earth became more apparent.

Less than ten breaths after Yang Kai spoke, several streams of light suddenly appeared in front of him.

The lead was reddish-white, extremely dazzling, and exuded an aura that made everyone feel familiar and jealous.

“Wu Chang!” Xiao Bai Yi’s face sank. He never thought that he would encounter the evil star of Heavenly Martial Holy Land when entered the Four Seasons Realm.

He had seen the battle between Wu Chang and Xia Sheng before and secretly felt that this person was a powerful foe. If he met him alone, his chances of winning would be slim. At that moment, Wu Chang and some elites of Heavenly Martial Holy Land were headed towards him. This caused Xiao Bai Yi’s nerves to suddenly constrict.

Because of Xia Sheng’s previous fight with him, Wu Chang could already be said to be an enemy of Azure Sun Temple. If he wanted to kill this time around, Xiao Bai Yi had no confidence to stop him.

As he gritted his teeth and cursed, Yang Kai changed his expression and shouted, “They are not chasing after us! Something is chasing after them!”

“Wu Chang is being chased?”

The face of a male cultivator in the team changed abruptly.

Wu Chang was already the cultivator of Third-Order Dao Source Realm, and he was also the top rising star of Heavenly Martial Holy Land. To force him to escape like a madman, it had to be an existence at the Emperor Realm.

The Four Seasons Realm was not without such beings. Over the years, many people who had entered the Four Seasons Realm had died at the hands of such powerful beings who they had no power to oppose.

While talking, the thing that chased Wu Chang and others was printed in everyone’s eyes. Behind Wu Chang, at a distance, a monster that was tens of metres tall was wrapped in flames and had red eyes. The monster moved its limbs and ran across the ground, dragging a long red light behind it.

Every time it leapt, it seemed to ignore the barriers of space, and the earth shook under it.

“Flame Beast!” Xiao Bai Yi’s face turned pale and they called out in alarm, “This is the locale of the Flame Beast!”

In the information recorded in the jade slip of Azure Sun Temple, there were mentions of the Flame Beast from the Realm of Summer. It was a genuine Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, capable of exerting a powerful force equivalent to a Master in the Emperor Realm.

The place where Flame Beast was located, was also listed as a Restricted Area in the jade slip, and disciples were not allowed to visit it.

No one expected that their luck would be so bad that they would appear in Flame Beast’s territory as soon as they arrived.

However, it seemed that Wu Chang and the others had worse luck. They probably appeared near the Flame Beast habitat, which led to the hunt.

“Roar…” The Flame Beast, who had been chasing Wu Chang and the others, couldn’t catch them, and roared in rage. Along with the roar, a fiery red light suddenly appeared from its mouth.

The space was penetrated, and the fiery red light, with unimaginable lethality, ran through the north and south, stretching more than a dozen kilometres.

Wu Chang reacted swiftly. After detecting the murderous intent behind him, he quickly rushed upwards. He avoided the killer move, but the others were not so lucky.

One of the disciples of Heavenly Martial Holy Land couldn’t avoid it, and was directly hit by the fiery red light, turning to ashes without even screaming.

Another disciple’s arm was nicked, and it melted away, as the disciple let out an earth-shattering cry.

“Hurry up!” Yang Kai took the lead in summoning the Dao Source Grade High-Rank ship. Stepping on it and urging his Source Qi, the ship flew in the opposite direction as swiftly as lightning.

The nine people who had been watching Azure Sun Temple finally recovered and summoned their flight type artifacts, turning them into streamers of various colours, and fleeing from Flame Beast.

It was not that they were not strong enough. It was mainly because that person in Heavenly Martial Holy Land suddenly died.

That was the elite disciple of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, not an average fish from some small sect. The dead cultivator is of the same level as them.

And yet, he suddenly evaporated.

If anyone were to encounter such a scene, they would run as well.

Immediately after, Yang Kai and the nine others tried their best to escape without stopping to fight with Flame Beast. Even with the strength of everyone present, there was no way to fight such a terrifying existence. The result of retaliation would certainly be death.

The remaining people of Heavenly Martial Holy Land flew close behind.

However, they were smart. They saw that someone was carrying the pot so they quickly scattered and went off in other directions.

After all, to the Flame Beast, no matter which sect they belonged to, anyone who trespassed in their territory had to die, so it simply chased.

Chapter 2139

“Wu Chang, you bastard, it seems you are not going to die a peaceful death!” Xiao Bai Yi saw Wu Chang on the left, flee. Meanwhile, the Flame Beast was chasing him and the others, releasing a deafening roar.

Wu Chang said nothing and gave him a look of mockery as he fled at an extremely fast speed.

“Roar…”

The earth-shattering roar came out again, producing a powerful shockwave, catching many off guard. The red flaming laser that followed was even more horrifying. It was a move capable of disintegrating their bones and all.

Fortunately, everyone had seen the Flame Beast use this before, so as soon as they heard the roar, they hurriedly changed direction and avoided the deadly attack.

“Split up. Fate will decide our life and death today!” Xiao Bai Yi yelled, and while speaking, he was the first to change where he was headed. He hurriedly turned to attack the Flame Beast.

That was how he was. He was obviously trying to divert the Flame Beast away so that the others had time to escape.

As the leader of the team, Xiao Bai Yi’s decision was appropriate.

It was a pity that the attack didn’t hurt. Before it hit the Flame Beast, it was completely destroyed by the scorching fire on its body.

The Flame Beast didn’t pay any attention to him, and carried on chasing the others.

After Xiao Bai Yi said his piece, the others scattered, turning into streamers of various colours, and fleeing in different directions.

“No way. Is my luck this amazing?” Yang Kai looked back in a hurry, but saw that the Flame Beast was chasing him, ignoring other people.

“Your dog eyes must be blind. Just staring at me and not chasing the others. But this is also good,” he said to himself. Although facing such a terrifying being, he did not have the capabilities to fight with it. Even Yang Kai had a little confidence he could escape from it.

And as long as the Flame Beast kept chasing him, the others were safe.

Although Yang Kai didn’t have much friendship with members from the Azure Sun Temple, entering the Four Seasons Realm could be considered as occupying one of their places, and doing this was within his acceptable range of contributing back to them.

Seeing the Flame Beast chasing after him, he slowed down and kept a certain distance between himself and the Beast. He still left himself some room to evade attacks, as he led it to the depths of the Four Seasons Realm.

Gradually, Yang Kai could no longer see the others. The Flame Beast was persistent; it kept chasing after him, and from time to time, it spouted the scorching energy attack from its mouth.

In terms of strength, it was certainly strong. But still, it was only a Monster Beast. The long-range attack was linear and did not cover that much of an area, so Yang Kai did not bother to avoid it. As long as he prepared in advance, he did not have to worry about being hit.

After half an hour. Yang Kai estimated that it was almost done, and then, he suddenly urged his Source Qi to increase speed.

The canoe Aunty Feng gave him was of Dao Source Grade High-Rank. Except for Emperor Artifacts, it was the best flight-type artifact. Furthermore, it was very small in size, extremely suitable for solo flight. With little effort on his part, the Flame Beast could only follow his ass and eat ash.

After a while, from a very distant location, the Flame Beast let loose an unwilling roar, but it had long since disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight. Obviously, it did not know how far Yang Kai flew off.

But Yang Kai still did not let up. He continued to release Divine Sense to explore the surroundings while continuing to fly further.

After another half hour, he waited until he was sure that he was safe before he landed.

He was still in the Realm of Summer, where the environment was scorching hot. The place where Yang Kai landed was a dry plain. Looking around, an area of ​several thousand kilometers could be seen clearly at a glance.

He took out the jade slip, checked the map of the Four Seasons Realm, and compared the places he had passed before to recognize where he was.

After a while, he summoned the canoe again and flew away.

His main purpose for entering the Four Seasons Realm was to find the Tribulation Fruit.

The Tribulation Fruit only grew in the cold environment, so it could not be in the Realm of Summer. He had to rush to the Realm of Winter as soon as possible to hope to find the spirit fruit.

In this Sealed World, he didn’t dare to fly too high and had to remain vigilant at all times. This was quite draining on his Divine Senses. 

After an hour, Yang Kai flew over a cracked canyon.

But he flew back to it again, suspended in the air, looking into the canyon.

[I don’t know if this gorge was naturally generated or not. It’s not bottomless. But looking from above, everything inside is dark. I even hear the roaring winds from inside as well.]

The reason he flew back was that he had noticed something unique.

He took a closer look, he couldn’t help but brighten up his eyes and whispered, “Could it be…”

He rushed towards the bottom of the canyon.

It could be said that the Realm of Summer was hot everywhere, but the inside of this canyon was not affected by that. After entering it, Yang Kai felt a hint of cold. The further down he went, the less heat he felt.

That made him feel that his observation was not wrong.

The canyon was at least a few thousand metres deep, and when Yang Kai fell to two thousand metres, he could see some mist covering the area.

“Haha, it really is a Spirit Qi Sea!” he laughed.

From the information in the jade slip, he learned that there were places of extremely abundant World Energy in the Four Seasons Realm, like a sea of ​​clouds and mist – the Spirit Qi Sea.

The World Energy contained in the Spirit Qi Sea was rich and extremely pure. It was most suitable for a cultivator’s cultivation.

However, because each Four Seasons Realm was only open for 33 days, even if cultivators encountered the Spirit Qi Sea, they could not stay for too long. At most, they would look for the Spirit Qi Sea and see if they could find any precious treasure.

The chances of a precious treasure being born in such a place with abundant World Energy were not small.

Some people found Emperor Grade spirit medicines from a Spirit Qi Sea, and their value was immeasurable, but others even encountered accidents in a Spirit Qi Sea.

Monster Beasts also enjoyed places with strong World Energy, so there was a strong possibility that there were some powerful Monster Beasts below.

The Spirit Qi Sea below the gorge was comparable to the situation where the World Energy converged when the Four Seasons Realm was opened. The more Yang Kai went down, the denser the World Energy got.

Being in such a place, even if he was not cultivating, the omnipresent World Energy penetrated his pores and restored the power he had consumed.

It took a full quarter of an hour before Yang Kai reached the bottom of the canyon. The ground seemed to be made of a material similar to gravel and was a little messy, but it did not seem to be dangerous. After Yang Kai released his Divine Sense, he did not notice any signs of living beings.

However, he did not relax his vigilance and walked around to check. After confirming that this area was safe, he returned to where he originally was.

He then took out the Sealed World Bead and injected some Qi into it.

In the next moment, three beautiful shadows appeared together.

One sat down cross-legged, as if cultivating, one stood silently, with an expressionless face, and the last was lying on the ground with a bored look, eyes empty and lacklustre.

Yang Kai glanced at the figure lying on the ground and could not help but sneer.

“Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi, who was cross-legged meditating, heard a sound, opened her eyes and saw that Yang Kai appeared in front of her, and quickly got up.

Liu Yan, who appeared at the same time, also gently nodded to Yang Kai, and then looked around with her beautiful eyes to check the surroundings.

And Hua Qing Si, who was lying on the ground with a lazy look, was taken by surprise. Still a little groggy, she jumped up from the ground, urging Source Qi in her body. Looking at Yang Kai, and spoke up, “You bastard, what are you playing at?”

She had been imprisoned by Yang Kai in the Small Sealed World.

In that damned place, she was left alone, without anyone to speak to. She was about to be tortured to death.

She was lying on the ground and did not want to be summoned by Yang Kai directly. After all, such a scene caused her image to worsen. As a woman who wanted face, she naturally became angry out of shame.

While she was talking, her beautiful eyes burst into flames, her silver teeth rattled, her beautiful eyes looked left and right, and she suddenly fixated on Zhang Ruo Xi.

Yang Kai smiled and said, “Before you take any action, I have to warn you. If you dare to attack her, or try to capture her to threaten me, the consequences will be very serious. Other than that, I advise you to stay quiet!”

Hua Qing Si’s expression could not help but change slightly, and a hint of hesitation flashed across her face.

She really wanted to take down Zhang Ruo Xi, who was the weakest. Although she did not know what the relationship between Zhang Ruo Xi and Yang Kai was, she still had some guesses. After all, she did hear the little girl address him as ‘Sir’.

As long as Zhang Ruo Xi could be captured, she should obtain some leverage to negotiate with Yang Kai.

Her expression changed, and Yang Kai said again, “The idea of going for me is even dumber. Since I dared to let you out, I can throw you back in again! If you do not want to suffer, just stay still.”

Hua Qing Si grit her teeth and replied, “You devil, I curse you to die without a corpse!”

“Words don’t hurt me so they are worth nothing!” Yang Kai curled his lips. After speaking, he turned to Zhang Ruo Xi. “The World Energy here is very rich. You should cultivate here, and Liu Yan will stand guard for you.”

“Yes.” Zhang Ruo Xi did not ask any further questions and obeyed Yang Kai’s orders. She continued to sit cross-legged, closed her eyes and cultivated.

“But I cannot give you too much time. Two days at most,” Yang Kai added.

After speaking, he stretched out his hand and patted the Sealed World Bead. A ray of light flashed. Then, World Energy started to get sucked in. The force of attraction was so strong that it seemed all of the surrounding World energy was crashing into it.

On the surface of the Sealed World Bead, a small tornado of World Energy appeared, visible to the naked eye.

Chapter 2140

The average cultivator who encounters the Spirit Qi Sea can only sigh in disbelief. After all, they cannot waste their precious time stopping here to cultivate with the abundant World Energy of this place.

Yang Kai would not do so either.

But he had the Sealed World Bead!

The World Energy in the Sealed World Bead could not be considered to be thin, but there was still a huge difference when compared to this place. If he could use the Sealed World Bead to absorb all the World Energy here, the cultivation environment inside the Small Sealed World would undoubtedly improve.

Yang Kai got this great idea because last time, in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, his Sealed World Bead had absorbed a large amount of broken World Principles. If even the World Principles could be absorbed, there was no reason why World Energy could not be absorbed.

And his attempt was successful.

A huge tornado formed on the surface of the Sealed World Bead and, as it rotated and pulled, all the World Energy around it was devoured into the Emperor Artifact, filling the Small Sealed World.

Seeing this, Yang Kai was overjoyed.

The success of this experiment meant that he could upgrade the cultivation environment of the Small Sealed World. It could even become as rich as the environments of the cultivation paradises in the Star Boundary! Of course, that was if he could find more areas with Spirit Qi Sea.

He handed the Sealed World Bead to Liu Yan and asked Liu Yan to hold the Emperor Artifact while looking after Zhang Ruo Xi.

Liu Yan took it without saying a word, then withdrew a short distance away so as not to disturb Zhang Ruo Xi’s cultivation with the noise from the Sealed World Bead.

Only then did Yang Kai tilt his head at Hua Qing Si, signalling her to move closer to talk.

Hua Qing Si said angrily, “Am I your pet? Do you take me for a pet that I will do whatever you want?”

Yang Kai replied, “If you don’t want to, then I can just send you back there.”

“Good! Great! Excellent! You have guts! You truly have guts!!!” Hua Qing Si’s rage seemed to cause steam to be produced from her ears. Her whole body was ready to pounce, but she knew she had to temporarily put up with this humiliation.

Hua Qing Si obeyed and moved. After confirming that Zhang Ruo Xi would not be disturbed, Yang Kai spoke while checking around, “Have you considered what I told you before?”

“What?” Hua Qing Si carelessly responded to Yang Kai while looking for an opportunity to make a sneak attack.

But what she didn’t know was that Yang Kai was in the First-Order Dao Source Realm, and kept his back towards her on purpose. He was intentionally showing a posture that was full of openings. With how haughty he was acting and how vulnerable he currently was, Hua Qing Si was having a difficult time deciding the benefits and drawbacks of her actions.

She didn’t know what would happen to her if she attacked!

But, she also had enough of being locked up in the Small Sealed World, and if she were to be locked up again, she would go crazy.

“Playing dumb?” Yang Kai stopped walking and turned around to look back at her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hua Qing Si expressionlessly replied.

Yang Kai grinned and continued, “Let me explain it to you then, I just think it’s a bit inhumane to keep you in there all the time. After all, you and I have no enmity nor grudge ……”

“Were you always this sensible?” Hua Qing Si’s beautiful eyes lit up. She looked eagerly at Yang Kai and said, “If that’s the case, then ……”

“Stop dreaming first!” Yang Kai coldly snorted, turned around, and continued to walk forward, “You know of my biggest secret, so if there is no means to restrain you, I do not feel at ease to let you run about freely. This time is just an exception. You probably won’t have a next time. If you really do not wish to pass me your Soul Imprint, then be prepared to be locked up inside for the rest of your life.”

Hua Qing Si’s pretty face changed slightly. After a moment of silence, she said, “Would you give your Soul Imprint to someone you don’t know? Who would basically wield your life, and your death, out of your control?”

“Of course not!” Yang Kai shook his head.

“Then why would I do that if you wouldn’t?”

“Because I’m better than you!” Yang Kai replied straightforwardly.

Hua Qing Si’s mouth twitched and she continued, “A trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm dares to say such things in front of me! Just where do you get that level of confidence from?”

“There is no need for you to try to test my strength. If you really thought you could beat me, you would have done it already. Why would you still bother with words?” Yang Kai gave a cold laugh as he turned around again. With cold, emotionless eyes, he looked at Hua Qing Si and continued, “My patience is limited, you must give me an answer now. I will not give you another chance again in your lifetime!”

Seeing how serious he looked, Hua Qing Si’s heart sank and she realized that she could no longer muddle through in the face of Yang Kai’s ultimatum.

She grit her teeth and opened her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something. But, in the end, she did not know where to start.

Yang Kai continued, “The reason why I did not force you last time was because I wanted to give you a little bit of time to ponder this. You should have already made a decision long ago. In the end, it is just a simple choice, is it so difficult?”

“Of course I have considered it thoroughly!” Hua Qing Si pursed his lips and replied.

“Oh? Then your answer?” Yang Kai looked at her with great interest.

Hua Qing Si grit her teeth, “If I offer you my Soul Imprint… damn it! Can you stop smiling like that? It makes me feel like I am being cheated and taken for a fool!”

“Just keep talking!” Yang Kai replied in a serious manner, relaxing the expression on his face.

“Will you ask me to do something life-threatening?” Hua Qing Si asked in a sharp tone.

“I have always been generous to my own people. If something is really dangerous, I will do it myself!”

While Yang Kai was answering, Hua Qing Si’s beautiful eyes kept staring into his, as if to see if there were any traces of lies. But to her surprise, what she saw were a pair of calm and clear eyes.

Hua Qing Si nodded, “I need to have my own privacy, so you must not pry into my secrets, and you must not order me to do anything against my will and conscience!”

“No problems!” Yang Kai agreed readily, causing Hua Qing Si to freeze, seemingly not expecting him to agree so easily.

“Will you treat me well in the future?” Hua Qing Si asked again.

Yang Kai’s entire face turned odd, “Are you going to marry me? Why are you asking such a humiliating question…”

Hua Qing Si became angry out of shame and barked back, “You think too much! Shameless!”

Yang Kai smiled, “Well, my answer would be… it would be like owning a dog…”

Before he finished his sentence, Hua Qing Si sent out a fist towards his face, Yang Kai raised his hand to block, and then continued: “I will be good to you, and I won’t forget that you are still a human!”

Hua Qing Si clenched teeth to the point it produced a gritting sound, and suddenly leapt back a few steps. Her Source Qi suddenly surged as she shouted: “The last question: Since you want me to offer my Soul Imprint, you must have the strength! Although I do not think I can beat you, I must at least try!”

Once she said her piece, she raised her hand, summoning her own ribbon artifact. Ribbons rose, fluttering about and they all stretched out. They started to intertwine and suddenly formed a rainbow bridge. It quickly rushed forward towards Yang Kai, filled with enough power to destroy.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Yang Kai stood still without moving, and said coldly: “After seeing what I can do, you won’t have any more reason to refuse!”

Hua Qing Si did not speak anymore. Her hand shifted, and the rainbow bridge made of coloured ribbons suddenly condensed, and split apart, forming into ropes, and in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai was wrapped into a dumpling, to the point even his mouth and nose could no longer be seen.

“Huh?” Hua Qing Si looked stunned, not expecting Yang Kai to be so easy to deal with.

[If that is the case…] 

Before the joy in her heart had finally erupted, she heard Yang Kai coldly snort, “It looks like you’re mentally prepared!”

At this point, Yang Kai’s figure actually became illusory. As though he had not formed and he disappeared from this space. The ribbons that were tightly strung around him had suddenly loosened.

Space Secret Technique, Nihility!

Once this technique was used, Yang Kai would disappear into the Void, allowing him to avoid lethal attacks, in addition, he could also use the Nihility Secret Technique to hide his body and aura, so as to spy.

“How?” Hua Qing Si’s pretty face changed.

“Never seen a Space Attribute Secret Technique before?” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly came from the side.

Hua Qing Si’s face changed again, and she turned her head to see Yang Kai hovering above, unharmed, looking at her playfully.

“A Space Attribute Secret Technique!” Hua Qing Si shouted, her beautiful eyes shone with disbelief.

“Moon Blade!” Yang Kai raised his hand and dozens of Void Cracks, as black as space, took the shape of crescent moons and flew towards Hua Qing Si.

Sensing the terrifying power hidden in this mysterious attack, Hua Qing Si did not dare to be slow and shouted: “Fluttering Butterfly Dance!”

She started to turn, and a colourful light suddenly burst forth. Each ray of light quickly formed into a colourful butterfly, facing Yang Kai.

 Hong Hong Hong… 

The Moon Blade clashed with the countless butterflies, emitting an array of sound. This space quickly started to become unstable.

“Star Chaser Arrow!” Hua Qing Si immediately used another move, Star Soul Palace’s Secret Technique.

After all, she hailed from Star Soul Palace, the Southern Territory’s strongest Sect, and with the powerful cultivation of a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, Hua Qing Si was not an ordinary woman. She could be considered first-class in terms of combat experience, strength and adaptability.

Once the Secret Technique was launched, starlight started to leak out of Hua Qing Si’s body. The starlight coalesced and turned into a giant arrow. Trembling as it moved forward, it pierced through the void and headed directly towards Yang Kai, trying to pierce him through the skull.

“Paltry tricks!” Yang Kai coldly snorted. With the power of Principle, he grabbed onto the Star Chaser Arrow, and with power, crushed it into dust.

Hua Qing Si’s heart started to beat violently, as if Yang Kai had shattered her heart instead of the Star Chaser Arrow. She could only speak in terror, “How is that possible?”

Yang Kai grinned, “Three thousand paths, thousands of Secret Techniques that make use of the combination between World Energy and World Principles. Your Secret Technique is only making use of World Principles, so as long as I understand the Principles used for it to form, it is easy to unravel.”

Hua Qing Si’s forehead was drenched with cold sweat.

She was already a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, only one step away from the Emperor Realm, and the Star Soul Palace she came from was not a small sect, but she had never heard of such an unbelievable idea as she had just heard.

But it was the absurdity of this statement that had touched and inspired her.

She furrowed her eyebrows and stood still with clenched hands, deep in thought.

Chapter 2141

Hua Qing Si did not move, and Yang Kai did not counterattack, just standing there and waiting.

It was only after a while that Hua Qing Si sighed and looked up, towards Yang Kai.

She still had cards to play and she had only used half of her strength in that attack just now. 

It was just a test, and she knew in her heart that Yang Kai hadn’t used his full strength.

Even if she could try her best to defeat this man as he is right now, how could she beat him in his demonized form?

Last time, she was subdued by this demon in a single move. This scene was still fresh in her mind and made Hua Qing Si shudder whenever she thought of it. Naturally, it was the type of absolute strength that crushes her, without a single way to resist.

Therefore, Hua Qing Si had no desire to carry on. The other party was a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, yet he was calm and relaxed in the face of her attacks. This was enough to illustrate how powerful and how Heaven-defying his aptitude was.

Furthermore, he was proficient in the Dao of Space and had an Emperor Artifact like the Sealed World Bead in his hand!

“Have you resigned to your fate?” Yang Kai smiled faintly after reading the haziness in her eyes.

Hua Qing Si pursed her red lips and did not say a word.

“There is no need to show such a condescending expression, it makes me feel like I’m evil!” Yang Kai laughed and continued, “You can be assured that in a few years, you will look back on today, knowing the wise decision you’ve made! If you miss this opportunity, I will never take you in even if you cry out to join me in the future.”

“Shameless boasting! That’s the only thing you are first-class at!” Hua Qing Si replied.

“Let’s just wait and see.” Yang Kai smiled, “Come, don’t waste time. I still have work to do; just be obedient and offer your Soul Imprint!”

Hua Qing Si sighed, sat down cross-legged, closed her beautiful eyes, and silently started manipulating her Divine Senses.

Seeing her in position, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he floated down. When he landed, he was just a few steps in front of her.

A short while later, Hua Qing Si’s body suddenly trembled and her features turned grim, as if she was suffering from a great deal of pain.

Her Soul Imprint suddenly burst out from within her Knowledge Sea and shot straight towards Yang Kai.

Sensing this, Yang Kai hastily opened her Knowledge Sea defences to receive it.

He closed his eyes and a Soul Avatar manifested in his Knowledge Sea. What he found there was an unfamiliar soul fluctuation inside his Knowledge Sea, which lingered in the shape of a brand, hovering quietly in mid-air.

Contained within this brand was Hua Qing Si’s Soul!

Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar formed different shapes. Following each of his moves, his Knowledge Sea tumbled. It gathered into a huge wave, which opened its mouth and devoured the Brand like a ferocious beast.

—

Deeper underground, Hua Qing Si suddenly shivered.

She opened her beautiful eyes and found Yang Kai looking at her with a smile on his face, so she asked, “What are you looking at?”

Yang Kai said, “You have quite the temper.”

“Hmph!” Hua Qing Si coldly snorted with discontent and spoke with an uncomfortable face, “It feels weird.”

It was the first time she offered her Soul Imprint to someone, and although doing this had little to no effect on her, there was still a subconscious feeling of discomfort.

It was as if something precious to her had been taken away.

“You just need to get used to it. Now that we are considered a group, then we are no longer outsiders. I do hope we can get along well in the future!”

“Don’t think for a second that saying that makes me have a better impression of you. I’m just being oppressed and enslaved by you,” Hua Qing Si coldly snapped.

“Think what you like,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.

“I was just going to ask…” Hua Qing Si digressed and looked around, “What is this place? Why is it covered in a Spirit Qi Sea?”

“Seems like you are aware of Spirit Qi Seas.” Yang Kai smiled faintly.

“Although it is rare to encounter a Spirit Qi Sea, there are still some in Star Boundary. There is one located in my Star Soul Palace.” Hua Qing Si gave Yang Kai a contemptuous look.

“We are in the Four Seasons Realm!”

Hua Qing Si was stunned, then called out in alarm. “Huh? Did you just say Four Seasons Realm?”

“Of course!”

Hua Qing Si frowned, but soon, as if she thought of something, she concluded, “Yes, by this date, the Four Seasons Realm should indeed be open! But… how is it that you managed to gain the qualification to enter this place? If I remember correctly, Maplewood City didn’t have a spot.”

“I was lucky with the opportunity. I came in with the Azure Sun Temple.” Yang Kai replied.

“Why would someone from Azure Sun Temple bring you in?” Hua Qing Si was puzzled, “Every single slot is extremely valuable.”

“I don’t really want to go into too much detail. Anyways, just know that I took one of their spots.” Yang Kai waved his hand.

“Stole…” Hua Qing Si’s expression seemed to have turned strange.

While they were talking, a fork appeared, Yang Kai signalled them to stop, “Let’s split up. The chances of precious treasures being born here are pretty good, it would be a pity to miss them.”

“Then let me say this first. If I find…” Hua Qing Si was quick to adapt. After the initial state of depression, she was now able to bargain with Yang Kai.

“It’s yours, I won’t steal it from you.” Yang Kai readily replied. 

“Those were the words I was waiting for.” Hua Qing Si smiled and took the left fork.

“Two days. In two days, we come back and meet here!” Yang Kai shouted as she moved even deeper, unsure if she heard him.

But that did not matter. After all, now that he had control of Hua Qing Si’s Soul Imprint, Yang Kai could sense her location as long as they were not too far apart.

Soon, she was completely out of sight and Yang Kai took a step into the right fork.

This was far from where Zhang Ruo Xi was located, but the World Energy here was still condensed to the point it became foggy. However, it was clearing up at a considerable rate thanks to the Sealed World Bead.

[A place that produces a Spirit Qi Sea has a high probability of producing precious treasures.]

Yang Kai had only recently entered the right fork when he found a Vampire Orchid growing on the stone wall. Although this Spirit Grass was only at Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank grade, it was still an extremely rare Spirit Grass. It could be used as the main ingredient to refining many different types of Spirit Pills, so it was worth quite a lot. 

Yang Kai carefully harvested them and placed them into a jade box. This was to preserve them, ready to transplant them to the medicine garden of Small Sealed World when he returned.

This was the only way the medicinal properties of the Vampire Orchid could be preserved. Once he planted them into his medicine garden, there was a good chance the efficacies of the Orchid would improve.

Over the next few hours, he made a lot of more discoveries. With how abundant the World Energy was, there were many rare Spirit Grass ready to be harvested. This was essentially a treasure trove for an Alchemist like Yang Kai.

In such a short time, he managed to obtain seven or eight different types of herbs. Each of different grades, which could be considered a bountiful harvest.

However, he felt a tinge of disappointment as he had not found any precious Spirit Grasses of the Emperor Grade, only Dao Source Grade.

Dao Source Grade and Emperor Grade Spirit Grasses were only one grade apart, but their potency was worlds apart. Each Emperor Grade Spirit Grass contained World Principles. Even if consumed directly, it allowed cultivators to understand the power of Principles, which made it extremely useful for cultivators.

The canyon seemed to be endless. Yang Kai was not in a rush because he was prioritising his search for treasures, but after a few hours of travel, which was a few hundred kilometres, there was still no end in sight.

Just when he was ready to continue to go deeper, he felt a sudden wave of uneasiness. His heart raced, without knowing why.

He frowned, looked back in the direction from whence he came and the next moment, his face changed. He let out a low bellow, “You are courting death!”

After his words fell, he summoned out his ship artifact. He went inside and quickly sped back.

At the same time, somewhere inside the canyon, Zhang Ruo Xi sat cross-legged as the World Energy around her constantly rushed into her body, her Qi increasing at a rapid pace. She was previously only a Second-Order Saint King but during this very short period, she had managed to become Third-Order Saint King and there was no sign of stopping! Her strength would continue to climb, and would soon approach the threshold of Origin Returning Realm.

Not far from her, Liu Yan was holding the Sealed World Bead as she looked ahead with a cold expression.

Several tens of metres away, three men were standing. They were all dressed similarly. Those that knew of the different Southern Territory Sects could tell by the pattern on their vest, that these three were from a Sect called Evil Moon Valley.

Evil Moon Valley and Blue Feather Sect were similar. Both could be considered to be great forces within the Southern Territory. So, when the Four Seasons Realm opened, these sects had also got three slots.

These three were selected to enter Four Seasons Realm, and they happened to land near the canyon.

Among the three, there was an elderly man and two middle-aged men. The elderly man was in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, while the other two were in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm.

They had no intention to explore the canyon, after all, from above, the canyon seemed completely devoid of anything, too dark to see what was inside. They were also unaware of any potential danger that lurked here. Though the three cultivators were far from weak, their strength was still slightly lacking when compared to disciples from the bigger Sects.

Since they were aware of their own strength, they did not want to actively take risks.

However, as they were flying by, the canyon gave off some unusual energy fluctuations.

Since the Sealed World Bead was absorbing the Spirit Qi Sea’s World Energy at a terrifying pace, it naturally caused obvious energy fluctuations.

Curious, the three put their fears aside and flew down, deeper into the canyon. They wanted to find the source of this disturbance. After all, opportunities were hard to come by and who knew? This might lead them to a treasure that would change their lives.

But after finding out that there were two women at the bottom of the canyon, the three of them were terrified.

Liu Yan was alright. Although she seemed like a flesh and blood being, she still had a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation level. That would align with those that could enter the Four Seasons Realm.

But the other girl was simply outrageous.

She was just a trivial Third-Order Saint King! No one would have thought that someone of her level would actually appear in the Four Seasons Realm! Even if they had seen her with their own eyes, the three were afraid that they were caught in a dream.

Furthermore, on closer inspection, this little girl seemed to be using the rich World Energy here to cultivate!

[What is going on?] The three men blinked multiple times, obviously confused.

Chapter 2142

 “Senior Brother Hua Gu…” One of the middle-aged men looked for a while and asked the elderly man in a low voice with a suspicious expression. “How is it possible that a Saint King Realm cultivator has entered the Four Seasons Realm?”

“Damn it! She must be a disciple of those Great Sects!” Another middle-aged man suddenly voiced out, indignant with gritted teeth, “To think Evil Moon Valley was only allowed to take up three spots! For just three spots, even the Orthodoxy Temple had to pay a considerable amount to obtain them! But these bigger Sects… To think they could so recklessly squander such an opportunity. To think they would even allow a disciple in the Saint King Realm to occupy one of them. This is simply too much!”

After hearing him say his piece, the elder one, called Hua Gu, also nodded. “Junior Brother Zhou An has a point, these two women should hail from one of the Great Sects. It only makes sense that their origins are as such. Otherwise, it is impossible for a Saint King Realm cultivator to enter this place. Just look at her. She seems to have just broken through and is already at the threshold of Origin Returning Realm!”

As he spoke, Hua Gu displayed hints of envy and jealousy.

When he cultivated, he had to risk his life for the few cultivation resources available, but for these disciples from Great Sects, it was different.

They could easily enter the Sealed World, where others could only enter with great effort. Furthermore, with such an opportunity, they could easily advance.

When he compared the difference in both situations, his mind started to fume.

The middle-aged man who spoke earlier showed some fear and said hesitantly, “Since they are from one of the Great Sects, we’d better go first, in case we cause a misunderstanding. That would be horrendous.”

“Xiong Ning, what are you afraid of?” The middle-aged man named Zhou An gave the Xiong Ning a sidelong glance and coldly snorted, “Even if they are disciples of a Great Sect, they are only at First-Order Dao Source Realm and Third-Order Saint King Realm. Even if they are the disciples from a Great Sect, with their strength, even if there was a misunderstanding, what could they possibly do to us?”

“Who says I’m afraid?” Xiong Ning became angry out of shame and roared, “I just don’t want to invite trouble for nothing!”

“Humph, gutless rat!” Zhou An coldly snorted with a look of contempt. He disdained his fellow disciple a fair bit.

“The bead in that woman’s hand… that should be an amazing artifact!” Hua Gu suddenly whispered, his eyes staring straight at the Sealed World Bead held in Liu Yan’s hand.

 Zhou An’s eyes twinkled and he asked in a low voice, ” Senior Brother Hua Gu, what are you trying to say?”

 Xiong Ning obviously also realized something was up and his expression slightly changed.

Hua Gu faintly smiled. “We are currently deep underground. There is no one here and hardly anyone would pass by. What’s more, the other party’s strength is low and they are holding suich great treasures.”

Zhou An, after hearing this, understood and smiled, “I have long seen how these Great Sect disciples act and have been displeased with them for a long time now. Always flaunting their might and believing themselves to be unbeatable just because they have a good backer. So, what? Senior Brother Hua Gu, tell me what you plan to do. This Junior Brother will follow you to the end!”

“So, it comes to this…” Xiong Ning could feel his limbs tremble, as his stomach churn. He incoherently warned, “If their Sect ever finds out what happened to them, not only will we be finished, Evil Moon Valley will not be spared.”

Zhou An shot Xiong Ning a cold glare. “If you are afraid then get lost. We do not need to have someone who will just blow wind in our face and dare not do anything. But let me be clear. If you back out now, you will not obtain any portion of the artifacts and Source Crystals obtained. Since these two women are from a Great Sect, I expect a lot of prized possession to be on them!”

When Xiong Ning heard that, he gulped, and a greedy expression appeared on his fearful face.

He was silent for a few breaths before he finally gritted his teeth and agreed. “Fine. I will accompany the two Senior Brothers to advance and retreat together!”

“That’s more like it!” Zhou An couldn’t help but smile when he saw Xiong Ning agree.

“You three pieces of trash!” Not far from the other side. Liu Yan suddenly spoke up coldly, and her first sentence made the three Evil Moon Valley members’ eyebrows jump. “What the hell are you muttering about?”

Hua Gu forced himself to hold back the displeasure in his heart. “The three of us fellow brothers noticed a strange energy fluctuation deep within this canyon. So, we came to check it out. But to think what we found were two girls here, who caused it. “

“That’s all?” Liu Yan replied, still as cold as ice.

“That’s all!” Hua Gu replied.

“Since you’re done with your investigation, why don’t you get lost?” Liu Yan’s words were sharp, without the slightest intention to give face to the other party. This made the men from Evil Moon Valley further convinced that Liu Yan must be from one of the Great Sects. After all, only the disciples of these Great Sects would be so arrogant and domineering, even in the face of someone more powerful.

A deep-seated explosion was occurring within Hua Gu, but he still placed a smile on his face as he asked, “May I ask which Sect do you hail from?”

“What does it have to do with you!?” Liu Yan coldly snorted.

“Let’s be nice.” Hua Gu smiled faintly, “From my point of view, you can only hail from a select number of Sects. I am from Evil Moon Valley, and we have had many exchanges with other Great Sects. We have quite the harmonious relationship with them. Although I must admit that we have interrupted you two, since we have met, let’s consider it to be a sign from fate.”

He paused for a moment, his gaze turned to Zhang Ruo Xi as he spoke. “I see that this girl seems to be on the verge of breaking through a Great Realm. But I guess that is to be expected. After all, this place is extremely rich in World Energy. However, we do not know if there are any fierce Monster Beasts around. With the energy fluctuation, it would not be strange for you two to attract a Monster Beast. I am afraid with your current level of strength, it would be difficult to cope with any Monster Beast from this place.” He spoke, acting righteous. To hit the hammer while it was still hot, he suggested, “We might not be the best but we would like to stand guard for the two of you.”

Zhou An nodded vigorously at the side and continued, “Exactly. We would like to stand guard for you, even if a Monster Beast were to come, you do not have to be afraid.”

Meanwhile, Xiong Ning stayed silent.

Liu Yan laughed coldly, “Just the three of you trash? If a Monster Beast appears, I’m afraid the three of you won’t be able to fight it!”

“Your words are too hurtful!” Hua Gu’s heart was about to explode and leave his chest. He bared it and spoke with a sullen face, “We only have good intentions. Even if you don’t want to accept them, there is no need to belittle us to that extent!”

“That’s right, although Evil Moon Valley is not a Great Sect like yours, it is not something that can simply be insulted by anyone!” Zhou An shouted righteously. Though, those who were listening carefully, would not know how he connected Liu Yan’s words with ‘insulting’ Evil Moon Valley.

“What’s the point of all this farce? Just spit it out. Are you targeting me or this artifact?“ Liu Yan said, lightly tossing up the Sealed World Bead in her hand. “If you want it, try and grab it. Why beat around the bush?”

As this statement was made, Hua Gu’s and others’ faces changed.

“Senior Brother….” Zhou An turned his head and looked at Hua Gu.

Hua Gu pondered for a moment and replied in a low voice, “It doesn’t look like she has other fellow disciples around. We have been circling around them for so long and yet, we do not sense anyone else.”

“Then, is this really a heaven-sent opportunity!?” Zhou An had an excited expression as he licked his lips. He was completely eager and did not bother to hide anything. He turned to look back at Liu Yan with a ferocious expression, and said in a cold voice. “Little girl, when I beat you to the ground and strip you of your clothes, you better not cry for mercy! “

He originally never had such evil intent against Liu Yan, however, her words had created a lingering trace of hatred that could only be quelled with such an act.

Once his emotions erupted, he immediately wanted to rob the artifact, and her dignity!

The thought of having the opportunity to ravish and defile a beautiful woman from a Great Sect, who he would never dare to even glance at in the past, made Zhou An’s blood boil.

“Do it!” Hua Gu bellowed.

In an instant, the three from Evil Moon Valley’s Source Qi started to surge. Although they were facing a woman who had a lower cultivation than them, the three were not the slightest bit sloppy or careless. They were giving their all.

The old man opened his mouth and spat out a huge bell. The body of the bell was densely engraved with countless small and complicated characters, Source Qi poured into it and the bell swelled up even bigger, a growth rate visible to the naked eye. Once it was done, it looked like a golden fortress.

This bell was clearly a defensive artifact.

Though Hua Gu summoned this artifact, not to defend himself, but to capture Zhang Ruo Xi.

He had a clear objective. After all, no matter how strong Liu Yan was, Zhang Ruo Xi was only a Third-Order Saint King. With such a cultivation, she was too weak to struggle against him. As long as he could capture Zhang Ruo Xi first, he knew Liu Yan had to concede.

So when he struck, his target was Zhang Ruo Xi.

But when the bell was about to envelop Zhang Ruo Xi, Liu Yan suddenly let out a cold snort. “In your dreams!”

She raised her hand and a black feather, about three metres long, shot out and flew to Zhang Ruo Xi’s side, turning into a burning barrier that wrapped Zhang Ruo Xi’s entire body.

The moment the feather became a barrier, a pressure that did not seem to belong to this world suddenly descended. This scared the three from Evil Moon Valley as their bodies trembled with fear.

It was as if, in the feather, there was an extremely strong will that was hidden within, leering at the three of them. This caused the three of them to instantly break out in a cold sweat, soaking their clothes.

“What is this!?” Hua Gu’s eyes widened as he stared at the pitch-black flame barrier wrapping around Zhang Ruo Xi. The terrifying scorching power spread out, as if it desired to burn all of existence.

Zhang Ruo Xi, who was sitting within the barrier, remained motionless. As if she was not affected at all.

The bell-like artifact, however, which was glowing due to the terrifying heat from the flames, had its small complicated word engravings melted away one by one. Worse, as soon as the bell came into contact with the black flame barrier, it was tainted with a trace of this black flame. This flame did not go out and continued to burn the spirituality of the artifact.

“Divine Spirit’s aura!” Hua Gu shouted in horror.

He was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator. Even if he had never seen a Divine Spirit before, he could still deduce with his experience. This frightening pressure, which seemed to be able to burn all of existence. This all indicated to him that they were up against one of the most terrifying beings that ever existed. A Divine Spirit!

Naturally, his guess was not far from the truth. This dark feather was none other than a feather from a Divine Spirit, Luan Feng.

Yang Kai gave the Luan Feng feather he found to Liu Yan, and after spending so much time, Liu Yan finally completed her refining of it. She even managed to obtain a trace amount of Divine Spirit power from it.

Even if this Divine Spirit power was weak, it was not something that a Dao Source Realm cultivator could compete against.

That was why Liu Yan did not fear these three. 

Chapter 2143

The moment the Evil Moon Valley trio made their move, Liu Yan had already decided her course of action: Summon the Divine Spirit’s feather to guard Zhang Ruo Xi first, so that she could go all out.

Twiii…

A loud bird-like cry rang out and the three of them looked up and saw a strange-looking Firebird tens of metres in length, clad in red flames flying about.

The outer layer of this strange bird’s body was a flickering of lightning, indicating that two primary attributes were contained within it.

“She’s not human!” Zhou An shouted after noticing this fact.

When he saw Liu Yan in her original body, he finally understood why he felt there was something off about her. When he first saw Liu Yan, he felt that this woman was different from ordinary people, it seemed like she a little ethereal. Now that he saw her true form, he concluded that Liu Yan was a living spirit.

“She is an Artifact Spirit!” Hua Gu shouted. Fear from his eyes was quickly replaced with greed. He could not help but laugh loudly, “Hahahahaha! The Heavens have presented me with such a gift! This Old Master was worried about my Flame Club being unupgradable. Never would I have imagined that I would have the luck to encounter an Artifact Spirit here! “

As he spoke, he bellowed to the other two, “Junior Brother, Senior Brother, I only want this Artifact Spirit. After I get her, you can have the rest. Is that fine with you?”

After Zhou An and Xiong Ning heard this, they looked at each other and nodded, “We will abide by Senior’s decision!”

“Good!” Hua Gu nodded and eerily stared at Liu Yan. “Looking at your form and how you act, it seems that you already attained some level of consciousness. It’s not easy to cultivate to this point. Don’t worry. This old master is kind enough to let you live. So long as you enter my Flame Club obediently, I promise not to destroy your Divine Sense. How’s that?”

After he spoke, he summoned out a club artifact. This artifact had a rich aura to it. Filled with power. Obviously, it was a Dao Source High-Rank Grade artifact!

Such an artifact could be considered to be an extremely rare treasure. If an Artifact Spirit such as Liu Yan were to combine with it, and was refined by Hua Gu, the Flame Club might be promoted to an Emperor Artifact!

Furthermore, with an Emperor Artifact, Hua Gu, being in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, had the opportunity to peek into the mysteries of the Emperor Realm!

Therefore, even knowing that the Sealed World Bead was worth a lot, he would be willing to give it up just to subdue Liu Yan. After all, one’s cultivation was the most fundamental when it came to one’s power.

After Hua Gu spoke, he was faced with Liu Yan’s pillar of fire!

The flames came down from the sky, as if they were going to melt the earth. They produced an enormous level of power.

The Evil Moon Valley trio hurriedly avoided it!

Hua Gu continued to persist and shouted, “You should not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! If you had just accepted the deal, this Old Master would no longer act and it would be that thing against the two of them! But now that you have refused, do you think it can hold up against all three of us?”

He was naturally referring to the Luan Feng’s dark feather.

To him, Liu Yan using the most powerful artifact in her possession to protect Zhang Ruo Xi was the dumbest move she could make! After all, though she managed to protect Zhang Ruo Xi, she was no match against the three of them, especially with her artifact gone. Furthermore, once they are done with her, they would move on to Zhang Ruo Xi. For someone in the Saint King Realm, how could she possibly even resist them?

In his mind, the best option was to ignore Zhang Ruo Xi and leave her to die. Meanwhile, she would use that feather to attack the three of them.

Fuuu…

Another pillar of fire fell down from the sky.

“Playing with fire in front of this Old Master!” Hua Gu coldly snorted and threw the Flame Club, which spun around. The pillar of fire created by Liu Yan made contact with the club. Once they made contact, Hua Gu spoke, assured of his victory. “It seems that your consciousness is still lacking.”

Pfff!

Liu Yan opened her mouth and a ball of fire the size of a table came crashing down.

“I told you it’s futile!” Hua Gu shouted impatiently, and Flame Club made contact with the attack once again.

Hong Hong Hong…

A loud explosion rang out, and World Energy around them became chaotic.

“What!?” Hua Gu’s face suddenly changed. He hurriedly withdrew his Flame Club and tightly clenched it in his hand. When he looked down to check on it, he found that his Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact was now wrapped with pulsating lightning arcs, causing his hand to feel numb.

“Yes, the power of Lightning is no doubt powerful!” The greed and desire in Hua Gu’s eyes became more and more obvious. Such an Artifact Spirit could rarely be found even in a million years! It seemed that once he merged his weapon with Liu Yan, not only would he be able to upgrade it to be an Emperor Artifact, it would also obtain the power to use Lightning.

“Senior Brother, don’t bother talking to her. Since she doesn’t want to submit, we just have to force her to!” Zhou An dodged the attack again and spoke with impatience.

“Fine, but be careful. Don’t hurt her spirituality!” Hua Gu nodded and did not forget to give a warning.

Zhou An coldly snorted, “Junior Brother is not the best at controlling his strength. If my attacks really hurt her, it’s her own fault.”

Once he said his piece, Zhou An shook his wrist. In his hand, a long spear emerged and flashed forward, charging at Liu Yan.

The silent Xiong Ning also acted. He placed his hands together and stimulated his Source Qi which ferociously shot forth.

“Primordial Divine Spear!”

“Burning Sun’s Phantom Hand!”

The two Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators attacked with the power of World Principles. By utilizing the power of Heaven and Earth, the majestic and ferocious attack headed towards Liu Yan.

Liu Yan’s body swayed as she wrapped her body in a layer of fire, which acted as a barrier to resist the attacks from both sides.

Boom!

Liu Yan let out a pained cry. The flame barrier which surrounded her was instantly shattered. Although it managed to absorb most of the damage there was still the residual attack that slammed onto her body. It was powerful enough to cause her to shift and made her lose control of her current form.

After the barrier disappeared, Hua Gu’s figure mysteriously appeared close, in front of Liu Yan. His face solemn as he shouted, “Look into this Old Master’s eyes!”

With those words, a magical power blossomed from his eyes, turning into two vortexes that kept spinning, as if to pull Liu Yan’s Soul out from her body.

This was a Soul Secret Technique, which Hua Gu only made use of at the most opportune time. He timed it such that Liu Yan simply could not avoid it and was instantly struck.

Although Liu Yan had only recently advanced to the level of Dao Source Realm, her combat ability could be considered to be decent. However, she was outnumbered and each of them had a much higher cultivation than her. So, she was unable to deliver a decent fight when the three of them joined forces.

After being hit by the Soul Secret Technique, Liu Yan’s body was suddenly frozen in mid-air. Each flap of her wings slowed down. Her mind was in chaos, seemingly unable to resist.

Seeing this scene, Hua Gu was overjoyed, secretly feeling that things were going surprisingly well. He could already imagine the wondrous scene of subduing this Firebird Artifact Spirit, merging it into his Flame Club, and allowing his artifact to be promoted to an Emperor Artifact.

A beautiful picture of the future seemed to be unfolding in front of him.

“Senior Brother! Look out!” Zhou An suddenly shouted.

“What’s wrong?” Hua Gu was shocked, but soon, his eyes widened. He saw, within the Firebird’s pupils, that there was another type of flame that was burning. This flame was different, it seemed to be able to burn one’s Soul. As soon as someone made contact with it, it would cause his Knowledge Sea to tumble, and result in an unimaginable headache.

Sun’s True Fire!

Liu Yan had followed Yang Kai for so long, and even she was not clear on how much Sun’s True Fire she had devoured. Furthermore, her body had integrated with two kinds of precious and powerful flames. If not for consuming all of these, Liu Yan would never have been able to take on a solid form as an Artifact Spirit, much less obtain her level of sentience as an Artifact Spirit. So, it could be said that Liu Yan’s body was extremely complicated, housing many rare and valuable flames.

Hua Gu tried to use the Soul Secret Technique against Liu Yan again, but obviously, it did not work.

In a flash, Hua Gu cried out and retreated. He covered his head, and roared at Liu Yan. “Are you this unwilling to submit to this Old Master?”

He roared hysterically, “Since you won’t submit, this Old Master will destroy your consciousness!”

Once he completed his sentence, he clasped both his hands together and formed a seal. The Flame Club suddenly became bigger and burned even brighter. Up in the air, it started to tremble and shot towards Liu Yan like an arrow that left its string.

At the same time, Zhou An and Xiong Ning both attacked again.

Liu Yan’s eyes finally showed a hint of panic. Her body swerved around as countless lightning strikes and fireballs flew out, with some mixed in blue ice flames, trying to resist this onslaught.

She managed to block off Zhou An and Xiong Ning’s attack, but the Flame Club still shot straight at Liu Yan with hardly any decrease in strength.

At this rate, the Flame Club was bound to go through Liu Yan’s body and inflict heavy damage to her.

“You asked for it!” After all, only an Artifact Spirit with its own consciousness that was obedient had its uses. Meanwhile, a chaotic and ignorant Artifact Spirit that resisted at every turn, would only hurt him. Since the other party was unwilling to give in, he was left with no choice but to kill her.

But at that moment, an unusual fluctuation could be felt. A brave and heroic figure mysteriously appeared in front of Liu Yan. He stretched out a hand, lightly slapped forward and whispered, “Exile!”

A Void Crack opened up, and something like a black hole took shape.

And… the Flame Club headed into the black hole…

“No!” Hua Gu’s face changed dramatically as he gathered up his Source Qi in a panic. He only had one thing on his mind, which is to recall his artifact before the black hole closed up.

Seeing the black hole quickly closing up, Hua Gu’s forehead was drenched with cold sweat.

Although he had never seen such a Secret Technique before, he knew that if he did not recall in time, his artifact would be lost forever.

“Who!?” Zhou An could not help but shout with a ruthless expression.

Xiong Ning also narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.

In the sky, a young man stood quietly in front of the Firebird, his gaze coldly sweeping them. He was fuming with rage.

Yang Kai is naturally in a horrendous mood. Originally, he checked around the canyon in advance and found no signs of Monster Beasts around, so he felt that the bottom of this canyon was safe. Therefore, he decided to leave Zhang Ruo Xi and Liu Yan here, even placing the Sealed World Bead and other important treasures here as well.

But, never would he have thought that after just a short time, trouble would arise, causing him to have to rush back.

Chapter 2144

“Master!” Liu Yan saw that Yang Kai had finally arrived and couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. Her huge body flashed as she transformed back into her human form and respectfully stood behind Yang Kai.

Yang Kai glanced over at Zhang Ruo Xi and saw that she was wrapped in a black flame barrier, one that emitted a familiar aura that made even him tremble slightly. He immediately understood that Liu Yan had used her strongest powers to protect Zhang Ruo Xi. If that weren’t the case, even if Liu Yan wasn’t strong enough to defeat these three, she wouldn’t have had so much difficulty.

“Good job, you’ve worked hard.” Yang Kai nodded at her.

“I only did what I should,” Liu Yan faintly replied.

Yang Kai turned his head and coldly swept his eyes across the three below.

“Who is Your Excellency?” Hua Gu almost suffered a big loss at Yang Kai’s hands just now, so he did nothing to conceal his anger, “Why are you interfering in my business?”

Yang Kai raised the corners of his mouth and asked, “Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what she called me just now?”

Hua Gu frowned and asked, “So, you are the master of this Artifact Spirit?”

“At least you’re not a total fool!” Yang Kai sneered.

“Impudence!” Hua Gu yelled as he spat fiercely, “A trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm trash dares possess such an Artifact Spirit? Little brat, this old master advises you to obediently offer this Artifact Spirit to me and this old master may still spare your life, if not…”

“If not?”

“Today, this will be your burial place!” Hua Gu yelled sharply.

“Hahaha!” Yang Kai couldn’t help letting out a laugh filled with arrogance, as if he didn’t put Hua Gu in his eyes at all. A moment later, he smiled and declared, “Since you dare to say so then I’ll have to bury you instead!”

When his words fell, Yang Kai suddenly waved his hand.

Along with his movements, a strange pressure suddenly descended from the sky, and the canyon, which was already gloomy, suddenly became darker, as if something was blocking all light from above.

Hua Gu and the others looked up in amazement, and the next moment, they all exclaimed.

“What the hell is that!”

“This is…”

“Not good, run!”

The three all yelled as they scattered.

*Hong…*

The canyon shook as a behemoth suddenly fell from the air and hit the ground, shattering the surface around it. This behemoth looked like a fifty meter tall beast with jagged edges and rocky features.

Hua Gu and others were dumbfounded.

Even with all of their experiences, none of these three could tell what this thing was. At first glance, it looked a bit similar to the legendary Stone Beast, but after careful observation, they determined it couldn’t be.

Because a Stone Beast couldn’t grow this big!

“Oh? Finally willing to let me out?” As soon as the Embodiment appeared, he cracked his arms and neck, looking around with great interest, as if he had not seen the outside world in many years.

In fact, this was the truth.

After the Embodiment absorbed the floating continent, besides when Yang Kai brought it out to deal with Purple Star, it had remained inside the Sealed World Bead. Since then, for so many years, the Embodiment had not seen the outside world.

The reason was simple, after fusing with the floating continent, it was simply too big to freely take out.

If Yang Kai wanted to summon his Embodiment from the Small Sealed World, he would have to expend a huge amount of Spiritual Energy. How could Yang Kai spare so much energy to summon his Embodiment in the middle of a battle? As a result, the Embodiment remained inside the Sealed World Bead until now.

As time passed, the innate abilities of the Stone Puppet Clan slowly manifested, allowing the Embodiment to slowly temper its body and eliminate unnecessary impurities, causing its massive body to slowly become smaller.

But that had not been enough to reduce its size to a manageable level.

It was only when Yang Kai obtained the Heaven Devouring Battle Law that a turning point came. This Secret Art could be described as tailor-made for the Embodiment. Since cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, coupled with the innate abilities of the Stone Puppet clan, the Embodiment had managed to rapidly increase the rate at which it tempered itself.

Even so, the Embodiment was still a huge monster compared to ordinary humans, and Yang Kai felt a third of his Spiritual Energy had been drained just to bring it out a moment ago.

The visual impact of such a huge body was undoubtedly shocking, especially since it seemed to appear out of nowhere. This caught the trio from Evil Moon Valley off guard and left them stunned for a while, as if they were lost in some kind of illusion, unable to believe their eyes. 

Bits of gravel continued to fall from the Embodiment as it stretched itself out. 

There was no need for Yang Kai to explain anything. As soon as the Embodiment appeared, it immediately understood the situation and recognized Hua Gu and his companions as enemies.

Grinning towards Hua Gu, the Embodiment grinned and spoke in a grating voice, “A Third-Order Dao Source Realm. En, as the first to die by my hand after so many years, it’s not a bad choice!”

“Good, I’ll leave it to you, I’m interested in seeing just how much ability you have now!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“Then you’re in for a pleasant surprise!” The Embodiment smiled and lowered its stance before punching at Hua Gu.

The fist didn’t seem to carry any trace of energy, like it was only done using pure physical force, but even so, strong pressure and wind blew from this fist as it pounded towards Hua Gu like a falling meteor.

Hua Gu was shocked and exclaimed, “This can’t be real!”

He didn’t dare to test that notion though and hurriedly leapt up into the air.

Although his cultivation at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm was not weak, how could he dare to take such a blow head-on?

The Embodiment’s massive body made turning and moving somewhat awkward; however, seemingly having expected Hua Gu’s reaction long ago, the Embodiment shot out a fist towards the spot where Hua Gu tried to flee.

Hua Gu screamed again and hurriedly dodged.

Soon, Hua Gu managed to adjust, though.

After avoiding the Embodiment’s initial attacks, Hua Gu determined that, although the huge stone man seemed quite powerful and intimidating, its attacks were monotonous and simple, so they were easy to avoid.

Just as this thought passed through his head, the Embodiment suddenly let out a cold snort and snapped, “Jumping around like a flea, if you’re a real man, fight me head-on!”

Hua Gu exclaimed, “You think this old master is some kind of idiot? Do you think such childish provocation will work on me?”

“Hey…” the Embodiment grinned, “Whether it works or not, there’s no harm trying. Since that’s the case, let’s try this instead…”

As it spoke, it stretched out its hand and slapped its palms down, causing a strange force to surge out and draw in the earth and ground below. Rock and earth quickly flew up into the Embodiment’s palms and in the blink of an eye, a spear-like object had condensed.

This spear was purely composed of gravel and dirt from the canyon floor, but it still looked extremely strong and powerful. Obviously, it was being solidified somehow by the Embodiment.

With this spear in hand, and its massive body, the Embodiment was the very picture of might.

Gripping the spear tightly, it mercilessly hurled it towards Hua Gu.

*Xiu…*

A sharp whistle rang out as the air in the canyon split apart. A huge vortex appeared as space tore from the residual force of this spear which seemed to ignore distance and appeared directly in front of Hua Gu.

Hua Gu’s eyes widened in horror as the spear rapidly enlarged in his eyes. With a shout, he summoned a shield-like artifact that turned into a light curtain, protecting his front.

*Hong…*

The rock spear hit the light curtain and instantly shattered it into tiny points of light before continuing on and impacting the canyon floor.

With a loud bang, rubble flew out and a huge circular pit opened up where the spear had landed.

Hua Gu was drenched in cold sweat as he stood to the side, pale, fear gripping his heart tightly.

If he hadn’t dodged fast enough just now, this terrifying attack would have been enough to turn him into a blood mist.

The shield he just summoned was a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact, one that had protected him for countless years already. It was powerful enough to even resist Dao Source Grade High-Rank offensive artifacts without much difficulty.

But today, it was crushed by a strange stone giant in one blow.

A Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact was no different from paper in front of this tyrannical force.

Even scarier though was the fact that the spear was composed entirely of condensed soil and rock, a fact Hua Gu had witnessed personally.

The opponent’s attack strength was so ridiculous, how was he even supposed to fight such a monstrosity?

At this moment, Hua Gu couldn’t help but think about retreating, and at the same time, he was extremely annoyed.

He should have realized even before Yang Kai appeared that fighting with disciples from the big Sects would not be beneficial at all. Even if these disciples had lower cultivations, they would definitely be bestowed with incredible artifacts and treasures from their Elders. None of these elites could be taken lightly.

Unfortunately, he had been blinded by his own greed and looked down on Yang Kai’s First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. But even if he regretted his actions now, it was too late.

“Why is your face so pale? Where did all the courage you showed just now disappear to?” A voice ladened with ridicule reached Hua Gu’s ear, and when he glanced back, his entire body clenched in fear.

Hua Gu saw the Embodiment pressing its hands down again, causing the rock and soil beneath it to swirl upwards and quickly condensing into two spears exactly like the one from before…

At the same time, Liu Yan and Xiong Ning had already concluded their fight.

Liu Yan, who had been besieged earlier by three enemies, had been at a distinct disadvantage and had built up quite a bit of resentment, so when the Embodiment attacked Hua Gu, she quickly found Xiong Ning to seek some redress.

Even if Xiong Ning’s cultivation was a little higher than hers, Liu Yan still fought equally with him, and soon even gained the upper hand.

This time, Liu Yan did not reveal her true body and chose to fight solely in her human form!

In this form, Liu Yan could only exert eighty percent of her strength, so it was obvious that if she transformed into her Firebird form, she would easily be able to suppress Xiong Ning.

Liu Yan had swallowed so many strange flames, and as an Artifact Spirit, increasing her strength was extremely difficult, far more so than a human cultivator’s breakthroughs. As a result, Liu Yan’s strength was far more tempered, allowing her to fight enemies above her own cultivation with ease.

It was only natural that Xiong Ning would not be her opponent.

In the depths of the canyon, two battlefields raged.

As for Yang Kai, he didn’t move, and neither did Zhou An.

Yang Kai didn’t move because he wanted to see what kind of pleasant surprise his Embodiment would give him while at the same time he had to guard Zhang Ruo Xi. He had to make sure that Embodiment did not cause too much commotion here and interfere with this little girl’s cultivation.

Chapter 2145

Zhou An didn’t move because Yang Kai didn’t move.

At this moment, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was locked onto him, hanging over his head like a sharp blade. It was causing him to have the horrible illusion that even the slightest movement would result in him turning into a fresh corpse.

This made him pale, and panic deep in his heart.

He could perceive that Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was as powerful as a Third-Order Dao Source Realm’s, far surpassing his own. Fighting such a person would definitely not benefit him.

Observing the other battlefields, both Hua Gu and Xiong Ning seemed to be at a disadvantage.

Zhou An felt bitter in his heart, knowing that this time, they had really kicked an iron plate.

He quietly took a look at Yang Kai and found that the other party was not paying attention to him, so Zhou An gathered his courage, squeezed out a smile, cupped his fists, and said, “This friend…”

Yang Kai heard him, turned his head, and lightly asked, “Do you have any last words?”

Zhou An’s brow twitched as he replied, “This friend misunderstands, I just wanted to say that I don’t know these two people, we only met by chance and came here together!”

Yang Kai looked at him indifferently, still unmoved.

On the contrary, when the other two heard his remarks, they were shocked.

Xiong Ning glared at Zhou An incredulously as he avoided Liu Yan’s attack and shouted, “Senior Brother Zhou, what are you talking about!?”

Hua Gu was also furious and angrily shouted, “Zhou An, you dare claim you have nothing to do with this when you were the first one to act?!”

“That man called you Senior Brother…” Yang Kai pointed at Xiong Ning.

Zhou An sternly said, “He must have problems with his head, this friend should not listen to any of his nonsense.” 

As he spoke, he put on a flattering smile, “Friend, this one really had no ill intentions towards you and was simply dragged along by them to investigate this place where we encountered your Artifact Spirit by accident. Fortunately, this friend’s Artifact Spirit suffered no damage, so I hope this friend can let this small matter go.”

After spouting this shameless remark, before Yang Kai even had a chance to reply, Hua Gu on the other side turned red with anger and coughed up a mouthful of blood, all his veins puffing out as he roared furiously, “Shameless! Do you not have any face?!”

“Shut up!” Zhou An shouted angrily, “This Zhou, from now on, has nothing to do with you villains!”

“Wayaya…” 

Hua Gu was infuriated and let loose an odd roar from his lips, almost as if he had gone insane. At that moment, he was caught by the Embodiment when it stomped the ground hard and shouted, “Earth Prison!”

A peculiar power gushed out from the Embodiment’s huge body and poured into the ground, causing it to liquefy and form a number of long hands which flew up into the air like giant whips.

Hua Gu was caught off guard and directly entangled by these long whip-like hands.

“Not good!” Hua Gu exclaimed as he tried desperately to break free, but soon he was dragged down to the ground by an irresistible force. Soon, his body was pulled underground until only his head remained exposed.

Strangely, the moment Hua Gu sank into the ground, the liquified ground was restored to its original state. The ground then solidified to the point where no matter how hard Hua Gu struggled, he couldn’t break free.

He was like a man who had fallen into quicksand and was unable to escape.

The Embodiment’s massive body stood in front of him like a mountain, casting a huge shadow over him.

“Oh? Is that a new ability?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he looked on in interest.

He could not recall the Embodiment using such a technique before and did not know if it was an innate ability of the Stone Puppet Clan, or if it was something it comprehended after cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.

On the other side, Zhou An trembled.

Seeing Hua Gu, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master, lose so quickly, how could he dare to remain?

Quickly cupping his fists, he shouted, “This friend, I wish you good fortune, this one will take his leave!” 

As he spoke, he tried to fly up and escape.

“Did I let you leave?” Yang Kai waved his hand, sending out a Moon Blade to cut off Zhou An’s path.

Zhou An paused, looked back, and asked haltingly, “What other advice does Friend have to give?”

Although Zhou An put on a humble attitude, there was still a vigilant light in the depths of his eyes. Yang Kai had no doubt that if he attacked first, Zhou An would surely counterattack.

This man was willing to betray his fellow Sect brothers, so he probably wouldn’t believe anyone.

“I have no advice for you…” Yang Kai said lightly, “But… since you say that you are not with them, don’t you think you should prove yourself?”

“Prove myself…” Zhou An’s eyes flickered, but soon, he nodded and said, “This one understands, please observe well, friend!”

Saying so, he summoned his spear artifact and poured his Source Qi into it. Then he jumped out and rushed towards the battle between Liu Yan and Xiong Ning. With his spear trembling, Principle Strength began to swirl around it and condense at the tip in a brilliant display of light.

“Primordial Divine Spear!”

As he shouted, his eyes filled with murderous intent, as he directed his attack at Xiong Ning!

Xiong Ning was shocked.

Liu Yan alone was enough to suppress him, and after losing his composure as a result of Zhou An’s shameless behaviour just now, he was already at a serious disadvantage in this battle. Now, Zhou An had actually attacked him, causing Xiong Ning to feel the aura of death grip him. 

After hurriedly blocking Liu Yan’s blow, Xiong Ning shouted, “Senior Brother Zhou, are you crazy!?”

Zhou An coldly snorted without replying, instead pouring more power into his spear before throwing it out with full force.

The terrifying attack flew within a hair’s breadth of Xiong Ning before it shot towards Liu Yan.

“I knew you would do this from the beginning!” Liu Yan was neither panicked nor flustered as she coldly snorted and blew out a pillar of flame and lightning towards the approaching spear.

*Hong…*

The huge explosion occurred, drowning the figures of the three on the battlefield.

At the same time, Yang Kai raised the corner of his mouth into a sneer.

He had clearly seen Zhou An use this attack as a feint to create a scenario where he could burn his Blood Essence in order to display a Secret Technique that caused a blood-red glow to cover his body, dramatically increasing his speed as he fled into the canyon. 

“Shrewd and crafty, an exemplary scum!” Yang Kai ‘praised’.

If he had been in Zhou An’s position, he would not have been able to come up with a better method of escape in order to survive.

However, his feint not only distracted Liu Yan, but also Xiong Ning. Xiong Ning, who was deceived, was stunned stupid after this attack as he believed he was about to die just now. But before he could recover from his shock, Liu Yan pounced on him again.

Forcefully composing himself, Xiong Ning continued his battle.

Deep in the canyon, Zhou An was fleeing madly.

After seeing Hua Gu being imprisoned, he knew that he would definitely die if he didn’t flee. Without even mentioning the strange stone giant, just that strange First-Order Dao Source Realm youth was not an opponent he could deal with by himself. 

Zhou An had never seen such a monster before, with a Divine Sense on par with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator while only having First-Order cultivation!

Believing in the expression, ‘A wise man will submit to the circumstances’, Zhou An had always been a flexible individual who understood the circumstances and adapted accordingly. In the Sect, he had a wide range of contacts and was well known for managing complex interpersonal relationships.

This Secret Technique that burned his Essence Blood consumed a lot of his strength, but it could dramatically increase his speed for a short period of time, so Zhou An was confident that even if Yang Kai was unusually strong, he would not be caught. 

Unfortunately…

Just as he was thinking he had escaped, Zhou An saw the space in front of him ripple oddly. 

Zhou An was taken aback and hurriedly came to a stop as he stared forward suspiciously.

The next moment though, he saw a figure slowly walk out from these ripples and smile at him playfully.

“You…” Zhou An’s eyes bulged as he stared at Yang Kai in disbelief, calling out in alarm, “How?”

However, Zhou An had a wide range of experiences, so it only took him a moment to think of something and exclaim, “Space Principles!”

This scene in front of him was exactly the same as the legendary teleportation Secret Technique those who cultivated the Dao of Space could use. Zhou An could not think of another explanation!

Although some special artifacts could allow one to teleport short distances, and they truly had similar effects to what he just witnessed, Zhou An was certain he did not see Yang Kai use any such artifact.

He immediately understood that the youth in front of him was someone who had cultivated the Dao of Space to an extremely high level!

After realizing this, Zhou An’s face turned ashen.

Everyone with half a brain knew that trying to flee from an enemy that was proficient in the Dao of Space was a futile endeavour!

At this moment, Zhou An’s mouth was filled with bitterness, as if he had eaten a sour bug. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but…

Yang Kai interrupted him directly, “Whatever you have to say, I will treat it as a fart!”

As he finished speaking, Yang Kai waved his hand and sent out a dozen Moon Blades.

Zhou An’s heart sank as he summoned his spear and assumed a defensive stance.

A ringing noise sounded out as the Moon Blades were cut down by Zhou An’s spear as he was pushed back again and again.

Before he could stabilize his figure, Yang Kai suddenly disappeared from his view.

Zhou An was shocked and quickly released his Divine Sense, but couldn’t find any trace of Yang Kai.

He instinctively flipped his spear and stabbed behind himself, but hit only empty space.

A voice that horrified Zhou An, like that of the reaper of death, called out from beside him at that moment, “Myriad Sword Arts, Radiant Moon Swallows the Wolf!”

An astonishing Sword Qi swept out at that moment and washed towards Zhou An, filling the gloomy canyon with a light a thousand times brighter than the moon in an instant!

In that moment, Zhou An felt an odd sense of clarity.

With an intense roar, he poured all of his Source Qi into his spear and unleashed his complete strength and skill, sending out thousands of spear shadows to form a dazzling, multi-coloured wave of force!

The spears smashed out and caused a violent explosion, after which hot blood splashed about.

After the dazzling white light dissipated, Yang Kai held the Myriads Sword quietly. Not far in front of him, Zhou An stood covered in blood with innumerable big and small wounds covering his body. His physique had been thrashed and his bones were exposed in many places. His clothes were shattered and the red glow that had radiated from his form had completely vanished. At this moment, his aura was so weak it was almost imperceptible.

With great difficulty, he lifted his gaze towards the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand and the corners of his lips curved into a bitter grin, “Emperor… Artifact, this Zhou’s death was not undeserved!”

With these words, he fell from the air into the canyon, his eyes quickly losing their lustre before he even hit the ground.

Chapter 2146

When Yang Kai rushed back, the battle between Liu Yan and Xiong Ning had also concluded with Liu Yan winning as expected.

However, she had not killed Xiong Ning and instead just maimed him and thrown him to the ground. Xiong Ning’s aura was very feeble and he was groaning continuously, looking very miserable.

On the other side, Hua Gu was still imprisoned by the Earth Prison, his head still exposed, with the Embodiment sitting cross-legged in front of him with its huge hands spread out like two giant claws and grabbing the void at the place where Hua Gu was.

A type of mysterious energy was flowing from those two giant hands.

Under this power, the Source Qi and even Hua Gu’s physique were quickly transforming into a stream of pure energy that was pouring into the Embodiment’s body and being completely absorbed.

Seeing this scene, Yang Kai’s eyes shrank slightly.

“Master…” Liu Yan walked over, her beautiful eyes filled with shock as she asked in a low voice, “What is this Secret Art?”

She was also stunned by the actions of the Embodiment. Although Hua Gu and his companions’ methods were despicable, and their deaths weren’t worth pitying, what the Embodiment was doing at this moment seemed to be extracting Hua Gu’s vitality and essence. It was literally refining him into its own strength.

Hua Gu’s body rapidly shrivelled up under the Embodiment’s actions, his skin cracking and his complexion turning sallow, like all the water was being drained from his body. His Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation was also rapidly regressing.

This kind of death, where one experienced the despair and torture of losing everything they had ever cultivated to achieve, was far more frightening than simply having one’s corpse shredded into ten thousand pieces.

“The Heaven Devouring Battle Law!” Yang Kai replied in a low voice.

He was also surprised because he hadn’t expected his Embodiment to have cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to such an extent already.

As for the scene before him, it was actually quite familiar.

When Yang Kai released Wu Meng Chuan from Blue Feather Sect’s Bone Prison, the latter had used the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to kill and devour all the other cultivators in the prison, restoring himself to his peak state in a very short period of time.

The Embodiment obviously hadn’t reached the same level as Wu Meng Chuan, but the essence of the technique it was using was the same, drawing out the energy of others to strengthen oneself!

The Heaven Devouring Battle Law could swallow everything which contained any form of energy in this world, allowing one to cultivate at an extraordinary pace. This Secret Art was extremely overbearing and evil, which was precisely why the creator of this Heaven defying Secret Arts, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, had provoked public anger and ultimately doomed himself.

“This Secret Art is too wicked and domineering!” Liu Yan frowned, seemingly unhappy.

Yang Kai nodded lightly, agreeing with her sentiment, especially after seeing the scene in front of him. He had to admit that this was an extremely evil Secret Art.

As the two conversed, Hua Gu’s vitality finally dried up and he died, his whole body now nothing but skin and bones with most of his physique having been sucked away. As for the Embodiment, it showed an unsatisfied appearance as it stretched out its hand to draw over the half-dead Xiong Ning, intending for him to suffer the same fate as Hua Gu. 

A tragic cry reverberated in the canyon for some time.

A while later, Xiong Ning also became a mummified corpse.

The Embodiment finally exhaled contentedly.

Yang Kai also clearly felt that after using the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and swallowing the essences of these two Dao Source cultivators, the Embodiment had grown noticeably stronger. What’s more, there was a kind of strange glow apparent in its eyes now.

Through their Soul connection, Yang Kai faintly felt that his Soul Clone, which inhabited his Embodiment, was a bit different now and had a strange aura about it.

“This Secret Art… it’s a good thing you didn’t cultivate it. It was really a wise decision!” The Embodiment spoke in his rough voice.

“Why do you say that?” Yang Kai raised his brows.

The Embodiment answered, “Before now, I had only absorbed energy from ores and inanimate objects, so I didn’t notice anything in particular, only that this Secret Art was extremely powerful and allowed me to improve my strength at an astonishing rate, but now… there is something which is affecting my Soul, like a lingering bloodthirst, making me want to slaughter and devour more!”

As he spoke, his eyes flashed with a faint red light.

“Could it be some kind of addiction…” Yang Kai touched his chin and muttered to himself.

The Embodiment shook his head and said, “Perhaps, but that’s not the point, the point is that while using this Secret Art to devour other living creatures, it also absorbs some of their intentions, affecting my Soul!”

“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded and asked, “Then you are now…”

“I’m fine!” The Embodiment waved his giant hand, “I speculate that the other things that were absorbed were the remnant thoughts and resentments of these cultivators. If those kinds of things were absorbed by you, they would be extremely difficult to purge, but I’m different…” At this point, the Embodiment grinned and patted his body, proudly saying, “This Stone Puppet body is innately able to purge impurities, so I think… as long as I spend some time resting, the situation will resolve itself.”

“Then we shouldn’t delay, go back and rest first!” Yang Kai said, taking the Sealed World Bead from Liu Yan and using his Divine Sense to move his Embodiment back inside.

“Will that big guy… be alright?” Liu Yan asked worriedly.

“Of course, the physique of the Stone Puppet Clan is specialized in this kind of thing, but he probably won’t be able to use the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to devour anything until he has completely purified those remnants,” Yang Kai replied.

After this incident, Yang Kai gained a faint understanding of why Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was killed in the past. It seemed that it was not just his act of wantonly devouring everything that caused others to resent him, but also due to changes in his mental state.

For instance, if such a powerful cultivator only thought about devouring this and devouring that all day, no one would have a sense of security. Furthermore, at Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s cultivation, he wouldn’t be interested in devouring ordinary treasures or cultivators, only other Great Emperors would be able to satisfy him…

Even if just to protect themselves, the other Great Emperors would have to join forces to get rid of him!

“Hm?” As Yang Kai was lost in thought, he suddenly turned his head to the side and muttered in surprise, “Is she going to break through?”

He suddenly discovered that there was an unusual energy fluctuation coming from Zhang Ruo Xi, one that was consistent with signs of a breakthrough!

Without waiting for his command, Liu Yan took the Luan Feng feather back.

“This little girl’s physique is a bit strange!” Liu Yan looked at her and whispered, “She seems to be able to swallow World Energy directly, not even needing to refine it before she can add it to her own strength!”

“A Special Constitution?” Yang Kai frowned and shook his head, “There shouldn’t be anything special about her physique, I checked that very carefully long ago, but… her Bloodline Power is somewhat unusual.”

The Space Spirit Jade only reacted to Zhang Ruo Xi because of some kind of inherited Bloodline Power; however, Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of Bloodline this was, let alone what kind of connection there was between the Space Spirit Jade and her.

Regardless of the reason, Zhang Ruo Xi’s cultivation speed was simply astonishing.

She didn’t have a good cultivation environment before, but she had still managed to perform fairly well. Although her cultivation pace wasn’t slow before, it had improved after Yang Kai gifted her the Marrow Washing Pill. With this pill, any cultivator below the Origin King Realm would be able to cultivate significantly faster than their original aptitude would allow. 

However, once said cultivator reached the Origin King Realm, the effects of the pill would disappear.

But just looking at this Spirit Qi Sea, it was as if some kind of certain restriction inside her body was released, allowing her to madly swallow the surrounding World Energy, leading to a breakthrough to the level of the Third-Order Saint King Realm in a very short period of time. Things didn’t end there, and after just a short time she was on the verge of another breakthrough to the Origin Returning Realm!

After one broke through from the Saint King Realm to the Origin Returning Realm, one needed to condense their Shi!

Yang Kai had also experienced this process, so he naturally knew about its difficulty.

As such, he quickly prepared to send a message to Zhang Ruo Xi to give her some advice.

With his current cultivation, he was qualified to give pointers. 

But before he could even speak, a shocking scene appeared before him.

An invisible aura suddenly burst from Zhang Ruo Xi’s body, one that was condensed of her Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy and extended about ten meters from her figure. Inside of this ten-metre radius, she could clearly see and feel every pebble and blade of grass. 

[Shi!]

Yang Kai’s expression turned extremely weird.

Zhang Ruo Xi had unexpectedly condensed her Shi instantly, without the slightest difficulty or need for advice. Furthermore, she had not even broken through to the Origin Returning Realm yet…

Yang Kai had never heard of such an astonishing feat. 

Liu Yan’s beautiful eyes also flickered with surprise.

Up in the sky, dark clouds began to gather and winds began to swirl inside the depths of the canyon.

After Zhang Ruo Xi had condensed her own Shi, her World Energy Baptism soon followed!

World Energy gathered before forming a column that descended towards Zhang Ruo Xi’s delicate body like a bolt of lightning. 

With a muffled snort, Zhang Ruo Xi’s face showed a faint pained expression. 

Yang Kai and Liu Yan retreated immediately to observe from afar!

Their current cultivations were too high; if they rushed to assist Zhang Ruo Xi’s, they would only stimulate the World Energy Baptism, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Zhang Ruo Xi’s breakthrough could only be passed by her.

This little girl always looked so weak and delicate that Yang Kai couldn’t help secretly worrying about whether she would succeed. 

Before he could worry for long though, his eyes suddenly bulged as he stared behind Zhang Ruo Xi.

Behind this little girl, a blurry phantom suddenly appeared. This phantom was ethereal and looked almost illusionary, but it soon condensed into a giant that was several dozen meters tall.

“That’s…” Yang Kai couldn’t help but whisper in shock.

Liu Yan’s face also paled. She didn’t know why, but she felt a fatal threat from this phantom and panic from the bottom of her heart, making her want to flee.

At this moment, the true appearance of the phantom was revealed. It looked like a giant woman wearing armour with a long cloak and holding a giant sword, her hair flying wildly in the air.

The woman’s figure was rough and heroic. 

This figure was still somewhat blurry, and even its outline was a bit unstable; however, it did bear a certain resemblance to Zhang Ruo Xi. It was like looking at an older version of this little girl in shining white armour.

Chapter 2147

As this huge phantom manifested, it slowly raised its head and glanced up at the surging World Energy that had gathered in the sky.

Suddenly, this female figure opened her mouth and inhaled sharply.

A staggering scene unfolded before Yang Kai’s eyes in the next instant. As this phantom inhaled, all the World Energy which was supposed to fall upon Zhang Ruo Xi as her baptism was sucked into the phantom figure’s mouth and disappeared!

After finishing this, the phantom woman lowered her head, transformed into a stream of light, and sank back into Zhang Ruo Xi’s body, like she had never even existed.

But before this phantom left, Yang Kai faintly felt that she had glanced over at him.

Even if their eyes hadn’t met though, and it only lasted for a moment, Yang Kai was terribly frightened by the humble feeling which overcame him.

“What…” Liu Yan’s voice trembled a little. Although the frightening phantom woman had disappeared, the fear left in her heart did not abate, making her tremble all over.

Yang Kai shook his head dumbly.

*Hong…*

A halo of energy suddenly exploded from Zhang Ruo Xi’s body and rushed out into the surroundings.

After the phantom was retracted into her body, Zhang Ruo Xi actually broke through directly to the Origin Returning Realm without any obstruction, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Yang Kai was completely dumbfounded.

Whether it was Zhang Ruo Xi who directly condensed her own Shi before her breakthrough, or the appearance of the strange phantom woman, or her sudden breakthrough, everything he just witnessed was far beyond his ability to comprehend.

It was as if he just witnessed a fantastical dream!

At this moment, only one thought lingered in his mind though, [Just what kind of Bloodline Power did Zhang Ruo Xi inherit? Was that massive female phantom a projection of the Zhang Family’s Ancestor?]

“Master, I want to return first,” Liu Yan suddenly said.

Yang Kai glanced at her and found that her condition was a bit unsteady and nodded, bringing her back into the Sealed World Bead.

As for Zhang Ruo Xi, who was now an Origin Returning Realm cultivator, she showed no signs of stopping her cultivation as she continued to madly devour the surrounding World Energy, her delicate body acting like a bottomless pit that was able to absorb an infinite amount of energy.

The Sealed World Bead also continued its absorption of the surrounding World Energy, and soon the Spirit Qi Sea at the bottom of the canyon became thin.

One day later, the canyon which had originally been filled with a fog of World Energy was completely clear. The Spirit Qi Sea had disappeared and the canyon had become the same as the rest of the Four Seasons Realm.

Only now did Zhang Ruo Xi let out a light breath and slowly open her eyes.

She seemed to be ignorant of the changes that had taken place to her and slightly frowned after opening her eyes, spreading her hands out in front of herself as she lightly stretched.

After a while, she recovered and realized that someone was staring at her, so she looked up only to meet Yang Kai’s eyes.

“Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi stood up and exclaimed softly.

“Congratulations, you have successfully made a breakthrough to the Origin Returning Realm,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.

Zhang Ruo Xi pursed her lips and muttered, “I don’t know what happened, it was like I just fell asleep and suddenly became like this.”

“Fell asleep?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “So, you don’t recall anything about what happened just now?”

Zhang Ruo Xi looked around and asked in amazement, “What happened?”

She turned her head to the side and looked around and quickly discovered two shrivelled corpses, causing her to pale and let out a cry of fright, “Did someone attack us?”

Yang Kai smiled bitterly and shook his head, not knowing how to explain the unusual scenes he had witnessed and instead choosing to say, “It was just a few blind fools who came here courting death.”

But Zhang Ruo Xi reacting like this made him have some guesses.

There were rumours that some powerful Monster Beasts, especially Divine Spirits and their descendants, had incredible strength from birth, and that their strength would grow even if they did not put in much work as long as they had enough accumulation over a long period of time. This was primarily because their Bloodlines would slowly awaken, allowing them to ultimately stand at the top of the world.

Zhang Ruo Xi’s situation must be somewhat similar to those Monster Beasts and Divine Spirits, otherwise, there was no way to explain why her strength improved so dramatically in just two short days without her even noticing how.

Considering all this, Yang Kai asked, “Ruo Xi, did someone explain to you how to break through to the Origin Returning Realm and how to condense your Shi?”

“No,” Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head, “When Ruo Xi was still living at home, Ruo Xi’s strength was still very low and Old Ancestor said that he would explain everything once Ruo Xi became a Third-Order Saint King…”

Yang Kai nodded when he heard these words, remembering that he too had never told Zhang Ruo Xi about these things.

The breakthrough to the Origin Returning Realm wasn’t too critical a junction, so even if no one explained anything, a cultivator would slowly be able to figure things out for themselves.

However, condensing one’s Shi was not something that could be understood or completed in short order, but Zhang Ruo Xi had actually done so in an instant!

In other words, the method to condense her Shi had long ago been rooted in her sub-conscience, probably an inheritance of her Bloodline. 

“Sir, is there something wrong with Ruo Xi’s cultivation?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked anxiously.

“There is not,” Yang Kai shook his head quickly to prevent her from misunderstanding. After thinking for a moment, he added, “You’ve just experienced a breakthrough, so what is most important now is to consolidate your cultivation, go back to the Sealed World Bead for now.”

“Yes!” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded meekly and relaxed, allowing Yang Kai to send her back into the Sealed World Bead.

Standing there, Yang Kai was immersed in his thoughts and confusion for a while. He hadn’t asked Zhang Ruo Xi about the situation with the giant female phantom because she probably didn’t know anything about it either.

A few moments later, he turned his head to look to the side where a stream of light was quickly approaching.

Shortly, Hua Qing Si appeared in front of him with a happy disposition, obviously having had a good harvest.

“What happened?” Hua Qing Si asked in shock when she saw the two mummified corpses on the ground.

“Someone came courting death,” Yang Kai curtly replied without explaining much. He did not ask what she had gained; after all, he had already promised that anything she picked up would belong to her. Instead, he simply said, “You can go back first, I still have to rush to the Realm of Winter.”

“Wait a moment!” 

“What?”

Hua Qing Si smiled and said, “I suddenly remembered something on the way back.”

Yang Kai didn’t reply but motioned with his eyes for her to continue.

“There is a hidden spot in the Two Seasons Mountain Range, are you interested in exploring it?” Hua Qing Si asked with a smile.

“How do you know?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.

Hua Qing Si answered, “I am a disciple of Star Soul Palace! If nothing had happened, I would have had one of the forty slots the palace obtained for myself! I made preparations for the Four Seasons Realm a long time ago, so what’s so strange about my knowing a secret or two?”

“The Two Seasons Mountain Range?” Yang Kai showed a contemplative expression.

“Rest assured, although I don’t know what you have to do in the Realm of Winter, you’ll have to cross the mountain range first, so it won’t take much time.”

“Do you have an exact location?” Yang Kai asked.

Hua Qing Si couldn’t help rolling her eyes and retort, “I found out about this hidden location from clues leftover in my Sect’s ancient books. Although I have a map of sorts, the exact directions aren’t very clear. At best I have a rough understanding of where this place might be. If you really want to explore it, you’ll have to find it yourself.”

“So, you don’t even know what’s inside?” Yang Kai asked.

Hua Qing Si showed a stunned expression before she pursed her lips into a grin and said, “It looks like you don’t know much about this Four Seasons Realm!”

“What do you mean?” Yang Kai frowned.

Hua Qing Si chuckled and asked, “You know this is the Four Seasons Realm, but do you know who made it?”

“Do you know?” Yang Kai frowned.

Hua Qing Si proudly said, “If I said I don’t know, what could you do?”

Yang Kai suddenly grinned and said, “Tell me!”

Seeing him jump straight to threatening her, Hua Qing Si couldn’t help pouting as she snorted, “Flowing Time Great Emperor, have you heard of him?”

Yang Kai shook his head.

Hua Qing Si’s expression became haughty as she continued, “Since ancient times, those who have been eligible to be called Great Emperor were all top masters in this world, but even among the top, there are still some who stand out! From all the historical records I have read, there have been several dozen Great Emperors who have fallen in the past, and the Flowing Time Great Emperor is one of them. The Flowing Time Great Emperor cultivated a Divine Ability called the Time Flies Seal. Once this Divine Ability is used, it can cause a thousand years to pass by in a moment, causing anything and anyone caught in it to wither and die!

“How did such a powerful Great Emperor die? No one knows, but there are rumours… This Four Seasons Realm was his secluded realm, and it was constructed by the Flowing Time Great Emperor using his miraculous abilities. There are also rumours that somewhere in the Four Seasons Realm, there is a majestic temple called the Flowing Time Temple, which was left behind by the Flowing Time Great Emperor and was originally his secluded home. There are infinite benefits to be found inside such a secluded home and if one can obtain even just one or two things from it, their future progress will be smooth and unimpeded. Such rumours are widely known among the great forces, but unfortunately, no one has been able to confirm them so far. There are only some vague records that indicate that the secret location I told you about is related to the Flowing Time Temple!”

As she narrated triumphantly, it really aroused Yang Kai’s interest.

“But if you find it too bothersome to search, then just pretend you didn’t hear anything,” Hua Qing Si intentionally teased Yang Kai’s desires.

Yang Kai decisively held out a hand to her.

“What do you want?” Hua Qing Si asked vigilantly.

“Bring out the map!”

Hua Qing Si immediately covered her Space Ring and jumped back a few steps before gritting her teeth and vigilantly glaring, “I warn you, if you dare try to force me, I’ll…”

“What will you do?” Yang Kai approached her with a wicked grin and said, “There’s no one here, so even if you shout your lungs out, no one will come to save you. Besides… all I need is a thought and you would obediently offer that map to me!”

“Shameless! Beast! Don’t come near… come here and I’ll scream… good, good, I’ll just give it to you,” Hua Qing Si took out a piece of animal skin from her Space Ring and threw it to Yang Kai before angrily cursing, “Are you having fun? A big man bullying me, a weak woman, have you no shame?”

Yang Kai ignored her and just looked at the crudely drawn map on the animal skin, finding it just as Hua Qing Si had said, lacking in clues or exact directions.

Chapter 2148

The entire Four Seasons Realm was divided into four domains, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. With such drastically divergent environments, when two met, their border would naturally become extremely strange.

The Two Seasons Mountain Range was that very border and it extended throughout the entire Four Seasons Realm. This mountain range was like a giant cross that divided the four domains equally.

This information was contained in the jade slip from before, so when Hua Qing Si mentioned the Two Seasons Mountain Range, Yang Kai was not too surprised.

However, judging from the information revealed by Hua Qing Si, the Azure Sun Temple was still concealing some things from him. At least the information about the Flowing Time Temple was not shared with him.

This was also obvious though; after all, he was an outsider.

Murong Xiao Xiao had given him the jade slip that recorded most of the Four Seasons Realm’s information, but Yang Kai knew he had acquired it only because Gao Xue Ting had allowed him to. Anything that was not recorded was obviously treated as secret information within the Sect.

However, Yang Kai was also certain that those from Azure Sun Temple knew whether the Flowing Time Temple really existed or not!

On the map that Hua Qing Si had given to Yang Kai, the location of the temple was recorded as somewhere between the Realm of Summer and the Realm of Winter, so for Yang Kai, this trip was really just a quick stop along the way.

Storing away the map and returning Hua Qing Si to the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai summoned his ship and began flying in the direction of the Realm of Winter as quick as lightning.

After hurrying along for a day, an unimaginably long mountain range appeared before Yang Kai. Even from a distance, Yang Kai could tell that this mountain range was lush, with deep valleys and extensive forests. The side which Yang Kai stood on was scorching hot, but the tops of the mountains he was staring at were covered with silvery-white snow. 

On the other side of the mountain range that Yang Kai couldn’t see yet, it should be extremely cold.

This was obviously the Two Seasons Mountain Range.

While releasing his Divine Sense to monitor his surroundings, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate as he flew straight into the mountain range.

In the forest, the climate was hot and humid, but for cultivators like Yang Kai, this did not affect him much. 

Recalling the information recorded on the map in his mind, and as far as possible trying not to deviate from his destination of the Realm of Winter, Yang Kai began searching for the existence of the Flowing Time Temple.

His thoughts were quite simple; since the existence of the Flowing Time Temple was elusive, and no one had found it since the Four Seasons Realm had first appeared, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t hold too much hope of finding it either and was not planning to expend much energy in his search.

For him, it would be good to find it, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t. After spending a brief time here, he would cross the Two Seasons Mountain Range and enter the Realm of Winter.

The Tribulation Fruit was his biggest goal on this trip.

With such a mentality, Yang Kai relaxed while using the wooden ship to fly at a low altitude.

In this mountain forest, there seemed to be some traces of Monster Beast activity, but their strength shouldn’t be too great. Yang Kai didn’t even bother to find trouble with these Monster Beasts and was content to just ignore them. Occasionally, one or two rare herbs could be found, which were carefully collected by Yang Kai and transplanted to the medicine garden in his Sealed World Bead.

In the blink of an eye, half a day passed and although no traces of the Flowing Time Temple were found, it was not without gains.

At a certain moment, just as Yang Kai was flying forward leisurely and surveying his surroundings, his expression changed as he suddenly looked up in a certain direction.

From that direction, two entities were swiftly approaching, one closer, one further. It seemed that something was fleeing, while something was pursuing, but because of the obstruction of the jungle, Yang Kai was unable to see anything clearly.

Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai immediately noticed an aura on par with a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator approaching him.

At this moment, the owner of this aura seemed to have been severely injured and their energy fluctuations were extremely unstable.

Just as Yang Kai was investigating, a Monster Beast suddenly jumped out of the jungle before him.

This Monster Beast was like a giant lizard, with a forked tongue and a long body. It had two fiery red wings on its back as well as a diamond-shaped mark on its head, like a brand, which seemed quite strange and out of place.

Yang Kai did not know who it fought against, a cultivator or another Monster Beast, but at this moment, one of its wings was cut and its tail was missing. Blood leaked from all of its wounds.

As it leapt into the air, it panicked as it obviously didn’t expect Yang Kai to appear in its way; however, in the blink of an eye, the giant lizard pounced towards Yang Kai with its red eyes and mouth wide open.

Yang Kai only saw a scarlet light shoot out towards him in the next instant.

Clearly, the giant lizard had used its long scarlet tongue like a spear to pierce towards him.

Swiftly, Yang Kai’s figure flashed and he moved aside, causing the long tongue attack to hit empty space. At the same time, Yang Kai flicked his wrist and sent out dozens of Moon Blades towards the giant lizard.

The giant lizard was mid-air and could not avoid the attack of these Moon Blades and was directly hit.

The giant lizard’s body seemed quite robust, so the Moon Blades that Yang Kai hurriedly shot out did not kill it immediately, instead just causing some of its skin to flay, resulting in minor injuries.

However, the force from the Moon Blades made it fall straight down. 

Yang Kai’s expression looked grim as he shot downwards like a meteor, following after the giant lizard as he aimed for the top of its head.

As he fell, Yang Kai used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, transforming his right fist into a thick dragon claw which he slammed down on the giant lizard’s head.

*Hong…*

With a loud bang, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking, the giant lizard’s body folded awkwardly at its neck and its scarlet tongue spat out. Its eyes went bloodshot as it convulsed and struggled momentarily before going stiff.

With a thud, the corpse of the giant lizard fell to the ground, and Yang Kai lightly landed by its side.

This giant lizard was an Eleventh-Order Monster Beast, comparable to a cultivator at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. If it hadn’t already been seriously injured, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to kill it in such a short time.

It didn’t look like a valuable Monster Beast, but because of its high level, its Monster Core should be worth a lot.

Thinking so, Yang Kai bent down and prepared to extract its Core.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred as the diamond-shaped brand on the giant lizard’s forehead suddenly lit up, like it had a life of its own. Transforming into a stream of light, it shot out and rushed towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was shocked as he backed away in a hurry.

He thought the giant lizard was already dead, so he wasn’t expecting it to use such a strange method. An Eleventh-Order Monster Beast would have a high degree of sentience, so it could have had a few tricks to use.

Yang Kai’s movements were fast, but the stream of light was faster, so he couldn’t avoid it. Instantly, the stream of light broke through his defensive Source Qi and landed on the back of his hand.

“What is this!” Yang Kai looked horrified as he exclaimed.

The moment that the stream of light landed, he felt a scorching pain from the back of his hand, as if a soldering iron was branding him, causing him to further back off.

But soon, he found that he was thinking too much.

The pain lasted for only a moment before it was replaced with a cold, pleasant sensation.

When he looked down, Yang Kai found that there was now a diamond-shaped mark on the back of his right hand, exactly the same as the one he saw on the giant lizard’s forehead.

*Xiu…*

In the next moment, several figures suddenly appeared not far from Yang Kai. When these people appeared, they all cast their eyes on the giant lizard’s corpse that was lying on the ground before turning to Yang Kai with grim faces.

Yang Kai was surprised by this whole situation. When he noticed that the giant lizard was severely injured, he vaguely guessed that someone was chasing after it, but having been disturbed by this diamond-shaped mark, he had forgotten that others were approaching him.

Now he found that it was too late to react.

“It’s you!”

“It’s you?”

Looking at Yang Kai, there were two exclamations at once, but their tones were very different.

Yang Kai looked up and felt a headache coming on.

Because he discovered that the situation in front of him was slightly complicated.

The cultivators chasing the giant lizard were not all from a great force, but rather belonged to four different groups.

Among the four groups of people, he knew half of them.

On the left side, there were two people, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao from Azure Sun Temple. Yang Kai didn’t know if they had been travelling together from the start or if they had met up sometime later. When they were being chased by the Flame Beast in the Realm of Summer, the two should have separated, but now they had appeared together in the Two Seasons Mountain Range.

At this moment, Xiao Bai Yi was looking at Yang Kai without much enthusiasm, and even some coldness, while Murong Xiao Xiao smiled sweetly at him.

Next to these two people was Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Wu Chang with his Yin-Yang Dual Body!

Regarding this guy, Yang Kai had a vivid memory. After seeing the fight between him and Xia Sheng, Yang Kai secretly decided not to have any disputes with this person unless absolutely necessary; not because he was afraid of him, but because he would definitely be difficult to deal with and Yang Kai figured he would need to pay a high price to beat him. Yang Kai believed that even if he used all of his trump cards, he may not be able to kill Wu Chang.

From Heavenly Martial Holy Land, only Wu Chang was present.

This was not surprising though; Wu Chang had a violent and off-putting personality even towards his fellow brothers, so getting along with him was definitely not an easy task. The disciples of Heavenly Martial Holy Land probably didn’t want to be with him any more than Wu Chang wanted to be with them. To him, everyone was a burden!

The third group consisted of two people, a man and a woman. The man was handsome, and the woman was beautiful, the former possessing a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation while the latter was only First-Order.

Yang Kai didn’t know who these two were, but what made him feel strange was that when the man looked at him, his eyes were a little gloomy, meanwhile, the woman just smiled lightly at him.

Judging from the emblems on their robes, this man and the woman were likely disciples of Star Soul Palace, so neither of them was to be underestimated.

Lastly, like Wu Chang, there was another lone man.

Yang Kai took a look at him and found that this man did not seem to be from a big Sect. The emblem on his clothes was unfamiliar, so he probably came from some medium or small-sized force.

But this guy, even when he was facing the elites of three major Sects, was undaunted, his expression extremely calm, a surprising display.

Chapter 2149

“Does this Sister know me?” Yang Kai wondered as he glanced towards the young woman from Star Soul Palace.

Of the two voices that had called out just now, one of them was Xiao Bai Yi, while the other was actually this woman.

[Why would she shout something like that if she did not know me?]

But what Yang Kai didn’t expect was that the female disciple just smiled slightly, shook her head, and said, “I mistook you for someone else.”

Lan Xun said this because although she remembered Yang Kai’s appearance, he naturally would not recognize her.

That time in the third layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Lan Xun was using her False Face Bead to change her appearance, so what Yang Kai had seen was not her true appearance.

“Uh…” Yang Kai was speechless, but quickly composed himself and turned to Xiao Bai Yi, “Xiao Bai, you’re here as well, huh? The world is really too small!”

Blue veins bulged on Xiao Bai Yi’s forehead as he snapped, “Do you want to die?”

Murong Xiao Xiao pursed her lips, smiled, and slightly nodded at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai said, “Why are you acting so indifferently? It’s rare for everyone to meet here. Ah, it must be destiny!”

Xiao Bai Yi coldly snorted, “Who wants to share destiny with you? But it is unexpected and somewhat impressive that you could escape the pursuit of the Flame Beast.”

Although he had given a compliment, it was filled with ridicule and sarcasm.

At that time, the Flame Beast from the Realm of Summer had been hopping mad, and despite there being so many people fleeing from it, it had chosen to focus on Yang Kai, so many had thought Yang Kai was doomed to die; even Xiao Bai Yi thought so.

After all, even Wu Chang had been forced to flee from this Monster Beast, so how could Yang Kai, a First-Order Dao Source Realm, survive?

But now, Yang Kai appeared unscathed in the Two Seasons Mountain Range, a true surprise.

Hearing the words ‘Flame Beast’, the expressions of the man and a woman from Star Soul Palace also changed slightly. Obviously, from their Sect’s records, they knew about the existence of this Monster Beast which was comparable to an Emperor Realm cultivator.

Wu Chang also raised his brows, revealing a look of surprise.

He couldn’t understand how such a weak cultivator could escape from the pursuit of the Flame Beast! During the previous incident, if the group from Azure Sun Temple had not attracted the Flame Beast’s attention, he would have been in big trouble.

“It’s nothing much!” Yang Kai put on a humble look, “Fleeing just happens to be my strong point!”

When he spoke these words, rather than looking ashamed, he instead appeared rather proud of himself, causing Xiao Bai Yi to stare at him for some time.

“Enough nonsense,” At that moment, the unknown young man wearing dark robes from an unknown Sect interrupted with a shout before coldly shouted at Yang Kai, “Hand over that Star Seal or die!”

From his tone, he ‘kindly’ wanted to let Yang Kai leave as long as Yang Kai cooperated. Facing such an arrogant and domineering request, which was made so naturally, Yang Kai couldn’t help turning and staring.

The other party just stared back at him coldly, without the slightest intention of avoiding his gaze.

The pair from Star Soul Palace didn’t interfere, and although the handsome man frowned somewhat unhappily, the young woman’s beautiful eyes lit up with interest, as if waiting to watch a good show.

“Although it’s a bit late now, I still want to ask… how should I address Your Excellency?” Yang Kai looked at the youth with a smile, not showing any anger on the surface.

While speaking, he had already sent a message into the Small Sealed World to ask Hua Qing Si to help him identify the man and woman from Star Soul Palace. After all, Star Soul Palace was her Sect, so she should recognize these two people.

The dark-clothed youth coldly snorted and replied, “Eight Paths Sect, Luo Yuan!”

“So, it was Brother Luo, I’ve long heard of and admired you. It seems I’ve been quite disrespectful!” Yang Kai put on a look of surprise, as if he had really heard of him before when in fact, he hadn’t even heard of Eight Paths Sect.

The contempt and disdain on Xiao Bai Yi’s face grew markedly as he snorted, “Fortunately you’re not one of my Azure Sun Temple’s disciples, otherwise I would have already taken action to clean up the Sect!”

“Hehe…” Yang Kai laughed before his expression suddenly twitched slightly.

At that moment, he obtained an answer from Hua Qing Si from his Embodiment. Unexpectedly, this pair from Star Soul Palace had incredible backgrounds.

That man was the son of Xiao Yu Yang, Xiao Chen!

Xiao Yu Yang had a powerful Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation and held the post of a Star Soul Palace Silver Star Envoy, making him famous across the entire Southern Territory. It could be said that a tiger father begets no dogs. Xiao Yu Yang was powerful and respected, so his son naturally was not mediocre. He, Wu Chang, Xia Sheng, Zhuang Bu Fan, and a few others were considered the top rising stars of the Southern Territory.

Xiao Chen’s background was powerful and impressive, but the young woman’s background was far scarier.

She was actually the one and only gem of the Bright Moon Great Emperor, Princess Lan Xun!

She was the most sought after woman for young bachelors in the entire Southern Territory, possibly even the entire Star Boundary. If such a woman were to marry into one’s house, that house would undoubtedly prosper for a thousand years!

With the Bright Moon Great Emperor as a father-in-law, a man could walk sideways across the entire Star Boundary. Who would dare to despise or provoke such an existence?

But… Although Princess Lan Xun’s status was unrivalled, she rarely appeared outside, hence ordinary cultivators would never get a chance to see her. Yang Kai hadn’t expected that with her identity and status, Lan Xun would come to the Four Seasons Realm for life experience, much less with a cultivation only equal to his own.

[Is the Bright Moon Great Emperor not afraid of what might happen to his precious daughter in the Four Seasons Realm?]

Thinking up to here, Yang Kai glanced at Xiao Chen again. With this flower protector present, any danger would have to get past him first before it touched Lan Xun.

These thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind and while everyone caught his expression change slightly, none of them knew what he was thinking about. They only thought that he was frightened by Xiao Bai Yi’s words, causing them to further despise him.

Yang Kai lowered his gaze to the diamond-shaped brand on the back of his hand and muttered to himself, “So this thing really is a Star Seal…”

Just now, he had some faint speculations that this thing was an entry pass to the Shattered Star Sea, but Wu Chang and the others had appeared before he could sort out his thoughts or verify it in any way.

Fortunately, Luo Yuan’s words confirmed his guess for him.

The Star Seal had actually appeared on the forehead of a Monster Beast, so after it was killed by Yang Kai, it had been transferred to his hand and in such an obvious position… It was unlikely that Yang Kai could avoid trouble in this situation. 

Adjusting himself, he suddenly called out to Wu Chang, “Brother Wu Chang, you and the others are future leaders of the Southern Territory, are you really going to let some unknown little man from a small Sect act so arrogant and presumptuous in front of you? If word of this were to spread out, what face would Brother Wu Chang have left?”

Wu Chang looked at Yang Kai indifferently and remained unmoved. Although he had a short temper and a violent personality, he had cultivated to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm so he was no fool. How could he not see that Yang Kai was trying to sow discord to alleviate his own situation?

Wu Chang just coldly snorted and replied, “Although I don’t like this guy’s arrogance, I agree with his sentiment! Hand over the Star Seal, otherwise… I’ll take it myself.”

Yang Kai heard this, scratched his head involuntarily and said, “So, what the two of you are saying is that… you are going to rob me?”

At this point, he looked over at Lan Xun and Xiao Chen, and asked, “Is your Star Soul Palace also going to participate in this affair?”

Lan Xun smiled slightly and said, “I’m afraid I can’t do anything to help you, but I can at least guarantee that I won’t rob you!”

Xiao Chen didn’t speak and just coldly snorted. The contempt in his eyes grew even stronger as he couldn’t understand why Princess Lan Xun seemed to care about this unknown man. Moreover, the words that Yang Kai spoke just now made him aware of some problems as well.

With Lan Xun making her position clear, Yang Kai could only sigh helplessly and say, “If it were possible, I would be happy to hand over this Star Seal, but… I don’t know how to get it off the back of my hand. Do you two have any suggestions?”

“It’s simple!” Wu Chang answered immediately in a calm tone, “Cut off your hand.”

“Good!” Luo Yuan nodded, “Your hand or your life? Choose!”

Yang Kai paled in fright as he shouted, “I… I want both! Is there any other way that’s… safer?”

Luo Yuan coldly snorted, “How could there be such a cheap bargain in this world? It seems that you don’t want either. Good, then I’ll make the decision for you!”

Saying so, he pushed his Source Qi, took a step forward, and rapidly closed in on Yang Kay. A golden light condensed on his palm as he slammed it towards Yang Kai’s chest.

As soon as Luo Yan made a move, Wu Chang also moved. Now that the Star Seal was on the back of Yang Kai’s hand, whoever killed him first would obtain it.

With Wu Chang’s arrogant and proud temperament, how could he tolerate Luo Yuan seizing the advantage?

So, he suddenly appeared behind Yang Kai, his hand turning pure white and exuding an extreme chill as he punched towards Yang Kai’s back.

The two Third-Order Dao Source Realm masters were merciless in their attacks, both wanting to swiftly kill their prey, not even caring about how they appeared in front of the others present.

After all, the Star Seal would transfer to whoever killed the current carrier, so they needed to act fast.

“Junior Brother Yang!” Murong Xiao Xiao’s pretty face paled as she exclaimed, “Quickly run!”

Xiao Bai Yi also frowned. He hadn’t expected Wu Chang and Luo Yuan to act so decisively and ruthlessly, attacking with full intent to kill.

Although he didn’t like Yang Kai, and he even said that he would teach him a lesson in the Four Seasons Realm, it was still true that Yang Kai had entered the Four Seasons Realm together with Azure Sun Temple. Since he had occupied one of Azure Sun Temple’s entry quotas, any extra Star Seals Yang Kai obtained would be handed over to the temple.

If for no other reason than this, Xiao Bai Yi couldn’t sit back and watch Yang Kai be killed in front of him! Otherwise, once an investigation occurred, he wouldn’t be able to feign ignorance or remain uninvolved. Although Yang Kai’s death was of no importance to him, whether he lived or died would affect the Sect’s interests. 

Unfortunately… by the time Xiao Bai Yi reacted, it was too late to intervene!

On the other hand, Lan Xun’s pretty face also changed slightly, showing a slightly disappointed look. In her opinion, Yang Kai would definitely die, and she couldn’t save him, otherwise, she would be deeply offending Wu Chang.

“Overconfidence!” Xiao Chen just let out a cold snort as he watched from the side.

*Hong…*

With a loud bang, Wu Chang and Luo Yuan, who had sandwiched Yang Kai with their attacks from the front and back, both showed stunned expressions. The two felt a huge impact force at the same time and were both involuntarily forced back a couple dozen metres before they managed to stabilize themselves. 

Chapter 2150

Somewhere in the Two Seasons Mountain Range, a strange tension hung in the air.

Both Luo Yuan and Wu Chang wore shocked expressions at this moment.

Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were also staring dumbfounded at the scene before them.

Nearby, Lan Xun was also surprised as her eyes flashed brightly, while even Xiao Chen muttered in confusion, “What’s going on?”

Two rising stars, Luo Yuan and Wu Chang, had attacked Yang Kai at the same time, causing everyone to believe that Yang Kai would die. Wu Chang alone was not an ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator, and regardless of whether Luo Yan was all bark and no bite, or he really had the strength to back up his arrogance, he was still a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Wu Chang also had a fierce reputation as a violent individual, so there was no one who met a good end when they were targeted by him.

And now, these two had attacked Yang Kai simultaneously without warning, leaving no way for him to avoid them at all.

Everyone was certain they would be witnessing the miserable scene of Yang Kai’s death…

But instead, it was Luo Yuan and Wu Chang, the sneak attackers, who were sent flying while Yang Kai showed no signs of injury.

[How did he do it?]

Recalling that moment, Yang Kai seemed to have just stood still without moving. Now though, his face had gone pale, and his expression was flustered as if he was quite frightened, his body trembling slightly and his forehead covered in sweat.

Although he looked a little embarrassed, he was completely unscathed.

“Little brat… what did you just do?” Xiao Chen couldn’t understand.

It was impossible for Luo Yuan and Wu Chang to be repelled for no reason. The only explanation was that Yang Kai had secretly used some amazing method to save himself, but no one had seen clearly what that method was.

Xiao Chen’s brow was furrowed tightly as he secretly felt that something was off about Yang Kai.

“Interesting…” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes shined brightly as she stared at Yang Kai somewhat cheerfully.

Although she was only a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator herself, she was the Bright Moon Great Emperor’s precious gem and she had inherited his Special Constitution. Since she was a child, she had been fascinated with the strength of her father, so in terms of experience, insight, and vision, she stood above everyone else present.

Although she didn’t see too clearly what happened, she still had some understanding of what transpired.

Just now, when Luo Yuan and Wu Chang attacked and were about to hit Yang Kai, Lan Xun clearly saw his body turn illusory for a moment, like he had disappeared from this world.

At the same time, Wu Chang and Luo Yuan’s attacks lost their target.

Losing their target, the two attacks naturally collided with each other.

In other words, it was Wu Chang’s attack that pushed back Luo Yuan, and it was Luo Yuan’s attack that pushed back Wu Chang…

It was as if the two had fought each other!

[What a strange Secret Technique!] Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up as she glanced over at Luo Yuan, silently thinking to herself, [He’s also a bit unusual, able to match Wu Chang in a single exchange. Since when did such a monster appear in the Eight Paths Sect? It seems that what Lord Father told me was right; never underestimate anyone. Even people from humble backgrounds could have a bright and lofty future. This Luo Yuan is the most obvious example… and now there’s also this strange guy. He is definitely not as cowardly as he makes himself look to be. Even his previous cowardly display must have been a pretence. Only these smelly men with muscles for brains could have really believed that this was his true personality… Ah right, what was his name again?]

All sorts of distracting thoughts flashed through Lan Xun’s mind. Believing that Yang Kai was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, she couldn’t help but cast an interested look at Yang Kai, who was still shivering midair, a playful expression soon appearing on her face as if she had already seen through him.

Finally, Wu Chang recovered from his shock and took a glance at Yang Kai before turning to Luo Yan and threatening, “Are you courting death?”

Even though he hadn’t clearly understood how Yang Kai had avoided his attack, after just a bit of thought, he was able to roughly figure out what had happened.

With his arrogant personality, which looked down on everyone else, he naturally blamed Luo Yuan for what just transpired! It was as though Luo Yuan had interfered with his good deed and allowed Yang Kai to use his Secret Technique to resolve his crisis.

“Me?” Yang Kai looked panicked and pointed at himself as he hurriedly asked, “Are you talking about me? I don’t want to die, please don’t kill me…”

While he was talking, he turned towards Xiao Bai Yi and called out, “Xiao Bai, please reason with Brother Wu Chang! Have him spare me, okay?”

Xiao Bai Yi glared at him and grit his teeth as he snapped, “I really want to rush over and kill you myself.”

Fortunately, Yang Kai was not a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, otherwise, Xiao Bai Yi really would find himself in an embarrassing position. It was nothing less than shameful for a Sect to have such a snivelling disciple. Xiao Bai Yi secretly hated that he hadn’t seen through Yang Kai’s true nature before, otherwise, he would never have agreed to give Xue Yi’s entry quota to Yang Kai.

Even Murong Xiao Xiao, who was standing next to him, cast a disapproving look at Yang Kai.

“Do you want to fight? I will give you a fight!” Luo Yuan’s gaze also crossed through Yang Kai and landed on Wu Chang, his voice filled with a faint eagerness, clearly indicating he was not afraid of Wu Chang. Actually, deep in his heart, he couldn’t wait to fight Wu Chang and prove his strength.

And so, oddly enough they both began to ignore Yang Kai entirely.

“Bold!” Wu Chang grinned, a look that could almost be described as happy appearing on his face, “It’s been a long time since I met an interesting guy like you!”

As he spoke, he actually licked his lips, like a hungry predator or a pervert that had suddenly encountered a naked beauty…

The eyes of the two met mid-air and sparks seemed to fly, causing the atmosphere to become tense.

Yang Kai was standing between the two of them, and although he was being ignored, he still had to bear the pressure from both of them, turning his face paler by the moment.

*Huhuhu…*

Even the swirling wind seemed to be contaminated with murderous intent, sending chills up the spines of the onlookers.

“Enough!”

Seeing that Luo Yuan and Wu Chang were about to fight, Lan Xun really couldn’t stand it anymore and after calling out lightly, she stepped forward and said, “Both of you are geniuses from my Southern Territory. In the future, you should not become so agitated over such minor matters. Before entering this Sealed World, Uncle Xiao had said he hoped everyone would put the overall situation first. Our opponents are not each other, but rather those from the other territories. Please give me some face and exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk.”

Hearing this, Wu Chang and Luo Yuan frowned at the same time. They didn’t expect that Princess Lan Xun would come forward to mediate at this moment.

Although they were a little unhappy in their hearts, the two of them didn’t dare refuse Princess Lan Xun. It might be fine in the short term to offend Lan Xun here, but once the Four Seasons Realm closed and rumours began to spread, even their own Sects wouldn’t dare to shelter them from reprisals.

“Since the Princess has said so… the two of you should stop, otherwise this Xiao will become your enemy!” Xiao Chen also stood forward, fulfilling his role as the Princess’ protector.

“Lucky you!”

Wu Chang and Luo Yuan uttered these words at the same time before they withdrew their fighting intent.

Wu Chang glanced at Luo Yuan briefly before he spoke to Lan Xun, “Your Highness, this time, this Wu will give you face and not care about him, but if there is a next time… even if the Great Emperor himself was here, I will still kill this waste that does not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!”

In his eyes, besides a few exceptions, everyone was a waste!

He didn’t even put the elite disciples of Azure Sun Temple or Orthodoxy Temple in his eyes, so how could he care about Luo Yuan from Eight Paths Sect? If it weren’t for Lan Xun’s interference, he wouldn’t have endured being provoked by such a nobody.

“I’ve heard about Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Wu Chang for a long time now, but it seems all that’s strong about him is his tongue,” Luo Yuan was not someone who would take such provocation quietly, so he immediately levelled an insult of his own.

“Good, good,” Lan Xun also secretly felt a headache coming on. “If you really were fighting over some rare and precious treasure, I would not bother to stop you, but for a mere Star Seal… it’s not worth it. There are many more such Star Seals in the Four Seasons Realm, and there is plenty of time before this Sealed World closes, so everyone will have many opportunities to acquire them.”

While speaking, she also glanced at the back of Yang Kai’s hand and commented, “What’s more… this is just a trivial diamond Star Seal, it’s not worth fighting over.”

“What? Do Star Seals have different ranks?” Yang Kai immediately latched onto some information Lan Xun’s words revealed and asked in surprise.

“Why are you still running your mouth?” Xiao Chen glanced at him indifferently and sarcastically said, “You’ve just managed to survive a brush with death, so you should hurry up and run away with your tail tucked between your legs. What are you still doing here? Waiting for death?”

“Hehe…” The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched in response as he wore an embarrassed expression.

He turned his gaze to Xiao Bai Yi as he wanted to ask about the specific situation of the Star Seals, but he couldn’t as Xiao Bai Yi directly turned his gaze away, refusing to communicate with him.

Yang Kai suddenly felt depressed.

But looking at Xiao Bai Yi acting like this, it was obvious he knew something; however, this information was probably of the same level of importance as the existence of the Flowing Time Temple, a secret of the Sect, so it wouldn’t be convenient for Xiao Bai Yi to reveal it.

To the side, Murong Xiao Xiao showed an apologetic expression to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai understood and did not ask anything more.

“Good, now that this Star Seal has a master, please put its existence aside and no longer think about it,” Lan Xun’s words concluded this minor event, which could also be regarded as her covertly helping Yang Kai.

With these words said, as long as anyone cared about Lan Xun’s face and identity, they would no longer try to snatch Yang Kai’s Star Seal.

Although Wu Chang and Luo Yuan were warlike and rebellious, they still needed to give her face.

After her words were finished, Wu Chang and Luo Yuan glanced at each other across the air, their eyes meeting and conveying the same, silent message, [Don’t let me run into you again, or you will regret it!]

Immediately, the two snorted coldly before turning their backs to one another and preparing to leave.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred.

From the depths of the Two Seasons Mountain Range, a strange shockwave erupted, bringing with it the sound of muffled thunder while shaking the earth below everyone’s feet.

Everyone’s complexion changed as they turned and looked around suspiciously, completely befuddled.

Things did not end there though and soon, an exclamation sounded out, “Look over there, up in the sky!”

Chapter 2151

It was Murong Xiao Xiao who was talking. At this moment, she looked up at the sky while pointing her finger upwards, her small mouth opened slightly, with a surprised expression.

Following the direction she was pointing at, everyone looked up, dumbfounded.

They saw a stream of light piercing the sky, like a meteorite falling from the sky, creating gorgeous arcs, falling in a certain direction.

At first, there were only a few streams, but soon, the number of streams increased. At first glance, it looked like a meteor shower.

“Star Seals!” Lan Xun was shocked and screamed, “So many Star Seals?”

“What?” Xiao Chen, hearing this, was taken aback, “Princess, are you sure those are all Star Seals?”

Lan Xun stared at the sky. It was unknown what kind of Secret Technique she was using, but there was a flash of light in her eyes, as she nodded lightly. “There is no mistake, those are all Star Seals!”

Her voice fell, and there was a small *humph* from the side.

Everyone looked around and saw Wu Chang’s entire body turn into a red and white flash of light, flying in the direction where the Star Seals were falling.

He was quick to seize the opportunity. As soon as he heard that the things that fell from the sky were Star Seal, he immediately acted.

Behind him was Luo Yuan.

“Let’s go!” Xiao Bai Yi naturally was not slow to react, as he prompted in a soft but low voice. Thus, he and Murong Xiao Xiao hurried to catch up.

They had been in the Four Seasons Realm for two or three days, and they only encountered a single Star Seal in the Two Seasons Mountain Range. That Star Seal had been Branded on the forehead of a Monster Beast which they had severely injured before it ran away. After they caught up to it, they unexpectedly found all their effort just ended up being an opportunity for Yang Kai to easily pick it up; as though it had been ordered for him. This resulted in Luo Yuan and Wu Chang almost fighting over it.

With so many Star Seals appearing, even if everyone present divided them equally amongst themselves, it would still be enough for each person to receive six or seven Star Seals.

A Star Seal meant a voucher to enter Shattered Star Sea, which was of great significance to any Sect!

How could Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao dare be negligent?

“Princess…” Seeing everyone fly off as swift as the wind. Xiao Chen suddenly became anxious.

“Let’s go too!” Lan Xun naturally did not wish to miss such an opportunity and replied immediately.

Xiao Chen nodded, then joined with Lan Xun and flew towards the Star Seals as well.

However, as soon as the two set off, a boat-like flight type artifact appeared alongside them.

Lan Xun turned her head and saw Yang Kai calmly standing on the wooden boat, with an emotionless expression, with the wind whipping his black hair back.

Lan Xun could not help but sneer. After all, at this moment, Yang Kai’s image was vastly different from the cowardly and timid persona he gave before, and it seemed that he wanted to attract her attention.

She understood Yang Kai’s approach very well. Basically, few men could maintain their nature in front of her. Those people always tried to vie for her attention as if they could get some satisfaction from it.

“Huh!” Xiao Chen coldly snorted with a displeased expression.

Xiao Chen had long been displeased by Yang Kai, and at this moment, this guy was still shamelessly pretending to be cool, it was simply unbearable!

Yang Kai did not seem to notice what Xiao Chen was thinking. So, he continued to act casual while pretending to be puzzled, and rushed to Lan Xun and asked, “Hey, why would this Friend by your side call you a Princess? Is that your name or something?”

“Whose name would carry the word Princess?” Lan Xun lightly smiled, shook her head before reassuring, “You think too much.”

“Then… I don’t understand,” Yang Kai shook his head. “I think your temperament is extraordinary and elegant. You are obviously from a noble background. However, what does that have to do with ‘Princess’? Hey? Can’t you help me understand?”

Lan Xun frowned and couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. She couldn’t tell Yang Kai that she was the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor. That’s why she was called a ‘Princess’. It was a bit braggy to say it though it was true.

She could only ask back. “I came from Star Soul Palace, can’t you make a guess?”

To her it was obvious. As long as someone had a bit of common sense, after hearing this sentence, they should be able to come to a conclusion, so she would avoid the need to answer.

But to her surprise, Yang Kai thought for a while, and solemnly shook his head.

Yang Kai’s ignorance made Xiao Chen on the side roll his eyes. He could not help but coldly snort, “Star Soul Palace is a Sect created by the Bright Moon Great Emperor, and this one in front of you is the jewel of the Great Emperor!”

“Huh?” Yang Kai was shocked and hesitated, “So you… you are the daughter of the Great Emperor?” He looked extremely shocked.

“Who my parents are doesn’t mean anything.” Lan Xun smiled slightly and seemed more approachable.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chen cursed. “Where did this frog come from? To think you’ve never heard of the name of our Princess, but still managed to enter the Four Seasons Realm. You are simply an embarrassment for the people of our generation! Princess, you should avoid interacting with this person!”

Yang Kai, embarrassed, explained, “I used to cultivate deep in the mountains, and I just came out for experience not long ago, so I don’t know much about things of the outside world… Heh heh, I don’t know much, but I have at least heard of the name Bright Moon Great Emperor.”

“So…” Lan Xun did not really know what to believe and expressed the same confusion, “It looks like you are the kind of cultivator who enters long retreats and cultivates really hard. It’s normal if you don’t know much about the outside world.”

“Princess, you are too polite, I’m just ignorant and uninformed.” Yang Kai scratched his cheek and said modestly.

“At least you still have a bit of self-awareness!” Xiao Chen continued.

“By the way, what is your name?” Lan Xun asked.

Xiao Chen immediately cut in. “Princess, why are you asking about this frog’s name? Don’t smear your ears!”

“What’s wrong with just asking?” Lan Xun frowned, apparently not wishing to be so close to Xiao Chen. If it weren’t for the Bright Moon Great Emperor, her father, ordering her, she wouldn’t be with Xiao Chen now. She preferred to act alone. For her, nothing was more joyous than having her own adventure. The excitement and unknown danger continued to stir her desire, making her unable to stop.

“I’m Yang Kai.”

Lan Xun nodded, suddenly showing a smile, “I have something I am uncertain about; I don’t know if Brother Yang would be able to enlighten me?”

Yang Kai’s eyes flickered, and he chuckled. “If the Princess has any questions, please say so. This Yang will do his best to answer!”

Lan Xun warned, “Brother Yang, you can’t speak so frivolously. The question I ask might be related to your secrets…”

[Humph, I just wanted to catch your attention! I’m afraid any man who wants to be with you would be willing to answer anything just to get you to have a good impression of him… after all, this little girl would not settle with just anyone!] Yang Kai thought in his heart, faintly guessing what exactly Lan Xun wanted to ask. So, there he was not afraid of the question. “Princess, if you are asking me something, it means that you are already giving me a lot of face. What can’t I say?”

As soon as this remark came out, Xiao Chen had a bad feeling. Although this little brat named Yang Kai was a wild brat that just recently came out of a forest in the deep mountains, he seemed to be well versed with the heart of women. He had just met the Princess and they hit it off so well! How could this be tolerated? Worst of all, the Princess, who was known to be scornful to men, had been dealing with this frog with a smile on her face!

Xiao Chen felt a sense of crisis in his heart, so he immediately cast a threatening look at Yang Kai, as if to say ‘I dare you to continue speaking to her.’

Due to his position with Lan Xun and the angle, it was impossible for Lan Xun to notice his gaze. Meanwhile, it was well within Yang Kai’s field of vision.

However, Yang Kai did not even spare him a glance. It was as though he was completely fascinated by Lan Xun. His whole view was only on the princess.

Xiao Chen felt a sense of powerlessness as he clenched his fist.

“Those two attacked you earlier. How did you manage to come out unscathed?” Lan Xun asked bluntly.

Indeed, as she said, this question was definitely related to Yang Kai’s secret. A First-Order Dao Source Realm that could come out unscathed under the attack of two Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators. It must have been a powerful Secret Technique. Such a powerful Secret Technique would normally be kept under wraps, never spoken of casually.

So as soon as Lan Xun asked, Yang Kai immediately showed a look of embarrassment. He smiled and stammered: “That… haha… actually…”

“It’s fine… there is no need to speak of it. Just forget that I asked anything.” Lan Xun said.

Yang Kai sounded off. It was as if he was willing to share, but the stammering meant that it was still something he would rather not do.

If Yang Kai had been completely ‘infatuated’ by Lan Xun at this moment, would he hesitate? How could a man who was thinking with his nether region possibly refuse to answer a question from his beloved? Under those circumstances. Even if the man did not wish to speak, he would still speak.

Yang Kai sighed “It’s not that I can’t say it. But…”

At this point, he suddenly put on a solemn expression. At the same time, he lowered his voice. “Princess, you have to keep it a secret for me. If rumours of this Secret Technique were to spread, it will no longer work. I am afraid I will die next time I encounter this kind of situation.”

While he was talking, he deliberately moved towards Lan Xun and almost pressed his lips to her ear.

A scent of fragrance immediately lingered on the tip of his nose.

The two were too close, Lan Xun did not move to avoid him but her delicate ears suddenly turned red.

“What are you doing?” Seeing this scene, Xiao Chen could not bear it and started shouting aloud. He immediately pointed the sharp sword in his hand at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was taken aback, and quickly moved away from her, with an innocent look on his face, he asked, “I didn’t do anything! This friend, what is the meaning of this?”

“You just…” Xiao Chen wanted to explain but could not go on. After all, even though Yang Kai was a little closer to Lan Xun, he really did not do anything. If he really wanted to pursue this, he would seem too jealous. So, he could only give a warning. “Just stand there and speak. If you dare to lean in again, I will take your head!”

Yang Kai said in amazement, “This friend is really strange… Okay, then I will stand here and say it. Princess, please understand, my Secret Technique is called Universe Shifting Divine Art. Once it is used, I can borrow my opponent’s strength to defeat him. It’s how we use the weak to defeat the strong.”

“Take advantage of their strength?” Lan Xun looked surprised.

“Yes.” Yang Kai nodded solemnly, and said in a serious tone, “The two guys before both wanted to take my life, which is in line with the key points of Universe Shifting Divine Art, so I just…” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, reached out and drew a semicircle, “Tweaked it a little bit and let them fight on their own.”

Lan Xun thoughtfully for a moment and asked “So, if only one person attacked you at that time…”

“Then I’d be dead!” Yang Kai shrugged.

Chapter 2152

“There is such a mystical Secret Technique in this world?” Lan Xun asked after listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, which made her incredibly surprised.

She was deeply knowledgeable and well-read. After all, she was the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor and knew various Secret Techniques of the Star Soul Palace. Naturally, she could pick up whatever she wanted, but she had never heard anything like ‘Universe Shifting Divine Art’ before.

However, the effectiveness of this Secret Technique was obvious to all. With the cultivation of First-Order Dao Source Realm, Yang Kai was unharmed under the attack of the two Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters. This was nothing short of extraordinary.

Naturally, she could not have known that there was no such thing called the ‘Universe Shifting Divine Art’ in this world, and Yang Kai had just used his Nihility Secret Technique at a critical moment to avoid being hit by hiding in the void.

“Princess, this Secret Technique, I’ve shared with you because I am grateful for before. However, you must not spread news of it.” Yang Kai solemnly exhorted, as though asking Lan Xun to make an oath.

“En.” Lan Xun could not help nodding, and at the same time, wondering if she should get this Secret Technique from Yang Kai. Although the conditions to activate the Universe Shifting Divine Art were harsh, it was undeniably powerful. It could definitely save lives at critical moments.

Suddenly, Yang Kai rubbed his hands again with an apologetic face. “Princess, since I’ve answered one of your questions, can you answer one question for me?”

“What do you want to ask?” Before Lan Xun spoke, Xiao Chen immediately cut in with vigilance.

“I just want to ask about the Star Seal, what did you think I wanted to ask?” Yang Kai looked at Xiao Chen innocently, as if he was deterred by his aura.

Lan Xun pursed her lips and smiled. “Brother Xiao Chen, why must you be so aggressive against him?” Then, she turned to look at Yang Kai and asked, “You want to ask about the classifications and grades of Star Seals, right? “

Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. “The Princess is really beautiful and intelligent. It is as though you can see right through my heart.”

Lan Xun smiled. She did not hide anything and with a serious expression, explained. “The Star Seals’ grading, so to speak, is more related to the shape of the Star Seal… The more complex the Star Seal. The higher the grade. For example, the diamond-shaped Star Seal on your hand should be considered a relatively inferior one. Below it is the triangular Star Seal and on top of it is the pentagonal, five-pointed Star Seal. There is also a six-pointed, seven-pointed and even nine-pointed Star Seal!”

“Different Star Seals… other than the number of points they have, what are the differences?” Yang Kai asked sincerely.

The reason why he deliberately got close to Lan Xun was to inquire about the Star Seals. Even if he asked Hua Qing Si about this, he should receive the same answer, but Lan Xun was the daughter of the Great Emperor. She might have had information that others did not know about.

“I don’t know the specific difference.” Lan Xun slowly shook her head. “However, it is said that the higher the grade of the Star Seal, the more benefits one can get from Shattered Star Sea. We can only enter the Shattered Star Sea to find out.”

“I see…” Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully.

It could not be said for certain that Lan Xun had revealed all the information she knew. However, she had answered most of Yang Kai’s doubts, even if it was not a comprehensive explanation. Therefore, it was not good for Yang Kai to press for more answers.

As they were talking, they had already arrived at the location.

Around the area, cultivators were gathered in twos or threes, standing on the treetops of a forest, looking up at the sky, as if silently waiting for something.

Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately jumped to the top of a tree and turned his head to look around.

Wu Chang, Luo Yuan, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao, who set off before him, had all arrived. In addition, there are some other cultivators, who were obviously attracted by the light show just now.

Yang Kai did a rough scan around and found that there were at least a dozen people here. What’s more, ‘swooshing’ sounds could be constantly heard within the depths of the forest. It was obvious that more were coming.

And in the sky, a huge cloud was slowly forming. It had a golden hue, as though the cloud was cast in gold. It was extremely dazzling and mysterious. Especially since Yang Kai could faintly feel strange energy fluctuations from this golden cloud.

“Huh…” As he was observing, he suddenly stopped his gaze and turned his attention to somewhere not too far away.

Over there, a man and a woman were looking at him with a smile on their faces. Once their eyes met, the woman beckoned to Yang Kai.

“How unlucky!” Yang Kai secretly cursed. Unfortunately, he could not pretend that he did not see them. After all, even if he did, they would come to him. In a flash, he jumped down from the treetop and went to where they were.

“Why are the two of you here?” Yang Kai asked the two.

These two were none other than Bian Yu Qing and Kou Wu from Blue Feather Sect.

Although Yang Kai had no grievances with them, their direct superior was none other than Wu Meng Chuan. If possible, Yang Kai wanted to avoid having any contact with them.

“We were here!” Bian Yu Qing replied with a smile, reading between the lines. She was indicating that they were transported to the Two Seasons Mountain Range.

“Oh?” Kou Wu’s eyes lit up, staring at the back of Yang Kai’s hand, “Junior Brother Yang actually managed to get a hold of a Star Seal? We should celebrate!”

The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he helplessly exclaimed. “If it is possible, I don’t want this thing!”

“Junior Brother Yang… what you are saying isn’t true, right?” Kou Wu teased.

Yang Kai snorted. “Look around and see how the others react after hearing what you’ve just said. You will know what I mean.”

Kou Wu looked around. His face suddenly sank.

Because he found that the cultivators gathered here, all cast their eyes on the back of Yang Kai’s hand, with several of them having greedy covetous eyes.

Although several dozen Star Seals had appeared in the sky just now, so far, none of the cultivators present has obtained a Star Seal. The Star Seal was related to the credentials to enter the Shattered Star Sea. It was their main goal when entering the Four Seasons Realm. Before they entered, every Sect Elder would have given at least a thousand sermons to their disciples: ‘to your best to compete for the Star Seals while ensuring your own safety.’

Kou Wu did not notice, so his voice was a little loud. This caused Yang Kai to become the focus of everyone’s attention, and he could not help feeling a little guilty and uneasy.

Bian Yu Qing giggled, her beautiful eyes scanned around for a second before staring at the man in front as she spoke in a soft tone. “If you don’t want it, how about leaving it with me?”

“What a beautiful way of thinking!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.

“How merciless…” Bian Yu Qing stared at Yang Kai, biting her red lips. “If I hadn’t taken care of you in the past, do you think you would still be standing here today?”

“Aren’t you embarrassed to talk about what happened during that time?” Yang Kai squinted at her, coldly snorting, “If you didn’t force me to stay in the Blue Feather Sect back then, I wouldn’t have….”

“Wouldn’t  have what?” Bian Yu Qing asked.

“Nothing,” Yang Kai waved his hand. When he remembered that Wu Meng Chuan had taught him the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he felt uneasy. Fortunately, he did not cultivate the Secret Art and instead gave it to the Embodiment. As such, even if Wu Meng Chuan had some kind of sinister plan, it would not harm him.

“Look at him. Just like I had expected, he has a human’s face but is still a beast at heart. He was acting so conscientious and innocent in front of the Princess, but now, this beast is messing with a seductress!” Not far away, Xiao Chen seized the opportunity and approached Lan Xun. He looked at Yang Kai contemptuously, while trying to discredit him.

“You just have to speak your mind. Why are you getting so close?” Lan Xun flashed further away with disgust.

“I was afraid you won’t be able to hear…” After being avoided like the plague, Xiao Chen had a sullen expression. Meanwhile, his hatred of Yang Kai grew even more. Just now, Yang Kai had also approached the Princess like this, but she did not react in such a manner. On the other hand, she quickly moved aside when it came to him. 

Xiao Chen’s heart was filled with rage.

“I’m not deaf!” Lan Xun coldly snorted, her beautiful eyes looked forward as she spoke with suspicion. “Anyways, what I want to know now… is where all the Star Seals that have fallen have gone.”

Everyone here had been chasing the direction where the Star Seals fell. However, there were no traces of them here. Lan Xun couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

“Let me ask around.” Xiao Chen immediately spoke up. After he said his piece, his eyes swept around, and finally was fixed on a short man. This man was with two more people. A man and a woman. The three of them dressed similarly. Obviously, they were from the same Sect.

Their cultivation was not low, the highest being the short man Xiao Chen set his eyes on. He was in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. Meanwhile, the other man and woman were both in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm.

“You! Come here!” Xiao Chen pointed at the short man and shouted.

The little man heard this, and looked around for a while, before pointing at himself suspiciously, “Me?”

“Yes, you!” Xiao Chen said impatiently.

After confirming that Xiao Chen was beckoning him, the short man could not help but have a change of expression. Meanwhile, the man and woman with him became nervous, wondering what Xiao Chen wanted to do with their Senior.

Before entering the Four Seasons Realm, smaller Sects and the Elders of the families had already done a comprehensive investigation. They had already passed the names and portraits of the elites of the major Sects to the hands of their disciples. This way, it was possible to avoid provoking such people.

Therefore, even if the three have never met Xiao Chen himself, they would still know who he was.

Seeing Xiao Chen beckoning him at this moment, the short man’s heartbeat was like a drum. Although he was also in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, the same as Xiao Chen, he knew that if they were to fight against each other, he would be beheaded by Xiao Chen in an instant.

This was the difference between their cultivation heritage and Secret Techniques.

Despite his extreme reluctance, the short man flew slowly to Xiao Chen and Lan Xun, with an ugly smile on his face, he cupped his fists. “Benevolent Martial Sect’s Jing Li greets Senior Xiao. May I ask what Senior Xiao requests of me? This One here will obey your orders!”

This short man named Jing Li gave a low bow. He was a lot older than Xiao Chen, and his cultivation was the same as Xiao Chen; however, it was more comfortable to address Xiao Chen as ‘Senior.’

Chapter 2153

Seeing him acting so humbly, Xiao Chen’s expression eased and he asked with a smile, “I ask you, how long have you been here?”

Jing Li replied, “We arrived just slightly earlier than Sir…”

“Then did you see those things that fell from the sky before and where they went?”

“It seemed that most of them fell into the golden cloud and disappeared!” Jing Li pointed to the billowing golden cloud up in the sky.

“They fell there?” Xiao Chen raised his head up and frowned.

With his cultivation and Divine Sense, he could naturally detect the unusual energy contained in the golden cloud, but he was unable to determine what kind of mysteries were hidden inside it.

Xiao Chen couldn’t help showing a look of embarrassment as he turned to Lan Xun and said, “Princess…”

Lan Xun frowned slightly and spoke after a moment, “Let’s just observe for now!”

Although dozens of Star Seals had fallen into the golden cloud, rushing into this golden cloud without knowing what it was would be quite dangerous. Even someone like Wu Chang did not dare to act rashly, so it was obvious this was not a situation where the fastest had the advantage.

While Xiao Chen was asking questions, Yang Kai kept his ears open and listened intently, so he heard Jing Li’s answer. At this moment, he turned to Kou Wu with the inquiring gaze, the latter simply nodding lightly, indicating there was nothing wrong with what Jing Li had said.

At this moment, as everyone was standing around waiting, others had already rushed over from all directions. Most of these people had been active nearby and were attracted by the vision of so many Star Seals falling from the sky.

Originally, there were only about a dozen people present, but in short order, that number doubled.

With so many people gathered together, all cultivators naturally became vigilant of one another, causing the atmosphere to become tense and treacherous.

However, this lull did not last long.

After about a cup of tea worth of time, a hum suddenly sounded from the golden cloud tumbling in the sky. This sound was thunderous and seemed to herald the birth of something inside the golden cloud. This caused many cultivators present to focus their gazes in shock and anxiety.

Beams of golden light shot out as the golden cloud tumbled even more fiercely. Soon, a vague, giant shadow emerged within the golden light.

As soon as this huge shadow appeared, everyone felt a solemn atmosphere tumbling down, as if whatever had manifested was about to show its true form.

With the appearance of this shadow, the golden cloud in the sky churned and distorted before it slowly began to dissipate.

Soon after, the outline of the giant shadow finally appeared.

“This is…”

“Is… is that a palace?”

“How could there be a palace here? How could something like that just appear out of thin air!”

“Hahaha, I know what this is! It’s the Flowing Time Temple! You fools, how could you not recognize the legendary Flowing Time Temple!”

“Flowing Time Temple? What’s that?”

Of the people present, not everyone knew the secrets of the Flowing Time Temple. Some cultivators came from small Sects and small families who had never heard of the Flowing Time Temple. Only those who came from great forces that had ancient books passed down from generations ago would know anything about the Flowing Time Temple. Before the disciples of these great forces entered the Four Seasons Realm, their Elders would definitely have explained some confidential information to them so they could be on the lookout for rare opportunities.

Yang Kai even suspected that Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao had arrived here deliberately, hoping to find traces of the Flowing Time Temple.

Even Wu Chang, Lan Xun, and a few other leaders of the younger generation were present. If they had not known something about this, how could they have gathered here so coincidentally?

Whether the palace which had emerged from the golden cloud was really the legendary Flowing Time Temple or not, no one knew, but Yang Kai was fairly certain it was the real deal.

Because the location marked out on the map Hua Qing Si had ‘given’ him was in this vicinity.

However, Yang Kai had not expected that the Flowing Time Temple was actually hidden in the Void and that it would appear in such a shocking way, even drawing in dozens of Star Seals from all around when it manifested.

As a result of this grand entrance, many more rivals would likely appear.

As such distracting thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, he suddenly noticed that someone was staring at him and couldn’t help turning towards Bian Yu Qing and asking, “Are there flowers on my face?”

Bian Yu Qing coldly snorted and snapped, “You have some information about this Flowing Time Temple, right?”

Hearing this, Yang Kai curled his lips up sharply.

Bian Yu Qing said, “Tell me, you won’t lose anything by doing so!”

“True I won’t lose anything, but why should I tell you?” Yang Kai looked at her with a sneer.

Bian Yu Qing pouted in dissatisfaction as she argued, “Boy, you think that because you’ve got a bit stronger, your wings are now hard… what are you staring at!” As she spoke, she suddenly shot Yang Kai a bad look as she folded her arms across her chest to cover her peaks, “You’re not thinking about something inappropriate, right?”

“If you had some propriety, we might be able to talk!” Yang Kai glowered at her.

Bian Yu Qing was angered and looked extremely annoyed.

Kou Wu simply smiled, however, and asked, “Junior Brother Yang, if it is convenient, can you tell us about this Flowing Time Temple? Protector Bian and I really don’t know anything about this…”

Yang Kai frowned and said, “Since Senior Brother Kou has asked so politely, I suppose I can tell you about it! However, let me say this first, after I tell you what I know, we no longer owe each other anything and from now on. We shall be as well water not mixing with river water!”

“Why are you so wary of us?” Bian Yu Qing asked angrily. She could feel that from the moment they met again, Yang Kai was constantly on guard against her and Kou Wu, as if he wished to be as far away from them as possible.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained!” Yang Kai glanced at her with a solemn expression before continuing, “I don’t know much about this Flowing Time Temple, only that it was once the secluded home of the Flowing Time Great Emperor. You can even say that the Four Seasons Realm was formed because of the Flowing Time Great Emperor…”

“Flowing Time Great Emperor!” Bian Yu Qing’s face changed dramatically when she heard this name. Judging from her reaction, it was obvious that she had at least heard of this Great Emperor.

Yang Kai nodded, organizing his thoughts before continuing. In truth, there was not much he knew either because even if he knew this was the Flowing Time Temple, he had no way of knowing what was hidden inside. Perhaps there were many wondrous opportunities to be had, but there might also be fatal traps…

“So it seems… those Star Seals that disappeared should have fallen into the Flowing Time Temple!” Bian Yu Qing speculated.

“Most likely,” Yang Kai grinned. “Perhaps it was because of the appearance of all the Star Seals that the temple even showed itself!”

“What Junior Brother Yang means is that the falling Star Seals were a separate opportunity… and if it weren’t for them, we would never have found the Flowing Time Temple?” Kou Wu asked.

Yang Kai nodded, his face becoming excited as he said, “But this way, this Flowing Time Temple must still have all its original opportunities and benefits leftover from the Flowing Time Great Emperor, and as for the Star Seals… I doubt anyone would ignore them, right?”

As everyone chatted amongst themselves, the golden cloud in the sky had almost disappeared completely and was replaced by a magnificent temple. Even if it was still a fair distance away, everyone could feel a sense of majesty from this temple, like they were staring at a dormant ancient behemoth that was slowly awakening.

Finally, at a certain moment, the temple fully manifested and the space around it rumbled violently.

*Xiu…*

The sound of something breaking through the air echoed as two figures rushed forward at almost the same time. It was Wu Chang and Luo Yuan, who had both been waiting patiently until this moment. These two had supreme confidence in their own strength, so they didn’t hesitate to lead the charge!

After they saw these two move, other cultivators naturally wouldn’t hold back and everyone began using their Movement Skills to soar up into the sky.

Yang Kai was naturally among these people. Just like what he said, no one knew what opportunities hid inside the Flowing Time Temple, but what was certain was there were dozens of Star Seals waiting to be acquired, which was enough to drive people crazy.

When they were watching from the ground, no one was able to get a sense of just how big this Flowing Time Temple was, but as they approached closer, the majesty of this temple became more and more apparent. Everyone who flew up at full speed still took a full quarter of an hour to arrive before the entrance to the temple.

Around the periphery of the temple was a golden barrier of light, while atop what appeared to be the main entrance was a giant plaque with the words ‘Flowing Time’ emblazoned on it!

These two characters had an imposing and mysterious air about them, causing those who stared at them to feel slightly dizzy, as if time was passing quickly before their eyes.

After Yang Kai stared dumbfounded for a moment, he quickly retracted his gaze and shook his head.

One unfortunate fellow was unable to extricate himself, however.

This man was from some unknown Sect and possessed a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. He had been fine when he was flying up towards the temple earlier, but now, his gaze had become completely fixed on the two giant characters on the plaque and he seemed unable to turn away.

Suddenly, at a speed visibly to the naked eye, this person’s black hair turned white and began to flow away with the wind until his head was bald. At the same time, his sturdy body rapidly aged, and in less than ten breaths, this vibrant man who looked as if he was in his early thirties, had transformed into an old wrinkled man.

It was as if in that short period of time, a few thousand years had flashed by for this man.

What was most shocking, however, was that this man seemed completely unaware of what was happening to him. Staring at the plaque, this man simply allowed whatever mysterious force it was that was eroding his body and soul to act. He was so lost he even wore a strange, satisfied smile on his face.

Shortly after, the vitality of this man expired and he began to fall from the sky.

Quite some time later, a thud sounded from below…

Everyone’s complexion changed drastically after they witnessed this.

Learning from this unfortunate man’s example, no one dared to stare at the ‘Flowing Time’ characters anymore, lest the same fate befall them. There seemed to be a mighty force left behind by a Great Emperor imbued into these characters, and once a Dao Source Realm cultivator was drawn in by it, they would be helpless to free themselves.

*Hong Hong Hong…*

At that moment, Wu Chang and Luo Yuan, who had set off first, arrived in front of the main hall at the same time, but when they touched the golden halo around the temple, they were blocked from progressing and were unable to enter its interior.

The two tried several times, but soon found that no matter what method they used, they could not get around this golden light, so they quickly changed tactics and began attacking it.

The pair caused a ruckus as they released a storm of violent attacks against the golden barrier, but to their surprise, their attacks were all reflected back at them, forcing Wu Chang and Luo Yuan to retreat steadily with looks of amazement on their faces.

The two of them had even suffered some slight injuries as a result of this unexpected development…

“Haha, what was the point in running up so fast? Weren’t you blocked in the end?” Xiao Chen, who had followed immediately after, laughed when he saw this scene.

Wu Chang shot an angry look at Xiao Chen and snorted, “If you have the ability, show me how you go in.”

Xiao Chen smiled slightly and shook his head and said, “Brother Wu Chang was unable to succeed, so how could this Xiao possibly go in? I’m not in the habit of wasting my strength.”

Chapter 2154

“Then keep your mouth shut!” Wu Chang snapped, unafraid of Xiao Chen in the slightest, despite the latter being an elite disciple from the Southern Territory’s overlord, Star Soul Palace.

To Wu Chang, there were only two kinds of people in this world.

Those who were stronger than him and those who were weaker!

Masters may be able to win his respect, or arouse his fighting spirit, but the weak… he disdained them, regardless of their origins.

Being slapped across the face by Wu Chang like this, Xiao Chen found himself unable to simply back down and said with a gloomy expression, “You should be thankful that this Xiao has a heavy responsibility this time, otherwise, he would have taken your dog life long ago!”

The important task he was referring to was naturally to protect Princess Lan Xun.

Wu Chang sneered and didn’t bother speaking with him again.

During these two’s brief conversation, many other cultivators had arrived in front of the temple, each one of them staking out a good spot and looking up at the huge and magnificent building before them, a humbling feeling filling their hearts.

“Friends, what do you think?”

Suddenly, a person stepped out from the crowd and stood before Wu Chang and the others without fear, glanced around, and asked, “How should we go about breaking this golden barrier?”

This man had a dignified appearance and a seemingly mild temperament. He looked as if he was about thirty years old and was dressed in black robes, giving him an aura that made him look capable and refined. The energy fluctuations radiating from his body also indicated he was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.

“Kong Qi? You were here too?” Xiao Chen looked at this person and narrowed his eyes, apparently recognizing him.

The young man named Kong Qi smiled slightly and said, “Why can’t I be here? My Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce has a number of entry quotas to the Four Seasons Realm, does it now? Brother Xiao’s question is quite strange.”

Hearing what he said, Yang Kai immediately understood that this young man named Kong Qi was a rising star of the Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce.

Although Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce and Violet Source Chamber of Commerce focused mainly on business, that did not mean these two great forces lacked strength or Masters. On the contrary, the heritage of these two giant chambers of commerce was no worse than any other top-level Sect.

The world simply had a prejudice in its thinking about these two forces, imagining that they were weak compared to Sects that focused on cultivation.

“From what this Kong can see, this should be a powerful barrier Spirit Array. Is there any friend here who is proficient in Spirit Arrays who can examine it?” Kong Qi suggested.

“In the face of absolute power, any barrier is nothing, we just need to smash it!” A cold snort rang out as Luo Yuan took the initiative. Leaping up into the air, he lifted his arms and summoned a battle-axe into his grip. Pouring his Source Qi madly into his artifact, Luo Yuan condensed the surrounding Principles around his blade, causing the ambient World Energy to tumble fiercely, releasing a coercion that caused many present to pale.

Even someone as strong as Wu Chang wore a slightly solemn expression as he could feel a threat from Luo Yuan’s strike.

“Eight Paths Sect really found itself a true monster!” Lan Xun commented as a pale blue light flickered around her body, offsetting the pressure from the rolling World Energy.

Before now, she was still somewhat doubtful a small Sect that was barely considered middle-class in the Southern Territory could actually cultivate such a talent. Even in Star Soul Palace, such geniuses were rare.

[No wonder he dared to challenge Wu Chang without flinching. With such amazing strength, he indeed has the capital to act arrogant.]

*Kacha…*

In front of everyone’s eyes, Luo Yuan’s arm holding up his battle axe seemed to swell suddenly, his muscles pulsing with a kind of raw and violent force.

Slowly, the glow from his battle-axe increased in intensity as the energy fluctuations radiating from it doubled in frequency.

This channelling occurred five more times, causing the space around Luo Yuan to creak under the terrifying energy fluctuations. Wu Chang and the others who were close to the front even found their footing becoming a bit unstable.

As for the cultivators with slightly lower strength, they had been forced to withdraw as their faces paled.

Everyone was wondering in their hearts what the result would be if such a blow hit them.

Yang Kai’s eyes flickered as he too was shocked by Luo Yuan’s actions, but he also knew that such an attack could not be performed in real combat because it took far too long to accumulate energy and no enemy would give Luo Yuan so much time to prepare himself. What’s more, delivering such an intense attack would no doubt put a heavy load on Luo Yuan and require an immense amount of concentration to execute.

Yang Kai understood this, and there were many others present who did as well, such as Wu Chang, Xiao Chen, Xiao Bai Yi and Lan Xun.

“HA!”

Suddenly, Luo Yuan roared and hurled his battle-axe, sending it out in a stream of light that had a Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power contained within it towards the golden barrier.

At that moment, everyone held their breath and watched quietly.

*Hong…*

A brilliant radiance burst forth as the stream of energy impacted the golden barrier, causing it to depress somewhat, but… it also showed no signs of breaking.

In the next instant, the golden barrier bounced back and reflected the battle axe’s attack at an even faster speed than it had been delivered, sending it streaking back Luo Yuan’s side and even managing to cut off several strands of his black hair.

Luo Yuan reached out and touched his cheek, where a finger-length wound had appeared along with fresh blood.

“En, it seems that brute force cannot be used to break this barrier,” Kong Qi said lightly, “It is reasonable considering this is a barrier created by a peak-level Emperor Realm Master!”

He did not taunt Luo Yuan in the slightest. Although Luo Yuan’s behaviour had been reckless, he had also proved with practical actions that this barrier was not breakable through brute force.

“Princess…” Xiao Chen suddenly turned his head to look at Lan Xun and called out inquiringly.

Lan Xun shook her head. “I haven’t seen anything of use yet, so I cannot be certain…”

Xiao Chen nodded lightly and said, “Princess should act with a free hand.”

Lan Xun didn’t reply, her beautiful eyes just staring forward. From her demeanour and posture, it seemed she had some knowledge of Spirit Arrays and was currently looking for a weakness in this barrier.

At that moment, Kong Qi turned and swept his eyes over the crowd, “Friends, is there anyone who is proficient in Spirit Arrays who can come up and examine this barrier? As I’m sure everyone knows by now, this should be the legendary Flowing Time Temple. As long as we can crack this barrier, we shall be able to get inside and explore the wonders of this place while possibly obtaining incredible benefits! If there is someone of high skill here who is capable of assisting us, please do not conceal yourself!”

Of the more than thirty people present, no one stepped forward to answer this call.

The Dao of Spirit Arrays, like the Alchemic Dao, was broad and profound, a profession easy to tread upon, but extremely difficult to master.

Everyone present was a Dao Source Realm cultivator, so each had some knowledge of Spirit Arrays, but who would have the confidence to crack the barrier arranged by an Emperor Realm Master?

Following a brief silence, Kong Qi smiled lightly and turned to a certain individual in the crowd before calling out, “Brother Gong, why don’t you come and try?”

Everyone heard this and quickly cast their eyes towards this man just in time to see him put on a depressed look as he glared towards Kong Qi.

“Surnamed Gong… could he be…”

“He must be someone from the Heavenly River Valley’s Gong Family… So that’s how it is!”

“Ha, it seems there is hope to break this barrier now.”

Numerous cultivators all began to whisper about this man surnamed Gong.

“Who is he?” Yang Kai asked in a low voice, “Why does everyone seem to have such confidence in him?”

Bian Yu Qing smiled at him and quipped, “Are you asking me?”

She assumed the stance of one who had finally caught an opportunity and was clearly planning to blackmail Yang Kai.

“Do as you please!” Yang Kai snorted.

Bian Yu Qing squinted her eyes before muttering, “Little boy, this Protector suddenly discovered that… you’re quite hateful!”

“Hmph, that depends on who I’m talking to.”

Kou Wu punctually interrupted, “The Gong Family is famous throughout the Southern Territory, not for its strength, but for its proficiency in Spirit Arrays. No one who comes from the Gong Family should be underestimated, especially their Old Ancestor who is an Emperor Array Master. Regarding Spirit Arrays, the Gong Family’ Old Ancestor can stand among the top three in the entire Southern Territory… As for this person though, if I remember correctly, he should be the current Young Master of the Gong Family, Gong Wen Shan.”

“En, I understand,” Yang Kai nodded.

Kou Wu was correct. The one who had been caught by the crowd was Young Master Gong Wen Shan of the Gong Family. Although Gong Wen Shan’s cultivation wasn’t too high, only Second-Order Dao Source Realm, when it came to proficiency in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, everyone present put together would probably be inferior to him.

The Gong Family had studied Spirit Arrays for generations.

At this moment, Gong Wen Shan’s face was as wrinkled as a bitter gourd. Stepping forward under everyone’s eyes, he muttered to himself, “Damn it… I obviously just wanted to explore around and have some fun, so why did I have to encounter such a troublesome matter… If I refuse, it will definitely provoke public anger, and the ones here won’t give a shit about my name… Ha… so annoying, Kong Qi that bastard, one day I’ll make him swallow his own shit and then commit suicide!”

Kong Qi stood to the side, his mouth twitching as he said, “Brother Gong… Don’t you think you should act a bit more prudently… everyone can hear what you’re saying…”

Gong Wen Shan wrinkled his bitter melon face further as he snorted towards Kong Qi, “I said it so you could hear it, what of it!”

Kong Qi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but in this situation, he could only wave his hand and said, “Brother Gong, forgive me, but no one else present is proficient in Spirit Arrays, all our hopes rest with you.”

Gong Wen Shan snorted, “You and I have been acquainted for several dozen years, so you should know my temper!”

Kong Qi nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, I know you hate troublesome things the most…”

“Cracking the barrier of an Emperor is the most troublesome thing in this world!” Gong Wen Shan’s face went so cold one could almost see frost coming off of it. As he walked up to the golden light barrier, he glanced back and forth a few times before turning around and declaring, “Good, it’s not impossible for me to crack it, but what benefits can I obtain?”

“Benefits…” Kong Qi’s brow twitched, wondering what other benefits aside from the legendary treasures inside Gong Wen Shan wanted. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

“How about keeping your life, is that a big enough benefit?” Wu Chang suddenly interjected.

Gong Wen Shan immediately turned his head and stared at him, a sneer forming on his lips as he asked, “Oh? Are you threatening me?”

Wu Chang snorted, “If you break this barrier, you can live, if you refuse or fail, I’ll make you die here and now!”

From his solemn tone, it was clear Wu Chang wasn’t just making an idle threat.

No one thought he was joking either; after all, it was Wu Chang who was speaking.

“Interesting…” Even when facing Wu Chang, however, Gong Wen Shan didn’t show the slightest fear, instead his eyes just flashing slightly, indicating he was not someone with a weak spine.

Chapter 2155

To the side, Kong Qi was shocked.

He and Gong Wen Shan had indeed known each other for decades, and they also understood each other’s personalities and temperaments. Gong Wen Shan was born to only eat soft food and refused to eat hard food. If one negotiated politely with him, everything could be discussed, but using threats was a big taboo.

And Gong Wen Shan was undoubtedly threatened by Wu Chang just now.

Kong Qi seemed to be able to foresee the scene where Gong Wen Shan unceremoniously walked off.

If Gong Wen Shan were to leave like that, no one would be able to crack the barrier around the Flowing Time Temple.

Considering all this, Kong Qi didn’t care whether he would offend Wu Chang or not and his expression sank as he shouted, “Wu Chang, did you go mad from cultivating too hard? Brother Gong didn’t say he wouldn’t crack the barrier, so why are you making such indiscriminate remarks?”

Wu Chang glanced over at him coldly and snorted, “Who the hell are you? Why should I care what you think?”

Kong Qi was angered and shouted, “Do you think everyone here is a fool you can bluster in front of?”

Although he was not as famous as Wu Chang or Xia Sheng, Kong Qi was still a rising star who possessed extraordinary aptitude from Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce, so how could he not lose his temper when he was so blatantly despised?

“And if I do?” Wu Chang smiled arrogantly, “If you want to be put in my eyes, you need the corresponding strength!”

Something possessed Xiao Chen at that moment, causing him to insert himself into this argument and further exacerbate it, “Brother Wu Chang seems to not put anyone here in his eyes… heh…”

As soon as this statement came out, Luo Yuan frowned and silently stretched out his hand, causing his battle-axe which had bounced off by the golden barrier to fly back to him with a whistling sound.

Although Wu Chang was rampant, he was no fool, so when he heard Xiao Chen’s malicious comment which was clearly meant to direct the crowd’s anger towards him, he couldn’t help sneering at him and shouted, “Brother Xiao, do you have something to say?”

“Not at all!” Xiao Chen smiled lightly. “Brother Wu Chang is already the strongest under the Emperor Realm, how could this Xiao dare offer any advice to him?”

These words were even more provocative than his previous ones, causing even more ire to be directed towards Wu Chang. Even Xiao Bai Yi, who had been standing to the side silently, also began showing some fighting intent.

“Enough senseless bickering! ​​Don’t disturb Brother Gong from cracking the barrier!” Lan Xun suddenly shouted.

When everyone heard these words, they turned back to find that the root of this whole quarrel, Gong Wen Shan, had at some point sat down cross-legged in front of the golden barrier and was continuously sweeping his eyes over it, intently studying the barrier.

“Seems you know your limits!” Wu Chang coldly snorted, secretly thinking that Gong Wen Shan had been frightened by his threat just now.

Not only him, everyone present basically thought so as well; after all, Gong Wen Shan had just been asking for benefits from everyone in order to break this barrier, but after a few intimidating words from Wu Chang, he had actually obediently sat down and complied.

For a moment, many people directed looks of contempt at Gong Wen Shan. Despite needing his ability to enter the Flowing Time Temple, that did not prevent everyone from despising him.

There was only one person present who had some cold sweat leaking from his forehead as he looked at Gong Wen Shan profile thoughtfully, muttering to himself, “Something’s not right… Brother Gong has always had an intractable temper and never gives in to threats, yet now he’s being so cooperative. Just what kind of wicked scheme is he plotting… Haa… now, he’s even wearing that smile… he must be up to something!”

The more Kong Qi observed, the more he felt that Gong Wen Shan’s behaviour was odd and he couldn’t help feeling an ominous premonition in his heart.

Soon after, Gong Wen Shan, who was fixedly observing the barrier, seemed to have gained something and flicked his wrist, taking out an exquisite artifact from his Space Ring which was about the size of a palm. There were countless mysterious runes and patterns engraved on this artifact, giving it a mystical air.

“The Gong Family’s Heaven Disrupting Plate?” Lan Xun’s eyes suddenly brightened as she stared at the plate closely, but soon she showed a disappointed look because what Gong Wen Shan had in his hand was obviously not the real Heaven Disrupting Plate, but an imitation.

Gong Wen Shan formed a series of seals with his hands as he poured his Source Qi into the plate, causing some streams of light to shoot out from it and sink into the barrier like fish leaping into a pond.

Everyone watched intently, but few could discern anything about what was happening.

Yang Kai could only speculate that this artifact was some kind of tool that was used to help determine weaknesses in barriers.

Things were indeed as Yang Kai thought. The Gong Family’s Heaven Disrupting Plate was famed for being able to break any Spirit Array that existed in this world. It supposedly functioned by searching for weaknesses or Array Nodes which could then be exploited to crack a barrier or array. However, the Heaven Disrupting Plate was the supreme treasure of the Gong Family, so even if Gong Wen Shan’s status was not low, he was not qualified to carry it with him.

The artifact which he took out was a lesser imitation of the Heaven Disrupting Plate the Gong Family had refined, but although there was a big gap between it and the real Heaven Disrupting Plate, it could still provide great assistance in this situation.

More and more streams of light leapt off the plate and sank into the barrier as time passed, and after a while, Gong Wen Shan’s eyes brightened and he shouted in a low voice, “I found it… hahaha, seems it was just as I thought…”

He seemed to be talking to himself about something no one else could understand.

As he spoke though, Gong Wen Shan stretched out his hand to collect the imitation Heaven Disrupting Plate.

Next, he took out some array tools from his Space Ring and began flying about, throwing out his tools in a particular arrangement around the barrier.

As time passed, Gong Wen Shan’s expression turned more and more solemn, as if what he was about to do was extremely strenuous and serious.

Those formation flags quickly sank into the Void and disappeared to no one knew where.

Gong Wen continued this process for about a stick of incense worth of time before he came to a stop.

After wiping the sweat from his forehead, he turned around and said to the waiting crowd, “Good!”

“Good?” The cultivators looked stunned as they all stared at the golden barrier which still looked perfectly intact, disbelief written all over their faces.

Gong Wen Shan grinned and said, “I’m finished, so naturally… everything is good!”

His words were filled with confidence.

Having spoken, he clasped his hands together and let out a shout. From the Void, countless rays of light burst out and sank into the golden barrier enveloping the Flowing Time Temple, quickly creating a small gap in it.

“Open!” Gong Wen Shan yelled as he slowly pushed his hands out to the sides, and with his movements, this crack began to expand, like the barrier was really being torn open by his bare hands.

“It really is good!” At this time, many cultivators were shocked.

This barrier had been arranged by the Flowing Time Great Emperor, so even after countless years, it was definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could open, but Gong Wen Shan had managed just that.

“The Gong Family’s reputation is well-deserved!” Even Lan Xun couldn’t help but offer her praise.

She had to admit that in terms of the Dao of Spirit Arrays, Gong Wen Shan had vastly surpassed her. Up until now, she had still yet to find a single weakness in the golden barrier, while Gong Wen Shan had actually gone so far as to break it open.

“Many thanks, Brother Gong, after we return, I will invite you for a drink!” Kong Qi laughed loudly before he rushed into the opening first, his figure disappearing in the next instant.

He instinctively felt that trouble would soon erupt, and the best thing to do right now was to head in first.

With him taking the lead, other people naturally scrambled towards the opening.

Wu Chang, Luo Yuan, Xiao Chen, Lan Xun, and even Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao all pushed their Source Qi in order to protect themselves from being attacked as well as to guard against any dangers which they might encounter after intruding into the Flowing Time Temple before they too headed to the entrance.

As this group of elites rushed to the forefront, others naturally did not dare to compete with them. With Wu Chang’s explosive temper, if they accidentally annoyed him, it is possible they would die on the spot.

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

The sounds of people breaking through the air sounded as one figure after another disappeared into the opening.

However, at that moment, Gong Wen Shan glanced at Wu Chang deeply and grinned sarcastically.

“What?” Wu Chang frowned as a vague feeling of unpleasantness swept over him. However, he didn’t think too much about it as his focus now was entering the Flowing Time Temple to snatch the Star Seals and whatever opportunities were hidden within.

A shocking scene occurred though when he tried to pass through the opening in the golden barrier. Just as Wu Chang approached the entrance, an invisible force struck him from the front and pushed him back several dozen meters.

Wu Chang’s face changed drastically as he quickly stabilized his figure and turned a gloomy look towards Gong Wen Shan.

Gong Wen Shan just stared back and sneered while pointing his finger and shaking his head, “Everyone else can enter, but you can’t!”

“As I thought!” Wu Chang coldly snorted. How could he not understand that this was Gong Wen Shan’s way of taking revenge?

Wu Chang had threatened Gong Wen Shan’s life just now, but the latter had not reacted too strongly. Now it seemed Gong Wen Shan had been plotting this from the start.

It could be said that this was the perfect method of getting back at Wu Chang.

If everyone was allowed to enter the Flowing Time Temple while only Wu Chang was blocked outside because of his previous threats, how could Wu Chang not be furious?

“This guy has such a black heart!” Yang Kai looked at Gong Wen Shan with a happy smile as he secretly approved.

Just now, he too had thought that Gong Wen Shan agreed to break the barrier because he was afraid of Wu Chang, but now, it turns out he was actually hatching this kind of wicked scheme.

Even as he thought so, Yang Kai did not slow his pace; after all, it was best to enter the Flowing Time Temple as quickly as possible. As for what happened between Wu Chang and Gong Wen Shan after, that had nothing to do with him.

“Do you think you can block me?” Wu Chang asked coldly as he looked down at Gong Wen Shan.

Gong Wen Shan smiled and said, “Now that this barrier is completely under my control, only those I allow can enter. Why wouldn’t I be able to stop you?”

“Good… then I’ll just kill you!” Wu Chang coldly snorted as he held his hands up high, condensing two different kinds of energy onto his palms, one fiery red, one icy white. When these two opposite energies condensed, instead of repelling one another, they surprisingly began to merge together and amplify one another. Forming a giant ball of red and white light, Wu Chang hurled it towards where Gong Wen Shan stood.

Gong Wen Shan remained where he was, not trying to dodge or avoid this attack, simply wearing a light sneer on his face.

From this falling ball of light, a terrifying power could be felt, causing Yang Kai and the others who were about to rush into the barrier to hurriedly withdraw, lest they be caught up in this attack by accident.

Just as the ball of light was about to swallow him, Gong Wen Shan waved his hand lightly and a golden light suddenly separated from the barrier and enveloped him.

In the next instant, a loud explosion rang out as the power of Ice and Flame filled the air.

Chapter 2156

Flames burst out and ice and snow rolled, but after the dust settled, Gong Wen Shan stood unscathed, and the golden barrier surrounding him showed no signs of damage.

Glancing up at Wu Chang sarcastically, he sneered, “I already said this barrier is under my complete control, did you not understand? Idiot!”

Wu Chang’s face twitched as his expression turned gloomy.

After seeing this bizarre scene, the onlooking cultivators who had not yet entered the Flowing Time Temple were all shocked. On the one hand, they admire the courage of Gong Wen Shan who dared to offend a monster like Wu Chang. On the other hand, they were shocked by Wu Chang’s strength.

If the terrifying blow just now had fallen among the crowd, few of them would have survived.

When two Masters clashed, it was the audience that suffered. Realizing this, everyone present quickly composed themselves and used their best Movement Skills to charge into the crack in the Flowing Time Temple’s barrier.

“If I can’t enter, none of you can either!” Wu Chang shouted angrily, apparently not willing to suffer alone here and swiftly acting to ensure just that.

Stretching out his hands, he summoned two Dao Source Grade High-Rank swords, one burning red, one icy white. Slashing out, blades of red and white Sword Qi shot towards the advancing crowd.

“Ah… dodge!”

“Wu Chang’s gone crazy!”

“How… how COULD he do this!”

Everyone was shocked and quickly dispersed.

However, Wu Chang had acted without any warning, and coupled with his immense strength, even if his attack had been dispersed across many people, there were still some who were unable to avoid it and were hit by his strange, opposing attribute attack.

*Hong…*

A huge pit was opened up in front of the temple as blood and shattered limbs were strewn across the ground. Six people had been killed directly while another dozen or so were injured.

Yang Kai had dodged quickly and emerged unscathed, but Bian Yu Qing and Kou Wu had been slightly injured, their faces both showing some shock and fear at this moment.

Even as he witnessed all this, Gong Wen Shan just stood in place, not using the power of the barrier to protect anyone but himself, nor to stop Wu Chang from attacking. However, after Wu Chang launched his attack, Gong Wen Shan actually grinned slightly, as if his conspiracy had succeeded.

“Wu Chang, have you gone crazy! We didn’t provoke you in any way, so what’s the meaning of this?”

“That’s right, Wu Chang, you were born into a great Sect like Heavenly Martial Holy Land, so you should know how to distinguish right from wrong! Just because you cannot go in, do you intend to make trouble for all the rest of us?”

“Wu Chang! Don’t go too far! If you want to vent your anger, do it on the one who refused to let you in, don’t just attack us out of spite!”

Among a group of cultivators who had survived the catastrophe, a few people began shouting with dissatisfaction.

“Good, the two of you also cannot go in,” Gong Wen Shan suddenly pointed at two cultivators who were clamoring for Wu Chang to direct his rage at the ‘evildoer’.

The faces of these two people suddenly collapsed, turning extremely ugly.

“Brother Gong, I didn’t mean that… Brother Gong, please be the bigger man and don’t care about some misspoken words…”

“Yes, Brother Gong, no no, Uncle Gong, please let me in!”

The two immediately backed down and begged for mercy.

Gong Wen Shan simply ignored them.

“Brother Wu Chang…” The cultivator named Jing Li who had arrived here first suddenly cupped his fists and said with a solemn expression, “My Benevolent Martial Sect can be regarded as an attached Sect of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, so even if others can’t enter, I can, right?”

Wu Chang did not respond.

Jing Li nodded, “Many thanks!”

As soon as his words fell, he rushed straight towards the Flowing Time Temple, but just as he was about to reach the crack in the barrier, Wu Chang attacked again, sending a blast of Sword Qi towards Jing Li, nearly slicing his arm off.

“Brother Wu Chang, what are your intentions here?” Jing Li sweat profusely as he raised his head up and asked anxiously.

Wu Chang simply stood mid-air and snorted, shouting in a firm, unbending tone towards the crowd, “I said, since I can’t enter, none of you can either.”

As he spoke, he lifted his swords again, crossed them above his head, condensed his Source Qi, then slashed downwards.

A shocking sword light shot out, seemingly leaping across space as it cut towards a figure which was sneakily trying to approach the entrance down below.

After releasing this blow, Wu Chang stood calmly and said indifferently, “Anyone who dares ignore my words will die!”

The moment he uttered these words though, his expression suddenly changed as a look of amazement filled his face.

In front of the entrance below, Yang Kai had to stop in place because Wu Chang’s attack was too fast. If he didn’t stop, he would definitely be hit.

In desperation, Yang Kai could only spin around, form a fist while using his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique as well as his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi, and punch out.

*Hong long long…*

The cross of red and white Sword Qi was struck by the dazzling five-coloured punch, causing space to cave in.

With the assistance of the recoil from this attack, Yang Kai easily made it to the entrance of the Flowing Time Temple. Before crossing the barrier, he did not forget to call out to Gong Wen Shan, “Thanks!”

Gong Wen Shan stared at the place where Yang Kai disappeared, a strange expression covering his face as he muttered to himself, “That guy… he’s strange!”

He clearly felt that Yang Kai only had a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, but right before everyone’s eyes he had taken a blow from Wu Chang head on without any damage.

That was not something an ordinary cultivator could accomplish.

Wu Chang was also quite shocked.

The moment Yang Kai turned around, Wu Chang recognized him as the one who had obtained the diamond-shaped Star Seal. At that time, he had also used some strange Secret Technique to resolve the fatal blow he and Luo Yuan had launched against him.

That Secret Technique was so strange and mysterious that Wu Chang was unable to even determine what it was.

Now, however, this strange guy actually blocked his own blow head-on…

[Was that brat playing the pig to eat a tiger?] This idea came to Wu Chang’s mind involuntarily.

At that moment, he became distracted, giving the cultivators down below an opportunity to rush towards the entrance, many of them passing through the barrier and disappearing in the blink of an eye. When Wu Chang came back to his senses and wanted to stop them again, it was already too late.

He could only watch everyone rush into the Flowing Time Temple, leaving just him and the two other cultivators excluded by Gong Wen Shan.

“Wu Chang, Wu Chang…” Gong Wen Shan laughed, repeating Wu Chang’s name, a sarcastic and teasing expression on his face as he quipped, “Now that everyone else has gone in, what are you going to do?”

Wu Chang didn’t speak as he stared at Gong Wen Shan coldly.

“Trying to kill me with a glare?” Gong Wen Shan grinned, “This is the cost of threatening me! There’s nothing wrong with young people being hot-blooded, but if they become too arrogant…”

As he spoke, he assumed the tone and demeanour of a wizened old sage, but before he could finish what he wanted to say, he saw Wu Chang turn around and fly off, soon disappearing from sight.

“…I didn’t even get a chance to add some insults. Well, he’s decisive, I’ll give him that. If it was me I wouldn’t have been able to give up such a great opportunity so easily… I guess there wasn’t any point in sticking around,” Gong Wen Shan laughed at himself before he turned around and entered the Flowing Time Temple.

As he said, it was meaningless for Wu Chang to stay. Gong Wen Shan had said he would not let him in and had the ability to back up his words, so instead of staying and being smugly derided by Gong Wen Shan, Wu Chang felt it best to leave and search for other opportunities.

Of course, a grudge had been formed already, so if the two of them were to meet again, Wu Chang would definitely not let Gong Wen Shan off so easily.

“Uncle Gong… come back, come back!”

“Brother Gong, don’t ignore us. We’re still out here!”

The two cultivators who had been refused entry by Gong Wen Shan hurriedly shouted, but who was left to give them a response? After waiting for some time outside the temple, the two men could only leave in a depressed manner.

…..

“What’s this?” Inside the Flowing Time Temple, as soon as Yang Kai got in, he was stunned by the scene in front of him.

Here, there was a massive hall that seemed at least a few thousand meters in length and breadth. In front of him, Xiao Chen, Lan Xun, Luo Yuan, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao, who had entered first, were surrounded by a group of countless and densely packed puppets. All of them were engaged in a fierce melee, with metal shards and puppet limbs scattered across the ground. Obviously, before Yang Kai came in, these people had already destroyed many puppets.

Yang Kai was naturally quite familiar with puppets, having encountered them a few times back on Shadowed Star. There was also a family on Shadowed Star which specialized in the Dao of Puppetry and were able to create almost life-like puppets.

There was no doubt that the Star Boundary also had puppets, but Yang Kai had not encountered any yet.

Now, inside the Flowing Time Temple, there were too many to count.

These puppets were of all different shapes and sizes, but they could be roughly divided into three categories. One was human-shaped puppets, all of which were quite tall and burly and held different kinds of weapons, giving them an imposing air. The second type was beast-shaped, with tigers, leopards, wolves, even snakes and insects. These Monster Beast-like puppets behaved similarly to real Monster Beasts and had great lethality to them. As for the third category, they were simply the ones that did not fall into either of the previous two, their images too unique to describe as either man or beast. The number of puppets that belonged to this third category was the smallest, but they also seemed to be the strongest, each one having unique abilities and strengths that were difficult to predict.

The number of puppets in this giant hall was quite large, reaching into the hundreds, and all of them gave off an aura equivalent to a Dao Source Realm cultivator. Even though Xiao Chen and the others were favoured Sons and Daughters of Heaven, two fists couldn’t block four strikes, so when Yang Kai came in, he found these people on the defensive, with almost no leeway to counterattack.

“If I knew it would be so troublesome, I would have waited outside a little longer!” Yang Kai grumbled to himself. He was worried that some of the good opportunities in the Flowing Time Temple would be snatched up by others if he didn’t hurry, so he rushed inside, but seeing the scene before him, he realized it would have been better to take his time. It wouldn’t be too late for him to enter after all these puppets were killed.

“Junior Brother Yang, be careful, these puppets are not easy to deal with!” Murong Xiao Xiao’s voice suddenly entered his ear. She should have spotted Yang Kai come in and found some time while she was defending herself to warn him.

“Although I really want to thank you for your consideration… I wish you could have warned me without exposing my existence!” Yang Kai smiled wryly as, sure enough, the moment Murong Xiao Xiao called out to him, one of the puppets that wasn near her turned and directed its strange red eyes towards him.

Chapter 2157

This puppet had a strange appearance, looking like a large lizard walking upright, with short forelimbs, extreme long hind limbs, and an inexplicable, hideous atmosphere lingering around its body.

As soon as it looked at Yang Kai, it immediately opened its big mouth and sprayed out a bright red light.

“A casual attack has the same strength as a Dao Source Realm’s strike? These puppets… are quite extraordinary!” Yang Kai felt the intensity of the energy of this ray of light and his expression changed slightly as he immediately dodged.

*Sou…*

The beam of light barely missed Yang Kai’s body and hit a cultivator who came in right after him.

This cultivator was lucky, however, because before he came in, he had worn a defensive Artifact Armour.

His original intention was to prevent Wu Chang from suddenly killing him, but now, this Artifact Armour had coincidentally saved him from this attack.

*Hong…* 

The cultivator couldn’t help stumbling back a few steps as his Artifact Armour flashed wildly, a moment later calling out in surprise, “What the hell was that?”

At that moment, a large number of people rushed in from the entrance, and even Gong Wen Shan who came in last showed his face.

It could be said that among the cultivators who stayed outside the Flowing Time Temple before, apart from the few who were killed by Wu Chang, only three were excluded from entering.

With more life auras appearing, the puppets that were besieging Xiao Chen and the others in the first group began to disperse to target these new enemies. Xiao Chen and the others were suddenly relieved of some pressure and immediately launched a counterattack, smashing the puppets which had turned their backs on them, causing many to break apart and fall to the ground.

Without exception, each of the crushed bodies of these puppets would contain a crystal about the size of a fist that gave off rich energy fluctuations.

“Spirit Energy Heart!” Someone exclaimed as they stared greedily at the crystal.

Yang Kai’s heart was also moved as he instantly realized what this thing was.

Spirit Energy Hearts were the core component of a puppet, and without them, no matter how well crafted a puppet was, it would simply be a dead object. Only by inserting a Spirit Energy Heart would a puppet be able to operate independently.

However, Spirit Energy Hearts were extremely difficult to refine and required the cooperation of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster as well as a Puppet Master, so their value was extremely high, especially high-grade Spirit Energy Hearts which were almost impossible to find nowadays.

There were several hundred puppets in this hall, and each one was at least Dao Source Grade; in order words, there were hundreds of Spirit Energy Hearts here!

If one could bring all these Spirit Energy Hearts out and find a Puppet Master to refine bodies for them, one could create a Dao Source Realm grade puppet army!

Cultivators such as Xiao Chen, Kong Qi, and Xiao Bai Yi, who were born into peak level forces, may not care too much about the value of these Spirit Energy Hearts, but for those who were born into small Sects and families, it was a different story. Smaller forces often found it hard to cultivate Dao Source Realm Masters, but with these Spirit Energy Hearts, they could create a Dao Source Realm powerhouse.

Faced with such a prospect, how could a competition not begin? Even if their own Sect couldn’t refine a proper puppet body, just selling these Spirit Energy Hearts would net a lot of Source Crystals.

So, after experiencing the initial panic, all the cultivators who rushed in became filled with enthusiasm, summoning their artifacts one after another while attacking the puppets viciously.

Even though the number of puppets was massive, and their strength was not too high, with no one to drive and coordinate them, they were unable to use their full strength or take advantage of their numbers, so the tide of battle quickly turned against them.

The cultivators who rushed in didn’t hold back, the weaker ones forming groups of three to five to besiege their targets while those who were confident in their strength fought single-handedly. It was not long before the number of puppets was halved, and the price the attacking cultivators paid was extremely small, only a few people being seriously injured with not a single person dying.

Yang Kai also took the opportunity to kill a few puppets and harvest some Spirit Energy Hearts which he tossed into his Space Ring.

As time passed, the number of puppets in the hall became less and less; inspiring the cultivators even further, causing the puppets to be cut down even faster than before.

Suddenly…

A dazzling light burst out from somewhere in the crowd, catching everyone’s attention.

Floating mid-air, a star-shaped ray of light flickered slightly before suddenly transforming into a stream of light and sinking into a male cultivator’s arm.

The cultivator didn’t understand what was going on and only felt a burning pain in his arm, causing him to call out in alarm.

“A five-pointed Star Seal!” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up and she shouted softly.

“These puppets… actually have Star Seals on them?” Xiao Chen swept his eyes across the remaining puppets around him, searching for other Star Seals.

He had already cut down seven puppets, but such a good deed had not fallen to him yet, making Xiao Chen feel a little uncomfortable.

“Ah? This is a Star Seal?” The male cultivator was dumbfounded for a moment after hearing Lan Xun’s tender call, but he soon grinned happily and shouted, “I actually obtained a Star Seal? Hahahaha, it looks like Heaven is truly taking good care of me!”

He was overjoyed and laughed.

Even if some people around him didn’t like his public bragging, they could only envy him.

However, after this scene, everyone’s interest in killing these puppets increased dramatically, and their attacks intensified once more.

In a certain part of the hall, a man and a woman, seemingly fellow Sect disciples, were nervously attacking a leopard-shaped puppet.

This puppet looked almost indistinguishable from a real leopard and was extremely flexible in its movements, but fortunately, this puppet seemed to only be able to perform melee attacks.

So, even if the strength of these two people wasn’t very high, they had a good chance of defeating this puppet.

It was not the strength of this leopard puppet that made them nervous, however, but rather the triangle mark on its forehead!

This mark wasn’t eye-catching, but if before now this pair hadn’t paid much attention to it, after experiencing the scene just now, how could they not guess it was a Star Seal?

Earlier, several dozen Star Seals had fallen into the Flowing Time Temple and were likely hidden throughout it now, so it wasn’t a surprise that among these hundreds of puppets, a few Star Seals would appear.

This Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair weren’t from a big Sect, nor was their strength too great, so they were worried that if they killed this leopard, the Star Seal would reveal itself and draw unwanted attention towards them…

Although the man who just obtained that five-pointed Star Seal was currently ecstatic, there was no doubt he had also become a target who would be attacked as soon as other people had some attention to spare.

Thinking so, this Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair exchanged a glance and nodded to each other. Instead of immediately defeating their target, they began leading the leopard away into the depths of the temple, trying to escape from everyone’s line of sight so they could secretly obtain this Star Seal.

With the chaotic melee occurring in the hall, even if the actions of these two were a bit suspicious, no one would care about them and would likely just assume they weren’t strong enough and were being forced back.

The strategy these two employed was quite successful, but just as they were about to move far enough from the crowd to not draw attention, a figure suddenly fell from the sky and smashed his fist down fiercely.

The hearts of the pair suddenly sank, but it was too late for them to react.

A loud thud followed.

The leopard-shaped puppet was directly smashed to pieces, and at the same time, the triangle mark on its forehead flew out in a burst of light before falling towards the figure which had just appeared.

“Just a triangle Star Seal?” The figure glanced at the back of his hand and muttered in seeming dissatisfaction before turning around and attacking another puppet.

Seeing this, the woman from the Senior Brother Junior Sister pair bit her red lip and opened her mouth to say something.

However, her Senior Brother’s expression changed dramatically as he hurriedly pulled her back and slowly shook his head, explaining in a low voice, “That’s Luo Yuan… we can’t afford to offend him.”

“But that Star Seal…” The woman looked unwilling.

The man gave a helpless smile, “Just treat it as if we never saw it.”

“It was obviously ours though!” The woman pouted in annoyance. If they had known that Luo Yuan would suddenly rush over to steal their prey, they would have just destroyed the leopard instead of allowing it to fall into another’s hands.

After the man soothed his Junior Sister for a while, he somehow managed to persuade her to not find trouble with Luo Yuan.

This man understood that there was no point in trying to discuss this matter with Luo Yuan. If one wanted to say something to him, they had to speak with their fists.

The battle in the hall lasted for roughly an hour, with several dozen Dao Source Realm cultivators from major Sects families in the Southern Territory paying a small price to wipe out these puppets.

Without even mentioning the Spirit Energy Hearts, just the three Star Seals which appeared were a massive gain. In addition to the five-pointed Star Seal and the triangular Star Seal Luo Yuan obtained, another diamond-shaped Star Seal appeared.

This last Star Seal was fortunately obtained by Murong Xiao Xiao, causing her to smile happily because now she was qualified to enter the Shattered Star Sea and seek her own path to the Emperor Realm.

Only now did everyone have an opportunity to examine the hall itself.

This entry hall was massive, and at the moment was covered in puppet fragments; however, there was just one obvious passage leading away from it, which seemed to be the only exit.

There were no puppets guarding this exit, and no trace of any barriers or Spirit Arrays protecting it, so it seemed quite safe.

Despite that, no one approached this exit carelessly. Everyone first found a place to sit down cross-legged to restore themselves while waiting for someone else to take the lead to explore the way forward.

Kong Qi of Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce quietly made his way over to Gong Wen Shan and asked with a pleasant expression, “Brother Gong, what do you think of the situation over there?”

Gong Wen Shan squinted his eyes before turning to him and saying, “Brother Kong, you’re… even more thick-skinned and shameless than the last time we met, asking me about everything here. How should I know? It’s not like I’ve been to this Flowing Time Temple before.”

Kong Qi grinned meaningfully and replied, “Those with great capabilities have greater responsibilities. With Brother Gong’s knowledge of Spirit Arrays, if there was any danger there, you would be the first to notice it.”

“Now you’re even shamelessly flattering me…” Gong Wen Shan snorted before he stood up reluctantly, walked over, and muttered. “Fine then, I’ll take a look.”

Chapter 2158

Gong Wen Shan muttered as he walked over to the entrance.

Kong Qi couldn’t help being stunned on the spot.

His intention really was to get Gong Wen Shan to go up and see if there was some kind of Spirit Array arranged at the entrance, but he never imagined the other party would agree so readily and without any obvious objections.

This was inconsistent with Gong Wen Shan’s usual personality…

Thinking this way, Kong Qi’s expression changed slightly and he hurriedly stepped forward, catching up with Gong Wen Shan and saying, “How could I let Brother Gong take risks alone? This Kong is willing to accompany you as your brother, experiencing joy and sorrow together as one!”

“Are you sure?” Gong Wen Shan tilted his head and looked at him teasingly.

“Uh…” Kong Qi’s heart was filled with anxiety, mainly because the other party’s expression was too unnerving, making him feel anxious in his heart. He didn’t know which answer to give in order to satisfy Gong Wen Shen, but in the end, he trusted his gut, grit his teeth, and nodded, “Yes.”

“Good,” Gong Wen Shan shrugged and continued to move forward, saying, “Follow me closely.”

Hearing this, Kong Qi was overjoyed, knowing that his answer just now was the right one, while on the surface maintaining a calm façade as he said, “Of course, Brother Gong must also be careful.”

As the two people spoke, they arrived in front of the only entrance as everyone else watched.

By now, the cultivators who were meditating and resting in the main hall had turned their attention to Gong Wen Shan’s movements and were closely observing, lest they miss some important clue now. Gong Wen Shan’s ability to crack barriers had been witnessed by everyone earlier, so if there was really a hidden Spirit Array at this entrance, everyone had faith that Gong Wen Shan would find it.

For a moment, everyone held their breath, waiting for the results to appear.

Gong Wen Shan stood at the entrance and carefully observed it for a time, his expression constantly changing, putting everyone else on edge. Only after a long time did he mutter, “As I thought, this entrance is just an ordinary entrance, there’s no danger here!”

Saying so, he stepped forward directly towards the entrance.

Kong Qi hurried to keep up.

The two disappeared from sight the next moment.

“Playing cheap tricks!” Xiao Chen snorted, dissatisfied. Before seeing Gong Wen Shan’s expression change a few times, he too had thought the former had discovered something, but it turned out to be nothing, making Xiao Chen feel like he had been tricked.

Lan Xun smiled slightly and said, “Brother Gong… is a man who takes great pride in his talents!”

“Speaking of which, did anyone notice that…” Xiao Bai Yi suddenly came over to the two of them, looked around for a while, and said with a solemn expression, “Wu Chang is not here!”

Xiao Chen frowned, “What do you mean? What does it matter to us if he is here or not?”

Xiao Bai Yi glanced at him briefly before turning his eyes to Lan Xun.

“What’s the meaning of your look just now, are you disdaining me?” Xiao Chen was immediately unhappy.

Lan Xun frowned, but thinking of something, she muttered, “Brother Xiao Bai means… Wu Chang failed to enter here because of Gong Wen Shan’s machinations?”

Xiao Bai Yi nodded seriously, “I think so. Gong Wen Shan may not have just cracked the barrier around the temple, he might have also taken control of it. Basically, everyone else has come in, but Wu Chang for some reason was excluded. There’s only one explanation for this situation, Gong Wen Shan didn’t let him in!” At this point, Xiao Bai Yi let out a depressed sigh as he looked sincerely at Lan Xun and said, “Princess, this one is Azure Sun Temple’s Xiao Bai Yi, not… Brother Xiao Bai!”

“I know who you are…” Lan Xun smiled, “But you and Xiao Chen have the same surname, so I can’t call you Brother Xiao. I heard Yang Kai call you Xiao Bai before, so I just… figured calling you Brother Xiao Bai was a good idea. Do you not like that name?”

“I don’t!” Xiao Bai Yi denied vehemently, a cold light flashing across his eyes as he muttered, “After we leave this place, I’ll rip that bastard’s mouth off!”

“If we delay any longer, everyone else will leave. We need to move.” Xiao Chen found it hard to intervene in this conversation, so he could only change the subject forcefully.

Lan Xun turned her head and found that most of the cultivators in the hall had already disappeared, with only a few still standing around. Nodding, she agreed, “We should go too.”

Xiao Bai Yi signalled to Murong Xiao Xiao, who nodded in return before the two used their Movement Skills to rush towards the entrance.

…..

“Ah, I fell into a trap!” Yang Kai couldn’t help muttering as soon as he rushed into the entrance.

Because the world in front of him suddenly distorted and transformed into an empty grassland.

This grassland was rich and fertile, with no trace of danger anywhere. In Yang Kai’s field of vision, there were blue skies, white clouds, and the green grass as far as the eye could see, which was obviously not a scene from inside the Flowing Time Temple.

“An Illusion Array?” Yang Kai frowned, stopping in place and not moving.

He was not surprised by the scene in front of him because he had a faint premonition something like this would happen before he entered.

The reason was naturally due to the first person entering this hall being Gong Wen Shan.

Judging from his previous methods and style of dealing with Wu Chang, Gong Wen Shan was definitely not as approachable and carefree as he seemed on the surface. On the contrary, this guy seemed to be untrustworthy and sinister.

After just a few threatening words from Wu Chang, Gong Wen Shan had locked him out of the Wu Chang and made him watch as others entered, tormenting him both physically and mentally. Obviously, Gong Wen Shan was a man who sought revenge for even the slightest grievance.

Kong Qi had asked him to investigate the entrance, and Gong Wen Shan readily agreed, causing Yang Kai to have some suspicions.

Gong Wen Shan was clearly not a noble and selfless character who would do something to solely benefit others.

Of course, this was also human nature.

And sure enough, this entrance was different from what Gong Wen Shan had announced out loud. It had a pleasant surprise waiting for everyone.

The only question was whether Gong Wen Shan had arranged this Illusion Array or it was something native to the Flowing Time Temple.

If it was the former, it would be easy to handle. In such a short time, even if Gong Wen Shan was a Spirit Array Grandmaster, it would be impossible to arrange too profound of an Illusion Array in such a short time. Perhaps Gong Wen Shan had simply set up an Array Plate to slow down those who followed after him.

If that was the case, this Illusion Array could be destroyed quickly; after all, Gong Wen Shan couldn’t have exerted too much strength to arrange it.

However, if this was a feature of the Flowing Time Temple itself, it would be scary.

This was because even Gong Wen Shan hadn’t noticed any clues before and had walked in confidently. If this Illusion Array was so subtle that it was even able to deceive someone like Gong Wen Shan, how could it possibly be simple? Worst case scenario, this Illusion Array was so powerful that all who fell into it would be trapped here for a lifetime.

Thinking so, Yang Kai took a deep breath, calmed his nerves, and tried to comfort himself, “I hope this is just another one of that guy’s tricks…”

Saying so, he slowly closed his eyes before snapping them back open.

His left eye had now turned golden and released a solemn, majestic aura that seemed capable of piercing through the void and seeing through all illusions!

Yang Kai slowly turned his head and looked around, after a short while breathing a sigh of relief while a look of joy filled his face.

Now, he was able to determine that this Illusion Array was not part of the Flowing Time Temple itself, but just a temporary arrangement made by Gong Wen Shan, because under his Demon Eye of Annihilation, Yang Kai was quickly able to see through the weaknesses and distortions in this Illusion Array.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai decided against breaking this Spirit Array forcefully and simply walked out along one of its weak points.

At the same time, in almost the same illusion, Lan Xun held a light pearl in her hand. This pearl exuded a soft light and was dispelling the illusory scenes around her, allowing her to see her true surroundings as she walked forward.

Xiao Chen followed her step by step, coldly snorting as he said, “Why does Princess insist on going through all this trouble. It’s just a trivial Illusion Array, allow me to break it directly.”

Lan Xun smiled and said, “One should show proper respect for others’ hard work. Gong Wen Shan did not hesitate to use an Array Plate to place an Illusion Array here just to delay others a little bit. If we were to destroy this Spirit Array, wouldn’t everyone else benefit from our hard work while we gain nothing? I don’t plan on doing charity work here.”

“Your Highness, you…” Xiao Chen stared at Lan Xun’s back in amazement, not having expected that after just a few days in the outside world, this innocent and kind-hearted Princess had been contaminated by such wickedness. In his heart, he felt a great deal of pain!

On the other side, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao had both closed their eyes, as if they were blind, and were slowly groping their way through the Illusion Array. The directions they walked seemed random, but in actual fact, they were slowly moving forward. As for how they achieved this, it was unknown.

“An Illusion Array? Ridiculous, in the face of absolute power, nothing else matters!” Luo Yuan had always adhered to the truth that strength was supreme, so even after falling into this Illusion Array, he did not flinch and instead pushed his Source Qi violently to blast his surroundings.

However, those attacks, which should have been strong enough to kill an ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator, did not even cause a ripple when they landed, like stones sinking into a violent sea.

Although this Illusion Array was hurriedly arranged by Gong Wen Shan using an Array Plate, how could it be violently broken so easily? The Gong Family was famed for its proficiency in Spirit Arrays, and Gong Wen Shan had already taken into account the combat power of Luo Yuan and the others when he set up this Illusion Array to ensure that even if they used brute force to crack it, it would still take them some time.

The reactions of the other Dao Source Realm cultivators were identical to the top Masters after falling into the Illusion Array.

Those who know a little about Spirit Arrays tried to find Array Nodes to quickly crack the array.

Those who didn’t understand Spirit Arrays used violence.

As for those like Yang Kai and Lan Xun, they were able to find weaknesses in this Illusion Array and easily escape with the help of special abilities.

After consuming less than a cup of tea worth of time, Yang Kai had already emerged from the Illusion Array and the scene before his eyes once again distorted and changed, the blue sky, white clouds, and grass fields suddenly disappearing and being replaced by a dark and deep passage.

Yang Kai immediately withdrew his Demon Eye of Annihilation and kicked the ground to rush to the end of this hallway.

Arriving at a certain point, Yang Kai’s brows couldn’t help furrowing as he was forced to stop, “There are so many paths?”

In front of his eyes, there were at least a dozen forks in the hall, each of them too dark to see down and giving off an unsettling aura, as if they were all paths of no return.

Chapter 2159

With so many forks in the road, some would obviously be safe while others would be dangerous, but Yang Kai didn’t know how to determine which was which, so he simply chose one at random and dove in.

At the same time he disappeared, Lan Xun and Xiao Chen also escaped from the Illusion Array just in time to see Yang Kai’s back disappear.

“Huh…” Lan Xun showed a surprised expression, “Someone was faster than me?”

“What?” Xiao Chen was a step behind Lan Xun and did not manage to see anything about the situation ahead.

“It’s nothing,” Lan Xun shook her head before turning back to see that they were only about ten paces from the previous entrance. The surrounding area was empty and there was no trace of anyone else. She knew how powerful the Illusion Array was, but she also didn’t need to worry about the others who were trapped inside and simply said to Xiao Chen, “Let’s go.”

Shortly after, the two arrived at the same forked path where Lan Xun deliberately chose a different path from the one Yang Kai entered.

Although these passages were somewhat gloomy, they weren’t completely dark as luminous stones were fitted into the walls at certain intervals, emitting a soft light.

Yang Kai constantly scanned a twenty-metre radius around himself with his Divine Sense, staying on alert for any possible dangers as he explored.

Yang Kai hadn’t walked far before he suddenly showed a strange look. Perking up his ears, he was able to vaguely hear the sounds of fighting and could even smell a faint bloody aura in the air.

Shocked, he quickly retracted his Divine Sense, concealed his aura, and walked forward slowly.

Soon, Yang Kai arrived outside an empty hall that, while incomparable to the main entrance hall he had come from, was still not small.

The situation inside this hall was clear at a glance. There wasn’t anything strange in it not except for a pool in the middle of the room which looked a few meters in diameter and depth. Right now though, this pool was empty.

On the left side of the hall, there was a long table with two spirit fruits placed atop it.

It was impossible to tell how long these spirit fruits had been placed here, but despite it obviously having been a long time, they still looked fresh and even exuded a strong fragrance. These spirit fruits weren’t very big, about the size of a fist, and their appearance resembled ripe peaches, causing one to salivate at their mere sight.

“Those are… Flowing Time Fruits?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he immediately recognized what these spirit fruits were.

He had previously obtained a jade slip leftover from the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Third Disciple, Gong Sun Mu, from below Yuan Furnace Mountain. That jade slip had detailed innumerable types of rare spirit grasses and medicines of the Star Boundary, as well as the methods to store and refine them.

Yang Kai had already memorized the contents of the jade slip, so there was no reason for him to not recognize these fruits!

“So, Flowing Time Fruits are a product of the Flowing Time Temple!” At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly understood.

Although he knew about Flowing Time Fruits before, Yang Kai hadn’t connected them with the Flowing Time Temple; but now, after seeing the Flowing Time Fruits here, he understood.

Flowing Time Fruits had a very peculiar effect that did not do much for a cultivator’s cultivation.

But even so, that did not decrease their rarity or preciousness.

It was recorded in the jade slip left by Gong Sun Mu that Flowing Time Fruits grew in pairs and each one had a diametrically opposite effect. One was able to rejuvenate people, turning an elderly person youthful in a short period of time, while the other was like a time poison that could turn a young man into an old man in the blink of an eye.

If one didn’t know how to distinguish between the different Flowing Time Fruits, no one would dare to swallow them rashly.

Without mentioning whether the second fruit’s effect was useful or not, just the first effect was definitely enough to make countless cultivators go crazy over, especially female cultivators. What woman didn’t want to remain youthful forever? But no matter how high one’s cultivation was, and no matter how astonishing their beauty was, the ruthless carving knife known as time would still leave some marks on them.

As time passed, these marks would only grow more and more obvious.

But if one had a Flowing Time Fruit that could rejuvenate one’s vitality, it was a different story. Even an old woman could regain her lost beauty in the blink of an eye.

Of course, that was not to say that the Flowing Time Fruit was only useful for women. For those cultivators who were approaching the limits of their lifespans and had no hope of breaking through, a Flowing Time Fruit was undoubtedly among the best medicines to increase one’s lifespan. It could return a cultivator’s body to a state dozens, or even hundreds of years prior to when they swallowed it, which was equivalent to adding dozens or hundreds of years to their lifespan.

To a certain extent, this was even more precious than an Emperor Artifact.

After Yang Kai recognized the Flowing Time Fruit, he immediately became energetic.

If this kind of spirit fruit landed in someone else’s hands, they wouldn’t be able to do much with it, but in Yang Kai’s hands, it could produce amazing effects, because he was an Alchemist and could use the Flowing Time Fruit as the main ingredient to refine a furnace of Flowing Time Pills.

This was an all but extinct Spirit Pill which could be sold for an immense amount of wealth!

Yang Kai gulped hard, trying to hold back his drool, as his eyes began focusing on the ruckus at the centre of the hall.

There, one person and one creature were fighting.

They were also the source of the sounds of battle Yang Kai had heard before.

Impressively, the one who was fighting was Kong Qi of Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce! As for his opponent, it was a blood-red monster that seemed like a giant mass of putrid blood.

This blood monster had a humanoid upper body, a round head, two arms and a flowing amorphous lower body. As it rushed around the hall, whippings its strange appendages about, it released a thick bloody stench into the air.

The light of Source Qi bloomed from Kong Qi’s body as he wore a solemn expression. Kong Qi was mostly dodging while using sharp attacks to hit the blood monster from time to time, seemingly probing it for weaknesses.

Kong Qi seemed to be a cautious person that, after encountering a strong enemy, would not make any aggressive moves unless he was certain they would be effective.

Before Yang Kai arrived, Kong Qi had been dealing with this blood monster in a similar way for quite some time. At this moment, he had basically figured out the opponent’s routines and methods and was now looking for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

“How could I have picked the exact same path as this guy?” Yang Kai hid in the dark and frowned as he mumbled to himself. Just now, there were a dozen or so paths he could have chosen from, but unexpectedly he had picked one someone else had already gone through.

But it was also fortunate that Kong Qi had advanced ahead of him, otherwise, Yang Kai would be the one dealing with the blood monster at this moment.

After scanning the battlefield. Yang Kai turned his gaze to the two Flowing Time Fruits on the long table again and a wicked thought came to his mind, one he could not dismiss after having it, [While that guy has attracted the attention of the blood monster, secretly taking the Flowing Time Fruit away… wouldn’t be too much, right?]

Before now, Yang Kai had no dealings with Kong Qi, so there was no gratitude or grudge between them. As such, when this idea came up, Yang Kai had no qualms about implementing it.

Thinking so, he immediately used his Nihility Secret Technique to conceal his aura completely and began to sneak forward cautiously.

After Nihility was used, Yang Kai merged with the Void and completely isolated his own aura, to the point where others could not spy on his existence with their Divine Sense unless it was powerful enough to probe the Void.

The only weakness of this Secret Technique was that it only blurred his figure, so others could still see him with their eyes!

The hall wasn’t too big, and if Yang Kai moved too hastily, he would reveal his whereabouts; however, Yang Kai had always been a cautious individual, so he only moved swiftly through Kong Qi and the blood monster’s blind spots.

Because there was no need to worry about being detected by their Divine Senses, Yang Kai’s was able to act unscrupulously as long as he wasn’t spotted.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai rushed up to the long table and grabbed towards the two Flowing Time Fruits, wanting to stuff them into his Space Ring.

Unexpectedly though, at that moment, a barrier of light appeared around the table when Yang Kai’s hand approached it, blocking him from seizing the fruits.

“Damn it!” Yang Kai cursed as he knew that this movement would expose him.

And sure enough, when the light curtain flickered, Kong Qi and the blood monster, who were busy fighting one another, both noticed and turned their gazes towards him.

Kong Qi stared at Yang Kai with a stunned expression, his eyes bulging as he never expected someone would try to snatch his prize while he was busy dealing with this blood monster!

He couldn’t help but tease, “Friend, your cultivation may not be high, but your courage definitely is!”

“You’re too kind!” Yang Kai answered flippantly as he pushed his Source Qi and punched the light curtain protecting the table.

Now that he had been found out, he could just steal the fruits openly.

This barrier was quite extraordinary, seeing how it was still functional after countless years, but after taking a punch from Yang Kai, it finally broke.

Yang Kai’s hands moved quickly as he snatched up the Flowing Time Fruits and threw them directly into his Space Ring.

“You…” Kong Qi became angered, as anyone would in such a situation.

After he arrived at this hall, he had found the two Flowing Time Fruits, but before he could obtain them, the strange pool of blood in the hall surged up and condensed into a giant blood monster, forcing him into a battle. Faced with such an enemy, Kong Qi could only focus on defeating it as quickly as possible and then gather his spoils after.

Never had he expected that Yang Kai would suddenly appear and snatch what was rightfully his right before his eyes.

*Huo…*

After the Flowing Time Fruit was taken away by Yang Kai, the blood monster, which already seemed like a mass of hostility, roared furiously and rushed over to him, throwing out a huge, bloody fist.

“This blow…” Kong Qi narrowed his eyes as he showed a little amazement.

He had been dealing with this blood monster for quite some time now and had thought he had figured out its strength, but now it was apparent it had not been using its full strength. From the attack the blood monster threw at Yang Kai, Kong Qi realized that it was definitely not as easy to deal with as he had originally thought.

Turning his eyes back to Yang Kai, Kong Qi sneered and muttered to himself, “A First-Order Dao Source Realm… will he be killed instantly?”

According to Kong Qi’s estimates, even if he wanted to defend against this blow, it would not be easy, so wouldn’t a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator like Yang Kai be pounded into blood mist in the blink of an eye?

Chapter 2160

*Hong…*

A violent bang erupted along with a shockwave of energy from the spot where Yang Kai once stood.

“Courting death…” Kong Qi looked ahead and coldly snorted while at the same time he carefully searched the chaotic area for the Space Ring Yang Kai should have left behind after his death.

But he was unable to find anything.

“Could even his Space Ring have been destroyed?” Kong Qi’s face went slightly pale, not because of the amazing strength the blood monster displayed, but because Yang Kai’s Space Ring and all its contents had been lost. Regardless of whether Yang Kai originally had anything good in his Space Ring, just the two unusual spirit fruits from this room were absolutely extraordinary.

If Yang Kai’s Space Ring had really exploded due to the blood monster’s attack, its contents would have been exiled to the Void and lost forever.

As Kong Qi became somewhat absent-minded from this shock, the blood monster roared wildly again as a bright red light burst from its body, illuminating the surrounding room.

“What now?” Kong Qi frowned as he hurriedly leapt up in the air to avoid the red light.

At the same time, a blood-red light spread across the entire hall, forming a barrier around it that sealed all entrances and exits!

The next moment, at one of the exits, the red light curtain caved in slightly as a figure mysteriously appeared, looking like it had bounced off the barrier.

“It can even do something like this?” Yang Kai was shocked as he raised his fist and punched towards the light curtain.

Unexpectedly though, despite this light curtain looking quite thin, it was extremely tough, so Yang Kai’s fist was only able to leave a dent in it that was rapidly restored.

“You…” Kong Qi who was floating in the air suddenly gasped, as if he was seeing a ghost, pointing at Yang Kai in surprise and muttering, “Didn’t you die?”

A First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator had actually emerged unscathed after taking a blow like that from this strange blood monster, and had even taken advantage of the chaos to flee towards the exit. If it weren’t for the blood monster’s alertness and its strange method of sealing up the exit, this odd boy might have escaped…

At that time, the furious blood monster would naturally vent its anger on Kong Qi. In other words, Yang Kai would have gotten away with all the benefits, leaving Kong Qi to clean up the mess…

“Insidious little brat, you’re too vicious! Are you even human!?” After Kong Qi understood what had happened, he cursed angrily, wishing he could rush down and join forces with the blood monster to beat Yang Kai to a pulp.

“Haha, nice to meet you, Brother Kong. How are you today?” Yang Kai greeted Kong Qi slightly awkwardly. He was indeed planning to escape after faking his death, leaving Kong Qi alone to deal with the blood monster, but unfortunately, his plan had been foiled when the exit was blocked.

“Nice to meet you my ass!” Kong Qi snorted, “However, after you die, I think I’ll be better!”

He and Yang Kai had never met before, but Kong Qi’s first impression of Yang Kai could not possibly have been worse. Kong Qi felt that Yang Kai was a treacherous and vile snake that should be avoided at all costs, so naturally, he did not give him any face.

Yang Kai didn’t mind though and simply smiled, “Brother Kong need not be so upset; after all, as the saying goes, we rely on our parents at home, and our friends when we go out…”

“Who is your friend?” Kong Qi interrupted him without waiting for him to finish.

“Good…” Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn as his figure flickered to avoid the blood monster’s killer blow. Since he secretly took the two Flowing Time Fruits, the blood monster seemed to only care about him now, treating him as if he had killed his father while completely ignoring Kong Qi.

The blood monster was powerful, but Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so it wasn’t difficult for Yang Kai to avoid this opponent, but what kept Yang Kai alert was the strange Blood Qi which was emanating from this monster’s body. This Blood Qi seemed to be highly corrosive and was constantly wearing down his Source Qi, trying to invade his body and cause trouble.

While avoiding the attacks of the blood monster, Yang Kai shouted, “Brother Kong, are you not going to come up and help me kill this blood monster?”

Kong Qi crossed his arms and stared down at him leisurely, sneering as he said, “Why should I help you? What does your life or death have to do with me?”

“Brother Kong is slightly mistaken there!” Yang Kai shook his head, his words coming out slightly intermittently as he continued to rapidly dodge the blood monster’s assault, “You understand that this hall has now been sealed up by this creature. Only if this thing dies will we be able to escape. Is Brother Kong willing to be trapped here permanently?”

Kong Qi smiled and said, “I can just wait to kill it after it kills you!”

Yang Kai snickered in response, “I’ll be frank then. Brother Kong, although your strength isn’t bad, if you want to kill this guy single-handedly, won’t it be a bit difficult?”

Kong Qi’s face twitched slightly as, although he didn’t want to admit it, what Yang Kai said was correct.

Before Yang Kai came here, Kong Qi was still confident he could easily take down this blood monster, but judging from the combat power it was showing at the moment, it was obvious this creature had been hiding its strength before.

Even if Kong Qi used his trump cards, he would have to pay a steep price if he wanted to kill this blood monster on his own.

What’s more, there was no way to tell what other dangers lurked inside this place, so Kong Qi was unwilling to use too much power unless he was forced to.

Realizing this, Kong Qi’s brow furrowed as he stared at Yang Kai and said deeply, “Your Excellency seems to be quite extraordinary!”

It was only now that he suddenly discovered that Yang Kai was still freely chatting with him while dealing with this blood monster! This was definitely not something a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator could do. Combined with his previous strange methods, Kong Qi can’t help wondering which Sect this guy had come from to have such unusual strength.

“Brother Kong is too polite! This Yang is just a little confident in his Movement Skill,” when Yang Kai spoke, he stopped in mid-air and waited for the attack of the blood monster to arrive in front of his eyes before disappearing suddenly, as if he was showing off deliberately.

“Just your Movement Skill…” Kong Qi murmured to himself as he kept his thoughts on the matter hidden, instead shouting, “It’s not impossible for me to make a move now, but since you took away…”

“You can have one!” Yang Kai seemed to know what he was going to say and immediately replied.

Just after he finished speaking, something flew out from Yang Kai’s hand, causing Kong Qi to frown, reach out, and catch this object, soon discovering that it was one of the spirit fruits which had been placed on the long table before!

[Just like that?]

Yang Kai’s move made Kong Qi quite confused.

“Since Brother Kong and I will be joining forces to kill this enemy, dividing the spoils in half is only fair. You don’t have any problems now, right? You wouldn’t want to monopolize…” Yang Kai’s voice came out again.

Kong Qi carefully checked the spirit fruit in his hand to make sure it was not some kind of fake before solemnly storing it into his Space Ring and saying indifferently, “Although you are a little unpleasant, since you’ve shown enough sincerity, this Kong will cooperate with you!”

Yang Kai grinned, “Brother Kong understands well!”

“Hmph, keep it occupied. It will take a while for this Kong to perform this move.” Saying so, Kong Qi’s Source Qi flared while at the same time he flipped his wrist and a golden coin appeared on the palm of his hand. With a loud shout, Kong Qi then began to madly pour his Source Qi into this coin.

Seeing this, Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of Secret Technique Kong Qi was going to use, only that it apparently needed to be channeled through this strange golden coin artifact. However, judging from Kong Qi’s movements, this move was sure to be extraordinary, so Yang Kai dedicated himself to keeping the blood monster occupied.

Kong Qi acting this way was also because of a strong sense of self-confidence. Although he thought Yang Kai was unusual for a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, he didn’t believe Yang Kai was stronger than him. Yang Kai being able to deal with the blood monster for so long was probably because of his outstanding Movement Skill and speed, but if Kong Qi wanted to cause fatal damage to the blood monster, he needed to rely on himself.

As such, he assumed the role of attacker.

Yang Kai did not disappoint him as expected, leading the blood monster around the hall with ease. On the contrary, as the power fluctuations from Kong Qi grew more intense, it was the blood monster that seemed to feel faintly uneasy and become more irritable.

At a certain moment, the blood monster finally gave up chasing Yang Kai and instead turned its odd head towards Kong Qi while revealing a pair of scarlet eyes. Roaring madly, its huge body turned into a blood-red mass of light that shot towards Kong Qi.

Kong Qi narrowed his eyes and almost gave up preparing his Secret Technique to dodge.

At the critical moment though, Yang Kai’s figure flashed in front of him and waving his hands, summoned dozens of Golden Blood Threads. The room filled with golden light as the countless Golden Blood Threads wove together to form a giant golden shield.

*Hong…*

The blood-red light smashed onto the golden blood shield and its massive body was immediately revealed as it was forced backwards several metres. At the same time, the golden shield unravelled and transformed back into Golden Blood Threads.

Yang Kai stretched out his hand to take back his Golden Blood Threads while shouting in a deep voice, “Brother Kong, if you’re ready, do it quickly, I can’t block a second hit!”

“You’re in luck because I’m prepared!” Kong Qi smiled before his face grew solemn and he turned his hand, tossing out the golden coin in front of him while uttering, “Falling Golden Coins!”

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

The single golden coin floating in front of Kong Qi suddenly split into two, then four, then eight…

In the blink of an eye, golden coins filled the air.

Every coin danced lightly through the air as they spun rapidly as some grew larger while others shrank down.

Under the guidance of Kong Qi’s Divine Sense, these countless coins then flew out towards the blood monster.

The blood monster seemed to sense a threat from this attack and hurriedly retreated, but no matter how fast it was, how could it escape from this strange artifact?

In the blink of an eye, the blood monster was overtaken by the first golden coin which on impact began exuding a strange suppressive force, restraining its movements.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third coins fell, inserted themselves into the body of the blood monster, and slowed its movement even further.

As more and more coins fell, the blood monster was quickly suppressed and it was not long before its entire body was covered by innumerable golden coins.

Chapter 2161

Soon, the blood monster was buried under a pile of countless golden coins.

Seeing this scene, Yang Kai vaguely foresaw what Kong Qi’s next move would be and quickly opened up some distance.

As he thought, just as he pulled back, Kong Qi suddenly shouted, “Death!”

As soon as this word fell, a buzzing sound rang out.

The countless golden coins all suddenly transformed into extremely sharp blades and swiftly cut through the body of the blood monster…

A moment later, the golden light dissipated, and the countless golden coins merged back into one again that was taken back by Kong Qi.

As for the blood monster, it had been sliced into innumerable razor-thin pieces, most of its body now just a puddle of liquid that flowed freely across the ground.

The hall quickly filled with a disgusting smell.

“Hmph, nothing much!” Kong Qi landed with dashing style as he coldly snorted, and if it weren’t for his pale face, his bravado would have been quite convincing.

The move just now obviously consumed a lot of his strength.

Yang Kai smiled slightly and was about to open his mouth to say something when suddenly, his brow furrowed and he began looking around intently.

“What now?” Kong Qi frowned when he saw Yang Kai’s actions.

“Brother Kong… haven’t you noticed that the barrier around this room still hasn’t been eliminated?” Yang Kai glanced towards the hall’s exit and asked.

After he mentioned this, Kong Qi also began looking around and soon muttered aloud, “You’re right… but why?”

“There are two possibilities!” Yang Kai’s complexion darkened as his expression became solemn, “The first possibility is that this barrier is somehow related to the room itself and has nothing to do with that blood monster, so even if it died, the barrier wouldn’t necessarily disperse.”

“And the other possibility…” Kong Qi was no idiot and clearly understood what Yang Kai wanted to say, his glancing down as he shouted, “It’s not dead!”

As soon as his words fell, the pool of blood-red pus on the ground began squirming towards the pool in the middle of the room, like a living creature.

“It survived that!?” Kong Qi was shocked.

The blood monster had been hit by his strongest Secret Technique and been cut into innumerable pieces.

“The blood pool is the key!” Yang Kai seemed to realize something and shouted.

As he spoke, the blood monster’s remnants continued to pour into the blood pool and soon began to boil up, as if it was re-constituting itself and about to be reborn.

“So troublesome!” Kong Qi couldn’t help taking a few steps back with a look of fear and anxiety, quickly suggesting, “We’d be better off joining forces and break through this barrier and escape!”

Kong Qi really didn’t want to fight against this peculiar and seemingly indestructible anomaly any further.

Yang Kai, however, just stood in place, turning a deaf ear to Kong Qi’s suggestion.

“Did you hear what I said?” Kong Qi frowned and shouted.

“En…” Yang Kai finally nodded with a grin, “There’s no need for that though. I suddenly have a good idea!”

“What?” Kong Qi asked in amazement.

But Yang Kai didn’t answer and instead flew over the blood pool before assuming a strange stance, stretching out his hands as he shouted, “Ocean Draining Divine Art!”

“What the hell?” Kong Qi’s mouth twitched, really wondering what Yang Kai was up to, because according to his knowledge and experience, there was no such thing as the Ocean Draining Divine Art, which either meant it was some kind of Secret Art Yang Kai made up by himself, or some obscure garbage Secret Art.

The next moment though, Kong Qi’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

The squirming blood in the pool was actually being sucked up into Yang Kai’s hands, continuously flowing into his palm and disappearing without a trace!

The blood in the pool roiled even more fiercely as faint roars of struggle rang out; however, because the blood monster’s body had yet to fully re-form, it was simply powerless to resist and could only be sucked into Yang Kai’s palm.

Yang Kai’s palm was like a bottomless pit at this moment, accepting the blood pool filled with a rich malevolent aura.

Kong Qi was dumbfounded and couldn’t help feeling like a storm was raging inside his heart. Rubbing his eyes constantly, he kept wondering to himself if everything he was seeing was an illusion…

But no matter how he looked at it, the scene before him was entirely real.

At the same time, Yang Kai maintained his strange pose while keeping his Sealed World Bead in a blind spot of Kong Qi’s field of vision. Using his Divine Sense, Yang Kai asked his Embodiment once again, “Are you sure you can refine this thing?”

The Embodiment quickly replied, “There is a huge amount of energy contained in the bloody water, which is of great use to me. There is nothing the Heaven Devouring Battle Law cannot devour, so how could this trivial pool of blood be an exception? I’ve even refined two Dao Source Realm cultivators before!”

“Well, since you’ve said so…” Yang Kai didn’t ask any more questions. If it wasn’t for the Embodiment suddenly sending him a message just now, he would not have used the Sealed World Bead to suck this pool of blood into the Small Sealed World. Pausing for a moment, he warned, “Still, you should be careful to make sure this thing’s wicked aura doesn’t contaminate your Soul!”

“I know.”

Inside the hall, Kong Qi’s expression changed from surprise to shock, then shock to astonishment…

And as time passed, the pool of blood, accompanied by many howls and wails, was drained dry.

The moment the last remnants of the bloody water were drained, the barrier around the room broke.

Finished with the absorption, Yang Kai formed a series of seals with his hands, as if he was completing some kind of profound Secret Art.

Next, he turned around and patted his stomach before letting out a loud burp, as if he had just eaten his fill.

Kong Qi’s face turned green…

“Brother Kong, it’s been good cooperating with you! As expected of an elite from the Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce, that Falling Golden Coins technique you used really opened my eyes. As expected, Brother Kong is worthy of his illustrious reputation, I…” At this point, Yang Kai paused, tilted his head, and looked at Kong Qi curiously, “Why are you making such an expression?”

Kong Qi’s face was twisted and his mouth was twitching slightly, “I just want to ask, is there anything abnormal with your body…?”

“Nope!” Yang Kai replied, walking forward while talking.

Kong Qi stepped back a few steps and raised his hand, “Don’t come over, just stand there and speak.”

If Kong Qi’s attitude towards Yang Kai had previously been disgust and vigilance, it was now pure disgust… He looked at Yang Kai like he was some kind of maggot crawling out of a dung pit, not daring to stare straight at him.

“Brother Kong seems to enjoy clear, clean relationships,” Yang Kai grinned and said with deep meaning.

“This has nothing to do with whether I like being clean or not!” Kong Qi tried to endure the discomfort in his stomach as he replied sharply, closing his mouth firmly after he spoke.

“En, by the way, there is one more thing I should tell Brother Kong. About that spirit fruit, after you go back, you should consult with a senior expert to carefully identify it and its effects. Don’t consume it lightly,” Yang Kai warned.

After all, although the two Flowing Time Fruits looked identical, their effects were completely opposite, and the one that Yang Kai gave to Kong Qi… had a slight issue with it.

If Kong Qi were to suffer from this, Yang Kai would feel a bit responsible.

“You don’t need to remind me of such things,” Kong Qi frowned, secretly feeling that Yang Kai was being intrusive.

“That’s good.” Yang Kai grinned and said, “Now that the matter here has concluded, why don’t you and I…”

Before he could finish speaking though, Kong Qi cupped his fists and said, “Farewell!”

Turning around, Kong Qi flew out of the room.

He didn’t even bother to offer some polite parting words, as if he hoped to never meet Yang Kai again.

“Why so hasty…” Yang Kai looked at the direction where Kong Qi disappeared and muttered to himself, standing there for a moment to ponder before ultimately deciding to follow after Kong Qi.

Although he had accidentally chosen the same path as Kong Qi, it was too late to turn back now. The other cultivators had probably all escaped from the Illusion Array and flooded into the different forks.

Even if Yang Kai backtracked and chose a different path, it was still likely he would have to follow in someone else’s footsteps. Doing so would be a waste of time.

Following along the corridor dotted with light stones, Yang Kai saw a few barriers and restrictions, but all of them had been broken by Kong Qi who had gone on ahead.

As such, Yang Kai was able to proceed quite leisurely.

After walking for about half an hour, Yang Kai suddenly looked up and grinned at a figure standing in front of him, “Brother Kong, were you waiting for me here? Did you encounter some kind of trouble?”

“No.” Seeing him approaching, Kong Qi felt a sense of panic inexplicably and hurriedly stepped back a few steps before asking, “There’s a fork here, which one do you want to go down?”

Yang Kai heard this and looked forward to discover another fork in the corridor; this time, however, there were only two different paths.

As his eyes turned, Yang Kai immediately understood why Kong Qi was waiting here.

This guy obviously didn’t want to go down the same path as him, so he had paused here to confirm that they went their separate ways.

“Which one does Brother Kong want to take?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.

Kong Qi’s brow twitched as he said, “Whichever one you don’t take!”

“Is that so… I still think it would be best if Brother Kong and I…”

“Don’t mention that again!” Kong Qi hurriedly cut in, his face turning serious as he snapped, “Hurry up and choose!”

“Then I’ll go this way,” Yang Kai casually pointed his finger at the fork to the right.

As soon as these words came out, Kong Qi’s figure shot off into the left fork and soon disappeared.

“That guy is quite interesting!” Yang Kai stared in the direction Kong Qi disappeared, grinning wryly before he turned and stepped into the right fork.

In fact, even if Kong Qi didn’t intentionally wait for him here, Yang Kai would have chosen a different direction. Although it was convenient to have someone clear the way for him, if there were no benefits left behind to collect, there was no point.

Travelling forward, things were fairly uneventful. Although there were a few small restrictions here and there, Yang Kai successfully cracked them and moved on.

At a certain moment though, a ray of light suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai, surprising him. Looking up ahead, he found that there was a doorway at the end of the corridor, one that was emitting a bright light.

Chapter 2162

With a light finally appearing, Yang Kai couldn’t help speeding up.

After a while, he passed through the door.

What appeared before him was a white jade staircase, one that seemed pure and flawless, and went on forever, without a top in sight. Not even Yang Kai’s Divine Sense could see through this staircase.

At the base of the stairs, to Yang Kai’s right, there was a stone stele on which a line of large characters was engraved.

Yang Kai looked down and muttered, “Flowing Time Steps?”

Frowning slightly, Yang Kai wondered what kind of mysteries this white jade staircase concealed and didn’t dare to move forward rashly.

Fortunately, there were no others present, so after thinking about it for a moment, he directly called Hua Qing Si out.

Hua Qing Si was a disciple of Star Soul Palace, and had been preparing for the Four Seasons Realm opening for a long time, so there was no doubt she knew more about this Flowing Time Temple than him.

With a flash of light, Hua Qing Si’s figure appeared.

She looked around blankly at first, not sure where she was.

“This is the Flowing Time Temple!” Yang Kai explained.

“Huh?” Hua Qing Si responded in amazement before immediately exclaiming, “You actually found the Flowing Time Temple?!”

“En, it was more of a coincidence than anything. I’m not even certain why it appeared,” Yang Kai said. “In any case, take a look at this first…”

Saying so, Yang Kai pointed his finger to the white jade staircase in front and the stone tablet beside it.

Hua Qing Si glanced over at the stone stele and her tender body couldn’t help shaking, “The Flowing Time Steps?”

“You really know something…” Yang Kai observed her words and expressions and immediately understood that she knew about these Flowing Time Steps, immediately asking, “Quickly tell me, what is this thing?”

Hua Qing Si took a deep breath to calm the excitement in her heart before quickly explaining, “The Flowing Time Steps are said to contain Flowing Time Great Emperor’s comprehension of Flowing Time Force. Those who successfully mount these stairs can experience the Flowing Time Force for themselves, which is of great benefit to a cultivator!”

Her eyes gleamed as an eagerness filled her expression.

“What if one fails?” Yang Kai frowned.

Hua Qing Si was startled for a moment, but after thinking about it, she muttered, “I don’t know… but the consequences will probably be horrendous.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly. It seemed that Hua Qing Si didn’t know much about the Flowing Time Steps, but she at least knew more than him.

Seeing Yang Kai hesitating, Hua Qing Si pursed her red lips and said, “Whether you want to go up or not, I want to try!”

Yang Kai glanced at her and smiled, “Since this opportunity has appeared before us, naturally I can’t miss it. Hmm… I should call Ruo Xi out too.”

Saying so, he stretched out his hand again and summoned Zhang Ruo Xi.

Explaining the magical effects of the Flowing Time Steps to Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai looked at her seriously and reminded, “You can decide whether to go up or not. Although I don’t know the consequences of failure, it will no doubt be serious; however, you can rest assured that if anything happens, I’ll take you back into the Sealed World Bead.”

“I want to go up!” To Yang Kai’s surprise, after listening to his explanation, Zhang Ruo Xi did not even hesitate and instead seemed quite enthusiastic.

Hua Qing Si smiled and commented, “This little girl isn’t very old, but she’s quite motivated…”

“If that’s the case, we’ll go together,” Yang Kai nodded and sternly said, “Don’t get too far away from me, or I may not have time to take you back into the Small Sealed World if something happens.”

Zhang Ruo Xi nodded nervously, her face flushing slightly because of the excitement. Hua Qing Si smiled when she saw this and said, “Then you should follow Elder Sister closely…”

Yang Kai glanced at her, laughed lightly, and stepped up onto the white jade staircase.

When Hua Qing Si and Zhang Ruo Xi saw this, they both wore solemn expressions as they too stepped up side by side.

Suddenly, a stream of white energy emerged from the white jade stairs, transforming into a cloud of mist that shrouded the feet of the trio, making them feel as if they were walking on clouds.

At the same time, Yang Kai’s body shook. He felt a peculiar power pouring into his body, and like a catalyst, it began washing through his Source Qi and Spiritual Energy, causing both to become purer and more vigorous.

This force was difficult to describe, making Yang Kai feel like many years were passing by and his strength was naturally increasing on its own.

Obviously, all of this happened in just an instant, but to the trio, it felt like a long time had passed.

A strange and indescribably feeling lingered in each of their minds.

Yang Kai glanced around and found that both Zhang Ruo Xi and Hua Qing Si looked safe and sound, and once he was certain they were alright, he took another step forward.

This time, a more intense feeling struck, causing Yang Kai’s spirit to shake. Opening himself up, he allowed the effects of the Flowing Time Force to purify his Source Qi and Divine Sense once again.

At the very beginning, Yang Kai was still able to leisurely observe the situation of Hua Qing Si and Zhang Ruo Xi, lest the two of them could not bear the Flowing Time Force and experienced an accident, but as he continued to climb higher, Yang Kai gradually became immersed in his own experience of seemingly slow but also rapid enhancement of his strength. Soon, it became difficult for him to extricate himself from this feeling.

“Is this Flowing Time Force?” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly as a look of admiration appeared on his face, “Such a mysterious power! Only a short time has passed, but this force can actually make one feel as if a lot of time has gone by… This kind of peculiar power is even more esoteric than the Dao of Space.”

Just as his mind was swirling with such thoughts, Yang Kai suddenly felt an unusual wave of power coming from in front of him.

Yang Kai suddenly awoke from his entranced state and glanced forward to see Zhang Ruo Xi actually walking upwards at a position seven or eight steps ahead of him, her clothes covered in sweat, showing a beautiful outline of her figure.

And as she stepped forward, a halo of energy would burst from her petite body and spread out to the surroundings.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Yang Kai eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He didn’t know when Zhang Ruo Xi surpassed him, and by so many steps at that, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that Zhang Ruo Xi had made a breakthrough just now to the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm!

If he hadn’t seen this with his own eyes, Yang Kai wouldn’t have believed it was true.

After all, Zhang Ruo Xi had just broken through to the Origin Returning Realm a few days ago. Breaking through again in such short order, even if it was just to the next Minor Realm, was incredibly strange.

Although Yang Kai himself had gained a lot from these Flowing Time Steps, clearly it was incomparable to the benefits Zhang Ruo Xi had obtained.

[There’s really something strange about this little girl!] Yang Kai recalled the day when she broke through to the Origin Returning Realm and the giant female phantom had emerged from behind her, leaving him at a complete loss to explain. Yang Kai really wondered what kind of incredible Bloodline she had inherited that allowed Zhang Rou Xi to break through so smoothly and rapidly.

Yang Kai opened his mouth and wanted to call out to Zhang Ruo Xi, lest she get too far ahead of him, but he immediately found that he was unable to speak a single word. Even his Divine Sense couldn’t leave his body, as if it was firmly suppressed within himself.

Glancing back again, Yang Kai saw Hua Qing Si was sweating profusely at a position six steps behind him, her expression filled with obvious struggle.

The difficulty of climbing these Flowing Time Steps did not seem to be related to one’s cultivation at all. If this was a test of one’s cultivation, Hua Qing Si should have been at the forefront rather than Zhang Ruo Xi who had a far lower realm.

Yang Kai pondered for a while and decided to wait for Hua Qing Si to catch up. In his opinion, Hua Qing Si would probably be unable to last much longer, so he had to be ready to take her back into the Sealed World Bead at the right time!

As for Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai could only chase after her afterwards.

The situation turned out just as Yang Kai expected.

Soon after, Hua Qing Si became unable to bear the washout from the Flowing Time Steps. The benefits that could be gained from ascending these steps slowly transformed into a kind of torment, and the erosion of the Flowing Time Force caused her vitality to begin to drain. Flustered, Hua Qing Si quickly raised her head towards Yang Kai and tried to call out for help.

At the critical moment though, she found herself unable to utter a word and she began to grow anxious.

Fortunately, Yang Kai had been paying attention to her movements, and when he discovered this, he quickly reached out and took her back into the Small Sealed World.

Once he finished this, Yang Kai looked up again, only to see a vague outline of Zhang Ruo Xi’s back. In this brief period, this little girl had thrown off Yang Kai by at least several dozen steps and seemed to be completely immersed in the various benefits she was obtaining, unable to extricate herself as she continued climbing without pause.

Seeing this scene, Yang Kai did not dare to neglect and spared no effort to continue climbing, trying to narrow the gap between him and Zhang Ruo Xi.

…..

Somewhere inside the Flowing Time Temple, in a dark and seemingly boundless hall, a vague, low breathing, and strong heartbeat could be heard. There was an inexplicable coercion permeating this hall, and if any ordinary creature were to enter this place, they would likely immediately collapse to the ground from the intense pressure. Even an Emperor Realm Master would tremble when faced with this aura.

At a certain moment, two long and narrow red lights suddenly lit up in the darkness and accompanied by a heavy exhalation, these long and narrow lights suddenly widened into two giant eyes.

This was a pair of ferocious eyes that belonged to a beast and their red and golden hues contained a wild, murderous intent, filled with infinite violence.

“Oh? Some little ones finally found the Flowing Time Temple?” A muffled voice resounded in the dark hall as a dazzling fire erupted in the darkness.

The fire came from a peculiar beast. Even lying down, this beast appeared as tall as a three-story building and resembled a cross between a tiger and an ox. With red flames bursting from its body, two giant wings on its back and its red-scaled armour were majestically illuminated.

“It seems this Sir’s duty is finally about to be completed… after so many years… this Sir is finally going to be free!” The sound of this voice shook the entire hall and as the beast awoke from its slumber, its pupils began to sweep around, as if they could see across space.

While glancing around, the beast muttered, “Let’s see what kind of talent these little ones have.”

With its strength, none of the dozens of cultivators inside the Flowing Time Temple could escape its observation, and while watching, this beast didn’t forget to comment, “En, this guy’s aptitude is not bad, but… haa, it’s not enough to enter this Sir’s eyes. Oh… this girl isn’t bad. Her physique is quite good and her cultivation isn’t too high, but she has an Emperor Artifact on her. She must be the descendant of some Great Emperor, right? En, although she barely complies with the conditions… those Great Emperors aren’t good to deal with!”

Chapter 2163

Inside the Flowing Time Temple, because the routes each person chose were different, the opportunities they encountered were also different.

However, at that moment, no matter where they were, everyone inexplicably felt a terrifying sensation, as if a pair of powerful eyes was spying on them from the darkness…

This caused everyone to feel a chill shoot up their spine.

Fortunately, this sensation came and went quickly, disappearing in the blink of an eye, making everyone feel as if it was just their own imaginations.

Inside the vast, dark hall, the strange beast was still observing its surroundings and commenting from time to time. Many of the elite cultivators had been cast aside by it as trash, but when it turned its gaze to the Flowing Time Steps, it showed a rare look of surprise, “What’s with this little one… one, two, three, four, five! A mere First-Order Dao Source Realm brat actually brought five Emperor Artifacts with him? What kind of background does he have?”

This strange beast had been alive for tens of thousands of years and had seen many great storms, but at this moment, it still couldn’t help feeling shocked by Yang Kai’s heritage, because it discovered that Yang Kai alone had brought five Emperor Artifacts with him!

Even an average Emperor Realm Master wouldn’t have so many Emperor Artifacts.

These five were the Annihilation Thunder Bead, Sealed World Bead, Insect Enslavement Bracelet, Soul Splitting Saber, and Myriads Sword! In this Flowing Time Temple, nothing could escape this strange beast’s perception.

“Is he also a descendent of a Great Emperor?” The strange beast secretly guessed. What other explanation could there be? Or had Emperor Artifacts suddenly become far more abundant?

Even someone as noble in status as Lan Xun only had one Emperor Artifact on her, and that was a defensive Emperor Artifact given to her by Bright Moon Great Emperor to prevent her from encountering any accidents.

“Forget it, although his aptitude and temperament are amongst the best, he smells like trouble, it would be best not to have any contact with him.” The strange beast babbled for a while before turning away from Yang Kai and focusing on Zhang Ruo Xi.

“Huh? This little girl… how could she only be a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm!?” A suspicious light flashed across this beast’s eyes as he muttered, “How could she get here with such a low cultivation? After this Sir fell asleep, it seems many strange things have happened…”

Suddenly though, the beast’s eyes went wide as he stared fixedly at Zhang Ruo Xi and exclaimed, “No, this little girl… she couldn’t be…”

At that moment, it seemed as if the beast had discovered something, its originally arrogant tone giving way to one filled with panic. Even its two giant eyes flashed with fright, as if it was terrified of Zhang Ruo Xi. 

From its massive head, beads of cold sweat began to leak…

Right then, Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to have reached her limit. The top of the Flowing Time Steps was not far ahead of her, but she was unable to lift her feet anymore. Stubbornly staring up, she tried to continue on, but the feeling of exhaustion was so great that she simply couldn’t move her legs.

The Flowing Time Force flooded out of the Flowing Time Steps suddenly and began invading Zhang Ruo Xi’s body, trying to swallow her vitality.

Behind her, Yang Kai, who had been chasing after Zhang Ruo Xi, was still more than a dozen steps away when he clearly saw her glossy black hair rapidly turn grey. Yang Kai was shocked and realized something was wrong. Pushing his Source Qi violently, he strove forward, desperate to shorten the distance between them.

But on these Flowing Time Steps, each step up was extremely difficult, and this short distance of a dozen or so steps was not a distance Yang Kai could cross with just willpower alone.

Immediately, Yang Kai became as anxious as an ant in a hot wok…

The strange beast in the dark hall, however, was even more anxious than Yang Kai. As the guardian of the Flowing Time Temple, the change in Zhang Ruo Xi’s status was naturally seen by it.

At first, it felt a burst of joy, thinking that Zhang Ruo Xi was bound to die, but after a moment of happiness, it realized how dire the situation truly was, because once Zhang Ruo Xi was driven to a dead-end, her slumbering Bloodline would surely manifest, and once it did, it would be a disaster for it.

Thinking so, the strange beast stood up, stretched out a giant paw and shattered the space in front of it. Crossing space, the massive paw reached out and grabbed Zhang Ruo Xi before immediately withdrawing.

As it did this, it muttered to itself, “Oh cruel fate… I hope this is the right choice!”

As soon as these words fell, it slowly opened its paws and placed the now blank-faced Zhang Ruo Xi in front of itself.

Zhang Ruo Xi obviously had no awareness of what just happened. A moment ago, she had felt like time was flashing before her eyes, as if several hundred years had gone by, causing her vitality to rapidly drain and death to approach.

She wanted to turn back and call out to Yang Kai, but she couldn’t even move her body.

And just when she thought that death was inescapable, a giant claw actually fell from the sky, pulled her back from the gates of death, and brought her to this dark hall.

Looking up, she saw a giant burning Monster Beast in front of her, staring at her with a pair of giant eyes.

When an ordinary person saw such a behemoth, they would instinctively feel frightened, possibly even screaming in terror as they turned to flee.

Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t think she was a particularly brave person. Her cultivation wasn’t high and her knowledge wasn’t very broad, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise even if she had fainted directly from terror.

But for some unknown reason, when her eyes met with those of this Monster Beast, she didn’t feel the slightest fear. On the contrary, she felt as if this beast was the one who should be afraid of her. This feeling was baseless and extremely absurd, but it seemed to come from the very depths of her soul. It felt as natural as breathing, which made it all the more unbelievable.

Pressing her red lips together, she continued to stare up at the huge Monster Beast, her tiny figure forming a sharp contrast with it.

When the four eyes met, it was the giant Monster Beast’s heart that clenched tightly as fear and panic consumed its thoughts.

“You… Why do you seem afraid of me?” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly asked.

As soon as she spoke, the giant Monster Beast couldn’t help stepping back two steps and staring at her in fear, a muffled voice then leaking from his wryly upturned maw, “Hehe… Yes, why should I be afraid of you?”

Zhang Ruo Xi did not try to get to the bottom of this question and instead just beckoned to the beast.

Seeing this, the Monster Beast actually obeyed, walking over to Zhang Ruo Xi and lowering its head down, its violent eyes becoming extremely docile at this moment, some faint fear and panic still apparent in its gaze.

“Did you save me?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked.

The Monster Beast thought for a moment before nodding, “Yes!”

“Thank you!” Zhang Ruo Xi smiled sweetly and stretched out her hand, as if she wanted to pet the Monster Beast’s head, but she hesitated for a while before asking, “I won’t hurt you, will I?”

She didn’t know why she would ask such a question, but something in her instincts was telling her that if she touched the Monster Beast in front of her, it would very likely cause some harm.

“The current you… probably won’t!” The Monster Beast replied.

Zhang Ruo Xi put her hand onto its forehead and touched it lightly.

The scorching flames burned around Zhang Ruo Xi’s bare hands, but did not cause her any harm for some reason. As for the Monster Beast itself, it made a purring noise, like a cat would when it was pet by its owner.

[So embarrassing… how could this Sir allow a little girl to touch him like this, simply shameful!] The Monster Beast thought to itself uncomfortably, unable to stop his body from responding honestly.

“What’s your name?” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly asked again.

“I am Qiong Qi!”

“What a strange name!” Zhang Ruo Xi smiled lightly, some confusion flashing across her beautiful eyes as she said, “I don’t know why, but although I’m sure this is the first time I’ve heard this name, it sounds familiar to me… do you know why?”

“I don’t!” Qiong Qi shook his head like a rattle, thinking to himself that it would be best if she never understood for the rest of her life. [How could this Sir take the initiative to explain? If he did, this Sir’s end would be that much closer!]

“En… okay!” Zhang Ruo Xi withdrew her hand as she nodded before sincerely saying, “Thank you for saving my life just now, but can you please send me back now? I suddenly disappeared, so Sir will be very worried.”

“Sir?” Qiong Qi heard this and asked suspiciously, “Do you mean the young man who was following you?”

“En, can you see him?” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded quickly.

Qiong Qi proudly said, “In this Temple, nothing can escape this S… My observation! I saw you in trouble just now, which was why I brought you here.”

After a pause, Qiong Qi shook his head again and said, “Unexpectedly, even someone as powerful as you must receive protection from others…”

Although he deliberately lowered the volume of his voice, his words were still heard by Zhang Ruo Xi clearly.

Zhang Ruo Xi hurriedly waved her hands and said in an apologetic tone, “What are you talking about! Sir is amazing, how could I possibly be as strong as Sir.”

She only thought Qiong Qi was talking nonsense to appease her.

“One day, you will be strong,” Qiong Qi declared solemnly.

“En, Ruo Xi will work hard,” Zhang Ruo Xi said, full of enthusiasm.

“Good, you and I meeting today can be considered a kind of fate, so I will give you a gift,” Qiong Qi suddenly thought of something and stretched out his paw again, grasping towards the void.

When he took back his hand, an exquisite thin pink dress that exuded a potent Emperor Aura appeared in his palm.

“Your strength is still quite low right now, so this Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe will be of great use to you. As long as you wear it, ordinary people won’t be able to harm you.” Qiong Qi was extremely powerful, so the ‘ordinary people’ he was referring to were likely cultivators below the Emperor Realm.

“How could I possibly accept such a gift?” Although Zhang Ruo Xi was quite taken with this beautiful dress, her humble upbringing and good education made it difficult for her to receive something so precious, so she quickly waved her hands and tried to refuse.

“Don’t have any qualms about wearing this, this is your opportunity. On a cultivators journey, opportunities are part of their strength!” Qiong Qi said aloud while in his heart he was thinking quite differently. [If this Sir wasn’t afraid some blind fool would try to hurt you and cause your Bloodline to awaken in advance, how could he do something so meddlesome? This Sir had best take some precautions and make some plans in advance. En. When this Sir gets out of here, he should go to Dragon Island to find those old lizards and blackmail them with this knowledge… In any case, this Sir isn’t alone in this problem, those old lizards won’t be able to just sit back and ignore this…]

Chapter 2164

At the Flowing Time Steps, Yang Kai anxiously tried to climb upwards.

Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly disappearing in front of him had left him at a loss, not knowing what kind of danger this little girl was facing or whether something tragic had befallen her.

Yang Kai was secretly blaming himself, feeling that if it wasn’t for his whim of wanting Zhang Ruo Xi to climb the Flowing Time Steps, she would not have encountered such peril.

Just as his anxiety was boiling over though, a flash of light occurred and a figure appeared.

Yang Kai was startled, looked up, and was stunned by what he saw.

Zhang Ruo Xi was now standing atop the Flowing Time Steps, looking down at him with a smile, her hair which should have turned white now returned to its original glossy black.

“An illusion?” Yang Kai was a little dazed. He clearly saw Zhang Ruo Xi disappear strangely just as the Flowing Time Force was eroding her body and causing her to age rapidly, but now she had re-appeared before him, safe and sound, like nothing had happened.

Everything seemed too surreal.

Yang Kai quickened his pace once more and after a stick of incense worth of time, he pantingly reached the top of the stairs.

As soon as he reached the top, the Flowing Time Force lingering around his body disappeared. Looking back, the Flowing Time Steps had now become completely ordinary, seemingly lacking any semblance of mystical power.

“What happened just now?” Yang Kai took a breath and asked quickly.

“Ruo Xi was reckless,” Zhang Ruo Xi replied in a low voice that was filled with guilt, “Ruo Xi was immersed in the joy of gaining strength just now and completely forgot Sir’s instructions… By the time Ruo Xi reacted, it was too late.”

“Then how did you…”

“It was a powerful Monster Beast who saved me…” Zhang Ruo Xi replied timidly, carefully choosing her words, worried Yang Kai would become angry with her.

“A powerful Monster Beast?” Yang Kai was stunned, “Is there a Monster Beast in this Flowing Time Temple? What kind of Monster Beast?”

At this moment, Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked. The Flowing Time Temple had not appeared for tens of thousands of years. Even this time, its appearance was something of a strange coincidence. Yang Kai was certain nothing was alive inside this place, but now, according to Zhang Ruo Xi, there was actually a powerful Monster Beast here, one strong enough to instantly rescue her from the Flowing Time Steps. Such a powerful entity was enough to arouse Yang Kai’s wariness.

“I can’t say for certain…” Zhang Ruo Xi thought about it for a while, but didn’t know how to describe what she experienced, soon just smiling and saying, “However… he said he was called Qiong Qi!”

“What?” Yang Kai’s eyes bulged as cold sweat gathered on his forehead, gulping hard as he parroted, “Qiong… Qi?”

“En, that’s what he called himself,” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded and replied. After she finished speaking, she tilted her head and asked, “Sir, what’s wrong? Why is your complexion so pale… Are you uncomfortable somewhere? You’re sweating a lot… “

As she spoke, she took out a silk handkerchief, stood on her tip-toes, and gently wiped Yang Kai’s forehead.

“Ahaha…” The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he really didn’t know what to say.

“Sir, are you okay?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked softly.

“Okay?… en, I’m okay,” Yang Kai replied subconsciously before turning to stare at Zhang Ruo Xi and ask, “Are you sure he said he was called Qiong Qi?”

“En, that’s what he said.”

“Did he do anything bad to you?”

Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head blankly, “No!”

After saying so though, she smiled joyfully and added, “He did give me something though.”

“What?”

Zhang Ruo Xi smiled and began condensing her Saint Qi, soon causing a burst of light that could dazzle one’s eyes to radiate from her body.

Yang Kai squinted his eyes to get a better look, only to have his heart shake violently the next moment!

On Zhang Ruo Xi, he now saw a tight-fitting pink garment, one that was both lithe and beautiful. Its appearance was only secondary though as what truly mattered was the rich Emperor Aura that pulsed from it…

[An Emperor Artifact!]

[It’s actually a defensive Emperor Artifact!]

[What’s going on here?] Zhang Ruo Xi had suddenly disappeared from the Flowing Time Steps, and after she came back, she said she had met a Monster Beast named Qiong Qi. Not only did that Monster Beast save her and treat her well, it even gifted her a defensive Emperor Artifact!

Yang Kai was at a complete loss…

After Zhang Ruo Xi activated this defensive Artifact, the Emperor Artifact shone brilliantly, highlighting her budding beauty. Timidly, she asked Yang Kai, “Is it pretty…?”

Yang Kai gave a dry smile and said, “En, very pretty!”

[This is an Emperor Artifact! How could it be described simply as ‘pretty’!?] Yang Kai screamed wildly in his heart. Although he had five Emperor Artifacts on hand, none of them were of a defensive type, which showed just how rare such Emperor Artifacts were.

“Qiong Qi said it’s called the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe!” Zhang Ruo Xi explained, “I don’t like pink, but since Sir said it looks pretty…”

“En… it seems he gave you this with kind intentions,” Yang Kai tried to calm himself down. “Next time you meet him, be sure to thank him properly.”

“Ruo Xi will remember,” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded respectfully.

“En, put it away for now, and don’t expose it unless you have no other option, otherwise it will likely draw unwanted trouble.”

“Yes.” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded while moving her Divine Sense to take back the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe.

“By the way, Ruo Xi… did that Qiong Qi say anything else to you?” Yang Kai asked cautiously.

Zhang Ruo Xi thought for a while before saying, “He said to tell Sir that if he has a chance to enter the final room, Sir must choose the thing which seems the most useless.”

“Choose the thing that seems the most useless?” Yang Kai frowned, puzzled, “What does that mean?”

Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head, “I don’t know, he sent me back after saying it.”

After getting along for so long, Yang Kai also understood how pure this little girl’s personality was and knew she couldn’t be hiding something from him. It was even more impossible for her to try to deceive him, so Yang Kai changed the subject to inquiring about the Qiong Qi she met, but he did not obtain much information.

This matter shocked Yang Kai greatly, and in the end, he could only chalk it up to Zhang Ruo Xi gaining a random opportunity. If that wasn’t the case, how could a mere Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator like her return safe and sound after meeting an ominous beast like a Qiong Qi? What’s more, she returned with a gift like the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe!

Afterwards, Yang Kai let Zhang Ruo Xi return to the Sealed World Bead before he sat alone at the top of Flowing Time Steps, calming his mind a little.

After a long silence, he got up again.

At the top of Flowing Time Steps, there was a single door. Yang Kai had noticed it before and understood that if he wanted to leave this place, this was likely the only way.

Reaching out, Yang Kai slowly pushed the door open…

A dazzling light came from ahead, causing Yang Kai to squint his eyes. Only after releasing his Divine Sense to probe inside and confirm there was no danger did Yang Kai step through.

A feeling of weightlessness came immediately, as if crossing a single step had transported him to a different space.

A living aura suddenly appeared nearby, one Yang Kai was vaguely familiar with, and one that was emitting a strong hostility…

Yang Kai was startled, raised his eyes to look forward, and after seeing the situation ahead, he couldn’t help being startled.

The place where he now stood was a raised circular platform that was roughly a thousand meters in diameter. Around this stage was a dark abyss that one could hear faint howls coming from. It was a disturbing image, like staring into an endless purgatory from which there was no return.

However, when Yang Kai swept his eyes around, he found that the door he had just stepped through was nowhere to be seen.

On this high platform, one person stood holding a sword, waiting quietly.

When Yang Kai appeared, the eyes of this individual flashed like a hawk, fixing on him as they blazed with fighting spirit.

Four eyes soon met and both individuals were taken aback.

Yang Kai grinned and raised his hand to wave at this man, “Brother Xiao Bai, you’re here too, what a coincidence!”

He discovered that the person on this high platform was none other than Xiao Bai Yi from the Azure Sun Temple!

However, Yang Kai didn’t see Murong Xiao Xiao, who had been travelling together with Xiao Bai Yi this whole time.

As he called out, Yang Kai walked over towards Xiao Bai Yi while examining his surrounding environment, but what made him puzzled was that the stage seemed to be an isolated space with no way out.

Yang Kai frowned slightly, not knowing what mysteries were hidden here, but as he was lost in thought, he heard a buzzing sound from up ahead and a flash of light flew towards him at the same time.

Yang Kai paused in place, causing the blade of light to cut a line right in front of his foot, nearly hitting him.

Yang Kai looked up at Xiao Bai Yi, frowned, and asked, “Brother Xiao Bai, what are your intentions?”

“To fight!” Xiao Bai Yi’s long sword flicked and pointed at Yang Kai from far away, a fierce fighting spirit boiling out from his body.

Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he said, “There’s no need for that now… if you want to fight, just wait until we leave the Four Seasons Realm. Fighting here with you … it’s not right!”

Xiao Bai Yi slowly shook his head, his expression as cold as ice as he quickly said, “It is precisely because we are here that we must fight!”

Yang Kai heard this, seemed to think of something, and immediately became gloomy as he asked, “What Brother Xiao Bai means… is that only one of us can leave here?”

Xiao Bai Yi nodded, “It seems that you’re not stupid!” He shouted loudly, “This is a type of trial. Only the winner here will be qualified to move on!”

As he spoke, Yang Kai noticed that above this high platform, three large characters were condensed from pure energy, floating gently in the air, that read ‘One Path Stage’.

In an instant, he understood.

Xiao Bai Yi waiting here, was probably because he was waiting for an opponent! And now it just so happened that his opponent was Yang Kai.

Thinking so, Yang Kai wore a serious expression and said solemnly, “It looks like… we really must fight!”

“Yeah!”

“The winner advances, while the loser… what do you think?” Yang Kai asked.

Xiao Bai Yi shook his head, “I don’t know, normally the loser dies!”

After saying so, he coldly snorted and said, “Why, are you scared?”

Yang Kai smiled bitterly and shook his head, “No, it’s just that… I don’t want to kill you, Brother Xiao Bai! You and I have no grievances, and although you seem to have a bad opinion of me, at any rate, we entered the Four Seasons Realm together, so if I were to really kill you here, how could I explain it to Elder Gao and the others?”

Chapter 2165

“You, kill me?” Xiao Bai Yi sneered fiercely, “Shameless boasting!”

“Brother Xiao Bai…” Yang Kai spoke earnestly and eloquently, “I believe it best to calm down and carefully search for another way out of this damned place…”

“No need, before you came, I searched this place thoroughly. Between you and I… there can only be battle!” Before Yang Kai could finish speaking, Xiao Bai Yi interrupted him coldly, “To be honest, with your strength, being able to defeat Xue Yi and snatch his spot was already quite surprising. You do have the qualifications to enter the Four Seasons Realm… But this Xiao is a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and Xue Yi’s Senior Brother, so I cannot stand back and watch him be bullied. Junior Brother Xue’s grievance from that day will be avenged today by this Xiao. However, you may rest assured, given the difference in cultivation between you and I, this Xiao will not use his full strength. Sixty percent will be enough, and… if possible, I won’t kill you!”

As soon as these words fell, Xiao Bai Yi slashed his sword towards Yang Kai’s head, sending out a dazzling blast of Ice Attribute Sword Qi.

Yang Kai grinned in response and said, “Since this battle is inevitable, I ask Brother Xiao Bai to not take offence for what happens next!”

Saying so, the place where Yang Kai stood was covered in sword light and his body was pierced through, but oddly, no blood flowed out and the faint smile on his lips remained.

Xiao Bai Yi’s expression changed drastically as he pushed his Source Qi madly, creating a swirling snowstorm around himself while quickly lifting up his sword and condensing a giant sword light onto it, which he slashed out violently.

In the direction he slashed, Yang Kai’s figure appeared strangely, but instantly disappeared once more.

*Hong…*

The giant sword wave stirred up the surrounding aura as Xiao Bai Yi stood in place, his eyes darting around, tracing Yang Kai’s flickering figure.

“As I thought, you’re a little strange, it was no fluke that you beat Xue Yi!” Xiao Bai Yi quickly said.

Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Brother Xiao Bai, was that sixty percent of your power just now? If so, I advise you to use your full strength as soon as possible, otherwise…”

“Don’t worry, that was only thirty percent just now!” Xiao Bai Yi said proudly.

“Thirty percent…” Yang Kai murmured before nodding lightly and saying with some admiration, “As expected of an elite from Azure Sun Temple, you’re vastly different from the Dao Source Realm cultivators I’ve faced before!”

“It’s not too late to admit defeat now!” Xiao Bai Yi exhaled lightly as he lifted his sword once more, gathering sword light onto its blade before stabbing it out towards Yang Kai’s chest.

This thrust was fast, accurate, and ruthless, inspiring Ice Principles around it as it flew forward, causing a thin layer of frost to cover the stage. At the same time, any icy chill filled the air, once that caused all within its range to shiver slightly.

“Ice Principles!” Yang Kai commented as he felt these Principles began to affect his movements. The space around him became solidified, forcing him to release his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi to restore his freedom while also summoning the Myriads Sword into his hands.

With a wave of this broadsword, Yang Kai shouted, “Myriad Sword Arts, One Man As A Mountain!”

A thousand blades of Sword Qi fell from the sky like a waterfall, blocking Xiao Bai Yi’s incoming attack.

“That Emperor Artifact again!”

Amidst the clash of sword lights, Xiao Bai Yi coldly snorted as he did not try to dodge the incoming wave and instead pushed his own Sword Qi harder, attempting to smash through this curtain-like defence.

*Chi chi chi chi…*

The wall of sword light from the Myriads Sword was pierced through, leaving Yang Kai exposed.

*Hu…*

Xiao Bai Yi’s figure reappeared suddenly, his eyes flashing a sharp light as an astonishing aura burst from his body and he swung his sword towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai grinned fiercely and moved his own sword to parry this blow.

With a clang, a fierce shockwave burst out and the space above the battle stage collapsed as tiny blades of Sword Qi splashed out and disappeared in a flash.

Xiao Bai Yi’s figure froze up for a moment, but he quickly escaped from the suppression of the Emperor Artifact, leaving behind an afterimage as he swiftly cut towards Yang Kai’s from a dead angle.

Even now, he had the spare capacity to shout, “Although an Emperor Artifact is strong, just how much of its power can you exert with your cultivation? Xue Yi’s defeat at your hands was due to his own carelessness!”

Yang Kai responded like a fierce dragon, wielding his Myriads to block all assaults as he smiled and said, “Brother Xiao Bai seems to have a lot of opinions about this sword!”

Even as the two talked, their movements did not slow down, the clashing of metal adding a kind of grating music to their conversation…

“Hmph, is relying on the power of an artifact something impressive?”

“If that’s what you think… I can change swords!” As soon as Yang Kai’s voice fell, the Myriads Sword in his hand suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank sword.

Xiao Bai Yi frowned as he withdrew from the engagement, speaking in a cold tone, “Changing your weapon mid-battle, what are you trying to say…”

“It’s nothing really,” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at him. “I just don’t want you to complain after I win that you only lost because I used my Emperor Artifact!”

“Are you looking down on me?” Xiao Bai Yi was so angered that his white robes began fluttering despite there being no wind. Slowly rising up into the air, he spat coldly, “If you change back now, I will pretend I never say anything, if not, it will be too late to regret it.”

As he spoke, he pointed his sword towards the sky. Suddenly, a swirling blizzard appeared, one that rapidly grew in intensity as it released Heaven destroying energy into the surrounding, overlapping with Xiao Bai Yi’s explosive momentum.

A cold, indifferent voice called out from inside the blizzard as Xiao Bai Yi shouted, “This is sixty percent of my strength. If you can’t block it, you’ll die! I advise you to withdraw!”

Having delivered his warning, he shouted, “Mortal Sword, Swirling Destruction!”

The vortex blizzard suddenly condensed into a swirling Ice Dragon that flew out with unstoppable force towards where Yang Kai stood.

Yang Kai finally straightened his carefree expression upon facing this technique. Feeling the power contained in this killing move, he couldn’t help commenting, “As expected of Azure Sun Temple’s second strongest disciple, Brother Xiao Bai lives up to his name. If this is just sixty percent of your strength, Brother Xiao Bai’s full strength must be even more astonishing…”

Although he was offering praise, Yang Kai’s hands did not remain idle. Lifting his sword, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he murmured, “Three Thousand Sword Dao, Flowing Flames Raging Fire!”

Instantly, Yang Kai’s sword turned crimson red, and as he thrust it out, a giant Firebird manifested from it, its figure identical to Liu Yan’s Firebird form. With a piercing cry, the Firebird and Ice Dragon met head-on.

*Hong Hong Hong…*

The Ice Dragon evaporated while the Firebird was annihilated.

Xiao Bai Yi was forced back a few steps as he uttered a low voice, “How is that possible?”

Staring at Yang Kai in a state of shock, he asked in a solemn tone, “What is the relationship between you and Senior Chen Wen Hao of Heavenly Martial Holy Land?”

As an elite disciple of Azure Sun Temple, Xiao Bai Yi naturally knew about Chen Wen Hao. The Three Thousand Sword Dao was a Sword Art that Chen Wen Hao had spent his lifetime comprehending, but now it was being displayed by Yang Kai.

Although the technique Yang Kai executed seemed slightly different, it was still incredibly powerful.

“None really!” Yang Kai flicked the sword in his hand and replied casually, “I just fought him once, and after witnessing his Three Thousand Sword Dao, I thought it was a pretty good technique, so I tried using it.”

Yang Kai was telling the truth…

When he was being corrupted by the Demon Spirit that day, he had really fought Chen Wen Hao. In fact, not only did he fight Chen Wen Hao, he also fought Gao Xue Ting and Feng Ming. Each of those three Emperors had executed their finest techniques, so they were naturally still fresh in Yang Kai’s mind, allowing him to gain some slight comprehension of them.

However, the Three Thousand Sword Dao Yang Kai displayed at this moment took a completely different form from Chen Wen Hao’s due to their different comprehensions. In order to display this technique, Yang Kai had used his Fire Sword Qi from his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi and Liu Yan’s form as a basis while the Three Thousand Sword Dao only served as a type of reference to execute the technique.

How could it be that easy to understand an Emperor Realm Master’s Sword Art? Only another Emperor could be able to slowly comprehend and display this Sword Art’s complete prestige.

However, this was more than enough to deal with the current situation. Xiao Bai Yi had only heard about the Three Thousand Sword Dao and had never witnessed it personally, so how could he judge whether Yang Kai’s technique was real or not?

“Enough!” Xiao Bai Yi yelled, enraged, “There should be a limit to shamelessness! Spouting such nonsense, who do you think will believe you? No matter what relationship you have with Senior Chen, nothing can save you today!”

His aura suddenly climbed, seemingly feeling that sixty percent of his strength wasn’t enough to win against Yang Kai. Xiao Bai Yi was now determined to use his full strength.

*Chi chi chi…*

Flashes of lightning suddenly emerged from Xiao Bai Yi’s body, and soon the battle stage was transformed into a terrifying storm of thunder and lightning.

“Even after comprehending Ice Principles, you can also use a Thunder Attribute Secret Technique?” Yang Kai was extremely surprised, “Brother Xiao Bai is really quite extraordinary. In time, you will certainly be an overlord in the Star Boundary!”

“Flattery is useless! Xiao Bai… Xiao Bai… happily shouting that damned name over and over again… Earth Sword, Falling Thunder!”

Lightning gathered at the tip of Xiao Bai Yi’s sword from all around before he slashed down and unleashed a torrent of violent arcs that submerged the place where Yang Kai stood. The power of this Falling Thunder was both sharp and violent, seemingly completely sealing off the surrounding space, leaving no path of escape.

Yang Kai’s heart moved as he shouted loudly, “So that’s how it is… It’s all because being called Brother Xiao Bai makes you feel so uncomfortable…”

As soon as these words fell, Yang Kai was wrapped up in a sea of lightning and a burnt smell soon filled the air.

Xiao Bai Yi blinked as he stared down from above, frowning as he declared, “Remember, my name is Xiao Bai Yi!”

“I just thought… calling you Brother Xiao Bai would be more cordial. Brother Xiao doesn’t need to be so angry, right?” Yang Kai’s voice leisurely responded from below, as if he wasn’t experiencing the slightest hardship.

Xiao Bai Yi’s eyes bulged as he gawked at the sight below him.

Inside the sea of lightning, Yang Kai’s whole figure seemed to have undergone a tremendous change. On the surface of his body, a five-coloured radiance that carried with it an aura of all five primary elements had appeared and was resisting the swirling lightning. At the same time, both his hands were now covered in a layer of golden scales, making them more closely resemble dragon claws.

Even on the exposed parts of Yang Kai’s skin, golden scales which exuded an intimidating aura had appeared.

Chapter 2166

“Dragon Aura…” Xiao Bai Yi exclaimed, feeling the aura of a True Dragon from where Yang Kai stood. Although this aura wasn’t very strong, the majesty it gave off caused one’s heart to tremble.

Before his words even fell, a golden True Dragon phantom suddenly appeared behind Yang Kai and slowly opened its giant pair of eyes to stare at Xiao Bai Yi.

Instantly, Xiao Bai Yi felt cold sweat drop down his face and he unconsciously retreated a few steps.

“Brother Xiao Bai’s strength is profound, so I have to take this seriously as well… defend yourself well!” Yang Kai shouted as he slashed out with his sword. Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi overflowed from the slash and cut apart the lightning sea, revealing Yang Kai’s stalwart figure.

The Golden Dragon phantom behind Yang Kai roared to the Heavens, causing the world around him to tremble before its aura also poured into Yang Kai’s sword, enhancing the power of his slash.

At that moment, a thousand years seemed to flow by in an instant as the power of a True Dragon smashed the world itself.

Xiao Bai Yi’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat as he faced this seemingly unlimited pressure and was forced back once more; however, he quickly grit his teeth and stomped his feet to stand his ground, pushing his Source Qi violently to protect himself while simultaneously summoning a mirror-like defensive artifact to create a light curtain in front of himself.

*Hong…*

A golden light, containing a tyrannical power, slashed out, causing the entire space to tremble, as if the end of the world was nigh. Turbulent aura fluctuations continued for quite some time before finally subsiding.

Yang Kai’s eyes stared forward coldly.

A hundred meters away, Xiao Bai Yi stood mid-air, pale-faced. The light curtain of his mirror artifact which was protecting his body had already cracked in several places, and a moment after the dust settled, it shattered into countless fragments.

As his hand trembled violently, Xiao Bai Yi was barely able to keep his grip on his sword.

Looking out at the opponent in front of him, Xiao Bai Yi grit his teeth and shouted, “You’re just a First-Order Dao Source Realm… how could you possibly have such strength?”

Yang Kai replied indifferently, “Strength cannot be judged just by one’s cultivation, do you still not understand such a basic truth, Brother Xiao Bai?”

“I refuse to believe it!” Xiao Bai Yi roared as a violent aura suddenly broke out of his body. His Source Qi, which had just now depressed, erupted at this moment as he grabbed his sword with both hands and lifted it up high, “This will be the final clash. If you can take it, you win, if you can’t, you’ll die!”

Listening to him say this. Yang Kai couldn’t help turning serious as it was apparent Xiao Bai Yi was about to use his trump card. The ultimate technique of a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master could not possibly be simple.

Taking a breath, Yang Kai also began condensing his Source Qi.

With Xiao Bai Yi’s shout, his expression turned solemn as a look of absolute focus appeared on his face. Tightly gripping his sword, Xiao Bai Yi’s entire body began overflowing with radiant light.

An astonishing pressure burst forth as the surrounding space began to shake, like it would shatter at any moment.

The next moment, a low growl came out, “Heaven Sword, Broken Star!”

When these words fell, countless light clusters exploded in the sky before they crashed down, like a great meteor shower, intimidating and unavoidable.

Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a brilliant light seeing this attack, and instead of falling back to defend, he actually stepped in. Abandoning his sword, Yang Kai pushed his hands forward as he began pushing his Space Force to inspire the local Space Principles.

Countless pitch-black Moon Blades flew out to meet the falling lights, and together with a thunderous rumbling, black holes began appearing everywhere, exiling all the violent explosive energy from this clash to the Void, shaking the entire space to the point where it seemed ready to collapse.

Yang Kai’s eyes darted back and forth as this clash continued, searching for Xiao Bai Yi’s figure.

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes, pushed his Source Qi, and palmed towards a certain spot.

*Pa…*

At the same time as a loud thud and two muffled snorts rang out, Yang Kai’s complexion paled as he was forced backwards a few steps while Xiao Bai Yi pale figure re-appeared up above. Falling to the stage unwillingly, Xiao Bai Yi’s aura and face were incredibly pale.

The sky-covering explosions had disappeared at this moment, leaving only a faint tension in the air after the battle subsided.

Xiao Bai Yi hit the stage heavily, but immediately did his best to stand up. Unfortunately, he was unsteady on his feet and had to use his sword as a crutch to prevent himself from falling over.

His exposed skin was cracked all over and blood was constantly flowing out from his wounds.

There was also a palm print on the chest.

This palm print was the only sign of the damage Yang Kai inflicted on him. As for the other wounds, they had nothing to do with Yang Kai!

Yang Kai stood in the air, looking down at the palm he had just used to attack. At this moment, his palm was dripping with blood from several fresh, painful puncture wounds. There was also a strange Principle Strength lingering around these wounds which was hindering his injuries from recovering.

Flicking the blood from his hand, Yang Kai pushed his Source Qi to disperse the lingering Principle Strength before he said lightly, “Brother Xiao Bai, your Heaven Sword seems to be a bit beyond your ability to control. Was it really necessary to go so far?”

Although Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of Secret Technique Xiao Bai Yi had studied, the last sword move he used was obviously not something he could currently withstand. Using this move forcefully would inevitably bring harm to him, and Xiao Bai Yi’s current bloodstained state was the best evidence of that.

“Hahahaha!” Although Xiao Bai Yi looked miserable at this moment, he couldn’t help laughing loudly, his laughter filled with a kind of hearty joy. There was no regret or unwillingness in his voice as he shouted, “Of course it is necessary! When facing an enemy, one should use everything at their disposal to decide who will die, and who will live. To achieve victory, what does some trivial backlash count for!”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Brother Xiao Bai has the heart of a Master, this Yang is impressed!”

Xiao Bai Yi shook his head slowly and said, “Unfortunately, I was still no match for you in the end… A First-Order Dao Source Realm… Haha…”

A wry smile on his face, Xiao Bai Yi’s voice was filled with a myriad of extremely complex emotions. Before today, he would never have thought that he would one day be defeated by an opponent at the First-Order Dao Source Realm. He was a genius amongst his peers, a favoured son of Heaven. In this world, there were few who could enter his eyes and be treated as equals.

But today’s battle had made him realize a simple truth. He was just a young man standing in a waist-deep river thinking he had swum across the sea… It was truly laughable.

“Yang Kai!” Xiao Bai Yi shouted, dropping his sword and straightening his back, “Do it!”

Saying so, he lifted his head to expose his neck, showing no intention to fight back.

After all, even his strongest move was easily resolved by Yang Kai, so he had no more will or energy to fight at this moment.

“I didn’t say I wanted to kill you.” Yang Kai chuckled, “Only you kept clamouring for a life or death fight, right?”

Xiao Bai Yi frowned at this and said, “If you want to move forward, you have no other choice, otherwise you and I may be trapped here forever!”

“Not necessarily!” Yang Kai denied his opinion.

What Yang Kai had said at the beginning was true, between him and Xiao Bai Yi there were no grievances nor grudges, so there was no reason for them to kill one another. What’s more… During his fight with Xiao Bai Yi, Yang Kai had never sensed any murderous intent from his opponent, only extreme fighting intent.

It was obvious that Xiao Bai Yi didn’t intend on killing him, his objective from the start had just been to fight Yang Kai!

This was the exact mindset a cultivator who pursued the peak of the Martial Dao should have.

As he spoke, Yang Kai turned his gaze around, trying to find a way out of this space.

However, the only thing here was the floating battle stage, beyond which was nothing but a black, boundless abyss. 

“Could the exit be down there?” Yang Kai came to the edge of the platform and looked down, feeling a strange aura coming from below, one that caused his skin to crawl slightly. It was really uncertain what would happen if he were to jump down.

Yang Kai secretly decided to reserve jumping off as the last resort.

In truth, he had already thought of another way to leave this place.

According to what Xiao Bai Yi said, the exit from this place would only appear after one person died. In that case, as long as he put Xiao Bai Yi into the Sealed World Bead, the exit would probably appear.

However… Doing so would expose the secret of the Sealed World Bead.

Pushing his Space Force, Yang Kai thought about trying to teleport out of this place, but in the next moment, he shook his head.

Space Force could be used to teleport, but only inside of this space.

This place seemed to be a special sealed space, so Yang Kai wasn’t able to cross its boundaries and leave.

“You won’t find anything!” Seeing Yang Kai scurrying around, Xiao Bai Yi couldn’t help shouting, “I told you before, I’ve already searched this place carefully, and there is no exit at all. I’ve already lost, so don’t you think it’s about time to put an end to this?”

Yang Kai turned his head and looked at him, but just as he was about to say something, the whole battle stage began to hum.

Yang Kai’s expression changed dramatically as he quickly released his Divine Sense to survey the surroundings.

Xiao Bai Yi was also obviously taken aback, not sure what was going on.

But soon, a surprising scene occurred.

The three big characters which were floating high up above suddenly transformed into two rays of light, one big, one small. The small one shot towards Xiao Bai Yi and engulfed him before he could react; then, with a flicker, it disappeared.

At the same time, Xiao Bai Yi also disappeared!

The big ray of light transformed into a kind of light path that extended out from the edge of the battle stage into the darkness. At the end of this bridge, a closed door appeared; as for where this door led, it was impossible to tell.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling startled and frowned for a moment as he thought. After examining the light bridge for a time, he began to mutter, “This must be the way forward… and Brother Xiao Bai seems to have been sent out, so… the key was to have him admit defeat?”

Judging from the scene just now, it was only after Xiao Bai Yi surrendered that changes occurred, not only teleporting Xiao Bai Yi out but also providing a new path to follow.

Looking at it this way, it was clear what should be done next.

Chapter 2167

In the depths of the Flowing Time Temple, inside a certain room, many powerful people had gathered.

This was the inner sanctum of the temple, and those who were qualified to reach this place were all top Masters of the Southern Territory’s Dao Source Realm cultivators.

Lan Xun, Xiao Chen, Luo Yuan, Kong Qi, Murong Xiao Xiao, Gong Wen Shan, and Bian Yu Qing were all present.

Among these seven, aside from Lan Xun who was in the First-Order Dao Source Realm and Gong Wen Shan who was in Second-Order, the others were all in the Third-Order.

There was no need to comment on Lan Xun, as the prized gem of Bright Moon Great Emperor and the possessor of a Special Constitution, her strength was vastly superior to her cultivation, so she was absolutely qualified to stand here. The same was true for Gong Wen Shan as, although his cultivation was lower than most of the people present by a Minor Realm, as an Array Grandmaster, his methods were profound and his strength could not be measured by his cultivation alone. 

At this moment, besides Xiao Chen who had been guarding Lan Xun and stuck close to her, everyone else had found their own space to sit down cross-legged and restore themselves, seemingly waiting for something.

Murong Xiao Xiao would glance towards a certain spot from time to time, her beautiful eyes containing a trace of anxiety as she waited.

At a certain moment, a hundred meters or so behind where everyone else was waiting, a circular light-gate appeared and a figure slowly walked out.

Everyone noticed this disturbance and turned to look back.

“Finally…” Luo Yuan seemed to have become impatient and couldn’t help snorting coldly.

Murong Xiao Xiao stood up hurriedly, with a smile on her face, and walked towards that side, as if to welcome this newcomer.

The others also showed some interest, wanting to see who had come.

The figure slowly emerged from the light gate and revealed its face.

“Huh?” The smile on Murong Xiao Xiao’s face froze for a moment as she stared at this newcomer in astonishment, her expression extremely complicated as some disappointment and surprise were mixed together.

She never expected that the last one to emerge from this light gate would actually be Yang Kai rather than Xiao Bai Yi!

The faces of the others present also showed some slight differences. Kong Qi’s face twitched and he quickly turned his gaze aside, as if looking at Yang Kai would somehow tarnish his vision.

Bian Yu Qing smiled meaningfully…

“Oh… so many people!” After Yang Kai walked out of the light gate, he saw the silhouettes of seven people in front of him and couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised, “Why are all of you here?”

“We were waiting for you!” Bian Yu Qing smiled enchantingly as she spoke some suggestive words.

Yang Kai scratched his nose and said, “Please don’t joke, this humble one does not command such a big face!”

He thought Bian Yu Qing was cracking a joke.

But what he didn’t know was…

“It’s not a joke, we were really waiting for you!” Gong Wen Shan stood up from where he was sitting and looked at Yang Kai sternly, “But that’s only half right. We weren’t waiting for you specifically, but rather the last person we needed!”

Yang Kai frowned, swept his eyes around, and soon fixed his gaze on something ahead before muttering thoughtfully, “It looks like if you want to break this barrier, you need a specific number of people!”

“Yeah!” Gong Wen Shan nodded.

“Would anyone care to explain to me what the situation is?” Yang Kai smiled and looked around.

Gong Wen Shan snorted, “I don’t want to explain such a troublesome thing twice!”

After saying so, he ignored Yang Kai entirely.

Murong Xiao Xiao pursed her red lips and said, “I’ll explain. Junior Brother Yang, please come here.”

She beckoned to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai nodded and walked over.

Murong Xiao Xiao immediately explained the situation to him.

After listening to her, Yang Kai understood that the entrance to the large hall in front of them was protected by a Spirit Array called the ‘Eight Points Yuan Returning Array’. This Spirit Array was actually not that complicated and cracking it was extremely easy.

Just gather eight people and stand in specific positions to force the Spirit Array to de-activate. There wasn’t even a need for the ones cracking the array to use their strength.

Of course, if there was not someone proficient in Spirit Arrays present, seeing through the intricacies of this Spirit Array would be difficult, but that was not an issue to Gong Wen Shan’s eyes.

“So, you could only wait for the arrival of another person here?” Yang Kai asked after listening.

“En,” Murong Xiao Xiao nodded lightly and smiled, “I didn’t expect Junior Brother Yang to be the last to come.”

Yang Kai glanced at her and whispered in a low voice, “Don’t worry, Brother Xiao Bai is only a bit injured, there’s no need to worry about his life!”

Murong Xiao Xiao heard this and her eyes lit up, “Junior Brother Yang, have you seen Senior Brother Xiao?”

“En,” Yang Kai nodded.

“Then where is he now?” Murong Xiao Xiao asked nervously.

“I don’t know, probably teleported out of the temple, maybe somewhere else inside,” Yang Kai shrugged.

Murong Xiao Xiao seemed to have realized something from Yang Kai’s words and couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock as she asked, “Junior Brother Yang… did you defeat Senior Brother Xiao?”

“Hm?” Yang Kai was stunned, “Does that mean… everyone here had to pass through the same test?”

“En…” Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “I ran into an opponent on that stage and only after winning did I come here.”

“It looks like everyone’s experience was similar…” Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully.

If everyone had to pass the Flowing Time Steps and the battle stage, then, there only being eight people left at this moment would make sense.

It was not easy to pass these two tests, so naturally, many were eliminated.

While they were talking, Yang Kai glanced around at the others present and soon found that some Star Seals had appeared on the backs of their hands. Even Murong Xiao Xiao had one.

It seemed that everyone had their own opportunities inside the Flowing Time Temple. Unfortunately for Yang Kai, he only managed to obtain a Flowing Time Fruit inside the temple while his Star Seal came from when he just entered the Two Seasons Mountain Range, since then he had not seen another.

“Are you done yet? If so then hurry up, I don’t have time to waste here!” Luo Yuan urged impatiently.

If it wasn’t necessary to gather eight people to crack this Spirit Array, how could Luo Yuan have idled here for so long? Instead of waiting, he would have just started a fight and driven out as many others as possible.

Yang Kai glanced at him lightly but didn’t say anything, instead turning to Gong Wen Shan and saying, “Brother Gong, I understand the general situation. What should I do?”

Gong Wen Shan nodded and explained, “If that’s the case, then everyone just needs to follow my instructions and stand where I tell you to. Although this Eight Points Yuan Returning Array is simple to crack, if something goes wrong… heh…”

Although he didn’t finish what he said, everyone understood what he meant.

Xiao Chen smiled and said, “Brother Gong, please give us your advice. I don’t believe anyone here will be ignorant enough to ignore your instructions.”

As he spoke, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he glanced over at Luo Yuan.

“Very good!” Gong Wen Shan heard this and smiled lightly before stretching out his hands and forming a seal.

Ripples of visible Source Qi were sent out from his figure and before Gong Wen Shan, a circular seal appeared on the floor.

Immediately, Gong Wen Shan pointed and instructed, “Friend, stand here!”

He was referring to Luo Yuan.

Luo Yuan didn’t say a word and just stood in the spot that Gong Wen Shan pointed to.

“Madam, please stand there!” Next, he pointed to Bian Yu Qing.

“Calling me madam makes it seem like I’m old…” Bian Yu Qing pouted under her breath as she moved to her spot.

“You stand there!” Gong Wen Shan pointed to Yang Kai next.

Yang Kai nodded and flew over to Bian Yu Qing’s side.

Under Gong Wen Shan’s guidance, everyone stood in a different position.

While they were waiting, Bian Yu Qing turned to Yang Kai and smiled, “Smelly brat, I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“What’s wrong? Are you looking down on me?” Yang Kai raised his brow and coldly snorted, “This one’s power is beyond what Protector Bian can imagine.”

“Is that so…” Bian Yu Qing smiled with interest, “If that’s true, I’d like to take a closer look.”

“There’ll be a chance!” Yang Kai gave her a blank look before asking, “What about Senior Brother Kou? Isn’t he with you?”

Bian Yu Qing heard these words and her expression dimmed.

Yang Kai was surprised and asked, “He couldn’t have…”

Bian Yu Qing composed herself and shook her head, “It’s not what you think, Kou Wu knew his limits and stopped at the Flowing Time Steps!”

“Oh, that’s a pity.” Yang Kai sighed.

Although the Flowing Time Steps were extremely perilous, if one could surmount them, they would gain incredible benefits. Yang Kai’s strength had been greatly tempered even in that short time, and from the looks of it, the other seven people present clearly gained similar benefits from the Flowing Time Steps.

However, what Bian Yu Qing said confirmed Yang Kai’s previous guess that everyone’s chances had basically been the same, especially in the later stage. After passing the Flowing Time Steps, one simply needed to overcome the elimination battle before arriving here.

As the two talked, everyone was placed appropriately, with only Gong Wen Shan left.

Gong Wen Shan stood outside the runic circle and carefully checked to make sure everyone’s position was correct before he flew over to the last spot.

When he landed, he quickly shouted, “No one move, no matter what you sense, no matter how abnormal it might feel. Also, do not circulate your strength, otherwise, you will risk everyone’s life!”

Seeing how he spoke so solemnly, how could those gathered here not listen to his advice? One after another, they withdrew their strength and entered into a kind of meditative state.

Soon, a faint humming was heard.

The surrounding World Energy seemed to be swirling, causing a kind of chain reaction.

As the World Energy movement became more intense, the humming sound grew louder.

Soon, a strange sound, like something crumbling, reached everyone’s ears.

Only now did Gong Wen Shan, who had seemed quite anxious before, let out a sigh of relief. He knew that this Eight Points Yuan Returning Array was collapsing.

*Kacha…*

Along with this sound, a crack began to appear in the array ahead, releasing a bright light. As the crumbling sounds grew louder, the crack also slowly expanded.

Just as the crack became big enough for a single person to pass through, Gong Wen Shan shouted, “Don’t move yet!”

Everyone was taken by surprise by this shout and immediately halted their movements.

However, at that moment, Gong Wen Shan shot out towards the opening like an arrow from a string.

“Damn it, that bastard!” Kong Qi yelled angrily and hurried to catch up.

Chapter 2168

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

At the entrance to the main hall, the remaining seven people all used their own methods to rush forward. As the saying goes, those who arrive first get the best bargains; Gong Wen Shan had already rushed in, so no one remaining wanted to be left far behind.

In the blink of an eye, everyone had already rushed into the hall and were now sweeping their eyes around.

In front of everyone was a brilliant glow that was mixed with a rich aura, a clear sign that precious treasures were present and just waiting to be claimed.

*Hong long long…*

Just after everyone came in, the crack through which they entered made a muffled sound and shut.

Everyone was slightly startled, but soon they adjusted and stopped paying attention to this. Instead, they raised their eyes and swept them around the hall to inspect the situation.

As far as they could see, at the far right of the hall, there is a circular light gate. From this light gate, Space Principle fluctuations could clearly be felt, but where this portal led, no one could tell.

Three hundred metres in front of everyone, at the head of the hall, there was a high platform.

On this high platform, several items of different shapes were quietly sitting.

“This is…” After seeing the few things on the high platform, everyone was shocked and desire began filling their eyes.

There weren’t many things, only five.

A black lacquered oval shield that had dragons and phoenixes embossed on its surface and mysterious runes constantly pulsing around it.

A single cherry-sized droplet that looked like a drop of water…

A seven-coloured glowing mass that seemed like a mix between steam and water…

A pill that looked like a Spirit Pill but was clearly not…

And a fiery red coloured longan sized bead…

There were a total of five treasures, all of them placed atop the high platform and each covered by the semi-circular light curtain.

Everyone’s eyes swept over the five treasures one by one before finally landing on a sixth semicircular light curtain that was… empty. Clearly, something had been here before, but now it was gone.

In other words, there were originally six treasures on this high platform, but at this moment, only five were left. It was a complete mystery where this last treasure had gone.

*Gump…* 

Kong Qi gulped hard as he stared at the dark oval shield and said grimly, “This is a Pseudo-Emperor Artifact, right? I can feel traces of Emperor Pressure from it!”

Everyone was equally stunned to see such treasures hidden in the depths of the Flowing Time Temple. For a moment, everyone’s enthusiasm grew to new heights as they stared at these five treasures, all of them barely able to hold themselves back.

Although all of them wanted to rush up and seize these treasures, no one dared to move.

Because everyone knew that since there were eight people here, and only five treasures, which was clearly not enough for everyone, once someone made the first move, they would likely become everyone’s target. When two fists can’t block four strikes, the first person to stick out would likely be eliminated.

Even someone as strong and arrogant as Luo Yuan had to suppress himself while constantly monitoring the others around him.

“Your Highness, you are very knowledgeable. Do you know what these are?” Gong Wen Shan asked as he turned to Lan Xun suddenly.

Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes filled with a kind of soft brilliance as she smiled and said, “I recognize a few…”

“Please enlighten us, Your Highness!” Gong Wen Shan said sincerely.

Lan Xun lightly nodded before pointing to the dark oval shield and saying, “Brother Kong is right, this is probably a Pseudo-Emperor Artifact.”

“Pseudo-Emperor Artifact, what’s that?” Yang Kai asked without any hesitation.

As soon as he said this, everyone cast him a weird look, seemingly wondering why he didn’t even know something so obvious.

Bian Yu Qing was the only one who understood why Yang Kai was so ignorant and uninformed him; after all, she knew he was from a low-level Star Field, so she took the initiative to kindly explain, “Not all Emperor Artifacts are refined as Emperor Artifacts. You should know this, yes?”

Yang Kai nodded lightly.

Most Emperor Artifacts were not originally refined as Emperor Artifacts and instead were the result of artifacts being nurtured for many years by powerful cultivators. When such a cultivator broke through to the Emperor Realm, they could use their own comprehensions of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao to infuse Emperor Intent into such an artifact and possibly refine it into an Emperor Artifact.

“Some Emperors are unable to succeed when they temper their own artifacts. There are various reasons for this, but that doesn’t mean that the artifact’s power is completely lost; in fact, most often these artifacts receive a significant increase in power. Artifacts refined under such circumstances are known as Pseudo-Emperor Artifacts, surpassing the level of a Dao Source Grade artifact, but failing to reach the Emperor Grade. They are semi-finished products!” Bian Yu Qing said softly with a solemn expression, “Excellent Pseudo-Emperor Artifacts are not inferior to the ordinary Emperor Artifacts, while some Pseudo-Emperor Artifacts are only slightly better than Dao Source Grade.”

“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded in understanding.

Bian Yu Qing continued, “But… this is a defensive artifact, so even if it’s only a Pseudo-Emperor Artifact, it is still a rare treasure! This shield’s value is certainly far greater than an ordinary Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact! If someone can obtain this shield and refine it, most likely no one below the Emperor Realm will be able to break their defences!”

“It really sounds like a treasure!” Yang Kai echoed as his gaze became slightly hotter.

Although Yang Kai already had a large number of Emperor Artifacts, none of them were defensive types. If he could obtain this shield, he could make up for his own shortcomings and when he encountered a strong enemy, he would be able to resist for a while longer.

“Your Highness, please continue!” Kong Qi glared at Yang Kai from the side, seemingly blaming him for his ignorance for interfering with Lan Xun’s explanation.

Lan Xun didn’t mind, however, and simply smiled and pointed to the cherry-sized drop of water, “If I am not mistaken, this should be a drop of the legendary Supreme Divine Water!”

*Si…*

A sharp breath sounded as everyone reacted in shock.

“As I had guessed, it really is the Supreme Divine Water…” Gong Wen Shan’s expression flickered as he seemingly had such a guess before but was uncertain. Hearing Lan Xun’s words, he was able to confirm his speculations.

Murong Xiao Xiao was also shocked as she muttered, “The Supreme Divine Water which allows spirit herbs to rapidly mature with just a single drop?”

“Indeed!” Lan Xun smiled and nodded, possibly showing consideration for Yang Kai again as she took the initiative to explain, “With a drop of Supreme Divine Water, one can increase the maturity of any spirit grass or spirit medicines by thousands, if not ten thousand years in just a single month.”

Yang Kai gulped hard as he asked, “What Princess means to say is that… as long as this drop is sprinkled onto a spirit grass or medicine, that spirit medicine’s medicinal age will reach ten thousand years in just a single month?”

“Exactly!” Lan Xun nodded and said lightly, “Although Supreme Divine Water is not among the Three Great Divine Waters, in terms of efficacy and function, it is sometimes much more precious than them. When I was young, I was fortunate enough to see a few drops of Supreme Divine Water, which is why I can recognize it now.”

If someone else had said that they saw a few drops of Supreme Divine Water when they were a child, others might be sceptical, but coming from Lan Xun, the story was different. With her status and background, she would certainly not tell such a boring lie. If she said she had seen it before, it was basically certain she had.

Yang Kai’s heart rate suddenly accelerated.

With so much Heavy Earth in the medicine garden inside his Sealed World Bead, herbs would mature a hundred times faster than normal. So after one year, herbs planted in it would have medicinal ages of a hundred years.

However, this drop of Supreme Divine Water could actually increase the medicinal age of a spirit medicine to ten thousand years in a month!

The gap was clear and obvious…

If this drop of Supreme Divine Water could be absorbed by the gold and silver tree, wouldn’t its sealing power also increase many times over? With so much sealing power, Yang Kai could lift the seal on his dantian anytime or anywhere to fight powerful enemies without worry.

At that time, he would only need to re-seal the Demon Qi and Demon Spirit with the power of the Firmament Tree.

“Supreme Divine Water is the source of all spirit waters, so its role is not just that. For a cultivator who cultivates Water Attribute Secret Arts or who possesses a Water Attribute Special Constitution, the benefits are incalculable, and… it can also be refined into a Water Attribute artifact. It has endless uses!” Lan Xun continued her explanation.

Gong Wen Shan breathed out slowly as he cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks for sharing your wisdom, Your Highness!”

“Hmph, the Princess is explaining to you out of pure goodwill, there’s no need for you to offer pointless flattery!” Xiao Chen snorted coldly from the side.

No one paid any attention to him…

Lan Xun pointed to the seven coloured flowing light treasure and said, “I don’t believe I need to say anything about this. Doesn’t everyone already recognize it?”

Kong Qi’s brow twitched as he said roughly, “It’s an Emperor Aura…”

“It’s definitely an Emperor Aura!” Gong Wen Shan seemed to also know what it was and said solemnly.

Lan Xun smiled lightly and nodded, “Yes, this is an Emperor Aura! If one possesses it, they can integrate it into their own precious artifact, and there is a good chance an Emperor Artifact will be born with time!”

Emperor Auras were the key to refining Emperor Artifacts. An Emperor only needed to merge this Emperor Aura with their own artifact and if everything went well, they would obtain a new Emperor Artifact. Even if something went wrong, a Pseudo-Emperor Artifact would at least be created!

Generally, when an Emperor Realm Master wanted to refine their artifact into an Emperor Artifact, they would directly pour their own Emperor Intent into it. Emperor Auras, which contained the essence of an Emperor Realm Master’s Emperor Intent, were rarely created.

Emperor Auras could not be condensed into a physical entity outside an Emperor’s body by ordinary Emperor Realm Masters. Even someone as strong as Xiao Chen’s father, the Silver Star Envoy Xiao Yu Yang, did not have such ability.

Only a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master could achieve this!

Condensing an Emperor Aura would result in a great loss to any Emperor Realm Master, one that would take hundreds of years of hard cultivation to make up for. Therefore, under normal circumstances, no Third-Order Emperor would condense an Emperor Aura and place it outside.

But this Flowing Time Temple actually had one such treasure!

There was a fundamental difference between this thing and the pitch-black shield. The black shield was already fully formed, and as a Pseudo-Emperor Artifact, there was no possibility for it to be further refined into an Emperor Artifact. However, this Emperor Aura represented infinite possibilities, all that was required was time, effort, and luck. It was really quite difficult to judge which of these two was more valuable.

If one preferred immediate worth, they would choose the dark shield; after all, a defensive Pseudo-Emperor Artifact was extremely precious and valuable.

If one had the ambition to refine their own Emperor Artifact, however, they would undoubtedly prefer the Emperor Aura.

Chapter 2169

“This is…” Lan Xun cast her gaze onto the fourth treasure, which resembled a pill but was clearly not one, making for a strange scene.

Lan Xun frowned slightly, as if she was a little dazed, but soon her eyes widened as she shouted, “An Emperor Authority Bead!”

“What!?” Luo Yuan, who had yet to speak the whole time suddenly exclaimed, “An Emperor Authority Bead? Are you certain?”

As soon as this remark came out, Xiao Chen couldn’t help coldly snorting, “Pay attention to your words, it is the Princess who is before you!”

Luo Yuan turned his head and glared at him, his two eyes smouldering with fighting intent.

Lan Xun just smiled though and said, “This should be an Emperor Authority Bead. If Brother Luo doesn’t believe me, he can simply break the barrier protecting it later and see for himself.

“I believe you!” Luo Yuan declared, “It’s just… I didn’t expect such a treasure to appear here.”

Lan Xun nodded. “I too did not expect an Emperor Authority Bead to appear… I also have not seen one before. I’ve only heard about them from my father in the past, so I did not recognize it at first, however… An Emperor Realm Master’s full-powered strike is sealed inside an Emperor Authority Bead, so obtaining this thing is tantamount to having a certain kill life-saving card!”

Listening to what she said, Yang Kai immediately understood what this ‘Emperor Authority Bead’ and its function were.

This thing turned out to be a full-powered blow of an Emperor Realm Master! In other words, it was similar to the Star Emperor Tokens from his native Star Field.

The Starry Sky Great Emperor had also sealed her Divine Abilities into those ten tokens!

Everyone here was a Dao Source Realm cultivator, so if they could obtain this Emperor Authority Bead, they would never need to fear facing others in the same realm. Even if they were to encounter an Emperor, they would still be able to fight back!

As Lan Xun said, this thing could be regarded as a trump card, one that would deliver a certain kill blow!

Which cultivator had not experienced several life or death moments? At a critical moment, an Emperor Authority Bead would undoubtedly be a life-saving tool.

Everyone’s breathing became rapid again as their eyes turned hot…

“As for the last item…” Lan Xun frowned again as she examined the longan sized, fiery red bead for some time before she slowly shook her head and said, “Forgive my ignorance, but I don’t recognize it. Does anyone else have any idea what this is?”

Even a character like Lan Xun didn’t recognize the fiery red bead, so the others present could only shake their heads, declaring they didn’t know what it was.

Lan Xun smiled slightly and said, “No matter what it is, since it can be placed here with these other treasures, it is definitely extraordinary.”

Her remarks were not without purpose.

Among the five items placed on the high platform, there was a defensive type Pseudo Emperor Artifact, a drop of Supreme Divine Water, an Emperor Aura, and an Emperor Authority Bead. Which one of these was not a rare and priceless treasure? In terms of value, it really just depended on whose hands these treasures were in, so it made no sense that the fifth item was useless. This fiery red bead was at least on the same level as the other treasures, it’s just that its function was unknown.

“Actually…” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes narrowed as she fixed them on the centre position of the high platform where an empty barrier remained, “I care more about what… was originally here.”

“What does Princess mean?” Kong Qi asked.

Lan Xun explained, “Within this barrier, there is a strong residual Emperor Pressure. If I’m not mistaken, there should have been an Emperor Artifact here…”

“An Emperor Artifact?”

“Really?”

“No way!”

Everyone present had seen great winds and waves, but they were still shocked that an Emperor Artifact had once been here as that was not a treasure one could obtain casually.

“I’m fairly certain that was the case…” Lan Xun said firmly, “And it was still here not long ago. As for why it suddenly disappeared, I cannot say; however, if it wasn’t here just a short time ago, the remnant Emperor Pressure would not be so apparent.”

“Did someone get here before us?” Gong Wen Shan’s expression sank.

“Damn it, who managed to sneak in here first!” Kong Qi also cursed angrily.

Lan Xun, however, shook her head and said, “That shouldn’t be the case. If someone really got here before us, why would they only take one treasure? The rest of the things here are also rare and precious, so it’s unreasonable for them to simply leave them… not to mention, the barrier here is completely undamaged…”

“En, Your Highness is right, what’s going on?” Kong Qi was confused.

“I don’t know either,” Lan Xun smiled helplessly.

While several others were talking, Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking of the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe suddenly…

Recalling the Emperor Pressure that Zhang Ruo Xi gave off when she was wearing that Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe before, and then feeling the residual aura on the high platform… Yang Kai immediately coughed and said, “Whether there was an Emperor Artifact here or now, now that it’s missing, there’s no point worrying about it. Why don’t we discuss how to distribute these items instead?”

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere that was still a little harmonious suddenly became tense as everyone present secretly began condensing their Source Qi while vigilantly sweeping their eyes around.

There were five treasures, but eight people, so obviously they could not be evenly distributed and there were bound to be some people who gained nothing.

Everyone here was a favoured son or daughter of Heaven, a genius among their generation, so none of them wanted to come back empty-handed.

“Friends, this Xiao has a suggestion, I don’t know whether you’d be willing to consider it!” Xiao Chen suddenly smiled and said.

Kong Qi had no idea what he was going to say, but since Xiao Chen had already spoken, it wouldn’t be appropriate to refuse outright, so he simply spoke, “If Brother Xiao has any good ideas, please enlighten us!”

The others also turned to look at him.

Xiao Chen smiled heartily when he saw this and continued, “In this Southern Territory, my Star Soul Palace is heralded as a virtuous leader filled with righteous talents. Her Highness is the model example of this and did not hesitate to share her wisdom with all of you, yes? Do you not feel that she deserves some form of thanks in return?”

When he said this, everyone suddenly had an unpleasant premonition.

Sure enough, Xiao Chen proposed, “This Xiao feels that with Her Highness’ status, she should be allowed to take one of these treasures first. What do all of you say?”

Everyone immediately cursed Xiao Chen in their hearts as they really couldn’t curse him out loud; after all, doing so would be akin to slandering Lan Xun as well, an offence none of them wanted to commit. For a moment, everyone felt incredibly gloomy as they held their tongues.

From the start, there were not enough treasures here to divide among them, but now Xiao Chen even suggested that Lan Xun take one away first. This was nothing short of shameless robbery. If someone else had proposed such an outrageous notion, they would have been drowned in other’s spit and curses by now, but with Xiao Chen putting forward Lan Xun’s identity, none dared act presumptuously.

With Lan Xun’s status, who would dare have any opinions about her actions? Did they not want to live in the Southern Territory in the future?

Even someone as strong and arrogant as Luo Yuan could only glare gloomily at that moment, unable to say a word.

Even though he didn’t flinch when facing Wu Chang, he also knew that some people in this world could not be offended no matter what, and Lan Xun was one of them…

“What’s wrong? Do you think this Xiao’s proposal is unfair?” Xiao Chen continued pressing his advantage. Seeing that everyone did not say anything, he coldly snorted and said, “Or… are you looking down on my Star Soul Palace?”

When such an unfair charge was levelled, Kong Qi immediately glared at Xiao Chen as if he was his parent’s murderer, cursing his eighteen generations of ancestors in his heart…

“Well…” Murong Xiao Xiao was too kind-hearted for her own good, and seeing the atmosphere becoming so charged she wanted to speak up, but not knowing how to calm things down, her face flushed with anxiety.

The others also remained silent, unable to say anything.

Yang Kai observed carefully and quickly saw that Lan Xun’s brow was slightly furrowed, obviously displeased with the current mess. Clearly this was something Xiao Chen had decided to do on his own without consulting her, allowing Yang Kai to nod secretly to himself.

His impression of Lan Xun was still quite good. If Lan Xun really wanted to take advantage of her father, Bright Moon Great Emperor, and Star Soul Palace’s prestige to snatch these treasures, likely no one would be able to object, only her public image and reputation would take a hit.

On the other hand, these items, while extremely precious, given Lan Xun’s identity, might really not be of much interest to her.

The pitch-black shield was useless to her because there was no doubt she had a defensive Emperor Artifact bestowed to her by the Great Emperor.

The drop of Supreme Divine Water was also useless to her as there was no spirit grass or herb that Star Soul Palace didn’t possess or could easily acquire. 

As for the Emperor Aura, she was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator now, so it was completely useless to her.

As for the Emperor Authority Bead…

If she really wanted one, all she’d need to do is beg her father, Bright Moon Great Emperor, a little and the Great Emperor would definitely give her one. In any case, with the Great Emperor’s strength and skill, consuming a few hundred years of strength was not even worth mentioning.

Just as the tension was becoming unbearable, Lan Xun suddenly smiled and said, “Since no one has any objections, then Xiao Chen and I will take one.”

“Huh?” Gong Wen Shan heard this and couldn’t help raising his brow and staring at Lan Xun in amazement, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard, but soon, a knowing grin formed on his face.

After frowning, Kong Qi also understood the meaning of Lan Xun’s words and nodded happily, “If Her Highness wants to take one first, this Kong naturally has no objections.”

“Neither do I!” Bian Yu Qing agreed immediately.

Everyone present was a sharp individual, and although Lan Xun’s words sounded similar to Xiao Chen’s, how could they not understand that their true meaning was completely different?

“What about you?” Lan Xun turned to look at Luo Yuan and the others.

“Your Highness should act freely. This Luo does not trust others here, but Your Highness is still trustworthy.”

Lan Xun gently nodded, “Many thanks, Brother Luo, for your trust.”

With Luo Yuan not expressing any disagreement, the remaining Yang Kai and Murong Xiao Xiao naturally had no objections.

When everyone nodded in agreement, Xiao Chen turned anxious as he whispered to Lan Xun, “Princess…”

The light smile on Lan Xun’s face receded as she turned a cold stare to him and declared, “Brother Xiao Chen, since everyone has agreed, I will have to bother you to…”

At this point, her beautiful eyes swept over the high platform briefly before she pointed and said, “Retrieve that Pseudo Emperor Artifact!”

The value of these five treasures really couldn’t be judged because everyone’s needs were different and these five things had vastly different functions…

But for Lan Xun, among the five things here, the least valuable was definitely the shield Pseudo Emperor Artifact.

Because this thing was completely useless to her! Even the flaming red bead that she couldn’t identify would have had slightly more value to her.

But she still chose the Pseudo Emperor Artifact!

Chapter 2170

Lan Xun’s choice undoubtedly gave a distinct message…

Although she did not want to bully others using her status, she also wasn’t willing to just return empty-handed. Regardless of whether these things were useful or useless to her, she deserved a trophy since she was able to arrive here using her own ability, and with her and Xiao Chen’s strength, they were also absolutely qualified to snatch at least one of these treasures. 

However, Lan Xun also wanted to avoid conflict with others, especially if it would be a fight over something useless to her, so she simply chose the least useful treasure for herself.

This way, she could directly show what her stance on this issue was!

“Princess!” Xiao Chen shouted in a low voice, as if he wanted to persuade her otherwise.

Lan Xun’s face remained indifferent as she calmly said, “Brother Xiao Chen, do you want me to get it myself?”

Seeing her sharp gaze, Xiao Chen’s heart sank as he realized that if he tried to press this issue any further, he would only anger Lan Xun. Immediately gritting his teeth, he squeezed out an ugly smile and said, “Your Highness… please wait a moment, I’ll be right back…”

Saying so, he leapt up to the high platform.

With someone stepping forward to test whether there were any dangers on the high platform, everyone else paid close attention.

Fortunately, apart from the barriers covering the different treasures, there didn’t seem to be any other traps or hazards present.

Xiao Chen stood in front of the Pseudo Emperor Artifact shield, and although there was a hint of unwillingness on his face, he could only summon his sword, push his Source Qi, and cut towards the barrier.

Even if he didn’t use his full strength, he used at least half of his power in this blow, as well as the accumulated anger he felt, so the power he displayed was extraordinary.

In the next instant, the light from his sword fell fiercely on the light curtain.

But the light curtain was far stronger than it appeared and the only result of Xiao Chen’s slash was the barrier bending slightly before bouncing back, completely unscathed…

“Oh?” Seeing this scene, everyone was shocked as they also quickly examined the strength of the barrier and calculated just how much force would be needed to smash it to snatch the treasures.

Xiao Chen’s first attempt having no effect embarrassed him greatly, so he wasted no time in lifting his sword up again and chanting, “Plum Flower Sword, Showering Blossom Sword!”

Releasing this Secret Technique, a storm of plum blossoms seemed to fill the air.

This move was both elegant and dignified.

A fresh fragrance seemed to fill the air and linger at the tip of everyone’s nose before the plum blossoms suddenly transformed into countless points of light and fiercely bombarded the light curtain.

A violent shaking took place as the light curtain flashed wildly.

Although the radiance of the barrier was constantly dimming, there was still no sign of it breaking.

Xiao Chen’s expression became enraged as he turned his sword and activated another Secret Technique, “Waning Moon Pierces The Mirror Heavens!”

Another dazzling sword skill was displayed as a violent power struck the light curtain…

*Kacha…*

A crack finally appeared in the light curtain, and seeing this situation, Xiao Chen pushed his Source Qi violently and thrust his sword forward.

With a loud bang, the barrier completely broke and Xiao Chen grabbed the Pseudo Emperor Artifact shield before leaping off to land next to Lan Xun’s side, “Your Highness, I’ve retrieved the item.”

“En,” Lan Xun nodded lightly, not even sparing the Pseudo Emperor Artifact shield a glance and instead smiling to the others, “Then… Lan Xun will take her leave. Everyone… good luck!”

After that, she turned and walked towards the light gate standing on the right side of the hall.

Although Xiao Chen was unwilling, his duty was to follow Lan Xun, so he had no choice but to follow her as he shot the others in the room a fierce look, as if to say that they were lucky this time…

A moment later, the two Star Soul Palace disciples disappeared through the light gate.

“The Princess… is quite commendable!” After a short silence, Kong Qi suddenly said.

“En,” Gong Wen Shan nodded in agreement. “The daughter of the Great Emperor has temperament beyond compare, it makes this Gong embarrassed…”

“You should be ashamed!” Kong Qi grimaced at him.

At that moment, a burst of laughter rang out as Bian Yu Qing glanced around elegantly, “Her Highness and her escort are gone now, but with those who remain and the remaining treasures… it seems that there’s still not quite enough!”

Atop the high platform, there were originally five treasures, but now the Pseudo Emperor Artifact shield had been taken away, leaving four treasures to split among six people…

“I claim one of them!” Luo Yuan suddenly declared.

Gong Wen Shan cast his gaze over, and said, “Why should we agree?”

Kong Qi chimed in, “If you want to win these treasures, it should naturally be done with your own strength. I have no opinion about Her Highness claiming one, but if you want to claim one first, I’ll have to object.”

Luo Yuan’s Eight Paths Sect was only a second-class Sect in the Southern Territory while Kong Qi was from Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce, the difference in their backgrounds was profound, so how could Kong Qi possibly be afraid of Luo Yuan here?

Luo Yuan smiled proudly as his eyes swept across the crowd, “If anyone refuses to accept, they’re welcome to object!”

Kong Qi couldn’t help showing a cold look on his face as he slowly nodded and said, “This friend’s attitude makes this Kong quite uncomfortable, so this Kong intends to teach Friend a small lesson, I just don’t know… hm? Bastard, what are you doing!?”

Before Kong Qi finished what he was trying to say, his face suddenly changed and he couldn’t help roaring furiously.

The next moment, everyone else’s anger also flared up.

Because while all of them were talking, Yang Kai had secretly slipped away and landed on the high platform. Reaching out, he palmed towards one of the barriers.

“Bold! Who gave you the courage to do this!?” Luo Yuan roared as he leapt out.

When the others saw this, all their hesitation vanished and they swiftly used their Movement Skills to catch up, lest they fall behind.

However… It seemed that when Lan Xun asked Xiao Chen to take the Pseudo Emperor Artifact shield, everyone else had already decided what treasure they would target; after all, the remaining four treasures had different functions and everyone had their own preference.

So when the six people rushed to the high platform, the targets they chose were also completely different.

Yang Kai’s goal was the flaming red bead that even Lan Xun couldn’t recognize or identify.

He chose this not because he recognized what this bead was, but because of what Zhang Ruo Xi had said before.

She told Yang Kai that Qiong Qi said that if he had the chance to enter the final room, he should choose the most useless thing!

Among the remaining four treasures, whether it was the Emperor Aura, Emperor Authority Bead, or Supreme Divine Water, none of these treasures were useless; however, the fiery red bead that no one could identify was, on the surface, the most useless.

Qiong Qi was an Ancient Divine Spirit and had also given Zhang Ruo Xi the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe, so it made no sense for it to deceive him by saying such things.

So, Yang Kai’s goal was this fiery red bead from the beginning!

What’s more, by choosing this bead, Yang Kai also avoided all competition as no one else present wanted it. Although many thought that this bead had some extraordinary use or purpose, without knowing its specific role, trying to snatch it while giving up on the other treasures present simply wasn’t worth the risk. 

Therefore, the remaining five people set their goals on the other three treasures.

Among them, Luo Yuan and Kong Qi focused on the Emperor Authority Bead! Their thinking was quite simple. The Emperor Authority Bead had a full-powered blow from an Emperor Realm Master sealed inside of it, which was an overwhelming trump card that could save one’s life in a critical situation! As long as one still had their life, there was hope for everything else.

What Bian Yu Qing and Gong Wen Shan chose was the Emperor Aura! This thing was the source of an Emperor Artifact, so its value was simply incalculable.

Murong Xiao Xiao had wanted to grab the Emperor Authority Bead too, but seeing Luo Yuan targeting it as well, she grit her teeth and immediately changed direction, rushing to the Supreme Divine Water drop that no one was paying attention to and began breaking its barrier.

Xiao Bai Yi had once told her when they were alone that she should avoid any conflict with Luo Yuan because he was incredibly dangerous. Xiao Bai Yi even went so far as to say he wasn’t confident he could defeat Luo Yuan!

Murong Xiao Xiao trusted Xiao Bai Yi so she seriously followed his advice.

The six people were immediately divided into several areas where Yang Kai and Murong Xiao Xiao focused on breaking the barriers to the treasures they wanted while the other four engaged in heated battles of two.

Among them, the battle between Kong Qi and Luo Yuan was particularly fierce, with neither side backing down in the slightest while simultaneously using their own methods to try to break the barrier. Their struggle caused chaos and destruction around them.

As for Bian Yu Qing and Gong Wen Shan…

It should be said that Gong Wen Shan was worthy of his title as a Spirit Array Grandmaster. After he landed on the high platform, he directly summoned an Array Plate that caused a ripple to spread out and directly envelop Bian Yu Qing in a layer of fog.

No one could see what happened inside this mist.

However… Having fallen into the opponent’s Array Plate, Yang Kai estimated that Bian Yu Qing was probably powerless and could only silently pay tribute to her in his heart.

The scene of Xiao Chen cracking the barrier before was still fresh in people’s minds, so they all understood that this light curtain was extremely tough and could not be broken at will. As such, no one held back.

Yang Kai directly used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique and condensed his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi onto his claw before he smashed his fist onto the barrier fiercely.

Without anyone interfering with him, Yang Kai used five strikes to break the barrier.

As soon as the light curtain shattered, Yang Kai stuffed the fiery red bead into his Space Ring.

He then turned his head and saw that Luo Yuan and Kong Qi were still locked in a fierce melee, both of them pushing their Source Qi wildly to suppress the other while using other methods to smash the barrier protecting the Emperor Authority Bead.

The light of the barrier faded at a speed visible to the naked eye and seemed to be on the verge of breaking.

Nearby, Bian Yu Qing and Gong Wen Shan were still surrounded by a layer of fog, with neither of their figures anywhere to be seen. There wasn’t even any sound coming from this fog bank.

On the farthest side, Murong Xiao Xiao was anxiously using her Heavenly Feather Ring artifact to bombard the barrier protecting the Supreme Divine Water.

Although she was trying her best, she still needed at least a few breaths if she wanted to crack this barrier.

Yang Kai’s figure flickered when he saw this and arrived directly next to Murong Xiao Xiao.

“Junior Brother Yang…” Murong Xiao Xiao pursed her lips lightly as she wore a complex expression.

Yang Kai didn’t say anything and simply urged his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi wrapped dragon claws to match the timing Murong Xiao Xiao’s Heavenly Feather Ring impacted the light curtain.

Combining the power of the two blows, the barrier buckled and broke apart.

Yang Kai’s hand flashed rapidly as he took out a jade bottle, stored the drop of Supreme Divine Water into it, then immediately threw it to Murong Xiao Xiao as he shouted, “Go!”

Chapter 2171

Yang Kai wasn’t a man who didn’t know how to be satisfied. At this moment, after grabbing a treasure for himself and helping Murong Xiao Xiao obtain the Supreme Divine Water, the best choice would be to withdraw rather than fight for more.

When Murong Xiao Xiao heard this, she raised no objections, immediately catching the jade bottle and taking back her Heavenly Feather Ring before following Yang Kai into the light gate and disappearing.

Just after the pair left, on the high platform, accompanied by Luo Yuan’s furious shout, a burst of Source Qi exploded forth and Kong Qi’s complexion changed greatly as he exclaimed, “You…”

Just as his words fell, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and flew out.

When he landed, shock filled his face.

He didn’t expect that Luo Yuan’s strength was far greater than his own. Despite the two of them both being Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters, Luo Yuan was able to force him back in a Source Qi competition at the last moment.

Kong Qi was also a favoured son of Heaven and the rising star of Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce. Compared with Luo Yuan, the gap between them should not have been small and should obviously favour Kong Qi.

“Hmph, you were too overconfident!” After Luo Yuan forced Kong Qi back, he made no attempt to finish him off and instead palmed towards the light barrier, smashing it to pieces and obtaining the Emperor Authority Bead which sealed the full-powered blow of an Emperor Realm Master!

Next, he cast his gaze towards the fog bank before letting out a low roar and charging forward.

But at that moment, the billowing fog suddenly exploded outwards, and by the time Luo Yuan rushed over, the thick mist disappeared as if it had just been an illusion.

Only Bian Yu Qing stood there alone, looking around blankly, grinding her teeth!

A figure flashed out at that moment and rushed into the light gate, quickly disappearing.

“The Emperor Aura…” despite some guesses, Luo Yuan still asked Bian Yu Qing in a deep tone.

Bian Yu Qing wore an aggrieved expression and snapped, “I don’t know… I was trapped in that smoke and couldn’t see anything…”

“Waste!” Luo Yuan cursed before turning around and rushing towards the light gate. The figure which just disappeared was no doubt Gong Wen Shan, so the Emperor Aura was definitely on him now.

“How is this my fault!?” Bian Yu Qing snarled.

In the blink of an eye, there were only two people left in the hall, Kong Qi with his pale face and bleeding mouth, and a gloomy Bian Yu Qing.

The latter soon turned to the former, smiled and called out, “Little Brother…”

Kong Qi glanced at her and smiled miserably, “Don’t call out so affectionately. I don’t have anything, so it’s useless to try to talk to me!”

Bian Yu Qing pouted angrily and snapped, “A bunch of bastards bullying this Mistress, hateful!”

Of the rare treasures here, one went to Lan Xun and Xiao Chen who left the field before the battle began, while the rest were divided up amongst the others while she and Kong Qi received nothing. This annoyed Bian Yu Qing to no end.

In terms of cultivation, she wasn’t the lowest amongst those present, and in terms of strength, she also didn’t believe she was the weakest, but she wound up with nothing in the end. Losing such an incredible opportunity was of course unacceptable to her.

…..

Somewhere outside the Flowing Time Temple,, Yang Kai and Murong Xiao Xiao appeared at the same time in a flash of light.

Yang Kai immediately released his Divine Sense, but after checking and confirming there was no danger in the surroundings, he relaxed.

There were no signs of other people appearing nearby, possibly because they were all teleported to other places, but the light gate was indeed a passage to leave the Flowing Time Temple, there was no doubt about that.

Even after waiting for a while, there was still no trace of other people appearing.

Yang Kai immediately understood that unless they passed through the light gate at the same time, the place they appeared in would be different.

Next, Yang Kai turned to Murong Xiao Xiao, who was looking at him gratefully because he had helped her acquire the Supreme Divine Water at the last moment and did not take the opportunity to snatch it from her.

At that time, Yang Kai could have easily snatched the drop of Supreme Divine Water for himself.

Murong Xiao Xiao opened her mouth and was about to say something when suddenly a dramatic change occurred.

Up in the sky, a thunderous rumbling resounded, one that was so loud that cultivators within a hundred kilometres could hear it clearly.

At the same time as the sound rang out, the Flowing Time Temple which was floating up in the sky actually emitted a dazzling light that blinded all who looked at it.

An astonishing pressure suddenly descended in the next moment and rapidly spread out…

*Hong long long…*

The rumblings only grew louder.

“Junior Brother Yang…” Murong Xiao Xiao shouted solemnly.

Yang Kai did not answer and instead just squinted his eyes to observe the changing situation, a short time later sighing as he muttered, “This Temple seems to be concealing itself again. I don’t know what kind of opportunity is needed for its next appearance, let alone when that will be.”

Just as he said, after the dazzling light dissipated, the Flowing Time Temple in the sky really vanished, as if it had never even existed.

However…

In the place where the temple once stood, a small black figure had appeared.

“That’s…” Yang Kai stared intently for a moment before his eyes shrank fiercely.

Up in the sky, an ominous beast had appeared, one that was covered in flames and looked like a tiger and an ox with a pair of giant wings and thick scaled armour, a majestic and terrifying creature to behold.

Its nostrils spewed out flames that seemed capable of melting space and when it stamped its legs, the world itself seemed to shake.

“Qiong Qi!” Yang Kai exclaimed in shock.

Murong Xiao Xiao couldn’t help covering her mouth with her small hands, her beautiful eyes trembling violently.

Having been born in Azure Sun Temple, and as an elite disciple of the Sect, she had naturally heard of the beast, ‘Qiong Qi’.

It was synonymous with extreme wickedness, slaughter, and despair!

Even in ancient times, the Divine Spirit Qiong Qi was a notorious ominous beast and countless creatures had died to its flames. Few Masters could even resist its phenomenal might.

At this moment, it was just standing quietly mid-air, but the cruel and fierce aura it released made it difficult for every living creature within a hundred kilometres to even breathe as they trembled in fright.

Within a hundred-kilometre radius, every cultivator who felt this fierce pressure sank, like a ten thousand ton mountain was pressing down on their shoulders, making them feel like death was imminent and inevitable…

*Huo…*

Qiong Qi roared to the Heavens, its voice containing an extremely complex mix of emotions, like joy, excitement, and sorrow.

Immediately after, it squinted its eyes and glanced around, its burning gaze seemingly piercing through space before it stretched out its claw and directly pierced the Void, opening a crack in space before dove in and disappeared.

Outside the Four Seasons Realm, in the unnamed mountain valley.

This place was no longer filled with World Energy and instead had become extremely barren. The only thing worth noting was the large oval light gate that gently floated just above the ground.

The many cultivators that originally gathered here had also flooded into the Four Seasons Realm a few days ago, so now, only a few Emperor Realm Masters who had been responsible for leading their Sects’ disciples here remained.

Silver Star Envoy Xiao Yu Yang of Star Soul Palace, Gao Xue Ting of Azure Sun Temple, Chen Wen Hao of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Feng Ming of Orthodoxy Temple, Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce Ceng Yuan, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce Lou Chi…

These Masters had all remained here on the one hand to observe the changes in the entrance of the Four Seasons Realm, so as to avoid any irreparable accidents, and on the other hand to wait for their elite disciples to return.

Since the various Dao Source Realm Juniors had the Four Seasons Realm, these Emperors had each found a place to sit in meditation.

For Masters like them, waiting for thirty-three days was nothing. Perhaps this was enough time to slightly comprehend a Secret Art they were cultivating, or to slightly refine an Emperor Artifact they possessed, so for these thirty-three days, none of them felt bored.

Suddenly, Xiao Yu Yang opened his eyes as he vaguely sensed something amiss, but soon that vague sensation turned into one of pure shock and horror.

In the next moment, all the Emperor Realm Masters present stood up and turned their eyes in the same direction.

There, a Void Crack suddenly appeared, and from it, a terrifying being erupted.

Before everyone’s eyes, a fiery-red flaming beast emerged from the Void.

“Hahahaha… This Sir is finally free!” As soon as this ominous beast appeared, it uttered this roar and laughed wildly, like a prisoner who had been in captivity for countless years that had finally escaped.

“The Divine Spirit… Qiong Qi!” After Xiao Yu Yang observed the strange beast for a moment, he couldn’t help exclaiming and condensing his Qi.

The other Emperors present also trembled as they swiftly flew over to Xiao Yu Yang without any need for explanation.

The Emperors present were well aware of how terrifying Qiong Qi’s strength was, but none of them had ever imagined that in this nameless mountain valley, a Divine Spirit would suddenly appear, and one famed for its cruelty and wickedness at that…

Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce Vice President Ceng Yuan couldn’t stop his legs from trembling as his face turned extremely pale.

“Oh…” Qiong Qi swept his pair of beast pupils down and muttered in a clear voice, “It seems that a delicious snack was just waiting for this Sir to come out…”

As it spoke, a clear line of drool appeared at the corner of its mouth, as if it had been starving for a long time and finally saw a good meal.

*Guulp…*

The gulping sounds that echoed next did not come from Qiong Qi, but rather from the Emperor Realm Masters gathered below.

All of them had been shocked by Qiong Qi’s remarks, and this seemingly light comment was by no means an exaggeration by this Divine Spirit. Any mature Divine Spirit would not be much weaker than a Great Emperor, so if it really wanted to treat the Emperor Realm Masters present like food, not many of them would be able to escape, much less resist.

At the critical moment, Xiao Yu Yang was the first to recover, cupped his fists, and called out, “Star Soul Palace’s Silver Star Envoy, Xiao Yu Yang, greets Sir Qiong Qi! Might I ask what Sir’s…”

“Star Soul Palace?” Qiong Qi heard this and a trace of disdain flashed across its eyes as it snorted, “Never heard of it.”

It did not even know of the Southern Territory’s overlord Sect.

Xiao Yu Yang couldn’t help feeling his heart sink as he realized the situation was turning dire. This was likely a Divine Spirit who had been slumbering for countless years, so it had never even heard of Star Soul Palace before. This meant that using Bright Moon Great Emperor’s name to deter it was also not a valid plan.

Chapter 2172

“It is an honour for you to become this Sir’s meal. Who shall come up first?” Qiong Qi looked down and asked in a deep voice.

No one dared to answer as each Emperor went pale and trembled, an extreme sense of depression filling their hearts.

“No one wants to volunteer…” Qiong Qi sneered, “If no one steps forward, this Sir will choose one at random. There is no escape, so the only difference is who shall be first and who shall be last. Don’t be afraid…”

“Senior Xiao!” Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President Lou Chi couldn’t help calling out to Xiao Yu Yang, seemingly pinning all his hopes on him.

Xiao Yu Yang’s complexion darkened as he realized that if he didn’t act now, it would be too late. Summoning a small mirror-like object into his hand, Xiao Yu Yang snapped it, causing it to burst into tiny specs of light.

As these specs of light flew out, a gentle but solemn pressure descended from the sky and a stalwart figure slowly manifested.

Everyone immediately turned their heads to look at this figure and their expressions couldn’t help filling with respect and worship.

This man wore a crown of gold and jade and seemed to stand as tall as a mountain while releasing a profound aura.

This figure, however, was illusory and ethereal, so obviously it was not a true physical entity but rather a kind of projection. Nonetheless, at this moment, this figure gaze seemed to penetrate space as it stared directly at Qiong Qi.

Even a beast as strong as Qiong Qi couldn’t help becoming slightly more serious as he snorted coldly, “A Great Emperor’s Soul Manifestation?”

From this phantom, he could feel the aura that only a Great Emperor could possess, so he understood who it was that stood before him.

This was clearly the image of an overlord of this world, the Bright Moon Great Emperor!

Just like the two most dazzling lights in the darkness, as Qiong Qi focused all its attention on the Great Emperor, the Great Emperor was also paying close attention to Qiong Qi.

“This King did not know Qiong Qi was still among us on this plane!” Bright Moon suddenly said.

“Hmph,” Qiong Qi coldly snorted, not showing the slightest weakness, “This Sir roamed the world freely before you were even born. How dare you posture in front of this Sir!” Qiong Qi narrowed its giant eyes and sneered disdainfully, “Or what, do you think a trivial Soul Manifestation is enough to subdue this Sir?”

One man and one beast confronted one another across space, causing the surrounding world to shudder. The mere existence of these two caused space to warp and even led to tiny Void Cracks flitting about. Instantly, the nameless mountain valley seemed to teeter on the brink of collapse.

Xiao Yu Yang and others did not dare to say a word, all of them just standing aside with solemn expressions, silently circulating their Qi to resist the horrifying pressure engulfing them.

“Sir Qiong Qi jests,” As one of the few masters of this world, Bright Moon didn’t mind Qiong Qi’s arrogant attitude and instead smiled lightly, “Bright Moon simply wanted to congratulate you on finally achieving your long-awaited freedom!”

Qiong Qi’s eyes darkened as he shouted, “What do you know?”

Bright Moon replied, “When I was young, I once heard that Sir Flowing Time had a playmate, a Divine Spirit, Qiong Qi. Unfortunately, after Sir Flowing Time disappeared, his companion also went missing. That was tens of thousands of years ago, but I wonder if Sir Qiong Qi still remembers those times fondly?”

“Flowing Time…” Qiong Qi seemed to be stimulated by Bright Moon’s words and the arrogant and violent aura around his body gradually faded, his eyes filling with a kind of fond remembrance.

Bright Moon stood there quietly, not meaning to interrupt, while Xiao Yu Yang and the other Emperors did not dare to move.

After a long time, Bright Moon continued, “I wonder if Sir Qiong Qi would like to come to my Star Soul Palace as a guest. This King has a relic of Sir Flowing Time in his possession that should be transferred to Sir!”

“Hmph, it’s useless trying to bribe this Sir!” Qiong Qi shook his head and snorted, “This Sir is hungry.”

Bright Moon smiled and said, “Then I shall prepare a feast for Sir!”

“So be it!” Qiong Qi said loudly, “Since you have invited this Sir so sincerely, this Sir will give you some face and accept!”

“Bright Moon shall eagerly await Sir’s arrival. This is the location of my Star Soul Palace!” Bright Moon said as he stretched out a finger and sent a ball of white light out to Qiong Qi.

Qiong Qi paused for a moment to contemplate before he turned into a fiery stream of light and disappeared across the horizon.

After Qiong Qi left, Xiao Yu Yang and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief as a gentle breeze blew past them, leaving them with a slight chill on their backs.

The Bright Moon Great Emperor’s projection turned around and glanced at them briefly, then without saying anything, flickered and dissipated.

“Many thanks, Sir!” All the Emperor Realm Masters bowed.

After a while, the six Emperors slowly straightened back up and began exchanging glances, all of them seeing the fear in each other’s eyes. Each of them was a powerful Master who since reaching the Emperor Realm had not experienced such a close brush with death!

“Many thanks for Senior Xiao’s timely intervention, otherwise today…” Cheng Yuan said with some lingering fear on his face.

“En, if it weren’t for Senior Xiao, I’m afraid we would all have been buried here today,” Lou Chi nodded in agreement.

Xiao Yu Yang’s face twitched slightly as he said with a wry smile, “It was Sir Great Emperor who saved us… it had nothing to do with this Xiao. However… Qiong Qi’s suddenly appearing here does not bode well for the Southern Territory’s future stability.”

When everyone heard him say this, their hearts sank.

Qiong Qi was an ominous beast that was literally a living disaster. Its mere presence would definitely set off some unpredictable and extremely vicious incidents. All the Emperors present immediately determined it was necessary to warn their respective Sects as soon as they returned so that precautions could be taken early.

…..

Inside the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai flew forward alone, crossing the Two Seasons Mountain Range as he headed towards the Realm of Winter.

Not long ago, when he and Murong Xiao Xiao were standing inside the Two Seasons Mountain Range waiting, the latter had contacted Xiao Bai Yi through the communication artifact Azure Sun Temple disciples all carried and agreed to meet with each other. After their rendezvous, Xiao Bai Yi did not happily greet Yang Kai.

After all, on the battle stage at that time, even though Yang Kai defeated Xiao Bai Yi in an upright manner, it also denied Xiao Bai Yi the opportunity to gain more benefits!

If not for that defeat, Xiao Bai Yi would have occupied at least one spot in the final competition where he would have a chance to snatch up an extraordinary treasure.

Yang Kai knew that Xiao Bai Yi had some resentment in his heart so he did not linger for long, only saying a few words to the pair before heading off to the Realm of Winter alone.

Halfway there, Yang Kai took out the fiery red bead to study it, but whether it was his Divine Sense or Source Qi that he poured into this bead, it produced no response.

Helpless, Yang Kai could only store it into his Space Ring temporarily.

The Two Seasons Mountain Range at this moment was incredibly calm.

Possibly because of the appearance of the Flowing Time Temple not long ago, or because of the appearance of Qiong Qi, as Yang Kai walked along the way, he didn’t encounter a single Monster Beast.

Two days later, he successfully crossed the Two Seasons Mountain Range.

There was a completely different world ahead.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but silver and white, heavy snow flying through the air, only a ground that was completely covered in thick ice.

A single step into this place was all it took for the ubiquitous cold to envelop one’s body and for the Ice Energy to flow into one’s pores, chilling blood and Soul alike.

Yang Kai braved the wind and snow as he began exploring this white world.

In the Four Seasons Realm, the natural environment of each realm was completely different. In the Realm of Summer, the sun was scorching and the temperature soared, but in the Realm of Winter, it was the exact opposite.

The Tribulation Fruit only grew in extremely cold environments, so the Realm of Winter was the perfect place for such a spirit fruit to appear.

Yang Kai’s hopes rose, but he also realised just how difficult it was to explore this domain.

As he walked along the way, crossing frozen mountains and rivers in the Realm of Winter, although he occasionally reaped some gains, those gains had only been some somewhat rare herbs and fruits, while no sign of the Tribulation Fruit was to be seen.

The omnipresent cold caused the Source Qi in his body to flow at least twenty percent slower than usual.

With no other resort, Yang Kai could only call out Liu Yan to walk with him.

Liu Yan was a Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit who had swallowed all kinds of strange and unusual flames, so she didn’t fear some trivial cold and was easily able to ward off the cold as she walked beside Yang Kai.

Liu Yan had to stick very close to Yang Kai’s side though and was constantly using her own warmth to dissipate the cold surrounding them.

Unlike in other domains, the Realm of Winter was seldom explored, and even if a cultivator was transported to this place when they first entered the Four Seasons Realm, their first thought was almost always to quickly find a way to leave here.

Unless one had a special purpose like Yang Kai, none would explore the Realm of Winter for any extended length of time.

As such, even after Yang Kai wandered around for several days, he didn’t see even a trace of another person. It was as if he was the only one alive in the entire Realm of Winter.

Three days later, somewhere in the Realm of Winter, Yang Kai looked around with a blank expression.

He was completely lost in this silvery world and couldn’t even figure out which direction to walk.

It was basically impossible for a Master like him to encounter such a situation, but the environment of the Realm of Winter was really too harsh and unique, making it so that even Yang Kai couldn’t walk around here freely while maintaining his sense of bearing.

When he looked back, he also saw that his footprints had been swiftly covered by the snow.

“What happened?” Liu Yan asked with concern.

“Well, it seems I’m lost,” Yang Kai replied calmly.

Liu Yan smiled, “So, such a thing can happen…”

“It’s fine, at worst I can just pick a direction and fly straight to leave here,” Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh, “But continuing such an aimless search will probably not yield any good results!”

“It’s a pity… I can’t help you.” Liu Yan replied sadly.

Yang Kai grinned, “Staying by my side is the greatest help.”

Liu Yan smiled lightly but in the next moment, she let out a note of surprise.

Yang Kai noticed this and quickly looked towards her.

Liu Yan stood there, her eyes staring in a certain direction, her expression constantly changing until after a long time, she said, “Master, it seems I’ve found something very interesting!”

“Oh? What?” Yang Kai asked.

“Wait a moment, I’ll be right back!” Saying so, Liu Yan transformed into a flame and shot forward, soon after diving into a snowy peak ahead and disappearing.

Chapter 2173

Amidst the wind and snow, Yang Kai stood in place and waited for three hours before Liu Yan returned from the icy peak.

Seeing her mysterious look, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling curious and asked, “What did you go there for?”

Liu Yan didn’t answer directly and instead called out, “Come out, don’t be afraid!”

The place she was looking at was empty, however.

Yang Kai was stunned, but he also knew that Liu Yan wouldn’t tease him pointlessly, so he watched carefully in anticipation.

Unfortunately, nothing happened, causing Liu Yan to helplessly sigh, “Master, please wait a moment, it seems to be a little timid, let me talk to it.”

After that, Liu Yan squatted down in the snow and pushed her Divine Sense, as if she was trying to communicate with someone or something.

After a long time without any response, Liu Yan became a little annoyed and her expression sank as she snapped coldly, “If you don’t come out, I’ll melt you!”

When these words fell, a small mound of snow puffed up, as if something was emerging from below.

Yang Kai couldn’t help staring in surprise.

A moment later, in a puff of flying snow, something suddenly shot out from the ground, turning into a stream of light, and began dancing about mid-air.

Although this thing was fast, Yang Kai could still see it clearly.

It actually turned out to be a palm-sized snowflake!

However, this snowflake was completely different from ordinary snowflakes. It seemed to have a certain spirituality and consciousness and it also gave off a kind of faint flame-like glow that disturbed the surrounding air.

“What is this?” Yang Kai’s eyes almost bulged as he asked in shock.

Liu Yan replied, “I can’t really explain it clearly, but it should be something similar to myself!”

As she spoke, she beckoned lightly to the snowflake, causing it to fly over and float gently in front of her, seemingly not daring to get too close.

Yang Kai looked at this snowflake with interest and soon discovered that there were some traces of facial features at its centre. These traces were blurry and undefined, but they were definitely present.

“An Innate World Spirit Treasure?” Yang Kai muttered in a low voice.

This snowflake was probably a kind of strange living creature that had evolved in the Realm of Winter over countless years. With its unique constitution, it was likely that no one else even knew it existed.

“En,” Liu Yan nodded, “But it is also a kind of ice flame! If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been able to feel its existence.”

Hearing what she said, Yang Kai immediately understood.

Liu Yan herself was an Artifact Spirit who had devoured and refined numerous types of strange flames. This little snowflake seemed to be a type of strange flame itself, so there was a kind of resonance between it and Liu Yan…

However, because of their opposing hot and cold attributes, the little snowflake didn’t dare get too close to Liu Yan and even seemed extremely afraid of her.

“You brought it here… what for?” Yang Kai asked strangely.

Logically speaking, Liu Yan could just swallow this ice flame and be done with it. Although it was clearly an Ice Attribute flame, since its sentience had already formed, it would still have a good effect on Liu Yan’s growth.

However, she didn’t show any intention of swallowing it and instead brought it over to Yang Kai, which meant she didn’t plan on using it to improve her strength.

“It’s very familiar with this place, so it can help us find things!” Liu Yan smiled slightly.

“Oh! Great idea!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.

Liu Yan soon frowned, though, and said, “But… its sentience is quite limited and it takes a lot of effort to communicate with it, so I don’t know if it will be much help.”

“It’s better than searching aimlessly like before,” Yang Kai grinned, “As for the effect, we’ll just have to try to know.”

Saying so, he turned a soft gaze to the little snowflake and gently asked, “Is there any good thing here? Can you take me to find it?”

The little snowflake seemed to not hear him and just floated quietly mid-air.

Yang Kai wore a slightly embarrassed look as he turned to ask Liu Yan, “Does it not understand?”

Liu Yan smiled lightly and said, “It has never met any other living creature, so how could it understand human words? You can only rely on Divine Sense to communicate with it.”

Saying so, Liu Yan pushed her Divine Sense towards the little snowflake.

The next moment, the other party seemed to understand something and with a flicker, it took off in a certain direction.

Yang Kai and Liu Yan exchanged a glance before they immediately followed.

Soon after, under the guidance of the little snowflake, Yang Kai and Liu Yan came to a mountain valley. The little snowflake stopped at a certain spot and began circling around.

“There should be something good here!” Liu Yan said.

“I’ll take a look.” Yang Kai already began moving, using his Source Qi to dig up the ice and snow.

After a stick of incense’ time, a huge pit appeared in front of Yang Kai and he jumped inside to search.

A moment later, he jumped out with a joyful smile on his face with a kind of jade-like spirit grass in his hand.

“Excellent!” Yang Kai smiled as he looked at the little snowflake approvingly, “This is really much better than blindly searching.”

As if understanding Yang Kai’s praise, the little snowflake flew around Yang Kai a few times quickly before landing on his shoulder, its fuzzy facial features showing a happy expression.

Seeing this situation, Yang Kai immediately understood that the other party’s thinking should be very simple; after all, being born in this Realm of Winter, it had very limited interactions with other creatures. In other words, it was a pure blank slate that had very limited experiences. If this wasn’t the case, how could it possibly be so happy with just a small compliment?

“Work hard, otherwise I’ll melt you!” Liu Yan added a threat at just the right time, her pretty face as cold as ice as she sent out an obvious murderous intent, causing the little snowflake to shiver in fright and hide behind Yang Kai, clinging to him as it only partially exposed itself to stare at Liu Yan timidly.

Yang Kai couldn’t help glancing over at Liu Yan, who spat out her little tongue at him, their eyes meeting as they silently communicated with each other.

After a while, Yang Kai rolled his eyes and said, “Let it help me find the most precious thing here, and if there are any good treasures along the way, inform us about them as well.”

Liu Yan nodded and used her Divine Sense to convey Yang Kai’s meaning.

The little snowflake received this order and rushed out immediately, leading the way.

With this kind of Innate World Spirit Treasure leading the way, Yang Kai really saved a lot of time and obtained many treasures. Now he didn’t need to search this frozen land blindly as in this snowy domain, no precious treasure could escape the detection of the little snowflake. As long as the little snowflake stopped somewhere, Yang Kai knew there was something good buried beneath the snow.

Along the way, Yang Kai added many Ice Attribute spirit grasses and medicines to his Space Ring, most of them Dao Source Grade with a few even reaching the Emperor Grade.

The special environment of the Realm of Winter provided excellent growth conditions for such spirit grasses and medicines, and also kept them concealed all these years until the little snowflake helped Yang Kai find them.

No matter what kind of herb it was that Yang Kai found, it had a medicinal age of at least ten thousand years!

Yang Kai benefited greatly!

And with more and more contact along the way, the little snowflake seemed to have gradually become familiar with Yang Kai and no longer acted as timid as it did in the beginning. It was like a newborn child, full of strong curiosity for creatures like Yang Kai, flying around him from time to time, observing him from every possible angle.

However… because Liu Yan continued to play the menacing character along the way, threatening it from time to time, the little snowflake naturally behaved itself and didn’t dare to approach within ten paces of her.

As a result, Yang Kai and Liu Yan had to separate a certain distance.

Although he had many gains, Yang Kai was a little disappointed that he did not obtain the Tribulation Fruit!

He had actually obtained several things rarer and more precious than the Tribulation Fruit, but he still lacked what he wanted most.

He also knew that this kind of thing couldn’t be rushed and he could only calm himself and continued the search.

A few days later, Yang Kai was greeted by a surprising scene.

Not far in front of him, there was a shimmering lake. This lake was only a couple of kilometres or so in diameter and was surrounded by high mountains, making it an extremely beautiful sight to behold.

What surprised him though was that this lake showed no signs of freezing.

Heavy snow, like goose feathers, still fell from the sky, but they all melted as soon as they touched the surface of the lake, as if the lake had some magical power that ensured it would never freeze over.

The surface of the water was so clear that Yang Kai even saw some strange fish swimming in the water below.

Judging from their big mouths and fangs alone, it seemed these fish weren’t good to provoke.

But once they arrived here, the little snowflake no longer advanced and instead kept flying around Yang Kai, seemingly trying to convey something to him.

After being together for so long, Yang Kai has also become able to interpret the little snowflake’s behaviour, so when he saw this, he asked thoughtfully, “You want to say, the most precious thing here is at the bottom of this lake?”

As soon as Yang Kai spoke these words, the little snowflake floated up and down, as if nodding.

Yang Kai nodded back and declared, “Then I’ll go take a look!”

“Master, be careful!” Liu Yan warned with concern.

Yang Kai nodded before flying up, arriving at the centre of the lake, glancing left and right, then diving into the water.

A cultivator like Yang Kai didn’t have to worry about his clothes getting wet from the lake water, just by pushing his Source Qi slightly, he could protect himself from both the water and the cold.

As the aura of a Dao Source Realm Master spread out, the fish scattered frantically.

Although the fish at the bottom of the lake looked quite terrifying, they didn’t have much real strength, so they didn’t dare to come close.

The little snowflake didn’t follow him, so Yang Kai could only explore on his own to find this so-called ‘most precious treasure’, starting with the centre of the lake before working his way outwards.

On the shore, Liu Yan watched quietly, her beautiful eyes fixed on Yang Kai, ready to support him at the slightest sign of trouble. As for the little snowflake, it floated a dozen meters away from Liu Yan as it too watched Yang Kai, some worry apparent on its fuzzy face as it flitted about uneasily from time to time.

Chapter 2174

The lake water was cold, but still within a tolerable range, and Yang Kai didn’t face any surprises or danger as he dove down. In fact, the only sound around him was the sound of his own heartbeat.

Suddenly, Yang Kai seemed to sense something and turned in a certain direction.

Over there, the water seemed to move differently.

Peering forward, Yang Kai saw an incredible scene.

At the very centre of the lake, there was a woman who seemed to be bathing. This woman had soft black hair, picturesque eyebrows, a delicate face, and elegant shoulders. The heat from her body seemed to react with the surrounding cold water, creating a faint mist that obscured her figure and gave her an ethereal quality.

The clear water of the lake allowed light from the surface to clearly reflect off this woman, highlighting her features and provoking much thought.

At this moment, the woman was gently washing her pure white skin, seemingly unaware of Yang Kai’s arrival.

However… After Yang Kai cast his gaze towards her, the other party apparently sensed his presence and quickly turned her head to look over.

A pair of beautiful eyes, like shimmering stars that exuded an inviting light that seemed to draw in all who saw them appeared.

When their four eyes suddenly met, Yang Kai’s expression turned blank while the woman only smiled even more enchantingly.

A faint halo that was barely visible to the naked eye pulsed from the woman’s figure and covered Yang Kai.

Yang Kai’s expression became even more sluggish…

The woman grinned seeing this before her smile suddenly turned hideous. Opening her mouth, her delicate lips rapidly expanded into a giant maw that bit towards Yang Kai.

Even from a distance of more than a few dozen metres, this giant mouth was able to swallow Yang Kai whole.

As soon as this huge mouth closed, the image of the bathing woman rapidly distorted. No longer was there any sign of a beautiful woman, and instead all that remained was a strange beast with a peculiarly shaped body that appeared to be chewing something.

This strange beast was indescribable. Spherical in shape, it was at least a couple dozen metres in diameter, had eight or so long tentacles that danced about freely around it, and over a hundred strange eyes dotted across its skin. 

On the shore, Liu Yan, who had been watching Yang Kai closely, saw this scene and her pretty face sank, but she didn’t show much worry because she could feel that Yang Kai was fine.

On the contrary, the little snowflake was taken aback and flew out rapidly, as if it wanted to rescue Yang Kai.

“Haha… a Monster Beast proficient in Soul attacks is quite rare!” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly rang out and his figure appeared standing above the strange beast’s head in the next moment, looking completely unscathed.

As soon as the scene of a woman bathing appeared in his vision, Yang Kai knew something was wrong.

In this accursed place, which Sect’s female disciple would suddenly decide to take a bath? The Dao Source Realm cultivators who entered the Four Seasons Realm had no time for such leisure.

At first, he thought that this woman was some kind of Monster Beast, but after being attacked, he suddenly realized that everything was just an illusion created by a Soul attack. 

However, this illusion was too realistic, so even Yang Kai wasn’t able to break free from it instantly.

Still, Yang Kai quickly regained his senses and teleported away before the real fatal attack arrived.

As soon as Yang Kai’s voice fell off, the strange beast stopped chewing abruptly and its hundred eyes all turned towards him. Opening its giant mouth, it spat out a jet of water while also releasing an angry howl.

The shockwave from this howl caused visible ripples in the lake that spread out in all directions.

On the surface of Yang Kai’s body, a layer of Source Qi emerged to resist this strange attack.

“Second-Order Dao Source Realm…” Yang Kai Divine Sense swept out and he instantly estimated the strength of this Monster Beast.

As for the strange beast, seeing that its sound attack was actually ineffective, it became enraged and a flash of light shot out from its hundred eyes.

Yang Kai raised his brow seeing this as he muttered, “Soul strength comparable to a peak Dao Source Master!”

His expression turning dignified, Yang Kai pushed his own Spiritual Energy and sent out a pulse of Divine Sense to meet the invisible attack directed at him.

*Hong…*

With a loud bang, Yang Kai’s figure shook and he couldn’t help falling back a few steps as he felt severe pain in his mind.

The strange beast didn’t feel any better though as its chubby body violently convulsed and trembled, its tentacles flailing about as it wailed loudly.

The collision between two Divine Senses was one of the most dangerous and unpredictable kinds of battles. This strange beast had relied on its proficiency in Soul attacks to not put Yang Kai in his eyes, so Yang Kai wasn’t going to show any weakness before the enemy.

He had the unparalleled Soul Warming Lotus, so he was not afraid of a clash of Souls!

In this confrontation, neither man nor beast came out on top.

But Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus to resolve the damage to his Divine Sense, so it only took a moment for him to recover while, on the contrary, the strange beast could only struggle unceasingly, seemingly having suffered great damage in the brief confrontation just now.

When Yang Kai saw this, how could he miss this opportunity? Summoning the Myriads Sword into his hand, Emperor Pressure radiated as he soared forward and slashed out.

*Chi chi chi chi…*

The sword flashed out as thousands of sword lights rained down like a storm onto the strange beast.

Blood splashed out and began dying the lake’s pristine waters red.

Feeling the sharp pain of being cut, the strange beast screamed miserably and its hundred eyes flashed with fear. Immediately, it lashed out with its eight tentacles, intercepting the sword lights.

Unexpectedly, Yang Kai failed to kill it with this blow!

Obviously, this strange Monster Beast only had strength equivalent to a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, but its Divine Sense was comparable to a peak Dao Source Master. Given that it had such a powerful Soul, its physical body should have been much weaker.

However, this monster’s fat body was actually extremely elastic, so when the many Sword Qi blades hit it, they didn’t manage to penetrate far and only caused superficial damage.

However, its eight dancing tentacles weren’t so fortunate, and facing the constant barrage of Sword Qi blades, they were quickly cut into countless pieces.

At this time, the strange beast looked even more ugly than before, essentially becoming a bloody blob filled with numerous eyes…

As if aware of the crisis it was facing, the strange beast no longer tried to fight with Yang Kai and instead tried to dive into the depths of the lake to escape.

“Hmph!” Yang Kai coldly snorted and dove down after it, bolstered by absolute confidence in his own strength.

A trail of blood was left behind in the clear lake water, so Yang Kai had no trouble chasing after the beast.

Surprisingly, the lake was quite deep and the further down one dove, the less light there was; however, given Yang Kai’s powerful eyesight, he didn’t need to worry about being able to see at all.

After a stick of incense worth of time, Yang Kai followed the trail of blood to the very bottom of the lake, but when he looked around, he couldn’t help raising his brow.

The strange beast was now quietly floating next to a strange altar that was set up at the bottom of the lake, and atop this altar, there was something interesting enshrined.

It was a bead!

This bead was longan-sized and emitted a soft, green light.

When Yang Kai saw this bead, he couldn’t help feeling some suspicions.

Because this bead was indistinguishable from the bead he snatched in the Flowing Time Temple, except this one was green.

“Could it be…”

Suddenly, Yang Kai had a vague guess in his mind, but he was unable to confirm it.

At this moment, the strange beast was floating there quietly, bathing in the green light of the bead. Strangely, under the influence of this green light, the wounds Yang Kai had inflicted on it were rapidly healing, and it wasn’t long before the beast stopped leaking blood altogether.

Of course, the tentacles it had lost had not re-grown, as no matter how strong the vitality of this strange beast was, rapid regeneration of lost limbs was definitely not possible.

“This should be the most precious treasure in the Realm of Winter,” Yang Kai looked at the green beads and muttered to himself.

The little snowflake had brought him here, and in this lake, besides the strange beast, there was only this small bead placed on the altar, and obviously the strange beast was not the most precious treasure in the Realm of Winter.

As such, the only possibility was that this green bead was the treasure Yang Kai sought.

Yang Kai’s arrival also seemed to have alarmed the strange beast that was trying to heal its wounds.

It didn’t need to turn its head as some of its hundred eyes had already discovered Yang Kai’s appearance. It opened its giant mouth and sent out constant threatening roars, but unfortunately for it, having lost its tentacles, it was unable to actually launch any kind of effective physical attack.

It could only focus the power of its Soul again and send out a shockwave towards Yang Kai from its hundred eyes!

“Courting death!” Yang Kai’s complexion darkened as he summoned his Demon Eye of Annihilation. From the golden pupil, a lotus bud appeared and shot out towards its target in a flash.

The next moment, the strange beast froze in place, as if it had been suddenly paralysed.

In the strange beast’s eyes, all it could see now was a blossoming lotus that was rapidly draining away its Spiritual Energy…

Although its Soul was powerful, it had already suffered an injury from its clash with Yang Kai before, so now that it was struck by his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique, its fate was sealed.

A short while later, with a faint bang, all one hundred of the strange beast’s eyes popped, as if a great pressure inside of them had suddenly erupted.

Yang Kai wielded his Myriads Sword as his figure flickered and he disappeared from where he stood.

When he reappeared, he was already standing behind the beast.

A huge hole now appeared in the round body of the beast, exposing its five viscera and six organs.

Yang Kai palmed backwards as he moved the surrounding Space Principles and shouted, “Exile!”

The pitch-black hole appeared and swallowed up the remnants of the strange beast like a giant mouth. When the black hole disappeared a moment later, only Yang Kai remained.

Opening his palm, there was a dark red Monster Core in his hand!

Chapter 2175

This was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Monster Beast Monster Core, and it belonged to a Monster Beast with an extremely powerful Soul, so it was the best raw material to refine a Spirit Pill for enhancing Soul cultivation. 

Yang Kai stuffed it into his Space Ring before swimming over to the altar.

Above the altar, there was no trace of any barrier or Spirit Array, only the green bead placed on top of it.

Yang Kai spent some time confirming there were no hidden traps before he reached out carefully and snatched the bead, everything going unexpectedly smoothly.

After using both his Divine Sense and Source Qi to probe and stimulate the bead, Yang Kai observed no reaction at all, exactly like the red bead he acquired earlier!

He really didn’t understand how the strange beast managed to draw energy from this green bead to heal itself.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Kai took out the fiery red bead to compare the two side by side, quickly determining that aside from their different colours, these two beads were identical.

After observing for a long time, he slowly shook his head.

He couldn’t infer the purpose of these two beads at all, so he had no choice but to put them away for now.

Just after Yang Kai stored the green bead into his Space Ring though, a sudden change occurred.

Although the lake was cold before, there were no sign of it freezing, but now, a kind of crackling sound came from all directions and a piercing chill began to fill the water as it began to condense into ice.

Yang Kai’s face changed as he quickly flew upwards.

Bursting through the surface of the lake, Yang Kai came to a halt a couple dozen metres up and turned back just in time to see the entire lake freeze over, blending in with the rest of the silvery white scenery perfectly.

“It seems that it was all thanks to the green bead that this lake was able to avoid freezing,” Yang Kai muttered to himself, wondering just what kind of secret power the green bead held that could actually hold back such an intrusive and severe cold.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai turned and flew towards the shore.

Upon his return, Liu Yan just rushed to him and nodded lightly, not saying much, while the little snowflake seemed extremely happy and danced around Yang Kai non-stop.

“Let’s move on,” Yang Kai said to the little snowflake, and the other party seemed to understand his meaning and flew off in a certain direction.

Over the next few days. Yang Kai toured around the Realm of Winter.

With the guidance of the little snowflake, as long as there was any precious treasure nearby, it would smoothly enter Yang Kai’s Space Ring.

Yang Kai’s thinking was quite simple. Since the Bustling World Great Emperor specified that Qin Zhao Yang should come to the Four Seasons Realm to find the Tribulation Fruit, it should not be a pointless endeavour. In other words, this Four Seasons Realm definitely had this special spirit fruit, it was just that he had yet to find it.

However, as long as Yang Kai persevered, he would eventually find what he was looking for, especially now that he had the assistance of the little snowflake, which had a unique advantage in this environment.

Thinking so, Yang Kai made up his mind to not leave the Realm of Winter unless he found the Tribulation Fruit, otherwise, once he left the Four Seasons Realm, he would have no way to explain himself to Qin Zhao Yang.

What disappointed Yang Kai though was that despite gaining many rare and precious Ice Attribute herbs, there was no sign of the Tribulation Fruit anywhere. What’s more, Yang Kai had killed a large number of Monster Beasts during this time, but aside from some Monster Cores, he didn’t obtain another Star Seal.

As time passed, Yang Kai couldn’t help secretly becoming anxious.

On this day, atop an ice glacier, Yang Kai stood with an ugly expression on his face as he stared at a crystal-like fruit tree in front of him.

This fruit tree was only about two metres tall and its leaves seemed to be formed from pure ice that exuded a frigid chill.

On this fruit tree, there was nothing of value; however, at a certain spot on one of its branches, there was a clear trace of something being plucked.

“What a miscalculation, I was a step too late!” Yang Kai muttered in annoyance.

This fruit tree was none other than the Tribulation Fruit Tree. Under the leadership of little snowflake, a ten day exhaustive search had led Yang Kai to this Tribulation Fruit Tree.

However, the Tribulation Fruit which should have existed here had clearly been taken away!

Judging from the traces left on the tree, the fruit should have been harvested only a few days ago.

“Master, you did your best. There’s no need to blame yourself…” Liu Yan quickly comforted when she saw Yang Kai’s expression turn sour.

“I just want to know… who actually took the spirit fruit,” Yang Kai frowned.

Although the Tribulation Fruit was precious and rare, it was not a widely known product, and even if it was taken away, there were very few uses for it. If Yang Kai could figure out who took this spirit fruit, he could likely exchange it for a correspondingly valuable treasure.

As long as the other party wasn’t too unreasonable, they should be happy to make such a transaction, and it wasn’t a big deal for Yang Kai to offer up something in exchange.

But the current situation was that Yang Kai had no idea who this Tribulation Fruit had been obtained by! As such, it was impossible for him to implement this method.

“Is there another fruit tree like this in the Realm of Winter?” Yang Kai turned his head and asked the little snowflake expectantly.

The little snowflake’s fuzzy facial features appeared to furrow before it shook itself side to side.

Yang Kai’s last hope was shattered.

Sighing lightly, Yang Kai grumbled unhappily to himself.

After the Four Seasons Realm opened, the cultivators that entered could only remain inside for thirty-three days. When the time limit came, they would have to already be at a specific location in order to leave the Four Seasons Realm, otherwise they would be trapped inside until the next opening.

Counting the days, it had been about twenty days since Yang Kai entered the Four Seasons Realm, and he had spent more than half that time in the Realm of Winter.

Starting from here, it would take him a few days to rush to the location of the exit, so there was not much time left.

What’s more, he had almost explored the entire Realm of Winter and most of the spirit grasses and medicines that grew here had entered his Space Ring. Now that the Tribulation Fruit had been picked by someone else, there was no point in continuing to remain here.

It would be better to first rush to the exit, then wait for the return of the disciples from the major Sects so he could find a chance to inquire about the whereabouts of the Tribulation Fruit. There was still a chance for success!

Thinking so, Yang Kai made a decision and turned his head to the little snowflake, “Show us the way out!”

“Is Master planning on leaving?” Liu Yan asked as her beautiful eyes flashed.

“En,” Yang Kai nodded.

Liu Yan naturally had no objections, but the little snowflake seemed to be a little sad. These past few days this lonely little creature had experienced so much fun that now it was a little reluctant to be left behind.

Yang Kai grinned and said, “If you want, you can come with me!”

Hearing this, the little snowflake’s wrinkled facial features suddenly unfolded and it beamed with joy, but soon, it once again slumped and shook its head helplessly.

Liu Yan whispered, “It can’t leave the Realm of Winter… It is different from me. This land was where it was born, and its source is here, if it leaves, it will soon wither and die.”

“How can that be?” Yang Kai was stunned.

Liu Yan sighed, “If it leaves here, it would be similar to me abandoning my vessel… rootless wood and sourceless water cannot be sustained for long, unless…”

“Unless what?” Yang Kai asked.

“Unless there was a similar environment in the Sealed World Bead, then it could continue to survive,” Liu Yan replied.

Yang Kai heard this and immediately understood that his recruitment plan was hopeless. He originally thought he could take the little snowflake into his Small Sealed World, but apparently he was too naive.

Understanding this, Yang Kai stretched out his hand, held up the little snowflake, and placed it on his shoulder as he smiled and said, “Don’t be so sad, if there’s a chance, I’ll return here to see you! Just wait for me, next time, I’ll be sure to find a way to take you away!”

Though he said so, Yang Kai also knew that the chances of this were basically next to none, as it would be several hundred years before the Four Seasons Realm opened again at the earliest, and by then, he would likely not be able to enter.

After all, by then, he should have reached the Emperor Realm…

However, the little snowflake was too innocent to understand this, so this simple coddling immediately allowed its mood to improve and become joyful again.

Watching it dance about happily, Yang Kai felt quite some pain in his heart…

Starting from the glacier, it took a full four days before Yang Kai reached the Two Seasons Mountain Range, and although there were some gains along the way, there weren’t many.

At this point, the little snowflake didn’t move forward anymore.

Yang Kai and Liu Yan bid farewell to it here before flying off.

Once he passed through the Two Seasons Mountain Range, Yang Kai flew straight towards the exit.

Before entering the Four Seasons Realm, each Sect Elder had informed the disciples of their Sect that they must arrive at the exit before the closure date.

As for the location of this exit, it was at the centre of the Four Seasons Realm!

As such, Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about going in the wrong direction.

After three days of travel, Yang Kai arrived at a flat plain and soon spotted the exit of the Four Seasons Realm on the horizon.

The exit, like the entrance in the unnamed mountain valley, was a giant oval light door that quietly floated mid-air.

Cultivators who entered the Four Seasons Realm could leave the Four Seasons Realm at any time through this light gate.

However, the time limit had not been reached yet, so obviously no cultivator would leave early.

The situation here was just as Yang Kai had expected, empty, with no one else around.

Counting the days, there were still five or six days until the time limit was reached.

Yang Kai didn’t intend to explore the Four Seasons Realm anymore and just planned to wait here; after all, there was no guarantee that the person who obtained the Tribulation Fruit wouldn’t arrive here early and leave.

While waiting, Yang Kai began to think about what he would exchange with others if he really found the one who obtained the Tribulation Fruit.

There were countless valuables in his hands, but many of them could not be brought out to trade, such as his five Emperor Artifacts.

He had a few Dao Source Pills left over from his recent breakthrough, but these were only useful for peak Origin Kings. Most Dao Source Realm cultivators wouldn’t be interested in these.

He also had a lot of gains in the Four Seasons Realm that he could bring out, but whether the one who had the Tribulation Fruit would be interested in any of these items was uncertain.

After thinking it over, Yang Kai decided that his best bet was to offer up the drop of Immortal Source Liquid he still had, as it was a chip that no one would refuse.

Chapter 2176

Soul Cleansing Divine Water, Immortal Source Liquid, and Life Revitalizing Jade Cream were the Three Great Divine Waters.

Among them, the formation of Soul Cleansing Divine Water was related mainly to coincidence. It required the fall of a Master whose Soul was incredibly powerful, at least reaching the Third-Order Origin King Realm, in a land where rich World Energy gathered. After many centuries, and with good luck, a pool of Soul Cleansing Divine Water would be produced. Although it was a rare and precious treasure, it could still be found every now and then.

The remaining two, however, were extremely hard to come by.

Life Revitalizing Jade Cream may exist in some hidden corner of the Star Boundary, but that itself was a mystery.

As for Immortal Source Liquid… it could not be found no matter how hard one looked for it.

Because Immortal Source Liquid was a by-product of the Immortal Tree! It was the congealed essence of the Immortal Tree!

A drop of Immortal Source Liquid was enough to bring a person at the gates of death back to life, an extraordinary, Heaven defying effect.

In this world, the only Immortal Tree was planted in Yang Kai’s small medicine garden, so there was no way for others to obtain Immortal Source Liquid.

He also had a drop of Immortal Source Liquid in his possession, which he had obtained from the Immortal Tree many years ago, but so far he had been unwilling to use it!

With such a Heaven-defying treasure, if Yang Kai brought it out to exchange for a Tribulation Fruit, no one would refuse.

However, Yang Kai had to worry about whether the appearance of a drop of Immortal Source Liquid would cause other troubles.

However, for the Tribulation Fruit, he couldn’t hesitate. If someone asked, he could simply play dumb. If he denied it, no one would think he possessed a supreme treasure like the Immortal Tree.

And so, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and began to wait quietly.

There were still about five or six days left before the Four Seasons Realm closed, and the cultivators inside were obviously not in a rush to leave as there were still many opportunities to be sought, so the vicinity of the entrance was extremely quiet.

Time passed by, and one day later, the entrance was still empty, with just Yang Kai sitting around waiting.

At a certain point though, Yang Kai frowned as his eyes opened and turned in a certain direction.

At that moment, he actually felt a strange energy fluctuation, one that disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared!

But when he looked in the direction the fluctuations originated from, Yang Kai didn’t notice anything, which inevitably made him a little suspicious as he wondered if he had just imagined it.

Just as he was pondering, from a very far away position, a halo of light suddenly appeared.

This halo seemed tangible and spread outwards in all directions like ripples in a pond.

Yang Kai stood up suddenly and squinted his eyes.

In the direction he was gazing, about a hundred kilometres away, atop a hill, the light halo continued to flash. At first, this halo was only a single colour, but as time passed, more and more colours began to appear in it.

Not only that, but the ambient World Energy seemed to be surging as the sky above the mountain filled with multi-coloured clouds, making for a strange but dazzling scene.

“A Heavenly Manifestation!” Yang Kai whispered, “Is some precious treasure about to be born?”

Although he didn’t know exactly what was happening, from the current situation, Yang Kai judged that some kind of treasure was about to be born, and an extraordinary one at that, otherwise its birth would not have resulted in such an obvious phenomenon.

“Why… at this time…” Yang Kai frowned, his face turning extremely gloomy.

Right now, the exit to the Four Seasons Realm was open, but it would close in just four or five days, so all the disciples from the major Sects inside would undoubtedly be returning here soon.

The exit was only about a hundred kilometres from where the treasure was being born.

In other words, this Heavenly Manifestation resulting from the birth of a precious treasure was very likely to attract many people, and as time passed, more and more would come! At that time, it will inevitably cause a mad scramble which would result in rivers of blood flowing!

When that happened, Yang Kai’s plan to exchange the drop of Immortal Source Liquid for the Tribulation Fruit would definitely be disrupted.

So when he saw the Heavenly Manifestation, Yang Kai’s first thought was not excitement, but annoyance as the timing couldn’t be worse for him.

But even though he was cursing in his heart, the Heavenly Manifestation was so pronounced that his curiosity was still piqued!

Considering all this, Yang Kai directly summoned his flying boat, stepped onto it, and pushed his Source Qi, turning it into a stream that flew over.

The speed of the wooden boat was quite quick, arriving a hundred kilometres away at Yang Kai’s destination just ten breaths later. As he approached, Yang Kai actually smelled a strange fragrance in the air, one that was not just refreshing and relaxing, but even made him feel as if he was experiencing a kind of enlightenment…

“It must be some kind of rare herb…” Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully, immediately identifying whatever treasure was about to be born as a rare herb that would be of great help to a cultivator’s cultivation. He made this judgement so quickly because the moment the fragrance entered his nose, Yang Kai actually faintly felt that his bottleneck at the peak of First-Order Dao Source Realm had slightly loosened!

He had not broken through to the Dao Source Realm that long ago, and although he had spent his days fighting and cultivating assiduously, even obtaining some opportunities from the Flowing Time Steps, there should still be some time before he could break through to the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. But now, the distance he felt from his next breakthrough had shrunk noticeably, showing how Heaven-defying this miraculous medicine must be.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling excited as right now, in this place, there was no one else but him, so perhaps he would be able to monopolize this precious treasure!

It was a lucky coincidence stumbling across this kind of good fortune; after all, Yang Kai had rushed to the exit far ahead of time, intending to inquire about the whereabouts of the Tribulation Fruit, nothing more.

As these thoughts flashed across his mind, Yang Kai arrived atop the mountain and brought his wooden boat to a halt as he looked down.

At a certain spot atop the mountain, amidst some scattered stones, a single flower bud had quietly appeared.

From the looks of it, this flower was some kind of lotus, and even in its budding stage, its folded petals were white and spotless. A dazzling aura gently flowed from this lotus as a charming fragrance diffused around it. This lotus bud was so pristine that it almost didn’t look real but instead like an enchanting illusion.

Looking closer, Yang Kai made out some tiny, mysterious runes that flickered across the lotus’ petals. These flowing runes seemed to contain some kind of profound meaning that, if comprehended, would yield infinite benefits.

Yang Kai’s heart shook wildly as he couldn’t help gasping, “This is…”

As he spoke, he flipped his hand and took out a jade slip from his Space Ring, closing his eyes and immersing his mind into it to search for a certain record.

This jade slip was Gong Sun Mu’s inheritance, and Yang Kai had already memorized everything recorded in it, but the scene before him was so shocking that he needed to compare it with these written records in order to be certain of his judgement.

Soon after, Yang Kai found the record he was looking for in the jade slip and after going over it three times to confirm, he opened his eyes as a near-fanatical light flashed across them. Staring at the budding lotus in front of him, Yang Kai couldn’t help calling out in a joyous voice, “Extraordinary Treasure Lotus!”

There was a note in Gong Sun Mu’s jade slip about the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus’s birth strictly adhering to the Heavenly Way. This lotus would absorb only the purest essence of the Sun and Moon, and on the day it bloomed, it would be filled with an extraordinary Emperor Intent. If one could swallow and refine an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, their chances of breaking through to the Emperor Realm in the future would be significantly improved, and if it could be refined into a pill, the effects would be even better!

In other words, this was a Heaven defying treasure that could increase the chances of one becoming an Emperor!

The Emperor Realm was the pinnacle of the Star Boundary’s cultivation hierarchy.

Besides a few nearly extinct treasures, there was nothing that could help a cultivator improve their chances of reaching this realm.

But the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was one of them.

Moreover, the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was completely different from ordinary spirit grasses and medicines as consuming it would fundamentally improve a cultivator’s ability to comprehend the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao and had an incomparable effect of increasing a cultivator’s ability to condense and manifest their own Emperor Intent.

The value of this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus could be imagined! If a master like Xia Sheng or Wu Chang obtained this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, they would be able to break through to the Emperor Realm within five years with absolutely no possibility of failure.

Emperors were the pillars that supported every large Sect and were an absolute measure of that Sect’s power. The rise of even a single Emperor was enough to significantly increase the strength of a Sect.

If one thought about it this way, the value of this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus simply couldn’t be measured…

Yang Kai’s blood began to boil, but soon, gloom covered his face.

Because the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus in front of him… had not fully bloomed yet, so he could not collect it. If he rashly tried to pick it now, its medicinal efficacies would all but disappear.

And even if it bloomed completely, it would either need to be swallowed immediately or refined into a pill within an extremely short time, otherwise, its medicinal efficacies would also pass away cleanly.

The Heavens were fair in all things, and every opportunity that existed came with appropriate drawbacks.

The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus had truly Heaven-defying effects, so there were reasons it was rarely seen in history.

Within just three hours after this flower blossomed, its efficacies would begin to pass and it would soon after wither away, leaving behind only its legendary reputation.

As a result, even if somewhere in the vast Star Boundary, an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was born and blossomed, if no one found it within three hours, it would simply wither and cease to exist…

“I need to find a way to cover up this Heavenly Manifestation. From the looks of it… it probably won’t bloom for a while, and if this continues, it will only attract more and more people. This will be very difficult,” Yang Kai muttered to himself, but when he looked up at the enormous vision in the sky, he quickly felt powerless.

If he was proficient in arranging Spirit Arrays, he may have been able to do something about this, but Yang Kai’s understanding of Spirit Arrays was only on the level of breaking them with brute force, so that was not an option here.

It was also impossible to collect the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into his Sealed World Bead as that would be the same as picking it prematurely, leading to it withering directly.

As an Alchemist, such an act was absolutely unconscionable to Yang Kai.

For a moment, he could only scratch his head awkwardly.

Just as he was feeling anxious, the sound of something cutting through the air reached his ears and Yang Kai saw several figures rush over from different directions to land nearby.

There were three men and one woman, among them, one man and the woman seemed to be companions with the other two men, having arrived individually.

As soon as these four appeared, all of their gazes fixed on the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus as looks of surprise and shock filled their faces.

Only the young woman spared Yang Kai a casual glance, but after discovering that he was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, she didn’t pay attention to him anymore.

Chapter 2177

These four people were obviously nearby and were attracted by the phenomena of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus’ birth.

One of them has a burly figure with a cold, indifferent expression and a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. The other lone man had short hair and thief-like eyes, like he was constantly scheming something. This man’s cultivation was neither high nor low, just Second-Order Dao Source Realm. The last two, a young man and woman, seemed to be companions. The woman was petite and delicate looking while the man appeared suave. At first glance, it was clear that this Senior Brother and Junior Sister had a close relationship. Both of them had Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivations.

At this moment, all four of them showed looks of surprise as they stared towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, greed quickly welling up in their eyes.

Seeing this situation, Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh.

Although he had been mentally prepared for this to happen as he knew the Heavenly Manifestation triggered by the maturation of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would definitely attract many cultivators, he hadn’t expected someone to appear so soon.

And four of them at once…

It seemed that there was a small number of cultivators active nearby, otherwise, they wouldn’t have arrived here so quickly.

“Senior Brother He… what kind of herb is that?” After observing for a moment, the young woman asked the man next to her, because she didn’t recognize this strange spirit flower in front of her, only that it must be rare and precious.

Senior Brother He heard her question but slowly shook his head and replied, “I don’t know either.”

As he spoke, he unconsciously licked his dry lips with an expression that seemed like he was ready to pounce, but he remained where he was, likely out of fear of the burly man. This was only natural as the burly man had the highest cultivation here and was the biggest obstacle to snatching this spirit flower.

“Brother Cheng Tai, do you recognize what this spirit flower is?” At that moment, the shifty-eyed young man suddenly asked the burly man. Apparently, the two were familiar with one another.

“I don’t know,” The man called Cheng Tai replied curtly, glancing over at the thief-like young man and asking, “Does Brother Bao not recognize it?”

Bao Peng smiled and replied, “How could this Bao recognize something that even Brother Cheng Tai doesn’t recognize? You think too highly of me.”

“Hmph,” Cheng Tai snorted coldly before turning to the other man and woman and asking aloud. “You two from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect, do you recognize this thing?”

Senior Brother He frowned hearing this question and shook his head slowly, as did the young woman.

Cheng Tai turned his gaze to Yang Kai last and yelled, “Boy, you seem to have gotten here first, what is this spirit flower? Speak.”

“I… I don’t know,” Yang Kai spoke haltingly, putting on a bewildered look as he explained, “I was just attracted by this vision…”

“Wastes!” Cheng Tai couldn’t help cursing before Yang Kai even finished speaking, “You don’t even recognize what this is but you still ran over here?!”

With this sentence, he scolded everyone present.

Senior Brother He of Flowing Shadow Sword Sect and the young woman beside him heard this and frowned unhappily, while Bao Peng, who seemed familiar with Cheng Tai’s temper, didn’t seem to care.

Next, Cheng Tai shouted, “No matter what this spirit flower is, this Cheng wants it. If you want to live, scram quickly, otherwise, don’t blame this Cheng for being ruthless?”

Bao Peng heard this and his brow twitched, but he still managed to say with a smile, “Brother Cheng, this… is this appropriate?”

“Do you have an objection?” Cheng Tai looked at Bao Peng with a grim expression and coldly snorted, “If you have an objection, say it boldly at your own risk!”

The latter quickly raised his hands and after taking a few steps back, he followed up, “Brother Cheng Tai misunderstands, if you want this thing, how could this Bao have any objections? It’s just that these two from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect may not be so agreeable, yes? When a rare spirit flower appears, in the end, the one who seizes it is the one who owns it…”

Hearing what he said, Senior Brother He nodded and said, “Yes, treasures belong to those who can keep them, if Friend wants it, he needs to use his own ability to snatch it!”

Although Cheng Tai was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, Senior Brother He was together with his Junior Sister, so he wasn’t afraid of the other party. What’s more, with a rare treasure appearing right before his eyes, how could he just give up on it without trying?

“You two want to oppose me?” Cheng Tai heard this and grinned maliciously, “I’ve heard that Flowing Shadow Sword Sect’s Flowing Shadow Sword Art is exquisite and unpredictable, I wonder if that’s true… Good, since there is an opportunity today, this Cheng will have to ask you two for a demonstration.”

Saying so, Cheng Tai’s Source Qi surged and his already burly figure seemed to bulk up further, causing a sense of coercion to suddenly spread.

Having prepared himself, he shouted, “You two, don’t disappoint this Cheng!”

Stamping the ground, Cheng Tai shot off and crashed towards the pair from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect like a falling meteor.

He actually attacked directly!

“Be careful!” Senior Brother He shouted as his figure flickered and he retreated backwards together with his Junior Sister several dozen meters.

*Ceng ceng…*

Two slicing sounds rang out as two cold lights flashed.

When the swords were drawn, a piercing murderous intent filled the air.

Senior Brother He and his Junior Sister both held their swords in one hand while they formed a series of seals with their other one, assuming a strange stance as their Sword Qi began surging outwards.

“There should be a limit to looking down on others!” Senior Brother He shouted. Chang Tai suddenly attacking had caused Senior Brother He to be quite angered and his eyes quickly filled with murderous intent as he shouted to the young woman beside him, “Junior Sister, begin. don’t show any mercy!”

“Rest assured, Junior Sister will let him feel the power of our Flowing Shadow Sword Art!” The young woman shouted in response as she swung her sword, releasing a dazzling sword light that slashed towards Cheng Tai.

At the same time, Senior Brother He used a similar skill to coordinate with his Junior Sister.

Cheng Tai was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master, so facing this coordinated assault, he did not back down. Sending out a series of palms, he caused the surrounding World Energy to turn chaotic as he fought two against one without losing any ground.

In an instant, three people had become locked in a melee, fighting atop this mountain as Sword Qi and palm prints kicked up rock and sand on the turbulent battlefield.

Meanwhile, the initiator of all this, Bao Peng, stood quietly and watched, without any intention of intervening, from time to time showing a thoughtful look as if he was gaining some enlightenment from observing this battle.

“Ha…” Suddenly, Yang Kai sighed as he turned to look in a certain direction before saying, “This spirit flower doesn’t seem to be mature yet, so collecting it right now… is probably a bad idea as it may ruin it…”

The place he was looking towards oddly didn’t have anyone standing there.

The three people who were fighting heard Yang Kai and were all shocked, quickly withdrawing from their fight as they turned to stare at him suspiciously.

Cheng Tai also glanced over at Bao Peng who was standing not far away and frowned.

“I’ve just said it cannot be picked rashly… Does this friend not understand simple words?” Yang Kai shouted forcefully this time as he punched out.

As Yang Kai’s fist pressure flew out, a figure suddenly appeared where before there was none, showing a shocked look on his face. At this moment, he was only ten steps away from the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus and from his posture, it was clear he was attempting to steal it while everyone else was distracted.

“Bao Peng!” After seeing this person’s face, Cheng Tai couldn’t help snapping.

At that moment, the other Bao Peng, who had been standing in place watching the battle, suddenly turned into a speck of light and disappeared!

It was actually just a very lifelike afterimage…

The real Bao Peng had clearly used some kind of Secret Technique to secretly approach the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

“You…” Bao Peng was exposed by Yang Kai’s punch, ruining his good deed, so he was furious and viciously shouted, “Boy, you court death!”

In his opinion, if not for Yang Kai interfering, he would have snatched this strange spirit flower and escaped.

Annoyed, he flew into a rage!

“Sorry…” Yang Kai scratched his head helplessly, “If possible, I didn’t want to expose you, but your behaviour… it was simply too despicable!”

He spurned.

The others present might have taken this comment as an insult, but Yang Kai really had no other meaning, he was simply exasperated that this Bao Peng was about to ruin the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was still not mature, so how could Yang Kai allow it to be picked rashly? He had pretended to be ignorant and weak, hoping to buy some more time, but now it seemed that this plan would not work.

“Indeed!” Cheng Tai yelled loudly, “I haven’t seen you for a few years, Bao Peng, but it seems you’re as shameless as ever! Even though this Cheng had been paying attention all this time, he was still almost cheated by you!”

Although he had been fighting with the pair from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect before, Cheng Tai had not gone all out and had intentionally split his attention to monitor Bao Peng. However, from Cheng Tia’s perspective, Bao Peng had simply been standing there watching, so he was able to focus more on his fight.

Cheng Tai never thought that the Bao Peng standing there was just a mirage!

The faces of the two Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples were also quite ugly at the moment, but they also felt quite curious because of everyone present, no one had seen through Bao Peng’s trick except for the Yang Kai…

If they hadn’t clearly sensed that Yang Kai’s cultivation was only First-Order Dao Source Realm, all of them would have thought he was hiding something.

“Brother Cheng, calm down…” Bao Peng also cast a flattering look towards Cheng Tai at this time and said, “It’s not like I managed to succeed…”

“That’s only because your luck was bad!” Cheng Tai coldly snorted, “If your luck had been good enough, wouldn’t you have run off with this spirit flower already?”

“It’s not a question of luck…” Bao Peng stared at Yang Kai with deep gaze before saying coldly, “What this Bao just displayed is his Five Aggregate Sects’ Golden Cicada Shell Shedding, a masterpiece which should have no flaws in it. It is an excellent Secret Technique for preserving one’s life and escaping undetected…”

“So it was the Golden Cicada Shell Shedding Secret Technique!” Cheng Tai muttered, apparently familiar with this Secret Technique, his eyes narrowing slightly as he commented, “Unexpectedly, Sect Master Qin was willing to teach you this Secret Technique!”

“That’s not important right now,” Bao Peng stared straight at Yang Kai as he spoke coldly. “This Bao is more concerned about how a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm trash was able to see through it…”

Chapter 2178

Since entering the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai had been called trash by others more than once…

This wasn’t surprising though as his robes were plain and lacked any kind of emblem identifying him as being part of any Sect. Most importantly though, his cultivation was only First-Order Dao Source Realm, so the elite disciples from major Sects and families naturally looked down on him!

A First-Order Dao Source Realm in the Four Seasons Realm was really the lowest level of existence! Unless it was someone who had extraordinary status like Lan Xun, no one would even bother casting such a weak individual a second glance.

Bao Peng naturally didn’t put Yang Kai in his eyes.

Facing his question, Yang Kai just tilted his head for a moment and said, “My luck… is good?”

“I said this isn’t a matter of luck. It seems you really are courting death!” Bao Peng grinned menacingly, his expression extremely unkind. His good deed had been disturbed by Yang Kai, so he had a stomach full of grievances at the moment and wanted to rip Yang Kai’s corpse into ten thousand pieces to solve the hatred in his heart.

“Handle your affairs by yourself, this Cheng will be taking away that spirit flower first!” At that moment, Cheng Tai suddenly shouted as he rushed towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

The two Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples were startled by this and immediately grit their teeth as they chased after Cheng Tai, trying to block him.

Bao Peng obviously didn’t want to waste his time with Yang Kai either so he too dashed towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

Everyone simply wanted to snatch this spirit flower as soon as possible.

A brilliant light flashed suddenly as Yang Kai’s figure mysteriously appeared in front of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, blocking the four people’s way as he helplessly glanced around and said, “Everyone, this spirit flower has yet to mature, so it is not the best time to pick it. If you touch it rashly now, you may end up destroying it in vain. Why don’t we all just sit down and have a good chat and wait for this spirit flower to bloom first?”

“Huh? What kind of nonsense are you spewing, make way now!” Cheng Tai remained unmoved and shouted in a deep voice.

“Please cooperate!” Yang Kai looked at him sincerely.

“And if I refuse…”

By now, Cheng Tai had rushed close to where Yang Kai stood and swung his fist wrapped in a violent aura towards him. From his motions and posture, it was obvious Cheng Tai was not holding back and planned to kill Yang Kai in one blow.

Sneering disdainfully, he spat, “Since you don’t know how to measure your own weight, don’t blame me if you die!”

“Seems there’s really no other way…” Yang Kai muttered in a low voice, his peaceful and calm aura suddenly transforming into one filled with savagery as a malicious grin appeared on his lips. With a terrible pressure suddenly bursting from his form, Yang Kai sternly declared, “Since you refuse to listen to reason, I’ll just have to make you listen some other way.”

As he spoke, a light flashed from his palm and an Emperor Artifact appeared.

Emperor Pressure filled the air as Yang Kai swept his sword around and shouted, “Myriad Sword Arts, One Man As A Mountain!”

*Chi chi chi chi…*

Sword Qi flooded out with Yang Kai at its centre. This invincible Sword Qi quickly formed into a fan-shaped wave that was filled with terrifying pressure and deadly aura that seemed to keep everything before Yang Kai.

“What!” Cheng Tai’s face changed drastically as the disdainful look on his face abruptly changed to one filled with shock. His eyes bulged as he stared straight ahead.

“Emperor Pressure… this is Emperor Pressure… it’s an Emperor Artifact!” Bao Peng also called out in alarm as he quickly formed a seal and used his Five Aggregate Sect’s Golden Cicada Shell Shedding again, leaving behind a life-like afterimage as he rapidly withdrew, narrowly avoiding being hit.

The two Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples also couldn’t believe their eyes when the Myriads Sword Emperor Artifact appeared, but the Dao Source Grade swords they held in their hands trembling in fear and horror told them that what they were witnessing was undoubtedly real.

When Bao Peng’s words rang out, the faces of these two quickly turned pale…

However, the two of them belonged to the same Sect and had lived and fought together for many years, so their innate bond was strong. In a flash, they formed a set of seals with their free hands while slashing out with their Dao Source Grade Swords to dispel the terrible blow directed towards them.

*Xiu xiu xiu xiu…*

Sword Qi clashed mid-air as the surrounding World Energy churned.

After a brilliant flash, the four who had charged towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, trying to seize it, were forced back into their original three positions, all of them pale as a look of lingering fear filled with faces.

Bao Peng showed no signs of injury, but he could not hide the look of shock on his face.

As for the two Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples, they appeared unhurt, but the hands they used to hold their swords were clearly trembling.

Cheng Tai was not so lucky though as he was the closest at the time and thus bore the biggest impact. Even if he fought back desperately at the moment of crisis, he still failed to completely resolve the terrifying blow of the Emperor Artifact and at this moment, there were at least seven or eight wounds on his body that were leaking blood, making him look extremely miserable.

“Now… Can we talk?” Yang Kai shouldered the Myriads Sword as he swept his eyes around and grinned.

Cheng Tai and the others now had profound looks on their faces as they stared at Yang Kai in fear.

The one they thought was mere trash had suddenly taken out an Emperor Artifact that anyone would covet and displayed a terrifying skill that severely wounded the supposedly strongest cultivator present. If this kind of thing had not been witnessed with their own eyes, they would not have believed it possible.

“Who is… Your Excellency?” Cheng Tai tried to endure the pain he was feeling as he turned a solemn look towards Yang Kai and asked.

At this point, how could he not believe that Yang Kai had some kind of extraordinary background? If that wasn’t the case, how could a trivial First-Order Dao Source cultivator possess an Emperor Artifact? Just thinking so, Cheng Tai couldn’t help feeling extremely wary…

Before considering if he could defeat Yang Kai in battle now, even if he did win, he would have to worry about retaliation from the great force behind him. The Clouded Heavens Sect he belonged to was only comparable to Flying Saint Palace, so how could Cheng Tai dare provoke a genius from some superpower?

“Friend, this is all just a misunderstanding, I hope this friend… does not take offence!” Bao Peng suddenly showed a flattering expression and said with a smile.

“Since it is a misunderstanding, there’s no need to explain anything,” Yang Kai glanced over at him and said with a smile.

As if receiving amnesty, Bao Peng cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks, friend. This Bao has important matters to attend to so he will not bother you further. Farewell!”

Saying so, he actually turned around and left directly at an extremely fast pace.

Looking at his disappearing back, Yang Kai showed a thoughtful look as he secretly felt that as long as this person didn’t die prematurely, he would definitely become a big deal in the future. It could be seen from Bao Peng’s decisiveness alone that his instincts and ability to judge situations were top notch.

Since he felt that he would not gain any benefits if he stayed, and instead might provoke danger, he had left immediately.

Compared with Bao Peng, Cheng Tai and Flowing Shadow Sword Sect pair seemed a little indecisive.

Because after seeing Yang Kai’s methods, these three people still didn’t intend to leave. They seemed to be holding on to a faint hope that they could still snatch the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

Cheng Tai had already been hit hard and was extremely wary of the great force behind Yang Kai, so he was showing a posture of wanting to leave, but was still somewhat reluctant to go.

As for Senior Brother He of Flowing Shadow Sword Sect, his greed was showing clearly.

However… The target of his greed was not the blossoming spirit flower, but rather the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand!

After all, compared to the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus that he did not know anything about, the Myriads Sword was a genuine Emperor Artifact, and a sword-shaped Emperor Artifact at that! 

Flowing Shadow Sword Sect was originally a Sect well-known for its swordsmanship, and all of its disciples cultivated the Sword Dao, so if he could obtain this Myriads Sword, Senior Brother He’s strength would greatly increase.

This made him inevitably have many thoughts about this situation…

“Well now… are you leaving or not?” Yang Kai looked at the others with a smile.

Cheng Tai pursed his parched lips as he stood there, not moving or showing any hostility, instead just silently pushing his Source Qi to suppress his injuries.

On the contrary, when the Senior Brother He heard this, he suddenly turned his head and glanced at the young woman beside him. A single glance was all these two needed to understand each other’s intent.

Suddenly, a strong aura permeated from each of these two, this aura blending and gathering together as their Second-Order Dao Source Realm fluctuations rapidly inflated.

Even with no wind, their black hair flew out and their robes fluttered, fighting intent seemingly pulsing from their forms.

Senior Brother He stretched out a hand and the young woman instantly took it.

The moment their two hands met, their already powerful auras climbed to new heights and a visible halo of energy shrouded their figures.

At that moment, the two no longer seemed like separate individuals, but rather like one person!

“Absolute Resonance Secret Art!” Seeing this scene, Cheng Tai suddenly shouted in a low voice, his face turning solemn.

Hearing what he said, Yang Kai immediately understood that this Absolute Resonance Secret Art was some kind of technique that Flowing Shadow Sword Sect possessed and was similar to a Dual Cultivation Art. After displaying it, it seemed to connect the aura of a man and women together, merging their strengths and greatly improving their combat capabilities for a short time!

After performing this Secret Technique, the temperament of Senior Brother He changed greatly, seemingly becoming extremely confident and arrogant.

Lifting his sword, he began drawing a half-circle in Yang Kai’s direction and coldly declared, “Hand over the Emperor Artifact and I’ll spare your life!”

As he spoke, his Junior Sister made the same gesture.

When the two swords finished drawing their semi-circles and merged as one, a flash of light occurred and a powerful Sword Qi manifested in place.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Yang Kai remained unmoved, just standing there staring at the pair calmly.

“Enough nonsense!” Senior Brother He gave an impatient cry.

“And what if I refuse?”

“Then you can die!” Senior Brother He snorted coldly before he pushed his sword forward slightly, his movements seemingly carefree and leisurely.

However, as he pushed his sword forward, the circle of Sword Qi which he had drawn together with his Junior Sister, shot out.

Halfway to its target, this Sword Qi circle was divided into two, then into four, then into eight…

Soon, circular blades of Sword Qi filled the sky, giving off an imposing aura that made it seem like evading was impossible.

Chapter 2179

The barrage of circular Sword Qi blades slashed towards Yang Kai’s position, slicing through the air with a sharp, whistling noise.

Cheng Tai’s face changed slightly…

Only now did he realize that this pair from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect had not been using their full strength when they fought with him before. If they had performed such a Secret Technique before, it would have been quite difficult for him to withstand them.

Seeing this blow, even though it was not directed at him, gave Cheng Tai a sense of fear and unease, as if the countless blades had all been pointed at him.

Widening his eyes, he wanted to see how Yang Kai would defend against this move.

At any rate, this unknown kid had an Emperor Artifact, so his origins should not be low and he should also know some extremely profound skills. Such a blow was indeed quite powerful, but it shouldn’t be able to take this kid’s life… Or at least, that was what Cheng Tai assumed.

However, what he saw before him was far beyond his expectation.

When the barrage of circular Sword Qi blades struck, Yang Kai simply stood in place stupidly, as if he was unable to respond, not even taking any defensive actions until the last moment.

But by then, it was too late…

*Chi chi chi chi…*

The muffled sound of something being cut rang out as Yang Kai’s whole figure was submerged in countless Sword Qi blades and cut into pieces.

“Huh?” Cheng Tai exclaimed as he stared forward with an incredulous expression, “Did he… die?”

This strange kid who seemed so unreadable and deadly was actually killed easily with a single blow. This scene was simply beyond Cheng Tai’s ability to accept!

But soon, he relaxed…

He secretly felt that the reason why Yang Kai’s blow just now had been so powerful was simply because of the Emperor Artifact, and that Yang Kai’s personal strength was only on par with an ordinary First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Thinking about it this way, everything made sense.

“Overconfidence!” Senior Brother He also sneered as he flicked his sword lightly, an extremely excited light flashing across his eyes as they turned towards the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand.

At that moment though, Yang Kai’s corpse, which had been cut into countless pieces, suddenly distorted and faded into nothing.

Senior Brother He’s expression went stiff as he called out, “An afterimage!”

It wasn’t until this time that he understood why he was still feeling anxious despite having won the fight. This kind of ominous feeling was something that could not be explained, but also could not be ignored.

The scene before him made everything clear. The body which had been shredded just now was obviously not a real one, but just a mirage.

“Senior Brother, look out!” The young woman suddenly called out as her beautiful face paled.

At that exact moment, a brilliant light flashed across Senior Brother He’s neck and passed clean through it.

Senior Brother He’s complexion changed drastically as he tried to turn around and see what just happened, but no matter how he tried, he was unable to rotate his head. Not only that, he felt a slight pain coming from his neck the harder he tried to move it. A moment later, his vision turned upside down as his view seemed to fall.

“I… died?” A strange thought flashed across Senior Brother He’s mind as his vision gradually filled with darkness. The last scene reflected in his eyes was Yang Kai holding the Myriads Sword and standing quietly not far behind him. On the broadsword, there was some fresh red blood running down the blade, dripping off it lightly.

*Pu…*

The death of Senior Brother He seemed to set off a chain reaction as his Junior Sister, who was connected to him at the moment, turned pale, and spat out blood, her vitality rapidly draining as her face aged countless years in an instant.

She seemed incapable of controlling her body and quickly fell from the sky, fluttering mid-air, unable to stabilize her figure.

A moment later, she hit the ground with a splat!

“Some kind of backlash?” Yang Kai frowned thoughtfully.

Although this Absolute Resonance Secret Art was extremely powerful, it seemed to have severe drawbacks as well… Yang Kai had just killed that Senior Brother He, but now it seemed that alone was enough to send this young woman to her death as well!

Suddenly, two radiances flew out from the bodies of Senior Brother He and his Junior Sister and soared up into the air.

Yang Kai moved swiftly and seized these two flowing lights.

The back of his hand went slightly hot as soon as he caught these two lights, and when Yang Kai looked down, he saw two more Star Seals had appeared!

These two Star Seals obviously belonged to the two disciples of the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect, but after their deaths, the Star Seals became ownerless and were easily claimed.

The grades of these two Star Seals weren’t very high, just triangular and diamond-shaped, like the Star Seal Yang Kai had obtained before!

Now, Yang Kai had collected three Star Seals from this Four Seasons Realm!

Star Seals seemed to be quite difficult to obtain. Yang Kai had stayed in this Sealed World for more than twenty days and apart from the one he obtained by coincidence, he hadn’t obtained another, showing how rare they were.

But right now, he actually obtained two more.

As Yang Kai observed his newly acquired Star Seals, Cheng Tai, who was watching from the side, shivered uncontrollably!

Everything had happened so fast that he had failed to even see how Yang Kai moved. What he did know was that the pair from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect had been cut down in one move, allowing Cheng Tai to realize he had seriously underestimated Yang Kai’s ability!

Although this kid looked like just a First-Order Dao Source cultivator, his true combat power could not be judged on that alone! This kid was definitely an elite among elite who could easily defeat others above his own realm!

Thinking so, how could Cheng Tai dare to remain? He was now secretly cursing himself for not leaving sooner as now he couldn’t even be sure he could leave.

But doing nothing was not an option, so Cheng Tai grit his teeth and cupped his fists, “This Cheng apologizes for his prior offence and hopes this friend will be forgiving! This Cheng will now take his leave…”

“Stand right there!” Yang Kai glanced at him coldly and faintly as he shouted.

“Friend… what advice do you have?” Cheng Tai’s face twitched as fright filled his heart, only wishing to be as far away from here as possible, but not daring to act rashly.

“Just wait a moment!” Yang Kai didn’t show any killing intent and instead flew down to the two fresh corpses of the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples. Taking down their Space Rings, Yang Kai swept them with his Divine Sense as he seemed to search for something.

Even with Yang Kai’s back turned to him, Cheng Tai stood obediently in place. He knew that in his current state, he was not Yang Kai’s opponent at all, and if he angered this strange young man, there would soon be a third corpse on the ground!

“Nothing but junk!” Yang Kai muttered with some dissatisfaction after inspecting the two Space Rings.

Of course, this wasn’t the case.

The Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair were both Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators so naturally there were many good things in their Space Rings. Whether it was Source Crystals, pills, or artifacts, the value of their property wasn’t bad, but they were lacking what Yang Kai was looking for.

After muttering so, Yang Kai turned to Cheng Tai and flew over before pondering for a moment and asking, “If it’s convenient, can Brother Cheng give me your Space Ring?”

Hearing this, Cheng Tai’s face turned pale, but people under the eaves had to bow their heads, so with a forced smile he nodded, “Naturally that’s not a problem.”

Saying so, he took off his Space Ring with a pained expression on his face before tossing it over to Yang Kai. Finished, he hurriedly asked, “If friend is satisfied, this Cheng will now leave and not disturb you…”

“What’s the hurry?” Yang Kai glanced at him, “You don’t want your Space Ring?”

“Huh?” Cheng Tai wore a stunned expression, really not understanding why Yang Kai would say this.

“Did you think I was trying to rob you?” Yang Kai curled his lips, “Do you think I would engage in such a despicable act?”

The expression on Cheng Tai’s face constantly fluctuated, really not knowing what to say.

“Haha… something useful!” At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly laughed and with a flick of his Divine Sense, he took out something from Cheng Tai’s Space Ring.

Cheng Tai glanced over and saw that the thing was a charcoal black spirit grass.

In all honesty, Cheng Tai didn’t know exactly what this spirit grass was or what its purpose was, he simply felt it was high-grade and valuable, so he collected it from the Realm of Autumn while he was exploring.

He didn’t expect Yang Kai would suddenly take this particular herb out at this moment.

Cheng Tai was completely at a loss…

He was obviously clearer about the content of his Space Ring than anyone, and knew that in terms of value, there were many other things far more precious than this spirit grass, but this strange boy had actually chosen this and nothing else.

While Cheng Tai was stunned, Yang Kai tossed his Space Ring back to him as he played with the spirit grass in his hand, a happy expression filling his face.

“This friend, do you really not want anything else…” Cheng Tai asked cautiously.

“I just said I’m not robbing you!” Yang Kai glanced at him sideways before shouting in a low tone, “Scram!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Cheng Tai felt like was being pardoned, quickly grabbed his Space Ring, and fled, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

After Cheng Tai disappeared, Yang Kai landed leisurely next to the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus as he looked at the dark spirit grass in his hand and muttered to himself, “With this Black Dragon Grass, I only need three more ingredients to refine this lotus into the Extraordinary Treasure Pill… En, I have all the others but these last three will be somewhat difficult to find, I hope someone else will have them.”

As he spoke, Yang Kai glanced around and now began hoping more people would be attracted by the emergence of this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus so he could ‘borrow’ the necessary materials from them to refine the Spirit Pill he was hoping to.

With the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus as the main ingredient, a Heaven-defying Spirit Pill called the Extraordinary Treasure Pill could be refined. This Spirit Pill had an even more powerful effect than swallowing the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus raw.

One Extraordinary Treasure Pill would be enough to raise a cultivator’s chances of becoming an Emperor by ten percent!

If possible, Yang Kai hoped to refine this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into pills when it matured! This way, not only could it be preserved for a long time, but it could also bring out the full efficacies of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus. However… accomplishing this would not be easy, especially since he was currently lacking some of the necessary materials for the refinement.

Chapter 2180

Atop a certain mountain, with clouds swirling about in the surging winds, a grand vision filled the sky with a myriad of wondrous colours.

The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was slowly blossoming into a flawless white flower, with traces of the Heavenly Way itself lightly dancing around it as a fragrance that refreshed and relaxed all who smelt it wafted outwards.

Yang Kai sat cross-legged not far from this spirit flower, his mind free of any distracting thoughts and his eyes closed, like a silent guardian, blocking all access to any who approached.

Three hundred kilometres away, a number of silhouettes quickly approached while looking up ahead in the direction of the mountain, the vast Heavenly Manifestation having caught their eyes some time ago, surprising them greatly and eliciting a great deal of curiosity.

However, this group of people seemed to belong to a variety of different great forces and were only travelling together by chance as they had apparently noticed this strange phenomenon at the same time.

The strength of this group was mixed, from First-Order Dao Source Realm to Third-Order Dao Source Realm.

As they flew, one man suddenly turned to the side and asked, “Brother Jing, can you tell what’s happening up ahead?”

The person he asked was Jing Li, a disciple of the Benevolent Martial Sect, and one of the people Yang Kai had met at the Flowing Time Temple. Although this person’s cultivation was also Third-Order Dao Source Realm, he had humbled himself when facing Wu Chang’s questioning, but at this moment, he seemed to have restored his previous confidence.

Hearing this question, Jing Li pondered for a moment before saying, “This Heavenly Manifestation is either related to the birth of some rare treasure or a precious spirit medicine reaching maturity… And judging from the fragrance in the air, it’s most likely the latter.”

“Oh?” The questioner’s eyes lit up as he said happily, “Brother Jing thinks so too?” He had apparently not been asking due to ignorance, but rather as a way of confirmation. “I don’t know if Brother Jing can see what type of spirit medicine is reaching maturity?”

“How should I know?” Jing Li rolled her eyes, “There are countless precious spirit medicines out there; however, anything that can cause such a big disturbance must be extraordinary.”

“Heh heh heh…” Suddenly, another man in the group let out a low laugh as he licked his lips, “Perhaps, the opportunity I’ve been waiting for has come.”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone paused.

Jing Li quickly followed up, “With the opportunity before us, the rest will be up to luck. If this opportunity is obtained by this Jing, you should not be too jealous, hahahahaha!”

He let out a long laugh, as if whatever treasure laid ahead was already in his grasp…

“Bah, you want to snatch up this opportunity too?” A spurning voice came from the crowd.

“Does Brother Zhou Huai have some kind of objection to this Jing?” Jing Li looked towards the speaker coldly as he put on a provocative expression. While Jing Li did not dare breathe loudly when facing Wu Chang, lest he incur Wu Chang’s notorious wrath, Jing Li was still a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master, so how could he not have any arrogance?

“I have no objection to anyone obtaining an opportunity except you!” Zhou Huai did not back down either. It seemed that there was some kind of grievance between these two, so they did not try to hide their bickering.

Jing Li’s expression sank, and when he was about to retort, when one of the group suddenly shouted, “Look, someone arrived before us.”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone’s heart sank as they looked forward and saw that atop the mountain there was a figure sitting cross-legged quietly next to a half-blossomed white flower that was exuding a dazzling light and a peculiar yet entrancing aura.

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

Immediately, Jing Li’s group accelerated and in the blink of an eye, they arrived near the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, greed filling their faces as they stared at it.

Jing Li glanced at Yang Kai, secretly feeling that this person was somewhat familiar, like he had met him somewhere before, but upon noticing the other party’s cultivation, he couldn’t help grinning mockingly, “And I was wondering who it was… turns out it’s just a First-Order Dao Source Realm trash.”

After understanding this, he stopped paying attention to Yang Kai.

The same was true for the others.

Realizing that someone had reached this strange spirit flower first, all of them had been a little flustered, but when they saw that Yang Kai’s cultivation was so weak, they immediately relaxed.

After this group landed, their gazes crossed Yang Kai and fixed on the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus in anticipation.

Although they didn’t know what kind of spirit flower this was, since it had given rise to a Heavenly Manifestation upon its maturation, it was easy to imagine how precious it was!

“Brother Pang Hai, if this Jing recalls correctly, you’ve studied Alchemy quite extensively, yes?” Jing Li suddenly turned to look at a fat man in the crowd.

The fat man heard this and smiled lightly, “This Pang has dabbled in the Alchemic Dao, but his technique is lacking, only reaching the Origin King Grade, nothing worth mentioning!”

Although he spoke humble words, there was an extremely arrogant expression on his face, which seemed to say that this was anything but a trivial matter.

In truth, he had reason to be proud.

Alchemists were rare, and High-Grade Alchemists were even rarer. Alchemists also enjoyed a lofty status in the cultivation world, so a man like this Pang Hai, who was both a Dao Source Realm cultivator and an Origin King Grade Alchemist could be considered a rare talent.

Ordinary Alchemists focused all their efforts into Alchemy while their cultivation came second. These Alchemists would often not have enough time to cultivate while they improved their Alchemy skills, leading to most Alchemists having lower cultivation.

As such, most Origin King Grade Alchemists were either Origin Returning Realm cultivators or Origins.

But Pang Hai was already a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Master!

He had good attainments in both the Martial Dao and Alchemic Dao, standing amidst an elite few in both fields, so it was only natural for him to be proud of himself.

“Origin King Grade…” Jing Li was also a man who knew how to judge the value of a person, so hearing this, he exclaimed with sincere admiration, “Brother Pang Hai is truly amazing, this Jing is thoroughly impressed!”

Although the others did not speak, they all showed respectful expressions.

Pang Hai was obviously used to such scenes so with a smile on his chubby face he hypocritically waved his hand and said, “Brother Jing is too polite. In fact, if it weren’t for my pursuit of the Alchemic Dao delaying my cultivation, this Pang would have long ago broken through to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm!”

The implication he was making was that his aptitude in the Martial Dao was not worse than the others, but rather that he was distracted by Alchemy, as if without pursuing such a side-profession he would have the capital to compete with Xia Sheng, Wu Chang and the other young geniuses of the Southern Territory!

“Brother Pang Hai, since you are an Origin King Grade Alchemist, do you recognize this spirit flower?” Jing Li asked.

The others also looked at Pang Hai and waited anxiously for his answers.

Pang Hai heard this, took a moment to stare at the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, pondered for a moment after, then said, “If this Pang is not mistaken, this should be the legendary…”

He paused momentarily here to raise the tension.

Yang Kai also opened his eyes curiously, wondering what his fellow Alchemist would say.

Pang Hai boldly declared next, “Legendary Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”

*Pu…*

In that instant, Yang Kai couldn’t stop himself from laughing, though he quickly suppressed his outburst.

Pang Hai immediately gave him a vicious look.

On the contrary, Jing Li and the others went wide-eyed and began asking in hushed voices, “Is this really the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus? The very Profound Frost Sacred Lotus that is rumoured to help one sublimate one’s Knowledge Sea and greatly enhance the power of their Divine Sense?”

Jing Li had obviously heard of the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus so his eyes couldn’t help shining brightly when he heard this unknown budding flower might just be it.

The reactions of the others were similar, and greed could practically be seen oozing from their expressions.

“Indeed!” Pang Hai nodded heavily, “This is definitely the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”

“I trust Brother Pang Hai!” Jing Li gulped.

“I too believe Brother Pang Hai, but from the way this boy reacted just now, it seems he has a slightly different opinion…” Zhou Huai turned to look at Yang Kai thoughtfully, “And he was the first to arrive here, so why don’t we ask him as well?”

Although he said so, he didn’t try to solicit the opinions of the others in his group and instead directly shouted at Yang Kai, “Boy, this Zhou has some questions to ask you, answer them all, otherwise… Hmph!”

He spoke with a threatening expression full of malice.

“En, go ahead,” Yang Kai nodded at him indifferently.

“How long have you been here?” Zhou Huai asked.

“About an hour,” Yang Kai replied.

“So, this Heavenly Manifestation began an hour ago?” Zhou Huai’s expression changed as he began looking around vigilantly before asking suspiciously, “Why hasn’t anyone else come here?”

Although he felt it strange, he didn’t delve too deeply into it, figuring that no one else was around to notice this Heavenly Manifestation, or that others were on their way and simply hadn’t made it here yet. Assuming so, he then asked, “When Brother Pang Hai said this was the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus, you seemed to disagree… Do you know what spirit flower this is?”

“I don’t!” Yang Kai shook his head into a rattle.

“Since you don’t know anything, why show such an expression? Laughable!” Pang Hai snorted coldly.

Yang Kai shook his head and said, “Although I don’t know what this is, I know it is not the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”

At this point, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn as he began to utter seriously, “The Profound Frost Sacred Lotus is only born in extremely cold environments. It has seven petals, deep roots, a long stem, and releases an enchanting fragrance that is quite similar to the spirit flower here. However, the most important thing is…” His tone suddenly became low as a grin appeared on his face and he said, “When the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus blooms, no one can approach within a hundred kilometres of it as its fragrance is potent enough to affect even Emperor Realm Masters, disrupting the Soul of any who come close and plunging them into an illusion they cannot extricate themselves from. Once that happens, if one is not rescued promptly, they will forever be trapped in a prison of their own mind!”

Spreading his hands, Yang Kai shrugged, “Since none of you are affected at all at this moment, nor are any of you seeing any kind of hallucination, how could this possibly be the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus?”

After he finished his explanation, everyone who was listening was stunned while Pang Hai blushed bright red…

He didn’t actually recognize what this spirit flower was, but he also didn’t expect anyone else to know either, so he had casually said it was the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus thinking no one would contradict him, giving him an edge and the initiative.

Once he seized the initiative, he could compile a tale that would be beneficial to him, which would facilitate his next actions.

But he didn’t expect that the moment he opened his mouth, Yang Kai would expose his lie, and… this boy’s words were so thorough and full of conviction that it was clear that everyone favoured his opinion, causing Pang Hai to become angry out of shame!

“What friend says… makes sense!” Zhou Huai’s eyes lit up as he turned to look at Pang Hai, “Brother Pang Hai, what do you think?”

[Your eighteen generations of Ancestors must have all been bastards…] Pang Hai cursed in his heart.

Chapter 2181

At this point, Pang Hai would never admit what Yang Kai said was true, otherwise, it would be equivalent to slapping his own face. In front of so many people, how could he just back down, so he instead doubled down and viciously shouted, “Boy, there should be a limit to how much nonsense you spew! This Pang is an Origin King Grade Alchemist, so if I say it is the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus, it is the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”

As soon as this statement came out, everyone else regained some confidence in Pang Hai; after all, they didn’t know Yang Kai so how could they judge whether his words were trustworthy or not.

Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “I’m a Dao Source Grade Alchemist…”

He was telling the truth, but obviously, no one believed it.

“You see, this boy is just making up stories, you can’t believe him!” Pang Hai added insult to injury promptly.

Everyone nodded lightly.

“It’s fine!” Yang Kai suddenly stood up and patted his butt off, cracking his neck as he stretched his arms…

Everyone stared at him dumbfoundedly, wondering why it looked like he was suddenly preparing to fight.

“Enough idle chatter!” Yang Kai said while sweeping his eyes across the crowd, causing everyone he stared at to involuntarily shiver, as if they were being stared at by some terrifying beast. “Since you’re all here, do me a favour…” He grinned and quickly said, “Hand over your Space Rings!”

“What?”

Everyone was startled, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

But soon, a few people became furious.

“Bastard, what did you just say!?”

“You think you are above the Heavens? A trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm trash dares try to rob us? Haha, too laughable…”

“This kid is definitely crazy!”

“Since you’ve made such a good joke, you hand over your Space Ring and we’ll spare your life!”

Everyone in the group was angered and hurled ridicule or threats… In any case, none of them cared about Yang Kai’s words as none of them believed he had the ability to back them up. All of them felt this boy had simply lost his mind and was acting far beyond his station.

Yang Kai smiled and turned to Zhou Huai indifferently before saying, “Just now, this friend was wondering why after so long no one else came to investigate this Heavenly Manifestation, right? I’ll answer your question now… it’s not that no one came here to investigate, but that I drove all of them off!”

“You?” Zhou Huai couldn’t help but sneer, “Isn’t that too much even for a joke?”

Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “There were a few people who were overconfident in their abilities and tried to expel me, but they all ended up like that…”

Saying so, he lightly pointed towards a certain nearby spot. When Jing Li’s group turned their eyes in the direction Yang Kai pointed, they saw a headless corpse lying amidst the mountain rocks, fresh blood still wetting the group. Nearby, there was also a corpse of a woman that seemed to have fallen from a high altitude and broken to pieces.

“Those two… they’re from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect!” Jing Li observed for a moment before exclaiming suddenly.

“Yeah, they said they belonged to the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect,” Yang Kai nodded.

“You actually killed them?” Jing Li looked at Yang Kai in shock, “You were able to kill them?”

“No wonder there was a faint smell of blood in the air…” Zhou Huai frowned, “The smell was simply covered by this strange fragrance. Damn it, I almost didn’t notice!”

“Even if you killed these two people, so what?” Pang Hai suddenly pointed at Yang Kai coldly and declared solemnly, “Those two from Flowing Shadow Sword Sect weren’t very strong, and there were only two of them. Do you think you can do to us five what you did to them?”

When this statement came out, everyone came back to their senses and nodded, thinking that their opponent was a lone First-Order Dao Source Realm boy. Even if he had some strange methods, in the end, two fists could not block four palms.

“Haa…” Yang Kai sighed, “If possible, I didn’t want to get rough, I just wanted to find a few herbs! But if you don’t want to cooperate, then…”

As he spoke, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly flickered and he vanished from where he stood.

In that instant, the expressions of the five people changed drastically as they hurriedly released their Divine Senses trying to locate Yang Kai.

But despite spreading out their Divine Senses, none of them were able to discover any trace of Yang Kai, as if he had simply disappeared from existence.

This strange situation made all five of them pale as anxiety surged up deep in their hearts.

Suddenly, a hand lightly landed on Jing Li’s shoulder while at the same time, Yang Kai’s figure appeared strangely behind him and spoke calmly, “I should warn you now, don’t try to resist, otherwise I may accidentally kill you…”

Jing Li felt like he was struck by lightning and cold sweat instantly began to drip down his back as he stood stiffly on the spot, not daring to move.

He could feel that the hand resting on his shoulders contained an imposing and overbearing power that was constantly threatening to swallow him whole like a vast, raging ocean. It was a force he felt utterly powerless to resist.

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

The other four people instantly scattered as they took distance from Jing Li, pushing their Source Qi madly as they stared at Yang Kai vigilantly and solemnly.

Before Yang Kai spoke, none of them even realized he had arrived behind Jing Li, so they couldn’t help asking themselves if it had been them in Jing Li’s place, could they have avoided being caught?

The answer was obviously no!

Thinking so, everyone broke out into a cold sweat…

“This friend…” Jing Li gulped as big drops of sweat slipped from his forehead and he spoke with difficulty, “There is no grievance or enmity between you and I, and this Jing has not treated you…”

“Relax,” Yang Kai interrupted him before he was finished and said, “I’m not going to take your life. Although it would be easy for me to do so, since there are no grievances between us as you say, I have no reason to kill!”

“Yes, yes!” Jing Li nodded repeatedly, squeezing out an ugly smile as he said, “What friend says is absolutely right.”

“En, like I said a moment ago, I’m simply searching for a few herbs!” Yang Kai reached out to grab Jing Li’s Space Ring as he spoke.

Effortlessly taking down his frozen opponent’s Space Ring, Yang Kai swept it with his Divine Sense quickly before frowning and handing it back to Jing Li.

“You can go now!” Yang Kai patted Jing Li’s shoulder with a smile and said.

Jing Li almost collapsed when he felt the hand leave his shoulder, but somehow, he managed to maintain his composure and stay on his feet. Holding down his fear, he swept his Space Ring with his Divine Sense and in the next moment let out a slight cry of surprise as he turned a strange look towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai frowned and said, “You don’t have what I want in your ring…”

“So that’s how it is!” Jing Li suddenly realized, cupped his fists ecstatically, and shouted, “Many thanks!”

Saying so, he hurriedly used his Movement Skill to escape into the distance.

Although he had received a fright, he was unharmed and had not lost anything, which was a result he could only have dreamed of a moment ago, so how could Jing Li dare be dissatisfied? Naturally, it was better to let bygones be bygones than try to seek revenge.

“Next!” Yang Kai looked at the remaining four people and grinned, “Don’t force me to act myself! You can all rest assured that if you don’t have what I need, I won’t take anything from you. If you do… well, you can only blame your bad luck.”

The other four looked at each other, their faces turning different shades of blue and red, but they didn’t dare to leave without permission.

Judging from the strange Movement Skill that Yang Kai just displayed, none of them had confidence they could escape. Likely, they would instantly be caught and subdued if they tried to run.

“This friend, what are you looking for? Please just speak and if this Zhou has it, he will certainly offer it to you!” Zhou Huai thought for a while before speaking.

The others also nodded fiercely and said, “Yes, if we have what this friend wants, we will hand it over willingly!”

Although from Jing Li’s reaction just now, Yang Kai really didn’t seem to have taken anything from his Space Ring, everyone had their own secrets which they kept in their Space Rings…

No one wanted to hang over their Space Ring for others to inspect! 

“Don’t trouble yourselves, I’ll check for myself!” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I’ll count to three. Those who don’t hand over their Space Ring will face the consequences!”

With clear murderous intent appearing on his face, Yang Kai really didn’t seem to be joking as he began counting.

“Haa…” Seeing this, Zhou Huai could only sigh as he gave up trying to avoid the inevitable. Reluctantly taking down his Space Ring from his hand, he tossed it over to Yang Kai with a wry smile and said, “I hope you keep your word!”

Yang Kai didn’t say a word, caught the Space Ring and checked it, a moment later tossing it back without taking anything.

Zhou Huai happily caught it and didn’t even bother to say anything before flying off.

Among the five people, the two strongest had already given in, so how could the remaining three have the courage to resist? After exchanging a few glances, they took down their Space Rings and handed them over to Yang Kai.

After some inspection, Yang Kai frowned.

Because he didn’t see anything he needed.

Whether it was the three remaining herbs he needed to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, or the Tribulation Fruit…

If he couldn’t obtain the necessary ingredients, he wouldn’t even be able to attempt to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill! If that was the case, he could only swallow the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus when it matured.

Doing this would greatly waste its medicinal efficacies, so Yang Kai was naturally unwilling and only thought of doing so as a last resort.

After expelling the remaining three people, Yang Kai continued to sit cross-legged and wait for his next victim.

He had secretly decided that before any real Masters arrived he would collect as much as possible. Otherwise, once those Masters arrived, a fierce battle would be inevitable!

For the next two days, Yang Kai guarded the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

Many cultivators were attracted by the Heavenly Manifestation, but through some stroke of luck, no one Yang Kai needed to fear had appeared.

The fate of those who did appear was naturally the same as that of Jing Li and his group. All of them came in high spirits and were expelled with great embarrassment!

Those who knew their limits handed over their Space Rings obediently and Yang Kai let them leave safely after a quick inspection. As for those who refused to be persuaded peacefully, Yang Kai naturally suppressed them before snatching their Space Rings and inspecting them himself.

Chapter 2182

Although Yang Kai’s actions would obviously offend many people, he didn’t take any extreme measures like rashly killing and robbing, so his situation wasn’t too serious.

If he really snatched everything from everyone he met, his end would be unavoidable. Once he left the Four Seasons Realm, he would become the target of every major Sect…

At that time, unless he joined Azure Sun Temple or Gao Xue Ting was willing to protect him, he would inevitably be hunted down by the powerhouses of the Sects he had offended.

His current approach, however, guaranteed that people wouldn’t be too offended and also guaranteed him a good harvest.

Two days later, Yang Kai had already collected two of the three missing herbs, leaving just one left to find.

According to his observations though, the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would fully mature within a day, so if the last auxiliary ingredient couldn’t be found by then, he could only swallow it.

Now, there were only two days before the exit to the Four Seasons Realm closed!

Yang Kai was growing anxious!

Because if he guessed right, the true Masters should soon be arriving.

As he was thinking so, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed as he turned to stare in a certain direction, a moment later a wry grin appeared on his lips as he muttered, “Seems they’ve come… a bit early!”

In the direction he was staring, dazzling light was rushing towards Yang Kai’s position. This light had several auras emanating from it, indicating that there was more than one individual approaching; however, one aura, in particular, gave Yang Kai an extraordinary feeling, as it was clearly far stronger than the others.

This aura obviously belonged to a Dao Source Master who was strong enough to give Yang Kai real trouble.

But since they were too far away still, Yang Kai didn’t know who it was.

The stream of light soon arrived at the top of the mountain and came to a stop some distance away from Yang Kai. When the glow faded, a number of figures appeared.

As soon as these people showed up, one of the men who looked roughly thirty years old pointed at Yang Kai and shouted, “Senior Brother Zhuang, it was that bastard who robbed me and Junior Sister Xu of our Space Rings!”

As he spoke, a beautiful, fair-skinned woman in the group nodded her head as she glared at Yang Kai with a deep and bitter look, as if she had some unforgivable hatred towards him.

Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he observed this man and woman, feeling they were a bit familiar and soon recognizing them as two of the ‘guests’ he had entertained yesterday…

However, the fate of these two people was the same as all the others who came here. They were both quickly subdued by Yang Kai before having their Space Rings snatched and inspected.

“Oh? It turns out these two friends were from Orthodoxy Temple… It seems I’ve been disrespectful!” Yang Kai smiled as he looked at the talking man and cupped his fists.

He hadn’t inquired about the origins of these two people before, but seeing them with Zhuang Bu Fan, Yang Kai naturally understood their background.

Orthodoxy Temple was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, so as elite disciples, so this man and woman naturally had high pride; as such, how could they possibly stomach being suppressed and then robbed? Most likely, after they were victimized yesterday, they had used some means to contact Zhuang Bu Fan, their Eldest Senior Brother, hoping he would seek recompense for them.

Of course, the most important factor in all of this was the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus! By calling Zhuang Bu Fan over, not only was there a chance this man and woman could get their revenge on Yang Kai, but they may also be able to obtain this strange spirit flower.

“Bah!” The man who was speaking heard Yang Kai’s words and let out a cold snort, “Brat, don’t think you can talk your way out of this! Quickly admit your mistakes, kneel down, kowtow a few times, and slap your face, then maybe Senior Brother Zhuang will forgive you! Senior Brother has always been kind and righteous, never killing the innocent or oppressing the weak, but if you insist on being unreasonable… hmph!”

The meaning behind his words was self-evident, far different from the timid words he left after being deterred by Yang Kai yesterday. Now that he had someone to support him, this man made no attempt to hide his arrogance.

“What friend means… I don’t understand,” Yang Kai casually responded.

“Don’t play dumb!” The man shouted angrily, “You know exactly what you’ve done!”

“Hehe…” Yang Kai chuckled as he turned his eyes to Zhuang Bu Fan and asked, “Brother Zhuang, what do you say?”

Since coming here, Zhuang Bu Fan had yet to speak as his eyes drifted back and forth between the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus and Yang Kai, the look of doubt on his face getting thicker and thicker.

He had two doubts…

One was about what this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was. He was the strongest Dao Source Realm disciple in Orthodoxy Temple and had extraordinary knowledge and experience, so he had a vague idea about what this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was, but he couldn’t be certain, leaving him somewhat suspicious.

The second doubt he had was about Yang Kai, because no matter how he looked, the opposite party was nothing but a First-Order Dao Source cultivator, yet with just this kind of cultivation, Yang Kai had somehow easily subdued his Junior Brother and Junior Sister. If his Junior Brother and Junior Sister hadn’t come to him and explained this matter personally, Zhuang Bu Fan would not have believed it.

At this moment, upon hearing Yang Kai’s question, Zhuang Bu Fan frowned, cupped his fists and said, “Dare I ask how to address this friend?”

Although he came here to avenge his Junior Brother and Junior Sister, he still showed a polite appearance and did not immediately act against Yang Kai, showing a great breadth of character.

“Yang Kai!” Yang Kai cupped his fists and replied.

“This Zhuang will remember your name… Brother Yang came together with Azure Sun Temple, correct?” Zhuang Bu Fan’s face became more confused, “But… Why have I never heard of anyone like Brother Yang belonging to Azure Sun Temple?”

Hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow and praised, “Brother Zhuang’s powers of observation and memory are outstanding! I did indeed arrive together with Azure Sun Temple’s group.”

Zhuang Bu Fan was the first person Yang Kai had encountered who actually recalled him coming together with Azure Sun Temple. At that time, hundreds of people had gathered in the unnamed mountain valley so remembering Yang Kai’s face from amongst the crowd with just a brief glance was truly an impressive feat.

“The reason why Brother Zhuang has never heard of me is that this Yang is not an Azure Sun Temple disciple. It is only for certain reasons that I was able to accompany Elder Gao here!”

“So, that’s how it is!” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded lightly, not asking anymore. In his opinion, Yang Kai probably had some kind of relationship with a high-level Azure Sun Temple Elder, which was why Gao Xue Ting would bring him to the unnamed mountain valley and why he could enter the Four Seasons Realm.

After pondering for a moment, Zhuang Bu Fan continued, “Originally… this Zhuang’s Junior Brother and Junior Sisters suffering a small loss at Brother Yang’s hand could only be blamed on their inadequate skill and they should not have any grounds to complain, nor should this Zhuang have come seeking redress for them. Regarding this, I hope Brother Yang will be understanding!”

He didn’t show any disdain or disrespect towards Yang Kai just because the latter had a lower cultivation. Instead, he deliberately explained his position and even expressed embarrassment at his current conduct and the conduct of his Juniors, causing the man and the woman Yang Kai had expelled yesterday to turn red with shame.

“I understand!” Yang Kai chuckled, feeling in his heart that this Zhuang Bu Fan was an honourable character…

“However, since I am their Senior Brother, I must act like one!” Zhuang Bu Fan declared as he calmly but solemnly spoke, “Since my Junior Brother and Junior Sister have requested my aid, this Zhuang cannot feign ignorance. It is, after all, a Senior Brother’s duty to shelter his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters…”

As soon as he said this, the few people gathered around him showed a touch of emotion on their faces as they stared towards his back, like they were gazing up at a tall mountain that could withstand any violent storm, keeping them safe and secure.

“Brother Yang, how do you suggest we solve this matter?” Zhuang Bu Fan looked at Yang Kai faintly and asked.

He seemed unwilling to bully the weak, so he handed the initiative directly to Yang Kai, his words demonstrating both magnanimity and incomparable self-confidence, as if no matter what Yang Kai decided, he would be able to handle it perfectly.

Yang Kai grinned hearing this and said, “Has Brother Zhuang… heard the whole story of what happened?”

Zhuang Bu Fan nodded, “Yes! They said very clearly that Brother Yang attacked and subdued them before robbing them!”

“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow and said, “I don’t deny subduing them, but regarding this talk of robbery… hehe, I’m afraid I must disagree!”

“What’s wrong?” Zhuang Bu Fan frowned, seemingly a little displeased, “Is Brother Yang willing to act but unwilling to admit?”

“Nothing of the sort, it’s just that if I haven’t done something, how could I admit to it? Wouldn’t that just be disgracing myself?” Yang Kai looked at the man and woman with an innocent expression and asked, “You two say I robbed you, yes? Then tell me, what exactly did you lose?”

“Uh…” The man heard this and went speechless.

He really hadn’t lost anything. Yang Kai had snatched their Space Rings, but he had returned them after simply checking, a fact he did not clearly explain to Zhuang Bu Fan…

Seeing his expression, Yang Kai immediately understood and laughed, “Brother Zhuang, it seems you really haven’t heard the whole story.”

Zhuang Bu Fan’s face went dark as he turned around and asked the now blushing man, “What happened?”

The man was unable to respond as his eyes darted about, not certain how he should explain.

Zhuang Bu Fan turned to the young woman and asked again, “Junior Sister Xu, were you robbed of anything?”

The woman surnamed Xu bit her red lip and shook her head reluctantly, “No, I was not…”

“And that’s that!” Yang Kai cut in quickly as he turned to Zhuang Bu Fan and said, “They didn’t lose anything, so how could they say I robbed them? As for attacking them… En, how can a cultivator go through life without conflict? Could it be that just because these two are disciples of Orthodoxy Temple, I am unable to make a move against them?” At this point, Yang Kai’s voice sank as his expression became stern as he said, “Furthermore, there is a reason why I had to subdue them.”

“Because of the spirit flower behind you?” Zhuang Bu Fan was a sharp individual so he immediately understood the situation.

“Indeed!” Yang Kai said in a serious tone, “With Brother Zhuang’s eyesight, he can probably see that this spirit flower has yet to mature. Picking it prematurely will greatly damage its medicinal properties, so I have been guarding this place to avoid some people who are unable to judge its value properly destroying it. Over the last few days, I have expelled several such individuals, and when your Junior Brother and Junior Sister came here yesterday…”

“En, you don’t need to say anything more, I can surmise what happened next,” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded lightly.

His Junior Brother and Junior Sister, depending on their identity as Orthodoxy Temple disciples, probably arrived here, saw how precious this spirit flower was and how low Yang Kai’s cultivation was, then immediately tried to drive him away, but had the tables turned on them. After being embarrassed, they had become angry out of shame and contacted Zhuang Bu Fan to avenge their grievance.

Chapter 2183

“It’s good that Brother Zhuang understands!” Yang Kai laughed when he saw Zhuang Bu Fan being so amenable.

“En, there’s no need to say anything more, Brother Yang, let us fight!” Zhuang Bu Fan suddenly turned and declared.

“Huh?” Yang Kai froze for a moment before shouting, “I just painstakingly explained everything… did Brother Zhuang still not understand?”

Zhuang Bu Fan shook his head, “I’ve understood the whole story, from beginning to end. This fight will not be for my Junior Brother and Junior Sister, nor for any kind of grievances, only for the spirit flower behind you!”

As he spoke, he pushed his Source Qi, causing his robes and black hair to flutter despite there being no wind, his momentum rising steadily.

He continued, “Although Brother Yang discovered this spirit flower first, and has been guarding it all this time, since it has not yet been picked, it does not belong to anyone! This treasure, this Zhuang does not want to miss it, so… there is only one option left!”

Yang Kai stared at him in a daze for quite some time before smiling bitterly, “Although I don’t want to admit it, Brother Zhuang is really a forthright man of great integrity, far better than those who casually speak flowered lies to hide their sinister intent. This Yang appreciates Brother Zhuang’s character, so he will ask once more. Is there no other option but for us to fight?”

“If Brother Yang feels he cannot win, he can leave now! This Zhuang actually does not want to bully the weak,” Zhuang Bu Fan frowned and replied.

“Alright then!” Yang Kai sighed helplessly, “If that is the case, there truly is nothing more to say!”

At this point, Yang Kai’s body shook as his Source Qi surged, causing a violent storm to swirl around him as he shot up into the sky.

Zhuang Bu Fan narrowed his eyes and shouted in a low voice, “Brother Yang is truly extraordinary, my Junior Brother and Junior Sister’s loss at your hands was not undeserved!”

“Haha, Brother Zhuang, please be careful not to wind up in a similarly embarrassing position!” Yang Kai laughed as he swung his fist, creating a great pressure that seemed capable of smashing the world as he swooped down towards Zhuang Bu Fan’s head from above like a great falling mountain

“All of you stand back and do not interfere!” Zhuang Bu Fan gave a command while at the same time sending out a palm that caused the surrounding wind to churn crazily, counterattacking Yang Kai while shouting, “Soaring Clouds Palm, Four Imperial Realms!”

An energy visible to the naked eye burst from his palm and transformed into a kind of Flood Dragon, shaking its head and wagging its tail as it rushed towards Yang Kai and devoured him whole.

“Hm?” Zhuang Bu Fan didn’t have the slightest joy after his apparent success, his brow simply furrowing as he stared forward.

Because he found that in the face of his attack, Yang Kai had not made any attempt to dodge and instead charged forward at an even faster speed.

“Brother Zhuang!” Yang Kai’s voice rang out, cracking somewhat from the rampaging energy he was emitting, “This Yang must force a quick end to this battle; after all, while you may only have one enemy, I have many! This Yang has no time or energy to spare on a drawn-out conflict with you!”

As his words fell, he rushed right up to Zhuang Bu Fan, turned his fist into a palm, and thrust it directly onto Zhuang Bu Fan’s palm.

*Hong…*

The moment the two palms touched, a huge burst of energy suddenly appeared, creating a halo of light that rapidly expanded in all directions.

Zhuang Bu Fan felt as if he had been struck by lightning as his body sank suddenly into the ground, creating a huge pit right below his feet as countless cracks began to spread out around him.

“A competition of Source Qi?” Zhuang Bu Fan’s face changed drastically as he instantly understood Yang Kai’s intentions.

This opponent, who was only a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, actually gave up all opportunities to fight using Secret Techniques and artifacts and instead chose the fiercest and most direct method of battle.

This was no doubt the fastest way to decide a victor because no one could dodge or retreat. Only the one who had stronger, more vigorous Source Qi would emerge the winner in such a head-on competition!

[But where is this boy getting such confidence from? With just a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, does he really believe he can win in a competition of Source Qi against me?]

As these distracting thoughts flashed across Zhuang Bu Fan’s mind, a trace of anger appeared on his face as he felt he was being underestimated. While keeping his palm in contact with Yang Kai’s palms, Zhuang Bu Fan turned his body and threw out his other palm, “Inverting Sun and Moon!”

Although Zhuang Bu Fan was the strongest Dao Source Realm cultivator in Orthodoxy Temple, he was different from Xia Sheng and Wu Chang.

Although it had not been publicly confirmed, the disciples and Elders of all the big Sects were ninety-nine percent certain that Xia Sheng had some type of Special Constitution, but what exactly it was, none but the Elders of Azure Sun Temple knew.

Needless to say, Wu Chang possessed the Yin-Yang Dual Body, giving him a distinct advantage over other cultivators in the same realm since he was born.

However, Zhuang Bu Fan had no such advantage but still remained the pillar of his Sect’s Dao Source Realm cultivators!

His physique was ordinary, but his talent was good, good enough that he was able to achieve an equal standing with Xia Sheng and Wu Chang, and had even fought against Wu Chang several times without losing.

This was all thanks to his extremely solid foundation and vigorous Source Qi!

He was the type of person who simply worked harder than anyone else, cultivating extremely diligently all the time, putting in enough effort to make up for the innate differences between him and Wu Chang and Xia Sheng!

Orthodoxy Temple’s Master, Lei Gu, once said that if Zhuang Bu Fan possessed a Special Constitution like Wu Chang or Xia Sheng, his achievements would be even greater than those two now.

The words of a Third-Order Emperor Realm master had extremely high credibility and were also reflected in Zhuang Bu Fan’s hard work.

What Zhuang Bu Fan was most proud of was the purity and density of his Source Qi! His Source Qi, like his character and personality, was as calm and steady as an immovable mountain.

He felt that this was his greatest strength and it was the foundation which he used to stand shoulder to shoulder with Xia Sheng Wu Chang and other geniuses in his generation!

But now, there was someone who wanted to compete with him in this exact field, his speciality, and that person was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm.

Even if Zhuang Bu Fan had a calm temperament, he couldn’t help feeling a bit angry, and without even hesitating, he directly used his most powerful Secret Art, Inverting Sun and Moon!

[Since you want to fight this way, I will grant your wish, and with the strongest force I can muster!]

When the second palm was thrust towards him, Yang Kai’s eyes shrank.

Because what he saw approaching him was not a palm, but a vast ocean… a bottomless abyss which threatened to engulf him and tear him apart!

With a great roar, Yang Kai’s whole figure swelled up as a series of popping sounds echoed from his body…

Accompanied by these popping sounds, a dozen drops of pure Golden Blood were exploded by Yang Kai in his dantian, all transforming into pure Source Qi that filled his entire body with a dazzling golden radiance.

*Huhu…*

An explosion of wind erupted.

The Orthodoxy Temple disciples who had followed Zhuang Bu Fan here were all dumbfounded…

Under their stunned gazes, Yang Kai and Zhuang Bu Fan met palms with one another as they stood staring into each other’s eyes and literal sparks exploded between them.

The place where the two stood had become a mass of chaotic Source Qi, with one half filled with golden light while the other a white radiance, the two colours battering against one another, each one trying to overwhelm the other.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment…

“He can compete with Senior Brother Zhuang’s raw Source Qi?”

“Is he really a First-Order Dao Source Realm? Could he be some Third-Order Dao Source Realm playing the pig to eat a tiger?”

“Whatever the truth, it doesn’t matter. Senior Brother Zhuang will tidy him up soon enough!”

While the disciples from Orthodoxy Temple were dazzled, they did not forget to comment on the strange situation before them.

But things did not develop as any of them expected. Zhuang Bu Fan did not knock Yang Kai back in short order, and instead, the two remained anchored in place as they continued to madly push their Source Qi in an attempt to suppress one another.

As time passed, Zhuang Bu Fan’s expression became more and more serious while Yang Kai’s look became more and more ferocious.

Only now did Zhuang Bu Fan realize that the reason Yang Kai had bothered trying hard to explain. It was not because he was afraid of him, but rather, because he really didn’t want to fight if it could be avoided.

Just as Yang Kai had said, while Zhuang Bu Fan only had one enemy, he had many. As long as Yang Kai wanted to protect this immature spirit flower, he would need to face every master that came here coveting it, including the likes of Wu Chang, Xiao Chen, and Lan Xun…

It was for this reason Yang Kai had chosen a Source Qi competition to force the battle to quickly end!

By doing this, the outcome would quickly and definitively be decided. No Secret Techniques or artifacts could be used in this kind of confrontation, the only thing one could rely on was their own endurance and cultivation!

Looking into the eyes right in front of him that seemed to be filled with a kind of madness, Zhuang Bu Fan knew that, in a certain sense, he had already lost!

Because the one standing before him, competing with him in terms of raw Source Qi, was two Minor Realms lower than him in cultivation!

If Zhuang Bu Fan had suppressed his cultivation to the same level as this crazy kid, there wouldn’t even have been a point in fighting!

[To think… that there’s such a monster in this world…] Zhuang Bu Fan was thoroughly shocked.

At a certain moment, the delicate balance was suddenly broken and under the shocked gazes of the Orthodoxy Temple disciples, the golden glow began to advance and slowly overtake the white light!

“How can this be?”

“Senior Brother Zhuang is being suppressed?”

“Where did this boy come from!?”

“No, it must be that Senior Brother Zhuang is showing mercy. Senior Brother has always been benevolent and righteous, yes, that must be it!”

Even if they saw it with their own eyes, none of them could believe that Zhuang Bu Fan had fallen into a disadvantage in a battle of Source Qi. The impact of this scene caused great storms to set off in all of their hearts, making it impossible for them to recover their composure in short order.

But even so, none of them tried to step forward to help, all of them standing back and watching solemnly from afar.

Firstly, outsiders really could not interfere in this kind of competition as any outside disruption now would only result in both sides suffering serious losses. Secondly, Zhuang Bu Fan had already declared that none of them were to intervene.

The words of their Eldest Senior Brother carried immense weight and none of them dared to disobey them.

“Brother Zhuang, surrender!” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly called out, and accompanied by his words, the dazzling golden light bursting from his body grew stronger again, further suppressing the white light of Zhuang Bu Fan, “If you do not withdraw, you’ll only injure yourself!”

Chapter 2184

In the face of Yang Kai’s persuasion, Zhuang Bu Fan turned a deaf ear and his perpetually calm face took on a hint of madness as he roared, “In this Zhuang’s world, the word ‘surrender’ does not exist!”

“Fine then!” Yang Kai shouted as his golden light shone even brighter and at the same time, his figure shook and Source Qi erupted even more fiercely from his body, “Since that’s the case, I will respond in kind!”

*Hong…*

With a thunderous eruption, the golden light completely suppressed the white aura and swallowed it up, causing the already deep pit where Zhuang Bu Fan stood to enlarge rapidly, sending rock and earth flying along with an explosion of wind and light.

From this dazzling light, a figure suddenly shot out and stood steadily in the void, panting heavily, covered in blood.

The several Orthodoxy Temple disciples stared forward, their hearts filled with shock.

Although they couldn’t see who was standing mid-air, they were able to infer from this person’s posture and the residual Source Qi around them that it was Yang Kai.

Turning their gazes back to the giant crater, they next saw Zhuang Bu Fan kneeling on one knee, his clothes shredded and his hair a mess as blood dripped from all over his body, an extremely miserable sight to behold.

“Senior Brother Zhuang!” All of them shouted.

Zhuang Bu Fan seemed to not even have the strength to respond to them and simply held his stance, his body trembling unceasingly. Only after a long pause did he manage to stagger to his feet and lift his head towards Yang Kai, his gaze filled with many complicated emotions.

“It was an honour!” Yang Kai cupped his fists and quickly said.

Zhuang Bu Fan did not reply and instead sat down cross-legged directly before wiping his Space Ring and taking out a number of pills, stuffing them into his mouth, and entering a state of meditation to adjust his breathing.

Seeing this, the disciples of Orthodoxy Temple immediately shot flame-filled gazes towards Yang Kai, but in addition to anger, there was also a strong shock and even fear in their eyes!

Because just now, Yang Kai, a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, had defeated their Senior Brother Zhuang Bu Fan in a competition of Source Qi right in front of them. Even though the final outcome seemed to be a loss for both sides, victory was still victory!

Had this unknown young man really just done this? Had their Senior Brother Zhuang actually lost to him in the domain he was most proud of? 

If it had been Xia Sheng or Wu Chang here instead, would they have been able to achieve such a result?

All kinds of thoughts flashed across the minds of these disciples but one thing remained consistent. None of them dared to underestimate Yang Kai now. In their eyes, Yang Kai was already an existence that could stand on par with Zhuang Bu Fan! In fact, this young man was even more terrifying than their Eldest Senior Brother, because right now… he was just in the First-Order Dao Source Realm. If this young man reached the Third-Order, in this world, would there be any Dao Source Realm cultivator who could be his opponent?

Perhaps this young man… would be a bright new star in the Star Boundary, one that would one day rise and become the most dazzling nova in the Star Boundary!

On the other side, Yang Kai also slowly landed and sat down cross-legged, taking a number of pills out of his Space Ring and stuffing them into his mouth.

Although his situation seemed to be much better than Zhuang Bu Fan’s in that he only needed to restore himself somewhat, after such an intense battle, he needed to quickly recover in order to cope with whatever troubles may arise next.

As for Zhuang Bu Fan, Yang Kai figured he would not try to fight with him anymore. This man was honest and upright, so since he had been defeated in a fair battle, he would definitely not covet the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus anymore. Regarding this point, Yang Kai was quite confident.

“Oh…” Suddenly, a cry sounded from nearby and a figure appeared. This newcomer swept their gaze around and laughed casually, “I was wondering who was raising so much ruckus, but it turns out to be you two!”

“Hm?” Hearing this voice, Yang Kai immediately opened his eyes and flashed a faint smile as he slowly called out, “So, the second one to arrive was you… Brother Xia!”

He didn’t need to look over to know that the one who had arrived was Xia Sheng.

At that moment, Yang Kai couldn’t help but relax slightly.

He was really afraid that Wu Chang would suddenly appear at this time because he still needed some time to recover. If Wu Chang really had come, things would have become a bit troublesome, but Xia Sheng was different. No matter the case, he at least knew Yang Kai so the situation wouldn’t become too messy.

“If it’s not me, who else could it be?” Xia Sheng smiled slightly and said, “Seeing that the exit is about to close, this Xia wanted to arrive first to wait for his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters in order to go back together, but I didn’t expect to suddenly see a Heavenly Manifestation here as well as a big fight. I flew over to join the fun but…”

As he spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly said, “It seems that the battle between the two is already over and was quite fierce…”

His tone was filled with undisguisable shock.

Because he hadn’t expected that Yang Kai’s strength was actually on par with Zhuang Bu Fan. Before, although he had thought highly of Yang Kai, Xia Sheng had still felt there was a big gap between Yang Kai and characters like himself. Only a few people could stand on par with him, but among those few, Zhuang Bu Fan was definitely one.

Yet now, it seemed Yang Kai had the ability to fight Zhuang Bu Fan on even terms, a shocking reality.

Although he didn’t know who had the upper hand in the battle just now, the aftermath he was observing was enough for him to infer Yang Kai’s strength, and it made him realize he had greatly underestimated him before.

As Xia Sheng spoke, his gaze turned to the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus and his eyes lit up as he thought aloud, “Huo… this must be something good. Xiao Bai, do you know what it is?”

His last words were obviously addressed to Xiao Bai Yi, who had followed behind immediately.

It was unclear when the two of them had met up, but clearly, they had at some point and now they appeared together with Murong Xiao Xiao.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Xiao Bai Yi stood nearby and spoke concisely.

“I don’t know either!” Before Xia Sheng asked her, Murong Xiao Xiao took the initiative to answer.

Xia Sheng shrugged helplessly before his eyes glanced between Yang Kai and Zhuang Bu Fan, a sly grin appearing on his face as he said, “If nobody knows, then we can just swallow it and find out. En, which one of you discovered this thing first?”

Before Yang Kai could even speak, Zhuang Bu Fan, who had apparently recovered a bit of strength, said, “When this Zhuang came here, Brother Yang was already defending this place and it seems he expelled a number of others already.”

“Brother Yang found it first?” Xia Sheng raised his brow and muttered softly, “Then this is somewhat difficult. If Brother Zhuang found it first, it wouldn’t be a big deal to just snatch it… but since Brother Yang found it first… Ha… although Brother Yang is not the disciple of my Azure Sun Temple, we did come here together, if I just snatch it now, it would be a bit awkward…”

Yang Kai’s face went black as he snapped, “Brother Xia, I can hear everything you’re saying.”

Xia Sheng came back to himself at that moment and laughed, “It’s fine, it’s fine. I wasn’t trying to hide anything anyways. Brother Yang, how about we discuss this. Whatever this thing is, would asking to split it half and half be excessive?”

“It would!” Yang Kai replied solemnly.

“Then I’ll just have to snatch it,” Xia Sheng replied solemnly.

Yang Kai glanced at him before saying blankly, “Brother Xia is free to act!”

“Why you…!” Xia Sheng looked at him helplessly and smiled bitterly, “Why are you so sure I won’t just do that?”

Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and was about to answer when suddenly he frowned and turned his eyes towards the horizon as he muttered, “Why have so many people appeared already?”

At the edge of his perception, in all directions, many cultivators were approaching, obviously all attracted by the Heavenly Manifestation here.

With an awkward expression on his face, Yang Kai asked blankly, “Aren’t there two days before the entrance appears… With so much time left, why has everyone suddenly come back?”

“Right, you wouldn’t know about this,” Xia Sheng shook his head and explained, “There is an unwritten rule that every time the Four Seasons Realm opens, all the disciples from the various Sects will return to the exit two days before it closes in order to exchange information and treasures. Counting the days, it’s just about time for everyone to return.”

“There’s such a tradition?” Yang Kai looked surprised.

“Otherwise why do you think we came here so early?” Xiao Bai Yi glanced at Yang Kai faintly, “Seems your troubles just got bigger.”

Yang Kai had a bitter face as he nodded in agreement, “Indeed!”

He had thought that there were still two days before the exit closed, so even if the Heavenly Manifestation was quite eye-catching, it wouldn’t attract too many people, and when the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus matured tomorrow, the phenomena would naturally disappear. But it seemed like Yang Kai’s plans would not come to fruition…

Now that so many people were approaching, once a fight broke out, the situation would grow beyond his ability to control. Even though Yang Kai was confident in his strength, in the end, two fists can’t block four strikes…

In just a few breaths, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, one cultivator after another appeared in the surroundings, and all of them stared towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus with surprise and greed.

But at this moment, Zhuang Bu Fan and Xia Sheng were standing closest to this treasure so no one dared to run up and try to snatch it. However, many were exchanging glances with their neighbours and allies, clearly forming their own plans.

Seeing this, Xiao Bai Yi snickered.

Suddenly, Xia Sheng’s brow furrowed as his expression turned serious and he quickly said, “Brother Yang, you’d best prepare yourself, a troublesome one is approaching…”

As soon as he spoke those words, from the horizon, a familiar roar reached Yang Kai’s ears.

“Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll make you taste the worlds most terrible torture!”

There was endless anger and murderous intent in this voice and when it sounded, all who heard it couldn’t help feeling a terrifying chill.

“Wu Chang!” Someone muttered as they recognized the owner of this voice. With just this one shout, many cultivators began to show fear and anxiety.

It could be seen that even amongst the Southern Territory’s countless young rising stars, Wu Chang’s presence had a particularly strong deterrent.

However, Wu Chang’s words were also quite puzzling and many wondered just who he was chasing. From the words he spoke and the anger with which he spoke them, it seemed Wu Chang had been pursuing whoever it was for some time now.

Chapter 2185

“Hahaha, idiot, you should just follow behind Father’s butt and eat his dust forever! With your rubbish ability, you won’t catch Father here even if you chase me for the rest of your life!” Another voice sounded, one that was extremely arrogant, not only calling himself ‘Father’ in front of Wu Chang, but even going so far as to mock the latter as well.

The group gathered atop the mountain were all shocked and turned their heads to stare in the direction the two were approaching from, watching as this pair rapidly drew closer.

“Gong Wen Shan!” Yang Kai saw at a glance who the escaping party was; it turned out to be the Array Master Gong Wen Shan.

In an instant, Yang Kai understood what the situation was.

In front of the Flowing Time Temple, Gong Wen Shan and Wu Chang had formed a slight grudge…

Because after Gong Wen Shan cracked the barrier around the Flowing Time Temple’s entrance, he had actually rigged it to prevent Wu Chang’s entry, denying him this opportunity.

Wu Chang had also acted extremely decisively at the time, immediately deciding to depart after he realized he could not enter the Flowing Time Temple.

Afterwards… Whether he had been waiting in the Two Seasons Mountain Range for Gong Wen Shan to come out, or had coincidentally come across him at some point, Wu Chang naturally was not planning to let Gong Wen Shan off and had obviously chased after him to settle their grievances.

However, it seemed that even with his great strength, Wu Chang was unable to take down Gong Wen Shan easily and had instead been chasing him all this time.

Just as Yang Kai’s thoughts churned, Gong Wen Shan passed over everyone’s heads and with a solemn expression took out a few slips of jade from his Space Ring, muttered something, and poured out his Source Qi, causing the pieces of jade to fly out and swiftly disappear.

At the same time, where Gong Wen Shan stood, a strange and threatening aura suddenly appeared, one that was invisible but could still clearly be felt.

“Array Plates!” Someone from the crowd shouted.

Although no one knew what kind of Array Plates Gong Wen Shan had set up just now, just seeing him deploy four of them at once without even batting an eye showed how rich his background was. This was only to be expected from the disciples of a family famed for its Spirit Arrays though; Gong Wen Shan clearly had access to treasures like Array Plates which ordinary cultivators could never get their hands on.

After arranging the Array Plates, Gong Wen Shan stood in place and gasped, taking out a few pills from his Space Ring and swallowing them.

Seeing him like this, it was clear that he had been pursued by Wu Chang for quite a few days and had consumed a lot of his strength. After arriving here though, he had taken out his Array Plates for protection and began restoring himself…

*Hong…*

Wu Chang followed close behind and landed a couple dozen metres in front of Gong Wen Shan, his eyes nearly spitting fire as his Source Qi pulsed madly from his body along with unparalleled violence and murderous intent, ensuring no one got close.

When the cultivators with lower cultivation felt this violent aura, they couldn’t help turning somewhat pale with fright.

“Come out!” Wu Chang was furious, but he was not a fool. With Gong Wen Shan summoning so many Array Plates in front of him and then just standing in place, it was obvious the latter had full confidence in his safety so Wu Chang didn’t dare to rush over and could only shout from close by.

“You come in!” Gong Wen Shan taunted mockingly as he gestured lightly towards Wu Chang, like someone inviting an old friend into their home.

“If you have any guts, come out and face me!” Wu Chang yelled.

“If you have any, come in!” Gong Wen Shan responded.

“You come out!”

“You come in!”

…..

“Waaarh!” Wu Chang let out a mad roar.

His enemy was right in front of him, but despite his great strength, he had no way to take him. What’s worse, this scene was actually taking place in front of so many people, so how could Wu Chang not feel humiliated?

As he roared, two beams of light, one red, one white, suddenly rose into the sky from his body and like two Flood Dragons, they entwined with one another as they broke through the clouds before spinning rapidly and falling down like a meteor towards where Gong Wen Shan stood.

He had obviously lost the patience to verbally spar with Gong Wen Shan and attacked in anger.

Seeing this, Gong Wen Shan’s expression remained unchanged as a light grin appeared on his face. With the wave of his hand, a thick and solid looking light curtain appeared ten metres in front of him.

*Hong long long…*

The red and white energy blast impacted the centre of the light curtain, causing it to bend slightly, but it quickly bounced back. Not only that, when it restored itself, the light curtain randomly scattered Wu Chang’s violent attack in all directions.

“Gong Wen Shan, you waste!”

“Bite me then!”

“You bastard!”

The group of onlookers who had been watching this strange confrontation saw the fierce energy attack fly towards them and cursed under their breaths as they scattered and dodged. None of them dared to scold Wu Chang, but Gong Wen Shan received plenty of hatred.

At the same time, Yang Kai also wore a cold expression as he could no longer afford to focus on healing himself, stood up, and stretched out his hand.

In that instant, in the space in front of him, a dark black hole appeared, one filled with chaotic nothingness, like the mouth of a great beast, swallowing up all the wandering energy blasts.

“Brother Gong, please have some discretion!” Yang Kai glared at Gong Wen Shan coldly.

If he hadn’t made a move just now, the scattered red and white energy blasts would definitely have struck the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, causing this precious treasure to instantly be destroyed.

He didn’t know whether Gong Wen Shan had done this intentionally or unintentionally, but his approach obviously made Yang Kai very unhappy.

“You dare interfere?!” Suddenly, Wu Chang shouted, turning his head coldly towards Yang Kai, a thick murderous intent flashing from his eyes.

Yang Kai frowned and snapped back, “Has Brother Wu Chang lost his mind? Did you not just see what happened?”

He didn’t know what Wu Chang was on about now. Perhaps because he had no way to take Gong Wen Shan he was planning to attack someone else to gain back some face, or perhaps he was just looking for someone to vent his frustration on…

Whatever the case, after everyone resisted the reflected energy attacks, they could tell there was something wrong with Wu Chang.

“I don’t care, whoever dares to interfere, I want them dead!” Wu Chang replied domineeringly, “If you don’t want to die, scram!”

As soon as this remark came out, some people actually began to distance themselves.

“Ha… Wu Chang!” Xia Sheng grinned suddenly as he shot him a sarcastic look, “If you want this spirit flower, just say it directly, why put on such an act? Do you think by making such threats you can scare off everyone else and give yourself an easier time when you try to snatch it later?”

Hearing this, Yang Kai’s face darkened, and when he looked at Wu Chang carefully, he suddenly found that although this guy’s face seemed full of rage, his eyes were actually extremely calm…

Perhaps, as Xia Sheng said, the reason why he was acting so unreasonable all of a sudden was because he had his eyes on the ​​Extraordinary Treasure Lotus from the start!

This guy was quite the schemer!

Most likely, he had already turned his attention to the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus after arriving here; after all, revenge could be obtained at any point, but such a precious spirit flower was not something that could be missed.

Wu Chang’s angry expression became calm in an instant and he glanced at Xia Sheng lightly, “Do you think you’re so smart?”

Xia Sheng sneered, “Smarter than someone pretending to be crazy at least!”

“Hmph, since I was exposed by you, I don’t need to waste any more effort. I can just seize this spirit flower!” Saying so, Wu Chang’s body flickered as he tried to rush towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

But at that moment, a clear and sweet voice suddenly sounded, “Brother Wu Chang, please wait, you must not touch that spirit flower!”

After hearing this voice, Wu Chang stopped in place, and Yang Kai, who had been pushing his Source Qi, also relaxed slightly. He was prepared to fight Wu Chang, but if there was someone who could stop him from acting instead, Yang Kai wouldn’t have any objections.

Wu Chang was unruly and rebellious, so basically no one could make him obey their words. In fact, in the entire Four Seasons Realm, there was only one person he needed to give face to: the jewel of the Bright Moon Great Emperor, Princess Lan Xun!

So as soon as Lan Xun spoke, Wu Chang halted, turned his head, and stared in the direction her voice came from before he asked, “Your Highness, you’d best have a reasonable explanation!”

His implication was obviously that if her explanation couldn’t satisfy him, he wouldn’t give her any face.

“Hmph, you dare use that kind of tone with the Princess? You must court death!”

Where Lan Xun appeared, Xiao Chen would naturally follow, so this time was naturally no exception.

Along with this low shout, a man and a woman descended from the sky. The woman had bright eyes and a dazzling smile that adorned her enchanting face. The man had a majestic and noble appearance. Who else could they be besides the pair from Star Soul Palace?

Lan Xun was as beautiful as a bright moon, so even without mentioning her status, her appearance alone was enough to drive men to madness. Wherever she went, she would become the sole focus of the crowd.

It was the same even now, as the countless cultivators gathered all cast their eyes towards her in awe and wonder.

Lan Xun seemed to have become accustomed to such scenes and did not pay it any mind. On the other hand, Xiao Chen glared around at everyone while unleashing an oppressive aura to make the surrounding men withdraw their gazes…

“Brother Wu Chang wanting an explanation is only natural,” Lan Xun first glanced at the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus before turning to address Wu Chang.

“Speak!” Wu Chang said with a cold face.

Lan Xun didn’t mind his rudeness and simply smiled as she explained, “Is there an expert present who recognizes this spirit flower?”

Xia Sheng shrugged and said, “I don’t recognize it.”

Most people also shook their heads, giving complete deference to Lan Xun.

Zhuang Bu Fan, who was still adjusting his breathing, spoke lightly, “This Zhuang has a guess, but he is not certain. However, since the Princess has spoken so, she must know something about this spirit flower, so this Zhuang will not show off meagre skills before an expert and hopes her Highness can dispel our doubts!”

“Yes, yes, if your Highness knows something, please inform us.”

“That vastness of her Highness’ knowledge is truly admirable!”

“Her Highness is not only as beautiful as a flower, but is also extremely intelligent, possesses a gentle heart, and is not the slightest bit arrogant, it is truly a blessing for my Southern Territory!”

Lan Xun hadn’t even revealed the answer yet, but the flattery poured out from all around…

Chapter 2186

“All of you flatter me too much, I just happen to know a little something about this spirit flower, that is all,” Lan Xun responded modestly, without any arrogance or complacency after being showered with praise, her tone calm and steady. At this point, her beautiful eyes turned to the budding lotus flower and with a solemn expression, she quickly said, “If I am not mistaken, this spirit flower is… the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus!”

Hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow and couldn’t help silently praising Lan Xun for her extraordinary breadth of knowledge.

If he hadn’t obtained Gong Sun Mu’s jade slip, it would have been impossible for him to recognize the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus. In this world, there weren’t many who could recognize this kind of spirit flower or know its effects.

“As I thought!” Zhuang Bu Fan gently nodded to the side. It seemed that he too had guessed this before, but was uncertain until after he heard confirmation from Lan Xun.

Among the crowd of onlookers, most still had blank expressions while only a few had drastic changes on their faces after hearing the words ‘Extraordinary Treasure Lotus’, apparently having at least some knowledge about it.

“Princess, what exactly is this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus good for? Can we eat it?” Xia Sheng suddenly asked with a smile on his face.

“You moron!” To the side, Xiao Bai Yi face-palmed as he shook his head, ashamed of Xia Sheng outburst as he muttered, “If you don’t know anything, don’t speak. The Temple’s face is always being completely lost by your shamelessness.”

Murong Xiao Xiao also blushed and nodded vigorously, seemingly trying to distance herself from Xia Sheng.

The performance of their Eldest Senior Brother really embarrassed the two of them.

“Xiao Bai, do you know something?” Xia Sheng immediately turned his head towards Xiao Bai Yi before clapping his hands, “Right, in the Temple, you would always read a lot of old books, so maybe you do know something! Quickly tell me about this… what was it… Extraordinary Treasure Lotus! Right, what kind of mythical effects does it have?”

Xiao Bai Yi stared at him fixedly before taking a deep breath to calm his mood and slowly speaking, “The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is born from the pure essence of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, a supreme treasure that appears only randomly throughout history in all different kinds of environments. There are no specific conditions for its appearance or growth and it can appear anywhere, whether there is rich World Energy or none at all. However… in this world there will only ever be a single Extraordinary Treasure Lotus in existence at any one time. If one appears, another will not appear until the first disappears…”

Upon hearing this, Xia Sheng couldn’t help blowing a whistle as he said in surprise, “It’s really precious then…”

Xiao Bai Yi ignored him and continued, “As for its function, it has an astonishing benefit for cultivators like us. It can permanently increase the chances of one breaking through to the Emperor Realm without any side effects or drawbacks! In other words, if you, Wu Chang, or Brother Zhuang were to refine this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, you would be able to break through to the Emperor Realm in less than five years! As for someone like me… ten years would suffice!”

“I am here as well!” Xiao Chen was ignored by Xiao Bai Yi and clearly felt unpleasant.

Xia Sheng, however, just grinned and said, “Even without this thing, I can still break through to the Emperor Realm. It doesn’t seem that precious to me!”

“What do you know?” Xiao Bai Yi glanced at him coldly, “Throughout the ages, countless geniuses like you have tried to break through to the Emperor Realm, only to fail at the last moment or become stuck at the final hurdle, unable to cross it for the rest of their lives. Furthermore! In this world, no one dares to claim that they can absolutely break through to the Emperor Realm, and those who do often end up failing. Of course, there are others out there who have lesser aptitude and talent, but through pure hard work and effort manage to reach the Emperor Realm… But to all cultivators like us, the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is akin to a guarantee of breaking through to the Emperor Realm!”

When Xia Sheng heard Xiao Bai Yi’s explanation, he couldn’t find anything to object about and immediately sank into contemplation.

All around, the cultivators who were watching and waiting heard Xiao Bai Yi’s explanation and showed fiery looks on their faces. They now looked at this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus not as some special spirit flower, but as a broad and clear path to the Emperor Realm!

The cultivators that entered the Four Seasons Realm were all in the Dao Source Realm, and many of them had reached the Third-Order. These cultivators were just a few steps away from the Emperor Realm, so with such a huge opportunity appearing before them, how could they not be tempted?

If it weren’t for the top Sect’s Masters all standing by acting as a deterrent, someone by now would not have been able to hold back and run up to snatch this lotus, leading to this mountain top turning into a chaotic battlefield filled with blood!

In front of such a precious spirit flower, no one would be able to keep their calm. Once greed took over, even fellow brothers from the same force would trample each other to obtain this prize!

“I understand the preciousness and purpose of this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus now, but… Princess has yet to explain why she prevented me from obtaining it just now,” Wu Chang suddenly said coldly, seemingly still hung up on the fact that Lan Xun had stopped him from touching it a moment ago and demanding a satisfactory explanation.

Lan Xun smiled slightly and said, “Brother Xiao Bai has already explained much, so Junior Sister will be succinct.”

On the other side, Xiao Bai Yi’s mouth twitched as he felt a deep sadness in his heart, thinking that the name ‘Xiao Bai’ could not be erased for a lifetime. Even someone as famous and respected as Princess Lan Xun was now calling him by that name, so it was basically set in stone. With tears forming at the corners of his eyes, Xiao Bai Yi lifted his head towards the Heavens and silently asked just what he had done to deserve such a cruel fate…

Meanwhile, Lan Xun continued to speak, “Although the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is extremely precious, it is fundamentally still just a spirit flower, so it is quite delicate and fragile. Right now, this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus has yet to mature, so its medicinal efficacies have not yet fermented. If Brother Wu Chang had rashly picked it just now, its medicinal properties would definitely be greatly damaged and it would lose all of its Heaven-defying effects. I believe Brother Wu Chang would not want to see that happen, right?”

With her last sentence, she turned to Wu Chang with a smile and asked.

Wu Chang heard this and responded in a cold, flat tone, “Since your Highness has said so, I will wait… but I must ask, how long will it be until this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus fully matures?”

Lan Xun went silent for a while as she observed the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus before saying, “It should be a day or so!”

“Just before the exit closes…” Wu Chang muttered to himself before immediately shouting, “Fine, then I will wait until then. Before the time comes, if anyone dares have ideas about this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus idea, don’t blame this Wu for not showing mercy!”

As he spoke, he turned his gaze around, a strange red and white light flashing from his eyes, causing those who met them to shudder.

Hearing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief…

Although Wu Chang wanted to take the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus for himself, his declaration just now had also calmed all the waves and guaranteed that before this spirit flower matured, no one would act recklessly. As for afterwards, everyone would need to rely on their own methods in the scramble for the prize.

“Junior Sister would also like to request everyone wait until after this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus matures before asking,” Lan Xun said sternly, “I should also inform everyone that… after this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus does mature, if it is not consumed within three hours, or refined into a pill, its medicinal efficacies will pass completely!”

“Is that true?” Wu Chang frowned.

“The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is a Heaven defying treasure after all, so with such effects, the Heavenly Way puts appropriate constraints on its birth and life!” Lan Xun smiled slightly.

“Then it’s simple. When it matures, I just need to eat it!” Xia Sheng grinned.

Xiao Bai Yi turned his head, glanced at him coldly, and snapped, “Why is it all you can talk about today is eating!”

Xia Sheng scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Lan Xun suddenly sighed again and said, “If possible, it would be best to refine it into an Extraordinary Treasure Pill. There’s only one spirit flower, and in the scramble to follow, swords and fists have no eyes…”

She was the daughter of Bright Moon Great Emperor, so in many situations, she needed to consider things not just from her own perspective, but from the perspective of the entire Southern Territory, similar to when she took away the Pseudo Emperor Artifact from the Flowing Time Temple despite it being the least valuable treasure for her. At this moment, although she was delighted that an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus had appeared in the Four Seasons Realm, she was also wracked with worry about the battle which it would surely set off.

Everyone present here was an elite among the Southern Territory’s Dao Source Realm cultivators, and heavy casualties due to the fight for this spirit flower would definitely be a major loss for the Southern Territory…

“Princess must be joking. If you want to refine such a Heaven defying spirit flower into pills, surely it would require an Emperor Grade Alchemist! According to the Princess, this spirit flower must either be swallowed or used in Alchemy within three hours after it matures; how could that be enough time to find an appropriate Emperor Grade Alchemist?” Wu Chang coldly snorted.

Lan Xun shook her head though and said, “An Emperor Grade Alchemist is unnecessary, a Dao Source Grade one would be sufficient… But, we are all cultivators who have focused on the Martial Dao, so how could we have had time to delve into the Alchemic Dao? A Dao Source Grade Alchemist is still not easy to find… “

She shook her head and smiled bitterly, secretly feeling a little headache. She felt that the current crisis could not be resolved, and that a great opportunity was about to be missed. There was only one spirit flower, so only one person could take it, but if it could be refined into pills, it would be a completely different story.

At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded, “If your Highness is willing to trust me, how about letting me give it a try!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked startled and turned towards their source.

Lan Xun also hurriedly turned her eyes, but after seeing who the speaker was, she couldn’t help showing a surprised expression as she murmured, “Brother Yang…”

“You?” Xiao Chen also looked at Yang Kai with a shocked expression, one that soon turned into a sneer, “Do you know what you’re talking about? What the Princess said just now… did you not hear it clearly?”

“Naturally, I heard her clearly,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, still calm and relaxed under the attention of the crowd.

The cross-legged Zhuang Bu Fan also looked over at Yang Kai at this moment with a thoughtful look on his face.

Xia Sheng suddenly stretched out his hand to pull at the corner of Yang Kai’s clothes as he whispered in a low voice, “Brother Yang, I don’t think this is a good idea… If you really want to monopolize the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, you might as well think of another way. Pretending to be a Dao Source Grade Alchemist won’t help you in any way…”

He obviously thought that Yang Kai was lying in order to gain some kind of initiative in the coming battle, so he hurriedly whispered to persuade him, otherwise, he would not just lose face but would also become the target of public criticism. Once that happened, no one would be able to save him.

There is also Xiao Bai Lan… (in Chinese) Which means boy toy. But the main thing here is that the poor sap is being called an idiot… 

On another note. Xiao Bai is probably the character everyone wrote in essays when they were children. Haha. 

Not because it meant idiot to the children but because the name is so easy to write that teachers use it as their example, and kids just follow. 

Chapter 2187

Although Xia Sheng’s words were light, everyone present was a Master so they could clearly hear what was said. For a time, everyone glared at Yang Kai, thinking that he was both despicable and shameful, even daring to use such open intrigue.

“I’m not simply bluffing!” Yang Kai smiled confidently and said proudly, “I am a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone stopped talking and stared at Yang Kai with even stranger expressions, the scene so quiet that even the light breeze could be heard.

“Hahaha…” After a long time, a burst of loud laughter rang out as Xiao Chen pointed to Yang Kai and said contemptuously, “You, a Dao Source Grade Alchemist? What do you think Alchemists are? Random people you can just grab off the street? Boy, you’d best think carefully before spewing such nonsense, or misfortune will befall you!”

Saying so, he did not even try to hide the contempt in his eyes, despising Yang Kai ferociously.

“Oh? It seems that Brother Xiao is quite familiar with me?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen coldly snorted and said, “If it weren’t for our little meeting in this Four Seasons Realm, how could this Xiao possibly recognize some unknown person like you?”

He didn’t put Yang Kai in his eyes at all.

“Indeed,” Yang Kai smiled slightly and said, “Since Brother Xiao doesn’t know anything about me, why are you so confident that I am not a Dao Source Grade Alchemist? Your logic is so strange.”

“This…” Xiao Chen frowned as he didn’t have a good retort, but soon insisted, “In any case, someone like you can’t be a Dao Source Grade Alchemist. If you just want to fish in troubled waters, this Xiao advises you to dismiss such frivolous thoughts as soon as possible, otherwise… hmph!”

As soon as he finished speaking though, Zhuang Bu Fan suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Brother Yang, you have been guarding this place since the beginning, ensuring that no one approached this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus… Was that because you already knew what it was and what it was used for?”

Although he had just fought against Yang Kai, and even suffered a small loss at his hands, that did not lessen his good impression of Yang Kai.

Just as Yang Kai thought Zhuang Bu Fan was an upright character, Zhuang Bu Fan also thought highly of Yang Kai, so at this time he deliberately tried to assist him by saying a few words.

“Oh?” Hearing what Zhuang Bu Fan said, Lan Xun raised her delicate brow in surprise, “Brother Zhuang means that, Brother Yang had been guarding this place since before?”

“En, when I arrived, only Brother Yang was here. It seems that when this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus first appeared, he was the first to arrive,” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded lightly.

“Brother Yang, is what Brother Zhuang said…” Lan Xun looked at Yang Kai.

“Yes!” Yang Kai gently nodded, “When the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus first appeared, I was nearby and the first to arrive. I also knew what it was and what its purpose was, so I stood guard by it to ensure those who were unable to judge its true value would not ruin it. Originally, I had wanted to guard it and then pick it when it matured before anything was the wiser, but I had not anticipated so many would return early… And that’s what led to this situation.”

Having said so, Yang Kai gave a wry smile.

“Are you really an Alchemist?” Lan Xun’s eyes flashed lightly.

If he was not an Alchemist, how could Yang Kai have accurately identified such a rare spirit flower like the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus when even characters like Zhuang Bu Fan could only speculate about its identity? Only an extremely skilled and knowledgeable Alchemist would be able to quickly identify the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

If Lan Xun had the same thoughts as Xiao Chen, that Yang Kai was faking being an alchemist, she would have said so. However, she was confident that what Yang Kai said was true.

“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded sincerely.

“Are you really a Dao Source Grade Alchemist?” Lan Xun asked.

“I am, unfortunately, some people don’t believe me,” Yang Kai spread his hands while his gaze swept across Xiao Chen intentionally.

The latter couldn’t help feeling sullen as he spat, “Anyone can make outlandish claims. If this Xiao said he was an Emperor Grade Alchemist… would you believe it?”

Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, looking helpless.

Lan Xun smiled and said, “In that case, we can simply verify the truth with our own eyes! As long as Brother Yang can refine a furnace of Dao Source Grade Spirit Pills here, all doubts can be resolved. There’s still enough time for Brother Yang to refine a furnace of pills now, but I don’t know what Brother Yang thinks…”

Before Yang Kai could respond, Xiao Chen cut in, “How could he have the courage? If he really agreed, wouldn’t his lies immediately be exposed?”

Lan Xun couldn’t help glaring at Xiao Chen, causing his mouth to snap shut.

Yang Kai frowned and said with a look of embarrassment, “Must we do this?”

Lan Xun smiled and said, “Is Brother Yang not confident in himself? Although I also believe Brother Yang is not one to speak such malicious lies, but… this matter is too important to leave to chance. If Brother Yang doesn’t have the ability to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, it will be best to not even try, otherwise, it would simply be wasting Heaven’s precious gifts.”

“What her Highness says makes sense!” Zhuang Bu Fan agreed, “Although refining it into pills can increase the number of people who will benefit, if the spirit flower is ruined in the process, then the gains will not be worth the loss. In that case, it would be best to just wait until the spirit flower matures and then everyone will compete with their own means. Brother Yang, think carefully before you decide.”

He wanted to give Yang Kai an opportunity to back down, which was why he spoke up.

But to his surprise, after Yang Kai pondered for a moment, he nodded, “It’s not a problem to prove myself, after all, everyone here does not trust me…”

“You’re really a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!?” Xia Sheng was shocked as he stared at Yang Kai like he was some kind of monster.

As for Xiao Bai Yi and Zhuang Bu Fan, they wore completely dumbfounded expressions, like they had just been smacked on the head.

Only the two of them knew just how strong Yang Kai was. One of them had fought an all-out battle against Yang Kai, while the other had a Source Qi competition with him!

Yang Kai had defeated both of them with just his First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation.

With such cultivation, achieving such a feat was already incredibly astonishing. It was conceivable that Yang Kai had put in an enormous amount of effort into his cultivation, so how could he also have time to dabble in Alchemy? What’s more, becoming a Dao Source Grade Alchemist was not on the level of mere dabbling. Even if a person began cultivating in their mother’s womb, reaching such heights in both the Martial and Alchemic Dao at such an age should be impossible.

But from Yang Kai’s tone and demeanour, it was quite clear he was indeed a Dao Source Grade Alchemist! This shocked Xiao Bai Yi and Zhuang Bu Fan enormously.

“But… even if I prove that I am a Dao Source Grade Alchemist, I can’t refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill!” Yang Kai frowned.

“What do you mean?” Lan Xun asked in surprise.

“Alchemy requires materials, does it not?” Yang Kai looked at her and said, “The Extraordinary Treasure Pill requires a total of nineteen kinds of herbs. I have been collecting the necessary materials for the past few days, but unfortunately, I have only managed to gather eighteen of them, one is still missing!”

“So, you were checking other people’s Space Rings for the materials to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill!?” A light went off in Zhuang Bu Fan’s mind as he suddenly understood why Yang Kai had been snatching other people’s Space Rings and searching for them.

Rather than robbing them, Yang Kai had simply checked the Space Rings of his Junior Brother and Junior Sister, but returned them afterwards without taking anything. If robbing them wasn’t his goal, then why bother acting this way in the first place?

Only now did Zhuang Bu Fan understand!

Realizing this, Zhuang Bu Fan no longer doubted Yang Kai’s claims of being a Dao Source Grade Alchemist.

If he wasn’t searching for the materials for the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, why would Yang Kai use such a detrimental method? He was probably forced to do this as he was trapped in the Four Seasons Realm and the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was about to mature. This left him with no way to summon help and no way to leave its side. As such, he could only hope those who were attracted to the Heavenly Manifestation would have what he needed.

[This guy…] Zhuang Bu Fan was shocked, but through incredible self-control managed to not show anything on his face.

“In that case… what ingredient is Brother Yang still lacking? If you don’t mind, please inform us. With so many people present, perhaps someone will have what is necessary,” Lan Xun smiled and asked, but after speaking, she seemed to suddenly realize something and immediately added, “Wait a moment, this Alchemy material must be extremely precious, so even if someone has it, they may not be willing to contribute it.”

“Yeah, what Princess said is the crux of the matter.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“If anyone dares to refuse, we can just snatch it,” Xiao Chen snorted coldly.

Wu Chang sneered hearing this and snapped, “Idiot, if others don’t say they have it, how are you planning on snatching it? Do you want to snatch everyone’s Space Ring and search them?”

“Why not?” Xiao Chen replied.

“Oh? So, if I want to check your Space Ring, would you hand it over to me?”

“If I have that material, I will definitely contribute, there’s no need to check!” Xiao Chen replied solemnly.

“That’s enough,” Lan Xun frowned, waving her hand to interrupt him before taking a moment to think and then saying in a serious tone, “I have a proposal, one that I believe will be able to resolve this matter… How about if someone has what Brother Yang needs, as long as they willingly contribute it, they will be entitled to take one of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills after they are refined!”

“Your Highness… is that really acceptable?” Yang Kai was shocked.

Everyone’s expressions also changed dramatically, not having expected Lan Xun’s suggestion to be so shocking!

After all, even if Yang Kai was really a Dao Source Grade Alchemist and the refining was successful, how many Spirit Pills could be refined from one furnace of pills? Setting aside one in advance would no doubt make everyone quite reluctant.

Lan Xun, however, just smiled lightly and said, “In front of great opportunities, everyone is equal. Don’t you men all like to gamble? Why are you shrinking back at this moment?” As she spoke, she swept her beautiful eyes over everyone one by one. “Brother Yang hasn’t even said what herb he still needs, so what are you all afraid of? Perhaps the necessary spirit medicine is in your Space Ring and all you need to do is contribute it to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill! It’s nothing less than an incredible bargain!”

“There’s a chance you won’t get anything as well!” Xiao Bai Yi muttered.

If Yang Kai failed his refinement, then there really would be nothing to gain.

“But… this Zhuang still has a question!” Zhuang Bu Fan said.

“Brother Zhuang, please,” Lan Xun looked at him with a smile.

“If two or more people have the final material Brother Yang needs, how should we resolve this issue?”

Chapter 2188

“En, I had not thought about such a possibility, I was negligent,” Lan Xun heard this and was startled for a moment, but soon she smiled again and said, “It’s simple then, if that happens, the one with the higher medicinal age will be used!”

“Good idea!” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded, “The higher the medicinal age, the stronger the medicinal efficacies and the higher the chance for a successful refinement.”

“If everyone is alright with this suggestion, then…” Lan Xun smiled and looked around, waiting for a reply.

“I don’t have any objections. Since it’s a matter of luck, everyone has an equal chance!” Finally, someone expressed their opinion, and to everyone’s surprise, it was actually Wu Chang. He seemed to be quite interested in this proposal.

“Good, I like this proposal and don’t have any objections!” Xia Sheng shrugged.

“I agree with the Princess’s suggestion,” Zhuang Bu Fan also said.

With these three taking a stand, no one else would dare raise any objections. What’s more, Lan Xun was the one who made this proposal in the first place, so at this time, refusing to cooperate would be equivalent to slapping Lan Xun’s face… Her Highness was gentle and understanding, but Xiao Chen standing beside her was not so friendly.

Suddenly, everyone’s opinion was unified, and all of them clamoured on about how Lan Xun’s proposal was perfect.

“Many thanks!” Lan Xun saw that a consensus had been reached and turned a smile to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, please tell us what the last herb you need is.”

As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent and looked towards Yang Kai, many people showing expression of expectation and nervousness; after all, this was all a matter of luck. Once Yang Kai reported the herb he required, as long as everything went right, there was a chance they could obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

This was a Spirit Pill that basically guaranteed one could reach the Emperor Realm, who wouldn’t be anxious?

Many people even felt their heartbeats pound in their chests.

In front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai slowly and clearly announced, “I need a Jade Blood Mushroom that has a medicinal age of at least five thousand years!”

“A Jade Blood Mushroom… a rare herb,” Lan Xun heard this and smiled as she looked around, “Does anyone have what Brother Yang needs? If you can provide it, it will be equivalent to obtaining an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, a rare opportunity one cannot hope to come across!”

From her words, it seemed like she had great confidence in Yang Kai, as if all one needed to do was present the required herb and Yang Kai would surely be able to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill successfully.

It was unknown where her confidence came from.

As soon as her voice fell, many people immediately showed disappointed looks. Obviously, most knew they did not have anything like a Jade Blood Mushroom; however, a few cultivators quickly immersed their minds in their Space Rings…

“Hahahaha…” Suddenly, a loud laugh rang out.

Everyone turned to look and saw a man with a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation excitedly laughing. Noticing everyone now staring at him though, this man quickly composed himself and simply smiled widely, still unable to hide his joy but at least not coming off as obnoxious.

“Does this friend possess what was requested?” Lan Xun looked at the man with a smile.

The man quickly jumped out from where he stood and forcefully suppressing the joy and excitement in his heart, he replied with a serious face, “Many thanks to her Highness, this one truly possesses a Jade Blood Mushroom!”

“Oh?” Lan Xun raised her brow and said happily, “Please take it out so we may have a look.”

The man hesitated at this moment, but Lan Xun quickly realized what he was worried about and immediately said, “You may rest assured, the words I spoke just now will not be taken back. If you really have the herb Brother Yang needs, one of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills will be yours!”

“Many thanks, Princess!” The man was waiting for this guarantee from Lan Xun, so after hearing what he needed to, he didn’t hesitate any more and immediately took out a large green and red mushroom from his Space Ring.

“It’s a Jade Blood Mushroom!” Yang Kai glanced over and knowing that the other party hadn’t produced a fake, he quickly said, “Please let me see it.”

The man held the Jade Blood Mushroom in both hands and couldn’t help trembling slightly. What he was holding was not just a simple spirit medicine, but rather his own good future, so he was extremely nervous about even slightly damaging it.

When he came to Yang Kai, he carefully handed over the Jade Blood Mushroom before standing back with an anxious look on his face.

“What dog shit luck!”

“Why couldn’t this opportunity have fallen into my hands?”

“The Heavens must be jealous! I am not convinced!”

…

Numerous voices filled with jealousy, anger, envy, and so on echoed about.

As for the man who had produced the Jade Blood Mushroom, these voices only sounded like sweet music to his ears and he could not stop a smug expression from filling his face.

“This is indeed a Jade Blood Mushroom…” Suddenly, Yang Kai frowned and said, “But its medicinal age is too low, only about three thousand years, far from sufficient.”

“What?” The man heard this and his complexion changed drastically, his eyes widening as he stared at Yang Kai incoherently before haltingly stuttering, “You… what did you… no… please take a clear look…”

“There’s no need to doubt,” Yang Kai gave the Jade Blood Mushroom back to the other party as he spoke confidently, “Every thousand years, the colour of the Jade Blood Mushroom will change slightly, becoming deeper and more pronounced. This friend, although your Jade Blood Mushroom can still be considered mature, and can be used to refine most Spirit Pills, it cannot be used in the Extraordinary Treasure Pill. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“Impossible!” The man cried out in grief.

The greater one’s hopes were, the more disappointed they were when they fell through. This man had thought that an Extraordinary Treasure Pill was within his grasp, but the plans of Heavens are beyond what men can control. How could this man stand seeing this opportunity just slip through his fingers?

“Take another look!” He stared at Yang Kai reluctantly.

Yang Kai simply shook his head, “If you can’t believe me, you might as well ask someone else for confirmation. I believe there should be others here who can distinguish this herb’s medicinal age.”

As he said so, Zhuang Bu Fan stepped forward, “This friend, this one is Orthodoxy Temple’s Zhuang Bu Fan, and although his knowledge of pharmacology is not on par with Brother Yang’s, he still has some experience in this field. If you trust this Zhuang, you might as well let him perform an examination.”

“Of course I trust you!” The man heard this and immediately rushed over to Zhuang Bu Fan and handed over his Jade Blood Mushroom.

Compared with Yang Kai, an unknown person, Zhuang Bu Fan’s name resounded like thunder across the Southern Territory, so his words carried great authority. As such, this man did not hesitate to place his hopes on Zhuang Bu Fan, hoping Zhuang Bu Fan would be able to overturn Yang Kai’s previous assessment.

As this man stood back, Zhuang Bu Fan began examining the Jade Blood Mushroom carefully. Not only did he perform a visual inspection, but he also sniffed it deeply and even took a fine scrape of it and tasted it.

His movements were methodical and extremely skilful, making it apparent he had performed such actions many times before.

After a while, Zhuang Bu Fan slowly shook his head and while returning the Jade Blood Mushroom to the other party, he said, “Brother Yang’s knowledge of herbs is indeed much deeper than this Zhuang, needing only a single look to tell its medicinal age, this Zhuang is most impressed… Friend, your Jade Blood Mushroom is really only three thousand years old.”

“How can… that be?” The man muttered to himself with a despondent look on his face.

He could somewhat dismiss Yang Kai saying his Jade Blood Mushroom only had a medicinal age of three thousand years, but if Zhuang Bu Fan was the one saying this, he had no choice but to accept.

The cultivators who had previously been feeling extreme envy towards this man now couldn’t help taking pleasure in his misfortune…

“There are so many people gathered here, is there no other friend who possesses a Jade Blood Mushroom?” Yang Kai turned his head to look around while shouting loudly.

No one responded!

Yang Kai sighed.

“Brother Yang, if you use this three-thousand-year-old Jade Blood Mushroom to refine…” Lan Xun frowned at him.

“That is not possible!” Yang Kai replied, “Princess, you must know that when refining extremely precious Spirit Pills, the demand on the adjuvant herbs is incredibly strict. Not to mention a difference of two thousand years, even if this Jade Blood Mushroom was only a hundred years too young it would not be usable.”

“Haa…” Lan Xun sighed slightly. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what Yang Kai was saying was true, it was just that she was hoping it wasn’t.

“That’s fate!” Xia Sheng suddenly shook his head and said, “The Jade Blood Mushroom is not a common spirit medicine, so it was already quite impressive that someone here possessed one. Since no one else has one, then it seems we can only fight it out for this lotus when the time comes!”

“Actually…” Lan Xun wore a slightly apologetic and helpless look, “I too have a Jade Blood Mushroom, and it should meet Brother Yang’s requirements.”

“Huh?” Xiao Chen was startled when he heard these words and said, “Why didn’t you take it out just now then, Your Highness?”

Yang Kai also looked towards Lan Xun in amazement, but quickly a thoughtful expression flashed across his face and he smiled before cupping his fists, “This Yang deeply admires the Princess’s magnanimity!”

At that moment, he understood why Lan Xun hadn’t taken out her own Jade Blood Mushroom until now.

It wasn’t that she was reluctant to share it…

She was the daughter of Bright Moon Great Emperor, so no matter how precious a spirit medicine was, could she really not bear to part with it? Her not stepping forward was all because she wanted to give this opportunity to someone else and had repeatedly asked if there was no other way just now.

In the end, though, she was forced to come forward.

She was also probably a bit embarrassed about the proposal she had made since she had the herb Yang Kai happened to need.

No one present was a fool, so after listening to Yang Kai’s words and a little thought, they realized what had happened and for a moment, all of them couldn’t help casting awe-filled and admiring gazes at Lan Xun.

Lan Xun’s cheeks went slightly red, making her look even more stunning.

“En, I can contribute the Jade Blood Mushroom, but as for the Extraordinary Treasure Pill… I don’t want it,” Lan Xun pursed his red lips and said.

“How can we accept that!?” Xiao Chen was the first to jump out and object.

“Silence!” Lan Xun frowned and snapped at him, “I have the right to deal with my own possessions!”

Xiao Chen opened his mouth but didn’t dare to speak anymore, feeling quite suffocated as his face turned blue from mixed emotions.

“Your Highness’s words are inappropriate here,” Xia Sheng smiled slightly and said, “Since everyone here reached an agreement before, Your Highness is more than entitled to this prize. If you were to reject this proposal now, it would be equivalent to everyone here owing Your Highness a heavy favour. Later, no one will know if the precious pill they received should have rightfully belonged to Your Highness. This kind of losing trade, this Xia does not want to participate in it!”

Chapter 2189

“Hmph, Xia Sheng, although your words sound cheap, I at least agree with your sentiment. This Wu Chang owes nothing to anyone, not even to Heaven!” Wu Chang also expressed his agreement.

Zhuang Bu Fan smiled, “Your Highness, you should boldly claim what is yours, there is no need to refuse!”

Lan Xun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry for a while.

Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat from his brow as he commented, “Listening to all of you, it’s as if the furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills will certainly succeed. If it does not, wouldn’t that disappoint all the Princess’ pains?”

“Why are you not confident?” Lan Xun raised her brow and asked.

“It’s not a matter of confidence,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “It’s just… no Alchemist can guarantee that he will succeed a hundred percent of the time. Just in case, I should ask… if the refinement fails, what will happen?”

“We’ll kill you!” Wu Chang looked at him coldly.

“The pressure is big,” Yang Kai wiped his forehead again.

Lan Xun smiled and said, “Put your best into it.”

As she spoke, she flew over and handed over her own Jade Blood Mushroom to Yang Kai. Yang Kai accepted it and nodded after a brief inspection, “Princess is right, this Jade Blood Mushroom has a medicinal age of at least eight thousand years, plenty for this purpose. What’s more… from the slight traces on it, it appears it was not picked here in the Four Seasons Realm.”

“En, I found this a few years ago and it has been sitting in my Space Ring ever since,” Lan Xun replied.

“Alright then, now all the materials have been gathered,” Yang Kai quickly stored the Jade Blood Mushroom into his Space Ring before glancing around and asking, “Do you still want me to refine a furnace of Dao Source Grade Spirit Pills to prove my abilities?” Pausing here, he soon said, “I shall say this first, I have no problem proving myself, but as all of you know, Alchemy consumes a lot of energy. If I were to not be at my peak when the time comes to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, and the refining fails as a result, I won’t take responsibility!”

After saying this, everyone frowned.

Because what Yang Kai said was indeed correct.

If everyone insisted on him proving himself, he would need to refine a furnace of Dao Source Grade Spirit Pills right now! But doing so would undoubtedly consume a lot of his Source Qi and Spiritual Energy. There was less than a day until the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus matured, at that point Yang Kai would need to refine another furnace of Dao Source Grade Spirit Pills. In other words, he would need to perform two very difficult refinements within a single day. This kind of high-intensity Alchemy would be quite taxing on any Dao Source Grade Alchemist.

If Yang Kai was already exhausted when the time came, it would definitely have an impact on refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

“In my opinion, there’s no need for that anymore…” Lan Xun smiled lightly, “The reason for the prior proposal was simply because we could not be certain Brother Yang was really an Alchemist; but now, I believe that is no longer in doubt. If Brother Yang was not an Alchemist, how could you have known the pill recipe for the Extraordinary Treasure Pill or be able to distinguish the medicinal age of Jade Blood Mushrooms so quickly and accurately?”

“What her Highness says makes sense!” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded, “Just from the fact that Brother Yang had already begun preparing the appropriate Alchemy materials before we arrived, there should be no doubt he is a Dao Source Grade Alchemist. Brother Yang, take a good rest. When the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus matures tomorrow, act with a free hand!”

“Since you’ve said so, I will focus on adjusting my condition!” Yang Kai immediately took advantage of the situation and sat down, shutting his eyes tight!

Although there were still some suspicious people, with Lan Xun and Zhuang Bu Fan speaking up for Yang Kai, even if they had doubts in their hearts, they dared not speak them. Everyone could only wait for tomorrow to come, at which point everything would become clear.

The scene suddenly quieted down.

The cultivators who had gathered around looked for good spots before sitting down cross-legged to meditate while trying to restore their states to their peak.

Because everyone understood clearly that if Yang Kai failed in his Alchemy, he would be the only one to suffer everyone’s anger and disappointment, but if he succeeded, aside from the one which would be reserved for Lan Xun, the remaining Extraordinary Treasure Pills would need to be fought over!

In front of such a huge opportunity, even if characters like Wu Chang, Xia Sheng, Zhuang Bu Fan, and Xiao Chen were present, no one would shrink back!

If they missed this chance, many of them would never have an opportunity to break through to the Emperor Realm for the rest of their lives! However, if they could just snatch one of the Spirit Pills, their chances of breaking through would increase dramatically.

Therefore, everyone was resting and building up their strength. This caused the whole place to become oddly quiet. At the same time, a kind of blockade was set up all around Yang Kai and the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, preventing him from escaping.

Wu Chang was particularly vigilant as he didn’t even seem to rest, instead just sat cross-legged and staring straight at Yang Kai, making sure he could react immediately should Yang Kai try anything!

The invisible stalemate was the most important reason that everyone agreed to let Yang Kai refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill instead of just trying to snatch the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus!

There was only one Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, and no one, not even Wu Chang, was confident they could obtain it.

Rather than fight a battle they weren’t certain they could win, it was better to let Yang Kai try to refine this lotus into pills, which if successful, would multiply the number of opportunities they had to gain something. As for Yang Kai with his pitiful First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, under the gaze of so many people, he couldn’t run away after he finished his refinement.

In this regard, everyone was confident, so they settled in and waited for the arrival of tomorrow, when Yang Kai would refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill!

“Senior Brother, this situation is not good,” after a break, Xiao Bai Yi suddenly sent a Divine Sense message to Xia Sheng.

“I know!” Xia Sheng responded calmly, “Don’t worry, I’ve made arrangements. When Brother Yang succeeds in his refinement tomorrow, we’ll cooperate with him to cut open an escape route. The rest of our Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters will assist us from the outside.”

“No wonder I didn’t see anyone else coming, are they all waiting at the exit?” Xiao Bai Yi asked without changing his expression.

Xia Sheng grinned and replied, “How can we allow a treasure like the Extraordinary Treasure Pills fall into the hands of other Sects? All we need to do now is get Brother Yang to cooperate.”

“And what if he doesn’t cooperate?” Xiao Bai Yi asked.

“Then knock him out and carry him off,” Xia Sheng replied.

Xiao Bai Yi’s face twitched as he lowered his head in shame, “I’m not his opponent!”

“Huh?” Xia Sheng turned his head and stared at Xiao Bai Yi in amazement, asking in surprise, “Xiao Bai, since when did you become so unconfident? Brother Yang has indeed beat Xue Yi, which is already quite amazing. Even if it was you or I, I doubt we would have been able to achieve the same with just his current cultivation, but right now, there should still be a big difference between us.”

“If I didn’t have a good reason, I wouldn’t have made such an embarrassing statement!” Xiao Bai Yi suddenly turned serious.

“Huh?”

“In the Flowing Time Temple, I fought him,” Xiao Bai Yi said, “And the result was… my defeat.”

“Are you cracking a joke with me?” Xia Sheng’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

“How can I make such a shameful joke now?” Xiao Bai Yi said with a solemn face, “Moreover, if I’m not mistaken, it’s not just me who is not his opponent, Zhuang Bu Fan also isn’t.”

“Huh… you mean!” After Xia Sheng asked, he immediately sent a thoughtful glance towards where Zhuang Bu Fan was and asked in amazement, “You mean… before we arrived here, when those two fought… Zhuang Bu Fan was the one who lost?”

“Exactly!”

“How could that be?”

Xiao Bai Yi sneered, “Nothing is impossible. Why else do you think Zhuang Bu Fan spoke up for Yang Kai so fervently?”

Xia Sheng frowned and said, “You mean, Yang Kai showed mercy in their battle, so Zhuang Bu Fan…”

“Could there be any other reason?” Xiao Bai Yi asked with a faint glance.

*Si…*

Xia Sheng finally couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath as he muttered, “I knew those two fought, but I thought it was Yang Kai who was defeated… He’s only a First-Order Dao Source Realm, how could he possibly be that strong?”

“How should I know? Would you have believed he was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist before? Do you even believe it now?”

Xia Sheng’s face twitched as he shut his mouth.

After a long silence, he focused his gaze and said, “It’s alright, I’ll negotiate with Brother Yang, and I believe he’ll cooperate. If he wants to survive, he shouldn’t have any other choice.”

“I hope…” Xiao Bai Yi responded, uncertain.

As the pair from Azure Sun Temple secretly communicated, most of the other cultivators gathered were having similar exchanges. People who knew one another here were secretly forming alliances, preparing to confront the many powerful enemies around them. As for how to divvy up the Extraordinary Treasure Pills after they succeeded, they could discuss that later.

For most cultivators, the most important matter to consider was how to obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.

Time passed slowly.

Yang Kai focused on restoring himself.

Refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill would be a real test for him, so regardless of anything else he wanted to be in peak condition. Even the slightest weakness may cause the refining to fail.

Once the refining failed, he would become the target of everyone’s anger, and even if he had great confidence in his abilities, escaping from such a siege would not be easy.

The movements around him, the Divine Sense messages being passed back and forth, even Wu Chang’s constant glares were unable to affect him though as his mood gradually calmed down and he entered a type of ethereal state.

Under such great pressure, he actually became unprecedentedly tranquil.

A rich medicinal fragrance filled the air as halos of light continued to blossom.

The Heavenly Manifestation became more and more apparent, filling the sky with colourful clouds that appeared and disappeared mysteriously.

As for the white petals of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, they bloomed gradually…

At a certain moment, the world shook as the World Energy in the surrounding region trembled. The Heavenly Manifestation contracted fiercely, sucking in a vast and terrifying amount of energy before it poured down from the sky like a funnel cloud into the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.

The seemingly fragile spirit flower not only survived this intense infusion unscathed, but it also became even more radiant and vibrant as it did.

Tiny runes suddenly appeared around the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, seemingly containing untold mysteries.

Between the Heavens and Earth, faint celestial music resounded like morning bells and evening drums, shocking everyone present. Next, under all of the gathered eyes, the petals of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus finally bloom completely!

A far richer medicinal fragrance filled the air, making all who sniffed it refreshed. This enticing scent caused many people to grow restless as well, and many couldn’t wait to rush up and stuff this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into their bellies!

As if their instincts were slowly consuming them, many cultivators showed greedy eyes as they stared towards the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, with a few even beginning to inch their way towards it!

Chapter 2190

“Anyone who dares to move, I will kill personally!” Wu Chang suddenly shouted as he flashed a fierce expression.

Murderous intent so thick it was tangible flared.

The few who were just about to move instantly froze! They could clearly feel that if they dared to act rashly, they would find themselves dead the next moment…

The aura of death was so stifling, it made their lips dry and their bodies turn cold…

At that moment, Yang Kai opened his eyes and waved his hand, “Come!”

As he spoke, the Black Jade Furnace appeared.

The Black Jade Furnace was a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace which Han Leng, the rogue disciple from Star Soul Palace, had won at an auction in Maplewood City, but in the end, Han Leng had died unexpectedly and this furnace had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands.

Such an Alchemy Furnace was a rare treasure, especially for Alchemist; after all, above it, only Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnaces were superior.

But how could it be so easy to acquire an Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnace? In general, Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnaces were even rarer and more precious than Emperor Artifacts.

When the Black Jade Furnace’s lid opened, a different fragrance from the one the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus gave off instantly spread.

Seeing this Alchemy Furnace and smelling the fragrance that wafted from it, many people’s expressions turned to shock while their confidence in Yang Kai immediately increased by leaps and bounds.

Because no ordinary Alchemist would be worthy of possessing such an Alchemy Furnace, only a Dao Source Grade Alchemist would be qualified to be its owner. What’s more, the strong pill fragrance which came from this Alchemy Furnace was proof it had been used to refine many herbs into pills.

This served as proof that Yang Kai was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!

As soon as the Alchemy Furnace appeared, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged, and hot, invisible Conflagrated Spiritual Energy instantly poured into it, causing the Black Jade Furnace to hum lightly.

“Liu Yan!” Yang Kai whispered again and with a flick of his wrist, a stream of light shot out from his palm.

A loud chirping sound spread across the mountain-top as under everyone’s gaze, a strange-looking Firebird manifested in the sky before it plunged into the Alchemy Furnace.

“An Artifact Spirit!” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up as she couldn’t help calling out in surprise.

At that moment, although she had only caught a glimpse of Liu Yan, she instinctively sensed that this stream of red light was no small matter, and combined with the scene before her, she immediately deduced that it was a Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit!

A Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace and a Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit…

Such a combination of treasures was something most Alchemists could only dream of. With the help of these two, an Alchemist could achieve twice the result with half the effort when refining any Spirit Pill.

Lan Xun couldn’t help but smile and say, “If there are no accidents, Brother Yang should really be able to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Everyone, please be patient and watch.”

Hearing what she said, many people’s expressions lifted as looks of expectation filled their faces.

At the centre of everyone’s attention, Yang Kai had already begun taking out the necessary herbs to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill one by one with a solemn expression.

Next, he methodically threw all kinds of rare herbs into the Alchemy Furnace as he formed different seals with his hands, his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy surging and rolling, portraying various Spirit Arrays inside the furnace.

As he acted, the heat in the Alchemy Furnace changed from time to time unpredictably.

Alchemy required first and foremost a calm mind, and any kind of carelessness could lead to failure. Next, one’s mastery of heat and the timing at which to add herbs was vital…

These were no skills one could acquire overnight. It took years of accumulated experience to master these steps.

Regarding the Alchemic Dao, Yang Kai never had a formal teacher.

However, he seemed to have an extraordinary aptitude and talent for this field. In his early years, he had used the True Alchemic Way left behind by Great Demon God to begin exploring the Alchemic Dao. Later, he obtained the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture from Yang Yan’s Emperor Garden, then the jade slip left by Gong Sun Mu after coming to the Star Boundary…

His Alchemy techniques were a combination of these three inheritances as well as his own insights and innovations.

He did not have a Special Constitution like Xia Ning Chang, who could perform Alchemy as easily as if it were eating or breathing, but Yang Kai had his own unique comprehension.

When to put in what kind of herb, what kind of heat to use, all these things had become so familiar to Yang Kai that he could almost perform them instinctually.

If one wanted to name one specific reason for his current level of skill, it would undoubtedly be the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone Yang Kai had triggered years ago!

The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was a manifestation of the Heavenly Way.

The Heavenly Way had directly imparted its knowledge to him, allowing his Alchemy skills to obtain an unprecedented level of refinement.

But even so, Yang Kai would still put his best whenever performing Alchemy, not daring to show the slightest carelessness.

There was only one Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, and if this refining failed, there would be nothing left. If that happened, he would definitely have to bear the anger of everyone present…

He wasn’t afraid of that though, only that he would ruin this precious spirit flower in vain.

Under such tremendous pressure, his condition actually reached its peak.

*Gululu…*

As time passed, the sound of something boiling emerged from the Alchemy Furnace, which was obviously a sign of the medicinal liquids being condensed. A complex yet sweet fragrance filled the world, one that was both invigorating and refreshing.

Although Yang Kai’s movements weren’t particularly quick, there was a calmness to his gestures which made everyone feel confident in his abilities.

In particular, his ability to smoothly manipulate his Source Qi to control the heat with one hand, while portraying Spirit Arrays inside the furnace with the other, amazed everyone.

Laymen could only see the show, but experts were able to see the method.

Of the cultivators present, almost all had never refined Spirit Pills before, but even if one had never eaten pork, they would still know what a pig was.

Yang Kai’s practice of changing Spirit Arrays repeatedly caused many to be confused, but also elicited admiration.

Just his superb control over the various refinement elements was something no ordinary person could achieve and was obviously the result of a massive amount of talent and practice.

“Senior Brother, do you think Junior Brother Yang can succeed?” Murong Xiao Xiao asked Xiao Bai Yi softly.

“Before the results come out, no one would dare make an assertion,” Xiao Bai Yi replied, but after he said so, he glanced over and asked, “Why? Are you worried about what might happen if he fails?”

Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, “In this situation, if Junior Brother Yang really fails, I’m afraid it will be difficult for him to escape… Although he’s not a disciple of our Temple, he travelled together with us so I hope he does not have an accident.”

“He brought this upon himself,” Xiao Bai Yi snorted coldly, “I still haven’t figured out why he’s bringing so much trouble to himself.”

If Yang Kai had not taken the initiative to stand up and declare he was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist, no one would have guessed he was. However, he stood up and publicly acknowledged he was Dao Source Grade Alchemist and had taken on the task of refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

Even if everything went well though, and the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were successfully refined, Yang Kai didn’t stand to gain any benefits. According to the current situation, once the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were refined, a great battle would surely result, and at that time, who would care about him being the one who refined the Spirit Pills? If he didn’t surrender them, being punched to death was entirely possible…

On the other hand, if things didn’t go well, there would only be one result, Yang Kai being chased to death by everyone!

Doing something so troublesome with no hope of gaining any benefits was the act of a fool.

So Xiao Bai Yi could not figure out why Yang Kai had done this.

Was it just because he was an Alchemist and couldn’t bear seeing a rare spirit flower go to waste? It was true that Alchemists were an eccentric group of people. Sometimes, people would come begging them for Alchemy services but would be ignored; however, if a rare spirit medicine that caught their interest was involved, sometimes they would actually chase after and volunteer their services for free as long as they could be the ones to refine it into a pill.

The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was undoubtedly one of the most precious spirit flowers in the world due to its extreme rarity! Only one Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would ever appear in the world at any one time.

If Yang Kai wanted to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill for this reason, it would make sense.

But… No matter how Xiao Bai Yi looked at it, he couldn’t imagine Yang Kai being such a pedantic person, nor did he seem to be the type who would put himself into danger just for temporary interests.

[Perhaps… he has the confidence to escape under the eyes of all these Masters?]

After this thought flashed across his mind, Xiao Bai Yi couldn’t help but chuckle, secretly feeling that he was thinking too much.

It was undeniable that Yang Kai was strong, but in the end, he was just one person, so how could he escape under the watchful gazes of so many? Just Wu Chang alone would be enough to hold him down.

As the two talked, Yang Kai continued his efforts.

A total of nineteen auxiliary herbs were thrown into the Black Jade Furnace by him and condensed into medicinal liquids.

Finally, at this moment, he stood up, rushed over to the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus in a few steps, and gently sliced off the blossomed flower.

The mature spirit flower was harvested by Yang Kai in an instant.

All that remained was a delicate stem…

In that instant, everyone’s eyes locked onto this stem as greed filled their eyes.

Although they didn’t know why Yang Kai didn’t harvest the entire Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, this stem was undoubtedly an extremely precious treasure. Even if it was not refined into a pill, swallowing it might have some miraculous effects.

And in front of everyone’s eyes, the top of this stem oozed a milky white liquid, one that was pure and flawless, causing many to gulp.

Not only did the ordinary cultivators have their eyes on this stem, but even Masters like Wu Chang and Xia Sheng were focused on it. However, no one acted rashly and instead turned inquiring eyes towards Yang Kai, not knowing why he had acted this way.

Ignoring everyone, Yang Kai ran back to his Alchemy Furnace and carefully continued to control the fire. When it was time, he threw the freshly picked Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into the furnace.

These few simple actions, however, caused a lot of cold sweat to leak from his forehead, as if he had just faced down a terrifying enemy.

The moment the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus entered the furnace, Yang Kai began forming different seals in order to stabilize the situation inside.

Whistling sounds leaked out as the furnace shook, causing Yang Kai to secretly rejoice he had not hesitated to expose Liu Yan’s existence before beginning this refinement.

The difficulty of refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was beyond his expectations, and he knew that if it had not been for Liu Yan’s assistance, he might not have been able to last until the end!

Chapter 2191

Right now, even with Liu Yan’s help, whether this furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills could be refined successfully was debatable. 

However, succeeding now would undoubtedly greatly improve Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Alchemic Dao.

After working frantically for some time, Yang Kai let out a long breath.

By now, all the herbs had been added to the pill furnace, and what remained was for him to control the heat by applying the appropriate Spirit Arrays, then complete the Pill Condensing.

Only now did Yang Kai take a moment to quickly shout, “I advise you not to have any ideas about that stem!”

Although he had been concentrating on Alchemy just now, Yang Kai had not stopped monitoring his surroundings.

He clearly saw that many people were interested in this stem, but they didn’t know if he needed it for some purpose so no one dared rush in to take it.

“Oh, why not?” Zhuang Bu Fan asked doubtfully upon hearing this.

Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn, “This stem is the source of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, if it is left, perhaps within a hundred years another Extraordinary Treasure Lotus will be born in the Star Boundary, but if it is picked… Within ten thousand years, there will be no such spirit flower in this world. There’s no telling when it will be born again.”

“Is that true?” Lan Xun’s eyes flashed as she had never heard such information before.

“Believe what you will!” Yang Kai quickly said.

“That has nothing to do with me!” Wu Chang suddenly shouted, “What problems occur ten thousand years from now can be solved by the people of that time. Since you don’t need this stem, then I’m claiming it for myself!”

“You dare!” Yang Kai turned his head and glared at Wu Chang while simultaneously palming the top of the Black Jade Furnace.

This move caused the complexions of all cultivators present to change drastically, turning nervous as they worried about what Yang Kai was trying to do.

“If you dare to touch it, I’ll ruin this furnace of Spirit Pills!” Yang Kai shouted in a deep voice, his expression calm and determined.

“Hey…” Xia Sheng’s mouth twitched as he stared at Yang Kai in surprise, quickly coaxing, “Brother Yang, why act this way… it’s just a stem. If Brother Wu Chang wants it, just let him have it, it’s not necessary to threaten the Extraordinary Treasure Pills just to stop him.”

He didn’t know what kind of madness had possessed Yang Kai to go so far as to threaten Wu Chang with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.

One had to know that this move was not just a blatant threat to Wu Chang, but to every cultivator present.

One wrong move and Yang Kai would become everyone’s enemy.

Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to him though. “If anyone dares to approach within ten meters, I will immediately destroy this medicinal liquid. Do not test me!”

When these words came out, Wu Chang really didn’t dare to move anymore.

Although the stem looked quite extraordinary, it was definitely not as valuable as the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. Offending Yang Kai over this was obviously not worth it.

“Wu Chang, don’t act hastily!” Xiao Chen was also taken aback and hurriedly called out to Wu Chang.

Wu Chang paused on the spot as he stared at Yang Kai with gloomy eyes and said coldly, “You dare to threaten me!”

“I’m not threatening you…” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a strong light as he said calmly, “I simply wish to preserve hope for future generations.”

Lan Xun smiled hearing this and commented, “I’ve heard that when Alchemists collect rare spirit herbs, they will do their best to preserve the vitality of the original spirit’s medicine. On top of that, they will never collect spirit medicines that are not yet mature… I was a little sceptical about this at first, but now it seems such rumours are true.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Our predecessors planted trees, which allowed us, their descendants, to enjoy cool shade. Who can say for certain that encountering this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus today was not because a senior expert left behind a similar stem a hundred years ago? Others left hope for us, so we should not act to cut off hope for the future, otherwise, it will damage the cycle of the Heavenly Way.”

As soon as he said this, Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up as she revealed a thoughtful look.

“Furthermore…” Yang Kai continued, “This stem does not have any of the magical effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus. At most, it can help slightly temper one’s Source Qi and Spiritual Energy. All the essence of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is already inside the furnace. Brother Wu Chang, are you sure you want this root instead of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills?”

Wu Chang’s face turned ugly. In fact, when Yang Kai said that the stem was not very useful, he had already lost interest in it, but in front of everyone’s eyes, he had no way to back down without losing face, so he could only stand there gloomily and glare ruthlessly.

However, a moment later, the stem suddenly shook before bursting into a million specks of colourful light and disappearing from sight, as if it had never even existed.

“This…” Xiao Chen was dumbfounded.

Yang Kai smiled and said, “Good, now the root has left and no one will be able to find it again.” After a pause, he added, “By the way, if the spirit flower was picked before reaching maturity, the entire Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would have ended up this way.”

Hearing this, many people suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, secretly rejoicing that someone with the appropriate knowledge and foresight was here, otherwise, someone would have definitely picked this spirit flower before it matured and everyone would have lost.

Turning his head, Yang Kai continued to focus on controlling the heat and portraying appropriate Spirit Arrays.

Wu Chang stood awkwardly on the spot for a moment before letting out a cold snort and with a stern expression sat back down.

*Gululu…*

The Black Jade Furnace continued to percolate.

With time, more and more people grew anxious as their eyes darted about, the entire mountaintop gradually filling with a tense atmosphere.

It seemed that everyone was waiting for the moment when the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were completed, and once that happened, chaos would break loose.

Yang Kai knew this as well, but he maintained a state of absolute calm, focusing all his effort into his Alchemy.

At a certain moment, he wore a serious expression and began pouring his Source Qi into the Black Jade Furnace. At the same time, he stood up directly and began forming a complex series of hand seals, injecting a profound and mysterious flower of energy into the Alchemy Furnace.

“Pill Condensing!” It wasn’t clear who shouted these words, but once they did, everyone’s breathing became somewhat rapid as excitement and expectation filled the crowd’s faces.

This was the last step in Alchemy, and if it was executed well, it would lead to a successful refinement, but if it was not, all previous efforts would be in vain.

Yang Kai’s hands danced in a marvellous display, with a solemn expression on his face as big drops of sweat soaked his robes, his whole figure looking like he had been dunked in water as his face turned pale, seemingly exhausting an incredible amount of energy.

But even so, his movements were methodical and calm.

“Can a Pill Condensing method… be so amazing?” Lan Xun’s eyes showed a faint radiance as she stared at Yang Kai’s movements.

Although she was seeing the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method for the first time, that did not prevent her from discovering how profound this Pill Condensing method was. This Pill Condensing method seemed to harmonize perfectly with the Heavenly Way, a dazzling and awe-inspiring sight to behold.

As if inspired by Yang Kai’s movements, a faint resonance of the Heavenly Way began to spread out and fill the air.

It was not surprising for Lan Xun to be entranced though as the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method was a method granted to Yang Kai by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. It was an innate product of Heaven and Earth, and even contained elements of the world’s fundamental truths. 

Lan Xun was able to realize the mysteries of this method with her First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, so the Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators present could as well.

None of them understood why, but as they observed Yang Kai execute his Pill Condensing method, many cultivators were involuntarily drawn into a kind of enlightened state, their tension and anticipation fading away as they unknowingly immersed in a state of comprehension.

At a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly roared, “Solidify!”

Seemingly having exhausted all his strength, Yang Kai patted the furnace with both his palms as his body shook slightly.

Along with his movements, a ding-dong sound suddenly sounded from the Alchemy Furnace.

At the same time, rays of multi-coloured light burst from the Black Jade Furnace.

Success!

At that moment, everyone understood that the refinement of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… had succeeded!

Everyone began pushing their Source Qi, wanting to rush towards the place where Yang Kai stood and snatch this peerless pill that could clear their path to the Emperor Realm.

It was then, though, that the world trembled and a muffled sound echoed in everyone’s head.

An astonishing pressure descended from above, causing everyone to go stiff as some even felt their breath catch in their chest.

Everyone turned their eyes up towards the sky where dark clouds had at some unknown point appeared. Lightning and thunder shuttled across these black clouds as a kind of vast aura filled the air and made all present feel a deep sense of insignificance.

“Pill Tribulation!” Lan Xun exclaimed as a look of panic appeared in her beautiful eyes for the first time.

“So, you’ve come!” Yang Kai mumbled lowly.

Even before he began refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, Yang Kai had faintly guessed that this refining might lead to a Pill Tribulation.

The effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill were too Heaven defying, to the point that its mere existence was intolerable to the Heavens. Once it successfully came into being, the omnipresent World Principles would naturally try to destroy it!

Looking at the ferocity of this Pill Tribulation, it would likely be even more ferocious than if a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator was trying to break through to the Emperor Realm. How could a trivial Spirit Pill withstand such destructive impetus? Likely a single blow would be all that is necessary to disintegrate these pills. Even if Yang Kai was at full strength right now and used everything he had to guard them, whether these newly refined Extraordinary Treasure Pills could survive this Pill Tribulation was doubtful.

Once that happened, all his efforts and everyone’s expectations would burst into nothingness.

At the critical moment, Yang Kai patted his Alchemy Furnace and at the same time moved his Divine Sense.

In the next moment, Liu Yan turned into a ray of flames, shot out from the Black Jade Furnace, and was directly collected by Yang Kai into the Small Sealed World.

Without anyone noticing, Liu Yan had swept away some of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills from the furnace.

At this moment, everyone’s attention had been drawn to the Pill Tribulation, so who would notice Liu Yan’s actions? Even if someone did see Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit return, they would likely not have imagined that she had swept away some of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills as well.

Soon, something that surprised everyone happened.

High up in the sky, the Pill Tribulation which had just condensed began to dissipate, its frightening thunder and lightning fading away and disappearing.

After only ten breaths, calm had been restored, leaving only some lingering fear in everyone’s heart as they glanced around in confusion.

Chapter 2192

“Huh?” Wu Chang frowned as he stared up blankly.

He couldn’t understand why this Pill Tribulation had been like a storm with loud thunder, but no rain. A moment ago, it was raging and the pressure was almost unbearable, but in the next instant the clouds parted and everything was calm.

No one was able to understand.

“Scram!”

At the moment when everyone had been lost in confusion, Yang Kai’s shout rang out and an astonishing surge of Source Qi flared up.

*Peng peng peng peng…* 

It seemed he was fighting someone!

Hearing this movement, everyone’s expressions changed as they quickly turned their attention back to where Yang Kai was standing.

There, Yang Kai stood in place, one hand still on his Alchemy Furnace, the other palming in all directions, creating a flurry of afterimages.

Around him, a figure moved at high speed, trying to approach closer to where Yang Kai stood. It seemed this person wanted to break through Yang Kai’s blockage and snatch the Spirit Pills which had just been refined!

However, no matter how hard this person tried, he was unable to get within three metres of Yang Kai without being forced back.

“Luo Yuan!” Lan Xun’s brow furrowed as she whispered under her breath.

Naturally, she recognized the man who was fighting with Yang Kai was Luo Yuan of Eight Paths Sect!

She didn’t know where he had been hiding before, but clearly, when everyone’s attention had been attracted by the Pill Tribulation, he had stealthily dove in and tried to snatch all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. Unfortunately, Yang Kai blocked him at the last moment, causing his plan to fall short.

It seemed he had underestimated Yang Kai’s strength, thinking that a mere First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator who had just finished a difficult refinement process wouldn’t be his opponent.

Luo Yuan quickly realized he was wrong after he acted though.

Standing in place, Yang Kai seemed to be stuck in an extremely passive situation, but upon closer inspection, it was clear he still had a lot of leeway to act. What’s more, his Source Qi was extremely dense and pure, making it impossible for Luo Yuan to break through his defence in short order.

[I miscalculated!]

Luo Yuan cursed to himself, knowing he had missed this opportunity.

He originally intended to grab the Extraordinary Treasure Pills and flee, but now he had been blocked by Yang Kai. Everyone else had recovered now, and if he did not retreat, Luo Yuan knew he would face everyone else’s besiegement.

Understanding this, Luo Yuan made a feint before lightly withdrawing a hundred metres, glaring at Yang Kai with a gloomy look, as if blaming him for ruining his good deed.

Although Yang Kai’s face was slightly pale, he still grinned and teased, “Brother Luo Yuan’s plans are quite deep. How long have you been waiting to make your move?”

“Hmph!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly and did not answer Yang Kai’s question directly, instead just saying, “You’re not ordinary yourself…”

What he meant was probably that Yang Kai’s true strength was completely inconsistent with his cultivation.

Yang Kai just smiled lightly as he swept his gaze around the crowd. Seeing everyone staring at his Black Jade Furnace fiercely, looking like they were about to attack, he even shouted loudly, “Everyone, wait a moment!”

As soon as this statement came out, everyone actually stood still and didn’t move. Even Wu Chang didn’t rush to take Yang Kai at this moment.

Previously, when Yang Kai and Luo Yuan fought against each other, although it was just a brief exchange, anyone with a bit of vision could see that Yang Kai was not someone easy to deal with. No one present was confident they could defeat him instantly.

Once they were unable to completely and immediately subdue him, others would pounce and the situation would quickly devolve into a chaotic melee.

Such a result was not one anyone wanted to see.

“As you can see, this Yang has not disappointed everyone’s trust, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… have been refined successfully!” As Yang Kai spoke, he even took out a Spirit Pill from his Space Ring and stuffed it into his mouth.

Everyone could clearly see that this Spirit Pill restored Source Qi.

“Now that you’ve finished it, your role here is over. Hand over the Spirit Pills!” Wu Chang said in a commanding tone.

“Heh… this Yang has thought about this matter quite a bit,” Yang Kai smiled, paused for a few breaths, then declared, “These Spirit Pills have indeed been refined, but… I won’t be handing any of them over!”

“What did you say?” Wu Chang’s face suddenly turned cold.

“Boy, you court death!”

“You want sole possession of such Heaven defying Spirit Pills Such arrogance!”

“Brat, I advise you to hand over those Spirit Pills obediently, otherwise we’ll all rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces. You’re all alone, there’s no way to resist the attack of so many people!”

As soon as Yang Kai spoke out, the crowd exploded into a flurry of curses, threats, and even enticements.

Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to all of this as his expression became cold. Glancing around, he snapped, “What kind of nonsense are you all spouting? This Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was first discovered by this Yang, and the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were also refined by this Yang alone! Even the vast majority of the adjuvant herbs for this Spirit Pill were provided by this Yang. All of you just stood there and watched the show, and now you want to obtain these Extraordinary Treasure Pills for nothing? All of you should stop dreaming and wake up!”

“Don’t get cocky, boy!”

“Heh heh, kid, it seems this kid is sleep-talking, daring to boast so shamelessly! I bet he won’t survive past today.”

“Why waste any time with him, let’s just kill him and snatch those Spirit Pills!”

Although Yang Kai had proved his strength just now, making many realize he was not an easy opponent to deal with, with so many of them against him alone, naturally they didn’t put Yang Kai in their eyes.

To everyone, Yang Kai’s current approach was nothing less than courting death! During the clamour, everyone’s eyes were still filled with greed and murderous intent as they stared at Yang Kai.

“It seems like… This was what you planned to do since the beginning, right?” Wu Chang looked at Yang Kai coldly and asked mockingly.

“Of course!” Yang Kai turned to look at him, “I didn’t plan to give these Extraordinary Treasure Pills to you people from the very beginning. Honestly… when I discovered the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, I could have just swallowed it… Even if that would be a waste of the Heavens’ precious gifts, it would still have some effect and it would be better than handing the benefits over to all of you.”

“Bold!” Wu Chang roared furiously, a grin appearing on his face as his momentum suddenly rose and he stepped towards Yang Kai. Every time he took a step, his imposing manner would increase in intensity, like an ancient beast that caused all around him to shudder. “Although your plan wasn’t bad, you need the corresponding strength to implement it. Do you think… you have such ability?”

“If I didn’t…” Yang Kai grinned at him and said, “I wouldn’t have tried!”

If he didn’t have enough confidence, how could he have acted this way? Not only had he exposed himself as a Dao Source Grade Alchemist in front of everyone’s eyes, he even put in the work to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.

Of course, Yang Kai wouldn’t have done all this while only thinking he would lose the benefits to everyone else.

Everything he had done to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, Yang Kai had done for this moment.

As he spoke, he lifted his hand and shouted, “Break!”

Accompanied by this loud shout, a cracking sound suddenly rang out.

At the same time, with Yang Kai as the centre, the space within a radius of three hundred metres shattered like a mirror, with numerous black cracks appearing and swirling about, each one giving off a fatal aura.

A strange power that seemed to communicate with the Heavens and Earth filled the air!

Wu Chang stopped abruptly as he stared at the space in front of him, his expression fluctuating as he examined this new phenomenon.

“Void Cracks!”

“Space Principles!”

Cries rang out one after another as the faces of everyone present filled with shock and amazement!

Space Principles…

The strange scene before them was definitely the result of someone manipulating Space Principles, there was no other explanation for affecting space so dramatically.

Anyone who wanted to enter this three hundred metre radius region of shattered space, would have to be prepared to risk being sliced apart by these Void Cracks.

“You actually… comprehended this esoteric Dao?” Wu Chang ground his teeth and roared, his expression full of unwillingness and anger, as if Yang Kai had just brutally insulted him.

The Dao of Space was one of the rarest and most difficult Daos to comprehend. Yang Kai being proficient in this esoteric Dao naturally made Wu Chang feel unwilling to accept.

“In this world, there is actually someone who can manipulate Space Principles to such an extent with such a low cultivation?” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes were filled with shock and admiration as he gazed towards Yang Kai’s direction.

Because of the fluctuating Space Principles, it was hard for her to even pinpoint Yang Kai’s position, as he seemed both near and far at the same time.

Under the interference of this kind of field, it would be impossible for others to attack him.

“Maybe he’s just using some kind of artifact!” Xiao Chen said with dissatisfaction, “Didn’t he have an Emperor Artifact? It seems this kid has an unusual background. He must be using some kind of Space-type artifact!”

Lan Xun frowned and didn’t bother paying any attention to him.

Although it was indeed possible to achieve this kind of effect with a powerful artifact, there were no signs Yang Kai had used anything of the sort just now. Lan Xun had clearly seen him raise his hand and release his aura before the surrounding Space Principles distorted.

This was definitely his own strength.

“This kid…” On the other side, Xia Sheng, who has been on the edge the entire time, wryly smiled.

After Yang Kai refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, Xia Sheng had begun sending him covert messages, asking him to cooperate with them.

However, Yang Kai had ignored him completely and instead pulled off this stunt…

“It seems like he doesn’t need any help!” Xiao Bai Yi said thoughtfully.

“En,” Xia Sheng narrowed his gaze. “If he’s proficient in the Dao of Space, he can definitely do ‘that’… If he has such skill, he really doesn’t need to fear anyone here, but…”

“But what?” Xiao Bai Yi looked at Xia Sheng curiously.

“Why doesn’t he then?” Xia Sheng looked at Yang Kai in confusion, “Wouldn’t it be best for him to just run away with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills? Him staying here and taunting everyone doesn’t make any sense, does it?”

Hearing what he said, Xiao Bai Yi was also at a loss, completely unable to figure out Yang Kai’s intentions.

On the other side, Wu Chang’s face went from black to blue as he stared at Yang Kai silently for a moment before muttering, “Do you think you’re safe hiding behind that screen?”

Yang Kai smiled and said, “Does Brother Wu Chang want to try?”

“I was just about to!” Wu Chang exclaimed.

Chapter 2193

As Wu Chang’s anger boiled over, a figure suddenly shot out.

It was not Wu Chang that moved first, but Luo Yuan.

Using some kind of extremely profound Movement Skill, Luo Yuan approached the region affected by Space Principles and stood mid-air, looking down coldly as he lifted his hands up high, clenched them into a double hammer-fist, and smashed down.

Violent energy surged.

Behind Luo Yuan, a phantom image several dozen meters high suddenly appeared. This figure was humanoid in shape, but indistinct in features. Raising its two great hands, it mirrored Luo Yuan’s actions perfectly.

*Hong…*

After a breath, there was a loud noise as the huge phantom fists slammed into the shattered space.

Yang Kai’s face darkened.

The swirling Void Cracks around him were collapsing rapidly as the region of shattered space he had created was broken open at that moment.

Before he could react, Wu Chang leapt out from a blind spot in Yang Kai’s field of vision behind Luo Yuan. In Wu Chang’s hands were two swords, one flawlessly white, one fiery red.

The swords crossed and created a brilliant radiance.

Just as Wu Chang crossed his sword, a surge of Sword Qi burst forth and he shouted, “Sword Prison, Sealing Four Poles!”

*Chi chi chi chi…*

A sword wave visible to the naked eye flooded out, forming an invisible field that sealed off the surrounding space.

Everyone was shocked and awed.

Wu Chang and Luo Yuan were two of the Southern Territory’s top elites and the little interaction they had before had only resulted in friction between them, but at this moment, they were working together flawlessly. As the first to move, Luo Yuan had broken through Yang Kai’s Space Principles, after which Wu Chang followed up by sealing Yang Kai’s actions.

In this way, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he would be reduced to a turtle hiding in its shell.

The two had executed their techniques with near-perfect timing. Even blood brothers who had lived their entire lives together may not have been able to achieve such a level of coordination.

But these two cultivators from different backgrounds did just that with only their innate judgments and fighting instincts.

“This is bad!” Xia Sheng’s expression changed as he shouted.

On the other side, Wu Chang sneered, “Now you die!”

As he spoke, the swords in his hands trembled as a storm of red and white sword light shot towards Yang Kai.

He didn’t show any mercy, obviously planning to kill Yang Kai in one strike.

In front of everyone’s eyes, the storm swallowed Yang Kai directly and shattered his body. Even the Black Jade Furnace beside him was shattered…

“What!?” Just as everyone was lost in amazement, they saw this terrible scene and couldn’t help letting out pained cries.

Although Yang Kai’s death had nothing to do with them and they didn’t care one bit about it, if the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were destroyed in the process, it was a result no one could accept. Now, Wu Chang would become the greatest sinner rather than Yang Kai!

As for Wu Chang though, he didn’t show the slightest joy after his strike went well and instead just stood there frowning.

Luo Yuan was the same as he raised his eyes and looked around as if he was searching for something. The phantom giant behind him also gradually faded away.

“My patience is limited…” a voice suddenly came from the side.

After hearing this voice, everyone turned to see Yang Kai standing mid-air a short distance away, completely unharmed, holding the Alchemy Furnace in his hands. Sweeping a gloomy glare around, Yang Kai shouted loudly, “Just now, I’ll consider your actions a test of whether I am qualified to discuss terms with all of you. Now that the results are clear though, if someone still doesn’t know their limitations and dares to attack me… I’ll eat all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills in this furnace!”

“Madman, madman!”

“This guy is insane!”

“Brother Yang, aren’t you afraid eating so many pills will be bad for you? Why not give one to me so I can share your burden?”

Wu Chang frowned as he muttered in a low voice, “Like I thought, he can teleport!”

He had already guessed earlier that since Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he could leap across space and teleport, which was why he tried to seal the region around him in order to catch him.

He had coordinated with Luo Yuan flawlessly to achieve this, but they still weren’t able to trap Yang Kai.

In fact, Wu Chang didn’t even notice when Yang Kai had teleported away.

From this point alone, he knew that no one here could capture Yang Kai.

It seemed the rumours about cultivators who were proficient in the Dao of Space being unrivalled when it came to escaping and tracking were true!

If someone wanted to kill or capture Yang Kai, only three methods were valid. Either invite a cultivator with a huge enough advantage in strength over Yang Kai that they could crush him in one blow instantly to act, so there was no chance the latter could use teleport away, lure Yang Kai into an independent space that he could not escape from, or set up a barrier to seal space to trap him inside.

In the Four Seasons Realm, no one could do this.

In here, Yang Kai could come and go as he pleased!

“So Brother Yang’s intentions are… to negotiate with us?” Lan Xun raised her brow as she read between the lines of Yang Kai’s words just now.

“Princess is correct!” Yang Kai grinned, “Or at least, half-correct.”

“Please elaborate!” Lan Xun smiled.

“The ones I need to negotiate with are them, not with you, Princess.” As Yang Kai spoke, he reached into his Alchemy Furnace and took out a round, longan sized, pure white Spirit Pill.

A refreshing aroma immediately diffused.

“An Extraordinary Treasure Pill!” A cry of excitement came from the crowd as everyone stared at this Spirit Pill fiercely, all of them identifying it as the legendary pill which could help them reach the Emperor Realm!

“One of the key herbs used to refine these Extraordinary Treasure Pills was provided by Her Highness, so this Yang will deliver one to her in accordance with our previous agreement. Please accept it!” Yang Kai held the Spirit Pill out towards Lan Xun.

“Oh? Brother Yang is willing to fulfil that agreement?” Lan Xun looked at him with some surprise. She thought Yang Kai would renege on this promise, but now it appeared things were a little different from her expectations.

Yang Kai said in a serious tone, “This is only natural. These Extraordinary Treasure Pills could only be successfully refined thanks to the Jade Blood Mushroom provided by Princess. Without that Jade Blood Mushroom, there would be no Extraordinary Treasure Pills at this moment, so naturally giving one to Princess is appropriate… As for the others, without contributing anything or putting in any effort, they want to swallow these pills?” Snorting disdainfully, “They must be dreaming.”

“Brother Yang’s reasoning is fair,” Lan Xun nodded lightly before saying seriously. “If that is the case, then Little Sister will accept.”

Saying so, she lightly stepped towards Yang Kai.

Not long after, she arrived in front of Yang Kai, took the Spirit Pill in hand, and quietly whispered, “Many thanks!”

“Princess is too polite,” Yang Kai responded with a smile. “It would be best if Princess can take this Spirit Pill immediately. The Extraordinary Treasure Pill is different from ordinary Spirit Pills in that its effects are permanent and cumulative. The sooner one takes it, the better its efficacy will be. When Princess attempts to break through to the Emperor Realm, the Extraordinary Treasure Pill will still provide the maximum benefits!”

“Then… I’ll eat it now!” Lan Xun said and popped the Extraordinary Treasure Pill into her delicate mouth before swallowing it down.

*Gudong…*

The gulping sound did not come from Lan Xun, but from the onlookers below. Everyone watched Lan Xun take this Spirit Pill and unconsciously swallowed their saliva.

“Princess is extremely talented, so with the help of this Spirit Pill, reaching the Emperor Realm is surely just around the corner. This Yang wishes Princess prosperity and a swift ascension to the peak of the Martial Dao!”

“I’ll accept your kind words,” Lan Xun smiled lightly.

“Are you finished with your flattery?” Wu Chang suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two with an unhappy expression, glaring at Yang Kai coldly as he said, “I understand what you’re doing now.”

“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow and looked at Wu Chang, “Let’s hear what Brother Wu Chang’s guess is then.”

“Hmph!” Wu Chang coldly snorted, “The Extraordinary Treasure Pills have been refined, and you are proficient in the Dao of Space, so you could leave here at any time, but you didn’t. Instead, you stayed here and chattered on endlessly; you even deliberately took out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill to seduce everyone. Obviously, you want to exchange these Extraordinary Treasure Pills for something from the people here…”

After a short pause, he continued, “You’re quite shrewd too. You know that even if you leave the Four Seasons Realm with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, you may not be able to protect yourself. As long as the cultivators here bring this news back to their forces, the Emperor Realm Masters outside won’t let you leave easily. They may not go so far as to use their strength and status to snatch things from you, but they will surely make you hand over the Extraordinary Treasure Pills while giving you some meagre compensation…”

“However, instead of passively accepting whatever compensation they offer, it would be better to take the initiative and seize as many benefits as you can here!” He finally concluded.

“Am I right?”

Yang Kai looked at Wu Chang in amazement, seemingly dumbfounded.

After a while, he applauded loudly and nodded, “I really didn’t think Brother Wu Chang was such a sharp-minded person.”

His remarks undoubtedly acknowledged what Wu Chang said.

In fact, this was precisely Yang Kai’s plan.

The Extraordinary Treasure Pills were extremely precious, and if it were possible, Yang Kai would have preferred keeping them all for himself. In the future, he might be able to use them to exchange for some precious items he needed. Yang Kai was certain that once they heard the three words ‘Extraordinary Treasure Pill’, no individual or Sect would refuse to trade with him, not even Star Soul Palace.

However… Just as Wu Chang said, even if he brought the Extraordinary Treasure Pills out from the Four Seasons Realm, it would be absolutely impossible to bring them away with him. The Emperor Realm Masters waiting outside the exit, would certainly not let him just leave.

The best-case scenario would be the Emperors dividing up his Extraordinary Treasure Pills and then paying him a few Source Crystals or treasures as compensation.

This was not what Yang Kai wanted to see.

He would settle things on his own terms. Even if it meant suffering a slight loss, he wouldn’t let others interfere.

Chapter 2194

“So he was planning this all along!” Xia Sheng showed a sudden look of realization.

Before now, he had been puzzled by Yang Kai’s seemingly trouble-seeking actions, but now it turned out everything was intentional. The reason he had wanted to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, and then try to swallow up everything on his own, was simply to create this situation where he could bargain with everyone for benefits.

This must have been his intent from the start.

The conditions to successfully implement this plan were quite harsh…

First, Yang Kai needed strong confidence in his own Alchemy skills to simply refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. If he had failed at this step, everything else would have fallen apart.

Second, he needed absolute confidence in his own strength, not only so he could fend off anyone who tried to attack him, but also so he could successfully escape.

But now, it seemed that Yang Kai had met both of these conditions, and the end result was him being able to pull off this daring plot perfectly!

He had the ability to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, and he had the ability to come and go as he pleased right in front of all these Masters’ eyes…

The initiative had always laid with Yang Kai, and everyone else who had been dreaming about the Extraordinary Treasure Pills had been played by him.

When everyone had been watching Yang Kai perform Alchemy, there must have been no one who thought things would turn out to be like this, right? If they knew what they knew now, likely, no one would have waited for Yang Kai to try refining the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into pills and instead would have just tried to snatch it from him.

This fellow… had a real talent for exceeding expectations and annoying others!

However, that did not diminish people’s admiration for his guts and courage.

This kind of action was equivalent to making enemies of everyone present, and the slightest mistake would have resulted in death. Without extreme boldness and courage, who could accomplish such a feat?

Considering all this. Xia Sheng’s expression changed again as he secretly re-evaluated Yang Kai as a cunning bastard.

After he succeeded in refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, Yang Kai had given the first one to Lan Xun. The supposed reason for this was because Lan Xun had provided the necessary Jade Blood Mushroom, which followed the agreement made before, but in fact… Yang Kai probably didn’t want to become enemies with Lan Xun.

After all, Lan Xun’s identity was unique. No one wanted to find themselves at odds with her.

Even if it weren’t for her providing the Jade Blood Mushroom at that time, Yang Kai would likely have found some other way to make Lan Xun accept this Spirit Pill. For instance, he could ask her to testify to the efficacy of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. After Lan Xun accepted such a proposal, it would be impossible for her to embarrass him. On the contrary, after exiting the Four Seasons Realm, she would likely put in a good word for him!

This was tantamount to securing himself a safety net.

For a time, words like ‘crafty’, ‘sly’, ‘cunning’, etc. flashed across Xia Sheng’s mind…

“Enough idle talk!” Wu Chang snapped, “What do you want in exchange?”

“What do I want in exchange for these, heh heh heh…” Yang Kai smiled without saying a word, his aloof expression causing many to feel an impulse to rush up and beat him up.

“I have a matter I am curious about…” Zhuang Bu Fan seemed to have recovered from his Source Qi’s competition with Yang Kai already and stood up with a ruddy face. Looking at Yang Kai, he asked, “Brother Yang, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… how many are there?”

When this statement came out, Xiao Chen couldn’t help shouting, “Yes, this Xiao was also wondering just how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills there are.”

A single furnace of Spirit Pills could only produce a limited number of pills. Even if the greatest Emperor Grade Alchemist used the Star Boundary’s most profound Alchemy techniques, the maximum number of pills they could refine from a single set of ingredients was nine!

In other words, this furnace could at most contain nine Extraordinary Treasure Pills.

In reality, depending on the level of Alchemist, their condition during the refinement, the profundity of their Pill Condensing Technique, and the quality of the herbs they used, the number of Spirit Pills they refined would vary.

No matter how good an Alchemist was, or how ideal the circumstances were, refining a full nine pills was a rare occurrence.

The grade of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was not low, and Yang Kai’s achievements as an Alchemist weren’t too high, so it was impossible for there to be nine Extraordinary Treasure Pills. The most likely scenario was three or four. Even two was a possibility…

Before exchanging with Yang Kai, at the very least, people wanted to inquire about how many chances there were. This was a basic principle of bargaining.

However, to everyone’s surprise, when Yang Kai heard this, he simply smiled again and said, “There’s a few of them… heh heh heh…”

Zhuang Bu Fan’s brow furrowed as he called out, “Brother Yang, please stop making trouble… We’re trying to discuss business with you.”

Yang Kai glanced at him before casually saying, “Then I’ll count.”

“Please do, Brother Yang!” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded.

In front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai really opened the Alchemy Furnace and looked inside.

The moment he opened the lid, countless Divine Senses shrouded Yang Kai from all directions, wanting to get a glimpse!

But before these people could see clearly what the situation was, Yang Kai covered the Alchemy Furnace, glanced around with a displeased expression, and coldly snorted, “Originally, I was going to tell you how many Spirit Pills there were; after all, it’s not a big deal either way… but this Yang is getting tired of everyone using such rude and voyeuristic methods, so this Yang has decided…”

He paused, whipping up everyone’s appetites.

“To not tell you!” Yang Kai said loudly.

“Bastard!”

“Boy, are you messing with us?”

“I didn’t try to peep just now! Brother Yang, quietly tell me please!”

Yang Kai scanned the surroundings with cold eyes, pointed in several directions, and said, “The people who just cursed at me can scram. No matter what kind of price you offer, I won’t give you an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.”

As soon as he said this, a number of cultivators wore ugly expressions as they hurriedly begged for forgiveness.

Yang Kai snorted loudly and then, under everyone’s shocked gaze, did something astonishing.

Reaching his hand into the Alchemy Furnace, Yang Kai snatched and brought out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill identical to the one he had given Lan Xun just now.

Then… he opened his mouth and threw this Extraordinary Treasure Pill directly into his mouth.

*Gabeng gabeng…*

With a loud crunching sound, Yang Kai chomped on the Extraordinary Treasure Pill like it was a piece of candy as he put an expression of supreme bliss onto his face, turning his eyes up towards the Heavens as if he was immersed in a joyful sensation he simply could not describe in words.

Everyone was shocked, everyone was stunned.

*Gudong…*

After a moment, along with the sound of swallowing, Yang Kai belched and patted his belly with a satisfied expression, “Tasty!”

Only then did he turn his attention back to the crowd and grin subtly, “No matter how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills there were before, now there is one less. There aren’t many left! If any of these friends wants an Extraordinary Treasure Pills, they’d best act quickly. Come forward and offer up a price to this Yang, first come, first served, if you don’t hurry there’ll be none left…”

His demeanour and tone completely changed to that of a market hawker, spouting wondrous and colourful descriptions of his wares.

As he spoke, Yang Kai added, “As for what I will exchange them for… En, just show me whatever you obtained in the Four Seasons Realm. If this Yang takes a liking to it, he’ll trade for it, if not, I won’t. Good. All sales are voluntary, please step right up!”

Saying so, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and patted his Alchemy Furnace before slowing landing and once again agitating the surrounding Space Principles to create another shattered space around himself like before.

Void Cracks swam back and forth, forming a deadly cage that moved and behaved erratically.

Any cultivator that attempted to break into this shattered space would be cut down by the wandering Space Principles!

Of course, this technique could also be forcibly broken like how Luo Yuan did before, but doing so would definitely result in Yang Kai escaping.

Having learned their lesson already, no one was interested in challenging Yang Kai anymore.

“I’ll come, I’ll come!”

“Damn, let me come first, whoever dares to cut in front of me, I’ll kill their whole family!”

“Who touched this Mistress’ butt just now!? Stand up, name yourself, and admit your crimes and this Mistress swears she won’t harm you… much.”

In that instant, a chaotic scene erupted as everyone swarmed up, pushing and shoving one another in a lively fashion.

As for the Masters who had some fame to their names, out of self-respect they stood quietly in place and did not join in the excitement. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to exchange for the Extraordinary Treasure Pills with Yang Kai, but if they were to act so uncouthly at this moment, it would be too big a loss of face…

However, just by looking at their expressions, it was clear they were anxious as well.

After all, no one knew how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills Yang Kai had, and they also didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to exchange them for, so if they were too late, they’d end up with nothing.

“Enough! Enter one by one, anyone who dares try to break in, don’t blame this Yang for being ruthless,” Yang Kai sat down in the middle of his shattered space and snorted coldly.

After these words fell, the wandering Void Cracks seemed to recede along a certain path just big enough for a single person to pass through.

Seeing this, a cultivator standing nearby swiftly charged inside.

After he entered, the opening was immediately closed again, blocking others out.

The noise suddenly died down as everyone looked at the first cultivator who entered with scorching eyes and anxiety on their brows.

After this person entered the shattered space, he couldn’t help pausing to observe the erratic Void Cracks, wondering if they would soon descend on him and slice him apart, but seeing that he was still safe, he quickly brushed off his clothes and strode towards Yang Kai.

As he approached, he squeezed out a smile on his face, cupped his fists, and said, “This one is Chang…”

“I’m not interested in where you’re from or what your name is,” Yang Kai interrupted him with no trace of politeness and said flatly, “Take out your harvest from the Four Seasons Realm and let me see if there is anything that catches my eye!”

“Yes, yes!” The man surnamed Chang nodded repeatedly, not paying any mind to Yang Kai’s rudeness. Swiftly, he took out a few things from his Space Ring and presented them in front of Yang Kai before falling silent and waiting nervously.

Yang Kai took a look, then looked up at this man and asked, “Is this everything you gained inside?”

Chapter 2195

A man surnamed Chang nodded, “Yes, this is everything!”

“Okay, then you can pack your things and get out!” Yang Kai waved at him.

“Ah…” The man surnamed Chang’s face changed as he cried out, “Brother Yang, please take another…”

“Out, out!” Yang Kai waved his hand again, stirring the Space Principles to directly teleport this person outside before he shouted, “Next!”

After the man came back to his senses, he found that he was already standing far away from Yang Kai and couldn’t help feeling annoyed. Stomping his foot, he cursed himself for failing to grasp this great opportunity, and also Yang Kai for being so ruthless…

On the contrary, the others around him were clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune…

However, Wu Chang, Xiao Chen, and the other Masters wore solemn expressions at this moment.

Because they saw what Yang Kai had just done and could tell that his proficiency in the Dao of Space was at an astonishing level!

Not only could he teleport himself, but he could even teleport others away!

Of course, the premise was surely that the other person was inside the special shattered space Yang Kai had created, but even so, it was still a shocking display of skill.

How could a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator possibly comprehend the esoteric Dao of Space to such an extent?

With such ability, who in the Dao Source Realm could kill him?

Just as everyone’s expressions fluctuated, another person passed through the gap and walked up to Yang Kai.

It was a woman this time and she wore no markings to identify which force she belonged to, but that did nothing to hide her enchanting looks and glamorous dress. A deep cut on her robes exposed a large amount of snow-white skin and each step she took caused her great peaks to ripple intoxicatingly, dizzying and dazzling those who saw…

She walked up to Yang Kai and smiled charmingly, not hurrying to bring out her treasures to exchange with Yang Kai and instead softly whispering, “Little Brother, Big Sister didn’t have many gains in this place, what should she do to move you?”

Yang Kai looked up at her, his eyes fixing on her chest as he grinned meaningfully, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know, so I asked you…” She whispered in response, slowly squatting down while ‘accidentally’ exposing more of her spring scenery.

“Girl, are you trying to seduce me…” Yang Kai took a deep breath and reached out to hold the woman’s delicate, silky hand.

“Nonsense!” The woman glared at Yang Kai angrily, but she didn’t rush to take her hand back. Instead, she showed a shy expression that could tickle the hearts of any man.

At the same time, a faint scent wafted from this woman’s tender body, one that was quite weak but seemed to have some kind of magical effect, causing the blood of men around her to boil and their minds to numb.

“Shameless!” Lan Xun spurned from a long distance away.

“Utterly shameless!” Murong Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement.

“How improper!” Xia Sheng gritted his teeth, his eyes glowing with red light as he stared at Yang Kai and spat indignantly, “It’s… too enviable!”

“Little Brother…” The woman seemed to want to use her unique charms to gain some advantage, but as soon as these words were spoken, her face changed drastically and she jumped back from Yang Kai, a vigilant and angry look on her face.

Yang Kai on the other hand was now holding a Space Ring in his hand, releasing his Divine Sense to check its content.

As soon as the woman lowered her head, her pretty face became even uglier as she found that the Space Ring she had been wearing had disappeared at some point. Obviously, she hadn’t even noticed when Yang Kai had snatched it from her.

“As I thought, there’s nothing good!” After Yang Kai muttered, he threw the Space Ring back to the woman.

The woman caught it as her chest heaved up and down, gritting her teeth as she snapped, “You…”

“Hmm, you have quite some unique undergarments inside though. They’re quite fascinating all on their own, but… perhaps we should find some time to sit down together and study them…” Yang Kai looked at the woman and said with a smile.

“Who would want to study anything with you, you bastard! Bastard, bastard, bastard!” The woman blushed, stomped her foot, turned around, and rushed out. Feeling the ridiculing eyes of everyone fixed on her, she didn’t want to remain even a moment longer and hurriedly flew towards the exit.

Yang Kai scratched his nose and muttered lightly, “It’s fine if you don’t want to discuss things, but there’s no need to curse me like that.”

He had an innocent expression on his face, but soon he cracked his neck and shouted, “Next!”

Immediately another person rushed in.

Time flew by, and half an hour soon passed…

The number of people who had already tried to exchange with Yang Kai for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill had surpassed thirty, but even until this moment, no one had succeeded.

At first, everyone was worried about being too late to obtain any benefits, but now it seemed those worries were superfluous because whatever Yang Kai wanted was surely extremely rare. Otherwise, there would have been at least someone by now who had won him over.

After realizing this, the rest of the cultivators weren’t so hurried.

Everyone was now just secretly calculating what they should take out to satisfy Yang Kai’s appetite in exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

Although Yang Kai had said before that he wanted something they had harvested from the Four Seasons Realm, everyone present was a Dao Source Realm Master, so how could their Space Rings be lacking good things? Yang Kai shouldn’t be able to tell where those things came from.

As such, the later cultivators not only took out all their gains from the Four Seasons Realm but also selectively took out precious items from their Space Rings, hoping to catch Yang Kai’s eye.

The value of these items was not low, and some of them even made Yang Kai’s eyes shine, but he still resisted the urge to trade for them.

Because the number of Extraordinary Treasure Pills he possessed was truly small, and he needed them to exchange for what he needed most!

The Tribulation Fruit!

Since deciding to keep all the Extraordinary Treasure Pills for himself, Yang Kai was prepared to exchange them first and foremost for the Tribulation Fruit, otherwise, he would not have made such a strange request to have everyone bring out their harvests from the Four Seasons Realm!

Earlier, although he found the Tribulation Fruit’s tree in the Realm of Winter, the spirit fruit itself had already been picked.

The cultivators that had entered the Four Seasons Realm were all basically gathered here now, so if nothing unexpected happened, the Tribulation Fruit would be in the hands of someone here!

In order to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill from Yang Kai, no one would conceal the treasures they had acquired…

In other words, the Tribulation Fruit would appear in front of Yang Kai sooner or later, he just needed to wait patiently!

“Brother Yang, please look at these things and see if there is anything you want.”

While Yang Kai was lost in thought, a woman walked up to him and brought out a number of items from her Space Ring for him to see.

Yang Kai collected himself and scanned the items.

He had done this many times, and always ended up disappointed, but this time…

“Hm?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he stared straight at a certain item.

It was not the Tribulation Fruit, but rather something else he was quite concerned about.

After seeing this thing, one of his previous guesses had partially been confirmed.

Yang Kai was deeply surprised inside, but he maintained an indifferent expression on his face and quickly turned his gaze away to examine the other objects the woman had taken out.

There were a dozen spirit medicines that although rare, weren’t too precious. There were also eight Monster Beast Cores of good quality, but their grade wasn’t very high. Lastly, there was a bright red stone with strange patterns on its surface that if one used their Divine Sense to investigate, they would feel a strong heat hidden inside of.

Yang Kai immediately had an idea and as he looked at the red stone, exclaimed, “A Fire Spirit Stone!”

The woman was taken aback as she involuntarily stepped back several steps before stabilizing her figure and looking at Yang Kai with joy, “Do you need this?”

She didn’t have much hope when she came here to trade with Yang Kai; after all, before her, more than thirty people had come and gone without succeeding.

Without knowing what Yang Kai was looking for, the initiative for this kind of transaction lay completely in his hands. Whether other people could exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, they could only count on their luck.

But what she didn’t expect was that Yang Kai showed great interest in the strange stone she had picked up by chance, giving her a glimmering of hope!

If things went well, she would have a chance to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill!

Outside, the onlookers couldn’t help looking shocked.

This wasn’t a surprise though as this was the first time Yang Kai had shown any interest. The people who had gone in to exchange with him before only evoked looks of disappointment and impatience.

For a moment, everyone was curious and wanted to see what the woman had taken out which could arouse Yang Kai’s interest.

But no one was able to see anything…

Under the influence of the swirling Space Principles, the region around Yang Kai was filled with innumerable Void Cracks, making it impossible for anyone to send their Divine Sense in to probe what was happening…

Yang Kai looked up at the woman and found that she was quite sweet and lovely, with a round flushed face and a petite, exquisite figure. Her cultivation wasn’t too high, only Second-Order Dao Source Realm, and it was unclear which Sect she belonged to.

Perhaps because of Yang Kai’s shameless interaction with the other woman before, this round-faced woman couldn’t help feeling a little nervous and wary when she saw him staring at her.

She hurriedly explained, “This is something I found accidentally in the Realm of Summer…”

“This is a good thing!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “I do have some interest.”

“Really?” The round-faced woman showed a look of pleasant surprise, “Then can we…”

“No!” Yang Kai shook his head.

“Ah…” The round-faced woman immediately showed a disappointed expression.

“Yang Kai, know your limits!” For some reason, Luo Yuan suddenly shouted from outside, seemingly very dissatisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude.

“Shut up!” Yang Kai gave him a blank look, “don’t call out for no reason, just mind your own damn business!”

Chapter 2196

After snapping at Luo Yuan, Yang Kai turned back to the round-faced woman and asked seriously, “You know what the effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill are, right?”

The woman nodded, “I know.”

“Then how precious it is, you must also understand.”

The woman nodded again.

Yang Kai smiled and said, “Then do you think this trivial Fire Spirit Stone can be exchanged for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill?”

A trace of embarrassment appeared on the woman’s face as she pursed her red lips and replied quietly and honestly, “No…”

“That’s right. The value of these two treasures is nowhere near equivalent. Although I am interested in your Fire Spirit Stone, trading for it would obviously be a big loss for me…” Yang Kai chattered on before finally saying, “Only a fool would accept such a deal, right?”

“Then do you want something else? I can give you anything I have,” the round-faced woman said anxiously. She was no fool and could naturally understand what Yang Kai was implying. Yang Kai just said that this exchange would be a loss for him, not that he wouldn’t trade with her. Hearing this, she immediately knew that Yang Kai wanted something more from her, so she gritted her teeth and said, “I can give you all of these items!”

“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brows, revealing a pensive expression, as if debating whether to accept.

In all fairness, the value of these things taken out by this round-faced woman wasn’t low, but it was still a bit lacking to exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, but… if the thing that Yang Kai was eying now really had the effect he thought it did, that alone would be enough to exchange for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

“Is this still not enough?” The woman seemed very eager to obtain this Extraordinary Treasure Pill, so seeing Yang Kai’s hesitant expression, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

“If you can come up with some Source Crystals as well, then this deal can…”

Before Yang Kai finished speaking, the round-faced woman stretched out her hand and touched her Space Ring. The next moment, a large pile of Source Crystals appeared in front of Yang Kai. A rough count put the number at a hundred thousand.

“This is every last Source Crystal I have,” the woman said.

“Alright then!” Seeing this, Yang Kai smiled immediately and said, “Since Sister is so sincere, I will trade you an Extraordinary Treasure Pill for all of these!”

“Really?” The woman’s voice trembled as she almost cried out with joy, staring at Yang Kai with gratitude and pleasant surprise, as if she couldn’t believe she had actually succeeded.

After all, there were so many people who failed before her. She had not been expecting to successfully conclude a deal here and had previously come with a mentality of trying her luck. But now, it appeared she had stumbled upon great fortune so she was naturally quite joyful. Unable to control her emotions, she covered her mouth with her delicate hands as her eyes became somewhat wet.

Yang Kai reached into his Alchemy Furnace, took out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, and handed it to the woman as he said, “Since I said I would exchange with you, I will certainly keep my word!”

The woman then stretched out a pair of small hands and tremblingly took the pure white Spirit Pill, holding it extremely delicately as if she was afraid it would break, carefully examining it with her eyes.

Yang Kai started to pack the various treasures and Source Crystals the young woman had taken out into his Space Ring, but when he picked up a certain unremarkable yellow bead, he quietly poured his Source Qi and Divine Sense into it and found it gave no response at all…

At that moment, Yang Kai felt ecstatic and hurriedly put the bead away.

At the same time, the cultivators outside were in an uproar.

Almost everyone’s eyes were now glaring hotly at the back of the round-faced woman.

Although they didn’t see exactly what the woman took out and reached a deal with Yang Kai, at this moment, they knew the woman had an Extraordinary Treasure Pill in her hands.

Extraordinary Treasure Pills in Yang Kai’s hands, they didn’t dare have any ideas about, but this young woman was nothing more than a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so she became the target of ulterior motives.

Soon, Yang Kai finished packing up.

He glanced at the cultivators outside before turning to the round-faced woman and sighing lightly, “Sister!”

“En, what else does this Elder Brother wish to discuss?” The round-faced woman seemed to have recovered from her initial joy and asked politely.

“I only want to tell you a simple truth!” Yang Kai smiled lightly.

“What?”

“An ordinary man is innocent, but treasures make one guilty!” Yang Kai said sternly.

The woman was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly understood and nodded gratefully towards Yang Kai, “Many thanks for reminding me.”

Yang Kai nodded and said, “Since you understand, I advise you to take this Extraordinary Treasure Pill now. As I said earlier, this Extraordinary Treasure Pill does not need to be taken at the moment of breakthrough, but rather the sooner one takes it, the better its effects will be when the time comes. Right now, you are still just a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator so it is the perfect time to take this. If Sister is comfortable, this Yang can stand guard for you for a moment while you take it. In any case, it won’t cause much of a delay.”

“No no no!” The round-faced woman waved her hands quickly and whispered, “I have… another use for this Extraordinary Treasure Pill!”

A light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes before he nodded lightly, “Then Sister should do as she pleases!”

“Many thanks for exchanging for this Spirit Pill with me. En, you’re a good person!” The round-faced woman smiled sweetly at Yang Kai before turning around and directly walking out.

Looking at her back, Yang Kai sighed helplessly.

He had said what should be said, but the other party refused to accept his advice and insisted on taking the Extraordinary Treasure Pill away. Obviously, this would cause some trouble. In fact… the best way to handle the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was to take it directly which would result in others losing interest in snatching it.

The only other viable option was to have strength on par with Wu Chang or Xiao Chen’s, enough to deter others from having unnecessary ideas.

Yang Kai could easily predict the trouble this round-faced woman would soon encounter…

Sure enough, things turned out just as he expected. Even before this young woman walked out of the shattered space, a number of people flew at her from all directions with unkind intentions.

Although in front of everyone’s eyes, acting so disgracefully was truly disgusting, since it was related to an Extraordinary Treasure Pill which represented the hope of reaching the Emperor Realm, these favoured Sons and Daughters of Heaven, from major Sects and families set aside their face in order to rob this round-faced woman.

The round-faced woman seemed to have also realized the predicament she was in and, smelling the scent of death approaching, she flicked her hand and summoned a ribbon-like artifact. Walking forward, she called out softly, “Fellow Brothers and Sister, Junior Sister does not wish to become enemies with any of you. If you can find it in your hearts, please do not create difficulties for me!”

She spoke sincerely and with great dignity.

There were indeed a few people who were affected by her speech and showed looks of reluctance, but most simply stared indifferently at her.

Within the few breaths, it took her to say these words, the young woman had already walked out of the area enveloped by Yang Kai’s Space Principles.

Suddenly, a burst of shouts rang out one after another.

“Hand over the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.”

“Hand over the Spirit Pill and we’ll spare your life!”

“Girl, cooperate with me obediently and you won’t have to suffer! Refuse and you cannot blame us for not showing mercy!”

With the sound of these voices, at least a dozen cultivators rushed towards her. The moment these people acted, they summoned their artifacts and used Secret Techniques in all different directions, intending to block their competitors while also closing in on the round-faced woman at an extremely fast speed.

A hint of panic flashed on the pretty face of this young woman, but at the critical moment, she managed to push her Source Qi violently and the ribbon in her hand flashed, creating a five-coloured barrier around her body after which she shot up into the sky and rushed outwards.

She obviously didn’t plan to fight with these people and just wanted to leave here as quickly as possible.

This was undoubtedly the correct approach.

But she was obviously too naïve. How could she alone resist the assault of so many people?

*Hong Hong Hong…*

After a muffled explosion, the figure of the round-faced woman was directly revealed and her petite body was sent falling to the ground like a meteorite.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen figures flew down after her, greed and excitement covering their faces.

The round-faced woman suddenly showed a look of despair.

Soon, she hit the ground, and although she was not severely injured, she was obviously not alright either. After struggling a few times, she finally managed to stand up, but it was too late…

Several of her faster pursuers had already approached her, the fastest of which held a sharp sword that he slashed fiercely at her right hand!

This man was ruthless and showed no pity, seemingly only wanting to quickly cut off the hand of the round-faced woman that was holding the Spirit Pill…

With no way out, the woman screamed, her face pale and bloodless.

With her Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, she couldn’t avoid this strike and it was inevitable she would lose her arm.

As for the man, he wore a victorious smirk on his face, as if the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was already in his hands!

As long as he could obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, he would eat it immediately, eliminating the hope others had of snatching it.

Yang Kai’s complexion became gloomy as he secretly began pushing his Space Force, preparing to save the woman at the last moment!

But before Yang Kai could act, a figure mysteriously appeared in front of the round-faced woman. This figure was broad and heroic, like a tall mountain that could resist violent storms and rain, making the round-faced woman hiding behind it feel a sense of peace and comfort she had never felt before…

“Hm?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he observed this figure, a look of surprise filling his face.

He didn’t expect that at this critical moment, this person would actually make a move! [Could it be… he is also trying to snatch the Extraordinary Treasure Pill?]

Just as this thought flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, this newcomer suddenly pushed his hand out…

His movements weren’t fast, but they gave off a profound feeling, causing the sword-wielding man’s expression to change drastically, as if he was being enveloped by the grasp of death…

He wanted to avoid this palm, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape.

From an outside perspective, it was as if this man had slammed himself into his opponent’s attack.

Chapter 2197

After a short while, the big hand directly pinched the neck of the sword-holding cultivator. Under the horrified gaze of this man, the owner of the hand holding his throat smiled grimly as he began condensing his Source Qi fiercely.

*Kacha…*

With a crisp sound, the neck of the sword-wielding cultivator was directly crushed and his head drooped softly.

*Si…*

Gasps sounded as all the cultivators rushing towards the round-faced woman stopped in amazement, staring at the Master of the big hand in horror, with shock on their faces.

They were all Dao Source Realm cultivators, but the owner of this large hand had just casually reached out and killed one of them. This brutal and violent way of killing, crushing another with overwhelming strength, was naturally shocking.

“Luo Yuan!” Someone shouted loudly.

It was none other than Luo Yuan of Eight Paths Sect, a previously unknown figure before the opening of the Four Seasons Realm. Over just a few dozen days though, this young man’s prestige and fame had risen enough for him to be ranked amongst the top rising stars of the Southern Territory.

And he had the strength and capital to warrant such a reputation!

To a certain extent, Luo Yuan and Wu Chang were similar, both of them ferocious and brutal, people no one wanted to provoke.

At this moment though, Luo Yuan was actually standing in front of the round-faced woman and had even killed a man. How could the remaining cultivators dare to move? The Extraordinary Treasure Pill was indeed precious, but one needed their life first to enjoy it.

“Luo Yuan, do you want to snatch this Extraordinary Treasure Pill too?”

This was the question on everyone’s mind. If it was true, Luo Yuan would become the greatest enemy of everyone here for if he was not dealt with, no one would be able to obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

This was also quite possible as a treasure as precious as the Extraordinary Treasure Pill would be coveted by anyone, so Luo Yuan coming to snatch it was understandable.

Xiao Chen, Wu Chang, Xia Sheng, and the other peak-level characters did not take action so far. On the one hand, they were concerned about their Sect’s and their own face, while on the other hand, they probably disdained to act this way, but Luo Yuan was different. His Eight Paths Sect was only a medium-sized Sect, so he had no such scruples. He was not well-known before now and could act however he pleased without worrying about his reputation.

For a time, everyone’s expressions turned gloomy as they secretly grumbled to themselves.

However…

What happened next surprised everyone.

“Luo… Senior Brother Luo…” A weak voice called out from behind Luo Yuan. Naturally, it was the round-faced woman.

“Senior Brother?”

“Could it be that…”

“No way!”

At that moment, all the cultivators who had previously attacked the round-faced woman began sweating and turning pale. A few of the more timid ones even began to shiver.

Judging by the way the round-faced woman addressed Luo Yuan, everyone vaguely realized that these two belonged to the same Sect. That is to say… This round-faced woman was also a disciple of Eight Paths Sect!

Bullying Luo Yuan’s Junior Sister right in front of his face… how could he just let such an offence go?

However, this way, everyone also understood why Luo Yuan had taken action just now, not only that, but why he had been ruthless enough to kill someone directly…

For a time, the dozen or so cultivators wore anxious looks as they glanced around at each other worriedly.

“Brother Luo, this one was unaware that this Sister was from your noble Sect and has accidentally offended her, please forgive me!” One person stepped forward with a forced smile on his face, cupped his fists, and spoke to Luo Yuan.

“Brother Luo. This is all just a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding…”

“Yes yes, if I had known that this Sister was related to Brother Luo, I would not have dared to act so aggressively.”

The group of people all began apologizing profusely, lest Luo Yuan decide to settle accounts with them here and now.

Luo Yuan swept his eyes across the crowd coldly before he shouted, “A group of trash! Scram!”

Although these words weren’t pleasing to hear, everyone scurried away as if they had just been granted amnesty.

“Senior Brother Luo…” On the contrary, it was the round-faced woman who did not feel any joy after being rescued, instead just staring towards Luo Yuan’s back with anxiety as she called out softly.

“What did I tell you?” Luo Yuan turned around and glared at her coldly, “After entering the Four Seasons Realm, I am me, you are you, don’t make trouble for me. Have you forgotten?”

“No… no!” The round-faced woman waved her hands quickly, as if she wanted to explain something, but when she met Luo Yuan’s frigid eyes, she couldn’t help lowering her head and biting her lip, “I’m sorry!”

“Next time, you’re on your own!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly.

“I understand,” the round-faced woman kept her head down as she gripped her clothes tightly, like a child who had done something wrong.

“Hmph, put your best into it!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly and turned to leave.

“Wait!” The round-faced woman quickly reached out and grabbed Luo Yuan’s sleeve.

“What?” Luo Yuan frowned as he snapped impatiently.

“This… is for you!” The round-faced woman raised her head, squeezed out a smile, and held the Extraordinary Treasure Pill she had just obtained from Yang Kai out to Luo Yuan.

Luo Yuan’s expression turned to one of shock as he stared at the round-faced woman in a daze.

A breeze blew past as the crowd atop the mountain fell completely silent.

“So, she planned to gift it…” Yang Kai looked at this scene and muttered to himself, “And to Luo Yuan at that…”

When the woman exchanged for the Extraordinary Treasure Pill with him earlier, she said that she had another use for this Spirit Pill. Yang Kai didn’t know what she was planning at the time, but now everything was clear.

She hadn’t tried to obtain the Extraordinary Treasure Pill for herself, but for Luo Yuan.

And from beginning to the end, she had not revealed her intentions, even when she was being besieged by many people, she did not ask Luo Yuan for help. Only after she was safe did she willingly try to offer up this Spirit Pill, which all Dao Source Realm cultivators coveted, to Luo Yuan.

Everyone could see that this young woman was looking at Luo Yuan with soft eyes filled with clear love and worship. Her expression and demeanour told everyone that she was willing to offer her everything for Luo Yuan, so what did a mere Extraordinary Treasure Pill count for?

At this moment, the round-faced woman seemed to shine dazzlingly, and Luo Yuan, who was pierced by this light, couldn’t help having his face twitch as he had difficulty looking straight ahead.

“Ah… Another woman who lost herself in love. No one can save her now…” Xia Sheng said with emotion.

Murong Xiao Xiao, who was standing next to him, was already greatly moved, tears crystallizing at the corners of her beautiful eyes, no one able to tell what she was thinking.

“Haa… what a terrible farce, and everyone else making so much fuss over it!” Xiao Bai Yi said coldly.

“Senior Brother!” Murong Xiao Xiao glared at him.

“Hehe…” On the other side, Lan Xun also seemed to have some feelings about this as she pursed her lips and smiled, “I really didn’t expect… someone would adore Luo Yuan like this.”

“Some cheap, disgraceful tricks!” Xiao Chen said sourly from the side, looking at the round-faced woman with a tinge of pity, “Unfortunately, she fell in love with someone like Luo Yuan, this woman must be blind.”

“What’s wrong?” Lan Xun turned his head and glanced at him, “You believe this kind of display is somehow disgraceful?”

“I didn’t mean that, please don’t misunderstand, Princess,” Xiao Chen quickly adjusted his expression, turning a tender look to Lan Xun as he declared solemnly, “If I had obtained an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, I would definitely…”

“I’ve already taken one,” Lan Xun interrupted him impatiently before he could finish his cheap words.

Xiao Chen murmured, “I just wanted to express that…”

“You… what are your intentions here?” In front of everyone’s eyes though, Luo Yuan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly shouted.

“I… I don’t have any other meaning,” the round-faced woman didn’t know why Luo Yuan looked angry and she couldn’t help but panic as she tried to explain, “I just wanted to give Senior Brother this Extraordinary Treasure Pill…”

“To give it to me?” Luo Yuan sneered.

The round-faced woman nodded heavily.

“Nonsense!” Luo Yuan didn’t show the slightest appreciation and instead laughed, “What? You thought you could make me feel indebted to you by giving me this Extraordinary Treasure Pill?” At this point, his face turned harsh as he shouted, “Listen well! This Luo Yuan will not be bound by anything or anyone! Not by you, not by Eight Paths Sect, not by Heaven itself! I, Luo Yuan, will eventually stand at the pinnacle of this world, rule supreme, and look down upon all the world’s heroes!”

“I… I didn’t…” the round-faced woman turned anxious as tears began forming in her eyes. Anxiously, she tried to call out, “I just…”

“Save your breath! I have no interest in this Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Even without this Spirit Pill, I will still break through to the Emperor Realm!” Luo Yuan snorted coldly, “You’d best discard any wicked ideas you might have or don’t blame me for disregarding our status as fellow disciples!”

Hearing this, the round-faced woman finally burst into tears. Falling silent, two lines of tears fell down her cheeks, like broken pearls, her beautiful eyes filled with innocence and heartache.

“That bastard!” Xia Sheng looked at this scene and couldn’t help cursing.

The sacrifice this round-faced woman was making was simply amazing; after all, as a Dao Source Realm cultivator, the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was extremely useful to her and if she were to take it now, her hopes of breaking through to the Emperor Realm would definitely increase dramatically. This was a major event that was related to her very future.

But she disregarded all of that without hesitation and only thought about gifting this Extraordinary Treasure Pill to Luo Yuan!

Even just now, in order to not cause trouble for Luo Yuan, even though she was facing grave danger, she didn’t cry out for help…

Putting herself in such a position simply for the sake of another, this woman’s love for Luo Yuan could not be any more obvious.

Any normal man would have been greatly moved by this kind of devotion… even the most stoic and ignorant of men would have shown some tenderness.

However, Luo Yuan only reacted with fierce hostility, which naturally caused Xia Sheng to be extremely dissatisfied.

Even if Luo Yuan didn’t want to accept this Extraordinary Treasure Pill, he didn’t need to act so cruelly. 

“Waste!” Murong Xiao Xiao cast a contemptuous look towards Luo Yuan without the slightest hesitation.

“A terrible farce indeed…” Xiao Chen smiled lightly, his true thoughts difficult to read.

Chapter 2198

Luo Yuan did not stop, however, and shouted once more, “Let’s end this nonsense now. This Spirit Pill… you eat it!”

As he spoke, his figure flickered and he moved right in front of the round-faced woman, stretched out his hand to pinch her cheeks, then snatched the Extraordinary Treasure Pill with his free hand and threw it into her mouth.

 “Cough cough cough…” 

The round-faced woman felt the Spirit Pill enter her belly and couldn’t help but back up a few steps. She coughed and beat her chest constantly, as if she wanted to vomit up the Spirit Pill.

But that was futile. After the Spirit Pill entered her stomach, it directly melted and began flowing into her abdomen.

She tried hard to stop all this for a while, but ultimately failed and raised her head in despair.

However, when she lifted her eyes, Luo Yuan was gone.

“He left,” Lan Xun looked at the round-faced woman and sighed slightly, “He is headed towards the exit.”

The round-faced woman heard this, turned her head, and saw a stream of light flying off towards the exit.

Luo Yuan actually didn’t even bother trying to trade with Yang Kai. It seemed that in order to prove his words about his aptitude, and that he could break through to the Emperor Realm on his own, he intended to give up this opportunity to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill!

“Senior Brother Luo!” The round-faced woman called out, grit her teeth, stomped her foot, and chased after Luo Yuan.

Watching this, no one tried to embarrass her further. Firstly, she was a disciple of the Eight Paths Sect, and she had a Senior Brother Junior Sister relationship with Luo Yuan, who had already killed one man who had acted against her. Secondly… the Extraordinary Treasure Pill had already been taken by her, so what point was there to embarrass this woman? Would it be possible to force her to spit up that Spirit Pill?

And so, this brief episode came to an end.

“It’s like he said, not wanting to be bound by a favour from others… or snatching an opportunity that belongs to others…” Yang Kai sat in place, stroking his chin thoughtfully…

With so many people present, perhaps everyone only saw Luo Yuan’s ruthlessness and ferocity, but Yang Kai saw something else.

When he was dealing with the round-faced woman earlier, before the trade was even concluded, Luo Yuan had actually yelled at him from a distance, telling him to not go too far!

Yang Kai didn’t understand why Luo Yuan did that at the time, but now it was obvious he had been trying to help that round-faced woman.

If Luo Yuan really had no interest in her, then there would have been no need for him to say those words. While she was trying to strike a deal with Yang Kai, Luo Yuan only needed to sit on the sidelines…

What’s more, how could someone as proud and arrogant as Luo Yuan accept gifts from others? Especially when the gift was from his Junior Sister, one that clearly loves and admires him…

Yang Kai felt that if he was in Luo Yuan’s position, it would be impossible to accept that Extraordinary Treasure Pill.

A true man should hold such convictions.

Although he disapproved of Luo Yuan’s rotten method of handling his Junior Sister, Yang Kai actually appreciated his decisive approach.

After thinking for a while, Yang Kai shook his head as a frown came to his brow and he secretly thought, [Why am I allowing someone else’s affairs to trouble me?]

Thinking so, he shouted, “Next!”

Maybe because the round-faced woman’s success made the remaining cultivators see hope, as soon as Yang Kai called out, cultivators swarmed towards him.

But under the influence of the twisted Space Principles, only one person was allowed to enter at a time.

Unfortunately for this man, the result was disappointing as Yang Kai swiftly checked what he took out before shooing him away.

The next dozen people had similar experiences!

When Yang Kai took a leisurely look around, he found that there were not many people left.

This secretly made him anxious, because the Tribulation Fruit he wanted hadn’t appeared so far. It wasn’t clear whether someone hadn’t taken it out to trade, or if the one who had the Tribulation Fruit hadn’t come to begin with.

If Yang Kai failed to obtain the Tribulation Fruit on this excursion to the Four Seasons Realm, he really didn’t know how he could explain it to Qin Zhao Yang. Qin Yu’s life depended on him acquiring the Tribulation Fruit, without it, that little girl would only have a few months left to live.

[Should I just directly request to exchange the Tribulation Fruit for an Extraordinary Treasure Pill?]

Yang Kai hesitated. If he really made such a request, and if the person who had the Tribulation Fruit was present, that person would definitely not refuse, but if that person wasn’t here and news spread out, it would definitely cause many troubles from him.

After thinking about it carefully, Yang Kai suppressed this idea and continued to trade with other people calmly.

After an hour, Yang Kai’s face became gloomy.

Because almost every cultivator present had come to trade with him, but he had yet to see a trace of the Tribulation Fruit…

His ill premonition had come true!

The only people that were left were the ones from Azure Sun Temple and the few famous Masters who had been waiting and watching up until now.

Having reached this point, Yang Kai didn’t want to delay any more and shouted, “Who will come first? I won’t conceal it from you, the total number of Extraordinary Treasure Pills that were refined was four. In other words… this Yang only has one left.”

One of them was taken by him, one was given to Lan Xun, and one was given to the round-faced woman, so with only four being refined, only one remained.

As he made this announcement, Yang Kai picked up his Black Jade Furnace and shook it slightly.

From the Black Jade Furnace, a rolling, clinking sound rang out.

Inferring from the sound, there was indeed only one pill inside!

After the refinement succeeded, all of Yang Kai’s actions had been witnessed by everyone’s eyes, so he had no opportunity or time to hide any of the Spirit Pills, leading everyone to trust this statement.

“Since there is only one pill left, then this Xiao will come,” Xiao Chen, who had held back for a long time, at this moment finally took his turn. Leaping out swiftly, he strode towards Yang Kai with a confident smile, seemingly confident he would obtain this last Spirit Pill.

Not long after, he arrived in front of Yang Kai.

Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and said, “Brother Xiao, please!”

Xiao Chen sneered and while taking out something from his Space Ring, he whispered in a low voice, “Little Brat, I advise you to accept this immediately and then hand over that Extraordinary Treasure Pill to this Xiao, that way everyone can remain friendly.”

Yang Kai heard this and looked up at him.

Xiao Chen continued with a smile on his face, “The things that this Xiao took out are not items just anyone can see, there should be something that satisfies you.”

Despite the insufferable arrogance with which he spoke, Xiao Chen had the capital to say such words things; after all, he not only came from the Southern Territory’s overlord, Star Soul Palace, he was an elite disciple of that Sect and also the son of Silver Star Envoy, Xiao Yu Yang.

The things he took out were indeed rare treasures! Whether they were artifacts or herbs, treasures, or even Secret Arts…

It was a dazzling and varied array.

Yang Kai, however, didn’t even glance at those things and simply asked, “Brother Xiao, did you enter the Realm of Winter during this opening of the Four Seasons Realm?”

Xiao Chen heard this and furrowed his brow, not knowing why Yang Kai had asked such a question. Replying impatiently, he spat, “No, this Xiao has always been accompanying her Highness. Princess said that the environment in the Realm of Winter was too barren…”

“If so, you can pack up your things and go!” Yang Kai waved his hand as he cut off Xiao Chen.

“What did you just say?” Xiao Chen’s face suddenly became gloomy as he glared at Yang Kai fiercely, the threatening tone in his voice more than evident.

“Did you not hear me clearly?” Yang Kai grinned, cracking his neck before leaning towards Xiao Chen and shouting, “Brother Xiao can go!”

After this shout, he leaned back and smiled slightly, “If you still couldn’t hear me, there’s nothing more I can do.”

Xiao Chen’s expression turned ugly as it went from red to white before he shouted in a low tone, “Boy, have you considered the consequences of your actions clearly?”

In front of everyone’s eyes, he was humiliated by Yang Kai like this. What was worse though was that everyone now knew he didn’t have what Yang Kai wanted, so continuing to entangle himself would only lead everyone to believe he was trying to bully Yang Kai…

However, Yang Kai wasn’t going to give him any face.

“Scram!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, without a trace of politeness, and pushed the surrounding Space Principles towards Xiao Chen, wanting to throw him out of this shattered space forcefully.

Although Yang Kai had used this trick to directly send out a Dao Source Realm cultivator before, when it came to Xiao Chen, things did not go so smoothly. There was an inexplicable Principle Strength that lingered around Xiao Chen, clashing with the surrounding Space Principles, causing his figure to flicker slightly while remaining in place.

This situation lasted for ten breaths before Xiao Chen took the initiative to withdraw.

If he continued to linger, he would be forced to fight with Yang Kai, and in that strange shattered space, Xiao Chen also felt the threat of death, so he did not dare to remain.

After escaping three hundred meters, Xiao Chen glared at Yang Kai with a gloomy face, gnashing his teeth for a while.

“Haa…” Seeing this scene, Lan Xun only felt a headache coming on, and after sighing, she turned around and flew off towards the exit.

When Xiao Chen saw this, his face twitched before he turned and shouted at Yang Kai, “Boy, I’ll remember you. You’d best pray you don’t fall into my hands one day.”

Leaving this threat, he chased after Lan Xun.

Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to these words and turned to Xia Sheng and the others with a smile, “Brother Xia, there’s really just one Spirit Pill left, don’t you want to come and see it?”

If possible, he would like to trade with Xia Sheng for this Spirit Pill.

Yang Kai knew he couldn’t bring this Spirit Pill out of the Four Seasons Realm as the only result would be the Emperors outside snatching it from him while giving him some paltry compensation.

As for giving it away…

Yang Kai had never considered it. For one thing, he and Xia Sheng weren’t actually that close, and there was no friendship between them. What’s more, with the Extraordinary Treasure Pill being so precious, even if Yang Kai offered it to Xia Sheng for free, the latter would not be willing to accept it.

If Xia Sheng took this Extraordinary Treasure Pill without offering proper compensation, it would mean owing Yang Kai a huge favour.

Chapter 2199

Hearing this call, Xia Sheng smiled and said, “We… don’t need it.”

Yang Kai was shocked and asked curiously, “What do you mean?”

Xia Sheng said, “Brother Yang, you want to trade for that spirit fruit, right?”

What he was referring to was, naturally, the Tribulation Fruit. Yang Kai had entered the Four Seasons Realm to find the Tribulation Fruit was no secret in Azure Sun Temple, because before leaving, Gao Xue Ting had told everyone that if any of them found the Tribulation Fruit, they should collect it to exchange with Yang Kai.

With Gao Xue Ting’s reminder, plus Yang Kai’s emphasis on letting everyone take out their harvest from the Four Seasons Realm before the transaction, Xia Sheng naturally knew what he was looking for.

Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, Yang Kai had not managed to achieve his goal.

“Yeah!” Yang Kai did not deny and nodded lightly.

“None of us have it, so we won’t join in the fun,” Xia Sheng smiled, “Besides, if we really offered to exchange it with you, it would likely be impossible for you to refuse no matter what else we offered, which would leave a bad taste… It’s fine, Brother Yang, you should ask Wu Chang if he has it.”

Apart from Xia Sheng and the others from Azure Sun Temple, only Wu Chang remained here.

Hearing this, Wu Chang also took the initiative to stand up and ask Yang Kai, “What spirit fruit do you want?”

Yang Kai groaned slightly but decided to tell the truth, “The Tribulation Fruit!”

Wu Chang frowned and said, “Never seen it.”

“Even you don’t have it…” Yang Kai couldn’t help showing a disappointed look. He didn’t know when the Tribulation Fruit from the Realm of Winter was picked, who had it, or where it was, so it looked like his primary objective for coming to the Four Seasons Realm could no longer be achieved.

Yang Kai suddenly had a deep feeling of regret.

“Although I don’t have what you want, I still want to make a deal with you!” Wu Chang quickly said, “You can’t take that Extraordinary Treasure Pill out, can you?”

“Naturally not!” Yang Kai composed himself and said, “Brother Wu Chang wanting to make a trade is fine, but… I wonder what you’re willing to take out?”

“This!” Wu Chang took out a jade bottle and threw it towards Yang Kai.

He didn’t seem worried at all that Yang Kai would try to steal this treasure and run away, trusting him to the point where he directly handed over what he wanted to trade.

Yang Kai was startled when he saw this and quickly dispersed the Space Principles which had been lingering about him. Catching the jade bottle in his hand, Yang Kai glanced suspiciously at Wu Chang.

“If you open it and take a look, you’ll know what it is!” Wu Chang said lightly.

Yang Kai opened the bottle and peered inside, his face changing slightly in the next instant as he commented, “Brother Wu Chang is quite bold!”

Wu Chang sneered, “I will break through to the Emperor Realm soon, so this thing is not necessary to me, but you… you’re only a First-Order Dao Source Realm now and won’t reach the Emperor Realm any time soon. This thing will be of great use to you, possibly even saving your life at a critical moment.”

“It is as Brother Wu Chang says,” Yang Kai had already capped the jade bottle as he spoke.

Xia Sheng and the others looked confused, wondering what Wu Chang had handed over to Yang Kai to move him so greatly.

Murong Xiao Xiao, however, suddenly seemed to be thinking of something and muttered, “Could it be that…”

“What?” Xia Sheng, who was always curious, asked Murong Xiao Xiao in a low voice.

Xiao Bai Yi also showed a look of interest as he perked up his ears.

Murong Xiao Xiao whispered, “An Emperor Authority Bead!”

*Si…*

Xia Sheng drew a sharp breath, “That bastard Wu Chang had such a thing?” As he spoke, a look of fear flashed across his face as cold sweat dripped down on his forehead, “If that guy had summoned his Emperor Authority Bead at that time, wouldn’t I be dead…”

A Third-Order Emperor’s full-powered strike was sealed in an Emperor Authority Bead, so although Xia Sheng was a genius in his own right, he had no confidence he could survive such a blow. Death or serious injury were the only possible outcomes, with the former being much more likely.

After thinking about this though, Xia Sheng’s brow furrowed as he said with a puzzled look, “Wait, Xiao Xiao, how do you know that Wu Chang had an Emperor Authority Bead in his hands?”

Before Murong Xiao Xiao spoke, Xiao Bai Yi inferred, “Because when Wu Chang obtained that Emperor Authority Bead, Xiao Xiao was there!”

Xia Sheng heard this and his face slightly changed, calling out in a low voice, “Could it be that… this Emperor Authority Bead was obtained by Wu Chang in the Four Seasons Realm?”

“Yeah,” Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, “He got it from a trade with Luo Yuan. Didn’t I tell you before that I entered the Flowing Time Temple with Senior Brother Xiao? It was there, in the final room. That’s where Luo Yuan obtained the Emperor Authority Bead…”

“Were there any other treasures there?” Xia Sheng asked with interest, “What did you obtain?”

“I got a drop of Supreme Divine Water…” Murong Xiao Xiao smiled, “Even that was thanks to Junior Brother Yang, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to obtain anything. As for the others… Princess Lan Xun took one away, a Pseudo Emperor Artifact, while Gong Wen Shan obtained an Emperor Aura!”

“The Heavens must be jealous!” Xia Sheng looked up to the sky in grief and indignation, “Why didn’t I meet such an opportunity!”

Xiao Bai Yi squinted at him and said, “Hmph, you were the one who insisted on exploring the Realm of Spring saying it was sunny and beautiful there!”

“Seems like I made a mistake,” Xia Sheng bowed his head, looking downcast, but immediately he recovered and asked, “Wait, you said Yang Kai helped you obtain that drop of Supreme Divine Water, then what about him… did he also get something?”

“Junior Brother Yang, he… he obtained some kind of red bead.” Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “But I don’t know what the bead is for, even Princess Lan Xun couldn’t tell what it was.”

“A red bead!” Xia Sheng frowned after hearing this.

As the few of them were talking, Wu Chang was impatiently urging, “Are you satisfied with this thing?”

Yang Kai held the jade bottle containing the Emperor Authority Bead and grinned, “Admittedly, this thing is truly precious, a life-saving treasure. It is quite tempting!”

This was an Emperor Authority Bead. Although Yang Kai’s strength was decent, and he was proficient in the Dao of Space, his cultivation was still low. In the Star Boundary, where Masters floated about like clouds and danger lay around every corner, there would likely be many situations where his ability was lacking. At such times, an Emperor Authority Bead would offer a layer of safety, so how could Yang Kai not be interested?

This thing was probably one of the most valuable items in the entire Four Seasons Realm. Even the Emperor Aura that Gong Wen Shan obtained was not comparable. An Emperor Aura could be used to refine an Emperor Artifact, but Yang Kai already had several Emperor Artifacts in his hand, so an Emperor Aura had almost no attraction to him.

“You want something more?” Wu Chang frowned as he read the meaning behind Yang Kai’s words, “Let’s hear it, if it’s not too much, I can accept it.”

“Brother Wu Chang, it is refreshing to speak with you!” Yang Kai laughed out loud. People like Wu Chang and Luo Yuan, regardless of their hot tempers, were actually the easiest to cooperate with, because they did not try to hide their intentions or motivations at all. If they thought something, they would speak it boldly rather than trying to deceive you.

Yang Kai followed up, “This thing is indeed precious, but Brother Wu Chang should also know that it is a consumable item, once it is used, it is gone forever…”

“Enough, I know its advantages and disadvantages, just tell me what you want!” Wu Chang interrupted Yang Kai before he finished speaking, directly telling him to name a price.

Yang Kai hesitantly touched his nose…

“Brother Yang, if you don’t mind, this Xia has a suggestion!” Xia Sheng suddenly interjected.

“What do you want?” Wu Chang looked at him irritably.

Xia Sheng said innocently, “I just want to make a suggestion to Brother Yang. It’s up to him if he wants to listen or not, what’s wrong with that?”

Yang Kai smiled lightly and said, “If Brother Xia has a suggestion, please feel free to speak it.”

“En,” Xia Sheng nodded before he turned to Wu Chang and said meaningfully, “Brother Wu Chang seems to have obtained a lot of Star Seals in the Four Seasons Realm this time, so perhaps Brother Yang can…”

Hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow, immediately understanding what Xia Sheng wanted to say.

Wu Chang frowned.

Xia Sheng continued, “Before coming here, Elder Gao once said that all the disciples who obtained extra Star Seals could receive rewards from the Sect after turning them over, and the more one turns over, the greater the reward! Brother Yang is not a disciple of my temple, but this deal also applies to you. If you can obtain more Star Seals, you can make a bigger request from the temple, like for instance, asking the Sect Master and Elders to help you find that Tribulation Fruit!”

Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he felt this was a good idea!

He had been unable to complete the task he came to the Four Seasons Realm to achieve, which made him quite embarrassed about returning to Maplewood City to deal with Qin Zhao Yang. If he could ask the leaders of Azure Sun Temple to help him though, obtaining the Tribulation Fruit may still be possible.

In short, Yang Kai was quite interested in this proposal.

“Hmph!” Wu Chang snorted coldly, “What is this? You want to use this method to reduce the quotas my Orthodoxy Temple has to enter the Shattered Star Sea? Does Brother Xia have so little confidence in his own Sect?”

“Not at all!” Xia Sheng smiled and said, “I’m just thinking about what’s best for Brother Yang, nothing like what you said!”

“I don’t care either way! Whether others from Orthodoxy Temple can enter the Shattered Star Sea or not is none of my concern, as long as I can enter myself!”

“Oh?” Xia Sheng raised his brows and said, “Brother Wu Chang means that as long as you have a single Star Seal, you can discard the rest?”

“That depends on his intentions!” Wu Chang turned his gaze to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai replied, “Let me ask first, Brother Wu Chang, how many Star Seals do you have?”

“Five!”

“Quite a lot!” Yang Kai exclaimed before nodding, “Good, since Brother Wu Chang is so sincere, then this Yang is willing to make this deal with you, but I still have one question.”

“Ask!” Wu Chang said concisely.

“How are you going to give me those Star Seals?”

“I can transfer them to you with a certain Secret Technique!” Wu Chang answered naturally.

Yang Kai’s face went black when he heard this and asked, “Then when I saw you outside the Flowing Time Temple earlier, why did you insist on cutting off my arm?”

“Do you know the necessary Secret Technique?” Wu Chang asked disdainfully.

“I don’t,” Yang Kai answered honestly.

“Then cutting off your arm is the only way!” Wu Chang coldly snorted.

“Makes sense!” Yang Kai said lightly.

“Enough nonsense, let’s complete the transaction first!”

Saying so, Wu Chang’s figure flickered and he rushed over to Yang Kai directly, his hands forming a set of seals as he pushed his Source Qi.

Chapter 2200

The scene in the nameless mountain valley remained desolate as the oval light door hung midair. Cultivators continued exiting from the light door, some with big smiles, making it obvious that they had gained a great harvest in the Four Seasons Realm, while others had their heads lowered in depression, seeming like they weren’t very satisfied with their gains.

No matter what their expressions were previously like, their expressions all instantly changed when they exited the door of light as chills shot up their spines and they broke out into a cold sweat.

This couldn’t be helped, because at this moment, six Emperor Realm Masters were standing together in a line, watching the exit with fierce gazes. Whenever someone walked out of the door, six Emperor Realm Divine Senses would simultaneously cover that person.

Who would be able to withstand such pressure?

Luckily, the six Emperors had no malicious intent and were simply probing, so the pressure would disappear as fast as it came.

Most didn’t know what these six Masters were trying to do here, so they would hurriedly flee after leaving the exit, but some intelligent people had already guessed why these Emperors were guarding the exit in such a manner.

Just like this, the six Emperor Realm Masters kept a vigilant watch over the exit for half a day.

Suddenly, a certain figure appeared from the door of light that had remained silent for quite a while.

The six Emperors immediately focused their attention on this figure.

The figure didn’t expect this, but his reaction was incredibly quick, immediately circulating his Source Qi and Spiritual Energy to resist the tremendous pressure he faced. However, he then started furrowing his brow in confusion because he discovered that the pressure coming from his front actually came from the various major Sects’ Elders…

“Good, good, good!” Chen Wen Hao kept muttering the word ‘good’ with a smile as he watched Wu Chang emerge from the Four Seasons Realm before stating, “Wu Chang, you can go over to the side.”

Wu Chang had a contemplative expression flash through his eyes when he heard this before he obediently walked over to the side and stood there.

Three figures immediately followed after Wu Chang. They were Xia Sheng’s group of three from Azure Sun Temple.

Xia Sheng immediately started sweating when he appeared, “Seniors… what’s going on? Could it be… you’re here to welcome me? How could this Junior possibly deserve such…”

“This King will toss you back in if you keep blabbering!” Xiao Yu Yang coldly snorted.

Xia Sheng shrank his neck and didn’t dare to make a sound, hurriedly taking Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao over to the side.

After these three came out, Yang Kai finally appeared from the exit.

Gao Xue Ting couldn’t help but lightly sigh as she muttered in a low voice, “He finally came out.”

“This little brat is the one?” Xiao Yu Yang turned to ask Gao Xue Ting.

Gao Xue Ting gently nodded.

“Very good!” Xiao Yu Yang laughed loudly, “Making this King wait for so long, I really want to see if this boy has three heads and six arms!”

As he spoke, he opened his hand and immediately opened his palm towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai hadn’t even gotten his bearings after exiting the portal before he felt a tremendous pressure descending from above. The force was so powerful that it was impossible for him to even think of resisting and right after, he was actually pulled over in front of Xiao Yu Yang.

“What’s going on?” Yang Kai exclaimed loudly with an expression of astonishment. 

His first thought was that someone had ambushed him!

But when he looked around, he saw the six Emperor Realm Masters all staring at him with heated expressions, almost like six perverts feasting their eyes on a naked beauty.

Even Gao Xue Ting had the same expression.

Yang Kai surprisingly recognized all six. Naturally, there was no need to mention Gao Xue Ting and Xiao Yu Yang, but even the other four were familiar to him as he had seen them in Maplewood City before.

After some slight contemplation, Yang Kai basically understood what was currently going on.

Although he had mentally prepared himself before, he still felt rather helpless now that it actually happened …

“What’s the meaning of this! What are you doing!?” Yang Kai began to shout and struggle.

“Don’t be afraid. We won’t hurt you.” Gao Xue Ting tried to console him.

“Let’s talk things out if you have something to say! Gentlemen should use words, not fists, it’s always better to make friends than enemies! Who knows who will rise up to become strong in the future? You shouldn’t bully someone while they’re young and weak!” Yang Kai kept chattering endlessly!

“Little brat, you talk too much!” Xiao Yu Yang coldly snorted as he grabbed Yang Kai.

Yang Kai wasn’t even able to react as Xiao Yu Yang snatched the Space Ring from his hand.

“You’re robbing me?” Yang Kai was astonished as he glared at Xiao Yu Yang and exclaimed, “Bullying the weak when you’re strong, bullying a Junior as a Senior, is this the law of this land?”

“Hm?” Xiao Yu Yang’s Divine Sense was currently sweeping Yang Kai’s Space Ring, but that didn’t interfere with his ability to think, so hearing this, he snorted condescendingly and coldly chuckled, “The law of this land? This King is the law here! Do you have any objections?”

“If that is what Senior thinks…” Yang Kai shrugged helplessly and said, “Then I can’t do anything.”

“As long as you understand!” Xiao Yu Yang then ignored Yang Kai and instead focused on investigating the ring.

Moments later, he furrowed his brow and tossed the ring over to Chen Wen Hao who was next to him.

Chen Wen Hao took the ring and also started investigating it …

At this moment, Xiao Yu Yang focused on Yang Kai again with an inscrutable gaze that seemed as deep as an abyss. This was a gaze that made chills run down the spine and would cause one to lack the courage to face him. It seemed as if he wanted to see deep inside Yang Kai’s heart and unearth the secrets hidden within.

Yang Kai felt uncomfortable all over from Xiao Yu Yang’s stare, as if millions of ants had entered his body and were nipping at his flesh…

Still, Yang Kai had been lucky enough to have previously experienced the aura of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and had even fought against three First-Order Emperor Realm Masters before, so Xiao Yu Yang was actually a bit overconfident to think that he could suppress Yang Kai’s will with just a sharp gaze.

Of course, this wasn’t Xiao Yu Yang’s fault, as no ordinary First-Order Dao Source Realm Junior would possibly be able to think about anything when being stared at by him. Such an individual’s consciousness would be thrown into chaos already and they would answer anything that they were asked; however, it just so happened that Yang Kai had been through even greater storms before.

“Little brat, this King can see that you’re a smart person, so you should already know why we are waiting here?” Xiao Yu Yang took the direct approach with his words.

“I can guess…” Yang Kai couldn’t act like a fool in this situation, so he could only say this, turning a frightened look towards Xiao Yu Yang as he asked, “Is it for the Extraordinary Treasure Pills?”

“It’s good that you already know!” Xiao Yu Yang spoke solemnly.

Naturally, the Masters were waiting here because of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.

The cultivators who first emerged from the Four Seasons Realm had spread the news of how an Extraordinary Treasure Lotus appeared in the Four Seasons Realm, along with how Yang Kai had successfully refined it into pills.

Xiao Yu Yang and the others were naturally incredibly astonished to learn of this news.

The Extraordinary Treasure Pill was a Heaven defying spirit pill that if used well, could create a new Emperor Realm Master.

The Emperors present would of course pay close attention to this with how important it was. If it wasn’t for being afraid that they would cause the entrance to collapse, they would have long ago rushed into the Four Seasons Realm instead of giving Yang Kai time to trade away such precious pills.

They had waited here all this time just to meet Yang Kai in person, so of course, they were going to demand a detailed explanation.

“Where are the extra Extraordinary Treasure Pills? Hand them over!” Xiao Yu Yang immediately reached his hand out towards Yang Kai.

“What extras? They’re all gone.” Yang Kai shouted with an innocent expression on his face.

“Hm?” Xiao Yu Yang once again adopted an authoritative posture as he spoke in a cold tone, “You should know that with your strength, this King can easily discern if you’re lying or not, yes?”

“I’m telling the truth, if you don’t believe me, you can ask Brother Wu Chang and Brother Xia!” Yang Kai pointed in their direction.

Wu Chang and Xia Sheng’s faces couldn’t help but twitch slightly.

Although they were rising stars in the Dao Source Realm, and they were both confident they would become Emperors in the future, there was still a huge gap between them and a veteran Emperor Realm Master like Xiao Yu Yang. It was obvious that the two of them would feel severely pressured by Yang Kai drawing troublesome attention to them.

“Good,” Xiao Yu Yang quickly said. “This King will ask you once more, and you will answer honestly. If you dare try to deceive this King, he will send you back into the Four Seasons Realm and make you stay there for all eternity!”

As he spoke, he pointed at the light door which had yet to close.

After that, he changed his tone and showed a pleasant and friendly expression as he smiled, “Of course, if you’re honest and cooperative, you’ll receive a rich reward…”

Yang Kai wiped away some cold sweat on his forehead and commented, “Is this a carrot and stick? … haha, please ask anything that you like, Senior Xiao. This Junior will tell you everything he knows.”

“En.” Xiao Yu Yang had a satisfied expression as he asked, “In that case, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… you really managed to refine them?”

“How could I possibly fake something that everyone witnessed?” Yang Kai stated proudly, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Princess Lan Xun and she can testify on my behalf.”

“I already asked her, but this King still doesn’t dare to believe that you’re actually a Dao Source Grade Alchemist…” Xiao Yu Yang stated with some disbelief as he paused for a moment before saying, “Forget it, I won’t think about this matter for the time being. How many Extraordinary Treasure Pills were you able to refine?”

“Four!”

“Where have they gone?”

“Princess Lan Xun ate one, a female disciple from the Eight Paths Sect ate one, I ate one… and I gave the final pill to Wu Chang.”

“Oh?” Chen Wen Hao arched his eyebrow with an expression of surprise and turned to look at Wu Chang when he heard this.

Wu Chang nodded lightly towards him.

Chen Wen Hao immediately smiled so much that it was difficult to make out his eyes or nose. He chucked and exclaimed, “Senior Xiao, it was Wu Chang’s opportunity to receive an Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Senior Xiao, please spare him, heh heh heh…”

Xiao Yu Yang glanced over at Chen Wen Hao before ignoring him and asking Yang Kai, “According to what you say, there’s not a single Extraordinary Treasure Pill left?”

Yang Kai sweated as he answered, “Senior Xiao, it was incredibly difficult for me to craft that one furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills and I almost failed in the process. It was already Heaven’s blessings that I was able to refine four in the end, what more do you want?” He fell silent for a moment before continuing, “After I refined them, the Spirit Pills remained in my Alchemy Furnace and all of them were traded away in front of everyone’s eyes. All of the Spirit Pills were definitely used up. Senior Xiao has also inspected my Space Ring, and you obviously didn’t find anything, right?”

Xiao Yu Yang gently nodded, “Indeed, it is an impressive feat to refine four pills at your current level. When it comes to Extraordinary Treasure Pills, even an Emperor Grade Alchemist would not guarantee how many they could refine. Since the Spirit Pills’ whereabouts are already accounted for, then… this matter will end here.”