“You obtained the Mountains and Rivers Bell!?” Tan Jun Hao’s voice cracked as he exclaimed.
Since he recognized the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he definitely knew its origins too. It was said that this bell was an Ancient Exotic Artifact passed down from the Ancient Times. It had always been in the Ancient Wild Lands before, but even the few powerful Divine Spirits of that place could not subdue it.
Tens of thousands of years ago, an Emperor Realm Master entered the Ancient Wild Lands and was recognized by the Mountains and Rivers Bell by chance, allowing him to bring it out of the Ancient Lands.
Within a hundred years, that Third-Order Emperor Realm Master peered into the Grand Dao and became a Great Emperor.
That man was the legendary Yuan Ding Great Emperor.
At that time, the Yuan Ding Great Emperor, who possessed the Mountains and Rivers Bell, was one of the top Masters of the Star Boundary. His strength among the Great Emperors could definitely be ranked among the top three. Unfortunately, he was killed by the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor during the Great Emperor War. Since then, the Ancient Exotic Artifact was lost.
It was rumoured that this artifact was left in the Shattered Star Sea, but no one had ever seen it over the past twenty thousand years.
Tan Jun Hao never thought that after so long, this artifact would actually fall into Yang Kai’s hands and re-appear here.
The opening of the Shattered Star Sea only happened a few years ago, and it seemed that this little brat surnamed Yang had entered and obtained the Mountains and Rivers Bell there.
He had the Sealed World Bead, a treasure that was a small independent world itself, and also the Immortal Tree, a supreme treasure of immeasurable value. Now, even the Mountains and Rivers Bell was in his hands…
Among these treasures, obtaining any single one would already be a Heaven-defying opportunity for an ordinary genius, but now they all belonged to a single young man!
Was he still Human?
How many Heaven-defying opportunities did he have to obtain all these treasures?
Tan Jun Hao’s face twitched as a faint trace of fear bloomed in his heart. No matter how he looked at it, Yang Kai was just an ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but not to mention his unreasonable combat strength, the various treasures he possessed were not things ordinary people could ever encounter. Such a person was usually one who carried a great destiny and could often break open a path through bramble and thistle that hundreds of millions of other cultivators failed to, reaching the peak of the Martial Dao.
Such an existence would not be someone who could be merely erased by some small disasters.
Tan Jun Hao could not help thinking, [Was it really a wise decision to pick a fight with him?]
He only hesitated for a short moment though before his face turned resolute and ferocious. It was now impossible for them to live under the same sky, so only one of them would leave here alive today.
As long as he could kill this boy surnamed Yang here, all these treasures would belong to him, and his dream of breaking through his shackles to reach the Great Emperor Realm would become a reality.
Perhaps, he could steal Yang Kai’s luck too.
“Fool!” Tan Jun Hao looked at Yang Kai contemptuously, “This Old Master might be afraid of you if you used the Mountains and Rivers Bell on this Old Master, but you actually used it to rescue the enemies who were just pointing their knives at you. Your womanly compassion shall be your demise.”
The reputation of the Mountains and Rivers Bell could not be more famous; after all, it was an Ancient Exotic Artifact as well as the Natal Emperor Artifact of the Yuan Ding Great Emperor. If Yang Kai really used the Mountains and Rivers Bell against Tan Jun Hao, the latter would be far more anxious and hesitant for he had no clue how powerful this ancient treasure truly was. But now that the Mountains and Rivers Bell was used to isolate those Emperor Realm bystanders, Yang Kai couldn’t use it against him.
This made Tan Jun Hao relieved.
“Of course I’m willing to. One must first give before receiving.” Yang Kai beamed from ear to ear and looked at him contemptuously, “Old thing, you know nothing.”
To Yang Kai, he would rather face a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master than the siege of so many First and Second-Order Emperor Realm Masters. The former was dangerous, but he did not worry about it, while facing the latter would only result in him having to kill them all then still have to face Tan Jun Hao after. Therefore, using the Mountains and Rivers Bell to directly cut off Tan Jun Hao’s support was the biggest advantage it could give him.
“How could you fight this Old Master without the Mountains and Rivers Bell!” Tan Jun Hao roared, his aura soaring as his mighty Emperor Pressure churned like a rampaging sea.
Yang Kai smiled mockingly, “Why would I need Mountains and Rivers Bell to deal with the likes of you?”
Tan Jun Hao was maddened, “Rampant Junior!”
It was totally unforgivable for a trivial First-Order Emperor Realm Master to not even put him in his eyes.
Yang Kai lifted his hand, and pointed his Myriads Sword at Tan Jun Hao with his teeth gritted, “Old Dog Tan, there was no enmity between us in the past, but you killed thousands of people in Thousand Leaves Sect and abducted this Young Master’s friends. This Young Master must kill you today!”
Tan Jun Hao sneered, and replied disdainfully, “Let’s see if you have the ability to kill me!”
When the words fell, he thrust his hands forward fiercely, and numerous huge five-coloured light blades materialized as if they tore through the void and slashed at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai slashed with his Myriads Sword, sending a gigantic sword light forward powered by his surging Emperor Qi.
There was a loud blast, and the surrounding space trembled. The massive sword light and five-coloured light blades smashed together, turning into an explosion of light that filled this sealed space.
At the same time, Tan Jun Hao pounced at Yang Kai, sending out two gigantic shadow hands that covered the sky to engulf Yang Kai.
The Sword Intent of the Myriads Sword burst out as Yang Kai welcomed this assault with a wide sweep.
The two instantly engaged in a terrifying clash as Emperor Qi collided and their figures flickered about, smashing into one another.
Loud clangs from the clash rang out as Yang Kai did not gain the upper hand with the power of his Myriads Sword against Tan Jun Hao’s bare fists, but instead, was suppressed by Tan Jun Hao’s vigorous and pure Emperor Qi.
Yang Kai immediately felt annoyed as he secretly cursed this old thing for indeed not being easy to deal with. Since he could reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm, Tan Jun Hao was clearly not to be taken lightly, and it was only normal for him to have some life-saving cards and unique skills at his disposal.
Back then, Yang Kai had killed a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master named Yao Chang Jun in the Solitary Void Sealed World. The Five-Coloured Long Spear Emperor Artifact owned by Hua Qing Si now was a trophy from that battle.
However, Yao Chang Jun’s Soul had been severely injured for many years, as such, he could not unleash the full strength of his Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation and Yang Kai took the opportunity to kill him in the Solitary Void Sealed World.
But Tan Jun Hao was a true Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. How could Yao Chang Jun of that day be compared to him?
Yang Kai was awe-inspired, but he did not know that Tan Jun Hao was even more flabbergasted.
He knew Yang Kai was not someone who could be judged by common sense after witnessing his performances, for he had the ability to fight and even kill people above his realm, but it was only after they really exchanged blows that Tan Jun Hao realized just how strong this young man really was.
He was a Star Soul Palace Elder and could kill a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master within ten moves at most, let alone a First-Order Emperor Realm Master.
Nevertheless, when he fought with Yang Kai, Tan Jun Hao could only suppress him a little after going all out, while killing Yang Kai seemed like an all but impossible task.
How could the Emperor Qi of a First-Order Emperor Realm Master be almost as dense and pure as his own? Just how did this little monster even cultivate?
Tan Jun Hao’s heart trembled with fear as he grew more and more aggressive, attempting to push Yang Kai to his limits and see how long he could hold on for.
But he was greatly disappointed by reality.
He found that no matter how hard he tried, the young man in front of him could still cope with his attacks, albeit barely, as if he would only become stronger when facing the strong, and his strength would increase without limit. Even though Yang Kai occasionally struggled to handle his attacks, Tan Jun Hao also knew he was not dealing any significant damage to Yang Kai.
Although Yang Kai had a broad sword in his hand and possessed some sharp Sword Intent, his swordsmanship was pitiful. Tan Jun Hao could see that Yang Kai was not a cultivator who majored in the Sword Dao, but despite that, he could still find a way to resolve his own attacks by using the sword Emperor Artifact flexibly.
In his eyes, Yang Kai was like a boat thrown into the stormy sea, swaying left and right, at risk of being overturned at any time but still charging on bravely.
“Damn you!” Tan Jun Hao cursed, knowing that it would be useless to go on like this. If he really wanted to kill Yang Kai, he had to bring out his true abilities.
With a single thought, he clenched his fists and rushed forward.
His two fists punched towards Yang Kai with power as immense as two huge mountains, like an overwhelming tidal wave.
“Old dog, you’re quite fierce!” Yang Kai also shouted, gripping the Myriads Sword with both hands as he cleaved forward violently, as if it was not a sword that he was holding but a club.
The power of his sword could cleave a huge mountain into pieces.
The impact of the fist shadows sent the vitality in Yang Kai’s chest tumbling, forcing him back two steps.
Five-coloured light blades condensed in front of him at that moment and slashed towards Yang Kai.
“This again?” Yang Kai curled his lip while swinging the Myriads Sword, breaking apart the five-coloured light blades.
At the same time, Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he instinctively sensed danger approaching and hurriedly jumped aside.
Followed by a few swooshes, several golden beams shot out from the dispersed fluorescence, opening two small holes in the place where Yang Kai was originally standing.
Although the holes were small, they seemed to pierce thousands of meters deep into the ground. The penetrating power of the golden beams was quite astonishing.
Behind the fluorescence, Yang Kai saw Tan Jun Hao hovering in the air with an ancient-looking book floating on top of him, and the pages of the book flipping noisily.
The book was radiating a blinding gold colour and every page seemed to be made from casted gold, looking extremely heavy and thick at a glance.
The aura of an Emperor Artifact gradually permeated the surroundings.
This golden book was actually an Emperor Artifact!
Yang Kai heightened his vigilance as he stared at the golden book and examined it carefully with his Divine Sense.
Although the battle earlier seemed intense, both he and Tan Jun Hao were really just probing each other. Now that they had finished their initial analysis of one another, it was time for both Yang Kai and Tan Jun Hao to get serious.
It was obvious that Tan Jun Hao was using his trump card by summoning such an artifact at this time, causing Yang Kai to become extra cautious because even a bit of carelessness could lead to his death.
It was the first time he had seen such an Emperor Artifact, and he had no clue what kind of power it had. However, throughout the whole world, there was a consensus among all cultivators that the stranger the artifact, the stronger the power it could unleash.
This golden book undoubtedly belonged to this type of Emperor Artifact.
The several golden beams earlier must have been the work of this golden book. Unfortunately, Tan Jun Hao used a deceptive trick to cover up his initial strike, making it impossible for Yang Kai to see and study it clearly.
“You actually forced this Old Master to use the Golden Armour Heavenly Book on you, you may die proud.” Tan Jun Hao sneered, his words were filled with great confidence, as if this Golden Armour Heavenly Book was an incredible entity.
“This is what you’re relying on?” Although Yang Kai was wary in his heart, he appeared indifferent on the surface. He wanted to figure out what the power of this so-called Golden Armour Heavenly Book was, and he already directed his sword towards Tan Jun Hao while he asked. He rushed over and slashed the Myriads Sword in mid-air, forming countless sword lights that surrounded Tan Jun Hao like a swarm of locusts as he shouted, “Old dog, your era is over! Do you think a piece of trash book is some great treasure? It’s now the world of my generation, so just hurry up and die!”
“Trash book…” Tan Jun Hao frowned, his face filled with fury as if he was severely humiliated by Yang Kai. Gritting his teeth, he roared, “This Old Master will let you see the power of this trash book then!”
As he spoke, he waved his hand fiercely.
The Golden Armour Heavenly Book that was suspended above his head suddenly started flipping and froze on a certain page.
Yang Kai stared closely and saw on this page an oval drawing with many squiggly lines, just like a child’s graffiti.
But when the Golden Armour Heavenly Book landed on this page, a golden light burst out from it forming a light curtain around Tan Jun Hao.
*Hong…*
The Myriads Sword landed on the golden light curtain, but the latter remained unscathed.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as shock clearly appeared on his face.
Although his strike was mostly for probing, it was not something that any ordinary Master could survive. Tan Jun Hao did not push his Emperor Qi to guard his body at all and simply relied on the Golden Armour Heavenly Book to defend himself. It could be seen that the power of this Golden Armour Heavenly Book was indeed impressive.
[A defensive Emperor Artifact?] Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, but soon he felt that something was wrong. Earlier, a few golden beams had shot out from this book and penetrated the floor, something a defensive Emperor Artifact should not be capable of.
Tan Jun Hao remained on the spot, smiling. He was not abashed by the incoming sword light, his expression showing absolute confidence in his Golden Armour Heavenly Book, clearly believing that Yang Kai could not hurt him.
And this was indeed the case.
“Not even a scratch!” Tan Jun Hao sneered, “Are you only capable of this? If that’s the case, then die!”
After that, he reached out and pointed towards Yang Kai, causing the pages of the Golden Armour Heavenly Book floating above his head to start flipping again and stop on another page.
Yang Kai looked at it again and saw that there were many drawings of birds of prey engraved on it. Once again, the pictures were little better than doodles, but this only added a sense of savagery to it.
A sense of dread swelled in Yang Kai’s heart suddenly.
There was a thumping sound, and golden light shot from the Golden Armour Heavenly Book again before condensing into a number of raptors mid-air that charged towards Yang Kai.
There were as many as a hundred raptors of various sizes, ranging from fifty metres in wingspan to just a hand’s width long.
Each of these raptors actually emitted a powerful aura at least comparable to a First-Order Emperor though, while the giant ones actually had strength on par with Second-Order Emperors.
“It has both offensive and defensive abilities!” Yang Kai exclaimed in amazement.
This type of Emperor Artifact was extremely rare and very difficult to refine. Emperor Artifacts were already very valuable, but Tan Jun Hao’s Golden Armour Heavenly Book was in a whole different category.
“Junior, how do you plan to fight this Old Master now?” Tan Jun Hao stood with his hands clasped behind his back and laughed loudly, “Do you think this Old Master would be so easy to kill? With this Golden Armour Heavenly Book, you will die without a burial without this Old Master even needing to act personally.”
As he spoke, the raptor birds flew towards Yang Kai from all directions, all of them looking extremely hostile, spewing profound light from their mouths as their wings gleamed sharply. Fireballs were constantly thrown at him while some others directly charged at him with opened claws.
Yang Kai was suddenly thrown into danger of being ripped apart by these vicious birds.
Tan Jun Hao continued laughing wildly as Yang Kai grew increasingly agitated, wishing he could fly over and rip his old mouth off.
It took a long time before Yang Kai could stabilize himself, but that did not improve his situation. From all directions, the raptors summoned from the Heavenly Book glared at him fixedly.
“Break!” Yang Kai slammed a punch in a certain direction, sending a storm of Moon Blades out that cut down several raptors that could not dodge in time.
Yang Kai rushed towards the gap with the sword in hand.
There were too many enemies, and if he were really to be surrounded, Yang Kai would not be able to display his full strength, so he could only escape for now. Fortunately, although these things could display the strength of an Emperor Realm Master, they did not seem to have Emperor Grade defence, allowing him to kill several of them with just a punch. If this was the case in general, it wouldn’t take him too much effort to dispose of them all.
“Naive!” Tan Jun Hao saw that Yang Kai wanted to break through the siege, but he did not stop him, instead just standing there stoically.
“This is bad!” Yang Kai suddenly felt something was wrong.
The beasts that seemed to have been killed by him did not disappear but were immediately restored to their original state after a moment of distortion.
[These things can’t be killed!]
Yang Kai cursed in his heart as he felt their fierce auras rushing towards him from all directions. It was too late to dodge. A raptor in front of him plummeted from the air, its claws shone with golden light so sharp it seemed capable of tearing apart the toughest steel.
At the critical moment, Yang Kai could only push his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi again. The five-colour glow enveloped him, and at the same time, he urged his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique to its utmost, waving his hands as countless Moon Blades shot towards all directions.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
Moon Blades pierced through the air one after another, and the raptors were sliced into two, twisting and distorting in mid-air.
*Ci la…*
There was a sound, and the Five Elements Sword Qi collapsed. Yang Kai was hit by several attacks on the back and chest, one of which gouged out his flesh and drew a lot of Golden Blood.
This was all after Yang Kai used his Dragon Transformation. If it were not for the protection of the Dragon Scales, he probably would have been torn into two.
“It’s useless, no matter how many times you kill them, they won’t die!” Tan Jun Hao taunted him, standing to the side.
Compared to the Emperor Realm Masters he tricked into coming to this auction, this Golden Armour Heavenly Book was truly his greatest support. As long as he still had the Heavenly Book, the summoned beings would never perish and could re-condense each time after they were killed.
Of course, Yang Kai knew this now.
Although he did not understand all the mysteries of the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, he had seen some of its capabilities.
Taking advantage of the time before the slain raptors restored themselves, Yang Kai flickered away from the spot with a fluctuation of Space Principles.
“Haha, little brat, are you running out of ideas?” Tan Jun Hao laughed. The reason he had made so many preparations was mainly to counter Yang Kai’s Spatial Techniques.
And it had proven to be effective. If it were not for all Tan Jun Hao’s arrangements, he probably would not have had a chance against Yang Kai as he could flee at any time.
It was foolish of Yang Kai to try the same old trick of teleporting away again.
As Tan Jun Hao spoke, an array flag appeared in his hand.
This was the control flag for the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array, and it allowed him to perfectly counter Yang Kai’s use of Space Principles. Since Yang Kai was at his wits’ end, it was the perfect time to do it again.
It was definitely unpleasant to be thrown out of the Void, and given the right timing, Tan Jun Hao could order the raptors to pounce on Yang Kai again, ensuring he died.
Emperor Qi surged and poured into the array flag while Tan Jun Hao waved his hand towards where Yang Kai stood before.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s figure indeed reappeared from the Void.
Tan Jun Hao shouted cunningly, “Die!”
Just as he shouted though, Yang Kai suddenly disappeared from where he stood.
Tan Jun Hao’s laughter stopped abruptly as a figure appeared before him. Yang Kai had reappeared almost face to face with Tan Jun Hao, his eyes filled with mockery, “Old dog, your timing was off.”
“You…” Tan Jun Hao was shocked, but it only took a moment before he understood what was going on.
Yang Kai’s teleportation earlier was obviously just a guise, while in fact, he did not move at all. The image of him being thrown from the Void was simply because he took the initiative to reappear, not because he was really shaken out.
Just when Tan Jun Hao mistakenly thought that he had succeeded and let down his guard for a split second, Yang Kai truly teleported to approach him.
[Damn it, I fell for this brat’s trick!] Tan Jun Hao almost broke his teeth from clenching them too hard. The setup that he relied on so much had unexpectedly turned into a flaw that was used against him by the enemy. It was a great shame.
Tan Jun Hao was not slow to respond though and immediately kicked his feet to retreat.
The real battle had just begun, and the Golden Armour Heavenly Book had not even displayed a tenth of its power. Even if Yang Kai tricked him once, it was absolutely impossible for him to beat Tan Jun Hao so easily.
Tan Jun Hao had full confidence in killing Yang Kai here.
“Look into my eyes!”
At that moment though, Yang Kai suddenly let out a shout.
Tan Jun Hao looked over at him instinctively.
“Good!” Yang Kai grinned, his left eye suddenly filling with a rich golden light, his pupil transforming into a golden slit that exuded endless majesty.
Demon Eye of Annihilation!
[Oh no, I was tricked again. This cunning little brat!] Tan Jun Hao was shocked and cursed Yang Kai madly to himself.
He instinctively wanted to look away, but found that he was hindered by a strange power exuded from the golden slit.
A Pupil Technique!
Tan Jun Hao bit the tip of his tongue while desperately pushing his Spiritual Energy to resist this unnatural attraction.
But a split second was sufficient to decide the victor in a competition between Masters.
Before Tan Jun Hao could regain control of himself, Yang Kai had already made a move.
“Soul Splitting Saber, Heaven Severing Slash!”
A golden ray shot out from his left eye, slashed straight towards Tan Jun Hao before it disappeared in a flash.
With a muffled grunt, the colour drained from Yang Kai’s face as sweat poured down his forehead like he had just been drenched under the rain.
On the other hand, Tan Jun Hao screamed miserably as he bled profusely from his eyes and his face contorted in pain.
The Soul Splitting Sabre was an extremely powerful Soul Type Emperor Artifact.
On top of that, the Heaven Severing Slash was a Secret Technique learnt by Yang Kai from Tian Yan in Divine Ascension Mirror World. The Divine Ascension Mirror was the Supreme Artifact of Azure Sun Temple and contained an isolated independent world where all the living beings had no physical bodies and existed solely as Soul Avatars.
Tian Yan was the strongest inhabitant of the Divine Ascension Mirror and the power of his Soul Avatar had reached the level of a Great Emperor.
He had studied the Soul for all his life, and created the Heaven Severing Slash as his own ultimate technique, so how could its power be weak?
With the complement of an Emperor Artifact like the Soul Splitting Sabre, the power of the Heaven Severing Slash was not as simple as just one plus one.
Furthermore, Yang Kai had poured all of Spiritual Energy into this one strike just in case, almost to the point where he could not bear the strain. His face turned pale and his blood ran cold as a splitting headache plagued his Soul.
Tan Jun Hao, who was hit directly, was even more miserable though.
The violent soul-splitting force tore through his Soul defences instantly and crashed into his Knowledge Sea, turning it upside down. Waves rolled wildly, causing his Soul to fall into a chaotic state.
Tan Jun Hao screamed as his whole person was drenched in sweat, like a fish out of the sea.
His Knowledge Sea was now severely injured, and with the exception of a few extinct Spirit Pills, there was no way to heal such a wound. Even a Great Emperor could do nothing about it.
“Blossoming Lotus!” Yang Kai shouted again, wanting to take advantage of the situation to kill Tan Jun Hao for good. He forced himself to remain conscious as he prepared to execute his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique.
Unexpectedly, the Golden Armour Heavenly Book on top of Tan Jun Hao suddenly flipped on its own and stopped at a certain page.
All of a sudden, two golden beams shot out of the pages of the book.
At such a close distance, Yang Kai was unprepared and was directly pierced by the two golden beams.
*Pu…*
Yang Kai spewed a mouthful of Golden Blood into the air, his whole body repelled by a massive force and immediately falling to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
Severe pain came up from his lower abdomen as Yang Kai looked up with his face darkened and roared, “Old Dog Tan, we cannot coexist beneath the same sky!”
Two holes with the width of a finger appeared on his lower abdomen, directly piercing through his body. Yang Kai had no idea what kind of offensive skill the two golden beams were that even his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique could not guard against.
Circulating his Emperor Qi to his wounds, Yang Kai temporarily staunched the bleeding.
But at the same time, hundreds of raptors that had spread out across this isolated space struck towards Yang Kai, shocking him and forcing him to quickly teleport away to escape.
Without Tan Jun Hao immobilizing Yang Kai, it was difficult for these raptors to hurt the latter as he could instantaneously move away.
“Ah!” Tan Jun Hao screamed up to the sky, his clothes flapping even when there was no wind and his hair flying wildly, painting a hideous picture.
“Hahaha…” Yang Kai covered his abdomen with his hand and took some distance. Staring at Tan Jun Hao’s appearance, Yang Kai suddenly felt much better in his heart.
Although he had just acted carelessly and was wounded severely as a result, Tan Jun Hao’s injuries were even more dire. Even if he could not kill him today, he was afraid that Tan Jun Hao would not live long anyway.
Yang Kai took a handful of healing and restorative Spirit Pills from his Space Ring and stuffed them like beans into his mouth.
A cornered mouse would put up a stubborn fight against a cat, not to mention a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master like Tan Jun Hao. Yang Kai was afraid that what followed would be the real battle of life and death, so he did not hesitate to take this moment to try to recover some of his strength.
*Hualala… *
The pages of the book on top of Tan Jun Hao flipped again.
Yang Kai was stunned, wondering what this old thing was going to do now, silently gathering his strength and preparing to dodge at any time.
The book stopped at a certain page and shot out a golden light. This golden transformed into a golden longsword before descending from the sky, causing cracks in the space directly, annihilating several raptors in the process.
“Huh?” Yang Kai watched in bewilderment.
*Hualala…*
The pages of the book flipped again, but this time, a big seal flew out of the page and bombarded the ground directly, leaving a huge pit behind.
*Hualala…*
The pages of the book were flipping constantly, and each time they stopped, a different attack would come out from the page, from artifacts of various shapes and sizes to powerful Secret Techniques, to lively Monsters Beasts.
Yang Kai even saw a Monster Beast that was comparable to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, one that resembled a meatball with countless eyes all over its body. Yang Kai had absolutely no clue what this creature was supposed to be.
However, black lights shot out of its eyes, each beam seemingly able to petrify anything it struck.
As soon as the meatball Monster Beast emerged, it kept blinking its eyes, and every time its eyes blinked, they would shoot at least dozens of black lights.
The hundreds of raptors first summoned by Tan Jun Hao were all affected by it and were quickly frozen in place by this petrifying technique.
These raptors seemed to be dreadfully afraid of the meatball Monster Beast and dared not to fight back, simply allowing it to rampage wildly as they fled about. Soon, the whole army of raptors were completely annihilated.
The situation was extremely chaotic as all kinds of attacks were unleashed aimlessly, while Yang Kai just jumped here and there, dodging anything that came his way.
He paid special attention to the attacks of the meatball Monster Beast, as he had accidentally been hit by one of them once and found his reaction speed and flexibility decreased drastically. It took him a great deal of effort and Emperor Qi to resolve this negative effect.
Yang Kai was feeling quite startled now. If Tan Jun Hao had taken the opportunity to attack him just now, perhaps he would not have been able to dodge even with his teleportation ability.
“Ahhh…” Tan Jun Hao was screaming the whole time, holding his head in his hands, leaping about from time to time, while rolling around on the floor at others. He had completely lost the demeanour of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and Star Soul Palace Elder.
“He’s gone insane…” Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, exasperated.
He was taken by surprise as he did not expect things to progress so dramatically.
On second thought, Yang Kai had used the Soul Splitting Sabre to unleash his Heaven Severing Slash on Tan Jun Hao, a strike most others would have instantly died from.
After all, when one’s Knowledge Sea was split apart, his Soul would definitely be destroyed. There was no chance to survive such a wound.
Tan Jun Hao was truly amazing for being able to survive under such an attack, but he could not avoid the fate of insanity as his Knowledge Sea was too severely injured.
At this moment, he was not in his right mind and had obviously gone crazy.
Yang Kai felt incredibly lucky.
Previously, Yang Kai was already a little overwhelmed when Tan Jun Hao only used three of his Golden Armour Heavenly Book’s abilities. It seemed that this Emperor Artifact had infinite uses, with the meatball Monster Beast alone giving Yang Kai a hard time, not to mention how disastrous it could be if Tan Jun Hao unleashed all of these abilities at him one after another.
Currently, Tan Jun Hao’s Soul was in a chaotic state, so he had lost control and was just summoning the many abilities of the Golden Armour Heavenly Book randomly, which further emphasized how terrifying this Emperor Artifact really was.
But where did he get such an Emperor Artifact? It was definitely not something that could be refined by any living Artifact Refiner.
While Yang Kai was still thinking about it, the Golden Armour Heavenly Book that was floating on top of Tan Jun Hao’s head suddenly released a dazzling golden light. Then, all the strange beings that were summoned from it turned into golden beams and rushed back to the book and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
After all the beings returned, the Golden Armour Heavenly Book suddenly closed and fell from above Tan Jun Hao’s head.
Yang Kai ogled at the Golden Armour Heavenly Book like a thief. With a flicker, he arrived in front of the Heavenly Book and stretched his hand out to pick it up.
After witnessing the power of this Golden Armour Heavenly Book, how could Yang Kai not feel moved? With such an Emperor Artifact in hand, he would have the upper hand in fighting with the others in the future.
*Ci la la…*
A strange noise came out as the Golden Armour Heavenly Book glowed brightly the moment Yang Kai grasped it. A violent vibration showed it was rejecting Yang Kai’s hand. Not only that, Yang Kai felt an unbearable pain in his Soul from the piercing golden radiance.
Another hand suddenly grasped the Golden Armour Heavenly Book firmly from the other side at that moment.
Yang Kai looked up and saw Tan Jun Hao staring at him with bloodshot eyes, making him look extremely ferocious.
“Let go, this is mine!” Tan Jun Hao yelled at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied, “You’re crazy, I will keep this thing for you first.”
“I’m not crazy!” Tan Jun Hao shook his head solemnly.
“Yes, you are crazy!” Yang Kai stared into his eyes deeply, “You are completely crazy.” He spoke the words with a strange hypnotizing power.
“Am I crazy?” Tan Jun Hao stared at Yang Kai, stupefied.
Yang Kai nodded firmly.
If he was not crazy, why would he want to snatch the Golden Armour Heavenly Book from him like this? This was his Emperor Artifact in the first place, so he could retrieve it with just a single thought.
“I am crazy!” Tan Jun Hao abruptly stood up, lost in thought, involuntarily releasing his hand that was grabbing the Golden Armour Heavenly Book.
He did not seem to realize that being crazy had nothing to do with competing for the Heavenly Book.
Yang Kai quickly took the opportunity to seize the Heavenly Book and forcibly stuff it into his Sealed World Bead.
Tan Jun Hao’s Soul Imprint was still left on the Heavenly Book, but he could erase that later.
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai’s action immediately attracted Tan Jun Hao’s attention. He woke up from his contemplation and glared at Yang Kai viciously with his teeth gritted, “Give it back to me!”
Yang Kai replied with his hands spread, “It’s gone.”
Tan Jun Hao was so infuriated that he pushed his Emperor Qi wildly and pounced at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was caught off guard and was blasted out, wincing from the intense pain from his already injured abdomen.
“Give it back to me!” Tan Jun Hao roared, his fists raining down wildly on Yang Kai’s chest.
*Pu!*
Yang Kai spurted a mouthful of blood on Tan Jun Hao’s face while at the same time he stomped on Tan Jun Hao’s face to separate himself from him.
Yang Kai rapidly made a hand seal with both hands and muttered with a solemn face, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
The seal was formed, and he pushed it forward gently.
Tan Jun Hao did not think of dodging it at all as he fixed his bloody eyes on Yang Kai and pursued him madly while repeating the same sentence over and over again.
The Time Flies Seal hit Tan Jun Hao head-on and exploded.
Time Principles rapidly covered Tan Jun Hao’s figure and turned him from an already old man into a crippled old man, his hair turning grey and falling out while his skin and body shrivelled up and wrinkled.
When Tan Jun Hao landed on the ground, he was just a dying old man.
Tan Jun Hao’s obsession for the artifact still had not faded, and he immediately charged at Yang Kai again, yelling, “Give it back to me!”
Yang Kai looked at him coldly, took a deep breath to calm the roiling vitality in his chest, and waited for him to get close before sending out a heavy punch.
Half of Tan Jun Hao’s body was smashed to pieces as he was thrown out once again.
But this time, he did not get up.
The Heaven Severing Slash delivered with Yang Kai’s Soul Splitting Saber did tremendous damage to Tan Jun Hao, and with his chaotic Soul, he unconsciously and madly triggered the Golden Armour Heavenly Book to release its power.
Although an artifact like the Golden Armour Heavenly Book possessed formidable power, the consumption required to use each of its abilities was definitely not small. There was a proportional relationship between the two.
Tan Jun Hao activated many of the abilities of the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, and undoubtedly used much of his strength to do so. Even if he was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, the Emperor Qi in his body was nearly exhausted.
With his Soul damaged beyond repair and his Emperor Qi exhausted, Tan Jun Hao had less than ten percent of his strength remaining. Moreover, he was struck by Yang Kai’s Time Flies Seal, so just before he died, Tan Jun Hao was nothing but a dying beast making its last struggle. Even an ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Master could have easily taken him down, let alone Yang Kai.
“Give it… back… to me!” Tan Jun Hao, whose body was already half gone and whose organs had all spilt out, shouted determinedly while lying on the ground, but his voice was dreadfully weak.
“Just die already,” Yang Kai muttered, his body also on the verge of collapse.
The battle today was extremely dangerous and his injuries were quite serious, especially the huge open wound on his chest. This wound was so deep that his flesh was torn apart and his bones were exposed, a horrifying sight to behold. Furthermore, he had two bloody holes on his lower abdomen.
The wound on his chest was the result of a clash with a gigantic beast that possessed strength on par with a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. Numerous strange creatures had been summoned from the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, and while they did not have strong defensive power, their offensive strength was ridiculous to the point that even Yang Kai’s body could not guard against it after using his Dragon Transformation.
The bloody holes on his lower abdomen were from when the two golden beams from the Heavenly Book had penetrated him at point-blank range, tearing holes in his organs…
Other than that, he also suffered countless smaller injuries, such as cuts, bruises, and broken bones. ‘Miserable’ would be an understatement to describe his condition.
However, Yang Kai looked exceptionally exhilarated, because this was his first time defeating a peak condition Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. With the experience gained from this battle, he would not be panicked when facing Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in the future.
The growth of any cultivator was inseparable from life and death battles. The more experience one had in combat, the farther one could progress on the path of the Martial Dao.
“Give…” A soft cry came from up ahead again, but it was not followed up by the rest of the sentence. The final wisp of vitality left in Tan Jun Hao and dissipated at that moment.
“Finally!” Yang Kai felt that his whole body was about to fall apart. His injuries and consumption of energy had thoroughly exhausted him. Seeing that his enemy was finally dead, his nerves at last relaxed. Unprecedented fatigue overwhelmed him at once, and he wanted to pass out now.
At that moment, an intimidating light suddenly appeared and rich murderous intent struck from behind.
“Die!”
Wu Ming appeared while slashing his blade down excitedly with his Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation released without reservation.
He had been knocked out by Yang Kai previously, but because of that, he also avoided the most dangerous parts of the battle. Then, he was awakened from his coma by an attack when Tan Jun Hao inadvertently triggered the power of the Golden Armour Heavenly Book and wounded him by mistake.
Wu Ming was a cunning one though, so even though he woke up some time ago, he did not get up immediately and instead secretly observed the fight.
Before his eyes, he witnessed the shocking scene of his Honoured Master going crazy while Yang Kai remained alive and well. Wu Ming could not stop fear from growing in his heart, for he had no idea whether his Honoured Master who had gone crazy could still be Yang Kai’s opponent. If his Honoured Master could not win against Yang Kai, it would be disastrous for Wu Ming too.
Facts proved that his Honoured Master was really not a match for Yang Kai. After rampaging about, Tan Jun Hao exhausted his strength and ultimately got half of his body smashed to pieces by Yang Kai, winding up dead after clinging to life a while longer…
His Honoured Master, who was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, actually failed to defeat Yang Kai, and was killed by him instead!
Wu Ming’s heart sank to the bottom of a valley at once, feeling that there was no light in the world anymore.
However, at that moment, he keenly realized that Yang Kai’s body was unsteady and quickly realized that even though Yang Kai won the fight, it must have been a difficult victory for him and the price that he paid was definitely not small.
Without a doubt, this was the best time for him to ambush Yang Kai!
If he could kill Yang Kai, not only he could avenge his Honoured Master, he could also obtain all of the treasures. He had long been fascinated by his Honoured Master’s Golden Armour Heavenly Book, and if he could obtain it, he would have no reservations fighting against Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in the future, which would allow him to climb the ranks in Star Soul Palace rapidly, possibly becoming an Elder himself.
If he waited and allowed Yang Kai to catch his breath though, the next to die would certainly be him.
Therefore, Wu Ming made a quick decision to kill Yang Kai when he was at his weakest. He wanted to finish off Yang Kai with one single strike.
Yang Kai did not seem to be able to react and Wu Ming’s blade left a slash on his shoulder almost a hand length deep.
Wu Ming was overjoyed, but when he attempted to pull out the sword from Yang Kai’s shoulder, the latter suddenly turned his head around and grinned, “You finally couldn’t hold yourself back.”
Wu Ming was startled and stammered in terror, “You knew… ”
Yang Kai spat a mouthful of blood, and snickered, “What do you think?”
Wu Ming was infuriated, “Impudence! Watch how this King chops you up!”
When the words fell, he surged his Emperor Qi fiercely and his sword hummed with a power that seemed capable of shattering the sun and moon, attempting to split Yang Kai in two.
“If you had stayed there quietly, this Young Master might just have left you alone, but since you decided to jump out, you can die!” Yang Kai shouted, grabbing the blade with his bare hand and stopping it from advancing any further through pure physical strength.
Wu Ming was horrified as he never thought that this young man who seemed to be on the verge of fainting could still exert so much strength.
A fist swung directly at him at that moment, and after witnessing half of his Honoured Master’s body being smashed by a similar punch, how could Wu Ming not understand the power of this blow?
As Wu Ming was still hesitating, wondering whether he should abandon the blade or apply more force to it, Yang Kai’s fist had already hit him in the face.
A strong force impacted Wu Ming’s face, and instantly went dizzy, feeling as if his nose was flattened as he screamed in his heart, [It’s over, I’m dead.]
But when he regained his senses, he found that his head did not explode like he imagined, and he was still alive. He immediately understood that Yang Kai really had reached his limits, otherwise the power of his punch would not have been so weak.
Wu Ming was delighted and angered at the same time. Just when he prepared to pounce at Yang Kai again, he heard a soft slicing sound.
The next moment, Wu Ming felt that his body became lighter, as if he lost something vital.
He looked down instinctively and saw a crescent-shaped hole covering more than half of his chest had unknowingly appeared. Through the hole, he could see his squirming organs, and half of his heart still beating…
Wu Ming slowly widened his eyes as he tried to circulate his Emperor Qi to seal this wound, but unexpectedly, Yang Kai raised his hand again, flicked his fingers, and sent several more Moon Blades at him.
*Pu pu pu…*
The few Moon Blades penetrated through Wu Ming as expected, and one of them even slashed across his neck, directly severing his head. As his vision tumbled, Wu Ming’s eyes bulged as an expression of everlasting regret etched on his lifeless face while his headless body remained standing in the same place.
“I initially planned to torture you, so consider yourself lucky to have a swift death.” Yang Kai looked at Wu Ming’s broken corpse and snorted coldly, his face dreadfully pale.
After that, he reached his hand to hold the long blade that was embedded in his shoulder and pulled it out.
*Puchi… *
Golden Blood splashed all over Yang Kai’s face.
“Tsk tsk…” Yang Kai turned his head to look at his shoulder with some amazement and muttered, “Just like a fountain…”
Before he could finish his sentence, his legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground.
He was truly exhausted.
He took a few full breaths to force himself to remain conscious as he pushed his Emperor Qi to seal his wounds before taking out some more healing Spirit Pills and stuffing them into his mouth. Only after he swallowed did he feel his condition stabilize somewhat.
Yang Kai lay on the ground and did not feel like moving at all. He turned his head to look at the side, then he stretched out and opened his hand, drawing an array flag that had fallen on the ground over there into his palm.
Tan Jun Hao used this flag to deal with him earlier, so if Yang Kai was not mistaken, it should be the Control Flag of the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array.
With this array flag, he should be able to deactivate the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array and allow Ying Fei to find him.
Tan Jun Hao was already dead, so his Soul Imprint on the array flag could easily be erased by Yang Kai. After studying it slowly for a while, Yang Kai had a basic understanding of how it functioned.
Gripping the flag, he waved it in a specific pattern, and the darkness covering the world suddenly dissipated, revealing the true world again.
The place where Yang Kai was was a square covering a vast area that was located behind the branch of Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce.
Yang Kai laid motionless and waited quietly.
A moment later, a swoosh came from the sky and landed beside him.
Yang Kai curled his lips upwards slightly as he called out, “Monster King…”
However, he quickly realized something was wrong because there was a familiar aroma that suddenly wafted to the tip of his nose.
He furrowed his brow and turned his head to look up, and about ten meters away from him, a pair of delicate feet appeared in his field of vision. Moving his gaze up slightly, he saw a young woman dressed in a long pale green dress with a delicate sash tied around her slim, graceful waist. She had voluptuous peaks and her slightly exposed neck was slender while her white face was beautiful enough to feast his eyes on. Her long black hair flowed down her back like a waterfall, finishing her alluring appearance.
“How come it’s you!?” Yang Kai’s eyes widened.
He did not expect that the first person to come to him after deactivating the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array was not Ying Fei, but the Dragon Girl named Zhu Qing.
[Didn’t she leave?] Yang Kai had not seen her for nearly a month since their last meeting in the inn.
He thought she could not stand his unreasonable attitude anymore and decided to forget about him altogether.
[Is this devilish woman here taking advantage of me!?] Yang Kai’s heart jumped in shock. He had molested her in the wilderness before, and although he was bewildered when he did so and was not acting completely of his own free will, that did not change what he had done.
This devilish woman did not seem to be a magnanimous person, so perhaps she had been looking for a chance to take revenge on him all this time.
Now that she had found him in such a weakened state, Yang Kai was afraid that his future was not looking promising.
“Monster King…” Yang Kai called out feebly, hammering his fist on the ground, desperate to create some noise.
The situation was not good. He usually would not have any problems facing this devilish woman, Zhu Qing, but he just experienced a near-fatal battle, and he was extremely weak. It was not safe to be alone with her.
He had to alert Ying Fei to come over and guard him.
“What are you shouting for? He won’t be able to find you for a while.” Zhu Qing looked at the half-dead Yang Kai gleefully, a smirk on her lips as she walked over and squatted next to the top of his head, her feet stepping on the corners of her skirt to avoid exposing her intimates, her face resting on her hand as she peered at him with interest.
Yang Kai glared at her like she was a formidable new enemy and asked vigilantly, “Then how did you find me so soon?”
“Dragon Qi. I’m a Dragon, so if I search for your Dragon Qi, I can naturally find you!” Zhu Qing reached out and poked the Dragon Scales on Yang Kai’s chest.
Yang Kai let out a hiss, his face scrunching up in pain when Zhu Qing poked at his already bone-bearing wound with a force considered neither light nor heavy.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” Zhu Qing stretched her hand to cover her crimson lips, looking at Yang Kai with feigned embarrassment, like a child who did something wrong; but she did not bother concealing the sly glow in her eyes.
“It’s just a scratch, not even worth mentioning!” Yang Kai snorted defiantly, refusing to admit he was in pain. One must not lose composure before their enemies.
“Really!” Zhu Qing sneered menacingly and thrust her slender finger onto the wound on Yang Kai’s shoulder.
“What are you doing?!” Yang Kai was furious as he roared internally, [If this Young Master wasn’t in such a weak state, he would have smacked your behind until it was blood red!]
Zhu Qing smiled without saying a word and continued to poke, poke, poke, poke…
She pretended to ask with concern, “Does it hurt? I bet such a big wound would hurt!”
The changes in Yang Kai’s face were incredibly entertaining to her. He gritted his teeth and said nothing, but anger grew inside of him, vowing that if she didn’t kill him today, he would return her ‘concern’ a hundred times over in the future.
“Does it hurt?” Zhu Qing asked again with the same feigned concern, but the force she used intensified, actually drilling her nail into an open wound, probing it back and forth.
Tears rolled down from the corner of Yang Kai’s eye as the feeling of being trampled on because of his current weakness could not help filling his heart.
He twisted his head and stared between Zhu Qing’s legs, commenting solemnly, “Little girl, your underwear is exposed.”
Zhu Qing was stunned and quickly looked down to check.
At that moment, Yang Kai activated his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength violently, releasing a golden radiance that covered him and Zhu Qing together.
Zhu Qing snorted involuntarily, as if she had received a terrible shock, and her small face turned slightly pale.
Yang Kai stretched out his arms in that opening and grabbed her neck with all the force he could muster, pulling Zhu Qing down fiercely, directly making her fall to her knees in front of him, unable to resist at all.
With a loud thump, the two heads banged into each other.
Yang Kai felt the world spin for a moment and almost fainted, but still accurately captured her crimson lips with his own, his tongue swimming out like a dragon leaping from the sea, prying her teeth apart and savouring her sweet taste wantonly.
“Ugh…” Zhu Qing grunted, her eyes widening in an instant.
Although it was not the first time, it was still unbearable to have such intimate contact with this hooligan. It was as though an all-conquering spear was sweeping left and right in her mouth, exuding a magical force, overwhelming her mind. A numb and tingly feeling immediately filled her head, and she could not muster any of her strength at all. At the same time, the temperature of her whole body gradually increased to an extreme high.
The two seemed to have frozen on the square full of corpses, blood, and guts, like time itself had stopped flowing around them.
The golden light gradually dissipated, and the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength gradually faded.
Without the suppression of the Golden Divine Dragon Source, Zhu Qing pulled her head away immediately and got rid of Yang Kai’s reckless entanglement. Her beautiful eyes were boiling with anger, like a volcano about to erupt, and her rich peaks heaved up and down violently as she gritted his teeth, “You… Impudence!”
Her lungs almost exploded in fury from the fact that a trivial Human had indecently assaulted her once again.
“Hahaha…” Yang Kai lay splayed on the ground shamelessly, with his limbs spread out. It was a very embarrassing sight, but he kept laughing wickedly and continued to taunt her, “Go on, do it, I will have a glorious death nonetheless, but after you kill me, I’m afraid you’ll remain a widow for the rest of your life!”
He spoke as if Zhu Qing was already his woman.
Zhu Qing’s face turned so cold that a layer of frost could be scraped off of it. She clenched her teeth, raised a pink fist, and aimed at Yang Kai’s face fiercely.
“You… Da…!” Yang Kai yelled, but before he could finish, his eyes rolled back and he passed out completely.
…..
His head felt heavy, and a throbbing headache haunted him. His body was weak and feeble, as if he had returned to his early years when he was a cripple. It had been a long time since Yang Kai felt this way.
He flitted in and out of consciousness, but vaguely heard some familiar voices and saw some familiar faces appearing in his dim vision during his brief moments of awareness. He wanted to see clearly but was too weak to do so. He tried to extend his hand, but it was like trying to grasp the moon in the well.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and his murky consciousness became clear.
“Young Master Yang!”
“Yang Kai!”
“Sect Master!”
Shouts rang loudly in his ears. Yang Kai looked around and saw Ying Fei, Ye Hen, Ye Jing Han and the others gathered around him, their eyes full of concern, only displaying relief when they saw him really awake.
“I’m not dead…” Yang Kai muttered softly.
Ying Fei explained, “Young Master Yang, your consumption was too great from the battle, and you suffered serious injuries. You fell into a coma. Fortunately… Young Lady Zhu Qing was the first to find you and stayed by your side. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous if you were taken advantage of by others.”
Just the thought of it was terrifying. Yang Kai was in a deep coma at that time, and if he had been discovered by someone with nefarious intentions, he would probably already be dead.
Even though the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array was deactivated by Yang Kai, the Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array was still functioning, so Ying Fei and the others had to wait for Gong Tai to crack that Spirit Array before they could rejoin the separated spaces and get out of their room.
“Zhu Qing…” Yang Kai was stunned.
Ying Fei smiled in affirmation, “It was Young Lady Zhu Qing who protected you while you were unconscious.”
As he spoke, he stole a glance to the side with a meaningful smile, probably thinking there was something going on between Yang Kai and Zhu Qing. After all, the two of them were caught embracing one another out in the wild mountains…
Yang Kai looked over and saw Zhu Qing standing there, her expression rather complex.
Yang Kai grinned grimly, thinking that if it wasn’t for this devilish woman, he would not have fainted.
But Yang Kai was surprised that she did not use the opportunity to take advantage of him, or even kill him. It seemed… she really did not hold any malice towards him. Could he have misunderstood her all along?
“Em… even my body was washed and my clothes changed!” Yang Kai realized that the blood on his body was gone and he was wearing a clean set of robes.
Was it Zhu Qing? The simple thought made him a little excited…
“It was me!” Ai Ou seemed to have seen through Yang Kai’s fanciful thoughts and snorted coldly, “Do you have an opinion?”
Yang Kai’s face darkened and he replied hurriedly, “Thank you Sir father-in-law, how can this son-in-law have any opinions?”
“Hmph, you’ve been roaming around outside all on your own and doing such a bad job on protecting yourself. What’s going to happen if Yue’er and the others had to become widows?” Ai Ou reprimanded.
“Yes, yes!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly as he truly was guilty in this case.
Gu Cang Yun quickly assisted from the side, “We can only blame ourselves for being too weak, forcing Sect Master Yang to help us like this.”
Ai Ou sighed, “Don’t be so reckless next time.” His words were full of concern. He paused and said hesitantly, “Fifth Sister…”
Yang Kai took a moment before he could react, and hurriedly assured, “She is fine, I will let her out now.”
With a wave, Chi Yue was brought out from the Sealed World Bead.
Zhu Qing stared at this unexpected scene in astonishment.
After everyone was reunited, and another round of questioning was had, Chi Yue couldn’t help feeling responsible for Yang Kai’s injuries.
“Everyone, let’s leave Young Master Yang to rest for a while,” Ying Fei quickly suggested when he noticed that the rowdy group was going to continue to pester Yang Kai.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Gui Zu nodded, “Everything else can be discussed when Sect Master recovers.”
With that said, everyone left one after another.
Zhu Qing did not say a word and silently blended into the group to exit the room.
“Wait… Qing’er, could you stay back? I have something to ask you.” Yang Kai stopped her.
Zhu Qing paused when she heard Yang Kai address her so intimately, her brow furrowing in irritation before she nodded reluctantly.
She, too, needed an opportunity to chat with Yang Kai alone.
On the contrary, Chi Yue and Ai Ou turned their heads abruptly to give Yang Kai a meaningful look before turning back and walking out.
After a while, everyone else had left the room.
Yang Kai got up from the bed, sat cross-legged, and began using his Divine Sense to examine himself.
At a glance, Yang Kai was quite surprised.
He found that his strength… seemed to have improved. He examined himself again in disbelief and found that it had indeed improved. Although he had not reached the Second-Order Emperor Realm, he had definitely reached the peak of the First-Order Emperor Realm. He was now much stronger than before this incident.
A few days ago, he had to deal with the attacks of nearly thirty Emperor Realm Masters, followed by the one hundred Emperor Realm Monster Beasts summoned from the Golden Armour Heavenly Book, and then fought against Tan Jun Hao, finally obtaining a hard-earned victory.
He was completely drained of both Spiritual Energy and Emperor Qi, pushed to his limits in a life or death battle, and apparently gained many benefits after emerging the winner.
Although he was not in peak shape yet, as long as he fully recovered, he could definitely exert much greater strength than before, and he would not suffer so much if he ever encountered another battle like that again.
It was something worth celebrating.
He checked his injuries again and found that there were no major wounds left. The powerful Golden Blood had been working well in restoring his physique during the past few days of coma. The wounds on his chest and shoulders were almost completely healed while his over-exerted Spiritual Energy was completely replenished thanks to the nourishment of the Soul Warming Lotus.
He probably would be back to his usual self after another one or two days of rest and meditation.
Zhu Qing watched curiously without interrupting him while Yang Kai was examining himself.
Although she was the first person who found Yang Kai a few days ago, she had no clue what had happened. She only knew that Yang Kai had encountered a fierce battle. Only later did she learn that his opponents were a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, several Second-Order Emperor Realm Masters, and a couple dozen First-Order Emperors…
Many of his enemies had higher cultivations than him, and one of them was even a Star Soul Palace Elder.
But he ended up winning and defeating all of them in the end.
Zhu Qing could not help feeling impressed.
The Dragon Clan had always boasted that they were the strongest among all Divine Spirits, so their standards were exceedingly high and they never put other clans in their eyes, even other Divine Spirits were rarely worthy of the Dragon Clan’s attention.
But even Zhu Qing felt that it would have been impossible for her to achieve such a victory when she had a similar cultivation to Yang Kai.
[Is he really just a Human?] Zhu Qing truly admired him, despite his terrible no-good character. He could explain for himself that he did not mean to molest her for the first time because of the bloodline attraction he felt, but he definitely acted intentionally the second time.
If her Elder had not told her to make friends with him, Zhu Qing would have torn him apart and rid the world of this scourge.
“Don’t you think that I’ll be shy if you keep staring at me like this?”
Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Qing with a smile.
Zhu Qing quickly averted her eyes and turned her head away.
“I’m curious. Why didn’t you kill me?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Why should I kill you?” Zhu Qing looked out the window and replied without looking back.
Yang Kai asked quizzically, “If you’re not going to kill me, why did you come back?”
He had not seen her for nearly a month, and it was only reasonable for Yang Kai to misunderstand when she only suddenly appeared when he was in his weakest condition. He thought that she had come for revenge, but things turned out different from his expectations.
Zhu Qing turned her head and glared at Yang Kai, “Why else? I want to be friends with you of course!”
“Be friends…” Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, feeling this sentence somewhat sounded familiar.
Zhu Qing tossed something towards Yang Kai with a swing of her hand and remarked, “This is what you wanted. It took a lot of effort to get it.”
Yang Kai caught what was thrown at him and stared at Zhu Qing in confusion, only realizing after a while that what he caught was a wine bottle.
[Could it be…]
With a single thought, Yang Kai opened the bottle and sniffed it, smelling a rich wine fragrance.
“Western Territory Sword Wine Villa only brews ninety-nine bottles of Sword Wine each year, and one of them is in your hand now.”
Cold sweat trickled down Yang Kai’s forehead as he looked at her suspiciously and asked, “You went to the Western Territory?”
He mentioned this request casually a month ago just to make things difficult for her, but he did not expect that she really would get him a bottle of Sword Wine. Now it seemed that her disappearance was not because she had retreated in the face of difficulties, but instead went to obtain him this bottle of Sword Wine?
A thoughtless remark actually made her run around for an entire month. Yang Kai wondered whether this girl was stupid or not…
But he also felt a little guilty about it.
On second thought, even if she was a Dragon, how could one month be enough for her to go back and forth from the Western Territory?
“Why do you need to know where I went? Anyway, I got you what you asked for,” Zhu Qing clenched her teeth secretly because she actually paid a high price for this bottle of Sword Wine.
“Are we friends now?” She stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked up at her speechlessly.
Zhu Qing fumed, “Do you want to break your promise?”
She secretly cursed in her heart that if this hateful man dared to go back on his word, she would beat him senseless even if she would be punished by the Elder, then knock him out and drag him to Dragon Island. Looking at his current condition, she believed she would be able to win, so she clenched her pink fists and began scanning his body, thinking about where she should punch at to take him down fastest, otherwise she would be suppressed again when he used the Ancestral Dragon Source.
Yang Kai stared at her for a long time, then nodded lightly, “Good, we are friends now.”
It felt strange to make friends with a member of the Dragon Clan, moreover only under threat of violence.
While speaking, he put the bottle of Sword Wine into his Space Ring.
“Really?” Zhu Qing beamed from ear to ear when she heard this.
“Really!” Yang Kai nodded solemnly.
Zhu Qing’s face changed again as she retorted angrily, “Why don’t you drink the wine then? Are you only agreeing with your mouth but don’t actually intend on treating me like a friend?”
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “No one has ever worked so hard to get a gift for me, so I want to keep it as a memento. When I see this wine bottle again, I will always think of you.”
Who knew if there was anything else in the wine bottle! Although he promised to be friends with Zhu Qing, it was truly strange of her to even want to be friends with him. Zhu Qing definitely had other intentions, and Yang Kai naturally could not trust her completely.
But one thing was for sure, this girl bore no malice towards him at the moment; otherwise, he wouldn’t have woken up in the first place.
As he told Zhu Qing before, the word ‘friends’ was not as simple as just saying it.
Zhu Qing did not expect Yang Kai to say such words, so her face slightly flushed and her heart beat a little faster as she muttered, “Nonsense.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at her shy demeanour. He recalled the girl’s sweet tongue and warm red lips, and started to feel restless.
Zhu Qing was confused too. Even though she had successfully made the first step by having Yang Kai promise to be her friend, she thought that it was not a good time to invite him to Dragon Island now because her intentions would be too obvious that way. For a moment, she hesitated about what to do.
The atmosphere was a little awkward as Yang Kai could feel his blood beginning to pump faster and faster, to the point that it seemed something bad would happen if he didn’t actively suppress himself.
It was inexplicable that he could not control himself every time he was with Zhu Qing. Although this girl was gorgeous and had an enchanting body, there were many beautiful and fine women out there, so why was it that only she could provoke such a visceral reaction from him?
He wanted to chase her away, but it would seem too ungrateful to ask her to leave right after saying they were friends.
Instead, Yang Kai grabbed a few Space Rings from his bedside and began checking them one by one.
These Space Rings were formerly owned by the Emperor Realm Masters he killed, eight in total.
He was in a coma earlier, so these Space Rings were collected by Ying Fei who arrived later.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” Yang Kai sat cross-legged on the bed and rolled up his sleeves excitedly.
Zhu Qing also took a look but did not pay much attention to them. Although there were many things in these Space Rings, none of them caught her eyes.
“Tsk, tsk, so many Source Crystals,” Yang Kai opened the first Space Ring, and saw a huge amount of Source Crystals piled inside.
There were nearly ten million High-Rank Source Crystals alone, then thirty to forty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals and hundreds of millions Low-Rank Source Crystals.
Other than that, the Space Ring was also full of a variety of pills, Secret Arts, Secret Books, rare ores, and artifacts.
Usually, someone had to cultivate for hundreds of years to reach the Emperor Realm, so they accumulated a great deal of wealth over the centuries.
Although Yang Kai was extremely wealthy too, now that he had created High Heaven Palace, he naturally needed to start preparing for the future. There would be at least tens of thousands of people who needed to migrate from Shadowed Star to the Star Boundary, and when that happened, the demand for resources would increase dramatically. Therefore, it was always better to have more assets.
Source Crystals would be the primary resource needed by the disciples of High Heaven Palace for cultivation in the future, while Secret Arts and Secret Techniques could provide a broader path on the Martial Dao for the disciples. As for artifacts, pills, and other auxiliaries, they could serve as rewards for contributing merits…
Delightedly, Yang Kai straightaway transferred everything in the first Space Ring into his own.
When he opened another Space Ring, he found that the loot was even more abundant.
Yang Kai laughed stupidly as Zhu Qing watched him with a frown.
Each of the eight Space Rings had at least ten million High-Rank Source Crystals and countless Middle-Rank and Low-Rank Source Crystals.
But thinking about it, these Emperor Realm Masters had come to Flowing Shadow City for an auction, specifically to purchase Heaven Grade puppets, so how could they not bring sufficient Source Crystals with them?
These High-Rank Source Crystals probably represented a large proportion of the assets of these Emperors’ respective Sects.
But they all ended up lining Yang Kai’s pocket.
“Wah…” Yang Kai exclaimed with an exaggerated expression as he found that the number of Source Crystals in a certain Space Ring was far greater than the others. There were fifty to sixty million High-Rank Source Crystals alone, which was five times more than the others.
This Space Ring probably belonged to Tan Jun Hao, because Yang Kai found the Dragon Island Token that he handed over before inside as well.
He took out the Dragon Island Token first and threw it into his Sealed World Bead as Yang Kai generally stored his most valuable treasures there while less important things would be kept in his Space Ring.
“Wait!” Zhu Qing, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly shouted.
“What happened?” Yang Kai looked up at her.
“That thing just now…” Zhu Qing took a few steps forward, her tone was a little excited, “Can you show me that token?”
“Are you talking about this?” Yang Kai took out the Dragon Island Token with a flip on his palm in front of Zhu Qing.
“Yes, that’s it!” Zhu Qing nodded her head vigorously, her beautiful eyes shining a profound light.
“What do you want to do?” Yang Kai quickly clenched his fist around the Dragon Island Token and leaned away while remarking solemnly, “This is mine!”
Zhu Qing stomped her foot, “I know it’s yours. I just want to have a look!”
[Why the hell is this guy acting like he’s guarding against a thief? Would a noble Dragon really want to rob his things?]
“There’s no need for you to check, it’s a real Dragon Island Token!” Yang Kai waved the token in front of her eyes. The Dragon Island Token was something that obviously came from Dragon Island, so Zhu Qing, as a Dragon, definitely recognized it. As such, Yang Kai did not try to hide it.
“It’s really a Dragon Island Token!” Zhu Qing was utterly flabbergasted.
The purpose of her leaving Dragon Island this time was to search for the whereabouts of the last remaining Dragon Island Token. Her search had only been delayed because she noticed the Dragon Qi coming from Yang Kai when she passed by Flowing Shadow City.
But she could not believe that she actually found the Dragon Island Token by mistake.
With this Dragon Island Token, she could return to Dragon Island to complete her mission, and she could also enter the Restricted Area to enhance her bloodline!
This Dragon Island Token meant a lot to her, so how could Zhu Qing not be thrilled?
“Of course it’s real!” Yang Kai grinned then put away the Dragon Island Token. After a pause, he asked, “Oh right, I heard that with a Dragon Island Token, I can go to Dragon Island and make a request from your Dragon Clan as long as they can meet it. Is that true?”
Zhu Qing answered, “Of course it’s true.”
“Can I make any kind of request?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he finally realized the value of this Dragon Island Token.
“Indeed, as long as we can meet it without violating the principles of the Dragon Clan.” Zhu Qing nodded.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, wondering if he could go to Dragon Island and ask for permission from the Dragon Clan to exchange Zhu Qing with this Dragon Island Token. Of course, if he did that, it would likely be seen as a huge insult to the Dragon Clan.
Yang Kai shook his head and stopped thinking about it, then continued to check for other possessions Tan Jun Hao might have.
“Do you… want to go to Dragon Island?” Zhu Qing got excited and asked softly.
If she could persuade Yang Kai to take the Dragon Island Token to Dragon Island, her mission would be completed. The last Dragon Island Token was found, and if the person who possessed the Ancestral Dragon Source could be invited to Dragon Island too, she would earn enough merits to enter the Restricted Area to improve her Bloodline Power.
“Go there for what?” Yang Kai shook his head as he sorted through the treasures.
Zhu Qing blurted anxiously, “Don’t you have any wishes? Use this Dragon Island Token, our Dragon Clan will grant any request you might have that we are able to.”
“Actually, there is one thing I want!” Yang Kai suddenly lifted his head, as if he remembered something.
“What is it? Let’s hear it,” Zhu Qing asked.
“I came from a Lower Star Field named Heng Luo Star Field. I wanted to take a trip back there. Can your Dragon Island send me there?” Yang Kai asked as he looked at Zhu Qing. Now that he had settled in the Star Boundary and had his own territory, he could bring his friends and family over here to enjoy a better and safer cultivation environment.
However, he had no idea how to return to Heng Luo Star Field. Initially, he wanted to find Yang Yan to ask her, but since he had a Dragon Island Token, perhaps he could ask the Dragon Clan for help.
The Dragon Clan had existed for so many years and were familiar with almost every matter in this world, so they surely knew of a way for him to return to Heng Luo Star Field.
“Send you to a Lower Star Field?” Zhu Qing frowned at his words.
“Is it difficult?” Yang Kai saw her face and understood that this would not be as simple as he imagined.
Zhu Qing answered, “It’s indeed difficult. You should know that since the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor destroyed many Lower Star Fields, all the channels between the Star Boundary and those Star Fields were sealed, making it all but impossible to travel between Star Fields and the Star Boundary.”
Yang Kai had heard of this before. Tens of thousands of years ago, it was not a difficult task for a person from the Star Boundary to visit a Lower Star Field, though it was not cheap either. However, ever since the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s reign of terror, all the channels connected to the Lower Star Fields were sealed because there was a fear that powerful Masters would break into these Star Fields and wreak havoc again. The strength of the cultivators in those Star Fields was not high, with the strongest just being Origin Kings, some not even having Origin Kings at all.
Any Dao Source Realm cultivator from the Star Boundary could wipe out billions of people if they wanted to. The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was the best example. Countless Star Fields had been destroyed at his hands back then. Wherever he went, he would devour all the Star Sources he found, smashing Cultivation Stars and killing trillions.
“Now all those sealed channels are guarded by the Star Court. There is also a Great Emperor assuming command there year-round. No one can break through such a heavy guard.”
“Star Court?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
Zhu Qing explained, “The Star Court is an exceptionally powerful organization in the Star Boundary. It’s not a Sect per say; rather, it was jointly created by the current Ten Great Emperors. They each take turns guarding its headquarters where the entrances to the sealed channels are. As far as I know, Iron Blood Great Emperor is the current guardian of the Star Court! Among the Ten Great Emperors, he is also the strongest in battle.”
“I’ve never even heard of such an organization,” Yang Kai revealed a surprised face, feeling greatly enlightened.
Zhu Qing smiled lightly, “The Star Court is a very mysterious entity, and it is impossible for the common people to hear about it. Perhaps the Seniors in your family or Sect would know. You should ask them if you want more details.”
A realization dawned on Yang Kai at that moment.
The other Emperor Realm Masters with profound origins might hear about the Star Court from their Elders; however, Yang Kai had always been a loner and it had not been long since he came to the Star Boundary, so who could have told him about this?
“The majesty of the Star Court cannot be challenged. It is not only created by the Ten Great Emperors, but it is also said that other hidden Great Emperor level Masters belong to it, so even our Dragon Clan can’t afford to provoke them easily.”
“Other Great Emperors!” Yang Kai was startled, “Aren’t there only ten Great Emperors?”
Zhu Qing laughed, “Who told you there were only ten?”
Yang Kai was speechless.
It was true. No one told him there were only ten Great Emperors, it was just that he kept hearing others mention ‘The Ten Great Emperors’ and subconsciously thought that there were only ten of them.
“Great Emperors have very long lifespans, and although they are not immortal, with lives as long as the Heavens themselves, they wouldn’t die easily. Over the years, although it is very hard to reach the level of a Great Emperor, there are always some amazing and talented people who reach that height successfully. However, no one knows about them. Take our Dragon Clan’s Great Elder, he is comparable to a Great Emperor, but not counted among the Ten Great Emperors.”
“How about you?” Yang Kai questioned.
Zhu Qing smiled with a pursed lip, “I’m still far away from that level. A Great Emperor… is a special existence that no ordinary person can become.”
“Then I’ll have to work hard,” Yang Kai put on a serious face.
Zhu Qing glanced at him doubtfully, but found that he was not joking, instead seemingly highly motivated to challenge the mountain known as ‘Great Emperor’. Seeing this, she scoffed silently. If ‘Great Emperor’ was a title that could be achieved by merely working hard, there would be many more Great Emperors in the world now.
But on second thought, it may not be impossible… for the person in front of her.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, a First-Order Emperor actually killed so many enemies with higher cultivations.
This was an unbelievable feat. How many of those Great Emperors could achieve a similar victory when they were as young and weak as Yang Kai was?
Having a vision could make one strive with goal and motivation. For a moment, Zhu Qing was moved.
“So, if one wants to go to the Lower Star Field, they have to pass through the Star Court first?” Yang Kai asked humbly.
“Indeed, but that is no simple task. Don’t be reckless.”
Yang Kai acknowledged it casually, feeling somewhat troubled. Initially, he wanted to find a chance to see if he could return to the Heng Luo Star Field on his own; after all, he was skilled in the Dao of Space, so once he confirmed the location of Heng Luo Star Field, he might be able to break through the world barriers and reach it.
But now, knowing that a mysterious Star Court was guarding the boundaries of the world, Yang Kai would definitely need to overcome them if he wanted to return.
“Then do you want to go to Dragon Island?” Zhu Qing stared at Yang Kai eagerly.
Yang Kai looked up at her, “Does Dragon Island have any way to make the Star Court open the channel and send me back?”
Zhu Qing shook her head. There was no need to ponder at all. Although Dragon Island was outstanding, the Star Court was an existence that involved the entire Star Boundary, so it was unlikely they would do Dragon Island a favour like this. Otherwise, the sealed channels would be opened every other day and there would be no point in having the Star Court.
“Then why should I go?” Yang Kai waved his hand.
“You can ask for something else,” Zhu Qing looked worried and quickly came up with an idea, “Right, you are just a First-Order Emperor Realm Master now. If you go to Dragon Island and cultivate there, it could increase your cultivation speed greatly and you could reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm in less than a hundred years.”
“A whole hundred years!” Yang Kai could not help rolling his eyes, thinking, [I haven’t even been cultivating for a hundred years yet, and I’m already a First-Order Emperor. Moreover, I’m already at the peak of my current realm and could easily break through to the Second-Order as long as the opportunity presented itself. If I needed a hundred years to reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm, I would rather just die.]
“A hundred years is considered short. Just look around the Star Boundary, there are not many places for cultivating as good as Dragon Island. As long as you present the Dragon Island Token, I can assure you that our Elder will arrange the best cultivation paradise for you to use,” Zhu Qing tried her best to persuade him.
“Maybe next time. I’ll go to your Dragon Island to have a look when I’ve figured out what request I’d like to make,” Yang Kai responded casually.
“Then… how long will you take to figure that out?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Not sure. Maybe I’ll never go if I don’t ever need your help.”
Zhu Qing’s face darkened. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Then… Can you give me the Dragon Island Token?”
“Give it to you?” Yang Kai could not hold his laughter, secretly thinking, [Our relationship cannot even be considered close, right? This girl really doesn’t have any manners and dares to say whatever she wants.]
Zhu Qing pressed on, “Of course I won’t ask for it for nothing. I’ll trade you something for it. To be honest, the reason I left the island this time was to trace the whereabouts of this Dragon Island Token. Now that I finally found it, I can complete my mission as long as I can collect it. Can you… help me please?”
It was really hard for a Dragon like her to beg someone, so her cheeks burned with dreadful shame.
Yang Kai frowned, and replied after pondering for a while, “For the sake of you saving me last time, I can give you a chance.”
Zhu Qing’s face turned happy, but before she could speak, Yang Kai raised his hand, “Remember, just one chance. If you don’t have something I want, then forget it.”
Zhu Qing nodded repeatedly, took down the Space Ring on her hand, and threw it directly to Yang Kai, “I have a lot of good things. See what you want and take anything you like. I just want the Dragon Island Token!”
“So generous!” Yang Kai was stunned. A Space Ring usually contained all the most valuable treasures and private possessions of a cultivator, but Zhu Qing actually tossed her Space Ring to him without a second thought. Obviously, the Dragon Island Token was very important to her, and she was ready to pay any price to obtain it.
[This girl definitely doesn’t know the truth that everyone wants to gain the most in every deal. Since she just exposed her capital like this… she can’t blame this Young Master for being merciless.]
Besides, Yang Kai also wondered what good things a Dragon Girl like her could have.
He scanned the Space Ring with his Divine Sense and was immediately dazzled by the piles of sparkling objects as he probed.
[Wow, it seems like there are many good things here,] Yang Kai was ecstatic and began checking things more carefully.
Yang Kai checked the Space Ring carefully with a heart of excitement and expectation.
But soon, he furrowed his brows and his expression became strange. As time passed, his face turned uglier, and pulsing veins surfaced on his forehead. Finally, he could not stand it anymore and looked up at Zhu Qing, “What are these!?”
“What? Is there nothing you like?” Zhu Qing looked back at him in shock as she thought to herself, [Impossible, all of the treasures I’ve collected over the years through hardship and struggle are in that ring! Each of them is incredibly precious to me, it simply can’t be that he isn’t interested in a single one of them!]
“Like your uncle!” Yang Kai lost his temper and took out a jade hairpin from the Space Ring. It was a beautiful, radiant jade hairpin, but it was only a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank artifact, and the energy fluctuations it gave off were on the weaker side, just like a low-quality protective artifact. “Is this what you call a good thing?”
Yang Kai felt cheated, and his heart hurt greatly.
Zhu Qing looked at him nervously, and reminded him, “Be gentle with it. Don’t break it.”
It was as if she really thought of this jade hairpin as some wonderful treasure.
Yang Kai was boiling mad.
Zhu Qing hurriedly comforted, “If you don’t like it, look at the others. There are many more good things.”
Yang Kai casually took out another dozen items from the Space Ring. Some of these were artifacts, while some were objects he could not even identify, while others were nothing more than strange stones.
All of them were sparkled brilliantly, having attractive outward appearances, glittering so brightly they could dazzle one’s eyes.
Nevertheless, these things were totally worthless to an Emperor Realm Master like Yang Kai. They had no value as cultivation resources or as artifacts, but Zhu Qing actually put them into her Space Ring like true treasures.
Yang Kai could not believe that this was actually a Dragon’s Space Ring. He really wanted to pluck out his eyes, polish them, and check if he wasn’t seeing things.
“Is there anything you like or you want? I can trade any one of them with you.” Zhu Qing did not seem to be aware that her things were all trash and looked at Yang Kai with bright eyes, putting on a face that told Yang Kai she really thought ‘it’s a steal.’
“Are you really this foolish or are you just pretending to be?” Yang Kai sneered.
“What do you mean!?” Zhu Qing became a little irritated, sensing the mocking tone in Yang Kai’s voice.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly mentioned, “I heard that the Dragon Clan has three proclivities. Is that really true?”
“Three proclivities, what are they?” Zhu Qing asked curiously. She had lived on Dragon Island since she was born and this was her first time leaving to travel the Star Boundary. Therefore, she had never heard of this ‘three proclivities’ saying.
Yang Kai sighed, “Sleep, shiny objects, and… well, you know!”
“What?” Zhu Qing stared at him zealously, “Say it.”
Yang Kai glared at her angrily, “Don’t ask so much, child.”
“You’re the child! Your whole family are children!” Zhu Qing fumed.
Yang Kai was too lazy to argue with her and simply laughed, “Anyway, all your things are trash to me. I don’t think there’s a point in trading with you.” Then he threw the Space Ring back.
The problem was that this Dragon Girl did not even have a single Source Crystal in her Space Ring, making him wonder just what she usually used for cultivation. Perhaps the Dragon Clan did not require Source Crystals to cultivate; after all, Dragons were Divine Spirits, or more bluntly, Monster Beasts, and Yang Kai had never seen any Monster Race need Source Crystals to cultivate. The Monster Race always cultivated by absorbing World Energy directly, or through consuming different kinds of precious treasures or Monster Cores of other Monster Beasts.
“How is that possible!?” Zhu Qing was infuriated, showing a face that screamed ‘you can insult me but not my treasures.’
But when she remembered that she was currently asking a favour from Yang Kai, her anger instantly halved as she continued, “If you don’t like these, what about these things?” She stammered.
Saying so, she suddenly stretched out her hand and turned it over. A basin-sized scale immediately appeared on one of her little snow-white hands, while a small jade bottle appeared on the other.
“A Dragon Scale!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he felt the rich Dragon Qi exuding out of the scale.
He reached out and picked up the Dragon Scale and jade bottle, gently caressing the former as he examined it.
He once obtained a Dragon Scale back in Heng Luo Star Field. Later on, he refined it, and now it enhanced the power of his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.
If he could refine another Dragon Scale, the power of his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique would surely increase again.
As he caressed this Dragon Scale, Yang Kai sensed a familiar lingering about it. He quickly understood that this should be Zhu Qing’s own Dragon Scale and it had probably been shed by her not long ago. Thinking so, he glanced at her thoughtfully.
He found that Zhu Qing’s face was flushed red, looking quite uncomfortable. Yang Kai was confused by this and wondered why she was acting shy all of sudden.
In fact, just as Yang Kai expected, the Dragon Scale was indeed a shed Dragon Scale from Zhu Qing. It was once a part of her body, so seeing Yang Kai gently caressing it gave her a feeling as if he was touching her body.
The scenes where she was molested by Yang Kai involuntarily resurfaced in her mind, so it was unavoidable for her to feel embarrassed.
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not continue for long. After a short moment, he put down the Dragon Scale and opened the jade bottle.
A faint dragon roar came out of the jade bottle and a dense, hot red light suddenly burst out from it.
Yang Kai looked inside the jade bottle and saw a drop of crimson blood that morphed into the shape of a dragon, trying to rush out like a burning flame.
“True Dragon Blood!” Yang Kai shouted and quickly closed the jade bottle.
“How about these two things for your Dragons Island Token?” Zhu Qing looked at Yang Kai uncomfortably.
Yang Kai pondered for a while, and nodded, “They are indeed good things, but… in your opinion, is a Dragon Island Token only worth this much?”
Zhu Qing pursed her red lips and replied in a low voice, “Impossible.”
She was honest to a fault, giving Yang Kai a better impression of her, but he did not know that this was just part of the Dragon Clan’s innate nature, so proud that they absolutely disdained to lie or cheat others.
“But didn’t you refine a number of Dragon Artifacts? If you refine these two, the power of your Dragon Transformation Secret Technique will definitely increase,” Zhu Qing tried to convince him.
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “When you first saw me, you mentioned that I refined something that I shouldn’t have. Did you mean those Dragon Artifacts?”
He only figured this out after learning of Zhu Qing’s identity.
Any Dragon Artifact was originally a part of a Dragon’s body, so as a Dragon Girl, Zhu Qing naturally had to punish a mere Human who dared to refine a Dragon Artifact to protect the dignity of her Dragon Clan.
But she did not expect that she would be subdued instead.
If this wasn’t the case, why would she have caused him trouble as soon as she met him when she had neither grudge nor grievances against him?
“Since you know that I have refined several Dragon Artifacts, how much strength will I gain by adding these two things?” Yang Kai grinned before tossing the Dragon Scale and jade bottle back to Zhu Qing. He then played with the Dragon Island Token in his hand and saying, “This thing is really a rare treasure, definitely worth holding onto.”
“But…” Zhu Qing frowned, “Aren’t we friends?”
“Friends are friends, business is business; the two are separate matters!” Yang Kai replied solemnly, “Good, good, I need to rest. You can leave.”
Zhu Qing did not want to agree and stared at him with her pair of big eyes.
Yang Kai’s face darkened, “If you don’t go, I’ll activate my Dragon Clan Source. A man and a woman alone in a single room… you can’t blame me for what will happen next. After the fact, don’t say I didn’t treat you as a friend!”
Zhu Qing was taken aback for a moment, then quickly stomped her foot and disappeared.
The Ancestral Dragon Source had an absolute suppressive power on her and she would still be unable to resist it even if her Bloodline improved a few levels. If Yang Kai really activated the Ancestral Dragon Source, she was the one who would surely suffer a loss.
After sending away Zhu Qing, Yang Kai grinned.
After checking the loot earlier, he realized he gained a lot. There were hundreds of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals, not to mention other treasures.
These were not the most important though, as they could not help him in becoming stronger. However, the Golden Armour Heavenly Book that he obtained from Tan Jun Hao was quite interesting. If he could refine it, it would definitely boost his combat capabilities greatly.
Yang Kai took out the Golden Armour Heavenly Book and wanted to have a good look at it, wondering just how many abilities it had. Unfortunately, without refining it, he realized that he could not even open it no matter how hard he tried, so he decided to start with that. Erasing Tan Jun Hao’s Soul Imprint, Yang Kai began slowly pouring his Emperor Qi and Spiritual Energy into it to refine this Emperor Artifact.
In the meantime, Zhu Qing returned to her room and immediately took out her Dragon Talisman. After activating it, an old voice sounded, “Is it done?”
Zhu Qing replied respectfully, “Not yet.”
“Since you’ve yet to succeed, why contact me?”
Zhu Qing answered, “Qing’er has found the last Dragon Island Token.”
The old voice responded, “You’re quite lucky. Four others have gone out to search for it, but you are the first to have any luck locating it. Did you obtain the Dragon Island Token?”
Zhu Qing replied shamefully, “Also no…”
The old voice sounded again, “Quickly acquire it. It is a treasure that cannot fall into the hands of an outsider. Get it back by any means necessary, even if you have to take it by force. With your strength, there are not many people in the world who can be your opponent.”
Zhu Qing answered, “This is the difficult part for Qing’er. The owner of the Dragon Island Token is none other than the person Qing’er mentioned to you before. Therefore… taking it back is not going to be easy.”
“The Dragon Island Token is in his hands too?” The Dragon Clan Elder was flabbergasted, wondering if this was luck or destiny.
If it was anyone else, Zhu Qing could simply snatch it with her strength. Unfortunately, this person possessed the Ancestral Dragon Source, so even if Zhu Qing was technically stronger than him, she would be rendered powerless by the suppression of the Ancestral Source.
“Qing’er invited him to Dragon Island, but he declined. Qing’er doesn’t know what to do now. Elder, please give me your guidance.”
The Dragon Talisman went silent for a long time, as if there was no simple solution to this problem, but eventually the old voice asked, “Has he done anything of note recently?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me the details!”
Zhu Qing then reported about the battle between Yang Kai and the Emperor Realm Masters to the Elder.
After she finished, the Dragon Talisman asked with some surprise, “Is he really so incredible? Able to kill Second-Order and Third-Order Emperors with just a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation? A Star Soul Palace Elder no less?”
Zhu Qing replied, “It should be true, though Qing’er didn’t witness it with her own eyes.”
“Then it’s simple,” the voice from the Dragon Talisman said, full of confidence, “Just tell him this…”
Zhu Qing listened carefully while nodding from time to time.
Three days later, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the Golden Armour Heavenly Book helplessly.
It had been three days since he started his refinement, but there was no reaction from the Golden Armour Heavenly Book at all. It did not show any signs of accepting his Emperor Qi and Spiritual Energy at all.
From this, he learned that it was absolutely impossible to refine this Golden Armour Heavenly Book within a short period of time.
Given that Tan Jun Hao could freely use the power of this Heavenly Book, he must have refined it for numerous years.
But Yang Kai was not discouraged. On the contrary, he was even more pleased as the harder it was to refine, the more it showed the greatness of this Emperor Artifact. Just like the Mountains and Rivers Bell, which took him more than a year to refine in the Shattered Star Sea.
Although there was no progress in refining the Heavenly Book, he had completely recovered from his injuries after three days of rest. Not only had his Emperor Qi become purer and more vigorous, but his Spiritual Energy had also greatly increased in quality too, which would make breaking through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm easier for him in the future.
After putting the Heavenly Book away, Yang Kai scanned outside of his room with his Divine Sense then communicated with a few people before he waited quietly.
After a while, Hua Qing Si, Chi Yue, Ai Ou, Gui Zu, and Gu Cang Yun gathered in the room, followed by Ying Fei and Zhu Qing, who also came over after hearing the commotion.
“Seniors, although Tan Jun Hao is dead, his Heart-Strangling Insects are still in your bodies. I need to remove the insects, so please cooperate with me,” Yang Kai looked at the crowd solemnly.
Chi Yue was delighted, “Yang Boy, are you able to extract these insects out?”
“I can try!” Yang Kai nodded.
In theory, only the person who implanted the Heart-Strangling Insect could drive it out, but although Yang Kai was not proficient in manipulating Exotic Ancient Insects, and did not even know how these Heart-Strangling Insects were nurtured, he had the Insect Enslavement Bracelet.
This Emperor Artifact was a relic of Insect Emperor, along with the Soul Splitting Saber. Although the Insect Enslavement Bracelet could not be used in battle, it was the bane of all Exotic Ancient Insects in this world. All the Exotic Insects that were listed in the Exotic Insect Record could be controlled by the Insect Enslavement Bracelet.
Fortunately, Heart-Strangling Insects were listed in the record around the top of the Earth List.
If Heaven List Exotic Ancient Insects such as the Soul Devouring Insects could be restrained by the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, a trivial Earth List Heart-Strangling Insect should be a breeze to manipulate.
“In that case, what are we waiting for? I’m first!” Gu Cang Yun answered immediately and moved to sit in front of Yang Kai with a flicker.
Ai Ou quickly stretched out his hand and grabbed him back to the side, snorting coldly, “Second Brother, how dare you go before me? Don’t you understand the rules?”
Gui Zu beamed from ear to ear at the side, “If we go according to seniority, I should go first. Everyone else, stand aside!”
He surged his Ghost Qi as he spoke, showing no mercy by pushing Ai Ou and Gu Cang Yun back before he sat in front of Yang Kai.
Despite it ending after just a short moment, Yang Kai’s jaw dropped watching the dispute between these three. After a single thought though, he quickly understood why they were competing to be first.
Yang Kai only mentioned that he could try, and he did not give them complete assurance. If he failed to drive out this insect, the first test subject would definitely face danger.
As such, these three were actually competing with each other for each other’s sake.
Chi Yue looked at Yang Kai anxiously, “Yang Boy, you have to be careful. First Brother is old and can’t bear a lot of suffering.”
Gui Zu rebuked unpleasantly, “Nonsense! This King is still young! Sect Master, don’t worry and just do it!”
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter and responded, “Everyone, don’t be so nervous, it’s just a trivial Heart-Strangling Insect, well within my abilities to handle. If I really wasn’t certain, I still have more than twenty confined test subjects I could experiment on.”
The Mountains and Rivers Bell still remained on the battlefield, confining the twenty or so Emperor Realm Masters. It was not that Yang Kai had no way to retrieve the Mountains and Rivers Bell before now, but he had other plans for these twenty, so he did not want to release them immediately.
Everyone felt relieved after listening to Yang Kai.
“Elder, relax!” Yang Kai looked at Gui Zu who was in front of him and ordered.
Gui Zu nodded and closed his eyes.
Yang Kai turned over his hand, and the Insect Enslavement Bracelet emerged on his palm. He poured a little Emperor Qi to activate the bracelet next, and in an instant, a subtle force emerged from it.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and wrapped his index finger with this force and then tapped his finger on Gui Zu’s body. With the simultaneous activation of his Divine Sense and Emperor Qi, Yang Kai carefully guided this force inside of Gui Zu’s body.
Gui Zu grunted lightly, but still looked fine.
Because of a huge gap between Yang Kai and his own strength, Yang Kai could control the Insect Enslavement Bracelet’s energy deftly. It would not be this easy if Gui Zu and Yang Kai had similar cultivations.
After a short while, under Yang Kai’s control, the subtle force from the bracelet reached Gui Zu’s chest and accurately found the hiding place of the Heart-Strangling Insect.
The insect suddenly became restless, aware that it was discovered and attempted to flee, but Yang Kai simply tapped his fingers hard on Gui Zu’s chest a few times, spreading out a net of force and completely enveloping the insect.
The Insect Enslavement Bracelet’s aura had a potent suppressive effect on all Exotic Insects, and once they were caught by it, they were unable to escape.
Yang Kai slowly moved his finger upwards next, guiding the aura to Gui Zu’s throat, then tapping once again gently.
Gui Zu’s eyes opened at that moment and he coughed up an arrow of blood.
Yang Kai had already been prepared for this and with a wave of his hand, he redirected the arrow of blood to the side towards Zhu Qing as he shouted, “Young Lady Qing, if you’d please!”
Although Zhu Qing did not receive prior notice, her reaction was extremely fast. She opened her mouth and blew out a small jet of flame which incinerated the blood arrow and insect in an instant.
She could not help rolling her eyes after this little incident. Yang Kai must have learnt that she was a Fire Dragon after seeing her Dragon Blood a few days ago, and decided to push the cleanup of these insects onto her.
Gui Zu made a deep sigh of relief after the insect was driven away, feeling like his body was much more relaxed, leaping up joyously.
“Fifth Sister, your turn!” Ai Ou looked at Chi Yue as he gestured.
Since it was certain that Yang Kai could drive out the insect, there was no risk anymore; therefore, they did not need to fight to be the first anymore and started to give precedence to the others.
Nevertheless, Chi Yue’s face turned slightly red, “You all go first, Senior Hua and I will be the last.”
Ai Ou was stunned, but soon he understood and did not say anything more, pushing Gu Cang Yun over to Yang Kai.
After the first trial, Yang Kai became more familiar with the procedure.
In just a short time, Gu Cang Yun and Ai Ou were freed from the insects in their bodies.
“We will wait for you outside.” After Ai Ou said so, he walked out with the others. Everyone understood very well, and left quickly, even Zhu Qing also left obediently at Ying Fei’s signal.
Hua Qing Si and Chi Yue were left alone in the room with Yang Kai.
“I’ll go first.” Hua Qing Si smiled with pursed lips before she sat down cross-legged in front of Yang Kai.
“Close your eyes!” Yang Kai ordered.
Hua Qing Si glared at him with a look that said ‘how advantageous for you’, but still slowly closed her eyes.
Everyone saw the process of Yang Kai expelling the insects just now. He had to point and tap on one’s body with his finger, moreover, he had to touch such a sensitive part like the chest. It did not matter to men, but the two women, Hua Qing Si and Chi Yue, would be quite a bit more uncomfortable with it, and naturally did not want to be seen by the others.
But there was no other way. The Heart-Strangling Insect was, as its name implied, specialized in damaging the heart, so it hid in one’s chest. Yang Kai was helpless to do otherwise.
Yang Kai proceeded with the same method, and soon Hua Qing Si spat out a blood arrow.
Yang Kai stretched his hand out and grabbed the blood arrow before pushing his Emperor Qi fiercely for a moment, using quite a bit more effort than Zhu Qing required to finally kill the insect.
Hua Qing Si straightened up and glanced at Yang Kai with a smile, then pushed the door to leave with a meaningful look.
Knowing that this process was inevitable, Chi Yue could not help sighing before she sat in front of Yang Kai and warned uncomfortably, “Yang Boy, don’t get any stray thoughts.”
Yang Kai felt awkward and quickly explained, “How can I? Senior, don’t be ridiculous. Although I can proceed without touching, it would not be safe. This is the only way.”
Chi Yue remarked, “I know! Let’s get this over with.”
She closed her beautiful eyes and put on a look of resignation, though nervousness was clearly etched on her face.
The person before Yang Kai was his mother-in-law; therefore, Yang Kai felt embarrassed for a while at first and did not know where he should start. But in the end, he decided to just brace himself to focus on expelling the insect.
When his finger brushed across Chi Yue’s body, Yang Kai obviously felt her tremble. Her cheeks were flushed red, as if they were burning, and when his finger crossed her chest, the scarlet flush on her face deepened. Her muscles became tense, and the power inside her body started to resist involuntarily.
If Yang Kai’s strength was not far above her own, the delicate thread of power he was using would have been easily suppressed by her. If that happened, it could lead to serious complications, or worse, a severe backlash.
After going through a lot of hardship though, the insect was finally expelled out of Chi Yue’s body.
Chi Yue got up and turned around to leave quickly, but when she reached the door, she suddenly turned around and warned solemnly, “Never tell Qing Luo about this.”
“En, en, en!” Yang Kai nodded endlessly, “I’ll die before I talk!”
But soon, he regained his senses and thought to himself, [I only removed the insect for her and didn’t do anything that can be considered offensive. Why does it have to be so secretive?]
Yang Kai was frozen in place for a long time before he shook his head and stood up.
Now that the necessary matters had been settled, it was time to take a look at the couple dozen Emperor Realm Masters, because he could not just keep them confined in the Mountains and Rivers Bell forever.
With a flicker, Yang Kai came to the battlefield from a few days ago.
No one was here, but the surrounding structures were all levelled, leaving only an ancient bell.
With a single thought, Yang Kai summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell back to him. From a giant house size, it rapidly shrunk until it fit in the palm of his hand.
Twenty or so Emperor Realm Masters walked out anxiously from where the Mountains and Rivers Bell had originally sat in the next moment. Some of these people looked unwell, and from their auras, it was apparent that they were somewhat injured, all of them soon sitting down cross-legged to heal their injuries with anxious looks on their faces.
Yang Kai glanced around at the injured Emperor Realm Masters and asked curiously, “What happened?”
He remembered clearly that these people were fine when they were confined in the Mountains and Rivers Bell, so why were they injured now after a few days? Could there have been a fight inside?
“Young Master Yang!”
“Senior Yang!”
All the Emperor Realm Masters were surprised and delighted at the renewed sight of daylight. They saw Yang Kai when they turned around, and saluted him with their fists cupped. Although they had no clue how much younger Yang Kai was than them, and Yang Kai didn’t have an outwardly high cultivation, no one dared to disrespect him based on his performance a few days ago.
The beautiful woman who said she was a friend of Xia Sheng flew to Yang Kai, and greeted elegantly, “Greetings, this Mistress is Hua Yu Lu.”
Yang Kai nodded, and questioned, “How did they get hurt?”
Hua Yu Lu chuckled with a charming expression as she whispered, “The few of them were a bit too anxious and wanted to get out, but their strength was insufficient, so…”
“En…” Yang Kai understood the situation.
Anyone would feel uneasy after being confined in a cramped space for many days. Moreover, they had no idea how Yang Kai would handle them once everything ended. Therefore, they naturally wanted to find a way to escape ahead of time, but the Mountains and Rivers Bell was an Ancient Exotic Artifact after all, so how could people like them break through it? Their injuries were probably the results of their own attacks being reflected back to them by the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Hua Yu Lu looked left and right and saw that there were no other people around. Instead, traces of battle could be seen everywhere. Then, she looked back at Yang Kai, and saw that his aura was steady and did not bear any of the signs of serious injuries, so she asked in amazement, “Young Master Yang, where is Elder Tan?”
Everyone turned to Yang Kai curiously, because they wanted to know the answer to this question too. Previously when they were confined in the Mountains and Rivers Bell, Yang Kai and Tan Jun Hao had shed all pretence of cordiality and were definitely prepared to fight each other to the death; but they did not know what happened outside as they were isolated in the Mountains and Rivers Bell. Seeing that Yang Kai was safe now, they could not help having an unbelievable thought. Was Elder Tan forced to flee?
How could that be? Tan Jun Hao was a Star Soul Palace Elder, and also possessed an outstanding Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation. Even if Yang Kai was far stronger than his cultivation would suggest, he should still be no match for Tan Jun Hao, not to mention the latter had arranged a nested Spirit Array, giving him a distinct advantage.
“Old Dog Tan was both vicious and cruel. He hid behind the banner of Star Soul Palace while soiling its noble reputation. He was supposed to be an Elder of Star Soul Palace but was actually a festering disease. This shame of the Southern Territory was executed by this Young Master on the spot.” Yang Kai laughed out loud and applauded himself, “Congratulations, congratulations!”
Everyone was dumbstruck and stared at Yang Kai with their eyes widened speechlessly.
Yang Kai’s face darkened, “What’s wrong? You don’t believe this Young Master’s words?”
Everyone was taken aback when they saw the trace of anger etched on his face and quickly explained that they dared not. In fact, it was not that they did not believe him, but that this outcome was just too unimaginable.
If Tan Jun Hao was standing in front of them now and declared that he had killed Yang Kai, it would be believable, but now it was actually Yang Kai who stood here alive, while Tan Jun Hao had disappeared.
Furthermore… There was nothing to be congratulated on. After all, Tan Jun Hao was still an Elder of Star Soul Palace, one of only a handful of such characters. It was Heaven shaking news that he died here. Everyone present would be involved if Star Soul Palace investigated this matter.
Although they were Emperor Realm Masters, they were still afraid of facing the inquiry of a giant like Star Soul Palace.
Hua Yu Lun forced a smile, her previous charming looks turning somewhat strained as she asked carefully, “Young Master Yang, was Elder Tan really… killed by you?”
“Yes, I killed him, why would I have to lie to you all? Not just him, Wu Ming is dead too,” Yang Kai answered without the slightest hesitation.
Only then did the crowd believe him.
After all, it really wasn’t necessary to lie about this because killing a Star Soul Palace Elder was not something worth lying about. Doing this would only bring great trouble to Yang Kai. Yang Kai did not seem like a fool, so why would he make trouble for himself unnecessarily?
At that moment, all of them felt even more awe.
How strong was this young man before them that he could kill a Star Soul Palace Elder? Did this mean that, in this world, only Great Emperors could subdue him?
“Young Master Yang, killing Elder Tan will make things complicated now,” Hua Yu Lu frowned and revealed a worried look. No matter what Tan Jun Hao had done before, his status still remained. Now that he was killed by Yang Kai, Star Soul Palace would definitely not just let the matter drop.
“Senior Yang, this has nothing to do with us. We had no idea what happened after.”
“Yes, yes, Senior Yang, we don’t have any intention of fighting with Star Soul Palace.”
“We just came here for the auction. We know nothing else!”
A bunch of Emperor Realm Masters clamoured as if they had encountered a disaster and were scrambling to escape.
Yang Kai certainly knew what they were distressed about and sneered in his heart. If he did not kill Tan Jun Hao, none of these people would have lived to tell the tale. As a Star Soul Palace Elder, if he was exposed for controlling so many Emperor Realm Masters with Heart-Strangling Insects, Star Soul Palace would never tolerate him. Therefore, Tan Jun Hao would definitely silence all the witnesses to his crimes and then frame Yang Kai for the murder.
By then, he would become a great hero for avenging so many innocent Emperor Realm Masters from the Southern Territory.
But it was funny that these people could not wait to get rid of their relationship with Yang Kai, completely ignoring or even being utterly unaware of the life-saving grace they owed him.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not need their gratitude. He had long learnt the fickleness of this world, so how could he still expect them to thank him?
“Young Master Yang, you must quickly leave. The farther you go, the better. At the very least, you cannot remain in the Southern Territory anymore.” Hua Yu Lu quietly sent Yang Kai a Divine Sense transmission, “You should retreat to the Northern Territory. I’ve heard that there is a Restricted Area there called the Frozen Earth in the far north that even Great Emperors don’t dare to enter casually. If there is any place in this world where you can live, that would be it.”
Yang Kai glanced at Hua Yu Lu with some surprise, not having expected her to be somewhat different from others. At least she showed some genuine concern for his wellbeing.
“It’s not a problem!” Yang Kai beamed before turning around and shouting, “Silence!”
The clamouring Emperor Realm Masters immediately shut their mouths.
Yang Kai continued with a deep voice, “Don’t worry, this Young Master will bear all the responsibility for his actions here. I was the one who killed Tan Jun Hao, so if anyone from Star Soul Palace comes to investigate in the future, you need not hide anything. Just tell them the truth, and you won’t be involved.”
Everyone was overjoyed at his words.
“Senior Yang is virtuous! This Old Master respects you greatly!”
“Many thanks, Senior Yang. If that day comes, we will report the whole truth.”
“Of course. That old thing Tan Jun Hao’s death isn’t worth pitying. Senior Yang has done Star Soul Palace a favour by cleaning him up for them.”
Hearing that Yang Kai was willing to bear all the responsibility, everyone felt relieved and started to smile, their worries evaporating.
“Cease your needless flattery,” Yang Kai snorted coldly, “This Young Master has saved you all this time, but he won’t ask for any repayment. Instead, this Young Master has but one small request!”
“Please say it, Senior Yang. We will do our utmost to fulfil any request you have!” An old man cupped his fists.
Everyone knew that it was not an exaggeration for Yang Kai to say that he had saved all their lives, but Yang Kai’s straightforwardness put many of them in an embarrassing situation, making them feel that they were ungrateful towards him.
“Tan Jun Hao is dead, and Star Soul Palace will definitely investigate this matter. If they come to you, I hope that everyone can report everything that happened that day in detail, especially about the Heart-Strangling Insects!”
Everyone nodded, “Of course.”
Hua Yu Lu replied too, “Young Master Yang, don’t worry. Even if you didn’t make this request, we certainly wouldn’t conceal anything. As a Star Soul Palace Elder, Tan Jun Hao actually harboured such wicked intentions, plotting against all of us. If Young Master Yang hadn’t appeared to turn the tide, we would all have died. Life-saving graces should be repaid with our lives. If anyone dares to distort the truth and defames you, we will be the first to condemn him.”
“Indeed.” The crowd shouted, a sense of unity apparent amongst them.
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded and cupped his fists, “Then I shall be troubling everyone.”
“Think nothing of it.”
At this point, everyone also understood that as long as everyone testified honestly, Star Soul Palace would not do anything to Yang Kai or to them even if they really investigated this incident.
After all, it was Tan Jun Hao who committed heinous crimes against all of them. As a Star Soul Palace Elder, rather than defending the honour and reputation of Star Soul Palace, he enslaved so many Emperor Realm Masters through malicious methods instead. He deserved his death.
Perhaps, Star Soul Palace might even thank Yang Kai for it.
But of course, Star Soul Palace would not act so obviously. How Star Soul Palace was going to handle this matter, in the end, was all up to them, so there was no point in them worrying over something they had no control of.
“Good! You may all leave then,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Everyone was elated, cupped their fists one after another, then turned around and prepared to leave. Although Yang Kai did not mean to make things difficult for them, this young man was too violent and killed people like killing flies, so none of them felt secure around him. It was better for them to stay away, otherwise, they might get caught up in another disaster.
“Senior Sister Hua, please stay!” Yang Kai suddenly stopped Hua Yu Lu.
Hua Yu Lu smiled at the interesting title he called her and asked, “Young Master Yang, what else can I help you with?”
Yang Kai replied, “Since you are a friend of Senior Brother Xia Sheng, then you are my friend too. I will help you drive out the Heart-Strangling Insect so you don’t have to worry about it in the future.”
Hua Yu Lu’s jaw dropped slightly as she covered her red lips with her slender and fair hand in pleasant surprise.
She had been worrying that although she narrowly escaped this calamity, there would still be a Heart-Strangling Insect lurking in her body. She had been planning to search for a way to expel it after she returned to her Sect; however, she had never heard of it before and had no clue about the way to get rid of it.
Nevertheless, she did not expect that Yang Kai would offer her a hand when she was in need.
[How sweet of him…]
*Shua Shua Shua…*
The other Emperor Realm Masters who were about to leave suddenly froze. Whipping their heads around, their ears perked up, and one of them flew back swiftly, landing in front of Yang Kai with a flattering smile, “Senior Yang, did you just say… you can drive out the Heart-Strangling Insects?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Yang Kai looked at him solemnly, and shook his head like a rattle.
The man turned anxious, and pressed on, “Senior Yang, I, I-I heard it clearly that you wanted to help Palace Master Hua to drive out the Heart-Strangling Insect.”
Yang Kai turned to Hua Yu Lu, and asked curiously, “Did I say that?”
Hua Yu Li had no idea what Yang Kai was planning, so it was hard for her to find the right answer. As such, she just smiled and said nothing, keeping everyone hanging.
“Everyone must have heard it too,” The man swung his hand across the crowd, and the other Emperor Realm Masters nodded one after another.
They all had sharp senses; therefore, they heard clearly despite Yang Kai’s voice not being loud.
“Senior Yang, you can’t be biased! If you really have a method to expel it, please help us too!” The man begged.
It was natural that anyone would feel insecure about having an insect inside their body. Even though Tan Jun Hao was dead, no one knew if the insects remaining in their bodies would cause them any harm in the future, or worse, would suddenly become active and kill them.
Now that they heard that Yang Kai could expel it, everyone was like a drowning man who caught a life-saving straw, refusing to let go no matter what.
Yang Kai sighed heavily, and put on a helpless face, “Good, I did say that just now. I have a way to drive out the Heart-Strangling Insects!”
“Really?” Everyone was overjoyed, turned back one after another and landed in front of Yang Kai eagerly.
Previously, they could not wait to leave, but now they probably would not leave even if Yang Kai wanted to chase them away.
“Heart-Strangling Insects are ranked first on the Earth List of the Exotic Insect Record. It is as brutal as it is vicious, even an Emperor Realm Master will not be able to easily get rid of it after being infested. If one ignores it for a long time, it will slowly devour the heart veins, consuming the Blood Essence of the heart. Tsk tsk, by that time, it would be beyond saving, beyond saving.”
Although it was uncertain if Yang Kai was exaggerating, everyone’s face still turned pale and their hearts began pounding.
During their isolation, everyone had tried to expel the Heart-Strangling Insect with their Emperor Qi. Everything was still fine if they did not disturb it, but once they touched it, the insect would begin drilling into their heart veins. As such, they now had to be extremely careful while pushing their Emperor Qi so as not to disturb the insect, much less trying to expel it.
“Fortunately… This Young Master happens to know a way to expel this thing,” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
“Young Master Yang, please save us!”
Everyone quickly bowed and begged Yang Kai for help.
Yang Kai’s face darkened and asked coldly, “Why should I help you? Give me a reason!”
Everyone was stunned speechless. After listening to Yang Kai’s long speech, it showed that he was at least well informed about the Heart-Strangling Insect and even seemed to have the intention to help them, so the sudden change of his attitude caught everyone off guard.
However, on second thought, there was nothing wrong with it. Yang Kai was neither friend nor relative to them, and he did not seem like the kind, charitable type, so why should he save them for no reason at all?
Yang Kai pressed on, “Previously, you and Tan Jun Hao fought against this Young Master. If it weren’t for this Young Master’s capabilities, I would have been killed by all of you. However, I have always been magnanimous. I knew that you all were being coerced, so I did not hold grudges against any of you, even going so far as to use my Emperor Artifact to protect all of you so you could avoid being controlled by Tan Jun Hao. It is already exceedingly generous for this Young Master to not ask you to repay his saving grace, but now you also want this Young Master to help you expel these Heart-Strangling Insects? Isn’t that too much?”
Everyone looked ashamed and had nothing to say.
Although Yang Kai’s speech was like a knife stabbing into their pride, everyone could not refute him as it was the truth.
It was true that they fought against Yang Kai before, and were also saved by Yang Kai later. Now, they still wanted Yang Kai to expel these insects for them. Wasn’t this the definition of being insatiable?
For a moment, everyone glanced around awkwardly.
Hua Yu Lu’s eyes flashed at that moment as she smiled and responded in a gentle voice, “Young Master Yang, everyone here is a Sect Master or Patriarch of a big Sect or Family in the Southern Territory. If these Heart-Strangling Insects are not expelled and were triggered in the future, everyone’s life would be at stake. By that time, a great number of forces would lose their leaders, and the Southern Territory would be thrown into chaos. Young Master Yang, please be kind-hearted and help them.”
She finally understood what Yang Kai was plotting.
If he truly did not want to expel the insects for these people, he would not have stopped her and said those words out loud just now. He clearly wanted to tell everyone about his ability, but he did not want to make it too obvious by openly saying ‘come and beg me.’
The reason Yang Kai was acting like this was that he did not want to do things without benefits.
Hua Yu Lu was incredibly sharp, so she quickly understood what Yang Kai was up to and secretly decided to add fuel to the flames and cooperate with him.
“Palace Master Hua is right. Senior Yang, please help us!” Yang Kai’s intention did not matter to the people, they only knew that right now they had to plead sincerely.
Among the twenty or so Emperor Realm Masters here, only Hua Yu Lu had a little friendship with Yang Kai, so her willingness to plead for them naturally made them feel grateful.
Yang Kai looked like he was in a dilemma, but he actually gave Hua Yu Lu a big thumbs up in his heart. He was thinking that this woman was not just beautiful but intelligent too. He wondered what kind of relationship she had with Xia Sheng, but he knew he shouldn’t let Xia Sheng know about how he would be treating her later to remove the Heart-Strangling Insect.
Seeing that Yang Kai’s attitude was not as firm as before, everyone realized that there was hope, and they pressed on with begging, like a flock of quacking ducks.
“Good, good!” Yang Kai raised his hand to stop their clamour, frowning slightly, “It’s true that I can get rid of the insects inside of you, but the effort required is not small. Moreover, given there are so many of you here who need help, this Young Master will need to sacrifice a large amount of his Blood Essence to finish the task. After today, I’m afraid I will not be able to fight at full strength for three… no, five years!”
Yang Kai was exaggerating, and no one really believed him; however, they did not dare to refute him. For now, they could only listen to whatever he said and follow his lead.
Yang Kai looked sideways at the crowd, and questioned, “Since I have to make such a great sacrifice, you can’t just let me work for nothing, right?”
He finally made his point after beating around the bush for so long, causing Hua Yu Lu to cover her mouth and turn away as she laughed secretly.
Everyone wiped the cold sweat on their foreheads as one of them asked carefully, “Then what do you want, Senior Yang?”
“What can you offer?” Yang Kai asked back.
Hua Yu Lu immediately went forward, took out a Space Ring, and presented it with both hands, “Young Master Yang, this is the twelve million High-Rank Source Crystals that this Mistress prepared for the auction. If Young Master Yang doesn’t mind, this is the compensation I can offer you for expelling the Heart-Strangling Insect.”
“This…” Yang Kai replied with an embarrassed look on his face, “Senior Sister Hua, you misunderstood me. This Young Master didn’t mean to force you to return his kindness!”
Everyone’s face darkened at his words, secretly feeling disgusted. It was clear that Yang Kai wanted to extort them here when he asked them what they could offer him, but now he was actually shameless enough to say that he did not want them to return his kindness.
Hua Yu Lu smiled gently, “This Mistress definitely knows that Young Master Yang is kindhearted and righteous, but this Mistress has nothing else to thank you for your favour, and given your strength, I’m afraid treasures are nothing to you. If Young Master Yang doesn’t want these Source Crystals, this Mistress… can only use her body as compensation.”
As she spoke, a pink hue appeared on her cheeks as she averted her eyes shyly, as if she was about to cry.
Yang Kai’s face froze stiff for a moment before he hurriedly grabbed the Space Ring from Hua Yu Lu and remarked, “Since Senior Sister Hua insists, it would be impolite if I refused. Aha…haha…”
Hua Yu Lu immediately glared at him with a resentful look.
Yang Kai continued solemnly, “I cannot be disturbed while expelling the Heart-Strangling Insect. Elder Sister Hua, follow me.”
After that, he circulated his Emperor Qi and flew towards an intact room nearby, with Hua Yu Lu following closely behind.
“Senior Yang, what about us?” Someone shouted from behind.
“Just wait!”
After entering the room, Yang Kai sealed it, then found a place to sit cross-legged, pointed in front of him, and spoke to Hua Yu Lu, “Sit!”
Hua Yu Lu nodded lightly and landed in front of Yang Kai with a flicker.
Yang Kai handed the Space Ring in his hand back to Hua Yu Lu and smiled, “Many thanks for your assistance this time, Senior Sister Hua.”
Without her cooperation, things would not have progressed so smoothly. Although the Emperor Realm Masters were forced to, they had still been enemies with him earlier; therefore, even though Yang Kai didn’t plan on killing them, he also wouldn’t let them off easily, ultimately settling for extortion. After all, they were all here for the auction, so which one of them did not have ten or twenty million High-Rank Source Crystals?
What surprised him was that Hua Yu Lu was so cooperative.
Him accepting her ring earlier was just an act. Yang Kai definitely did not covet her Source Crystals.
Hua Yu Lu glanced at the Space Ring but did not take it right away, instead saying with a faint smile, “If Young Master Yang doesn’t want Source Crystals, does that mean he really wants this Mistress to give herself to him?” Hua Yu Lu sighed, “This Mistress doesn’t mind, but I’m afraid that Young Master Yang wouldn’t fancy this Mistress’s impure body…”
She suddenly became depressed while speaking.
Yang Kai could not stand it as he secretly thought that this woman was a really great actor. If she continued to persuade, perhaps he would really fall into adultery. He hurriedly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and forced a smile, “Senior Sister Hua, it’s a misunderstanding. You’ve helped me again and again, so how could I have bad intentions towards you? I only have gratitude in my heart.”
Hua Yu Lu’s eyes watered slightly as she muttered, “Young Master Yang really does mind this Mistress’ unclean body? Never mind, a dragon-like Young Master Yang must be surrounded by many beautiful women, so it’s impossible for him to take a liking to this Mistress…”
“Enough nonsense,” Yang Kai sighed heavily and looked helpless.
Only then did Hua Yu Lu chuckle and reply with a smile, “Okay, I’ll stop the teasing here.”
She found this all incredibly interesting. When Yang Kai showed off his strength a few days ago, he was like a fierce beast that would lash out and devour any who challenged him. It was frightening, and no one dared to even meet eyes with him, but today, she realized that apart from his mercilessness, this young man was actually an interesting fellow.
After putting away her Space Ring, Hua Yu Lu continued, “Then, many thanks, Young Master Yang.”
Twelve million High-Rank Source Crystals was a great amount of wealth for her Sect, so if Yang Kai really accepted it, her disciples would have a problem cultivating soon.
“Young Master Yang, please tell this Mistress what to do.” After she had her fun, Hua Yu Lu’s face immediately became serious.
“Just relax,” Yang Kai replied, “There may be some discomfort and awkwardness later. I only ask Senior Sister Hua to not take offence.”
Hua Yu Lu looked at him curiously, but she did not ask anything, instead just gently closing her eyes and relaxing her mind as Yang Kai instructed.
Yang Kai immediately started the procedure.
A short time later, Hua Yu Lu opened her mouth and spat out a blood arrow.
When Hua Yu Lu reopened her eyes, they were slightly misty and her cheeks were flushed red. Even her fair white neck had been dyed a faint shade of crimson.
She did not expect that Yang Kai’s so-called discomfort and awkwardness would be a result of him touching her on the sensitive parts of her chest. The strength and the heat that penetrated from his fingertip as he guided a strange kind of energy through her body made her feel unbearably shy. If she had not just tested him earlier, Hua Yu Lu would really have thought that Yang Kai was a lecher, using this situation to take advantage of her.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai showed no obscene intentions towards her despite her previous temptations, so it was impossible for him to take advantage of her in this way.
“Is it done?” Hua Yu Lu asked.
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
Hua Yu Lu was surprised. Previously, when Yang Kai mentioned that it would require much effort on his part to expel the insect, she thought that it would be a troublesome and lengthy procedure, but it only took him a few dozen breaths of time, and Yang Kai did not seem to have consumed any strength at all.
“Young Master Yang, this business is really profitable,” Hua Yu Lu was extremely impressed. Considering that there were twenty or so Emperor Realm Masters waiting for his treatment, Yang Kai could earn two to three hundred million, or even more High-Rank Source Crystals this time.
This was an outright robbery.
“It’s just a small fuss to collect some hard-earned fees,” Yang Kai grinned, and raised his hand and gestured, “Senior Sister Hua, please call the next person in. Ask them to follow proper order. This Young Master will not give face to those who try to jump the queue.”
“Understood.” Hua Yu Lu stood up, thanked him, turned around and walked towards the door; however, after a few steps, she turned to Yang Kai and remarked, “If Young Master Yang is free in the future, please be sure to come to my Hundred Flowers Palace to be my guest. You will have Senior Sister’s warmest welcome.”
The Hundred Flowers Palace! It was Yang Kai’s first-time hearing about it, but that was normal because there were many Sects in the Southern Territory. On the contrary, he had seen many Hundred Flowers Pavilions. It seemed that every city in the Southern Territory had a Hundred Flowers Pavilion. As for what went on inside those pavilions… tsk tsk…
After sending Hua Yu Lu off, Yang Kai sat in place and pondered for a moment before he suddenly lifted his hand and hammered his chest.
*Pu…*
A mouthful of blood spewed out, and Yang Kai suddenly appeared withered, as if he just fought a great battle.
A man pushed the door and entered with a flattering smile, but just as he was about to speak, he saw Yang Kai’s appearance and asked in shock, “Senior Yang, what… what happened to you?”
Yang Kai replied weakly, “Nothing. Sit down and I’ll help you to drive out the insect.”
The man was delighted, but he was still a little worried, “Do you want to take a rest first? This one can wait.”
Young Kai was fine earlier, but now he had coughed up blood and looked dispirited. It was obvious just how much it cost him a lot to expel these insects.
“It’s fine. I asked you to sit, so just sit.” Yang Kai waved his hand, “You will not be at ease with the insect inside your body. It’s better to get rid of it as soon as possible.”
After hearing this, the man immediately thanked him with immense gratitude and obediently offered his Space Ring with over ten million High-Rank Source Crystals. Yang Kai stored it before carrying out the treatment.
…..
Half a day later, Yang Kai reappeared in his previous room with a flicker, looking high spirited, his face ruddy, nothing like his feeble earlier self.
Everyone was waiting.
Seeing his arrival, they all approached him.
Yang Kai swept his eyes across them, eventually landing on Ye Hen, “Sect Master Ye, what is your plan now?”
Ye Hen sighed, “Return to Thousand Leaves Sect and make further plans later.”
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded.
Although Thousand Leaves Sect had been destroyed, it was the home of Ye Hen and the others after all. They had been imprisoned for more than one year, and now that they had regained their freedom, it was natural for them to go back and have a look at what remained, not to mention that there were still hundreds of surviving disciples waiting in Emperor Heaven Valley.
“Monster King and I will give you all a ride. Moreover, I have something to discuss with Sect Master Ye.”
“Then we shall have to trouble Senior Yang and Sir Monster King.” Ye Hen revealed a grateful face, thinking that Yang Kai was purposely escorting them. With these two escorts, there was no need to worry about any danger along the way.
They immediately departed, leaving Flowing Shadow City, speeding South.
“Yang Kai, I have something to talk to you about.” Halfway through the journey, Zhu Qing suddenly sent him a Divine Sense transmission.
The Dragon Girl had been following Yang Kai, but he had no idea what her purpose was. Since she did not seem to hold malice towards him and it felt inappropriate to chase her away, Yang Kai did not stop her from doing as she pleased.
“What?” Yang Kai turned and looked at her.
Zhu Qing stopped flying and stood where she was.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly but gestured for Ying Fei and the rest to continue while he stayed behind.
When everyone had left earshot, Yang Kai asked, “What is so important that you have to act so mysteriously?”
Zhu Qing replied, “Are you not worried about killing an Elder of Star Soul Palace?”
Yang Kai beamed, “Are you worried for me?”
Zhu Qing curled her lips, “We aren’t that close, so what does it matter to me whether you live or die?”
“Then why do you ask?” Yang Kai stared at her with great interest.
Zhu Qing looked a little uncomfortable, looking away while responding, “No matter what sins that Star Soul Palace Elder committed, his status remains. Now that you’ve killed him, I’m afraid that Star Soul Palace won’t let this go easily. Furthermore, this matter involves many complicated factors and many people, so you can’t hide even if you want to. Star Soul Palace will definitely find you.”
“I didn’t plan to hide.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
The main reason why he did not kill the twenty or so remaining Emperor Realm Masters was that he wanted them to give testimony to facilitate the investigation of the Masters from Star Soul Palace. Otherwise, if those people really died, it would come down to Yang Kai’s word against Tan Jun Hao’s, and the one who held less credibility in that situation was obvious.
Now though, with testimony from over twenty Emperor Realm Masters, even if Star Soul Palace really investigated this incident, they would not blame Yang Kai.
Of course, he had no choice if they wanted to cover the whole thing up.
“Are you not worried at all?” Zhu Qing turned back to Yang Kai, as if she could not believe him, and wanted to check if there were any insincere traces on his face.
Yang Kai burst into laughter, “People like us live in a constant swirl of gratitude and grudge, if I have to worry about this and worry about that, what would the purpose of living be?”
Zhu Qing stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say.
After a period of silence, she continued, “I still suggest you find a place to hide for a while.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Someone told me something similar before.”
Hua Yu Lu had advised him to hide in the Frozen Earth, the Forbidden Zone in the Northern Territory. Now, Zhu Qing gave him similar advice.
“Star Soul Palace is a Great Emperor Sect after all. If Bright Moon Great Emperor really wanted to find trouble with me, I’m afraid there would be no place in the vast Star Boundary where I would be safe. No, I won’t hide, I won’t!” Yang Kai waved his hand continuously.
“How could there be no place to take shelter?” Zhu Qing smiled slyly, “I know of a place in this world where you can hide. Even the Bright Moon Great Emperor would not be able to make trouble with you there.”
“Let me guess, Dragon Island?” Yang Kai looked sideways at her.
Zhu Qing nodded, “Yes, Dragon Island.”
“Tsk, tsk…” Yang Kai clicked his tongue, stroking his chin as he suddenly began circling around Zhu Qing.
“What are you doing?” Zhu Qing felt uncomfortable with his wandering eyes moving over her, involuntarily gripping her dress.
“I’m just curious…” Yang Kai stood in front of her and grinned, “You’ve been trying to lead me to Dragon Island again and again. What are your real intentions?”
Yang Kai did not care that much last time because she did not make it too obvious in asking him to go to Dragon Island, but this time, when she mentioned it again, Yang Kai started to sense something was off.
Could she have wanted to persuade him to go to Dragon Island so that her brothers and sisters could team up to beat him up together because she could not do it herself?
Sure enough, there was nothing more poisonous than a woman’s heart!
“What intentions could I have!?” Zhu Qing blinked her eyes a few times but quickly shifted her gaze away from Yang Kai’s. Her obvious actions, however, only convinced Yang Kai even more of his doubts.
“Maybe…” Yang Kai furrowed his brow and postulated, “Maybe you fell so deeply in love with me that you want to abduct me and take me back to Dragon Island to have your way with me!”
“You… you…!” Zhu Qing’s nostrils flared, she had never seen such a shameless man before.
Yang Kai laughed out loud, turned around and flew after Ying Fei and the rest.
“Wait!” Zhu Qing was anxious and confused. How come the method taught by her Elder didn’t work at all? She thought that Yang Kai would be grateful for her invitation and follow her to Dragon Island to avoid the coming troubles, but she did not expect that this guy did not take the killing of a Star Soul Palace Elder seriously at all.
It seemed she had a long way to go before she could complete her task.
……
Thousand Leaves Sect, a blasted wasteland full of ruins everywhere.
Hovering above this land, Ye Hen and the rest looked down with deeply aggrieved faces, unable to utter a single word to express their despair.
After a short while, everyone reached the hidden valley and Yang Kai activated the Space Array to connect to Emperor Heaven Valley.
Ye Hen burst into tears upon reuniting with the hundreds of surviving disciples. He felt that he had disappointed the high hopes of his ancestors, and could not help blaming himself. Of all the foundational pillars of the Sect, only Emperor Heaven Valley was left intact. Even with the nine Heaven Grade puppets in his hands, Ye Hen was at a loss about how to rebuild his Sect.
Yang Kai wandered around Emperor Heaven Valley while Zhu Qing followed after him like a shadow, one he could not shake off. She would advise him to go to Dragon Island from time to time, which was now truly annoying Yang Kai.
If it were not because she did not mean any harm to him, Yang Kai would have long knocked her out and then done this and that to her!
“You keep wandering around, what are you actually looking for?” Zhu Qing followed Yang Kai for half a day, covering the whole of Emperor Heaven Valley several times, and finally could not help asking.
“While men are working, women should be silent!” Yang Kai ignored her as he focused his sight on the mountain valley before nodding lightly.
Zhu Qing’s face turned white with anger. She stomped her foot, turned around, and flew off, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Such a fiery temper,” Yang Kai glanced at her back and chuckled.
He then released his Divine Sense, and located Ye Hen. With a fluctuation of Space Principles, Yang Kai instantly emerged next to Ye Hen.
“Senior Yang!” Ye Hen hurriedly got up.
Yang Kai waved his hand lightly, gesturing for him to remain seated. Then, he spoke, “Sect Master Ye, have you finished thinking about your future plans?”
Ye Hen let out a long sigh, he replied, “It’s complicated. I don’t know where to start. But after this encounter, this Ye is clear about one thing.”
“I would like to hear about it!” Yang Kai looked at him intently.
“An ordinary man is innocent, but his treasures make him guilty!” Ye Hen remarked bitterly, “Although our Thousand Leaves Sect has nine Heaven Grade puppets, unfortunately there is no Emperor Realm Master in the Sect, so we cannot even bring out the full potential of our Heaven Grade puppets. Even though this Ye wishes for nothing more than to rebuild Thousand Leaves Sect, given our current manpower and situation, I’m afraid that it would only bring us another disaster.”
Yang Kai nodded, “So, is Sect Master Ye planning to improve his strength first?”
Ye Hen answered, “I do have this plan. Fortunately, the World Energy in Emperor Heaven Valley is rich, so given three to five years, this Ye should be able to break through to the Emperor Realm. When that time comes, I should have enough power to protect the sect.”
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Sect Master Ye has thought things out well.” After a pause, Yang Kai pressed on, “But I have another suggestion. I wonder if Sect Master Ye is willing to consider it.”
“This Ye owes Senior Yang a life-saving grace, and Thousand Leaves Sect is in eternal gratitude towards your kindness. Just speak your mind, this Ye will listen.” Ye Hen said seriously.
Yang Kai smiled, “Emperor Heaven Valley is indeed a good place. You don’t need to worry about living here as it is perfectly safe. The World Energy here is not bad and is very suitable for cultivating; however, this place is too small and it’s difficult to come and go. Sect Master Ye has the determination to break through to the Emperor Realm, so it is fine for you to seclude yourself here for the necessary three to five years, but how would the disciples sustain themselves?”
Those five hundred disciples had different strengths, and if they were really trapped here for three to five years, it could produce some unwanted effects like heart demons.
Ye Hen sighed, “Do you think this Ye is not aware of this? But where else can we go now?”
Yang Kai replied, “What if I can provide Sect Master Ye with a better destination?”
“A better destination?” Ye Hen was bewildered.
Yang Kai stretched his arms and explained, “There is a place a thousand times bigger than this, where the World Energy is also far richer. Not to mention five hundred people, it could fit even fifty thousand people comfortably. There are many vacant Spirit Peaks that no one would compete with you for as well. If Sect Master Ye goes there, you won’t need three to five years, just one or two years will be enough to break through to the Emperor Realm.”
Ye Hen’s eyes lit up when he heard this proposal. According to Yang Kai’s description, the scenery of magnificent mountains and rivers slowly unfolded before his eyes.
But soon, he gave a wry smile and said, “If there is such a treasured land, it must be occupied by huge Sects already. Thousand Leaves Sect would never have a chance to stay there.”
Yang Kai smiled in reply, “Sect Master Ye is right. This paradise was indeed occupied by a huge Sect before, but that Sect has recently been exterminated.”
“Oh?” Ye Hen was shocked, “May I ask Senior Yang, where is this place?”
“The Northern Territory’s Seeking Passion Sect!”
Ye Hen frowned and pondered for a moment before his face abruptly changed and exclaimed, “You mean ‘that’ Seeking Passion Sect?!”
Judging from his look, Ye Hen has obviously heard of Seeking Passion Sect. This wasn’t a surprise though as Seeking Passion Sect was a top Sect in the Northern Territory. There was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master assuming command of this Sect, so its status was comparable to Azure Sun Temple in the Southern Territory. It also had many cultivation paradises comparable to similarly powerful Sects, far more than Thousand Leaves Sect at least.
“Indeed!”
“Seeking Passion Sect was destroyed. By who?” Ye Hen was horrified. It was hard to imagine such a behemoth being destroyed. In comparison, Thousand Leaves Sect was also destroyed, but five hundred of its disciples and Emperor Heaven Valley remained. By Yang Kai’s tone, Seeking Passion Sect seemed to have been completely wiped out, otherwise, how could they abandon their Sect’s headquarters?
As soon as the words were spoken, Ye Hen seemed to recall something and asked shockingly, “Could it be that Senior Yang…”
Although the Seeking Passion Sect had a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master overseeing it, Yang Kai was someone who could kill even a Star Soul Palace Elder, and there was a Monster King following him… Wiping out the Seeking Passion Sect did not seem impossible.
This thought shocked Ye Hen as he did not expect the gentle and warm-hearted young man to be so cruel as to destroy an entire Sect.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully but did not deny, “I have founded High Heaven Palace where the Seeking Passion Sect once stood, so its former lands are now mine. If Sect Master Ye wants to, he can settle there temporarily. There’s no need to worry about security issues either as I have commissioned a Spirit Array Grandmaster to rebuild and improve the Sect Defending Array.”
Ye Hen’s heart pounded in awe of Yang Kai.
How old was Yang Kai? Yet he actually occupied the former site of a top Sect in the Northern Territory and even established a Sect!
He thought of himself, who could not even protect the inheritance of his ancestors, and felt incomparable next to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai continued, “Although I founded High Heaven Palace, there are only a few people in the Sect, so this treasured land is basically empty now. In any case, it was going to remain unoccupied for some time, so if Sect Master Ye sees fit, he can bring his disciples to settle there.”
Ye Hen asked curiously, “If I may ask, Senior Yang, how many people are there now in your noble Sect?”
Yang Kai gave a dry laugh and raised three fingers.
“Three thousand? En, truly not many,” Ye Hen was stunned. With a foundation as big as Seeking Passion Sect’s, three thousand disciples were really nothing. There would surely be many vacant Spirit Peaks. Even the Thousand Leaves Sect had more than three thousand disciplines before it was destroyed.
“No… not three thousand,” Yang Kai awkwardly said.
“Three hundred?” Ye Hen was stunned again. On second thought, it made sense. Even if Yang Kai really just founded High Heaven Palace, it was impossible to recruit so many disciples in a short time. The acceptance of disciples into a new Sect would require careful screening. It was impossible to accept just anyone. Even if there were only three hundred disciples though, these three hundred people were surely talents worthy of praise.
Yang Kai fell speechless for a moment, before opening his mouth with difficulty, “Not three hundred either.”
“Uh…” Ye Hen was startled and hesitated, “Could it be…”
“There are only three people for the time being,” Yang Kai laughed awkwardly.
Ye Hen could not believe his ears. Only three disciples were occupying such a vast piece of land? How blessed were those three disciples? They could consume all that rich World Energy in those mountains and rivers, and access any cultivation paradise at will. Their cultivations would definitely rise rapidly!
“Although it’s three people, they’re actually just Honoured Guest Elders. There isn’t even one disciple for the time being.”
“Three Honoured Guest Elders? What cultivations do they have?” Ye Hen was flabbergasted.
Yang Kai looked to the side and stretched out his finger, “Monster King Ying Fei is one of them, as for the remaining two… they are also Monster Kings like him, but I asked them to stay there to keep watch over the Sect, so they didn’t follow us here!”
Ye Hen gasped as he hesitated before asking, “Two more… Monster Kings?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
Ye Hen was stunned, as if someone hit him over the head with a hammer.
He thought that it was already a great advantage that Yang Kai had a Monster King by his side, but he did not expect him to actually have three Monster Kings! A newly established Sect that did not even have a single disciple already had three Monster Kings as Honoured Guest Elders instead! What a majestic heritage this was! Many top Sects were simply incomparable!
Ye Hen could foresee that given time, this High Heaven Palace would surely become the top Sect among all top Sects in the entire Star Boundary.
No wonder Yang Kai said that there was no need to worry about security issues. There was already a powerful Sect Defending Array and two Monster Kings standing guard, who would dare offend them?
At the same time, Ye Hen was extremely excited. Compared to Emperor Heaven Valley, High Heaven Palace was undoubtedly more suitable for them. Its excellent cultivation environment alone was already incomparable to Emperor Heaven Valley.
Although Emperor Heaven Valley was good, it was quite small. If five hundred disciples cultivated here, their efficiency would definitely drop, and if he wanted to break through to the Emperor Realm…
However, as a Sect Master, Ye Hen needed to consider a lot of things, so even though his heart was moved, he did not immediately agree.
After hesitating for a long time, Ye Hen sighed and said, “Thousand Leaves Sect has over ten thousand years of inheritance, but it was suppressed so greatly under the management of this Ye. This Ye does not want to be a sinner, nor can he let the inheritance of Thousand Leaves Sect be cut off in his hands. I…”
Yang Kai smiled, “I understand what Sect Master Ye is worried about. I didn’t mean to absorb your Sect into High Heaven Palace, so please don’t worry about this issue. Thousand Leaves Sect remains Thousand Leaves Sect. Feel at ease and recover in High Heaven Palace Sect, then return to rebuild Thousand Leaves Sect whenever you feel ready. I will never try to stop you.”
The reason Ye Hen hesitated was because he was worried that Yang Kai wanted to annex Thousand Leaves Sect. Although Yang Kai had done many great favours for the Thousand Leaves Sect, if it was really annexed, the Thousand Leaves Sect would truly be destroyed. There would be no Thousand Leaves Sect in the future.
As a Sect Master, his mission was to revitalize Thousand Leaves Sect and make it prosper, so how could Ye Hen bear seeing it end?
“This…” Ye Hen was startled when he heard these words, and immediately felt ashamed, “This Ye was being overly suspicious and pessimistic.”
As he thought about it, if Yang Kai really wanted to absorb the Thousand Leaves Sect, he could just subdue it directly by force. He would have to surrender whether he wanted to or not, so why bother even negotiating in the first place?
“Sect Master Ye has his own considerations, I understand.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“Since Senior Yang is being so generous, then it would be impolite for this Ye and Thousand Leaves Sect to refuse. We will always remember your great kindness.” Ye Hen bowed to him, “It’s just that the distance to the Northern Territory is quite far, how are we going to get there?”
“I have my own arrangements.”
When things were finalized, Yang Kai immediately began arranging a Space Array in the middle of the mountain valley.
The first reason for moving the disciples of Thousand Leaves Sect to High Heaven Palace was to add some population to the currently empty Sect. Secondly, Yang Kai was very interested in Thousand Leaves Sect’s Puppet Arts. One would not be so petty after receiving another’s kindness. Thousand Leaves Sect would definitely not be too stingy with its knowledge in High Heaven Palace over time, and that would be equivalent to adding much knowledge of the Puppet Dao to the Sect. In the future, when Yang Kai’s friends and family came from Shadowed Star, they would have an extra layer of protection. Puppet Arts were perfect for those from Shadowed Star, who were not personally very strong yet.
Thirdly, Yang Kai wanted to use this Emperor Heaven Valley as a transit station for his Space Arrays.
Emperor Heaven Valley was originally an independent small world, and after the connecting Space Array was destroyed, no one except Yang Kai could open it. Emperor Heaven Valley was the perfect place to set up a Cross-Territory Space Array as it was absolutely safe and there was no need to worry about it being destroyed.
Yang Kai still had some remaining Space Spirit Crystal and Space Spirit Jade, just enough to arrange one Cross-Territory Space Array.
After less than half a day of bustling about, a brand-new Space Array appeared in the mountain valley.
Zhu Qing had been observing him silently and was shocked to discover that Yang Kai was so accomplished in the Dao of Space.
Ye Hen also took advantage of this time to inform the five hundred disciples of his decision. Naturally, no one opposed anything. On the contrary, many were eager at the news that they were going to the Northern Territory. For people like them, they might not be able to go to the Northern Territory in their lifetime by just relying on their own skills. It was natural for them to be curious about going to the Northern Territory, a place billions of kilometres away.
As soon as everything was prepared, Yang Kai ordered Ying Fei to leave first, then arranged the five hundred disciples from Thousand Leaves Sect to take turns passing through the Space Array.
Each activation of the Space Array consumed a lot of Source Crystals, and could at most transmit twenty to thirty people at a time.
The migration alone cost Yang Kai nearly a hundred thousand High-Rank Source Crystals, making Ye Hen feel quite distressed.
More than five hundred people were transported quickly, with Yang Kai being the last to jump onto the Space Array. Just when he steadied himself, a fragrance reached his nose as Zhu Qing landed gently beside him.
Annoyed, Yang Kai asked, “When are you going to stop following me? How about we part ways now? Go back to our own home and find your own mother.”
Zhu Qing looked at him seriously, and questioned, “Will you go to Dragon Island?”
“Scram!” Yang Kai was triggered by the two words ‘Dragon Island’.
“Is this how you talk to your friend?” Zhu Qing snapped back.
“If you mention those two words again, we won’t be friends anymore!” Yang Kai snorted and continued menacingly, “You better be careful, or I’ll exile you to the Void Crack during the teleportation, and you will never find your way out again in this life!”
Zhu Qing’s face changed abruptly and she grabbed Yang Kai’s arm, holding onto it so tightly that she did not even notice her twin peaks pressing onto his arm.
“I won’t be able to hold on with you being so close to me!” Yang Kai turned his head and looked at her, remarking solemnly, “I don’t know why, but every time you’re close to me, I get some uncontrollable urges.”
“Stop messing around!” Zhu Qing felt a little uncomfortable and slightly backed off from Yang Kai.
“Have it your way!” Yang Kai replied angrily and activated the Space Array. Following a flash of light, both of them instantly disappeared from where they stood.
“Young Master Yang!”
“Young Master Yang!”
Just when his vision was restored, two familiar voices reached his ears. Yang Kai looked up and saw that it was Xie Wu Wei and Xi Lei, the two Monster Kings who stayed behind to guard the house. After a few months of separation, the two Monster Kings were excited to see Yang Kai again. They exchanged looks, and there was some trace of competition in their gazes.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “You two have worked hard.”
“Not at all, not at all. It’s nothing, we just had to watch over the Sect. As long as it’s Young Master Yang’s order, it doesn’t matter how mundane the task is.” Xi Lei grinned widely.
Xie Wu Wei immediately patted his shoulder, “Since you like acting as a guard so much, this important task will be handed over to you permanently. If Young Master Yang goes out again, I’ll be the one to accompany him.”
Xi Lei fumed with his face warping, “Bullshit. It’s my turn next time!”
Xie Wu Wei smirked, “You lost in our drinking contest last time. Are you not going to keep your word?”
Xi Lei laughed out loud, “How can the words of a drunk be taken seriously?”
“As a Monster King, how can you break your promise?” Xie Wu Wei snorted coldly.
“Fight me if you wish!” Xi Lei puffed up his chest, revealing his strong muscles.
Yang Kai sighed and stepped down from the Space Array, walking past the bickering couple and arriving in front of Ye Hen with a smile, “Sect Master Ye, what do you think about this place?”
At this moment, Ye Hen was lost in astonishment. He took deep breaths to feel the richness of the World Energy here and could hardly believe that he was standing on this treasured land. Furthermore, what surprised him even more was that he travelled here through a Cross-Territory Space Array. He was still in the Southern Territory a moment ago, but in the next instant, he was in the Northern Territory.
“Good, extremely good. There is no better place than here.” Ye Hen praised sincerely.
It was worthy of being the foundation of a top Sect. If the common places in the Sect already had such rich World Energy, the density in the dedicated cultivation areas and Spirit Peaks must be unimaginable. It was at a whole new level compared to Thousand Leaves Sect.
No wonder those disciples of the great Sects could improve so rapidly. With such an excellent environment, there was no doubt that they could cultivate twice as fast with half the effort.
The five hundred Thousand Leaves Sect disciples were overjoyed too. If they did not have to care about their manners, they would be jumping and cheering wildly. Nevertheless, the happiness etched on their faces was unmistakable.
Seeing this scene, Ye Hen slightly sighed in his heart. There was a saying, ‘it is easy to change frugality to luxury, but difficult to change from luxury to frugality’. If the disciples were allowed to cultivate in this place for a few years, Ye Hen really worried how many of them would be willing to follow him back to rebuild Thousand Leaves Sect one day.
But soon, his face turned serious as he shook off such thoughts. Now was not the right time to think about such things as his priority was to improve his cultivation as fast as possible to reach the Emperor Realm!
It was only possible to rebuild Thousand Leaves Sect when his strength reached the Emperor Realm. Otherwise, everything was just empty talk.
“There are many Spirit Peaks here, so Sect Master Ye can choose anywhere to stay. As for your noble Sect’s disciples, you may make arrangements freely for them. Besides a few Restricted Areas in the Sect that were covered by the Spirit Arrays, they are free to go anywhere.” Yang Kai stated.
“Many thanks, Senior Yang.” Ye Hen bowed deeply.
Yang Kai nodded. After that, he went over to Chi Yue and his other Seniors, looking at them with a smile as he opened his arms and shouted, “Everyone, from now on, this is your home in the Star Boundary!”
Chi Yue and the rest were different from those from Thousand Leaves Sect. They all came from the same Star Field and had deep relationships with Yang Kai, and since the latter founded High Heaven Palace in order to give the people from his native land a home here, Chi Yue and his Seniors naturally counted among them.
“Sect Master is capable!” Gui Zu cackled.
Gu Cang Yu quipped, “I think you should address him as ‘Palace Master’ now.”
Gui Zu nodded in agreement. Even though High Heaven Sect and High Heaven Palace were only one character different, they were completely separate entities. The scale of the latter undoubtedly could not be compared to the former.
Chi Yue turned her head to look around and muttered emotionally, “If Qing Luo could also come here to cultivate…”
Yang Kai replied solemnly, “I have been looking for ways to return, but there are no clues yet. If I can return to the Star Field one day, I will definitely bring all of them here.”
Ai Ou patted Yang Kai’s shoulder and acknowledged in a deep voice, “It must not be easy for you.”
Yang Kai had been on his own for almost the entire time since he arrived in the Star Boundary, but after just a few years, he actually managed to obtain such a paradise. Despite his delight, Ai Ou knew that there must have been a lot of hardships and grievances getting to this place. Moreover, even though Yang Kai’s strength and status were much different than before, he had not forgotten his roots.
Ai Ou was extremely satisfied with this son-in-law.
“Don’t just stand here, go and find a place to live too,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“Let’s go, follow this Old Master to see how big our new home is!” Gui Zu shouted then immediately turned into a wisp of Ghost Qi and flew forward with the rest following closely behind excitedly.
Although Ye Hen had been a gracious host to them when they stayed in Thousand Leaves Sect, they were still just guests under another’s roof. But now, it was different as High Heaven Palace was their own home, giving them a great sense of belonging.
Ye Hen cupped his fists and remarked, “Senior Yang, then this Ye will take these little brats to look for a place too.”
“At your will, Sect Master Ye.” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Hundreds of people left at once in exuberance.
The Seeking Passion Sect was a vast place, and it would take them at least several days to pick out an appropriate place to stay.
Yang Kai darted his sight to the side and questioned, “Sister Hua, don’t you want to take a look around too?”
Hua Qing Si smiled lightly, “No, I’ll just find a quiet place to live later.”
She was born in Star Soul Palace, so she was used to such an environment and naturally did not react with the same exuberance as Gui Zu, Ye Hen, and the others did.
Yang Kai blinked a few times before he asked seriously, “What are you worried about? Star Soul Palace? Or do you blame me for killing Tan Jun Hao?”
Hua Qing Si glanced at him, and shook her head, “Honoured Master… No, that man chose to die, I don’t blame you for that. Even if Star Soul Palace really investigates, I don’t believe they will blame you. It’s just …”
“Just what?”
“I’m still a Star Soul Palace disciple after all. Now that I’ve followed you to the Northern Territory, I have essentially abandoned my own Sect,” Hua Qing Si laughed at herself with a bitter face.
Yang Kai asked back curiously, “You haven’t done anything to wrong Star Soul Palace, so how could this be considered abandoning?”
Hua Qing Si reached out her finger to tap his forehead, smiling faintly, “Good good, let’s not talk about this further. In any case, I’m a member of your High Heaven Palace now. If Star Soul Palace really comes for me in the future…”
“I’ll help you to beat them back. No one can snatch my people, not even Star Soul Palace!” Yang Kai remarked heroically.
Hua Qing Si nodded with satisfaction and continued with a smile, “Since I’ve already joined your ship, I’ll find a place to live.”
Saying so, she flew away with a flicker.
Yang Kai stared at the spot where she was for a while, then slightly shook his head and turned to Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei, “Anything happen lately?”
Xi Lei scratched his cheek and looked at Xie Wu Wei.
The latter cupped his fists, “Reporting to Young Master Yang, nothing important happened recently. Many cultivators visited the Sect’s gates every day, wanting to join High Heaven Palace, but we ignored them all. Other than that, Lady Ji Yao came here twice, but left both times after seeing that you weren’t here. She also reminded us to inform you to go to Ice Heart Valley when you come back. It seems that something is going on there.”
“Understood.” Yang Kai nodded in acknowledgement, “Then I’ll go and take a look.
Having said so, he moved back to the Space Array.
Zhu Qing followed Yang Kai silently.
Yang Kai looked sideways at her, “Do you want to follow me again? Are you some kind of boot-licking lackey?”
Zhu Qing replied calmly, “Either you promise to come with me, or I will follow you.”
Yang Kai looked at her with a stressed face, “What did I do to you that you have to torture me like this? I’m warning you not to go too far, otherwise, I will not be polite with you!”
Xi Lei’s eyes widened as soon as he heard this before he grinned and rolled up his sleeves, “Young Master Yang, you may leave this girl in my hands. I promise I will beat her until her mother doesn’t recognize her!”
“Good, good, good!” Yang Kai was delighted and gave a thumbs up to Xi Lei, “Old Rhino, if you can handle her, this Young Master will reward you with glory, wealth, and honour!”
Xi Lei burst into laughter, “How hard could it be?”
While laughing, he pushed his Monster Qi wildly and slammed his big palm towards Zhu Qing. His aggressive posture did not show the slightest compassion despite his target being a delicate-looking woman.
Zhu Qing’s face turned icy cold and glared at Xi Lei with her beautiful eyes.
Despite being from the supreme Dragon Clan, she had to tolerate Yang Kai’s nonsense because he bore the Ancestral Dragon Source in him. But now, even a mere Monster King dared to challenge her. At that moment, all the grievances she suffered from Yang Kai exploded out in an instant.
She clenched her delicate fist and met Xi Lei’s palm strike with it.
Xi Lei frowned deeply. Although he mentioned that he wanted to beat Zhu Qing until her mother could not recognize her, he could see that Yang Kai and she did not seem to be enemies. Therefore, he knew that he could not really be ruthless with her, otherwise, Yang Kai might punish him if he killed this little girl.
He was a Monster King covered in bronze skin and iron bones, possessing boundless power. Even an ordinary Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would not dare fight with him head-on, while this little girl was so petite that she did not seem to have any significant strength at all.
Seeing that she was about to meet his palm with her fist, Xi Lei dared not use his full strength and hurriedly retracted some of his strength, grinning as he tried to advise, “Little girl, your hair is not fully grown yet but you still dare to act strong here? Let this King show you…”
*Peng… *
The fist met the palm.
Before Xi Lei could finish his sentence, he was sent flying like a sac and slammed into a mountain thousands of metres away, forming a big crater where he landed.
Zhu Qing remained where she was, standing steadily on the Space Array with a calm face, as if she had just swatted away a fly rather than a Monster King.
She turned her beautiful eyes to Xie Wu Wei, challenging, “Do you want to teach me a lesson too?”
Xie Wu Wei shook his head like a rattle as sweat trickled down his forehead.
“Two Sirs, have a nice trip!” Ying Fei bowed with a smile.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead as he glanced helplessly at Zhu Qing, only then did he activate the Space Array and teleport away.
After a while, Xie Wu Wei poked Ying Fei with lingering fear, and asked carefully, “That girl… Who is she?”
Even a Monster King could not have the strength to send Ying Fei flying with just a punch in a head-on clash, let alone a Human. Could she be a Divine Spirit?
Ying Fei moved his lips, gently spitting out two words.
Xie Wu Wei was instantly dumbstruck.
…..
It was cold and snowy.
Just when Yang Kai appeared in Ice Heart Valley, he was welcomed by someone’s buttocks who was perched on the base of the Space Array, fully concentrating on studying something and mumbling to himself continuously, completely unaware of the two people behind him.
Who else but Nanmen Da Jun could it be? Ice Heart Valley was composed entirely of women, so Yang Kai recognized the familiar back of this old man immediately.
Yang Kai frowned as he listened for a while, but he could not understand what Nanmen Da Jun was mumbling about, so he could not help but ask, “What are you doing?”
“Be quiet! Be quiet!” Nanmen Da Jun bellowed without even looking back, refusing to be distracted from his task.
But soon, he seemed to have realized something and swiftly stood up and turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai almost jumped when their eyes met. Hair completely covered Nanmen Da Jun’s face and he looked almost insane with his bloodshot eyes.
On the contrary, Nanmen Da Jun was feeling delighted and immediately jumped forward while shouting, “Grandmaster Yang, you’re finally back! I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
“Waiting for me?” Yang Kai was surprised, “What for?”
Nanmen Da Jun replied enthusiastically, “Why to discuss the Dao of Spirit Arrays with me! Let’s find a place to have a nice chat!”
“What can I chat with you about!?” Yang Kai rolled his eyes.
Nanmen Da Jun’s face turned solemn, “Grandmaster Yang, please don’t say that. The Dao of Spirit Arrays is broad and profound, and mastering it is a long journey. As the saying goes, ‘stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade of this one.’ It’s good for both of us to learn from each other.”
“But I don’t want to.”
Nanmen Da Jun was stunned.
Yang Kai looked at the Space Array on the ground, and asked lightly, “You didn’t learn anything from studying this Space Array, right?”
Nanmen Da Jun blushed shyly and shook his head, “How is that possible? Although this array is impressive, I have learned its structure and the principles of its operation. It won’t be long before I can crack it and attempt to replicate it!”
“Good, then you keep trying!” Yang Kai patted him on the shoulder before turning around to leave.
“Wait, wait…” Nanmen Da Jun grabbed Yang Kai’s clothes.
“Let go!” Yang Kai looked back and glared at him.
Nanmen Da Jun stared bitterly at him and lowered his head, “Grandmaster Yang has sharp eyes. About this Space Array… I really couldn’t learn much from it. Please… please enlighten me, Grandmaster Yang!”
“Let go first!” Yang Kai eyed the wrinkled fabric of his robe that was grabbed by Nanmen Da Jun.
Only then did Nanmen Da Jun let go of his clothes and smiled flatteringly, but he maintained a pouncing posture so that he could grasp Yang Kai at any time, as if he was afraid that Yang Kai would run away.
Yang Kai dusted his wrinkled robes and looked sideways at him, “Do you want to learn?”
Nanmen Da Jun nodded fiercely, like a chicken pecking the rice, and his eyes twinkled with a thirst for knowledge.
“I can teach you,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Nanmen Da Jun’s face turned solemn immediately, adjusting his clothes and bowing deeply, “Please accept my respects, Grandmaster Yang!”
“But what can you give me in return?” Yang Kai asked back.
Nanmen Da Jun smiled wryly, “What do you want? I have a lot of Source Crystals…”
“I have a lot of Source Crystals too,” Yang Kai scorned.
“Then… I can exchange another Spirit Array with you. I have some Spirit Arrays that were inherited from Ancient Times. They are profound and powerful…”
“Not interested!”
Nanmen Da Jun put on a long face, and asked, “Then what do you want?”
Yang Kai touched his chin and mused, “My High Heaven Palace has just been founded and I happen to lack a Chief Array Master…”
After hearing this, Nanmen Da Jun’s face changed drastically and he shook his head repeatedly, “Impossible. I am used to roaming freely, and I’m afraid that I would bring trouble to Grandmaster Yang and your noble Sect if I joined…”
“Then forget it.” Before he could finish, Yang Kai turned around and left.
“Grandmaster Yang, Grandmaster Yang, let’s talk about this!” Nanmen Da Jun attempted to grab Yang Kai’s clothes again.
“Feel free to consider my offer, I won’t force you,” With a flicker, Yang Kai ran far away. Although both of them were First-Order Emperor Realm Masters, Nanmen Da Jun majored in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, so it was natural that he could not catch up with Yang Kai.
Seeing Yang Kai disappear from sight, Nanmen Da Jun could not help stomping his foot, feeling annoyed.
Inside Ice Heart Valley, beautiful young women and girls lingered everywhere. Although Ice Heart Valley suffered a great disaster last time, they became more united than ever once the crisis passed. Wherever Yang Kai went, he saw female disciples cultivating and exchanging pointers with each other to improve their strength.
After seeing Yang Kai, all of them would stop and salute respectfully though, greeting him as Senior Yang.
All of them seemed to recognize Yang Kai; but that wasn’t a surprise as it was Yang Kai who strove to turn the tide and saved Ice Heart Valley from the disaster of destruction. Although many of the disciples had not seen Yang Kai’s true face before, they had seen plenty of images of him.
Sure enough, he was really a young and handsome figure. Therefore, these young ladies could not keep their eyes off of him.
Some of them were even more daring as they actually coquettishly flirted with Yang Kai with their eyes, making him sweat a little to himself.
Ice Heart Valley was indeed a good place, but it was all women here and lacked any male presence. Many disciples lived in the valley since very young and had never stepped foot out of the valley, never even seeing what a man looked like.
Yang Kai thought he could arrange for a few marriages with Ice Heart Valley when High Heaven Palace became stronger in the future. This bevvy of women from Ice Heart Valley was a bit pitiful to never know the love of a man.
[Not a bad idea, I believe Senior Bing Yun will not reject it; after all, Ice Heart Valley did not forbid their disciples to marry, only insisting that they were not Ice Heart Valley disciples anymore after marriage.]
When he walked to the nave of a certain palace corridor, a figure flashed in front of him. A cold-looking woman suddenly appeared before Yang Kai and nodded slightly at him, “When did you return?”
“Just now. I heard that you were looking for me?” Yang Kai looked at Ji Yao and asked.
“Honoured Master is the one looking for you.” After that remark, Ji Yao’s eyes went towards the shadow behind Yang Kai, wondering, “This is…”
She saw that even though Zhu Qing was petite, she had an astonishing figure and her face was even more breathtaking. At that moment, she could not help comparing herself with Zhu Qing.
Yang Kai actually brought back such a stunning woman after going out for only a few months, and they seemed to be quite close, otherwise, why would he bring her to Ice Heart Valley?
For some reason, Ji Yao felt angry about it.
“Don’t pay her any mind!” Yang Kai was too lazy to even introduce Zhu Qing to Ji Yao, not to mention the identity of this Dragon Girl was really too alarming to openly discuss.
Ji Yao glanced at Yang Kai, narrowed her eyes for a moment, then spat in a cold tone lacking all her previous warmth, “Come with me.”
He was now even too lazy to introduce this woman to her. Why did he become so distant after a few months? Was it because he no longer thought about her?
She turned around and led the way.
Yang Kai quickly caught up and asked, “How have you been recently?”
Ji Yao replied coldly, “Everything is fine.”
Yang Kai was puzzled by the cold treatment he received and scratched his head, deciding to just shut up lest he cause himself trouble.
When they arrived in front of a grand palace, Yang Kai stopped, and looked back at Zhu Qing, “Wait here, Senior Bing Yun and I have something to talk about.”
Zhu Qing looked at him doubtfully, “Will you take this opportunity to run away?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I run away?”
Zhu Qing nodded lightly and stood there quietly.
Ji Yao glanced at their interaction and grimaced.
After entering the main hall, Yang Kai saw Bing Yun with a few of her disciples by her side, all of them seemingly discussing something.
Yang Kai went forward to salute her.
But before he could bow, Bing Yun smiled lightly and said, “Don’t be so polite, you’re not an outsider. Have a seat!”
Yang Kai sat down on the side and asked about Liu Xian Yun. He was relieved to learn that she had been cultivating in seclusion as she prepared to break through to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
Although Liu Xian Yun came to the Star Boundary from the Grand Desolation Star Field, she had gone through many ups and downs and life or death situations with Yang Kai, so they shared a rather close friendship. Furthermore, it was Yang Kai who recommended her to Ice Heart Valley, so it was natural that he would pay more attention to her.
Then again, Liu Xian Yun was a cultivator who came from the Lower Star Fields and had outstanding talent, so as long as she was provided enough cultivation resources, it was almost a certainty for her to break through to the Emperor Realm. Whether it was for their friendship with Yang Kai, or simply for Liu Xian Yun’s own excellent aptitude, Ice Heart Valley would spare no effort to train her.
“Did you manage to return to the Southern Territory?” Bing Yun asked, remembering that when Yang Kai left last time, he mentioned that he was going back to the Southern Territory.
“Yeah, I just returned.”
Ji Yao came over with a cup of tea, plopped it in front of Yang Kai, and said coldly, “And he also brought back a woman. Senior Brother, don’t you want to invite her in and introduce her to Honoured Master? Maybe we will be seeing her more frequently in the future.”
Bing Yun looked at Ji Yao with some shock while the latter’s Senior and Junior Sisters also stared at her with puzzlement, wondering why Ji Yao released such a strong sense of hostility all over her body.
Quickly, they all released their Divine Senses and indeed found a woman standing outside the palace.
Bing Yun spoke, “Any visitor is our guest. Yang Kai, how can you let her stay alone outside?”
“Senior, don’t worry about her, that woman is very annoying.” Yang Kai could not explain clearly in just a few words.
Ji Yao pressed on, “Senior Brother must have done something bad to her and is now afraid to confront her.”
“I’m afraid of her?” Yang Kai was like a cat whose tail was stepped on, its fur spiking up in irritation, “What a joke!”
Ji Yao glared at Yang Kai, “Does that mean that Senior Brother really did something bad to her?”
“No, don’t talk nonsense,” Yang Kai blushed and quickly picked up his cup and drank the tea to hide his embarrassment.
An Ruo Yun and the others observed his expression from the side, then exchanged looks with each other and nodded lightly, as if they discovered something.
Ji Yao sneered, “So, it’s true.” Then, she turned solemn again, “Senior Brother, if you abandoned a woman after toying with her, I would never talk to you again.”
Yang Kai spewed out a mouthful of tea and cried out helplessly, “I did no such thing! Yao’er, why are you acting so strange today?”
Ji Yao ignored him and turned her back on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai put down his teacup, speechless. He had no idea how to deal with the situation, so he immediately turned to Bing Yun in an attempt to change the topic, “Senior, why were you looking for me?”
Bing Yun nodded, “Do you know the two top Sects, Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace?”
“I think I have heard of them.” Yang Kai frowned and thought for a while, then he clapped his hands, “Are they Northern Territory Sects?”
He had not been active in the Northern Territory for very long, and the scope of his activities was not large, so he did not know about the Northern Territory as much as he did the Southern Territory, only being familiar with Ice Heart Valley and Seeking Passion Sect.
He could not react at first when he heard about Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace, but on second thought, he quickly recalled that the heritage and strength of these two Sects were on par with the Seeking Passion Sect. They were also top Sects of the Northern Territory, having Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters assuming command.
Yang Kai frowned, “Senior, why did you suddenly mention these two Sects? Is there some issue with them that we must deal with?”
Now that he had established a Sect in the Northern Territory, he would, of course, have dealings with Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace sooner or later as they were at the top of the Northern Territory’s hierarchy. There may even be some competition and friction between them in the future.
These two Sects were different from Ice Heart Valley, which had a deep connection with Yang Kai, so conflict was possible between them.
Bing Yun explained, “In the Star Boundary, the Eastern Territory has the Serene Soul Great Emperor’s Serene Soul Palace, the Southern Territory has the Bright Moon Great Emperor’s Star Soul Palace, and even the Western Territory has the Night Shadow Great Emperor’s Shadow Killer Palace. All the top Sects of those three territories take these Great Emperor Sects as their hegemons and for the most part fall under their command and jurisdiction. Only our Northern Territory has no Great Emperor Sect.”
“Why?” Yang Kai was curious. He did not consider this matter before, but now that he heard Bing Yun mention it, he suddenly realized that it was true.
Bing Yun shook her head, “I don’t know either. Perhaps because many places in the Northern Territory are too cold and do not have as many resources available, so it’s not suitable to establish a grand Sect.” After a pause, she continued, “But even though there is no Great Emperor Sect in our Northern Territory, we still have a Great Emperor here, the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly as he knew about this.
The Wondrous Pill Great Emperor lived in Medicine Pill Valley in the Northern Territory all year round. Now that she mentioned him, Yang Kai remembered that he had obtained the inheritance of Gong Sun Mu before, who was the Third Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. If not for this fortuitous encounter, Yang Kai would not be familiar with the herbs and pills of the Star Boundary. It was precisely because he obtained the jade slip from Gong Sun Mu with all kinds of information that Yang Kai’s advancement on the Alchemic Dao had been so smooth and rapid.
However, at that time when he got the inheritance, a seal that was set by Gong Sun Mu was implanted into his body. In order to remove the seal, he had to reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm within a hundred years or pay a visit to the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor to have it dispersed.
The reason Gong Sun Mu did so was that he wanted Yang Kai to bring a message to the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, one that contained Gong Sun Mu’s regrets and repentance, while also asking for the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s forgiveness and Gong Sun Mu’s hopes to be taken back as his disciple.
The seal had not caused any harm to Yang Kai for many years, so he had stopped caring about it at some point. In any case, there was still a long time before a hundred years would pass, and Yang Kai was also confident that he could reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm within that time.
Therefore, there was no need for him to bother the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.
Bing Yun continued, “Over the years, the four top Sects in the Northern Territory have been maintaining a delicate balance. Although Ice Heart Valley had been suppressed when this Queen went missing, our Sect still managed to survive until now; however, the balance has been broken now.”
Without a doubt, the balance was broken due to the annihilation of Seeking Passion Sect.
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “And so?”
Bing Yun chuckled, “It matters not to our Ice Heart Valley. Seeking Passion Sect deserved its fate since the day it chose to take up arms against Ice Heart Valley, but Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace will likely take issue with this new reality.”
Yang Kai wore a vicious look as he asked, “Are they looking for trouble?”
Bing Yun snook her head and explained, “Since you can exterminate Seeking Passion Sect, then you can exterminate Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace too. It’s normal for them to worry.”
“What do they want to do then? Join hands against me?”
Bing Yun laughed, “Without lips, teeth turn cold. It’s normal for people to huddle together in a storm to keep warm. The two Sects have been getting close to each other lately, so perhaps they will begin taking some action soon.”
Yang Kai sneered, “Aren’t they worried that I really will exterminate them?”
Bing Yun warned solemnly, “Birds die for food, people die for wealth. You destroyed Seeking Passion Sect and plundered tens of thousands of years of foundation. It’s only natural that everyone would be jealous. But it may not necessarily be like that, perhaps they are just uniting to deter you, lest you should become ambitious and attempt to dominate the Northern Territory.”
“I don’t have such ambitions,” Yang Kai shook his head. He kept the foundation of Seeking Passion Sect for the sake of the people in his native Star Field. Since when did he think of dominating the Northern Territory? Without the prestige of a Great Emperor, it was impossible to achieve such a thing.
Bing Yun summoned Yang Kai with the intention purely to warn him about this. Seeing that he had his own plans though, she naturally did not press the issue.
Yang Kai suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “Did those two Sects work with the Seeking Passion Sect to harm Ice Heart Valley last time?”
Bing Yun looked at him and questioned in return, “What do you think?”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding. Even if those Sects did not work with Seeking Passion Sect directly, they had certainly been adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes. If not, how could Seeking Passion Sect recruit so many helpers in such a short time? Perhaps, some of the recruits were disciples of those two Sects.
[Damn it, I wouldn’t have let them all go if I knew this earlier. I should have interrogated them first.]
Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace were top Sects in the Northern Territory, and they should have a lot of wealth stashed away.
Whether it was openly or secretly, it was perfectly normal to have strife between big Sects. They obviously did not care about the balance since they chose to help the Seeking Passion Sect in destroying Ice Heart Valley, and now they were worried because Yang Kai had occupied the territory of the Seeking Passion Sect and demonstrated such strong capability.
[Just don’t disturb me. If you two dare to disturb me, I will show no mercy.] Yang Kai secretly declared.
After staying in Ice Heart Valley for a while, Yang Kai bid farewell and left.
Ji Yao did not respond to him when he said goodbye, which depressed him somewhat, for he had no idea how he had offended her.
Snow was falling outside the hall, and Zhu Qing did not use her strength to shield herself, resulting in her being covered in snow. Furthermore, there was an ugly snowman as tall as a man beside her.
“You’ve been standing here all this time?” Yang Kai looked at her curiously. Even though he told her to wait for him, he did not ask her to just stand there.
Zhu Qing did not answer, but pointed at the ugly snowman next to her, “This is you!”
“You mean you!” Yang Kai rolled his eyes and kicked the snowman to pieces before he left with his hands clasped behind his back.
Zhu Qing immediately caught up with him.
Upon returning to the Space Array on the Ice Lake Island, they saw Nanmen Da Jun still waiting there with a hesitant look.
Yang Kai retorted, “Be decisive like a man, or you will never achieve true success!”
Nanmen Da Jun rebuked, “I’m an Array Grandmaster of the generation. How could you insult me like this!?”
Yang Kai sneered, and pointed at the Space Array, “If you can arrange one, I will admit that you are an Array Grandmaster!”
Nanmen Da Jun immediately shut up, his face turning red.
Yang Kai remarked impatiently, “Forget it, our High Heaven Palace doesn’t need a superficial Array Master anyway.” Then, he turned around and stepped onto the Space Array.
Nanmen Da Jun suddenly grabbed his clothes again.
Yang Kai looked back at him and saw that Nanmen Da Jun raised a finger in front of his scarlet face, “Ten years! I will leave High Heaven Palace after ten years!”
Yang Kai snickered, “You’re still bargaining with me?”
“Just ten years! Forget about it if you want more than that.” Nanmen Da Jun looked resolute.
“Good, ten years it is! Come on up!” Yang Kai gestured to him.
Nanmen Da Jun sighed heavily and got on the Space Array, dejected as if he just betrayed himself.
After returning to High Heaven Palace, the three Monster Kings were nowhere to be found.
No one was guarding the Space Array.
Seeing this, Yang Kai could not help frowning. Although the Space Array that he arranged usually would not have any problems and it was also impossible for others to invade the Sect through it, there should still be at least one person guarding here.
[I need a manager for this place.] Several faces floated in Yang Kai’s mind before he quickly made up his mind.
“Find your own place to live.” Yang Kai gave an order to Nanmen Da Jun.
Nanmen Da Jun nodded, “Right, Palace Master, what will my status be in High Heaven Palace?”
“Chief Array Master, didn’t I tell you?” Yang Kai waved his hand, “When you’re free, walk around and check which array needs maintenance or refinement. Act with a free hand.”
“Good, good, good!” Nanmen Da Jun nodded his head vigorously.
Yang Kai then turned around and pointed at Zhu Qing, “You, don’t follow me.”
With a fluctuation of Space Principles, Yang Kai instantly disappeared.
Zhu Qing stomped her foot and scanned around with her Divine Sense, but she could not find Yang Kai.
After reaching the palace of the Main Peak, Yang Kai flashed inside and sat down cross-legged.
Although High Heaven Palace was small in population now, it had become quite famous. More importantly, he had settled the matter regarding the Puppet Dao and Dao of Spirit Arrays, so his friends and family would have no trouble studying these paths when they came in the future. In the long run, this would be of great benefit to the development of High Heaven Palace and the growth of its disciples.
As for the ten-years agreement of Nanmen Da Jun, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about it at all.
No one knew what would happen in ten years. By that time, Nanmen Da Jun may not be able to leave even if he wanted to.
Elated, Yang Kai took out a huge pile of High-Rank Source Crystals from his Space Ring and piled them up beside him. The World Energy in his room surged rapidly. Currently, using Low-Rank or Mid-Rank Source Crystal to cultivate was completely useless to Yang Kai as he was already an Emperor Realm Master, only High-Rank Source Crystals were beneficial to him now.
Yang Kai had more than one billion High-Rank Source Crystals with him though, making him filthy rich, so ordinary cultivation was not even an expense to him anymore.
His body crackled excitedly as his meridians and physique tensed and relaxed. A large amount of World Energy was absorbed into Yang Kai’s body as he circulated his Secret Art and refined it into his own strength.
At the same time, he also took out the Golden Armour Heavenly Book and put some effort into refining it.
The Golden Armour Heavenly Book possessed outstanding power, and if Yang Kai could refine it, it would definitely provide a big boost to his combat strength. With the various abilities of the Heavenly Book, Yang Kai would not be at a disadvantage facing any kind of enemy in the future.
However, this artifact was really difficult to refine, and it would certainly consume a lot of time and effort.
As time passed, a steady stream of World Energy rushed into Yang Kai through his pores and breathing. His Emperor Qi and Spiritual Energy also poured into the Golden Armour Heavenly Book at a steady rate, attempting to leave his Soul Imprint on it.
Yang Kai refined it for three months.
But when he opened his eyes, a trace of helplessness appeared on his face.
The refining progress of the Golden Armour Heavenly Book was pretty good, he had now branded his own Soul Imprint onto this Emperor Artifact and could trigger a few of its abilities, but he still could not control the Golden Armour Heavenly Book with high proficiency like Tan Jun Hao could. Regardless, it gave him some extra cards to handle his enemies.
What dejected him though was in fact his own cultivation.
He had reached the peak of the First-Order Emperor Realm, and clearly felt that he was just a half-step away from the Second-Order, but there seemed to be a giant wall that hindered him from reaching it.
His Emperor Qi was indeed purer and more vigorous after refining millions of High-Rank Source Crystals, but his cultivation remained the same.
He did not feel anxious though, because the biggest taboo in cultivating was rushing.
He was still young and had a lot of time. Compared with those Emperor Realm Masters who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, his youth gave him a matchless superiority over them.
There was a saying, ‘youth is capital.’ Yang Kai did not lack time, so there was nothing to worry about.
Therefore, he put aside his cultivation temporarily and focused on the management of High Heaven Palace; he was the Palace Master after all. Even though the Sect did not have many disciples yet, there were a few hundred people taking shelter here. As a host, Yang Kai felt he had to do his best to arrange things well for them, so that they came to feel like this place was their home, hopefully to the point where their hearts became tied to this place…
Although he had such intentions, Yang Kai did not know where to start when he really had to take action.
Last time, when he established High Heaven Sect on Shadowed Star, he did not place much attention on management as he simply left everything to Ye Xi Yun. He was used to having a competent subordinate who could handle all the administrative matters for him, making him realize just how unsuited he was for this job.
In the end, he decided to visit the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples, thinking he could ask Ye Hen for some advice, seeing as he had experience as a Sect Master.
At this moment, all the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples had taken up residence on one of the Main Peaks with rich World Energy. There were more than a dozen Main Peaks like this in High Heaven Palace, and since they had no idea what the name of this particular peak was, they just called it Thousand Leaves Peak for now. It was just merely a name, so no one really cared about it.
When Yang Kai arrived at this place, he found that everything was in order. None of the five hundred disciples was idling as they were all either cultivating, exchanging pointers, or refining puppets.
As the Eldest Senior Brother, Du Xian was giving lectures in the main square, explaining the key points and essentials of Puppet Arts. A group of Thousand Leaves Sect disciples with low cultivations were mesmerized by his teachings, shaking their heads in awe with their eyes full of worship.
Yang Kai listened for a while, but it was enigmatic to him and he had no idea what Du Xian was talking about.
It was fine that he did not understand though, because many of these people may become High Heaven Palace disciples in the future. [En, this little fat boy who is shaking his head seems to look gifted. He should have his own opinions on Puppet Arts.]
[Let’s wait for him to grow up more, then I shall bribe him with benefits. I don’t believe he won’t accept and bow to me if I spoke to him with reason and compassion. At that time, when he becomes a disciple of High Heaven Palace, I think Ye Hen won’t say anything about it either.]
The voice suddenly stopped, and Du Xian shouted, “Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai was spotted, but since he didn’t hide in the first place, Du Xian wouldn’t think he wanted to steal Puppet Dao secrets from Thousand Leaves Sect. In fact, if Yang Kai had such intentions, he could have just taken away the ancestral records and books when he first activated the Space Array that led to Emperor Heaven Valley.
Yang Kai nodded and smiled, “I’m just looking around, you may continue your work.”
All the disciples turned around, got up together, and saluted respectfully, “Greetings, Senior Yang!”
They had the chance to cultivate here thanks to Yang Kai’s blessing. Knowing that Yang Kai was the owner of this place, how could they be disrespectful to him?
“Sit, sit!” Yang Kai waved his hand and felt rather embarrassed. He felt a little guilty for disturbing their lecture because of his leisure visit.
But since he had come, he also felt he should say something. Therefore, he cleared his throat and asked, “Do you all feel comfortable living here?”
Du Xian replied with a smile, “This is an inspiring place which produces outstanding people, rich in World Energy and resources. How can we not like it here? All of us are completely satisfied.”
All the disciples nodded vigorously with bright smiles on their faces. Compared with the original Thousand Leaves Sect, it was a world of difference. Their efficiency of cultivating here was much higher.
“That’s good to hear,” Yang Kai smiled, “Just make yourselves at home.”
After all, one would not think of leaving if they treated this place as their home…
“If you need anything, find Hua Qing Si. Sister Hua is the Head Manager of our High Heaven Palace, in charge of all affairs.”
“Many thanks, Brother Yang!” Du Xian said gratefully, “We will have to trouble Senior Hua in the future then.”
Yang Kai smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
The disciples were excited and marvelled at Yang Kai’s warmth. This person was an Emperor Realm Master, and also a Palace Master, but he did not act haughty at all, even treating their Eldest Senior Brother like his own brother.
The more they looked at him, the more they respected him, and thought that this should be the attitude that an Emperor Realm Master should have. Back then, they always had the impression that Emperor Realm Masters were arrogant and looked down on cultivators below the Emperor Realm like they were ants, bugs that could be crushed at will… Such people were totally unworthy compared to Senior Yang!
“Right!” Du Xian suddenly clapped his hands, and turned to the disciples, “Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, didn’t you always ask this Senior Brother to teach you about his cultivation experiences? It’s not that this Senior Brother doesn’t want to teach you, but this Senior Brother’s strength is poor, and I’m afraid of misleading you. Now that Brother Yang is here, how about we ask Brother Yang to share some of his wisdom with us? Brother Yang is an Emperor Realm Master, and his experiences must be countless times greater than that of this Senior Brother.”
Everyone was dumbfounded for a moment before they shouted yes in unison.
Yang Kai replied stiffly, “But I know nothing about Puppet Arts…”
Du Xian continued with a smile, “Cultivation has nothing to do with puppets. Moreover, stones from other hills could be used to polish a jade here. This Little Brother also wishes to learn from Brother Yang. We hope Brother Yang will not hesitate to give us advice.”
“This…” Yang Kai was a little stunned. Why did he come here in the first place? Why was he suddenly put on the spot like this? Didn’t he just finish establishing a friendly image? If he were to refuse now, wouldn’t his previous efforts be in vain?
“Senior Yang!”
“Senior Yang!”
“Senior Yang!”
The group of Thousand Leaves Sect disciples cheered like a tsunami, their eyes full of expectation and longing.
“Brother Yang, just give us a simple talk.” Du Xian pleaded.
“Alright.” Yang Kai accepted unwillingly, “Then I’ll just say a few words.”
Du Xian was delighted and hurriedly yielded the stage to Yang Kai while he took a seat among the other Thousand Leaves Sect disciples.
Looking at the group of youths with varying cultivations below, Yang Kai could not help feeling a bit nostalgic.
He was once just like them. Along the way, he became stronger step by step, and finally reached the Emperor Realm. However, he was different from them in that he never had a Master Sect, and did not have a Master to teach him. He had fought all alone, risking death many times over. He met various enemies and allies along the way, overcame calamities time after time, enduring great storms until he arrived at this point. He truly lived his own unique style of life.
However… If he had a good mentor or a helpful friend on the path of his growth, he could definitely have avoided many detours.
Who could have anticipated that he would actually stand here today, bearing the title of mentor? No matter how much or how little these younglings benefited from him sharing his experiences today, when they recalled this moment many years later, they would definitely remember that at this wide square in High Heaven Palace, on Thousand Leaves Peak full of grass and trees, he was the one who stood before them and guided their way forward, like a shining beacon in the dark night.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai felt like he had grown a lot taller!
Initially, he did not know what to say, but he suddenly felt unprecedented clarity in his mind and began, “The reason for cultivators to cultivate through bramble and thistle and risk their lives is for nothing more than two words – Martial Dao!”
“What is the Dao? If there are a hundred parts, the Grand Dao would be fifty, the vast Heavens would be forty-nine. There are three thousand paths of the Grand Dao, each of which winds on infinitely.”
“Some people say that struggle is the Dao, others say that arts are the Dao. Some say that nature, the trees, rivers, and lakes are the Dao, some even claim the ants on the floor are the Dao!”
“If you ask me though, I would say that I am the Dao. Wherever I am, there exists the Dao!”
…..
His voice was not loud, but it was clearly transmitted to everyone’s ears. It seemed that it contained a profound magic, hypnotizing the listeners involuntarily. Listening to Yang Kai’s voice, it was as if a magnificent scroll with vast paintings slowly unfurled before everyone. Sometimes they would feel palpitations, sometimes ecstasy, and sometimes helplessness.
Standing there, Yang Kai seemed to embody the essence of thousands of cultivators who pursued the Martial Dao and fought one another to build the bright era they lived in and strove to achieve.
At first, there were less than one hundred Thousand Leaves Sect disciples gathered before him.
However, as time passed, the crowd became larger and larger. More and more people quickly rushed here upon hearing his voice, sat down cross-legged, and listened attentively.
An hour later, nearly five hundred people sat before Yang Kai, almost all the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples besides the few who were in secluded retreat.
Even though Yang Kai had no teacher to guide him throughout his cultivation journey, he still managed to reach the Emperor Realm. Therefore, he definitely had his own unique perspective and experiences.
However, he did not teach these youths about those experiences as Du Xian had pleaded before. Instead, he eloquently laid out to them his personal views on the meaning of cultivation itself. Rather than teaching by giving examples, it was more like he was sharing his comprehensions, allowing them to gain their own enlightenment from his musings.
Some people who understood wore thoughtful expressions, while others frowned, feeling that Yang Kai was babbling and talking all kinds of nonsense, for his teaching was full of irrelevant answers and questions. Despite thinking so, they dared not to have the slightest doubt. They all believed that the reason they could not understand what Yang Kai was saying was that they had yet to reach a sufficient level to comprehend his words, secretly feeling annoyed. [An Emperor Realm Master is indeed different. It’s still understandable if you listen to his words one by one, but when they are strung together, they become mysterious and ethereal.]
“Walk your own path, and make your own Dao. Following another’s way will only leave you pursuing behind them forever!” Yang Kai wiped his mouth, and it seemed like he was not finished yet. He looked around, and asked, “Do you understand?”
The whole audience was silent. No one dared to say that they understood.
All of a sudden, World Energy surged, thunder roared, and lightning flashed in the sky. Black clouds shrouded the top of Thousand Leaves Peak, while a World Energy funnel began to form as the Power of Heaven and Earth gathered slowly.
“En, it seems someone understands!” Yang Kai turned to the peak and grinned.
“Sister Hua, from now on, you will be the Head Manager of our High Heaven Palace. Above you are the Great Elders, while below you are the disciples at all levels who shall be under your jurisdiction and shall listen to your orders!” Yang Kai patted Hua Qing Si on the shoulder and looked at her solemnly.
Confused, Hua Qing Si blinked her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering.
“Come, come. There are two hundred million High-Rank Source Crystals, three billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals, ten billion Low-Rank Source Crystals, and various other materials in this ring. Take this first. These cultivation resources are now under your management too.”
Then, he stuffed a Space Ring into Hua Qing Si’s hands.
“Wait!!” Hua Qing Si shouted as she frowned at Yang Kai, “Since when did I become the Head Manager of your High Heaven Palace?”
She bumped into Yang Kai on her way to check on the movement that she sensed from Thousand Leaves Peak. Then, all of a sudden, she had a Space Ring with enormous wealth stuffed into her hands together with a bunch of inexplicable words.
“I already told you, ‘from now on!’” Yang Kai looked at her seriously, with a demeanour of handing over the important task of maintaining the peace of the Sect and the leading of the Sect to glory to her.
“Why should I be a Head Manager?” Hua Qing Si retorted.
Yang Kai replied solemnly, “I’ve considered it carefully before making this decision. No one throughout the whole of High Heaven Palace is more suitable for this position than you. Sister Hua, this Palace Master is depending on you. This is a very important position, please don’t let this Palace Master down.”
“What do you mean by the whole of High Heaven Palace?” Hua Qing Si pursed her lips, “There aren’t even ten people in this Sect in total!”
Apart from the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples who were essentially refugees here, the only real inhabitants of High Heaven Palace now were the three Monster Kings as Honoured Guest Elders, Chi Yue, Ai Ou, Gui Zu, and Gu Cang Yun.
Yang Kai scratched his face awkwardly and continued to persuade, “Everything is difficult at the beginning. There will be many people in the future, so you can try practising your management skills to start…”
“Who can I practice on?” Hua Qing Si looked at him contemptuously.
Yang Kai pointed in the direction of Thousand Leaves Sect, “Aren’t there a few hundred people over there?”
“They don’t belong to High Heaven Palace.”
“That’s true for now, but it won’t necessarily be true in the future,” Yang Kai grinned.
Hua Qing Si swept her eyes up and down him before raising a brow and asking, “Oh, you want to snatch their disciples?”
Yang Kai denied with a straight face, “Nonsense. This Palace Master would never do something so despicable. However, it’s normal that people would strive hard to reach higher heights. If they wanted to stay and become our High Heaven Palace’s disciples, I wouldn’t reject them. Of course, if Sister Hua can manage to keep all of Thousand Leaves Sect here… it would be for the best.”
Hua Qing Si nodded, “What you said is reasonable. Thousand Leaves Sect’s Puppet Dao is truly amazing. It would be a good thing if we could acquire it.”
Yang Kai was delighted, “Isn’t that right? Then this task is in your hands.”
“Fine, I don’t have anything to do lately anyway. I will try, but where should I start?”
Yang Kai pursed his lips, “Didn’t I just give you so many Source Crystals? Just pound them with them! Their Sect was just destroyed and they definitely need many Source Crystals to cultivate. I don’t believe they won’t give in.”
Hua Qing Si glared angrily at him, “Your Source Crystals did not just appear from thin air! How can you give them out for no reason? However, if they make some kind of contribution to High Heaven Palace, perhaps I can reward some Source Crystals to them.”
“Good, good, good!” Yang Kai was overjoyed, because his Sister Hua was already beginning to consider the good of High Heaven Palace just after assuming the position of Head Manager. He indeed did not pick the wrong person! Since she was born in Star Soul Palace, she would certainly be more familiar with the management of a big Sect than the others here. She was the best choice to take charge of the early development of High Heaven Palace.
“Do whatever you feel is best. This Palace Master grants you free reign!” Yang Kai was gratified.
Hua Qing Si snorted, “If I do well in this job, you have to reward me too! If you want a horse to run, you must let it graze well.”
“Yes, yes, yes, you can have any reward you want at that time,” Yang Kai quickly promised.
“Remember what you said,” Hua Qing Si smiled then turned to Thousand Leaves Peak, “Is it Ye Hen who is breaking through to the Emperor Realm?”
“Who else could it be?” Yang Kai looked over in that direction too.
At this moment, World Energy had gathered atop Thousand Leaves Peak and was now crashing down in great streams like an astonishing dance of dragons.
Hua Qing Si asked curiously, “I remember Ye Hen just started to cultivate in retreat not long ago. How did he reach this point so quickly?”
“Maybe he stepped onto his own Dao.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“His own Dao…” Hua Qing Si thought deeply before a light flashed across her beautiful eyes, “I’ll go and have a look. Do you want to go too?”
Yang Kai shook his head. He just came back from there and already knew about Ye Hen’s situation, so he did not need to check again. However, it was good for Hua Qing Si to check it out. As High Heaven Palace’s Head Manager, this crucial moment when Ye Hen was breaking through to the Emperor Realm was also the greatest time to win the people’s hearts.
Five Saints Peak, a Main Peak where Chi Yue and the others had settled.
The so-called ‘Five Saints’ referred to their five sworn brothers and sister of different surnames. Although Chai Hu was missing, Gui Zu and the others had not forgotten to include him.
When Yang Kai arrived, the four of them seemed to be cultivating in retreat.
The four of them were just First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators when they were first reunited with Yang Kai in Sky Crane City. After a few years of cultivation in Thousand Leaves Sect, all of them had reached the peak of the First-Order.
After all, the cultivation environment in Thousand Leaves Sect was not bad, but also not excellent.
On the contrary, Five Saints Peak provided them with an amazing cultivation paradise, one even better than Thousand Leaves Peak. The peak was extremely tall and grand, a magnificent mountain in every sense. The four of them were like fishes returning to the sea here, living carefreely as they cultivated.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to alert the four of them as he arrived at the palace at the top of the peak with a flicker.
Although nobody had been cleaning this place all this time, the palace was still spotless because of the maintenance Spirit Arrays.
It did not take long until several figures emerged from the outside.
“Palace Master!” The four cupped their fists.
Although Chi Yue and Ai Ou were technically Yang Kai’s Seniors, since they had joined High Heaven Palace, they naturally had to abide by the rules of High Heaven Palace.
“Have a seat!” Yang Kai gestured as he too sat cross-legged directly on the floor of the palace.
The four exchanged looks, then sat on the ground one after another without much thought about it, forming a small circle.
With a swing of Yang Kai’s hand, four space rings flew towards the four of them.
“There are twenty million High-Rank Source Crystals, one hundred million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, one billion Low-Rank Source Crystals, and some Spirit Pills that I refined in these rings. Use these resources to cultivate for now, and if it’s not enough, find Hua Qing Si. She has some Source Crystals with her.” Yang Kai explained.
Everyone’s eyes lit up and kept the rings with them without hesitation.
They were people who came from the same Star Field as Yang Kai, so there was no need to be polite. However, they were still shocked by Yang Kai’s generous gift. They had been worrying about cultivation resources ever since they arrived in the Star Boundary. Even after taking up residence in Thousand Leaves Sect, their resources were somewhat scarce, but Yang Kai just gave them a massive amount of wealth to spend.
Compared to him, they were poorer than beggars.
Such a tremendous amount of Source Crystals would be sufficient for them to cultivate for several dozen, or even several hundred years. Each of them was exhilarated and sighed that their hard days had finally come to an end.
“You all suffered a lot over the years since you came to Star Boundary with me. Your cultivations have even lagged behind, so quickly use these to improve your strength without worrying about other things. I believe you won’t want to be surpassed by the people from our Star Field who will come here in the future.”
“How is that possible for those little brats?” Ai Ou curled his lip.
He was among the most powerful Masters in their native Star Field, so even if they came here, there was no way for them to cultivate faster than him.
Chi Yue responded with a smile, “Second Brother, don’t be overconfident. Yang Boy cultivated a lot faster than us.”
Ai Ou became embarrassed, “Who can compare with him?”
They came to the Star Boundary together, but Yang Kai was already a First-Order Emperor Realm Master while they were still First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, an entire Great Realm of difference. But could such a discrepancy be only due to a difference in resources?
“Being anxious won’t help in cultivation,” Gu Cang Yun smiled wryly.
Gui Zu nodded at the side.
Yang Kai pressed on, “En, that’s why I prepared a great blessing for all of you!”
The four of them held the Space Rings between their fingers and asked in confusion, “Isn’t it this?”
Yang Kai grinned before he stretched out his hand and summoned a number of big banners full of Yin Qi into his palm. The Yin Qi of these banners trembled fiercely while emitting cries and howls, making everyone feel uneasy.
Only the ghost fire in Gui Zu’s eyes flared up as he asked in pleasant surprise, “This is…”
“Netherworld Purgatory Banners from the Netherworld Sect in the Eastern Territory!” Yang Kai stated.
The few Netherworld Purgatory Banners in his hand were loot he collected from the people of the Netherworld Sect whom he killed. One of the banners was even an Emperor Artifact, originally belonging to Netherworld Sect’s Elder Hua Fei Chen. The rest were not Emperor Artifacts, but they were at least Dao Source Grade.
Netherworld Sect disciples started to Soul Feed their Netherworld Purgatory Banners when they joined the Sect. Therefore, these things were their Natal Artifacts, their lives tied together.
These things would be useless in the hands of others, but Gui Zu was an exception.
Although Yang Kai had no clue about Gui Zu’s Secret Art, he knew that it was definitely similar to the Secret Arts of the Netherworld Sect. Gui Zu’s original artifact was the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, which was also similar to these Netherworld Purgatory Banners.
Therefore, Yang Kai had been keeping these few Netherworld Purgatory Banners with him all this time, just waiting for the right moment to pass them to Gui Zu to help him to improve his strength.
Trembling, Gui Zu accepted the few Netherworld Purgatory Banners from Yang Kai’s hands. The Ghost Qi in Gui Zu surged on contact as the ghost fire in his eyes brightened significantly. Even though he hadn’t even refined them yet, he instinctively felt that these Netherworld Purgatory Banners would be of great use to him.
“Take these too,” Yang Kai took out a few jade slips and gave them to Gui Zu.
Gui Zu received and scanned them curiously with his Divine Sense, soon shouting in a thrilled voice, “Good, good, good. With these, this Old Master can break through to the Second-Order Dao Source Realm soon!”
The records in those jade slips were nothing else but information related to some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques of the Netherworld Sect, which were notably suitable for Gui Zu. With these records complementing the few Netherworld Purgatory Banners, Gui Zu’s strength could certainly soar in a short time.
Source Crystals and pills were auxiliary aids, in the end, the true capital of a cultivator lay in their Secret Arts. After Gui Zu obtained the Secret Arts and Techniques of the Netherworld Sect, he was naturally overjoyed. Now this was a real gift!
Yang Kai turned to look at Chi Yue next.
Chi Yue pursed her lips and smiled, “There aren’t many Secret Arts for the Monster Race to cultivate, so don’t tell me you have one prepared for me too.”
“Indeed I don’t, but I do have this,” Yang Kai stretched out his palm and a small mound appeared in front of him. As soon as this pile appeared, Monster Qi filled the hall in a flash, surprising everyone.
“Monster Cores!” Chi Yue exclaimed as she picked up one of the Monster Cores and examined it, her face changing greatly as she shouted, “A Twelfth-Order Monster Core!”
Twelfth-Order Monster Cores were Monster Cores that formed in the bodies of Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, equivalent to human Emperor Realm Masters.
Any such Monster Core was worth a lot of money and was so rare that an average cultivator may not even see one in their entire life.
“This is also a Twelfth-Order Monster Core,” Ai Ou also picked another up and commented in shock.
“This one is Tenth-Order, this one is Eleventh-Order…”
There were just over a thousand Monster Cores in this pile, all of them being Tenth-Order or above, with at least ten percent being Twelfth-Order, a terrifying amount.
“I know the Monster Race cultivates differently from Humans, but with the help of these Monster Cores, Senior should be able to obtain twice the results with half the effort in the future,” Yang Kai said to Chi Yue.
Chi Yue was dizzy at the sight of those Monster Cores and asked in disbelief, “Where did you obtain so many Monster Cores?”
“I picked them up!” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
Chi Yue couldn’t help but glare at him and snort.
How could one simply pick up treasures like these? She thought Yang Kai was talking nonsense.
But in truth, Yang Kai really did just pick them up. He found more than a million Monster Cores in the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb in the Ancient Wild Lands, so what was a thousand of them worth? If Chi Yue knew the real number of Monster Cores that Yang Kai had, she would probably go crazy.
The only place where such a humongous amount of Monster Cores could be found would be in the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb of the Ancient Land.
Without further questions though, Chi Yue put away the Monster Cores excitedly. As Yang Kai said, the Monster Race cultivated differently from Humans. Most of them consumed World Energy directly or refined the Monster Cores of other Monster Beasts and Monster Race.
With so many Monster Cores, Chi Yue would definitely be able to cultivate swiftly in the future.
“Senior Gu. These Sword Dao Secret Techniques should be appropriate for your current cultivation, cultivate these for now. I’ll help you look for better ones in the future,” Yang Kai then took out a few jade slips and handed them to Gu Cang Yun.
Gu Cang Yun was the Union Master of Sword Union back in their native Star Field and cultivated the Sword Dao, so these Sword Dao Secret Techniques were undoubtedly the most suitable for him.
Yang Kai had killed many Emperor Realm Masters and obtained too many spoils of war over the years, so it was naturally not difficult to find some good Sword Dao Secret Techniques among his loot.
Gu Cang Yun took a look and his eyes brightened, “These are much more profound than what this Gu has been cultivating so far.”
The Sword Dao Techniques he had previously come in contact with were at Dao Source Grade at best, but what Yang Kai brought out were all remnants from Emperor Realm Masters, so they were naturally much more advanced than what he himself had been cultivating.
Finally, it was Ai Ou’s turn. Yang Kai also gave him several sets of matching Secret Arts and Secret Techniques.
Everyone was delighted and felt as if they had received upgrades, instantly reaching a whole new level.
But Yang Kai wasn’t finished yet. He next took out a number of Star Sources, shocking the crowd completely this time.
It had to be known that Star Sources were only formed within Cultivation Stars, and a complete Star Source was equivalent to a Cultivation Star’s core essence. They had all lived in the Star Boundary for some years now and knew that such a treasure was extremely rare here.
Chi Yue and the others always felt regret that they didn’t make the decision to refine a Star Source back in their native Star Field. Now that they had come to the Star Boundary, they felt they would never have a chance to do so.
But refining a Star Source during that time was too dangerous, so none of them could find the determination to risk it. Only Ai Ou succeeded in this endeavour.
But now, Yang Kai just took out Star Sources like candy and handed one to each of them, along with the Star Refining Art.
Ai Ou himself was already a Star Master, so he did not need a Star Source.
After making some preparations, Yang Kai stood guard for Chi Yue, Gui Zu, and Gu Cang Yun while they refined these Star Sources.
Three days later, the three of them opened their eyes one after the other, delighted expressions on their faces. With these Star Sources, it would become easier for them to comprehend the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, as well as Principle Strength, which would be of great benefit to their future cultivation.
Yang Kai’s actions today were enough to help them increase the efficiency of their cultivation by ten times or even a hundred times, saving them a great deal of time and effort from now on.
“En, if there is anything you don’t understand or are confused about in cultivation, we can discuss it together.” After passing out the gifts, Yang Kai looked around the four of them.
They understood that this discussion Yang Kai spoke of was merely a modest statement. In truth, he would be the one helping them by answering their questions regarding cultivation.
So, they did not hesitate and all voiced their questions.
Inside the hall, questions and answers flowed like a stream, and time slowly went by.
“Is everyone dead in there? Get out here now!”
It was not known how long had passed when a voice suddenly echoed from outside High Heaven Palace. The speaker seemed to have gathered up his power before he shouted, so his voice would sound across hundreds of kilometres, ringing through the mountains.
Yang Kai frowned and turned his head towards the direction of the main gate, silently extending his Divine Sense over to investigate.
Outside the main gate, in front of the Sect Defending Array, an exquisitely-crafted ship floated mid-air. This ship was extremely ornate, and even though it was not an Emperor Artifact, it was still Dao Source Grade High-Rank. A large flag was hung on the mast of the ship with the character ‘medicine’ emblazoned on it.
At this moment, a young teen around the age of only fifteen or sixteen stood on the deck gazing towards High Heaven Palace’s inscribed tablet with an annoyed look on his face.
Even though he was young, he still had First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, which amazed Yang Kai.
That shout just now obviously came from him, but he had no idea what sort of Secret Technique or artifact he used to make his voice carry so far.
[Where did this little brat come from? Daring to behave in such a way in front of my High Heaven Palace as just a First-Order Dao Source Realm!] Yang Kai had a strange look on his face.
Right at that moment, Yang Kai suddenly sensed something and took out his communication artifact. After a quick check, he saw Hua Qing Si’s message, “Palace Master, someone seems to have come looking for trouble.”
She had quite obviously heard the young man’s voice as well.
Using his Divine Sense, Yang Ki responded, “He’s just a brat. You take care of it.”
Now that Hua Qing Si was the Big Manager of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai naturally did not intend to deal with this matter personally. What’s more, the other party was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Yang Kai had no idea what sort of backing this brat had, so it would be best to let Hua Qing Si handle it.
Chi Yue and the others all asked after they saw him using the communication artifact for a while, “What happened?”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Let’s continue!” Yang Kai put the communication artifact away as he said so.
Seeing his reaction, the others didn’t ask anything more and continued asking Yang Kai questions about their cultivations.
After a while, Yang Kai suddenly frowned and took out the communication artifact again. Checking it using his Divine Sense, an astonished expression was instantly revealed on his face.
“If something has happened, then Palace Master should go and take care of it. High Heaven Palace was founded not long ago, so we ought not to make enemies so easily,” Ai Ou said.
“En, I’ll go take a look.” Yang Kai nodded and stood up before leaving the hall in a flash.
After several flickers, he arrived outside the Sect’s main gate.
Hua Qing Si was currently there, looking at that young man on the other side of the array, but what surprised Yang Kai was the fact that this First-Order Dao Source Realm kid actually wasn’t the slightest bit meek in front of the Emperor Realm Hua Qing Si. Instead, he had a prideful look on his face.
When he saw Yang Kai appear, the boy swept his eyes over him and asked casually, “He’s the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace?”
“Yes,” Hua Qing Si nodded, “This is our High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master, Yang Kai. Speak as you wish.”
“Hmph, nothing much, I was wondering if he had three heads and six arms,” the young man smiled with contempt.
This strange haughty attitude made Yang Kai inexplicably angry, but he also didn’t want to lower himself to the same level as this boy so he simply laughed the other’s attitude off and asked, “You say you come from Medicine Pill Valley? What proof do you have?”
It was because Hua Qing Si sent a message saying this young man claimed to be a disciple of Medicine Pill Valley that Yang Kai rushed over.
The young man did not answer directly, instead just pointed to the flag behind him and coldly snorting, “Are you blind? Can’t you see this?”
Yang Kai’s forehead veins throbbed as he almost had the impulse to beat this brat up, but thinking that he might really come from Medicine Pill Valley, Yang Kai endured this urge and quickly said, “What can a single word prove? What a joke!”
The young man couldn’t help but widen his eyes and stared at Yang Kai with a strange look, “From under what rock did a turtle like you crawl out? Can’t you even recognize the mark of our Medicine Pill Valley? You actually had the face to found a Sect here?!”
[He… actually called me a turtle!]
Yang Kai could feel anger boiling in his chest, rising to his throat like magma in a volcano that was about to explode. Only after taking a few deep breaths was he able to calm himself down.
But the young man didn’t notice his reaction and jumped up to the mast, grabbed the flag, and unfurled it grandly while proclaiming, “Open your eyes and look closely! Everyone in the entire Northern Territory recognizes this flag!”
“Heh…” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and nodded lightly, “Now this Palace Master recognizes it.”
He transmitted his voice to Hua Qing Si, “I really want to punch this little brat.”
Hua Qing Si was shocked and quickly responded, “Please don’t be impulsive, Palace Master. If he really does come from Medicine Pill Valley, then we definitely cannot offend him. We still have to eke out a living in the Northern Territory in the future!”
“If I didn’t know that, why would I have to put up with him until now!” Yang Kai was indignant.
A young man waving a big flag with the character ‘medicine’ on it was not enough to scare Yang Kai.
But the name Medicine Pill Valley really did carry some weight.
This couldn’t be helped as this was the retreat of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. It was a Holy Land in the hearts of billions of cultivators throughout the Northern Territory!
Even though the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor did not involve himself in worldly affairs nor establish a Great Emperor Sect like the other Great Emperors, instead choosing to live in seclusion in Medicine Pill Valley along with a few disciples, this did not prevent the cultivators in the Northern Territory from revering and worshipping him.
If one offended the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor or Medicine Pill Valley in the Northern Territory, then they would definitely have a grim future. Not to mention the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor with his supreme cultivation, the cultivators of the Northern Territory themselves would not tolerate him being insulted.
The young man jumped down from the mast and stood on the deck again, standing akimbo and saying in a domineering tone, “Good! You’d best remember it well. You never know, you may have need of us in the future!”
“Dealings? What kind of dealings?” Yang Kai’s face dimmed slightly.
He did have some admiration for Medicine Pill Valley. On top of that, he had received the inheritance of Gong Sun Mu, the Third Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, which more or less connected him to Medicine Pill Valley. Even without such a connection though, the mere presence of a Great Emperor would be enough for Yang Kai to take seriously.
But naturally, before that…
If the people of Medicine Pill Valley were all as arrogant and unruly as this young man, then they weren’t worth Yang Kai’s concern.
“You will naturally know when the time comes,” the young man responded impatiently.
Yang Kai frowned, “If you are from Medicine Pill Valley, then what have you come to my High Heaven Palace for?”
High Heaven Palace had just been founded and had no relation to Medicine Pill Valley whatsoever; so, Yang Kai was naturally surprised at this sudden visit.
“You think I wanted to come here?” The young man laughed scornfully and cupped his fists, bowing sideways to the air and saying aloud, “On my Honoured Master’s orders, I have come here to purchase Spirit Herbs!”
“Purchase Spirit Herbs?”
Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si looked at each other, both confused.
“This little brat isn’t sick in the head, is he? Coming here to my High Heaven Palace to buy herbs?” Yang Kai secretly communicated.
Hua Qing Si also couldn’t be sure, “There doesn’t seem to be a problem with his request, though he personally is a little irritating.”
“Maybe he does have some sort of problem with his head. Tsk tsk, how pitiful.”
“If he really were sick, then his identity may also be fake.”
“En. That’s possible!”
“Hey, what are the two of you… secretly talking about?” When the young man saw Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si remain silent for a long time, he swept a glance over at them only to discover that there were some Divine Senses fluctuations between them, indicating a secret conversation. Their eyes when they looked over at him also became odd, causing his anger to rise.
“Oh, nothing important,” Yang Kai grinned, “Then, dare I ask this little brother what he comes to buy from my High Heaven Palace?”
The young man flicked his wrist and a jade slip flew straight over.
With a thought, Yang Kai opened a small hole in the Sect Defending Array to allow the jade slip to pass through, grabbing it with his hand.
He probed it with his Divine Sense and was instantly surprised.
This jade slip contained a list of many different types of spirit medicines and spirits grasses. Many of those listed were even Emperor Grade herbs worth a lot of money.
The young man said, “A copy of this list was given to Seeking Passion Sect ten years ago by Honoured Master, informing them to collect them on our behalf. Now, the time allotted by Honoured Master has elapsed so I was ordered to come here to complete the purchase. Do you understand now?”
Yang Kai muttered, “Is this true?”
This young man was not sick in the head and really did come here to buy herbs. However, the herbs he wanted to buy were ones that Seeking Passion Sect had been tasked to collect. The spirit medicines on the list were numerous and of great value, but with Seeking Passion Sect’s connections and power, gathering them within ten years of time was completely possible.
Only, it was a pity that Seeking Passion Sect was destroyed by Yang Kai. As such, it now fell to Yang Kai to fulfil this order.
The young man followed up, “It’s not just Seeking Passion Sect. All top Sects in the Northern Territory have an agreement with us, and the medicine list is updated every ten years. Once time is up, our people from Medicine Pill Valley will come to collect them.”
“All top Sects?” Yang Kai was surprised.
But with some thought, it did make sense. Medicine Pill Valley would save much time and energy by doing this, and as this would forge ties with Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, the top Sects of the Northern Territory would happily comply. By doing this, they helped improve their relationship with Medicine Pill Valley, which put them in a favourable position if they ever needed to request Alchemy services.
The young man nodded, “That’s right. Since you are the one who destroyed the Seeking Passion Sect, then the spirit medicines they spent the past ten years collecting should be with you as well. Give them to me so I can bring them back to my Honoured Master!”
He spoke quite seriously and didn’t seem to be lying, so Yang Kai more or less believed him.
But to be on the safe side, he still said, “Wait here!”
Right now, he was a Palace Master and the other was just a little boy still wet behind the ears who didn’t even have anything on him to prove his identity, so Yang Kai couldn’t just do whatever this brat asked. If he were deceived by him, then that would be too humiliating.
So, Yang Kai figured it would be better to verify things first.
After he said that, he disappeared.
“What are y… Bastard!” The young man was furious. He thought the other party would immediately respectfully invite him in to rest once they heard that he was a disciple of Medicine Pill Valley, serving him the best food and drink. How could he have anticipated being left out in the cold, not even allowed through the front gates. Even the Sect Defending Array was left active, guarding against him like he was some kind of thief.
He couldn’t help but shout, “Good, good! Is this the hospitality of High Heaven Palace? Are you looking down on my Medicine Pill Valley? I will surely report this matter to Honoured Master once I return! Once that happens, don’t even dream about asking for a single pill from my Medicine Pill Valley in the future!”
Hua Qing Si hurriedly tried to appease him, “Please restrain your anger, Young Master, our Palace Master has always been hasty like this, but he does not mean to neglect you.”
Coming from a Great Emperor Sect herself, she knew that standing before the King of Hell was easy, but dealing with little devils was far more difficult. One couldn’t just look at this boy as a First-Order Dao Source Realm junior, for if he really did speak badly about High Heaven Palace when he returned to Medicine Pill Valley, it would cause real trouble.
As the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, Hua Qing Si naturally wanted to make big things small, and make small things nothing.
“Does not mean to neglect me?” He pointed to the direction where Yang Kai left and complained, “Look at his attitude! How can a person like him become a Palace Master? I don’t think High Heaven Palace has any need to remain in the Northern Territory any longer!”
He was small, but his words were not. He made it sound as if he could kick High Heaven Palace completely out of the Northern Territory with just a few words.
Hua Qing Si was helpless, but she couldn’t retort either lest she add fuel to the fire. She could only watch silently as the young man threw a tantrum.
After going on for a while longer, the young man looked over, sweeping a few glances up and down Hua Qing Si before suddenly smiling, “Big Sister, what is your name?”
Hua Qing Si squeezed out a smile and told him her name.
The young man rubbed his palms together, “Qing Si, a good name! A wonderful name! In my opinion, this High Heaven Palace won’t last long. Big Sister shouldn’t remain here and suffer through its fall. Why not come back to Medicine Pill Valley with me?”
Hua Qing Si laughed, “I don’t know anything about Alchemy, what would I go to Medicine Pill Valley for?”
The young man grinned meaningfully, “Big Sister does not need to know about Alchemy, it’s fine as long as I know Alchemy. As a woman, Big Sister should know how to make the bed and other such tasks, right? If you follow me, I can guarantee that nobody will be able to kick you out of Medicine Pill Valley. After all, I’m a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank Alchemist. In time, there won’t be a problem even for me to advance to become an Emperor Alchemist. Tsk tsk, Elder Sister really is pretty.”
Make the bed…
Hua Qing Si grit her teeth and the smile on her face suddenly cooled. Regardless of anything else, she was still an Emperor Realm Master, but now a little brat at the First-Order Dao Source Realm was actually telling her to follow him and make his bed? What’s more, he was ogling her so unscrupulously with a sordid expression on his face.
If he were anyone else, Hua Qing Si would have gone up and gouged out his eyeballs by now, but since there was a possibility this brat came from Medicine Pill Valley, Hua Qing Si could only swallow her anger no matter how irritated she was.
But the fact that this person was a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank Alchemist did surprise Hua Qing Si somewhat, causing her to sigh in her heart that it was as expected for someone who came from Medicine Pill Valley to be able to achieve so much at such a young age.
“Big Sister should consider my offer well. Opportunities like this don’t come often. This Young Master has a discerning eye, and it’s not like just any woman can attract my attention,” the young man seemed to not sense her distaste in the slightest and went on feeling smug about himself.
Hua Qing Si responded indifferently, “It is this Big Sister’s blessing to receive Little Brother’s kindness, but I’m afraid I cannot accept your good intentions.”
This young brat whose hair hadn’t even sprouted down there yet actually dared to have thoughts about her! Even if she really wanted to find a man, she would find someone like Yang Kai. How could she possibly be with a little bastard like him?
The young man couldn’t help but snort coldly, “Can’t appreciate kindness!”
He had already invited her so sincerely, but this woman actually did not accept right away, it was simply unbelievable.
“Where’s that Yang whatever guy? Why isn’t he back yet?” The young man began to rush her with impatience after being refused by Hua Qing Si.
Hua Qing Si turned away, “Who knows?”
…..
“Huh? Why are you here?” Next to the Space Array, Yang Kai had just appeared when he saw a familiar figure.
Zhu Qing glared at Yang Kai with fire in her eyes, her great peaks heaving up and down as she snarled at him, “You’re avoiding me!”
“That’s not true!” Yang Kai sheepishly denied, “Why would I do that?”
“You’re definitely avoiding me!”
It had been several months and Zhu Qing failed to find a trace of Yang Kai this whole time. If she hadn’t been keeping watch next to the Space Array, she really would have thought that Yang Kai had fled somewhere. Now, her efforts paid off. She finally caught Yang Kai!
“I said I’m not! Why are you spouting so much nonsense?” Yang Kai waved her off impatiently, “Move aside, I need to go out.”
Without saying a word, Zhu Qing stood in front of him and said vigilantly, “Where are you going? I’ll come with you!”
“I’m going to Ice Heart Valley, and I’ll be returning right away,” Yang Kai glared at her, “Why do you want to follow me?”
“Didn’t you just go to Ice Heart Valley? Why are you going again?”
“Someone came, saying he wanted to buy herbs, I’m just going to Ice Heart Valley to ask whether this story is true or not… Damn it, what am I telling you this for?”
While they were talking though, a light suddenly emerged from the Space Array, followed by a blurred figure.
Someone had teleported in.
Yang Kai and Zhu Qing turned to look.
The figure was soon revealed and Ji Yao’s face emerged.
“Yao’er! Just the person I’m looking for. I was just about to head to Ice Heart Valley to ask about something.”
“Hold on, there’s something I have to tell you first,” Ji Yao walked down from the Space Array and said to Yang Kai.
“What is it?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“Medicine Pill Valley’s medicine collecting deadline is up. Disciples from Medicine Pill Valley are likely to come in the near future. Honoured Master has given me orders to inform you. If someone were to come, they must be treated with courtesy. You must never offend them. Give them whatever spirit medicines they ask for. You won’t suffer a loss with them.”
“Oh… So it really is true!” Yang Kai scratched his face.
Yang Kai had heard the boy say that Medicine Pill Valley had a cooperative relationship with the top Sects of the Northern Territory, so he immediately had the mind to head to Ice Heart Valley to ask. If it was true, then Ice Heart Valley would definitely know about it. That way, he would be able to confirm that boy’s identity.
But unexpectedly, Ji Yao teleported over before he could even go.
“Naturally it’s true. Right now, one of their disciples has visited Ice Heart Valley. What… What is that look on your face?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Someone came to my side too,” Yang Kai laughed dryly.
“Where are they?” Ji Yao asked curiously.
“Still outside the main gate.”
Ji Yao glared at him, “What are you waiting for? Invite them in!”
“Right, I’ll go immediately…” Yang Kai turned around and headed back where he came from.
“Wait!” Anxious, Zhu Qing quickly chased after him.
Ji Yao frowned and also turned into a stream of light, quickly following them.
“You’re finally back! Where are my Spirit Herbs?”
Outside the mountain gate, the young man barked through gritted teeth as soon as he saw Yang Kai return.
Yang Kai laughed awkwardly, “There were too many different kinds of herbs on the list, so I couldn’t finish getting everything prepared immediately. Little Brother, please come in and have a rest first. I’ll get you the Spirit Herbs you need right away.”
As he spoke, he opened the Sect Defending Array and shot a look at Hua Qing Si.
Hua Qing Si understood and gestured inside, “Little Brother, this way please!”
“Hmph!” The young man coldly snorted and sailed his ship into High Heaven Palace as he looked down at Yang Kai, “I’m warning you, don’t try any tricks with me. Whether it’s the year or quantity, there can be no mistakes on the Spirit Herbs written on the list; otherwise, you’ll never be able to get away with it!”
“Yes, of course!” Yang Kai nodded impatiently.
Even though this matter had nothing to do with High Heaven Palace, everything from the Seeking Passion Sect was indeed in his hands right now. Since they want to buy it, then he might as well just sell it to them, counting it as forming good relations with Medicine Pill Valley.
“Good…” The young man was just about to say something when his eyes widened and he stared straight at the two beautiful figures that suddenly appeared behind Yang Kai. His eyes lit up instantly and he quickly got off the ship, flying behind Yang Kai after a few steps in the air. He looked at Ji Yao and Zhu Qing with a smile on his face as he glanced between them, eyes finally settling on Zhu Qing’s body. As respectfully as possible, he asked, “This humble one is Li Xuan, may I ask Big Sister for your name?”
Flowers of joy were blooming inside his heart. His Master wouldn’t let him visit Ice Heart Palace and instead sent him to High Heaven Palace. He didn’t expect to see so many beauties in this damned place either. One after another, the beauties flowed in. A simply dazzling sight to behold.
Especially this particular Big Sister. Her figure was… tsk tsk…
He was originally a little chagrined at his Master’s decision to send his Senior Brother to Ice Heart Valley, allowing him to enjoy the charming company of all those beauties, but now, he had no more complaints. Even though Ice Heart Valley had many women, they were not necessarily as outstanding as these three.
Yang Kai’s body jolted as he felt goosebumps all over, he really hadn’t been able to tell that he was such a perverted fellow! Already such a menace at this age, he would surely become an insatiable tyrant when he grew older.
Zhu Qing did not utter a single word and was instead staring firmly at Yang Kai with her beautiful eyes, as if worried that he would disappear again.
But that did not annoy the young man. Instead, he was still acting bashful and called out, “Big Sister, I’m talking to you.”
Only then did Zhu Qing turn her eyes to him and spat a single word, “Scram!”
As soon as this word left her mouth, the boy’s face turned beet red.
[This isn’t good…] Yang Kai thought. One could tell at a glance this boy called Li Xuan wasn’t a decent person, but he carried the identity of a Medicine Pill Valley disciple. What Zhu Qing said might possibly end up making him angry. Just as Yang Kai was thinking about how he was going to remedy the situation, he heard Li Xuan take a deep breath and an intoxicated expression emerged on his face. His heart captured by lust, he mused, “Yes, wonderful… Big Sister, more please!”
Cold sweat dripped down Yang Kai’s face as Ji Yao and Hua Qing Si also wore strange expressions on their faces.
“I told you to scram! Didn’t you hear me? You think I won’t hit you?” Zhu Qing’s eyes went cold.
The young man covered his chest, his entire person appearing to have obtained great satisfaction. Even his breathing was growing rough. He couldn’t help but stagger back a few steps, his already crimson red face turning even redder.
“Is this little brat into ‘that’?” Yang Kai looked at Hua Qing Si in astonishment while sending his voice to her.
“How would I know?” Hua Qing Si rolled her eyes at him.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue, “Sure enough, once the forest grows big, one will see all kinds of birds flying about…”
Coming back to himself, he instructed out loud Hua Qing Si, “Sister Hua, bring this Little Brother to have a rest. I’ll go and sort out the herbs.”
“Yes,” Hua Qing Si nodded and gestured her hand at Li Xuan again, “Little Brother, this way please!”
“No, no, no!” Li Xuan raised his hand at Hua Qing Si, his eyes like leeches biting firmly onto Zhu Qing’s skin, “I don’t want you! I want this Big Sister to take care of me!”
Hua Qing Si’s face turned cold and she cursed him in her heart, [This little brat was just trying to take me back with him to serve in his bedchambers, but now I’m not even good enough to attend to him anymore? What? Aren’t they just breasts… big, giant breasts!]
“You court death!” Zhu Qing glared at him coldly.
Li Xuan still wore a sunny smile on his face, “If Big Sister can bear to see me die, then Little Brother will die for you to see.”
This boy wasn’t that old, and yet he already had quite the glib tongue, but he had no idea that Zhu Qing really did have the intention to kill him right now. Don’t even mention being a mere disciple of Medicine Pill Valley, Zhu Qing had the guts to kill him even if he was the Legacy Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.
“I’ll grant your wish!” Zhu Qing coldly snorted and was really going to make a move as soon as she said that.
Yang Kai jumped in fright and quickly shouted, “What are you doing?!”
Shifting over, he stood in front of Zhu Qing.
“Move,” Zhu Qing looked at him with irritation.
“Hm, you even dare lose your temper with me?” Yang Kai glared at her.
Zhu Qing turned down her imposingness instantly and frowned, “Excuse me!”
Yang Kai whispered, “You can’t kill him!”
Zhu Qing said disdainfully, “Who can’t I kill?”
“Anyway, you can’t kill him. He’s from Medicine Pill Valley. I’ll be in trouble if he’s dead. How about this? Just put up with him for now, and if you can’t stand it, just ignore him.”
“He has such indecent thoughts towards me and you want me to tolerate him?” Zhu Qing looked at Yang Kai with an aggrieved expression.
“He’s just got a foul mouth is all, it’s not like you’re losing anything from it. Last time, even I… ahem…”
He thought to himself, [I’ve already done that to you and I don’t see you trying to kill me. Is my charm really that great?]
Zhu Qing’s cheeks turned red and she turned away, “Whatever the case, he doesn’t deserve my attention.”
“Fine, fine. Just think of it as a favour. All you have to do is stand here while I sort out the herbs, then we’ll drive him away once that’s over.”
“Make it quick,” Zhu Qing said unhappily.
“Qing’er is the best,” Yang Kai said to flatter her and quickly left.
Zhu Qing’s face turned red again, a sight that caused Li Xuan’s heart to race. He wouldn’t want anything more than to hold hands with her and grow old together with her.
After arriving at a deserted place, Yang Kai took out the jade slip that Li Xuan handed him and then compared them one by one with the things in his Space Ring.
After destroying Seeking Passion Sect, he took away all of their treasures. If the Seeking Passion Sect really had been collecting herbs for Medicine Pill Valley, then Yang Kai should be able to find them quickly.
And in fact, Yang Kai really did find them.
One by one, piece by piece, whether the age or species, it was all correct. There were even extras of some.
Over a thousand types of herbs, with several at the Emperor Grade, were all present. Yang Kai was a little reluctant to hand such a treasure trove over though; after all, he was an Alchemist himself, so these herbs were useful to him.
But he was a rich man now, so these Spirit Herbs didn’t matter to him all that much. At least he would be able to save some trouble by handing them over to Medicine Pill Valley.
Ji Yao said it too. Medicine Pill Valley wouldn’t let him suffer a loss, meaning they would probably buy them at a fair market price.
But that only made sense. For a place with a reputation as big as Medicine Pill Valley, and with Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s name at stake, it was naturally impossible for them to bully the weak and cheat them out of Source Crystals.
In less than half an hour, Yang Kai sorted out all the herbs.
Just as he was about to hand them over and drive Li Xuan away, his communication artifact suddenly buzzed.
Yang Kai frowned. After grumbling a little, he took out the communication artifact and poured his Divine Sense into it. In the next moment, his face changed.
Space Principles flashed and he instantly disappeared. By the time he reappeared, he was already at the main gate.
Looking over, he saw that young man called Li Xuan now sitting on the ground with a horrified look on his face, hand holding his cheek. On that clean cheek was a clear five-finger mark and his mouth was leaking blood.
Zhu Qing was standing not far from him, releasing a cold murderous intent that enveloped the brat, causing him to tremble.
Only in this sudden life or death crisis did Li Xuan realize that his status as a Medicine Pill Valley disciple wasn’t effective in the slightest here. With an aura of death close at hand, he had chills running all over his body.
Ji Yao was standing there indifferently, looking at Li Xuan without the slightest bit of sympathy on her face.
Hua Qing Si was holding her communication artifact, unsure what to do.
Yang Kai’s appearance sizzled out Zhu Qing’s anger instantly. Only then did the Dragon Girl remember what Yang Kai told her before and her expression couldn’t help but become uneasy.
“What happened?” Yang Kai glanced coldly at Li Xuan before asking Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing’s red lips quivered, but she didn’t utter a single word.
“Sister Hua, you explain,” Yang Kai turned his head towards Hua Qing Si.
Hua Qing Si sighed, “This little bastard tried to take advantage of Young Lady Qing. After Young Lady Qing avoided him, he became even bolder and tried to seize her directly. Young Lady Qing was overcome with anger and… taught him a small lesson.”
As a woman, Hua Qing Si wanted to praise Zhu Qing for her actions. She even felt that it wasn’t enough. Even if he wasn’t killed, his cultivation should be crippled, but as the Head Manager of the High Heaven Sect, Hua Qing Si knew how much trouble Zhu Qing’s slap would bring to their Sect, and she couldn’t help feeling worried.
“He tried to take advantage of her?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
“Nonsense, that’s not true!” Li Xuan yelled. Somehow, he found his spine and stood up, “This is slander! She is an Emperor Realm Master while I am only at First-Order Dao Source Realm. How would I have the ability to take advantage of her!”
“So, you do know that you’re at First-Order Dao Source Realm?” Yang Kai looked at him in surprise.
This little brat had been throwing his weight around as soon as he appeared, acting all haughty as if he was a Great Emperor rather than just a lowly Dao Source Realm.
Li Xuan wiped away the blood away from his mouth and glared furiously at Yang Kai, bellowing, “This woman laid her hand on me for no reason at all! As a disciple of Medicine Pill Valley, hitting my face is no different from hitting Medicine Pill Valley’s face! You are the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, so you better compensate me! Otherwise, I won’t let you off so easily!”
“You want me to compensate you?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes at him, “How?”
Li Xuan had a cruel look in his eyes and turned to look at Zhu Qing, “I want you to waste this bitch’s cultivation and then hand her to me for punishment!”
The disparity in their strength was too great, but if her cultivation was crippled, then there would be nothing to be afraid of. He swore in his heart that he had to show this woman the fate of daring to go against him.
Yang Kai turned to look at Zhu Qing, “You really hit him?”
Zhu Qing looked gloomy, “I could not endure it… I’m sorry!”
Yang Kai had just told Zhu Qing earlier that this boy was a Medicine Pill Valley disciple, a disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.
The fact that she slapped him would definitely bring trouble to High Heaven Palace. Worse, she might make Yang Kai angry with her, then she wouldn’t be able to complete her mission…
Zhu Qing was panicking, but she really couldn’t stand being in that situation just now.
“I almost got slapped to death by this bitch, can’t you tell!?” The young man shouted hysterically, his face filled with indignance as if he had suffered a massive grievance.
“No, not really.” Yang Kai looked at him in amazement and beckoned him, “Why don’t you come closer so I can see where she hit you?”
The young man hopped to his feet and scampered over to Yang Kai, pushing his cheek out for him to see, “My face! She actually hit my face! Look at what she did! If you don’t settle this matter to my satisfaction, I’ll never let this matter rest!”
Yang Kai observed the injury seriously and nodded lightly before suddenly raising his hand and slapping him flying on the other side of his face.
*Pa…*
A crisp noise sounded as Li Xuan flipped into the air, tumbling a dozen times before landing heavily. Around half of his teeth had been lost before he even hit the ground.
After he fell, he was seeing stars and lay there dumbly. It took him quite some time before he was able to recover from the shock.
The women present were all shocked, their eyes widening in unison.
“Palace Master, you…” Hua Qing Si was horrified. If one were to call Zhu Qing’s slap to Li Xuan’s face inviting disaster, then as High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master, Yang Kai’s slap was already serious to the point of being unmanageable.
Yang Kai was the representative of High Heaven Palace at this moment, so his every move carried great consequences. Wouldn’t this slap be an open challenge to Medicine Pill Valley?
Just thinking about it was terrifying, and as High Heaven Palace’s Head Manager, Hua Qing Si suddenly felt… exhausted! But very soon, she felt relieved. When she saw that boy called Li Xuan being swatted away, she really felt incredibly good.
This little bastard was just too outrageous.
“Next time you encounter this sort of thing, hit harder!” Yang Kai glanced at Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing nodded dumbly.
As a dragon girl, her domineering power was almost insurmountable. Yang Kai had nearly eaten a great loss from her himself back then. If she had struck him with even ten percent of her strength, Li Xuan would have exploded into a blood mist a dozen times over. It was only because of Yang Kai’s words that she acted with so much restraint, only giving some light punishment. If this wasn’t the case, how could Li Xuan still be alive?
“You… You actually dare to…” Li Xuan finally came back to his senses and tremblingly pointed his finger at Yang Kai. His speech was slurred and the contents of his words unclear, “You actually dare to hit me?!”
“So what if I hit you!” Yang Kai raised his hand menacingly, causing Li Xuan to scamper to hold his head with his arms in fear.
Only when nothing happened after he waited for a long time did Li Xuan dare to sneak a peek at Yang Kai. Realizing he had been toyed with, his face instantly turned red and he howled, “I am a disciple of Medicine Pill Valley, but you dare hit me?! You’re dead!”
“So you remember getting hit, but not the pain?” Yang Kai looked at him sternly and walked over to him, lifting Li Xuan up to face him.
Li Xuan struggled hard, but how could he escape from Yang Kai’s grip with his meagre strength? He shouted in terror, “What… What are you doing!”
“Teaching you a lesson!” Yang Kai coldly snorted and reached out to slap him.
*Pa pa pa…*
The incessant sounds of slaps rang out, and although Yang Kai didn’t use his Emperor Qi, his physical strength alone was enough for Li Xuan to beg for death. In just a few slaps, his face was already tear-streaked as he wailed out with no shame.
“Such outrageous behaviour at such a young age,” Yang Kai shot him a sidelong glance and raised his palm in front of Li Xuan’s face, looking fiercely at him, “Are you going to speak properly now?”
“Y-Y-Yes…” Li Xuan nodded repeatedly, only to feel that most of his face was numb. Even from the corner of his eye, he could see that his cheek was swollen up high.
“Apologize!” Yang Kai tossed Li Xuan right over to Zhu Qing’s feet.
Zhu Qing looked at Yang Kai, surprised, and feeling inexplicably moved.
Was he standing up for her? With Yang Kai’s current identity, the best thing to do in this situation would be to try to minimize the problem and ensure no trouble came to him in the future, but instead he actually beat up this little brat and demanded he apologize to her.
Wasn’t he annoyed at her and avoiding her? Why was he doing this?
For a moment, Zhu Qing’s mind was a mess.
Li Xuan struggled to stand properly in front of Zhu Qing before bowing deeply and saying in a sincere voice, “Little Brother apologizes to this Elder Sister for his brusqueness. I hope Elder Sister can be generous unlike myself. I’m just a child, I don’t know anything, so please don’t be angry, Elder Sister.”
After being given a sound beating, Li Xuan was like a whole new person. There was no need to mention how well behaved and sensible he had become.
Zhu Qing frowned, “It’s nothing.”
It really was nothing. When this little brat tried to take advantage of her earlier, he didn’t even manage to touch her clothes, so she didn’t suffer any loss. Instead, Li Xuan was beaten black and blue by Yang Kai.
“Thank you, Elder Sister, for your magnanimity!” Li Xuan had a grateful look on his face. Then, he turned around and went over to Yang Kai, a flattering smile on his face, “Elder Brother, Little Brother has already apologized, and Elder Sister has also forgiven me, you see…”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “En, good. It seems like you can be taught after all.”
Li Xuan responded with all smiles, “Elder Brother’s compliments are overgenerous. If there’s nothing else, then this Little Brother will excuse himself for now!”
“Don’t you want the Spirit Herbs?” Yang Kai glanced at him with a curious expression on his face.
Li Xuan slapped his head and laughed dryly, “Haha, I almost forgot! This was the task that Honoured Master has given me!”
Yang Kai smiled and tossed him the Space Ring he prepared earlier, “The herbs on the list are all in there. Take a look yourself.”
“No need, no need. I trust Elder Brother’s integrity.” Li Xuan put away the Space Ring as he spoke before taking out another Space Ring, handing it to Yang Kai, “These are the Source Crystals for the Spirit Herbs. Elder Brother, please have a look!”
Yang Kai nodded in response and accepted the Space Ring. After checking it with his Divine Sense though, he looked back at Li Xuan and asked, “The quantity is a bit low. Are you sure that these are the Source Crystals your Honoured Master gave you?”
The Spirit Herbs on that list weren’t just ordinary materials, and based on Yang Kai’s estimations, they would be worth at least twenty million High-Rank Source Crystals!
But there were only a thousand Source Crystals in the Space Ring, and they were all Low-Rank Source Crystals!
The immense difference was simply like Heaven and Earth.
Li Xuan was stunned, then smiled and said, “That’s the wrong one, the wrong one, this is the one that Honoured Master gave me!”
While speaking, he scrambled to take out a different Space Ring for Yang Kai.
This time, the number of Source Crystals inside the ring made more sense. Moreover, it was even higher than Yang Kai’s estimations, with a total of twenty-five million High-Rank Source Crystals in it. It seemed what Ji Yao said previously was true. Even though Medicine Pill Valley asked all the top Sects in the Northern Territory to collect Spirit Herbs for them, they definitely wouldn’t let those Sects suffer a loss. All the herbs were bought according to their worth, and they even paid out a little extra.
After all, this matter related to the reputation of Medicine Pill Valley and Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. The disciples of Medicine Pill Valley also wouldn’t dare to mess around.
But Yang Kai knew that if Seeking Passion Sect still existed, this brat Li Xuan would only have needed to pay them the Source Crystals in the first ring for their herbs.
Li Xuan clearly wanted to take advantage of the situation. After all, twenty-five million High-Rank Source Crystals was no small number.
That was why he prepared two sets of Source Crystals in two separate rings.
But after the fierce lesson he received from Yang Kai, how could he dare to cheat him?
After the exchange was over, Li Xuan immediately excused himself and naturally Yang Kai didn’t try to stop him.
The young man boarded his ship. His actions did carry some elegance, and if not for his face which was as swollen as a pig’s head right now, he would have looked quite the gentleman.
“Farewell Elder Brother and Elder Sisters!” Li Xuan waved enthusiastically at them while standing on the deck.
“Have a safe trip!” Yang Kai responded with a smile.
Li Xuan’s ship quickly sailed away, but the moment he turned around, the smile on his face was quickly replaced with icy coldness.
…..
“What are you trying to do?” Ji Yao suddenly flickered and stood in front of Yang Kai, blocking his way. Her cold eyes were just like sharp knives that penetrated into Yang Kai’s heart, seeing into his soul.
This sudden action stunned both Hua Qing Si and Zhu Qing, as neither of them understood what Ji Yao meant.
“Nothing, I just felt like going out for a walk!” Yang Kai looked up at the sky, not daring to look Ji Yao in the eye.
“I’ll accompany you then,” Ji Yao said.
“I’m just going for a casual walk, why would you want to come with me?” Yang Kai eyed her.
“I want to take a walk too.”
Yang Kai grit his teeth, “I’m in the mood to visit a brothel to have some fun, are you going to accompany me for that too?”
“In the mood, are you?” Ji Yao sneered, “Fine, come back to Ice Heart Valley with me. You need only raise your hand and I guarantee hundreds of Ice Heart Valley’s disciples will willingly drown you to death!”
Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, “But aren’t the disciples from Ice Heart Valley very particular about purity of heart and freedom from worldly desires?”
“It’s just satisfying a need, what’s there to shy away from? I can’t talk for the others, but I have a few Martial Nieces who I know adore you very much. If you want, I can make arrangements for you, and I ensure they will be willing participants.”
[This Martial Aunt really is thoughtful…]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but gulp, almost agreeing instinctually to her proposition when he suddenly felt two burning gazes on his back. Choking down his words, he quickly barked, “What’s the fun with a good, well-behaved girl? This Young Master likes the broken flowers and withered willows in the brothel. That’s where the fun is!”
“Enough!” Ji Yao was trembling from anger. Even though Yang Kai was just mouthing off and not actually doing anything, she still found his words hard to accept. What’s more, what Yang Kai said made it sound as if he was a regular patron of brothels…
“You’re the one who should know when to stop! What are you getting in my way for? I already have one woman constantly following me around and pestering me. If you join in too, how am I going to live!” Yang Kai glared at her.
Zhu Qing frowned, sulking, “Who are you talking about? Speak clearly!”
“You, I’m talking about you! You have a problem with that?” Yang Kai glared at her.
Zhu Qing turned away, mumbling, “You think I want to do this?”
“Don’t try to hoodwink me!” Ji Yao scoffed, “You’re not trying to visit a brothel, you just want to silence the witness to the crime, aren’t you?”
“Silence the witness to the crime!” Hua Qing Si was shocked, “Silence what witness? What crime?”
As soon as Hua Qing Si finished speaking, she suddenly came to her senses and looked at Yang Kai in horror, “Palace Master! You couldn’t be thinking of…”
Wanting to silence the witness to the crime all of a sudden. Thinking back to what happened just now, it was already obvious who the ‘witness’ was going to be.
She couldn’t help but feel shocked at Yang Kai’s recklessness.
That person was a Medicine Pill Valley disciple! How could Yang Kai just kill him? If he really did such a thing, Medicine Pill Valley would never let this matter rest.
“What nonsense are you talking about…” Yang Kai denied vehemently, “It’s nothing of that sort. You have quite a rich imagination, Yao’er.”
“Then why don’t you dare to look me in the eye while you’re talking to me!” Ji Yao coldly snorted.
“Fine, I’ll look at you! It’s not like I’m afraid of you!” Yang Kai turned around with eyes as wide as chicken eggs as he stared aggressively at Ji Yao.
The beautiful eyes in front of him were clear and without flaw, clean as a pure spring. Yang Kai could see himself clearly reflected in Ji Yao’s eyes, mottled by her long lashes that were curved like dancing spirits, making them appear even more pure and unique.
“Hmph!” Ji Yao sneered, “You think you’re going to look any less guilty just because you widen your eyes at me like that? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
[I’m thinking of the time when I saw you stripped naked at Phoenix Nest Palace!]
“That little brat obviously isn’t the type to just let matters drop. He may act submissive after you beat him up a little, but he actually hates you to death in his heart. He’s young and shallow, thinking he can get away with things just by putting on a little show, but in truth, who of us does not know that he only wanted to leave here quickly in order to contact Medicine Pill Valley to complain? You obviously think that there’ll be no evidence if he’s dead, that’s why you’re planning to kill him, aren’t you?”
Yang Kai’s face was sullen, “So, what better solution do you have when things are already like this?”
This time he didn’t deny it anymore. He was just curious whether he made it seem that obvious. Otherwise, how did Ji Yao see through him at just a glance?
“Regardless, killing him isn’t the answer!” Ji Yao frowned, “If you really killed him, then things will truly become troublesome. Or so to say, you shouldn’t have hit him like that just now. If you didn’t want to deal with the fallout, you shouldn’t have stirred up this mess in the first place. You’re a Palace Master now, yet you still act so recklessly!”
“I shouldn’t have hit him?” Yang Kai jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, “I don’t even know who that little brat thinks he is! Throwing his weight around my High Heaven Palace, even trying to molest my people, yet still daring to speak so impertinently? You tell me I shouldn’t have hit him, but I would have killed him right then if I could! Letting him leave High Heaven Palace alive is already very magnanimous of me!”
“Who’s your person?” Zhu Qing said, blushing.
“I said what I said, why do you care about all that?” Yang Kai waved her off impatiently, “If he knew his mistake, then I could let him be, but if he’s secretly thinking about how he’s going to get revenge, how could I allow that!”
“How chivalrous of you!” Ji Yao may be complimenting him on the surface, but her eyes were filled with ridicule, “Are all you men like this?”
“This has nothing to do with chivalry!” Yang Kai suddenly said in a sullen voice, “This is just proper moral conduct!”
“I don’t blame you for hitting him just now… Even I wanted nothing more than to hit him,” Ji Yao pursed her lips, easing her attitude a little bit, “Only, you shouldn’t try and silence him by killing now.”
“Didn’t you stop me from doing anything?” Yang Kai bristled.
“It would’ve been over if you’d really done it. When that happens, you would have been the unreasonable one even if your reason for acting was valid,” Ji Yao sighed, “I think you’ve just let your anger get to your head, and that’s what got you thinking about doing something so foolish.”
“Say whatever you want,” Yang Kai put on the face of a dead pig that didn’t fear boiling water, remaining obstinate while Ji Yao lectured him.
Ji Yao was both angered and amused, “You’ve been in the Star Boundary for so many years now, so how can you not know how these young people are? He doesn’t represent Medicine Pill Valley. He’s just a second-generation disciple of Medicine Pill Valley…”
“Second-generation disciple?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
“En,” Ji Yao nodded and explained, “Medicine Pill Valley is where the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor cultivates in seclusion. His few Legacy Disciples under him are the first generation, all of whom are Emperor Alchemists with profound attainments in the Alchemic Dao. The Wondrous Pill Great Emperor stopped accepting disciples long ago, so the disciples taken in by his few Legacy Disciples are the second generation. Naturally, Li Xuan is one of them.”
“In that case… it doesn’t seem to be as big of a deal anymore,” Yang Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully. The only one he was really afraid of was the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, but if what Ji Yao said was true, then the situation wasn’t unsalvageable.
Li Xuan and Wondrous Pill Great Emperor were separated by a generation, so the only one Li Xuan could rely on would be one of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Legacy Disciples.
Yang Kai was also an Emperor Alchemist, so why would he need to fear this unknown figure?
What’s more, no matter how the matter was put, Li Xuan was the one who asked to be humiliated himself, using his identity as a Medicine Pill Valley disciple to put on airs. If his Master was a reasonable man, then he wouldn’t blame Yang Kai and High Heaven Palace for this matter.
Of course, he couldn’t expect him to thank him either. This unknown Master’s disciple had been punished by an outsider, so they would definitely feel uncomfortable. If this Master was small-minded, they might even come to look for trouble.
“So, do you still want to silence the witness to the crime?” Ji Yao asked.
Yang Kai laughed and waved his hand, “What are you talking about? What silencing the witness to the crime? Such frightening words you speak Yao’er. This Palace Master is scared of hurting an ant even while sweeping the floor and covers all his lamps to protect the moths. How could I do such a thing?”
The three women rolled their eyes at him in unison.
“Though there’s not much to worry about, it doesn’t hurt to be careful. I think it would be best if I return to Ice Heart Valley and ask about the situation for you. That Li Xuan’s Senior Brother is currently at our Ice Heart Valley,” Ji Yao said after some thought.
“Good.” Yang Kai nodded.
Ji Yao turned and left.
Yang Kai then looked to the side and shouted, “What have you been hiding there for? Come out!”
A ripple suddenly appeared in the air like a stone tossed into a calm lake, quickly revealing Nanmen Da Jun’s figure.
“Palace Master’s might is matchless, this Nanmen admires you greatly!” Nanmen Da Jun walked over with a flattering smile on his face.
“Enough of that, why are you here?” Yang Kai looked in askance at him.
Who knew what this old fogey was sneaking around and hiding here this whole time for? However, Yang Kai didn’t really care about this. Naturally, with Nanmen Da Jun’s current identity as High Heaven Palace’s Chief Array Master, it was impossible for him to mean any harm to him.
Nanmen Da Jun immediately answered, “This subordinate has prepared something good for Palace Master!”
“Something good?”
Nanmen Da Jun grinned meaningfully and said mysteriously, “Please, take a look!”
…..
“I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him…”
Atop the deck of his ship, Li Xuan had a hate-filled look on his face as he constantly cursed in a quiet voice.
What happened was a great shame to him. He had a noble identity as a Medicine Pill Valley disciple and was certain to become an Emperor Alchemist in the future. How could he endure such humiliation? Just as Ji Yao said, he may act submissive on the surface, but he was actually plotting how to get his revenge the whole time.
After flying all the way to a deserted mountain valley, he landed his ship.
After putting away his flight type artifact, the look of hatred on his face had already become warped. Feeling the burning pain on his cheeks, he slammed his fist fiercely down onto a giant boulder in front of him, sending debris flying everywhere together with a cloud of dust. Li Xuan was throwing out his power wantonly, seemingly wanting to vent all his rage and grievances.
After a long time, he panted and sat down on the ground, taking out a healing pill from his Space Ring and swallowing it. His eyes turned with a dark and unkind look as he cursed, “You’ll all die!”
As he said that, he took out his communication artifact and using his Divine Sense, used it to send a message.
Millions of kilometres away, inside the headquarters of Fire Dragon Palace, a top Sect in the Northern Territory, in a certain place overflowing with abundant World Energy.
This place was only a dozen kilometres across, but even within Fire Dragon Palace, it was considered a Restricted Area that only a few Elders and Palace Master Li Jiao were qualified to step foot into.
That was because this was where the Sect’s precious spirit medicine garden was located.
The number of spirit medicines cultivated in the medicine garden was not large, only about a hundred or so, but each one was Emperor Grade, extremely precious. Any one of these Spirit Herbs would be a rare existence to find outside. The entire garden was filled with dense World Energy and overflowing medicinal fragrance. Any cultivator visiting here would be able to improve their cultivation a lot just by breathing in lightly.
At this moment, three people were sitting at a table in the pavilion next to the medicine garden.
The one on the left, dressed in a graceful and luxurious purple robe with a chiselled mouth and nostrils, appearing quite furious at this moment, was the Palace Master of Fire Dragon Palace, Li Jiao.
On the right, a man with an extraordinary aura that looked to be about forty or so, but whose real age was obviously far greater, had a solemn expression on his face; it was the Sect Master of another top Sect in the Northern Territory, Full Sky Sect’s Mi Qi!
It was not surprising for the two of them to gather together. Since Yang Kai destroyed Seeking Passion Sect, these two top Sects had grown much closer. Just as Bing Yun said, they were wary of Yang Kai’s High Heaven Palace, so they naturally wanted to huddle together for warmth.
The one sitting at the centre was a middle-aged man whose cultivation was only Second-Order Emperor Realm, a Minor Realm lower than Li Jiao and Mi Qi. However, in terms of their attitude towards him, it could be seen that both Li Jiao and Mi Qi regarded this person with much respect, and it could also be said that they had a small mind to ingratiate themselves to him.
There were not many people in this world who could attract such respect from two Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, even causing them to be somewhat anxious and wary about how they spoke, but the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Legacy Disciple certainly was among these figures.
This man was the last disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, ranked fifth, Emperor Alchemist Ji Ying.
The ten-year collection of Spirit Herbs for Medicine Pill Valley could naturally not be left to a Junior like Li Xuan. This time, Ji Ying had been the one to lead the collection team to visit all the various top Sects, but Ji Ying had encountered something that delayed his trip as soon as he arrived in Fire Dragon Palace, so he had no choice but to send his two disciples to Ice Heart Valley and High Heaven Palace.
He knew as well that his disciple, Li Xuan, was usually a little lustful, that was why he sent his other disciple to Ice Heart Valley instead, lest this little brat get himself caught up in the flower field, affecting his mood to cultivate.
But lust was not a big problem; after all, Li Xuan was young and hot-blooded. After studying Alchemy at Medicine Pill Valley all year round, it was only natural that he would feel somewhat pent up for women.
In Ji Ying’s opinion, both Disciples he accepted were fine seedlings, and as long as he gave them a little guidance, then even if they did not achieve as much as he did, they would not be much worse. Moreover, they usually behaved respectfully, so he was quite at ease to send them off on this little errand.
The pavilion was filled with the fragrant scent of tea as the three men sat talking with each other while enjoying themselves.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi’s immaculate flattery put Ji Ying into a good mood, causing him to wave his hands constantly, laughing incessantly.
Who knew how long had passed, but a strange noise suddenly emerged somewhere in the medicine garden. Though the sound was soft, all three men were Emperor Realm Masters, so how could they not have noticed it?
Ji Ying rose all of a sudden and looked towards a certain direction in the medicine garden, a look of excitement on his face, “The spirit flower is about to bloom!”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao looked at each other, both of them able to see the excitement in each other’s eyes as well.
Li Jiao quickly said, “Grandmaster Ji’s vision is truly sharp. If not for Grandmaster Ji’s appearance, this Li is afraid that we may not know that this spirit flower would soon bloom.”
Mi Qi laughed, “Grandmaster Ji is an Emperor Alchemist, and even a Legacy Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, he knows all the spirit flowers and herbs under the Heavens like the back of his hand, how could a rough old man like you compare? If you were really to look after the spirit flower, then you’d most likely miss the optimal time when the flower blooms, wasting precious treasures for nothing.”
“Yes, yes,” Li Jiao nodded repeatedly, “Brother Mi Qi is right. If not for Grandmaster Ji’s reminder, then such a precious spirit flower would really have been wasted. Since the spirit flower is about to blossom, why don’t we go and take a look?”
“Good, good, good!” Ji Ying nodded excitedly and took the lead in walking over.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao looked at each other, secretly exchanging glances without a word.
Soon, the three of them arrived at a certain spot in the medicine garden where only a single spirit herb was cultivated. It was about half a metre high and had coiled roots and gnarled leaves. Strangely enough, a special aura was emanating from this spirit flower. If Zhu Qing or Yang Kai were here, they would definitely be able to tell at a glance that it was Dragon Qi.
Only, the Dragon Qi was quite weak, nowhere near as pure as the Dragon Qi emitted when the two of them used their Dragon Sources.
Even so, this was still quite amazing as this was just a spirit herb.
Quite strangely, the spirit flower not only emitted faint Dragon Qi, but it also resembled a dragon shrunken down countless times in appearance, stretched across the roots and stalk. Each of its tiny Dragon Scales could be vividly seen, along with all its claws and its tail. On top of the dragon’s head, a blood-red flower bud was slightly unfolded, about to come into bloom, just like a fragile butterfly about to spread its wings and fly into the sky.
Ji Ying was standing ten metres in front of the spirit herb, holding his breath and watching the flower nervously.
From his appearance, rather than waiting for a spirit flower to bloom, it seemed more like his child was about to be born…
Li Jiao looked at the spirit flower that was about to bloom with a proud expression on his face as he silently made a glance at Mi Qi.
Mi Qi immediately said, “Grandmaster Ji, is this Dragon Blood Flower really that precious?”
“What do you know?” Ji Ying was looking ahead with rapt attention. When he heard Mi Qi speak, he subconsciously reprimanded him, but he quickly realized that the person who spoke was not one of his disciples, but rather the Sect Master of a top sect.
Slightly easing his tone, he explained, “Since you are not Alchemists, it is only natural that you don’t know the rarity of this Dragon Blood Flower; however, as Palace Master Li has been cultivating this Dragon Blood Flower with Blood Essence all this time, I’m sure he has at least some inkling.”
Li Jiao quickly said, “I am also muddled when it comes to this flower. I don’t know the details too deeply, so if I may please ask Grandmaster Ji to explain…”
After devoting himself to taking care of this flower for a hundred years, how could he not know it well? Only, he naturally wanted to pretend to be ignorant at this moment in order to satisfy the other man’s vanity.
Ji Ying nodded, “The Dragon Blood Flower is a natural resource from Dragon Island, and it is something only found on Dragon Island in this world. How precious is that, do you say?”
Mi Qi was shocked, “Truly?” He turned to Li Jiao, “Then where did Brother Li get this Dragon Blood Flower from?”
Li Jiao laughed, “Years ago, when I ventured out, I thought that this must be something extraordinary, so I brought it back. Who could have guessed that it would gradually begin to wither when I transplanted it here, so I tried to nourish it with my Blood Essence and fortunately brought it back to life. I have been cultivating it all these years using Blood Essence since then.”
“So it was simply by chance?” Mi Qi pondered.
Ji Ying nodded, “What Palace Master Li did was correct. The reason why this Dragon Blood Flower is a special product of Dragon Island is that only Dragon Blood can nurture it! Looking around the world, where else can you find Dragon Clan members if not on Dragon Island? So, the Dragon Blood Flower cannot survive even if it appeared anywhere else. Palace Master Li shares the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, so watering it with his Blood Essence was the correct course of action.”
Li Jiao was not just a pure human, but rather half Monster, said to be the descendent of a Human and a Dragon. Though not many people know this secret in the Northern Territory, Ji Ying and Mi Qi did.
Dragon Blood Flowers needed to be nourished with Dragon Blood, and even though Li Jiao’s Dragon Clan bloodline was quite thin, it was still present. As such, after many years of devoted care, the Dragon Blood Flower really did grow until the blossoming stage.
“I assume a Dragon Clan member fell at the place where Palace Master Li found this Dragon Blood Flower. If not, there is no way that a Dragon Blood Flower would grow there,” Ji Ying quickly said.
Li Jiao praised in admiration, “Grandmaster Ji is wise. When I found the Dragon Blood Flower, I did find the bones of a Dragon Clan member. Only, I have no idea how long it had been dead for, but it had already decayed and broken down a long time ago.”
“The bones of the Dragon Clan are indestructible, how could it so easily have broken down? It must be because the Dragon Blood Flower drew the nutrients from the skeleton.”
“So that’s how it is!” Li Jiao nodded his head incessantly as if he were an ignorant child.
Ji Ying said with enthusiasm, “With the Dragon Blood Flower, the Dragon Blood Pill can be refined. This pill will be very useful to Palace Master Li.”
“Why so?” Li Jiao held back the excitement in his heart and asked modestly.
Ji Ying smiled, “The reason the Dragon Clan on Dragon Island devours Dragon Blood Flowers is mainly to temper their bloodline, purifying their Bloodline Power. You should have heard that the Dragon Clan’s bloodline is separated into many different levels. Higher-order bloodlines have strong suppressive powers over lower bloodlines, so even if two Dragon Clan members are close in strength but differ too much in terms of bloodline, the one with the lower bloodline will be powerless against the one with the purer bloodline.”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao both nodded their heads.
Naturally, this was something they knew.
“The Dragon Clan is born powerful and can easily cultivate to the Emperor Realm. Without much effort, they can even achieve power on par with a Third-Order Emperor. Their main goal in cultivation though is to purify their bloodline. The higher the purity, the higher their strength becomes! The current Great Elder of the Dragon Clan is said to be an Eighth-Order Azure Dragon, whose strength is on par with even a Great Emperor. And above him, there are even legendary Ninth-Order and Tenth-Order bloodlines! The Dragon Blood Flower is said to be the most important resource to them.
Li Jiao said excitedly, “Does Grandmaster Ji mean that I can also…”
“Indeed!” Ji Ying nodded, “Though the Dragon Clan bloodline in Palace Master Li’s body is quite thin, it can indeed be enhanced by consuming the Dragon Blood Flower. Of course, the effects will be even better if it is refined into a Dragon Blood Pill.”
Li Jiao’s breathing suddenly quickened. Even though he had already secretly inquired about this news, he still felt that he had not wasted the past hundred years after receiving Ji Ying’s confirmation.
This Dragon Blood Flower had been obtained by him a hundred years ago, and he had been cultivating it with his own Blood Essence ever since, causing his strength to remain stagnant for many years. Even though both he and Mi Qi were Third-Order Emperor Realms, Li Jiao was undoubtedly a bit stronger thanks to his bloodline.
But if he could take this Dragon Blood Flower and refine it, then Li Jiao’s power would completely eclipse Mi Qi’s in one fell swoop.
“It’s just a pity…” Ji Ying suddenly changed the topic, frowning.
“What’s a pity?” Li Jiao’s heart was clenched in fear that he would hear bad news from Ji Ying.
Ji Ying smiled, “No need to be nervous, Palace Master Li. I just wanted to say that not only is the bloodline of the Dragon Clan separated into different levels, so too are the grades of Dragon Blood Flowers. Even if this Dragon Blood Flower really blooms, I’m afraid it will only be the lowest grade possible.”
For a Dragon Blood Flower of such a grade, perhaps no True Dragon would even spare it a glance if it were to be found on Dragon Island. However, it was already the most valuable thing here in Flame Dragon Sect’s medicine garden.
Only because it was rare and hard to find.
It was precisely because of this Dragon Blood Flower that Ji Ying stayed at Fire Dragon Palace. Otherwise, he would have gone to Ice Heart Valley and High Heaven Palace himself to collect all the spirit herbs for the ten-year agreement. He wanted to stay behind to watch the Dragon Blood Flower Bloom, which was a rare opportunity for an Alchemist.
Even though Ji Ying had been learning Alchemy for many years by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s side, it was the first time he had ever seen the Dragon Blood Flower. Naturally, faced with a spirit flower he was seeing for the first time, his desire as an Emperor Alchemist was thoroughly stimulated.
Mi Qi stood to the side, asking, “Grandmaster Ji, other than being useful to Brother Li, is this Dragon Blood Pill useless for Human cultivators?”
Ji Ying smiled, “How could it possibly be useless? Enhancing strength, refining cultivation, tempering the body… The Dragon Blood Pill has infinite uses.”
After a pause, he said, “Palace Master Li, if you are willing to trust this Ji, how about allowing me to refine this Dragon Blood Flower into a Spirit Pill when it blooms?”
Li Jiao was overjoyed at his words and cupped his fists, “I was just thinking of making such a request. It could not be better if Grandmaster Ji could help.”
He was completely overjoyed. Even though he was Fire Dragon Palace’s Palace Master, it was not such a simple thing for him to get Ji Ying to refine a pill for him even with his status. Several times before, he had gone to Medicine Pill Valley in order to ask for help refining pills, but for which pill did he not have to pay a hefty sum and be forced to wait a long time?
But this time, Ji Ying actually took the initiative to offer his services. What’s more, he did not ask for payment.
It seemed that this Dragon Blood Flower was quite an attractive resource to Ji Ying too.
“I’m not sure how many pills can be refined if Grandmaster Ji takes action?” Li Jiao asked cautiously.
Ji Ying had a solemn look on his face, “I dare not say for sure, but three should not be a problem.”
Every time Ji Ying refined pills, not only would he collect a generous remuneration, but he would also keep a third of the refined pills. These were his standard rules.
So, that was the reason why Li Jiao asked how many Yi Jing could refine. Now that he heard that he could refine three, Li Jiao was ecstatic. In this case, he would be able to get at least two Dragon Blood Pills, which would be an enormous help to improving his strength!
“Congratulations, Brother Li! What a joyous occasion!” Mi Qi cupped his fists at the side to congratulate him, but he was feeling slightly displeased in his heart.
Even though High Heaven Palace’s sudden rise following the destruction of Seeking Passion Sect was the reason why Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace had recently formed an alliance, who of them did not have their own selfish motives? Naturally, Mi Qi did not hope for Li Jiao to become too strong.
In his heart, he secretly prayed that Ji Ying would fail to refine the Dragon Blood Pill.
But he also knew how unlikely that was. Ji Ying was an Emperor Grade Alchemist and his skill was unquestionable. If he said he could refine three pills, then he naturally wasn’t just boasting. He was sure he could really do it.
Li Jiao laughed, looking very pleased.
Right at that moment, another strange sound occurred. The three of them were taken by surprise and all turned their attention to the Dragon Blood Flower.
The blooming Dragon Blood Flower which was about to blossom began to unfurl a little, releasing a crimson light that dazzled their eyes.
The three Emperors were all holding their breaths, not turning away for even an instant.
The red light flourished more and more as the flower bloomed like a new life was being born that wanted to break free from that flower as faint Dragon Qi began spreading out in all directions.
*Dong dong, dong dong…*
Li Jiao’s heartbeat could clearly be heard. This matter was directly related to the increase in his strength, so he was naturally even more nervous than the other two.
All of a sudden, as if the birth of the flower was being hindered by something, the light suddenly dimmed a little. Even the petals that were about to open up began to coil up again.
A withering feeling enveloped the entire plant.
Li Jiao’s face changed dramatically and he called out in alarm, “What…”
Ji Ying shouted quickly, “Palace Master Li! Quickly use your Blood Essence to feed it before it’s too late!”
The Dragon Blood Flower could only grow using the Dragon Clan’s Blood Essence as nourishment, so Li Jiao was the only one who could save this peculiar flower at the moment.
When he heard Ji Ying’s words, Li Jiao didn’t think twice and raised his finger, drawing a wound across the tip and using a Secret Technique to draw a drop of his Blood Essence out.
“Go!” He shouted, sending the drop of Blood Essence flying in an arc towards the Dragon Blood Flower, landing steadily into the centre of the bud.
After receiving this nourishment, the Dragon Blood Flower regained its vitality as expected. The petals began to unfurl even faster than before, its peculiar fragrance permeating in the air.
On the other hand, Li Jiao, who had forced out that drop of Blood Essence, was slightly pale-faced at the moment, looking as if his foundation had been severely damaged. A drop of Blood Essence would require at least ten years of dedicated cultivation to restore, but when he thought of the wonderful uses of the Dragon Blood Pill, Li Jiao felt it was all worth it.
A loud dragon roar suddenly echoed as the Dragon Blood Flower blossomed in an instant. Following that, a red light sprang out, shooting straight into the sky like a living creature.
Ji Ying had been prepared early and he reacted quickly, reaching out his hand and making a grabbing motion, causing the red light to freeze mid-air, though it still struggled visibly.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao watched intently, both revealing looks of amazement.
That was because they saw the red light take the shape of a tiny dragon…
“This is a Dragon Blood Flower?” Li Jiao and Mi Qi looked at each other. They were both in disbelief. This Dragon Blood Flower didn’t look like a flower in the slightest, but rather the spirit of a dragon. Was this truly the Dragon Blood Flower?
Ji Ying took out a wooden box that smelled of fragrant sandalwood in excitement and put the Dragon Blood Flower into it before sealing it. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, “Fortunately it is not of a high grade, otherwise I really wouldn’t have been able to suppress it!”
The Dragon Blood Flower can only be produced on Dragon Island, and also subdued by only the Dragon Clan.
“Since the spirit flower has bloomed, I will leave the Alchemy to Grandmaster Ji,” suppressing the excitement in his heart, Li Jiao said respectfully to him.
“En. Just leave everything to me. Palace Master Li, if you prepare a secluded chamber for me…” Ji Ying nodded.
“Yes, yes!” Li Jiao was overjoyed. He thought that Ji Ying would bring the Dragon Blood Flower back to Medicine Pill Valley in order to refine it, but from what he said, he seemed to have the intention to start refining the pill here. So, how could he not be happy?
Mi Qi forced out a smile, “Brother Li, you should go handle that. I’ll stay and accompany Grandmaster Ji here.”
Li Jiao nodded, “Good! Please wait for a moment!”
After that, he turned to leave.
Right then, Ji Ying suddenly took out his communication artifact, but after checking it for a moment, his originally joyful appearance suddenly became filled with rage as he shouted, “Impudence!”
Li Jiao was startled and quickly turned around and asked, “What happened?”
He thought he had accidentally offended Ji Ying somehow.
Mi Qi also asked curiously, “Grandmaster Ji, what happened?”
Ji Ying’s face turned dark, “Li Xuan was beaten!”
“Li Xuan…” Both Mi Qi and Li Jiao muttered that name before quickly recalling. Wasn’t Li Xuan one of Grandmaster Ji’s disciples? That boy wasn’t old, but both his talent in cultivation and Alchemy were quite outstanding, so he was valued and nurtured greatly by Ji Ying. He had followed Ji Ying here a few days ago to Fire Dragon Palace, but was sent out to collect spirit herbs after the Dragon Blood Flower incident.
“Was it Ice Heart Valley or High Heaven Palace?” Mi Qi’s heart was beating wildly and he couldn’t help but ask in excitement.
If it were the people from High Heaven Palace who beat Li Xuan up, then there would be a good show for them to watch. He and Li Jiao were worrying over how they could keep High Heaven Palace’s arrogance in check, or better, suppress them. They didn’t expect High Heaven Palace to put themselves on the plate before they could even come up with a solution.
“It’s that High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master!” Ji Ying had a furious expression on his face, “He beat my disciple and stole the Source Crystals I gave him to buy the spirit herbs with. This High Heaven Palace is simply lawless!”
“What?” Mi Qi was shocked, “They didn’t just beat people but even snatched their Source Crystals? This…”
He almost couldn’t help himself from throwing his head back and laughing, thinking to himself, [High Heaven Palace, you’re asking for your own destruction! You think you can touch the people from Medicine Pill Valley however you please?]
“Such impudence! How dare High Heaven Palace despise Medicine Pill Valley! I, Li Jiao, and he are absolutely irreconcilable!” Li Jiao also realized that an opportunity had come and quickly exclaimed.
“Palace Master Li, I’m afraid this Alchemy matter will have to be delayed for now. This concerns the reputation of my Medicine Pill Valley so I must make a trip there personally to see just what that High Heaven Palace is trying to do!” Ji Ying yelled. Even though he promised Li Jiao, this was an important matter that he could not delay; otherwise, if word got out, then it would damage the prestige of both Medicine Pill Valley and Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.
“This… It can’t be helped.” Li Jiao was slightly exasperated. He could have gotten the Dragon Blood Pill immediately, but he didn’t expect such an incident to happen out of nowhere. He already had a bad impression of High Heaven Palace to begin with, so now he hated them even more.
“But Grandmaster Ji, it’s better not to go alone,” Mi Qi frowned.
Ji Ying snorted, “What’s wrong? Would he still dare to act unruly even if I make an appearance personally?”
Mi Qi said with a straight face, “If it were a Northern Territory cultivator like us, then we naturally wouldn’t dare be impudent in front of Grandmaster Ji. However, I heard that High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master is not from the Northern Territory. It seems he is from the Southern Territory. What’s more, he is a domineering and unreasonable man who uses all kinds of cruel methods. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have wiped out the Seeking Passion Sect. It is better to be on guard against such a ruthless and bloodthirsty man. Grandmaster Ji must not risk his safety so easily!”
“What Brother Mi Qi said is right,” Li Jiao nodded, “I have also heard that not only is that brat surnamed Yang savage and domineering, he also colludes with the Monster Race. It is best to be on guard.”
Ji Ying declared, “Even if I must enter a dragon’s cave, I must go. My disciple has been beaten and my Source Crystals robbed. If I stay silent on this matter, how will I face my Honoured Master when I return to Medicine Pill Valley?”
“Naturally, the trip has to be made,” Mi Qi and Li Jiao glanced at each other, “But Grandmaster Ji mustn’t go alone.”
“Indeed,” Li Jiao nodded, “How about this, as Brother Mi Qi and I are both free, we can accompany Grandmaster Ji to keep the situation under control. Let’s see if that High Heaven Palace truly wants to go against the Heavens!”
“Brother Li makes a good suggestion. I agree. If that High Heaven Palace really dares to disrespect Grandmaster Ji, then Brother Li and I will put our lives on the line in order to protect you!”
“Then… I shall trouble you both.” Ji Ying also did not refuse them, mainly because he was feeling anxious from hearing what these two had to say. He was truly worried that High Heaven Palace would not take his status into account and lay a hand on him.
“We must not delay. Let us set off!”
…..
High Heaven Palace, atop a certain mountain peak. Yang Kai was currently lying on the ground, legs crossed, lazily soaking in the sun.
It was a bright day today with not a cloud in the sky, and he was currently being accompanied by beauties in this sunny world.
Zhu Qing, who was pouring wine for him to the side, grit her teeth and spat as she shoved the cup in front of him, “Drink!”
In order not to lose him again, Zhu Qing decided to stick by his side at all times, forcing her to endure humiliation after humiliation. She had to put up with Yang Kai’s various criticisms and commands, and now she was even serving him like a maid.
Her pride was being trampled into a mess, and Zhu Qing felt that there was simply no one more hateful than this man in front of her right now.
“Ah…” Yang Kai opened his mouth but did not move.
Zhu Qing shot him a hateful glare before lifting the cup to his mouth and pouring it drink down.
He drank it in one gulp.
“Ah…” Yang Kai opened his mouth again, eyes slightly narrowed with a pleasant expression.
Flames of fury were tumbling around in Zhu Qing’s chest and wanted nothing more than to burn this man alive with her Dragon Flames, but she still reached over to pick up a grape-like berry and pop it into Yang Kai’s mouth.
After chewing a few times, Yang Kai swallowed the fruit, then turned to his side and propped his head up with his hand, looking at Zhu Qing, “Qing’er, how’s your Dragon Island right now?”
Zhu Qing responded indifferently, “If you want to know, then just follow me over.”
“You’re talking about that again,” Yang Kai frowned, “Do you not want to be friends anymore?”
“You’re the one who asked,” a trace of panic flashed past Zhu Qing’s face. It took a lot of effort for her and Yang Kai to become ‘friends’, so if he really cut off their relationship because of this, then she would be done for.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, looking at her with interest, he asked, “Do you have any other friends?”
Zhu Qing shook her head.
[Why would a Dragon need friends? What a joke.]
Yang Kai said with a serious look, “Let me tell you, there are many types of friends. Even though we’re friends now, we’re nothing more than the most ordinary of friends.”
“There are other types?” Zhu Qing furrowed her brows and asked curiously.
“Naturally so,” Yang Kai nodded pretentiously, “There are normal friends, then you have close friends above that. And if you go further… intimate friends! En, if we were intimate friends, then that would change our relationship. If it were so, it would not be impossible for me to consider visiting Dragon Island.”
Zhu Qing’s eyes lit up, “Then let’s be intimate friends?”
“Do you really want to?” Yang Kai looked at her with a solemn expression.
“Of course! Let’s be intimate!” Zhu Qing nodded with certainty.
“I wouldn’t mind if we became intimate friends, but I’m worried you’ll…” Yang Kai took Zhu Qing’s dainty hand and gently stroked it, “Find it forced!”
[Tsk tsk, such a smooth and delicate little hand. The texture feels just like the finest silk, making it hard to let go.]
Zhu Qing frowned and stared at Yang Kai’s wanton actions, squirming a little before she pulled her hand back and looked away, “Don’t do that, it feels weird…”
Yang Kai said with a straight face, “Didn’t you say you wanted to be intimate friends?”
Zhu Qing asked curiously, “Is this what intimate friends have to do?”
“Of course!” Yang Kai’s nostrils were blowing out hot air, “And this is just the basics.”
Zhu Qing could not help but look a little hesitant, “Then what else do we have to do?”
Yang Kai stroked his chin, a wicked smile on his face, “Much, much more…”
“Tell me about it? I’ll see if I… can manage,” Zhu Qing’s tender pink neck had become a little red, seemingly becoming aware of something.
Just looking at her reaction alone was enough to make one restless. Yang Kai quickly took a deep breath to calm down his tumbling urges before he swiftly laid his head atop Zhu Qing’s firm and smooth thighs. The top of his head nudging against her belly as he said comfortably, “Try giving me a rub.”
Zhu Qing’s face was red. Even though it was not her first time having such intimate contact with Yang Kai, and even had done more excessive things before this, her heartbeat couldn’t help but quicken and she became a little flustered.
Raising her hands, she pressed her two thumbs lightly against Yang Kai’s temple and moved them gently in a circular motion.
Yang Kai felt his whole body loosen up, like he was floating on clouds. It felt so good he could almost reach his peak. [This girl is actually quite cooperative], he thought to himself. He even began to wonder if he should just forget everything that happened up until now and really get to know her properly?
Suddenly, a violent force erupted at his temples, as if he had just been hit by two hammers at the same time. Yang Kai’s face twisted up instantly and his eyes went wide.
“You really think I don’t know anything and will let you do whatever you want?!” Zhu Qing ground her teeth as a force great enough to move mountains and break seas, her two thumbs pressing like drills, spinning hard back and forth against Yang Kai’s temples.
“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!” Yang Kai’s head was pinned down so that he was unable to move his body, only able to flail about madly.
“It may be my first time leaving Dragon Island, but I’m no fool! Don’t think you can bully me like this!” With gritted teeth, Zhu Qing’s fingers kept digging.
Yang Kai instantly felt the desire to die. His entire person had become uncomfortable. Body arching, he shot up from the ground, feet landing towards Zhu Qing’s head.
Zhu Qing easily deflected the blow with a wave of her hand and took this moment to stand up, putting some distance between Yang Kai and herself, panting and glaring at him.
Yang Kai swayed a few times, still feeling a little dizzy. He almost couldn’t stand straight as he indignantly shouted, “You actually pretended to be innocent in front of me! How could you deceive me so wickedly!”
Feeling like he had been cheated, it left a huge scar deep in his heart.
“I’ve had enough of you!” Zhu Qing shouted at him through gritted teeth.
“It’s not like I’m the one who asked you to stay, you’re the one that’s insistent on staying here and now you’re blaming me for that?”
Zhu Qing’s chest heaved like a volcano that could blow at any moment. She stomped her feet, “Fine! I won’t pester you anymore in the future, so don’t come looking for me either!”
“What a joke!” Yang Kai stood with his arms on his waist, spittle flying everywhere as he spat, “I won’t look for you even if every other woman in this world died!”
Zhu Qing’s face instantly turned icy cold as if a bowl of frost could be scraped off of it. A layer of mist appeared in her beautiful eyes as she calmly said, “Remember what you said.”
Then, she turned around and left.
Yang Kai scoffed and raised his hand, waving, “Good riddance!”
But he could no longer see Zhu Qing’s figure anymore.
In a flash, Hua Qing Si suddenly appeared at the top of the mountain. She looked at Yang Kai, then at the direction Zhu Qing left, asking, “Did you quarrel?”
“We just couldn’t see eye-to-eye, that’s all,” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
“It’s not too late to catch up to her now. She hasn’t gone that far yet.” Hua Qing Si looked into the distance, “You know how women are, just coax her a little and she’ll be fine. If she can be angry with you, it means she cares about you.”
“She has other intentions,” Yang Kai bristled. He then turned to look at Hua Qing Si and asked, “What do you need me for?”
Hua Qing Si quickly said, “They’re here.”
Yang Kai’s face turned serious before he sneered, “Since they’re here, let’s go and have a look at the famed Great Emperor’s Disciple.”
Outside the gates of High heaven Palace, a huge ship hovered mid-air beside the Sect Defending Array, just like a dark cloud covering the sky.
Five figures stood on the deck.
Ji Ying stood at the forefront, waiting with a heavy look on his face. Fire Dragon Palace’s Palace Master Li Jiao and Full Sky Sect’s Sect Master Mi Qi stood quietly to each of his sides just like his guards. Further back were two more people, Ji Ying’s Disciples, one of whom was Li Xuan.
Li Xuan had lost most of his teeth and his cheek was swollen even now.
These weren’t serious injuries, and as he was an Alchemist and came from Medicine Pill Valley, he naturally had some good healing pills with him. This sort of injury could be treated in less than a hour, but he had deliberately not healed himself so that Ji Ying could see his wounds and know how he was bullied and humiliated at High Heaven Palace.
The result was quite good.
When Ji Ying saw how his beloved Disciple had been beaten up to resemble a pig’s head, even losing most of his teeth, his anger exploded.
Li Xuan may be a second-generation disciple of Medicine Pill Valley, not a personal student of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, but he was still part of Medicine Pill Valley.
It was unforgivable for him to be humiliated in such a way in the Northern Territory.
Now, when he arrived at High Heaven Palace and was even blocked outside their gates without receiving the respect he deserved, it gave Ji Ying an even worse impression about this place.
“This is simply outrageous!” Li Jiao said with indignation, “This High Heaven Palace is simply too arrogant! They should be honoured that Grandmaster Ji has personally come to visit, but nobody has come out to receive him. This Sect has no manners to speak of.”
Mi Qi chimed in immediately, “Too true! This High Heaven Palace has no regard for Grandmaster Ji. That means they have no regard for Medicine Pill Valley either!”
The two of them fanned the flames while they watched the show, wanting nothing more than for High Heaven Palace to offend Ji Ying as much as possible.
Ji Ying’s already displeased face became even uglier.
He was a Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor and was a noble Emperor Alchemist; where in the Northern Territory would he not receive a warm welcome? No matter where he went, people waited on him with great enthusiasm, but he was actually greeted with closed doors here at High Heaven Palace!
Just now, there was some Head Manager who came out, asking a few questions before she went back inside, now nowhere to be seen.
Was this how unruly High Heaven Palace was? As the saying goes, seeing is believing. When he heard Mi Qi and Li Jiao talking about High Heaven Palace, Ji Ying knew that they were deliberately discrediting this place, but now, his own personal experience proved that this High Heaven Palace really wasn’t anything good.
“Master, you have to obtain justice for this disciple!” Li Xuan found the right time to jump out, sobbing and snotty while he spoke incoherently, “Not only did that High Heaven Palace Palace Master beat this disciple, he even snatched away this disciple’s Source Crystals meant to purchase the spirit herbs! He did not take this disciple seriously even after I told him Honoured Master and Ancestral Founder’s name. You can’t let him go easily, Honoured Master!”
“What!” Ji Ying’s face changed and he said fiercely, “He actually dares to disregard Honoured Master’s name?”
Even though he was angry with what he and his disciple encountered thus far, it was not to the degree that he lost his mind. But when he heard from Li Xuan that High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master actually disdained the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Ji Ying completely erupted.
Observing his reaction, Li Xuan turned his eyes away and said, “He even said… even said…”
“What did he say?” Ji Ying asked with a dark face.
Li Xuan said meekly, “Disciple doesn’t dare to say.”
“Speak!” Ji Ying glared at him.
His Senior Brother at the side also said, “Junior Brother, what has that man said? Tell Honoured Master everything! Don’t be afraid!”
Only then did Li Xuan let loose as if he had found the courage, “He said Alchemists are all bloated fools, thinking we are masters just because we know Alchemy. He said that we were all worthless in his eyes…”
“Impudence!” Ji Ying shouted.
Li Xuan fell to his knees, “Honoured Master, I wasn’t the one who said it, it was him!”
“Master naturally knows that you didn’t say such disgraceful words,” Ji Ying took a deep breath and calmed himself before raising his hand, “Get up!”
Li Xuan staggered up and lifted his sleeve to wipe the corners of his eyes, covering the sinister grin that appeared on his face.
As Ji Ying’s Disciple, he naturally knew what Ji Ying’s reverse scale was.
Wondrous Pill Great Emperor was Ji Ying’s Honoured Teacher, and the Alchemic Dao was what Ji Ying spent his whole life pursuing. These two things weighed more to Ji Ying than even his own life, so he would never allow anyone off easily if they dared profane them.
And now, from what he was told, Yang Kai violated both of these taboos, so it would be strange if he had a good end after this.
[Let’s see how you die now!] Li Xuan cheered in his heart.
“Grandmaster Ji, it seems like this High Heaven Palace has no need to exist anymore. If we really allow them to stay in the Northern Territory, it would be nothing more than a great shame!” Li Jiao said coldly, “Grandmaster Ji. We should gather our allies in the Northern Territory and band together to condemn High Heaven Palace!”
Mi Qi echoed his sentiments, “My Full Sky Sect will devote all of its strength to eradicate this malignant growth from the Northern Territory!”
Ji Ying frowned deeply for quite some time before finally saying, “We shall decide how to proceed once I have met the Palace Master of this High Heaven Palace.”
He was not someone who made decisions based solely on his emotions. Even though his fury was hard to restrain, what he heard was nothing more than his Disciple’s side of the story.
Even though he thought Li Xuan couldn’t lie to him, it was better to see what High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master wanted first. If things were truly as Li Xuan said, then it wouldn’t be too late to make a move against High Heaven Palace then.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao exchanged helpless glances. Both of them knew that this matter couldn’t be rushed, so they remained silent.
On the other hand, a trace of panic flashed across Li Xuan’s face. He had exaggerated what happened to Ji Ying just now and even fabricated several big lies. He was really afraid of him confronting High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master face-to-face and hearing a different story. But on second thought, he had always put on a well-behaved appearance in front of his Honoured Master, so even if the other party spoke differently, with no proof, his Honoured Master would surely side with him rather than an outsider.
When Li Xuan thought about things this way, he instantly felt much better.
A red light suddenly emerged that suddenly shot out from High Heaven Palace, flying out of the Sect Defending Array.
When it arrived in front of the ship, the red light paused for a moment, revealing a small and delicate figure. It was Zhu Qing, who had just left in anger.
In actual fact, she was actually feeling extremely regretful that she had fallen out with Yang Kai earlier and left in a moment of rage, completely forgetting the task given to her by her Elders. She was cursing Yang Kai in her heart for putting her in this awkward situation with his lack of propriety and for not even trying to stop her or persuade her to stay.
When she suddenly saw the ship stopped outside the Sect Defending Array, she naturally looked over in curiosity.
Her eyes swept past Mi Qi and Ji Ying without pause, only pausing on Li Jiao for a moment as the corners of her mouth twitched, seemingly out of disdain.
Inexplicably, Li Jiao felt his heart clench, like he was being stared at by a vicious predator. He suddenly had the impression that this petite woman in front of him could kill him at will.
He was flabbergasted at how he could suddenly feel such a thing. He was already a Third-Order Emperor, so the only ones who could kill him at will would be Great Emperors.
Could this woman in front of him be a Great Emperor?
But that was impossible. He had never heard of a Great Emperor who looked like this before. Flower Shadow Great Emperor may be a woman, but she definitely did not look like this.
[What’s going on?] Li Jiao was confused for a moment, wondering whether he was too on edge and imagining things.
“It’s you!” Li Xuan called out as he pointed at Zhu Qing, eyes bloodshot as if he were looking at his most hated enemy.
“Who is she?” Ji Ying asked with a frown.
This woman had flown out from High Heaven Palace, so she should be one of their people. Could she be High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master? But that didn’t make sense as High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master was supposed to be a man named Yang Kai?
“Honoured Master, it’s her! She also hit this disciple along with High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master. This disciple suffered a lot because of her…” Li Xuan began to cry.
“She laid hands on you?” Ji Ying’s face turned dark.
“That’s right, she was the one who hit this disciple first! She is an Emperor Realm Master while this disciple is only in First-Order Dao Source Realm. There was no way this disciple could have fought back…” Li Xuan cried out with snot and tears flowing, appearing extremely hurt.
“Shameless!” Ji Ying cursed angrily. Originally, he had a good impression of this woman when he saw how beautiful she was and how nobly she carried herself, but after hearing what Li Xuan said, that good impression crashed. In an instant, he felt that this woman was abominable no matter her outward appearance.
“To actually bully the weak even though you’re an Emperor Realm Master. It is simply a disgrace to all Emperors!” Mi Qi shouted angrily and pushed his Emperor Qi, “Let this King teach you a lesson and exact justice for Martial Nephew Li!”
As he said that, he shot towards Zhu Qing like a great Peng spreading its wings.
Ji Ying’s expression changed, seemingly wanting to stop Mi Qi’s reckless move, but on second thought, he gave up and just stood there with a grim expression.
It would be good to teach this High Heaven Palace a lesson, so it thought twice about being so arrogant. He wasn’t worried that Mi Qi wouldn’t be this woman’s opponent since he was, after all, a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Even if this woman was strong, she should pose no threat to Mi Qi.
Zhu Qing furrowed deeply as her anger erupted.
She was already enraged from the grievances Yang Kai inflicted upon her, so now that Mi Qi was taking the initiative to rush at her, it gave her a chance to vent. Raising her arm, she swung her fist out, punching straight towards Mi Qi’s chest.
Mi Qi’s hands moved quickly to form a large seal and he sneered, “A measly thing like you dares to contend with this King?!”
Pushing forward both hands, Emperor Pressure spread out. Mi Qi’s move was extremely fierce, as if he wanted to suppress Zhu Qing in one hit.
The dainty fist flew forward without pause though, a vortex of power forming around it as it shredded everything in his path, smashing apart Mi Qi’s seal as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.
“What!?” Mi Qi’s expression drastically as fear surged up from deep within himself. Only now did he realize that he had greatly underestimated his opponent. Even though this woman did not use her Emperor Qi, her raw strength was beyond extraordinary. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to execute another move to defend himself, it was too late. He could only gather up his Emperor Qi hastily in order to guard himself.
*Hong long long…*
As Zhu Qing’s delicate-looking fist made contact with Mi Qi’s chest, a large depression instantly formed. Ji Ying and the others standing behind Mi Qi could clearly see the bulge appearing on Mi Qi’s back, making it look like he was an old hunched man, while at the same time, a wave of pressure burst out behind him, exploding a big hole in the robes Mi Qi wore.
The Sect Master of one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, Full Sky Sect, the Third-Order Emperor Realm Master Mi Qi, was sent flying and crashed heavily into the protective barrier of the ship, planting him spread-eagled mid-air.
*Ssii…*
The sound of someone gasping was heard.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with astonishment.
Even though they suspected Mi Qi had underestimated his opponent, being able to devastate him in one hit proved beyond any doubt the strength of this woman.
Li Xuan, who was originally excited to watch how Mi Qi was going to get justice for him, suddenly felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his neck, almost causing his eyes to pop out of their sockets. His whole body began trembling as his heart was filled with fear.
He was slapped by Zhu Qing the other day, but he didn’t suffer anything more than a sore cheek.
But if she had hit him with this much power that day, would there even be ashes left?
Cold sweat poured down his whole body.
Only after being stunned for quite a while did Ji Ying remember to lower the protective barrier and bring Mi Qi inside.
“This King underestimated yo… wa…” Landing on the deck, Mi Qi was just about to say something to save some face when he coughed out a mouthful of blood mid-sentence, his face was as pale as paper.
Ji Ying was shocked and quickly fed him a Spirit Pill.
“Who are you people?!” After punching Mi Qi, Zhu Qing felt much better and asked while looking coldly ahead at them.
Ji Ying was furious. He thought that this person had come with the sole intention to humiliate him; after all, he had already informed the so-called Head Manager of his status while this petite woman had just come out from High Heaven Palace. How could she possibly now know who he was?
She was clearly asking despite knowing the answer.
Had High Heaven Palace already grown this conceited?
“Qing’er, don’t be rude!” A bellow came from afar, and by the time it was heard, Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si had already arrived together.
Zhu Qing glared at him, but then she turned her eyes away.
[Don’t think I’ll forgive you just because you called me Qing’er!]
“Grandmaster Ji has come from afar. This Palace Master apologizes for not welcoming you sooner and hopes Grandmaster Ji can be magnanimous!” Yang Kai cupped his fists with a smile, appearing neither overbearing nor servile, instead putting himself on equal footing with Ji Ying.
On the way here, he also learned of this man’s identity from Hua Qing Si.
The Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Emperor Alchemist Ji Ying.
Ji Ying responded indifferently, “Palace Master Yang is polite. It was this Ji who came uninvited and disturbed your noble Palace.”
Even though he felt annoyed that this man made him wait so long before appearing, one does not greet a smile with a raised hand. He couldn’t fall out with him as soon as he came out, could he?
Yang Kai smiled broadly, “I have long heard of Grandmaster Ji’s esteemed name. It is a great honour to have you here at my High Heaven Palace so please, do tell me what brings you here.”
Li Jiao confronted him coldly, “Palace Master Yang, Grandmaster Ji made the trip here personally and you are still keeping him out with this Sect Defending Array? Is this how your High Heaven Palace treats its guests?”
“Your Excellency is…” Yang Kai glanced at Li Jiao.
Ji Ying introduced, “This is Fire Dragon Palace’s Palace Master, Li Jiao!”
“So, it is Palace Master Li… And who is that man spitting blood over there?” Yang Kai turned his attention to Mi Qi.
Mi Qi had already taken a Spirit Pill to suppress the tumbling blood inside of him, but hearing these words almost made him spit out another mouthful of blood.
Ji Ying answered, “This is Full Sky Sect’s Sect Master, Mi Qi.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. “So, Sect Master Mi has come as well.”
Li Jiao coldly snorted, “En. Palace Master Yang doesn’t seem to welcome Brother Mi and me very much.”
Yang Kai stroked his chin and thought seriously for a moment, “Indeed, you are not very welcome!”
[Simply ridiculous. These two guys have banded together, obviously to pick a fight, and they’re asking me whether I welcome them or not! They must be sick in the head.]
Li Jiao’s breath almost got stuck in his throat as his face turned ugly. Even those with power and status like him and Mi Qi had to display some decorum despite how much they disliked a person. If Yang Kai had gone to his Fire Dragon Palace, he would still treat him with courtesy despite wanting to kick him out on sight. That was simple manners, but who could have anticipated that this Yang Kai would be so blunt and disrespectful?
Yang Kai chuckled seeing this reaction and continued, “But since you’re already here, please do come in.”
As he said that, he opened the Sect Defending Array.
It made him seem extremely reluctant.
Ji Ying collected the ship and flew into High Heaven Palace with the others.
“Please, follow me.” After saying that, Yang Kai turned around and led the way. After flying out some distance, he turned back and shouted, “Qing’er, why are you still out there?”
Zhu Qing was originally waiting there bitterly for Yang Kai to come and apologize, and she decided she would forgive him for his impertinence as long as he could say a few coaxing words to her. However, after waiting for so long, he never even spared her a glance in the end.
She couldn’t help but feel a little hurt.
[Am I really going to leave just like this? What about the mission Elder entrusted to me? What about the Ancestral Dragon Source?]
The moment she heard Yang Kai’s shout, she turned around and scurried back into High Heaven Palace, following right behind Yang Kai with a pout on her lips. Watching Yang Kai’s back, her lips opened and closed, but none of them could hear what she was muttering about.
From the shape of her lips though, she seemed to be cursing him.
“Palace Master Yang, this woman is…” Li Jiao asked quietly.
He had no idea why, but having Zhu Qing follow along at the back made him feel prickly all over. He felt extremely uncomfortable, as if the one following behind them was not a marvellous beauty, but rather an ancient beast that was going to devour him. It sent chills running up his spine.
“Haha, just a little servant girl. Please don’t mind her, Palace Master Li,” Yang Kai casually blabbed.
“Servant girl…” Li Jiao looked speechless.
“Is that not an insult to me, Palace Master Yang?!” Mi Qi almost choked himself to death, feeling extremely irritated. Her strength was unfathomable, so how could she possibly be a servant girl? In the outside world, this woman was more than strong enough to found a top Sect of her own.
If she was truly just a servant girl, then wouldn’t he be less than a mere servant girl?!
“Why would I humiliate you? I don’t hold a grudge against you!” Yang Kai grinned, “If I really did have a grudge, I still would not have humiliated you either. It would be much faster to just kill you!”
Mi Qi had no idea what Yang Kai was trying to insinuate, but he quickly shut his mouth. He could tell at a glance that this Yang Kai wasn’t someone to be messed with. He instinctively felt that his decision to accompany Ji Ying on this trip was a bad one. If things went poorly, then his lifetime of fame and fortune would end here.
“Qing’er, go and prepare up some tea for our guests,” Yang Kai turned around to order Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing’s face turned dark and she eyed Yang Kai angrily.
Yang Kai, however, just glared at her.
“Good!” Zhu Qing submitted helplessly and turned around, flying off in another direction.
“I’ll help you!” Hua Qing Si quickly followed her.
Inside High Heaven Palace’s reception hall, both guests and hosts were seated.
Ji Ying’s face looked a bit displeased because Yang Kai sat at the head of the table, putting him below him.
This had never happened before. He had always been treated as the Guest of Honour in any Sect in the Northern Territory, and the head seat was always reserved for him. That was the case for his visit to Fire Dragon Palace just now as well.
If this happened at any other time, Ji Ying would not have cared too much, as a guest should suit the convenience of the host after all. No matter how noble his status was, he was still an outsider in another’s home. In any case, seating order was a mere formality, not something worth bickering over.
But he already had a preconceived impression of High Heaven Palace and Yang Kai, further strengthening his idea that Yang Kai did not show him any regard.
On the other hand, Yang Kai didn’t think about this issue at all. He was the host, so it was only natural that he should sit at the front and entertain his guests.
Turning his eyes over, he chuckled, “What a coincidence that Grandmaster Ji has arrived with two other Sect Masters.”
Ji Ying quickly said, “It was no coincidence. This Ji came with Palace Master Li and Sect Master Mi acting as escorts.”
Yang Kai was curious, “Grandmaster Ji is a highly respected man, and with Medicine Pill Valley’s renowned name in the Northern Territory, there can’t possibly be someone with no eyes who would dare to stir up trouble with Grandmaster Ji, right? I also heard that the Northern Territory was a very peaceful place.”
Li Jiao coldly snorted, “Things were indeed peaceful in the past, but recently… it has not been so.”
There were insinuations laced in his words, and there was no way Yang Kai wouldn’t notice this. Li Jiao was pointedly saying that High Heaven Palace’s founding and rise in the Northern Territory had robbed it of its tranquillity.
As if he didn’t understand the hidden meaning in these words though, Yang Kai turned to Li Xuan who was standing behind Ji Ying and smiled, “Little Brother, we meet again so soon.”
Li Xuan’s face paled and he yelped, “What… What do you want! I’m warning you, don’t mess around!”
Half of it was just pretend, but half of it was actual fear. After what he suffered at Yang Kai’s hand last time, facing him still made his heart jump.
Yang Kai snickered, “Little Brother is such a joker. It seems like this Palace Master’s hospitality was lacking last time, causing Little Brother to have some complaints. If Little Brother is free, then why not stay here as a guest for a while. This Palace Master will definitely make you feel at home!”
Li Xuan answered back angrily, “Who wants to be your guest!”
With his Honoured Master here, Li Xuan was much bolder than before and did not grovel like last time.
Zhu Qing and Hua Qing Si came over with tea at that moment and proceeded to serve everyone.
Hua Qing Si’s attitude was still acceptable, but Zhu Qing ruthlessly tossed the cups onto the table, spilling tea all over the place. Yang Kai was furious and struck the table, “What are you doing! What happened to courtesy… I’m talking to you, come back here!”
But there was no sign of Zhu Qing as she left immediately after ‘serving’ the tea.
Yang Kai shouted for a while before helplessly saying, “Grandmaster Ji, please do not blame her for her behaviour. This girl has a bit of an unruly personality. This Palace Master will certainly lecture her properly after this.”
Ji Ying was indifferent, “It’s just a small matter, don’t worry about it.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Grandmaster Ji is magnanimous. Now then, I wonder what Grandmaster Ji has come to my High Heaven Palace for?”
Mi Qi slammed the table and stood up, sneering, “Palace Master Yang, why ask when you already know the answer? Don’t you know perfectly well what you did several days ago?”
Yang Kai glanced at him from the corner of his eye, “This Palace Master is not sure what he has done to rile up Sect Master Mi. This should be our first meeting, so this Palace Master should not have any grudges with your Full Sky Sect either.”
Mi Qi grunted, “This King and Palace Master Li are here today in order to seek justice for Martial Nephew Li. Palace Master Yang, you should know that your misdeeds will catch up to you someday when you commit too many, so please be more self-aware; otherwise, you may lead your High Heaven Palace to ruin.”
Li Jiao also nodded at the side, “Brother Mi is right.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “So to say, the two of you have come to my High Heaven Palace to cause trouble? But I don’t even know what my High Heaven Palace has done to offend you.”
Mi Qi said, “The one you have offended is neither Brother Li nor I, but Medicine Pill Valley! Medicine Pill Valley is the Northern Territory’s holy land, so offending them is equal to offending the entire Northern Territory! As someone from the Northern Territory, naturally we can’t just stand by and do nothing!”
Yang Kai was surprised, “When have I offended Medicine Pill Valley?”
Ji Ying’s face was dark as he spat, “My poor disciple is in such a state and Palace Master Yang still wants to quibble?”
Yang Kai turned to look at him, then he swept a glance at Li Xuan’s sullen cheek, seemingly only coming to his senses then as he exclaimed, “Oh, so that’s how it is!”
Ji Ying looked expressionlessly at him, “Palace Master Yang, you’re not going to tell me that you weren’t the one who hit my disciple, are you?”
“No, that’s right, I hit him,” Yang Kai nodded and admitted it.
Ji Ying was furious, barking through gritted teeth, “Palace Master Yang is an Emperor Realm Master, yet he deems to bully the weak? Why would you humiliate my disciple like this? Do you have no regard for my Medicine Pill Valley at all?!”
“Such impudence, Yang Kai!”
“Grandmaster Ji, we must not let this matter pass, otherwise Medicine Pill Valley will be brought to shame if word were to spread!”
Li Jiao and Mi Qi both shouted angrily, as if they were the ones who were beaten and not Li Xuan. They couldn’t wait to inflame Ji Ying’s anger in order to give Yang Kai a taste of his own medicine.
“What else do you have to say for yourself?” Ji Ying looked grimly at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai raised a brow, “Should I not teach the child a lesson if he has done wrong?”
“Done wrong!” A hint of anger flashed past Ji Ying’s face, “My disciple has always been a sensible and good child. What kind of wrong has he done to deserve such a punishment from Palace Master Yang?”
Yang Kai eyed Li Xuan with a smile, saying after some thought, “I wish to know exactly what your good disciple has told you, Grandmaster Ji.”
Ji Ying coldly snorted and ordered, “Xuan’er, tell me in detail what happened to you that day! Don’t be afraid, Master will stand up for you!”
“This…” Li Xuan was a little hesitant; after all, what he told Ji Ying was a pile of lies. Now that Yang Kai was here, Li Xuan really didn’t have the guts to confront him.
But if he didn’t speak now, he would look guilty, and his attempt to slander would be exposed. Knowing his Honoured Master’s temperament, Li Xuan knew he might not be forgiven for such deception if he was exposed, but if his Honoured Master was willing to believe his words, then it wouldn’t matter what he said.
With such thoughts, a cruel light flashed past Li Xuan’s eyes as he steeled himself.
“This is what happened…”
Li Xuan may not have been very old, but he was quite articulate. In his elaboration, he came to High Heaven Palace on Ji Ying’s orders to buy Spirit Herbs, yet he was stopped outside their gates and forced to wait bitterly for several days before someone finally came to ask what he wanted. After learning his purpose, he was beaten up directly. Not only was he wounded, but he was also robbed of all the Source Crystals he was given to buy spirit herbs with.
As he spoke, it was as if he was recalling what happened that day. Li Xuan’s face went pale and his body trembled, even wiping tears from his eyes, whether true or faked, filling his listeners with grief and indignation. In the end, his speech became clearer and clearer and his voice louder and louder. His back also straightened up as if what he said really happened to him.
Ji Ying’s face was getting uglier and uglier, but Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both feeling pleased inside. They knew that the worse Li Xuan’s experience was, the bigger the trouble there would be for High Heaven Palace and Yang Kai.
“Look at what you’ve done!”
Once Li Xuan finished speaking, Mi Qi immediately jumped out and pointed at Yang Kai in a rage, “The strong bullying the weak! As an Emperor Realm Master, not only did you lay hands on a Dao Source Realm Junior, you even shamelessly robbed him! You are simply a disgrace to all cultivators in our Northern Territory!”
Yang Kai ignored him and instead looked at Li Xuan with a smile, “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to add?”
Li Xuan’s body trembled, and he quickly hid behind Ji Ying.
“Palace Master Yang, are you threatening my disciple?” Ji Ying looked coldly at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai shrugged, “It’s not a threat, just a question.”
“So, that means you’re admitting it?”
Yang Kai frowned and looked firmly at Ji Ying, “Grandmaster Ji, do you truly believe what your disciple said?”
Ji Ying snorted, “My disciple has been under my tutelage for ten years. I watched him grow up and know his nature very well. He is definitely not the type of person to make something out of nothing.”
Yang Kai shrugged again, “In that case, nothing I say would have any meaning.”
Ji Ying grunted, “Do you have a different story to tell?”
“No, no… I just think that Grandmaster Ji’s eyes are not very good when it comes to picking disciples.”
Ji Ying narrowed his eyes, “If there is anything you want to say in your defence, I can give it a listen. But if not… then this High Heaven Palace has no need to exist anymore. You must also return with me to Medicine Pill Valley to receive punishment!”
To be able to decide the fate of a top Sect with just mere words, only a Legacy Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperors had such rights.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “I am not guilty of anything!”
Ji Ying said, “Showing no regard for my Honoured Master, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, and looking down on all the Alchemists in this world are your greatest sins!”
Yang Kai raised his voice, “If all disciples of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor are as rotten as you are, and as cunning as Li Xuan, then this Palace Master really does not have any regard for him. And what of Medicine Pill Valley? Your so-called holy land is clearly nothing more than a cesspool of wanton wastes and degenerates!”
Ji Ying’s face changed dramatically, “Impudence!”
Yang Kai looked at him with disdain, “I’m impudent, and so what? Come and bite me if you have the ability to do so!”
“You…” Ji Ying pointed his finger at Yang Kai. He really wanted to go up and bite him to death, but despite having Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, he was ultimately an Alchemist. He had very little experience fighting people, so he could not take that risk.
Eyes sweeping to the side, Mi Qi and Li Jiao understood and both pushed their Emperor Qi in preparation to pounce.
At that moment, three astonishing Monster Qi auras suddenly erupted. Three figures flickered in from outside the hall, standing in front of Mi Qi and Li Jiao.
“You want to make a move? Try it if you dare!” Xi Lei cracked his fists as he looked darkly at the men before him.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both shocked and instantly froze in place, both feeling on edge.
Even though they knew that there were Monster Race Masters in High Heaven Palace, and that these Masters were involved in the destruction of Seeking Passion Sect, they never thought that there would actually be three Monster Kings here!
In a two against three, they had no chance of winning. Not to mention, there was still that girl called Qing’er among their ranks.
That woman was able to send Mi Qi flying with a single punch, so her strength could only be greater than these three Monster Kings!
This place was a dragon cave and tiger den all in one!
Where did High heaven Palace find all these incredible Masters? With this level of heritage, they were almost on par with a Great Emperor Sect, only lacking a Great Emperor to assume command.
Ji Ying felt chills over his body at that moment. How many years had it been since he last encountered such danger? The Monster Qi rolling over him was almost suffocating, but he was still the disciple of a Great Emperor after all and his mental strength and cultivation were not just for show. Though his expression turned grave, he did not panic.
“What are your intentions here?” Ji Ying looked gravely at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai responded, “Nothing at all. Since Grandmaster Ji is willing to believe what his disciple says, this Palace Master thinks it is useless to argue, so I won’t bother with petty words. Instead, let me show you something interesting.”
“Something interesting?” Ji Ying frowned, having no idea what Yang Kai was up to.
Yang Kai clapped his hands and looked out the hall, “Come in!”
Everyone looked over in unison, only to see a man walk in from the outside before standing in the middle of the hall and cupping his fists, “Greetings, Palace Master!”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“You…”
“Grandmaster Nanmen! What are you doing here?”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao both stared wide-eyed at Nanmen Da Jun who had just entered, unable to believe their eyes.
As Sect Masters of two of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, they naturally had dealings with Nanmen Da Jun before. They knew that this man was highly accomplished in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, his achievements only matched by his aloof and arrogant character. They had tried in the past to recruit Nanmen Da Jun into their Sects, but never had any success.
When they saw Nanmen Da Jun here, treating Yang Kai with such respect, it felt a little unreal to both Mi Qi and Li Jiao.
Was this really that Nanmen Da Jun they knew? To think he could actually bow down to another person of his own free will.
“I am now the Chief Array Master of High Heaven Palace. Why shouldn’t I be here?” Nanmen Da Jun glanced at the two men.
“Chief Array Master!”
“Grandmaster Nanmen, you… Ai!”
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both shocked and a little disappointed to hear this. They had tried many times to recruit Nanmen Da Jun, but they were always rejected by him. How long had this High Heaven Palace been established yet they actually managed to rope him in? What sort of tricks did that damn Yang Kai use to achieve this?
Yang Kai just smiled lightly and continued, “Grandmaster Nanmen, bring that thing out.”
“Yes!” Nanmen Da Jun answered and suddenly took out several Array Flags from his Space Ring, placing them in a neat arrangement before him.
In just a few moments, a Spirit Array was laid down. However, the crowd was confused and had no idea what he was trying to show them by arranging this Spirit Array.
Nanmen Da Jun took out another item from his Space Ring next, one that looked like a mirror but strangely did not show any kind of reflection, a somewhat unsettling sight.
Holding up the mirror-like object, Nanmen Da Jun explained, “This is an item I procured in my early years. It is called the Image Recording Crystal, and just as its name suggests, it can record some images. I have no idea how it was refined despite asking several Artifact Refining Grandmasters to examine it. None of those Grandmasters were even able to tell what sort of material it is made of. I rarely use this in usual times, so please excuse me for my inadequacy.”
“Image Recording Crystal!”
“Image Recording!”
When they heard that, they vaguely understood what Nanmen Da Jun meant to do.
Li Xuan’s face paled as he stared dumbly at the Image Recording Crystal, seemingly not having expected that such an astonishing thing existed in this world.
Ji Ying frowned and sent a thoughtful glance at Li Xuan, at which point Li Xuan couldn’t help but dodge his gaze, causing Ji Ying’s face to turn even uglier.
Nanmen Da Jun tossed the Image Recording Crystal into the air and waved an Array Flag in his hand. Emperor Qi surged up and the centre of the room was suddenly shrouded. A light then shot out from that Image Recording Crystal, spreading out in all directions.
A fairly clear image emerged at the centre of the hall.
The crowd all looked over and instantly recognized the scene depicted as High Heaven Palace’s main gate. That was because a giant stone slate with the three characters, ‘High Heaven Sect’, inscribed onto it was right at the centre of the image, clear for all to see.
At that moment, four figures were present in the image.
One of them was none other than Li Xuan. Besides him, there were three women, two of which were the women who left earlier, the one called ‘Qing’er’ clearly among them.
No sound was transmitted as the Image Recording Crystal seemed to only be able to record images.
As Nanmen Da Jun fed it his Emperor Qi, the image kept on changing, as if recreating the past vividly.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Li Xuan went up to Zhu Qing with a playful smile on his face, but it was not known what was said. Zhu Qing ignored him with a cold expression on her face.
Li Xuan tried several times to take advantage of Zhu Qing following his first failed attempt, but despite her looking angrier and angrier, all she did was avoid him.
After a few moments, as Li Xuan’s actions grew more and more unruly, only then did Zhu Qing send him flying with a slap across the face.
After a while, Yang Kai suddenly appeared, and after seeming to ask a few questions, he sent a big slap across Li Xuan’s face, sending him flying with his teeth scattering into the air.
…..
The show continued on, only ending after Li Xuan left on his ship.
Nanmen Da Jun collected the Array Flags and the Image Recording Crystal before cupping his fists to Yang Kai, turning around, and leaving the hall.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi both looked at Li Xuan with strange looks in their eyes, their expressions a mix of anger and amusement.
They learned just how strong Zhu Qing was earlier, so they naturally understood that even they were no match for her, yet this Li Xuan actually dared to profane her. It was the great blessings of all his ancestors that Li Xuan was let off with just a slap on the cheek. If he were not protected by his identity as a Medicine Pill Valley disciple, he would have been turned into a blood mist back then.
But even more abominably, this boy actually dared to slander Yang Kai, not only accusing him of beating him, but also of snatching away his Source Crystals. Now that they had been led here, muddle-headed by his trickery, it was hard for them to even think of getting out of this unscathed.
Ji Ying’s eyes were set ablaze as he turned around to glare at Li Xuan, a face filled with disappointment and sadness.
“Master, I was wrong, this disciple was wrong! I ask Master to please punish this disciple!” Li Xuan fell to his knees.
With the image recorded by that Image Recording Crystal, he knew it was useless to quibble. The only thing he could do now was quickly admit to his wrongs and hope that Ji Ying would take their bond as Master and Disciple into account and not punish him too harshly.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a person.” Ji Ying was so angry and upset with Li Xuan that he instinctually raised his hand at him. He really did not expect his cherished disciple that appeared so well-behaved and sensible in front of him would actually dare to act so disgracefully and deceitfully. It was extremely disappointing.
“Master!” Li Xuan was shocked and quickly crouched down on the ground with his hands covering his head.
Yet the slap he expected never came down.
After a long time, Ji Ying let out a long sigh and put his hand down, calmly declaring, “Leave.”
Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Ji Ying in shock.
“From now on, you are no longer my, Ji Ying’s, disciple, nor are you a disciple of Medicine Pill Valley. If you dare try to use Medicine Pill Valley’s name in the future for malicious gains, then I will not forgive you!” Ji Ying said with a flick of his sleeve.
“Master…” Only then did Li Xuan begin to panic. He knew that Ji Ying was really going to expel himself from the Sect this time. As a disciple of Medicine Pill Valley, he had gained many benefits and had a bright future ahead of him, so how could he be willing to leave? If he really were to be exiled by Medicine Pill Valley, then there would probably be no place for him in the vast Northern Territory.
“Say one more word and I’ll kill you!” Ji Ying did not look at him. His expression was firm, determined to drive him out of Medicine Pill Valley.
Ji Ying was regretful. He regretted not being able to see right from wrong, for believing a cunning villain like Li Xuan who told such outrageous lies. If he allowed Li Xuan to remain in Medicine Pill Valley, there was no telling just how much damage he would bring to Medicine Pill Valley in the future. If his own Honoured Master, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, had his name tarnished as a result, there would be no redemption Ji Ying could hope for!
Li Xuan wanted to plead for mercy, but how could he dare to say anything more after hearing such a threat?
The Senior Brother next to him directed a serious look at him at that moment, and only then did Li Xuan stand up with tears in his eyes and rush out of the hall.
The hall fell silent for a while, with only the sound of Yang Kai drinking tea to be heard.
Only after a long time did Ji Ying manage to compose himself and mutter self-deprecatingly, “It seems that Palace Master Yang was right. This Ji truly does not have an eye for disciples.”
Yang Kai responded indifferently, “If it weren’t for Grandmaster Nanmen’s Image Recording Crystal, then I’m afraid this Palace Master would not have been able to defend himself today.”
If he and Li Xuan were to confront each other with only words, neither side having proof of their stories, Ji Ying would definitely choose to believe Li Xuan and not him. If the accusations of him looking down on Medicine Pill Valley, and even beating and robbing one of its disciples were to become set in stone, how could High Heaven Palace still establish itself in the Northern Territory?
Knowing that he must feel wronged, Ji Ying cupped his fists, “Today’s incident came as a surprise to this Ji. I was deceived by the words of that villain, and I hope Palace Master Yang will not blame me for this mistake. This Ji deeply apologizes to Palace Master Yang.”
After saying that, he stood up and bowed to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai remained seated and answered, “Grandmaster Ji is polite. Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, then it is no longer a problem.”
Ji Ying said, “Palace Master Yang is magnanimous. This Ji is ashamed.” But after a pause, he added, “But there is one thing that this Ji must say.”
Yang Kai looked at him, “Please speak.”
“Since this Ji has come today, then I can consider what Palace Master Yang said before as just words out of anger, nothing to complain about. But if Palace Master Yang were to meet my Senior Brothers in the future, please do not say such words again.”
“Say what?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Words of contempt for our Medicine Pill Valley!” Ji Ying said justly.
Yang Kai suddenly remembered what he said about Medicine Pill Valley…
Smiling brightly, he said, “I’ll remember it!” Indeed, he had spoken out of anger at that time.
Ji Ying said seriously, “As an Alchemist, my goal may not be to pursue the Martial Dao, but what I cultivate is still one of the Grand Daos, and the only one to ascend to the height of Great Emperor by pursuing the Alchemic Dao throughout the ages is my Honoured Master. Medicine Pill Valley is widely regarded as a cultivation paradise and hallowed ground for all cultivators in the Northern Territory. If someone with ill intentions were to spread what Palace Master Yang said today, it would undoubtedly offend all Alchemists in the Star Boundary. How would Palace Master Yang still be able to ask for someone to refine pills in the future if that happened?”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s eyes lit up at these words as they began devising plans in their hearts, thinking about whether they should spread what Yang Kai said and make him an enemy of all Alchemists.
Yang Kai, however, just laughed and replied, “I don’t need to ask for anyone’s help for that. This Palace Master can handle it himself.”
Ji Ying was stunned, looking at Yang Kai in amazement, “Could it be that Palace Master Yang is an Alchemist as well?”
Even Mi Qi and Li Jiao were wide-eyed in disbelief, as if they had just heard something astonishing.
Yang Kai nodded, “I know a thing or two about Alchemy.”
Ji Ying couldn’t help but be intrigued, “May I ask what grade Palace Master Yang had managed to achieve?”
Yang Kai stroked his chin, “If I can refine Emperor Grade pills, what grade would I be?”
“What?” Ji Ying was shocked. If he could refine Emperor Grade Spirit Pills, didn’t that make him an Emperor Alchemist? How many Emperor Alchemists were there in the entire Star Boundary? Don’t look at how he and his fellow brothers had already reached this level. Naturally, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor had high standards when it came to accepting disciples, so after so many years of his personal instruction, would it not prove that Wondrous Pill Great Emperor had a bad eye for disciples if Ji Ying and his Senior Disciples weren’t even able to achieve that much?
They were them, and others were others. Besides them, all the Emperor Alchemists added up in the Star Boundary probably wouldn’t exceed twenty.
Ji Ying was shocked to suddenly hear that Yang Kai was able to refine Emperor Grade Spirit Pills.
Very soon though, his face darkened again and he said with some displeasure, “I hope Palace Master Yang isn’t making a crass joke.”
How could Emperor Grade Spirit Pills be so easy to refine? Only an Emperor Alchemist was able to refine Emperor Grade Spirit Pills! If just anyone could become an Emperor Alchemist, then their status in the Star Boundary wouldn’t be so high.
Yang Kai clearly didn’t look old, so he could already be considered a heaven-defying genius to be able to raise his cultivation to the Emperor Realm. How could he have had any time to study the profound Alchemic Dao as well? That was how Ji Ying concluded that Yang Kai was purely speaking nonsense.
This was simply an insult to all Alchemists and a scorn to the Alchemic Dao!
Sure enough, this man had no regard for Alchemists. Though his unfilial disciple Li Xuan had flipped white and black, fabricating lies, it seemed he was not wrong on this point.
Ji Ying was so annoyed that he wanted to just flick his sleeves and leave, but he had misunderstood Yang Kai once before out of anger, so it would be extremely embarrassing to just get up and leave now.
However, the gloominess on his face was apparent to all.
“Grandmaster Ji doesn’t believe me?” Yang Kai looked at Ji Ying.
Ji Ying grunted.
[Don’t believe me then!] Yang Kai chuckled. He was a genuine Emperor Alchemist, and there was no need for him to prove himself to anyone. However, after thinking of something, he suddenly raised a brow and proposed, “Since Grandmaster Ji doesn’t believe me, do you dare to make a bet with me?”
“A bet?” Ji Ying frowned, “A bet on what?”
“A bet on whether this Palace Master is an Emperor Alchemist or not!” Yang Kai smiled.
Ji Ying’s frown deepened even further. He couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious of how confident Yang Kai was acting. Could he really be an Emperor Alchemist? If it was true, that would be quite astonishing.
Anyone who could become an Emperor Alchemist deserved his attention, and this did make Ji Ying somewhat curious. He now began wanting to know whether it was true or not.
“What are we betting with?”
“Let me think…” Yang Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking left and right for a moment before clapping his hands and saying, “Right! My High Heaven Palace has just been founded and obviously, there are hundreds of things waiting to be done at times like these. Right now, we have a Chief Array Master, but we just so happen to be missing a Chief Alchemist. If Grandmaster Ji loses, how about becoming the Chief Alchemist of my High Heaven Palace?”
When Mi Qi and Li Jiao heard this, they were both shocked and shouted, “Grandmaster Ji, you must not trust him!”
“You can’t take the bet against him!”
High Heaven Palace was difficult enough to deal with as it was, but if Ji Ying really became their Chief Alchemist and they manage to build a relationship with Medicine Pill Valley, then no one would be able to stop High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory in the future. Both their Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace could only bow down to High Heaven Palace in order to survive.
Neither Mi Qi nor Li Jiao wanted to see that happen.
Xi Lei glared at them, “Shut your mouths!”
Even though Mi Qi and Li Jiao both felt disgraced, they really didn’t dare to speak again.
Ji Ying was stunned, but then he laughed and said, “So, this is the plan that Palace Master Yang has in mind?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “So, does Grandmaster Ji dare to take the bet?”
Ji Ying responded, “This Ji’s bet is to become the Chief Alchemist of your High Heaven Palace. Then, may I ask what Palace Master Yang Kai’s bet is?”
Yang Kai answered readily, “If I am not an Emperor Alchemist, then Grandmaster Ji can ask for whatever he pleases! This Palace Master will have no complaints.”
Ji Ying’s face froze. Yang Kai’s words made him realize that he was not just talking nonsense, but really had something to back up his confidence, and that was undoubtedly his identity as an Emperor Alchemist.
[He’s really an Emperor Alchemist?]
Ji Ying was already convinced at this point, but was still a little shocked.
To have cultivated to the Emperor Realm at such a young age, where did he find the time to cultivate the Alchemic Dao? He himself was an Emperor Alchemist and knew all the hardships of walking on this Grand Dao. Naturally, Ji Ying could appreciate the rarity of an Emperor Alchemist.
After thinking seriously for a while, Ji Ying shook his head, “No. Palace Master Yang’s gambling method is not appropriate. This bet is far too unfavourable to this Ji.”
Whether Yang Kai was an Emperor Alchemist or not was a fact only he himself knew, so if Ji Yin really made this bet with him, then he would be too much of a fool. He would gain nothing by winning, and would be falling into a trap if he were to lose. Ji Ying wasn’t stupid to such an extent yet.
“Does Grandmaster Ji not dare to take the bet?” Yang Kai smiled.
Ji Ying shook his head, “There is no need to try and provoke this Ji. This Ji will not be fooled.”
The more Yang Kai tried to urge him on, the more he felt that Yang Kai was trying to trap him. If he lost, then he would have to become this High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist. When that happened, how could he still live a free life?
Even though Alchemy was as simple to him as eating and drinking, he was still the Legacy Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, so how could he become the hired Alchemist of another Sect? Not to mention how exhausting it would be to have to refine pills for such a large Sect.
Yang Kai scratched his chin, “In that case… Why don’t we change the bet itself?”
Ji Ying frowned, “What is Palace Master Yang planning now?” He instinctively felt that it must not be good.
Yang Kai said, “The stakes remain the same, but Grandmaster Ji and I will have an Alchemy competition, refining the same type of pill. We will compete to see who can refine the most Spirit Pills with the highest quality!”
Ji Ying was shocked and stared wide-eyed at him, “You… You want to compete with me in Alchemy?”
Did he hear that right? Someone actually wanted to challenge him, a disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, to an Alchemy match?
Both Mi Qi and Li Jiao had strange expressions on their faces as they observed Yang Kai seriously, checking to see whether this guy was touched in the head.
They could have bet on anything, but he actually wanted to gamble with Ji Ying on this. Wasn’t he just asking to lose?
“That’s right, let’s compete in the Alchemic Dao!” Yang Kai nodded lightly and said in provocation, “Grandmaster Ji wouldn’t lack the guts to accept even this, right?”
Ji Ying’s face darkened, “Palace Master Yang, this Ji can discipline his unfilial Disciple for confusing rights and wrongs, and this Ji admits his wrongs and has apologized to you, but seeing how Palace Master Yang can found a Sect, he can’t be such a narrow-minded person, can he? For you to repeatedly try and make things difficult for this Ji, are you intent on humiliating this Ji on this day?”
If Yang Kai’s bet with him on whether or not he was an Emperor Alchemist, it was still acceptable, but his current proposition to hold an Alchemy competition was clearly too foolish. Ji Ying felt that Yang Kai was deliberately trying to provoke him and give him trouble.
Yang Kai shook his head and said seriously, “Nonsense. I sincerely wish to be able to compete with Grandmaster Ji in the Alchemic Dao, and I also hope that Grandmaster Ji can become the Chief Alchemist of my High Heaven Palace once everything is settled!”
Ji Ying was furious to hear that response and snapped, “You think you can win against me?”
His earlier displeasure had completely turned into anger now. Yang Kai wasn’t just trying to make trouble for him, but was clearly insulting him. What made him think he could make him into the Chief Alchemist of High Heaven Palace? And that was all based on whether he won this competition or not.
He had been studying the Alchemic Dao from his Honoured Master for so many years. In fact, his Honoured Master was the one who taught him everything he knew. To humiliate him was no different from humiliating his Honoured Master! How could Ji Ying tolerate this? He had felt some guilt towards Yang Kai over what happened with Li Xuan, but now that guilt was gone, instead replaced with fury.
Yang Kai slowly got up and took a step forward, smiling, “Does Grandmaster Ji dare to bet with me or not?”
Ji Ying’s eyes were burning with rage. He was so angry that he didn’t even know what to say anymore.
But as if he did not see this, Yang Kai continued, “If Grandmaster Ji doesn’t dare to take the bet, then forget it. Just pretend this Palace Master never said such a thing.”
“Why wouldn’t I dare!” Ji Ying slammed the table and jumped to his feet. Someone was challenging him to his face in his most prided of expertise, so how could Ji Ying endure this? If Yang Kai wanted to bet with him in a life-or-death battle, Ji Ying would endure the insult and refuse; after all, he rarely fought. However, now that the Alchemic Dao was involved, Ji Ying had to take this bet whether he wanted to or not. For the sake of his reputation, for the sake of Medicine Pill Valley’s reputation, and the reputation of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor! He needed to make sure that anyone who dared do something so outrageous would pay the price.
“Good!” Yang Kai clapped his hands joyfully.
“But the stakes must be changed!” Ji Ying coldly snorted.
“How do you want it changed?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
Ji Ying pointed a finger at Yang Kai, “If this Ji wins, then this Ji will have Palace Master Yang’s head.”
[If you dare bet with me in Alchemy, then let’s play for high stakes! We’ll see if you’re afraid now or not.]
No one would be indifferent when his or her life was involved, so Ji Ying thought that Yang Kai would panic after he asked for his head, but unexpectedly, Yang Kai nodded after only a brief thought, “Sure. Let’s go with what Grandmaster Ji says.”
“You…” Ji Ying was stunned as the flames of anger inside of him raged even hotter.
How many years had it been since he had been this angry? He did not actually want Yang Kai to die, he just wanted to scare him a bit. Who knew that this impudent man would actually accept the bet without even so much as a change to his face?
Was he really so confident that he could win? How could that be? Even as Emperor Alchemists, there would naturally be differences in their level of Alchemy techniques. The only Emperor Alchemists in this world who could defeat him in an Alchemy competition were his few Senior Brothers and Senior Sister.
“Outrageous!” Ji Ying had never met anyone as hateful as Yang Kai in his life. There should be a limit to how much one could mock him!
A face full of anger, Ji Ying shouted, “Palace Master Yang, do you want to change your wager as well? You can take this Ji’s life as well if you wish to.”
Yang Kai laughed, “The only thing I want is for Grandmaster Ji to become the Chief Alchemist of my High Heaven Palace. What would I need your life for?”
“Then that will depend on whether you have the ability!” Ji Ying flicked his sleeve in anger.
“Now that the stakes are set, let’s discuss what kind of Spirit Pill we should refine,” Yang Kai looked to Ji Ying.
“Palace Master Yang can decide. This Ji does not mind one way or the other.” There was extreme confidence backing his words, as if he did not care at all what sort of Spirit Pill Yang Kai wanted to refine.
But he did have such qualifications. After refining pills for so many years, what sort of Spirit Pill had he not refined before? Though he had not refined the Dragon Blood Pill before, it was only because he had never obtained a Dragon Blood Flower.
“Then… Let’s go with the Emperor Yuan Pill,” Yang Kai quickly gave his answer after thinking for a while.
Ji Ying looked up at Yang Kai and said solemnly, “Is Palace Master Yang sure that he wants to refine the Emperor Yuan Pill? Even though the Emperor Yuan Pill is one of the easiest Emperor Grade Spirit Pills to refine, it is also one of the Spirit Pills that is used to test one’s comprehension of the Alchemic Dao. Why not change it to a Dao Source Grade Spirit Pill instead?”
[This guy really is an Emperor Alchemist!]
Ji Ying was sure of that fact as soon as Yang Kai made that suggestion. Even though the Emperor Yuan Pill was one of the most common and easiest Emperor Grade Spirit Pills to refine, only an Emperor Alchemist was able to refine it. Moreover, it was one of the pills most commonly used to assess the level of skill of an Alchemist.
Just like in cooking, the simpler the dish, the easier it would be to see the skill of the chef that cooked it. The same reasoning applied to Alchemy. Even with the same ingredients, an average Emperor Alchemist may only be able to refine three or four Emperor Yuan Pills. However, Ji Ying was certain he could refine nine pills!
Nine pills was the absolute limit one could refine from a single furnace of ingredients.
Proposing to change the Spirit Pill to one of Dao Source Grade was not because Ji Ying couldn’t win, but because he didn’t want to fight a one-sided battle! He had become an Emperor Alchemist many years ago and refined countless Emperor Yuan Pills. Even if Yang Kai was also an Emperor Alchemist, it was impossible to have the same rich experience he had. If Ji Ying chose to compete in refining the Emperor Yuan Pill, then he would have a great invisible advantage.
If they were to switch to a Dao Source Grade Spirit Pill, he would still have a great advantage, but at least the difference wouldn’t be so big.
Yang Kai shook his head, “No need. Many thanks to Grandmaster Ji for his kind intentions. Let’s just refine the Emperor Yuan Pill!”
He naturally knew the reason why Ji Ying made this suggestion, and his impression of him also improved a little bit as a result.
Not just anyone could become the Chief Alchemist of High Heaven Palace, even if it was a Legacy Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor like Ji Ying. If his character was not honourable, then Yang Kai would not have his eyes set on him.
Thanks to how readily he was able to admit his mistake regarding Li Xuan’s incident, even apologizing and openly expelling Li Xuan from Medicine Pill Valley, Yang Kai surmised from this that Ji Ying must have a righteous character. This latest suggestion only furthered that impression.
To put it another way, Ji Ying was a disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor and one of Medicine Pill Valley’s people, so even if he did not apologize to Yang Kai just now, there was nothing Yang Kai could do about it. That was unless he really wanted to take the risk of offending Medicine Pill Valley and making things difficult for him.
Just a single one of those deeds would have been enough. Even though Ji Ying had a noble status, he did not have the typical arrogance that most Alchemists had. And, with his identity as an Emperor Alchemist, then there would be no need for Yang Kai to worry about Spirit Pills in the future if he were to become High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist.
Ji Ying could even nurture a new generation of Alchemists for High Heaven Palace!
The development of a Sect could not be achieved by Yang Kai’s efforts alone. Only when many came together and contributed would High Heaven Palace truly thrive.
“Since Palace Master Yang insists, then this Ji naturally has no problem with it,” Ji Ying said in a sullen voice, seemingly feeling vexed that his kind intentions had been ignored.
As he said that, he turned his hands over to reveal a pile of herbs that were separated into two portions, “These are two sets of herbs used to refine the Emperor Yuan Pill. Whether it be in quality or age, there is no difference. Please inspect them, Palace Master Yang.”
Yang Kai smiled, “I trust Grandmaster Ji’s integrity.”
“Then choose one!” Ji Ying said.
Yang Kai casually chose one set of herbs. Ji Ying’s reputation and status was the guarantee here. Even if he wanted to win against Yang Kai, he would defeat him in an up front competition of Alchemy skills. It was impossible for him to play any sort of trickery with him.
When he saw how relaxed and at ease Yang Kai was, Ji Ying felt angry for some reason and coldly snorted, “In that case, let us begin. Palace Master Yang, as an Emperor Alchemist, you naturally have your own Alchemy Furnace, correct? Do you need me to lend you one?”
“No need,” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head.
If they were competing as Alchemists, then they should naturally compete in public where it’s impossible to hide anything. As such, the two of them sat down directly in the hall.
With a casual flick of Ji Ying’s hand, a tripod-style Alchemy Furnace appeared and landed steadily on the ground. With the appearance of this Alchemy Furnace, a clear and peculiar aroma spread out in the hall that shook one’s spirit. The Alchemy Furnace clearly had a long history, with two dragon heads on each side that appeared vivid and lifelike. These dragon heads weren’t just decorations though and seemed to be essential instruments for controlling the flames inside the furnace. As for the interior of the furnace, there was a dense runic pattern that would make one dizzy just by staring at it.
A burst of Emperor Intent permeated the air!
“Good furnace!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up full of praise.
As he was also an Alchemist, he naturally had a special love for good Alchemy Furnaces. As soon as Ji Ying brought out this furnace, Yang Kai knew that it was no ordinary treasure, and from the fragrance it was releasing, Yang Kai could infer that Ji Ying had definitely refined countless Spirit Pills with this Alchemy Furnace. He should have reached a level of one-ness with this Alchemy Furnace.
Ji Ying said proudly, “This is the lowest quality Alchemy Furnace that this Ji has on hand.”
He took out his worst Alchemy Furnace not solely because he did not want to take advantage of Yang Kai, but also because he was confident of his own skill.
Yang Kai nodded lightly before waving his hand and summoning out his own Alchemy Furnace.
The body of the entire Alchemy Furnace had a black lustre to it and a faint Emperor Intent also spread out the moment it appeared. It was clearly an existence of the same level as the Alchemy Furnace Ji Ying took out. Seeing Yang Kai possess an Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnace, Ji Ying couldn’t help but feel stunned, as if he did not expect Yang Kai to have such heritage as well.
But on second thought, it would be normal for Yang Kai to have an Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnace if he really was an Emperor Alchemist.
With the showdown imminent, Ji Ying did not think about it anymore and quickly focused his mind. Even if his opponent was a young man who did not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth, Ji Ying would not take anything lightly. Even a lion will use its full strength to hunt down a rabbit.
Only by showing his true skills and defeating him in all aspects would Ji Ying be able to show respect to the Alchemic Dao and live up to the many years of teaching he received from his Honoured master.
“Shall we begin?” Ji Ying looked at Yang Kai with a solemn expression.
Yang Kai was just about to nod when he suddenly looked to the side and smiled, “Sect Master Mi, Palace Master Li, are you going to place bets?”
“We can bet as well?” Mi Qi and Li Jiao looked at each other, both a little surprised.
“Since you’ve already come, you shouldn’t go home empty-handed, should you?” Yang Kai looked at them with a smile.
“Very well!” Mi Qi exclaimed, “Let’s bet. Only, I don’t know how big of a bet Palace Master Yang is able to afford!”
“As big as you want. We can even bet our Sect’s foundations,” Yang Kai answered casually.
“Wha…” Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s faces changed when they heard this, shocked by Yang Kai’s words. Such stakes were simply too big. Even though Mi Qi and Li Jiao had the intention to add insult to injury here, slicing a few pieces of meat off Yang Kai’s arrogant face, they did not even dare to think about gambling using their Sects’ foundations.
Even if they had absolute confidence in Ji Ying, they wouldn’t dare to gamble so much.
“You don’t dare?” Yang Kai looked at them tauntingly.
“It’s not that I don’t dare to, but rather that it is excessive. We have no enmity with each other, so why raise the stakes so high?” Mi Qi acted obstinately, but he was actually just worried.
“That’s right. Let’s just add some casual interest.”
“In that case, what sort of wager do you think is acceptable?” Yang Kai asked.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao looked at each other, their Divine Senses surging as they seemingly discussed something.
Yang Kai was in no hurry either and just sat to the side and waited, smiling at Ji Ying as he commented, “The weather is good today.”
Ji Ying frowned, thinking to himself, [Is he just spouting nonsense now? The skies are clear for tens of thousands of kilometres outside. Even a fool can see that.]
But why was he saying this to him? To mess with his mind? How wicked!
He couldn’t help but glare at Yang Kai before turning back to the front, ignoring him.
“Palace Master Yang. Brother Li and I have decided,” Mi Qi suddenly said.
Yang Kai gestured for him to continue.
Mi Qi said, “Brother Li and I will bet ten years of our respective Sect’s revenues. I wonder if Sect Master Yang dares to accept this wager or not!”
Even Ji Ying was slightly moved when he heard the stakes.
Ten years of a Sect’s revenue may be simple enough to say, but it could amount to a terrifying figure if converted into Source Crystals. For top Sects such as the Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace with countless industries under their jurisdiction and numerous Source Crystal Lodes they mined, one year’s revenue would amount to at least fifty million High-Rank Source Crystals.
Ten years, that would mean five hundred million High-Rank Source Crystals!
With two major Sects together, that would equal one billion High-Rank Source Crystals!
That was simply a terrifying number.
From the looks of it, Mi Qi and Li Jiao had ruthlessly decided to shave some benefits from High heaven Palace. Ji Ying glanced at Yang Kai, wondering what sort of expression he had right now.
He probably… wasn’t looking too good, right?
But when he turned to look, Ji Ying was stunned as Yang Kai sneered with disdain, “You two are leading figures in the Northern Territory, but that’s all you can afford? How stingy.”
“Stingy?” Mi Qi’s face darkened, “You dare call us stingy?!”
Li Jiao narrowed his eyes, “Is Palace Master Yang not just trying to play tricks? You actually don’t dare to take our bets, do you?”
He thought he was able to see through Yang Kai’s thoughts, and his voice was filled with insinuations.
“Fifty years!” Yang Kai exclaimed, holding up his hand, “I’ll bet fifty years with each of you, fifty years of each Sect’s revenue!”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao both sucked in a breath of cold air.
Ji Ying also stared at Yang Kai with wide eyes as if he were a madman.
“You, you…” Mi Qi began to stutter, revealing the violent fluctuation of his emotions, “Do you know how much Full Sky Sect can earn in 50 years? And you dare run your mouth off!”
Yang Kai replied calmly, “If you count 50 million High-Rank Source Crystals a year, ten years makes five hundred million, so fifty years will be two and a half billion! That’s only five billion in total for your two Sects, right?”
“Only… five billion!” Li Jiao almost choked to death when he heard Yang Kai’s words. He really wanted to ask Yang Kai whether he truly knew how much five billion High-Rank Source Crystals actually was.
Yang Kai snorted and looked at them disdainfully, “What, are you two too afraid to bet? Or do you have no confidence in Grandmaster Ji?”
The first sentence was fine, but the second sentence made things difficult. If they really backed out now, wouldn’t that mean they had no faith in Ji Ying as Yang Kai said? This could become a big deal as it may end up offending Ji Ying.
How sinister and cunning! Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both grinding their teeth in anger.
Naturally, they couldn’t back down now that things have already come to this, so Li Jiao coldly snorted, “Naturally, Brother Mi Qi and I do not have a problem with this. If you want to bet fifty years worth of revenue, then so be it! But I don’t know whether Palace Master Yang can take out that much to bet with!”
“Exactly!” Mi Qi nodded approvingly, “Five billion High-Rank Source Crystals is no small amount. If Palace Master Yang goes back on his word, what can Brother Li and I do to you?”
“Ridiculous!” Yang Kai pointed to his own nose, “Do I look like the type of man who doesn’t keep his word?”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao both observed him seriously for a moment before the latter said, “It’s not like we know each other well! How should we know what sort of person you are?”
“Good, good, good,” Yang Kai looked utterly exasperated, making Mi Qi and Li Jiao feel as if he was just pretending.
Mi Qi laughed, “If Palace Master Yang can come up with the bet, what’s the harm for Brother Li and me to place our bets?”
“That’s what you said, so don’t regret it!” Yang Kai jumped to his feet.
“Take it out, then!” Li Jiao urged him as if he could see through Yang Kai.
“I’ll do it now!” Yang Kai shouted.
“Do it, then!”
“Here!” Yang Kai turned his hand over and a Space Ring appeared on his palm which immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
[He really brought it out?]
Mi Qi and Li Jiao exchanged glances, both slightly shocked but at the same time, very disbelieving.
Yang Kai may have destroyed Seeking Passion Sect and occupied their foundation, gaining all the wealth accumulated by them over the years, but they still did not think that Yang Kai really had five billion High-Rank Source Crystals in that ring.
Seeking Passion Sect was similar to Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect. Even though their annual revenue was astonishing, their expenditure was equally shocking. Most of the revenue they gained would end up being spent each year while only a fraction would be saved.
Even Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace only had about a billion High-Rank Source Crystals in reserve, so Seeking Passion Sect probably had a similar amount.
In other words, even if Yang Kai had taken all of Seeking Passion Sect’s wealth for himself, it would only amount to around a billion High-Rank Source Crystals. Adding the other treasures Seeking Passion Sect possessed, it would probably only total around two or three billion Source Crystals. How could he possibly just take out five billion?
“It’s not that we don’t trust Palace Master Yang, but Brother Li and I will have to inspect Palace Master Yang’s ring,” Mi Qi quickly said.
“Naturally, it has to be confirmed,” Yang Kai nodded, “However… I will have to trouble Grandmaster Ji to perform this inspection. The two of you can trust Grandmaster Ji, can’t you?”
“Naturally,” Mi Qi quickly nodded.
Li Jiao also had no problem with that.
“Then I shall trouble you, Grandmaster Ji,” Yang Kai smiled and tossed the ring to Ji Ying.
Ji Ying took it and carelessly swept the contents with his Divine Sense, but in the next instant, his eyes bulged as he gasped in shock, “This…”
He was an Emperor Alchemist and had no shortage of wealth. The number of people clamouring to seek Alchemy services from him in the Northern Territory was simply uncountable, and each time he took action, he would gain much in terms of remuneration. Don’t even mention five billion High-Rank Source Crystals, even ten billion would not be enough to shock Ji Ying so much.
But at this moment, he was so astonished that he couldn’t utter a word. His expression clearly showed that he had seen something incredible.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao were also shocked at this reaction and wondered just what sort of good things were kept inside that ring for Grandmaster Ji to lose himself like this. They were extremely curious, but they couldn’t just snatch it to see for themselves.
They didn’t think that Yang Kai would let them see it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked Ji Ying to check the ring.
“Where… Where did you get so many?” Ji Ying turned his head around and directed a shocked look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai chuckled, taking back the Space Ring from Ji Ying’s hand and shaking his head, “I can’t tell you!”
Ji Ying gulped, looking in reluctance as Yang Kai put away the ring, but he also knew that it was probably one of Yang Kai’s greatest secrets, so he didn’t pursue the question.
After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Palace Master Yang. If you were to lose this competition, then I don’t want your head. Instead, how about giving me half of what you have in that ring?”
He had no intention to take Yang Kai’s life to begin with, he just wanted to scare him, so now that a better option had appeared, Ji Ying had no qualms about changing the gambling stakes.
The contents of the ring were none other than the million Monster Cores that Yang Kai brought back from the Ancient Wild Land.
Ten billion Source Crystals was indeed not enough to move Ji Ying, but a million Monster Cores was an entirely different story. There were so many Monster Cores piled up in that ring, not to mention the amount of Twelfth-Order Monster Cores among them. Don’t even mention the fact that Ji Ying had never seen such a sight, not even the Ten Great Emperors had seen such wealth.
Moreover, there was no end to the uses for Monster Cores. Monster Cores were a key component in Alchemy and a good Monster Core was the best ingredient to refine the highest grade of Spirit Pills.
These things were a much greater attraction to Ji Ying compared to Source Crystals, so it was no wonder he became so eager.
“You want them, Grandmaster Ji?” Yang Kai looked at him with a smirk.
Ji Ying’s face reddened and with a dry cough, he said, “What Alchemist would not want such a good thing?”
“If you want it, I can give it all to you,” Yang Kai’s smile did not diminish.
“Truly!?” Ji Ying was shocked, but he quickly realized what he meant and his face darkened, “You’re not trying to get this Ji to become your High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist as a condition, are you?”
Yang Kai laughed, “Grandmaster Ji is wise!”
Ji Ying grunted, “It’s a fine idea you have, Palace Master Yang, but unfortunately, this Ji will not agree to it.”
Yang Kai had expected this answer, so he naturally wasn’t disappointed and just nodded, “In that case, then Grandmaster Ji can have half if he wins.”
“Good good good. I hope Palace Master Yang is truly a man of his word!” Ji Ying was overjoyed. To him, this agreement was no different than Yang Kai gifting him with the Monster Cores already.
He did not think he would lose to Yang Kai in Alchemy at all.
“Grandmaster Ji, is what’s contained inside that ring really worth five billion?” Li Jiao and Mi Qi still did not know what the ring was worth even after listening at the side for a while, so they couldn’t help but ask.
“Five billion?” Ji Ying looked at them with disdain, “The contents of that ring is enough to outright buy both of your Sects!”
“What!?” Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both stunned.
Enough to buy their Sects? What sort of treasures were kept inside that ring for Grandmaster Ji to say something so shocking with such certainty?
They were even more curious now and wanted nothing more than to knock Yang Kai unconscious and snatch that ring to see for themselves.
“This Palace Master’s capital has been confirmed. Do you two still want to bet?” Yang Kai turned his gaze to Mi Qi and Li Jiao.
Mi Qi frowned and said firmly, “Of course! Why not? Who would deny a free gift?”
“That’s right.” Li Jiao also chimed in, “This King believes in Grandmaster Ji.”
Ji Ying frowned, “If you two are going to bet, then that’s your own business, winning or losing is none of my business.”
Alchemy was not for gambling in Ji Ying’s mind. He only agreed to gamble with Yang Kai this time because he had been provoked. Naturally, he did not want Li Jiao and Mi Qi to tie their fortunes to his victory, making it seem as if their victory or defeat were his responsibility.
“Yes, yes. Grandmaster Ji is right,” Li Jiao quickly changed his tone, “This bet is purely between us and Palace Master Yang.”
In that case, let’s begin.” Yang Kai smiled.
Ji Ying turned his head to look at him, “You start first.”
Yang Kai quickly said, “Grandmaster Ji, are you sure you should be looking down on your opponent like this?”
Even though he said this, his hands did not remain idle. Brushing his hair back out of the way, as if he was preparing to go all out. Snapping his fingers, he had the lid of his Black Jade Furnace fly off as he tossed one of the prepared sets of spirit herbs inside.
A whirring could be heard, seemingly from the burning flames, as the temperature of the air rose instantly, but strangely enough, there was no sign of Yang Kai using his Emperor Qi.
“Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!” Ji Ying’s face changed as he muttered in surprise.
He did not expect Yang Kai to have the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. This alone was enough for him to take things seriously.
The Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was a type of Mutated Knowledge Sea, and when it came to Alchemy and Artifact Refining, those with the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas had a unique advantage. This was because one’s Divine Sense played a big role in refinement professions. Whether it be controlling the flames or timing, both of them required the use of one’s Divine Sense.
For those with the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, they were able to directly adjust the heat of the flames and grasp the timing of when to add ingredients rather than needing to use their Qi to make adjustments while monitoring with their Divine Sense.
Even when it came to portraying Spirit Arrays, no additional carrier was required as they could use their Spiritual Energy to act directly.
This was something other Alchemists were unable to match.
“So, that’s how it is. No wonder he’s so confident. He actually possesses a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.” Ji Ying finally understood what gave Yang Kai such confidence. His expression instantly turned serious and he did not delay any longer, both hands turning over as he pushed out his Emperor Qi, causing a fire to rise up immediately inside of the tripod dual dragon furnace.
An equal set of spirit herbs was tossed into the Alchemy Furnace by Ji Ying, and a sizzle could be heard. Ji Ying quickly formed seals with both hands, drawing a Spirit Array inside the Alchemy Furnace that assisted in the condensation of medicinal liquid.
For a time, the hall was silent. Only Yang Kai and Ji Ying’s power surged as both Alchemy Furnaces emitted a burning energy.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both extremely curious now, but they were stopped by the three great Monster Kings from approaching too closely.
An Alchemist was not to be disturbed while they were performing Alchemy, that was a basic rule all had to follow. The three Monster Kings were naturally extremely guarded against the two of them, fearing that they may try to disturb Yang Kai, so Mi Qi and Li Jiao could only grumble and stare, not being able to do anything.
“Can Palace Master win?” Hua Qing Si and Zhu Qing were standing a short distance away, watching them silently.
Yang Kai and Ji Ying were duelling against each other in an Alchemy competition, which made Hua Qing Si very nervous, so she quietly transmitted that question to Zhu Qing.
“I don’t know anything about Alchemy,” Zhu Qing answered bluntly.
Hua Qing Si thought the same. Though she had seen people refine pills before, she herself wasn’t too knowledgeable on the subject. She couldn’t see who had the upper hand in this situation at all.
“But looking at him, he seems very confident,” Zhu Qing added.
Hearing that answer, Hua Qing Si quickly observed Yang Kai and sure enough, his expression was filled with confidence and fighting spirit just as Zhu Qing commented. If he had no hopes of winning, then he would never have such an expression.
This discovery helped Hua Qing Si calm down as she secretly cheered Yang Kai on.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
The sounds of the flames burning inside the furnaces were incessant and the hands of the two men competing with each other constantly formed new and complex seals. Fine and delicate Spirit Arrays formed and dissolved inside the Alchemy Furnaces as spirit herbs were thrown in one by one. The medicinal liquid condensed inside soon filled the air with its fragrance.
Ji Ying had been quietly observing Yang Kai’s movements the whole time, as even though Yang Kai had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and should not be taken lightly, Ji Ying still felt that Yang Kai couldn’t beat him.
But Ji Ying’s observations made him sure of one thing, and that was the fact that Yang Kai was really an Emperor Alchemist. His foundation was extremely solid, and his actions when it came to condensing medicinal liquid were also meticulous without the slightest flaw. The medicinal liquid that he condensed was extremely pure.
If he were not an Emperor Alchemist, then it would be impossible for him to achieve this level of perfection.
Ji Ying suddenly felt somewhat jubilant that another Emperor Alchemist had appeared in the world. If this news were told to his Honoured Master, then his Honoured Master would certainly be happy. The Alchemic Dao had a long and profound history, and was much harder to traverse than the Martial Dao, leading to the scarcity of Alchemists in the world.
Other people could only see the endless grandeur of Alchemists, but how many understood the monumental effort each Grandmaster needed to make in order to reach such a height?
Medicine Pill Valley was committed to carrying forward the Alchemic Dao, and the disciples under Wondrous Pill Great Emperor also took that as their responsibility. Naturally, they hoped that there could be more Alchemists in the Star Boundary, as only with the introduction of more Alchemists would there be enough Spirit Pills to match the needs of the cultivators of this world, allowing the Martial Dao to grow and prosper.
As he observed, Ji Ying was slightly stunned. That was because he suddenly discovered that the medicinal liquid condensed by Yang Kai was no worse than his own in terms of purity…
Even more shockingly, the order and timing which Yang Kai used to add spirit herbs was identical to his own.
Spirit Pills did not have unique recipes.
Every Alchemist perceived the Alchemic Dao differently, and their comprehensions and skills were also different, leading to subtle differences between how different Alchemists refine each type of Spirit Pill. For example, the timing and order in which one added spirit herbs to their Alchemy Furnace.
Some Alchemists feel that it was better to put in one type of spirit herb first, while another Alchemist may choose another to start with, creating a scenario where many pill recipes existed for each type of Spirit Pill. Perhaps the differences may even go as far as the types of herbs used.
A pill recipe contained not only the ingredients needed to refine a pill, but also a complete refinement process. Rather than a pill recipe, it would be more accurate to describe it as a pill refinement manual.
This was the true preciousness of a pill recipe, as it was the crystallization of an Alchemist’s efforts.
Right now, Ji Ying was surprised to find that Yang Kai’s techniques and process when it came to refining this Emperor Yuan Pill were strikingly similar to his own, almost as if they were carved from the same mould.
In other words, the Emperor Yuan Pill recipe that Yang Kai mastered was the same as his own.
But how could that be?
The Emperor Yuan Pill was used by Emperor Realm cultivators to restore Emperor Qi, and was also the most common type of Emperor Grade Spirit Pill. As far as Yi Jing knew, there were at least eight different versions of this Spirit Pill’s recipe. Though they were similar, there were still differences between them.
And, the best Emperor Yuan Pill recipe was naturally the one that he mastered, because this recipe was personally created by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor many years ago. It was not an exaggeration to say that there was no better pill recipe for the Emperor Yuan Pill in the Star Boundary.
This pill recipe was only taught by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor to his few disciples, so no outsider could possibly know it.
Seeing traces of this pill recipe from Yang Kai naturally came as a surprise to Ji Ying.
But Ji Ying wasn’t the only one surprised. Everyone watching them also had strange expressions on their faces.
That was because they discovered that Yang Kai and Ji Ying’s Alchemy process was almost exactly the same, the only difference being Yang Kai moving slightly ahead of Ji Ying. This was not because Ji Ying’s skills were any worse than Yang Kai’s, but because he started after him.
Even though they understood that, it still looked off, as if Ji Ying was imitating Yang Kai’s Alchemy process. He would take whatever herb Yang Kai took, and also follow whatever timing Yang Kai used to add herbs into the Alchemy Furnace…
The suspicions in Ji Ying’s heart grew heavier and heavier. He originally thought that this situation was mere coincidence, but halfway through, he became certain that the two of them had mastered the exact same pill recipe.
“Where did you obtain this pill recipe from?” Ji Ying could not help but ask.
This was the pill recipe passed down to him and his brothers and sister by his Honoured Master. How could it have fallen into the hands of an outsider?
“Grandmaster Ji, you’re distracted.” Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged, “If you remain so, you’ll lose this competition.”
Ji Ying’s body shook as he broke out into a cold sweat. He had focused on his doubts about Yang Kai’s pill recipe and actually became distracted from his own Alchemy, leading to him not being able to give his all while in the process of condensing the medicinal liquids. Now, looking back to his work, his medicinal liquid seemed to be just slightly worse than Yang Kai’s.
Condensing medicinal liquid was the first step of Alchemy, and also the most foundational. If something went wrong in this step, it would definitely affect the quality of the Spirit Pills refined.
Alchemy was just like chess, one mistake will lead to many others. Failure to do one’s best at any step could lead one down a losing battle.
He couldn’t lose! This match concerned Medicine Pill Valley’s reputation and his Honoured Master’s name. Ji Ying definitely couldn’t afford to lose.
Abruptly, it was as if Ji Ying had changed into a whole other person. An indescribable aura radiated from his body, and he instantly immersed his mind into Alchemy with nothing else being able to distract him anymore.
Yang Kai’s expression was equally serious. Even though he was an Emperor Alchemist, it was his first time competing against another Emperor Alchemist. What’s more, this person was one of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Legacy Disciples.
If he didn’t give it his all, then he definitely wouldn’t be able to win.
The Conflagrated Knowledge Sea that Ji Ying had seen was not the only thing Yang Kai had at his disposal. It was merely a small advantage for him. His real advantage came from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone!
Back then, on Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s main star, Water Moon Star, he was able to invoke the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone one time during Alchemy, and was granted Alchemy techniques directly by the Heavenly Way. Since then, Yang Kai had been advancing through the Alchemic Dao in leaps and bounds.
Had it not been for that opportunity, how could Yang Kai’s skill in Alchemy have grown so rapidly? He hardly spent much time on Alchemy over the years, so generally speaking, it would have to be pure luck for him to even become a Dao Source Grade Alchemist by now while it should have been an impossibility for him to become an Emperor Alchemist.
But with the heritage granted to him by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, Yang Kai was able to easily climb to the level of Emperor Alchemist.
Even so, he could not compare himself to a veteran Emperor Alchemist like Ji Ying, so he had to go all out in this competition.
His mind suddenly became ethereal, as if he had merged with the world. A wonderful feeling rose from his heart.
Yang Kai’s hand movements changed and suddenly his actions became erratic, his arms flailing about, as if he were having a seizure.
*Chi…*
Li Jiao and Mi Qi almost broke out in laughter at the sight of that; however, under the watchful eyes of the three Monster Kings, they could only endure it.
Looking back at Ji Ying, they could see that his movements were as smooth as flowing water. It was a pleasure just to watch him. Compared to Yang Kai’s almost possessed performance, it was simply Heaven and Hell.
[He’s still trying to win against Grandmaster Ji with such shoddy technique? He simply doesn’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth.]
Hua Qing Si had also noticed this, and an anxious look appeared on her face. She had no idea what Yang Kai was doing at all. He seemed fine just a moment ago, so why did he suddenly change so abruptly?
“Huh?”
Out of everyone present, only a single person suddenly began staring at Yang Kai with full attention. An extremely shocked expression was revealed on his face and his eyes did not even move the slightest bit.
This person was Ji Ying’s First Disciple.
This disciple did not have a good impression of Yang Kai, not because of Li Xuan’s slanderous remarks about him, but because he was the reason that Li Xuan was expelled from the Sect by their Honoured Master. Even though he did not approve of what Li Xuan did, they had been fellow brothers for many years and more or less shared some comradery between them.
He originally thought of waiting for their Master’s anger to pass before persuading him to take Li Xuan back under his tutelage; after all, his Junior Brother was still young and mistakes were inevitable. It should be fine as long as he knew his faults and was willing to change, but Yang Kai didn’t even give him that chance.
He looked down on Yang Kai in his heart, and didn’t believe for one moment that Yang Kai would win this competition with Ji Ying, so he kept on watching him with a hateful gaze, wanting to see how he would look when he was defeated by his Honoured Master.
But unexpectedly, he ended up seeing something astonishing.
In other people’s eyes, Yang Kai was twitching about like a madman, his hands waving randomly without any sense of aesthetics, but in this young disciple’s eyes, things were very different. He was vaguely able to catch sight of something as he observed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to grasp its essence, causing sweat to form on his forehead. He watched Yang Kai carefully with his eyes wide, refusing to miss even a single moment.
Inside the hall, the medicinal fragrance had grown even more intense. All of the spirit medicines had already been added to the Alchemy Furnaces by the two Alchemists and condensed into pure medicinal liquid. The lids were now closed, and the refinement stage had begun.
As threads of power were being released, nobody could see inside the Alchemy Furnace, to see how each of the Spirit Arrays was drawn and extinguished or how the medicinal liquids were mixed and integrated together.
All of a sudden, Ji Ying’s First Disciple fell to his knees.
This movement startled everyone except for Yang Kai and Ji Ying.
Hua Qing Si looked over at him and could see that this young man was now sweating buckets, as if he had just been through a life or death struggle. His face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot, but still, he kept on staring at Yang Kai.
“What happened?” Hua Qing Si quickly went over to him and tried to help him up.
If something were to happen to Ji Ying’s First Disciple here, then it would be hard to give Ji Ying a confession.
“Don’t touch me!” The First Disciple shouted, veins bulging on his face, giving him a terrifying look.
Hua Qing Si’s outstretched hand froze in place as she felt irritated inside, having no idea what this boy was so mad about.
“Oh?” Yang Kai spared a glance at that moment at this disciple and grinned at him, “So, you managed to see something useful? Good, look properly, it will be up to you whether you can learn anything from this.”
To the side, both Mi Qi and Li Jiao glared when they heard what Yang Kai said, their lips curling with disdain. Where did this little bastard get the guts to talk so big? The young man next to them was Ji Ying’s First Disciple. Even if he were going to learn anything, it wouldn’t be from Yang Kai, so what was he so riled up about? What’s more, with Yang Kai’s lacklustre skills, he probably couldn’t even surpass this First Disciple, yet he still dared to boast so shamelessly? Wasn’t he afraid of biting his own tongue?
But as soon as they finished that thought, they saw that disciple clench his teeth with his eyes widening even more as he loudly exclaimed, “Many thanks, Grandmaster Yang!”
“What?” Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both stunned and couldn’t help swapping glances, both of them able to see the shock in each other’s eyes.
What on earth happened to this First Disciple? Why did he thank Yang Kai? He even called him Grandmaster Yang…
This was impossible, right? His Honoured Master was right there in front of him. Wasn’t he worried about angering his Honoured Master?
What on earth is going on!
Even though Ji Ying was fully concentrated, he was still shocked at what his disciple just said. Hearing him give such deference to Yang Kai, he could not help but frown, thinking to himself that this brat was actually siding with an outsider. What had he been raising him all those years for?
Curious, he glanced over at Yang Kai’s side.
As soon as he looked over though, Ji Ying’s movements froze and his eyes bulged, even forgetting about the Spirit Pills inside his Alchemy Furnace.
His attainments in Alchemy were countless times higher than that of his own disciple, so it was naturally impossible for him not to catch what his disciple was able to see.
In Ji Ying’s eyes, what he saw was not Yang Kai’s erratic movements, but rather the pinnacle of the Alchemic Dao! Yang Kai’s movements, while outwardly random, actually contained within them a kind of resonance and harmony with the Alchemic Dao, and even seemed to contain a kind of higher truth that Ji Ying was unable to understand.
A situation like this was something he had only seen from his own Honoured Master, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. He never thought that he would actually have the opportunity to find the same traces in another person.
[Impossible!]
A storm suddenly exploded in Ji Ying’s heart. How could there be such a Heaven defying existence in this world? To think Yang Kai had comprehended the essence of the Alchemic Dao just like his Honoured Master!
[No. Even Honoured Master wouldn’t have possibly achieved such a feat at such a young age.]
Ji Ying was completely dumbfounded, and he had the indescribable feeling that the one competing with him in an Alchemy match right now was not a youth called Yang Kai, but rather the embodiment of the Grand Dao that he had been searching for his whole life but had never caught hold of.
How could he win?
His mind was instantly thrown into a slight disarray, causing his tripod furnace to suddenly hiss and tremble.
“Grandmaster Ji, you…” Li Jiao and Mi Qi both exclaimed in unison.
Even though they did not know anything about Alchemy, nor could they glean anything from what they were seeing, Ji Ying was clearly a little out of it at the moment. How could they not realize the problem with his state of mind from the change in his complexion?
[How could this happen?] If Ji Ying were to lose here, then he wouldn’t have much to lose, but the both of them would have to turn over fifty years of their respective Sect’s revenue! If they lost here, then the disciples of their two Sects would have to tighten their belts and live a frugal life for the next half a century.
Ji Ying had a start and suddenly came back to his senses, remembering that he was still in the middle of a match. Instantly, he felt both upset and ashamed of himself.
This was already his second lapse in concentration, and this was bound to affect the results of his Alchemy as a whole. However, he was an experienced veteran so he quickly suppressed the instability inside his furnace and rescued his work.
He forced himself to calm down and tossed away all distracting thoughts. All of a sudden, Ji Ying’s movements became much more fluid under an immense amount of concentration and pressure.
He seemed to have gained some vague insight at this moment.
As Ji Ying’s First Disciple continued staring wide-eyed at Yang Kai’s movements, his eyes became more and more bloodshot, and his body shivered and shook. It looked like he was being tormented greatly, but his expression was one of immense joy.
As time passed, wisps of pill fragrance began to emerge. This was not only the aroma of spirit herbs, but also the fragrance of the Spirit Pill itself.
The release of this fragrance meant that the refinement had reached the final stage. As long as no mistakes were made, the Spirit Pills would be finished soon.
The closer it came to the end, the more uneasy Mi Qi and Li Jiao began to feel. They had no idea if Ji Ying could beat Yang Kai or not, despite the fact that they were fully confident in Ji Ying’s abilities before. But Ji Ying’s unstable state of mind earlier made them a little apprehensive. They had no idea if that momentary distraction would affect the quality of the Spirit Pills refined in the end.
Another hour passed, and now the medicinal fragrance in the hall was so dense that it was almost material. Yang Kai’s ever-moving hands finally came to a stop, and he had a solemn look on his face. Patting the Black Jade Furnace, he let out a great shout.
“Pill Condensing!”
The faces of the crowd froze as they knew that Yang Kai’s refinement had truly reached the final stage now.
This process was an extremely important step in Alchemy as a good Pill Condensing Technique could allow an Alchemist to refine a higher amount of Spirit Pills, and in greater quality.
On the other side, Ji Ying also tapped on his own Alchemy Furnace, and the lid of the furnace flew off. He too had entered the Pill Condensing stage.
Watching this scene, Mi Qi and Li Jiao could not help but sigh with relief.
They knew that Yang Kai definitely won’t be able to win against Ji Ying at this stage. The reason for that was because the Pill Condensing Technique that Ji Ying mastered was taught to him by the Great Emperor himself. Even if Yang Kai managed to become an Emperor Alchemist, he couldn’t have a better Pill Condensing Technique than Ji Ying.
The two of them didn’t dare to pretend they understood anything either and quickly looked towards the First Disciple, trying to get some clues from his expression.
But as soon as they looked, both their hearts sank.
The reason for that was because the First Disciple was actually still staring at Yang Kai’s movements with a look of amazement in his bloodshot eyes, completely ignoring his own Honoured Master.
[No way, this Yang Kai couldn’t have a superior Pill Condensing Technique, could he? But if not, why would Ji Ying’s Disciple not take this chance to learn from his Honoured Master and instead study Yang Kai?]
[It must be because this Disciple lacks in skills and vision!]
Mi Qi and Li Jiao tried to reassure themselves. Even if Ji Ying was distracted twice during their match, they still had high hopes that Ji Ying would win.
With the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Art, seal after seal was struck into the Black Jade Furnace, perfecting the very last step of this pill refinement.
This was the Pill Condensing Technique that Yang Kai learned from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, which was slightly better even against the technique created by the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor himself.
*Ding ling ling…*
A pleasant noise suddenly sounded in the pill furnace.
The pills were complete!
Yang Kai quickly moved over and tapped the Black Jade Furnace, causing a series of round Spirit Pills to fly out. Mi Qi and Li Jiao were all watching with their eyes wide. They wanted to see how many pills Yang Kai had refined and what quality they were, but before they could get a good look, Yang Kai had popped them into a jade bottle he had prepared beforehand.
This inevitably caused the two to grit their teeth in anger.
On the other side, Ji Ying also finished his Pill Condensing. After laying down the last seal, several Emperor Yuan Pills flew out from his Alchemy Furnace which he swiftly grabbed and stored into a jade bottle in his left hand.
“Refinement complete!” Yang Kai pressed down both hands and relaxed his breathing.
Ji Ying stood there motionless with a frown pressed between his brows, seemingly thinking about something. Meanwhile, the moment Yang Kai finished refining, the First Disciple closed his eyes and kneeled there like a statue, mind seemingly wandering elsewhere.
Both Mi Qi and Li Jiao were extremely anxious. They couldn’t wait to know the result of this competition. Even though they felt that the chances of Ji Ying losing were quite low, they still felt a little nervous when it came time to announce a verdict.
After all, this concerned fifty years of revenue from each of their Sects, five billion High-Rank Source Crystals were on the line.
Ji Ying did not move, and Yang Kai couldn’t just disturb him either. He knew that he was currently pondering on the success or failure of this Alchemy session, which was an extremely important moment for an Alchemist. Looking around, he caught Zhu Qing who was looking towards him and winked at her.
Zhu Qing’s face was as cold as ice, so how could she pay him any attention? Leaving him to make a fool out of himself.
Only after a long time did Ji Ying exhale lightly and turn around, cupping his fists at Yang Kai, “This Ji admires Brother Yang for his great skill.”
After competing with Yang Kai, Ji Ying immediately realized that he had truly underestimated him before. Not only was he an Emperor Alchemist, but his skills were also no less than his own.
He had only caught a glimpse of the amazing Alchemy techniques Yang Kai employed, but that was still enough to amaze him. If it weren’t for how important this match was, Ji Ying would have even halted his own Alchemy so he could properly observe and emulate him.
“Whether this Ji wins or loses this time, this Ji wishes to thank Brother Yang,” Ji Ying said to him with a sincere expression before glancing at his First Disciple.
After knowing that Yang Kai was an Emperor Alchemist no less than himself, even Ji Ying’s way of referring to him had changed, and from a glance, he could tell that his First Disciple had gained great benefits during this match, so he had no qualms about thanking Yang Kai.
Ji Ying had been calling him Palace Master Yang before, but now the way he referred to him was far more collegial.
“Brother Ji is too polite, this Yang is happy to oblige,” Yang Kai smiled.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both dumbfounded. They thought to themselves, [that’s not right… isn’t Ji Ying supposed to be making things hard for Yang Kai right now? Why are they suddenly calling each other brothers?]
Even if the two of them had known Ji Ying for many years, they still didn’t dare, nor did they have the qualifications to address him so informally.
They couldn’t help but feel a little chagrined. If they had known things would turn out like this, they never would have followed along this time.
“Grandmaster Ji, let’s see the results of the match first.” Mi Qi changed the subject to stop Yang Kai and Ji Ying from deepening their friendship. As long as Ji Ying won the match, then it would definitely be worth their trip here.
Fifty years of a Sect’s earnings. Just thinking about it made them excited.
The two of them were still quite curious about the contents of Yang Kai’s ring. They wanted to know what on earth was stored in it that made Ji Ying so covetous.
Ji Ying looked inquiringly at Yang Kai, and the latter smiled, stretching out his hand, “As the guest, Brother Ji should go first!”
Ji Ying nodded, “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
As he said that, he uncapped the bottle in his hand and poured out the Emperor Yuan Pills.
Everyone in the hall instantly craned their necks, looking into the centre of his palm.
“Nine pills!” Mi Qi looked over and immediately shouted in excitement.
Ji Ying was able to refine nine pills during this session, which was the ultimate limit for one furnace worth of ingredients. With this, he was basically halfway to victory! Now the rest would depend on the quality of the Spirit Pills, but if it was Ji Ying, then the grade of the Spirit Pills he refined would certainly not be bad. That fact could be proven just by how round and full each Spirit Pill looked, with the colour so vivid and radiant.
“Look, look…” Li Jiao called in excitement as if he had suddenly discovered a new world, pointing at one of the Emperor Yuan Pills as he shouted, his breath growing ragged, “Pill Veins! Pill Veins!”
One of the Spirit Pills was covered with vein-like patterns on its surface, which looked at first glance just like the meridians of a person’s body. It was the legendary Pill Veins!
If Pill Veins were produced during the refining process, then the medicinal efficacies of the pill would be doubled, naturally raising its value as well.
But Pill Veins were not things that the average Alchemist could produce during a refinement. It was a faraway dream even for the most skilled of Alchemists, but now, Pill Veins actually appeared on one of the Spirit Pills Ji Ying refined!
And it was an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill!
That made it even more rare and astounding.
“Hahaha!” Mi Qi also broke out in laughter, his worries finally settling back down. If Ji Ying’s nine pills could be described as winning half the battle, then that one Spirit Pill that formed Pill Veins would be the nail in the coffin for Ji Ying’s victory. There was no chance for Yang Kai to turn the tables.
There wasn’t even the need to look at the quality of Spirit Pills that he refined.
Mi Qi did not believe that Yang Kai could also refine an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill that formed Pill Veins.
If Pill Veins were really that easy to produce, then they wouldn’t be called legendary!
Exchanging glances with Li Jiao, both of them were overflowing with joy.
Five billion High-Rank Source Crystals, fifty years of a Sect’s earnings were going to be theirs soon, how could they not be happy?
They secretly decided to buy the Emperor Yuan Pill that formed Pill Veins from Ji Ying after Yang Kai fulfilled his bet. This was their key to victory and was well worth keeping. With this Spirit Pill, neither High Heaven Palace nor Yang Kai should even think of raising his head in front of them in the future.
They could also curry favour with Ji Ying in the process.
Should they humiliate Yang Kai as well? But looking at the three Monster Kings that were watching them, they thought better of it in case they become angry out of shame. The two of them really weren’t these three’s opponents.
“Sure enough, Brother Ji is a true Grandmaster!” Yang Kai praised, looking at the Spirit Pill with Pill Veins. It truly was amazing to be able to refine an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill with Pill Veins. Even he himself did not often see Pill Veins when he refined Emperor Grade Spirit Pills.
This alone made Ji Ying worthy of his status as an Emperor Alchemist.
“Not at all, it is all thanks to Brother Yang that this Ji was able to form Pill Veins today!”
“This… What does this have to do with him?” Mi Qi retorted at the side, “Being able to achieve Pill Veins is a reflection of Grandmaster Ji’s Alchemy skills. How does it relate to him?”
“That’s right. If he hadn’t interfered, then there would probably be more than one Spirit Pill with Pill Veins right now!” Li Jiao chimed in.
Ji Ying shook his head and did not bother to explain as he believed that Yang Kai did not need his explanation.
Being able to refine an Emperor Yuan Pill that formed Pill Veins this time was all thanks to the pressure Yang Kai gave him. Even though he let his mind wander twice halfway through, Ji Ying was able to obtain a certain kind of enlightenment under that immense pressure, and only then was he able to achieve such a shocking result.
Otherwise, based on his usual abilities, he may not be able to produce even one Emperor Yuan Pill that formed Pill Veins out of a hundred furnaces. For one to appear in just one furnace today was truly a miracle.
But if he were to refine another furnace of Emperor Yuan Pills right now, he might not be as lucky.
Seeing that Ji Ying did not speak, Mi Qi and Li Jiao thought that he was just being polite with Yang Kai. How could they figure out all the intricacies of the situation? At once, Mi Qi said, “Palace Master Yang, we’ve already finished checking the Spirit Pills refined by Grandmaster Ji. I wonder how the Spirit Pills that Palace Master Yang refined are?”
“Heh heh, Palace Master Yang’s Alchemy skills are also quite amazing, I’m sure he managed to refine Pill Veins,” Li Jiao had deliberately put Yang Kai on a pedestal, but his intentions were obviously sinister.
Yang Kai smiled.
“Since we’ve already made our bets, take them out and let’s see the results,” Mi Qi had a smug face as if he’d already won, “Palace Master Yang wouldn’t be holding onto the Spirit Pills because he’s conscious that he can’t win against Grandmaster Ji, would he?”
Ji Ying quickly interjected, “Must the two of you speak in such a way? Brother Yang is also an Emperor Alchemist, and also the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace. We are all going to be living together in the Northern Territory in the future so we are sure to see much of each other. Why not just forget about today’s incident? Let us have a drink and let bygones be bygones while we discuss our various experiences in the outside world.”
He agreed to compete with Yang Kai in Alchemy out of impulse from anger, but now he actually began to feel a little worried for Yang Kai.
He was lucky enough to refine an Emperor Yuan Pill that formed Pill Veins, but Yang Kai couldn’t be that lucky as well, right? If he were to lose, then that would cost him five billion High-Rank Source Crystals. Both he and his First Disciple benefited greatly from Yang Kai today, especially his Disciple who was still in the midst of an epiphany. Clearly, Ji Ying’s Disciple must have gained a lot from the competition just now, so if Yang Kai really lost five billion because of him, then Ji Ying would definitely feel terrible about it.
That was why he wanted to act as the peacemaker to settle things between these three. Ji Ying had deliberately pointed out Yang Kai’s identity as an Emperor Alchemist so that Mi Qi and Li Jiao would hopefully know when to back down. As long as they could give up on this bet today, then they would definitely be able to befriend Yang Kai, and once they did so, would they have to worry about not getting any benefits in the future? At the very least, Yang Kai definitely would not refuse if they were ever to need help refining any Spirit Pills in the future.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi exchanged glances. Naturally, both of them understood Ji Ying’s intention, and both of them showed a troubled expression on their faces.
If it were any normal matter, they would be able to show Ji Ying some face, but five billion High-Rank Source Crystals were on the table here. Even if it was them, they still felt a little hesitant.
After a while, Mi Qi frowned, “Grandmaster Ji, a man is only as good as his word. Since Palace Master Yang has made a bet with us, then he should keep his promise. If Brother Li and I were to just let this go, then we would also be underestimating Palace Master Yang. I’m sure Palace Master Yang wouldn’t be happy about that.”
Ji Liao nodded, “Brother Mi is right. Please forgive us, Grandmaster Ji. It is not that we are unwilling, but… A bet is a bet, after all.”
Ji Ying’s face couldn’t help but turn a little sour from their answers. He didn’t expect that these two would not give him face even after he personally stepped out to persuade them. It seemed like they were determined to oppose Yang Kai to the end.
Just as Ji Ying was about to say something though, Yang Kai suddenly raised his hand to stop him and said, “Brother Ji doesn’t have to say anything. This Palace Master is willing to accept his losses if he were to lose.”
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were happy to hear this and liberally praised, “Palace Master Yang is truly an honourable man. If there is anything High Heaven Palace needs in the Northern Territory in the future, then just say the word. Our two Sects will surely not refuse.”
Who didn’t know cheap talk like this? If he really needed their help, then they might help depending on the circumstances. What’s more, they didn’t think Yang Kai would seek them out for help. Even if High Heaven Palace would not become enemies of their two Sects after this, they wouldn’t be getting along peacefully.
Yang Kai smiled, “This Palace Master only said he is willing to accept his loss, not that he has already lost. Are you two so confident that you can take five billion Source Crystals back with you today?”
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both dumbfounded while the latter commented, “Let’s take a look at the Spirit Pills that Palace Master Yang refined then.”
“Yes, that’s right. We have to take a look first.” Li Jiao also nodded repeatedly.
He was definitely going to lose anyway, so the least they could do was show him his loss bright and clear.
Ji Ying sighed. Since things have already come to this point, there was nothing he could do to stop them either. Five billion High-Rank Source Crystals was indeed a high enough number for Li Jiao and Mi Qi to risk offending him.
“Brother Ji, if you could help me with the inspection.” Yang Kai tossed the jade bottle in his hands to Ji Ying.
Ji Ying caught it and nodded, “Alright.”
After saying that, he opened the bottle and poured out the Emperor Yuan Pills inside.
All eyes were on his hand, and the breathing of the crowd seemed to have grown considerably quicker.
As the three Monster Kings exchanged glances, a fierce glint emerged in their eyes. Without needing to say anything, the three of them had already decided that they would immediately take down Mi Qi and Li Jiao if Yang Kai were to lose this match.
They wanted to take away five billion High-Rank Source Crystals today? Only in their dreams!
“Nine… Nine pills?” Li Jiao’s originally expectant eyes suddenly widened in astonishment at the nine Spirit Pills on Ji Ying’s left hand, his expression instantly transforming into one of shock.
Yang Kai actually managed to refine nine Emperor Yuan Pills, which was no worse than Ji Ying at all. Didn’t that mean that Yang Kai’s mastery in the Alchemic Dao was comparable to Ji Ying’s?
It’s not like just any Emperor Alchemist could just refine nine Spirit Pills.
“Pill Veins?” Mi Qi drew a breath of cold air as he stared at one of the pills.
That one Spirit Pill looked exactly the same as the one Spirit Pill Ji Ying refined with Pill Veins. There were dense lines over the surface of the pill, like an exquisite pattern that contained some sort of profound mystery.
“Ah?” Ji Ying was also thoroughly shocked.
It was within his expectations that Yang Kai was able to refine nine Emperor Yuan Pills as it would have been stranger if he failed to do so. However, the surprising thing was the fact that one of them actually formed Pill Veins.
Ji Ying was able to achieve such a feat out of a series of coincidences and good luck, but he didn’t expect Yang Kai’s luck to be so good as well.
“That’s… That’s impossible…” Mi Qi rubbed his eyes hard as if he was afraid they were playing tricks on him, but it seemed true that one of the Spirit Pills did have Pill Veins around its surface.
“You must have cheated!” Li Jiao’s face sank as he glared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Be careful what you say, Palace Master Li. You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you like! When did this Palace Master cheat?”
Li Jiao grunted, “You were the one who proposed to refine the Emperor Yuan Pill. This Spirit Pill with Pill Veins must have been obtained by you beforehand, and now you’ve brought it out to fill the gap!”
Hearing this, Mi Qi also thought it was logical. Yang Kai very quickly stuffed the Spirit Pills into the jade bottle from his furnace as soon as he was finished refining them, then he also asked Ji Ying to take out his Spirit Pills first. The jade bottle had been in his hands during that whole duration, so it was completely plausible that he could have swapped out the Spirit Pills.
[That’s right, now that makes sense!]
[What a treacherous little brat! Such dark designs are simply abominable!]
“Palace Master Yang, this isn’t appropriate, is it?” Mi Qi was blue-faced from anger. Those five billion High-Rank Source Crystals were right at his grasp, but were now up in the air because of Yang Kai’s cheating, so he wasn’t very happy. The worst part was, neither he nor Li Jiao had any evidence to prove their claims.
“Whether I swapped it in or not, just ask Brother Ji and you’ll know the answer,” Yang Kai curled his lips in disdain, not even bothering to argue with them.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi both turned their heads towards Ji Ying.
Ji Ying nodded, “These nine Spirit Pills all came out of a furnace just now. They were not made beforehand.”
“What!?”
“That’s impossible, Grandmaster Ji. Please take a closer look!”
“Are you doubting even my words now?” Ji Ying’s face turned dark, feeling extremely displeased. Even though he intended to befriend Yang Kai, he would not lie about such matters as it concerned his honour. Mi Qi and Li Jiao were simply questioning his character and credibility by making such a remark.
Both Mi Qi and Li Jiao were shocked, and only then did they come to realize they had angered and offended Ji Ying.
Mi Qi quickly said, “You misunderstand, Grandmaster Ji. Naturally, we do not dare to question your word, but we do not know what this little brat’s character is like, so we have to be on our guard. Please, Grandmaster Ji, take another look! Have these pills been tampered with in any way?”
Ji Ying answered indifferently, “Each refinement produces a batch of Spirit Pills that have unique traces that can never be replicated perfectly again. Those who have not immersed themselves in the Alchemic Dao for a long enough time will not be able to tell, but from what this Ji can see, these nine Spirit Pills all indeed came from the same furnace.”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both dumbfounded at those words.
“Of course, the easiest way to tell is by the fact that these Spirit Pills are all still warm. If you don’t believe me, feel free to inspect them yourselves.” As he said that, Ji Ying threw the Emperor Yuan Pill with Pill Veins directly to Mi Qi at the side.
Mi Qi caught it and felt it carefully. Just as Ji Ying said, the Spirit Pill was indeed warm and had obviously just been refined.
His heart sank into the abyss as he handed it over to Li Jiao so that he could feel it too.
Yang Kai sneered, “Are the two of you still going to say that this Palace Master cheated?”
Mi Qi laughed dryly, “Of course not, we were just making a joke, a small joke. Please pay it no mind, Palace Master Yang.”
“That joke wasn’t funny at all.”
Li Jiao coughed dryly, “Both of you refined nine Spirit Pills with a single one forming Pill Veins. So does that mean… it’s a tie?”
“A tie it is then, no winners or losers!” Mi Qi quickly added in, but the look of disappointment on his face was obvious.
Yang Kai chuckled, “The quantity is the same, even with regards to forming Pill Veins, so the deciding factor is quality. There are always differences in efficacy!”
Ji Ying nodded at his words, “That’s right. The difference in quality can really distinguish things.”
Both Li Jiao and Mi Qi’s hearts jumped. Even though they were reluctant to accept ending things as a tie, they could still barely accept it since they weren’t losing anything anyway, but now that Yang Kai had taken the initiative to propose determining the winner by quality, they couldn’t help feeling some tightness in their chests.
[Could it be that… he really had the confidence to win? Otherwise, why would he propose such a thing?]
As soon as that thought came up, both of them instantly began to panic and Mi Qi quickly said, “Let’s just call it a tie. There’s no need to judge the quality.”
Yang Kai grunted, “Since it’s a bet, then we naturally have to determine who the winner is. Why? What is Sect Master Mi scared of?”
Mi Qi answered nervously, “What? This King, scared? What nonsense, Palace Master Yang.”
Li Jiao’s forehead also couldn’t help becoming a bit damp with sweat as that bad feeling in his heart became more apparent.
“Let me trouble Brother Ji to check once more!” Yang Kai turned towards Ji Ying.
“A trivial matter.” Ji Ying nodded.
At this point, winning or losing in this duel with Yang Kai didn’t matter that much to him anymore. He could tell at a glance that Yang Kai was able to perceive the true essence of the Alchemic Dao, so in the future, he may even be able to stand side by side with his Honoured Master. Therefore, Ji Ying didn’t think it would be shameful even if he were to lose here.
This Alchemy competition had also been quite rewarding for him, so Ji Ying felt that after returning and entering retreat for a time, he would definitely be able to make a breakthrough in his pursuit of the Alchemic Dao. When that time came, he may even be able to improve his skills to be no less than his Senior Brothers and Senior Sister.
At once, he focused his heart on examining the pills. He was holding both his and Yang Kai’s Emperor Yuan Pills on each hand, inspecting their colour, size, purity, and emitted aura. He even scraped off a layer of powder from each of the pills and tasted it.
The hall was silent as everyone looked on nervously, especially Mi Qi and Li Jiao. This bet related to fifty years of earnings for both of their respective Sects, so they were both eyeing Ji Ying intently like leeches on their prey, observing his expressions, fearing that he would say something that would mean bad news for them.
Yang Kai was the only calm and collected one, even walking back to his seat to pick up his cup of tea.
After a long time, Ji Ying finally exhaled. It seemed from the look on his face that he had come to a conclusion.
“Grand… Grandmaster Ji, what are the results?” Mi Qi asked nervously as even his voice slightly cracked.
Li Jiao was also watching Ji Ying intently, not even realizing that he had sweat running down his cheek.
“This Ji… is lacking. Brother Yang’s aptitude in the Alchemic Dao is superior, this Ji admires his skill greatly!” Ji Ying did not respond to them, but instead turned to Yang Kai and cupped his fists in respect.
“This Yang is unworthy of Brother Ji’s praise. This Yang was only able to win this time due to luck. I will still have to trouble Brother Ji to give me pointers in the future,” Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fists in return.
Ji Ying waved his hand with a bitter smile.
While the two of them talked, Li Jiao and Mi Qi stood there like fools, faces turning blue as the blood in their veins seemed to freeze solid.
Even though Ji Ying did not explicitly declare the winner, the meaning of his words were clear enough.
“Grand… Grandmaster Ji, are you sure? Are the Spirit Pills that he refined truly of higher quality?” Mi Qi asked in a trembling voice.
Li Jiao also hurried to add, “Why don’t you look at it again?”
Ji Ying’s expression turned to anger this time as he spat in a cold voice, “Are the two of you questioning this Ji’s character and competence?”
His character and skill had never been questioned by the two of them before, so Ji Ying also did not want to fuss over the matter with them out of the years of friendship they had together, but for them to repeatedly question his judgement angered Ji Ying very much.
Once was enough, but what did they mean by questioning him twice? Was his word really worth so little?
Seeing that Ji Ying was truly angered this time, both Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s hearts jumped as they belatedly realized how rude they had been.
Mi Qi wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, “No, no, no, Grandmaster Ji has misunderstood. Neither Brother Li nor I mean anything of the sort, please believe us, Grandmaster Ji.”
They could offend whoever else they wanted, but they could not afford to offend Ji Ying.
Ji Ying grunted, “Let me tell you. A real Alchemist will never make jokes with the pills they refine. If this Ji says he lost, then this Ji lost! There is no need for me to slander my own name to put Brother Yang on a pedestal.” After a pause, he extended both hands towards them, “If the two of you do not trust this Ji, then try the medicinal efficacies of these two Spirit Pills yourselves. Since the two of you are both Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, then it should be easy for you to tell which is the stronger by taking them and refining them.”
Li Jiao and Mi Qi both exchanged glances and saw the intent in each other’s eyes as this was indeed a good idea.
This was an important matter, so they couldn’t help but be overcautious. However, if they were to do this, then they would completely offend Ji Ying because once they took those Spirit Pills to refine, it would mean they really did not believe in Ji Ying’s words.
These two choices troubled Li Jiao and Mi Qi greatly.
Yang Kai on the other hand was cheerful and fanned the flames, “I think it’s best if the two of you try them for yourselves, that way you can uphold Brother Ji’s name as well!”
Ji Ying stood there with a cold face, hands still outstretched.
Gritting his teeth, Li Jiao stepped forward and said with shame, “My apologies.”
He picked out a single Emperor Yuan Pill from each of Ji Ying’s hands at random.
Seeing this, Mi Qi also took two Emperor Yuan Pills.
Once they finished, Ji Ying declared bluntly, “Since the two of you do not trust this Ji, then this Ji’s cooperation with you two will end here. There is no need for you to come to Medicine Pill Valley to ask this Ji to refine Spirit Pills in the future either.”
Upon hearing this, Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both shaken. Pale-faced, they spoke in unison, “Grandmaster Ji…”
“It’s needless to say more!” Ji Ying coldly snorted, not even bothering to say another word to them.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi both heaved heavy sighs. Looking at the two Spirit Pills in their hands, they suddenly felt as if these small Spirit Pills weighed tens of thousands of kilograms.
Since things had come to this though, the two of them could only grit their teeth and refine these Emperor Yuan Pills.
Since they have already offended Ji Ying, they couldn’t lose those five billion Source Crystals either, could they? Once they refined the two Emperor Yuan Pills and proved that the one that Ji Ying refined was better than Yang Kai’s, then they would still gain something in the end.
Even though Emperor Alchemists were rare, there were still a few in the Northern Territory that did not belong to Medicine Pill Valley.
Circulating their Emperor Qi and refining the Emperor Yuan Pills, they managed to completely refine its medical efficacies in just a short moment. Then, the two of them took the second Emperor Yuan Pill and continued refining.
A short while later, both Li Jiao and Mi Qi opened their eyes. Grief-stricken as if they were mourning the death of their parents, both their faces looked extremely terrible.
After refining both pills themselves, they clearly felt that the first Emperor Yuan Pill they took had lower medicinal efficacy than the one they took after. And, the first one that they took was the Spirit Pill that Ji Ying refined.
The difference between the two was not too big, but the former Spirit Pill was still just a slight bit inferior.
Ji Ying commented at this point, “This Ji lost to Brother Yang in the process of condensing medicinal liquid, as the medicinal liquid that this Ji condensed was not as pure as Brother Yang’s. That is why the pills became slightly inferior. Since the two of you have personally refined them and verified this fact, you should have come to a conclusion, right? Or is this Ji still speaking carelessly and favouring Brother Yang?”
Mi Qi had a bitter face, “We never meant to imply such a thing.”
Of course, they could speak contrary to facts and say that the Spirit Pill that Ji Ying refined was better, but that would be an obvious and completely shameless lie, and with the three Monster Kings staring at them with unkind eyes, it was obvious they wouldn’t just let such an insult pass. What’s more, there was still that terrifyingly strong woman called Qing’er. If they really were to do such a shameless thing, then the situation was not destined to end well for them.
“Since the results are out, then the two of you… Please accept your loss willingly,” Yang Kai walked over step after step with his hands behind his back.
Both Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s faces were twitching as they felt as if their hearts had been stabbed and were now leaking blood.
“Grandmaster Ji…” Mi Qi shot a pleading look at Ji Ying, hoping that he would step out to speak in favour of them.
But Ji Ying just went back to his own seat, not paying them any mind. He was clearly annoyed by them.
Seeing this reaction, both Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s hearts cooled like damp ashes. They were in an unfavourable situation right now, and they definitely wouldn’t be able to win in a fight, nor could they escape. If they were to really start a battle here, then the two of them would definitely be forced to remain here forever.
Why did they think of coming to High Heaven Palace with Ji Ying in the first place? Now they had dug their own graves. Truly, entering a tiger’s den was easier than leaving. Both of their guts were churning with regret.
“Well then, you two are both well-known characters in the Northern Territory, so you couldn’t possibly be thinking of reneging on your debts, could you?” Yang Kai’s face turned fierce as he glared at the two of them.
“En?” The three Monster Kings made threatening noises in unison, Monster Qi spilling out, seemingly as if they would take the two of them down the instant Yang Kai gave the order.
“How could we?” Li Jiao wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. While suffering slightly, he could only smile, “If we are willing to bet, then we are definitely willing to concede. Brother Mi and I will definitely not renege on our debts.”
“That’s right, that’s right. We won’t do that.” Mi Qi also nodded repeatedly.
How many years has it been since they had humbled themselves like this? Not even in front of Ji Ying had they ever been this meek. Now though, the two of them had finally re-experienced what it was like to be inferior, and the vexing feeling in their heart could not be washed away even with the waters of three rivers and five lakes.
“Since you aren’t going to renege, then hurry and pay up!” Yang Kai stretched a hand out to them like a predatory creditor.
Mi Qi said with a bitter face, “Palace Master Yang, how can five billion High-Rank Source Crystals be taken out so easily?”
“That’s right, the number is too great,” Li Jiao also said awkwardly.
“Two and a half billion then. If you can’t take out five billion, then you should be able to take out two and a half billion, can’t you?” Yang Kai eyed the two from the corner of his eye.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s heads shook like rattles.
Yang Kai glared, “How many years have your Sects been established in the Northern Territory? How could you be so poor? Aren’t you afraid of people laughing if word got out that you couldn’t even take out a measly two and a half billion Source Crystals?”
Li Jiao answered, “Palace Master Yang does not understand. Our Sects may earn a lot each year, but our expenses are equally large. Not much balance remains after each year.”
“That’s right.” Mi Qi nodded, “Palace Master Yang also obtained the foundation and wealth accumulated by Seeking Passion Sect over the millennia of its existence, so he could know how many Source Crystals there were. Our Sects and Seeking Passion Sect were not that far apart in terms of overall strength and assets.”
“So, does that mean the two of you can’t pay up?” Yang Kai’s face suddenly turned cold.
“For now… we can’t.” Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both feeling very guilty.
“How dare you!” Yang Kai bellowed, “What gave you the guts to make such a large bet with me if you didn’t have the capital to do so? Did the two of you come just to make a pastime out of this Palace Master? Hear my order, Monster Kings, kill them!”
“Yes!” Upon hearing this, all three Monster Kings shot out immediately.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both horrified, thinking that Yang Kai may have planned to wipe out both of them long ago so he could rob the foundations of their Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace. If the two of them were to die here, then their Sects would be without leaders. There will be no way they could resist the terrifying might of High heaven Palace then. They would probably be razed to the ground immediately.
“Hold on, please wait!” Seeing that the three Monster Kings were rushing towards him, Mi Qi quickly raised his hand and shouted.
“Wait!” Yang Kai also shouted.
The three Monster Kings stopped instantly, but they stood around Li Jiao and Mi Qi, surrounding them with their Monster Qi, not giving them any room to escape at all.
Cold sweat slid down their cheeks, dripping onto the ground with a clear noise.
Watching the two of them, Yang Kai asked lightly, “Does Sect Master Mi have any last words? This Palace Master is merciful, so he will allow you to live for another few breaths of time!”
He wanted him to say his last words already? Black lines covered Mi Qi’s face. Suppressing the panic in his heart, he said nervously, “Palace Master Yang, Brother Li and I did not intend to renege on our debt, nor did we have any intentions not to honour our bets. We just… we do not have the capital to fulfil this bet. We should not have made such a large bet with Palace Master Yang without being fully prepared, but now that things have come to this, you have nothing to gain even if you were to kill us.”
“That’s right, that’s right! If you kill us, then those five billion Source Crystals will really be gone and you will also be making mortal enemies with our Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect.”
“Since I can destroy Seeking Passion Sect, why would I fear your Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect?” Yang Kai sneered at them with much disdain. However, he stroked his chin in a manner that seemed like he was considering things seriously and nodded after a long while, “But you are right. Keep talking, whether you can live or not depends on your mouths now.”
Mi Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that his life was safe for the time being, but he also knew that if he couldn’t convince Yang Kai to let the two of them live, then they were certain to lose their lives here today.
After thinking for a while, he organized his words and began, “Brother Li and I can’t possibly gather so many Source Crystals right now, but a portion is still possible.”
“How much?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.
“Five… five hundred million?” Mi Qi asked tentatively.
Li Jiao nodded, “Five hundred million is possible.”
“Are you trying to dismiss a beggar with that?” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “This Palace Master earned more than ten times that from Seeking Passion Sect’s Treasury! If you dare mention a measly five hundred million again, I’ll kill you right now! At worst I would simply lose those five hundred million Source Crystals.”
“A billion, a billion!” Mi Qi hastily changed his words hastily, “We cannot offer any more. If we go any higher, then we really won’t be able to take it out immediately.”
This was already the bottom line for his Full Sky Sect. Even a billion would require him to take out several treasures to sell just to scrape together the required amount.
“And you, Palace Master Li?” Yang Kai eyed Li Jiao coldly.
Li Jiao said uneasily, “Yes yes, the most I can gather is a billion.”
“One billion huh…” Yang Kai paced back and forth, thinking for a while before nodding, “Fine, one billion it is.”
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were overjoyed at those words.
But before they had time to relax, Yang Kai added, “But you’ll still be short one and a half billion each then. How are the two of you planning to pay the rest back?”
“This…” Li Jiao and Mi Qi were at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer.
Yang Kai continued, “This Palace Master does have an idea, but I’m not sure if you are willing to listen.”
“Please enlighten us, Palace Master Yang!” Both Li Jiao and Mi Qi turned to Yang Kai together.
“If you don’t have enough Source Crystals on hand, then you can make up the amount with treasures. I believe that the two of you must have many rare treasures in the storehouses of your Sects. My High Heaven Palace has not been established for long, so we just happen to need large amounts of cultivation resources. Let’s see, an Emperor Artifact can count for ten million, so for one and a half billion, you only need to turn over a hundred and fifty!”
“A hundred and fifty Emperor Artifacts!”
“An Emperor Artifact is only worth ten million High-Rank Source Crystals?”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao both exclaimed in unison, cursing him in their hearts. Even though they had known that Yang Kai would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to cut off a pound of flesh from them, they didn’t think he would be so ruthless. This was outright robbery!
What Emperor Artifact was worth only 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals? Even the worst Emperor Artifacts would never sell for so little! What’s more, a hundred and fifty Emperor Artifacts was a ridiculous number. Even if both their Sects combined all of their assets, it would still be impossible for them to find so many Emperor Artifacts.
“If you don’t have Emperor Artifacts, then Dao Source Grade Artifacts and Origin King Grade Artifacts will do as well, along with spirit flowers, herbs, rare ores… As long as they are cultivation materials or rare resources, this Palace Master will accept them all,” Yang Kai waved his hand as if making it seem like he was a generous soul.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi’s faces were as black as the bottom of a pot. If they really did as Yang Kai said, then wouldn’t both their Sects be emptied by him? What would happen to the disciples in their Sects then? How could they still face all the Elders and Disciples of their Sects?
“No, that’s impossible…” Li Jiao was almost in tears, “Palace Master Yang, please have mercy!”
Yang Kai’s face turned cold, “This Palace Master has already given you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it. Now you want to blame me?”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both speechless.
Yang Kai sighed, “As Brother Ji said before, we are all cultivators of the Northern Territory, so we are surely going to see more of each other in the future. So, this Palace Master will not feel good taking things too far either.”
[You want to ‘apologize’ now?] Li Jiao and Mi Qi sneered in their hearts.
“How about this? This Palace Master has another suggestion. If this too is impossible, then you two can just stay here until your Sects pay a ransom to take you back. I’ll let the two of you go whenever they gather enough Source Crystals.”
“Please go on, Palace Master Yang.”
Even though they knew that Yang Kai’s idea definitely won’t be a good one, it was better than him exterminating their Sects and taking all of their treasures by force. It didn’t hurt to listen to his suggestions either.
“Once you manage to gather the first billion Source Crystals… You can pay the rest in instalments,” Yang Kai said while waving his hand.
“Pay in instalments?” When they heard this, Li Jiao and Mi Qi exchanged glances before cautiously asking, “How are the instalments going to be calculated?”
Yang Kai explained, “Since you both command top Sects, it is natural for you to have large incomes each year. In the future, a portion of that income will be paid to my High Heaven Palace. When you finish paying off your debt, the bet will end. What do the two of you think of this suggestion?”
Mi Qi said with great joy, “Palace Master Yang’s suggestion is good, we’ll pay in instalments then!”
Li Jiao also nodded, “Good, good, good, Palace Master Yang is truly wise to be able to think of such an idea.”
“Your heads are also pretty good,” Yang Kai smiled, “In that case, let’s do that. But we should discuss the details carefully.”
“Yes, of course,” Mi Qi nodded incessantly.
Yang Kai continued, “I take it your Sects earn around fifty million High-Rank Source Crystals a year, is that correct?”
“Just about,” Mi Qi and Li Jiao nodded. For those small or medium Sects, this was a terrifying number. It should be known that the Emperor Realm Masters who participated in Flowing Shadow City’s auction only brought around ten or twenty million High-Rank Source Crystals with them, and even that had emptied the coffers of their respective Sects. But for Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect, their annual earnings alone would reach over fifty million.
The difference was like Heaven and Earth.
“I won’t ask for all fifty million then, forty million each year will do!” Yang Kai said to the two of them.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao’s faces twitched. If they had to pay forty million each year, it meant they would only have ten million left for their own Sects. That was a greatly reduced figure, and their Sects would surely not have an easy life in the future.
But if they wanted to pay off their debt, then they had no choice but to do so.
The two of them nodded sullenly, agreeing.
“Good, after fifty years of payments, the debt will be cleared,” Yang Kai said seriously.
Both mi Qi and Li Jiao frowned when they heard this, with the former asking, “Palace Master Yang, this number… doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”
Li Jiao also chimed in, “That’s right, Palace Master Yang. Did you miscount? Brother Mi and I each have a bet of two and a half billion to settle, and we will be giving you a billion upfront, so only one and a half billion will be left. If we hand over 40 million a year, then no matter how you calculate it, it would not take fifty years to pay off the balance.”
If they went according to what Yang Kai said, then the total number of High-Rank Source Crystals their Sects would end up paying to High Heaven Palace would be three billion, which was five hundred million more than their bet.
Yang Kai sneered, “Do you two not count interest?”
“In… Interest!” Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both dumbfounded.
What sort of interest would cost this much? Five hundred million High-Rank Source Crystals was already ten years worth of each Sect’s revenue!
It was only at this moment that they understood Yang Kai’s sinister intentions. They thought he was offering them the opportunity to pay in instalments out of conscience and consideration for future relations, but who knew that he had actually been digging a big hole for them and tempting them to jump into it?
“You have two choices here,” Yang Kai looked impatiently at them, “Either you gather two and half billion Source Crystals worth of resources and send them to my High Heaven Palace within a month, or you can gather one billion and repay the rest over the next fifty years!”
“Palace Master Yang…”
“You think this Palace Master won’t destroy your Sects if you try to haggle with me again?” Yang Kai spat with an unkind glare.
Mi Qi and Li Jiao immediately fell silent, their faces filled with fear.
They could also see that Yang Kai’s patience was almost worn out. If they kept on dragging things out, then they would be the ones eating a loss in the end.
Exchanging glances with each other, Mi Qi said helplessly, “We’ll pay in instalments then.”
Even though they had to pay an additional five hundred million with this method, which would hurt them gravely, they could at least retain their foundations this way. If they really forcefully coughed up the full two and a half billion in a month, it would definitely deal critical damage to their Sects, damage they might not be able to recover from even after a hundred years.
However, it was now apparent that for the next fifty years, both Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect would likely have to take High Heaven Palace’s head as their guide, and the disciples of their Sects would also be unable to raise their heads in front of the disciples of High Heaven Palace.
Li Jiao had a gloomy look on his face, “I will also pay in instalments.”
“Very good!” Yang Kai rubbed his palms and smiled, “Both of you are men of decisive character! In that case, please return now. This Palace Master wants to see your one billion Source Crystals within a month, then we will collect the rest each year after. We should not delay matters, so this Palace Master will not keep you two. Please!”
Mi Qi and Li Jiao cupped their fists, exhausted, and turned around, walking outside.
Unlike their exuberant faces when they arrived, they were now completely downcast.
Nobody would be happy to encounter such a tragedy, and it would also be a headache for them to tell the Elders of their respective Sects once they returned. A lifetime of fame, ruined because of one wrong move! Both men were filled with remorse and regret, wondering in their hearts whether they should refuse to acknowledge their debts after leaving…
“Palace Master Li, please wait.”
Before the two of them could walk out of the hall though, Ji Ying suddenly spoke up.
Hearing his call, Li Jiao turned his head to look at Ji Ying and asked, “Grandmaster Ji, what are your instructions?”
“I dare not give instructions,” Ji Ying responded frankly as he tossed a wooden box towards Li Jiao, “As this Ji’s skill is lacking, this Ji is afraid that he may fail Palace Master Li’s request. So, I will return this Dragon Blood Flower to Palace Master Li. Palace Master Li should find another Grandmaster to assist him.”
“Dragon Blood Flower!” Zhu Qing who had been standing quietly in the corner of the hall this whole time was suddenly roused as if a nerve had been touched. Her face changed, and at the same time, she reached out to grab the wooden box and a huge suction force suddenly appeared, bringing it right into her hands.
Before Li Jiao could even recover from the shock of Ji Ying’s words, he suddenly discovered that his precious treasure had been snatched away. Face changing, he shouted, “Young Lady, what are you trying to do?!”
Truly, when it rains, it pours. Not only did the ship arrive late, it set sail in a headwind too.
They had already completely offended Ji Ying during this trip, so not only did his plan to refine the Dragon Blood Pill fall through, now the materials have also been stolen away.
That was the spirit flower that he spent so many years cultivating with his own Blood Essence. He was counting on it to improve his own strength, so how could Li Jiao stand idly by while it fell into the hands of another person? But he didn’t dare to be forceful here and just looked at Zhu Qing with an indignant face, hoping that this young woman would return the Dragon Blood Flower to him.
Zhu Qing flicked her wrist, opened the wooden box, and a bright red flower lying quietly inside immediately came into view.
Yang Kai looked over curiously, and his eyes couldn’t help but light up.
The Dragon Blood Flower was like a crystal formed from the purest blood. The strangest thing was the fact that a trace of Dragon Qi was actually being emitted from the flower.
Even if he had never heard of this Dragon Blood Flower before, and it was also his first time seeing it, Yang Kai understood that it must be something amazing.
“It really is a Dragon Blood Flower!” Zhu Qing frowned and shut the wooden box again, but she didn’t give it back to Li Jiao. Instead, she glared at him and snapped coldly, “Where did you get this Dragon Blood Flower?”
Li Jiao answered, “Young Lady, please return that flower back to me first!”
Naturally, Zhu Qing paid him no mind, and before Li Jiao could blink, she appeared in front of him with a solemn and aggressive demeanour, “I’ll ask you one more time, where did you get this Dragon Blood Flower from!”
A powerful aura suddenly pressed down on him, causing Li Jiao’s breathing to grow difficult. All the blood in his body seemed to freeze up and he couldn’t help but back up a few steps. Face pale, he answered, “I came upon it by chance. Why are you asking me?”
He was truly baffled now. This Dragon Blood Flower was really something that he obtained by chance, and even though it was precious, what about it was enough to rile up this woman so much? Even more shockingly, he couldn’t muster the slightest bit of resistance against this woman in front of him despite being a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. A sort of fear born from the deepest marrow of his bones which consumed all his will gripped him every time he faced her.
But how could that be? He was already a Third-Order Emperor, but he was completely suppressed just by her aura alone. Only a Great Emperor could achieve this, but no matter how he looked at her, this woman in front of him didn’t look like a Great Emperor at all.
“Liar!” Zhu Qing shouted, “The Dragon Blood Flower only grows on Dragon Island. It can’t appear elsewhere!”
She seemed to be possessed with anger, and as she spoke, a resounding dragon roar suddenly rang out across the sky. The illusory phantom of a giant dragon head suddenly appeared above her, its two majestic eyes staring down at Li Jiao. In an instant, all the strength seemed to have been drained from Li Jiao’s body, and he actually fell to the ground with his eyes wide in horror. Cold sweat was pouring down his forehead like a waterfall as she stutteringly shouted, “Dragon Clan!”
“What!?” Mi Qi was also taken by surprise and kicked the ground hard to put some distance between Zhu Qing and himself, his face turning as white as snow.
Mi Qi looked stunned at the phantom dragon head above Zhu Qing’s head, and he couldn’t help but gulp audibly.
No wonder this woman had such terrifying power despite her petite size, and no wonder why Li Jiao couldn’t muster any resistance against her despite being a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, it turned out this woman belonged to the Dragon Clan!
If that was the case, then everything could be explained.
The Dragon Clan was the king of the myriad spirits, the leader of all Divine Spirits! Naturally, it would not be difficult for an adult dragon to be able to send him flying with a single punch, and Li Jiao was even worse off. Due to the trace of Dragon Bloodline in his body, he was completely suppressed by the Bloodline Power of this dragon girl in front of him. He may not even be able to find a sliver of strength in his body in front of her.
This was the terror of Dragon Blood’s bloodline suppression.
But how could there be a Dragon here? And, looking at Yang Kai’s attitude towards this dragon girl before, their relationship seemed a little unusual.
Could Dragon Island be lurking behind this High Heaven Palace?
Mi Qi was still thinking about whether he should renege on his debt after escaping from High Heaven Palace a moment ago, but how could he dare to do that now? With the Dragon Clan being involved, he wouldn’t dare to run away from his debt even if he had a hundred times to courage.
On the other end, Ji Ying who was seated on his chair was also stunned.
As the Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, he was a knowledgeable and experienced man, but he had never met a true Dragon Clan member before. He never thought he would have the chance to set his eyes upon one in this High Heaven Palace.
Thinking back to Yang Kai’s attitude towards this dragon girl though, he remembered he had even asked her to serve them tea!
Cold sweat began to drip down Ji Ying’s face while deep admiration for Yang Kai, as well as shock and fear, filled his heart.
The Dragon Clan were famous for their pride and arrogance, so how could one of them possibly end up being treated as a maidservant? If her temper were to be provoked, then who would be able to walk out of this hall alive?
What ability did Yang Kai possess to be able to make a dragon girl so obedient to him? Could he also be part of the Dragon Clan?
At that thought, Ji Ying began looking at Yang Kai in a different light. Originally, his identity as an Emperor Alchemist as well as his ability to beat him in an Alchemy competition was enough to garner Ji Ying’s attention and make him want to befriend him, but now, all Ji Ying could think of was ‘admiring the high mountains’.
To be served tea by a dragon girl. Even his Honoured Master, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor himself, would not receive this kind of honour if he personally came to visit, right?
Ji Ying’s thoughts couldn’t help but run wild.
“Speak, where did you get this Dragon Blood Flower? Tell me or die!” Zhu Qing eyed Li Jiao coldly, murderous intent radiating from her body.
The Dragon Blood Flower was an exclusive product of Dragon Island, but now one had actually appeared outside. Even though it was of the lowest quality possible, it was still undoubtedly a Dragon Blood Flower. Could it be that someone from Dragon Island was colluding with the outside world, selling Dragon Blood Flowers? This was no small matter, also the reason Zhu Qing was so serious about it.
“Frozen Earth! The Frozen Earth! I got it from the Frozen Earth!” How could Li Jiao dare to hide anything at this moment? A living, breathing dragon girl was standing right in front of him. The bloodline suppression he felt was more than enough to send fear into his bones. If this dragon girl wanted to kill him, then she could very likely do it in just one move. So, he could do nothing but reveal his secret.
“So, it’s the Frozen Earth!” Mi Qi was shocked. He had asked many times in the past, curious to know where Li Jiao had obtained this Dragon Blood Flower, but each time, Li Jiao would try to brush off the question, which made him grit his teeth in hate. Only now did he find out that this Dragon Blood Flower actually came from the Frozen Earth!
This was a dangerous Forbidden Zone, and it was rumoured that even Great Emperors did not dare tread deeply into it. A Third-Order Emperor would be taking a great risk just entering the Frozen Earth.
“Frozen Earth,” Zhu Qing frowned. She believed him partially and she didn’t think that Li Jiao would dare to lie under her pressure, but she was still curious and asked, “How could there be a Dragon Blood Flower in the Frozen Earth?”
That damned place was extremely cold without any living things in sight, so how could a Dragon Blood Flower appear there?
Li Jiao hurried to explain, “A dragon seemed to have met its end there, and his bones must have been buried in that ground. That was how the Dragon Blood Flower managed to germinate and survive.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qing’s face changed, “The burial place of a dragon then?”
She seemed to have thought of something, and after a few breaths of silence, she pressed, “You better be telling me the truth, or I’ll rip you into a thousand pieces.”
“Every word is true!” Li Jiao responded with haste.
“Where exactly did you discover the fallen dragon? What landmarks were nearby?” Zhu Qing suddenly transmitted her voice directly to him.
When he heard this, Li Jiao understood that she intended to investigate the matter herself. But this wasn’t a surprise as a dragon may possibly have met its end there, and the Dragon Clan’s numbers were small to begin with. Each one of their clansmen was extremely precious, so if one of them fell in the Frozen Earth, then naturally, Zhu Qing had to go and investigate. At the very least, she had to retrieve their bones to give them a proper burial.
Li Jiao transmitted back, “Young Lady, if you really plan to collect the corpse of your clansmen personally, then there is no need for that. I have checked before and the bones of that dragon had already turned into dust. It no longer exists.”
Zhu Qing quickly snapped, “You need only tell me the location. You don’t have to care about anything else.”
Seeing her insistence, Li Jiao could only tell Zhu Qing the location. In the end, he also added, “The Frozen Earth is a very dangerous place. If Young Lady were to meet with any accidents inside, it is none of my business.”
Zhu Qing sneered, “Even you managed to come out of there alive, why can’t I?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Li Jiao’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. He then glanced at the wooden box in Zhu Qing’s hand, “Then, this Dragon Blood Flower…”
“Do you want to die?”
“I’ll return it to the Young Lady, it belongs to Dragon Island to begin with!” Li Jiao quickly changed his tone, but his heart felt pained enough that it could bleed.
He really suffered a miserable loss this time. Losing so many Source Crystals to Yang Kai was already a big heartache to him, and now he was going to lose the precious Dragon Blood Flower he spent so much time and effort raising too.
He shouldn’t have come. He really shouldn’t have come to this damned High Heaven Palace!
“Scram!” Zhu Qing waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.
Only then did Li Jiao get up in a hurry. He took another reluctant look at the wooden box before turning around and flying off.
Since Li Jiao had already left, Mi Qi naturally did not dare to stay any longer. Cupping his fists and excusing himself, he quickly followed suit.
“Qing’er, let me have a look at that.” Inside the hall, Yang Kai suddenly beckoned Zhu Qing with a smile on his face.
Zhu Qing glanced at Yang Kai with scorn and casually tossed the wooden box to him.
Yang Kai grabbed it and opened the box, clicking his tongue at the marvellous sight.
“The Dragon Blood Flower is one of the most exotic spirit flowers in the world and can only be cultivated with the blood of a Dragon Clansmen. It only grows on Dragon Island,” Ji Ying explained on the side.
“Cultivated with Dragon Blood?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at those words.
Dragon Blood itself was already a very good thing, and it was rare for anyone to be able to see it, so how could something cultivated with Dragon Blood be any worse? No wonder this Dragon Blood Flower was so full of energy and even contained a wisp of Dragon Qi.
Even though he had no idea what sort of Spirit Pill could be refined from this Dragon Blood Flower, Yang Kai could instinctively tell that this spirit flower was very useful to him.
“Can it be refined?” Yang Kai raised his head to look at Ji Ying.
Ji Ying smiled, “Naturally. The Spirit Pill made with the Dragon Blood Flower as the main ingredient is called the Dragon Blood Pill. If a dragon or someone with a Dragon Clan bloodline were to take such a pill, they would be able to enhance the purity and power of their bloodline. Even if an ordinary person were to take it, it would grant tremendous benefits, especially for body tempering.”
“Dragon Blood Pill…” Yang Kai muttered, an interested expression on his face.
According to Ji Ying, this Dragon Blood Flower could be refined into a furnace of Dragon Blood Pills, and not only could the Dragon Blood Pill enhance the purity of a dragon bloodline, it also had a significant effect on the tempering of a physique, not to mention a variety of other positive effects.
The quality of his own physical body was extremely strong to begin with, so if he could refine this Dragon Blood Flower into Dragon Blood Pills, then it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
Yang Kai’s thoughts couldn’t help but spin as he turned to Ji Ying and asked, “Brother Ji, do you have the pill recipe for the Dragon Blood Pill?”
Ji Ying scratched his cheek and coughed dryly, “Yes I do, but…” He glanced at Zhu Qing.
There was a real dragon girl here so he didn’t dare to discuss with Yang Kai about the matter of refining the Dragon Blood Pill; after all, the significance of the Dragon Blood Flower to Dragon Island was simply too big. If he were to provoke this dragon girl, then even his identity as one of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Legacy Disciples may not necessarily be able to save him.
“You want Dragon Blood Flowers?” Zhu Qing looked at Yang Kai.
“You have more?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, but he soon reckoned this was an obvious fact; after all, Zhu Qing was a Dragon, so it made sense for her to have a lot of Dragon Blood Flowers on her. If he could get her to part with those Dragon Blood Flowers, then he could refine a large batch of Dragon Blood Pills and greatly enhance his strength!
“I do.” Zhu Qing nodded.
Yang Kai was overjoyed, but before he could say anything more, Zhu Qing continued, “But I left them all on Dragon Island. It’s taboo to take Dragon Blood Flowers out of Dragon Island.”
His excitement was instantly doused with cold water, causing Yang Kai to shout in an aggrieved tone, “Then why did you bother saying that in the first place!”
However, this too made sense as he had checked Zhu Qing’s Space Ring before. If she really did have Dragon Blood Flowers, then he would have found them already.
Ji Ying’s forehead was covered in cold sweat again. How could this Yang Kai have such a casual attitude towards a dragon girl, not even showing a trace of politeness? Ji Ying’s heart was simply drumming with worry.
Zhu Qing smiled, a cunning light flashing across her eyes, “If you come with me to Dragon Island, I can give you all of those Dragon Blood Flowers. I still have around ten in my possession!”
Ji Ying’s eyes went wide as he was shocked beyond words.
This dragon girl… actually invited Yang Kai to Dragon Island? Did he hear her right?
Dragon Island was the most mysterious place in all of the Star Boundary. Don’t even mention going there, ordinary people couldn’t even figure out where it was located. On top of that, as they considered themselves the kings of the myriad spirits, the Dragon Clan never invited others into Dragon Island. Only the Great Emperors had the right to step foot there, but it was still impossible for them to go often, much less obtain Dragon Blood Flowers from the Dragon Clan.
But now, not only did this dragon girl invite Yang Kai to Dragon Island, she even said she would give him ten Dragon Blood Flowers…
Ji Ying was dumbfounded. Even though this was none of his business, he still quickly shot a meaningful glance at Yang Kai.
This was a very rare opportunity, so how could he hesitate? Naturally, he should agree as quickly as possible. If it were him, he would definitely get up and go immediately.
“If you mention this again, we’ll no longer be friends!” Yang Kai glared at Zhu Qing with a stern face.
Zhu Qing pouted and extended a hand towards Yang Kai, “Then give the box back to me.”
With a flip of his hand, the box disappeared and Yang Kai swiftly turned his head away, “What box? I don’t see anything!”
Zhu Qing fumed, “The Dragon Blood Flower belongs to Dragon Island. Aren’t you worried you’re going to attract trouble if you keep it?”
Yang Kai continued, “What Dragon Blood Flower? I don’t know anything!”
Zhu Qing was furious and unamused. Yang Kai clearly wasn’t planning to spit it out. If someone else had snatched away that Dragon Blood Flower, Zhu Qing would undoubtedly have taken action immediately, but even though Yang Kai was not part of the Dragon Clan, he carried the Ancestral Dragon Source with him, so he was entitled to the Dragon Blood Flowers.
Frowning, Zhu Qing decided to not dwell on this matter with him.
Ji Ying was stunned. Someone actually dared to… snatch something from the Dragon Clan in this world?
He hadn’t been shocked so greatly and so often at any other point in his entire life as he had been today, and he felt like he was slowly losing his sense of reality.
“Qing’er, it’s a nice day today so why don’t you go out and get some sun? It’s not good for your skin if you stay inside all the time,” Yang Kai suddenly smiled at Zhu Qing again.
Zhu Qing coldly snorted. She knew that he was just trying to drive her away, so she left with a stomp of her feet.
Yang Kai then shot a look at Hua Qing Si and the three Monster Kings, after which they all retired in unison.
In just an instant, the only ones left in the hall were Yang Kai and Ji Ying, as well as Ji Ying’s First Disciple who was sitting in meditation.
With a toss of his hand, Yang Kai gave the wooden box back to Ji Ying and commented, “I’ll have to trouble Brother Ji to refine a furnace of Dragon Blood Pills for me.”
“Ah?” Ji Ying was dumbfounded and caught the wooden box stiffly.
Yang Kai laughed, “Brother Ji hasn’t forgotten, right? You’re now my High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist!”
Ji Ying was stunned before he laughed bitterly, “This Ji is willing to accept his loss and will naturally not renege on his debt, but I must first return to Medicine Pill Valley in order to inform my Honoured Master…”
Yang Kai nodded, “No problem. Brother Ji can go back and take care of his own matters first, then you can return to my High Heaven Palace whenever you are free.”
“Many thanks, Brother Yang,” Ji Ying politely acknowledged, feeling somewhat conflicted inside. He was still a free and unrestrained man before coming to High Heaven Palace, but he actually became this place’s Chief Alchemist after coming here once.
This was not the ending he hoped to see.
But on second thought, Yang Kai’s own Alchemy skills were quite amazing, and he even managed to touch the true essence of the Alchemic Dao, so if Ji Ying had more opportunities to compare notes with him, it would be of great benefit to his advancement.
Once such an idea came to mind, he wasn’t so opposed to the idea of becoming High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist anymore. Instead, he was even vaguely looking forward to it.
“Brother Yang, there is one matter which I need to confirm with you,” Ji Ying suddenly looked serious.
Yang Kai smiled and understood, “Is it about my Alchemy techniques?”
Ji Ying’s body trembled in surprise, “Could it be…”
Yang Kai nodded, “Brother Ji’s guess is correct!”
“As expected!” Ji Ying’s face changed. He had his doubts when he first saw Yang Kai’s pill recipe as it was identical to the one he used.
Quite obviously, there was only one possibility…
“The only one who could have known that recipe and who had left Medicine Pill Valley would be my Third Senior Brother. This Ji entered too late and never met Third Senior Brother, but I have heard about him before. Since this pill recipe is now in Brother Yang’s hands, dare I ask where Third Senior Brother Gong Sun Mu is now?”
Gong Sun Mu committed a terrible mistake in his early years and was expelled by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. Many years had passed since that event, and there had been no news of Gong Sun Mu in the Star Boundary since then. Now that Ji Ying saw this familiar pill recipe, he naturally wanted to ask about Gong Sun Mu as his Junior Brother.
He knew that even though his Honoured Master had already expelled Gong Sun Mu from Medicine Pill Valley, they still shared some fond memories of those years and no matter what may have transpired, they were still once Master and Disciple. Ji Ying’s Third Senior Brother was said to be a natural genius with unmatched skills in the Alchemic Dao, skills that neither his Eldest Senior Brother or Second Senior Brother could compare to. Unfortunately, Gong Sung Mu went down the wrong path, otherwise, his achievements would have only been more outstanding than his Senior Brothers now.
Yang Kai sighed with dismay, “Senior Gong Sun Mu had long ago passed away.”
Ji Ying was shaken but still revealed a bitter smile, “As expected.”
It seemed that he too had some suspicions in his mind, but Ji Ying still felt sad when Yang Kai confirmed the fact, sad that such an Alchemy genius had fallen before his time.
Yang Kai explained, “It was in a secluded cave mansion left behind by Senior Gong Sun Mu that I found his inheritance.”
Ji Ying could only laugh bitterly, now understanding why Yang Kai’s refining process for the Emperor Yuan Pill was the same as his. As Yang Kai inherited Gong Sun Mu’s inheritance, he naturally received his pill recipes as well. That was exactly the pill recipe that Gong Sun Mu received from the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, as had Ji Ying.
Having explained, Yang Kai took out a jade slip and passed it to Ji Ying, “These are the final words Senior Gong Sun Mu left. I will now pass them to Brother Ji to bring back to Medicine Pill Valley. As for the matter of Senior Gong Sun Mu’s inheritance, I will have to trouble Brother Ji to ask the Great Emperor for his opinion on the matter.”
Ji Ying accepted it and nodded, “Brother Yang is righteous. I will report this matter to my Honoured Master and I believe he will not have any objections. Honoured Master should be happy that there is someone to take up Third Senior Brother’s mantle.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I hope that is the case.”
After a pause, Yang Kai asked curiously, “In Senior’s final words, he mentioned being expelled by the Great Emperor because he committed a taboo by studying the Human Pill Technique. Dare I ask Brother Ji what this Human Pill Technique is?”
Ji Ying’s face changed, “Could it be that Brother Yang is interested in the Human Pill Technique?”
Yang Kai waved his hands, “It was just a casual question. Since it has been deemed taboo by the Great Emperor, it must not be anything good. How could I be interested in studying it?”
Ji Ying’s expression cleared a little and he thought for a moment, “Actually, there is no harm in telling Brother Yang. I believe in Brother Yang’s character. I’m sure you wouldn’t pursue the Human Pill Technique.”
Yang Kai looked at him curiously.
Ji Ying continued, “The Human Pill Technique that Third Senior Brother was studying was a way to refine Spirit Pills by taking human lives as kindling. The higher the cultivator’s cultivation, the better the Spirit Pill that could be refined.”
“What?” Yang Kai’s face changed, “Using humans as ingredients?”
Ji Ying sighed, “That’s right. Honoured Master was furious when he learned of this, and if Eldest Senior Brother had not pleaded for his mercy back then, then Third Senior Brother would probably have been killed by Honoured Master on the spot. After this Ji entered the Sect, Eldest Senior Brother told me about Third Senior Brother, as a cautionary tale of sorts.”
Yang Kai nodded and commented, “Even though Senior Gong Sun Mu went down the wrong path, he repented in his final years. It’s just a pity he was unable to face the Great Emperor personally and ended up dying while meditating in seclusion.”
Ji Ying smiled bitterly, “No one is without fault.”
While they talked, Ji Ying’s Disciple suddenly opened his eyes and exhaled lightly, a look of joy on his face.
“Did you gain anything?” Ji Ying smiled at him.
His First Disciple quickly nodded his head, got up, and bowed to Yang Kai, saying respectfully, “Many thanks, Grandmaster Yang!”
Ji Ying laughed, “If you are able to ascend to the ranks of Emperor Alchemist someday, then it would all be thanks to your Martial Uncle Yang. You’d best not forget his gracious gifts.”
His First Disciple answered promptly, “This disciple will never forget!”
Yang Kai laughed, “It was all thanks to his own luck, there’s no need to thank me!” With a twinkle in his eye, he proposed, “Now that your Honoured Master has become the Chief Alchemist of my High Heaven Palace, why don’t you stay at High Heaven Palace too?”
“This…” The First Disciple looked a little hesitant, seemingly unable to make a quick decision.
Ji Ying scolded in a light-hearted manner, “Brother Yang, you’re insatiable! Why don’t you pull my Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, and Fourth Senior Sister over as well?”
“That would be wonderful!”
“I wish to take a trip to the Frozen Earth.”
Half a month had passed since Yang Kai’s Alchemy competition with Ji Ying. Today, he had been refining the Golden Armor Heavenly Book when Zhu Qing suddenly sought him out with a declaration.
Yang Kai was shocked, “That place is a Forbidden Zone. Even if you’re a Dragon, you may not be able to get out safely. What are you going there for?”
“You know the reason.”
Yang Kai frowned as he did understand Zhu Qing’s plans.
She wished to visit the Frozen Earth for no reason other than to retrieve the bones of her clansman. Before, Zhu Qing had a rather off expression when Li Jiao revealed to her the location where he discovered the Dragon Blood Flower. That Dragon Clansman that had fallen in the Frozen Earth must have had some relationship with her.
“Didn’t Li Jiao say that the skeleton has long turned to dust, so it would be useless even if you went there?” Yang Kai tried to persuade her. Even though this girl had been quite annoying to him, and he couldn’t hope for anything more than for her to go as far away from him as possible, he still felt worried if she had to go to a place like the Frozen Earth.
A Dragon Clansman had already fallen there, so if Zhu Qing headed there, then she may end up following in the footsteps of her predecessor.
“There is still one more thing there,” Zhu Qing revealed.
“What?”
Zhu Qing pondered for a moment before saying truthfully, “A Dragon Source. I must go there and find my clansman’s Source!”
Yang Kai suddenly understood. The Source of a Dragon Clansman was a Divine Spirit Source and definitely would not disappear so easily. Even if the bones had already turned into dust, the Source definitely remained.
He nodded, “Then go, but you must be careful. The Frozen Earth is not a place where you can just barge into.”
Zhu Qing looked silently at him, “Are you coming?”
Yang Kai immediately rolled his eyes, “Of course not.”
“Can’t you accompany me?” A look of disappointment flashed past Zhu Qing’s eyes.
Yang Kai grunted, “My strength is too low. The only thing waiting for me in the Frozen Earth would be death. Aren’t you worried that I’ll become a burden to you if I go?”
Most importantly, he wouldn’t have much to gain by going, so why would he go there?
Zhu Qing thought about it seriously before nodding, “You’re right, I’d just be imposing on you. In that case, I will go alone.” After a pause, she added, “But you have to behave and stay here. Don’t go wandering off.”
Yang Kai scoffed, “Why do I have to behave and stay here? Once you leave, I’ll leave the Northern Territory immediately. It’s wide seas and high skies after that, so I’ll go as far away as I want and you’ll never find me again!”
Zhu Qing’s face went dark in an instant, “In that case, I’m not going.”
Compared to her clansman’s Source, her business at Yang Kai’s side was the top priority.
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched and he couldn’t help but want to slap himself on the face, “I was just kidding. Rest assured, I’ll remain in High Heaven Palace and wait until you return.”
“You’re not lying, are you?” Zhu Qing observed Yang Kai’s eyes, seemingly trying to peer into his soul.
“Why would I lie? There are too many things to settle here at the Sect, and this Palace Master has a lot of issues he needs to handle, so where is he going to find the time to run around?” Yang Kai responded earnestly.
“Good,” Zhu Qing nodded, convinced. Suddenly, she added, “By the way, I have a Secret Technique here. Try cultivating it, it’s much better than your previous one.”
“Secret Technique? What kind of Secret Technique?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhu Qin took out a jade slip and threw it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grabbed it and looked inside with his Divine Sense, his eyes turning round in an instant as he shouted, “Dragon Transformation Secret Technique!”
Zhu Qing nodded, “I’ve seen you perform a Secret Technique similar to Dragon Transformation before, but the level of that Secret Technique seems to be quite low, far below this one. If you can successfully cultivate this Secret Technique, then it will increase your combat ability by at least twenty percent in that form.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he asked joyfully, “Truly?”
Zhu Qing smiled, “Do I look like the type to lie to you?”
Yang Kai blushed before changing the subject, “How come you have Secret Techniques like this on Dragon Island?”
Dragons only needed to circulate their Source Strength in order to transform into their True Dragon Form, so what use was this Dragon Transformation Secret Technique to them? Yang Kai couldn’t figure it out.
“Pureblood Dragons aren’t the only ones living on Dragon Island. There are others too,” Zhu Qing said leisurely. “You’ll know when you go to Dragon Island one day.”
“Then we’ll talk again then.” Yang Kai waved his hand and happily studied the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique written in the jade slip. If it was really as Zhu Qing said, then his battle power would soar again if he managed to cultivate this Secret Technique.
“Take your time cultivating, I’m going now.” After saying that, Zhu Qing turned around and walked off.
“Don’t die out there.” Yang Kai suddenly looked up at Zhu Qing’s back and called out.
Zhu Qing smiled and opened the door, leaving while feeling quite smug inside. She figured cultivating this Dragon Transformation Secret Technique would keep Yang Kai busy for a month or two, by which time she should already have returned from the Frozen Earth.
Outside the main gate, Zhu Qing turned into a stream of light and flew towards the far north. Then, she suddenly stopped and looked back, getting the vague feeling that someone was watching her.
But looking around, she didn’t catch sight of anyone. Shaking her head, she quickly left, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Ai!” Yang Kai sighed in his room, feeling a little guilty.
He didn’t agree to Zhu Qing’s request to accompany her to the Frozen Earth for two reasons. The first was really because the Frozen Earth was a very dangerous place, but the second was because he wanted Zhu Qing to give up on the whole idea. How could he have expected her to just leave without even hesitating?
“What a stubborn girl! I hope she dies out there,” Yang Kai coldly snorted, clearly in a bad mood.
But soon, his frustrations cleared as he concentrated on the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique in his hands.
The Dragon Transformation Secret Technique that he possessed now was taught to him by Chi Yue back on Heng Luo Star Field’s Monster Emperor Star. Yang Kai considered this quite an amazing Secret Technique back when he wasn’t very strong, and it had helped him raise his battle power a lot when he learned it, but with his increase in strength, that Secret Technique had become less and less useful to him.
But this Dragon Transformation Secret Technique given to him by Zhu Qing was indeed profound and could bring out the full latent potential of his Dragon Source, as well as the dragon artifacts that he had refined into his body.
When comparing the two Secret Techniques, the previous Dragon Transformation Yang Kai cultivated was indeed quite low in level.
The more Yang Kai studied this technique, the happier he felt, and the more he devoted himself to studying it.
He originally planned to get as far away from Zhu Qing as possible after she left, but he had already forgotten all about that.
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.
Inside the room, Yang Kai opened his eyes and shouted, “Dragon Transformation!”
A high-pitched dragon roar sounded before a huge Golden Divine Dragon Illusory Phantom flickered behind him, merging into Yang Kai’s body, immediately resonating with the dragon artifacts that he refined into his body.
The sound of bones cracking could be heard and Yang Kai showed an immensely painful expression. His figure, which was originally sitting cross-legged on the floor, rose more than three meters higher.
*Kacha…*
Both his hands transformed into dragon claws that were much more realistic than the previous ones. The tips of the claws were as sharp as blades and were shining with a cold glint. On his chest, Scales covered with patterns emerged, spreading all the way down to his waist.
The Dragon Scales were not made of energy like before, but rather a condensation of the Dragon Clan’s Source Strength. They were no worse when compared to real Dragon Scales, and looked no different to the naked eye.
There were also some slight differences with his head and tail as well.
Yang Kai reached out to touch his head and his eyes widened instantly. That was because he discovered that two small nubs had suddenly bulged out on both sides of his head, as if something was growing out of it.
Dragon Horns?” Yang Kai recalled the scene of Zhu Qing activating her Source Strength the first time he met her, instantly understanding.
The two small bulges on each side of his head should be Dragon Horns. Only, he hadn’t cultivated a profound Dragon Transformation Secret Technique like this one, so he looked like neither fish nor fowl.
Touching his back, Yang Kai’s expression grew even stranger.
But this couldn’t be helped as a small Dragon Tail had actually grown out behind his butt…
Could he really face people with this appearance?
After calming his emotions, he slowly stood up. Yang Kai discovered himself to be more than two times taller than before. He wasn’t short to begin with, but he wasn’t remarkably tall either. Right now, perhaps only a few naturally gifted people could compare to his height. Anyone else standing in front of him could only be looked down upon.
Gently clenching his fists, Yang Kai could feel that his hands were filled with power, as if they could explode at any moment.
The richness of that power made Yang Kai feel extremely happy.
With a light wave of his hand, the air rippled in front of him, turning into a mirror. When Yang Kai saw his reflection in the mirror, he couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air.
How could this look be described as just fierce and fiendish? Not only had his image been greatly changed, but there was also an extremely ferocious aura emanating from his body. Any timid person would probably run away immediately if they saw him like this.
The most striking part of his transformation were his eyes. They had turned into a golden color just like when he activated his Demon Eye of Annihilation. It gave off a mighty feeling, and if he narrowed his eyes, perhaps even his close friends would be frightened by his visage.
Yang Kai couldn’t resist laughing, now very satisfied with this appearance.
And he was still a ways away from perfecting this Dragon Transformation Secret Technique. If he really understood the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique that Zhu Qing gave him thoroughly, then the changes to his body would likely become even more pronounced. At the very least, he would become even taller.
The old Dragon Transformation Secret Technique really could not compare to this one.
“Palace Master, Palace Master!” Hua Qing Si’s voice suddenly came from outside.
Yang Kai’s eyes twinkled as he took a step out, his large feet producing a heavy thudding noise as they hit the ground like beating war drums.
The moment the door was opened, Hua Qing Si’s beautiful face lost color as she exclaimed, “Who are you?!”
When she spat out the first word, she had already summoned her Five-Coloured Spear and poured her Emperor Qi into it, causing the Emperor Artifact to release a radiant glow that shot towards Yang Kai.
Hua Qing Si had the instinctive feeling that this extraordinary being wasn’t something to be trifled with, so she had released a lethal strike on the very first move.
Yang Kai laughed viciously and lunged out with his dragon claws.
With one swing, he was able to shatter the five-coloured light and caught the Five-Coloured Spear between his fingers, halting its advance.
With her Emperor Artifact restrained, Hua Qing Si was horrified and tried desperately to retrieve her weapon.
The Five-Coloured Spear rumbled loudly in Yang Kai’s hand, but it wouldn’t move. She couldn’t shake off Yang Kai’s restraint no matter how she tried.
“Heh, heh, heh, your Palace Master has already been killed by this King, and now this King is going to destroy your High Heaven Palace! I’ll give you a death without burial!” Yang Kai laughed maniacally.
The horror on Hua Qing Si’s disappeared all of a sudden as she swept her eyes over Yang Kai, frowning as she asked, “Palace Master, what are you doing? You really scared me there.”
“You recognized me?” Yang Kai scratched his cheek, feeling a little frustrated that his prank failed.
Hua Qing Si rolled her eyes, “I didn’t think of it before because of how sudden it was, but looking closely at you now, I can still see some traces.”
And, when she heard Yang Kai’s voice just now, Hua Qing Si was able to recognize him in an instant.
After returning the Five-Coloured Spear to her, Yang Kai said proudly with his hands on his waist, “Don’t I look handsome?”
Hua Qing Si responded, “A little fiercer.”
“Fierce is good.” Yang Kai laughed.
“What Secret Technique is this? Why haven’t you used it before?” Hua Qing Si asked curiously.
“During my recent retreat, this was a gain I encountered by chance while immersing myself in my cultivation,” Yang Kai looked pleased with himself.
Hua Qing Si curled her lip, “It’s obvious that Zhu Qing was the one who taught you.”
“En, so what do you need from me?” Yang Kai dispersed the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique and restored his original appearance, but the clothes on his body had become tattered. Since his body suddenly doubled in size, it was only natural that his clothes would be stretched and broken.
Hua Qing Si ignored this entirely and just handed over two Space Rings to him, “The Source Crystals from Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect have arrived.”
Yang Kai waved his hand casually, “Keep them. We can just get the funds from there when the Sect has any needs in the future.”
Hua Qing Si was now the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace. Even though Yang Kai had already given her quite a lot of Source Crystals last time, it wasn’t that much considering he had some two billion High-Rank Source Crystals in storage. With so much wealth stashed away, High Heaven Palace would not have to worry about cultivation resources for at least the next fifty years.
“Good,” Hua Qing Si nodded and put away the rings again. “Also, Grandmaster Ji is here and wants to see you.”
“Oh? Brother Ji is back so soon?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. After some thought, he said, “I’ll go and change. Tell him to wait a moment.”
“En,” Hua Qing Si left with her orders while Yang Kai went back to his room and changed into a new set of clothes, wondering whether he should buy an Artifact Armor or not. He did not need an extra defensive artifact, but if he was going to keep using the Dragon Transformation, having clothes that would adjust to his size when his body swelled would be useful.
Artifact Armor was generally incredibly sturdy and flexible, far more so than ordinary robes.
Inside High Heaven Palace’s main hall, Ji Ying sat while glancing out from time to time, looking anxious.
Hua Qing Si was accompanying him.
A short while later, a figure came in from outside. It was Yang Kai.
“Brother Yang!” Ji Ying quickly stood up.
Yang Kai greeted him with a big smile, “Brother Ji, you’ve arrived so quickly! Are you ready to stay in my High Heaven Palace and refine pills?”
Ji Ying smiled bitterly, “My apologies, but I may have to postpone this matter.”
Yang Kai’s heart sank, “Could it be, the Great Emperor…”
Ji Ying shook his head, “Honored Master did not comment much on this matter, but instead showed interest in you and asked me to tell you to visit Medicine Pill Valley when you are free.”
“The Great Emperor wants to see me?” Yang Kai turned serious.
Ji Ying smiled, “Please don’t worry, Honored Master is just interested in exchanging ideas about Alchemy with you since you were able to beat me in a match.”
This was just modesty, as the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor was an existence beyond mere Emperor Alchemists, so even if Yang Kai had excellent Alchemy skills, what sort of ideas could he exchange with him? The Wondrous Pill Great Emperor obviously just wanted to give Yang Kai a few pointers, and that was why he said things in such a roundabout way.
Yang Kai respected that. Even though he had never met the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor before, this invitation alone was enough for Yang Kai to feel that this Great Emperor was easily approachable.
But of course, the prerequisite was Yang Kai having enough ability. After all, a Great Emperor wasn’t a character that just anyone could meet.
“The Great Emperor is generous, this Yang is filled with gratitude!” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
Ji Ying smiled, “Honored Master says that it was fate that you found Third Senior Brother’s legacy, so it is yours now.”
“Please help me give my thanks to the Great Emperor,” Yang Kai nodded. He had expected this result as it was naturally impossible for the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor to be petty enough to deny him this inheritance given his status and identity.
Ji Ying then turned solemn, “This Ji came bearing an order from my Honored Master and has a rather presumptuous request to make.”
Yang Kai said, “Since it is an order from the Great Emperor, please speak freely, Brother Ji.”
Ji Ying explained, “Could I trouble Brother Yang to accompany me to retrieve the bones of my Third Senior Brother so they may be buried in Medicine Pill Valley?”
Yang Kai raised his brows and nodded, “Naturally. Senior Gong Sun Mo’s last wish was to return to Medicine Pill Valley, so I’m sure he must be smiling now that it has been fulfilled.”
“Many thanks, Brother Yang. I remember hearing from Brother Yang previously that Third Senior Brother passed away in the Southern Territory, is that right?”
“That’s right. At the Southern Territory’s Yuan Furnace Mountain. I remember the place.”
“It’s a long journey to the Southern Territory, so we should not delay, shall we?” Ji Ying enquired, “Only, I’m wondering if Brother Yang has any other matters to take care of before we depart?”
Yang Kai smiled, “I barely have any disciples in my High Heaven Palace right now, so what matters would I need to take care of? Since Brother Ji is in a hurry, let us depart now.”
He was originally planning to return to the Southern Territory anyway, so this was quite convenient for Yang Kai. As for Zhu Qing’s request for him to remain here, he didn’t pay it any heed at all.
Yang Kai didn’t inform the three Monster Kings either as he could even kill a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master now, so there weren’t many people who could threaten his life in this world. There was naturally no need to have the three Monster Kings accompany him.
When Yang Kai brought Ji Ying to the Space Array, two Thousand Leaves Sect disciples guarding the place immediately greeted him with respect, “Greetings, Palace Master!”
“Did Manager Hua tell you to keep watch here?” Yang Kai looked at the two of them.
The slightly older Thousand Leaves Sect disciple responded respectfully, “Yes. Manager Hua has taken great care of us and also posted many tasks to us at Thousand Leaves Peak. Junior Brother and I were lucky enough to take on the task of guarding the Space Array in exchange for some contribution points.”
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded. “If anything happens, send a message to Manager Hua immediately.”
“Yes!”
Yang Kai was very satisfied with Hua Qing Si’s arrangements. No matter what, this was still an important place. There wasn’t a single person guarding the Space Array the last time Yang Kai came over, so he quickly reminded Hua Qing Si about it and sure enough, a ‘round the clock guard’ had been established.
The two Thousand Leaves Sect disciples didn’t recognize Ji Ying, but if they knew that he was a direct Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, their eyes would surely have popped out of their sockets.
“Brother Yang, where does this array lead to?” Ji Ying asked curiously as he stood on the array, watching Yang Kai set down Source Crystals on the grooves.
“Brother Ji will find out soon enough.” Yang Kai smiled, his vague answer making Ji Ying even more curious.
“Brace yourself now, Brother Ji!” Yang Kai suddenly cautioned Ji Ying.
Ji Ying failed to stifle his laughter. Even though he was an Alchemist, he was still a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, so what could a trivial Space Array do to him? Unless it was that kind of super long-distance Cross-Territory teleportation.
Thinking so, Ji Ying had a start.
Before he could recover from his surprise though, his vision was filled with white light, and a bout of dizziness washed over him…
By the time Ji Ying recovered, he found Yang Kai standing beside him, looking at him with an amused face.
Ji Ying shook his head, still feeling dizzy, but his face was filled with shock, “Cross-Territory Teleportation?”
Ordinary Space Arrays couldn’t affect him in such a way. He had also been on Space Arrays countless times, and he never felt anything no matter how far he travelled on them, but this time, he was left extremely dizzy, so it was easy to imagine just how far they had travelled.
“Indeed!” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Ji Ying was shocked, “How could there be a Cross-Territory Space Array in High Heaven Palace?”
High Heaven Palace was originally Seeking Passion Sect, and Ji Ying had visited there many times in the past. If Seeking Passion Sect had a Cross-Territory Space Array, it was impossible that Ji Ying would not know of it. It had to be known that Cross-Territory Space Arrays were extremely precious treasures, and only a few of them still existed in the entire Star Boundary. What’s more, they were all in the hands of the Sects of Great Emperors. These few Space Arrays were all relics from ancient times.
Right now, practically nobody could arrange a Cross-Territory Space Array in the Star Boundary.
Ji Ying was naturally shocked.
Yang Kai did not answer, only smiling as he motioned, “Let’s go.”
Ji Ying followed Yang Kai and flew alongside him. After looking around, he was shocked again, “A Small Sealed World?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Brother Ji has good eyes. Indeed, this is a Small World that was originally the foundation of Thousand Leaves Sect, but I have taken over it now.”
Ji Ying sighed, “Ah, what a pity.”
It wasn’t Yang Kai taking over the small world that was a pity, but rather that the grade of this small world was not high enough. Even though the World Energy here was serviceable, it wasn’t at the level of a true cultivation paradise yet.
If the World Energy here were just a little denser, then it would be possible to grow some rare spirit medicines here, developing it into a medicine garden.
Cultivating spirit medicines in small worlds like these was very safe, and as an Emperor Alchemist, Ji Ying would always consider things from the perspective of an Alchemist.
A short time later, the two of them arrived before another Space Array, the one that led out of this Small Sealed World.
After activating the Space Array, Yang Kai and Ji Ying immediately appeared inside Thousand Leaves Sect.
“This used to be Thousand Leaves Sect’s foundation, but unfortunately, the Sect was razed more than a year ago,” Yang Kai explained while looking at the dilapidated scenery.
Ji Ying nodded lightly and asked, “So, this is the Southern Territory, right?”
Since Yang Kai used the Cross-Territory Space Array, it naturally brought him directly to the Southern Territory.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded and turned to him, “I hope Brother Ji can keep the matter of this Space Array a secret.”
Ji Ying was stunned for a moment, but he soon promised solemnly, “Rest assured, Brother Yang. This Ji isn’t the type to run his mouth to others.”
Yang Kai smiled, “It’s nothing that serious. If the Great Emperor asks, then Brother Ji can inform him.”
Ji Ying was grateful, “Many thanks, Brother Yang.”
After all, he originally estimated that a round trip from the Northern Territory to the Southern Territory would take at least a year, so if he suddenly returned in just a few days, then Ji Ying really wouldn’t know how to answer if his Honored Master were to ask how.
Yang Kai was clearly thinking for his sake.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to Yuan Furnace Mountain.” Yang Kai flew out first.
Yuan Furnace Mountain was not close to Thousand Leaves Sect, so it would take at least three to five days for the pair to fly there. However, since both of them were Emperors with rich backgrounds, there was naturally no need for them to rest halfway there.
Yang Kai remembered that Yuan Furnace Mountain was located near Maplewood City, on the border of Raging Fire Temple.
Back in those days, Raging Fire Temple was an untouchable existence for Yang Kai because he was only in the Origin King Realm back then, while they had a Dao Source Realm Master assuming command.
But now, a trivial Raging Fire Temple could hardly even be compared to a hair on Yang Kai’s head. After a decade, most of the people whom he needed to look up to were now prostrated at his feet.
“So, this is Yuan Furnace Mountain?” Ji Ying asked in surprise as he looked at the mountain peak that was almost completely collapsed.
Traces of the old Yuan Furnace Mountain were almost nowhere to be seen as only dark red rubble remained in its place, naturally the result of the erupting magma.
“En!” Yang Kai nodded, “This is where I received Senior Gong Sun Mu’s inheritance back then. Originally, his cave mansion was located at the bottom of the mountain. Unfortunately, the surge of Earth Fire beneath caused lava to erupt, destroying the place.”
It was with the Earth Fire’s help that Liu Yan was able to obtain strength comparable to the Dao Source Realm back then.
“I was too weak back then and was unable to give Senior Gong Sun Mu a proper burial, so I had only managed to bury him hastily. However, quite clearly, what I did to Senior was shameful.” Yang Kai sighed.
“Brother Yang need not mind. It is all thanks to Brother Yang that Third Senior Brother is able to return to Medicine Pill Valley now. He would surely be grateful to know this deed you have done for him, so how could he fuss over such trivialities?” Ji Ying consoled him.
Yang Kai told him, “Senior’s burial place is quite far underground. Let us clean up a little first.”
“En!”
At once, the two of them used their own means to excavate the site.
They were both Emperor Realm Masters, so their strength was enough to move mountains and flip seas. As such, it did not take long before the half of Yuan Furnace Mountain that was left behind was removed.
The pair then found a spot each and began digging into the ground. At the same time, they spread out their Divine Senses to search thoroughly.
It wasn’t until a whole day later that Yang Kai suddenly discovered that he had gotten the direction wrong. He turned and dug towards his left-hand side while sending a message via Divine Sense to Ji Ying at the same time.
In just a short while, Ji Ying flew down into the hole that Yang Kai had dug, stopping next to him and asking, “Did you find something?”
“En. You should search in that direction,” Yang Kai pointed to a direction and said.
Ji Ying immediately used his Divine Sense to search in that direction, and after a few moments, he wore a solemn look on his face and nodded, “It’s really there.”
He was clearly able to find a skeleton buried in the ground in that direction.
Now that they had located the skeleton, everything else was much easier. Holding the Myriads Sword in hand, Yang Kai channelled his Emperor Qi slightly. Wherever the blade passed, the hard stone was ground into dust by the astonishing energy fluctuations, allowing the pair to pass through quickly.
An incense stick of time later, they finally arrived at Gong Sun Mu’s burial place.
Ji Ying went forward and carefully removed the dirt near the bones, revealing a white skeleton.
“Third Senior Brother, this is Junior Brother Ji Ying. By order of Honored Master, I’ve come to bring you home!” Ji Ying solemnly cupped his fists at the skeleton before approaching it. He took out a jade coffin that he had prepared and laid it down before he kneeled and picked up Gong Sun Mu’s remains piece by piece, placing them into the coffin.
It did not take long before he was done picking up the bones, after which Ji Ying sealed the coffin and returned it to his Space Ring.
“Now that this is done, this Ji has to return to the Northern Territory to report back to Honored Master. What are Brother Yang’s plans?” Ji Ying looked at Yang Kai and asked.
“I still have some matters to attend to here,” Yang Kai said, “But it’s nothing important. I will send Brother Ji back first.”
Ji Ying laughed, “Since Brother Yang has business to attend to, then this Ji will not trouble you. This Ji remembers the way back, so it will be fine for me to go alone.”
Yang Kai said, “You may remember the route back, but you won’t be able to activate the Space Array.”
“Why not?” Ji Ying was surprised.
What Space Array was there in this world that he could not activate?
Yang Kai briefly explained, “I have added a restriction to the Cross-Territory Space Array so that no one will be able to activate it without me.”
“Such a thing can be done?” Ji Ying was amazed. To be able to tamper with a Cross-Territory Space Array was not something even an ordinary Great Emperor would be able to achieve, so how was Yang Kai able to do it?
Ji Ying had no idea that this Cross-Territory Space Array had been arranged by Yang Kai to begin with.
“Here, take this. With this, you’ll be able to activate the array.” Yang Kai took out a token and handed it to Ji Ying. It was the Transmission Token that he had especially refined and held his unique Space Principle fluctuations.
Ji Ying accepted it and promised solemnly, “Please rest assured, Brother Yang, once I return to High Heaven Palace, I will be sure to return this token to Manager Hua.”
The value of this token could not be underestimated as it was essentially a pass that allowed a person to travel directly from the Northern Territory to the Southern Territory. This was an extremely precious treasure, so Ji Ying naturally did not dare to keep it for himself. The way Yang Kai was able to pass him this item proved how much he trusted in his character and was a sign of his respect.
Yang Kai smiled and waved his hand, however, “No need. Since Brother Ji is now my High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist, Brother Ji is qualified to possess this Transmission Token. It will also be easier for you if you ever need to visit the Southern Territory in the future.”
Ji Ying was moved and cupped his fists, “In that case, many thanks, Brother Yang. Please rest assured, this Ji will return to High Heaven Palace as soon as Third Senior Brother’s matters are dealt with. When Brother Yang returns to High Heaven Palace, the Dragon Blood Pills will already have been refined.”
“I would have forgotten if you had not mentioned that,” Yang Kai grinned, “Then I will have to trouble you, Brother Ji.”
Above Yuan Furnace Mountain, the two cupped fists and said their farewells, going their separate ways.
Only after Ji Ying’s figure disappeared from his view did Yang Kai turn around and look in a certain direction.
Maplewood City. It seemed like he had not returned even once since he left, and that was many years ago.
Technically speaking, Maplewood City was Yang Kai’s first stopover after arriving in the Star Boundary, and it was here that he met his first friend. Now, on his trip back to Maplewood City, his main intention was to see how the place had changed, and secondly to do some shopping.
After performing the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, his body would swell in size and rip apart his clothes, so Yang Kai became interested in buying a good Artifact Armor.
Moreover, his store of Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jade was almost exhausted. These were essentially materials for arranging Space Arrays, and as the saying went, even the cleverest woman could not cook a meal without rice.
Yang Kai’s plan was to connect the four territories of the Star Boundary using Cross-Territory Space Arrays. Once this was finished, the disciples of High Heaven Palace would be able to go wherever they wanted. Not only would it make it convenient for the disciples to go out and train, but it would also be a great advantage to High Heaven Palace when it came to purchasing cultivation resources.
The price of materials differed greatly in different territories. Some materials may be expensive in one region, but extremely cheap in another.
Many nimble-witted cultivators would risk their lives travelling to and from each territory, buying and selling goods and making a lot of profit. If Yang Kai’s idea could be realized, then it would have an irreplaceable effect on the future development of High Heaven Palace.
Flying ahead at a leisurely pace, Yang Kai inexplicably felt as if he were returning to his hometown in full glory, and he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.
Even though Maplewood City was not his hometown, his feelings were not wrong either. When he left Maplewood City back then, he was not very strong, only a First-Order Dao Source Realm, but now, he was an Emperor Realm Master that was looked up to by many.
Yuan Furnace Mountain was not too far away from Maplewood City. When Kang Si Ran brought Yang Kai to Yuan Furnace Mountain back then, it had only taken a few days, but now, Yang Kai’s strength had increased dramatically, so he was naturally much faster than before.
After flying forward for half a day, Yang Kai could faintly catch a glimpse of Maplewood City. What’s more, there was another city just a short distance away that was no smaller than Maplewood City.
Spirit Lake Palace!
Yang Kai suddenly remembered.
This Spirit Lake Palace had been born because of him.
Originally, there was no Spirit Lake Palace outside of Maplewood City, but one day, eighteen Spirit Springs suddenly appeared here and began gushing out World Energy, directly forming a giant Spiritual Lake at this place. The matter alarmed all of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, and even Star Soul Palace stepped in during the event.
But nobody could monopolize this heavenly creation.
Finally, after much discussion, the top Sects of the Southern Territory took the lead in building Spirit Lake Palace on top of the Spirit Lake, creating cultivation rooms that were separated into several grades, namely Heaven, Earth, and Mortal. The Southern Territory’s cultivators cultivated in these rooms as much as they could, for a modest amount of Source Crystals, of course.
The profits from this business were then divided among the top Sects in the Southern Territory.
Yang Kai’s Embodiment’s current weapon, the Demonic War Hammer was found by Yang Kai beneath Spirit Lake Palace. He fought a great battle with an Ancient Great Demon’s remnant spirit there at the time to seize this weapon.
Spirit Lake Palace had now become a landmark in the Southern Territory, its abundant World Energy attracting many cultivators as such a fine place to cultivate could not be found just anywhere. The Heaven Grade cultivation rooms in Spirit Lake Palace were not much worse compared to the cultivation rooms of those top Sects, and were the best choice for cultivators looking to break through their bottlenecks.
Countless cultivators who have been stuck at the peak of their current realms for many years would spend huge amounts of Source Crystals in order to enter Spirit Lake Palace to cultivate, all in the hopes of achieving a breakthrough inside.
In the past few years, some people really managed to succeed at this, resulting in their strength soaring; however, most ended up losing their money without gaining anything in return. This was a huge gamble. Cultivators would gamble away all of their wealth for a chance to advance on the Martial Dao, but more often than not they would fall short, losing everything. Even so, the number of cultivators that visited each year only rose in numbers, never falling. The most numerous Mortal Grade and Earth Grade cultivation rooms could not meet the public’s needs, however, so cultivators had to wait for a long time in the queue if they wanted to make use of these cultivation rooms.
As for the Heaven Grade cultivation rooms, not everyone was qualified to enter them. If one wished to cultivate in these Heaven Grade rooms, then not only did they have to shell out enough Source Crystals, they also needed some inside connections to put in a good word for them.
On the other hand, many of the disciples from the Southern Territory’s top Sects came to Spirit Lake Palace’s Heaven Grade cultivation rooms to enter retreat.
The revenue that Spirit Lake Palace brought in each year was counted in the hundreds of millions.
The existence of Spirit Lake Palace had gathered the attention of not only the cultivators of the entire Southern Territory, but even cultivators from other territories that were willing to travel millions of kilometres just to take advantage of the situation. With the increase in population, more and more buildings were constructed around Spirit Lake Palace, and after a few years, a new city had been formed.
Maplewood City, which was just a short distance away, also benefited from the existence of Spirit Lake Palace.
Back then, the World Energy in Maplewood City was thin, and the cultivators living here were slow to improve. The strongest cultivator back then was City Lord Duan Yuan Shan, and he was only in the Second-Order Dado Source Realm. The pair of Vice City Lords and the Patriarchs of the major families were only in the First-Order Dao Source Realm.
But now, the World Energy in Maplewood City had already become very dense, almost on par with other top-tier cities in the Star Boundary. As a result, the population in Maplewood City exploded and the city naturally flourished. Emperor Realm Masters were no longer a rare sight in Maplewood City as many of them lived in Maplewood City year-round, unlike before where it would depend on one’s luck whether they could witness the majesty of an Emperor Realm Master or not.
Spirit Lake Palace was too small, unfortunately, so many people who couldn’t find a place to settle down there would make a temporary stop at Maplewood City. The distance between the two cities was not that great anyway, so it was convenient to make round trips between the two.
The changes in Spirit Lake Palace and Maplewood City were new and fresh to Yang Kai, who was curiously surveying the two mutually coordinating twin cities at the moment. There was a look of astonishment in his eyes, because no matter where he looked, there were tides of people walking shoulder to shoulder in either city.
Yang Kai could feel how prosperous the two cities were despite being more than a thousand kilometres away from them.
It seemed like Maplewood City really had changed, and it made him wonder how the Qin Family was doing right now. Back then, the Qin family was still considered a pretty large power in Maplewood City, even having a Dao Source Realm cultivator assuming command. But in the current situation, Dao Source Realm was clearly nothing to brag about.
Yang Kai’s Myriads Sword came from the Qin Family, and he had an agreement with Qin Zhao Yang that he would return it to Qin Yu whenever she ascended to the Emperor Realm.
The Seven Points Black Tortoise Formation that he imparted to the disciples of Ice Heart Valley was also one of the Qin Family’s secret inheritances.
It could be said that although Yang Kai did not receive much direct help from the Qin Family along his path, he owed them many favours. Naturally, he had to go and visit them on this trip back to Maplewood City.
There was also Ruo Xi’s family that he should visit, and since he was back in the Southern Territory, Yang Kai also had to pay a visit to the Azure Sun Temple. No matter what, he was an In-Name Disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and even had one of their Core Disciple tokens.
Yang Kai also remembered the request Senior Tian Yan had made to him, and now that he had found the Flesh Incarnation Fruit and several adjuvant herbs to go along with it, he could refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill. Then, Yang Kai would be able to get Tian Yan out of the Divine Ascension Mirror and help him mould a physical body.
Tian Yan was a Great Emperor-level existence, so once he possessed his own physical body and was able to walk around the Star Boundary, High Heaven Palace would gain a great patron in the future.
Just as Yang Kai was planning out his trip, a stream of light suddenly shot over from the front at great speed.
Immediately after that, another cluster of lights appeared. Several figures could faintly be seen inside those streams.
From the looks of it, this seems to be a chase; however, the stream at the front was only one person while there was a whole group behind him. All of these people were emitting Dao Source Realm auras, but Yang Kai didn’t concern himself with this incident.
This kind of thing could often be seen in the Star Boundary. Whether it be due to benefits or grudges, numerous people were killed each day. Even Yang Kai himself had been chased who knows how many times in the process of his growth, surviving each time to reach his current height.
The fleeing light seemed to be in a panic and was rushing straight over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai frowned slightly, not knowing whether the other party was trying to drag him into their misfortune, but he couldn’t be bothered to involve himself in something like this. Without even changing direction, he greeted the stream of light head-on.
Since all these people were merely Dao Source Realm cultivators, he had no need to give way.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had arrived a thousand metres away from the lead stream of light.
After taking a closer look though, Yang Kai could faintly see some curves in the figure hidden inside the light, indicating it was a woman. When he saw her face though, he couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise and stopping.
The woman in front clearly noticed Yang Kai as well, and her beautiful eyes were stunned at first before changing to pleasant surprise immediately after, “Yang Kai!”
Yang Kai smiled, “Fate really does bring us together often, Protector Bian. I trust you’ve been well since we last met?”
This woman actually turned out to be a familiar face: Blue Feather Sect’s Protector, Bian Yu Qing.
When he and Liu Xian Yun first arrived in the Star Boundary, they were caught by Blue Feather Sect’s Kou Wu and later ended up taking refuge under Bian Yu Qing. They stayed in Blue Feather Sect for some time until the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s descendant, Wu Meng Chuan, escaped from prison and went on a killing spree, giving the pair a chance to escape.
Bian Yu Qing, on the other hand, happened to be out on business at the time, escaping Wu Meng Chuan’s ruthless hands. She later joined his ranks as his subordinate to do his bidding.
After that, the two of them bumped into each other again outside the Four Seasons Realm.
Thinking about it that way, the reason why Wu Meng Chuan was able to enter the Shattered Star Sea was that Bian Yu Qing obtained a Star Seal from the Four Seasons Realm. The reason she went to the Four Seasons Realm with Kou Wu last time was likely Wu Meng Chuan’s orders to find a Star Seal.
Unfortunately for Wu Meng Chuan, Yang Kai had turned the tables on him when he tried to act against him in the Shattered Star Sea, ultimately resulting in Wu Meng Chuan’s death while allowing the Heaven Devouring Battle Law that his Embodiment cultivated to be perfect.
It seemed that all these causes and consequences were predetermined from the very first day Yang Kai entered the Blue Feather Sect.
As all these thoughts flashed past Yang Kai’s mind, Bian Yu Qing had already arrived in front of Yang Kai and gritted her teeth, “How come it’s you?!”
Yang Kai grinned, “Protector Bian seems quite disappointed to see me.”
Bian Yu Qing responded, “I thought I could throw my troubles onto someone else, but since it’s you… This is not the place to speak, let’s escape first.”
She actually admitted her purpose of flying over quite readily, which took Yang Kai by surprise, and even as she spoke, she had already flown past Yang Kai.
When she flew out and did not see any movements from Yang Kai though, she quickly stopped again and urged him, “Quickly run! What are you waiting for?”
Yang Kai remained as still as a mountain though and stared at the sword wound on Bian Yu Qing’s abdomen, frowning, “What grievances do you have with those people? Why are they trying to kill you?”
“Has a donkey kicked you in the head? You still have the heart to ask me this?!” Bian Yu Qing was already feeling anxious, and now Yang Kai was just standing there without moving, which looked no different to her than courting death.
She knew that Yang Kai was a cultivator from the lower Star Fields and had outstanding cultivation that improved at a rapid rate, but how many years had it been since she last saw him? She did not think Yang Kai could grow even stronger than her in terms of cultivation already. She was no match for her pursuers, so how could Yang Kai best them?
While they were speaking, the clusters of lights had already closed to a distance of three kilometres and a stern voice shouted out to them, “Bitch, stop right there! Hand over the Entry Token and we’ll spare your life!”
“Entry Token? What Entry Token? Did you rob someone?” Yang Kai frowned. If that were true, then Bian Yu Qing was just asking for trouble.
“Who robbed them!? They’re the ones trying to rob me!” Bian Yu Qing quickly explained, “Are you coming or not? If not then you’re on your own! They’ll definitely kill you!”
Even though her tone was harsh, she was more or less thinking for Yang Kai’s sake, which changed Yang Kai’s impression of her a little.
Speaking of which, he and Bian Yu Qing did not have any real grudges with each other. He once caused trouble in the Blue Feather Sect, and it was Bian Yu Qing who helped speak for his sake. In the end, he was punished by being made to enter retreat at that Ice Cliff to repent, which turned out to be more of an opportunity than a punishment.
“If you want to go, then go,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Suit yourself!” Bian Yu Qing turned around and quickly flew off.
But after a short flight, she suddenly turned around and flew back, landing next to Yang Kai again.
“Not running anymore?” Yang Kai looked at her curiously.
Bian Yu Qing’s face was dark as she fumed, “You’re going to be the death of me! I really don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours!”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Protector Bian, does this mean you’re planning to share life or death with me? Doesn’t sound too bad, we can be a pair of fated mandarin ducks under the yellow spring!”
“In your dreams!” Bian Yu Qing glared at him, her expression cold, “Hold down the others for a bit, I want to kill that man.”
“What grudge do you have with him?” Yang Kai raised his brows.
“Kou Wu died at his hand!” Bian Yu Qing’s voice was cold to the bones and her fists were clenched tight.
“Kou Wu is dead?” Yang Kai was shocked, and his face quickly turned serious. Even though it was Kou Wu who captured Liu Xian Yun and him and brought them to the Blue Feather Sect, he still took care of them as their Senior Brother at the time.
Kou Wu was also with Bian Yu Qing when they happened to meet each other at the Four Seasons Realm, but now he actually died. Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel a little sad. The slightest mistake on the path of the Martial Dao could very well lead to a torn body and crushed bones.
“He helped me delay them for a short while,” Bian Yu Qing took a deep breath and quickly said, “If you still feel any shred of brotherhood with me, then help me out this once.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded.
Bian Yu Qing went on, “Those people are all Third-Order Dao Source Realms. You can’t best them, so if things go awry… Just run and leave me behind.”
Yang Kai looked at her as it felt like he was truly getting to know her for the first time.
Bian Yu Qing smiled, “Don’t look at me like that. The Blue Feather Sect is gone, so Kou Wu and I depended on each other for survival. Now that he’s dead, I should at least avenge him.”
“You’ll get your wish,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“I hope so,” Bian Yu Qing exhaled lightly, shutting her beautiful eyes for a moment before opening them in a flash of cold light. A bracelet-like artifact appeared in the palm of her hand at the same time.
While the two of them were speaking, the cluster of lights had already grown close, and when the light receded, it revealed the figures of three people.
All three of them had Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivations, and from the clothes they wore, they seemed to be from the same Sect, but Yang Kai was not able to recognize which Sect these cultivators came from.
The one at the front was a fair-faced and beardless man who looked to be about forty. He was holding a sharp sword in his hand which was still stained with blood.
As soon as Bian Yu Qing saw the blood, her eyes instantly turned red.
She knew that it was definitely Kou Wu’s blood.
“Slut, try and run again!” The middle-aged man pointed his sword at her and shouted with a fierce look in his eyes.
Bian Yu Qing gritted her teeth and said nothing.
The middle-aged man continued shouting, “Hand over the Entry Token and we’ll let you live!”
“Were you the one who killed my fellow disciple?” Bian Yu Qing didn’t respond but interrogated instead.
The middle-aged man admitted freely, “That’s right, I’m the one who killed him. My sword pierced straight through his heart and granted him a quick death! He was very loyal to you, sacrificing his own life just so you could escape.”
Bian Yu Qing’s face was ice-cold as she suppressed the anger in her heart, her teeth already drawing blood from her lips as her body trembled and she said, “I’ll make sure to give you a quick death after this as well!”
At these words, the three men threw their heads back in laughter.
The middle-aged man glanced at Yang Kai from the corner of his eye, saying disdainfully, “I don’t know where you found this little helper, but to think you still dared to boast so shamelessly! Hey brat, I’d run as far away as possible if I were you, a pretty woman may be tempting, but you’ll need your life to be able to enjoy her!”
He obviously thought that Yang Kai had become smitten with Bian Yu Qing’s beauty and was trying to play the part of a hero. That being said, Bian Yu Qing’s looks were indeed not bad, especially the mature charm she exuded. It was something that a young and fresh girl wouldn’t be able to compare to.
Many men at Yang Kai’s age had a taste for such delicacies.
“Sorry, but I can’t do that,” Yang Kai smiled.
The middle-aged man’s face darkened and he coldly snorted, “Since you’re courting death, then don’t blame my fellow brothers for being ruthless!”
They had long investigated Bian Yu Qing and found out everything about her origins and her identity. She was just a Sectless woman without any kind of backing. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t have dared to have any thoughts about Bian Yu Qing, much less try to snatch away her Entry Token.
One had to know that all sorts of hidden dragons and crouching tigers lurked in Maplewood City and Spirit Lake City now. Any random person may well have a distinguished identity and strong backing, so they might end up kicking an iron plate if they were unlucky.
But for someone like Bian Yu Qing, even if she were able to find some help, that help wouldn’t be too strong. Yang Kai was also visibly quite young, so it was hard not to underestimate him.
“Junior Brothers, kill that little brat, then come help your Senior Brother. If we get the Entry Token today, then even advancing to the Emperor Realm in the future will be nothing difficult!” The middle-aged man pointed to Yang Kai and gave instructions to the two men beside him.
The two Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators nodded, a fierce glint in their eyes. In the blink of an eye, their bodies had already moved to each side of Yang Kai.
“Yang Kai, be careful!” Bian Yu Qing warned him.
The middle-aged man could not help but snicker at those words, “Still have the heart to worry about your little lover? Worry about yourself first!”
As soon as those words were spoken, a sword light flashed over along with a figure lunging towards Bian Yu Qing. The middle-aged man was preparing to unleash a fierce slash to start off the battle.
Right at that moment though, two pitiful screams suddenly rang out at the same time.
The middle-aged man’s face changed drastically and turning his head towards the direction of the sounds, his eyes widened into circles.
His two Junior Brothers who had lunged towards Yang Kai suddenly had large holes passing through their chests, ones that could be seen clear through. Even the wriggling five viscera and six organs could clearly be discerned.
“What happened?!” The middle-aged man was utterly confused. His two Junior Brothers were fine just a moment ago, so how did they end up like this in just the blink of an eye? The terrible wounds passing right through their chests had seemingly evaporated their hearts and organs. In other words, his two Junior Brothers had no chance of survival. They were definitely going to die.
They were both Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators and their strength wasn’t that much lower than his own, so how could they be killed in an instant?
Who did it?
The middle-aged man’s first reaction was that a Senior Expert was hiding nearby. At that thought, his lunging movements towards Bian Yu Qing stopped, and the light on his sword also dimmed.
Bian Yu Qing was also stunned. She had planned to kill this man today even if she had to die as well in order to avenge Kou Wu’s death. As long as Yang Kai could delay the other two for a while, she was confident she could do it.
Even though she had not been able to advance into the Emperor Realm, she was still a top existence among Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators after remaining in this realm for so many years.
But now, the two opponents whom Yang Kai was supposed to be holding back actually received critical injuries, and from the looks of things, they weren’t going to live much longer.
Everything happened in a flash, so fast that none of their minds could keep up.
At that moment, an astonishing aura spread out from Yang Kai’s body. Merely by raising his hand and clenching it hard, he was able to explode those two Junior Brothers into a bloody mist, leaving no bones behind.
*Ding dang…*
Two Space Rings fell to the ground, making an extremely light noise, but the noise was deafening like noon bells, shaking everyone back to their senses.
“Emperor Realm!” The face of the middle-aged man twisted in panic as he almost bit his own tongue.
This helper that appeared out of nowhere actually turned out to be an Emperor Realm Master!
And not just any ordinary Emperor at that! Even a First-Order Emperor could not possibly exterminate his two Junior Brothers in just a flash. This young-looking man was definitely a terrifying existence in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, possibly even the Third-Order!
At that thought, the middle-aged man was immediately filled with terror and dread.
He really kicked an iron plate this time.
He couldn’t help but feel desperate enough to cry, yet unable to shed any tears, and that was because he had thoroughly investigated Bian Yu Qing before this. She came from a Sect called Blue Feather Sect, but after the disappearance of its Sect Master, that Sect became disorganized and dissolved soon after. On top of that, there didn’t seem to be any Emperor Realm Masters that Bian Yu Qing was familiar with, so how did such a terrifying helper suddenly appear?
Stricken with fear, he didn’t dare to attack Bian Yu Qing again. All he could think about now was how he could keep his life. This unknown young man was able to kill his two Junior Brothers so casually, so it was likely his own death could also come as simply as blowing a puff of air.
“Yang Kai, you…” Bian Yu Qing was completely dumbfounded.
She never would have thought that Yang Kai could actually grow to the Emperor Realm in just a short few years. It was the Emperor Realm after all! A realm she had been striving towards for so many years but had been unable to even touch. And yet, Yang Kai was able to achieve it so easily! Was this still that little brat that had just joined Blue Feather Sect back then and needed her care? Were all cultivators that came from the lower Star Fields this terrifying?
For a moment, Yang Kai felt like a complete stranger to Bian Yu Qing.
“Protector Bian, didn’t you wish to avenge Kou Wu?” Yang Kai looked solemnly at Bian Yu Qing, “If not now, how long are you going to wait?”
His words brought her back to her senses. Bian Yu Qing focused her eyes and pushed her Source Qi, causing a light to suddenly blossom from the hand which had been grasping the bracelet the whole time. The bracelet swelled as thick as a person’s waist in the next instant, and forming seals with her hands, Bian Yu Qing sent the enlarged jade bracelet shooting towards the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was still panicking, so he wasn’t able to react in time when Bian Yu Qing suddenly made her move. By the time he was able to circulate his Source Qi and raise his sword, hurriedly blocking in front of him, the enlarged bracelet had already come crashing over.
There was a loud bang.
The bracelet seemed to have the force of ten thousand kilograms, and it actually managed to bend the Dao Source Grade sword when it hammered down onto it. The residual impact passed through the sword and smashed onto the middle-aged man’s chest, directly shattering the Source Qi layer protecting his body.
The middle-aged man’s face went pale as he seemingly hadn’t anticipated Bian Yu Qing to strike with such thunderous force. He had previously fought Bian Yu Qing with his two Junior Brothers, but that had been bullying using numbers rather than a life or death battle. He didn’t think Bian Yu Qing had any notable skill, but now that he was fighting her one-on-one, he finally realized how terrifying this beautiful woman was.
What’s more, an Emperor Realm Master was watching them from the side, so he couldn’t bring out his full strength with such a distraction.
[I’m not their opponent!]
But before he could even finish that thought, the bracelet that hit him suddenly bounced away, stored up some power, and came whistling over again.
The middle-aged man had already eaten a loss from this artifact once, so how could he not be afraid when he saw it returning for more? He quickly brandished his sword and used a Sword Art to keep his body well protected without any gaps.
But one false step always led to another, eventually leading to ruin. He had already reacted too slowly when Bian Yu Qing first attacked and had now fallen into the enemy’s rhythm. Again and again, Bian Yu Qing’s artifact smashed down on him until his fingers had gone numb and he almost dropped his sword.
More flaws were revealed in the Sword Arts that he had polished all his life.
Bian Yu Qing saw her opportunity and closed in. Wind and clouds gathered in her palms, containing a terrifying destructive force as she thrust it out straight towards the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was caught off guard. While worrying that Yang Kai would make a move, he was also on guard about the bracelet’s fierce attacks. He was distracted and could only barely send a sword wave at Bian Yu Qing, but it wasn’t powerful enough and was easily nullified by her.
Her palm landed right onto the middle-aged man’s chest, knocking the blood straight out of his mouth.
It was at the critical moment that the middle-aged man shifted to avoid receiving a fatal hit. Otherwise, that blow alone would have been enough to send him to the afterlife.
Even so, he wasn’t in good shape now. After he was sent flying backwards, the bracelet artifact followed him like a shadow, smashing against him over and over again. Being careless for just a moment would be enough to kill him.
Terrified, he shouted, “Senior! This lowly one had eyes but failed to see! Please have mercy and spare my life! The Broken Mountain Sect will surely grant you a large gift for your generosity!”
He was smart enough to know that his life or death was in Yang Kai’s hands. Even though Yang Kai did not intervene in the battle between him and Bian Yu Qing, he was sure that Bian Yu Qing would definitely be unable to kill him if he could convince Yang Kai to spare him.
And, he had also pointed out his origins on purpose in order to intimidate Yang Kai. At the very least, it was well known that an Emperor Realm Master was commanding the Broken Mountain Sect.
But how could he have known that Yang Kai did not even recognize the name Broken Mountain Sect?
The Southern Territory was vast and had countless Sects, so how could Yang Kai know all of them? However, even if Yang Kai did know about Broken Mountain Sect, he probably wouldn’t put it in his eyes. The Sects that he was in contact with now were all top Sects of each territory. Even those Sect Masters don’t dare to boast in front of him, and Li Jiao and Mi Qi had even been swindled by him for two and a half billion High-Rank Source Crystals! So what was a trivial Broken Mountain Sect worth?
Yang Kai grinned, “This King is not the one who wants to kill you, so what’s the use of pleading with this King?”
The middle-aged man’s face was filled with despair at those words. He knew that Yang Kai wouldn’t let him go, so he turned to Bian Yu Qing instead, “Elder Sister, you’ve lost one of your fellow disciples, and both my Junior Brothers are dead. Why don’t we just consider the matter settled? This one will offer an apology to Elder Sister!”
“In your dreams!” Bian Yu Qing gritted her teeth, her beautiful eyes seeing red as if she had gone insane. Source Qi was pouring out of her body like a tide and it seemed like she would not settle for anything less than killing him ruthlessly.
The middle-aged man fumed and shouted, “Then I’ll fight you to the death!”
As he said that, he was barely able to condense a layer of Source Qi around his body to protect himself. Raising his sword in front of his nose, he ran his finger over the blade and opened his mouth, recklessly coughing up a large mouthful of Blood Essence.
The sword suddenly hummed as if it would shoot to the sky at any moment as an extremely fierce Sword Intent spread out from the blade.
“Protector Bian, you better watch yourself,” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly and warned her, but he didn’t have any intention of intervening. Yang Kai could easily kill this middle-aged man, but revenge was something that had to be obtained by one’s own hands for it to be of any significance.
There was actually no need for Yang Kai to warn her as Bian Yu Qing herself knew that this middle-aged man was ready to throw away his life for this fight. Her expression turned serious as she clapped her palms together and shouted, “Divide!”
As she finished speaking, the bracelet artifact suddenly split into two, then two became four, four became eight…
In the blink of an eye, enlarged bracelets covered the sky in all directions and all crashed towards the middle-aged man. Each one of the bracelets appeared extremely vivid, as if they were all real, and a very strong aura was being emitted from them.
But Yang Kai could tell that only one of these bracelets was real while the rest were merely illusions.
This was not a bad artifact, but it was still just Dao Source Grade.
The middle-aged man felt confused when he saw these changes, and he felt at a loss of what to do, but very quickly, he regained his senses and shouted, “Even if I die today, I won’t let you feel any better!”
Sword light flashed as man and sword united into a stream of light, penetrating through the bracelets and aiming for Bian Yu Qing.
Faced with this thunderous attack, Bian Yu Qing did not back down and instead met it head-on. At the same time, she propelled all the bracelets in the sky towards the middle-aged man with a single thought.
Bracelet after bracelet slammed down, but the middle-aged man was unharmed. Instead, those bracelets all cracked. These were merely illusory phantoms in the end, so they didn’t have any real destructive power.
The two enemies closed in on each other quickly and were soon going to clash.
The middle-aged man grinned, thrusting his sword out in front of him.
With a dull noise, Bian Yu Qing’s body trembled as the sword passed straight through her chest.
Suppressing the pain, Bian Yu Qing’s face turned hideous as she roared, “Die!”
As she said that, a bracelet crashed right down onto the middle-aged man’s head, cracking it open like a melon and spewing red and white matter into the air.
The headless corpse swayed before suddenly falling from the sky.
Bian Yu Qing’s body also trembled. Holding the stab wound on her chest, she staggered back a few steps, opening her mouth to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Followed by a slight breeze, Yang Kai suddenly appeared next to her, holding her with one hand and frowning as he questioned, “You could have ground him to death little by little, why the need for such ferocity?”
Bian Yu Qing definitely had the upper hand in that confrontation, and she even had Yang Kai watching over her from the side. As long as she maintained her steady rhythm a little longer, she would have been able to kill her opponent with minimal to no losses at all, but unexpectedly, she actually chose to engage in a frontal clash, accepting serious injuries in exchange for a quick victory.
The middle-aged man was killed, but she had also been stabbed in the chest. This couldn’t be called a trivial wound, and if she had been the slightest bit careless, then she would have been dead.
Bian Yu Qing wiped the corner of her mouth and laughed mockingly at herself, “You men aren’t the only hot-blooded ones, you know!”
Yang Kai fell silent.
Bian Yu Qing shook her head, not feeling any joy from obtaining vengeance at all; instead, she just felt more desolate.
With Blue Feather Sect gone, she and Kou Wu had been depending on each other for survival this whole time. Now that even Kou Wu was dead, she was all alone, and she suddenly felt lost about her future.
“Focus on healing your wound first.” Yang Ki looked at the sword pierced through her chest and frowned.
If she hadn’t shifted her posture at the last moment, then this sword could really have taken her life. It wasn’t that Yang Kai couldn’t save her, but he knew that this sword wasn’t going to kill her, so he respected her wishes and stood by and watched.
If the injury wasn’t treated in time, then it may cause problems in the future.
Bian Yu Qing shook her head, “I need to take care of Kou Wu’s remains first. There are many wild beasts out here.”
Yang Kai sighed, “Where are they?”
“Over there!” Bian Yu Qing pointed in a certain direction.
Yang Kai reached out to hold her and was just about to move when Bian Yu Qing suddenly said, “Their rings.”
Yang Kai waved his hand, causing several streams of light to fly over from below. Three Space Rings, alongside the artifacts of the other two, were instantly brought over.
Even though the belongings of these Dao Source Realm cultivators weren’t worth Yang Kai’s attention, they were a fortune to Bian Yu Qing, so she naturally couldn’t just let them go.
He casually tossed the items to Bian Yu Qing before setting off.
In a few moments, they arrived at their destination where they found a corpse lying on its back on the ground. Who else would it be if not Kou Wu? But indeed, as the middle-aged man said before, Kou Wu died a quick death. He incurred a fatal stab wound to the chest, so he probably didn’t feel any pain.
Bian Yu Qing’s eyes were a little red as she sniffled, but forced herself to hold back her tears. Moving away from Yang Kai’s embrace, she flew down.
Once she landed on the ground, she was quiet for a moment before opening up, “Great riches and honours didn’t come to him when he was with me. I hope he finds a better place in his next life.”
Finally, she couldn’t stop the tears from running down her cheeks. She bent down and carefully picked up Kou Wu’s corpse, storing his remains carefully into her Space Ring.
Yang Kai watched in silence, not saying anything.
Only when Bian Yu Qing was done cleaning up and flown back did he lead her towards a nearby mountain peak.
Sweeping over the terrain with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found a cave and entered it. After landing, Yang Kai took out a few pills and ordered, “Open your mouth!”
Bian Yu Qing opened her mouth obediently, and with a flick of his wrist, Yang Kai popped the Spirit Pills into her mouth.
Before she could react, Yang Kai suddenly reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword stuck in her chest, pulling it with one swift movement.
Bian Yu Qing’s body froze for a moment before she let out a heart-wrenching scream.
But with his fingers, Yang Kai jabbed a few points on her body and stopped the blood flow before saying, “Once you refine the medicinal efficacies, you should be fine.”
Turning around, he headed out of the cave.
Yang Kai had refined those healing pills personally, and one of them was even an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill. Bian Yu Qing’s injury was quite serious, so with only her Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation and her own Spirit Pills, it would likely take a long time for her to recover.
Half a day later, Yang Kai, who was standing at the entrance of the cave with his hands behind his back, heard the sound of footsteps. Turning around, he saw Bian Yu Qing walking out with a fresh set of clothes.
Four eyes suddenly meeting, Bian Yu Qing had a slightly complex look in her eyes as she meekly spoke, “Thanks.”
The little brat she used to look down upon had now grown to the point where she needed to look up to him; these changes overwhelmed Bian Yu Qing a little. She wasn’t acting as naturally as in the past, but rather a little more formal now.
“It’s just a trivial matter,” Yang Kai shook his head. “Perhaps I am also responsible for your current situation.”
Bian Yu Qing couldn’t understand, “What does any of this have to do with you?”
Yang Kai looked at her with a solemn gaze and said, “I’m the one who killed Wu Meng Chuan.”
“What?” Bian Yu Qing trembled, almost in disbelief at what she heard. But she also understood that there was no need for Yang Kai to lie to her about this with his current status and strength.
If he confessed to it, then Wu Meng Chuan must have really died at his hand.
Blue Feather Sect’s decline had much to do with Wu Meng Chuan’s disappearance. With the Sect Master gone and three of the original four Protectors killed off by him, only Bian Yu Qing was left, and she naturally couldn’t save this situation with her strength alone. Soon after, Blue Feather Sect disbanded, and the disciples went their separate ways.
While others had no idea why Wu Meng Chuan disappeared, Bian Yu Qing knew that it happened after he left for the Shattered Star Sea. After all, the Star Seal to enter the Shattered Star Sea was obtained by Kou Wu and her from the Four Seasons Realm.
But to think that Wu Meng Chuan actually died to Yang Kai. That man was a descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, and as far as Bian Yu Qing knew, Wu Meng Chuan still had a Legacy Emperor Artifact handed down to him from the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
Yang Kai must have been in the Dao Source Realm as well when he entered the Shattered Star Sea, but he still managed to kill Wu Meng Chuan.
“Seems like you don’t intend to seek revenge for him,” Yang Kai smiled at this observation.
After he admitted to killing Wu Meng Chuan, Bian Yu Qing was shocked, but she didn’t have any other reaction.
“Why would I want to get revenge for him?” Bian Yu Qing scoffed, “If he hadn’t needed someone to manage the Blue Feather Sect for him, then I would have been killed by him after he got out. I have no problem with you killing him.”
“That’s for the best,” Yang Kai nodded. “By the way, what is that Entry Token that those people were talking about when they were pursuing you?”
Bian Yu Qing was silent for a moment, but she still took out the sapphire jade token from her Space Ring which was about the size of a palm, handing it to Yang Kai, “This is it.”
Yang Kai took the token and studied it. He could see that this jade token was carved from sapphire jade, but there wasn’t anything special about it.
Sapphire jade was a type of jade ore that wasn’t considered precious. It was produced in many places and one or two ores would perhaps be needed to refine low-grade artifacts. So what about this Entry Token warranted a group of Dao Source Realm cultivators to fight and chase after?
Turning it over, Yang Kai saw several numbers engraved onto the back, ‘3-9-1-2’!
“What’s it for?” Yang Kai looked doubtfully at Bian Yu Qing.
“This is the Entry Token for Spirit Lake Palace. With this, you can enter Spirit Lake Palace’s cultivation rooms,” Bian Yu Qing explained, “You’ve been gone for many years, so you probably don’t know how bustling Spirit Lake Palace is these days. Countless people arrive every day in order to use the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal cultivation rooms. I spent all of my assets in order to obtain this Entry Token, but I still have to wait two more months before it’s my turn to cultivate inside.”
Yang Kai’s face darkened, “Two months? There are that many people waiting in line?”
Bian Yu Qing said, “Do you know how long it’s been since I got my Entry Token?”
“How long?”
“Half a year,” Bian Yu Qing told him, “I got this Entry Token half a year ago, but I still need to wait two more months before it’s my turn. Countless others still have to wait a year or even two.”
“Heavens!” Yang Kai clicked his tongue in amazement, “Is Spirit Lake Palace really so popular?”
Bian Yu Qing laughed, “The World Energy is just that dense in Spirit Lake Palace. Even the lowest grade, the Mortal Grade cultivation rooms, are something any ordinary small Sect can’t compare to. For people looking to make breakthroughs like us, Spirit Lake Palace is naturally a popular place, but if you don’t have connections, you just have to wait in line.”
Yang Kai asked, “Is that why those three were trying to steal your Entry Token?”
Bian Yu Qing responded, “Of course. Don’t underestimate the value of this Entry Token. After Spirit Lake Palace hands out an Entry Token, they only care about the token, not the owner. In other words, whoever holds this Entry Token will be able to enter Spirit Lake Palace to cultivate in two months. I spent all of my Source Crystals in order to get this Entry Token, but if I take this Entry Token to the black market now, I’ll definitely be able to sell it for twice as much. Even the highest rank of Entry Token can often be found up for auction.”
“Because of the wait time?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
“En. The closer the date is, the higher the value of the Entry Token. Maplewood City’s black market is crazy over this. Who knows how many people are there trying to find an Entry Token.”
Yang Kai nodded. Not mentioning the worth of the Entry Token itself, the fact that one was able to enter Spirit Lake Palace to cultivate in two months was enough to get people fighting over it. Bian Yu Qing must have accidentally exposed her ownership of the token, leading to the three disciples from Broken Mountain Sect pursuing her.
Yang Kai didn’t expect this place to change so much after being away for just a few years.
“The White Entry Tokens are for Mortal Grade rooms, Sapphire Entry Tokens for Earth Grade, and as for the top Ruby Entry Tokens, those are naturally for Heaven Grade!” Bian Yu Qing explained, “But Heaven Grade rooms aren’t something people like me can enter.”
Even Emperor Realm Masters dream of entering those rooms, so naturally Bian Yu Qing couldn’t compete with them with the resources she had.
“Only Earth Grade, huh?” Yang Kai muttered in thought, “Are you planning to go inside to see whether you can break through to the Emperor Realm?”
Bian Yu Qing smiled, “The chances are slim, but I should still try, shouldn’t I?”
She didn’t have much confidence in her chances, and Yang Kai estimated that she probably wouldn’t be able to make a breakthrough even if she really did get to cultivate in the Earth Grade cultivation room. A cultivator’s mentality was a very important factor when it came to such things.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai said, “Let’s go.”
“Where to?” Bian Yu Qing asked.
“To Spirit Lake Palace. It’s been many years since I last came here, and it seems like you’re more familiar with the way there, so why don’t you be my guide?”
Bian Yu Qing nodded, “That’s fine.”
Yang Kai pushed his Emperor Qi, wrapping around her and then speeding off towards Spirit Lake Palace’s direction, but he did not return the Sapphire Entry Token to her.
Bian Yu Qing seemed to want to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask in the end. If Yang Kai really wanted to snatch the Sapphire Entry Token from her, Bian Yu Qing would not be able to fight him.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at a place a thousand kilometres away.
Yang Kai looked towards Spirit Lake Palace from the air and couldn’t help but whistle in amazement. In just a few years, this place had already formed into a city not inferior to Maplewood City. And, from the looks of it, they were still expanding. Maybe in a few years, Spirit Lake Palace would swallow up Maplewood City as well, merging the two into one.
Seeing that Yang Kai seemed to have the intention of just swaggering in, Bian Yu Qing quickly interrupted, “We need to pay Source Crystals in order to enter Spirit Lake City. Ten Mid-Rank Source Crystals per person.”
“Oh, that’s quite a hefty entrance fee,” Yang Kai was taken aback. He had been to many cities, and those cities all generally charged tolls in Low-Rank Source Crystals, and usually only around ten crystals at that, but this Spirit Lake City actually wanted ten Mid-Rank Source Crystals, which was a hundred times more than what other cities charged.
“It’s a lot, but it’s worth it. The World Energy inside Spirit Lake City may not be as plentiful as the cultivation rooms in Spirit Lake Palace, but it’s still very dense. Many people who can’t get Entry Tokens instead find places to stay in Spirit Lake City, living there year-round.”
Yang Kai nodded. He was also a cultivator who climbed up step by step from the bottom, so he could naturally sympathize with the hardships faced by those cultivators. For them, the World Energy in Spirit Lake City was no less than a divine blessing. Naturally, they were willing to pay the trivial ten Mid-Rank Source Crystals to gain entry.
While speaking, the two of them had already arrived at the entrance. Fortunately, the entrance was quite empty and there weren’t many people lining up. When it was Yang Kai’s turn, he just tossed over a High-Rank Source Crystal, causing the cultivator guarding the entrance to happily take it and let them through.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai was trying to show off his wealth on purpose, only that he basically had no Mid-Rank or Low-Rank Source Crystals. All the Source Crystals he had in his ring were High-Rank ones.
When they entered Spirit Lake City, they were greeted with a bustling sight. Cultivators came and went along the streets like a school of carp in the river, plentiful as the hairs on an ox. It was extremely lively, and many stores were lining both sides of the streets, rows upon rows of them. Many had even set up stalls on the empty ground to sell off the things they didn’t need anymore. Most of the stalls had people stopping around, and the sound of bargaining was endless.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue in amazement. There were Dao Source Realm cultivators as far as the eye could see here, and even some Emperor Realm Masters who were concealing their cultivations walked among the crowd. This would simply have been impossible ten years ago. Back then, the strongest Master within a hundred thousand kilometres of Maplewood City was a mere Second-Order Dao Source Realm, and the number of cultivators in the Dao Source Realm could even be counted on two hands. But right now, Dao Source Realm cultivators were truly all over the place.
These changes were naturally attributed to the rise of Spirit Lake Palace.
Yang Kai walked around, soaking in the lively atmosphere that all felt a little surreal.
Bian Yu Qing would also tell Yang Kai about Spirit Lake City from time to time, causing him to nod lightly in understanding. Ever since Blue Feather Sect disbanded, Bian Yu Qing and Kou Wu had come to Spirit Lake City in order to make a living, so she naturally knew more about the area than Yang Kai did.
Almost an hour later, they arrived at Spirit Lake Palace, which was located in the centre of the city.
The huge palace was just like a city within a city, and many people were lined up at its entrance.
Yang Kai could see quite clearly that these people were in three lines, and the leftmost line had the largest number of people, totalling five hundred or so. The middle line had much fewer people, about half the leftmost line. As for the last line on the right, less than fifty people were waiting. The strength of the cultivators in these three lines were also clear to see. The leftmost line was made up almost exclusively of those in or below the Origin King Realm. There were a few downtrodden-looking Dao Source Realm cultivators mixed in with them, however.
The middle line, on the other hand, was mostly First and Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, with a few wealthy-looking Origin Kings.
As for the line on the right, their cultivations were all at or above the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, with two even being Emperor Realm cultivators.
Yang Kai said, thoughtful, “These three lines are for the different Entry Tokens, right?”
Bian Yu Qing nodded, “That’s right. The leftmost line is for the White Entry Token holders, the centre is for the Sapphire Entry Token, and the right is for the Ruby Entry Tokens. Most of the cultivation rooms in Spirit Lake Palace are Mortal Grade, then Earth Grade, and the fewest at Heaven Grade, so even though there are more people in line for White Entry Tokens, the rotation is actually quite fast.”
Yang Kai nodded, walking over towards a rather empty place at the side and looking around, revealing a satisfied look.
Bian Yu Qing had no idea what he intended to do, but she didn’t ask, choosing to observe him curiously instead.
Yang Kai suddenly said aloud, “I have a Sapphire Entry Token here with the number 3912, buyers welcome, first come, first served!”
Even though his voice wasn’t too loud, the force he pushed into it had likely amplified and carried it out for the entire Spirit Lake City to hear.
Bian Yu Qing’s face changed drastically as she cried out in alarm, “What are you doing?!”
This was the Sapphire Entry Token that she spent all of her fortune on to obtain, and she only had to wait another two months before it was her turn! That was her key to whether she could ascend to the Emperor Realm or not, but now, Yang Kai had actually taken out her Entry Token to sell without asking for her permission. If she really wanted to sell it off, then she would have taken it to an auction long ago, why keep it till now?
“Just trust me!” Yang Kai glanced at her.
Bian Yu Qing’s anger was instantly doused. Frowning, she nodded and said nothing more.
Yang Kai was already in the Emperor Realm, so if he really did have any ill intentions towards her, then she wouldn’t be able to resist him.
After Yang Kai’s words, the cultivators nearby stopped in their tracks to look at him in astonishment. In the next moment, a crowd rushed over like a tidal wave, all of them scrambling to get to Yang Kai.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai and Bian Yu Qing were completely surrounded by a sea of cultivators. Bian Yu Qing couldn’t help but feel nervous at this sudden situation. It should be noted that many of the cultivators surrounding them had extremely terrifying auras, not something she could contend with.
Subconsciously, she edged closer towards Yang Kai, as if trying to find a sense of security.
“Token 3912? Really?”
“Quickly take it out and show us!”
“Little brat, you’re dead if you dare to trick us!”
Many cultivators here in Spirit Lake City were trying to find an Entry Token, so they were naturally quite familiar with the numbers and what they meant. A Sapphire Entry Token bearing the number 3912 was already very close in the queue. One might be able to get in within less than two months with that token.
Usually, such close numbers would only appear in auctions, and even then they may not be able to find it in the black market. Naturally, everyone was quite excited to hear that one such token had appeared out here.
In an instant, a noisy crowd had formed.
Yang Kai ignored the people threatening him and continued shouting.
People were constantly flying over from afar, and very soon, more than five hundred cultivators gathered around them. People were crowding around Yang Kai and Bian Yu Qing, with many even flying in the sky around them.
If not for the fact that fighting was prohibited in Spirit Lake City, some people may even have tried robbing them by now.
After enough people had gathered, Yang Kai took out the Sapphire Entry Token and showed it to the crowd. Then, he flipped it around and held it up high for display.
The numbers on the back shone brightly in the sunlight, so everyone could see it clearly.
“It really is number 3912!”
“It’s been so long since such a close Entry Token appeared. This number only requires a two month wait!”
“Boy, I came here first so hurry up and sell me that Entry Token! I can guarantee you’ll be happy with the price!” An elderly man shouted eagerly. This man looked quite old, he had a head full of white hair, but his cultivation was only in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. Death Qi was emanating from all over his body, and his vitality was also extremely thin. From his appearance, he seemed to be quite close to his predestined time of death.
But if he could make another breakthrough, then he may be able to live a few more years, so he was naturally very interested in this Entry Token.
Another cultivator, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm standing mid-air, looked down at them and said, “Boy, how much is that Entry Token? Give me a price!”
Yang Kai smiled and looked around, “It seems like everyone is quite interested in this Entry Token. Very good, in that case, let’s auction this right here! The Entry Token goes to the highest bidder!”
The elderly man’s face changed as he yelled, “Little brat, you said first come first served just now, so how can you go back on your word?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Old man, that was just something I blurted out. You believe that? Naturally, such a precious Entry Token should be auctioned!”
“You,” the elderly man’s beard was twitching, “You irritate this Old Master!”
“Since you’re going to auction it, what’s the starting price?” A Dao Source Realm cultivator in the air asked.
Yang Kai said, “You’re all free to bid, there’s no starting price.”
With so many people competing, there was simply no need for a reserve price as the price would naturally go up while they’re fighting for it.
As soon as he said that, someone immediately shouted, “Twenty million!”
“Twenty million is the price to buy an Entry Token to Spirit Lake Palace, have you no shame offering such a measly sum? Thirty million!”
“Thirty-one million!”
“Thirty-two million!”
In the blink of an eye, the price of the Sapphire Entry Token went up to thirty-six million.
Yang Kai whispered to Bian Yu Qing, “Is the price Low-Rank Source Crystals or Mid-Rank Source Crystals?”
Bian Yu Qing answered, “Mid-Rank Source Crystals. White Entry Tokens are all sold for Low-Rank Source Crystals while Ruby Entry Tokens cost High-Rank Source Crystals.”
“How much did you spend when you bought this?” Yang Kai asked.
“Twenty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals!”
Twenty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals would translate to Two Hundred Thousand High-Rank Source Crystals, which was just a drop in the bucket to Yang Kai, but to Bian Yu Qing, it was everything she had.
And even this was thanks to the fact that she had constantly been managing Blue Feather Sect in the past and had some of the Sect’s cultivation resources with her, or she would not have had such a large fortune.
In the blink of an eye, something she bought for twenty million was now priced as high as thirty-six million. Just like Bian Yu Qing said before, she really could double her money by reselling the Entry Token. The demand for this Entry Token was clear to see among the cultivators of Spirit Lake City.
“Forty million!” A Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator in the air shouted out the price, red-faced and grimacing, looking like he was in great pain. But as long as he could get his hands on this Sapphire Entry Token, he could try to break through to the Emperor Realm in two months. If he succeeded, then what would this forty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals be worth?
The appearance of Spirit Lake Palace had allowed many cultivators to break through their own shackles. There were over a hundred Emperor Realm breakthroughs over the past ten years here alone, so if those people could do it, why couldn’t he?
“If anyone can name a higher price, then I don’t want the Entry Token anymore!” That Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator grit his teeth and observed his surroundings nervously.
To his delight, nobody else raised the bid after him, but that did make sense. Forty million was already twice the price of buying the Entry Token from Spirit Lake Palace to begin with, and this price was already the bottom line of most people. There were no fools here. Even though the number would grant entry very soon, Source Crystals don’t just come from nowhere, so how could they squander them freely?
“This Old Master bids forty million and ten thousand!” An old voice suddenly appeared from the distance.
Upon hearing this, the whole crowd had strange expressions on their faces. For someone to suddenly come in and add a mere ten thousand to the bidding price, who knows whether this person was trying to pick up a bargain or had some grudge with that cultivator who bid forty million and simply wanted to insult him.
“Who? Who said that?!” The Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator was infuriated hearing this of course and the anger in his chest began boiling like magma in a volcano.
Even though Yang Kai never specified how much the price had to be raised for each bid, everyone was quite disciplined during the auction earlier, raising the bid by at least half a million each time, but mainly raising the price by a million. But now, someone suddenly came out and raised the bid by just ten thousand. Wasn’t that a display of naked contempt?
“It was this Old Master. What’s wrong? Do you have any complaints?”
In a flash, an old man showed himself. Flying above everyone, he looked down at the crowd, pushing his voice with the force inside his body, sending a blast of Emperor Intent to all their faces.
“Emperor Realm!” The face of the cultivator who was still looking around furiously just now to see who was trying to mess around suddenly changed, instantly turning silent.
An Emperor Realm Master actually came to snatch the Sapphire Entry Token away from him, this was something he would never have expected. Even though the Sapphire Entry Token only allowed one to enter an Earth Grade cultivation room, that still had some use to an Emperor Realm Master. However, in general, Emperors would only use the Heaven Grade cultivation rooms. Of course, there was also the possibility that this old man was joining the auction in order to secure the Entry Token for his Disciple or descendant.
“It’s Broken Mountain Sect’s Sect Master, Le Dong Zheng!”
Someone suddenly shouted in the crowd, seemingly recognizing the identity of this old man.
When the others heard his words, they all revealed looks of fear.
Bian Yu Qing’s body trembled slightly as she had the subconscious feeling that this Le Dong Zheng was here to find trouble with her. But thinking about it carefully, nobody saw them when she and Yang Kai killed those three Broken Mountain Sect disciples. Only after this thought hit her did she relax.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and looked at Le Dong Zheng with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Not to mention the fact that this old man was suspected to be starting trouble by raising the price by just ten thousand out of nowhere, this Sect Master had come over as soon as he killed those Broken Mountain Sect disciples. This was too much of a coincidence, right?
Could it be that the matter was exposed? But that didn’t seem right. Yang Kai swept through his surroundings with his Divine Sense before killing them, and nobody was watching at all. Moreover, the three men did not send any messages before they died, so how could Le Dong Zheng know?
“So, it is Senior Le,” that Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator also recognized Le Dong Zheng and smiled bitterly, “Since Senior Le wants this Sapphire Entry Token, Junior naturally wouldn’t dare to have any complaints.”
“Good!” Le Dong Zheng let out a light grunt and turned his head to look at Yang Kai, reaching his hand out, “Hand over the Entry Token.”
Yang Kai eyed him and sneered, “The auction isn’t over yet.”
Le Dong Zheng said, “What, could there be anyone who can outbid this Old Master?”
He eyed his surroundings with his imposing glare, and anyone who met his gaze felt chills rising in their hearts, so even if they wanted to bid, they didn’t dare to open their mouths anymore. Not to mention the fact that the price of forty million had exceeded most of their bottom lines.
“Do you see that? This Old Master’s price is the highest!” Le Dong Zheng extended his hand once more, “Hand over the Entry Token.”
Yang Kai stroked his chin and shook his head, “Even if your price is the highest, I’m still not going to sell you this Entry Token.”
[Raising by just 10,000 and you want to snatch away this Entry Token?] If Yang Kai really gave it to Le Dong Zheng, it would leave a bitter taste in his mouth for a long time to come. On top of that, this Entry Token was originally something that three cultivators from the Broken Mountain Sect wanted to steal. Even Kou Wu had to be killed before the Entry Token was saved, so how could it now land in the hands of the Broken Mountain Sect?
Le Dong Zheng’s face darkened, “Boy, you dare disobey the rules?”
Yang Kai snickered, “My things, my rules. What the hell do you count for?”
As soon as he said that, everyone was staring tongue-tied at Yang Kai, secretly admiring his guts. Le Dong Zheng was an Emperor Realm Master, and yet this young man actually dared to provoke him.
“You court death!” Le Dong Zheng was furious and his aura flared around his body, attempting to pressure Yang Kai.
Many of the people standing nearby grunted and stepped back.
Yang Kai did not move, however, and instead just sneered at Le Dong Zheng. After a light snort, his own Emperor Pressure rose up like an awakened beast.
Le Dong Zheng’s face changed dramatically as he called out, “You’re also an Emperor!”
The crowd at the side was also shocked. They never would have thought that Yang Kai was actually an Emperor Realm Master. All of them instantly felt nervous, but fortunately, they were quite disciplined during the auction earlier and did not offend him too much; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences.
“It was this Old Master who had eyes but failed to see,” Le Dong Zheng’s expression cooled instantly.
Yang Kai ignored him and pointed his hand to the front, “Hey, you! Come over here!”
When Yang Kai pointed his hand, the crowd split away in a flash, as if the outstretched finger was a venomous snake.
The cultivator who bid forty million earlier also tried to doge, but no matter where he moved to, Yang Kai’s finger kept on pointing at him.
With a bitter face, he asked, “Senior, what can I do for you?”
Even though he was quite a lot older than Yang Kai, his cultivation was inferior, so he could only address him as Senior.
“Come over here!” Yang Kai said again.
The man had no choice but to walk towards Yang Kai with an apprehensive face, not knowing what the latter wanted from him.
After approaching, Yang Kai shoved the Sapphire Entry Token into his hands before he could say anything and declared, “The Entry Token is yours.”
In a flash, the face of Le Dong Zheng, who was floating in the air, turned blue.
He was a First-Order Emperor and his bid was higher, but Yang Kai refused to sell the Entry Token to him. Instead, Yang Kai passed the Sapphire Entry Token to a mere Dao Source Realm cultivator. This was a public slap to the face.
Instead of feeling happy, the Dao Source Realm cultivator felt shocked and afraid. The Sapphire Entry Token in his hands felt just like a hot lump of iron, burning into his palms.
If Le Dong Zheng hadn’t made a bid, he would have happily accepted the Entry Token, but now that Le Dong Zheng had appeared, how could he dare to take it? If he does take it, then he would be offending someone he couldn’t afford to. He couldn’t be sure whether he would get what was coming to him in the future either.
“Senior, I don’t want the Entry Token anymore,” he opened his mouth with great difficulty and returned the Entry Token.
“You dare refuse?” Yang Kai grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up, glaring fiercely at his face, “You think I won’t beat you black and blue for that?”
That man was so shocked that his face turned white and he quickly cautioned, “Fighting isn’t allowed in Spirit Lake City!”
Yang Kai said threateningly, “Can you hide in Spirit Lake City for the rest of your life? I’ll beat you half to death as soon as you leave the city!”
That man wanted to cry but had no tears, all but begging, “Senior, why must you make things difficult for me? I’m just a Dao Source Realm cultivator.”
“You call selling you an Entry Token making things difficult for you?” Yang Kai sneered, still holding onto his collar, “Are you taking it or not? If not, you’re dead.”
The man dodged his gaze, not daring to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai then whispered quietly, “If you take it, you may offend Le Dong Zheng, but you’ll also gain an Entry Token, and have the chance to break through to the Emperor Realm. If you don’t though, you will offend this Young Master and get no benefits at all. Consider the gains and losses by yourself.”
As soon as he heard that, his eyes lit up.
That’s right. No matter whether he takes the Entry Token or not, he would be offending an Emperor Realm Master. If he did take it though, then he at least had a ray of hope for advancing to the Emperor Realm. It was such a simple question, so why hadn’t he thought it through before?
In an instant, he made his decision.
Looking up towards Le Dong Zheng, the man cupped his fists, “Senior Le, it’s not that Junior wants to fight with you, but Junior was forced to buy! Please understand!”
“Hmph!” Le Dong Zheng coldly snorted, causing the man’s face to turn pale again, but things had already come to this, and there was nothing for him to hesitate over anymore. He quickly moved forty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals from his ring to another before handing it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai turned around and tossed the ring to Bian Yu Qing. Only then did he let go of the man’s collar and say, “You can use the token yourself, but you can’t sell it, especially not to that old man!” He pointed at Le Dong Zheng and threatened, “If I find out that you’ve sold the token to him… Hmph!”
“I know, I know! I’ll use it myself, I definitely won’t sell it!” The man nodded incessantly.
“Now go!” Yang Kai waved his hand.
That man ran into the crowd and disappeared without a trace as if it had been a ghost.
Seeing that the Entry Token had already been sold out, the rest of the crowd naturally had no reason to stay anymore and quickly scattered like birds and beasts.
Only Le Dong Zheng stayed behind, staring at Yang Kai with narrowed eyes. A cold glint could be seen through those slits as he spoke, “Little friend, this Old Master has no idea how he offended you, for you to target this Old Master in such a way.”
Yang Kai snickered, “Sect Master Le, why the need to play dumb? Since you’re already here, why don’t you just air out what you want to say?”
Le Dong Zheng responded, “I don’t know what this little friend is talking about.”
“In that case, there’s nothing for us to talk about,” Yang Kai turned around and said to Bian Yu Qing, “Let’s go.”
“Wait!” When he saw that Yang Kai was really planning to leave, Le Dong Zheng quickly shouted.
“Sect Master Le, what else do you need?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
Le Dong Zheng narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at Yang Kai for a while before asking, “My three disciples… where are they now?”
“Hah!” Yang Kai laughed and looked jeeringly at Le Dong Zheng, “And here I thought that Sect Master Le really didn’t know anything. So, you were the one who sent the three of them?”
Bian Yu Qing’s face paled, as she looked at Le Dong Zheng with rage in her eyes. If what Yang Kai said was true, then Le Dong Zheng was the culprit responsible for Kou Wu’s death. Without his orders, she and Kou Wu wouldn’t have been chased after by those three people.
As if he didn’t hear that snide comment, Le Dong Zheng continued, “You haven’t answered this Old Master’s question yet.”
“Curious to know?” Yang Kai grinned, “Figure it out yourself!”
He turned around and left.
Le Dong Zheng was fuming. If not for the fact that Spirit Lake City forbade fighting, he would have rushed over to battle Yang Kai to the death. One of the three disciples he sent was his descendant, one he had high hopes for him. From Yang Kai’s tone, the fate of the three must be disastrous, so how could Le Dong Zheng’s heart not ache?
Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Boy! Don’t let this Old Master see you outside the city, or he will kill you!”
Yang Kai scoffed and couldn’t even be bothered to turn around, giving Le Dong Zheng a sense of powerlessness as if he were punching at cotton. He almost coughed up a mouthful of blood from anger.
He watched Yang Kai leave with hatred in his eyes, inwardly deciding to himself that he would teach this little brat a harsh lesson; otherwise, his three disciples would have died in vain.
…..
“What are you doing? Go back and wait in line!”
In front of Spirit Lake Palace, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator dressed in the uniform of Heavenly Martial Holy Land reached out to stop Yang Kai with an arrogant look on his face.
As a disciple of one of the Southern Territory’s top Sects, he naturally had the capital to act arrogant. What’s more, he was still young and had already reached the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, so the possibility of him breaking through to the Emperor Realm in the future was quite high.
Led by Star Soul Palace, Spirit Lake Palace was built under the joint efforts of all three of the Southern Territory’s top Sects, so it was naturally managed by the three of them.
Yang Kai took out a token and waved it in front of the man.
The Heavenly Martial Holy Land disciple instantly withdrew his arrogance and cupped his fists, “So it is a Senior Brother from Azure Sun Temple. May I know how to address Senior Brother?”
The token that Yang Kai held up was the Azure Sun Golden Token, a token that only Core Disciples were qualified to possess. Even though this man was from Heavenly Martial Holy Land, he was merely an inner disciple, a far cry from a Core Disciple. After confirming Yang Kai’s identity, he naturally didn’t dare to be too reckless.
Bian Yu Qing almost went cross-eyed at this sight. She had personally seen how arrogant and supercilious the cultivators guarding Spirit Lake Palace’s entrance were. Even Emperor Realm Masters would sometimes be greeted with disdainful looks by these top Sect disciples, so when she saw one cupping his fists and bowing to Yang Kai, then listening to what he said, Bian Yu Qing suddenly recalled that Yang Kai was with Azure Sun Temple when they went to the Four Seasons Realm back then.
It turned out that Yang Kai had already become a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and from the looks of this situation, his status didn’t seem low. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to make this cultivator lower himself before him.
“Yang Kai!”
The disciple who was guarding the gate frowned at his words and thought carefully for a moment, but found that he was extremely unfamiliar with his name. He had never even heard of it.
He basically knew all of Azure Sun Temple’s Core Disciples, but he had never seen or heard of Yang Kai before. But the Azure Sun Golden Token couldn’t be faked. With this Golden Token, it meant that Yang Kai really was a Core Disciple of Azure Sun Temple.
When Yang Kai refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pill back then in the Four Seasons Realm, his fame spread across the entire Southern Territory, but since so many years had passed, news naturally died down and many cultivators spent much of their time in secluded retreat, so it was normal for them to have never heard of Yang Kai’s name before. This cultivator at the gate was clearly one of these people.
“So, it is Senior Brother Yang!” Even though that cultivator did not recognize Yang Kai, he didn’t dare to be any less polite to him, “May I ask if Senior Brother Yang has come this time in order to make use of the cultivation rooms?
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
When Gao Xue Ting handed him this Azure Sun Golden Token, she told him that in addition to the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Grade cultivation rooms in Spirit Lake Palace, there were even better ones reserved for the disciples of the three Sects that were not open to the public. However, they were free to enter them with the Golden Token.
If not, Yang Kai wouldn’t have sold Bian Yu Qing’s Sapphire Token. Since there was an even better place for her to go, there was naturally no more use for that Sapphire Entry Token.
“Senior Brother Yang, please follow me. I’ll bring you to see the Sir Steward.” That man turned around after he finished speaking.
Yang Kai called out to Bian Yu Qing and followed him.
Bian Yu Qing had already figured out what Yang Kai was trying to do at this point, and her eyes were filled with gratitude. At the same time, she couldn’t help but smile bitterly. She had to spend all of her assets just to buy that Sapphire Entry Token after many difficulties, still having to wait eight months before her turn came. On the other hand, Yang Kai only needed to come here and he was allowed into a Heaven Grade cultivation room. Through this comparison, Bian Yu Qing realized that the convenience of being the disciple of a top Sect was beyond her imagination, and she couldn’t help but feel helpless at that fact.
Without a strong background, even if one really were to ascend to the Emperor Realm, they wouldn’t have much prestige in front of these large Sect’s disciples.
“What’re you doing?” Yang Kai suddenly turned around to look at Bian Yu Qing, frowning, suddenly realizing that her state was not quite right.
Bian Yu Qing was taken by surprise at his call and suddenly realized how dispirited her thoughts had become. With such a mindset, her already slim chances of breaking through to the Emperor Realm became even slimmer.
She immediately collected her thoughts and her eyes became determined!
That’s right, Kou Wu died in order to preserve that Sapphire Entry Token, all so he could leave a ray of hope behind for her to break through. If she couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer, how could she face Kou Wu in the future after her death?
Kou Wu’s blood could not be shed in vain.
“Nothing!” Bian Yu Qing smiled, a hard-to-describe sense of self-confidence and determination emanating from her body. She had a feeling that if she could find a good place to enter retreat at this moment, then her chances of breaking through to the Emperor Realm would be as high as thirty percent!
It had to be known that she only had a one in ten chance before this, so thirty percent was already very high.
Yang Kai stared at Bian Yu Qing seriously, watching her for a long time before turning his head away.
He had no idea what sort of psychological struggle Bian Yu Qing had just gone through in this short period of time, but he was pleased to see that she was in better form now.
That Heavenly Martial Holy Land disciple led Yang Kai and Bian Yu Qing to a room and said, “Senior Brother Yang, please wait for a moment. I’ll go and get the Sir Steward.”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai nodded.
The man then turned and left.
“Thank you!” Bian Yu Qing suddenly spoke. This was already the second time she thanked Yang Kai since bumping into him again, and each time, she was thanking him from the bottom of her heart. In all her years of living, no one had ever shown her such kindness, so his actions moved her greatly.
Yang Kai smiled, “It’s just a trivial matter!”
While saying that, he casually tossed a few jade bottles over to her.
Bian Yu Qing accepted them and looked doubtfully at Yang Kai, “These are…”
“You can use these while you cultivate,” Yang Kai explained.
Curious, Bian Yu Qing opened up a jade bottle and peeked inside. In an instant, her entire body shook and she was wide-eyed, “This is… an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill?”
Looking into another bottle, it turned out to be another Emperor Grade Spirit Pill, and from the looks and fragrance of the pill from the first bottle, it seemed to be similar to the legendary Pure Heart Pill. The Pure Heart Pill was a pill that could help a cultivator focus their mind and alleviate any heart demons from disturbing them during cultivation.
Even though similar pills were available on the market, one at the Emperor Grade would definitely not appear. The best ones were no more than Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank, a far cry from the one inside this jade bottle.
The other bottle seemed to contain a Heavenly Dao Pill. This pill was even more shocking as it could help a cultivator perceive the Heavenly Way and assist them in comprehending Principle Strength…
With the help of these two Spirit Pills, her thirty percent chance rose up to at least fifty percent! If she still didn’t manage to make a breakthrough this time, then she probably wouldn’t ever be able to.
Holding the two bottles tightly in her hands, Bian Yu Qing’s heart was surging. She looked at Yang Kai with a complicated gaze as she commented, “I don’t know how to repay you for such a heavy gift.”
“It’s not like I’m asking for repayment,” Yang Kai stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, “But if you insist, then… Why don’t you join my Sect?”
“Azure Sun Temple?” Bian Yu Qing was dumbfounded.
This was another great gift, so how could it be considered repayment? Even if there weren’t ten thousand cultivators just like her who wanted to enter Azure Sun Temple, there were at least eight thousand. Azure Sun Temple was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, so how could she simply enter it?
If she really were able to join Azure Sun Temple, then even if she was a lowest-ranking disciple, it would still be better than wandering around on her own. A woman, and especially a beautiful woman like her with a charming face and an enchanting body, was prone to getting caught up in trouble when she was on her own. Sometimes, trouble would even come to her even if she stayed hidden.
“No, no, no, not Azure Sun Temple,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“No?” Bian Yu Qing was surprised.
Yang Kai smiled, “I founded my own Sect. Right now, my Sect has… En, ten people? It’s still a work in progress at this stage and we’re short of hands. Is Protector Bian interested?”
“Yes!” Bian Yu Qing didn’t even think for a moment before she agreed. Yang Kai had already helped her so much, so even if she had to give her life, she wouldn’t have hesitated, let alone just joining his Sect.
Bian Yu Qing didn’t think that the Sect Yang Kai founded would be that powerful as even though he was an Emperor Realm Master with strong abilities, every Sect had a development phase. Right now, there were less than ten members, so it was quite clearly a small Sect. Perhaps, it may even be worse than the Blue Feather Sect of the past.
But so what? As long as they worked together, the Sect would have a chance of becoming big in the future, and if she could break through to the Emperor Realm, then she would be an even greater help to Yang Kai, which would allow her to slowly repay his favour.
“You’re quite quick to agree!” Yang Kai grinned.
Bian Yu Qing brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled, “I’m also a person who knows gratitude, so you may rest assured. If I can safely come out of this retreat, I’ll follow you back to your Sect, but if I happen to die… then that’s just my destiny.”
Breaking through to the Emperor Realm comes with its risks and one mistake could lead to death. Many Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators not only failed to ascend to the Emperor Realm, but died during their attempt.
It had to be known that Wu Dao had died back then on the threshold of advancing to the Dao Source Realm, and he was known as the strongest person in Heng Luo Star Field. Even he died trying to reach the Dao Source Realm ascension, so the path to reaching the Emperor Realm could only come with greater risks.
“Ahaha, Martial Nephew Yang! It’s been a while since I heard from you. I didn’t expect you to visit Spirit Lake Palace today,” a man’s voice suddenly called out from the side. Yang Kai looked over to see an elderly man seemingly in his fifties walking over. He had white hair and a ruddy complexion that was brimming with vitality. Even the aura emanating from his body was dense.
[First-Order Emperor Realm!] Yang Kai could tell instantly.
But this man was much stronger than average cultivators in his realm, not to mention the heritage he had. Just his aura alone was not something people like Le Dong Zheng could compare with.
Yang Kai estimated that if this old man were to fight Le Dong Zheng in a one-on-one battle, then it likely wouldn’t take more than an incense stick’s time to determine a winner.
“Senior is…” Yang Kai got up and cupped his fists.
The elderly man stroked the beard on his chin and smiled, “This Old Master is Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Yao Li!”
Yang Kai wasn’t familiar with too many people from Heavenly Martial Holy Land. Other than Chen Wen Hao, the only other one he knew was Wu Chang. Yang Kai didn’t know anyone else besides those two, but since Yao Li’s cultivation was First-Order Emperor Realm, he should at least be an Elder of Heavenly Martial Holy Land.
Since the old man was his Senior, Yang Kai naturally didn’t show any disrespect.
“So, it is Elder Yao. Yang Kai greets Elder Yao!”
“No need to be polite, Martial Nephew. Please sit!” Yao Li smiled and gestured to him.
Immediately, a beautiful young woman came over to serve tea.
Yao Li was observing Yang Kai with a smile on his face, seemingly showing great interest in him; after all, this young man was able to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, so there was a high possibility of him being an Emperor Alchemist now. Unfortunately, he didn’t belong to Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s. Suddenly, Yao Li’s eyes turned to Bian Yu Qing and he asked, “This is…”
“My Elder Cousin!” Yang Kai said casually.
Bian Yu Qing got up from her seat, “This Mistress greets Elder Yao!”
Even though Yang Kai and her did not discuss this matter beforehand, Bian Yu Qing’s performance was flawless. She had been making a life for herself outside for many years, so she wasn’t some naïve little girl.
“So it is Martial Nephew Yang’s cousin. En, please, sit,” Yao Li showed an amiable attitude towards her.
Bian Yu Qing couldn’t help but feel a little flattered by this. Yao Li was someone who stood far above her, someone she could only look up to, and this would not change even if she broke through to the Emperor Realm, but now, just because of Yang Kai, she was actually able to sit here with him and drink tea.
Deep inside, an extremely absurd feeling emerged in Bian Yu Qing’s heart, as if her fate had taken a huge turn ever since meeting Yang Kai again.
“I heard from my disciple that Martial Nephew Yang is here to ask for a cultivation room?” Yao Li cut straight to the point. Even though Yang Kai looked impressive, Yao Li was still an Elder of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, so there was naturally no need for any flattering.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded, “May I ask Elder Yao if there are still any free cultivation rooms that are not open to the public?”
Yao Li frowned and pondered for a moment, “Martial Nephew Yang, is the cultivation room for your own use, or…” He swept a glance at Bian Yu Qing.
Wiseness comes with age. Even though Yang Kai didn’t say anything, he was able to guess Yang Kai’s purpose in bringing Bian Yu Qing here.
Yang Kai spoke truthfully, “My cousin’s cultivation has reached the peak of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, so if there is a suitable place for her to enter retreat, she may be able to make a breakthrough.”
Yao Li nodded, “As expected.”
After a pause, he continued, “Martial Nephew Yang, I’m not going to lie to you, those cultivation rooms that are not open to the public are indeed prepared for Core Disciples like yourself; but unfortunately, those rooms are already coincidentally full. If you were planning to use the room yourself, then this Old Master would not hesitate to arrange for someone to give up their place, but since it is someone else, it makes things very difficult for this Old Master.”
“They’re full?” Yang Kai was surprised.
He suddenly felt that something here was off. Even though the World Energy in Spirit Lake Palace was very dense, and the cultivation rooms reserved especially for Core Disciples were not bad, they were at best comparable to the cultivation rooms inside the three top Sects. Instead of cultivating at home, why would disciples from the three top Sects run over here to Spirit Lake Palace to cultivate instead?
“Indeed, they are,” Yao Li nodded seriously.
Yang Kai instantly felt awkward.
He originally thought that there had to be an empty cultivation room, and that was the reason he sold off Bian Yu Qing’s Sapphire Entry Token, but now that he was told there were no free rooms here, wouldn’t that mean that he had left Bian Yu Qing with nothing?
Yao Li continued, “Martial Nephew Yang, how about this? Even though the top reserved cultivation rooms are full, this Old Master can arrange a Heaven Grade room for you. What do you think? The Heaven Grade cultivation rooms are also good environments, and many Emperor Realm Masters are waiting in line for them. I’m sure your cousin will definitely have good returns if she enters retreat in one of them.”
Since things had come to this, Yang Kai also had no better ideas. He couldn’t really just ask Yao Li to vacate one of the top rooms, right? The people who were able to cultivate in their top rooms are all disciples of the three Sects, so nobody was inferior to anyone else in terms of status. If Yang Kai really were to make such a request, whether Yao Li would agree or not was one problem, but he may even cause a conflict between the Sects.
Moreover, Yao Li was an Elder of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, and his attitude towards Yang Kai could already be considered gracious, which would make it awkward for Yang Kai if he were to push the matter.
“How long do we have to wait?” Yang Kai asked.
Yao Li smiled, “It will be available today.”
This was still considered a queue jump that didn’t even require a Ruby Entry Token. From this point alone, Yang Kai’s Azure Sun Golden Token was still extremely useful.
“Cousin, what do you think?” Yang Kai turned to Bian Yu Qing and asked.
Bian Yu Qing said, “I’ll leave it up to you to decide.”
She only needed to wait another two months before she could enter an Earth Grade cultivation room, but now, she suddenly had a chance to enter a Heaven Grade cultivation room today, so she was naturally very happy.
Seeing that Bian Yu Qing didn’t have any complaints, Yang Kai could only go with this. Just as he was about to agree, another voice suddenly called out from outside, “No free cultivation rooms? That doesn’t seem right to me. I remember there being one that was empty.”
When he heard this voice, Yang Kai was slightly stunned, and when he looked up, a familiar figure appeared before him with a nonchalant smile and a casual attitude.
“Senior Brother Xia!” Yang Kai quickly got up and looked at Xia Sheng with surprise, “What are you doing here?”
As the Chief Disciple of Azure Sun Temple, Xia Sheng broke through to the Emperor Realm in the Shattered Star Sea, and he was now a well-known figure in the Southern Territory. In time, there would definitely be no problems for him reaching the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Even the Third-Order was within expectations.
Yang Kai would never have expected to meet Xia Sheng here, so there was a look of pleasant surprise on his face.
On the other hand, Yao Li’s face suddenly turned uneasy as he brought his tea to his lips.
“Eldest Senior Brother is one of the three Chief Stewards here at Spirit Lake Palace, so I keep watch here all year round!” Xia Sheng came over with a smile.
“Three Chief Stewards!” Yang Kai was stunned.
After some thought though, he immediately understood. This Spirit Lake Palace was under the joint management of the three top Sects, so each Sect would assign a Steward to keep watch in order to prevent their disciples from being treated unfairly. At the same time, they were also here to monitor the income.
When Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s disciple brought Yang Kai in, he said he was going to look for the Steward, and then Yao Li appeared. Yang Kai didn’t think much of it at the time, only figuring that Yao Li was the one in charge here at Spirit Lake Palace, but he now knew that wasn’t exactly the case when he heard what Xia Sheng said.
“Temple Master is actually willing to let you stay here?” Yang Kai smiled.
Xia Sheng said, “I only broke through recently, so Temple Master says I have to experience the bustling world in order to consolidate my cultivation and sent me over here.”
As he spoke, he had a bitter look on his face as if this were a tough job.
“How are Temple Master and Elder Gao doing?” Yang Kai asked.
“They’re doing just fine. You, on the other hand, have been gone for so many years without returning to the Sect even once you brat.”
Yang Kai responded awkwardly, “I was caught up with many mundane affairs. I was planning to visit during my trip back this time.”
Xia Sheng suddenly lowered his voice, “When you return, you should avoid Elder Gao as much as possible. Elder Gao said the next time she sees this ungrateful wolf, she would definitely teach you a lesson.”
“How could that be…” Yang Kai’s forehead was instantly covered in sweat.
Seemingly taking pleasure in his misfortune, Xia Sheng continued, “Well, that’s what Elder Gao said at least, and you know Elder Gao’s temper…” While speaking, he couldn’t help but shudder. “By the way, I have bad news to tell you. Elder Gao ascended to the Second-Order Emperor Realm two years ago, so even though you’re also an Emperor now, you definitely won’t be able to beat or escape her.”
“Elder Gao broke through?” Yang Kai was surprised but also felt glad for her. The last time he saw her was in the Eastern Territory, when she was trapped in the Sealed World medicine garden. At that time, she was only a First-Order Emperor, so Yang Kai hadn’t expected to hear that she’d broken through so soon.
“I wish you good luck,” Xia Sheng patted Yang Kai’s shoulder with a look of pity on his face.
“By the way, Senior Brother. What did you mean when you said the cultivation rooms weren’t full?” Yang Kai frowned. Yao Li told him they were full, but now Xia Sheng was telling him a different story, so he couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious.
Xia Sheng smiled and looked at Yao Li, “There are nine top cultivation rooms in total, three for each of our Sects. Only two of our Azure Sun Temple’s rooms were in use the last time I checked, so how could the last one suddenly be occupied? Steward Yao, may I know which one of my Azure Sun Temple’s disciples entered retreat?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai’s frown grew deeper.
Previously, he learned that there were special cultivation rooms in Spirit Lake Palace reserved for the use of the three Sect’s disciples, but he had no idea of the details involved.
From how Xia Sheng and Yao Li were speaking, it seemed the two of them were in conflict with each other.
Yao Li smacked his head and smiled, “That’s right! Steward Xia, if you didn’t mention it, then this Old Master would not have remembered. Now that I think of it, only two rooms are occupied by your Azure Sun Temple. This Old Master has really grown senile.”
Yang Kai’s face darkened instantly, and any good feelings he had towards Yao Li previously disappeared in an instant.
If Xia Sheng hadn’t appeared today and revealed the truth, then he really may have been led by the nose by Yao Li, and would still feel grateful to him despite it. Even though the difference between the top cultivation rooms and the Heaven Grade ones wasn’t great, that slight difference may be the difference between success and failure for someone hoping to break through to the Emperor Realm.
Every single advantage counted in matters like these.
“Martial Nephew Yang, this Old Master has truly been swamped senseless by work today and actually forgotten that your Azure Sun Temple still had a room left. Please forgive me,” Yao Li said with a face filled with self-reproach.
But how could a mistake like that happen? There were only nine top rooms, so it was simply impossible for someone in the Emperor Realm to not be able to remember such a thing.
Yang Kai’s face was cold as he replied indifferently, “It’s fine as long as Steward Yao remembers now.”
Yao Li followed up quickly, “But it is still true that the nine rooms are reserved only for the Core Disciples of the three Sects, anyone else is simply not permitted to use them. Steward Xia knows this as well. Martial Nephew Yang, if you wish to have your cousin enter retreat in that room, then I’m afraid it’s impossible.”
“I’ll use it myself!” Yang Kai declared before turning to Xia Sheng and asking, “But I plan to bring my cousin in with me to stand guard and observe while I enter retreat and cultivate. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Xia Sheng grinned, “Definitely not.”
He turned back to Yao Li, “Steward Yao, I’ll have to trouble you to make arrangements for this matter.”
Despite Xia Sheng ordering Yao Li around directly, Yao Li didn’t show the slightest bit of displeasure and nodded, “This Old Master will arrange it immediately.”
Saying that, he turned around and walked out.
Yang Kai’s eyes were slightly dim as he watched him leave, and he couldn’t help but feel thankful inside, thankful that he’d bumped into Xia Sheng here today.
“Are you curious as to why that old fart would listen to me?” Xia Sheng asked with a smile, seemingly able to guess the doubts in Yang Kai’s heart.
Yang Kai nodded.
Xia Sheng explained, “The nine top cultivation rooms generally won’t be full as the disciples of our three Sects will generally choose to enter retreat in their own Sects. Since the cultivation rooms are going to be empty anyway though, the Stewards here privately find cultivators in need to rent out the rooms to, or use them privately for their own descendants instead. Just like that, our temple’s remaining room had been occupied by them. Normally I wouldn’t be bothered about something so minor, but since Junior Brother wants to use it, I can’t let them have it for nothing.”
“I understand now,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Let’s go, I’ll bring you over,” Xia Sheng said and walked off.
While the three were walking to the room, they saw two people walking over from the front. One of them was Yao Li, and the other person following him had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator who had a face filled with anger and helplessness at the moment. When they saw each other, that cultivator shot Yang Kai and Bian Yu Qing a hateful glare before quickly looking away again.
This man had spent a lot of effort to buy a spot in the top cultivation room from Yao Li, and had gone through many difficulties before he was able to enter a deeper level of cultivation. It had been less than ten days, though, before he was interrupted by Yao Li, telling him that someone wanted to use the room and that he couldn’t cultivate inside. How could he not be angry at that?
But he didn’t dare to direct his anger at Yao Li or Yang Kai. Neither of these two were characters he could easily provoke, so he could only choke down his anger. There was no need to mention how vexing it was for him.
Fortunately, Yao Li assured him that if there was another free room, then he would still allow him inside to cultivate for the allotted time, so his loss wouldn’t be too big.
As they brushed past each other, Yao Li was still smiling and nodding at Xia Sheng and the others as if nothing was wrong.
Soon after, the trio arrived before a stone door and Xia Sheng held out a token while pouring his Emperor Qi into it, waving it lightly to open the door.
Light suddenly emerged from the space inside, quickly spreading around like a prairie fire. In the blink of an eye, the entire stone room was filled with a warm light.
Xia Sheng said, “Generally, the use period for each cultivation room is one month, which is no exception even for Core Disciples of our three Sects, but Junior Brother can use it for two months.”
Yang Kai asked, “Will that make things difficult for you?”
Xia Sheng smiled, “Their asses aren’t clean either, so Senior Brother isn’t afraid of them.” While speaking, he patted Yang Kai’s shoulder and urged earnestly, “Cultivate properly and don’t mess around!”
Bian Yu Qing’s face suddenly became a little unnatural.
How could she not understand what Xia Sheng meant by this?
“Go on,” Xia Sheng smiled.
Yang Kai cupped his fists and entered the stone room with Bian Yu Qing. Soon, the stone door was shut and the entire room became isolated.
“Such rich World Energy!” Bian Yu Qing walked to the centre of the stone room and took a deep breath, her eyes filled with amazement.
She had never in her life felt such intense World Energy before. Not only was it dense, but it was also extremely pure. Looking around, the entire stone room was visibly filled with World Energy, as if they were currently standing in a light cloud. Simply breathing in, Bian Yu Qing felt a sense of pleasure from every inch of her body.
No wonder the disciples of top Sects all cultivated so quickly. Their cultivation environments were simply too different, incomparable to what small Sects could offer.
If she cultivated here for two months, then her fifty percent chance of breaking through would likely increase by another ten percent.
“Here, these are for you.” Yang Kai tossed out a large pile of Source Crystals onto the ground.
Bian Yu Qing was shocked when she saw them and couldn’t help shouting, “High-Rank Source Crystals!”
And, from how large the pile was, there were at least a million of them here.
A million High-Rank Source Crystals, that was equivalent to at least a hundred million Mid-Rank Source Crystals or ten billion Low-Rank Source Crystals! Yang Kai’s gift stunned Bian Yu Qing. It had to be known that previously, she and Kou Wu had taken out all of their resources just to buy a single Sapphire Entry Token, which was worth a measly 20 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, incomparable to what Yang Kai just offered her.
“That’s too much!” Bian Yu Qing hurriedly said, “Besides, you helped me sell that Sapphire Entry Token for forty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals already. That alone is enough, I don’t have any use for this.”
“Just keep them,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “High-Rank Source Crystals are more effective to cultivate with, and this much is still within my means.”
Bian Yu Qing opened her mouth, but she really had no idea what to say. She simply ended up owing him too much during their encounter this time. She made up her mind that she had to break through to the Emperor Realm no matter what, otherwise she would not be able to live up to not only Kou Wu’s sacrifice, but also Yang Kai’s generosity. As long as she could reach the Emperor Realm, she could join that Sect of his and help out. She had the experience of managing a Sect before, so she just happened to be able to offer some assistance in that regard. It wasn’t a problem that the Sect was small. If they take the steps to develop themselves properly, then there would be a day when they could grow strong.
Silently, she sat down cross-legged before saying, “I’m sorry you have to be stuck with me here for two months…”
Yang Kai smiled, “This place can’t trap me. Just focus on your retreat, I’ll come back again in two months to see you. En, I’ll be going now.”
Saying so, Yang Kai reached his hand out in front of him and Space Principles surged, causing ripples in the air in front of him that spread out gently in all directions.
Yang Kai stepped into the ripples and his body vanished mysteriously. Only his voice was left echoing in Bian Yu Qing’s ears, “Don’t doubt yourself. Breaking through to the Emperor Realm isn’t as hard as you think it is.”
Bian Yu Qing was lost in thought for a while before she exclaimed, “Space Principles!”
After Yang Kai had stepped into the ripples, his figure disappeared mysteriously without a trace. No doubt this was something that only Masters proficient in the Dao of Space could achieve. This was a legendary technique that Bian Yu Qing never thought she would be able to witness one day.
A short moment later, she withdrew the shock in her heart, calmed her breathing, and cleared her mind of distractions before shutting her eyes and beginning to cultivate.
…..
Outside of Spirit Lake City, a space in the air suddenly became unstable. Following that, a figure appeared from the Void.
A cultivator just happened to pass by, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw this sight. He thought he had seen a ghost in the daylight and quickly rubbed his eyes, but when he looked again there was nothing there anymore, as if the person he saw just now was just a figment of his imagination.
That cultivator instantly began to doubt his surroundings and quickly flew off, not daring to stay any longer.
A short distance outside of Maplewood City, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared in front of a tranquil manor.
A young girl about the age of sixteen or seventeen stood in front of the residence, sweeping up leaves with gentle movements while her hair swayed lightly in the wind. At the same time, there were sounds of shouting from inside the manor, as if someone was practising their techniques.
After Yang Kai swept the residence with his Divine Sense to inspect the situation inside, a stone instantly lifted from his heart.
This place was the Zhang Family, Ruo Xi’s home. After leaving for so many years, and with so many changes happening to both Maplewood City and Spirit Lake City, the area nearby was now filled with countless Masters. Bloody fights were constantly breaking out each day, and Yang Kai was worried that something might have happened to the Zhang Family.
If that had happened, Ruo Xi would be devastated.
Now, it seemed that even though the Zhang Family lacked a powerful Master to shelter it, they were still able to live in peace, passing the years calmly as always.
“Who… Who are you looking for?” The young girl who was sweeping the floor was startled to see Yang Kai appear all of a sudden and asked apprehensively while staring at him with her big black eyes, her hands gripping nervously onto her broom.
It had been almost ten years since Yang Kai took Ruo Xi out from the Zhang Family, and this young girl was only around sixteen years old. Even if she could still vaguely remember some things from that time, she couldn’t remember them clearly, so she naturally couldn’t recognize Yang Kai.
Yang Kai immediately put on a harmless smile and said affably, “I’m looking for Old Lady Zhang.”
“Grandmother?” The young girl tilted her head and asked.
“That’s right. Could you please inform her that Yang Kai seeks an audience with her?” Yang Kai smiled.
Even though he could simply walk in to visit a place as trivial as the Zhang Family, this was still Ruo Xi’s home, so Yang Kai naturally had to show proper etiquette.
“You’re Senior Yang?” The young girl’s eyes suddenly lit up and she looked at Yang Kai with both surprise and joy.
“You remember me?” Yang Kai was a little surprised.
The girl shook her head, but then nodded. Yang Kai had no idea what she was trying to express by that, but he could see how happy she looked, and in the next moment, she tossed away the broom in her hands, ran up to him, and grabbed his arm before pulling him into the manor.
“Grandmother, Grandmother!”
The quiet in the manor was broken by the echo of the young girl’s crisp voice.
The manor was not too big, so as soon as the girl shouted, the entire Zhang Family was alerted and a few figures flew over from various directions.
The young girl had only brought Yang Kai to the central courtyard when they were surrounded by a dozen members of the Zhang Family.
“Who goes there!” Someone shouted, looking wary.
“It’s Senior Yang, Senior Yang!” The young girl was extremely excited and wouldn’t let go of Yang Kai’s arm, constantly repeating his name aloud.
“It’s highly improper for a young woman to be shouting like that!” A familiar voice emerged, followed by the appearance of the voluptuous figure of a beautiful woman. The woman resembled Ruo Xi greatly.
“Mother, Senior Yang came to visit!” The young girl quickly shouted.
“What Senior Yang?” The beautiful woman frowned, but coming closer and taking a good look at him, she covered her lips and exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Yang!”
“Madam Zhang, I trust you’ve been well since we last met!” Yang Kai smiled. This beautiful woman was none other than Ruo Xi’s mother, Ning Su Wan.
Ning Su Wan was out of it for a long while before she smiled happily, “Senior Yang still looks as youthful as ever!” After a pause, she suddenly remembered to tell the young girl holding Yang Kai’s arm, “Ruo Yu, go and ask your Grandmother to come out.”
“Yes!” The young girl called Ruo Yu quickly rushed inside.
Ning Su Wan looked behind Yang Kai, but didn’t see the figure she was hoping to see, her pretty face changing as she asked with a tremor in her voice, “Senior Yang… is Ruo Xi…”
Yang Kai smiled, “Don’t worry, everything is fine with Ruo Xi, there were just some things she had to attend to so she couldn’t come this time.”
Only after hearing Yang Kai’s answer did Ning Su Wan pat her chest in relief. She was truly afraid she would hear some bad news from Yang Kai. When the Zhang Family was being bullied last time, it was Yang Kai who stepped in to save them. After that, Zhang Ruo Xi left with Yang Kai, and it had been a decade since she’d last seen her daughter or heard any news about her. Naturally, Ning Su Wan missed her very much. Things had not been as peaceful outside as things within the Zhang Family. In the past, Yang Kai may have performed quite well, but as they broadened their horizons over the years, the Zhang Family also got to know that the Yang Kai of back then wasn’t actually that powerful.
If he really did provoke a powerful opponent outside, then he may have ended up dragging Ruo Xi into trouble.
Fortunately, Yang Kai came and assured her that Ruo Xi was safe and sound.
“Senior Yang, please come inside!” With her mind at ease, Ning Su Wan gestured politely with her hand. Even though she had a bellyful of questions, years of polishing had taught her to remain calm, and she naturally knew that this was not the best time for questions.
At this time, many of the Zhang Family members who came over realized who Yang Kai was. Many of them had also met Yang Kai back then, and even if they’d never met him personally, they’d heard about him and knew that he was the one who took Ruo Xi away.
All the hostility and vigilance disappeared instantly and was replaced by kindness and smiles.
Ning Su Wan led Yang Kai into the Zhang Family parlour where he was seated, and someone immediately came over to serve tea.
Before they could say more than a few words, an old voice suddenly came from the outside, “Senior Yang has come?”
Yang Kai quickly got up to see an old woman walk out step by step with Zhang Ruo Yu’s support, her clouded eyes immediately lighting up with a bright light. The old woman looked over and said in pleasant surprise, “It really is Senior Yang! This old woman greets Senior Yang!”
Yang Kai was shocked and immediately reached out to lift her up and exclaimed in panic, “Old Madam, please, you mustn’t. This Junior is undeserving of such honours.”
Old Lady Zhang, however, insisted, “No, I should. If not for you, then the Zhang Family would have ceased to be at that time.”
“I was merely entrusted by someone else to help, there’s no need to mention what happened back then,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly and helped Old Lady Zhang up to the main seat and settled her down before returning to his own seat.
Ning Su Wan watched this scene quietly, the corners of her mouth curving up into a smile of relief.
Even though the Zhang Family agreed to Yang Kai taking Ruo Xi away, everyone knew something would definitely happen if a young and talented man like Yang Kai were to bring along a beautiful young woman with him. It was just a matter of time before Ruo Xi was taken in as Yang Kai’s wife.
In other words, Ning Su Wan had long considered Yang Kai as the Zhang Family’s son-in-law.
Only, this son-in-law was stronger than the Zhang Family, so even though she was certain of this reality, she couldn’t just go around talking about it lest she make things difficult for Ruo Xi.
But seeing that Yang Kai didn’t have the least bit of arrogance in him, and was showing proper respect to the elderly and kindness to the young, Ning Su Wan knew he had a good heart.
“Senior Yang…” Old Lady Zhang sat down and had just opened her mouth when Yang Kai waved his hand and said, “Old Madam can just call me by my name, no need to address me as Senior.”
Old Lady Zhang said, “But how could this…”
Ning Su Wan smiled, “Mother, since Yang Kai insists, then why make him sound like a stranger?”
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Zhang seemed to understand something and smiled, “Then this old woman will be taking advantage of her age!”
“Of course,” Yang Kai nodded.
“How… has Ruo Xi been?”
Ning Su Wan answered, “Yang Kai told us earlier that Ruo Xi is fine, so there’s no need to worry about her, Mother.”
“Truly?” Old Lady Zhang looked earnestly at Yang Kai.
“It’s true,” Yang Kai smiled, “It’s just that Ruo Xi entered retreat some time ago, so she couldn’t come with me this time.”
“All is well if she is well!” Old Lady Zhang looked relieved, “By the way, what realm has Ruo Xi reached?”
The Zhang Family suffered in the past due to their lack of Masters, so they had also been paying special attention to nurturing the next generation. Several disciples with good aptitude had also appeared, but since their family was lacking in resources, their improvement had been slow and their cultivations were quite low. Ning Su Wan, however, was strongly affected by what happened back then and managed to improve her cultivation greatly. However, she was still just a First-Order Dao Source Realm.
Other than her, there were no other Dao Source Realm cultivators in the entire Zhang Family. Old Lady Zhang had an Origin King Realm cultivation, but she was too old and her vitality was in decline, so she simply could not fight at full strength anymore.
In other words, Ning Su Wan had been the one holding up the Zhang Family all these years.
“Ruo Xi is… already a Third-Order Dao Source Realm!” After some thought, Yang Kai didn’t dare to reveal the full truth.
Ruo Xi’s current cultivation really wasn’t easy to judge. Before that event, she was indeed a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, but an average First-Order Emperor Realm Master likely wouldn’t be her opponent. Now that she was inheriting the power of the mysterious Heavens Order inside the Blood Gate, there was no telling what sort of growth she would achieve once she came out.
The entire Zhang Family parlour instantly went quiet after Yang Kai said this. All of them were staring at him dumbfoundedly. There should have been joy and excitement, but instead, they seemed to be in disbelief.
It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Yang Kai, but his statement was just… a little too shocking.
It had to be known that Zhang Ruo Xi was only an Origin Returning Realm Junior when Yang Kai took her away back then. After that realm was the Origin King Realm, then the Dao Source Realm…
There was a great gap between the Origin King Realm and Dao Source Realm that not just anyone could cross. If not for this, Dao Source Realm cultivators in the Zhang Family wouldn’t be so scarce. Even if Ruo Xi’s aptitude was good and she really managed to break through to the Dao Source Realm, it should have been impossible for her to advance to the Third-Order in a mere ten years.
It had been only a decade since she left, so how could she possibly have grown from the Origin Returning Realm to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm in that amount of time?
Subconsciously, both Ning Su Wan and Old Lady Zhang felt that Yang Kai was just saying things to reassure them.
“Ruo Xi really is a Third-Order Dao Source Realm now,” Yang Kai asserted when he saw that they didn’t believe him.
Ning Su Wan and Old Lady Zhang looked at each other blankly for a moment before they hesitantly asked, “Then, Yang Kai, what is your current realm?”
Yang Kai did not answer directly and instead just released a little of his Emperor Pressure.
“Emperor Realm!” Ning Su Wan exclaimed in shock while the eyes of the rest of the Zhang Family Juniors went wide.
An Emperor, a real, living, breathing Emperor! Even though there were plenty of Emperor Realm Masters in Maplewood City and Spirit Lake City now, these Senior Experts were not people a small Zhang Family could ever come into contact with, but now, a genuine Emperor Realm Master was sitting in their parlour.
“Now you all believe me, right?” Yang Kai was a little speechless. Fortunately, he didn’t tell them the truth, otherwise, the Zhang Family would probably start to question whether there was something wrong with his head.
“Ruo Xi… She’s really reached the Third-Order Dao Source Realm already?” Ning Su Wan trembled in response to the evidence laid out in front of her.
If Yang Kai’s cultivation had reached the Emperor Realm, then it would not be impossible for Zhang Ruo Xi to be in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
“It’s absolutely true!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Good, good, good. The Heavens have blessed my Zhang Family. My Zhang Family has finally produced a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator!” Ning Su Wan’s excitement overwhelmed her, and even the silver-haired Old Lady Zhang had a look of joy on her face. As for the rest of the Zhang Family’s Juniors, they were unable to contain their glee.
A Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, in their eyes, was an unattainable existence, but the Zhang Family had actually produced one, and it was even in the same generation as them.
The young girl called Zhang Ruo Yu had a particularly strong reaction as a burning light flashed past her eyes that seemed able to melt solid ice.
“I came to visit the Zhang Family this time mainly because there is something I wish to discuss with you,” Yang Kai waited for them to calm down a little before continuing.
“Please speak. As long as it is something possible for us, the Zhang Family will surely agree to it,” Ning Su Wan quickly answered. It wasn’t like they could refuse either. How could the requests of an Emperor Realm Master be refused at will?
Yang Kai said, “I wish to bring you all to a place.”
“A place? Where?” Ning Su Wan was taken aback.
“My Sect!” Yang Kai went on, “It’s safe there and the conditions are not at all worse than Spirit Lake Palace. If you were to go there, then there would be no need for you to worry about having a quality cultivation environment. There are people there who can teach the Zhang Family’s disciples to cultivate, and there is also no need to worry about resources.”
Every word Yang Kai spoke made the eyes of the Zhang Family’s Juniors brighten just a little more, filling each of them with anticipation. Yang Kai’s words were like a picture scroll unfolding in front of their eyes, showing them their bright future ahead.
“Such a place exists…?” Ning Su Wan was slightly lost in thought.
“Is Ruo Xi… also there?” Old Lady Zhang asked.
“Currently no, but she will be there in the future,” Yang Kai answered.
“Good, this old woman agrees. Yang Kai, how could the Zhang Family not appreciate your kindness?”
Ning Su Wan also nodded lightly after a moment of silence. If things were truly as good as how Yang Kai described it, then going would naturally bring many benefits. The Zhang Family may have peace now, but there are too many Masters passing through Maplewood City and Spirit Lake City, and any one of them had the ability to destroy the Zhang Family. If they continued staying here without the protection of a Master, then there was no telling when they would be wiped out for some random reason.
“Take care, Brother-in-Law. Come back soon to pick us up!”
Zhang Ruo Yu’s voice sounded from behind, causing Yang Kai who was flying towards Maplewood City to almost dive headfirst into the ground when he heard.
The Zhang Family seemed to have decided that something was going on between Ruo Xi and him.
Yang Kai didn’t bother to argue with them either, so after discussing with the Old Madam of the Zhang Family, he told them to pack their bags and be ready to leave. However, Yang Kai still had some business to settle, and he naturally couldn’t leave right away, so he asked the Zhang Family to wait for him to finish up before he brought them back to his Sect.
Before leaving, Yang Kai left eight Blood Beasts at the Zhang Family just in case anything happened.
These Blood Beasts were refined when he wasn’t that strong, and with the improvement of his strength, he basically had no use for them anymore, but they still had Dao Source Realm-level strength, so they would be a big help when placed in the Zhang Family.
As long as no Emperor Realm Masters came to start trouble with the Zhang Family, these Blood Beasts could protect them for now. But of course, Yang Kai also left the Zhang Family a way to contact him in case of any accidents and also so he could contact them when he was finished with his business.
After being gone a few years from Maplewood City and coming back, things really had changed.
Take, for example, Spirit Lake City. Dao Source Realm cultivators were already a common sight now, while Emperor Realm Masters flew to and fro through the sky, the law enforcement teams not even daring to meddle with them.
Yang Kai headed towards where the Qin Family resided.
A young servant wearing a round cap stood at the entrance, and when he saw Yang Kai walk over, he asked respectfully, “Sir, may this little one ask whom you are seeking?”
“Qin Yao Zhang, Patriarch of the Qin Family. Please pass on the message for me,” Yang Kai responded.
“You’re here to see the Patriarch?” The servant was a little stunned and asked carefully, “May I ask for your name?”
“Just tell him that someone surnamed Yang has come to visit.”
The servant nodded his head, excused himself, and headed into the residence.
Yang Kai stood outside with both hands behind his back, but seeing no movements for a long while, he frowned and probed into the Qin Family with his Divine Sense.
From what he could see with his Divine Sense, things were not much different from when he left back then. The Qin Family did not seem to have gained much from Maplewood City’s rise, but that was not hard to understand. The Qin Family was just a small family to begin with, so although Maplewood City had expanded rapidly, it was too difficult for the Qin Family to reap any significant benefits.
But overall, the cultivators in the Qin Family had improved in strength, likely due to the now rich World Energy in Maplewood City.
[Qin Yu!]
Suddenly, Yang Kai noticed Qin Yu’s figure inside one of the secret rooms. After not seeing her for a few years, this little girl had actually reached the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. Her weak self in the past had been cast off, and her figure had matured quite a lot, with a rosy complexion now adorning her face instead of a pale one. From the looks of it, she was currently in retreat inside a cultivation room.
As expected of the World Tribulation Body, even though she had been facing a fatal disaster, after overcoming it she had received a giant opportunity.
Qin Yu, who was cultivating, suddenly opened her eyes as if she had sensed something, and her beautiful gaze suddenly looked towards Yang Kai’s direction through the many layers of obstructions. A mysterious light flashed across her eyes as if they could pierce through space to see into the very essence of things.
Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil!
Yang Kai was stunned and quickly used his Divine Sense to isolate himself and conceal his presence as he stood there awkwardly, scratching his nose.
If Qin Yu, who was only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm, really found out that he was spying on her, he would have no face left at all.
But Qin Yu’s changes still shocked Yang Kai. Not to mention her cultivation shooting up, that Fated Fortune Heavenly Pupil also seemed to have become far stronger and more profound. He was an Emperor Realm Master with extremely strong Soul cultivation, but he was still discovered by Qin Yu when he secretly probed the residence. If Qin Yu were to fully mature, one could imagine how powerful she could become.
Divine Sense shifting away, Yang Kai continued looking around other places in the Qin Family.
Inside the secret room, Qin Yu frowned a little, a suspicious look on her face.
She clearly felt a spying gaze just now, but when she chased after it, it suddenly disappeared. There were two possibilities in this situation. Either it was just a misconception, or the cultivation of the person probing around was far higher than her own.
Qin Yu figured that it was the latter. Masters often come and go from Maplewood City, and it was normal for them to inadvertently sweep across this place with their senses. The main point was that Qin Yu didn’t feel any malice from that probe, and since that was the case, there was no problem.
“Sir Luo, this Qin really can’t help it. Please, could you please be lenient for another few days?”
When Yang Kai’s Divine Sense swept over a certain room, he suddenly found Qin Zhao Yang’s trail, but at this moment, the latter had a bitter look on his face and was pleading about something to a luxuriously-dressed man.
Next to him, two maidservants stood there, pale-faced and trembling.
“Can’t help it?” The young man surnamed Luo sneered at Qin Zhao Yang, “Even if you can’t, find a way to get it done! It doesn’t matter if you have to steal or rob to get it done! I don’t need to teach you something as simple as that, do I?”
Qin Yao Zhang’s face changed, and he exclaimed, “How could I possibly do such a thing!”
“You can’t?” The man surnamed Luo grunted before suddenly pointing at the two maidservants to the side and shouting, “Open your dog eyes wide and take a look at these two harlots you sent over today! You think these lowly whores are worthy of serving this Young Lord?”
The two maidservants with low cultivation paled instantly when they were pointed at by this man and kneeled down instantly, bodies trembling all over, seemingly very afraid of him.
Qin Yao Zhang had a bitter face. For a man as old as him to have spittle sprayed over his face by someone who could be his grandson made him furious, and yet he could not vent that anger. In fact, the two maidservants he brought over were by no means bad in appearance. They looked quite delicate actually, but the requirements of this young man surnamed Luo were simply too high and he would accept nothing short of excellent. What’s more, he demanded a different woman each day.
All the prettier maidservants of the Qin Family had already been ravished by him, and Qin Zhao Yang had also brought a number of outside maidservants into the Qin Family, but he still could not meet the needs of this youth.
“It seems like your Qin Family doesn’t need to be sheltered by this Young Lord anymore. Fine, this Young Lord also can’t be bothered, but I’m sure Patriarch Qin knows what the end of the Du Family was better than I,” saying that, the young man surnamed Luo began to walk out.
Qin Zhao Yang’s face changed and he hurried to stop him, “Sir Luo, please wait!”
The young man coldly snorted, “What else do you have to say?”
Qin Zhao Yang said with a look of difficulty, “Please, Sir Luo. Give me two days… No, one day! This Qin will definitely think of a way to satisfy Sir Luo!”
Upon hearing this, the young man surnamed Luo sighed, “Patriarch Qin, it has not been a short time since this Young Lord came to your Qin Family, and since this Young Lord took up residence here, what sort of people dared to find trouble with you or your family?”
“Not a one!” Qin Zhao Yang quickly answered. This young man was not easy to serve, and his lust was simply bottomless. He would not be pleased without a woman every day. Even though the Qin Family was not one of those big families, they still had the ability to find some beautiful maidservants, but the main issue was the fact that this guy changed women too quickly. They could send over two beautiful maidservants, but he would ask for new ones in just a few days. Just like a breeding horse, this young man seemed to only live for enjoying himself.
But what he said was undoubtedly true. No one had come to find trouble with the Qin Family since he arrived. On the other hand, the Du Family offended a Master some days ago, and they were completely uprooted. A family of over a hundred people were exterminated overnight, from their Patriarch right down to their servants.
The rules in Maplewood City were not as strict as Spirit Lake City, and even though there existed a City Lord’s Mansion to maintain order, how could a few weaklings deter the gathered masses? Many Masters had no regard for the City Lord’s Mansion and acted however they pleased in the dark despite seemingly obeying the law on the surface.
And it was for that reason that the large families in Maplewood City had all invited someone with strength and status to protect the peace of their family. But of course, the price they had to pay wouldn’t be small. What the Qin Family had to pay was still on the light side. All they had to do was send a few beautiful maidservants to take care of the young man surnamed Luo every few days. On the other hand, some families had to surrender seventy percent of their annual earnings to their protectors, which was simply a nightmare.
“ Patriarch Qin is also an understanding man,” the young man surnamed Luo smiled and patted Qin Zhao Yang’s shoulder. “This Young Lord has a proposal, I wonder if the Qin Family Patriarch is willing to accept it.”
Qin Zhao Yang’s heart jumped as he couldn’t help but have a bad feeling in his gut hearing this; however, he could only grit his teeth and say, “This Qin is willing to listen.”
The cultivator surnamed Luo grinned meaningfully and whispered, “Doesn’t Patriarch Qin have an outstanding granddaughter? As long as…”
“Absolutely not!” Qin Zhao Yang was shocked and quickly refused. The extreme lust of this cultivator surnamed Luo was precisely the reason why he had Qin Yu enter retreat in that secret room, telling her not to come out for any reason. He didn’t expect that this incarnation of lust would still have his eyes on her even after that.
Ever since Yang Kai returned from the Four Seasons Realm and brought back the Tribulation Fruit, resolving the danger of Qin Yu’s World Tribulation Body, Qin Yu had shown extraordinary aptitude for cultivation. In just a few short years, she had already reached the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, and in time, there may even be the possibility of her ascending to the Emperor Realm.
The Qin Family’s future rested on Qin Yu’s shoulders. Not to mention his most precious granddaughter, Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t use any of his descendants as a bargaining chip.
As for the maidservants he bought in order to serve that cultivator surnamed Luo, Qin Zhao Yang explained the situation to them and only took them back to the Qin Family after they themselves agreed.
Qin Yu would never agree to such a thing, and Qin Zhao Yang would never consider it either.
“Why not?” The young man’s face turned dark as if his majesty was being challenged.
“This won’t do. Anything but this…” Qin Zhao Yang waved his hands repeatedly.
His staunch refusal angered the young man instantly and he shouted, “You say no, but this Young Lord doesn’t see any problem with it! Rest assured, as long as your granddaughter can commit her body to this Young Lord, anything is negotiable with the Qin Family! I will go and look for her now, you need not get involved!”
While speaking, he began to walk out as if he had long known where Qin Yu was.
Qin Zhao Yang was shocked and appalled. He wanted to stop that cultivator surnamed Luo, but he ended up grabbing empty air as the latter slipped away like a loach.
When the cultivator surnamed Luo opened the door to leave though, he was stunned to find someone blocking his path.
“Make way!” The young man surnamed Luo was in a hurry to look for Qin Yu, so how could he still have any mind to stay here? As such, without hesitation, he thrust his palm out.
The man blocking his path, however, didn’t even try to dodge, instead lifting his hand lightly and poking out with the tip of his finger towards the cultivator surnamed Luo’s palm.
A piercing pain suddenly filled the young man surnamed Luo’s body, and as if he had been struck by lightning, he shivered and leapt back, finally looking up in shock and horror and shouting, “Who?!”
Qin Zhao Yang was also stunned at the sudden situation, and it wasn’t until the smell of blood reached the tip of his nose that he came back to his senses. Looking up, he was dumbfounded as he called out, “Little Brother Yang!”
Qin Zhao Yang was staring blankly at the figure blocking the doorway. He didn’t think that Yang Kai would actually appear at this critical moment, and even managed to injure Luo Ping with a single finger! But then Qin Zhao Yang began to panic. Yang Kai may not know who Luo Ping was, but he did. He was simply not someone that they could afford to provoke. If that wasn’t the case, Luo Ping wouldn’t have been qualified to protect the Qin Family.
“Patriarch Qin, I trust you’ve been well since we last met!” Yang Kai smiled.
At this time, the young servant with the round cap appeared behind Yang Kai with a bitter look on his face as he said, “Patriarch, this man said he wanted to see you. This little one came to report, but didn’t dare to enter when he heard the commotion inside.”
Qin Zhao Yang waved his hand, “You may excuse yourself.”
The boy with the cap quickly ran off as if he’d been pardoned.
“Who is Your Excellency? And why have you acted so viciously towards this Young Lord!” Luo Ping gritted his teeth and shouted. Yang Kai’s finger had pierced through his palm just now, digging a bloody hole into it.
“You call this vicious?” Yang Kai grinned, “Compared to what you were about to do, this is nothing much.”
He then turned to Qin Zhao Yang and asked, “Who is this guy?”
After listening for so long, Yang Kai still hadn’t figured out who this young man was, but Qin Zhao Yang seemed quite afraid of him.
Qin Zhao Yang had a troubled look on his face, but before he could speak, Luo Ping shouted, “This Young Lord is a disciple of Star Soul Palace! You dare hurt me? You’re dead!”
“Star Soul Palace?” Yang Kai frowned.
Luo Ping sneered, “What’s wrong? Scared? If you’re scared then get down on your knees and kowtow to this Young Lord! Perhaps I could even spare your life!”
“Is he really a Star Soul Palace disciple?” Yang Kai looked solemnly at Qin Zhao Yang.
Qin Zhao Yang smiled bitterly, “It’s true.”
Yang Kai nodded. One could not impersonate a Star Soul Palace casually. One may not necessarily find themselves in any trouble if they impersonated the disciples of one of the three top Sects in the Southern Territory as long as they weren’t caught, but if anyone tried to impersonate a Star Soul Palace disciple, they would surely invite disaster upon themselves.
This young man in front of him had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, which was not considered bad, and he also had a firm aura. He wasn’t too old, so he was probably from a big Sect, and since Qin Zhao Yang confirmed it, he must have verified his identity beforehand.
In other words, this Luo Ping really was a disciple of Star Soul Palace.
No wonder his tone of speech was so arrogant, not even showing any fear in front of an Emperor Realm Master like Yang Kai. It turned out it was because of his identity as a Star Soul Palace disciple.
“Kneel!” Holding his bleeding hand, Luo Ping shouted at Yang Kai once more through gritted teeth.
Yang Kai slowly raised his palm, Emperor Qi condensing on it as he said indifferently, “I’ll give you three breaths to scram from here. If you’re still here after three breaths, then I’ll help Star Soul Palace clean up its Sect by disposing of you!”
Luo Ping was stunned and he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
He thought that this man would surely panic when he heard of his identity, but he didn’t expect to be completely disregarded and for the other party to even boast so shamelessly! Dispose of him on behalf of Star Soul Palace? Was there something wrong with this man’s head? He was a Star Soul Palace disciple!
“Don’t be rash, Yang Kai!” Qin Zhao Yang’s face went pale with shock. If Luo Ping really died here in their Qin Family, then the Qin Family would be done for.
“Yang Kai?” Upon hearing how Qin Zhao Yang called this man though, Luo Ping’s eyes bulged. Finally, he carefully observed Yang Kai before his face began to fill with terror.
He suddenly remembered the notice he had received from the Sect some time ago, and the name and description of a certain individual that matched greatly with this man in front of him.
[Is he the same Yang Kai?] If the one who stood before him really was Yang Kai, then his identity as a Star Soul Palace disciple naturally wouldn’t be able to deter him. When he saw the power condensing even more on Yang Kai’s palm, how could Luo Ping dare to remain any longer? In a flash, he scurried outside, fleeing the Qin Family as swift as the wind, without a single word of complaint.
Qin Zhao Yang was stunned and looked in the direction where Luo Ping disappeared, confused.
What was going on?
A Star Soul Palace disciple actually fled like a panicked stray dog! Was he seeing things? Even if Yang Kai revealed his Emperor Realm cultivation, it shouldn’t have scared him like this. Regardless of anything else, Luo Ping was still a Star Soul Palace disciple, right? Qin Zhao Yang was even beginning to doubt the authenticity of Luo Ping’s identity now.
In a small alley in Maplewood City, Luo Ping stopped with a pale face. Releasing his Divine Sense and not finding Yang Kai’s aura anywhere nearby, he finally let out a gasp of relief and collapsed to the ground without any care for his image, all his arrogance and pride thrown to the wayside.
He still felt palpitations and fear even now, and he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking.
His identity as a Star Soul Palace disciple was not false, and he was even an Inner Disciple who had some status in the Sect.
For a disciple like him, he could show no regard to most Emperor Realm cultivators he passed in the Southern Territory, but that man called Yang Kai was different. He was different from all the other Emperors out there.
Luo Ping received a notice from the Sect some time ago, informing all the disciples outside to keep an eye out for the whereabouts of a certain person, and that person was Yang Kai. Luo Ping previously had no idea why the Sect would need to keep track of this person, and it wasn’t until he bumped into a Senior Brother in Spirit Lake City and probed around a little that he discovered why.
This Yang Kai was actually related to the murder of Elder Tan Jun Hao and Deacon Wu Ming. What’s more, all signs indicated that the two of them were killed at Yang Kai’s hand.
This matter was confirmed by more than twenty Emperor Realm Masters from various Sects in the Southern Territory, so there was no doubt about its authenticity.
Elder Tan was one of the only four Third-Order Emperor Realm masters in Star Soul Palace. He had profound knowledge in cultivation and was a shrewd man, yet he was actually killed by Yang Kai. When he heard this news, Luo Ping couldn’t believe it at all.
Even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master could be killed, so in comparison, Wu Ming’s death didn’t seem so shocking.
The deaths of an Elder and a Deacon of Star Soul Palace were a big deal, and the entire Sect took it very seriously. Countless people were searching for this man called Yang Kai.
“You dare hurt me? You’re dead! Dead!” Luo Ping gritted his teeth in anger and quickly took out a communication artifact before checking his surroundings sneakily. Only then did he send his Divine Sense into the artifact and send out a message.
After receiving a response, Luo Ping grinned sinisterly.
[Reinforcements will be arriving in Maplewood City in a few days. Let’s see how you die then!]
Back at the Qin Family, Yang Kai, who had learned the truth, was silent for a long time.
After hearing Qin Zhao Yang’s explanation that that Star Soul Palace disciple called Luo Ping was someone that the Qin Family had actively invited to protect them, and that Maplewood City had become somewhat turbulent recently. The rise of Maplewood City attracted many Masters, and the major families who had occupied favourable conditions and had an advantageous position in the past could now only eke out a living in the cracks due to their lack of strength. Two great families had already even been destroyed.
It was thanks to Luo Ping’s protection that the Qin Family survived. Though Luo Ping didn’t ask for cultivation resources, he had quite an interest in women, and he could even be described as insatiable. This made it impossible for Qin Zhao Yang to satisfy him, leading to today’s events.
“Yang Kai, you should hurry and leave. Luo Ping will surely contact Star Soul Palace, so it won’t be wise for you to remain here long,” Qin Zhao Yang warned him, worried.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand though and commented lightly, “No matter. Those people from Star Soul Palace may not even come, but if they do, it will allow me to settle a grudge I have with them.”
He had killed Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming, so Star Soul Palace definitely wouldn’t let the matter rest. No matter what, they would want an explanation from Yang Kai; otherwise, it would be a challenge to the status of Star Soul Palace.
Yang Kai never thought of hiding either. If it were in the past, then Yang Kai would only be able to look up to a Great Emperor Sect, but now, he had the capital to negotiate with Star Soul Palace.
And, since the Bright Moon Great Emperor had the ability to ascend to the peak of the Star Boundary, he was surely someone who could be reasoned with. The twenty or so pawns Yang Kai had set up in Flowing Shadow City would now also play their role.
“You…” Qin Zhao Yang was at a loss. The one Yang Kai provoked was a Star Soul Palace disciple, not some run-of-the-mill disciple from a somewhat important Sect, so how could Yang Kai still be so calm and relaxed?
Yang Kai smiled and swiftly changed the subject, “Forget about me, where will the Qin Family go now?”
As soon as these words came out, Qin Zhao Yang was stunned, unable to speak for a long time. Finally, he just heaved a long sigh. Not only did the Qin Family lose Luo Ping’s protection, they even offended him. Life was likely going to be difficult for them from now on, and Qin Zhao Yang feared there was no longer any place for them in Maplewood City.
“I don’t know, but we definitely have to leave Maplewood City,” Qin Zhao Yang seemed to have aged a lot in an instant.
“Where will you go if you leave Maplewood City? The entire Southern Territory is Star Soul Palace’s domain.”
Qin Zhao Yang could not answer. Indeed, even if they left Maplewood City, they would still have to face retaliation. That was unless they left the Southern Territory and escaped Star Soul Palace’s jurisdiction, but how could it be so easy to execute such a plan?
Yang Kai said, “Why don’t I arrange a place for you to stay?”
Qin Zhao Yang looked up, “Where?”
“The Northern Territory!” Yang Kai revealed.
Qin Zhao Yang’s mouth widened, but then he smiled bitterly, “The journey is too long, and the cultivations of my Qin Family’s disciples aren’t very high. We can’t travel that far.”
“It’s not as far as you think. As long as the Patriarch Qin agrees, I can send you to the Northern Territory within ten days!”
“Ten days!” Qin Zhao Yang was shocked. His first thought was that this was impossible, but after more consideration, there was still a hint of possibility. Of course, that would require the use of things available only in the legends.
“Can we really reach the Northern Territory in just ten days?” Qin Zhao Yang asked in a trembling voice. If that truly was possible, then the Qin Family could definitely escape this disaster. The Northern Territory and the Southern Territory were worlds apart, and Star Soul Palace’s reach didn’t extend that far.
“Absolutely!” Yang Kai nodded sincerely, “If Patriarch Qin trusts me, then I can arrange it immediately. We can set off in two days.”
There was a look of struggle in Qin Zhao Yang’s eyes for a moment. He would like to believe Yang Kai, but this matter was related to the future of his entire family, so he had to be cautious.
Yang Kai smiled, “I will definitely not disappoint Patriarch Qin.”
In fact, Yang Kai had not intended to bring the Qin Family to High Heaven Palace, he had just come over to take a look at how they were doing, but since the Qin Family was in a desperate situation now, it didn’t matter for him to bring them along as well.
Whether a shepherd had to herd one sheep or a flock of them, it was still herding in the end. It didn’t make much difference to Yang Kai.
And, in this way, he could also come out with a harvest of Qin Yu! With the cultivation aptitude that Qin Yu had now, it was very likely she would reach the Emperor Realm in the future, which would also be another source of power for High Heaven Palace. This could only bring good to a Sect and no harm.
Maplewood City, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce Branch.
Maplewood City was not like the past. It had risen quickly in recent years and as one of the two major chambers of commerce in the Southern Territory, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce naturally set up a large branch here, one that had an Emperor Realm Master managing it. The constant flow of cultivators coming and going from Maplewood City and Spirit Lake City nearby brought a lot of commerce to the region, which was naturally a matter of great importance to Violet Source Chamber of Commerce.
With fifty stores of all sorts under the name of this branch, as well as a sizable auction house, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce had been making a lot of money in Maplewood City during these years.
When he walked into Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, Yang Kai looked around and found many cultivators inside, most of them discussing quietly with each other while some browsed through the goods on display here.
The hall was very big, and the construction was also impressive. The financial strength of the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce was quite clear to see from this.
At the corner, several pretty young girls who were whispering to each other immediately sent one of them over when Yang Kai walked in. This young girl stood in front of Yang Kai and bowed elegantly, “Greetings, Sir. May I know if there’s anything Sir needs?”
Yang Kai could tell at a glance that this was one of the attendants specially trained to receive customers. This was a common sight in many chambers of commerce. The young girl was not very old, only about thirty or so. She was good-looking and had a sweet smile while her voice was gentle and soothing, enough so to give any customers a pleasant impression.
Yang Kai smiled, “I have some business that I wish to discuss with your chamber of commerce.”
The pretty young girl’s eyes lit up. Attendants like her loved hearing words like these the most because every successful deal would grant them a commission. Even though the commission wasn’t great, if they managed to pull in a big deal, they wouldn’t have to worry about cultivation resources for the next few years.
She could see that Yang Kai had an extraordinary bearing, so she was even more excited. In an instant, the young girl became very enthusiastic and spoke with a charming smile, “May I know what sort of business Sir is interested in discussing? This maidservant can settle anything under ten million Source Crystals directly.”
“Low-Rank Source Crystals?” Yang Kai asked.
“Yes!” The girl nodded.
Yang Kai smiled, “Then please ask your manager to come out.”
The girl was stunned, but she quickly realized that the business this man was interested in was beyond her ability to handle. Ten million Low-Rank Source Crystals was a huge number for her, but it may not be much for some people, especially those in the Emperor Realm.
It seemed like that was the kind of business this Sir was interested in.
The girl responded seriously, “Sir, please accompany me to a private room while I facilitate your request.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and followed the girl.
Soon, they arrived at a private room where the young girl settled Yang Kai down and served tea, “Sir, please wait for a moment. This maidservant will go ask Sir Manager to come over.”
Yang Kai remained as still as a mountain, but just as the girl was about to leave, he suddenly asked, “By the way, have you heard of a man called Kang Si Ran?”
Shopkeeper Kang was the first friend he made in Maplewood City, and it was all thanks to his lead that Yang Kai was able to obtain Gong Sun Mu’s inheritance. Only, Maplewood City was too small back then and Kang Si Ran had been transferred away by Violet Source Chamber of Commerce after he broke through to the Dao Source Realm, and Yang Kai had no idea where he had been transferred to.
It had been more than a decade since they last saw each other.
Now that Yang Kai was back here, he naturally thought about Kang Si Ran again. He had only asked this question casually, but he didn’t expect to receive a surprising response from the girl, “Sir knows Manager Kang?”
“Ah?” Yang Kai was stunned.
The girl smiled, “If Sir knows Manager Kang, then should this maidservant invite him over to discuss with you?”
Yang Kai raised a brow, “Kang Si Ran is here?”
“That’s right, Manager Kang is also in this branch.”
This was an unexpected surprise for Yang Kai. He didn’t think that he would get this answer from just a casual question and nodded, “Good, ask him to come.”
“Yes!” The girl answered, bowed, and withdrew, closing the door behind her.
Inside the private room, Yang Kai sipped on his tea and waited quietly.
A short while later, a knock came from the door, to which Yang Kai smiled and called out, “Please come in!”
The door was pushed open, and Kang Si Ran’s figure came into Yang Kai’s view. Four eyes meeting, Kang Si Ran was amazed and exclaimed, “Brother… Brother Yang!”
“We meet again, Brother Kang!” Yang Kai cupped his fists with a smile.
Kang Si Ran was both surprised and delighted, shutting the door behind him before saying, “I was wondering which old acquaintance had come to see me, but it turns out to be Brother Yang! It must have been more than ten years since we last met, hasn’t it?”
“Indeed. Brother Kang, come sit down so we can talk.”
Kang Si Ran was quite excited to see Yang Kai again after so long; after all, it was all thanks to the Dao Source Pill Yang Kai gave him that he was able to reach the Dao Source Realm. If not for that favour, Kang Si Ran would still be stuck at the peak of the Origin King Realm, unable to advance, missing out on all the strength and status he held today.
Over the past ten years or so, Kang Si Ran’s cultivation had reached the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, so it seemed like he had been working hard this past decade and had been properly cultivating.
After sitting down, Kang Si Ran couldn’t help but sigh. Thinking that back in the day, he and Yang Kai were both mere Origin Kings, and they had also gone through fire and water together. It almost felt like a lifetime ago when he last saw him.
“Brother Kang, weren’t you transferred away? How did you end up back in Maplewood City?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Kang Si Ran laughed, “Maplewood City is different now, and the headquarters naturally pays more attention to this place as well. Though this Kang’s cultivation is not considered high, I had still lived here for half my life and am quite familiar with the situation here in Maplewood City, so I was sent back here.”
Maplewood City was a good place now, and there were many people from the headquarters hoping to come to this place. If it weren’t for Kang Si Ran’s natural advantages, he wouldn’t have even been considered for his current position with his low cultivation.
But even so, Kang Si Ran was likely going to be transferred again soon, because the branch had already established a firm foothold here, and they were gradually growing familiar with Maplewood City. They didn’t need his guidance that much anymore, so when the time came, someone with higher cultivation and stronger connections would come to take his place.
“So, that’s how it is… This is good news.” Yang Kai nodded, unaware of the intricacies inside the chamber of commerce.
Kang Si Ran just smiled and did not try to explain; after all, the goings-on inside the chamber of commerce were a ‘family matter’. Even though he and Yang Kai had a good relationship, there was no need to mention such things.
*Du du du…*
There was a sudden knock at the door.
As soon as the knocking stopped, the door was opened before Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran could even respond. Following that, a well-dressed young man walked in with a smile.
Upon seeing this man, Kang Si Ran’s face sank instantly and he frowned, “Gu Hong, what are you doing? Can’t you see that I’m talking business with a customer?”
This Gu Hong was too impudent, entering the private room without even receiving permission. It was fortunate that Yang Kai was the one sitting here and not anyone else, otherwise, Kang Si Ran wouldn’t know how to explain the situation to them. In the worst-case scenario, this may even make customers think that Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s commitment to confidentiality wasn’t sincere, resulting in a failed business deal.
Faced with Kang Si Ran’s questioning, Gu Hong completely ignored him and instead smiled at Yang Kai, “Welcome, this one is Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s Branch Manager Gu Hong. May I know what to call you, friend?”
Yang Kai glanced at Kang Si Ran, then at Gu Hong, a light flickering in his eyes as he smirked, but did not speak.
Not receiving a response, Gu Hong’s expression turned a little awkward, but he still persisted, “Please forgive this humble one for interrupting, but Manager Kang’s abilities are somewhat… lacking, so this Gu was worried that business would have been lost if entrusted to his hands. That is why this Gu came uninvited. Please forgive my forwardness.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Manager Kang isn’t competent? Why do you say that?”
Gu Hong smiled, “He has managed to settle only three deals in the last year, what would this be if not incompetence?”
Kang Si Ran’s face turned dark as he said coldly, “If no one tried to interfere, then this Kang would have accomplished more deals.”
Gu Hong responded, “Manager Kang need not be angry. This Gu interfered in your business for your own good. You are going to be transferred in a few days, so settling business will be troublesome when the time comes. As such, why not hand things over for this Gu to manage now?”
Kang Si Ran grunted, “Is this Kang supposed to thank you?”
Gu Hong smiled, “We are all members from the same chamber of commerce, there’s no need for thanks.” Then, he turned back to Yang Kai, “This friend, if you truly wish to do business, this Gu is willing to be of assistance. I will be open and tell you now that Manager Kang will indeed be transferred from here soon, so if you have any business, why not discuss it with this Gu instead? This Gu guarantees your satisfaction.”
Yang Kai turned to look at Kang Si Ran, “You’re being transferred again?”
Kang Si Ran let out a sigh.
It was by his own will to be transferred out of Maplewood City back then because the city was too small and poor. There was no future for him staying here at the time, but things were different now. Maplewood City was just like a fragrant meat bun that everyone wanted a bite of, so how could he be willing to transfer? But he was powerless in this matter.
Yang Kai nodded in understanding before saying, “This Yang appreciates Manager Gu’s kindness, but I am old acquaintances with Manager Kang, and we share a life-and-death friendship. That is why I wish to discuss this deal with Manager Kang.”
“Is that so…” Gu Hong was stunned before quickly smiling, “In that case, this Gu will not stay and be a pest. Please excuse me!”
Yang Kai’s words told him that he most likely wouldn’t be able to snatch this deal, so he did not waste any more time and quickly withdrew.
Soon, the only ones left in the room were Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran.
Yang Kai asked, “Brother Kang, do you not wish to leave Maplewood City?”
Kang Si Ran nodded, “The Southern Territory may have a few branches comparable to the one in Maplewood City, but I won’t be able to enter them. If I get transferred away this time, then coming back will be difficult.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded.
Kang Si Ran smiled, “If it’s fate, let it be. Let’s not talk about me anymore. What sort of deal are you here to make this time around, Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai looked serious, “I want to purchase Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jade.”
Kang Si Ran stroked the beard on his chin as he mused, “These two are the main materials used to produce Space Rings. They aren’t hard to find, and we have some in stock here in the branch. How much does Brother Yang need?”
“How much does your branch have?” Yang Kai asked.
Kang Si Ran answered, “Let me see.”
While saying that, he took out a jade slip to check. After a while, he looked up and told him, “Around thirty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals worth, but since it is Brother Yang, I can offer you a ten percent discount on however much you wish to purchase. Unfortunately, that is my limit.”
“Good, I’ll want it all.”
“All… All of it?” Kang Si Ran was shocked. That was thirty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals worth, not thirty million Low-Rank Source Crystals. Even if it was exchanged for High-Rank Source Crystals, it would still be worth 300,000 pieces.
“All of it!” Yang Kai nodded sincerely.
Kang Si Ran immediately realized that this may be the biggest deal he had ever made. With this, even if he was transferred, he wouldn’t be transferred to the middle of nowhere.
Before his pleasant surprise could fade though, Yang Kai continued, “In addition, I also wish to entrust Brother Kang to continue acquiring Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jade for me. I’ll take as much as you can gather.”
Kang Si Ran drew a breath of cold air.
Space Spirit Crystal and Space Spirit Jade were the basic materials used to refine Space Rings, but they were not considered very valuable items in the Star Boundary. Many cultivators kept a dozen or more Space Rings on them at all times, but this couldn’t be helped as it was far easier to toss over a Space Ring directly during a trade.
As such, demand for these two materials wasn’t too big or too small. Since Yang Kai decided to take all the thirty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals worth of their stock in one breath, and even wanted to continue gathering more, just how many Space Rings was he intending to refine?
Kang Si Ran calmed himself down before answering, “This branch only has thirty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals worth, but we should have more in stock at headquarters. We can also send more over from the other branches. Brother Yang, are you sure you want all of them? It’s not going to be a small amount of money.”
If each branch had thirty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals worth of materials, then ten branches would be three hundred million, and a hundred would become three billion. Violet Source Chamber of Commerce has hundreds of branches in the Southern Territory, so if he really intended to take everything, then it would definitely cost upwards of tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals.
Tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals! This was definitely going to be a gigantic deal.
If this deal was successful, then this merit alone would be enough for Kang Si Ran to be promoted to a Branch President! Only his cultivation was a little poor and was not enough to convince the public. After all, the chamber of commerce had its rules. Only Emperor Realm Masters could assume the role of Branch President.
If someone else had come to Kang Si Ran with a deal like this, then he wouldn’t have tried to persuade them against it and would just agree to it, but the one bringing in this business was Yang Kai, so how could Kang Si Ran not be concerned for his sake?
Worried that Yang Kai didn’t know the weight of the numbers, Kang Si Ran even made a point to highlight the figures for him.
“I’m sure,” Yang Kai smiled, “Unless Brother Kang is unable to facilitate such a deal?”
Kang Si Ran was frank, “For a deal of this size, a small Manager like me really can’t make the final decision.”
Yang Kai was just casually making a joke, but he didn’t expect it to be true and he couldn’t help but be surprised.
Kang Si Ran said, “Brother Yang, if you’re really interested in this deal, then this Kang will go and ask the President to come and talk to you personally.”
Yang Kai responded, “Good!”
“Please wait a moment,” After saying that, Kang Si Ran immediately headed out of the room.
Outside the door, Gu Hong smiled when he saw Kang Si Ran walk out, “Manager Kang, how is the discussion going? Do you need this Gu’s help?”
Kang Si Ran grunted, “I won’t trouble you, Manager Gu.”
Gu Hong sneered lightly and flicked his sleeve, “Can’t appreciate kindness.” He had to maintain the image of the chamber of commerce in front of Yang Kai and naturally couldn’t be impolite, but there was no need for him to be patient with Kang Si Ran.
Seeing Kang Si Ran head straight upstairs though, Gu Hong frowned.
It was almost as if Kang Si Ran was intending to go see the Branch President. Could it be that the business was big enough that even a Manager was unable to make the call? Gu Hong suddenly panicked. If that were the case, then Kang Si Ran would receive a huge merit from this transaction, and might even be able to secure his position in the branch.
Worry began to show on Gu Hong’s face.
A short time from now, someone with a strong background would be transferred from the headquarters in order to take on the Manager position, but the number of Managers in each branch was set, so if someone came down from above, then one of the current Managers here would have to give up their position.
Originally, according to performance and cultivation, the person who would have to give up his position was definitely Kang Si Ran, but if he managed to secure his position with a big deal, it may become Gu Hong’s turn to be transferred.
Regardless of who it was, someone had to go.
Maplewood City was a good place with many cultivators and plenty of business opportunities, so how could Gu Hong bear to leave? A year of hard work here was worth two or three years of hard work in other branches, which was why he was constantly making things hard for Kang Si Ran and snatching away his business. Everything was in order to cut off all hope of Kang Si Ran staying here and forcing him to be transferred away.
But now, he could possibly lose everything! This made Gu Hong both shocked and angry.
While his thoughts were in turmoil, he saw the President walking down with Kang Si Ran as he had expected. Gu Hong’s face sank as he realized this business was truly large enough to move even the President himself. Just how big a deal could this be?
Gu Hong felt disgruntled as he wondered how Kang Si Ran could have such good luck.
In front of the private room, Kang Si Ran knocked gently on the door and only opened it after receiving Yang Kai’s response. He then stood aside and said respectfully, “President, please!”
A short, elderly man stepped in and looked at Yang Kai with a sharp gaze.
Yang Kai raised his brows and got up, cupping his fists, “Greetings, President Luo!”
The Branch President in charge here in Maplewood City actually turned out to be Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President Lou Chi! It could be seen from this how important the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce regarded Maplewood City.
Yang Kai had seen this man before in his early years, and naturally wouldn’t have forgotten him so quickly.
“You know this Old Master?” Lou Chi was a bit surprised. Even though he was the Vice President of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, and also the Branch President of Maplewood City, he usually kept to himself, so barely anyone saw him nowadays. As such, he was naturally surprised that Yang Kai was able to recognize him at first glance. But upon closer inspection, Yang Kai seemed vaguely familiar, as if he’d met him somewhere before.
Lou Chi was even more surprised when he released his Divine Sense as he discovered that the cultivation of this young man in front of him was actually no worse than his. They were both First-Order Emperors.
When he heard Kang Si Ran’s report that a friend of his had come to discuss a large deal, Lou Chi didn’t think much about it; after all, what sort of friend could a man with Kang Si Ran’s cultivation have?
But now he realized that he was wrong. This young man was an Emperor Realm Master!
Immediately putting away his contempt, Luo Chi smiled, “This Old Master seems to have met this little friend somewhere!”
Yang Kai smiled back, “This Junior was there when Star Soul Palace’s Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was opened in Maplewood City. I was also there when the Four Seasons Realm opened.”
Lou Chi thought for a moment before his eyes lit flashed, “You are…”
“Yang Kai!”
Lou Chi’s face sank as he shouted, “Your courage isn’t small! How dare you show yourself so openly!”
His attitude changed so quickly that Kang Si Ran was taken aback. He had no idea what Yang Kai had done to offend Lou Chi.
Yang Kai was also stunned, but quickly, he understood Luo Chi’s reaction. It must have something to do with Star Soul Palace. There were certain things that Kang Si Ran may not be able to come across, but Lou Chi certainly wasn’t uninformed.
Smiling, Yang Kai commented, “If my conscience is clear, why wouldn’t I dare to show myself?”
Lou Chi eyed him, “Indeed, you have the courage, but I’m not sure how your fate will be.”
Yang Kai said, “President Luo, are you interested in discussing business, or are we going to leave things at this? If you’re not interested, I can look for Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce. I assume that they would be very interested in this deal.”
“Of course we can discuss business! Why wouldn’t we be able to?” Lou Chi grunted. Yang Kai had deliberately used the old rival of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce to provoke him. It was clearly bait, but business was still business, and Lou Chi wouldn’t let any opportunity slip past him.
With a gesture from Yang Kai, Lou Chi sat down, “Little friend, please sit as well!”
Yang Kai glanced at Kang Si Ran who was standing beside Lou Chi.
Lou Chi instantly saw this and motioned, “Manager Kang, please sit as well.”
At that same time, he was thinking to himself, [Does this Yang Kai think so highly of Kang Si Ran? The two of them seem to share a good relationship.]
Kang Si Ran was a little intimidated, but since Lou Chi had spoken, he could only sit with them, looking slightly cautious.
Lou Chi cut straight to the point, “I heard Manager Kang say that the business that this little friend wants to talk about is worth tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals?”
“Exactly so! I just don’t know if President Luo can swallow such a meal or not,” Yang Kai nodded.
Lou Chi laughed, “There is no business that my Violet Source Chamber of Commerce can’t handle! But may I ask what little friend needs so many Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jade for?”
Yang Kai smiled, “That is not President Luo’s concern, is it?”
Lou Chi was stunned, but then he smiled, “It was this Old Master who asked too much.” After a brief silence, he went on, “The amount of goods needed by little friend is too high. It is not that this Old Master doesn’t trust little friend, but shouldn’t little friend also show some sincerity?”
As soon as he said that, Yang Kai tossed a Space Ring over to him, “Here is the deposit. President Luo, please see if it’s to your satisfaction.”
Lou Chi took it and swept the contents with his Divine Sense. Immediately, he could see High-Rank Source Crystals piled up like a mountain, at least ten million pieces.
He instantly became serious as he realized that Yang Kai really did have the capital for this transaction and nodded, “Good, little friend is a man of integrity, so this Old Master will be direct as well. Within two months, this Old Master can transfer forty million High-Rank Source Crystals worth of materials for you. At that time, this Old Master also hopes that little friend can bring enough Source Crystals to my chamber of commerce for the exchange.”
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded, “But I have one condition.”
Lou Chi urged, “Please!”
Yang Kai looked at Kang Si Ran, “I will only hand this matter over to Manager Kang. No one else.”
Lou Chi frowned, “Why is that so? Is it because little friend does not trust my Violet Source Chamber of Commerce?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “How could I not trust your noble chamber’s name? It’s just that I have a close relationship with Manager Kang, so I feel more comfortable dealing with him.”
Lou Chi couldn’t help but look a little troubled. The reason for that was because Kang Si Ran was definitely going to be transferred in two months. When that time came, how was he going to deal with Yang Kai if he wasn’t even in Maplewood City? But this business could bring huge profits to the chamber of commerce, so Lou Chi couldn’t help but consider it carefully.
Realizing the situation, Luo Chi looked up and asked, “Does little friend perhaps intend to help Manager Kang by doing this?”
He could vaguely guess that Yang Kai intended to keep Kang Si Ran in the affluent Maplewood City, so he shook his head, “Little friend’s proposal is meaningless. Even though little friend may help Manager Kang stay in Maplewood City for two more months, he will still have to be transferred after the materials are delivered.”
Yang Kai frowned, “President Luo really can’t do anything about it?”
Lou Chi explained, “This was a decision made by the headquarters. This Old Master is powerless to interfere.”
Kang Si Ran was already extremely grateful just for this gesture and was just about to speak when Yang Kai stopped him with a raised hand, “What if I say that there is more business I can do with Manager Kang? A long term cooperation!”
Luo Chi narrowed his eyes, “That will depend on what kind of business it is.”
Yang Kai casually brushed his hand on the table and a bright, round, and full longan-sized Monster Beast Core immediately appeared, one that pulsed with rich Monster Qi.
“Twelfth-Order Monster Core!” Lou Chi was stunned. With a burning gaze, he took the Monster Core placed on the table and carefully studied it, nodding repeatedly, “It’s truly a Twelfth-Order Monster Core.”
Twelfth-Order Monster Cores! They were cores only produced in the bodies of Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, and Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts were equivalent to Emperor Realm existences.
Even he, Lou Chi, was merely a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivator. If he really encountered a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, then there was no saying who may win in that fight. If things went wrong, he may even die under the bloody claws of the Monster Beast.
It can be said that Twelfth-Order Monster Cores were rare materials throughout the Star Boundary. Weak cultivators couldn’t get them, and even if a Master were to obtain one, they wouldn’t sell it easily; after all, Monster Beast Cores have a wide range of uses, and its use in Alchemy alone was enough to get countless people fighting for them.
“But it’s a pity…” Lou Chi sighed.
Kang Si Ran asked, “What’s a pity?”
He was also shocked. Meeting Yang Kai again, he found that he suddenly didn’t recognize him that well anymore. Yang Kai came in, bringing such a large business deal, and now he even took out a Twelfth-Order Monster Core so casually. Fortunately, Yang Kai was still his same old self personality-wise.
Kang Si Ran still remembered the time when Yang Kai had just arrived in Maplewood City. Not to say that he was destitute, but poor was not an inaccurate description. How did he become so rich all of a sudden? Compared to Yang Kai, Kang Si Ran felt like he had simply been living the past decade in vain.
“Unfortunately, this is only the Monster Core of a Twelfth-Order Low-Rank Monster Beast, equivalent to a First-Order Emperor.” Lou Chi shook his head while stroking his beard.
The same Twelfth-Order Monster Core could have a world of difference in value and price depending on the rank of beast it came from. Just as the Emperor Realm has three Minor Realms, Monster Beast Cores had three different ranks in a single order, their value increasing dramatically with each rise in rank.
“So, how much is a Monster Core like this worth?” Yang Kai asked.
Lou Chi declared openly, “If sold to our chamber of commerce, the reserve price is two million High-Rank Source Crystals!”
“A fair price!” Yang Kai nodded lightly. For a Twelfth-Order Low-Rank Monster Core, this price really was about right.
“Of course, if you take it to our auction house, it’s possible to get as much as three million High-Rank Source Crystals.” Lou Chi smiled, “The business that little friend talked about before couldn’t be referring to this, right?”
This was indeed good business. Monster Cores of Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts were always in short supply, but a Low-Rank Monster Core wasn’t anything to marvel about. They may not be common, but they could still be encountered occasionally at auction houses.
“Then, what about this?” Yang Kai tossed something over.
Lou Chi caught it by instinct and studied it, his eyes turning wide at once, “This… This is…”
“Twelfth-Order High-Rank?” Kang Si Ran was also shocked.
If a Low-Rank Monster Core wasn’t here as a comparison, Kang Si Ran may not have the eyes to tell the difference, but when this Monster Core was compared with the previous one, just the aura it emitted alone was several times stronger than the previous.
This was definitely a Twelfth-Order High-Rank Monster Core!
That was equivalent to a core only producible by a Master in the Third-Order Emperor Realm.
“Little friend, where did you get this?” Lou Chi was completely roused and he stood up abruptly.
Yang Kai looked at him with a meaningful smile on his face.
The corners of Lou Chi’s mouth twitched awkwardly, “This Old Master has spoken out of turn.”
It was not his place to pry, and they also had clear rules in the chamber of commerce. If he were to break any of the rules, then he would be punished and may even be expelled even if he was a Vice President. Luo Chi was merely too shocked as he had never in his life had the opportunity to encounter a Twelfth-Order High-Rank Monster Core before.
His hand was clutching hard on that Monster Core at that moment, unwilling to let go.
“How much is this Monster Core worth?” Yang Kai asked.
“Ten million!” Lou Chi quickly answered, “At least ten million that is. If you put it up for auction, it could possibly fetch fifteen million!”
Yang Kai raised a brow. That was because the price difference between the High-Rank and Low-Rank Twelfth-Order Monster Cores was really quite large.
“So, what do you think about this business?” Yang Kai asked with a grin.
“A big deal indeed!” Lou Chi nodded earnestly. Both of the deals Yang Kai came here for totalled over ten million High-Rank Source Crystals in worth, which was enough for him to meet him personally. This was not a deal that he could casually come across. With these two deals under his name, Kang Si Ran’s reputation would definitely rise, leaving the rest of the Managers in this branch far behind him.
“But… How could this kind of business be a long-term collaboration?” Lou Chi frowned.
He would like to be able to work with Yang Kai for an extended period of time, but Twelfth-Order Monster Cores weren’t easy to obtain. Luo Chi had no idea where Yang Kai was able to get these two Monster Cores, but he may not be so lucky next time.
“From now on, I will trade two Twelfth-Order Monster Cores with Brother Kang each year with no limits on the grade, until Brother Kang leaves Maplewood City.”
Lou Chi smiled bitterly, “In the end, little friend still wants to keep Manager Kang in Maplewood City. It’s not that this Old Master is unwilling to help, and not that this Old Master doesn’t trust little friend either, but these are Twelfth-Order Monster Cores, how will little friend…”
Speaking up to this point, Lou Chi’s eyes suddenly went wide as he stared forward dumbfoundedly at the Monster Cores held between Yang Kai’s right-hand fingers. Each one of them, regardless of their size, colour, or aura, were exactly the same as the one that he took out in the beginning.
Then, when he looked at his left hand and saw a similar scene.
*Gudong…*
Even Lou Chi, who was used to the strong winds and big waves, couldn’t help but gulp at this moment.
He was about to take a closer look when Yang Kai flipped both his hands over, and the Monster Cores suddenly disappeared again.
“Are they all Twelfth-Order?” Lou Chi asked, head buzzing.
Yang Kai smiled, “Word of mouth is just a rumour, but seeing is believing. Hasn’t President Luo seen it himself?”
Lou Chi grew excited as he asked, “Little friend, is it possible for you to sell all the Monster Cores…”
“Absolutely not!” Yang Kai refused. Even though he had more Monster Cores than he could ever possibly use, he wouldn’t just sell them off all at once.
Lou Chi felt a burst of bitterness, but the Monster Cores belonged to someone else after all, and it was up to them whether they were willing to sell or not. He couldn’t just go up and snatch them from him.
After a long sigh, Lou Chi tried to make one last effort, “Little friend, if you can sell all of your Monster Cores to my chamber of commerce, then this Old Master will offer you a very good price.”
“Not selling!” Yang Kai waved his hand repeatedly.
Lou Chi was dismayed, but he suddenly collected himself, “Very well. Little friend does have the capital to cooperate in a long term exchange with my chamber of commerce.” From the Monster Cores that he had seen alone, there were eight pieces. Which was to say that this deal could last for at least four years.
“I will report this matter to the headquarters. As for what decisions they make, this Old Master is powerless to interfere.”
Yang Kai smiled, “President Luo is too modest. You are at least a Vice President and have some say in internal matters. What do you mean you can’t interfere? How about this, if I can collaborate long term with Brother Kang, then I can sell you two Twelfth-Order Monster Cores every half year. How does that sound?”
“Half a year, two pieces!” Lou Chi was stunned before his eyes narrowed and a big smile appeared on his face, “Good, please rest assured, little friend, this Old Master will make every effort to negotiate a favourable outcome regarding this matter.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Then I shall trouble President Luo.”
“Happy to oblige. Please, continue your talk. This Old Master will go and settle the Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jade for little friend so as not to delay your business.” After saying that, he stood up and put the Twelfth-Order Monster Core he was holding into Kang Si Ran’s hand, transmitting a few words to him using his Divine Sense before leaving the room.
The doors were shut again, and holding the two Monster Cores, Kang Si Ran had a grateful expression on his face, “Brother Yang, thanks are not enough for this kindness. If there is anything this Kang can help you with in the future, please just say the word.”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “Don’t worry about it, Brother Kang. I am not doing this only for you, but also myself.”
Naturally, Kang Si Ran did not believe him and thought he was just being modest.
Yang Kai said, “I’ve recently founded a Sect, and it is still in its infancy, but I will have a high demand for various materials and resources in the future when it grows, so Violet Source Chamber of Commerce is going to be a very important partner for us. With Brother Kang here, I will definitely not suffer any losses when dealing with the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce.”
Kang Si Ran was astonished, “Brother Yang, you actually founded a Sect?”
This really astonished him. Even though Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master, not every Emperor had the capabilities to found a Sect. Firstly, they had to pick out a good spot, and they also needed a wide range of contacts and sufficient strength. They also had to recruit disciples and whatnot. It was a lot of difficult work.
“It’s nothing big!” Yang Kai smiled.
Kang Si Ran told him earnestly, “Rest assured, Brother Yang, if your noble Sect has any business you wish to conduct with the chamber of commerce in the future, then this Kang will certainly do his best for your sake.”
Yang Kai smiled, “I can rest assured with Brother Kang’s help. If at any time you find yourself unhappy with your current position, Brother Kang is always welcome in my Sect.”
Kang Si Ran grinned, “If your noble Sect was not going to collaborate with the chamber of commerce in the future, then I would go over right now!”
But if Yang Kai’s Sect was going to establish a channel of cooperation with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce in the future, it would naturally be better for Yang Kai if Kang Si Ran stayed where he was.
After chatting for a while, Kang Si Ran said, “Before the President left just now, he told me that if Brother Yang is willing to sell these two Monster Cores now, we will offer a price of thirteen million Source Crystals for them.”
Yang Kai told him, “Naturally, I brought these Monster Cores out to sell. Could there be any other way to sell them?”
Kang Si Ran answered, “Since this is our first collaboration, the President told me that he will make things simple for you. You can either sell them directly to us, or you can have us auction them for you, but you won’t have that option again in the future.”
Yang Kai responded without hesitation, “Then I’ll just sell it to you directly.”
Even though he may lose a bit this way compared to them being auctioned off, he would still have to shell out some amount in fees if he entrusts the matter to the chamber of commerce. In that case, the amount he gained from selling the Monster Cores wouldn’t be that different.
Since he wanted to help Kang Si Ran, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t be greedy for those small benefits.
“Good!” Kang Si Ran nodded, “It just so happens that there’s an auction happening tomorrow night. These two Monster Cores should fetch a good price. As for the Source Crystals for the sale, Brother Yang…”
Yang Kai told him, “Just count it towards the purchase of the Space Spirit Crystal and Space Spirit Jade.”
“Very well!” Kang Si Ran nodded. The way Yang Kai agreed so quickly to the matter made him realize that Yang Kai’s wealth may be even more terrifying than he originally thought. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t be so casual when handling tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals.
“By the way, Brother Kang. There’s something I wish to ask.”
Kang Si Ran answered, “Please, Brother Yang!”
“Will there be any Artifact Armors for sale in tomorrow’s auction?”
“Will an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor satisfy Brother Yang’s needs?” Kang Si Ran smiled.
“Emperor Grade Mid-Rank!” Yang Kai’s expression lifted, “There’s an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor for sale in the auction?”
Kang Si Ran nodded, “That’s right. The finale of the auction tomorrow is going to be this Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor!”
“Truly!” Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised. This time, he had primarily come to Violet Source Chamber of Commerce in order to buy Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jade, so that he could make preparations for arranging Space Arrays in the future, but his second reason was to find an appropriate Artifact Armor.
Yang Kai’s requirements were not that high, but he was still an Emperor after all. He was only thinking of looking for an Emperor Grade Artifact Armor, but he didn’t think an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank one would be available, which was much better than what he expected.
He didn’t want to end up with shredded clothes, or even winding up naked when he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique in the future.
“Is a private transaction possible?” Yang Kai asked.
Most of the items sold in an auction were brought in for sale by cultivators, but many were also found by the auction house itself. No matter which type it was, with the current long term cooperation that Yang Kai established with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, he should be eligible to make a private transaction.
Kang Si Ran answered with regret, “Not this time, I’m afraid. It may be fine if it were any other item in the auction, but this Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor is the highlight of the auction, and it was advertised three months ago. There is no way President Luo would agree to sell it to you privately.”
“Is that so…” Yang Kai wasn’t too disappointed. Since it was already announced to be the finale of the auction, they definitely couldn’t sell it off privately, the reason being that it would be a huge blow to Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s credibility, “No matter, I will just bid for it when the time comes.”
Kang Si Ran told him, “Please wait here for a moment, Brother Yang. I’ll go and prepare an invitation for you!”
With that said, he headed outside.
After a short wait, Kang Si Ran returned with a gold-stamped invitation, handing it to Yang Kai, “The auction will start at seven tomorrow evening. You should come early, Brother Yang. You may be able to find something you like at the auction.”
“Good,” Yang Kai accepted the invitation and stuffed it into his Space Ring.
An incense stick of time later, Yang Kai stepped out from the private room, leaving the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce branch.
Only after taking a casual stroll around Maplewood City, purchasing some supplies, and spending away Source Crystals like water, did Yang Kai return to the Qin Family.
The Qin Family was currently extremely busy as everyone was packing up their things. Even though they were a small family, they had lived and thrived in these lands for a few thousand years already. The Qin Family members were a little reluctant to leave this place so suddenly.
But under Qin Zhao Yang’s orders, they could only obey despite their reluctance, bringing away whatever they could.
Yang Kai went around the Qin Family, but he didn’t see Qin Zhao Yang at all.
On the other hand, Qin Yu had already exited her retreat, and when she saw Yang Kai, she walked over to him with a beaming smile, “Big Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “It’s been a few years since we last saw each other. Your cultivation has improved a lot.”
He had discovered last time that Qin Yu was already a Second-Order Dao Source Realm. Her cultivation speed was extremely fast. It may have something to do with her World Tribulation Body. For a cultivator with this sort of aptitude, she would definitely be able to grow strong as long as she was given enough time and resources.
“It’s all thanks to Big Brother Yang.” With her hands clasped together, Qin Yu stood in front of Yang Kai, speaking gratefully, “Without Big Brother Yang, I would have died at eighteen. Big Brother Yang is my life’s saviour.”
“This is just your destiny. There’s no need to thank me.” Yang Kai smiled, “Where’s your grandfather?”
Qin Yu brushed her hair behind her ear as she answered, “Since we’re leaving soon, Grandpa is thinking of selling the deed for the Qin Family Residence. He should be on his way to the City Lord’s Mansion.” After a pause, she asked, “Big Brother Yang, are we really going to the Northern Territory?”
“That’s right.”
“I heard it’s perpetually cold in the Northern Territory, and that wind and snow cover the sky every day.”
Yang Kai smiled, “The rumours are greatly exaggerated. Though there are indeed places in the Northern Territory that are covered in snow and ice year-round, there are still many places that are beautiful and refreshing like a spring day. The place I will be bringing you all to is the latter kind. Once you’re there, you and the Qin Family will be able to develop better.”
Qin Yu’s beautiful eyes lit up and she couldn’t help but reveal a look of anticipation.
“You should go back to what you were doing. I’m going to rest for a while.” After saying that, Yang Kai headed towards the back hall.
Looking at his back, Qin Yu’s mouth opened, but ultimately, she just sighed.
Time passed quickly, and it wasn’t until dusk the next day that Yang Kai left his room.
Qin Yu was walking back and forth in front of his door, seeming preoccupied with something, but when she heard the noise, she looked over. Seeing Yang Kai, she quickly said, “Big Brother Yang, everyone is prepared!”
Qin Zhao Yang also came over from the distance and said solemnly, “Brother Yang, the Qin Family is ready. When are we leaving?”
Yang Kai said, “Leave at midnight and wait five hundred kilometres southeast of the city for another group of people who will be joining us!”
“Who?” Qin Zhao Yang was stunned.
“The Zhang Family,” Yang Kai replied.
Qin Zhao Yang nodded, “So, it is them.”
The Zhang Family seemed to have a good relationship with Yang Kai, a fact that Qin Zhao Yang knew about. When Yang Kai left back then, the Qin Family also took care of the Zhang Family for a time. Unfortunately, as time went on, the Qin Family found itself unable to even take care of themselves, so they naturally lost the ability to take care of others. Now, when he heard that the Zhang Family was leaving with them, Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t help but feel like they were brothers in adversity.
“Big Brother Yang, where are you going?” Qin Yu suddenly asked.
“To Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s auction. There’s something that I wish to buy,” Yang Kai responded before he kicked the ground and flew off, only to suddenly reappear several tens of meters away as he turned back to Qin Yu, “Do you want to come along?”
Qin Yu’s look of anticipation turned into one of joy as her tender body flickered and she quickly caught up with him.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai called out, using his Emperor Qi to wrap up Qin Yu before disappearing in a stream of light above the Qin Family.
The entrance to Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s auction house was decorated with colourful lanterns and a big red carpet was rolled out on the ground as a bustling crowd gathered around.
Kang Si Ran and Gu Hong, the two Managers, were standing on either side of the entrance, welcoming guests with smiles on their faces, cupping their fists and exchanging pleasantries with them.
“Sect Master Le, I trust you’ve been well since we last met!”
An elderly man proudly walked over, and Gu Hong immediately went up to greet him.
Le Dong Zheng smiled and returned the greeting, “Manager Gu is too courteous. I heard many good things will be showing up in this auction, so I came to join in on the fun.”
Gu Hong said, “Sect Master Le jests. If you really decided to join in on the fun, then I’m afraid no one else will be able to buy anything.”
Le Dong Zheng chuckled before nodding, “This Old Master won’t hold you up, I’ll make myself comfortable.”
“Please forgive me for the lack of hospitality, Sect Master Le.” Gu Hong smiled and made a gesture with his hand. Immediately, a beautiful maidservant came over and led Le Dong Zheng towards the auction hall.
Whenever those with status and position arrived, there would be maidservants to lead the way for them, to show that they were different from the common folk.
“Brother Yang,” Kang Si Ran on the other side also cupped his fists to Yang Kai. Looking over, he glanced at Qin Yu and smiled, “Young Lady Qin is also here!”
Qin Yu naturally recognized him; after all, Kang Si Ran had been based in Maplewood City for half his lifetime.
Qin Yu smiled back, “Manager Kang!”
“No need to bother with me. I can just go in by myself.”
As soon as he finished that, Yang Kai suddenly felt a hateful gaze ahead of him. Looking over, Yang Kai saw that Le Dong Zheng was currently glaring coldly at him, his eyes extremely dark, as if Yang Kai had killed his father and taken his wife.
Yang Kai smiled back happily, not giving it a second thought.
Le Dong Zheng coldly snorted and turned away.
Even though their encounter was short, Kang Si Ran and Gu Hong saw the scene bright and clear. Eyes flickering, no one knew what thoughts came to Gu Hong’s mind, but he snickered quietly to himself.
Kang Si Ran on the other hand was worried and he quietly whispered, “Brother Yang, do you have some sort of grudge with Sect Master Le?”
“It’s just a little something,” Yang Kai touched his nose. He had killed three of his Third-Order Dao Source Realm Disciples, so this was by no means just a small grudge.
Kang Si Ran urged, “Then you should watch out around him. Le Dong Zheng is the Sect Master of Broken Mountain Sect and reached the Emperor Realm over a hundred years ago. There are even rumours that he is about to break through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm, so he shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Yang Kai cast him a reassuring smile, “No matter. I’ll be going in first.”
Kang Si Ran nodded and gestured to the maidservants behind him. Immediately, one of them came over, took the invitation from Yang Kai’s hand, and led him into the auction hall.
After walking through a bright and spacious corridor, they soon came to a private room.
When the door was opened, a spacious room appeared in front of Yang Kai. This room was decorated with utmost luxury, and at least twenty people could be accommodated without it feeling crowded. There was a huge transparent crystal window at the front of the room through which everything in the auction hall could be seen at a glance.
Only esteemed guests had the right to use one of these private rooms, and the maidservant clearly knew this, so her attitude was extremely humble and respectful.
“Sir, if there’s anything you need, just ask this maidservant.” The maidservant introduced some rules of the auction to Yang Kai before saying in a warm voice.
“There’s nothing we need. You can go out now. It’s enough with me here,” Qin Yu suddenly spoke up, driving out the maidservant like a fly.
The maidservant’s smile did not diminish, a sign of her good training, as she bowed politely, “Then this maidservant will go out first. This maidservant will be waiting outside the door.”
After saying that, she retreated and gently closed the door of the room behind her.
Qin Yu glanced at Yang Kai and found him looking at her with a light smile. Seeing this, she couldn’t help but blush and began evading his gaze.
“Let’s have a seat,” Yang Kai told her. Then, he found himself a seat and sat down, facing the auction stage outside, “If you see anything you like later, don’t hesitate to speak up.”
“I’ll just be watching for fun…” Qin Yu said quietly, but she saw that Yang Kai had already shut his eyes. She couldn’t help but pout as she found herself a chair to sit down on.
The room was silent for a while, which made Qin Yu feel a little uneasy. She had wanted to ask Yang Kai where he’d been these past few years, and what he’d been doing, but seeing Yang Kai have no interest in talking right now, she also couldn’t bring herself to disturb him.
Fortunately, the two did not have to wait long before the auction began.
A beautiful woman walked onto the stage, dressed in revealing clothes. A deep valley between two grand peaks was exposed to the outside air, while her long beautiful legs were only faintly hidden beneath a thin fabric dress. There was a charming look in her eyes, and before saying anything, she smiled, instantly rousing the atmosphere in the auction hall. Seeing this caused Qin Yu’s face to blush while she secretly scorned this woman.
Sneaking a peek at Yang Kai though, she found that his eyes were still closed, which made her feel a little better.
The auction hall was very lively. Due to the high standards of the auction hosted by Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, many Emperor Realm Masters attended. Each item sold at the auction was able to fetch a good price, which the beautiful female auctioneer on the stage smiled unceasingly at.
Elixirs and exotic treasures were brought out like a flowing stream, then in all directions, the sounds of bids being shouted rose and fell.
“The next item is the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin,” the beautiful woman on the stage suddenly raised her voice considerably, sweeping across the room with her beautiful eyes, “My dear friends who came with female companions, or those intending to prepare a gift for their female partners, please pay special attention here. This Mistress guarantees that this will definitely be the best gift for them.”
No matter how the beautiful woman was dressed, she naturally knew how to attract a higher price as a qualified auctioneer. As soon as she finished speaking, the faces of many attendees filled with interest; after all, they could tell from the name alone that this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin was a piece of jewellery.
Generally, it was impossible for jewellery to appear at an auction. Only some valuable artifacts were qualified to appear. Many people were curious what sort of accessory this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin was, and what sort of qualifications it had to become an auction item.
In front of everyone’s eyes, a maidservant with a tray walked out from backstage, stopping next to the beautiful auctioneer. The tray was covered by a red cloth, so nobody could see what the auctioned item looked like.
Having whetted everyone’s appetite enough, the beautiful woman smiled and uncovered the tray. In an instant, an orchid-coloured light began to dance up, illuminating the auction stage in an exquisite and beautiful glow.
Cries of surprise rang out as many women stared wide-eyed at the stage. Beautiful things had always been very attractive to womenfolk.
Once they had a clear look at the item, the women in the audience exclaimed in amazement again. That was because the orchid glow was none other than a dancing butterfly, setting off a beautiful glow each time it flapped its wings, which dazzled all its viewers.
After a short while, the butterfly landed on top of a jade-like hairpin, wings still fluttering gently as if it were a living thing.
But everyone knew that this butterfly was not a living thing. Instead, it was a specially-shaped ornament that existed on the hairpin.
The crowd watched in amazement. It wasn’t only the women who had longing eyes for the hairpin as even some men showed their interest in it.
If they could buy a piece of jewellery like this and give it to a woman they fancied, it would surely please them. There was even a chance they may be able to achieve something significant with such a gift.
“This artifact is not just for decoration, right? May I ask what its functions are, if any?” A magnetic voice came from inside a private room.
This question resounded in everyone’s hearts. Even though this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin was indeed not bad in terms of appearance, being quite beautiful, the price would definitely be greatly reduced if it was just a normal accessory.
Pretty things without much use may be liked by some women, but the ones paying out of their pockets were the men.
The beautiful woman on the stage smiled, “This is an artifact refined by Grandmaster Hou. How could it possibly be a mere accessory?”
“What?”
“This hairpin is an artifact refined by Grandmaster Hou?”
“Truly?”
The beautiful woman’s words caused everyone to burst into discussion. Exclamations rang through the entire hall, as if this Grandmaster Hou was some amazing character.
Yang Kai also opened his eyes and asked curiously, “Who is this Grandmaster Hou?”
After getting no reply to his question, he turned his head only to see Qin Yu pursing her red lips tightly, her beautiful eyes staring fixedly at the stage. The fervent expression on her face clearly showed that she was extremely interested in the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin.
Yang Kai asked again, and only then did Qin Yu come back to her senses and blushed, “Grandmaster Hou is an Artifact Refining Grandmaster that has recently risen up in the past decade. No artifact crafted by his hands is not a high-quality artifact, but…”
“But what?”
“But Grandmaster Hou keeps a very low profile. No one has ever met him in person, and nobody even knows whether Grandmaster Hou is a man or a woman.”
“So mysterious?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
Qin Yu smiled, “En, many good artifacts have appeared in the Southern Territory in the past ten years that were refined by Grandmaster Hou. Moreover, it seems like he is proficient in refining all kinds of artifacts, whether it be defensive, offensive, or even auxiliary artifacts. Regardless, this Grandmaster Hou is a highly skilled Artifact Refining Grandmaster recognized by the general public.”
Yang Kai asked, “Since no one has ever met him, how do they know that he’s the one who refined these artifacts?”
Qin Yu explained, “All the artifacts he refines come with a special mark, a small hidden monkey head.”
At this moment, the beautiful woman on the stage proclaimed, “If you do not believe me, you can check the jade hairpin in this Mistress’s hand and see whether it stems from Grandmaster Hou’s hand.”
As soon as she said that, countless Divine Senses swept over from all directions, all of them stopping on the jade hairpin. Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was also part of this wave, and after carefully studying it, he discovered that just as Qin Yu said, there really was a vivid monkey head on the side of the jade hairpin. At a glance, the monkey seemed to look alive, scratching its ears and cheeks.
“It really is Grandmaster Hou’s work!”
“There’s no doubt about it, it’s even a Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact!”
“Very good, this Old Master will take this artifact!”
“Old Zhou, you’re already so advanced in age! What use do you have for this hairpin? Why don’t you leave an opportunity to the younger ones?”
“This Old Master has recently taken a new concubine and would like to give this artifact to her. Do you have any complaints about that?”
…..
Atop the stage, the beautiful woman ignored the chattering below and spoke, “Grandmaster Hou has not refined many artifacts, but each one of them is of superb quality. Even the Emperor Artifact Refiners in our chamber of commerce hold nothing but the highest praise for Grandmaster Hou, and they believe he has already reached the level of an Emperor Artifact Refiner! I believe that everyone is also very interested to know what kind of artifact this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin is!”
There are only a few types of artifacts, but the accessory artifacts that women generally used were defensive types. There were also offensive types, but there were more of the former than the latter.
This Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin had a beautiful appearance, and if it were a defensive type, then the price would naturally be higher.
The beautiful woman did not keep everyone in suspense and smiled lightly as she explained, “This jade hairpin is actually neither a defensive nor offensive type. Instead, it is…”
As she spoke, she pushed her Source Qi lightly and the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin in her hands suddenly grew bigger, instantly becoming ten meters across. It looked just like a butterfly that had been enlarged many times over, its giant wings gently fluttering, stirring up an enshrouding glow.
Forming seals with her hands, the beautiful woman pushed her Source Qi again and the giant butterfly turned into a flowing orchid light that flew a few circles around the auction hall before returning to the stage.
“A flight type artifact!”
The crowd gasped.
Everyone was trying to guess what type of artifact this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin was, but nobody ever expected it to be a flight type artifact. If that were true, then its value would be immense. What’s more, the speed that it displayed just now was also quite amazing.
The beautiful woman continued, “Without refining it, this Mistress can only show off half of this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin’s speed, but through the appraisal of our chamber of commerce, while its peak speed may not be able to match an Emperor Realm Master, it is definitely not far behind. It can definitely be used as an escape tool, and of course, the orchid glow of the artifact can also be hidden, so there is no worry about exposing your location.”
Through all that praise, the beautiful woman’s intentions were nothing more than to express that this was a good treasure!
And it was indeed a good treasure. Whether it be in appearance or practicality, it was enough to catch the attention of many cultivators.
Seeing that she had sufficiently built up everyone’s appetite, the female auctioneer finally shouted, “The Dao Source Grade High-Rank flight type artifact, Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin, the reserve price is fifty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, each increase must be at least one million. Now please!”
As soon as the beautiful woman’s voice sounded, sounds of bids being called rang out.
In the blink of an eye, the starting price of fifty Mid-Rank Source Crystals rose to sixty and showed no signs of slowing down.
In another ten breaths, the price had already risen to seventy million, then eighty million in twenty breaths…
Qin Yu’s expression changed. All the joy she had on her face before was swept away, replaced by a look of dismay.
She also knew that she was simply unable to compete for such a good thing with her meagre financial resources, feeling somewhat powerless when she heard the terrifying price.
Eighty million Mid-Rank Source Crystals! With that many Source Crystals, one could even afford four Sapphire Entry Tokens to Spirit Lake Palace.
But compared to the value of this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin, eighty million was far from the bottom line. The appearance of this jade hairpin instantly set off a flurry of bidding, but after reaching eighty million, most of the cultivators in the lower hall could no longer participate in the bidding. Only the guests in the private rooms continued to compete.
In particular, the old man who announced that he had recently taken a new concubine was extremely quick to bid, and it seemed like he was certain to win.
When the price climbed to a shocking 130 million, only two competitors continued to call bids, and each bid seemed to be done after much deliberation, not nearly as quickly as before.
“141 million! Old Zhou, if you can bid higher than this price, then you can have this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin!” A voice came from one of the private rooms.
The old man surnamed Zhou laughed and said, “Since Brother Zhang has such a heart, this Old Master will naturally accept it. 142 million!”
“You win,” The previous Emperor Realm Master sighed faintly and relented.
142 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals translated to 1.42 million High-Rank Source Crystals. An Emperor Realm Master could definitely afford such an amount of wealth, but it would also depend on what they were buying. Most would naturally not spend so much on an accessory for a woman. What’s more, they were only halfway into the auction, and there were still many good things to come later. If they spent too much now, how could they bid after this?
“My respects to you!” The old man surnamed Zhou laughed and urged towards the stage, “Quickly start the countdown! No one else is bidding!”
The beautiful woman on the stage smiled and looked around, “Is anyone else going to raise the bid? If not…”
“150 million!” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly sounded.
Inside the room, Qin Yu stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai. He had been silent the whole time, so she didn’t expect him to speak up at this moment. Who was he planning to buy it for? There was no way he would buy something so expensive for her, so who was it that took up such an important position in his heart?
The old man surnamed Zhou’s laughter stopped abruptly. Instead, his voice turned furious as he shouted, “160 million!”
He could originally have taken the hairpin for 142 million, but Yang Kai just had to step in and raise the price, so he was naturally not in a good mood.
“170 million!” Yang Kai raised the price without even a change in his expression, amazing Qin Yu at the very sight.
“180 million!” The old man surnamed Zhou shouted.
“2 million!”
As soon as those words came out, the crowd was stunned and the old man surnamed Zhou let out a laugh, “Boy, is your mind muddled? 2 million…”
“High-Rank Source Crystals!” Yang Kai added.
The old man surnamed Zhou instantly choked on his mockery.
2 million High-Rank Source Crystals were equivalent in terms of pure energy to 200 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, but in auctions like these, 200 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals couldn’t be used as a substitute for 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals. In other words, even though there was no theoretical difference between these 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals and 200 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, the former had a far greater value than the latter.
The old man surnamed Zhou would have to pay in High-Rank Source Crystals if he wanted to raise the price again.
As such, he instantly fell silent.
With a charming smile on her face, the beautiful auctioneer gazed towards Yang Kai’s room and said, “2 million High-Rank Source Crystals from our friend in Room A3. Is there any higher bid?”
Naturally, no one raised the price.
It had to be known that the Twelfth-Order Low-Rank Monster Core that Yang Kai sold to Violet Source Chamber of Commerce was only worth 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals, so the worth of this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin was more or less the same as that of a Twelfth-Order Low-Rank Monster Core.
But this was not something that just anyone could get their hands on.
“Congratulations to our friend from Room A3!” The beautiful woman smiled. Though, she was filled with suspicion when she heard Yang Kai’s rather unfamiliar voice. She had no idea when such an important customer had arrived at their chamber of commerce. The A-Block Private Rooms were not available to ordinary cultivators, and from the fact that this unknown man could occupy a room as high up as Room A3, it was not hard to imagine that he must be a very distinguished guest.
Just after Yang Kai opened his mouth to bid, in another of the A Block Rooms, Le Dong Zheng’s eyes went cold.
He naturally recognized Yang Kai’s voice thanks to their previous interactions, so he was currently directing a hostile gaze towards the direction of Room A3, feeling a burst of anger welling up in his heart. He was already considered a big customer of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, but even with his status, he could only sit in Room A9. What skill or ability did this youngster have in order to occupy Room A3?
After pondering for a short time, he spoke to the maidservant kneeling nearby, “Tell Manager Gu to come see me.”
“Yes!” The maidservant rose and walked out of the room.
A few moments later, Gu Hong knocked on the door and entered, cupping his fists, “Sect Master Le, what can this little one help your distinguished self with?”
Le Dong Zheng said, “The man from Room A3… What kind of person is he?”
Gu Hong was stunned and answered with some difficulty, “Why does Sect Master Le ask? Sect Master Le should also know about the chamber of commerce’s rules. Even though this Gu is a Manager, he is in no way allowed to disclose information about our customers.”
Le Dong Zheng smiled, “There are always exceptions, are there not?”
Gu Hong answered, “That is somewhat difficult, Sect Master Le.”
Le Dong Zheng frowned. He had been doing business with Gu Hong for so many years, and they knew of each other’s natures, so he knew that this Gu Hong was no honourable man. Sighing, he spoke, “I’ll be frank with you. This Old Master has a grudge with that little brat.”
Gu Hong was curious, “What has he done to offend Sect Master Le?”
Le Dong Zheng coldly snorted, “It would be fine if he had just offended me, but three of my Third-Order Dao Source Realm disciples died at his hands. One of them even happened to be a descendant of this Old Master!”
“What?!” Gu Hong was shocked, thinking to himself it only made sense for Le Dong Zheng to inquire about this man’s information. It turned out there was a deep grudge between them.
Le Dong Zheng continued, “Manager Gu, you saw it yourself. That boy didn’t hesitate to make such an astonishing bid, so he must be extremely wealthy. If I can take him down, then I’m sure to get a handsome profit out of it. How about a thirty percent share for Manager Gu when the time comes?”
Gu Hong wore a bitter look on his face, “Sect Master Le, it’s not that this Gu is unwilling to help…”
“Fifty percent!”
“This, this…” Gu Hong pretended to think for a while before striking his thigh, “Sect Master Le, this Gu is not too clear about his origins, but he suddenly appeared yesterday in the branch. Prior to this, this Gu had never seen him…”
“It seems like Manager Gu is unwilling to help this Old Master with this favour. Fine. This Old Master won’t come to the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce to do business anymore in the future,” Le Dong Zheng coldly snorted.
Gu Hong smiled bitterly, “Sect Master Le, although I don’t know his origins, this Gu can inform Sect Master Le about his whereabouts and when he leaves the auction later.”
Le Dong Zheng’s eyes flickered as he nodded, “In that case, this Old Master will offer his gratitude to Manager Gu.”
Rubbing his hands, Gu Hong asked, “About the fifty percent that Sect Master Le mentioned before…”
“It will definitely be yours,” Le Dong Zheng waved his hand.
“Then many thanks to Sect Master Le. This Gu will wish for Sect Master Le’s absolute victory in battle!”
After leaving the room, a cold glint appeared in Gu Hong’s eyes, [Don’t blame me for this, boy, but you need to disappear for my future.]
After Yang Kai appeared yesterday, he clearly noticed that Branch President Lou Chi’s attitude towards him had grown much colder, and he had become more enthusiastic with Kang Si Ran. After remembering what happened when Yang Kai came to the branch, how could Gu Hong not realize that he must have negotiated a big deal with Kang Si Ran? What’s more, this deal most likely totalled to an unimaginable sum for such a dramatic shift in attitude to occur.
Only with that would he be able to help Kang Si Ran overturn his luck. If Kang Si Ran managed to turn his fortunes around, then Gu Hong would become the unfortunate one.
Someone had to be transferred away from this branch, and if Kang Si Ran remained, Gu Hong would definitely be transferred.
But if Yang Kai died, Kang Si Ran would lose his support, and then he naturally would have nothing more to fear.
In Room A3, a maidservant brought over the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin, and Yang Kai paid 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals before taking the jade hairpin in his hands and fiddling with it. Even though he hadn’t refined it, and could not appreciate the full capabilities of this Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin, Yang Kai could tell that this jade hairpin had been crafted with utmost care and was a rare artifact.
On closer inspection, the monkey face on the side seemed even more vivid and lifelike.
After taking a careful look at it, Yang Kai tossed the jade hairpin towards Qin Yu.
Qin Yu was still recovering from her shock and caught it in a flustered manner, only to stare back at Yang Kai in astonishment.
“A small gift for you,” Yang Kai said. Then, he shut his eyes and continued to meditate.
“For me…?” Holding the jade hairpin in her hand, Qin Yu’s heart froze as if it had been struck by lightning and her cheeks burned up.
She was wondering just a moment ago which woman occupied such an important position in Yang Kai’s heart that he was willing to spend 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals to buy a mere hairpin for them, but now that hairpin suddenly landed in her hands.
[Did Big Brother Yang buy this for me?]
[Do I really occupy such an important position in his heart?]
Qin Yu couldn’t help but let her thoughts run wild as she looked timidly at Yang Kai, only to have the flames in her heart instantly doused with cold water. She could see that Yang Kai’s eyes were closed, as if what he just gave her was not a flight type artifact worth 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals, but a trinket he found in a street stall somewhere.
“Big Brother Yang, this is far too expensive…” Qin Yu calmed herself and quickly refused.
This hairpin was purchased for 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals, an enormous sum for her Qin Family. She and Yang Kai were neither kin nor lovers, so how could she accept such a heavy gift from him?
While saying that, she handed the jade hairpin back to him.
Yang Kai opened his eyes, “You really don’t want it?”
Qin Yu bit her lip and shook her head. This hairpin cost too much, she simply couldn’t accept it.
Yang Kai laughed, “If you don’t want it, there’s no use for me even if I take it back.”
Qin Yu lowered her head and muttered, “Big Brother Yang can give it to… a woman he likes. No matter who it is, I’m sure they’ll be happy.”
“But I’ve already given it to you first,” Yang Kai said.
“But I’m not…” Qin Yu’s voice grew even quieter.
Yang Kai told her, “I’ve been using your Qin Family’s Myriads Sword for so long, and it has aided me in many great battles. Just take this hairpin as my thank you gift to the Qin Family. You don’t have to let it trouble you.”
“It’s not the same,” Qin Yu shook her head. Why would someone gift a piece of jewellery to someone they were not close with? And a piece that was so valuable at that.
“Then I can only return the Myriads Sword to your Qin Family,” Yang Kai said with a serious face.
“Don’t!” Qin Yu quickly shook her head. Even though the Myriads Sword belonged to the Qin Family, it was a genuine Emperor Artifact, and there was no way the Qin Family would be capable of guarding it. It was fortunate that Qin Zhao Yang let Yang Kai take away the Myriads Sword back then, for if it really had remained in the Qin Family, it would have already brought them incredible danger.
Qin Yu was stunned, but somehow, she felt much more relaxed.
It seemed that the 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals, which was an enormous amount to the Qin Family, was nothing to Yang Kai. In other words, what he gave her was not considered something particularly valuable to him, but just a simple thank-you gift.
Thinking about it that way, Qin Yu felt a little relieved.
“Then… Thank you, Big Brother Yang.” Holding the jade hairpin in the palm of her hands, Qin Yu thanked him.
[This may just be a simple thank-you gift in your eyes, but to me, this is the most valuable gift I have ever received, and it has nothing to do with the price…]
The auction continued. After the shocking price the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin was able to sell for, the atmosphere had grown even more fervent. It seemed like everyone’s competitive spirit was stirred up, and the price of each item steadily climbed.
An hour later, the auction was drawing to a close.
After a short break, the beautiful auctioneer came back onto the stage and said with great enthusiasm, “The next item on the auction will be the finale of tonight… The Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor!”
As soon as she said that, she made a gesture with her hand and at once, two strong men walked out from backstage carrying a fine metal box, trudging step by step towards the auction stage, seemingly requiring arduous effort just to walk steadily.
In an instant, thousands of eyes were focused on the stage and the breaths of many suddenly quickened in the dark.
This Great Souring Black Dragon Armor had been announced by Violet Source Chamber of Commerce for this auction three months ago. It was also for that reason that many Emperor Realm Masters who had their eyes on this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor attended the auction today. It was safe to say that this one piece of Artifact Armor was worth more than all the previous auction items added together.
*Hong…*
When the two strong men put the box on the ground, it issued a dull thud as it landed on the stage, as if this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor was extremely heavy. Many people were astonished, but they all knew that as long as they were able to refine it, then even the heaviest of Artifact Armors would become as light as air. Otherwise, the weight alone would be enough to greatly diminish the value of the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor.
In the auction hall, many people were waiting with bated breath. Countless Divine Senses swept in from all directions towards the stage, clamouring to get the first look of the finale item.
An Emperor Artifact in itself was already extremely valuable, let alone a defensive type Emperor Artifact. What’s more, this was actually an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor.
But to everyone’s regret, the box that seemed to be made of heavy metal actually blocked the probing of Divine Sense, so the efforts of the crowd were met with no results.
On the stage, the beautiful woman looked around with a smile for a moment before speaking, “This Artifact Armor was not refined by a contemporary Artifact Refining Grandmaster, but was actually found in an ancient cave mansion. It is a very old item, and was chanced upon by a friend who sent it to our chamber of commerce for auction.”
When the crowd heard this, many of them had looks of envy on their faces.
It wasn’t uncommon to find ancient cave mansions in the Star Boundary, but not everyone could encounter them. Even if somebody were to find one, there was a chance the Spirit Arrays inside would trap or even kill them, so obtaining treasures from such a place was always a risky prospect.
To be able to find an ancient cave mansion and leave unharmed, even obtaining a treasure of this level from within, one could imagine how great that person’s luck was.
[Why aren’t I as lucky as that?] Everyone was asking themselves with gritted teeth. If they could have such a fortuitous encounter, then they probably wouldn’t have to worry about cultivation resources for several lifetimes.
“Due to its age, though this Artifact Armor may be Mid-Rank, it has some flaws!”
The auction hall instantly fell silent at the beautiful woman’s words.
After a while, a voice came from one of the A Block rooms, “May I ask what sort of flaws it has?”
Many Emperor Realm Masters came specifically for this set of Artifact Armor. Previously, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce advertised that they will have an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor for auction, but now, this beautiful woman was telling them that this Artifact Armor had some kind of defect.
Yang Kai was also stunned as Kang Si Ran had never told him about this.
But with his relationship with Kang Si Ran, Yang Kai was certain the former would not have hidden such a fact from him if he had known about it beforehand. In other words, even Kang Si Ran did not know about this secret.
After some thought, however, Yang Kai relaxed. Even though it may have some flaws, it was still an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank Artifact Armor. There was no need for them to be too specific while they were promoting their auction. They just had to attract visitors.
At this moment, the beautiful woman smiled, “You will all know in a moment. Now, let us invite Vice President Luo over to test the might of this Artifact Armor!”
As she gestured to her back, a somewhat short figure quickly walked out from backstage. It was Lou Chi who had been keeping watch over the auction the whole time.
Lou Chi walked over to the beautiful woman’s side and cupped his fists to the guests in the hall. Then, without a word, he condensed his Emperor Qi and pointed a finger towards the metal case. Following a noise breaking through the air, thumbnail-sized pieces of armor began flying out of the iron box, moving towards Lou Chi’s body in a chain like a black dragon.
In a clatter, the thumbnail-sized pieces of armour covered Lou Chi in a very orderly manner. Stitching together in a strict pattern, the pieces formed a black Artifact Armor that covered from his neck down to his feet.
With the armour on, Lou Chi’s aura suddenly became extremely fierce and awe-inspiring like a god of war. His First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation even seemed to have been enhanced by the armour, which dumbfounded the auction attendees.
From its appearance, the Artifact Armor did not look too heavy. Rather, it looked quite light. Lou Chi was also moving nimbly on the stage without the joints affecting him in any way. But the crowd could see very clearly that even though the Artifact Armor basically covered his entire body, there was a certain plate-sized gap on his abdomen.
It didn’t look like the Artifact Armor had been designed like this. Rather, it seemed to be missing a piece, as if this Artifact Armor had suffered a serious blow at some point, causing the piece which protected one’s lower abdomen to be lost.
“This Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor used to be a complete set, but unfortunately, part of it is missing for reasons unknown,” the beautiful woman explained.
“Is this armour even useful with such a large piece missing?” Someone asked.
The beautiful woman smiled, “The techniques of the ancient Artifact Refining Grandmasters are too foreign to us, so repairing this Artifact Armor is not possible. However, although the armour looks quite damaged, it still retains most of its defensive power. Of course, though the Artifact Armor is technically Emperor Grade Mid-Rank, the defensive power it can offer is only a bit higher than Emperor Grade Low-Rank.
While the woman spoke, Lou Chi suddenly let out a quick shout and the black armour on his body made a clinking noise before flying off from his body. Piece by piece, it hovered in mid-air, reuniting and reforming in its completed shape.
Lou Chi then lifted his hand, and a heavy and yellowed ancient book appeared in his palm.
“Unified Ceremonial Record!” Someone exclaimed.
This object that resembled an ancient book in appearance was Lou Chi’s Emperor Artifact, the Unified Ceremonial Record.
Luo Chi pushed his Emperor Qi into the Unified Ceremonial Record and caused two rays of light to shoot out, one black, one white. These yin and yang beams of light shot towards the Artifact Armor in the air. The immense power fluctuations caused everyone to pale. Nobody had any doubts that if these two rays of light were to be shot towards an unprepared Emperor Realm Master, they may kill instantly.
With a rumble, the rays of light struck the black armour, but only a spark came of it. The surface of the black armour was still glistening with a dark sheen, completely unharmed.
The beautiful woman spoke at that time, raising her voice considerably, “Through the joint appraisal of our chamber of commerce’s Grandmasters, we have determined that this set of armour is refined from the scales of an adult Black Flood Dragon. Even though Flood Dragons are common in the Star Boundary, Black Flood Dragons are extremely rare creatures known for their amazing defensive strength. This Great Soaring Black Dragon Armour is made from the scales of such a Black Flood Dragon, and its defence cannot be compared to any ordinary Emperor Artifact. This artifact can definitely save one’s life at critical moments!”
“It’s made from the scales of a Black Flood Dragon?!”
“Flood Dragons have the bloodline of the Dragon Clan. Doesn’t that mean that the scales of an adult Black Flood Dragon would also have some Draconic Nature? Sure enough, this is a good thing!”
“It may be good, but the price…”
There was a bustle under the stage for a while. The beautiful woman’s smile deepened as she waited a while before announcing, “Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor, reserve price, 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals. There are no limits on the increase. Please feel free to bid!”
As soon as those words came out, everyone drew a sharp breath.
Previously the most expensive item sold in the auction was a bottle of Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that went for 6 million High-Rank Source Crystals.
But now, the starting price of this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor actually turned out to be 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals. It was not hard to imagine how terrifying its final price would be. The starting price alone was enough to deter ninety-nine percent of people from bidding.
Only the well-prepared Emperor Realm Masters were itching with excitement. Even though 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals was a lot, Lou Chi’s demonstration earlier showed everyone that this armour did not even scratch under the attack of a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. With an Artifact Armor like this, one could become almost invincible in front of a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. They may even be able to hold out against a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master for a short time.
Nobody wanted to miss out on something as good as this, but they also worried about the fierce competition that was waiting ahead of them.
Nobody wanted to be the one to poke their head out and make the first bid. Everyone wanted to get a feel for the competition before making their move, so for a while, the auction hall fell silent.
The beautiful woman who stood on the stage simply smiled as brightly as before, not at all in a hurry. After hosting so many auctions, she knew what these people were thinking. Even though the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor had defects, it was still a rare treasure that would certainly be sold for a great sum.
The silence only persisted for ten breaths before someone’s voice finally rang out, “20 million!”
The Emperor Realm Masters who were still waiting to see what would happen were all startled and looked towards the source of the voice.
The voice came from Room A3, from the same man who won the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin earlier.
In an instant, the faces of many people went dark while some even cursed the person in Room A3 in their hearts.
What was he trying to do by raising the price of something from 10 million to 20 million all at once? Even if he was rich, he shouldn’t be so uncouth! Or perhaps, he was hired by the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce?
People like him were common in many auctions, their task to inflate the price of auction items and to stir up the competitive emotions of the bidders in order to squeeze more profit out of them.
With that thought in mind, some people immediately believed that the man in Room A3 was a plant.
Inside Room A3, Qin Yu was covering her red lips with both hands as she stared in shock at Yang Kai, “Big Brother Yang, those are High-Rank Source Crystals…”
She was worried that Yang Kai did not understand the starting price and mistook it for Mid-Rank or Low-Rank Source Crystals, so she quickly tried to remind him in case he would not be able to take back his bid later.
“I know,” Yang Kai nodded and smiled lightly at her.
Qin Yu was stunned for a time before she remembered what he said to her when he gifted her the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin. It turned out that 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals really was nothing in his eyes!
“That little bastard!”
“Boy, you should mind your manners!”
“Brat, do you dare tell us your name? This Old Master would like to see whose disciple you are!”
The Emperor Realm Masters in the private rooms were also riled up at this moment and began to curse and shout.
Inside Room A9, Le Dong Zheng’s eyes almost popped out in shock as well. He already had the idea that Yang Kai was rich when he spent 2 million High-Rank Source Crystals on the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin earlier, and if he really managed to kill him, then he would definitely gain a lot. Still, he never thought that Yang Kai was rich to this extent.
He had called a price of 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals so casually, so what was his bottom line? 30 million? 40 million?
Regardless, he definitely had a lot of High-Rank Source Crystals on hand.
“Good, good, good, what a blessing for my Broken Mountain Sect!” Le Dong Zheng suddenly laughed. The richer Yang Kai was, the happier he was. As long as he could kill Yang Kai, then all that wealth would belong to him.
As for Gu Hong, he could just toss him some spare change. What fifty percent? That was simply a fool’s dream.
“You old ghosts, you still dare come to an auction even without the means to compete? Miss, I suggest disqualifying them from the auction and driving them out, lest they tarnish the reputation of the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce.” Yang Kai was also not pleased with the scolding and shouted to the beautiful woman on the stage.
The beautiful woman heard this and frowned, “Please, are you here for the auction or to quarrel? If you are here to curse at others, then this Mistress must ask you to stop interfering with the progress of our auction.”
As soon as she said that, the Emperor Realm Masters went silent, not daring to start any more trouble.
The Violet Source Chamber of Commerce was one of the two top chambers of commerce in the Southern Territory, and they were in cooperation with many Sects in the territory when it came to business. If they really offended them, then it would not have any benefits to their Sects.
“This Old Master offers 21 million! Boy, up the bid if you have the guts!” The old man in one of the private rooms coldly snorted, seemingly convinced that Yang Kai was a hired troublemaker.
“30 million!”
The old man almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he heard this, and his face turned extremely ugly.
He originally thought that, since Yang Kai was hired to raise the price during the auction, then his task would have been completed after raising the price by 10 million. Even though it aggravated him so much that it made his teeth itch, being able to buy the Artifact Armor for 21 million was still a good bargain.
But he didn’t expect that little brat from Room A3 to raise the price to 30 million in one breath.
He wasn’t working for them! There was no way he was a hired plant as no one would be hired to make such ridiculous bids, and it was also impossible for them to make such irrational bids. If they were to hike up the price as madly as this, it would most likely scare most of the prospective bidders away.
That was to say, this little brat really intended to get his hands on the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor.
This old man was not the only one who realized this; most of the Emperor Realm Masters at the auction realized this as well.
That person in Room A3 was definitely a man with a lot of money.
“31 million!” Only ten breaths later did someone make a bid with much difficulty.
“35 million!” Yang Kai immediately followed.
A sigh soon came from one of the private rooms, followed by many others soon after, but nobody raised the bid.
A normal Emperor Artifact could basically sell for around 15 to 20 million High-Rank Source Crystals. If it was a defensive Emperor Artifact, that number could go even higher, to around 20 to 30 million. Even though this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor was an Emperor Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact, it was damaged, so its price hovered between Emperor Grade Low-Rank and Emperor Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifacts.
35 million was already the bottom line for most.
Moreover, such an enormous amount of Source Crystals could not be taken out by just anyone.
At the auction in Flowing Shadow City a few months ago, most of the Emperor Realm Masters who attended only had a net worth of around 10 to 20 million. Rarely would any of them have 30 million High-Rank Source Crystals or more.
That was why Yang Kai was almost certain that this 35 million bid was going to be enough to seal the deal.
And so it was.
The beautiful auctioneer looked around for a moment, and once she was certain nobody would bid anymore, so she shouted at once, “Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor, 35 million High-Rank Source Crystals! Are there any higher bids? If not, then this armour will belong to our friend in Room A3.”
After counting to three, the beautiful woman smiled in Yang Kai’s direction, “Congratulations to our friend in Room A3!”
She couldn’t help but get a strange feeling welling up inside of her. This finale should have been a hard-fought battle between the Emperor Realm Masters, with many competing bids called one after another until ultimately the dust settled and one victor emerged. She never anticipated that this man from Room A3 would settle things so decisively, winning the auction in just a few rounds.
Most of the attendees who were thinking of bidding didn’t even manage to make a single offer. The only thing they got out of it was the show.
Even after hosting so many auctions, it was the first time she had encountered a situation like this. The man from Room A3 was truly a big patron. If she had the chance, she wanted to get to know him and perhaps even secure an opportunity to work with him.
With the dust of the final item settled, the auction came to an end. The cultivators in the hall all got up and headed out, still feeling a little dazzled. The Emperor Realm Masters in the private rooms were also led out of the rooms by the maidservants, leaving through secret passages.
In Room A3, Yang Kai waited quietly for a moment before a knock sounded at the door.
Yang Kai responded to the knock, and the door was immediately pushed open. A maidservant entered with two strong men who were carrying that metal storage box inside. A short while later, after the goods and payment were exchanged, someone else guided Yang Kai towards his private secret exit.
This was one way in which the auction house protected their customers in order to prevent any auctioned goods from being targeted by others. The Violet Source Chamber of Commerce built hundreds of secret passages leading in all directions out of Maplewood City. Without knowing the direction beforehand, no one could track a particular patron.
Even though Yang Kai wasn’t afraid in the first place, he didn’t refuse this arrangement.
Very soon, under the guide of the maidservant, they entered an underground tunnel.
Outside Room A9, Gu Hong knocked on the door and was allowed inside.
Le Dong Zheng, who was resting in the room, opened his eyes. A flicker passed across his eyes as his lips opened and closed, silently transmitting a question to Gu Hong.
Gu Hong couldn’t hide the excitement on his face and quickly responded.
Le Dong Zheng then got up, and with a flick of his sleeves, left quickly.
Gu Hong stood in place and pondered for a moment, but he still decided to sneakily follow him out. He knew Le Dong Zheng’s nature too well. For that Yang Kai guy to actually be so rich was something he did not expect before. If Le Dong Zheng really succeeded, then he did not believe that he would keep his promise to share fifty percent of the profit with him.
That was why it would be better for him to keep an eye on them himself. Once Le Dong Zheng succeeded, he would go over and catch him. He believed then that it would be difficult for him to deny him anything on the spot.
This was a matter concerning tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals, so how could Gu Hong not be careful? If this deal went well, then he wouldn’t have to compete with Kang Si Ran for anything anymore. He could just go wherever he pleased, living out the rest of his life without worries.
It was a cup of tea’s time later that Yang Kai and Qin Yu finally came out from the side of a small hill.
When they looked up, they could see the bright moon and the stars.
After finding his bearings, Yang Kai released his Emperor Qi, wrapping it around Qin Yu, before leaving in a certain direction.
In just a few moments, the two arrived above a small knoll. Looking down, they could see many people gathered below. Seemingly having sensed them approaching, those people looked up, wary expressions forming on their faces when they saw a stream of light shooting towards them.
“Grandpa!” Qin Yu shouted.
When Qin Zhao Yang heard her, he let out a relaxed laugh and shouted, “No need to worry, it’s just Little Brother Yang and Yu’er.”
The stream of light landed in front of the crowd, revealing the figures of Yang Kai and Qin Yu.
Looking over the crowd, Yang Kai asked, “Is everyone here?”
Before going to the auction, he sent a message to the Zhang Family, telling them to meet up with the Qin Family here. Looking at them now, no one seemed to be missing.
Old Lady Zhang said, “Everyone from the Zhang Family is here.”
The Zhang Family did not have many people to begin with, and they had also just about gotten everything prepared in the days before, so when they received Yang Kai’s message, they were able to move at once. The Qin Family was also in the same situation. Qin Zhao Yang had even managed to sell off the land deed. Now, both families were all gathered here.
Together, the two small families numbered around a hundred and fifty people with a wide variety of cultivations. The strongest one here was Qin Yu at the mere Second-Order Dao Source Realm. The others were either Origin King Realm, Origin Returning Realm, or even Saint King Realm and Saint Realm.
“Brother-in-law, are we really going to the Northern Territory?” Zhang Ruo Yu jumped out, her small face filled with tension and anticipation.
She hadn’t even travelled outside Maplewood City’s boundaries, despite how old she was, but now she would be going to the extremely far Northern Territory. As a native of the Southern Territory, she was extremely unfamiliar with the Northern Territory.
“Brother-in-law?” Qin Yu was stunned, feeling both confusion and anxiety.
“Who’s your brother-in-law? Don’t just shout randomly, little girl!” Yang Kai’s face went black.
Ning Su Wan also shouted, “Ruo Yu! Come back.”
“Oh,” Zhang Ruo Yu pouted and stood sullenly to the side. When she looked up, she suddenly met Qin Yu’s eyes. She grinned at her, revealing a bright, happy smile as she called out, “Elder Sister Qin!”
Qin Yu squeezed out a smile at her, “Little Sister Ruo Yu.”
“Since you’re all here, let’s go,” Yang Kai called out to them. If he were going alone, then he would be able to reach Thousand Leaves Sect in just two days, but since he had to bring along such a large group of people with varied strengths, he estimated that it would take them at least half a month to arrive.
As soon as he said that though, Yang Kai frowned. Sensing something coming from behind, he turned around just to see a stream of light speeding through the sky, and it seemed to be moving towards them.
Qin Zhao Yang, Ning Su Wan, and the others clearly noticed it as well, and they all instantly became nervous, especially Qin Zhao Yang. After all, Yang Kai had just offended one of Star Soul Palace’s disciples the other day, so if one of their Masters were to come after them, then the Qin Family would be done for.
“You should all go on ahead. I’ll be right behind you.” Yang Kai had already recognized who was coming when he released his Divine Sense, so after telling the Qin and Zhang Family to leave first, he turned around and waited.
“Which way do we go?” Qin Zhao Yang asked.
Yang Kai pointed in a direction.
“Be careful, Little Brother Yang,” Qin Zhao Yang said out of concern, and after a nod to Ning Su Wan, the two immediately led their clansmen forward.
If they stayed here, then they would only become a drag on Yang Kai, so the two of them made a quick decision to leave.
In the blink of an eye, the hundred and fifty people gradually moved further and further away.
A few moments later, the stream of light landed. Light fading away, an elderly man’s figure was revealed.
“Sect Master Le, where are you going in such a hurry?” Yang Kai smiled at Le Dong Zheng who had come chasing after him.
A cold glint flashed past Le Dong Zheng’s eyes and he snorted, “You already know the answer.”
Looking towards the two clans walking away in the distance, Le Dong Zheng asked, “Are those all your people?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
Le Dong Zheng sneered, “Very good. None of them will be able to escape. This Old Master will slaughter them all!”
Yang Kai smiled in response, “That will depend on whether you can live that long.”
Le Dong Zheng narrowed his eyes, “You talk big, little brat. You think you can win against this Old Master?”
Even if Yang Kai’s cultivation level was similar to his, Le Dong Zheng still didn’t put him in his eyes. They were both First-Order Emperors, but he had been immersed in this realm for a long time, so how could some insignificant unknown person be able to compare to him?
“You really are a frog in a well, aren’t you!” Yang Kai snickered.
“Impudence!” Le Dong Zheng fumed at his words.
But as he spoke, Yang Kai who was originally several dozen metres away suddenly appeared in front of him, his face almost sticking to his. The distance between them had instantaneously shrunk to an arm’s length!
Le Dong Zheng gasped, so shocked that all his hairs stood on end.
He didn’t even notice how Yang Kai moved before this young man was already in front of him.
Those eyes that were right in front of him were filled with disdain and mockery, causing Le Dong Zheng’s heart to sink straight down into the abyss.
He pushed his Emperor Qi out of instinct and moved his feet, trying to open some distance between him and Yang Kai, but Le Dong Zheng was shocked to find that no matter how he moved, Yang Kai would stick to him like maggots on rotting bones, not allowing him to get away.
Casually throwing out his palm towards Le Dong Zheng’s chest, the mocking look in Yang Kai’s eyes morphed into coldness as he snorted, “Die!”
Gu Hong chased Le Dong Zheng all the way over without rest, and was so tired he was gasping for breath.
He only had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, which was vastly inferior to Le Dong Zheng’s own cultivation, so his speed was naturally worse. If Gu Hong had not known which passage Yang Kai was coming out of, then he likely wouldn’t have known where to find them.
After arriving at the scene, Gu Hong immediately found a bush to hide in and concealed his aura before looking around.
He didn’t hear any fighting nor feel any energy fluctuations though, so could it be that Le Dong Zheng had already dealt with that little brat?
But that shouldn’t be the case. He was right on their tail, so even if Le Dong Zheng was strong, that boy was still an Emperor Realm Master and should at least be able to hold on for a while.
Unless the battlefield shifted.
Gu Hong felt that the possibility of that was quite high. Perhaps their strength was almost the same with each other and they were still locked in a desperate struggle, but he had no idea where they were fighting now. It would be best if they were both in a lose-lose situation, then he would be able to pick them both off for a tidy profit. If the chance arose, Gu Hong didn’t mind double crossing Le Dong Zheng and tossing him into the same pot as Yang Kai.
While Gu Hong was fantasizing about such possibilities, a faint smell of blood suddenly wafted over in the wind.
When he smelled it, Gu Hong’s face changed.
When he looked over, he could see what seemed to be a man lying a thousand metres away from him, under the moonlight.
“This…” Gu Hong’s expression froze as he focused his sight.
The man lying on the ground had his face slightly tilted to the side, which just happened to be in his direction, allowing him to see his expression clearly.
“Le Dong Zheng!” Gu Hong jumped in fright while at the same time a chill ran down his spine.
Broken Mountain Sect’s Sect Master, who had left Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s auction house just before him, was currently lying there, motionless and covered in blood. Gu Hong had no idea whether Le Dong Zheng was dead or alive, but there was a big chance that he may be dead, because Gu Hong was unable to detect any vitality from this figure.
The blood in Gu Hong’s body almost froze as he stood stiff for a long time, not daring to move.
Le Dong Zheng was a veteran First-Order Emperor, and there were many rumours that he could break through to the Second-Order at any moment, so how could a Master of this calibre actually fall to such a state? Who had done this?
Even though he was clearly alive and well just a moment ago, intent on seeking revenge on that little brat from Room A3, how did he end up here like a dead fish?
Gu Hong did not dare to move for a long time, for fear that a strong enemy may be lying in wait nearby. He was worried that he would only lure disaster upon himself if he were to move recklessly.
Only after waiting for a full hour and seeing no changes did Gu Hong find the courage to stand up and approach Le Dong Zheng vigilantly.
In just a moment, he arrived before Le Dong Zheng. Looking at how tragically he died, Gu Hong was astonished.
One move!
Le Dong Zheng had been killed in one move. There was a clear palm print on his chest, which had completely collapsed, and there were still traces of blood around his mouth and nose which had not dried completely. His wide eyes were filled with a look of disbelief, as if he had seen something unbelievable before he died.
*Gudong…*
Gu Hong gulped. For a Master like Le Dong Zheng who was such a towering existence in his eyes to be killed off in one move, how powerful would his killer have to be?
Whether it was that boy from Room A3 who was responsible for his death or not, there could be no doubt he was involved in this matter somehow. There was no way Gu Hong could stay in Maplewood City any longer. If that little brat were to find out that he was the one who revealed his location, then his own fate would not be any better.
Shivering, Gu Hong glanced at Le Dong Zheng’s hand and did not find any trace of his Space Ring. Clearly, it was taken away by the killer.
He didn’t dare to stay any longer, pushing his Source Qi to quickly flee from this place.
The speed of over a hundred people travelling was much slower than Yang Kai had expected, and there was a need to stop regularly. Only after ten days did they barely cover half of the distance.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any dangers. If this was any other time, then it would be easy for a group like them to be targeted by some unsavoury cultivators while wandering the Star Boundary, but with Yang Kai watching over them, anyone daring enough to trouble them would just die miserably.
Whether it be the Zhang Family or the Qin Family, they were a little sad to be leaving the place they had been living in for generations so abruptly, and the feeling was only magnified for the older members.
The young people, on the other hand, were filled with curiosity and anticipation about the outside world, especially Zhang Ruo Yu. She would constantly ask Yang Kai questions when there was time. Any strange fact she could learn was enough to keep her amused for a long time.
This girl’s personality was very different from Ruo Xi’s. She was lively and active, as if she had an endless supply of energy. Even her barrage of questions seemed to go on forever.
Yang Kai did not show any impatience with her behaviour though. He had to introduce the Northern Territory and the situation in his own Sect to the two families to begin with, so he would answer any questions Zhang Ruo Yu had for him, gradually filling the hundreds of people with longing for the Northern Territory and High Heaven Palace.
After more than twenty days of walking, the group finally arrived at the former Thousand Leaves Sect.
Bringing the two families into Emperor Heaven Valley, Yang Kai activated the Space Array and divided the group into several batches, teleporting them to High Heaven Palace.
Yang Kai brought up the rear, and as soon as he arrived with the last dozen people in High Heaven Palace, Hua Qing Si immediately came up to greet him, “Palace Master!”
When the first batch of cultivators was teleported over, the two Thousand Leaves Sect disciples who were on guard immediately transmitted a message to Head Manager Hua Qing Si. Hua Qing Si had no idea what was going on either, so she rushed over to investigate.
After some inquiries, she found out that it was Yang Kai who arranged for them to come here, so she naturally did not dare to be rude to them.
Yang Kai nodded and looked at the two families, smiling.
At this moment, each and every one of them had an amazed look on their face, and their eyes were filled with joy and surprise. Zhang Ruo Yu had even opened her arms wide, her face filled with joy as if she wanted to embrace this world.
High Heaven Palace was built on the foundation of the original Seeking Passion Sect, a paradise covered in spiritual mountains and great rivers. The World Energy here was so dense that it was not something that Maplewood City could compare to. All of them felt as if they’d been reborn to suddenly come to such a wonderland. If they were not actively restraining themselves, some of them would even be cheering and crying in happiness at this moment.
“Zhu Qing didn’t come back yet, did she?” Yang Kai asked Hua Qing Si in a quiet voice as he scanned the area warily.
“No,” Hua Qing Si shook her head.
“Good,” Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief even though he knew it was impossible for Zhu Qing to return so quickly. She was going to a famous Forbidden Zone, the Frozen Earth, and had to track down the Source left behind by her clansmen after their death, not an easy task. Still, it was best to be careful. If Zhu Qing really did return, then she would probably stick to him like a leech again, impossible to get rid of.
“Palace Master, what arrangements should be made for these two families?” Hua Qing Si asked.
Yang Kai responded, “Why are you asking me, aren’t you the Head Manager? Just settle them down wherever suitable, no need for preferential treatment or whatnot. Pick out some cultivators with good aptitude as well so they can become the first batch of disciples of High Heaven Palace, then focus on training them for a little.”
“Understood,” Hua Qing Si nodded.
After hearing what Yang Kai had to say, she knew what to do.
“You go make the arrangements, I still have something to talk to you about later.” Yang Kai waved his hand.
“Yes!” Hua Qing Si answered. Then, she flew into the sky and shouted, “Everyone, since you have entered our High Heaven Palace, you are all now one of us! Come with me.”
She was still an Emperor Realm Master after all, so as soon as she spoke, the two families immediately became serious and followed her.
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred people left the plaza.
Body shifting, Yang Kai arrived at his own chambers.
Half a day later, Hua Qing Si came to report the situation to him. The two families were arranged to stay on a mountain peak with a decent World Energy density. There were ready-made buildings there that were enough for them to settle into. Hua Qing Si had also left them some cultivation materials, and told them that their cultivation situation would be checked on in a year. After that, they would be given different statuses depending on their progress.
There was nothing to criticize about her arrangements and Yang Kai believed that the two families would have nothing to complain about. The two families were barely eking out a living in Maplewood City and were constantly on edge against outside threats. Now, not only had High Heaven Palace provided them with a safe and secure place to live, they were even provided with an outstanding cultivation environment and resources, so they were naturally happy and excited.
“Palace Master, you said you had something to speak to me about earlier. What is it?” Hua Qing Si asked after she finished reporting on the situation of the two families.
“En, it’s like this. When I went to the Southern Territory, I made a deal with the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce,” Yang Kai briefly explained the details to her.
Hua Qing Si urged him on, “And?”
Yang Kai continued, “And then I suddenly wondered whether our High Heaven Palace could achieve a long-term business relationship with the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce. We’re in the Northern Territory, while they’re in the Southern Territory. The products of both regions are different. Some things may be cheap and abundant in the Northern Territory, but once you arrive in the Southern Territory, it becomes expensive and rare. The same is also true the other way around.”
“So, we buy low, sell high!” Hua Qing Si understood instantly.
Many merchants did the same in the Star Boundary, but they had to trek through countless mountains and across countless rivers, passing through many dangerous obstacles in order to move between the two territories. The slightest mistake could cost them all their wealth, or even their lives.
But it was different for High Heaven Palace. With the Cross-Territory Space Array, they could casually move between two territories. With this natural advantage, they were sure to make money with this deal.
Hua Qing Si smiled, “Even if Palace Master didn’t mention it, I’ve also thought of this point before.”
“Oh? Then, if you have any thoughts, let’s hear them,” Yang Kai looked at her with interest.
Hua Qing Si said solemnly, “It is a very good idea, and will definitely be profitable, but there is one difficulty that I’m not sure Palace Master has considered.”
“Please explain,” Yang Kai accepted advice with an open mind.
“Whether there is enough manpower or not is a problem. As Palace Master knows, our High Heaven Palace does not have many proper disciples. If we were truly to do this, then we would definitely require a large amount of manpower, but compared to this, sourcing materials is an even bigger problem. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
Hua Qing Si smiled, “Unless Palace Master can find someone to help gather supplies for us.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Like Fire Dragon Palace and the Full Sky Sect, for example! Sister Hua, you’re quite wicked!”
Hua Qing Si pouted, “They owe us so many Source Crystals anyway. It’s gracious of us to even let them pay for it in materials.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “By the way, why don’t we ask Ice Heart Valley as well? Unlike us, Ice Heart Valley has deep and vast roots, so it should be easy for them to gather resources in the Northern Territory.”
“Good!”
“We also have to carefully consider what we have to buy and sell. If not, not only might we fail to make a profit, we might even suffer a loss.”
Hua Qing Si replied, “I will personally go to the Southern Territory to conduct an investigation.”
If this matter was handled properly, it would be a huge deal for High Heaven Palace’s future! Despite Yang Kai’s currently extreme level of wealth, and having both Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect owing a huge debt to the High Heaven Palace, the Sect would still need a way to support itself if he wanted it to grow in the future.
Not staying in the High Heaven Palace for long, Yang Kai returned to the Southern Territory the next day.
After a number of days, Yang Kai looked towards the continuous undulating mountain range in the distance as he travelled swiftly over.
That mountain range was Azure Sun Mountain Range where Azure Sun Temple’s headquarters was located. Although he only held an in-name disciple title within Azure Sun Temple, with Azure Sun Golden Token in his hand, Gao Xue Ting and even Wen Zi Shan treated him with importance. Having come back to the Southern Territory, it made sense to visit Azure Sun Temple.
Furthermore, Yang Kai also wanted to take a trip into the Divine Ascension Mirror to inform Tian Yan about the good news of having found the Flesh Incarnation Fruit.
Originally, he had planned to refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill personally; however, with a helper like Ji Ying working under him, Yang Kai would naturally hand this task over to him. Before leaving, Yang Kai had already left the necessary herbs behind in the High Heavens Palace, and he believed that he would be able to obtain the Flesh Incarnation Pill the next time he went back.
With the Flesh Incarnation Pill, Tian Yan would be able to mould a physical body for himself, and thus extricate himself from the fetters of the Divine Ascension Mirror. He would be able to enter the Star Boundary and become a strong ally for High Heaven Palace.
With a Great Emperor-level Master as his patron, High Heaven Palace would eventually become a Great Emperor Sect despite not being one at the moment. When that happened, its status absolutely wouldn’t be inferior to Star Soul Palace or Serene Soul Palace.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai came to a halt. Turning towards a certain direction, he furrowed his brow and called out, “Which friend is being so sneaky? Why not show yourself?”
As his voice rang out, a glow of light suddenly blossomed from the void in that direction. The dazzling brilliance forced Yang Kai to narrow his eyes, and by the time the light had dimmed down, two extraordinary silhouettes had appeared.
One of them was a middle-aged male, his face pale with no traces of facial hair. A look that was brimming with might, yet devoid of anger was present on his face. The other person was a youth who appeared to be close to Yang Kai’s age. Cutting a suave and elegant demeanour, his brow appeared like slanted swords, positioned above his twinkling star-like eyes. Standing beside each other, those two people seemed to share similar physical features, as though they were a father-son pair.
Compared to the latter, the middle-aged male had an indifferent look on his face. On the contrary, an eager, competitive spirit rose within the youth’s eyes when he looked over towards Yang Kai.
“Senior Xiao!” Yang Kai’s brow rose.
Xiao Yu Yang replied, “So it’s you, Yang Kai?”
“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded his head before looking over to the youth and giving a faint smile, “Brother Xiao, I trust you’ve been well since the trip to the Shattered Star Sea?”
These two were members of Star Soul Palace, whom Yang Kai had recognized in a single glance.
There was no need to talk about the youth Xiao Chen, whom Yang Kai had had quite a few exchanges with and would always be by the side of Princess Lan Xu, playing the role of the protector. As for his father, Xiao Yu Yang, he was the first Emperor Realm Master Yang Kai had met after his entry into the Star Boundary. At that time, he was a Star Soul Palace Silver Star Envoy with a Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation that made him an existence that Yang Kai needed to look up to.
After these years though, Xiao Yu Yang’s aura seemed to have grown increasingly vibrant and extraordinary, which meant that he had impressively reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm! As for Xiao Chen, his cultivation was not weak either, being at the First-Order Emperor Realm. From the look of it, Xiao Chen had benefited quite a bit since his trip to the Shattered Star Sea.
These two people had suddenly popped up here. Furthermore, they had just so happened to block Yang Kai’s path, so it was easy to see what their intentions were.
The deaths of Star Soul Palace Elder Tan Jun Hao and Deacon Wu Ming had left Star Soul Palace investigating ever since. As they continued to investigate, they had naturally ended up focusing on Yang Kai; however, the latter had been elusive in his recent movements, to the point where even a Great Emperor Sect like Star Soul Palace, with its long reach and extensive network, was still unable to get a good grasp of his location.
Suddenly, a month or so ago, they had received a message from a disciple of theirs by the name of Luo Ping, saying he spotted Yang Kai in Maplewood City.
Xiao Yu Yang proceeded to rush over without stopping. Being one of Star Soul Palace’s Elders and possessing extraordinarily high cultivation, him being dragged into this matter wasn’t because of them giving respect to Yang Kai, but rather, it was because of the information Star Soul Palace had collected about both Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming meeting their deaths at Yang Kai’s hands. This terrifying result meant that anyone lacking in cultivation would be useless against Yang Kai. Only a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would be able to accomplish this task.
For the sake of Tan Jun Hao, the few Third-Order Emperor Realm Elders of Star Soul Palace had all been mobilized, searching for Yang Kai’s whereabouts in all directions.
Knowing that Yang Kai was a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, Xiao Yu Yang had faintly suspected that there was a possibility of Yang Kai returning to Azure Sun Temple after his sudden appearance in Maplewood City, which led him to lay in ambush here. Yang Kai’s appearance proved his decision to be correct, as he had finally managed to come face-to-face with Yang Kai after painstakingly waiting here for half a month.
After hearing Yang Kai’s words, Xia Chen grinned, “Who are you? Do I know you?”
His haughty and lofty stance gave him the appearance of having an exceedingly overwhelming superiority complex.
Having crossed paths with him several times, Yang Kai was well aware of this irksome trait of Xiao Chen’s; therefore, he did not get angry. On the contrary, he gave a faint smile and looked towards Xiao Yu Yang, “May I know why Senior Xiao had obstructed this Junior’s path?”
“You still dare to ask about the obvious?” In a fit of anger, Xiao Chen pointed his finger at Yang Kai, “Are you not clear about what you’ve done? You dare put on such a shameless act!?”
With a faint smile, Yang Kai replied, “I don’t understand what Brother Xiao is talking about.”
Xiao Chen’s expression instantly turned gloomy, “Are you really unaware, or are you just feigning ignorance?”
Not giving a damn about him anymore, Yang Kai proceeded to turn and look at Xiao Yu Yang, letting Xiao Chen continue fuming in anger.
Xiao Yu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, a calm expression present on his face. Nevertheless, he was sighing in admiration and astonishment within his heart. Before this matter had occurred, he did not know much about Yang Kai. The only thing he faintly remembered was that a Dao Source Realm Junior had refined a furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills in the Four Seasons Realm. That brought the person into the spotlight, and that person was precisely Yang Kai.
Other than that, Xiao Yu Yang did not know anything else about him. Therefore, he had talked about it in detail with Xiao Chen over the last few days on this matter. Only then did he discover how outstanding this youth was. From what he could tell, every matter that Yang Kai had done was exceedingly hard to accomplish. Although his son was a dragon among men, he still somewhat paled in comparison to Yang Kai.
At this moment, Xiao Yu Yang’s appraisal of Yang Kai rose another notch.
In front of an Elder of Star Soul Palace possessing a Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, this First-Order Emperor Realm Junior showed not even a trace of intimidation or fear. On the contrary, he continued to chat in a calm and relaxed manner.
Did he really kill Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming? Deep feelings of doubt surged within Xiao Yu Yang’s heart. With Yang Kai’s current level of strength, and with the fact that both Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming weren’t just ordinary Masters, how could that be possible? How could they have died at this Junior’s hand?
However, during the investigations conducted by Star Soul Palace, there were over twenty Emperor Realm Masters that testified to this effect. Even if Tan Jun Han and Wu Ming’s deaths were not caused by Yang Kai, it was absolutely related to him.
“Tan Jun Hao, Wu Ming!” Xiao Yu Yang only spoke those two names as he shot a deep gaze right at Yang Kai’s eyes, seemingly wanting to bore right to the depths of his soul to see any shift or sliver of fluctuation present within.
Raising his brow, Yang Kai replied, “So, it’s about that matter… Yes, if Senior Xiao is investigating the matter of those two people, this Junior can inform Senior Xiao that I was the one who killed them.”
He admitted this in an exceedingly frank manner, with not a single trace of wanting to conceal this fact.
“Bullshit!” Xiao Chen snapped back with a look of contempt and ridicule, an obvious indication of his disbelief.
“It’s said that you had an impressively strong Monster King by your side at the time, yes?” Xiao Yu Yang deliberately pointed out, “Where is that Monster King who acted?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “The Monster King wasn’t there at the time.”
Xiao Yu Yang said in a deep tone, “Yang Kai, you’re a talented youth, and this King doesn’t wish to cause difficulties for you. Tell this King the location of that Monster King, before following me back to Star Soul Palace.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Does Senior Xiao believe that Tan Jun Han and Wu Ming met their deaths at the hands of that Monster King?”
“Is there any other possibility?”
Yang Kai burst into laughter and shook his head incessantly. Never did he imagine that no one would believe the truth that he had just stated. After mumbling to himself, his expression turned solemn before he replied, “Being an Elder of Star Soul Palace, Tan Jun Han represented Star Soul Palace and the Bright Moon Great Emperor. It was his solemn duty to protect and guide us Southern Territory cultivators; however, in Flowing Shadow City, he engaged in a plethora of perverse actions and used despicable methods to control various Emperor Realm Masters present at the time, before inciting them to attack this Junior all in order to kill me and pilfer my treasures. This Junior responded in kind and killed him, which can only be considered helping Star Soul Palace clean up their trash. This Junior doesn’t need the gratitude of the Great Emperor or Star Soul Palace and is fine with you all not trying to find trouble for me. Yet, Senior Xiao has obstructed my path today! If this is Star Soul Palace’s attitude, this Junior… feels extremely disappointed!”
“It’s not your place to decide about the matters of our Star Soul Palace!” Xiao Chen snorted coldly.
Xiao Yu Yang nodded and added, “Our Star Soul Palace has done a thorough investigation into the details of the matter. Tan Jun Hao was inhumane, oppressive, and tyrannical, damaging the reputation of our Star Soul Palace with his actions. There isn’t anything worth pitying about his death. If he was really killed by you, the matter would be confined between you and our Star Soul Palace; however, if he was killed at the hands of a Monster King… it would be a different story, do you understand?”
Yang Kai gave an impatient reply, “The Monster King did not take action. Didn’t those Emperors inform you of this?”
Xiao Yu Yang replied, “They’ve mentioned it. However, it is really hard to believe their words. Therefore, I need you to follow me back to Star Soul Palace. This Xiao will guarantee that no one will treat you unfairly. The only thing you need to tell this Xiao is the location of the Monster King.”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, “I’m unable to agree with your request, Senior Xiao.”
“You don’t believe me…” Xiao Yu Yang’s forehead started to wrinkle up slightly.
Yang Kai replied, “I’m not close at all to Senior Xiao, so how can I trust you?”
“It’s a waste of breath to continue this discussion. Father, there’s no need to continue this nonsense with him. Let me take action and take him down.” Filled with eagerness, Xiao Chen could no longer contain himself. Drawing his sword, a metallic hum accompanied the blossoming of Sword Qi as he hurtled towards Yang Kai with a cold snort, “You think you’re extraordinary after being breaking through to the Emperor Realm, huh? Let me show you today the disparity between you and me!”
Emperor Pressure radiated out as Sword Intent filled the skies. The humming sounds continued to ring out as Xiao Chen’s expression turned solemn, before he growled, “The fragrance of plum blossoms wafts out from the snow, and the crescent moon reflects in the mirror to shine across the skies!”
His first action was to unleash an exceedingly powerful killing move. Furthermore, his Sword Intent had a beautiful appearance, causing people to be dazzled by it.
Yang Kai chuckled in response, “I was thinking something similar!”
Assuming a casual stance, Yang Kai sent a light palm towards the incoming Sword Wave.
Xiao Yu Yang felt a sense of satisfaction within his heart after seeing his son unleash his sword move; however, his expression changed drastically upon seeing Yang Kai’s palm.
Being a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, Xiao Yu Yang’s vision was far higher than a greenhouse flower like Xiao Chen’s, so with a single look, he was able to tell that Xiao Chen was completely outmatched by Yang Kai.
Shock filled his heart as he knew that their respective breakthroughs to the Emperor Realm after their trip to the Shattered Sea had occurred within a short period from the other. Yet, the gulf between their strength was akin to night and day.
“Retreat, Chen’er!” Xiao Yu Yang roared out.
Nevertheless, it was a pity that he had spoken too late. A palm came extending through the flurry of sword lights, smashing through them as if they were rotten twigs. The screen of swords instantly withered, turning Xiao Chen’s Sword Intent uncontrollably chaotic in the process.
Shock bloomed across Xiao Chen’s face as he hastily pulled back in retreat. Nevertheless, like a shadow, the incoming palm travelled along his path of retreat, moving threateningly close to his body.
Right at that instant, a gale came whipping from the side as Xiao Yu Yang was forced to take action to save his son.
With a tap of his foot, Yang Kai’s body came to an instant stop, right as a gale whipped past his fingertip.
Moving swiftly, Xiao Yu Yang had a solemn look on his face as he stood between Yang Kai and Xiao Chen, “Yang Kai, this King doesn’t want to be oppressive to the young, and doesn’t wish to take action against you. Would it be possible for you to cooperate?”
Yang Kai smirked, “That’s not possible!”
Xiao Yu Yang gave a soft sigh, “Since that is the case, pardon my offence.”
As his voice rang out, he extended his hand and made a grasping motion towards Yang Kai. Immediately, it appeared as though the entire surrounding space had been locked, as a buzzing sound started to ring out from the void.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not evade or dodge Xiao Yu Yang’s grab; instead, he replied indifferently, “Senior Xiao, it isn’t because this Junior looks down on you, but I’m afraid that you’re unable to keep this Junior here. The mountains and rivers always come together in the end, so let’s meet in the future.”
Space Principles started to ripple out, before Yang Kai’s body suddenly flickered, leaving behind only an afterimage in its place.
Upon grasping through the afterimage, Xiao Yu Yang’s face changed slightly as he growled, “A Spatial Ability!”
He turned and looked around; however, Yang Kai’s presence had totally disappeared, and no one could tell where he had run off to. Despite releasing his powerful Divine Sense, Xiao Yu Yang was unexpectedly unable to grasp Yang Kai’s aura, causing his expression to sink.
Originally, he believed that Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming’s deaths were due to the Monster King taking action; however, with what had just happened, the possibility of Yang Kai being the culprit had just become slightly higher. Being able to freely teleport was by itself an extraordinary skill that could overturn the most dangerous of situations, and it was also mentioned in the reports that this boy was in possession of the Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s Mountains and Rivers Bell.
That was an Ancient Exotic Artifact! No one knew exactly how powerful that Mountains and Rivers Bell was, but it was not to be underestimated.
Turning around, he noticed Xiao Chen standing slumped over there. The hand that held the sword was trembling incessantly, while an ashen and ugly expression was present on his face.
Losing to Yang Kai’s move was a huge blow for Xiao Chen. Earlier, despite having just broken through to the Emperor Realm, he had always assumed that no one could rival him in this realm. He was a Core Disciple of Star Soul Palace, and moreover, he was Xiao Yu Yang’s son! Having been nurtured since young, he was the best of the best within Star Soul Palace. In fact, he was well known to be an invincible existence among cultivators in the same realm.
However, at this moment, this sense of superiority that had accompanied him since young had been shattered apart by Yang Kai’s palm, something that was impossible for him to endure.
“Victory and defeat are commonplace in battle. Rather than dwelling in this moment of defeat, why not think of how to increase your strength.” Xiao Yu Yang said in an indifferent tone.
A tremor shook through Xiao Chen’s body. Finally coming back to his senses, he quickly replied, “Many thanks for your guidance, Father.”
“Let’s go.” Xiao Yu Yang waved his hand.
“Where to?” Xiao Chen asked.
“Azure Sun Temple,” Xiao Yu Yang replied, before taking the lead and flying off.
Having laid an ambush here, they had managed to run into Yang Kai. This was a clear indication of Yang Kai’s motives; he was headed to Azure Sun Temple. Since they weren’t able to hold him here, they would have to head to Azure Sun Temple to find him.
Regardless of the circumstances, they still needed to settle this matter.
…
“Halt!”
Not long after escaping, Yang Kai came face-to-face with two new figures. The lead figure shouted out loudly as he obstructed Yang Kai’s path of travel.
Having entered Azure Sun Temple many times before, Yang Kai naturally knew its rules. Immediately, he retrieved his Azure Sun Golden Token and tossed it to the two disciples on guard.
Catching the token, the lead figure’s face changed, “Azure Sun Golden Token?”
Only the few Core Disciples of Azure Sun Temple had the qualifications to hold this golden token. Although they were all disciples of Azure Sun Temple, there was a great disparity in their status compared to those Core Disciples.
They took another look at Yang Kai, whose face was extremely foreign to them, and did not recognise him as his profile looked nothing like one of the few Core Disciples they had seen among the Sect.
The lead disciple proceeded to shout out in anger, “How deceitful of you, daring to pose as a disciple of our temple! Where did you get this golden token from!?”
After those words rang out, the two disciples immediately summoned their artifacts and locked their auras onto Yang Kai, appearing to be ready to take action at any moment. Yang Kai was an in-name disciple of Azure Sun Temple, while this golden token was given to him by Gao Xue Ting back in Maplewood City many years ago, so it was not a widely known fact among the temple. Therefore, many disciples didn’t know about Yang Kai at all. At this moment, after seeing a foreign person holding a Core Disciple token in his hand, it was natural for them to raise their guard.
Yang Kai replied, “Elder Gao gave me this token. You two can ask Elder Gao or the other Elders about this. Just tell them that Yang Kai has arrived, and they will naturally give you an explanation.”
“Yang Kai!” The lead disciple frowned, shooting a look to his Junior Brother by his side before nodding his head and replying, “Wait a moment.”
He proceeded to retrieve a communication artifact, and from the looks of it, was contacting his higher-ups to report this matter.
A moment later, the communication artifact shook, and sending his Divine Sense into it, a strange look immediately appeared on the face of the lead disciple.
The Elders had replied that the token was genuine, and the person by the name of Yang Kai was an actual disciple of their temple.
“I apologize for the earlier offence. Please, Senior Brother!” Receiving the Elder’s command, the disciple on guard duty naturally didn’t dare to obstruct Yang Kai anymore. Moving his body to the side, he said, “Elder Gao said to find her on Myriad Saints Peak.”
Yang Kai nodded his head and retrieved his golden token. As he moved past the two disciples on guard duty, he suddenly thought of something and said, “That’s right. There will be two fellows coming here later. Think of a way to obstruct them for a while.”
“Yes!” Despite not knowing any details, the two disciples immediately acknowledged his command.
Myriad Saints Peak was the main peak within Azure Sun Temple. With routine ease, Yang Kai travelled towards it, and as he did so, he noticed a white figure standing in front of a distant palace, looking right in his direction.
The figure appeared just like a white lotus, pure and unstained. Her accompanying dress accentuated her elegant figure. Furthermore, there was another small and unassuming figure standing by her side.
From a distance away, Yang Kai revealed a faint smile and shot over.
As he approached, the pure white figure suddenly raised her hand, before a circular mirror with a sun-like appearance rose from behind her head. Just like a rising radiant sun, the temperature of the surrounding air proceeded to shoot up.
Emperor Artifact, Radiant Sun Mirror!
Incomparably hot beams of light shot out from the mirror, drawing beautiful arcs in the air before appearing right before Yang Kai in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai gasped in shock before summoning his Myriads Sword. Unleashing a defensive move, a protective sword barrier appeared before him.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
The scorching rays of light were blocked by the sword barrier, unable to hit their mark, though Yang Kai was forced to retreat as a result.
After dispelling those rays of light, the figures before him flickered, before Gao Xue Ting suddenly appeared right before him. Extending a slender, jade white hand, she formed a fist, exposing her middle finger slightly, before giving a knock towards Yang Kai’s head.
Not daring to evade, Yang Kai had no choice but to take the hit. With a dull thud ringing from his head, he felt as though his entire being had grown shorter by a head.
“Elder Gao…” Yang Kai revealed a look of injustice as he rubbed the place where he had been struck.
Gao Xue Ting gave a cold snort, before casting a sidelong gaze at him, “So, now your wings have grown hard, you dare take action against me?”
“When did that happen?” Yang Kai gave a wronged look, “Just now it was an instinctual reaction…”
“Do you know why I hit you?” Questioned Gao Xue Ting.
Yang Kai grinned, “Because I’ve not come back for quite some time, causing you to miss me.”
Gao Xue Ting snorted, “I don’t care whether you’ve come back or not. However, after causing such a big ruckus and encountering such great danger, why did you not seek help from the temple? Do you feel no sense of belonging with the temple, or do you see yourself as an outsider?”
Yang Kai immediately knew she was referring to the matter with Star Soul Palace, causing a burst of warmth to fill his heart and a smile to form on his lips.
“Stop grinning and get down for me!” Gao Xue Ting extended her hand, grabbed onto Yang Kai’s ear, and pulled him down towards Myriad Saint Peak.
“Pain, pain, pain, pain…” With his head twisted while still holding on to the Myriads Sword in his hand, Yang Kai was led about by Gao Xue Ting. Even though he was able to stand up against Great Emperors and Divine Spirits, he didn’t dare to muster any resistance at all. Nevertheless, he felt as though his ear was about to detach from his head, causing him to scream and plead, although his protests fell on deaf ears.
Only after arriving at Myriad Saints Peak did Gao Xue Ting release her grip, though she followed up with a slap towards the back of Yang Kai’s head.
Yang Kai staggered forward, though he did not dare to utter any complaints.
Raising his head, he spotted Wen Zi Shen, leading him to hastily move forward, “You’re looking well, Temple Master Wen!”
The corners of Wen Zi Shan’s mouth twitched as he looked towards the Heavens, appearing as though he did not hear anything at all. Nevertheless, he proceeded to send a Divine Sense transmission towards Yang Kai stealthily, “Little Xue Ting is very angry. You better quell her anger before talking. If not, this Temple Master doesn’t dare to talk to you.”
Yang Kai’s face turned black while a look of contempt flashed across his eyes.
Turning his head around, he looked towards the few people standing to the side. Vice Temple Master Qiu Ran, Elders Chen Qian, Di Rong, and You Kun; all of them evaded his gaze, as though they had not seen him looking over at all.
Gao Xue Ting was the only exception as she continued to stare coldly at him. Her gaze was sharp and penetrating as a sword, seemingly wanting to turn him into a pincushion.
Yang Kai obediently walked towards Gao Xue Ting and lowered his head, “Elder Gao, this disciple has made a mistake. Please mete out your punishment, Elder Gao.”
Gao Xue Ting replied in an indifferent tone, “You made no mistake, so why does this Elder have to punish you? That’s right, I still have to thank you. If not for you saving me that time, this Elder might not have been able to extricate herself from that situation.”
After saying that, she proceeded to bow towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was scared stiff by her actions, leading him to leap aside.
Turning towards his direction, Gao Xue Ting gave another bow.
A crying expression appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he said, “What do you want, Elder Gao? Whatever it is, I’ll accept it, okay!”
Gao Xue Ting immediately raised her head and shot a scorching gaze at Yang Kai, “You better keep to your word! En, this Elder will not put you in a difficult spot. As long as you agree to this matter, this Elder will forgive you this time.”
“Please speak.” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
“Become an Elder of the temple.”
Yang Kai’s face immediately turned serious as he spoke out in a solemn tone, “Elder Gao, this…”
“You dare refuse?” With a flick of her hand, Gao Xue Ting aimed her sword towards Yang Kai’s throat and growled, “Let this Elder see if you dare to reject this Elder’s personal request!”
Yang Kai’s entire body turned stiff, not daring to move a muscle. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead as he replied with a serious expression, “This Disciple was just about to say that he… accepts this request.”
“En, a promising young man!” A smile curled up from the corner of Gao Xue Ting’s mouth as she sheathed her sword.
Only after all of these antics had finished did Vice Temple Master Qiu Ran and the various other Elders present step forward with grins on their faces, cupping their fists as they proceeded to greet the future Elder Yang.
With a beaming smile, Wen Zi Shan said, “Good, good. Our temple has a new Elder! That’s something worthy to be celebrated! This Temple Master has made the decision to organize a Grand Canonization Ceremony to commence in five days. We will quickly make an announcement to the world.”
A tremor shook through Yang Kai’s body as he hastily interjected, “There’s really no need for this, Temple Master. As of now, this Disciple…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a grinning Wen Zi Shan had already patted his shoulders, “There’s no need to say anymore. I know.”
Yang Kai opened his mouth, though all of the words he was about to say turned into a sigh. He had killed Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming, and although there was a justifiable reason behind his actions, he had gone against a mighty power which was Star Soul Palace. Once he became an Elder of Azure Sun Temple, it would surely bring them trouble.
It was alright for him to hide and evade this matter, but why would Wen Zi Shan want to organize a Grand Canonization Ceremony about his appointment to the position of Elder? Wasn’t this a clear indication of wanting to redirect fire towards the temple?
Yang Kai felt touched, and uneasy at the same time. If he really brought a disaster to the temple, he would feel horrible. Nevertheless, despite clearly knowing the repercussions of his actions, Wen Zi Shan obviously wanted to use the might of the temple to protect Yang Kai.
Gao Xue Ting chimed in from the side, “Once any of the temple’s Disciples is promoted to the Emperor Realm, they will become an Elder of the sect, and thereby obtain the authority of an Elder. That was the case with Xia Sheng, so there’s no need to feel any burden over it.”
Yang Kai scratched his head and replied, “There’s a matter that I’ve to inform all of you. Recently, this Disciple founded a Sect of his own…”
“Huh?” Wen Zi Shan exchanged glances with Gao Xue Ting, both of them noticing the look of surprise within each other’s eyes. The various Elders present also gawked in response.
“As of now, this Disciple can technically be considered a Sect Master; therefore, I’m afraid that there will be some conflict with me becoming an Elder of the temple.”
Wen Zi Shan nodded his head in agreement, though Gao Xue Ting had a look of suspicion on her face as she asked, “You’re not lying to us, right? Just to avoid taking up this Elder position?”
Yang Kai hastily replied, “How would I dare to do so? This is really the truth.”
Gao Xue Ting frowned, “Although you’re an Emperor now, and possess the qualifications to establish a Sect, you’re still quite young. Diving into such matters will not be beneficial to your future. As of now, your main priority should be to increase your cultivation.”
“Many thanks, Elder Gao, for your concern. This Disciple also understands my priorities; however, there is a reason behind the need for this Disciple to establish an independent Sect,” Yang Kai replied while nodding his head.
Gao Xue Ting sighed, “Since you’ve already founded your Sect, you can’t dissolve it. How about this? Let your sect ally with the temple. If there’s anything you need help with, the temple will be able to extend a helping hand. In fact, the temple can send some people over to help you and relieve your burden in some of the routine affairs.”
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “There are already people assigned to take care of Sect matters, so there’s no need for me to worry about them.”
“That’s good. You’re a smart person, so you should know that one’s own strength is the foundation of everything,” Gao Xue Ting turned silent for an instant, before continuing, “However, since you’re now a Sect Master, it is indeed not as suitable for you to become an Elder of the temple. How about this? We shall confer you the title of High-Rank Guest Elder. What do you think of that, Temple Master?”
Wen Zhi Shan smiled, “Whatever you say, Little Xue Ting.”
Although a High-Rank Guest Elder was also an Elder position, there was much more freedom in that role, including freedom of movement. It was somewhat similar to Yang Kai’s previous position as an in-name disciple, just higher in rank.
“That’s right. What’s the name of your Sect, and where is it located?” Gao Xue Ting asked.
Qiu Ran, Cheng Qian and the others looked over towards Yang Kai with curious looks on their faces.
“High Heaven Palace, and it is situated in the Northern Territory,” Yang Kai replied with a grin.
“The Northern Territory, so far away…” Gao Xue Ting frowned. Azure Sun Temple was located in the Southern Territory, meaning that there was a distance of over a billion kilometres between them and High Heaven Palace. This meant that even an alliance would not be of much use as Azure Sun Temple was too far to provide any aid should anything serious happen to High Heaven Palace.
“How’s the strength of your Sect, and how many disciples do you have?”
An embarrassed look appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he looked at Gao Xue Ting, before speaking out in a meek tone, “Does Elder Gao want to hear the truth… or…?”
“I’d like to see if you dare say anything false!” Gao Xue Ting’s beautiful eyes shot a glare back at him.
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, before replying, “We don’t have many disciples as of now, only about a hundred so far.”
“A hundred people…” Gao Xue Ting nodded lightly. It was not an indication of her looking down on Yang Kai’s Sect, as after all, having just broken through to the Emperor Realm, the Sect Yang Kai established would definitely be a small one at best. Being able to gather over a hundred disciples was already extremely good. A Sect was somewhat similar to a rolling snowball, where it would take a lot of time to become big and strong.
“As for strength… the cultivations of the disciples are quite varied. For Emperors… there are six excluding me.”
“What?” The various Elders present gasped in shock.
“There are six others? Doesn’t that mean that there are seven Emperors in total?”
“Are you sure that there’s only over a hundred people in your Sect?”
Some of the Elders were immediately unable to remain calm, with even Wen Zi Shan’s eyes snapping wide in response.
A Sect with only a few more than a hundred people actually had seven Emperor Realm Masters among its ranks? What kind of Sect was this? Wasn’t that a bit too terrifying? Even with its ten thousand or so disciples, Azure Sun Temple only had about a dozen Emperors among its ranks.
Gao Xue Ting was filled with shock, as she had originally assumed that Yang Kai’s newly established Sect would be small and weak at best. However, from the looks of it, his Sect already appeared to be somewhat extraordinary.
“Of those six… what are their cultivation realms?”
Yang Kai scratched his head and replied, “There’s a First-Order Emperor Realm Head Manager that helps me handle the Sect’s affairs. There’s also a First-Order Emperor Array Master, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Emperor Alchemist…”
Sii…
A wave of successive hisses rang out, as everyone present on Myriad Saints Peak shot a look at Yang Kai as though they had just seen a ghost.
A small Sect with only around a hundred disciples being overseen by seven Emperors was more than enough to shock the hearts of people; however, after hearing Yang Kai say that there was actually an Emperor Array Master and an Emperor Alchemist among them…
How was that possible? Even Azure Sun Temple did not have their own Emperor Array Master and Emperor Alchemist! Only those Great Emperor Sects were capable of matching the lineup of a Sect like that.
“What about the other three?” Gao Xue Ting continued probing, though shock had already filled her eyes.
Yang Kai lowered his head and replied in a somewhat apologetic tone, “The other three… are Monster Kings.”
Dumbstruck looks immediately appeared on everyone’s faces.
Monster Kings… furthermore, three of them!
Only members of the Monster Race with strength capable of rivalling that of Third-Order Emperors possessed the qualifications to be hailed as Monster Kings. In other words, the might of any Monster King was not one bit inferior to that of Azure Sun Temple’s Temple Master, Wen Zi Shan.
It was precisely due to Wen Zi Shan’s presence that Azure Sun Temple was capable of being ranked as a top Sect in the Southern Territory, rivalling Orthodoxy Temple and Heavenly Martial Holy Land, as both of them were led by Third-Order Emperors as well.
Yet, there were three such existences in High Heaven Palace which was established by Yang Kai not long ago.
Other than the lack of a Great Emperor to assume command and a slightly inferior number of Emperors, how was this Sect inferior to any of the Great Emperor Sects? If such a Sect was to develop and grow stronger, its power and influence might eclipse all of the other great forces within the Star Boundary, with the exception of those Great Emperor Sects.
Finally recovering from her shock, Gao Xue Ting suddenly spoke out in a solemn tone, “You have to be vigilant when dealing with races other than our own. Yang Kai, how are you able to control those three Monster Kings? How are they willing to listen to your commands?”
Wen Zi Shan chimed in with a serious look on his face, “That’s right, you have to be careful about this.”
Yang Kai nodded his head and replied, “Disciple naturally understands this.”
“You’re not a reckless person, so as you have already made this decision, there is no need for us to discuss it further.” Wen Zi Shan gave a gentle nod, before giving a sudden grin, “However, from the looks of it, your High Heaven Palace does actually possess the qualifications to form an alliance with our temple. The only issue would be the long distance separating us. Such a pity, such a pity. That’s right, since your High Heavens Palace has such a strong background, you must have chosen a good place to establish your foundation. The speed of development of a Sect is tied tightly with its location, so make sure to not make an impulsive decision when doing so.”
“Disciple actually occupied other people’s territory when founding his Sect, so there isn’t much to worry about this matter,” Yang Kai replied with a meaningful smile.
“Oh?” Wen Zi Shan raised his brow in response and asked, “Which Sect did you steal from? Although this Sect Master doesn’t know much about the Sects in the Northern Territory, I’ve heard of a few.”
“Seeking Passion Sect!”
Wen Zi Shan’s expression instantly turned into one that was a sight to behold as he gawked blankly at Yang Kai. This was accompanied by the slack jaws present on many of the Elders’ faces.
All of them naturally knew about Seeking Passion Sect, as it was one of the top Sects of the Northern Territory. In terms of status, it was on the same level as their Azure Sun Temple within the Southern Territory.
Yang Kai had actually snatched away the domain of Seeking Passion Sect and established his own Sect there! In other words, Seeking Passion Sect had definitely been wiped out.
Nevertheless, looking from another perspective, with the strength of force behind Yang Kai, it was not impossible for High Heaven Palace to wipe out the Seeking Passion Sect.
“Not bad, not bad, the Seeking Passion Sect’s domain definitely won’t be lacking…” Cold sweat formed on Wen Zi Shan’s forehead as he discovered that he had greatly underestimated Yang Kai. In the past, he had only assumed that the latter was brimming with potential and therefore used various methods to get Yang Kai to join Azure Sun Temple, leading to the latter’s status as an in-name disciple.
However, after just a few years of separation, this in-name disciple had actually managed to accomplish such a world-shaking matter. If not for the exceedingly far distance between the two territories, news of this matter might have already propagated across the Southern Territory, shocking the entire Star Boundary.
“Okay, enough casual talk. The Grand Canonization Ceremony will be held in five days, so there are still many things to do.” Gao Xue Ting changed the topic.
She did not dare to continue asking, as she was afraid she might hear even more shocking news if she did so.
Right at this moment, a frown suddenly appeared on Gao Xue Ting’s forehead. Retrieving her communication artifact out, she sent her Divine Sense into it, before raising her head to say, “Temple Master, Xiao Yu Yang is here.”
Wen Zi Shan’s eyes narrowed, “He’s quite quick!”
Yang Kai coughed and spoke up at this moment, “I actually bumped into him along the way here, though I shook him off. He might be here from chasing after me.”
Wen Zi Shan nodded his head and said, “I understand. Little Xue Ting, bring him away for a while.”
“En,” Gao Xue Ting nodded, before ordering Yang Kai. “Follow me.”
Yang Kai cupped his hands towards the other Elders present before flying away with Gao Xue Ting.
Although he was not afraid of Xiao Yu Yang, it definitely wouldn’t do any good if he were to meet with the latter. Therefore, Yang Kai decided to simply disappear for a while. Nevertheless, Yang Kai felt somewhat apologetic dragging Azure Sun Temple into this mess.
After a short while, Gao Xue Ting brought Yang Kai to her Purple Bamboo Peak. A vast forest of purple bamboo stretched across this peak, shaking lightly in the wind.
Present on the large and majestic Purple Bamboo Peak was a lone structure, appearing exceedingly desolate within this environment. This seemed to coincide with Gao Xue Ting’s stoic character.
Within Azure Sun Temple, every single Elder was granted their own Spirit Peak; Purple Bamboo Peak was Gao Xue Ting’s domain.
If Yang Kai were to be conferred the title of Elder in Azure Sun Temple, he would also be bestowed with the same level of treatment; however, since the Grand Canonization Ceremony would only be held after a few days, Yang Kai could only live on Purple Bamboo Peak in the interim.
The peak was peaceful and quiet, without a single servant present. Gao Xue Ting arranged for Yang Kai to reside in the guest residence, advising him to not run about recklessly, before turning around to leave.
“Elder Gao!” All of a sudden, Yang Kai suddenly shouted out to stop her.
Gao Xue Ting turned back.
“Disciple needs to request Elder Gao’s assistance for a matter,” Yang Kai said in a serious tone.
“What’s the matter?”
“I wish to take a trip into the Divine Ascension Mirror!”
“You want to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror?” A frown appeared on Gao Xue Ting’s face, “Why?”
The Divine Ascension Mirror was Azure Sun Temple’s greatest secret. Previously, Yang Kai was able to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror world only due to the numerous Star Seals he had brought back to the temple, a great merit that warranted his entry. Now, however, despite being a quasi-Elder of Azure Sun Temple, with the qualifications to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror, he still couldn’t simply go in there as he wished. Therefore, it was natural for Gao Xue Ting to want a thorough explanation for his request.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai did not conceal anything and proceeded to tell her about his agreement with Tian Yan.
Gao Xue Ting gasped in shock, “You actually managed to make such an agreement with that Senior during your last trip to the Divine Ascension Mirror?”
“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded his head. “I agreed to it without much thought back then; however, after so many years, I should give him a proper reply.”
Gao Xue Ting replied in a slightly absent-minded manner, “I never expected you to have such great fortune… since you’ve made such an agreement, you should honour it. However, the Fleshly Body Pill isn’t easy to obtain.”
“I’ve already obtained the Fleshly Body Pill,” Yang Kai replied with a faint smile.
Gao Xue Ting’s expression shook, “You have?”
Yang Kai smiled in response, “I’ve already acquired the required materials and in a few days, my High Heaven Palace’s Emperor Alchemist should finish refining the Fleshly Body Pill.”
“What are the chances of success?” Gao Xue Ting asked in a somewhat impatient voice. Although this was the first time she had heard about the Fleshly Body Pill, she knew that such a pill would definitely not be easy to refine. Even an Emperor Alchemist might not be able to guarantee a one hundred percent refining success rate.
Yang Kai replied, “I forgot to inform Elder Gao, my High Heaven Palace’s Emperor Alchemist is the Fifth Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.”
Gao Xue Ting was instantly dumbstruck, taking quite a while before pushing out a shocked reply, “You managed to poach the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Legacy Disciple to be your Sect’s Chief Alchemist?”
Such boldness! Originally, it was already shocking that Yang Kai’s High Heaven Palace had an Emperor Alchemist amongst their ranks; however, Gao Xue Ting had never expected that this Emperor Alchemist would actually have such an illustrious background. That was the Fifth Legacy Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor! Even Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters would have to show great respect to such a person.
The matter that puzzled Gao Xue Ting the most was, why would the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor consent to this?
Nevertheless, with the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Disciple personally taking action, the possibility of a refining failure was quite minimized.
“It isn’t too difficult if you wish to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror today; however, at this moment…” All of a sudden, a frown appeared on Gao Xue Ting’s face.
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked.
Gao Xue Ting replied, “Since you’re not an outsider, it’s alright for you to know about this. Right now, there are people currently using the Divine Ascension Mirror, and it is imperative to not disturb them unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, it is somewhat difficult if you wish to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror at this moment.”
A look of surprise appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
Earlier, the people he had met on top of Myriad Saints Peak included all of Azure Sun Temple’s higher-ups, so who could be using the Divine Ascension Mirror right now? Furthermore, they weren’t to be disturbed? It seemed as though the person using the Divine Ascension Mirror had an extraordinary status.
Even thinking along these lines though, Yang Kai was not able to identify this person.
“I’ll talk to Temple Master about this, to see if we are able to devise a win-win solution to this. If it really isn’t possible… you should just wait here for a while. In any case, it has been so many years since your agreement with that Senior and you don’t have the Fleshly Body Pill on you right now anyways.”
“Okay,” Yang Kai nodded. With the situation as it was at the moment, he had no choice but to agree.
He proceeded to ask about Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao’s current situations, and found out that they had both entered retreat after returning from the Shattered Star Sea. Currently, they had yet to show any signs of coming out, so Yang Kai had to cancel his plan of catching up with them.
Those two were Core Disciples of Azure Sun Temple, future pillars of the Sect. Nevertheless, they were just a little lacking when compared to Xia Sheng, as the latter was able to break through to the Emperor Realm inside the Shattered Star Sea. In comparison, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were unable to do so. Nevertheless, they had still reaped substantial benefits there, making them develop a will to not leave their closed-door cultivation until they broke through to the Emperor Realm.
After Gao Xue Ting departed, Yang Kai proceeded to sit down. Extending his hand, a large chest made of exquisitely crafted metal appeared before him.
The Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor!
Since he had purchased this Mid-Rank Emperor Grade Artifact Armor from Violet Source Auction, Yang Kai hadn’t had the time for a detailed inspection of it until this moment.
Extending his hand, Yang Kai opened the case and began gently brushing the Artifact Armor. In an instant, a furious roar suddenly rang out from within, before black Qi started to rapidly gush out from the pieces that made up the Artifact Armour. Coalescing together into a black mass, the light formed into a black flood dragon that stared sharply towards Yang Kai.
“Ah…” Raising his head to look at the illusionary phantom, a grin spread across Yang Kai’s face.
According to the descriptions from Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor was created from the scales of a Black Flood Dragon. Black Flood Dragons were extremely rare existences, and were renowned for their formidable defensive strength. During this armour’s refinement, the Black Flood Dragon’s Monster Core should have been fused into it, resulting in a wisp of the Black Flood Dragon’s Soul being sealed into the Artifact Armor.
In other words, this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor seemed to possess an Artifact Spirit.
An artifact like this that was refined from the body parts of a powerful Monster Beast was capable of fusing perfectly with the Monster Core of its origin Monster Beast.
This wasn’t mentioned by the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce. Yang Kai guessed that they were afraid that this fact would affect their customers’ valuation of this item. Although an Artifact with an Artifact Spirit would generally fetch a much higher price, it would also depend on what type of Artifact Spirit it possessed.
The Artifact Spirit of this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor was the Soul of a Black Flood Dragon. Despite only being a Flood Dragon, it still possessed the bloodline of the Dragon Clan. Therefore, most people would not be able to subdue an Artifact Spirit like this.
A good example would be the sudden appearance of the Black Flood Dragon’s Soul the instant Yang Kai made contact with the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor. If the user didn’t refine this Artifact Spirit, making it recognise them as its owner, it would be utterly impossible for them to access the full might of this Artifact Armor.
The gigantic Black Flood Dragon Artifact Spirit appeared almost corporeal as it shot a disdainful look at Yang Kai, just like how one would look at an ant.
However, in the next instant, a suppressive dragon roar rang out from the ant-like figure before it. Golden light blossomed, before the Source Strength of the Golden Divine Dragon erupted mightily from Yang Kai, manifesting in a giant golden dragon far larger than the Black Flood Dragon Artifact Spirit behind Yang Kai’s head.
At this moment, the Black Flood Dragon, a dead object that didn’t possess any consciousness, unexpectedly revealed a sense of dread on its face, while its raised head drooped a little.
As the aura of the Golden Divine Dragon erupted, the Black Flood Dragon subconsciously shrank back into the chest.
The strength of bloodline suppression within the Dragon Clan was a strange and mysterious sight to behold; it was a terrifying oppression that no other race could fathom.
A good example would be when Li Jiao, a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, was unable to muster even an ounce of resistance against Zhu Qing. No matter how powerful they became, any existence with the bloodline of the Dragon Clan would have no choice but to be shackled by this unbreakable fetter.
Against any other ordinary Third-Order Emperor, Zhu Qing would still be able to obtain victory in a fight, though it would not be an easy fight. However, she would be able to reap Li Jiao’s life with ease.
“Afraid?” Yang Kai revealed a villainous grin, shooting a sinister look at the Artifact Spirit as he said, “If you’re afraid, scram back and let me use you at will. If not, I’ll erase your Soul!”
No one knew if the Black Flood Dragon Artifact Spirit actually understood words or not; however, right as Yang Kai’s words rang out, it retreated and fused back into the Artifact Armor.
As this was happening, with Wen Zi Shan in the lead, the group of Azure Sun Temple Elders had solemn expressions on their faces as they stood on top of Myriad Saints Peaks.
Two streaks of light flew over rapidly, descending before the group, revealing the figures of Xiao Yu Yang and Xiao Chen a moment later.
“Xiao Chen greets Temple Master Wen and various Seniors!” Xiao Chen cupped his hands in respect. Despite his pride and high self-esteem, as well as his unbridled arrogance against his peers, he still maintained proper etiquette, not forgetting to greet the Seniors present before him.
Wen Zi Shan smiled and nodded, “Young Master Xiao is thoughtful.” Cupping his fists to Xiao Yu Yang, he continued, “It has been a while, Brother Xiao.”
“Temple Master Wen!” Xiao Yu Yang replied in a serious tone.
Although he was a member of Star Soul Palace, and similarly a Third-Order Emperor, he did not dare to show any ounce of overbearingness before the Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, Wen Zi Shan.
Without waiting for Xiao Yu Yang to speak, Wen Zi Shan cut in, “You’ve come just in time for a joyous occasion for my temple, Brother Xiao. You certainly have to be a guest here for a few days.”
“Joyous occasion?” A frown appeared on Xiao Yu Yang’s face as he replied, “What joyous occasion?”
Wen Zi Shan replied, “It’s like this. In five days, our temple will be canonizing a new Elder. If Brother Xiao isn’t in a hurry, please stay behind to drink some celebratory wine.”
Hearing those words, Xiao Yu Yang’s eyes narrowed before he gave a reply in a cold tone, “Temple Master Wen, from what this King knows, among your noble sect’s Core Disciples, Xiao Sheng already broke through to the Emperor Realm quite some time ago, and already holds the position of Elder, while the others are in closed-door cultivation and won’t be coming out in short order. The person you are able to confer this position to couldn’t be the person I am looking for, right?”
A confused look appeared on Wen Zi Shan’s face, “Huh? Who is Brother Xiao looking for?”
Xiao Yu Yang proceeded to speak while emphasizing every word he said, “Yang… Kai!”
Wen Zi Shan responded with a surprised look, “Brother Xiao, what a genuine surprise, you’re actually able to guess that! Admirable! Admirable!”
Xiao Yu Yang roared out in fury, “Temple Master Wen!”
Seeing Wen Zi Shan still playing dumb, Xiao Yu Yang’s anger erupted.
With a chuckle, Wen Zi Shan replied, “Did Brother Xiao predict such a matter beforehand and come earlier to offer your congratulations? You really are too thoughtful.”
The veins on Xiao Yu Yang’s temples bulged and throbbed as he quickly snapped back, “Having known you for so many years, this Xiao will give you advice to not attract disaster onto yourself, Brother Wen.”
Wen Zi Shan could not help but narrow his eyes as he replied, “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Brother Xiao. Our temple is only inducting a new Elder. How would that invite disaster onto ourselves?”
Xiao Yu Yang stared intently at Wen Zi Shan, “That boy killed Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming. I don’t think Temple Master Wen is unaware of this matter.”
Wen Zi Shan gasped in shock, “That’s impossible, right? Tan Jun Han is a Third-Order Emperor, while Wu Ming is a Second-Order Emperor. Compared to them, Yang Kai is just a First-Order Emperor. How could he have killed them? That’s absolutely impossible! Could there be some mistake?”
Xiao Yu Yang sneered in response, “Over twenty Emperor Realm Masters hailing from as many Sects of the Southern Territory bore witness to this matter, so how could it be a mistake?”
Wen Zi Shan quickly followed up, “Did those twenty-plus Emperors really bear witness to what happened? What did they say happened?”
A wrinkle appeared on Xiao Yu Yang’s forehead as he turned silent for a moment before muttering, “Tan Jun Hao used parasites to control them to fight against Yang Kai. Nevertheless, he underestimated his enemy and was killed by Yang Kai in the end. Wu Ming helped a tyrant to oppress the innocent, and was also killed at the scene.”
“Tan Jun Hao actually carried out such despicable actions and smeared the honour of Star Soul Palace! His death really isn’t worth pitying!” A solemn expression appeared on Wen Zi Shan’s face as he stared intently at Xiao Yu Yang and pressed, “From what you’ve said, Yang Kai can be considered to have helped your Star Soul Palace clean its house, so you should feel gratitude towards him, yes? Is Brother Xiao here to express Star Soul Palace’s thanks to Yang Kai? If that is the case, you really don’t need to, as Elder Yang’s heroic actions were to purge evil. Your Star Soul Palace is too polite.”
Xiao Yu Yang exhaled slightly, before quickly replying, “Temple Master Wen, Tan Jun Hao was a Soul Palace Elder. Furthermore, he was a Third-Order Emperor, so his death isn’t a small matter. This also concerns the face of my Star Soul Palace!”
Wen Zi Shan gave a faint smile in response, “It’s naturally a big matter. However, didn’t the statements given by those twenty or so Emperors already provide plenty of explanation?”
Xiao Yu Yang shook his head, “I’m afraid there’s no other choice but for Yang Kai to follow me back to Star Soul Palace.”
An awkward look surfaced on Wen Zi Shan’s face, “I’m afraid that that’s not possible. Currently, Yang Kai can be considered to be an Elder of our temple. In a few days, we will be holding our Grand Canonization Ceremony. If he goes with you, won’t our temple become the laughingstock in the Southern Territory? Although Star Soul Palace wants to keep their face, so does our temple.”
Xiao Yu Yang replied, “Just as Temple Master Wen had said, the Grand Canonization Ceremony will happen in a few days. At this moment, Yang Kai still isn’t considered an Elder of Azure Sun Temple.”
“Who said that?” Wen Zi Shan grinned, before turning his head around, “Little Qian Qian!”
Without any pause, Chen Qian raised her hand and hundreds of invitations in the form of streaking lights shot out in all directions, before disappearing in the blink of an eye. She then proceeded to cup her fists and reply, “Temple Master, this subordinate has just sent out the invitations for the Grand Canonization Ceremony to the various Sects and Families throughout the Southern Territory!”
“Good,” Wen Zi Shan nodded slightly.
By this time, Xiao Yu Yang’s expression had already turned gloomy, “Wen Zi Shan, do you know the repercussions of your actions?”
Wen Zi Shan’s face instantly turned solemn as he said in a calm voice, “Yang Kai is a member of my temple. Even if your Star Soul Palace wants to take him away, you have to obtain the agreement from our temple before doing so.”
Letting out a sigh, Xiao Yu Yang took out a communication artifact before speaking in an indifferent tone, “I’ve already reported this matter to the Great Emperor, so the Great Emperor will be the one to decide how to handle this affair.”
Wen Zi Shan had shown his hand, clearly wanting to use the weight of his Sect to protect Yang Kai. Therefore, even if he were to confront Wen Zi Shan for this matter, he might not be able to snatch Yang Kai away. This left Xiao Yu Yang no other choice but to report this matter and quietly wait for a reply.
Wen Zi Shan’s expression finally changed. Nevertheless, he still proceeded to give a faint smile, “With his wisdom, the Great Emperor will naturally make a fair and just decision. Since you’re a guest, why not stay in our temple for a few days, Brother Xiao?”
“Good. Pardon my intrusion.” Xiao Yu Yang nodded slightly.
“Please!”
…..
Within the guest residence on top of Purple Bamboo Peak, a series of clashing sounds rang out, before an additional layer of majesty radiated from Yang Kai as the black dragon armour covered his body.
After unleashing his Golden Divine Dragon Source in a show of might, Yang Kai discovered that it was extraordinarily easy to refine this Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor, so much so that it was in fact even easier than most Dao Source Grade Artifacts. Wearing the Artifact Armor, he found it fit him exceedingly well, and was also extremely flexible, to the point where he was not even afraid of damaging it when he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.
The only small gripe he had was that there was substantial damage present on the abdomen section of this Artifact Armor, causing this Mid-Rank Emperor Grade Artifact to only be able to display the might of a Low-Rank Emperor Grade Artifact.
However, this was more than enough.
Yang Kai had not bought this armour for its defensive strength; he simply wanted something that was capable of covering his body up after he had displayed his Dragon Transformation. Regardless of whether it was now a Mid-Rank or a Low-Rank Emperor Grade Artifact, it wasn’t too much of a difference to him.
Nevertheless, what Yang Kai fancied most about this Artifact Armor was how light it felt, as though he wasn’t wearing it at all. After putting on some standard robes, it was basically impossible to even notice this armour beneath them.
After inspecting himself for a while, Yang Kai proceeded to sit down again and continued to refine the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor.
Gao Xue Ting came back a few times, though she did not disturb Yang Kai after seeing that he had been in retreat ever since.
Five days went by in a flash.
As morning dawned, Gao Xue Ting pushed open the door, shocking Yang Kai awake.
Raising his head, he noticed five young women walking over per the instructions of Gao Xue Ting. Seeing the outfits they wore, he guessed that they were disciples of Azure Sun Temple.
“Stand up.” Gao Xue Ting said to Yang Kai.
Standing up, Yang Kai asked suspiciously, “What is this about?”
Gao Xue Ting continued to signal to those few female disciples while giving Yang Kai an explanation, “They’re here to help you clean up. Today’s your big day.”
Yang Kai grinned, “You sound as if I’m about to get married.” However, seeing the icy expression on Gao Xue Ting’s face, Yang Kai withdrew his smile and obediently followed her arrangements.
He sat down on a chair to the side and immediately, one of the female disciples walked behind him and started to brush his hair, her movements soft and gentle. Another disciple proceeded to half kneel before him and started to clean his face.
Standing to the side, Gao Xue Ting started to brief Yang Kai about the flow of the Grand Canonization Ceremony, as well as the things he needed to take note of.
This left Yang Kai in surprise as he asked, “I’m just going to become a High-Rank Guest Elder. Is there really a need to make this event into such a large one?”
He had assumed that this was just a ceremony for formality; however, the proceedings don’t seem to fit with what he had envisioned.
“Don’t worry about that. You just need to follow along obediently,” Gao Xue Ting said in a commanding tone.
Yang Kai snorted back a reply before obediently remaining seated and not moving. He closed his eyes and rested, while etching Gao Xue Ting’s words into his heart.
The few female disciples surrounded Yang Kai as they groomed him, all while occasionally sneaking a few peeks to size him up before sighing in amazement. The sudden canonization of a new Elder had caught all of them in surprise. This was especially so after hearing that this new Elder was around the same age as their Eldest Senior Brother Xia Sheng, leaving them even more intrigued.
After all, Xia Sheng possessed extraordinary fame within the temple. Who knew how many female disciples had ideas about him? Now, having seen Yang Kai, they discovered that he appeared to be not inferior when compared to their Eldest Senior Brother. In fact, his heroic air trumped Xia Sheng’s. The close-distance service left the hearts of the few disciples beating somewhat rapidly as daydreams filled their heads.
After about an hour or so, Gao Xue Ting sent those female disciples back and proceeded to make Yang Kai stand and spin around a few times, sweeping her eyes over him for a while before nodding lightly.
Dressed in a set of long purple robes, Yang Kai had managed to get rid of a sliver of his youthful looks, replacing it with an air of stability that fit the appearance of an Elder.
“Let’s go.” Gao Xue Ting waved her hand and took the lead to fly off, with Yang Kai following close behind.
Originally, she wanted to remind Yang Kai to not be overly nervous; however, through the surveillance of her Divine Sense, she discovered the calm and relaxed look hanging on Yang Kai’s face, appearing as though he was utterly not worried at all. Seeing this, Gao Xue Ting was disinclined to remind him anymore.
She knew that Yang Kai had come face to face with quite a few great storms in his travels, so although this Grand Canonization Ceremony was a big event, it was not sufficient to shake his mind and spirit.
On top of Myriad Saints Peak, huge streams of people were present as guests hailing from various places were arranged on the sides of the plaza in accordance to their status and cultivation. There weren’t many people in the crowd, just over two hundred or so. Nevertheless, these people represented nearly all of the great Sects and powers in the Southern Territory.
Many disciples of Azure Sun Temple shuttled back and forth busily, continuing to walk up and down the various rows of seats. There was an incessant flow of fine wine and fragrant delicacies as the Emperor Realm Masters who were familiar with each other continued to toast, turning the environment exceedingly lively and bustling.
It was a rare sight to see so many Masters present in a single space. Even the Canonization Ceremony of Xia Sheng as an Elder was not of this magnitude. For the latter, the various great forces were informed after the matter had happened. However, for Yang Kai, the buzz he had created was known throughout the entire Southern Territory. If not for the tight time constraints, there might be even more guests arriving than those present.
Xiao Yu Yang and Xiao Chen shared a table. With their high statuses, the former being a Star Soul Palace Elder, and moreover a Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, there were naturally people coming forward to toast with them. However, after Xiao Yu Yang casually dealt with a few people, he proceeded to close his eyes, making the rest of the people not dare to head over to disturb him.
No one even dared to have any criticism of his actions.
All of a sudden, drums rang out before the entire plaza turned silent and the bustling guests hastily headed back to their seats.
All eyes then turned and looked over towards the same direction.
Over there, two groups of cultivators were flying over, one group of males, and one group of females. All of the males wore smart appearances, brimming with bravery and heroic spirit. On the other side, all of the females appeared as though they were beauties that had come out of paintings, brimming with an elegance that was paired with their pure white dresses. Every single one of them possessed a Dao Source Realm cultivation, with strong and vibrant auras radiating from them.
The group of males and females split apart to reveal an exquisite ship floating behind. Yang Kai stood at the bow, meeting the wind head-on. As his long hair blew along with the wind, he gave people a feeling as though he was flying leisurely through the air. Standing not far behind him was Gao Xue Ting, who wore a solemn and respectful expression on her face.
Landing on the top of Myriad Saints Peak, the two groups of males and females immediately moved to the sides. As the ship came to a halt, Yang Kai and Gao Xue Ting flew and descended from it.
In an instant, countless gazes turned towards Yang Kai as people started to size him up in curiosity.
This fellow by the name of Yang Kai had killed an Elder and Deacon of Star Soul Palace. News of this matter had sent the entire Southern Territory into a buzz as of late. At this moment, even people who didn’t know about this matter instantly knew that this person was the main focus of Azure Sun Temple’s Grand Canonization Ceremony.
Those who did not know Yang Kai were naturally curious about him, wondering exactly what kind of fearless fellow he was to dare to take action against an Elder of Star Soul Palace.
From their first look, they discovered that Yang Kai only possessed a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, causing looks of disappointment to appear on their faces. All of them secretly felt that there might be some kind of problem with the information they received, as how would a youth like Yang Kai be capable of killing Tan Jun Hao with that level of cultivation?
He might not even be able to resist a single move from Tan Jun Hao.
There were even more people carefully looking over towards Xiao Yu Yang. At this moment, being an Elder of Star Soul Palace, everyone was naturally very curious as to how he would react after seeing Yang Kai. However, the result left people disappointed, as the former continued to keep his eyes closed and not say a single word.
What was Azure Sun Temple thinking? They were actually conferring the title of Elder to a fellow who killed a Star Soul Palace Elder! Were they looking for trouble? Many people were unable to understand the current situation.
The flow of events for this Grand Canonization Ceremony was truthfully not complicated; after all, with everyone being a cultivator, the process was straightforward and not overly convoluted. Under Gao Xue Ting’s guidance, Yang Kai walked forward, ignoring the curious and examining gazes coming from the sides, all the way to before Wen Zi Shan.
With a faint smile hanging on his face, Wen Zi Shan extended a finger out and tapped on Yang Kai’s head before proceeding to speak sentence after sentence, spelling out the benefits, as well as the duties, that Yang Kai would have after becoming an Elder of Azure Sun Temple.
It took a whole half hour before Wen Zi Shan finished his speech. Looking at Yang Kai, he said, “Have you memorized this King’s words?”
Yang Kai replied in a solemn and respectful tone, “I have committed them to memory.”
“Good,” nodding in satisfaction, Wen Zi Shan extended his hand behind him. Immediately, Chen Qian, who was standing beside him, placed an object into his hand.
“Receive this Jade Elder Token. Yang Kai, from this day onwards, you will be an Elder of our Azure Sun Temple, advancing and living alongside our temple!”
“I will comply with the Temple Master’s orders!” Yang Kai cupped his fists and accepted the Jade Elder Token before returning his Azure Sun Golden Token to Wen Zi Shan.
From this moment on, Yang Kai was an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. The jade token was exceedingly light, and wasn’t large in size; however, it felt heavy when Yang Kai held it in his hands. This sense of heaviness came from the care and support he had received from the various Seniors of Azure Sun Temple.
“Sacrifice to the Heavens!” Wen Zi Shan roared out in a deep voice as he waved his hand.
“Huo…”
A beastial roar pierced through the skies. Looking over towards the source of the sound, Yang Kai saw Qiu Yan flying while carrying a cage with his Emperor Qi. Inside the cage was a mighty and impressive ape-type Monster Beast that radiated a golden light from its back which made its fur seem as if it had been cast from a golden metal. Despite being trapped within the cage, which restricted its strength, a violent aura that blotted the skies still radiated from it. It continued to smash its body against the cage, though its attempts to escape were futile, leaving it roaring incessantly in fury.
“Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape!” Someone exclaimed in shock.
The expressions of a number of Emperor Realm guests present at the ceremony changed.
This Sacrifice to the Heavens was the final event in the Grand Canonization Ceremony. This was also a chance for the new Elder to display his strength before the audience.
Generally speaking, the Monster Beast used in such ceremonies would be of average strength, neither strong nor weak. If it was too strong, it would result in the new Elder becoming a laughingstock if they were unable to kill it. If it was too weak, the new Elder wouldn’t have the chance to properly display his or her ability.
Although the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape was a Low-Rank Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, which was on par with a First-Order Emperor, an average First-Order Emperor could only hope to flee safely if they encountered this Monster Beast in the wild. That was because the defensive capabilities of this Monster Beast were astonishing, along with its strong restorative capabilities. Any First-Order Emperor would need to risk their lives in order to kill it, and even that wouldn’t guarantee success.
No matter how they looked at him, Yang Kai was just a First-Order Emperor. Could he successfully finish this sacrificial ceremony and deal with that Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape?
Apprehension rose in the hearts of quite a few people among the audience, afraid that a mistake made by Yang Kai would turn Azure Sun Temple into the butt of all jokes, with no way to wipe it clean.
Some were secretly guessing that the Monster Beast’s strength might have been restricted, to allow Yang Kai to kill it more easily.
Just as doubts and suspicions rose within the audience, Wen Zi Shan nodded slightly towards Qiu Ran. The latter made a few seals with his hands, and in the next instant, the cage imprisoning the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape opened. With a flash, even the restrictions on its strength were lifted.
“HOU…”
A violent aura exploded forth and as it left its cage, the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape seemed just like a tiger that had entered the plains, or a dragon that swam in the seas. Beating its fists against its chest, powerful thumping sounds rang out as it swept its scarlet red eyes towards its surroundings.
Shocked expressions appeared on the faces of quite a few people as massive waves of fear surged within their hearts.
All of the restrictions placed on this Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape had been completely removed. Furthermore, being enraged, it would probably react more aggressively than usual. Just this alone was enough for basically any First-Order Emperor to become insufficient to deal with it. Only a Second-Order Emperor Realm would be able to defeat such a beast.
What was Azure Sun Temple thinking? Being known to be astute throughout his life, how could Wen Zi Shan turn muddled at this moment? If a setback occurred in this ceremony, wouldn’t he become a laughingstock?
A sword glow flashed as Yang Kai took to the air.
Earlier, on Purple Bamboo Peak, Gao Xue Ting had already briefed him clearly about the sequence of today’s events. Therefore, he knew what he had to do during this Sacrificial Ceremony. Naturally, he did not regard this trivial Twelfth-Order Low-Rank Monster Beast as a threat.
Summoning his Myriads Sword, he pointed it towards the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape as he locked his murderous intent onto it.
Appearing to have sensed this, the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape immediately looked over right when Yang Kai’s murderous intent surged. Monster Qi gushed out from its body, and with a ferocious roar, it lunged towards him, wanting to tear him into shreds.
Right at this instant, an unexpected occurrence happened; a streak of light suddenly shot over from afar. Travelling like a bolt of lightning, it pierced through the body of the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape, before continuing unimpeded towards Yang Kai.
“Who!” Wen Zi Shan roared out as he attempted to save Yang Kai, though he was too late to do so.
A clear metallic sound rang out as the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand flashed. He was thrown back a whole thousand metres before being able to stabilize himself. His face abruptly turned pale, before he vomited out a mouthful of blood.
It was only at this moment that Wen Zi Shan arrived between him and the streak of light. In the next instant, Gao Xue Ting appeared by Yang Kai’s side. Standing before him, she turned her beautiful eyes vigilantly towards the newcomer.
*Peng…*
A dull bang rang out, as the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape, which had been raging about as mightly as a dragon and as fiercely as a tiger just now, exploded into a cloud of blood mist, dispersing in the air, not even leaving bones behind.
The audience was dumbstruck by what they had just witnessed, as all of them proceeded to stand up. No one had expected someone to actually come and cause trouble during the last event of this ceremony. Furthermore, that person had killed the sacrificial beast in a single move! Not only that, that person had dealt a blow to the lead figure of today’s Grand Canonization Ceremony!
This action was basically a slap towards Azure Sun Temple’s face! Who could endure it?
However, being able to smash the Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape into a blood mist was evidence of the astonishing strength this intruder possessed. There were absolutely no more than three people among the many Emperors present who could achieve such a feat.
Exactly who was this rampant in their actions?
Looking over, the audience could not help but to be dumbstruck once again, though looks of understanding soon surfaced on their faces as they started to slowly sense that this Grand Canonization Ceremony might not be able to proceed smoothly anymore.
“Elder Xue!” Wen Zi Shan’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the intruder, the tone of his voice deep, with an ugly expression appearing on his face.
The intruder was impressively Elder Xue Zheng Mao of Star Soul Palace! This was something that he did not expect at all. After all, Xiao Yu Yang was already present, which should have been sufficient for a delegation from the Great Emperor Sect of the Southern Territory. Why did Xue Zheng Mao run all the way here? Furthermore, he had caused trouble right as he arrived, not giving Azure Sun Temple any face at all.
As he roared out, he simultaneously shot a glance towards Xiao Yu Yang, only to discover that there was a slight frown on the latter’s face. It seemed as though Xiao Yu Yang wasn’t informed about this matter at all.
“Temple Master Wen!” Xue Zheng Mao replied indifferently before sweeping his gaze past Wen Zi Shan and landing on Yang Kai before he opened his mouth, “So, you are Yang Kai? You’re actually able to remain alright after receiving this Old Master’s strike. You can be considered outstanding for that, however… you must now come with this Old Master.”
As he said those words, he extended his hand to grab at Yang Kai.
Wen Zi Shan’s expression turned into one of fury as he raised his hand to send a palm right towards Xue Zheng Mao.
“Impudence!” As he roared out, Xue Zheng Mao turned his grab into a palm and smashed it against Wen Zi Shan’s incoming palm strike. A shock wave propagated out as space collapsed. Both parties retreated three steps back, appearing to be evenly matched from the exchange.
“Elder Xue, this King respects you as a guest! However, you’ve attacked my temple’s Elder right upon your arrival! Aren’t you going overboard with your actions?” Wen Zi Shan snorted coldly.
Xue Zheng Mao replied, “Your temple’s Elder? Wen Zi Shan, you’re really getting more muddled the older you get. Don’t tell me that you don’t know how big of a mess this little brat has created? And yet you still dare to protect him? Are you trying to uproot your Azure Sun Temple’s foundations?”
“May I know what mess Elder Yang had created that caused Elder Xue to be this angry? This King really wishes to know about it,” Wen Zi Shan did not back down in the slightest.
“I will not argue with you about this. Today, I will take Yang Kai from here.” Xue Zheng Mao snorted coldly, stubborn and headstrong in his ways. Turning his head to Xiao Yu Yang, he asked, “Elder Xiao, what do you think?”
Wen Zi Shan’s face changed slightly upon hearing those words.
Although he was a Third-Order Emperor, he was only able to deal with a single person of the same cultivation realm as him. If Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao were to collaborate, it would be hard for Yang Kai to escape from here. Even if all of Azure Sun Temple’s Emperors were to take action, they might not be able to save the situation.
Xiao Yu Yang frowned, “Five days ago, I reported this matter to the Great Emperor. I’m now waiting for the Great Emperor to give his verdict!”
Wen Zi Shan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yu Yang not taking action was a good thing for him, as he was not afraid of Xue Zheng Mao alone.
“Hmph!” Not getting the answer he was looking for, Xue Zheng Mao appeared to be unsatisfied with Xiao Yu Yang. Nevertheless, with both of them being Elders of Star Soul Palace and having the same status, he did not say anything more despite the dissatisfaction that surfaced within his heart. Turning his head around, he looked at Wen Zi Shan, “Temple Master Wen, the ceremony has not been completed, so Yang Kai cannot be considered an Elder of your temple. Hand him over to this Old Master. This will benefit your temple, without any disadvantages at all.”
Wen Zi Shan shook his head and replied, “Although the ceremony has yet to be completed, Yang Kai has already received the Jade Elder Token. Who would dare to claim that he is not an Elder of our temple?”
“Are you going to be that obstinate and insist on making the Great Emperor furious before being willing to lower your head?” Xue Zheng Mao roared out in anger.
With a faint smile, Wen Zi Shan replied, “The Great Emperor’s wisdom and judgment are beyond question, so how could he be infuriated by such a matter? He might even reward Elder Yang for helping Star Soul Palace clean up its mess.”
“Impudence!” Xue Zhen Mao’s face turned ashen with rage.
Wen Zi Shan replied coldly, “If you want to take Elder Yang away, you have to go past this King before doing so.”
“Do you really think that I don’t dare to take action?” Xue Zheng Mao growled between his clenched teeth.
“Didn’t you already take action earlier?” Wen Zi Shan retorted.
These two Third-Order Emperors traded barbs back and forth, neither willing to back down. The flames of anger in their eyes grew stronger by the moment, as though they were about to viciously attack one another. Seeing this, the hearts of the guests started to pound in fear as cold sweat drenching their backs.
If these two started to fight, regardless of how amazing a sight it would be to see, being caught up in the fallout would be a disaster.
No one was willing for that to happen.
“Seniors, please calm yourselves. You two are pillars of our Southern Territory, and cross paths regularly, so there’s no need for this, right?” Orthodoxy Temple’s Feng Ming stood up in an attempt to mediate.
“That’s right. Please don’t let anger blind your judgment. Come have a seat and have some tea.” Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President Cheng Yang stood up and chimed in.
Chen Wen Hao from Heavenly Martial Holy Land quickly added, “Didn’t Elder Xiao say that he was waiting for the Great Emperor’s verdict? It has already been five days, so it won’t take long before the Great Emperor’s decision is sent out. Therefore, there’s no need to be in such a rush, right, Elder Xue?”
Xue Zheng Mao frowned, turning silent for a short moment before replying, “Good. This King will wait here for the Great Emperor’s judgment. When that happens, I want to see how you, Wen Zi Shan, will protect that little brat.”
After saying that, he shot a glare at Xiao Yu Yang. Today’s matter had caused a great deal of frustration for him. Originally, he had believed that Yang Kai would surrender without a fight when he personally made an appearance. Never did he expect Wen Zi Shan to actually not give him any face at all. More importantly, he was utterly blindsided by the presence of Xiao Yu Yang, as well as the latter having already reported this matter to the Great Emperor. If he had known about these details, he would have never made an appearance today. In any case, the Great Emperor’s verdict would arrive soon, and when it did, how would Wen Zi Shan dare to resist?
“Someone, please find this guest a seat!” Wen Zi Shan waved his hand as he took a breath of relief in his heart and mind. Regardless of the situation, it was enough as long as Xue Zheng Mao didn’t cause more trouble.
“There’s no rush!” Yang Kai, who had remained silent throughout the whole intrusion, suddenly spoke out.
Wen Zi Shan shot a stunned look at him.
Wiping the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, Yang Kai continued, “May I ask Temple Master, is there a backup for the Sacrificial Beast?”
Wen Zi Shan laughed bitterly as he shook his head.
That Twelfth-Order Monster Beast was not easy to find and capture. If not, it wouldn’t be valuable at all. That was especially so with such tight time constraints. Where would they go to find another one? The Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape that was just killed had been personally caught by Wen Zi Shan in a desolate mountain range tens of thousands of kilometres away.
It was a pity that it was killed by Xue Zheng Mao before Yang Kai could take action. This had caused this Grand Canonization Ceremony to turn into an exceedingly awkward situation.
Yang Kai lowered his head, “Since there’s no backup, I have no choice but to commit this offense.”
Wen Zi Shan’s heart jumped as he subconsciously blurted out a question, “What are you thinking?”
Before he could finish saying those words, he suddenly saw Yang Kai’s body flicker, before disappearing from its original position. Wen Zi Shan’s expression changed greatly as he could faintly guess Yang Kai’s intentions. Turning his head, he looked towards Xue Zheng Mao and indeed saw Yang Kai’s silhouette suddenly appear before him, sweeping his sword down towards the latter. A terrifying hundred-metre long sword wave coated the edge of the sword, appearing as though it wanted to tear the world apart.
Xue Zheng Mao was also shocked by Yang Kai’s actions. Raising his hand, he sent out a palm. Vigorous Emperor Qi gushed forth, whipping up howling winds, shattering the sword wave while Xue Zheng Mao’s figure shook slightly.
“Boy, you dare ambush this Old Master!” Xue Zheng Mao roared out, his nose askew in fury. He was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, and furthermore, an Elder of Star Soul Palace! Yet, this youth dared to ambush him without saying even a single word?
Fortunately, he was able to react quickly enough to block the attack. If not, he might have really suffered from it. Regardless, he had been ambushed in full view of this vast audience, which was a huge blow to Xue Zheng Mao’s dignity, resulting in his anger bursting through the roof.
“Pay a man back with his own coin!” Yang Kai grinned, allowing the sword to leave his grip from the recoil of Xue Zheng Mao’s palm while he rapidly formed a set of profound hand seals. Time Principles surged around Yang Kai and as that happened, everyone present instantly felt as though time had stopped flowing, to the point where their thoughts froze for a moment.
While unleashing the Time Flies Seal, golden light blossomed from Yang Kai’s right eye as a lotus bud flashed within.
The enraged Xue Zheng Mao’s body turned rigid while a sharp pain surfaced in his head. Right before his eyes, a gigantic lotus flower started to bloom, causing waves of shock to surge in his heart. How could he have known that he would be struck by Yang Kai’s move the instant he relaxed his guard?
What’s more, this Soul Secret Technique seemed to be exceptionally powerful, not something a mere First-Order Emperor Realm should be able to unleash.
Biting the tip of his tongue, Xue Zheng Mao used the spike in pain to snap awake. Unleashing the full might of his Spiritual Energy, he resisted against the influence of the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique. As he regained his clarity, the gigantic blossoming lotus had disappeared from his sight.
As he raised his head, cold sweat erupted throughout his body; in that instant that he was hampered, Yang Kai’s seal was on the brink of smashing against his chest.
Although he did not know how powerful this technique was, it gave him an exceedingly strong feeling of unease. He attempted to muster up his defence, only to discover that his thoughts had slowed immensely, to the point that his actions turned sluggish and uncoordinated.
With an explosive roar, the might of his Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation erupted in full force as he threw out his palm. Nevertheless, before he could make any move, that seal had already pressed onto his chest.
He, who had just regained control over his body and mind, was frozen once more…
At the same time, Xue Zheng Mao’s retaliatory strike also smashed against Yang Kai. Everyone present could see a visible depression appearing in Yang Kai’s chest as clear sounds of bones cracking rang out, followed by Yang Kai’s face losing all colour.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai forcefully kept his silence while grabbing his Myriads Sword again and slashing towards Xue Zheng Mao’s chest.
*Chi…*
With a flash of his sword, Yang Kai’s body flickered before he reappeared at his earlier position. His body trembled slightly as his face turned into a pale shade of white.
With a grunt, Yang Kai’s face flushed red as he forcefully swallowed the blood that had surged up from within his chest.
This series of actions was simply too shocking for the crowd to keep up with. Furthermore, due to the interference as a result of Yang Kai’s Time Flies Seal, the audience only managed to come back to their senses after Yang Kai had retreated. Looks of shock and doubt covered their faces as they stared at this youth as if they had just seen a ghost.
Even Wen Zi Shan had a look of shock on his face, while Xiao Yu Yang had stood up abruptly, a light of disbelief filling his eyes.
“I sacrifice the blood of my enemy to the Heavens!” As Yang Kai roared, he waved his Myriads Sword, causing a streak of blood mist to erupt from the sword, filling a large stretch of the surroundings. “The ceremony is complete!”
*Chii…*
At this same time, blood abruptly spurted out from Xue Zheng Mao’s chest. As that audience raised their heads to look over, all of them sucked in a mouthful of cold air as they noticed the existence of a half metre long bloody wound on Xue Zheng Mao’s chest….
Xue Zheng Mao also appeared to be unable to believe what had happened, that he had actually been injured by a First-Order Emperor! His entire being seemed to freeze at that point in space and time as he stared blankly at the wound in his chest, where blood continued to spew out from.
An instant later, his entire body trembled as he extended his hand towards his chest. Suppressing the flow of blood from his wound, Xu Zheng Mao’s eyes turned scarlet with fury as he glared towards Yang Kai and roared, “Boy, you court death!”
He had suffered unfathomable humiliation by actually being injured by a series of moves from a First-Order Emperor Realm Junior! This was an utter embarrassment! Admittedly, he had underestimated his opponent; however, that did nothing to diminish the fact that this boy surnamed Kai was extraordinary. If it was any other First-Order Emperor, it would have been impossible for Xue Zheng Mao to suffer any injury at all, no matter how much he underestimated his foe.
Nevertheless, how could Xue Zheng Mao endure losing so much face before so many of the Southern Territory’s Emperors?
Murderous intent surged up and exploded forth as Xue Zheng Mao was truly engulfed with rage.
Right at this moment, Wen Zi Shan had appeared right before Xue Zheng Mao.
Although he was also shocked to see that Yang Kai was actually able to injure Xue Zheng Mao in that instant, he knew that Yang Kai had paid quite a high price to do so. Xue Zheng Mao’s retaliatory strike had definitely caused damage to Yang Kai’s organs. Furthermore, Yang Kai seemed to have used a few extraordinarily powerful Secret Techniques in succession just to injure Xue Zheng Mao. If Yang Kai were to engage in a head-on fight against Xue Zheng Mao, Wen Zi Shan did not favour Yang Kai’s chance of victory.
“Move!” Xue Zheng Mao roared out as he descended completely into madness.
Wen Zi Shan replied, “Elder Xue, you were the one who ambushed first. This forced Elder Yang into such circumstances. Being the Senior, you aren’t that small-minded and petty, are you?”
Xue Zheng Mao’s face turned black as he immediately thought back about the words ‘pay a man back with his own coin’ that Yang Kai had said earlier. That was indeed the case. When he had arrived, he had ambushed Yang Kai without any warning at all. Therefore, he was in no position to stop people from ambushing him back, right?
Nevertheless, he would absolutely not let this matter end here. Otherwise, he would not be able to soothe the anger that was erupting in his chest.
Turning his head around, he looked to his side and shouted, “Elder Xiao!”
Xiao Yu Yang let off a sigh before taking a few steps forward and appearing by Xue Zheng Mao’s side.
The situation had reached the point where Xiao Yu Yang was no longer able to watch from the sidelines. This was no longer just about Xue Zheng Mao’s face; it was now a matter of Star Soul Palace’s face. Therefore, he needed to stand by Xue Zheng Mao’s side.
“Hold Wen Zi Shan back. This Old Master will end that little brat’s life!” Xue Zheng Mao transmitted.
Xiao Yu Yang replied, “It won’t be a problem to hold Wen Zi Shan back. However… you won’t be able to kill that boy.”
“Are you looking down on this Old Master?” Anger flared once again within Xue Zheng Mao’s chest, akin to a boiling volcano that could erupt at any moment, “The earlier matter only occurred due to this Old Master’s carelessness.”
“I’m not looking down on you, but that boy is proficient in the Dao of Space. Without a way to seal the surrounding space, no one can capture him!”
“The Dao of Space!” Xue Zheng Mao’s pupils contracted as a feeling of helplessness gushed out uncontrollably from the depths of his heart.
Being an Elder of Star Soul Palace, he was abundantly clear what kind of abilities a cultivator proficient in the Dao of Space possessed. In the past, that fellow Li Wu Yi had offended the Flower Shadow Great Emperor, resulting in him being chased down by the Great Emperor personally. In the end, he still managed to escape, all due to his mastery of the Dao of Space!
Later, due to the intervention of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, Flower Shadow Great Emperor eventually pardoned him. To this day, Li Wu Yi was still living a good life, moving around without fetters on Spirit Beast Island.
If Yang Kai was truly proficient in the Dao of Space, Xue Zheng Mao would really be unable to capture the former.
The frown on Xue Zheng Mao’s face grew deeper, as he felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Two Star Soul Palace Elders stood side by side, causing the audience’s expression to change. Wen Zi Shan’s expression regained its earlier solemn look, while the many Emperors from Azure Sun Temple came up to surround Yang Kai, vigilant looks present on their faces.
No one had expected the Grand Canonization Ceremony to devolve into such a mess.
“Elder Xue, Elder Xiao, what are you two planning on doing?” Wen Zi Shan said in a deep voice, “Although our Azure Sun Temple cannot rival your Star Soul Palace, we will not be casually bullied.”
Xiao Yu Yang did not reply and neither did Xue Zheng Mao, who continued to glare angrily at Yang Kai.
The guests present for the ceremony were feeling extremely nervous, afraid that both parties would really start a grand battle. Once a conflict arose between Star Soul Palace and Azure Sun Temple, it would shake the entire Southern Territory, with no advantage for any party present.
A suffocating atmosphere engulfed the entire scene, with sweat drenching the backs of all of present, from Juniors to Elders.
“Stop!”
At that moment, a gentle voice suddenly rang out from the horizon, bringing along with it a mysterious power that immediately caused everyone’s tense nerves to relax.
Right at the instant when the voice rang out, Xiao Chen snapped out of the complicated gaze he was using to look at Yang Kai as he looked over with gleaming eyes.
A streak of pure light came shooting over before a young woman so beautiful that she seemed as though she did not belong to the mundane world appeared. With her long black hair tied up in a neat bun, leaving a few strands that draped down before her chest and a yellow dress that accentuated her exquisite appearance, this young beauty slowly floated down towards Myriad Saints Peak.
“Princess!” Xiao Chen shouted out in pleasant surprise.
Who would be unsure of her identity after hearing Xiao Chen’s words? Shock filled the hearts of the guests as they all stood up in succession, cupping their fists respectfully, “Greetings, Princess Lan Xun!”
The older Emperors were still able to remain calm due to the long years they spent tempering their wills, toning down their reactions to a shocked gasp upon spotting Lan Xun’s exquisite beauty. On the contrary, the youths that had followed their Elder here, be it male or female, proceeded to gawk at Lan Xun in a daze. This was especially obvious among the males, as obvious looks of infatuation covered their faces. This was not something they could prevent, as Lan Xun’s dazzling brilliance had enraptured their souls.
This person was the daughter of the Great Emperor. Without mentioning her extraordinary beauty that was sufficient to enrapture the soul of any man, even if she were horribly ugly, just her status was more than enough to curry favour with her.
This resulting scene caused Xiao Chen’s expression to sink. With a soft snort, he took the initiative to welcome Lan Xun.
Upon approaching, he revealed a gentle smile and said in a soft voice, “What are you doing here, Princess?”
Lan Xun nodded gently towards him to return his greeting, before her expression turned serious, “By order of the Great Emperor, I am here to deliver his judgment!”
The audience’s expressions were filled with reverence upon hearing her words.
There were ten Great Emperors under the Heavens. However, the Great Emperor that was mentioned by Lan Xun was without a doubt the Master of Star Soul Palace, the Bright Moon Great Emperor, the pillar of the entire Southern Territory. Just like how the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor would be respected by anyone in the Northern Territory, the Bright Moon Great Emperor was the existence that was respected by everyone within the Southern Territory.
“We respectfully receive the Great Emperor’s command!” Wen Zi Shan shouted back with a solemn expression on his face.
Solemn expressions were also present on the faces of the various guests present as they awaited the order.
Lan Xun nodded before commenting, “This is not the place to speak. May I trouble Uncle Wen to prepare a secure room?”
Clearly, she was indicating that this place was crowded and prone to induce gossip. Nevertheless, the guests present here did not dare to show even the slightest bit of dissatisfaction. From a certain point of view, Lan Xun was now representing the Bright Moon Great Emperor, so who would dare to not show due respect?
“This way, please!” Wen Zi Shan turned to give way.
Lan Xun nodded her head slightly, taking the lead to move towards the palace in front. As she moved past Yang Kai, she came to a halt and turned her head, “Please come too, Senior Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai remained silent for an instant, before moving and following behind. Lan Xun coming here was definitely something that was tied to him. Therefore, being involved in this matter, he definitely had to follow along.
Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao exchanged glances before they too appeared behind Lan Xun with a flicker. Being interested in what was about to transpire for many reasons, Xiao Chen was not willing to stay behind.
It did not take long for the group of people to appear within the palace. Wen Zi Shan waved his hand, and the large doors immediately closed shut.
Walking up to the platform within the palace hall, Lan Xun turned around and looked down. Present were three Third-Order Emperors, with Yang Kai and Xiao Chen standing by their sides.
A smile appeared on Lan Xun’s face as she looked over towards Yang Kai and spoke, “I have to first congratulate Senior Brother Yang for becoming an Elder of Azure Sun Temple from this day onwards!”
Wrinkles appeared on the foreheads of Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao upon hearing her words, as they were able to faintly gleam the underlying message behind her words.
Yang Kai replied, “You’re too courteous, Princess.”
Lan Xun replied in a displeased tone, “What’s with the overly formal tone, Senior Brother Yang? Little Sister Xiao Qi and I are as close as sisters, and with you being just like her Big Brother, just call me Lan Xun, alright?”
“He dares!” Xiao Chen’s eyes immediately turned red and round upon hearing those words. How could any man enjoy such a privilege to call her with such intimacy? He had grown up with Lan Xun since young, and till this day, was only able to address her as such in private settings while still maintaining formal etiquette in accordance with their social statuses in public.
“Since Sister Lan Xun has said so, I will not be polite. Congratulations to you as well for breaking through to the Emperor Realm,” Yang Kai replied while shooting a glance over at Xiao Chen, causing the latter to boil with such anger it appeared he was on the verge of exploding.
On the other hand, the three Third-Order Emperors present were filled with shock, firstly due to Lan Xun’s attitude towards Yang Kai, and secondly because of the words Lan Xun had spoke. A person that could be treated as a sister by Lan Xun was definitely no ordinary existence.
“Xiao Qi?” Xiao Yu Yang muttered, “Could it be that lass from Spirit Beast Island?”
Xue Zheng Mao and Wen Zi Shan snapped abruptly back to their senses before shooting astonished looks at Yang Kai. Both of them appeared to not have imagined that Yang Kai was actually able to form a relationship with the princess of Spirit Beast Island. Furthermore, the implied meaning behind Lan Xun’s words showed that this relationship was not just one of acquaintances.
“It’s precisely that girl from Spirit Beast Island,” Lan Xun covered her grin with her hand, “The few of you don’t know, but Little Sister Xiao Qi has a very intimate relationship with Senior Brother Yang. Earlier, when I followed my father to visit Spirit Beast Island, Little Sister Xiao Qi was constantly asking me for news about Senior Brother Yang. It’s a pity that Senior Brother Yang is like a hidden dragon who shows his tail but never his face, so I was unable to tell her much, leaving her disappointed for quite a while.”
With their relationship, Lan Xun might not have informed Mo Xiao Qi even if she was privy to news of Yang Kai.
Although Lan Xun did not place any emphasis on her words, huge shockwaves had swelled up in the hearts of the three Third-Order Emperors present.
Although Mo Xiao Qi didn’t count for much on her own, none of them were able to ignore the person standing behind her. That was an existence that stood shoulder to shoulder with the Bright Moon Great Emperor. Yang Kai’s close relationship with Mo Xiao Qi meant that he was being sheltered by the towering tree that was Spirit Beast Island. One would need to weigh the pros and cons carefully before daring to touch him…
The Bright Moon Great Emperor doted on Lan Xun greatly, but the same could be said of the Martial Beast Great Emperor towards Mo Xiao Qi. Any tantrum whipped up by the latter was more than sufficient to turn the Great Emperor’s knees weak.
At this moment, Xue Zheng Mao couldn’t help but feel relieved that he hadn’t done anything serious towards Yang Kai. If not, he would have no way of extricating himself. The matter of Tan Jun Hao could now only be handled by the Great Emperor.
With his brow twitching, Xue Zheng Mao asked, “Princess, what are the orders of the Great Emperor?”
Wen Zi Shan and Xiao Yu Yang both turned their heads towards Lan Xun in anticipation.
Lan Xun’s expression turned serious as she replied, “Despite being an Elder of Star Soul Palace, not only did Tan Jun Han not set a proper example for the billions of Southern Territory cultivators, he went on to commit disgraceful acts and harmed numerous Emperors of the Southern Territory. Wu Ming acted complicit in these heinous acts, helping a tyrant to oppress the innocent. These matters have already been investigated by the Great Emperor thoroughly and he has judged their deaths not worth pitying. By the order of the Great Emperor, the matter regarding Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming is hence resolved, and no one is allowed to raise any objections.’’
As soon as she finished giving the order, Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao both cupped their fists and bowed, “We heed the Great Emperor’s order!”
Wen Zi Shan grinned and cupped his fists too, “The Great Emperor is both wise and fair! Praise the Great Emperor!”
Yang Kai also added, “Many thanks to the Great Emperor!”
Yang Kai finally breathed a deep sigh of relief in his heart. A person that was able to become a Great Emperor was indeed wise and magnanimous. With the Great Emperor’s order, Yang Kai would no longer need to worry about this matter.
Nevertheless, generally speaking, Star Soul Palace should be grateful towards him for cleaning up their trash in the form of killing Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming; however, these were just trivial matters, as being the overlord of the Southern Territory, it was already magnanimous for Star Soul Palace to not pursue the matter of the deaths of their Elder and Deacon, much less showing gratitude.
“There is another matter that father has entrusted to me that I have to discuss with Senior Brother Yang,” Lan Xun turned her eyes around and landed them on Yang Kai.
The people present did not miss the subtle change in the way she addressed the Bright Moon Great Emperor. Ever since her arrival, Lan Xun had always used the title ‘Great Emperor’ in her speech; however, it had just changed to ‘father’. In other words, the following discussion did not involve the status of the Great Emperor.
“Would it be possible for me to ask about the details?” Yang Kai asked.
Lan Xun replied, “My father wished to know the whereabouts of Tan Jun Han’s Golden Armor Heavenly Book.”
Right as her words rang out, everyone within the palace focused their gazes towards Yang Kai. Clearly, the three Third-Order Emperors knew about the famed Golden Armor Heavenly Book.
Although there were quite a few Emperor Artifacts present within the Star Boundary, there were only a handful of famous ones out there. An example would be the Mountain and Rivers Bell in Yang Kai’s possession, which was an Ancient Exotic Artifact that was precious enough for even Great Emperors to covet.
Although Tan Jun Han’s Golden Armor Heavenly Book was inferior to the Mountain and Rivers Bell, it was no ordinary Emperor Artifact. In fact, it was among the highest grades of Emperor Artifacts.
A frown appeared on Yang Kai’s face, while a sliver of unease surfaced from the depths of his heart. Nevertheless, he replied, “The Golden Armor Heavenly Book is with me.”
As he replied, he retrieved the Golden Armor Heavenly Book and placed it in his hand.
The golden light radiating from it instantly drew everyone’s eyes over.
Nodding her head, Lan Xun continued in a soft voice, “It’s like this, Senior Brother Yang. Father hopes that you are able to hand the Golden Armor Heavenly Book to me to bring back…”
Yang Kai’s expression immediately sank as he heard those words, as he understood that his prediction had come true.
He was all too clear of the might the Golden Armor Heavenly Book could unleash. During his fight against Tan Jun Hao, if not for the latter’s carelessness of underestimating him, Yang Kai might have needed to pay a huge price to kill Tan Jun Hao after the latter unleashed the full might of the Golden Armor Heavenly Book. In fact, it was possible that Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to kill him even if he were to go all out once that happened.
Therefore, he naturally did not wish to hand such a good treasure over to other people. Furthermore, he had been refining the Golden Armor Heavenly Book for a while. Being able to use this artifact alongside his own abilities was something he was greatly looking forward to.
At this moment, Lan Xun’s single sentence of wanting him to return it was something that he truly could not accept. Yet, there would definitely be no happy ending if he did not return it. Nevertheless, Yang Kai knew that if it was a trade, Soul Star Palace would absolutely not resort to brutish tactics.
Raising his head, he looked at Lan Xun, wanting to hear what else she had to say.
“The Golden Armor Heavenly Book can be considered to be Senior Brother Yang’s spoils of war. By that logic, our Star Soul Palace doesn’t have the authority to ask you to return it. Therefore, we have no choice but to inform Senior Brother Yang that the Golden Armor Heavenly Book is not only an Emperor Artifact, but also a key that opens a Sealed World within our Star Soul Palace.”
“A key to open a Sealed World?” Yang Kai gawked in surprise.
“Indeed,” Lan Xun nodded lightly, “Our Star Soul Palace has a Sealed World that is known as the Grand Illusion Realm. It is naturally an Independent Small World, and can only be opened using the Golden Armour Heavenly Book. Both Elder Xiao and Elder Xue know about this too.”
Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao both nodded their heads in confirmation of Lan Xue’s words.
“En, the Grand Illusion Realm is something I too know of,” Wen Zi Shan chimed in from the side, “However, I never imagined that Sealed World would need the Golden Armor Heavenly Book to be accessed.”
“Access to that Sealed World was controlled by Tan Jun Hao. Therefore, the Golden Armor Heavenly Book was assigned to him. With the loss of that key, the Sealed World can no longer be accessed. This is a huge loss for our Star Soul Palace, as that is a place where many of our Star Soul Palace disciples go to train. Even now, there are a few dozen disciples trapped inside, unable to leave.” Lan Xun shot a sincere look at Yang Kai, “Therefore, regardless of anything, Lan Xun hopes that Senior Brother Yang can return the Golden Armor Heavenly Book. Before coming here, Father had informed me that if Senior Brother Yang is willing to return the Golden Armor Heavenly Book, he can choose one of three forms of compensation.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “What three compensations?”
If Star Soul Palace insisted on taking back the Golden Armor Heavenly Book, Yang Kai would have had no way of keeping it from them. Therefore, he would have no choice but to hand it over regardless. However, Lan Xun mentioning three forms of compensation caused the turmoil in his heart to subside substantially.
“First would be Star Soul Palace will compensate Brother Yang with two hundred million High-Rank Source Crystals!” Lan Xun replied.
Wen Zi Shan’s expression changed immediately.
200 million High-Rank Source Crystals! That was not a small amount.
Most Emperor Artifacts were not worth more than ten or twenty million, with those better grade ones worth around thirty or forty million. 200 million was a very extravagant price to pay for one. Although the Golden Armor Heavenly Book’s worth as an Emperor Artifact definitely did not amount to that, being the key to a Sealed World would definitely drive its value up immensely.
200 million High-Rank Source Crystals was a gargantuan amount that not just anyone could possess. This amount was comparable to the total income of Azure Sun Temple for a number of years.
Even Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao’s expressions lit up upon hearing that amount.
On the contrary, Yang Kai continued to wear a calm expression on his face, as though he had not heard 200 million, but 2 million, or 200 thousand…
The few people present could not help silently nodding their heads in appreciation. In the end, Yang Kai had just broken through to the Emperor Realm, so no matter how many assets he possessed, he couldn’t be overly wealthy in their opinion. Yet, how was it possible for him to remain that unmoved in the face of such enormous wealth?
How could they know that Yang Kai was now in possession of such astonishing wealth that 200 million High-Rank Source Crystals truly did not amount to much for him.
“What about the second compensation?” Yang Kai asked in a calm tone.
The strange glint in Lan Xun’s eyes faded as she replied, “The second compensation… is that you can ask my father three questions. Anything, regardless of what type of question, is allowed.”
Right as those words rang out, Xue Zheng Mao and Xiao Yu Yang’s breathing both turned rapid as a fervent shade blossomed on their faces.
Despite being Elders of Star Soul Palace and possessing great authority that was second only to the Great Emperor, it was still not an easy matter for them to meet the Great Emperor. The Great Emperor was often in retreat, just like a hidden dragon who showed its tail but never its face. Basically, dozens of years might go by before there might be a possibility to meet the Great Emperor, much less being able to personally ask the Great Emperor some questions.
The two of them would definitely be ecstatic if they were able to obtain the opportunity that was now presented to Yang Kai. That was because any cultivator would definitely have many unanswered questions on their Martial Dao. Questions that Masters like them could ask could only be answered by the Great Emperors, so any advice or answer might allow their strength to soar.
Although the second compensation was not as direct as 200 million Source Crystals, it could be said that it was worth much more than the first. Source Crystals could be obtained through time, but an opportunity as good as being able to ask a Great Emperor three questions could only be gifted, not sought.
Even Wen Zi Shan wasn’t able to control his emotions as he turned his head to look at Yang Kai, really hoping the latter would accept this offer right away.
Who would have known that Yang Kai’s expression would still remain calm? After a moment of silence, he continued, “What is the third?”
Lan Xun replied, “The third form of compensation we can offer is allowing you to enter Star Soul Palace’s Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda and cultivate in there for one month.”
Yang Kai nodded his head at these three choices before him. Truthfully speaking, Star Soul Palace had shown much sincerity through this gesture, as any one of those compensations was sufficient for Yang Kai to return the Golden Armor Heavenly Book to them.
“Do I really have to return this Emperor Artifact?” Raising his head, Yang Kai held on to the Golden Armor Heavenly Book as he asked Lan Xun.
An apologetic look appeared on Lan Xun’s face, “Senior Brother Yang, I hope that you can empathize with the several dozen disciples of our Star Soul Palace that are trapped within that Sealed World.”
Without the Golden Armor Heavenly Book, there was no way to open the Grand Illusion Realm, meaning that those several dozen disciples would be forever trapped within.
Yang Kai sighed, before replying, “Then I’ll choose the third option.”
Elation appeared on Lan Xun’s face, though she proceeded to gawk and say, “Why don’t you take a while longer to consider?”
Wen Zi Shan chimed in to advise him too, “That’s right, Yang Kai. There’s no harm in thinking over your decision in detail. Since the Great Emperor has offered you three forms of compensation, he definitely would not force you to make your choice immediately. There is time for you to consider before making your decision.”
Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “There’s no need. I choose the third option.”
Wen Zi Shan’s jaw hung loosely, as though he was unable to say anything in the end.
He thought, if he was in Yang Kai’s position, he would have definitely chosen the second option. Although a trip into the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was an extraordinary opportunity, one had to rely on luck to be able to gain within it. If one wasn’t lucky, they wouldn’t be able to harvest anything even if they cultivated for ten years, much less one month. This made it very lacking when compared to being able to ask three questions to the Great Emperor. He also didn’t know what plan Yang Kai had. The only counterargument to his thoughts was that Yang Kai was the final and only decision-maker in this matter. Since the latter had made his choice, it naturally left him in a spot where it was better to not say anything.
Lan Xun was also very surprised by Yang Kai’s choice, as she had obviously assumed that there was over a ninety percent chance of him choosing the second offer. Yet, the development of this matter was moving out of her expectations. Nevertheless, she finally nodded her head and replied, “Then our Star Soul Palace will look forward to your arrival, Senior Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai nodded his head, and with a flick of his Divine Sense, wiped away the Soul Imprint he had engraved within the Golden Armor Heavenly Book in his hand. He then handed the Emperor Artifact to Lan Xun, who proceeded to store it into her Space Ring.
With this matter settled, Wen Zi Shan warmly invited Lan Xun and the others to stay in Azure Sun Temple for a few more days. Nevertheless, both Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao were utterly not in the mood, as they subsequently bade their farewells.
Having completed her mission, Lan Xun wanted to leave as well.
Before she left though, Yang Kai suddenly called out, “Junior Sister Lan, would you mind staying back for a bit? I still have a small personal matter to ask you.”
Lan Xun turned around and let Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao wait outside for her. The two naturally didn’t have any qualms about it while on the contrary, Xiao Chen was adamant on staying behind, a look of hostility covering his face as he did not feel assured leaving Yang Kai alone with Lan Xun.
“Senior Brother Xiao, you can go out first,” Lan Xun shot a commanding look at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen opened his mouth, but was unable to say anything when he noticed Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes staring at him firmly. Immediately, his mood deflated while the words he was about to say became stuck in his throat. In the end, he shot an angry glare at Yang Kai before turning around to leave.
After a short while, Lan Xun and Yang Kai were the only ones left within the large palace hall.
Lan Xun smiled lightly and said, “There’s no one here now. What does Senior Brother Yang want to ask?”
Yang Kai replied, “Junior Sister Lan mentioned earlier that you visited Spirit Beast Island not long ago, yes?”
Lan Xun nodded her head, “That’s right. I visited there approximately three months ago when my father brought me to the Eastern Territory after being invited by Senior Martial Beast.”
“Then, did Junior Sister Lan meet Senior Jiu Feng on Spirit Beast Island?” Yang Kai’s expression changed.
“Aunt Jiu Feng?” Lan Xun was surprised by Yang Kai’s question, as she had assumed he had requested a private conversation to ask about Mo Xiao Qi. Who would have known that he wanted to ask about Jiu Feng. According to what she knew, there seemed to be no lines of communication between Yang Kai and Jiu Feng. Shaking her head, she replied, “I did not see her.”
After a short pause, she continued to speak, “However, I’ve heard from Little Sister Xiao Qi that Aunt Jiu Feng has been in a retreat recently, and was not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary.”
Yang Kai frowned, a pensive look appearing on his face.
Jiu Feng being in retreat undoubtedly had something to do Liu Yan. After coming out of the Shattered Star Sea, Liu Yan had fused with the Phoenix True Fire, transforming into a Phoenix Egg before being brought back to Spirit Beast Island by Jiu Feng. As of now, there was still no news of them. At that time, Jiu Feng had mentioned that it would take at least one year at best, and five years at worst before the results could be seen.
Although there was Jiu Feng standing guard for her, Liu Yan was bearing substantial risk as she received the Fire Phoenix Inheritance, leaving Yang Kai feeling unassured and uneasy about her safety.
Originally, he hoped to be able to glean some news for Lan Xun, though he did not expect for her to have no information on this at all.
Seeing him reveal a disappointed look left Lan Xun with a face full of doubts and confusion, as she did not know what Yang Kai’s relationship with Jiu Feng was.
After turning silent for a while, Yang Kai said, “That’s right, I have another matter that I would like to ask Junior Sister Lan for help with.”
Lan Xun smiled faintly, “Of course, Senior Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai said, “Do you know a person by the name of Hua Qing Si, Junior Sister Lan? She is also a disciple of your Star Soul Palace, and her Master was that Tan Jun Hao…”
…
Half an hour had elapsed before Lan Xun walked out of the palace. The nervously waiting Xiao Chen immediately went forward to greet her, all while sizing her up in anxiousness, afraid that she might have suffered a mishap. After noticing that she was fine, as well as noticing the frustrated look on Yang Kai’s face, his mood instantly turned for the better.
“Senior Brother Yang, you can head to our Star Soul Palace whenever you have the time, and this Junior Sister will warmly welcome your arrival!” Lan Xun turned around to say to Yang Kai.
“Take care, Junior Sister Lan,” Yang Kai nodded his head absentmindedly.
Lan Xun signalled to Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao, before the few of them transformed into streaks of lights that proceeded to shoot across the horizon.
The various guests on Myriads Saint Peak quietly observed the situation.
With the Grand Canonization Ceremony complete and Yang Kai receiving Azure Sun Temple’s Jade Elder Token, from this point onwards, he was an official Elder of Azure Sun Temple. The appointment of an Elder should have been an ordinary matter, but Yang Kai’s display of strength before everyone’s eyes, exchanging a move with Xue Zheng Mao, brought him much fame. Although Yang Kai seemed to have suffered quite a serious injury as a result, that did not take away from the fact that he managed to wound the latter. Regardless of his courage or his strength, either one was enough for people to treat Yang Kai with high regard.
Furthermore, Lan Xun’s arrival had caused a strange atmosphere that hung over the guests, even after the members of Star Soul Palace had left.
Therefore, at this moment, quite a few of the gazes sent towards Yang Kai’s way had changed from before. No longer were they using the gaze a Senior would use towards a Junior. On the contrary, it was one of equals.
After a momentary bout of silence, the atmosphere returned back to its original liveliness through the efforts of the various Azure Sun Temple Elders.
Despite the completion of the Grand Canonization Ceremony, having so many Emperor Realms gathered at one place was a very rare occasion to come by. Furthermore, this happened in the territory of Azure Sun Temple, so they did not dare to neglect their guests.
Wen Zi Shan walked Yang Kai around the tables to exchange toasts, introduce himself, and get to know the various Emperors of the Southern Territory, which might prove useful to him in the future.
As he walked along, Yang Kai recognised quite a few familiar faces in the crowd.
Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Wu Chang, Orthodoxy Temple’s Zhuang Bu Fan, and Eight Paths Sect’s Luo Yuan were people with whom Yang Kai had crossed paths before.
These rising stars that had radiated with extraordinary brilliance while in the Dao Source Realm had all broken through to the Emperor Realm now.
It was not surprising for Wu Chang and Zhuang Bu Fan, as they were already famous rising stars of the Southern Territory. Both of them possessed considerable status in their respective Sects, just like Xia Sheng in Azure Sun Temple, and had access to cultivation resources and opportunities that far exceeded those of ordinary people.
On the contrary, the Sect that Luo Yuan hailed from, Eight Paths Sect, was just a small force. In fact, it was not even able to rival the Blue Feather Sect that Yang Kai had previously joined. Nevertheless, with his outstanding aptitude and perseverance, Luo Yuan had broken through to the Emperor Realm! He had even assumed command of Eight Paths Sect, becoming its Sect Master!
This fellow’s face was brimming with an intent to fight as he stared at Yang Kai, appearing as though he wanted to duel with Yang Kai the first chance possible.
If not for it being Yang Kai’s celebratory day, Luo Yuan might have already issued a challenge.
After three rounds of drinks and five rounds of food, everyone moved about, exchanging cheers, forming groups and cliques, alongside greetings and pleasantries.
The majority of the Emperors present had brought along their disciples and Juniors to this place, which just so happened to be a good place to open their eyes to the world.
“We meet again, Young Master Yang.” A waft of delicate fragrance blew over, as a curvaceous figure squeezed her way to Yang Kai’s side, before letting out a laugh, “Forgive me, it should be Elder Yang now.”
Yang Kai turned his head over to find a beautiful woman standing elegantly with a wine cup in her hand. Her pretty face was of a ruddy pink shade, a presumed result of alcohol. Even her fair neck had a pink hue to it, creating an exceedingly alluring sight to behold.
“Palace Master Hua!” Recognizing this woman immediately, Yang Kai gave a faint smile and raised his cup in recognition.
“This Mistress offers this toast in gratitude for you saving my life,” Hua Yu Lu raised her cup and drained it in a single gulp.
Although this Hundred Flowers Palace Palace Master appeared delicate and fragile to the point where a gust of wind would cause her to topple over, she displayed a boldness that did not pale in comparison to any man. Having drained the cup in a single gulp, the shade of her face grew even more flushed than before.
“You’re too courteous, Palace Master Hua. On the contrary, the matter with Tan Jun Hao caused Palace Master Hua to be questioned by Star Soul Palace.” Yang Kai smiled lightly and drank some of the wine in his cup.
Hua Yu Lu shook her head and replied, “That wasn’t much trouble, as it was just a few questions. This Mistress simply told them the truth. Did it cause any trouble for Elder Yang?”
Yang Kai laughed and said, “Palace Master Hua’s truthful words helped me, so how could it bring trouble to me?”
Hua Yu Lu revealed a look of relief, before turning her head to glance at her surroundings before asking in a soft voice, “Why is there no sign of Xia Sheng here?”
Previously, when they had met in Flowing Shadow City, Hua Yu Lu mentioned that she was a friend of Xia Sheng’s, and from the looks of it now, these two seemed to be old acquaintances indeed. If not, she wouldn’t care this much about his presence, or lack thereof.
“Senior Brother Xia is currently stationed at Spirit Lake Palace. I’m afraid that he might be unable to come back in the near future,” Yang Kai replied. “If Palace Master Hua wishes to find Senior Brother Xia, you can take a trip to Spirit Lake Palace to pay him a visit.”
“Is that so…” A look of disappointment appeared on Hua Yu Lu’s face.
Right as she was about to say something, Gao Xue Ting suddenly walked over with a cold look on her face.
Hua Yu Lu immediately said, “Elder Yang still has other matters to attend to, so this Mistress will not disturb you further,” before turning around and leaving.
“How are your injuries?” Gao Xue Ting moved to Yang Kai’s side and asked in a soft voice, though her eyes remained fixed at Hua Yu Lu’s retreating figure.
“They’re fine,” Yang Kai replied.
If any other First-Order Emperor Realm Masters took Xue Zheng Mao’s palm to their chest, they would have to lie in bed for at least a few days. It might even be possible that they would be killed on the spot; however, with his exceedingly strong and sturdy body, coupled with the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor he had worn, Yang Kai only suffered a few broken bones as a result of the blow, with not much damage done to his organs. He would recover from such an injury within a day or two even if he didn’t do anything about it at all.
“How do you know that woman?” Gao Xue Ting shot a question out abruptly, a look of disdain present on her face.
Yang Kai replied, “I exchanged greetings with her once in Flowing Shadow City. What about her?”
“Nothing. If you’re still injured, you should go and recuperate rather than mingle with a dubious and shady figure like her.”
Dubious and shady figure…
Gao Xue Ting seemed to have a very big issue with Hua Yu Lu. After realizing this, Yang Kai did not dare to ask her more about the details.
With a flicker, Gao Xue Ting snatched away the wine cup in his hand, before saying, “There will be an exchange meeting between Emperors in the evening. Good things can appear there, so you should take a look if you’re interested.”
“Exchange meeting?” Yang Kai was indeed interested in it.
Gao Xue Ting nodded and replied, “It is rare for so many Emperor Realms to be gathered in a single place, so everyone naturally wants to take this opportunity to make connections, regardless of it being useful or not. This is also something that the Temple Master wishes to see, so the exchange meeting will be hosted by our Azure Sun Temple. That’s right, you can take anything you do not need to exchange as well.”
“Good, call me when it’s time,” Yang Kai nodded his head.
“Go on,” Gao Xue Ting waved her hand in response.
With the end of the Grand Canonization, Yang Kai was now a full-fledged Elder of Azure Sun Temple. However, due to the time constraints brought about by the whole series of events, he still did not have his own residence, so he naturally could only return to Purple Bamboo Peak.
Yang Kai took the next half a day to adjust his breathing to recover from his injuries. By the time night had fallen, his injuries were almost fully healed.
The communication artifact beside him vibrated slightly at that point. Extending his hand out to grab it, Yang Kai swept it with his Divine Sense before standing up.
The location of the exchange meeting was still Myriad Saints Peak, though this time the event was held inside the main palace. The various attendees should have already received the news of this exchange meeting, so only a few of the guests from earlier had left Azure Sun Temple. If not for urgent matters that required their attention, even those who left absolutely wouldn’t have missed an exchange meeting like this.
A few Azure Sun Temple disciples were standing at the doors to welcome the guests, and upon seeing Yang Kai, respectful looks appeared on their faces as they bowed their heads and shouted, “Greetings, Elder Yang.”
Yang Kai nodded his head in response, before walking in with huge strides.
Sweeping his eyes across the room, Yang Kai noticed that the palace was already filled with people. The guests that were here for the Grand Canonization Ceremony during the day were basically all present, with over a hundred Emperors accompanied by their Disciples or descendants they had brought along.
Although there were many people present here, everything was neat and orderly, devoid of the usual bustle from a crowd. Although conversations were occurring throughout the place, everyone was doing so privately with whispered voices.
The interior of the palace was brightly lit, making it seem as though it was daytime.
“Over here!”
As Yang Kai was looking around to find a place to sit, Gao Xue Ting’s voice suddenly rang in his ears. Looking over to the source of the sound, Yang Kai noticed Gao Xue Ting seated at the left side of the palace, beckoning to him.
With a faint smile, Yang Kai walked over to her.
That place seemed to be the area where the Azure Sun Temple Elders were seated, as other than Gao Xue Ting, there was also Chen Qian, Di Rong, and You Kun present. Seeing Yang Kai walk over, all of them revealed kind smiles on their faces.
Yang Kai exchanged greetings with everyone before sitting down at Gao Xue Ting’s side.
“Junior Brother, have you participated in such an exchange meeting before?” Gao Xue Ting suddenly turned her head over to him and asked.
Yang Kai stared blankly at her for a while, before looking to his other side. Noticing that there was no one there, he snapped back to his senses and looked back towards Gao Xue Ting, “Elder Gao, are you talking to me?”
Gao Xue Ting laughed and replied, “Who other than you do you think I’m talking to? Ghosts?”
Chen Qian, who sat by Gao Xue Ting’s side, covered her mouth to let off a soft laugh before explaining, “Yang Kai, you’ve broken through to the Emperor Realm and are now an official Elder of the temple, so you naturally have to be treated as an equal. This is the rule of our temple.”
An awkward look appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he scratched his head in response, “It may take me a while to adapt.”
Earlier today, he had placed himself in the status of a disciple before Gao Xue Ting, but now he had suddenly become her Junior Brother, which was a huge jump in position. This jump was a little too sudden and significant for him to wrap his head around.
Nevertheless, as he thought about it, everything made sense. At this moment, be it his cultivation or status, he was not one bit inferior to Gao Xue Ting and the other Elders, so he indeed possessed the qualifications to be considered an equal.
“Let me hear you call me Senior Sister!” Gao Xue Ting wore a serious expression on her face as she looked at Yang Kai.
“Senior Sister Gao!” Yang Kai said with a grin, showing his exceedingly strong adaptability.
“So obedient. It’s a pity there’s no reward.” The corners of Gao Xue Ting’s mouth curled up in response, before she followed up with another question, “So, have you participated in an exchange meeting before?’
“No,” Yang Kai shook his head. Although he had participated in quite a few auctions, he had only heard rumours of such exchange meetings. “Nevertheless, I know the basic rules, which is a barter trade.”
“That’s correct.” Gao Xue Ting nodded her head. “When one’s cultivation reaches the Emperor Realm, Source Crystals become less important and valuable. There are many good things that cannot be bought with Source Crystals; therefore, everyone generally prefers to conduct direct barter trading. Naturally, this does not mean that people would not take out Source Crystals to trade, though everything depends on the conditions set by the owner of the treasure.”
Yang Kai committed every one of Gao Xue Ting’s words to heart as he continued to nod his head, his humble stance causing Gao Xue Ting to be exceedingly satisfied with him.
After a moment, the great doors of the Myriad Saints Palace creaked, before closing shut with a bang.
Yang Kai knew that this exchange meeting was about to start.
Indeed, as soon as the palace doors closed shut, an elderly man flew up to the stage. This was not an outsider, but Azure Sun Temple’s Vice Temple Master, Qiu Ran.
Being the organizer and host, Azure Sun Temple naturally needed to be the first one to grace the stage and stir the crowd up.
After a soft cough, Qiu Ran spoke, “Many thanks to all the friends gathered here to attend tonight’s exchange meeting. This Old Master wishes for everyone to be able to obtain what they want and return from a rewarding journey. There’s not much more to say about the rules, so let the exchange meet begin. Our Azure Sun Temple will start things off and hopes for everyone to be able to offer up good items here.”
With a wave of his hand, a jade bottle appeared. Raising it slightly, Qiu Ran said, “This is an Extreme Soul Tempering Pill, a Low-Rank Emperor Grade Spirit Pill. This pill is for Emperors to consume, and upon refining its efficacies, it will allow a huge surge in one’s Spiritual Energy, enabling one to display one’s Soul Techniques with greater effectiveness. There are three pills within the bottle and only Source Crystals are accepted. Everyone, please make your bids.”
Right as his words rang out, the faces of the greater majority of the Emperors present changed.
This could not be helped, as those were Emperor Pills!
Emperor Pills were absolutely not easy to be chanced upon. Only Emperor Alchemists were capable of refining Emperor Pills, yet how many Emperor Alchemists were there in the entire Star Boundary? Even a great Sect like the Azure Sun Temple did not have their own personal Emperor Alchemist.
The Violet Source Chamber of Commerce had an Emperor Alchemist amongst its ranks; however, Grandmaster Huang Fu’s Alchemy schedule was already packed full to the brim. Even if someone wanted him to refine a pill, they would need to wait in line for a few years at least before getting their chance.
Among the Star Boundary, Spirit Pills beneath the Emperor Grade were still a common sight as there was still a substantial number of Dao Source Grade Alchemists out there. Nevertheless, things like Emperor Pills were basically rarities.
Yet now, Azure Sun Temple actually took out three Extreme Soul Tempering Pills, which was more than sufficient to show their sincerity.
Furthermore, only allowing Source Crystals as bids allowed all of the Emperors present to participate.
Therefore, right as Qiu Ran finished with his words, bids were announced in rapid succession, with the old bid being outbid immediately after being called. In a moment, an extremely lively atmosphere akin to a flea market appeared inside Myriad Saint Palace, as every Emperor present shouted until their faces and necks turned red, a display of their exertion in the bidding process.
Nevertheless, those pills seemed to have not much of a use for the Emperors from Azure Sun Temple.
That was because Azure Sun Temple possessed the Divine Ascension Mirror!
When he had first arrived at Azure Sun Temple, Wen Zi Shan had told Yang Kai that the cultivators of their Azure Sun Temple possessed Soul cultivations superior to their fellow cultivators in the same realm. The reason for this was the Divine Ascension Mirror.
The Divine Ascension was a Sealed World used for the improvement of one’s Spiritual Energy. As long as the Emperor Realms of the temple could go in once to cultivate, the result would be countless times more effective compared to this Extreme Soul Tempering Pill.
If they wanted to increase their Spiritual Energy, they would just need to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror, without the need to consume any Emperor Pills at all.
In other words, the Extreme Soul Tempering Pill might really not be of much value to the Emperor Realms of Azure Sun Temple. One could immediately realize this just by seeing the indifferent expressions present on the faces of Chen Qian and the others.
After realizing this, Yang Kai laughed quietly in his heart.
“5 million!” A person’s voice rang out before the entire place turned silent.
The bid of 5 million High-Rank Source Crystals immediately halted all of the other Emperor Realms in their tracks, as this price was basically the extreme limit that one would pay for those pills. People who were capable of cultivating all the way to the Emperor Realm were not stupid, and thus would naturally not recklessly toss away their Source Crystals; after all, this was just the beginning of the exchange meet, and who knew what good things might come up later.
In the end, the three Extreme Soul Tempering Pills were sold to a red-robed old man who bid five million High-Rank Source Crystals.
The red-robed old man seemed to be the Sect Master of a third class Sect and was surnamed Yu, though Yang Kai was unable to remember his given name. Earlier, he had exchanged greetings with this red-robed old man after being dragged around by Wen Zi Shan for a round of celebratory toasting. Nevertheless, despite his outstanding memory, Yang Kai was unable to remember the names of faces of over a hundred Emperors while slightly intoxicated.
It also could be attributed to his lack of motivation to remember.
Following up, Qiu Ran pulled out another two treasures, and just like the Extreme Soul Tempering Pills earlier, they were sold off for only Source Crystals. This created a wave of loud hustling among the Emperor Realm participants before the bids were won by a man and a woman at high prices.
After those three treasures, the atmosphere within this exchange meet had been ignited.
When Qiu Ran left the stage, the red-robed old man that had won the bid for the Extreme Soul Tempering Pills earlier took the lead and scuttled up onto the stage. Raising his hands, he greeted the people present with a grin, “This old man greets fellow friends.”
As he said that, with a wave of his hand, a scarlet red fruit appeared on his palm, “This is a 3,000-year-old Blue Blood Scarlet Dragon Fruit, and I am looking to trade this for Water Attribute Spirit Herb or Emperor Pill of equal value.”
Right as the Blue Blood Scarlet Dragon Fruit was brought out, a unique fragrance wafted across the interior of the palace, with anyone who smelled it feeling as though they were filled with life and vitality, causing a shock to their minds.
All of the Emperors present here were people with acute senses and mental faculties, so they knew that this Blue Blood Scarlet Dragon Fruit was an exceedingly rare treasure. This obviously moved the hearts of quite a few people, especially those who cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art or Technique, who now had flushed looks on their faces.
Five Space Rings were immediately tossed out silently from below the stage.
Receiving them, the red-robed old man examined their contents. A pensive look appeared on his face before he finally chose one of the rings. Returning the other rings, he walked off the stage and handed the Blue Blood Scarlet Dragon Fruit to the owner of the ring he had chosen.
With the red-robed old man giving a good example, the exchanges that followed suit grew increasingly lively, moving along at a rapid pace.
As one Emperor stepped down, he or she would immediately be replaced by another Emperor, retrieving the item they wanted to exchange, and listing out their exchange criteria.
Other than the rare person who was too greedy or had overly demanding requests, the rest of the Emperors were all able to obtain the items that they wanted.
Yang Kai remained seated all the while, with no intention of participating in the exchanges for the time being. However, he was enjoying the meeting with relish. As he was now, despite his great wealth with ordinary treasures not catching his eye at all, being able to watch the various kinds of strange and exotic treasures brought out in this exchange meeting, with every one of them being the precious gems of these Emperor Realms, widened his perspective greatly. This experience greatly expanded his knowledge, allowing him to recognize these treasures should they appear before him in the future.
Even Chen Qian and Di Rong, Elders of Azure Sun Temple, had personally taken to the stage and exchanged their treasures for things that they wanted from the participating Emperor Realms.
Although some people might be at a slight disadvantage in such an exchange, it was truthfully harmless; after all, if the disparity in value between the exchanged treasures was too great, it could just be balanced out using Source Crystals. Since everyone present here were sharp-eyed, no one would let themselves suffer too much of a loss in an exchange, so it was naturally impossible to pick up a bargain here.
“Is there anything that catches your eye?” Gao Xue Ting suddenly asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Let’s continue watching.”
“If there’s anything you’re interested in, go and inform your Senior Sister Chen. Your Senior Sister Chen controls our temple’s storehouse so she should be able to exchange a thing or two for you. This can be considered a little gift for your conferment as an Elder of our temple.”
As the two were chatting, a peculiar fluctuation suddenly rippled from the stage.
Everyone turned their eyes over swiftly, only to see a middle-aged man on the stage with a transparent bottle in his hand. Some liquid seemed to be sloshing slightly within the bottle, with the strange energy fluctuation that rippled out earlier precisely coming from the contents of that bottle.
“That’s…”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, as he was faintly able to guess what that thing was. Right as he was dwelling in his thoughts, a surprised gasp rang out by the side of his ear, “Supreme Divine Water!”
A commotion rose within the Emperor Realms present as everyone’s eyes glowed brighter by a few degrees as they stared at the liquid within the bottle.
Indeed, it was Supreme Divine Water. Yang Kai had also managed to recognize the item.
He had indeed bumped into this treasure before. Back then, he had managed to see a drop of Supreme Divine Water while in the Flowing Time Temple within the Four Seasons Realm. Nevertheless, that drop had ended up in Murong Xiao Xiao’s hands, and he did not know if it had been used up or not.
In the Star Boundary, there were Three Great Divine Waters; the Soul Cleansing Divine Water, the Life Revitalizing Jade Cream, and the Immortal Source Liquid. Each one of these was a naturally formed product and possessed immense benefits to cultivators.
Yang Kai had obtained all of the Three Great Divine Waters at one point or another in the past; however, there was another kind of Divine Water out there. Although it was not considered to be part of the Three Great Divine Waters, its value and efficacy were not inferior to theirs.
It was precisely the Supreme Divine Water!
Its use was in the maturation of Spirit Herbs, but wasn’t useful if consumed directly by a cultivator. This resulted in its exclusion from the Great Divine Waters, though no one could dispute its preciousness.
If a Spirit Herb was nourished by a drop of Supreme Divine Water, it would undergo a rapid maturation, increasing its medicinal age drastically. A single year’s worth of growth would be sufficient to reach a medicinal age of thousands of years compared to other Spirit Medicines. Furthermore, it posed absolutely no harm to the Spirit Herb, as though it had simply grown naturally.
The Supreme Divine Water was also the Divine Water that Alchemists would most hope to obtain. Imagine, if a precious Spirit Medicine needed a thousand years to reach maturity but could be instantly cultivated to its full potential next year if it were fed with a drop of the Supreme Divine Water, readying it for use in Alchemy.
The medicine garden in Yang Kai’s Small Sealed World had a large amount of Heavy Earth as well as quite a few Earth Vein Crystals, which aided in promoting the growth of Spirit Herbs. There were many Spirit Herbs that were being grown within the Sealed World Bead’s medicine garden, with a year of growth there being able to match a hundred years in the outside world, making it have a similar effect to the Supreme Divine Water. Nevertheless, Yang Kai was still incomparably attracted to the Supreme Divine Water.
That was because the Firmament Tree needed the Supreme Divine Water to expedite the development of its sealing capabilities.
The sealing strength present within the gold and silver Firmament Tree was able to seal the Ancient Demon Qi within Yang Kai’s body; however, if Yang Kai were to display his Demon Transformation technique, the seal would be broken. When that happened, he would need to rely on the strength of the Firmament Tree to reseal the Demon Qi. If not, he would be destined to devolve into a Demon.
The amount of Supreme Divine Water present in the man’s hand was not much, three to five drops at most. In other people’s hands, this was capable of only promoting the growth of a few stalks of precious Spirit Herbs. However, it might be able to save Yang Kai’s life during critical moments.
As he weighed those thoughts in his head, Yang Kai reached a decision.
The man on the stage took a look around before giving a faint smile, “I think there’s no need for this one to describe the benefits of this Supreme Divine Water, as everyone should already understand its value. However, I don’t need Source Crystals, just a suitable exchange.”
Those words sounded somewhat overly crafty, as he did not set any conditions for the exchange. Yet, it gave people a feeling as though he was trying to take advantage of this exchange meeting, causing many of the Emperors present to feel displeasure at his actions. Nevertheless, that was his property, and he was the only person that could decide whether he would want to exchange it or not. Therefore, despite the displeasure they felt in their hearts, they had no other choice but to suck it up and bid.
After a moment of silence, Space Ring after Space Ring flew towards the stage. Clearly, those rings were filled with items people wanted to exchange for this man’s Supreme Divine Water.
Yang Kai had also filled his Space Ring with some items, which he felt would absolutely be enough to show his sincerity! He had too many items in his hands, so he did not mind taking a slight loss in the exchange. As long as he was able to obtain the Supreme Divine Water, it would be worth the price.
The middle-aged man proceeded to observe the items present in each one of the Space Rings, before returning them to their owners below the stage. This caused quite a few Emperor Realms to reveal looks of disappointment as they clenched their teeth in silence, all while thinking how utterly greedy the fellow on the stage was.
All of them had assumed that the items they had placed in their Space Ring were more than sufficient to be exchanged for those drops of Supreme Divine Water, yet their Space Rings had been promptly returned.
When it came time for Yang Kai’s Space Ring, the middle-aged man shot a look at it, though he did not return it immediately after doing so. Instead, he muttered to himself, held it in his hand, before continuing to search through the other Space Rings.
His actions caused Yang Kai’s brow to twitch as he knew that the items he had placed in his Space Ring were sufficient to fulfil the middle-aged man’s demands, though the latter had yet to make his decision.
After a short while, the middle-aged man’s eye lit up upon searching through another Space Ring. Without any hesitation at all, he proceeded to throw Yang Kai’s Space Ring back.
Yang Kai’s face turned black as he gloomily grabbed his Space Ring.
He felt that he had already offered a very good deal for the exchange, as it was impossible for other people to offer anything higher than the price of the items he had placed in the Space Ring. Yet, the owner of the Supreme Divine Water had declined his offer.
Since that had happened, there could only be two reasons. The first one was that another person had offered a trade of greater value than what Yang Kai had offered. Nevertheless, the possibility of this was not high, as no one present here was wealthier than Yang Kai! This only left the second possibility, which was that the other person had offered items that the middle-aged man needed urgently, leading to this result.
“Many thanks for everyone’s participation. This one has decided to proceed with the exchange with this friend.” After finishing his inspection of all the Space Rings, the middle-aged man gave a faint smile before tossing the bottle of Supreme Divine Water down from the stage.
A person extended his hand and grabbed it, before storing it in his Space Ring.
Yang Kai shot a look at that person, silently committing his appearance to memory.
The exchange meeting continued on, with good items popping up from time to time, attracting fervent reactions from everyone present. Nevertheless, with everyone present being an Emperor Realm Master, they couldn’t lose their heads over those treasures. Therefore, regardless of how fiery the atmosphere and the bidding became, the exchange meeting continued on in an organized and orderly fashion.
Basically everyone was able to obtain the items they were interested in, with only a small minority leaving empty-handed in disappointment.
After an hour, a short old man walked up to the stage. Present on his face was an amicable smile, giving people a good impression of him. Opening his mouth, he spoke, “This old man doesn’t have anything too good to exchange. Nevertheless, having come here, I can’t just return empty-handed, so I wish to share a little something with everyone.”
As he said those words, he retrieved an item that looked like a cosmetics box from his Space Ring.
The item was not large, approximately the size of one’s palm. It was exquisitely and beautifully crafted, its exterior gleaming and sparkling with soft light. This caused the eyes of quite a few of the women present here to light up.
However, the people present knew that this box was definitely not a cosmetics box, as an Emperor Realm Master would not take out an ordinary item in such a situation.
Divine Senses came sweeping over as people inspected the interior of the box, but after a short instant, weird looks appeared on the faces of quite a few Emperors.
“Everyone, please take a look!” The old man gave a faint smile and cracked open the lid of the box.
In the next instant, a soft and gentle ringing sound rang out from the box, forming a simple, yet mysterious song. The sounds seemed to contain a peculiar strength that caressed the soul like an invisible jade white hand, calming everyone’s flustered and impatient hearts and allowing their moods to become calm and tranquil.
The Emperors were still alright when the music began to play, but the descendants and disciples that they had brought here reacted differently. The weaker their cultivation realms were, the greater the reaction. An Origin King Realm Junior was actually unable to control himself and let out a soft groan, while a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. Furthermore, a glorious light sparkled within his eyes, as though he had comprehended something.
As the ringing sounds continued, the box started to extend upwards. When this happened, the audience was able to see that the box was not some cosmetics container, but an item that appeared just like a pagoda. After extending upwards, a pagoda-like shape took form, extending roughly three hands into the air, with nine distinct levels to it.
Every level was rotating independently; some of them were turning to the left, and others to the right, some of them rotating quickly, while the others did so slowly. Following their revolutions, the music gradually started to change, though it still sounded as beautiful as before.
By the time the pagoda had completely formed, a hazy mist started to develop around it. An azure blue shade tinted the haze before it quickly spread through the interior of the hall.
As people raised their heads to look up and noticed a starry sky with a million twinkling points of light had replaced the ceiling of the palace.
The place the audience was in now did not seem to be within the Myriad Saints Palace, but among the incomparably vast starry sky. Extending their hands, they felt as though they could make contact with the stars, giving people an exceedingly strange and miraculous feeling.
The faces of the Emperors present grew serious as they gradually sensed how miraculous this treasure box was. Each of them started to ponder on what kind of price they would pay to obtain it.
*Huala…*
As a soft sound rang out and the starry skies shattered before dissipating away. The incomparably beautiful scenery returned back to a blank ceiling, disappearing alongside the melodious music as the treasure box slowly closed up, turning back into its original box shape, looking all too ordinary as it had before.
Those Dao Source Realm and Origin King Realm Juniors instantly snapped back to their senses. As they did so, starving looks appeared on their faces as flames erupted within their eyes as they stared fervently at the treasure box.
Holding on to the treasure box, the old man gave a faint smile and spoke, “This is the Heavenly Music Treasure Box. The heavenly melody it produces alongside its illusionary projection has great benefits to cultivators at or below the Dao Source Realm, allowing them to achieve twice the result in their cultivation with half the effort. Furthermore, there are absolutely no negative side effects to it. This treasure box was obtained by this Old Master by chance during my youth and has been accompanying me since the Saint Realm. Over the past thousand years, it played a huge role in forging this Old Master’s present accomplishments.”
After hearing the old man’s explanation, the audience was able to reaffirm their guesses. Although the Emperor Realm Masters present were not able to sense the miraculous effects of this Heavenly Music Treasure Box, they were able to deduce it from the reactions of their descendants and disciples, that this treasure was indeed extremely beneficial for cultivators with lower cultivations. By providing strange and miraculous music as well as a beautiful illusionary realm, it brought significant gains to all those cultivators who cultivated under its influence.
This was not something that Spirit Pills could substitute, as every Spirit Pill would contain some traces of impurities within it. Although it would not have any effect when consumed sparingly, it would not be advantageous to a cultivator’s growth if consumed in large quantities. However, the Heavenly Music Treasure Box was different, as every benefit it offered was completely pure.
This audience was now even more interested in the creator of such a treasure.
Furthermore, from the words of the old man, they knew that this Heavenly Music Treasure Box had accompanied him for the past thousand years. From this, they knew that this treasure was not something that current Artifact Refiners could refine. It was extremely likely that this item was refined a long time ago, and might even have been refined in ancient antiquity.
The old man continued to speak, “Truthfully speaking, this old man was not willing to take this treasure out to exchange. However… this old man is single, has no descendants, and has no disciples; therefore, this Heavenly Music Treasure Box will be just like a pearl covered in dust if it continues to accompany this Old Master. Thus, this Old Master hopes that it can display its strength once again, as a form of gratitude for the many years it has helped him.”
This old man’s words sounded somewhat depressing, though it caused a shock to ripple in the hearts of the audience upon hearing his words.
Generally speaking, the path of a cultivator like this old man, without a Sect or any strong background would definitely be filled with challenges, difficulties, and hurdles. This would limit one’s accomplishments in the grand scheme of things, making it even more difficult to reach the Emperor Realm compared to other people.
However, as of now, this old man was an Emperor Realm Master, and it was highly likely that this Heavenly Music Treasure Box played a large role in that.
“Nevertheless, there is a matter that this Old Master has to let all of you know. Although this Heavenly Music Treasure Box is a miraculous treasure, it is absolutely ineffective towards Emperors. In fact, its effectiveness is greatly reduced even for those in the Dao Source Realm. Only those below the Dao Source Realm will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of this Heavenly Music Treasure Box.”
Appearing to be an honest person, the old man did not conceal any information and explained the quirks and features of the Heavenly Music Treasure Box.
Nevertheless, what was there to be wary of?
The Emperor Realms present here were not solitary existences like this old man, almost all of them belonging to great forces that had innumerable members below the Dao Source Realm.
Take Azure Sun Temple for example. This top Sect had cultivators of all cultivation realms, with one able to find a bunch of Dao Source Realms at any given moment. These people would greatly benefit from the Heavenly Music Treasure Box.
If Azure Sun Temple was able to obtain the Heavenly Music Treasure Box, their disciples in the Dao Source Realm and below would have one more advantage in their cultivation path.
This treasure had incomparably massive appeal for Sects and Families.
Therefore, some people could not help but to ask right after the old man finished his explanation, “Old Lu, can we know what you want in exchange for this Heavenly Music Treasure Box?”
“That’s right, Old Lu. Give a price!”
There were even some Sect Masters that were secretly sending transmissions to Old Lu. In fact, some Elders and even Vice Sect Masters were hoping that he could join their Sect. Nevertheless, they were bound to be disappointed as people like Old Lu were innumerable throughout the Star Boundary. Some of them would never chance upon any opportunities, and might be lacking in aptitude, which left them unable to join any Sect. However, some of them preferred to be wild and free like the cranes flying through the clouds, not willing to be fettered or bound by any force.
Without a doubt, Old Lu was the latter sort of person. If not, with his Emperor Realm cultivation, he would definitely be welcomed by any Sect should he wish to join. In fact, even Azure Sun Temple would give him a position should he request for it.
After a while, Old Lu finally replied, “A few years ago, this Old Master started to cultivate a certain Secret Technique that requires Monster Cores. Therefore, this Old Master hopes to exchange this Heavenly Music Treasure Box for Monster Beast Cores.”
“Monster Beast Cores!” Both looks of happiness and looks of worry appeared across the audience upon hearing his reply.
“This Old Master needs Monster Cores, and they need to be Monster Cores from Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts. Furthermore, this Old Master wishes to exchange for two sets of Five Elements Monster Cores!”
“Five Elements Monster Cores?”
“Moreover, two sets?”
Shocked cries rang out, as frowns appeared on the faces of many Emperors, as they felt that this Old Lu was trying to take the lion’s share from this exchange.
Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Cores! Even if they were Low-Rank ones, each one of them was worth at least two or three million High-Rank Source Crystals. A full set of Five Elements Monster Cores would have to be comprised of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Attributes, with prices ranging from ten to fifteen million Source Crystals. Furthermore, the price would be higher if they were to come in a complete set, pushing the price up to around twenty million.
A full set of Five Elements Monster Cores would be twenty million, while two sets would reach forty million in price!
Although the Heavenly Music Treasure Box was extraordinary, it was only useful for cultivators at or below the Dao Source Realm. Who would be willing to spend a few tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals to buy this? It wasn’t to say that they didn’t have that many High-Rank Source Crystals, but even if they did, this was not economical.
Therefore, the Emperor Realm Masters that were originally interested in the Heavenly Music Treasure Box immediately proceeded to curse under their breaths after hearing Old Lu’s reply.
Nevertheless, there were quite a few people that proceeded to cast their gazes towards Qiu Ran and the few Azure Sun Temple Elders present.
The Emperors present definitely could not take two sets of Five Elements Monster Cores. Therefore, the only people that could pay such a price would be the hosts of this exchange meet, Azure Sun Temple.
The audience immediately realized that Old Lu had taken out his Heavenly Music Treasure Box in this exchange meeting solely to deal with Azure Sun Temple. If even Azure Sun Temple wasn’t able to satisfy his request, there was no choice but for this exchange to fall through.
Indeed, Spiritual Energy started to surge between the Elders of Azure Sun Temple, a clear indication of them communicating amongst themselves.
After a short moment, Qiu Ran shook his head slowly.
A disappointed look instantly appeared on Old Lu’s face.
“The temple doesn’t want this treasure box?” Yang Kai asked Gao Xue Ting.
Being a High-Rank Guest Elder of the temple, he did not possess any authority or decision-making power on matters that concerned the benefits of the temple. That was why Qiu Ran and the others did not include him in their discussion on this matter.
“The price is too high. Furthermore, our temple does not have a full set of Five Elements Monster Cores,” Gao Xue Ting replied.
It wasn’t common to come across a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Core, much less a full set. Although Azure Sun Temple had a few dozen Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Cores in their storehouses with rather good grades, they were lacking Earth Attribute ones. Therefore, they naturally were not able to satisfy Old Lu’s requirements.
“If the temple doesn’t want it, I’ll take it,” Yang Kai grinned.
Gao Xue Ting looked at him strangely, “You have two sets of Five Elements Monster Cores?”
“I have to discuss with him whether I have them or not,” Yang Kai smiled faintly in response before looking towards the stage and saying, “Old Lu, take a look and see if this meets your request.”
After saying that, he raised his hand and tossed a Space Ring out.
Receiving it, Old Lu swept his Divine Sense over it. A look of happiness quickly appeared on his face, before being followed up with a frown as he replied, “Elder Yang, this seems to be slightly lacking.”
The Space Ring contained a set of Five Elements Twelfth-Order Monster Cores; however, there was only one such set. As the remaining two sets, they were made up of Eleventh-Order High-Rank cores.
Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Cores, and moreover a full set? How could that be easy to obtain? Even these cores were something I obtained by chance. Old Lu, would you be willing to compromise and accept them? If not, we can only end things here.”
As they heard his reply, everyone immediately understood that the items Yang Kai had sent might not have reached Old Lu’s requirements; however, it should have also met some of them, which explained the latter’s hesitation.
Old Lu turned silent, not giving an immediate reply.
As he was hesitating though, Yang Kai sent him a Divine Sense Message, “However, I have some news that I can relay to Old Lu that concerns Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Cores.”
“What?”
“Every half a year from now, there will be two Twelfth-Order Monster Cores that will appear at the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce in Maplewood City. There will even be High-Rank ones. If you pay close attention, Old Lu, you might even be able to obtain another set there in time.”
“How do you know about this news?” Old Lu was surprised.
[Those Monster Cores are going to be provided by me, so how would I not know about them?] Yang Kai quipped to himself.
Keeping such information to himself though, he replied, “I have an intimate friendship with one of the Managers of that branch of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce. This is something that he informed me about.”
“Good, good, good.” Old Lu smiled happily. If the matter was as Yang Kai had mentioned, he would not need to be in a rush to obtain the two sets of Five Elements Monster Cores he required. Instead, he could cultivate using the first set first, before obtaining the second set, piece by piece.
“We can go ahead with the exchange. However, this Old Master wishes for Elder Yang to supplement me with a million High-Rank Source Crystals. After all, there is still a large disparity between the value of these items and this Old Master’s price.”
This old fellow seemed simple and honest, yet had such a black heart! Yang Kai cursed silently, before replying with much thought at all, “Five hundred thousand.”
Old Lu turned silent for a while, appearing to be deliberating over this matter, before finally nodding his head, “Good.”
Yang Kai proceeded to send five hundred thousand High-Rank Source Crystals over before obtaining the Heavenly Music Treasure Box from Old Lu, which he shoved into his Space Ring.
“Junior Brother, you’re willing to spend so much for the temple even though you had just become an Elder! Senior Sister really has to thank you on behalf of the many disciples of our temple. When they cultivate in the future, they will definitely remember your benevolence,” Gao Xue Ting’s voice suddenly drilled into Yang Kai’s ear.
Yang Kai’s face turned black upon hearing her words. Turning his head around, he noticed that Gao Xue Ting was focused on the stage, not appearing to be talking to him at all.
“This… Senior Sister Gao, this treasure box is mine…”
Turning her head over, Gao Xue Ting’s gaze turned chilly, “Hmm?”
Yang Kai immediately corrected his words, “It’s naturally not an issue if the temple’s disciples need it.”
Only now did Gao Xue Ting nod her head, “You’re too thoughtful, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai let off a dry laugh, feeling as though his mouth had been stuffed with bitter medicine, with him pondering silently how to reach a compromise…
There were still quite a few treasures that graced the stage in the exchange meet, with many Emperor Realms taking turns to walk up and present the treasures they had kept for many years, whipping the audience into a frenzy time and time again. However, being in the territory of Azure Sun Temple, everyone still maintained order, keeping their manners when exchanges failed, with no one daring to incite any trouble.
Yang Kai took action a few times and obtained a few precious items, including an ancient pill recipe.
This continued all the way to the morning of the second day before the exchange meeting finally finished. Everyone then proceeded to stand up before the host, Qiu Ran represented the higher-ups of Azure Sun Temple and cordially invited everyone to remain as a guest. Nevertheless, no one really wanted to remain and everyone proceeded to say their goodbyes.
Not long after, the hundred or so Emperors brought along their descendants and disciples and departed.
“Junior Brother Yang, please come and visit this Old Master’s Spirit Jade Peak. It should be time for you to choose your residence,” Qiu Ran suddenly said.
Yang Kai nodded and replied, “Good. Please wait a moment, Senior Brother Qiu, as I still have a small matter to handle.”
After replying, he immediately rushed out of the palace, transforming into a streak of light as he flew away.
Qiu Ran frowned, before sighing, “He certainly is energetic… Ah, youth…”
He did not know what Yang Kai was running off to do, to the point that he had pushed an important matter like choosing his residence aside. From the looks of it, it seemed to be something urgent.
After an instant, Yang Kai suddenly appeared at a place three hundred kilometres away from Azure Sun Temple. Looking around, he immediately focused his sights on a certain location. Cupping his fists, he called out, “Sect Master Zhang, it has been a while.”
The void rippled before a whirlpool appeared. In the next instant, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man suddenly appeared from the centre. Stepping out, a sliver of a surprised look was present on his face as he replied, “What good eyesight you have, Elder Yang.”
He had concealed himself at that location and had put up his guard, yet he did not expect Yang Kai to see through his concealment with a single glance. Indeed, he really possessed the ability to back up his conferment as an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. The crucial point was that the latter was still young, which made Zhang Dao Shan feel as though he had aged past his prime.
“May I know what the matter is, for Elder Yang to ask this Zhang to meet at this place?”
Earlier, Zhang Da Shan was about to leave after the end of the exchange meet when he received Yang Kai’s transmission. Thus, he had waited specifically at this place. If not, he would already have headed back to his Sect.
If it was any other person, he would most likely not pay attention to such a brusque request; however, with Yang Kai’s status as an Elder of Azure Sun Temple, Zhang Da Shan had no choice but to treat the latter with high regard, leaving him no other option but to wait here.
Yang Kai chuckled, “My apologies if this offends you, Sect Master Zhang; I would like to request for an item from Sect Master Zhang.”
A frown appeared on Zhang Da Shan’s face as he immediately understood the situation, “The Supreme Divine Water?”
Earlier, when the previous owner of the Supreme Divine Water had taken it out during the exchange meet, Yang Kai had also made an offer, though the trade was not successful. In the end, the Supreme Divine Water ended up in Zhang Da Shan’s hands. There were no previous interactions between the two of them; therefore, if Yang Kai wanted to find him for any matter, the only possibility would be due to the Supreme Divine Water.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded his head.
A guarded look immediately appeared on Zhang Da Shan’s face while he sent his Divine Sense to scan in all directions, appearing as though he was preparing to fight his way out of an ambush at any given moment.
Yang Kai immediately let out a dry laugh, “There’s no need to worry, Sect Master Zheng. This Yang has come here alone and is genuinely interested in trading with Sect Master Zhang for that Supreme Divine Water.”
Zhang Da Shan frowned as he replied, “If that is the case, I would really have to apologize. This Supreme Divine Water is very important to this Zhang, so I would have to disappoint Elder Yang.”
Yang Kai raised his hand and continued, “There’s no hurry to reject me, Sect Master Zhang. Would you allow me to guess your use for the Supreme Divine Water?”
Zhang Da Shan’s frown grew deeper, as he felt increasingly impatient towards Yang Kai’s obstruction. He had already rejected the latter’s request, so what more did Yang Kai want to say?
Yang Kai pretended to not see this as he continued, “The use of the Supreme Divine Water is without a doubt for the cultivation of Spirit Herbs, and is one of the greatest treasures an Alchemist can ask for. Sect Master Zhang should want the Supreme Divine Water for this reason, right?”
“That’s right,” Zhang Dao Shan nodded his head in agreement. This was not hard to guess, so it didn’t prove the latter’s brilliance at all.
Yang Kai smiled and continued, “However, from what I can see of Sect Master Zhang’s talented capabilities, you are lacking any kind of Fire Attribute Qi or traces of Spirit Medicines. Therefore, Sect Master Zhang should not be proficient in the Alchemic Dao.”
Zhang Da Shan shook his head, “The Martial Dao is broad and boundless. This Zhang does not have the patience nor the capability to explore the Alchemic Dao as well.”
Yang Kai revealed a calm expression and smiled faintly, “In other words, Sect Master Zhang is planning on gifting this Supreme Divine Water to another, right? Furthermore, it must be to an Alchemy Grandmaster that would let Sect Master Zhang gift such a precious treasure. From the looks of it, Sect Master Zhang seems to have some kind of request for the other party, most probably refining a specific pill?” Yang Kai paused for an instant before continuing, “Perhaps Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s Grandmaster Huang Fu?”
A look of surprise finally appeared on Zhang Da Shan’s face, “Elder Yang is even able to guess this?”
Yang Kai laughed and replied, “There are not many well-known Alchemists in the Southern Territory. Furthermore, only those few Emperor Alchemists are worthy enough for Sect Master Zhang to offer such a precious treasure like the Supreme Divine Water. There is no need to consider other Emperor Alchemists, however, as every one of them belongs to a great Sect and are extremely difficult to meet, much less request to concoct pills too. On the contrary, Violet Chamber of Commerce is focused on business, with Grandmaster Huang Fu frequently offering Alchemy services to the public. Generally speaking, only he would entertain requests for pill concoction.”
Having arrived at this point, Zhang Da Shan did not conceal any further as he nodded his head, “That’s right. This Supreme Divine Water is indeed a gift I’ve prepared for Grandmaster Huang Fu.”
Yang Kai replied, “Sect Master Zhang is planning on using this treasure to request Grandmaster Huang Fu to concoct a Spirit Pill for you?”
“Is there anything wrong about that?”
“Of course there isn’t anything wrong with that; however, with Grandmaster Huang Fu’s fame, there are innumerable people that are requesting for his Alchemy services, so who wouldn’t offer precious gifts to him? Although Sect Master Zhang’s Supreme Divine Water is very precious, you might not be able to gain any priority in the queue for his services. In fact, you might have to wait for a period of time even if Grandmaster Huang Fu accepts your gift.”
Zhang Da Shan frowned, “This Zhang naturally knows this; however, as long as Grandmaster Huang Fu accepts this gift, there should be results within three months. It is still better than those who have to wait bitterly for a few years.”
“Three months…” Yang Kai laughed, before raising a finger and saying, “What if I could let Sect Master Zang obtain the Spirit Pill he desires in one day?”
“What?” Zhang Da Shan’s entire being shook, “One day? Impossible!”
Doubt and suspicion immediately filled Zhang Da Shan’s expression. If Yang Kai had said those words to him yesterday, he would have snorted and scoffed in disdain; however, it was a different matter now. Right now, Yang Kai was an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. With such a golden signboard attached to his name, everything that Yang Kai said contained a certain level of credibility.
After hesitating for quite a while, Zhang Da Shan finally replied, “Which Emperor Alchemist does Elder Yang know?”
“Has Sect Master Zhang heard of the name Ji Ying?” Yang Kai asked back.
“Ji Ying…” Zhang Da Shan muttered as he fell into deep thought, but very quickly, his expression shook as light burst forth from his eyes, “Grandmaster Ji Ying? The Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor?”
“Other than him, who else could it be?”
“You can’t be serious, right?” Zhang Da Shan was exceedingly shocked, “That Grandmaster is in the Northern Territory, and Elder Yang mentioned that within a day…”
Yang Kai interjected, “At this moment, Ji Ying is in Azure Sun Temple. I have a friendly relationship with him, so it isn’t a problem for me to request him to concoct a furnace of pills.”
Zhang Da Shan was instantly dumbstruck.
Requesting a furnace of pills from an Emperor Alchemist? Furthermore, from the Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor! How can a mere friendly relationship work like this? The point that made it extremely hard to believe was that Grandmaster Ji Ying was supposedly in Azure Sun Temple right now!
Just as Zhang Da Shan was lost in his confusion and tumultuous emotions, Yang Kai’s voice rang out once again, “Is Sect Master Zhang willing to gift that precious treasure and wait for three months or more to be able to obtain your desired Spirit Pills, or is Sect Master Zhang willing to try to obtain those Spirit Pills by tomorrow? However, truthfully speaking, even if Sect Master Zhang is able to request Grandmaster Huang Fu to perform Alchemy for you within three months’ time, I’m afraid that the fee for his work would be sky-high. However, if I use my connections, this fee can be waived.”
“Waiver of fees?” Zhang Da Shan’s eyes lit up.
When one requested an Emperor Alchemist to perform alchemy for them, not only would they need to prepare all of the required materials, they would also have to pay a rather high commission. If not, how would those Alchemists become filthy rich?
“Only this time!” Yang Kai replied with a straight face.
Zhang Da Shan immediately sensed something from Yang Kai’s reply as his face lit up with excitement, “Then the next time, this Zhang can also…”
“You naturally have to pay appropriate remuneration next time,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Zhang Da Shan was simply ecstatic. If he was able to form a connection with Grandmaster Ji Ying through this, he would no longer need to be at the beck and call of other people and wait bitterly when he needed pills in the future. As for commission fees, that was something that he was naturally willing to pay.
Seeing the change in his expression, Yang Kai struck again while the iron was still hot, “To tell you the truth, Sect Master Zhang, I need that Supreme Divine Water as well as I was planning to give some to Grandmaster Ji Ying. Set a price, Sect Master Zhang, and I’ll pay it.”
“There’s no need for that,” Being a decisive person, Zhang Da Shan had already made up his mind, and thus did not plan on hesitating further. After some organizing, he tossed a Space Ring to Yang Kai, “The Supreme Divine Water and the alchemy materials are inside. I’ll have to trouble Elder Yang then.”
Yang Kai extended his hand out to grab it. Sweeping the contents with his Divine Sense, he smiled faintly and replied, “Just wait here for a day, Sect Master Zhang, and I will come find you tomorrow.”
“Many thanks!”
Indeed, the title of Elder of Azure Sun Temple had great utility. It would be an utter fantasy for anyone else to even attempt to obtain the Supreme Divine Water from Zhang Da Shan’s hands as he wasn’t that much of an idiot to simply offer a precious treasure like the Supreme Divine Water to others on a whim.
It was precisely due to Yang Kai’s status as an Elder of Azure Sun Temple that he had chosen to believe the latter.
Seeing Yang Kai’s figure disappear without a trace, Zhang Da Shan was overwhelmed with excitement and apprehension.
He was excited about the possibility of forging a connection with Grandmaster Ji Ying through this matter. This would allow him to benefit from this relationship should he need to request Emperor Pills in the future. The apprehension he felt stemmed from the unknown success of the refining of the Emperor Pill this time round.
Even an Emperor Alchemist had a certain percentage chance of failure whenever they took action. If it failed, the herbs that he had painstakingly collected would be completely destroyed, meaning he wasted the five years of his life that he had spent collecting them!
As Zhang Da Shan moved along this train of thought, he was shocked once again as he patted his leg in annoyance. Earlier, due to being overwhelmed by his emotions, he had forgotten to inform Yang Kai about the pill he desired. Nevertheless, after further consideration, with Grandmaster Ji Ying’s insight and Alchemical prowess, it shouldn’t be difficult to deduce the type of Spirit Pill to refine from the herbs that he had prepared.
As the day passed, Zhang Da Shan waited impatiently, feeling as though an entire year had gone by.
All of a sudden, a streak of light came shooting over from the distance. Zhang Da Shan’s mind shook as he raised his eyes to look over.
Yang Kai’s figure reappeared, and with a casual toss, threw a jade bottle over. With a faint smile, he said, “Fortunately, I did not fail my mission!”
Emotions surged crazily in Zhang Da Shan’s heart upon hearing that. Receiving the jade bottle, he opened it up to take a look. Indeed, he saw six gleaming, smooth, and round Emperor Pills within. Taking a whiff of the pill fragrance, he immediately felt his mind relax and his soul enter a harmonious state.
He let off a laugh, and replied in a sincere tone as a look of gratitude appeared on his face, “Many thanks, Elder Yang.”
If not for Yang Kai’s connections, how would it have been possible for him to obtain these Spirit Pills in just a day? According to Zhang Da Shan’s estimates, he would have to first head to the headquarters of the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce to seek out Grandmaster Huang Fu, gift the Supreme Divine Water to him, then wait at least a few months before being able to obtain the Spirit Pills from him.
Furthermore, three to four Spirit Pills would be the maximum amount he would obtain.
Truly worthy of being the Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor! Grandmaster Ji Ying’s prowess in Alchemy left Grandmaster Huang Fu in the dust. Zhang Da Shan could not help but rejoice that he was fortunate enough for Yang Kai to send a message to him yesterday, and fortunately, he had believed in Yang Kai. If not, how would he have benefited from such a wondrous matter?
At this moment, he naturally felt extreme gratitude towards Yang Kai.
“You’re too courteous, Sect Master Zhang. We both obtained what we wanted, that’s all,” Yang Kai smiled faintly and cupped his fists, “Safe travels!”
“Please wait, Elder Yang!” Zhang Da Shan suddenly raised his hand and shouted.
Looking back, Yang Kai replied, “What is it, Sect Master Zhang?”
A somewhat sheepish look appeared on Zhang Da Shan’s face, “This Zhang wishes to ask Elder Yang, if this Zhang wishes to seek Alchemy services in the future…”
Yang Kai smiled, “Please do not hesitate to find me in Azure Sun Temple.”
In any case, with Ji Ying putting in the effort, any Emperor Pill could be easily refined. Furthermore, he could even obtain some commission from it.
Zhang Da Shan was ecstatic, “Many thanks, Elder Yang.”
Yang Kai nodded his head, and with a flicker, returned back the way he came.
……
Azure Sun Temple, Spirit Jade Peak, the residence of Vice Temple Master Qiu Ran.
“Senior Brother Qiu, I’m here!” Yang Kai shouted out after barging inside. Very quickly, he noticed Qiu Ran seated quietly within, appearing as though he was waiting for the former to arrive.
“Hm, your expression doesn’t look too good, Senior Brother Qiu.” Yang Kai looked at Qiu Ran in surprise.
With a gloomy look, Qiu Ran replied, “Didn’t you ask this Old Master to wait for you for a moment yesterday? How did a moment become a day?”
Only then did Yang Kai realize why the latter was looking at him with bitterness on his face, making it seem as though Yang Kai had abandoned him after a one night stand. Scratching his head, he laughed sheepishly, “I bumped into a small matter and was held up for a bit.”
Qiu Ran shook his head in helplessness. Too lazy to refute the latter, he waved his hand and replied, “Follow me.”
Yang Kai followed behind obediently.
As Qiu Ran walked into a slightly larger hall, he waved his hand, causing the doors to immediately close shut. Looking left and right, Yang Kai discovered that there were traces of a Spirit Array present within this large hall, though he was unable to identify exactly what kind of array it was.
There was a massive sand table present in the middle of the hall, and upon taking a cursory look at it, Yang Kai discovered that there seemed to be a sliver of spirituality present within the sand as it slowly circulated about. However, taking a closer look, he noticed that it was an inanimate object, bringing about an incomparably strange feeling within him.
Moving forward for a closer look, Yang Kai’s eyebrows immediately rose up, “Is this Azure Sun Mountain Range?”
Qiu Ran nodded in response, “Correct. This is the Mountains and Rivers Projection of our Azure Sun Mountain Range.” As he said that, he extended his finger. Emperor Qi surged out before the sand table immediately started to come alive. Luscious vegetation, trees, and a mountain range rose up, followed by rocky outcrops, before a miniaturized model of Azure Sun Mountain Range impressively formed. Every single mountain peak, and every single valley present within Azure Sun Mountain Range was identical in shape and scaled size to the original.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue repeatedly in awe, while thinking whether he should ask Hua Qing Si to create a similar Mountains and Rivers Projection when he returned back to High Heavens Palace.
Although this kind of thing was not uncommon within big Sects, it required exquisite and detailed refining to create. With his High Heavens Palace’s current level of heritage, it shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish such a task.
“Our Azure Sun Temple sits within Azure Sun Mountain Range, with our temple taking its name from it. There are a total of 1,352 large and small peaks, of which there are 27 main peaks reserved for our Elders. Currently, the majority of them are empty. Take a look and find one that catches your interest,” Qiu Ran said while pointing towards the Mountains and Rivers Projection.
Yang Kai took a deep look for a while before replying, “Senior Brother Qiu, someone is staying in that green area, right?”
Qiu Ran nodded, “That’s right. The peaks highlighted in green are occupied by people, while the white areas are unoccupied.” Saying that, he extended his hand to point towards a certain location on the Mountains and Rivers Projection, “This is this Old Master’s Spirit Jade Peak.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow. With Spirit Jade Peak as a reference, he was able to make out the accuracy of this Mountains and Rivers Projection in detail. Of the 27 main peaks, other than the 10 or so being occupied by the Elders of the temple, the remaining dozen or so were left for him to choose from. Yang Kai looked over at them and felt somewhat dazzled, resulting in him being unable to make a decision for a long time.
To the side, Qiu Ran extended his hand and pointed towards a certain Spirit Peak, “That place is quite good. How about considering it, Junior Brother?”
Yang Kai looked over to where he was pointing, before pointing towards the neighbouring Spirit Peak, “If I am not mistaken, that should be the Purple Bamboo Peak, yes?”
“That’s right. That’s Junior Sister Gao’s Purple Bamboo Peak!”
“Forget about it,” Yang Kai said with great certainty.
Of the people within Azure Sun Temple, Gao Xue Ting was the person that he was most unable to oppose. Although if he and Gao Xue Ting were to fight, Gao Xue Ting would lose nine times out of ten, it was still for the best to avoid being neighbours with her.
“Oh… take your time to choose one then,” Qiu Ran did not judge Yang Kai’s response.
After a while, Yang Kai suddenly pointed, “That Spirit Peak.”
Qiu Ran looked over and nodded slightly and replied, “Spirit Sword Peak. It’s also fairly good, though its location is somewhat remote and the peak isn’t too big.”
The 27 Spirit Peaks designated for the residence of Elders did not have many differences between them; after all, regardless of shape or the density of World Energy present, they were all Main Peak level locations. Nevertheless, this Spirit Sword Peak was located slightly further from the core of Azure Sun Mountain Range, though it truly did not matter for anyone with an Emperor Realm cultivation.
“Since Junior Brother has already chosen, then Spirit Sword Peak it is.” With a wave of Qiu Ran’s hand, the Mountains and Rivers Projection instantly collapsed, turning back into its earlier sand table appearance, before he continued, “Junior Brother, your Elder Token will be able to open the various barriers and restrictions present on Spirit Sword Peak. When you head over, please remember to refine your Elder Token together with the Spirit Sword Peak’s Earth Vein. From then on, Spirit Sword Peak will be your domain. Without your permission, even this Old Master cannot enter as he pleases.”
“Many thanks, Senior Brother Qiu,” Yang Kai cupped his hands and replied.
“Off you go,” Qiu Ran waved his hand.
Yang Kai immediately bade farewell and left.
Leaving Spirit Jade Peak, Yang Kai headed along the path he memorized towards Spirit Sword Peak.
It merely took the time for one to steep a small cup of tea for a tall, precipitous mountain peak to come into view in the distance. At first glance, the mountain peak appeared just like a sharp sword piercing out from the ground, giving it an imposing look. That was also where its name of Spirit Sword Peak came from.
The sides of the mountain peak were steep, with high cliffs surrounding it, while clouds covered the midline of the mountain. Many beasts and creatures were living on the mountain, with everything coming together to form something akin to a paradise.
Yang Kai looked over from a distance and was immensely satisfied with it.
Although he was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, which occupied a peak grade Spirit Vein and many Spirit Peaks, he was just a High-Rank Guest Elder in Azure Sun Temple. Nevertheless, Yang Kai now had a place he could call his own in the Southern Territory.
This was something to be happy about.
Transforming into a streak of light, he flew towards the mountain peak. Sweeping his gaze around, Yang Kai saw that there were a few exquisite palaces here. Although it had been unoccupied for many years, and no maintenance had been conducted on them, with the protection of the various Spirit Arrays, there was not a trace of damage present on these palaces. In fact, there wasn’t even a speck of dust.
Standing where he landed, Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense. Like a tsunami roaring towards the shore, it encapsulated the entire Spirit Sword Peak in a flash, allowing Yang Kai to get a full understanding of the situation of this Spirit Sword Peak.
Retracting his Divine Sense, Yang Kai moved about, appearing just like a sovereign who was inspecting his own territory.
After spending a full half-day doing so, Yang Kai had returned to his peak’s main palace and could not help but call out in surprise, “Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, why are all of you here?”
Impressively, Gao Xue Ting and the others were waiting within. Upon seeing Yang Kai return, Chen Qian gave a faint smile and replied, “We’re here to offer our congratulations.”
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “Didn’t you all already offer your congratulations yesterday?”
“What’s wrong? You don’t welcome us?” Gao Xue Ting shot a cold glare at Yang Kai.
This shocked Yang Kai, who hastily replied, “How would I dare? I’m simply ecstatic. Everyone, please come in.”
As he said that, he welcomed the other Elders into the palace hall.
Before Yang Kai could even sit down though, Gao Xue Ting suddenly waved her hand, causing over a hundred big bottles of fragrant wine to appear on the ground. With a refreshing tone, she declared, “Our temple has a new Elder, so today, everyone will not return until they’re drunk!”
As those words rang out, colour faded from everyone’s faces.
Chen Qian’s pretty face turned pale as she hurriedly cautioned, “Please don’t be impulsive, Senior Sister!”
Di Rong’s face also changed as he subconsciously backpedalled, “I suddenly recalled that the Temple Master is looking for me for some matters, so I’ll take a leave first.”
“Hmm?” Gao Xue Ting’s eyes narrowed sharply as she snorted deeply.
In an instant, Di Rong turned stiff and came to a halt there. He turned his head around to You Kun, hoping that the latter could save him from this impending disaster, only to see You Kun drenched in beads of cold sweat, his face so pale it appeared as though he had lost all of his blood.
After some time, a group of people were huddled together in the corner, all of their faces a pale shade, while Chen Qian and another female Elder were shivering in fright.
Yang Kai’s face was filled with shock as he looked towards the beautiful figure dancing about in the large hall with an Emperor Artifact longsword in her hand. After gulping with much difficulty, he asked seemingly to the Heavens, “What kind of situation is this?”
That figure was moving about without inhibition, staggering about with a bottle of wine in her hand. Her eyes were scarlet red, while she would cheer to herself from time to time, take a swig of her wine, before complimenting how good the wine was. Her emotions flowed out without restraint, as flower after flower of sword patterns formed as her longsword shook, radiating a chilling glow in all directions.
Di Rong replied in a bitter tone, “Junior Brother Yang, since you’re still quite new here, you’re not aware of the Three Great Taboos of our temple. I never imagined that you would witness this so soon after you become an Elder. This is truly… something to be celebrated.”
Yang Kai gawked, “Three Great Taboos? What Three Great Taboos?”
Chen Qian replied in a soft voice, “Temple Master’s birthday, Senior Brother Qiu’s fury, and… Senior Sister Gao drinking alcohol!”
“What kind of taboos are these?” A look of astonishment appeared on Yang Kai’s face before he looked back to the person before them. At this moment, he felt that the noble and pure image he had of that lady had completely collapsed and disintegrated. The lady he was looking at right now was basically a mental patient! Cleaning away the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead, he replied, “Why does Senior Sister Gao turn into a different person after drinking alcohol? Could it be that she has been taken over by some malicious spirit?”
“It isn’t that serious…” You Kun hastily waved his hand, while his expression turned strange, “It’s just that Junior Sister Gao… could never handle her alcohol.”
“How can that be? For better or worse, Senior Sister Gao is a Second-Order Emperor. No matter how strong the alcohol is, she would be able to easily remove its effect just by circulating her Emperor Qi. How does it turn into this?”
Chen Qian sighed, “It’s all due to Temple Master’s negative influence.”
“How does it concern Temple Master?” Yang Kai was utterly surprised by her reply and felt that what he had seen and witnessed today had caused his outlook of the world, life, and his values to collapse.
Chen Qian replied, “Senior Sister Gao was brought up by Temple Master from childhood. You should know about this, right?”
“Yes. I’ve faintly heard about this,” Yang Kai nodded his head.
Chen Qian revealed a sad and depressed look, “When she was young, Temple Master made Senior Sister Gao drink a number of times, and each time, it was until she was totally drunk. This culminated in one incident where she drank too much and turned crazy for a few days and nights before finally returning back to normal. After that, Senior Sister Gao always becomes like this whenever she touches alcohol.”
In this short story, one could sense the miserable childhood Gao Xue Ting had experienced. This truly made anyone who heard it feel sad and burst into tears.
“That’s… utterly heartless! It makes one bristle with anger!” Yang Kai cursed out in extreme anger, causing a wave of commotion that incited the group of Elders to nod their heads in succession, looks of contempt and disdain present in their eyes that were aimed towards that Temple Master of theirs.
After gawking for a while, Yang Kai continued, “Since she cannot drink alcohol, she should know better than to do it. Yet, how did she get so much Spirit Wine…” As he said that, Yang Kai took a sniff of the wine fragrance, before saying in praise, “This Spirit Wine has been fermented for a few hundred years. Tsk tsk, what a waste.”
“Who knows where she got them from?” Chen Qian was on the brink of tears, “She should have been feeling great the past few days, right? Last night, she even came to my Small Spring Peak to chat through the night with me before leaving.”
Another female Elder immediately added, “She had also come to me last night…”
Yang Kai sighed, “So, with this happening, what is the best option? Don’t tell me we have to wait for her to become sober for her crazed antics to stop?”
Chen Qian replied, “It’ll be alright when the wine is finished.”
Yang Kai swept his eyes across the scene, and his head started to hurt, “There are still over a hundred bottles, so how long will she be drinking for? In accordance with her speed, it will take a few days and nights before they are empty.”
“Other than that, there isn’t any option left,” Chen Qian shook her head.
Yang Kai thought silently for a while before a resolute expression appeared on his face as he stood straight up.
“What are you going to do, Junior Brother Yang?” You Kun asked in surprise.
“I’m going to accompany her to drink. The faster the wine is finished, the earlier this matter can end,” As he said that, he took big strides forward, appearing just like a man who would face an army of tens of thousands of people by himself!
Respectful looks immediately appeared on the faces of the various Elders present, as they looked blankly at his back figure.
“Youth…” Di Rong shook his head and sighed.
“Enough of this nonsense. Let’s help Junior Brother Yang restrain her before getting out of here as soon as possible,” You Kun shot a glare at the others, before looking over to Yang Kai, who had at some point been captured by Gao Xue Ting and was already getting alcohol forced down his throat. He immediately turned his head away, unable to continue watching on.
[Junior Brother! We will remember your sacrifice and pay this favour back in the future!]
Everyone understood this tacitly, proceeding to hold their breaths and tiptoe out of the premises.
Just as they arrived at the entrance though, an elegant figure suddenly shot towards them, flying straight towards You Kun’s face. A few strands of his black hair drifted away while a deep gulch was carved onto the ground. If not for the protection of the Spirit Array, that strike might have caused the entire palace to collapse.
“You all want to leave?” A frosty look was present on Gao Xue Ting’s face, appearing just like the north wind that had whipped over from the Nine Hells, to the point where even the air seemed to have frozen up. An ice-cold voice reverberated in everyone’s ears, causing everyone to freeze up, their entire being turning cold as a ghastly voice sounded, “Let me see if you all dare to take another step?”
Chen Qian looked pitifully at Gao Xue Ting and replied in a soft voice, “Senior Sister Gao, you’re drunk…”
Gao Xue Ting immediately tossed Yang Kai away, and with a flicker, appeared before the hall entrance, blocking the path. Slashing her long sword down, she glared imposingly at Chen Qian, “How am I drunk?”
“You, you… I…” Chen Qian was at a loss. An Emperor was actually forced to the point where she was just like a mouse that had bumped into a cat, unable to utter a single word properly at all.
“Stop your nonsense and come here and drink!” Gao Xue Ting grabbed hold of Chen Qian, wrapped her arm around the latter’s neck, and shoved the wine bottle towards her mouth.
Chen Qian only managed to gulp down a few mouthfuls before she could not hold back her gag reflex. Wine flowed and dripped down her slender neck, staining her robes, obliterating her gentle and humble pretty girl image in an instant…
“Hahahahaha!” Gao Xue Ting burst into laughter, appearing as though she was feeling exceedingly ecstatic before her pretty eyes rotated and locked onto You Kun.
You Kun instantly jumped up and extended his hand. Grabbing hold of a wine bottle as he hastily replied, “There’s no need for you to take action, Junior Sister Gao. This Senior Brother will do it himself.”
As he said that, he raised his head to take a drink, appearing incomparably heroic as he did so.
Only after seeing this did Gao Xue Ting reveal a satisfied look, before her pretty eyes shifted once again.
However, any Elder that was targeted by her, while filled with bereavement, hastily grabbed the fragrant wine and gulped it down in large mouthfuls.
Gao Xue Ting continued to laugh heartily, seemingly having lost all of her intellect. Waving her longsword once again, she started to perform a sword dance within the hall, causing Sword Qi to fly out in all directions, leaving Yang Kai and the rest to run helter-skelter away in distress.
“Junior Brother Yang…” Chen Qian managed to regain her senses after much difficulty. Extending her hand to rub the corners of her mouth, she proceeded to remind him with good intention, “Please do not use your cultivation to dispel your drunkenness, if you do…”
“If I do?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
This conversation came too late though, as just like a spectre, Gao Xue Ting suddenly appeared in front of him. Extending her hand out, she grabbed hold of him, lifted him up just like a little chick, before speaking out in a chilling voice, “Little brat, you dare to cheat!?”
As she said that, the long sword in her hand started to vibrate, as though it was about to fly out from her hand at any moment.
Yang Kai’s face turned pale as he clamped his legs and cried out in alarm, “Please be merciful, Senior Sister Gao!”
“Hmph, you want me to be merciful?” Gao Xue Ting let out a cold snort, swept her eyes over Yang Kai before nodding, “Put your best into it then!”
Her longsword rose and shook before a bottle of spirit wine appeared on top of the sword’s tip as it was delivered before Yang Kai.
Yang Kai immediately revealed a look of deep bitterness. However, under the demanding glare from Gao Xue Ting, he had no choice but to clench his teeth and take up the bottle.
“Good, good, good!” Gao Xue Ting clapped and danced about, a satisfied look appearing on her face, as though she was a little girl that had just gotten a new toy. Just as Yang Kai had emptied the bottle, yet another one was hoisted before him.
Yang Kai looked at her with a face filled with bitterness.
“Are you going to drink or are you going to drink?” Gao Xue Ting’s face immediately turned frosty.
“I’ll drink, I’ll drink, I’ll drink…” Yang Kai stared at the longsword positioned below his chin, before nodding vigorously like a little chick pecking at rice grains.
After downing a total of thirteen successive bottles of hundred-year-old spirit wine, Yang Kai let out a full belch as his body started to sway. Under the sympathetic looks from the various Elders, he opened his mouth with much difficulty, “Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters… this little brother will take his leave first!”
As his voice rang out, he collapsed backwards onto the ground.
“Waste!” Gao Xue Ting stepped on Yang Kai ruthlessly and sneered. With a twist of her body, she leaned on his body, using him as a support as she raised a wine bottle in her hands and opened her mouth to drink.
The clear yet strong fragrant wine transformed into arrows of water, before being drunk up completely in just a few breaths.
With Yang Kai leading by negative example, the other Elders did not dare to hesitate anymore as they all proceeded to hug a bottle and start drinking. Within a moment, the entire hall was filled with a miserable atmosphere, as though Azure Sun Temple had been decimated by its bitter enemies.
The alcohol strength of the spirit wine was extraordinary, and coupled with them being unable to circulate their cultivation to get rid of its effects, even these Emperor Realms were unable to prevent themselves from getting wasted.
It did not take long for Chen Qian to reach her limits. She felt her entire world shake, while it seemed as though her eyelids were being weighed down by a few mountains. No matter how hard she tried, she could not keep them open. She tipped over as she collapsed onto the ground, passing out then and there.
Not long after, another female Elder joined her.
You Kun and Di Rong fell over in succession.
After a short while, snoring sounds filled the hall, as Azure Sun Temple Elders laid on the ground in a disorderly fashion. If anyone saw this scene, they would be in for a great shock.
The only person left was Gao Xue Ting, who continued to persevere away in her fight with those fragrant wines.
Only after drinking the last bottle up did she smack her lips, and collapse limply on the ground.
……
“You all actually gathered together to partake in heavy drinking in broad daylight! Highly improper!” On top of Spirit Jade Peak, Vice Temple Master Qiu Ran slammed his fist on the table, his moustache waving chaotically in the wind while the group of Azure Sun Temple Elders before him lowered their heads, embarrassed looks covering their faces.
“All of you are Elders of our Azure Sun Temple, with important responsibilities to shoulder, the very pillars of our temple! If we were to have faced an enemy incursion yesterday, what path would the thousand-year foundation of our temple have taken!?” Qiu Ran grew angrier as he shouted, to the point where his saliva shot out in all directions.
“We know our mistake, Senior Brother,” Gao Xue Ting lowered her head and straightforwardly admitted her wrongdoing.
“You know your mistake?” Qiu Ran grew even angrier as he stared at Gao Xue Ting and roared, “Do you think a single ‘I’m wrong’ will suffice!?”
Gao Xue Ting lowered her head to the side and mumbled under her breath, “I already said I’m sorry, what else do you want? That’s why you’re still unable to find a companion after so many centuries. Serves you right to be single until you die!”
“What did you say?” The veins on Qiu Ran’s temples throbbed.
“Nothing,” Gao Xue Ting made a poker face and met Qiu Ran’s raging anger head-on before taking it upon herself to say, “However, this matter was caused by me. If Senior Brother wants to mete out punishment, just punish me alone, as it was not their fault.”
The other Elders nodded their heads in succession after hearing her words.
You Kun added, “That’s right, Senior Brother. This matter was caused by Junior Sister Gao. We are just the victims. If you want to mete out punishment, just punish her alone. Furthermore, you have to make sure it is a severe one. It will not appease the masses if she doesn’t get punished sufficiently.”
Yang Kai responded by staring at him in stunned silence, appearing as though this was the first time that he had met You Kun.
Qiu Run replied with a sneer, “Who else can force you all to drink alcohol?”
Di Rong scratched his face and replied, “Your vision is truly sharp, Senior Brother! That’s precisely it!”
“Nonsense!” Qiu Ran erupted with great anger, “None of you will escape from yesterday’s matter!”
The group sagged like lifeless corpses, with their heads drooping down, disheartened after hearing his words.
“Just state the punishment. What’s with the long-windedness?” Gao Xue Ting shouted back with an extremely impatient look on her face.
“You, you, you… you are utterly devoid of any respect for your Seniors!” Qiu Ran slammed the table yet again. After venting his anger for a while longer, he declared, “Yesterday’s matter is absolutely unacceptable! If our disciples were to know of your actions, how would our temple maintain its dignity in the future? In view of this, this Old Master will punish you all by deducting 3,000 Elder Contribution Points from all of you!”
“What!?”
“Please don’t do it, Senior Brother Qiu… that’s 3,000 Elder Contribution Points! Why not just kill me!”
“Please be merciful, Senior Brother!”
The group of Elders immediately started to shout out, appearing as though they were having their skin peeled off by Qiu Ran. In fact, Chen Qian even proceeded to carve a pitiful stance as she looked at Qiu Ran and cried, “Senior Brother… please don’t be like that…”
She was actually using a soft approach of attack that was just shy of flirting.
“Stop this disgraceful act before this old man! If any of you dare to utter one more word, I will deduct another 2,000 points!” Nevertheless, Qiu Ran continued to wear a steely and unemotional expression on his face, with his words sounding so sharp it appeared to cut through everything like butter.
Those words immediately shut everyone up, their shouting coming to a screeching halt.
“Hmph,” Qiu Ran shot a cold glare at Gao Xue Ting, “As for you, the cause of this disaster, other than the deduction of 3,000 Elder Contribution Points, you will be further deducted 1,000 points, for a total of 4000 Elder Contribution Points! On top of that, you will be locked up for three months in solitary confinement! If you commit such an offence again, your punishment will be increased!”
Gao Xue Ting spat disdainfully in response. Clearly, she did not accept those terms of punishment, though she did not say anything to refute it.
Yang Kai’s heart was filled with distress as he stood by the side. While he was an in-name disciple of Azure Sun Temple, he did not have much interaction with these Elders. Of those rare interactions, due to the difference in their statuses, he hadn’t had the opportunity to observe their true natures.
Now, with his title of High-Rank Guest Elder, giving him equal status as them, Yang Kai finally managed to gain a better understanding of the minds and characters of these high ranking people. For a moment, Yang Kai felt that his impressions of them had been completely wiped clean and replaced by an utterly new one.
A sharp gaze suddenly shot over, leaving Yang Kai gulping his saliva down before meeting it with a dry laugh.
Qiu Ran remained silent for a while, before continuing, “Junior Brother Yang, in light of this being your first offence, this Old Master will not say anything to you and you will not be punished.”
Yang Kai was ecstatic upon hearing this and hastily replied, “Many thanks Senior Brother Qiu! Senior Brother truly is a paragon of virtue and understanding.”
As his words rang out, eight pairs of eyes turned to look at him…
“Only this time. There will be no next time. If there is a next time…”
“There absolutely will not be a next time!” Yang Kai made a solemn vow as a guarantee.
“That would be best,” Qiu Ran let out a long sigh before saying in a sincere and gentle tone, “Junior Brother Yang, you have such achievements at such a young age, with you being destined to have immeasurable prospects for your future. Therefore, you should not mix around with this group of hooligans and be sure to protect your Martial Heart, okay?’
His words left Yang Kai unable to reply, leaving him filled with embarrassment.
Fortunately, Qiu Ran did not continue as he went back to scolding the rest of the Elders before waving his hands to get them to shoo off.
The group of Elders felt as though they had received the amnesty of their dreams and hastily departed.
Upon leaving Spirit Jade Peak, the group of Elders had their heads drooping down in depression, while Gao Xue Ting at the front was continuing to mutter incessantly, something vaguely along the lines of cursing. As she did so, a frosty aura radiated from her, causing no living creature to dare come near to her, creating an utterly frightening spectacle.
“Haa… It was only yesterday that I informed you about the Three Great Taboos of our temple. Who would have known that you would be lucky enough to bump into two of them within the short span of two days, Junior Brother Yang,” You Kun let off a sigh, patting Yang Kai’s shoulder and asking with deep concern, “Were you frightened, Junior Brother?”
“I’m alright,” Yang Kai nodded his head, before asking curiously, “Why is everyone so afraid of Senior Brother Qiu?”
Chen Qian replied with a soft voice, “Not only is Senior Brother Qiu our temple’s Vice Temple Master, but he is also the Elder in charge of the Punishment Hall, which is in charge of disciplining everyone from the Temple Master down to the disciples. With the temple’s law and order under his control, who isn’t afraid of him? Even the Temple Master has to give him face.”
“So, that’s how it is,” Yang Kai finally understood the reason, before asking another question, “So, what are those Elder Contribution Points that were mentioned?”
When Qiu Ran said that he was going to deduct 3,000 Elder Contribution Points from them, the various Elders seemed so dejected to the point it appeared as though their parents had died. Clearly, those Elder Contribution Points were very useful.
You Kun explained, “Junior Brother Yang, you’ve just become an Elder for a few days, so you haven’t come across this yet. Elder Contribution Points, erm, is something that every big Sect will have. Take our temple for example. Our disciples have Disciple Contribution Points, while we Elders have Elder Contribution Points. These contribution points can be exchanged for many benefits from the temple. The most straightforward exchange would be one Elder Contribution Point being equivalent to 1,000 High-Rank Source Crystals!”
“That many?” Yang Kai was shocked by what he heard and proceeded to silently calculate in his mind. Didn’t that mean that 3,000 Elder Contribution Points was equivalent to three million High-Rank Source Crystals?
A single drinking session led to the loss of three million High-Rank Source Crystals. That was why these Elders were feeling incomparably dejected over the punishment. 3,000 Elder Contribution Points was really not a small number to them.
“Although you can exchange High-Rank Source Crystals for Elder Contribution Points, there is a limit to how many you can earn that way per year. Every person can exchange for at most 2,000 points per year in this way. If you want to obtain more Elder Contribution Points, you have no choice but to complete certain tasks that are beneficial to the temple. An example would be completing Elder Missions.”
“Generally speaking, the amount of Elder Contribution Points that we accumulate in total will not amount to more than five or six thousand.”
“That’s right. Elder Contribution Points are very useful for us. For example, if you want to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror, you need to spend Elder Contribution Points. 2,000 Elder Contribution Points will allow you to enter once.”
You Kun patted Yang Kai’s shoulder and said in a heartfelt manner, “Junior Brother Yang, let’s work hard together in the future.”
Yang Kai gave a casual reply, only to see You Kun scoot over and speak mysteriously, “I’ll tell you in advance that it will be Temple Master’s birthday in three months’ time. Around that time, you’d best leave if you can, or lock yourself up in secluded retreat. Just make sure to not reveal yourself unless absolutely necessary.”
Chen Qian by the side nodded her head furiously in agreement, appearing as though she had experienced some kind of nightmare before, “That’s right, Junior Brother Yang. You’ve already experienced two out of our temple’s Three Great Taboos; you absolutely do not wish to experience that last one.”
Yang Kai’s face turned pale as he replied, “Could it be more terrifying than Senior Sister Gao drinking alcohol?”
Chen Qian pondered over it in deep thought, before replying, “Definitely, however… in any case, it will not be anything good.”
You Kun could not help but shiver, “That’s enough, that’s enough. I have to go back and properly recuperate. Ah my heart, my heart…”
“I’m also going. If you’re free, please come to my Small Spring Peak for a visit, Junior Brother,” Chen Qian turned in another direction, before flying away.
After a short while, the various Elders scattered, heading back to their respective peaks. Gao Xue Ting, the first one to leave, was already long gone, most likely having already returned to her Purple Bamboo Peak. Qiu Ran had punished her with three months of solitary confinement, which would definitely leave her angry for quite a while.
Yang Kai returned to his Spirit Sword Peak, looked at the wine bottles that were strewn messily around his Spirit Sword Palace, before letting out a long sigh.
Extending his hand, he pulled a wine bottle over before flinging it down the mountain with a flick of his wrist.
This continued for a few dozen wine bottles before a black shadow suddenly scuttled out from behind one of the bottles before lunging over towards him.
Remaining calm despite the appearance of the black shadow, Yang Kai gave it a light flick. Immediately, a whimper rang out as the black shadow shot backwards and landed on the ground.
Lowering his head, Yang Kai was somewhat surprised by what he saw.
Present before him was a little jet-black coloured beast that spanned the size of his palm. On first look, it appeared similar to a dog. Plastered to the ground, it bared its fangs at Yang Kai as it grimaced in pain, a threatening growl rumbling out from its throat.
“Where did this little thing come from?” Yang Kai was seriously surprised.
The critical point was that he had unexpectedly not discovered any trace of this little beast before it showed itself. Although Yang Kai had not intentionally scanned his surroundings just now, it was unreasonable for him to have failed to discover the presence of a living creature that had been hiding in plain sight only a few steps away.
However, the truth of the matter was that Yang Kai had only sensed it when the little beast had suddenly shot out towards him.
Sending his Divine Sense out, he discovered that there seemed to be no unique traits possessed by this little beast. Its appearance here on Spirit Sword Palace was most likely due to it being attracted by the strong smell of alcohol.
After observing it for a while, Yang Kai snickered and he extended his hand to grab the little beast. Never did he expect the little beast to sense the impending danger and attempt to evade. Nevertheless, it still ended up being captured by Yang Kai and held in his hand.
Immediately after being captured, the little beast actually instantly restrained its hostility. Extending its tongue, it proceeded to pant at Yang Kai, making it appear just like a little dog.
“Seems you know how to judge the situation and respond accordingly,” Yang Kai grinned, and with a slight move of his hand, tossed the little beast away.
Having removed this mysterious visitor, Yang Kai retrieved his Jade Elder Token and opened the barriers around Spirit Sword Peak. He then started to infuse some of Spirit Sword Peak’s Earth Vein energy into his token, in accordance with Qiu Ran’s teachings.
Only when this was completed would he become the true master of this Spirit Sword Peak.
The refining process was rather simple, the only problem being the huge expenditure of Spiritual Energy. Locating the exact position of the Earth Vein and grasping hold of its fluctuations was a simple task for Yang Kai, but that didn’t make it any less laborious.
This refining process took five days, before a streak of light flashed faintly above the jade token. At the same time, a miraculous feeling surfaced within Yang Kai’s heart, like the jade token had become one with the Spirit Sword Peak, and everything between the two was connected and shared.
With a single thought, the entire Spirit Sword Peak was within the grasp of his hand.
Refinement complete!
Just as he was putting away the jade token, Yang Kai suddenly discovered a familiar strength fluctuation appearing outside the Spirit Sword Peak’s barrier. A surprised expression appeared on his face, before a hole appeared in the barrier, letting the visitor in.
After a few moments, a streak of light landed in front of the Spirit Sword Palace, revealing the figure of Gao Xue Ting.
“Senior Sister Gao, what are you doing here?’ Yang Kai asked, gasping in surprise. While doing so, he took a sneaky look at his surroundings. Only when he was sure that there was no one around did he close the large doors of the Spirit Sword Palace.
Gao Xue Ting frowned, “What’s with those sneaky actions? What are you planning?”
Yang Kai glared at her in response, “What can I be planning? On the contrary, it’s you who was punished with three months of confinement by Senior Brother Qiu, yet you actually dared to run all the way here. If Senior Brother Qiu finds out about this… he will definitely deduct your Elder Contributions to death.”
Gao Xue Ting sneered, “That old ghost just wants to lock me up in solitary confinement, though he did not say anything about locking me up on Purple Bamboo Peak. There isn’t any place within the territory of our temple that I can’t go as I please.”
“This place is also included?” Yang Kai gawked, most surprised about Gao Xue Ting’s nickname of “old ghost’’ for Qiu Ran.
Gao Xue Ting chuckled coldly, “Sooner or later, I’ll snatch away his post as the Punishment Hall Elder… and let him experience the taste of having his Elder Contribution Points deducted and being locked up in solitary confinement.”
Complicated feelings arose in Yang Kai’s heart as he started to question whether he made the right choice in accepting Gao Xue Ting’s request to be a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple.
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam would become crooked too; he had originally assumed that Gao Xue Ting was an esteemed and noble lady; however, from the looks of it, due to her upbringing under Wen Zi Shan, which utterly distorted her childhood days and caused her mental development to suffer damage, how esteemed and noble could such a person be?
It seemed that his impressions of her had been based on the false front she had put up. After gaining a more in-depth understanding of her, all of his views had been destroyed…
“That’s right, Senior Sister Gao, why have you come to look for me?” Not wanting to further the conversation about starting a coup, Yang Kai hastily changed the subject.
“Right. There’s a small matter,” Gao Xue Ting nodded her head with a serious expression and with a flick of her hand, a Space Ring appeared which she tossed over to Yang Kai.
Feeling suspicious as he caught it, Yang Kai sent his Divine Sense inside before his brow rose in surprise and he commented, “So many Emperor Grade Spirit Herbs! Could this be a benefit of becoming a temple Elder? Our temple is really thoughtful; however, I have quite a few Spirit Medicines myself, so I don’t need these.”
Gao Xue Ting stared at him and replied indifferently, “You’re misunderstanding. This isn’t for you. Spirit Sword Peak is your reward. Right, if you want to, you can find Junior Sister Chen Qian to request for some disciples to come to your Spirit Sword Peak to help you maintain the flowers and vegetation here. That can be considered a benefit. As for these Spirit Grasses and Medicines…”
“What are they for?”
“They are for you to refine into Spirit Pills,” Gao Xue Ting replied bluntly.
“Refine into pills?” Yang Kai’s expression turned dark, “There are so many Emperor Grade Spirit Medicines inside here, and you want me to refine them all into Emperor Pills?”
“That’s right, we want you to refine them into Emperor Pills,” Gao Xue Ting nodded, “Our temple doesn’t have an Emperor Alchemist among its ranks, though we have accumulated quite a few Emperor Grade Spirit Medicines. It wasn’t easy to get you to join, so we naturally have to hand these over to you to deal with.”
“Why me?” A look of speechlessness was plastered on Yang Kai’s face.
Gao Xue Ting replied with a faint smile, “With greater power comes greater responsibility. Junior Brother, during that year in the Four Seasons Realm, you managed to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Although that matter happened a long time ago, and some people might not remember it, with me being the leading Elder at the time, I recall it very clearly. I’ve asked around and heard that since you were able to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, it shows that you were already on the cusp of becoming an Emperor Alchemist. After those years, you should have made some progress in the Alchemic Dao. Other than you, who else can we hand these Spirit Medicines to? Are we going to let the other temple Elders waste them by burning them to dregs while trying to refine pills? That would be an utter waste. That’s right, it seems that you had refined a furnace of Emperor Pills during your stay in my Purple Bamboo Peak yesterday. Tsk tsk, and you successfully completed your refining in half a day’s time, how incredible. Although there are quite a few herbs in that ring, I believe in your capabilities. In just a year and a half or so you should be finished with those.”
Yang Kai remained silent for a moment, before asking with a serious tone, “Can I reject this?”
“Yes, you can,” Gao Xue Ting nodded, “No one’s forcing you on this matter.”
“Then I reject it!” Yang Kai returned the Space Ring back.
Gao Xue Ting took the Space Ring, turned around, and sighed as she walked away, “I came to help you with good intentions yet you were not grateful for it. Good, good, I’m afraid that you might not be able to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror for the rest of your life.”
Yang Kai immediately raised his hand, “Please wait, Senior Sister!”
Gao Xue Ting turned her head and grinned as she looked at him, “Is there anything you want to say, Junior Brother?”
Yang Kai covered his mouth and coughed lightly, “Senior Sister, I would have forgotten about the Divine Ascension Mirror if you hadn’t just mentioned it. A few days ago, you told me that someone was using the Divine Ascension Mirror when I asked you about going in, someone who could not be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. May I know what time it would be possible for me to go in?”
“Do you have Elder Contribution Points?” Gao Xue Ting tossed a question back.
“No.”
Gao Xue Ting sneered and declared, “2,000 points per entry. You don’t even have any Elder Contribution Points, yet you still dream of entering the Divine Ascension Mirror. Have you not sobered up yet?”
“But that time…”
“That time, you still weren’t an Elder of our temple. Currently, you are already an Elder of our temple, so you naturally have to follow the rules. If not, if just anyone were able to enter as he or she pleased, training in the Divine Ascension Mirror would no longer be precious anymore.”
“How can you be like this, Senior Sister?” Yang Kai was utterly distraught.
Gao Xue Ting turned around and said in a sincere and heartfelt manner, “Junior Brother, with greater power comes greater responsibilities. Being the only Emperor Alchemist in our temple, you have to shoulder the responsibility of refining Emperor Pills for our temple.”
Yang Kai growled between his clenched teeth, “You duped me to become an Elder a few days ago just for this, right, Senior Sister! You were my respected Senior yet you had the heart to trick me!”
Gao Xue Ting smiled lightly and replied, “Nonsense, I’ve been planning this ever since you refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pill in the past.”
“I really was blind…” Yang Kai felt bitterness and pain wash over his heart, as his impression of her completely shattered. As he woke from the dream, his heart had been sliced up, leaving a scene filled with blood and tears.
Gao Xue Ting said, “Don’t be angry. If you don’t wish to perform Alchemy, there is still another way.”
Yang Kai growled back, “I seek your advice, Senior Sister!”
“Didn’t you mention previously that one of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Disciples was your High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist? Since you already have such a subordinate, there isn’t actually a need for you to personally put in the labour.”
“Oh… that seems like a good method,” Yang Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully.
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Kai seemed to have made a decision as he asked, “So, what are the benefits?”
“One Emperor Pill for ten Elder Contribution Points! As long as you are able to refine two hundred Emperor Pills, you can enter the Divine Ascension Mirror.”
“Fart!” Yang Kai leapt up, “Ten Elder Contribution Points? That’s just a mere ten thousand High-Rank Source Crystals. Which Emperor Alchemist would accept such a cheap fee when they take action!?”
“Dammit! Which of those scoundrels spoiled my good deed by telling you the conversion rate!” Gao Xue Ting’s face sank as she mumbled in anger.
Yang Kai’s face turned black, “I can hear you…”
Gao Xue Ting pouted and replied, “So, what do you want?’
“One Emperor Pill for one hundred Elder Contribution Points. I will barely be able to accept that.”
One hundred Elder Contribution Points was worth a hundred thousand High-Rank Source Crystals. Generally speaking, it was impossible for an Emperor Alchemist to only refine a single pill for every furnace, with four pills being the absolute minimum. Furthermore, any Emperor Alchemist would charge a fee of around five hundred thousand High-Rank Source Crystals for every furnace they refine.
Yang Kai’s asking price was basically the same as what the temple would pay when they sought outside Emperor Alchemists.
“Twenty points!” Gao Xue Ting counter-offered without a trace of politeness in her voice.
“A hundred points!” Yang Kai refused to budge.
“Stop daydreaming!”
“A hundred points means a hundred points!”
“Thirty points at most!”
…
An arduous bout of haggling and bargaining proceeded on, which ultimately ended with Yang Kai bowing down and accepting the price of fifty Elder Contribution Points for one Emperor Pill.
“Come, come, come, sign this Soul Contract.” With a flip of her hand, Gao Xue Ting took out a contract that radiated with peculiar fluctuations. This was precisely a Soul Contract produced by Serene Soul Palace. This thing was a common sight in the Eastern Territory, but was a priceless object in the Southern Territory. How she managed to get her hands on one of these was a mystery.
“Aren’t you looking down on me, Senior Sister? Although this Junior Brother may be young, he won’t go back on his word.” A look of disgust appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
“Just sign it.” Gao Xue Ting urged him on.
Unable to bear with her, Yang Kai had no other choice but to leave his Soul Imprint on the Soul Contract.
With the contract signed, Gao Xue Ting’s eyes immediately lit up as a smile blossomed on her face. With great care, she stored the Soul Contract, extended her hand and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder warmly, “Junior Brother, your Senior Sister’s fortune will depend on you in the future.”
Her words immediately stunned Yang Kai. Nevertheless, after some thought, his face suddenly sunk as he spoke out in a bitter tone, “Senior Sister, is this the mission Senior Brother Qiu assigned to you? Upon completion, how many Elder Contribution Points will you be able to obtain?”
“The same amount as you,” Gao Xue Ting replied as she glanced away.
“What do you mean by the same?”
“That old bachelor gave me a price of a hundred Elder Contribution Points per Emperor Pill and asked me to convince you to help perform Alchemy for our temple. Since I secured your cooperation at fifty points per pill, the remaining fifty points will belong to me, so I’m naturally getting the same as you!”
“Ah…” Yang Kai’s smile suddenly turned incomparably sinister, “It really is hard for you, Senior Sister, to tell me about this as though it meant nothing. Senior Sister, you really are a good person. I swear I’ll remember this great favour for the rest of my life.”
Gao Xue Ting replied defiantly, “The path of growth will always be filled with thorns, young man. Suffering defeat to gain wisdom and then learn from your mistakes. You should move slowly in the future.”
“I really have to thank Senior Sister for this lesson!” Yang Kai forced those words out from his clenched teeth, as he felt his insides churn, a sweet feeling surged up his throat.
Gao Xue Ting gave a sweet smile, “Don’t forget that you’ve already signed the Soul Contract. Good, do work hard. How quickly you work will determine how quickly you can access the Divine Ascension Mirror.” Turning around, she made a lazy stretch, opened the doors of the Spirit Sword Palace, and raised her head towards the sky as she commented, “What a beautiful day.”
With a shift of her tender body, she transformed into a streak of light before disappearing into the distance.
Yang Kai clutched his chest as a look of pain covered his face.
Half a day later, in a desolate mountain valley behind Spirit Sword Peak, Yang Kai raised his Jade Elder Token. As thoughts flashed through his mind, he drew power from the Earth Vein and manipulated the barrier around his Spirit Sword Peak to conceal this portion of the mountain valley.
With this, even Third-Order Emperors would not be able to pierce through the concealments around this place without significant effort.
Letting out a sigh, Yang Kai retrieved various materials from his Space Ring as he prepared to arrange a Space Array.
He had originally not planned on concealing this Space Array and was even thinking of sharing it with Wen Zi Shan, as once Azure Sun Temple and High Heaven Palace were connected, it would bring immense benefits to both Sects.
Currently, Hua Qing Si was collecting the unique products of the Northern Territory, and when the time came, they would be able to earn a great profit if they shipped those products to the Southern Territory. On the other hand, if Azure Sun Temple were to collect the unique products of the Southern Territory and ship them to the Northern Territory, they would definitely be able to obtain a good price for them too.
Not much was needed to be said about using a Space Array to connect the two places, with both Sects being able to protect and aid each other.
Although nothing could be predicted from arranging a Space Array in the short term, it would have a huge impact on both Sects in the long run.
That was also one of the reasons why Yang Kai agreed to become one of Azure Sun Temple’s Elders back then, he would be given his own Spirit Peak if he became one, and thus, making it much simpler for him to arrange this array.
However, after his recent experience with Gao Xue Ting, Yang Kai had no choice but to reconsider his plans.
If she learned about this matter, then Ji Ying might end up as the exclusive Alchemist of the temple in the future. Consequently, High Heaven Palace would lose its Chief Alchemist.
For the time being, it seemed as though it would be better for this matter to be carried out in secret as it would not be too late to reveal the truth once the time was right.
Half a day later, a brand-new Space Array was completed. Using the Jade Elder Token to mobilize the power of Spirit Sword Peak’s Earth Vein to conceal the Space Array, even Wen Zi Shan would not be able to sense its presence unless Yang Kai allowed it.
Inserting Source Crystals into the array to activate it, Yang Kai disappeared in a flash of light.
In the next moment, his figure appeared above the Space Array in High Heaven Palace.
Another moment later, he found Ji Ying on the Medicine Pill Peak, one of the Main Peaks of High Heaven Palace.
Ji Ying seemed surprised to meet Yang Kai again and commented, “Brother Yang, why are you back so soon?”
“Heh,” Yang Kai looked annoyed. Accepting the tea from Ji Ying’s First Disciple before he sat down and dispiritedly said, “It isn’t worth mentioning.”
Ji Ying smiled lightly. Although he did not know what had happened to Yang Kai, he could tell that the latter was in a bad mood. Therefore, he casually took out a jade bottle and tossed it to him.
Yang Kai caught the bottle and asked curiously, “What’s this?”
“Dragon Blood Pills,” Ji Ying explained, “These are the Spirit Pills created from the Dragon Blood Flower you obtained previously. It should be of some use to you, Brother Yang.”
“Oh? These are the Dragon Blood Pills?” Yang Kai sounded extremely surprised as he opened the jade bottle and poured out three blood-red pills. Each pill was about the size of a fingernail; moreover, they exuded a bloody smell that was surprisingly not pungent. The scent alone was able to stimulate Yang Kai’s blood, roiling it slightly.
From the looks of it, these Dragon Blood Pills were Emperor Grade Low-Rank Spirit Pills.
“This is my first time refining this kind of pill, so it is inevitable that I am not familiar with the method yet. In the end, I only managed to produce three. Please forgive me, Brother Yang,” Ji Ying said remorsefully.
Yang Kai laughed in response, “You are too humble, Brother Ji. Successfully refining three pills is already a great achievement.”
Although Ji Ying was not just an Emperor Alchemist, he was also a Legacy Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. The ability to produce three pills during his first attempt to refine this type of Spirit Pill was enough to demonstrate his profound Alchemy skills. An ordinary Emperor Alchemist could never have performed as well as Ji Ying had.
Ji Ying repeatedly waved his hands dismissively with a wry smile, “You praise me too much, Brother Yang.”
In front of Yang Kai, who had defeated him fair and square in an Alchemy competition, Ji Ying could not bring himself to be proud of his achievements.
Pausing for a moment, he continued, “Back to the topic at hand… I have entered High Heaven Palace, but what exactly do you want me to do, Brother Yang? A few days ago, I met with Head Manager Hua; however, she simply asked me to rest for a while and did not assign any tasks to me. I can’t just laze around now that I am the Chief Alchemist of High Heaven Palace, right? After all, I don’t have any other talents aside from my Alchemy skills.”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “It is precisely your Alchemy skills that I am interested in, Brother Ji. Here, take a look at this.”
While speaking, he tossed the ring that Gao Xue Ting had given to him over to Ji Ying.
Ji Ying caught it and scanned it with his Divine Sense before calling out in some surprise, “So many Emperor Grade spirit medicines!”
Yang Kai replied, “Refine them as you see fit, Brother Ji. You don’t need to rush; just go at your own pace.”
“Not a problem. I will live up to your expectations, Brother Yang.”
“There’s something else I’d like to ask of you, Brother Ji.”
“What is it?”
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn as he continued, “How much do you know about the Flesh Incarnation Pill, Brother Ji?”
“The Flesh Incarnation Pill?” Ji Ying’s expression froze for a moment, and his breathing became a little uneven, “Could it be… Do you have the Flesh Incarnation Fruit, Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai thought to himself, [I don’t just have the Flesh Incarnation Fruit; I even have the Flesh Incarnation Fruit Tree! However, the ripe fruits on that tree have already been picked, so I’m afraid it will take a long time for the rest of the fruits to mature.]
He didn’t conceal the truth from Ji Ying, stretching out his hand and summoning a Flesh Incarnation Fruit into his palm.
Ji Ying’s eyes brightened in response. He hurriedly got up and carefully accepted the Flesh Incarnation Fruit from Yang Kai. Studying it with his Divine Sense and looking it over carefully, Ji Ying became more and more elated the more he stared at the fruit. He couldn’t help nodding as he commented, “It’s really the Flesh Incarnation Fruit! It’s exactly like what is recorded in the ancient books. Didn’t this go extinct a long time ago? How is it possible for it to appear here?”
He studied the Flesh Incarnation Fruit while mulling over it, seemingly completely obsessed with it.
“Spirit Herbs are only classified as extinct when nobody can find them. I just stumbled upon this by accident.”
The Flesh Incarnation Fruit wasn’t the only ‘extinct’ item that Yang Kai owned. Therefore, he had a deep understanding of this subject.
Meanwhile, Ji Ying raised his head abruptly, “Brother Yang, are you asking me to refine the Flesh Incarnation Pill?”
“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded and added embarrassedly, “I thought about refining it myself since I’ve almost gathered all the necessary materials; however, I can’t help feeling that it’s inappropriate for me to do so. What if I fail in the refining process? This is the only Flesh Incarnation Fruit in the world after all, that’s why I wanted to know what Brother Ji’s probability of successfully refining the pill was first.”
Ji Ying frowned and considered the question seriously, answering after a while, “Less than thirty percent.”
[Thirty percent… That’s very low…. Even Ji Ying only has a thirty percent chance of success. The difference should be negligible even if I have a slightly higher probability of succeeding. In hindsight, I made a wise decision when I decided not to rashly try my hand at refining the Flesh Incarnation Fruit.]
“Do you think you can ask the Great Emperor to help?” Yang Kai asked solemnly.
“Honored Master?” Ji Ying lifted his head and pondered over it before breaking into a smile, “He stopped taking outside Alchemy requests a few thousand years ago, but if it’s the Flesh Incarnation Fruit… He might make an exception. I will need to return to Medicine Pill Valley and inform Honored Master about this matter. As for whether he will help… that will be up to the Heavens.”
“Then, I shall trouble you with that, Brother Ji. This matter is not urgent. You can go back whenever you are free.”
“I’ll go immediately,” He stood up. It seemed he felt the Flesh Incarnation Fruit would be very attractive to the Great Emperor, otherwise, Ji Ying would not be in such a rush.
Naturally, Yang Kai did not try to stop Ji Ying from leaving.
After seeing Ji Ying off, he went looking for Hua Qing Si. He wanted to discuss the Mountains and Rivers Projection with her.
Needless to say, Hua Qing Si knew about Mountains and Rivers Projections; however, she wasn’t sure how one was created. She had only broken through to the Emperor Realm in recent years, after all, so many things had been completely out of her purview until now.
“Nanmen Da Jun should know about this subject, right?” Hua Qing Si suddenly thought of somebody who might have the necessary knowledge. The Mountains and Rivers Projection was most likely a type of Spirit Array, so as an Emperor Array Master, there was no reason why Nanmen Da Jun would be unaware of its workings.
“Call him over.”
Immediately, Hua Qing Si took out a communication artifact and sent word to Nanmen Da Jun.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Nanmen Da Jun appeared in front of them.
“Palace Master, Head Manager. Were you looking for me?” Nanmen Da Jun smiled and asked, seeming to be doing quite well for himself recently. At the moment, his face was ruddy and glowing with vitality, the depression from before swept far away.
He had been fascinated by Yang Kai’s Space Array in the past and agreed to join High Heaven Palace for ten years in order to gain access to its Array Charts. The truth was that he had been unhappy about this, but he seemed to have resigned himself to his fate as time passed.
He gradually adapted to his position as the Chief Array Master, especially after Yang Kai handed the full authority of arranging all Spirit Arrays in High Heaven Palace to him. These days, he spent his time investigating and repairing the Spirit Arrays around High Heaven Palace and used up countless materials in the process. The profligate spending gave Nanmen Da Jun an inexplicably wonderful feeling.
Although he had the freedom to roam as he pleased in the past, unfettered to any one force, Nanmen Da Jun’s financial resources had also been limited. As a result, he could not arrange many sophisticated Spirit Arrays he conceived of even if he wanted to. However, he was now backed by High Heaven Palace, so all the grand arrays that only existed in his mind were being gloriously brought to life by him and his subordinates, one by one.
Nothing could make Nanmen Da Jun happier than that.
All of a sudden, it seemed as if joining High Heaven Palace had been a good choice.
Naturally, freedom was still the most important aspect!
He might be the Chief Array Master of High Heaven Palace in name, but essentially, nobody bothered him, leaving him completely free to do as he pleased. Therefore, he leisurely lived his days with an ambitious goal in his heart. He was going to use a long time to set up a gigantic array in the High Heaven Palace, one that when completed, would even be able to defend against one or two attacks from a Great Emperor!
With such a Sect Defending Array, all attacks from Emperor Realm Master would be doomed to fail as long as the array was activated.
[It’s not as if my dream is impossible to achieve. Unfortunately, that is only possible provided High Heaven Palace has sufficient financial resources to support my actions; however, I believe High Heaven Palace does have the resources to do so. After all, a Cross-Territory Space Array is a huge money-making opportunity.]
Therefore, he immediately put down whatever he was doing at the moment and rushed over without hesitation the moment he heard Yang Kai calling for him.
Hua Qing Si said, “Palace Master wants to set up a Mountains and Rivers Projection for the palace. Can you do it?”
“Head Manager Hua, are you looking down on me?” Nanmen Da Jun glanced sideways at her, hot air blowing out of his nostrils, “How can I call myself an Array Master if I can’t even arrange something like a Mountains and Rivers Projection?”
Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction, “Good. Then, I will leave this matter to you and Head Manager Hua.”
Nanmen Da Jun suddenly scratched his face and said, “Unfortunately, I can’t arrange a Mountains and Rivers Projection alone.”
“Why?” Yang Kai frowned. [This guy was so arrogant just now, looking as if he was second only to the Heavens, yet now he is faltering. What does he mean by this?]
Nanmen Da Jun replied, “The thing is… a Mountains and Rivers Projection can be said to be a very simple, but also very difficult piece to create, Palace Master. Not only does it require an Array Master, but it also requires an Artifact Refiner. These two must work together to arrange one.”
“An Artifact Refiner?”
“Yes. Strictly speaking, a Mountains and Rivers Projection is an artifact; therefore, it is only natural that it requires an Artifact Refiner to complete. Moreover, the requirements for the Artifact Refiner are very high. An ordinary Artifact Refiner cannot possibly produce a Mountains and Rivers Projection. At the very least, you need a Dao-Source Grade High-Rank Artifact Refiner.”
“Such requirements are indeed quite difficult to meet,” Yang Kai rubbed his chin as he pondered. It seemed like it would be difficult to proceed with this, but that couldn’t be helped. Although High Heaven Palace was still small, it had everything it currently needed. Be it Alchemists, Array Masters, or even puppets. The only thing really missing was a competent Artifact Refiner.
What Nanmen Da Jun said made Yang Kai realize that he had an issue he could not ignore. It was time for High Heaven Palace to recruit or cultivate its own Artifact Refiner.
After all, all kinds of talents were indispensable in a big Sect.
Silavin: Happy Chinese New Year! Let us start off the new year with a bang! Quite literally!
Picking up a new novel:
Dragon Blood Warrior
[It might be a little unrealistic to cultivate an Artifact Refiner on our own. Not only does cultivating an Artifact Refiner consume a lot of resources, but it also requires a lot of time to do so.]
[It may take several dozen years or even several hundred years…]
High Heaven Palace has only just been founded, so there was no time to cultivate an Artifact Refining Grandmaster at the moment. If everything went well in the future, the Sect may be able to cultivate its own Artifact Refiners, but for now…
It seemed as though Hua Qing Si had considered this issue as well and questioned, “Palace Master, shall we recruit an Artifact Refiner? In any case, the Sect is not lacking Source Crystals right now. I’m sure someone will come if we offer an appropriate price.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll leave this matter to you too.”
“Palace Master, I actually have a recommendation,” Nanmen Da Jun suddenly interjected, “If it were that person, a mere Mountains and Rivers Projection would be nothing at all.”
“Oh? Do you know such an Artifact Refiner?” Yang Kai looked at Nanmen Da Jun in surprise, “If that’s the case, invite them over. If they agree to join us, High Heaven Palace will not treat them unjustly.”
Nanmen Da Jun chuckled dryly and apologetically said, “That person is capable indeed. A Grandmaster in Artifact Refining without any doubt; however, she’s a little troublesome. If I meet her alone… I don’t think I would be able to recruit her successfully.”
“Ho, sounds like this Grandmaster is pretty arrogant,” Yang Kai was extremely astonished. “You are also an Array Master yourself. Who would dare to show you such disrespect?”
Nanmen Da Jun scratched his face and said, “To be honest, compared to her, I’m very approachable…”
Hua Qing Si glanced at him contemptuously in response. They had known each other for some time now, so she knew a little about his true nature. It was only because High Heaven Palace had great financial resources and strength, combined with the precedent of Yang Kai nonchalantly destroying Seeking Passion Sect that he, an Emperor Array Master, was subdued. If it were anybody else or any other Sect, Nanmen Da Jun would have been the prime example of arrogance and would unhesitantly look down on others.
But what Artifact Refiner, Alchemist, or Array Masters of this world who had even a little skill was not haughty? Yang Kai was the only Emperor Alchemist Hua Qing Si knew that liked keeping a low profile, the sole exception to the norm.
“If so, let’s have the Head Manager accompany you,” Yang Kai said with a wave of his hand.
“Good,” Hua Qing Si nodded.
However, Nanmen Da Jun chimed up, “I think it won’t work unless you go personally, Palace Master.”
Yang Kai laughed, “As the Palace Master, I’m busy managing all the day-to-day affairs and other official duties. Do you think I have the time to run around?”
Hua Qing Si also looked angry, “I am the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace! Who dares to look down on me? Could that person be an Emperor Artifact Refiner?”
Nanmen Da Jun’s expression became solemn as he nodded lightly.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai looked shocked before he exclaimed in amazement, “An Emperor Rank Artifact Refiner?”
“That’s right. So, it would be best if you go meet her in person, Palace Master, that’s the only way to express your sincerity.”
Yang Kai stroked his chin and pondered seriously for a moment before nodding, “In that case, it will be worth the trip. Still… Da Jun, in your opinion, will this Emperor Artifact Refiner be willing to join High Heaven Palace?”
Nanmen Da Jun’s expression became strange, “Does that mean you want to recruit her into the Sect, Palace Master?”
“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded as if it was only natural, “From what you said, this Emperor Artifact Refiner is not affiliated with any force at the moment. Coincidentally, High Heaven Palace is currently short of talents in this particular Dao. Since we came across a Grandmaster by sheer luck, we shouldn’t miss the chance to recruit her.”
“Uhh…” Nanmen Da Jun suddenly became a little embarrassed. He hesitated slightly before saying, “Palace Master… That person is a great choice if we are only working together temporarily. For example, asking to cooperate with me to arrange a Mountain and Rivers Projection then kicking her out after we are done, but, if you plan to recruit someone like that into High Heaven Palace, then… I don’t recommend doing it, Palace Master.”
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “It is said that ‘two of a trade never agree’. You are an Array Master while that person is the Artifact Refiner. Since you are both proficient in different fields, there should be no conflicts, right?”
“That’s not the issue. It’s just… haa, Palace Master, you will understand what I mean once you meet her.”
Nanmen Da Jun seemed quite exasperated with this Emperor Artifact Refiner. Unfortunately, he could not explain the reason clearly, so even though Yang Kai asked many questions, he only said Yang Kai had to see the truth for himself, lest his words give a preconceived bias.
Since this Emperor Artifact Refiner lived like a recluse, Yang Kai had no choice but to travel with Nanmen Da Jun to meet her.
Fortunately, there was nothing he was in a rush to do.
“By the way, is there still no news from Zhu Qing?” Before leaving, he suddenly turned to Hua Qing Si and asked.
Hua Qing Si shook her head and replied, “Are you worried about her, Palace Master? If you are worried, I can ask the Monster Kings to search for her.”
“No,” he waved his hand dismissively and casually tossed a jade slip to her. Without even turning his head, he added, “This is Star Soul Palace’s decision regarding your punishment. Have a look at it.”
Hua Qing Si caught the jade slip and shuddered, quickly pouring her Divine Sense into it. After some investigation though, the nervous expression on her face soon disappeared and was replaced by a bright smile.
The decision written in the jade slip regarding her punishment was very simple. Although Hua Qing Si remained a Star Soul Palace disciple, it would not hinder her freedom. In other words, she was free to stay wherever she wanted to be, and it wouldn’t matter if she never returned to Star Soul Palace for the rest of her life.
It was just a simple jade slip, in no way an official document from Star Soul Palace. Even so, the jade slip contained the Soul Imprint of Princess Lan Xun, so with this jade slip in hand, it was equivalent to Hua Qing Si breaking free of Star Soul Palace even though she continued to hold the status of one of its disciples. She no longer needed to worry about this matter again in the future.
This was also part of the results stemming from the discussions between Yang Kai and Lan Xun a few days ago.
Lan Xun was the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor, a position that, for all intents and purposes, placed her below one and above all others in Star Soul Palace. Compared to the Elders, her status was even nobler. Despite that, Hua Qing Si was now an Emperor Realm Master, so even Lan Xun could not expel her at will. Fortunately, Lan Xun was very willing to give Yang Kai leeway in this matter. Since she couldn’t expel Hua Qing Si from Star Soul Palace, she decided to remove all restrictions on Hua Qing Si’s freedom instead, which was comparatively easier.
Outside the gates of High Heaven Palace, Nanmen Da Jun threw something into the air. That item suddenly became bigger mid-air and quickly transformed into a small boat. Then, he smilingly said, “Palace Master, please come aboard!”
Yang Kai glanced at the flying boat and raised his eyebrow in response, “This thing is pretty good.”
It was obviously a flight-type Emperor Artifact, not something that could be described with mere words like ‘pretty good’.
Not many flight-type artifacts of Emperor Grade could be found across the entire Star Boundary, so the value of one was at least tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals. For Nanmen Da Jun to have one showed that he had great wealth.
Nanmen Da Jun laughed dryly, “There’s no way I could have afforded this thing, I simply obtained it by winning a bet.”
“That’s incredibly lucky of you,” Yang Kai clicked his tongue in amazement as he flew up to the flying boat.
The flying boat did not look big, only about ten meters long at a glance, enough for five people to fit inside comfortably. However, Nanmen Da Jun suddenly made a gesture the moment Yang Kai moved towards the flying boat.
A hatch opened immediately on the hull of the flying boat.
Yang Kai stepped through the hatch, and the scene before his eyes changed immediately, leaving him stunned for a moment.
What entered his vision was not a simple interior, but instead a spacious cabin. Right now, Yang Kai was standing facing a large hall that could fit several dozen people without difficulty. Sweeping his Divine Sense around, Yang Kai even discovered several extravagantly decorated private rooms further inside.
There was even a First Stage staircase winding upward in a spiral by the side.
[I can’t believe this flying boat contains an independent space! This is equivalent to a large ship with several decks!]
A moment later, Nanmen Da Jun appeared beside Yang Kai.
Yang Kai turned his head and glanced at Nanmen Da Jun as he asked incredulously, “Did you really win this in a bet?”
Previously, Yang Kai thought that this was just a simple flying boat artifact, so he evaluated it to be worth to be around ten million High-Rank Source Crystals; however, from what he could see right now, this item was probably worth a hundred million High-Rank Source Crystals at the very least.
“It was just luck, just luck,” Nanmen Da Jun laughed wryly, his expression a little unnatural, making it clear he did not want to continue discussing this matter. Stretching out his hands, he gestured, “Palace Master, please find a place to rest at will. The place we are heading towards is neither far nor near. It will take around three days for us to arrive.”
“Good. Many thanks in advance for your hard work,” Yang Kai nodded before walking up the stairs to the second floor and randomly choosing one of the private rooms. Pushing the door open, he swept his glance across the interior and found that it was luxuriously and exquisitely decorated. A monkey head sculpture stood to one side, seemingly shading its eyes with its hand and glancing into the distance. It was a very lifelike sculpture.
Frowning slightly, Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that the monkey head looked rather familiar.
At that moment, the flying boat hummed slightly and rapidly started flying. The speed went from slow to fast in the blink of an eye, soon reaching a speed no slower than a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master’s maximum pace.
That made Yang Kai sigh in amazement at the grandness of this artifact once more.
After that, Yang Kai walked over to the bed, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began adjusting his breathing.
The journey was very smooth, to the point where one couldn’t even feel the slightest vibration. Moreover, there was nobody stupid enough to dare to block their path or try to rob them.
But then again, the speed of this flying boat was so fast that only a Third-Order Emperors could manage to stop them.
And so, three days passed by in a flash.
The speed of the flying boat decreased significantly all of a sudden. Following that, there was a loud humming sound as the boat came to a stop.
Yang Kai opened his eyes just as a knock on the door sounded from the outside. Standing up, he opened the door and saw Nanmen Da Jun standing outside. Nanmen Da Jun said, “We’re almost there, Palace Master. We need to fly the rest of the way.”
“Is there a barrier restricting the movement of the flying boat?” Yang Kai asked.
“That’s not it,” Nanmen Da Jun smirked before explaining, “It’s just that I can’t let others see this flying boat. Otherwise, things will get a little troublesome.”
He only gave a vague explanation, but Yang Kai did not bother to question him further. Then, the two of them got off the boat together.
The sound of waves falling and rising entered Yang Kai’s ears immediately, accompanied by a slight fishy smell carried over by the sea breeze. It made one feel relaxed and happy. Lifting his head, Yang Kai saw the blue sky stretching out into the vast distance, with not a cloud in the sky for ten thousand kilometres.
[I can’t believe our travels brought us to the sea.]
“Is this Grandmaster living on an island somewhere?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“That’s right,” Nanmen Da Jun nodded, leading the way. “This way, please.”
They immediately flew off in a certain direction. Although Nanmen Da Jun had the cultivation of an Emperor Realm Master, he was not good at fighting and his Emperor Qi wasn’t very pure, so his speed was not that great.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai leisurely followed behind Nanmen Da Jun. Looking down at the endless sea stretching out below him, he occasionally caught a glimpse of a sea creature revealing itself, making for some interesting scenery.
An hour later, Yang Kai suddenly heard the cry of seabirds in the distance and immediately understood that they were nearing their destination. Somewhere up ahead in this vast sea there had to be an island, for that was the only way for these ordinary birds to appear here.
Sure enough, an island that was neither small nor large came into view a short while later. Suddenly coming across a beautiful island in the middle of this endless sea could be said to be a kind of visual enjoyment. The island did not cover a large area, only being several dozen kilometres wide, while on the beach, waves came and went while birds rested leisurely.
Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun landed on the shore a moment later.
“Hmm?” Yang Kai frowned suddenly and looked at Nanmen Da Jun strangely, “Isn’t the Grandmaster unaffiliated? Why are there so many people on this island?”
When he swept his Divine Sense across the island, Yang Kai clearly found signs of activity. There were at least twenty people here, including six Emperor Realm Masters. If it weren’t for the presence of so many Emperors, he would have assumed that this place was the residence of a small Sect, but no small Sect would have so many Emperor Realm Masters.
Nanmen Da Jun heard Yang Kai’s question and was just about to open his mouth to explain when a stream of light suddenly rushed towards them from the front. It was clear that somebody had sensed their auras and came to investigate.
“Palace Master, please don’t say anything. I will deal with them!” Nanmen Da Jun said anxiously, as if he was seriously worried about something.
Yang Kai frowned in response as he began to feel that something was amiss about this trip.
Meanwhile, that stream of light dissipated to reveal the figure of a middle-aged man, who exuded the cultivation of a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. That man glanced at them and casually asked, “Who are you?”
Both of them were First-Order Emperor Realm Masters; therefore, this middle-aged man was not too concerned about them nor was he wary towards them. He even had a hint of arrogance in his expression when he questioned them.
Nanmen Da Jun immediately gritted his teeth and replied, “Debt collectors!”
[Debt collectors?] Yang Kai turned his head and glanced at Nanmen Da Jun only to discover that Nanmen Da Jun was acting serious with a furious expression. Moreover, Nanmen Da Jun now seriously looked like a creditor who had come to collect his due.
[What the hell is going on?] Yang Kai was puzzled. Unfortunately, the situation did not allow him to ask for an explanation.
To his surprise, the middle-aged man nodded lightly after hearing those words, “So, we’re in the same business. How much are you owed?”
Nanmen Da Jun replied without even thinking about it, “Five million High-Rank Source Crystals. You?”
The middle-aged man coldly snorted, “Twenty million! If I find that bitch, I’ll definitely skin her alive!”
“That’s outrageous!” Nanmen Da Jun nodded in agreement, “Skinning someone like that alive is going too easy on that kind of trash. If I get my hands on her, I’ll make sure she tastes the worst torture the world has to offer!”
“Hahaha,” the middle-aged man smiled slightly and nodded. “Very good.”
Then, Nanmen Da Jun asked, “Are all the people here debt collectors as well?”
“That’s right,” the middle-aged man nodded and explained, “We have reached an agreement among us. If anybody finds her, we will capture first, then immediately signal the others. Everybody else will rush over right away so that that slut won’t be able to escape! Since the two of you are debt collectors as well, we will let you have your share. However, I will warn you first; there seems to be an extremely strong Spirit Array protecting this island, so don’t take anything suspicious lightly.”
“Many thanks,” Nanmen Da Jun said, cupping his fists.
“It’s nothing. We are all victims here, so it’s only natural to help each other out,” the middle-aged man responded politely. He said a few more words to Nanmen Da Jun then before turning around and flying away.
Watching that person leave, Nanmen Da Jun signalled Yang Kai with his eyes and quietly sneaked toward the other side of the island.
“What happened to that Artifact Refining Grandmaster?” Yang Kai asked through Divine Sense transmission, “Why are there so many creditors here? How much money does she owe them?”
“Who knows?” Nanmen Da Jun had an exasperated expression.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue and said, “Seeing as you are so adept at dealing with this, it seems that you expected this from the beginning?”
Nanmen Da Jun wore a bitter smile and nodded, “This is what makes that woman so hateful. It’s not the first time something like this happened.”
Yang Kai wondered, “Isn’t she an Artifact Refining Grandmaster? Just refining a few Emperor Artifacts should be enough to pay off any debt she has, right?”
Nanmen Da Jun sighed, “It doesn’t matter how many Emperor Artifacts she refines, as she can’t stop herself from gambling.”
“That Grandmaster is an avid gambler?” Yang Kai asked in shock.
“It’s worse than that, she’s simply addicted to gambling. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she always loses when gambling,” Nanmen Da Jun had a scornful look. “That’s why I said she is troublesome.”
Yang Kai suddenly realized something and said, “Did you win that flying boat Emperor Artifact through a bet with her?”
Nanmen Da Jun blushed, “I was forced to do it! It wasn’t my intention to gamble with her.”
In just a few words, Yang Kai garnered a deep understanding of this unknown Emperor Artifact Refiner. [Tsk, tsk. This person is quite the character. I can’t believe she gambled away a flight-type Emperor Artifact worth hundreds of millions. Moreover, she lost the bet too. No wonder so many creditors are hanging around. Isn’t this life a little too miserable despite being an Emperor Artifact Refiner?]
While they were talking, they came to a steep mountain wall. There, Nanmen Da Jun sneakily released his Divine Sense to investigate and make sure that no one was paying attention nearby. After that, he suddenly took out a token and waved it in front of him. A series of ripples immediately appeared on a rock on the mountain wall, revealing a passage big enough for one person to enter and exit. Nanmen Da Jun hurriedly went inside while simultaneously beckoning to Yang Kai. Once Yang Kai was inside, Nanmen Da Jun quickly closed the entrance behind them.
As if noticing the suspicion on Yang Kai’s face, Nanmen Da Jun took the initiative to explain, “I helped arrange the Spirit Array here. If not for this Illusion Array, she wouldn’t have any place to hide by now.”
“You two seem to share a good relationship…” Yang Kai chuckled.
“Palace Master, please don’t mention me in the same sentence as her,” Nanmen Da Jun had an expression of disdain on his face. “If people find out that I am acquainted with her, it will only bring disaster.”
“It can’t be that bad, right?” Yang Kai seemed confused.
Nanmen Da Jun said bitterly, “Palace Master, you haven’t experienced how shameless she is. I helped pay off a bit of debt for her in the past, then those creditors suddenly began knocking on my door, one after the other. Even now, the memory is still vivid in my mind,” he shuddered while speaking.
Yang Kai didn’t know what to say. It seemed as if this Emperor Artifact Refiner had inflicted quite a lot of psychological traumas on Nanmen Da Jun.
The pair headed deeper inside, walking for a half an hour or so before the front brightened up abruptly and a large cave entered their field of vision. However, the cave was empty, with many tunnels leading in all directions.
“Please wait for a moment, Palace Master,” after Nanmen Da Jun said that, he turned around and studied the tunnels. A short while later, his gaze locked onto one of the tunnels before he coughed lightly and shouted, “Xiao Hou, come out.”
Nobody replied to that, only his voice echoed in that cave.
“Why aren’t you coming out? Do you think I can’t see you?” Nanmen Da Jun shouted, his expression darkening.
“Don’t come over! If you dare to take a single step forward, I’ll kill myself!” Without warning, a female voice rang out. The voice sounded extremely weak, like its owner had suffered a grave injury. Moreover, those words were full of despair.
When Nanmen Da Jun first mentioned that this Artifact Refining Grandmaster was a woman, Yang Kai had been a bit surprised, but after thinking about it for a bit, he relaxed. It wasn’t like he had never met female Artifact Refiners before, and among them, Yang Yan was the greatest Artifact Refiner and Array Master he knew.
Nanmen Da Jun’s expression became livid as he furiously shouted, “You idiot! Can’t you even recognize my voice anymore?!”
The woman hidden in the tunnel fell silent for a moment; however, Yang Kai could sense a pair of eyes studying them. A moment later, a figure rushed out like the wind and stood right in front of them.
“Oh, it’s you, Da Jun!” The woman exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
Yang Kai glanced at the woman and discovered that even though her appearance was not country-destroying, she was still quite a beauty. She was wearing a floral dress that made her look playful and cute, but her figure was curvy and mature. Not to mention, her complexion seemed a little pale for some reason.
On the other hand, she seemed very happy to be reunited with an old friend. She paused for a moment before throwing herself at Nanmen Da Jun.
“What are you doing?!” Nanmen Da Jun was clearly prepared for such antics and swiftly reached out his hand to press his palm against her head, using his Emperor Qi to firmly hold her back.
In response, she smiled flatteringly and coyly called out, “Da Jun—”
“What extraordinary impudence you have!” Nanmen Da Jun shouted furiously. Pouring his Emperor Qi into his palm, he pushed her away.
Unexpectedly, the woman pushed back against the pressure, stepping forward, slipped past him, and rushed into his chest for a brief moment before she spun around and fluttered over to a smooth rock nearby while giggling happily.
“My ring!” Nanmen Da Jun’s expression went pitch-black as he suddenly felt something missing from his hand, lifting his gaze to see his Space Ring now in the hands of this woman. She held it up between two fingers and waved it at him as if showing off.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, revealing a look of surprise. What happened just now had occurred too quickly, and although he couldn’t see her movements clearly, he still vaguely detected some traces of her movements. This Emperor Artifact Refiner was quite quick on her feet! Even though Nanmen Da Jun was guarded against her, his Space Ring was taken away in an instant! Was she really an Artifact Refiner, not a thief?
“Give it back to me!” Nanmen Da Jun stretched out his hand to her with an icy expression.
In response, the woman pursed her rosy lips and casually erased his Soul Imprint from the ring. Searching through it, she laughed brightly before taking out several bottles of wine as she happily said, “You always do treat me the best!”
While speaking, she lay down on the rock, unsealed the bottle, and gulped down the wine. At the same time, she silently flicked the Space Ring back to Nanmen Da Jun, who caught it with a dark expression and said nothing. Afterwards, the only sound in the cave was the sound of her glugging the wine.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead and suddenly felt a headache coming on. He didn’t think much of it when he heard that this Emperor Artifact Refiner was addicted to gambling; however, he felt like leaving after seeing her seasoned drunkard posture right at that moment. Right now, the only thought that came to Yang Kai’s mind was, [Damn it! Another female drunkard!]
A few days ago, what Gao Xue Ting did after drinking had cast an indelible psychological shadow in Yang Kai’s heart. For that reason, he couldn’t help recalling the traumatic events of that day whenever he saw a woman drinking. Just thinking about it made his heart pound wildly and his breathing grow short.
Silavin: Happy Chinese New Year! Let us start off the new year with a bang! Quite literally!
Picking up a new novel:
Dragon Blood Warrior
After finishing several bottles of wine, the woman belched loudly with a contented expression on her face. She wiped away the remains of the wine from the corner of her lips before exhaling a long breath and standing up, raising her hands and cheering, “I feel alive again!”
Her anaemic complexion from before had vanished without a trace, and her face became flushed instead. There were two more bottles of wine, but she didn’t drink them, instead lovingly storing them into her own Space Ring before lifting her head and asking, “Da Jun, are you here to save me?”
Nanmen Da Jun sneered coldly, “What do you think?”
“So, when are we getting married?” She asked.
“Scram!”
The woman curled her lips, muttering something under her breath. From the way her lips moved, it seemed like she was cursing somebody. In the next moment, she glanced at Yang Kai and smilingly asked Nanmen Da Jun, “Who is this Little Brother? He has a good figure. Is he rich? Did he bring me some good wine?”
“Cease your impudence!” Nanmen Da Jun coldly snorted, “This is the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace! You foolish woman; quickly come and give your greetings!”
“High Heaven Palace?” She tilted her head to the side and pondered for a moment before smiling carefreely, “Never heard of it before. Where did it pop out from?”
Nanmen Da Jun quickly snapped, “It doesn’t matter even if you’ve never heard of it before! The important point is that I am now the Chief Array Master of High Heaven Palace!”
The cheeky smile on the woman’s face stiffened instantly as she turned to look at him in astonishment, then glanced at Yang Kai. After that, she stepped forward and placed her hand on Nanmen Da Jun’s forehead.
“What are you doing?!” He took a step back warily.
“Have you finally gone crazy?” She asked curiously.
“You’re the one who’s gone crazy!” He shouted furiously, “Your entire family is crazy!”
A peel of laughter left the woman’s lips before she twirled around and landed on the smooth rock from before as she condescendingly said, “Why would you join a Sect if you hadn’t gone crazy? I recall that you have always sneered at those Sects, be they large or small.”
“Naturally, I have my own reasons for joining High Heaven Palace.” Nanmen Da Jun groaned.
The woman’s expression changed abruptly as she had known Nanmen Da Jun for many years now. They had met each other when they were still young and weak; then, over the years, they had worked together on many occasions and slowly grown stronger together. It could be said that she understood him completely; therefore, she knew what his attitude was like toward those Sects that were trying to recruit him. If he had any intention to join a Sect, he would be free to choose from almost all the Sects in the Star Boundary, be they the smallest and weakest, or the most powerful. Even Great Emperor Sects would welcome him if he showed interest in joining them. The last time she met him, he had still been working alone; yet now, she suddenly discovered that he had joined a Sect called High Heaven Palace. That was enough to shock her to the extreme.
[The Palace Master of High Heaven Palace? He only has a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, so how powerful could the Sect he founded be? What does it have that can attract somebody like Da Jun to join it?] The woman tilted her head to the side and studied Yang Kai carefully, as if she was trying to stare a hole into him.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stared back at her with a smile; however, his heart was full of sorrow and remorse as he thought to himself, [Should I just go back and forget about this? Even if I recruit such an Emperor Artifact Refiner into High Heaven Palace, it might not necessarily be a good thing.]
A long while later, the woman made a fist with one hand and hammered it into her other palm with a look of epiphany. Then, she glanced at Nanmen Da Jun in surprise and said, “Da Jun, we have known each other for so many years, but it’s only now that I discovered that you don’t love women! No wonder you refused to marry me all these years!”
“Y-Y-You—” Nanmen Da Jun was so furious that steam was practically rising from his head. He pointed at her and stuttered, “You foolish woman!” Turning his head to look at Yang Kai, who had a sullen expression as well, he anxiously said, “Palace Master, this woman is a lunatic! Please ignore what she says!”
“Just who are you calling a ‘lunatic’?” She glared.
On the other hand, Yang Kai stepped forward and lightly said, “Da Jun said there was an outstanding Emperor Artifact Refiner here, so I came with great sincerity and expectations, but now, it seems… Tsk.”
“What do you mean by ‘Tsk’?” The woman suddenly became disgruntled, flying over to him in a flash, widening her almond eyes as she reached out, grabbed him by the collar, and angrily snarled, “You better explain yourself well, otherwise you will suffer the consequences!”
“Let go!” Nanmen Da Jun was startled and hurriedly shouted. Of course, he was not worried about Yang Kai, but was instead concerned Yang Kai might get angry. His ‘friend’ would definitely suffer at Yang Kai’s hands if a fight broke out. They might both be First-Order Emperors, but she definitely wasn’t his opponent.
However, Yang Kai simply raised his hand to stop Nanmen Da Jun before he glanced back at the woman with contempt and sneered, “Since you are a Grandmaster, you should carry the dignity of a Grandmaster. Unfortunately, I can’t find a single shred of the poise that a Grandmaster would possess. You give off the impression of a countryside bumpkin instead. To be honest, I am very disappointed.”
She released her hold on his collar and laughed mockingly, “What a joke! Are you saying that all the so-called Grandmasters should be polite and sanctimonious? Sorry, I was born like this.”
Yang Kai smiled back lightly and quipped, “So, you consider yourself a Grandmaster?”
She coldly snorted, “I don’t dare to say that about anything else, but nobody is better than me in this world when it comes to Artifact Refining.”
“What arrogance. Be careful not to bite your tongue.”
She smiled deviously in response, confidence overflowing from her words.
“Anybody can talk big, but I wonder if you can actually prove it.”
“You want me to prove myself?” She glared at Yang Kai, seeing his look of provocation, before instantly becoming incensed, “Good, good, good. Elder Sister here will make you understand how great she is!”
Stretching her hand out, she said to Nanmen Da Jun, “Give me some materials!”
Nanmen Da Jun glanced at Yang Kai questioningly. He understood what Yang Kai was aiming for by now, a test of her Artifact Refining abilities.
It wasn’t as if this woman had not seen through Yang Kai’s intentions either, but that didn’t decrease the frustration she felt for having her qualifications questioned. Therefore, she went along with this farce despite knowing that Yang Kai was simply using his words to provoke her.
Seeing Yang Kai nodding in agreement, to which Nanmen Da Jun asked, “What materials do you want?”
“Anything would do!”
Only then did Nanmen Da Jun start rummaging in his Space Ring. During his time as the Chief Array Master of High Heaven Palace, he had been busy with arranging Spirit Arrays which required large amounts of materials, so he had quite a lot of them in his ring. He soon found a piece of ore about the size of a melon and threw it to the woman.
Yang Kai took a look and recognized the Scarlet Feather Stone at a glance. It was an ore known for its toughness and if it could be smelted with other materials while refining an artifact, the durability of that artifact would be improved. However, it was precisely because of that attribute that the Scarlet Feather Stone could only be used as an auxiliary material, not a primary one. Despite that, Nanmen Da Jun chose that piece of ore without any other materials. It was obvious that he intended to let the woman show off her abilities.
“Open your eyes wide and watch carefully, Little Brother. Don’t even blink or you might miss Elder Sister’s amazing display!” She accepted the Scarlet Feather Stone and smiled at Yang Kai frostily. Her fingers then began to dance agilely as the melon-sized piece of Scarlet Feather Stone started to spin and whirl in her hands. She was in no hurry to finish the refining process and instead lifted the bottle of wine in her hands and took a large gulp. Putting the bottle away, she opened her mouth wide and sprayed out a fine mist of wine.
*Hu…*
Following that sound, a ball of fire burst forth and the temperature in the cave rose exponentially. The fireball did not burn with a normal colour and seemed to be giving off a faint white light instead, probably a type of Heavenly Flame.
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened at the sight. Be it an Artifact Refiner or an Alchemist, their requirements for the fire they used was very high. Having an excellent flame could improve the efficiency and quality of Alchemy and Artifact Refining.
The moment this woman started working, Yang Kai could tell that she was truly very capable. She didn’t even take out her Artifact Refining Furnace, clearly intending to refine this ore on the spot. This refining method required great skill from the Artifact Refiner, and amateurs couldn’t pull it off. What surprised Yang Kai even more though was her mastery of her flames. It was so perfect that it was to the extent of being divine. That mouthful of spirit wine flames that she sprayed out enveloped the Scarlet Feather Stone perfectly, not having the slightest bit of waste.
Under the high temperature, the Scarlet Feather Stone melted quickly. She then held out her beautiful jade-white hand as her fingers moved dexterously to remove the impurities from the ore, drop by drop. At the same time, the Scarlet Feather Stone became smaller and smaller.
Just as condensing medicinal liquid was the first step in Alchemy, removing impurities from ore was the first in Artifact Refining. That was the most basic step, as well as the step that most directly displayed an Alchemist or Artifact Refiner’s skills as everything that followed in the refinement process would depend on how well this first step was executed.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and carefully inspected the state of the Scarlet Feather Stone and the result was quite amazing. After a quarter of an hour, this woman managed to remove all the impurities in the Scarlet Feather Stone without leaving the slightest trace behind. She had achieved perfection in this step! That alone was enough to warrant her status as a Grandmaster.
Yang Kai was thoroughly impressed and the prejudice he felt against her because of her previous slovenly behaviour lessened slightly. As long as she was capable, some lifestyle issues were not completely unacceptable.
Another quarter of an hour later, the Scarlet Feather Stone had transformed into a ball of pure liquid metal about the size of a fist. The woman lifted her head and glanced at him triumphantly, “Little Brother, it’s not too late for you to beg for mercy right now. As long as you can give me several million Source Crystals, I will forgive you for your previous rudeness.”
“Ha!” Yang Kai sneered openly.
“I guess you won’t regret it until you see your coffin! I hate stubborn men like you the most!” She gritted her teeth. Even though she turned her attention away to speak with him, her hand movements did not pause in the slightest. She held the liquid mineral in her small hands as her hands formed various intricate seals one after the other. This led to the liquid metal to burn even hotter while her white flames flickered and fluctuated, obviously varying the temperature at specific positions and points.
The liquid metal was slowly stretched out and gradually took on the shape of a sword. The entire process was visible to the naked eye, and with the passing of time, the appearance of the sword became more and more distinct. The edges of the sword gleamed with a sharp and cold light while intricate designs appeared on its hilt.
Although the refining process looked boring and lacked any particularly thrilling scenes, both Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun couldn’t take their eyes off it as they watched intently.
About an hour later, the woman suddenly grabbed a bottle of wine again, and while spraying out a mouthful, the flames were extinguished. This was followed by the sound of something sizzling as a light burst from the sword.
“Done!” The woman casually tossed the sword into the air, allowing it to fall straight down and stab into the ground. The sword proceeded to bury itself into the ground up to its hilt.
The ground of this cave was extremely hard; however, the sword made from the Scarlet Feather Stone penetrated all the way to its hilt just from its falling momentum. This was enough to showcase just how sharp its blade was. What was even more commendable was that the sword had been made with a Scarlet Feather Stone as the primary material with no other materials being added to it. Although Scarlet Feather Stone was known for its toughness, it was not known for its malleability. That alone gave Yang Kai a general assessment of this woman’s Artifact Refining ability.
He reached out and grabbed the sword, and as the Scarlet Feather Stone sword sat heavily in the palm of his hand, Yang Kai poured his Emperor Qi into it, causing it to hum softly.
“Dao-Source Grade Low-Rank!” He said with slightly raised eyebrows.
“Hahahaha!” The woman stood on the rock and spread open her arms, laughing maniacally, “Surrender to the mystical and powerful Artifact Refining techniques of mine!”
Nanmen Da Jun’s expression darkened, “Palace Master, why don’t we go back and just forget about this?”
If Nanmen Da Jun had made this suggestion before the woman started refining, Yang Kai might have gone back home without any hesitation. Unfortunately, he had other plans after seeing this woman’s skills. The woman in front of them still looked extremely unreliable, but she definitely had ability far beyond the average Grandmaster.
“Little Brother, are you convinced now?” She glanced at Yang Kai proudly with an expression that seemed to say ‘hurry up and worship me’.
“It’s not bad.” Yang Kai nodded slightly.
“Not bad?!” Her expression became sullen as she stressed each word, “Not… Bad?!” Her divine skills only received a trivial evaluation like ‘not bad’!? She looked angry, waving her hands as if she were driving away flies, “Scram, scram! Leave this place at once. You’re not welcome here. Stay as far away from me as possible.”
Seeing as that brat was a guest brought by Nanmen Da Jun, she had treated him with some courtesy; otherwise, she would not have deliberately revealed her Artifact Refining skills in front of him. However, his neutral evaluation of her skills left her burning with rage and she immediately kicked him out as a result. She no longer had any interest in talking to him as she hated his kind the most! Not only did they not know how to appreciate how amazing her skills were, but they also pretentiously acted as if they understood!
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “It’s certainly not bad.”
Her expression turned icy as she calmly scolded, “Little Brother, watch what you say. Careless talk can bring misfortune. I might not look like much, but a single word from me could destroy you completely!”
Nanmen Da Jun chuckled, “Xiao Hou, you sure are talking big. Be careful or you might have to choke down your words.”
She scoffed in response, “I am an Emperor Artifact Refiner. Do you think nobody would help me if I really wanted to kill somebody? Those guys outside might be going crazy searching for me to pay back my debts; however, they will all become my lackeys if I step up to negotiate with them!”
He lightly replied, “Palace Master is an Emperor Alchemist!”
“Uh…” She looked at Yang Kai in surprise before turning to look at Nanmen Da Jun as if trying to detect a sign that he was lying from his expression. In the end, she was disappointed by the results. His expression was solemn, and he looked dead serious. Besides, based on what she knew about him, he would never lie about such matters.
[An Emperor Rank Alchemist?! At such a young age?!] She seemed rather shocked by the news. Even so, she stubbornly insisted, “So what? There’s not much difference between an Emperor Artifact Refiner and an Emperor Alchemist anyway.”
It was funny if you thought about it. An Emperor Artifact Refiner, an Emperor Alchemist, and an Emperor Array Master were gathered on this nameless island at this moment. That was a terrifying lineup. Any Sect would go crazy at such a sight, trying to recruit them all at any cost.
Yang Kai said, “You are called Grandmaster Hou, right? It seems that you don’t have a good impression of me, Grandmaster Hou.”
She snorted, “Whatever. I’m not close to you anyhow, so it doesn’t matter what you think of me.”
“The reason I said that your skills are not bad is that I have met a more skilful Artifact Refiner than you.”
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, she jumped to her feet and screeched, “Bullshit! How could there be an Artifact Refiner better than me in this world?! In the Dao of Artifact Refining, I am the greatest!” She turned to glare at Nanmen Da Jun and spoke through gritted teeth, “Can I beat this little brat up?”
Nanmen Da Jun shook his head, “There’s no such thing as the best in the world.”
Nobody would dare to call themselves the best in the world in any field. Perhaps the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor could call himself that in the Alchemic Dao; however, this woman was certainly not of that calibre yet.
“You don’t believe me, Grandmaster Hou?” The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth curved, revealing a subtle smile.
The woman scoffed, “If that’s the case, then you have to bring me to this ‘more skilful Artifact Refiner’ that you mentioned. I want to see just who is stronger or weaker between us.”
Yang Kai shook his head and said, “I don’t know where she is right now.”
This drew a disdainful snort as Grandmaster Hou’s expression turned contemptuous. It was clear that she thought he was slandering her without reason.
“But…” Yang Kai continued, “What if I can prove that there is someone in this world that is better than you in the Dao of Artifact Refining? What happens then?”
“I’ll marry you then!” She sneered. Tugging at her floral dress as she puffed out her chest and uttered some shocking words, “I’m beautiful and have an ample bosom and stylish figure! Moreover, I still have my innocence. You better not say that I’m not good enough for you!”
Yang Kai glanced at Nanmen Da Jun who was currently facepalming before bringing a hand up to cover his own face in exasperation. The two wore annoyed expressions as if they just discovered how shameless this woman really was.
“Fine, fine,” Yang Kai nodded in exasperation before taking something out of his Space Ring and tossing it to her, “Please have a look at this, Grandmaster Hou.”
She caught it and glanced at it before sneering disdainfully, “An Origin King Grade artifact? Where did this toy come from? Ugh. Moreover, it’s a warship…”
Origin King Grade artifacts were artifacts that were only used by Origin King Realm cultivators, it was certainly a toy to her at her current level; furthermore, a useless one at that.
Yang Kai only smiled faintly and replied, “The simpler the item, the easier it is to evaluate the ability of the one who refined it, right?”
The woman’s brow furrowed together slightly as it was rare that she agreed with his point of view, “Good.”
Just like cooking, what challenges a master chef’s skills the most are not luxurious delicacies, but the simplest of dishes one would eat every day.
“Hmm?” Her gaze suddenly focused as the contempt in her eyes vanished abruptly and was replaced by prudence and amazement. She flipped the delicate little warship about, playing with it in her palms, her Divine Sense flowing out to investigate its internal structure.
“Palace Master… Do you really intend to recruit this woman into High Heaven Palace?” Nanmen Da Jun asked through a secret transmission, “You’ve seen what she is like… If she really joined High Heaven Palace, she might bring trouble to us. Moreover, she behaves perversely and acts however she pleases. I’ve yet to meet anybody who can subdue her. Do you have the confidence to make her submit to you, Palace Master?”
“Nope!” Yang Kai shook his head, “The only way to make her submit is to defeat her in what she does best. I am not capable of that.”
On this point, Nanmen Da Jun understood through his own experience. The reason he agreed to join High Heaven Palace was not that he was touched by Yang Kai’s sincerity nor how well Yang Kai treated him, it was simply because High Heaven Palace had something in his Dao that he was interested in but was unable to comprehend; that was the main reason he joined the Sect.
“But, even if I don’t have the ability, the people around me do,” Yang Kai smiled mysteriously.
“Are you referring to that Origin King Grade warship?” Nanmen Da Jun frowned, realizing that it was the key to their problem.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully in response but said nothing more. Even though it was just an Origin King Grade warship, far too low grade for Yang Kai to use now, it was still refined by Yang Yan herself back on Shadowed Star. Yang Kai was very familiar with Yang Yan’s Artifact Refining skills. If this Grandmaster Hou was superior to Yang Yan in Artifact Refining, then he would have nothing to say, but Yang Kai believed that to be very unlikely, and the serious expression the woman in front of him was wearing reinforced that view.
As the saying went, ‘While the connoisseur recognized the artistry involved, the layman simply enjoyed the show’. A trivial Origin King Grade warship was nothing but a low-grade toy to Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun; however, it was an extremely delicate treasure of refinement to this woman.
Time passed slowly as the cave remained utterly silent. Grandmaster Hou’s expression became increasingly serious as a fine layer of sweat oozed out of her forehead. This both shocked and horrified Nanmen Da Jun, as the only reason for her current behaviour was that the Origin King Grade warship had had a huge impact on her.
Although he did not recognize her self-proclaimed title of being ‘the best Artifact Refiner in the world’, he believed that nobody was significantly more skilled in the entire Star Boundary in terms of Artifact Refining. Now, it seemed like the saying that ‘there is always a mountain beyond the mountains’ was true. But just who in the world created this Origin King Grade warship? And, where did Yang Kai obtain it?
“Activate it,” the woman suddenly raised her head and issued a command to Yang Kai. Her voice held no trace of politeness in it.
Fortunately, Yang Kai wasn’t bothered by her rudeness and simply formed a hand seal. Then, the warship that was the size of his palm immediately swelled until it became thirty metres long. A hatch opened and the woman entered the warship in a flash. From the looks of it, she planned to study it carefully from the inside out.
Since Yang Kai was in no hurry, he decided to wait outside with Nanmen Da Jun. At present, he was eighty percent certain that he could successfully recruit her into his Sect. The rest all depended on whether she was willing to accept her loss.
One hour later, she walked out of the warship with a dazed expression, looking like a walking corpse. It was as if she had been brutally ravaged by dozens of burly men to the point where she even walked stiffly and awkwardly. Only a strange light shone in her beautiful eyes. Moreover, her mouth was moving slightly, muttering something under her breath.
Glancing at each other, Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun tactfully did not disturb her from her trance.
Time passed. An hour… Four hours… Half a day… One night… A whole two days later, her demeanour finally changed. Her eyes shone brightly as she jumped up and clapped her hands, “Hahaha! I understand! So, that’s how it is!”
[She actually gained some kind of enlightenment from this!] Seeing this, Nanmen Da Jun let out a long sigh of relief. He had been quite worried over the last two days. Although they had known each other for so long and she constantly got on his nerves, they were still old friends, so he had been worried that she might suffer from dissonance in her cultivation when he looked at her possessed appearance. Still, it seemed like he had been worried over nothing. It made him feel relieved but a little angry at the same time. [Good people don’t live long, but a scourge lasts a thousand years. Based on what she has done in the past, she might just live forever. Why was I foolishly worried about her?]
“How was it?” Yang Kai looked at the woman with a smile.
“Ah, well…” The woman scratched her head and shifted her gaze away, laughing dryly, “This warship is… well… certainly not bad… hahaha…”
Nanmen Da Jun smiled in response, “Xiao Hou, do you remember what you said before?”
She glared at him fiercely, striking a defiant but resigned posture before she glanced over at Yang Kai and declared, “Fine! Even though I have some minor shortcomings in my character…”
“Minor shortcomings?” The veins in Yang Kai’s forehead throbbed visibly.
“I also have my strong points! My greatest strength is my willingness to accept my losses!” She looked at Yang Kai and unreservedly said, “Since that’s the case, when do we tie the knot?”
“Marriage won’t be necessary,” Yang Kai lifted his hand in refusal, “Grandmaster Hou, you are an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and I am here to recruit you into my High Heaven Palace. I hope you will take on the position of Chief Artifact Refiner. I apologize if I offended you with my words earlier, Grandmaster Hou.”
“Hehehe…” She covered her mouth and giggled, “Little Brother, you sure know how to talk.” Her expression suddenly became stern, “Let’s make this clear; you’re the one that doesn’t want me to fulfil our agreement. I did not go back on my word. I cannot allow my reputation to be tarnished.”
“Da Jun can testify for your reputation.” Yang Kai smiled slightly and added, “The prerequisite being that you willingly return to High Heaven Palace with me, Grandmaster Hou.”
When she heard those words, her expression became solemn as she turned to look at Nanmen Da Jun before carefully considering Yang Kai’s offer, eventually saying, “If it wasn’t for Da Jun, I wouldn’t even consider it regardless of how many benefits High Heaven Palace offered, but since Da Jun has already joined… I’ll join in on the fun too.”
“I will not disappoint you, Grandmaster Hou!” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Hold on!” She lifted a hand and said, “Before that, I have a condition.”
Frowning, Yang Kai nodded, “What is it?”
She turned around and moved back to the rock she was sitting on before, lifting her leg and pulling up her floral skirt before she placed one foot on the rock. Her actions exposed half of her leg, but she didn’t care. Furthermore, a dice cup had appeared in her hand at some point. She shook it vigorously, and a rattling noise came from inside the cup. After that, she placed it face down on the rock and shouted, “Make a bet with me! The wager will be that warship!”
“That’s your condition?” Yang Kai asked in astonishment.
“Good!” She nodded.
Yang Kai was rendered speechless. He had heard from Nanmen Da Jun that she was addicted to gambling, but he had yet to experience it for himself. [I can’t believe I’d see it for myself before we leave. The Origin King Grade warship refined by Yang Yan must be very attractive to her, which is why she wants me to wager it in our bet.]
“Fine!” Yang Kai had no problem with her suggestion. It was just a small bet after all, “What do I get if I win? What is your wager?”
“Of course, I have something to pay you with!” She snorted and shouted, “What do you choose, big? Or, small?”
Yang Kai glanced at Nanmen Da Jun. The latter said, “Just pick whichever you want, Palace Master. You don’t need to worry about her cheating in this regard. She is always serious when it comes to gambling. She won’t cheat.”
“I’ll choose big then,” Yang Kai casually said. It didn’t matter whether he won or lost anyway. Besides, he would only lose an Origin King Grade warship if he lost the bet.
Following that, Nanmen Da Jun silently took out a Space Ring and tossed it onto the rock, “I’ll choose big too.”
The woman shot a sneer at him, “Careful, you might lose everything you have.”
“Don’t worry! I can beat you with my eyes closed.”
“Alright! The bets have been placed!”
…..
A moment later, the woman grabbed her right wrist with her left hand with all her strength. She looked as if she was staring at her nemesis as she wailed in agony, “No way! How can it be ‘big’?!”
Nanmen Da Jun calmly retrieved his Space Ring and replied, “Adding it all up, you now owe me a total of fifty million Source Crystals, Xiao Hou.”
“Put it on my tab!” She glared at Nanmen Da Jun angrily. Then, she looked at Yang Kai and sighed, “Since I lost, I’ll give you something.” While speaking, she reached into her clothes, grabbed an object, then tossed it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught the item unsuspectingly, but when he fixed his gaze on it, he nearly had a nosebleed on the spot.
She chuckled, “It’s my undergarment. And, it’s still warm…”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he shouted, “What am I supposed to do with this?!”
She meaningfully replied, “Who knows?”
He sighed. Just as he was about to return the delicate undergarment to her, he frowned suddenly. Unfurling the undergarment, Yang Kai lifted it up and began to study it carefully.
The woman initially wanted to tease him; however, she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw his reaction and secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Nanmen Da Jun, “Da Jun, is the Palace Master a virgin? Will he devour me if I play tricks like this on him?”
“Devour you? You of all people?” Nanmen Da Jun sneered contemptuously.
“What’s wrong with me?” She immediately became insulted.
On the other hand, Yang Kai seemed to have spotted a clue and lifted his head in surprise to stare at the woman, exclaiming in astonishment, “Are you the Monkey Grandmaster?”
The woman was taken aback for a moment before blinking and replying, “En, my last name is Hou, and my given name is Yu!”
“So, you are Monkey Grandmaster!” Yang Kai laughed heartily, pointing at the monkey head symbol on her undergarment with his finger.
Only then did Hou Yu understand what he was talking about and smiled faintly, “I see; that’s what you’re talking about. That’s right. I am the mysterious and elusive Monkey Grandmaster!”
“I can’t believe it’s you!” Yang Kai widened his eyes in shock but immediately nodded to himself lightly, “I should have realized earlier.”
He had seen a monkey head sculpture on Nanmen Da Jun’s flying boat previously, and at the time, he had the vague feeling that it looked familiar. Unfortunately, Yang Kai’s thoughts had been interrupted before he had the time to mull over it. Seeing the monkey head symbol on her undergarment again, Yang Kai immediately understood the situation.
When he brought Qin Yu to the auction in Maplewood City a short time ago and spent a lot of High-Rank Source Crystals to buy her the Flowing Clouds Butterfly Hairpin which had a similar monkey head symbol engraved on it.
According to what Qin Yu said at the time, Monkey Grandmaster was an extremely mysterious Artifact Refining Grandmaster whose very gender wasn’t even known. Nevertheless, any artifact refined by Monkey Grandmaster was a magnificent item, and each item could be sold at an exorbitant price.
The name ‘Monkey Grandmaster’ enjoyed a stellar reputation in the Southern Territory, but unexpectedly, the true identity of the Monkey Grandmaster turned out to be a woman. Moreover, it was a strange woman who loved drinking and gambling. In addition, she lost every single bet she made!
[This is such an unexpected surprise. Regardless, Hou Yu’s Artifact Refining skills are already extremely impressive. Combining that with the grand reputation of Monkey Grandmaster, High Heaven Palace has certainly received a stroke of luck!]
At the moment, High Heaven Palace had gathered an Emperor Alchemist, an Emperor Array Master, an Emperor Artifact Refiner, and even had a number of practitioners of the Dao of Puppetry. Furthermore, three Monster Kings oversaw the Sect and there was even a Cross-Territory Space Array that linked both the Eastern and Southern Territories. At this rate, nobody could stop the rise of High Heaven Palace anymore.
Yang Kai’s mood brightened immensely as he waved his hand and said, “I’ll give this Origin King Grade warship to you. It only holds some nostalgic value to me anyway.”
“Seriously?!” Hou Yu was overjoyed. Smiling widely, she bowed to Yang Kai elegantly and gently replied, “I thank Palace Master for his gracious gift.”
Her sudden change in attitude left Yang Kai feeling a little unaccustomed, but she relapsed back to her original behaviour in the blink of an eye, rushing over to the Origin King Grade warship as she opened her arms wide and hugged it as if holding a priceless treasure.
After that, Yang Kai dispelled his Soul Imprint on the warship and she immediately started to refine it. Soon, Hou Yu solemnly placed it away before walking over to him and saying with a stern expression, “Palace Master, I hope you can introduce me to the person who refined this warship if the opportunity arises.”
“I’m sure the opportunity will come.” Yang Kai nodded slightly, “Do you have anything you need to pack? If not, let’s be on our way.”
She threw her head back and laughed, “I don’t have much.”
Years of gambling had made her lose almost all of her assets, so even though she was an Emperor Artifact Refiner, she was actually very poor.
“Let’s go then,” Yang Kai said, “Please don’t resist.”
Having given them notice, Yang Kai wrapped the other two in his Emperor Qi then pushed his Space Principles. With a flash, they disappeared from the cave in an instant. Their field of vision instantly changed as the three of them reappeared in the sky above the island.
Nanmen Da Jun had been mentally prepared, so he didn’t feel anything about it; however, Hou Yu was shocked and exclaimed in amazement, “Teleportation?!”
They had moved from the cave to this spot in an instant, effectively breaking through various obstacles such as barriers and Spirit Arrays around her cave mansion. Even so, she could not detect any traces of Yang Kai using an artifact; therefore, there was only one explanation for that, “Palace Master, are you proficient in the Dao of Space?”
“Palace Master’s abilities are vast and unfathomable. You will be very surprised in the future,” Nanmen Da Jun grinned meaningfully.
Hou Yu was already quite surprised. At the same time, she quietly rejoiced that she had not fallen out and fought Yang Kai head-on previously. [I don’t think my strength is enough to take him on. Even though we are both First-Order Emperor Realm Masters, an opponent proficient in the Dao of Space is terrifying!]
“Oh no, this is bad!” Her pretty face paled suddenly as she hurriedly urged Yang Kai, “Let’s leave quickly. It will be too late if we don’t leave now.”
Needless to say, Yang Kai knew what she was worried about and motioned lightly to her, “High Heaven Palace will become famous across the Star Boundary one day and it will be impossible to conceal the fact that you are our Chief Artifact Refiner forever. Rather than having these people chase you all the way to High Heaven Palace to collect on your debts, ruining High Heaven Palace’s reputation, I might as well settle everything now.”
“Palace Master, you…” Hou Yu looked touched, but unfortunately, Yang Kai’s next sentence shattered her good feelings completely.
“All the payments made today will be deducted from your salary from now onward.”
“You damn woman! You finally appeared! You won’t be able to escape today!” A furious roar sounded while at the same time, a stream of light flew towards the trio at high speed from the distance. At the same time, a kind of flare exploded in the sky, alerting everyone else nearby.
A short while later, the streak of light appeared before the trio and dispersed to reveal the middle-aged man that Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun had met when they first arrived on the island two days ago. This man was a Second-Order Emperor and had good strength. The moment he arrived, he locked his Divine Sense onto Hou Yu in order to ensure she did not escape.
When he came closer, he grabbed her with a large hand. Following that, an incredibly powerful pressure pressed down on Hou Yu like a large mountain and she couldn’t help turning pale with fright. Even Nanmen Da Jun shuddered in response. Both of them were only First-Order Emperors; therefore, it was only natural that they had a hard time standing up to this enraged Second-Order Emperor. Even breathing was difficult for them.
Facing the middle-aged man’s terrifying pressure, Yang Kai lightly stepped forward and pushed out his palm, instantly causing the intense aura pressing down on Hou Yu and Nanmen Da Jun to melt away like snowflakes under the scorching sun. Although Yang Kai’s actions seemed simple and unremarkable, they also seemed to harmonize with the surrounding World Principles and with the Martial Dao itself.
The expression on the face of the middle-aged man that had approached them changed abruptly. He hastily curled his hand into a fist, gathered his Emperor Qi, and threw a punch out to meet Yang Kai’s palm. When the two attacks met one another, the middle-aged man’s aura deflated like a punctured sack and with a muffled snort he was forced back several steps before finally managing to steady himself.
On the other hand, Yang Kai remained motionless while his aura did not even fluctuate as a sea breeze blew against him, making his clothes sway and his hair dance in the wind.
Hou Yu was stunned and stared at Yang Kai’s back in a daze. For a moment, she thought that he was amazing. [I didn’t see wrongly, right? How can a First-Order Emperor Realm Master be so powerful? Da Jun and I are both First-Order Emperors too, but we could barely breathe under the pressure of that attack. On the other hand, Palace Master managed to repel the enemy with just a casual palm!]
“You…” The middle-aged man was shocked too. What he saw at that moment was not a palm, but rather a mountain slamming towards him. The aura of death had enveloped his entire body in that instant, and moreover, the attack had been unavoidable and unstoppable. Just as he was thinking that he would suffer grievous injuries even if he survived the attack, the other party simply broke through his defences easily and pushed him back. Surprisingly, that attack did not kill him nor even harm him whatsoever; all that person did was disrupt his momentum.
“Are you all one group?” The middle-aged man immediately recognized Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun; after all, he had greeted these two when they first arrived on the island just two days ago. [The other guy claimed that they were debt collectors back then, and I naively believed them. From the looks of it, they are not creditors but accomplices of that wicked woman!]
If it were any other ordinary First-Order Emperor, he would have thought nothing of them; however, this middle-aged man immediately understood Yang Kai’s abilities after being beaten back with a single palm and was now feeling quite anxious.
[I might not be his opponent if it really comes down to a fight.] Changing his mind, he regained his composure and shouted, “No matter what, you need to pay up or pay with your life, woman!”
As soon as those words rang out, numerous figures appeared in all directions and gathered around the middle-aged man. These people were none other than the debt collectors that were loitering around on the island and searching for Hou Yu to claim payment. There were more than twenty people here, of which five were Emperor Realm Masters. Aside from the middle-aged man who was a Second-Order Emperor, the remaining four were just First-Order.
With so many people standing next to him, the fear the middle-aged man felt in his heart reduced slightly. He might not be a match for that young man on his own, but with so many people on his side, how could they be defeated? A lone tiger cannot defeat a pack of wolves, just as two fists cannot defend against four strikes. No matter how powerful the other party was, he was still just one man.
The moment these people appeared, they all glared at Hou Yu with hatred and anger, acting as if they had absolutely irreconcilable enmity with her. Even so, none of them spoke carelessly, making it clear that the middle-aged man was the ringleader.
“Friend, this woman owes me a lot of Source Crystals. If you insist on protecting her, please don’t blame me for being rough.” The middle-aged man fixed his gaze on Yang Kai, obviously extremely wary of the latter.
“Is everybody here now?” Yang Kai smiled slightly as he swept his gaze across the crowd before looking back to the middle-aged man. He then said unhurriedly, “Repaying one’s debts is a matter of course. I will pay off all her debts on her behalf.”
“You will pay on her behalf?” The middle-aged man was taken aback after hearing those words. He glanced at Yang Kai and asked with a furrowed brow, “Do you even know how much she owes?”
“I will pay it off no matter how much she owes!” Yang Kai said lightly.
Hou Yu swallowed nervously and nudged Nanmen Da Jun quietly, asking under her breath, “Is Palace Master rich?”
Nanmen Da Jun glanced at her and smiled deviously, “What does it matter to you? Palace Master is going to help you pay off all your debts this time and will then deduct it from your monthly salary in the future. In that case, you will probably be stuck in High Heaven Palace for the rest of your life.”
When she heard those words, the expression on her pretty face changed abruptly. She clutched at Da Jun’s arm and begged, “Da Jun, please don’t abandon me! I joined High Heaven Palace because of you! If you ever think of leaving in the future, you can’t go alone! You must take me with you!”
Nanmen Da Jun continued to smile coldly as he pulled his arm out of her grasp.
On the other side, Yang Kai’s words were met with mixed reactions. Some looked happy while some looked suspicious. The amount of debt owed by Hou Yu was not small, yet this young man was saying that he would pay off however much she owed. However, did he have the financial resources to do so? This wasn’t a matter of Low-Rank Source Crystals or Mid-Rank Source Crystals but High-Rank Source Crystals calculated in the tens of millions! Even Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace would have some difficulty taking out so much money all at once!
“May I ask who Your Excellency is?” The middle-aged man frowned as he stared at Yang Kai, “You have such impressive strength and even dare to boast so grandly; you cannot be an unknown character!”
“I’m just paying off some debts. Why are you asking so many questions?” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
However, Nanmen Da Jun cut in and introduced to the crowd, “This is the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai. I’m sure you’re familiar with the name, right?”
“What?!”
“High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master?!”
“The High Heaven Palace that destroyed Seeking Passion Sect and occupied their stronghold?!”
“I heard that the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace is a young man; moreover, his cultivation is just First-Order Emperor Realm. From the looks of it…”
*Murmur…*
Upon hearing Nanmen Da Jun’s introduction, this group of debt collectors was quite shocked. They drew in deep breaths of cold air while simultaneously re-evaluating Yang Kai. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man’s expression turned dark and cold sweat began beading on his forehead. It turned out that this young man was none other than the famous Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, whose name had spread across the entire Northern Territory recently!
The annihilation of Seeking Passion Sect had caused a great stir, and consequently, the name ‘High Heaven Palace’ became famous even though it had only just been founded. Any person among the billions of cultivators in the Northern Territory that had access to even the slightest bit of information would be familiar with this grand name.
High Heaven Palace was capable of annihilating a deep-rooted behemoth such as the Seeking Passion Sect. From that alone, one could imagine who astonishing the strength of High Heaven Palace was. It was even rumoured that three Monster Kings were guarding the Sect. Furthermore, the Sect Master of Seeking Passion Sect, Feng Xuan, had also been killed without even the chance to resist.
Now, it would seem as if High Heaven Palace was not just relying on the power of the three Monster Kings to establish itself. Despite how young the Palace Master was, he was a formidable person too. He only had a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, yet he easily managed to suppress a Master one Minor Realm higher. This was not something many people across the entire Star Boundary can do. Fortunately, the conflict between them wasn’t great; otherwise, he might have to escape the Northern Territory after this incident concluded.
The moment that thought crossed the middle-aged man’s mind, his expression turned solemn and he quickly cupped his fists, “So, you are Palace Master Yang. I apologize for my discourtesy.”
Upon seeing his actions, the others quickly mirrored him. They cupped their fists and greeted Yang Kai, not daring to show any disrespect.
In response, Yang Kai waved his hand lightly, “Xiao Hou is now part of my High Heaven Palace. I apologize for all the trouble she caused during this period. So… how many Source Crystals does she owe you? Please name your price. I will pay back everything on her behalf.”
(Tl note: Xiao Hou is a more intimate way of calling Hou Yu. It’s literally Little Hou)
Everybody exchanged glances with each other for a moment. It was reasonable of them to suspect his ability to repay those debts when they were unaware of his true identity; however, they were troubled by something else now that they knew he was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace; they didn’t know whether they should collect their debts from him.
Those debts were essentially gambling debts and not debts from righteous transactions. Hence, they would lose more than they gained if they offended High Heaven Palace over something like that. Even so, they could not bring themselves to refuse the repayment. It was not a small sum after all. For that reason, nobody dared to speak up even though Yang Kai sincerely offered to pay back the debts on Hou Yu’s behalf.
Yang Kai observed the situation and immediately understood what these people were afraid of. Raising a brow, he turned to the middle-aged man and asked, “I recall Xiao Hou owes you twenty million High-Rank Source Crystals, right?”
“Uh… Yes, indeed!” The middle-aged man nodded in agreement. That was what he had told Yang Kai and Nanmen Da Jun two days ago.
“Please check if this amount is correct.” Yang Kai casually tossed a Space Ring to him.
The middle-aged man caught the Space Ring and immediately knew that the number was correct upon sweeping its contents with his Divine Sense. Now that things had come to this, he could only nod, “It is twenty million, indeed.”
With that, the remaining people no longer hesitated and enthusiastically reported the number of Source Crystals that Hou Yu owed them, one after the other. The number ranged from anything between one million to tens of millions of High-Rank Source Crystals. There were more than twenty people present, and it took Yang Kai seventy million High-Rank Source Crystals to pay off all the debts owed to them.
Everybody was happy that they managed to collect their debts. Among these people, the ones that arrived the earliest had spent more than a year on the island. They couldn’t even locate Hou Yu before, let alone try to collect their debts from her; hence, they couldn’t help being overjoyed by the unexpected blessing they received. Getting back their money meant that they no longer needed to suffer in this place.
“The money has been returned to you,” Yang Kai clasped his hands behind his back and glanced at the crowd calmly. “So, now I have a small favour to ask of you, one I hope you all can assist me with.”
The expression of the middle-aged man acting as the leader became serious as he cupped his fists and said, “Palace Master Yang, we admire your generosity. Please speak up if you have anything to ask of us.”
The rest echoed his words in unison.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “I would like you to spread a message for me when you return home. If any Sect or person gambles with Xiao Hou in the future, High Heaven Palace will not forgive them!”
Everybody was shocked by this request while Hou Yu exaggeratedly shouted, “Palace Master, please just kill me now!”
[Who will dare to gamble with me in the future if word of this spreads to the public?!] She suddenly regretted joining the dump known as High Heaven Palace, which caused her to be deprived of the greatest pleasure in her life. A wave of despair washed over her as she felt she no longer had anything left to live for!
The middle-aged man let out an obvious sigh of relief and smilingly replied, “That’s not a problem. Please rest assured, Palace Master Yang. We were not aware that this… lady was affiliated with your High Heaven Palace. If we had known…”
“There is no need to mention the past,” Yang Kai waved his hand lightly. He had no intention of exchanging greetings with this group any longer. Thus, he turned to Hou Yu and Nanmen Da Jun and said, “Let’s go.”
Nanmen Da Jun immediately summoned his Emperor Artifact flying boat and the three of them entered. After that, the flying boat turned into a stream of light heading in the direction of High Heaven Palace.
Inside the boat, Yang Kai glanced at Hou Yu, who looked like she had just had a sword driven through her heart, and asked, “Do you still want to gamble?”
Hou Yu looked up, nodding repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice.
“Pay off the seventy million High-Rank Source Crystals you owe me first.” Yang Kai grinned, “It won’t take long. I think a hundred years of servitude should be enough.”
Hearing this, Hou Yu’s eyes rolled back and she instantly fainted…
Three days later, the trio returned to High Heaven Palace. During this period, Hou Yu had tried to escape many times, only to be recaptured by Yang Kai. She was so furious that she couldn’t get any angrier.
[I don’t believe you can monitor me for a hundred years! I will have plenty of opportunities to escape the moment you look away!] She sneered in her heart. Unfortunately, this wishful thinking of hers was ruthlessly crushed no more than a quarter of an hour after they returned to High Heaven Palace.
“M-Monster Kings?! And there are three of them?!” She stared at the three terrifying existences standing in front of her with a look of shock. They were completely enveloped in dense Monster Qi and exuded an incredible strength from their very beings.
She had no idea that High Heaven Palace had such a sturdy foundation. Yang Kai was nothing more than a First-Order Emperor Realm Master after all, so how many Masters could the High Heaven Palace he established have? Besides, she had not had a chance to inquire more about High Heaven Palace during their return journey. For that reason, she was utterly caught off guard when she arrived.
With three Monster Kings protecting it, High Heaven Palace was powerful beyond imagination! It was unrivalled by any of the top Sects in the Northern Territory!
“This is the new Chief Artifact Refiner of our High Heaven Palace,” Yang Kai introduced Hou Yu to the three Monster Kings, “Just call her Xiao Hou. En, Xiao Hou is a rather lively and active person; however, I hope she can be more anchored and dutiful in High Heaven Palace, so…”
Ying Fei immediately replied, “Please rest assured, Young Master Yang. The three of us will take turns watching her. We will not allow her to cause any trouble whatsoever.”
Similarly, Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei fervently expressed their agreement on the matter.
Meanwhile, Hou Yu’s complexion instantly became deathly pale. She involuntarily staggered backwards and wailed, “How can this be?!” [I’m going to be watched by the three Monster Kings in turn?! How will I live out the rest of my days?! If that’s the case, forget about escaping; I won’t even have a single moment of privacy!]
“Very good!” Yang Kai gently nodded before turning to Ying Fei, “Bring her to Head Manager Hua and register her name into the Sect. After that, arrange a place for her to live in.”
“Yes, sir!” Ying Fei replied, reaching out his hand to Hou Yu, “Sister Hou, please come this way.”
“I don’t want to!” Hou Yu gritted her teeth, spun around, and fled.
Ying Fei glanced at Yang Kai, to which Yang Kai nodded lightly in response. Chuckling slightly, Ying Fei transformed into a stream of light and chased after Hou Yu, capturing her in the blink of an eye. Holding her in his hand as if he were holding a tiny chick, Ying Fei leisurely flew away into the distance.
In the meantime, Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei looked at each other for a moment before slowly following them. The sounds of Hou Yu cursing and yelling in the distance gradually became softer and softer until the sounds couldn’t be heard anymore.
Taking out a communication artifact, Yang Kai left a message for Hua Qing Si before turning to Nanmen Da Jun and saying, “Complete the Mountains and Rivers Projection as soon as possible.”
“Rest assured, Palace Master, the Mountains and Rivers Projection will be a simple matter with Xiao Hou’s assistance.”
“One more thing, please inform Head Manager that I want Xiao Hou to refine a flight-type artifact for me once she finishes with the Mountains and Rivers Projection. Cost is no issue, so I only want the best.”
“Yes!”
Now that the matter regarding the Chief Artifact Refiner was done, Yang Kai was in a good mood. He returned to Azure Sun Temple via the Space Array a short while later. The moment he planted both feet on Spirit Sword Peak, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed. Looking to the side, he saw a jet-black little beast in the mountain valley. It was looking in his direction curiously. Moreover, its beady eyes were shifting about, seemingly as if it were searching for something.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had concealed the location where the Space Array was with the power of Spirit Sword Peak’s Earth Vein and arrays. Thus, there was nothing special about this place from what the little beast could see.
Yang Kai laughed softly as he recognized this small beast was the one he had encountered after the drinking party that day. It had a strange appearance, slightly resembling a puppy, and was probably a Monster Beast native to Spirit Sword Peak. It was just that it was not that strong, so Yang Kai hadn’t detected any energy fluctuations from it.
When Yang Kai stepped forward and his figure suddenly appeared, the ‘puppy’ was visibly startled and warily crawled backwards. Its beady eyes stared unblinkingly at him, gleaming with humanlike vigilance; however, that vigilance vanished the moment it recognized who he was. Instead, it stuck out its tongue and panted continuously as if trying to act cute and friendly.
Yang Kai found this small beast’s actions to be very amusing. Reaching out, he picked it up and petted its head with a laugh, “Are you lost? This isn’t a place you can come and go as you please.”
Although the cultivation realm of the Monster Beasts on Spirit Sword Peak was not that high, many of them were something this puppy could not handle with its strength. In particular, this mountain valley contained numerous powerful Monster Beasts. If it encountered any one of those powerful Monster Beasts, it would be devoured in a single bite. Therefore, Yang Kai was honestly very curious as to how that small black dog-like beast managed to survive here.
Meanwhile, the black puppy revealed an expression of delight while being petted. It closed its eyes in enjoyment as it quietly crawled into his arms before staying there motionlessly.
Yang Kai shook his head lightly at the sight. Shifting his body slightly, he arrived outside Spirit Sword Palace. He bent down to place the black puppy on the ground, but to his surprise, the little guy hugged him tightly and refused to let go. Yang Kai laughed wryly and flexed one of his fingers, flicking the little beast on the forehead.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred. The black puppy that had been calm and well-behaved all this while suddenly opened its mouth and bit his finger without warning. For a moment, the human and the beast stared at each other. Yang Kai was a little taken aback as an incident like this was completely out of his expectations. Immediately after that, he frowned as a twinge of pain came from his finger, and he concurrently felt a violent force causing a tremor in his Dantian.
His expression changed drastically, but before he could reorganize his thoughts, the black puppy ran away with its tail between its legs. It fled without looking back, whimpering endlessly. It was clearly shocked by what happened just now.
Lifting his hand, Yang Kai examined his finger with a look of disbelief. The skin on his finger where the black puppy had bitten him was broken. Moreover, there were distinct teeth marks and deep puncture wounds there, with golden blood quickly flowing out.
[It managed to make me bleed when it bit me? How is that possible?]
Yang Kai’s constitution was so intrepid that he could be said to be one of the strongest Emperor Realm Masters in terms of body tempering in the Star Boundary. Aside from a few unusually gifted members of the Monster Race, Yang Kai was not afraid of being physically injured by anybody, let alone an unremarkable puppy. Even if an Emperor Realm Master were to bite him with all their might, it should be impossible for them to break his skin with their teeth if they did not use their Emperor Qi to reinforce their jaws. However, this black puppy had managed to do just that! Moreover, it looked like it had bitten him without any thought and didn’t even put that much strength into it.
[Can those little fangs really be that sharp?] Yang Kai frowned. He had a strange expression on his face, accompanied by a vague feeling that the black puppy was rather unusual.
What shocked him the most though was that the Ancient Demon’s Qi sealed in his Dantian had reacted when the black puppy bit his finger. The Ancient Demon’s Qi had been sealed by the gold and silver power of the Firmament Tree and the seal was so strong that he had never felt any abnormality from it all this time. And yet, not only had it been triggered today, but it was triggered by a little black puppy at that!
What was going on?
Yang Kai carefully examined the seal in his Dantian and determined that there was no hidden danger. That sudden abnormality seemed to be an isolated event, but with such timing, it couldn’t be a mere coincidence.
Spreading out his Divine Sense, he found the black puppy in a cave not far away. It was currently hiding and for some reason, had fallen asleep. It seemed to be frightened by something in its sleep and trembled uncontrollably in fear.
[Why is it showing such a wounded look after biting me?!] Yang Kai was speechless. He initially planned to capture it and investigate it carefully. Unfortunately, it seemed like that was impossible at the moment.
“What’s going on?!” A cold shout rang out. Yang Kai looked up and saw Gao Xue Ting appearing atop Spirit Sword Peak, her beautiful eyes scanning the area, seemingly searching for something before she asked, “What happened here just now?”
Yang Kai’s heart clenched but he quickly put on a confused look and asked, “What do you mean by ‘what happened’?”
Gao Xue Ting replied, “I felt a familiar energy fluctuation, one that I deeply loathe and detest… Did anything strange happen here?”
“What strange thing could happen here?” Yang Kai fervently denied, “I was simply experimenting with my newly-trained Divine Ability just now.” He had to admit, Gao Xue Ting’s perception was extremely keen. The abnormality involving the Ancient Demon’s Qi in his Dantian only happened for a moment, yet she still noticed it.
Back when he had been taken over by the Demon Qi for the first time and his body had undergone a kind of demonification, Yang Kai had fought a huge battle against three Emperor Realm Masters, namely Gao Xue Ting, Chen Wen Hao of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, and Feng Ming of Orthodoxy Temple.
At the time, Yang Kai had only been a Dao Source Realm cultivator; thus, the pressure of facing the three Emperors was unimaginably heavy. He only managed to escape their clutches after using a special trump card. Hence, he did not dare to come clean with Gao Xue Ting regarding this matter. If she were to learn that he was the Demon back then, who knows whether she would attack him with her sword.
“Is that so?” Gao Xue Ting frowned slightly, obviously still having some doubts about the truth. If Yang Kai had only been experimenting with his Divine Ability, then she would not have found it so hateful. However, that momentary fluctuation had instinctively filled her with utter disgust! Unfortunately, it was so fleeting that it disappeared before she could sense it properly. Therefore, she couldn’t recall where she had felt it before.
“Of course,” Yang Kai felt cold sweat pouring down his back. Even so, he kept his expression straight and changed the subject, “By the way, Purple Bamboo Peak is quite far from here. How did you arrive here so quickly, Senior Sister Gao?”
She responded, “I happened to be passing by. I was on my way back from visiting the Temple Master.” Pausing for a moment, she added, “Now that I think about it, where have you been? Why couldn’t I find you anywhere when I came here the day before yesterday?”
[I was in the Northern Territory the day before yesterday. It’s only to be expected that you couldn’t find me.] Yang Kai retorted in his heart, but what came out of his mouth was, “I went into retreat for a short while.”
She looked at him suspiciously. His evasive answer made her a little suspicious, but even so, she had no intention of questioning him further if he did not want to talk about it. She simply nodded in response, “You can continue doing whatever you were doing then. I’m leaving.”
“Senior Sister Gao!” Raising his hand, Yang Kai suddenly called out to her.
“What is it?” She paused and asked.
He replied, “You seem to be in a rush and look troubled about something. Did you encounter something difficult? I might be able to be of some help.”
To which Gao Xue Ting replied, “This matter is related to the secrets of the Temple. As a High-Rank Guest Elder, you are not qualified to know too much. Well, if you are willing…”
“Senior Sister, please don’t say more,” Yang Kai hurriedly stopped her. He was half forced, half tricked into becoming a Guest Elder of the Temple, so why would he want to go a step further and get more deeply involved? When it came down to it, he was still a Palace Master of his own Sect.
“By the way, I am planning to go on a trip soon!”
“Go if you want to; nobody is going to stop you.” Gao Xue Ting’s voice rang out as she flew off.
“Brother Yang!” Kang Si Ran walked into one of the best private rooms inside Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s branch office, a ruddy complexion on his face as he warmly cupped his fists and gave his greetings.
Yang Kai stood up and returned the greeting, “Brother Kang!”
“Please have a seat. It’s not like we are strangers to each other.” Kang Si Ran motioned to Yang Kai before glancing behind him. A maidservant instantly appeared outside the door with a tray of high-quality tea. After closing the door, he asked, “Did you come here today to pick up your order?”
“That’s right. The two month period is almost up. How are your preparations going?”
Kang Si Ran smiled, “Doing business with Brother Yang is very profitable, so it’s only natural that President Lou did everything in his power to complete your request. The Space Spirit Crystals and the Space Spirit Jades have been prepared.” Saying so, he took out a Space Ring, placed it on the table, and pushed it to Yang Kai, “These materials are worth forty million High-Rank Source Crystals. Brother Yang, please feel free to inspect them.”
“No need.” Yang Kai shook his head. If he were doing business with anybody else, he might have inspected the wares to see if everything was in order; however, it was unnecessary since he was currently dealing with Kang Si Ran, who Yang Kai trusted would never deceive him.
In reality, transferring Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jades worth forty million High-Rank Source Crystals from the major branches of the Southern Territory within two months had required quite a bit of manoeuvring, consuming a large amount of labour and resources in the process. Although Lou Chi was doing his best, it ultimately required Kang Si Ran’s frequent efforts to speed up the process. In the end, they managed to gather everything with some excess, and the extras were given to Yang Kai free of charge under Kang Si Ran’s decision. Compared to this large-scale business, some small benefits weren’t worth mentioning at all.
“How much should I pay?” Yang Kai asked.
“You previously paid a deposit of ten million, and with the two Twelfth-Order Monster Cores being worth thirteen million, you only need to pay an additional seventeen million High-Rank Source Crystals,” Kang Si Ran reported the price, “On another note, President Lou said that it is fine even if you don’t pay us with Source Crystals; we will also accept Twelfth-Order Monster Cores.”
Yang Kai grinned, “President Lou is shrewd indeed. I think it’s best if I pay with Source Crystals.”
Although he had many Monster Cores on hand, he could not take them out carelessly. If too many Twelfth-Order Monster Cores entered the market, it would definitely affect the price. Needless to say, he was not the type to dig his own grave. Besides, he had enough High-Rank Source Crystals to pay off Hou Yu’s seventy million gambling debt, so what was seventeen million in comparison?
Soon, they concluded their business deal. Kang Si Ran then took out the documents, and they left their respective Soul Imprints onto the Soul Contracts to successfully complete the transaction.
Then, Yang Kai requested, “Please continue to purchase Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jades on my behalf. If I don’t come to you in time, please deliver them to the Azure Sun Temple for me.”
“Not a problem,” Kang Si Ran nodded, “On that note, congratulations on being promoted to the position of Azure Sun Temple Elder, Yang Kai.”
“I’m just a High-Rank Guest Elder,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Kang Si Ran sighed, “The chamber of commerce also received an invitation letter, but I was busy with acquiring the Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jades, so I couldn’t step away from my position and failed to congratulate you. I am very ashamed!”
“Brother Kang, don’t be such a stranger, it’s just a small matter,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Now that the transaction was completed, they chatted casually for a while.
Upon asking about Kang Si Ran’s current situation, Yang Kai learned that the former was doing very well in Maplewood City’s branch office. Kang Si Ran’s cultivation was just First-Order Dao Source Realm, so normally it would be impossible for him to take up the Manager position at this branch office. However, he was promoted to the position as a special case since he was very familiar with Maplewood City. Though, he had almost reached the end of his career as a Manager here prior to obtaining Yang Kai’s business deal. If not for this deal, it would not have been long before he was transferred away from the prosperous Maplewood City and dispatched to some remote place instead.
Fortunately for him, Yang Kai’s huge business was an important turning point for Kang Si Ran.
The deal made Lou Chi highly regard Yang Kai, as who else would be generous enough to put down forty million in a single transaction? Not to mention that Yang Kai also promised to bring two Monster Cores from Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts to Violet Source Chamber of Commerce every six months. That was a long-term business deal, one valuable enough to make Kang Si Ran irreplaceable as the Manager here. After all, Yang Kai only made this agreement with the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce out of respect for Kang Si Ran.
Furthermore, Lou Chi was said to have the greatest expectations of Kang Si Ran among the current Managers and had been appointing him to handle many important customers, especially after the Manager named Gu Hong suddenly left Maplewood City. Kang Si Ran had subsequently taken over all of the clients under Gu Hong’s jurisdiction and was now considered the Head Manager of this Violet Source Chamber of Commerce branch office.
“Gu Hong left Maplewood City?” Yang Kai was surprised. [No wonder I didn’t see him around during my trip here this time.]
“En, after you came here, Brother Yang, he took the initiative and requested to be transferred away from Maplewood City. Since President Lou had no reason to refuse this request, he immediately approved the transfer with a wave of his hand.” Kang Si Ran smiled from ear to ear. He had a fierce rivalry going on with Gu Hong and originally had no hope to win, but to his surprise, he had the last laugh in the end while Gu Hong, who used to have the upper hand, had to leave instead.
“He probably felt that he couldn’t continue working here. This is all thanks to you, Brother Yang,” Kang Si Ran repeatedly thanked Yang Kai, believing all the credit belonged to the latter.
Listening to those words, Yang Kai vaguely felt as if he finally understood something and asked, “How was Gu Hong’s condition when he left?”
Kang Si Ran did not know the reason for this question, but even so, he considered for a moment before replying, “He looked panicked. Hmm… He also looked very uneasy, as if a huge catastrophe was about to befall him.”
“That bastard!” Yang Kai slapped his thigh and snorted coldly.
“What happened?” Kang Si Ran was startled.
Yang Kai sneered, “I know why he suddenly asked to transfer out of Maplewood City… He was afraid I might come looking for revenge against him.”
Kang Si Ran suspiciously asked, “Did Gu Hong offend you in some way, Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai replied, “In your chamber of commerce, what kind of offence does the selling of customer information constitute?”
Shocked by those words, Kang Si Ran solemnly replied, “It’s considered one of the highest offences. If the claim is verified, the criminal will be executed immediately! Why do you ask, Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai explained, “After attending the auction in Maplewood City, I was stopped by the Sect Master of Broken Mountain Sect, Le Dong Zheng, when I went out of the city. At the time, I was wondering how that guy tracked me down. Moreover, he managed to intercept my path so quickly and precisely. Now, I understand; somebody was manipulating things from behind the scenes!”
“What?! Le Dong Zheng died at your hands, Brother Yang?” Kang Si Ran was shocked. He had heard the news about Le Dong Zheng’s death; after all, Le Dong Zheng had been a Sect Master and a major customer of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, so it was only natural for Kang Si Ran to pay attention to such news, especially after he took over all of Gu Hong’s clients.
Le Dong Zheng was originally one of Gu Hong’s best clients, so when Kang Si Ran took over Gu Hong’s portfolio, he had specially visited Broken Mountain Sect to give his greetings. To his surprise though, Kang Si Ran learned that Le Dong Zheng had passed away when he arrived. Following Le Dong Zheng’s death, Broken Mountain Sect fell apart and its thousands of disciples scattered.
After asking around, Kang Si Ran learned that Le Dong Zheng had died soon after the auction. Not many knew about this though, and no one knew just who murdered Le Dong Zheng either. It wasn’t until this moment that Kang Si Ran realized it was Yang Kai’s doing. Although his cultivation was not high, he was a Manager of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, so Kang Si Ran was naturally very quick-witted. Thus, he managed to guess the truth of the matter just by making some inferences from Yang Kai’s words.
It was obvious that Gu Hong had leaked the information about Yang Kai to Le Dong Zheng after the auction. Then, Le Dong Zheng tried to ambush Yang Kai. Unfortunately, his skills were inferior to Yang Kai’s and the hunter ended up becoming the hunted instead.
The grudge between Yang Kai and Le Dong Zheng was no secret to Kang Si Ran, while on the other hand, the reason Gu Hong turned against Yang Kai was even simpler. As he and Kang Si Ran were competing for the Manager position, Gu Hong became jealous and angry upon seeing Kang Si Ran’s position stabilizing because of Yang Kai.
Pondering over it, Kang Si Ran’s expression became grim, “This matter is of great importance. Brother Yang, please wait for a moment. I will report this to President Lou immediately.”
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai said, “Forget it. Since Le Dong Zheng is dead and Gu Hong has also taken the initiative to transfer, let’s drop this matter. There is no need to trouble President Lou.”
Gu Hong was nothing but an ant to him, so there was no need to blow this matter out of proportion.
Kang Si Ran, however, shook his head and responded solemnly, “Brother Yang, you might not know this, but the chamber of commerce places great importance on its reputation; after all, reputation is vital in the business world. Gu Hong’s actions, leaking a customer’s private information for his personal gain, will absolutely not be tolerated by the chamber of commerce. If we let him go this time, he might cause greater trouble in the future.”
When Kang Si Ran brought up the Chamber of Commerce’s reputation, Yang Kai could hardly refuse anymore, “However, I don’t have any real evidence…”
Kang Si Ran shook his head again, “No proof is needed. This matter couldn’t be more obvious; I believe President Lou will be able to tell as well.” After saying that, he walked out of the room.
It was clear that he was not trying to take the opportunity to exact his personal vendetta against Gu Hong. Although he and Gu Hong had been stuck in a rather unpleasant rivalry, Kang Si Ran was not such a petty and small-minded person. What he was doing was simply for the sake of the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce. As the saying went, ‘a single mouse dropping could ruin the entire pot of porridge’.
A short while later, Kang Si Ran returned. He said nothing regarding Gu Hong’s fate or how Lou Chi planned to punish Gu Hong, he simply apologized to Yang Kai on Lou Chi’s behalf. Similarly, Yang Kai did not ask about it either. Moreover, Kang Si Ran informed Yang Kai that he would receive a ten percent discount whenever he purchased anything from the chamber of commerce in the future. That was, without a doubt, hush money from Lou Chi.
As Gu Hong’s actions tarnished Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s face, word about it could not be spread outside. Besides, the ten percent discount was a very generous offer as hush money, in particular since the business between Yang Kai and Violet Source Chamber of Commerce was on an extremely large scale.
After chatting idly for a while longer, Yang Kai said his goodbyes and left. He went directly to Spirit Lake City. Along the way, he took out the Jade Elder Token and sent a message to Xia Sheng. Thus, Xia Sheng was already standing there with a smile by the time Yang Kai arrived, waving his hand enthusiastically upon spotting him.
When Yang Kai walked over, Xia Sheng threw his arm around Yang Kai’s shoulder with a smile, “Junior Brother Yang, congratulations on becoming an Elder of the temple!
Yang Kai replied, “Please don’t tease me, Senior Brother.”
“I’m not teasing you! It’s a happy event for both you and the temple,” Xia Sheng patted Yang Kai on the shoulder and whispered, “More importantly, I heard that you have already experienced two of the temple’s Three Great Taboos.”
All was fine before this topic was mentioned, but the moment Xia Sheng brought it up, Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling Gao Xue Ting’s heroic posture from when they were drinking that day and in response, his face visibly twitched.
Xia Sheng laughed loudly, “Don’t mind it, don’t mind it.”
Xia Sheng enthusiastically welcomed Yang Kai into his room, and after they took their seats, Yang Kai asked about Bian Yu Qing’s condition.
“That woman successfully broke through to the Emperor Realm half a month ago. The commotion she caused on that day was huge.” Xia Sheng’s expression was solemn.
“She broke through to the Emperor Realm?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows in surprise. That news was both within his expectations and extremely unexpected at the same time.
Based on Bian Yu Qing’s aptitude, the possibility of a breakthrough was very slim even if she could enter the Spirit Lake Palace’s Heaven Grade cultivation room for two months of secluded retreat; after all, her inherent talent in the Martial Dao was not that great, and she had been stuck in the Dao Source Realm for so many years. All her passion had been withered away, and she lost her drive to move forward. How could a person like that achieve a breakthrough? Third-Order Dao Source Realm should have been the pinnacle she could reach in her life if nothing unexpected happened.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Kou Wu’s death had greatly stimulated her. In addition, she also received all sorts of help from Yang Kai, such as a large number of Source Crystals and Emperor Pills to supplement her cultivation. It was only a matter of time for her to achieve a breakthrough and make progress in her cultivation with such motivation and resources.
In any case, it was a happy occasion as it meant that High Heaven Palace had another Emperor Realm Master added to its ranks.
Spirit Lake Palace had been established for many years, so numerous cultivators came here to break through their own shackles and spy on the mysteries of the higher realms. However, not many managed to advance into the Emperor Realm here. For that reason, the commotion created by Bian Yu Qing’s breakthrough that day shocked all of Spirit Lake City. In particular, those cultivators waiting in line to enter Spirit Lake Palace to cultivate seemed to have gotten fresh hope. They were filled with renewed motivation as they waited their turn.
“She has been consolidating her cultivation for the past half a month and should be able to leave in a few days,” Xia Sheng smiled lightly. As one of the three Deacons of Spirit Lake Palace, he was very familiar with Bian Yu Qing’s situation. Even if she was not somebody Yang Kai had brought over, he would have extended a helping hand to her somehow given her situation.
“That’s great.” Yang Kai nodded cheerfully.
“Junior Brother, do you have anything going on in the near future?” Xia Sheng suddenly changed the subject and asked.
Yang Kai replied, “I need to go to Star Soul Palace for a certain matter, but other than that, no. Why? Do you have anything to ask of me, Senior Brother?”
“Star Soul Palace…” Although Xia Sheng was stunned by those words, he did not question Yang Kai about the reason he was heading to Star Soul Palace and instead just pondered for a moment before asking, “How long will it take?”
“A month, maybe two.”
“In that case, there will be just enough time,” he grinned and continued, “I would like you to do me a favour, Junior Brother. Do you have the time?”
“What is it, Senior Brother?” Yang Kai looked solemn.
However, instead of explaining, Xia Sheng turned his head to look in the direction of the private room behind them and said, “Xiao Hua, come on out. You are also acquainted with Junior Brother Yang, so stop hiding away.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a young woman in a fabulous dress strolled out of the room. Her tight-fitting attire emphasized her excellent figure, and the smile on her face made all who saw it swoon, but it was her beautiful, watery eyes that were the most captivating.
“Palace Master Hua!” Yang Kai was surprised to see the beautiful woman who appeared suddenly.
This lady was none other than the Palace Master of Hundred Flowers Palace, Hua Yu Lu. Just a few days ago, they had greeted each other at Azure Sun Temple, so Yang Kai had not expected to meet her here again. Hua Yu Lu had inquired about Xia Sheng that day, and from the looks of it, she had headed to Spirit Lake Palace directly after she left Azure Sun Temple.
Although he had noticed that there was another person’s aura in the room, Yang Kai had not investigated it further since that person had no intention of showing themselves.
[A man and a woman together… interesting!] Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became meaningful.
Meanwhile, Hua Yu Lu seemed a little apologetic, and her cheeks were slightly flushed. When she came closer, she bowed elegantly and gently said, “Greetings, Elder Yang!”
“Palace Master Hua is being too polite.” Yang Kai quickly replied to her with due courtesy. Putting aside the fact that her cultivation realm was similar to his, they were both Palace Masters of their respective Sects. However, her unclear relationship with Xia Sheng was enough to make Yang Kai a bit uncomfortable with her overly polite behaviour. As such, he quickly turned to look at Xia Sheng, “Senior Brother, could it be that the favour you wanted to ask of me is related to Palace Master Hua?”
Xia Sheng smiled slightly, “Yes, it is indeed related to Xiao Hua.” He glanced at Hua Yu Lu and said, “Xiao Hua, why don’t you explain it yourself?”
Hua Yu Lu nodded lightly, parting her luscious lips slightly as she slowly explained, “It’s like this… When I went to the Southern Swamp to look for spirit medicines three months ago, I stumbled upon an Ancient Cave Mansion…”
“An Ancient Cave Mansion?” Yang Kai was shocked when he heard those words.
“Yes,” she nodded, “It was undoubtedly an Ancient Cave Mansion; moreover, it gave off an extremely desolate aura. I don’t know who it originally belonged to, but three people, including myself, ventured inside to explore it at the time. Although we tried all means to break the barrier that had been in disrepair for so many years and managed to gain some benefits from our endeavours, we were eventually blocked by a stronger single barrier deeper inside. As a result, we couldn’t enter the inner sanctum.”
“Why were there two other people with you?” Yang Kai frowned.
To which Hua Yu Lu replied, “The Southern Swamp might be perilous, but it also has many opportunities. It is said that the Southern Swamp was once a thriving place where ancient cultivators gathered. That’s why so many treasures are hidden there. Moreover, it is a special environment that can give birth to various rare spirit medicines. Therefore, many Masters like to explore the Southern Swamp. When the Ancient Cave Mansion appeared, it caused some minor disturbances. Otherwise, I would not have discovered it, and the other two would not have been attracted to it either.”
Yang Kai nodded after listening to her explanation as he could vaguely understand the situation at the time.
She then continued, “Of the other two people, one of them had some knowledge about barriers and Spirit Arrays. According to that person’s hypothesis, we wouldn’t have been able to break the barrier blocking our way even if we combined our strengths. Thus, we could only ask others for help. We agreed to each bring a helper and meet up at the Southern Swamp again half a year later.”
“So, you asked Senior Brother Xia for help!” Yang Kai understood.
Smiling bitterly, she admitted, “Although I know many Emperor Realm Masters, not many can truly be trusted.”
Selling out comrades, murder, robbery… These were common occurrences along the road of cultivation. Therefore, one had to find somebody trusted when asking for cooperation in exploration. Otherwise, one might find themselves dead at the hands of their ‘partner’ if they carelessly invited just anybody to help them.
Xia Sheng spoke up, “Junior Brother Yang, I’m afraid I really can’t step away from this place. The temple sent me here, and I need to remain here for three more years. I can’t step a single foot out of this place before the time is up. If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t need to trouble you for this, Junior Brother.”
“It’s not a big deal. It’s just exploring an Ancient Cave Mansion.” Yang Kai waved his hand confidently before glancing at Hua Yu Lu, “But… are you familiar with the other two? Are they trustworthy?”
Hua Yu Lu replied, “I can’t say I’m familiar with them as that was the first time we met each other, but both of them were in the First-Order Emperor Realm. As for whether they are trustworthy or not… since it’s the first time we met; how can I possibly trust them? Still, it goes both ways. If I don’t trust them, they won’t trust me either, that’s why we each made a Heart Demon Oath, vowing not to disclose any information about the Ancient Cave Mansion to the public. We are only allowed to bring one person along to help us. Moreover, that person must be a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master at best.”
“I see…” Yang Kai rubbed his chin and pondered over it.
A Heart Demon Oath might be nothing more than lip service, but it was not an oath one would carelessly make once their cultivation reached the Emperor Realm. If they broke their word, a Heart Demon might appear and negatively impact their future cultivation, and since all three of them were restrained by such an oath, it should be alright to temporarily trust that the other two will not disclose this information to others at will. It was a well-considered strategy.
“If my guess is right, those two will surely find Second-Order Emperors to help them.” Hua Yu Lu looked at Yang Kai with light in her eyes and added, “If you have any qualms about this, Elder Yang, you can forget about it. I will think of another way.”
It wasn’t that she couldn’t find a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master to help her, but rather that she could not cooperate with them. If that wasn’t the case, she would not have come to Xia Sheng for help. Before being a cultivator in the Emperor Realm, Xia Sheng was the chief disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and although it had not been long since he became a First-Order Emperor, it would not be an easy feat for a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master to kill him when it came down to a desperate fight.
As for Yang Kai’s strength, Hua Yu Lu had personally witnessed it during the Grand Canonization Ceremony the other day. Yang Kai had even injured an Elder of Star Soul Palace, so despite being injured in the process, his power was certainly not something an average First-Order Emperor Realm could compare to. He should be of equal strength with Xia Sheng at least.
Standing to the side, Xia Sheng reminded, “Junior Brother, just consider the issue yourself, there’s no need to worry about me. I’m simply making a suggestion, whether you accept the request or not is completely up to you.”
He was clearly worried that Yang Kai might reluctantly accept the request out of respect for him.
In response, Yang Kai simply smiled, “I am also very interested in this Ancient Cave Mansion.”
Hua Yu Lu’s beautiful eyes lit up at those words, “Does that mean you agree, Elder Yang?”
Yang Kai did not reply to her question immediately and instead asked, “Why are the three of you so fixated on this Ancient Cave Mansion, even going to such lengths just to search for helpers; what benefits did you gain from it?”
“We certainly gained some benefits!” Hua Yu Lu nodded frankly, “Even if you didn’t ask about this, I planned to explain it to you too, Elder Yang. The three of us didn’t manage to explore the inner depths of that Ancient Cave Mansion, but we did manage to break several powerful barriers and reap valuable benefits. This is one of the items I obtained from that cave mansion.”
While speaking, she took out a small flower drum. The small flower drum didn’t seem to be anything special on the outside and was only about the size of a person’s palm, made from some unknown materials; however, an extremely special aura rippled forth the moment it was taken out.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he gasped in shock, “An Ancient Exotic Artifact!”
This small flower drum exuded a pure yet desolate aura. It was a genuine Ancient Exotic Artifact, just like the Mountains and Rivers Bell he owned.
In ancient times, the World Energy and World Principles were very different from what they were currently; therefore, the ancient cultivators cultivated all sorts of different Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities. Even the artifacts they used back then were vastly different from those created in this era. However, it was undeniable that the Ancient Exotic Artifacts passed down through the times were not to be underestimated.
It was just that Ancient Exotic Artifacts were too scarce in numbers. Over the past few millennia, the Mountains and Rivers Bell was the only Ancient Exotic Artifact that was well known enough to be recorded in history. Other unknown Ancient Exotic Artifacts might have surfaced during that time, but they surely amounted to less than ten across the entire Star Boundary. And yet, there was now one in Hua Yu Lu’s possession!
“This Soul Summoning Drum can shock the mind, and although it isn’t very strong, it makes up for that in stealth, allowing one to catch their enemy off guard.” Hua Yu Lu suddenly reached out and patted the little flower drum gently. The strange thing was that no sound came out from it; however, an invisible force rippled out from it, cutting into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea like a sharp blade.
Caught by surprise, the force shook Yang Kai’s focus slightly. It was just as Hua Yu Lu had explained, the power of the Soul Summoning Drum was not that great, and for that reason, it failed to break through the defences in Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. It also went without saying that part of the reason for its weak power was that she had failed to completely refine the artifact and was unable to fully bring out its true strength as a result. Even so, it was already very impressive.
Imagine if two people of equal strength were desperately fighting against each other; the opponent would definitely suffer a fatal blow if Hua Yu Lu were to use the power of the Soul Summoning Drum without any warning. If used well, it could become a concealed weapon that could turn the tides of a losing battle. In this regard, it was actually much more versatile compared to most Emperor Artifacts.
“What an impressive item!” After getting a taste of the Soul Summoning Drum’s power himself, Yang Kai couldn’t help praising it.
To which Hua Yu Lu replied, “You flatter me, Elder Yang.”
Yang Kai then asked, “You acquired the Soul Summoning Drum when the three of you went exploring. So, what did the other two get?”
“One of them obtained a Secret Technique from the cave mansion. I don’t know the exact details since he did not reveal anything to us; however, it should be very powerful from the way he reacted. On the other hand, the other person’s cultivation skyrocketed inside the cave mansion. In the beginning, that person’s strength was the weakest among the three of us as he had just broken through to the First-Order Emperor Realm. Nevertheless, his aura was the strongest among us when we left that place.” Hua Yu Lu explained.
“It can even make a person’s cultivation skyrocket!?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Opportunities that could significantly increase an Emperor Realm Master’s cultivation were extremely rare. Just from that, it could be seen that the Ancient Cave Mansion definitely held some powerful inheritance. The ancient methods were powerful and extraordinary, and to think such a treasure with so many opportunities was so deeply hidden even after so many years. It made one wonder just how many benefits could be obtained if they managed to explore the entire cave mansion.
If it was said that Yang Kai only agreed to explore the Ancient Cave Mansion with Hua Yu Lu out of respect for Xia Sheng before, it was now because he truly became interested at this moment.
Cultivators could not grow strong by simply cultivating behind closed doors. Rather, gaining actual experience out in the world was the most important aspect of one’s cultivation. Coming across a rare opportunity was often far more beneficial than years of hard secluded retreat.
“If you are interested in this endeavour, then let’s meet at the Southern Swamp in two months. What do you think, Elder Yang?” Hua Yu Lu looked at Yang Kai.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded. He didn’t have much to say about it as it just so happened that he needed to visit Star Soul Palace during this period to cultivate in the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda.
The two of them exchanged the means to contact each other on the spot, leaving their Soul Imprints on each other’s communication artifacts, which would allow them to communicate freely as long as they were not too far away from each other.
“Then, this matter is settled. Please take good care of Xiao Hua, Junior Brother.” Xia Sheng smiled faintly.
Yang Kai generously replied, “Rest assured, Senior Brother. I will definitely bring Palace Master Hua back in one piece.”
Xia Sheng seemed calm and indifferent, while on the other hand, Hua Yu Lu blushed furiously and secretly sneaked a glance at Xia Sheng before revealing a slightly disappointed expression. Yang Kai took in the entire situation in front of him and vaguely understood the relationship between those two afterwards.
“I’ll be staying in Spirit Lake City for the next few days. Senior Brother, please let me know if Bian Yu Qing comes out of her retreat.”
“Don’t worry!” Xia Sheng spoke in a serious tone, “I will periodically check up on her.”
After that, Yang Kai took his leave, but just as he was about to turn around, he turned back and asked, “By the way, do you still remember what the barrier that blocked your path looked like, Palace Master Hua?”
Stunned, Hua Yu Lu nodded, “Of course. Do you want to check into it, Elder Yang? I can draw it out for you.”
“That would be great.”
Nodding, she immediately took out a blank jade slip and poured her Divine Sense into it, engraving what she saw the other day inside. Then, she handed the jade slip to Yang Kai and said, “This is the barrier. It’s probably an ancient Spirit Array, but unfortunately, I don’t understand much about Spirit Arrays and can’t tell much from just observing it. I did carefully memorize it though, so there should be no mistakes.”
At her level of cultivation, memorizing something at a glance was the most basic of basics.
“I don’t know much about Spirit Arrays either, but I can ask others about it,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Do you know somebody proficient in Spirit Arrays, Elder Yang? That’s great! I planned to visit the Gong Family of Heavenly River Valley after this, but it seems unnecessary now.”
The Heavenly River Valley Gong Family was the most highly regarded Spirit Array force in the Southern Territory, while Hua Yu Lu was not an ignorant Junior either. It was impossible to fully trust the other two Emperor Realm Masters; therefore, it was a given that she would need to learn more about this Spirit Array if she wanted to crack it and enter the deeper parts of the Ancient Cave Mansion. For that reason, the Heavenly River Valley Gong Family was her best choice.
Fortunately, from what Yang Kai had said just now, she no longer needed to go through such trouble. If she went to Heavenly River Valley, Hua Yu Lu would have no choice but to lie about the origins of this Spirit Array on the off chance that the Gong Family questioned her about it.
“Leave this to me, Palace Master Hua. You should rest well for the next two months. I’ll see you again at the Southern Swamp at the appointed time.”
“Many thanks, Elder Yang.” Hua Yu Lu nodded politely.
As soon as Yang Kai left, Xia Sheng stood up and said, “Xiao Hua, please make yourself at home. I’m going out for a bit.”
“Where are you going?” Hua Yu Lu looked at him angrily, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you afraid I might eat you?”
Xia Sheng’s brow twitched slightly as he replied, “Why would I be afraid of you? It’s just that if I don’t work hard to cultivate, I won’t be able to maintain my seat as the Eldest Senior Brother for long.”
Clasping his hands behind his back, he walked out looking pleased with himself and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Smelly man!” Hua Yu Lu puffed up her cheeks in anger, feeling very upset. The host had left, so what was the point of the guest remaining? Thus, she could only follow his example and depart, leaving behind a lingering floral scent of perfume.
Yang Kai stayed at an inn in Spirit Lake City for three days before Bian Yu Qing came looking for him. She was brimming with energy at the moment and her aura was strong and steady. Their eyes met inside the room, and Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Not bad.”
Bian Yu Qing brushed her hair back behind her ear with a wry smile and replied, “It’s all thanks to your help. If not for you, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
In truth, she was quite shocked as well. She had assumed that she wouldn’t feel as pressured when facing Yang Kai again now that she was also an Emperor Realm Master, but contrary to her expectations, she realized she could not figure out his depths even meeting this time. If she had not known that he was a First-Order Emperor, she might have assumed he was a Third-Order Emperor instead. But why was the gap still so massive between them?
“You can’t withdraw your aura yet, which means your cultivation hasn’t fully stabilized,” Yang Kai commented, “Once you can freely control your aura, that will mean your cultivation has been consolidated.”
“I understand. Many thanks for your guidance, Palace Master.” Bian Yu Qing replied honestly but still couldn’t help feeling a little awkward. A decade or so ago, she had stood far above this young man; however, their roles were now reversed. She was also only able to survive and become an Emperor Realm Master thanks to Yang Kai. Just thinking back on the past, it really was quite embarrassing.
Yang Kai simply smiled, “It looks like you are ready to join High Heaven Palace.”
Bian Yu Qing smilingly replied, “Could it be that you don’t want me to join High Heaven Palace, Palace Master?”
“No such thing!” Standing up, Yang Kai motioned, “Let’s be on our way.”
With that, they left Spirit Lake City and flew off in a certain direction without stopping. During their journey, Bian Yu Qing constantly worked hard to stabilize her cultivation, and after two days of travel, the effects of her efforts were apparent as her aura was significantly more restrained than before.
“Palace Master, where are we going now?” Bian Yu Qing couldn’t help but ask when she saw Yang Kai’s leisurely look.
“I’m sending you back to High Heaven Palace!” Yang Kai replied.
“Back to the palace…” She was stunned for a moment, then she exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory?!”
The Northern Territory and the Southern Territory were separated by a distance of billions of kilometres! Flying without stopping would take them several years to arrive, and if they were delayed during their journey, a decade-long trip would not be surprising!
At first, Bian Yu Qing wanted to persuade him to speed up a little bit or use local Space Arrays to save some time; however, Yang Kai did not seem to have any intention to do so. Thus, she did not say anything. In any case, she was now part of High Heaven Palace, so she only needed to follow Yang Kai’s lead. There was nothing special about her that could attract his attention anyway, even if he had saved her life before.
Three days went by in such a fashion before the pair arrived at a desolate and dilapidated place.
“If I remember correctly, this was once the Thousand Leaves Sect, right?” Bian Yu Qing followed Yang Kai as he landed, turning her head around as she studied her surroundings.
“Indeed!”
Bian Yu Qing couldn’t help sighing, “The rise and fall of a Sect is like the ebb and flow of the tides. Nothing stands forever.”
She seemed to be feeling nostalgic about something. Looking at the ruins of the Thousand Leaves Sect, she inevitably recalled the Blue Feather Sect. Both Sects had about the same strength, and their endings were practically no different either.
“Get on!” While she was in a trance, Yang Kai called out to her. He was already standing on the Space Array in the hidden mountain valley, and although Bian Yu Qing found this strange, she obediently followed suit and stood on the Space Array.
In the next moment, they appeared in what seemed to be a Small World. Yang Kai said nothing though and simply led her straight towards a certain spot in Emperor Heaven Valley. When she caught sight of the Cross-Territory Space Array, Bian Yu Qing instantly revealed a shocked expression, stuttering in amazement, “T-T-This… Could this be?”
Yang Kai nodded and explained, “Once you pass through here, you will arrive at High Heaven Palace. I have three jade slips for you to bring back with you.”
Bian Yu Qing forcefully composed herself and accepted the three jade slips from him before asking, “Who should I hand them to?”
Yang Kai replied, “Give one to somebody by the name of Hua Qing Si. She is the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace and is responsible for all affairs in the palace. Just hand this jade slip to her and she will take good care of you. As for the other two jade slips, ask Hua Qing Si to pass them to Nanmen Da Jun. Understood?”
She nodded seriously, “Yes.”
“Good. Go on then!” Yang Kai motioned for her to step onto the array.
Yang Kai then waved his hand and numerous High-Rank Source Crystals were accurately embedded into the grooves at the base of the array. The moment the Space Array was activated, it thrummed with Space Principles and in a flash of light, Bian Yu Qing disappeared.
For a moment, Yang Kai thought he vaguely saw Bian Yu Qing opening her mouth slightly as if to thank him just before she vanished, to which he just smiled brightly and turned around to leave Emperor Heaven Valley.
His next destination, Star Soul Palace!
Not many Sects were run by a Great Emperor in Star Boundary. There were three Sects at the most: Serene Soul Palace of the Eastern Territory led by the Serene Soul Great Emperor, Star Soul Palace of the Southern Territory led by Bright Moon Great Emperor, and Shadow Killer Palace of the Western Territory led by the Night Shadow Great Emperor.
Medicine Pill Valley and Spirit Beast Island were also regarded as great forces under the command of Great Emperors; however, they were not regarded as Sects since they did not take in outside disciples. They were the private sanctuaries of the two Great Emperors; thus, ordinary people could not enter those places.
In any case, any Great Emperor Sect would become the pillar of the territory in which it resided, an awe-inspiring and inviolable protector of the people of that territory. As such, Star Soul Palace, in its capacity as the overlord of the Southern Territory, had played a guardian role for tens of thousands of years. That was why it was so greatly admired by all the cultivators in the Southern Territory.
The very existence of Star Soul Palace became closely related to the well-being of the entire Southern Territory as a consequence. Someone once claimed that the day Star Soul Palace was destroyed, was the day the entire Southern Territory would be devastated in turn, suffering from various calamities and disasters. Fortunately, destroying Star Soul Palace was no easy feat with the Bright Moon Great Emperor assuming command of the Sect. Unless another disturbance such as the one during the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s era occurred, Star Soul Palace was sure to endure.
By the time Yang Kai arrived at Star Moon Mountain Range, seven days had passed.
Star Moon Mountain Range was vast, with steep and towering peaks that looked as if they bordered on the Nine Heavens themselves. It gave off the feeling as if one could reach out and grab the Sun and the Moon or cover the entire world with one’s palm if they stood atop it.
A heavy and turbulent aura washed over Yang Kai as if what stood before him were not mountains but a living giant that had been standing in the Southern Territory for tens of thousands of years, overlooking the lives of the common people.
Yang Kai had a wide range of knowledge and experience, and had visited various large Sects before, but even so, he had to admit that top Sects such as Azure Sun Temple, Ice Heart Valley, and Seeking Passion Sect were not too different from each other. However, none of them were comparable to the beauty of Star Soul Palace. Standing in this spot gave a person an inexplicable sense of sublimation, creating an extremely subtle feeling of excitement and pleasure.
Among the wilderness of the mountains, rare birds and beasts roamed about freely as pavilions loomed in the distance, hidden in the clouds and the fog. It was a heavenly scenery so beautiful that it lingered in one’s memories.
“So, this is a Great Emperor Sect?” Yang Kai murmured under his breath.
“Who goes there?!”
Yang Kai had been standing at the base of the mountains for no more than several breaths before he heard a furious roar coming his way. Two streams of light quickly flew toward him from afar, and as the lights approached him, they turned into two humanoid figures. These two young men were Dao Source Realm cultivators and they were exuding a pure and vigorous aura. One glance was enough to tell that this pair had solid foundations and promising futures. They would most likely break through into the Emperor Realm in time.
Such excellent cultivators would surely be groomed and developed by any Sect to become Elders of Sect Masters; however, these two seemed to be nothing more than sentries guarding the mountain. It made Yang Kai realize that Star Soul Palace really lived up to its reputation. Only Serene Soul Palace and Shadow Killer Palace, which were also Great Emperors Sects, could compare to the heritage of Star Soul Palace.
“This is Star Moon Mountain, trespassers are not allowed here! Return where you came from, or we will not let you off lightly!” Among the two Dao Source Realm cultivators, the one on the left seemed to be a little more down-to-earth. He was the one who shouted at Yang Kai despite his cultivation being far lower, not showing the slightest hint of fear as he warned loudly. This was the confidence of a Star Soul Palace disciple!
In the eyes of a Star Soul Palace disciple, all the cultivators in the Southern Territory could be categorized into two, disciples of the Sect, and others. Yang Kai was undoubtedly in the latter category; therefore, they didn’t need to bother about him regardless of his realm.
Glancing at these two, Yang Kai cupped his fists and said, “I received an invitation to come here.”
“You received an invitation to come here?” The young man that had spoken previously frowned in response, looking Yang Kai up and down suspiciously, “Can you tell us who invited you? My fellow brother will pass a message for you if you are telling the truth.”
Since this person in front of him had received an invitation to come here, that meant this person had some connection to a fellow disciple of the palace. If that was the case, it would not be good to offend this person, so his tone became much more polite as a result.
Yang Kai was about to explain the truth to them when his expression changed suddenly and he smiled, “No need. Someone is already coming to pick me up.”
When the two young men heard those words, they turned around to look. They saw a bright light approaching them from the distance, moving swiftly before coming to a stop a short distance away in the blink of an eye. Then, the light dissipated and a beautiful figure appeared.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Lan Xun greeted Yang Kai with a smile.
In a flash, the entire world seemed to lose its colour as the two young men were dumbfounded, staring blankly at Lan Xun, who had appeared without warning. Practically frozen in shock, they stuttered, “Y-Y-Your Highness?!”
When they heard Yang Kai saying that he had received an invitation to come, they had not thought much of it; after all, he was obviously just an outsider with some connection to a fellow disciple of theirs; however, it turned out that the person who had extended an invitation to him was none other than the Princess of Star Soul Palace!
[How could it be the Princess?!]
The Princess was an outstanding figure who not only inherited the Bright Moon Body from the Great Emperor, but also possessed a rare and incredible talent in the Martial Dao. She was born with heavenly beauty, was easy-going and approachable, and was very well-received by everyone in Star Soul Palace. She was the dream lover of countless young men.
Even the arrogant Star Soul Palace disciples were proud just to have a word with the Princess. Unfortunately, very few people could receive such honour. Only Xiao Chen, who guarded the Princess by her side all year round, had the chance to witness her dazzling smile.
But why would a person regarded as a Goddess by countless Star Soul Palace disciples invite a man here? The two were so shocked that they could hardly think.
“Junior Sister Lan, you certainly arrived quickly!” Yang Kai replied. When he first arrived at Star Moon Mountain, he had contacted Lan Xun, who had asked him to wait a moment for her, but he didn’t expect her to really arrive after just a moment.
[He called her… Junior Sister Lan?!] The eyes of the two Star Soul Palace disciples widened even more in shock. When they saw how friendly Yang Kai and Lan Xun seemed to be with each other, they felt their hearts clenching in great anguish for some reason. On the other hand, the Princess’ reaction broke their hearts completely, making them feel as if there was nothing left to live for anymore.
“Senior Brother Yang sent me a message, so of course I had to rush over!” Lan Xun laughed and stretched out his hand to gesture to Yang Kai, “Senior Brother, please come this way.”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai nodded and walked in that direction. When he arrived by her side, she stepped forward and led the way.
It wasn’t until their figures disappeared into the distance that the two Star Soul Palace disciples looked at each other in despair. When Lan Xun appeared in front of them, she had not spoken a single word to them from beginning to end; she didn’t even spare them a single glance. All her attention had been focused on that damn outsider.
What did that indicate? That indicated that the Princess valued that man greatly. Otherwise, the gracious and magnanimous Princess would not have ignored them without even smiling at them once.
“Senior Brother, Senior Brother Xiao is in trouble!” The Junior Brother who had not spoken since the beginning suddenly spoke up sadly.
“Yeah… I don’t know if Senior Brother Xiao knows about this. If Senior Brother Xiao does…”
The ‘Senior Brother Xiao’ they were talking about was none other than Xiao Chen. Among the Star Soul Palace disciples of the same generation, Xiao Chen was undoubtedly the one with the most contact with the Princess. He was generally alright in all other aspects, but he was very sensitive when it came to matters related to the Princess. If any fellow brother were to speak to the Princess, Xiao Chen would hold a grudge and find a chance to teach them a lesson. Yet for some reason, the Princess only saw him as an Elder Brother figure, clearly having not a trace of romantic feelings for him.
But judging by the current situation, it seemed like this outsider was encroaching into Senior Brother Xiao’s territory! Wouldn’t it be a disaster if Xiao Chen learned about this?
“Senior Brother Xiao is not the problem, what’s more important is Senior Brother Lei…”
Upon mentioning ‘Senior Brother Lei’, the both of them shuddered in terror. They seemed to be greatly frightened by something and even quickly glanced about their surroundings to confirm that there was nobody around before they hurriedly fled the place.
At the same time, a man with the appearance of someone barely twenty years old was meditating in a cross-legged position inside the Central Hall of Star Soul Palace’s Star Hall when he suddenly opened his eyes. Those eyes of his seemed to be filled with stars that were burning brightly. He lifted his head and gazed upward, his sharp falcon-like gaze seemingly penetrating the Heavens themselves.
All of a sudden, he frowned and exclaimed in shock, “Nine stars rising above the Moon? Why is this happening? My symbol is the Bright Moon; this is clearly directed at me! How ominous. How ominous…”
Few people in the world knew that the great Bright Moon Great Emperor, the patron saint of the Southern Territory who was renowned across the entire Star Boundary, actually had the appearance of a youth. While speaking, he lowered his head and formed an extremely strange set of seals with his hands. An odd aura spread out in response while his hands continued to weave back and forth.
After a while, the young man’s brow twitched as he dismissed the seals, muttering under his breath “Old Tian Ji’s Secret Technique is a bunch of nonsense. I can’t figure out anything from it. It’s so embarrassing to call it ‘Heaven’s Diviner’. The next time I meet him, I’m going to pull out his beard.”
Mulling over something while supporting his head on his hand, he haphazardly declared, “Forget it! It’s only a trivial problem anyway, not worth wasting my time over.”
After saying that, he closed his eyes again and resumed his meditation.
…..
“Senior Brother Yang, this is where you will stay during your visit.” Lan Xun said after arranging a place for Yang Kai to stay on Nan Dou Peak.
Yang Kai said, “Junior Sister Lan, when can I enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?”
If not for his agreement with Hua Yu Lu, Yang Kai wouldn’t be in such a rush. This was a Great Emperor Sect after all, so staying here for a longer time would not be detrimental to Yang Kai and instead would have many benefits. Unfortunately, he had a promise to uphold and was worried about any delays as a result. He would need a month to cultivate inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and also needed some time to travel back, so he couldn’t delay for very long.
Lan Xun smiled back and replied, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother Yang. Since my father has promised you, he will not break his word. If things had gone according to schedule, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda would have been opened half a year from now; therefore, Star Soul Palace needs to make some preparations on our side since we made a promise to you. Right now, it will take five days at the latest before the pagoda is opened.”
“That’s good.” Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words.
Giggling happily, Lan Xun teased, “You seem to be in a rush, Senior Brother Yang, could it be possible that you have an appointment with a beautiful woman?” She had simply been joking only to see him freeze for a moment at her words. Thus, she exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, my! Do you really have an appointment with a beautiful woman?”
Yang Kai looked troubled, “Please don’t speak nonsense. Still, it’s true that I have an appointment.”
Lan Xun pursed her lips and smiled coyly, “You don’t need to explain yourself, Senior Brother Yang. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now. I’ll notify you when the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is prepared.”
Nan Dou Peak was the second highest peak in the Star Moon Mountain Range where Star Soul Palace was situated. It was an excellent environment for cultivation as World Energy was abundant there. It wasn’t even inferior to the Main Peak of High Heaven Palace.
Star Soul Palace was where billions of cultivators in the Southern Territory gathered. Not only was it closely linked to the well-being of the Southern Territory, but it was also the central axis of the Earth Vein across the entire Southern Territory. It was only natural for that place to have an abundance of World Energy as a result.
After arranging a place for Yang Kai to stay, Lan Xun took her leave.
For a while, Nan Dou Peak was tranquil. Yang Kai’s mental state seemed to be slightly affected by the environment, and he became very calm. Since there was nobody to disturb him, he closed his eyes and meditated, cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique Zhu Qing had taught him before she left.
Time flew by, and night fell. Yang Kai, who was cultivating quietly, suddenly felt a disturbance and opened his eyes abruptly. Shifting his body slightly, he exited the private room and stood atop Nan Dou Peak. What entered his vision made him agape with shock.
The crescent moon hung brightly in the sky, surrounded by the stars. It looked like a stunningly beautiful scroll was spread out over the entire sky above Star Moon Mountain Range. Moreover, each and every star twinkled with a dazzling light, almost as if one could reach out and grasp them.
However, what amazed him the most were the flashes of light falling from those stars, connecting the Heavens and the Earth together. Each flash of light seemed to contain some sort of mysterious power that made the World Energy on Star Moon Mountain become more alive. The space between the Heavens and the Earth was filled with a charm that could not be experienced during the day. It was insignificant and elusive yet seemed to contain some kind of profound truth.
At this very moment, the entire Star Moon Mountain Range looked like a heavenly land. It was so mesmerizing that it made one reluctant to leave this place. He stared at the sight before him blankly until he even forgot to breathe. Even so, his mind was calmer than ever before.
“This is the Star Tide, which occurs once every month. According to the Great Emperor, the Star Tide contains the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. One can receive countless benefits if one can comprehend anything from the Star Tide. En… It is a fact that many Star Soul Palace disciples received various benefits from the Star Tide, some even managing to break through their cultivation bottlenecks in a state of epiphany and, consequently, learned Divine Abilities taught directly from the Heavenly Way. For those Star Soul Palace disciples cultivating the Star and Moon Secret Technique, in particular, they have received even more from the Star Tide.” A person’s voice rang out suddenly from not far away.
“So, that’s how it is.” Yang Kai looked unflustered. He was immersed in the starlight enshrouding him, but unfortunately, he failed to receive any benefits from the Star Tide even though he found it absolutely miraculous and was vaguely aware of its mysterious powers. He wasn’t sure if the failure was caused by the presence of the Star Soul Palace disciple next to him, or was simply his lack of opportunity.
After a while, Yang Kai turned his head and looked at a sturdy young man, who had his hands clasped behind his back, and asked, “How should I address you?”
The young man turned to him and grinned, revealing a set of clean and white teeth, “Lei Ting!”
Frowning, Yang Kai mulled over it for a bit, “I’ve heard of the four Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters that serve as the Elders of Star Soul Palace under the Great Emperor. Among them, Great Elder Lei Hong is the most powerful. His strength even goes beyond that of a Third-Order Emperor. What relationship do you have with that Great Elder Lei?”
Lei Ting spat disdainfully, seemingly unwilling to hear Lei Hong’s name. Even so, he truthfully replied, “He is my Uncle!”
Yang Kai made a non-committal sound in response, “I see. You are Great Elder Lei’s Nephew.”
Lei Ting’s gaze sharpened at those words as he snapped back, “I much prefer hearing you say that he is my Uncle.”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I apologize. I have only ever heard of Great Elder Lei’s name.”
Lei Ting coldly snorted as a faint blue arc of electricity danced in his hair, making crackling sounds before he quickly said, “I spend most of my time in retreat inside Star Soul Palace and rarely travel out of the Sect. Therefore, it is only natural that you have never heard of me before; but that’s okay, my name will spread far and wide from now onwards.”
“Then, Brother Lei…” Yang Kai smiled slightly at Lei Ting’s shameless boasting, not sure how else he was supposed to react. “Why did you come here in the middle of the night?”
Lei Ting’s eyes lowered, a cold light shining in their depths as he spoke, “I heard that the Princess personally came to welcome you when you arrived today.”
“Yes, that did happen.” Yang Kai nodded.
Lei Ting’s aura flared up and he spoke through gritted teeth, “Does that mean that you are very close with the Princess?”
“Not really. We’ve only met each other a few times before,” Yang Kai rubbed his chin, feeling rather annoyed and troubled, “I think I can guess the reason why you came to find me, Brother Lei.”
“It’s good that you understand! Let’s have a duel! You have to scram out of Star Soul Palace immediately and never meet with the Princess again if you lose!” Lei Ting shouted in fury as the aura of a First-Order Emperor surged from his body, seemingly boiling over in rage. It felt as if the person standing in front of him was not Yang Kai, who he had met for the first time today, but his greatest and most hated archnemesis instead.
Yang Kai stared at Lei Ting, “Don’t you think you’ve chosen the wrong opponent? Shouldn’t your enemy be Xiao Chen? He is the biggest obstacle between you and the Princess.”
Lei Ting burst out into mocking laughter, “Xiao Chen? Xiao Chen is nothing! If he refuses to listen, I will beat him up so badly that his own father won’t be able to recognize him!”
Yang Kai was stunned by those words. Xiao Chen was a rising star of the Southern Territory who had just broken through to the Emperor Realm. Even if Lei Ting seemed slightly stronger, he was still just a First-Order Emperor as well. What made this boy dare to boast so shamelessly? Still, Yang Kai had truly never heard of the name Lei Ting before, only knowing that this generation of Star Soul Palace disciples was led by Xiao Chen and Lan Xun. Now, it seemed like there is one more person among them.
Ruminating over what Lei Ting said before, Yang Kai quickly understood the situation. If Lei Ting was constantly in retreat inside Star Soul Palace and rarely stepped outside the palace, it wasn’t strange that his name wasn’t known to the public.
Yang Kai went silent for a moment before saying seriously, “Brother Lei, I’m afraid you have misunderstood something about me…”
He found Lei Ting’s attitude of immediately finding faults with him displeasing; nevertheless, he was currently a guest in Star Soul Palace. If any conflict were to arise between him and Lei Ting, it might upset the higher-ups at Star Soul Palace. Moreover, since Lei Ting’s Uncle was none other than the Great Elder, Lei Hong, it would be bad if this incident ruined his chance to cultivate in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
Yang Kai was only halfway through his sentence when Lei Ting shouted, “Enough nonsense! Fight me!”
Lei Ting lifted his hand the moment those words left his mouth and deep purple lightning crackled around him. Suddenly, the lightning condensed into a kind of whip in his hands which he swept towards Yang Kai. This was a powerful and heavy attack that looked as if it could split worlds apart.
Yang Kai was forced to swallow the rest of his words with a shocked expression. He could tell from Lei Ting’s attack that this guy was stronger than Xiao Chen. In fact, Lei Ting was more powerful than any other First-Order Emperor Yang Kai had ever met. It could even be said that Lei Ting was on par with most Second-Order Emperor Realm Masters in terms of strength.
[He hasn’t even gone all out yet. If he exerted his full strength, I’m afraid even ordinary Second-Order Emperors may not be his opponent. He certainly has some skills. No wonder he dares to come and pick a fight with me.]
The electric whip struck towards Yang Kai, who summoned his Myriads Sword in response and swung it horizontally in front of him. Sparks flew and a loud clashing sound rang out as the lightning whip was deflected. Even so, that terrifying current flowed through the Myriads Sword and into Yang Kai’s arm. In an instant, he felt as if a snake had slithered across his entire body, causing all his hairs to stand on end. Only after pushing his Emperor Qi did Yang Kai manage to dissipate the foreign force invading his body.
Before Yang Kai could even react though, the lightning whip struck towards him again, twisting mid-air as it quickly transformed into a gigantic lightning python. The lightning python opened its mouth wide and struck at him swiftly, letting out a thunderous and horrifying roar in the process. In response, Yang Kai waved his hand and sent out a Moon Blade that cleanly cut the python in half.
An exclamation of shock rang out as Lei Ting seemed to be incredibly astonished. He had cultivated this Lightning Python Secret Technique for many years now and was well aware of how powerful it was. Most First-Order Emperors would not be able to withstand it no matter how they struggled, but Yang Kai seemed to have split it in two with ease. Besides, the Divine Ability Yang Kai used gave off a strange feeling, seemingly containing fluctuations of the Space Principles.
As the lightning python dispersed into the air, Lei Ting took advantage of the distraction to silently approach Yang Kai. Amidst the flashes of lightning, he snuck closer until he was no more than one meter away. Raising his palm, Lei Ting sent out a palm covered in lightning that crackled loudly as it shot forwards.
“Enough!” Yang Kai roared in anger, lifting his finger and poking towards Lei Ting’s palm. If this finger connected with Lei Ting’s palm, a hole would surely be opened in the latter’s hand. Yang Kai would also suffer some injuries of course, but they wouldn’t be anywhere near as severe.
Just as their attacks were about to meet though, Lei Ting’s body suddenly shuddered. A trace of panic swept across his expression as he turned to look back in a certain direction. The palm strike he was about to make also froze in mid-air instantly.
When Lei Ting stopped moving, Yang Kai stopped moving too, his finger actually tapping against Lei Ting’s palm, focusing his strength on that one spot but not releasing it.
“Bastard! How dare you spoil my good deed, Xiao Chen!” Lei Ting cursed suddenly before retracting his palm and turning to leave. He had taken no more than two steps though before he turned around and glared at Yang Kai seriously, “I never came here tonight. You and I did not greet each other. More importantly, we did not fight! Do you understand?!”
Yang Kai looked up at the sky and leisurely said, “The night sky is so charming.”
“You…” Lei Ting seemed like he had more to say; however, he obviously didn’t have enough time to do so, so he just glared at Yang Kai ferociously before transforming his body into a flash of light that quickly disappeared.
Moments after Lei Ting left, another flash of light landed on Nan Dou Peak. Lan Xun glanced at Yang Kai and asked, “Senior Brother Yang, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Why?” Yang Kai smiled slightly, “The night view of Star Soul Palace is beautiful, so I came out to get some fresh air.”
“I heard that Lei Ting came here. Did he cause any trouble for you?”
“Who is Lei Ting?” Yang Kai blinked at her in surprise, a bewildered expression on his face, but his slightly singed hair which was all standing on end, obviously giving him away.
Lan Xun gave him a pondering look before she pursed her lips and smiled. On the other hand, Yang Kai just casually ran his fingers through his hair and calmly explained, “The wind did a number on my hair.”
Lan Xun shook her head lightly and retorted, “Lei Ting cultivated so much that he became a little stupid in the process. He can be a little unreasonable. The next time you meet him, let me know immediately, Senior Brother Yang. I will take care of him.”
Yang Kai fell silent for a moment before he nodded, “Good.”
“En. You can… Continue enjoying the night air, Senior Brother Yang. I’ll head back first,” Lan Xun covered her mouth and giggled. After that, she turned around and left.
“Lei Ting…” Yang Kai touched his chin and pondered for a moment before a smile suddenly spread across his face.
Not far away from Nan Dou Peak, Lei Ting grabbed Xiao Chen by his collar and viciously snarled, “You were behind it, right? I’m sure it was you! If you didn’t notify Little Sister Xun, she wouldn’t have come over at such a timely moment! You rotten bastard! If you had given me just a little more time, I’d have been able to kick that guy out of Star Soul Palace!”
“Let go of me! Pulling at my clothes like that… highly improper!” Xiao Chen’s eyes drooped slightly, staring at Lei Ting’s large hands with a disgusted look.
Lei Ting snorted softly. Even so, he complied with that request and released his grip as he muttered, “I heard you exchanged blows with that guy before and failed to gain the upper hand.”
With a sullen expression, Xiao Chen countered, “You exchanged blows with him just now. Can’t you tell how strong he is?”
Lei Ting’s expression turned grim, considering it carefully for a moment before nodding, “That person is a strong enemy!”
Xiao Chen followed up, “What’s even more hateful is that Xun’er seems to look at this guy differently. That’s why you and I should put aside our differences for now and work together to chase that guy away from her side, Lei Ting!”
Lei Ting sneered, “Work together? Why should I work together with you? What a joke.”
Xiao Chen snapped, “Do you dare to speak to Xun’er? Do you dare to look into her eyes?”
The aura around Lei Ting vanished instantly as he stammered for a long time before muttering bitterly, “Who doesn’t have a weakness?”
Xiao Chen gave a mocking smile, “You don’t even have the courage to look at Xun’er or speak to her, so how are you going to deal with it if she gets together with that guy?!”
“Then what do you think we should do!?” Lei Ting roared furiously.
Xiao Chen grinned meaningfully as he explained, “The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda will be opened in a few days. You and I will surely be entering, and our time limit will be one month; we will definitely get a chance during that period. The moment we get the chance, we have to teach him an unforgettable lesson. When that time comes, he will be greatly humiliated.”
“Work together to defeat him?” Lei Ting hesitated a little, “No can do. It’s not my style to gang up against others.”
Xiao Chen said, “Or, you can fight him alone. I will be responsible for preventing Xun’er from interfering with your fight.”
Upon hearing those words, Lei Ting considered the idea seriously and nodded, “Good, that’s fine.” Then, he patted Xiao Chen on the shoulder heavily and added, “I will leave Little Sister Xun to you. Leave that guy to me!”
“So, does that mean you have agreed to cooperate with me?” Xiao Chen flashed a knowing smile.
“Sure, sure; I’ll cooperate with you. Since my Junior Brother has already said so much, as your Senior Brother, I should play along with your plans.” Lei Ting laughed, feeling extremely happy.
Xiao Chen’s expression became sullen, “I’m too lazy to argue with you about who is the Junior Brother or Senior Brother among us…” [It’s fine as long as I can always be with the Princess, why should I be worried about not being in an advantageous or favoured position? An idiot like you should just focus on getting rid of outside enemies, you don’t need to worry about the rest.]
After their discussion was completed, the two of them parted ways to adjust their conditions for the upcoming confrontation.
…..
Since that night when Lei Ting came looking for trouble, no one else came to Nan Dou Peak to pick a fight with Yang Kai again. The entire Star Soul Palace was busy preparing for the opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, so even Lan Xun did not visit Yang Kai.
It was rare for Yang Kai to have a few days of leisure to himself; thus, he spent his time cultivating behind closed doors on Nan Dou Peak. He used the chance to consume and refine the three Dragon Blood Pills refined by Ji Ying.
The Dragon Blood Pills were amazing. After Yang Kai finished refining the three Spirit Pills, he noticed that the toughness of his physique had improved somewhat. Even though it did not improve by much, any little improvement was precious at his current level of strength. If he consumed more Dragon Blood Pills, perhaps his body could be elevated to a whole new level. Unfortunately, he only had three pills.
On the contrary, Yang Kai did not notice the purifying effects of the Dragon Blood Pill that Ji Ying had talked about regarding his Dragon Clan bloodline. But if he thought about it, he wasn’t actually a part of the Dragon Clan, he only possessed the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Strength, so the purifying effects of the Dragon Blood Pills probably had no meaningful effect on him.
Five days later, Yang Kai had finished refining the third Dragon Blood Pill and was now immersed in the ecstatic feeling of growing stronger when he noticed somebody flying in his direction.
A short while later, Lan Xun’s voice entered his ears, “Senior Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai got up and walked out of the hall.
Lan Xun greeted him and explained, “We are opening the Treasure Pagoda today. Are you prepared, Senior Brother Yang?
“There’s nothing I need to prepare!”
“Good, then follow me.” Lan Xun said, leading the way.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was one of the most important places for cultivating in Star Soul Palace and could be described as a very large Sealed World. Cultivators of all realms ranging from Origin Realm to Emperor could cultivate in it and obtain benefits beyond imagination. It was rumoured that the sealed spaces within the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda were actually broken shards of destroyed worlds. That was why cultivators could easily perceive World Principles inside. Although the World Principles were fragmented, they were much easier to understand and had a miraculous effect on the cultivation of cultivators.
The existence of the Divine Ascension Mirror made it easier for disciples of Azure Sun Temple to gain higher accomplishments in Soul cultivation compared to others in the same realm. Similarly, the existence of Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda allowed the cultivators of Star Soul Palace to get ahead of other cultivators in the perception of Principle Strength.
The deeper the understanding of Principle Strength, the more refined the cultivation of the cultivator, and the easier it became for them to progress in their cultivation. It could be said that the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was the foundation of Star Soul Palace.
However, even Star Soul Palace could not open the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda as it pleased as the process consumed a lot of manpower and material each time. Not only did it require several Elders to contribute their strength, it also consumed countless precious treasures belonging to Star Soul Palace each time.
Generally, Star Soul Palace only opened the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda once every three years, and only selected disciples were allowed to enter.
There were restrictions on the number of people that could enter; therefore, the disciples of Star Soul Palace, regardless of their ranks within the Sect, would often conduct a large-scale tournament half a year in advance just to get the opportunity to cultivate in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. They needed to obtain a certain ranking before they were eligible to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
The opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time was originally scheduled for half a year later, but was brought forward because of Yang Kai. Needless to say, if Star Soul Palace had been adamant about opening it half a year later, Yang Kai would have had no choice but to slowly wait. It was just that Star Soul Palace, as the pillar of the Southern Territory, had always kept its word and would never do something that would stain its reputation. Be that as it may, the early opening this time around had increased Star Soul Palace’s consumption of manpower and material resources significantly.
Yang Kai had entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda once before. When he first arrived at Maplewood City, Xiao Yu Yang had opened the entrance to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda remotely and allowed all cultivators in the Origin King Realm in Maplewood City to enter. Yang Kai gained many benefits from that experience, and the memories of that mystical and wondrous Sealed World were still fresh in his mind.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was filled with large amounts of fragmented World Principles, which not only helped to increase his cultivation significantly but also functioned to perfect the Sealed World Bead. Although the Sealed World Bead was an independent Small World unto itself, the World Principles inside it were incomplete. Despite having it for so many years, Yang Kai had not had the opportunity to fix this issue. However, it had absorbed numerous World Principle fragments when Yang Kai was last inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, improving the Small World within significantly. Later, it absorbed even more Shattered Star Source’s from the Shattered Star Sea and became even closer to perfection.
If it could absorb enough of the fragmented World Principles, as well as the complete Principle Strength, inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, then it would most likely be completely perfected. A perfect Sealed World Bead was, essentially, a real world that was no different from a Large World like the Star Boundary. Perhaps, it could even bring about unexpected benefits!
Compared to asking the Bright Moon Great Emperor three questions, Yang Kai preferred improving his Sealed World Bead; after all, the Sealed World Bead held unimaginable significance to his ability to understand World Force and his aspirations to become a Great Emperor in the future.
Xiao Yu Yang had worked with several Emperor Realm Masters in Maplewood City previously to open an entrance to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda; therefore, Yang Kai had never seen the actual Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda before. This time around, he was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it. It was an actual pagoda that soared high into the sky and sparkled with five colours. The whole building exuded a very mysterious aura.
When Lan Xun led Yang Kai to this place, he found that no less than a thousand people had gathered near the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. There were cultivators ranging from the Origin Returning Realm to the Emperor Realm among them. Moreover, each of their auras was stable regardless of their cultivation realm. It clearly showed that they were the future pillars of Star Soul Palace. These one thousand cultivators were the disciples who were entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda to train this time.
The moment the two of them arrived, a thousand pairs of eyes turned towards them. Every Star Soul Palace disciple looking at Lan Xun, be it man or woman, had infatuated expressions on their faces. However, their looks turned to jealousy and hatred when they looked at Yang Kai. The difference between those two looks was like night and day. Although Yang Kai was not bothered by the gazes from these people, several other sharp and piercing gazes forced him to take them seriously.
Four people stood side by side in front of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. Their auras were as deep as the seas and gave off the feeling as if four towering pillars were standing there. These four were the four Elders of Star Soul Palace.
Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao, whom Yang Kai was acquainted with, made up two out of the four. The other two were old men. One had a ruddy complexion and a stocky build while the other had grey hair and a sprightly figure.
Xiao Yu Yang nodded at Yang Kai. On the other hand, Xue Zheng Mao, who had suffered greatly in Yang Kai’s hands, snorted softly.
“Is that Yang Kai?” The ruddy-faced, stocky old man asked, staring at Yang Kai.
Xiao Yu Yang replied, “Yes, that’s Yang Kai!”
“He is certainly an exceptional and unmatched talent. Still, his cultivation is only at the First-Order Emperor Realm. How did he injure Junior Brother Xue?” The stocky old man frowned.
Xue Zheng Mao’s expression became unnatural as he explained, “That little brat is proficient in the Dao of Space. I failed to notice that and allowed him to succeed in ambushing me.”
As a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, his ego had been bruised after being injured by a Junior like Yang Kai.
“Even if it was a sneak attack, that’s extremely impressive.” The stocky old man nodded lightly.
“You are praising him too much,” Xue Zheng Mao looked upset, “If I get serious, I can kill him within three moves.”
The burly old man was none other than the Great Elder of Star Soul Palace, Lei Hong, who was known as the most powerful Emperor Realm Master in the Southern Territory. To this response, Lei Hong chuckled, “I am not overpraising him. But, did you forget how Tan Jun Hao died?”
Xue Zheng Mao snorted in response, “Didn’t they say there was a Monster King with this brat at the time? Tan Jun Hao must have died at the hands of that Monster King. It has nothing to do with him!”
Lei Hong shook his head and said nothing more. He knew that Xue Zheng Mao harboured a great dislike toward Yang Kai and might become angry if he continued this topic. Being Elders in the same Sect, there was no need for him to agitate Xue Zheng Mao any further. Still, it had been a long time since Lei Hong last met a young man that was capable of wounding a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.
Xiao Yu Yang glanced at Yang Kai before glancing over at Xiao Chen. Then, he sighed to himself. Although he believed his son was quite outstanding, he still paled in comparison to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai and Lan Xun landed together. Following that, Xiao Chen and Lei Ting immediately came forward to greet them.
“Princess!” Xiao Chen called out with a smile. On the contrary, Lei Ting, who was walking next to Xiao Chen, seemed uneasy and embarrassed, glancing around as if he felt extremely uncomfortable
“Senior Brother Xiao, Senior Brother Lei!” Lan Xun smiled brightly and glanced at the two of them.
“Um…” Lei Ting stammered. His face flushed suddenly, and he didn’t even dare to look her in the eyes.
A hint of surprise flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes. He looked at Lei Ting, then looked at Lan Xun; following that, a playful grin crept onto his face.
“Brother Yang!” Xiao Chen cupped his fists and greeted Yang Kai, his demeanour cordial and easy-going, a huge difference from the domineering attitude he carried during their previous meetings. It was almost as if he was a different person altogether.
“Brother Xiao, Brother Lei, we meet again.” Yang Kai replied.
Lei Ting snorted softly and turned his head away.
Yang Kai was not bothered in the least, “Are we the only four Emperor Realm cultivators entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time?”
Although there were many cultivators gathered here, it seemed as though the four of them were the only Emperors. The four Elders in the Third-Order Emperor Realm were here too, but they were obviously not entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
Lan Xun nodded, “Yes, we are the only four. The price of an Emperor entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is very high. Moreover, Emperor Realm Masters occupy more spaces in the quota. That’s why only a few Emperors are allowed to enter at a time.”
Yang Kai nodded in response.
She continued, “Senior Brother Yang, even though you entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda once before, the situation this time around will be different from your previous encounter. There are five layers to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and each layer contains many fragmented spaces. Some of these fragmented spaces may be connected while others may be sealed and isolated from the rest. The higher you go, the more obvious this becomes. The first layer is suitable for cultivators in the Origin Returning Realm, the second for Origin Kings, the third for Dao Source Realms, and the fourth for Emperors. As for the highest layer, the Fifth, it can only be entered by Emperor Realm Masters from the Fourth Stage.”
“Could it be that there are restrictions to this?” Yang Kai frowned.
Lan Xun nodded, “Yes, you cannot enter the next layer if you are not strong enough. Of course, the higher you go, the more dangerous it becomes. When the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was opened more than ten years ago, an ancient Wood Spirit appeared on the second layer and caused many people in Maplewood City to lose their lives. Senior Brother Yang, you experienced this personally, so I’m sure it is still fresh in your memory, right?”
(TL note: The Wood Spirit here is a different Wood Spirit from the ones in the Ancient Wild Lands, a different character that is… it’s confusing I know, just go with it.)
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “How could I forget?”
The disaster the Wood Spirit caused in Maplewood City killed tens of thousands of people in a short time. Yang Kai had been involved in that ordeal, so it was only natural that he still remembered it.
Lan Xun sternly explained, “Although the experience in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is of great help to one’s cultivation, it is also fraught with dangers. Many Star Soul Palace disciples lose their lives each time the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is opened.”
“Is there no way to guarantee their safety?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow and asked.
Shaking her head, Lan Xun replied, “No. It is said that the shattered worlds sealed inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda are ancient battlefields, each world having been destroyed by war. Even though these worlds were destroyed, they still contain many shattered World Principles. For that reason, many ancient relics with tenacious vitality are able to find a way to survive in them. A mighty expert later collected those shattered worlds with shocking methods and refined the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda from them. The pagoda has gone through many vicissitudes and passed through several hands before my father acquired it. However, even my father cannot fully control the countless shattered worlds inside.” Pausing for a moment, she smiled, “Of course, even if he could control it, my father probably wouldn’t interfere; after all, what are experiences without any danger?”
Yang Kai deeply agreed with that sentiment, nodding as he said, “You’re right, Junior Sister Lan.”
She smilingly replied, “That’s why you have to be careful when you enter the pagoda later, Senior Brother Yang. Don’t get careless.”
“I understand.” He nodded seriously.
At the same time, the Star Soul Palace disciples participating in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda training this time had more or less arrived in full.
Great Elder Lei Hong cleared his throat lightly, causing all the noise in the square to die down as thousands of eyes turned to him.
“The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda opens today. You are all elites of Star Soul Palace and the future pillars of the Sect. The other Elders and I hope you can obtain great benefits from this experience. Of course, that is on the premise that you can protect your lives. As part of the same Sect, you should help and support each other inside the pagoda…”
Taking this opportunity, Lan Xun secretly sent a voice transmission to Yang Kai and told him some things about the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, all of which he kept in mind.
In the meantime, Lei Hong didn’t talk much. He simply said a few words before waving his hand for them to enter, “If you remember all of that, then prepare yourselves!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he and the three other Elders glanced at each other before they moved to stand at the four corners of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. They then executed a Secret Technique and activated the array. When their Emperor Qi surged, the four of them stretched out their hands and pointed downward.
With a loud rumble, the door of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, which had been tightly shut, opened suddenly. Although the actions of the four Elders had been swift, and they were sweating profusely at this moment. It was clear that opening the pagoda took a heavy toll on them.
The moment the door opened, a gently whirling and pitch-black vortex emerged from the door. It looked like the gaping maw of a gigantic beast that wanted to devour the selected participants. When the vortex first appeared, it was not very stable, twisting and churning randomly, giving off stray energy fluctuations that made one uneasy. However, the vortex gradually stabilized as the four Elders continued to pour their power into it. Following that, the disturbing fluctuations gradually disappeared.
This situation lasted for about a quarter of an hour before the four Elders stopped in unison. They were pale-faced and breathing heavily by then; moreover, their auras were extremely weak. If a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master were to attack any of them at this moment, they wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight.
“When are you going to enter, if not now?” Great Elder Lei Hong suddenly shouted.
The Star Soul Palace disciples had been waiting eagerly for this moment, so how could they hesitate after hearing those words? All of them moved swiftly, rushing into the vortex and disappearing out of sight, one after the other,
The discipline and pride of top Sects were immediately reflected in its disciples’ behaviour. Thousands of people were entering the pagoda now, but there was no crowding or shoving despite everyone moving swiftly. Rather, everything appeared to be extremely orderly.
First, those cultivators in the Origin Returning Realm entered, then those in the Origin King Realm, followed by those in the Dao Source Realm… It didn’t take long for most of the one thousand participants to disappear. Soon, only Yang Kai and the other three young Emperors were left.
“Let’s go,” Lan Xun called out and took the lead to fly forward. Before rushing into the vortex, she urged, “Take care, Senior Brothers.”
“You too, your Highness!” Xiao Chen smiled slightly, showing concern in a timely manner.
“X-Xun…” Lei Ting stammered. Unfortunately, Lan Xun disappeared before he could finish speaking. For a moment, he looked upset and depressed at the same time.
“I’m going on ahead,” While laughing, Xiao Chen entered the vortex.
Then, Lei Ting turned and glared at Yang Kai fiercely.
“What?” Yang Kai glared back.
“You’d best pray we don’t meet each other inside, or else, you’re dead!” Lei Ting coldly snorted.
Yang Kai sneered and rushed into the vortex before Lei Ting.
The moment Yang Kai crossed the threshold, his vision blurred. Unlike what he imagined, he was not greeted by the sight of various shattered worlds. Instead, when he entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, a strange wave of power suddenly blocked his path for a moment and he subconsciously exerted his full strength in case of any unexpected events. The moment Yang Kai released his Space Principles to guard himself, he felt as if he ran into a ball of cotton and was repelled backwards.
What entered his vision next shocked him greatly. Yang Kai found himself suspended in the Void. Looking around him, he saw what seemed like clouds stretching out in all directions. It all felt ethereal and illusionary. Moreover, the clouds were in all sorts of different colours; some were vibrant and bright while others were dark and dull like a cluster of Death Qi. There was also a pitch-black patch that made him very uncomfortable just looking at it. At this very moment, Yang Kai was surrounded by countless cloud-like existences.
Feeling dizzy, he wondered what was going on. This was very different from what Lan Xun told him to expect.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was divided into five layers, each one containing many fragmented spaces, some that were connected to one another, others that were isolated. Upon entering the pagoda, a cultivator would be automatically placed in one of the layers, one that most suited their cultivation realm. For example, a cultivator in the Origin Returning Realm would enter one of the shattered worlds in the second layer, while a First-Order Emperor Realm Master like Yang Kai would certainly enter the fourth layer. Only the fifth layer could not be entered directly from the entrance of the pagoda. One had to find the corridor leading to the fifth layer from the fourth layer.
Yang Kai originally assumed that he would appear in one of the shattered worlds in the fourth layer as Lan Xun had said that would be the case; however, it now seemed as though something was not quite right. This was definitely not a shattered world in the fourth layer because he couldn’t sense any Principle Strength here, and instead there was a large number of strange, colourful clouds.
Expanding his Divine Sense out to investigate his surroundings, Yang Kai was both shocked and horrified. That was because he discovered that those cloud-like existences were similar to the entrances of a Void Corridor and he did not know where he would be sent to if he passed through any of these entrances.
Yang Kai stood in place with a frown on his face for a time before all of a sudden, he snapped back to his senses and turned to look behind him. A gigantic and pitch-black vortex was slowly spinning behind him.
[Isn’t this the entrance to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda? Why did it appear behind me? If the entrance is behind me, then is the way forward what lies in front of me? Am I in an intermediate space within the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?] Hundreds of thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s head before a sudden flash of inspiration struck him. [Could these cloud-like entrances to the Void Corridors be…]
Turning to look around him, Yang Kai spotted a cloud emitting a dazzling golden light and rushed into it. His field of vision flashed and everything spun dizzyingly. At the same time, a peculiar Principle Strength lingered around him, and by the time he recovered, he was standing on a vast plain.
Not a single blade of grass grew on the plain that was seemingly covered in gravel and stones, looking extremely desolated. Moreover, there were no sun, moon, or stars in the sky, yet it was still as bright as day.
“What rich Metal Attribute Energy!” Yang Kai spread out his senses and looked stunned by his findings. The World Energy in this place was extremely strange, not only extremely dense, but also containing only a single elemental attribute, the Metal Attribute.
If a cultivator practicing Secret Arts or Secret Techniques of the Metal Attribute came here, they would be ecstatic about encountering such a cultivation environment! After all, cultivating in a place like this would definitely increase their cultivating efficiency by a hundred-fold.
“So, this is a shattered world in the fourth layer?” Yang Kai murmured thoughtfully, “It certainly is quite distorted.”
Lan Xun once mentioned before that the spaces within the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda were all broken and incomplete, so, even the World Principles became fragmented. Hence, the World Principles in some spaces became extremely distorted over the years. A situation in which one or several different Principle Strengths became incredibly strong while the others grew weak or disappeared altogether might occur. This was the case in this shattered space right now. The Metal Attribute Principles practically dominated the entire world, leaving no space for others to manifest. The distortion in this place was tremendous.
[I entered this place by passing through an entrance emitting golden rays. In other words, the colour of those clouds most likely represented the type of Principles of the shattered world inside. And, those clouds are doorways to the shattered worlds! I can enter the shattered worlds by passing through those colourful clouds, but, how did this happen?] Yang Kai was sure that other Star Soul Palace disciples had not encountered this situation before. If they had, Lan Xun would have told him about it. Since she did not mention this to him, it could only mean that his experience was unique.
This was good news, however, as appearing in that intermediate space meant that he had the ability to make his own choices. Yang Kai could pick which shattered world to enter, provided that he could return to that intermediate space again.
While mulling over those thoughts, he began to take action. Unleashing Space Principles, Yang Kai reached out his hand and tore the space in front of him. It went more smoothly than he expected as he did not encounter any resistance worth mentioning. Pondering for a moment, he realized something that since this world was broken and incomplete, the World Principles were also incomplete, making the World Barriers around it easily breach-able
When the tear in space appeared, Yang Kai dove into it and sure enough, he was back at the intermediate space from before. This time, it was no different from his previous experience; a strange force washed over him and he reflexively used his Space Principles to isolate himself. Then, he immediately stopped in the strange intermediate space, surrounded by clouds in all directions.
“Hah! So, that’s how it is!” Yang Kai laughed heartily. When he first entered this intermediate space, he was clueless as to what had happened, but now that he came here a second time to investigate this place, he finally figured out something.
[It’s the Space Principles!] According to Lan Xun, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda would automatically place an Emperor Realm Master into one of the shattered worlds in the fourth layer the moment they passed through the entrance of the pagoda. This process undoubtedly involved Space Principles.
As he was proficient in Space Principles though, Yang Kai could interrupt this automatic teleportation by shielding himself with his own Space Principles. Therefore, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was unable to place him into any of the shattered worlds and could only leave him in this intermediate space.
“Doesn’t this mean I have free reign here now?” Yang Kai grinned after understanding the entire situation.
When others entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, they could only rely on luck to seek opportunities. If they accidentally entered a dead zone, they could only blame themselves for their bad luck; however, Yang Kai had almost absolute control over his movements.
Once he organized his thoughts, he immediately began searching his surroundings. He ignored the pitch-black clouds surrounded by Death Qi as it was obviously a dead world without any World Principles left, fragmented or otherwise. Yang Kai was searching for brightly coloured clouds as he figured that the brighter the colours, the more complete the shattered world would be, and the more useful it was for him.
After a short while, he located a cloud sporting a wash of colours and plunged into it immediately. As expected, the World Principles of the shattered world he entered this time were still fragmented but not distorted. On the contrary, it seemed to be surprisingly rich in World Energy, not inferior to a first-class Sect in the Southern Territory.
However, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling astonished when he released his Divine Sense, muttering out loud, “How small…”
He discovered that this fragmented space was extremely small, seemingly covering only a few dozen kilometres. Its boundaries were a chaotic mess of non-existence, which made him very uncomfortable.
This space was even smaller than Thousand Leaves Sect’s Emperor Heaven Valley, and while it had some plants, there were no living creatures inside. Nothing in this world could be hidden from him when he swept his Divine Sense across this place.
[Oh, well. So, what if it is small? It’s still better than nothing. Besides, I’m curious to learn what changes will occur to the Sealed World Bead after I absorb and refine all the World Principles contained in this broken world. I can just treat this as an experiment.] With such thoughts in mind, Yang Kai summoned the Sealed World Bead, and sat down cross-legged.
In a flash, the boundary of the Sealed World Bead opened, after which Yang Kai sent his consciousness inside while activating a certain Secret Technique in silence. Using his mind, he controlled the Sealed World Bead to devour the World Energy and the broken World Principles in this place. And soon after, a strong wind raged on as the World Energy in the surroundings was continuously swallowed into the Sealed World Bead like water flowing into the sea.
At the same time, a series of extremely profound and mysterious World Principles flowed into the Sealed World Bead through the entrance, flooding the space within.
All of a sudden, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Yang Kai opened his eyes abruptly, sensing a wave of hostility coming at him from all directions. Shocked, he initially thought that he had failed to notice some sort of danger in this place, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the truth was not what he had imagined. There really weren’t any living creatures in this world, but the hostility was clear and distinct. Moreover, it seemed to be everywhere, surrounding him in all directions, making him feel as if he was drifting in a sea of hostility.
“World Force!” His expression became grim, immediately figuring out the reason behind this hostility.
Devouring and refining the World Principles of this world with the Sealed World Bead would naturally cause a rejection reaction from this small world. The Heavenly Way was constant, and there were no exceptions. Even if it was a shattered world, it was still a world.
Amidst the thunder and lightning, several flashes struck from above. Yang Kai was caught unprepared, and his entire body convulsed from the lightning strike. He hurriedly used his Emperor Qi to resist and only then did the pain subside slightly.
At the same time, Yang Kai was secretly astonished. Even a tiny world no more than a few dozen kilometres wide could produce such powerful force. If it were a larger world, how strong would the rejection reaction and hostility be? Fortunately, he had chosen this small shattered world for the purpose of experimentation. If he had rashly chosen a larger world, I might have brought disaster upon himself.
Secretly rejoicing in his heart, Yang Kai distinctly felt a strong repulsive force squeezing him from all directions, as if trying to force him out of this world and prevent him from doing whatever he wanted again. Still, the repulsive force was not that strong so he only needed to resist slightly to overcome it.
The lightning and thunder became more violent as Yang Kai sat cross-legged on the ground expressionless, ignoring the lightning that struck at him from above. It was as if he was a rogue who had broken into an old and defenceless farmhouse to rob everything from it.
“World Force…” The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth curled upwards, revealing a faint smile. He felt no fear. Instead, he was rather exhilarated.
He had witnessed the Heaven shaking battle between two Great Emperors in the Shattered Star Sea a few years ago. At that time, he learned about a kind of strength called World Force. It was the only power stronger than the Principle Strength, one that only a Great Emperor could slightly harness.
[Isn’t this the very same World Force?] Although the World Force in this world was not that powerful, it was native to this world. It was hostile towards him, but could not harm him. Thus, it gave Yang Kai an early opportunity to come into contact with this power and begin comprehending it.
Yang Kai vaguely gained a slight understanding of this power after studying it; however, good times don’t last forever. Less than six hours after he started, the thunder and lightning vanished abruptly. Even the hostility of the world disappeared without a trace. This situation occurred not because the world had accepted him, but because the Sealed World Bead had cleanly devoured the World Principle Fragments of this world. Every single scrap was gone, so this world could no longer take any hostile action against him or reject him.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and smacked his lips, looking as if he still had not enough.
At that moment, the world suddenly shattered. Cracks split across the sky like a broken mirror and the ground rumbled and trembled with ravines appearing everywhere. Void Cracks appeared in the surrounding space and the aura of chaotic nothingness began to flow in.
Yang Kai stood up quickly and, reaching out, tore space. He escaped the world and returned to the intermediate space from before. As soon as he returned to the intermediate space, the cloud in front of him exploded into dust and disappeared. The shattered world vanished just like that.
“Next!” Yang Kai muttered to himself, flickering as he began wandering between the clouds searching for his next target, soon entering another shattered world.
There were countless shattered worlds in this place; however, Yang Kai discovered upon closer inspection that these shattered worlds had distinct traces about them despite their different sizes. He did not dare to touch those larger worlds and only searched for the smaller ones to plunder.
Following the same method, he managed to cleanly devour and utterly destroy more than a dozen Small Worlds with the Sealed World Bead in a span of three days. He distinctly felt a slight change in the world within the Sealed World Bead, with its World Principles undoubtedly becoming closer to perfection even though it was still far from completion. This made Yang Kai very happy.
While Yang Kai was in a wonderful mood during these past three days, on the contrary, the four Third-Order Emperor Realm Elders stood melancholically outside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda with worried looks on their faces. That was because something strange had occurred after the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was opened, an unprecedented occurrence.
Six hours after the pagoda was opened, a sudden burst of light emerged from the fourth layer. The four Elders had been meditating to restore themselves near the pagoda at the time, so all of them saw what happened clearly when that strange incident took place.
Shocked, Lei Hong immediately went to investigate but couldn’t figure out the reason behind the incident. Similarly, the three other Elders couldn’t figure out what happened either.
Just as the four of them were searching for the cause of the incident, what happened previously happened again.
In the following days, such an event occurred again and again, more than a dozen times in total.
A situation like that occurring in the fourth layer undoubtedly meant that something was happening to one of the Emperor Realm Masters. Among them, excluding Yang Kai, there were Lan Xun, Xiao Chen, and Lei Ting. These three were all descendants of Star Soul Palace’s higher ups, and no accident was allowed to befall them.
As this matter was of great importance, Great Elder Lei Hong didn’t dare to delay things any further and sent a message to the Great Emperor. He informed the Great Emperor of this matter and asked him to decide how they should deal with it.
“Has the Great Emperor said anything?” Xue Zheng Mao paced back and forth impatiently before suddenly halting for a moment and glancing over at Lei Hong.
Although none of the disciples training in the fourth layer were his relatives, Xue Zheng Mao was still one of the Elders of Star Soul Palace. His life was tied to Star Soul Palace, so he was very concerned about everything related to its future. If not for that, he would not have lowered himself to attacking Yang Kai, a Junior who was weaker than him.
Just as Lei Hong shook his head in response, he suddenly saw a white light swiftly approaching them from a distance and immediately felt shocked. Reaching out to grab the object, Lei Hong sent his Divine Sense into it, after which his expression became strange.
“What did the Great Emperor say?” Xiao Yu Yang asked in a low voice.
Lei Hong glanced at the other three Elders and answered, “Wait and see…”
“Wait and see? How can we just wait and see…” Xue Zheng Mao muttered under his breath. It seemed as though he had not expected the Great Emperor to give such passive instructions.
Xiao Yu Yang pondered for a while before affirming, “I’m sure the Great Emperor has his own reasons, so we cannot rashly interfere in this matter.”
Nobody dared to disobey the orders of the Great Emperor, and since such orders were given, they would carry them out faithfully. The four Elders could only speculate as to why the Great Emperor was not worried for the Juniors in the fourth layer.
…..
Half a month later, Yang Kai stood in a dilapidated space and frowned. He had shuttled through various shattered worlds for the past half month and used the Sealed World Bead to devour the shattered World Principles of all of them, gaining immensely.
Putting aside the fact that he gained some understanding regarding World Force, just the World Principles absorbed by the Sealed World Bead were of unimaginable value. One by one, the shattered worlds were completely destroyed and each destroyed world meant that the Sealed World Bead had cleanly devoured its Principles. And each time, Yang Kai had to confront the rejection and hostility of those worlds. These worlds were of different sizes, and the hostility could be strong or weak depending on its scope.
Thunder and lightning strikes were the most common occurrences. Some shattered worlds even had ancient relics hidden in them which were incredibly powerful. Driven by the Will of the World, these ancient relics attacked him and engaged him in a fight to the death all for the sake of driving away this intruder. No matter how well Yang Kai concealed himself, he could not escape from such a fate.
Fortunately, this was only the fourth layer, so even if ancient relics remained, their strength was not that terrifying. It was not hard for Yang Kai to defeat these obstacles with his current cultivation. That might not be the case if he were at the highest level, the fifth layer. However, the fifth layer could not be directly accessed from the intermediate space, so Yang Kai could only search for the entrance among the shattered worlds in the fourth layer.
Over the past few days, the number of shattered worlds he had consumed reached over two dozen. Similarly, the ancient relics he annihilated were numerous too. Even so, he could not locate the entrance to the fifth layer. Yang Kai didn’t know if his luck was bad or the entrances were simply too few.
After half a month of hard work though, Yang Kai ran into an obstacle. He could distinctly sense that the Sealed World Bead had devoured enough World Principles to reach perfection, but that didn’t seem to be enough to complete this evolution. It would seem as though something was still missing, and the Sealed World Bead was unable to take this last step, leaving Yang Kai feeling very troubled.
“Dao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, three begets all. Yin and Yang become the Five Elements. When the Five Elements converge, a new world is born… Five Elements… Five Elements…” Muttering endlessly under his breath, Yang Kai’s eyes brightened suddenly as if he vaguely realized something.
A moment later, he stood up abruptly, reached out to tear the space apart, and returned to the intermediate space. His eyes were shining with a sharp light as he searched for something among the countless clouds, and after a short while, his eyes lit up, “Found it!”
Yang Kai’s body moved as he rushed towards a cloud emitting a dazzling golden light. In the next moment, he appeared in the world distorted by Metal Attribute Principles. It was also the first shattered world he had entered half a month ago.
[If the Five Elements are missing, then I just need to replenish all the Five Elements. After all, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda does not lack Principles of the Five Elements.]
Summoning the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai opened its World Barrier and began devouring the Metal Attribute Principles and World Energy here with all his might. In the meantime, he separated a part of his consciousness to keep a vigilant eye on his surroundings.
After repeating this process so many times, Yang Kai had become experienced in dealing with what was to come. No matter what, the world would not sit idly by and allow him to seize its Principles. It would definitely interfere and try to expel him. Even so, a different world with different Principles would also have different means of rejecting him.
There was no sign of clouds gathering in the sky this time, allowing Yang Kai to let out a breath of relief. He had grown apprehensive of being struck by lightning after experiencing it so many times and would become anxious the moment he heard the crackling sound of thunder. Fortunately, this world was distorted by the Metal Attribute Principles. There was no place for other Attribute Principles here, so thunder and lightning couldn’t appear.
Even so, the hostility and rejection of the world were unprecedentedly fierce. If it wasn’t for his solid foundation and great strength, Yang Kai might have been forced out a long time ago.
“What is it this time…” His expression was not nervous. Rather, he seemed a little excited.
The experience of being the enemy of a world and resisting its attempts to expel him was not something ordinary people would have the chance to experience, and each time Yang Kai fought back, he grew from the experience.
Previously, he had searched for worlds that contained various Attribute Principles mixed together while this was his first attempt refining a single-Attributed Principle world like this, so he couldn’t help looking forward to it.
*Zheng…*
A clear sound rang out suddenly, like a sword being unsheathed. Yang Kai looked in the direction the sound originated from and raised his brow in response. Not far away, a blade formed from golden light took shape. It floated mid-air, spinning slowly, its tip pointing directly at him.
“A Golden Sword…” Yang Kai grinned, “How interesting…”
The clear sound rang out again and again, interrupting his monologue. In the next moment, hundreds of Golden Swords suddenly appeared in all directions. All the swords looked like they had been cast from the same mould, identical to one another. Moreover, each Golden Sword emitted an extremely sharp aura that felt as if it could split the mountains and the sea.
*Gudong…*
Yang Kai couldn’t help swallowing nervously as his expression became difficult.
With so many Golden Swords appearing together, and every one of them brimming with thick hostility, Yang Kai just couldn’t bring himself to feel happy. Things hadn’t ended yet, though, as even more Golden Swords gathered. In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai suddenly found himself in the middle of a sea of Golden Swords that stretched out in all directions around him. Trapped, he felt as if he was a small boat caught in the middle of a raging storm, liable to capsize at any moment.
After the countless Golden Swords appeared, they did not attack him immediately, though, instead humming in unison. Apparently, these swords were showcasing their sentience to give a demonstration and a warning. Gathering together, they formed a terrifying Sword Intent that threatened to turn this broken and desolated world upside down.
However, Yang Kai was unmoved, his expression simply turning grim as he stood at the ready.
A few moments later, the Golden Swords began to tremble. Soon, the trembling became high-speed spinning, leaving behind traces of their afterimages in place. It felt as if they were being controlled by innumerable invisible hands, breaking through the obstacles of space to strike at Yang Kai all of a sudden.
His Myriads Sword had long been summoned, and as the countless Sword waves burst out, Yang Kai brandished his long sword to protect his body. Even so, this defence lasted only for a short while before it fell apart.
*Ding ding dang dang…*
The sounds of clashing metal rang out and sparks flew everywhere. When Yang Kai’s sword defence broke, even more Golden Swords appeared instantly, as if trying to turn him into mincemeat.
Yang Kai was shocked. Even though he had not looked down on the strength of the Golden Swords, he had still underestimated them. In his desperation, he hurriedly covered himself in Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi. Unfortunately, this layer of protection was also quickly broken.
*Chi. Chi. Chi. Chi…*
More blades swept towards Yang Kai at that moment and he quickly turned into a ragged and wretched state. A deep slash even appeared on his face, revealing the bones below. Covered in blood, Yang Kai looked quite terrifying now.
After the volley of attacks, the Golden Sword calmed down significantly and did not launch another attack. The Heavenly Way had determined that the benefits gained could not outweigh the damages suffered. Therefore, the Will of the World would not go to extreme lengths and leave no room for manoeuvre. It simply wanted to make Yang Kai retreat in the face of danger.
Since he had experienced this situation many times though, Yang Kai was quite familiar with it. Despite suffering some setbacks, he did not plan to give up. Instead, he urged the Sealed World Bead to devour the Metal Attribute Principle of this place even more vigorously, enraging the world in the process.
Consequently, countless Golden Swords exuded even greater Sword Intent than before as they rotated more and more rapidly.
The Golden Swords struck out again with a soft sound a moment later.
Yang Kai was prepared for it this time though and shouted, “Dragon Transformation!”
The Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength manifested, and a huge Golden Dragon Head flashed behind Yang Kai’s bloody figure. The next moment, Yang Kai’s body grew, his originally tall stature abruptly elongating to more than ten metres tall. Then, scales appeared on his bare skin, and flesh bulged out on both sides of his head, as if something was trying to break out of it. His hands turned into Dragon Claws that were incomparably sharp, and he had a Dragon Tail growing out his back. Moreover, the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor draped over his body made him look incredibly majestic.
During this period of time, Yang Kai cultivated the authentic Dragon Transformation Secret Technique with the help of the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength whenever he had free time. Cultivating this Secret Technique yielded twice the result with half the effort with his innate advantages, and at present, the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique seemed to be much stronger than the last time he used it.
The last time he used the Dragon Transformation in front of Hua Qing Si, he recalled that he had barely reached three metres in height, but now, Yang Kai stood an impressive ten metres tall! If he continued to cultivate this Secret Technique, his transformed figure would surely become even bigger. If not for the Emperor Artifact, the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor, he would also have ended up naked at this moment.
Although the Dragon Transformation only took a moment, the thousands of Golden Swords were already attacking Yang Kai. He reached out with his Dragon Claws and grabbed a dozen or so Golden Swords, using a bit of strength to crack and destroy all of them without a trace.
Two days later, a dragon’s roar rang out across the Nine Heavens. Yang Kai stared forward with wide eyes, his entire body covered in blood, like he had just experienced hundreds of life-and-death battles. Although he had maintained the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique all this time, every part of his body that was not covered by the Great Soaring Black Dragon Armor was covered in countless wounds, big and small. Even the Dragon Horns on his head were partially broken. Nevertheless, his fighting spirit continued to burn brightly despite his weakening aura.
On the other hand, a Giant Golden Sword more than a thousand meters long hung in mid-air in front of him. He was facing off with the terrifying Sword Intent that threatened to split the space apart constantly, and had spent two days fighting desperately against this Metal Attribute Principle filled world. During that period, he had tried every trick up his sleeve and used up countless precious healing pills just to persist until this moment. If not for his strong foundation and excellent physical toughness, he would have long been forced out of this world, dead or alive.
It was cavalier of him to make an enemy of this world; but even so, Yang Kai was at the end of his rope. Likewise, this world was faring no better. Over the past two days, the Sealed World Bead had been devouring the Metal Attribute Principles and World Energy of this place, whittling away at the spirituality of this world. If not for the prolonged battle consuming most of his attention and energy, Yang Kai would have had more than enough time by now to refine this world after it weakened so much. Be that as it may, the battle was about to end.
“Come on! This is the last attack! Let’s see who survives!” Yang Kai laughed loudly, glaring madly at the Giant Golden Sword.
As if responding to his provocation, the Giant Golden Sword thrummed loudly as it struck towards Yang Kai. This attack was the final attack containing all the remaining power the world could muster, the last manifestation of all the hostility from this world. Such a horrendously powerful attack was enough to shake the Earth and split the seas, mighty enough to shatter space itself. A gigantic pitch-black scar appeared in the sky like a wound that would never heal wherever the sword passed.
Yang Kai roared furiously in response, but instead of retreating, he flicked his Dragon Tail and rushed forward like an arrow from the bow. A resounding Dragon Roar rang out, while at the same time, the figure of a gigantic Golden Dragon appeared and enveloped his entire body. The Dragon’s body was thousands of meters long and looked incredibly lifelike. Whenever its head or tail moved, lightning flashed and thunder boomed.
*Hong…*
An ear-splitting explosion sounded as violent waves of power swept out in all directions, shattering the world itself for hundreds of meters. Then, two dazzling balls of golden light exploded in mid-air, releasing a brilliance so bright that Yang Kai couldn’t keep his eyes open. It was as if the entire world was covered in a sea of golden light.
*Kacha…*
A cracking sound rang out, and a huge crack appeared above the Giant Golden Sword. Following that, a dense web of cracks soon spread out from that first crack like spiderwebs, covering its entirety.
With a loud crashing sound, the Giant Golden Sword suddenly broke apart like a mirror shattering into pieces, dissipating into tiny particles of light spreading across the entire world.
Yang Kai was thrown back even faster than he had shot forward, streaking like a falling star across the sky. Even the illusory phantom of the gigantic Golden Dragon wrapping around him collapsed in an instant. He immediately tumbled and rolled upon crashing heavily into the ground. Blood spurted out of his mouth, and his aura was as weak as an oil lamp that was about to sputter out. He lay on the ground motionlessly, only the Sealed World Bead continuing to devour the Metal Attribute Principles and World Energy of this place.
A long while later, Yang Kai groaned and moved slightly. His entire body was in pain, and it felt as if all the bones in his body were broken. Taking out a Spirit Pill from his Space Ring, he swallowed it, forcing himself into a cross-legged sitting position as he began to meditate.
After quite some time, Yang Kai managed to stand up, but his complexion was still very pale. The battle from before had completely exhausted him, and it would take a long time before he could completely recover. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay here any longer as he could distinctly sense that the world was about to collapse. Besides, the surrounding space had become very unstable. Putting away the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai took one last look at the world around him before returning to the intermediate space.
The next day, he plunged into a cloud emitting a dazzling green light with great vigour and entered a world distorted by Wood Attribute Principles. Inside this world, he ran into an old acquaintance, a Wood Spirit! Moreover, it wasn’t just in one or two, but thousands.
The vitality of a Wood Spirit was extremely powerful. In addition, its seeds had the ability to parasitize a host. Hence, Wood Spirits were existences that were very difficult to kill. It was a pity that it encountered Yang Kai here because Wood Spirits were most afraid of Fire Attribute Techniques. Although Yang Kai’s primary Dao was the Dao of Space, he had begun his cultivation journey by comprehending a Yang Attribute Secret Art and also possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. It could be said that the Wood Spirits had met their natural enemy.
In this world, what Yang Kai encountered was much easier to deal with compared to what he faced in the world distorted by Metal Attribute Principles. He single-handedly held his ground and remained in place. By covering himself in his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, the Wood Spirits were unable to even get close to him.
It took another two days for the Sealed World Bead to finish devouring all the Principles in this world before Yang Kai returned to the intermediate space and continued his mission without stopping. He was not willing to waste another moment of time as he purposefully searched for worlds distorted by each of the Five Elements.
The world of Water Attribute Principles was covered in an ocean of large waves that tried to cage and drown him while the world of Earth Attribute Principles had stone giants each possessing enough power to smash kingdoms with their fists. Even so, they were all cut down by Yang Kai in the end.
Twenty-five days after entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Yang Kai stood in a world comprised entirely of Fire Attribute Principles with a solemn look on his face. With a wave of his Myriads Sword, a Sword Wave made from the condensation of all the Emperor Qi he poured into it, slashed into the body of the Ancient Flame Demon before him.
Space Principles surged at the same time as the hidden blade within the Sword Wave transformed into a pitch-black vortex that sucked in the remains of the Ancient Flame Demon. The Ancient Flame Demon let out a blood-curdling howl, seemingly unwilling to accept its fate. Even so, it could not escape being pulled into the Void, eventually vanishing without a trace.
Following that, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. The Ancient Flame Demon he encountered in this world did not have the devastating attack power of the Golden Sword, nor the defensive power of the stone giants, nor the flexibility and fluidity of giant waves or the overwhelming numbers of the Wood Spirits, but it did have a troublesome undying body. No matter how severely Yang Kai damaged it, it would recover completely just by absorbing more Fire Attribute World Energy.
Fortunately, his Spatial Ability could exile it into the endless Void. Otherwise, Yang Kai would have truly been at a loss for how to kill it. After the Ancient Flame Demon was banished, the biggest threat in this world disappeared. Thus, he relaxed and focused on using the Sealed World Bead to devour the Fire Attribute Principles of this world.
According to his previous hypothesis, the reason why the Sealed World Bead could not take the last step in its evolution was due to its Five Elements Principles being incomplete. Since they were incomplete, all he had to do was supplement it with the necessary World Principles.
After devouring the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Attributes of the Five Elements Principles, the Sealed World Bead shone with a five-coloured brilliance from within. The power of the Five Elements mutually reinforced and restrained each other in an endless loop, seemingly undergoing a mysterious change, allowing Yang Kai to feel more confident in his own conjecture.
One day later, the Fire Attribute Principles in this world had been cleanly devoured, and the world was about to collapse. Yang Kai put away the Sealed World Bead as he didn’t have time to sit and examine the changes it would undergo. However, he did not return to the intermediate space like always, and instead headed in a certain direction. There was a Void Corridor in that direction, one that most likely led to the fifth layer.
Yang Kai had travelled through a few dozen shattered worlds since he entered the pagoda and finally came across an entrance. It was only natural that he couldn’t just let the opportunity slip by him as he was very curious to know what he could find in the fifth layer.
Raising his guard, Yang Kai plunged into the Void Corridor. A sense of weightlessness immediately washed over him, but he quickly became grounded again. Before he could observe the environment he was in though, he suddenly noticed a sharp gaze watching him.
Surprised, Yang Kai instantly pushed his Emperor Qi and lifted his head to look in the direction the gaze came from, exclaiming in astonishment in the next moment, “Brother Lei?”
The person looking at him turned out to be Lei Ting, surprising Yang Kai greatly.
“So, you really came to the fifth layer,” Lei Ting didn’t seem surprised at all. On the contrary, he looked like he had expected this. He grinned and said, “It was worth wasting my time waiting here for you for more than ten days.”
Yang Kai frowned and asked, “You were waiting for me, Brother Lei? Why?”
Lei Ting was furious, “Don’t feign ignorance! You and I have not finished our battle from before! Could it be that you want to back out now?!”
Yang Kai felt surprised and immediately burst out laughing in response, “I thought we finished our fight that night.”
Lei Ting snorted, “There was no clear winner or loser during that fight. How can you say that it is finished?”
“Why do we need to decide who wins?” Yang Kai countered.
Lei Ting replied, “Of course, it’s because…” At this point, he suddenly waved his hand and continued, “Why do you care so much about that? We can talk after we fight.”
The moment he finished speaking, he threw a punch at Yang Kai without any warning. A lightning snake roamed across his fist, giving off a crackling sound, its power horrifying.
In response, Yang Kai calmly stepped forward to take the attack head-on without even batting an eye. Lei Ting’s fist instantly stopped right before him, the lightning running across his fist, making his hair stand on end.
“What are you doing?!” Lei Ting glared at Yang Kai, “If I failed to stop my attack, you would have died!”
It was bad enough that Yang Kai had moved forward instead of retreating when Lei Ting launched his attack just now, but the key point was that Yang Kai had no intention of gathering his strength at all. He simply allowed Lei Ting to attack him without putting up any resistance.
It gave Lei Ting the feeling of releasing a deadly punch only to hit a ball of cotton. Although he was itching to give Yang Kai a severe lesson, what was the point if the other party did not fight back? What he wanted was a proper battle and an upright victory.
Yang Kai replied indifferently, “You are powerful, Brother Lei. I don’t mind letting you win!”
The veins in Lei Ting’s forehead bulged in anger. It felt as if a volcano was stirring in his chest and could erupt at any moment.
However, Yang Kai pretended not to notice this and brushed past Lei Ting as he glanced around. After that, he turned back to ask, “Where is this place? Why is there a corridor here?”
It wasn’t until this moment that he discovered he was standing in a long corridor. There was a Space Array from where he had appeared, but the other end of the corridor was pitch-black, like a beast with its mouth open.
Lei Ting gave a muffled reply, “This is the place between the fourth layer and the fifth layer. You will reach the fifth layer if you pass through this corridor. What you can find there will depend on your luck.”
Yang Kai stroked his chin, thought for a moment, then muttered to himself, “It’s somewhat similar to the fourth layer.”
There had been an intermediate space in the fourth layer too; however, that wasn’t a place just anyone could enter. Even for him, it was only because he had cultivated the Dao of Space and was skilled at manipulating Space Principles that he could enter the intermediate space.
The corridor in front of Yang Kai was the intermediate space of the fifth layer. It was a place anyone could enter, provided that they found the entrance in the fourth layer.
[No wonder Lei Ting was waiting here. It’s because he expected me to come to the fifth layer.] “Aren’t you going to go and check it out, Brother Lei?” Yang Kai asked, tilting his head and glancing at the dark and deep entrance before them.
“I’m not in a hurry,” Lei Ting replied faintly.
Yang Kai counted with his fingers, “If I remember correctly, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda will close in just a few days. You won’t get the chance to enter the fifth layer again if you don’t hurry.”
Lei Ting sneered, “That only applies to you.”
He was the nephew of Star Soul Palace’s Great Elder and one of the leading figures of Star Soul Palace’s younger generation. Since the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was opened once every three years, he could enter as many times as he wanted as long as he was willing. Therefore, he was naturally in no hurry to explore the fifth layer. On the contrary, Yang Kai only obtained this opportunity by chance. If he did not make the most of this opportunity, he might not have another chance to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda again.
“That’s true,” Yang Kai rubbed his chin and smiled brightly, “If that’s the case, I’ll be going on ahead.”
“Where are you going?!” Lei Ting roared. He securely locked Yang Kai in place, his posture seeming to indicate that Yang Kai would suffer grave consequences if he so much as dared to take another step forward.
Yang Kai frowned and said impatiently, “Brother Lei, we have nothing against each other. Why are you being so aggressive?”
Lei Ting sneered, “It’s true that we have nothing against each other, but you are such a rare opponent. How can I let this chance slip away so easily?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before glancing at Lei Ting solemnly, “That’s just an excuse, right? The biggest reason is the Princess, right?”
Lei Ting blushed furiously and waved his hand dismissively, “What are you talking about? Please don’t speak nonsense.”
Yang Kai grinned and said, “I can tell that you are deeply in love with the Princess, Brother Lei. You are worried that my appearance will arouse the Princess’s interest, so you want to use force to prove your strength and make the Princess look at you differently.”
Lei Ting looked embarrassed, “Is it that obvious?”
Yang Kai pointed at his eyes and retorted, “It’s not like I’m blind.”
After being called out by Yang Kai, Lei Ting seemed much more at ease. He relaxed his attitude and spoke, “You’re right. Xun’er and I grew up together, but I have never seen her being so passionate towards any man before. You give off a dangerous vibe; I have no choice but to face you seriously.”
A strange light flashed in Yang Kai’s eyes, and he smiled, “It’s an honour you think of me like that, but Brother Lei, you’ve got something wrong …” He shook his head repeatedly while speaking.
Lei Ting was startled, “What did I get wrong?”
Yang Kai replied seriously, “The Princess is beautiful, friendly, and likeable indeed. With the Princess’s status and her high standards, how can she show interest in a man so carelessly? The relationship between a man and a woman isn’t just about mutual feelings, it is also about having the same status in life.”
Lei Ting mulled over those words for a moment and nodded, “En, you’re right.”
Then, Yang Kai continued, “Brother Lei, you should know the Princess’ temper best since you are childhood friends with her. Besides, you are the nephew of Great Elder Lei, who stands above all and answers only to the Great Emperor. Your status just barely matches up to the Princess, so status is not a problem for you. Accordingly, everything else will naturally fall into place as long as you capture her heart since your status is not a problem.”
Lei Ting laughed loudly, “I couldn’t tell previously, but you’re pretty interesting.” His expression turned cold, and the conversation abruptly turned in a different direction, “Do you take me for a fool?! Do you think I’d believe you with just a few words from you?!”
Stunned, Yang Kai sighed, “Brother Lei, oh, Brother Lei… I just wanted to let you know that I am not your enemy. Your enemy is someone else.”
Lei Ting snorted, “Who else could it be?”
Yang Kai blinked, “Who else could it be? It’s Xiao Chen! Brother Lei, don’t tell me you don’t know the saying that ‘it’s easy for a person in a favourable position to gain special advantages’? While we are stuck facing each other here, Brother Xiao is probably sticking right next to the Princess. Moreover, Xiao Chen’s cultivation and status aren’t inferior to yours. I’ve seen Xiao Chen with the Princess several times now. He follows her around and takes care of her carefully. Men and women are different, but feelings grow when they spend a long time together! Let me ask you this, Brother Lei, aren’t you scared of that?”
Lei Ting sneeringly said, “Xiao Chen? Pfft! He is nothing! I can easily kill him off without even breaking a sweat! On the other hand, you… uh… the way Xun’er treats you makes me very uneasy.” He curled his hands into fists while speaking, cracking his knuckles as he approached Yang Kai with a savage smile, “Rest assured, I don’t want your life. I just want to beat you half to death. As long as I deal with you and make you too embarrassed to show yourself in front of Xun’er again, then Xun’er is as good as mine.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow and asked sternly, “Brother Lei, don’t you know that a loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble? Are you sure it’s wise to say such irresponsible things?”
Lei Ting pursed his lips, “You don’t need to waste your breath on nonsense! Hurry up and fight me!”
“Oh… So, I’m as good as yours, Senior Brother Lei?” A clear and pleasant voice suddenly called out from behind Lei Ting.
Lei Ting’s fierce complexion instantly stiffened while all the hairs on his body stood on end. At the same time, his fighting spirit was doused as if somebody had poured a basin of cold water over his head.
*Gudong…*
He gulped nervously, as cold sweat poured profusely down his forehead. Turning his head haltingly, he saw Lan Xun and Xiao Chen standing side by side on the Space Array. The former was watching him indifferently while the latter was smirking, clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune.
“W-When…” Lei Ting was horrified as he felt his heart sinking into the deepest depths of Hell from where it would never recover again. He wailed deep in his heart, [It’s over! It’s over! Everything is over now! Xun’er heard what I said just now! How am I ever going to face her again?!]
What shocked him the most was that he had completely failed to notice the two people appearing behind him at some point. If not for that, he would never have made such a huge gaffe.
[It’s this damn Yang Kai! He must have diverted my attention on purpose! I initially thought that he was making some sort of preparation when he began releasing Space Principles just now, but it turned out it was just a way to block my senses!]
“Lei Ting! H-How can you say such things?! Hurry up and apologize to the Princess!” Xiao Chen suddenly shouted sternly with righteous indignation.
Lei Ting instantly blushed bright red and said in a fluster, “I-I…”
Lan Xun raised her chin slightly and stared at him as if waiting for his explanation. Unfortunately, he couldn’t utter a single word at all. He stammered for a long time but in the end, he grit his teeth and stomped his feet before rushing towards the entrance ahead, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Get back here immediately, Lei Ting! How dare you leave before you explain yourself?!” Xiao Chen shouted furiously. Despite knowing full well that it was impossible for Lei Ting to return, he still shouted repeatedly; however, the corners of his lips were curled into a subtle arc.
[That takes care of him!] Xiao Chen cheered in his heart before leisurely glancing over at Yang Kai. Xiao Chen was different from Lei Ting. Although Yang Kai threatened his position slightly, he didn’t think much of him in the end as what Yang Kai said before was the truth. It is easy for a person in a favourable position to gain special advantages! Besides, Yang Kai was going to leave Star Soul Palace after this training experience in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda and might never have another chance to meet with the Princess again, so how could he be considered a threat? Only an idiot like Lei Ting would believe such obvious lies.
“Isn’t that a little cruel…” Yang Kai asked, looking in the direction Lei Ting left and rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Lan Xun said, “Senior Brother Lei is the one in the wrong here, so you don’t need to worry about it too much, Senior Brother Yang.”
He smiled openly and replied, “En, good. If he can understand the meaning behind what ‘love’ is, then he will surely have greater accomplishments in the future. He can only take this as a test.”
Pursing her mouth, Lan Xun smiled and looked at him with her beautiful and elegant eyes, “Senior Brother Yang, you seem to be speaking from experience.”
Coughing lightly in response, Yang Kai mused, “I just have a little more experience in life.”
Xiao Chen watched coldly from the side. Seeing the two of them getting along so well made his mood turn sour. Thus, he hurriedly jumped into the conversation, “Congratulations on finding the entrance, Brother Yang.”
“It was a lucky coincidence,” Yang Kai smiled slightly. Subsequently, he looked at them suspiciously, “That said; why are the two of you together?”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, “Fate!”
Upon entering the fourth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, he had searched for Lan Xun continuously. During that period, he had traversed through more than a dozen shattered worlds, finally finding her a few days ago and re-assuming his role as her protector.
Meanwhile, Lan Xun spoke up, “We only have a few more days before the one-month deadline is up while the fifth layer is right in front of us. Do you want to check it out, Senior Brother Yang?”
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded and added, “I wonder if the fifth layer will be different from the fourth layer.”
She replied, “Of course it will be different!”
“Please explain!” He humbly asked to be enlightened.
There, Xiao Chen interjected, “The space in the fourth layer consists of numerous fragmented worlds, so the World Principles in them are imperfect. On the other hand, the fifth layer, although containing many spaces too, differs from the fourth layer in that it is filled with independent Sealed Worlds!”
“Sealed Worlds!” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Xiao Chen explained, “That’s right. Those Sealed Worlds were formed from the shattered worlds in the first few layers of the pagoda. When that ancient Senior refined the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, he combined many shattered worlds to form the fourth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda while the complete Sealed Worlds remaining in these shattered worlds were isolated and placed in the fifth layer.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment and said, “In that case, the Sealed Worlds in the fifth layer may be related to one of the shattered worlds in the fourth layer?”
“That’s right, but it’s not very relevant. There are many kinds of Sealed Worlds in the Fifth layer. They come in many shapes and sizes, similar to the countless shattered worlds in the previous layers. Moreover, what kind of Sealed World you enter is based entirely on your own luck. We don’t get to choose.”
Yang Kai was stunned for a long time before sighing, “The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is certainly impressive.”
Before he understood the truth behind the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, he only felt that its existence was of great importance to the Star Soul Palace. Now that he finally understood all the aspects of it, he realized that it was a priceless gem!
All the cultivators across the Star Boundary wished for the chance of obtaining an opportunity in their cultivation journey, and where did opportunities come from? In that aspect, Sealed Worlds were the greatest source.
It was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens for ordinary people to find a Sealed World. Most cultivators would never receive an opportunity to enter a Sealed World to hunt for treasures throughout their entire lives; however, countless Sealed Worlds were waiting to be explored in Star Soul Palace.
[Do all the Great Emperor Sects have such terrifying foundations?]
Lan Xun smiled slightly and asked, “Senior Brother Yang, do you still remember the Golden Armor Heavenly Book?”
He burst out laughing, “Of course! I haven’t gone senile yet.”
She had only taken that artifact away from him a few months ago, so how could he have forgotten already? It was also because Lan Xuan had taken the Golden Armor Heavenly Book back that Yang Kai had received the opportunity to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time.
[Even so, for her to bring up the Golden Armor Heavenly Book at this time… She obviously did not mention it for no reason. Rather…] Yang Kai’s expression changed as he asked, “Could the Golden Armor Heavenly Book be related to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?”
Lan Xun nodded, “That’s right. Martial Uncle Tan… En, Tan Jun Hao brought the Golden Armor Heavenly Book out from a Sealed World in the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. Not only was it a powerful Emperor Rank Artifact, but it is also the key to unlocking that particular Sealed World for us to enter!”
Yang Kai was astonished by those words and asked, “In other words, that Sealed World was originally located in the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda; but now, the disciples of Star Soul Palace do not need to pass through the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda to enter that Sealed World to cultivate because Tan Jun Hao brought out the Golden Armor Heavenly Book which was its key?”
“Exactly!” Lan Xun nodded in affirmation, “That Sealed World was originally located in the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. Under normal circumstances, one would have to pass through the fourth layer to enter it, and doing so was a matter of pure luck; however, our disciples can now enter that Sealed World freely ever since Tan Jun Hao brought out the Golden Armor Heavenly Book.”
“Tan Jun Hao certainly had great luck!” He clicked his tongue in wonder.
To which Lan Xun smiled faintly, “According to Father’s speculation, there are probably many Sealed Worlds in the fifth layer that have their own keys, just like that Sealed World! As long as we can obtain those keys, we can open the entrances of those Sealed Worlds at any time and in any place to allow our disciples to enter for cultivation.”
Taken aback, Yang Kai exclaimed in astonishment, “I can’t believe something like that is possible!”
All of a sudden, Xiao Chen’s expression changed as he quietly spoke next to Lan Xun, “Your Highness, you have divulged too much.”
This matter was one of Star Soul Palace’s secrets. Although it was not a core secret, it was still something that shouldn’t be disclosed to others so casually. Fortunately, nobody could criticize her for her words because of her status.
Lan Xun shook her head in response, “It’s fine. It’s not like a key can be found so easily anyway. Star Soul Palace has been searching for them for so many years, but we have only found one in all that time.”
Yang Kai seriously pondered those words for a while before cupping his fists and saying, “Many thanks for enlightening me.”
Pursing her lips, Lan Xun smilingly said, “Having said so much, a lot of time has passed. Senior Brother Yang, let’s advance to the fifth layer.”
He nodded, “En. Please go ahead, Junior Sister Lan!”
All of a sudden, her expression turned solemn as she warned, “There’s one more thing you need to know, Senior Brother Yang. Anything can happen in the Sealed Worlds found in the fifth layer, so please be very careful. Don’t be shaken nor influenced by external factors!”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded.
While they were speaking, the three of them had arrived at the end of the corridor. Yang Kai glanced forward and saw a rotating vortex that seemed mysterious and unpredictable. Moreover, a strange aura that gave off an uncomfortable vibe oozed out from it.
“Senior Brother Yang, I’ll be going first. Take care and let us meet again outside.” Lan Xun leapt forward after saying that to Yang Kai, jumping into the vortex and vanishing from sight.
Xiao Chen stood motionlessly and sighed, seeming to be a little depressed. It had not been easy for him to locate Princess Lan Xun in the fourth layer during their time here and he had wanted to accompany her to the end. But to his surprise, she wanted to enter the fifth layer no matter what, forcing them to be separated again. After shooting a faint glance at Yang Kai, he too jumped into the vortex, seemingly having no interest in making small talk.
Yang Kai was soon the only one left in this place, and as time was running out, he naturally did not hesitate either. Besides, both Lan Xun and Xiao Chen had entered, so it was only natural for him to follow them in.
The moment Yang Kai stepped into the vortex, he immediately pushed his Space Principles to see if he could enter the intermediate space just like in the fourth layer. If he was able to, it would grant him the ability to control what experiences he would have to a certain extent.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai was disappointed this time around. Despite shielding himself with his Space Principles, there was no reaction whatsoever, and when his vision returned, he heard an anxious cry sounding in his ears, “Ah Niu, wake up! Wake up! The Beast Tide is coming! Hurry and wake up! Why are you daydreaming?!”
At the same time, a large hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him vigorously. Yang Kai was shocked as he did not know what was going on at all. His expression darkened in response, and he simultaneously reached out to grab the other person’s large hand.
Contrary to his expectations though, the other party’s reaction was unimaginably swift. Before Yang Kai could touch the other party’s hand, his own wrist was grabbed tightly. An unimaginably violent force came from the other party’s hand, instantly suppressing him. Yang Kai couldn’t move a single muscle, causing his expression to change drastically once more. While feeling shocked by the other party’s strength, he tried to circulate his Emperor Qi to free himself only to discover that nothing happened!
[My body is empty! Not a single shred of Emperor Qi exists inside of me!] In a flash, Yang Kai felt so shocked that his complexion turned deathly pale. He nearly lost his soul due to this unexpected situation.
Before entering the Sealed World of the fifth layer, Yang Kai had been confident he would achieve great things as he had complete faith in his skills. After all, his true strength was not to be underestimated. Numerous Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters had been defeated at his hands already. Furthermore, he had no reason to fear since even Lan Xun, Xiao Chen, and Lei Ting dared to enter the Sealed Worlds of the fifth layer.
Yang Kai believed that his life would not be threatened regardless of what dangers he might face. In the worst-case scenario, he had his Spatial Abilities and could always run away if he couldn’t win. Unfortunately, this unexpected turn of events left him at a loss for what to do.
[Why is my Emperor Qi gone? Am I still an Emperor Realm Master without my Emperor Qi? Doesn’t that make me no different from a cultivator that just started cultivating?! What is going on?!]
Amidst his shock, Lan Xun’s words echoed in his ears, “Anything can happen in the Sealed Worlds found in the fifth layer. Please be very careful, Senior Brother Yang. Don’t be shaken nor influenced by external factors!”
Gathering his thoughts, Yang Kai instantly calmed down. [Don’t panic. Don’t panic! First, I need to figure out what is happening. Perhaps, this Sealed World has its own World Principles that suppress my true strength and that’s why I can’t sense a single shred of Emperor Qi in me. Besides, the owner of the hand grabbing my wrist may be strong, but I don’t sense any hostility or malicious intent from them. They probably don’t mean any harm.]
Yang Kai lifted his head and saw a pair of bloodshot, scarlet eyes right in front of his face. Then, his vision expanded and the image of a face covered in a shaggy beard imprinted itself in his eyes.
It was a young man, one about the same age as Yang Kai. However, his appearance was very rough, and his figure was so burly that he didn’t seem human. Moreover… He really had a different kind of appearance to the humans Yang Kai was familiar with, like he had some kind of special or unique bloodline. This young man was dressed very simply with only animal skins wrapped around his body to cover up his important bits while the rest of his body was left exposed. In addition, he had muscles as firm as metal. One glance was enough to tell that his body contained explosive strength.
Then, Yang Kai glanced down at himself. His arms and legs were thin and slender. The contrast was like night and day compared to the young man in front of him! Having said that, he was still considerably fit even though he was not burly. It was just that the other party was too muscular.
[But… Why did a living person appear? Is this a dream? Or, an illusion created by the Sealed World? It can’t be a dream, yet it’s too realistic to be an illusion.] Yang Kai couldn’t feel any falsities from the bearded young man in front of him. As far as he could tell, this young man was a living, breathing person with actual flesh and bones! Besides, the environment around him was very simple yet completely tangible. They seemed to be inside a shabby log house, which barely had any furnishings inside of it. There was a simple bench made from a tree stump; a wooden table cobbled together from pieces of boards; some pots and pans stacked to the side; several slabs of unknown animal meat hung on the wall, blackened by smoke, some wild vegetables piled in a wooden basket, and some leftovers in a stone bowl…
[What is this place?] Just as Yang Kai was pondering the question, the bearded young man yelled at him, “Have you gone stupid!? I told you that the Beast Tide is here! Did you not hear me?!”
The young man’s voice was filled with anxiety, and the volume was deafening. In response, Yang Kai nodded woodenly, “I heard you!”
“If you heard me then hurry up and help out! The village is short of manpower, and the defences are about to be broken!” While speaking, the bearded young man gripped Yang Kai’s wrist tightly and ran outside with swift steps.
Yang Kai took the opportunity to ask, “Who are you…”
The bearded young man froze in his tracks for a moment and looked back at Yang Kai, the beast-like scarlet eyes causing a chill to run down his back. After a long while, the young man sighed, “Are you being stupid again? I’m Ah Hu!”
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly as he asked, “Did you say that my name is Ah Niu?”
[Ah Niu?! What the hell?! I’m called Ah Niu?! What is with this damned Sealed World?! Moreover, the other party is called Ah Hu? Can the names get any simpler?]
“I don’t have the time to explain all of this to you. Hurry up and help out! I’ll answer anything you want after the Beast Tide is over!” Ah Hu hurriedly dragged Yang Kai along as he ran.
Not far from the log house, Yang Kai heard shouting and screaming, as well as beastly roars coming from not far away. The sounds resounded through the sky, and even the ground seemed to shake from them.
He glanced about his surroundings, feeling rather astonished. All the people running around the place were like Ah Hu. They were burly and built like iron towers, each of them seemingly incredibly powerful. In addition, some of the women were also tall, strong and incredibly well built.
A robust woman ran by like lightning while carrying a huge boulder spanning a diameter of six metres as if it was as light as a feather. Yang Kai could not sense any Qi fluctuations from her. In other words, she was carrying the stone with the strength of her body alone. There were also some obviously under-aged children that looked no more than ten years old. They were also holding weapons in their hands, and their baby faces were filled with a bitter hatred for their enemy while lacking any kind of fear towards death.
Meanwhile, as Yang Kai was still having trouble believing what he was seeing, everyone was hurrying over towards a certain spot. All of them were wrapped in several pieces of animal skin while not even the simplest clothes could be found here. Lowering his head, Yang Kai saw that he too was dressed in the same fashion! His exposed skin was as white as snow, forming a sharp contrast with Ah Hu’s dark and tanned skin.
[Forget it. Forget it. It’s just a minor detail…] He comforted himself in his heart.
There were many log houses in the surrounding area. These log houses had a simple and crude appearance that was similar to how the people here looked. Next, Yang Kai gazed into the distance and saw a wall made of logs and stones that was erected not far away. This place was probably a village. Moreover, it looked like a very primitive and ancient village.
Meanwhile, the beastly roars that made one feel extremely uneasy came from outside the wall. Many villagers were standing on top of the wall, either throwing huge boulders or shooting arrows from large bows. The flames of war were raging and a bloody smell permeated the air. It was a very nauseating smell.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed. A muscular leopard over ten metres in length scaled over the wall and opened its bloody jaws wide before chomping down on one of the villager’s heads. Even though the villager had a body that was as burly as an iron tower, how could he win against an existence like that? After a short struggle, the leopard bit the villager’s head off, causing blood to gush out like a fountain. It was a harsh sight to see under the scorching sun.
Seemingly enraged by what happened, the villagers around the wall lunged towards the leopard with a roar. At the same time, a dozen arrows flew through the air and buried themselves into the leopard’s body.
In response, the leopard roared in pain and staggered on its feet. Following that, a villager threw himself at the leopard, knocking it off the wall and falling with it outside. There was no need to guess at the fate of that villager as it was an obvious outcome.
This caused a section of the wall to instantly become undefended. Hence, the remaining villagers were a little panicked and at a loss for what to do. All of them were screaming constantly as a result.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” Ah Hu dragged Yang Kai to the bottom of the wall. Exerting some strength in his hands, he reached out and tossed Yang Kai up to the top before turning to a robust woman standing nearby and shouting, “Ah Hua, I’ll leave Ah Niu in your hands!”
The woman named Ah Hua glanced at Ah Niu at those words, her bushy brows furrowing together slightly as if she was a little disgruntled. She was about to say something, but Ah Hu had already rushed out towards the village gate.
“Forget it; it’s better than nothing,” Ah Hua muttered in annoyance. She stretched out her hand toward Yang Kai and uttered succinctly, “Arrows!”
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback by her words. To be honest, he was still stunned by everything that had taken place ever since he entered this Sealed World and had yet to gather his wits. Moreover, the bewildering changes left him unable to figure out the situation he was in right now.
All he understood was that he had appeared in this somewhat primitive and ancient village for some reason, inexplicably received the name ‘Ah Niu’, and was unwittingly caught up in a bloody war.
Yang Kai had explored several Sealed Worlds before but never had he encountered a situation as complicated and perplexing as this. He had the vague feeling that the Sealed World he entered this time around was rather special; thus, he decided to be on his guard at all times. Who knows? He might receive unexpected gains from this venture. In any case, he was in no position to care about whether these villagers were illusions, hallucinations, or something else.
[I’ll deal with it when the time comes; things will always work out, one way or another.]
“Are you deaf!? Hand me the arrows!” Seeing that Yang Kai was still in a daze, the woman named Ah Hua couldn’t help shouting at him, her eyes as red and bloodshot as Ah Hu’s. Furthermore, her emotions of fury and hatred were so strong that they almost seemed to condense into a tangible substance. Her fury and hatred were of course not aimed at Yang Kai, but rather born from the feelings of powerlessness after seeing many of her fellow villagers being devoured by the wild beasts to the point where not even bones were left, yet being completely helpless to avenge their deaths.
Yang Kai finally snapped back to his senses after being shouted at like this. He hurriedly looked around and saw a pile of arrows fashioned from some unknown wood lying by his feet. Each wooden arrow was approximately three metres long and as thick as a baby’s arm, giving them a terrifying look.
Reaching out to pick them up, Yang Kai grunted in surprise. This wooden arrow was incredibly heavy, almost as if it was made from heavy iron rather than wood. It was hard for him to imagine how an ordinary person without even Yuan Qi could manage them.
“Your task is to hand me these arrows!” Ah Hua looked at him sternly and shouted, “Do you understand?!”
“Yes, I understand!” Yang Kai nodded honestly and took the opportunity to study this woman named Ah Hua. The villagers here were generally burly and rough around the edges; however, this woman named Ah Hua looked beautiful and had a curvy figure. Her towering peaks were barely wrapped in animal skins, revealing a deep valley passing between the mountains. She had a slim waist, a flat belly, and tight, rounded bottom.
If she wasn’t such a tall and strong woman, she would make for a decent beauty. However, no petite and delicate ladies could be born in an environment where physical strength was of paramount importance; after all, death was the only ending for an ordinary person without strength here. Even so, this Ah Hua had a different kind of wild beauty to her.
With an arrow in hand, she immediately drew the giant bow into a full moon. This sight made Yang Kai’s brow twitch slightly as he could only imagine the amount of strength required to draw a bow like that. Even so, she did it so easily that it looked like it was effortless.
*Weng…*
Following that whistling sound, the arrow shot forward and Yang Kai could distinctly see the burst of compressed air in front of the arrowhead as it left the bow. The force behind that arrow was terrifying.
A giant beast leaping towards them was nailed in the eye mid-air by the arrow. The three-metre-long arrow pierced through its skull and caused blood to splatter everywhere. Then, the giant beast fell to the ground heavily and struggled for a few moments before it stopped moving completely.
“Amazing!” Yang Kai praised sincerely.
Ah Hua simply looked at him coldly and stretched out a hand. Understanding what she meant, Yang Kai hurriedly picked up an arrow from the ground and handed it to her. Pulling the bow back again, she loosened another arrow.
Every arrow Ah Hua shot killed a giant beast, with each one piercing directly into the eye of an enemy, smashing their heads without fail. It could be said that she never missed her mark.
More than ten other archers like Ah Hua stood on top of the wall, and each of them had superb skills, which amazed Yang Kai greatly. If the villagers in this village had not had this impressive ability, they would not have been able to survive in such a place where the circumstances were so harsh.
The battle on the wall reached a kind of stability, with Ah Hua and the other archers shooting their arrows in an orderly manner. Meanwhile, hundreds of villagers held various weapons in their hands as they brutally slew those giant beasts outside the village.
The roar of the beasts and the furious shouts of man intertwined together. Blood splattered everywhere as body parts were cleaved off. Giant beasts fell and villagers died, one after another. An inextricable life-or-death battle took place in front of this nameless village. It seemed as though both sides had an absolutely irreconcilable hatred for each other and refused to stop until one party completely exterminated the other.
On the battlefield, an ancient melody suddenly resounded in an aged voice. An old man with a stooped figure walked across the ground scattered with bodies with a cane. His undulating voice was accompanied by the flickering of his cane which shone with an inexplicable brilliance. At that moment, it felt as if something akin to spirituality poured into the bodies of the fighting villagers.
Every villager shrouded in that brilliance suddenly became incredibly bold and fierce. As if inspired by something, their skin turned crimson and the surface of their bodies were covered in a layer of red light. Releasing furious roars, they began knocking the giant beasts back with overwhelming force.
It was an incredibly strange sight to see the seemingly weak and unassuming stooped figure old man walking across the battlefield defenceless. Even so, the giant beasts seemed to ignore him as if they couldn’t even see him at all.
Yang Kai widened his eyes in surprise and exclaimed, “Barbarian Techniques! The Barbarian Race?! The Ancient Barbarian Race?!”
At first, he had no idea what kind of place this seemingly primitive and ancient village was; however, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and vaguely realized where this was after witnessing the old man’s mysterious methods.
It was rumoured that in ancient times, before cultivation became widespread and man-made disasters became endless, humans fought against the Heavens just to survive. Thus, the Barbarian Techniques were born.
The Ancient Barbarian Race placed great importance on cultivating their physical bodies, and it was said that when their bodies were cultivated to the highest level, they would become practically immortal and indestructible, making the true powerhouses not inferior to the Great Emperors of today. In that era, there were no Secret Techniques and Secret Arts, nor artifacts and advanced weapons. All anyone could rely on was the strength of their own body. Hence, the Humans of that era were known as the Ancient Barbarian Race; they were also the ancestors of the Human race today.
Among the Barbarian Techniques, the most famous and practical technique was the Bloodlust Technique. Similar to what the old man was doing at the moment, they used an inexplicable power to inspire the hidden potential within one’s body to increase their strength exponentially by burning their Blood Essence. Unfortunately, the Bloodlust Art had a huge pitfall. Once it was used, it would cause a person to become weak for a period afterwards. It would also affect their lifespan. If the technique was used multiple times, it might even kill the affected instead of aiding them. This was because the Bloodlust Art utilized the innate Blood Essence in a person’s body as its fuel.
[No wonder all the villagers look so haggard and old. It seems like it is not their first time utilizing the Bloodlust Art.] A person would undoubtedly grow older faster as their Blood Essence was consumed. Moreover, only a very small number of people among the Ancient Barbarian Race could master the Barbarian Techniques. Most people could only train their bodies, while those who could cultivate the Barbarian Techniques were known as Shamans! Thus, the Barbarian Secret Arts were also known as Shamanic Spells!
The old man was undoubtedly a Shaman; however, Yang Kai did not know how powerful a Shaman he was as all of this belonged to ancient history. Besides, Yang Kai had only heard the occasional mention about the Ancient Barbarian Race after roaming the Star Boundary for a long time. How could he be familiar with the division of power of this distant age?
[I can’t believe that they are the Ancient Barbarian Race! Moreover, I witnessed a Shamanic Spell! Does that mean that the place I am in right now is part of ancient history? But, how can this be? The gap between the present and these primitive times is far too wide. Moreover, this entire race had long ago been lost to the river of time. How did this Sealed World maintain a complete legacy from ancient times? Is this place real or fake? Can it be that I really am Ah Niu? Then, what happened to Yang Kai? Am I dreaming?]
“The Village Chief is a Shaman Apprentice. Did you only realize this today? What rock have you been living under for all these years?” When Ah Hua heard what Yang Kai was muttering, she couldn’t help snapping at him. Her saliva splattered across his face as she scolded, “Don’t forget; the village doesn’t need good-for-nothings. If not for Ah Hu constantly sharing some food with you, you would have starved to death a long time ago! You better prove the value of your existence today. Don’t you dare bring shame to Ah Hu!”